NASA astronaut Michael Collins, who kept the Apollo 11 spacecraft in the moons orbit while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped foot on the surface in July 1969, has died. He was 90 years old.

We regret to share that our beloved father and grandfather passed away today, after a valiant battle with cancer, his family said in a statement shared Wednesday on social media.  Please join us in fondly and joyfully remembering his sharp wit, his quiet sense of purpose, and his wise perspective, gained both from looking back at Earth from the vantage of space and gazing across calm waters from the deck of his fishing boat.

Collins, a member of the third astronaut class selected in October 1963, never made it to the lunar surface during his NASA career. On the Apollo 11 mission, the first to put men on the moon, he stayed in the spacecrafts command module while Armstrong and Aldrin took the lunar module down to its surface.

In this role circling the moon, Collins was instrumental in making sure Armstrong and Aldrin were able to return home safely. And when they did, the U.S. brought a hotly contested space race with the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War to a close, fulfilling President John F. Kennedys promise to put a man on the moon.

Collins was born in Rome, Italy, in 1930, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Army. He received a bachelors degree in 1952 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York. He opted for a career in the Air Force after graduation, serving as an experimental flight test officer at the Edwards Air Force Base in California.

He was inspired to apply to NASA after John Glenns flight in 1962, the first time an American orbited the Earth. Collins was accepted on his second try. His first mission was 1966s Gemini 10, one of the two-man missions made in preparation for flights to the moon.

During this three-day mission, Collins and his crewmate, John Young, successfully docked and separated the Gemini spacecraft with the Agena target vehicle. They also did a spacewalk where Collins famously lost a camera, which is frequently cited as one of the items of space junk orbiting Earth.

Then on Jan. 9, 1969, NASA announced that Collins, Armstrong and Aldrin would be on the crew of Apollo 11. Collins was to fly the Columbia command module for the July 1969 mission.

Of his fellow Apollo 11 astronauts, Collins said they were: Smart as hell, both of them, competent and experienced, each in his own way. Still, Collins called the group amiable strangers because the trio never developed as intense a bond as other crews.

Of the three, Collins was the acknowledged jokester. Aldrin called him the easygoing guy who brought levity into things. In summarizing Kennedys famous challenge to go to the moon, for example, Collins later said: It was beautiful in its simplicity. Do what? Moon. When? End of decade.

The Apollo 11 crew trained for just six months before launching on July 16, 1969, from Floridas Cape Canaveral. The mission insignia  an eagle landing on the moon with an olive branch in its talons  was largely Collins creation.

An estimated 600 million people, a fifth of the worlds population, watched and listened to the landing, the largest audience for any single event in history.

Parents huddled with their children in front of the family television, mesmerized by what they were witnessing. Farmers abandoned their nightly milking duties, and motorists pulled off the highway and checked into motels just to see the moonwalk.

Afterward, people walked out of their homes and gazed at the moon, in awe of what they had just seen. Others peeked through telescopes in hopes of spotting the astronauts.

Collins said one of the things that struck him most was the way the Earth looked from space  peaceful and serene but also delicate.

As I look back on Apollo 11, I more and more am attracted to my recollection, not of the moon, but of the Earth. Tiny, little Earth in its little black velvet background, Collins said while marking the missions 50th anniversary in 2019.

Upon their return, Collins, Armstrong and Aldrin were given ticker tape parades in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and later made a 22-nation world tour.

Many remember him as the astronaut who was by himself, orbiting the Moon as Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong walked on the lunar surface, President Joe Biden said in a statement. He may not have received equal glory, but he was an equal partner, reminding our nation about the importance of collaboration in service of great goals.

In an oral history with NASAs Johnson Space Center, Collins said he was never upset about staying in orbit rather than walking on the moon.

I honestly felt really privileged to be on Apollo 11, to have one of those three seats, Collins said in his oral history. I mean, there were guys in the astronaut office who would have cut my throat ear to ear to have one of those three seats. I was very pleased to have one of those three. Did I have the best of the three? No. But was I pleased with the one I had? Yes!

Former NASA flight director Milt Windler said he was a good fit for that first crewed mission. Collins was quietly capable and somebody you could depend on.

Collins left NASA in 1970, becoming the director of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., the following year. Eight years later, he became undersecretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

He has written four books, including Carrying the Fire: An Astronauts Journeys.

Wherever you have been or will be, you will always have the Fire to Carry us deftly to new heights and to the future, Aldrin wrote Wednesday on Twitter. We will miss you. May you Rest In Peace.

Collins spoke to the Guardian in 2009, calling his time as an astronaut fate: Neil Armstrong was born in 1930. Buzz Aldrin was born in 1930, and Mike Collins, 1930. We came along at exactly the right time. We survived hazardous careers and were successful in them.

But in my own case at least, it was 10 percent shrewd planning and 90 percent blind luck. Put Lucky on my tombstone.

This report contains material from the Associated Press.

alex.stuckey@chron.com

andrea.leinfelder@chron.com
Kolkata, April 28 : Ethnic Karen rebels, now training nearly 300 Burmese for urban insurgency, have unleashed a fresh offensive in eastern Myanmar near the Thailand border, capturing a military base and withstanding air strikes.

A rebel spokesman said fighters of the Karen National Union stormed the Tatmadaw (Burmese army) camp west of the Salween River, which demarcates part of the Thai-Myanmar border after four hours of fierce fighting on Tuesday.

"Our troops captured the Burmese military camp around 5 am after a midnight attack," Karen National Union (KNU) head of foreign affairs Padoh Saw Taw Nee told IANS.

He said Karen fighters chased down stragglers from the Burmese army camp into the Salween river and shot many of them.

"The Tatmadaw was routed. It was a great victory," Nee said.

Myanmar's military staged air strikes for several hours later in villages in territory controlled by the Karen rebels, said Nee.

There was no immediate comment from Myanmar's military on the incident.

Though the KNU spokesman does not yet officially admit training ethnic Burmese protesters who have formed groups like 'Federal Army' and 'Burma Resistance', that IANS was the first to report, it is reliably learnt that the KNU offensive was aimed at providing 'safe passage' to the Burmese protesters.

The KNU however admits to sheltering 2000 anti-coup dissidents.

"If KNU manages to occupy this camp west of Salween River, it is easy for us to reach them and train and arm ourselves to fight the military junta," said Nay Lin, 28.

He joined the 'Federal Army' in March after military mowed down friends during street protests and headed southeast towards Karen province. Lin said over a messaging app that his group has now merged with two other hurriedly-formed groups in early April to form the United Defence Front (UDF).

"We will hit the Tatmadaw hard and also their Chinese backers," he said.

Lin says most recruits for UDF were students and youths in 20-30 age group but some were between 35 and 40.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since Feb 1 military takeover in which elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted.

The anti-coup movement has received broad support in the country and some protesters have got together to form groups to hit back at the military and Chinese business interests, because Beijing is perceived as the main backer of the Tatmadaw.

Some of Myanmar's armed insurgent groups, which have for decades been fighting the military for greater autonomy, have backed the popular uprising and the KNU has started arming and training ethnic Burmese to raise an urban insurgent force to take on the Tatmadaw.

The KNU agreed to a ceasefire in 2012, ending their insurgency for autonomy that began shortly after Myanmar's independence from Britain in 1948.

But their forces have clashed with the army since it seized power on Feb 1.

Last month, after the KNU overran a military base, the junta responded with multiple air strikes at night, the first use of air power in Karen state in over 20 years.

Some villagers had already left their homes for other towns in fear of retaliation from the Myanmar military.

Clashes have intensified in the Karen state in recent weeks, displacing more than 24,000 civilians, including some 2,000 who crossed the river to seek brief refuge on the Thai side.

The KNU has condemned the military takeover and admitted to sheltering at least 2,000 anti-coup dissidents who fled urban centres of unrest.

Security forces have killed more than 750 civilians since February 1, according to a local monitoring group tracking the death toll.

The junta has a much lower figure and blames the violence on "rioters".
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The police in Ogun State have arrested three suspects for their alleged role in the kidnap of two female students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ayetoro campus, located in Yewa North Local Government Area of the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, while parading the suspects at the Police Headquarters Eleweran, Abeokuta, on Wednesday said the police had been on the trail of the suspects after the incident on March 14.

He gave the identities of the suspects as Babuga Abubakar, Umaru Usman, and Mohammed Bello, adding that on interrogation, they confessed to a series of kidnappings in Ayetoro, Olorunda, and Imeko areas.

They admitted to the kidnap of the two OOU students in Ayetoro on the 14th of March,2021, a female doctor and a nurse at Olubo village along Abeokuta-Imeko road on the 7th of April,2021, kidnap of one Mrs Yemi Ojedapo at Olodo village.

The police chief said the kidnappers killed the woman (Mrs Ojedapo) after she recognised them. He added that the police recovered as exhibit the phone the suspects used in calling for ransom.

In a similar development, the police say they have arrested two members of another kidnap syndicate. The suspects were identified as Nura Bello, 21, and Abubakar Bello Amodu,26, alleged to be responsible for the kidnap of the village head of Imope Ijebu, Tajudeen Omotayo.

The police commissioner said the suspects have confessed to the crime and series of such cases in the Ijebu area.

The command received an information through a source that a member of a kidnap gang approached him to help purchase an AK47 rifle, which he intended to use to form his own breakaway kidnap gang, Mr Ajogun said.

On receipt of the information, an undercover police operative pretended as the vendor and negotiated with the suspect to sell a rifle. They agreed on N1 million as the price for one AK47 rifle. The suspect there and then paid a deposit of N200, 000, to show his commitment and promised to pay the balance later on the same day, Mr Ajogun said.

The police boss said the suspect was promptly arrested, adding that on interrogation, he confessed to being a member of a six-man kidnap gang.
Sainsbury's profits have dropped by 39 per cent despite the supermarket giant seeing a strong boost in sales during the pandemic.

The company made an underlying pre-tax profit of 356 million in the year to March 6 - down from the 586 million a year earlier.

Bosses have blamed the drop in profits on the costs of Covid safety measures, which have now hit 485 million. The group also declined business rates relief offered by the government worth about 410 million.

Sales in the year to March jumped 7.8 per cent, helped along by a soaring 120 per cent rise in online orders as shoppers were unable to head to non-essential retailers for large parts of the year.

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's profits dropped by 39 per cent despite the company seeing a strong boost in sales thanks to its position as an essential retailer during the Covid pandemic

Sainsbury's grocery sales were up 7.8 per cent. Pictured: empty shelves in London Sainsbury's

But less travelling meant Sainsbury's fuel sales slumped 45 per cent contributing to overall revenues hitting 29 billion in the year to March 5, up 0.2 per cent on a year earlier.

Like much of the high street, and despite remaining open throughout the year, clothing sales dropped 8.5 per cent including a 26.7 per cent plunge in the three months between March and May 2020.

Bosses said clothes sales are starting to recover, however, with a 4.2 per cent rise in sales in the past three months.

Chief executive Simon Roberts also revealed that despite the high Covid-19 costs, the supermarket will still pay out a dividend to shareholders of 7.4p a share, up from 7.3p a share a year ago.

He said: 'This year's financial results have been heavily influenced by the pandemic.

'Food and Argos sales are significantly higher, but the cost of keeping colleagues and customers safe during the pandemic has been high.

'Our full-year direct Covid-19 costs were 485 million, leading to a 39% decrease in full-year underlying profit.

'We are pleased to propose a full-year dividend which is in line with last year, protecting shareholder income from the full impact of Covid-19 on profits.'

Mr Roberts added that in future he expects to see Sainsbury's benefit from new hybrid working and strong growth in convenience stores.

'As customers find new ways of hybrid working that will inevitably mean some of the week working from home and some of the week working from offices,' he said.

'We believe that convenience stores will play a big part in the local community and the vast majority of those stores are in exactly those types of locations in the heart of the community.

'We think those stores in the local community will be really important locations for customers as they work and live and shop differently.'

Sainsbury's chief executive Simon Roberts (pictured) said the cost of 'keeping colleagues and customers safe' during the pandemic has been high as company's Covid bill reaches 485m

Local stores in less urban locations have seen sales up 13% in the year, he added.

Stores in office locations have struggled; however, Mr Roberts pointed out that there are far fewer in those locations than elsewhere.

He also said he expects the company's own organisation to work in a more hybrid way.

He added: 'I think the likelihood of everyone going back to the office five days a week is not going to happen.

'Looking ahead there will be a hybrid approach, and our convenience estate in the main is well positioned to reflect those changes.'

Sainsbury's also expects to benefit from a summer celebration as lockdown restrictions ease and 400 new products for barbeques and parties are set to be launched.

However, Mr Roberts admitted the strong sales of alcohol seen as a benefit of pub closures are unlikely to remain as high once the hospitality sector reopens.

'There's been a significant uplift in alcohol sales and we think, of course, that will shift the balance of consumption when pubs reopen.'

Online sales may also slip slightly, but Mr Roberts said he expects this to be minimal.

'I think we've seen a permanent shift in the fact that more customers will shop online,' he said.

'As we come out of the lockdown, there will be some reduction in online volume but I think largely we will hold on to the majority of what we've gained.'

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst, of Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'J Sainsbury rose to the challenge of helping feed the nation during lockdowns, but the costs of operating through the crisis have seriously dented its bottom line.

'Redesigning layouts to keep customers and staff safe, paying colleagues in full who needed to shield all added with 485million spent on Covid related costs.

'Sainsbury also spent 100million on higher staff salaries and special recognition payments to colleagues for their efforts during the crisis, which although a significant outlay, should help with staff retention going forward.'

Supermarket giant Tesco earlier this month announced that pre-tax profits slid by 20 per cent to 825 million for the 12 months to February, compared with 1.03 billion the previous year

Sainsbury's was not alone in seeing Covid-related costs impact its sales.

Earlier this month, Tesco revealed that its profits fell by 20 per cent over the past year after coronavirus costs of almost 900 million offset surging sales.

The supermarket giant announced that pre-tax profits slid to 825 million for the 12 months to February, compared with 1.03 billion the previous year.

It said profits were weighed down by 892 million in Covid-related costs and the company's decision to hand 585 million in business rates relief back to the Government.

It had benefited from a jump in demand for groceries during the pandemic, with more meals eaten at home amid restrictions on the hospitality sector and changes to working habits.

Group sales excluding fuel increased by 7 per cent to 53.4 billion for the year, buoyed by soaring online sales.

Online sales jumped by 77 per cent to 6.3 billion in the UK as the company doubled delivery capacity to meet rising demand from housebound customers.

However, the results show the profit from the boost in sales was largely wiped out by extra costs from the pandemic, including millions for staff PPE, social distancing barriers and signage and staff costs.

Tesco said profits were weighed down by 892m in Covid costs, including millions spent on social distancing measures and the decision to hand 585m in business rates relief back

Recent figures show that Britons spent 15.2 billion more on groceries during the pandemic as lockdowns kept bars, pubs and restaurants closed.

Kantar grocery data shows households spent around 4,800 in supermarkets over the past 12 months, some 500 more than normal.

Supermarket sales rose by 12.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to February 21 and growth ramped up to 15.1 per cent over the past month in the fastest rate since June 2020.

Tesco emerged as one of the winners of the quarter, notching up its first market share growth since December 2016 as its sales rose to 13.2 per cent.

Morrisons saw sales go up by 13.9 per cent, Sainsbury's notched up 12.1 per cent growth and Iceland's sales rose by 23.9 per cent.

Asda was the weakest of the major chains with sales growth of 10.3 per cent.

Supermarkets have been one of the biggest winners during the pandemic, remaining open throughout and enjoying surging sales while 'non-essential' retailers flounder.

The High Street has suffered irreversible losses, with non-essential retailers and hospitality venues forced to close for the majority of the past year due to the crisis.

Kantar said nearly a quarter of households bought groceries online during the past month as many customers have switched to shopping from home.

However, following the successful rollout of Britain's vaccination programme, analysis by Kantar has also shown elderly shoppers are starting to return to stores.
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Russia will soon supply a large batch of medical aid to India to help it combat the novel coronavirus, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, reports TASS.

The Russian leadership has made a decision in the spirit of friendship and especially privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India and with the goal of combating a surge in the coronavirus incidence. A large batch of assistance will be sent to India on an urgent flight of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, which includes oxygen concentrators, lung ventilators, anti-COVID drugs and other necessary medical supplies and drugs, the ministry said.

The medical aid will be delivered in the coming days, the ministry stated.

Over the past day, India confirmed 323,100 COVID-19 cases. The total case tally in the country has hit 17.6 mln.
WASHINGTON  Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo called on New York Attorney General Letitia James Tuesday to conduct a legal review of the state's options to challenge the 2020 U.S. Census results.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Monday that New York will lose a seat in Congress in 2022 due to the state's population count  the tally fell short by 89 people, otherwise the state would have kept the seat.

Cuomo blamed President Donald J. Trump's failed effort to add a citizenship question to the U.S. Census for New York's stumble on keeping 27 seats in Congress. He noted New York saw a slight increase in population in the past decade.

"Census takers in New York faced unprecedented challenges last year in their efforts to get New Yorkers counted  from the pandemic's effect on the mail system to the Trump Administration's xenophobic, flagrant, and illegal efforts to hurt blue states by discouraging non-citizens and people of color from being counted," Cuomo said. "So much of our state's recovery, revitalization, and resilience is dependent on having our voice heard in Washington, and we won't allow Trump and his cronies to use one of our greatest attributes  our diversity  as an impediment. "

James did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Cuomo administration allocated $70 million to support outreach for the U.S. Census in New York. It's unclear if the state distributed all of the funds to the state agencies, counties and other recipients it was intended for; some funding was distributed months after the census started. A spokesman for the state Division of Budget did not respond to questions about the spending on Monday.

New York's population grew by 4.2 percent from 2010 to 2020 although more people moved out of the state than moved in, U.S. Census Bureau officials said. New York's population growth was the 20th lowest in the nation, lower than the national average of 7 percent.

Minnesota beat out New York for a congressional seat by just 26 census responses, data shared by the Census Bureau shows. The margin between New York and Minnesota over the 435th House seat is the tightest of any margin in the 2020 apportionment.

New York has lost seats in Congress from reapportionment every decade since the 1940s, when the state had 45 House members.
A Vietnamese family-owned restaurant in Sunnyvale, Calif. was recently vandalized and left with a disturbing message spewing anti-Asian hate.



Charlie Tran, co-owner of Le Bon, found the establishment vandalized and its front window destroyed on Sunday afternoon, KTVU reported.



Tran notified police, who then reportedly told him to search the area for "bullets, [a] rock, or a brick." He initially thought it was a random attack by a "delinquent," before finding a note that contained racial slurs.



"When I saw the note on the inside that hurt me more than if it was just a random person breaking our window," Tran recalled.



Written in red on a crumpled piece of paper, the message read: "Dirty f**king [slur used against people of Asian descent], go back to your home.



Le Bon co-owner and executive chef Jeffrey Nguyen was also shocked that such an incident could happen to them in their community.



Born and raised in South Bay, both Tran and Nguyen are second generation Vietnamese Americans who started a food truck business 10 years ago before opening their brick and mortar restaurant in Sunnyvale four years ago.



It remains unclear who targeted the restaurant as the restaurants surveillance cameras failed to capture the incident, SFGate reported. The restaurant is located in an area with several other businesses, none of which were also targeted. The owners are now seeking help from the other businesses in the complex that might have surveillance footage that could help.



Santa Clara County Supervisor Otto Lee said he was disgusted upon learning about the incident.



"This is absolutely not tolerable, unacceptable, and its mortifying to find out these types of incidents are still happening right here in Sunnyvale," Lee said.



Sunnyvale has a diverse population, according to KTVU. 40% is Asian while 15% is Latinx.



Nguyen thanked the restaurant supporters via Instagram and said that they will not be asking for donations to cover the damages, according to Eater SF.



Featured Image via KTVU

Story continues

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The owner of Agbo Hotel, Ogbomoso in Oyo State, Oyedokun Oyeniyi, his wife, Busayo, and seven others that were kidnapped on Saturday have been released by their kidnappers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the victims were released on Tuesday after payment of an undisclosed amount as ransom.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Adewale Osifeso, confirmed the release of the victims.

Yes, they have been released, he said.

Mr Osifeso did not, however, disclose whether ransom was paid before their release.

Gunmen invaded Agbo Hotel in the Ajaawa area of the state Saturday night and took away Mr Oyedokun, his nursing wife, and their infant, children, and relatives, witnesses had told PREMIUM TIMES.

The kidnappers had demanded N32 million ransom.

(NAN)
The Senate has voted for reinstating an Obama-era methane rule after it was rolled back by the Trump administration.

The vote was supported by Democrats but no Republicans with the exceptions of Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, and Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, who voted with colleagues across the aisle.

The resolution will bring back limits on the potent greenhouse gass release from oil and gas fields, an important part of President Joe Bidens plans to tackle the climate crisis.

A similar measure is pending in the House and expected to be approved next month, when it will then be signed by Mr Biden.

Former president Donald Trump had relaxed the 2016 rule which targeted methane emissions from fossil fuel drilling.

Mr Trumps reversal was finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in September under then administrator, Andrew Wheeler, who claimed the change would strengthen and promote American energy and save companies tens of millions of dollars in compliance costs.

The methane rollback was viewed as one of the most grievous parts of Mr Trumps dismantling of dozens of environmental and climate policies.

While conversations on tackling the climate crisis have centered around cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, methane is a powerful pollutant with about 80 times the impact on global heating as CO2 over 20 years.

A summary of a UN report due next month noted that acting aggressively to reduce methane emissions now could help the world to more rapidly meet its 2050 climate targets and play an important role in avoiding catastrophic heating.

I think its just unnecessary emissions that they can do something about, and theyll need to do it, Sen. Graham said Wednesday, ahead of the vote. In 2017, he also voted against his partys attempt to reverse the methane rule.

On Wednesday, the bills co-sponsor, Independent Senator Angus King of Maine, tweeted: Reinstating regulations on methane emissions is the low-hanging fruit of climate action; a simple move that will make a major impact, with support from environmental groups and industry leaders alike.

It is our duty to #ActOnClimate; today, we will do exactly that.

The resolution was co-sponsored by Senator King, Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn some regulations only in place for a short time.

Senator Heinrich said companies, including Shell Oil Co., Occidental Petroleum and Cheniere Energy Inc, supported reinstatement of the Obama-era rule.

Its sort of inertia and dogma at this point by Republicans to oppose the methane rule, he told the AP.

Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito, of West Virginia, claimed in an op-ed for the Washington Times last week that increased natural gas production actually helped lead to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

However, a 2020 Gas Index report, by NGO Global Energy Monitor, found that the EPA was substantially underestimating the methane leakage from natural gas, a fossil fuel largely composed of the powerful pollutant.

On average across all sectors, The Gas Index calculated the methane leakage rate is 72 per cent higher than the EPA value, the NGO report found.

President Bidens $2.3trillion American Jobs Plan infrastructure bill intends to invest $16 billion in putting thousands of people to work plugging orphan oil and gas wells, and cleaning up abandoned mines, to reduce methane and brine leaks.

Cementing shut drilling wells is a popular policy with both environmental groups and the fossil fuel industry, who see it as an area for growing business.

Reinstating the methane rule would be another signal to the world, ahead of UN climate talks in November, that the US is serious in its renewed pursuit of meeting climate goals.

At the opening of the White Houses Leaders Summit last week, Mr Biden pledged that the US will cut emissions as much as 52 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

This report has been updated following the Senate vote
Future Samsung foldables may ship with health monitoring hardware. Samsung did patent something of the sort a while back, and may be thinking of including it in its upcoming foldable devices.

Samsung may include health rate monitoring hardware on its future foldables

The company was granted a new patent quite recently, which shows a foldable device with health sensors for blood pressure monitoring. Now, the provided sketches do seem to be a bit old, even though the patent has been granted quite recently.

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This patent surfaced over at USPTO and WIPO, and it does not guarantee that such sensors will be included on the companys future foldable devices. As most of you know, companies do patent all sorts of tech that never makes it to devices.

Samsung may do this at some point, though, well just have to wait and see. Samsung is no stranger to including similar technology to its phones, as some of its devices do feature heart rate sensors.

It seems like this idea has been on the companys mind for a while now

In fact, Samsung has been looking into the possibility of including health monitoring hardware in its foldable smartphones for a while now. It is either planning to do it in the future, or has completely given up on the idea, only time will tell.

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Having such technology in a smartphone could be useful, but it would raise the price of already expensive foldable smartphones. On top of that, the vast majority of people probably wouldnt even use it.

Such hardware mainly belongs on fitness-oriented wearables. Those could be the reasons why Samsung may have given up on the idea of including them. It may include them at some point down the road. This may happen when price tags of foldable devices drop significantly, or something of the sort.

Based on the provided information, such sensors were supposed to sit below the display. Blood pressure monitoring would be their main purpose, but they would provide all sorts of additional information, based on that, it seems, as shown in the image below.
April 28, 2021 U.S. Four Star Generals Ask DNI To Stop Lying These folks have had it with the constant stream of baseless propaganda U.S. intelligence is spilling over the world: Dear Director of National Intelligence, we, the the 4-star Generals leading U.S. regional commands all over the world, are increasingly concerned with about the lack of evidence for claims you make about our opponents. We, as true believers, do not doubt whatever judgment you make about the harmful activities of Russia, Iran and China. However - our allies and partners do not yet subscribe to the bliss of ignorance. They keep asking us for facts that support those judgments Unfortunately, we have none that we could provide. You say that Russia thought to manipulate Trump allies and to smear Biden, that Russia and Iran aimed to sway the 2020 election through covert campaigns and that China runs covert operations to influence members of Congress. Media reports have appeared in which 'intelligence sources' claim that Russia, China and Iran are all paying bounties to the Taliban for killing U.S. soldiers. Fortunately no soldier got hurt by those rumors. Our allies and partners read those and other reports and ask us for evidence. They want to know how exactly Russia, Iran and China are doing these things. They, of course, hope to learn from our experience to protect their own countries. Currently we are not able to provide them with such information. Your people keep telling our that all of it is SECRET. We therefore ask you to declassify the facts that support your judgments.* Sincerely The Generals ----

PS: *Either that or shut the fuck up. The above may well have been a draft for the letter behind this report: Americas top spies say they are looking for ways to declassify and release more intelligence about adversaries bad behavior, after a group of four-star military commanders sent a rare and urgent plea asking for help in the information war against Russia and China. The internal memo from nine regional military commanders last year, which was reviewed by POLITICO and not made public, implored spy agencies to provide more evidence to combat "pernicious conduct." Only by "waging the truth in the public domain against Americas 21st century challengers can Washington shore up support from American allies, they said. But efforts to compete in the battle of ideas, they added, are hamstrung by overly stringent secrecy practices. We request this help to better enable the US, and by extension its allies and partners, to win without fighting, to fight now in so-called gray zones, and to supply ammunition in the ongoing war of narratives," the commanders who oversee U.S. military forces in Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, as well as special operations troops, wrote to then-acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire last January. Unfortunately, we continue to miss opportunities to clarify truth, counter distortions, puncture false narratives, and influence events in time to make a difference," they added. The generals must have been seriously miffed to write such a letter. There have been a number of published intelligence judgments where the NSA had expressed low confidence in conclusions made mainly by the CIA. The NSA is part of the military. Between two bureaucracies such an accusing letter or internal memo is the equivalent of a declaration of war. It is doubtful that the intelligence folks would win that fight. That gives some hope that the Office of the DNI and the agencies below it will now lessen their production of nonsensical claims. Posted by b on April 28, 2021 at 15:49 UTC | Permalink Comments
: WangLimin (), : NewYork

 : FRAUD AGAINST MY FAMILY'S RENT RESIDENCE ADDRESS

: RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS,FRAUD,MAIL,NYS Department of Labor

: BBS  (Tue Apr 27 23:23:05 2021, )



{Note: The following email was sent to [email protected] I wish the

governments and mainstream media would hunt hard (not hardly) down the

systematic fraudsters while delivering hard the Economic Impact Payments to

the families. Where have been the whole set of EIP-2 and the majority of EIP

-3 for my family's no-application-needed share? Why the Workers'

Compensation System is run like a systematicly fraudulent, corrupt, and

murderous system in New York?}



Limin Wang

136-09 59th Ave, Ground Floor

Flushing, NY 11355

April 27, 2021



Re: FRAUD AGAINST MY FAMILY'S RENT RESIDENCE ADDRESS



***Please forward the report to the right offices, since this is the only

easily spotted email address on the NYS DOL website.***



NYS Department of Labor,





Since around April 10th, 2021, the following residence address MY FAMILY has

been renting and living at for consecutive multiple years has received

multiple days of postal letters seemingly from New York State Department of

Labor by one of the following two Sender Info:



Department of Labor

PO Box 15130

Albany NY 12212-5130

www.labor.ny.gov



or



NYS Department of Labor

Keybank Card OPS

PO Box 6419

Cleveland, OH 44101-1419



TO this physical address:

13609 59th Ave Apt 1

Flushing NY 11355-0000



But to ABSOLUTELY UNRECOGNIZED NAMES such as



Gregory Robinson;

Rose Suarez;

Donald Reksc;

John Albert;

Dana Augi;

Kristin Albers;

Andrew Carubia



Occasionally, some of these mails arrived WITHOUT ITS FLAP SEALED AT ALL,

and for one time curiosity, I had a glimpse at the UNSEALED letter, and

catched the phrases of "unemployment benefits" or "pandemic benefits" or its

like.



THIS RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS and MY FAMILY both have met A LOT OF ADVERSITIES,

to mention ONLY a few here for the sake of your time, I being a VICTIM OF

ATTEMPTED-MURDERS at the formal workplace and then at the Workers'

Compensation Board authorized medical clinics and then being tortured BY THE

SYSTEM, my family facing current EVICTION threat from the landlord again,

and mail-reception problems.



The Chinese-looking young male mailman has been notified by my written note

on some envelopes about the questionable mails and some of them found stolen

or missing from this building's mailboxes, and the mailman has taken back

some of such mails. But, in the late afternoon, around 6:15 pm, of April 27,

2021, Tuesday, a young man, Hispano-like, medium build, late 20's or early

30's like, without a mask, facial mustache shaved, heavy and curly headtop

hair, in white shorts, green T-shirt-like with printed big letters in front,

and a long, black, unbottoned sweater over it. He came over to the building

's front with a small box, put down the box on the ground as if delivering

something, checked about the questionable mails briefly, left the building

for a short moment, and came back again to check all the questionable mails

and all the mailboxes, and even looked inside into the hallway. If the

second floor had left the gate UNLOCKED OR UNCLOSED again, such a dude might

have come inside for something or somebody! This SUSPECT MAN then took away

the three mails (from NYS DOL to Rose Suarez, Dana Augi, John Albert,

respectively) stuck on the gate, and of course, away together with his TOOL

(a small box).



NONE of my family has ever applied for the unemployment or pandemic benefits

, and this physical address absolutely has NO such persons named above

living here. I sincerely hope 1) THE SYSTEM is NOT the one in the back doing

such things against me or my family; and then 2) Such questionable mails

are stopped by NYS DOL; and 3) The fraudsters such as the man seen taking

away these three questionable mails on April 27, 2021, afternoon are

contacted by THE SYSTEM. The police should have their resources and

capability, so they do not need to contact me about this. I have been asking

the LEGAL SYSTEM for several other things, but I have not got what they are

supposed to function on.



Very truly yours,



Limin Wang



Addendum:



The PressOffice of NYS DOL gave me such a reply by telling me that they

would not even forward my email within their same department of labor, and I

then

answered it by pointing out the oddness. See the screenshots in the follow-

up posts.



Readers can sense why I suspect the government system itself is

the fraud system. NYS DOL requires so much personal

information, including the Social Security Number, to file a

report of found fraud to DOL, while it claims its Unemployment

Insurance and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance system is

secure. There is no other email address to contact NYS DOL, and

its PressOffice claims in its reply that it can not help on

this. Then, I will treat such mails to this address as JUNK

MAILS. I know THE SYSTEM is thinking it is so powerful that it

can wantonly throw anything to frame and blame and crime

powerless people like me. People around the world should know

what kind of GOVERNMENT it actually stands for. It is so

beaurocratic, irresponsible, corrupt, and often brutal or even

murderous.





--

WangLimin People's Voice

http://blog.mitbbs.com/WangLimin

http://www.mitbbs.com/pc/index/WangLimin

 :WangLimin  Apr 29 23:26:11 2021 [FROM: 2603:7000:101:87]

 :WWW  mitbbs.com [FROM: 2603:7000:101:8]



 []


Chennai, April 28 : The Greater Chennai Corporation has called upon the services of doctors and nurses to tackle the Covid pandemic. The appointment of these doctors and nurses will be purely temporary, according to a release of the corporation.

The corporation will hire 150 doctors and nurses to manage the Covid care centres. The doctors will be paid Rs 60,000 and the nurses will be paid Rs 15000 a month.

The candidates can walk in directly for the interview on April 29 and 30 with all the original documents. They will be given contractual posting and will not be made permanent employees. The interview will be held at the Chennai corporation's health department in Rippon building which is near the central railway station.

The doctors and nurses will have to work at fever camps, screening centres and vaccination centres during the pandemic. They will also have to give a written undertaking that they will join service of their own will and interest.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
On 20 April 2021, the Supreme Court of Ukraine announced its decision in four debt recovery cases between VR Global Partners, L.P. ("VRGP") and JSC Ukrainian Railways ("UZ"). In all cases the Supreme Court has affirmed the position of the courts of lower instances and dismissed the cassation appeal of UZ in full. The decisions establish a final, non-appealable quantum of entitlement of VRGP in each case.

VRGP welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court that brings to conclusion several years of frivolous attempts by UZ to challenge the repayment of its debt obligations and confirms that the full amount of its debt to VRGP is due and payable. The claims are based on contractual, borrowed money obligations which the company has refused to honor.

Richard Deitz, President of VR Capital Group Ltd. ("VR Capital"), has added: "We welcome the recent decisions of the Ukrainian Supreme Court that confirm VRGPs contractual rights. As one of the largest and oldest international investors in Ukraine, it is an important sign for us that despite its challenges the legal system in the country can function and protect the rights of investors. In 2015, VR Capital led the international bondholder group which cooperatively negotiated the restructuring of UZs debt after the Revolution of Dignity and helped the company regain its financial balance. It is regrettable in this case that the management and supervisory boards of UZ never responded to over two years of attempts by VR Capital to negotiate a consensual resolution of these debts. Ultimately, this left us with no recourse other than to demand a full satisfaction of our claim via courts. We expect the enforcement of our claim to take place in strict accordance with the law and without any undue delay or obstruction."

VR Global Partners, L.P. ("VRGP"), is an investment fund managed by VR Advisory Services Ltd ("VRASL"). VRASL is registered as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and VR Advisory Services (UK) LLP, a sub-investment adviser for VRGP and certain other funds, is authorized by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. VRGP launched in May 1999 and has been the recipient of over 15 industry awards in New York and London for its performance over the years, including, most recently, EuroHedges 2020 award for Long Term Performance (20 Years) among global macro, fixed income and relative value funds.

VR Capital is an international asset management firm serving an institutional investor client base with approximately $5 billion in investor assets under management via pooled fund structures. VR Capital is one of the largest western investors in Ukraine with a portfolio of holdings in excess of $1 billion. With a proven track record of over 22 years, VR Capital focuses on investments in emerging and developed markets. The firm operates via its principal offices in New York and London, and over 98% of its assets under management stem from investor relationships in the United States and Western Europe.

For more detailed information please contact on+38 (095) 618-15-64.
A Boeing logo is seen at the company's facility in Everett after it was announced that their 777X model will make its first test flight later in the week in Everett, Washington (Photo : REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing Co's newly prolonged CEO Dave Calhoun will unveil the U.S. planemaker's results on Wednesday juggling a barrage of technical and financial challenges under the shadow of mounting political tensions between the United States and China.



Analysts will be pressing Calhoun for updates on the effective re-grounding of part of the 737 MAX fleet over electrical grounding flaws, just as the U.S. travel market is finally rebounding from the coronavirus pandemic.



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The grounding issue is expected to drag on longer than Boeing initially indicated, people familiar with the matter say.



Boeing is also facing certification challenges on its forthcoming 777X mini-jumbo, and forensic inspections and painstaking repairs to fix defects embedded in dozens of its advanced carbon-composite 787, which halted deliveries from October until last month.



One of Boeing's biggest suppliers, engine maker General Electric, said on Tuesday aviation remained "challenged" and beset by volatility, driving its stock down as much as 4.8%.



"Boeing has traded on expectations for vaccine distribution and air traffic recovery, both of which are coming through," Cowen analyst Cai von Rumohr wrote in a note earlier this month. "But there's risk of further 787 disruption if international traffic recovery lags, and the pace of the 737 ramp is unclear."



On the plus side, it completed a hot-fire engine test on NASA's forthcoming SLS rocket and started production on the U.S. Air Force's new trainer jet.



Boeing declined to comment ahead of results, which will be reported before the market opens on Wednesday.



Boeing is expected to report a smaller first-quarter adjusted loss of $1.16 per share, compared with $1.70 per share a year earlier, helped by an improvement in aircraft deliveries as airline customers add flight capacity, anticipating a rebound in summer travel.



Optimism in a resurgent U.S. domestic travel market is offset by growing concerns over COVID variants in India and elsewhere, clouding the general industry's recovery.



Boeing's flagship single-aisle 737 MAX, the workhorse of the short-haul travel leading the recovery, remains grounded in the rebounding China market, too.



Boeing, which sold a quarter of the planes it built annually to China buyers before the 737 MAX grounding, also faces uncertainty over simmering geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing, which have continued under U.S. President Joe Biden.



Last week, Boeing said it extended its required retirement age of 65 to 70 to allow Calhoun, 64, to stay in the top job.



Calhoun aims to stay in the role until he is 70, insiders say. His decision surprised many in the industry who saw him as a shorter-term crisis manager, and it also triggered the upcoming exit of Boeing's well-regarded CFO and heir-apparent for the job, Greg Smith, 54.



As it navigates these challenges and others, Boeing has slowed down its study of a potential new plane to counter the threat of Airbus' A321, which is snapping up orders in a lucrative slice of the travel market.



Highlighting Boeing's concerns over market share in one of the most important battlegrounds for the next generation of jetliners, Delta Air Lines placed a firm order for 25 A321neo aircraft last week.


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday morning in the trial of a political operative accused of sexually assaulting a woman three years ago in a Willowbrook parking lot.

Jury deliberations are expected to start in the afternoon after state Supreme Court Justice Alexander Jeong charges the panel.

Defense lawyer Mario Romano rested Naflan Dooles case on Wednesday following prosecutors lengthy cross-examination of the defendant.

Doole had given direct testimony on Tuesday after prosecutors rested their case.

Previously, on Monday, the alleged victim testified that Doole attacked her in his car, which was parked in a lot at the College of Staten Island, on July 25, 2018.

The woman, who was 19 at the time, said she and Doole had consumed vodka in his car, and she had gotten sick before the defendant sodomized and tried to rape her.

The woman testified that she told Doole multiple times to stop, but he did not.

In a series of phone calls and texts with the victim and her boyfriend after the episode, Doole, 25, denied having any sexual contact with her.

But he testified on Tuesday and Wednesday that the woman came on very persistent(ly) to him, and they had consensual sex.

The defendant said he had lied in those phone calls and texts to conform to a story the woman had concocted to prevent them from getting into trouble.

The womans boyfriend was a childhood friend of the defendant. Doole was married at the time.

According to Doole, the woman said she would say she drank four bottles of vodka, vomited, and passed out in the back of his car.

Doole testified that he stuck to that account even after the woman shocked him almost immediately after the encounter by accusing him of sexually attacking her.

The defendant said he did so for fear of his wife finding out he had been unfaithful.

A rape kit administered to the woman several hours after incident ultimately showed a positive match to Dooles DNA, according to testimony.

At the time of the alleged attack, Doole was an assistant campaign manager for Charles Fall, a Democrat running for the North Shore Assembly seat. Fall won the election that November.

The alleged victim was a volunteer for Falls campaign.

Fall ultimately fired Doole after learning of the allegations.

The defendant took the stand for about two hours on Wednesday. Previously, on Tuesday, he had testified for about four hours, more than half of that time on cross-examination.

He wore a dark gray suit, maroon shirt and patterned tie.

Picking up from Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Amir Fadl sought to damage Dooles credibility.

For much of the time he probed the defendants phone calls and texts with the woman and her boyfriend line-by-line, contrasting his statements in them to his direct testimony.

Fadl also questioned why Doole stuck so tenaciously to the concocted story. Especially since the woman was not repeating it.

In fact, the woman and her boyfriend had told his wife hours after the incident that he had sexually assaulted her.

Wouldnt it have made more sense to tell his spouse, the woman, her boyfriend, and ultimately the police the sex was consensual to defend himself against the womans claim of attack, asked Fadl, who, along with Assistant District Attorney Lisa Davis, is prosecuting the case.

That would have been a good idea. Yes, responded the defendant.

But, he added, I was scared and shocked and I didnt want my wife to find out.  I didnt think they would take it this far.  I thought this was all just a joke.

The defendant also said he was confident his repeated denials would convince his wife.

I can always talk my way out of it with her, he said.

The couple has since divorced.

Doole also said he lied for fear of being recorded on the phone calls.

The defendant said he was so desperate to stop the rumors of a sex attack that he asked the woman if their parents could meet.

The defendant said he hoped the prospect of her parents getting involved would convince the woman and her boyfriend to back down.

I just wanted this to be over with, he said. I know I didnt do anything wrong.
Some of the other homicides police have been investigating as part of this spate of violence on the Northwest Side include two shootings on Sept. 21, according to the source. One of them occurred in the North Park neighborhood in the 3400 block of West Carmen Avenue. In that attack, 25-year-old Eduardo Triano was killed and a 24-year-old man was left wounded. Another shooting happened near Belmont and Nagle avenues in the Dunning community, leaving 29-year-old Nabil Marhouar dead.
Top Muslim political leader arrested for allegedly aiding 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings Former cabinet member calls arrest 'unjust'

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A prominent Muslim political leader in Sri Lanka and his brother were arrested over the weekend due to their suspected connection to the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings of three churches and three hotels in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa that killed over 269 people.

Rishad Bathiudeen, a former cabinet minister and the leader of an opposition party in Parliament, and his brother, Reyaj Bathiudeen, were arrested in pre-dawn raids due to circumstantial and "scientific" evidence connecting them to the attacks, according to a police spokesperson.

Police spokesperson Ajith Rohana said the brothers allegedly aided and abetted those who committed the Easter Sunday carnage, The Associated Press reports.

On April 23, Bathiudeens post on Facebook called the arrest unjust, saying his brother had already been arrested.

The CID has been standing outside my house in Boudhaloka Mawatha since [1:30 a.m.] today attempting to arrest me without a charge, the leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress Party wrote. ... I have been in Parliament, and have cooperated with all lawful authorities until now. This is unjust.

Bathiudeens lawyer, Rushdhie Habeeb, called the arrests politically motivated and said there was no reason given.

Habeeb argued that the purpose of the arrest was to punish the political leadership of the Muslims, which had nothing to do with 21/4, for the dastardly acts of some Muslim youths who were widely alleged as having been used as pawns by foreign powers, he said in a statement.

No one has been charged with the suicide bombings, though nearly 200 people were arrested in the days following the bombings by Islamic extremists, according to Agence France Presse.

The arrests came three days after Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the head of Sri Lankas Roman Catholic Church, accused the government of allowing investigations of the attack to be stalled.

During a commemoration of the second anniversary of the attacks on April 21, Ranjith joined with Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim leaders at St. Anthonys Shrine in Colombo, the location of the first bomb explosion during the Easter service, AP reported.

The cardinal claimed players in global geopolitics use religious extremism as a way to achieve their goals. The Catholic Church suspects a larger foreign involvement is to blame.

Sri Lankan Muslims have disowned the attackers and refused to allow the bodies of the suicide bombers to be buried in their cemeteries.

President Gotobaya Rajapaksas government came to power in 2019 and faces pressure to find the mastermind responsible for the attack.

We are surprised that even after two years, answers to the questions of who and why and what of these attacks have not been found by the relevant authorities, Ranjith was quoted as saying. We often see that there are political reasons behind some of the investigations stalling.

Even though we wish to forgive all these things, we would like to know what really happened, he continued.

Nearly 300 lives were lost and over 500 were injured in the 2019 Easter morning suicide bombings. Of those killed, 39 were tourists, including five American nationals and a fifth-grade student from a Washington, D.C., private school.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the multiple, simultaneous bombings, one of the largest coordinated terrorist attacks since Sep. 11, 2001.

Days after the attack, the government announced Islamic terror cell Nations Thawahid Jaman was involved in the attacks and suggested the attackers likely had assistance from international terror organizations, such as al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, due to the sophistication of the attacks.

Not long after the attack, Sri Lankas minister of defense said the attacks were carried out in retaliation for the shootings at two New Zealand mosques that killed 50 people a month before.

In January, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that three Sri Lankan citizens were charged with conspiring to provide material support to a group called ISIS in Sri Lanka that is believed to be responsible for the 2019 Easter attacks. The department announced that a total of five U.S. nationals were killed, including a Department of Commerce employee who traveled to Sri Lanka on official business.

According to these charges, the defendants were committed supporters of ISIS, recruited others to ISISs violent cause, purchased materials for and made IEDs, helped to prepare and trained others who participated in the attacks, and murdered in the name of this deadly foreign terrorist organization, a statement from the department reads. They are in custody in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan government was reportedly warned of possible attacks against Christians in early April, weeks before the bombings occurred through information received from foreign intelligence.

This has caused many to question why the attacks were not prevented if the government was warned weeks in advance.

Violent attacks were common in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka during its Civil War, which lasted from 1983 to 2009.

In recent years, there has been increased tension between Muslim groups and the majority Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka.

Buddhists make up about 70% of the Sri Lankan population.
I see the future of Armenia and Artsakh within the framework of new and deeper military-political cooperation [with Russia,] he said at a meeting in Stepanakert. Together with Russia we need to confront the new situation because, as I said, Turkey is not going to leave the region.

Harutiunian said that Turkey participated in the war on the enemys side and also recruited thousands of Syrian mercenaries for the Azerbaijani army. This was the main reason for Azerbaijans victory, he added.

The six-week hostilities stopped on November 10 after Russia brokered an Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire agreement. As part of the agreement, Moscow deployed around 2,000 Russian peacekeeping troops along the new Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact and a land corridor connecting Karabakh to Armenia.

Russian military presence in Armenia could also increase in the coming months. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and other Armenian leaders have indicated that they would welcome that.

The Armenian-Russian military alliance is pivotal for ensuring the external security of the Republic of Armenia, Pashinian said on April 14.

Armenian opposition groups blame Pashinian for the Armenian sides defeat. Some of them have said that he would have reduced Armenian territorial losses had he agreed to an earlier ceasefire deal that was proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 19.

Harutiunian seemed to defend Pashinian against the criticism. He said that already in early October it was clear that the Armenian side is heading for defeat but that the war was not stopped then because of a lack of consensus among Armenias ruling and opposition forces.

At that point they seemed to consider stopping the war treason, he said in an apparent reference to the opposition.

Some opposition figures, including a representative of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia, responded by accusing Harutiunian of trying to help Pashinian dodge responsibility for his handling of the war.
The family of model and entrepreneur James Brindley, who was stabbed to death in 2017 while on the phone with his girlfriend have revealed they can't begin to come to terms with their loss because they stilll don't know why he was killed.

Brindley, 26, was stabbed in the heart by local teen Ammar Kahrod in Aldridge, West Midlands on June 23 2017. Karhod, who was 17 at the time, was sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of the crime.

His brother Aaron, who was with him at the time the altercation with Brindley occurred, was acquitted of all charges.

MTV crime docu-series True Life Crime, airing tonight at 9pm, sheds new light on James's story, speaking to his parents Mark and Beverley, his sister Charlotte and several of his close friends, including his girlfriend Lauren.

Fighting back tears, sister Charlotte said she is 'yearning' for James every day, and hoped the 2018 trial of the Kahrod brothers would bring some 'truth,' but only resulted in 'lies.'

James' best-friend PJ also said in the documentary he felt responsible for the murder, thinking it was a case of mistaken identity.

James Brindley, 26, pictured, was stabbed in the heart and died on 23 June 2017 in Aldridge, West Midlands, after teenager Ammar Kahrod, 17 at the time, attacked him for a motive still unknown

James' father Mark said the trial was a 'travesty of justice,' and that he and his family walked out upon hearing the verdict.

An emotional Beverley and Mark sat down with MTV correspondent Linda Adey for the docu-series where they remembered him as a 'lively' child.

James was stabbed 400m from home, on his way from a night out with some friends.

The blade of the knife used to stab him went right through skin and bone, reaching his heart, causing him to stumble and collapse to the floor.

Ammar Kahrod, pictured, is serving a life sentence following his 2018 trial. His brother Aaron, who was not pictured, was acquitted of all charges

Paramedics spent one hour trying to revive James, whole his parents and sister watched.

'It's a mind-numbing shock, you just don't imagine you're not going to see your son come home,' dad Mark said.

Sister Charlotte said: 'We're incredibly close, as kids, we were always getting up to this and that. He was my best friend.'

It was Charlotte who broke the news to her parents that James had been stabbed.

'We were in bed, just dropping off, our bedroom door burst open with Charlotte screaming "James's been stabbed, James been stabbed",' Beverley recounted.

'We were just an emotional meltdown, standing there, the thee of us just holding each other and say "Be strong, be strong, he's fit, he'll be fine",' Mark said.

Mark said he couldn't believe he was talking about his son in past tense, on the docu-series, but said he was trying to count himself luck he got 26 years with James (pictured with Beverley)

James' parent Beverley and Mark Brindley, said in the documentary they had still not recovered from losing their son to knife crime

'I can just remember the figures coming towards us and saying, you know, "He's dying, I can't do any more",' Charlotte recalled with tears in her eyes.

'He'd had heart surgery done before, in the middle of the high street, and he was gonna die there,' she added.

'We were able to actually go over to say bye, I couldn't say bye, I couldn't stay near him, I feel so guilty because I couldn't even say bye,' she cried.

'As a dad you want to be there to protect your son, and I wasn't there,' Mark said, overcome with emotion.

'Any parents who doesn't know the truth surrounding something as serious as that, is just living with a permanent open wound,' he added.

'James was on his way home but didn't get home, and we don't know why,' Beverly said.

James' sister Charlotte said people took life as if they meant nothing, and that is was wrong, int he poignant docu-series (pictured)

James's sister Charlotte, pictured right, said a bit of her died with her brother, and that she couldn't bring herself to say goodbye the night that he died, and felt guilty

'We got him home in a coffin, we've lived without knowing the truth for 3.5 years and we can't let that go, we have to know the truth,' Mark said.

Reflecting on her brother's death, grief-stricken Charlotte said: 'Missing is not the right word. I yearn for him everyday. I have never known life without him, he's always been there.

'A bit of me died with him that day,' she added.

Mark and Beverley visit the church where James' funeral took place everyday. They did not bury him, and want to scatter his ashes at a place he'd have liked.

'I just miss him so much, I can't believe we're sitting here talking about our son in the past-tense, but the memory will live on,' Mark said.

'We're here now because of the love from everybody,' Beverley said.

'We have to be glad we had 26 years with him, despite the pain,' Mark said.

The couple are keeping James' memory alive through the James Brindley Foundation, which aims to educate young people about the dangers of carrying knives.

Mark described knife crime as 'a disease that's been going for many, many years.'

'To carry a knife, you're taking a life but not only that, it's their family, their friends, their community,' Charlotte said.

'People take a life, as if it's cheap and don't mean anything, that is wrong,' she added.

Knife crime was highly unusual in quiet Aldridge, but it was on the rise around the country in 2017.

James, pictured, was on the phone with his girlfriend when the accident erupted. He called her back to tell her he had been stabbed

Superintendent Chris Mallett, who worked on the case, said the only plausible theory was that Ammar decided to attack James unprovoked (pictured)

James had been walking home after a night out with friends, and was speaking on the phone with his girlfriend, with whom he was making up with after a row, when the attack occurred.

With no direct witnesses coming forward and no CCTV, the investigating team had little to start with, except footage from the local pub showing James going in and out of the establishment.

Annoyed at his girlfriend, the 26-year-old met his best-friend PJ and some other friends at the pub, before going home.

After he was attacked, James, who had been on the phone with his girlfriend Lauren, called her back to tell her he had been stabbed and was calling an ambulance.

Heartbreakingly, a CCTV recorded the moment James collapsed to the floor before paramedics arrived. The moment was not shown on the documentary, although journalist Linda Adey saw it during her investigation.

James, pictured, is remembered as a fun-loving, peaceful person by his friends and family on the documentary

James' public profile as a popular, likable person made it unlikely for the attack to be premeditated.

His best-friend PJ revealed in the documentary he thought it was a case of mistaken identity and that someone who had wanted to stab him attacked James instead, but police said they was absolutely no evidence to add any weight to this claims.

'I cant get my head around it myself, it's the worst I ever felt about anything because I left him, at night, everyone thought "it's going to be something to do with PJ",' he said.

'Because he was with me. Somebody was more likely to want to hurt me than to hurt him,' he added.

Superintendent Chris Mallet, who led police searches into the crime, said the police relied on CCTV in order to find possible witnesses.

This allowed them to spot a car that drove by Croft Park at the time where the stabbing occurred.

Unnamed witnesses around the car said they saw three men - one of them being James - going into a scuffle by a bus stop near the park. They also said they saw two men run off through the park.

Thanks to this information, police were able to use CCTV around Aldridge to locate the two men, and launched an appeal in order to identity them.

They were soon identified as Ammar and Aaron Kahrod, two brothers from Aldridge who had gone to the same school as James.

'It was shocking really to discover they were from Aldridge, went to the same school as me and Jim,' friend Tom said in the documentary.

'We were completely and utterly baffled, nothing that made them think there was a connection between James and the perpetrators,' Beverley said.

A man named Charlie, who went to school with Ammar, told Linda Adey: 'I went to school with the younger one, he wasn't very nice, he was part of a gaggle of boys who were deeply unpleasant bullies,'

'One time he slapped me in the kidneys and it was hard enough that next time I had a wee there was blood in it,' he added.

After James' 2017 death, passers-by left tributes and flower on the path where the died following his attack, pictured

'There were a few kids in my year that carried knives at school, I wasn't shocked he would be one of the people that carried a knife,' he went on.

Upon being arrested by police, the two brothers refused to answer questions. Police were under pressure to find tangible evidence linking them to the crime.

Their phone data showed them in the same general area where the attack occurred, but nothing more.

However, a search of Croft park's bins found a black puffer jacket that had been ripped at the front.

Fingerprints on the jacket matched James's, as well as Ammar and Aaron Kahrod.

The brother had no choice but to cooperate with police.

However, Ammar claimed during police interviews he had acted in self defense after James racially abused him and provoked him.

Friends and family of James said the claim was 'ridiculous' and that James as a 'peaceful' person who liked people of all races and would not go about provoking fights with strangers.

'It was laughable that somebody would say,' said Alexandria, James' friend.

Police cordoned off the whole area during their investigation into James's death, pictured. They used CCTV to identify witnesses who led them to the Karhod brothers

'Jim would never carry a knife ever, in a million years,' friend PJ said.

'It's such a lie, the whole thing, the lies they told, what human being can do that,' his sister Charlotte, said, crying.

After the friends and family of James all said it would be impossible for James to carry a knife of be violent, Ammar retracted his claim that James had been racially abusive, but still insisted he had a knife and that Ammar had acted in self-defense.

Through a covert investigation, Chris Mallett was able to obtain more information on the alternation.

'They said "we got some new evidence", it was described to us as a slam dunk for the prosecution,' James' father Mark said.

Linda obtained information showing that Ammar had admitted he was the one who had a knife, and had told his brother Aaron: 'if we both say the truth, we're going to get done.'

'Without his knowledge, he admitted carrying a knife and implicated his brother as well,' Linda said.

Both brother were charged with joint entreprise to kill James Brindley.

Russ Whitfield, a crime expert, explained: 'Joint entreprise is where one or two or more people actually have a joint entreprise to go and do a crime.

'Only one person made the strike or fatal blow, if the other knows what the other is going to do and assists that person, that is joint entreprise,' he added.

'They attacked James together, they abandoned him and left him to die together,' said James dad.

'One of the witness heard the older brother shout "come on then",' Beverly added.

Seven month after James Murder, in February 2018, Ammar and Aaron Kahrod stood trial in at Birmingham's Crown Court.

Ammar changed his statement once more, admitting he was carrying the night, but insisting he had only used it for self-defense.

James, pictured, was remembered by his friends as a peaceful individual, while his sister Charlotte said a part of her died with him

In this new version of the attack, Ammar said he made a joke about James' girlfriend, that James launched at him, and that Ammar brandished the knife to keep him at bay, but that James ran into the blade.

The self-defense theory is not accepted by Chris Mallett.

'Any suggestion that a knife was used defensively was totally eradicated by the findings of the postmortem,' he said.

Later, during the cross-examination, Ammar admitted he was lying and that he didn't know why he was lying.

When the verdict of the trial came out, Ammar was sentenced to life in prison, while his brother Aaron, who said he had no idea Ammar was carrying a knife, was acquitted.

'I just fell on my knees, I just couldn't believe it, it's a travesty of justice,' Mark said.

'We walked out of the court, we can't understand how that could have happened but it did, we still don't have the truth, and the truth is everything,' he added.

'Our argument was and the crown prosecution service case was that the only credible version of events is that he is walking along, minding his own business and they had just randomly decided, having seen him, to go up and attack him,' Chris Mallett said.

'We were satisfied that both suspects were involved to a degree where they were criminally both culpable for James death,' he added.

'The court and the jury ultimately decided the evidence wasn't strong enough.'

True Life Crime: James Brindley: Mindless Murder or Calculated Killing? airs tonight at 9pm on MTV.
Some Keystone College students make it their mission to learn about how to promote dialogue between students and members of the law enforcement community.

Twelve students this semester are taking a new course called Bridging Perspectives: Critical Conversations for Students and Police in the schools criminal justice department.

The goal of the course is to enable students to engage in meaningful conversations with members of law enforcement about current, social, racial and criminal justice issues. The class is taught by criminal justice professor Stacey Wyland, who said a course like this is now more important than ever.

It gives mutual understanding of each others perspectives on community and police issues, Wyland said. It also creates a transformative learning experience that emphasizes collaboration, dialogue and community building while focusing on current social issues.

The class isnt just open to Keystone students. Members of local law enforcement agencies were able to take the course free of charge in recognition of their service to the community. Officers Michael Dennis and Michael Tordy of the Wilkes-Barre Police Department have chosen to sit in on the course to gain perspective on todays environment.

Its great to see future members of the communitys viewpoints on topics like these, and to be able to provide our perspective, Dennis said. Weve had conflicting opinions on a few of the discussion topics, but hearing and understanding everyone elses opinion is very important.

Understanding other opinions and starting conversations was the topic of a recent class. They discusses how to get more minorities and females involved in the policing community, as relations have been strained in the past year.

Students were asked how they would reach out to those communities if they were police officers. Many agreed that building relationships and bringing people together are the first steps in a healing process.

Although its definitely a slow process, having meetings and showing people that cops are there to protect the community shows a lot of progress, said Keystone student Charlie Prothero of Scranton. The police need to be able to hear what the community has to say as well.

The students final project is to create a brochure about improvements to policing using the lessons they have learned in the course. The final class is May 5.
New Delhi: South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung will be hosting the Galaxy Unpacked 2021 virtual event on Wednesday (April 28).

The Galaxy Unpacked 2021, Samsungs third Galaxy Unpacked event this year, will be livestreamed online on several official channels of the company

Join Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2021 on April 28 and discover the most powerful Galaxy yet. The event will be available at Samsung Newsroom and Samsung Youtube at 10 a.m. ET, a company statement said.

You can watch the livestreaming of the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2021 at the below mentioned adress. The India time of the event is at 7:30 pm.

Samsung Newsroom

Samsung Youtube

Ahead of the latest Unpacked event, Samsung has released an intriguing teaser trailer to set the scene for the virtual unveiling. Here's the video:

As per media reports Samsung is expected to launch Galaxy Book laptops, next-generation Chromebooks during the event.
New Delhi:

Congress president Sonia Gandhi was rushed back to Delhi from Shimla, where she has gone for a vacation and has been admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Friday after she complained of stomach upset.

As per the reports, the 70-year-old is under observation now. "Sonia Gandhi was brought to the hospital at 5 PM today. She has been found to be suffering from stomach upset and has been admitted for observation", DS Rana, Chairman (Board of Management) of the Ganga Ram Hospital said in a statement.

Congress Vice President and her son Rahul Gandhi tweeted to inform that there was nothing to worry and that she was much better.

Read more: 'Arrested ISIS terrorist worked in Ahmed Patel's hospital'

"Ma was in Shimla and caught a stomach bug so we got her back. Nothing to worry, she's much better. Thanks for the tremendous love and concern.", Rahul said in a tweet.

Ma was in Shimla & caught a stomach bug so we got her back. Nothing to worry, she's much better. Thanks for the tremendous love and concern.  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 27, 2017

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The FBI has repeatedly violated the law in conducting warrantless searches of email messages and other electronic communications of US citizens, according to a November 2020 certification report from the court established to oversee the surveillance program.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Avril Haynes, who was appointed by President Joe Biden and sworn in on January 21, released the redacted certification report from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to the public on Monday. Significantly, while pointing to widespread violations by the FBI, FISC presiding judge James E. Boasberg approved the continuation of the program for the second year in a row.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 15, 2021. (Al Drago/Pool via AP)

In his 67-page ruling, Judge Boasberg recounts instances when FBI agents searched the electronic information of US citizens without getting the appropriate FISA court authorizations. However, he wrote, While the court is concerned about the apparent widespread violations of the querying standard, it lacks sufficient information at this time to assess the adequacy of the FBI system changes and training, post-implementation.

For example, the judges report found that the FBI made 40 secret queries and collected data not about foreignersthe purported purpose of the FISA lawbut about American citizens for investigations of healthcare fraud, transnational organized crime, violent gangs, domestic terrorism involving racially motivated violent extremists, as well as investigations connected to public corruption and bribery.

In another instance, Judge Boasberg reports that an FBI specialist conducting background investigations made 124 queries of raw NSA data using the names of individuals who were participating in an FBI Citizens Academy, a program to increase awareness of the bureaus role in the community; those who needed to enter a field office to perform a service such as repairs; and others who were seeking to report tips or crimes.

If these are the violations being admitted by the court, the public has a right to know how many others of a more serious, criminal and deadly character have taken place. Clearly, the FISA court reportreleased nearly six months after it was submittedis just the tip of the FBI warrantless surveillance iceberg.

The previous reports from 20172019 showed similar violations by the FBI, with tens of thousands of US citizens having their email and phone call data searched without warrants or approval by a FISA court. As NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden tweeted following the revelations last year, The worst part? The government argues the existence of a warrantless, internet-scale mass surveillance program isnt the problem, merely the lawless way the FBI uses it against Americans, [because] of course the other 9397% of the human population have no rights.

One of the factors cited by the judge for approving the program again was the fact that the coronavirus pandemic limited the governments ability to adequately monitor compliance with rules set up in a 2018 renewal of the FISA law. Therefore, the court concluded that the FBIs querying and minimization procedures meet statutory and Fourth Amendment requirements.

Meanwhile, the report summarizes and clarifies a convoluted set of procedures for the National Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) to work with the FBI in conducting domestic investigations such that terrorists and terrorism networks are adequately targeted and the monitoring of their electronic communications is sufficiently minimized and segregated from that of US citizens.

Behind the facade of rules and procedures that have been repeatedly ignored by the FBI is the language of Section 702 of the FISA Act of 1978. Originally passed in response to the Nixon administrations use of federal resources and law enforcement agencies to illegally spy on political organizations and individuals within the US, the purpose of FISA was to permit warrantless surveillance of foreigners that may include the communications of US citizens under very narrow circumstances that were specifically approved by a secret FISA court.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the administration of George W. Bush asserted that the executive powers of the president could override the FISA warrant requirement. At that time, the NSA began gathering the electronic communications of everyone on the planetas revealed in 2013 by the former intelligence analyst and whistleblower Edward Snowdenin complete violation of the US Constitution. In 2008, Congress legalized the practice, enacting Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act.

In 2018, Section 702 was amended to require an annual review by the FISA court of the procedures limiting how and when analysts may query the repository for information about Americans and how well the FBI is following these rules.

As explained by the New York Times, Section 702 authorizes the government to gather, without warrants, the phone calls and internet messages of noncitizens abroad with assistance from American companies, like Google and AT&Teven when the foreign target is communicating with an American, raising the question of what the rules should be for Americans messages that get swept in.

The surveillance is carried out by the National Security Agency, but three other entitiesthe CIA, the National Counterterrorism Center and the FBIalso receive access to streams of raw messages intercepted without a warrant for their analysts to use. Of those, the FBI is the only one that also has a law enforcement mission, heightening the stakes.

The FBI receives only a small portion of the messages that the National Security Agency vacuums up: The bureau gets copies of intercepts to and from targets who are deemed relevant to a full and active FBI national security investigation. Presently, that amounts to about 3.6 percent of the National Security Agencys targets, a senior FBI official told reporters in a news briefing on Monday.

In other words, the US government has never stopped gathering all of the electronic communications of the entire world and it is continuing to do so, even in the aftermath of the Snowden revelations and the enactment of supposed reforms and restrictions by Congress.

The only thing that has changed is the Section 702 requirement that the FBI must get FISA court approval to query the data of US citizens, something that has been established for years now that the FBI does not do. Meanwhile, all of the data gathering and monitoring activity by the NSA exposed by Snowden continues and is expanding, and none of it is minimized or segregated in the slightest.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Julian Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, said, We can continue playing compliance whack-a-mole, but at this point, its reasonable to ask whether this sort of large-scale collection on a general warrant model is inherently prone to these problems in a way that resists robust and timely oversight.

With the latest court document released by the ODNI, it is clear that the general warrant modelregardless of which party controls the White House or the Congressis nothing but a cover for the ongoing violation of the basic rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution against unreasonable searches and seizures.
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The 12 retail auto dealerships in Libertyville that make up the Libertyville Mile of Cars donated $30,000 to 4 local charites during the Village of Libertyville Board Meeting on Tuesday, May 27, 2021.

The donation was part of the Libertyville Rewards program that ran in the village from October 2020, and ended February 2021. When consumers purchased or leased a new vehicle at a Libertyville Mile of Cars dealerships, they receive certificates from the Village of Libertyville, usable towards goods and services at participating Libertyville businesses. Additionally, for each benefiting customer of the Libertyville Rewards program, the dealerships pledged a donation of $100 towards local charities that are responding to community members in need.

The 4 charities chosen by the Libertyville Mile of Cars included, Lake County Haven, the Libertyville Township Food Pantry, PADS Lake County, and Youth & Family Counseling. All 4 of the selected charities are responding to community members in need during the difficult economic time created by the COVID-19 crisis.

Glenn Bockwinkel, Chairman of the Libertyville auto dealer's association, is a program supporter. "The Libertyville Rewards program is great for so many reasons. It promotes shopping at the local dealerships, as well as other Libertyville businesses that participate in the program, and it helps 4 great charity organizations. This is really all part of what make Libertyville a great place to live and work."

Retail auto related businesses represent approximately 60% of all sales tax receipts received by the Village, taxes which support needed services and facilities, including parks, fire and police protection. These businesses also provide employment to nearly 800 people. Their community support extends far beyond taxes and provision of jobs to sponsorship of the Village's Independence Day fireworks and various organizations.

According to Libertyville Mayor Terry Weppler, "Vehicle related businesses are crucial to our local economy through their sales taxes, employment, connections to other local business, and their ongoing support of community events and organizations."

The Libertyville Rewards program is part of the Shop 60048 effort, a program intended to strengthen Libertyville businesses through encouraging area residents to shop locally. When residents shop locally, it helps add to local sales tax revenues which support Village services, but more importantly, it strengthens local businesses and provides employment opportunities.

About the Village of Libertyville - The Village of Libertyville is a north suburban Chicago community of nearly 22,000 residents and over 900 businesses, including 25 retail centers, almost 100 restaurants and a historic downtown. www.VisitLibertyville.com

About the Libertyville Mile of Cars - The Libertyville Mile of Cars is comprised of twelve Libertyville dealerships, representing 18 new vehicle brands, as well as a large selection of used vehicles. www.Libertyville.com/MileofCars.

About the Lake County Haven - The Lake County Haven is a social-service agency dedicated to meeting the needs of homeless women and children. They use education, employment, and life-skills training to help people move from homelessness to independence. Throughout this process, their goal is always the long-term stability and self-sufficiency of each person and family. Their vision is that their clients will never be homeless again. https://www.lakecountyhaven.org

About the Libertyville Township Food Pantry - Libertyville Township provides a food pantry for the needy of the Township. Community residents, through local churches, schools, companies and organizations generously donate food to the pantry. Volunteer workers and donation of nonperishable foods are always appreciated. Monetary tax-deductible donations are used to purchase food through a partnership with the Northern Illinois Food Bank at greatly reduced prices. http://www.libertyvilletownship.us/supervisor/food-pantry

About PADS Lake County - Since 1972, PADS has provided immediate, critical services to the neediest among us - individuals and families that are experiencing homelessness in Lake County. PADS is the only emergency shelter for the homeless in Lake County. When someone experiences homelessness, they can come to PADS to not only get the immediate shelter they need to stay safe and warm, but also get comprehensive resources to get out of homelessness and back into housing. PADS' vision is to provide a path to stable housing and self-sufficiency for everyone who experiences homelessness in Lake County. https://www.padslakecounty.org

About Youth & Family Counseling - Youth & Family Counseling has been providing professional counseling services to Lake County residents since 1962. An experienced staff of licensed psychotherapists provides confidential, personalized counseling in a private office environment. Monetary donations help Youth & Family Counseling provide quality, affordable mental health services to anyone who needs them, regardless of their ability to pay. https://www.counselingforall.org

CONTACTS:

Terry Weppler, Mayor, Libertyville, IL (847) 918-2028

Glenn Bockwinkel, Libertyville Mile of Cars, Libertyville Lincoln, (847) 431-3060

Kelly Amidei, Libertyville, IL- Village Administrator, (847) 918-2027

Heather Rowe, Libertyville, IL - Economic Development Coordinator, (847) 918-2000

SOURCE Libertyville Mile of Cars Auto Dealers Association
[Applause] Now, after just 100 days, I can report to the nation, America is on the move again. We have to do more than just build back better. We have to compete more strenuously than we have. Nearly 90% of the infrastructure jobs created in the American Jobs Plan do not require a college degree. 75% dont require an associates degree. The American Jobs Plan is a blue-collar blueprint to build America. Thats what it is. China and other countries are closing in fast. We have to develop and dominate the products and technologies of the future. So lets get to work. I wanted to lay out before the Congress my plan, before we got into the deep discussions. Id like to meet with those who have ideas that are different, that they think are better. I welcome those ideas, but the rest of the world is not waiting for us. I just want to be clear, from my perspective, doing nothing is not an option. The war in Afghanistan, as we remember the debates here, were never meant to be multigenerational undertakings of nation building. We went to Afghanistan to get terrorists, the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11, and after 20 years of value, valor and sacrifice, its time to bring those troops home. Congress needs to pass legislation this year to finally secure protection for Dreamers. [Applause] The young people whove only known America as their home. And permanent protection for immigrants who are here on temporary protective status, who came from countries beset by man-made and natural-made violence and disaster. As well as a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers who put food on our tables. Look, immigrants have done so much for America during this pandemic and throughout our history. The country supports immigration reform. We should act. Lets argue over it. Lets debate it, but lets act. As I stand here tonight before you in a new and vital hour of life and democracy of our nation, I can say with absolute confidence, I have never been more confident or optimistic about America, not because Im president, because of whats happening with the American people. Weve stared into the abyss of insurrection and autocracy, pandemic and pain, and we the people did not flinch.
Big Oil is reporting strong first-quarter results thanks to higher prices, maybe making some shareholders think twice about the whole energy transition thing. But not everyone is happy. Despite the marked improvement in benchmark prices in recent months, Middle Eastern oil producers are expected to remain in the red this year.

Abu Dhabi and Qatar are the only two exceptions that may book budget surpluses, Fitch Ratings said in a new report this week, as quoted by Reuters. The rest of the oil economies, however, will continue struggling with deficits as prices are not high enough for them yet.

"High fiscal break-even oil prices illustrate the scale of the public finance reform challenge and mostly remain well above current or forecast oil prices," the ratings agency said, noting it expected Brent crude to average $58 per barrel this year and $53 over the longer term.

This is bad news for almost all Gulf economies. Bahrain, Fitch said, needs Brent at $100 to break even. Kuwait needs above $80 per barrel. Saudi Arabia, the biggest Gulf producer, needs Brent at around $70 to balance its 2021-2022 budget.

None of this should come as a surprise. Just how difficult an economic diversification would be for the oil-dependent Gulf states became apparent during the previous oil industry crisis. At the time, the governments of these countries had to introduce austerity measures to cope with the crisis and attempted some reforms, which were met by strong public opposition. Related: Goldman: Oil To Hit $80 On Largest Ever Demand Jump

Now, less than five years later, Gulf economies are again in the same position: they need to reform their economies and make them less reliant. But they need oil revenues to do that. The only other option is severe austerity, which no government in the region would risk.

As a result, Gulf economies are on a debt-issuing spree combined with asset sales. In July last year, at the height of the first wave of the pandemic, S&P Global Ratings said the Arab Gulf states were likely to amass as much as $490 billion in budget deficits by 2023.

The forecast came days after the International Monetary Fund issued a forecast that the revenues of oil producers in the Middle East and North Africa could see a slump of $270 billion by the end of 2020. The economies of the Gulf producers alone, a Fund official said at the time, could shrink by 7.6 percent in 2020.

That was then. Now, the IMF has a much brighter outlook for the Gulf economies. That's thanks to the improved outlook for the global economy, however, and nothing is set in stone as the situation with the pandemic remains quite dynamic. The Fund expects growth of between 0.7 percent, for Kuwait, to 3.1 percent, for the UAE. The Saudi economy, according to the IMF, is set to grow by 2.9 percent this year.

Growth would be a welcome change from the contractions from last year and a well-deserved reward for all the measures governments in the Gulf took to shore up their finances. Tax cuts and spending cuts were among the least popular ones, and there was a lot of debt issuance from the Gulf. By November 2020, the six nations had issued some $100 billion in debt, breaking their previous record, set just a year earlier.

Besides debt, Gulf governments, through the state-owned oil companies, also resorted to listings of some businesses and asset sales. Abu Dhabi's ADNOC said earlier this month it planned to list its drilling business on the local stock exchange, and Saudi Aramco announced a deal to sell 49 percent in its pipelines business to a consortium led by EIG Global Energy Partners.

In the meantime, prices have not been climbing higher, making Gulf economies' job harder. It is clear to all that to diversify away from oil that these economies need higher oil revenues. What could be seen as a vicious circle is the reason their efforts at diversification have so far had quite mixed success. And unless prices recover strongly, these economies will continue spinning in this circle.

The chances of that happening are slim. With Covid-19 infections surging in Indiathe world's third-largest consumer and a major importer of oiland with more supply coming on the market from OPEC, including Gulf producers, benchmarks are likely to remain range-bound. Unfortunately for the Gulf economies, that range is lower than most of them need to make budget ends meet.

This would mean more debt and more asset sales, perhaps, and maybe more unpopular measures for the population. This should help over the short term, but over the longer term, diversification remains the only viable option, especially in the context of a world in energy transition that will see demand for their flagship export commodity wane. The question is whether Gulf governments would have the wherewithal to go through with their crisis-induced diversification plans.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill Wednesday eliminating the religious exemption for traditional, childhood vaccines, even as opponents pledged to take the state to court.

LeeAnn Ducat, of Woodstock, the founder of Informed Choice USA, who organized Tuesdays Rise Up Rally outside the Capitol attended by 4,000 people protesting the repeal of the states exemption for vaccines for school children, said opponents are preparing to launch a legal challenge to the bill passed by the state Senate.

We are absolutely going to be challenging this in court, Ducat said Wednesday morning, her voice hoarse from leading the day-long event.

Ducat said three attorneys have been retained  Stamford-based Lindy Urso, Kevin Barry of New Jersey and James Mermigis of New York.

At least two of them  Urso and Mermigis  have filed lawsuits against governors over their pandemic-related restrictions. They are all outspoken opponents of ending religious exemptions.

Mermigis represented an Amish family in western New York State who objected to the states elimination of religious exemptions, arguing it was an unconstitutional infringement on religious rights. The lawsuit was unsuccessful.

Urso sued Gov. Ned Lamont last spring over his mask mandate, arguing it infringed on individual liberties. He has spoken out against efforts to end Connecticuts religious exemption, and voiced support for the Connecticut couple who sued the state Department of Public Health to block its release of statewide, school-level data showing the percentage of students who are not vaccinated.

Urso said the lawsuit will likely be filed in state court in the coming weeks. The list of plaintiffs is still being determined, but Urso said they will likely keep it to a small group.

We have every expectation that one way or another the case may end up in the Connecticut Supreme Court, he said. Connecticut has very strong religious freedom protections and we feel very strongly that this bill violates those laws.

Given Connecticut has one of highest vaccination rates in country, Urso questioned the need to repeal the religious exemption.

Its very unfortunate that our state government has decided to jump into the pockets of the pharmaceutical industry at the expense of its citizens, he said.

A flyer from Tuesdays rally reads: After years of fighting to preserve our religious freedom, it all comes down to this. The final showdown. The last stand. Whatever you call it, we are one vote away from losing our religious exemption to mandatory school vaccinations in Connecticut.

Ducat said those opposed to the repeal of the religious exemption have long expected this outcome given the Democratic majority in the General Assembly, so theyve been preparing for a while to ultimately fight the battle in court.

Lamont, speaking after an unrelated event in downtown Meriden on Wednesday morning, said vaccinations have never been more important. He signed the religious exemption bill early Wednesday afternoon with little fanfare. The childhood inoculation issue is not connected to the COVID-19 vaccine, although many people at the rally Tuesday said they have no intention of seeking a vaccine for the coronavirus.

Look, it had a strong vote of the peoples representatives and senators in the legislature, knowing how important vaccinations are, Lamont said. You know what Im doing on COVID, were encouraging everybody to get vaccinated as best we can. When it comes to the schools we want to keep those kids safe.

Asked about the relatively small percentage of children in the state who arent vaccinated, Lamont said that in recent years, many more parents have been seeking the religious exemption. That is now prohibited and will be enforced at the start of the 2022-23 school year.

More importantly, I want to send a message out that vaccines are safe and effective, Lamont said, adding, Everybody sues, but well be okay.

Two Democrats  Sens. Cathy Osten of Sprague and Dennis Bradley of Bridgeport  joined the 12-member Republican minority, who argued the legislation represented an overreach by the government and a violation of civil rights, in voting against the bill, which was approved 22-14 in the Senate Tuesday.

Outside protestors spent the day chanting Kill the bill, and making their opposition, on grounds of religious freedom, personal liberties, and parental rights, known.

Toward the end of the nine-hour debate Tuesday night, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, a lawyer, noted that federal courts dating back to the 1800s have sided with cities and states that have required childhood vaccinations.

It is medicine and public health, and for that reason we need this bill, Looney said, noting that children have rights of their own, above and beyond the wishes of their parents. The state needs to promote confidence in vaccines. Children are not the property, the possession or the chattel of parents or guardians. They have independent rights apart from their parents.

julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 26.04.21 Kanika Hotels & Resorts Cyprus, Limassol  Kanikahotels.com 28 April 2021 12:00 (GMT+3) Made for Two Amavi: Kanika Hotels & Resorts Kanika Hotels & Resorts is happy to announce that Amavi hotel in Paphos, which has established itself as a favourite among Israeli holidaymakers, has re-opened and is ready to welcome guests who value the couples-oriented luxury that is associated with Kanikas MadeForTwo brand. Since travel restrictions to Cyprus were 
Israel: designer Alber Elbaz buried in Holon He died of Covid in France

(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, APRIL 28 - The funeral of Alber Elbaz, the Israeli fashion designer and former creative director at Lanvin, was held in Holon, in central Israel, not far from Tel Aviv. He died aged 59 in Paris of Covid-19 a few days ago.



Elbaz's coffin arrived from France on Wednesday morning and his remains were placed besides his parents' in the town's main cemetery.



Alex Koo, his life partner, delivered the eulogy. "You returned to Israel, where it all started. Everybody - he was quoted as saying by the media - is thinking about you, you had an enormous heart and the joy you have given has remained. You loved to say 'love brings love' and everybody loved you. I feel lost without you".



The ceremony was attended also by the director of fashion school Shenkar of Ramat Gan Lea Perez. "He was a genius designer and it isn't possible to separate his generous personality from his work".



According to media reports, a service for him will be organized in Paris on June 12, the day in which Elbaz would have turned 60.(ANSAmed).




Mumbai, April 28 : In a significant decision, the Maharashtra government has decided to give free Covid-19 vaccines to all in the 18-44 age group but deferred the vaccination drive from May 1 in view of shortage of supplies of the life-saver doses here on Wednesday.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced the move after a state cabinet meeting decided to earmark a sum of Rs 6,500 crore for the ambitious plan.

The cabinet also reviewed in detail the Covid-19 situation in the state, the ongoing vaccination drive, lockdown extension measures and related issues, he added.

However, the ongoing vaccination of those in the 45-plus age group will continue as usual, said Health Minister Rajesh Tope.

"We don't have sufficient stocks of the vaccine now. We want to avoid a demand-supply gap so we will not start the vaccination for 18-44 age group from May 1. We will launch it as soon as enough stocks are created," Tope added.

The government has set a target of six months to complete the vaccination of the 18-44 age group and a committee would be formed to look at micro-planning the entire process, he said.

Thackeray said the citizens will be informed of the mega vaccination drive to be undertaken from May 1, depending on the supply of doses available from various sources, including imports if necessary.

"Despite the financial crisis confronting the state, the health of the people is of utmost priority for us which is why the state government has decided to provide free vaccinations to all between 18-44 age group," Thackeray added.

Tope said currently the vaccines are available from the private Serum Institute of India (SII), Pune, and Bharat Biotech International Ltd. (BBIL), Hyderabad, and the state government is in touch with them for procuring more doses.

BBIL has informed that it can give nearly 10 lakh doses per month over the next couple of months, later it would be doubled while SII has verbally informed of giving one crore doses per month, a day after it said it can supply only after May 20.

While SII's Covishield will be sold to states at Rs 400 per dose, BBIL will sell it for Rs 600 per dose and the prices will be even higher for private hospitals, though the Centre on Monday appealed that both companies should consider slashing their rates.

Tope said the state has an estimated 5.71 crore people in the 18-44 age group and needs nearly 12 crore vaccines over the next six months.

To repeated queries, Tope said the vaccine would be administered free in government hospitals and will be chargeable in private hospitals.

The government has reiterated that prior registration on the Co-WIN app is a must to ensure that there are no crowds at the vaccination centres.

"We have already crossed the half million doses per day mark and can go up to 8 lakh doses daily, but for that we need vaccines of which there is a shortage," Tope said.

Besides the SII and BBIL, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is also looking at procuring Sputnik V vaccine for which the state would seek help from the Centre.
A Covid-infected diplomat was allowed to skip hotel quarantine after landing in Australia from overseas before driving 300km across the country.

The man, aged in his 50s, flew into Sydney International Airport on Sunday before travelling to Canberra by private vehicle on the same day, Australian Capital Territory health authorities said in a statement on Wednesday.

'While in quarantine, the diplomat experienced mild Covid-19 symptoms and was tested for Covid-19, returning a positive result,' the statement read.

It said the man did not stop on his way to the ACT and has been in home quarantine since his return.

A diplomat, in his 50s, has tested positive to Covid-19 after flying into Sydney International Airport on Sunday

'The individual has followed all quarantine measures for returning overseas travellers and is being supported by ACT Health,' the statement continued.

'ACT Health is in communication with NSW regarding this positive case to assist them for contact tracing purposes.'

Health officials will perform genome sequencing to determined which strain the man was infected with.

Three close contacts have been identified through contact tracing and have also been put in quarantine.

The department said there is no risk to the public.

The man then travelled by private vehicle to Canberra on the same day where he tested positive to Covid-19 (stock)

ACT Health said returning diplomats and government officials enter Canberra 'on a regular basis' and 'it is not uncommon' for there to be reports of positive cases given the Covid-19 situation internationally.

'This is exactly why the ACT has a quarantine system,' the statement said.

'The circumstances of this new case demonstrates that our quarantine system here in the ACT is working well to protect the Canberra community from COVID-19.'

The ACT has recorded the lowest count of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with a total of 123.

The latest case will be recorded in tomorrow's statistics.

The incident comes after concerns were raised early this month over Australia's travel exemption policies after a Perth man was permitted to attend his own wedding in India before testing positive to Covid-19 on his return home.

Both he and his bride tested positive while quarantining at Perth's Mercure hotel, before passing on the infection to another guest, a man from Victoria.

The Victorian man was released and spent five days in the community before testing positive, plunging the city into a snap three-day lockdown.

WA Premier Mark McGowan slammed the man for seeking an exemption to travel to India for a wedding.
Hot and dry weather is again expected to build across the southwestern United States as April draws to a close and May begins, but is there any hope of relief from the North American monsoon this summer?

Phoenix will make a run at the 100-degree F mark Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Temperatures are forecast to reach at least as high as the middle to upper 90s over the three-day stretch. Not only will the temperature be significantly higher than average, but the triple-digit heat is arriving earlier than the average date of May 2.

The normal high for Phoenix at the end of April is in the upper 80s. Highs expected into this weekend will be more typical of late May and early summer.

Despite some recent surges of heat, the Valley of the Sun has not yet hit the century mark this year. The highest temperature recorded so far in 2021 was 98 on April 4.

Over the years, the temperature has hit 100 on nearly every date in April and has hit 105 on multiple dates. The earliest in the year the city has hit 100 was on March 26, 1988.

And the building heat will be much more expansive than just across the Phoenix area, as temperatures will spike to above-normal levels from California to New Mexico and Colorado across much of the Northwest and northern Rockies late this week.

A northward bulge in the jet stream will suppress storms and cloud cover for several days. A broad area of temperature departures of 10-20 degrees above average for late April are predicted.

For example, in Salt Lake City, the normal high is in the middle 60s in late April. Temperatures are forecast to surge into the 80s by Friday and may even challenge the daily record of 84 set in 1959.

It is likely to be a similar story for much of the southwestern U.S. late this week. Friday record highs may be challenged in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, California; Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada; and Flagstaff and Yuma, Arizona, to name a few.

On Saturday, the jet stream is forecast to begin to collapse over the northern part of the Western states, causing temperatures to drop a bit. At the same time, heat will linger over the interior Southwest.

Story continues

Temperatures are forecast to climb to within a few degrees of record high levels for the date in portions of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.

"We expect a gradual increase in the flow of marine air across coastal California as the weekend progresses," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said. "This should allow temperatures to ease back in places such as Los Angeles and San Diego."

Highs are forecast to trend from near 90 Friday to the 70s over the weekend in L.A. and from the upper 70s Friday to the 60s in San Diego late this weekend.

The scarce rainfall in the region is one of the key factors behind the unusual hot spell. When the ground is dry, more of the sun's energy is available to heat the ground and lower part of the atmosphere. When the ground is wet, less of the sun's energy is available for heating as it is used up during the evaporation process.

The rainfall deficit in the Southwest has its roots back through last summer. From June 1, 2020, through April 29, 2021, Phoenix has only picked up 32% or 2.51 inches of its normal of 7.89 inches of rain.

Much of the Southwest has faced similarly dismal precipitation amounts, and drought conditions began worsening last summer as a result. In Arizona alone, all of the state is considered to be abnormally dry, with nearly 60% of the state in exceptional drought, the highest level of drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor.

In fact, 63% of the western U.S. is in the grips of severe drought and more than 20% of the region is facing exceptional drought.

North American monsoon outlook

The bulk of the rain in the Desert Southwest tends to occur in two seasons, during the winter from storms that move in from the Northern Pacific and the monsoon which brings moisture northward from the Gulf of Mexico and sometimes the tropical Pacific during summer. Neither of these weather players has brought meaningful rain to the parched West.

The North American monsoon is brought on by a persistent area of high pressure over multiple layers of the atmosphere that sets up over the western U.S. during the summer months.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

It is exactly where this high sets up that greatly determines how much moisture will get pumped into the Southwest, AccuWeather Long-Range Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.

While most people associate large storm systems as a pumping mechanism for moisture, high pressure areas can do that as well over time. Moisture can be drawn in and recycled on a daily basis beneath the large, clockwise flow around high pressure.

"If the high sets up rather far west like it did in 2020, the flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico is cut off and thunderstorm activity tends to be limited over the Southwest, but if the high sets up farther to the east, the door is opened for moisture to flow in from the Gulf of Mexico and a more generous amount of thunderstorm activity tends to occur," Buckingham explained.

"Last year the high expanded and was centered rather close to the Pacific coast of the U.S, but this year we expect the high to be centered over the northeastern Rockies and central Plains," AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok stated.

The door should be opened for Gulf of Mexico moisture to flow into the Southwest, ushering in higher humidity levels that could lead to nearly daily showers and thunderstorms, especially during July and August.

Pacific waters cooled down off the coast of the Northwest over winter, and that's a good signal to meteorologists that the high pressure area will reside farther away from the West Coast this year, according to Pastelok.

But that position and hope for beneficial rain is not set in stone and AccuWeather's long-range forecasting team still has some concerns for precipitation prospects in the Southwest this summer.

Monsoon storm clouds move into the metro area above the Holy Family Catholic Church Wednesday, July 11, 2018, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

"Waters off the Northwest coast are now starting to warm gradually," Pastelok said. "If they warm too much, our concern is the high pressure might slide back toward the Pacific coast again, which could hurt the Southwest monsoon."

As the weather pattern continues to evolve from a spring pattern to a summer one in the western U.S., there may be another opportunity or two for some moisture from Pacific storms to arrive. If that were to happen, showers could dampen lower elevations and rain and wet snow could occur in the mountains over the next month or so.

Undulations in the jet stream will also allow heat and cool air to change hands in the coming weeks, and even when the monsoon arrives, there could be some ongoing concerns.

"The monsoon will not end the drought in the Southwest, but will bring some relief from the heat," Pastelok explained, adding that any rain could bring temporary relief. Prior to the substantial uptick of humidity levels and more widespread downpours, the onset of monsoon could spell dangers like lightning-ignited wildfires and dust storms, referred to as haboobs, that could develop as thunderstorms strike the Southwest.

Just this week, AccuWeather released its summer outlook for the U.S., with more insights on the weather conditions and fire danger expected in the coming months.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28) Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has urged President Rodrigo Duterte to certify as urgent a bill seeking to criminalize red-tagging in the country.

"We urge President Duterte to certify as urgent the passage of Senate Bill 2121, which we filed to punish red-tagging by state agents," Drilon said in a statement on Wednesday.

The senator in particular expressed "serious concerns" about the consequences of red-tagging, saying such activities, if not addressed, could endanger the life and safety of those on the receiving end.

"Red-tagging threatens the life, liberty and security of a person," Drilon argued. "As I said before, being red-tagged sometimes serves as a death warrant."

Filed by Drilon in March, Senate Bill No. 2121 seeks to impose a 10-year imprisonment for persons found guilty of red-tagging, or those who label persons or organizations as state enemies or terrorists. Those found guilty will also be perpetually banned from holding public office, according to the bill.

Drilon said the measure will fix legal gaps, address impunity, and establish a system of accountability.

He also lauded the stance of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, who on Tuesday said it "would be best" for Congress to enact a measure clearly defining and penalizing red-tagging. Guevarra noted the passage of such may "help reduce the problem of reckless endangerment."

Drilon's fresh call comes amid the recent red-tagging of community pantry organizers by some officials and law enforcers  a development that sparked outrage on social media in the past week.
At 7:05 p.m., nine players will return to take their seats at the final table of the PokerStars 2021 SCOOP-92-H: $10,300 NLHE [8-Max, Main Event]. They have all secured at least t $102,085 but will all be targeting the biggest first-place prize of the series: a an amazing amount of $1,130,396. The tournament attracted 664 entries during the 24 hours of registration which created a $6,640,000 prize pool, easily crushing the original $5,000,000 guarantee.

Leading the pack with a bit of a gap is "kZhh" with 36,337,283 in chips which is worth 145 big blinds at the start of play. Following them in the chip counts is Day 2 chip leader, Dan "Dannyz0r" Borlan with 27,226,846 in chips and they're joined by Kayhan "KayhanMok" Roshanfekr with 24,481,279 in chips on the podium.

Also on the final table are David "MissOracle" Yan, Jareth "jareth3542" East, "Beowulf3182", Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph, Ka Kwan "kaju85" Lau , and "23tudy23".

SCOOP-92-H: $10,300 NLHE [8-Max, Main Event] Final Table Chip Counts

Rank Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 "kZhh" Hungary 36,337,283 145 2 Dan "Dannyz0r" Borlan Romania 27,226,846 109 3 Kayhan "KayhanMok" Roshanfekr Norway 24,481,279 98 4 David "MissOracle" Yan New Zealand 22,093,278 88 5 Jareth "jareth3542" East United Kingdom 16,244,374 65 6 "Beowulf3182" Netherlands 12,992,862 52 7 Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph Germany 12,110,472 48 8 Ka Kwan "kaju85" Lau Hong Kong 8,747,104 35 9 "23tudy23" Romania 5,766,502 23

Plan for Today

When play resumes, the nine players will finish the remainder of Level 35 which features a small blind for 125,000, and a big blind of 250,000 with a running ante of 32,500 which means that when play resumes, the average will be at 74 big blinds. The level duration is slated to remain at 30 minutes throughout and play will continue until a new SCOOP Main Event champion can be crowned.

There will be cards-up coverage on the PokerStars Twitch and YouTube streams with live commentary provided by James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton. They will be joined by special guests during the broadcast which will be on a 30-minute security delay.

PokerNews will be providing the updates right here on a similar delay so follow along with the updates from 7:35 p.m. CEST onwards to see who will be claiming these prizes which they're all still playing for:
The European parliament has overwhelmingly voted to ratify the UK-EU trade deal in an early morning vote in Brussels.

As MEPs branded Brexit a historic mistake, the agreement cleared its final political hurdle and was backed by 660 votes in favour to five against, with 32 abstentions.

The accord, which has been in provisional effect since 1 January, legally had to be approved before the end of April.

MEPs had been holding up ratification amid concerns that the UK was not implementing its side of the Brexit settlement on Northern Ireland, repeatedly refusing to set a date for a vote.

Had the agreement not passed, the UK and EUs terms of trade would have degraded even further  with tariffs and quotas applicable on goods.

But even with the free trade agreement in place, the UKs access to EU markets is much more limited than when it was a member state of the bloc.

In contrast to when Britain was in the single market, goods now have to be checked at borders and exporters now face significantly more bureaucracy.

A resolution passed alongside the agreement by MEPs said Britains exit from the EU was a historic mistake.

Votes and debates are normally held at the European parliaments seat in Strasbourg, but the coronavirus pandemic means MEPs are using their alternative chamber in Brussels or dialling in remotely.

Speaking after the vote, Boris Johnson claimed the deals approval was the final step on the Brexit road, despite the fact his government is still locked in negotiations over Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she warmly welcomed the deals approval, adding: The TCA [trade and cooperation agreement] marks the foundation of a strong and close partnership with the UK. Faithful implementation is essential.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 5 June 2021 A long exposure photograph captures the rotation of the earth as the stars blur into circles over Knowlton church ruins in Dorset Nick Lucas/SWNS UK news in pictures 4 June 2021 Balloonists take flight during the opening of the Midlands Air Festival in Alcester, Warwickshire PA UK news in pictures 3 June 2021 Members of the Household Cavalry during the Major General's annual inspection of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in Hyde Park, London PA UK news in pictures 2 June 2021 Hannah Vitos of the Blenheim Art Foundation, poses for a photograph next to artist Ai Weiwei's Gilded Cage (2017) sculpture in the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 1 June 2021 People swim in the Sky Pool, a transparent swimming pool bridge across two exclusive residential blocks standing next to the US Embassy in Nine Elms, in London, Tuesday, June 1, 2021 AP UK news in pictures 31 May 2021 People enjoy the hot weather at Brighton beach Reuters UK news in pictures 30 May 2021 People venture into the sea as they enjoy themselves during a hot day on Brighton Beach AP UK news in pictures 29 May 2021 Swimmers at the Stonehaven Open Air Pool in Aberdeenshire, which reopens after lockdown restrictions were eased PA UK news in pictures 28 May 2021 Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he meets Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Downing Street in London REUTERS UK news in pictures 27 May 2021 White Pelicans in the sunshine in St James's Park, London PA UK news in pictures 26 May 2021 Boats are seen at Southsea Moorings in Portsmouth Reuters UK news in pictures 25 May 2021 York Glaziers Trust employees Kieran Muir (left) and Emily Price (right) remove a stained glass window panel at the start of a new five year, 5m project to conserve York Minsters South East Transept and its medieval St Cuthbert Window PA UK news in pictures 24 May 2021 Dark rain clouds above an oast house at Bewl Water reservoir near Lamberhurst in Kent during one of the rainiest Mays on record, with the UK seeing 131 per cent of the usual months rainfall already PA UK news in pictures 23 May 2021 The Premier League trophy with the Manchester City club colour ribbons on, at Etihad Stadium, prior to the last Premier League match of the season. City will finally pick up the trophy after they won the league on 11 May Getty UK news in pictures 22 May 2021 Gary Kenny lifts the Buildbase FA Vase Trophy after Warrington Rylands won the FA Vase Final against Binfield at Wembley Stadium Getty UK news in pictures 21 May 2021 A family buffeted by the wind whilst crossing the the Millennium Bridge in London, with wind and rain forecast to ravage the UK on the first Friday that people have been allowed to meet in large groups outside in England PA UK news in pictures 20 May 2021 Devon And Cornwall Police Demonstrate Their Skills For Policing The G7 Summit Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 May 2021 An employee stands before a costume for the Queen of Hearts by Bob Crowley on display at the Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London PA UK news in pictures 17 May 2021 Passengers prepare to board an easyJet flight to Faro, Portugal, at Gatwick Airport after the ban on international leisure travel for people in England was lifted following the further easing of lockdown restrictions in England PA UK news in pictures 16 May 2021 Emergency workers at the scene of a suspected gas explosion, in which a young child was killed and two people were seriously injured, on Mallowdale Ave Heysham which caused 2 houses to collapse and badly damaged another PA UK news in pictures 15 May 2021 Pro-Palestinian activists and supporters let off smoke flares, wave flags and carry placards during a demonstration in support of the Palestinian cause as violence escalates in the ongoing conflict with Israel, in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 14 May 2021 Member of staffs tighten screws and paint a Marlin skeleton, before it goes on display at the Natural History Museum in London, as the museum prepares to reopen to the public on 17 May, following the further easing of lockdown restrictions in England PA UK news in pictures 13 May 2021 A worshipper at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Mordon, south London, ahead of Eid al-Fitr. The celebration marks the end of the Muslim month of fasting, called Ramadan. PA UK news in pictures 12 May 2021 A couple have wedding photos taken in Westminster, London Getty UK news in pictures 11 May 2021 The sun rises on Coquet Island, off Amble on the Northumberland coast, where as many as 35000 seabirds cram onto this tiny island to breed PA UK news in pictures 10 May 2021 Newly elected for a second term Mayor of London Sadiq Khan during his signing in ceremony at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on Londons Southbank PA UK news in pictures 9 May 2021 People mill around St. Michael's tower on top of Glastonbury Tor as it is seen through blooming yellow rapeseed on a day of mixed weather in Glastonbury, Somerset PA UK news in pictures 8 May 2021 Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford elbow bumps newly elected MS Labour candidates Elizabeth Buffy Williams, Rhondda, left, and Sarah Murphy, Bridgend & Porthcawl Labour, right, as they meet in Porthcawl, Wales PA UK news in pictures 6 May 2021 A group of five Sisters from Carmelite Monastery in Dysart cast their vote in the Scottish Parliamentary election at Dysart Community Hall, West Port, Dysart PA UK news in pictures 5 May 2021 Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer (centre) with West Midlands Metro Mayor candidate Liam Byrne (far right) and Labour Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner (far left) during a visit to Birmingham, whilst on the election campaign trail PA UK news in pictures 4 May 2021 Artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey stand within 100 oak saplings which form part of a living art installation entitled Beuys' Acorns by the UK-based artist duo, outside the Tate Modern in London PA UK news in pictures 3 May 2021 Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie feeds the Gentoo penguins during a visit to Edinburgh Zoo on the campaign trail for the forthcoming Scottish Parliamentary Election on May 6 PA UK news in pictures 2 May 2021 Chelsea players celebrate their fourth goal during the Womens Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich, at Kingsmeadow Stadium in south west London. The Blues won the game 4-1, (and the tie 5-3 on aggregate) sending them through to their first Champions League final AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 1 May 2020 Demonstrators during a march through London during a 'Kill the Bill' protest Angela Christofilou UK news in pictures 30 April 2021 Shoppers queue outside Primark in Belfast as shops reopen and hospitality is able to open outdoors in Northern Ireland where lockdown restrictions have begun to gradually ease PA UK news in pictures 29 April 2021 Specialist operators at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, near Telford, Shropshire, clean the Hawker Hunter aircraft displayed within the museum's National Cold War Exhibition, during annual high-level aircraft cleaning and maintenance PA UK news in pictures 28 April 2021 Millions of tulips in flower near Kings Lynn in Norfolk, as Belmont Nurseries, the UK's largest commercial grower of outdoor tulips, offers socially-distanced visits to its tulip fields at Hillington to raise funds for local charity The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House PA UK news in pictures 27 April 2021 Paula Laughton checks one of the newly installed Lego models in the new Lego Mythica land at Legoland Windsor Resort PA UK news in pictures 26 April 2021 A red panda rests on a tree at Manor Wildlife park, which reopened its doors as lockdown restrictions continue to ease, in Tenby, Wales Reuters UK news in pictures 25 April 2021 Sheep climb the hillside as flames from a moor fire are seen on Marsden moor, near Huddersfield AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 24 April 2021 Supporters protest against Manchester United's owners, outside English Premier League club Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium in Manchester AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 23 April 2021 People enjoy the warm weather at City Hall near Tower Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 22 April 2021 Uyghurs during a demonstration in Parliament Square, London, which is being held ahead of a House of Commons debate, bought by backbench MP Nus Ghani, on whether Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang province are suffering crimes against humanity and genocide PA UK news in pictures 21 April 2021 People walk at the Taihaku Cherry Orchard in Alnwick REUTERS UK news in pictures 20 April 2021 People stand in front of anti Super League banners outside Anfield as twelve of Europe's top football clubs, including Liverpool, launch a breakaway league Reuters UK news in pictures 19 April 2021 Women enjoy sunny weather in Greenwich, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in London, Britain, Reuters UK news in pictures 18 April 2021 Stephen Maguire (right) of Scotland interacts with Jamie Jones of Wales during day 2 of the Betfred World Snooker Championships 2021 at The Crucible, Sheffield PA UK news in pictures 17 April 2021 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburghs coffin, covered with His Royal Highnesss Personal Standard arrives by Landrover Defender at St Georges Chapel carried by a bearer party found by the Royal Marines during the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle Getty Images UK news in pictures 16 April 2021 Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, checks the teeth of "Dentosaurus" during a visit to the Thornliebank Dental Care centre in Glasgow, as she campaigns ahead of the 2021 Scottish Parliamentary Election AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 April 2021 Myanmar's former ambassador to the UK, Kyaw Zwar Minn, outside his residence in north west London. The ambassador has been barred from entering the Myanmar embassy in Mayfair after he was removed from office PA

Lord Frost, the UKs chief negotiator, thanked his EU counterpart Michel Barnier for helping get us here.

The minister said: Todays vote brings certainty and allows us to focus on the future. There will be much for us and the EU to work on together through the new partnership council and we are committed to working to find solutions that work for both of us.

We will always aim to act in that positive spirit but we will also always stand up for our interests when we must  as a sovereign country in full control of our own destiny.

Boris Johnson said: This week is the final step in a long journey, providing stability to our new relationship with the EU as vital trading partners, close allies and sovereign equals.

Now is the time to look forward to the future and to building a more global Britain.
Cirque du Soleil, which has emerged from bankruptcy protection and put its famous productions of both Mystere and O on sale last week under the headline intermission is over, has seen colossal demand for tickets for performances beginning June 28 for Mystere and July 1 for the aquatic O, a spokesman has told me. Blue Man Group is coming back to Las Vegas this summer, too, and while no announcement has been made about the Chicago production at Briar Street Theatre, another spokesman said that the show also will return to Chicago. For sure. And that will be a big relief to the large number of artists who work for that hugely popular attraction.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have used a nanoscale synthetic antiferromagnet to control the interaction between magnons -- research that could lead to faster and more energy-efficient computers.

In ferromagnets, electron spins point in the same direction. To make future computer technologies faster and more energy-efficient, spintronics research employs spin dynamics -- fluctuations of the electron spins -- to process information. Magnons, the quantum-mechanical units of spin fluctuations, interact with each other, leading to nonlinear features of the spin dynamics. Such nonlinearities play a central role in magnetic memory, spin torque oscillators, and many other spintronic applications.

For example, in the emergent field of magnetic neuromorphic networks -- a technology that mimics the brain -- nonlinearities are essential for tuning the response of magnetic neurons. Also, in another frontier area of research, nonlinear spin dynamics may become instrumental.

"We anticipate the concepts of quantum information and spintronics to consolidate in hybrid quantum systems," said Igor Barsukov, an assistant professor at the Department of Physics & Astronomy who led the study that appears in Applied Materials & Interfaces. "We will have to control nonlinear spin dynamics at the quantum level to achieve their functionality."

Barsukov explained that in nanomagnets, which serve as building blocks for many spintronic technologies, magnons show quantized energy levels. Interaction between the magnons follows certain symmetry rules. The research team learned to engineer the magnon interaction and identified two approaches to achieve nonlinearity: breaking the symmetry of the nanomagnet's spin configuration; and modifying the symmetry of the magnons. They chose the second approach.

"Modifying magnon symmetry is the more challenging but also more application-friendly approach," said Arezoo Etesamirad, the first author of the research paper and a graduate student in Barsukov's lab.

In their approach, the researchers subjected a nanomagnet to a magnetic field that showed nonuniformity at characteristic nanometer length scales. This nanoscale nonuniform magnetic field itself had to originate from another nanoscale object.

For a source of such a magnetic field, the researchers used a nanoscale synthetic antiferromagnet, or SAF, consisting of two ferromagnetic layers with antiparallel spin orientation. In its normal state, SAF generates nearly no stray field -- the magnetic field surrounding the SAF, which is very small. Once it undergoes the so-called spin-flop transition, the spins become canted and the SAF generates a stray field with nonuniformity at nanoscale, as needed. The researchers switched the SAF between the normal state and the spin-flop state in a controlled manner to toggle the symmetry-breaking field on and off.

"We were able to manipulate the magnon interaction coefficient by at least one order of magnitude," Etesamirad said. "This is a very promising result, which could be used to engineer coherent magnon coupling in quantum information systems, create distinct dissipative states in magnetic neuromorphic networks, and control large excitation regimes in spin-torque devices."

###

Barsukov and Etesamirad were joined in the research by Rodolfo Rodriguez and Joshua Bocanegra of UCR; Roman Verba and Boris Ivanov of the Institute of Magnetism in Ukraine; Jordan Katine of Western Digital at San Jose; Ilya N. Krivorotov of UC Irvine; and Vasyl Tyberkevych of Oakland University in Michigan.

The work was supported by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

The research paper is titled "Controlling Magnon Interaction by a Nanoscale Switch."
Dr Anthony Fauci has criticised Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson for bizarrely claiming that children wearing face coverings was a form of child abuse.

I think thats self-evident that thats bizarre," an exasperated Dr Fauci told CNN on Wednesday. "I don't want to get into a back and forth with Tucker Carlson, but it's almost self-evident."

"Youre talking about child abuse, really?" Dr Fauci said of Mr Carlson. "Come on.

It follows comments made by Mr Carlson, who told Fox News viewers on Monday to call the police or child protective services if they witnessed children playing with face coverings on.

The only people who wear masks outside are zealots and neurotics, said Mr Carlson of vaccinated adults wearing face coverings outdoors.

Your response when you see children wearing masks as they play should be no different from your response to seeing someone beat a kid in Walmart, the Fox News anchor continued.

Call the police immediately, contact child protective services. Keep calling until someone arrives. What youre looking at is abuse,  Mr Carlson alleged, its child abuse and you are morally obligated to attempt to prevent it.

The anchor continued by saying that children wearing face coverings was akin to schools informing parents that "every day after lunch, your sixth-grader was going to get punched in the face by a teacher."

The feud between Dr Fauci and Mr Carlson is long running, with the infectious diseases expert telling CNN in September that some of Fox Newss coverage of the virus was "outlandish."

Even Fox, even on the Fox channels, there are some that are really, really good that I totally respect, Dr Fauci said. But there are others that just, you know, anything that I would say they'll distort a bit. And I'm not sure there's anything I can do about that."

In December, Mr Carlson described Dr Fauci the "Patron Saint of Wuhan and the high priest of the Covid cult. A paper mask is his sacred garment, cable television is his pulpit, in apparent mockery.

Mondays remarks were also widely criticised by Twitter users and commentators  and were again in contravention of medical recommendations for mask wearing.

This is really, really dangerous, wrote Asha Rangappa, an analyst for CNN and former FBI agent. Listen to his tone of voice, and what hes instructing. Hes moving from his viewers passively consuming his propaganda to having them act on it  against their neighbours. Hes testing his audiences compliance.

A lawyer, Bradley P. Moss, added: Tucker Carlson, in case no one told you, conspiring to induce someone to make a false report of child abuse is a crime in the majority of states. Enjoy.

The furore around Mr Carlsons allegations followed the introduction of relaxed recommendations for Americans for face coverings by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday.

Fully vaccinated adults are able be without a mask in most outdoors settings, while children are advised to wear a mask correctly when in public and when around people they dont live with.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28)  The Department of Education is eyeing to open the next school year on Aug. 23, according to an education official.

"It is not yet final but that is the date we are proposing," Education Underecretary Diosdado San Antonio told CNN Philippines on Wednesday.

In response, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the DepEd's proposal is "another problem," saying it reduces the teachers' "proportional vacation pay from 80 days-worth to only 59 if the August 23 class opening pushes through."

The extended school year 2020 to 2021 is "already requiring teachers to render 77 working days of overtime, without a single day of leave benefit," ACT said in a statement.

The current academic year for kindergarteners to high students in public schools was originally set to end on June 11.

The DepEd, however, moved the closing date to July 10, saying it saw learning gaps that have to be addressed "to meet the required essential learning competencies."

After months of delay due to the pandemic, basic education classes for this academic year started in October last year under blended learning, which involves a mix of printed self-learning modules, internet-based sessions, and radio and TV broadcasts. Classes in other levels are also mostly held online.
HONG KONG, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- China Telecom Corporation Limited (the "Company") (HKEx: 728) (NYSE: CHA) announced that it has filed its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 (the "2020 Form 20-F") with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

The 2020 Form 20-F is available on the Investor section of the Company's website at https://www.chinatelecom-h.com and on the SEC's website at https://www.sec.gov. Shareholders may also request a hard copy of the Company's complete audited financial statements, free of charge, by contacting the Company at:

China Telecom Corporation Limited

Investor Relations Department

28/F., Everbright Centre

108 Gloucester Road

Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Email: [email protected]

IR Enquiry: (852) 2582-0388

Fax: (852) 2877-0988

SOURCE China Telecom Corporation Limited

Related Links

http://www.chinatelecom-h.com


New Delhi, April 28 : SpiceXpress, the air cargo arm of SpiceJet, has airlifted 1,000 oxygen concentrators from Hong Kong to Delhi.

According to the company, these oxygen concentrators, a medical device that concentrates oxygen from ambient air, have been ordered by SpiceHealth for emergency use and distribution across India.

This is the second big consignment of oxygen concentrators ordered and delivered to SpiceHealth.

In the last two weeks, more than 2,000 oxygen concentrators have been airlifted by SpiceJet for SpiceHealth.

SpiceXpress's B737 freighter aircraft airlifted the consignment.

The oxygen concentrators will reach Delhi via Kolkata.

"Considering the current situation across the country, our focus is to airlift as many oxygen concentrators, BiPAPs and other medical devices as possible to cater to the increasing demand. SpiceJet and SpiceHealth are collaborating actively to contribute in our country's dedicated efforts to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic," SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director, Ajay Singh said.

"We have airlifted more than 2000 oxygen concentrators so far and we are looking at bringing about 20,000 oxygen concentrators in the coming days from across the globe." SpiceHealth has been actively involved in the country's fight against Covid-19.

Since its launch in November 2020, it has conducted more than two million RT-PCR tests and has spread its operations across fives states - Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Uttarakhand.
Organisers of the concert by Spanish band Love of Lesbian on 27 March, when 5,000 people gathered at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, have declared the event was 'safe'.

In this first test of the impact of the Covid-19 on large-scale cultural events the Festivals for Safe Culture platform concluded, "The analysis of the concert data allows us to confirm that the event had no impact on the transmission of coronavirus among the attendees," and ruled out the possibility that concert had become a "Covid super-transmission event".

The organisers refer to a study carried out by medical experts from the Fight Against Aids Foundation and the Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital: Boris Revollo, Josep Maria Llibre and Bonaventura Clotet.

They conclude that of the 4,592-strong audience six people tested positive in a 14-day period after the concert. All six cases were mild or asymptomatic. And, "In at least four of these six cases the complete survey carried out by the Foundation's medical teams suggests that the exposure to the source of the infection took place outside the concert," they said.

It is unknown in what way and when the other two people were infected. "There is no sign to suggest that transmission occurred within the event," according to the report's authors. "It was a safe activity."

Those responsible for the study point out that with the analysis of the figures as of 14 April, 2021, two weeks after the concert, the cases detected represent a cumulative incidence of 130 per 100,000, while the cumulative incidence of the population of the city of Barcelona in the same age group and on the same date was 259.

All of the spectators were screened with a rapid antigen test the same morning of the concert and only six people were positive and could not attend the event. During the concert, the use of a FFP2 face mask was mandatory and the ventilation of the venue was adapted to the current regulations. The audience was able to enjoy the concert without keeping a physical distance from others.

Festivals for Safe Culture say they "valued very positively" the study's figures. And they believe that these could open the door to musical events in summer.
UTICA, N.Y.  A Unadilla man is facing several felony charges after allegedly assaulting and raping a victim following an argument.

According to New York State Police, 35-year-old Randy E. Deese went to the victims home on State Route 7 in Unadilla on Monday, where the two got into an argument that turned physically violent.

Deese is accused of choking the victim, who eventually lost consciousness, and then forcing sexual intercourse after the victim woke up.

Early the next morning, state police received a report of a 911 hang-up out of Otsego County. As a trooper was about to leave the Sydney barracks to investigate, they encountered the victim, who had driven there to report the incident.

The trooper could see the victim had suffered serious injuries to the face, and learned that this was the caller who had hung up on 911.

The victim was taken to the Tri-Town campus of A.O. Fox Hospital for treatment. State police are not naming the victim due to the nature of the allegations.

State police headed to the victims residence to search for Deese, but he wasnt there when troopers arrived. Further investigation led them to the city of Liberty, where they were able to take Deese into custody with the help of state police Troop F and the Liberty Police Department.

Deese has been charged with the following crimes:

Felonies:

Rape in the first degree

Strangulation in the second degree

Coercion in the second degree

Stalking in the second degree

Misdemeanors:

Criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree

Unlawful imprisonment in the second degree

Forcible touching

Assault in the third degree

Deese was arraigned and remanded to the Otsego County jail on $50,000 cash bail. He is scheduled to appear in court in May.

According to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Deese is a registered sex offender who was convicted of second-degree rape in 2005.
Former Works and Housing Minister, Mr Samuel Atta Akyea has been explaining why nobody has been prosecuted yet in the 'abandoned' Saglemi Housing project even though the government has given an indication of some wrongdoings in the project.



He says the case is with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service and the Attorney-General, and it is up to them to conclude their investigations and prefer charges against the suspects in line with criminal processes.



To Mr Atta Akyea, as far as he was concerned, before he left office as the sector minister, he was aware the police had already taken statements from a former sector Minister, Mr Collins Dauda and former Chief Director of the ministry, Alhaji Ziblim.



The rest, he said was up to those empowered with the investigative and prosecutorial powers under the rule of law to proceed with the matter.



Why project has stalled?



The Saglemi Housing project which initially had an output target of 5000 units at a total cost of US$200million reduced in target from 5000 to 1502 at the same amount of US$200million.



The Ministry of Works and Housing has said that the 5,000 units at a total cost of US$200million as stipulated in the financing agreement presented to, and approved by Parliament had "surreptitiously, and drastically, reduced to 1,502, of which 1,389 units had been completed without a commensurate reduction in the overall loan financing."



Currently, an amount of approximately, US$197million representing 98 percent has been expended on 1,502 units as against the planned 5,000 units," the current sector Minister, Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye said at press briefing on Tuesday.



His reaction followed a video shared by the leader of the All Peoples Congress (APC), Mr Hassan Ayariga, who had visited the project site last Friday and expressed anger about why the project had been abandoned.



Earlier, Mr Asenso-Boakye when he took office as the new minister in the sector visited the project site and assured that it will be completed.



But Ayariga's video on social media has ignited a public discussion on why if government indeed claims there was a wrongdoing on the project, why the said culprits were not being dealt with in line with the law.



Mr Ayariga in his video, which has gone viral had actually indicated and encouraged people to move in and take over the buildings so that they don't go waste.



But reacting to that instigation, Mr Asenso-Boakye said, Ayariga's video was a populist action.



Related: Ayariga video on Saglemi is populist and diabolical - Asenso-Boakye



He explained that there was still a chunk of works to be done on the project by extending electricity and water supply to the area which will require an additional funding of approximately US$32million.



Atta Akyea's explanation



On Accra based radio station, Oman FM's Boiling Point programme on Tuesday night, April 27, 2021, monitored by Graphic Online, the matter came up for discussion, and the panelists and host sought to question government's slow attitude or inaction in bringing the said culprits to book four years after a New Patriotic Party government, if indeed there was any wrongdoing.



Mr Atta Akyea's name came up for discussion and a response he gave to Parliament on the issue when he was responding to a question in the Chamber



His response in Parliament repeated the fact that the units were reduced from 5000 to 1502 whilst the cost remained the same and even went ahead to state that US$80million representing 40 percent of the amount was paid to the contractor as mobilisation without a guarantee, which should have been the norm.



The host and panelists of the radio programme therefore sought to question what Mr Atta Akyea did to solve the issue whilst he was still the sector minister.



Mr Atta Akyea therefore phoned into the programme and explained he cannot be blamed, since as a political appointee, he did what he could and reported the matter to the police.



He said he reported the matter to the president and the police CID was asked to conduct investigations.



He indicated he was aware the CID has taken statements from a number of people including Collins Dauda, the then sector Minister who started the project and the then Chief Director, Alhaji Ziblim.



I'm not the IGP



Asked why he did not ensure that they were brought to book, Mr Atta Akyea questioned if he was the "IGP".



He said he only indicated that from the facts he was aware of, there was corruption involved and the criminal process ought to take them up but he [Atta Akyea] cannot be held for not doing anything about it.



He insisted it was up to the Inspector General of Police and the CID together with the Attorney-General to allow the criminal process to work and said the CID boss is the one to answer why the case is not moving forward.



He said he even initiated moves to continue the project and that was why the Ghana Institution of Surveyors offered to evaluate the project for the government as their contribution to national development so as to enable government to work to complete the project.



Mr Atta Akyea said a criminal case has no expiry date and that what was important at the moment was for government to look for the additional funding to continue and complete the project and deal with the "criminals" also.



"As for the criminals they will not run away, they will take them to court," he said.





Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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As early as in May, Ukraine expects to receive about 1 million doses of coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer, including 473,850 doses under the COVAX Facility and up to 500,000 doses under a direct contract with the manufacturer.

Minister of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov said this on the air of Nash TV Channel, Ukrinform reports.

In particular, 473,850 doses of the Pfizer vaccine under the COVAX Facility are expected to arrive in Ukraine until May 17-18.

According to Stepanov, this vaccine will be given to people over the age of 60.

He also added that another batch of the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine should arrive in Ukraine by the end of the current month: "We have received confirmation, including from the Chinese ambassador to Ukraine, that 500,000 doses of the vaccine will arrive in Ukraine by April 30.

As reported, Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Viktor Liashko said that on April 21, Ukraine received a letter from COVAX saying that another 1,400,000 doses of AstraZeneca-SKBio vaccine (manufactured in South Korea) would be delivered by the end of May.

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Aperture Cellars (https://www.aperture-cellars.com/), the renowned Sonoma wine label founded by winemaker Jesse Katz, is pleased to share news on the continued expansion of their team, nearly two years after the construction of their new winery and almost a year after the public opening of the Aperture Estate outside downtown Healdsburg. Apertures 10-year anniversary this summer will be a celebration of the labels evolution and growth from a one-man project to a thriving group of contributors and properties. Among the additions to the team at Aperture are Hillary Sjolund, Associate Winemaker; Lauryn Mitrovich, Director of Hospitality; and Jessica Pasquini, Client Relations Manager.

These hires highlight the teams growth to five within the winemaking team and five in the hospitality team within the past year and a half, helping push the brand forward as it scales its production and welcomes the opportunity to host guests at the Aperture Estates expected capacity.

Im so proud of what weve been able to accomplish over the last couple of years considering the task at hand, notes Jesse Katz, Founder/Winemaker of Aperture Cellars, Of course, 2020 had its challenges, but I have been lucky to stay surrounded by an impressive group of people who have helped keep Aperture at the top of its game during some of the most challenging times. Hillary, Lauryn, Jessica, and Lauren WongPartner and VP of Sales and Marketingare a huge part of an entire team that has set us up for success now and in the future.

Before joining the Aperture team in June of 2019, Hillary Sjolund started her career at Pine Ridge Winery in Napa, CA, where she developed from a lab technician intern to Assistant Winemaker over the course of six years. In 2006, she relocated to Washington to become Head Winemaker of DiStefano Winery in Woodinville, WA, where her wines earned a number of accolades from key publications under her leadership. She then became Associate Winemaker under Washington icon Charlie Hoppes at Fidelitas Wines in 2011, while also assisting him at Wine Boss, a custom crush facility in Richland, WA. This move allowed her to open her own commercial wine laboratory Enomama and launch her own label Sonoris Wines. She also spent five years as an educator, teaching online wine chemistry and intermediate winemaking courses across the country.

In the coming months, Aperture will release their 2019 vintage of their Bordeaux Blend and Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon, which will also be the first red wines made entirely at the Aperture Estate and with Hillarys influence as Associate Winemaker. The Aperture Estates winery was custom built to suit the teams needs of showcasing Sonoma terroir and the potential of Bordeaux varietals in the area, with optical sorting tables, automated pumpovers, in-house custom laboratory and a variety of temperature controlled barrel rooms to usher fruit into pure and precise wines. Hillarys background in creating Bordeaux wines in the cooler climates of the Pacific Northwest is well-suited to the type of work done in Sonoma, where the Aperture team is at the forefront of pushing Russian River and Alexander Valley vineyards into new possibilities with Bordeaux grapes.

Lauryn Mitrovich began her wine career with a Marketing Internship at Kosta Browne Winery in Sebastopol, CA. At its conclusion, she was offered a Wine Educator position at Duckhorn Vineyards in St. Helena, CA, where she eventually was promoted to Guest Services Concierge. Lauryn then returned to Kosta Browne Winery as Hospitality Coordinator in 2016 until her promotion to Hospitality & Events Manager in 2020. Lauryn joined Aperture Cellars in the spring of 2020 as the Director of Hospitality, where she oversees a team of four dedicated to hosting guests within the evolving safety standard of Sonoma Countys winery protocols.

As traditional event programming returns to the area, the winery will be executing a series of yet-to-be-announced experiences at the Aperture Estate this fall, fulfilling the original plans that were supposed to accompany the estates opening.

About Aperture Cellars: Aperture Cellars champions a range of stunning Bordeaux style wines from Sonoma. Founded in 2009 by winemaker Jesse Katz, Aperture wines are crafted from unique, cool-climate vineyards in Sonomas top regions for Bordeaux varietals. Aperture controls 140+ acres of vineyards, in addition to their 32 planted acres on the estate site, specifically sourced for their unique terroir and soil composition. Wanting to craft wines on par with the quality and refinement that are so integral to a Bordeaux but with the richness and beauty that the best of California has to offer, Jesse set roots in Sonoma, believing it offers the best of both worlds: new world fruit and old-world elegance.


Des Watson is on a mission. A mission to keep New Zealands waterways clean and free of waste.

Des started his journey on January 1, 2019, and more than two years later, is still on the go. Over the past week, he has been in the Bay of Plenty looking to clean up the area.

Originally from Westport, Des was inspired to start his clean up during his time living near the beaches in Rarangi, just outside Blenheim.

He would take a bucket and clean up whilst he ventured to the local beaches, and began following conservation groups and Facebook pages devoted to keeping Aotearoas waterways clean, which cultivated his own desire.

Images of what plastic waste is doing to marine life, soon inspired him to take further action and he quit his job to embark on his quest.

His passion has led to the start of a Facebook group. Kiwis Clean Aotearoa is followed by more than 3500 people and documents Des travels across the nation cleaning up, educating locals and gathering a few followers along the way.

Since arriving in the area last week, Des has been busy. A clean-up along Pilot Bay in Mount Maunganui followed a trip to Papamoa, where he removed residue from car burnouts by the Bell Road boat ramp, a waste and water pollution issue Des feels is completely overlooked.

It gets washed away by the rain and ends up being millions of pieces of rubber that just flows straight into our waterways, Des laments.

Over at Whareroa Boat Ramp he has come across rubbish bags, abandoned tents, and, of course, the repeat offenders.

Cigarette butts, nylon, broken hard plastic, soft plastic, plastic wrappers, bottles, bottle caps, lollipop sticks, Des lists as the most common litter he finds on his clean ups.

At times, Des admits finding it frustrating. It seems, in his eyes, that nobody wants to take responsibility for keeping the waterways of New Zealand safe from errand rubbish.

The Westport man has been cleaning up Aotearoa since January 2019. Photo. John Borren/SunLive.

Nobody wants to take responsibility, Des states. I dont get paid to do what I am doing.

A Givealittle page helps Des cover the costs of his now two-year pursuit. More than $20,000 has been donated to the cause so far, with Des using the money to pay for petrol or for disposal of rubbish.

But above all else, rather than ask for money, Des has one simple request for Kiwi citizens across the Bay of Plenty and New Zealand.

Keep it clean, he says. Set an example for others because the plastic is also a concern entering our food chain.

To see what Des has been up to visit Kiwis Clean Aotearoa on Facebook or visit his Givealittlepage at givealittle.co.nz/cause/kiwis-clean-aotearoa.
The company has applied for property directly north of the recent lead-zinc discovery by Rumble Resources.

The Mount Lockeridge fault project covers an area of 930 square kilometres.

( ) has made an application to secure a major land position in the Earaheedy Basin, east of Wiluna in Western Australia, that includes a new lead-zinc project.

Following the announcement by Rumble Resources ( ) on April 19 of a major zinc-lead discovery at its Earaheedy Project, TIN lodged an application for a licence covering 930 square kilometres directly to the north over the Mount Lockridge fault and sections of the Frere and Chiall formations which host the Chinook discovery.

Prospective location

The company now intends to start soil sampling and a suite of geophysical surveys to commence its exploration program once the tenements are granted.

Chief executive officer Matthew Boyes said: The Mount Lockeridge Fault project gives TNT exposure to a large-scale landholding in what we consider to be a very prospective location.

Shares have been almost 16% higher to 19 cents intra-day on the news.

Eureka RC drilling

On April 22, TNT received results from its maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling program designed to test four separate target areas at its 100%-owned Eureka Gold Project north of Kalgoorlie.

Drilling has now been completed for a total of 11,441 metres and 89 holes and all assays, excluding three holes drilled 800 metres south of the pit, have now been received.

TNT will now complete a reinterpretation of the existing mineralisation and prepare an updated resource estimate for Eureka in the coming weeks.

Reids Ridge drilling

Additionally, Reids Ridge drilling is underway with target intersected in the first three holes, expected to be complete by the end of April.

Conditions have been difficult with several holes abandoned due to equipment failure and excessive deviation from planned targets.

Three holes to date have pierced the structure with visible gold encountered in RRRC0003 at 160-161 metres downhole directly adjacent to existing underground workings.

Laboratory assay results are required to determine the widths and grade of the visible mineralisation reported in preliminary geological logging.

TNT will update the market when laboratory analytical results become available.
NEW YORK - Brendan Hunt, an enthusiastic Trump supporter who called for killing members of Congress days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, was found guilty Wednesday of making a death threat against elected officials.

It took the jury about three hours to reach a verdict. They found that comments Hunt made in a disturbing video posted online two days after the U.S. Capitol riot amounted to a genuine threat to murder lawmakers in Washington.

He faces up to 10 years in prison.

The jury also concluded that menacing social media posts Hunt made in 2020 - including one directed at Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., then the Senate minority leader, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. - did not rise to the level of criminality.

Hunt's prosecution in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn has been seen as a test of how far violent speech can go before it crosses a line into criminality, at a time when politically-charged and violent rhetoric on Twitter and other platforms is commonplace.Hundreds of people were arrested following the Capitol attack in a Justice Department push to hold people accountable. Hunt's case is believed to be the first of those charged in connection to the riot to go to trial.

Hunt, 37, was charged with one count of making a threat to assault and murder a United States official. He was arrested Jan. 19, a day before President Joe Biden's inauguration, after the FBI received a tip about his video, titled "KILL YOUR SENATORS: Slaughter them all." The clip had been posted on BitChute, a hosting site popular with far-right conservatives, after the deadly riot in Washington.

The case centered on several disturbing social media posts and uploads that Hunt's lawyers said were removed from the internet before his arrest. The defense also argued that the elected officials he targeted were not aware of his comments at the time.

Hunt did not participate in the Capitol riot, nor did he contact their offices or tag the lawmakers' social media accounts in any of his controversial posts, according to testimony and evidence. His lawyers argued that his comments, made from his Queens home, were constitutionally protected and that, while offensive, were not legitimate threats.

"The fact that [the officials] didn't see any of those posts because he aimed it at them, because he sent it to them, that's reason to doubt," Hunt's attorney Leticia Olivera argued in summations.

Hunt's legal team tried to distance him from the type of extreme Trump loyalist who attended the riot. That day, former Vice President Mike Pence was rushed to a secure location along with other officials. Capitol occupants were terrorized and feared for their lives.

Hunt, in contrast to the rioters, was a registered Democrat who voted for Barack Obama before becoming dissatisfied with his policies, the attorneys said.

Prosecutors said at the trial that Hunt's remarks were specific. He offered detailed descriptions of how he wanted to end the lives of the people he claimed were complicit in "stealing" the election from former President Donald Trump. To support the case, the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn offered evidence that appeared to illustrate Hunt's deeply rooted racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic beliefs.

In the Jan. 8 video message that led to his conviction, Hunt called on followers to return to Washington with weapons on Inauguration Day when members of Congress would be reconvened to "put some bullets in their (expletive) heads." By then, he was dissatisfied with Republicans too for participating in the certification of Biden's victory.

His threat appeared to address lawmakers in general.

"They're going to come after us ... so we have to kill them first," he declared in the video.

Hunt added that if anyone watching were to give him a gun, "I'll go there myself and shoot them and kill them."

"We have to take out these Senators and then replace them with actual patriots," he added.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Richardson argued in his summation Tuesday that Hunt was clearly serious when he addressed his followers. "You know they were true threats because of the calm and confident manner in which he conveyed the 'Kill Your Senators' video."

Richardson said Hunt's statements also rang true because of the "graphic and vivid imagery" he invoked "to place people in fear."

Hunt took the witness stand in his defense Tuesday, telling the jury he was not to be taken seriously when he talked about gunning down elected officials. In his testimony, he said his comments were in line with "this sort of rhetoric going on at the time" on the internet.

Hunt also said he was heavily using marijuana and alcohol while struggling with depression and boredom during the coronavirus pandemic. He told the jury that the video he posted online after the Capitol riot was filmed while he was under the influence.

U.S. District Court Judge Pamela Chen had instructed jurors that while "intoxication in itself is not a legal defense to a criminal charge," evidence of inhibition by drugs or alcohol can be considered to determine "whether he had intent."

Hunt's testimony, during which he was pressed by prosecutors about his fixation with Hitler and Nazism, likely left an impression on jurors. Prosecutors also confronted him with his own degrading language used to describe immigrants.

In a text message exchange with his father, John Hunt, a former family court judge, the younger man suggested his family relocate to a "red state with a decent white population that upholds the Constitution." He also called New York City a "jungle" in which he could not find "a suitable white pro-American mate" to have children with - using slurs for Blacks, Jews, Asians and Latinos to describe the city's diverse population.

The disgruntled Fordham University graduate, who had an administrative job in the New York state court system before his arrest, also called immigrants "low I.Q. mongoloids." 'On the witness stand, Hunt insisted he was just trying to get a rise out of his father.

But ample evidence seen by the jury depicted a grown man entrenched in white supremacist ideology.

On Hunt's hard drive were memes that mocked the death of Jews during the Holocaust and Nazi propaganda images. The panel also heard about a text exchange he had with a cousin who dropped him as a Facebook friend. Angered by this, Hunt threatened to "stick a knife" in the relative's newborn baby.

A 57-year-old woman on the jury, who gave her name as Wendy, said the panel was "on the same page" from the beginning of its deliberations. She called Hunt "immature" and said she was "bothered a lot" by his racist rhetoric.

His testimony only revealed "more of him - the kind of person he is," said the juror, a hospital work who is Black and of Caribbean descent.
Fred Jordan, an influential longtime editor at Grove Press for three decades and, later, publisher of Pantheon Books, died on April 19. He was 95.

The Viennese-born Jordan, ne Alfred Rotblatt, emigrated to the United States in 1949 after surviving the Holocaust. After working as a journalist, in 1953, Jordan began a long and storied publishing career with a one-man publisher of esoterica, Falcon's Wing Press. In 1956, he joined Grove Press, then comprised of just three people including its owner and publisher, Barney Rosset.

According to Grove Atlantic, Rosset and Jordan "reached a verbal agreement followed by thirty years of close collaboration without clearly defined roles, and never with a contract." Rosset oversaw the finances and the company's creative direction and Jordan brought "the steady hand that built the operations and kept the company on course, often during turbulent times, overseeing business operations while also editing books and managing special projects, including court cases." (Grove was a target of the CIA's COINTELPRO program, which focused on surveilling and disrupting the efforts of domestic American political organizations and ran from 1956 until 1971.)

Over the years, Jordan published work by writers as notable and varied as Kathy Acker, Samuel Beckett, William S. Burroughs, Marguerite Duras, Allen Ginsberg, Vaclav Havel, Eugene Ionesco, Jack Kerouac, Henry Miller, Pablo Neruda, Kenzaburo Oe, Harold Pinter, Sam Sheppard, Art Spiegelman, and Tom Stoppard. During his time at Grove, the publisher became an incubator for avant-garde literature, including with the Evergreen Review, a leading left-leaning cultural magazine on the 1960s, for which Jordan was editor from its 21st issue until it ceased publication of its print edition after its 96th issue, in 1984. (An online incarnation lives on at www.evergreenreview.com.)

After brief stints as publisher of the U.S. division of Methuen and head of an imprint at Grosset & Dunlap, Jordan returned to Grove In the early 1980s, where he remained editor-in-chief until 1990, five years after Grove was sold to Ann Getty. He finished his career as publisher and editor-in-chief of Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, where he published the second volume of Spiegelman's comics magnum opus, the Holocaust allegory Maus, which would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize when published as a complete work.

Correction: The Evergreen's final print issue was in 1984, not 1973. This piece has been updated with further information.
Joe Biden's Education Secretary should abandon plans to provide grants to teach critical race theory and a controversial book on slavery, two Republican representatives have argued, claiming that it would usher in a 'dangerous' curriculum.

Miguel Cardona is contemplating issuing grants, which would see taxpayer funds being spent on teaching both The 1619 Project, originally from The New York Times, and Ibram X Kendi's book, How to Be an Anti-Racist.

Both works would be incorporated into K-12 school curriculums.

The cost of the proposal remains unclear. It is at draft stage and officials are asking for comment on the ideas at the Federal Register.

Neal McCluskey, director of the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom, told The Dispatch: 'Even though it's quite small, and it's still a draft, it's the federal government more directly saying "You should teach or instruct in these thingscritical race theory and all that's connected with it".

'The size, you might say, is negligible. But the principle of what they're doing is pretty significant.'

DailyMail.com has contacted the Department of Education for clarification on the cost of the proposal and how much will be granted to schools.

Miguel Cardona, the Education Secretary, is considering grants to teach 'anti-racism'

Cardona, seen April 22 at a school in White Plains, New York, received a letter about his plans

The 1619 Project was launched by the New York Times in 2019 to mark the 400th anniversary of African slaves' arrival in what later became the US. The venture examines how slavery shaped and continues to permeate all aspects of American society by expanding on early accounts that are largely left out of the historical narrative taught in most schools

The 1619 Project was launched by The Times in 2019 to mark the 400th anniversary of African slaves' arrival in what later became the US.

New York Times reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones won a Pulitzer for the series

The venture examines how slavery shaped and continues to permeate all aspects of American society, by expanding on early accounts that are largely left out of the historical narrative taught in most schools.

The Times subsequently teamed up with the nonprofit Pulitzer Center to create a curriculum based on the project for primary and secondary schools.

Critics say it rewrites American history, and teaches young people to turn against their 'racist' homeland.

Kendi's 2019 book, meanwhile, is criticized for being dogmatic and excessive in its diagnosis of America's troubled history.

On Tuesday it emerged that the two Republican politicians, Doug Lamborn of Colorado and Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, have written to Cardona urging a rethink of the grants to teach the two texts.

'It is therefore counterproductive and even dangerous to allow our vulnerable school children to be taught the falsehoods prevalent in the 1619 Project or in Ibram X. Kendi's How to Be an Anti-Racist,' they write in their letter, obtained by Fox News.

Doug Lamborn of Colorado has written to Cardona expressing concern about the proposal

Jeff Duncan of South Carolina co-signed the letter to Cardona

New York Times' 1619 Project In August 2019 the New York Times Magazine published the 1619 project, a collection of essays, photo essays, short fiction pieces and poems aimed to 'reframe' American history based on the impact of slaves brought to the US. It was published to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in the English colonies. It argues that the nation's birth was not 1776 with independence from the British crown, but in August 1619 with the arrival of a cargo ship of 20 to 30 enslaved Africans at Point Comfort in the colony of Virginia, which inaugurated the system of slavery. The project argues that slavery was the country's origin and out of it 'grew nearly everything that has truly made America exceptional.' That includes economic might, industry, the electoral system, music, public health and education inequities, violence, income inequality, slang, and racial hatred. However, the project is debated among historians for its factual accuracy. In March 2020 historian Leslie M. Harris who served as a fact checker for the project said authors ignored her corrections, but believed the project was needed to correct prevailing historical narratives. One aspect up for debate is the timeline. Time Magazine said the first slaves arrived in 1526 in a Spanish colony in what is now South Carolina, 93 years prior to the landing in Jamestown. Some experts say slaves first arrived at present-day Fort Monroe in Hampton, instead of Jamestown. Others argue the first Africans in Virginia were indentured servants as laws on lifetime slavery didn't appear till 17th century and early 18th century, but worked essentially as slaves. Advertisement

'This book is antithetical to the American Dream.

'Moreoever, the 1619 Project is a racially divisive revisionist account of history which intends to reframe U.S. history by marking the year by marking the year when the first enslaved Africans arrived on Virginia soil as our nation's foundational date.'

'The 1619 Project is in fundamental opposition to our true foundation date in 1776.'

In a statement on Tuesday, Lamborn told Fox News: 'Our schools obviously have a crucial role to play in helping make students aware of the negative consequences of slavery and significant contributions of black Americans.

'However, we should never prioritize educational grants for schools that promote attacks on the principles enshrined in our Constitution.'

Republican lawmakers in a handful of states, including Iowa and Missouri, are continuing his fight to ban it from schools.

Bills were introduced in those state legislatures that would punish school districts that use The 1619 Project by cutting federal funding.

Ibram X. Kendi published his book in 2019, to both acclaim and criticism

A major critic of the project has been The Heritage Foundation, which says it 'has been tireless in its efforts to debunk the radical and anti-American positions taken by The New York Times and the '1619 Project.'

One of The Heritage Foundation's articles pointed out post-publication edits that The Times made, including changing a phrase in journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones' leading article in the series to say that 'some of' the colonists fought the American Revolution to defend slavery.

Former President Donald Trump was particularly angered by The 1619 Project, describing it as 'totally discredited' and part of the 'twisted web of lies' that has caught fire in American universities that teach American is a 'wicked and racist nation.'

He formed a '1776 Commission' in response to teach 'patriotism.'

It released a report this year before being scrapped by Biden.
President Moon Jae-in this week blamed Korea's coronavirus vaccine shortage on the selfishness of developed countries, whom he accused of "hoarding." "Infectious diseases such as COVID-19 require international solidarity and cooperation, but the reality is not like that. When their own situations became urgent, federations and international cooperation were neglected, and now countries are sealing their borders and restrict and hoard vaccines," he complained. But what country would behave differently under such desperate circumstances? Instead of whining now, the government should have secured ample supplies when it had the chance.

On April 20, Moon also said nationalism in the midst of a pandemic is an "obstacle" to the global economic recovery and hailed China for making "vaccine donations to developing countries." The trouble is that the Chinese vaccines are not much good and Korea wants Pfizer and Moderna vaccines from the U.S. As India faces a massive COVID-19 crisis, the U.S. offered wholehearted support. Even a selfish country will come to the aid of its allies. Moon should be knocking on Biden's door, not sucking up to China. That kind of behavior helps nobody.

The government and ruling party are also quick to blame pharmaceutical companies. The chief policymaker of the Minjoo Party said the demands of Pfizer and other drug makers are "excessive." But Korea has become one of the world's worst laggards in terms of inoculation because the government dragged its heels, not because of foreign pharmaceutical companies. Drug makers simply act according to their business plans, contracts and market conditions.

For good measure, the government and ruling party are blaming the media. "The opposition party and some news media have politicized quarantine measures by spreading false news," the MP floor leader said, and Acting Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki shouted at an opposition lawmaker and accused him of spreading false news when the lawmaker pointed out that Korea is not even in the world's top 100 in terms of inoculation. The vaccine shortage and slow inoculation are plain facts. The world's 13th biggest economy has vaccinated a pathetic 3.1 percent of the population, compared to about half in the U.K. It is the government and ruling party who are spreading false news. Moon boasted last year that the "end of the tunnel" is in sight, only to declare a "quarantine emergency" three days later. He had publicity photos taken talking to the Moderna CEO on the phone and claimed he had secured a firm promise of extra vaccines for 20 million people in the second quarter, but they never materialized. Then-Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said Pfizer and Moderna were "in a hurry" to sign contracts with Korea, but that was also a lie. The public is too tired even to get angry at this government any more.


Chennai, April 28 : The Indian Coast Guard on Wednesday said it has located the 11 missing Tamil Nadu fishermen and their boat about 1,100 km off Goa, and is escorting them back to land.

In a statement, the Coast Guard said the fishing boat, with 11 crew on board, had sailed from the Thengapattnam Fishing harbour in Tamil Nadu for a 30 day deep sea fishing voyage on April 6.

On April 24, the Tamil Nadu fisheries authorities intimated sighting of debris by other fishing boats operating in the area presuming the fishing boat to be sunk.

The Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) of Coast Guard at Mumbai activated the International Safety Net to alert merchant vessels transiting near the reported position to look out for the missing boat.

Simultaneously, Coast Guard ship Samudra Prahari was diverted for a search and the Indian Navy was also requested to launch Long Range Maritime Patrol aircraft.

It was learnt that the fishing boat was not carrying AIS or any other transponder which could have assisted in early locating of the boat by the search units.

Four days later, the missing boat was located around 200 miles (around 370 km) from Lakshadweep Islands. A Coast Guard Dornier aircraft located and corroborated the presence of the fishing boat on Wednesday morning.

The fishing boat is returning to its base port under escort of the Coast Guard and will reach around May 3.
The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine at the primary auctions for the placement of government domestic loan bonds on Tuesday, the first after the news of the withdrawal of part of Russian troops from the Ukrainian border, was able to increase sales of hryvnia-pegged securities to UAH 8.35 billion from UAH 4.59 billion UAH a week earlier.

According to the Ministry of Finance on its website, the cut-off rate for 5-month bonds grew from 8.5% two weeks ago to 9%, for 12 month-bonds it rose from 11.15% a week ago to 11.2%, for 24-month bonds  from 11.8% three weeks ago to 12% and for 36-month bonds  from 12.05% a month ago to 12.3%.

Rate for 19-month securities remained at the level of 11.3%.

Twelve-month government bonds were in the greatest demand, like a week ago: the volume of their placement increased from UAH 4.41 billion to UAH 5.73 billion. In addition, 19-month securities were sold for the amount of UAH 1.21 billion, 24-month bonds for UAH 0.44 billion and 36-month bonds for UAH 0.86 billion, while a week ago the Ministry of Finance sold 19-month bonds for UAH 2.6 million.

At the same time, the volume of sales of "short" government bonds remained relatively small  UAH 0.12 billion with an offer of UAH 0.5 billion, as the Ministry of Finance rejected four of 12 applications for UAH 0.4 billion, in which rates reached 9.2%.

Out of 64 bids submitted for the remaining auctions, the Ministry of Finance rejected only two for UAH 0.1 billion for the purchase of 24-month government bonds at rates up to 12.5% per annum.

In general, the average rate at these auctions rose to 11.33% from 11.18% a week earlier, while the average term increased from 12 to almost 17 months.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday placed 9-month U.S. dollar-pegged bonds for $21.5 million at the previous rate of 3.7% and 9-month euro-pegged bonds for EUR 42 million at the same rate of 2.5%, satisfying all the applications submitted at the auctions.
Lee Kun-hee, the late Samsung Group chairman / Korea Times file



Heirs of late Samsung Group chief Lee Kun-hee said Wednesday that they would pay more than 12 trillion won ($10.7 billion) in inheritance taxes, the largest-ever in the country's history, but did not reveal how they would split inherited stocks among them, a key issue in reshaping the ownership of the nation's No. 1 conglomerate.



They said they will also donate 1 trillion won to support the virus fight and research for rare child diseases, and around 23,000 pieces of the senior Lee's art collections, estimated to be valued at about 2 trillion won.



The announcement came two days before their deadline to report and pay inheritance taxes to the authorities.



Lee was survived by his wife, Hong Ra-hee, only son, Jae-yong, and two daughters -- Boo-jin and Seo-hyun.



The senior Lee, who was South Korea's richest man, died in October last year and left assets estimated to be worth more than 22 trillion won, including stocks valued at around 19 trillion won. When real estate is counted, his assets may top 25 trillion won.



Lee's family said they will pay inheritance taxes in installments. They can pay one-sixth of inherited assets by the end of this month and pay the rest over the next five years.



They are likely to fund their inheritance taxes with stock dividends but could also get bank loans to pay about 2 trillion won annually for receiving the late chairman's fortune.



Samsung, however, did not reveal how the family members will split Lee's stockholdings among them.



The late chief held a 4.18 percent stake in flagship Samsung Electronics, 20.76 percent in Samsung Life Insurance, 2.88 percent in Samsung CT, the group's holding company, and 0.01 percent in Samsung SDS.



Market experts have speculated that the senior Lee's stocks will be distributed in a way that favors bolstering the leadership of Jae-yong, the de facto leader of Samsung Group.



Jae-yong controls the group with a cobweb-like ownership structure linking Samsung CT, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Electronics.



He holds only a 0.7 percent stake in Samsung Electronics but controls Samsung Group through his grip on Samsung CT with a 17.33 percent stake.



The heirs also said they will return some of the late chief's wealth to the community.



The family said 700 billion won will be donated to help the country overcome the novel coronavirus pandemic, with 500 billion won earmarked to build the country's first hospital fully dedicated to infectious diseases.



The rest will be used for research on vaccines and treatment and the construction of a national research center for epidemic diseases.



The family will also give 300 billion won to supporting children suffering from cancer and rare diseases. The money will be used for around 17,000 young patients for the next 10 years.



Samsung added that around 23,000 art pieces of Lee's art collections, including national treasures and famous paintings, will be donated. The donated artworks are believed to be worth around 1-2 trillion won.



Of them, 21,600 ancient cultural properties, including 60 state-designated assets, will be donated to local museums.



Around 1,600 contemporary art pieces will be donated to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art as well as other art centers in the country.



Donated artworks include paintings from renowned artists, like Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Claude Monet. (Yonhap)
MDHHS partnering with Genesee Community Health Center to help vulnerable populations receive mobile COVID-19 services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 27, 2021

Contact: Chelsea Wuth, 517-241-2112

In an effort to reach more Michiganders in need of COVID-19 testing and other public health services, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is partnering with Genesee Community Health Center (GCHC) to provide mobile COVID-19 testing, vaccines and PPE, along with food, clothing and other social services.

"Every Michigander should have access to fundamental public health services regardless of their zip code, and this partnership with the Genesee Community Health Center will bring us a step closer to making that a reality," said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist. "These mobile sites are a product of the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, which I am proud to have chaired for over a year, and have been widely successful in advancing racial equity as we fight COVID-19. I look forward to seeing this partnership provide services where they are most needed in Genesee County."

"Reaching out and taking resources to where Michiganders live makes it easier to access these services and increases the chances of them getting a COVID test or being vaccinated against or having a health screening," said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MDHHS chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. "This partnership is helping address health disparities in communities as well as providing access to resources including emergency food and shelter, and referrals to other assistance programs."

Genesee Community Health Center provides a medical home with a focus on the health of the whole person, offering primary care and mental health and substance use services and other community supports.

"This partnership with the state helps us to expand our reach within the community, allowing us to bring mobile services where they are most needed in the community," said Jean Troop, director of GCHC. "We have always known that Genesee County's most vulnerable populations have difficulty in obtaining needed services for their health and well-being. To that end, we are utilizing our mobile services to ensure we can reach individuals who have transportation and lack of resources that hinder them from getting important health and social services."

"We work with a high-risk population who doesn't often have a primary physician," said Nicole Droomer, LMSW, CADC, clinical manager at New Paths, a Flint-based agency serving individuals with substance use disorders. "We wanted to be proactive with our staff and clients to bring the vaccine to them."

Michigan residents seeking more information about the COVID-19 vaccine can visit Michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine. Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

###
GALVESTON  On the gently rocking deck of Research Vessel Tommy Munro, Chris Lowery bent over a metal tube split lengthwise and filled with gray sludge. He poked it with a finger, then rubbed his fingers together, feeling for the sand he and other University of Texas scientists had spent eight days looking for.

The states General Land Office and the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management were funding the scientists work exploring where sand might be offshore. Its part of the GLOs recent push for a large-scale look at potential sources of offshore sand. BOEM wants to understand better where its located.

The limited resource is crucial for projects designed to fight beach erosion along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Many factors cause erosion naturally, but global warming is exacerbating it. Sea levels are rising amid the warming climate, as ice melts and the water itself expands. Stronger storms such as those last summer are also expected to be more likely, devastating coastlines and highlighting the need for a so-called first line of defense such as natural dunes or wetlands, or projects that feature human engineering as in the proposed coastal spine.

Enter Lowery, a paleo-oceanographer, and other scientists. Theyre studying where the Trinity River flowed during the Ice Age, before glaciers melted and the ocean and a new layer of sediment covered it up. They want to find what kind of sand that ancient river valley might be storing  and where.

The answer could help them understand the characteristics of where other Texas rivers flowed before they were submerged, perhaps with all sorts of useful material to fight the seas next big rise.

Its a scientific mission, said John Goff, a marine geophysicist and the team lead, and a practical mission.

Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Sand demand

Coastal restoration work is not new to Texas. Among the GLOs efforts are projects that stem from the 1999 Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act, which tasked the agency with reducing the impacts of erosion. Theyve replenished beaches, built dunes and restored marshes.

But the agency has more it hopes to do as sources for sand on land are depleted: In its updated coastal resiliency master plan, the GLO prioritized 123 projects that it wants to see carried out.

Climate change brings added pressure to strengthen the ever-eroding coast. University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology researchers who map coastline changes say about 80 percent is eroding. And at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, coastal geologist James Gibeaut finds that the sea level rise that has already changed shorelines is going to have a large impact in the future.

Whether Texas will adapt to climate change concerns Amanda Fuller, director of the Texas Coast and Water Program for the National Wildlife Federation. To her, erosion stands out as a major issue as violent storms accelerate the damage.

Fuller is among those pushing to build back natural ecosystems. Various groups in addition to the GLO have pursued their own projects. Penalties from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster settlements notably paid for much restoration work, too.

Quality, size and location of available sand become critical to designing some projects because of cost, said Tom Kelsch, senior vice president of the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The state and federal agencies find it is critical to catalog what sediment resources there are to guide how they are used. The GLO is building a sediment management plan; a national inventory of offshore sand guides decisions for BOEM, which manages the waters beginning about 10 miles into the Gulf of Mexico.

The University of Texas work will add to those efforts.

Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Fossils and chirps

Lowery, 34, and Goff, 57, were bent over their cylinder of sludge last Thursday because bad weather had forced them to return for a few days to the marina. Goff wore a University of Texas t-shirt. The Institute for Geophysics researchers ate shrimp and grits and slept in their bunks below deck.

Prior to that, theyd been collecting as much data as they could.

Two of the devices, called chirps, looked like oversized yellow boogie boards, which they dragged behind the boat to send sound waves through the sea floor. Goff likened the resulting image to an x-ray of the sea floor, showing a series of black squiggles that offer more detailed data of whats below the surface than has been gathered before.

In the squiggles, Goff could see the layers of sediment that filled in the river valley, which now ends at Trinity Bay. There was the river sand, then the delta sand from where the river dumped into what was the bay, then perhaps mud and tidal sand mixed on top of it. Each potentially had a different use for a different project.

Lowery was also dropping weighted pipes onto the seafloor, then pulling up long samples of sediment such as the one he studied on the deck. Somehow in that material he could see those different layers represented. He will also look for tiny fossils that can tell him about what the environment was like at the time the sediment was deposited.

When its research is complete, GLO will use the data to locate more specific places to survey where it might actually pump out sand. The research could help BOEM decide where to earmark more areas as sediment sources.

There was much work ahead: Lowery had split the core open that morning, he said. Hed barely begun to think about what the sediment in the tube would tell him .

emily.foxhall@chron.com
Jaipur, April 28 : It has been over seven decades since India attained Independence, but the caste system still holds sway in many parts of rural India. On Tuesday a small village in Rajasthan -- Surajpura in Viratnagar town of Jaipur district -- turned into a virtual fortress during a Dalit wedding, it being the first ever marriage here where the groom rode a horse as per Hindu tradition which the high caste people had never allowed to happen earlier.

A large number of policemen walked along with the baraat (marriage procession) to stop interference from the high caste people -- a common occurrence in this village.

As per the villagers, this village has never seen any Dalit groom riding on a horse even after 73 years of Independence.

This time, groom Kailash Chand, son of Premchand Balai, sent a letter to MLA Indraj Gujjar and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urging them to provide strict security to the marriage party -- it being the first time after Independence that a Dalit groom will ride a horse in this village.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Kotputli, Ramkumar Kaswa said that the groom had given in writing that he wanted police protection as he wanted to ride on a horse at his wedding.

Hence, a huge police force was deployed to make history in this village.

The administration officials spoke to the villagers and convinced them to maintain peace during the wedding ceremony.

On Tuesday, the marriage was solemnised peacefully. However, what made it the talk of the town was that while relatives and guests were seen dancing in the 'baraat' a police team followed them everywhere to ensure their safety.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
As online payment becomes the new normal due to the COVID-19 crisis, so have cyber frauds using QR codes. To avoid such frauds, India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has warned its customers against scanning QR codes unless the objective is to make a payment. The public-sector bank made it clear that QR codes are not meant to receive money and urged users to stay alert.

The SBI tweeted, "You don't receive money when you scan a QR code. All you get is a message that your bank account is debited for an 'X' amount. Do not scan #QRCodes shared by anyone unless the objective is to pay. Stay alert, #StaySafe. #QRCodes #InternetBanking."





You dont receive money when you scan a QR code. All you get is a message that your bank account is debited for an X amount. Do not scan #QRCodes shared by anyone unless the objective is to pay. Stay alert. #StaySafe. https://t.co/EXGQB7YFT9#QRCodes#InternetBanking  State Bank of India (@TheOfficialSBI) April 27, 2021

Also read: Banks asked to enhance safety norms amid novel ATM frauds

The tweet by SBI also consists of a link to a YouTube video, which begins with a person named Ramesh who wants to sell his dining table through a second selling application. He uploads a few pictures of the dining table on the application and pegs its price at Rs 16,000.

This is followed by a buyer (Arvind) contacting Ramesh, who wants to buy the dining table but wants to bargain a bit. After this, Arvind agrees to buy the dining table at Rs 15,000 and transfers the token amount to Ramesh's account to verify the authenticity.

Arvind then sends Ramesh a QR code and asks the latter to accept the 'collect' request on his app to receive the remaining amount. Since Ramesh is well-versed about online payments, he does not scan the QR code. Towards the end, it is explained that scanning any QR codes to accept payments will only lead to deduction of money from your account.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

Also read: RBI tightens digital payment security norms for lenders; issues new rules
(@FahadShabbir)

New York, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2021 ) :A Federal appeals court in New York on Tuesday denied bail to British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, accused of recruiting underage girls for the late disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell's lawyer David Markus said during Monday's oral argument that his client "has been detained under horrific conditions," so terrible that she could not prepare for trial.

The court considers Maxwell, who has US, British and French passports, a flight risk. This is the fourth time since her arrest that she has been denied bail.

In a brief ruling, the court reaffirmed the continued incarceration of Maxwell, who has been behind bars in New York since July 2020.

She faces six counts, including sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor.

Epstein killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Maxwell's lawyer complained that his client "is kept in solitary confinement for no reason" and that the prison guards "follow her around with a handheld camera" because they fear she could try to kill herself, even though he said she is not suicidal.

To address any sleep problems, the court urged Maxwell's attorney to discuss the issue with the New York federal judge in charge of the case, Alison Nathan.

The alleged crimes occurred between 1994 and 2004, and relate to four women, including two who prosecutors say were just 14 years old when they were sexually abused.

Maxwell denies all the allegations against her. A not guilty plea was entered on her behalf by her lawyer.

Her trial is due to begin on July 12, although her defense team is pushing for more time to prepare.

Maxwell faces an effective life sentence if convicted.

She allegedly befriended girls with shopping and movie theater outings, and later coaxed them into giving Epstein nude massages during which he would engage in sex acts.
Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union

As a person of faith and a New York state resident, I am pleased to see immigrant neighbors receive support through the fund for excluded workers recently passed by the state Legislature.



Some of my other neighbors dont seem to recognize that this fund benefits everyone indirectly. Landlords will have further assurance that their tenants can pay their rent. Employers will see productivity increase from workers whose living conditions are more stable. Businesses of all sorts will benefit from a broader, more reliable customer base.

But in addition to the common-sense, practical advantages, there is a spiritual advantage in treating all of our neighbors as all of the major faith traditions teach us to do. By treating others humanely, we get in touch with our own humanity.



The fund for excluded workers is an investment in a community where everyone has a chance to realize their full potential. I believe that is a cause for celebration.



Terry Diggory

Saratoga Springs

Elder, Presbyterian Church USA and co-coordinator of the Albany Presbytery Immigration Network
Singe shot of COVID-19 vaccine can reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus by nearly 50%, said a study by Public Health England on April 28. The findings by the PHE published on Wednesday are the latest hope for the world that the surge in COVID-19 cases can be stemmed as it concluded that vaccinated people are far less likely to pass the infection onto others.

As per the Guardian report, the study found that the single dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines and the ones who became infected at least three weeks after getting the jab was between 38% and 49% less likely to pass the virus on to people living in their homes when compared to those who are unvaccinated.

The protection, according to the study, was seen from around two weeks after vaccination and it was similar irrespective of persons age. Apart from PHE, other researches have also shown that both vaccines are highly effective at preventing people from getting COVID-19 and being hospitalised. Now, the experts will be assessing whether the two doses of vaccines can further reduce the transmission of highly infectious disease.

Meanwhile, as per the report, more work is being carried out on transmission among the general population. Public Health England has also said that similar results could be expected in places where the risk of getting COVID-19 is in the home including prisons. However, the study that included over 57,000 people living in 24,000 households, is yet to be fully peer-reviewed.

Terrific news says Hancock

In a statement, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed the findings of PHE research as terrific news while adding that the authorities already knew that COVID-19 vaccines save lives and this study is the most comprehensive real-world data showing they also cut transmission of this deadly virus. He further added that the study reinforces that vaccines are the best way out of this pandemic as they protect you and they may prevent you from unknowingly infecting someone in your household.

I urge everybody to get their vaccines as soon as they are eligible and make sure you get your second dose for the strongest possible protection. This is a huge national effort and we will beat the virus together, said Hancock.

Image credits: PTI/Pixabay
Soldiers wait to be inoculated with COVID-19 vaccine at a military vaccination center in Daegu, Wednesday. Yonhap









By Bahk Eun-ji







A growing number of people in their 30s and 40s are becoming increasingly reluctant to receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine amid lingering concerns over safety, especially after some serious adverse side-effects such as blood clotting were reported.







Such jitters are expected to grow following the government's recent announcement that it will bring in more doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which hasn't produced such adverse reactions so far, during the second half of the year.







While Korea started vaccinations of around 176,000 civil servants aged over 30, such as police officers, firefighters and coast guard crew, Monday, only 58 percent agreed to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.







In contrast, 91.1 percent of patients and 95.8 percent of staff at long-term nursing homes aged under 65 received AstraZeneca shots in the first quarter when blood clotting and other side-effects had not been reported.







Moreover, about 10 percent of people who made reservations to get the vaccine are not showing up at vaccination centers, according to health authorities.






VTE is a serious complication for patients in vascular care units and a preventable cause of hospital deaths worldwide [1] . The current standard of care for VTE prevention, when blood thinners cannot be prescribed, due to bleed risk, is a boot-like cuff that compresses the leg to increase blood flow, called intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC). IPC, however, is not suitable for all patients due to vascular disease, fragile skin, or complex limb injury. IPC also requires resource to correctly fit the cuffs and pneumatic pumps are not always readily available. The result is the need for an alternative mechanical intervention when IPC is impractical or unavailable.

To address this unmet need, the vascular department at the Specialty Hospital, led by Dr. Walid Mohammed Hasan Masoud, has adopted the innovative geko device for blood clot prevention. The small watch-sized device sticks to the side of the knee, increasing blood flow in the deep veins of the calf[2], via painless electrical pulses, at a rate equal to 60 percent of walking[3] without a patient having to move.

Influenced by compelling real-world data, reporting a zero VTE incidence in immobile acute stroke patients[4] , Dr Masoud saw the potential in the use of the geko device for blood clot prevention in immobile, high-risk vascular patients. Now in routine use in the unit, Dr. Masoud is leading wider awareness of the neuromuscular electrostimulation device to address other areas of unmet need at the Speciality Hospital, including complications related to swelling after surgery and hard-to-heal chronic wounds (leg ulcers).

Dr. Walid Masoud, senior consultant in vascular, endovascular and kidney transplant surgery at the Specialty Hospital, said:

"VTE is a complicating factor in the recovery of many critically ill patients within the vascular department setting; and for those unable to be prescribed drug or IPC prophylaxis there is a real danger of serious, sometimes fatal, blood clotting. My team was therefore keen to find an alternative mechanical intervention to ensure that all patients can receive appropriate VTE prophylaxis when standard of care cannot be prescribed.

"We welcomed the opportunity to examine the role of the innovative geko device in our vascular care population. Our findings show the geko device is safe and well-tolerated and can be used to protect patients until it is safe to prescribe blood-thinning drugs."

Bernard Ross, founder and CEO of Sky Medical Technology, said: "Vascular clinicians constantly have to weigh an acceptable drug VTE prophylaxis bleeding risk, in acutely or critically ill inpatients, against use of mechanical prophylaxis when a bleed risk is unacceptable. I am proud that the geko device can provide an alternative mechanical intervention without bleed risk and delighted Dr. Masoud and his clinical team have embraced this capability and its wider application in pre- and post-operative oedema management and wound therapy."

About the Specialty Hospital, Amman, Jordan

The Speciality Hospital vascular department is an internationally recognised centre for vascular surgery, and one of the biggest centres in the Middle East, supervised by highly trained specialised healthcare providers, using state of the art equipment and the latest technology. The Specialty Hospital Vascular Practice is comprehensive: Endovascular Cath labs, Vascular Radiology lab, Operation rooms and Wound care clinics.

https://www.specialty-hospital.com/en/services/36/Services/srv/115/32/Vascular-surgery

About the geko device

NICE guidance (MTG19)[5] recommends use of the geko device for VTE prophylaxis in all hospital patients where standard prophylaxis treatments are impractical or contraindicated. The geko is a neuromuscular electrostimulation device which prevents blood stasis in the deep veins of the calf by activation of foot and calf muscle pumps via stimulation of the common peroneal nerve. Weighing just 10g, silent in operation and with no wires or leads, the battery powered geko is a daily disposable device that is self-adhesive and comfortable to wear. www.gekodevices.com

About Firstkind and Sky Medical Technology Ltd

Sky Medical Technology, the parent of Firstkind Ltd, is a UK-based medical devices company. Through its innovative mechanism of neuromuscular electrostimulation, Sky has developed a non-invasive, ground-breaking technology platform, OnPulse, embedded in its industry-leading brand, the geko device. Sky's products are tailored to different medical application areas, selling through strategic partnerships or distributors in each major clinical area. Clinical areas of focus include life threatening blood clots, complications related to swelling after orthopaedic surgery and vascular conditions related to wound healing. The goal in each pathway is to partner with healthcare professionals to improve clinical outcomes and patient care whilst saving health system resources. www.skymedtech.com

About Tadawi Medical Supplies Est

Tadawi is a leading importer and distributor of medical equipment and transformative innovation for the Jordanian market. Focus application areas include intensive care and wound therapy, alongside exclusive distribution agreements with leading international companies in the respiratory field. Their selling organization has a strong medical background, with staff drawn from medical device engineering, nursing and health education.

References

Geerts WH, et al. Prevention of venous thromboembolism: American College of Chest Physicians Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines (8th Edition). Chest 2008;1336 Suppl:381s453s. A. Nicolaides, M Griffin. Measurement of blood flow in the deep veins of the lower limb using the geko neuromuscular electro-stimulation device. Journal of International Angiology August 2016-04. Tucker A, et al. Augmentation of venous, arterial and microvascular blood supply in the leg by isometric neuromuscular stimulation via the peroneal nerve. The International journal of angiology: official publication of the International College of Angiology, Inc. 2010 Spring; 19(1): e31-7. Natarajan I, et al. Poster: The use of the geko device and the activation of the foot and calf pumps for prevention of venous thromboembolism in patients with acute stroke. Data on file Firstkind Ltd 2019. NICE medical technologies guidance [MTG19] Published date June 20 2014.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1494658/Specialty_Hospital_geko.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1494657/Specialty_Hospital_geko.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1395567/Geko_Logo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1340942/Sky_Medical_Logo.jpg

Media Contact:

Sue Davenport

Sky Medical Technology Ltd

[email protected]

+44 (0)7771 667170

SOURCE The Specialty Hospital
Amaravati, April 28 : Amid the spiralling second Covid wave, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, on Wednesday, insisted that the state will conduct tenth standard and intermediate (class 12) board exams this year.

He said that the government is conducting Board examinations to ensure that students have a better future and assured them that he has every student's future in mind while taking this decision.

As only pass certificates would be issued by the states which have not conducted the exams, how will our students get admission in good institutions on the basis of a pass certificate alone, he queried.

Pointing out that the central government has left it to the state governments to decide whether or not to conduct tests in the current scenario, Reddy noted that examinations are underway in some states following strict measures, a statement issued by the government said.

"SSC and Inter examinations are very important to the students as their future depends on those certificates. The state government will ensure safety of every student in the state," the chief minister was quoted in the statement.

The chief minister's unequivocal stand comes in the face of a strident campaign by the opposition, especially the TDP, demanding cancellation of the public exams in view of the pandemic.

The chief minister attacked the opposition for their criticism on conducting 10th and Inter examinations. Trying to degrade the government even in the times of disaster, is not good, he said.
Seguin, Texas (78155)

Today

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 76F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 76F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.
Patna, April 28 : The Bihar Police Association (BPA) has written to DGP S.K. Singhal to provide health cover of Rs 50 lakh to each cop in the state.

Mritunjay Kumar Singh, the president of BPA, told IANS that a large number of police personnel are getting infected while performing Covid duty every day.

"It is extremely disheartening that the health department is not providing timely test reports. The report of every RT-PCR test has to come within 48 hours as per the WHO guidelines, but as the health infrastructure has completely collapsed in the state, it is taking 5 to 7 days and sometimes even more than a week. Till then, a person waiting for a test report in home isolation may get severely infected and could even die," Singh said.

"So far, three policemen have lost their lives in the absence of treatment facilities in Bihar. Being frontline Corona warriors, the cops on the ground are facing a serious threat of the infection. Hence, we have written a letter to DGP S.K. Singhal to provide health insurance of Rs 50 lakh to every police personnel and officers who are risking their lives to save the people," he said.

"The infected police personnel are struggling to get hospital beds just like the common people. We have a police hospital in Patna and we have demanded the state government to declare it as a dedicated Covid hospital for police personnel. Unfortunately, there is no headway in it. The maintenance of the hospital is in pathetic condition," Singh said.

"When the first wave of Covid-19 had hit the state last year, we had written a letter to then DGP Gupteshwar Pandey for the same. But even after one year, the department has not implemented it. Hence we have given a reminder to current DGP Singhal to provide Rs 50 lakh insurance to every cop in Bihar. Majority of the cops at the junior level do not have the capacity to bear the high expences of hospitalisation.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Zapata County Sheriffs Office busted a stash house with five migrants who had crossed the border illegally, authorities said.

Deputies found the five citizens of Mexico inside a recreational vehicle in the 100 block of Madison Street at about 12:39 a.m. April 20. An alleged stash house operator was also detained.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  Turkish warplanes were continuing on Wednesday to strike suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq, while commando troops were conducting a search and sweep operation, Turkeys defense ministry said, as the military pressed ahead with its latest incursion into the neighboring region.

Turkeys military on Friday launched a new ground and air offensive against militants of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which maintain bases in northern Iraq and have used the territory for attacks against Turkey.

It was the first Turkish incursion into the region since February, when 13 Turkish citizens, who were abducted by Kurdish insurgents, were found dead in a cave complex in an apparently botched operation to rescue them.

Turkey has conducted numerous cross-border aerial and ground operations against the PKK over the past decades and the latest offensive was centered in northern Iraqs Metina and Avashin-Basyan regions.

A defense ministry statement said the operation was continuing as planned, with suspected PKK targets being struck from both the air and from the ground.

Commando troops, who were airlifted into the region, were meanwhile leaving no stone unturned while destroying suspected PKK shelters, caves, weapons, ammunition, handmade explosives and mines, according to the statement.

The PKK has described the latest incursion as a genocidal attack and called on world democracies to take a stance against Turkey.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the PKK, which is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union, began an insurgency in Turkeys majority Kurdish southeast region in 1984.
Nearly 40million people in England live in practically 'Covid-free' areas, data has revealed.

The UK's hugely successful vaccine rollout and continued lockdown measures have meant that seven in ten people now live in places where two or fewer cases were recorded during the latest week.

It sparks hopes that Boris Johnson will proceed with the next stage of his roadmap out of lockdown as planned on May 17 as the PM prepares to unveil an 'ambitious' Queen's Speech that he told ministers will 'chart the way forward for a country coming out of Covid'.

The May 17 date marks the re-starting of non-essential foreign travel and allows up to six-people - or two households - to gather indoors.

In another positive sign, yesterday's daily deaths figure halved in a week - with 17 recorded on Tuesday, compared to 33 one week prior.

England is split into 6,800 areas - which each have average population of approximately 8,200 - to record data on Covid.

Public Health England (PHE) redacts data for areas that see two, one or no cases in one week so as to protect the identities of those infected.

England is split into 6,800 areas - which each have average population of approximately 8,200 - to record data on Covid. Public Health England (PHE) redacts data for areas that see two, one or no cases in one week so as to protect the identities of those infected (a graph showing areas based on the number of Covid cases). A total of 4,819 areas have had their information pulled by PHE

A woman jumps in the air in front of members of the public enjoying a drink in Edinburgh as lockdown measures are eased on April 26, 2021

A total of 4,819 areas have had their information pulled by PHE, analysis by The Times revealed.

If you want to end lockdowns forever get vaccinated, says top expert Young people should get Covid vaccines to regain their freedom and bring an end to lockdowns even if they are at a lower risk of dying, a scientist has said. Cambridge University epidemiologist Dr Raghib Ali told MailOnline younger people might not see as big a personal benefit to vaccination as older generations. But widespread vaccination across all adult age groups is vital to bringing an end to the constant restrictions that have ruled people's lives for the past year. Experts are concerned that younger people will have lower jab uptake than elderly groups because they don't face a high risk of death from Covid, and they may be more likely to have seen anti-vaxx theories online or be worried about side effects. Dr Ali said: 'We are going to face an issue, particularly in young people who perceive the threat of Covid to be less. 'I'd say to these people, if you want to avoid another lockdown then vaccination is the best way to do it. Young people suffer from lockdowns most, with their mental and economic health. Vaccination is the only way to do it.' 'There's a degree of altruism versus personal benefit as you go down the age groups, particularly as you get below 30,' Dr Ali said. He added: 'The surveys I've seen suggest uptake is going to be about 85 per cent, which isn't as high as the current rate but no-one thought we'd get 95 per cent uptake before.' Dr Ali suggests a tricky element of young people getting vaccinated is that for many of them it is selfless and intended to protect other people rather than themselves. Advertisement

This means that 38 million people are in areas where two or fewer cases have been recorded in the most-recent week of available data.

Dr Mike Tildesley, from the University of Warwick team that correctly predicted the UK's second wave, said 'things are very much moving in the right direction'.

The infectious disease modeller, who is also a member of the SPI-M group whose calculations feed into SAGE added: 'The road map for relaxation is on track but we need to ensure we monitor it at every stage as the country reopens to evaluate the impact of unlocking society upon cases, hospital admissions and deaths.

'The vaccination campaign continues to be successful, so I hope that the road map can proceed on schedule. But it is really important we monitor the data over the next few weeks.'

Speaking to ministers yesterday, Mr Johnson enthused about his Queen's speech on May 11, saying it 'will chart the way forward for a country coming out of Covid with a very ambitious agenda', the Daily Express reported.

It will 'demonstrate how we will build back better from the pandemic and fulfil our pledge to unite and level up the country', the PM said. before declaring the country will be 'Bounce Back Britain' in coming months.

The next stage of lockdown relaxation follows on May 17, and will see the scheduled easing of the non-essential travel ban.

The government is trying to rush through 'Covid passports' in time for May 17 - but will only reveal the UK's 'green list' of countries on May 7.

It was yesterday suggested by officials that Covid passports for summer holidays could be in place by June with UK-EU talks to resume travel set to start in days.

Vaccinated Britons with Covid passports could holiday in the US, France, Italy and Germany by June 28, it was revealed, though Greece insists the handwritten paper NHS card handed out with a jab will suffice.

Spain also confirmed last night it was looking forward to welcoming back British holidaymakers and said June would be the start of the 'recovery' for tourism.

The EU is closing in on a deal with the US on Covid passports, with officials also saying they are open to a similar policy with the UK.

In response, a UK government spokesman said Britain was also ready to open talks with the EU shortly.

The spokesman said: 'Ensuring free and open travel with our European partners is vitally important which is why we will be engaging the European commission on reopening travel routes from the UK shortly.'

Revealing Spain was throwing open its becahes, tourism minister Fernando Valdes Verelst said: 'June will be the start of the recovery of tourism in Spain. By then, we will have a digital vaccination certificate in place and we will be able to reopen our borders.'

ITALY: Britain is pushing for vaccinated Brits with Covid passports to be able to holiday freely by the end of June

GREECE: The islands including Rhodes (pictured) are ready to welcome tourists in mid-May and plan random testing at airports to deal with tourists

'Longest summer ever' as Britons plan to take holidays throughout autumn to beat global Covid crackdowns Britons are preparing for the 'longest summer ever' as lockdown-weary holidaymakers rush to go abroad as late as November to beat global Covid crackdowns. Autumn bookings for international trips have seen an 80 per cent surge in interest compared to 2019 - as tour operators, hotels and airlines all report increased queries about later holidays. It comes amid warnings that summer trips could be under threat if the Foreign Office advises against travel to green list countries. The Government is preparing to lift the ban on international travel on May 17 and is finalising plans for a 'traffic light' system to determine which countries will be authorised destinations. However, experts have warned of confusion because the Foreign Office is expected to publish its own advice which could differ from the colour-coded scheme. Advertisement

He said Spain was pushing for the UK's digital vaccine passport to be 'mutually recognised' and that he welcomed Boris Johnson's plans to restart international travel.

Speaking at the World Travel and Tourism Councilin Mexico, he added: 'Because of the progress in our vaccine rollout with 22 per cent of our population having had their first dose already, we expect by June to be at the green light.

'We are having close conversations with UK authorities and we are exchanging information on Spain's digital system and the trial happening at our airports in May.'

Meanwhile, it was revealed UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will hold talks with G7 counterparts at the Cornwall summit between June 11 and 13 with a view to securing a free travel agreement to popular destinations.

Mr Shapps will argue that they should agree international standards for vaccinated travellers heading to 'green list' nations who show digital proof of vaccination, a negative test or proof of immunity at passport control.

There would also be talks on bilateral 'travel corridors' to the US, France, Italy, Germany and other nations for passengers with a covid passport, according to the Daily Telegraph.

But Greece, which will open its borders on May 15 - two days before the UK allows holidays - is planning to go it alone, for now.

A study today revealed that a single dose of vaccine slashes the risk of spreading coronavirus by up to half.

Not only does the jab reduce a person's chance of catching Covid in the first place, it greatly reduces their chances of passing it on, should they get infected.

The research by PHE which involved almost 1.5million adults is the first of its kind to confirm the effectiveness of the vaccines in curbing the virus's ability to spread.

It comes as Mr Johnson said yesterday that the 'road ahead looks positive' as separate figures revealed Covid deaths have plummeted 97 per cent since the second peak.

A single dose of vaccine slashes the risk of spreading coronavirus by up to half, a major study reveals today

Not only does the jab reduce a person's chance of catching Covid in the first place, it greatly reduces their chances of passing it on, should they get infected

The new study on transmission of the virus found that adults who received the Pfizer vaccine  but still caught the virus  were 49 per cent less likely to spread it to other household members than those who weren't inoculated.

The results for the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab were not quite as good but nonetheless, those who received it were 38 per cent less likely to transmit it to others in their household.

But the fact that both vaccines dramatically reduce the virus's ability to spread  as well as preventing serious illness  offer renewed hope that they hold the key to a return to normal life.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: 'This is terrific news, we already know vaccines save lives and this study is the most comprehensive real-world data showing they also cut transmission of this deadly virus. It further reinforces that vaccines are the best way out of this pandemic as they protect you and they may prevent you from unknowingly infecting someone in your household.

UK humiliated us! Italian MEP slams EU's slow vaccine rollout An Italian MEP yesterday launched a verbal attack on the European Union, declaring 'the UK humiliated us' with the speed of its vaccine rollout. Antonio Maria Rinaldi spoke out as members of the European Parliament debated Brexit for the final time, ahead of the EU's formal ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement. The former banker and member of the Eurosceptic Lega party said the UK will see higher economic growth than Europe and apologised for Brussels' Brexit doom-mongering. He attacked the EU's 'swamps of regulations' and 'the lies that have been told [against Britain] just for daring to no longer follow diktats'. His comments came as the Commission announced it was suing AstraZeneca over vaccine shortfalls, the latest development in a furious row that has seen European leaders bitterly attack Britain for having secured more doses than them. Mr Rinaldi said: 'I learned that the European Union has sued the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. We hope that the lawyers in charge are not the same ones who formulated the contracts last year. 'Why is the Commission not using some very good London law firm this time? They would be sure to win.' Advertisement

'I urge everybody to get their vaccines as soon as they are eligible and make sure you get your second dose for the strongest possible protection. This is a huge national effort and we will beat the virus together.'

The jabs' ability to prevent virus transmission kicked in after just 14 days and they worked regardless of a person's age or the number of people within their household, with whom they had close contact.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at PHE, said: 'Vaccines are vital in helping us return to a normal way of life.

'Not only do vaccines reduce the severity of illness and prevent hundreds of deaths every day, we now see they also have an additional impact on reducing the chance of passing Covid-19 on to others. I encourage anyone who is offered a vaccine to take it as soon as possible.

'While these findings are very encouraging, even if you have been vaccinated, it is really important that you continue to act like you have the virus, practise good hand hygiene and follow social distancing guidance.'

Last week, a major Oxford study found that a single dose of either the Oxford/AstraZeneca or the Pfizer vaccine reduced symptomatic infection by nearly three quarters, compared to in people who had not had the jab.

The authors were so encouraged by the findings they said the jabs would enable the country to control the pandemic without the need for future lockdowns.

There were 2,685 new coronavirus cases and a further 17 deaths reported yesterday.

The Prime Minister's optimism about getting life back to normal comes as Office for National Statistics figures showed there were 266 deaths in the week to April 9 where Covid was recorded on the death certificate. This is down 97 per cent from 8,965 in the week to January 22, when there were more than a thousand deaths each day.

After Mr Johnson's Cabinet meeting yesterday, a No10 statement said: 'The PM said that while the road ahead looks positive, there will still be challenges and this Government will continue to take tough decisions where necessary to protect both lives and livelihoods.'

Yesterday the Government also announced that more than 13million adults had received both doses of the jab, meaning a quarter of the population now have the strongest protection against the virus.

All over-40s are expected to be invited for their jabs by the end of the week and officials are confident that they will hit their target of offering all adults their first dose by the end of July.
Fonterra has cultures that Kiwi farmers have collected since the 1920s for making cheeses and yoghurts and is now testing which ones can reduce the amount of methane cows burp when they digest grass and feed.

The supplement is the latest effort by the nations farmers to solve an increasingly pressing problem of livestock emissions as it pledges to become carbon neutral. Unlike most developed economies, New Zealand is heavily dependent on agriculture, especially cows and sheep, so while others focus on cutting carbon dioxide, it has a much bigger problem with gases produced in animals stomachs.

Branded Kowbucha, a nod to the popular fermented drink kombucha, its being tested by one of the worlds biggest dairy producers, Fonterra Cooperative Group, to see if it can reduce the amount of methane burped out by the countrys 4.9 million cows.

Cows in New Zealand are getting a cocktail typically associated with hipsters in New York or London.

The fermentations produced by those cultures can have quite dramatic effects on digestion, not just in humans but in animals, says Jeremy Hill, the co-operatives chief scientist. Kowbucha is one of the possible candidates for the dairy co-operative, which is also looking at other options including seaweed.

The technology is still at an early stage of research and, like other potential solutions to the bovine problem, faces questions over how to deploy it in the pastures where cows spend most of their days, and whether farmers would be able to afford it. But its critical for New Zealand if the country is to reach net zero.

Methane, made of carbon and hydrogen, is up to 56 times more potent than CO2 to global warming when measured over 20 years. The United Nations backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates a global methane reduction of 40 per cent to 45 per cent by 2030 is needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius, as cheaply as possible. Moreover, because methane stays in the atmosphere for only a decade, reducing its output can deliver a relatively quick win compared with CO2, which lingers for centuries.

If you dont deal with agriculture, youre never going to get to these low warming targets, said Drew Shindell, the lead author on an upcoming United Nations research paper on methane.

The Global Methane Assessment, due to be published next week, shows that curbing human-caused methane emissions by as much as 45 per cent by 2030 will avoid nearly 0.3 degrees of global warming by the 2040s, preventing more than quarter of a million premature deaths.
Spaces like Perth CBD car parks which go unused at night could be part of a new winter trial to provide evening shelter to homeless people.

The City of Perth council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to investigate the feasibility of a trial, a key election promise from Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas.

Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas wants to investigate trialing the use of unused spaces in the CBD as shelters for homeless people at night.

Mr Zempilas said the number of rough sleepers in the CBD had gone up from 126 in October to 191 last month.

Winter is coming, the time for procrastination is over. Its clear somebody has to step up for those people experiencing homelessness, he said.
The big banks had all deserted the Essex market town of Rochford, with Barclays the last to shut in 2017.

It was not thought cost-effective to keep full-time branches open in the town, which dates from medieval times and now has a population of 8,400.

From then on, cash could only be withdrawn from two sites  one ATM that charged 99p  and from a Post Office plagued by long queues.

Rochford helpers (l-r): Toni Jean-Baptiste of Natwest, David Szczepaniak of Lloyds, Frederic Easlea of Santander, Lisa Burton of Barclays and Alison Hoskin of HSBC

And to speak to someone from their bank, most families faced an eight-mile round trip to the nearest branches in Southend-on-Sea.

But now there could be a solution. Rather than their bank having a 24/7 presence on the High Street, residents have been given their local branches back for one day a week.

On Mondays, NatWest takes over the shared High Street branch, on Tuesdays it's Lloyds, Wednesdays: Santander, Thursdays: Barclays, with HSBC on Fridays.

For Rochford is one of two locations in the UK to test out a new way of banking.

And these new bank hubs in Rochford and Cambuslang, a town on the outskirts of Glasgow could be the future in small towns.

The project is designed to help bank-barren communities at a time when more than 500 branches have been shut or are earmarked for closure this year.

Plummeting numbers of free-to-use cash machines are also contributing to a cash crisis  with 3,900 shut since the pandemic started, according to ATM network Link.

The shared bank buildings in Rochford and Cambuslang also have a Post Office counter, where visitors can pay in cheques and change, withdraw cash and settle bills five days a week.

But the new breed of bank branch is not currently a perfect replacement for the real thing.

Plummeting numbers of free-to-use cash machines are contributing to a cash crisis

Santander staff can only help customers use ATMs, make transactions on their phones and talk to its telephone banking service.

But the bank will soon expand its hub repertoire to include recovering lost passwords and usernames, reporting lost bank cards and setting up standing orders.

NatWest customers have access to almost every service they would at a local branch including notifying the bank of a bereavement and undertaking a mortgage agreement in principal.

But they cannot instruct a payment worth more than 20,000.

But Natalie Ceeney, who launched the Community Access to Cash Pilots scheme, says more services are likely to be added as the banks find out what the customers want through the pilot.

'We are looking to find out what other services people want so banks will understand how best to serve local people,' she says.

On a midweek morning half-a-dozen customers are queuing outside the building, which was previously a carpet shop.

Inside, customers can go straight to branch manager Richard Fleetwood for Post Office services.

They can also use machines to deposit cheques and cash or speak to their own community banker in a private room.

Barclays customer Heather Hartnett, 71, arrives holding a cheque she has had since November. The retired bank worker was relieved that she would no longer have to drive to Southend, because the journey aggravates her arthritis.

She says: 'I could have gone to the Post Office, but I feel safer doing it in a branch  it feels more private.'

Later, Natalie Robinson-Day, 50, leaves the hub after depositing cash in her NatWest account. The mother-of-three says: 'I found out about this when I saw it on Facebook  they were so helpful.'

The banks in the hub represent the largest market share in the area. And it has already attracted several older customers.

Lloyds community banker David Szczepaniak, 21, says: 'One gentleman in his 70s came in after he locked himself out of his online account because he'd forgotten his password. I helped him set up a new one and get back in.'

Residents also hope it will attract more visitors to the town's shops and weekly market. Butcher Jason Macaree, of J.Mac Meats, hopes the hub will make it easier to deposit takings.

Jason, 49, says: 'I used to drive to Southend, now I will be able to go to the hub more frequently and I won't have to carry as much money around.'

If the six-month pilot is successful, Ms Ceeney hopes to roll out the hubs across the country.

But a third hub, which was set to open in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, had to be scrapped because organisers could not find a suitable venue.

Campaigner Derek French, a former bank executive, says the hubs could be the 'only solution' to help communities as branches close everywhere.

He adds: 'People will need to show their support by going to these hubs in the next six months. I am concerned that people are still behaving differently during the pandemic and that some may stay away from them as a result.'

Community Access to Cash Pilot initiatives are planned to run in eight areas across the UK.

f.parker@dailymail.co.uk
Tran Ha Duong, who has a doctorate in public policy from Harvard University and works for a large corporation in Vietnam, said for a long time the prestigious school was a far-fetched goal for him.

Tran Ha Duong

Duong, born in 1991, joked that he thought that first, you must be a superman, and second, your parents must be supermen. If you choose the first way, you have to speak five languages fluently and win a Nobel Prize before you are 18 years old. If you choose the second way, your parents need to be heads of states or among the top 100 billionaires in the world.

With such thoughts, Duong believed that Harvard was unreachable. However, he changed his mind. After graduating from university and working for a while, he decided that he wanted to pursue a master's degree at Harvard University.

When I read information about Harvards Master of Public Policy degree, I understood that the school wants to help people like me create positive changes, he said.

Duong decided to follow the program, which meant that he had to give up his job at a multinational group which had a high income and promising job promotions.

It may be a surprise to many people that I actually thought I was good enough to be admitted, but I wondered whether Harvard could satisfy my requirements which deserved my exchanging my existing opportunities, he said.

The most important requirement was whether Harvard could help him have the necessary tools to turn his aspirations into reality.

Duong said he wanted to help Vietnamese youth expand their skills so that Vietnam could be a wealthy and powerful country.

In his essay submitted to Harvard University, Duong wrote about YVS (Youths View, Voice and Vision in Society, an organization practising thinking and debating skills for Vietnamese youth that he founded many years ago.

Duong wrote about his admiration of his father and fathers comrades aspirations, and about how they fought during the resistance war to protect the fatherland.

And I asked myself why our generation could not have such a flame. If the desire of the previous generation was to have independence and freedom, the aspiration of ours now is a powerful and wealthy Vietnam, he said.

Everyone can make a contribution to building Vietnam into a powerful and wealthy country, but they need to have stature and "firm stuff", which are prerequitisites to make the apirations realistic.

Change the way you raise questions

Everyone can make a contribution to building Vietnam into a powerful and wealthy country, but they need to have stature and "firm stuff", which are prerequitisites to make the apirations realistic.

The YVS project, Youths View, Voice and Vision in Society, that Duong mentioned in his essay to Harvard University, was created by Duong and his friends in 2012.

It is a project that creates a friendly environment to help youth share thinking and debating skills about social issues related to young people.

At that time, I just finished the first university year in the US and exprienced a big cultural shock, which made me continuously raise questions about my values, he recalled.

Also, I realized that Vietnamese youth, including me, still lacked a lot of skills and playing fields where we could confidently show our personal viewpoints, he said.

In the first year of the project, YVS organized workshops and big competitions, including IChallenged 2012, IChallenged 2013 and BNW 2013.

When he was at high school, he was the Vietnamese delegate at the Model United Nations conference. He also received the United Nations Association's Young Diplomat award in Singapore in 2010.

During university, he was a member of the Amos J. Peaslee Debate Society at Swarthmore University which competed with prestigious schools such as Harvard, Princeton and New York University.

He also represented Vietnamese youth at the 11th Uinited Nations Youth Summit, held in New York in January 2013.

Duong said he believes that words have the most positive influence when they come from the speaker's heart.

During my studies and at work, I am not the one who speaks the most or the most fluently, but I always try to be the speaker with the most positive influence on my colleagues and the decisions of working teams, he said.

He said that young Vietnamese now have more opportunities to practice debating skills as society is more aware of the necessity of these skills. However, not all young people have the skills.

One of the biggest obstacles for young Vietnamese is their habit of following the crowd and letting parents and teachers intervene in their decisions.

Many young people ask Duong which majors they should study and what they should do. The questions themselves show their dependence on others. Instead, they should ask themselves why they love or dont love these jobs and what they need to do if their desired jobs are contrary to their parents wishes.

Phuong Chi

Female scientist with PhD in immunology pursues research on rare diseases Tran Nguyen Kim Thi is a postdoc majoring in AI usage in medicine at the Huge Kaul Precision Medicine Institute at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) in the US.
Baby manatee Lativa is recovering from severe exposure to brevetoxins, which affect the nervous systemshe is one of the lucky animals to survive a crisis affecting the gentle marine mammals in Florida

Baby manatee Lativa was so sick that her caregivers had to put a flotation device on her to allow her to come to the surface to breathe.

Others have not been so lucky: the gentle marine mammals are dying at an unprecedented rate in Florida, and there are not enough animal hospital "beds" to handle the crisis.

When two-year-old Lativa was rescued earlier this month, she was suffering from severe exposure to brevetoxins, potent neurotoxins produced by red tides or algae blooms that have contaminated some bodies of water in the US state.

"She was found beached and they never beach themselves... she was completely unresponsive," recounts Molly Lippincott, animal care manager for ZooTampa at Lowry Park.

Lippincott shows a video of Lativa, her head resting on a pool noodle.

Today, the manatee is breathing on her own, but is still being closely monitored in an intensive care tank next to Bellisima, who was found malnourished and seriously injured after being hit by a boat.

The red tides caused by human use of fertilizers, the loss of food sources in their natural habitat and the shocks caused by collisions with boats are among the leading causes of manatee deaths in Florida.

Manatees recover in intensive care tanks in Florida animal hospitals like the one at ZooTampa

And this year, the death toll is skyrocketing.

From January 1 to mid-April, 674 manatees have been found dead in Florida waters, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

That is nearly triple the number of manatee deaths recorded in the same period in each of the previous five years.

"We're just having a lot more issues environmentally, because there's such a large number of people that live here now," said Lippincott.

When the conditions of Lativa and Bellisima improve, they will be moved to recovery pools, where about 20 manatees are fed lettuce and cared for until they can return to their natural surroundings.

There are five manatee hospitals in the Sunshine State. The one in Tampa is one of the biggest and has three intensive care tanks. The tank bottoms can be raised to care for the animals.

Many manatees have scars from collisions with boats, which often happen when the mammals come to the surface to breathe

But the shocking mortality rate this year has stretched these facilities to their limit.

Veterinarians are "trying to just figure out how to shuffle manatees so that you can free up the critical care facilities," says Cynthia Stringfield, the senior vice president of animal health, conservation and education at ZooTampa.

"But right now, it's a juggling act to try to have space for everybody."

Scars from boat collisions

Manatees, distant cousins of elephants, are playful warm-water giants who graze on seagrasses and live in shallow waters because they need to surface frequently to breathe.

Normally, an increase in the number of manatee deaths can be attributed to collisions with boats and jet skis that speed through the manatees' habitat.

"When a manatee is coming up for a breath, that's when they're usually vulnerable and get hit by a boat," Lippincott explains.

In Florida ports, "manatee zones" are designated, and boaters are asked to use caution when navigating the shallow waters

In zoo recovery pools, many of the animals have scarsa jagged line when the manatee hit a boat keel, or parallel stripes when it was hit by an outboard motor.

"They really move very slowly. They cruise at about five miles an hour, so they don't have time to get away from boats. We need people to slow down when they're in shallow water," Lippincott says.

Florida does not require boat operators to have licenses. Users just need to complete a course that does not include a lot of information about local wildlife.

And tourists who rent boats often are unaware that manatees even exist, even though there are 7,000 of them in the state.

'Unusual Mortality Event'

The high number of manatee deaths so far this year on Florida's eastern shores seems to be due in part to the disappearance of seagrass, which is not getting enough sunlight due to algae blooms flourishing from both fertilizer use and excess sewage.

A zoo worker in Tampa feeds lettuce to the recuperating manatees

Some ailing manatees are bottle-fed in a recovery pool at the ZooTampa facility

Last month, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission classified the dire situation as an "unusual mortality event," a rare move that unblocks federal funds for an investigation.

Many of these manatees, sometimes called "sea cows," have been found suffering from malnutrition along Florida's central and southern Atlantic coastline.

Complicating the already fraught situation, a breach at a wastewater reservoir on the site of a former fertilizer plant on Florida's Gulf coast sent thousands of gallons of polluted water into Tampa Bay.

"We're not seeing the effects of that yet, but we're concerned that that could be an up and coming problem," Stringfield says.

In May 2017, a few months after Donald Trump assumed the US presidency, federal authorities reclassified manatees, downgrading them from endangered to threatenedthereby reducing the protections afforded to them.

Explore further Florida manatee deaths surge past 400 in first two months of 2021

 2021 AFP
Imperial Valley News Center

Governor Newsom Announces Appointments

Sacramento, California - Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:

Denise A. Tugade, 30, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Court Reporters Board. Tugade has been a Government Relations Advocate at SEIU United Healthcare Workers West since 2020. She served as Legislative Director for State Assemblymember Christy Smith from 2019 to 2020. Tugade was the Assembly Democrats Volunteer and Mail Tree Program Coordinator for the Christy Smith for State Assembly Campaign in 2018. She was a Legislative Aide for State Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez from 2018 to 2019 and Communications Director and a Legislative Assistant for then-State Assemblymember Monique Limon from 2017 to 2018. Tugade was a Senior Associate, AGILE and Human Centered Designed Lead and Social Media Manager at Cambria Solutions Inc. from 2015 to 2017. She was a District Coordinator at DelAgua Health Ltd. Rwanda in 2014. Tugade is an executive board member for the Young Asian American Pacific Islander Sacramento Democrats, New Leaders Council Sacramento and Barkada Sacramento. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Tugade is a Democrat.

Cheryl L. Williams, 66, of San Diego has been appointed to the Respiratory Care Board. Williams has been an Insurance Consultant for the American Family Life Assurance Company since 2015. She was a Community Relations Coordinator at the San Ysidro Health Center from 2010 to 2015, a Constituent Service Manager in the California State Assembly from 2006 to 2010, Assistant Campaign Field Manager for Mary Salas for State Assembly from 2005 to 2006 and Community Development Consultant at the Jacobs Foundation, San Diego from 2001 to 2004. Williams was President and Chief Executive Officer at the San Diego Circuit Board Service from 1981 to 2000 and Hearing and Placement Assistant for the San Diego Unified School District from 1977 to 1981. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and San Diego Delta Foundation Inc. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Williams is a Democrat.

Andrew S. Moreno, 38, of Fresno, has been reappointed to the Osteopathic Medical Board, where he has served since 2017. Moreno has been Of Counsel at The Moreno Law Group since 2021 and has held several positions there since 2015, including Post-Graduate Law Clerk and Managing Director. Moreno was Project Manager at Economic Vitality Corporation of San Luis Obispo from 2012 to 2014. He was Grants Manager at RM Associates from 2005 to 2012. Moreno is a member of the Federation of State Medical Boards. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Northwestern California University School of Law, a Master of Liberal Arts degree in environmental management and sustainability from Harvard University and a Master of Arts degree in communication and leadership studies from Gonzaga University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Moreno is a Democrat.

Denise L. Pines, 57, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Osteopathic Medical Board. Pines has been Co-Founder of Women in the Room Productions since 2018 and of Tea Botanics since 2017. She was President of The Smiley Group Inc. from 1999 to 2017. Pines was Manager at AT&T from 1994 to 1998. She was a Public Relations Specialist at Neiman Marcus from 1990 to 1993 and an Associate Manager for Louis Vuitton from 1988 to 1990. She is a member of the Martin Luther King Community Foundation and the NAACP Image Awards Committee. Pines earned a Master of Arts degree in international business and trade management from John F. Kennedy University and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from Stanford University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Pines is a Democrat.

Nicky Kapadia, 58, of Newport Beach, has been appointed to the Structural Pest Control Board. Kapadia has been an independent International Business Relations Specialist since 2015 and a Real Estate Broker since 1995. She was Director of Business Development at News India Times from 2019 to 2020. Kapadia is a member of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin, GOPIO International Chamber of Commerce, The Indus Entrepreneurs and the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Kapadia is registered without party preference.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 20:26:01|Editor: huaxia

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DHAKA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Bangladeshi government on Wednesday gave the greenlight to a proposal of producing Chinese and Russian COVID-19 vaccines in the country.

Bangladesh's Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the proposal to produce the vaccines -- China's Sinopharm and Russia's Sputnik V.

Shahida Akhter, a senior Cabinet Division official, said several leading Bangladeshi pharmaceutical firms in collaboration with the Chinese and Russian companies will produce the vaccines.

The decision came days after Dhaka suspended the first dosing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on a supply crunch.

Amid uncertainty over the timely arrival of the next COVID-19 vaccine shipment from India, the Bangladeshi government halted administering the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine across the country from Monday.

Nearly 6 million people have so far received the first dose of the vaccine in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the country's COVID-19 vaccination drive on Jan. 28 to rein in the pandemic that has so far spread to nearly every Bangladeshi district.

Bangladesh recorded 112 deaths from COVID-19 on April 19, its highest daily toll from the pandemic, the government said.

On Wednesday, the country's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 2,955 new cases of COVID-19 and 77 new deaths, bringing the number of total cases to 754,614 and the total death toll to 11,305.

To limit the second wave of the pandemic, Bangladesh on Wednesday extended the ongoing lockdown again by one week to May 5. Enditem
Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh on April 27 sent a video message to the 77th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) at the invitation of A.S.Alisjahbana,

UN Under-Secretary General and UNESCAP Executive Secretary.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh

In his remarks, Minh affirmed that for the past year, thanks to national efforts and the valuable cooperation and support of the international community, Vietnam has fundamentally put the pandemic under control, ensuring social protection and security and economic growth recovery, attaining our dual goals of pandemic prevention and social-economic growth and recovery.

Vietnam has also adjusted our short and long-term policies in transforming our growth model into one that is based on technologies, innovations, increasing the quality of economic growth to sustain production and rapid post-pandemic recovery towards sustainable development, he said.

As the Chair of ASEAN in 2020, Vietnam pursued important initiatives within ASEAN to further efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, towards the recovery of regional supply chains and ASEAN connectivity in coherence with sustainable development. It has also actively participated in the strengthening of the Mekong cooperation frameworks and the adoption of APEC Vision to 2040.

According to the Vietnamese official, the United Nations needs to continue to play its central role in policy cooperation and coordination to effectively implement a comprehensive strategy to tackle the pandemic, including having vaccines as the common good of the international community, ensuring fair, equitable and timely access to vaccination, to diagnosis and treatment of the COVID-19.

In addition, countries need to enhance international cooperation at all levels in practical experience and knowledge sharing in order to implement post-pandemic recovery strategies and policies, which are suitable for each countrys context, conditions and priorities, he noted.

It is imperative to enhance regional cooperation on trade and investment, tourism and innovative economy, energy, as well as on digital economy, including eradicating digital gap, repairing supply chains disruption, ensuring the continuous flows of goods and supply chains, enhancing regional economic integration and development of high-quality human resources so that the Asia-Pacific region continues to be the forefront of international economic recovery, he stressed.

The 77th Session of the UNESCAP was attended by Presidents and Prime Ministers of 18 countries, including the Presidents of Indonesia and Afghanistan and the Prime Ministers of Cambodia and Pakistan. In their remarks, they shared experience in pandemic prevention and control, called for strengthening multilateral cooperation, and suggested UNESCAP continue its role of coordinating cooperation and information and experience sharing at the regional level.

The four-day session, themed Building back better from crises through regional cooperation in Asia and the Pacific, will wrap up on April 29.

UNESCAP is one of the five regional socio-economic commissions of the United Nations. Its main function is to provide policy consultations and serve as a bridge for experience and knowledge sharing among member countries in economic, social and environmental fields. Currently, UNESCAP has 53 member countries which are located in the Asia-Pacific region./.VNA
After hours of abuse, a mother was saved by the New Mexico Police after her two kids handed the note written by their mother to their bus driver which later on made a 911 call for her rescue at the hands of his abusive boyfriend.

The man was identified as the 40-year-old Erik Alvarado, who allegedly beat, choked, and tried to suffocate the woman. He even threatened the mother of the kids if she reports the abuse to the police.

According to Fox 4, The Las Cruces Police Department shared that they were notified about the incident of abuse at around 8 a.m. on Friday, April 23. Alvarado started to physically assault the victim at around 8 o'clock the night before the report. This means that the victim has already suffered for several hours.

Moreover, the Police Department also reported that the majority of the violence happened in front of the two toddlers alongside two together school-age children.

Furthermore, at some point during the abuse, Alvarado reportedly took the woman's phone away to avoid contact with the authorities. The suspect even made the abuse victim stay by his side all night so that she could not get any help or run away.

ALSO READ: Officials Call on Nestle to Stop Taking Millions of Gallons of Water in the Middle of California Drought

Life-Saving Note

However, the next morning, Alvarado allowed the mother of the kids to take them to the bus stop. The woman immediately grabbed the opportunity to ask for any help and gave the note to her kids that states that she was in danger.

Also, the mother instructed her kids on Friday morning to give the note to the bus driver, who later on dialed 911 and requested rescue.

When the responding officers arrived at the reported location, the authorities have found the kids' mother. The woman already suffered from multiple injuries, including abrasions, bruises, and cuts, after being detained and abused for several hours.

Based on the statement of the Las Cruces Police Department, the claims of physical abuse were consistent with what she has written on the note handed by her kids to the bus driver. After enduring a night of abuse, the New Mexico mother, who was desperate for help, was rescued by authorities and put into safety, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Later that day, the 40-year-old suspect, Erik Alvarado, was located and detained for questioning regarding the incident. Alvarado has since been arrested and booked into jail, where he was immediately held without bond.

After the initial investigation of the authorities, Erik Alvarado has been charged with three third-degree felony counts of aggravated battery against a household member. Two of which were directed to the two instances of suffocation of the victim. The other one was counted for the strangulation, KTLA5 reported.

The suspect also faces misdemeanor counts of battery against a household member and deprivation of property.

Meanwhile, authorities are also looking at the possibility of additional charges.

RELATED ARTICLE: Authorities Investigate Double Homicide in Largo; 19-Year-Old Suspect Arrested
(@FahadShabbir)

New Delhi, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2021 ) :India's coronavirus death toll shot past 200,000 Wednesday as a relentless wave of new cases swamped hospitals and sent desperate families out into the streets of the capital in search of oxygen supplies and medicine.

Infection and death rates are soaring in the vast country of 1.3 billion, in contrast with the United States and some European nations which are taking tentative steps back towards normal life.

The virus has now killed more than 3.1 million people worldwide, with India driving the latest surge, recording 360,000 new infections -- a global record -- and more than 3,000 deaths on Wednesday.

Offering a glimmer hope, the co-founder of BioNTech -- which developed a Covid-19 vaccine with Pfizer -- said he is confident the shot works against the variant that is plaguing India.

In the capital New Delhi, car parks have been converted to crematoriums and the soaring body count has sparked a shortage of wood for funeral pyres.

Desperate relatives of the sick are crowding outside hospitals and pharmacies in search of treatment and medicines, often in vain.

Arriving in cars, rickshaws and ambulances, patients and their families desperate for oxygen flocked to a tent outside a Sikh place of worship on the outskirts of the capital this week.

Priyanka Mandal, 30, had been searching for oxygen for her mother since she became sick a week ago.

"Medicines are also not available... I've visited five, six big medical stores," she told AFP.

"No matter how much time it takes, I have to wait here... I only have my mum."
The Ondo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Police Brutality and Other Related Matters has recommended the payment of N755,730,897.83 to various petitioners who suffered damage as a result of a breach of their fundamental rights.

The panel, while submitting its report to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on Wednesday, said it received 77 petitions from public and private persons, as well as corporate organisations.

The Chairperson of the panel, Adesola Sidiq, a retired judge, said in his submission that besides the payment of the N755 million compensation, the panel also recommended the publication of apologies in national dailies, particularly where the reputation of victims had been tarnished.

Mr Sidiq, who led other members of the panel, noted that the assignment also considered human rights violations dating as far back as 2003 and which unfortunately remained unresolved until this panel was set up.

He said the panel heard 14 criminal and 63 civil matters during its sittings.

Mr Sidiq said properties were vandalised in four local council areas of Akure South, Ondo West, Odigbo, and Okitipupa.

He called for a review of Section 84 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, (2004) to enable judgement creditors enjoy the fruit of their litigations.

Apart from the monetary recommendations which totaled at the sum of N755,730,897. 88, the Panel equally recommended publication of apologies in national dailies particularly where the reputation of victims had been tarnished, he said.

Another issue which became thorny was on the cases which had been decided by courts of competent jurisdiction but were brought before the Panel for lack of payment of judgment debts.

Mr. Governor sir, the Panel, after careful consideration of its limitations in line with extant Supreme Court judgments on the powers of Panels of Inquiry to entertain res-judicata cases, suggests that it is high time a review is carried out on Section 84 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, (2004) to enable judgment creditors enjoy the fruit of their litigations.

The panel was set up to look into allegations of police brutality on citizens at the peak of the protests against injustice inflicted by the police on citizens, tagged #EndSARS.

It was targeted at pacifying angry youth who had taken to destructive acts and criminality.

While receiving the report, Mr Akeredolu said his government would not be paying compensations for damage done as political groups tried to settle scores during the crisis.

The governor, after receiving the report, thanked the committee for doing a thorough job, assuring that his administration would do justice to the report.

He, however, lamented the worsening security situation in the country since the end of the #ENDSARS agitation, saying that those who used the protest to settle political scores like the burning of both secretariat of the APC and the PDP would bear their cost.

#ENDSARS was a legitimate protest but it got to a point where hoodlums hijacked it, he said.

The destruction of properties was not done by #ENDSARS protesters. #ENDSARS was not about setting buildings ablaze like the Aketi Campaign office. Those are political matters. People wanting to settle scores.

When we go through your report, we will see how you want us to spend N755m. We will look at it again. Where politicians set each other buildings ablaze, each person will bear the cost.

At Okitipupa, I told them the state government will not be coming. They are contributing money to carry out repairs at Okitipupa local council. In Owo, the people protected property. Those hoodlums who hijacked #ENDSARS were ready to destroy anything.

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No palliatives were in any stores in Akure. I distributed them without waiting for CACOVID. States were waiting for CACOVID. #ENDSARS would have destroyed palliatives but we have already distributed.

The recommendation of reviewing Section 84 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, (2004) is a civil process. It is more of a federal legislation. We will get our federal lawmakers to kick-start it.

Governor Akeredolu also assured that his administration would offer apologies where necessary.

He also immediately dissolved the committee.
Henkell Freixenet has blamed a brace of temporary halts in sparkling wine sales for contributing to a 7% full-year sales decline.

Releasing its calendar-2020 results today, the pan-European wine group said that from March to June, the consumption of sparkling wine and Champagne came to a stop in many places. A further slowdown occurred in the run-up to Christmas with Sekt, Cava and Champagne particularly affected.

Both periods aligned with large-scale lockdowns across Europe because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Elsewhere in the 12-month results, the Freixenet portfolio, which Henkell took control of in 2018, performed well despite its mainly sparkling range of wines. Sales were up 5% globally helped by the launch of a trio of Italian still wines last year.

Henkells biggest Prosecco brand, Mionetto, saw sales dip by 3% last year. The company blamed declines in the US and the loss of the Travel Retail channel.



On a regional basis, Henkell Freixenets Western Europe region posted a 10% top-line decline in 2020, despite record sales in the UK. The closure of the European on-premise hampered performance in France, where one out of every four bottles is sold to restaurants. Italy and Spain, where one out of every two bottles is sold in restaurants, were also affected by lockdowns.

Combined sales for Germany, Austria and Switzerland climbed by 2% on the back of growth for the Furst von Metternich brand.

Looking ahead, Henkell said it is difficult to forecast developments in 2021. The coronavirus pandemic is currently causing radical changes, the company continued. Many countries have had several lockdowns, and they have severely impacted restaurant, hotel and catering sales, as well as duty-free business.

Why the future for wine in cans has arrived  Click here for a just-drinks comment
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to announce on Thursday that he is postponing the May 22 parliamentary elections, citing alleged Israeli obstruction, Palestinian and Israeli officials say.

Why it matters: Abbas' primary motivation for the last-minute delay is that a split in his Fatah party has opened the door for a potential Hamas victory.

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Driving the news: Abbas has summoned all the Palestinian factions for a meeting on Thursday at his headquarters in Ramallah. Hamas representatives were also invited to join.

Palestinian sources say Abbas is expected to announce that he is postponing the elections and sign a presidential decree to do so, without setting a new date for elections.

In an attempt to mitigate the fallout, Abbas will propose a national unity government with the participation of all factions, including Hamas.

The backstory: Abbas and his aides have been planting the seeds for this announcement in recent days, stressing that the elections can only be held if Israel allows voting in East Jerusalem. Fatah formally adopted that policy on Sunday.

On Tuesday, Palestinian minister Hussein al-Sheikh, who is responsible for contacts with Israel, announced he'd been informed that Israel would not allow voting in East Jerusalem.

Senior Israeli officials flatly denied the Palestinian accusations. "Israel is not intervening in the Palestinian elections and hasn't given the Palestinians any response regarding voting in East Jerusalem," an Israeli official told me.

Between the lines: The Israelis share Abbas' concerns about a Hamas victory. Israeli officials say they didn't issue a decision on voting in East Jerusalem because they didn't want to be blamed for blocking the election if they didn't allow it, or box Abbas into holding the vote if they did.

The political director of the Israeli foreign ministry, Alon Bar, met on Tuesday with a group of 13 European ambassadors and told them Abbas would be postponing the elections and blaming Israel. He stressed that Israel didn't sabotage the elections and asked them not to back Abbas' accusations.

What's next: Abbas' political opponents in Hamas and in other factions are expected to condemn the postponement.

The delay could lead to mass protests against Abbas and even to a renewed escalation with Israel in Gaza.

Tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians have already been rising amid clashes over new restrictions from Israeli police in East Jerusalem.

Abbas has drawn a link between those events and his claims of Israeli interference in the election. Hamas, meanwhile, didn't prevent rocket fire from Gaza toward Israel to show solidarity with the Palestinians in Jerusalem.

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Easterbrook was a longtime British McDonalds executive who took the helm of the Chicago fast-food giant in 2015, making his mark with a menu overhaul, restaurant renovations and other innovations. But his fall from corporate grace came swiftly in November 2019, when Easterbrook was fired over an intimate relationship with an employee, a violation of company policy.
The young widow of an Japanese real estate mogul has been arrested on suspicion of murdering the self-described 'Don Juan' just months into their marriage.

Kosuke Nozaki, who boasted of spending millions pursuing his 'boundless desire to have sex with beautiful women', died in 2018 of acute poisoning aged 77.

His widow Saki Sudo, now 25, allegedly killed Nozaki by giving him a large amount of an unspecified stimulant.

Real estate mogul Kosuke Nozaki (above) died of acute poisoning aged 77 in 2018

Saki Sudo (above), now 25, has been arrested for allegedly murdering her rich husband

Some reports said it had been mixed into a drink, as no needle marks were found on his body.

Sudo had allegedly been searching for information online about drugs before her husband's death, according to newspaper reports.

Local police declined to confirm the arrest when contacted by AFP.

In his will, Nozkai said he wanted to donate 1.3 billion yen to the city of Tanabe in Wakayama prefecture, where he had lived.

But because half of his estate goes to his widow under civil law, the city had been in talks with Sudo about splitting the money, the Sankei Shimbun reported.

Nozaki (above) boasted of wooing 4,000 young women in his 2016 biography

In a column written eight months before his death Nozaki had dismissed warnings that Sodu only wanted him for his money, despite their age gap of more than 50 years.

Nozaki, who ran a real estate business, liquor sales company and money-lending enterprise, claimed in his best-selling autobiography that he had spent three billion yen (27.5 million US dollars) on wooing 4,000 women.

'The reason I make money is to date attractive women,' he wrote in the 2016 book titled 'Don Juan of Kishu', after the region in western Japan where he lived.

'I have no interest in cars or houses. Instead, I have a boundless desire to have sex with beautiful women,' he said in the book, which also included chapters on how to seduce college students and cabin crew.

Sudo (above) allegedly searched online about drugs shortly before her husband was poisoned to death

Nozaki built his fortune from nothing, selling everything from metal scraps to condoms to liquor, according to the website of the book's publisher.

In a column Nozaki wrote for the Gendai Business website in 2018 - months before his death - he said he was 'confident of becoming happy' by marrying Sudo, even though people had warned him she was probably after his money.

He said they met at Tokyo's Haneda airport when he tripped over on purpose to get Sudo, who he said was a model, to help him.

In previous columns, Nozaki said he had started to become well known in Japan after a 2016 incident in which a 27-year-old woman he met and dated stole 60 million yen worth of cash and goods from him.
MIAMI, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Oceania Cruises, the world's leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line, announced that it will resume cruise operations with the 1,250-guest Marina in August, beginning with sailings to Scandinavia and Western Europe. Marina will resume her originally published voyage schedule, commencing on August 29, 2021 in Copenhagen.

"The entire Oceania Cruises team is excited to now shift our focus to safely restarting operations and ultimately welcoming back our guests to begin exploring the world once again," stated Bob Binder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Oceania Cruises.

Phased restart dates for the balance of the Oceania Cruises fleet will be forthcoming and itineraries will be evaluated for port availability and adjusted as needed closer to the sailing dates.

Robust, New SailSAFE Protocols

Oceania Cruises is undertaking a phased restart with its science-backed plan for a healthy return to service that protects our guests, crew and communities visited. The robust SailSAFE Health and Safety Program creates multiple layers of protection against COVID-19 and was developed with guidance from our team of public health and scientific experts including the Healthy Sail Panel and the SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council.

"At Oceania Cruises, we value health, well-being and safety above all else. Our guests, our crew, and, of course, the many amazing, dedicated people who work with us in the destinations we travel to are the very lifeblood of our business and we'll do everything in our power to safeguard their health and safety," stated Binder.

Full details on our SailSAFE protocols can be found here. These protocols will be continuously evolved and refined using the best available science and technology.

Better Than Ever  New and Exciting OceaniaNEXT Enhancements

When the line's ships start sailing again, beginning with Marina in August 2021, guests will be delighted with an array of truly surprising enhancements to the brand's already acclaimed culinary experience and onboard service.

"Our guests have been waiting a long time for this moment. We know that when our guests return, we want to not just welcome them back to the Oceania Cruises they remember and cherish, but also to exceed their expectations by elevating the dining experiences and service levels. We'll be sharing more information about these exciting developments in the coming weeks," added Binder.

For additional information on Oceania Cruises' small ship luxury product, exquisitely crafted cuisine, and expertly curated travel experiences, visit OceaniaCruises.com, call 855-OCEANIA, or speak with a professional travel advisor.

About OceaniaNEXT

OceaniaNEXT is a sweeping array of dramatic enhancements so transformational, they are inspirational. This ambitious brand initiative will elevate every facet of the Oceania Cruises guest experience to new levels. From thoughtfully crafted new dining experiences and reimagined menus to the dramatic re-inspiration of the brand's six ships, guests will savor The Finest Cuisine at Sea, be pampered aboard small and luxurious ships, and be enriched through in-depth destination exploration.

About Oceania Cruises

Oceania Cruises is the world's leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line. The line's six small, luxurious ships carry only 684 or 1,250 guests and feature the finest cuisine at sea and destination-rich itineraries that span the globe. Expertly curated travel experiences aboard the designer-inspired, small ships call on more than 450 marquee and boutique ports across Europe, Alaska, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, New England-Canada, Bermuda, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, Tahiti and the South Pacific in addition to the epic 180-day Around the World Voyages. The brand has two 1,200-guest Allura class ships on order.

With headquarters in Miami, Oceania Cruises is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., a diversified cruise operator of leading global cruise brands which include Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) is a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. With a combined fleet of 28 ships with nearly 60,000 berths, these brands offer itineraries to more than 490 destinations worldwide. The Company has nine additional ships scheduled for delivery through 2027, comprising of approximately 24,000 berths.

About the Healthy Sail Panel

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. in collaboration with Royal Caribbean Group established the Healthy Sail Panel ("HSP"), a group of 11 leading experts to help inform the cruise industry in the development of new and enhanced cruise health and safety standards in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The HSP, co-chaired by Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Governor Mike Leavitt, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, consists of globally recognized experts from various disciplines, including public health, infectious disease, biosecurity, hospitality and maritime operations. The panel's work, including detailed recommendations across five key areas of focus, is informing the Company's health and safety protocols and has been widely shared with the cruise industry and open to any other industry that could benefit from the HSP's scientific and medical insights.

About the SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council

The SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council ("Council") was established by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. to provide expert advice on the implementation, compliance with and continuous improvement of the Company's SailSAFE health and safety program. The Council will complement the work of the Healthy Sail Panel and continuously evaluate and identify ways to improve health and safety standards after cruise voyages resume, utilizing the best technologies and information available. The Council is cross-functional, diverse and extensively experienced, comprised of six experts at the forefront of their fields and led by Chairman of the Council, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oceania-cruises-announces-restart-of-cruise-operations-in-august-2021-301278720.html

SOURCE Oceania Cruises
Idaho Gov. Brad Little speaks at the White House on July 16, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Idaho Governor Signs Bill Banning Abortions After Babys Heartbeat Detected

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill on April 27 that bans abortions after the heartbeat of the unborn child is detected.

The bill bans abortions after a babys heartbeat is detected, around five or six weeks after conception. The legislation makes exceptions for medical emergencies and pregnancies that are the result of rape or incest, Little, a Republican, wrote on Twitter.

The law, approved by the states Republican-led Senate last week on a 257 vote, makes providing an abortion to a woman whose unborn child has a detectable heartbeat punishable by up to five years in prison. The law also allows women to sue the providers.

The life of each human being begins at fertilization, and unborn children have interests in life, health, and well-being that should be protected, the law (pdf) states. The fetal heartbeat, when detected, presents a clearly identifiable point at which the preborn child in the womb has a greater than ninety-five percent chance of survival when carried to term.

The bill has exceptions for rape, incest, or medical emergency. The exception for rape and incest would likely be impossible for many women to meet, opponents say, because Idaho law prevents the release of police reports in active investigations.

This is good legislation that gives a preborn child the same rights as a mother, said the bills sponsor, Republican Sen. Patti Anne Lodge.

The bill contains a trigger provision, which means it wouldnt go into effect unless a federal appeals court somewhere in the country upholds similar legislation from another state. Similar bills have been passed in several other states, and some are already being litigated. Earlier this year, a federal court temporarily blocked a fetal heartbeat bill in South Carolina.

Supporters of the legislation say they would like it challenged in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and then decided at the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a 63 conservative majority after former President Donald Trump appointed three conservative justices.

Ultimately, backers would like to see the proposed Idaho law play a role in overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide. A reversal of Roe would mean abortion policy would revert to the states.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More than 700 nurses who have been on strike at St. Vincents Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, for nearly two months have overwhelmingly rejected the latest contract proposal by the multinational hospital giant Tenet Healthcare. The nurses walked out over unsafe staffing levels, demanding a one-to-four nurse-to-patient ratio on medical/surgical floors and telemetry units, as well as increased staffing in the emergency department and ancillary support in each unit.

The deal, which was nearly identical to the previous offer that the nurses rejected, was presented to striking workers by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) on Monday. The only difference was Tenets proposal to set up a toothless committee to review the issue of staffing ratios on a quarterly basis.

Cheryl Lataille and Trish Wilmot (WSWS Photo)

Even after manning the picket lines with no strike pay for more than seven weeks, nurses overwhelming rejected the deal. David Schildmeier, MNA director of public communications, told the Worcester Telegram that on Monday afternoon the union presented it to the striking nurses via Zoom and their reaction was quite negative. ... They were saying words I cant repeat. They were all yelling at once on the Zoom, No, no! He added, They were devastated, angry and insulted. The MNA did not, however, say why it brought this insulting offer back to nurses.

The defiant stand by St. Vincents nurses is indicative of the growing mood of militancy among workers in the US. On Monday, 2,000 graduate student workers at New York University walked out on strike to demand higher wages and better health care and childcare. Also, on Monday, steelworkers at Allegheny Technologies Inc., on strike since March 30, overwhelmingly rejected managements demands for wage and health care givebacks. More than 1,100 coal miners at Warrior Met Coal in Brookwood, Alabama, are continuing their month-long strike after rejecting a deal brought back by the United Mine Workers by a vote of 1,006 to 45. More than 3,000 Volvo Truck workers are also on strike in Virginia.

In addition, ExxonMobil has threatened to lock out 650 oil workers at its Beaumont, Texas, refinery and hire strikebreakers if the United Steelworkers is unable to get workers to accept its contract demands by May 1. Also in May, 131,000 rural letter carriers for the US Post Office and 100,000 public sector workers in New York City face contract expirations.

The pandemic, which has seen nearly 600,000 Americans die and untold social misery for tens of millions, has been a bonanza for the super-rich. The stock market, CEO pay, corporate profits and the fortunes of the billionaires have all skyrocketed. In every case, however, the workers who have risked their lives during the pandemic are being told there is no money to pay decent wages or ensure safe conditions.

Last April, Tenet received billions from the bipartisan CARES Act, including more than $1 billion in stimulus funds and a $1.5 billion Medicare advance. Shortly afterwards, the company furloughed more than 11,000 workers and suspended a retirement benefit for its employees. Tenets CEO, Ronald Rittenmeyer, raked in $16.7 million in 2020.

The St. Vincents strike is the most important health care struggle now going on in the US. It is an indisputable fact that nurse-to-patient ratios determine outcomes for patients and that these ratios are a matter of life and death for health care workers and patients alike.

While many nurses and other workers have joined the picket line of the St. Vincent strikers, the MNA has isolated their struggle by refusing to call out the 23,000 members of the union across the state on strike. The chief concern of the MNA and the AFL-CIO is to prevent the strike from developing into a direct confrontation with the Democratic Party and the Biden administration.

The MNA is not paying any strike benefits to workers and instead requires them to go through the humiliating process of demonstrating financial need to access the unions ad hoc relief fund for assistance. Instead of providing strike pay, the union has organized crowdfunding to pay for diapers, formula and other basic needs for nurses and their families.

On Saturday, a WSWS reporter asked the MNAs spokesperson Schildmeier why the union has not been paying strike pay to the nurses despite the fact that workers pay monthly dues that total as much as $1,000 per member annually. Schildmeier replied that the nurses knowingly gave away strike pay when they became a part of the MNA because the provision of strike pay is not in the unions bylaws approved in 2000. Schildmeier also confirmed that there are several MNA bargaining units that have remained on the job without a contract even as St Vincent nurses walk the picket line, yet there has been no effort made to call out any of these units.

In a demonstration of the incestuous nature of the corporatist trade unions, before becoming MNA communications head Schildmeier was the director of public relations and marketing for Tenet Healthcare (formerly National Medical Enterprises) from 1986 to 1988.

On March 19, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1445 prevented a strike by 600 staff members at St. Vincents when they announced an agreement with Tenet Healthcare. Before the UFCW pulled the rug out from underneath these workers to block a joint strike, staff members joined the nurses on the picket lines to express their solidarity.

In an attempt to intimidate the striking nurses, Tenet Healthcare has erected two security towers to monitor the nurses and hospital entrances. The corporation also hires out Worcester City police at a rate of $30,000 per day to monitor the striking nurses and disrupt the picket. By the MNAs calculations, Tenet has so far spent $40 million on strikebreaking replacement nurses, internal security, and the aforementioned police measures.

A review of the operations of Tenet Healthcare exposes the criminality that runs rampant throughout Corporate America. Over the last two decades, Tenet has accumulated a staggering 45 regulatory and legal violations. Sixteen of these charges involve reporting false claims to the government and related charges, two charges involve kickbacks and bribery, 13 involve the gross abuse of its employees, one involves investor protection violation, and numerous other crimes.

Throughout the early 1990s Tenet Healthcare, then National Medical Enterprises, admitted thousands of psychiatric patients to hospitals who did not need hospitalization for the sake of charging patients inflated prices. In 1991, the corporation was investigated for fraud and conspiracy with law enforcement officers raiding company offices to gather evidence proving that patients and insurance companies were being defrauded. In 1994, 20 National Medical Enterprises offices were raided by the federal government. The result was fraud charges amounting to $380 million.

A book titled Coronary: A True Story of Medicine Gone Awry, by Stephen Klaidman, exposed a scheme by the health care giant that involved performing unnecessary surgeries on 769 patients, solely for profit. From 2014 to 2017, Tenet Healthcare hospitals knowingly implanted unnecessary cardiac monitors in patients during invasive surgeries, putting patients needlessly in peril. None of these crimes prevented Tenet from reaching 174 on the Fortune 500 in 2020.

There is no doubt that top executives at Tenet Healthcare have successfully calculated that criminality is the most profitable business strategy. On July 24, 2019, Tenet announced it would separate itself from Conifer Health Solutions to become a publicly traded company. The investor-owned corporation currently has assets of $23.35 billion.

The ongoing Worcester nurses strike comes after decades of abuse at the hands of Tenet Healthcare. The corporation has a long record of systematically eliminating workers breaks and mealtimes. Employees who actively cooperate or turn a blind eye to these criminal schemes have been rewarded handsomely through kickbacks and bribery.

There is a growing wave of struggles by nurses and other health care workers who were praised as heroes last year only to face layoffs and ruthless cost-cutting now. Last week, 84 health care workers began a strike at a hospital near Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, outside Scranton.

Striking nurses resounding rejection of Tenets latest offer demonstrates their determination to fight. They should reject the MNAs collaboration with Tenet Healthcare and its efforts to isolate their struggle and form a rank-and-file strike and negotiating committee to expand their struggle. We urge St. Vincents nurses to support the International Committee of the Fourth Internationals call to establish the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC)and attend the international online May Day rally this Saturday, which will discuss the program and perspective of the IWA-RFC.
WASHINGTON  Japan will remain a destination to which U.S. citizens should reconsider travel, the U.S. State Department said Monday based on its latest travel advisory assessment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement to keep the Asian country at the level three warning came after the department said earlier this month that it will start updating travel advisories.

It said the revised guidance will put approximately 80% of countries worldwide on the highest level of four, which advises citizens not to travel to those locations. As of Monday, about 150 countries are subject to the level four warning.

The department has said the update does not imply a reassessment of the current health situation in a given country but rather reflects the U.S. public health agencys epidemiological assessments.

The advisories also take into account logistical factors, including in-country testing availability and current travel restrictions for U.S. citizens, according to the department.
A Boston nanny is facing charges after being accused of sending and receiving images of child sexual abuse, and of talking about such child abuse on social media, authorities said Wednesday.

Stephanie Lak, 36, of Roxbury, during an interview with investigators on Tuesday, admitted to receiving and sending about 100 files of child sexual abuse material and talking about child abuse online with other social media users, according to a statement from the office of Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins.

Lak was arraigned Wednesday in the Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court on charges of possession of child pornography and distribution of material of a child in a sex act. Assistant District Attorney Nicole Poirier asked for $50,000 cash bail and Judge Debra A. DelVecchio set cash bail at $5,000 with a series of conditions, including to stay away from children under the age of 18 and have no employment involving childcare, the statement said.

As recently as last month, Lak was active on sittercity.com, an online marketplace for nannies and sitters. She posted as Stephanie Lak on the site, the district attorneys office said.

Investigators have discovered messages from Lak in which she identifies herself as a nanny. In a virtual conversation, Lak encouraged a caregiver from Minnesota to harm children in his care, volunteering to help him do so, Rollins office said.

There is no bigger betrayal than people tasked with teaching, protecting, or caring for children sexually exploiting and violating them. And to be very clear, possessing and disseminating child pornography hurts children. Do not be fooled. Each still image or video chronicles an act of violence, sexual assault and/or rape. And when those images or videos are shared with other pedophiles online, that child is abused and victimized in perpetuity,' said Rollins.

In March, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children contacted the Boston Police Departments Crimes Against Children unit and reported that eight separate images of child sexual abuse were being trafficked over an IP address in Roxbury. The center had received a CyberTip from MediaLab/Kik that a user had uploaded and shared files believed to be child sexual abuse material, according to the statement from Rollins office.

A laptop and three smartphones were seized from Laks residence on April 15, officials said.

The alleged perpetrator in this case is a woman. We as a society need to unlearn many of our ingrained assumptions regarding who commits, and who can be a victim of, sexual assault and rape, said Rollins. I am grateful for the vigilance of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and the excellent work by the Boston Police Departments Crimes Against Children unit and the FBIs Human Trafficking-Child Exploitation Task Force.

Rollins is asking any parents and guardians of children who may have been in contact with Lak, and who believe they could be one of Laks victims, to email Lakinvestigation@fbi.gov and provide a name and best contact information to get in touch with the investigative team. The district attorney said the identities of victims will be kept confidential.

Lak, who was represented in court by attorney Cory McAlister, is slated to return to court on May 25.
Nikki Grahame's Big Brother castmates paid tribute to the tragic star on what would have been her 39th birthday on Wednesday.

Nikki's body was discovered on April 10 in her London home, a day after she was discharged from Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester after a three week stay to treat her for anorexia.

The reality show icon was honoured with heartfelt tributes from her Big Brother series seven castmates, Imogen Thomas, 38, Glyn Wise, 33 and Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, 42, three weeks after her death.

'May your spirit shine forever': Nikki Grahame's Big Brother castmates paid tribute to the tragic star on what would have been her 39th birthday on Wednesday (above with Imogen Thomas in 2017)

Imogen shared a montage of poignant photos of the pair, writing: 'Happy birthday my angel.

'I hope you're having a ball sipping espresso martinis singing and dancing to eastside.

'I feel blessed to have had you as a friend and I will cherish our memories. Thank you May your spirit shine forever. Miss you and love u always Nik'.

Glyn, who finished second on the 2006 series, posted a black and white portrait of the pair smiling, writing: 'Happy Birthday Nikki! You would have been 39 today! Hope you are happy!

Tragic loss: BB 2006 runner-up Glyn Wise paid a heartfelt tribute to his close friend

Tragic loss: Nikki's body was discovered on April 10 in her London home, a day after she was discharged from Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester after a three week stay to treat her for anorexia

'I laugh at this picture when we went to the photo booth at the Cinema - you told me not to be childish when I wanted our photo done by Van Gogh! The giggles! Xx Im listening to Kate Bush for you right now!'

Aisleyne completed the tributes, penning: 'Happy birthday baby girl, too precious and delicate for this cold harsh world, so much vibrance & kindness in one.

'I know you're in a better place still having fun... death is only painful for those of us left, as we miss you and wish you was still here with us, I believe you, and all lost loved ones are in a better place, a kinder more peaceful place... until we meet again, I will miss you.... dearly. I love you darling.'

Miss you: Imogen wrote: 'I feel blessed to have had you as a friend and I will cherish our memories. Thank you May your spirit shine forever. Miss you and love u always Nik'

Nikki shot to fame on the 2006 series of Big Brother and gained an army of fans with her iconic phrase 'who is she?'.

She was pictured with Big Brother winner Pete Bennett in one of her final images, as she cuddled up to her ex-boyfriend in the poignant snap.

Nikki had struggled with anorexia for much of her life and was first admitted to a psychiatric hospital at age 12.

Earlier this month, Nikki's friends reactivated her fundraiser to help her heartbroken family pay for her funeral and help others with eating disorders.

The fundraiser was initially set up a month ago by Nikki's friends and raised 65,000 for the Big Brother star to have specialist treatment for her eating disorder.

Precious memory: Glyn, who finished second on the 2006 series, posted a black and white portrait of the pair smiling, writing: 'Happy Birthday Nikki! You would have been 39 today! Hope you are happy!'

Her friends posted a message reading: 'We just wanted to let you know that we are turning donations back on for anyone that would like to make a donation in Nikki's memory, as lots of people have been asking if they can still donate.

'An amount will be used for the funeral costs and the remaining funds will be used to go towards an organisation that helps those suffering with eating disorders...

'The crucial funding that has been lacking to help people in these awful situations has not been addressed, we will use this money to the best of our ability to try and stem this horrific, debilitating illness.'

Health chiefs recently launched an investigation into Nikki's death, after claims by her family that she was released too early from hospital, having weighed just five stone when she died.

Tribute: Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace completed the tributes, penning: 'Happy birthday baby girl, too precious and delicate for this cold harsh world, so much vibrance & kindness in one'

And sources close to Nikki later claimed the star would 'still be alive today if she wasn't discharged too soon'.

Now Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust, the trust which runs the hospital where the star had received treatment prior to her death, have launched a review into the case, according to the Sun.

A spokesperson for the hospital told the paper: 'Staff at the Trust were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Miss Grahame, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Miss Grahame at this very difficult time.

'A full internal investigation into the circumstances of Miss Grahame's death is currently underway. This is in line with standard procedures following any sudden death.'

It comes after family members raised fears about Nikki's release from hospital earlier this month.

'You have no shame': Imogen recently wrote: 'I can't keep quiet any longer. I can't stand to read another sold story by Pete Bennett' in an online row (Nikki and Pete pictured in 2016)

'I won't be shamed publicly': The musician hit back at the 'cruel' mother-of-two to defend his social media activity, accusing her of 'lying about him for attention'

Harsh: 'You took a haunting photo of her, put it up on Instagram against everyone's wishes claiming you helped her', former beauty queen Imogen said (Nikki's final photo above)

A source told The Sun: 'Those close to Nikki feel she would be alive today if she wasn't discharged so soon. Her family feel she wasn't strong enough physically to care for herself. It's left them shocked and heartbroken.'

Imogen and Pete have been locked in an online war of word - after Imogen claimed Pete, 39, 'betrayed' their late pal and her grieving family by 'cashing in' to reveal her final text and sharing a 'haunting' photo of her 'against everyone's wishes'.

Iconic: Nikki became a Big Brother icon when she appeared on the reality show in 2006

Pete previously hit back at Imogen and defended his social media activity, insisting Nikki gave him permission to post the image and accused her of 'lying about him for attention'.

WHAT IS ANOREXIA? Anorexia is a serious mental illness where a person restricts their food intake, which often causes them to be severely underweight. Many also exercise excessively. Some sufferers may experience periods of bingeing, followed by purging. Sufferers often have a distorted view of themselves and think they are larger than they really are. Untreated, patients can suffer loss of muscle and bone strength, as well as depression, low libido and menstruation ceasing in women. In severe cases, patients can experience heart problems and organ damage. Behavioural signs of anorexia include people saying they have already eaten or will do later, as well as counting calories, missing meals, hiding food and eating slowly. As well as weight loss, sufferers may experience insomnia, constipation, bloating, feeling cold, hair loss, and swelling of the hands, face and feet. Treatment focuses on therapy and self-help groups to encourage healthy eating and coping mechanisms. Source: Beat Eating Disorders Advertisement

The Miss Wales 2003 winner initially wrote: 'I can't keep quiet any longer. I can't stand to read another sold story by Pete Bennett.

'You Pete have no shame with your endless stories about Nikki. You saw her once within a year, took a haunting photo of her, put it up on Instagram against everyone's wishes claiming you helped her.

'You were not there for her. Now this is not about you - this is about Nikki. How dare you!

'Please allow her family and close friends grieve and stop cashing in at every opportunity selling last tests is the ultimate betrayal. I'm disgusted and feel for her family. Enough.' (sic)

In response, rock star Pete wrote: 'In such a sad time of grief I've just had to witness Imogen Thomas trying to publicly shame me on her Instagram. You know, 'Nikki's best friend'. I'm sorry but how cruel can you get?

'Now, About selling the final text, I didn't sell anything, my tribute to Nikki in heat mag was from the heart and for no money and I sent love to nikkis family and friends in it too.

'Contrary to what Imogen is saying, Nikki gave me permission to upload the final picture of us saying it was a 'lovely picture'.

'I put a link underneath the picture of the fundraiser to raise some funds for her care so she could get better whilst Imogen was promoting McCain oven chips and sending me daggers.'

The actor, who briefly dated Nikki during their stint on Big Brother 7, ended his post by claiming he's 'had enough of fake people and bullies'.

The Mind Set star added: 'The only person who sent me any negativity at the time was Imogen whilst I was trying to do my best for Nikki.

'Meanwhile everybody else has been supportive to me. I may not of seen Nikki as much as I used to see her the last year but we were always in contact and when I found out she was really ill I did everything I could to b there for her.

'I'm trying to grieve for Nikki and this crazy ownership Imogen thinks she has over (who nikkis friends are) needs to be stopped.

'I never claimed to be nikkis 'best friend' , but actions speak louder than words. Get over it Imogen, I was nikkis friend and leave me the f**k alone to grieve. Maybe you could do a nice tribute for her instead of lying about me publicly for attention.

'Anyway I've had enough of fake people and bullies. And I won't be shamed publicly for being a good mate when Nikki needed support and will stick up for myself in any way I can, Love you Nikki .' (sic)

Nikki had previously admitted she was struggling to 'deal' with another coronavirus lockdown in what was to be her final social media post.

Alongside a video montage of some of her infamous tantrums in the Big Brother house, she wrote: 'My reaction to the second national lockdown announcement.'

In her caption, she added: 'Not this again....seriously can't deal #lockdown #f**kcovid19 #fml.'

It is believed that the star was released from hospital in Devon a day before her tragic death.
Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer

Oil markets on Wednesday ignored a minor increase in U.S. crude inventories, with prices rising $1 a barrel after the Energy Information Administration released its weekly report. increased by 100,000 barrels last week, pushing oil prices up Wednesday.

The EIA said commercial crude oil stockpiles inched up by 100,000 barrels last week to about 493 million barrels. Nevertheless, West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, was trading near $64 a barrel Wednesday afternoon on optimism for a boost in oil demand in the second half of 2021, according to Norwegian energy research firm Rystad Energy.
A lightning mapper at the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Cosmic Ray Observatory in Mexico unexpectedly observed that gamma rays produce more neutrons than previously known. Credit: Jordan Goodman, HAWC Collaboration (NSF.gov)

Analysis of data from a lightning mapper and a small, hand-held radiation detector has unexpectedly shed light on what a gamma-ray burst from lightning might look likeby observing neutrons generated from soil by very large cosmic-ray showers. The work took place at the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Cosmic Ray Observatory in Mexico.

"This was an accidental discovery," said Greg Bowers, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and lead author of the study published in Geophysical Research Letters. "We set up this system to study terrestrial gamma-ray flashesor gamma-ray bursts from lightningthat are typically so bright you can see them from space. The idea was that HAWC would be sensitive to the gamma-ray bursts, so we installed a lightning mapper to capture the anatomy of the lightning development and pinpoint the lightning processes producing them."

The team, including Xuan-Min Shao and Brenda Dingus also from Los Alamos, used a small, handheld particle detector, expecting that a terrestrial gamma-ray flash would generate a clear gamma-ray signal in the small particle detector.

"Our system ran for almost two years, and we saw a lot of lightning," said Bowers. But during those storms, they did not observe anything that looked like terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. "We did, however, see large count-rate bursts during clear, fair-weather days, which made us scratch our heads."

HAWC data gathered during these times showed that, in every case, the large array that comprises HAWC had been overwhelmed by extremely large cosmic-ray showersso large that the Los Alamos researchers couldn't estimate their size.

UC Santa Cruz collaborator David Smith found that these fair-weather bursts had previously been observed by scientists in Russia, who called them "neutron bursts," and determined that they were the result of neutron production in the soil around the impact point of cosmic ray shower cores.

Previous work that simulated these events had only considered hadronsa type of subatomic particlein the core of the showers. In addition to hadrons and other particles, cosmic-ray shower cores also contain a lot of gamma rays.

For this work, William Blaine, also of Los Alamos, simulated large cosmic ray-showers, and included both hadrons and gamma rays. "We were able to match our observations with the simulations," said Bowers. "We found that the gamma rays produce the same type of neutron burst as the hadrons."

This study suggests that any natural phenomena that produces a beam of gamma-rays pointed towards the ground (such as downward terrestrial gamma-ray flashes), could produce a similar "neutron burst" signature. This is significant for future terrestrial gamma-ray flash observation modeling efforts.

"It tell us that you can't just model the gamma rays hitting your detector, you'll also have to consider the neutron burst that's happening nearby," said Bowers.

The HAWC Observatory comprises an array of water-filled tanks high on the flanks of the Sierra Negra volcano in Puebla, Mexico, where the thin atmosphere offers better conditions for observing gamma rays. When gamma rays strike molecules in the atmosphere they produce showers of energetic particles. When some of those particles strike the water inside the HAWC detector tanks, they produce flashes of light called Cherenkov radiation. By studying these Cherenkov flashes, researchers reconstruct the sources of the showers to learn about the particles that caused them.

Explore further Ultra-high-energy gamma rays originate from pulsar nebulae

More information: Gregory S. Bowers et al, Fair Weather Neutron Bursts From Photonuclear Reactions by Extensive Air Shower Core Interactions in the Ground and Implications for Terrestrial Gammaray Flash Signatures, Geophysical Research Letters (2021). Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters Gregory S. Bowers et al, Fair Weather Neutron Bursts From Photonuclear Reactions by Extensive Air Shower Core Interactions in the Ground and Implications for Terrestrial Gammaray Flash Signatures,(2021). DOI: 10.1029/2020GL090033
Wilson Majee is an associate professor in the MU School of Health Professions. Credit: MU School of Health Professions

Having grown up poor in a rural village in Zimbabwe, Wilson Majee saw firsthand as a child the lack of educational opportunities that were easily accessible and how that impacted the youth in his village.

Now an associate professor in the University of Missouri School of Health Professions, Majee researches the challenges facing disadvantaged, rural youth. He found in a recent study that young people who are disengaged from their communities are much more likely to participate in risky behaviors such as substance abuse, particularly in rural areas that lack educational opportunities.

For the study, Majee spoke with youth in rural South Africa about the factors contributing to drug abuse for the NEET population, which stands for young people around the world "Not in Employment, Education or Training." He found that a lack of educational opportunities, combined with other factorssuch as a lack of motivation, absent adult role models and few recreational activitiescompound to create feelings of hopelessness and despair in young people. These feelings can influence drug use and other risky behaviors.

"All of these factors the young people mentioned, in addition to poverty, unemployment and a lack of basic resources such as health facilities, libraries, available drinking water and internet access, compound together to limit opportunities for rural youth," Majee said. "Toward the end of Apartheid in South Africa, there was a mass migration of young people to urban cities, and since then, the necessary infrastructure has not been put in place in rural areas to help struggling youth successfully advance in life."

The number of young people around the world in the NEET population, currently an estimated 273 million worldwide and 10 million in the United States, has been steadily increasing since 2017, according to the International Labor Organization. Majee explained that, as it was for him almost 35 years ago, access to higher education has remained a major challenge for rural youth, particularly those who have never traveled to larger cities where more resources and universities are typically located.

"At the time I was pursuing higher education, there was only one university in all of Zimbabwe, and it was very far from my village, so I was overwhelmed at first when I attended because I had never been to a big city before," Majee said. "I also knew I had to be among the best students in the nation to earn a spot at the university."

According to Majee, in rural South Africa, as in rural Zimbabwe, primary and secondary schools often lack the infrastructure and resources necessary to prepare students for diverse fields.

"Rural schools not only lack qualified teachers, but they also often lack a variety of subject choices for students to take, as many rural schools do not offer classes in science, information technology, engineering or math," Majee said. "Yet we live in a technology-driven world that is fueled by these STEM subjects; so rural youth see no value in going to school if they can't learn the subjects that will help them get a job."

When Majee asked the rural South African youth who participated in the study for possible solutions to their challenges, the most common suggestion was creating smaller, community college-style satellite campuses for major universities that would be located in rural areas to increase access to those resources. Others emphasized the need for agriculture training programs, educating parents and community members on the power of role models and mentors, and the establishment of internet cafes to provide youth with a safe environment to explore topics that interest them.

"These complex solutions will require collaboration from community members, families, youth, private organizations, universities, researchers and government," Majee said. "These are multi-level issues the youth are facing, which calls for diverse stakeholders to come together to address them."

The goal of Majee's research is to empower youth by exploring strategies that help them become engaged members of their communities so they are less likely to participate in risky behaviors like drug abuse and crime.

"Young people today are the future community leaders of tomorrow," Majee said. "We need to invest in them to make sure they have the skills and knowledge they need to save their communities in the future, which will ultimately benefit society at large."

Explore further Rural areas have fewer mental health services for young people

More information: Wilson Majee et al, Rural voices: A socialecological perspective on factors influencing youth substance use in rural South africa, Health & Social Care in the Community (2021). Wilson Majee et al, Rural voices: A socialecological perspective on factors influencing youth substance use in rural South africa,(2021). DOI: 10.1111/hsc.13292
Today

A few passing clouds. Low 69F. WSW winds shifting to SSE at 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low 69F. WSW winds shifting to SSE at 10 to 20 mph.

Tomorrow

Wind increasing. A few clouds from time to time. High 97F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph, becoming W and increasing to 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
Member of the European Parliament Vlad Botos, former chairman of the western Arad branch of the Save Romania Union (USR), states that in the recent period he received numerous messages by which he is asked to not support the digital green certificate in the European Parliament, report agerpres.

"I received hundreds of e-mails, messages, phone calls these days in which I was asked, warned, called upon or threatened to not support the digital green certificate this week in the European Parliament. This will attest the fact that a person is not a carrier of the coronavirus. I can't say if there have been tens of people that took their time to write and send messages or if the messages were generated from several false addresses. Still, today I will speak in the plenum of the European Parliament and I will support the necessity of this certificate. I believe that now, when we have vaccines available, when we have sufficient tests, and some of us have gone through the disease, it's time to restart in full the economy," the MEP wrote, on Wednesday, on Facebook.

He added that this certificate "is absolutely necessary" and voted on it "with full confidence", mentioning that the certificate does not impose the obligation to vaccinate."I support with full conviction that vaccination is the safest and fastest solution to exit this pandemic fully, yet I know there are persons that cannot be vaccinated and it isn't fair to restrict their right to travel, to discriminate them," Botos added.According to him, the certificate will be released for those who went through the disease and developed natural immunity, "so that they don't face the obligation to conduct additional tests."
Teens moods can fluctuate wildly, but after several years it eventually dissipates in most teens. Parents can help during this tumultuous time by giving them understanding, attention, and affirmation. (Kamira/Shutterstock)

What to Do When Your Teen Turns Away

As your teen leaves for school, you open your arms to hug her goodbye. She receives the hug like a telephone pole being grappled by a porcupine. Ouch. Your heart drops. Where did your sweet little girl go? What did you do to make her rebuff you?

Dr. Meg Meeker. (Courtesy of Meg Meeker)

Many parents of teens experience similar momentswhich often prompt paralyzing worry. A torrent of guilt, hurt, and shame suddenly surges because of a misunderstanding: Parents mistakenly take their childs behavior personally.

Parents immediately assume that the rejection is their fault. Of course it is, they reason, because they are the ones with the power and the influence over their children. There is truth to that, but sometimes kids have feelings and thoughts that are completely outside of the influence of their parents. As parents, it is crucial that we understand this.

Learning to Be Independent

Teens go through developmental stages where they are learning independence, and this means creating some separation from their parents. They can do ridiculous and hurtful things to parents. A 13-year-old girl who has always been affectionate with her father suddenly refuses to let him hug her. Her posture says, Get away from me, you creepy person.

Sadly, many fathers errantly believe that their sweet daughter no longer likes them, and perhaps that they really are creepy. A dad may conclude that if she doesnt want anything to do with him, he might as well back away.

Dont do this. When a daughter rejects you, she is really saying, I dont like who I am. Everyone stares at me because Im too fat, too tall, ugly, stupid, and so on. Her behavior shows that she is rejecting herself, not her parent. This is painful for parents.

Healthy teen development can prompt kids to act kind one minute and snarky the next. They are in turmoil. One day they want their space, and the next day they want their parents. There is no consistency in their behavior. One day a boy will spend the afternoon playing video games alone in his room, and the next day he will want to change the car oil with his dad. Their moods can fluctuate wildly, but we need to remember that, after several years, this fluctuation dissipates in most teens. Our job is to simply hold on and try to keep our teens safe until that happens.

Red Flags

Sometimes, what looks like normal teen development is really depression or anxiety. Parents can make the mistake of accepting warning signs as normal teen behavior. Heres how you can tell the difference between healthy teen separation and depression or anxiety, both of which have skyrocketed during COVID-19.

Symptoms of depression include:

 isolation to the point of rarely interacting with family members, such as spending every afternoon alone in their room

 change in friends

 change in sleep patterns

 change in appetite

 inability to focus

 stops talking with friends as much

 talks about dying and the way he would kill himself if he were going to do it

 stops enjoying things he or she always has

 constant fatigue

 changes in the way he or she dresses

 lets appearance get sloppy

If a teen has more than three of these, consider the possibility of depression and take your teen to a physician.

Boston Childrens Hospital saw a 47 percent increase in children hospitalized for suicidal thoughts or attempts between July and October 2020, compared to the same period in 2021, according to a WBUR report.

However, do not parent from fear. Be wise and cautious while showing increased affection and attention to your teen. If you are concerned that he is depressed, rather than dance around the issue, just ask. Many teens feel relieved when someone addresses a problem.

How to Help Your Teen

Whether your teen is adjusting fairly well to life changes, showing healthy separation from you, or living with depression, there are some important things parents can do to help their teen.

First, as I said earlier, never take your teens behavior personally. Most of the time, bad behavior isnt about you. Its about them. If you focus on what you might have done to cause the behavior, you become emotionally entangled, inhibiting you from handling the situation well.

Second, when your teen pushes you away, change the way you approach him, but never back away. Rejection of you connotes rejection of himself, and what he needs is understanding, attention, and affirmation. So rather than say, Whats wrong with you? You never treated me this way before, say something like, Ive noticed that you arent yourself lately. I know that this is normal, but if I can do anything to help make life better, please tell me. You can trust me, and Ill always have your back.

This is hard to say to a teen who is acting nasty, but it is the surest way to help him.

Third, be affectionate. Again, this is toughparticularly when you want to string him upbut what he needs when he feels horrible is to know that no matter what, you love him. He can be as nasty as he wants and sit in his room for the rest of his life, but there is nothing he can do to make you stop loving him. Being affectionate lets him know this.

Most teens no longer want the same kind of affection, and thats OK. Rather than hug and kiss your daughter in front of her friends, do it privately. If she is completely uncomfortable hugging, simply touch the top of her head or shoulders. One of the best ways to show affection is to go into your teens room at night and sit at the end of the bed, asking about their day, even for just a few minutes.

Watching a teen go through painful stages is hard. But here is one thing that I know for sure: You can do it.
Posted Tuesday, April 27, 2021 10:42 am

Detectives from the Washington State Patrol are looking for additional witnesses of a fatal collision on Saturday in Cowlitz County that killed three people.

WSP responded to the scene on northbound Interstate 5 at milepost 45 at 7:50 a.m. on April 24.

The initial investigation, according to WSP, shows a tow truck driver was loading a vehicle onto his truck when a blue 2011 BMW 3-Series car driven by Anna-Christie Ireland, 43, struck the the rear of the vehicle and the tow truck.

Richard H. Stoker, 55, of Battle Ground, Karen C. Stoker, 54, of Battle Ground, and Arthur E. Anderson, 63, of Longview, all died at the scene. Two people were transported to the hospital with serious injuries.

An earlier report from the WSP stated Ireland is expected to be charged with three counts of vehicular homicide following the crash. The state patrol reported drugs or alcohol are believe to have been a factor in the crash.

Anyone with information on the collision, or the events leading up to it, are asked to contact Detective Evan Clark at evan.clark@wsp.wa.gov or call (360) 688-3408.
Empyrean Medical Systems, Inc., the leading company in revolutionizing how cancer treatment is delivered, and Dynam.AI, the leader in machine learning technologies and services for image data, today announced they have agreed to partner and collaborate toward the development of an array of Al-driven products and platforms for advanced image processing, tumor detection, genomics analytics and simulation, and multi-modal targeting and treatment of tumors. The strategic partnership agreement designates Dynam.AI as a premier research and development partner to collaborate with Empyrean on developing, deploying, and providing ongoing computer vision and machine learning neuro-network engines for Empyrean to integrate into its current and future products and solutions.

Developed by a team of leading AI scientists, physicists, and engineers, Dynam.AI uses Vizlab, their workbench of industry-standard and proprietary AI models and tools, to empower customers and partners such as Empyrean with the highest levels of precision and accuracy for their image and video data applications, while reducing development costs by up to 60%. Vizlab enables the rapid deployment of proven machine learning models addressing various computer vision challenges and complex visual data sets across sectors. Dynam.AIs capabilities span all stages of AI program development, including use case identification, data feasibility analysis, preparation, and feature selection, AI model development, training, and deployment, system integration, and maintenance.

We are genuinely excited to have partnered with Dynam.AI on our mission to combat and vanquish cancer and make a real difference to our patients, their families, and our clinicians, said Kal Fishman, chief executive officer at Empyrean. Knowing the world-class teams at Dynam.AI and Empyrean, I am thrilled by what the future holds for us, our patients, and our clinicians around the world. This paradigm shift will be manifested through what this strategic partnership will yield in the years to come, in the form of powerful cancer-eradicating capabilities that will be embedded in our products and solutions. I welcome Dynam.AI and their team to our mission, and we are all looking forward to working together and making a difference in the world for good.

Empyrean Medical Systems, Inc. is the creator of state-of-the-art products to target and treat cancer in all its forms through novel approaches in science and technology while increasing patient access to advanced cancer-treatment solutions worldwide. Empyreans products are comprised of medical devices, genomic compounds, and computational systems to detect, target, and effectively annihilate cancer.

We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work with Empyrean Medical Systems on their ground-breaking cancer treatment technologies and make a real difference in the lives of people affected by this disease, said Diana Shapiro, chief revenue officer at Dynam.AI. Our physics-based approach to artificial intelligence and machine learning matches seamlessly with Empyreans convergence of scientific disciplines to provide unprecedented therapeutic capabilities for their patients and clinicians.

About Empyrean Medical Systems

Empyrean was founded to fundamentally change the way cancer patients are being treated when faced with such a life-altering experience. We take on cancer in all its forms, personally and with the utmost vengeance. We live and work every single day to make a real difference for our patients, their families, and our clinicians all around the world. We will never cease innovating, developing, and launching ground-breaking disruptive technologies until cancer is completely abolished from this world. Learn more about Empyrean at empyreanmed.com.

About Dynam.AI

Empowered by Vizlab, our workbench of machine learning models and tools, Dynam.AIs data scientists help clients apply AI to image and video data to solve complex, real-world problems. Our experts enable customers with multidisciplinary science-based methodologies that deliver superior visual processing and faster, more accurate, image-based analytics at the lowest possible cost. Since our founding, we have provided game-changing artificial intelligence to organizations spanning industries such as biotechnology, manufacturing, retail, security, and medical devices. For more information, see https://www.dynam.ai.
(Natural News) The Defender recently wrote about Keele Universitys decision to cut off the primary funding stream  charitable donations  for the world-famous UK-based aluminum research group, led by bioinorganic chemistry professor Christopher Exley, Ph.D.

(Article republished from ChildrensHealthDefense.org)

As the direct result of Keeles actions, the Exley lab will close Aug. 31, ending three decades of independent, cutting-edge research elucidating aluminums effects on health across the human lifespan.

Even in the face of their labs imminent closure, the Exley group continues to publish and add to its already impressive roster of approximately 200 publications.

The researchers two latest studies  one focusing on the largely unmonitored aluminum content of infant vaccines, the other on the strong association of aluminum in familial Alzheimers disease  underscore why independent research is so important, and so threatening to the status quo.

Aluminum in infant vaccines  akin to a lottery

One of the studies, published in the Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, found the amount of aluminum an infant receives in a vaccine, far from being predictable or controlled, seems to be akin to a lottery.

The group analyzed the aluminum content of 13 infant vaccines manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Sanofi Pasteur and Pfizer. In 10 of 13 vaccines, the measured quantity of aluminum failed to match up to the amount of aluminum reported by manufacturers in patient information leaflets. Analysis across vaccines and vaccine lots revealed the following:

Six of the vaccines (about half), including Pfizers Prevnar 13, contained a statistically significant greater quantity of aluminum compared with manufacturer data.

Four of the vaccines contained significantly less.

For each single vaccine brand, the range of aluminum content varied considerably.

Neither the European Medicines Agency nor the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could confirm they independently or routinely measure the aluminum content of infant vaccines, instead indicating that they rely upon manufacturers (flawed) data.

These not reassuring findings suggest, according to the researchers, that vaccine manufacturers have limited control over the aluminum content of their vaccines and the aluminum content of individual vaccines within vaccine lots vary significantly.

Given aluminums known neurotoxicity, the researchers also emphasized we cannot afford to be complacent about its injection into infants  a position the Exley group has repeatedly emphasized, and which is shared by other experts.

Aluminum in familial Alzheimers disease

The second study, published in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease Reports, builds on the Exley groups extensive body of work linking aluminum to Alzheimers disease. The new study focuses on cases of familial Alzheimers disease, which is driven by predispositions that run in families.

The Mayo Clinic defines young- or early-onset Alzheimers as cases that affect individuals under age 65. The new Exley study examines human brain tissue from three Colombian familial donors with early-onset Alzheimers (ages 45, 57 and 60).

In all three cases, the researchers observed neuronal cells loaded with aluminum and noted the aluminums unequivocal co-location with neurofibrillary tangles across multiple brain regions. Neurofibrillary tangles (formed by misfolded tau protein inside the brain cells) are an important feature of and biomarker for Alzheimers.

The Exley groups conclusion, which dovetails with their other studies of brain tissue and neurodegeneration  including findings showing extraordinarily high levels of aluminum in autism brain tissue  is that these data support the intricate associations of aluminum in the neuropathology of fAD [familial Alzheimers disease].

Young and old at risk

In recent years, the American insurance industry has reported a 200% increase in diagnosed dementia and Alzheimers among younger adults. UK researchers who looked at 20-year dementia trends in the U.S. and other western nations reported in a 2015 study in Surgical Neurology that dementias are starting a decade earlier than they used to.

Recognizing that roughly nine in 10 cases of young-onset Alzheimers have no genetic explanation, Exley has suggested in prior work that aluminum may act as a catalyst for early-onset Alzheimers in individuals without concomitant predispositions, genetic or otherwise. He proposes viewing Alzheimers as an acute response to chronic intoxication by aluminum.

As the Exley group points out in its new paper on infant vaccines, the aluminum adjuvants in the vaccines start the clock ticking on a lifetime body burden of aluminum.

Are we seeing some of the effects of this body burden in the younger adults in their 30s and 40s who now represent 15% of those diagnosed with Alzheimers and dementia?

The Exley group also asks, what are the implications for childrens longer-term health when babies receive significantly more aluminum in their vaccines than the amounts that manufacturers and regulators (without convincing data) proclaim safe?

If universities continue to choke off funding for vital research, it may become increasingly difficult to answer these all-important questions.

Read more at: ChildrensHealthDefense.org and Vaccines.news.
A man has been charged after allegedly replacing QR codes with fake ones in Adelaide.

The 51-year-old man is accused of placing the fake QR codes, used to sign people into venues to help with contact tracing, over real ones at South Plympton businesses on Sunday.

He is due to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with two counts of obstructing operations relating to COVID-19 under the state's Emergency Management Act.

A man has been charged after allegedly replacing QR codes with fake ones in Adelaide

He faces a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted.

The man was also allegedly caught with a double-side knife at his Edwardstown home.

South Australian police said no personal data had been released through the fake QR codes.
Ukraine expects to receive the second tranche of EU macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 600 million by September 2021.

Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko said this at a meeting with Katarina Mathernova, Head of the Support Group for Ukraine (SGUA), Deputy Director General (DDG) for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission, the ministry's press service reports.

We are grateful to the European Commission for its support and assistance in December 2020 when we received the first tranche worth EUR 600 million. The Ukrainian government and the Ministry of Finance are doing everything possible to fulfill the conditions of the program to receive the second tranche from the EU in September 2021," Marchenko said.

The ministry recalled that Ukraine must fulfill a number of obligations to receive the second tranche, namely: initiate and continue reforms in areas such as public financial management, good governance and the rule of law, as well as improve the business climate, sectoral reforms and state-owned enterprises.

The meeting participants also discussed further cooperation in the formation and implementation of the Public Finance Management (PFM) system for 2021-2025, the development of the Public Finance Management Support Programme for Ukraine (EU4PFM), the creation of the Bureau of Economic Security, and continued cooperation with the IMF.

Marchenko, in particular, thanked the European side for cooperation within EU4PFM, since this project is the largest both in terms of coverage of reform areas and the amount of support.

The minister also commented on the current state of the negotiation process with the IMF. According to him, Ukraine is engaged in an active dialogue with the Fund to address three main issues, in particular maintaining the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, holding competitions for positions in the High Council of Justice, and introducing a law on criminal liability for false information in asset declarations.

Other issues related to budgeting, budget consolidation, the National Bank of Ukraine, and energy have already been resolved, Marchenko assured.

ish
Georgian opposition parties enter parliament after 6-month boycott

By Veronika Malinboym

Earlier yesterday, a number of representatives of Georgias opposition bloc entered the parliament after boycotting their mandates for almost six months. Individual MPs of the United National Movement and European Georgia parties, as well as opposition MPs from the Strategy Agmashenebeli, Lelo, Girchi-More Freedom, and Republican parties, joined the parliament session on April 27.Upon their arrival in the parliament building, the opposition MPs were met with a large crowd calling them slaves and traitors. Participants of the rally also asked the opposition MPs why they abandoned them to which the MPs said that they did not.MP and member of the opposition United National Movement party who also entered the Parliament stated earlier that today marks the new page of the political history of Georgia:Today, we open a new page in the political history of our country, as we begin to implement the agreement reached with the direct participation of the President of the European Council Charles Michel. This agreement, which we have signed, and are here to implement today in the Georgian legislature, is a path to a European future, and we hope that its spirit and none of its clauses will be violated, MP Samadashvili added.Similarly, the leader of the Strategy Aghmashenebeli party Giorgi Vashadze, who entered the parliament among, thanked Georgias European and western partners for helping reach an agreement, and stated that there are still some struggles that will have to be resolved in the future:This is a valuable document for our country. Many thanks to our European and Western partners. Most importantly, [we should remember that] there are still a lot of difficult days ahead of us at the parliamentary debates, Vashadze said.The opposition United National Movement party which won the majority of opposition seats in parliament, as well as the European Georgia and Labour parties, have not yet signed the EU-proposed agreement and did not enter the Parliament today. Earlier last week, Georgias Western and European partners, as well as the dip corps present in the country, repeatedly called for the opposition parties to end the boycott, sign the agreement and claim their seats in the parliament.
Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday held her first video meetings since the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip, pressing on with royal duties as she formally accepted the credentials of new ambassadors from the Ivory Coast and Latvia.

The monarch, 95, held the virtual audiences from Windsor Castle, where she has lived during the COVID-19 pandemic, while the ambassadors were 20 miles (32 kilometers) away at Buckingham Palace in central London.

The queen, who ended a two-week period of royal mourning on Friday, wore a floral dress and pearls for her virtual meetings with Latvian ambassador Ivita Burmistre and Ivory Coast ambassador Sara Affoue Amani.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Kathy Lajvardi Designer This book is an answer to dry guidebooks and stiff informational publications that pervade the wine industry.  L.A. Times

ILTG Media, Inc. is proud to announce their first book Drive Through Napa, a popular consumer guide to the wineries and regions of Californias Napa Valley, won a significant honor at this years American Advertising Awards. Designer Kathy Lajvardi received an award in the category of book design for her work.

We tried to make the book accessible yet stylish, and ease of use was important as well, Lajvardi said. Im thrilled that weve been recognized for a design that was definitely a departure from tradition.

Drive Through Napa has also been honored and singled out for praise by winemakers and others in the Napa Valley wine industry. When you address something as complex as Napa AVAs, it is a major success when you can make it so clear that everybody understands, said noted Napa winemaker and entrepreneur Jean Hoefliger. Helping the wine industry to educate the public benefits us all, so we appreciate the effort and believe its a great honor to receive this prestigious award.

Drive Through Napa is a great resource for both the novice and the collector, as well as any wine professional with an interest in Napa Valley, said Bill Farmer, Tasting Room Manager at Raymond Vineyards. The concept of having key players, winemakers and vintners talk about appellations rather than their own properties is refreshing and gives some real insight into the magic that is this special place on the globe.

Drive Through Napa is available in audiobook, paperback and ebook through Amazon for consumers. Retailers and wineries can order wholesale copies by emailing cheers@ilikethisgrape.com

The second book in the series, Drive Through Paso Robles, will be published later this year. You can order a copy in advance: http://bit.ly/PasoAdvance

About: ILTG Media, Inc. I Like This Grape is a content media platform aimed at making the education and discovery of wine relatable to modern consumers. It partners with interesting sommeliers, winemakers and wine educators to create unique content, from live events to books and videos. For more information, visit http://ilikethisgrape.com.
While some Vietnamese are rattled by a potential Covid-19 outbreak, many have dropped their guard as countries in the region grapple with new waves of infection.

On April 25, thousands of people gathered in the pedestrian zone surrounding Hanois Hoan Kiem Lake. Though local authorities had set up several checkpoints reminding visitors to wear their masks and maintain a safe social distance, few took heed.

"The last outbreak occurred nearly three months ago - we have no reason to be vigilant right now," said Nguyen Thanh Tung, a university student eating ice cream at a shop serving scores of patrons.

In similar vein, a host of Vietnamese have dropped their guard as neighboring countries like Cambodia, Laos, and India struggle to contain surging Covid-19 infections.

Some passengers at Saigon's Mien Dong (Eastern Region) Bus Station refrain from wearing masks on April 26, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Minh.

The National Steering Committee on Covid-19 Prevention and Control and the Health Ministry have warned about a new outbreak in the country as people illegally enter Vietnam from infected regions and citizens ignore Covid-19 prevention measures.

On April 26, at a mall in Hanois Long Bien District, security staff required shoppers to wear masks before entering, though most simply removed them once inside.

"I know the pandemic is still around, but with no community transmissions in almost two months, we have a reason to relax," said Le Thi Ngoc, surrounded by customers grouped close together.

Street cafes and tea stalls have also attracted many customers and, of course, removing their masks while eating and conversing.

"Summer is here, and it's too hot to wear a mask all day," a man said while having lunch with a friend at a pho restaurant on Hong Tien Street on Thursday.

With the four-day Reunification Day (April 30) and Labor Day (May 1) vacation around the corner, many Vietnamese are expected to join tours and visit places of amusement, which has health experts worried.

According to a survey by Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board and VnExpress in March, of 3,500 respondents, 53.4 percent had plans to travel between May and September, while 30.2 percent said they were ready to go on holiday in March and April.

Meanwhile, travel firms said up to 95-100 percent of tours had been booked for the four-day national holiday.

Recently, thousands of people flocked to Sam Son beach town in Thanh Hoa Province, central Vietnam to attend the opening ceremony of a tourism festival, with many failing to wear face masks amid large crowds. Images in the media had subsequently raised big concerns over Covid-19 risks.

"I will still travel with my family, since our flight tickets and accommodation have already been booked. I dont think the Covid-19 situation in Vietnam is that serious," said Hanoi-based teacher Nguyen Phuong Thao, who will fly to southern Phu Quoc Island in the coming holiday.

After three waves of infection were all brought under control, many Vietnamese, well versed in protective measures, believe life has returned to normal.

"Jeez, the threat lies in provinces bordering China, Cambodia, or Laos, we are relatively safe here in Saigon," said local motorbike taxi driver Huynh Thanh An.

One of his colleagues agreed, saying he had confidence the pandemic only had a "tiny chance" of returning after nearly two months without a single community transmission.

The Covid-19 outbreak in northern Hai Duong Province on Jan. 28 had kept Vietnamese at home during the past Lunar New Year holiday, further prompting the present travel rush.

"The four-day holiday is long enough for people to make up for Lunar New Year," sociologist Trinh Hoa Binh told VnExpress, adding many people have been yearning for a vacation. Hence, the coming holiday is a "perfect solution."

Saigon's Tan Son Nhat International Airport is packed with travelers on April 17, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa.

India-like scenario

With Vietnam entering a four-day holiday after a month without local Covid-19 transmissions, health experts warn of a possible India-like scenario.

The health sector, eyeing the outbreaks in Laos and Cambodia, is preparing for the worst scenario.

Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long warned Sunday that Vietnam faces a great risk of imported Covid-19 infections.

While Vietnam has sealed its borders, there are occasional illegal entrants who evade checkpoints to avoid mandatory quarantine. Several foreigners have also been caught entering the country illegally.

Tran Dac Phu, senior advisor at the Public Health Emergency Operations Center, also warned: "Traveling, meeting and gathering during the upcoming holidays would create opportunities for the virus to spread widely once it enters the nation."

In a Monday meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered people's committee chairmen to ensure local residents wear face masks in crowded areas.

Many offices, malls, and restaurants are again requiring people to wear face masks and sanitize their hands while on the premises.

"Since the Covid-19 situation may turn complicated, we required all employees to wear masks and temporarily refrain from using fingerprint scanners," a paper-producing company in Hanois Long Bien District stated.

Several tea stalls across Hanoi have also been quieter recently, as local authorities keep a watchful eye out for those not wearing masks in public.

Localities across Vietnam like Saigon, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, Quang Tri, and Hanoi have canceled fireworks shows and festivals in the wake of the Covid-19 threat.

A number of people have also canceled their travel plans during the coming holiday due to fears over a possible outbreak.

"I decided to postpone my trip to Da Lat after reading about Covid-19 threats from neighboring countries. Health and safety must come first," said Saigon-based banker Nguyen Thanh Huy.

According to some tourism firms, many patrons are worried by the surging number of new Covid-19 cases around the world, so many have chosen closer destinations or private vehicles to mitigate infection risks.

In Hanoi, local authorities have required all travelers to submit health declarations on return.

"I dont want to waste money by cancelling air tickets or hotel bookings, so I will travel and hold my breath, hoping things will be okay," a white-collar worker in Hanoi en route to Saigon this weekend, said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 19:16:07|Editor: huaxia

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MOGADISHU, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations humanitarian agency said Wednesday that between 60,000 and 100,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Mogadishu following an outbreak of violence on April 25.

Cesar Arroyo, the UN acting humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, said those displaced include vulnerable internally displaced persons who had sought refuge in the Somali capital but have again fled to find refuge at the outskirts of the city.

Armed conflict is on the rise and disproportionately affects the most vulnerable, Arroyo said, expressing concern about the deteriorating security situation in Mogadishu.

"Unlike the previous two years, most displacement in Somalia this year is conflict-related," he said in a statement issued in Mogadishu. "I urge parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and their obligation to protect civilians."

According to the UN, conflict-related displacement has escalated in Somalia, and since January, an estimated 173,000 people have been displaced, almost two-thirds by conflict. This, the UN said, includes 50,000 people who were displaced by violence in 19 villages in Berdale in South West State, Gaalkacyo in Mudug region, and Cabudwaaq in Galgaduud region.

Arroyo said the initial violence between government and pro-opposition forces has created uncertainty and fear of disruptions of humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people across the city.

He said the situation has flared up at a time that Somalia is experiencing a full-fledged drought, a significant rise in COVID-19 cases, and a serious desert locust infestation.

Fighting erupted on Sunday in Mogadishu amid heightened tension after the lower house of parliament passed legislation on the extension of President Mohamed Farmajo's term by two years. Farmajo, whose four-year mandate officially ended on Feb. 8, signed into law the parliamentary bill, which is opposed by the opposition, shortly after it was passed on April 12.

Efforts to reach an agreement on how to carry out presidential and parliamentary elections, which were originally scheduled to take place in February, have been stalled for months.

Early Wednesday, Farmajo said he will no longer pursue the extension of his presidential term and called for a return to negotiations to break the current political impasse over arrangements for the delayed elections. Enditem
(Natural News) Experts predict that the next big earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone will be much worse than the catastrophic earthquake that struck Japan in 2011.

In a March episode of PBS Terras Weathered, meteorologist and host Maiya May showed how vulnerable the Pacific Northwest is to the so-called Big One earthquake along Cascadia. She said that this disaster would likely cause more damage to the U.S. than the magnitude 9 Tohoku earthquake did to Japan in 2011.

Here on the West Coast of the United States, were nowhere near as prepared as Japan was for this kind of disaster, May said.

Even before the 2011 quake, the East Asian country was already a world leader in disaster preparedness.

It can tell an earthquakes magnitude in an instant and is home to the worlds biggest flood infrastructure. Most of its buildings are also earthquake-proof, something that served the nation well during the first few minutes of the 2011 disaster.

Although Japans preparations helped mitigate the quakes initial effects, ultimately these were not enough to prevent the Fukushima nuclear accident and the thousands of deaths caused by the ensuing tsunami.

Oregon-based engineer Allison Pyrch visited the country shortly after the disaster. In an interview with May, she recounted the devastating scene that the tsunami left in its wake.

It toppled most of their tsunami walls, inundated huge amounts of the Japan coastline and killed 16,000 people, she said. You can imagine where the water went because you can see the water lines on the trees on the hills around it. You can see the pieces of peoples lives strewn around.

As an Oregonian, Pyrch feared that the same fate would befall Oregon, which sits near Cascadia. The 600-mile fault runs from northern California to British Columbia in Canada. It is flanked by the Juan de Fuca Plate to the west and the North American Plate to the east, both of which are perpetually moving toward each other in a tension-building collision. Once enough tension accumulated, it will find release and trigger an earthquake as large as magnitude 9, which is as strong as what struck Japan. (Related: Is the Cascadia Subduction Zone about to blow?)

Lack of preparedness, dated buildings will exacerbate Cascadia earthquake and tsunami

Oregon State University geologist Chris Goldfinger expressed his concern about his home states lack of preparedness. He was in Japan when the quake hit and observed that only a few buildings toppled to the ground afterward. But in the case of Oregon, buildings wouldnt be able to survive the Big One, he forecast.

If that had been Cascadia and Id been at work, my building would have collapsed. Theres no question about it, he told May. I mightve gotten out, I might not, but it would be gone.

The lack of preparedness stemmed from the fact that Cascadia had been silent for a long time, Goldfinger said, which fueled the notion that it was aseismic. But in the 1980s, scientists discovered that the Pacific Northwest simply sat in a currently quiet spot, hence the absence of seismic activity.

But this period of dormancy will likely end very soon, as Cascadia is long overdue for a major earthquake. The fault ruptures every 250 years, and the last time it did was in 1700. Recently, scientists estimate that the Big One has a 37 percent likelihood of occurring in the next 50 years. Once this happens, states such as Oregon and Washington could lay in ruin.

According to Pyrch, bridges and other infrastructure in areas like Portland and Seattle would warp and fall off their foundations, while unreinforced masonry buildings would collapse. Meanwhile, the oil terminal storing 95 percent of both Oregon and Washingtons fuel would deform, spill and potentially catch fire.

The Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake is going to be one of the worst disasters Americas ever seen, she remarked. (Related: Prepping for the unexpected: What to do before, during and after a sudden disaster.)

Moreover, the quake would also trigger a tsunami that could reach up to 100 feet. The first wave would hit shortly after the quake, leaving residents of coastal communities with as little as 20 minutes to evacuate. Though residents could readily find an elevated area on Oregon and Washingtons hilly landscape, old infrastructure would complicate the matter.

In the coastal town of Seaside, Oregon, for example, running for the hills would require crossing one of the towns many dated bridges, which Goldfinger noted were not retrofitted to withstand an earthquake. If the bridges were to collapse, he said, evacuees would have to swim the river.

I look around at the Pacific Northwest and I can see visually that we are a thousands years behind, the geologist remarked. This is not going to be easy to catch up.

Learn more about how to prepare for earthquakes and tsunamis by following Preparedness.news.

Sources include:

StrangeSounds.org

EuroNews.com
New Delhi:

At least five people were killed after a fire broke out at a farmhouse in Ohio, US. The fire was so intense that the firefighters were not able to get inside the house to save the victims, the officials said.

Dean Henry, a spokesman for Seneca County said that 3 adults and 2 children lived in the two-storey farmhouse just outside city of Fostoria.

A girl inside the house made the first call at 911 from her fathers mobile on Wednesday morning, the authorities said.

The police found the three bodies in the morning itself and the remaining two were later recovered by them. Some parts of the house also got collapsed due to which it became difficult for them to search.

Speaking on the incident, Chief Mark DeVault of the Bascom Joint Fire District said, There was a lot of fire coming out of the front a lot of heavy smoke.

(With PTI inputs)

ALSO READ | Mumbai: Massive fire breaks out at Behrampada slums area near Bandra railway station

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ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, today announced that Michael Franz of the University of California, Irvine is the recipient of the ACM Charles P. "Chuck" Thacker Breakthrough in Computing Award. Franz is recognized for the development of just-in-time compilation techniques that enable fast and feature-rich web services on the internet. Every day, millions of people around the world use online applications such as Gmail and Facebook. These web applications would not have been possible without the groundbreaking compilation technique Franz developed in the mid 1990s.

Beginning with the PhD thesis he completed in 1994, Franz has been exploring the use of just-in-time (JIT) dynamic compilation and optimization, focusing not only on static languages such as Java, but also on dynamically-typed languages. Initially such dynamic languages were primarily used in research and academic settings, but that changed when JavaScript was adopted for creating web services. JavaScript enabled the creation of websites that had application-like behavior, rather than the more static websites enabled by HTML. JavaScript, like other dynamic languages, was initially interpreted, and that led to poor performance. By inventing a new compilation technique, developing a JIT compiler for JavaScript based on this new technique, and then collaborating with Mozilla to incorporate it into the Firefox browser, Franz enabled massive growth in the use of JavaScript, now one of the world's most heavily used programming languages.

"We all use web-based applications every day and they are now so prevalent that we often forget how revolutionary they were when they were first introduced," said ACM President Gabriele Kotsis. "Whether we're connecting with friends or colleagues on a social media platform, preparing our taxes using online software, or booking an accommodation at a hotel, we are using a web-based application. Michael Franz's work certainly fits the Thacker Award's criteria for 'leapfrog contributions to computing ideas and technologies.' Franz displayed foresight in working with Mozilla to implement his ideas on their browser and in making his technology open source so that it could be continually refined and adapted by developers worldwide."

The idea of JIT dynamic compilation goes back decades and was initially used for a variety of statically-typed-languages. In the 1970s, researchers at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center used JIT compilation for Smalltalk, a dynamically-typed language. In the 1980s, researchers at Stanford and Sun explored the use of JITs for Self, a dynamically typed, prototype-based language similar to JavaScript. Franz made several important contributions beyond this earlier work that greatly increased the practicality of JIT compilation.

First, rather than optimizing entire functions, he introduced a technique that optimizes only the loops of a program, using a structure called a "trace tree" to represent alternative paths through a loop that are discovered and subsequently translated incrementally. Second, Franz developed a JIT compiler that could be applied in a variety of settings, including those with more limited CPU or memory resources. With these techniques, Franz's JIT compiler could often achieve performance improvements of 5-10x on JavaScript, which was critical to its wide-ranging adoption and the transformation of web applications. Most websites today use JavaScript, and all browsers include a JavaScript execution engine. Franz's technology helped make this transformation possible.

"Microsoft is proud to fund the Breakthrough in Computing Award, named after Chuck Thacker, one of the computing field's true visionaries," said Eric Horvitz, Microsoft's Chief Scientific Officer. "Chuck had a magical ability to transform over-the-horizon computing dreams into world-changing realities. Michael Franz's work on just-in-time compilation is a great choice for the Breakthrough in Computing honor. His work has been transformative, enabling today's rich web experiences by allowing websites to execute sophisticated, interactive programs nearly instantaneously. Michael Franz's insights, and his successful application of those insights, have had tremendous real-world impact."

Biographical Background

Michael Franz is a Chancellor's Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of California (UC), Irvine where he also directs the Secure Systems and Software Laboratory. His current research emphasis is in software systems, particularly focusing on compiler, virtual machine, and related system-level techniques for making software safer, or faster, or both.

Franz received a Doctor of Technical Sciences degree in Computer Science and a Diplomingenieur, Informatik-Ing. ETH degree, both from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). His honors include receiving a Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, an IEEE Computer Society Technical Achievement Award, and a Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research from the University of California, Irvine. Franz is a Fellow of ACM, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP).

###

About the ACM Charles P. "Chuck" Thacker Breakthrough in Computing Award

The ACM Breakthrough Award celebrates Thacker's pioneering contributions in computing and his long-term inspirational mentorship of generations of computer scientists. The award recognizes individuals or groups with the same out-of-the-box thinking and "can-do" approach to solving the unsolved that Thacker exhibited. The award is accompanied by a prize of $100,000, with financial support provided by Microsoft, and is presented at the annual ACM Awards Banquet. Recipients are expected to give the ACM Breakthrough Lecture at a major ACM conference of their choosing during the year following the announcement. Financial support of the ACM Breakthrough Award is provided by Microsoft.

About ACM

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.
The Release Features Significant Enhancements Including Workgroup Management and Player Snapshot

MALVERN, Pa., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Scala today announced the latest release of its flagship digital signage platform, Scala Enterprise version 12.50. The release features enhanced workgroup management, additions to the Linux player engine, including player snapshot capabilities and support for Scala Media Player DX and Q players, as well as a more intuitive menu panel with easily identifiable icons, and some significant performance improvements. Scala, part of the STRATACACHE family of marketing technology companies, provides the tools to create, manage and deploy powerful digital experiences in any environment including retail, quick service restaurants, banking, transportation, gaming, out-of-home media and additional key digital signage markets.

Highlights of Scala Enterprise 12.50 include:

Player snapshot capability support in the Linux player engine - allowing for both on-demand and scheduled interval validation of the content being displayed

Enhanced workgroup management that allows users to be assigned to multiple workgroups, along with access control to players and channels

Linux operating system support for Scala Media Player-DX, a dual 4K output player and for Scala Media Player-Q, a quad HD media player

output player and for Scala Media Player-Q, a quad HD media player A more intuitive, collapsible menu panel in Content Manager for personal, management and administrative settings with easily recognizable icons

New modernized documentation knowledge center and search functionality

Several key operational improvements for batch changes to multiple players in large deployments

Synch and advanced control support for Scala shelf edge retail displays

Support for LINQ interactive tablet devices from 11.6" to 55"

"Building on the release of Scala Enterprise 12.00 last fall, we have added major capabilities that enhance the overall digital experiences to embedded ARM devices - from entry level player-R to quad output player-Q, as well as kiosks, tablets and shelf edge displays. Our goal is to continuously enhance our Linux platform, listening to the voice of the customer with a focus on making it easier to deliver more customized content for consumer engagement on their preferred operating system," said Joe Sullivan, COO of Scala.

Enterprise 12.50 is available at www.Scala.com/updates for customers under current Scala Maintenance.

ABOUT SCALA

Scala, a STRATACACHE company, partners with brands across many industries to help transform their customer experience with smart marketing technology and digital signage. Scala provides the platform to easily create and centrally manage deployment of digital experiences, while retaining the flexibility to adapt to local business conditions and audience preferences in real time. With 30 years' experience, Scala is well-known for its innovation and leveraging best-of-breed technologies to create solutions that are easy-to-use, flexible and infinitely customizable. With its global headquarters in Malvern, Philadelphia, Scala has 28 offices across the globe. Its worldwide network of partners and developers spanning more than 100 countries drive over 3.1 million digital screens globally. Learn more about Scala at https://www.scala.com/en and follow Scala on Facebook and LinkedIn.

About STRATACACHE

STRATACACHE provides scalable customer experiences, empowering retailers to learn deeply about their customers' shopping preferences and behaviors, allowing for personalized shopper interaction. Our solutions deliver consumer activation at the point-of-decision, generating new sales opportunities and enhanced retail profitability. With 3.3 million+ software activations globally, we power the biggest digital networks for the world's largest brands. Across the STRATACACHE family of complementary digital media/ad tech solution companies, we have the technology, expertise and track record to bring retail innovation that delivers results. Learn more about the STRATACACHE family at www.stratacache.com on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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New Delhi, April 28 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the UP government to shift Kerala journalist Siddiqque Kappan lodged in Mathura Jail to a government hospital in Delhi for medical treatment.

The bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, Justices S. Kant and A.S. Bopanna was hearing the habeas corpus petition filed by Kerala Union of Working Journalists(KUWJ) seeking Kappan's release.

The Court said that he has to be given treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital or AIIMS or any other government hospital in Delhi and after recovery, he has to be sent back to Mathura jail, where he is under custody.

Kappan is charged with UAPA on the ground that he was trying to create communal unrest in UP after the Hathras gangrape-murder crime.

Earlier in the day, the CJI headed bench heard the arguments of Advocate Wills Mathew for KUWJ, who argued that Kappan was illegally arrested and that the allegations in the FIR and the chargesheet did not constitute any offence.

The UP Government in the morning filed an affidavit stating that Kappan's RT-PCR test showed a negative result, and that he has been discharged from Mathura hospital and sent back to jail.

Wills Mathew, counsel for the petitioner, submitted that Kappan was a small-time, low profile journalist doing part-time reporting for an online news portal. He was receiving a salary of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month. As a journalist, Kappan will have to come into contact with persons in all walks of life, and he cannot be painted as a culprit merely on the basis of his association, Mathew argued.

Mathew stressed that the UAPA case was slapped against Kappan solely on the basis of conjectures and wild allegations.

The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta doubted the journalistic credentials of Kappan, by saying that he was holding an expired press card of a newspaper called 'Thejus' which had shut down three years ago.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
McCracken Meth Charges For Couple

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MCCRACKEN COUNTY - A traffic stop in McCracken County Tuesday morning led to the arrest of two people on drug charges.Detectives stopped a vehicle on James Sanders Boulevard as part of a drug investigation. Police said the driver, 42-year-old Daniel E. Copeland, was in possession of 6.7 grams of crystal methamphetamine, cash believed to be the proceeds from illegal drug sales, and drug paraphernalia.At Copeland's hotel room, they found his girlfriend, 36-year-old April M. Moore of Hopkinsville. Detectives said Moore was also in possession of methamphetamine.A search of the room allegedly uncovered more methamphetamine, diazepam pills, other prescription medications, and drug paraphernalia.They were both arrested and lodged in the McCracken County Jail.Copeland is charged with trafficking in methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine.Moore is charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, illegal possession of a legend drug, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Highlights Xiaomi has recently launched its premium Mi 11 series.

MI 11 Ultra is company's most premium phone in India.

Xiaomi India head speaks to India Today Tech.

Xiaomi recently launched its first true flagship in India, the Mi 11 Ultra and even though it hasn't confirmed the availability of the phone, remains confident about its success. Mi 11 Ultra, which features one of the biggest camera sensors on any smartphones in the world, is priced at Rs 69,999 in the country. In an exclusive interview with India Today Tech, Manu Kumar Jain Global VP, Xiaomi and MD, Xiaomi India, said that the smartphone is a steal at the price, and he expects it do well.

This isn't Xiaomi's first attempt at the premium market. It has launched the Redmi K20 series and Mi 10 phones in India in the past but, Manu believes that users are now more willing to spend on premium phones. He said that Xiaomi believes that this is the right time for it focus on premium smartphones but doesn't want to refresh the same devices again and again. Manu also talked about the challenges being faced by the smartphone manufacturers, Xiaomi's Make in India efforts and its goals for 2021.

Here are the edited excerpts from the conversation -

Q1 This was by far your biggest launch in India till date. Are you nervous about how the Mi 11 series will be received?

This was our biggest launch of the year. Not just for us, this was the biggest launch for any brand in the country. We believe that all products launched during the event are futuristic devices including the Mi 11 Ultra. These are the kind of devices that other brands will be launching in one or two years of time. So am I happy? Yes. Am I excited? A lot. Am I nervous? Probably, not. My only wish is that we would have done it a time when the world was not going through so many COVID-19 cases.

Q2 We have seen it in the past that every time Xiaomi has tried to enter a more premium category, people have been slightly critical of it. We saw it with the Redmi K20 Pro and last year, with Mi 10. A lot of it can be blamed on the high expectations you have set over the years. What makes you think that consumers are finally ready to pay a premium for Xiaomi phones like Mi 11 Ultra?

Thank you for asking this. It is true that we used to launch one flagship a year. Somewhere we made a mistake by not communicating enough about the success of these devices. Three years ago, when Poco was part of Xiaomi, we launched Poco F1. In 2019, we launched Redmi K20 series and in 2020, we launched Mi 10, Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro. This year started with the Mi 10i.

All the phones we launched as part of Mi 10 series did really well. Mi 10i became the best-selling phone in Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 category. Even though there was some buzz around pricing of Redmi K20 prices, they were best-selling smartphones in their categories for six months.

Watch full video interview here -

When we started off in India, bulk of the market was under Rs 20,000. That's when we wanted to focus on those categories. The market has changed and one out of every 10 phones sold now are above Rs 20,000. We believe that now is the right time for us to focus on more premium categories.

Q2 Now, that the Mi 11 Ultra is here, tell us what makes it special? How is it different from competition?

Everything. This is the kind of phone that world has never seen before. The Mi 11 Ultra has the best camera put on a smartphone. A lot of people joke that this is a DSLR that can be used to make calls. We have seen three or four camera phones before but, they have only one main lens. All three of Mi 11 Ultra's cameras act as main camera with a 50-megpaixel and two 48-megapixel sensors.

Q3 You said that the Mi 11 Ultra is priced on the higher side because of the import duties, as you are importing the phone from China. How far are we from manufacturing these premium smartphones in India?

I want to tell people through you that pricing of any phone is not a direct conversion of exchange rates. People often compare prices in other markets with India cost. That is a completely false way of doing it. There are lot of other factors involved. The exchange rates keep fluctuating. Next, the tax rates are different in each country. For example, we have to pay 18 per cent GST in India.

Then, there are other costs involved in each country. In India, we set up two new manufacturing plants in India and a lot of investments go towards that. The global supply chain has been hit because of which the component cost keeps going up and down. This includes everything like chipset, camera sensors, display etc. Given all these things, the cost is very dynamic.

Yet, if you look at the India pricing of Mi 11 Ultra, it is lower than the global pricing, and we are absorbing the import duty and not passing it on to consumers. The way I look at it, Mi 11 Ultra is a steal at Rs 70,000. Of course, if someone wants at Rs 10,000, there is nothing we can do we can't give it.

To the second part of your question.99 per cent of your smartphones are being manufactured in India including Mi 11X and Mi 11X Pro. Mi 11 Ultra is one phone which is being manufactured by our fully automated factory. We only have one such factory in the world and are being forced to import it.

Q4 I mentioned the Redmi K20 Pro briefly at the start. The K20 series was launched in 2019 and had impressive set of features for the time. We haven't seen a successor yet. In fact, you have re-branded the Redmi K40 phones as Mi 11X phones in India. What is the idea behind that and should we not expect K series smartphones in the country?

We have a central R&D team and different product teams for each brand. These teams can pick things from the R&D team and customise it according to the needs of a specific country. So, it's true that Mi 11 series is inspired by Redmi K40 series, but it has been customised keeping Indian customers in mind.

I can't tell you about the future products but there are no immediate plans to launch a Redmi K20 successor. The aim is not to refresh phones in every six months. Brands usually do it when your current phone is not selling well. If you provide a good device, you should be able to sell it for 12 to 15 months.

Q5 Xiaomi has had sane number of launches this year in India as compared to other brands. I don't know how else to put it. We had the Mi 10i, Note 10 series and now, the Mi 11 line-up. What else should we expect from you in 2021?

I genuinely feel that if you make a good phone, you don't need to refresh it for a year. There are brands that refresh two or three phones in the same price point but sell less units than one Redmi Note phone. We firmly believe that less is good, more is not good. It allows you focus on few things. When you try to launch too many devices, you make compromises and keep re-launching the same devices. We want to avoid it as much as possible.
Art Museum TX

Art Museum TX will open a second location with a two-year residency in Sugar Land Town Square in May. The Fort Bend County-based non-profit will occupy a 4,000-square-foot space adjacent to the central plaza.

Founded in 2020 by Ana Villaronga-Roman, the museum promotes Texas contemporary art through exhibits, events and education. It has a location LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch in Katy.



The contemporary art scene is firmly in place in Fort Bend County with our second location of Art Museum TX in Sugar Land Town Square, Villaronga-Roman said in an announcement. "Despite the uncertainty of the past year, the museum continued to have an impact, and we stay steadfast in our goal of doing our part in building Fort Bends reputation as an art market to watch.
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The White House Historical Association today released a NEW episode of The 1600 Sessions podcast detailing the important role of Freemasons in the construction and history of the White House.

See the podcast VIDEO here.

Since the laying of the White House cornerstone in 1792, Freemasons have included Irish White House architect James Hoban and several presidents - from George Washington to Gerald Ford.

In this episode, White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin interviews Jason Van Dyke, Director of Communications and Chris Ruli, Historian & Librarian of the Grand Lodge of Washington, D.C.

Ruli discusses the difficulties of researching where the cornerstone of the White House was laid, remarking that "up until about the Truman renovation in the 1950s, we really didn't know anything about that event."

Van Dyke states "we could probably assume that there is a cornerstone with a time capsule somewhere still deep underground and in the White House."

The White House Historical Association recently released James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House, which tells the story of the Irish immigrant and freemason who designed and helped build the People's House.

For information visit whitehousehistory.org or contact [email protected].

The 1600 Sessions

In this podcast series, White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin interviews luminaries, historians, and eyewitnesses to history about America's most famous residence and officethe White House. Each episode includes a prominent guest or guests to discuss varying facets of White House history, including insights from former staff and many other topical issues.

The 1600 Sessions is available on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and Stitcher.

To hear this episode, visit The1600Sessions.org.

About The White House Historical Association

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy envisioned a restored White House that conveyed a sense of history through its decorative and fine arts. In 1961, the White House Historical Association was established to support her vision to preserve and share the Executive Mansion's legacy for generations to come. Supported entirely by private resources, the Association's mission is to assist in the preservation of the state and public rooms, fund acquisitions for the White House permanent collection, and educate the public on the history of the White House. Since its founding, the White House Historical Association has contributed more than $50 million in fulfillment of its mission. To learn more about the White House Historical Association, please visit www.whitehousehistory.org.

SOURCE White House Historical Association

Related Links

http://www.whitehousehistory.org


Less than 50 New Jersey school districts remain closed for in-person instruction, including half of the 10 largest, as the number of fully in-person districts continue to rise.

As of April 26, 470 school districts were hybrid, 47 were remote and 246 were fully in-person  the fifth week in a row the number of in-person districts increased. Forty-eight districts have different educational formats for different schools.

The number of in-person districts increased by 60, while hybrid and remote districts decreased by 56 and 20, respectively. The number of districts using different learning methods for different schools also increased by 18.

Although the number of virtual districts has been steadily decreasing, half of the states 10 largest districts are still remote in the last week of April. Union City, Trenton, and Jersey City all plan to re-open for hybrid instruction in May, while Passaic and Paterson have said they will stay virtual through the end of the year.

Thirty percent of districts are now fully in-person, with just over 18% of New Jersey students living in a district offering full-time in-person learning. About 6% of districts remain fully remote, and encompass about 13% of the states students.

The number of students being offered each educational type does not take into account students who are voluntarily learning virtually, an option all schools must provide. When Newark, the states largest school district, re-opened for in-hybrid learning, just 39% of its 36,460 students returned to classrooms.

State officials have said that as of October, the most recently available data, about a quarter of students in a district with open schools were voluntarily learning virtually.

Gov. Phil Murphy has called for all districts to reopen for either hybrid or in-person learning, announcing in March that some schools could relax social distancing measures.

The option to learn virtually will be rescinded next year, and reserved only for students and teachers with medical concerns, Murphy said.

Some schools have remained entirely remote since last March, while other districts have changed formats as virus numbers have gone up or down.

Districts have cited concerns about the viruss spread as the main reason for choosing to remain remote. Several school districts, including Jersey City, have said they will remain remote through the end of the school year with the intention of bringing students back in September.

There have been 254 outbreaks and 1,125 cases of the coronavirus linked to schools in New Jersey. For cases to qualify as an outbreak, they must be confirmed to have been transmitted in the classroom or during academic activities. All 21 counties have seen an in-school outbreak.

All New Jersey residents 16 and older are eligible for the vaccine this week. No vaccine has been approved for children under 16, although Pfizer has announced its vaccine is highly effective in children aged 12 to 15. Studies on younger children remain ongoing.

The following 25 districts switched from virtual learning to some form of in-person this week:

Cape May City School District: Remote to In-Person

Dennis Township School District: Remote to In-Person

Lower Cape May Regional School District: Remote to In-Person

Lower Township Elementary School District: Remote to In-Person

North Wildwood School District: Remote to In-Person

Upper Township School District: Remote to In-Person

West Cape May School District: Remote to In-Person

Wildwood Crest Borough School District: Remote to In-Person

Vineland Public School District: Remote to Hybrid

Swedesboro-Woolwich School District: Remote to Hybrid

Jersey City Golden Door Charter School: Remote to Hybrid

North Bergen School District: Remote to Hybrid

Soaring Heights Charter School: Remote to Hybrid

University Academy Charter High School: Remote to Hybrid

Academy for Urban Leadership Charter School: Remote to Hybrid

Perth Amboy Public School District: Remote to Hybrid

Asbury Park School District: Remote to Combo

Philips Academy Charter School of Paterson: Remote to Hybrid

Andover Regional School District: Remote to Hybrid

Hopatcong Borough School District: Remote to Combo

Lafayette Township School District: Remote to In-Person

Northern Hills Academy School District: Remote to In-Person

Stanhope School District: Remote to Hybrid

Sussex County Technical School District: Remote to Hybrid

Sussex County Technology Charter School: Remote to In-Person

Fifty-three formerly hybrid districts switched to fully in-person this week:

Egg Harbor Township School District

River Vale Public School District

Bordentown Regional School District

Woodbine School District

Clayton Public School District

Clearview Regional High School District

Delsea Regional High School District

Elk Township School District

Gloucester County Special Services School District

Greenwich Township School District

Harrison Township School District

Logan Township School District

Mantua Township School District

Township of Franklin School District

Washington Township School District

Wenonah Boro School District

West Deptford Township School District

Woodbury City Public School District

EDEN SCHOOL, THE

PRINCETON CHILD DEVELOPMENT INST.

Butler Public School District

Florham Park School District

Hanover Park Regional High School District

Harding Township School District

Kinnelon School District

Lincoln Park School District

Long Hill Township School District

Mendham Borough School District

Mendham Township School District

Morris Hills Regional School District

Morris Plains School District

Mount Arlington Public School District

Rockaway Borough School District

Roxbury Township School District

Unity Charter School

Wharton Borough School District

Bernards Township School District

Central Jersey College Prep Charter School

Montgomery Township School District

Somerset County Educational Services Commission School Distr

Somerset Hills Regional School District

BONNIE BRAE SCHOOL

CENTER SCHOOL

EAST MOUNTAIN SCHOOL, A DIVISION OF CARRIER CLINIC

MIDLAND SCHOOL

MONTGOMERY ACADEMY

NEW ROAD SCHOOL OF SOMERSET

Fredon Township School District

Sparta Township Public School District

Summit Public School District

Blairstown Elementary Township School District

Oxford Township School District

WARREN GLEN ACADEMY (FORMERLY STEPPING STONE)

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.
On the surface, Michigans largest health insurance company  Blue Cross Blue Shield  has championed health precautions and safety throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

But behind the scenes, long-time employees are quitting and some have had panic attacks because of the companys apparent apathy toward COVID-19 protocols, workers say.

Blue Cross Blue Shield sent almost all of its nonunion employees home at the start of the pandemic and theyve been working remotely ever since. But the companys 1,500 unionized employees havent been so lucky  while they were home for a couple days last March, theyve been forced to work from the office ever since, according to the UAW local that represents Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan employees.

Customer service workers, claims adjudicators, junior accountants, graphic designers and more are required to show up every day and subject themselves to the virus  even though their work is done from computers.

Tiffany Muhammad, a customer service representative and employee of 15 years, quit last week because of it.

When COVID first hit, the way that Blue Cross responded really hit me that, I work for an employer that does not really care about my wellbeing. Muhammad said. I worked at a medical insurance company. Like, thats our thing. Thats the whole basis of our company.

Muhammads elderly mother lives with her and has health problems. She was terrified of bringing COVID-19 home to her family.

Still, Muhammad said shell miss her work and her coworkers. She doesnt know where shell go next.

I am going to miss that aspect of that check every two weeks and that stability, Muhammad said. But my peace of mind is way more important than a check every two weeks.

COVID-19 has hit Blue Cross Blue Shield offices hard. More than 200 employees have tested positive from its Detroit offices alone, said Kristofor Harrison, president of the UAW Local 2500.

In early April, the company was averaging about 50 cases per week across the state, he said. The company has about 6,000 employees.

They represent themselves as being the standup company, corporate citizen, concerned about the health of the state of Michigan, Harrison said. But behind closed doors, amongst its own employees, theres a depraved indifference and flagrant disregard for the health and safety.

The company denies wrongdoing and says it has taken actions to protect its workers, even though state safety inspectors have fined Blue Cross Blue Shield for a number of violations.

The company is appealing the citations issued earlier this month.

The atmosphere inside

Masks arent required for employees once theyre at their desk.

But indoor spaces where people are maskless for long periods of time are among the highest-risk areas for COVID-19, health experts have said.

Thats why one customer service representative  whose husband and daughter are vulnerable with health conditions  wears three masks to work every day. She asked to only be identified by her first initial and last name, K. Jones, out of fear of company retaliation.

MLive has independently confirmed all employees referenced in this story work for Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Jones takes two of her three masks off once at her desk. The company mandates temperature checks, but Jones said shes seen the result say error multiple times, but was told by the checker she was good to go.

Its scary to come to work every day, Jones said. Its a health insurance company, but they dont care.

Michigan offices are the source of 68 active COVID-19 outbreaks, per state records. The office setting is one of the biggest sources of COVID-19 spread, but is behind spaces like schools, manufacturing/construction sites and bars/restaurants.

The virus has been disruptive at Blue Cross Blue Shield, since exposed employees are supposed to be sent home to quarantine. But one employee in the quality department said shes been exposed to three people with COVID-19  and even though the infected people shared her name with human resources, the company never alerted her.

Others have similar stories  saying HR didnt want to send people home with pay if they could help it.

At the start of the pandemic, Blue Cross Blue Shield allowed union workers to stay home and collect unemployment if they didnt feel safe coming in. Once Michigans stay-home order was lifted in June, workers had to return  or forfeit their pay or vacation time.

Blue Cross Blue Shield has begrudgingly complied with most of Michigans health rules, Harrison said. But every step has been a battle, he said.

Even when they were passing out masks to the public, they were not giving their employees any masks, Harrison said.

For a while, employees lost hope that their situation would change. They reluctantly continued to play Russian roulette with their health as their coworkers passed around the virus. Some ended up hospitalized and at least one employee died of COVID-19, according to union representatives and workers.

And then workplace safety inspectors showed up  at the request of the employees.

The Michigan Occupational Health and Safety Administration found a litany of violations, including not keeping people 6 feet apart, not having sufficient barriers between workers, not having a complete COVID-19 preparedness plan and not keeping records of employee trainings.

MIOSHA fined Blue Cross Blue Shield $7,000.

Blue Cross Blue Shield is the first Michigan workplace to be penalized for making employees to come to work when their jobs could be done from home. MIOSHAs rules require remote work when feasible.

The company claims office workers must come in because sensitive patient health information could be compromised remotely.

But that excuse doesnt hold up, employees say, because the company has nonunion employees and contracted workers doing the same jobs remotely.

That was a bunch of B.S., Jones said. I could possibly believe that if the vendors werent working from home.

A Blue Cross Blue Shield spokesperson said the companys IT department is already strained and near maximum capacity with the amount of employees working from home. Blue Cross has appealed the MIOSHA fines, claiming it did nothing wrong.

We are confident in the appeal we have filed with MIOSHA and the actions we continue to take to protect the health and safety of our employees, spokesperson Helen Stojic said.

Needless to say, the work situation at the Blue Cross Blue Shield skyscrapers on East Lafayette Boulevard in Detroit has not changed.

The company declined to answer questions on why union employees have been singled out.

Outside of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan building on Jefferson Avenue, on Monday April, 26, 2021 in Detroit Michigan. Nicole Hester/ MLive.com

Targeting the union

Union workers have absolutely been targeted by Blue Cross Blue Shield, said Harrison, the union president.

Theyre just absolutely unwilling to even broach the subject with us, Harrison said.

The UAW has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, arguing the company is discriminating against union workers. The UAW was part of the reason MIOSHA came to inspect the offices in the first place.

Some older employees retired to get out of the situation, Harrison said. Hes still hopeful Blue Cross Blue Shield will adjust its policies.

They never really make a lot of movement until they feel that their image is being tarnished, Harrison said.

The situation raises red flags for Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University and expert in unions and labor relations.

Theres no need for people to have to be sitting in a call center at a central location in order to perform the work, Masters said.

Custodial workers and facilities maintenance employees obviously cant work from home, Masters said. But when two people are doing the same job  and one can work from home and the other cant  thats a problem, he said.

Unions have had a lot of power during the pandemic, Masters said, as they interpret how COVID-19 rules fit into union contracts. If the union feels the contract is violated, it can file grievances and force the debate into arbitration.

Having MIOSHA side with the employees instead of the company is a big step forward, Masters said.

None of the workplaces appealing MIOSHA citations for violating COVID-19 rules have gotten their fines overturned so far. MIOSHA has cited 228 workplaces and counting for violating pandemic safety rules.

The $7,000 isnt much to a massive entity like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Masters said. Its more about the principle of whether the company is in the wrong  and the resulting consequences of that.

This is going to create discord and disharmony in the workforce and thats all bad for the environment that people work in, Masters said. Its also bad for the reputation of the company  particularly a company involved in health care.

The psychology of an unfair work environment

Dr. Diane Buffalin, a psychologist in Farmington Hills, specializes in stress management and has worked in the field for 30 years. She calls herself a one-woman crusade against anger.

A handful of her clients are Blue Cross Blue Shield employees.

The situation has had a very pejorative impact on employees, causing stress, anxiety and depression, she said. That leads to poor productivity in the workplace, Buffalin said. She hasnt seen any other employer handle the pandemic like Blue Cross Blue Shield has.

The anxiety stems from union employees feeling like the company doesnt care about them.

If I die tomorrow, theyre just going to replace me with another employee, said a senior performance quality analyst with Blue Cross Blue Shield, who declined to share her name on the record because of fear of retribution. The anxiety of just coming into work is affecting my health.

The anxiety level is at a 10, she said, leading to almost-daily panic attacks before work.

The employee has worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield for 15 years. She has friends doing similar jobs at other health insurance companies who are working from home.

I cant really concentrate on working, being in there, the quality analyst said. My mind is not here  Im constantly trying to wipe stuff down. Im not really even a productive employee at this point because Im totally afraid for my life.

If management thinks its offices are safe, the executives should prove it by working in the offices alongside them, the employee said.

Theyre home safe with their families, the quality analyst said. I feel like its a slap in our face for them to be home safe, but to put our lives at risk.

Buffalin thinks Blue Cross Blue Shield would fix the problems if the right people knew about the work conditions.

As employees fight feelings of helplessness, she tells them to keep faith  and eventually the right person will hear.

Blue Cross and other large corporations spend a lot of money, time and energy building a sense of team, Buffalin said. And now, (team leaders) go home to where they can be in their pajamas and drink coffee or hot chocolate all day long. Thats such a sense of alienation and betrayal. These companies have invested so much money in creating a sense of team, its counterintuitive and counterproductive that they would do this.

While Muhammad is done working at Blue Cross, she hopes for her former coworkers that the hypocritical and inhumane treatment ends soon.

If you are a medical insurance company, you need to show a little bit more humanity toward your employees, Muhammad said. You just have to.

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A man and a woman hold babies in an alley in Beijing in a file photo.

China will record its first population decline since the disastrous Great Leap Forward policies of late supreme leader Mao Zedong brought widespread famine to the country, killing tens of millions of people, according to a report in the Financial Times.

The report cited people familiar with the results of the latest Chinese census, which has yet to be made public despite being completed in December 2020, as saying that the overall population has fallen below the 1.4 billion mark, after exceeding it in 2019.

The report prompted calls from Chinese social media users for the government to remove restrictions on single parenting, while feminists pointed to a growing unwillingness among women to comply with patriotic demands that they marry and have families.

"If there aren't enough babies being born, then they need to normalize single parenthood," user @Xunyifeng said on the social media platform Weibo.com.

"Two women could even raise kids together as family, with their [female] lovers, or even two straight women with no sexual relationship, and the kids could take their mothers' surname," the user wrote.

User @Socialist_leftist_Alice agreed. "If raising childbirth payouts doesn't have an effect, then they need to allow single parenting."

User @Niu_Hulu_was_dying_and_sat_up_in_shock made an oblique reference to gender imbalance in China's population following decades of female infanticide during the "one-child" policies because of a preference for sons.

"This is essentially a conflict between the idea that every man needs a woman, and yet none of them are willing to raise daughters," they wrote.

Another user, @Sakurai Nakuri, commented that there is a growing unwillingness among educated Chinese women to have children at all, however.

"Most of the women I know who have gone to college and are currently in their 20s are single, and have little expectation that they will marry, and they dont want children, either," the user commented.

User @Lei 2Rn also mentioned the skewed sex ratio, before commenting that current policy "doesn't recognize sexual minorities and other diverse ways of forming a family," while user @Linjiang Kawakami commented: "Only child here, not planning to get married in future."

User @A_nest_of_melons said the same was true of young migrant workers, although young women who stayed in their rural hometowns were more likely to have one or more children.

"My female friends from other places, or the women who work hard in migrant jobs, are all single and dont want to fall in love, get married, have children for the foreseeable future. Including myself," the user wrote.

@earlytobedearlytorise_indestructible added: "Give birth to a child? Can't afford it!"

Growing political impact

The reluctance on the part of some Chinese women to deliver on the government's demand for more babies is already having a political impact, as well as sparking a torrent of online abuse from anti-feminist trolls, which feminists say bear the hallmarks of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s covert "public opinion management" operations.

The CCP recently began a crackdown on prominent Chinese feminists, shutting down social media accounts on Weibo, WeChat, and Douban.

"Douban, a social media site used by Chinese urban youth, closed more than 10 feminist groups and banned the keyword 6B4T, a feminist view from South Korea that advocates women not getting married and having no children," the Chinese Feminists Twitter account tweeted on April 13.

"Douban calls 6B4T an "extreme" and "radical" "ideology," it said.

Weibo said earlier this month that it had deleted the accounts of Liang Xiaowen and other Chinese feminists following complaints from users regarding posts containing "illegal and harmful information," warning against "boycott culture."

The Chinese Feminists account commented on Wednesday that the Financial Times report had generated considerable discussion among Chinese feminists.

"One common view is that [unwillingness on the part of women to give birth] is a spontaneous response of women to the impunity of gender discrimination and gender-based violence," it said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher Yaqiu Wang also tweeted about the FT report, saying: "Can we call it karma? For three decades, the CCP restricted birth through brutal force, intrusive birth control methods, fines and propaganda, and now people don't want more children."

'I fear what could come'

Wang raised the possibility of more coercive policies targeting women in future, this time to encourage population growth, rather than suppress it.

"Well, the CCP being the CCP, I fear what could come to boost birth rate," Wang wrote.

Experts and victims have described forced abortions, sterilizations, beatings, detention, and harassment as being the norm for decades under China's one-child policy, as local officials strove to meet set quotas and impose fines for "excess births."

In June 2012, Shaanxi-based Feng Jianmei was forced to terminate her pregnancy at eight months, sparking global outrage after a graphic photo of Feng and her dead baby went viral.

Another woman, Pan Chunyan, reported earlier that local family planning officials in Fujian province had forced her to get an abortion in her eighth month of pregnancy in April 2012.

The reported decline in population came after the government relaxed decades of draconian family planning controls in 2015, and switched to a two-child policy instead.

China's over-60 population is projected to rise from 254 million in 2019 to 300 million in 2025, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, while a declining number of younger workers will be paying into social security funds.

The People's Bank of China released a report titled "Awareness of our country's population transition and countermeasures," commenting on its Weibo account on April 14 that "education and technological progress are far from enough to compensate for the impact of population decline."

It called on the government to "fully liberalize fertility policies," and encourage people to have more children as soon as possible.

A basic human right

Lu Jun, co-founder of the Beijing Yirenping Center health rights advocacy group, said the government should remember that reproductive rights are also part of human rights.

"We should realize that reproductive rights are a basic human right," Lu said in an interview with RFA at the time of the People's Bank of China comment.

"The government has absolutely no right to tell individual citizens how many kids to have," he said. "Family planning policies are a serious violation of citizens' basic human rights."

He said growing awareness of women's rights meant that women were no longer available as "engines of fertility" to fulfill government policy.

New York-based political commentator Han Wu said a hidden death rate could also have contributed to the decline in population figures.

"It's true that young people are unwilling to have children nowadays in China, but that's also true for the rest of the world too," Han said.

"But the real hidden story behind population figures is that of excess deaths," he said. "If that is a factor, then, coupled with the unwillingness to give birth, the impact on China's population will be pretty unpredictable."

"I think it's going to be really hard to get an accurate figure, including from the government," Han said.

According to data from the State Statistics Bureau, the number of births in China in 2019 was 14.65 million, a decrease of 580,000 from the previous year, and the lowest value since 2000.

Reported by Lu Xi, Qiao Long and Chingman for RFA's Mandarin and Cantonese Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Image by Please Don't sell My Artwork AS IS from Pixabay

Smartphone sales in Europe grew by 6% in the first three months of 2021 following a difficult 2020, the technology analyst firm Counterpoint Research firm says, adding that despite this figures are still down due to ongoing COVID-19 challenges.

The firm pointed out that the end of the first quarter in 2020 saw a major downturn in the smartphone market in Europe as the pandemic took hold.

Device launches also helped in the recovery, with major vendors trying to grab marketshare from Huawei.

Samsung regained the overall top spot from Apple, with the latter, however, holding onto first spot in France, Germany and the UK.

The Chinese brand Xiaomi put in an impressive showing, especially in southern Europe, becoming the biggest vendor in Spain and taking the second spot in Italy. The brand now had more than 20% of the market, three times what it had 18 months ago.

Counterpoint associate director Jan Stryjak said: "Q1 2021 was a prime example of the intensely competitive nature of the European smartphone market.

"January saw Apple as the clear leader following its most successful device launch ever; Samsung rebounded in February on the back of strong sales of its latest flagship Galaxy S21 series and popular Galaxy A series; and then Xiaomi reached its highest market share in Europe ever in March thanks to the launch of its own flagship Mi11 devices.

"OPPO, OnePlus, realme and vivo also continue to grow strongly, with most having launched new devices in the quarter.

Research director Peter Richardson added: The strong momentum in Q4 2020 carried over to 2021, and an improving COVID-19 situation thanks to accelerating vaccination programmes will lay the foundation for a full year recovery.

"The growing market will also see increased competition among vendors: Samsung and Apple both improved on their market share in Q1 2021, and their leadership positions will come under renewed challenge by a host of Chinese entrants, led by a fast-moving Xiaomi, which reached 20% market share for the first time in March.

"Meanwhile, OPPO and vivo are hoping their to-and-fro battle for leadership in their home market of China can lead to increased momentum in Europe too.
The Australian governments hardline response to its citizens, permanent residents and their families stranded in India during a massive escalation in COVID-19 cases stands in stark contrast to its determination to help those abroad early in the pandemic.

In February last year, officials worked tirelessly to repatriate Australians from Chinas Wuhan Province, the drifting Diamond Princess cruise ship and other places ravaged by COVID-19, recognising the safety of Australians both at home and overseas is, of course, the primary responsibility of any government.

A relative of a person who died of COVID-19 is consoled by another during cremation in Jammu, India, on Sunday. Credit:AP

As Health Minister Greg Hunt said, the clear national priorities included containing the virus to protect Australians at home and the protection and support for Australians abroad.

To meet that responsibility, the government arranged repatriation flights and quarantine facilities on Christmas Island and in the Northern Territory to help Australians who found themselves abroad at the time of significant outbreaks. Since that initial flurry, though, national priorities have apparently shifted to privilege the protection of those at home at the expense of supporting Australians facing imminent harm overseas.
A Miami school has expressed their distrust of the COVID-19 vaccines as they refuse to employ educators who have been vaccinated.

The new policy that the Centner Academy sent to the parents through a letter has prompted them to look for a new school, NBC 6 reported.

The said Miami school has also announced a policy that directs their teachers not to get the vaccine or else they won't be allowed to be around the students.

READ NEXT: Misinformation on Social Media Targets Latino Communities

The Miami Private School Against COVID-19 Vaccines

Apart from discouraging teachers from getting inoculated, the Centner Academy also cited misinformation about the vaccine, USA Today reported.

Leila Centner, a co-founder of the Centner Academy in the city's Design District, pointed out in the letter that the decision was not easy to make. However, Centner noted that the impact of the "experimental drug" on unvaccinated people is still unclear. She also cited reports that vaccinated people may "inadvertently" impact the health of others.

"We know not everyone agrees on this topic, but this is our philosophy at Centner Academy, one in which many of our teachers and parents share," Centner said in a statement acquired by NBC 6.

Because of the directive, the employment of the faculty is tied to their decision to reject the shot. The Miami school has also required all employees to provide their "confidential responses" in a survey about taking or planning to take a COVID-19 vaccine, Insider reported.

The letter sent to parents also indicated that the institution would take legal action if they did not answer the form accurately.

One parent told NBC 6 that she is not sure if there will be teachers left at the institution. The parent noted that the academy had required her to sign a document that prohibits parents from badmouthing the Miami school.

The parent said she wanted to take her child out of the school. But she said her hands are tied as she has already paid about $30,000 for tuition.

Centner argued that their responses and actions are rooted in "caution and thoughtful decision making," which prioritized their students' health and safety.

Miami School Citing Misinformation

The Centner Academy has cited several myths about the COVID-19 vaccines. The school noted that those who have received the vaccine jabs might transmit "something" from their bodies to those they come in contact with.

The school also said that "women all over the world have recently been reporting adverse reproductive issues" after receiving any of the COVID vaccines. The school alleged that women are experiencing bleeding, miscarriages, hemorrhaging, and amenorrhea.

However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has debunked the ill connection between COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy. Experts said that Pfizer and Moderna's shots were safe for pregnant women as well as their babies.

The White House recently launched a social media vaccine campaign that aims to eradicate vaccine misinformation.

Meanwhile, the Centner Academy noted that their decision would remain until they know for sure that the vaccines are 100 percent safe.

READ MORE: 12 States Pressure Facebook and Twitter on Taking Action Regarding Anti-Vaxxers

WATCH: Private School in Miami Warns Teachers Against Taking COVID-19 Vaccine - From WPLG Local 10
A Brazilian woman and her three-month-old baby died after her husband allegedly gave her rat poison.





Luiz Edivaldo de Souza, 35, is accused of killing his wife Josiele Lopes, 36, and their baby son in Itapema, Brazil, by putting rat poison in her food.





Lopes was breast-feeding at the time, and it is believed the poison also killed the baby by contaminating her milk.

Luiz Edivaldo de Souza (left) allegedly killed his wife and baby son (right and centre) by putting rat poison in her food

Josiele Lopes (above) ate the food laced with rat poison before breast-feeding her baby son, unwittingly passing on the poison

De Souza was charged with homicide in October and a court ruled this week that he will face a trial by jury in his hometown of Itapema.

The police believe he committed the crime because his wife had asked for a separation.

Lopes and her baby went missing on September 15 last year. Police discovered their bodies a week later on September 23.

During that time, De Souza, then 34, sent messages to his wife's relatives posing as her, before blocking their contacts.

Lopes's eldest son, aged 17, filed a police report, which triggered an investigation.

The bodies of Lopes and her baby (above) were found by police after De Souza allegedly buried them in the woods

Lopes, 36, (above) is believed to have asked her husband for a separation before he put rat poison in her food

De Souza will stand trial for homicide in his home town of Itapema, Brazil, after allegedly poisoning his wife (above)

They concluded that De Souza had spiked his wife's food with rat poison and that, after eating, she breastfed her baby son with her contaminated breastmilk.

Lopes then began to feel ill and asked her husband to take her to hospital.

Instead he drove them to a wooded area in Rio dos Cedros, some 73 miles from their home in Itapema. By the time they arrived, both Lopes and the baby were dead, and De Souza then buried the bodies.

De Souza's legal team has until the end of next week to appeal the court's decision for a jury trial.

If the decision is not appealed, the court will set a date for the trial, where the defendant will respond to charges of homicide, concealment of the corpse and procedural fraud.
Although Mr. Hunt did not travel to Washington on the day of the Capitol riot, his criminal trial was the first one in the country that required jurors to weigh the events of Jan. 6 in their verdict. Jurors watched footage from the attack and heard the testimony of a Capitol Police officer.

Mr. Hunts rhetoric, prosecutors said, had to be viewed in the context of the Capitol riot.

Many watched the video clips from the Capitol in horror, but the defendant was inspired, said Ian Richardson, an assistant U.S. attorney, in his closing statement. He watched the events of Jan. 6, and he wanted more, more violence, more bloodshed.

Mr. Hunts lawyers, Jan Rostal and Leticia Olivera, argued at trial that all of his statements were strongly worded political opinions, not specific and targeted threats.

People like Mr. Hunt have long posed a challenge for law enforcement officials, who sift through violent threats online to determine which ones are worthy of criminal prosecution and which ones are protected speech. Mr. Hunt was arrested on Jan. 19, the day before President Bidens inauguration, a signal that F.B.I. agents did not want to wait and see what he might have done on that day.

The trial centered around four social media posts that Mr. Hunt made starting in December. Upset about the 2020 election outcome, he urged the slaughter and beheading of prominent Democrats ahead of Mr. Bidens inauguration. Mr. Hunt singled out Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Chuck Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi as high value targets.
OTTAWA - The House of Commons was expected in the wee hours Thursday to approve legislation to put an end to a strike that has shut down one of Canada's busiest ports.

Port of Montreal workers picket on the second day of their strike Tuesday, April 27, 2021 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

OTTAWA - The House of Commons was expected in the wee hours Thursday to approve legislation to put an end to a strike that has shut down one of Canada's busiest ports.

Operations at the Port of Montreal, through which millions of tonnes of goods flow, came to a halt after 1,150 dockworkers began a strike Monday morning.

Labour Minister Filomena Tassi said if the strike is allowed to drag on it would cost the economy $40 million to $100 million per week, directly threaten 19,000 other jobs and indirectly affect hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country.

And she said it's a matter of life and death because the strike has left essential medical supplies and pharmaceuticals sitting in shipping containers as the COVID-19 pandemic rages.

"I cannot impress upon you enough, this situation is dire," she said Wednesday in the Commons, where debate on the bill was expected to continue past midnight before finally being put to a vote.

"The supply chains are critical and we have to keep goods moving. And this is really a situation where, for the health and safety of Canadians and the economy, we must take this action."

Tassi said the back-to-work legislation is a last resort after more than two years of efforts to find a negotiated solution failed.

Workers at the port have been without a contract since December 2018 and started to refuse overtime and weekend work earlier this month.

The union previously held a 10-day strike in August.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the dockworkers, said the current dispute was sparked by their employer, the Maritime Employers Association, imposing extended workday hours without consulting workers.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said the strike could be called off immediately if the federal government ordered the employers association to cancel the work schedule changes.

"Take your damn phone, call them," he said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the bill undermines the right to collective bargaining and will do long-term damage to relations between dockworkers and their employer that will cause tensions down the road.

The government has also been criticized by the Conservatives for not doing enough to avert the strike. But leader Erin O'Toole has said his party will support the legislation because of the potential damage a prolonged strike could cause Canada's economy.

Manitoba Conservative MP Dan Mazier said he was "devastated" that government inaction had led to the strike. Nevertheless, he said putting an end to it is necessary to give assurance to farmers that they'll receive needed shipments of seeds and fertilizer as they start planting their crops.

"I am standing up for jobs, I'm standing up for our economy and I'm standing up for my country," he told the Commons.

Conservatives abstained Wednesday on a vote to impose closure on debate over a motion setting out the procedural steps for fast-tracking the back-to-work bill.

That allowed the closure motion to pass by a vote of 152-58, paving the way for hours of debate on the procedural motion and, eventually, on the bill itself.

The Senate, which is currently adjourned, has been recalled to deal with the bill on Friday.

The legislation would require dockworkers to return to work immediately after the bill receives royal assent.

It would extend their previous collective agreement until a new one is negotiated and prohibit any strikes or lockouts in the meantime. If negotiations fail again, the bill would impose a mediator-arbitrator on both parties

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2021.
Earth, seen here from the moon, has gone through 10 stages of mineral evolution, according to Dr Robert Hazen from Carnegie Institution of Washingtons Earth and Planets Laboratory. Credit: Shutterstock

The planet's evolution and 'microbial poop' were just some of the wide ranging topics US mineralogist Dr. Robert Hazen covered at the UNSW Center for Ideas event last night.

When acclaimed US mineralogist Robert Hazen was a young boy, he always collected and organized things like stamps or coins. But then he started collecting fossils and minerals, and he realized they told a story.

"That rock came from some place, it was born at some point, it evolved in certain ways  I became fascinated with those stories," the Senior Staff Scientist at Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory, and the Clarence Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences at George Mason University, said during a UNSW Sydney Center for Ideas event last night.

Dr. Hazen was interviewed by Martin Van Kranendonk, who is Professor of Geology and Astrobiology at UNSW Sydney, and is the Director of the Australian Center for Astrobiology.

Prof. Van Kranendonk has also spent a large part of his life mapping rocks: specifically the ancient rocks of Australia, South Africa, and Greenland, and has shared this knowledge with geoscientists from around the world on his famous "Grand Tour' fieldtrip across Western Australia, where he first met Robert Hazen in 2014.

Dr. Hazen told Prof. Van Kranendonk how his childhood rock collections sparked his interest for a career in geology and his research journey that led to one of the great stories in earth science, the idea of mineral evolution. The idea was sparked by a question at a 2006 Christmas party.

"We think that life arose during this period of early Earth history called the Hadean," he said.

"And many people are postulating that clay minerals played an important role. And (a Professor friend) said 'if clay minerals didn't exist in the Hadean, then those hypotheses can't be right."

"I had never heard anyone ask that question  Nobody ever asked 'what was the first mineral in the cosmos?"."

Mineral evolution

In 2008, he and seven co-authors wrote a journal paper which came up with the idea that the earth has gone through 10 stages of mineral evolution.

"At each stage, some new process or event or characteristic came into play that change or altered the near surface, diversity and distribution of minerals," Dr. Hazen said.

"The biggest punchline of that paper was that more than half of all minerals on Earth are a consequence of living systems," he said.

"Life changes Earth's environment; every aspect of geology and hydrology and mineralogy is influenced in ways that we really hadn't articulated before."

Dr. Hazen described how the colors of Earth changed from its beginnings four and a half billion years ago, when it was a black planet "covered in black basalt, this heavy, dense rock with cracks of bright red incandescence as lava poured out of various fissures and volcanoes" to the land eventually turning green with "the evolution of green plants."

"These color changes are emblematic of how amazing the evolution of our planet has been, how it's gone through many stages, each one a consequence of what came before, each one leading to what comes next," he said.

Asked to explain how a carbon bearing rock came to be at the top of Mount Everest, he said continental masses and plates moving over a hundred million years could be responsible.

"What you're seeing is a limestone formed as part of a coral reef, much like the Great Barrier Reef  sometimes when two continental plates collide, they carry with them coastal zones with coral reefs. You start getting mountains forming then crumpling together, they start raising and pushing together."

Climate change

He also discussed one of the world's greatest uncertainties: climate change.

"What humans are producing now by burning and producing (carbon dioxide) is 10, 20, 50 times more than the most active volcanoes that have been going on," he said.

"So we are suddenly tipping this whole process which was gradual, stately, well controlled, and we're skewing it by burning all of this buried carbon that was locked in the rocks, it was sequestered. It wasn't going anywhere. But when we burn coal, when we burn oil, when we burn natural gas, carbon that has been locked in the subsurface is suddenly brought back and put into the atmosphere very rapidly  The millions of years it took to make the coal that's buried underground is being reversed in a matter of decades."

Dr Robert Hazen in the Pilbara. Credit: Martin Van Kranendonk

Dr. Hazen was Executive Director of the Deep Carbon Observatory, a project set up to understand the chemical and biological roles of carbon in Earth, from 2009 to 2019.

"The Deep Carbon Observatory was really a large scientific program that was designed to understand the hidden 90% of carbon in earth," he said.

"Many people for understandable reasons have studied carbon in the oceans, carbon in the atmosphere, carbon in the shallow crust where we mined it for coal and natural gas.

"But there is a hidden carbon cycle that goes much deeper  carbon that may be present in the core of Earth, carbon that may be present in various sorts of minerals very far down in what's called the lower mantle. And we had no idea. There was almost no one who had been studying this because it wasn't the main topic."

The project was important to gauge how humans were impacting Earth.

"You really have to know for sure how much carbon is coming out of volcanoes, how much carbon is being sequestered by weathering on Earth's surface, how much carbon is going down in subduction zones, is the amount of carbon going down equal to the amount of carbon coming out, it could be more could be less, we didn't know," he said.

The baseline, he said, was that humans "are just completely overwhelming every other aspect of the carbon cycle, that what we're doing in the last century and a half, is just unprecedented in earth history  this is just scientific evidence that there is something fundamentally different about what we're doing."

"Microbial poop"

Prof. Van Kranendonk asked him about the mineral Hazenite, named after Dr. Hazen and only found in Mono Lake, California.

"It's a hyper saline lake, it's got a very high concentration of phosphorous and some other elements, so high in fact that when microbes live in this lake they can't survive unless they adjust their internal chemistry," Dr. Hazen said.

"One of the ways they do that is they excrete crystals, a crystal of an alkaline phosphate which is Hazenite. So Hazenite is essentially microbial poop."

500 million year old trilobites in a stone. Credit: Shutterstock

Dr. Hazen said he could have been a professional trumpet player.

"What I realized very quickly was  you can be a very good musician on the side while doing science. But you can't be a very good scientist on the side while doing music."

He described some of his great science teachers, and also lamented the decline of students' interest in science in high school.

Some science teachers don't appreciate that the career is about asking questions, "it's not about memorizing answers," he said.

"You need to have mentors  who take students in hand and say 'you've got great questions, let's see if we can figure out an answer."

"The most exciting thing in science is "I've got a question'  if you can come up with a question that no one has ever thought to ask before, you will be a great scientist."

Dr. Hazen has continued collecting, amassing over 2000 trilobites, or fossil arthropods (marine animals).

The collection of almost 1000 different species from six continents has been donated to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

He said one of his life's favorite moments was watching a young boy stare in awe at his collection in the museum.

"That was me when I was a seven or eight year old, going to the museum, looking at the specimens," he said.

"What better way to pass it forward than to give something that might inspire another young person to become a scientist."

Explore further New study shows microbes trap massive amounts of carbon
Uyghurs and their families living abroad are constantly under surveillance in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) occupied East Turkistan, also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) or Xinjiang and being threatened to cooperate with the Chinese state, according to a recent media report.

According to an article published by Jianli Yang is founder and president of Citizen Power Initiatives for China and Dolkun Isa is president of World Uyghur Congress in Newsweek on Tuesday local time, China today hosts a complex web of surveillance systems to keep track of its citizens and critics, both at home and abroad.

"Not only does the Chinese state operate multiple systems to maintain surveillance on its citizens, but it also tasks private companies working in China to further enhance its network of human and technical spies," the two writers wrote.

"Surveillance technology has been crucial to China's efforts to monitor and track ethnic peoples within China. The Uyghurs in East Turkistan are ethnically and racially different from the majority Han population and do stand out, making it easier for software to pick out their faces," Jianli and Isa added.

The article further stated that China's long spying arms have reached beyond its borders.

Facebook found a "sophisticated espionage campaign" conducted by Chinese hackers that tried to trick pro-Uyghur activists around the world into downloading malicious software that would allow surveillance of their devices. The operation, which was attributed by Facebook to a known Chinese hacking group, created fake versions of news websites popular in Uyghur communities and encrypted them with malicious software.

The writers wrote that users who clicked on the sites would then unknowingly download the malware, allowing hackers access to their devices. In other times, the hackers hid malware in certain pages of websites that are frequently visited by their targets and in malicious apps they created in fake versions of app stores. It was revealed that the number of targets were less than 500 across the world.

The victims were mostly Uyghur dissidents, journalists and activists from East Turkistan who are now based outside of China, in areas including the U.S., Europe, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia, among others, according to the article.

"Technology is undoubtedly an enabler in many respects, but in China's case, it is enabling the Chinese state and the Communist Party of China to track, monitor and persecute civilians, in particular Uyghur, Kazkahs and other Turkic peoples," they wrote.

The writers further warned that China launched a massive campaign to achieve this strategic goal, to become the world's primary center for science and technology, and commanding heights for innovation and if it succeds, "China will not only perpetuate its dictatorship, control the world's economic supply chains but also peoples' minds through its advanced digital dictatorship, which will put the whole of liberal democracy in grave danger."

They have further called on 'the free world' to work together to find effective solutions to defeat China's digital dictatorship and stop it before it's exported to the world.

"A "free world" should mean there are no camps, no forced labor factories, no cultural and religious repression, no arbitrary arrests, no police brutality and no genocide," they wrote.

China has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending members of the community to undergo some form of forcible re-education or indoctrination.

Beijing, on the other hand, has vehemently denied that it is engaged in human rights abuses against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang while reports from journalists, NGOs and former detainees have surfaced, highlighting the Chinese Communist Party's brutal crackdown on the ethnic community.

(ANI)
STOCKHOLM, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Swedish Stirling AB ("Swedish Stirling") and Glencore Operations South Africa Proprietary Limited ("Glencore"), acting on behalf of the Glencore Merafe Venture, have signed an energy conversion service agreement for an installation of 25 PWR BLOK 400-Fs (10MW) at the Glencore Merafe Lion ferrochrome smelter.

The PWR BLOK 400-F is a product developed by Swedish Stirling which enables the conversion of industrial residual and flare gases into 100% carbon-neutral electricity.

In August 2020, clean-tech company, Swedish Stirling entered into a letter of intent with Glencore regarding discussions on potential energy conversion services at the Lion smelter in South Africa comprising the possible installation of up to 88 PWR BLOK 400-Fs.

Today, the parties announce the signing of an energy conversion service agreement for the installation of 25 PWR BLOK 400-Fs (10MW) at the Lion smelter. The term of the agreement is 8 years from the date on which the last PWR BLOK achieves commercial operation, with an option for the Glencore Merafe Venture to extend the term by 7 years. The estimated present value for the initial term of the agreement for Swedish Stirling is 700 MZAR (49 MUSD).

The energy conversion service agreement is subject to certain conditions precedent including financial close. During the contract period, the installation is estimated to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from the Lion smelter by over 500,000 tonnes. The first PWR BLOK is expected to be delivered to Lion in 2022. The facility will be owned and operated through a special purpose vehicle, established and controlled by Swedish Stirling.

"The Lion smelter is one of the world's largest ferrochrome smelters. For Swedish Stirling, this development is recognition that the PWR BLOK is a key solution for energy recovery in the metallurgical industry, and is the starting point for a large commercial roll-out, said Gunnar Larsson, CEO of Swedish Stirling."

"We are excited to implement this project which we hope will reduce both our production costs and carbon dioxide emissions. This project is part of Glencore's ambition to achieve net-zero total emissions by 2050, said Japie Fullard, Head of Ferroalloys Industrial Assets at Glencore"

CONTACT:

For further information please contact:

Sven Ljungberg, CCO, Swedish Stirling AB, +46 (0)31 385 88 30 ir@swedishstirling.com.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/swedish-stirling/r/swedish-stirling-signs-agreement-with-glencore-merafe-venture,c3336116

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Police are treating a mans death as suspicious after he died in hospital a week after a relative found him unconscious and seriously injured in his home on Brisbanes northside.

Detectives are investigating the 37-year-olds death and trying to trace his movements before he was found unresponsive in his Collier Street home in Stafford about 2pm on Tuesday, April 20.

The victim was rushed to the the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital, but died about midday on Tuesday, April 27.

Police have established a major investigation centre and are waiting for confirmation of the victims cause of death.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman laid out the thinking behind his vision to transform the kingdom and his rejection of religious extremism in a wide-ranging interview broadcast across Saudi television channels late on Tuesday.

Bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia and the Biden administration in Washington were in agreement on most issues of mutual concern.

While no two countries were ever 100% in agreement on all issues, the kingdom and the Biden administration agreed on 90% of issues of mutual concern and disagreed on the remaining 10%, he explained.

President Joe Biden's administration has made clear it is recalibrating the US relationship with Saudi Arabia following four years of warm times with the Trump administration, including by ordering an end to US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

In the lengthy, late-night interview that stretched past midnight local time, the crown prince also expressed hopes for good relations with rival Iran.

"All what we are looking for is to have a good and special relationship with Iran," the 36-year-old prince said.

Tensions between the two stemmed from Iran's "negative actions", including its nuclear programme, its interference in regional conflicts and its ballistic missile programme.

When asked about the solution to the war in Yemen, he called on the Houthis to negotiate with other Yemeni parties, adding that the Saudi offer of a ceasefire and financial support remained valid.

Bin Salman spent most of the interview laying out a dizzying array of economic figures and milestones to explain why the government raised taxes, cut subsidies and embarked on unpopular austerity measures to hit targets in its so-called "Vision 2030" plan.

The interview was timed to mark five years since the launch of Vision 2030, which is his blueprint for transforming the kingdom from an oil-dependent, insular nation to an economic power that is open to the world as he prepares to one day inherit the throne from his 82-year-old father, King Salman.

Although the prince's international reputation remains damaged by the 2018 killing of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, he is popular among many Saudis for pushing through bold reforms.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
The New Haven Columbus Committee should wake up. The destruction of monuments is a part of a much larger issue. The state of Arizona wants to make it a felony to destroy historical monuments. In New Haven, the committee has acquiesced to fake news and the fake history of revisionism. Sound radical? Not as radical at the revisionist. Who are they? The late Howard Zinn, Kirkpatrick and James Loewen, all three are so far to the left they fall off the planet. With excellent writing skills and clever emotional rhetoric, they have captured the hearts and minds of eager publishers and a historically indifferent public. Zinn has a 400-plus page FBI file for his Communist Party activities in the 60s. Sale, long a Green Party activist, is now a secessionist and a Neo-Luddite. He has smashed a computer at a lecture and started a movement to secede from the U.S. Hardly serious political activities. Loewen has been defaming the textbook industry for what he considers its idealized portrait of Christopher Columbus. His attempt at Columbus history is a 68-page magazine full of phony pictures, disinformation and propaganda.

When these politicos attack Columbus, they are attacking the ideals of the American political system. Their ideology? Evolutionary Socialism, Democratic Socialism, etc. Its tired old hat Marxism. For years mainstream scholars and professors have cautioned high school and college teachers how to use (or not use) revisionist material. Somehow the New Haven committee is unaware of this fact. When the Columbus statue was removed for protection, what happened? A group of radicals defaced St. Josephs Roman Catholic Church with Antifa symbols. Anarchists, masking as peaceful demonstrators, have hijacked Black Lives Matter and other legitimate causes across the U.S. When statues of Christopher Columbus are destroyed, immigrant cultures are canceled i.e. the Italians, Irish, Spanish, etc. Moving forward, we need unity, not prejudice. Political solutions of the 21st century require sober thinking, not radicalism and criminal activists. Learning history helps us focus on ourselves. Distorting the facts cancels who we are.
Amnesty International says Belarusian workers are facing reprisals in their attempts to set up independent labor unions amid pro-democracy protests that followed a presidential election last year that opposition leaders and the West say was rigged.

"Many people chose to express their peaceful opposition to the election results at their workplace, through industrial action. Some faced administrative detention, and some criminal prosecution for exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly," the London-based human rights group said in a report published on April 28.

Realizing "how little support they had from official trade unions," protesting workers attempted to set up independent unions, but "in response they faced reprisals in the workplace," according to the report.

Belarus, where workers at state enterprises represent 90 percent of the working population, is a member of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and a state party to all fundamental ILO conventions.

The UN labor agency has repeatedly drawn attention to violations of the rights to freedom of assembly and association in the country, where there are two main trade union bodies: the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB) and the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BCDTU).

The BCDTU unites independent trade unions such as the Belarusian Independent Union (BNP), and has a membership of 10,000.

FTUB, with 4 million members, is the successor to the Soviet Belarusian Republican Council of Trade Unions, and "it retains many of the characteristics of Soviet trade unions such as the participation of managers and government representativesdirectly in the decision-making of trade union bodies."

In this environment, independent labor unions face "enormous challenges" in attempting to register, and their members are "subject to discrimination at the workplace," Amnesty International said.

In its report, titled Independent Unions In The Line Of Fire, the group cited a failed attempt by workers at the Belarusian Steel Factory in the eastern town Zhlobin, who in August 2020 started to hold strikes to put forward the demands that were being echoed throughout the country -- the resignation of authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka and the chair of the election commission, an end to the beating of peaceful protesters, and accountability for police brutality.

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.

After an August 17 strike during which access to the factory was blocked for three hours, the workers learned that a criminal investigation against them had been launched.

They formed an 11-member founding committee for a BNP branch with Vadzim Laptsik as chair, and in December 2020 they agreed with a local property developer that he would provide the union with premises for their legal address.

However, the property developer was later forced to withdraw his offer under pressure from the authorities. Without an address, the union could not register.

After that, members of the organizing committee were subject to retaliatory action.

In January, Laptsik was dismissed from his job without any warning, officially for absenteeism because he had visited the medical department of the factory without a pass.

He also received a notification that he was being investigated for preparing actions that "gravely violate public order," and left Belarus on January 24.

Four other members of the founding committee have been convicted and three are serving between 2 1/2- and three-year prison sentences on charges of participating or organizing "actions that gravely violate public order."

Opposition and public outrage over the disputed August 9 presidential election, in which incumbent Lukashenka claimed a landslide victory, has sparked continuous protests, bringing tens of thousands onto the streets demanding new elections be held.

More than 30,000 people have been detained under administrative legislation for taking part in demonstrations and "an increasing number of peaceful protesters are being prosecuted under criminal charges and sentenced to long prison sentences," according to Amnesty International, which said allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in detention were "widespread."

The "shocking" clampdown on dissent demonstrates "the deep-rooted and pervasive nature of government repression in Belarus," the watchdog said.

Lukashenka, who has run the country since 1994, has denied any wrongdoing with regard to the election and refuses to negotiate with the opposition on stepping down and holding new elections.
A woman inspects harvested cacao beans drying in the sun in Soppeng, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Credit: Cocoa Care and T. Oberthur

When seasonal rains arrive late in Indonesia, farmers often take it as a sign that it is not worth investing in fertilizer for their crops. Sometimes they opt out of planting annual crops altogether. Generally, they're making the right decision, as a late start to the rainy season is usually associated with the state of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and low rainfall in the coming months.

New research published in the nature journal Scientific Reports shows that ENSO, the weather-shaping cycle of warming and cooling of the Pacific Ocean along the Equator, is a strong predictor of cacao harvests up to two years before a harvest.

This is potentially very good news for smallholder farmers, scientists, and the global chocolate industry. The ability to predict harvest sizes well in advance could shape on-farm investment decisions, improve tropical crop research programs, and reduce risk and uncertainty in the chocolate industry.

Researchers say that the same methodswhich pair advanced machine learning with rigorous, short-term data collection on farmer practices and yieldscan apply to other rain-dependent crops including coffee and olives.

"The key innovation in this research is that you can effectively substitute weather data with ENSO data," said Thomas Oberthur, a co-author and business developer at the African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) in Morocco. "Any crop that shares a production relationship with ENSO can be explored using this method."

About 80 percent of global cropland depends on direct rainfall (as opposed to irrigation), accounting for almost 60 percent of production. But rainfall data is sparse and highly variable in many of these regions, making it difficult for scientists, policymakers and farmers' groups to adapt to the vagaries of the weather.

No weather data? No problem

For the study, researchers used a type of machine learning that did not require weather records for the Indonesian cacao farms that participated in the research.

Rather, they relied on data on fertilizer application, yields and farm type, which they plugged into a Bayesian Neural Network (BNN), and found that ENSO phases predicted 75 percent of the variation in yields.

In other words, the sea-surface temperature of the Pacific accurately predicted cacao harvests in a large majority of cases for the farms in the study. In some cases, accurate predictions were possible 25 months before the harvest.

For the uninitiated, a model that can accurately predict 50 percent of yield variation is usually cause to celebrate. And such long-range predictive accuracy for crop yields is rare.

"What this allows us to do is superimpose different management practicessuch as fertilization regimeson farms and deduce, with a high level of confidence, those interventions that work," said James Cock, a co-author and emeritus researcher at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. "This is a whole paradigm shift toward operational research."

Cock, a plant physiologist, said that while randomized control trials (RCTs) are generally considered the gold standard in research, these are extremely costly and consequently often impossible to perform in developing tropical agricultural areas. The approach used here is much lower cost, requires no expensive collection of weather records and provides useful guidelines on how to better manage crops under variable weather.

Ross Chapman, a data analyst and the study's lead author, explained some of the key benefits of machine learning methods over conventional data analysis approaches:

"The BNN modeling differs from standard regression modeling because the algorithm takes input variables, such as sea-surface temperature and farm type, and then automatically 'learns' to recognize responses in other variables, such as crop yield," Chapman said. "The learning process uses the same fundamental process that the human mind learns to recognize objects and patterns from real-life experience. In contrast, standard models require manual supervision of different variables via human-generated equations."

The value of shared data

While machine learning may promise better crop yield predictions in the absence of weather data, scientistsor farmers themselvesstill need to accurately collect certain production information and have that data readily available if machine-learning models are going to work.

In the case of the Indonesian cacao farms in the study, farmers had been part of a major chocolate company's training program on best practices. They kept track of inputs such as fertilizer application, freely shared that data for analysis, and an organization with a local presence, the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), kept tidy records for researchers to use.

In addition, scientists had previously divided their farms into ten similar groups, where topography and soil conditions were similar. The researchers used data on harvests, fertilizer applications and yields from 2013 to 2018 to build their model.

The knowledge gained by cacao growers gives them confidence on how and when to invest in fertilizers. The agronomic skills this vulnerable group acquired shields them against a loss in their investment, which typically occurs when weather is adverse.

Thanks to their collaboration with the researchers, now their knowledge can be, in a way, shared with growers of other crops in other regions of the world.

"This research could not have happened without dedicated farmers, IPNI and a strong farmers' support organization, Community Solutions International, to pull everyone together," Cock said, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and balancing stakeholders' different needs.

"What scientists want is to know why something happens," he said. "Farmers want to know what works."

APNI's Oberthur said strong predictive modeling could benefit both farmers and researchers, and fuel further collaboration.

"You need to have tangible results if you're a farmer who is also collecting data, which is a lot of work," Oberthur said. "This modeling, which can provide farmers with beneficial information, may help incentivize data collection since farmers will see that they are contributing to something that provides benefits to them on their farms."

Explore further Artificial intelligence and farmer knowledge boost smallholder maize yields

More information: Ross Chapman et al, Crop response to El Nino-Southern Oscillation related weather variation to help farmers manage their crops, Scientific Reports (2021). Journal information: Scientific Reports Ross Chapman et al, Crop response to El Nino-Southern Oscillation related weather variation to help farmers manage their crops,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87520-4

Provided by The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
TOLEDO, Ohio, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, is on pace for a remarkable 2021 following a strong year in 2020. In addition to signing 88 new franchise agreements since the start of the year, the brand has also signed multiple area development deals to bring a total of 20 units to Colorado, which is all part of a larger strategy to grow its 1000-plus unit footprint by more than 10% this year.

Existing locations have maintained strong sales as the brand continues to build out its robust pipeline of over 200 units in various stages of development. Marco's Pizza is targeting areas such as Austin, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Orlando, San Antonio and Southern California for expansion.

"Our teams have been busy working to lower unit buildout costs while simultaneously driving higher sales," explained Tony Libardi, Co-CEO & President of Marco's Pizza. "This, paired with ease of funding, has created an opportune time for both existing and prospective franchisees to grow with Marco's."

Riding the momentum of a year filled with record-breaking sales, the brand's milestone 1,000th store opening and recent innovations and pilot programs, Marco's Pizza plans on having another banner year. Part of its growth strategy involves placing a focus on multi-unit development as nearly half of the franchise network is made up of multi-unit owners.

"We remained incredibly adaptive during the pandemic  rapid expansion of third-party delivery, new contact-free delivery and curbside pickup options  and that innovation will continue to serve our network well for years to come," added Libardi.

As the only national pizza franchise founded by a native Italian, Marco's has carved out a niche in the industry for authentic Italian quality pizza. The brand recently rolled out a refreshed ad campaign with a new tagline, "Pizza Lovers Get It." Designed to speak to the pizza lovers of America, Marco's is on a mission to celebrate and validate the obsessive love of pizza.

Opening a new store every three and a half days on average, the Top 50% of its franchised stores generated $1,059,574 AUV for 2020*. For more information on Marco's Pizza franchise opportunities, visit www.marcosfranchising.com or call 866-731-8209.

ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA

Marco's Pizza is America's Most Loved and Most Trusted Pizza Brand, according to the 2019 Harris Poll EquiTrend Study. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza companies in the United States. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives by making authentic Italian quality pizza with fresh ingredients. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,000 stores in 34 states with locations in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Most recently, Marco's Pizza was ranked No. 2 in the Pizza category on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2020 "Franchise 500" ranking, and No. 6 in the Largest Pizza Chain category on Restaurant Business' 2020 "Top 500 Chains" ranking. Other recent accolades include ranking No. 4 in Forbes 2019 "Best Franchises to Buy" Small/Medium Investment and ranking five consecutive years on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 200" ranking.

*Based on the Average Unit Volume of the top 50% of our Franchised Stores for fiscal year 2020. Based on fiscal year 2020, 142 of 369 Franchised Stores in the category (38%) met or exceeded this average. This information appears in Item 19 of our 2021 FDD  please refer to our FDD for complete information on financial performance. Results may differ. There is no assurance that any franchisee will perform as well.

SOURCE Marco's Pizza
Recently launched budget airline Lift has announced it has added extra flights to its schedule to assist Mango passengers affected by the airlines grounding.

Mango flights were suspended on Wednesday due to outstanding payments to the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA).

We can confirm that our services and all flights are temporarily suspended for today only, Mango said in a statement on Twitter.

As part of the arrangement with Lift, Mango will be contacting and rebooking some of its affected passengers to fly with Lift to ensure they can travel as planned.

Lift currently only operates on the Johannesburg-Cape Town route but is also looking to assist with additional flights on other domestic routes.

Lift has agreed to accommodate passengers where possible. We will update you on any further changes, the company said.

Mango Interim CEO William Ndlovu said the airline was doing everything it could to accommodate its passengers and appreciated Lifts offer to assist.

Lift CEO Jonathan Ayache said the airline was happy to help in any way it could, especially given the number of people travelling for the school holidays.

Mangos suspension of flights on Wednesday came after a report from BusinessDay on Sunday stated that a delay in government funding would result in the airline grounding flights from 1 May.

Travel agencies followed with warnings that flights might not go forward as scheduled next month.

The issues started earlier than anticipated, however, as passenger booked on Mango flights were seen stranded at OR Tambo Airport on Wednesday morning.

Passengers were met with empty counters and no Mango employees to assist with checking in, and claimed they had received no communication from Mango about the cancellation of flights.

Update  ACSA lifts suspension

ACSA on Wednesday afternoon said it had lifted the suspension on Mango following a part payment towards the amount owed to it for landing fees, parking fees, and passenger service charges.

The airline has made further undertakings to settle the remaining debt, ACSA said.
CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Continued progress on safe return to service of 737 MAX; resumed 787 deliveries in late March

Revenue of $15.2 billion , GAAP loss per share of ($0.92) and core (non-GAAP)* loss per share of ($1.53)

Operating cash flow of ($3.4) billion ; cash and marketable securities of $21.9 billion

Total backlog grew to $364 billion ; Commercial Airplanes added 76 net orders

Table 1. Summary Financial Results First Quarter



(Dollars in Millions, except per share data) 2021

2020

Change











Revenues $15,217

$16,908

(10)%











GAAP









Loss From Operations ($83)

($1,353)

NM Operating Margin (0.5)%

(8.0)%

NM Net Loss ($561)

($641)

NM Loss Per Share ($0.92)

($1.11)

NM Operating Cash Flow ($3,387)

($4,302)

NM Non-GAAP*









Core Operating Loss ($353)

($1,700)

NM Core Operating Margin (2.3)%

(10.1)%

NM Core Loss Per Share ($1.53)

($1.70)

NM



*Non-GAAP measure; complete definitions of Boeing's non-GAAP measures are on page 6, "Non-GAAP Measures Disclosures."

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] reported first-quarter revenue of $15.2 billion, primarily driven by lower 787 deliveries and commercial services volume, partially offset by higher 737 deliveries and higher KC-46A Tanker revenue (Table 1). GAAP loss per share of ($0.92) and core loss per share (non-GAAP)* of ($1.53) reflect year-over-year KC-46A Tanker improvement, higher 737 deliveries, and lower commercial airplanes period costs, partially offset by lower tax benefits and higher interest expense. Boeing recorded operating cash flow of ($3.4) billion.

"I am proud of the progress our global team made across our business in the first quarter as we continued to transform our enterprise, strengthen our safety processes, and sustain critical investments for our future," said Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun. "While the global pandemic continues to challenge the overall market environment, we view 2021 as a key inflection point for our industry as vaccine distribution accelerates and we work together across government and industry to help enable a robust recovery. Our balanced commercial, defense, space and services portfolio continues to provide critical stability for our business  and we remain focused on safety, quality and integrity as we deliver on our customer commitments."

Table 2. Cash Flow First Quarter (Millions) 2021

2020 Operating Cash Flow ($3,387)

($4,302) Less Additions to Property, Plant & Equipment ($291)

($428) Free Cash Flow* ($3,678)

($4,730)



*Non-GAAP measure; complete definitions of Boeing's non-GAAP measures are on page 6, "Non-GAAP Measures Disclosures."

Operating cash flow improved to ($3.4) billion in the quarter, reflecting timing of receipts and expenditures and higher 737 deliveries, partially offset by lower 787 deliveries and lower advance payments (Table 2).

Table 3. Cash, Marketable Securities and Debt Balances Quarter-End (Billions) Q1 21

Q4 20 Cash $7.0

$7.8 Marketable Securities1 $14.9

$17.8 Total $21.9

$25.6 Debt Balances:





The Boeing Company, net of intercompany loans to BCC $62.0

$62.0 Boeing Capital, including intercompany loans $1.6

$1.6 Total Consolidated Debt $63.6

$63.6



1 Marketable securities consists primarily of time deposits due within one year classified as "short-term investments."

Cash and investments in marketable securities decreased to $21.9 billion, compared to $25.6 billion at the beginning of the quarter, primarily driven by operating cash outflows (Table 3). The company refinanced $9.8 billion of debt in the quarter. Additionally, the company increased its revolving credit facilities by $5.3 billion to a total of $14.8 billion, which remain undrawn.

Total company backlog at quarter-end was $364 billion.

Segment Results

Commercial Airplanes

Table 4. Commercial Airplanes First Quarter



(Dollars in Millions) 2021

2020

Change











Commercial Airplanes Deliveries 77

50

54%











Revenues $4,269

$6,205

(31)% Loss from Operations ($856)

($2,068)

NM Operating Margin (20.1)%

(33.3)%

NM

Commercial Airplanes first-quarter revenue decreased to $4.3 billion, driven by lower 787 deliveries, partially offset by higher 737 deliveries (Table 4). First-quarter operating margin improved to (20.1) percent, primarily due to higher 737 deliveries and lower period costs.

Boeing is continuing to make progress on the safe return to service of the 737 MAX worldwide. In addition, we are working closely with the FAA and our customers to address electrical issues identified in certain locations in the flight deck of select 737 MAX airplanes. Since the FAA's approval to return the 737 MAX to operations in November 2020, Boeing has delivered more than 85 737 MAX aircraft and 21 airlines have returned their fleets to service, safely flying more than 26,000 revenue flights totaling over 58,500 flight hours (as of April 26, 2021). The 737 program is currently producing at a low rate and continues to expect to gradually increase production to 31 per month in early 2022 with further gradual increases to correspond with market demand. The company will continue to assess the production rate plan as it monitors the market environment and engages in customer discussions.

The company also resumed 787 deliveries in late March, following comprehensive reviews to ensure each airplane meets the company's highest standards. During the quarter, the 787 program consolidated final assembly to Boeing South Carolina and transitioned to the previously announced production rate of 5 aircraft per month.

Commercial Airplanes continues to work closely with global regulators on all aspects of 777X development, including its rigorous test program, and the company still expects to deliver the first 777X in late 2023. As previously announced, the combined 777/777X production rate is transitioning to 2 aircraft per month.

Commercial Airplanes secured orders for 100 737 aircraft from Southwest Airlines, 25 737 aircraft from United Airlines, 23 737 aircraft from Alaska Airlines, and four 747 freighter aircraft from Atlas Air. Commercial Airplanes delivered 77 airplanes during the quarter and backlog included over 4,000 airplanes valued at $283 billion.

Defense, Space & Security

Table 5. Defense, Space & Security First Quarter



(Dollars in Millions) 2021

2020

Change











Revenues $7,185

$6,042

19% Earnings from Operations $405

($191)

NM Operating Margin 5.6%

(3.2)%

NM

Defense, Space & Security first-quarter revenue increased to $7.2 billion and first-quarter operating margin increased to 5.6 percent, primarily reflecting higher KC-46A Tanker revenue due to orders for 27 aircraft and the absence of charges related to the program, partially offset by a pre-tax charge of $318 million on the VC-25B program largely due to COVID-19 impacts and performance issues at a key supplier.

During the quarter, Defense, Space & Security was awarded Lots 6 and 7 contracts for 27 KC-46A Tanker aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, a contract for 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force, and contracts for six Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey rotorcraft for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force. Defense, Space & Security completed first flight and delivery of the F-15EX for the U.S. Air Force, successfully conducted the Space Launch System Green Run hot fire test, and began production of the T-7A Red Hawk Advanced Trainer. Other highlights for the quarter include first flight of the uncrewed Loyal Wingman aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force and the first flight of the Japan KC-46 Tanker aircraft.

Backlog at Defense, Space & Security was $61 billion, of which 31 percent represents orders from customers outside the U.S.

Global Services

Table 6. Global Services First Quarter



(Dollars in Millions) 2021

2020

Change











Revenues $3,749

$4,628

(19)% Earnings from Operations $441

$708

(38)% Operating Margin 11.8%

15.3%

(3.5) Pts

Global Services first-quarter revenue decreased to $3.7 billion and first-quarter operating margin decreased to 11.8 percent primarily driven by lower commercial services volume due to COVID-19.

During the quarter, Global Services was awarded a ground support equipment and logistics contract for the Royal Moroccan Air Force, as well as a contract for F/A-18 and AV-8B avionics equipment repair for the U.S. Navy. Global Services also delivered the 50th 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter and inducted the EA-18G Growler for the U.S. Navy Modification Program.

Additional Financial Information

Table 7. Additional Financial Information First Quarter (Dollars in Millions) 2021

2020 Revenues





Boeing Capital $60

$65 Unallocated items, eliminations and other ($46)

($32) (Loss)/Earnings from Operations





Boeing Capital $21

$24 FAS/CAS service cost adjustment $270

$347 Other unallocated items and eliminations ($364)

($173) Other income, net $190

$112 Interest and debt expense ($679)

($262) Effective tax rate 1.9%

57.4%

At quarter-end, Boeing Capital's net portfolio balance was $1.9 billion. The change in loss from other unallocated items and eliminations was primarily due to increased deferred compensation and share-based plan expense as compared to the first quarter 2020. Interest and debt expense increased due to higher debt balances. The first quarter 2021 effective tax rate primarily reflects a benefit from the impact of pre-tax losses largely offset by adjustments to the valuation allowance and true-ups to tax benefits previously recorded in 2020.

Non-GAAP Measures Disclosures

We supplement the reporting of our financial information determined under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America (GAAP) with certain non-GAAP financial information. The non-GAAP financial information presented excludes certain significant items that may not be indicative of, or are unrelated to, results from our ongoing business operations. We believe that these non-GAAP measures provide investors with additional insight into the company's ongoing business performance. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related GAAP measures, and other companies may define such measures differently. We encourage investors to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. The following definitions are provided:

Core Operating Earnings, Core Operating Margin and Core Earnings Per Share

Core operating earnings is defined as GAAP earnings from operations excluding the FAS/CAS service cost adjustment. The FAS/CAS service cost adjustment represents the difference between the Financial Accounting Standards (FAS) pension and postretirement service costs calculated under GAAP and costs allocated to the business segments. Core operating margin is defined as core operating earnings expressed as a percentage of revenue. Core earnings per share is defined as GAAP diluted earnings per share excluding the net earnings per share impact of the FAS/CAS service cost adjustment and Non-operating pension and postretirement expenses. Non-operating pension and postretirement expenses represent the components of net periodic benefit costs other than service cost. Pension costs, comprising service and prior service costs computed in accordance with GAAP are allocated to Commercial Airplanes and BGS businesses supporting commercial customers. Pension costs allocated to BDS and BGS businesses supporting government customers are computed in accordance with U.S. Government Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), which employ different actuarial assumptions and accounting conventions than GAAP. CAS costs are allocable to government contracts. Other postretirement benefit costs are allocated to all business segments based on CAS, which is generally based on benefits paid. Management uses core operating earnings, core operating margin and core earnings per share for purposes of evaluating and forecasting underlying business performance. Management believes these core earnings measures provide investors additional insights into operational performance as they exclude non-service pension and post-retirement costs, which primarily represent costs driven by market factors and costs not allocable to government contracts. A reconciliation between the GAAP and non-GAAP measures is provided on page 13.

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow is GAAP operating cash flow reduced by capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment. Management believes free cash flow provides investors with an important perspective on the cash available for shareholders, debt repayment, and acquisitions after making the capital investments required to support ongoing business operations and long term value creation. Free cash flow does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures as it excludes certain mandatory expenditures such as repayment of maturing debt. Management uses free cash flow as a measure to assess both business performance and overall liquidity. Table 2 provides a reconciliation of free cash flow to GAAP operating cash flow.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "should," "expects," "intends," "projects," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "targets," "anticipates," and similar expressions generally identify these forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include statements relating to our future financial condition and operating results, as well as any other statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations and assumptions that we believe to be reasonable when made, but that may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements. Among these factors are risks related to: (1) the COVID-19 pandemic and related industry impacts, including with respect to our operations, our liquidity, the health of our customers and suppliers, and future demand for our products and services; (2) the 737 MAX, including the timing and conditions of remaining 737 MAX regulatory approvals, lower than planned production rates and/or delivery rates, and increased considerations to customers and suppliers; (3) general conditions in the economy and our industry, including those due to regulatory changes; (4) our reliance on our commercial airline customers; (5) the overall health of our aircraft production system, planned commercial aircraft production rate changes, our commercial development and derivative aircraft programs, and our aircraft being subject to stringent performance and reliability standards; (6) changing budget and appropriation levels and acquisition priorities of the U.S. government; (7) our dependence on U.S. government contracts; (8) our reliance on fixed-price contracts; (9) our reliance on cost-type contracts; (10) uncertainties concerning contracts that include in-orbit incentive payments; (11) our dependence on our subcontractors and suppliers, as well as the availability of raw materials; (12) changes in accounting estimates; (13) changes in the competitive landscape in our markets; (14) our non-U.S. operations, including sales to non-U.S. customers; (15) threats to the security of our or our customers' information; (16) potential adverse developments in new or pending litigation and/or government investigations; (17) customer and aircraft concentration in our customer financing portfolio; (18) changes in our ability to obtain debt financing on commercially reasonable terms and at competitive rates; (19) realizing the anticipated benefits of mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures/strategic alliances or divestitures; (20) the adequacy of our insurance coverage to cover significant risk exposures; (21) potential business disruptions, including those related to physical security threats, information technology or cyber-attacks, epidemics, sanctions or natural disasters; (22) work stoppages or other labor disruptions; (23) substantial pension and other postretirement benefit obligations; and (24) potential environmental liabilities.

Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contact:









Investor Relations:

Maurita Sutedja or Keely Moos (312) 544-2140 Communications:

Michael Friedman [email protected]

The Boeing Company and Subsidiaries Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)



Three months ended

March 31 (Dollars in millions, except per share data) 2021

2020 Sales of products $12,518

$14,191 Sales of services 2,699

2,717 Total revenues 15,217

16,908







Cost of products (11,632)

(14,713) Cost of services (2,167)

(2,043) Boeing Capital interest expense (9)

(12) Total costs and expenses (13,808)

(16,768)

1,409

140 Income/(loss) from operating investments, net 37

(2) General and administrative expense (1,032)

(873) Research and development expense, net (499)

(672) Gain on dispositions, net 2

54 Loss from operations (83)

(1,353) Other income, net 190

112 Interest and debt expense (679)

(262) Loss before income taxes (572)

(1,503) Income tax benefit 11

862 Net loss (561)

(641) Less: net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest (24)

(13) Net loss attributable to Boeing Shareholders ($537)

($628)







Basic loss per share ($0.92)

($1.11)







Diluted loss per share ($0.92)

($1.11)







Weighted average diluted shares (millions) 585.4

565.9

The Boeing Company and Subsidiaries Consolidated Statements of Financial Position (Unaudited)

(Dollars in millions, except per share data) March 31

2021

December 31 2020 Assets





Cash and cash equivalents $7,059

$7,752 Short-term and other investments 14,861

17,838 Accounts receivable, net 2,356

1,955 Unbilled receivables, net 8,785

7,995 Current portion of customer financing, net 93

101 Inventories 82,668

81,715 Other current assets, net 4,123

4,286 Total current assets 119,945

121,642 Customer financing, net 1,895

1,936 Property, plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $20,792 and $20,507 11,643

11,820 Goodwill 8,074

8,081 Acquired intangible assets, net 2,773

2,843 Deferred income taxes 79

86 Investments 980

1,016 Other assets, net of accumulated amortization of of $917 and $729 4,646

4,712 Total assets $150,035

$152,136 Liabilities and equity





Accounts payable $12,410

$12,928 Accrued liabilities 20,553

22,171 Advances and progress billings 50,908

50,488 Short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt 6,021

1,693 Total current liabilities 89,892

87,280 Deferred income taxes 908

1,010 Accrued retiree health care 4,077

4,137 Accrued pension plan liability, net 13,968

14,408 Other long-term liabilities 1,477

1,486 Long-term debt 57,554

61,890 Total liabilities 167,876

170,211 Shareholders' equity:





Common stock, par value $5.00  1,200,000,000 shares authorized; 1,012,261,159 shares issued 5,061

5,061 Additional paid-in capital 8,155

7,787 Treasury stock, at cost - 427,806,081 and 429,941,021 shares (52,395)

(52,641) Retained earnings 38,073

38,610 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (16,952)

(17,133) Total shareholders' deficit (18,058)

(18,316) Noncontrolling interests 217

241 Total equity (17,841)

(18,075) Total liabilities and equity $150,035

$152,136

The Boeing Company and Subsidiaries Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)



Three months ended

March 31 (Dollars in millions) 2021

2020 Cash flows  operating activities:





Net loss ($561)

($641) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash (used)/provided by operating activities:





Non-cash items 





Share-based plans expense 321

55 Treasury shares issued for 401(k) contribution 306



Depreciation and amortization 536

556 Investment/asset impairment charges, net 16

26 Gain on dispositions, net (2)

(54) Other charges and credits, net 35

97 Changes in assets and liabilities 





Accounts receivable (394)

(54) Unbilled receivables (790)

(402) Advances and progress billings 421

1,337 Inventories (680)

(2,973) Other current assets 153

328 Accounts payable (819)

(1,030) Accrued liabilities (1,615)

(583) Income taxes receivable, payable and deferred (34)

(892) Other long-term liabilities (84)

(69) Pension and other postretirement plans (265)

(179) Customer financing, net 46

23 Other 23

153 Net cash used by operating activities (3,387)

(4,302) Cash flows  investing activities:





Property, plant and equipment additions (291)

(428) Property, plant and equipment reductions 2

58 Contributions to investments (9,688)

(244) Proceeds from investments 12,738

227 Other 3

8 Net cash provided/(used) by investing activities 2,764

(379) Cash flows  financing activities:





New borrowings 9,814

17,433 Debt repayments (9,847)

(5,854) Stock options exercised 23

21 Employee taxes on certain share-based payment arrangements (38)

(162) Dividends paid



(1,158) Net cash (used)/provided by financing activities (48)

10,280 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents, including restricted (18)

(47) Net (decrease)/increase in cash & cash equivalents, including restricted (689)

5,552 Cash & cash equivalents, including restricted, at beginning of year 7,835

9,571 Cash & cash equivalents, including restricted, at end of period 7,146

15,123 Less restricted cash & cash equivalents, included in Investments 87

84 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $7,059

$15,039

The Boeing Company and Subsidiaries Summary of Business Segment Data (Unaudited)



Three months ended

March 31 (Dollars in millions) 2021

2020 Revenues:





Commercial Airplanes $4,269

$6,205 Defense, Space & Security 7,185

6,042 Global Services 3,749

4,628 Boeing Capital 60

65 Unallocated items, eliminations and other (46)

(32) Total revenues $15,217

$16,908 Loss from operations:





Commercial Airplanes ($856)

($2,068) Defense, Space & Security 405

(191) Global Services 441

708 Boeing Capital 21

24 Segment operating earnings/(loss) 11

(1,527) Unallocated items, eliminations and other (364)

(173) FAS/CAS service cost adjustment 270

347 Loss from operations (83)

(1,353) Other income, net 190

112 Interest and debt expense (679)

(262) Loss before income taxes (572)

(1,503) Income tax benefit 11

862 Net loss (561)

(641) Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest (24)

(13) Net loss attributable to Boeing Shareholders ($537)

($628) Research and development expense, net:





Commercial Airplanes $269

$425 Defense, Space & Security 163

163 Global Services 25

30 Other 42

54 Total research and development expense, net $499

$672 Unallocated items, eliminations and other:





Share-based plans ($128)

($18) Deferred compensation (52)

193 Amortization of previously capitalized interest (22)

(23) Research and development expense, net (42)

(54) Eliminations and other unallocated items (120)

(271) Sub-total (included in core operating loss) (364)

(173) Pension FAS/CAS service cost adjustment 193

255 Postretirement FAS/CAS service cost adjustment 77

92 FAS/CAS service cost adjustment $270

$347 Total ($94)

$174

The Boeing Company and Subsidiaries Operating and Financial Data (Unaudited)

Deliveries Three months ended

March 31

Commercial Airplanes 2021



2020



737 63



5



747 1







767 5



10



777 6



6



787 2



29



Total 77



50

Note: Aircraft accounted for as revenues by BCA and as operating leases in consolidation identified by parentheses











Defense, Space & Security









AH-64 Apache (New) 9



2



AH-64 Apache (Remanufactured) 15



14



CH-47 Chinook (New) 3



9



CH-47 Chinook (Renewed) 3



1



F-15 Models 3







F/A-18 Models 4



5



KC-46A Tanker 2



5



P-8 Models 3



3

Total backlog (Dollars in millions) March 31

2021

December 31

2020 Commercial Airplanes $282,621

$281,588 Defense, Space & Security 61,269

60,847 Global Services 19,614

20,632 Unallocated items, eliminations and other 349

337 Total backlog $363,853

$363,404









Contractual backlog $341,692

$339,309 Unobligated backlog 22,161

24,095 Total backlog $363,853

$363,404

The Boeing Company and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures

(Unaudited)

The tables provided below reconcile the non-GAAP financial measures core operating loss, core operating margin, and core loss per share with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, loss from operations, operating margin, and diluted loss per share. See page 6 of this release for additional information on the use of these non-GAAP financial measures.

(Dollars in millions, except per share data) First Quarter 2021

First Quarter 2020

$ millions Per Share

$ millions Per Share Revenues 15,217



16,908

Loss from operations (GAAP) (83)



(1,353)

Operating margin (GAAP) (0.5)%



(8.0)%













FAS/CAS service cost adjustment:









Pension FAS/CAS service cost adjustment (193)



(255)

Postretirement FAS/CAS service cost adjustment (77)



(92)

FAS/CAS service cost adjustment (270)



(347)

Core operating loss (non-GAAP) ($353)



($1,700)

Core operating margin (non-GAAP) (2.3)%



(10.1)%













Diluted loss per share (GAAP)

($0.92)



($1.11) Pension FAS/CAS service cost adjustment ($193) (0.33)

($255) (0.45) Postretirement FAS/CAS service cost adjustment (77) (0.13)

(92) (0.16) Non-operating pension expense (177) (0.30)

(87) (0.16) Non-operating postretirement expense (5) (0.01)

13 0.02 Provision for deferred income taxes on adjustments 1 95 0.16

88 0.16 Subtotal of adjustments ($357) ($0.61)

($333) ($0.59) Core loss per share (non-GAAP)

($1.53)



($1.70)











Weighted average diluted shares (in millions)

585.4



565.9



1 The income tax impact is calculated using the U.S. corporate statutory tax rate.

SOURCE Boeing

Related Links

http://www.boeing.com


The Idaho Senate has approved a bill that will ban critical race theory from being included in the curriculum of the state's public schools.

The said legislation passed with a 28-7 vote on Monday will prevent schools in Idaho from forcing students to personally adopt or adhere to certain critical race theory teachings, Fox News reported.

It can be recalled that other states like California have approved the ethnic studies that will be implemented statewide and will be included in the high school curriculum of their students.

Board members approved the curriculum as they highlight the importance of teaching discrimination and oppression.

READ NEXT: California's Education Department Proposes Curriculum With Chants to Aztec Gods

Idaho Senate and Critical Race Theory

The bill, which Republicans backed, has already passed Idaho's House and is now headed to the governor's desk, Idaho News reported.

Also known as HB 377, the bill will prevent the academe from making students adopt, affirm or adhere to belief systems that one racial category is somehow inferior or superior to others or that individuals of any race, ethnicity, sex, religion, or national origin are responsible for past actions committed by members of the same group.

"This bill is Idaho's statement that we will not tolerate discrimination and we are reserving education policy and curricular choices to the state," said Republican representative Wendy Horman, a co-author of the legislation.

Republican Senator Carl Crabtree sponsored the bill.

Republicans pushed the bill out of their concerns that federal authorities may force these belief systems on Idaho students through the school curriculum.

Furthermore, HB 377 would also prohibit the state's Board of Education, school district, public charter school, and even public institution of higher education from spending funds on these "banned" teachings.

Views on the Bill

Republicans have viewed that critical race theory contradicts the unity of the nation and the state's wellbeing. Meanwhile, some Democrats from Idaho have criticized the bill.

"The bill is looking for a problem that doesn't exist in Idaho's public education system, where students are not learning lies about American history," Democratic Idaho state Senator Ali Rabe told Fox News. Rabe further noted that the bill could suppress free speech in the classrooms on topics related to sex and race.

A group composed of about 100 students has also demonstrated against the bill outside the statehouse on Monday.

"If we aren't able to recognize our flaws, we will never be able to progress beyond them," said eighth-grader Yvonne Shen, as reported by Daily Mail. Shen is a member of the Idaho Asian American Pacific Islander Youth Alliance, the group responsible for organizing the said protest.

However, Crabtree argued that the bill does not intend to "prohibit discussion in an open and freeway." Crabtree pointed out that the bill is a preventive measure and does not imply that Idaho has a rampant problem.

The passing of HB 377 in Idaho's Senate comes amid the nation's reckoning on racial justice in the wake of George Floyd's murder and several police killings of Black people.

It also follows President Joe Biden's announcement of an executive order entitled "Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities" in January.

READ MORE: Ways to Reject Racism Without Resorting to Violence

WATCH: Idaho Bans Controversial 'Critical Race Theory' - From Sky News Australia
A man doused mate's crotch in petrol and repeatedly set him on fire with a lighter for buying the wrong fuel.

Kahn Meyers, 20, gave his friend $7 to buy fuel for his lawnmower and was infuriated when he returned with unleaded car petrol instead of two-stroke gas.

His mate ended up an induced coma and is traumatised by Meyers' 'inexplicably cruel' actions nine months on, the County Court of Victoria heard on Tuesday.

Meyers pleaded guilty to recklessly causing serious injury at his home in Mildura in Victoria's north-west on July 20 last year.

A man who set his mate on fire with a lighter and doused his crotch in petrol in July 2020 was later arrested and remanded in custody several days after the incident (stock image)

The court heard Meyers doused petrol from a jerry can onto the other mans crotch before he was interrupted by someone arriving at the Tenth Street property, Mildura News reported.

Meyers later created a puddle of water and told the friend, 'if it gets too big roll on the grass'.

The court heard Meyers tried to ignite the victim's pants again with a lighter before pouring more petrol his crotch, causing him to burst into flames.

The horrific incident occurred at a property in Tenth Street Mildura (pictured), the court heard

Meyers tried to extinguish the flames by hosing off the victim and dragged him into the puddle of water. He later ran a cold shower to cool the burns, the court heard.

He then asked another friend to buy burns cream, who was told by the chemist that the victim should go to hospital.

The court was also told Meyers ordered his victim to lie and say his burns were inflicted by a cigarette falling into the lawnmower.

The victim attended Mildura Base Hospital suffering burns to a fifth of his body, where he was admitted to intensive care and put in an induced coma.

He was later transferred to The Alfred Hospital burns unit in Melbourne.

Kahn Meyers was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria (pictured) this week

He told the court in a victim impact statement he was profoundly affected by the excruciating pain exacerbated by an ambulance not being called.

Meyers' legal team argued in court he had a mental impairment and dropped out of school before he was a teen.

But Judge Justin Hannebery believed Meyers understood the potential consequences of his 'utterly unjustified' and 'inexplicably cruel' actions.

'He posed you no threat,' Judge told Meyers. 'He had done nothing but try to help you.'

Meyers was jailed three years and nine months with a non-parole period of two years and three months.

He has been in custody since July 22 last year and will be eligible to apply for parole in October 2022.
The Revamped Website Features Updated Information on How UDS and their Sanitising Services are Helping Facility Owners to Bring their Employees Back to Work On-Site

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / The founders of UDS, India's leading integrated facilities management and business services company, are pleased to announce the launch of their newly-revamped website.

To check out the updated website and learn more about the services that UDS offers their clients, please visit https://www.uds.in/.

As a company spokesperson noted, the updated website is now easier to navigate and includes more in-depth information about the services that UDS provides their valued clients.

The revamped site also features a blog filled with in-depth articles about topics that relate to the commercial cleaning industry. For example, one recent blog discusses the role smart facility management companies like UDS are playing in reopening facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to thinking about issues like testing security systems to be sure they are still working properly and to be sure the electricity is up and running, the blog notes that business owners must also be sure their buildings, which may have stood dormant for over a year, are properly sanitised.

As the spokesperson noted, the team from UDS has been at the forefront of helping facility owners to bring their employees back to work and to reopen their companies. UDS aims to deliver a comprehensive sanitising solution for all building environments, including warehouses, retail stores, manufacturing units, and owned or rented offices. They have a carefully considered customised plan that suits each facility they work with.

"As health has become the primary focus, organisations now prefer hiring professional and expert commercial cleaning services to keep their facilities sanitised," the spokesperson noted, adding that the role of facility management services is being redefined post-pandemic.

"It has become a part of the strategic plan in an organisation, and the tenure is long term. The companies are giving more importance to safety and hygiene."

As the updated website notes, UDS's disinfection and sanitising services cover all fixed and movable assets including equipment. They use approved disinfectants and PPE as per the guidelines laid by ICMR and WHO.

This press release is powered by Digital SEO, a leading digital marketing services company in Chennai that are pioneers in helping companies form strategies to increase their online presence and build their websites.

About UDS:

UDS is India's leading integrated facilities management and business services company. They offer services to create smart and sustainable workspaces through automated technologies. They offer commercial office cleaning and sanitising services that support the current pandemic norms to make workspaces healthy and virus free. Their services ensure technology interface and systems integration to enhance the overall productivity and facility performance. For more information, please visit https://www.uds.in/.

Address:

UPDATER SERVICES (P) LTD.

# 2/302A, UDS Salai

Off Old Mahabalipuram Road

Thoraipakkam, Chennai - 600 097 (TN)

Contact person: Mr. Aashish

Email: aashish.k@uds.in

Contact:

Mr. Aashish

aashish.k@uds.in

9384093433

SOURCE: UDS

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/643177/UDS-Indias-Leading-Integrated-Facilities-Management-and-Business-Services-Company-Launches-New-Website
WASHINGTON (AP)  The roar of applause that typically greets a new president entering the House chamber softened Wednesday to just a few hundred hands clapping as Joe Biden arrived to deliver his first joint address to Congress under strict coronavirus restrictions and tight security at the Capitol.

Usually an electrifying evening, this initial address from Biden was a more subdued affair, reflecting a country, and a Congress, only starting to emerge from the challenges of a lifetime.

Members of Congress took their seats, name cards spacing them out just a few to each row, some filling the visitor galleries because no guests were invited.

There was no crush of center-aisle lawmakers crowding to shake Bidens hand, though he did fist-bump Chief Justice John Roberts and accept a hug from former rival Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator.

No coordinated splashy fashion statements as even members of Congress are partly working from home. Masks were required, along with a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination. Democrats outnumbered Republicans, who largely skipped the event.

Yet even with the diminished mood, one of the most striking parts of Bidens address to Congress was his nod to the very House and Senate lawmakers who, even in their absence, will make or break the new administrations ambitious agenda to rebuild America.

"Congress should act," Biden told them over and over again.

As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Biden's arrival, standing with Vice President Kamala Harris behind the president in a portrait of two women in power the country had never seen, it was a reminder that Congress will determine whether his sweeping $4 trillion proposals to invest in America and revive the role of government will come to pass.

Unlike his recent predecessors, Biden is a veteran of the legislative process and appears eager to reengage Congress as a co-equal branch in governing.

When President Donald Trump addressed Congress, he largely relied on the sheer force of his personality to muscle his ideas into law, with mixed success. With soaring speeches, President Barack Obama ultimately worked around a resistant Congress using his pen and phone to push a second-term agenda through executive actions.

Story continues

Let's get to work, Biden told Congress.

Biden is personally courting lawmakers with gusto, inviting them to meetings at the White House and sending his advisers to Capitol Hill, as he tries to nudge the narrowly split Congress to join his massive effort to reinvest in America.

Biden said he welcomes Republican ideas, but doing nothing is not an option.

The few Republicans attending, including Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, rarely rose to applaud.

The president, he can put together whatever laundry list he would like to see Congress act on, said Frances Lee, a professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton, but in the end, it will be Congress deciding what to take up.

Security was tight, with National Guard troops still stationed at the iconic building almost four months after rioters stormed inside, trying to save Trumps presidency. Five people died in the Jan. 6 riot and its aftermath, including a protester shot by police outside the very House chamber where Biden spoke.

Just about 200 members of Congress were invited to attend, far from the 1,600 people who typically crowd the House chamber on an often celebratory night. Roberts was the only Supreme Court justice there. Only Gen. Mark Milley from the top military brass attended.

While Democratic lawmakers jockeyed for seats, with senators entering a lottery, many Republican lawmakers declined to attend, as they pan the president's first 100 days in office and cede the evening to the rival party.

Their absence left McConnell and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy to represent the GOP side of the aisle, which created a lopsided sense of support inside the chamber.

Ill have a great seat  right in front of my TV set, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who was staying home.

Still, its the rank-and-file members of Congress who will ultimately decide on the size and scope of Biden's proposed infrastructure and human capital investments in the American Jobs and American Families plans.

Congress was able earlier this year to swiftly approve Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill on party-line votes, and Biden thanked the Senate, in particular, for approving a virus-related hate crimes act.

At one poignant moment he spoke directly to McConnell, saying he would never forget the time the Republican encouraged him to name a cancer research bill after Biden's late son, Beau. "It meant a lot," the president said.

But holding Democrats together or reaching across the aisle to Republicans will prove more daunting on issues including election reforms, gun control, policing law changes and immigration.

McConnell has dismissed Bidens approach as a bait and switch presidency  one that promised bipartisanship with Republicans but that is going it alone with a very Democratic, if not progressive, agenda.

The president's proposals include massive investments that Republicans argue are stretching the definition of infrastructure  electric vehicle charging stations for the automobiles of the future, as well as the construction of new veterans hospitals, child care center services and other facilities. As investments in families, there are promises of free preschool for 3- and 4-year-old children, free community college and tax breaks that send as much as $250 a month to households with children.

Together, Biden's two proposals would be paid for by raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and hiking taxes on the wealthiest 1% of Americans earning above $400,000.

Some Republicans appeared uncomfortable with those ideas, making faces at the tax hikes and sitting stone-faced when Biden spoke of the mob that assaulted the Capitol.

But Biden is also changing the definition of bipartisanship, as his administration argues that the proposals are popular with Republican voters, despite resistance from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

As he stuck around afterward, fist-bumping with Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a leading advocate of overhauling policing laws, but also shaking hands with Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, there were signs of Biden's potential to move legislation.

In that, the president may have had all the audience he was looking for Wednesday as he spoke not just to the lawmakers he needs to pass his agenda, but also to the voters who will influence them to act  or not.

__

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Alan Fram contributed to this report.
Nearly 14 years ago, Cafe Europa owner Michael Simko had ambitious plans for his 50th birthday. He had always been athletic: running track, playing hockey, even joining a professional soccer team in his native Slovakia. He also played in adult leagues in Virginia Beach  until he finally decided he no longer liked the idea of having torn ligaments and cracked ribs in his 50s.

So he went for something a little less high-impact, if no less ambitious. He figured he would tackle the 37-mile hike to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the highest freestanding peak on the map. The trek is a longstanding dream from his youth.

Im from Europe  and as a kid, you know, we did a lot of climbing in the Tatras over there, he said. Kilimanjaro was kind of a big thing for us back then.

But the world had other plans. Instead, his Portsmouth restaurant was beset first by Midtown Tunnel construction and then the worldwide housing crisis of 2008. He was needed closer to home.

So I gave up on it, he said. But it was always on the back of my mind.

Starting around two years ago, he picked his dream up again. This time, before the pandemic was even a mote on the horizon, he planned his trip for 2020.

You know, I thought it would be a good time, he said, laughing.

Now, with the advent of the COVID vaccine, he finally will be able to make the trip. Hell be climbing the African mountain as a benefit for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, which has a fundraising arm in Norfolk. Its a hospital with a meaningful connection to Simko, after the tragic health struggles of a neighbors daughter, Suzanne, also a friend of Simkos daughter.

At the age of 3 she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, Simko remembered. And after six months when they went from hospital to hospital, the doctors told them they can do nothing about it. So they wind up going to St. Jude, and they gave five more years to Suzanne.

And so he asked his neighbor: Do you think St. Jude would be interested in me doing a fundraiser? St. Jude took it from there, said Simko, setting up a website to accept donations to commemorate the trip.

Story continues

Simko is funding the trip, but is taking donations for the hospital through a website at bit.ly/StJudeTrek. Hes already raised nearly $8,000 over the past three months, including a personal donation of $500. This week through Saturday, his Portsmouth restaurant also is donating 10% of its profits to the hospital.

To me, it was, it was like, you know what they do? They are striving for the heights, for the peak, Simko said. As Im going to be trying to get to the top, thats what they do in their field. They try to conquer the cancer.

Simko will leave June 11  a 13-hour flight he worries will leave him bored silly  and is raising funds for St. Jude throughout. And after a nearly seven-day hike to the top of the mountain, he said, hell be raising a banner for St. Jude 19,000 feet in the sky.

Well take a picture, he said.

In the meantime, hes been training to make sure he gets to the top.

Ive been hammering away at Mount Trashmore, he said. You know, they have a stairway that has 80 steps. You go up and down 24 times, that means youve climbed the Empire State Building. So I do that at least once a week, and then I usually go up and down the hill. So thats good training. I feel pretty confident about it.

The fundraiser for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital runs until Saturday at Cafe Europa, 319 High St, Portsmouth, 757-399-6652, cafeeuropa.com. Direct donations also accepted at bit.ly/StJudeTrek.
The relief of finally being vaccinated turned to confusion and then anger for some uninsured Bayonne residents who were stunned to find that the Bayonne Medical Center had billed them for their coronavirus shots.

This is crazy, one Bayonne resident said in a social media post. No insurance info. needed. They say the shot is free. Yet they want $56.96. Doesnt say what it is for. Only know from the date.

A directive from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that Regardless of your insurance status, providers cannot charge you for the COVID-19 vaccine or administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. In January, Gov. Murphy said no one would be charged for a vaccination.

Eric Bloom, a spokesman for CarePoint Health, which operates the Bayonne Medical Center and two other hospitals in Hudson County, called the billing a mistake.

There was a systems error discovered regarding the billing for vaccinations, he said Tuesday. We will be sending out notices to those patients who received the invoices letting them know to disregard them.

Bloom said bills were sent to a subset of those patients without insurance and those patients not providing their insurance information. He said every patient was charged a set fee, but did not say what the fee was.

The third-party vendor mistakenly sent out invoices to a little more than 200 patients, which is about 1% of the 22,000 that the CarePoint Health system vaccinated, Bloom said.

Some Bayonne residents speaking out on social media said they had no intention of paying the bill and threw away the paperwork. Others expressed frustration with the billing department at the hospital.

I cant get through to the billing department by phone, one person wrote. Says voicemail full and then put me on hold to connect to an agent for 45 minutes. I agree with everyone above  dont pay it!

Mayor Jimmy Davis issued a statement:

The hospital should never have sent out such bills. People are not supposed to be charged for the coronavirus vaccinations. We call upon the hospital to reimburse anyone who paid them. Nobody should ever pay for a vaccination shot.

Bloom said anyone who paid the bill for the vaccination will be reimbursed.
Attorneys representing the family of Andrew Brown Jr. said Monday that North Carolina sheriff's deputies shot the 42-year-old Black man in the back of the head as they were serving a warrant last week. Brown's son, who was allowed to view what the family's attorneys said was 20 seconds of police body camera video, called the shooting in Elizabeth City an execution.

"My dad got executed just by trying to save his own life," Khalil Ferebee told reporters during an afternoon press conference.

Family attorney Harry Daniels said Brown was shot in the back of the head, and he called for the officers involved in the shooting to be arrested "right now."

Another family attorney, Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, said the bodycam video showed Brown posed no threat to police during Wednesday's incident. She said the video showed Brown in his car in his driveway with his hands on the steering wheel.

The video started with officers firing at Brown, Cherry-Lassiter said. At least five officers were facing the driver's side of the vehicle pointing their weapons at Brown, she said. Some were calling for Brown to show them his hands.

"They're shooting and saying, 'Let me see your hands,' at the same time," Cherry-Lassiter said.

Brown tried to drive away from the officers, who continued to fire, she said. The vehicle eventually crashed into a tree.

"We in Black America don't understand why when a Black person is going away from you you think it's allowable to shoot them in the back and kill them," said attorney Ben Crump, who is also representing the Brown family.

Andrew Brown Jr. / Credit: Martha McCullen

Cherry-Lassiter said at least seven officers total were at the scene of the shooting. Attorneys called for the release of footage from other body cameras and from any police dashboard cameras. Authorities have not publicly released any video from the incident, despite calls to do so from the community and local officials.

Story continues

In a video statement posted to Facebook on Monday, Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Daniel Fogg said the office would comply if the court ordered a release of the body camera footage, but said "those people who claim that the sheriff's office has the ability to release [the footage] either don't know North Carolina law, or they are trying to purposefully inflame a tragic situation."

In the same statement, Sheriff Tommy Wooten II said the incident "was quick and over in less than 30 seconds," adding that "body cameras are shaky and sometimes hard to decipher."

"They only tell part of the story," Wooten added.

Seven Pasquotank County sheriff's deputies have been placed on paid administrative leave. Ahead of the family viewing the video, Elizabeth City Mayor Bettie Parker declared a state of emergency in the wake of protests following the shooting.

Wooten has said deputies from his department were attempting to serve drug-related search and arrest warrants when Brown was shot. The warrants included two arrest warrants on drug-related charges, including possession with intent to sell cocaine for Brown, who had past drug convictions.

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Covid vaccination has begun at Mallorcan and Ibizan owned hotels in the Dominican Republic, as part of a strategy to promote the country as a safe destination for international tourism.

More than 10,000 workers at the Melia, Riu, Be Live, Iberostar, Barcelo, Bahia Principe, Excellence, Viva, HM Hotels and Ibizan chains Palladium and Sirenis, have already been immunised in the Dominican Republic tourist area of Punta Cana-Bavaro.

The Dominican Epidemiological Service and medical teams at each hotel chain are actively collaborating in the vaccination process and all chains are applying the Chinese vaccine, Sinovac.

The Dominican Government has reached an agreement with the Inverotel Group, which represents hotel chains and Mallorcan groups in the Caribbean, to maximise the vaccination process in order to capture Canadian and American tourism during the summer season, the two main emitting markets for the Caribbean island.

"The vaccination of all our employees at a key destination such as Punta Cana is satisfying for the company and represents a crucial step forward in the health and safety of our customers and employees, said Melia, Executive Vice President and CEO, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume. It will definitely contribute to the recovery of International travel to Punta Cana and intensify tourism demand for the Dominican Republic which is a key destination in the Caribbean."

Melias vaccination of 2,200 workers in Punta Cana began on Tuesday and will last until May 25.

Vaccination at the Iberostar Selection Hacienda Dominicus started on Monday and workers at the Iberostar Bavaro complex and in Iberostar Costa Dorada will also get underway this week, according to an Iberostar spokesperson.

The Riu also began vaccinating staff in Punta Cana on Sunday:

"The goal is to vaccinate all 2,500 workers with Sinovac so that theyre immunised before the summer season, said a Riu spokesperson. Barcelo and Bahia Principe groups (Pinero Group) said immunising all workers is a priority.

It is the only way to have a summer in the Caribbean, in the Dominican Republic, and be able to capture the American market and our chain is involved in this vaccination process, said the President of Globalia which includes the Be Live Chain.

American and European Tour Operators agree that the strategy adopted in the Dominican Republic is the only option in holiday destinations.

"We would like to reiterate our request to the Spanish Government to prioritise vaccination of Tourism Sector workers, said Melia CEO, Gabriel Escarrer who revealed that "workers in Indonesia have already been vaccinated."

Our employees in the Maldives are being vaccinate with AstraZeneca and Sinovac, said a Riu source and we will continue with this strategy because it is the only way to have safe hotels and immunised workers."
With the dramatic surge in covid infections, India begins its third phase of vaccination on May 1, with a mission to inoculate everyone in the age group 18-45 years. The Centre has issued guidelines for states and Union territories on the effective implementation of the New Vaccination Strategy." The mandatory registration for the vaccination will begin today on the CoWIN portal.

With the dramatic surge in covid infections, India begins its third phase of vaccination on May 1, with a mission to inoculate everyone in the age group 18-45 years. The Centre has issued guidelines for states and Union territories on the effective implementation of the New Vaccination Strategy. The mandatory registration for the vaccination will begin today on the CoWIN portal.

What is going to change?

May 1 will bring certain changes in the supply that will be divided into two portions. 50 percent will go to the Centre, and the remaining 50 to the open market. The open market channel will help the states and private hospitals procure vaccines directly from the manufacturers. Prices will be decided through bidding and other ways by the manufacturers for the state and private hospitals. States are getting the vaccines at the cost more than the Centre.

Now, Private hospitals will charge 250 for the vaccine as they are directly buying it from the manufacturers and hence will set the prices on their own. People under the age bracket of 18-45 will have to mandatorily register themselves with the CoWIN platform in order to get vaccinated. There wont be any on the spot vaccine, without prior registration, available, at least initially.

What is not changing?


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Amid recent speculation war could be on the horizon, an unsettling and stark prediction reveals the mass devastation that could result from such a scenario.

Director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at UTS, James Laurenceson, said while newly-appointed defence minister Peter Dutton may be preparing Australians for any involvement the nation will have in potential military conflict in the Indo-Pacific, there is little mention of the horrific consequences that could result.

Were talking millions dead, including Australians. A global economic disaster. Weve got to raise the entire reality of what a war would actually be like," he told Crikey.

China has significantly boosted its expenditure in defence in recent years. Source: AP

On Sunday Mr Dutton told the ABC the possibility of conflict could "not be discounted" as China pushes ahead with its plans to force a reunification with Taiwan. He also stressed Australian forces would be ready to act if called upon.

And secretary of the home affairs department, Mike Pezzullo, delivered an Anzac Day speech saying the "drums of war" are beating in the region, and often "more loudly" and closer than before, stressing the nation must "brace" for the "curse of war".

Last month China projected a 6.8 per cent increase in defence spending in response to "security risks in all areas", Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said.

And while China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin warned Australia about stoking potential conflict, Professor Laurenceson said such remarks from within Canberra were warranted.

Thats a reasonable thing for them to do. The risks of conflict have risen from what they were five years ago," he said.

China warns Australia over Taiwan stance

The Morrison government has expressed concerns about Beijing's stance on Taiwan, another response the Communist Party of China deems as provocative and interference in its internal matters.

"The Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair. China will never allow any country to interfere in any way," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Friday.

Story continues

Mr Wang called on Australia to think carefully about its words moving forward.

"It is hoped that the Australian side will fully recognise that the Taiwan question is highly sensitive [and it will] be prudent in its words and deeds," he said.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong echoed Mr Wang's remarks, warning "words matter" when it came to national security and diplomacy.

"When it comes to issues of national security, when it comes to issues of foreign policy, when it comes to issues as sensitive as Taiwan, our language should be sober and it should be cautious," she said.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan said Mr Pezzullo's remarks were "totally unnecessary".

Yet Nationals senator Matt Canavan said there was "no doubt" there was a risk of conflict and told Sky News Australians "need a wake-up call".

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com

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A representative image of cultured dissociated hippocampal neurons transiently expressing psychLight1 and psychLight2. Scale bar, 20 mm. Credit: Calvin Ly

Psychedelic drugs have shown promise for treating neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. However, due to their hallucinatory side effects, some researchers are trying to identify drugs that could offer the benefits of psychedelics without causing hallucinations. In the journal Cell on April 28, researchers report they have identified one such drug through the development of a genetically encoded fluorescent sensorcalled psychLightthat can screen for hallucinogenic potential by indicating when a compound activates the serotonin 2A receptor.

"Serotonin reuptake inhibitors have long been used for treating depression, but we don't know much about their mechanism. It's like a black box," says senior author Lin Tian, an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Davis. "This sensor allows us to image serotonin dynamics in real time when animals learn or are stressed and visualize the interaction between the compound of interest and the receptor in real time."

Tian's lab joined forces with the lab of David E. Olson, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at UC Davis, whose lab is focused on drug discovery. "This paper was an exceptionally collaborative effort," says Olson, a co-author on the study. "My lab is really interested in the serotonin 2A receptor, which is the target of both psychedelic drugs and classic antipsychotics. Lin's lab is a leader in developing sensors for neuromodulators like serotonin. It just made perfect sense for us to tackle this problem together."

A simulated structure of psychLight consisting of 5-HT2AR (gray), a linker (magenta) and a cpGFP (green)--white background. Credit: Dong, Ly, and Dunlap et al.

Experts believe that one of the benefits of using psychedelic drugs over existing drugs is that they appear to promote neural plasticityessentially allowing the brain to rewire itself. If proven effective, this approach could lead to a drug that works in a single dose or a small number of doses, rather than having to be taken indefinitely. But one thing that researchers don't know is whether patients would be able to gain the full benefit of neural plasticity without undergoing the "psychedelic trip" part of the treatment.

In the paper, the investigators report that they used psychLight to identify a compound called AAZ-A-154, a previously unstudied molecule that has the potential to act on beneficial pathways in the brain without hallucinogenic effects. "One of the problems with psychedelic therapies is that they require close guidance and supervision from a medical team," Olson says. "A drug that doesn't cause hallucinations could be taken at home."

The serotonin 2A receptor, also known as 5-HT2AR, belongs to a class of receptors called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). "More than one-third of all FDA-approved drugs target GPCRs, so this sensor technology has broad implications for drug development," Tian says. "The special funding mechanisms of BRAIN Initiative from the National Institutes of Health allowed us to take a risky and radical approach to developing this technology, which could open the door to discovering better drugs without side effects and studying neurochemical signaling in the brain."

More information: Cell, Dong et al.: "Psychedelic-inspired drug discovery using an engineered biosensor" DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.043 Journal information: Cell , Dong et al.: "Psychedelic-inspired drug discovery using an engineered biosensor" www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00374-3
Andrew Brown Jr.'s son Khalil Ferebee, speaks outside the Pasquotank County Public Safety building in Elizabeth City, N.C. on April 26, 2021. (Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP)

District Attorney Says Andrew Brown Jr. Hit Police With Car Before Officer-Involved Shooting

A North Carolina district attorney said Wednesday that Andrew Brown Jr.s car hit deputies before they fired shots at him, killing him, in the latest officer-involved shooting that is drawing the ire of Black Lives Matter activists.

District Attorney Andrew Womble told a judge at a hearing that he viewed body camera footage of the incident and disagreed with how lawyers for Browns family described his death. The lawyers had claimed that Browns car was stationary when officers fired.

Browns car, however, struck deputies twice before shots were heard, Womble added.

As it backs up, it does make contact with law enforcement officers, he said, noting that in the video, the car stops again. The next movement of the car is forward. It is in the direction of law enforcement and makes contact with law enforcement. It is then and only then that you hear shots.

It came days after Chanel Cherry-Lassiter, the attorney representing Browns family, said that she and some family members were shown about 20 seconds of the footage, claiming Brown posed no threat to officers. They said Brown was in his driveway when a sheriffs truck blocked him and alleged that deputies ran up to his vehicle while shooting.

Deputies were serving a drug-related arrest and search warrant when the incident unfolded.

Theyre shooting and saying, Let me see your hands at the same time, Cherry-Lassiter told reporters Monday, adding that Brown had his hands on the steering wheel and was stationary.

This was, in fact, an extrajudicial killing, an execution if you will, Brown family attorney Wayne Kendall told CNN. Mr. Browns car never moved toward those deputies.

A judge in the case later on Wednesday declined to release the footage to the public for at least 30 days but stipulated that family members of Brown can see body camera and dash camera videos of the incident.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten stated that he wants the body camera footage released to the public.

I in fact requested that the petition be filed to have this video be released to the public, Wooten told Fox News on Wednesday morning. You know, transparency is paramount, not only for an agency but for the community as well because it helps us keep that trust.

Wooten said that attorneys statements claiming Brown was executed are inflammatory to the community.

The FBI and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation both said they are investigating the shooting.

Earlier this week, the mayor of Elizabeth City, where the shooting occurred, declared a state of emergency over possible unrest related to the release of the body camera footage.

The order goes into effect at 8 a.m. on April 26, directing all Elizabeth City agencies to take whatever steps necessary to protect life and property, public infrastructure, and provide such emergency assistance deemed necessary to preserve public safety. City offices are also closed Monday.
As India battles the worlds worst virus outbreak, some key political parties are promising an unprecedented monthly payment to all homemakers in a bid to win crucial state elections.

If enacted the stipends would be some of the first in the world to specifically address womens unpaid labor, which economists estimate accounts for up to 39% of global GDP and is often absent from official statistics. They would also represent a major cultural shakeup in a nation where are overwhelmed with domestic duties and their participation in the workforce is among the lowest on the planet--a predicament exacerbated by Covid-19.

Indias epidemic, which is now overwhelming hospitals in major cities, has hit particularly hard. Many have reported a substantial or total loss of income since a nationwide lockdown last year, and housework has risen significantly as unemployed male migrants returned home.

Out of five states that count votes on Sunday, three are likely to implement the stipends. Both the ruling coalition and the opposition contenders down south in Tamil Nadu and Kerala have promised monthly income support to homemakers. That includes the countrys main opposition Congress party, which has pledged 2,000 rupees ($27) for homemakers each month in both the northeastern state of Assam and Kerala.





ALSO READ: Women and jobs: Will 'work from home' push more women into the workforce?

In West Bengal, Chief Minister -- one of Prime Minister Narendra Modis top political opponents nationally -- has also promised monthly income support to female heads of 16 million households of up to 1,000 rupees per month.

Exit poll results will be televised Thursday evening after the last round of voting ends.

Progressive alternative

After coming to power in 2011, Banerjees Trinamool Congress positioned itself as a progressive alternative to Modis Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party by launching a series of gender equity and social justice programs. While the BJP hasnt adopted a similar policy for homemakers, it has several programs targeting such as free education for girls and quotas for government jobs.

The needle is slow to move on sticky social and cultural norms, but small positive steps can engender further change, said Nalini Gulati, an economist at the London-based think tank International Growth Centre, and the managing editor of the research platform Ideas for India.

Monthly income support by state governments -- if implemented effectively -- will put money in the hands of those who have been cash-strapped during the pandemic and address their unmet consumption needs, she said. This can also contribute towards creating demand in the economy as a whole.

Uplifting women is vital for Asias third largest economy as Modi pushes to attract foreign investment and boost Indias economic heft globally. Indias gross domestic product could grow by 27% if womens participation in the economy was raised to the same level as that of men, according to research by the International Monetary Fund.

Gender gap

Close to three-quarters of women are excluded from the workforce, leaving India ranked 145th out of 153 countries, according to the World Economic Forums Global Gender Gap report. The low participation is because about 60% of women take on full time domestic duties like cleaning, cooking, fetching water and giving care to children and in-laws, Indias Economic Survey reported in January.

Although women spend nearly six hours a day on unpaid domestic work compared with less than an hour for men, their contribution at home isnt recorded in Indias national income.

The pledges to pay women for housework comes amid global debate about whether societies should do more to recognize and compensate women for the work they perform at home.



ALSO READ: Do top economics journals hold women authors to higher standards than men?

While more steps are required -- including redistributing unpaid work in the household and better infrastructure to reduce the time it takes women to procure water and cooking fuel -- the payments are a good start, according to Prabha Kotiswaran, a professor at the Kings college London who has written articles on the economic worth of homemakers.

It is a globally unprecedented move, she said, which is necessary in a country where there is zero recognition of womens unpaid work.
Socialising outside will be paramount this summer if Covid cases are to remain low and further lockdowns are to be avoided.

Kilkenny County Council has created public outdoor seating at The Watergate, The Market Yard and The Mayors Walk which has been widely welcomed. The one-way system in the city centre also looks set to remain to allow for physical distancing.

As society cautiously moves towards further reopening all eyes are fixed on how how hospitality might be permitted to return over the coming months.

Outside Dining

Director of Services at Kilkenny County Council, Tim Butler explained that premises can apply for a licence to allow outside dining. Mr Butler said that the map (shown above) is an indicative map only for application for licences for seating outside businesses and that the local authority will review all applications on their own merits.

The map illustrates through the use of colour-coded zones what areas of the city are considered suitable for outdoor dining. Green areas are considered to be suitable.

Amber zones are potentially suitable subject to works and amendment of parking bylaws and red areas are considered unsuitable. For an area to be considered suitable there has to be at least two metres of footpath to allow for adequate room for pedestrians.

Meanwhile the Chairman of the Kilkenny Vintners Federation, Anthony Morrisson, is calling of all sectors of hospitality to reopen at the same time.

The government need to open it all together, it will be detrimental if they dont do it that way, he said adding that if only certain premises are allowed open that could create an atmosphere of tension.

The chairman said if the government reopens hospitality on a staggered basis then premises that are forced to remain shut should be compensated accordingly.

Mr Morrison said that the government needs to align with Northern Ireland and the UK who are opening pubs over the coming weeks.

According to The Vintners Federation pubs in Northern Ireland will reopen for outdoor trading this Friday then three weeks later they can resume indoor business. A similar scenario in the Republic would see outdoor resume on May 28 and indoors on June 18 (assuming a four-week lag in ROI vaccinations compared to the North).
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - SusGlobal Energy Corp. (OTCQB: SNRG) ("SusGlobal" or the "Company"), the developer of SusGro, a revolutionary pathogen free organic liquid fertilizer and LEADERS IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY is pleased to have received a (B-) score with scorecard from Circulytics, launched by The Ellen MacArthur Foundation ("The Foundation"), a charity whose mission is to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.











Circulytics Logo



To view an enhanced version of this image, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3726/81979_Circulytics%20B-.jpg

The Foundation has developed this new digital tool to assess the circular economy performance of companies, which measures enablers within organizations. This measurement assists companies in achieving circular outcomes ("Circulytics" and the method used by Circulytics being the "Circulytics Method"). The scorecard gives an overview of the company's progress on the journey towards the circular economy, by way of two overarching categories, 'Enablers' and 'Outcomes', as well as eleven themes within these categories, encouraging the company to improve and providing theme level scores to enable the company to prioritize certain activities.

"We are pleased to have received a (B-) score from Circulytics, as it validates our model and circular economy initiatives, namely, diverting municipal organic waste from landfill and producing regenerative products," stated Marc Hazout, Executive Chairman, President and CEO of SusGlobal Energy Corp. "We will continue to strive and improve as global leaders in the circular economy while maximizing shareholder value."

About SusGlobal Energy Corp.

SusGlobal Energy Corp., the developer of SusGro, a revolutionary pathogen free organic liquid fertilizer is a renewables company focused on acquiring, developing and monetizing a portfolio of proprietary technologies in the waste to energy and regenerative products application globally. It is management's objective to grow SusGlobal into a significant sustainable waste to energy and regenerative products provider, as Leaders in The Circular Economy. For more information, please visit the Company's website at: https://susglobalenergy.com

About Circulytics

In January 2020, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched Circulytics, a tool that allows organizations to assess their circular economy performance via a broad set of metrics which deliver a company-level score. This score, alongside insights and analysis from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, helps businesses understand the extent of their success in adopting circular economy business opportunities; it provides a 'snapshot' of the circularity of their material flows and service models, and highlights the most important development areas to concentrate on. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/resources/apply/circulytics-measuring-circularity

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company's objectives. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, lack of sufficient financial resources; variations in market conditions, currency and our stock; the Company's ability to obtain any necessary permits, approvals, consents or authorizations required for its activities; the Company's ability to produce energy, biogas, compost or organic fertilizer from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, or to be fully able to implement its business strategies and other risk factors described in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which may be viewed at www.sec.gov.

Contact

SusGlobal Energy Corp.

Marc Hazout, President and CEO

(416) 223-8500 or Toll Free: 1-866-512-7374

Email: info@susglobalenergy.com

SOURCE: SusGlobal Energy Corp.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81979
WASHINGTON  When Joe Biden delivers his first speech as president to Congress on Wednesday, history will be made behind him.

For the first time during a joint address to Congress, the majority of politicians on the dais in the House of Representatives will be women, as Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi take their respective seats as vice president and House speaker.

Although the main event will be Biden celebrating his first 100 days in office and laying out his vision for the coming months, the moment will be almost as significant for the two Bay Area Democrats.

Harris, 56, an East Bay native and former San Francisco district attorney, is the first woman and first woman of color to hold the vice presidency and is widely seen as the Democrat most likely to succeed Biden when he leaves the presidency. Her first 100 days have brought her tough assignments already, including addressing migration to the U.S. from Central America and messaging the administrations efforts to stem the coronavirus pandemic.

Pelosi, 81, who represents San Francisco, could be in her last term and is working to implement Bidens ambitious policy agenda with one of the narrowest Democratic majorities in history. Her ability to craft legislation and hold together her at-times fractious caucus will determine what accomplishments her party can point to as it heads into midterm elections in which House control could tip either way.

The two women will also wield a symbolic power by virtue of their presence.

These are two of the most powerful women in America, or two of the most powerful individuals in America, said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland. Theyre of course from the Bay Area, which I take a lot of pride in saying. ... And so its an emotional moment, but its also a reflective moment for the price so many people, so many women especially, paid to get to this point, and its long overdue.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told The Chronicles Its All Political podcast that she feels a bond with Harris, like her a woman of South Asian descent who was first elected to Congress in 2016.

To be in the position where finally we have Joe Biden as president, Kamala Harris as vice president, and then, of course, Nancy Pelosi, a woman who has broken many ceilings herself, behind the president, I think is very, very significant, Jayapal said. Im so excited to be there for that moment.

Biden is expected to focus on his American Families Plan, a $1.8 trillion follow-up to the $2 trillion infrastructure package that Pelosi and other Democrats hope to push through Congress. Bidens new proposal is expected to have billions for Democratic priorities, including paid family leave and affordable child care, policies that could be especially transformative for working mothers.

Ashanti Gholar is the president of Emerge, a group that promotes Democratic women running for office. She said Harris and Pelosis presence is a sign of the progress women have made in politics and a powerful symbol for young girls. She also said that given the makeup of the Democratic electorate, its smart for the Biden-Harris administration to tackle family issues.

We know Biden and Harris are there because women put them there, Gholar said. What we have seen over the first 100 days, for me its not shocking. ... They are normalizing talking about these issues that impact women, communities and families.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images 2019

Pelosi has set a goal of passing Bidens legislation in the House by July 4, and Wednesdays speech will set the stage for a lawmaking sprint to write a bill and send it to the Senate. Democrats are expected to use a procedural method to bypass the usual 60-vote threshold to advance legislation in the evenly divided 100-member Senate and pass the bill without Republican support if necessary, which would require Harris to cast the tie-breaking 51st vote.

Bidens 6 p.m. PDT speech will lack some of the typical pomp and circumstance of a presidential address to Congress, as only 200 people will be allowed into the House chamber because of the pandemic. But Pelosi said that wouldnt diminish the event.

It will be its own wonderful character, Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol on Tuesday. We went from 1,600 people to 200 people. That is a different dynamic, but it has its own worth.

Since retaking the speakership in 2018, Pelosi has demonstrated the power of the seat behind the president. In 2019, dressed all in white in a nod to womens suffrage, Pelosi upstaged President Donald Trump with a sarcastic clap in his direction. In 2020, once again wearing white, Pelosi tore up her copy of the presidents speech once he had finished speaking, after he appeared to snub her handshake at the beginning of the night.

It will be a very different scene Wednesday, as she and Harris will lead the performative applause expected from members of the presidents party. Less symbolically, in the days following, they will have to get to work making Biden look good in policy.

Although Pelosi has hinted that this term will be her last, neither Lee nor Jayapal said they know her plans. But she certainly has really embraced a legacy-making agenda in this Congress, Jayapal said. Things like the child tax credit, she really wants to get action on climate change. ... Shes very committed to passing the $15 minimum wage.

Gholar said Harris and Pelosis presence wont just be a symbolic visual.

Its not performative. Its not, Oh, theres these two women sitting behind the president because its a good look, Gholar said. When we talk about women in politics and women in elected office, getting to those positions is hard. ... Theyre using their power in such a positive way, and that is redefining what it means to be a powerful woman. It means that you can sit behind this dais and be so influential in moving our country forward.

San Francisco Chronicle senior politics writer Joe Garofoli contributed to this report.

Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan
She posts endless bikini selfies on her Instagram page.

But social media sensation Tammy Hembrow decided to model a dress on Wednesday.

However, the garment hardly left anything to the imagination.

Sheer daring! Tammy Hembrow modelled a daring sheer dress over a bikini that barely covers her curves on Wednesday

The mother-of-two showed off her famous curves in the blue striped mini dress, which was completely see-through.

Underneath she donned a tiny string bikini that barely covered her modesty.

Tammy rocked a pair of futuristic shades and pigtails with her unique look.

Turning heads: The mother-of-two showed off her famous curves in the blue striped mini dress, which was completely see-through

Meanwhile, the blonde beauty's relationship with Ironman Matt Poole has grown from strength to strength.

After a slew of big celebrations for her 27th birthday earlier this month, she opted for a relaxed end of the week with her beau and her children.

The Saskia label founder shared a sweet photo on Instagram of her son Wolf, five, and daughter Saskia, four - who she shares with ex-fiance, Reece Hawkins - hugging Matt.

Nothing to the imagination: Underneath she wore a tiny string bikini that barely covered her modesty

Tammy wrote in the caption of her post: '2nite heart and tummy full.'

Matt replied back: 'Love you, love them,' to which she sweetly responded: 'We love you.'

Elsewhere in the post, she shared a series of photos of herself, putting on a busty display in a green crop top and high waisted jeans.

Hugs all around! Tammy recently shared a sweet photo of her son Wolf, five, and daughter Saskia, four - who she shares with ex-fiance, Reece Hawkins - hugging her boyfriend Matt Poole

Keeping it cute! Tammy wrote in the caption of her post: '2nite heart and tummy full'. Matt replied back: 'Love you, love them,' to which she sweetly responded: 'We love you'

The fitness mogul accessorised with a Dior shoulder bag and sneakers.

Tammy and Matt appeared to have a enjoyed a date night out together as she shared a picture of the delicious looking desserts.

Her Instagram post comes after she, her beau and her children enjoyed the afternoon together at the beach.

The foursome where headed back home when they began to play a cute follow-the-leader game, which Tammy shared on her Instagram Story.

Matt led the group on the stroll and swerved left to right on the foot path as Wolf and Saskia adorably followed his shadow.

The sweet outing comes after she hinted that she wants to have a baby with Matt.

Earlier this year, she shared a sweet throwback photo of her son Wolf when he was a baby, and admitted: 'Okay I want another one.'

She then followed that with a cheeky video of her unassuming beau Matt, who was clearly unaware of her post, as she giggled at him.

'Looking at you buddy,' the Instagram sensation wrote in the caption.

Reminiscing: Tammy recently hinted that she wants to have a baby with Matt. Earlier this year, she shared a sweet throwback photo of her son Wolf when he was a baby, and admitted: 'Okay I want another one'

Hint, hint! She followed that with a cheeky video of her unassuming beau Matt (pictured), who was clearly unaware of her post, as she giggled at him. 'Looking at you buddy,' the Instagram sensation wrote

Tammy and her ex-fiance Reece split acrimoniously in 2018, but have since moved forward as co-parents.

Tammy spoke about her newly-improved relationship with Reece in a YouTube video last year, telling fans: 'We're friends'.

After the split, Reece moved on with his Instagram model wife, London Goheen. They recently welcomed a son named Stone.

Moving on: Tammy and her ex-fiance Reece split acrimoniously in 2018. Now they co-parent their two children. After the split, Reece moved on with his Instagram model wife, London Goheen. They recently welcomed a son named Stone

Tammy has also moved on, debuting her new relationship with surf lifesaver Matt in September during a trip to the Whitsundays.

That same month, Matt also made his debut in a video on Tammy's YouTube channel, in which he confessed to saying 'I love you' first.

The pair met at an event in Bali in 2019.
If we cant have flying cars, maybe we can start commuting underwater.

Some Northeast design experts and business leaders have brainstormed as a superteam for years to reimagine the future of transportation. With President Joe Biden holding out the carrot of a $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill, they are anxious to seize the moment to reinvent regional transit, including a bullet train from Boston to New York City that would make the journey in 100 minutes or less.

The North Atlantic Rail Initiative tries to do what hasnt been done for generations: reinvent our transportation infrastructure. Its plan does what anyone would do in trying to see the bigger picture: It considers how to transverse the shortest distance between two points. The result is a bold pitch to carve a 16-mile tunnel under Long Island Sound for a high-speed train to travel between New Haven and Long Island.

The initiative may need to draft more members (notably those in Congress) to champion such plans. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) summoned his years of defending the integrity of Long Island Sound as he admitted to initial skepticism. Members of the Initiative, however, insist technology would not compromise marine life, which would have to be a priority.

Blumenthal also blanched at the notion of forming a federal and state partnership rather than leaving operations in the hands of Amtrak. Forming the North Atlantic Rail Corporation may create as many waves as an underwater tunnel. It may be the wrong name (someone wasnt thinking about the acronym NARC), but reframing oversight needs to be on the table as well.

New England is at a competitive disadvantage. An existing initiative for a bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles is desperate for funding. For even the casual traveler, it conjures fulfillment of a much sexier service than any New Haven to Long Island run. Theres also competition for funding from the likes of Las Vegas.

In this high-stakes poker game, though, the initiative does have a hot player. Robert Yaro headed the Regional Plan Association in Manhattan, worked on the new Tappan Zee Bridge. Yaro also recalls pitching a high-speed rail plan in the White House a decade ago, inspiring then Vice President Biden to declare, Damn it. Ive been waiting 30 years for this.

None of this, of course, is any closer to reality than cars commuting in the clouds. But a regional approach that gets New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island collaborating is always welcome. As the information superhighway routinely accelerates, transportation on the ground just keeps slowing.

After a year of inertia, its time to get people moving, both faster and more efficiently. Governors, mayors, members of Congress, transportation officials and others wont agree on every detail, but they need to start by deciding if the time has finally come to go big or stay home.
President Joe Bidens administration on Wednesday unveiled a $1.8 trillion, 10-year plan to ramp up federal support for American families, with a major expansion in spending on child care, paid leave and education.



The American Families Plan, which Biden will tout in a joint address to Congress Wednesday night, is funded in part by $1.5 trillion of tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans. The proposals still face major changes in Congress, with Republicans set against higher and Democrats having their own priorities.

Ambitious as it is, Bidens program omits some of his campaign-trail agenda items and lacks any move to address a cap on state and local tax deductions that Democrats from high-tax states want removed. Following are key elements to the plan:

Income Taxes



Biden is calling to raise the top personal income tax rate to 39.6% for those among the highest 1% of earners. No one making $400,000 per year or less will see their go up, the White House said in a fact sheet on the plan. Still, the document didnt specify whether that threshold applies to both single earners as well as married couples.

Capital Gains



Biden would increase the capital gains rate to 39.6% from 20% for those earning $1 million or more -- 0.3% of taxpayers or roughly half a million households -- equalizing that rate with the top marginal income tax rate. A 3.8% Obamacare tax on investment would then be added on top, meaning the richest would pay a 43.4% federal rate on realized investment returns. State could put the combined tax bill north of 50%.

The plan would also end a long-standing capital gains tax break on inheritances known as step-up in basis, which allows heirs to use the market value of assets at the time of inheritance rather than the actual purchase price as the cost basis for capital gains when the holdings are sold.

The proposal exempts the first $1 million of gains from the end of stepped-up basis, while theres no tax if the gains are used for charitable donations. There will also be protections so that family-owned businesses and farms will not have to pay taxes when given to heirs who continue to run the business.

Carried Interest, Real Estate



The carried interest tax break used by private equity and hedge fund managers to lower their tax bills would be eliminated under Bidens plan. In what critics call a loophole, that allowed for a share of income being classed as a capital gain, with an associated lower tax rate.

The administration also would eliminate a real estate tax break for when property investors sell one holding for a more expensive one.

IRS Audits



The plan calls for increased audits on high-earners that could collect an additional $700 billion in tax revenue, with funding increases for the Internal Revenue Service. Biden is also proposing to require banks to report information on account flows, so that earnings from investments and business profits are reported to the IRS like wages are.

Child Tax Credit



Biden is proposing to extend through 2025 an enhanced version of the child tax credit. The credit, increased for 2021 in the March pandemic-relief package, provides a $3,600 credit for children under six and $3,000 for those six and older. The IRS is slated to send the payments regularly, which amounts to $250 or $300 per child per month, depending on their age. Congressional Democrats are pushing Biden to make this change permanent.

Child Care



The plan includes $225 billion to help low-income families pay for child care, provide funding to child care providers and boost wages for child care workers to $15 an hour. Biden is also proposing to make permanent a tax credit for child care costs that would reimburse families for care of children 12 and under with a credit worth up to $4,000 for one child or $8,000 for multiple children.

Paid Leave



Biden would create a $225 billion national paid family and medical leave program. It would provide partial wage replacement for workers who take time off to care for a newborn or an ill family member, recover from a health issue, deal with a family members military deployment, address domestic violence issues or deal with the death of a loved one. The plan guarantees 12 weeks of paid parental, family, and personal leave by year 10 of the program. It provides workers with two-thirds of average wage replacement per month, up to $4,000. Lowest-wage workers will get pay replaced at 80%.

Health Tax Credits

The plan would pump $200 billion into an expansion of tax credits for households that buy health insurance on their own, saving families an average of $50 per person per month. Bidens outline said nine million people would save hundreds of dollars per year on their premiums, and four million uninsured people will gain coverage.

Low-income Tax Credits



An expansion of the earned-income tax credit for childless workers who earn wages below the poverty line would be made permanent under Bidens proposal. The expansion roughly triples the value of the benefit for those individuals, the fact sheet said.

Pre-School



The plan includes $200 billion for free universal pre-school for all three- and four-year-olds. Pre-kindergarten teachers will earn at least $15 per hour, and those with academic qualifications will receive pay comparable to that of kindergarten teachers.

College Tuition



The plan would provide $109 billion to cover two years of tuition-free community college for students and an $85 billion investment in Pell Grants, to aid students pursuing up to a four-year degree. The plan also includes $62 billion to improve college retention rates for disadvantaged students and pump $46 billion into historically black universities, tribal colleges and other institutions that serve minorities.

Nutrition Assistance



There is $45 billion to improve the health of school meal programs and provide food for K-12 students during summer breaks in Bidens proposal.

Unemployment Systems



The proposal earmarks $2 billion to modernize the unemployment insurance system, which has been subjected to fraud and technical challenges during the spike in unemployment caused by the pandemic. Biden didnt call for an automatic extension of jobless benefits as some Democrats had requested, but he pledged to work with Congress automatically extend benefits based on economic conditions.

Notably Omitted



The plan did not include any references to expanding the $10,000 state and local tax, or SALT, deduction. More than 20 House Democrats have said that tax break must be boosted to support Bidens economic agenda. The proposal also didnt include an expansion of the estate tax -- a long-standing Democratic priority that Biden campaigned on. Nor was there an enlargement of Medicare or the drug-price reduction measures that many congressional Democrats have pushed for -- though Bidens outline said both issues were priorities for him.
For many voters, of course, Mr. Bidens core appeal was not grounded in policy particulars. They were drawn to his message of unity, his pledge to defuse the division and rage fostered by Mr. Trump. This whole idea struck some as hokey, not to mention absurdly naive. But Mr. Biden does appear to be making a quirky sort of progress.

Hes making the presidency boring again. Mock if you will, but this is a major achievement  one welcomed by many exhausted Americans. Gone are the executive time Twitter rants, rambling call-ins to Fox News and near daily assaults on democracy that defined the Trump presidency. Mr. Biden likes to keep things low-key, doesnt hog the spotlight and largely avoids the culture-war freak-outs roiling the other side. While the MAGA-verse spins itself into a tizzy over the supposed cancellation of Dr. Seuss and emasculation of Mr. Potato Head, Mr. Biden keeps his head down and keeps pushing his policies.

Hes restoring humanity to the job. Whether the crisis is a police shooting, the enormous toll of the pandemic or the everyday economic challenges of so many Americans, Mr. Biden approaches the issue with compassion and decency. His aim is to comfort rather than to inflame. This may not seem as if it should be a big deal, but post-Trump, here we are.

Hes making bipartisanship cool again. No, Mr. Biden has not ushered in a new golden age of cross-aisle compromise  nor is he likely to. And even as he invites Republican lawmakers over for cozy White House chats, he has made clear he wont get bogged down in trying to win their support. He and his people learned during the Obama years not to go down that rabbit hole. Mr. Biden has, in fact, sorely irritated some moderate Senate Republicans who think that he isnt treating their outreach efforts with the proper respect.

Even so, the presidents political brand is so, well, avuncular that much of the public sees him as a nonradical, politically moderate kind of guy. This has some Republicans, especially Senate moderates, talking up their love of bipartisanship and compromise, lest they look like the unreasonable ones.

All of this is making it hard for his political opponents to vilify him  about which Republican lawmakers have expressed their dismay. Instead, more than three months in, theyre still trying to cast him as a puppet of radicals: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Squad, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the White House chief of staff, Ron Klain. You know Republicans are having a rough time when Senator John Cornyn of Texas is reduced to grumping about Mr. Bidens lack of Twitter tantrums and speculating that the presidents low profile means hes not really in charge.

At this point, polls show a slight majority of the American public approve of their new hire. Mr. Bidens numbers are lower than what most of his non-Trumpian predecessors enjoyed at this point, but theyre none too shabby, considering these hyperpolarized, reality-challenged times.
Kim Kardashian was busy at work on Tuesday evening in the dressing room of her sprawling $60M which she will reportedly get to keep during her divorce from estranged husband Kanye West.

The designer was in a bra top, jacket and shorts from her new SKIMS collection called PJ Sleep which goes on sale Thursday.

'Designed to make you miss your alarms, stay in bed all day, and never leave the house (were not sorry about it),' it said on her SKIMS Instagram page.

Model time: Kim Kardashian was busy at work on Tuesday evening in the dressing room of her sprawling $60M which she will reportedly get to keep during her divorce from estranged husband Kanye West

Le look de Kim: The designer was in a bra top, jacket and shorts from her new SKIMS collection called PJ Sleep which goes on sale Thursday

All hers: In March it was reported by TMZ that Kim will be likely keeping the Hidden Hills, California estate as it is 'good for the kids'

Kim - who has recently been linked to CNN's Van Jones - has filed for divorce from her West in February after almost seven years of marriage.

The 40-year-old reality TV star, who is working with lawyer Laura Wasser, is asking for joint legal and physical custody of their four young children: North, seven, Saint, five, Chicago, three, Psalm, 21 months.

In March it was reported by TMZ that Kim will be likely keeping the Hidden Hills, California estate as it is 'good for the kids.'

This comes after her friend Chrissy Teigen said Kim 'gave her all' to try and make her marriage work.

Haute stuff: 'Designed to make you miss your alarms, stay in bed all day, and never leave the house (were not sorry about it),' it said on her SKIMS Instagram page

Another look at her collection: There is also this low-cut nightgown in nude available

The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star filed for divorce from Kanye West in February after almost seven years of marriage but Teigen thinks it's 'a shame' they couldn't resolve their differences because she always thought they'd be together forever.

Speaking on 'Watch What Happens Live', Chrissy told host Andy Cohen: 'Kim is doing OK. I know Kim gave her all for everything.

'It's honestly a shame that it didn't work out because I saw them being a forever relationship. I really did, but I know she tried her best.'

The Chrissy's Court star's husband, John Legend, used to be good friends with Kanye but the 35-year-old beauty admitted the two men haven't really been in touch with one another recently.

A set that works well together: Here she was in the dark gray version while in her closet

A new Friend: On Wednesday Courteney Cox modeled SKIMS on social media after she was gifted several items

Asked about their friendship, she replied: 'I will say I have definitely been in touch with Kim more than John has been in touch with Kanye.

Done: In March it was reported by TMZ that Kim will be likely keeping the Hidden Hills estate as it is 'good for the kids.' Seen in 2019

'If anyone knows Kanye, it's that he goes off the grid and it's hard to ever contact him.'

It was recently claimed the proceedings are going smoothly so far.

A source said: 'Kim and Kanye are getting along. 'They have both stayed true to their commitment to make the best situation for the kids.

'Kim is very happy that they have managed to keep things calm. She thinks Kanye is a good dad. She wants him to be able to spend as much time with the kids as he wants.'

The source added to People magazine: 'For every week that goes by since she filed for divorce, Kim seems happier. She knows that filing for divorce was the right decision. The kids are doing as good as she could hope.'

Meanwhile, sources recently said Kim is embracing the next chapter in her life.

On the town: The SKIMS founder recently enjoyed a night out in Miami, where she celebrated the opening of Pharrell Williams' Goodtime Hotel; on Wednesday she shared new images

Party time: Also with her were Victoria and David Beckham as well as other friends

Another insider said: 'Kim is having a lot of fun right now. She feels free and is a lot happier.

'It's a new era for Kim. She has been loving going out with friends, meeting new people and really being out and about again.'

The SKIMS founder recently enjoyed a night out in Miami, where she celebrated the opening of Pharrell Williams' Goodtime Hotel.

Also with her were Victoria and David Beckham, Steph Shep and Jonathan Cheban.

Her bestie: In this image Kim, who has on a green leather dress, is with Jonathan Cheban

And although she's not looking for a serious relationship for the time being, she is interested in dating once again.

The source shared: 'She loved being out in Miami and felt like herself again. Kim has also expressed if the right person came along, she'd be interested in dating again.

'She doesn't want anything serious anytime soon but she's been liking connecting with people.'
PRESS RELEASE

28 April 2021

Q1 2021 NET REVENUES: 178.4M, up 51%

Growth momentum confirmed

La Plaine Saint Denis, 28 April 2021 - Showroomprive (SRP Groupe), a leading European online retailer for the Digital Woman, has published net revenues up very sharply for the first quarter, ended 31 March 2021.



All indicators pointing in the right direction

Net revenues up 51%, boosted by a favourable comparison base;

Equally strong growth trend both in France and worldwide, still driven by the strategic "Fashion and Beauty" sectors and the long-term acceleration in e-commerce penetration;

Performance was underpinned by a volume effect (3.6 million orders over the quarter (+36%) and a bigger average basket (+14%)); Success of an increasingly diverse and high-quality offering, with more premium brands;

Continuing acquisition of new members combined with a good conversion rate (200,000 new buyers);

Launch of the new Marketplace and dynamic business of SRP Media over the quarter. Confirmation of the profitable growth trajectory in 2021

Lock in the acceleration in e-commerce penetration for the long term;

Capitalise on the power of our membership and repeat customer base;

Continue to broaden our brand portfolio whilst maintaining a high level of selectivity;

Accelerate the development of growth drivers such as SRP Media, the new Marketplace and SRP Studio;

Maintain strict control and continuous optimisation of operating expenses;

Profit from the leverage effect of growth on profitability (good absorption of fixed costs).

Showroomprive co-founders and co-CEOs Thierry Petit and David Dayan commented on the performance: "2021 began in promising fashion and confirmed that we are on the right path with our strategic moves. While we may have benefited from a favourable comparison base over the quarter, the key factor was our ability to capitalise on the hard work of recent months that allowed us to build up our offer of premium brands and fully cater to the expectations of our ever-expanding customer base. We attracted many new members, more than 620,000 in this first quarter, and achieved particularly a high transformation rate in a still favourable environment. We are capturing market share and all operational indicators are positive, including those on the profitability plan as business volumes posted amply covered fixed costs in the first quarter. Showroomprive should continue to reap the rewards of its operational optimisation and confirm its profitable growth trajectory."

Q1 2021 HIGHLIGHTS

Revenue analysis

Q1 2020 Q1 2021 Change Net revenues (m) 118.2 178.4 +50.9% Internet revenues 114.8 176.5 +53.7% Other revenues[1] 3.3 1.8 -45.1%

Group net revenues were up sharply (+50.9%) to 178.4 million for the first quarter of 2021. Internet revenues grew even faster: +53.7%, to 176.5 million, with strong growth recorded for nearly all sales sectors. Quarterly performance is all the more impressive given that the ticketing/travel sector continues to be impacted by the ongoing health crisis.

Breaking this down, online sales in France were 147.0 million, up 51.8% over the period, helped by a dynamic performance in the core businesses of online sales. Meanwhile, over the first quarter, Showroomprive continued to develop its growth drivers, with a strong performance for SRP media and the launch of the new Marketplace in January.

Worldwide, revenues grew at a faster pace than in France (+64.1%) to 29.5 million, boosted by a broader offer and a return to solid revenue generation at Saldi Privati.

This continues the performance seen in 2020 and is helped by a favourable quarterly comparison base, the first quarter 2020 having been the last to suffer the negative impacts of the drive to enhance selectivity before Showroomprive began to reap the rewards of its strategic moves and the general long-term acceleration in e-commerce penetration, evident since the start of the health crisis.

Over the period, the Group also continued to shift its model toward drop shipping (25% of sales, +4 percentage points on Q1 2020), while continuing to seize occasional opportunities for firm purchases.

Revenues from other activities (physical clearance of unsold inventory and online returns) amounted to 1.8 million. This non-strategic and relatively unprofitable revenue stream continues to vary from one quarter to the next, mainly because of one-off clearance operations launched by the Group on the physical market. It is recalled that in the first quarter of 2020, the Group completed the sell-off of its surplus inventories, which generated revenues of 3.3 million.

Analysis of key performance indicators (excluding Beauteprivee)

Q1 2020 Q1 2021 Change Cumulative buyers* (millions) 9.9 10.8 +9.2% Buyers** (millions) 1.2 1.5 +26.0% of which repeat buyers*** 1.1 1.3 +24.6% as % of total buyers 89% 87% -2pt Number of orders (millions) 2.6 3.6 +35.8% Revenue per buyer (IFRS) 86.7 106.6 +22.8% Average number of orders per buyer 2.2 2.4 +7.8% Average basket value () 39.2 44.7 +13.9% * All buyers who have made at least one purchase on the Group's platform since its launch

** Member making at least one order during the year

*** Member making at least one order during the year and at least one order in prior years

An increase of 0.2 million cumulative buyers since 1 January 2021 confirms the Group's capacity to attract and convert new customers, thanks in large part to the success of its marketing campaigns. The advertising situation means the Group can continue to seize competitively priced opportunities for multi-channel visibility and enhance the visibility of its offer. This policy of targeted investments repeated over several quarters is generating a positive snowball effect in the new member acquisition trend over the short and medium terms.

The ongoing high level of new member acquisitions, coupled with continuous development of the repeat customer base drove a 26% rise in the number of buyers over the period. At the same time, broadening out the offer to include new premium brands continued to drive up the average basket (to 44.7) and orders per buyer (+7.8%), resulting in revenue per buyer of 106.6 in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 22.8% year-on-year.

OUTLOOK

This very dynamic start to the year confirms the Group's profitable growth trajectory, with the EBITDA margin[2] (as a % of sales) over this period confirming that observed in the second half of 2020.

Over coming quarters, the Group will continue to rely on:

the power of its platform sustained by a solid base of around 25 million members;

continued action to extend and lock in major brands, particularly in the online businesses, in order to increase market share whilst controlling gross margin;

the transition of the purchasing model towards drop shipping;

the continuous development of its growth drivers, such as SRP Media, the new Marketplace, SRP Studio and a recovery in Ticketing and Travel if the health situation improves;

strict control and continuous optimisation of operating expenses. The Group will focus on managing inventory, continued streamlining of logistics and the ramp-up of the new automated logistics warehouse.

UPCOMING INFORMATION

H1 2021 results: 29th July 2021

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release solely contains summary information and is not intended to be detailed. This press release may contain forward-looking information and statements relating to the Group and its subsidiaries. These statements include financial projections and estimates and their underlying hypotheses, statements with respect to plans, to objectives and to expectations relating to operations that are still to come, to future revenues and services, and statements with respect to future performance. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the words "believe", "anticipate", "objective" or similar expressions. Even if the Group believes that the expectations reflected by such forward looking statements are reasonable, investors and shareholders of the Group are advised of the fact that the information and forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally out of the control of the Group, which could imply that the effective results and events can differ significantly and in an unfavourable manner from those that are communicated, implied or indicated by this information and these forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those that are advanced or identified in the documents filed or that are to be filed with the Financial Markets Authority by the Group (in particular those detailed in chapter 4 of the reference document of the Company). The Group does not take on any commitment to publish updates of the forward-looking information, this whether subsequent to new information, to future events or to any other element.

ABOUT showroomprive.com

Showroomprive.com is a European player in event-driven online sales that is innovative and specialized in fashion. Showroomprive proposes a daily selection of more than 3,000 partner brands over its mobile applications or its Internet site in France and in six other countries. Since its creation in 2006, the company has undergone quick growth.

Listed on the Euronext Paris market (code: SRP), Showroomprive achieved a gross internet business volume[3] with all taxes included of more than 962 million euros in 2020, and net revenue of 698 million euros. The Group employs more than 950 people.

For more information: https://www.showroomprivegroup.com

Contacts

Showroomprive ACTUS finance & communication Sylvie Chan Diaz, Investor relations Gregoire Saint-Marc, Investor relations investor.relations@showroomprive.net showroomprive@actus.fr +33 1 53 67 36 94 Priscilla Le Minter, Communication Manon Clairet, Press Relations priscilla.leminter@showroomprive.net mclairet@actus.fr +33 1 76 21 50 16

+33 1 53 67 36 73

[1] Other revenues comprise all physical clearance activities, from both returns handling and the rundown of surplus inventories and SRP Studio activities.

[2] EBITDA, according to the definition used by the Company, is obtained by deducting from net income: the amortisation of assets recognised following a business combination; amortisation and depreciation of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment; the costs of share-based payments, including the expense arising from expensing the fair value of bonus shares and stock options granted to employees over the vesting period; other non-recurring operating income or expenses, net cost of debt and other financial income and expenses, and the tax expense for the year.

[3] Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) is the total amount transactions invoiced, including all taxes. It therefore includes gross online sales, including sales on the Marketplace, other services and other revenues.

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Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-68921-2021_04_28-ca-t1-uk-vdef.pdf
Conversations on National Security is a series of interviews with key national security experts. This interview was conducted by National Institute Research Scholar Dr. Michaela Dodge.

An Interview with Major General Michael J. Lutton, Commander, Twentieth Air Force, Air Force Global Strike Command.

Q. Why is it necessary to modernize the ICBM leg of the Triad?

A. Minuteman III nuclear forces have been a bedrock of U.S. national security for more than five decades. As one looks ahead to the next five decades, the question of investing in U.S. nuclear force modernization is as relevant today as ever. Our nation and allies face an uncertain future full of many challenges. In an era of Great Power Competition, we are playing an infinite game with adversaries playing, not to win once and for all, but to survive and keep playing.

Specifically, Russia, China, and North Korea, share five themes in foreign nuclear development and proliferation:

Increasing numbers or capabilities of weapons in existing programs;

Enduring security threats to weapons and material;

Developing delivery systems with increased capabilities;

Developing nuclear weapons with smaller yields, improved precision, and increased range for military or coercive use on the battlefield;

Developing new nuclear weapons without conducting large-scale nuclear tests.

As Admiral Charles Richard, Commander, U.S. Strategic Command says, Strategic deterrence is the most important mission in the Department of Defense. Or said another way, every O [operational] plan in DoD and every other capability in the Department of Defense assumes that strategic deterrence is holding and if it doesnt, nothing else in the department works the way that we designed it to do.

Q. How will the GBSD be different than Minuteman?

A. The Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) will ensure our nations nuclear force is ready to meet the warfighting needs of today and tomorrow. GBSD is a modern weapon system optimizing fully integrated launch, flight and infrastructure systems with modern command and control features.

GBSD also meets our Combatant Commander and Air Component Commander requirements. GBSD will also take advantage of modern technology for security and logistics and require less invasive maintenance, increasing our overall readiness and making our operations even more efficient. In addition to filling operational requirements and utilizing modern technology, GBSD will also minimize the amount of manpower needed to perform routine maintenance, reducing the number of Airmen needed to ensure readiness and surety.

Q. Some say ICBMs are dangerous because they are on hair trigger alert. How do you assess this argument?

A. Simply put, hair trigger alert is a tactic designed to scare not inform and it is irresponsible to use when discussing U.S. nuclear forces.

Every day, across the nuclear enterprise, nuclear surety and safeguards are at the core of our businessevery process and every procedure. Meticulous checks and balances, disciplined and rigorous training, as well as direct oversight, have been designed into our operational system. The Airmen who operate our weapon systems know that and are highly trained.

Q. Some favor moving to a Dyad by eliminating ICBMs because they are vulnerable or redundant with SLBMs. What unique characteristics make ICBMs valuable? What important characteristics do they have for deterrence that cannot be matched by the other two legs of the strategic Triad?

A. ICBMs maintain the highest degree of nuclear command, control, and communications as well as being the most responsive leg of the nuclear triadon day-to-day alert 24/7/365.

ICBMs also present an insurmountable strategic dilemma for any adversary willing to attempt to strike the United States or an ally. Furthermore, the ICBM is the most cost-effective leg and provides a deterrent umbrella for the United States and our allies.

Q. How expensive would it be to further life extend Minuteman for another two decades as compared to deploying GBSD?

A. The Minuteman III (MM III) was designed for 10 years of service life. It now has been on alert for 50 years, 24/7/365.

An analogy might be, imagine if you had a family emergency where time, technology and equipment was vital to ensuring your loved ones survival. You would want the absolute best ambulance with the best equipment available. However, now imagine that ambulance and equipment was not modern and instead was a 1970s classic. Since its a 50-year-old car, it needed tune ups, equipment replaced, and restoration over the years, but the vendors, equipment and mechanics are no longer available and youre in search of mechanics and companies that must build components from scratch. This also includes the 50-year-old tools and garage to maintain and operate the ambulance. Specifically, with the MM III, it is even more challenging than replacing the parts in a car because there were significantly less missiles made and that number continues to decrease.

Bluntly, because of old age, the subject matter experts who originally engineered the system are no longer around to recreate parts. This also applies to a majority of the original vendors  missing vendors = missing parts, and few current manufacturers can still make parts with now-obsolete technology.

Q. Would further life extension of Minuteman vice deploying GBSD entail increased operational risk  such as safety and security, or survivability?

A. GBSDs modular design is key to lowering lifecycle costs, while providing flexibility as digital engineering and model-based systems engineering are key to lower future costs. Other benefits include:

Operations:

The Command and Control system maximizes the modular design for affordable modernization, maintainability, flexibility and effectiveness.

There will be enhanced targeting capabilities, while retaining the responsiveness.

Personnel: work conditions will be improved for an Airmens quality of life.

Security:

Due to modularity, GBSD will minimize the amount of time it takes to conduct maintenance allowing access to the entire missile without having to remove parts of the weapon system or opening the silo cover for regular maintenance tasks. This reduces hours and exposure of the missile for each issue, which results in a safer and more secure weapon system.

Maintenance:

Improves meantime between failure and reduced component replacement.

Provides modular (line-replaceable/upgradeable) hardware.

Incorporates enhanced diagnostics.

Enables predictive analysis and logistics data collection with supply integration.

We own the technical baseline. Therefore, if components need to be modernized, we own the baseline to do so instead of contracting for it.

Q. Critics contend ICBMs are only relevant to deterring an attack on the U.S. homeland. Can you elaborate on the importance of the GBSD program for U.S. allies?

A. The twenty-first century strategic deterrence that Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) provides is vitally important to the defense of both our nation and its allies. A modernized force ensures the nation has a reliable, safe and lethal nuclear deterrent. This also extends to our allies, who know they can rely on and trust our lethal force.

To paraphrase Gen. Tim Ray, AFGSC commander, the extended deterrence provided to them by Global Strike is an important part of their strategic calculus. Strategic deterrence looms large in the minds of our partners and allies every day.

Q. Russia appears to be advancing its strategic missile defense capabilities. Does this have implications for extending Minuteman vs. deploying GBSD? Or for the value of ICBMs in general?

A. ICBMs are the most responsive leg of the nuclear triad and have been operating for 50+ years. For the Minuteman III to be usefully life extended, the United States would need to replace a number of major components which, even if accomplished at cost and on time, would still fall short of the Defense Departments requirementsincluding accommodating modern safety and security features and technologies.

Several analyses and continued validation of previous findings conclude it is more cost-effective to replace the system and repurpose the silos. GBSD provides a more capable ICBM within the cost estimate for reprocuring the existing Minuteman III capability. Additionally, the GBSD design will provide the United States with a system that is more readily adaptable to evolving threats while significantly reducing the total cost of ownership for the ICBM. To put it simply, a Minuteman III SLEP costs more and is less efficient than a system replacement while providing no additional capabilities to close our operational gaps both now and in the future.

Q. The GBSD Environmental Assessment states that It is in the best interest of national security to replace the Minuteman III weapon systembefore age, diminishing manufacturing sources, and material shortages make Minuteman III sustainability difficult, putting the nation at risk. What is the risk referring to??

A. One would need to speak to the author of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS); however, risk is likely referring to an ability to sustain Minuteman III and that sustainment of the deterrent force is at risk  thus the nation is at risk.

Gen. John Hyten, then the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said it best during a 2017 interview: If you look at every element of the nuclear enterprise, it has to be modernized. All our stuff is old. Its still ready, safe, secure, reliable; but its old.

Minuteman III was designed for only 10 years of service life. It has now been operating for more than 50 years, 24/7/365. Every single day, it is getting harder and harder to maintain due to the components and manufacturers, which may longer be in existence.

Q. Those who oppose the GBSD program argue that the original Analysis of Alternatives assumptions on which the Air Force recommended a new missile rather than a Minuteman III life extension are no longer valid, among other reasons because the costs of the GBSD program went up. Is this assessment accurate?

A. Its important to note that GBSD is not just a new missile but optimal, fully integrated launch, flight and infrastructure systems with modern command and control features. An analysis of alternatives for GBSD was conducted under the Obama administration which determined that while the MM III SLEP was possible it came with a higher cost than replacement by a technically-advanced successorGBSD. This was revalidated for a report to Congress in October 2019. Capability cost trades revealed billions of dollars saved by going with GBSD versus sustaining MM III. Furthermore, in order for SLEPing not to affect ICBM availability, the extension strategy would have had to begin years ago. There is no margin left in the existing weapon systems to stretch the MM III any further  this is not the kind of business where you want to invite a sustainment lapse that gets you into a security and safety issue. More importantly, the longer we wait to modernize, our adversaries continue to upgrade their nuclear capabilities.

This article appeared originally at National Institute for Public Policy.

The National Institute for Public Policys Information Series is a periodic publication focusing on contemporary strategic issues affecting U.S. foreign and defense policy. It is a forum for promoting critical thinking on the evolving international security environment and how the dynamic geostrategic landscape affects U.S. national security. Contributors are recognized experts in the field of national security.

The views in this Information Series are those of the author and should not be construed as official U.S. Government policy, the official policy of the National Institute for Public Policy or any of its sponsors. For additional information about this publication or other publications by the National Institute Press, contact: Editor, National Institute Press, 9302 Lee Highway, Suite 750 |Fairfax, VA 22031 | (703) 293- 9181 |www.nipp.org. For access to previous issues of the National Institute Press Information Series, please visit http://www.nipp.org/nationalinstitutepress/information-series/.  National Institute Press, 2021
Appointment

28 April 2021

International luxury hospitality leader Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts announces the addition of Marc Speichert to its executive leadership team in the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, effective May 3, 2021.

Speichert joins Four Seasons in this newly created role at a critical time in the hospitality industry. He will oversee the development and execution of the company's integrated commercial strategy with a mandate that includes the identification of new products and markets; revenue growth across the company; brand marketing, global public relations and social media; data analytics, market insights and customer engagement; the brand's extensive digital ecosystem; and global distribution and worldwide reservations.

In collaboration with other members of the executive leadership team, Speichert will be involved in all touchpoints of the Four Seasons guest experience, from the brand's hotels and resorts, restaurants, bars and spas, to the growing Four Seasons residential portfolio and product extensions including the Four Seasons Private Jet and online retail program, as well as digital engagement through social media and the Four Seasons App.

Prior to joining Four Seasons, Speichert was Global Chief Digital Officer at GSK Consumer Healthcare for four years, where he led the digital transformation of its marketing functions, and more recently added supply chain, research and development, and the company's broader marketing transformation to his scope of work.

Previously, Speichert was a senior executive at Google on its global clients and agency solutions team, partnering with major global brands including Estee Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsi, Microsoft and Apple. Prior to Google, he was the first Chief Marketing Officer at L'Oreal, spearheading the brand's digital strategy to global recognition as a leader among packaged goods companies. He began his marketing career with a progressive twelve-year tenure at Colgate-Palmolive.

Speichert holds a Masters in Marketing Management from ESCP Business School in Paris, and has many industry accolades to his credit, including being named among the World's Top 25 Most Influential CMOs by Forbes Magazine as well as being recognised as a top healthcare influencer and transformer by MM&M (Medical, Marketing & Media).

Speichert currently serves as Chairman of MMA Global's Chief Digital Officer Board (CDO Board), helping member organisations re-think the ever-evolving needs of consumers and customers in an increasingly digital world. He also sits on the advisory board of Glasswing Ventures, a VC fund focused on funding entrepreneurs harnessing the power of AI and frontier technologies.

Speichert will initially be based in London, England with plans to relocate to Four Seasons offices in New York City.
A man who was fatally shot by police in Atlantic County after stealing a police vehicle ran toward officers with his arm behind his back and ignored commands to show his hands, according to police dashcam footage released by state investigators on Tuesday.

Roy K. Jackel, Jr., 41, of Wildwood Crest, was shot by Sgt. David Jernegan, of the Franklin Township police in Gloucester County, on April 5 near Cumberland Avenue and Oak Road in Buena Vista, according to the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office, which released police vehicle dashcam footage and audio recordings from the deadly encounter.

The Attorney Generals Office of Public Integrity and Accountability is continuing to investigate the death, which is required in cases when someone is killed during an official encounter with law enforcement, officials said.

Franklin police initially responded as mutual aid into neighboring Buena Vista, Atlantic County, to investigate a vehicle crash involving Jackel near Cumberland Road and Tuckahoe Road, according to authorities. Jackel ran from the scene into a wooded-area before he returned and jumped into an unoccupied marked police vehicle and drove away, authorities said.

Jackel ran at the officers with his arm behind his back and did not stop when one said, lemme see your hands, the video released Tuesday showed, confirming an account released by authorities.

After a brief pursuit, Mr. Jackel stopped the stolen police vehicle. He exited the vehicle and ran toward the officers, holding his arm behind his back and ignoring their commands to show his hands, the attorney generals office said in a statement. As Mr. Jackel neared the officers, Sgt. Jernegan discharged his firearm, striking Mr. Jackel.

Officers provided medical care to Jackel until emergency medical services arrived, according to the statement. He died at the scene, the office said.

Police dispatch communications during the incident indicate officers initially believed Jackel could have a gun, according to audio recordings released by authorities.

Authorities have not said any firearm was found and police footage does not appear to show Jackel with a gun.

In another audio recording, a woman who identified herself as Jackels wife called police to say she was trying to find her husband.

He hasnt slept in three days...because he hasnt slept in so many days Im very concerned, the woman told a police operator. I just want to know that hes OK, the woman stated in the call.

The woman told police her husband was visiting his parents in Williamstown and she thought he might be in an accident.

NJ Advance Media has been unable to reach any family members of Jackel. He was a married father of two children, his obituary said.

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Burma Civilian Resistance Fighters Kill Three Myanmar Regimes Troops

The entrance to Tamu. / The Irrawaddy

Three junta troops and a mutineer from Myanmars army died in a shootout in Tamu, Sagaing Region, on Tuesday night, according to residents.

The mutineer from Myanmars military, Ko Aung Aung, was providing security for a protest camp near Kuntaung Bridge when the security forces approached at around 7.30 pm on Tuesday.

Shooting erupted and he died, said a Tamu resident.

Following the shooting, members of the Tamu Security Group, a civilian resistance group which opposes military rule, used bombs against the security forces at an India-Myanmar friendship construction site, leaving three troops dead.

As the security forces were going to Kuntaung Bridge, civilian resistance fighters attacked from the rear. The attackers said three soldiers died and two others were rescued in a critical condition, said a TSG member.

On April 2, a striking policeman led civilian resistance fighters in an attack on the junta outpost. Five troops were killed in the attack and the policeman also died.

Ko Aung Aung, whose rank is unknown, reportedly joined the civil disobedience movement soon after the Feb. 1 coup. Around 50 soldiers and police officers have sided with the people in Tamu on the Indian border and have been fighting the junta alongside civilians.

The shootout on Tuesday was the first since April 12 when Myanmars military used heavy force against anti-regime protests in Tamu.

At least 15 junta troops have been killed by civilian resistance fighters from the Chinland Defence Force in Mindat in southern Chin State.



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Islamabad, April 28 : Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday indicated that the government might go for complete lockdown in coronavirus-hit cities and stressed the need for smooth supplies of food items during lockdown.

"The Prime Minister has directed that food supplies should be improved if we go for complete lockdown," said federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry in a press conference after weekly cabinet meeting.

The cabinet meeting, presided over by the Prime Minister, decided that Iran would be asked to export oxygen to Pakistan for Covid-19 patients on humanitarian basis by relaxing the ban the neighbouring country had imposed on oxygen export due to the alarming situation of Covid-19 it was facing, the Dawn reported.

Keeping in view the Covid-19 catastrophe in India, the meeting also decided to increase local production of oxygen by 250 tonnes per day and reduce use of oxygen in some industries. On this, Minister for Industries Khusro Bakhtiyar is holding an important meeting on Wednesday with all stakeholders.

Meanwhile, a cabinet member, who did not want to be named, told Dawn that the government feared that it would have to impose complete lockdown if the intensity of spread of coronavirus increased by 14 per cent and above.

Then the government would have no other option but to impose complete lockdown, he added.

He said the government had decided to supply 250 additional tonnes of oxygen to the hospitals through which 2,500 chronic coronavirus patients could be treated.

The cabinet member said that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who had recently returned from Iran, informed the meeting about worst pandemic situation in Iran and said he had asked Iranian government for supply of oxygen to Pakistan.

Qureshi asked the prime minister to take measures to convince Iran to lift ban on oxygen export to the extent of supplying it to Pakistan. He said that the government was also considering import of oxygen from China.

Fawad Chaudhry said that as oxygen could not be airlifted therefore it would be imported by road which meant it would take six to seven weeks to reach to the country.

He said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had imposed complete lockdown in Mardan city where positivity rate had gone up to 40 per cent. "The city has become a threat to the adjoining towns and cities," he added.

The minister said, "The prime minister while chairing a meeting of National Coordination Committee, had observed that in case complete lockdown was imposed, the government would have to ensure supply of essential commodities." "The government had decided to announce five-day Eid holidays so that people could spend holidays in their towns and villages reducing burden on cities because the trend of spread of coronavirus was higher in urban areas as compared to rural areas," he said, adding that the five-day Eid holidays would ease burden on the cities as the pandemic is an urban phenomenon.

The minister said that Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal and Minister for Planning Asad Umar briefed the cabinet about the latest coronavirus situation in the country and said around 5,000 Covid-19 patients were in critical condition, which was the highest number as compared to the last two peaks of the contagion when the maximum number of serious patients remained 3,400.

Chaudhry said that currently Pakistan was producing 792 metric tonnes of oxygen on daily basis to meet the requirement of Covid-19 patients. The situation in the country would have been different had it not allocated additional 7,000 ventilators for Covid-19 patients and doubled the production of oxygen during the last one year.

About the vaccination, he said that so far two million people had been vaccinated. The vaccine was fully safe for human health, he said and urged the people to get themselves vaccinated against the virus as around one billion people across the world had so far been immunised against the disease.

He said that 3.7 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine were available in the country and now people of forty years of age and above were eligible for vaccination.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Westwind Integrated Health Offers Extended Hours for Dental and Primary Care in Phoenix, AZ The team at WIH wants to assure that their community keeps their whole body healthy and that no one misses the opportunity to receive necessary primary care or dental care due to time restrictions.

Westwind Integrated Health now offers extended hours, including weekend hours, to make it more convenient for patients to receive care. While many businesses are reducing working hours due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Westwind Integrated Health team is taking action to extend their availability in order to provide primary care and dental care in Phoenix, AZ to those who need it most right now.

With a new spike in COVID-19 cases across the country, Westwind Integrated Health (WIH) is urging patients to not let necessary primary care or dental care fall by the wayside. The doctors and dentists of WIH stand firmly behind the concept of whole-body health. This means, if one part of the body is unhealthy, it weakens the strength of the body as a whole. This is especially important to consider as the world is fighting the coronavirus.

The team at WIH wants to assure that their community keeps their whole body healthy and that no one misses the opportunity to receive necessary primary care or dental care due to time restrictions. In an effort to keep their communitys health in optimum condition, WIH is now offering their services, including well visits, dental implants, laser gum disease treatment, and emergency dental care, during extended weekday and weekend hours.

Research shows a connection between oral health concerns such as gum disease, and whole-body concerns such as diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. A recent study from the American Dental Association revealed that dentists are seeing a rise in stress-related oral health conditions since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. This research backs WIHs stance that the body, mind, and mouth are connected and should be cared for as a whole. With that goal in mind, WIH can provide gum disease treatment and a well visit appointment in the same day. Similarly, a person can receive dental implants and discuss proper nutrition with their general practitioner in the same appointment. The doctors and dentists at WIH want their patients to leave the office in the healthiest state possible, and are able to do so with this integrated approach.

As the Phoenix community slowly returns to working full-time, Westwind Integrated Health is adjusting working hours to meet its needs. Each WIH location stays open until 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Their downtown office opens early, at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday, and the main Phoenix location is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Another benefit of these extended hours is the ability to space out appointments. Westwind Integrated Health is doing everything in their power to stop the spread of COVID-19. They are spacing out appointments, limiting the number of people allowed in the office at a time, and following strict sanitization protocols to keep their patients and staff safe and protected.

Individuals seeking primary care and dental care in Phoenix, AZ can connect with the doctors and dentists at Westwind Integrated Health for a consultation. To schedule an appointment at any of the nine practice locations, visit http://www.westwindintegratedhealth.com or call 602-457-8024.

About the Practice

Westwind Integrated Health offers dental and primary care from nine locations in the Glendale and Phoenix, AZ areas. As the only private practice in Arizona and one of only a few practices in the country to combine dental and medical care, this team is innovating health care by offering truly comprehensive care with a whole-body approach. Comprised of a multi-disciplinary team of medical doctors and dental clinicians, Westwind Integrated Health offers specialized general dentistry, orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery. Plus, under the same roof, patients can receive physicals and wellness exams, vision and hearing screenings, vaccinations, nutritional counseling, and minor injury treatment. The family of practices focuses on building genuine patient relationships, comprehensive and state-of-the-art treatment, and improving the long-term health and wellbeing of their patients. To learn more about the multi-specialty team, visit http://www.westwindintegratedhealth.com or call 602-457-8024 to schedule an integrated health consultation.
EaseUS, a leading software company with 16 years of experience, today officially released an all-in-one PDF maker, reader, editor and converter - EaseUS PDF Editor, after introduced screen recording software and video editing software. With an intuitive UI and workflow, now it enables users to view, convert, edit, create, merge, split, compress, sign, encrypt, remove password from PDF, even add watermark to PDF. This newly released PDF editing software is well-designed for all levels of users, no tech knowledge required.

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The local unemployment rate held at 8.8% in March, but Steven Zellers, a state industry and business analyst, sees some promising signs for the area.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area has done a better job recovering jobs lost during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic than the state did.

From May 2020 to March 2021, the local metro area recovered 64.2% of jobs while the state recovered 63.3%, Zellers said.

"Small, incremental positive moves is how we're going to get to where we need to be until they remove all the restrictions and people get vaccinated," Zellers said.

While the unemployment rate remained unchanged, the local labor force for the area consisting of Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wyoming counties grew by 400.

The fact that employment rose in both the goods producing and service producing sectors over the last month in the region is another positive sign, Zellers said.

Zellers noted some industry groups within the local metro area are doing comparatively better than the statewide totals.

The mining, logging and construction sector was up 500 jobs over the month  a 5.4% gain  while it was up just 1.6% across the state, he said.

Zellers added even through jobs in the transportation, warehousing and utilities sector were down slightly over the month, the area remains up 800 jobs over the year  a 3.2% gain  while there has been a decline of a tenth of a percentage point across the state.

The state unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point in March to 7.3%. The national rate dipped two-tenths of a percentage point to 6%.

Satyajit Ghosh, Ph.D., a University of Scranton economist, is encouraged by the drop in unemployment rate in Lackawanna County from 8.4% in February to 7.8% in March. During that time, the county added 500 jobs.

"It seems like we're on the right path," Ghosh said. "One month can't tell us the whole story, but it seems like we could be setting up a good improvement going into the summer months."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks to the media after the Republican leaders' weekly lunch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 23, 2021. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

McConnell: GOP Unlikely to Back Stand-Alone Dreamer Bill Unless It Addresses Border Crisis

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on April 27 that Republicans would be unlikely to support a stand-alone bill addressing the issue of people living illegally in the United States after entering as children, nicknamed Dreamers, unless the legislation takes a broader swipe at resolving the border crisis.

McConnell made the remarks at a Senate Republican leadership news conference, during which he blamed President Joe Bidens messaging on the border and immigration reform for the surge in illegal immigration.

Well, all I can tell you is that everybody is sympathetic with the DACA issue, McConnell said, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an Obama-era framework that protects Dreamers from deportation.

But, as a practical matter, given the crisis at the border  I cant imagine that we would take up an immigration-related bill, no matter how worthy it might be  without insistence on our part that we address the obvious crisis at the border that is directly related to what appeared to be an invitation by the new president to come on up.

McConnells comments on Republicans being unlikely to back stand-alone legislation echoed remarks made by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who, along with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), introduced the Dream Act of 2021 in February, proposing a pathway to lawful permanent residency and American citizenship to people without lawful status who were brought to the United States as children.

For years, I have supported a solution for the Dream Act population who were brought to the United States by their parents as minors, Graham said in a statement. I do not believe this legislation will pass and be signed into law as a stand-alone measure. I believe it will be a starting point for us to find bipartisan breakthroughs providing relief to the Dreamers and also repairing a broken immigration system, Graham said, adding that he looks forward to working with Durbin and others to find a way forward.

Durbin, who is leading bipartisan talks on the matter, told reporters last week that he thought that any agreement on the DACA issue would need a border security component to get enough GOP buy-in to clear the Senate filibuster.

McConnells remarks also come as the GOP has intensified its criticism of the Biden administration for its handling of the border surge, which in the month of March saw Border Patrol apprehend 172,000 illegal immigrants, the most in a single month in 20 years, according to statistics released on April 8 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

A coalition of Republican senators who recently visited the southern border wrote a letter to President Joe Biden on April 26, urging him to take swift action and reverse his policy decisions that they say have caused the border surge.

Republican lawmakers have long argued that the burgeoning crisis is a result of Bidens move to overturn several Trump-era immigration policies that helped curbed the flow of illegal border crossings. This includes his predecessors cornerstone Migrant Protection Protocol, which effectively ended the problematic catch and release policy, significantly stemming the surge of illegal immigrants that were seen at the southern border in 2019.

The Biden administration has repeatedly said it inherited a broken immigration system that will take some time to fix, while blaming the border surge on seasonal factors and on dire conditions in immigrants home countries. Part of Bidens strategy is to address the root causes of migration by providing aid to Central America.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged last week that the administration had not anticipated the influx of illegal border crossings following its policy changes, but she continued to downplay the severity of the situation by insisting that the situation at the border was not a crisis. Her comments came after Biden, in a rare admission, used the word crisis to refer to the surge of unaccompanied minors at the border.

The DACA program, meanwhile, has for years been a hot-button issue. It was created by an executive order signed in 2012 by former President Barack Obama, following failed immigration reform negotiations on Capitol Hill.

Many conservatives, including former President Donald Trump, have argued that DACA is unconstitutional, although Trump expressed sympathy for the Dreamers plight and indicated openness to a negotiated, bipartisan solution.

Trump tried to end the DACA program in 2017, saying at the time that winding it down would provide Congress a window of opportunity to act on the issue, but bitter partisan divisions over immigration meant that never happened.

DACA defenders say that the recipients should not be faulted for their parents decision to violate U.S. immigration laws to bring them into the country. They argue that there would be a number of social and economic costs should the program end. They say many of these recipients have contributed to the U.S. economy, and removing the program would threaten the nations future workforce and impose massive costs to employers who currently employ these people.

For DACA opponents, the case represents an overreach of executive authority and a usurpation of Congresss lawmaking powers. They have argued that Obama exercised unlawful executive authority to create the program and that only Congress can enact such a policy under its authority over immigration matters.

Opponents have also taken issue with the fact that DACA grants benefits to these recipients ahead of other immigrants who are toiling through legal channels to gain immigration and naturalization in the United States.

Janita Kan contributed to this report.
GOTEBORG, Sweden, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

At Vitrolife's Annual General Meeting today, the following, amongst other things, was decided:

The Board's proposed dividend of SEK 0.80 per share for the financial year 2020 was approved. Friday April 30, 2021 was adopted as the record day.

Re-election of Board members Henrik Blomquist, Lars Holmqvist, Pia Marions, Jon Sigurdsson and Karen Lykke Sorensen, in accordance with the election committee's proposal. Jon Sigurdsson was re-elected Chairman of the Board.

Remuneration to the members of the Board shall be totaling SEK 2,165,000, of which SEK 825,000 to the Chairman of the Board, SEK 275,000 to each of the other members of the Board, SEK 60,000 to the Chairman of the Audit Committee, SEK 60,000 to the Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and SEK 30,000 to the other members of these committees.

Authorization for the Board, for the time up until the next Annual General Meeting and on one or more occasions, to take a decision on the issue of a maximum of 10,850,000 shares in total, corresponding to just below 10 percent of the company's share capital.

The Board was authorized to take a decision, up until the next Annual General Meeting and on one or more occasions, with regard to the acquisition of the company's own shares. The Company can at no time hold more than 10 percent of the total shares in the Company.

The proposed principles for remuneration and other conditions of employment for the senior management were approved including the establishment of a share-based incentive program.

Gothenburg, April 28, 2021VITROLIFE AB (publ)The Board

CONTACT:

Queries should be addressed to:Thomas Axelsson, CEO, tel 46 31 721 80 01Mikael Engblom, CFO, tel 46 31 721 80 14

The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 5.00 pm CET on April 28, 2021.

This is a translation of the Swedish version of the press release. When in doubt, the Swedish wording prevails.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/vitrolife-ab--publ-/r/report-from-annual-general-meeting-of-vitrolife-ab--publ-,c3335566

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/1031/3335566/1409003.pdf Report from Annual General Meeting

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/report-from-annual-general-meeting-of-vitrolife-ab-publ-301279282.html

SOURCE Vitrolife AB (publ)
Spotlight On: Phishing

Spotlight On: Phishing

One of the most common cyber attacks that Michigan residents experience is phishing. While this type of digital threat is not new, phishing campaigns are continuing to increase in their frequency and sophistication. They have also become important parts of other cyber crimes, such as ransomware attacks.

Dont get hooked. Protect yourself by learning more about phishing and what resources the State of Michigan offers to help combat and respond to phishing attempts.



What is a phishing scam?

Phishing scams are attempts by criminals and other malicious individuals to trick users into giving up sensitive information, using:

Text messages

Apps (including messaging)

Email

Social media

Phone calls

A successful phishing attempt can result in compromised online accounts, from email and social media to bank accounts. Recovering from a successful phishing attack can take a great deal of time and effort, and compromised accounts are often used to target victims friends and family.



What happens during a phishing scam?

During a phishing attempt, you may receive a communication that:

Appears to come from a familiar contact, such as a family member, a friend, or a business or organization that you interact with frequently. A scammer may have even personalized their message with information about you from social media to trick you into thinking the sender is someone you know.

Looks official or branded with logos and other formatting. Scammers also use spoofing and URL shorteners to make a link look less suspicious.

Urges you to act immediately. Messages that have legal, financial, occupational, or health-related ramifications will no doubt capture your attention. Phishing scammers use urgency to get you to act without thinking.



What should I do if I receive a phishing message?

If you suspect that you are part of a phishing scam, trust your instincts.

If the message doesnt feel right, dont act on it. Dont share personal information, especially financial account numbers.

For email and text messages, mark the source as spam and block the sender to avoid similar scams in the future. Then, delete the email or text message.

If you believe a phone call is a phishing scam, do not engage with the caller. Simply hang up.

If you arent sure about a message or call that seems urgent being a phishing attempt:

Wait before you act. Sometimes, closing the email or text for a moment or putting the call on hold gives you a moment to get a better perspective on the issue.

Sometimes, closing the email or text for a moment or putting the call on hold gives you a moment to get a better perspective on the issue. Investigate. Preview any links in an email by hovering your cursor over the web address or a text by pressing and holding the link.

Preview any links in an email by hovering your cursor over the web address or a text by pressing and holding the link. Reach out. For callers, look up the main contact number for the organization and call them back to verify the call was real.



What services does the state of Michigan offer residents to help with phishing?

First, protect yourself with Michigan Secure. This free mobile device protection app available to Michigan residents warns you when suspicious activity, such as a malicious app, or a questionable link, is detected on your device. Best of all, Michigan Secure protects your mobile device without collecting or transmitting your personal information.

If you would like details on recent phishing scams, visit the State of Michigan Attorney Generals Consumer Alerts site. If you believe that you may be the victim of a phishing scam, complete the Michigan Attorney General Consumer Complaint Form.

If you suspect that your business or organization may have been the victim of a large-scale phishing activity, contact the Michigan State Polices Michigan Cyber Command Center (MC3) by calling 1-877-MI-CYBER or emailing MC3@michigan.gov.



Related Links

Michigan Secure App

Michigan Cybersecurity

Michigan Cyber Civilian Corps (MiC3)

Michigan State Police Cyber Command Center
Retirement Funds Bring Climate Change Pressure on Australias 200 Biggest Companies

Company directors deemed to be moving too slowly on climate change will face increased pressure from Australias largest retirement funds.

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), comprised of 37 superannuation companies, will recommend members vote against the re-election of directors deemed to have fallen short on addressing climate change.

ACSI will be communicating with the boards of the ASX200, Australias 200 largest publicly listed companies.

The move also comes following the release of the book, The Dictatorship of Woke Capital: How Political Correctness Captured Big Business, which details how social justice causes now permeate the corporate sector.

Along with voting against directors, ACSI is also pushing for annual Say on Climate votes, giving members the chance to have a say on the progress of the companys climate-change initiatives at Annual General Meetings (AGM).

Climate change risks are deeply embedded in the financial system and impact all sectors and asset classes, she said. For long-term investors, this poses a serious challenge to long-term value creation across investment portfolios, Louise Davidson, CEO of ACSI, said in a statement.

Davidson claimed some companies had not accepted advice on climate change action and said the action was too slow in some cases.

Electricity lines in Melbourne, Australia, Oct. 22, 2012. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

In order to increase the focus on climate-related risks in the companies they invest, ACSI may recommend members vote against the re-election of directors, she said

ACSI and our members will constructively engage with companies; however, where a company fails to meet investor expectations, we will take action. Our members will not shy away from this responsibility.

The group was established in 2001 to provide a strong, collective voice on environmental, social, and governance issues. The ACSI Board is comprised of executives from superannuation firms such as AustralianSuper, REST, Hostplus, Aware Super, and HESTA.

According to ACSI, its members (individuals and institutions) own around 10 percent of every ASX200 company, valued at over $1 trillion.

Major energy companies Woodside, Santos, Rio Tinto, and Oil Search, have already agreed to host Say on Climate votes at their 2022 AGM.

Cian Hussey, a research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairsa free-market think tank said even if Australia were to de-industrialise overnight, it would have no impact on global emissions.

ACSI and its member industry superannuation funds are promoting abstract emissions targets which will have no impact on the climate, but which will destroy the jobs of mainstream Australians and undermine the Australian way of life, he told The Epoch Times.

Chinese workers commute as smoke billows from a coal-fired power plant in Shanxi, China, on Nov. 25, 2015. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Destroying the jobs of members who are compelled to give superfunds a cut of their pay is not acting in the best interest of those members, he added. This is the latest example of inner-city elites imposing their interests at the expense of mainstream Australians.

Sam Kennard, CEO of Kennards Storage, said this was another reason many business owners avoid listing their companies on stock exchanges.

There is a commonly held view that being listed is excruciatingly painful, he told The Epoch Times. There are too many analysts and activists trying to influence listed companies on governance and social causes.

The scrutiny and short-term financial horizon that the investors and stakeholders impose is quite a burden. Private companies can instead get on with business without the distraction.

Stephen Soukup, author of The Dictatorship of Woke Capital: How Political Correctness Captured Big Business, outlined how Marxist-leftist ideas began their steady infiltration of the U.S. corporate sector in the 1970s, and gradually evolved and expanded over the decades.

Within the last 10 years or so, the new version of socially responsible investing, which goes by the initials ESGwhich stands for environmental, social, and corporate governancebegan to be slightly more aggressive and has grown more and more aggressive as time has gone by, he told The Epoch Times Crossroads program.

Protestors are seen during an Extinction Rebellion Protest in Brisbane, Thursday, April 22, 2021. (AAP Image/Darren England)

This has become sort of the de facto way to achieve social ends within this community of professional investors, who have moved significantly to the left over the past quarter-century, he said.

In many cases, investors will try to steer or influence the companys direction via pressure during shareholder meetings or threats of losing further investment in the company. The result is directors feel compelled to adopt policies to address issues such as gender equality or climate change.

For example, last year, one of Australias Big Four banks, ANZ, vowed to end investment in thermal mines and power stations by 2030 in response to climate change.

For ACSI, whether its 10 percent collective ownership of major ASX200 companies is enough to sway executives remains to be seen, especially if their climate focus clashes with the interests of other shareholders.

The initiative also comes amid the backdrop of the Leaders Summit on Climate last week, where major industrialised nations pledged new emissions targets to be reached by 2030.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison steered clear of setting new targets, saying the country was already on track to meet established targets under the 2020 Kyoto Protocol and 2030 Paris Agreement.
COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna are 94 percent effective at preventing people 65 and older from winding up hospitalized for the infection, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (DC) report finds.

That puts the the efficacy rate about as high as what was found in clinical trials, and helps to assuage fears that the vaccines wouldn't work as well in older people who have weaker immune systems.

The CDC report also found that risk of hospitalization fell by 64 percent after seniors got their first dose of the two-dose shots.

However, the study notes that the shot was not very protective until two weeks after the first dose was given, highlighting the need - especially among vulnerable seniors - for people to continue to wear masks and social distance between doses.

'These findings are encouraging and welcome news for the two-thirds of people aged 65 and up who are already fully vaccinated,' said CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky in an emailed statement.

Being fully vaccinated with Covid shots made by Pfizer or Moderna cuts the risk of being hospitalized for COVID-19 by 94% for seniors, a new CDC report found. One shot reduced the risk by 64%, but only if two weeks had passed since the first dose

Seniors aged 65 or older make up about 80% of all US Covid deaths , but more than two-thirds are now vaccinated. The study did not include vaccinations with the Johnson & Johnson shot, which is helping health care workers bring vaccinations to seniors at home (pictured, file)

Nearly 68 percent of Americans aged 65 or older are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and most of them got shots made by Pfizer and Moderna.

About 82 percent of seniors have had at least one dose.

Americans who are 65 or older make up more than 80 percent of the Covid death toll in the U.S., according to CDC data.

That made them top-priority for vaccination, alongside health care workers.

In large clinical trials, Pfizer's vaccine was 95 percent effective at preventing severe illness from COVID-19, and Moderna's was 94 percent effective.

However, those figures were the aggregate of the shots' efficacies in all age groups, although each trial included thousands of people aged 65 or older.

Analyses specific to older people from each trial found that vaccine efficacy fell off with age.

For Pfizer, the decrease was miniscule, with the shot preventing 94 percent of illnesses, rather than 95.

But for Moderna, the dip was more worrisome. The shots were only 86 percent effective in the 65-and-up group.

Elderly people often don't develop protection as strong as that seen in younger people after vaccination for one of the same reasons that they become sicker if they get COVID-19.

With age, 'immunosenescence' sets in. This is a process by which the immune system starts to degrade, making an older person's body slower to respond to an infection, and poorer at fighting it off.

That also means they may have a slower, weaker response to vaccines meant to train their bodies to respond to a virus and produce antibodies against it.

Encouragingly, real-world data from Israel amid its wildrife vaccination campaign showed that Pfizer's shot seemed to maintain its protectiveness, even for elderly people.

But less was known about how Moderna's shot would hold up in the real world.

The CDC study found that the level of protection for seniors was high after two doses, no matter which shot they got.

Between January 1 and March 26, the CDC collected data on 417 patients at 24 hospital systems across the country.

Of those, 187 had COVID-19 and 230 were controls.

Nineteen of the patients (in the overall group) had had a first dose of Covid vaccine made by either Pfizer or Moerna more than two weeks before they came to the hospital.

Just one of the 19 people who was hospitalized for COVID-19 was fully vaccinated, while the other 18 had had just a first dose.

That means that the risk of hospitalization for Covid was reduced by 94 percent for fully vaccinated people 65 and older, and by 64 percent for those who got just one dose.

'COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective and these real-world findings confirm the benefits seen in clinical trials, preventing hospitalizations among those most vulnerable,' said Dr Walensky.

'The results are promising for our communities and hospitals. As our vaccination efforts continue to expand, COVID-19 patients will not overwhelm health care systems - leaving hospital staff, beds, and services available for people who need them for other medical conditions.'
Defense

Court will hear case against Trump on JEDI

A federal court will allow a complaint to proceed alleging political inference by former President Donald Trump in the award of a $10 billion, 10-year cloud computing contract to Microsoft in October 2019.

Judge Patricia E. Campbell-Smith of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims issued a ruling under seal on April 28 denying a motion by the U.S. government to dismiss the claim.

That means a lawsuit by Amazon Web Services, alleging that Trump actively steered the award in the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud contract, can go forward. If the U.S. continues with the case, it will have to continue to argue that Trump did not act improperly during the lengthy and contested solicitation process.

Pentagon spokesman Russell Goemaere said in January, just over a week after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, that DOD "has consistently stated in all court filings, and public discussions, that the allegation of improper influence is not supported. The DOD IG considered these allegations and found no evidence that improper influence occurred or affected the procurement process or award decision."

Attorneys for AWS have argued that the decisions to award Microsoft the contract, and to reaffirm that award in September 2020 after allowing for revisions to the original bid, reflected long-standing animus of Trump toward Jeff Bezos, founder of AWS parent company Amazon.

The court at least is willing to listen to evidence to the contrary, and that could mean a change in direction for DOD's cloud plans.

"The record of improper influence by former President Trump is disturbing, and we are pleased the Court will review the remarkable impact it had on the JEDI contract award," an AWS spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "AWS continues to be the superior technical choice, the less expensive choice, and would provide the best value to the DOD and the American taxpayer."

In January, DOD's CIO told Congress that it could move on from JEDI if the litigation drags on. The program has been under a stop-work order because of the lawsuit since February 2020.

The "prospect of such a lengthy litigation process might bring the future of the JEDI Cloud procurement into question," the unsigned DOD communication to Congress stated. "Under this scenario, the DOD CIO would reassess the strategy going forward."

According to Microsoft corporate vice president Frank X. Shaw, the ruling "changes little."

"Not once, but twice, professional procurement staff at the DOD chose Microsoft after a thorough review. Many other large and sophisticated customers make the same choice every week," Shaw said. "We've continued for more than a year to do the internal work necessary to move forward on JEDI quickly, and we continue to work with DOD, as we have for more than 40 years, on mission critical initiatives from supporting its rapid shift to remote work to the Army's IVAS," a reference to the military's $22 billion augmented reality headset program, which recently scaled up from a pilot to production.
Marvin Scott III's death has been ruled a homicide in a medical examiner report

The death of Marvin Scott III is now being considered a potential homicide by a medical examiner, weeks after the Texas man died in police custody.

Scott died on March 14 after being taken into custody for alleged misdemeanor marijuana possession.

While being booked, Scott, 26, was pepper sprayed and had a spit mask placed on his face when he was exhibiting 'strange behavior.'

Hours later he became unresponsive while being placed on a restraint bed and was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

In a release on Wednesday, the Collin County Medical Examiner referred to Scott's death as a homicide in a preliminary conclusion.

The cause of death from the medical examiner was listed as 'fatal acute stress response in an individual with previously diagnosed schizophrenia during restraint struggle with law enforcement.'

Scott died in police custody at the Collin County Detention Facility in March

He became unresponsive while being strapped to a restraint bed at the facility

On Wednesday, Scott's family was also permitted to see videos of the moments leading up to Scott's death.

After watching the videos, Scott's family echoed a call for the arrest of the officers involved in his death.

'What we've seen today is horrific, inhumane, very disheartening, and we want these individuals arrested immediately,' Scott's mother, LaSandra Scott, said according to the Dallas Morning News.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for the family, said that six jailers could be seen in the video not providing Scott with needed help.

'A result of their failure to act, and as a result of their failure to take steps that they were trained to take when someones in mental health distress, Marvin Scott was killed in police custody,' Merritt said.

'We ask for justice because at this point, thats all we can ask for,' Quinten Scott, 19, said of his brother.

Marvin Scott III suffered from schizophrenia, his family has shared

On the day of his arrest, Scott was arrested for allegedly possessing less than two ounces of marijuana.

Police were called to Allen Outlet Mall due tot he smell of marijuana.

According to WFAA, Scott was first taken to a hospital, where he spent three hours because paramedics thought he was acting strangely and might've taken drugs.

At around 6pm, he was taken to the Collin County Detention Facility.

Detention officers wanted to secure Scott to a restraint bed while he was in the booking lobby due to his behavior, which is when Scott was pepper sprayed and received the spit mask.

Around 10:30pm, Scott was being secured to a restraint bed when he became unresponsive, leading nurses to call an ambulance to take Scott to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Scott's family claims Scott's behavior was due to mental health episodes and law enforcement was aware that Scott suffered from schizophrenia based on past arrests.

Sheriff Jim Skinner (left) led an internal investigation and seven officers connected to Scott's death (right) were fired, while an eighth later resigned

'There are protocols with people with mental health issues when officers are aware, they are supposed to follow, and that did not happen here, resulting in an unnecessary death,' said Merritt, the family's attorney.

Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner claimed that an internal investigation showed that policies and procedures were violating, leading to the dismissal of seven detention officers and the resignation of an eighth.

The names of the officers who were fired on April 1 have not been revealed.

'The seven have been fired, and when he said that, electricity went through my body. I was so happy,' Scott's father said to KDFW at the time of the firing.

One officer, however, was reinstated this week after successfully appealing his firing. Five more officers are still going through the appeal process.

Skinner disagreed with the decision to reinstate one of the officers, he said in a Tuesday release.

'Sheriff Skinner disagrees with this decision and is considering his options before the full Civil Service Commission,' the release stated.

Merritt, the Scott family lawyer, was also not pleased with the reinstatement of the officer.

Pictured: The inside of the Collin County Detention Facility, where Scott died

'It's really disappointing for the family not only that this officer got their job back, but we don't know who this officer is or how he contributed to the death of Marvin Scott,' Merritt said to WFAA.

The Texas Rangers are involved in the investigation of Scott's death.

Scott's family has been protesting at the jail on a nightly basis since his death, demanding accountability of the officers involved in his death.

'We want to see these detention officers arrested,' said Scott family attorney Blerim Elmazi. 'We want to see them charged.'

The investigation continues a week after former Minnesota cop Derek Chauvin was convicted in the 2020 death of George Floyd, potentially opening the door to further police accountability.
Sitting in their booth at an IHOP this week, four Black Army soldiers received an offer to have their lunch paid for them by a customer appreciative of their service at nearby Fort Belvoir. The White woman ended up giving them just $6 after initially putting down $30 on their table as the men in uniform were wrapping up their meal, an Army spokesman said.

But what began as a small gesture soon turned ugly on Monday when the woman, for reasons that remain unclear, went from offering to pay for their lunch to harassing the troops and accusing them of stealing her money. One of the officers alleged the White woman, who has not been publicly identified, called the group the n-word multiple times at the restaurant in Lorton, Va.

The exchange, which was partially captured in TikTok videos recorded by one of the soldiers that have gone viral, caused the Army to announce this week that it had launched an internal review of the incident to gather more information on the woman and her motivations.

Joe Richard, a Fort Belvoir spokesman, condemned the woman's "racially charged language" at the Black men.

"A view of the video will show the Soldiers maintained their composure and military bearing throughout this shocking incident," Richard said in a statement to The Washington Post.

Joe Jeffers Jr., one of the service members who was accosted by the customer and posted the clips to TikTok, summed up the experience in one caption: "I'm a U.S. Army soldier and I had my first encounter with a racist woman."

The incident at IHOP comes weeks after a Black Army officer in Virginia, Lt. Caron Nazario, filed a federal lawsuit against police officers in Windsor, Va., for holding him at gunpoint and pepper-spraying and assaulting him during a traffic stop last December. The Nazario case, which led to the firing of one of the police officers, has triggered a civil rights probe from the Virginia attorney general. The fallout from the traffic stop in Windsor was a painful reminder to some Black troops and veterans in Virginia this month that even military service "is not going to save you in this country."

At some point during their lunch Monday, the woman approached the four men and started chatting with them about life in the military, according to a statement from Fort Belvoir. After initially putting down $30 to help pay for their meal, she took $24 back before leaving, Richard said.

In a Facebook video posted after the encounter, Jeffers claimed that when the woman returned to the table, she called them the n-word twice and used a homophobic slur. Jeffers then began recording the scene on his phone.

The beginning of his TikTok video shows the antagonistic woman claiming the men took her money and calling them an expletive.

"Ma'am, please walk away," Jeffers responded.

But instead of walking away, she proceeded to sit down next to Jeffers in their booth. Three of the soldiers started to leave, but stopped when they realized the woman had blocked Jeffers. "I can't leave Jeffers," said one of the troops in the video.

When the woman did not allow Jeffers to exit the restaurant, another customer attempted to intervene. The White man, purportedly an Air Force veteran, asked the woman to leave, according to video.

"You're making a problem," he said to her, as he handed Jeffers's patrol cap to him.

Then, the woman confronted the customer with obscenities, threatening to "drop" the man in a lunchtime fight at IHOP.

"You wanna go? You wanna go?" she said, according to video.

As a manager came over to help escort the woman out of the restaurant, video shows that she began yelling at customers, "Are you the thin blue line? Are you BLM? Are you antifa?"

Before the four soldiers returned to Fort Belvoir and reported the incident to their chain of command, Jeffers took to Facebook to recount what just happened, muttering, "This is America."

"We were just four soldiers who said, 'Man, let's go to IHOP, we want some lunch,'" Jeffers recalled from inside his car. "And then we dealt with that."

An IHOP regional official would not say whether local law enforcement was involved or if the woman has been identified. A request for comment from the Fairfax County Police Department was not immediately returned Saturday.

In a statement to The Post, an IHOP spokesman rejected the woman's actions, saying what happened at the Lorton location goes against the company's values.

"IHOP and its franchisees do not condone the statements made by the guest in this video, and will not tolerate racism, bigotry or harassment of any kind," the spokesperson said. "For more than 60 years, we have strived to create a warm and hospitable dining experience for all guests, and this isolated incident is not reflected of that ongoing commitment."

Elaine Baldwin, the mother of one of the soldiers at the IHOP, Jaime Crankfield Jr., told WUSA that her son was in tears and "didn't understand why it happened and why people act like that." Baldwin, an Army veteran who said she spent three tours overseas, noted to the outlet that the video "brings awareness to everyone about racism and issues in this world and here that we're going to have to fix."

"No one should have to be treated like that, especially soldiers," Baldwin said to WUSA.

Days after the lunch, Jeffers returned to TikTok to thank people for their support. He said he hoped the woman was watching the video. Jeffers had a message for her.

"Whoever she is, if you're seeing this, ma'am, it's OK," he said. "I forgive you."

- - -

The Washington Post's Alex Horton and Meryl Kornfield contributed to this report.
BEIJING, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- China Coal Mine Construction Group Corporation Ltd. (CCMC) recently won the bid for the South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation Mugling-Pokhara Highway Improvement Project (SMPHIP), with the contract value reaching about 450 million yuan.

It is the first time for the group to win the overseas highway construction project. The total length of the highway is 38.883 kilometers, with a design speed of 60 kilometers per hour and a maximum slope of 7 percent. Its surface is made from asphalt concrete.

The existing highway, aided by China in 1967, is a 7-meter-wide double-lane asphalt road. It passes through steep mountains, river valleys and plains, spanning 28 rivers. This project is expected to widen the highway to four lanes, with an aim to promote the development of local transportation and tourism.

In recent years, thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, CCMC has continuously expanded its overseas market and explored the energy facility construction in the Belt and Road countries. It has successively won bids for a batch of projects in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India, Uzbekistan, Turkey and other countries.

During the construction of the Turkish mine project, CCMC was invited as the only Chinese company to participate in the Turkish International Mining Technology Conference, bringing China's advanced mine construction technology to the world.

The winning of the bid marks another important achievement of the group in its participation of the Belt and Road Initiative. CCMC will strive to seize the opportunity, promote the implementation of overseas projects, and make contribution to the energy facility and other infrastructure construction of the Belt and Road countries.

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/321216.html

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498624/CCMC.jpg
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Are you anxious about "dangerous" COVID-19 vaccine side effects? Wondering if it will affect your fertility? Did you hear it will change your DNA? There's plenty of misinformation circulating about the COVID-19 vaccines, much of which can make it feel scary to sign up for an appointment. We're setting the record straight on common COVID-19 myths to help you feel better about getting vaccinated.

Myth: Vaccine development was too fast, so it can't be trusted.

Yes, the vaccines were produced at record speeds. But that was a benefit that can be attributed to massive government investments, including the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed, and technological advances that have been in the works for years.

"This was one of the fastest vaccine rollouts that's ever been done but that's not because there's been any shortcuts taken on safety," says Eric Sachinwalla, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia. "Drug companies had support from the federal government so they were able to start producing the vaccine while the clinical trials were going on, meaning we didn't have to wait for the trial results and then wait months or years for the vaccine to be manufactured."

The actual technology behind the vaccines has been around for more than a decade. The pandemic pushed scientists to put it into action. While federal funding helped accelerate the process, that doesn't mean any steps were skipped. Like with any other vaccine, the COVID-19 vaccines were tested in clinical trials that enrolled tens of thousands of people to make sure they meet safety standards and effectively protect people.

Myth: The COVID-19 vaccine and the side effects are dangerous.

It's natural to feel a little skeptical about putting something new into your body, but there's an abundance of evidence that the vaccine is safe. "Around 570,000 [Americans] have died from this virus. None have died from the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Those odds are pretty striking," says Paul Offit, director of the vaccine education center and professor of infectious disease professor at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The vaccines can cause side effects, like tiredness, achiness, and fever, but the vast majority last only a day or two and aren't serious or dangerous. Side effects are actually normal signs that the vaccine is working and your body is building protection. (Not everyone will experience side effects, and that's OK too.)

But what about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that's been temporarily paused as a result of blood clots? At the time of the pause, out of roughly seven million people that received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, six people experienced blood clots. It's important to remember that this is an extremely rare side effect"twice as rare as getting hit by lightning," says Doctors for America. It's also a complication that can happen if you're infected by COVID-19. It's expected that the federal government will announce a decision about the J&J vaccine soon.

Myth: You have to pay for the vaccine.

The vaccine is free for all Americans. You will not be asked to pay anything out of pocket. However, you may be asked for your insurance card. This is because insurance companies have agreed to help cover some costs of administering the vaccine. That being said, many providers won't ask you for your card. And if they do, and you don't have insurance, that's 100-percent OK.

"Not only is it safe, but it's free, and it can save a life," says Meenakshi Bewtra, a Penn Medicine physician and an assistant professor of epidemiology and of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Myth: Getting the vaccine gives you COVID-19.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are mRNA vaccines. This type of vaccine essentially delivers a tiny piece of code to our cells that teaches them how to make a protein, or a piece of a protein, that triggers our immune system to recognize the actual virus if it comes along.

"It's biologically impossible to get COVID from the vaccines," says Sachinwalla. "They don't actually contain the virus itself."

This is true for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, too, considered a viral vector vaccine. It uses similar genetic instructions as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to teach your cells how to make "spike" proteins. But it delivers the instructions to do so using disabled adenovirus instead of mRNA technology. The adenovirus has been modified so it cannot make copies of itself and cause disease, and it is in no way related to the coronavirus.

Myth: The vaccine can affect your fertility.

There is zero evidence to support that the COVID-19 vaccine can cause infertility. There's no need to get a pregnancy test before getting vaccinated, nor do you need to avoid pregnancy after vaccination, says the CDC.

"The mRNA vaccine is new and different, so it may sound scary, but there really hasn't been any evidence of it affecting fertility, and in fact, COVID for pregnant [people] is dangerous," says Sarah Bass, associate professor and director of the Risk Communication Laboratory at Temple University.

If you're pregnant, you're at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 and may be at increased risk for adverse outcomes, like preterm birth, says the CDC. There is currently limited data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant people, but experts believe they're unlikely to pose a specific risk for people who are pregnant. Pregnant people were not included in any of the three vaccine trials. But a few dozen people who participated in the Pfizer and Moderna trials became pregnant, and continued in the trials with no safety problems. If pregnant, you're eligible for all authorized vaccines. You should talk with your doctor if you have any questions, but it's not required before vaccination.

Myth: The vaccine changes your DNA.

You may have seen this myth circulating on social media, but it's impossible for the vaccines to change your DNA. All three COVID-19 vaccines work by delivering instructions (genetic material) to our cells so that they can start building protection against the coronavirus. "However, the material never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA is kept," notes the CDC. This means that the vaccines can't affect or interact with our DNA in any way.

Myth: The vaccines don't always work, so I don't need to get one.

The COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective, far more so than many scientists anticipated. But no vaccine provides 100-percent protection. For this reason, it actually makes it even more important for you to get those shots. To bring the pandemic under control, we need a substantial percentage of the population to be immune.

"This is all about adding layers of protection," says Sachinwalla. "We know and expect there will be people who get vaccinated and still get infected, but if one potentially infectious person is in a room full of vaccinated people, they're going to spread the virus to a lot less people than if they were in a room of unvaccinated people."

The more people who are vaccinated, the harder it is for the virus to keep spreading (and mutating). But getting vaccinated is not just about looking out for others. Vaccines radically reduce your own chances of getting COVID-19, and even if you do get infected, your likelihood of being protected from serious illness that forces you into the hospital, or worse, kills you, is "pretty darn close to 100%," says Sachinwalla.

Myth: I've already had COVID-19, so I don't need the vaccine.

You're advised to get vaccinated even if you've had COVID-19. Why? Experts need more time to research how long natural immunity lasts. It's also possible that the vaccine could provide better protection.

"It seems like the antibody response after vaccination may be better than natural immunity, but it's still being researched," says Sachinwalla. "There's also a concern about whether or not natural immunity protects against various variants, whereas we've seen with the vaccines that there's pretty good cross-protection, depending on the variants."

If you were treated for COVID-19 with monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, you should wait 90 days before getting vaccinated. Ask your doctor if you have questions or are unsure what treatments you received.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28)  Aboitiz Equity Ventures reported a huge jump in earnings for the first three months of 2021, as it observed strong growth across its businesses.

The listed holdings firm disclosed to the local bourse Wednesday a consolidated net income of 7.6 billion for the first quarter of the year, a significant increase from the 2 billion it reported during the same period a year ago. It likewise recognized non-recurring losses of 219 million during the quarter, down from the 262 million from January to March 2020.

The first quarter of 2021 is solid proof that the Aboitiz Group is already making headway in its recovery and growth plans for the year, said president and chief executive officer Sabin Aboitiz.

Aboitiz Power  which contributed 58% of the conglomerates total earnings for the period  hauled in 4.8 billion, which is thrice its 1.6 billion net income in the first quarter of 2020. AEV attributed this to the higher availability of its thermal facilities, water inflows and spot sales.

These improved performances offset the lower power demand resulting from lingering quarantine restrictions, added the group.

Union Bank of the Philippines contributed 2.4 billion to AEVs total earnings for the period. This is also up from the 1.3 billion logged a year ago. The banks net income with its subsidiaries, meanwhile, rose to 4.7 billion from the 2.6 billion recorded a year ago.

The higher net revenues provided cushion for the bank to book additional loan loss provisions of 2.3 billion even as the NPL (non-performing loans) ratio has declined to 4.7% from 5.1% in December 2020, said the holdings firm. These also allowed UnionBank to absorb the one-time impact on deferred tax assets due to the CREATE law.

Food subsidiaries Pilmico Foods, Pilmico Animal Nutrition, and Pilmico International remitted 630 million in earnings to their parent company for the first quarter of 2021. AEV noted this is also an increase from the 174 million they posted last year.

Meanwhile, real estate arm AboitizLand and its subsidiaries earned 101 million during the period, a reversal of the 110 million in losses incurred in the first three months of 2020.

AEVs infrastructure group Republic Cement & Building Materials likewise raked in 334 million, a stellar improvement from the 61 million recorded during the same period last year.

Our early initiatives on innovation and digitalization propelled the organizations business continuity at the onset of the pandemic and we are prepared and committed to see our businesses through with the same growth pathway and trajectory," said Aboitiz.

AEV shares finished at 35.35 apiece on Wednesday, up 3.97% from yesterdays close.

The Aboitiz Group earlier announced it set aside 48 billion for its capital expenditures this year, nearly 70% higher than its budget for investments in 2020.
[April 28, 2021] Mitsubishi Electric Announces Consolidated Financial Results for Fiscal 2021

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO:6503) announced today its consolidated financial results for fiscal 2021 (April 1, 2020- March 31, 2021). The full document on Mitsubishi (News - Alert) Electric's financial results can be viewed at the following link:

www.MitsubishiElectric.com/news Consolidated Financial Results







Revenue: 4,191.4 billion yen (6% decrease from the previous fiscal year) Operating profit: 230.1 billion yen (11% decrease from the previous fiscal year) Profit before income taxes: 258.7 billion yen (8% decrease from the previous fiscal year) Net profit attributable to

Mitsubishi Electric (News - Alert) Corp. stockholders: 193.1 billion yen (13% decrease from the previous fiscal year)

The economy in fiscal 2021 continued to see recovery in China mainly owing to an increase in capital expenditures for fixed assets, particularly in public investment, as an effect of political measures. Japan, the U.S. and Europe experienced a significant economic slowdown due to the serious impact of the novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in the first quarter, but saw recovery in the corporate sector in general, while the paces of recovery in the household sector varied depending on the situation of the expansion of COVID-19. Under these circumstances, the Mitsubishi Electric Group has been working even harder than before to promote growth strategies rooted in its advantages, while continuously implementing initiatives to strengthen its competitiveness and business structure. Revenue Revenue increased for the second half of fiscal 2021 but decreased in the annual results by 271.0 billion yen from the previous fiscal year to 4,191.4 billion yen as revenue decreased in all segments due to the serious impact of COVID-19 primarily in the first half. Industrial Automation Systems segment saw a decrease in the automotive equipment business due to decreased demand for new cars in all regions except for China. The factory automation systems business remained substantially unchanged from the previous fiscal year due to an increase in demand relating to 5G and semiconductor despite stagnation in automotive-related demand worldwide and machinery- and building-related demand in Japan. Home Appliances segment saw a decrease in a part of air conditioners due to limited economic activities outside Japan and restrained capital expenditures worldwide. Meanwhile, there was some demand for residential air conditioners during stay-at-home period. Operating Profit Operating profit increased for the second half but decreased in the annual results by 29.4 billion yen from the previous fiscal year to 230.1 billion yen as operating profit decreased in all segments except for Energy and Electric Systems segment. Operating profit ratio decreased by 0.3% from the previous fiscal year to 5.5% due primarily to decreased revenue. The cost ratio increased by 0.3% from the previous fiscal year due primarily to lowered operation caused by decreased revenue of Industrial Automation Systems segment despite an improvement in Energy and Electric Systems segment due to a shift in project portfolios. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by 63.4 billion yen from the previous fiscal year due mainly to reduced cost, while selling, general and administrative expenses to revenue ratio remained substantially unchanged from the previous fiscal year. Other profit (loss) decreased by 4.9 billion yen from the previous fiscal year due primarily to increased loss on impairment of fixed assets, while other profit (loss) to revenue ratio remained substantially unchanged from the previous fiscal year. Profit before income taxes Profit before income taxes decreased by 23.2 billion yen from the previous fiscal year to 258.7 billion yen due mainly to a decrease in operating profit despite an improvement in non-operating expenses owing to improved gain/loss on foreign exchange. Profit before income taxes to revenue ratio was 6.2%. Net profit attributable to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation stockholders Net profit attributable to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation stockholders decreased by 28.7 billion yen from the previous fiscal year to 193.1 billion yen due primarily to decreased profit before income taxes and the impact of reduced income taxes as a result of the reorganization of its affiliated company outside Japan in the previous fiscal year. Net profit attributable to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation stockholders to revenue ratio was 4.6%. ROE decreased by 1.7% from the previous fiscal year to 7.5%. Forecast for Fiscal 2022 The global economy in fiscal 2022 is expected to experience a progress in recovery in general as an effect of political measures in various countries and regions, particularly the U.S. and China, although the impact of COVID-19 on economy remains uncertain. Under these circumstances, the Mitsubishi Electric Group aims to uplift the profitability of its main businesses by promoting its global operations. The Group also aims to further strengthen its business foundation by accelerating business model transformations with active exploration of open innovations, reinforcing its solution businesses for increasingly diverse social issues, and reviewing its business portfolios for higher profitability and more effective use of business resources. The current financial performance forecast for fiscal 2022 follows below. Current consolidated forecast for fiscal 2022 Revenue 4,470.0 billion yen (7% increase from fiscal 2021) Operating profit 260.0 billion yen (13% increase from fiscal 2021) Profit before income taxes 285.0 billion yen (10% increase from fiscal 2021) Net profit attributable to

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. stockholders 210.0 billion yen (9% increase from fiscal 2021) Exchange rates for this forecast is 105 yen to the U.S. dollar, 125 yen to the euro and 16.5 yen to the Chinese yuan. Note: The results forecast above is based on assumptions deemed reasonable by the company at the present time, and actual results may differ significantly from forecasts. Please refer to the cautionary statement in the full document. About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation With 100 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment. Mitsubishi Electric enriches society with technology in the spirit of its "Changes for the Better." The company recorded a revenue of 4,191.4 billion yen (U.S.$ 37.8 billion*) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021. For more information, please visit www.MitsubishiElectric.com

*U.S. dollar amounts are translated from yen at the rate of 111=U.S.$1, the approximate rate on the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market on March 31, 2021 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210427006235/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
(Natural News) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the administration of President Joe Biden for allegedly helping spread the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States southern border by allowing illegal immigrants to enter and congregate in large numbers in migrant facilities.

The lawsuit alleges that Biden officials have abandoned the pre-existing protections against the introduction into Texas and the United States of aliens infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus during a pandemic.

By allowing illegal immigrants to cross the border, Paxton charged the Biden administration with putting the public health and the economic recovery of Texas and the United States at risk. (Related: BIDEN IMPORTING COVID: Up to 50% of illegal immigrants are COVID-infected and are crossing the US southern border in droves right now.)

Under the administration of former President Donald Trump, officials issued a rule named Title 42 to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States and to deport any aliens that are caught.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said at the time that invoking Title 42 was to prevent migrants introducing COVID-19 into the U.S.

But as soon as Biden took office, his administration quickly rolled back the use of Title 42. This allowed unaccompanied minors to stay in the country and decreased the number of families expelled under the order.

Rollback of Trumps Title 42 rule helped create Bidens border crisis

In a statement on Thursday, April 22, Paxton said rolling back Title 42 created an undeniable crisis on our southern border.

By failing to take custody of criminal aliens and giving no explanation for this reckless policy change, the Biden administration is demonstrating a blatant disregard for Texans and Americans safety, reads Paxtons statement.

The attorney general further argued that Bidens rolling back of Trumps Title 42 rule is preventing Texas economy from properly reopening at a time when businesses need it the most and when Texan officials want to reopen schools and return to in-person instruction.

Law and order must be immediately upheld and enforced to ensure the safety of our communities and the reopening of the strongest economy in the country.

Paxton argues that Bidens administration is violating its own CDC regulations, as well as the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 requiring migrants who might spread diseases of public health significance to be detained and prevented from entering American society.

Instead of using the CDCs authority to prevent the introduction of covered aliens into the United States during a pandemic, Defendants have chosen to take courses of action that have resulted in the release of tens of thousands of aliens into Texas and the United States, reads the lawsuit. Absent this courts intervention, such releases will continue for the foreseeable future.

The attorney general is asking a federal court to reinstate Trumps Title 42 rule to force Biden to expel illegal immigrants to Mexico.

More Texans will be exposed to COVID-19, more Texans will contract COVID-19, more Texans will die from COVID-19, and Texas will incur significant costs in terms of healthcare and law enforcement resources, reads the lawsuit further.

The Office of the Attorney General of Texas estimates that illegal immigrants are costing Texas taxpayers around $855 million each year.

Paxton filed the lawsuit in the District Court for the Southern District of Texas in the city of Fort Worth. It lists the defendants as the Department of Homeland Security and its secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas; Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tae Johnson, Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection Troy Miller; and Acting Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services Tracy Renaud.

Gene Hamilton, a former immigration official at Homeland Security and the Justice Department under Trump, is listed alongside Paxton as a lawyer in the case. Hamilton is acting as a representative of the America First Legal Foundation (AFLF), a conservative legal group founded by former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller. The AFLF was launched with Trumps backing.

In a statement, a White House spokesperson said the Biden administration is committed to enacting policies that are radically different from those put in place by the Trump administration, especially with regards to unaccompanied minors.

In January, fewer than 76,000 illegal immigrants entered the U.S. That number shot up to over 168,000 in March. Several coronavirus outbreaks have already taken place in immigrant holding facilities in Texas.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claimed in March that most illegal immigrants are tested, but not all. Theres a proposal for testing all of these individuals as they come across, she said.

Psaki blamed Texas for refusing to cover the cost of testing and quarantining the migrants.

So, I think the question is: Why is [Texas] standing in the way of local communities getting the funding and support they need to help with testing, isolation and quarantining efforts? she continued.

Recent lawsuit the seventh case Texas has filed against Biden

This is the seventh lawsuit Paxton and the state of Texas have filed against the Biden administration since it took office in January.

He filed a lawsuit earlier in April to restore a policy put in place by the Trump administration that forced potential migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. to wait in Mexico or other countries while their applications were being processed. Paxton and many other prominent Republicans have pointed to the end of this program as one of the contributing factors for the sudden influx of illegal immigrants at the border.

More than 70,000 asylum seekers who were enrolled in the Trump administrations program were sent back to Mexico. But in February, the Biden administration allowed many of the asylum seekers who signed up for the program to cross back into the U.S.

Paxton has also sued Biden over a deportation moratorium, over procedures that reduced the number of deportations of illegal immigrants and over the administrations decision to retract the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have brought oil from Alberta, Canada all the way down to oil refineries in Texas.

Learn more about the ongoing crisis at the southern border and the Biden administrations immigration policies at OpenBorders.news.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

KVUE.com

TheCenterSquare.com

DFW.CBSLocal.com
SANTA CRUZ, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Santa Cruz County Bank (OTC: SCZC), with assets over $1.5 billion, is a top-rated community bank headquartered in Santa Cruz County. Today the Bank announced the purchase of a building in Salinas and its plan to further expand into Monterey County by opening a full-service branch in Salinas, California in 2022.

Located at 480 & 482 South Main Street, the future home of Santa Cruz County Bank's ninth full-service branch was built in the early 1970's. Currently occupied by Central Coast College, the building will undergo a complete remodel in early 2022 to provide a full-service banking office with space for additional staffing, ample parking and ATM/Night Depository. The improvements will contribute to the City's Downtown Salinas Vibrancy Plan, which includes converting Main Street into a two-way street.

Santa Cruz County Bank Board Chairman William J. Hansen commented, "We continue to expand to meet our customers where they are, both digitally and geographically. Our Salinas branch project advances the Bank's strategic plan to expand into the Salinas/Monterey region. The opening of our eighth full-service banking office in downtown Monterey in January launched our strategic expansion into Monterey County. We look forward to opening the Salinas branch in 2022 to continue to serve our long-established business relationships, while attracting new business in the Salinas Valley and contiguous market areas."

ABOUT SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BANK

Santa Cruz County Bank was founded in 2004. It is a top-rated, locally-owned and operated, full-service community bank headquartered in Santa Cruz, California. The bank has eight branchesAptos, Capitola, Cupertino, Monterey, Santa Cruz (2), Scotts Valley and Watsonville. Santa Cruz County Bank is distinguished from "big banks" by its relationship-based service, problem-solving focus, and direct access to decision makers. The Bank is a leading SBA lender in Santa Cruz County and Silicon Valley and a top USDA lender in the state of California. As a full-service bank, Santa Cruz County Bank offers competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and individuals; including business loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction lending, agricultural loans, SBA and USDA government guaranteed loans, credit cards, merchant services, remote deposit capture, mobile and online banking, bill payment, and treasury management. True to its community roots, Santa Cruz County Bank has supported regional well-being by actively participating in and donating to local not-for-profit organizations.

Santa Cruz County Bank stock is publicly traded on the OTC marketplace under the symbol SCZC. Stock purchase orders may be placed online, through a brokerage firm, or through Market Makers listed in the Investor Relations section of the bank's website. For more information about Santa Cruz County Bank, visit www.sccountybank.com.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BANK'S SBA LENDING RANKINGS FOR THE 2020 FISCAL YEAR

SBA Rank Silicon Valley  Ranked 11th by number of loans

SBA Rank SF District  Ranked 10th by dollar amount

NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL RATINGS AND AWARDS

S&P Global: Ranked in the Top 100 Community Banks in the nation for performance for banks under $3 billion in assets.

The Findley Reports, Inc.: Super Premier Performing Bank, top rating by Findley for 11 consecutive years.

Financial Management Consulting: Ranked in FMC's top 10 banks in California for the past 6 years.

Good Times Best of Santa Cruz County Reader's Poll: Voted "Best Bank" in Santa Cruz County, 9 consecutive years.

Santa Cruz Sentinel Readers' Choice: Voted #1 Best Bank in Santa Cruz County, 6th year.

SOURCE Santa Cruz County Bank

Related Links

http://www.sccountybank.com


A sculpture of the founder of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, erected in 1970 at Moscow Square in front of the House of Soviets in Saint Petersburg, on June 25, 2017. (Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images)

Guilt, Condemnation, and Totalitarian Punishment

Commentary

We dont hear much today about the religious doctrine of damnationthe belief that everlasting punishment awaits sinners. How much of that is due to religionists moderating their theological views or simply the ongoing secularization of society is an interesting question.

Regardless, although such harsh judgmentalism may cause uncomfortable tensions between people, it generally is harmless. We have a separation of church and state that, while protecting the free exercise of religion, doesnt confer the ability of any sect to impose its doctrines forcibly on others. Religionists may condemn us verbally or in their hearts, but they have no power to control or punish us. Thats the Creators prerogative, and well just have to wait until we leave this world to see how accurate those bleak pronouncements of damnation are.

There is, however, a doctrine of guilt, condemnation, and punishment that threatens every Americans earthly well-being and happiness. Im referring to the political lefts fanatical embrace of certain quasi-religious doctrinesspecifically, that Americans collectively are guilty of various sins that merit condemnation. The progressive punishment for our sins is to subject us to a stern totalitarian agenda that offers the only salvation from our alleged sins.

In this humanist religion, progressives, socialists, pagan environmentalists, et al., have assumed a moral superiority that they believe confers upon them the right to act as judge and jury, to pronounce America and Americans guilty of alleged sins and to condemn and punish us by forcing us to submit to their elitist plans.

The form of that punishmentindeed, the only way for us to expiate our sins in their eyesis for us to submit to the progressives own radical socialistic central economic plan that offers salvation if we transform our society into a progressive utopia. The essence of their all-encompassing central plan is to impose government control over our thought, our speech, and our lives.

Let us briefly review a few of the guilt trips that leftists are using to justify imposing tyrannical measures on the American people to achieve their utopian vision.

1. White Guilt

Epoch Times contributor Larry Elder gave a marvelous talk last week at Principia College, during which he powerfully debunked the myth of white guilt. (You can read more in Elders book Whats Race Got to Do with It? and in his interviews with The Epoch Times. See also Brandon Tatums views.)

Leftists seek to impose collective guilt on white Americansmany, both living and dead, who have steadfastly fought for, promoted, and defended racial justicefor the sins of certain white individuals, most of whom have long been dead. Blind to the reality that there are racists among all races, the collective condemnation of an entire race is itself racist. It also illustrates the perversity of social justicecollectivist remedies that unjustly trample the rights of innocent individuals.

Trying to punish so-called white guilt is also unwise and counterproductive. Once you start trying to indiscriminately punish a whole race of people for the past sins of others, you have opened a Pandoras box. Think of Israelis and Arabs in the Middle Eastthe more they try to settle old scores, the more the present generation suffers. Do we want our children to shoulder the same burden of hatred, injustice, and violence that so devastated the lives of our ancestors, or can we love them enough to break the cycle of conflict? (Indeed, imagine what a hostile place the world would be if white Americans were to seek vengeance against the descendants of the often cruel and unjust oppressions of their own ancestors.)

2. Success Guilt

Dennis Prager wrote about this just last week. Both Jews and Americans have shared a cultural history that was to a considerable degree shaped by their religious faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Both of these related cultures have achieved outstanding success relative to other societies and cultures in the world. Sadly, success has triggered the envy, resentment, and hatred of many who were born into societies where those cultural values and the success they tend to spawn have been absent. How dare those Jews and Americans accomplish so much! They must be punished for such effrontery.

3. Capitalist Guilt

Prager alluded to this, too, in his column. Anti-capitalism has been around for nearly two centuriesever since capitalist entrepreneurs found ways to lift the masses of people out of poverty. The great Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises published a book titled The Anti-Capitalist Mentality in 1956, in which he diagnosed the feelings of inferiority that anti-capitalist intellectuals struggle with. Many of these highly educated intellectuals just cant stand seeing the masses of people richly reward entrepreneurs who serve their needs and desires, while at the same time placing relatively little value on the intellectuals abstract philosophies and academic ideologies. Billionaires (unless theyre pigging out with government subsidies) are societys benefactors. They deserve our gratitude, not our hostility.

The anti-rich-people animus stems from gross economic ignorance, such as persistent belief in the long-defunct 16th-century Montaigne dogma, which falsely asserted that one mans gain is anothers loss. More than two centuries of capitalist history have shattered that fallacy.

4. Profit Guilt

Indeed, as even Karl Marx understood, capitalism excels at producing wealth, and yet Marx and his followers today decry the profit-making process that has made possible todays unprecedented wealth for an unprecedented number of people.

Its tragic that so many Americans dont understand two crucial aspects of profits: First, profits are new wealth; the only way for a society to get richer is through the production of additional valuevalue that is signaled by profits. Second, because entrepreneurs in a capitalist system compete to best serve the peoples wants, while businesses in socialist systems have to produce what their political rulersa socialist societys elitecommand. Obviously, people are going to be better off when production is oriented toward their preferences than the government plans dictates.

5. Prosperity Guilt

A core value of todays environmentalism is the misanthropic and incredibly wrong belief that human prosperity is an evil that will render Earth uninhabitable. These ideologues are ignorant of the environmental Kuznets curve. Its a total myth that the more prosperous people get, the more polluted their environment gets. The way the world really works is that after an initial increase of pollution as poor societies climb out of subsistence standards of living, the increasing wealth of those societies enables them to direct wealth and effort to the cause of environmental protection. The felicitous result is that economically advanced countries pollute less than developing countries.

Alas, so fanatical are greens in their belief in the evil of humanity that they remain willfully blind to two great environmental blessings that have come to the present generation: First, that temperatures have modestly risen above the grimly cold Little Ice Age, making life safer; second, that the CO2 enrichment of Earths atmosphere over the past century has produced a huge greening of the planet. We should celebrate, not mourn, but the funereal guilt-mongers want us to mourn.

Condemnation

So, heres the upshot of all the guilt trips that leftists are foisting on us: In the grip of their beliefstheir fanatical, unquestioning faith in the guilt of the American people for the above-listed offensesthe left condemns all who dare to dissent from their catechism. We dissidents are, ipso facto, bad people; thus, we deserve to suffer and be punished for our sins.

Theres no nuance in the leftists thinking, no mitigating factors, no sense of context; in their view, non-leftists are wrongperiod. Consequently, the United States gets no credit for the considerable progress we have made and continue to make. Instead, were deemed guilty because we havent yet fully realized our ideals. As Ive written before, to leftists, the perfect has become the mortal enemy of the good.

If, by the way, you object to my characterization of leftists as fanatical, perhaps messianic would be a more appropriate adjective. Think of Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) who, when unveiling the grand socialist central economic plan known as the Green New Deal, described the proposal as a mission to save all of creation. All of creation?! If that isnt messianic, then nothing is.

Be aware of how often leftists use the religious language of salvation. Often, when they promote their vision, they assert that their policies are necessary to save usand tragically often, to save us from imaginary problems (e.g., wealth, success, a greening world, etc.).

This messianic zeal has congealed into a hatred of conservatives, libertarians, Republicansliterally any American who dissents from the leftist agenda. The left has become a Leninist movement, embracing hatred of their political opponents with all the fervor that Lenin himself mustered.

Totalitarian Punishment

The hatred that the left feels toward their political opponents is manifest in their aggressive attempts to obliterate, destroy, and smash those opponents by canceling and silencing them. Its seen in their blatant effort to do an end-run around democracy by resorting to such machinations as D.C. statehood, packing the Supreme Court, dictating election rules to states, ramming through legislation with zero opposition input or support, etc.

Under the intoxicating influence of what Ive termed the three meta-errors of progressivism (faith in government competence, belief in human willpower, and the tyranny of good intentions), the left feels perfectly justified in arrogating totalitarian powers to themselves. They may call it democratic socialism, but its anything but democratic.

Like Marx, Lenin, and other past socialist revolutionaries, todays left believes that the end justifies the means. They seem to have convinced themselves that by dictating a radical top-down central plan on the American people, the result will be a bright, utopian future. Dont hold your breath.

If you want to find the utopia that the left desires, go to Washington, D.C., take a hard left, and look for it between the unicorn farm and Atlantis. No radical social plan animated by hatred for people and based on mutilations of truth can possibly bless the human race. If you need to see it in black and white, check out The Black Book of Communismcommunism being the end of the road that Marx said starts with democracy and passes through socialism.

The human race has suffered enough from the socialist/communist virus.

To advocate socialism today can only be explained by a rejection of reason and an adherence to a secular faith that elevates hope over experience. The fanatical adherents of this quasi-religious dogma, having judged American society guilty of cardinal sins, have condemned us to a state-imposed hell thats becoming increasingly totalitarian by the day.

The good news is: We Americans arent guilty of the sins with which the left has charged us. There is, then, no justification for condemnation and no need for the totalitarian agenda that theyre pushing. As has ever been the case, America and Americans will flourish if we remain free of dictatorial government plans and controls.

Mark Hendrickson, an economist, recently retired from the faculty of Grove City College, where he remains a fellow for economic and social policy at the Institute for Faith and Freedom.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
gettyimagesbank



South Korean health authorities said Wednesday that fully vaccinated people will be exempted from the country's mandatory 14-day isolation period from early next month as the country is struggling to speed up the vaccination campaign.



Health authorities said that, under the country's anti-infection measures, those who have been fully inoculated will no longer be required to self-isolate themselves after coming in close contact with COVID-19 patients or entering the country from overseas from May 5 if they test negative for the virus.



South Korea currently requires those who come into close contact with virus patients to self-isolate for 14 days.



The new rules will be applied to those who have been fully vaccinated in South Korea, regardless of their nationality, two weeks after receiving their final shot.



Health authorities, however, said that such vaccinated people will still be monitored for 14 days and require two COVID-19 tests over the period.






Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has signed a bipartisan bill that makes it easier for emergency responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to file workers compensation claims.

Right now, police and firefighters can claim workers compensation for PTSD but they must prove the condition was caused by unusual stress compared to what their co-workers regularly experience. Under the bill, a police officer or firefighter needs only a diagnosis from a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist and the diagnosis doesnt have to be based on the employee suffering greater stress than his or her co-workers.

The bill limits compensation to 32 weeks, however, and allows responders to make only three such claims in his or her lifetime.

Police and firefighters have been pushing for the changes for several years, saying it could help prevent employee suicides. The bill failed in the Senate during the last legislative session. This time the Senate, now under control of new Republican Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, passed the measure unanimously in February. The Assembly passed it on a voice vote earlier this month.

Evers signed the bill at a Madison fire station. Democratic and Republican lawmakers who sponsored the bill attended the signing along with police and firefighters.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Workers' Compensation Wisconsin
A South African engineer was recently caught with an unlicensed copy of Solidworks on his computer, and developer Dassault Systemes demanded licence fees of over R100,000 when they discovered the violation.

Solidworks is a computer-aided design and computer-aided engineering tool for Windows PCs that specialises in the modelling of three-dimensional solids.

The engineer, who spoke to MyBroadband on condition of anonymity, said while the software was installed on his company-issued laptop, the company he worked for had nothing to do with it.

He loaded Solidworks on his laptop because he was experimenting with 3D printing and he wanted to learn the software.

Dassault Systemes detected that he was using an unlicensed copy of Solidworks and somehow linked it to the company he works for.

The director of the company received a letter from Dassault Systemes lawyers in South Africa demanding payment of over R100,000.

After explaining the situation, the engineer said they were able to negotiate the licence fee down to around R86,000, which the company is holding him responsible for.

MyBroadband contacted Dassault Systemes for comment on the matter and asked how they were able to detect the unlawful use of their software.

Dassault Systemes did not respond by the time of publication.

However, a local reseller of the software provided feedback about what licensing options are available for hobbyists who might want to learn Solidworks.

We have programmes where we sponsor start-ups and incubator spaces with free commercial licenses for a period to help them start their business, said Quintin Burger, chief marketing officer of MECAD Systems.

One South African start-up that has seen success through this programme is Mellowcabs, Burger said.

Burger said that a hobbyist licence for Solidworks will also be released later this year through a special programme for fabrication labs and maker spaces.

Under this new programme, Dassault Systemes said it will provide sponsorships via its Fab Foundation to official Fab Labs in the network.

This includes one commercial license of Solidworks Premium, one Solidworks PCB, and DraftSight Enterprise per Fab Lab.


Monger Gold IPO Opens

Perth, April 27, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Torian Resources Ltd ( ASX:TNR ) is pleased to advise that the Prospectus for Monger Gold Limited (Monger Gold) was lodged with ASIC on Friday, 16 April 2021. Applications under the general and priority offers are now open.Monger Gold will acquire 80% of three distinct projects in the eastern goldfields of Western Australia, Mt Monger North, Mt Monger South, and Gibraltar South (with Torian retaining a 20% interest). All three projects are within 50km of major mining towns (Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie).Mt Monger North and Mt Monger South cover a combined total area of 37.7km2 and are comprised of twenty-nine significant tenements. They sit 45km south east of Kalgoorlie in the world class gold region of Western Australia, adjacent to Silver Lake Resources' ( ASX:SLR ) tenure which hosts its flagship Mt Monger Mine (Daisy Complex).Based on significant historical exploration at our Mt Monger North Project (including drilling results), Torian is excited about the prospect for the discovery of gold, nickel, and other base metals. Key targets have already been identified, with planning work already underway to commence a drilling campaign at the Mt Monger North Project.Recent work at our Mt Monger South Project has also indicated that the area has significant prospectivity for gold and base metals, particularly along its major structure, the Goddard Shear. Here as well, planning work is already underway to commence a systematic exploration program.As part of the Offer, the Monger Gold is making an offer of a minimum of 5,000,000 Shares to current shareholders of Torian (Priority Offer). To be eligible to participate in the Priority Offer, an applicant must be a resident of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States (and in the case of Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States satisfy the requirements set out under the Important Information (Foreign Jurisdiction) section of this Prospectus) and be recorded as being the holder of a share in Torian as at 6 April 2021 (Eligible Torian Shareholder).Eligible Torian Shareholders will be able to apply for at least a minimum allocation of shares being 10,000 or $2,000, under the Priority Offer up to an aggregate value of $1,000,000. In the event that Eligible Torian Shareholders subscribe in aggregate for Shares over a value of $1,000,000, the Directors will allocate Shares at their discretion, but only up to a value of $1,000,000.In order to participate in the Priority Offer, shareholders should follow the instructions on the priority application form within the Prospectus prior to the Priority Offer closing date (currently 24 May 2021).For further information on how to apply for Monger Gold shares, please see the Monger Gold Prospectus at:- Automic Share Registry Website:Priority Offer: https://investor.automic.com.au/#/ipo/mongergoldpriority General Offer: https://investor.automic.com.au/#/ipo/mongergold - Monger Gold website: http://mongergold.com.au/prospectus - Request a copy directly by contact the Company at info@torianresources.com.au or telephone +61 8 62 45 2490.About Torian Resources Limited

Torian Resources Ltd (ASX:TNR) is a gold exploration and development company with an extensive and strategic land holding comprising eight projects and over 400km2 of tenure in the Goldfields Region of Western Australia.

Torian's flagship project, Zuleika, is located along the world-class Zuleika Shear. The Zuleika Shear is the fourth largest gold producing region in Australia and consistently produces some of the country's highest grade and lowest cost gold mines. Torian's Zuleika project lies north and partly along strike of several major gold deposits including Northern Star's (ASX:NST) 7.0Moz East Kundana Joint Venture and Evolutions (ASX:EVN) 1.8Moz Frogs Legs and White Foil deposits.

Torian's other projects include the strategically located Mt Stirling and Malcolm Projects in the Leonora region (near Red 5's King of the Hills Project), where it recently completed updated Mineral Resource Estimates and preliminary scoping studies, and a suite of other projects in the Kalgoorlie region including Credo Well JV Zuleika JV, Bonnie Vale, Gibraltar and Mount Monger/Wombola.
One man was injured Wednesday in a shooting blocks away from Klein High School, according to Harris County Constables Office Precinct 4.

The school was not affected, and district officials informed families that a shooting had taken place in the area, said Justin Elbert, director of external communications for Klein Independent School District.
(CNN)  Titanium has been discovered in the beautiful remnants of the Cassiopeia A supernova about 11,000 light-years away.

This discovery could help scientists understand what leads some giant stars to explode, according to the new study.

Observations of the supernova were made using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which has been in operation since 1999, between 2000 and 2018. Scientists recently sifted through the data to understand more about the supernova that has captivated researchers for years.

Cassiopeia A is a giant bubble of hot, expanding gas, and it's the youngest known remnant from a supernova explosion, dating back 340 years ago, in our Milky Way galaxy. The light from this supernova first reached Earth in the 1670s.

Researchers have used space-based observatories to study Cassiopeia A for years because it's relatively nearby, astronomically speaking and provides insight into the evolution of the universe. When stars explode, they release their elements into space. Telescopes like Chandra can help unlock which ones Cassiopeia A contributed when it exploded.

The study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Release of heavy elements

While stars with masses more than 10 times our sun are known to explode once they run out of fuel, scientists don't exactly know why this occurs. These explosions have led to the release of heavy elements throughout the universe, like gold and titanium, that are found on Earth.

"Scientists think most of the titanium that is used in our daily lives -- such as in electronics or jewelry -- is produced in a massive star's explosion," said lead study author Toshiki Sato, an assistant professor in the department of physics at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, in a statement. "However, until now scientists have never been able to capture the moment just after stable titanium is made."

Massive stars run on nuclear power generated by reactions that happen at their core. When this fuel runs out, the star's center collapses, forming a black hole or a dense object called a neutron star.

If the celestial body becomes a neutron star, a shock wave ripples out from the star, creating new elements as nuclear reactions occur.

When scientists have conducted computer modeling of this phenomenon, they have found that the energy burns up quickly and causes the shock wave to stall. This would prevent a supernova explosion from occurring.

The potential role of neutrinos

New computer simulations suggest a missing element that could allow the supernova to continue: neutrinos.

These ghostly low-mass particles, created when a neutron star forms, could spur on bubbles of elements that rocket away, pushing the shock wave onward and allowing for a supernova.

The explosion that created the Cassiopeia A supernova was likely driven by neutrinos, according to the new study.

Data from Chandra, which observes features in space through X-ray emissions, produced structures shaped like fingers that literally pointed away from the supernova. These structures contained titanium and chromium, along with iron that was previously detected by the space telescope.

The temperature and other conditions needed to create these elements match the speeding bubbles from the computer simulations.

"We have never seen this signature of titanium bubbles in a supernova remnant before, a result that was only possible with Chandra's incredibly sharp images," said study coauthor Keiichi Maeda, an associate professor in the department of astronomy at Kyoto University in Japan, in a statement. "Our result is an important step in solving the problem of how these stars explode as supernovae."

This means that fragments of titanium were created deep within the star as the supernova occurred. The amount of stable titanium produced by this particular supernova exceeds Earth's total mass, the researchers said.

The findings also support the theory that explosions driven by neutrinos could be used to explain some massive star explosions.

This story was first published on CNN.com Titanium bubbles discovered in supernova could help solve mystery of exploding stars
The SpaceX saga in South Texas has all the versus categories covered.

Remember the Types of Conflict lesson in English class? Humans versus: humans, nature, technology, destiny, society.

And theres subcategories  citizens versus business and government; a fast-moving corporation versus federal bureaucracy; pristine wilderness versus development; technology versus physics; fans versus opponents; past versus future.

Or becoming an interplanetary species versus depending solely on Earth? Some would say survival versus extinction. The list goes on.

These conflicts are the marrow of amazing stories, so its easy to get drawn in.

Beyond that, Boca Chica has captivated me because the beach and space combo feels like home. The place reminds me of growing up in Lompoc, Calif., near Vandenberg Air Force Base.

My neighborhood was Vandenberg Village, the closest civilian homes to the base. Theyre nowhere near as close as Boca Chica village is to SpaceX, but I remember the low thunder-rumble of early morning launches during my childhood. Thered always be a moment of terror as I tried to figure out if the noise was a missile or an earthquake.

In those days, the base rarely announced the launch schedule.

William Luther

On ExpressNews.com: 'This is not SpaceX property': Elon Musk's company looks to rename South Texas town 'Starbase'

Beyond that, Vandenberg hosted airshows, and all sorts of military aircraft took advantage of the bases 3-mile-long runway. Huey helicopters patrolled the chaparral and B-52 bombers flew over my middle school. Seeing people in uniform around town was normal. The influence of the base, in part, led me to a military career.

SpaceXs rapid build-out echoes Vandenbergs history  only 80 years later. Both became critical to their eras space race. Both reside in swaths of nature. Both have neighbors who love and hate them. Both fuel their areas economies. Both create nuisances and pride for the locals. Both inspire. Both are fragile despite their stature.

And both must work on the relationships with their neighbors to survive.

I say fragile because the aftermath of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster devastated the Vandenberg regions economy. The area was ramping up to host hundreds of thousands of visitors whod watch the shuttle launch from the base. NASA and the Pentagon had even announced a mission and crew that would fly. There are photos of Enterprise, the space shuttle mockup, assembled at the bases Space Launch Complex-6.

Then the Challenger exploded, and all those plans vanished. The region had some tough years, with layoffs, lost contracts, business closures and rethinking its future without the boon of manned spaceflight.

The critical difference is that Vandenberg, the nations West Coast space launch base, is a federal installation. The place started out as the Armys Camp Cooke in 1941, later became an Air Force base and started lobbing missiles in 1958. It will eventually become a Space Force base.

On ExpressNews.com: Accelerator: Starbase, Texas? Really?

The scar tissue from the government procuring Vandenbergs land is deep in the history books, and like Boca Chica, some people hate the environmental impacts, limited beach and wilderness access and the overwriting of native histories. The land at both Boca Chica and Vandenberg is sacred to their areas indigenous people, the Carrizo/Comecrudo in the Rio Grande Valley and the Chumash of coastal California.

And, as an added moral dilemma, Vandenberg is infused with the specter of nuclear war. The Cold War legacy clings to the base like coastal fog. Today, the base still trains the nations missileers and test-launches Minuteman missiles, often with dummy warheads that fly to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.

On the flip side, Vandenberg has provided thousands of jobs for locals for decades  including my family members and friends. Its brought a diverse mix of people to a part of California that depended on agriculture and mining before the military came.

As federal property, the base also protects more than 90,000 acres and 40 miles of coastline from commercial development.

Courtesy photo (NARA.gov)

While not perfect, the military invests millions to develop and maintain bonds with the communities near its bases. Vandenberg is no different. Close relationships with local civic and government leaders help when things get weird, and things get weird quickly when missiles blow up near towns. So its good to have friends who can help smooth problems out.

SpaceX has capitalized on the goodwill that the military and NASA have cultivated over decades at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Vandenberg because the network was already set up. The company also leverages the federal infrastructure at these places.

But those government resources arent at Boca Chica. SpaceX is out on its own there, responsible for a raft of things beyond making rockets  like security, safety, clearing exclusion zones and more.

On ExpressNews.com: Accelerator: NASA's Perseverance lands, San Antonio hypersonics lab rises

Vandenberg and Kennedy are controlled and secure environments. For SpaceX, Boca Chica is the Wild West. While it all seems very Texasy, with the rugged individualist approach, SpaceX is running into more turbulence as it gains momentum.

The FAA investigation remains open on Starship SN11, the craft that blew up in the fog and rained debris on marshlands on March 30. According to the FAA, SpaceX wont be authorized to fly its next Starship, which is on the launch pad, until the investigation is closed or the craft is deemed safe.

Theres a $20-million lawsuit against the company by a family who crashed into a truck turning into the SpaceX complex. The accident killed the father and injured the rest of the family.

The FAA and Army Corps of Engineers are doing environmental reviews of SpaceXs expansion requests. And in Brownsville theres a small, but growing, group of opponents who are getting louder.

Developing a relationship with the citizens of the Rio Grande Valley could help educate citizens about the company, and there are ways to do this beyond the guerilla marketing that thrills SpaceX fans.

Courtesy photo (NARA.gov)

On ExpressNews.com: SpaceX Starship chasers converge in South Texas

Transparency builds trust. While SpaceX is open about their testing  posting updates and broadcasting live feeds  theres not much formal interaction with the community beyond that.

As a private company, SpaceX has that right, but its not wise for the long run. Since the firm is building a space launch complex rather than only a factory in Boca Chica, it should look to how other space bases build community relationships.

A good bond with the neighbors helps soothe much of the human versus human conflict. As smart as the SpaceX people are, they surely can figure out how to get along with their neighbors. Right?

Im looking forward to the day a Starship flies from Boca Chica to Vandenberg. Its likely coming sooner than we think.

Brandon Lingle writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. brandon.lingle@express-news.net
A Rwandan woman accused of brutal crimes during the 1994 genocide in her home country appeared in a Kigali court Wednesday after being deported from the United States earlier this month.

Beatrice Munyenyezi, 51, a mother of three, arrived in Kigali on April 17 after serving a 10-year prison sentence in the United States for lying about her involvement in the genocide, which allowed her to obtain citizenship.

Her initial appearance was brief and her pre-trial hearing was adjourned to May 5 to allow more time for the defence to prepare.

I did not have enough time to prepare the case because it is not possible to see my client. It is only yesterday evening that they gave us 20 minutes together to discuss the case, her lawyer Gatera Gashabana told AFP shortly after the hearing.

Munyenyezi is facing seven charges of genocide crimes, such as murder, conspiracy to commit genocide, rape and extermination.

According to a 2015 report by the Boston Magazine, Munyenyezi lived quietly in a working class neighbourhood in New Hampshire with her three children until a federal agent began probing her past.

The spotlight landed on her as it became known her husband and mother-in-law  a former minister  were on trial for genocide crimes. Both were later convicted.

Her husband Arsene Shalom Ntahobali was sentenced in 2013 to 47 years in jail for his role as a leader of the Interahamwe militia that committed brutal atrocities against the Tutsi in 1994.

Investigations showed that Munyenyezi, nicknamed The Commander, oversaw a roadblock where she would identify Tutsi and have them killed, while encouraging Hutu extremists to rape the women, including in one case, a nun.

Some 800,000 mainly Tutsi people were beaten, hacked or shot to death in the genocide, a roughly 100-day killing spree carried out mostly by Hutu forces.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday held bilateral talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his virtual visit to Kenya.

During the meeting at State House, Nairobi, President Kenyatta and Secretary Blinken discussed trade and investment opportunities, touching on the untapped potential held by the Kenya-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Also discussed was Kenyas elevated role in regional peace and security as a member of the UN Security Council. Other matters discussed by President Kenyatta and Secretary Blinken were human rights, refugees, health, and climate change.

On climate change, President Kenyatta applauded the US for rejoining the Paris Agreement and congratulated President Joe Biden for convening the recent Leaders Summit which sought to consolidate global solidarity on the matter.

Once again, President Kenyatta affirmed Kenyas commitment to strengthening its bilateral ties and forging a strong partnership with the United States of America.

President Kenyatta was accompanied to the meeting by Foreign Affairs CS Raychelle Omamo and Head of Public Service Dr Joseph Kinyua.
Dhaka, April 28 : Bangladesh industrialist Sayem Sobhan Anvir, Managing Director of Bashundhara Group, was booked by the police for abetting a 21-year-old girl of suicide. Anvir had rented a flat to the victim.

The Bashundhara Group is one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh and Anvir is son of its Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan. The business house also owns leading media platforms -- News 24, Daily Kaler Kontho, Banglanews 24.com and a Radio channel.

The girl's body was recovered from the flat and Anvir was booked by the Gulshan area police following a complaint filed by the victim's sister Nusrat Jahan. The police said that the deceased was unemployed and Anvir used to visit her flat.

The complainant, Nusrat, said in her statement that her sister had told her that the accused would marry her and they would live abroad because that they were fearing that if they remain in Bangladesh then Anvir's parents would kill her.

Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Gulshan Division, Sudip Kumar Chakraborty, told IANS, "Earlier, on Sunday morning the victim informed her sister that she was in trouble and threatened. Then Nusrat rushed to Dhaka to from Cumilla to meet her on Monday." He said that when Nusrat reached at the residence of the victim and found the door locked from inside she tried to open it. Also, the victim's phone was not reachable. Thereafter, when Nusrat broke open the door she found her sister hanging from the ceiling fan in her bedroom.

"She later informed the building owner and then the police were called in," said Sudip.

According to the information, Anvir and the victim were in touch since last two years. They were also dating each other. In 2019, Anvir rented an apartment and represented themselves as husband and wife to the owner. A photo of the couple was also framed in the apartment in which they can be seen posing as married.

When Anvir's parents got to know about his relationship with the victim, his mother called her through another lady Piasa and threatened the girl to leave Dhaka. Following the incident, assuring the victim that he would marry her, Anvir sent back her to Cumilla.

After sometime, Anvir convinced the victim to return Dhaka and she moved in at the flat located in Gulshan area on March 1.

"Sayem forcibly rented the flat using my husband's and my ID cards," Nusrat said.

According to the complainant, the victim's life was under threat and she might have been murdered. Also, Piasa, who is a Facebook friend of the accused's mother, might have informed her about the recent developments.

"The accused Sayem told my sister to go back to Cumilla and he would leave for Dubai on April 27, fearing that his mother would find out about his relationship again and kill my sister," Nusrat said.

Meanwhile, Anvir's wife left the country for an unknown location on Monday afternoon from Shahjalal International Airport in a cargo flight. However, Anvir also made a failed attempt to leave the country.

However, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Shahidul Islam issued an order barring Anvir,from leaving the country on Tuesday. Whereas, in the petition, the Investigation officer said that there was a chance that Sayem might leave the country to evade the arrest.

The police have collected all the gadgets from the flat that the victim was using and searching the CCTV footage.

The deceased was a second grade student and HSC exam candidate at Mirpur Cantonment Public school and College, started living alone in the flat in March. Her father, Shafiqur Rahman, was a freedom fighter and the family hails from Cumilla Sadar.

The complainant also said that the victim had got into an argument with Anvir after photos of an iftar party that she attended with the landlord's family were shared on social media by the landlord's wife on April 23.

A leaked audio clip reportedly between the victim and the accused, which was not independently verified, reveals that a male voice accusing a female person of stealing money worth Tk50 lakhs. The female was heard crying and repeatedly denying that blame while the male voice repeatedly curses and uses expletives. According to immigration police, besides Bangladesh, Anvir also holds the passports of Slovakia.
An Idaho lawmaker facing rape allegations from a 19-year-old intern refused to answer some questions during a legislative ethics hearing Wednesday after his attorney told him to invoke his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

A committee will use testimony from Lewiston Republican Rep Aaron von Ehlinger's ethics hearing to determine if the 38-year-old lawmaker 'engaged in conduct unbecoming a representative which is detrimental to the integrity of the House'.

The investigation into von Ehlinger's conduct began in March after the intern told a supervisor that von Ehlinger raped her at his apartment after the two had dinner at a restaurant.

She told the committee that von Ehlinger brought her back to his apartment instead of to her car after dinner because he said he had to pick up something first. When they were inside, she said he physically carried her to the bedroom and at one point he was kneeling on her with his knees on top of her shoulders.

She said she told von Ehlinger she didn't want to have sexual contact and at one point lied and said she wasn't on birth control in hopes that he would be dissuaded. She said the lawmaker ignored her, forcing her to have oral sex.

On Wednesday, when the lawmaker was asked about what happened at his apartment, his attorney Edward Dindinger told him not to answer.

'I am instructing him not to answer these questions based on his Fifth Amendment rights, and I don't believe any competent counsel could advise him otherwise,' Dindinger said.

The Boise Police Department has a criminal investigation underway. Von Ehlinger has denied the allegations and maintains the sexual encounter was consensual.

On Wednesday, when Lewiston Republican Rep Aaron von Ehlinger (pictured) was asked about what happened at his apartment, his attorney Edward Dindinger told him not to answer 'based on his Fifth Amendment rights'

The young intern, who was also compelled to testify at the public hearing and did so while using the name 'Jane Doe,' told the committee (pictured) that she told von Ehlinger 'no' in several different ways as he tried to initiate sexual contact at his apartment

The committee also heard testimony from Idaho House Majority Caucus Leader Megan Blanksma (pictured) who said staffers previously reported inappropriate behavior from von Ehlinger

The young intern, who was also compelled to testify at the public hearing and did so while using the name 'Jane Doe,' told the committee that she told von Ehlinger 'no' in several different ways as he tried to initiate sexual contact at his apartment.

She also confirmed to the committee that her statement to police - that the lawmaker pinned her down, forced her to perform oral sex and, after she moved her head away, he masturbated on her while her arm was trapped - was correct.

The intern testified that von Ehlinger repeatedly approached her when she worked at the Statehouse, once inviting her into his office and visiting her office roughly 10 times.

She said she hoped the dinner would be an opportunity to network as well as a chance to eat at a fancy restaurant that she would never normally be able to afford as someone who earns $8 an hour.

The intern told the committee that appearing in the hearing and all the proceedings leading up to the hearing have been difficult.

'How do I explain that - vomiting on myself in the bathroom ... calling my mom because I'm terrified ... how do I explain that to the committee, what you've done to me?' she said about being required to testify.

'I came here fighting and earning your respect. But I don't blame you. I forgive you. You're doing your job, and I am too.'

Outside the Statehouse, dozens of supporters of the intern gathered for a rally to demand that von Ehlinger and other lawmakers be held accountable for the allegations and for allowing the intern's identity to be revealed.

White Bird Republican Rep Priscilla Giddings (pictured) was one of several people who revealed the teen's name and other personal details. She scoffed and laughed during the hearing on Wednesday as the teen testified

Some in the crowd held signs with slogans like, 'Expel von rapist' and 'Leveraging an elected office for sex is unethical'.

Jane Doe testified from behind a screen intended to protect her identity.

As the intern tried to exit the building after giving her testimony, some onlookers in the hall attempted to follow and videotape her as she went to her car, reported Alexandra Duggan with the University of Idaho's McClure Center Legislative Press on Twitter. Yelling and crying could be heard inside the committee room.

Several far-right blogs, one of von Ehlinger's former attorneys and White Bird Republican Rep Priscilla Giddings have all publicly released the teen's identity, making disparaging remarks about her and the allegations.

Giddings revealed the teen's name and other personal details in a newsletter to her constituents, claiming the allegations were a 'liberal smear job'.

Giddings, who was also in the committee room, scoffed and laughed at times during the hearing, including when the intern's attorneys suggested that the bullying the intern had experienced would make other women less willing to report sexual assault.

David Leroy, an attorney who was representing von Ehlinger at the time, also publicly released a seven-page letter written by von Ehlinger's previous attorney refuting the allegations and contending that the lawmaker had passed a lie detector test. That letter included the accuser's name, as well as some personally identifying details about her life.

Some far-right blogs also revealed the intern's name, photo and details about her personal life.

Neither Giddings nor Leroy responded to requests for comment.

The ethics committee hearing isn't a criminal proceeding. Instead, it's intended to help the members of the ethics committee decide whether von Ehlinger should face penalties - up to and including possibly being expelled from the Legislature.

Much of the testimony Wednesday morning focused on whether it was appropriate or expressly forbidden for lawmakers to date staff members. Von Ehlinger's attorney repeatedly stressed that there are no written anti-fraternization rules for the House of Representatives.

Idaho Deputy Attorney General Leslie Hayes, meanwhile, brought witnesses who testified that respectful workplace training sessions make clear that those working in the Statehouse shouldn't even hug each other because it may make some feel uncomfortable.

The investigation into von Ehlinger's (pictured) conduct began in March when the intern told a supervisor that the lawmaker raped her at his apartment after the two had dinner at a restaurant. Ehlinger is a member of the National Rifle Association and Army veteran

The committee also heard testimony from two other representatives who said von Ehlinger was previously warned against making women feel uncomfortable.

Before Wednesday's hearing, investigatory documents revealed transcripts of a call between the intern and von Ehlinger, in which she confronted him and said he forced her to perform oral sex.

'Like I told you I didn't wanna do that. I said I was was uncomfortable,' she told von Ehlinger during the call.

Von Ehlinger countered that he thought she was enjoying the physical interaction, but said he now has regrets.

'I um clearly made you feel uncomfortable,' he said, according to the transcript. 'And um, I didn't know that at the time, but I do now. And that's why I'm, uh, like seriously remorseful about it.'

According to the documents, von Ehlinger told the ethics committee that he was surprised by the complaint and that he was falsely accused.

'I take my my service seriously, both to my Country and to my State and the idea that I would be out doing something like this is um, preposterous,' he told the committee according to a transcript of the interview. 'And it disgusts me to even be accused of it.'

The ethics committee documents include text messages, letters and transcriptions of interviews the committee did with von Ehlinger, his colleagues, other Statehouse staffers and the young intern who made the rape report.

Several of those interviewed testified that they had grown concerned about von Ehlinger's behavior after hearing that he had flirted with staffers or otherwise made women who worked at the Statehouse uncomfortable.

One staffer asked a supervisor for help after she said von Ehlinger made her feel uncomfortable and asked her on a date.

That situation was resolved with an email from the staffer who told the lawmaker that she was married and not comfortable being alone with him, according to the documents.

In another instance, a lobbyist reported that von Ehlinger followed her around and made her feel uncomfortable during events outside the Statehouse, and that at one event she was worried he might have even rifled through her purse in an attempt to find her home address.

Von Ehlinger told the committee that he had previously asked out another woman who works on the Capitol grounds.

The Boise Police Department has a criminal investigation underway. Von Ehlinger has denied the allegations and maintains the sexual encounter was consensual

In another instance, a lobbyist reported that von Ehlinger (center waving) followed her around and made her feel uncomfortable during events outside the Statehouse, and that at one event she was worried he might have even rifled through her purse in an attempt to find her address

At various times, Speaker of the House Scott Bedke and House Majority Caucus Chair Rep Megan Blanksma, who testified on Wednesday, were alerted to the complaints, according to the documents.

Blanksma was concerned enough that she asked a colleague to warn von Ehlinger that he needed to remain strictly professional and avoid any behavior that could be perceived as flirtatious.

Von Ehlinger did not seem receptive to the warning, Blanksma told the committee.

'I hate to attribute, you know, any particular attitude to him but, it was, he was defensive when he came upstairs and I don't know that he appreciated the effort or the spirit in which the suggestion was made,' Blanksma said. 'I felt that he was pushing back on me even suggesting that path forward.'

Von Ehlinger told the committee that despite the warning, he still thought it was appropriate to ask staffers out on dates because he believed if the individual had a problem with it, they would let him know, 'and that the matter would be closed'.

The teen's attorney, Annie Hightower with the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence, said her client wanted to do the right thing by reporting the alleged rape.

'Our teenage client who believes she was doing her civic duty in reporting a crime, has also been publicly named, shamed, bullied and harassed by a small subset of elected officials,' Hightower said.

'They're using a teenager as a political pawn.'

After Wednesday's hearing, the committee will then recommend to the full House whether the complaint should be dismissed or if von Ehlinger should face reprimand, censure or expulsion, and the House will vote.
KANAZAWA, Japan, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Kanazawa University report in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters how high-speed atomic force microscopy can be used for studying DNA wrapping processes. The technique enables visualizing the dynamics of DNAprotein interactions, which in certain cases resembles the motion of inchworms.

The genetic material of most organisms is carried by DNA, a complex organic molecule. DNA is very long  for humans, the molecule is estimated to be about 2 m in length. In cells, DNA occurs in a densely packed form, with strands of the molecule coiled up in a complicated but efficient space-filling way. A key role in DNA's compactification is played by histones, structural-support proteins around which a part of a DNA molecule can wrap. The DNAhistone wrapping process is reversible  the two molecules can unwrap and rewrap  but little is known about the mechanisms at play. Now, by applying high-speed atomic-force microscopy (HS-AFM), Richard Wong and colleagues from Kanazawa University (NanoLSI WPI) provide valuable insights into the spatiotemporal dynamics of DNAhistone interactions.

The researchers looked at the interaction between DNA and a histone called H2A, one of the five main histones. To check the applicability of HS-AFM as a viable tool for imaging the DNAhistone interaction, they first focused on H2A in its native state. Wong and colleagues were able to image the topology of the molecule, and how it changes over time. Importantly, they showed that the HS-AFM process, during which a tapping force is constantly exerted on the molecule, does not lead to conformational changes or actual damage.

For real-time observation of the DNAH2A interaction with HS-AFM, the scientists prepared DNA samples with different lengths and forms: plasmid (long and circular), long-linearized and short-linearized DNA, with the latter having the highest motility. The experiments showed that the choice of substrate on which to put the DNA for AFM imaging is crucial; a particular type of lipid layer was found to be good as it does not strongly absorb DNA strands.

The observations of the interaction of H2A with short-linearized DNA, which the researchers nicknamed 'inchworm DNA', led to the most notable results. Specifically, four different interaction situations could be distinguished: touching, sliding, sandwiching and wrapping, with the associated motions indeed resembling the movements of inchworms.

Wong and colleagues also investigated the effect of ionic strength on the DNAhistone binding affinity, by changing the salt concentration of the liquid containing the DNAhistone aggregate. When increasing the liquid's salinity, the aggregate was found to dissolve. When diluting the liquid again  and so reducing the salt content  the aggregate reformed. This result shows that varying the ionic strength (i.e., the salt concentration) of the environment of the DNAH2A complex provides a way to mimic the variations in the strength of DNAhistone interactions as they happen in living organisms.

The report of Wong and colleagues represents the first real-time observation of DNAhistone interactions, and convincingly shows the applicability of HS-AFM for studying this kind of biological process, also in the context of diseases. Quoting the researchers: "[Our work] demonstrates  the potential to study protein aggregation and proteinnucleic acid aggregate formation in various human diseases."

Finally, it is worth highlighting the contribution of the paper's first author, Goro Nishide, who is a pre-doctoral student at the Division of Nano Life Science in the Graduate School of Frontier Science Initiative at Kanazawa University. Mr Nishide played a key role in the reported research, supervised by Professor Wong and Dr. Lim, by performing the experiments, co-designing the study and co-writing the paper. Mr Nishide is also enrolled in Kanazawa University's WISE program for Nano-Precision Medicine, Science and Technology, an initiative aimed at innovations in disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment methods based on exploiting our increased understanding of biological and other processes at the nanoscale.

Related image

Movie

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/VID-20210412-WA0013.mp4

Caption: Dynamic inchworm-wrapping interactions between short-linearized dsDNA and histone H2A on a cationic lipid substrate captured using HS-AFM.

Figure 1

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Figure-1.png

Caption: Real-time visualization of DNA wrapping around histone H2A using HS-AFM

A DNA strand initially slides on histone H2A, then sequentially adopts Sandwiching and Wrapping topologies (scale bar: 30nm).

Figure 2

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Figure-2.png

Caption: Direct real-time visualization of histone H2A-DNA complex aggregation, dissolution, and re-aggregation using HS-AFM. Long period observation of a histone H2A short-linearized dsDNA complex. Initially, histone H2A and short-linearized dsDNA were constantly added into scanning buffer to promote formation of large aggregate on bare mica. Then, ionic strength of scanning buffer was increased by changing scanning buffer containing different concentrations of salt. Dissolution of the aggregate was indicated with a white asterisk. The change was reversible upon replacing with salt-free buffer (scale bar: 75nm).

Background

Atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an imaging technique in which the image is formed by scanning a surface with a very small tip. Horizontal scanning motion of the tip is controlled by piezoelectric elements, while vertical motion is converted into a height profile, resulting in a height distribution of the sample's surface. As the technique does not involve lenses, its resolution is not restricted by the so-called diffraction limit as in X-ray diffraction, for example. In a high-speed setup (HS-AFM), the method can be used to produce movies of a sample's structural evolution in real time, as a typical biomolecule can be scanned in 100 ms or less. Now, Richard Wong and colleagues from Kanazawa University have successfully applied the HS-AFM technique to study the wrapping of DNA around structural proteins.

Division of Nano Life Science in the GRAFINITI and WISE program at Kanazawa University

Goro Nishide, the first author of the paper reporting the application of HS-AFM for visualizing DNAhistone dynamics, is a pre-doctoral student at the Division of Nano Life Science in the Graduate School of Frontier Science Initiative (GRAFINITI), an educational program at Kanazawa University fostering excellent graduate students wishing to participate in establishing the new scientific field of "Nano Probe Life Science". The students' supervisors for this program are all world-class researchers affiliated to the WPI-Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), a research center established in 2017 as part of Japan's World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the objective of which is the creation of world-tier research centers.

In addition, Mr Nishide is enrolled in Kanazawa University's WISE Program for Nano-Precision Medicine, Science, and Technology. Notably, WISE is a five-year integrated pre- and post-doctoral degree program that focuses on five types of diseases in humans (cancer, lifestyle diseases, neurological diseases, diseases caused by small particulates, and diseases caused by nanomaterials). Its mission is to foster technically skilled medical and engineering professionals who all contribute to the creation of innovative disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment methods through understanding and control on the nanoscale level. The WISE program is nurtured by a community of scientists from four domains (nanometrology, life sciences, supramolecular chemistry, and computational science), all engaging in transdisciplinary dialogue.

Education (NanoLSI website)

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/education/

Division of Nano Life Science in the GRAFINITI (launched April 2020) https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/education/major/

WISE program

https://nano-wise.w3.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/

Reference

Goro Nishide, Keesiang Lim, Mahmoud Shaaban Mohamed, Akiko Kobayashi, Masaharu Hazawa, Takahiro Watanabe-Nakayama, Noriyuki Kodera, Toshio Ando, and Richard W. Wong. High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Histone Protein H2A Involution by DNA Inchworming, J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 12, 38373846 (2021).

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c00697

URL: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c00697

About WPI nanoLSI Kanazawa University

Hiroe Yoneda

Vice Director of Public Affairs

WPI Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)

Kanazawa University

Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +81 (76) 234-4550

About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/

Nano Life Science Institute (NanoLSI), Kanazawa University is a research center established in 2017 as part of the World Premier International Research Center Initiative of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The objective of this initiative is to form world-tier research centers. NanoLSI combines the foremost knowledge of bio-scanning probe microscopy to establish 'nano-endoscopic techniques' to directly image, analyze, and manipulate biomolecules for insights into mechanisms governing life phenomena such as diseases.

About Kanazawa University

http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/

As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities.

The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa  a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas.

SOURCE Kanazawa University
GWM Resources director De Hong Yu claimed he ran largest jade mine in Australia

A Chinese mining executive who misled an investor by falsely claiming to own Australia's largest jade mine has been ordered to repay nearly $400,000.

International student Haolin Li, from China, was seeking permanent residency in Australia when he invited GWM Resources director De Hong Yu to dinner with his visiting father - the pair exchanging numbers and WeChat details.

Five months later in September 2017, Mr Li went to GWM's office in Thornleigh, Sydney where Mr Yu made claims about owning the jade mine and that he could help him get residency if he invested $1.2 million in his company.

He initially claimed his company was worth $15 million and asked for a 10 per cent stake at $1.5 million but said he could speak to other shareholders about a discount as his family could help 'develop' the company further.

'My company owns the largest jade mine in Australia. The investment in my company will help you to obtain permanent residency. After that, you can get your investment fund back with profit.' Mr Yu said, according to court documents seen by the Daily Telegraph.

Jade (pictured) is found throughout Australia and is used primarily in jewelry

Mr Yu claimed he needed the money to fund an Initial Public Offering to list the miner on the Australian Stock Exchange.

'Ok. But is my investment safe? Will I lose money?' Mr Li asked.

'Once the company is listed, its prospects are brilliant. The return of your investment is guaranteed. You will have a good return,'Mr Yu replied.

The student then asked if he would personally help him with the residency and how long the process would take.

Mr Yu assured him he would, and the visa would take about six months - with his deal offering him a rare opportunity to make money while he waited.

After speaking to his parents, a $150,000 deposit was wired from Mr Li's mother's account to GWM a month later, followed by another $184,662.90.

That same month a friend suggested he check Mr Yu's claims, after which he found an article which the court accepted caused him to doubt whether GWM actually did own any jade mines in Australia.

International students Haolin Li said he began to doubt whether GWM owned any jade mines in Australia after reading articles online (file image)

After tracking him down at his office, Mr Li asked for his money back despite Mr Yu offering him a job an insisting the deal was on track.

The money was not returned - leading to the student's parents suing.

The NSW District Court in March ordered Mr Yu repay the $334,692.90 plus $55,240 in interest after finding his conduct was misleading and deceptive in breach of consumer law.

This week Mr Yu told the Daily Telegraph the case was a 'misunderstanding' and claimed his jade mine would have been the only one of its kind in Australia.

He said he was appealing the decision.
LOS ANGELES, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- From April 24-26, 47 classes from throughout the United States competed in the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals, held once again as an online competition on the U.S. Constitution. The results were announced during an awards ceremony held April 27, where competitors learned the top finishers in the competition. The competition was sponsored by T-Mobile.

After three days of simulated congressional hearings that tested students' knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, three schools took top honors at the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals.

The National Winner: Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies, Richmond, Virginia

Teacher: Samuel Ulmschneider

Second Place: Grant High School, Portland, Oregon

Teacher: Angela DiPasquale

Third Place: Reno High School, Reno, Nevada

Teacher: Richard Clark

More than 1,000 students competed online using Zoom in the academic competition, where students demonstrated their knowledge of the Constitution in simulated congressional hearings and were judged by state supreme court judges, constitutional scholars, lawyers, public officials and We the People alumni.

The panel of judges tested the expertise of the classes on the six units of the "We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution" textbook: What Are the Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System? How Did the Framers Create the Constitution? How Has the Constitution Been Changed to Further the Ideals Contained in the Declaration of Independence? How Have the Values and Principles Embodied in the Constitution Shaped American Institutions and Practices? What Rights Does the Bill of Rights Protect? and What Challenges Might Face American Constitutional Democracy in the Twenty-first Century?

Information about the National Finals is available at https://www.civiced.org/national-finals-2021 and more information on the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program can be found at https://www.civiced.org/we-the-people.

The We the People Program is administered by the Center for Civic Education. More information about the Center can be found at http://www.civiced.org

The competition results were announced at an online awards ceremony Tuesday evening April 27, 2021 at 8pm (ET).

For a list of all the other awards and winning schools, please visit: https://www.civiced.org/national-finals-2021-awards

SOURCE The Center for Civic Education

Related Links

http://www.civiced.org


Army Major Kim Mi-hwa, fourth from left, poses with other winners of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' content awards to mark the 30th anniversary of South Korea's membership in the United Nations, during an awards ceremony at the ministry in Seoul, April 23. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs



By Nam Hyun-woo



South Korean Army Major Kim Mi-hwa won the grand prize at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' content awards, marking the 30th anniversary of South Korea's membership in the United Nations with her essay depicting the nation's and the international body's efforts to promote peace around the world.



The ministry awarded Kim and two other grand prize winners during a ceremony there on April 23. Each of them won the awards in the respective categories of: videos, slogans and essays.



Kim won the award with an essay portraying her experience of being dispatched to Lebanon in 2008 as part of the U.N. peacekeeping operations (PKO) there.



"I believe that South Korea has a unique experience that can truly send hope and peace to other countries, because the country has risen from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War and achieved prosperity," Kim told The Korea Times. "It is a unique story that only South Korea can deliver to other nations."



In her essay, Kim wrote that South Korean U.N. PKO members played their full roles as military diplomats, by sharing with Lebanese residents Korea's experience of achieving economic growth and becoming a donor country providing aid to other developing countries.



Now serving as a natural atmospheric environment policy officer at the Army Headquarters Engineer Room, Kim wrote that she feels that South Korea also gained rich experience through overseas operations and nurturing specialists during the peacekeeping operations.



Upon winning the prize, she donated the full prize money of 1 million won ($900) to a military fund for helping soldiers and veterans who sacrificed themselves during their service.



"It was a great pleasure to help fellow soldiers through the prize money," Kim said. "While writing the essay, I also had a good time recalling memories during both the dispatch and South Korea's presence in the United Nations."



Kim added that she hopes for Korea to successfully host the upcoming 2021 U.N. Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference and commemorate the 30th anniversary. The conference is slated for Dec. 7.



The awards reviewed 447 projects submitted from Jan. 18 to March 8, and selected nine outstanding works.



Along with Kim, Yoon Soon-jeong won in the slogan category with her slogan emphasizing Korea's and the U.N.'s commitment to world peace. Bae Yu-mi won the video clip category with her work portraying Korea's diplomatic records at the U.N. for the past three decades.



South Korea gained full U.N. membership on Sept. 17, 1991, upon the General Assembly's admission. North Korea was also admitted into the organization at the same time.


The parent company of Google, Alphabet, announced that its quarterly earnings more than doubled as search ads soared with more users turning to the internet amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company's first-quarter profit soared to $17.9 billion from $6.8 billion a year before, while sales increased by 34 percent to $55.3 billion, thanks to increases in ads and cloud computing services.

Google Ad Surge Drives Up Alphabet's Record Profit

"People have turned to Google Search and many online resources to stay updated, linked, and entertained over the last year," said Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Alphabet and Google. The growth in Alphabet's profits comes as regulators are scrutinizing the tech giant's dominance.

"Google essentially makes money; it's almost all ads," said Enderle Group analyst Rob Enderle. Because of "their broad effect on the political process and almost total domination of ad sales." According to the analyst, Facebook and Google are on the "short list" when it comes to regulatory oversight in Europe and the United States.

Google is one of the internet giants under pressure from regulators and analysts concerned that it abuses its ability to dominate business and stifle innovation, AFP via MSN reported. The Silicon Valley giant posted strong growth in search ads, or messages associated with the world's most popular internet search engine, as well as for its YouTube video-sharing site.

"Since the pandemic started, people have taken to Google search more than ever," Pichai said on an earnings call, adding that requests ranged from COVID-19 questions to career searches. According to Google's chief business officer Philipp Schindler, while the pandemic has posed significant obstacles for small companies, it has also provided openings for entrepreneurs to adapt their products to emerging trends.

How Google Home Speaker Can Help You Sleep Like A Baby

Google owner sees record profits as the pandemic continues

Alphabet had "lapped up the rewards from the pandemic like a big cat pouncing on cream," according to Sophie Lund-Yates, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. "While known for its start-up culture and workplaces, this tech giant is primarily an ad company," she explained.

"Because massive amounts of money have moved to online shopping as a result of COVID-19, revenue at Alphabet's impenetrable family of digital advertising companies has skyrocketed." The only issue that the tech giant faces is ongoing regulatory action on topics like competition and privacy, BBC reported.

On Monday, Roku, a digital TV technology firm, accused Google of engaging in anti-competitive conduct to promote its YouTube and hardware firms. Meanwhile, policymakers in the United States and Europe intend to consider tightening the regulation of Google and other tech giants, although no law has been agreed upon. Alphabet's stock gained 4.5 percent in after-hours trading as a result of the positive showing.

Why Did This Chinese Billionaire Suddenly Quit With His Tech Company?

Google parent company, Alphabet, plans $50 billion buy-back

Alphabet reported a record profit for the second quarter in-a-row and a $50 billion share buy-back on Tuesday but cautioned that a boom in use and ad sales during the COVID-19 pandemic might slow as people resume in-person activities. With online user engagement staying high in the first quarter, Alphabet surpassed analysts' expectations and almost exceeded its fourth-quarter sales record.

In extended trade, Alphabet shares gained 4.3 percent to $2,390.10. The findings are the first indication that Google services like search and YouTube may maintain gains made over the last year as people were forced to shop and connect online due to lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions. By the end of the first quarter, roughly 17 percent of citizens in the United States, Alphabet's highest revenue-generating area, had been completely vaccinated against COVID-19.

In March, activities such as in-person dining returned to major cities, and security screenings at U.S. airports saw their busiest day in a year, as per VCCircle. "It's too early to predict the degree to which these shifts in consumer behavior and advertising spend will last," Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts on Tuesday.

Google's COVID-19 Vaccine Ad 'Get Back to What You Love' Earns Emotional Response

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
WINNIPEG - Less than 10 per cent of the $1.7 million in fines the Manitoba government has issued to suspected COVID-19 rule-breakers has been collected so far, the Justice Department revealed Wednesday.

WINNIPEG - Less than 10 per cent of the $1.7 million in fines the Manitoba government has issued to suspected COVID-19 rule-breakers has been collected so far, the Justice Department revealed Wednesday.

"Since April 8, 2020, a total of $162,975 has been collected for tickets handed out in relation to public-health-order violations," the department said in a written statement.

A gavel is shown at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Timothy D. Easley

"Although this figure represents a smaller percentage of the total fines issued, it's important to note that Manitoba's large-scale provincial enforcement efforts only began in November of last year and collection efforts are ongoing."

The government has been highlighting its enforcement efforts in weekly news releases, but the statements don't say how many fines have been paid.

The province has an array of penalties for various offences.

Not wearing a mask in an indoor public place can cost $298. Gathering in numbers greater than permitted can lead to a $1,296 fine per person. Incorporated businesses that break rules on exceeding their permitted capacity can face $5,000 tickets.

In the early months of the pandemic, the province focused more on warnings and education campaigns than fines, which were initially set at lower rates. Premier Brian Pallister announced a tougher stance last fall after a few events including an anti-mask rally in Steinbach.

Collecting the money, if scofflaws don't voluntarily pay, can take time. A $50 fee is added to defaults and collection agencies can be called in.

Like other fines, people who don't pay may eventually face a hard decision when it comes time to renew their driver's licence.

"In such cases, the individual would also be prohibited from obtaining or renewing a drivers licence or vehicle registration until the amount is paid," the Justice Department statement said.

Hundreds of people gathered at the most recent public rally on Sunday in Winnipeg to protest public-health orders. Two fines were written out on site and more are expected, Justice Minister Cameron Friesen said earlier this week

The Opposition New Democrats said there are a number of reasons people may not pay the fines  some refuse to for ideological reasons while others may not be able to afford them.

NDP justice critic Nahanni Fontaine said the province could help the situation by more clearly promoting the rules people are expected to follow. Public health measures have changed many times during the pandemic's three waves.

"There's a lot of confusion on what's allowed, what's not allowed."

Fontaine said she knows of a restaurant owner who believed rules were being followed, but who was handed $2,500 in fines.

"You have to have (enforcement) with a robust comprehensive public education (campaign), and I would submit to you that that hasn't been pursued or done as well as it could have been, or as well as we need."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2021
The major cities of Vietnam have boomed in terms of real estate in the past decade, becoming a magnet for the wealthy. Photo: Duc Thanh

According to Savills recent global research report update, Vietnam is now among the fastest global growth markets for branded residences.

Major destinations for branded residences, which are usually a partnership between a well-known management brand and a property developer, include Dubai, Miami, and New York, with growth markets listed as Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Morocco, Malaysia, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

Savills Hanoi director Matthew Powell revealed that in 2020, urban areas containing the highest number of branded residences were Miami with 32 projects, Dubai with 29, and New York with 25 projects.

The United Arab Emirates, Mexico, and Brazil are expected to be potential markets with the number of projects expected to increase by 50 per cent compared to the total supply in 2020.

Other markets are recording rapid growth in this area, with at least six new projects to be announced in the near future in Vietnam, the UK, Morocco, Malaysia, Australia, and Saudi Arabia.

The diversification of investors portfolios together with the development of adequate quality and affordable prices will help Vietnam participate in the competition, said Powell. Currently, there are only a handful of international managers investing in branded residences in Vietnam, but the markets potential is real and the demand for this segment is well recognised with the rise of todays rich and middle class.

Limited supply

Branded residences in Vietnam are showing potential to attract buyers due to the limited supply and increasing demand.

The number of luxury apartments for sale in 2020 in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were much lower than in 2018 and 2019, due to the slow licensing process of new and expanded projects.

According to CBRE Vietnam, last year the number of apartments launched to the Ho Chi Minh City market was fewer than 17,300 units, a decrease of 35 per cent compared to 2019. This is the lowest level in the past six years and the fifth consecutive year the market has recorded a decline in supply.

In 2020, the Hanoi market recorded approximately 18,000 newly-launched apartments, a decrease of 52 per cent on-year. This is the lowest level in a year since 2015.

Although the selling price is at a historic peak for Vietnamese real estate, in the past 12 months luxury apartments have still recorded fairly high consumption thanks to the possession of prime locations in golden land plots of the city.

Luxury apartments in Ho Chi Minh City, meanwhile, are now quoted at an average of $7,000 per square metre in Thu Thiem New Urban Area and as much as $12,000 per sq.m in District 1.

The price of luxury apartment units, according to CBRE Vietnam, is increasing from 2 to 7 per cent in 2021 compared to the previous year.

The highest price was assumed by Grand Marina from Masterises Homes at $18,000 per sq.m in an open sale to overseas buyers in Hong Kong last month.

The high-end segment has long been a favourite investment product of the worlds rich, and it is no different in Vietnam.

The 2021 Prosperity Report from real estate consultant Knight Frank said that although the number of people with net worth over $30 million and people with assets of over $1 million in Vietnam decreased slightly in 2020, the number of super-rich people in Vietnam will grow in the next five years.

Specifically, the pandemic had caused numbers of super-rich people in 2020 in Vietnam to fall to 390, 15 people fewer than those in 2019. The number of people with net assets worth over a million dollars also dropped by over 1,000, to just over 20,000 people last year.

However, in the next five years, the growth rate of the rich in Vietnam will still reach 31 per cent, Knight Frank predicts. By 2025, Vietnam will have over 500 people with a net worth of over $30 million and over 25,000 people with more than $1 million in assets.

Competitive prices

For foreign buyers, Vietnam is considered a spotlight as it was one of only a few countries to net positive growth last year. It has also been praised for its stellar pandemic response and prevention measures.

Besides that, real estate prices in Vietnam were still much lower than regional cities like Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. The price of luxury apartments in the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh City can sit at $5,500-6,500 per sq.m, a small fraction of the price in Hong Kong.

In Bangkok, The Residences at Mandarin Oriental is quoted at around $17,000 per sq.m. A unit at St. Regis is quoted in Property Guru in Singapore with a price of $22,000 per sq.m.

Moreover, Vietnams rank has been continuously increasing for the past two years on real estate consultant JLLs Global Real Estate Transparency Index. Thanks to the development of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the countrys transparency was ranked 56th globally in 2020, entering the group of semi-transparent countries for the first time in a decade.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City also moved to the top 10 most active cities in the world in 2021 with Hanoi in the top three, according to JLL.

A survey carried out at the end of 2020 from the Vietnam Real Estate Research Institute shows that if other segments have strong volatility, luxury real estate in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City has reached good absorption rate because it meets the needs and strict standards of wealthy people.

Although the supply of real estate products fell sharply, luxury products were no exception but the number of successful transactions reached 81 per cent, accounting for 25 per cent of the total real estate market. The absorption rate of the luxury real estate segment alone fluctuates at 70-80 per cent, showing that the room for growth is still large, the institute added.

Despite being an infant property market, Vietnam has become a home for the largest branded residences project to date worldwide for Marriott International, with close to 4,200 residential and officetel units in Ho Chi Minh City developed by domestic developer Masterise Homes. This project is anticipated to include branded units from both JW Marriott and Marriott Hotels.

Besides that, Marriott International is also currently exploring the option of a Ritz-Carlton, its first luxury brand, for another project in Ho Chi Minh City.

Other branded residences managed in Vietnam include Ascott from CapitaLand and Hyatt for the residential part of two projects on Phu Quoc Island and Ho Tram in Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
The next generation of Gossip Girl are ready for their close-up three months ahead of the premiere of HBO Max's 'more queer and diverse' 10-episode spin-off.

Nine of the new Upper East Siders covered the May/June edition of Cosmopolitan where they were styled in looks by the original teen soap's costume designer Eric Daman.

Showrunner Joshua Safran - who penned 111 episodes of The CW series - teased that there's a 'big plot twist' for his post-COVID, social media-obsessed continuation.

Fresh faces: The next generation of Gossip Girl are ready for their close-up three months ahead of the premiere of HBO Max's 'more queer and diverse' 10-episode spin-off

The new version of Chuck Bass is Max Wolfe played by 26-year-old Thomas Doherty, who noted: 'Yes, I do get naked, and yes, I do indulge [in gay love scenes].'

The new Dan Humphrey outsider character is Zoya Lott played by Whitney Peak, who was born in Uganda and raised near Vancouver.

'Representation is everything,' 17-year-old Whitney said.

'I want all the hers and the hes and the theys and the people of color from all over the world to be able to watch the show and think, That's a person who looks like me. I don't have to be the stereotypical idea of who I am.'

Spotlight: Nine of the new Upper East Siders covered the May/June edition of Cosmopolitan where they were styled in looks by the original teen soap's costume designer Eric Daman

What could it be? Showrunner Joshua Safran - who penned 111 episodes of The CW series - teased that there's a 'big plot twist' for his post-COVID, social media-obsessed continuation

The new version of Chuck Bass is Max Wolfe played by 26-year-old Thomas Doherty, who noted: 'Yes, I do get naked, and yes, I do indulge [in gay love scenes]'

28-year-old transgender actress Zion Moreno played coy on whether or not her character Luna La is also transgender.

The ensemble's most recognizable actor is Tavi Gevinson whose mysterious character Kate Keller is only described as 'ambitious.'

'Part of the fun of watching the old one at the time was, oh, this is what it's like to be a very privileged teenager who can act with impunity, and living vicariously through that,' the 25-year-old former fashion blogger said.

'But with this show, class resentment is a much more explicit part of it, which I'm very in tune with.'

'Representation is everything': The new Dan Humphrey outsider character is Zoya Lott played by 17-year-old Whitney Peak, who was born in Uganda and raised near Vancouver

LGBTQ represented: 28-year-old transgender actress Zion Moreno played coy on whether or not her character Luna La is also transgender

Broadway alum and essayist: The ensemble's most recognizable actor is Tavi Gevinson whose mysterious character Kate Keller is only described as 'ambitious'

Evan Mock and Emily Alyn Lind play the longtime couple Aki Menzies and Audrey Hope of the reboot, which is set nine years after the original series.

Other students at Constance Billard and St. Jude's include Savannah Smith and Jordan Alexander, who portray the powerful Monet de Haan and teen influencer Julien Calloway.

Kristen Bell reprises her narrator role from Josh Savage and Stephanie Schwartz's show, which ran for six seasons from 2007-2012.

The 25-year-old former fashion blogger (R) said: 'Part of the fun of watching the old one at the time was, oh, this is what it's like to be a very privileged teenager who can act with impunity, and living vicariously through that. But with this show, class resentment is a much more explicit part of it, which I'm very in tune with'

Wandering eyes: Evan Mock (L) and Emily Alyn Lind (R) play the longtime couple Aki Menzies and Audrey Hope of the reboot, which is set nine years after the original series

Flex: Other students at Constance Billard and St. Jude's include Savannah Smith (L) and Jordan Alexander (R), who portray the powerful Monet de Haan and teen influencer Julien Calloway

Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Blake Lively, Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick may or may not make cameos, but their characters 'exist in this world.'

'The characters talk about them and that they do exist. So, yeah, I would love to have them come back,' Safran told ET in 2019.

'The show jumped five years in the future when it ended and we are past that five years now, so it's whole new things that they could be doing.'

Xoxo: Kristen Bell (R) reprises her narrator role from Josh Savage and Stephanie Schwartz's show, which ran for six seasons from 2007-2012

Just like MCU: (from L-R) Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Blake Lively, Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick may or may not make cameos, but their characters 'exist in this world'
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 04:34:37|Editor: huaxia

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RABAT, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita held video talks on Tuesday with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on bolstering bilateral ties, the Moroccan news agency reported.

The two ministers welcomed "the strong relations of partnership and cooperation" in political, economic and cultural aspects between the two countries, the report said.

Bourita said that Morocco supports Saudi Arabia's initiative to resolve the crisis in Yemen.

Morocco will stand by Saudi Arabia to defend its stability, territorial integrity and the security of its citizens and residents, Bourita was quoted as saying by the report.

On the Palestinian cause, the two officials called for overcoming the stagnation in the peace process, and the resumption of negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis on the basis of the two-state solution, it said.

The agency added that the talks also focused on other regional issues, including the situation in Yemen and Libya. Enditem
GET THE niggers, was their slogan, / Kill them, burn, them, set the pace. / Let them know that we are white men. /Teach them how to keep their place. AJ Smitherman, The Tulsa Race Riot and Massacre (1922).

I had just left Harvard University as an assistant professor and was doing Time to Talk, a series of interviews for T&T Television.
SHANGHAI, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, Derek Li, founder of Squirrel Ai Learning, was honored with 2020 BETT Asia Leadership Award as the only one winner for his continuous and profound reform in education technology. Candidates contending for the award were Asian leading figures in education, including Pradeep Nair, vice president & Chief Academic Officer of Taylor's University Malaysia, Professor WANG Zihua, Vice Dean of the School of Education, National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, China and Anirudh Gupta, CEO of DCM in India.

The British Educational Technology in Teaching (BETT) Awards are to encourage new teaching methods, innovative teaching concepts, and innovation that combines technology with education, considered the world's largest and most authoritative awards in educational products. Opened to the whole world, the BETT awards are evaluated by globally famous educators in reference to the feedback of schools and users. Representative of the evaluation breadth, height and recognition of the global education circles, the BETT awards are reputed as the Oscars in the global educational technology community.

The Leadership Award is granted to individuals who continually raise educational technology standards in educational institutions and use innovative thinking to explore best practice models that bring greater benefits to students and staff. Derek Li is worthy of such award.

A Pioneer in Global AI+ Education Practice

Derek Li is a serial entrepreneur working in the education industry for almost twenty years, and is in a leading position in the world of applying AI technologies to education. Squirrel Ai Learning is an AI education brand founded by Derek Li in 2014. as China's first education AI SaaS company developing and owning proprietary AI adaptive learning systems for primary and secondary schools, Squirrel Ai Learning is committed to providing 1 million K12 education and training institutions and 360,000 primary and secondary schools with SaaS services ranging from teaching services of AI virtual teachers to evaluation, homework and data-based management.

Squirrel Ai Learning is an AI unicorn in primary and secondary education, and its AI self-adaptive learning engine is the world's first L5 level automatic teaching AI virtual teacher. It can realize intelligent and personalized education centered on students, achieve or even surpass the teaching effect of real famous teachers, and teach students in accordance with their aptitude and effectively improve learning efficiency.

As introduced in the award speech by the host, LI has attracted a large number of international professionals with his personal charm. He has provided them with opportunities to give full play to their advantages to cooperate in innovative and rich technical practices, actively explore the use of adaptive learning technology to change the status quo of global education, and solving the problems of unbalanced educational development and unfair distribution of educational resources.

LI expressed his honor to receive this BETT Leadership Award. Winners of and nominees to BETT Awards in previous years include Microsoft, Adobe, BBC, LEGO education and other world-renowned enterprises/institutions. The attention of BETT Awards to the education SaaS software service of Squirrel Ai Learning this year is not only a recognition of the sponsors for personal entrepreneurship, but also an affirmation of the technical strength of the Chinese educational software brand.

Those who start a business must aspire for its end; those who succeed must focus on the beginning. "AI has exerted an enormous impact on human beings and will certainly affect every aspect of our work and life," LI was confident in AI technologies changing the world. At the global AI+ adaptive education summit AIAED 2019, therefore, Squirrel Ai Learning and the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) announced the AAAI Squirrel Ai Award for Artificial Intelligence for the Benefit of Humanity. Meanwhile, Squirrel Ai Learning announced its decision to give USD 1 million of funds every year to encourage outstanding scientists to make AI truly useful and beneficial to mankind.

When asked about the purpose of the award, LI revealed that the rapid development of AI requires the involvement of more researchers, professors and experts, so as to inspire more and more experts and young scientists to work harder and make greater contributions to human development and change. It's hoped that the AAAI-Squirrel Ai Award for Artificial Intelligence for the Benefit of Humanity can become the Nobel Prize in AI.

Building a World-leading Education Brand

Recently, LIU Fuxing, dean of the School of Education of Remin University of China, elaborated his personal views on the development of online education industry. He believed that online education has a unique and important value in the Chinese education system and even the world education system. Building a high-quality education system with old methods will not be possible without digital technology. In face of increasingly fierce and complex international competition, however, online education is one of the fields that cannot be slowed down in the big picture of Chinese education reform and innovation.

LIU said, "The countries whose education adapts to digital technology will dominate the global landscape; if they do not adapt, they will fall behind in education and talent," This viewpoint coincides with LI's global view of education as LI raised the issue of the "digital divide" in the education industry before.

He pointed out that on the one hand, there is no denying that the level of basic education in China is among the best in the world from a global perspective; in recent years, Chinese students have been among the top in a number of PISA tests and have grown into technology backbones, contributing to the current "engineer bonus", and enabling many domestic Internet companies to stand in the global forest; on the other hand, China has not produced so many Nobel Prizes in basic science, and has not developed the world's best technologies. Is this education a success or a failure? What is the gap between the two?

In response to this, LI believes that China's solid basic education and the hard work of students, schools and society give us more opportunities for development than overseas countries. However, we should not ignore the fact that "children are too tired and have an extremely low level of happiness" in exam-oriented education, which may curb the children's qualities on which innovations and inventions depend, including curiosity, exploration and creativity.

The future education should not be merely cramming of knowledge points. Developing the ability to solve problems and learning how to learn is the essence of education. The cultivation, training and promotion of these core competencies will equip Chinese children with a solid foundation to explore the leading technologies, and the application of AI technology will undoubtedly be a strong support.

Through the use of evolutionary algorithms, logistic regression and neural network, Squirrel AI Learning can push learning contents according to the massive data generated by students during learning, build user portraits based on the data feedback, and continue to automatically optimize the push logic. The learning paths of individual students can be planned and matched, so as to realize the individualized requirements of "intellectual adaptation". Thus far, Squirrel AI Learning has more than 10 million users nationwide, which is the best proof.

"The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation should lie in not only the construction of hardware infrastructure, but also the rise of soft power and whether we have created a world-class cultural and educational brand," LI revealed. As can be seen from the past, the Chinese education has certain competitive defects in the world, but the improved application of AI technology in the AI era will present the opportunity of corner overtaking for the development of China's education.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/derek-li-founder-of-squirrel-ai-learning-honored-with-2020-bett-asia-leadership-award-301278790.html

SOURCE Squirrel Ai Learning
KY Receives $126M in Tobacco Settlement Funds

By West Kentucky Star Staff

FRANKFORT - Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced Tuesday that Kentucky received over $126 million in the 2021 annual tobacco settlement payment from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA).

"MSA funds support agricultural diversification initiatives and health and education programs across the Commonwealth," said Attorney General Cameron. "Since signing the agreement, Kentucky has received more than $2.4 billion from tobacco manufacturers, and we ensure that these manufacturers continue to comply with the terms outlined in the agreement."

In 1998, Kentucky joined 52 states and territories in signing the Tobacco MSA, which, at the time, was a historic agreement with major cigarette manufacturing companies. The agreement settled state lawsuits against major tobacco companies for Medicaid costs related to smoking. Each state determines how the funds will be used. In addition to obtaining annual compensation for tobacco-related medical expenses, the MSA seeks to reduce underage smoking and decrease new smokers.

Under the agreement, tobacco manufacturer signatories agree to make payments based on an annually adjusted rate per number of cigarettes sold each year. Participating manufacturers will continue to make payments to the Commonwealth while they sell cigarettes.

The Kentucky General Assembly has allocated half of the MSA funds specifically for agricultural diversification through grants distributed by the Office of Agricultural Policy. The Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee oversees all agricultural grant application decisions and monitors expenditures under the early childhood development fund and the Kentucky Health Care Improvement Fund.

Assistant Attorney General Michael Plumley administers the MSA for the Attorney General's Office, ensuring that Kentucky gets its share of valuable funds from the agreement.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a press briefing at the White House on March 1, 2021. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Biden Administration Limits Arrests of Illegal Immigrants at Courthouses

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced new guidance on April 27 to limit the arrest of illegal immigrants in or near courthouses, reversing a Trump-era policy that expanded such arrests.

Ensuring that individuals have access to the courts advances the fair administration of justice, promotes safety for crime victims, and helps to guarantee equal protection under the law, Mayorkas said in a statement.

The expansion of civil immigration arrests at courthouses during the prior administration had a chilling effect on individuals willingness to come to court or work cooperatively with law enforcement, he said. Todays guidance is the latest step in our efforts to focus our civil immigration enforcement resources on threats to homeland security and public safety.

Under former President Donald Trump, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a directive (pdf) in January 2018 regarding civil immigration enforcement actions inside federal, state, and local courthouses. ICE stated at the time that such arrests are wholly consistent with longstanding law enforcement practices, nationwide, and could reduce safety risks because individuals entering courthouses are typically screened by law enforcement personnel.

Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations officers conduct a criminal search warrant in Texas in August 2018. (ICE/via Reuters)

DHSs new policy stipulates that the arrests can only be done under limited circumstances, such as situations that pose a national security issue, or imminent risk of death or physical harm, or in hot pursuit of someone whos a threat to public safety, or imminent risk of destruction of evidence material to a criminal case.

The new guidance also applies to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Stephen Miller, a former senior adviser to Trump, criticized the new policy, saying it will release huge numbers of criminals while putting ICE officers in unsafe situations.

Once more, [President Joe] Biden privileges the convenience of criminal aliens over the lives of US citizens, Miller wrote on Twitter. Making matters worse, Im told the policy also applies to immigration courtsfurther ensuring that non-detained aliens who lose in court will never be removed.

White House senior adviser Stephen Miller at the White House in Washington on July 8, 2020. (Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images)

Angel dad Dan Ferguson, whose 28-year-old daughter, Amanda Weyant-Ferguson, was killed in a hit-and-run by an illegal alien in 2018, also expressed anger over this new policy.

My daughter would be alive today if a judge would have allowed ICE to do their job, Ferguson wrote on Twitter. Instead, he was released and later killed my girl while drinking and driving. When will enough be enough.

The DHS didnt immediately respond to a request from The Epoch Times for comment.

This isnt the first time the Biden administration has limited ICEs ability to remove illegal immigrants.

On Jan. 20, the day Biden took office, his acting DHS secretary, David Pekoske, signed a memorandum (pdf) directing DHS components to review and reset enforcement policies while canceling most of Trumps immigration enforcement policies. The memo prevented ICE from removing the vast majority of criminal illegal immigrants.

In the fiscal year 2018 report, ICE pointed out that 66 percent of the aliens arrested were convicted criminals, and 21 percent had pending criminal charges. That year, ICE arrested 138,117 aliens with criminal histories (convicted criminal and pending criminal charges).
Russia Expels Diplomats From Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia

Russia on Wednesday ordered the expulsion of seven diplomats from Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, in retaliation for the expulsion of Russian envoys in the wake of Czech accusations that Russian intelligence was behind a deadly 2014 blast.

Moscow and Prague are locked in their biggest row since the end of the Communist era in 1989, which has spiraled into a series of diplomatic disputes with other European Union and NATO countries as Russias ties with the West linger at post-Cold War lows.

Russias foreign ministry gave the three Slovak and two Lithuanian diplomats, as well as an envoy from Latvia and another from Estonia, one week to leave Russia.

Russia accused the four countries of showing pseudo-solidarity with the Czech Republic, which ordered most Russian diplomatic staff in Prague to leave last week after accusing Russian spies of being behind the blast at an ammunition depot.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria said on Wednesday prosecutors were collecting evidence on the possible involvement of six Russians in four explosions between 2011 and 2020 at Bulgarian arms depots that were storing munitions destined for export to Ukraine and Georgia.

Russia has branded the Czech accusations absurd and dismissed the Bulgarian probe.

Moscows latest diplomatic expulsions come days after President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to draw up a list of unfriendly states that will be subject to restrictions.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday the list would soon be published. The ministrys spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, has already confirmed the United States would be on it.

Izvestia newspaper reported on Tuesday that the list could also include Poland, the Czech Republic, and the three Baltic states.

The two suspects named by Czech authorities in the 2014 ammunition depot explosion, known under the aliases Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, were reported by the New York Times in 2019 to be part of the elite Unit 29155 in Russias GRU military intelligence service.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after its publication that the article amounted to pulp fiction.

Britain charged the pair in absentia with attempted murder after the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter with the nerve agent Novichok in the English city of Salisbury in 2018. Russia denied involvement in that incident.

By Anton Kolodyazhnyy, Anastasia Teterevleva, Andrius Sytas, and Tsvetelia Tsolova
CHICAGO, April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading independent investment banking and financial advisory firm, is pleased to announce the closing of financing used to support two acquisitions by Evercast, a portfolio company of PNC Mezzanine Capital and Cornerstone Capital Partners. BGL's Debt Capital Markets team served as the exclusive financial advisor to Evercast in the process. Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

BGL was retained as financial advisor to Evercast to arrange committed debt capital under a quick timeline. Tweet this Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading independent investment banking and financial advisory firm, is pleased to announce the closing of financing used to support two acquisitions by Evercast, a provider of pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete products in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S.

Evercast is a leading provider of pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete products in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S., supplying end-markets including transportation infrastructure, underground utility systems, and commercial and residential construction. The company sought a senior debt financing partner to support the acquisition of Precast Supply Company, as well as the pending acquisition of a second target under exclusivity. The acquisitions will complement Evercast's existing product offerings while further expanding its presence and customer base.

BGL was retained as financial advisor to arrange committed debt capital under a quick timeline that would provide the company with flexibility and capacity to support the acquisitions and future growth plans.

BGL's Debt Capital Markets Group arranges debt solutions across the credit spectrum on behalf of public, privately held, or sponsor-backed companies. The team liaises seamlessly between BGL's sector-focused bankers, the firm's financial sponsor contacts, and its vast network of lender relationships to secure optimal pricing and terms for clients.

About Brown Gibbons Lang & Company

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm focused on the global middle market. The firm advises private and public corporations and private equity groups on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, capital markets, financial restructurings, valuations and opinions, and other strategic matters. BGL has investment banking offices in Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia, and real estate offices in Chicago, Cleveland, and San Antonio. The firm is also a founding member of Global M&A Partners, enabling BGL to service clients in more than 30 countries around the world. Securities transactions are conducted through Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Company Securities, Inc., an affiliate of Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LLC and a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, please visit www.bglco.com.

SOURCE Brown Gibbons Lang & Company

Related Links

https://www.bglco.com


I just read the letter to the editor from Allen Coady from Friedensburg. He hit the nail on the head. He should run for president.

Schuylkill Haven



In the Republican Herald, a recent quote from Palamar, Buildings not occupied for long periods of time can result in problems, it seems like lack of maintenance or security resulting in rodent infestation, fire hazards, structural collapse, not to mention general appearance, viewed by not only the residents, but the visitors to the City of Pottsville. You dont see deplorable properties in the Yorkville section because that is where officials spend all their time, money for beautification. The northern end of the city gets very little attention because they just let them get deplorable, dilapidated and have problems.

Pottsville



Front page news and a YouTube video for dead ducks. You have got to be kidding me.

Barnesville



I am in my so-called golden years. More like tarnished years after the 100 days of Joe Biden and the Democrats. My faith and hope I had for this country is gone. They are destroying the Constitution. Their love for power will destroy this country.

Auburn



Our fire chief in Girardville would not harm animals. He is a very kind person. I have known him since he was a kid. He loves animals and is very kind to everybody, so I know he didnt do it deliberately.

Girardville



It is so sad that cousin Ron put in on Facebook, TV and paper about the chief. It was an accident.

Girardville



How does anyone unite a country where half the population does not want to be united with anyone?

Frackville



The picking of the news outlet as to which one is more honest is a matter of opinion, but heres a little version: CNNs Chris Cuomo, excellent job of journalism, shows five videos of the police disarming white men with weapons that happened in the last year and then begged if anyone has videos of Black men being disarmed peacefully hed liked to show them. They dont exist. Thats journalism. Good job, Chris Cuomo and CNN.

Pottsville



To the state of Florida, you cant get people, standing in the hot sun, water while they are trying to vote but it is legal to run down protesters? No wonder your state is red, all your brains are burnt out.

Pottsville



Ever since I can remember, and I am now in my 40s, my family always watched ABC and CNN. It was hard, but maybe about a year or two ago, I started watching Fox News. Now, I wonder how I could do without it. I dont miss CNN at all or ABC. It took awhile. It was a hard habit to break but after seeing their lies it is easier.

Minersville



I dont think we should have to worry about going to Mars or any other planet to see if they are suitable to sustain life. COVID-19 has made enough room here on Earth for the future generations to live.

Ashland



To Tremont, you are 100% right. Everybody should see that movie, Red Dawn. It could happen tomorrow.

Schaeffers Hill



To all police out there, thank you for what you do. May God bless each and every one of you. Just know that you are appreciated.

Pottsville



Great letter, Joe Matz, from Port Carbon. Great letter.

Pottsville



It is time to save the taxpayers money and close all these tax offices in towns that have been closed since the pandemic started.

Frackville



I just cant wait until these people with electric cars get their utility bills. I wonder if they think they are going to plug them in for free. Those charging stations you are going to have to put a credit card in there. Also, the power companies cant even keep up in the summer with air conditioners going so just wait until the air conditioners are on and these cars are plugged in.

Pottsville



The difference between Donald Trump and Joe Biden is one is a businessman and the other one is politician. I would still rather have a businessman than a left-wing puppet.

Pottsville



How is it that a person from Canada can own a home in the United States, pay taxes and they are only allowed to stay here in this country for six weeks but you can come from South America, own nothing, pay nothing and stay the rest of your life?

Pine Grove



Minersville, I can tell you what is wrong with Maxine Waters. She is a Democrat and a hypocrite. Twice now she has invited people to violence on national television. Who knows how many other times.

Gordon



I agree with Mahanoy City about Rich Magnani. I, too, have hunted most of my life and there is no reason for any civilian to possess military-style weapons. In fact, just about every white mass murderer who used one of those weapons was a law-abiding citizen just before he became a mass murderer. So, nobody knows who the next law-abiding citizen will be that makes you or one of your family members his victim by using one of those weapons.

Klingerstown



Small businesses in Pennsylvania are never going to recover or survive if they cannot be staffed because nobody wants to work. Two local businesses that I know personally have severely altered their hours because they have no employees. Like they say, why should I get a job when I can sit home and make more on unemployment? What is this world coming to?

Pine Grove
She's is one of Australia's top actors who is set to star alongside Nicole Kidman in an upcoming series.

And on Wednesday, footage surfaced of the actress when she was nine-years-old on the iconic variety show Young Talent Time.

In the short clip, the child star dressed in a bright ensemble of a leotard, leggings and jacket, with colourful ribbons throughout her hair.

Scroll down for video

Guess who! She's the critically acclaimed Australian actress who had her start singing and dancing on Young Talent time - but can you recognise who she is?

She sung and danced along to the 1980 hit song Fame by Irene Cara - but can you guess who she is?

The talented youngster is none other than acclaimed actress and Offspring star Asher Keddie.

Asher, who grew up taking dance classes, gave an energetic performance on the iconic stage.

What a performance! In the short clip, the child star dressed in a bright ensemble of a leotard, leggings and jacket, with colourful ribbons throughout her hair. She sung and danced along to the 1980 hit song Fame by Irene Cara

Marking a milestone: The talent youngster was none other than acclaimed actress Asher Keddie. The footage was shared on the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Instagram account to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Young Talent Time

The footage was shared on the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Instagram account to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Young Talent Time.

'What better way to tackle Wednesday than with some FAME energy - thanks to @asherkeddieofficial on Young Talent Time in 1983!' the caption read.

Other stars who got their start on YTT include Dannii Minogue and Tina Arena.

Acting credits: Asher has gone on to become one of Australia's most sought after actors having starred in TV dramas such as Love My Way, The Cry and Paper Giants

Lead star: Most notably is her role on the Channel 10 comedy drama Offspring as Dr Nina Proudman. Pictured left is Offspring co-star Alicia Gardiner

Asher has gone on to become one of Australia's most sought after actors having starred in TV dramas such as Love My Way, The Cry and Paper Giants.

One of her most notable roles was Dr Nina Proudman in the Channel 10 dramedy Offspring.

Her portrayal of Dr Proudman earned her the Most Popular Actress award and coveted Gold Logie win in 2013.

Golden girl! Her portrayal of Dr Proudman earned her the Most Popular Actress award and coveted Gold Logie win in 2013

Asher is set to co-star with Nicole Kidman in her highly anticipated Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers, alongside the likes of Melissa McCarthy and Luke Evans.

In addition to an incredible professional life and career to date, Asher also has a full and successful family life.

She is married to artist Vincent Fantauzzo and the pair tied the knot in a private beachside ceremony on Fiji's Turtle Island.

Loved up: In addition to an incredible professional life and career to date, Asher also has a full and successful family life. She is married to artist Vincent Fantauzzo

Only one guest was in attendance: Vincent's 11 year-old son, Luca, from a previous marriage.

Asher and Vincent went on to welcome a son of their own, Valentino, in March 2015.

The couple first met at Vincent's art studio in Melbourne in 2012, but he was running late and she was close to leaving.

Family: Asher and Vincent went on to welcome a son of their own, Valentino, six, (centre), in March 2015. She is also stepmother to Vincent's son from a previous marriage, Luca, 11 (right)

She previously told InStyle magazine: 'I saw this incredibly gorgeous but chaotic man come outside the building looking all around him frantically - I hadn't ever met him before but I recognised him from photos - and I thought, "Oh, my God, that's him!"

'Look, this is going to sound absolutely like a ridiculous movie scene but there's no point in playing it down.

'It was one of those very special moments in life where we walked towards each other and both felt exactly the same thing, and that was, "Oh, right, I'm going to be with this person [forever]," before any words were even spoken.'
KYIV. April 28 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Land reform in Ukraine without the timely adoption and high-quality functioning of the judicial reform, as well as without the development of infrastructure will have negative consequences for the Ukrainian statehood, director of the Ukrainian Barometer sociological service Viktor Nebozhenko believes.

"Ukraine needs land reform, but it must be complemented by a judicial reform that would regulate possible conflicts. This is important. There is a risk of banditry with landlessness in the future. For example, there is a farmer who owns fertile land, and tomorrow he is shown documents that the land is no longer his. And with the judicial system that is now in Ukraine, it will end badly," Nebozhenko said at an online conference at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on the topic "Hot April 2021. Is Ukrainian politics entering perfect storm zone?"

Also, according to the political scientist, "in Ukraine it is necessary to develop a system of roads so that people and equipment can be brought or taken away to the fields."

"Whatever land potential Ukraine has, it will not be realized without roads," Nebozhenko added.

He noted that "an additional guarantee of a successful land reform would be the creation of land banks and land exchanges."

"The figure of the prime minister, who would understand the issues of agrarian policy, is also important," the expert said.

Political analyst Valentyn Hladkykh, in turn, noted that "there is a danger of excessive concentration of land in transnational companies or land oligarchs."

"Land in no case should become an object of financial speculation. Conventionally, such an asset is bought with the hope of resale in case of a rise in its price, but it is not interesting as a resource for exploitation. I am a supporter of land reform from the point of view that land should be in the hands of private owners who will directly work on it. Since the land begins to be worth something only when human work is added to it," he said.

"The Verkhovna Rada lifted the moratorium on the sale of land, but it is necessary to develop infrastructure so that everything can function in a civilized way. Otherwise, very negative consequences could occur not only for the Ukrainian government, but also for the Ukrainian statehood," the political analyst added.
A 10,000 (11,490) fine for breaching coronavirus laws could be proportionate for someone like Rita Ora, according to a UK government minister.

Kit Malthouse told MPs a fixed penalty notice of that size  designed to be a serious deterrent against flouting restrictions  may be appropriate for someone like the pop star, who had enjoyed international success.

The policing minister made the comments after being asked by members of the Commons Justice Committee whether a 10,000 fine was a proportionate amount to pay for a Covid breach.

The fines were introduced to address indoor gatherings and others considered super-spreader events which were seen as extremely dangerous and often took place in virus hotspots, he said, telling MPs they were meant to be a serious deterrent to bring significant consequences for such behaviour.

But he pointed out that fixed penalty notices can be challenged in court and it is then for the court to decide what is an appropriate amount depending on individual circumstances.

He said: Now if you are Rita Ora, who happened to fall foul I think at one point, then probably 10,000 might be proportionate given that very talented performers enormous success internationally  that might be a fine that is proportionate.

But for others who still committed the same offence, but want to challenge it in court, then its for the court to decide how they can achieve the same impact financially on that individually.

The pop star apologised last year for an inexcusable error of judgment after admitting breaching lockdown restrictions when she held a small gathering at a west London restaurant to celebrate her 30th birthday.

The incident was described as one of the most egregious, and certainly the most notorious, breaches of the regulations committed on licensed premises by police lawyers at a subsequent licence review hearing for the restaurant.

At the time it was understood Ms Ora offered to pay any fine imposed as a result of her actions.

Police later confirmed four people were reported for coronavirus rule breaches but would not disclose details about any fines that may have been issued.

It comes after a group of MPs and peers branded coronavirus fines muddled, discriminatory and unfair and called for a review of all of those issued under lockdown laws.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) said the system criminalises the poor over the better-off and no Covid-19 fine should result in a criminal record.

Significant concerns about the validity of the fines, the inadequacy of the review and appeal process, the size of the penalties and the criminalisation of those who cannot afford to pay were set out in a report.
[April 28, 2021] Parade Technologies Reports First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Parade Technologies, Ltd. (Taipei Exchange: 4966.TWO), a leading high-speed interface IC supplier, today announced financial results for the first quarter fiscal year 2021 ended March 31, 2021, and provided guidance for the second quarter of fiscal year 2021. Consolidated revenue was US$153.11 million and consolidated net income was US$36.44 million. Basic and fully diluted after-tax earnings per share ("EPS") were US$0.46 (NT$13.13) and US$0.45 (NT$12.82), respectively. These results compared to consolidated revenue US$98.36 million and consolidated net income of US$20.69 million, or US$0.27 (NT$8.00) and US$0.26 (NT$7.79) per basic and fully diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. In US dollars, the first quarter of 2021 consolidated revenue increased 3.25% sequentially and was up 55.66% year-over-year. The gross profit in the first quarter of 2021 was US$69.00 million, representing an increase of 6.87% from the previous quarter and an increase of 57.17% compared to the same quarter of last year. Based on current business outlook, Parade is providing the following guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2021: Revenue: US$152.5 ~167.5 Million

Gross Margin: 42.5% ~45.5%

Operating Expense: US$29.5 ~30.5 Million The financial figures detailed above for the first quarter of 2021 have been reviewed by independent accountants. About Parade Technologies, Ltd. Parade Technologies, Ltd. is a leading supplier of mixed-signal ICs for a variety of popular display and high-speed interface standards used in computers, consumer electronics and display panels. The fabless semiconductor company was founded in 2005 and publicly listed on Taipei Exchange ("TPEx") in 2011 (stock code: 4966). Parade's portfolio of IC products serves the growing demand for HDMI, DisplayPort, SATA, and USB ICs for display, storage and interface applications. In addition to being a technology innovator, Parade is an active participant and leader in industry standards-setting organizations. Parade Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned US-based subsidiary of Parade Technologies, Ltd., is a member of VESA (Video Electronics Standard Association). Parade Technologies, Inc. has made key contributions to the development of VESA's DisplayPort digital video interface standard. Parade leverages its close relationships with market leading Tier-1 OEMs to develop ICs that provide unique system capabilities. Many of the company's devices integrate proprietary technologies that offer superior system signal integrity, advanced system integration and enhanced power efficiency. As a result of the company's "standards-plus" design philosophy, Parade ICs have been designed into products offered by nearly every leading computer and display vendor worldwide.







Parade Technologies, Ltd. and Subsidiaries. The reader is advised that these consolidated financial statements have been prepared originally in NT$ and conformed with the adoption of IFRSs. In the event of any differences between NT$ and US$ version, the NT$ version shall prevail. UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF

COMPREHENSIVE INCOME USD in Thousands NTD in Thousands Sequential Quarter Three Months ended Sequential Quarter Three Months ended Mar 31, Dec 31, Mar 31, Mar 31, Mar 31, Dec 31, Mar 31, Mar 31, 2021 2020 2021 2020 2021 2020 2021 2020 Revenue 153,107 148,287 153,107 98,360 4,343,653 4,263,263 4,343,653 2,961,629 Cost of goods sold 84,111 83,727 84,111 54,462 2,386,235 2,407,154 2,386,235 1,639,853 Gross profit 68,996 64,560 68,996 43,898 1,957,418 1,856,109 1,957,418 1,321,776 Research & development expenses 17,503 17,094 17,503 13,898 496,562 491,457 496,562 418,478 Sales & marketing expenses 6,894 6,671 6,894 4,864 195,583 191,796 195,583 146,442 General & administrative expenses 4,986 4,686 4,986 3,641 141,463 134,724 141,463 109,645 Total operating expenses 29,383 28,451 29,383 22,403 833,608 817,977 833,608 674,565 Operating income 39,613 36,109 39,613 21,495 1,123,810 1,038,132 1,123,810 647,211 Non-operating income and (expenses) (419 ) (388 ) (419 ) 817 (11,888 ) (11,147 ) (11,888 ) 24,608 Income before income taxes 39,194 35,721 39,194 22,312 1,111,922 1,026,985 1,111,922 671,819 Income tax expense 2,759 2,429 2,759 1,625 78,263 69,815 78,263 48,928 Net income 36,435 33,292 36,435 20,687 1,033,659 957,170 1,033,659 622,891 EPS - Basic (In Dollar) $0.46 $0.42 $0.46 $0.27 $13.13 $12.12 $13.13 $8.00 Shares used in computing EPS-Basic (In thousands) 78,701 78,955 78,701 77,872 78,701 78,955 78,701 77,872 EPS - Diluted (In Dollar) $0.45 $0.41 $0.45 $0.26 $12.82 $11.88 $12.82 $7.79 Shares used in computing EPS-Diluted (In thousands) 80,621 80,562 80,621 79,965 80,621 80,562 80,621 79,965

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS USD in Thousands NTD in Thousands As of March 31, 2021 and 2020 Mar 31, Mar 31, Mar 31, Mar 31, 2021 2020 2021 2020 Current assets Cash & cash equivalents 284,717 282,212 8,125,824 8,531,276 Accounts receivable, net 57,088 45,960 1,629,283 1,389,371 Inventories, net 60,143 31,576 1,716,478 954,540 Other current assets 17,539 11,289 500,583 341,257 Total current assets 419,487 371,037 11,972,168 11,216,444 Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment, net 16,025 9,346 457,361 282,538 Right-of-use assets 9,903 5,581 282,617 168,721 Intangible assets 112,509 77,367 3,210,995 2,338,795 Deferred income tax assets 7,563 3,922 215,861 118,550 Other non-current assets 10,187 11,735 290,741 354,746 Total non-current assets 156,187 107,951 4,457,575 3,263,350 Total Assets 575,674 478,988 16,429,743 14,479,794 Current Liabilities Accounts payable 34,686 28,035 989,944 847,490 Other payables 29,265 21,116 835,217 638,316 Current income tax liabilities 21,336 17,182 608,922 519,418 Lease liabilities - current 3,406 2,010 97,203 60,774 Other current liabilities 4,150 7,913 118,469 239,206 Total current liabilities 92,843 76,256 2,649,755 2,305,204 Non current Liabilities Lease liabilities - non-current 6,497 3,571 185,414 107,947 Total non-current liabilities 6,497 3,571 185,414 107,947 Equity Ordinary shares 26,615 26,326 808,125 799,611 Capital reserves 138,106 104,245 4,165,865 3,171,706 Retained earnings 359,620 292,406 10,924,793 8,958,168 Other equity (31,999 ) (20,520 ) (1,854,620 ) (761,117 ) Treasury shares (16,008 ) (3,296 ) (449,589 ) (101,725 ) Total equity 476,334 399,161 13,594,574 12,066,643 Total liabilities and equity 575,674 478,988 16,429,743 14,479,794 UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS USD in Thousands NTD in Thousands For three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 Mar 31, Mar 31, Mar 31, Mar 31, 2021 2020 2021 2020 Cash flows from operating activities Income before income tax for the period 39,194 22,312 1,111,922 671,819 Depreciation and amortization (including the right-of-use assets) 4,737 3,493 134,398 105,163 Loss on disposal of equipment 61 - 1,736 - Share-based compensation cost 3,678 2,626 110,654 81,086 Interest income (35 ) (815 ) (999 ) (24,539 ) Income and expenses having no effect on cash flows 8,441 5,304 245,789 161,710 Accounts receivable (1,655 ) (6,016 ) (47,232 ) (181,852 ) Inventories (3,436 ) (96 ) (98,063 ) (2,886 ) Other current assets 704 397 20,081 12,006 Net changes in assets relating to operating activities (4,387 ) (5,715 ) (125,214 ) (172,732 ) Accounts payable (8,884 ) 1,811 (253,552 ) 54,742 Other payables (4,879 ) (3,524 ) (139,261 ) (106,531 ) Other current liabilities (1,473 ) 1,572 (42,028 ) 47,511 Net changes in liabilities relating to operating activities (15,236 ) (141 ) (434,841 ) (4,278 ) Cash provided by operations 28,012 21,760 797,656 656,519 Interest received 35 815 999 24,539 Income taxes paid (1,578 ) (6,725 ) (44,756 ) (202,501 ) Net cash provided by operating activities 26,469 15,849 753,899 478,557 Cash flows from investing activities Acquisition of equipment (4,544 ) (1,117 ) (128,909 ) (33,633 ) Acquisition of intangible assets (2,409 ) (240 ) (68,359 ) (7,216 ) Decrease in refundable deposits 125 12 3,562 349 Decrease (increase) in other prepayments 2,073 (2,537 ) 59,165 (76,696 ) Net cash used in investing activities (4,755 ) (3,882 ) (134,541 ) (117,196 ) Cash flows from financing activities Proceeds from exercise of employee stock options 131 298 3,724 8,967 Repayment of the principal portion of lease liabilities (776 ) (413 ) (22,004 ) (12,421 ) Purchase of treasury shares (10,038 ) - (281,882 ) - Distribution of cash dividends (24,455 ) - (733,641 ) - Cash dividend regain from canceled share-based compensation 7 43 199 1,295 Net cash used in financing activities (35,131 ) (72 ) (1,033,604 ) (2,159 ) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (1,012 ) (64 ) 20,391 66,074 Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents (14,429 ) 11,832 (393,855 ) 425,276 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 299,146 270,380 8,519,679 8,106,000 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period 284,717 282,212 8,125,824 8,531,276 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210427005606/en/

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is collaborating with the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on a virtual training initiative to boost runway safety and improve the operational efficiency of aviation.

The three industry organisations have launched a new virtual training course on the new ICAO Global Reporting Format for Runway Surface Conditions (GRF). The GRF, which goes into effect on November 4, sets out new ICAO methodology for assessing and reporting runway surface conditions aimed at improved flight crew assessment of take-off and landing performance.

The online course is specifically designed to meet training requirements for air traffic controllers and aeronautical information service staff. The course content has been preliminarily reviewed by state and regional regulatory bodies to ensure it complies with the GRF training requirement.

The training partnership is the first of its kind between the three international organisations and sets the stage for future collaboration on global safety enhancement activities.

Safety is always the number one priority in aviation and as an industry we constantly work to mitigate risk even further. The GRF is a globally-harmonised methodology that is intended to be the sole reporting format for international aviation, with the objective of reducing runway excursions. Collaboration between the main stakeholders on training will ensure that all parties understand and apply this new and enhanced common standard, said Gilberto Lopez Meyer, IATAs Senior Vice President for Safety & Flight Operations

We are pleased to be working with IATA and ICAO to provide Air Navigation Service Providers with a common method of meeting the training requirement. This initiative will help to ensure understanding and improved adherence to the new runway surface condition reporting standard in an efficient way, said Simon Hocquard, Director General CANSO.

Runway safety continues to remain aviations biggest safety challenge, representing more than half of all accidents reported to ICAO for commercial operations, emphasised ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu. We have been collaborating in recent years on numerous initiatives to reduce runway safety-related accidents and incidents worldwide, and the hard work undertaken to forge international consensus on the new GRF, in addition to this new collaborative training course supporting it, should help to deliver substantial runway safety performance improvements. - TradeArabia News Service
Name: Matei Zaharia

Company: Databricks

Job title: Co-Founder & Chief Technologist

Date started current role: July 2013

Location: Palo Alto, California

Matei Zaharia is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and Chief Technologist at Databricks. He started the Apache Spark project during his PhD at UC Berkeley in 2009, and has worked broadly in datacenter systems, co-starting the Apache Mesos project and contributing as a committer on Apache Hadoop. Today, Zaharia tech-leads the MLflow development effort at Databricks in addition to other aspects of the platform. Zaharias research work was recognised through the 2014 ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award for the best PhD dissertation in computer science, an NSF CAREER Award, and the US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

What was your first job? I worked as a web developer for some science education organisations in Canada while I was in high school there. After that, I started working as a research assistant in university.

Did you always want to work in IT? Not always, but I got interested in computer science fairly early on and decided to study it in university. I was interested in STEM as a whole, but I thought that computer science was the field in which it was easiest to experiment with the latest ideas and advances and come up with something better, since everyone has access to a computer. This is different from fields that require a lot of lab equipment to work in.

What was your education? Do you hold any certifications? What are they? As an undergraduate, I studied Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. After that, I completed my PhD in Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. During my PhD, I started the Apache Spark project, which is now one of the most widely used frameworks for distributed data processing, and co-started other widely used datacenter software such as Apache Mesos, Alluxio, and Spark Streaming. My research work was recognised through the 2014 ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award for the best PhD dissertation in computer science, an NSF CAREER Award, and the US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

Explain your career path. Did you take any detours? If so, discuss. At university, I started doing research with a professor at Waterloo (Srinivasan Keshav) and got very interested in networking and distributed systems. My early work with Prof. Keshav was on peer-to-peer networks and mobile computing. I decided to apply to PhD programs afterward and joined UC Berkeley, where I quickly became interested in datacenter-scale computing and was involved in a lot of the earlier academic research that came out in that area. As part of that process, I also got to know the open source distributed systems community well and started contributing to projects there and coming up with ideas for new projects, such as Apache Spark. When I finished my PhD, I spent two years full-time at Databricks and then started also working as a tenure track professor to continue doing research, first at MIT and then at Stanford. Its been very interesting seeing both the research career path, which is focused on long-term trends and theoretical ideas, and the industry career path at an enterprise company like Databricks, which lets you see the tough real-world problems that organisations face.

What type of CTO are you? Essentially, I am an Architect/Product Manager because Im mostly focused on product design as well as the technical architecture behind the product. At Databricks specifically, it is critical to design the technology and the product together because the product itself is used by data analysts and developers, so it needs to scale well, be reliable, and support the latest algorithms and techniques.

Which emerging technology are you most excited about the prospect of? Even though it's been around for a while, I think cloud computing is still an emerging technology and we're figuring out better ways to build cloud applications and to deliver them to enterprises and to further enable enterprises to share results or access data and applications inside that enterprise.

I still believe there is a lot of transformation that will happen as an increasing number of applications become cloud native and elastic: most of the current computing stack is not fully taking advantage of the cloud. When we started Databricks, we took a bet on the cloud and were awarded #5 on the Forbes Cloud 100 list. For example, we built one of the first cloud-based data engineering and data science environments, one of the most widely used data management layers for cloud storage (the open source Delta Lake project), and the first auto-scaling engine for data science and analytics workloads in the cloud (by modifying Apache Spark to support this).

Are there any technologies which you think are overhyped? Why? It is difficult to say because in each area there are people that are overhyping certain technologies, but within the AI space, there are a lot of technologies/products that dont focus on the end to end problem where companies think that a certain product will solve everything, but then realise, it cant. In particular, anything that doesn't help with the data problem of keeping AI models well fed with high quality data is going to have issues.

What is one unique initiative that youve employed over the last 12 months that youre really proud of? Im very proud of how weve been able to repeatedly work with early customers to design new products, which when they hit the market, they are a good fit for a lot of companies. Weve done this multiple times starting three years ago with Delta Lake, which is a reliable data management player over cloud data lakes that makes them look similar to a data warehouse and helped start the current trend towards Lakehouse system architectures. This is something we co-developed with one very large technology company with a highly demanding use case early on, and then were able to roll out to smaller companies without any issues.

We later did this with MLflow, a major part of our managed machine learning platform, and then with smaller products. Weve designed our whole development process and product management process so we can gather meaningful feedback from customers as soon as possible to deliver great products.

Are you leading a digital transformation? If so, does it emphasise customer experience and revenue growth or operational efficiency? If both, how do you balance the two? As a seven year old company, Databricks doesnt have too much legacy infrastructure to transform, but we are always looking at how to become even more data driven and give people really great tools to make decisions. So within Databricks, we are using our own technology to give many different users access to the latest data about how the business is doing, how our customers are doing, and how products are doing for an engineering team.

For example, we have internal products that our customer success team can check each time they want to talk to someone to see about the usage and we have engineers and product managers who can see the usage of the product in real-time and can then identify what is working and what isnt.

Our technology is about maximising what the customer can build with their data assets, so ensuring they get the most out of our product is very important to our business.

What is the biggest issue that youre helping customers with at the moment? The biggest issue is how to make data and AI powered applications simpler and more reliable to build. There are multiple pieces to that including collecting, integrating, and cleaning data from different sources in close to real-time Theres also a component of building the downstream applications, whether they're reporting or machine learning or data science. We've found that most enterprises already have a data team and are using data and AI in their business in some way, but they want to scale their use of these applications and do it quickly which means they need new technology that makes this simpler and easier to scale and is broadly accessible within the company.

With the pandemic, things are changing and everyone wants to understand how their business is changing in even more detail than before and how to make decisions informed by data.

How do you align your technology use to meet business goals? This can be challenging, but within our business, we deliver a cloud service that needs to be highly reliable and robust. We are very careful about how we design the technology so we design our products in a way that allows them to recover from errors. Were also very careful about user interfaces (UI) and ensuring the UIs are highly compatible and well designed. Lastly, we pick technology internally that is simple and easy to build with when possible. Given the number of engineers at Databricks and the product surface area, we dont have a very broad technology stack. Rather, we tried to pick a few tools that work well and use them for everything and make sure that everyone is an expert in those.

Do you have any trouble matching product/service strategy with tech strategy? Overall, they are fairly independent from each other so our experience has been okay. The most important part of the tech strategy is to ensure that we can move the product in the direction that makes sense over time.

We do a lot of planning and consider how we want the product to look in the future, how we want to deliver it, and what additional guarantees we want to provide. It is important to look a few years ahead of where you're going, but overall, we haven't seen too much of a clash between these strategies.

What makes an effective tech strategy? Overall, I believe it is important to keep things simple to understand and push back on complexity within reason, but there is always a tradeoff between delivering something quickly and making it perfect. If you choose simplicity or fewer moving parts, that will help with both objectives of developing it quickly and making it easier to maintain in the future.

What predictions do you have for the role of the CTO in the future? I think the role of the CTO will be an increasingly important role because I think all companies are increasingly becoming technology companies. Within each business, there are a lot of unique problems and systems specific to that business which means they need in-house talent to understand them and successfully solve the problems. With the advent of cloud computing, it makes it easier to adopt new technology and test new technology, and change it out if it isn't working. I think that's actually an exciting thing for most CTOs because it means they can move quicker instead of having a long feedback cycle on any decision they make. For tech company CTOs, the move to the cloud means you have to build software in a different way from the enterprise companies of the past so there is a lot to learn, but it is a necessary thing to learn.

What has been your greatest career achievement? Overall, with everything weve built at Databricks, weve delivered a lot of high quality, industry changing products in a short time with a team that isnt that large.

In 2014, we launched our Databricks Workspace, which was the first end to end cloud workspace within data science, and this type of interface has now become the standard for data scientists in many organisations.

Weve continued building out the Apache Spark open source project which has become the most widely used large scale data processing framework. As we moved along, we launched two more open source projects and associated projects - Delta Lake and MLflow. Three years after launch, half of our workload is on Delta Lake, which is very rare for something that is so mission critical infrastructure for managing large data volumes and the thousands of applications that rely on them. But we figured out how to design this technology to give customers very powerful data management features while remaining highly reliable and scalable. We have even more exciting products coming, such as the cloud-hosted version of Redash SQL analytics software that we announced at our Spark + AI Summit conference this year after we acquired Redash.

Bringing together a team and setting up the processes that can deliver these types of products quickly and reliably is very challenging, and I think that's the thing that we did best.
Korcok considers it a reciprocal step to Slovakias earlier decision to expel three Russian diplomats.

The explosion of the ammunition depot in Vrbetice in 2014. (Source: TASR)

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Russia will expel diplomats from Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. This is a response to a similar step taken by these countries following the probable sabotage by Russian agents that caused the explosion of an ammunition warehouse in the Czech village of Vrbetice in 2014.

As a result, three Slovak diplomats will leave the Slovak Embassy in Moscow, the CTK newswire reported.

They need to leave Russia by May 5.

This step comes nearly a week after PM Eduard Heger announced together with Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad and Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok that three Russian diplomats have to leave the Russian Embassy in Bratislava.

Slovakia cannot tolerate if the activities of representatives of foreign diplomatic missions do not respect agreed principles, Heger told the press on April 22. Ensuring the security of citizens is one of the biggest tasks of the state.

The expulsion is a reciprocal step

Slovakia to expel three Russian diplomats Read more

Korcok took the expulsion of three Slovak diplomats into account. He considers it a reciprocal step to Slovakias earlier decision to expel three Russian diplomats.

The members of Slovak diplomatic missions follow the international norms, he stressed. At the same time, Korcok said he would like the relations with Russia to be based on mutual respect and cooperation.

Of course, it will impact the work of our embassy as we will miss the three people who need to leave the Russian Federation, but I believe we will manage the situation, Korcok said, as quoted by the TASR newswire, drawing comparisons to last August, when the Slovak and Russian sides decided on the mutual expulsion of their diplomats.

Czech minister expresses gratitude

Surprise and accusations of Russophobia. Politicians react to expulsion of Russian diplomats Read more

Korcok met with his Czech counterpart Jakub Kulhanek on April 28. The two commented on the current developments of the crisis that followed the recent revelations connected to the 2014 explosion in Vrbetice.

Korcok said that Slovakia was on the right side of the conflict and that it made a decision based on information from both the Slovak and Czech intelligence services.

Kulhanek considers Slovakias reaction very complex. He also appreciated the support of Slovakia in negotiations with the EU and NATO, as reported by TASR.

28. Apr 2021 at 12:00 (modified at 28. Apr 2021 at 14:52) | Compiled by Spectator staff
Two weeks after the Seacor Power lift boat capsized eight miles off the Louisiana coast, its owner, Seacor Marine, and the U.S. Coast Guard took initial steps Tuesday to get the vessel out of the water and bring it ashore, while elsewhere hundreds of volunteers continued their search for seven of the 19 crew that are still missing.

Nicole Groll, a Coast Guard spokesperson, said that the priority will be to remove oil and any other pollutants onboard, then they'll develop a plan to bring the nearly 2,300-ton vessel back to port. The Coast Guard said the Seacor Power would have been carrying fuel as well as lubricants and hydraulic and waste oil. So far there hasn't been any spillage, officials said.

The 234-foot oil services vessel turned over on April 13 in stormy seas while on its way to deliver equipment and supplies to an offshore platform operated by Talos Energy about 100 miles southwest of Port Fourchon. Six of the crew were rescued soon after the incident and six bodies later were recovered, leaving seven still unaccounted for.

The search effort was being led by the non-profit United Cajun Navy and volunteers  many of them friends and family of the missing  continued to scour the coastline and nearby islands on Tuesday.

+3 Nearly two pounds of cocaine found on barrier island during search for missing Seacor Power crew A bundle containing nearly two pounds of cocaine was recovered this week from a barrier island at the southern tip of Terrebonne Parish during

On Monday, debris from the vessel, including a throw ring with the vessel's name on it, was found onshore about 60 miles from the sunken boat. The searchers also turned up a two-pound bundle of cocaine from a barrier island at the southern tip of Terrebonne Parish, according to parish officials.

Fred Everhardt, Jr., a council member in St. Bernard Parish, said he had joined the search Monday in his air boat and expected to rejoin later in the week. He said Chaz Morales, one of the missing, and his family are constituents and another crew member is a relation by marriage.

Everhardt said many in the community are frustrated that the Coast Guard and the companies involved haven't done more to try to locate the missing crew members.

"We still have seven guys out there missing and my concern is we're out there with boats, mud boats, air boats, trying to get to islands 20, 40 miles offshore, risking our lives, when Seacor should be stepping up, sending up at least a helicopter dropping guys off to look for debris," he said.

Some of the volunteers expressed their ire on Tuesday when word spread on social media that the top safety executive at Talos Energy, Robert Sheninger, had spent the weekend deep sea fishing off the coast of Venice, Louisiana, not far from where the rescue efforts were continuing.

Sheninger had posted pictures on Instagram and Facebook of himself on a boat after landing what appeared to be a large yellowfin tuna, with the caption: "Good day so far!"

Spencer Gremillion, who owns a truck company in Youngsville, La. and is a close friend of Jay Guevara, one of the missing, was enraged by the post from someone in Sheninger's position.

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"It's complete bulls--t for the vice president of safety to be offshore fishing while theres a search and rescue for missing guys that were on a boat going to their platform," Gremillion said. "I don't know how much more disrespectful you can be."

Everhardt echoed the sentiment: "Instead of going deep sea fishing he should have gone over there and joined in the recovery efforts."

Sheninger had deleted the social media posts soon after comments from volunteers began appearing. On Tuesday, he apologized for the pain caused.

"I am deeply sorry for the anguish this has caused the loved ones of those aboard the Seacor Power," he said, according to a statement emailed by an external company spokesman.

"It was a thoughtless act and does not reflect my feelings about this tragedy, nor the seriousness of my companys efforts to respond to the incident and support the rescue and recovery efforts," he said. "My heart goes out to all those affected by this."

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard on Monday evening said that it had set up a unified command with Seacor Marine to organize the safe removal of the wreck and any fuel on board.

There is roughly one-mile safety zone around the scene, which includes a temporary flight restriction by the Federal Aviation Administration. A marine safety information bulletin is being broadcast, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard is investigating the incident with the National Transportation Safety Board, with the latter taking the lead after the rescue operation for the remaining crewmen was abandoned five days after the sinking.

Also on Tuesday, a third lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by the family of one of the dead who has been recovered.

Verley Ann Williams, wife of the boat's cook Ernest Williams, and her nine children are suing Seacore Marine and its affiliates, as well as Talos Energy and SEMCO, the boat's builder, for damages as a result of the sinking.

Staff writers and photographers John Simerman, Hilary Scheinuk, and Ramon Antonio Vargas contributed to this report.
New Delhi: On Wednesday, Truecaller joined the battle against the second wave of Covid-19 with the launch of its own Covid Hospital Directory for users in India. You can access the directory inside the called ID app.

According to Truecaller, you can get access to telephone numbers along with the addresses of hospitals that have been dedicated to Covid-19. You can easily filter out states in which you are looking out for a hospital.

The data is said to be sourced from government databases and thats why Truecaller has placed a disclaimer saying that the app does not assure the availability of hospital beds.

Truecaller has launched this new feature at a time when Indians across the country are searching for Covid-19 hospitals, as the second wave of the coronavirus is proving to be way deadliner than the first one. Many are also on the lookout for life-saving Covid-19 essentials such as oxygen cylinders.

In Truecallers official press release, the companys Indian MD Rishit Jhunjhunwala said, We wanted to quickly introduce a simple directory of important numbers for Covid-related services. We have started with this hospital list and we're working to add more verified sources soon. This is one among the many ways we're helping with Covid relief efforts. We offer the support of the entire organisation and the Truecaller platform, for anyone that we can help.

Besides Truecaller, tech platforms such as Twitter have previously rolled out a Covid-19 vaccine fact box aimed at encouraging people to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the worlds largest social media platform, Facebook, is offering a host of resources via Community Groups on its flagship platform and WhatsApp.
(Newser)  For the first time in more than two years, Britney Spears herself will speak in court June 23. The hearing date was set after Spears' attorney said at a Tuesday hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court that the pop star "requested that I seek from the court a status hearing at which she can address the court directly" regarding her now 13-year-long conservatorship, the New York Times reports. He asked for the date to be set on an "expedited basis." It's not clear what the 39-year-old wants to talk about, nor is it clear whether any of it will become public knowledgethe last time she spoke in court, in May 2019, the courtroom was sealed, but lately Spears has been pushing for increased transparency, the AP reports.

story continues below

Dozens of #FreeBritney protesters carried signs with messages like "CONSERVATORSHIP IS SLAVERY" outside the courthouse Tuesday, and one even shaved her head during the demonstration, in solidarity with the move Spears made just before the conservatorship was implemented in 2008. This is the first time Spears will speak in court since she's started asking for big changes to the legal arrangement, including expressing "strong opposition" to her father as her personal conservator. The move also comes as a "war," per TMZ, is brewing between Spears' parents, Jamie and Lynne. Lynne has recently taken issue with "excessive" legal fees for Jamie, and Jamie, per Page Six, responded in a filing by accusing Lynne of "exploiting her daughters pain and trauma for personal profit."

(Read more Britney Spears stories.)
Bless your heart, Texas is perhaps the most polite phrase that comes to mind when discussing our states track record around redistricting, and this years cycle already has the makings to be more of the same old disappointing, closed-door, sad state of affairs.

Texas has been found to be in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 every decade since its enactment because of intentional racial discrimination, and redistricting, or rather, the practice of gerrymandering has been the source of many of the violations. The 2011 cycle of drawing up voting districts was awash with all kinds of questionable legislative tactics and mayhem in the courts followed right up until a few years ago, including a specific directive by the federal district court to conduct a more fair and open process during the next round of redistricting.

While the House and Senate redistricting committees have made some efforts to conduct online hearings during the current legislative session, vital feedback from diverse population segments of Texas has still been lacking due to procedural limits on virtual testimony and a loss of live public hearings around the state. Advocacy groups have been petitioning for a more fair and open process since before the session began and it will become even more critical that the legislature permit meaningful public access after final Census data is delivered.

It may not be fair to say Texas lawmakers have a complete lack of concern when it comes to listening to public comments relative to redistricting, but Texas lawmakers have failed in the past to take sufficient testimony from all the diverse communities that should be considered when drawing the district lines that importantly shape so much of Texans day to day lives.

However, there is currently no set requirement for how much input is received and which communities need to have a seat at the table during the process. Too much of the redistricting process remains among lawmakers alone and is still conducted predominantly behind closed doors, with minimal timely opportunity for the public to assess the plans and maps as they are proposed.

How does the same, unfair process keep happening? How can things change?

Replacing a lack of transparency with full and meaningful transparency is the answer to both questions. HB 3112, The Texas Redistricting Transparency Act, a bill currently pending before the Texas House Redistricting Committee, provides the necessary reform.

This bill would set important standards that would improve the current round of redistricting, including:

Making public hearings a requirement, calling for at least 10 public input hearings before Census data is released and five such hearings afterwards;

Publicly publishing all of the redistricting information and legislative activities via a website maintained by the Texas Legislative Council;

Making sure that all Texans are provided with in-person and virtual testimony options;

Requiring factual information from at least eight categories about suggested redistricting plans be made public no less than 72 hours before any committee vote so all Texans can review whats being proposed; and

Making sure after a committee vote, and before any plan heads to either chamber, lawmakers hold at least two public hearings so the public can weigh in and provide critical feedback.

Its hard to believe these policies are not currently set in place, as they seem like the bare minimum lawmakers need to fully engage every Texan in a fair redistricting process. Unfortunately, the closed-door practices of the past have already been on display in the 87th regular session. The Senate Jurisprudence Committee rushed consideration of a bill to redistrict the states intermediate appellate courts to a hearing, without any advance public input  or even disclosure of the bill itself  until the last minutes before its public hearing. Nevertheless, despite an overwhelming majority of testimony, most of it from appellate judges expressly against SB 11, the bill was approved 3 to 2 on a partisan committee vote before ultimately being pulled down by the bills author in response to the resounding disapproval the bill received. That it could have proceeded is deeply troubling and a sign that the old practice of back room redistricting is still with us  if left unrestrained by legal prohibitions.

The session is now winding down and time is running out for bills to be heard in committees. Lawmakers need to take up, consider and pass HB 3112 to make certain the redistricting process, including the one projected to happen this fall, puts basic and good standards in place for fair and open redistricting in Texas. Instead of having to repeatedly come to terms with a troublesome past around redistricting, passing HB 3112 will allow Texans to be better informed and more engaged with the process going forward.

Street is the president of Texas Progressive Action Network and Jones is president of Clean Elections Texas which are both members of Fair Maps Texas, a coalition advocating for fair, representative election maps.
Three Wildwood residents  an 18-year-old woman and two juveniles  are charged with attempted murder following a stabbing in Middle Township earlier this month, authorities said

A 22-year-old man was stabbed in the lower back on Cooks Beach Road in the Dias Creek section of the town around 6:30 p.m. on April 8, according to Middle Township police and an affidavit of probable cause.

He was brought to Cape Regional Medical Center, treated for his injuries and later released, police said.

Alisha M. Seda-Natal and the two juveniles  one male and one female  were seen later that day on surveillance video at a Wawa on Wes Rio Grande Avenue in Wildwood after the victim provided a description of their vehicle to investigators, charging documents state.

Seda-Natal didnt know the victim, though the relationship between the juveniles and the victim is not described in the affidavit.

The defendant acted as an aider and abettor, the document said.

Seda-Natal was booked into the Cape May County jail on April 21 and remains held, according to online jail records.

A spokesman for the county prosecutors office declined to answer additional questions.

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DALLAS, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jack Black, the #1 Men's Skin Care Brand*, announces its newest treatment-focused product collection, ProSeries Acne Remedy, which further expands on its superior line of men's skincare offerings. The Acne Remedy collection is specially developed to offer men of all ages a premium solution to breakouts and is formulated with acne-fighting and moisturizing ingredients to treat and prevent acne without over-drying the skin.

Jack Black Acne Remedy Overnight Repair Moisturizer, Balancing Foam Cleanser and Clearing Spot Treatment

"Listening to what our customers want (and what they don't) is a core part of the Jack Black brand DNA. The launch of the Acne Remedy Collection is a result of this, as many Jack Black men often share that they still experience acne  whether in their teen years or as adults," says Gabrielle DeLatin, Director of Marketing at Jack Black. "And while we've been developing the Acne Remedy formulas for some time now, we've really seen an increase in the need for acne solutions due to increased stress and consistent use of face masks. So, the need for quality, effective men's acne solutions was palpable. Acne Remedy offers no-nonsense products that work as advertised, use the best ingredients, and are never tested on animals."

This new collection consists of three products  the Acne Remedy Balancing Foam Cleanser, Overnight Repair Moisturizer, and Clearing Spot Treatment  all formulated with ingredients backed by science, true to the Jack Black portfolio. Acne Remedy Balancing Foam Cleanser is a sulfate-free foaming cleanser with antioxidants that penetrate pores to control acne blemishes and blackheads. The luxurious oil-free foam helps to prevent new acne blemishes and blackheads from forming without over-drying the skin. It is formulated with 0.5% Salicylic Acid, Turmeric Root Extract, Lactic Acid, Aloe Vera and Bisabolol to gently exfoliate and soothe skin.

Acne Remedy Overnight Repair Moisturizer is an oil-free moisturizer, with adaptogen-rich ingredients, that works to clear current breakouts and prevent future breakouts while you sleep. It contains a proprietary AHA, BHA, and plant-based acid blend to exfoliate dead skin, while smoothing, balancing, and refining skin texture to improve brightness and clarity. It's also formulated with 1% Salicylic Acid, Turmeric Root Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Aloe Vera and Bisabolol.

The Acne Remedy Clearing Spot Treatment also has an adaptogen-rich formula that contains the maximum level of Sulfur (10%), which is a natural acne-fighting mineral that works to clear blemishes and blackheads and allows skin to heal. It is specifically designed as a gentle treatment to absorb excess oil, eliminate acne-causing bacteria, and soothe skin. It is formulated with Tumeric Root Extract; Reishi Mushroom; a Zinc, Magnesium and Potassium mineral blend; Aloe Vera, and Bisabolol.

Each product in the Acne Remedy collection can be complimented by additional products within the Jack Black portfolio to cater to any skincare need. The Acne Remedy Line is available now on GetJackBlack.com and will be available at various retailers in May.

ABOUT JACK BLACK:

Jack Black, the #1 Men's Skin Care Brand*, was founded in 2000 as a response to a void in the men's skincare market. At the time few, if any, companies were offering premium quality, high-performance, easy-to-use grooming products for men. Jack Black maintains an uncompromising focus on superior ingredients, including soothing botanicals and herbs. Each Jack Black product formula is handcrafted, multi-functional, dermatologist tested, paraben free, and cruelty free. Almost all products are vegan, free of artificial colorants, safe for sensitive skin, and made in the USA. Nothing complicated, nothing cosmetic, just superior skincare. For more information, please visit www.getjackblack.com.

*# 1 Men's Skin Care Brand

*Source: The NPD Group/ U.S. Prestige Beauty Total Measured Market, Skincare Sales, Annual 2020

SOURCE Jack Black

Related Links

http://www.getjackblack.com


The vice president of the Junta de Andalucia and the region's Minister of Tourism, Juan Marin, has visited the Andalucia Lab facilities in Marbella to discuss the reactivation of tourism in the light of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

Marin, speaking ahead of the lifting of Andalucias provincial border restrictions at midnight this Wednesday (28 April), announced "reservations are reactivated" and that "the opening of hotels is being brought forward to May".

I am confident that more than 80 per cent of hotel facilities will resume activity in the coming weeks," he said.

According to our data, it was forecast from June that 80 per cent of the hotel facilities would be open. I don't know if that percentage will open in May but I can assure you that there will be an early opening and, in the next 15 days, the vast majority will be open," he said.

Marin also said that "one in four reservations that are being made throughout Spain are in Andalucia" and set the target for tourists at 20 million visitors this year.

"We are at a key moment for the sector," he told the media. "We're beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel but it is vitally important to continue with the safe tourist destination branding".

Safe Andalucia must continue to be our selling point, he said, especially in view of the opening of the British market, scheduled for 17 May, and throughout Europe.

"We are at that moment of take-off," Marin pointed out, and "with the end of the state of alarm on 9 May, the regions could also open up," so all the efforts would be aimed at "being prepared and in the best possible position.

The Junta de Andalucia will reactivate one of its key tools to attract visitors, the tourist vouchers that have been under wraps since the coronavirus control measures were tightened. As of 10 May, an intense promotional campaign will begin to reactivate the tourist voucher with the aim of de-seasonalising destinations so that they are not just sun and beach," he explained. "Inland and heritage tourism will also be encouraged.

The tourist vouchers have been modified so that those over 65 and young people under 25 can benefit from support of up to 500 euros for their overnight stays in Andalucia. Additionally, instead of three nights, the minimum is now two, "as both the travel agencies and hotels requested," explained Marin.
Joe Biden cut short remarks to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday because he said answering more questions would have gotten him into trouble - reigniting suspicions his handlers are shielding him from the press.

President Biden, 78, gave a brief address on the North Lawn on Tuesday announcing the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions updated guidance on mask wearing.

The CDC eased its guidelines on Tuesday on the wearing of masks outdoors, saying fully vaccinated Americans dont need to cover their faces anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.

After Bidens remarks, the assembled group of White House correspondents started shouting questions at the president.

Biden answered one question about the need for people to vaccinate so they can take off their masks outdoors.

President Biden cut short remarks to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday because he said answering more questions would have gotten him into trouble - reigniting suspicions his handlers are shielding him from the press

Biden gave a brief address on the North Lawn on Tuesday announcing the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions updated guidance on mask wearing

After Bidens remarks, the assembled group of White House correspondents started shouting questions at the president. Biden answered one question about the need for people to vaccinate so they can take off their masks outdoors

Finally, the president was asked a question about the crisis in India, where hundreds of thousands of newly diagnosed coronavirus infections are being reported every day. 'I'm sorry,' he said. 'This is the last question I'll take, and I'm really gonna be in trouble.'

He also told another reporter that he wore a mask to the news conference outside so that you [can] watch me take it off and I will put it back on when I get inside.

When another reporter asked if he had any preconditions before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden responded: I will discuss that another day.

Finally, the president was asked a question about the crisis in India, where hundreds of thousands of newly diagnosed coronavirus infections are being reported every day.

'I'm sorry,' he said.

'This is the last question I'll take, and I'm really gonna be in trouble.'

It wasnt clear what Biden meant by being in trouble.

He then offered a lengthy explanation of his plans to help the COVID-ravaged nation, including sending supplies of anti-viral drug Remdesivir, and helping boost India's vaccine availability.

On Twitter, critics of the president mocked him. Bidens opponents in conservative media have denigrated the president as a puppet of his staffers.

On Twitter, critics of the president mocked him. Bidens opponents in conservative media have denigrated the president as a puppet of his staffers

During the presidential campaign, supporters of former President Donald Trump mocked Biden for being confined to the basement for fear that being out on the trail would make voters realize he was too old and frail for the White House.

Trump, 74, himself faced repeated questions about his mental wellbeing over his own frequent blunders.

Biden - the oldest president elected in the history of the United States - has repeatedly shot down rumors about his cognitive health.

Throughout his political career, which includes stint as a senator from Delaware as well as vice president in the Obama administration, Biden has gained a reputation for verbal slippages and gaffes.

And last month, he was filmed stumbling three times while walking up the stairs to board Air Force One, with aides later blaming strong winds for the tumble.

Thats what leadership looks like folks, one Twitter user commented after Tuesday's brief press conference.

Another Twitter user commented: Spoken like the most powerful man in the world.

Another Biden critic chimed in: Deep state at its finest. Whos Joe gonna be in trouble with? Hes the president, I thought.

Are they giving him shock treatment if he doesnt do as hes told? Tim Greaux tweeted.

Another Twitter user commented: His handlers wont be too pleased.

On March 25, Biden held his first, solo, full-length news conference at the White House.

The president waited 65 days into his first term in office before fielding questions from the press.

On March 25, Biden held his first solo, full-length news conference at the White House as president. The hourlong session with reporters did not include questions about key topics such as the pandemic, reopening schools, potential tax increases, or Russia

Biden speaks with reporters on occasion in informal manners, but has waited the longest of any other president in the last nearly 100 years to hold a formal question-and-answer session with journalists

It is the longest period a sitting president has waited to host a news conference in the last 100 years.

At the one-hour press conference last month, Biden called on just 10 reporters to ask questions, and many of them focused on the migrant crisis at the southern border, leaving little time for other subjects.

While Biden has been on pace with his predecessors in taking questions from the press in other, more informal formats, he tends to field just one or two inquiries at a time, usually in a hurried setting at the end of an event or in front of a helicopter.

Pressure had mounted on Biden to hold a formal session, which allows reporters to have an extended back-and-forth with the president on the issues of the day.

Trump held his first press conference February 16, 2017  less than a month after taking office. And Barack Obama waited even less time, holding his first February 10, 2009.

Biden's conservative critics have pointed to the delay to suggest that Biden was being shielded by his staff, although the White House has repeatedly denied those rumors.
Essex County officials said Wednesday they will terminate a contract to house detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the county jail, ending a long-standing arrangement that has led to mounting protests in recent years.

The move comes just days after Essex entered into an agreement to house Union County inmates at the Essex County Correctional Facility.

We have had a very solid working relationship with ICE during the last 13 years. It has always been in the best interest of the detainees to remain close to their family, friends, attorneys and community organizations helping them in a facility that was safe and secure, said Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo in a statement. But he said there was not enough space at the facility on Doremus Avenue in Newark to house both the ICE detainees and the additional inmates from Union.

We will begin depopulating ICE detainees from the Essex County Correctional Facility because we have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with Union County to house inmates from Union at the ECCF. Bringing Union inmates financially helps residents from Essex & Union Counties.  Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. (@Joe_D_EssexExec) April 28, 2021

The county said it notified ICE last Friday to remove its detainees from the county jail, after entering into its memorandum of agreement with Union. According to its contract with the federal agency, ICE now has 120 days to remove its detainees. As of Wednesday, officials said there were 165 people being held under ICE detainer orders in Essex.

ICE officials, in a statement, had no criticism of the county or its decision. They said their relationship with the county had been a positive and mutually beneficial one, and that the location of the jail had served the needs of detainees in terms of family visits, attorney meetings, and outreach from community organizations.

As to where those will be transferred, they said the agency was currently considering its options both locally and nationally.

Essex County is anticipating about $11.3 million in revenue from its agreement with Union, which DiVincenzo said will offset the revenue it had received from ICE.

ICE has long used county lockups in Essex, Bergen and Hudson to hold undocumented immigrants who have not been charged with any crimes, sparking demonstrations by advocacy groups and hunger strikes by those being detained.

For the counties, however, the contracts have been a lucrative source of revenue, despite the vocal public opposition. Hudson County commissioners in November voted to extend its contract with ICE for up to 10 years.

Legislators in Trenton, meanwhile, have been considering a move to end all such contracts, with bills introduced in the Senate and Assembly that would prohibit counties, municipalities, and private prison operators across New Jersey from entering into contracts to house or detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations.

The announcement by Essex had not been expected.

Its kind of a big surprise, acknowledged Chia-Chia Wang of the American Friends Service Committee in Newark, one of the states immigrant advocacy groups. Its a welcome move. But I also hope its an opportunity for people to be released.

Wang, who has worked on immigrant detention issues for more than a decade, said the ICE population in county prisons has been on the decline because of concerns over COVID, as well as an increase in deportations. But she also believed there was a growing reluctance in Essex in particularly to continue its relationship with ICE.

Its good news for immigrant advocates and immigrant communities that Essex County is not wanting to be part of the immigration detention business, she said.

However, she is disappointed that the proposed legislation in Trenton has yet to come to the floor.

Its been sitting in the Law and Public Safety Committee since January, she said.

Amy Torres, executive director of New Jersey Alliance For Immigrant Justice, said in a statement that while they have been calling for the termination of the Essex County ICE contract, there is no celebration in the fact that this decision was made in order to further profit off of incarceration and detention.

Torres said the choice to end the ICE contract in order to fill beds with people from Union County is a decision where no one wins  where families will continue to be separated, where inhumane conditions and lack of accountability within the jail systems will continue, and where counties will continue to profit off of pain and punishment.

Essex County already had similar joint-service agreements to house Gloucester County inmates and U.S. Marshals inmates at the Essex County Correctional Facility. Officials noted the county also has similar partnerships to house juvenile detention residents from Passaic, Union and Hudson at the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center in Newark.

Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, a long-time opponent of the ICE contract, said he was thrilled to see DiVincenzo end the countys relationship with ICE. He added that Biden administration should bring an end to such contracts.

Its bad public policy to incentivize government agencies to house and detain non-violent immigration detainees, Gill said.

__

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A former Democratic legislator and failed mayoral candidate charged in a big pay-to-play undercover sting operation by the state is seeking a dismissal of the charges against him, arguing he could not be charged with bribery because he was not a public official when he was targeted.

Jason ODonnell, who was running for mayor in Bayonne when he allegedly was offered a $10,000 cash payment by a Morristown tax attorney then cooperating with prosecutors, argued in new court filings that the case against him is unconstitutional.

In a brief, ODonnells lawyer argued that the states bribery statute applies only to public or party officials. In his case, the one-time firefighter was only a previously unelected candidate for elective office.

At no time was the defendant a public official, wrote Leo Hurley Jr. of Jersey City, who represents ODonnell. He was merely a candidate running for mayor of the city of Bayonne.

Essentially, the brief argued that what ODonnell was alleged to have done was not illegal under state law. In fact, it noted that there did not appear to be any prior prosecution in New Jersey where an unelected candidate for office has ever been charged with bribery.

Hurley in his filing in Superior Court in Hudson County said the indictment could not be sustained and must be dismissed.

ODonnell was charged more than a year ago with four others in the high-profile political corruption case brought by the state Attorney Generals office. It alleged that tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions, and at times outright cash payments to political candidates and others, were offered in exchange for promises of contracts for lucrative tax and real estate work.

At the center of it all was Matthew ODonnell, who is not related to Jason ODonnell. An attorney who specializes in municipal tax appeal work, he agreed to work for prosecutors after he became ensnared in his own bribery investigation and secretly entered into a plea deal, according to court records. Complaints filed in the case show that for each of those charged he set up a series of exchanges caught on surveillance recordings.

Attorneys for Jason ODonnell argued earlier this month that the Attorney Generals office has been silent on the full nature and extent of their witnesss cooperation, which they say must be provided to them.

Also charged in the case were Sudhan Thomas, then the Jersey City school board president; John Cesaro, a former Morris County freeholder; John Windish, a former Mount Arlington council member; and Mary Dougherty, the wife of the current mayor of Morristown and a former Morris County freeholder candidate.

Jason ODonnell, say prosecutors, took $10,000 in cash from Matt ODonnell. In return, they say he allegedly agreed to provide the attorney with tax work from Bayonne if elected mayor. He later lost his election.

But even if that indeed is what happened, it still could not be considered bribery under state statute, maintained Hurley in his brief.

The Legislature chose to restrict the bribery statute to public servants or party officials and to exclude from its reach those who were merely candidates for office, he noted. Since ODonnell was not a public official, he could not be charged with taking a bribe in exchange for violating or performing an official duty.

The distinction is not a technicality. Hurley noted that the Legislature has repeatedly proposed bills to change the statute, yet has not done so.

At the same time, a similar federal case a decade ago during the infamous Bid Rig corruption sting was thrown out against Lou Manzo, a former assemblyman then running for mayor of Jersey City. In that case, he was accused of accepting cash in exchange for promising expedited approvals for real estate projects.

A federal judge ruled that Manzo wasnt a public official.

The law is unambiguous, Hurley wrote. The plain language of the statute, the legislative history of the statute, and the decisional law interpreting the statute at issue...mandate the dismissal of the indictment, he said.

No trial date has been set yet in the case.



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A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
The customs privileges for the warehouse belonging to the family of Meghris mayor will be revoked. This is what deputy of the ruling My Step bloc of the National Assembly of Armenia Sisak Gabrielyan said during todays discussion on the bill on making amendments to the Tax Code held as part of the special parliamentary session.

Gabrielyan recalled that in 2017, Mayor of Meghri Mkhitar Zakaryan had addressed a letter to Karen Karapetyan, who was the Prime Minister of Armenia at the time, asking him for privileges for the customs warehouses that were going to be opened at a 1 km radius from the Meghri Customs Point. The letter also stated that the granting of privileges would allow to create new warehousesand new jobs and the drivers of cars parked there would be exempt from paying the road tax which constitutes AMD 150-200,000 from the Iranian border to Yerevan.

The problem is that a customs warehouse has been operating with this radius since 2004 and is owned by the mayors wife. Moreover, its technically impossible to build another warehouse there since theres not enough room, and so Zakaryans family business is benefiting from the privilege, the parliamentarian clarified.

According to Gabrielyan, after this, Zakaryan opened a diesel fuel import company and brought almost only his cars to the customs warehouse. As a result, compared with other Iranian oil importers, Zakaryan receives unsubstantiated privilege (AMD 15-20 for one liter of diesel fuel).

The MP rushed to note that the attempts to link this bill to the incident that took place during Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyans visit to Meghri are completely inappropriate.

During the vote, 79 deputies of the ruling My Step bloc unanimously voted in favor of this bill in the first reading.
President Barack Obama, standing with Vice President Joe Biden to talk about the Iran Nuclear Deal on July 14, 2015. (Andrew Harnik/Pool/Getty Images)

Reviving Obamas Iran Nuclear Deal Means War, Not Peace

Commentary

April 27 was an explosive Tuesday for the Middle East, explosive diplomatically in Vienna and Washington, but literally explosive in one incident: the drone boat attack on Saudi Arabias Red Sea oil port of Yanbu.

In Vienna, Austria, talks involving Iran, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia resumed, with the United States participating indirectly. The stated goals are twofold: Convince the Iranian dictatorship to end its nuclear weapons-development violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official name of former President Obamas 2015 Iran nuclear deal; and convince the United States to revive the JCPOA, from which then-President Donald Trumps administration withdrew in 2018.

In Washington, high-ranking Israeli and U.S. diplomats held what diplomats call frank discussions. The Jerusalem Post quoted Israels ambassador to the United States, Gilad Erdan, as saying: We made our clear opposition to the return to the JCPOA.  It is a flawed and bad agreement, and returning to the same deal makes it less likely to reach a better one in the future.

Meanwhile, back in Yanbu, an unmanned, remotely piloted speed boat loaded with explosives targeted the port. The Saudis claim they destroyed the robot kamikaze. However, one source reported the blast damaged a ship.

The Saudis East-West pipeline, which transports crude from eastern oil fields, terminates in Yanbu. Tankers loading in the Red Sea port avoid transiting the Persian Gulfs Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint Tehran routinely threatens to close.

The attack may have done little damage, but for Tehran, it served as military and economic strategic propaganda by the deed.

Who conducted the attack? Yemens Houthi rebels have launched Red Sea boat attacks. Ill wager an Iranian Quds Force officer controlled the operation. The Houthis have a cause, but one Iran callously exploits as Tehran attacks Saudi Arabia through its Yemeni rear.

The Yemen war and the Yanbu attack illustrate the Iranian regimes intrinsic violent nature. The regime is also utterly corrupt. Iranians claim the mullahs and Revolutionary Guards are more corrupt than the shah they overthrew in 1979.

The corrupt regime wages numerous slow wars, first and foremost against Israel and the Gulf Arab states, but they also target the Great Satan, the United States.

Iranian agents conduct or finance violent meddling operations in at least 30 different countries. The regime uses transnational criminal operations, such as narcotics smuggling and human trafficking, as a source of income.

So lets return to the JCPOA and U.S. economic sanctions imposed on Iran after the Trump administration withdrew from the inane and unverifiable agreement.

Incorporating comprehensive in the JCPOAs name was reprehensibly dishonest, for the Obama deal wasnt comprehensive. Follow the JCPOAs timeline and you discover the Obama administration gave Tehrans bad guys billions in cash before they officially agreed to the slimy deal.

The ayatollahs used Obamas payoff cash to wage war in Yemen and Syria.

In May 2018, I wrote that the JCPOA failed to penalize the Iranian regimes violent troublemaking and its criminal operations, a grievous flaw. I wrote that column a week after Israel released an information trove documenting the regimes failure to comply with key JCPOA nuclear weapons development provisions.

The economic sanctions imposed by the Trump administration frustrated Irans ability to finance war and terror. Trumps withdrawal from the JCPOA was the predicate action that made the Abraham Accords possibleNobel Prize-worthy peace treaties between Israel and the UAE and other Arab states.

If President Joe Biden revives Obamas lousy deal, expect war, not peace. Revival of the JCPOA would also confirm that the Democratic Partys hard-left, anti-Israel media and academic wing dictates Slow Joes foreign policy.

Irans ayatollahs call Israel a one-bomb state.

The Israelis know an existential threat when they hear one. If the Biden administration caves, Israel wont.

Austin Bay is a colonel (ret.) in the U.S. Army Reserve, author, syndicated columnist, and teacher of strategy and strategic theory at the University of TexasAustin. His latest book is Cocktails from Hell: Five Wars Shaping the 21st Century.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Last year, Houston lost its only Black-owned bookstore. AC The Book Scene in Garden Oaks was opened by Alda Pool in 2015 and offered readers a used book exchange and trade-in program that catered primarily to fans of romance and mysteries. It was also an event site for the National Black Book Festival, and as recently as February 2020, hosted six Black childrens book writers, including Shelita Anderson, Dannella Bishop, Mary Evans, Pamela Jarmon-Wade, Belinda Mays and Gwen Richardson for an event.

Sadly, the store couldnt survive the first few months of the pandemic when bookstores were forced to shut their doors to customers, and Pool and her business partner, Cathy Stringer, retired. If only they could have held out a few weeks longer.

Bookstores are one of those things people take for granted so much that you dont know how much you miss them until they are gone. The past several decades have seen the neighborhood bookstore besieged by the advent of megastore chains like Borders (rest in peace) and B&N (which just got out of the ICU)  and then, Amazon. The situation for independent bookstores was so dire at the start of 2020 that the CEO of the American Booksellers Association admitted that as many as one-third of its more than 1,700 members were at risk of closing. And that was before wed even heard of COVID-19.

Improbably, that didnt happen.

Despite being forced to shut their doors, bookstores survived. Some even thrived.

It turned out that given the opportunity to read more during lockdowns, people bought books. And many people wanted to buy them from people they knew, people who served their local communities. This was even more apparent following the murder of George Floyd when Black Americans and their allies sought to support Black-owned businesses. This should come as no surprise, given the ability of bookstores to simultaneously provide a setting for succor and solace, edification and enlightenment, and a place to express and share outrage.

In Minneapolis last summer, bookstores literally offered the protesters shelter, as did Moon Palace Books, which was at the epicenter of the protests due to its proximity to the police precinct where Floyds murderer was stationed. Others became the object of anger, as when Uncle Hugos Science Fiction Bookstore and Uncle Edgars Mystery Bookstore were set alight during the same protest and burned to the ground. At the time of the protests last summer, Minneapolis, like Houston, had no Black-owned bookstore where people could gather. That situation changed almost overnight, when Dionne Sims launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised over $100,000 in a week and immediately launched a pop-up shop called Black Garnet Books.

What about Houston  the longtime home of Floyd and the fourth-largest and most diverse city in America? Dont we deserve our own Black bookstore? We do. And now we have one. Terri Hamm opened Kindred Stories as an online bookstore on Feb. 1 and as a pop-up bookstore at the BLCK Market on Feb. 13. This act  both small in scale and audacious  connects her to a long history of Black-owned bookstores in the U.S.

Reclaiming history

Arguably the oldest Black bookstore is Marcus Books in San Francisco, Calif. It was originally founded in the 1940s by two graduates of Tuskegee University, where Ralph Ellison, author of the classic novel, The Invisible Man, was a classmate. Last year, Marcus Books  which moved to Oakland and was renamed for activist Marcus Garvey in the 60s  was on the verge of closing and ran a GoFundMe campaign, which eventually netted more than a quarter of a million dollars. They managed to keep their doors open until they were sustained by the sudden surge in interest in books by Black authors and about the Black experience saw books like White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, and Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates sell out.

The same happened at Cafe con Libros, a bookstore opened by Kalima DeSuze in Crown Heights, Brooklyn in 2018. One day shortly after Floyds death, some 400 people bought books, overwhelming the store. It was a situation about which DeSuze was clearly ambivalent. She told the radio station WNYC at the time, I would prefer that (Floyd) still be alive and I still be struggling.

The surge in interest in Black books inspired dozens more people to open new Black bookstores. In Milwaukee, Cetonia Weston-Roy opened the Niche Book Bar and started selling books off the back of a tricycle. In Tulsa, Onikah Asamoa-Caesar opened Fulton Street Books and offered an $85 subscription for an Ally Box, which included titles like So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo and The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. And just last month in New Orleans, DJ Johnson opened Baldwin & Co., a bookstore and coffee shop dedicated to honoring the legacy and work of James Baldwin and other Black writers. Will the opening of new stores continue? So long as the fight for racial and social justice remains front-of-mind, there are communities that are Black book deserts, and young Black entrepreneurs bold enough to take a chance at a risky business  surely it must.

Kindred Stories

The store was inspired by my daughter Elle, who is 13, says Hamm of her pop-up bookstore in Houston. She is a great reader and gravitates to YA (young adult) books by Black authors that tell diverse stories about Black girls. But she didnt have a space here in Houston with her in mind, curated for her to explore all of the amazing works that are written by Black authors. So, I decided to create my own.

Hamm is a native of Queens, N.Y., whose parents emigrated from Jamaica. She moved to Houston 13 years ago with her husband, whom she met while attending Howard University. Hamm interned with the New York Times, worked for a time in marketing, most recently with the Houston Rockets, and was a middle school math teacher in New Orleans  but she had no book-selling experience. Wisely, she sought out mentors, and found two of the best: the dynamic Noelle Santos, owner of the Lit. Bar, in the Bronx, and the aforementioned Kalima DeSuze of Cafe con Libros in Brooklyn.

They are leaders in the community, have been incredibly supportive and willing to share, says Hamm, who joined the Black Bookstore Coalition, which she networks with twice a month on Zoom.

Hamm wants Kindred Stories to give Houstonians access to books that they might not previously know much about or find elsewhere. She also wants to amplify Black voices.

There are tons of books with representation now, but what I have found is that many of these books are written by people who are not authors of color, says Hamm. I want Black authors to have more opportunities to tell their own stories.

Black bookstores offer people a third place  a place outside home and work  to gather and share ideas, to feel a part of something larger and connected, both to their communities, but also, perhaps even more important, other communities that are similar to their own in America or part of the global Black diaspora.

As an extension of her mission, Hamm hopes to partner with schools and institutions to help create reading lists and curricula that highlight Black authors. She is working with Third Wards Yellowstone Academy on a book buddy program where eighth graders and second graders read picture books together.

Since the intention of the store is to primarily serve the Black community, Hamm has her sights set on opening a storefront in Third Ward as soon as this summer. In the meantime she will continue offering pop-up shops. Recently, she sold books at Ivy Leaf Farms in Sunnyside, at Freedmens Town Farmers Market. The next Kindred Stories pop-up will be at Genara in the Heights on May 9.

My goal is simple, says Hamm. I want to create a space where Black people see people who look like you, where you can buy stationary and crafts made by Black artisans, where you can buy wrapping paper with Black Santas on it. I want to create a space where, as Black people, you feel welcome and safe, and you can have conversations that are relevant to your experience as a Black person. I want to create a space where you see yourself in the books.

Performance poet and author Deborah D. E. E. P. Mouton, Houstons first Black Poet Laureate, is excited by the prospect. But she also sees it as something symbolic, something far greater than a mere bookstore.

For so long, it was illegal for Black people to read, to write. So, what we have seen, through the Harlem Renaissance and forward, is Black writers work to reclaim that space for themselves and try to undo the oppression that was done when they were enslaved, said Mouton. Walter Mosley has said, If you dont exist in the literature of that country, your people dont exist. What Black bookstores are doing right now are making spaces  sacred spaces  that put Black people back into the countrys history. And doing so in their own authentic voice.

Nawotka is a Houston-based writer and the bookselling and international editor at Publishers Weekly.

This essay was updated May 5 to reflect that Kindred Books was one event site in February 2020 for the National Black Book Festival not the official home.
Google just added these to their robots.txt overnight:

Disallow: /local/cars/

Disallow: /local/dealership/



Looks like something new is coming!  Jim Kreinbrink (@denverseo) April 21, 2021

Recent findings appear to suggest that what Google has in mind is a deeper integration of car-related data into its products, including the search engine.The company has recently started testing what appears to be a list of car and dealership inventory in your area displayed right on the search results page. So, in theory, you no longer have to visit a dealership page to get all that info, as you can easily see a specific listing right on Google A dedicated page at google.com/local/cars allows users to see all specifications and filter the results based on brand. Clicking on any listing launches a detailed view of a car where you should technically be able to see more information about it.At the time of writing, all the evidence of this test has already been removed, but dont be too surprised if Google brings this feature to the masses at some point in the future.A Google spokesperson is quoted as saying by SEL that the company is indeed exploring such a feature for Google Search, suggesting the recent findings have been part of a pilot.Weve heard from potential car buyers that surfacing this inventory information directly on Google helps them quickly explore and compare available cars, leading to more qualified leads for dealers. Dealers and related businesses can fill out a partner interest form if theyd like to learn more about this opportunity. The car inventory information is powered by feeds shared directly from dealers or their data providers. Google is not charging a fee for this feature, the company said.No information has been provided about when the car listings in Google search results could show up for everybody.
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Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions.

Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
It was at a dinner party thrown by a mutual friend that billionaire retailer Solomon Lew met Richard Murray in the final months of 2019. Lew, always awake to opportunities, clocked him as a talented and personable executive and decided it was a relationship worth pursuing.

Roll forward to today and Lew can add headhunter/poacher to his CV having nabbed Murray, the head of JB Hi-Fi and one of the countrys most decorated retailers, to replace Mark McInnes who recently announced plans to resign from Lews Just Retail.

Lew, who is known for using contrarian methods, didnt use an executive search firm to run down a list of candidates. He knew who he wanted. Within days of McInnes resignation, Lew began his Murray offensive.

Solomon Lew (left) and the incoming CEO of Premier Retail Richard Murray. Credit:

After that initial dinner meeting, Lew and Murray met a couple of times socially but it was Prime Minister Scott Morrisons invitation to a meeting at Kirribilli House that the men came together last year. As part of a group of 10 senior business leaders called to advise on the COVID fallout, Murray and Lew were joined by others including Wesfarmers chief Rob Scott, the Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn and Coca-Cola Amatil chair Ilana Atlas.
Madrid (Spain) April 27, 2021 (SPS) - The aggression orchestrated by the Kingdom of Morocco against Spain for the reception of the president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Brahim Gali, for health reasons has been described by the Saharawi representative in Madrid , Abdulah Arbi, as one more demonstration that responds to the provocation, blackmail and manipulation that Rabat always uses in his bilateral relations.

Arabi has regretted that the African neighbor "does not understand the concept of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries", referring to the attack by the Moroccan official and media apparatus against Spain for a sovereign decision. "Morocco cannot determine to the Government of Spain who it can or cannot receive for medical treatment," he added.SPS

125/090/TRA
Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk died on Tuesday at the age of 89. Korea Times file



By Kwak Yeon-soo



Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, former archbishop of Seoul, passed away late Tuesday at the age of 89. Cheong, who became Korea's second cardinal after the late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, had been receiving treatment for various age-related ailments, according to officials of the Catholic Church.



He was hospitalized at St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul in February due to his frail condition. Cheong was in a critical condition due to several illnesses, but opted not to receive life-support treatment.



"Cardinal Cheong passed away at 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday while in hospital for his deteriorating health. Medical staff and officials of the Archdiocese of Seoul witnessed the hour of his death. His last words were, 'Thank you and always be happy. God wants us to be happy,'" Huh Young-yeop, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Seoul said at a news briefing Wednesday.



"As the late cardinal dictated his wish to donate his organs including corneas, his body underwent extraction surgery. In March, he donated all his assets to charities, including Myeongdong Babjib (a soup kitchen), and for the religious education of children."



President Moon Jae-in issued a condolence message, Wednesday, saying he was "particularly saddened" by the cardinal's death.



"Under the motto 'Omnibus Omnia,' or all things for all people everywhere, Cardinal Cheong taught us big lessons about sharing and learning to coexist. His saying that 'humanity is more important than money' will always be engraved in our hearts," he said.



Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, the current archbishop of Seoul, mourned the death of his predecessor.



"The cardinal always made his Christian mission a top priority and wanted the Church to be the salt and light of society. He also practiced a pastoral ministry that emphasized the values of life and the family," Cardinal Yeom said.



Politicians and religious groups also paid their respects to the late cardinal.



"I met Cardinal Cheong several times. He once told me that 'Politicians should serve and sacrifice themselves for the sake of greater love.' I will always remember his words," Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon wrote on Facebook.



"Cardinal Cheong led the Church and emphasized the values of life and family in the process of democratization," the United Christian Churches of Korea said in a statement.





A person pay respects to the late Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, who died Tuesday evening, at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
[April 28, 2021] Corel Announces Connie Chen as Chief Legal Officer

Previously serving as General Counsel and SVP, Legal and Business Development of OpenTable, Chen oversees Corels legal affairs and regulatory compliance worldwide.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Corel Corporation today announces the appointment of Connie Chen as Chief Legal Officer (CLO). Chen joins Corel from OpenTable and brings extensive experience in structuring transactions, product counseling, litigation, M&A and regulatory matters. Connie is a valuable addition to the Corel leadership team and I know we will benefit greatly from her insights, system-level thinking and structured approach, said Christa Quarles, CEO of Corel. Working with Connie at OpenTable, I was consistently impressed by her ability to build high-performing teams and create optimal environments where business and people succeed. She is a true partner who will deliver huge value across all aspects of our organization. This is an exciting time for Corel as the company delivers on its next chapter of growth under Christas leadership and with support from KKR. Serving more than 90 million knowledge workers around the world, Corels impressive portfolio enables businesses to create, connect and thrive during these remarkable and unprecedented times, said Connie Chen, Chief Legal Officer of Corel. I am thrilled to be part of the Corel team as we develop new solutions and processes that will enable our customers and our company to work even faster and more effectively, together. Biography: Connie Chen, Chief Legal Officer, Corel Connie Chen serves as Corels Chief Legal Officer, overseeing all legal affairs and regulatory compliance worldwide. Working with a variety of growth and technology companies over her career, Connie brings extensive experience in structuring transactions, product counseling, litigation, M&A and regulatory matters. Conie joined Corel in 2021. Previously, she served as General Counsel and SVP, Legal and Business Development of OpenTable, leading the global teams responsible for the companys legal, fraud, risk, compliance and business development matters. Prior to her time at OpenTable, Connie spent seven years at Latham & Watkins LLP, where she advised public and private companies, venture capital firms, investment banks and private equity funds regarding a wide range of matters, including IPOs and other financing transactions, M&A, corporate governance, employee benefits, intellectual property and SEC compliance.



Connie holds a JD from Stanford Law School, as well as a BS in Symbolic Systems and a BA in Economics from Stanford University. About Corel



Corel products enable more than 90 million connected knowledge workers around the world to do great work faster. Offering some of the industry's best-known software brands, we give individuals and teams the power to create, collaborate, and deliver impressive results. Our success is driven by an unwavering commitment to deliver a broad portfolio of innovative applications to inspire users and help them achieve their goals.

Corels creative, productivity, and virtualization solutions leverage the latest in technology to empower knowledge workers. Parallels solutions, including Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS, enable workers to use and access the applications and files they need across their favorite devices and preferred technology  whether local or remote. Cloud-based collaboration capabilities in MindManager and CorelDRAW streamline the sharing of ideas in a world that forces them to work apart. Creative brands including Painter, PaintShop Pro, Pinnacle and VideoStudio offer customers powerful tools to communicate effectively through art, photo and video. While WinZip encryption, file management, and compression solutions deliver secure file sharing across email, a network, or the cloud. To learn more about Corel, please visit www.corel.com. 2021 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. Corel, CorelDRAW, MindManager, Painter, PaintShop, Pinnacle, VideoStudio, and WinZip are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation in Canada, the U.S. and/or elsewhere. Parallels is a trademark or registered trademark of Parallels International GmbH in Canada, the U.S. and/or elsewhere. All other company, product and service names, logos, brands and any registered or unregistered trademarks mentioned are used for identification purposes only and remain the exclusive property of their respective owners. Use of any brands, names, logos or any other information, imagery or materials pertaining to a third party does not imply endorsement. We disclaim any proprietary interest in such third-party information, imagery, materials, marks and names of others. For all notices and information about patents, please visit www.corel.com/patent. Media Contact



Jessica Gould

Corel PR

jessica.gould@corel.com

www.corel.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ef37d824-72c6-4810-a0c2-795fb6b4b4d0



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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Blackrock Silver Corp. (TSXV: BRC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Blackrock Silver Corp. upgraded to the OTCQX from the OTCQB Venture Market, where it is now trading under the symbol "BKRRF."

Andrew Pollard, President & CEO commented, "Given the Company's focus on advancing our flagship Tonopah West silver-gold project situated in Nevada, we are delighted to graduate to the OTCQX which will further enhance Blackrock's presence within the United States." Mr. Pollard added, "Assets like Tonopah West are rare, and there is an increased demand for silver-primary projects located in North America. Trading on OTCQX will provide enhanced access to U.S.-based funds and retail investors, bolstering Blackrock's stock visibility. This represents a natural step forward in the growth and evolution of the Company."

The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.

U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

Town Hall Webinar

Blackrock Silver is hosting a live town hall webinar today at 1 pm eastern, including a presentation and investor Q&A with management.

To register please visit: https://6ix.com/event/queen-of-the-silver-camps/

About Blackrock Silver Corp.

Blackrock is a junior precious metals exploration company that is on a quest to make an economic discovery. Blackrock's flagship Tonopah West project consolidates the western half of the famed Tonopah Silver District within the Walker Lane trend of Nevada. Known as the Queen of the Silver Camps, the Tonopah Silver District produced over 174 million ounces of silver and 1.8 million ounces of gold from approximately 7.5 million tons of high-grade silver-gold making it one of the most significant silver-gold districts in North America. With 30,000m of exploration drilling completed in 2020, and a 40,000m core drilling program well underway this year, Blackrock aims to deliver a maiden resource estimate by the end of 2021 in an attempt to bring new life to this historic district. Blackrock Silver Corp. is publicly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under BRC-TSX.V, and trades on the OTCQX as BKRRF and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as AHZ0.

For further information, please contact:

Andrew Pollard, President & CEO

Blackrock Silver Corp.

Phone: 604 817-6044

Email: andrew@blackrocksilver.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements concern the Company's strategic plans, completion and exercise of the Tonopah option agreement, timing and expectations for the Company's exploration and drilling programs, estimates of mineralization from drilling, geological information projected from sampling results and the potential quantities and grades of the target zones. Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: conditions in general economic and financial markets; accuracy of assay results; geological interpretations from drilling results, timing and amount of capital expenditures; performance of available laboratory and other related services; future operating costs; and the historical basis for current estimates of potential quantities and grades of target zones. The actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the risk factors including: the ability of the Company to complete the Tonopah lease option, the timing and content of work programs; results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; the interpretation and uncertainties of drilling results and other geological data; receipt, maintenance and security of permits and mineral property titles; environmental and other regulatory risks; project costs overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; availability of funds; failure to delineate potential quantities and grades of the target zones based on historical data, and general market and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82003.
We may never know if a Manchester police officers act of kindness to a teen would-be shoplifter will make a difference in the teens life. But it certainly brightened the day of a lot of Manchester residents and others who read our story or saw the TV newscast about Officer George Morales.
ROME, APR 28 - Italy is to send a team of specialised staff along with an oxygen production system to COVID-ravaged India, Premier Mario Draghi said Wednesday. "Italy will not fail to lend its support in this moment of difficulty," he said. "I want to express my deep sympathy with the Indian people for the suffering caused by the new wave of the pandemic". Hospitals across India have been running out of oxygen amid a COVID surge. (ANSA).
MANZINI  A soldier has been arrested in connection with the breach of COVID-19 protocols by a bottle store in Siteki.

Amahle Bottle Stores was found breaching COVID-19 regulations. Amahle Bottle Store is the liquor store at KaMzilikazi, Siteki in the Lubombo Region which was alleged to be selling alcohol every day and operated beyond the stipulated trading hours. According to a source close to the matter, after this publication visited the bottle store and sought a comment from the police, a team of police officers was given a task to investigate the allegations. As a result, the source said the law enforcers visited the establishment on the night of the National Flag Day (Monday) as part of their investigations and they alleged that they found it operating. Upon their arrival, the source alleged that the team of police officers dispersed the imbibers whom they found enjoying their favourite drinks at the premises of the bottle store and closed it.

He said yesterday morning the police officers paid another visit to the bottle store in question to continue with their investigation and they found people enjoying alcoholic beverages at the premises of the bottle store, an act which was against the COVID-19 rules and regulations. It is worth noting that so far, alcohol is only sold for home consumption. Thereafter, the source said the law enforcers looked for the holder of the trading licence, who was the soldier and they arrested him. He said they arrested him because his business allowed people to buy alcoholic beverages and enjoy it at its premises. However, the source mentioned that the police were still investigating the other allegations which they got as part of the tip-off.

Chief Police information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that there was a man who was arrested for allowing people to drink at the premises of his bottle store. It is worth mentioning that during the lockdown, the bottle store was found operating more like a bar as customers were allowed to enjoy their drinks around the place. Again, during a visit to the place, this publication noted that imbibers, who were not wearing face masks, were enjoying their alcoholic beverages some of who were sitting outside their cars which were parked in front of the bottle store.

According to the sources, the bottle store had been operating every day since government banned the sale of liquor early this year. They alleged that it opened around 9am and closed late at night; sometimes after midnight. Another allegation was that underage people were also found at the premises, yet liquor licences stipulated that people under the age of 18 years should not be allowed at liquor stores. Again, this publication talked to some of the people who run businesses next to the bottle store and they expressed a litany of concerns, including land pollution. They said during their operation hours (during the day), their concern was imbibers who made noise for their customers, especially on weekends.


Yasser Kamel, 31, (pictured) is one of eight children of the hook-handed cleric, 63, who is eking out his days in solitary confinement in a US Supermax jail

The drug-dealing son of hate preacher Abu Hamza has blamed his father's arrest for his life of crime as he was jailed for four years.

Yasser Kamel, 31, is one of eight children of the hook-handed cleric, 63, who is eking out his days in solitary confinement in a US Supermax jail.

Kamel was caught with the drugs when police executed a 'non-drugs related' search warrant at his 1,600-a-month studio flat in Park Royal, northwest London, on December 17, 2019.

Under the oven kickboard in his kitchen officers found 81g of top quality cocaine worth 10,000, bagged in 208 0.5g bags.

They also found 50g of MDMA in crystal form worth 13,000 to 19,500, 33g of class-B drug Ketamine worth 1,500 and 48 ecstasy tablets.

Officers also found two electronic measuring scales, an Encrochat phone and other iPhones.

Judge Deborah Taylor told Kamel: 'There is evidence you were dealing to individuals.

'The drugs were high purity and the circumstances of the drugs show you have close links to the original source and the expectation of substantial financial gain.'

Kamel, of Park Royal, admitted two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and one count of possession with intent to supply class B drugs.

He was jailed for four years, to serve at least half before being considered for release on licence.

Abu Hamza was an imam at Finsbury Park mosque before he was convicted of terror offences in 2006

Kamel will also face financial confiscation proceedings at Southwark Crown Court on 20 August.

He was sentenced to 12 months in youth detention in 2010 at the age of 20 for attacking police during a demonstration against Gaza sanctions outside the Israeli embassy.

William Evans, defending, said: 'He was helping to renovate a shisha cafe in Northolt.

'When that came to end he ran out of money to pay rent and that's what lead to this work.'

Mr Evans also suggested that his father's conviction and extradition to the US for terror offences had 'traumatised' him.

'The impact upon him of what happened to father was traumatic, he feels he has suffered significantly as a result of what his father committed when he was only a child.

In 2014, another of Hamza's sons, Tito Ibn Sheikh, was jailed for 12 years for leading a gang who kidnapped a man and tortured him over a 15,000 debt

'It is extremely difficult to open a bank account, his credit card with Capital One was withdrawn because Capital One is backed by a US bank.

'He has struggled for any kind normality, which has culminated in 2019 to changing his name from Yasser Kamal, he now calls himself Jamal Luciano to distance himself from that.

'He believes he is under surveillance, whether he's right I don't know. His family certainly have been, he may still be.'

Mr Evans said Kamel was 14 when his father was first arrested and 22 when he was extradited to the US.

'This is a picture of a 14-year-old child whose life was turned upside down.

'Life has been extremely difficult since, that's led to depression and anxiety on his part.'

Hamza was an imam at Finsbury Park mosque before he was convicted of terror offences in 2006.

He was extradited to the US in 2012 and convicted of a further 11 terror offences there.

Hamza is now suing the US government over his cell conditions, claiming he is not being allowed to use his hook hand or associate with other inmates.

In 2014, another of his sons, Tito Ibn Sheikh, was jailed for 12 years for leading a gang who kidnapped a man and tortured him over a 15,000 debt.

Hamza's eldest son, Mohammed Kamel Mostafa, was jailed for plotting to blow up British tourists in Yemen in August 1999, when he was just 17.

Mostafa returned to London in 2002 and six years later he was jailed again, with brother Hamza Mustafa Kamel and their step-brother Mohssin Ghailam for running a 1m luxury car scam.
OCALA, Fla., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Florida Defenders of the Environment (FDE) and supporters of restoring the Ocklawaha River are asking a federal appeals court to reverse a lower court ruling and force the U.S. Forest Service to move forward with its longstanding commitment to remove the Rodman Dam.

The original lawsuit filed by the Florida Defenders of the Environment and plaintiffs Joseph Little and Bruce Kaster charges that the state has operated the controversial Rodman Dam on U.S. Forest Service property without a required permit for nearly 20 years.

The state declined to sign a permit three times since 2002, according to the appellate brief filed April 22 on behalf of the FDE by land use and appellate attorneys Pamela Jo Hatley and Jane West. In 2002, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection acknowledged that it lacked funding to comply with the permit's requirement to restore the Ocklawaha River and felt obligated to return use of the property to the Forest Service.

There is a long history of bipartisan support for deauthorizing the Rodman Dam, which has throttled the Ocklawaha River and damaged the region's delicate ecology since its construction in 1968 as part of the ill-conceived Cross Florida Barge Canal project.

President Richard Nixon stopped canal construction in 1971, and that action was supported by succeeding presidents along with other Republican and Democratic elected officials over the years. Seven Florida governors have supported restoration, but neither Governor Ron DeSantis nor President Joe Biden has taken a position on the river's restoration.

The earthen dam has potentially dangerous structural flaws posing a flooding risk to downstream communities, according to recently disclosed records. Even so, the federal government has refused to live up to its commitment to restore the river and has declined to act until required to do so by the courts. The only other option to protect the public is for the state of Florida to draw down the reservoir until the dam can be removed.

The case is Florida Defenders of the Environment et al v. U.S. Forest Service, Case No. 20-12046, in the U.S. District Court for the Eleventh Circuit.

For more information about efforts to remove Rodman Dam, contact Florida Defenders of the Environment Executive Director Jim Gross at [email protected] or Defenders of the Environment attorney Bruce Kaster at 352-622-1600.

SOURCE Florida Defenders of the Environment
[April 28, 2021] Morgan Stanley and Morehouse College Announce Inaugural Class of HBCU Scholars Program

Morgan Stanley and Morehouse College today announced the first cohort of Morehouse students selected to participate in Morgan Stanley's inaugural HBCU Scholars Program, an integrated initiative to support students at three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Five outstanding first-year students have been selected to receive the four-year scholarships to Morehouse, which will cover tuition and room and board in order to fully remove financial barriers to higher education. The goal of the HBCU Scholars Program is to put students on a path to educational attainment and financial independence by lifting the costs of higher education. In addition, Morgan Stanley is introducing programming aimed at preparing scholars for their post-graduate careers, as well as related programming offered to the broader student body and faculty, including virtual and on-site components to complement the on-campus curriculum. The HBCU Scholars Program will also feature Morgan Stanley mentors and sponsors to support the scholars along their journey. "Morgan Stanley is committed to supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in our communities to eliminate barriers that prevent people of all backgrounds and identities from having equal opportunities ? and the HBCU Scholars program is an integral part of that effort," said Susan Reid, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Morgan Stanley and Director of the Institute for Inclusion. "We would like to congratulate the five impressive students who will be embarking on this journey at Morehouse and look forward to witnessing their achievements in the years to come." From STEM scholars to outstanding student leaders, the first five rising men of Morehouse chosen as inaugural Morgan Stanley HBCU Scholars possess impressive resumes that include academic achievements, community service projects and awards, career study programs and support for social justice issues. Morehouse is dedicated to the education and development of men who are focused on academic excellence, leadership and service. The College of more than 2,200 students has a nationally-acclaimed business program that is recognized for preparing men of color for managerial and executive leadership roles. "Removing the financial barrier to college attendance is paramount to improving economic opportunities for people of color, especially Black families who are at the bottom of the nation's household income scale and have a higher burden of student loan debt than other racial groups," said Monique Dozier, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Morehouse College. "Thanks to the enerosity of Morgan Stanley, the Morgan Stanley Scholars will have the peace of mind necessary to excel in their studies without having to worry about running out of money for tuition before they complete their degrees. They will be able to pursue their dreams and build wealth faster because they will not be tethered to student loan debt. That independence will be a game-changer for them as they consider graduate studies, job offers, or becoming entrepreneurs after graduation. I would like to thank Morgan Stanley for giving our students the gift of financial freedom."



The HBCU Scholars initiative was developed by Morgan Stanley's newly established Institute for Inclusion and is a part of the Firm's larger mission to create an integrated, holistic and transparent diversity and inclusion strategy, both internally and externally. The program will begin in the Fall 2021 semester. The 2025 class of Spelman College scholars was announced earlier in April and the Howard University scholars will be announced in the coming weeks.

Morehouse College Class of 2025 Morgan Stanley HBCU Scholars: Richard A. Chandler

Louisville, KY Xavier D. Foster

Jonesboro, GA Amari D. W. Knighten

Gretna, LA Coriss T. Redmond

Chicago, IL Damonte D. Rush

Philadelphia, PA To learn more about the participating HBCUs, please visit Spelman College, Howard University and Morehouse College. About Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com. About Morehouse College Morehouse College is the only historically Black college dedicated to educating men. Founded in 1867, Morehouse is a private, liberal arts institution and the nation's top producer of Black men who go on to receive doctorates. The College is the top producer of Rhodes Scholars among HBCUs and was named to the list of U.S. institutions that produced the most Fulbright Scholars in 2019-2020. As the epicenter for thought leadership on civil rights, Morehouse is committed to helping the nation address the inequities caused by institutional racism, which has created social and economic disparities for people of African descent. Prominent Morehouse alumni include: Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel (News - Alert) Peace Prize Laureate; Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General; Shelton "Spike" Lee, Academy Award-winning American filmmaker; Maynard H. Jackson, the first African American mayor of Atlanta; Jeh Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security; Louis W. Sullivan, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services; Bakari Sellers, attorney and CNN political analyst; Randall Woodfin, elected as the youngest mayor of Birmingham in 120 years; and the Honorable Raphael Warnock, Georgia's first Black U.S. senator. For more information, visit: https://morehouse.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005771/en/

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Kanpur : , April 28 (IANS) The Kanpur district administration has lodged an FIR against a private Covid panel hospital for overbilling.

A complaint had been lodged on Monday where the complainant alleged that Rs 3.50 lakh was charged from him as overbilling in the last seven days after which the district administration issued a notice to the management of the hospital on Tuesday after conducting a preliminary inquiry.

The preliminary inquiry was conducted by the additional city magistrate (I) and a government doctor and the charges were found to be true.

District magistrate Alok Tiwari, on Tuesday, ordered to file an FIR against the hospital when its management failed to give a satisfactory reply.

According to the district magistrate, the administration has appointed static magistrates and sector magistrates to check overbilling issues in private panel hospitals.

Moreover, the administration had already floated mobile numbers for the public to lodge any complaint of overbilling.

Despite warning of strict action for overbilling, the private panel hospitals are not missing any chance to overcharge patients.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
An Indian-American non-profit body has raised nearly USD4.7 million through social media towards COVID-19 relief efforts in India as the country battles a severe second wave of the pandemic.

"This is a collective effort that can save lives, defeat hunger, assure distressed people, and help India in its decisive fight against COVID-19," Sewa International USA said.

On Tuesday, Sewa collected a shipment of 2,184 concentrators to be sent to India.

In less than 100 hours of launching the fund-raising campaign, more than 66,700 Indian-Americans came out to raise over USD4.7 million for COVID-19 relief efforts in India, it said.

Over the last few years, Sewa International USA has emerged as the top Indian-American charity organisation in the US.

"Right now, our top priority is to quickly acquire concentrators and ship them to India as it can save lives. We are also providing support to hospitals run by Sewa's partner organizations to extend their capacity to treat more coronavirus-infected patients," the organisation said.

Sewa's volunteers are working on building a digital helpdesk to provide critical information such as ambulance service, hospital bed availability and blood and medicinal supplies to people, it added.

"As the pandemic is causing economic hardships by forcing partial lockdowns, we are planning to distribute over 10,000 essential item kits to families and assist more than 1,000 orphanages and senior care centres," Sewa said.

"Working closely with our partner organisations, we are also distributing food and medicines to the needy in multiple places," it added.

American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (APPI), the largest ethnic medical organisation in the country, on Tuesday announced a nationwide campaign for medical oxygen, tele-consult and educational webinars to help combat COVID-19 in India.

"This is the time for immediate AAPI action. As doctors, we all share a visceral urge to do something about it," said Dr Sudhakar Jonnalgadda, AAPI president.

"We have located a source manufacturer that supplies concentrators, each of which can save several lives in India. The cost of each unit is around USD500," he said.

"AAPI, with the collaboration of numerous members, has placed orders for securing and delivering 200 oxygen concentrators directly to hospitals in India with the help of SEWA International, a reliable non-profit organisation," Jonnalgadda said.

The US India Chamber of Commerce DFW and the Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston both from Texas in partnership with the USICOC Foundation shipped out the first batch of 20 ventilators to the Indian Red Cross Society in Delhi to be disbursed to hospitals and field teams in hard-hit areas, a media statement said.

"It is our moral obligation to help India in every way that we can during this time of need. We will continue to provide support as long as it takes to bring the situation to normal," said Ashok Mago, founding chairman of the US India Chamber, who helped coordinate many of the necessary funds for the effort.

Another next 30 ventilators are scheduled to ship out in the next few days.

Jagdip Ahluwalia from the Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston, who was coordinating efforts from the Houston area, said members of the organisation are coordinating with hospitals, NGOs, medical schools and government bodies in India to make sure the equipment is getting to trained professionals, who can put it to immediate use.

(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.)
Press Release

28 April 2021

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, travel industries were among the first businesses to take the brunt of the global crisisand no segment was spared.

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According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Travel Report 2020-2021, only airlines keep customer satisfaction moving in a positive direction. The car rental industry holds steady, yet guest satisfaction for hotels heads south, as almost every major chain experiences ACSI losses. Satisfaction with online travel agencies sinks to an all-time low.

"Prior to the pandemic, the state of customer satisfaction among airlines and hotels was on the up and up," says David VanAmburg, Managing Director at the ACSI. "Airlines were soaring, following back-to-back yearly gains in passenger satisfaction, and hotels displayed slight improvement year over year. But COVID-19 has caused these industries to veer in opposite directions. While satisfaction with airlines surprisingly continues to soar, hotels have been hit harder than ever before."

This report provides customer satisfaction results across four travel industries  airlines, hotels, car rentals, and internet travel services  based on surveys conducted from April 2020 to March 2021.

Photo: The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)

Delta flies to the top, tying Southwest

Despite the financial strain on the airline industry during the global pandemic, passenger satisfaction has never been higher. The industry overall climbs 1.3% to its best-ever ACSI score of 76 (out of 100).

Southwest remains at the top of the industry with an unchanged ACSI score of 79. However, for the first time, Delta shares the number-one position, climbing 3% year over year to reach a new high score.

Alaska Airlines and JetBlue both slip 1% to tie for second place at 77. The remainder of the field is below the industry average, with two major legacy carriers deadlocked at 75: American (up 1%) and United (unchanged).

Smaller carriers make big strides amid the pandemic, up 6% to a combined score of 74. Moving in the opposite direction, budget-minded Allegiant falls 3% to 72. The bottom of the industry belongs to ultra-low-cost carriers Frontier, which rises 3% to 68, and Spirit, which climbs 2% to 66.

Hotels hit with satisfaction nightmare

The hotel industry has taken a beating during the pandemic.

Customer satisfaction has not been this low in over a decade, as guest satisfaction overall tumbles 3.9% to an ACSI score of 73. The downward trend spans much of the industry, with five of eight major hoteliers posting ACSI declines of 3% or higher.

Hilton remains the industry satisfaction leader, but at a much lower level from the prior year, down 4% to 79. IHG earns second place with a stable score of 78. Marriott suffers the sharpest decline in guest satisfaction, tumbling 5% to 76. Hyatt joins Marriott in third place after dropping 4% to 76, while Best Western sits in fourth, slipping 1% to 75.

The remaining hotel operators score below average. Choice ebbs 3% to 71, followed by the large group of smaller hotels, down 3% to a score of 70. Wyndham is next, slumping 4% to 69. Bringing up the rear is G6 Hospitality (Motel 6)  the only hotel operator to improve guest satisfaction  up 2% to a high of 66.

Enterprise holds the top spot among car rentals

Following its ACSI debut in 2020, the car rental industry posts a steady score of 76.

For the second time, Enterprise Rent-a-Car leads the industry in customer satisfaction, despite slipping 1% to 78. Dollar makes a big move for 2021, rising 4% to grab second place at 77.

The remaining car rental companies meet or fall below the industry average. Alamo dips 1% to 76, just ahead of three brands deadlocked at 75: Avis, up 1%; Hertz, up 1%; and National, down 3%.

The low end of the industry remains the territory of Budget, Thrifty, and the group of smaller car rental companies. Budget stays pat at 73, while Thrifty jumps 4% to 72. The group of smaller firms  unmoved at 71  now sits at the bottom of the industry.

Internet travel sites sink further still

For the internet travel service industry overall, user satisfaction plummets 3.9% to an all-time low ACSI score of 74.

Declines in user satisfaction for Travelocity (down 4%) and TripAdvisor (down 3%) place the two travel sites in a tie for the industry lead at 76. Orbitz is next, stumbling 4% to an ACSI score of 75, followed by Expedia's namesake site, which sinks 4% to a record low of 74.

At the bottom of the industry, smaller online travel agencies also post a record low, plummeting 5% to 73 and tying Priceline, which plunges 4%.

The ACSI Travel Report 2020-2021 on airlines, hotels, car rentals, and internet travel services is based on interviews with 7,898 customers. Respondents were chosen at random and contacted via email between April 1, 2020, and March 28, 2021. Download the full report, and follow the ACSI on LinkedIn and Twitter at @theACSI.

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the data and information in this release without the express prior written consent of ACSI LLC.
Various studies show that people of color are disproportionately exposed to air pollution in the United States. However, it was unclear whether this unequal exposure is due mainly to a few types of emission sources or whether the causes are more systemic. A new study that models peoples' exposure to air pollution - resolved by race-ethnicity and income level - shows that exposure disparities among people of color and white people are driven by nearly all, rather than only a few, emission source types.

The study led by University of Illinois Urbana Champaign civil and environmental engineering professor Christopher Tessum is published in the journal Science Advances.

"Community organizations have been experiencing and advocating against environmental injustice for decades," Tessum said. "Our study contributes to an already extensive body of evidence with the new finding that there is no single air pollution source, or a small number of sources, that account for this disparity. Instead, the disparity is caused by almost all of the sources."

The team used an air quality model to analyze Environmental Protection Agency data for more than 5,000 emission source types, including industry, agriculture, coal electric utilities, light- and heavy-duty gasoline vehicles, diesel vehicles, off-road vehicles and equipment, construction, residential sources, road dust and other miscellaneous small emissions sources. Each source type studied contributes to fine particle air pollution, defined as particles being 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, the study reports.

To identify patterns of air pollution exposure associated with race-ethnicity and income, the researchers combined the spatial air pollution patterns predicted in their air quality model with residential population counts from the U.S. Census Bureau to identify differences in exposure by race-ethnicity and income.

The researchers found that for the 2014 U.S. total population average, fine particle air pollution exposures from the majority of source types are higher than average for people of color and lower than average for white people. The data indicate that white people are exposed to lower-than-average concentrations from emissions source types that, when combined, cause 60% of their total exposure, the study reports. Conversely, people of color experience greater-than-average exposures from source types that, when combined, cause 75% of their total exposure. This disparity exists at the country, state and city level and for people within all income levels.

"We find that nearly all emission sectors cause disproportionate exposures for people of color on average," said co-author Julian Marshall, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington. "The inequities we report are a result of systemic racism: Over time, people of color and pollution have been pushed together, not just in a few cases but for nearly all types of emissions."

The researchers found that air pollution disparities arise from a more systemic set of causes than previously understood.

"We were struck by how these systemic disparities exist for people of color not only in certain neighborhoods but at every spatial scale in the U.S.," said co-author Joshua Apte, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. "The problem exists within urban and rural areas, many distinct U.S. regions, and for people living within almost all American cities."

"This new study adds context to our previous work, which showed that a disproportionate consumption of goods and services - which is an underlying cause of pollution - compounds the exposure of people of color to air pollution," said co-author Jason Hill, a professor of bioproducts and biosystems engineering at the University of Minnesota.

The study results come with caveats, the researchers said. The emissions data, air quality modeling and population counts all contain previously quantified uncertainty. However, because the team's findings are consistent across states, urban and rural areas, and concentration levels, they are unlikely to be an artifact of model or measurement bias. This study focuses on outdoor air pollution concentrations in places where people reside and does not account for variability in mobility, access to health care and baseline mortality and morbidity rates, among other factors.

"Some assume that when there is a systematic racial-ethnic disparity, such as the one we see here, that the underlying cause is a difference in income," Tessum said. "Because the data shows that the disparity cross-cuts all income levels, our study reinforces previous findings that race, rather than income, is what truly drives air pollution-exposure disparities."

The researchers say they hope these findings will highlight potential opportunities for addressing this persistent environmental inequity.

###

David Paolella, formerly of the University of Washington, and Sarah E. Chambliss, of the University of Texas, Austin, also contributed to this research. The EPA provided financial support for this study through the Center for Air, Climate, and Energy Solutions.

A video describing this research is available at: https:/ / youtu. be/ BkDQxdslH1w .

Editor's notes:

To reach Christopher Tessum, email ctessum@illinois.edu.

To reach Joshua Apte, email apte@berkeley.edu.

To reach Jason Hill, email hill0408@umn.edu.

To reach Julian Marshall, email jdmarsh@uw.edu.

The paper "PM-2.5 polluters disproportionately and systemically affect people of color in the United States" is available online and from the U. of I. News Bureau.
It's always been an event which sees fashion flourish alongside thrilling horse races.

Now Royal Ascot is turning over a new leaf by encouraging ladies to wear hats and headpieces adorned with stunning clusters of flowers for their big day at the races.

Bosses of the prestigious event in Berkshire are also urging racegoers to attend in second-hand clothes this year.

The five-day meeting in June is traditionally a highlight of the social calendar, with extravagant and expensive designer frocks on display.

Royal Ascot is turning over a new leaf by encouraging ladies to wear hats and headpieces adorned with stunning clusters of flowers for their big day at the races

But bosses now want spectators to rummage in wardrobes and charity shops for their clothes  or even rent them.

The Ascot Style Guide has a strong theme of floral headgear and says glamorous 'pre-loved' clothes will be the order of the day. Advice issued by the racecourse states: 'The Royal Meeting is about looking your best  and that doesn't necessarily mean you have to buy something new.'

Last year's meeting was held behind closed doors due to the pandemic. This year's event, from June 15 to 19, will require face masks to be worn and numbers of spectators will be as low as 4,000 a day  down from the usual 60,000.

The focus on nearly new and vintage wear was created with British stylist Bay Garnett, a pioneer of 'thrifting'.

The five-day meeting in June is traditionally a highlight of the social calendar, with extravagant and expensive designer frocks on display

The Ascot Style Guide has a strong theme of floral headgear and says glamorous 'pre-loved' clothes will be the order of the da

Last year's meeting was held behind closed doors due to the pandemic. This year's event, from June 15 to 19, will require face masks to be worn and numbers of spectators will be as low as 4,000 a day  down from the usual 60,000

She said: 'This is exactly the sort of event that can change the perception around second-hand clothes.'

Outfits worn by models in the style guide include Chanel, Gucci and Prada from sources such as eBay and charities.

Celebrities and fashion experts helped to launch the style guide in London this week by posing in stunning headpieces and frocks.
Britney Spears is preparing to speak out in court.

The pop star, who has been fighting to have her father removed as conservator of her estate, will "address the court directly" on the matter at a hearing this summer, her attorney said Tuesday, according to Page Six. The lawyer, Samuel Ingham, asked a judge to set this hearing at which Spears would be able to speak on the "status of the conservatorship," and the judge scheduled it for June 23, Variety reports.

Ingham previously told the judge that Spears "has informed me that she is afraid of her father," Jamie Spears, and "will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career." Spears has asked for him to be removed from the conservatorship, which dates back to 2008. The judge previously declined to do so but granted a request to appoint a corporate fiduciary as co-conservator. This order has not yet taken effect, according to Variety.

Spears' court battle was covered earlier this year in a hit New York Times documentary, "Framing Britney Spears," which also delved into the "#FreeBritney" movement composed of fans who argue the conservatorship is not necessary. Spears herself hasn't spoken publicly about the case, though she wrote on Instagram in March that she was "embarrassed by the light" the February documentary put her in.

A lawyer for Spears' father, Vivian Thoreen, said in February that he "rescued his daughter from a life-threatening situation" with the conservatorship, as "people were harming her and they were exploiting her." The lawyer also said that Jamie Spears "would love nothing more than to see Britney not need a conservatorship."

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New Delhi:

People in large numbers on Friday paid tribute to the the Gorkha Janmukti (GJM) leader and councillor of Kalimpong Barun Bhujel who had allegedly died in police custody.

Hundreds of Gorkhaland supporters were on streets to mark protest of their leaders alleged death in police custody. They were seen carrying black flags or tied black ribbons on their head or arms as sign of protest.

According to reports, Gorkhaland supporters across the Darjeeling hill area took out processions to pay tribute to Bhujel and mark protest.

Bhujel was arrested on June 16 in connection with violence in Darjeeling Hill region during the 104-day long strike demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland. The deceased GJM leader was considered close to Gurung, who is currently absconding.

GJM chief Bimal Gurung, purported a audio message, blaming police torture and called for protests in the Hills, responding to which the Gorkha Yuva Morcha, youth wing of GJM. A day long strike was called on Thursday.

Bhujels family too have alleged that he was not given treatment on time which led to his death.

Doctors of the hospital said Bhujel had chronic liver problem and pancreatitis which led to his death.

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A former Charles Manson's cult member has opened up how she escaped the group just months after the "Family" committed the horrible Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969.

Now an Oregon resident, Juanita Wildebush, revealed the time she spent with Charles Manson and his other followers at Spahn Ranch in Los Angeles County.

According to the now 77-year-old woman, Manson's hold was too powerful, and she was afraid she would have been involved in the murders if she was still there, Daily Mail reported.

The former cult member has already retired from her work as a social worker who worked with cult survivors. Juanita Wildebush said that part of Charles Manson's allure was that he was an "incredible lover."

"He was amazing... He would bring you just to the point of orgasm and then he would bring you back. Like a Kama Sutra kind of thing, you know, just bring you up, and bring you up, and bring you back," Wildebush told The Daily Beast.

Wildebush had agreed to give Charles Manson, not just her van and the $14,000 she had in a trust fund but also her whole self.

Juanita Wildebush first met Susan "Sadie" Atkins in the summer of 1968. She offered to give Atkins and the two men she was with a ride. Atkins was pregnant at the time.

Wildebush said that as soon as Atkins got into the van, she started telling her about the "Family" and how they sang with the Beach Boys. She said that she liked Atkins right away.

Wildebush, who was 24 at the time, drove them to Spahn Ranch, where Manson lived. The Manson Family packed up and ended up staying at the Barker Ranch, which had more space, in November 1968.

They returned to Spahn Ranch in March 1969 to prepare for what Charles Manson called a "race war" and dubbed it "Helter Skelter," which was after a song on the Beatles' White Album.

READ NEXT: Amityville Killer, Who Massacred His Entire Family, Dies at 69

Tate-LaBianca Murders

Charles Manson sent Charles "Tex" Watson, Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian to the old home of music producer Terry Melcher at 10050 Cielo Drive on Aug. 8, 1969.

They were instructed to kill everyone at the house and make it appear like Gary Hinman's murder, with words and symbols on the wall. Wildebush and Brooks Poston were left at Barker Ranch to watch the place.

Melcher was no longer residing in the home, and the place was being rented by film director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate, according to a ThoughtCo report.

The group first killed Steve Parent. He had been visiting the property's caretaker, William Garretson. The group saw him and killed him despite Parent begging them not to do so.

Atkins held Tate down while Watson stabbed the pregnant actress multiple times, killing her. Atkins then used Tate's blood and wrote the word "Pig" on the wall.

Charles Manson's group killed Tate and six other people in two nights in Los Angeles. Autopsy reports showed that 102 stab wounds were found on the four victims, namely Tate, Folger coffee heiress Abigail Folger, celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, and Folger's lover Wojciech Frykowski.

The next day Charles Manson, Watson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, Steve Grogan, Kasabian, and Leslie Van Houten went to the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.

After they had murdered the couple, they had dinner, showered, and hitchhiked back to Spahn Ranch. Charles Manson, Atkins, Grogan, and Kasabian even drove around looking for other people to kill but failed.

The group was apprehended in October 1969. And the jury returned guilty verdicts for all defendants, including Charles Manson, on Jan. 25, 1971.

Meanwhile, Wildebush noted that the power of Charles Manson over them has eventually waned, and they took an interest in Paul Crockett and Bob Berry's gold prospecting excursions and decided to leave the "Family."

Crockett and Berry showed up at Barker Ranch looking for a place to stay at the time when Wildebush and Poston were there by themselves for three months.

Wildebush admitted that she has "survivor's guilt" as she would likely have taken part in the killings if she was with the group.

As a licensed therapist, Wildebush went on to lead a relatively normal life. The former cult follower married Berry and stayed with him up until his death two years ago. They had a son who already had children of his own.

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WATCH: Two Former Manson Followers Discuss How Cult Family, 1969 Murders Changed Their Lives






The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said the committee on Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) has invited views and suggestions from market participants and other stakeholders. The RBI on April 7 announced the setting up of a committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the working of ARCs in the financial sector ecosystem.

The committee has been tasked to recommend suitable measures for enabling such entities to meet the growing requirements of the financial sector. On April 19, the RBI said the panel will be formed under the chairmanship of former RBI executive director Sudarshan Sen.

As per the RBI, the committee will review existing legal and regulatory framework applicable to ARCs and recommend measures to improve their efficacy. It'll also review the role of ARCs in resolution of stressed assets, including under Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016. The committee will also suggest ways to improve liquidity in and trading of security receipts. Apart from reviewing the business models of the ARCs, it'll also advise matters relevant to their functioning, transparency and governance.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had announced after the monetary policy committee meeting earlier this month that such a panel was in the works. Other members on the panel include Vishakha Mulye, Executive Director, ICICI Bank; P N Prasad, former Dy Managing Director, SBI; Rohit Prasad, Professor of Economics, MDI, Gurgaon; Abizer Diwanji, Partner, Ernst & Young; and R Anand, Chartered Accountant. The Committee will submit its report within three months from the date of its first meeting.

After enactment of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act in 2002, regulatory guidelines for ARCs were issued in 2003 to enable development of this sector and to facilitate smooth functioning of these companies. Since then, ARCs have grown in number and size but their potential for resolving stressed assets is yet to be realised fully, RBI Governor Das had said while announcing the first bi-monthly monetary policy for the current financial year on April 7.

Also read: RBI forms panel to review ARCs, mould them to suit financial sector needs
She's never shied away from making a statement during her presenting duties.

And Amanda Holden certainly cut a stylish figure in a bold red dress as she strutted out of Heart Radio with co-host Ashley Roberts on Wednesday.

The Britain's Got Talent star, 50, had composed herself after being left utterly mortified during the radio show when a clip of her snoring was sent in by her cheeky husband Chris Hughes.

Looking good: Amanda Holden cut a stylish figure in a bold red dress as she exited Heart Radio with co-host Ashley Roberts on Wednesday

Amanda highlighted her svelte physique in the form-fitting red midi dress with a belted waist and a slight leg split.

The mother-of-two finished her look with matching heels and a cropped denim jacket, along with a Louis Vuitton blue denim-style checkered handbag.

Meanwhile Ashley opted for an edgy black denim shirt and camel culottes by All Saints as she and Amanda headed off together after recording the Heart breakfast show.

Hilarious: The Britain's Got Talent star had composed herself after being left mortified during the radio show when a clip of her snoring was sent in by her cheeky husband Chris Hughes

Gorgeous: Amanda (pictured right) highlighted her svelte physique in the form-fitting red midi dress with a belted waist and a slight leg split

Standing out: The mother-of-two finished her look with matching heels and a cropped denim jacket as she headed home after hosting the show

Glam: Meanwhile Ashley opted for an edgy black denim shirt and camel culottes with matching nude heels

But the show was far from smooth sailing for Amanda as she was left stunned when her husband Chris sent in a hilarious audio clip of her snoring.

As co-host Jamie Theakston revealed her spouse had been in touch he said: 'So, he has messaged me on the show this morning. You wanna hear this? ''Hey JT, another sleepless night crying emoji''.'

As Amanda said: 'What?' Jamie added: 'Well, it's a voice note, which I'd like to play for you now. It's got a time on it, it was timed at 2:36AM this morning.'

Standing out: She accessorised her look with narrow-framed sunglasses and a miniscule handbag

Dynamic duo: Amanda and Ashley made for a stylish duo as they strutted out of Global Studios in the heart of London's Leicester Square

Perfection: The pair joined Jamie Theakston hosting the Heart breakfast show

Listeners then heard a hilarious clip of Amanda snoring in the middle of the night, leading her to ask: 'Is that me?'

Jamie then announced: 'Do you ever wonder what Amanda Holden sounds like in bed folks?' leading a shocked Amanda to burst out laughing.

She added: 'Oh my god, I'm gonna kill him! I've got a cold, I never snore! He's a terrible snorer, he's got his revenge!'

Naughty! But the show was far from smooth sailing for Amanda as she was left stunned when her husband Chris sent in a hilarious audio clip of her snoring

Hilarious: As co-host Jamie Theakston revealed her spouse had been in touch he said: 'So, he has messaged me on the show this morning...''Hey JT, another sleepless night crying emoji''

Jamie joked: 'You dont have any rhinos or hippos at home at all?' with Amanda once again declaring she was going to 'kill' her husband.

The blonde has been keeping busy as she serves as a judge on BBC programme I Can See Your Voice.

Former Take Me Out presenter Paddy McGuinness hosts the show, while Amanda joins This Morning star Alison Hammond and comedian Jimmy Carr on the panel.

It was recently reported that she'll step into Cilla Black's shoes and host her own version of Blind Date - 30 years after she appeared on the show looking for love herself.

What is that? Listeners then heard a hilarious clip of Amanda snoring in the middle of the night, leading her to ask: 'Is that me?'

The Britain's Got Talent judge is believed to be working with the BBC on the 'special' project.

'It's always been a dream of mine to have my own dating show, so I'm excited that I'm working on something special with the BBC at the moment,' the media personality told Woman's Own magazine.

Amanda, who was on Blind Date as a contestant in 1991 when she was 19, was rumoured to be in talks with BBC producers last month.

Tune in to Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden weekdays from 6:30am to 10am.
Beth Davis

Finn Partners promotes Beth Davis to vice president and head of Florida operations. Davis, who joined Finn Partners in 2018, most recently served as associate vice president responsible for the agencys Fort Lauderdale office. Prior to Finn Partners, Davis led the West Palm Beach office of Moore Communications Group. Beth is a dynamoshe brings talent and determination to every endeavor, delivering results for clients and being a strong mentor for other team members, says Finn Partners managing partner, southeast Beth S. Courtney.

Kelly Navarro

Moore hires Kelly Navarro as chief people officer. Navarro was previously general counsel, vice president of human resources at BAMSI and chief of legal and human resources at the State of Delaware. As a key member of Moores enterprise leadership team, she will report to the CEO and oversee the firms human resource, diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and human capital initiatives. Kelly serving as our chief people officer is a very important addition to the company as we continue to design meaningful approaches to workforce engagement and reinforcing our prioritization to diversity, equity and inclusion, said Moore CEO Gretchen Littlefield.

Susan English

Gatesman promotes Susan English from her current role as director of PR and social media to serve as SVP, director of strategic communications, taking responsibility for Gatesmans growing range of strategic communications programs. Mackenzie Leahy is being promoted to vice president, performance media as part of the agencys rebranding of its media department. Leahy joined Gatesman in 2019 and has worked to drive lead generation, acquisition and paid search strategies. Beth Thompson will now serve as VP, director of PR and social media, and Christy Kelly has been promoted to SVP, director of account management.
Researchers from the US and Canada found evidence in mineral deposits from caves in Canada that permafrost thawing took place as recently as 400,000 years ago, in temperatures not much warmer than today. But they did not find evidence the thawing caused the release of predicted levels of carbon dioxide stored in the frozen terrain. Credit: Jeremy Shakun, Boston College

Nearly one quarter of the land in the Northern Hemisphere, amounting to some 9 million square miles, is layered with permafrostsoil, sediment, and rocks that are frozen solid for years at a time. Vast stretches of permafrost can be found in Alaska, Siberia, and the Canadian Arctic, where persistently freezing temperatures have kept carbon, in the form of decayed bits of plants and animals, locked in the ground.

Scientists estimate that more than 1,400 gigatons of carbon is trapped in the Earth's permafrost. As global temperatures climb, and permafrost thaws, this frozen reservoir could potentially escape into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane, significantly amplifying climate change. However, little is known about permafrost's stability, today or in the past.

Now geologists at MIT, Boston College, and elsewhere have reconstructed permafrost's history over the last 1.5 million years. The researchers analyzed cave deposits in locations across western Canada and found evidence that, between 1.5 million and 400,000 years ago, permafrost was prone to thawing, even in high Arctic latitudes. Since then, however, permafrost thaw has been limited to sub-Arctic regions.

The results, published in Science Advances, suggest that the planet's permafrost shifted to a more stable state in the last 400,000 years, and has been less susceptible to thawing since then. In this more stable state, permafrost likely has retained much of the carbon that it has built up during this time, having little opportunity to gradually release it.

"The stability of the last 400,000 years may actually work against us, in that it has allowed carbon to steadily accumulate in permafrost over this time. Melting now might lead to substantially greater releases of carbon to the atmosphere than in the past," says study co-author David McGee, associate professor in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

McGee's co-authors are Ben Hardt and Irit Tal at MIT; Nicole Biller-Celander, Jeremy Shakun, and Corinne Wong at Boston College; Alberto Reyes at the University of Alberta; Bernard Lauriol at the University of Ottawa; and Derek Ford at McMaster University.

Stacked warming

Periods of past warming are considered interglacial periods, or times between global ice ages. These geologically brief windows can warm permafrost enough to thaw. Signs of ancient permafrost thaw can be seen in stalagmites and other mineral deposits left behind as water moves through the ground and into caves. These caves, particularly at high Arctic latitudes, are often remote and difficult to access, and as a result, there has been little known about the history of permafrost, and its past stability in warming climates.

However, in 2013, researchers at Oxford University were able to sample cave deposits from a few locations across Siberia; their analysis suggested that permafrost thaw was widespread throughout Siberia prior to 400,000 years ago. Since then, the results showed a much-reduced range of permafrost thaw.

Shakun and Biller-Celander wondered whether the trend toward a more stable permafrost was a global one, and looked to carry out similar studies in Canada to reconstruct the permafrost history there. They linked up with pioneering cave scientists Lauriol and Ford, who provided samples of cave deposits that they collected over the years from three distinct permafrost regions: the southern Canadian Rockies, Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories, and the northern Yukon.

In total, the team obtained 74 samples of speleothems, or sections of stalagmites, stalactites, and flowstones, from at least five caves in each region, representing various cave depths, geometries, and glacial histories. Each sampled cave was located on exposed slopes that were likely the first parts of the permafrost landscape to thaw with warming.

The samples were flown to MIT, where McGee and his lab used precise geochronology techniques to determine the ages of each sample's layers, each layer reflecting a period of permafrost thaw.

"Each speleothem was deposited over time like stacked traffic cones," says McGee. "We started with the outermost, youngest layers to date the most recent time that the permafrost thawed."

Arctic shift

McGee and his colleagues used techniques of uranium/thorium geochronology to date the layers of each speleothem. The dating technique relies on the natural decay process of uranium to its daughter isotope, thorium 230, and the fact that uranium is soluble in water, whereas thorium is not.

"In the rocks above the cave, as waters percolate through, they accumulate uranium and leave thorium behind," McGee explains. "Once that water gets to the stalagmite surface and precipitates at time zero, you have uranium, and no thorium. Then gradually, uranium decays and produces thorium."

The team drilled out small amounts from each sample and dissolved them through various chemical steps to isolate uranium and thorium. Then they ran the two elements through a mass spectrometer to measure their amounts, the ratio of which they used to calculate a given layer's age.

From their analysis, the researchers observed that samples collected from the Yukon and the farthest northern sites bore samples no younger than 400,000 years old, suggesting permafrost thaw has not occurred in those sites since then.

"There may have been some shallow thaw, but in terms of the entire rock above the cave being thawed, that hasn't occurred for the last 400,000 years, and was much more common prior to that," McGee says.

The results suggest that the Earth's permafrost was much less stable prior to 400,000 years ago and was more prone to thawing, even during interglacial periods when levels of temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide were on par with modern levels, as other work has shown.

"To see this evidence of a much less stable Arctic prior to 400,000 years ago, suggests even under similar conditions, the Arctic can be a very different place," McGee says. "It raises questions for me about what caused the Arctic to shift into this more stable condition, and what can cause it to shift out of it."

Explore further Sea-ice-free Arctic makes permafrost vulnerable to thawing

More information: "Increasing Pleistocene permafrost persistence and carbon cycle conundrums inferred from Canadian speleothems" Science Advances (2021). Journal information: Science Advances "Increasing Pleistocene permafrost persistence and carbon cycle conundrums inferred from Canadian speleothems"(2021). advances.sciencemag.org/lookup  .1126/sciadv.abe5799
Washington:

The Trump administration has firmly told Pakistan that if it fails to take decisive actions against terror groups, the US will adjust its tactics and strategies to achieve the objective in a different way, a State Department official said on Friday.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told Pakistan that it must take action against terrorist groups and dismantle their safe havens on its soil, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told PTI, a day after Tillerson concluded his maiden trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

We have communicated our expectations to Pakistan numerous times that they must take decisive action against terrorist groups based within their own borders, Nauert said.

At a news conference in Geneva, his last stop on the current foreign travel, Tillerson said the US had a very healthy exchange of information on terrorists, which is what we really hope to achieve with Pakistan.

Tillerson said the message to Pakistan was -- Heres what we need for Pakistan to do. Were asking you to do this; were not demanding anything. Youre a sovereign country. Youll decide what you want to do, but understand this is what we think is necessary. And if you dont want to do that, dont feel you can do it, well adjust our tactics and our strategies to achieve the same objective a different way.

Tillerson said that he would not characterise his direct discussions with the Pakistani leadership as lecturing at all.

It was a very good and open exchange. In fact, we probably listened to 80 per cent of the time and we talked 20 per cent. And it was important to me because I have not engaged with Pakistani leadership previously. And, so my objective was to listen a lot, to hear their perspective, he said.

We put our points forward. We put our expectations forward in no uncertain terms. There has been significant engagement prior to my visit, and there will be further engagement in the future, as we work through how we want to exchange information and achieve the objective of eliminating these terrorist organisations, wherever they may be located, Tillerson said.

Tillerson described his communication with the Pakistani leadership as very frank and very candid.

We had the joint meeting with Prime Minister Abbasi and the full leadership team. And then I had a second meeting with Army General Bajwa and a couple of his close advisers, so we could have a more thorough discussion about some of the specifics, he said, adding that he thinks that it was a very open, candid and frank exchange.

Theres nothing to be achieved by lecturing, but we should be very clear about expectations and what we're asking. And either people will step up and meet those expectations or they won't. We are going to chart our course consistent with what Pakistan not just says they do but what they actually do, Tillerson said.

Noting that the future course of action would be based on conditions on the ground, he said the entire South Asia strategy is a conditions-based strategy.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif in a meeting yesterday with National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs said that Pakistan will neither surrender to the US nor compromise on its sovereignty.

Asif claimed that no specific wish list has been given to Pakistan by the US.

The US has given a list of 75 wanted terrorists and pressed Islamabad for going tough on Haqqani network.

Responding to a question on Asifs comments, the State Department spokesperson said that Tillerson on his trip has put the US expectations in front of the leadership of Pakistan.

The spokesperson said that Tillerson during his visit to Pakistan told its leadership that America wants to work with Pakistan in a positive way because it is also in Islamabads interest in long-term.

Here, there, everywhere, Tillerson trip all about terrorism

On a trip through seven nations and three different parts of the world, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson devoted himself to his presidents overarching foreign policy mission: Defeating terrorism.

His trip concluded on Friday with limited success.

In the Persian Gulf and Iraq, the top American diplomat sought to keep a region fracturing at the seams focused on defeating the Islamic State group and countering Iran.

In Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, Tillerson addressed long-term plans for stabilizing an Afghan government besieged by the Taliban insurgency.

In Switzerland, he dove back into the years-long drive to end Syrias civil war, the origins of an IS threat that has spread worldwide.

In an understatement, Tillerson noted today that many countries he visited over the last week are still embroiled in significant conflict.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
HARRISBURG  Local officials charged with implementing any changes lawmakers might make to Pennsylvanias Election Code are begging Democrats and Republicans to work together, a request that seems increasingly unlikely to be fulfilled given the parties continued partisan tensions, especially over voting rights.

The division and hostility was on full display last week as the House State Government Committee wrapped up the last of 10 election oversight meetings, which Chairman Seth Grove, R-196, York, framed as a necessary endeavor following the 2020 election, but which Democrats have attacked as political theater and a cover for voter suppression.

It was a deep mockery, in fact, a sad mockery of the hardworking election officials that carried out and executed our elections across all 67 counties, Minority Chair Margo Davidson, D-164, Delaware, said at the end of Thursdays meeting. Confidence in our elections has been destroyed by the very people that lament its destruction.

Five current and former election officials and commissioners told Spotlight PA and Votebeat they were skeptical when the meetings were first announced. But ultimately, they were impressed with the thorough and detailed testimony from nine local election directors, five current and former election officials from other states and dozens of experts and consultants during the four-month review.

Its very easy for all of this to get filtered through some sort of political lens, but in my experience, the members of the committee have been very thoughtful about what they are trying to do. Its been kind of a nonpolitical process, said Mercer County Elections Director Thad Hall, who testified at two of the hearings.

Now, election officials must wait to see if theres bipartisan consensus around their two priorities: getting more time to process, or pre-canvass, mail ballots before Election Day, and shifting deadlines for people to register to vote and apply for a mail ballot to give election workers more time to prepare.

At some point, were all going to have to start working together to figure out the path forward, said Lisa Schaefer, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. None of this happens without 26 votes in the Senate, 102 votes in the House and the governors signature.

And theyre hoping theyll be called upon to help write those new laws they say are sorely needed  and fast.

If we want to have any changes that we can implement for the November election, we absolutely agree that the hard work needs to be done now, Schaefer said, adding that September is the cut-off for implementing big adjustments.

Grove, who as chair of the State Government Committee will serve as the gatekeeper for all proposed election changes in the House, has been tight-lipped about the specifics of any reforms he wants. He said whatever changes he supports will be in the name of election integrity and strengthening voter confidence.

We arent necessarily in a rush to start drafting legislation, he told Spotlight PA and Votebeat April 15, adding he planned to review all the testimony from the meetings and hoped to consider legislation at the end of May or beginning of June.

The Senate is doing a similar review of the 2020 election and is taking public comments until April 30.

GOP priorities slowly emerge

A Spotlight PA and Votebeat review of Groves comments during the meetings and press conferences shows hes open to some changes county elections officials have asked for, including moving the voter registration deadline back from 15 days to 30 days before Election Day to give workers more time to process the registrations.

The deadline was moved up in 2019 as part of the bipartisan Act 77 that enacted no-excuse mail voting. Democrats and good-government groups like the League of Women Voters applauded the move, saying it was more voter-friendly.

Grove has also indicated that he wants broader photo ID laws  Pennsylvania only requires people who have changed their address or are voting for the first time in person to show a photo ID  and for counties to compare voter signatures on mail ballots to registration records.

In October, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously found there are no provisions in the states Election Code that specifically require counties to match voters signatures, and ruled that ballots couldnt be rejected for that reason.

The State Government Committee heard from election officials in Arizona and Colorado, both of which require mail ballots signatures to match the voters registration record. Signature checkers must go through extensive training.

Groups like the National Vote at Home Institute recommend the practice if its done through software or trained bipartisan teams, and if it allows voters to fix their ballots when signatures dont match. Some states keep multiple images of voters signatures on file for comparison, since signatures change over time.

Nov. 3 was the first general election in which Pennsylvanians were allowed to cast a ballot by mail without an excuse, and more than 2.6 million people voted this way as an alternative to visiting the polls during the pandemic.

But counties cant start opening and processing mail ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day, which meant final election results werent available until days later. As counties worked overtime to count mail ballots, President Donald Trump and his allies cast doubt on the validity of those ballots, falsely claiming Democrats were stealing the election.

While nearly every county official has said they want more time to process mail ballots ahead of Election Day  and some Republicans have been open to the idea  Grove hasnt said whether he supports such a move, only saying during a press conference that he wants outcomes on election night.

While several Republicans have filed legislation reversing the no-excuse mail voting law enacted in 2019, Grove hasnt said whether hell support that. During one post-meeting press conference, he said the popularity of Pennsylvanias mail-in voting law was likely due to COVID-19 concerns, and that hopefully COVID-19 goes away and people will end up potentially not using mail-in ballots so often and heading back to their polls.

Easy to vote and hard to cheat

Any reforms will still need the approval of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who supports pre-canvassing and opposes eliminating mail voting and requiring photo ID.

Ray Murphy, who heads a coalition of voting rights groups called Keystone Votes, said there appeared to be a clear list of noncontroversial changes to the Election Code that everyone seemed to agree on.

Do they want another bipartisan law to get made, or another bullet point where they wanted to do something and Wolf didnt want to do it? he said, referring to a previous effort by House Republicans that tied greater pre-canvassing to banning drop boxes.

Throughout the hearings, Grove and other Republican committee members insisted a review was needed to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.

Its a line that has become somewhat of a catchphrase among other Republican-controlled state legislatures who cite Trumps false claims of election fraud as a reason to restrict voting.

The phrase has been invoked by GOP elected officials in Georgia and Texas, two states that have restricted or are pursuing restrictions to voting access. And its been frequently used by the Republican State Leadership Committees Election Integrity Commission, whose best practices report published earlier this month includes recommendations to require a photo ID and signature verification, which voting rights advocates say restrict a persons ability to cast a ballot.

Alexa Grant, a program advocate with the good-government group Common Cause PA, said theres no basis for the hard to cheat part of the statement.

Were just not seeing the stories to back up these accusations on the ground, she said. Voters have proven that they can use this system, that theres not some nefarious actor thats trying to change the system.

Republicans, including Trump, filed numerous lawsuits after the election alleging various degrees of voter fraud in Pennsylvania and other states. State and federal judges rejected most of those lawsuits.

Grove, who signed a December letter urging Pennsylvanias congressional delegation to object to Pennsylvanias Electoral College votes for President Joe Biden, told ABC27 that he personally never doubted  the outcome of the election.

On Thursday, he said the election oversight meetings were a wild success and he looked forward to working with election officials and the groups who testified to develop legislation.

Still, that consensus election officials are hoping for may be out of reach.

Based on my colleagues comments at the end of this, the things theyve said, Im not sure they are interested in bipartisanship at this point, Grove said.

(This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access.)
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Drivers dont like speed traps. But two Northeast Ohio cities are going to the Ohio Supreme Court to try and keep them.

You can listen online here.

For Newburgh Heights and East Cleveland, speed traps and traffic cameras help pay the bills. So Tuesday brought them good news when the Ohio Supreme Court announced it would hear a case in which the cities are suing the state over traffic camera restrictions. Tuesday also brought a change in the states guidelines on the coronavirus ... vaccinated Ohioans no longer will have to quarantine if they are exposed to someone who is infected. And the vaccination clinic at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland is now open for walk-ins.

Hear cleveland.com editor Chris Quinn discuss these stories and more in The Wake Up podcast.

The podcast is a summary of cleveland.coms morning newsletter The Wake Up. You can receive The Wake Up through email at 5:30 a.m. each weekday by subscribing here.

You can get our podcasts delivered directly to your phone, and 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.
MIDDLETOWN  Groups of young, male thrill seekers are stealing unlocked automobiles for joy rides in suburban areas, and taking valuables the owners leave inside, according to Mayor Ben Florsheim.

In most of the cases, the cars are not being stripped or sold or disappearing, he said. Theyre turning up intact a few days later.

Most of these larcenies have taken place in the Westfield area of the city because of its easy access to Interstate 91, said Florsheim, who is urging people to be vigilant and practice measures that will avoid them becoming victims of these crimes, which have escalated over the last month.

However, incidents have decreased a bit, the mayor said, due to increased police presence and authorities alerting people widely about the threat. Once these groups have been in one town for a few weeks, theyll switch to another town, Florsheim said. Theres been a little bit of a downward trend there.

These thieves are taking advantage of the opportunity to easily and swiftly ransack and steal vehicles  even in the daytime, said the mayor, who called the perpetrators audacious.

People leave their doors unlocked and keys in the car, maybe to save a few extra minutes in the morning. The thieves want to take the path of least resistance. Theyre not going to break a window and get caught trying to start a car, Florsheim said.

Throughout the entire city, there were 125 thefts from motor vehicles between April 2020 and January 2021, Public Information Officer Lt. Brian Hubbs said, adding that doesnt account for cases that officers classified as straight larcenies. The lieutenant said he suspects the actual rate is much higher.

Many times, the victims are unaware the larceny took place until they leave the house the following day, Hubbs said of cars stolen during the night. Even in cases where victims report the crime in progress, suspects are often in and out of the area quickly and are gone prior to police arrival.

Typically, theyll canvass about a half-dozen vehicles in a neighborhood, eventually find success and escape, the mayor said.

The culprits take advantage of a general feeling by residents that these quiet neighborhoods are safe, as well as having a low density of population, the mayor said.

Criminals, looking for money, credit cards, electronics and other items of worth, sometimes have access to a homeowners garage because keys left inside the vehicles have remote door openers on them, Florsheim said.

In many cases, the vehicles turn up within a few days later in another town. Florsheim addressed the issue Monday night in a Facebook Live session with Middletown police Detective John Stroud.

Its something were taking very seriously, Florsheim said Tuesday. However, these larcenies are difficult to prosecute since its very difficult to identify the perpetrators.

COVID-19 precautions have also provided some measure of protection from their identity, since their face is often covered in video footage obtained from residents, Hubbs said.

Preliminary data from 2020 shows there was an increase in motor vehicle thefts in Connecticut compared to the previous year, mirroring national trends, according to a March 19 article in the Connecticut Mirror.

Nationwide, auto thefts took a dramatic leap upward in 2020 compared to 2019, reversing two years of auto theft declines, a National Insurance Crime Bureau study found.

Victims, many of whom have doorbell cameras or surveillance systems, wonder why when police arrive on the scene cant pursue the suspects, the mayor said. In such situations, laws prevent police officers from doing so, he said.

The most effective tactic is prevention, Florsheim said.

Two automobiles were stolen in broad daylight March 22  an Audi from a home on Westfield Terrace and a Land Rover from Country Club Road, Middletown police wrote on their Facebook page at the time.

Video footage shows a dark-colored sedan stopping at the base of a driveway where three vehicles are parked. A person gets out of the passenger seat and heads to the homeowners car, gets inside and both drivers take off at a high rate of speed.

No one has been injured during these acts, the mayor said. In some instances, a weapon was displayed. Its terrible. People should feel safe in their own neighborhood and own homes, he said.

To report a crime, call Middletown police at 860-638-4000.
Located in the birthplace of Canadian hard rock mining

Experienced team

Vertically integrated operation

What Canada Silver Cobalt Works does:

Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc ( ) (OTCMKTS:CCWOF) is strategically positioned in Canada's heartland aiming to become a leader in the silver-cobalt space but is also pivoting to focus on other critical energy metals used for electric vehicles (EV).

The cobalt camp in the Gowganda district of northern Ontario is one of the few places globally where silver and cobalt can be mined together as primary metals because cobalt is usually a by-product of copper and nickel mining.

The firm's goal is to resume mining at the formerly producing Castle and Beaver mines, which generated 9.5 million ounces silver (and 300,000 pounds of cobalt) and 7.1 million ounces silver (and 139,000 pounds cobalt) respectively.

The group's flagship asset is the Castle mine - the only permitted underground asset in the Ontario camp - which still has all three existing shafts, and the 78 square kilometres Castle property where only silver in a small area was targeted.

It also has the Beaver and Violet cobalt/silver properties located in the township of Coleman. Violet, which hosts five known veins, produced a total of 897,291 ounces of silver from 1919-1925 after which mining operations were suspended until 1951/2. Production from 1950s activity was grouped in with other mines in the Cobalt camp.

The company made its move into EV battery metals exploration in 2021 and, as an adjunct, it is also developing its Re-2OX technology, which is a process designed to efficiently extract cobalt and produce cobalt sulphate to specifications required by battery sector end-users

How is it doing:

Canada Silver Cobalt Works has been undergoing a refocus in 2021, looking to develop into both a pure precious metal play, centered on the Robinson Zone from the former high-grade Castle Silver Mine, and with an energy metals focus following the acquisition of a batch of electric vehicle (EV) battery material properties in Quebec and Ontario.

In February the company revealed that it had acquired, including by staking, over 39,000 hectares of properties in the two provinces, which are prospective for energy metals in a strategic acquisition.

All of the acquired properties (which include copper, nickel, cobalt targets) have surface showings that have been sampled or have massive gravity anomalies. For example, the Lowney Lac Edouard South property - a gravity target - in Quebec sits adjacent to Rio Tinto Mines property, while the newly acquired Ontario property at Henry Lake is within 25 kilometers of the Sudbury basin where Glencore and Vale have multiple mines and smelters which have been in operation for over 100 years.

The aim in February was to transfer the 16 assets, in exchange for shares, to another public company to capitalize on the current growing EV market, and to distribute the shares by way of a dividend to Canada Silver Cobalt's shareholders.

However, in a statement on April 20, Canada Silver Cobalt CEO Frank Bassa announced that it was the company's intention to keep the EV assets and instead transfer its non-silver assets, in exchange for shares, to another public company to be identified by the company and to do a proportional distribution of shares by way of dividends to shareholders.

In that April 20 statement, Canada Silver Cobalt said it completed geophysical airborne surveys on five of the EV properties in Quebec, with a drill program scheduled on the B2 property during the second quarter. The company, which has now secured 689 claims covering 38,129.4 hectares of prosperous ground, said it has budgeted $2.2 million for exploration for these properties this year.

It said the airborne surveys were aimed at measuring the gravity and magnetic field. The company is seeking to identify the magmatic reservoir potentially hosting significant amounts of nickel- and copper-sulphide masses at the base of the magmatic chamber. It said the final reports are pending, and details will be disclosed once received and evaluated, and the information will be used to prepare subsequent drill programs.

Canada Silver Cobalt noted that it has started preliminary geological sampling on the B2 and Grand Portage properties. The B2 property option has shown high-grade copper in the discovery showing and a maiden drill program is expected to start by the 2Q to test the mineralized structure identified. Mineralization appears to be associated with a structural shear. Observations from the channel sampling indicated the property deserved additional work and a ground magnetic orientation survey was completed.

The company said a total of 41 channel samples with three blanks and standards were sent to the SGS Laboratory in Quebec. The highest grade came from the gossan sample with 17.53% copper, 0.245 % nickel, and 0.026 % cobalt, while channel sample results range from 25 to 2,887 parts per million (ppm) copper, 11 to 3,452 ppm nickel, and 11 to 385ppm cobalt.

At Grand Portage, the company said geological sampling with a portable drill with 30-centimetres depth capability using (AQ) drill core has confirmed the presence of mineralization of interest at the surface. The mineralization associated with mafic-ultramafic blobs deserves additional work.

Five core samples with 1 standard were sent to the AGAT laboratory in Ontario. The highest grade came from sample #10404 with 1.63% nickel, 0.61% copper and 0.068% cobalt. Samples range from 0.02 to 0.61% copper, from 0.05 to 1.63 % nickel, from 0.011 to 0.06% cobalt, from 1 to 7 g/t silver, from 0.001 to 0.04 g/t gold and from trace palladium 0.002 to 0.007 g/t.

On the precious metal drilling front, on April 26, Canada Silver Cobalt reported high-grade drill results from the Robinson Zone project at its Castle mine in Gowganda, Ontario, which underlined the potential to expand mineralization there.

The latest wedge hole hit an impressive 51,612 grams per ton (g/t) silver at the second vein (Vein 2) over a length of 0.41 meter (m), which was sunk within 60m of the so-called Robinson Zone Discovery hole. The latter hole hit the highest-grade silver to date at Robinson Zone, at 89,853 g/t silver over a true width of 5 to 7cm.

Away from drilling, at the end of March, Canada Silver Cobalt revealed that it would work together with Granada Gold Mines to assess using the company's proprietary hydrometallurgical Re-2Ox process on the rare earth and alkali metals, which have been found at Granada's gold mine project in Quebec.

Early analysis indicates the potential for the Re-2Ox process to be used for the "extraction of rare earth and alkali metals, which have recently been found at the Granada Gold Mine property", the companies said. The Re-2OX technology is a process designed to efficiently extract cobalt and produce cobalt sulphate to specifications required by battery sector end-users. It has been used to produce a cobalt sulphate compound at SGS Canada for end-use in lithium-ion batteries at Canada Silver Cobalt's Castle property from a high-grade silver, cobalt and arsenic gravity concentrate.

On March 17, Canada Silver Cobalt reported that preliminary bench-scale testing involving the Re-2Ox process had "yielded excellent results", with the work so far having produced a first concentrate to then be processed using its proprietary process into a direct end-product for electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing. The initial test work was carried out on 50 kilograms of tailings from drill samples from the firm's Beaver mine in the Gowganda silver district of northern Ontario.

In the boardroom, on April 1, Canada Silver Cobalt announced that Ryan Webster, who has 15 years' experience as a finance professional in the mining industry, had been hired as the chief financial officer (CFO) with effect from that date, replacing interim CFO Robert Guanzon. Formerly, Webster served as a consultant providing corporate finance services to a variety of clients, including contract CFO services to .

Inflection points:

Further drilling results for both precious and energy metals

News on Granada Gold Mines venture to assess the Re-2Ox process

Further details of plans to transfer non-silver assets to another public company

What the boss says:

In the company's April 20 statement, Canada Silver Cobalt CEO Frank Basa said: "It is Canada Silver Cobalt's intention to transfer its non-silver assets, in exchange for shares, to another public company to be identified by the company, and to do a proportional distribution of shares by way of dividends to Canada Silver Cobalt's shareholders."

"This transaction will enhance shareholder value by offering exposure to two strong developing market forces with increased investor focus to the potential that the company sees with a pure precious metal play with the Robinson Zone from the former high-grade Castle Silver Mine area in Gowganda, Ontario and with the EV properties that have been recently acquired in Quebec and Ontario," he added.

Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com
The OTCQB listing provides an opportunity for US investors to participate in the exploration success at our key projects in Canada and Ecuador, says president & CEO.

The company is now listed on the OTC Venture Market exchange under the symbol of TMRFF

( ) ( ) (OTCMKTS:TMRFF) has received listing approval and started trading of its common shares in the USA via the OTC Venture Market exchange under the symbol of TMRFF.

The company, which is actively exploring gold projects in Canada and Ecuador, believes that trading on the OTCQB Markets will increase its shareholder base in the US and provide additional trading liquidity.

North American interest

President and chief executive officer Jason Bahnsen said: We continue to see North American interest in Tempus grow.

OTCQB listing provides an opportunity for US investors to participate in the exploration success at our key projects in Canada and Ecuador.

The OTCQB Markets is a premier marketplace for early-stage and developing US and international companies committed to providing a quality trading and information experience for US investors.

Investors can find real-time quote and market information for Tempus Resources on the OTC website at www.otcmarkets.com/stock/TMRFF/overview.

Tempus projects

Tempus flagship is the Blackdome-Elizabeth Project, a high-grade gold past-producing project in southern British Columbia.

The company is midway through a drill program at the project that will form the basis of an updated NI43-101/JORC resource estimate.

The second key group of projects are the Rio Zarza and Valle del Tigre projects in southeast Ecuador.

Rio Zarza is adjacent to Incs ( ) (OTCMKTS:FTMNF) Fruta del Norte project while Valle del Tigre is subject to a sampling program to develop anomalies identified through geophysical work.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 03:02:42|Editor: huaxia

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The latest meeting of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Joint Commission is held in Vienna, Austria, April 27, 2021. The sequence in which the United States and Iran return to compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or the JCPOA, is first and foremost a matter of "sense of justice," said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Tuesday. Wang made the remarks after attending the latest meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission. The meeting was chaired by Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general and political director of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran. (EU Delegation Vienna/Handout via Xinhua)

VIENNA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The sequence in which the United States and Iran return to compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is first and foremost a matter of "sense of justice," said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Tuesday.

Wang made the remarks after attending the latest meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission. The meeting was chaired by Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general and political director of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran.

The Joint Commission's negotiations on getting the United States and Iran to resume compliance with the JCPOA have entered the fourth week, said Wang, stressing that "it will be a very important week."

The negotiations have made some important progress, whereas some significant differences are yet to be ironed out, Wang noted.

"China believes that the issue of the sequence in which the United States and Iran resume the implementation of the JCPOA is first and foremost a matter of sense of justice," Wang said. "The cart shouldn't be put before the horse."

"The current Iranian nuclear crisis was caused by the former U.S. government, which unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and exerted extreme pressure on Iran," Wang said. "Therefore, the United States should first remove all illegal unilateral sanctions on Iran and third parties. This is the key to the success of the negotiations."

"All parties must continue to focus on and resolve this core issue first. At the same time, the Joint Commission should also consider how to verify the U.S. lifting of sanctions," Wang added.

"China hopes that all parties concerned will maintain the current momentum of negotiations, stick to the right direction and the existing consensus, and work tirelessly to achieve the overall goal of the negotiations," Wang said.

Before the talks, Wang, together with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (Vienna) Mikhail Ivanovich Ulyanov, held a trilateral meeting, fully exchanging views on key issues concerning the United States and Iran returning to compliance with the JCPOA.

Also on Tuesday, the Chinese envoy met with Mora from EEAS and exchanged views on pushing forward the current negotiations. Wang stressed that China supports the European Union in playing an active role as the coordinator in the negotiations. Enditem
Denise Welch has said she was subjected to terrifying stalking and it is frightening not knowing why the alleged stalker targeted her.

The 62-year-old actor, known for her roles in Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, exclusively opened up about the experience to The Independent, noting how she was in bed with her husband Lincoln Townley when a man armed with a knife turned up at their home. She said it was scary to learn an individual knew where she lived and was prepared to invade her private space.

The actor also hit out at the governments decision not to introduce a register for serial high-risk perpetrators of stalking and domestic abuse this week.

The TV star, who often appears on Loose Women, said: Yet again it doesnt appear the government is doing as much as they can to tackle crimes against women. They promised things would change after Sarah Everards death but yet again we see these issues overlooked.

My husband and I have been victim to a terrifying stalking incident. Because of legal reasons, I cant talk in specific terms about my case, because it doesnt go to court until later in the year.

Often people are stalked by an ex-lover or someone they know. In our case, we have no idea and that is frightening. It was terrifying to know that somebody knew where you lived and was prepared to invade your space.

She also said she was too frightened to talk too much about it and the alleged stalking has made her suddenly feel incredibly vulnerable.

Read the full story here.
Women in the Bible  saintly or schemers, victims or victorious in war or in wooing  dont actually notch a lot of verses of dialog. But these days their choices and actions, resonating throughout the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, are speaking loud and clear in the religion book market. Titles featuring their stories draw attention from the mass market to the scholarly readers, among Christians and Jews.

Women of the Bible Speak: The Wisdom of 16 Women and Their Lessons for Today (FOX News Books, out now) by Shannon Bream, a FOX News host, legal analyst, and author of a memoir of evangelical faith, rocketed up the religion bestseller list. It has surpassed 165,000 copies in sales, including more than 50,000 in preorder sales that prompted seven reprintings before the March 30th release date, according to Michael Tammero, senior v-p of marketing and brand strategy and part of the team that launched FOX News Books last fall.

Charged by CEO Suzanne Scott to launch a books platform, Tammero and colleagues, drawing from market research and audience feedback, determined that patriotism, faith, and family titles by familiar FOX faces would capture attention. (The first title, Modern Warriors: Real Stories from Real Heroes by FOX & Friends Weekend co-host Pete Hegseth, became a best seller this winter and the third title is not yet announced.) Tammero tells PW, We knew that Shannon could make a book on women of the Bible fresh and compelling. Then sales were propelled by the power of all our platforms behind the book, he says, citing multiple promotions on every FOX show, a podcast, a streaming series and a FOX affiliate satellite media tour.

Bream worked with the team to structure the book  pairing notable women in ways that spark discussion, then highlighting discussion points so the book invited conversation in book clubs and Bible study groups. Ultimately, however, it was Breams research with pastors, scholars, and theologians coupled with her own evangelical faith that makes the book personal, approachable, and sometimes surprising.

For example, Bream pairs widowed and childless Tamar, who seduces her father-in-law so that she may carry on her late husbands lineage, with Ruth, the Moabite widow devoted to her Hebrew mother-in-law who ultimately marries a descendent of Tamars child. Both women become matrilineal ancestors of King David and ultimately of Jesus. Bream writes that they exemplify bold choices and Gods redemptive power in the midst of our messy lives. In the stories of so many Biblical women, she writes, God is using human frailty to miraculous end.

Beyond the soaring sales, Bream says, the real pleasure has been all that she learned in the process of giving voice to these women. Hagar, the slave to Sarah who bears Abrahams first son, Ishmael, struck her. Alone and afraid, she is comforted by God and calls him the God Who Sees Me. Says Bream, These women lived centuries ago and they faced crises of health, family fights, widowhood, infertility, and more. The God of then is the God of now. He sees you too. My hope is women will study the book with each other and be encouraged.

Of course, women crave these stories, says scholar Lynn Japinga, author of a two-volume series from Westminster John Knox that touches on just about every women who appears at any point in the Bible  From Widows to Warriors: Women's Stories from the Old Testament released in 2020 and From Daughters to Disciples: Women's Stories from the New Testament (released in February).

In decades of teaching and preaching on women in the Scriptures, shes seen pastors and commentators overlook, minimize or disparage women while delivering endless sermons on male figures. Every month is Mens History Month, jokes Japinga, professor of Religion at Hope College and an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America. When she introduces students and preachers to new perspectives on women, she says, They are always amazed. They always say, Why did I never hear this before?

Consider Delilah. Is she the evil Philistine seductress who ruins the Hebrew strongman Samson? Japinga flips the viewpoint. She tells PW, We dont really know Delilahs story. As a Philistine, shes doing a patriotic service for her country. And Samson is the clueless guy who tells her the secret of his strength. Yet later he shows up in the Bible in Hebrews as one among the faithful. Delilah gets all the blame for a guy whos all brawn and no brain. She tells PW, Men, if they are willing, can see the powers and the layers of human complexity and the ambiguity of humanity in these stories.

WJK editor in chief Robert Ratclliff agrees. He says, You dont know the Bible if you dont know the Bibles women. The female characters are central to the narrative. Weve done books like this for a long time that sold mostly to our female clergy but now it is moving strongly to church laity and general readership.

Another new title, Reading Ruth: Birth, Redemption, and the Way of Israel (Paul Dry, out this month) is a deeply personal little volume created by Leon Kass, Washington DC-based scholar of social thought and professor emeritus at the University of Chicago, and his granddaughter in Jerusalem, Hannah Mandelbaum, 21, an Israeli college student. Dry, a small independent publisher who publishes eight to 12 titles a year of fiction and nonfiction, tells PW, I thought it was grand: Two people trying to get to the depths of a text by talking about it word by word and imagining the lives of Ruth and Naomi.

Kass and Mandelbaums work together in 10 weeks of Facetime conversations began as they both mourned the death of his wife, her grandmother, Amy Apfel Kass, a scholar, teacher and insightful author. Loss, redemption, and renewal in the next generation are central themes in Ruth. After her husband dies, Naomis two sons marry Moabite wives, but both die 10 years later, and Naomi is left alone, the Bible says. Kass recalls Hannahs insight. He tells PW, Where, asked Hannah, are the grandchildren? Ten years, two marriages, but no children?  This discovery highlighted for us the primacy of procreation and its redemptive power in Israel."

Ruth famously clings to Naomi, follows her back into her Hebrew faith and community, and ultimately remarries a virtuous man and finally gives birth to a son. Kass tells PW, "Ruths famous principle is loyal devotion and friendship to her mother-in-law, Naomi; Naomisspeaking, we believe, also for the textis marriage and children. For him, the experience of creating this interpretive commentary confirmed for me the redemptive powers of faithful devotion, new birth, and cultural transmission. In keeping with the spirit and teaching of the book, my loss of Amy has been partly redeemed also by Hannahs Ruth-like (and Amy-like) chesedher gracious kindness and loving devotionwhich she has steadily showered on me and on Amys memory.

Thus, these authors all say, the Bible comes to life, across all time and distance, in womens stories from generation to generation.
[April 28, 2021]

Data Center Leader OFFSITE Selects Infinidat to Increase Data Storage at Scale

Waltham, Mass, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Infinidat, a leading provider of enterprise-class storage solutions, today announced that OFFSITE, a national provider of hosted, managed services and data center operations based in Wisconsin, selected Infinidats storage technology to support the growth of its business. Infinidats storage technology displaced the existing all-flash arrays that OFFSITE had been using to meet the enterprise technology requirements of its customers.



While catapulting OFFSITE into the petabyte scale for the first time, the Infinidat solution was only one third the cost of all-flash arrays for the same amount of usable storage, yet without the need to rely on compression and deduplication. OFFSITE adopted Infinidats elastic pricing and flexible consumption model.

With the Infinidat storage solution, we have been able to meet the enterprise technology requirements of our customers and deliver ultra-fast, yet more cost-effective services, said Joseph G. Rickard, CEO, at OFFSITE. By building our on-premises, private cloud for us, Infinidat gives us the flexibility to only pay for the storage we use, allowing us to scale when more capacity is needed on demand. The capabilities that Infinidat has with VMware also make provisioning or expanding storage take only minutes.

Steve Sullivan, EVP of Sales, North America, at Infinidat, said, The favorable economics of Infinidats on-premises storage solution are changing the economics of the storage industry and what enterprise customers and cloud service providers are expecting. The success of OFFSITE is a great example of a company discovering how Infinidat delivers high performance, 100 percent availability and reliability at a lower cost than the all-flash product from an incumbent vendor. An increasing number of companies are making this same discovery.

OFFSITE was founded in 2001 as a disaster and workplace recovery data center. It has grown from a regional customer base in Illinois and Wisconsin to a national provider of private cloud services, shared and dedicated colocation services, disaster recovery services, and network operations center (NOC) solutions to mid-market IT enterprise companies. With redundant operations in Chicago and Denver, OFFSITEs strong suit is its always available and 24x7 network operations center. The companys reliability, which its storage platform needs to ensure, continues to attract a diverse base of enterprise customers.







Infinidats solution aligns with OFFSITEs goal to redefine the data center experience. OFFSITE provides a high-performing environment for its customers to manage their data operations with a guarantee of security, a powerful infrastructure, industry-leading technology, and comprehensive expertise.

Storage consolidation was a key consideration in selecting Infinidat. OFFSITE can now fit four petabytes in one rack, allowing the company to expand its footprint and scale quickly (minutes versus weeks) from 300 terabytes up to one petabyte ? all while using generally available hardware that is not proprietary.

On the data protection and cyber recovery front, Infinidats immutable snapshot capability also factored into OFFSITEs decision and is a value-add to protect data against ransomware. Immutable snapshots enable administrators to access or recover all data by quickly restoring a volume to its previous state or restoring specific files from any time in the past. As a unique capability offered by Infinidat, immutable snapshots cannot be altered or deleted. OFFSITE can now provide its customers with these snapshots for ransomware protection.

To read the OFFSITE case study for more details, click here

About OFFSITE

OFFSITE, based in Wisconsin, USA, is redefining how data services are delivered by creating a secure, always available, leading edge scalable data operations environment. Our high quality private cloud computing and enhanced data services help enterprise customers solve IT challenges, discover new opportunities, and meet immediate and future critical computing needs.

About Infinidat

Infinidat helps enterprises and service providers empower their data-driven competitive advantage at scale. Infinidats software-focused architecture delivers sub-millisecond latency, 100% availability, and scalability with a significantly lower total cost of ownership than competing storage technologies. The company was founded by storage industry pioneer, Moshe Yanai, in 2011 and has shipped over 7.1EB worldwide to date. The corporate headquarters are based in Herzliya, Israel, and U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.infinidat.com.

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Golden Independence Mining Corp. (CSE: IGLD) (OTCQB: GIDMF) (FSE: 6NN) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the Phase II reverse circulation (RC) drill program has commenced at the Independence project, south of Battle Mountain, Nevada. This program will focus on expanding the near surface high-grade oxide mineralization discovered in hole AGEI-32 and in delineating additional resources in the relatively sparsely drilled northern portion of the Independence project, following up on the significant results from the Phase I program, including:

Hole AGEI-32 - 9.11 g/t gold and 25.2 g/t silver over 80 feet (24.4 metres) including 12.06 g/t gold and 30.7 g/t silver over 60 feet (18.3 metres) including 23.16 g/t gold and 49.8 g/t silver over 30 feet (9.1 metres)

Hole AGEI-47 - 0.50 g/t gold and 3.5 g/t silver over 530 feet (161.5 metres) including 1.05 g/t gold and 3.5 g/t silver over 160 feet (48.8 metres)



All assay results are drill widths not true widths, which is undetermined at this time.

"The Phase I drill program met with considerable success, confirming the potential of the intrusive as a significant gold host," commented Golden Independence President Tim Henneberry. "The high-grade intercept in hole AGEI-32 also confirms the potential of the main oxide zone to host higher grade vein zones within the chert host," he continued. "These two targets will be the primary focus of this program along with expansion of the main oxide zone to depth to the west," he concluded.

"While Golden Independence anticipates the receipt of a maiden NI 43-101 compliant resource for the Independence project in the near future, we believe the potential to continue expanding the resource at Independence is strong," stated Golden Independence CEO Christos Doulis. "Delineation of additional near surface high-grade material, such as that encountered in hole AGEI-32, as well as large amounts of lower grade mineralized material in the northern intrusive could significantly increase a future resource update anticipated in late 2021 or early 2022," he continued.

The Phase II program will consist of approximately 8,000 feet of RC drilling in 10 to 15 holes. All samples will again be sent to the ALS Minerals prep lab in Elko, for final analysis at the ALS minerals lab in Reno. Both facilities are ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certified. All samples will be analyzed utilizing ALS ME-ICP41 procedure, an aqua regia digestion with ICP-AES finish, with gold determined by the Au-AA23 procedure, a 30-gram fire assay with AAS finish. Golden Independence will continue with its rigorous QA/QC program of duplicate samples, blanks and standards.

Figure 1



To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7273/81929_cbe91dadf4e1c9a9_001full.jpg

or

https://goldenindependence.co/docs/GI-2020-Drill-Map_Phase2.pdf.

Quality assurance

R. Tim Henneberry, PGeo (British Columbia), President and Director of Golden Independence Mining Corp., is the qualified person who has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release on behalf of the company.

About Golden Independence Mining Corp.

Golden Independence Mining Corp. is an exploration company currently focused on exploring the advanced-stage Independence property located in the Battle Mountain-Cortez Trend, Nevada and the Champ precious metal property near Castlegar, British Columbia. The Independence property benefits from over US$25 million in past exploration, including over 200 holes drilled, and is located adjacent to Nevada Gold Mines' Phoenix-Fortitude mining operations in the Battle Mountain-Cortez trend of Nevada.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Christos Doulis, Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: 1.647.924.1083 Email: christos@goldenindependence.co

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81929
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.
UK Conducts COVID-19 Testing at Leicester School After 3 Cases of Indian Variant Found

UK health authorities are conducting further testing at a school after three cases of the new Indian variant of the CCP virus were found in Leicester.

Professor Ivan Browne, Leicesters director of public health, said on Wednesday that Public Health England (PHE) had been notified of three cases of the variant known as VUI-21-APR-01, which was first identified in India.

All of the cases were linked to travel from India before the UK government banned travel from that country on April 23.

Health workers keep vigil as passengers exit the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport upon their arrival from London in Mumbai on Dec. 22, 2020. (Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty Images)

Browne said: We have been working closely with PHE to ensure that all close contacts of those affected are identified and advised to self-isolate for 10 days. Targeted testing is also taking place in a city school as a precautionary measure.

He said: There is currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe illness or increased risk of mortality. Our advice to everyone remains the same. The best way to stop the spread of the virus is to keep washing or sanitising your hands, wear a face covering in public places, stay apart from those you dont live with, and abide by the restrictions in place.

But according to the World Health Organisation, this variant has two mutationsE484Q and L452Rwhich have been seen in other variants around the world and are thought to contribute to increased transmissibility and resistance to vaccines.

The variant, also known as B.1.617, was first seen in two Indian states at the end of 2020, and since then has accounted for an increasing proportion of COVID-19 cases in the country.

Health workers register passengers to collect samples for virus tests at the Yesvantpur railway station in Bangalore, India, on April 5, 2021. (Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images)

According to the latest government statistics published on April 22, 132 cases of the Indian variant have been found in the UK.

Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his planned trip to India, due to concerns over the ongoing CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus surge in that country.

Under the UKs travel ban, which came into force on April 23, anyone who is not a UK or Irish resident or a British citizen is not allowed to enter the UK if they have been in India in the previous 10 days.

UK and Irish residents and British citizens who have been in India during the 10-day period before their arrival need to stay in hotel quarantine for 10 days.
Many businesses plan to officially reopen their workplaces by the summer. And with so many colleagues meeting in person for the first time in over a year, things are bound to be a little awkward.

"Initially, it was kind of eerie; it was kind of weird," says Wilbur You, founder and CEO of marketing agency Youtech, a four-time Inc. 5000 honoree that reopened its Scottsdale, Arizona, office last summer and its Naperville, Illinois, headquarters this January. "We've never been in a situation like this before."

Inc. asked CEOs of fast-growing businesses and workplace experts for their thoughts on the best way to execute a safe and equitable return to the office. While each company's strategy looks different, business owners tend to agree that for now, leaders should listen to employees and stay flexible. Here's their advice.

Don't Rush Reentry

Don't expect that all employees will be eager to return to the office, even if they're vaccinated. Instead, get employee buy-in by validating individuals' concerns and asking what will make them feel safe. At Outdoor Living Brands, a group of franchise brands in Glen Allen, Virginia, that includes two-time Inc. 5000 honoree Conserva Irrigation Franchising, a "soft reopening" began last summer, and any employee who didn't feel comfortable returning was told to continue working from home. "We didn't take a hard line with anything," says chairman and CEO Chris Grandpre.

The company, which already had been planning to build a new headquarters and shift to a hybrid work model before the pandemic, outfitted the new space with technology to make it easier for in-office and remote colleagues to collaborate. Eventually, Grandpre says, businesses will have to be less understanding, and resume some degree of standardization in their policies. "I think that's going to challenge us as business owners," he says, "because it will create issues and resentments and jealousies if you're offering more flexibility to one employee versus another." But for now, he says, flexibility is the best strategy.

Workplace experts agree, urging bosses to bear in mind that employees may have experienced the pandemic in vastly different ways. "There is certainly a danger in asking individuals to do too much too soon, or things that are too far out of their comfort zone," says Rachel O'Neill, the director of clinical effectiveness at New York City-based online therapy provider Talkspace and a therapist who specializes in employee wellness. Some workers were at low risk and affected only indirectly, by having to change their lifestyles; others lost loved ones, got sick themselves, or had reason to fear for their safety on a daily basis; and some might still be dealing with long-term symptoms. She recommends that employers "find ways to support employee autonomy, and to recognize that various members of your workforce will be at different points of acceptance with regards to return to work."

If you do decide to set a date for employees to return to the office, avoid making it a requirement, says Kelly DuFord Williams, founder and managing partner of Slate Law Group, a San Diego-based firm that focuses on business and employment law. Besides potentially alienating employees, strict rules can open you up to lawsuits if workers perceive them as discriminatory, so she recommends keeping remote work as an option if you can. If you need to bring people back, make sure they know why--and whom they can contact if they have concerns. Work with your HR department or attorney to stay current on state and federal laws, and when in doubt, follow the strictest regulations regarding workplace safety, she says. Once you have a policy, make sure it's in writing, along with any exceptions, and is applied equitably to your entire staff to avoid discrimination claims.

Navigating Opening Day

Along with providing PPE in the office, many companies have temporarily altered their workplace layouts and schedules to help keep workers safe as they return. Outdoor Living Brands originally designed its headquarters so that its 50 employees could collaborate freely and work from a different spot every day if they chose, but for now, each person has an assigned workstation, and only 35 to 40 percent of employees work in the office on a given day. That way, there's ample room between people, Grandpre says, adding that the company also supplies cleaning wipes, hand sanitizer, and masks. (While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently relaxed its guidance around surface cleaning and disinfecting, many companies still have stepped-up cleaning regimens in place to make employees feel safer.)

Background-check company Mind Your Business, a three-time Inc. 5000 honoree, instituted robust safety protocols--including symptom checks, plastic shields, social distancing and mask-wearing requirements, and enhanced cleaning routines and ventilation--in order to reopen its 39-person headquarters in Hendersonville, North Carolina, in October 2020. Still, only one of the company's five departments works in the office per day, and employees with documented health concerns are permitted to work from home, says founder and CEO Karen Caruso. Other companies are extending cubicle walls with plexiglass, spacing out desks, or having in-office workers join meetings virtually instead of gathering in conference rooms.

While safety restrictions are still preventing most reopened workplaces from feeling fully "normal," companies are doing their best to make employees comfortable. Small gestures can help lighten the mood, Caruso says. "We do things in our office to help raise the morale during these very stressful times," she says. "We have stand-up-and-stretch time, goofy time--anything to break up the monotony." The company also provides individually packaged lunches and snacks on certain days, and encourages employees to take walks in the park next to the building during breaks.

One thing most companies aren't doing when they reopen is celebrating. Many have yet to reschedule the events that they canceled last year. Caruso's company postponed its 25th anniversary celebration, which was meant to take place in June. And even when it's technically safe to do so, both O'Neill and DuFord Williams advise against requiring employees to show up to company parties--or even large meetings--while they're still getting reacclimated to office life. While many workers are eager to reunite with colleagues, and employers want to facilitate those connections, any celebrations you hold should be after work hours, outdoors, and optional, O'Neill says.

It's also worth reminding your team of any mental health resources your company offers, such as an employee assistance program, that can help ease the transition back into the workplace. "This is a great opportunity to beef up your response to mental health as an employer," says O'Neill, encouraging business leaders to have open conversations about the difficulty of shedding pandemic-era routines and to acknowledge that everyone on the team is going through the process together. "In the aftermath of the crisis is when we need time to process and time to reintegrate. And that's the moment we're coming upon right now."

To be sure, not every business is in a position to bring employees back to the office. In regions where Covid-19 infections are still surging, many companies still aren't sure when they'll be able to safely reopen their headquarters. "I have refreshed this plan a dozen times if I've done it once," says Matt Davis, vice president of finance at Goldfish Swim School Franchising, a children's swim school franchise and six-time Inc. 5000 honoree based in Troy, Michigan.
A deputy ranking member on the Education Committee of parliament and a Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa South, Clement Apaak has asked government to tell Ghanaians the truth about the challenges of their free SHS programme.



According to him, the government should avoid the shame and tell Ghanaians about the challenges they are facing with the implementation of the free SHS policy.



Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he explained that presently all does not seem well for the Free SHS policy of the NPP government.



"How can you be tossing students around with just an opening date? If there is no money for the implementation of the programme, just be bold and tell Ghanaians the truth about it," he said.



He urged government to organise stakeholders dialogue and have discussions about how government can ensure that parents and guardians will be made to contribute to the free SHS policy.



"As parents, we can all contribute our quota to the free SHS policy as it is currently facing financial challenges," he added.



He maintained that the NPP government has failed to properly implement the free SHS programme.



According to him the erstwhile John Mahama administration started on the right foot for the implementation of the free SHS programme, but due to political interest, they abandoned it to run their own which currently seems to be collapsing under their watch.



"The quintessential truth is the NPP government has failed to properly handle the free SHS policy. They have clearly shown that they are equally the bad managers of the economy," he explained.





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According to a new report published by Polaris Market Research the essential oil market is anticipated to reach USD 16,172.2 million by 2026. In 2017, the orange essential oil segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. Europe is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market revenue during the forecast period.

Browse for full research summary: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/essential-oil-market

A significant increase in disposable income, changing lifestyles, and initiatives by market players to promote healthy lifestyles drive the growth of this market. Other driving factors include increasing incidences of stress and anxiety, growing inclination towards use of natural and organic products, and increasing awareness regarding physical and mental health. The use of essential oils in various applications such as food and beverages, healthcare, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and aromatherapy further propel the market growth. Increasing demand in developing nations is expected provide numerous growth opportunities to the market players during the forecast period.

There has been a shift towards e-commerce and consumers are increasingly purchasing essential oils through online platforms. The variety of choices available coupled with ease of purchase offered by online platforms encourages consumers to buy essential oils online, supplementing the growth of the market.

Improvement in lifestyle due to rise in income level, especially in the developing countries of Asia-Pacific fuels the demand for essential oils market. Factors such as increase in per capita income and changes in consumer behavior towards physical and mental health are expected to accelerate the adoption of essential oils in the coming years.

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Europe generated the highest revenue in the market in 2017, and is expected to lead the global market throughout the forecast period. The high geriatric population in the region coupled with high disposable income drives the market growth. The high demand of essential oils in food & beverages and cosmetic products support the market growth in the region. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to increasing disposable incomes in developing countries of this region, rising awareness about benefits of essential oils, and rising demand of essential oils from healthcare sector in this region.

The different types of essential oils in the market include lemon, lime, orange, corn mint, eucalyptus, peppermint, citronella, clove leaf, and others. In 2017, the orange essential oil segment accounted for the highest market share. The increasing demand for orange essential oil is owing to properties such as anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, and antispasmodic. Use of orange essential oil has a calming effect on mind and body, and is used in various cosmetics products. It is also used in various foods and beverages to enhance flavor.

Make Inquiry about this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/essential-oil-market/inquire-before-buying

The well-known companies profiled in the report include Doterra International LLC., Rocky Mountain Oils, LLC, Naturals Together, Robertet SA, Now Health Group, Inc., Biolandes SAS, Falcon Essential Oils, Ungerer Limited, The Lebermuth Company, Flavex Naturextrakte GmbH, Farotti Srl, and E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company among others. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers.

Essential Oil Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Product Type Lemon Lime Orange Corn mint Eucalyptus Peppermint Citronella Clove leaf Others

Essential Oil Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Distribution Channel Offline Stores Online Platforms

Essential Oil Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Application Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Cleaning Food and Beverages Spa and Wellness Others

Essential Oil Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Region North America U.S. Canada Mexico Europe Germany UK France Italy Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific China India Japan Rest of Asia-Pacific Latin America Brazil Middle East & Africa



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Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world.

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Samsungs renewed efforts in laptop design seem to be paying off. Ive been a big fan of its recent Galaxy Book laptops and even use the Book Flex as my daily driver. The company has been able to differentiate its PCs by focusing on its strengths, like great displays and the S Pen, while nailing basics like powerful performance, long lasting batteries and sleek designs. But most people may not immediately think of Samsung when shopping for a laptop, which might be why its hosting an entire event dedicated to launching its latest notebooks.

We think now is a really good time, not only because of the relevance of PCs, but how weve thought about our PC devices and how they fit into the overall ecosystem, Danielle Moten, senior product manager for Samsung Electronics America, told Engadget. We have a unique offering and a unique voice in the PC market, in particular because we have this heritage of excellent display quality, display technology.

All about the screens

Displays are the main highlight of Samsungs new Galaxy Book Pro series, which are a pair of clamshell and convertible laptops in two sizes each. All four devices feature the companys AMOLED panels (the Pro 360s use Super AMOLED touchscreens) with Full HD resolutions and having seen them in person at a recent (socially distanced) hands-on appointment in New York, I can say theyre certainly rich and colorful. The 4K UHD videos I loaded were vivid and smooth, though the panels did look dim under direct sunlight, even at max brightness.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

But not everyone wants their screens to be saturated and warm, especially if youre a photo editor whose priority is color accuracy. To accommodate such users, Samsung built different color profiles into the Book Pros: Vivid, Natural, Photo Editing and Movie. These each switch to the AMOLED native, sRGB, Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 color spectrums respectively. You can pick the one you want or set it to Auto to let Samsungs intelligent color engine do the switching based on what youre doing.

I did notice a slight change in colors when I jumped between these profiles, with Photo Editing and Natural both looking a little less warm and red than the other two. I havent spent enough time with the devices to know how well Auto works, though.

Compared to the Book Flexs QLED panel, the Book Pros screens do look more vibrant. AMOLEDs deliver brighter, more accurate colors than QLEDs thanks to individual light emitting diodes, and offer a greater contrast ratio of a million to one. Of course, that means the Book Pros are likely to consume more power, and Moten told Engadget that the company has done a number of things to ensure that battery life is optimized.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Book Pro hands on photos | 15 Photos



























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Power and battery

These include offering four modes in Samsung Settings that let the system manage things like performance, temperature, fan noise and battery life depending on your priorities. Maximum performance mode, for example, will let the 11th-gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processors run at the clock speed they need with no limits. Optimized mode balances performance, thermals and battery life, while silent mode will save battery power by reducing your computers fan speed and performance instead of focusing on a decibel level for some reason. You can also go for No Fan mode to stop them altogether.

Samsung says the Book Pros can last up to 17 hours, and when you do run out of juice, the new 65-watt charging via USB C should get you eight hours in 30 minutes. The company said its new compact charger is approximately 52 percent smaller and 33 percent lighter than before. Well of course have to test these claims out for ourselves when we get a review unit, but one thing I can already confirm is that the Book Pros power brick is indeed much smaller than older models.

Privacy screen and software

Samsung also added a new feature that sounds similar to something weve seen in HPs laptops: A built-in privacy filter. With a keyboard shortcut, you can enable what the company calls Secret Screen, which will render your screen unreadable from side angles without diminishing quality. When I checked this out though, I realized its actually a software feature that adjusts the opacity or brightness of select apps. Thats different from HPs system, which has a physical privacy filter in the panel itself that you can activate.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Samsungs method works at a software level and makes the specific window youre working on more transparent or dark. It only works with some apps, and the companys own Security app where I was adjusting the settings wasnt supported. I pulled up Engadget on Edge and switched between Dark Screen or Opacity modes and honestly I couldnt help laughing. Look, kudos to Samsung for trying to innovate but imagine trying to type into an almost-transparent Google Doc and youve basically got the Secret Screens opacity mode down. As for the Dark mode  its easier to just use the keyboard shortcut to dim your screen altogether.

The Galaxy Book Pros do offer a suite of other privacy-minded features that are more useful, though. A dedicated keyboard shortcut triggers a mode called Block Recording that can disable your webcam and microphone whenever you want to prevent snooping (or dont look presentable enough for your Zoom meetings). If you share your laptop with other people and dont want them discovering sensitive files you might have saved, theres also a password-protected privacy folder thats hidden from other users. Plus, if you leave your Book Pro unattended in a public or shared space one day and someone tries to log in, the laptop can be set up to take a photo and email it to you.

Super thin and light

But AMOLEDs and privacy features arent the only things Samsung is highlighting on the Galaxy Book Pro series. These are also the companys thinnest and lightest laptops ever, according to director of product marketing Hassan Anjun. At 11.2mm or 0.44 inches, the 13-inch Book Pro is also lighter and thinner than the new Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360 13, which measure 0.58 and 0.67 inches respectively. Samsungs new 13-inch clamshell is also the lightest of the lot, weighing 870 grams (1.91 pounds) compared to the 2.64-pound XPS and the 2.8-pound Spectre.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 hands on photos | 23 Photos











































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I was so surprised when I picked up the 15-inch Book Pro for the first time that I actually exclaimed Oh my God. At 2.3 pounds, its significantly lighter than the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4, the MacBook Pro 15 and the Dell XPS 15. Despite its lack of heft, the Book Pro didnt exhibit much flex and from my experience felt more premium than the LG Gram, which felt more hollow. Meanwhile, the 13-inch Book Pro 360 felt more dense (to be expected since its a smaller machine), but was still impressively thin and light.

Connectivity, keyboard and more

Despite its dainty size, the 13-inch Book Pro 360 also manages to house a 5G radio, making it Samsungs first 5G PC. Samsung told Engadget it will have more to share on 5G support (whether sub-6 or mmWave, for example) in the second half of the year and that WiFi models will launch first.

The other three in the series only come with WiFi, though outside the US the 13-inch Pro 360 offers LTE connectivity. Still, all four machines can support WiFi 6E when those routers become more widely available.

Something that used to be sacrificed in the pursuit of thin and light laptops is a good keyboard. But the Galaxy Book Pros have generously sized keys with a decent amount of travel. The 15-inch Book Pro even had enough room to squeeze in a numpad, as well as a huge trackpad. Though Id prefer more travel, the buttons themselves were responsive and typing on them was comfortable. Samsung said the keyboard here is quieter, too, though its hard to tell from a short hands-on.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

There are plenty of new features in the Galaxy Book Pro series that we didnt get to test, including the upgraded microphones that Samsung said uses the same technology as its Galaxy Buds Pro. It will supposedly filter out unwanted background noise to make you easier to hear in meetings.

One of Samsungs strengths is its ability to integrate products from its massive portfolio, and the Book Pros feature software that helps users manage multiple devices more easily. For one, these are the companys first laptops to offer its Smart Switch that lets you transfer data from an old device, even if its not been backed up to the cloud. You can also use Second Screen to convert your Galaxy Tab S7 into an external monitor, while Link To Windows will let you use up to five mobile apps at once on your PC.

Samsung also brought the updated version of its Notes app to the Book Pro series, so you can use new features like PDF annotations and voice recordings on your laptop. The Book Pro 360 comes with an upgraded S Pen that has a thicker, comfortable grip, too. I scrawled some notes with the new stylus and though I cant tell the difference from the older model, I certainly found it smooth and responsive. I still prefer the Book Flexs S Pen, though, which has its own slot on the laptop. The new S Pen is magnetic and can attach to the Book Pro, which doesnt have a housing for it.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Those who prefer a QLED laptop can still opt for the Book Flex series, which Moten said Samsung will continue to sell. If the thought of a super thin and light PC with an AMOLED screen has won you over, you can already pre-order the Galaxy Book Pro and Pro 360 today, starting at $999 and $1,199 respectively. You can get the Pro in blue, silver or gold, while the Pro 360 comes in bronze or blue. Theyll be widely available on May 14th, so if you can, you should wait a little longer for our full review before buying one.
Adventurers and Slavers The Atlantic slave trade resulted in the enforced scattering of millions of Africans to the Caribbean, the Americas and elsewhere - including Britain. A significant early English figure was John Hawkins. His father, William Hawkins, made the first English expeditions to West Africa in the1530s. William Hawkins was an adventurous trader who set out to explore the Guinea coast. His voyages were made in search of commercial materials such as dyewoods. Exploration and trade were the most significant reasons for people to move around the world during the 15th and early 16th centuries. The French, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch sent their merchant seamen to Asia, Africa and the Americas, where trade developed rapidly. The English, anxious not to miss out on this bounty, became experts in shipping, finance and insurance and thus major players in overseas commerce.

the common people' (119k)

Document | Transcript 'The King of this Country is adored ofthe common people' (119k)

From 1553, a group of London merchants began a series of ventures to develop English overseas trade. Two years later these adventurers returned carrying ivory, gold, Malaguetta pepper and, significantly, five Africans from Shama, in modern Ghana. These Africans were brought to England to learn English, and returned to Africa as interpreters for visiting English traders. Queen Elizabeth I assisted the early merchant adventurers in 1561 by supplying ships and provisions. When they returned to English ports they brought not only valuable cargoes of commodities, but also more Africans, some of whom had probably become sailors on these merchant ships. Queen Elizabeth soon realised the economic value of this overseas trade. She granted a patent to eight merchants from London and Exeter to trade exclusively with Senegambia, between the Senegal and Gambia rivers, for a 10-year period. European traders thus initially met Africans at a time long before colonial rule, when African societies possessed freedom of action and political power. As commercial trade and enslavement developed over the next 250 years, millions of Africans were transported from one continent to another. Some of those uprooted by the slave trade were also to end up in Britain - many as servants and labourers.

into Hawkins' Third Voyage

Document | Transcript Commission of Inquiryinto Hawkins' Third Voyage In 1562, John Hawkins set out on a voyage that would mark the beginning of the English slave trade. Documents reveal that he left Plymouth with the purpose of capturing Africans along the Guinea Coast. The travel writer Richard Hakluyt (c.1552-1616) says that Hawkins 'got into his possession partly by the sworde and partly by other meanes to the number of 300 negroes'. In Sierra Leone, he took a ship laden with ivory, wax and 500 Africans. Hawkins, commanding the ship Salomon, then made the voyage from the Guinea coast to the West Indies. He arrived at the port of Monte Christi, in what is now the Dominican Republic, where they 'did deposit 125 slaves at 100 ducats each' (about 25-30 in present-day terms). The Africans were offered for sale to estate owners in the Americas, who required a constant supply of cheap labour for their sugar and tobacco plantations.

Triangular Trade

Document | Transcript Pioneer of theTriangular Trade News of the slave merchants' success spread and they soon attracted wealthy, powerful backers, and additional support from Queen Elizabeth. In 1564 the queen sponsored Hawkins by lending him her very own 700-ton vessel, Jesus of Lubeck. Now John Hawkins, freeman of the city of Plymouth, left Plymouth specifically for the purpose of capturing Africans on the West African coast. Hawkins, in his own words, as noted by Hakluyt, 'profited by the sale of slaves' - so much so that he included a bound slave wearing a necklace and earrings on the crest of his coat of arms. His final voyage turned out to be a disaster for Hawkins, as he lost his ships and men to the Spanish. This event precipitated hostilities between England and Spain.

Document | Transcript John Hawkins' Coat of Arms

These early voyages proved to be early, tentative steps towards what was to become a highly organised trade in humans - and a major source of income for British merchants for some 300 years to come. References and Further Reading Churchill, W., History of the English Speaking Peoples, vol. 4, London, 1956-8



File, N. and Power, C., Black Settlers in Britain 1555-1958, London, 1981 Fryer, P., Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain, London, 1984 Williamson, J. A., Sir John Hawkins: The Time and the Man, Oxford, 1927

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Workforce

Biden taps D.C. employment lawyer to lead MSPB

Cathy Harris, a Washington, D.C., employment and civil rights lawyer, is the Biden administration's pick to lead the Merit Systems Protection Board.

MSPB, a quasi-judicial agency that hears appeals from federal employees on agency personnel actions, has been without a quorum to decide appeals since January 2017 and without any Senate-confirmed leadership since March 2019.

Earlier this month, Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Jody Hice (R-Ga.) sent a letter to the White House urging swift nomination of a chairperson and two members to establish a quorum at MSPB.

When at full capacity, MSPB has three board members: a chairperson and one member from the party in power at the White House and one member from the opposition. Two board members are required for a quorum. There is no word yet on the timeline for nominating two new members.

Harris is co-manager of the law firm of Kator, Parks, Weiser and Harris, and specializes in employment law cases including cases before the MSPB, according to a bio released by the White House. She chairs her firm's sexual harassment and LGBT practice.

Separately, on the federal workforce leadership front, the nomination of Kiran Ahuja to lead the Office of Personnel Management cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on a party line vote of 7-5.

Correction: This article initially mistated the size of the MSPB board and the number required for a quorum.
Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed 110 ancient tombs in the Nile Delta, containing the remains of adults and children dating back about 5,000 years.

The graves, also containing pottery and funerary equipment, were found at the Koum el-Khulgan archeological site in Dakahlia province, around 93 miles northeast of Cairo, the Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said .

The oldest of the graves include 68 oval-shaped tombs dating back to the Predynastic Period that spanned from 6000-3150 BC, the ministry said.

Other tombs date from 3,000 BC and 1,700 BC, with the site spanning ancient Egypt, from the neolithic, through the first pharaoh and on to the first foreign ruler.

Dr Mustafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, stated that this discovery is an important historical and archaeological addition to the site.

Ancient burial tombs unearthed in the Nile Delta include human remains and date back as far as 6000 BC

He added that most of the people buried in the tomb were left to lay on their left side, with their head pointing westward

A pot containing an infant as well as items of jewellery and funerary goods were found within the various tombs in the Nile Delta

TOMBS COVERING THREE PERIODS OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY With remains dating from about 6,000 BC through to 1,700 BC, the site spans much of ancient Egyptian history. It runs from neolithic, through the first pharaoh and to the first foreign rule. Predynastic Period (6000-3150 BC) The oldest tombs were oval shaped, with 68 filled with human remains and funerary objects dating as far back as 6,000 BC to neolithic Egypt. It runs up to the first Pharaoh, Narmer, and the start of the Egyptian dynasty. Naqada III (3200-3000 BC) Tombs from this period were also oval-shaped, with five uncovered. This is the last phase of the Naqada culture linked to Egyptian prehistory. It is when the Egyptian state started to form and become visible, with kings appointed and hieroglyphs appeared. Second Intermediate Period (1782-1570 BC) There were 37 tombs from this period, all rectangular shaped. This was a time when the Semitic people of Hyksos ruled ancient Egypt, the first era where the country was ruled by foreign leaders. Advertisement

There are also 37 rectangular-shaped tombs from an ancient era known as the Second Intermediate Period that ran from 1782 to 1570 BC.

This was a time when the Semitic people of Hyksos ruled ancient Egypt, the first era where the country was ruled by foreign leaders.

The remaining five oval-shaped tombs date back to the Naqada III period that spanned from around 3200 B.C. to 3000 BC.

Dr Ayman Ashmawi, head of the Egyptian antiquities sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the earliest dated 68 tombs were oval-shaped pits cut in the sandy layer and contain people buried in a squatting position.

He added that most of the people buried in the tomb were left to lay on their left side, with their head pointing westward.

'In addition to uncovering the remains of a baby buried inside a pottery vase from the Bhutto 2 period, a small pot of spherical pottery was placed with it.'

The 110 tombs date back to three different civilisations within the Ancient Egyptian sphere: the civilisation of Lower Egypt known as Bhutto 1 and 2, the Civilisation of Naqada III, and the second transition era known as the Hyksos period.

Dr Ashmawi said that the five tombs, which date back to the Period of Naqada III, are also oval-shaped pits cut into the island's sandy layer, including two tombs that had their sides, bottoms, and roof covered with a layer of clay.

Inside the pits, the mission found a collection of distinctive funerary furniture for this period, cylindrical and triangular pots, as well as kohl plate prayers, whose surface was decorated with geometric drawings and shapes.

Dr Nadia Khader, head of the Central Department of lower Egypt in the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said semi-rectangular pits range from 8 to 33 inches deep.

The graves, also containing pottery and funerary equipment, were found at the Koum el-Khulgan archeological site in Dakahlia province, around 93 miles northeast of Cairo, the Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said

Pottery and other similar items were uncovered by the team, among the various funerary items within the 110 tombs dating back as far as 6,000 BC

Stones, scarabs and decorative items were uncovered among the funerary items, alongside a range of pots and pieces of pottery

They are 'characterised by the fact that all their burials are in an extended position and the head is heading west and face upwards,' Khader explained.

'In addition, a pottery coffin was found inside a burial ground for a child.'

Within the child burial ground there were two brick tombs in the form of a rectangular building with the children's burials and some funeral furniture.

This included a small pottery vase and silver rings, as well as the remains of a baby buried inside a large pottery pot. The funerary furniture was placed inside the pot, which was represented in a small black pottery vase.

The 110 tombs date back to three different civilisations within the Ancient Egyptian sphere: the civilisation of Lower Egypt known as Bhutto 1 and 2, the Civilisation of Naqada III, and the second transition era known as the Hyksos period.

Among the remains were people buried in a crouching position and some buried alongside funerary goods

Small stone objects were among the cultural relics unearthed in and around the 110 tombs found in the Nile Delta

The mission also discovered a collection of ovens, stoves, remnants of brick buildings, crockery, and amulets, some of which were made of semi-precious stones and ornaments such as earrings.

The discovery is the latest in a series of archaeological finds in recent years for which Egypt has sought publicity in the hopes of reviving its tourism sector.

Tourism has been badly hurt by the turmoil following a 2011 uprising and now the coronavirus pandemic heavily limiting global travel.

Dr Waziri said that the continued excavations within the site and its surrounding area 'will continue to reveal more secrets from this region.'
Three Georgia men have been charged with hate crimes and attempted kidnapping in connection to the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man.

A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia indicted the men Wednesday.

Arbery was jogging alone Feb. 23 in Brunswick, Georgia, when two white men, Travis McMichael, 35, and his father, Gregory McMichael, 65, confronted him, claiming he was a thief. Travis McMichael shot Arbery three times with a shotgun, according to police.

No arrests were made until May, when video of the deadly encounter surfaced online.

Another man, William Roddie Bryan, recorded that video and allegedly acted as an accomplice to the McMichaels. The indictment alleges that while McMichael and his father chased Arbery through the Satilla Shores neighborhood in their truck, yelling and brandishing guns, Bryan joined the chase and used his truck to cut off Arberys route.

Both McMichaels and Bryan were charged Wednesday on counts of interference with rights, and attempted kidnapping, according to the Department of Justice.

Travis and Gregory McMichael are each facing an additional charge of using, carrying, and brandishing  and in Traviss case, discharging  a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

The father and son were previously indicted June 24 on state charges in Glynn County, including four counts of felony murder, malice murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

Bryan was also indicted on state charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

The Arbery killing spurred Georgia lawmakers to pass a state hate crime law in June 2020, The Associated Press reported, allowing additional charges to be brought in cases where the victims race, gender, religion or other factors made them a target, or in some way motivated the crime.

However, because the law passed months after Arbery was killed, his attackers faced no hate crime charges from the state.
Prosecutors in an East Boston court on Tuesday described how a womans ride on an MBTA bus last week turned into a nightmare when her driver kidnapped and attacked her after she missed her stop, authorities said.

The MBTA driver, identified as 45-year-old Ali Ennab, is accused of abducting and sexually assaulting the woman on the evening of April 24. She missed her stop while riding the No. 713 bus from Orient Heights in East Boston and was the only remaining person on the public transit vehicle, according to a statement from Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins office.

Officials say the incident highlights the threat faced by women and girls.

To state the obvious: A woman should be able to ride a public bus without fear of kidnap and sexual assault. Women, just like all people, have the right to not be harassed, violated, harmed, or objectified,' Rollins said in a statement.

The attack was captured on camera by the surveillance system on board the vehicle, according to authorities.

Ennab, an MBTA contract bus driver employed by Paul Revere Transportation LLC, was arraigned in the East Boston division of Boston Municipal Court on Tuesday on charges of kidnapping, assault to rape and indecent assault and battery, according to the district attorneys office.

Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Amelia Singh laid out the deeply disturbing series of events in court, Rollins office said.

The victim, who does not speak English, was picked up from Orient Heights around 7:20 p.m. on April 24. The woman was talking on her phone when she missed her stop and subsequently used a translator application to ask the driver to take her back to the Orient Heights MBTA station, according to Singh.

Officials claimed the bus driver started speaking with her and identified himself as Ali but didnt return to Orient Heights. Instead, he is accused of stopping the bus at a stop near a beach in Winthrop. At that point, the victim began to feel nervous because she was the only passenger left on the vehicle, the district attorneys office said.

Singh told Judge John E. McDonald that Ennab then shut the bus off, got up to sit next to the victim, put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him to kiss her cheek. He is accused of telling the woman he could get her a green card, to which she responded saying she has a husband and doesnt need a green card, according to the statement from Rollins office.

The woman again asked Ennab to open the doors so she could get off the bus. However, authorities said, he instead started eating his dinner, refusing to let her off the vehicle, the statement said.

Ennab is also accused of asking for the victims phone number. The woman called her number from his phone so that his number would be stored in case something happened to her, according to officials.

After eating, Ennab started the bus, and the victim began walking toward the doors. It was in that moment, Rollins office alleged, that the driver turned the bus off again, lunged at the woman, ripped her mask off and kissed her face.

He is accused of assaulting her while she begged him to stop. According to the district attorneys office, the woman recorded audio of the attack on her phone.

In the audio, the victim can be heard in Spanish begging the driver to stop and open the door, the district attorneys office said. He responds, Me, Im boyfriend for you, its okay. 

Officials detailed how she continued to tell him to stop and open the door when an unidentified woman walked near the bus, apparently causing Ennab to open the door and allow the victim to leave.

At his arraignment, Ennabs cash bail was set at $10,000, and the Revere man was ordered to surrender his passport, remain confined at his home, stay away from the victim, not work as a bus driver or any transportation company and submit to GPS tracking, according to the district attorneys office.

Prosecutors also filed a motion to revoke his bail on an assault and battery case out of Malden, which the judge allowed, the district attorneys office said. He is expected to return to court May 25.

In her statement, Rollins said the allegations outlined in the case are deeply disturbing, adding that fathers need to start speaking to their sons.

And men need to tell their brothers, friends and colleagues about a new vision of masculinity where men are working to end violence against women and girls, she said.

Sexual assault can happen to anyone, Rollins office said. While the victims of any crime are asked to call 911 in an emergency, survivors of sexual violence can also call their local rape crisis center for free and confidential services and to discuss their options. Support is available for all survivors, regardless of whether they wish to take part in a criminal prosecution, and services offered in ones community can be found here.

In Suffolk County, the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center offers a free and confidential 24-hour hotline at (800) 841-8371. The organization also provides medical accompaniment and many other free services to survivors of sexual assault.
(CNN)  The UK's Queen Elizabeth was seen smiling in one of her first engagements following the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip.

The monarch conducted two virtual audiences via video link from Windsor Castle with ambassadors from Latvia and Ivory Coast on Tuesday, 10 days after the funeral of her husband of 73 years.

Images shared by the royal family's official Twitter account showed the Queen wearing a pale blue floral dress and a pearl necklace during the meetings.

The official period of national mourning, which was announced following the Duke of Edinburgh's death, ended April 17.

The royal family entered a longer mourning period of two weeks.

The Queen will often meet members of the diplomatic community and these one-on-one audiences will typically last about 20 minutes, with conversations being "entirely private," according to the royal family's website.

Prince Philip, who was the longest-serving consort in British history, died in Windsor Castle on April 9.

Queen Elizabeth held her first in-person engagement in the week following his death, and last week she marked her 95th birthday in a low-key fashion at Windsor Castle.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-29 02:29:30|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Increased fighting, food insecurity and COVID-19 have touched off a dramatic rise in hunger and homelessness across the Sahel, affecting almost 29 million people, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the humanitarian situation in the region is worsening fast, forecasting almost 29 million people will need assistance and protection this year, 5 million more than at the start of 2020.

The humanitarians said that from 2015 to 2020, violent attacks increased eight-fold in the Central Sahel and tripled in the Lake Chad Basin.

"Insecurity is disproportionately affecting children and women," OCHA said. "Incidents of gender-based violence are spiking, with widespread risks of women and girls being abducted, married by force, sexually assaulted and raped."

The activities of armed groups, intercommunal violence and military operations have forced about 5.4 million people from their homes across the Sahel, it said.

In the Lake Chad Basin alone, 6.2 million people face hunger this year, almost 2 million more people than last year. In the Central Sahel regions of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, 3.4 million people face a food crisis during the 2021 lean season, marking record peaks, the humanitarians said.

The Sahel is a vast semi-arid ribbon of land stretching from Mauritania and Senegal in the west to Sudan and Eritrea in the east, separating the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas to the south.

Humanitarians seek 3.7 billion U.S. dollars in aid plans for Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger and Nigeria. Enditem
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Website tataclassedge.com uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 494811 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 53343 bytes (52.09 kb uncompressed) and 11799 bytes (11.52 kb compressed).

This CoolSocial report was updated on 2020-09-13, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
(CNN)  The internal debate in the Biden administration over sharing excess US vaccines doses with other countries has grown more intense in recent weeks as the Covid-19 crisis worsens globally and the situation in the US improves, according to sources familiar with the tensions.

There has been a particularly aggressive push from some officials within the administration and within the State Department to share quickly, two sources told CNN. Those officials have stressed that the White House urgently needs to take steps to share vaccines sooner rather than later while some White House health officials have countered that should not happen until the vaccine situation domestically is completely taken care of.

This situation triggered some frustrated officials to encourage business and interest groups outside of government to publicly push the administration to share vaccines in the hope that external pressure will speed up the process, two sources familiar with those discussions told CNN.

The White House coronavirus response coordinator's team continues to take the lead on decision making.

This week the Biden administration committed to sharing up to 60 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses, which will not be needed in the US, with other countries in the next two months. The sources arguing to share doses said the announcement is a signal that the pressure is having an impact. Though they added that the dire situation in India means many within the administration are arguing the doses need to be shared more rapidly.

Administration officials have always said that the US will share vaccines globally when the country is in a position to do, and took issue with any suggestion that outside pressure could have an impact on decision making.

"The idea that we needed any sort of push to do more by outside groups is false and ignores what we have consistently said. We have from day one been focused on the pandemic, both at home and abroad, and the AstraZeneca decision was based not on responding to outside pressure but on an assessment that we could donate these doses while maintaining adequate supply for the American people," said a senior State Department official.

Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on Monday and they discussed a "range of emergency assistance" the US is providing India, but the readout from the White House made no specific mention of vaccines.

Announcement coming soon

Secretary of State Tony Blinken said that the administration will make an announcement about how it will share excess vaccines in the coming days and made it clear that no final decision has been made about which countries will get the doses first.

"For the vaccines that we have directly on hand or will shortly, we're going to decide whether to do some or all of that through COVAX or how much of that will be done directly, country-to-country. All of that is in the works, and we'll have a plan in place in the coming days," Blinken said on CNN on Tuesday.

That announcement is likely to focus on India specifically, and then there will be additional decisions made over the coming weeks on the administration's broader approach to sharing as they monitor flare ups in Southeast Asia or in other places around the world.

Blinken also said that the US has a national security interest in getting as many people vaccinated globally as possible.

"As long as that virus is replicating somewhere, it's going to be mutating; and if it's mutating, it could come back to bite us," Blinken said. "We have a strong national security interest in making sure that the world is vaccinated, and we are going to be playing our part."

The State Department will take a lead role in assessing the incoming requests for vaccines from other countries, administration officials said. The State Department's global Covid-19 coordinator, Gayle Smith, will take the lead in this process.

"As does the broader administration, the State Department recognizes that, first and foremost, we needed to be confident in our own vaccine efforts here at home -- at which point we'd be able to do even more beyond our borders," said State Department spokesperson Ned Price. "That is precisely the message Secretary Blinken and his senior team have delivered in public and in private, pointing to the fact that, as long as the virus is spreading uncontrolled anywhere, it's a threat to people everywhere, including Americans. The administration has now determined that we're in a position to do more, and that's precisely what we'll do, building on what we've already done to lead the world in responding to Covid-19."

Just this week the administration and the US Chamber of Commerce launched a public-private partnership to get urgently needed Covid-19 medical supplies to other countries. The effort -- the Global Task Force on Pandemic Response: Mobilizing for India -- was launched after Blinken met with the Chamber and CEOs from more than 40 countries on Monday.

"What we are witnessing in India is a stark reminder that while the United States has turned a corner in our efforts to combat the pandemic, our global partners are facing a staggering health crisis that requires a substantial public-private response," said Suzanne Clark, president and chief executive officer of the US Chamber of Commerce. "This global crisis requires a global response, and the American business community could not be better positioned, or more determined, to help lead the way."

World leaders have asked US to share vaccines

World leaders have asked the Biden administration officials to share excess vaccines and other emergency Covid-19 assistance for months.

Guatemalan officials raised access to vaccines during Monday's meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Harris recognized the urgency, but didn't commit to providing them, the source said.

Factors within the US, such as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine coming back online, the fact that nearly 230 million shots have been administered and that all adults are now eligible, will put the US in a better position to share vaccines, according to a source familiar.

There is also the basic necessity of having the excess vaccines on hand and cleared for sharing. There are no AstraZeneca vaccines to be shared at this moment, according to an administration official, because those doses that are stockpiled in the US need to be cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use before they can go out the door. About 10 million of those doses are waiting for that clearance and about 50 million are in various stages of production, the official said.

The Biden administration is also studying how to take on the pandemic globally by sharing medical supplies needed to fight pandemic and produce vaccines, not just by sharing vaccines.

The Biden administration has worked alongside allies to try and boost vaccine production globally with efforts like a partnership with the "Quad countries" -- a loose alliance between Australia, India, Japan and the United States -- which was launched earlier this year.

But other countries have already put tremendous effort into vaccine diplomacy.

Some US allies and partners have worried in recent months that China's global effort to ramp up vaccine exports and vaccine production agreements so quickly will make it hard for the US to catch up, diplomats told CNN.

The US decided to share AstraZeneca does with neighboring countries -- Mexico and Canada -- earlier this year, as these concerns mounted. Mexico has been a recipient of China's vaccine diplomacy, and they are also in discussions with Russia about getting doses of their vaccine.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Internal Biden administration debate over vaccine sharing grows more intense."
Tuesday, 27 April 2021 21:23:24 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Peruvian steelmaker Aceros Arequipa signed a supply contract with German-based SMS Group to buy a new vacuum tank degasser for its Pisco mill, located in the Ica region.

The German supplier said the degasser will be added to Acero Arequipas existing melt shop and will help it improve steel output both in terms of quality and volume.

The degassing process aims at reaching the lowest possible level of hydrogen content in the steel, which is a necessary precondition for (Aceros Arequipa) to produce top-quality high-carbon grades for grinding balls. Nitrogen removal and oxygen control are other very important factors for the production of further SBQ grades, SMS Group said in a statement.

Aceros Arequipa should commission the equipment by early 2022. According to SMS Group, the supply contract includes basic and detailed engineering, as well as the delivery of the mechanical and electrical components, the entire electrical and automation systems of the product.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 22:00:23|Editor: huaxia

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MUSCAT, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Omani Health Ministry on Wednesday announced 928 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Sultanate to 192,326, the official Oman News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, 919 people recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the overall recoveries to 171,848 while nine deaths were reported, pushing the tally up to 2,001, according to a ministry statement quoted by ONA.

The ministry urged everyone to adhere to social distancing instructions to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Enditem
[April 28, 2021] PBSC Urban Solutions Applauded by Frost & Sullivan for Leading the Public Bikesharing Systems Market in LATAM

PBSC's strategic partnerships across the region and advanced technologies have enabled it to achieve a wide footprint and continuous growth SAO PAULO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the Latin American (LATAM) bikesharing technology market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes PBSC Urban Solutions (PBSC) with the 2021 Latin American Market Leadership Award. The company is the top supplier of bikesharing technology in the LATAM market, with more than 20,000 devices operational across the region's eleven top cities. The technological robustness of its hardware and operations software has positioned it as a leading innovator in the LATAM shared micromobility ecosystem. "LATAM has revisited the role of cities, public space, health, and environmental awareness during the COVID-19 pandemic. All municipal authorities across the region aim to increase bicycle use and integrate last-mile micromobility with public transport solutions. PBSC's technology is playing a vital role in this process," said Martin Singla, Industry Analyst. "Through strategic partnerships, PBSC has established the widest geographic presence in LATAM, including in Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Guadalajara, Mexico; and Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Salvador, Sao Paulo, Vila Velha, Bertioga, and Pernambuco in Brazil." PBSC has leveraged its app, operations software, and expertise to become the leading technology supplier to the most important and largest public bikesharing systems across LATAM. The company's partnership with Brazilian operator Tembici, its exclusive hardware and software provider, provides PBSC ccess to one of LATAM's biggest markets. Such partnerships have helped it capture 34 percent of the operational bikesharing parc in the region. The second and third-largest competitors (e.g., bikesharing operators and technology suppliers) are only present in two LATAM cities.



When deploying shared micromobility devices, PBSC also takes into account city-specific challenges such as vandalism, theft, and operational inefficiencies. With its advanced technology, PBSC ensures lower levels of vandalism and theft than in systems from competing operators and technology suppliers. Its FIT and ICONIC bicycle models also offer enhanced asset security due to patented anti-theft locking mechanisms and anti-vandalism-designed parts that cannot be used in other bicycles or equipment. Moreover, the company employs advanced technologies in its smart docks, making the lightweight, infrastructure-independent modules easy to manipulate. The smart docks are solar-powered and have integrated kiosk connectors with back-end communications. As a result, they can secure permanent operability for both smartphone-enabled locking/unlocking systems and payment interfaces. "Even though the demand for bikesharing declined in 2020 because of lockdown measures and mobility restrictions, the overall use of PBSC-supplied systems has consistently grown year over year," noted Singla. "PBSC's micromobility technology implemented in the region has the highest level of community adherence, while its constantly increasing utilization rates underline the success of its implementation."

Each year, Frost & Sullivan bestows this award upon the company that demonstrates excellence in growth and customer value. Attaining loyal customers who became brand advocates allows the company to grow and achieve a market leadership position. By committing to the customer at each stage of the buying cycle and continuing to nurture the relationship, this Award recognizes a company's increased market share over time. Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry. About Frost & Sullivan For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion. Contact us: Start the discussion. Contact: Kristen Moore

P: 210.247.3823

E: kristen.moore@frost.com About PBSC Urban Solutions PBSC?is changing the world, one city at a time. A leader in the?micromobility space, it develops, markets and operates  alongside its local partners  the most innovative, customizable and reliable public bike-share systems on the market.?PBSC's?sustainable technology empowers cities to provide users safe?and enjoyable transportation alternatives that reduce congestion and improve quality of life. PBSC currently has four bike models  ICONIC, FIT, BOOST and E-FIT  deployed around the world and continues to expand its global footprint with over 90,000 bikes, 7,000 stations and 400 million rides so far!?Visit?www.pbsc.com?to find out more.? Nathalie Dore

ndore@pbsc.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pbsc-urban-solutions-applauded-by-frost--sullivan-for-leading-the-public-bikesharing-systems-market-in-latam-301278712.html SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

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HUDDINGE, Sweden, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Financing secured to bring the MIV-818 study into the next phase

January  March



Financial summary for the quarter

Net turnover amounted to SEK 9.9 (7.3) million.

(7.3) million. The loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to SEK -7.2 (-20.7) million. Basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to SEK -0.18 (-0.96) and SEK -0.18 (-0.96) respectively.

(-20.7) million. Basic and diluted earnings per share amounted to (-0.96) and (-0.96) respectively. Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK -1.5 (-16.6) million.

(-16.6) million. Liquid assets and short-term investments at the end of the period amounted to SEK 269.3 (116.6) million.

Significant events during the quarter

In January the company signed an exclusive license agreement with IGM Biosciences, Inc. for birinapant. Medivir received a payment of USD 1 million after signing, which is to be followed by an additional USD 1.5 million when IGM includes birinapant in phase I clinical trials. In addition, the agreement entitles Medivir to milestone payments and royalties.

after signing, which is to be followed by an additional when IGM includes birinapant in phase I clinical trials. In addition, the agreement entitles Medivir to milestone payments and royalties. A rights issue of class B shares with preferential rights for existing shareholders was completed in early February. Through the rights issue, which was oversubscribed to 93.5 percent, Medivir received approximately SEK 170 million before transaction costs.

before transaction costs. The Board of Directors decided to exercise the over-allotment option of SEK 25 million , directed to the specialist investor HealthInvest.

, directed to the specialist investor HealthInvest. An Extraordinary General Meeting on March 11, 2021 , decided on a directed new share issue of approximately SEK 28 million to Linc AB.

, decided on a directed new share issue of approximately to Linc AB. In February 2021 a licensing agreement with Ubiquigent was signed for the preclinical research program USP7.

a licensing agreement with Ubiquigent was signed for the preclinical research program USP7. In March, the last patient was included in the first part of the phase Ib study with MIV-818.

In March 2021 , it was announced that Yilmaz Mahshid will leave his position as CEO of Medivir at the Annual General Meeting on May 5 , for personal reasons. The recruitment process for a new CEO has begun.

, it was announced that Yilmaz Mahshid will leave his position as CEO of Medivir at the Annual General Meeting on , for personal reasons. The recruitment process for a new CEO has begun. Medivir's Nomination Committee proposes the re-election of Uli Hacksell, Lennart Hansson , An van Es Johansson and Bengt Westermark as board members. The Nomination Committee proposes the election of Yilmaz Mahshid as new board member and that Uli Hacksell is elected Chairman of the Board.

Bengt Julander and Helena Levander have declined re-election.

Significant events after the end of the quarter

On April 16 , it was announced that Magnus Christensen had been appointed interim CEO of Medivir. He will take up his new role in connection with Medivir's Annual General Meeting on May 5, 2021 .

, it was announced that had been appointed interim CEO of Medivir. He will take up his new role in connection with Medivir's Annual General Meeting on . On April 19 , it was announced that the overall results from the first part of the phase Ib study with MIV-818 were positive with a good safety and tolerability profile. Thus, the starting dose for the second part of the phase Ib study could be determined.



Conference call for investors, analysts and the media

The Interim Report January - March 2021 will be presented by Medivir's President & CEO, Yilmaz Mahshid.

Time: Wednesday, April 28, 2021, at 14.00 (CET).

Phone numbers for participants from:

Sweden + 46 8 505 583 52

Europe + 44 33 3300 9260

US + 1 833 526 8398

The conference call will also be streamed via a link on the website: www.medivir.com

The presentation will be available on Medivir's website after completion of the conference.

CEO's message

An important step forward in the clinical development of MIV-818. Out-licensing of birinapant to IGM Biosciences. Successful financing and a strengthened institutional ownership base. The beginning of 2021 has certainly been eventful for Medivir.

The quarter began with the signing of an exclusive license agreement with US based IGM Biosciences for birinapant, for the treatment of solid tumors. The license agreement gives IGM the global and exclusive rights to develop birinapant. IGM intends to initiate clinical studies with birinapant in 2021 in combination with its proprietary antibody IGM-8444, which preclinically has shown enhanced antitumor activity.

The agreement provided Medivir with a payment of USD 1 million after signing, which is to be followed by an additional USD 1.5 million when IGM includes birinapant in phase I clinical trials. Furthermore, the agreement entitles Medivir to milestone payments up to a total of approximately USD 350 million, given that birinapant is successfully developed and approved, and tiered royalties up to mid-teens on net sales. A portion of all revenue is shared with Tetralogic Pharmaceuticals Corporation, from which birinapant was acquired in 2016, but the main part remains with Medivir.

In the financing we successfully carried out in the beginning of 2021, the rights issue was oversubscribed to 93.5 percent. As a result, the over-allotment option was exercised, directed to the specialist investor HealthInvest, which thus becomes a new shareholder in Medivir. In addition, a directed new share issue of approximately SEK 28 million to Linc AB was carried out. In total, Medivir received approximately SEK 223 million before transaction costs through the issues, a financing that is central for us to be able to develop our cutting-edge project MIV-818 into the next phase. That this financing received strong support from both existing owners such as Linc AB and Nordea as well as from new institutional specialist investors such as HealthInvest feels very gratifying. Medivir gained an ownership base with strong institutions in the lead.

Another licensing agreement was signed in February 2021, for Medivir's preclinical research program USP7. The agreement grants UK based Ubiquigent Limited an exclusive global license to develop and commercialize all of the program's related substances in all therapeutic indications in exchange for agreed revenue sharing with Medivir upon successful development or commercialization.

End of March, we could announce that the last patient with advanced liver cancer had been included in the first part of the phase Ib study with Medivir's leading candidate drug, MIV-818, against liver cancer. Barely a month later, after the end of the quarter, we were able to ascertain that the overall results from this part of the phase Ib study were positive with a good safety and tolerability profile. Thus, we were also able to determine the starting dose for the second part of the phase Ib study. We expect to be able to present detailed data from the first part of the phase Ib study at an upcoming scientific conference. The second part of the phase Ib study, where MIV-818 will be administered in combination with other therapies, is planned to be initiated during the second half of this year.

MIV-818 has potential to become a liver-directed, orally administered drug that can help patients with various cancers in the liver. Liver cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the world and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of cancer that occurs in the liver. Although existing treatments for HCC can prolong patients' lives, the treatment benefits are often limited and mortality remains at a high level. The results we have presented so far regarding MIV-818 have generated strong interest.

Despite the ongoing vaccination program, the Covid-19 pandemic is still an uncertainty factor in terms of clinical trial schedules, but we have so far managed to carry out our studies without too serious delays and at present it seems that we will be able to initiate the next part of the phase Ib study as planned during the second half of 2021.

In connection with the Annual General Meeting, I will leave the operational work as CEO of Medivir. I am pleased to be proposed as a board member of Medivir and look forward to continue to contribute to the company's development in that role. The Board's work to recruit my replacement as CEO is in full swing, but not yet fully completed.

I would like to thank my competent and dedicated colleagues at the company for this exciting and inspiring period and assure my successor that Medivir has good prerequisites and a very strong potential to create value for healthcare and patients as well as for our shareholders.

Yilmaz Mahshid

President & CEO



For further information, please contact

Yilmaz Mahshid, CEO, +46 (0) 8 5468 3100

E-mail: [email protected]

Magnus Christensen, CFO, +46 (0)8 5468 3100

E-mail: [email protected]

This report has not been subject to auditors' review.

The information was submitted for publication at 08.30 CET on 28 April 2021

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/medivir/r/medivir-ab---interim-report-january---march-2021,c3334984

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/652/3334984/1408520.pdf MEDIVIR AB " INTERIM REPORT JANUARY " MARCH 2021 (PDF)

SOURCE Medivir
General Assignment Reporter

Chris Mays is a general assignment reporter for the Brattleboro Reformer. He has been with New England Newspapers Inc. since 2012.
Apr. 27A West Toledo man's fatal shooting of his best friend last year, while accidental, left a traumatic void in the victim's family, a Lucas County Common Pleas judge said Tuesday before handing down a six-month jail term.

Jonathon Hargrove, 21, of the 600 block of Cloverdale Road, also received three years' community control, and Judge Joe McNamara ordered him to undergo a 60-day treatment program after completing his time in the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio.

Hargrove pleaded no contest last month to misdemeanor negligent homicide and a felony mishandling firearms charge stemming from the Feb. 16, 2020, death of Andrew Wheeler, 18.

"There is no sentence I can issue that will bring Andrew back, Judge McNamara said during sentencing. "These cases are truly tragic and the pain, Mr. Hargrove, that you inflicted went beyond the death of Andrew, it created a hole in this family."

The judge ordered Hargrove to have no contact with the Wheeler family, who had requested he receive a maximum sentence of 1 1/2 years in prison.

While the two friends spent time together in the Wheelers' home in the 6100 block of Merle Street, Hargrove and Mr. Wheeler began joking over two guns, including a 9mm pistol Mr. Wheeler pointed at his own neck. As Hargrove reached for it, the gun fired, prosecutors said.

Mr. Wheeler's relatives who were home at the time tried life-saving measures, but Mr. Wheeler ultimately died at ProMedica Toledo Hospital after organ-donation procedures.

"It has been incredibly difficult for the Wheeler family," Christopher Woeste, the Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center's deputy legal director, said Tuesday on the Wheelers' behalf. "We have a very serious crime here and one where the defendant fled the scene after committing the crime  leaving the Wheeler family not only to care for their dying son, but try to chase after the defendant as he was fleeing the scene  a horribly traumatic event."

Story continues

Hargrove read from a prepared statement, apologizing to the Wheeler family about the accident.

"I never meant for anything to happen. Andrew was truly my best friend and I would never do anything intentionally to hurt him," Hargrove said. "I apologize for the emotional pain  I think I understand what you guys are going through. When you lost of a son, a brother, I lost a best friend."

Hargrove was "shell-shocked" by what happened but later turned himself in, defense lawyer Pete Rost said. Hargove maintains three jobs and had no prior criminal record as an adult, the lawyer said in asking the judge to consider eschewing jail time.

"We see too often the mishandling of weapons, the immature handling of weapons, the lack of serious appreciation of what a weapon is capable of, and it often times we see this type of result," Mr. Rost said.

With a felony on his record, Hargrove will not be legally permitted to possess a firearm in the future.
The woman in the famous 'Disaster Girl' meme has sold the original photograph as an NFT for $473,000.

Zoe Roth, 21, became an internet sensation at the age of four when she was pictured standing in front of a burning building with a devilish smirk on her face.

The image has since served as a perfect meme for those who want to depict any disastrous scene or mischievous act.

The picture in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) - a kind of unique digital asset that has exploded in popularity so far in 2021 - was snapped up for 180 Ethereum, which is equivalent to $473,000, by a collector known only as @3FMusic.

An NFT is a unique digital token encrypted with an artist's signature and which verifies its ownership and authenticity and is permanently attached to the piece.

It allows 'original' versions of popular online content - like viral memes and tweets - to be sold as if they were physical pieces of art.

Zoe Roth, 21, became an internet sensation at the age of four when she was pictured standing in front of a burning building with a devilish smirk on her face

The picture in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) - a kind of unique digital asset that has exploded in popularity so far in 2021 - was snapped up for 180 Ethereum, which is equivalent to $473,000, by a collector known only as @3FMusic

The collector @3FMusic is reportedly Farzin Fardin Fard, CEO of a Dubai-based music production company, according to Gizmodo.

Zoe, now a university student and waitress, and her father Dave - who captured the photo - were approached by an anonymous person via email in February who encouraged them to sell the image as an NFT.

Each NFT has its own blockchain-based digital signature, which serves as a public ledger, allowing anyone to verify the asset's authenticity and ownership.

Zoe was pictured by her father in January 2005 when she and her family were living near a fire station in Mebane, North Carolina.

Zoe Roth, who was pictured in the famous 'Disaster Girl' meme has sold the original photograph as an NFT for $473,000

What are NFTs? What is a NFT? A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a unique digital token encrypted with an artist's signature and which verifies its ownership and authenticity and is permanently attached to the piece. What do they look like? Most NFTs include some kind digital artwork, such as photos, videos, GIFs, and music. Theoretically, anything digital could be turned into a NFT. Where do you buy them? At the moment, NFTs are most commonly sold in so-called 'drops', timed online sales by blockchain-backed marketplaces like Nifty Gateway, Opensea and Rarible. Why would I want to own one? There's an array of reasons why someone may want to buy a NFT. For some, the reason may be emotional value, because NFTs are seen as collectors items. For others, they are seen as an investment opportunity similar to cryptocurrencies, because the value could increase. When were NFTs created? Writer and podcaster Andrew Steinwold traced the origins of NFTs back to 2012, with the creation of the Colored Coins cryptocurrency. But NFTs didn't move into the mainstream until five years later, when the blockchain game CryptoKitties began selling virtual cats in 2017. Advertisement

The family went outside to see a controlled burn - a fire that is intentionally set to clear a property - and Dave snapped a photo of a smirking Zoe in front of the fire.

Since then, Dave won the JPG magazine's 'Emotion Capture' contest in 2008 and the image went viral after it was posted online.

'Nobody who is a meme tried to do that, it just ended up that way,' Zoe told The Raleigh News & Observer. 'Is it luck? Is it fate? I have no idea. But I will take it.'

Since then the photograph has become an internet sensation. The NFT was coded in a way that will allow Zoe and Dave - who have said they will split the profit between them - to acquire 10 per cent of profits whenever the NFT is sold in the future.

For the first time in 15 years, Zoe and Dave have control over their image.

'Being able to sell it just shows us that we do have some sort of control, some sort of agency in the whole process,' Zoe said.

Zoe, who is a senior at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, was working at Italian restaurant Il Palio and checking the progress of the auction on her phone as the bids  made in the cryptocurrency Ether  neared $25,000 worth with just minutes to go.

Fellow staff kept asking 'what's it at now' as they passed by the hostess stand while the bids rolled in.

Now after the auction Zoe is looking into nonprofit organizations that she can donate her proceeds to while Dave hopes to fix the air conditioning of his Honda Civic.

Others who became famous through their memes have hopped on the NFT bandwagon.

Chris Torres, creator of Nyan Cat, sold his iconic meme for roughly $590,000 earlier this year and finally gained attribution for the artwork - which he said was a huge factor in why he first sought out NFTs.

Nyan Cat - which shows a gray kitty with a Pop Tart for a body, flying through space - first went viral back in 2011.

'Nobody knew who owned it,' he said to Los Angeles Magazine. 'It was just kind of free-rein on the internet. It didn't just appear even though memes are kind of thought that way sometimes.'

Tardar Sauce, aka Grumpy Cat, became the most beloved cat in the world and has been featured in all types of work. Even though she died in 2019, the NFT of her notorious meme has sold for $100,859.54.

Chris Torres, creator of Nyan Cat, sold his iconic meme for roughly $590,000 and finally gained attribution for the artwork

Even though Tartar Sauce the cat died in 2019, the NFT of her notorious Grumpy Cat meme sold for $100,859.54

Chris Crocker has sold his infamous Leave Britney Alone video as a NFT for more than $43,000

Chris Crocker's infamous 'Leave Britney Alone' video dominated when it first hit the scene in 2007, getting parodied in movies and on television. With the #FreeBritney movement in full swing, Crocker has sold the video as a NFT for more than $43,000.

NFTs - sometimes pronounced 'nifties' - are a unique digital token encrypted with the creator's signature which verifies its ownership and authenticity and is permanently attached to the piece.

The tokens are similar to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum in that they live on blockchain networks - a decentralized, distributed ledger that records transactions of digital assets.

But unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, NFTs are non-fungible, meaning that one cannot be exchanged for another. The digital assets have collectors value, and can represent items including still images, GIFs, videos, music and more.

More than $10 million in NFT transactions are now taking place daily, according to the website DappRadar. The exchanges happen in cryptocurrencies on specialist sites such as Nifty Gateway and OpenSea, on the fringes of the art world. Sales of NFTs are made in Ether, a cryptocurrency that has a fluctuating value.

The phenomenon is now becoming more mainstream with traditional auction houses keen to cash in, lending the craze, and digital artists, even more credibility.

For creators like Torres, the selling of the NFTs has inspired the internet artists to buy up other NFTs, even going as far as to help set up an auction for meme-makers to sell their work.

'It's digital trading cards, but it's also a new way for artists to make art. Every artist kind of struggles,' Torres added. 'They'll make art and then it sells, but NFTs give you the option where when you sell your art, if it gets sold again, you still get a percentage of that sale.'

Bad Luck Brian, the meme of Kyle Craven's hilariously bad yearbook photo, sold for more than $45,000.

Success Kid, the photo of photographer Laney Griner's at the time 11-month-old son Sam, has sold as a NFT for approximately $35,000. Sam is almost 15.

Overly Attached Girlfriend, spawned from a YouTube video of Laina Morris satirically showing her love for Justin Bieber, has sold for $459,260.

Overly Attached Girlfriend, spawned from a YouTube video of Laina Morris satirically showing her love for Justin Bieber, has sold for $459,260

And in March, Twitter boss Jack Dorsey's first tweet - 'just setting up my twttr' - sold as an NFT for just over $2.9million.

It was snapped up by Sina Estavi, the CEO of Malaysia-based blockchain company Bridge Oracle.

Valuables' parent company Cent confirmed Dorsey's tweet-turned-NFT was sold to Estavi, who told Reuters he was 'thankful' when asked for comment about the purchase.

It was bought using the cryptocurrency Ether, for 1630.5825601 ETH, which was worth $2,915,835.47 at the time of sale, Cent CEO and founder Cameron Hejazi said.

Estavi was also rumored to be eyeing an NFT of one of Elon Musk's tweets, before the eccentric Tesla CEO turned down his $1.1million offer.

Musk had tweeted out a two-minute original song on March 15 that he claimed he was willing to sell to the highest bidder.

Twitter boss Jack Dorsey's first tweet sold as an NFT for just over $2.9million on Monday
Five years ago, former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley infamously said the states education system sucks as test scores in math sank near the bottom nationwide.

In 2019, the scores did just that: The National Assessment of Educational Progress  otherwise known as the nations report card, released every two years -- placed eighth and fourth grade students in Alabama dead last in testing for mathematics.

We need to think outside the box and break the status quo when youre ranked dead last, said state Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa.

The Alabama Legislature is hoping a measure advanced Tuesday will help reverse the downward spiral. With the approval of SB327, well-trained and educated middle and high school math and science teachers in Alabama could earn up to $15,000 more each year in pay.

The bills attraction to Poole is its potential to attract new teachers from outside the state. With close to half of math and science teachers in Alabama not certified to teach the subjects, the situation is dire, and a very acute problem for the states future, according to Poole who was the chief sponsor of this years education budget that was approved Tuesday.

Lawmakers estimate there are about 7,500 positions for math and science teachers in Alabama schools, but only about 4,600 of them are filled by educators with credentials in those subjects.

The problem is more pronounced in Alabamas rural school districts. In Perry County, which has two K-12 schools serving the entire county, more than 80 percent of the districts math and science classes are taught by teachers without proper certification, according to data from 2019. In Marengo County, that number was nearly 80 percent.

Data also shows a correlation between counties with more than 30 percent of teachers without full certification and those with the lowest test scores in math and science.

This is an issue we got to face, Poole said. Its not an (issue) unique to Alabama, but (SB327) is drawing a line in the sand. This is declaring that we know we cannot be successful as a state if we dont improve our math and science scores and improve our students for those (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or STEM) fields.

The pay raise for certified math and science instructors was included within a state-record $7.7 billion fiscal year 2022 education budget approved by lawmakers on Tuesday. The pay raise will cost around $100 million next year. It will be administered by the Alabama State Department of Education and would be applicable for teachers heading into the 2021-2022 school year starting in August.

The increase for the math and science teachers is in addition to the 2% across-the-board cost-of-living pay raise lawmakers OKd for education employees, including teachers and support workers in K-12 schools. It also includes step raises, which are pay hikes for teachers based on how many years they have been teaching.

Its an aggressive proposal, Poole said about the added pay for math and science teachers. Its warranted and imperative.

Under the proposal  now on Alabama Gov. Kay Iveys desk to sign into law  math and science teachers in grades 6-12 would be eligible if they attained advanced standards or are on the path toward earning certification from the National Institute for STEM Education or the National Board of Professional Teacher Standards  Early Adolescence or Early Adolescence and Young Adulthood Math or Science.

Each teacher participating in the program with over 20 years of service satisfies the advance contract criteria. Those teachers will be eligible for the increased pay under a five-year contract.

The exact amount of the salary increases will depend on factors including educational attainment, experience, among other things. Additionally, teachers are eligible for a $5,000 supplement per year to work in a school district identified by the state as hard-to-staff.

We all share this concern in staffing our schools with certified and highly effective math and science teachers, said Mike Daria, superintendent at Tuscaloosa City Schools, who called the legislation to boost math and science teacher pay as a courageous attempt to do something different in attracting new educational talent to Alabama.

Daria said Tuscaloosa City Schools has approximately 100 math and science teachers, and that interviews are ongoing for new teachers next fall.

We have a few math candidates for next year, but the supply is just not there, said Daria. The demand is really high. I am appreciative of our Legislature in examining innovative ways to tackle this problem in a significant manner.

In fast-growing Baldwin County Public Schools, the demand to add more math and science teachers is growing as expansions occur. But those teacher slots are our most difficult positions to fill, said Renee Carter, dean of academics with the school system.

An incentive in this amount will definitely bring about a greater interest and help us fill the void from our retiring teachers with strong qualified candidates, she said.

The math and science teacher raises were approved by the Alabama House without any opposition. But some lawmakers questioned whether other educational employees, such as special education teachers, should also be in line for special pay raise to address a similar shortage.

Special education

State Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, and Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs, said the state should analyze ways to improve its special education programs.

We have to work in any way we can to make them productive members of society, Mooney said.

Poole said it was unlikely that the state will push a similar incentive pay program for additional teachers.

We want to focus on special ed resources on the school level, he said. We wont be in a position to provide these targeted pay increases in other fields, certainly in the near term. We need to look at how this investment looks, track it and monitor it. We need to focus on math and science.
Ms. Italiano, a veteran Post journalist and longtime chronicler of the New York City courts, is a well-liked figure in the papers newsroom. She did not respond to inquiries about her resignation or how the Harris article came to be. Representatives for The Post did not respond to calls and emails on Tuesday night.

Her abrupt exit underscored some of the tensions currently roiling The Post, a classic pugilistic city tabloid that was often a vessel for coverage favorable to former President Donald J. Trump during his term in office.

Mr. Murdoch, who spoke frequently with Mr. Trump, installed a new editor at the tabloid last month, Keith Poole, who formerly served in a top position at Mr. Murdochs London paper The Sun. At least eight journalists at The Post have departed the paper recently, including a White House correspondent, Ebony Bowden.

Fox News and The Post, given their shared Murdoch ownership, have long demonstrated a certain symbiosis. (Just last week, The Post ran a gossip item complaining that Glamour magazine was not writing features about female Fox News stars.)

Fox News hosts including Tucker Carlson, Greg Gutfeld and Martha MacCallum discussed the Post article on their programs on Monday. Peter Doocy, Fox Newss White House correspondent, cited a report in the last couple days in The New York Post before asking Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, on Monday if Ms. Harris is making any money from her books supposedly being distributed in the shelters. Ms. Psaki said she would have to certainly check on that, which The Post described in a follow-up story as Ms. Psakis having offered no answers.

On Tuesdays Fox & Friends, the co-host Ainsley Earhardt told viewers that the claims about the Harris book were not accurate, citing that mornings fact-checking column in The Washington Post. Also on Tuesday, Fox News updated its article about the Harris book to note that only a single copy had been seen at the shelter and that it had been delivered as part of a citywide book and toy drive.

Fox News has faced criticism in recent days for a different false claim broadcast on the network: that President Biden was planning to restrict Americans red-meat consumption under his plan to address climate change. An on-air Fox News graphic declared, Bye-Bye Burgers Under Bidens Climate Plan, setting off a cycle of outrage from conservative commentators.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 09:52:23|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. Navy patrol ship fired warning shots at Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels in international waters of the northern Persian Gulf, the Navy said on Tuesday.

Three IRGCN armed speed boats Monday rapidly approached U.S. Navy patrol coastal ship USS Firebolt and a U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat to "unnecessarily close range with unknown intent, including a closest point of approach of 68 yards (62 meters) to both U.S. ships," the Navy said in a statement.

"The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loud-hailer devices, but the IRGCN vessels continued their close range maneuvers," the statement said. "The crew of Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the IRGCN vessels moved away to a safe distance from the U.S. vessels."

U.S. media reported that it was the first time the U.S. Navy had fired on Iranian vessels in nearly four years.

The incident also came amid indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments under the JCPOA in May 2019, one year after former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran. Enditem
IAF has been airlifting empty oxygen tankers and containers to various filling stations to speed up the distribution of medical oxygen

Four cryogenic oxygen containers have arrived in India at Panagarh Air Base from Singapore. The containers were air lifted in an IAF C-17 aircraft from at Changi airport, Singapore. (PTI)

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifted nine cryogenic oxygen containers from Dubai and Singapore and has brought them to the Panagarh air base in West Bengal, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday.

These containers were brought on Tuesday, it said.

In addition, the IAF's C-17 aircraft on Tuesday also airlifted two cryogenic oxygen containers from Indore to Jamnagar, two from Jodhpur and Udaipur to Jamnagar and two from Hindon to Ranchi, it said.

"IAF's C-17s have airlifted six cryogenic oxygen containers from Dubai to Panagarh Air Base. Another C-17s brought three oxygen containers from Singapore to Panagarh Air Base," the statement said.

The IAF also airlifted eight cryogenic oxygen containers from Hyderabad to Bhubaneswar, two from Bhopal to Ranchi and two from Chandigarh to Ranchi, it said.

India is struggling with the second wave of the coronavirus infection and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds in view of a rising number of COVID-19 cases.

The IAF has been airlifting empty oxygen tankers and containers to various filling stations across the country to speed up the distribution of the much-needed medical oxygen in treating COVID-19 patients.
BELLEVILLE, MI -- A 16-year-old Belleville teen was hospitalized Tuesday night after he was shot in what police believe was a random shooting. According to WDIV Detroit, the teen was in one of three cars that were hit by gunfire Tuesday in the downtown area of Belleville.

The cars were traveling into the downtown area when another vehicle pulled up next to them and opened fire. The teen was rushed to the hospital following the shooting and is expected to recover from his injuries.

Police eventually discovered the vehicle used in the shooting, but the suspect has not been apprehended.

READ MORE:

Michigan woman, son die in crash on day of her husbands funeral

Deaths of Michigan father, 2 young children is now murder investigation, not murder-suicide, police say

Body of missing teen with autism found in U.P.
HARTFORD, Conn., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- While America was founded on freedom of religion, with several of the early patriots from Connecticut (CT), the CT legislature voted today to take away religious rights to refuse a medical procedure. This move is both unconstitutional and another example of government overreach growing more common in the era of COVID-19.

Some herald the new law as a public health success, but others see it as a legislative assault on CT religion. "While some think it is a good idea to take away my right to say no to a vaccine for my child, others see a slippery slope to tyranny," said LeeAnn Ducat, Informed Choice Connecticut. "Today it is my child and rights but next it could be a dangerous ADHD drug that your child will be forced to take in order to attend school. What will it be after that? The CT legislature is obliterating parents' rights."

Serious injuries and death following vaccines can and do happen. Many of today's vaccines use aborted fetal cell lines including W 38, a female, and MRC-5, a male . These immortalized cell lines can trigger chronic health conditions . Some priests and even the New Orleans archdiocese are urging Catholics to avoid the vaccines tainted with aborted cell lines.

Speakers at Tuesday's rally of thousands outside the Capitol asserted that they will bring legal actions to challenge the law. CT groups join Children's Health Defense in calling on the media to investigate if pharmaceutical money pouring into the CT state legislature had any influence on the vote.

"We are at a critical time when our rights concerning freedom, religious freedom, and even the freedom to express one's position or faith is being stripped away from us," said Dr. Aaron Lewis, Senior Pastor, Family Church in Hartford. "Without immediate intervention, I'm afraid that the freedoms we've enjoyed will cease to be forever."

The Governor is expected to sign the bill issuing in a new era where people of CT can't exercise their faith. (The bill grandfathers existing religious exemptions.) Regardless of your views on vaccines, if you don't like the CT legislature governing your church and religious rights, call 800-406-1527, email , or write to Gov. Ned Lamont, State Capitol, 210 Capital Ave., Hartford, CT 06106.

Contact

Rita Shreffler

202-599-1461

SOURCE Children's Health Defense

Related Links

http://www.childrenshealthdefense.org


New Delhi :

To strengthen maritime security, India and the United States have agreed to implement the programme for Helicopter Operations from Ships other Than Aircraft Carriers (HOSTAC), the Pentagon has said.

A decision in this regard was taken by Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her US Counterpart Jim Mattis duringtheir meeting in Philippines on Wednesday on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus.

"The two emphasized the importance of strengthening maritime security cooperation, and, in support of thisobjective, decided to implement the program for Helicopter Operations from Ships other Than Aircraft Carriers (HOSTAC)," the Pentagon Spokesperson Dana W White said.

Sitharaman and Mattis "agreed on the importance of a rules-based international order" in which all nations are ableto prosper, and the "need to work together" against the common threat of terrorism, White said.

They discussed a range of initiatives to strengthen US- India defense cooperation and enhance India's leadership rolein the Indo-Pacific, White said. This was their second meeting in less than a month. Mattis had travelled to India late last month.

"This is a moment of strategic convergence for the US and India," White told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Demi Lawrence reports on Georgetown County for The Post and Courier. She graduated from Ball State University in 2020, and previously was an intern at The Herald Bulletin in Anderson, Indiana and Indianapolis Monthly.
KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP)  Mohave County authorities have issued an emergency declaration after a wildfire near Kingman prompted the evacuation of more than 200 homes in Pine Lake area.

In the meantime, firefighters stepped up efforts to control another wildfire burning in the Sacramento Mountains of south-central New Mexico.

The Arizona wildfire was reported around 2 p.m. Sunday and reportedly originated between the Flag Mine and Wild Cow Campground in the Hualapai Mountains south of Kingman in northwestern Arizona.

Arizona Bureau of Land Management officials said the fire was human-caused, but how it started remains under investigation.

County Supervisor Buster Johnson issued the emergency declaration Monday that activated the countys emergency response and recovery plan until further notice.

Hualapai Mountain Park will be closed to new visitors.during the existence of said emergency or until the threat in the park is declared over, Johnson said in the declaration.

County officials said the wildfire had burned about 1,400 acres (2.1 square miles) by late Monday afternoon.

Three large air tankers, multiple fire units and several helicopters were battling the blaze, which is burning brush, grass and ponderosa pines

In New Mexico, a top-tier management team and additional tankers and ground crews have been assigned to the Sacramento Mountains blaze.

The fire near the Three Rivers Campground and west of the Ski Apache ski resort had burned 6,100 acres (25 square kilometers) with no containment around its perimeter as of Tuesday morning, according to a statement posted by fire managers.

The fire was reported Monday and its cause was under investigation, the statement said.

No injuries or structure damage has been reported.

Smoke was blowing into the communities of Alto, Capitan, and Ruidoso, the statement said.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
New Delhi: As India battles the COVID pandemic, Taiwan will be sending Oxygen generators to the country this week. Taipei will make formal announcements ahead of departure.

In a tweet, Kolas Yotaka, Taiwan Presidential Office spokesperson said, "First shipment of oxygen generators from Taiwan to India is leaving this week. We are all in this together."

India is keen to procure essentials related to Oxygen, like generators, concentrators, and others as many hospitals in the country are facing scarcity amid mounting COVID cases. Taiwan has been lauded for the way it dealt with COVID cases in its territory.

Spontaneous support has been seen in Taiwan for India with the President, Vice President, foreign ministry, and others tweeting in a show of solidarity.

President Tsai Ing-wen in a tweet said, "On behalf of all Taiwanese people, I would like to express my serious concern over the rapid spread of COVID-19 in India. Taiwan stands with India in this difficult time, & we are ready to provide help."

On behalf of all #Taiwanese people, I would like to express my serious concern over the rapid spread of COVID-19 in #India. Taiwan stands with India in this difficult time, & we are ready to provide help.   Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) April 27, 2021

Vice President Lai Ching-te said, "I wish to express my heartfelt solidarity with the Indian people. The global COVID crisis is far from over but we will get through it together."

I wish to express my heartfelt solidarity with the Indian people. The global COVID crisis is far from over but we will get through it together.  Lai Ching-te (@ChingteLai) April 25, 2021

Taiwan's foreign ministry said, "The government & people of Taiwan are seriously concerned about the COVID19 situation in India." The ministry is monitoring the developments and holding discussions to send "requisite" support to India.

Taiwan Member of Parliament's Wang Ting-yu said,"As India battles the worst covid surge in the world, Taiwan should be doing more to support our Indian friends"

Since last year, increased people-to-people engagement has been seen between Taiwan and India. Strong support was seen in India for Taiwan on its national day.

This comes even as China has been aggressive with both. From the Line of Actual Control with India starting April 2020 to trying to violate the airspace of Taiwan, Beijing's aggressive posture has been a cause of concern in the region.

Live TV
SUSTAINABLE development advocate Caillum Hedderman will join a panel tonight to discuss the future of the Leaving Certificate.

Labour councillor Conor Sheehan is hosting a discussion on the future of the examination, especially in the wake of the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on it.

Also taking part will be his party colleague, Senator Annie Hoey, a former president of the Union of Students in Ireland.

It all gets under way at 7pm, and can be accessed through Cllr Sheehans Facebook page.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the City North councillor told of how he was impressed at the campaigning by 18-year-old Caillum, a sixth-year student at John the Baptist Community School in Hospital.

I am holding a FB Live meeting on the Future of the Leaving Cert with Senator @hoeyannie and @CaillumH this Wednesday evening at 7pm.



Link: https://t.co/jwcy1FG7MH



Please tune in if you can pic.twitter.com/cu7KqAtEzI  Cllr Conor Sheehan (@ConorSheehan93) April 26, 2021

He articulated very well the concerns he and his peers have in relation to the provisional Leaving Certificate examination, said Cllr Sheehan. I think the pandemic has shone a light on how unfit for purpose the system is, he said.

The Leaving Certificate is stressful at the best of times without a global pandemic on top of it. You can see now in many ways how unfair the system actually is. Cllr Sheehan says there is a need for a new model which is fairer on students, arguing the current set-up is past its sell-by date.

All are welcome at the discussion.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Chris Runyon paused for a moment to catch her breath as she lugged a high-tech cooler and 20 pounds of medical supplies through an empty gymnasium.

It was late on a Friday afternoon and Runyon, a 71-year-old public health nurse, had just finished a community vaccination clinic in south Minneapolis and was racing against the clock. Minutes earlier, she had punctured the seal on a vial of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, and now had just six hours to inject the vaccines into arms before the doses expired and had to be thrown out.

Frantic, Runyon made a flurry of calls to relatives and acquaintances, directing them to the home in St. Paul where she was babysitting her infant granddaughter that evening. By 6 p.m., people began arriving at her doorstep ready for the shots. With only a couple of hours to spare, Runyon gave the last dose to a middle-aged stranger in the middle of a kitchen with medical supplies spread over a counter.

"It's like we're all on the Titanic and trying to get everyone we can on the lifeboats as fast as we possibly can," said Runyon, who works for Hennepin Healthcare.

Runyon is among hundreds of Minnesotans with medical backgrounds who have stepped forward to administer vaccines as the state ramps up efforts to get as many people as possible inoculated against the coronavirus. As the vaccine supply has increased, so has the demand for people to deliver the shots. Since January, nearly 850 Minnesota healthcare professionalsfrom pharmacists and paramedics to optometrists and veterinarianshave volunteered to become COVID-19 vaccinators through a program with the state Department of Health, officials said.

For many, administering the vaccine has become a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save lives and spread hope after a year of despair. Nurses who months ago were traumatized by watching people die from COVID-19 are now experiencing relief and joy. For their efforts, they are rewarded with tears of gratitude, celebratory fist bumps and the flashing of smartphone cameras as people seek to capture the moment for their families and social media.

"You can feel the joy," Runyon said after a long day of giving shots to restaurant and hotel workers at a union hall in Minneapolis. "People truly feel like their lives have opened up after the shots."

Yet plunging needles into strangers' bare arms, day after day, is a daunting task.

First, there is the challenge of getting the right amount of doses to each community vaccination site with all the necessary suppliesmultiple syringes, alcohol wipes, bandages, cotton balls, sharps containers and piles of vaccination cards. Then there is the delicate process of sliding the needles into thimble-sized vials of vaccine without contaminating the doses. And the hours of repetitive jabbing and pulling up shirtsleeves can wear on the jointsmany vaccinators do stretching exercises to maintain dexterity in their hands.

But even with meticulous planning, things can go awry.

On rare occasions, people get dizzy and faint. Syringes break. Supplies run out. And some who sign up for vaccine appointments sometimes fail to show, making it difficult for COVID-19 vaccinators to pace the shots correctly.

Oftentimes, they are left with unused doses of the precious medicine at the end of a clinic and must scramble to find people ready and willing to get a shot before the vaccines expire. Once vials of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are punctured, the doses are only viable for six hours before they have to be discarded.

"We are in the fight of our lives for our communities, so it's absolutely critical that we get this right," said Stephanie Graves, maternal and child health coordinator in the Minneapolis Health Department, who has been assisting with the oversight of vaccine clinics.

Runyon, a nurse for the past 50 years, estimates that she has given shots to at least 2,500 people since late December, when the vaccines became available.

She has watched elderly recipients break down and cry tears of joy after realizing they would finally be able to see their grandchildren after a year of isolation. Others have asked her to pose for photographs or to help them set up a video feed so their family can witness the shot. Appreciative vaccine recipients have sent her thank you cards, wine and boxes of chocolate.

At times, Runyon must help people overcome their fear of needles or anxiety over possible side effects. She calmly explains that suffering side effects is a positive sign that one's body is building an immune response. Most look away or close their eyes as she plunges the needle about three fingers below their deltoid muscle. When shirts are removed, Runyon will sometimes lay her sweater over a woman's bare shoulders before inserting the shot.

"I'd rather take 100 pills than have one needle stuck in my arm!" declared Dwight Stewart, a 56-year-old hotel worker, as he tentatively approached Runyon for his first dose. "But I know this will give me a little more protection."

Still, the burden of delivering hundreds of shots each day weighs on Runyon and other vaccinators.

As a veteran vaccinator, Runyon is often called upon to transport the bulky, ultracold cooler that contains the precious doses to community vaccination clinics. The responsibility entails checking the cooler's temperature every hour and ensuring it's always within sight. There have been nights when Runyon woke in panic, dreaming that she has lost the vaccines or forgotten to check the temperature on the cooler.

"After awhile, the [vaccine cooler] becomes part of you," she said. "It's like taking care of a baby."

Early on, Runyon said it was easier to plan doses for vaccination clinics. That's because nearly everyone who signed up for a vaccine appointment would show up. Often, there were lines of people waiting for any leftover doses.

But now, many of those who were highly motivated to get the shots because of elevated health risks have been inoculated, leaving those who are more vaccine-hesitant. And as vaccine supply has grown, people have started to become more selective about what type of vaccine they getcontributing to no-shows for appointments, Runyon said.

More than 2.3 million people, or 53% of eligible Minnesotans, have received at least one dose of the vaccines, and 1.7 million have received both doses, according to a state dashboard.

"As we get further along, it's getting a lot more stressful and difficult to find willing vaccine recipients," Runyon said. "It bothers me to think we may get to a point where I may not be able to get all these doses into people's arms."

Recently, there have been days when Runyon will be left with a half-dozen unused shots at the end of a community vaccination event. Determined not to let any shots go to waste, she has turned her dining room into a makeshift clinic with all the necessary supplies ready to go.

On days when she has leftover doses, she calls people on her smartphone list whom she knows need to be immunized. Neighbors, acquaintances and relatives have all shown up at a moment's notice, she said.

"I sometimes wonder what my neighbors think about all these people coming and going," she said, laughing. "But I never want to waste a single dose. Ever."

2021 StarTribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Explore further UK orders 60m Pfizer vaccine doses for booster programme

2021 StarTribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
DAVENPORT, Santa Cruz County  Deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains, hidden by dense patches of conifer and far from any paved road, a century-old, abandoned dam whose purpose remains lost to history is quietly choking a small, yet important waterway.

But not for long.

The unnamed, 30-foot-wide dam on Mill Creek, home to one of the southernmost runs of endangered coho salmon, will be toppled this summer. The demolition is part of a broader effort to both open up passage for struggling fish along the Central Coast and restore a cherished forest known as San Vicente Redwoods.

With the scale of this property, theres really just nothing like it, said Ian Rowbotham, land stewardship manager for the Sempervirens Fund, one of four conservation groups that owns and manages the sprawling woodlands above the community of Davenport, before driving 30 minutes up a dirt road to the dam on Tuesday morning. Weve been doing a lot of restoration work here.

Removal of the stone structure, which keeps fish from swimming upstream and critical sediment in the creek from moving downward, is the biggest and most visible attempt to mend this once heavily burdened forest.

Long owned by building materials companies, most recently Mexico-based CEMEX, the 8,500-acre property was logged and mined for decades. Last year, it burned in the CZU Lightning Complex fires.

Still, the area is chock-full of scenic canyons and towering ridges overlooking the Pacific. It includes the regions largest privately held redwood forest. Mountain lions and peregrine falcons are commonly seen, and coho and steelhead migrate from the ocean to the creeks.

The organizations that bought the land in 2011 have the goal of rehabilitating the natural habitat, including San Vicente Creek and its main tributary Mill Creek, as well as opening the property to the public. Its location, tucked between Big Basin Redwoods State Park and Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument, makes it a coveted link in a tapestry of protected wildlands.

Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

An 8-mile loop trail scheduled to be completed this fall, the first of many planned for the site, was put on hold because of the fire last August.

I would never wish a fire on the forest, said Sara Barth, executive director of the Sempervirens Fund. But if we had to have a fire, this provided some benefit to the forest: thinning and resetting the ecosystem.

At the dam, a steady stream of water cascaded over the 14-foot-high stone wall as the noontime sun filtered through a canopy of oak trees, Douglas fir and second-growth redwoods.

Below, the creek trickled over mossy rocks and beneath bright green ferns before proceeding down a steep ravine. Above, an island of gravel, dirt and woody debris filled what at one time had been a small reservoir.

Its hard to know the exact use of this because its so old, Rowbotham said, noting that he had found a map from 1910 showing the dam site.

A long-abandoned quarry settlement once existed nearby that would have required water. So did a handful of homesteads and logging sites.

Chris Berry, watershed compliance manager for the city of Santa Cruz and an expert on the areas aquatic ecology, said dams throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains have long been an issue for the Central Coast coho salmon  listed as endangered in 2005, largely because so much of their spawning habitat had been lost. Most of the problematic dams, however, have since been taken out.

Wherever theres still a dam blocking coho passage, thats a big deal, Berry said. The dam removal (on Mill Creek) is really important. Thats one of the good remaining coho watersheds left, and coho are on the verge of extinction.

Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

The demolition also is expected to free up sediment upstream, which will get flushed down the canyon, helping create needed spawning grounds for coho and steelhead.

Among the many restoration projects that the Sempervirens Fund and others have been working on is fabricating pools and shaded stream beds for the fish. Theyve also cleared the channels of invasive vines and shrubs.

As Rowbotham walked along the side of Mill Creek, he identified one of the few flat areas beneath the dam as the spot where heavy equipment will be staged for demolition. The stream will be emptied of water  sent through a temporary bypass pipe  before the arm of an excavator begins to knock down the dam.

Afterward, the channel will be smoothed over, and the blocked sediment will be dispersed.

In theory, its pretty straightforward, Rowbotham said. Were hoping to get the natural process back in place and allow nature to do its thing.

The planning work and dam deconstruction is expected to cost nearly $900,000, much of which is being paid for with a grant from the Resources Legacy Fund, supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

CEMEX, which still owns the areas water rights and infrastructure as well as the shuttered cement plant beneath the forest lands, has OKd the dam removal. The Sempervirens Fund has recently secured the requisite federal and state permits.

The three other groups that manage the San Vicente Forest  the Peninsula Open Space Trust, Save the Redwoods League and the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County  are partners on the project, as is the Resources Conservation District of Santa Cruz County.

Theres a real interest in dam removal and barriers today, said Lisa Lurie, executive director of the Resources Conservation District. The impact is tangible and by removing them were able to open up so much expansive watershed. It continues to be a priority.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
At the end of February this year, Australia passed a law which required Facebook and Google to either negotiate deals for news material and links carried by their services, or be forced into arbitration. If no agreement could be made, the law mandated that the links be taken down from the platforms entirely. Over the past two months, this small regional issue has become a critical test case for ways in which national regulators might start to reshape their media economies, rather than simply surrender to the forces of the global online advertising market as dictated by large online platforms.

As the implications of Australias News Media Bargaining Code start to sink in around the world, the subject of how technology companies like Google and Facebook support journalism is an issue of growing interest to both newsrooms and policy makers. In the US, the policy conversation has focused on the possibilities of antitrust in tackling the size and impact of advertising platforms. Similarly, there seems to be an increased need for a digital new deal to help rebuild independent local journalism. A number of bills and initiatives are currently on the books to help the plight of local journalism. Meanwhile, Google and Facebook both announced a tripling of their annual budgets directed towards journalism, from $100 to $300 million each per year over the next three years.

Many have argued for some time that technology platforms need to be the source of funding for repairing information market failures precipitated by their highly lucrative business models. However, new initiatives stemming from the regulatory approach in Australia leave an open question on how platforms should play a role in the future of sustainable journalism: is the deliberate tying together of the fortunes of newsrooms and publishers with those of Google and Facebook actually counterproductive? It is possible thatalmost by accidentwe are creating an environment in which regulators are placated by a flashy increase in funding by Facebook and Google instead of addressing the need for actual regulatory reform to support journalism?

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In a recent seminar hosted by Columbia Professor Anya Schiffrin and McGill Universitys Taylor Owen, a remarkably wide range of competition ministers and regulatory experts from around the world discussed the implications of the News Media Bargaining Code. The chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission who first introduced the Code, Rod Sims, talked about the model being a negotiate/arbitrate model. What this means is that arbitration becomes a threat to platforms if negotiation isnt available or fair. According to Sims, the threat of arbitration evens up the bargaining power between platforms and publishers. He made it clear that the objective of the code is to allow a proper commercial deal for content being produced. But when pondering the very premise of this new Australian formula, he said: Is this code the best code for supporting journalism? In my opinion thats the wrong question, explaining that the bargaining code is just an economic element amidst a suite of measures required to bolster journalism. One of the more pertinent drawbacks of the code, though, is that instead of separating the functions of journalism from those of technology platforms, it forces them together in an opaque way.

No details of the negotiations nor the sums of money exchanging hands between the platforms and publishers are made public by the code, though Sims added that because publishers were involved, sums are likely to leak out. This in itself demonstrates part of the problem: not one, but two sets of players (the technology companies and their journalism beneficiaries) are drawn closer together through complicity into an obscure bargain.

Last week, the Center for Journalism and Liberty, a program of the Open Markets Institute, produced a conference on The Future of Journalism And Democracy, pulling together lawmakers, journalists, academics and policymakers. The day focused particularly on Google and Facebooks roles in our democratic and news media institutions. Discussions were wide ranging, from looking at the numerous antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook, to discussing the prospects for philanthropy in saving local journalism, to a panel parsing the funding mechanisms through which large platforms currently support the news industry (or capture them, depending on your perspective). If you have time, the whole day is worth watching here, though the issue of exactly how we should be negotiating the issue of the dependency of journalism on technology was subsidiary to the immediacy of the overall crisis.

A panel discussion at the conference about the nature of the relationship between Google and Facebooks journalism funding efforts and in turn, the realities of the newsrooms they fund, demonstrated the conflicts and tensions within the issue. In the discussion, Dan Froomkin discussed his recent article in Washington Monthly, which describes how the dynamics between Facebook and the New York Times is far more embedded and lucrative than readers might realize. The Times media columnist Ben Smith responded to Froomkin by suggesting that the dark influence was not necessarily coming just from the platforms, but they were themselves responding to pressure and adverse coverage. Smith claimed the readiness of Facebook to do deals with publishers such as the Times was effectively driven by aggressive lobbying and coverage from Rupert Murdochs News Corporation. Smith went on to say this could be seen as a form of extortion, just as the Facebook and Google payments might be thought of as lobbying money.

As global regulators examine the benefits of adopting the Australian approach, whereby platforms are regulated into forging deals with publishers, both Google and Facebook are already ahead of them, signing up publishers in order to pre-empt other possible legislation. But what are the terms of those bargains? How much of the money is actually directed into journalism efforts as opposed to management budgeting or shareholder growth? Do the deals come with any contingency requirements, such as diversity or transparency? Most likely, well never know for sure. The rush by platforms to swiftly dole out hush money while also outrunning policymakers is a lost opportunity to create better bargains for newsrooms and the communities they serve.

Earlier this week, the New York Times ran a piece sweeping up the regulatory moves, from China to America, which are seeking to impose regional restraints on the power of technology companies, describing it as the global tipping point for big tech. In the United States, disappearance of advertising support and the consequent collapse of local journalism is one of the most effective tools being used to leverage more regulatory oversight against the platforms. But the scramble to cross-subsidize leaves unanswered the uncomfortable question of whether this close relationship of corporate power and supposedly accountability journalism is something that needs dissolving rather than encouraging.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Emily Bell is the director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School.
Every Bill Miller Bar-B-Q location is open for dine-in again in San Antonio.

The locally based chain announced the 100% reopening of dining room service Wednesday morning. An employee at the main office said the reopening will be at full capacity.

RELATED: San Antonio's Lulu's Bakery & Cafe is closed and everything from decor to equipment is on sale

Bill Miller began reopening dining rooms in March after hitting paused due to the pandemic. The restaurant briefly welcomed customers back into the restaurants in May 2020, but then closed in late June as COVID-19 cases surged.

READ MORE FROM MADALYN: Highly anticipated Vietnamese restaurant, tropical bar opening on San Antonio River Walk

Nearly 50 of Bill Miller's 77 restaurants are in San Antonio.
The National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) says the ST25 rice variety has been granted a Protective Certificate No 21.VN.2020 under Decision No 45/QD-TT-VPBH dated March 6, 2020 by the director of the Department of Crop Production.

Ho Quang Cua and ST25

The holders of this protection certificate are the private enterprise Ho Quang Tri and the creators of the rice variety  Ho Quang Cua, Tran Tan Phuong and Nguyen Thi Thu Huong.

Under the Intellectual Property Law (IP Law), in order to register for plant variety protection, registrants need to propose an appropriate name for the plant variety to the state management agency for rights over plant varieties, and that name must coincide with the name registered for protection in any country that has signed agreements on plant variety protection with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

In this case, when applying for registration, the registrants proposed the name ST25.

Clause 4 Article 163 of the IP Law stipulates that organizations and individuals that offer for sale or market reproductive materials of plant varieties will have to use the denominations of such plant varieties as stated in their protection titles even after the

term of protection expires.

Article 186 of the law says protection certificate holders have the right to exercise or authorize others to exercise the following rights to reproductive materials of a protected plant variety: 1/ To conduct production or propagation; 2/ To process them for the purpose of propagation; 3/ To offer them for sale; 4/ To sell them or conduct other marketing activities; 5/ To export them; 6/ To import them; and 7/ To store them.

Protection certificate holders have the right to prevent acts that are considered as infringing on the rights of the protection certificate holders, including the exploitation and use of the rights of the protection certificate holders without the holders permission.

Citing articles of the IP Law, NOIP pointed out that the States protection when granting plant variety protection certificate covers the protection of seed rice.

Protection certificate holders have the right to prevent acts that are considered as infringing on the rights of the protection certificate holders, including the exploitation and use of the rights of the protection certificate holders without the holders permission.

Certificate holders have the right to conduct these above-mentioned behaviors themselves, or allow others to conduct this with reproductive materials (in this case, rice seed), not rice (post-harvesting processed product).

The rights granted to the holders of Certificate No 21.VN.2020 are only valid in Vietnam.

As for the regulation stipulated in the Clause 4 Article 163 of the IP Law, the use of the denominations of plant varieties as stated in their protection titles is a compulsory obligation for certificate holders and those authorized by certificate holders even after the expiration of the protective term.

ST25 sign wont get exclusive protection

Regarding trademark protection for rice products in general and ST25 rice in particular, NOIP said rice is a processed product from a post-harvesting product (paddy) from rice plants. If Ho Quang Tri Private Enterprise sells ST25 rice seeds to farmers for cultivation, they will have to use the name gao ST25 (ST25 rice) after they harvest, unhusk and create commercial rice.

The enterprises collecting unhusked rice that is the product from paddy harvested from ST25 rice seeds, and who mill and sell it in the market must also call it ST25 rice.

This means that ST25 is the name of the rice processed from unhusked rice harvested from ST25 rice variety.

Since this is the common name of a type of product, and everyone who trades in this product must use this name, Point b, Clause 2 of Article 74 of the IP Law stipulates that the common name of the goods in any language which is widely and regularly used and known to many people will be considered indistinguishable and wont be registered as a trademark.

Therefore, according to NOIP, in this case, no one, including the private enterprise Ho Quang Tri, will receive exclusive protection over the ST25 sign for rice products.

Consumers can differentiate the commercial origins of rice products because enterprises must launch ST25 rice products under their specific brands.

That is why we can buy ST25 rice with Bao Minh brand or ST25 rice products bearing other brand names, a representative of NOIP explained.

What about the US?

As for the protection of ST25 rice in foreign markets and in the US, NOIP believes that under the laws of other countries, including the US, the common names of the products and services will not be protected as a trademark.

If referring to the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) guidance, appraisers will reject the trademark registration application for the names of plant varieties.

This can be seen in USPTOs announcement (dated November 20, 2020) about its intention to refuse the trademark registration for VIETNAM'S ST25 RICE, DAC SAN SOC TRANG filed in the US on September 1, 2020, according to registration application number 90151727 of Transworld Foods, Inc.

Support to be provided to SMEs in intellectual property Support is to be provided to small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs), enabling them to use intellectual property (IP) rights to build stronger, more competitive and resilient businesses, said Dinh Huu Phi, Director of the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam. SMEs took centre stage at this years celebration of World Intellectual Property Day (April 26) with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) Director General Daren Tang describing them as an engine for growth in a post-pandemic world. Phi said that SMEs played a significant role in global economies, citing statistics that SMEs accounted for 90 percent of all companies worldwide and contributed 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). In Vietnam, the figures were 97 percent and 47 percent, respectively. Commercialising IP and using it for business growth was critical for SMEs in a post-pandemic world, he said. Phi said that efforts were being made to improve the mechanisms and policies to create favourable conditions for enterprises in creating, forming, exploiting and protecting their intellectual property rights. Specially, the national IP strategy by 2020 put SMEs as a focus, which aimed to encourage innovation and cooperation between enterprises and research institutes and universities to develop IP assets for socio-economic development goals. He said that support would be provided to IP development and protection for key products of Vietnam and products of the One Commune, One Product programme. Accordingly, the focus would be placed on building and implementing a management system for geographical indication, certification marks, collective mark associated with the registration of cultivation area code, food safety, quality certification and traceability as well as developing the value chain for protected products. It was also important to enhance trade promotion activities to promote the commercialisation of IP assets, he said. During the past five years, more than 500 key agricultural products received support from the IP asset development programme. The IP Office of Vietnam was also providing support in terms of geographical indication protection in Japan for Luc Ngan lychee, Binh Thuan dragon fruit and Buon Ma Thuot coffee. Support in terms of trademark protection were also provided to Thai Nguyen tea and Chu noodles. Phi said that many protected products were recognised widely with increased added value, such as Cao Phong orange, Phu Quoc fish sauce, Luc Ngan lychee, Ha Giang orange and Ben Tre green-skin pomelo. VNS

Luong Bang

Vietnams no 1 rice in world in danger of losing brand If certain legal entities in the US successfully register the ST25 rice brand, Ho Quang Cua, the real owner of the brand, will lose ownership and it will be very difficult to claim it back.
Googles coronavirus contact tracing framework, which alerts users if they have been near someone with COVID-19, has been making its data available to third-party apps.

The software giant had been informed of the privacy issue since February, a report from The Markup alleges, but said that the issue was not a severe enough flaw.

The contact-tracing framework is built into Android devices, but can communicate with iPhones. It works by monitoring the phones owner via Bluetooth, but the data should only be available to official apps of public health authorities such as the NHS COVID-19 app, which is being used by 16 million people.

However, hundreds of preinstalled apps including Samsung Browser and Motorolas MotoCare on Android devices have access to this potentially sensitive information. The signals that the contact tracing data generates are saved into its device system logs, which companies have permission to read for crash report and analytics.

The information includes data about whether a phone registered a person as being in contact with someone who had the coronavirus, the devices name, MAC address, and advertising ID, security researchers said.

Google had pledged that the list of people youve been in contact with doesnt leave your phone unless you choose to share it.

Researchers from the privacy analysis firm AppCensus raised the problem to Google in February 2020, as part of the US Department of Homeland Securitys testing. Google reportedly did not change it.

This fix is a one-line thing where you remove a line that logs sensitive information to the system log. It doesnt impact the program, it doesnt change how it works,  Joel Reardon, co-founder and forensics lead of AppCensus, told The Markup. Its such an obvious fix, and I was flabbergasted that it wasnt seen as that.

Reardon apparently reached out to Googles bug bounty program concerned about the issue on 19 February. Google said that the finding did not merit a serious enough flaw to merit a reward, but a panel would look through the findings in a subsequent meeting.

The Google security team eventually sent an automated email that they would decide whether they want to make a change or not, but Reardon received no communication from Google since.

Exposure Notifications uses privacy preserving technology to help public health authorities manage the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. With the Exposure Notification system neither Google, Apple, nor other users can see your identity and all of the Exposure Notification matching happens on your device. We were notified of an issue where the Bluetooth identifiers were temporarily accessible to some pre-installed applications for debugging purposes, Google said in a statement to The Independent.

Immediately upon being made aware of this research, we began the necessary process to review the issue, consider mitigations and ultimately update the code. These Bluetooth identifiers do not reveal a users location or provide any other identifying information and we have no indication that they were used in any way - nor that any app was even aware of this.

However, Reardon had contacted Giles Hogben, Androids director of privacy engineering, later in February. Hogben said that [System logs] have not been readable by unprivileged apps (only with READ_LOGS privileged permission) since way before Android 11 (can check exactly when but I think back as far as 4),

Google did not provide an answer as to why, if the company knew about these issues before Android 11, they were not fixed prior to the rollout of the contact tracing framework, nor why it did not provide Reardon with a response to his messages.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at the COVID-19 vaccination site at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, on March 8, 2021. (Seth Wenig/Reuters)

New Yorks Cuomo Urges Challenge to Census Over State Losing Congressional Seat

The 2020 census data that showed New York grew more slowly than other states, leaving it poised to have one less seat in the House of Representatives, may be subject to a legal challenge.

If New York had just 89 more people in the census count, officials said, then it would have kept the seat at the expense of Minnesota.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo noted the slim margin and accused former President Donald Trumps administration of having a chilling effect on some immigrants who may not have filled out the census.

Cuomo, a Democrat, on Tuesday urged New York State Attorney General Letitia James, another Democrat, to explore legal options to challenge the count.

You had a lot going on. You had people who were nervous to come forward, right? You have undocumented people who are nervous to come forward. I do believe the federal government had a chilling effect, he told reporters during a press conference.

Do I think it was accurate to within 89? No. And were looking at legal options. Because when youre talking about 89, I mean, that could be a minor mistake in counting, right?

Undocumented is another term for illegal immigrants.

The Census Bureau declined to comment. The office of James did not return an inquiry.

Ron Jarmin, the acting director of the bureau, said in a statement on Monday that officials are confident the results meet our high data quality standards while Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said the bureau overcame unprecedented challenges to collect and produce high-quality data that will inform decision-making for years to come.

Along with giving states an idea of how much theyve grown or retracted, the census count, done once a decade, is used to apportion seats in the lower chamber of Congress, with shifts each time.

Because of strong growth in Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon, each of those states will gain one House seat. Texas will gain two.

California, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are poised to lose seats along with New York.

The population in New York grew by 823,147 to just over 20 million between the 2010 and the 2020 census counts.

In contrast, the number of residents in Texas jumped by nearly 4 million to 29.1 million.

New York will still have 26 representatives in the House if the figures remain unchallenged (pdf), the fourth-highest number behind Texas, Florida, and California.

The shift in seats will not apply until the 118th Congress, which convenes in January 2023.

Redistricting will take place in a number of states, including those which saw a loss or gain in seats, before the 2022 midterm elections.
BoostUp's Connected Revenue and Operations Platform We've built the first unified revenue intelligence and operations platform that allows every person responsible for revenue  from sales, marketing, and customer success  to get real-time insights and collaborate on a single platform. Sharad Verma, co-founder, CEO, BoostUp.ai

BoostUp.ai, the integrated revenue intelligence and operations company, today announced $6 million in Series A funding, bringing its total capital raised to $14 million and coming only nine months its seed round. Canaan Partners led the new financing, with participation from Emergent Ventures and BGV Ventures. BoostUp.ai has seen remarkable growth, increasing revenue by more than 1,000% in FY 2020, quadrupling annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the last 3 quarters and winning big deals including Udemy, Degreed, Plume and Windstream. The company will use the funds to scale product development, meet increasing market demand and support customer growth.

BoostUp.ai is a best-in-class forecasting and revenue intelligence platform with the potential to lead this growing category. The self-reporting of data by reps makes it incredibly difficult to accurately assess deal and account status, no matter the industry. So almost always, quarters end with a positive or a negative surprise, said Joydeep Bhattacharya, general partner at Canaan. As teams move to more remote and hybrid settings, with more communication happening exclusively via digital channels, the ability to use that data to more accurately forecast business performance will become table stakes for all companies.

BoostUp.ai's Series A was oversubscribed by more than 50% as investors saw the company winning several large, six-figure deals in recent months. BoostUp also hit significant customer ROI benchmarks: customers achieved 95% forecast accuracy, reviewed 5x the number of opportunities per manager and increased sales manager and sales rep capacity by over 15%. Consistent wins against incumbents with its all-in-one, Connected Revenue Intelligence & Operations platform, coupled with the increasing market demand for revenue intelligence and sales digital intelligence solutions, contributed to this strong investor interest. Forrester has also recognized BoostUp.ai as the Hybrid revenue intelligence and revenue operations platform in its latest sales tech tide research.

As a company looking to accelerate our growth even further, we wanted to upgrade our revenue and forecasting infrastructure, said David Groves, VP of Worldwide Field Operations, ContentSquare. After doing our vendor landscape due diligence, BoostUp.ai was the only complete revenue intelligence platform in a market full of point solutions. We needed one connected revenue intelligence solution that solved all our needs - one built for our entire revenue team to drive forecasting, accuracy in our forecast, and scale deal reviews.

In the era of digital sales, CRMs are no longer the source of truth of what happened and whats expected to happen and not enough in helping sales teams achieve sales efficiency and effectiveness. As revenue work becomes more distributed and digital across pre-sales, sales, and post-sales, BoostUp.ai is the new common digital pane of glass that unifies all digital and CRM data, with forecasting operations. It expands the capacity of first-line sales managers, reps and customer success managers. By integrating traditional revenue operations functions such as forecasting with modern revenue intelligence capabilities such as deal and rep activity intelligence, BoostUp.ai offers the highest ROI in the market today.

BoostUp.ai's AI-driven connected revenue intelligence and operations platform ingests unstructured data from sources like email, phone calls, calendars, meetings, and messaging applications and matches that accurately to accounts and opportunities with snapshotted CRM data. BoostUp then applies natural language parsing, sentiment analysis and proprietary indexing on spoken and written keywords to understand sales win/loss behavior patterns. Then BoostUp turns that data into predictive dashboards and analysis that help sales teams forecast more accurately, get early warning signs of deal or account churn, and increase sales performance.

In todays era of digital and distributed sales, sales teams have to do more with less. Revenue operations have emerged as the new buying center with a mandate to make their sales staff more productive, drive more predictability and operationalize systems. With this new digital data, revenue operations can finally move away from spreadsheets, drive their custom forecasting processes, achieve predictability and leapfrog to digital revenue management systems away from clunky spreadsheets, said Sharad Verma, co-founder and CEO of BoostUp.ai. We've built the first unified revenue intelligence and operations platform that allows every person responsible for revenue  from sales, marketing, and customer success  to get real-time insights and collaborate on a single platform.

With BoostUp.ai, we've been able to break down the barriers between every member of the account team. Our sellers can focus on the right action at the right time to move a deal forward in a quick, concise manner. The result is a higher-performing, more profitable, far more efficient, and actionable sales organization, said Robert Sliker, Sales and Operations Leader, Windstream.

About BoostUp.ai

BoostUp.ai's Connected Revenue Intelligence & Operations platform is designed to help sales teams achieve forecasting accuracy, efficiency, predictability, and growth across the entire sales process. BoostUp.ai accelerates revenue performance with a single connected experience across revenue operations and digital revenue intelligence creating complete transparency, automating processes, and identifying risk and opportunity in the pipeline while improving forecasting rigor and accuracy. This drives team efficiency, leads to a high-performing sales team, and boosts sales execution and revenue. Leading companies including Branch, Iterable, ContentSquare, Windstream, Degreed and Udemy trust BoostUp.ai to drive predictable revenue and growth. For more information, please visit: http://www.boostup.ai and follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/boostup-ai/mycompany/.

Media Contact

Brandon Most

brandon@boostup.ai

913-333-6300
Overnight reports from Jacksonville police:

 Mason W. Smith, 24, of Arkansas, Kansas, was arrested at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of obstructing a peace officer. He was accused of refusing to identify himself while police were investigating a disturbance in the 1100 block of East Morton Avenue.

 A package was taken from a porch in the 600 block of South Church Street about 10:15 a.m. Saturday, according to a report filed at 7:04 p..m. Tuesday.

 Marlon K. Jackson, 31, of 800 Hoagland Blvd. was booked into the Morgan County jail at 11:35 a.m. Tuesday on a theft charge.

 Christopher L. Preston, 47, of 140 S. Miller St., Waverly, was booked into the Morgan County jail at 4:36 a.m. Wednesday on a retail theft charge.
At both of the houses I lived in since moving to Litchfield, I was fighting the Battle of the Birdfeeder. I bought a lovely Victorian house birdfeeder and stationed it in the backyard. I snapped pictures of each new bird that made a home in the trees and dined in the Victorian house. I became adept at identifying new visitors on Bird Wizard. The hibiscus flowers drew fabulous little hummingbirds to complete the bird sanctuary.

Then the squirrels came. At first, the squirrels were cute, their antics amusing, and hey, little furry rodents have to eat too. Then I noticed that birds wouldnt come near the feeder if squirrels were there, and they were grabbing all the seeds. Regretfully, I put away the lovely Victorian house and bought a squirrel-proof feeder. Evidently they cant read, because once again birds were driven back by hungry squirrels.

My husband declared he would build the perfect birdfeeder himself. He drafted plans, purchased materials, and erected a prototype - a tall platform atop a slippery metal pole with a feeding station aloft. He adjusted the height and overhang several times after determined squirrels learned to shinny up the pole. Ultimately, the perfect configuration emerged: a too-high slippery pole requiring a reach-around exceeding a squirrels grasp. The little varmints watched from afar, attempted multiple climbing expeditions, all ending in failure. The little birds flew back to their favorite dining spot, now an aerie.

Then the bear came. I watched in amazement through my kitchen window as a medium-sized black bear lumbered through our backyard, rose on his haunches and swatted our new bird feeding station. The pole withstood the shock, but the feeder itself crashed to the ground, quickly snatched up by furry paws. Just my luck, dead battery in the camera. I now had a great bear story, but no proof.

We replaced the feeder, although we were advised against it by the wildlife experts I contacted. If theres no food, therell be no bear, they patiently explained. Wise advice, but my husband and I were on a mission to create a bird sanctuary, and we were not about to be deterred by bears.

Then the crows came. I dont know exactly why I didnt want the crows to get the food. They are birds too, albeit very large, badly behaved birds. They poked holes in our garbage bags left by the street. They didnt shoo when I said shoo! They were raucous and left messes on our vehicles. And they intimidated the smaller birds.

My husband returned to the drawing board. He made measurements based on a crows wing span, calculated the roof peak height, screwed galvanized sheet metal to sturdy plywood. He ultimately built a shiny birdfeeder like a Taj Mahal pavilion. The smaller birds quickly learned how to fly directly in. The crows watched from a distance, did several flybys, and ultimately gave up. All was peaceful.

When we moved to Northfield, we brought the squirrel-proof, bear-proof, crow-proof bird feeder with us. We did have more than one bear visitation, crows leaving mementoes on our vehicles, and squirrels and chipmunks digging holes in the lawn. I decided this is part of the deal when you live in a rural setting.

Then the pheasant came. He was shockingly beautiful as he majestically traversed the back yard one morning to peck at the birdseed overflow. I named him Felix and threw down cracked corn for him. He began appearing regularly, three times a day. His favorite activity was to stand on the highest point - the burial mound of our backyard created by the new septic system, surveying his realm. Once, a loud outcry pulled me to the window to see Felix squawking at several crows who were near his feeding grounds. They flew to the top of the highest branch and Felix ran to his throne of a burial mound, continuing the ruckus until they all departed. Its a small thing, but it was very satisfying to know that we are smarter than crows and once again, all was peaceful.
A leading advocate for San Franciscos crime victims is stepping down from her post at the District Attorneys Office next month, the DAs office announced Tuesday.

Dr. Gena Castro Rodriguez was hailed by District Attorney Chesa Boudin as a pioneering force for victim advocacy programs in San Francisco, and whose work was modeled throughout the state.

Dr. Castro Rodriguez was a champion for crime victims and survivors, and I am grateful for her dedication to improving our Victim Services division and for advocating on behalf of crime victims in San Francisco, Boudin said in a statement. Although we will certainly miss her presence, we know that the programs she launched and implemented will live on.

Castro Rodriguez announced her departure internally on April 12, and her last day will be May 14. Taking her place in the interim is Assistant District Attorney Kasie Lee, who currently works in the DAs juvenile division, officials said.

Lee steps into the role following last weeks death of a 7-month-old boy, whose caretaker is now charged with his murder. The suspect was arrested, but not charged, in two domestic violence cases earlier this year after prosecutors said the cases couldnt be proven in court.

In light of the infants death, prosecutors said they would be consulting law enforcement partners and community advocates to review whether systems that are in place are sufficient to prevent more tragedies.

In addition to her work at the District Attorneys Office, Castro Rodriguez has maintained a private practice as a psychologist and therapist and has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco.

I am grateful for the opportunity to lead and grow the Victim Services Division at the San Francisco District Attorneys Office, Castro Rodriguez said in a statement. I thank my team for their hard work and dedication to crime victims, and DA Boudin for his consistent push to expand resources to support survivors.

Castro Rodriguez told The Chronicle shes going to take some time to think about her next career move, but is particularly interested in the area of criminal justice reform.

I think theres opportunities for me to really affect the system from the outside, and to really be able to be a strong voice for victims and survivors, she said. And so Im just looking for a new opportunity to do that.

During her seven years at the helm of the Victim Services Division, Castro Rodriguez created multiple initiatives including a mass casualty crime victim response program and an annual awareness event to help prevent sexual assaults on college campuses. Each year her division worked with more than 9,000 victims of violent crime, helping them receive support services and counseling, navigate the criminal justice system and provide emergency assistance in relocation or transportation services.

Last year Castro Rodriguez oversaw the launch of a new service that financially compensates victims of police violence in San Francisco, a program that laid the groundwork for pending state legislation.

Lee is a Certified Criminal Law Specialist through the California State Bars Legal Specialization Program, DA officials said, and the only Cantonese-speaking Criminal Law Specialist in San Francisco. Shes additionally served as a deputy public defender in Los Angeles County and was appointed by Mayor London Breed to serve on the San Francisco Juvenile Justice Blue Ribbon panel, according to a statement from the District Attorneys Office.

The prosecutors office will now begin a nationwide search for a permanent replacement upon Breeds approval to fill the vacancy with a new hire.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
WATERFORD  Connor White doted on his little brother, loved Pokemon and at the age of 7 was the light of the family.

But Sunday, an early morning fire that destroyed four homes on Fourth Street in South Troy claimed Connor's young life, devastating the boys loved ones from the Capital Region to New Jersey.

Still reeling from the horrific loss of a child, Connors family wants him to be remembered for more than his cruel and untimely death, said Colleen Ronan, a cousin of the boys mother, Patricia White.

Connor was an amazing little boy. He was really the light of our family, Ronan told the Times Union in a phone interview Wednesday. He was so sweet and kind to everybody. He easily made friends with everyone. He loved school so much. He loved Legos. He was obsessed with Pokeman. It's like any normal little boy.

"This is just really unfair that he doesn't get to live out the rest of what he should, to enjoy the things that he should. Our whole family is heartbroken. There really aren't words to explain."

Ronan added: "The message that we really want to get across is we don't want him to be lost in this."

Ronan spoke from the Waterford home of Connors mother, who was nearby. Ronan, who lives in New Jersey, said the family is originally from Brooklyn. Connor was born in the Capital Region.

Ronan described the excruciating way in which the family learned of the deadly fire  through pieces of media reports that only referenced a 7-year-old boy being in the fire without a name mentioned. Getting information from police, fire and medical officials, she said, was frustrating.

Ronan cried as she tearfully described Connor.

I think that one of the messages that (Connors mother) would really want to get across is a reminder to other parents to really hug your kids and love them, she said, because you can lose them in a second.

A GoFundMe campaign for a Connor White Memorial Fund has been set up to help the family recover financially and help pay for memorial services. As of Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., the fund had $19,890 from 351 donors.

Connor was a second-grader at Halfmoon-Waterford Elementary School, where the school's website now states: "Connor was a sweet soul who will be greatly missed by his teachers and peers. He was considered by students to be the 'little brother.' Everyone looked after Connor!"

Connor had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, Ronan said. An obituary for Connor said memorial contributions can be made to the Asperger/Autism Network at 51 Water St., Suite 206, Watertown, MA, 02472.

"We would love for people to donate to this organization that's really good to help families that have children with the same type of needs," she said.

She said the family wants something created in memory of Connor, such as a fence at his favorite park in his name.

Ronan said Connor's primary residence was with his mother and her husband, Lee "Buddy" Swain, and Connor's younger brother, Vinny Robinson. Connor had two other brothers, Lincoln T. and Wyatt E. White.

"What we want people to know is that he was a beautiful, bright, amazing boy with such a bright future," Ronan said. "He was a great big brother -- he loved his little brother Vinny very much."

The fire, still under investigation, destroyed buildings at 384, 386, 388 and 390 Fourth Street. The buildings were all occupied except for 390 Fourth St., city fire Chief Eric McMahon said Wednesday.

Fire investigators were still conducting interviews to get a full picture of what happened before making any official determination, the chief said.

Connor and his father, Robert White, were at the home, as were others, at the time, the chief said.

Twenty people were displaced by the fire.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit with his family from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday at the Philip J. Brendese Funeral Home on Broad Street in Waterford.

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A Brisbane real estate agency refused to repay a $24,500 deposit to a potential buyer after the sale of a block of land fell over, instead keeping $20,000 as commission and giving the land owner the rest.

After being told to repay the money by the Office of Fair Trading, the real estate agency took the case to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the Supreme Courts Court of Appeal.

One of the Court of Appeal case applicants - Stephanie Elizabeth To. Credit:Stephanie To Realty

Prestige & Rich Pty Ltd, trading as Stephanie To Realty, is based in Sunnybank in Brisbanes south. Stephanie Elizabeth To is listed as the principal agent.

According to Stephanie To Realty, Ms To has 18 years experience in the real estate industry, has won numerous sales awards and worked for Ray White and RE/MAX before establishing her own office.
We promised that we would find the perpetrators, that we would bring them to justice and that we would do so in a way that honored the Constitution, Mr. Garland said.

F.B.I. officials have emphasized the bureaus efforts to stay within its limits when investigating protected activity. While preventing terrorism in the United States is a priority, no investigation can be opened based solely on First Amendment protected activity, Michael McGarrity, then the head of the F.B.I.s counterterrorism division, said in House testimony in 2019.

The bureau relies in large part on its vast network of informants, who provide tips and intelligence that can be used to open an investigation, current and former members of the F.B.I.s Joint Terrorism Task Force said. But agents cannot investigate people simply because they are members of groups that espouse violent, racist or antigovernment ideologies.

Prosecutors in Washington ran up against that constraint as they sought to identify and track down people who had participated in the Jan. 6 attack. They were also investigating whether the assault was more than a spontaneous riot that broke out after an emotionally charged rally that was capped by Mr. Trumps exhortations to his supporters to challenge Congresss certification that afternoon of the election.

By February, some of the prosecutors began to express frustrations that they were being stymied by top Justice Department officials who were overseeing the inquiry in the weeks before Mr. Garland and other Biden appointees were sworn in.

The prosecutors had wanted to know more about who had been talking to Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, a militia whose members have figured prominently in conspiracy cases charged by the government in connection with the attack.

In a message on the Oath Keepers website, Mr. Rhodes had urged members to come to Washington and stand tall in support of Mr. Trump. He was also part of an operation to provide security to Mr. Trumps close associates, including Roger J. Stone Jr., who spoke at the rally on Jan. 5, the day before the attack.
Currency analysts at Danske Bank forecast that UK out-performance and growing monetary divergence amid a global reflation trend will trigger a sharp Pound Sterling advance against the Swiss franc.

It recommends buying the Pound to Franc exchange rate (GBP/CHF) through options, but it sees scope for gains in the pair to around 1.40 from around 1.27 at present.

Above: GBP/CHF exchange rate chart

In its latest report, Danske Bank examines global monetary policy and expects divergence to be a key theme during the second half of the year.

According to the bank, there will be one camp of central banks which will consider potential increases in short-term rates.

Danske considers that the Federal Reserve, Bank of Canada, Bank of England, Norges Bank and Reserve Bank of New Zealand will be in this group, along with the Czech central bank.

In contrast, a second batch of banks is liable to lag and not consider any increase in rates.

In this camp, Danske puts the Swedish Riksbank, ECB, Swiss National Bank and Bank of Japan.

From the perspective of repricing the short-end rates, we see upside risks among US, CA, UK, NO, CZ and NZ. As a group, the laggards are likely to be SE, EU, CH and JP.

Danske expects that the UK economy will grow faster than the Euro-zone due to success in the vaccination programme.

In this context, Danske expects that the Bank of England will be able tighten policy earlier than the ECB which will underpin the Pound.

It also notes that the Brexit outcome is now known.

High Brexit uncertainty has been a drag on investments for several years but now companies know what they are dealing with. This should also support growth.

Danske does note some short-term risks to the pound on the political front; Short-term GBP-specific risks to look out for: EU-UK discussions on implementation of the Northern Ireland (NI) protocol, NI political crisis/riots, Scottish Parliament election on 6 May.

Nevertheless, it expects that Sterling will advance against the Euro and notes that its valuation model suggests an appropriate rate for the Euro to Pound (EUR/GBP) exchange rate would be 0.83.

Danske also expects that a global reflation strategy will dominate over the next few months which will lessen demand for the Swiss currency.

Overall, buying the Pound against the Swiss franc is considered the ideal candidate in this global environment.

In total, long GBP/CHF should capture well our view on the basket of candidates for diverging and our theme of nominal recovery as the UK in many respects may be viewed like a mini-US.
McKenna Grace, in blue, and Elisabeth Moss, center right, in Season 4 of "The Handmaid's Tale." (Hulu)

Season 4 of The Handmaids Tale, the first three episodes of which are now streaming, is replete with more pain and misery than any one woman should ever have to endure. The bruised and battered June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss), a.k.a. Ofjoseph, formerly Offred, survives to fight the patriarchy another season, and this time the feminist superhero in red is taking the battle to a whole new front.

But are viewers still invested in the battle?

Hulus hourlong drama, created by Bruce Miller and based on Margaret Atwoods novel of the same name, once painted a frighteningly plausible picture of America after a second civil war, when the religious rights militarized theocracy of Gilead responds to the planets plummeting fertility rates by enslaving all fertile women as breeders and coercing or severely restricting others  sex workers known as Jezebels, domestics known as Marthas, even elite, educated Wives. Religious persecution, a ban on all media and 24-7 surveillance are just some of Gileads other delights.

The series, which deviated from Atwoods book after its first season, was always just a step ahead of todays headlines: The states targeting of journalists. Children separated from their parents by military forces. A country divided by politicians who weaponized religion. It was too grim for some audiences but for the rest of us, this beautifully shot, written, performed and directed drama was cathartic.

The Handmaid's Tale has consistently projected our worst fears, which are much easier to watch when performed by Ann Dowd (the terrifying Aunt Lydia) or Bradley Whitford (the enigmatic Commander Lawrence), and when theres an escape hatch (Canada on the screen, the pause button on our remotes). It has also long promised a grand comeuppance led by Gileads enslaved women, which it delivers in fits and starts. But the necessities of serial TV storytelling mean the yoke is always back before too long.

Season 4 starts off as seasons 2 and 3 did, with June in captivity, this time facing hanging at The Wall after narrowly missing another chance to escape. She helped nearly 100 people flee Gilead last season, mostly children, and was shot in the process. Now shes on the run with the other women who joined the resistance. The series positions her as a Harriet Tubman figure, helping others leave through an Underground Railroad manned by Handmaids and Marthas.

Story continues

Elisabeth Moss as June in "The Handmaid's Tale." (Hulu)

The saga drives the story out of the stifling mansions and cellars of the town and into the countryside. New topical themes include violent insurrection, criminal prosecution of former heads of state and the depressing reality that even the perceived good guys are willing to sell women out  or monetize their sexuality  to meet their goals.

Torture, payback, imprisonment, freedom, love and redemption are all here  and watching June's former master, Commander Waterford, (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife, Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski), eat each other alive while facing charges for war crimes is worth the price of admission.

I've stuck with the show this long because it captures the trauma of a country at war from the viewpoint of those we rarely see on the news in real-life combat zones: women. They suffer the worst indignities, often behind closed doors, which I know from my relatives who went through multiple foreign invasions, a brutal dictatorship, religious persecution and destabilization in Baghdad.

"The Handmaid's Tale" draws inspiration from heartbreakingly true tales of conflict all over the globe , and the sad truth is that justice and peace take ages if they arrive at all. Men's wars cause misery on a loop, from which generations suffer and rebellions spring. Some revolts succeed. Many fail. "The Handmaid's Tale" reflects that hard-to-digest reality. The hangings on Gilead's infamous Wall look like the Shah's Iran. The torture, like Saddam Hussein's Iraq and the U.S. military's Abu Ghraib.

It's understandable why former fans of "The Handmaid's Tale" checked out of the series by the end of Season 3. Our country was a mess, so why watch it fall apart on TV? They could not stop June from heading back into the fray one more time. In some respects, I share their frustration with her and with the series' brutality. But as much as I wanted June to leave Gilead, I also am glad she stayed to fight another day.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a visit to Australian Army base Robertson Barracks, in Darwin, Australia on April 28, 2021. (AAP Image/Charlie Bliss)

Australia Upgrades Four Northern Defence Bases for US Wargames

The Australian federal government has pledged $747 million (US $578 million) to upgrade four military training facilities in the Northern Territory, in time for war gaming exercises with the United States and allies.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison flew to Darwin for the announcement saying the spend was critical to provide Australian soldiers with the best technology and training, and to also confront a challenging global environment.

Working with the United States, our allies, and Indo-Pacific neighbours, we will continue to advance Australias interests by investing in the Australian Defence Force, particularly across northern Australia, Morrison told reporters.

Our focus is on pursuing peace, stability and a free and open Indo-Pacific, with a world order that favours freedom, he added.

The prime minister said the announcement was unrelated to China.

All of our objectives through the activities of our defence forces is designed to pursue peace. That is the objective of our government. That is the path that we are pursuing, he said.

Firing ranges and support facilities at Robertson Barracks, Kangaroo Flats, Mount Bundey, and Bradshaw Field will be upgraded.

The airstrip at Bradshaw Field will be lengthened and reinforced to support heavier aircraft.

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said, The government needs to just stop re-announcing the same things over and over again.

Once again, we see a re-announcement, but with an inflated price, to hide the fact this government doesnt deliver, he told reporters in Darwin.

The upgrades will cost up to $447 million more than initial estimates in 2019, but the prime minister said there were significant upgrades, particularly in light of the changing strategic environment.

The Darwin visit comes soon after Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo called for Australia to be more prepared, saying the drums of war were beating in the region.

Today, free nations continue to face this sorrowful challenge, he wrote in a message to his department. In a world of perpetual tension and dread, the drums of war beatsometimes faintly and distantly, and at other times more loudly and ever closer.

Warnings of potential conflict have increased in recent months, particularly as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues its posturing towards Taiwan.

Chinese military jets have also made near-daily incursions into Taiwanese airspace, while the Peoples Liberation Army has continued its build-up across the strait.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton said on Sunday that conflict around Taiwan could not be ruled out.

People need to be realistic about the activity, Dutton told the ABC.

There is militarisation of bases across the region. Obviously, there is a significant amount of activity, and there is an animosity between Taiwan and China.
Courtesy Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office

SAN JOSE (BCN)  The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office is seeking information and a suspect after a Valley Transportation Authority employee was hit in the back by an arrow Tuesday afternoon.

The employee was "walking in a residential neighborhood on his work break when he was struck in the back with an arrow by an unknown assailant," the Sheriff's Office said.
China pledges to deepen anti-pandemic cooperation with South Asian countries

Xinhua) 08:58, April 28, 2021

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi chairs a video conference of Foreign Ministers of China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on coping with COVID-19, April 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Tuesday agreed to deepen cooperation as South Asian countries are facing a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted a video conference with his five counterparts, discussing efforts to consolidate anti-coronavirus cooperation including vaccine supply, to boost post-epidemic economic recovery, and to maintain sound international environment for the development of all countries.

China expresses deep sympathy for the raging pandemic in India and extends its sincere condolences to the Indian people, Wang said.

"China is ready to provide support and assistance to the Indian people at any time according to the needs of India," Wang said.

He expressed the hope that Tuesday's meeting, to which India was also invited, will act as the assistance to India's fight against the pandemic.

"China will uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity, stand firmly with the people of South Asian countries, and join hands and unite until all countries in the region eventually prevail over the pandemic," Wang said.

Chinese Ambassador Wang Yu (2nd L) hands over medical supplies to Mohammad Sarwar Danish, second vice president of Afghanistan, during a handover ceremony in Kabul, Afghansitan, April 2, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

Calling on the six countries to consolidate consensus on cooperating in the fight against COVID-19, Wang said the countries should continue to oppose attempts of labeling the virus and politicizing the epidemic, in order to prevent interference in international anti-epidemic cooperation.

China is willing to promote vaccine cooperation with other countries through flexible methods such as free aid, commercial procurement, and filling and production of vaccines, under the framework of the six-nation cooperation mechanism, so that people in South Asia can obtain more diversified and stable vaccine supplies, according to Wang.

He said China is also willing to establish a China-South Asia emergency supplies reserve following friendly consultations with all parties.

On boosting the post-epidemic recovery, Wang said China proposes to establish a China-South Asia poverty reduction and development cooperation center to exchange experiences in poverty reduction with other countries.

In the third quarter of this year, a forum on rural e-commerce and poverty reduction in South Asian countries and China will be held to build a new platform for poverty reduction, he said.

Calling on all parties to maintain an international and regional environment that is conducive to the development of all countries, Wang said China will work with countries in the region to defend the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international laws, and to resist illegal acts of interfering in other countries' internal affairs and coercing other countries to choose sides.

Wang's proposals were supported by the other foreign ministers, who said that vaccines should be distributed under the principle of fairness and equality, instead of being monopolized by a few countries.

They spoke highly of China's efforts in achieving availability and affordability of vaccines in developing countries.

The foreign ministers said their countries are willing to work with China to continue to deepen the joint construction of the Belt and Road, maintain the stability and security of the industrial and supply chains, strengthen cooperation in non-traditional security areas such as poverty reduction and food, and discuss measures to facilitate personnel exchange and commodity circulation based on the regular epidemic prevention and control.

The six foreign ministers issued a joint statement on cooperation in fighting the epidemic after the meeting.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
The UK, US and Norwegian governments have come together to launch a $1bn fundraising initiative to support the worlds tropical rainforests as part of a bid to tackle deforestation and reduce harmful emissions in the atmosphere by 2030.

The Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (Leaf) Coalition was unveiled at US president Joe Bidens virtual White House climate summit on Earth Day and seeks to harness public-private financing to secure investment in safeguarding the natural world.

Tropical forests are indispensable to fight climate change and biodiversity loss, and have received far less attention and finance than they deserve, said Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg.

The Leaf Coalition takes a first, crucial step to change that.

The scheme is timely given that an estimated 12 per cent of the worlds primary tropical forest was cleared between 2019 and 2020, including 4.2m hectares of humid forest - vital for carbon storage and biodiversity - an area roughly the size of the Netherlands.

Countries, states and provinces are being invited to apply to the Leaf Coalition by 22 July in order to receive funding in support of their emissions reduction and replanting efforts, which they will receive on the condition that they meet key performance indicators between 2022 and 2026, with the coalition encouraging the participation of indigenous groups and local communities.

US climate envoy John Kerry said the scheme - which has already secured the support of multinationals Amazon, Airbnb, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, McKinsey, Nestle, Salesforce and Unilever - as a groundbreaking example of the scale and type of collaboration needed to fight the climate crisis.

Nathaniel Keohane of the US Environmental Defence Fund hailed the green financing model as a game-changer, according to Climate Home News, and said the coalition could eventually channel tens of billions of dollars per year into ensuring sustainable livelihoods for Indigenous peoples and forest communities and protecting global forests.

Participants in the coalition are in active discussions with about a dozen jurisdictions and Costa Rica, Guyana and three Brazilian states have taken initial steps to become eligible to enroll in the initiative.

This is particularly positive as the latter accounts for more tree clearance than anywhere else in the world, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bolivia and Indonesia.

A burning area of Amazon rainforest south of Novo Progresso in Para State (Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty)

Brazils right wing populist leader, Jair Bolsonaro, used his appearance at Mr Bidens summit to pledge an end to illegal logging in the Amazon by 2030 - as well as to promise carbon neutrality by 2050 and to attack developed nations, who he attacked for burning fossil fuels in the course of the past two centuries.

But his administration also failed to come to an agreement with the US on a deal to safeguard the countrys rainforests, despite optimism that an accord could be forged prior to the summit.

Last weeks White House gathering saw the US pledge a 50-52 per cent emissions reduction target from 2005 levels by 2030 and the UK aim for a 78 per cent drop from 1990 levels by 2035, with Canada, Japan and South Africa all making similar commitments.

Washington further said it intended to hit climate funding of $5.7bn a year by 2024 while Westminster said it was aiming to invest 11.6bn over the next five years.

China and Russia were also among the 40 nations taking part, both suggesting they were open to multilateral co-operation but neither announcing any specific new targets.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Sativa Wellness Group Inc. (CSE:SWEL) ("Sativa Wellness" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Marc Howells as Director and Chief Executive Officer and Anne Tew as Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

The Company wishes to thank both Geremy Thomas for his role as the interim CEO and Joseph Colliver as CFO for their respective contributions. Geremy Thomas will continue in his role as Executive Chairman.

Marc Howells has been appointed as a Director and CEO effective April 23, 2021 to deliver the Company's strategy to become one of the best-known wellness brands. His career experience includes integrations, M&A, restructuring and scaling start-ups, which gives the Company significant additional strategic and development strength at the Board level.

Further information on Marc Howells:

Marc Howells currently has an interest of 592,099 common shares in the Company, representing less than one percent of the Company's issued share capital. Marc also holds 335,070 warrants exercisable at C$0.242 per share that are valid until December 2021.

Current Directorships Previous Directorships Advancis Limited Advancis Holdings Limited

Marc has a 36-year track record of high performing results and achievements across the financial services industry. His extensive career includes senior roles in Citibank and Barclaycard before heading up a number of SME financial services companies as CEO or Managing Director. He has significant experience in developing and operating industry leading management teams with best-in-class employee retention and value. His extensive financial services industry experience includes in depth experience on; integrations, mergers, joint ventures, acquisitions, restructuring and start-ups. He has built up geographical and cultural expertise across China, Europe, U.S.A. and South Africa.

Anne Tew has been appointed as Director and CFO effective April 23, 2021 to support the CEO to deliver the Company's strategy to become one of the best-known wellness brands. She has been with the Company since November 2018 holding the position of Group Corporate Secretary and Head of Finance.

Further information on Anne Tew:

Anne Tew currently has an interest of 83,768 common shares in the Company, representing less than one percent of the Company's issued share capital. She also holds 83,768 warrants exercisable at C$0.242 per share that are valid until December 18, 2021 and 923,590 options exercisable at between C$0.115 and C$0.326 and vest over three years.

Current Directorships Previous Directorships Financial Direction Ltd

Following a career in Finance and Company Secretarial, Anne set up her own consultancy business through which she successfully managed a number of corporate projects to deliver business turnaround, expansion and growth. She has held non-executive director positions including in the NHS. She taught business and finance for a number of years and was an executive business mentor for directors and senior managers across a range of industries. Her 30-year career includes a range of sectors including the NHS, testing laboratories, manufacturing and farming.

In 2018 Anne Tew joined the Sativa Group as Corporate Secretary and Head of Finance. Since this date she has successfully implemented the financial and governance systems, risk framework, processes and reporting for the group including listing compliance requirements across multiple jurisdictions. She was also instrumental in successfully delivering the December 2019 fund raise, the reverse takeover with Stillcanna Inc. in 2020 and the subsequent integration.

The directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Geremy Thomas

Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

Sativa Wellness Group Inc.

+44 (0) 20 7971 1255

enquiries@sativawellnessgroup.com

www.sativawellnessgroup.com

This news 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 the Company'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" "plan is" 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", "will be achieved" or "shortly"..Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Although Sativa Wellness 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. In particular, there is no guarantee that the new Directors will be approved by the Exchange. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this press release, and Sativa 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.

SOURCE: Sativa Wellness Group Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/642682/Sativa-Wellness-Group-Inc-Provides-Board-of-Directors-Update-and-Appointment-of-Senior-Executive-Officers
Former manager of Credit-Express bank to be imprisoned for 3 years for embezzlement

 flickr.com/ Albuquerque Film Office

17:24 28/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 28 (RAPSI)  Moscows Cheremushkinsky District Court on Wednesday sentenced ex-head of a branch office of Credit-Express bank Elena Chuyeva to 3 years in penal colony for her involvement in large-scale embezzlement in the credit organization, the press service of the Prosecutor Generals Office told RAPSI.

The court also granted the Deposit Insurance Agencys civil claim filed on behalf of the bank and recovered over 88.6 million rubles ($1.2 million) from Chuyeva.

The convicted woman earlier pleaded guilty and signed a deal with prosecution.

In 2019, Chuyeva and other defendants, including businessman Vasily Boiko-Veliky, bank director Alla Kabanova, chief accountant Maria Antonova and four other employees of Credit-Express Anastasia Novotnaya, Egor Pikhtin, and Natalya Tsipinova, were arrested.

According to the Investigative Committee, in total the accomplices embezzled over 180 million rubles ($2.4 million at the current exchange rate) and $929,000. Investigators detected 31 counts of embezzlement. Moreover, investigators checked the facts of withdrawal of assets by granting unsecured and loss loans to legal entities, according to the news release.




CAIRO and MADRID, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Spain's Lleida.net (OTCQX: LLEIF) (EPA: ALLLN) (BME: LLN) and eGate Egypt have signed an agreement that will allow the corporation to distribute, in an exclusive way, all the services catalogue of the Spanish listed company.

Through the agreement, eGate Egypt becomes with immediate effect the exclusive distributor of Lleida.net services in Egypt.

Lleida.net's is partnering up with leading technology companies like eGate Egypt to provide its SaaS service line to large corporations in emerging markets

That line includes its patented registered electronic notification, signature and contracting services and registered SMS services, or its digital onboarding of customers with identity verification technology.

"Lleida.net has taken its penetration of the African market very seriously in recent years. As part of this strategy, entering Egypt is a long-term bet in which we are very confident," explained Sisco Sapena, CEO company.

Essam Elsaghir, CEOeGate Egypt, said: "Digital Transformation is fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers to enhance the day-to-day lives of the Egyptian society by doing what we are currently doing electronically, better, faster. One of the challenges public services & business face's today is public and customers communications digital transformations."

"With our partnership with Lleida.net as one of the leader's in the registered electronic communication technology we will provide our customers with secure, easy and faster way to reach their clients electronically with registered 'emails, SMS, signature and contracting services' with full tracking and delivery certificate," he added.

Egypt has population of more than 101 million people,and more than 95 million mobile connections, covering 92 percent of the country's total population.

Lleida.net's services, which operate on a pay-per-use model, does not require the installation of any hardware or software, and offers immediate availability, which is ideal for the Egyptian and North African market.

The corporation, founded in 1995, and which last year became one of the fastest growing companies on the European stock market, has more than 3,000 shareholders.

Its shares are traded on the OTCQX in New York, on BME Growth in Madrid and on Euronext Growth in Paris.

The company has 203 patents granted worldwide for its certified electronic notification, signature and contracting methods

SOURCE Lleida.net
Australia banned flights from India after the Northern Territory told the federal government it feared its health systems could not cope with the growing number of positive and severe COVID-19 cases in quarantine.

Direct flights into Australia from India have been halted for at least three weeks, as India passed the grim 200,000 death mark and recorded more than 360,000 cases on Wednesday. Darwins Howard Springs quarantine facility has been taking return travellers arriving on chartered repatriation flights, with the majority of them coming from India.

The Northern Territory government confirmed flights will only resume when it gets clinical advice that it is appropriate to do so.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said flights were halted over concerns the quarantine system could not cope. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a rise in the number of positive cases fuelled concerns the system was at its limit. He said the number of cases in hotel quarantine had jumped from 90 to 143, and 95 per cent of cases in the Howard Springs facility were among arrivals from India.
A Melbourne artist has launched a legal assault on the Australia Council, the countrys premier arts funding body, accusing it of discriminating against the single, queer mother and damaging their career and career prospects on ethically suspect grounds.

In court documents, Casey Jenkins claimed funding for a 2020 online performance piece called Immaculate, documenting their attempts to become pregnant with donor sperm, was abruptly cancelled due to the councils fear of the reaction from unnamed individuals within and/or external to Australia Council.

The cancellation was decided barely two hours after Jenkins project was heavily criticised by former Abbott government adviser and commentator Peta Credlin on Sky News, the artist said.

Casey Jenkins in August 2020, just before they began their performance piece Immaculate. Credit:Eddie Jim

Documents obtained separately under freedom of information laws by The Age reveal that a day earlier the office of Arts Minister Paul Fletcher had emailed the council, under the subject heading flagging media interest in controversial grant recipients, asking for clarification on funding including ... who made the decision [and] the criteria it met to be considered art.
Travel plans for millions of Americans ready to hit the road for the summer could be interrupted by gas shortages due to the lack of tank truck drivers needed to transport fuel to gas stations.

Some states have already reported outages, including Florida, Arizona, Missouri and Nevada. Florida's shortages were reported during Spring Break when thousands of revelers descended on the state.

In Las Vegas, Chevron employees left notes on the pumps saying the company is experiencing supply shortages in Clark County.

Ryan Streblow, the executive vice president of the National Tank Truck Carriers, told CNN that between 20 per cent to 25 per cent of tank trucks have been parked because there aren't enough qualified drivers as the summer nears.

Travel plans for millions of Americans ready to hit the road for the summer could be interrupted by gas shortages due to the lack of tank truck drivers needed to transport fuel to gas stations

Some states have already reported outages, including Florida , Arizona , Missouri and Nevada. This graphic depicts the increasing demand for gasoline in the US

That compares to around 10 per cent of trucks sitting idle around this time in 2019.

'We've been dealing with a driver shortage for a while, but the pandemic took that issue and metastasized it,' Streblow said.

The problem, like many current issues with travel, is that the pandemic forced a lot of truck drivers out of the business last year where the demand for gasoline came to a near halt amid shutdowns.

And while companies are hiring for truck drivers, there are certain certifications needed to drive a tank truck, including a commercial driver's license and several weeks of training after being hired.

Holly McCormick, the vice president in charge of driver recruitment and retention at Groendyke Transport in Oklahoma, told CNN that her company's drivers were 'hauling boxes for Amazon just to keep our drivers busy'.

She said it has been difficult to get drivers to do the safety protocols and some took it as a sign they should retire.

McCormick also said that the pandemic also shut down many of the training programs that would have produced new drivers.

Between 40,000 to 60,000 drivers were disqualified from working as tank drivers after the new federal clearinghouse went into effect in January 2020.

And the lack of truck drivers doesn't just cause a gas shortage; it also causes hardship for those convenience stores connected to gas stations

Summer of travel chaos looms: TSA has failed to fill 3,800 of 6,000 positions and checkpoint waiting times are ALREADY spiking to pre-pandemic levels By Emily Crane for DailyMail.com A summer of travel chaos may be looming across the United States given the Transportation Security Administration has yet to hire for 3,800 of the 6,000 security screening positions it's aiming to fill. Checkpoint waiting times at airports already are spiking to pre-pandemic levels. The TSA had planned to hire the 6,000 security checkpoint officers by summer due to the expected increase in travel due to the number of Americans being vaccinated and decreasing COVID-19 infections. A summer of travel chaos may be looming across the United States given the Transportation Security Administration has yet to fill 3,800 of the security screening positions they are aiming for. Pictured above is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia Since announcing the job drive back in February, the TSA has only filled 2,200 of those positions. According to internal agency bulletins obtained by the Washington Post, wait times at some TSA checkpoints across the country are currently more than 45 minutes. These pre-pandemic wait times at some airports may be an indication of staffing issues and increased passenger numbers. Already so far in April, the TSA has screened an average of 1.4 million people per day, which is a significant increase compared to this time last year when the number was just over 106,000. The current travel levels are still down dramatically from 2019 when the average number of people being screened was 2.4 million. The TSA has screened an average of 1.4 million people per day so far in April, which is a significant increase compared to this time last year when the number was just over 106,000 It is only expected to increase over the summer, however, when even more Americans are vaccinated. The TSA had tried to entice recruits by offering a $500 bonus at some airports if the job candidates filled out their applications within five days, according to the Post. For much of last year, TSA officers were kept home and the agency slowed hiring during the pandemic; 16 workers have died of COVID, the Post reports. Although TSA officials say they're confident they'll be able to ramp up hiring, the starting salary starts at $16.51 an hour - leading the TSA officers' union to have long complained about relatively low pay, according to the Post. Currently, 42.7 per cent of the US population has received at least one vaccine dose. With Memorial Day approaching next month, a TSA spokesperson said the agency - which employs about 47,000 officers - was 'well-positioned to support increased travel volumes through the summer'. 'Travel patterns changed somewhat during the pandemic and some passengers may have grown accustomed to walk-up screening,' a TSA statement read. 'Passengers should anticipate that wait times will begin to return to pre-pandemic levels.' They said the goal for 6,000 officers is actually target for the budget year. Advertisement

The clearinghouse is used to identify individuals with prior drug or alcohol violations.

And the lack of truck drivers doesn't just cause a gas shortage; it also causes hardship for those convenience stores connected to gas stations.

Jeff Lenard, spokesman at the National Association of Convenience Stores, told CNN that this is concerning because the demand for gas is back up to 97 per cent, where it was this time in 2019.

Lenard said if gas stations are short on gas then convenience stores 'have no business'.

'People aren't going to stop in for a sandwich if you don't have fuel,' he added.

Meanwhile, gasoline prices have surged. Americans are paying 14 per cent more for a gallon of regular than they did in February, and 29 per cent more than a year ago, according to AAA.

That spike has been caused in part by Texas storms that knocked out power to millions of residents and took several oil refineries offline.

The price of gasoline has also been boosted by oil prices that have risen along with expectations of economic recovery as coronavirus vaccines are distributed.
Hard on the heels of its acquisition of Millicoms Tanzanian operations, Axian Group has announced a major investment in the country and is apparently looking at more investment opportunities in the region.

According to Bloomberg, Axian Group plans to invest $500 million in Tanzania following the purchase of Millicom International Cellulars Tanzanian operations, after which it now owns Tigo Tanzania and Zanzibar Telecom.

The massive investment, one of the biggest-ever in Tanzanias telecommunications sector, will partly go to pay for infrastructure and financial technology. The fintech focus in particular may be significant. Tanzanias mobile money subscriptions were just over 32 million in December, of which Axian can now boast 30 percent. Vodacom Tanzania has 41 percent.

Axian has made it clear that it wants to continue expanding in a region where it has invested in towers, undersea cables, data centres, financial technology and operators, as well as a number of non-telecommunications sectors. Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, Reunion, Senegal, Tanzania and Togo are the areas in which it can now boast a telecoms presence.

Axian is not just about investment plays, however. Late last week, according to the Togo First website, Axian, through its foundation and its subsidiary Togocom, signed a partnership convention with the NGOs Federation of Togo aligned with the implementation of two recently launched programmes.

Nunya Togocom and Lanmesen TMoney are social programmes aimed at bolstering education and health in Togo. With Nunya Togocom, Axian will focus on classroom-building in deprived areas. The programme with Lanmesen TMoney will focus on helping youths to focus on preventive healthcare through sports.
Leslie Jordan is living his best life, from becoming a viral social media sensation to writing his new book, "How Y'all Doing? Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived." But nothing compares to meeting country music legend Dolly Parton.

Jordan, who turns 66 on April 29, duets with Parton, 75, on "Where the Soul Never Dies" off his new album, "Company's Comin'." He told "Good Morning America" that hanging out with the "Jolene" singer was the realization of a "lifelong dream."

People ask Jordan what it was like to meet the 10-time Grammy winner. He says she is "just as real" as fans always imagined her to be.

"She's just Dolly," he added. "She's just an icon and she's smart, which is what I figured out really fast. Don't think there's some dumb blonde there. No, no, she's smart as a whip."

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Jordan said being with Parton was "just like sitting with an old friend" and he praised her for the "important" work of giving back -- especially during the pandemic.

The "American Horror Story" star also said he is "perfectly comfortable" with who he is and his best advice for others is "you've got to be true to yourself."

While Jordan acknowledged that he doesn't experience homophobia on a daily basis as someone who lives in Los Angeles -- where he said "we're everywhere" in reference to the LGBTQ community there -- he knows that isn't true in all parts of the country.

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"But you go home, back to some small town somewhere, and you've got to be confident in yourself and you've got to love yourself and on a daily basis," he said. "You've got to just stand tall -- and that's hard to say from someone who is 4-[foot]-11."

As for what it has been like to connect with fans on social media throughout the pandemic, Jordan said people are getting to know the real him and not the snarky characters he tends to play on TV.

Story continues

"People stop me in the grocery store and stuff and say, 'Wow, you really pulled us through a bad time,'" he explained. "And I thought, well, I didn't talk about politics, I didn't talk about religion. I just, you know, tried on a daily basis to bring a little humor."

Jordan's book, "How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived," is out now.

Leslie Jordan calls meeting Dolly Parton a 'lifelong dream' come true originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
She recently moved to London with her family after 14 years of living in the US.

And Cat Deeley looked overjoyed to be out in the capital after lockdown restrictions eased as she leaped onto a sofa on Tuesday.

'Jumping for joy...out of the house,' the presenter, 44, told her followers on Instagram alongside a clip of her in black stiletto boots and a chic white blouse at at The Lanesborough hotel in Knightsbridge.

Hooray! Cat Deeley looked overjoyed to be out of her home after lockdown restrictions eased as she leaped onto a sofa on Tuesday

Cat showed off her toned legs in a pair of skintight black jeans as she hopped onto the sofa.

She looked effortlessly stylish in her statement silk shirt that featured a monochrome floral pattern.

Her caramel tresses were perfectly styled with 70s curtain bangs and loose beachy waves.

And the presenter flashed a beaming smile for the camera as she larked around on her night out at the five star luxury hotel.

Jumping for joy: Cat showed off her toned in a pair of skintight black jeans as she hopped onto the sofa in heeled black boots and the effortlessly stylish silk shirt

Birmingham-born Cat moved back to the UK with her family in 2020 after living happily in Los Angeles for over a decade.

Cat and her comedian husband Patrick Kielty, 50, put their Beverly Hills mansion on the market for $4.9 million (3.8 million), in August 2020, and are now living in north London with their two sons Milo, five, and James, two.

Cat and television host Patrick tied the knot in September 2012 following a long-term relationship.

The pair had been friends for years before their friendship turned to romance after first striking up a bond while co-hosting Fame Academy back in 2002.

Cat and her comedian husband Patrick Kielty put their LA mansion on the market in August 2020 and now live in north London with their sons Milo, five, and James, two (pictured in 2017)

The blonde revealed the 'catalyst' for the family's departure was the terrifying moment Patrick and their eldest son narrowly avoided a public shooting incident at the Century City Mall.

Speaking on the Made By Mammas podcast in December, the Fame Academy star said: 'It was always kind of in our minds that we would, at some stage or another you know, come back.

'The main factor was friends and family because we will never get this time back again.'
At his crowded emergency room in central Delhi, Ali Raza cant focus much on when the next delivery of will arrive -- 12 of his 20 doctors are down with (Covid-19), and the patients just keep coming.

We always anticipated a second wave in April and May, but we never knew it would hit us so hard and so fast, said Raza, the director of emergency and trauma at Moolchand Hospital. They arrive gasping and they all need 

Outside the wards double doors, Gagandeep Trehan had just found out there was no bed or available for his uncle, who was struggling to breath. Trehan had driven 310 kilometers (192 miles) to Delhi from the northern state of Punjab in search of a bed, his car packed with four oxygen tanks to keep his uncle alive. Six hospitals had already turned him away and he was about to get back in his car and try number seven.

I am scared he wont live if he isnt treated, Trehan said. I am ready to pay any amount for a hospital bed.

The scenes inside one Delhi hospital provide a glimpse into the desperation throughout India, where the worlds fastest-growing virus surge now threatens to spawn new variants that undermine efforts in more developed countries to vaccinate the public and get back to life as normal. India added more than 323,000 new infections Tuesday, pushing its total above 17.6 million cases, second only to the U.S.

On Tuesday morning, Delhi had just 12 intensive care beds available in a city of more than 16 million people. Social media feeds have been filled with a seemingly endless stream of calls for beds, oxygen, Remdesivir and more.

I Pushed the Panic Button

Over the weekend things had gotten so bad at the 1,000-bed Moolchand Hospital -- one of the main private Covid facilities in the capital -- that it turned to Twitter to beg for oxygen. Tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the head of Delhis government, the hospital warned that its oxygen supply would run out in less than two hours for scores of patients on life support.

Vibhu Talwar, managing director of the Moolchand HealthCare Group, raised the alarm after his staff alerted him at 2 a.m. that oxygen supplies were running low.

By 7 a.m. we were left with just an hour and I pushed the panic button, Talwar said. Obviously those hours between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. were the most stressful time for me, my management team and our doctors and nurses. We have close to 150 Covid patients, there was a lot of panic -- something I hope we never go through again.

But every day still carries the same risk, as have hospitals across the Indian capital have no guaranteed oxygen supply. We dont know the quantity or the time, he said on Tuesday.

With the political and financial capitals of New Delhi and Mumbai in lockdown, Modi has faced growing criticism over his handling of the pandemic and his focus on state election campaigns during an escalating health crisis.

When we had six months and there were very low cases, the government could have built more hospitals with oxygen and more infrastructure, said Raza, who heads Moolchands emergency department. At this time, the oxygen supply should be continued -- that is the least the government can do for us.

A week ago the Delhi High Court expressed shock and dismay over the governments neglect and directed Modis administration to beg, borrow, steal to ensure adequate oxygen supply for hospitals. Since then the government approved the allocation of funds to install 551 machines to produce medical oxygen inside public health facilities as soon as possible.

Modi this week spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden, who agreed to send vaccines and other supplies to India. His administration has also announced plans to boost oxygen production and ramp up availability of beds, while the Delhi government announced Tuesday it would import 21 ready-to-use oxygen production machines from France and 18 oxygen tankers from Bangkok.

Supremely Contagious



The current wave is particularly dangerous -- it is supremely contagious and those who are contracting it are not able to recover as swiftly as was noticed in the previous wave, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said. All hospitals at this point are running over and above their real capacity. Beds are full, including ICU beds.

In Moolchands emergency ward, a woman wailed with grief next to the prone body of a relative, as other family members looked quietly on. Raza has added more beds into every spare inch of the emergency department, increasing its capacity from 16 beds to 25 -- but its still not enough to keep up with demand.

We try not to think about when the next oxygen tanker will come, he said. Every hospital is running short of oxygen. Whatever limited resources we have, we have to work with that.

Sanjog, a manager in the nurse unit at Moolchand Hospital, said every day is a struggle to keep people alive.

In this situation we have to fight for this, he said. Its like a war situation.
Cyprus: UN-sponsored talks underway in Geneva Turkey, Greece, UK also attending

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, APRIL 28 - "Informal talks" in Geneva under the sponsorship of the UN on the future of Cyprus have reached a crucial stage. After the first bilateral meetings yesterday of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, with Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades and Turkish -Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, a plenary session with participants is scheduled on Wednesday, also including delegations from the guarantor States - Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom - led by their respective foreign ministers, according to the 5+1 format already adopted in the past.



"The secretary general is realistic. It is an issue that he knows well", explained his spokesman Stephane Dujarric, highlighting that the "aim of this informal meeting will be to determine whether there is common ground for the sides to negotiate a long-lasting solution to the issue of Cyprus in an imaginable horizon".



Over the past few months, Turkey and the Turkish-Cypriot community said they supported a solution with "two peoples and two states" for the future of the island, which has been divided in two since 1974, after the Turkish military invasion in the northern part in response to a pro-Greek coup attempt. Ankara's current position rules out attempts for a federal unification that have always failed in the past. (ANSAmed)
The National Committee for Emergency Situations (CNSU) on Tuesday evening approved, by a decision, the granting of international assistance, free of charge, for India, report agerpres.

Thus, 80 pieces of 5- and 10-litre oxygen concentrators, 75 pieces of 40-litre oxygen cylinders and two high-flow oxygen therapy devices will be sent to India free of charge.

The transport of the quantities of products is ensured by the Ministry of National Defence, which will send one of its aircraft, on the route Romania-India, under the aegis of the European Civil Protection Mechanism and with the recovery of 75pct of the transport cost.
[April 28, 2021] Invitation to presentation of Storytel AB's Q1 Report 2021

STOCKHOLM, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On 7 May 2021 at 8.00 AM CET, Storytel AB will publish its Q1 Report for 2021. Storytel AB will hold a presentation of the report on the same day and invites investors, analysts and media to a webcast at 10.30 AM CET. The presentation will be in English and followed by a Q&A with Storytel's founder and CEO Jonas Tellander, CFO Sofie Zettergren and CCO Ingrid Bojner.



The Q1 Report for 2021 will be available here at 8.00 AM CET on 7 May.



Information to participants:



If you wish to participate, the presentation can be followed live on the following webcast link: https://tv.streamfabriken.com/storytel-q1-2021.





here.



FNCA Sweden AB is the Company's Certified Adviser. FNCA can be reached at info@fnca.se and +46 8 528 00 399.





For more information, please contact:



Sofie Zettergren , Chief Financial Officer, Storytel AB: +46 70 509 98 08

Dan Panas , Head of Global Communications & PR, Storytel AB: +46 70 186 52 90





About Storytel

Storytel is one of the world's largest subscribed audiobook and e-book streaming services and offers listening and reading of more than 500 000 titles on a global scale. Our vision is to make the world a more empathetic and creative place with great stories to be shared and enjoyed by anyone, anywhere and anytime. Storytel's streaming business is conducted under the brands Storytel and Mofibo. Storytel's publishing business area is carried out through the audiobook publisher StorySide and acclaimed Nordic publishing houses such as Norstedts Forlagsgrupp, People's and Gummerus. Storytel operates in over 20 markets around the globe and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden . This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/storytel/r/invitation-to-presentation-of-storytel-ab-s-q1-report-2021,c3335131

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Michelle Lee (left) of Red Dot United and Terence Soon (right), from the Progress Singapore Party, have both resigned from their respective parties. (PHOTOS: Yahoo News Singapore / Facebook, Terence Soon)

SINGAPORE  Two members of opposition parties in Singapore  Red Dot United (RDU) chairman Michelle Lee and the Progress Singapore Party's (PSP) youth wing leader Terence Soon  have resigned from their positions.

Lee was among an unspecified number of RDU members who have resigned even as the party's membership has "almost tripled", said the party in a post on its website on Wednesday (28 April). RDU's membership now stands at "about 30 members and 45 volunteers", the post added.

"We can understand that people are at different stations in their lives. Some need to pursue their careers, others need to provide close supervision of growing children who are still in schools, or provide care for their aging parents.

"So, it is understandable if they want to stand-down from political activities to concentrate on more important matters like their families and careers. They should indeed come first," said RDU secretary-general Ravi Philemon in the post.

Meanwhile, local media outlets on Tuesday reported on Soon's departure, citing a draft letter sent to PSP's secretary-general Francis Yuen. In it, Soon said that he had been offered employment opportunities overseas and would thus have to leave PSP to "secure a brighter future for my very young family".

"I joined PSP to help make Singapore a better place, to create a better future for my daughter and her future generations. My duties and responsibilities as a husband and father, must always first and foremost, be to my family," said the 30-year-old in the letter. Soon added that he would serve a 30-day notice period until 26 May.

Soon's announcement comes a few weeks after PSP announced Yuen was appointed as the new PSP chief, as the party reshuffled its central executive committee (CEC). Six new members of the CEC were elected: Dr Ang Yong Guan, Kayla Low Shu Yu, Jess Chua, Wendy Low, Phang Yew Huat and Harish Pillay.

Story continues

Both Lee and Soon stood as candidates in the 2020 General Election. Lee was part of a five-person team that contested in Jurong GRC, losing to the People's Action Party (PAP) team led by Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Soon was part of a five-person PSP team that contested Tanjong Pagar GRC, which they lost to the PAP's team led by Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing.

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More Singapore stories:

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CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Peoria Division, certified on April 19, 2021, a class consisting of all persons with mobility disabilities who were residents of the City of Pekin from December 11, 2016 through December 11, 2018 and who were denied meaningful access to public pedestrian rights-of-way in the City during that timeframe. Click here to view the Court's order and opinion.

"This is incredibly significant," said Andres J. Gallegos, founder and director of Robbins, Salomon & Patt, Ltd.'s (RSP), national disability rights practice. "It gets us closer to enabling the approximately 600+ residents of the City of Pekin who have mobility disabilities to not live confined in their homes because they cannot get around the City safely after years of begging for safe sidewalks," said Gallegos. "It is the beginning of literally getting our clients out of the streets and alleys where they risk their own safety to get around the City of Pekin for the absence of sidewalks, the deterioration of sidewalks, barriers placed on sidewalks, and the absence, in many instances, of curb cuts" said Jennifer Sender, RSP's lead litigator on this case.

The lawsuit, Berardi, et al. v. City of Pekin, Illinois, et al., filed on December 11, 2018, asserts claims of disability-based discrimination against the City of Pekin, its Mayor, City Manager and trustees, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. As asserted in the complaint, nearly 90% of the City's hundreds of miles of pedestrian rights-of-way are in need of repair or are not accessible to persons with mobility disabilities due to the absence of curb ramps or compliant curb ramps; the presence of cracks and broken sidewalks and cross-walks; and the presence of light poles, mailbox posts, and large planters permanently embedded in sidewalks without providing required paths of travel for persons with mobility disabilities utilizing mobility devices such as wheelchairs and scooters.

"While we still have a ways to go, the significance of this ruling for this very large population of people with mobility disabilities in the City of Pekin cannot be understated. They all get their day in court," said Reardon.

The class action lawsuit is certified as a "hybrid class" under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, meaning that the lawsuit may proceed seeking both injunctive relief and monetary damages for class members.

RSP is a full-service civil law firm with offices in Chicago and Glenview, Illinois. RSP's Disability Rights practice focuses on improving the lives of persons with disabilities throughout the country.

SOURCE Robbins, Salomon & Patt, Ltd.
Scepticism, not getting a 'fair crack of the whip' and benefiting poorly were just some of the sentiments expressed by frustrated county councillors after a recent presentation by the IDA.

Anna Marie Delaney, Chief Executive of Offaly County Council, welcomed the IDA to the April meeting of Offaly County Council where she outlined how the local authority was working with the IDA on a number of initiatives, some of which were going to take time but in the meantime, the council was looking forward to working with the IDA in further developing their 2021  2024 strategy, which was launched last January.

During what could be described as a wide-ranging, detailed and comprehensive presentation from the IDA, their officials outlined details of their new strategy, which hopes to drive recovery and sustainable growth from 2021 to 2024, along with details of IDA activity and initiatives in the midlands region over the last 12 months, how the IDA did their work while providing a snapshot of the work and projects the IDA was doing in the region.

Later, the IDA official, Ken Whitelaw, Regional Manager, Midlands (Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath) stressed: Nobody at this meeting should be in doubt about our focus on promoting regional Ireland to FDI. That's everything that we do in and day out. In terms of motivations, I would be disappointed if people didn't think we didn't have the regions as a priority within our organisation.

Cllr John Carroll, an Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council, noted the type of jobs that have been lost in south and west Offaly in Bord na Mona and the ESB. We do realise that the last 12 months have been the most changing and we thought it was going to be Brexit but nobody envisaged that it would be Covid-19 that would be dominating now, he remarked.

Cllr Tony McCormack was next to take the screen by pointing out he had worked with the IDA previously in various roles including the Tullamore Chamber of Commerce.

This time, I intend to keep Offaly and Tullamore on the agenda and intend to be a thorn in their side and will keep them in the headlines until they give us a fair crack of the whip, he said adding that more needed to be done to ensure Tullamore was included on overnight stays for IDA's itineraries.

Cllr Neil Feighery also voiced concerns that Offaly and Tullamore didn't seem to be getting a fair crack of the whip in terms of the levels of investment that was coming into the region. He then asked questions about how many of the forecast 25 IDA investments for the midlands region would be in Tullamore and whether those targets for the IDA's previous strategy were achieved for the region?

Cllr Ken Smollen noted how Offaly had benefited very poorly in comparison to other midland counties with regard to the IDA. It's imperative that county Offaly be prioritised by the IDA. We need jobs here. County Offaly is the second poorest county in Ireland. We need these jobs and we need the IDA to focus on Offaly, he continued.

Cllr Eamon Dooley asked whether the IDA had made recommendations as part of the process to roll out the European Just Transition fund and had a chance to influence the outcome of this.

Cllr Noel Cribbin took the opportunity to ask about the Bord na Mona land banks and the opportunities that might present there while Cllr John Leahy pointed out that Offaly doesn't fare as well when you look at Athlone.Cllr John Clendennen mentioned how Offaly had a strong commercial background, a strong business community and entrepreneurship before highlighting the need to look at the potential options for the now-defunct Shannonbridge power station. I would like an indication of what you have done to prevent the demolition of Shannonbridge power station and what we can do working collectively to ensure that it has a feasible offering into the future, he continued.

While Cllr John Foley mentioned the old Rhode Power station. We need to bring the IDA in and talk to them, he remarked.

Replying to the councillors' concern, Dennis Curran, Head of Regional Development, Corporate Governance and Engineering and Industrial technologies said the criteria for site visits was set by the visiting companies and not the IDA while later, replying to Cllr John Clendennen's remarks about Shannonbridge by saying that they didn't have ownership of this assets, and therefore he couldn't speak directly about plans for it.

Mentioning the 'green energy' plans for some parts of Offaly, Mr Curran said that they were cognisance of the Rhode Green Energy Park and the green energy plans for Offaly. Sustainability is going to be core and central of many conversations that I will have with clients and it will also be part of the conversations with potential clients and could also be how we position Offaly, he continued.

Anne Marie Tierney-Le Roux, Department Manager and Regional Business Development also added some comments to the discussion by acknowledging the comments and concerns of the councillors.

We wanted to be here with you today to provide assurances of our commitment to Offaly as a location for Foreign Direct Investment, she began.Some areas that we see ahead that give us some hope and where we would see collaboration with the LA in Offaly. First, E-site visits. There was a question earlier about what we learn on the back of our site visits. In the covid-19 context, we have an opportunity here to position Offaly virtually through our E-site visit model. There are no borders now and our colleagues are presenting the county as an investment location. The challenges we would have had before, we can move across this now and we look forward to supporting the E- site visits platform for Offaly in 2021 and beyond.

On behalf of Offaly County Council, Ms Deleny noted that Offaly does tick a lot of the boxes with regards to providing for companies and Offaly was open for business while the council would continue to support businesses that wanted to locate in the county.

Cllr Carroll added the presentation provided an opportunity to outline the councillors' frustrations on the ground. While some of the questions were answered today, some weren't, he remarked.We are a county open for business and you will have the full cooperation of the local authority and the elected members, he concluded.

Wrapping the presentation up, Mr Curran noted the cooperation that the IDA get from Offaly County Council. We will continue to pursue those areas of opportunities and market Offaly and the wider region. Given the focus on green agenda and green economy and given the position, Offaly is in and I would be reasonably optimistic that Offaly will be to the fore of opportunities that might present themselves here over the next four years, he pointed out.
HuffPost blaming Christian curriculum for Capitol riots is slanderous

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Recently the Huffington Post ran an article that was extremely hostile to Christian education here in the United States. The overall implication of the article was that the January 6 rioting at the Capitol building was directly tied to the government allowing and possibly funding conservative Christian education in the US. Specific curricula were cited and quoted (specifically, A-Beka, Bob Jones and Accelerated Christian Education) and blame was explicitly and carelessly lobbied at these schools and curriculum.

Their religion-centered, anti-Democrat, anti-science, anti-multicultural message mirrors the Christian nationalism seen at the U.S. Capitol riot.[1]

Such brash and unfair bias cannot go unanswered. The overwhelming majority of schools using these curricula are highly civic-minded American patriots. They love God and their country and deplore violence of any kind. Painting an entire demographic with a wide brush based on hear-say alone is slanderous. It is also disingenuous. The year 2020 was filled with leftist progressives rioting and looting all over the country in response to their own perceived inequities, yet none of that is alluded to in the Huffington Post article. If the author was seeking to be equitable, would she not have to acknowledge the possibility that government schools and their curriculum might bear some blame for those riots? Indeed the article concludes with just the opposite reaction.

The following statement from the article claims to have intellectual authority but is severely lacking in credulity.

Scholars say textbooks like these, with their alternate versions of history and emphasis on Christian national identity, represent one small part of the conditions that lead to events like last weeks riot at the U.S. Capitol, an episode that was permeated with the symbols of Christian nationalism.[2]

Exactly who are these scholars that the author is referring to? There are no footnotes or cited sources for this particular example, and of the three scholars quoted within this article, only one implies this thought process. Therefore, the readers only recourse is to give full trust to the statements of the author or practice intellectual independence and question the statements and opinions as presented. We choose the latter.

Linking terrorism to Christian education and its biblical worldview being communicated is grossly misleading. Consider Franklin Graham and the work of Samaritans Purse, which has helped countless suffering and needy people in the US and abroad. It is the same worldview that these schools and curricula seek to advance. American students using the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum annually donate to the BLESS outreach, which sponsors literacy programs in third-world countries, giving thousands of children the opportunity for advancement through education. Consider a very large Florida Christian school that utilizes A Beka and Bob Jones curricula, and funnels all the profit from that school and a thrift shop to help to fund a completely free medical clinic, two homeless shelters, and a food pantry. These are only a few examples. Conservative Christians and their churches and schools are not promoting or involved in riotous activity, but rather in activities that fulfill the Greatest Commandment to love God and neighbor. Students are taught to be contributing members of society who work for the common good of the nation around them. This is an accurate representation of conservative Christian education in America.

A Clash of Worldviews

At its core this article is about a clash of worldviews. The author is a committed progressive and is defending her ideology. She feels that conservative Christian schools are seeking to undermine evolution and far-left progressive policies and therefore attempts to expose them as such. And this we have in common with her because Christians feel the same exact way. Why? Because it is true. This is the clash of worldviews that the apostle Paul so brilliantly contrasts in 1 Corinthians 2:14.

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Conservative Christians can and most certainly have gone through the curriculum of the government schools and point out all the issues that we have with the worldview being presented. Whether it be evolutionary history[3], radical revisions of history (i.e., the 1619 Project), sex-education curriculum developed by Planned Parenthood, transgender and homosexual ideology, etc., etc., etc. But that would be a relatively futile tit-for-tat approach.

The most fundamental issue at stake is that progressives are now openly contending that one worldview is dangerous and are laying a foundation for the ostracization of the religious freedoms of anyone who disagrees.

Freedom of Speech First Requires Freedom of Thought

Those Christians that believe they have a responsibility to educate their child with a biblical worldview cannot consider public education a valid option. The courts have been clear over the years that there is no freedom of religion in a public school, nor is there freedom of speech for students or teachers regarding content that contradicts their sincerely held religious beliefs. Here are just some examples from the past 30 years.

1990 Webster v. New Lennox School District (7th Circuit Court of Appeals). School districts may prohibit a teacher from teaching creation science. It further states that this is not a violation of a teachers freedom of speech. 2000 - Minnesota State Court rules that there is no right for a teacher to present evidence both for and against the theory of evolution. This means that teachers are not allowed to question evolution in their own classroom. 2005 - US District Court refused to allow a school district to put disclaimer labels on textbooks regarding evolution being a theory and that other theories existed, including intelligent design and creation. It was appealed. The appeal resulted in the schools agreeing not to denigrate evolution either orally or in written form. 2005 - US Court ruled that schools could not maintain an Intelligent Design policy. Judge stated that Intelligent Design is not science and cannot be adjudged a valid, accepted scientific theory as it has failed to publish in peer-reviewed journals, engage in research and testing, and gain acceptance in the scientific community.

It is of great concern that the Huffington Post (and they are not alone in this sentiment) considers the worldview of conservative Christians as dangerous and worthy of suppression. The tone of the article is clear that Christian education in the United States is a danger to our democracy. For example, a previous student of a Christian school was interviewed and the following summation was offered:

Last weeks insurrectionists could have been her classmates, her teachers, her pastors. She felt a wave of recognition as she watched the pictures on social media.[4]

One of the grossest misrepresentations is embodied in this quote:

That whole belief system revolves around the idea that you want the rest of the world to think like you, said Garman, who is now a social worker. Its a the ends justify the means type of thing.[5]

But isnt the whole point of the article that the author takes issue with the way conservative Christian educators think? That their worldview is inferior and dangerous? Doesnt she intimate that allowing this thinking to continue is dangerous to our society? Its the same old progressive logical fallacy  tolerance is only extended to those that agree with them.

Perhaps the greatest danger to our first amendment right of free speech are the intellectual chains that are being forged around minds. If there is not freedom of thought then there cannot really be any freedom of speech. Consider these words from Richard Dawkins, arguably one of the secularists most staunch apologists:

How much do we regard children as being the property of their parents? Its one thing to say people should be free to believe whatever they like, but should they be free to impose their beliefs on their children? Is there something to be said for society stepping in? What about bringing up children to believe manifest falsehoods? Isnt it always a form of child abuse to label children as possessors of beliefs that they are too young to have thought out? [6]

Do Christian parents still have freedom of thought and speech to impart those beliefs to their children? So long as America is a free nation they do, but it is quite clear that the secular, progressive worldview would like to eliminate those freedoms.

The Real Threat

Christian education is not a threat to the safety and well-being of our democracy nor is it a driver of terrorist threats. The real threat of Christian education is that it provides a viable alternative to the progressive worldview, and that terrifies the left. Their philosophies, which are built upon the sand of humanism, are so fragile that they cannot allow anyone to counter them.

So how should Christian education respond? In faith  that which overcomes the world. Hebrews 11 reminds us that we can obtain a good testimony in this world through faith. The examples presented in Scripture are the basis of our worldview and must set the example for our response. We continue in the course set before us, teaching what we know to be right. We continue to set the example that we believe in a Sovereign God to preserve our thoughts and belief, regardless of opposition. We continue to teach by example our love for fellow man, kindness for those around us, compassion for the hurting. We respond with the faith that brought us to this place, believing that God can do the work we cannot. We continue to believe that the Bible is not just a book, but the very Word of God. We cant fight the powers of progressivism through words and legislation; they are not our weapons. We have the same power of prayer and faith that we started with. Opposition is not new. Christian education must stay faithful to the mission of communicating a Biblical worldview to the next generation. Because if the real threat to humanism is the Truth we believe in, it is all we have.

[1] Klein, R. (2021). These Textbooks In Thousands Of K-12 Schools Echo Trumps Talking Points. Huffington Post. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/christian-textbooks-trump-capitol-riot_n_6000bce3c5b62c0057bb711f

[2] IBID

[3] See Evolution Exposed: Biology from Answers in Genesis: https://answersingenesis.org/store/product/evolution-exposed-biology/?sku=10-2-261&

[4] Klein, R. (2021)

[5] IBID

[6] Cited by Ken Ham and Greg Hall, Already Compromised, Master Books, June 2011; Richard Dawkins, The God Delusions (Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin, 2006, 2008), p. 315
ROME - Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Wednesday told the Lower House that "on migration, we have confirmed to the Libyan government Italy's support through the Cooperation for Development and the Migrations Fund". "I would like to recall that we are the only European State today to carry out humanitarian evacuations from the country and we will continue to do it with conviction", the foreign minister said.



Di Maio highlighted that "it was possible to carry out these important steps thanks to the impulse given by my last three missions to Libya".



The first, recalled the minister , was carried out "after the formation of the new Libyan government to prepare the relaunch of bilateral relations. The second, together with my German and French colleagues, to reaffirm Europe's support. The third, in which I worked alongside Prime Minister Mario Draghi, to define collaboration projects".
ROME, APR 28 - Premier Mario Draghi expressed satisfaction after seven Italian far-left former terrorists, including ex members of the Red Brigades (BR), were arrested in Paris on Wednesday. Rome has long been pressing Paris to arrest a long list of former terrorists who have taken refuge from Italian justice in France. The BR committed many atrocities during Italy's years of lead of political violence in the 1970s and 80s, including the kidnapping and murder of former premier Aldo Moro in 1978. Draghi's office said the government welcomed "France's decision to start the judicial procedures, requested by the Italian side, against those responsible for very serious crimes of terrorism, which left a wound that is still open. "The memory of those barbaric acts is alive in the conscience of the Italian people, "In my name and that of the government I renew participation in the pain of the relatives in remembering with emotion the sacrifice of the victims". The operation, conducted by the French police's SDAT anti-terrorism unit in collaboration with Criminalpol and the Italian police, led to the arrest of former BR members Enzo Calvitti, Giovanni Alimonti, Roberta Cappelli, Marina Petrella and Sergio Tornaghi, plus Giorgio Pietrostefani of Lotta Continua and Narciso Manenti of the Nuclei Armati contro il Potere Territoriale group. Three others, Luigi Bergamin, Maurizio Di Marzio and Raffaele Ventura, managed to get away before being arrested and are on the run. All 10 have been convicted of terrorism-related crimes. A statement by French President Emmanuel Macron's office said his administration had wanted to solve an issue that has long caused tension with Rome. "France, which is also affected by terrorism, understands the absolute need to provide justice for victims," the statement said. "It is also part of the absolute need to build a Europe of justice in which mutual confidence must be central". Under the "Mitterrand Doctrine" Paris allowed former left-wing terrorists to stay in France and not get extradited to Italy as long as they pledged to renounce violence. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio welcomed Wednesday's development. "These former BR members had been accused and convicted in Italy of acts of terrorist linked to bloodshed in the 1970s and 80s," Di Maio said via Facebook. "Total commitment to combat crime and terrorism. "You cannot flee from your responsibilities, from the pain caused, from the evil generated". Italian Justice Minister Marta Cartabia said France's decision was "historic". "Today my thoughts go, above all, to the victims of the years of lead and their relatives, who have been waiting for responses for so many years," she daid. Irene Terrel, a lawyer who has represented many former Italian terrorists in France, said Paris had committed an act of "nameless betrayal". (ANSA).
An Illinois woman was convicted of revenge porn after sharing nude photos of another woman to prove her ex-fiance was cheating, reports say.

Bethany Austin, 43, discovered her boyfriend of seven years was cheating with a neighbor when text messages and nude photos from the woman appeared on her iPad, officials say. The couple shared an iCloud account, which meant his iPhone messages went to her tablet.

After canceling plans for a wedding and breaking up, her ex-fiance told his friends and family that Austin was crazy and no longer cooked or did household chores, according to court documents.

Austin shared her side of the story in a letter to his friends and family, which included four naked photos the woman sent to the ex-fiance, the documents say.

When her ex-boyfriend learned of the letter, officials say he turned Austin in to police and she was charged in 2016 with non-consensual dissemination of private sexual images, the Illinois law banning revenge porn.

A judge in McHenry County dismissed the charge in 2018, saying it violated free speech rights, but prosecutors appealed the decision to the Illinois Supreme Court, which remanded the case to the lower court in 2019.

On Monday, Austin was found guilty of the felony charge, which carries a possible prison sentence of three years, the Daily Herald reported.

The state apparently thinks that (Austin) has to sit by and not let anybody know what he was doing to her, her attorney Wayne Giampietro said during closing arguments, the newspaper reported.

Judge Michael Coppedge said Austins letter was understandable but the photos violated the womans privacy, the Chicago Tribune reported.

It is wrong because exposing a persons body against her will fundamentally denies that person of their right to privacy, he said, the newspaper reported.

Man stabbed to death protecting teen, her mom in grocery store attack, Illinois cops say
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Biden administration this week is expected to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes, a move backed by civil rights groups that say Black Americans are hurt by the industry's aggressive marketing of the product, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has scheduled a briefing on Thursday with lawmakers, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The agency faces a Thursday court deadline to respond to a 2013 citizen's petition seeking a ban on menthol cigarettes.

Any proposed menthol ban by the administration could take years to go into effect, and would likely face legal challenges from the tobacco industry. Anti-smoking groups for decades have sounded the alarm on menthol in cigarettes, arguing they contribute to disproportionate health burdens on Black communities and play a role in luring young people into smoking.

The FDA declined to comment on the report from Post, which cited unidentified administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to a Bernstein research estimate, British American Tobacco Plc generates 55% of its cigarette volumes in the United States from menthols, led by its Newport brand, compared with 30% for Imperial Brands Plc and 17% for Altria Group Inc, the research said.

Altria and BAT did not respond to requests for comment.

Imperial Brands said in a statement "there is no conclusive science to support a ban on menthol," adding that the company expects most menthol smokers would switch to other cigarettes. "We would not therefore anticipate any significant impact on our U.S. business."

Although smoking has been on the decline in the United States for decades, one study last year in JAMA Network Open found that 91% of the decline in cigarette consumption between 2009 and 2018 was attributed to traditional, non-menthol cigarettes.

Story continues

As a result, menthol cigarettes now make up 37% of the overall market share for cigarettes in the United States, an all-time high, according to a U.S. Federal Trade Commission report from earlier this year.

Nearly 85% of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes, compared with 29% of white smokers, according to a study last year drawing on federal survey data.

"Smoking rates are going down, but people's use of menthol is not," said Phillip Gardiner, co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, one of the groups that sued the FDA in pushing for the menthol ban. "Who's being left in the market are menthol smokers. They've been predatorily marketing these products to the African American community."

Tobacco industry documents unearthed as part of a settlement agreement with state attorneys general in the 1990s showed tobacco industry executives discussing plans to target young Black smokers with menthol products. Research in California has also found a higher proportion of menthol advertisements in stores located in Black and low-income neighborhoods.

"If you are an African American and have always been around other African Americans who smoke, you are going to smoke menthols," said Charles Debnam, a former smoker in the Washington, D.C. area who works with anti-smoking group DC Tobacco Free Coalition. "That is the flavor of choice."

After smoking menthol cigarettes for more than 20 years, Debnam now helps many "die-hard menthol smokers" stop. "If there was no menthol around, they probably would look at ways to quit."

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Carl O'Donnell, Ankur Banerjee and Aishwarya Venugopal, Chris Kirkham and David Shepardson; Editing by Tim Ahmann, Bill Berkrot, Lisa Shumaker and Marguerita Choy)
The Chronicle

East Bay authorities on Wednesday said they were investigating and working to identify the human remains found this week at Lake Chabot Regional Park.

East Bay Regional Park District officers responded to the park on Monday at about 2 p.m. after an individual reported partially decomposed remains at the park in Castro Valley, police said. Authorities are working with Alameda Countys coroners unit to identify the person.
Tata Motors Ltd is quoting at Rs 307.6, up 2.02% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 293.6% in last one year as compared to a 55.32% spurt in NIFTY and a 79.38% spurt in the Nifty Auto index.

Tata Motors Ltd gained for a third straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 307.6, up 2.02% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 1.26% on the day, quoting at 14838.1. The Sensex is at 49675.92, up 1.5%. Tata Motors Ltd has risen around 3.55% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Auto index of which Tata Motors Ltd is a constituent, has risen around 0.8% in last one month and is currently quoting at 9708.2, up 2.43% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 300.27 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 630.15 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark April futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 308.1, up 1.94% on the day. Tata Motors Ltd is up 293.6% in last one year as compared to a 55.32% spurt in NIFTY and a 79.38% spurt in the Nifty Auto index.

The PE of the stock is 0 based on TTM earnings ending December 20.

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San Francisco, April 28 : Amid the pandemic when millions stayed online, Alphabet which is the parent company of Google has posted strong financial results in the first quarter of 2011, reporting $55.3 billion in revenue which is up 34 per cent year-over-year.

The astounding growth reflects elevated consumer activity online and broad-based increases in advertiser spending within Google Services.

The company reported $17.9 billion as net income and ended the first quarter with $135 billion in cash and marketable securities.

"Over the last year, people have turned to Google Search and many online services to stay informed, connected and entertained. We've continued our focus on delivering trusted services to help people around the world," said Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

"Our Cloud services are helping businesses, big and small, accelerate their digital transformations," he added.

Pichai also that after a hard year, people in some parts of the world are beginning to rebuild their lives, businesses and communities.

"But recovery is far from uniform across the globe as the tragic scenes in countries like India and Brazil remind us. We are continuing to help support public health officials in their vital and urgent work," he added.

The company informed that the Google Services revenues were $51.2 billion, up 34 per cent, consisting of Google Search and other advertising revenues of $31.9 billion in the quarter (up 30 per cent).

The company also reduced losses in its Cloud vertical in Q1.

"We're very pleased with the ongoing momentum in Google Cloud, with revenues of $4.0 billion in the quarter reflecting strength and opportunity in both GCP (Google Cloud Platform) and Workspace," said Ruth Porat, CFO of Google and Alphabet.

Strong growth in Google Workspace revenues was driven by growth in both seats and average revenue per seat. Google Cloud had an operating loss of $1 billion.

"YouTube advertising revenues of $6 billion, up 49 per cent, driven by exceptional performance in direct response and ongoing strength in brand advertising. Network advertising revenues was $6.8 billion, up 30 per cent, driven by AdMob and Ad Manager," Porat informed.

Other revenues were $6.5 billion, up 46 per cent, primarily driven by growth in Play and YouTube non-advertising revenues, followed by hardware, which benefited from the addition of Fitbit revenues.

Google Services operating income was $19.5 billion, up 69 per cent.
South Africas retail rewards industry has ballooned over the past decade as giants like Checkers, Pick n Pay, Spar and Woolworths compete for a bigger slice of the consumer market.

Store cards and rewards schemes have found favour among customers and retailers alike; but for different reasons. Customers are lured in with the promise of financial benefits in the form of loyalty points and discounts while retailers see the card as a cheap way to collect comprehensive customer data.

This has led some market analysts to question the growing disconnect between the designers and users of the schemes.

Retailers have become so focused on collecting customer data and building complex multi-partner rewards programmes that they have lost sight of what customers really want, says Brand Hubb CEO, Rob Anderson. He observes that store rewards cards have become unnecessarily complicated and offer little consistency from one retailer to the next.

The typical retail rewards scheme offers members a blend of loyalty points, product discounts and special offers with significant differences in the type and value of these benefits.

As a ballpark, customers might receive 0.5% of every rand spent in-store; but those who wish to participate in all the benefits on offer in a rewards scheme will have to keep a close watch on the terms and conditions applicable to each stores rewards programme.

They will also have to carry and present their rewards card whenever they go shopping.

Although these requirements can be tedious, there are more sinister forces at play.

One of the concerns is with the damage that rewards schemes are doing to the brand-to-consumer relationship by excluding customers from discounts and specials. It has, for example, become common for stores to make special offers contingent on belonging to their rewards scheme.

Customers deserve a better deal when interacting with their favourite brands, says Anderson. Our solution, which was built from the ground up in a digital world, empowers brands to interact meaningfully with customers and direct their marketing spend far more effectively, he says. Brand Hubbs Brand Rewards platform allows brands to reward customers for interacting with them by clicking on posts, watching videos, sharing content and completing surveys.

The platform could allow customers of brands such as KFC, Steers or Romans to interact with their favourite fast food brand in the virtual world without having to visit a physical store, and earn tangible rewards for doing so.

It also levels the playing field between goods and services brands, regardless of their industry. Whether you are Coca Cola, Nike, Samsung or VW, you can establish lasting relationships with your customers using our Brand Rewards API plug-in, says Anderson. It is now cheaper and easier than ever for brands to implement a targeted reward programme that will deliver exponential improvements in customers brand loyalty.

Brand Hubb is encouraging brands to redirect their digital advertising and marketing budgets towards the end-customer, creating unrivalled brand loyalty and allowing customers to engage with the brand on their own terms.

According to Anderson, early adopters are already benefiting from increased product sales and website traffic frequency. We have made it possible for brands to build better data profiles for each customer and promote ongoing, active engagement with them through content sharing and other social media interactions, he says.

Brands can have full control of their brand marketing spend rather than dealing with customers at arms length through third party platforms.

The Brand Rewards API can be white-labelled in any brands name. So, for example, Good Foods would pay Good Foods Rewards to its loyal customers who can then exchange these points for products or services distributed via the Good Foods website.

One of the shortcomings of existing customer rewards programmes is that they offer discounts on items that customers do not want or need; another is that customers are restricted in how they spend their accumulated loyalty points, says Anderson.

We allow brands to deploy effective rewards programmes at a fraction of the operational overhead associated with existing initiatives.

The question leading brands should be asking is: Do we want to carry on doing things old school or do we want to offer a Brand Rewards scheme that is relevant to customers in the millennial generation and beyond?

Your customers are ready to vote with their feet in favour of rewards programmes that offer meaningful brand interaction rather than forcing them to wrestle with clunky store cards, concludes Anderson.

It is time for you to redirect the money you spend on Facebook and Google towards rewarding loyal customers who actively participate in building your brand.

Early adopters of Brand Rewards will dominate the brand-to-consumer relationships of the future.

As for the rest; they will struggle ahead with the handful of customers who can stomach deciphering the points and value-adds on their existing store rewards cards.
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: CDR) ("Cedar" or the "Company"), today announced that it has agreed to appoint three new independent directors, Darcy D. Morris, Richard H. Ross, and Sharon Stern, to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board"), effective immediately, each with terms expiring at the Company's upcoming 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "2021 Annual Meeting"). The Company has also agreed to nominate the three new independent directors for election at the 2021 Annual Meeting. In addition, longtime directors Pamela Hootkin and Roger Widmann will retire from the Board, effective as of the 2021 Annual Meeting. With the addition of the three new independent directors, the size of the Board will temporarily increase from seven to ten directors, and upon the conclusion of the 2021 Annual Meeting, the Board will be reduced to eight directors, seven of which will be independent.

These appointments are in connection with the separate Cooperation Agreements that Cedar entered into with Camac Partners LLC and certain of its affiliates ("Camac") and Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. and certain of its affiliates ("Ewing Morris") pursuant to which Camac and Ewing Morris will each withdraw their director nominations previously submitted to Cedar and will support the Board's full slate of directors at the 2021 Annual Meeting. Camac and Ewing Morris also agreed to abide by customary standstill provisions and voting commitments.

Gregg Gonsalves, Chairman of the Board of Cedar, commented, "Cedar's Board of Directors is committed to adhering to the highest standards of corporate governance and acting in our shareholders' best interests. To that end, after thoughtful deliberation, and in consultation with our shareholders, we are pleased to welcome Darcy, Richard, and Sharon to our Board and look forward to working collaboratively with them to reach our goal of delivering superior shareholder value in the years ahead. Our new directors bring substantial real estate and capital markets industry expertise and fresh perspectives, and further enhance our Board's alignment with shareholders. On behalf of the Board, we thank Pam and Roger for their dedication and contributions to Cedar over many years."

The full Cooperation Agreements will be filed by Cedar with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as exhibits to a Current Report on Form 8-K. BofA Securities is acting as Cedar's financial advisor, and Goodwin Procter LLP is acting as legal counsel. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation is acting as legal counsel to Camac. Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP is acting as legal counsel to Ewing Morris.

About Darcy D. Morris

Darcy D. Morris is a co-founder of Ewing Morris, a value driven Canadian boutique investment firm, and has served as its Co-President and Chief Executive Officer, since June 2011. Prior to co-founding Ewing Morris, he served as a Portfolio Manager at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier Inc., a wealth management firm subsequently acquired by Raymond James Ltd. Mr. Morris currently serves on the Board of The Caldwell Partners International Inc. (TSX: CWL), an executive search firm, is Treasurer of the Toronto Public Library Foundation and is President of the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) Foundation. Mr. Morris received an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies from Queen's University and was awarded the Canadian Investment Manager designation in 2010.

About Richard H. Ross

Richard H. Ross is the President and CFO of Quinn Residences, a real estate operating company focused on acquiring, developing, and operating well located, purpose- built, single-family rental homes primarily in the southeastern United States. Previously, Mr. Ross served as the Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer for Branch Properties, and before that was Chief Financial Officer and later Chief Executive Officer of Trade Street Residential, Inc., a publicly traded multi-family REIT. Mr. Ross is on the Board of Independence Realty Trust, Inc. He graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

About Sharon Stern

Sharon Stern is the President of Eastmore Management and Metro Investments, two organizations focused on the acquisition, development and management of multi-residential and commercial properties in the downtown core of Montreal. Previously, Ms. Stern worked in Strategy and Corporate Development for the Business Development Bank of Canada. Ms. Stern earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from McGill University in Economics and World Religions and a Master's Degree in Economic Policy from Brown University.

About Cedar Realty Trust

Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. is a fully-integrated real estate investment trust which focuses on the ownership, operation and redevelopment of grocery-anchored shopping centers in high-density urban markets from Washington, D.C. to Boston. The Company's portfolio (excluding properties treated as "held for sale") comprises 54 properties, with approximately 8.2 million square feet of gross leasable area.

For additional financial and descriptive information on the Company, its operations and its portfolio, please refer to the Company's website at www.cedarrealtytrust.com.

Media Contacts

Gasthalter & Co.

Nathaniel Garnick/Kevin FitzGerald/Sara Widmann

(212) 257-4170

[email protected]

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this press release that are not strictly historical are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. (the "Company") to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe the Company's future plans, strategies and expectations, are generally identifiable by use of the words "may", "will", "should", "estimates", "projects", "anticipates", "believes", "expects", "intends", "future", and words of similar import, or the negative thereof. Factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: (i) the Company's ability to generate value for its shareholders, and (ii) the economic, political and social impact of, and uncertainty relating to, the COVID-19 pandemic. For further discussion of factors that could materially affect the outcome of forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A, of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year December 31, 2020 and other documents that the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

Except for ongoing obligations to disclose material information as required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. All of the above factors are difficult to predict, contain uncertainties that may materially affect the Company's actual results and may be beyond the Company's control. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company's management to predict all such factors or to assess the effects of each factor on the Company's business. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the Company's current expectations will be realized.

SOURCE Cedar Realty Trust, Inc.

Related Links

https://cedarrealtytrust.com


A $1million reward is being offered for information about the underworld shooting murder of former bikie Adrian Buxton in Sydney's west nearly five years ago.

Buxton, believed to be a Nomads bikie gang member, died of gunshot wounds after being shot outside his house in Colyton, Penrith, at 9pm on May 19, 2016.

The 31-year-old's terrified wife and young son were inside the family home at the time of the execution-style killing.

Police on Wednesday renewed their appeal to anyone with information that could solve the crime to come forward, with a $1million reward now on offer.

Adrian Buxton (pictured) was shot outside his home in May 2016 in a suspected gang-related execution

Mr Buxton's family (pictured) was inside the house when he was shot dead outside while taking the bins out

Mr Buxton was shot outside his house while taking his bins out with his wife and young son inside.

Police were told Mr Buxton was confronted by two men in his driveway and shot a number of times before the pair ran from the scene.

It is believed the pair fled the scene in a vehicle that picked them up a short distance from the home.

Officers arrived at the scene to find him lying on a nature strip where he was treated by paramedics before dying at the scene.

A crime scene was established and forensics and ballistics officers examined the area but have been unable to identify a shooter despite suggestions the death was a gang-related execution.

Following a review of CCTV in surrounding areas, detectives identified three vehicles travelling together in the area at the time of the murder - including a black Audi Q7.

In the months after Mr Buxton's death a suspect in his killing, Antonio Hermiz, 20, was murdered adding to the gang-related suspicions.

Mr Buxton was taking the bins out when he was shot outside his home in Colyton, Penrith

Mr Buxton was a former member of the Parramatta chapter of the Nomads bikie gang

Minister for Police and Emergency Services, David Elliott, said the $1million reward will provide a significant incentive to people to come forward and report to police.

'Mr Buxton was shot outside his home in suburbia at 9pm. This was a brazen and organised act which has no place on the streets of Sydney,' Mr Elliott said.

'I am optimistic that this reward will help detectives to obtain the evidence they need to bring someone to account for their criminal behaviour.'

Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, said there were numerous lines of inquiry.

'While one of the vehicles believed to have been involved in the incident was recovered in 2016, police are still seeking information on two others, including a black Audi Q7,' he said.

'We believe there were five or more people involved in this incident and detectives are urging anyone with information about the identities of those involved, as well as the planning and aftermath, to come forward.

'It has been a long five years for Adrians family, and we remain hopeful that we can provide much-needed answers to his mother, wife and young son.'
Timeline: Key dates in the case of missing baby James Chairez

Human remains have been found at the home of DLanny Reaneille Chairez and her toddler, who hasnt been seen since January, police said Wednesday.

Officials said they will not confirm the identity of the remains until after the Bexar County Medical Examiners Office conducts its investigation.

James Avi Chairez has been missing since Jan. 4, when he was last seen with his mother on security footage at a Walgreens in the 7100 block of Marbach Road. He was 18 months old at the time.

San Antonio Police Department

His mother has been accused of tampering with evidence in connection with his disappearance. Court records indicate Chairez intentionally and knowingly concealed her son from separate investigations by the San Antonio Police Department and Child Protective Services.

Both mother and son were reported missing by family members in February. In March, police released the Jan. 4 security footage. They also released footage of Chairez by herself  once on Feb. 21 at another Walgreens location and a second time at a VIA bus station near U.S. 90 and Southwest Military Drive.

Days later, on March 15, police found Chairez  but not her son.

Police said she refused to answer questions about James whereabouts. Instead, she discussed wanting to give him up for adoption because she was not ready to be a mother. She also told police she was dealing with mental health issues and wanted the child to be in a better place, according to an arrest affidavit.

Police charged her with abandoning or endangering a child. The District Attorneys Office later replaced the charge with two counts of tampering with evidence.

On Wednesday, family members watched as investigators in white hazmat suits walked around the small green mobile home. Police tape cordoned off the site.

My stomach is in knots and my heart is racing, said James grand-aunt, Mariesol Gomez, 43. She said that although the remains havent been identified, the family fears they belong to James.

Family members say they havent seen James since Thanksgiving. When Chairez was found, she said they were hoping that she had given the child up like she told police, but those hopes have faded as time passed.

Jose Castillo, a 23-year-old painter who moved into a trailer home on the property with his family about a year ago, said it was shocking that police discovered remains at the home.

He said before they were reported missing, residents in the area would see Chairez and a relative walking along the winding path with James in a stroller from time to time.

Chairez had been staying at the home, which belonged to Gomez, since 2016, family members said.

Wednesdays search was actually the second time police had been to the trailer. In March, they had searched the mobile home and found a crib sheet with blood on it, along with a car seat, stroller, diapers and toys, according to Chairezs arrest affidavit.

It wasnt until the second search that the human remains were found. Police wouldnt say where they were found or why they had returned to the trailer.

The FBI also participated in Wednesdays search.

An FBI spokeswoman confirmed that they were helping in the investigation, but deferred questions to San Antonio police. For their part, police didnt answer any questions regarding the FBIs involvement.

Bexar County Sheriff's Office

It is unclear whether Chairez will face additional charges in connection with the remains.

This is an ongoing investigation, Bexar County District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales said Wednesday. Once we have received all the evidence from police, the case will be reviewed for possible new charges.

He declined further comment, citing the pending case.

Chairezs attorney has not returned calls for comment.

Chairezs bail was reduced last week from $250,000 to $150,000, but she has not posted bond, according to court documents. Her trial date for the tampering charges has been set for June 16.

Gomez said she was interviewed at police headquarters by detectives, sometime after the discovery was made. She said police wouldnt tell her where the remains were found.

Gomez said the family was not ready to host a vigil of any sort in James name.

Not today. I feel then if we do that its confirmation that its James, Gomez said. Im not ready for that yet.

She added that she had been told the medical examiner would identify the remains Thursday.

Express-News staff writer Elizabeth Zavala contributed to this report.
(Newser)  As protests continued in Elizabeth City, NC, over the fatal police shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. last Wednesday, attorneys for Brown's family held a press conference Tuesday to discuss the results of an autopsy they commissioned. It shows that the 42-year-old Black man died after a "kill shot to the back of the head" was delivered as he sat in his car outside his home in the city, lawyers said, per the Charlotte Observer. "Yesterday, I said he was executed, Brown's son, who discouraged violence in response to the tragedy, said. This autopsy report showed me that was correct." The autopsy also showed Brown had four additional gunshot wounds to his arm. An 8pm to 6am curfew was announced in Elizabeth City starting Tuesday night, and while most protesters had dispersed by the cutoff time, about two dozen ended up in a 10pm standoff with police.

story continues below

Protesters also marched in Raleigh, in solidarity, and called for the release of bodycam footage of the incident, ABC 11 reports. Lawmakers and civil rights leaders are also pushing for the video to be released publicly, and a hearing on the matter is scheduled for 10am local time Wednesday. WAVY did obtain surveillance footage that shows deputies arriving at Brown's house on the back of a pickup truck to serve a warrant on drug-related charges; a family attorney says the scene depicts a "militarized police force," NBC News reports. Local pastors and NAACP leaders are calling for the state attorney general to take over the case; separately, the FBI will be probing the incident with help from the Department of Justice and the US Attorney's Office. State autopsy results are still pending. (Read more Andrew Brown stories.)
ABC Tasmania and ABC News will be covering the state election this Saturday.

Michael Rowland will be in Tasmania to broadcast live from Constitution Dock in Hobart for News Breakfast (Friday) and Weekend Breakfast (Saturday).

Primetime coverage begins at 6pm AEST with Guy Stayner, Antony Green and more.

As the votes are cast and counted, join the states most trusted election team including ABC News Tasmania 7pm presenter Guy Stayner, AM presenter Sabra Lane, state political reporter Emily Baker, ABC Radio Hobart Mornings host Leon Compton and the ABCs chief elections analyst Antony Green for the most comprehensive coverage from 6:00pm (AEST) on ABC TV (Tasmania), ABC NEWS channel and iview.

Joining the ABC election team on the panel will be:

Senator Jonathon Duniam, Liberal senator for Tasmania

Julie Collins Labor MP, Member for Franklin

Senator Nick McKim, Tasmanian Greens

This broadcast will be streamed on ABCs social media platforms as well as being available as a live simulcast on ABC NewsRadio, and Local Radio digital services across Tasmania; uninterrupted election coverage on ABC Radio Hobart and Northern Tasmania on Listen App, DAB+ services and online at www.abc.net.au/hobart or www.abc.net.au/northtas.

Well have live coverage of results as they happen, online at abc.net.au/tasvotes with continued comprehensive analysis through to Sunday.

The coverage continues through to Sunday 2nd May with a special Election Edition of ABC News Sunday at 7pm, and on radio, Sabra Lane will host a special AM to further unpack the election results for Tasmania.

Related
Destination NSW CEO Steve Cox said Vivid Sydney is an opportunity for people from Australia  and New Zealand  to celebrate innovation and creativity in Sydney, kicking off with the launch of two showstopping Countdown Clocks, to count down each day to the festival's Lights On moment.

"We are so excited to have Vivid Sydney come back to Sydney from August 6-28, 2021. It is the biggest festival of lights, music and ideas and this year is going to be absolutely fantastic."

"Vivid Sydney celebrates innovation and creativity transforming the city into a playground of the unexpected each winter. The festival really encourages us to think differently and open our minds to infinite possibilities, which resonates broadly."

"Sydney is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world, providing the ultimate canvas for creatives. There is no better place to celebrate and host the largest festival of lights, music and ideas in the southern hemisphere than this amazing city."

The Countdown Clocks, a first in the 12-year history of the event, were designed by Vivid Light Curator Lucy Keeler and will be located in First Fleet Park, The Rocks and Wulugul Walk, Barangaroo. Sydney visitors can check out these Insta-worthy timepieces, capture a selfie and share on social media using #vividsydney. A virtual version will also feature on vividsydney.com counting down to 6 August.

Festival Director Gill Minervini said this year's program offers a multitude of reasons for visitors to return throughout the festival, including a number of first-time program inclusions.

"This year, Vivid Sydney will deliver fresh experiences for our festival-goers to enjoy. For the first time ever, the waters of Cockle Bay in Darling Harbour will come alive as a floating Light Walk incorporating a large-scale artwork called Ephemeral from Sydney-based design studio Atelier Sisu.

"The facade of Customs House, one of the city's most iconic heritage buildings, will be brought to life with VORAX  an epic 3D tale of a mischievous thief's rise to greatness from Hong Kong's Treacle Media. And in The Rocks, artist Brad Robson and Esem Projects provide fascinating insight into the journey of creating Brad's dynamic portraits through Point of View," Ms Minervini said.

2021 Vivid Sydney Light Installations:

Ephemeral, Cockle Bay Darling Harbour

Produced by Sydney's own Atelier Sisu design studio, Ephemeral is an immersive light and sound art-chitecture exploring the ever-changing human experience. Housed on the waters of Cockle Bay at Darling Harbour, the installation incorporates a floating walkway over 200 bubble-like spheres and larger-than-life structures that tower up to eight metres above the water. Visitors will be invited to walk underneath the bubble spheres which emanate hypnotic sea of light changing in different contrasting hues and vibrant colours, set against a reactive soundscape.

VORAX, Customs House, Circular Quay

From Hong Kong's Treacle Media, VORAX is an epic 3D storytelling experience projected onto Customs House. Audiences will have the opportunity to watch the tale of a mischievous thief's rise to greatness while traversing through a plethora of mind-bending and surreal environments.

Point of View, The Rocks

A collaboration between Sydney artist Brad Robson and Esem Projects, Point of View captures Brad in the process of creating his dynamic portraits and elevates the concept of mural painting into a new and beautiful form. Audiences will be left enthralled by this beautiful reimagination of traditional art.



Vivid Sydney 2021 will activate and energise the Sydney CBD, The Rocks, Circular Quay and iconic city structures such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, MCA and Customs House.

The full Vivid Sydney program will be announced in late May. Go to vividsydney.com for more information. Vivid Sydney is proudly owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency.

NOTE TO EDITORS

Media assets available here to download.



Media releases, images and content can be downloaded from the Destination NSW media centre: www.media.destinationnsw.com.au

About Vivid Sydney:

Vivid Sydney is a celebration of creativity, innovation and technology that transforms the Sydney CBD in winter through Light, Music and Ideas. Celebrating its 12th anniversary in 2021, Vivid Sydney captures the uniqueness, vibrancy and imagination of Sydney, positioning the Harbour City as the creative hub of the Asia-Pacific. The festival features mesmerising art displays and large-scale 3D projections from local and international artists, an eclectic line-up of musical performers, thought provoking talks from some of the world's greatest minds, and collaborations including Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House. Vivid Sydney is owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency.

SOURCE Destination New South Wales
The plan of releasing millions of genetically altered mosquitoes into a community in Florida by a biotech company prompted outrage from residents.

Based on the projection of Oxitec, which is a British biotech company, the launching of their pilot project to fight disease-transmitting mosquitoes is projected on April 26 in the Florida Keys area.

According to the Independent, the British biotech company stated that the project would determine whether the altered mosquitoes will work. They altered these mosquitoes to eradicate the disease-carrying mosquito, Aedes aegypti, one of several mosquito species that could spread diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and yellow fever.

Moreover, the company noted that these genetically engineered non-biting male mosquitoes would be released from specifically placed boxes and mate with local biting female mosquitoes.

After that, the female offspring cannot survive, which means it will cut the population of Aedes aegypti and will eventually be controlled.

READ NEXT: Pres. Biden Forms Pro-Union Task Force Headed by Kamala Harris

Public Protest Against the Experiment

However, the Florida Keys residents are protesting against the project of the Biotech company, emphasizing they have been bullied into participating in the experiment that deems "not safe."

Meagan Hull, a resident of Islamorada, shared during a tense town council meeting in March that she finds the project a criminal act, pointing out that they have been bullied into this experiment. She added that they were subjected to terrorism by their own Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board, Futurism reported.

Hull also told Futurism that they have everything to risk and nothing to gain, and "it's all for Oxitec's bottom line."

She said she was unhappy because there was "no third-party independent reviewed science," "safety studies" or an "environmental impact study".

Critics have also raised concern that the genetically engineered mosquitoes could possibly create an imbalance in nature, and the wild population could create genetic hybrids. But Oxitec stated that the trial would not alter the wider mosquito population.

Another Islamorada resident reportedly said that they tried to be on the positive side ahead of the project's start date, but the more questions they asked, the more they got no answers.

On its website, Oxitec noted that the public support in areas where they establish their project remains high. The company further stated that they also ensured that they have full approval of all the regulatory bodies to go ahead with the experiment.

With the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cooperation and local governments, Oxitec is planning to release 500 million mosquitoes. Scientists said each of these mosquitoes had been inserted with a gene called "OX5034."

The EPA approved only approved the company's plan last May after a years-long process. Oxitec was given an Experimental Use Permit (EUP), a special authorization that permits companies to field test new pesticides, The Telegraph reported.

READ MORE: Biden Breaks off Press Questions, Says He'll Be In Trouble if He Answers

WATCH: Why Are Scientists Genetically Modifying Mosquitoes? - From The Print
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 76F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 76F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
YEREVAN.  The changes to the Criminal Code and related laws are linked to the electoral process. Therefore, these changes must be adopted immediately before the snap parliamentary elections in the country, which are scheduled for June 20. Vahagn Hovakimyan, the author of the package of bills on amendments and additions to the Criminal Code and an MP of the ruling My Step bloc, stated this at Wednesdays special sitting of the National Assembly of Armenia during the discussion of this law initiative.

The changes are expected to take effect immediately after the official publication of the law. "This package is necessary for holding free, fair, and more competitive elections in the country. We propose changes that are important for the elections," Hovakimyan said.

The MP is confident that they will be able to organize free, fair, transparent, and competitive elections. He stated from the tribune of the parliament that the aspirations of those to run in the elections will not affect the quality of the elections in any way, and the violators will be brought to justice. The political will of the political majority to hold free, fair, transparent, and competitive elections is unshakable," Hovakimyan said.

To note, the essence of these changes is the imposing of criminal liability for obstructing the election campaign. As many analysts have already stated, the authorities hastily prepared a package of bills after the failure of acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's visit to Syunik Province, the residents of which drove him out of their communities, accusing him of treason.
Legislation passed by UGA SGA on Tuesday includes a plan to add the bus stop on Finley Street to the East Campus bus route and encouragement for the creation of a university-wide grade forgiveness policy,
Is it also true nothing came of those allegations and, in fact, it appeared Giuliani was the one improperly messing around with U.S. foreign affairs while tilting at windmills and parroting conspiratorial hogwash? Well, sure, thats true if youre a sheep who gets news from mainstream sources and not from my award-eligible blog at MurderousBidenCrimeFamilyAllTheTruth.net.
NEW YORK, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acreage Holdings, Inc. (Acreage) (CSE:ACRG.A.U, ACRG.B.U), (OTCQX: ACRHF, ACRDF) a vertically integrated, multi-state operator of cannabis licenses and assets in the U.S., today announced it has closed its previously disclosed agreement to divest 100% of its Acreage Florida, Inc. subsidiary to Red White and Bloom Brands, LLC (the Buyer).



We continue to deliver on our commitments to strengthen our balance sheet and focus our business on core states, which are primarily in the Northeast and Midwest, said Peter Caldini, Chief Executive Officer of Acreage. The divestiture of our Florida operations was a significant milestone for Acreage as it accelerates our path to profitability. We are excited to close this chapter and look forward to significant adult-use sales growth opportunities in New Jersey, New York and other Northeast states where Acreage operates.

Closing significantly strengthens Acreages balance sheet with the receipt of an aggregate $60 million in proceeds.

ABOUT ACREAGE

With its principal address in New York City, Acreage is a multi-state operator of cannabis cultivation and retailing facilities in the U.S., including the companys national retail store brand, The Botanist. Acreages wide range of national and regionally available cannabis products include the award-winning The Botanist brand, the highly recognizable Tweed brand, the Prime medical brand in Pennsylvania, the Innocent edibles brand in Illinois and others. Acreage also owns Universal Hemp, LLC, a hemp subsidiary dedicated to the distribution, marketing and sale of CBD products throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 2011, Acreage has focused on building and scaling operations to create a seamless, consumer-focused, branded experience. More information is available at www.acreageholdings.com.

On June 27, 2019, Acreage implemented an arrangement under section 288 of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) with Canopy Growth Corporation (Canopy Growth), which was subsequently amended on September 23, 2020 (the Amended Arrangement). Pursuant to the Amended Arrangement, upon the occurrence (or waiver by Canopy Growth) of changes in federal laws in the United States to permit the general cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana (as defined in the relevant legislation) or to remove the regulation of such activities from the federal laws of the United States (the Triggering Event), Canopy Growth will, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain closing conditions, acquire all of the issued and outstanding Class E subordinate voting shares (the Fixed Shares) on the basis of 0.3048 of a Canopy Growth share per Fixed Share (following the automatic conversion of the Class F multiple voting shares and subject to adjustment in accordance with the terms of the arrangement agreement entered into between Acreage and Canopy Growth on April 18, 2019, as amended on May 15, 2019 and on September 23, 2020).

In addition, Canopy Growth holds an option, exercisable at the discretion of Canopy Growth, to acquire all of the issued and outstanding Class D subordinate voting shares (the Floating Shares) at the time that Canopy Growth acquires the Fixed Shares, for cash or Canopy Growth shares, as Canopy Growth may determine, at a price per Floating Share based upon the 30-day volume-weighted average trading price of the Floating Shares on the CSE relative to the trading price of the Canopy Growth shares at the time of the occurrence or waiver of the Triggering Event, subject to a minimum price of US$6.41 per Floating Share.

For more information about the Amended Arrangement please see the Acreage proxy statement and management information circular dated August 17, 2020 (the Circular) and the respective information circulars of each of Acreage and Canopy Growth dated May 17, 2019, which are available on Acreages and Canopy Growths respective profiles on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and filed with the SEC on the EDGAR website at www.sec.gov. For additional information regarding Canopy Growth, please see Canopy Growths profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release and each of the documents referred to herein contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation, respectively. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking information, including, for greater certainty, statements regarding Acreages position in the New Jersey market or the Amended Arrangement, including the likelihood of completion thereof, the occurrence or waiver of the Triggering Event, the satisfaction or waiver of the closing conditions set out in the Arrangement Agreement and other statements with respect to the proposed transactions with Canopy Growth. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, estimates, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. 

Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Acreage or its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, but not limited to financing and liquidity risks, and the risks disclosed in the Circular, Acreages management information circular dated May 17, 2019 filed on May 23, 2019, Acreages annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 dated March 25, 2021 and Acreages other public filings, in each case filed with the SEC on the EDGAR website at www.sec.gov and with Canadian securities regulators and available on the issuer profile of Acreage on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although Acreage 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. 

Although Acreage believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information or forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and Acreage does not undertake any obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider has reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.

For further information contact:
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- By the end of this decade, renewables will make up a large portion of the company's generation mix as Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) looks to triple the amount of renewable energy it produces from company power plants and dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

This information, along with large amounts of other data, was spelled out today in Duke Energy's 15th Sustainability Report, the company's annual disclosure on environment, social and governance (ESG) issues.

"Duke Energy has a clear line of sight to reduce our carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and is making terrific progress to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. We're already a leader in our industry when it comes to low-carbon intensity. This next decade will also be our biggest ever for incorporating thousands of megawatts of new renewable energy generation into our portfolio," said Katherine Neebe, Duke Energy's vice president, national engagement & strategy, chief sustainability officer and president, Duke Energy Foundation.

Currently, 7% of Duke Energy's company-owned electrical output comes from wind, solar and hydroelectric plants. That figure is projected to grow to 23% by 2030.

The company is undertaking its aggressive renewable energy buildouts with wind and solar projects currently under construction in Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas. Over the next three years, the company will also add 280 megawatts of pumped storage hydro capacity at its Bad Creek facility in South Carolina.

Duke Energy's carbon-free generation is also helped by its six nuclear plants in the Carolinas, which produced 35% of its total electrical output in 2020.

Among the other highlights in the report:

The company is overseeing the largest coal retirement in the industry and disclosed the closing dates for its remaining coal-fired generating units. Since 2010, Duke Energy has retired 51 coal-fired units, according to a chart in the report. An additional unit was retired last month bringing the total to 52.

For the first time, Duke Energy is sharing expanded employee diversity data, which is filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Duke Energy and its Foundation donated more than $8 million to COVID-19 relief efforts during 2020, and more than $2 million was provided by the Duke Energy Foundation to social justice and racial equity organizations.

to COVID-19 relief efforts during 2020, and more than was provided by the Duke Energy Foundation to social justice and racial equity organizations. The company's economic development team helped attract nearly 18,000 new jobs and $9.1 billion in capital investment to its service territories.

in capital investment to its service territories. The company's overall carbon dioxide output continues to fall  down more than 40% since 2005. The company aims to reduce its carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030.

Duke Energy continues to offer excellent value to customers with high reliability and retail electric rates below the national average in all customer categories  residential, commercial and industrial.

Today's report continues Duke Energy's history of transparency and sharing progress on climate change and other ESG matters.

Yesterday, the company announced a new comprehensive brand for its nonregulated commercial renewables business  Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions.

The brand unifies products and services offered by several Duke Energy subsidiaries, including Duke Energy Renewables, REC Solar and Duke Energy One. The team will continue to leverage Duke Energy's deep industry experience to deliver the sustainable energy solutions customers need and want while empowering them to make a measurable impact, help reduce emissions and gain resiliency.

About Duke Energy

Duke Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 7.9 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 51,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,500 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy strategy to create a smarter energy future for its customers and communities  with goals of at least a 50 percent carbon reduction by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The company is a top U.S. renewable energy provider, on track to operate or purchase 16,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2025. The company also is investing in major electric grid upgrades and expanded battery storage, and exploring zero-emitting power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2021 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Cautionary language concerning forward-looking statements

This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "continue," "should," "could," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "will," "potential," "forecast," "target," "outlook," "guidance," and similar expressions. Various factors may cause actual results to be materially different than the suggested outcomes within forward-looking statements; accordingly, there is no assurance that such results will be realized. These risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in Duke Energy's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than Duke Energy has described. Duke Energy expressly disclaims an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact: Randy Wheeless

24-Hour: 800.559.3853

Twitter: @DE_RandyW

SOURCE Duke Energy

Related Links

http://www.duke-energy.com


Spotify on Wednesday reported strong Q1 revenue growth, fueled by positive subscriber additions and strong ad sales, as well as lowered headwinds from foreign exchange rates.

The big picture: The Swedish tech giant noted that increased subscriber growth and user engagement can be attributed in part to the better-than-expected performance of "The Joe Rogan Experience," a podcast it acquired exclusively for over $100 million.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

Spotify came under fire Tuesday for anti-vaccination comments made by Joe Rogan, the host of the podcast. Rogan has long been considered one of the top podcasters in the world, but his brash personality has at times caused Spotify content moderation headaches.

By the numbers:

Revenue increased 16% year-over-year to 2.147 billion for the quarter ending on March 31, exceeding analyst expectations.

User growth: Spotify added 11 million monthly active users (DAUs), bringing its total active user based to 356 million globally.

Subscriber growth: The company added 4 million subscribers to its premium plan, bringing its paid subscriber count to over 158 million globally.

The big picture: Podcasting continues to be a point of growth for the company, although Spotify concedes that the revenue it's making from podcasts  while strong  is being offset by slightly higher costs, weighing on its gross margins.

Spotify says that by Q1's end, it had 2.6 million podcasts on the platform, up from more than 2.2 million podcasts by the end of Q4 2020 and 700,000 in Q4 2019.

On Tuesday, Spotify launched a new subscription podcast platform that gives creators the ability to create podcasts exclusively for paid subscribers on and off Spotify.

What's next: The company says it expects to hit at least 402 million monthly active users and at least 172 million premium subscribers by year's end.

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
The Kansas City Homeless Union and residents of hotel rooms recently requisitioned by the administration of Mayor Quinton Lucas confront a bitter leadership struggle as time is quickly running out on housing options and a recent emergency move highlighted emerging conflict.

To wit . . .

QADHAFI DENOUNCES DETRACTORS AND NEW FACTIONS QUICKLY EMERGING IN KANSAS CITY HOMELESS LEADERSHIP!!!



Meanwhile, allegations of damage to hotel property and messy FREE ROOMS have seemingly shifted public sentiment away from the ongoing crusade for homeless rights.



Better than our preamble, an extensive interview with Qadhafi helps to explain the situation . . .

Relocation Aftermath

People staying in Kansas City hotels as part of temporary program to address homelessness now being moved KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It has been 19 days since Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and the leader of the KC Homeless Union announced the city would cover 500 hotels rooms for 90 days for people experiencing homelessness to give people some stability. People had been living in a dozen facilities across town.

Hipster Homeless Life Lesson

KC's experiment relocating the homeless to hotels yields uneven results Alina Heart and Chet Bell, volunteers who have been working to make sure hotel guests are fed. // Photo by Bek Shackelford Two weeks ago Mayor Quinton Lucas announced 90-day hotel accommodations for anyone in the over 100 homeless encampments in Kansas City. Reactions were overwhelmingly positive from the community.

Developing . . .
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israels Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is not likely to reach deals with COVID vaccine makers to co-produce the vaccines although discussions are still ongoing, chief executive Kare Schultz told Reuters.

Schultz said Teva -- the world's largest generic drugmaker -- offered to co-produce the vaccines in both Israel and Europe, where the company has capacity, to help with global supply.

"But we've not been able to reach a firm agreement with any company," he said. "It's not for our lack of wanting to do it but the key players that have actually been successful in developing the vaccines that have come to the market have found other partners or their own internal capacity."

He did not name the companies.

"It's probably pretty much done (but) we can't rule it out," Schultz said. "We're still in discussion with some of the companies, and we're still willing to do it if we can help."

(Reporting by Steven Scheer. Editing by Jane Merriman)
CHICAGO (AP)  Miguel Cabrera and Niko Goodrum homered, Jose Urena went seven innings for his first win in two years, and the Detroit Tigers overcame a season-high five errors to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2 on Tuesday night.

Owners of the worst record in the majors, the Tigers matched their highest error total since they committed five against the White Sox in Chicago on Aug. 31, 2014. Third baseman Jeimer Candelario allowed a run to score in the first when he missed a throw and helped bring home another in the third with a throwing error as Chicago grabbed a 2-1 lead. But despite the struggles on defense, Detroit opened a nine-game trip on a winning note after losing 10 of 11.

Our mentality has been pretty good, manager A.J. Hinch said. It's been frustrating. You try to just kind of stay in the moment. We talked today before the game about not dragging that mess of a homestand into this road trip; it doesn't have anything to do with today's game. It's easier said than done some days, but we weren't down. It wasn't a quiet dugout. It hasn't been.

Cabrera hit a long solo drive in the first for his 489th home run. Goodrum put the Tigers on top 4-2 in the seventh with a two-run shot against Lucas Giolito (1-2) after Wilson Ramos lined a tying double on the previous pitch. Jonathan Schoop made it 5-2 in the eighth when he went deep against Matt Foster.

Urena (1-3) earned his first win since he beat San Diego with the Miami Marlins on June 1, 2019. The right-hander pitched seven innings for the third straight start, giving up two runs  one earned  and seven hits.

He kept us in the game regardless of what happened, Schoop said. And he got us back. Sometimes, we make a play for him. Today, things happened and he kept us in the game.

Jose Cisnero struck out Billy Hamilton and Leury Garcia with two on to end the eighth. Gregory Soto worked the ninth for his third save and Detroit stopped a nine-game losing streak against Chicago.

Story continues

STREAK ENDS

The White Sox placed outfielder Luis Robert on the injured list as a precaution after he reported feeling flu-like symptoms, then saw their season-high four-game win streak end. They were 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position and grounded into four double plays.

Giolito lost his second consecutive start, allowing four runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked three.

Giolito, who threw 114 pitches, acknowledged he didn't have much left in the tank in the seventh. Even so, he said it was his job to get through the inning.

Manager Tony La Russa took the blame for not recognizing Giolito was running on empty. He was confident his ace could get out of the inning even after Detroit tied it.

Is that what he said?" La Russa asked when told about Giolito's comment. Then, it's my fault for not recognizing it.

TRANSACTIONS

Chicago recalled right-handed pitcher Alex McRae and outfielder Luis Gonzalez from its Schaumburg training facility.

TRAINER'S ROOM

White Sox: GM Rick Hahn said in a statement that Robert informed the teams medical staff of his symptoms Monday night and the club was awaiting further test results. Our hope is that his symptoms resolve quickly and that the testing protocols clear him to return to the active roster soon, Hahn said. ... RHP Lance Lynn (strained right trapezius) is scheduled to start Saturday against Cleveland, La Russa said. Lynn has not pitched since April 15.

UP NEXT

LHP Carlos Rodon (3-0, 0.47 ERA) looks to extend a sizzling start for the White Sox that includes a no-hitter against Cleveland. Detroit RHP Casey Mize (1-2, 5.23) has lost back-to-back starts, allowing 11 runs over 9 2/3 innings against Oakland and Kansas City.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
The Handmaids Tale is returning for its fourth season following an action-packed last run of episodes.

The Hulu series, which is based on Margaret Atwoods dystopian novel of the same name, last aired in 2019, with production being considerably delayed due to the pandemic.

Season four comes to Hulu in the US on 28 April, with the episodes expected to air on Channel 4 in the UK in the coming months.

If its been a while since you last visited Gilead, heres a recap of season three to prepare you for The Handmaids Tales return...

Season three centres around the backlash to Emily (Alexis Bledel) and her escape to Canada with baby Nichole at the end of the second series, something she achieved with help from her commander, Lawrence (Bradley Whitford). Having been granted asylum and able to give Junes (Elisabeth Moss) child over to Luke (OT Fagbenle) and Moira (Samira Wiley), she ends up living with them for a period of time before finally reuniting with her wife Sylvia (Clea DuVall) and their young son, Oliver.

The Waterfords have publicly pinned Nicholes kidnapping on Emily, but Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) insists to Fred (Joseph Fiennes) that it was her decision to send the baby away. She tries to commit suicide by setting her bed on fire, but is stopped by June. She later visits her mother and tries to kill herself again by drowning upon realising that she cant leave Fred.

Meanwhile, June has been moved to the Lawrence household. She finds that Lawrence is not as heroic as his treatment of Emily implied, and is also prone to playing power games with June to make her less likely to rebel. He makes her randomly choose five Marthas to save from the colonies. June eventually picks five women who had specific jobs before Gilead that will help the resistance in the future. Despite his power games, Lawrence does not make June have sex with him.

Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Waterford (Hulu)

The Waterfords learn that Nichole is in Canada with Luke and force June to call him. The call marks the first time the Waterfords had spoken to him since he was captured, and a meeting between them is arranged. The couple travel to Canada on a trip organised by Mark Tuello (who Serena met on a previous visit to Canada). Serena and Luke have an intense reunion in which she gives him a locket for Nichole and a tape from June containing the name she gave the baby, Holly. She also reveals that Nick is Hollys father. Mark slips Serena a contraband phone in case she wants to illegally contact him.

Upon the Waterfords return, June finds out that Serena has changed her mind about leaving Nichole in Canada. She is then made to appear in a televised broadcast in which they implore the Canadian government to return her. They all travel to Washington, where the handmaids lips are permanently held shut with ring piercings. June tells the Swiss diplomats negotiating between Canada and Gilead that Nick (Max Minghella) will give them information about Gilead in exchange for Nicholes safety, but they reject this on the grounds of him committing war crimes. June learns for the first time that Nick was directly involved in the crusades and attacks on the White House.

June manoeuvres her way into a meeting with her daughter Hannah, who is away at a special school. She goes with Commander Lawrences wife Eleanor, but they are unable to enter the building. Hannahs Martha is then hanged for endangering a sacred child, leading June to realise that her pious, pregnant walking partner Ofmatthew is spying on her. Ofmatthew is ostracised by the other handmaids, leading her to steal a gun before being shot by a guardian. She is declared brain dead but kept alive on life support until the baby is born.

Fred suspects that Lawrence is protecting his handmaids and visits the household to make sure that the ceremony is taking place. While the Lawrences do not want it to go ahead, June says that they must. She believes that doctors will know that they have not had sex and their whole household will be killed as a result. Eleanor has a breakdown after months of deteriorating mental health, with June telling her husband Lawrence that she is planning to smuggle 52 children out of Gilead and that Eleanor can go with them. The couple try to escape the country on their own, but find that his access to checkpoints has been revoked.

Elisabeth Moss as June (Hulu)

June makes Lawrence take her to the brothel Jezebels to meet the barman Billy, who she has been told by the network of domestic servants, or Marthas, has access to a plane. He agrees to be involved in sneaking the children out. She runs into high commander Winslow, a friend of Freds, who attempts to rape her until she stabs him to death. The body is disposed of by the Marthas that work there.

Growing tired of using the legal channels to return Nichole to Gilead, Serena contacts Tuello with the phone he gave her. Fred and Serena drive to meet him but he leads them to Canada where Fred is arrested for war crimes. Serena tells Fred that she was involved with the capture so that she could see Nichole, implying that she would go to Canada to be with her. Fred then informs Tuello of Serenas crimes and she is detained.

Back in Gilead, Junes plan to get the children out is underway, although Eleanor nearly tells the other commanders wives about it. Eleanor commits suicide and the children begin to travel to the Lawrence house. After hearing that the guardians have caught wind of something being wrong, they head to the airport. The children board the plane and arrive in Canada, along with many Marthas, where they are greeted by a task force including Luke and Moira. June is shot by a soldier and lies bleeding on the floor, but is picked up by the other handmaids who hadnt escaped.

The Handmaids Tale comes to Hulu in the US on 28 April. It is expected to air on Channel 4 later this year.
The NYPD released new images of a suspect who is believed to have kicked and stomped a 61-year-old Asian male in New York, leaving him hospitalized. (NYPD)

New York Man Charged With Attempted Murder in Attack on Chinese Immigrant

A New York City man was arrested and charged on Tuesday with attempted murder in what police have classified as a hate crime against a Chinese immigrant, authorities said.

The victim, identified by police as 61-year-old Yao Pan Ma, was attacked in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan on April 23.

Surveillance video released by police last week shows Ma being attacked from behind, knocked down and kicked in the head multiple times by a lone man.

Police charged Jarrod Powell, 49, of New York with two counts of felony assault, one count of attempted murder. While they have classified the attack as a hate crime, they have offered few other details.

This Friday, April 23, 2021 image from surveillance video made available by the New York City Police Department shows an unidentified individual police who are seeking after a 61-year-old Asian man was attacked in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York. (NYPD via AP)

It was unclear Tuesday if Powell had an attorney. No information on bond was available, but police said he remained in custody Tuesday evening.

Media outlets, including the Washington Post and People magazine reported that Ma was in critical condition in a medically induced coma at Harlem Hospital. A representative for the hospital told Reuters that he could not release information on the patient.

People magazine reported that Ma was a pastry chef who came to America about two years ago with his wife.

By Rich McKay
WASHINGTON (AP)  Ten years after they found and killed Osama bin Laden, U.S. Navy SEALs are undergoing a major transition to improve leadership and expand their commando capabilities to better battle threats from global powers like China and Russia.

The new plan cuts the number of SEAL platoons by as much as 30% and increases their size to make the teams more lethal and able to counter sophisticated maritime and undersea adversaries. And there will be a new, intensive screening process for the Navy's elite warriors, to get higher-quality leaders after scandals that rocked the force and involved charges of murder, sexual assault and drug use.

Rear Adm. H. Wyman Howard III, top commander for the SEALs, laid out his plans in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press. He said the Navys special operations forces have been focused on counterterrorism operations but now must begin to evolve beyond those missions. For the past two decades, many have been fighting in the deserts of Iraq and mountains of Afghanistan. Now they are focused on going back to sea.

That decision reflects the broader Pentagon strategy to prioritize China and Russia, which are rapidly growing their militaries and trying to expand their influence around the globe. U.S. defense leaders believe that two decades of war against militants and extremists have drained resources, causing America to lose ground against Moscow and Beijing.

The counterterrorism fight had its benefits, allowing the SEALs to sharpen their skills in developing intelligence networks and finding and hitting targets, said Howard, who heads Naval Special Warfare Command, which includes the SEALs and the special warfare combatant-craft crewmen. "Many of these things are transferable, but now we need to put pressure on ourselves to operate against peer threats."

As a result, Howard is adding personnel to the SEAL platoons to beef up capabilities in cyber and electronic warfare and unmanned systems, honing their skills to collect intelligence and deceive and defeat the enemy.

Story continues

We are putting pressure on ourselves to evolve and understand our gaps in capability and what our true survivability is against these threats posed by global competitors, he said.

Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations, said the goal is to better integrate the SEALs into the Navy's missions at sea.

As the Navy Special Warfare community returns more and more to its maritime roots, their increased integration across the Fleet  above, under, and on the sea  will unequivocally enhance our unique maritime capabilities to help us compete and win against any adversary," Gilday said in a statement to the AP.

Increasing the size of the SEAL platoons will add high-tech capabilities. And decreasing the number of units will allow Howard to rid the force of toxic leaders and be more selective in choosing commanders. That decision is a direct result of the erosion in character that Navy officials have seen within the force.

In recent years, SEALs have been involved in a number of high-profile scandals. One of the most well-known was the arrest of Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher on war crimes charges that included murder of an Islamic State militant captive and attempted murder in the shootings of civilians during a 2017 deployment to Iraq.

Gallagher was acquitted of all charges except one, posing in photos with the dead captive. A jury recommended his rank be reduced, cutting his pension and benefits as he was about to retire. But President Donald Trump intervened and ordered that Gallagher be allowed to retire without losing his SEAL status.

More recently, a SEAL team platoon was pulled out of Iraq in 2019 amid allegations of sexual assault. Members of SEAL Team 10 were involved in cocaine use and tampering with drug tests. And Navy SEAL Adam Matthews was sentenced to a year in military prison for his role in the 2017 hazing-related death of an Army Green Beret in Africa.

Navy leaders also chafed as Navy SEALs broke away from their quiet professional ethos, publicizing their participation in the raid into Pakistan that killed bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader responsible for plotting the 9/11 attacks. Two SEALs wrote books about the mission, prompting a rebuke form the Naval Special Warfare commander at the time, Rear Adm. Brian Losey.

A critical tenant of our ethos is I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions, he said.

Since taking over last September, Howard reached out to the Army and the Marine Corps for ideas on how to better screen his commando forces and assess them as they move through the ranks. Almost immediately, he instituted a double blind process for candidate interviews that was being used by the Army, so that neither side is influenced by actually seeing the other.

In addition, he is intensifying the screening process with more psychological assessments to evaluate personality traits. And he is expanding other assessments done by the subordinates and peers of candidates up for review. The increased scrutiny, said Howard, will extend through all the ranks and will help leaders get a better understanding of each service member's character. The process, he said, will provide more feedback for individuals so they can improve and will also help top leaders pair commanders with the right teams.

In some cases, Howard said, sailors who already had gone through the initial SEAL screening had to do it again under the new process. Not all did as well the second time.

We learned that some of the officers that scored in the midrange are officers that I thought would have scored much higher, he said.
Western States Virtual Book & Paper Fair Kicks off April 29 There is something for everyone at every price point at this fair"

Regional book fairs that have been put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic have found a way to survive by banding together for the Western States Virtual Book & Paper Fair. More than 150 leading specialists in antiquarian books, fine prints, photography, maps, and ephemera are taking part in the free online event, which kicks off Thursday, April 29 at 9 a.m./PDT at https://westernstates.getmansvirtual.com.

Drop in at the Between the Covers Rare Books booth to view a first edition of Ernest Hemingways classic A Farewell to Arms (1929). Freshly vaccinated and preparing to hit the road again? Check out Bookpress Ltd.s booth for classics of automotive and camper travel such as May Southworths 1923 The Motorists Luncheon Book. Seeking opportunity to build your autograph collection? Cross Genre Books is presenting a collection of novels signed by the visionary African American science fiction writer Octavia Butler, while John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller is offering a signed letter by renowned physicist Albert Einstein.

There is something for everyone at every price point at this fair, said producer Jen Johnson. The best part is you can visit booksellers from Los Angeles to London at any time of the day or night because the book fair remains open 24 hours a day during the fair.

In addition, a wide variety of special free talks and virtual tours are being held, including a bilingual session in Spanish and English about the intertwined history of the United States and Mexico through an exploration of original documents. Experts on the Occult, as well as Western Americana, will speak about collecting in these two different genres, award-winning author Matt Ruff will discuss his novel Lovecraft Country (2016) and its transformation into an HBO series, and Karina Longworth will share her experiences in the archives preparing for her podcast You Must Remember This. Visit the book fair website to learn more and sign up for free tickets to these special events.

Produced by Rare Books LA and sponsored by Biblio.com, this unique event is presented in conjunction with the Rose City Book & Paper Fair, the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair, the Sacramento Antiquarian Book Fair, The Rocky Mountain Book & Paper Fair, the Albuquerque Book Fair, the Fort Worth Antiquarian Book Fair, and the Houston Book Show. The Fair is open continuously through 8 p.m./PDT on Saturday, May 1.

Bookmark the website, where you will find a complete list of exhibitors and you can RSVP for the free specialty talks and tours, and dont forget to sign up for free tickets at https://westernstates.getmansvirtual.com




The headquarters of Shinhan Investment Corp. on Yeouido, Seoul. / Korea Times file
[April 28, 2021] KBRA Releases Research - New Jersey Aims to Broaden Public Asset Contributions to Fund Pensions

Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) releases research which discusses a proposed bill in the New Jersey legislature that would further enable the contribution of public sector assets such as water systems, toll roads, parking systems and other infrastructure to fund the pension liabilities of the state's pension system. New Jersey Senate Bill 3637 has a similar intent to the Lottery Enterprise Contribution Act (LECA) of 2017, under which the state contributed its Lottery Enterprise system to the three largest pension funds and improved its actuarial funded ratio. However, the new proposal goes further by enabling not just the state but all local governments within the state (counties, cities, townships, community college districts, etc.) to contribute their public assets, in order to reduce their respective liabilities to the state's pension systems. Key Takeaways The bill would broaden the type of public entity in New Jersey that could use public assets to finance their unfunded pension liabilities. Counties, cities, townships, and districts would be eligible and some of these entities have significant liabilities to the state administered pension systems.

The purpose is limited to funding of the state-administered pension funds. Other public purposes are not addressed in the proposal.

The bill details the mechanisms to accomplish such transactions and provides for a process of analyzing the costs and benefits. In KBRA's opinion, it is important that this analysis be rigorously applied in a manner that includes citizen input ad expertise commensurate with the complexity of the transaction.

KBRA believes three issues could help determine the soundness of such programs: To be credit positive or credit neutral, an asset transfer program would typically be part of a well-considered, efficient, long-term plan, not simply to manage arbitrary financial ratios. Similarly, large public assets are important public resources that should be used to finance only long-term needs, not short-term budget imbalances. KBRA observes that public entities that do not also address the underlying deficits that led to the need to transfer public assets in the first instance (e.g., structural budget imbalances), are likely to see a recurrence of the problem, with the potential of a downward spiral.





here to view the report. Related Publications

Untapped Resources May Help Fund Pension and Infrastructure Shortfalls

A Significant Step but Still a Long Way to Go: New Jersey Contributes Lottery Enterprise to Pension Funds About KBRA KBRA is a full-service credit rating agency registered in the U.S., the EU and the UK, and is designated to provide structured finance ratings in Canada. KBRA's ratings can be used by investors for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428006157/en/

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Jim Henderson, William F. Tate IV and Kelvin Droegemeier were chosen as the finalists for the top job at LSU.

The LSU Presidential Search Committee met for three hours behind closed doors after two days of interviews of eight semi-finalists.

For full coverage of today's developments in the presidential search, click here.

Henderson is president of the University of Louisiana System, which has nine state colleges serving about 90,000 students.

Jay Dardenne, Jim Henderson among 8 semifinalists in LSU president search; see full list An LSU special committee Wednesday picked eight candidates to interview next week for the universitys top job, including Commissioner of Admi

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

Droegemeier was the director for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for part of President Donald Trumps term.

Tate is the provost at the University of South Carolina

Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, who was interviewed Monday, was not one of the finalists.

The three finalists will be interviewed further and may visit the LSU campus. The search committee is hoping to deliver to the LSU Board of Supervisors a recommendation by Friday.
The Health Minister says the vaccination site at the Divali Nagar is not only to be used for the vaccination of those in the manufacturing sector.
Yes, no matter what

Yes, but it depends on variety

No, for medical reasons, uncertainty

No, principle

Vote

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VINCENNES, Ind. (WTHI) - The cold case is concerning a sexual assault in 2008. It happened around Thanksgiving. According to police, a man entered an apartment on West Saint Clair Street in Vincennes. After entering the apartment, that man sexually assaulted a 21-year-old woman. The Vincennes Police Department released composites and renewed its efforts in January.

Vincennes Police chief Robert Dunham says, "I'm glad to let everybody know that yesterday our offender was picked up on a warrant on the charges from Knox county. He was picked up in Polk County Florida."

Police say around 100 tips came into the department since the beginning of the year. Those tips and DNA evidence led Vincennes Police to Gustav Ryburn. Ryburn is now awaiting extradition to Knox County from Polk county Florida.

Sargent Stacey Reese explains, "Through those leads, we were able to generate a person of interest who was Mr. Ryburn. We then began investigating Mr. Ryburn and we were able to come up with enough probable cause to lead to his arrest."

Tuesday's announcement was attended by current and former investigators related to the cold case. Someone who was absent from the meeting was the victim of the sexual assault. VPD isn't naming the victim. Current case investigator Sargent Stacey Reese read a statement provided from her.

Reese read the victim's statement, "She wants everyone to know she is thankful for all of their help. She hopes that justice will be done in this case and that this man never sees that outside of a prison cell again. She wants you to know that she is a survivor and she will continue to survive and thrive in life and overcome all the obstacles that this brought to her."

Ryburn's extradition to Knox county could come within the week.
Workers in the aviation sector should be considered for Covid-19 on a priority basis after health workers have been given the jabs, the civil aviation ministry has told the Union health ministry.

During the first phase of vaccination, the list of frontline workers included personnel from the armed forces, prison staff, municipal workers, among others, but not aviation-sector employees.

Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary in the civil aviation ministry, in a letter to chief secretaries of states, has asked for workers involved in aviation services to be considered on priority during the next phase of vaccination, which starts on 1 May.

DIPAM Secretary Pandey currently has the additional charge of civil aviation until May 13, as the ministry's secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola is on leave.

Nearly 8 million people on Wednesday applied for in three hours on the first day as the government's dedicated website, CoWIN, opened for registrations for those between 18 and 44 years old.

"The aviation sector has been at the forefront of extending services to the movement of medical cargo like vaccines, medicines, medical equipment during the pandemic. It is understandable that crew, engineers, air traffic controllers, technicians, ground staff face significant risk. I would request you to consider the personnel involved in aviation services as a priority group, " Pandey wrote.

International airline lobby group International Air Transport Association (IATA) renewed its call on governments to ensure that employees in the aviation sector were considered essential workers during the impending Covid-19 vaccine campaign once workers and vulnerable groups had been protected.

IATA said that this would also help revive the sector, which has been hit heavily by the virus.

The second wave of the pandemic has significantly delayed any revival in travel, including in the domestic sector, which had just seen some uptick in January and February.

Rating agency Icra expects domestic air traffic to reach pre-covid levels by 2022-23, while international air traffic is expected to hit pre-Covid normalcy only by FY24 because of a sluggish demand from leisure and business travellers and a surge in new variants of the
DURHAM, N.C., April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ClassRanked, a modern digital platform and educational resource that enables college students to make informed, data-driven decisions regarding their collegiate futures, today announced the launch of its service at over 400 U.S. colleges and universities.

"For the first time, students nationwide now can access hundreds of millions of individual student grades, user reviews, course materials, and class recommendation tools to allow users to browse every course offered at their university and make informed decisions on their schedule", said Hayden Hall, co-founder and CEO of ClassRanked.

ClassRanked was built by students for students and has assembled more than 650 million grades to help maximize one of the largest investments student will make in their lives. As a result, the tools help build guided pathways to discover must take faculty, find vital courses to improve job prospects and improve college completion.

Hall continued, "we plan to be the medium students turn to throughout the entire college process  from providing academic assistance to enhancing aspects of student life to filling the void that exists in college media. Our growing userbase and rapid adaption rate show that objective data and innovative solutions will continue to energize new generations of college students."

ClassRanked also announced its continued growth building systems to map course catalogs between universities and developing features that identify essential knowledge, competencies and curriculum content that will further enhance user experience.

"With more pinpointed connectivity between courses across the country," said ClassRanked's Chief Technology Officer, "we will soon be able to offer course materials and student resources uniquely tailored to specific individual student needs in ways that have never been seen before  all a result of the scale and structure of our robust data set."

The disruption caused by Covid-19, has led students to clarify their expectations and ask the hard questions of their institutions. Classranked aims to become an objective and essential part of the collegiate landscape responding to the changing preferences of a new generation that has no relationship with legacy educational systems and outdated conceptions about earning a degree.

ClassRanked is the only national platform on actual collegiate academic performance, reported directly from universities, and a rapidly growing platform for the most reliable academic tools. The move by ClassRanked to expand its reach nationally aims to keep the company at the forefront of this dynamic landscape.

About: Launched in 2019 by classmates from Duke University, ClassRanked is a technology enabled platform that unlocks value for students, employers and higher education institutions through building the largest data set of students' actual academic performance in courses offered by more than 300,000 faculty at more than 400 colleges and universities.

SOURCE ClassRanked

Related Links

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COLUMBIA  More than two years after a University of South Carolina senior was found dead when she mistakenly got into a car she thought was her Uber ride, her accused killer has a trial date.

Nathaniel Rowland, a 27-year-old from New Zion in Clarendon County, will stand trial for murder July 19 in Columbia, according to online records. Rowland has denied the charges.

Rowland was denied bond in June 2020 on charges stemming from the death of USC senior Samantha Josephson.

The New Jersey native disappeared soon after leaving a Five Points bar where she was out with some friends in March 2019. She requested an Uber rideshare, authorities said.

Josephson was caught on video from surveillance cameras getting into a black sedan. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the video, but her boyfriend testified at the bond hearing that he tracked her phone as it went away from Columbia.

Josephsons body was discovered the next afternoon by turkey hunters 65 miles east of Columbia in a remote wooded area of Clarendon County.

Her parents said they could not identify the 21-year-old in the morgue after she was stabbed 30 times. She was identified by DNA analysis.

Her debit card was used twice at ATMs after she disappeared, and a suspect tried selling Josephsons phone at a store for $300, prosecutors and authorities testified during the 2020 hearing.

The evening after she disappeared, Rowland was arrested after he was spotted in a black Chevrolet Impala in Five Points matching the one that picked up Josephson.

Blood matching Josephsons was found in the car, authorities testified during the 2020 bond hearing. They also discovered that the child locks in the backseat were activated, which could have trapped someone inside the car, prosecutors said.

Josephsons parents have led a national effort to get ride-sharing services to help passengers better confirm who is picking them up. Services have added special identification numbers to match drivers with their rides. South Carolina passed a law requiring that ride-share services put license plate numbers on the front windshield.
John Lewis has carefully crafted its reputation as the favourite department store of the middle classes for decades - but it's well-heeled image has taken a hit in recent weeks after apparently being snubbed by the Prime Minister and girlfriend Carrie Symonds.

The news that the couple considered the decor left behind by exiting Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019 at Number 11 Downing Street a 'John Lewis nightmare' has seen the term trending on Twitter - with shoppers questioning whether their own purchases suddenly feel a little less glossy.

The media storm this week over Boris Johnson taking a loan from the Conservative Party to redecorate the Downing Street flat where the couple live with their 11-month-old son Wilfred has left many doubting whether the store, over 100 years old and known for being 'never knowingly undersold', can still be considered 'posh'.

Many have defended John Lewis as a discerning choice, including Grant Harrold aka The Royal Butler - who worked as a butler to Prince Charles from 2004 to 2011. Harrold said it was sad to see such a 'great British institution' being dismissed and that the revered brand was still very much 'fit for royalty'.

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Has the shine been taken off John Lewis by Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds? The couple's recent controversial refurb of No 11, where they live with their baby son Wilfred, has stripped away Theresa May's previous decor - which Tatler called a 'John Lewis Nightmare'

The news that the couple, who are thought to have funded the high-end refurbishment with loan a from the Conservative Party, aren't fans of middle class favourite John Lewis has left many reeling on social media

When the refurb took place in March, high society magazine Tatler reported it was being transformed from 'Theresa Mays John Lewis furniture nightmare into a high-society haven', with Ms Symonds apparently keen on a complete interior overhaul that would banish the mid-market feel.

Shoppers have commented using the #JohnLewisnightmare hashtag on social media in recent days, with many suggesting the PM might have alienated the Tory faithful by besmirching their favourite shop.

@WillBlackWriter wrote: 'I suspect Carrie Symonds thinking John Lewis furnishings are "common" could be the final straw for middle-class conservative England.'

@gdaduncan added: 'I've just woken up from a John Lewis nightmare - so much better than the Aldi nightmare I'm having in real life. #johnlewisnightmare'

@Emma_Whittaker agreed, saying: 'As someone who is currently moving house and buying furniture, I would love Boris Johnson's #johnlewisnightmare

'Still out of work due to the pandemic and not qualifying for government help, the closest I've come to John Lewis is a day dream.'

John Lewis has suffered an 'identity crisis' in recent years says etiquette expert William Hanson, saying the store no longer asking staff to be suited and booted was a bad move

So what is the verdict of etiquette experts on the much loved British brand? Is John Lewis' long-held position as middle England's go-to store for furnishings now less sure-footed?

Grant Harrold aka The Royal Butler, who worked for The Prince of Wales for eight years, told FEMAIL it was sad that such a well-loved brand could be dubbed a 'nightmare'.

He said: 'Our country is just starting to get itself back on its feet and our shops have just opened up again including the great British institute that is John Lewis. I do hope that this does not affect John Lewis and any of the companies that supply furniture to them either.'

He added: 'Perhaps Ms Carrie Symonds could instead show support to our British businesses and instead of blacklisting a company be seen shopping for her new sofas and chairs in her local John lewis.

'I personally can not wait to head back to my local John Lewis as the products they sell are after all fit for royalty.'

Never really that posh: Etiquette expert William Hanson says only the Chelsea branch of John Lewis might be considered good enough for high society

Etiquette guru William Hanson told FEMAIL that the store has never been considered in the same ilk as Harrods or Selfridges: 'In the grand scheme of things John Lewis isn't that posh.

'They are now and always have been, however, solidly and reliably middle class. An image that perhaps they dont wish to nurture anymore.

He added that the store had been 'suffering an identity crisis' in recent times.

'Their employees no longer have to wear suits on the shop floor. Instead they can wear a less than appealing black polo shirt and chinos or jeans.

Because apparently a suit is too elitist and a polo shirt less intimidating. John Lewiss store in Chelsea, Peter Jones, however, is still considered fairly smart - it even has a different name from the rest just to make sure it stands a little higher from the rest.'

The Twitter brouhaha hasn't gone unnoticed by the social media team behind the high street favourite.

The official John Lewis store account posted last night: 'Phew, the John Lewis social team have just finished an all day brainstorming session to find ways for people to talk about us on Twitter..... Have we missed anything?'
LONDON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the early architects of the European leveraged finance industry and 25-year veteran of JPMorgan, E. Stanton McLean, is embarking upon a new chapter of his career.

McLean is joining the rising wave of traditional corporate leaders finding new wealth creation opportunities in the burgeoning field of global cannabis.

Building on a distinguished career in global finance, McLean leaves his current position as managing director at JPMorgan to join Artemis Growth Partners, the leading ESG-focused investment platform dedicated to global cannabis.

McLean will work alongside William Muecke, general partner and co-founder of Artemis Growth Partners and himself a former veteran senior banker at Goldman Sachs & Co., as part of the private equity firm's senior executive team in London.

McLean will expand the global private equity firm's leadership group as Advisory Director where he will advise on all forms of capital markets activities including capital raising for investment vehicles and for portfolio companies worldwide, according to a statement.

"There are a number of similarities between what is happening in this space and what we saw as we were developing the European leveraged finance market in the early 2000's," McLean said in an interview. "Namely, rapid growth, long-term stability, and highly attractive economic rewards for those early market entrants."

McLean's leveraged finance career spans 25 years at JPMorgan where he held senior positions in sales and trading and capital markets.

About Artemis Growth Partners

Artemis Growth Partners is an alternative asset manager executing Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) and impact investment strategies across its portfolio in the global cannabis industry.

Artemis Growth Partners oversees US $320+ million in discretionary assets under management (AUM), and invests globally across the cannabis value chain, including branded products, distributors, value-added service providers, ancillary operators, and science-driven research and development platforms.

Artemis manages a portfolio of over 30 leading cannabis companies, including globally recognized US operators such as Columbia Care, Green Thumb Industries, iheartjane.com, Kiva Confections, Leaf Trade, PAX Labs, and The Parent Company, as well as emerging international and European players such as Asia Horizon, Aureum A/S, Clever Leaves, Materia, PhytoPur Bio, and Prohibition Partners.

Artemis Growth Partners founders' mission is to build through investment an inclusive, better world for all.

For further information:

Artemis Growth Partners

W: www.artemisgrowth.com

SOURCE Artemis Growth Partners

Related Links

http://www.artemisgrowth.com


We hope you like laptops because they were the focus of Samsung's latest Unpacked event. In all, the South Korean giant added four new models to its Galaxy Book family, starting with the top-of-the-line Galaxy Book Pro and Pro 360. The company took some of the features its Galaxy phones are best known for and added them to these computers. For instance, both the Galaxy Book Pro and Pro 360 feature vivid AMOLED displays. But what's nice here is that you can switch between different color gamuts depending on your needs.

For those looking for something more affordable, the company also announced a no-frills version of the Galaxy Book Pro, known as the Galaxy Book, which will feature an LCD display and make its way to the US later this year. We also got a look at the Galaxy Book Odyssey, the first laptop to include NVIDIA's new RTX 3050 Ti Max-Q GPU.

If you watched Samsung's Galaxy S21 event earlier in the year, you might remember the company spent a lot of time talking about its different manufacturing processes. It did so again today. The good news is you don't have to sit through all that fluff thanks to our video recap.
CAIRO and MADRID, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Spain's Lleida.net (OTCQX: LLEIF) (EPA: ALLLN) (BME: LLN) and eGate Egypt have signed an agreement that will allow the corporation to distribute, in an exclusive way, all the services catalogue of the Spanish listed company.

Through the agreement, eGate Egypt becomes with immediate effect the exclusive distributor of Lleida.net services in Egypt.

Lleida.net's is partnering up with leading technology companies like eGate Egypt to provide its SaaS service line to large corporations in emerging markets

That line includes its patented registered electronic notification, signature and contracting services and registered SMS services, or its digital onboarding of customers with identity verification technology.

"Lleida.net has taken its penetration of the African market very seriously in recent years. As part of this strategy, entering Egypt is a long-term bet in which we are very confident," explained Sisco Sapena, CEO company.

Essam Elsaghir, CEOeGate Egypt, said: "Digital Transformation is fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers to enhance the day-to-day lives of the Egyptian society by doing what we are currently doing electronically, better, faster. One of the challenges public services & business face's today is public and customers communications digital transformations."

"With our partnership with Lleida.net as one of the leader's in the registered electronic communication technology we will provide our customers with secure, easy and faster way to reach their clients electronically with registered 'emails, SMS, signature and contracting services' with full tracking and delivery certificate," he added.

Egypt has population of more than 101 million people,and more than 95 million mobile connections, covering 92 percent of the country's total population.

Lleida.net's services, which operate on a pay-per-use model, does not require the installation of any hardware or software, and offers immediate availability, which is ideal for the Egyptian and North African market.

The corporation, founded in 1995, and which last year became one of the fastest growing companies on the European stock market, has more than 3,000 shareholders.

Its shares are traded on the OTCQX in New York, on BME Growth in Madrid and on Euronext Growth in Paris.

The company has 203 patents granted worldwide for its certified electronic notification, signature and contracting methods
The New York Times, March 30, 2021

By Adam Nossiter

KABUL, Afghanistan  Three health workers, all women, working for the governments polio vaccine campaign were shot dead in Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, local officials said, only weeks after three women working in television were killed in the same city.

The women, all in their 20s, were going about their jobs in the bustling town near the border with Pakistan when they were gunned down in two separate attacks.Negina, 24, a supervisor for the polio vaccine campaign, which started in Afghanistan on Monday, was shot and killed about an hour later elsewhere in the city.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killings.

The Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, rejected any involvement in the incident in a WhatsApp message.

Afghanistan, which recorded 56 cases of polio in 2020, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, is one of two countries where the disease has not been eradicated, trailing behind Pakistan.

Around the same time as Tuesdays shootings, there was an explosion at the citys regional hospital, officials said, in front of the compound where the vaccines are stored. There were no casualties, but windows were shattered.

The latest killings  part of a wave of targeted assassinations often singling out women, journalists, professionals, activists and doctors  happened at a fraught moment for Afghanistan as the Taliban have made steady military gains, and relentlessly attack those deemed as collaborating with the Afghan government. Additionally, remnants of the Islamic State operating in the region have focused on carrying out fewer large-scale bombings and more smaller but targeted assaults.

The United States has yet to definitively say whether it will meet the May 1 deadline for withdrawing all American forces, per an agreement the Trump administration signed with the Taliban in February 2020.

My niece Basira was a poor girl, said Haji Moqbel Ahmad, a tribal elder in Jalalabad, who added that the woman had not been threatened before. She was shot and killed while she was doing her job.

Basira, a vaccine worker since her teens, had been enlisted for a five-day vaccine campaign for which she would be paid less than $30, officials said.

The month began with the assassination of three women who worked for a television station in Jalalabad. A female television and radio presenter from the same station was gunned down in much the same way in December. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for both incidents.

The New York Times documented the deaths of at least 136 civilians and 168 security force members in such targeted killings in 2020, more than nearly any other year of the war. So far, 2021 has not seen any reprieve from the same kind of violence.

The Taliban are increasing pressure on government and society, asserting dominance as stuttering, intermittent negotiations take place to settle the Afghan conflict.

Jalalabad has been among the hardest hit cities. A day after the television-worker killings, a female doctor there was killed by a roadside bomb.

Ross Wilson, the U.S. charge daffaires in Kabul, denounced Tuesdays killings.

Such attacks are a direct affront to Afghans dream of building a better life for their children, Mr. Wilson wrote on Twitter. My deepest condolences for the victims families as we call for justice, he wrote. Attacking vaccinators is as heartless as it is inexplicable.

Humanitarian agencies also expressed outrage. Henrietta Fore, the executive director of Unicef, issued a statement calling the victims courageous vaccinators who were at the forefront of efforts to combat the spread of polio and keep Afghanistans children safe from this disabling disease.
Washington:

The United States layered a new round of sanctions on North Korea on Thursday, blacklisting individuals and organisations involved in security and forced labor policies for "ongoing and serious human rights abuses".

Amid the ongoing standoff over Pyongyang's threatening nuclear posture towards Japan and the United States, the US Treasury sought to boost pressure by placing the financial restrictions on seven senior officials and three state units.

The move came as the State Department released its "Report on Serious Human Rights Abuses and Censorship in North Korea" which details allegations of a national forced labor system and the government's confiscation of the wages of North Koreans sent abroad as contract labor.

"Human rights abuses by DPRK regime remain among the worst in the world, including those involving extra judicial killings, forced labor, torture, prolonged arbitrary detention, as well as rape, forced abortions, and other sexual violence inside the country", said State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

"Many of the country's human rights abuses underwrite the regime's weapons program", she added.

The sanctions included the Military Security Command and its director and deputy director, described as "the military's secret police" that investigates political crimes in the armed forces.

Also targeted were Minister of Labor Jong Yong Su, the External Construction Bureau and the Ch'olhyo'n Overseas Construction Company, for their roles in forced labor and foreign labor contracting deals.

Read more: Pakistan more dangerous than North Korea: Ex-US Senator Larry Pressler

The rights report details the country's programs for sending Korean workers abroad for jobs under conditions it compared with slavery in order to reap foreign exchange for the state.

It says the Ch'olhyo'n Overseas Construction Company, working in Algeria, had Korean government security officials working with it to withhold the salaries and passports of the Korean workers, and to strictly limit their movements.

"Thousands of North Koreans are sent abroad every year to work in slave-like conditions, earning revenue for the regime", Nauert said.

Also listed for sanctions were the first vice minister of the Ministry of People's Security, the North Korean Consul General in Shenyang, China, and a diplomat in the country's embassy in Vietnam.

The two diplomats, the US said, have participated in the forced repatriation of North Koreans seeking political asylum in other countries.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Naughty Girl Creek, Wetwang and Spanker Knob may sound like rude euphemisms or slang terms, but they all have something else in common.

They are names of places that really exist, and were featured in The Kyle and Jackie O Show's round-up of the 'world's rudest town names' on Wednesday.

The Sydney radio hosts spoke about the various weird and wacky place names from America, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Double meanings: Radio hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson (pictured) have revealed the world's 'rudest' town names, including Naughty Girl Creek and Wetwang

'There's a town called Intercourse which is actually right in the middle of Amish country [in Pennsylvania],' Jackie 'O' Henderson began.

She said that was where actor Harrison Ford filmed the 1985 movie Witness, which was all about the Amish people.

'Pee Pee in Ohio. One of the early settlers inscribed his initials 'PP' on a tree. Then there's Climax in Georgia,' she continued.

'That's because it is actually located at the highest point of a railroad in the state. That's why,' she explained.

Welcome to Intercourse! 'There's a town called Intercourse which is actually right in the middle of Amish country [in Pennsylvania],' Jackie said

Jackie rattled off several other names, including Blue Ball in Pennsylvania and Ballplay in Alabama.

She admitted the names weren't 'meant to be dirty', but they became double entendres as slang terms evolved over time.

Turning their attention to Britain, Jackie and her co-host Kyle Sandilands jostled over which was the funniest place name.

'There's Wetwang in Yorkshire,' Jackie said. 'There's a Cocks, actually spelt C-O-C-K-S. The sign for the town gets stolen all the time from drunk people.'

World's rudest town names America Intercourse, Pennsylvania

Pee Pee, Ohio

Climax, Georgia

Blue Ball, Pennsylvania

Ballplay, Alabama United Kingdom Bitchfield, Lincolnshire

Wetwang, Yorkshire

Cocks, Cornwall

Fingringhoe, Essex Australia Quality Knobs, Spanker Knob, Prominent Nob

Naughty Girl Creek

Bulls**t Hill

Wankaroo Creek Advertisement

Kyle said 'someone must be taking the p**s' when he learned there was a village in Essex called Fingringhoe.

Jackie then noted the many towns and places in Australia ending in the word Knob.

'There's actually 15 places in Australia with the word "knob" in the name,' she said, adding that 'other rude places' include Naughty Girl Creek in Queensland, Bulls**t Hill - 'a random hill in the middle of nowhere' - and Wankaroo Creek.
The for community benefit HPC-AI Advisory Council (HPCAIAC) and Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) in collaboration with the HPCXXL Board today announced the virtual 2021 Swiss Conference and HPCXXL User Group. The conference will take place with an all online participation 05-06 May from 13:00-16:00 CEST (7:00-10:00a.m. EDT). The meeting, virtually hosted by CSCS, will present a condensed agenda over two afternoons from Switzerland's CEST time zone. Each daily (3hr) session will combine thought leadership and immersive contributed talks across HPC and AI domains and disciplines and feature the innovative research, techniques, tools and technologies that fuel economies, productivity and progress globally.

Encouraging shared knowledge for over a decade, a recognizable lineup of renowned subject matter experts returns in 2021 to explore leading-edge research and technologies from Cloud Native Supercomputing to 'citizen scientists' contributions to COVID-19 research. CSCS and HPCXXL experts will also introduce cutting-edge HPC and AI developments that are integral to researchers, collaborations and breakthroughs throughout Switzerland, Europe and the world.

"HPC and AI are key disciplines and enablers of most major advancements," said Gilad Shainer, HPC-AI Advisory Council Chairman. "The annual Swiss Conference and HPCXXL User Group brings together specialists from all over the world, helping further everyone's expertise and progress."

"The conference provides a multi-disciplined perspective," said Michele De Lorenzi, CSCS Deputy Director. "Private and public participants come together to learn from each other. Their diverse knowledge and works helps others in their individual and collaborative pursuits, which benefits everyone."

The 2021 Swiss Conference HPCXXL User Group requires registration, is free to attend and open to all interested

About HPC-AI Advisory Council

Founded in 2008, The HPC-AI Advisory Council (HPCAIAC) is a for community benefit organization with over 400 members committed to promoting HPC and AI through education and outreach. More: www.hpcadvisorycouncil.com

About Swiss National Supercomputing Centre

Founded in 1991, the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) provides key capabilities to solve important problems to science and/or society. Operated by ETH Zurich, CSCS supports researchers globally from its state of the art centre in Lugano.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005149/en/

Contacts:

Brian Sparks

brian@hpcadvisorycouncil.com

+1-408-495-0898
There was strong activity in both private and public M&A in 2020

In 2018 and 2019, the consumer goods, manufacturing, and real estate sectors recorded important M&A transactions in Vietnam. And last year, banking and real estate were the key sectors for M&A transactions.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of March 20, the total newly-registered, adjusted, and contributed capital and purchased shares of foreign investors reached $10.13 billion, an increase of 18.5 per cent on-year.

In terms of newly-registered capital, 234 new projects were granted investment certificates (down 69.1 per cent on-year) with the total registered capital reaching $7.2 billion (up 30.6 per cent on-year), while adjusted capital grew by 97.4 per cent to $2.1 billion. Meanwhile, the total volume of capital contribution and share purchases by foreign investors reached $805.3 million, equivalent to a fall of 58.5 per cent on-year.

In the mentioned timeline, Singapore is deemed to be the biggest foreign financier with nearly $4.6 billion, or 45.6 per cent of the total registered capital, while Japan ranked second with $2.1 billion, followed by South Korea with $1.2 billion. Specifically, almost all the investment capital inflows from Singapore and Japan were newly-registered.

Looking back, there is strong activity in both private and public M&A, with both providing blockbuster deals in Vietnam during 2020. Naturally, there are more private M&A transactions, and listed companies help drive private-related activity.

A consortium led by US private equity (PE) powerhouse KKR made a $650 million investment into Vinhomes, the flagship real estate subsidiary of Vingroup and listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, for an approximate 6 per cent stake.

The deal, in which YKVN acted as local counsel for Vingroup, witnessed a strong willingness of foreign investors to sit in minority positions in large Vietnamese companies. PE investment has been at lower values and rare in listed companies, so this investment, therefore, generated much interest regarding the future role of PE in headline public M&A transactions.

Another significant deal was the acquisition by Masan Group of Vincommerce and VinEco, the retail and agricultural businesses of Vingroup, with Vingroup remaining in a minority position. This involved a series of complex equity swap and corporate restructuring transactions.

The complex nature of the transaction illustrated that domestic deals of such technical nature can be expected and executed as Vietnamese organisations continue to grow. The deal generated significant public discussion regarding the positioning of major domestic players.

Plans and norms

As a result of the pandemic, Vietnams economy grew by only 2.91 per cent in 2020  though it became one of the only economies to have shown any growth at all. Mirroring this lower growth, the total deal value experienced a decrease. Although declines were widespread, the tourism sector suffered the most.

Sectors that mustered growth included manufacturing and construction, real estate, agro-forestry-fisheries, and services. As a whole, Vietnams exemplary handling of the pandemic has enhanced its image as an investment destination and, on a country comparative basis, M&A deal flows have great prospects.

Foreign investors usually make use of ordinary shares, convertible loans, and convertible bonds while use of preference shares is less common. Due to foreign exchange regulations, instruments are considered when making investment in VND rather than foreign currency. Convertible loans are more commonly denominated in foreign currency than convertible bonds.

An investors choice in use of convertible loans, convertible bonds and preference shares is driven by the equity/debt classification of the instrument. As investors usually benchmark against US dollars, foreign exchange indemnities are becoming more common.

Despite a depressed market, deal structures have not changed significantly. This could be attributed to less distressed assets than other markets. Nevertheless, investors have been more careful in this new market condition and there has certainly been greater negotiation of material adverse change (MAC) clauses to cater for pandemic-related risks. Specific indemnity and post-closing price adjustments have also become more common.

Historically, PE and investment funds have not participated in larger-sized deals. However, recent activity indicates that this trend may be reversing. The $650 million investment by KKR in Vinhomes is a testament to this trend. A slight increase in shareholder activism and disputes has been noticed throughout the economy.

It is widely expected that Vietnam will continue to experience significant growth in 2021 on a comparative basis with other countries, and the M&A market should follow this.

Recently, Vietnamese regulators have been exercising their extra-territorial jurisdiction. Examples include the Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority in respect of offshore transactions that require merger filings and tax authorities deeming offshore transaction proceeds subject to tax in Vietnam. Regulators may also scrutinise deals where national interests are at play.

An example of this relates to the acquisition by a Thai investor in a solar energy project that threatened national energy security due to excessive supply of solar energy in one region by potentially affecting the energy basket mix and strained energy networks. In this instance, the prime minister requested the relevant ministries to propose solutions to protect national energy security.

Vietnams regulatory regime, as with its economy, has experienced rapid development over a comparatively short period of time and, unlike developed jurisdictions, local authorities and even lawyers may have a different interpretation of laws.

Although there is a strong level of certainty on most matters, problem solving may differ to some extent compared to regular approaches expected by foreign investors. However, this often works out for the better.

Regulatory approvals may require a greater degree of consultation with authorities than expected, though authorities are continuously improving their turn-around times and responsiveness. Other frequently asked questions usually relate to deal structuring including offshore aspects, foreign ownership restrictions, regulatory approvals, and licensing.

Overlooked areas, which need careful consideration, include the time required for completion and sequencing of closing deliverables.

Vietnam is also beginning to embrace legal technology in the workplace. The use of virtual data rooms and virtual meetings is widespread, increasing efficiency in the diligence and deal-making process.

Public and private

An acquisition for 25 per cent or more of the issued voting shares of a public company requires that a public tender offer (PTO) be made and registered with the State Securities Commission (SSC).

In addition, a PTO is also triggered where the acquisition of voting shares in a public company results in an existing shareholder directly or indirectly holding at least 35 per cent and up to 75 per cent of the voting shares in such public company.

The target board is required to deliver its opinion of the PTO to shareholders and the SSC. Therefore, although Vietnamese law does not apply a takeover regime that distinguishes between friendly and hostile takeovers, engagement with the target board remains important.

The PTO must, among others, ensure equal treatment of all shareholders in respect of the PTO terms, including in relation to price as well as access to information concerning the PTO. In particular, the acquirer is prohibited from engaging in any side deal in respect of any securities that are the subject of the PTO (from date of submission of the PTO to the SSC until the date of completion of the process).

In the event that acceptances exceed the registered amount of shares to be acquired, the acquirer will acquire shares on a pro rata basis. An acquirer may only abandon or terminate a registered PTO in limited circumstances and when permitted by law. Instances of this include where acceptances of the offer are less than the registered amount of shares offered to be acquired, and where there is a change in the number of voting shares of the target company.

Break fees and reverse break fees are occasionally used, usually being 1-2 per cent of the transaction value. In a number of instances, even a higher percentage of transaction value is used.

Although simplistic purchase price structures are commonly utilised, structures that are more complex do occur. Locked-box mechanisms (on the last account date) are common where the acquisition is for a majority, or all, of the target. Completion account mechanisms are common where there is an acquisition of a minority position.

Earn-outs and other forms of deferred consideration are not typical. Escrow accounts are utilised, and sellers may request that a deposit be paid. Warranty and indemnity insurance remains relatively uncommon.

The pandemic has resulted in the growth of MAC clauses, which exclude the impacts of the pandemic and allow for the shifting of risk from closing to signing to avoid walk-aways.

In a number of instances, signing and closing occur almost simultaneously or the time gap between signing and closing is relatively short with less conditions precedent.

It is not unusual, where a foreign party is involved, for purchase agreements to be governed by Vietnamese law and referred to the Vietnam International Arbitration Center. For a high value or complex deal, this is usually accompanied by a foreign choice of dispute forum  in particular foreign arbitration.

The typical combination is Vietnamese law and the Vietnam International Arbitration Center or the Singapore International Arbitration Center. Vietnam is a member of the New York Convention and Vietnamese courts are becoming more open to enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and judgments.

When considering the exit environment, large initial public offerings (IPOs) in Vietnam were rare in 2020 as the equity market has witnessed a slow-down in activities. As a result of this slow down, exits in trade sales and sales to financial sponsors are more common. The lack of a viable option to exit through qualified IPOs has also increased shareholder disputes, particularly in respect of internal rate of return guaranteed exits.

Most legal experts and commentators agree that there will likely be increased M&A activity in Vietnam during 2021, mirroring the countrys economic fortunes. This is a result of Vietnams enhanced profile following on from its handling of the pandemic and global supply chain changes, as well as the general pattern of high growth that Vietnam has followed.
TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) -Today was a busy day for local election leaders. Before the polls closed and the votes were counted at Tupelo City Hall, an election worker told WTVA that voter turnout was low today.

It has been fairly slow, but steady. We didnt have as many people as I thought would be here," said Election Official Mary Rainey. "But of course we only had two candidates.

A voter completing a ballot for a council-person runoff on April 27, 2021. A voter completing a ballot for a council-person runoff on April 27, 2021.

Rainey worked at the Ward 7 council-person run-off precinct in Tupelo. She said she was disappointed in todays crowd.

Voter Joe Ruff showed up at his polling place to cast his vote. He said he also finds it disheartening to see only a few people participating in an election.

Its very important that I get out and exercise my right to vote," said Ruff. "Regardless of what election is on the ballot, Im coming out to vote.

Rainey said she hopes voter turnout will be better for future elections.

I do wish people would be considerate and come out vote because a lot of the candidates put a lot of effort into doing those things that it takes to be elected," said Rainey.

Of course, turnout will seem smaller because people can only vote for runoffs in their party. However, Rainey said even though that was the case, turnout was still lower than usual.
will give 1 million NZ dollars (about USD 7,20,365) to the Red Cross to assist as it grapples with a COVID-19 surge, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced on Wednesday.

The assistance was announced as saw a record single-day rise of 3,60,960 cases, which pushed the total tally to 1,79,97,267, while the death toll crossed two lakh following 3,293 fresh fatalities,



We stand in solidarity with at this difficult time, and commend the tireless efforts of India's frontline medics and healthcare workers who are working hard to save lives, said Mahuta.

Aotearoa will contribute NZ $1 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross to assist India while they respond to the current surge in COVID-19 cases," The Herald quoted her as saying.

Aotearoa is the Maori name for

The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) is working directly with the local Indian Red Cross Society to provide oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, and other crucial medical supplies.

The IFRC is also looking at scaling up emergency operations across India by providing an intensified ambulance and blood service and distributing personal protective equipment and hygiene kits to communities in need.

We believe a contribution to an international organisation that has a reputation for delivery is the most practical assistance we can make to India at this time, said Mahuta.

We will continue to monitor the situation and stand ready to assist the Indian government. We extend our deepest sympathies to the whanau (Maori-language word for extended family) and friends of those who have had their lives cut short by this terrible virus, she said.

New Zealand earlier this month had imposed a temporary ban on travellers coming from India, including its citizens, from April 11 to 28 due to a surge in COVID-19 cases among visitors to this country.

(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 U.S. Border Patrol agent sits in a vehicle along a border wall near the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) San Ysidro Port of Entry at the U.S. Mexico border in San Diego, Calif., on Feb. 19, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

MS-13 Gang Member Arrested Crossing Illegally at US Southern Border

An active member of the street gang MS-13 was arrested early Monday morning crossing illegally into the United States with a group of illegal immigrants in Arizona, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) said.

Harry Williams Payes-Mejia, 46, was arrested by Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents with two others east of the San Luis Port of Entry in Arizona.

Undated photo of Harry Williams Payes-Mejia. (U.S. Customs and Border Patrol)

Agents determined that Payes-Mejia is part of the dangerous street gang with previous removals from the United States. Record checks found that Payes-Mejia has several felony convictions, had served time in prison, and has an outstanding warrant for a probation violation.

The 46-year-old will face prosecution for re-entry and will be turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service for his warrant.

The CBP announcement comes amid widespread concern that criminals, drug traffickers, and illegal immigrants with criminal convictions are taking advantage of the burgeoning crisis at the U.S. southern border to illegally enter into the United States unnoticed.

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.

Payes-Mejias arrest follows a similar arrest earlier this month where an MS-13 gang member from El Salvador was found crossing into the United States in California.

This also comes weeks after Border Patrol announced that it had arrested two Yemeni men who are on the FBIs Terrorism Watch List and the No-Fly list.

A group of Republican senators on Monday sent a letter to President Joe Biden to lament the handling of the crisis and called on the White House to immediately take more action to address the issue. Republican lawmakers have long argued that the crisis is a result of Bidens move to overturn several Trump-era immigration policies that helped curbed the flow of illegal border crossings. This includes his predecessors cornerstone Migrant Protection Protocol, which effectively ended the problematic catch and release policy, significantly stemming the surge of illegal immigrants that were seen at the southern border in 2019.

Republicans in their letter raised concerns over the significant increase of contraband and drugs smuggled across the border due to the lack of resources to prevent smuggling operations by drug cartels and other criminals.

Citing statistics from the CBP, the senators said the Laredo Field Office reported that fentanyl seizures rose by 2,067 percent, cocaine seizures increased by 187 percent, weapons seizures are up 131 percent, and currency seizures increased by 64 percent.

This confirms accounts that drug cartels and other smuggling operations are taking advantage of the disarray at the border to smuggle more drugs and weapons, they wrote.

The MS-13 gang, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, was initially formed by Salvadoran immigrants fleeing the civil war in their home country. It is widely viewed as one of Americas most violent criminal groups, which also endangers the safety of communities in Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

The gangs motto is kill, rape, control and routinely uses brutal assault methods on victims to instill fear and force compliance.
The Royal Mint has unveiled the largest ever coin in its 1,135-year history, a gold-plated piece with a hefty weight and an even heftier price tag.

The 10,000 gold proof coin is a commemorative piece of work weighing a whopping 10kg, 1,250 times the weight of a standard 50p piece, with a diameter of 20cm.

One of the Mint's so-called 'masterworks', it features 10 of the Queen's 'Beasts', including a lion, a griffin, a falcon and a unicorn, coins displaying each of which have previously been released since 2017.

The special 'Queen's Beats' coin is the largest created by the Mint in its history, which stretches back to 886

They are based on 10 stone statues which lined the route to Westminster Abbey during the Queen's coronation in 1953.

This is the first time all 10 have appeared on one coin, with just one copy of the 10kg version, which took 400 hours to make, being created by the Mint.

It has already been snapped up by a collector who paid a 'six figure' sum for the one-of-a-kind coin.

Although the Mint failed to disclose the exact sales figure, given the prices the Mint has sold similar coins for, it could potentially have been flogged for as much as 700,000.

This is because the Mint is also releasing a limited number of gold proof coins weighing slightly less, with 2kg, 1kg, 5oz and 1oz versions also available.

However, they would still set an aspiring collector back a chunk of change, as they are retailing for 139,200, 63,380, 10,525 and 2,315, respectively.

With the 2kg coin twice the size of the 1kg and selling for 2.2 times as much, the price of the 10kg version would be 696,000 if the Mint charged five times the 139,200 sales price for it.

TABLE TITLE Coin type Denomination Weight Availability Price The Queen's Beasts 2021 UK 5 Brilliant Uncirculated coin 5 28g Unltd 13 The Queen's Beasts 2021 UK 1oz Gold Proof coin 100 31g 625 2,315 The Queen's Beasts 2021 UK 5oz Gold Proof coin 500 156g 135 10,525 The Queen's Beasts 2021 UK Gold Proof 1kg coin 1,000 1kg 16 63,380 The Queen's Beasts 2021 UK Gold Proof 2kg coin 2,000 2kg 4 139,200 The Queen's Beasts 2021 UK Gold Proof 10kg coin 10,000 10kg 1 Undisclosed Source: The Royal Mint

There are just four 2kg versions available, 16 1kg and 135 5oz, the Mint said. Four silver versions, with weights ranging from 1oz to 1kg and prices from 92.50 to 2,270 are also being released.

And for those with slightly shorter pockets and slightly less storage space, an unlimited number of brilliant uncirculated 5 coin versions of the design will be available for 13.

The 10kg is the latest, and one of the most eye-catching, examples of the Royal Mint's increasing pivot towards striking luxury bullion bars and coins for private collectors, as it is expected to mint fewer circulating coins as cash usage falls.

The 10,000 commemorative coin was sold to a private buyer for a 'six figure sum', the Mint said

Other high-profile examples include the 18-carat gold credit card it created alongside Mastercard, which were selling for 18,750.

The Royal Mint's precious metals division, which handles gold, silver and platinum bullion sales, saw revenue increase 46 per cent in 2019-20 to 356.9million.

Its popularity has continued throughout the pandemic, with unprecedented demand for precious metals over the last 12 months.

However, such demand from gold-hungry collectors and investors has put it under strain, with an investigation by This is Money revealing customers being billed for out-of-stock items and having problems with the deliveries of their goods.

It took 400 hours to make and displays 10 beasts around it, including a dragon, lion and griffin

The Mint previously said it was investigating issues with its couriers.

The Royal Mint's Clare McLennan said of the 10kg coin: 'It is the latest in our "Masterworks" series which offer unique works of art for collectors, exclusively from The Royal Mint.

'The Royal Mint's "Queen's Beasts" commemorative coin collection has grown in popularity since the first beast was introduced in 2017 and has become a firm favourite amongst coin collectors across the globe.

'This coin sets a new standard for minting - combining centuries old techniques with innovative technology to create a unique and beautiful work of art.

'It is the largest coin ever created by The Royal Mint, and is testament to the expertise, craftsmanship and skill of our team.'
"The program has been successful in accomplishing what we intended," said Sandra Clarke, chief financial officer and senior vice president for Blue Shield. "It has primarily helped small to mid-sized practices and hospitals in our network to rise above the financial turmoil created by the pandemic and meet their cash-flow needs after most elective care was postponed during stay-at-home orders in early 2020. Our members rely on these organizations and independent healthcare providers to get the care they need, and I'm happy Blue Shield was in a position to step up and help these providers get through this challenging time."

Funding assistance for network providers is still available, according to Clarke, and providers can send an email to [email protected] for details and an application.

According to Clarke, many large hospitals and hospital systems were able to tap into federal funding options; Blue Shield's program served as a financial lifeline for those who could not easily obtain federal relief funds.

The majority of requests for financial support, 89 %, came from physicians and other practitioners; 8 % came from hospitals or hospital systems; and the remainder was split between independent physicians' associations (IPAs) and medical groups.

The program options include:

Advance payments: Blue Shield provided funding to eligible providers as a pre-payment for future services to Blue Shield members. Following a six-month grace period, each provider has the option to repay the funds to Blue Shield directly or to offset the amount owed from new claims for member care over the subsequent 12 months.

Blue Shield provided funding to eligible providers as a pre-payment for future services to Blue Shield members. Following a six-month grace period, each provider has the option to repay the funds to Blue Shield directly or to offset the amount owed from new claims for member care over the subsequent 12 months. Value-based agreements: Blue Shield assisted providers to deliver value-based, rather than volume-based care. The health plan worked with some commercial providers to convert their existing fee-for-service agreements to value-based contracts that provide a consistent monthly base revenue stream that is less impacted by volatility in patient volume.

Blue Shield assisted providers to deliver value-based, rather than volume-based care. The health plan worked with some commercial providers to convert their existing fee-for-service agreements to value-based contracts that provide a consistent monthly base revenue stream that is less impacted by volatility in patient volume. Streamlined member payments: In collaboration with healthcare tech startup OODA Health, Blue Shield enabled providers to receive member payments (such as co-pays) more quickly through automation. Providers have been able to focus on caring for their patients instead of collecting co-pays from Blue Shield members.

Healthcare provider feedback

Blue Shield of California's provider support program helped hundreds of providers get through the financial hardships of the pandemic. Here are a few of their testimonials:

Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, Salinas

263-bed public healthcare district hospital; 2100 employees

"We were able to do so much, in so many ways with the support we received from Blue Shield," said Augustine Lopez, chief financial officer. "It was important for us to protect and retain our entire workforce  doctors, nurses and other front-line professionals. We were able to reallocate these valuable human resources to expand our intensive care unit and go directly into the community with COVID-19 education and care. Additionally, we were able to quickly source and purchase PPE supplies and equipment, and we opened alternative COVID-19 testing sites to redirect the volume of patients coming to the emergency room. All of these actions enabled us to focus on our goal of saving lives and serving our diverse community," he concluded.

Columbia Pediatrics Medical Group, Long Beach

28 healthcare professionals and employees

"The financial support we received from Blue Shield was immensely helpful," said Kim Holford, practice administrator who managed the health plan's provider funding program for CPMG. "We were able to purchase the PPE supplies we needed, and retain our staff, so that our service to young families and their children could continue uninterrupted. The patients who continued to visit us were grateful that we were available and that they could rely upon us. Even though we had periodic decreases in patient visits throughout the year, we were able to manage through those dips because of the safety net of support from Blue Shield."

360 Behavioral Health, Chatsworth

1,500 full and part-time professionals

"Blue Shield's program came at a time when the future was vastly uncertain and operational and financial projections had broad ranges from best case to worse-case results," said Dan Cross, chief financial officer. "It gave us the peace of mind that financially we were somewhat on solid ground, allowing us to devote more mindshare to operational issues. Today we are stronger, more organized, and in a better position for stable and systematic growth than we have ever been."

About Blue Shield of California

Blue Shield of California strives to create a healthcare system worthy of its family and friends that is sustainably affordable. Blue Shield of California is a tax paying, nonprofit, independent member of the Blue Shield Association with over 4.5 million members, over 7,500 employees and more than $21 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare healthcare service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $150 million to Blue Shield of California Foundation in the last four years to have an impact on California communities.

For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

CONTACT: Mark Seelig

Blue Shield of California

510-607-2359

SOURCE Blue Shield of California

Related Links

www.bcbs.com


Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The mayor of Ukraine's capital Kiev on Wednesday announced strict coronavirus measures in the city would be eased later this week as the number of new infections slowly drops.

Ex-Soviet Ukraine had recently been battered by a surge of new cases and deaths, including in Kiev, prompting authorities to tighten sweeping measures to curb the spread of the virus, including shuttering schools and malls.

They are set to reopen Saturday alongside cinemas, gyms, and public transport, which had been restricted for use by essential workers only, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Schools are set to reopen next Wednesday, the mayor added, following public holidays at the beginning of the week.

Remaining restrictions, like maintaining social distance and masks in public, will be eased "gradually," Klitschko said.

"The infection rate in Kiev has slightly decreased, but it is too early to say that we have overcome the challenges," he said in an online briefing.

Authorities in the capital had been hesitant to reimpose restrictions when cases surged over fears of damaging the economy of one of Europe's poorest countries.

The measures came into force gradually, with cinemas and cafes closed in March and schools and public transport shuttered earlier in April.

"I understand that everyone wants to return to normal life. I understand that business is suffering. But the main thing today is to preserve people's lives and health," the mayor said.

Officials in Kiev, a city of around three million people, recorded 1,070 new cases and 40 deaths Wednesday.

Those new numbers show a downward trend in fresh infections when compared to 1,673 new cases April 22 and 1,886 on April 8.

Ukraine, with a population of around 40 million people, has struggled during the pandemic.

It recorded 9,590 new cases and 441 deaths Wednesday. In total, there have been over 2 million infections and more than 43,000 deaths.

A vaccination drive was launched at the end of February and some 560,000 people have so far received a first shot.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
(@FahadShabbir)

A woman in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev has been paralyzed shortly after being administered Covishield, a version of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured in India, national media reported on Wednesday

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2021) A woman in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev has been paralyzed shortly after being administered Covishield, a version of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured in India, national media reported on Wednesday.

According to the 1+1 tv channel, the woman has been bedridden for almost a month with a loss of sensation in most of her body. She was paralyzed on the third day after receiving the vaccine and was diagnosed with myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord.

The head of the department of neuroinfections at Ukraine's Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases, Pavlo Dyachenko, has not ruled out a possible link between paralysis and vaccination.

A special commission is probing the connection.

Ukraine received the first batch of 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine from India on February 23, launching the mass immunization campaign the next day. So far, 558,716 people out of some 44 million have been vaccinated.

The country has also received over 367,000 doses of the South Korean-made AstraZeneca/SKBio COVID-19 vaccine via the COVAX facility, in addition to Pfizer/BioNTech.
Students recite the Pledge of Allegiance before school at Freedom Preparatory Academy in Provo, Utah, on Feb. 10, 2021. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

Republican Lawmakers Warn Against Biden Administration Pushing Critical Race Theory in Education

A pair of Republican congressmen are calling on the Department of Education to reconsider spending federal dollars to promote critical race theory in civics and history classes across the country.

In a letter (pdf) to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Reps. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) and Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) said they have deep concern about a newly proposed priority criteria for a $5.3 million American History and Civics Education grant. Under the new rule (pdf), the grant will prioritize education programs that incorporate the ideas of the New York Times 1619 Project and critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi into their teaching.

Students should learn about the uniqueness and greatness of the American systems and the challenges we have overcome as a nation, the letter reads in part. It is therefore counterproductive and even dangerous to allow our vulnerable school children to be taught the falsehoods prevalent in the 1619 Project or in Ibram X. Kendis How to Be an Anti-Racist.'

Kendis work, according to the congressmen, is antithetical to the American Dream, which has drawn millions of individuals to Americas shores and created the most prosperous nation in human history. They also pointed out that the 1619 Project is a racially divisive, revisionist account of history that, as its name suggests, is in fundamental opposition to the true founding date of the United States in 1776.

The congressmen added that while they believe students should be taught about the negative consequences of slavery and the significant contributions of the black community in U.S. history, schools should not promote critical race theory, an ideology that undermines Americas founding ideals.

Simply put, the teachings of Critical Race Theory want to reject the principles established in our Constitution and our individual God-given rights, and instead divide individuals into competing racial identity groups while doing little to help minority students advance, they warned in the letter.

According to the Department of Education, the choice of the 1619 Project and Kendis book as exemplary teaching materials aligns with President Joe Bidens executive order, which aims to advance racial equity and better support underserved communities.

The Department recognizes that COVID-19with its disproportionate impact on communities of colorand the ongoing national reckoning with systemic racism have highlighted the urgency of improving racial equity throughout our society, including in our education system, reads the proposed rule, which is undergoing a 30-day public review period in the Federal Register.

The proposed rule marks the Biden administrations latest move to teach American students that historical racism remains deeply embedded in todays America. On his first day in the White House, Biden dissolved the Trump administrations advisory 1776 Commission and tossed its first and last report, which called for a return to patriotic education focusing on how Americans have fought to live up to the values enshrined in the nations founding documents.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalezs pauses while speaking outside a hospital, announcing the identity of the slain Harris County Sheriff's office deputy as Sandeep Dhaliwal in Houston on Sept. 27, 2019. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Biden to Nominate Texas Sheriff Who Criticized Trump-Era Policies to Lead ICE

WASHINGTONU.S. President Joe Biden will nominate a Texas sheriff who criticized Trump-era immigration raids to lead the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, the White House said on Tuesday.

Biden will tap Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, a veteran law enforcement officer and Democrat who has served since 2017 as sheriff of the most populous county in Texas, the White House said.

In a July 2019 Facebook post, Gonzalez said he opposed sweeping immigration raids after former President Donald Trump, a Republican, a month earlier posted to Twitter hyperbolically that ICE would begin deporting millions of illegal aliens.

I do not support ICE raids that threaten to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, the vast majority of whom do not represent a threat to the U.S., Gonzalez wrote. The focus should always be on clear & immediate safety threats.

Gonzalez has sought to limit ties between local police and federal immigration enforcement during his time as Harris County sheriff. In 2017, he ended Harris Countys participation in a program that increased cooperation between county law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez leaves a press conference, in Houston, Texas, on June 8, 2017. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP File)

Gonzalez will have to be confirmed in his new job by the 100-seat U.S. Senate, divided 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to break ties.

His nomination comes as Biden moves to roll back restrictive Trump-era immigration policies in favor of what he calls a more humane approach. Both ICE and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency played leading roles in Trumps efforts to curb illegal immigration.

Biden announced on April 12 that he would tap Chris Magnus, an Arizona police chief and another critic of some Trump immigration policies, to lead CBP. Magnus had criticized the previous administrations attempt to force so-called sanctuary jurisdictions to cooperate with federal law enforcement.

In the latest rollback of Trump-era policies, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Tuesday that federal immigration officers would limit immigration arrests in or near courthouses. The move reverses a policy that expanded such arrests, which the Biden administration said had a chilling effect on peoples willingness to cooperate with law enforcement.

DHS also launched a new operation that aims to identify migrant smugglers and target their activities by revoking travel documents, suspending trade entities and freezing financial assets.

If his nomination is approved, Gonzalez will take charge of an agency that has been whipsawed by the change in administrations.

After Biden took office on Jan. 20, his administration placed a 100-day pause on many deportations and greatly limited who can be arrested and deported by ICE. The moratorium drew fierce pushback from Republicans and was blocked by a federal judge in Texas days after it took effect.

Some career ICE officials have privately criticized the new enforcement priorities, saying they prevent agents from arresting some criminals.

By Ted Hesson and Mimi Dwyer
MONTREAL QC / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Alphinat Inc. (TSXV:NPA) announces a loss of $6,376 for the quarter ended February 28, 2021.

During the quarter under review, Alphinat has focused its efforts on a number of showcase projects to de-risk the purchase decision of clients and to re-enforce the sales pipeline with partners. Our team was focussed on project deliveries for two large municipalities in Ontario Canada, a provincial Greenhouse Gas Registry project and two projects for federal departments of a G7 nation.

We have also continued to work on expanding our distribution channels and on diversifying our offerings including security and automation features.

In order to accelerate future growth, Alphinat has focused on four main areas of solution development:

SmartGuide Portal Edition for Dynamics 3651, has optimized the way that clients can now create and deploy online services on top of Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM solutions. This offering is available in SaaS mode as well as on-premises; SmartGuide GreenHouse Gas Registry is a green fintech solution allowing governments and industry to work together in reducing the harmful effects of greenhouse gases; SmartGuide Municipal Cloud aims at offering unparalleled productivity to municipalities. Municipalities will be able to choose from a catalogue of pre-built applications, further accelerating the speed at which they can deploy citizen-centric services. These services include service requests, permitting and licensing as well as numerous other citizen-facing services and internal applications. SmartGuide CIVIC Portal for Amanda2 is a derivative of the Municipal Cloud solution front ending a partner solution for an improved user experience for both the client cities and their citizens be it on-premises on in a secure-cloud offering.

The company pursues its commercialization efforts with partners at various departments and agencies of G7 governments being federal, state and municipalities levels. Furthermore, the company continues to be involved in supporting its partners delivering solutions to government clients.

Alphinat is evolvinging its partnership strategy with consulting firms and systems integrators to promote and ensure resale and delivery of SmartGuide built repeatable solutions, as well as with independent software vendors for OEM agreements and with other partners for SaaS services. Management believes that these agreements will help continue to reduce the sales cycle of the company's products while giving it additional exposure to new potential clients.

For the 3-month period ended February 28, 2021, the Company recorded total revenue of $403,026 compared to $290,993 for the same period ended February 28, 2020. The net loss for the 3 month period ended February 28, 2021 amounted to ($6,376) or ($0.0001) per outstanding common share compared to a net loss of ($57,549) or ($$0.0009) per outstanding common share for the 3-month period ended February 28, 2020.

Alphinat's financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the quarter ended February 28, 2021 can be found on SEDAR, at www.sedar.com.

"SmartGuide is designed to be compatible with leading cloud providers in mind, enabling clients to deploy multiple application solutions on the same instance while taking full advantage of the dynamic provision for work loads needed." says Denis Michaud, Alphinat Chief Solutions and Security Officer "The SmartGuide platform is designed to allow for enterprise-level security and control over the applications it creates, including compatibility with features such as, AI, blockchain, encryption and two+ factor authentication that are specifically designed to thwart information and identity theft" he adds

The company announces that subsequent to the period ending February 28, 2021 it has been retained on a Government of Canada project in the fight to help end the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company continues to be committed to assisting its partners in the delivery of projects with the federal government.

About Alphinat

At Alphinat, we are driven by the passion to make interoperable application development easy for everyone. It always struck us as odd that the people with the vision of how a finished application should look and behave would only be involved at the start of the process. After all, what better way to ensure a favourable outcome than to provide those closest to an application's end-users with a vested interest in its success throughout its development?

That's why we bring you new ways to empower the right people at the right time in the application development process. At the same time, we're constantly working to reduce the need to code in order to make digital service development and maintenance simpler and less error prone.

So, whether you choose to develop your applications with the help of our low-code platform SmartGuide, kickstart your project using one of our pre-built apps solutions or engage us or one of our partners to do the work for you, we're here to help you deploy better applications in record time. Visit https://www.alphinat.com for more information. We look forward to hearing from you.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements in this document, including those which express management's expectations or estimations with regards to the Company's future performance, constitute "forward-looking statements" as understood by applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are, of necessity, based on a certain number of estimates and hypotheses; while management considers these to be accurate at the time they are expressed, they are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and risks on the commercial, economic and competitive levels. We advise readers that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other known and unknown factors that 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 in these forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause significant differences between actual results and those described in forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to, the Company's capacity to increase acceptance of its products on the market, and to penetrate new markets; the potential existence of defects or undetected problems in the Company's products; the Company's ability to manage its growth; the Company's ability to compete with others; potential commitments; maintaining the Company's intellectual property rights and defending against litigation putting those rights in question; the Company's reliance on the knowledge of its key personnel; and the Company's access to sufficient capital to finance its future needs. This is a partial and non-exhaustive list of factors that could bear on any of our forward-looking statements. Investors are advised to not rely unduly on the forward-looking statements. This advisory applies to all forward-looking statements, whether expressed orally or in writing, attributed to Alphinat or to any individual expressing them in the name of the Company. The Company is under no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events, or other circumstances. Risks and uncertainties that bear on the Company are described in greater detail in the Company's Annual Report.

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.

For further information please contact:

Mr. Curtis Page

Chief Executive Officer

Alphinat Inc.

(514) 398-9799 ext 225

1 Dynamics 365 is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation

2 Amanda is a registered trademark of Calytera Systems Inc.

SOURCE: Alphinat Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/643141/Alphinat-Announces-a-Net-Loss-of-6376-for-the-Quarter-Ended-February-28-2021-After-Non-Cash-Expenses-of-61027
Skeena Intersects 45.76 g/t Au over 5.60 metres at Snip Gold Project

Posted by Publisher Internet

Skeena Resources Limited (TSX: SKE, OTCQX: SKREF) (?Skeena? or the ?Company?  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/skeena-resources-ltd/) is pleased to report diamond drill core results from the 2020-2021 campaign of exploration drilling at the Snip gold project (?Snip? or the ?Project?) located in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia. The exploratory program was focused upon resource expansion and delineating additional mineralization in previously unexplored areas of the near mine environment. The surface-based program was comprised of ten drill holes totaling 5,366 metres.? Reference images are presented at the end of this release as well as on the Company?s website.

Snip Drilling Highlights:

40 g/t Au over 0.50 m (S20-047)

76 g/t Au over 5.60 m (S20-049)

52 g/t Au over 4.03 m (S20-049)

78 g/t Au over 2.86 m (S20-049)

True widths range from 60-85% of reported core lengths. Length weighted Au composites are constrained by geological considerations. Grade-capping of individual assays has not been applied to the Au assays informing the length-weighted Au composites. Samples below detection limit were nulled to a value of zero.

Additional Mineralization Established Below Twin Zone

Situated in the footwall sediments below the Twin Zone, two new occurrences of high-grade, vein-hosted gold mineralization have been discovered during the 2020-2021 exploration program. Drill hole S20-049 intersected a previously unidentified zone averaging 29.52 g/t Au over 4.03 m including 65.60?g/t Au over 1.14 m and 31.10 g/t Au over 1.03 m. The second zone occurs 20 m further downhole averaging 37.78 g/t Au over 2.86 m including 29.60 g/t Au over 1.32 m and 44.80 g/t Au over 1.54 m. These new intercepts occur in an area devoid of previous drilling and are open for expansion. The same drill hole also predictably intersected the known Twin Zone mineralization which graded 45.76?g/t Au over 5.60 m including 41.80 g/t Au over 0.90 m and 177.00 g/t Au over 1.16 m.

New Mineralization Discovered Below Current Resources

Exploratory drill hole S21-054 has intersected two new occurrences of footwall vein mineralization 530?m vertically below surface and 250 m downdip of existing resources averaging 5.82 g/t Au over 2.00?m and 12.40 g/t Au over 1.20 m. Due to the absence of any previous drilling in this new area, this discovery opens an entire area for potential resource expansion.?

About Skeena

Skeena Resources Limited is a Canadian mining exploration company focused on revitalizing the past-producing Eskay Creek gold-silver mine located in Tahltan Territory in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia, Canada. The Company released a robust Preliminary Economic Assessment in late 2019 and is currently focused on infill and exploration drilling to advance Eskay Creek to full Feasibility by Q1 2022. Additionally, Skeena continues exploration programs at the past-producing Snip gold mine.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Skeena Resources Limited,

Walter Coles Jr.

President & CEO

Contact Information

Investor Inquiries: info@skeenaresources.com

Office Phone: +1 604 684 8725

Company Website: www.skeenaresources.com

In Europe:

Swiss Resource Capital AG

Jochen Staiger

info@resource-capital.ch

www.resource-capital.ch

Qualified Persons

Exploration activities at Snip are administered on site by the Company?s Exploration Managers, Raegan Markel, P.Geo. and John Tyler, P.Geo. In accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Paul Geddes, P.Geo. Vice President Exploration and Resource Development, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has prepared, validated and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release. The Company strictly adheres to CIM Best Practices Guidelines in conducting, documenting, and reporting the exploration activities on its projects.

Quality Assurance ? Quality Control

Once received from the drill and processed, all drill core samples are sawn in half, labelled and bagged. The remaining drill core is subsequently securely stored on site. Numbered security tags are applied to lab shipments for chain of custody requirements. The Company inserts quality control (QC) samples at regular intervals in the sample stream, including blanks and reference materials with all sample shipments to monitor laboratory performance. The QAQC program was designed and approved by Lynda Bloom, P.Geo. of Analytical Solutions Ltd., and is overseen by the Company?s Qualified Person, Paul Geddes, P.Geo, Vice President Exploration and Resource Development.

Drill core samples are submitted to ALS Geochemistry?s analytical facility in North Vancouver, British Columbia for preparation and analysis. The ALS facility is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard for gold assays and all analytical methods include quality control materials at set frequencies with established data acceptance criteria. The entire sample is crushed and 1 kg is pulverized. Analysis for gold is by 50 g fire assay fusion with atomic absorption (AAS) finish with a lower limit of 0.01 ppm and upper limit of 100 ppm. Samples with gold assays greater than 100 ppm are re-analyzed using a 50 g fire assay fusion with gravimetric finish. Analysis for silver is by 50 g fire assay fusion with gravimetric finish with a lower limit of 5ppm and upper limit of 10,000 ppm. Samples with silver assays greater than 10,000 ppm are re-analyzed using a gravimetric silver concentrate method. A selected number of samples are also analyzed using a 48 multi-element geochemical package by a 4-acid digestion, followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and also for mercury using an aqua regia digest with Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) finish. Samples with sulfur reporting greater than 10% from the multi-element analysis are re-analyzed for total sulfur by Leco furnace and infrared spectroscopy.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute ?forward looking information? and ?forward looking statements? within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management?s expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as ?anticipates?, ?believes?, ?targets?, ?estimates?, ?plans?, ?expects?, ?may?, ?will?, ?could? or ?would?. Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and other matters. While the Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

True widths range from 60-85% of reported core lengths. Length weighted Au composites are constrained by geological considerations. Grade-capping of individual assays has not been applied to the Au assays informing the length-weighted Au composites. Samples below detection limit were nulled to a value of zero.
PHILADELPHIA, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Please see below for links to each of the Aberdeen Standard Investments U.S. closed-end monthly factsheets including performance and portfolio composition as of March 31, 2021.

Aberdeen Asset Management Inc. At Aberdeen, asset management is our business. We only manage assets for clients, allowing us to focus solely on their needs and deliver independent, objective investment advice. We know global markets from the local level upwards, drawing on more than 1,900 staff, across 32 offices in 23 countries. Investment teams are based in the markets or regions where they invest, delivering local perspective in a global investment environment. (PRNewsFoto/Aberdeen Asset Management Inc.)

Equity Funds

Aberdeen Australia Equity Fund, Inc. ("IAF") Factsheet

Aberdeen Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund, Inc. ("AEF") Factsheet

Aberdeen Global Dynamic Dividend Fund ("AGD") Factsheet

Aberdeen Japan Equity Fund, Inc. ("JEQ") Factsheet

Aberdeen Standard Global Infrastructure Income Fund ("ASGI") Factsheet

Aberdeen Total Dynamic Dividend Fund ("AOD") Factsheet

The India Fund, Inc. ("IFN") Factsheet

Fixed Income Funds

Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. ("FAX") Factsheet

Aberdeen Global Income Fund, Inc. ("FCO") Factsheet

Aberdeen Income Credit Strategies Fund ("ACP") Factsheet

Property Funds

Aberdeen Global Premier Properties Fund ("AWP") Factsheet

Important Information

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: Investor.Relations@aberdeenstandard.com

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SOURCE Aberdeen Standard Investments Inc.
Mauro Morandi

After more than three decades of calling the small Italian island of Budelli home, Mauro Morandi is being forced to leave its pink-sanded shores.

Morandi, 81, has been the caretaker of the island, off the coast of Sardinia, since 1989. That year, he had stopped at Budelli on his way to the South Pacific when his catamaran broke down, The Guardian reported, and decided to stay after learning that the caretaker at the time was retiring. The story has inspired his nickname as Italy's Robinson Crusoe.

Now, Morandi is deciding to leave after five years of being threatened with eviction by local authorities. In 2016, the island's private ownership went bankrupt, and the land eventually became public after back-and-forth between a potential New Zealand buyer and the Italian government.

RELATED: Vaccinated American Travelers Will Be Allowed to Visit Europe This Summer

The situation prompted a Change.org petition for Morandi to be able to stay.

"I have given up the fight," Morandi, who has been living in a former World War II shelter on the island, told The Guardian this week. "After 32 years here, I feel very sad to leave. They told me they need to do work on my house and this time it seems to be for real."

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The La Maddalena National Park authorities have plans to turn Budelli into an environmental education destination, according to The Guardian.

RELATED: This Summer Is Expected to Be Hotter Than Average for Much of the U.S.

Morandi won't be moving far, though: he's going to live on La Maddalena and said that his day-to-day life won't be too different.

"I'll be living in the outskirts of the main town, so will just go there for shopping and the rest of the time keep myself to myself," he told The Guardian. "My life won't change too much, I'll still see the sea."

"I hope that someone can protect it as well as I have," he said of his beloved Budelli.
Conpend's TRADE AI app will help reduce risk and speed up trade finance transactions

LONDON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Finastra has announced BANK OF AFRICA, a pan-African financial group, has selected Conpend's TRADE AI app from its open innovation platform, FusionFabric.cloud. The app extends the functionality of Finastra's Fusion Trade Innovation technology and enables users to reduce document and compliance checking time. It digitizes trade finance processes, using optical character recognition (OCR), natural language processing (NLP) and progressive machine learning to reduce the risk and cost of trade finance operations.

"The solution will improve our trade finance operations by speeding up the approval of trade finance documents. We expect it will digitize manual, paper-based processes, reduce processing time by 30 per cent, and reduce trade finance risk levels by up to 80 per cent. Having access to third-party apps was a clear differentiator when looking at trade finance solutions," said Leila Bahoum, Board member in charge of Trade Finance Operations from OGS Subsidiary of BANK OF AFRICA.

Conpend TRADE AI extracts unstructured data from scanned paper documents and can also process already digitized data. The data is then screened and analyzed, using rules and advanced analytics, to empower business users to make informed business decisions quickly and accurately. It is fully compliant with all major global regulations and automatically performs all necessary compliance checks for a trade transaction. This includes money laundering screening and handling alerts during the screening process, which dramatically reduces false positives and time spent on decision-making. The solution also enables vessel checking and voyage tracking to support goods in transit.

Marc Smith, Founder and Director, Conpend said, "We're so pleased that BANK OF AFRICA has chosen to plug our innovative technology into its systems. This is one of the big benefits of us making our app available on Finastra's FusionFabric.cloud. We've been able to build our solution out quickly on the platform and make it available to banks around the world in support of Finastra's vision of openness and collaboration."

Anastasia McAlpine, Principal Product Manager, Trade and Supply Chain Finance at Finastra said, "This is another great example of banks and fintechs collaborating to bring innovative technology to market fast. We are confident BANK OF AFRICA will realize great results with the Conpend Trade AI app and look forward to other banks tapping into this opportunity to further enhance the functionality of our Fusion Trade Innovation."

For more information about Conpend's TRADE AI app on FusionFabric.cloud visit: https://store.fusionfabric.cloud/details/tradeai/

For further information please contact:

Caroline Duff

Global Head of PR

T +44 (0)7917 613586

Ecaroline.duff@finastra.com

finastra.com

About BANK OF AFRICA

BANK OF AFRICA is a multi-business universal banking group and one of Africa's leading financial institutions. Its wide range of business activities includes commercial banking, investment banking, bank-insurance and asset management. BANK OF AFRICA, established in 1959, is Morocco's most internationally-oriented banking group with operations in 31 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America, the Group employs more than 15 200 employees. Its 1,800 branches serve 6.6 million customers. BANK OF AFRICA is a leading player in environmental matters and corporate social responsibility. BANK OF AFRICA Foundation aims to promote education in rural areas for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and to contribute to environmental protection in Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa. Learn more at bankofafrica.ma

About Finastra

Finastra is building an open platform that accelerates collaboration and innovation in financial services, creating better experiences for people, businesses and communities. Supported by the broadest and deepest portfolio of financial services software, Finastra delivers this vitally important technology to financial institutions of all sizes across the globe, including 90 of the world's top 100 banks. Our open architecture approach brings together a number of partners and innovators. Together we are leading the way in which applications are written, deployed and consumed in financial services to evolve with the changing needs of customers. Learn more at finastra.com

Corporate headquarters

4 Kingdom Street

Paddington

London W2 6BD

United Kingdom

T: +44 20 3320 5000

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/967510/Finastra_Logo.jpg
Ive been down here nearly nine years now, George Tulloch, 59, tells me in a raspy, verging-on-upbeat tone as a cockerel crows on the other end of the phone. Hes living in his late fathers home in the small, rural town of Linstead in the St Catherine parish of Jamaica, where he found himself living after being deported from the UK in 2012. Though he was born in Jamaica, having spent his childhood there before coming to the UK at the age of 14, Tulloch spent the majority of his life in Bristol  until the upheaval of being deported from the UK changed his life forever.

After almost a decade back home, which has meant leaving his mother, children and extended family behind, the pain that he endured through years of being detained  and eventually, removed  is still palpable. But theres also a sense of acceptance within him, if only that things are unlikely to change.

My mind is clear and Im on the right path, thats how Ive survived up here today. Most guys who come down like me, they end up dead the next day, or [after] a week, he says, referencing the thousands of other people whove been forcibly returned to Jamaica from the UK in the past few years  many of whom face destitution with little support on arrival.
1. How much funding was California awarded for ESSER II funds?

The ESSER II Fund accounts for approximately $54.3 billion of funding for all states and Californias allocation is $6,709,633,866. No less than 90 percent of its allocation ($6,038,670,479) must be used to make subgrants to LEAs, based on each LEAs share of funds received under Title I, Part A in fiscal year (FY) 202021. The remaining up to 10 percent may be used for the State reserve.

2. Do LEAs need to apply for ESSER II funds?

Yes. The ESSER II funding includes formula funds (90% of the states full allocation) which will be allocated to local educational agencies (LEAs) based on FY 202021 Title I shares. LEAs will need to apply for their allocation of ESSER II funds by submitting program assurances. The application can be found on the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act Funding web page. LEAs must apply by April 20th, 2021 to be included in the first apportionment.

The process for distribution of the remaining state reserve/set-aside funds (up to 10% of the total state allocation) has not yet been finalized by the Legislature and Governor.

3. Will the CDE post preliminary allocations?

Yes, the California Department of Education (CDE) has posted LEAs revised allocations on the CRRSA Act Funding web page.

4. Are LEAs that did not receive Title I funds in the most recent fiscal year eligible for ESSER II Funds?



With one exception, as described below, no, LEAs that did not receive Title I funds in FY 202021 are not eligible to receive ESSER II funds. LEAs receive ESSER II funds based on their relative share of FY 202021 Title I funds. If an LEA did not receive Title I funds in the most recent fiscal yeareither because it was not eligible or because it declined fundingthen it would not generate a share of ESSER II funds, and therefore not eligible to receive ESSER II funds.

The exception is for charter schools that are new in the 202122 school year (and thus did not receive a Title I allocation for 202021), then federal law requires that CDE hold back a reasonable portion of its ESSER II funds in order to provide those charter schools with allocations once their Title I enrollments are known.

5. Do any supplement not supplant requirements apply to ESSER II funds?

No. The ESSER II Fund does not include a local supplement, not supplant requirement. Thus, there is no prohibition on an LEA using ESSER II funds to pay expenses formerly funded by another source.

6. What are the allowable uses of ESSER II funds?

The ESSER II Funds can be used in much the same way as the ESSER I Funds under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The difference is that with ESSER II there are more defined allowable uses:

Any activity authorized by the ESEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins), or the McKinney Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act. Coordination of LEA preparedness and response efforts to improve coordinated responses with other agencies to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. Providing principals and other school leaders with the resources necessary to address school needs. Activities to address the unique needs of low-income children or students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth. Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve LEA preparedness and response efforts. Training and professional development for LEA staff on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases. Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean LEA facilities. Planning for and coordinating during long-term closures, including how to provide meals, technology for online learning, guidance on IDEA requirements, and ensuring other educational services can continue to be provided consistent with all applicable requirements. Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students served by the LEA that aids in regular and substantive educational interactions between students and their classroom teachers, including assistance technology or adaptive equipment. Providing mental health services and supports. Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs, including providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care. Addressing learning loss among students, including low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care, of the local educational agency, including by Administering and using high-quality assessments to accurately assess students academic progress and assist educators in meeting students academic needs, including through differentiating instruction.

Implementing evidence-based activities to meet the comprehensive needs of students.

Providing information and assistance to parents and families on how they can effectively support students, including in a distance learning environment.

Tracking student attendance and improving student engagement in distance education. School facility repairs and improvements to reduce the risk of virus transmission and to support student health needs. Inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrade projects to improve the indoor air quality in school facilities, including mechanical and non-mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, filtering, purification, and other air cleaning, fans, control systems, and window and door repair and replacement. Other activities that are necessary to maintain operations and continuity of services and continuing to employ existing staff.

7. How long do LEAs have to use ESSER II funds?

ESSER II funds are available for obligation by LEAs through September 30, 2023.

8. Must LEAs pay existing contracts in order to receive ESSER II funds?

Section 315 of the CRRSA Act (PDF) requires entities that receive ESSER II funds to continue to pay employees and contractors to the greatest extent practicable.

9. Can LEAs use funds to reimburse previous expenses?

Yes. ED has stated that LEAs may use the funds for expenses incurred beginning March 13, 2020, the date on which the President declared a national emergency.

10. Are ESSER II funds subject to an equitable services requirement?

No, the CRRSA Act includes a separate program of Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools (EANS) for which eligible non-public schools may apply to an SEA to receive services or assistance. Consequently, LEAs are not required to provide equitable services under ESSER II. More information can be found on the CDEs EANS web page.

11. Why is the CDE not apportioning an LEAs full allocation? How will payments be calculated?

As with most other federal funds apportioned to LEAs, ESSER II Funds are subject to federal cash management requirements. As such, CDE is required to implement cash management practices that minimize the time elapsing between the receipt and disbursement of funds by recipients of formula-based federal grants awarded by the CDE. By agreement with the federal government, CDE meets this requirement, in part, by apportioning LEAs 10% of their total allocation less remaining cash balance from prior apportionments.

12. How often will LEAs receive payment?

LEAs will receive payment approximately six to eight weeks after the quarterly reporting window closes.

13. Are ESSER II funds subject to the excess interest calculation?

Yes. For more information about interest calculation, see Calculating Interest Earned on Federal Funds.

14. Will LEAs be required to report to CDE on these funds?

Yes, the CDE requires LEAs to report on the use of funds. The CDE will be releasing more information on reporting requirements in the near future. The reporting process will be similar to those for other federal stimulus funds.

15. Will LEAs be required to track ESSER I and II funds separately?

Yes, ESSER II funds must be tracked separately from ESSER I funds. Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS) Resource Code 3212 has been assigned for ESSER II revenue.



Questions: CDE Federal Stimulus Team | EDReliefFunds@cde.ca.gov

Last Reviewed: Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Former Labor leader Bill Shorten says repatriation flights should resume to rescue Australians stuck in COVID-ravaged India, saying helping citizens in danger is fundamental to who we are as a country.

The Opposition frontbencher said he had been inundated by voters in his Melbourne electorate of Maribyrnong supporting the international border bans to keep Australia safe but pleading for help to get home.

A COVID-19 patient sits inside a car and breathes with the help of oxygen provided by a Gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship, in Delhi, India. Credit:AP

Indias death toll surpassed more than 201,000 following another 3300 deaths on Wednesday and daily new infections in India surged to nearly 357,700, however experts say the true figures are far higher.

This week the federal government announced it was banning all direct flights from India and halted eight repatriation flights that were scheduled for May in response to the worsening situation on the sub-continent. It also clamped down on people being given exemptions to leave for India.
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - A judge refused Wednesday to release body camera video showing North Carolina deputies shooting and killing a Black man, ruling that making the video public at this stage could jeopardize the investigation into Andrew Brown Jr.'s death.

Attorneys for the family of Andrew Brown, Wayne Kendall, at podium, makes comments after a judges decision on the release body cam video of the shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. in Elizabeth City, N.C., Wednesday, April 28, 2021. A judge denied the request to immediately release body cam video of the incident. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - A judge refused Wednesday to release body camera video showing North Carolina deputies shooting and killing a Black man, ruling that making the video public at this stage could jeopardize the investigation into Andrew Brown Jr.'s death.

However, the judge did order authorities to allow Brown's family to privately view five videos from body cameras and one from a dashboard camera within 10 days, with some portions blurred or redacted. Family members had previously been allowed to view only a 20-second clip from a single body camera.

Judge Jeffery Foster said he believed the videos contained information that could harm the ongoing investigation or threaten the safety of people seen in the footage. He said the video must remain out of public view for at least 30 days, but he would consider releasing it after that point if investigations are complete.

The release at this time would create a serious threat to the fair, impartial and orderly administration of justice, Foster said.

While one attorney for Browns family, Wayne Kendall, initially said it was a partial victory for the family to view more video, the legal team later issued a statement condemning the decision not to make the video public.

In this modern civil rights crisis where we see Black people killed by the police everywhere we look, video evidence is the key to discerning the truth and getting well-deserved justice for victims of senseless murders, said the statement signed by the legal team, including Ben Crump and Harry Daniels.

The decision came shortly after a North Carolina prosecutor said that Brown had hit law enforcement officers with his car before they opened fire last week.

District Attorney Andrew Womble, who viewed the body camera videos, told the judge that he disagreed with a characterization by an attorney for Brown's family that Brown did not try to drive away until deputies opened fire. Womble said the video shows that Browns car made contact with law enforcement twice before shots could be heard on the video.

As it backs up, it does make contact with law enforcement officers, he said, adding that the car stops again. The next movement of the car is forward. It is in the direction of law enforcement and makes contact with law enforcement. It is then and only then that you hear shots.

Womble said that officers shouted commands and tried to open a car door before any shots were fired.

None of the deputies were injured, according to previous statements by the Pasquotank County sheriff, Tommy Wooten II.

Womble argued that video of the shooting should be kept from the public while state investigators pursue their probe. He said the video should not be released until a trial in the shooting or, alternatively, if a completed investigation results in no charges.

One of the Brown family lawyers, Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who viewed the 20-second video, said Monday that shots were heard from the instant the clip started with Browns car in his driveway and his hands on the steering wheel. She said he did not try to back away until after deputies ran up to his car and began shooting, and he did not pose a threat to deputies, explaining: He finally decides to try to get away and he backs out, not toward officers at all.

In response to Wombles remarks in court, she defended her description of the footage.

At no time have I given any misrepresentations. I still stand by what I saw in that clip, she said, adding that she watched the clip over and over, taking notes.

The judge denied formal requests by a media coalition including The Associated Press and by the sheriff to release the video. Under a 2016 state law, authorities can show body camera video privately to family members of a victim but must receive a judge's approval to make it public.

Accountability is important, Mike Tadych, a lawyer for the media coalition, said in court. But in order to hold public officials accountable, we have to see whats going on."

Tadych said later in an email that he and his colleagues will decide the best route for an appeal once they receive the judge's written order.

The FBI on Tuesday announced a civil rights investigation into Brown's death, and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has also called for a swift release of the video, urged that a special prosecutor be appointed to take the state's case over from Womble. However, under state law, the district attorney would have to agree to let another prosecutor step in. Womble indicated in a statement Tuesday that he will not do so.

The State Bureau of Investigation began a probe of the shooting shortly after it happened. It has said that it would turn its findings over to Womble, as is standard under state laws and procedures.

Brown was shot April 21 by deputies serving drug-related search and arrest warrants at his house in the North Carolina town of Elizabeth City, about 160 miles northeast of Raleigh. On Tuesday, Browns family released an independent autopsy showing he was shot five times, including in the back of the head. The states autopsy has not been released yet.

Drew reported from Durham, North Carolina.
[April 28, 2021] Amwell Further Advances Digital Connectivity with Next Generation Telehealth Platform

Amwell, (NYSE: AMWL) a national telehealth leader, today unveiled its next-generation Converge telehealth platform at its annual Client Forum. Born out of the profound shift in telehealth usage during the COVID 19 pandemic, from transactional to longitudinal care, this flexible and scalable platform is designed to provide deeper connectivity between healthcare players with unmatched simplicity, reliability, and scalability. With the Converge platform, Amwell's products, programs, modules and Carepoint devices, as well as applications from leading innovators, will be available in one place with a single code base, further enhancing Amwell's seamless and unified care experience and strengthening existing patient provider relationships across all types of care. "Digital distribution of care is here," said Dr. Roy Schoenberg, President and co-CEO, Amwell. "Telehealth morphed, almost overnight, from a promising technology to an existential platform in the operation of healthcare - alongside EHRs, claim systems and e-prescribing. We are witnessing a new consensus that the future care of any one patient will inevitably involve a mix of physical, digital and asynchronous/AI-based care. We designed the Converge platform to support, simplify, and delight patients, clinicians, and the healthcare tenants around them, as they rapidly embrace this new balance of care. Its open architecture invites customers and innovators to extend their reach, and all of us to imagine a more graceful healthcare experience, with technology on our side." The platform's open architecture is designed to host and operate applications from innovators - further enabling rapid progress towards digitally enabled healthcare. By embracing a diverse group of developers as part of the platform, clients are able to pick and choose the capabilities that matter most to them. Examples include: Google Cloud: Leveraging AI and natural language processing technologies powered by Google (News - Alert) Cloud, real-time captioning and translation services will advance provider choices for patient education by surfacing related health education materials based on a patient's visit. AI-powered tools will engage patients and their care teams before, during and after visits to drive better health insights and outcomes.

TytoCare: Livestream integration enables improved diagnosis and treatment for virtual visits using the award-winning TytoCare handheld exam kit featuring built-in visual guidance technology.

The Clinic: Providers can request virtual second opinion services for patients, connecting them to one of 3,500 Cleveland Clinic physicians in over 550 advanced sub-specialties via the Amwell platform.

Biobeat: Offering a wearable, wireless remote patient monitoring device in two forms: a wrist-monitor for long-term use and a disposable chest-monitor for short-term use, Biobeat provides a tool for the continuous monitoring of 15 vtal signs including: blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygenation and respiratory rate. Biobeat devices are used by healthcare organizations and pharma companies globally; a Biobeat app would enable providers to receive alerts on patient health status and potential deterioration via an AI-powered, automated real-time early warning score system.



Solaborate, the Home TV Carepoint device, powered by advanced AI, is designed to bring hospital care into the home environment via an easy-to-use TV-based experience. "We realize that transformation is all about partnership and collaboration," said Dr. Ido Schoenberg, Chairman and co-CEO, Amwell. "By bringing together Amwell's best-in-class solutions with those from across the ecosystem, we are uniquely able to deliver a solution that both supports a long list of capabilities across the full care continuum, from episodic to longitudinal care, and enables native connectivity between all players. We also understand that these players have unique needs, and these needs will evolve, so we have built the Converge platform to be highly scalable, modular and future-ready, giving clients the ability to reimagine new ways of using telehealth over time."

"At the start of the pandemic, we integrated telehealth as a way to meet demand but have quickly realized the need to make telehealth a permanent component of our care access model," said Susan Pleasants, MD, the Chief Medical Informatics (News - Alert) Officer with M Health Fairview. "Core to the success of our program and high satisfaction rates thus far has been having a virtual care platform that is fully integrated with our EHR and embedded in our patient portal. These components have allowed us to create a more simple, more cohesive user experience for both patients and providers, while helping us increase efficiency and expand the reach of our virtual services to other community locations." Central to the Converge platform is its enhanced reliability and simplicity, featuring fast and reliable video and audio connections and the ability to easily upgrade these core components over time - ensuring that clients have access to the best connectivity experience for the future. The platform can be integrated with existing workflows, EHRs, patient portals, and consumer experiences, to support the delivery of care no matter where the patient or provider originates and resulting in faster and easier deployment. The single platform approach means a unified identity system that enables a streamlined and regulatory compliant exchange of information and services across the ecosystem. "UPMC Health Plan expanded its telehealth capacity during the pandemic to meet increasing member demand, which quintupled in the 12 months after the start of the pandemic," said Natasha Khouri, Associate Vice President, Telehealth Strategy Solutions, UPMC Health Plan. "The past year has proven that telemedicine can be a convenient, clinically appropriate means by which to deliver accessible, high-quality health care to our members and we expect to continue to add even more virtual care options to further strengthen member-provider relationships and improve health outcomes." To learn more about the Converge platform visit: https://business.amwell.com/solution-overview/ About Amwell Amwell is a leading telehealth platform in the United States and globally, connecting and enabling providers, insurers, patients, and innovators to deliver greater access to more affordable, higher quality care. Amwell believes that digital care delivery will transform healthcare. The Company offers a single, comprehensive platform to support all telehealth needs from urgent to acute and post-acute care, as well as chronic care management and healthy living. With over a decade of experience, Amwell powers telehealth solutions for over 2,000 hospitals and over 55 health plan partners with over 36,000 employers, covering over 80 million lives. For more information, please visit https://business.amwell.com/. American Well, Amwell, Converge and Carepoint are registered trademarks or trademarks of American Well Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties and are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding our future results of operations, financial condition, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," or "would," or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements represent our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this release. These statements, and related risks, uncertainties, factors and assumptions, include, but are not limited to: weak growth and increased volatility in the telehealth market; inability to adapt to rapid technological changes; increased competition from existing and potential new participants in the healthcare industry; changes in healthcare laws, regulations or trends and our ability to operate in the heavily regulated healthcare industry; our ability to comply with federal and state privacy regulations; the significant liability that could result from a cybersecurity breach; and other factors described under 'Risk Factors' in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and our subsequent filings with the SEC (News - Alert) . These risks are not exhaustive. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Further information on factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated by our forward-looking statements is included in the reports we have filed or will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings, when available, are available on the investor relations section of our website at investors.amwell.com and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005646/en/

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Hyderabad, April 28 : Major General Chittoor Venugopal (Retd), hailing from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and recipient of the Maha Vir Chakra for his leadership in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, passed away following cardiac arrest late on Tuesday.

Born on November 14, 1927, he was commissioned in the 5/1 Battalion of Gorkha Rifles in 1950. He later commanded the same battalion as a Lieutenant Colonel during the 1971 war.

The 5/1 Gorkha Rifles was tasked to attack the well-fortified positions of Pakistan at Uthali and Darsana locations of Jessore in the Eastern Sector. These positions had a series of concrete pillboxes interconnected with communication trenches. Lt Col C Venugopal made a meticulous plan of attack and successfully captured two important positions which caused the enemy to withdraw. The 5/1 Gurkha Rifles pursued the retreating enemy without giving them any rest or time to regroup that led to the capture of Jhenida Post, Jessore within three days. For his leadership and aggressive battle planning resulting in large military gains, he was awarded the second highest gallantry award, Maha Vir Chakra, a defence statement said.

Post retirement the General had limited social interaction and led a bachelor's life in the White House at Tirupati. The sad demise of the brave son of the soil of Andhra Pradesh is a great loss to the Army and the nation as a whole, the statement added.

His last journey was curtailed due to the Covid pandemic and a ceremonial wreath laying ceremony was organized at Tirupati with limited attendance of relatives, civil dignitaries and the Armed Forces veterans.

Major General Chittoor Venugopal donated his mortal remains to Sri Venkateshwara Medical College, added the defence statement.
First Bank Integrates Linedata Capitalstream Capabilities to the Cloud

Linedata (Euronext Paris: LIN), a global provider of credit and asset management technology, data and services, today announced First Bank unlocked new efficiencies in its business lending division by fully adopting Linedata's cloud-based capabilities and streamlined business procedures through Linedata Capitalstream.

Since the initial integration of Linedata Capitalstream in 2016, the partnership between Linedata and First Bank has supported the bank's business lending segment in implementing automation, digitizing processes and offering a greater level of support to clients.

For more than 100 years, First Bank has operated as a family-owned bank, committed to remaining connected to clients and their long- and short-term financial goals. Linedata Capitalstream's Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) capabilities allow First Bank to deliver the latest innovations and comprehensive solutions, without traditional upgrades. New features and enhancements will be delivered regularly, ensuring a modern user experience for First Bank's business lending team.

"Our mission, vision, and purpose are solid and propel us to make investments in technology that serve our clients better," says Eric Hallgren, Chief Credit Officer at First Bank. "We're looking forward to keep rolling out digital-first initiatives, and continuing to partner with companies like Linedata, who keep us at the forefront of forward-thinking solutions."

The full adoption of Linedata Capitalstream has allowed for highly efficient, frictionless processes that focus on client engagement. For every step in the loan approval process that Linedata Capitalstream allows First Bank to simplify, First Bank adds value to their clients.

"Since we started working together, I've admired First Bank's willingness to adapt and evolve ahead of industry standards," says Louanne Gemin, SVP Linedata Lending and Leasing North America. "As digital client interactions and remote working became the norm in 2020, First Bank is well-positioned to optimize performance of business lending."

First Bank can now offer small businesses the opportunity to apply for a loan online and receive a decision instantly. Compared to the norm of waiting days or weeks for a decision, this loan application experience will reduce stress for business borrowers. Using Linedata Capitalstream's automation, First Bank will be able to offer this helpful service without incurring unacceptable credit risk.

"Integrating tools such as Linedata Capitalstream means we get to spend more time connecting with our clients, offering our expertise as they face new challenges and opportunities in their communities," Hallgren adds.

For more information on Linedata Capitalstream, please visit Linedata.com/lending-leasing/linedata-capitalstream.

ABOUT FIRST BANK

With a 100-year history of family ownership, First Bank offers premier business banking, commercial banking, and personal banking solutions to clients in Missouri, California, and Illinois, as well as mortgage services in Kansas. Turn to First Bank for all your financial needs, including personal checking and savings accounts, business checking and savings accounts, mortgages, wealth management, home equity loans lines of credit, commercial loans, and more. Mobile eBanking and Mobile Business eBanking make it easy to access your accounts on the go.

ABOUT LINEDATA

With 20 years' experience and 700 clients in 50 countries, Linedata's 1100 employees in 20 offices provide global humanized technology solutions and services for the asset management and credit industries that help its clients to evolve and to operate at the highest levels.

Headquartered in France, Linedata achieved revenues of EUR 161.0 million in 2020 and is listed on Euronext Paris compartment B FR0004156297-LIN Reuters LDSV.PA Bloomberg LIN:FP.

linedata.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005192/en/

Contacts:

Linedata

Aurelia Szymanski

Tel: +33 1 73 43 74 01

Email: Aurelia.Szymanski@se.linedata.com

Porter Novelli

Liz Shaw

Tel: 212-601-8121

Email: Liz.Shaw@porternovelli.com
Gogglebox Australia stars Tim and Leanne were targeted by vile racist trolls on social media this week.

The siblings appear on the hit show together, but now Leanne has quit social media as a result of the abuse.

Tim shared a message on their joint Instagram account on Wednesday reminding followers that 'words are weapons'.

'Words are weapons': Gogglebox star Leanne (left, with her brother Tim) has quit social media after being subjected to vile racist abuse

'Words are weapons. We just received this message,' he wrote, alongside a screenshot of an offensive comment referring to the pair as 'g**ks'.

'This is the reason I now fully manage our IG and FB. This is why Leanne has quit social media,' he added.

'How much hurt and trauma must someone have gone through for them to lash out at someone because of the colour of their skin, because of who they love, because of wanting to live their authentic self.'

Shocking: 'Words are weapons. We just received this message,' Tim wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, alongside a screenshot of an offensive comment referring to the siblings as 'g**ks'

Over it: The siblings appear on Gogglebox together, but now Leanne has quit social media

He added hashtags including 'stop Asian hate' and 'discrimination'.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Tim and Channel 10 for further comment.

Last year, another Asian Channel 10 personality was targeted by racist trolls.

Familiar faces: Tim and Leanne are pictured on Gogglebox Australia

A troll used the same racial slur against MasterChef judge Melissa Leong in reference to her Singaporean-Chinese heritage, and she was later defended by her co-star Jock Zonfrillo, who called out the appalling behaviour.

Appearing on The Project late last year, Melissa praised Scottish-born Jock for his 'allyship,' saying it's important for a 'white male to call out racism'.

She went on to reveal that experiences of racism in her childhood still affect her.

'If experiences in my childhood have helped me become strong, then I can articulate those experiences, and perhaps tell people out there that have gone through the same thing that they are not alone,' she said.
Fifty years ago today, when the Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened its doors, American workplaces were full of dangers. In 1970, an average of 38 workers were killed on the job every day, and many thousands more were injured or sickened by exposures to toxic chemicals. The law that created OSHA was revolutionary: It established, for the first time, the right to a safe workplace, free of serious hazards. Businesses had to comply with federal regulations and permit inspectors to examine their facilities.

The agency, which I directed from 2009 to 2017, has improved working conditions for generations of Americans. It has prevented thousands of deaths and millions of injuries. Today, even with a much larger work force, 14 workers on average are killed on the job each day, a great improvement  although thats still 14 deaths too many.

But in recent years, progress has slowed. Fatality rates plateaued more than a decade ago. Workers of color, particularly Black and Latino workers, are overrepresented in dangerous occupations and thus disproportionately suffer the tragic consequences. About 3.5 million workers are reported injured on the job every year, but since many injuries arent recorded by employers, the true number is higher.

The Covid-19 crisis serves as a reminder of the challenges of protecting the nations workers, millions of whom have risked their lives to provide medical care, stock grocery shelves and operate public transit. After the pandemic began, the Trump administration refused to issue new labor regulations, and OSHA did not require employers to take steps to prevent workers from becoming infected with the coronavirus. Countless workers were sickened. Many died and the virus spread from workplaces into communities. During his election campaign, President Biden committed to taking strong action, but thus far has not done so, although this week Politico reported that new guidelines may be forthcoming.
[April 28, 2021] India Data Center Market Outlook and Forecast Report 2021-2026 Featuring Established Market Giants and New Entrants Such as Adani Group, Bridge Data Centres, Colt DCS, Equinix, PDG & Mantra DCs

DUBLIN, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Data Center Market in India - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The India data center market by investment is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 12% during the period 2020-2026.



The India market is witnessing significant investment from colocation service providers due to high demand from BFSI, logistics, transportation, e-commerce, and government agencies, fueled by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several global colocation and data center service providers have been shown a tremendous inclination toward the Indian data center market, which is likely to contribute to the market growth. For instance, in August 2020, Equinix entered India with the acquisition of GPX Global Systems in Mumbai, which is likely to close by Q2 2021. In December 2020, Adani Group announced to set up a hyperscale data center facility with an investment of around $340 million in Chennai. The company had partnered with the global colocation service provider, EdgeConneX, to build and operate 1 GW of data center campuses across the country, powered by renewable energy power plants in India. Government agencies and enterprises are setting up their own data centers in India. The deployment of on-premises infrastructure solutions continues to grow in the market. Also, the National Payments Corporation of India, State Bank of India, National Payments Corporation of India, and Information Technology Department Tamil Nadu investing in their self-built facilities in the country. India Data Center Market Segmentation



The india data center market research report includes a detailed segmentation by IT infrastructure, electrical infrastructure, mechanical infrastructure, cooling systems, general construction, tier standards, geography. The demand for servers suitable for cloud and big analytics workload is expected to grow during the forecast period. The adoption of converged and hyper-converged infrastructure solutions is likely to influence market growth during the forecast period. Enterprises are likely to prefer servers that reduce space in the data center environment without affecting performance. The market is expected to witness the growth of white-box server systems as enterprises are keen to adopt server infrastructure based on open community designs (OCP).



GEOGRAPHY



Maharashtra is a major data center development destination in India. Mumbai is the leading city for data center development, followed by Chennai. AWS, Microsoft, Alibaba, and Google have a physical presence in Mumbai. Colt DCS is developing the largest data center in Mumbai with a total power capacity of over 100 MW. Favorable government incentives and high IT connectivity are the major factors influencing data center development in Maharastra. Mumbai is a major location, with high submarine cable deployments that connect to key markets and regions across the world. In April 2020, Google announced an investment of around $400 million in the deployment of Blue-Raman cable, which connects India with Israel and Italy. ISIGHTS BY VENDORS



The India data center market consists of several IT, electrical, and mechanical infrastructure providers. Arista Networks, Atos, Broadcom, Cisco Systems, Dell Technologies, Caterpillar, Schneider Electric, Vertiv, and Cummins are some major IT and support infrastructure providers. Infrastructure vendors are likely to offer innovative products that help to reduce power consumption and improve efficiency during the forecast period. The market is also likely to witness high demand for UPS and generators of varied capacities in small, medium, and large data centers.

The demand for high-capacity systems with 2N redundant configuration is expected to increase over the next few years. The India data center market is witnessing intense competition among local service providers as several operators are rapidly expanding their operations. New market entrants are offering tough competition to established players. KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED 1. What is the COVID-19 impact on the data center market in India?

2. What is the India data center market size and growth rate during the forecast period?

3. What are the key drivers and trends in the Indian data center market?

4. Who are the new entrants in the India data center market?

5. Which are the prominent destinations for data center investments in India?

6. Which security challenges are faced by data center infrastructure providers? Key Topics Covered:



1 Research Methodology



2 Research Objectives



3 Research Process



4 Scope & Coverage

4.1 Market Definition

4.2 Base Year

4.3 Scope of The Study

4.4 Market Segments



5 Report Assumptions & Caveats

5.1 Key Caveats

5.2 Currency Conversion

5.3 Market Derivation



6 Market at a Glance



7 Introduction

7.1 Data Center Incentives In India

7.2 List Of Data Center Investment In India

7.3 Data Center Site Selection Criteria



8 Market Opportunities & Trends

8.1 5G Deployment Enhances The Edge Data Center Investments

8.2 Procurement Of Renewable Energy In Data Centers

8.3 Growing Rack Power Density

8.4 Increased Adoption Of Hyperconverged & Converged Infrastructure Platforms



9 Market Enablers

9.1 COVID-19 Impact On Data Center Market In India

9.2 Government To Grow Digital Economy & Data Center Investments

9.3 Rise In Investments From Colocation Providers

9.4 Cloud Adoption Increases Data Center Investments

9.5 Big Data & IoT Drive Data Center Investments



10 Market Restraints

10.1 Challenges Related to Power Reliability

10.2 Security Challenges In Data Centers

10.3 Lack of Strong Network Connectivity

10.4 Increasing Water Scarcity For Data Center Cooling



11 Market Landscape

11.1 Market Overview

11.2 Market Size & Forecast

11.3 Five Forces Analysis



12 Infrastructure

12.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

12.2 Market Overview

12.3 IT INFRASTRUCTURE

12.4 ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

12.5 MECHANICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

12.6 GENERAL CONSTRUCTION



13 IT Infrastructure

13.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

13.2 Server Infrastructure

13.3 Storage Infrastructure

13.4 Network Infrastructure



14 Electrical Infrastructure

14.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

14.2 UPS Systems

14.3 Generators

14.4 Transfer Switches & Switchgear

14.5 Power Distribution Units

14.6 Other Electrical Infrastructure



15 Mechanical Infrastructure

15.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

15.2 Cooling Systems

15.3 Racks

15.4 Other Mechanical Infrastructure



16 Cooling Systems

16.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

16.2 CRAC & CRAH Units

16.3 Chiller Units

16.4 Cooling Towers, Condensers & Dry Coolers

16.5 Other Cooling Units



17 General Construction

17.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

17.2 Core & Shell Development

17.3 Installation & Commissioning Services

17.4 Engineering & Building Design

17.5 Physical Security

17.6 DCIM/BMS



18 Tier Standards

18.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

18.2 Overview of Tier Standards

18.3 TIER I & II

18.4 TIER III

18.5 TIER IV



19 Geography

19.1 Investment: Snapshot & Growth Engine

19.2 Area: Snapshot & Growth Engine

19.3 Power Capacity: Snapshot & Growth Engine Competitive Landscape Key Data Center Critical (IT) Infrastructure Providers Arista Networks

Atos

Broadcom

Cisco Systems

Dell Technologies

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

Huawei Technologies

IBM

Juniper Networks

Lenovo

NEC Corporation

NetApp Key Data Center Support Infrastructure Providers ABB

Blue Box (Swegon)

Caterpillar

Climaveneta Climate Technologies (Mitsubishi Electric)

Cummins

Delta Electronics

Eaton

KOEL (Kirloskar Group)

Legrand

NetRack Enclosures

Panduit

Rolls-Royce Power Systems

Reillo Elettronica (Riello UPS)

Rittal

Schneider Electric

Siemens

STULZ

Vertiv Group Key Data Center General Construction Contractors AECOM

DSCO Group

Larsen & Toubro (L&T)

Prasa

Sterling and Wilson (Shapoorji Pallonji Group)

Turner & Townsend

Vastunidhi Key Data Center Investors Airtel India (Nxtra Data)

CtrlS

NTT Global Data Centers (Netmagic)

Pi Data Centers

RackBank

Reliance Jio Infocomm

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres India

Sify Technologies

Web Werks

Yotta Infrastructure (Hiranandani Group) New Entrants Adani Group

Bridge Data Centres

Colt Data Centre Services (Colt DCS)

Equinix (GPX Global Systems)

Mantra Data Centers

Princeton Digital Group (PDG) For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/e0t83q Media Contact: Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28)  Local manufacturers of medical-grade personal protective equipment are appealing to the government to prioritize Filipino-made PPEs as they lose to imported brands in bidding wars.

During a joint hearing of the Senate committees on economic affairs and trade Wednesday, the Confederation of Philippine Manufacturers of PPE, or CPMP, said its five member companies invested $35 million (nearly 1.7 billion) last year to heed the governments call for locally made PPEs.

A year later, they continued to incur losses. At least three companies that transitioned to making PPEs had to lay off around 3,500 workers in December 2020, according to the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines, or CONWEP.

We were subjected to the lowest cost. Unfortunately, also at the same time the Philippine market was flooded with very low-cost PPEs from China; some of them are even substandard, said Rosette Carrillo, executive director of the CPMP.

We would like to call the attention of the Senate to hear the plea of the exporters who have repurposed and reinvested to have the policies to really focus on buying Filipino-made PPE, she added.

Aside from industry groups, lawmakers have been urging the government to buy Filipino-made PPEs. Senator Koko Pimentel, head of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship said he will schedule a hearing to get to the bottom of the matter, including allegations of substandard PPEs from China.

Senator Imee Marcos, chairperson of the Senate panel on economic affairs, said one issue may be the tough requirements. She cited an instance when the winning bidder had to deliver one million units of PPE in 15 days, something that can only be done by companies that have stockpiled their products.

Senator Nancy Binay said the government may have to ease these requirements to give local manufacturers a fighting chance.

Budget Assistant Secretary Rolando Toledo cited the urgency of the procurement as the country grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. He said all procurements undergo a competitive bidding process and local manufacturers are welcome to take their chance at any time.

Marami pa naman tayong pangangailangan at tuloy-tuloy pa naman ang ating pagpo-procure (After all, we are in need of more PPEs so we will continue to procure, Toledo said.

In the meantime, losing local bidders are looking at exporting their products, said CONWEP Executive Director Maria Teresita Jocson-Agoncillo. Senator Nancy Binay could not hide her dismay.

Nakakatawa, noh? Tayo magsusupply sa labas tapos yung sariling atin hindi natin masupply (Its absurd, isnt it? We will supply to the export market but we cannot supply our own) she said.

Early this month, Philippine College of Physicians Vice President Dr. Maricar Limpin, who works at government hospital Philippine Heart Center and private facility Mary Johnston Hospital, told CNN Philippines health workers are worried about the dwindling supply of PPEs.

[A]ng ibang PPE  siguro sabihin na natin na  hindi kami comfortable in really using kasi baka pati kami magkaroon ng infection," Limpin said then.

The Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, whose allocations remain valid until June this year, earmarked 3 billion for the purchase of PPE, face masks, and other protective equipment for medical frontliners.

READ: 'Bayanihan 2' to ensure priority of local PPE makers, DOH says

Senator Ralph Recto said the chamber will review the Department of Healths spending.
Washington: Florida residents are furious as scientists prepare to release hundreds of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes into their communities.

The experiment, led by British biotech company Oxitec, will see about 750 million male mosquitoes sent out into the Florida Keys over the next two years in an attempt to control the population of an invasive, disease carrying species which has settled in the area.

But many residents are unhappy at being part of what one group called a Jurassic Park experiment.

A female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host. Credit:CDC/AP

The first wave of the project will see thousands of mosquitoes released at six locations this week.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 15:20:26|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a memorial hall in a memorial park dedicated to the Battle of the Xiangjiang River during the Long March in the 1930s, in Caiwan, a town in Quanzhou County in the city of Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- In his recent remarks during an inspection trip, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated strengthening belief via the learning of the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

As the CPC marks its centenary in 2021, the Party looks back at its history and recounts the shining moments in it.

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has on multiple occasions shared stories about the CPC and the spirit manifested within.





TRANSLATOR WHO TOOK INK FOR SUGAR

When speaking of the first Chinese version of the Communist Manifesto, Xi often shares the quote "the taste of truth is so sweet," which originates from the deeds of translator Chen Wangdao.

In 1920, young Chen Wangdao started translating the manifesto in his home village in east China's Zhejiang Province. One day, Chen's mother made him sticky rice dumplings and suggested he dip them in brown sugar water.

"I did, and they were very sweet," he responded. However, he was so absorbed in his work, and did not realize his mouth was stained black as he had dipped the dumplings in ink instead. It was with such dedication that Chen finished the translation and introduced the principles of Marxism into China.

Chen's work paved the way for the birth of the CPC. Over the years, the CPC has inherited the ideas and combined the fundamental principles of Marxism with China's reality during the country's revolution, construction and reform.

To this day, Chinese leaders have attached great importance to studying the Communist Manifesto. In the new era, the principles and spirit of Marxism continue to lead the way for the CPC.





SOLDIERS WHO CUT UP THEIR QUILT

Members of the CPC always bear in mind the interests and needs of the people. In September 2020, when visiting the city of Chenzhou, central China's Hunan Province, Xi cited a revolutionary story that took place there in 1934.

In the middle of the arduous Long March, Xu Jiexiu, an impoverished mother living in the local village of Shazhou, received three female Red Army soldiers at her home.

Shocked that Xu had only hay for mattresses and some torn-up cotton wool for quilts, the soldiers shared their only quilt with her and her son during their stay. As they were leaving, they insisted that she keep it for the winter, which Xu refused.

To settle the dispute, a soldier cut the quilt and left Xu half of it. Deeply touched, Xu never forgot about the soldiers or their acts of kindness for the rest of her life.

Lacking food and clothing, even facing life-or-death situations, the Red Army still kept the people's well-being in mind, Xi said, noting that the story shows the CPC's original aspiration and character.

Today, nearly a century from when Xu sheltered the three soldiers, the spirit manifested in the story of "half a quilt" still shines on.

As China embarks on a Long March of the new era, Xi has reassured the public of the CPC's people-oriented attribute, stressing that the Party remains committed to serving the people, which is not only a slogan, but also an action of persistence.

Achieving a complete victory in China's fight against poverty, which saw the final 98.99 million impoverished rural residents lifted out of poverty over the past eight years, the Party is moving on toward its goal of building a modern socialist China and common prosperity for all.





"BEGGAR" WITH GOLD BARS ON HIS BACK

It is the CPC's uncompromising requirement for its members to remain incorruptible. When inspecting east China's Jiangxi Province in 2019, Xi spoke of the deeds of Liu Qiyao, a faithful and uncorrupted Party member.

As the leader of the Communist authority in Jiangxi, Liu was once trusted with the activity funds of the local Party organization, including 13 gold bars.

In the 1930s, after losing connection with his comrades in a battle, Liu packed up the hidden funds, embarked on a journey to find them during which he once even lived a beggar's life.

After finally getting in touch with other Party members, Liu submitted the funds. To everyone's surprise, none of the valuables were missing. Even in his most desperate days, Liu did not use any of the funds for himself.

"Only if we remain clean and upright in governance can we win public trust," Xi noted.

Despite historic achievements made over the past years on fighting corruption, it remains the biggest risk to the Party's governance, as Xi has pointed out.

The self-improvement of the CPC, a ruling political party with more than 91 million members, has a major bearing on the future of a country of over 1.4 billion people.

Just as Xi once put it, "The governance over the Party must always be strict, so that the CPC can lead and ensure the smooth sailing of the great ship of socialism with Chinese characteristics." 
Tyler Silvers, the Co-Creator, Executive Producer, and Star of the comedy series Becoming Jiff is an up and coming multi-hyphenate talent. He embodies a sweet boy next door type with emotional depth, and the series he co-created harkens back to a sweet and funny New York City; a New York City that showed up in Flight of the Conchords, 30 Rock, and all the way back in films like Annie Hall or When Harry Met Sally. Where does Silvers draw his inspiration from?



Acting Inspirations



I think the most important thing in my job as an actor is to give my character humanity. And in simpler terms that just means make the audience like him, Silvers says. When asked which actors he likes to watch and learn from, Tyler Silvers replies: Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. Theyve played so many different characters, and no matter how imperfect the character they are playing may be, they always make you feel deeply for them. If you dont feel for the characters you are watching you wont emotionally connect to the film. He is also a big fan of some younger blockbuster actors, Chris Pratt and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the two actors right now who I always love to watch. But those are not the only actors he gushes over, when pushed further Silvers adds: I think one of the most underrated actors ever is Kathy Bates. She is really amazing. I mean, just watch Misery and The Waterboy, or her very funny role in The Office, she can pull off comedy, drama, and everything else. Any time she steps into a scene shes magnetic.



Filmmaking Inspirations



I love the movies that can make you laugh and cry. Once, Spirited Away, Jerry Maguire, The Graduate, theres too many to list. If I had to choose specific filmmakers I would say Nora Ephron, Cameron Crowe, John Hughes, Judd Apatow. Id also add filmmakers like Spielberg, Nolan, Zemeckis, JJ Abrams; the scope of the films they make are unbelievable, but no matter how big the films are they always have such great emotional cores. And Id add Malcolm D. Lee. He keeps directing the most enjoyable film of the year almost every single year.



All these filmmakers make films that you can get totally immersed in, Silvers says. No matter what is going on in your life, they take you away to another world where you can laugh, learn, think, and feel. Thats what truly inspires me. Those are the films Id like to be a part of.



You can watch Silvers acclaimed comedy series Becoming Jiff on Amazon Prime Video (it was recently included on the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award Shortlist for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series), and on his podcast Quadruple Overtime (guests include comedians and writers from Saturday Night Live, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Wall Street Journal, and others). And whats next for Tyler Silvers? Hes currently working with his collaborator and brother Forrest Silvers on a feature film and TV Pilot.









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 west Georgia police officer is set to begin rehabilitation for a brain injury two weeks after he was shot in the head during a frightening car chase and gunbattle with two suspects, authorities said.

Carrollton police Officer Sgt. Rob Holloway was transferred from Grady Memorial Hospital to the Shepherd Centers intensive care unit Monday, the police department said in a statement.

Soon, he will move into the hospitals brain injury rehabilitation program, where he will begin therapy under the guidance of a full team of medical and rehabilitation specialists, the statement said.

Holloway, one of three officers who were wounded April 12, had been in Gradys ICU since the deadly shootout. A fourth, Cpl. Jamison Troutt of the Carroll County sheriffs office, was injured during the incident but was not hit by gunfire, officials said.

Carroll County Deputy Jay Repetto, who was in the same patrol vehicle as Troutt, was shot in the arm and flown to Atlanta Medical Center. Villa Rica police Officer Chase Gordy, who was on the scene first, was shot twice and underwent surgery at Grady. Both have since been released.

The incident began when a state trooper tried to pull over a 2015 Nissan Sentra it had clocked going 111 mph on I-20, according to the Georgia State Patrol. The trooper used a PIT maneuver to disable the car after it sped away from the attempted traffic stop, but the driver regained control and kept going.

Local authorities joined the chase as it crossed into Carroll County. Someone inside the Sentra fired multiple rounds at the officers, officials said.

During the chase, Holloway was hit by gunfire and injured but continued his pursuit, the GBI said. He later crashed into a pole.

The Nissan eventually crashed near an elementary school in Villa Rica, and the suspects ran away from the vehicle. At some point, officers located them and a gunfight ensued.

Gordy was hit during a barrage of gunfire, and Repetto was struck while he and Troutt were en route to find Gordy. During the exchange, one of the suspects was also shot.

The armed suspect, identified as Pier Alexander Shelton, 28, of Birmingham, Alabama, was pronounced dead at the scene. The GBI has not said who fired the shot that killed him.

His cousin, Aaron Jajuan Shelton, 22, also of Birmingham, was arrested and charged with five counts of aggravated assault and three counts of aggravated battery. He is being held at the Carroll jail without bond.

In a statement through the Carrollton Police Department, Holloways family said they appreciate the outpouring of support from the community but has requested privacy at this time.

Sgt. Holloways family said they are grateful for the excellent care he received while at Grady Memorial Hospital, which referred the injured officer to Shepherd Center for rehabilitation, the statement said.

A GoFundMe campaign was created to cover Holloways medical-related expenses.

___

(c)2021 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.)

Visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.) at www.ajc.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
On a Monday, there is a data leak affecting half a billion Facebook accounts, by Tuesday a bot has scraped 500 million LinkedIn accounts. On Wednesday, Stanford University announces a hack that exposed thousands of Social Security numbers and financial details. Then Thursday, the worlds largest aviation IT company announces 90% of passenger data may have been accessed in a cyberattack. And so on. The cycle is endless.

The sheer number of reports of data leaks, hacks, and scams on affected accounts has now grown so gargantuan that consumers and users are left numb. It might as well be the soaring national debt total  the higher the number, the less we care.

But breaches of private data matter. And consumers should be rightly ticked off. Because for every company screw-up, hacker exploit, and insecure government database, there are thousands of firms and organizations doing it right, keeping users data secure, encrypted, and away from prying eyes.

And although states like California, Virginia and Vermont have passed privacy and data laws, many of these provisions too closely resemble the European Unions troubled General Data Protection Regulation in making it more difficult for legitimate businesses to secure data, not less.

When large data breaches occur, consumers who have been legitimately harmed should have their claims heard in court.

But the current patchwork of regulations across the U.S., including in the tech-centric state of California, place too much of a burden on those who are follow the law and do right by their customers, and risk creating different rules in different jurisdictions. To avoid this, a national framework on data and consumer privacy will need to take shape.

While we should always be vigilant about potentials for leaks and hacks, a chief concern of a smart and common-sense data privacy bill should be in championing innovation.

For every new health data company, logistics firm, or consumer wearable, proper data collection and retention are a core value. The more that rules are uniform, clear, and do not create barriers to entry, the more innovation we will see when it comes to data protection.

We should incentivize firms to adopt interoperability and open data standards to ensure data is portable and easy-to-access for users. Major social media networks now allow this prevision, and it has been the standard for website data for several years.

If that becomes the standard, consumers will be able to choose the brands and services that best cater to their needs and interests, rather than just companies left standing in the wake of overregulation.

At the same time, if we are to have a national privacy bill, we should enshrine the principle of technology neutrality, where government avoids decreeing winners and losers. That means that regulating or endorsing various formats of data, algorithms, or technology should be determined by firms and consumers, not government agencies without the knowledge necessary to make good decisions. The EUs recent attempt to designate the common phone charger as the micro-USB connection, at a time when USB-C connections are becoming the industry standard, is an easy example.

This also extends to innovation practices such as targeted advertising, geo-targeting, or personalization, which are key to the consumer experience.

Added to that, we should be wary of all attempts to outlaw encryption for both commercial and personal use.

In recent weeks, FBI Director Christopher Wray has once again called on Congress to ban the use of encryption, an overreach that would put billions of dollars worth of data at risk overnight, and leave us vulnerable to foreign hackers.

The reason encryption remains a powerful tool in the arsenal of companies and agencies that handle our data and communications is because it works. We must defend it at any cost.

While there is plenty to be concerned about when it comes to online breaches and hacks, consumers should be able to benefit from an innovative marketplace of products and services, unencumbered by regulations that all-too-often restrict progress.

This balance is possible and necessary, both if we want to have a more secure online experience, and if we want to continue to have the best technology at our disposal to improve our lives.

Yael Ossowski is deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
India on Wednesday reported a net increase of 96,505 in active cases to take its count to 2,978,709. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 15.94 per cent (one in 6). The country is second among the most affected countries by active cases. On Wednesday, it added 360,960 cases to take its total caseload to 17,997,267. And, with 3,293 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 201,187, or 1.12 per cent of total confirmed infections.

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Digital Editor
A trailer has dropped for Season Two of Ms. Fishers Modern Murder Mysteries, to premiere in Australia on Acorn TV.

Geraldine Hakewill returns as Peregrine Fisher, niece of Phrynne Fisher, for the 1960s murder mysteries.

Season Two is an 8 part season which in early June. Seven to have broadcast rights at a later time.

A spinoff of the Australian sensation Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries, the swinging 1960s crime series Ms. Fishers Modern Murder Mysteries follows the fearless and spirited Peregrine Fisher (Logie Award-nominated Geraldine Hakewill, Wanted, Wakefield), the niece of world-class adventuress and private detective Phryne Fisher, as she inherits a windfall from her famous aunt and sets out to become an exceptional sleuth in her own right.

As murders continue to plague the streets of 1964 Melbourne, daring detective Peregrine Fisher tackles her trickiest assignment yet: juggling her career, the busy life of an Adventuress and her romance with Detective James Steed (Joel Jackson, Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door, Deadline Gallipolli). Playful but never mocking, exuberant but never naive, Peregrine Fisher continues her mission to do the legacy of her famous aunt justice, to find her way in changing times and to make a difference in the world.

This season, while Peregrine investigates cases at an air hostess school, a dog show and a bowling alley, Birdie Birnside (Catherine McClements, Wentworth) reignites her spying career with an old flame and Violetta (Louisa Mignone) and Samuel (Toby Truslove) struggle to contain their passion. Despite their busy lives, the gang have Peregrines back; because the modern road to happy-ever-after isnt always rosy and staying true to oneself can sometimes mean hurting those you love.

Ms. Fishers Modern Murder Mysteries is an Acorn TV Original Series produced by Every Cloud Productions. Principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with Film Victoria, Acorn Media Enterprises, All3media International and Fulcrum Media Finance.

Executive producers and series creators are Fiona Eagger (Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries, Newtons Law) and Deb Cox (Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries, Newtons Law). Co-executive producer is Peter Mattessi (EastEnders). Executive producer for Acorn Media Enterprises is Donald Klees.

Monday, June 7 on Acorn TV and continues weekly.

Updated.

Related
LOST in all the attention surrounding the federal budget was the release of Canadas 2021 National Inventory Report, outlining greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 2019. Despite little fanfare, the report is seminal, providing quantitative evidence on several environmental policy questions still dogging Canada.

Opinion

LOST in all the attention surrounding the federal budget was the release of Canadas 2021 National Inventory Report, outlining greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 2019. Despite little fanfare, the report is seminal, providing quantitative evidence on several environmental policy questions still dogging Canada.

Most obvious is that Canada is failing in attempts to meet its Paris Agreement target for 2030, a commitment everyone, irrespective of political perspective, understands and agrees is important. Canadas emissions in 2019, at 730 million tonnes, are little different from in 2005. We have made little progress and face a daunting task to reduce emissions by at least 220 million tonnes in less than 10 years. On this, we have collectively dropped the ball.

Second is more specific, concerning the Liberal governments vaunted carbon tax. Emission results for 2019, the first year applied, clearly show the carbon tax did not work. Canadas emissions went up, not down.

It is important to go back to federal documents from 2018 justifying the tax. The first reason was apparent success in British Columbia, a questionable claim given that provinces upward-trending emissions. The second reason was the purported ability to deliver decisive and large emission reductions over a short time frame. Indeed, by 2022, the carbon tax was touted to reduce 80 to 90 million tonnes, a projection that now looks unrealistic.

MBA students this past winter session were able to estimate the cost of reductions for the tax as applied to two major fossil fuels, on-road gasoline and on-road diesel, across four provinces where levied: Manitoba; New Brunswick; Ontario; and Saskatchewan. These consumption data show that for 2019, carbon taxes paid from the four provinces on these two fossil fuels totalled just over $1.03 billion  a large number. At the same time, emission reductions due to reduced consumption of the same fuels totalled less than 171,000 tonnes, a relatively small number.

The resulting net cost for reductions thus translates to more than $6,000 per tonne, astonishingly higher than the $20 per tonne "price signal." This calculation provides context, given that too frequently carbon taxation is touted as a "low-cost" option, whereas results show otherwise.

This is not surprising. Carbon taxation is not bogus, but neither is it magic. Success depends critically on consumers responding to the tax. Regrettably overlooked is that over past decades, consumer sensitivity to fuel-price changes has dropped precipitously. Both diesel and natural gas today exhibit behaviours more like "necessities," with consumption staying roughly level irrespective of price.

MBA students further identified some obvious improvements. We could use collected taxes to mitigate damages or fund reductions. As we all know, however, the federal Liberals opted for politically expedient rebates. Those rebates, however, are not monitored to confirm if any was spent on reductions, with the obvious implication from results being that it did not happen.

More than $2.6 billion in carbon taxes were collected during the first year alone. Even if levels were just maintained, over the next decade this could directly fund improvements that would contribute significant reductions. Such direct expenditures further would be dramatically larger than proposed environmental spending in the recent budget, while not adding debt.

A third concern is confirmation the carbon tax was not fairly handled. In 2018, we were assured most households in Manitoba would gain back more, with average household costs of $232 versus average rebates of $334 quoted. Yet actual data shows average household costs in 2019 were $386, while rebates were only $314. Federal ministers should at least stop making ridiculous claims that are obviously not true.

Fourth, and below the radar, is that three provinces continue to lead on percentage emission reductions relative to 2005: New Brunswick (38), Nova Scotia (30) and Ontario (21). A key policy in all three is decarbonization of the electrical grid. This has shown demonstrated success, with further potential, suggesting importance of the "East-West" grid for Canada to better use its own clean electricity.

This approach, however, has been led by provinces, with little federal involvement. It should be a priority.

One final point is cautionary: emissions under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have now gone up three years in a row, and on average are virtually identical to those under former prime minister Stephen Harper. There is a growing and glaring "public confidence" problem on climate policies, with ever more grandiose and unrealistic promises being not matched by bottom line results.

Instead of just pretending, we need practical actions to move forward and reduce emissions.

Robert Parsons teaches sustainability economics and quantitative methods in the I.H. Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba.
Advertisement

An NYPD officer killed by an alleged drunk driver tried to run for his life before he was hit so hard that he was thrown of out of his uniform boots and his body was 'completely shattered'.

Officer Anastasios Tsakos, 43, and other officers were directing traffic away from a fatal crash on the Long Island Expressway in Queens in the early hours of Tuesday morning when they saw the maroon Volkswagon driven by Jessica Beauvais' hurtling toward them, a law enforcement source told the New York Daily News.

The officers ran for their lives, but Tsakos was struck by the car. The force of the impact threw his body nearly 200 feet onto a grassy median, and he was blown out of his knee-high police-issued work boots, the site reported.

The 14-year veteran suffered massive head injuries as he hit the grass median, and later died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Queens.

Tsakos' body 'completely shattered' Beauvais' windshield, yet she kept driving and passed multiple exits, Newsweek reported.

Responding officers finally caught up to the 32-year-old Long Island mother, who told police she knew she hit something but was unsure of what it was, according to court documents.

'I don't know why they stopped me, speeding I guess. I did hear a thump, so I knew I hit something, but I didn't see what it was,' Beauvais said, according to the documents.

On an officer's bodycam footage, Beauvai can be heard asking an officer, 'what did I do?'. Her blood alcohol content was nearly double the legal limit two hours after the incident.

Before the fatal crash, Beauvais posted a one-hour and 51 minute livestream on her Facebook page where she was seen downing tequila shots and drinking wine while the N.W.A song 'F**k Tha Police' played in the background.

Jessica Beauvais, 32, (left) of Hempstead is walked out of the 107th Precinct in Queens after allegedly striking and killing NYPD officer Anastasios Tsakos (right) on the Long Island Expressway

Investigators survey the vehicle that struck and killed New York City Police Department Officer Anastasios Tsakos

Beauvais is seen vaping (above) in the video where she addressed the trial of white ex-cop Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd and slammed police officers and the justice system in the video just hours before she allegedly struck and killed a cop

Tsakos, affectionately known as 'Tasso' was a married father of two small children. He is pictured with his wife Irene

Tsakos, affectionately as 'Tasso,' was a married father of a three-year-old son and six year-old daughter and recently moved to the East Northport neighborhood in Suffolk County last summer.

In interviews with ABC 7, his neighbors described him as family man: 'Family man, friendly as can be, and the most hardworking person you'd ever want to meet,' neighbor Moyra Bletsch told the New York City news station.

Another neighbor, Rosemarie Giacalone, told ABC 7, said Tsakos and his family helped them while they were quarantined.

'We had been quarantined a couple of months ago, the whole family, and he just called us, whatever we needed,' she said. 'He would drop off food for us. His wife cooked us soup.'

Tsakos' brother, Teddy, told ABC 7: 'He didn't deserve this. 'He just bought a house. He was doing good. Everything was cut short. That's it.'

NYPD Officer Anastasios Tsakos, 43, was killed by an alleged drunk driver while directing traffic. One of his neighbors told ABC 7 he was a 'Family man, friendly as can be, and the most hardworking person you'd ever want to meet'

Highway police drop off food at the Long Island home of Officer Tsakos

Relatives are pictured at the cop's Long Island home following his death when he was hit by an accused drunk driver. Tsakos brother, Teddy, told ABC 7, 'He didn't deserve this'. Family members are pictured consoling each other at his home

Neighbors gathered outside Tsakos's home on Wednesday. In interviews with ABC 7 , his neighbors described him as family man: 'Family man, friendly as can be, and the most hardworking person you'd ever want to meet'

A blue ribbon and an American flag were hung on a tree in front of Officer Tsaksos's Long Island home

A woman was seen coming down the steps of Jessica Beauvais's Long Island home on Wednesday as she languished in jail on suspicion of killing Anastasios Tsakos

Another unidentified woman was snapped blowing a kiss as she walked into Beauvais's home on Wednesday

Beauvais' home on Wednesday. She traveled to a recording studio to record a podcast shortly before Monday night's crash, which saw married dad of two Tsakos mown down and killed as he directed traffic around an earlier fatal crash

On the night of the crash, Beauvais filmed herself in a Facebook livestream as part of her Face the Reality radio show where she addressed the trial of white ex-cop Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, slammed police officers and the justice system, and played N.W.A song 'F**k Tha Police'.

In the nearly two-hour long livestream, she told her social media followers she likes guns because 'they're pretty' and ranted about being pro capital punishment, while she said 'potential death' is just 'part of the job' for cops.

Throughout the video, Beauvais is seen vaping and drinking an unknown dark liquid from a plastic cup and, at one point, washes down the contents of a red shot glass with a bottle of Snapple. Police sources claim she later confessed to guzzling vodka, wine and smoking weed before the deadly incident.

Hours later, Beauvais allegedly got behind the wheel of her Volkswagen and plowed into NYPD Highway Officer Tsakos on the Long Island Expressway in Queens around 2am Tuesday morning.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a joint press conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio Tuesday that Beauvais was driving while intoxicated and with a suspended license when she allegedly sped away from the scene with a 'completely shattered' windshield before being stopped by police.

Sources told New York Daily News she was almost double the legal alcohol limit for driving - registering a 0.15 on a Breathalyzer test - and was slurring her words and unsteady on her feet when cops arrested her.

She allegedly fumed at the arresting officers, telling them: 'F**k you. I don't have to listen to you.'

Beauvais, who says she has a 13-year-old son in the video, later offered a tearful apology for Tsakos' death as she was led out of the NYPD's 107th Precinct in handcuffs on Tuesday afternoon. 'I'm sorry that I hit him and that he's dead,' she sobbed.

She now faces 13 charges including manslaughter in the second degree, aggravated manslaughter in the second degree, vehicular manslaughter in the second degree and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting/death. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Suspected drunk driver Jessica Beauvais, 32, streamed herself on Facebook Live saying 'f**k the police' and downing shots hours before she allegedly struck and killed a veteran cop in a hit-and-run in New York City

Beauvais posted a 1 hour and 51 minute livestream on her Facebook page Monday evening. At one point, she washes down the contents of a red shot glass (above)

Just hours before the fatal encounter, at 6.37 pm Beauvais started her Facebook Live stream on her social media account under another name by talking about Chauvin's trial.

'This week we are going to talk about the ignorance that was the Derek Chauvin trial - or the ignorance that is essentially just is this f**ing justice system,' she says.

'Police say an oath and in that oath they say an oath that they are not supposed to be afraid of that position and that is literally in the rules.'

Chauvin was found guilty on all charges for the Memorial Day murder of George Floyd last year after he knelt on the black man's neck for more than nine minutes until he died.

Beauvais reads out part of an oath taken by members of law enforcement that they will 'enforce the law courteously, appropriately, without fear, malice or ill will' and questions how this had led to officers 'shooting and killing people on the streets.'

The 32-year-old then went on to say that police officers are 'signing up for potential death like in the army' and that it is 'part of the job' and that people 'might try to f**king kill you.'

Beauvais also claimed that if she ever had a fatal encounter with police, she would make sure she wasn't the only victim.

She told listeners: 'Like (hip hop group) NWA say about the police - if you're going to kill me, at least I get to take someone with me.

'I'm one of those people. If I'm going to go, someone is coming.'

Beauvais downs the contents of a red shot glass chasing it with a bottle of Snapple. Police said she was intoxicated while driving when she allegedly struck and killed Tsakos

Beauvais is wearing the same clothes in the footage as she was seen in both at the time of the crash and when she was being led out of the NYPD's 107th Precinct

In the footage, she also spoke about her love of 'weapons' comparing herself to the fictional DC character Harley Quinn and saying she always carries a knife.

'I'm for guns. I like guns. I like them - they're pretty,' she says at one point where she is having a discussion with a male off camera.

'Maybe I'm a little Harley Quinn on the brain. I like weapons. I carry a knife with me everywhere I go. That shit is normally on my hip but I got this thing here so I can't do that.

'I like weapons, because you're not going to try me. I got tried once in my life when I was very young and I didn't know no better. B**ch you're not going to try me again in my life as I fight n***as too.

'We can fight the police too. If you're going to shoot me, get it over with. What I'm saying is you're not going to try me while I'm still breathing.'

She went on to say a 'taser' is 'not cute like a gun' as she questions how a cop can confuse the two devices - in reference to the police killing of Daunte Wright by a white cop who allegedly mistook the two.

32-year-old Jessica Beauvais, of Hempstead, pictured in mug

'I know 13-year-olds from the hood that know a taser from a gun,' she says.

Beauvais says she is 'terrified' for her 13-year-old son 'don't f**king play with me.'

Beauvais goes on to say she doesn't 'believe in prisons' but believes in capital punishment saying 'hang that b**ch.'

'I don't even believe in prisons. I literally believe in the eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. If you guilty, blow his head off,' she says.

'F**k is you here for. Why I gotta feed you? For what? Y'all killing us for less, on the streets, and in jails blow his head off ... you got certain states that want to hang people, hang that bitch.'

Speaking of her love of physical fighting, Beauvais continues: 'What happened to fighting, I grew up on fighting. I like to fight. My hands and my feet and teeth.

'It does something for me - what does it do for you? F**king people up never stopped being a thing. Shooting 'people is still wack. It means you can't fight. It means you're a cop.'

She signs off the footage saying: 'F**k the police. F**k them.'

Beauvais is wearing the same clothes in the footage - a pale blue crop top, navy pencil skirt and matching boots - as she was seen in both at the time of the crash and when she was being led out of the NYPD's 107th Precinct.

As she was led out of the precinct in handcuffs Tuesday afternoon for her arraignment, the 32-year-old struck a far more contrite tone when asked about the deadly crash.

Beauvais sobbed as she apologized for Tsakos' death saying: 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hit him and now he's dead.'

It was a marked difference from her comments on her arrest when she told cops 'f**k you, I don't have to listen to you' and claimed she had only had one beer, an insider told Daily News.

She later told officers she had two glasses of wine before taking her son to Hempstead, then smoked a joint, downed two shots of 1800 Patron Tequila and drank a bottle of wine during her podcast, the criminal complaint states.

Hours after filming the footage, Beauvais (pictured in Facebook photos) allegedly got behind the wheel of her Volkswagen and plowed into Tsakos, 43, on the Long Island Expressway around 2am Tuesday morning

Jessica Beauvais, 32, faces 13 charges after allegedly striking NYPD police officer with her car on the Long island Expressway on Tuesday morning

Police say 32-year-old Jessica Beauvais was driving with a suspended license while intoxicated when she struck NYPD officer Anastasios Tsakos as he redirected traffic on the Long Island Expressway on Tuesday morning

Beauvais is seen arriving at Queens Central booking on Tuesday afternoon wearing the same clothes seen in the Facebook video

She was arraigned Tuesday night at Queens criminal court. Her family members were seen leaving the court without her as she was ordered to be held without bail

President of the Police Benevolent Association Patrick Lynch holds a press briefing outside of Queens Criminal court after her arraignment

According to the criminal complaint, Beauvais was speeding along the Long Island Expressway in her 2013 Volkswagen.

She allegedly ignored the traffic cones and the flashing lights of police cars set up to direct traffic away from another fatal crash scene.

Her vehicle swerved around other cars and struck Tsakos head on, throwing the officer 150 feet up into the air, reported the New York Post.

He landed on the grass by the side of the road while Beauvais sped off in her car, prosecutors say.

She passed several exits before coming off the expressway where she mounted a curb with her car, the complaint states.

As police officers surrounded her vehicle, the alleged drunk driver reversed into a police car behind her in an effort to flee again, prosecutors say.

Beauvais claimed not to have known she had hit a person, the complaint states.

In video capturing her arrest, Beauvais looked distraught as she was handcuffed by police officers in front of a patrol car.

She was arraigned Tuesday night at Queens criminal court.

Her family members were seen leaving the court without her as she was ordered to be held without bail. She will next appear in court on April 30.

President of the Police Benevolent Association Patrick Lynch held a press briefing outside of the court after her arraignment where he hit out at her apology saying: 'She's sorry not for the deed but that she got caught.'

Photos of her car show the front windshield smashed and the bonnet caved in from where the car struck the officer.

It is not clear what speed she was driving at at the time but Shea said he believes the damage done to her car shows 'there was no way she didn't know that she had struck an individual.'

The police chief and mayor visited Tsako's home in East Northport, Long Island, to meet his grieving wife Irene, six-year-old daughter, and three-year-old son.

'The pain she is going through, there is no words for,' de Blasio said.

'A few hours ago she was looking forward to seeing her husband again and now she won't. (His children) will never see their father again because someone did the wrong thing. Here is a good man who won't be home.'

Officer Tsakos, 43, was redirecting traffic away from another fatal car crash (pictured) when he was hit. He was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead

Police are seen arresting Jessica Beauvais, 32, after she allegedly mowed down Tsakos and then tried to flee the scene just after 2am Tuesday

Tsakos (pictured) was a 14-year veteran of the NYPD and leaves behind a wife, a six-year-old daughter, and a three-year-old son

Described as a 'highly regarded officer', Tsakos was a 14-year veteran of the NYPD.

'We stand here this morning reminded once again, in law enforcement, there is no such thing as a routine job,' Shea said.

'We stand here devastated and trying to pick up the pieces of what is a shattered home and a shattered NYPD family.'

The commissioner called the accident a 'senseless and completely avoidable chain of events'.

Tsakos and other officers were on the scene on the Long Island Expressway redirecting traffic from a car that crashed into a utility pole, killing one passenger.

That was when Beauvais' car swerved to avoid hitting other vehicles, striking Tsakos who was standing in the roadway next to his patrol car head-on.

Police said Beauvais was driving despite having her license suspended in August 2019 for failing to pay for DMV fees.

She had previously been arrested on the same charge in 2015 and had her license suspended at least two more times.

She has also been charged with speeding and using a cellphone while driving in the past, reported Daily News.

Mayor de Blasio said the fatal crash that Tsakos was called to also involved a driver with a suspended license.

Jonathan Espinal, 24, was driving a blue 2012 Infiniti G37X sedan along the expressway when it plowed into a utility pole on an exit ramp around 12:30 am.

Espinal and two passengers were both pulled from the burning vehicle. One passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Espinal was charged with driving with a suspended New York driver's license and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

'We see here a horrible pattern, people doing the wrong thing and other people dead because of it, and one of them a hero officer,' de Blasio said, after holding a minute's silence in honor of the officer killed in the line of duty.

'[Tsakos] did everything right in his life for us and he is dead because of other people's negligence.'

He described the incident as 'a very, very painful moment'.

'He did everything right in his life for us and he is dead because of other people's negligence,' Mayor Bill de Blasio said of Officer Tsakos at a press conference on Tuesday morning

Police said Beauvais was driving while intoxicated and with a suspended license. After striking Tsakos she allegedly fled from the scene before being apprehended by police

Tsakos had been called to the scene of another crash in which one passenger was killed after the car struck a utility pole (pictured)
Kali Gross, professor of African American studies at Emory University, has been named one of 26 recipients of the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Fellowship.

Kali Gross, professor of African American studies at Emory University, has been named one of 26 recipients of the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. Each fellow receives $200,000 to fund significant research and writing in social sciences and the humanities that addresses important and enduring issues confronting society.

Grosss Carnegie project will shed new light on capital punishment in the United States through the histories of Black women disproportionately condemned. She aims to better understand how it is that Black women became so grossly overrepresented among those put to death in the United States, especially by means of the electric chair.

The fellowship will support Grosss work at archives across the country to examine capital cases involving Black women. This history is essential for ongoing efforts to eradicate structural racism in our nations criminal justice system, says Gross, and it will fill a crucial gap in historical studies of lethal punishment in America.

Professor Grosss scholarship has shined a bright light on the experiences of Black women in America, telling vital stories and deepening our understanding of our nations past and present, says Gregory L. Fenves, Emory University president. I am grateful that the Carnegie Corporation will support her groundbreaking research and writing with this prestigious fellowship.

Gross has published widely on Black womens historical experiences in the U.S. criminal justice system. Her award-winning books include Colored Amazons: Crime, Violence, and Black Women in the City of Brotherly Love, 18801910, winner of the 2006 Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Prize; Hannah Mary Tabbs and the Disembodied Torso: A Tale of Race, Sex, and Violence in America, winner of the 2017 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Nonfiction; and A Black Womens History of the United States (co-authored with Daina Ramey Berry). Her commentary and opinion pieces have appeared in The Washington Post, The Root and Politico.

About the Carnegie fellows

The Carnegie Corporation launched the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program in 2015 as an initiative that was conceived by the late Vartan Gregorian, who served as president of the foundation from 1997 until his death on April 15, 2021.

Gregorian, a former professor of history and past president of Brown University, aimed to advance and elevate the work of the fellows to reinforce the importance of the social sciences and humanities in academia and American life. The program was inspired in part by an early fellowship that Gregorian received that helped catapult his career.

The most generous stipend of its kind, the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program has funded a total of 216 scholars, journalists, and authors, representing an investment of $43.2 million. It focuses on subjects such as U.S. democracy, the environment, technological and cultural evolution, and international relations. The criteria prioritize the originality and promise of the research, its potential impact on the field, and the scholars plans for communicating the findings to a broad audience.

This years Carnegie fellows were selected from more than 300 nominations. Other fellows winning research topics address issues related to pandemic recovery, voting access, racial justice, rural opportunity, the Me Too movement, immigration and climate change. The award is for a period of two years and its anticipated result is a book or major study.

Vartan and I agreed that the caliber of the proposals presented by this years fellows was exceptional, showing great potential in helping to solve the social, political, and economic challenges facing our world today, says John J. DeGioia, chair of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program jury and president of Georgetown University. These projects fulfill Vartans vision of universities, academies and academic associations playing an essential role in producing critical information and advancing knowledge through scholarship.
"These innovative solutions optimize fiber network management and allow IT managers to remotely schedule automated tasks and change fiber connections as needed. The systems reduce the need for on-site visits, saving time and money while increasing efficiency.

Tripp Lite, a global manufacturer of power protection and connectivity solutions, announced today that its Robotic Fiber Panel Systems with Mini Chassis have won a Product of the Year award from Electrical Construction & Maintenance (EC&M) magazine. The Robotic Fiber Panel Systems with Mini Chassis have been honored in the Voice/Data/Video Equipment category.

Tripp Lites Robotic Fiber Panel Systems with Mini Chassis have 204 LC fiber ports and use robotic latching and remote management to reconfigure layer 1 fiber connections between switches and servers in just 15 seconds. Two robotic arms move cables into place with precision, eliminating human error and the damage that can occur over time with manual connections.

Available in singlemode (NRFP-204SM-MINI) and multimode (NRFP-204MM-MINI) models, the mini robotic systems occupy just 7U of rack space. This compact size makes the systems a good solution for micro/modular data centers, containerized data centers, edge computing installations, remote computing sites, colocation facilities, testing facilities and telco access networks.

Tripp Lite is proud to receive recognition for our Mini Robotic Fiber Panel Systems, said David Posner, Tripp Lites Vice President, Connectivity and Peripherals. These innovative solutions optimize fiber network management and allow IT managers to remotely schedule automated tasks and change fiber connections as needed. The systems reduce the need for on-site visits, saving time and money while increasing efficiency.

Learn more about Tripp Lites full line of robotic fiber panel systems at tripplite.com.

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Since 1922, Tripp Lite has established a global reputation for quality by providing reliable products and exceptional service to customers worldwide. From desktop to critical infrastructure, Tripp Lite products and solutions power and connect the computers, networking equipment and electronic devices that form the foundation of our digital world. Headquartered in Chicago, Tripp Lite manufactures UPS systems, cables, connectivity solutions, PDUs, racks, cooling solutions, KVM switches, console servers, charging stations, display mounts, surge protectors, power strips, network switches, power inverters and specialty products for data center, healthcare, government, education and digital signage applications. Learn more at tripplite.com.

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TEL AVIV, Israel, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TechSee announced today that TMC , a global, integrated media company, and its TMC Labs product review division, named TechSee Live -- the market-leading, patented visual assistance platform powered by video, Augmented Reality and Computer Vision AI -- as a 2021 Pandemic Tech Innovation Award winner.

With 65% of consumers preferring to avoid technician visits during the pandemic, TechSee allowed companies to pivot to a 'remote technician' model in order to keep their service running while ensuring safety. TechSee Live allows the remote expert to see exactly what the customer sees, guiding him visually as they solve issues together without requiring a technician on-site. It empowers the service reps to act as "virtual technicians" assisting the customer as if he was standing right next to him, and enabling successful contactless interactions with customers during the pandemic and beyond.

"We're honored to be recognized by the TMC judges for the value we bring to our customers during the global crisis," said Eitan Cohen, Founder and CEO of TechSee. "I'm proud that our technology proved its worth by enhancing service quality, reducing operational costs, and improving customer experience all while ensuring service resilience and keeping customers and employees safe."

The Pandemic Tech Innovation Awards recognize hardware, software, devices/peripherals, applications and services that help society and business function effectively in the face of challenges caused by Pandemics.

"TechSee has displayed its commitment to quality and innovation in the development of their tech solutions contributing to managing and overcoming pandemic outbreaks," said Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. "I look forward to more innovation from TechSee and their continued effort toward improving the future of the current challenges faced by the most recent Pandemic."

The 2021 Pandemic Tech Innovation Award winners will be featured on Pandemic Tech News online and TMCnet.

About TechSee

TechSee revolutionizes the customer experience domain with the first visual engagement solution powered by Computer Vision AI and Augmented Reality. It enables enterprises around the world to deliver better customer assistance, enhance service quality and reduce costs. TechSee is led by industry veterans with years of experience in mobile technologies, artificial intelligence, and big data. The company is headquartered in Tel Aviv with offices in New York, London, and Madrid. For more information or to schedule a demo, visit www.techsee.me.

About TMC

Through education, industry news, live events and social influence, global buyers rely on TMC's content-driven marketplaces to make purchase decisions and navigate markets. As a result, leading technology vendors turn to TMC for unparalleled branding, thought leadership and lead generation opportunities. Our in-person and online events deliver unmatched visibility and sales prospects for all percipients. Through our custom lead generation programs, we provide clients with an ongoing stream of leads that turn into sales opportunities and build databases. Additionally, we bolster brand reputations with the millions of impressions from display advertising on our news sites and newsletters. Making TMC a 360 degree marketing solution, we offer comprehensive event and road show management services and custom content creation with expertly ghost-crafted blogs, press releases, articles and marketing collateral to help with SEO, branding, and overall marketing efforts. For more information about TMC and to learn how we can help you reach your marketing goals, please visit www.tmcnet.com and follow us on Facebook , LinkedIn and Twitter , @tmcnet .

For more information about TMC, visit www.tmcnet.com .

TMC Contact:

Michelle Connolly

Marketing Manager

203-852-6800, ext. 170

mailto: [email protected]

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The arguments made in a federal court in Denver Tuesday afternoon could offer a forecast of litigation to come over whether the November election was stolen and who bears responsibility if it was, or if the allegations are merely conspiracy theories and defamation.

Denver lawyer Gary Fielder argued for his class-action lawsuit against Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, Facebook, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, as well as a nonprofit that helped local governments prepare for last November's vote.

The suit is on behalf of roughly 160 million voters who were deprived of a fair election, Fielder argued. The lawsuit doesn't seek to overturn the election but to collect $1,000 for each voter, or about $160 billion.

Based on U.S. District Court Magistrate N. Reid Neureiter's questions and comments, the case appeared likely to be dismissed, as he repeatedly challenged Fielder on how his clients can show specific rather than generalized damages, called standing to sue, that can be cured by $1,000 each awarded by the court.

The Trump campaign filed dozens of suits seeking to overturn the results in swing states, but none were successful, often with the courts harshly criticizing the lack of evidence behind the claims.

Neureiter sternly pointed out to Fielder that his suit did not reference any of dozens of previous lawsuits that have been thrown out based on standing. He said the basis of this lawsuit  that the election was stolen  might not be found to be true.

Fielder said it was because in those cases, plaintiffs were suing the government for extraordinary relief, to overturn the election. He is suing individuals, two corporations and a nonprofit for improper influence over the outcome.

"Is the next election going to involve a billionaire who comes in and drops $500 million in elections all over the country, and nobody is going to be able to say anything?" Fielder asked the judge. "What if all the allegations are proven?"

Voter's feelings about their votes not counting do not qualify as actual evidence of specific damages, the judge said.

Fielder said, "Those people can't be denied. You can't look at them and say, 'Get over it.' "

Neureiter suggested they should do something besides file a lawsuit  to press their legislature to investigate and make changes, and then try again in the next election.

"A large part of the people believe the system is rigged by third parties, by corporations, by nonprofit organizations, all these municipalities are somehow in bed with the corporations to rig the election," the judge said, "that the Republican and Democratic secretaries of state of Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Georgia are all in on it, because that's what you allege.".

He said the election was decided, "but, oh, by the way, let's spread these rumors and theories about conspiracies all across the country, and let's create unrest to the point where people would literally storm the Congress of the United States, making the same points, making the same arguments that you're making in this courtroom ... and you, in your complaint, are doing a disservice to your clients, because you're saying disregard what all the other courts said, disregard what the secretaries of state said, and we're going to file another lawsuit challenging all this with as many conspiracy theories as possible."

Neureiter wrapped up the 2-hour hearing saying he'd return a decision on the case soon.

The class-action suit represents the country's registered voters, but Dominion's lawyer, Stan Garnett of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schrek, said the group is too large to claim a "particularized" injury, such as a losing candidate who might challenge an election result.

"There is nothing Dominion has done that's not just clerical to the issues the plaintiffs are complaining about," Garnett, who was also Boulder District Attorney, told the the judge. "Dominion, for example, doesn't certify elections. Dominion does not step in and function as a secretary of state. Dominion is simply a private company that provides certain services in connection with elections. There's no way a clear constitutional violation could be traceable so that this court could fashion a remedy that would address the issue they're complaining about."

Joshua S. Lipshutz of the Washington, D.C., firm Gibson Dunn said it wasn't clear at all why his client, Facebook, was singled out, other than the plaintiff's dislike of social media.

Lawyers for defendants criticized the lawsuit, calling it frivolous, bogus, abusive and bizarre at different junctures Tuesday.

"I don't think this is a serious lawsuit," Lipshutz told Neureiter, speculating that the plaintiffs were trying to use it as a soap box about the integrity of the election.

Garnett said in his filing to dismiss the case that none of the allegations stand up to scrutiny, thus "prolonging this lawsuit simply delays the inevitable."

The suit alleged Dominion and other defendants were part of a coordinated effort to, among other things, change voting laws without legislative approval, use unreliable voting machines, alter votes through an illegitimate adjudication process, provide illegal methods of voting, count illegal votes, suppress the speech of opposing voices, disproportionally and privately fund only certain municipalities and counties, and other methods, all prohibited by the Constitution."

Dominion is based in Denver but provides equipment in 28 states and 62 of Colorado's 64 counties.

The company is at the center of a conspiracy theory that it was part of an international scheme to flip votes in swing states from Trump to Biden. The company has denied the claims and is seeking billions in damages from Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, Fox News and MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell for defaming its business.

In a telling motion to dismiss Dominion's $1.3 billion suit against her last month, Powell said the stolen-election claims she made were constitutionally protected political speech that no reasonable person would have believed at face value.

"Facebook and Zuckerbergs monopoly of the public social media square has created enormous power that it wields against any business, or political foe to censor what it deems otherwise objectionable regardless of constitutional protections on speech or the economic harm it causes to its users," the suit alleges, though it does not specify why Zuckerberg's wife, a philanthropist and former pediatrician, is named as an individual defendant.

The suit notes that the couple gave out $350 million in grants to organizations and local governments that the suit alleges influenced the presidential election, which the lawsuits characterized as bribes to work on Zuckerberg's behalf to rig the vote to elect Biden.

The suit accused the couple of "engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity" that violated federal laws, including fraud, interstate transportation of stolen property, witness tampering and conspiracy to violate voters' civil rights.

Dominion is on both sides of the court system, as defendant and plaintiff in cases seeking billions in damages.

The plaintiffs including three Coloradans, including Summit County Republican activist Lori Cutunilli, who tried unsuccessfully to recall Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, over the COVID-19 restrictions he imposed last year. The other Coloradans are Neil Yarbrough and Jessica Bell.

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A bill to amend the 1999 constitution so as to create new legislative seats reserved for women scaled second reading in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The bill, sponsored by the Deputy Chief Whip, Nkeiruka Onyejocha (PDP, Abia) and 85 others, was considered for second reading and passed.

A copy of the bill obtained by PREMIUM TIMES shows that the bill is proposing the creation of one additional senatorial seat in each state of the federation and Abuja. The seat would only be occupied by women. Currently, each Nigerian state has three senate seats while Abuja has one. While any eligible adult can contest for the senatorial seats, it has always been dominated by men with only eight of the current 109 senators being women.

The bill also seeks to create two new federal constituency seats in each state and Abuja that would be reserved for women. Nigeria currently has 360 federal constituency seats in the House of Representatives with only 13 of them currently occupied by women.

The bill intends to alter Sections 48, 49, 71, 77, 91 and 117 of the Nigerian Constitution.

The proposed Section 48 reads:

48. Composition of the Senate

(1) The Senate shall consist of:

(a) three Senators from each State and one from the Federal Capital Territory; and

(b) an additional Senator for each State and for the Federal Capital Territory, who shall be a woman.

Also, the proposed Section 49 reads, Composition of the House of Representatives

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the House of Representatives shall consist of:

(a) three hundred and sixty members representing constituencies of nearly equal population as far as possible, provided that no constituency shall fall within more than one State; and

(b) two additional members for each State and for the Federal Capital Territory, who shall be women.

The bill also contains a proviso that women will still be allowed to contest for the existing seats.

Should the bill become law, the Nigerian Senate would have a minimum of 37 women while the House of Representatives would have a minimum of 74 women.

Furthermore, should the bill be passed into law, the State Houses of Assembly will also get three special seats per state exclusively for women.

In her lead debate, Ms Onyejocha argued that the current National Assembly has only 4.4 per cent of its population as women.

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She added that the situation is worse in State Houses of Assembly.

My respected colleagues, Women have only 4.4% per cent representation in the 9th National Assembly. You may wish to note that Nigeria has been identified as the worst performer in women representation in parliaments, in the West African region and one of the lowest in the whole of Africa.

This is evidenced in the most recent Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) ranking of women in parliaments where Nigeria ranks 179 out of 187 Countries Worldwide. Eritrea is the only African Country ranked lower than Nigeria and this is because there have not been national elections since its independence in 1993.

The situation is worse at the States Houses of Assembly level, where a good number of our states do not have a single woman in their State Assembly. In some of these states, men chair the Women Affairs Committee because there is no woman available to take the role.

The bill was not debated by the House, and when the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, put the bill to vote, the ayes had it.

Challenges Ahead

Although the latest bill appears to enjoy significant support among members of the House of Representatives, it still has a long way to go to become law.

Previous attempts to pass the 35 per cent affirmative action failed in the House. In the 8th Assembly, the constitution alteration bill to ensure 35 per cent of political offices were reserved for women was rejected by the National Assembly.

According to Section 9 (1,2) of the Nigerian Constitution, constitutional amendment bills must garner two-thirds support in both chambers of the National Assembly. Also, 24 of the 36 State Houses of Assembly must approve the amendment.

Therefore, the amendment proposed by Ms Onyejocha and 85 other lawmakers still has a long way to go to become law as it is yet to be debated in the Senate or taken to State Houses of Assembly for their votes before it will return to the National Assembly to determine if two-thirds of the federal lawmakers are in support.
SOFIA -- The Russian envoy has been summoned to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry after the authorities launched an investigation into six citizens of Russia suspected of involvement in a series of blasts at four weapons and armament facilities in Bulgaria between 2011 and 2020.

"From the evidence gathered so far, it can be concluded with a high degree of reliability that the purpose of the actions of the Russian citizens was to cut off the supply of special products to Georgia and Ukraine," a spokeswoman for the Prosecutor-General's Office, Siika Mileva, said on April 28.

She also said that there was a "reasonable assumption" that these incidents are connected to the near-fatal poisoning of Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev in 2015 and an explosion at a Czech arms depot in 2014.

"A reasonable assumption can be made about the relationship between the explosions on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, the poisoning of three Bulgarian citizens, and serious crimes committed on the territory of a foreign country," the spokeswoman said.

Following Mileva's announcement at a press conference, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry invited the Russian ambassador to the Balkan country to come to the ministry on April 29.

The Czech Republic earlier this month accused Russian GRU military intelligence of being behind an October 2014 explosion in the town of Vrbetice that set off 50 metric tons of stored ammunition and killed two people.

The Czech government later announced the expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats it considered to be spies, setting off a string of tit-for-tat moves between Prague and Moscow.

In solidarity, several NATO and EU members have followed by expelling Russian diplomats for alleged spying as well.

Russia has denied any involvement in the incidents in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

"Either the Bulgarian side knew nothing about this for the past 10 years and only now, after the Czech Republic announced the 2014 incident, decided to outshine the Czechs and look further back into history, or they knew about it for all this time but did not make it public for some reason," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on April 28.

During her press conference, which was also attended by Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev and the chairman of the State Agency for National Security (SANS), Dimitar Georgiev, Mileva said that "similarities" had been observed in the blasts that rocked the four warehouses and production facilities in Bulgaria.

In all four cases, in which no casualties were reported, the blasts were preceded by a fire while explosive devices were triggered remotely.

"In none of those cases has been identified any specific technical malfunction or any other cause of the fires. In all of the four cases, the destroyed goods were intended to be exported to Georgia and Ukraine."

In a statement, Gebrev's company, EMCO, denied that products destroyed in a November 2011 blast at its warehouse in Lovnodil were "intended for export anywhere, including Georgia."

"What has the Bulgarian prosecutor's office been doing all these years while investigating the explosions? Why is it trying to wash its hands with EMCO again, instead of looking for the real causes and culprits for these terrorist acts?" it asked.

Moscow recognized Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states after Russia and Georgia fought a brief war in August 2008 over the territory.

In eastern Ukraine, Russia backs separatists in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people since April 2014.

According to Mileva, three Russians who are being sought over the murder attempt against Gebrev and two other Bulgarian citizens were "most likely" GRU agents.

The spokeswoman also said that the investigation had established that at least six Russians "identified as, or are believed to be GRU agents" were residing in Bulgaria around the dates of the blasts and the poisonings.
DENVER, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Brennan Investment Group, a private real estate investment firm that acquires, develops and operates industrial facilities throughout the United States, has announced the acquisition of approximately 17.9 acres at 7194 S. Revere Parkway in Centennial, Colorado, situated within the Denver metro area.

The site is well located in the Southeast industrial submarket of Denver, roughly two and half miles east of Interstate 25 and roughly one-half mile south of Arapahoe Road, the northerly boundary of the submarket.

This land acquisition marks Brennan's fourth development in Denver since 2018. Brennan's strategy for Revere Parkway is to develop three Class-A industrial buildings totaling approximately 219,960 rentable square feet. The planned design features first class amenities that exceed market standards including 28' clear height, ESFR sprinkler system, and abundant automobile parking and loading positions. The front park/rear load design with building depth of 180' lays out for multi-tenant occupancy with minimum divisibility of 18,000 SF.

"The project's layout and flexibility will accommodate the historic sizes of industrial tenants in this submarket." said Brian Roach, Managing Principal at Brennan Investment Group. "We have laid out multiple buildings including two smaller buildings that fit well for single tenants and will be marketed as owner-user buildings."

"Our investment strategy follows the tremendous growth in the Denver metro area as Denver remains among the top five cities in the nation for population and employment growth." said Scott McKibben, Chief Investment Officer, Managing Principal. "We intend to increase our capital allocations as demographic trends indicate industrial demand should be robust."

About Brennan Investment Group

Brennan Investment Group, a Chicago-based private real estate investment firm, acquires, develops, and operates industrial properties in select major metropolitan markets throughout the United States. Since 2010, Brennan Investment Group has acquired over $4 billion in industrial real estate. The company's current portfolio spans 29 states and encompasses 44 million square feet.

Brennan Investment Group co-invests with private and institutional capital to achieve outstanding risk-adjusted returns. The firm's management team is among the most accomplished in its industry, having invested in over 4,000 properties covering more than 60 cities throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

For more information on Brennan Investment Group, go to brennanllc.com.

Contact: Ursula Walendzewicz, [email protected]

SOURCE Brennan Investment Group, LLC

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The brand, which historically made an annual profit contribution of over 20mln, has a presence across several UK airports as well as in Dublin and Oslo

(LON:DC.) said it will permanently close its travel business after the UK government axed duty-free shopping. The retailer said the closures will be included in 130mln of exceptional charges forecast for the year to April 2022.

The owner of Currys PC World and Carphone Warehouse said it does not expect passenger numbers to recover enough to compensate for the removal of airside tax-free shopping by the UK government from 1 January.

The brand, which historically made an annual profit contribution of over 20mln, has a presence across several UK airports as well as in Dublin and Oslo.

Capital expenditure in the year ending April 2022 is expected to be 190mln, while profit will be 30mln lower.

Since January, trading across the wider group has remained strong after positive performance in the key Christmas period.

In the 25 weeks to 24 April, group electricals sales rose 12%, with UK & Ireland up 11%, Nordics up 15% and Greece up 7%. Online sales more than doubled to over 4.5bn for the year.

The FTSE 250 company has repaid 73mln of furlough provided by the UK government, alongside 144mln of deferred VAT, so it expects adjusted profit before tax to be in line with current consensus of 151mln.

Meanwhile, EE has paid the outstanding network receivable of 189mln which was expected to be paid over the course of two years. Year-end net cash is forecast at 150mln.

Existing Group debt has been refinanced with new Revolving Credit Facilities, which total 550mln and will expire in 2025. All other facilities have been cancelled.

"This is a strong update with material beats on both profits and net cash that should be well received," analysts at Liberum noted.

"The groups resilience throughout COVID has demonstrated the success of its ongoing turnaround, which is positioning DC as a much stronger business, fit for the future."

Shares dipped 3% to 151.8p on Wednesday morning.

--Adds analyst comment, shares--
Moscow: Russias Black Sea fleet launched naval combat exercises on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) as a US coastguard vessel headed to the region at a time of heightened tension between Russia and the West.

Moscow alarmed Kiev and Western capitals in recent weeks by building up forces along the border with Ukraine, though last week it ordered a withdrawal of some troops.

Russias Black Sea fleet said on Tuesday its Moskva cruiser would hold live-fire drills with other ships and military helicopters, Interfax news agency reported.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu watches drills form a board of military helicopter in Crimea. Credit:AP

Hours earlier, US Naval Forces in Europe said the US Coast Guard vessel Hamilton, a cutter, was moving into the Black Sea to work with NATO allies and partners in the region.
There are a lot of moving parts and things we need to prioritize with the board, and well be considering these parcels where the police station was planned as well as the two buildings we are leasing out, Konen said. Weve also talked about building a new Village Hall and a town center and were going to look at all our assets and go through it.
Nigerias electoral umpire will release a timetable for the 2023 general elections immediately after the Anambra gubernatorial election, the chairman of the commission, Mahmood Yakubu, has disclosed.

The Anambra governorship election is scheduled to hold on November 6.

Although INEC had announced February 18, 2023, as the date for the presidential election, details of other elections like primaries, National Assembly and governorship polls remain unknown and are expected in the timetable.

Mr Yakubu said this on Wednesday at the public hearing on the Electoral Offences Commission bill organised by the Senate Committee on INEC in partnership with YIAGA Africa.

The bill, which was read for the second time at the Senate in March 2020, is sponsored by Borno senator, Abubakar Kyari.

It proposes deterrence and sanctions for anti-democratic acts in the electoral environment in order to increase the transparency and credibility of the electoral process.

It provides for the commission to investigate and prosecute electoral offenders, as well as adopt measures to prevent, minimise and eradicate electoral offences.

In his remarks, Mr Yakubu said there have been calls for actions against electoral offenders.

We hope to release the timetable for the general elections immediately after the Anambra governorship election scheduled to hold on the 6th of November 2021.

In order to do so, there should be clarity and certainty about the electoral legal framework to govern the 2023 general election. We are confident that the National Assembly will do the needful and to do so in earnest, he said.

Since the 2019 general elections, he said, the commission has conducted 28 bye-elections and four governorship elections.

It is not that the commission hasnt done much or anything about the prosecution of electoral offenders.

What have we done since the 2015 general elections  124 cases that have been filed in court and are being prosecuted. So far, we have only achieved 60 convictions out of 124 including the latest one that we all know about in Akwa Ibom.

We will like to see more prosecution of offenders; not just of ballot box snatchers and falsifiers of result of election. But most importantly, their sponsors. We look forward to the day when highly placed sponsors of thuggery including chieftains of political parties and candidates will be prosecuted. By doing so we believe that we will send an even bigger message, he said.

Accelerate passage of Electoral Act

While he expressed excitement over the electoral offences commission bill, the INEC boss urged the National Assembly to quickly complete pending review of the Electoral Act.

We are confident that the National Assembly will conclude work on the legal framework in earnest. The commission is anxious to know the legal framework to govern the conduct of the 2023 general elections.

By the principle established by the commission, the 2023 general elections will hold on Saturday, 18 February 2023 which is exactly one year, nine months, two weeks and six days away from today.

Earlier, chairman of the committee, Kabir Gaya, said the Electoral Offences Commission is not only necessary but compulsory in a developing democracy like Nigerias.

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He said the process for the passage of the bill will be concluded and the legislation passed in the second quarter of this year.

Mr Gayas remark comes barely 24 hours after the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, assured that the Electoral Act amendment bill will be passed in June.

The bill, among others, seeks to resolve issues concerning INECs introduction of modern technologies into the electoral process, particularly accreditation of voters.

Efforts to get the bill signed into law by previous assemblies were futile with President Muhammadu Buhari rejecting it four times.
Press Release

April 28, 2021 Statement of Senator Risa Hontiveros on Beijing urging the Philippines to "respect" China's sovereignty Let us make it clear: Beijing has been the one disrespecting the Philippines' sovereignty; not the other way around. Beijing needs to stop contorting facts to suit her baseless claims. May I also remind Beijing that since the previous millennium, the South China Sea has always been shared by the region, as a common maritime route and a source of fish and marine resources. It is also alarming that Beijing's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin had the gall to say that Philippine officials are the ones "complicating the situation and escalating disputes." It seems that China is the one hallucinating. She must be the one living in an alternate reality. In truth, it is China that has been harassing our fisherfolk, reclaiming land in territories she does not own, and even using war vessels to chase off Filipino civilians. If China sincerely wants to avoid escalation, it should pull back her navy and maritime militia. China can't even respect freedom of navigation on the high seas, and now she wants respect for her unfounded nine-dash line? Many countries and organizations have stood up for the Philippines, expressing grave concern over China's increasingly violent actions in the West Philippine Sea. The international community has come out to support the Philippines' rights and interests, even referencing our historic 2016 victory at the Hague to repeatedly remind China to follow the rules-based international order. If China truly wants respect, she should stop twisting and contesting the basic principles of international law. Just accept the hard truth: the West Philippine Sea belongs to us, not you.
Press Release

April 28, 2021 Hontiveros presses DOH, IATF to create guidelines for 'automatic travel bans' Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday pressed the Department of Health (DOH) and the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to create and strictly enforce guidelines for 'automatic travel bans' to and from countries with high COVID-19 infections or new variants. "Sana hindi na maghintay para sa public clamor ang DOH at IATF bago sila mag-implement ng travel ban. Laging napakabagal kundi last minute ang desisyon. Kaya lahat na ng COVID variants sa mundo ay kumakalat na dito sa Pilipinas. Wag naman tayong maging welcoming committee ng bagong variants," the senator remarked. Hontiveros questioned why the IATF and DOH still do not have established protocols for imposing travel bans more than a year into the pandemic. She called out Health Secretary Duque's initial statement that the new double-mutant variant in India was 'not concerning' despite India's health experts revealing that this causes severe infection among children. "Walang kalaban-kalaban ang mga bata sa double-mutation na ito, ni hindi sila pwede mabakunahan. May mga taong nakahiga na sa daan sa labas ng ospital. Are these not concerning to the Health Secretary? Hihintayin pa ba natin matulad sa India? Dapat nag-iimpose ng travel ban agad-agad," she emphasized. "Kaysa mangolekta tayo ng COVID-19 variants, dapat matagal ng nag-latag ng protocols at guidelines ang IATF sa pag-impose ng mga automatic travel ban base sa mga findings ng ibang bansa na available naman sa publiko," she said. Hontiveros added that the Philippines' COVID-19 cases are quickly catching up with Indonesia, which has the most in the number of total cases in ASEAN, but lagged way behind it in terms of vaccination progress. "The numbers tell us clearly that we have the worst COVID-19 situation in the whole region. There is no denying that. Helpless na ang taumbayan sa COVID-19 lalo na hindi listo ang gobyerno sa pagpoprotekta sa ating lahat," she said. "I trust that the DFA will ensure the assistance and safe return of our kababayans who will get affected by any travel ban. We should have learned from the very first COVID-19 cases of 2020, who were all travelers from China, that travel bans make all the difference. As long as COVID-19 is around, we have to remain vigilant and act fast, " Hontiveros concluded.
New Delhi: The registration for getting yourself a COVID-19 vaccine shot is starting on Wednesday (April 28, 2021) at 4 PM. Come May 1, the COVID-19 vaccination drive will be extended to everyone above the age of 18, a step that has been taken by the Centre to ensure that maximum numbers of Indians take the coronavirus vaccine jab amid the raging second wave of the pandemic.

The COVID-19 vaccination, notably, is one of the safest ways to help build protection against the virus.

Here is stepwise guide to register yourself for COVID-19 vaccination on co-WIN portal:

Step 1: Go to the co-WIN portal by visiting the website https://www.cowin.gov.in/home.

Step 2: You will see an option to 'Register/Sign in yourself' or 'Register with Aarogya Setu'. Click on either.

Step 3: You will have to enter your mobile number, following which you will get an OTP to verify your phone number.

ALSO READ | COVID-19: Going for vaccination on May 1? Check how much first dose will cost you



Step 4: Enter the OTP which will be valid for 3 minutes.

Step 5: After entering the OTP, a page will open where you will have to fill in details like your name, age, gender, and area of residence.

Step 6: For identity proof, a photo Id will be required, which can be your Aadhar card, driving license, passport, etc. Please note that your photo Id will be verified at the time of your vaccination appointment. So, provide the details of the Photo Id you will carry for vaccination.

Step 7: After registering your address and entering the pin code, you will be shown hospitals in your area from which you can choose your nearest one.

Please note that when you go for the vaccination on May 1 or as per your convenience, wait for 30 minutes at the vaccination centre after taking the COVID-19 vaccine shot. Inform the vaccination centre if any side effect(s) is experienced within 30 minutes.

Inform Helpline Number: +91-11-23978046 (Toll-free- 1075) in case of any side effect after leaving the vaccination centre.

Also, check out the video below to know how to register yourself for the COVID-19 vaccination:


[April 28, 2021] Molina Healthcare Reports First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: MOH) (the "Company") today reported first quarter of 2021 GAAP earnings per diluted share of $3.89 and adjusted earnings per diluted share of $4.44, a 33% and 47% increase, respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2020. Financial results are summarized below:







Quarter ended March 31, 2021 2020 (In millions, except per-share results) Premium Revenue $6,306 $4,304 Total Revenue $6,522 $4,549 GAAP: Net Income $228 $178 EPS - Diluted $3.89 $2.92 Medical Care Ratio (MCR) 86.8% 86.3% G&A Ratio 7.3% 7.0% After-tax Margin 3.5% 3.9% Adjusted: Net Income $260 $184 EPS - Diluted $4.44 $3.02 G&A Ratio 7.0% 7.0% After-tax Margin 4.0% 4.0% See the Reconciliation of Unaudited Non-GAAP Financial Measures at the end of this release.

Quarter Highlights GAAP net income for the first quarter of 2021 was $3.89 per diluted share, a 33% increase over the first quarter of 2020.

Adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2021 was $4.44 per diluted share, a 47% increase over the first quarter of 2020.

As of March 31, 2021, the Company served approximately 4.6 million members, an increase of 1.2 million members, or 35%, compared to March 31, 2020.

Premium revenue was $6.3 billion for the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 47% compared to the first quarter of 2020.

The Company increased its full year 2021 premium revenue guidance to more than $24.0 billion, from its previous guidance of more than $23.0 billion.

The Company increased its full year 2021 adjusted earnings guidance to no less than $13.00 per diluted share, from its previous range of $12.50 - $13.00 per diluted share. "We are very pleased with our first quarter performance as we continue to demonstrate our ability to produce excellent financial results while substantially growing top line revenue and managing through the ongoing impacts of the pandemic," said Joseph Zubretsky, president and CEO of Molina Healthcare. "The Ohio contract award and the acquisition of Cigna's Texas Medicaid business are recent examples of the continued execution and success of our growth plan and strategy." Ohio Procurement

On April 13, 2021, the Company announced that its Ohio health plan subsidiary was selected as an awardee in all three regions across the state pursuant to the Medicaid managed care RFA issued on September 30, 2020, by the Ohio Department of Medicaid. This new contract is expected to begin in early 2022. Texas Acquisition

On April 22, 2021, the Company announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire certain assets of Cigna Corporation's Texas Medicaid and MMP business. As of December 31, 2020, Cigna served approximately 48,000 members in the Texas ABD program, also known as "STAR+PLUS," in the Hidalgo, Tarrant and Northeast service areas, as well as approximately 2,000 MMP members in the Hidalgo service area, with full year 2020 premium revenue of approximately $1.0 billion. Total Revenue

Total revenue was $6.5 billion for the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 43% compared to the first quarter of 2020. The higher total revenue reflects increased membership in Medicaid and Marketplace, and includes the impact of acquisitions that closed in the second half of 2020. Net Income

Net income for the first quarter was $228 million, or $3.89 per diluted share, compared to $178 million, or $2.92 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2020, a 33% increase in earnings per diluted share. Adjusted net income for the first quarter was $260 million, or $4.44 per diluted share, compared to $184 million, or $3.02 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2020, a 47% increase in adjusted earnings per diluted share. The Company estimates the net effect of COVID had a negligible impact in the first quarter of 2021, as utilization curtailment was offset by COVID-related risk corridors and direct COVID medical costs. Medical Care Ratio

The consolidated MCR for the first quarter was 86.8%, compared to 86.3% for the first quarter of 2020. While the net effect of COVID was in line with the Company's expectations and negligible to the quarter in total, the impacts were varied across lines of business. Medicaid MCR: Decreased to 87.5%, compared to 88.9% for the first quarter of 2020. The MCR was positively impacted by the net effect of COVID. Lower utilization due to COVID curtailment, severe winter weather in several states, and the absence of a typical flu season, more than offset the impact of the various COVID-related risk corridors enacted in several states as previously disclosed.

Decreased to 87.5%, compared to 88.9% for the first quarter of 2020. The MCR was positively impacted by the net effect of COVID. Lower utilization due to COVID curtailment, severe winter weather in several states, and the absence of a typical flu season, more than offset the impact of the various COVID-related risk corridors enacted in several states as previously disclosed. Medicare MCR: Increased to 90.3%, compared to 81.7% for the first quarter of 2020. The MCR was negatively impacted by the net effect of COVID and the temporary industry-wide challenge of risk scores that do not fully reflect the acuity of the membership.

Increased to 90.3%, compared to 81.7% for the first quarter of 2020. The MCR was negatively impacted by the net effect of COVID and the temporary industry-wide challenge of risk scores that do not fully reflect the acuity of the membership. Marketplace MCR: Increased to 77.3%, compared to 72.3% for the first quarter of 2020. The MCR was negatively impacted by the net effect of COVID compared to the pre-pandemic first quarter of 2020. The prior year reserve development in the first quarter of 2021 was modestly favorable, but its impact on earnings was absorbed by the COVID-related risk corridors. General and Administrative Expense Ratio

The G&A ratio for the first quarter was 7.3%, compared to 7.0% for the first quarter of 2020. The adjusted G&A ratio for the first quarter was 7.0%, which was unchanged compared to the first quarter of 2020. Balance Sheet

Cash and investments at the parent company amounted to $436 million as of March 31, 2021, compared to $644 million as of December 31, 2020. The decline was primarily due to the Company's share repurchase program and capital contributions to growing subsidiaries. In the quarter, the Company purchased approximately 577,000 shares for $122 million, at an average cost of $211.65 per share. Cash Flow

Operating cash flow for the first quarter of 2021 amounted to $568 million and was higher compared to the first quarter of 2020, primarily due to growth in operations and the net impact of timing differences in governmental receivables and payables. 2021 Guidance

The Company now expects its full year 2021 premium revenue to be more than $24.0 billion, compared to the previous guidance of more than $23.0 billion, an increase of over 30% from the full year 2020. Total revenue guidance is now expected to be more than $25.0 billion, compared to the previous guidance of more than $24.0 billion. The Company increased its full year 2021 adjusted earnings per share guidance to be no less than $13.00 per share from the previous range of $12.50 to $13.00 per share. Revised guidance reflects: The impact of the Public Health Emergency period, and the associated pause on Medicaid membership redeterminations, which is now expected to continue through the third quarter of 2021;

Strong membership pickup in the Marketplace open enrollment coupled with slower membership attrition during the quarter; and,

The Company continues to be cautious in forecasting utilization trends in the remaining nine months of the year due to COVID pandemic. The impact of the Affinity and the Cigna Texas membership acquisitions are not included. See the Reconciliation of Unaudited Non-GAAP Financial Measures at the end of this release. Conference Call

Management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss Molina Healthcare's first quarter 2021 results at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, April 29, 2021. The number to call for the interactive teleconference is (877) 883-0383 and the confirmation number is 1919961. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through Thursday, May 6, 2021, by dialing (877) 344-7529 and entering confirmation number 10152907. A live audio broadcast of this conference call will be available on Molina Healthcare's website, molinahealthcare.com. A 30-day online replay will be available approximately an hour following the conclusion of the live broadcast. About Molina Healthcare

Molina Healthcare, Inc., a FORTUNE 500 company, provides managed healthcare services under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. Through its locally operated health plans, Molina Healthcare served approximately 4.6 million members as of March 31, 2021. For more information about Molina Healthcare, please visit molinahealthcare.com. Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This earnings release and the Company's accompanying oral remarks contain forward-looking statements regarding its 2021 guidance, as well as its plans, expectations, and the Company's expectations regarding future developments. Actual results could differ materially due to numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are discussed under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements," and "Risk Factors," in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which is on file with the SEC, and also in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2021, which the Company expects to file on or about April 29, 2021. These reports can be accessed under the investor relations tab of the Company's website or on the SEC's website at sec.gov. Given these risks and uncertainties, the Company can give no assurances that its forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, or that any other results or developments projected or contemplated by its forward-looking statements will in fact occur, and the Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on these statements. All forward-looking statements in this release represent the Company's judgment as of April 28, 2021, and, except as otherwise required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in its expectations. MOLINA HEALTHCARE, INC.

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 2020 (In millions, except per-share amounts) Revenue: Premium revenue $ 6,306 $ 4,304 Premium tax revenue 187 150 Health insurer fees reimbursed - 66 Investment income 9 25 Other revenue 20 4 Total revenue 6,522 4,549 Operating expenses: Medical care costs 5,474 3,716 General and administrative expenses 473 317 Premium tax expenses 187 150 Health insurer fees - 68 Depreciation and amortization 33 20 Other 20 4 Total operating expenses 6,187 4,275 Operating income 335 274 Other expenses, net: Interest expense 30 21 Total other expenses, net 30 21 Income before income tax expense 305 253 Income tax expense 77 75 Net income $ 228 $ 178 Net income per share - Diluted $ 3.89 $ 2.92 Diluted weighted average shares outstanding 58.6 61.0 Operating Statistics: Medical care ratio 86.8 % 86.3 % G&A ratio 7.3 % 7.0 % Premium tax ratio 2.9 % 3.4 % Effective income tax rate 25.2 % 29.8 % After-tax margin 3.5 % 3.9 % MOLINA HEALTHCARE, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS March 31, December 31, 2021 2020 Unaudited (Dollars in millions, except per-share amounts) ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 4,431 $ 4,154 Investments 1,938 1,875 Receivables 1,776 1,672 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 163 175 Total current assets 8,308 7,876 Property, equipment, and capitalized software, net 378 391 Goodwill and intangible assets, net 923 941 Restricted investments 138 136 Deferred income taxes 66 69 Other assets 137 119 Total assets $ 9,950 $ 9,532 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Medical claims and benefits payable $ 2,839 $ 2,696 Amounts due government agencies 1,718 1,253 Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other 695 641 Deferred revenue 71 375 Total current liabilities 5,323 4,965 Long-term debt 2,128 2,127 Finance lease liabilities 223 225 Other long-term liabilities 112 119 Total liabilities 7,786 7,436 Stockholders' equity: Common stock, $0.001 par value, 150 million shares authorized; outstanding: 58 million shares at March 31, 2021, and 59 million shares at December 31, 2020 - - Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 20 million shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding - - Additional paid-in capital 170 199 Accumulated other comprehensive income 26 37 Retained earnings 1,968 1,860 Total stockholders' equity 2,164 2,096 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 9,950 $ 9,532 MOLINA HEALTHCARE, INC.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 2020 (in millions) Operating activities: Net income $ 228 $ 178 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 33 20 Deferred income taxes 6 14 Share-based compensation 24 12 Other, net 12 (3 ) Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Receivables (98 ) (197 ) Prepaid expenses and other current assets (15 ) (229 ) Medical claims and benefits payable 168 127 Amounts due government agencies 432 113 Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other 16 254 Deferred revenue (304 ) (206 ) Income taxes 66 60 Net cash provided by operating activities 568 143 Investing activities: Purchases of investments (388 ) (578 ) Proceeds from sales and maturities of investments 308 493 Purchases of property, equipment, and capitalized software (16 ) (21 ) Other, net 9 3 Net cash used in investing activities (87 ) (103 ) Financing activities: Common stock purchases (128 ) (453 ) Common stock withheld to settle employee tax obligations (51 ) (7 ) Contingent consideration liabilities settled (20 ) - Proceeds from borrowings under term loan facility - 380 Other, net (8 ) (45 ) Net cash used in financing activities (207 ) (125 ) Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and cash equivalents 274 (85 ) Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 4,223 2,508 Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 4,497 $ 2,423 MOLINA HEALTHCARE, INC.

UNAUDITED SEGMENT DATA

(Dollars in millions) March 31, December 31, March 31, 2021 (1) 2020 2020 Ending Membership by Segment: Medicaid 3,859,000 3,599,000 2,970,000 Medicare 126,000 115,000 105,000 Marketplace 620,000 318,000 329,000 Total 4,605,000 4,032,000 3,404,000 __________________________

(1) Approximately 200,000 members, from the Magellan Complete Care acquisition that closed on December 31, 2020, are included in the totals as of March 31, 2021, but not in prior periods. Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 2020 Premium Revenue Medical Care Costs MCR (1) Premium Revenue Medical Care Costs MCR (1) Medicaid $ 4,840 $ 4,236 87.5 % $ 3,286 $ 2,921 88.9 % Medicare 799 722 90.3 634 517 81.7 Marketplace 667 516 77.3 384 278 72.3 Consolidated $ 6,306 $ 5,474 86.8 % $ 4,304 $ 3,716 86.3 % __________________________

(1) The MCR represents medical costs as a percentage of premium revenue. MOLINA HEALTHCARE, INC.

CHANGE IN MEDICAL CLAIMS AND BENEFITS PAYABLE

(Dollars in millions) The Company's claims liabilities include additional reserves to account for moderately adverse conditions based on historical experience and other factors including, but not limited to, variations in claims payment patterns, changes in utilization and cost trends, known outbreaks of disease, and large claims. The Company's reserving methodology is consistently applied across all periods presented. The amounts displayed for "Components of medical care costs related to: Prior year" represent the amounts by which the original estimates of claims and benefits payable at the beginning of the year were more than the actual liabilities based on information (principally the payment of claims) developed since those liabilities were first reported. The following table presents the components of the change in medical claims and benefits payable for the periods indicated: Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 2020 Unaudited Medical claims and benefits payable, beginning balance $ 2,696 $ 1,854 Components of medical care costs related to: Current year 5,668 3,817 Prior year (194 ) (101 ) Total medical care costs 5,474 3,716 Payments for medical care costs related to: Current year 3,513 2,274 Prior year 1,781 1,305 Total paid 5,294 3,579 Change in acquired balances (25 ) - Change in non-risk and other provider payables (12 ) (10 ) Medical claims and benefits payable, ending balance $ 2,839 $ 1,981 Days in claims payable, fee for service (1) 48 49 __________________________

(1) Claims payable includes primarily claims incurred but not paid, or IBNP. It also includes certain fee-for-service payables reported in medical claims and benefits payable amounting to $100 million and $64 million, as of March 31, 2021, and 2020, respectively. MOLINA HEALTHCARE, INC.

RECONCILIATION OF UNAUDITED NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

(In millions, except per diluted share amounts) The Company believes that certain non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) financial measures are useful supplemental measures to investors in comparing the Company's performance to the performance of other public companies in the health care industry. The non-GAAP financial measures are also used internally to enable management to assess the Company's performance consistently over time. These non-GAAP financial measures, presented below, should be considered as supplements to, and not as substitutes for or superior to, GAAP measures. Adjustments represent additions and deductions to GAAP net income as indicated in the table below, which include the non-cash impact of amortization of acquired intangible assets, acquisition-related expenses, and the impact of certain expenses and other items that management believes are not indicative of longer-term business trends and operations. Adjusted G&A Ratio represents the GAAP G&A ratio, recognizing adjustments. Adjusted net income represents GAAP net income recognizing the adjustments, net of tax. The Company believes that adjusted net income is helpful to investors in assessing the Company's financial performance. Adjusted net income per diluted share represents adjusted net income divided by weighted average common shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis. Adjusted after-tax margin represents adjusted net income, divided by total revenue. Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 2020 Amount Per Diluted Share Amount Per Diluted Share Net income $ 228 $ 3.89 $ 178 $ 2.92 Adjustments: Acquisition-related expenses (1) 21 0.36 - - Amortization of intangible assets 12 0.21 4 0.06 Other (2) 9 0.15 4 0.07 Subtotal, adjustments 42 0.72 8 0.13 Income tax effect (10 ) (0.17 ) (2 ) (0.03 ) Adjustments, net of tax 32 0.55 6 0.10 Adjusted net income $ 260 $ 4.44 $ 184 $ 3.02 __________________________

(1) Beginning in the third quarter of 2020, reflects non-recurring costs associated with acquisitions, including various transaction and integration costs. (2) The first quarter of 2021 includes change in premium deficiency reserves, loss on sale of property, and restructuring costs. The first quarter of 2020 includes restructuring costs. MOLINA HEALTHCARE, INC.

RECONCILIATION OF UNAUDITED NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (CONTINUED)

2021 GUIDANCE Net income per diluted share (1) $ 11.45 Adjustments: Acquisition-related expenses 1.10 Amortization of intangible assets 0.79 Other 0.15 Subtotal, adjustments 2.04 Income tax effect (2) (0.49 ) Adjustments, net of tax 1.55 Adjusted net income per diluted share $ 13.00 __________________________

(1) Computations assume approximately 58.5 million diluted weighted average shares outstanding. (2) Income tax effect calculated at the statutory tax rate of 23.9%. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428006013/en/

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Longtime major league reliever Hector Rondon retired earlier this month, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com relays. Rondon had been with the Red Sox on a minor league contract, though he didnt earn a promotion to MLB this season.

The right-handed Rondon appeared in the majors in each season from 2013-20  an eight-year run he divided among the Cubs, Astros and Diamondbacks. Rondon experienced his greatest success in Chicago, which added him as a Rule 5 pick from Cleveland in December 2012. Rondon went on to pitch his first five seasons as a member of the Cubs, with whom he recorded a 3.22 ERA, posted a 24.9 percent strikeout rate against a 6.8 percent walk rate, logged a grounder percentage of 48.0, and piled up 77 saves. He amassed 50-plus innings in each of his seasons with the Cubs, including 51 in their World Series-winning 2016 campaign.

Rondons fruitful Cubs tenure came to an end when the Astros signed him to a two-year, $8.5MM guarantee going into 2018. He delivered typically strong results during the first year of the deal before fading somewhat in the second season. The Astros didnt bring back Rondon, who inked a $3MM deal with the Diamondbacks last year. After Rondon slumped to a career-worst 7.65 ERA across 20 innings in 2020, the Diamondbacks declined his $4MM option in favor of a $500K buyout. He spent time with the Phillies on a minors deal before his brief stint with the Boston organization.

While Rondons career didnt end well, the 33-year-old was a reliable and durable arm overall. Hell hang up his cleats having pitched to a 3.49 ERA with 92 saves and 63 holds in 436 innings. MLBTR congratulates Rendon on a quality career and wishes him the best going forward.
Richard, alongside the Aprio New York team, will coordinate clients' financial, investment and tax planning to provide the best contextual advice so they can make the best financial decisions.

Aprio, LLP, a nationally recognized, CPA-led business advisory firm, announced today that Richard Schriefer has joined Aprio Wealth Management as a partner in its New York City office.

Schriefer will provide personalized wealth management guidance to clients across the Northeast from the Aprio New York office, formerly Tarlow & Co. CPAs and Advisors, which joined Aprio in January. Schriefer joins Aprio from Dayton & Sydney Wealth Strategies, a division of Equitable, where he managed a portfolio of 250+ investment and retirement plan clients with assets under management of $100 million.

Im thrilled to welcome Richard to Aprios growing team in New York," said Adam Venokur, Northeast Regional Managing Partner at Aprio. Richard, alongside the Aprio New York team, will coordinate clients' financial, investment and tax planning to provide the best contextual advice so they can make the best financial decisions.

Schriefer brings 20+ years of asset management experience to Aprio and holds Life and Health Insurance Registrations in over 35 states. Additionally, Schriefer is a Settlement Planning Expert, providing guidance and management controls to safeguard plaintiff jury awards in personal injury, wrongful death and malpractice cases crafting structured settlements funded through annuities.

"Having worked alongside Adam and his team for years, I know first-hand that we share an unparalleled and unwavering dedication to our clients. I am especially enthused by the dynamic synergy of Tarlow joining with like-minded Aprio, said Schriefer. Our approach strategically evaluates every aspect of a clients financial life, enabling us to deliver peace of mind, convenience, ease and, most importantly, time for clients to truly enjoy life.

For more information on Aprio Wealth Management, visit https://www.wealth.aprio.com/.

About Aprio

Aprio is a premier full-service, CPA-led business advisory firm that advises clients and associates on how to achieve whats next. Aprios associates work as integrated teams across advisory, assurance, tax, outsourced accounting solutions and private client services, bringing the best thinking and personal commitment to each client. Across practices, Aprio brings together proven expertise, deep understanding and strategic foresight for industries including Manufacturing and Distribution; Non-Profit and Education; Professional Services; Real Estate and Construction; Retail, Franchise and Hospitality; and Technology and Blockchain. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Aprio has grown to over 700 team members. To serve clients wherever life or business may take them, Aprios teams speak more than 30 languages and work with clients in over 50 countries. For more, visit https://www.aprio.com.
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks advanced on Wednesday amid expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will repeat its dovish message at the end of its two-ay policy meeting later today. Market participants expect that Fed Chair Jerome Powell will remain ultra-dovish and emphasize the long period ahead in which the Fed plans to maintain loose monetary policy. The benchmark CAC 40 rose 21 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,295 after finishing marginally lower on Tuesday. Banks BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale rose between 0.9 percent and 1.7 percent following strong earnings results from peers Deutsche Bank and Lloyds Banking Group. Drug maker Sanofi gained nearly 2 percent after confirming its 2021 targets. In economic releases, France's consumer confidence remained unchanged in April, defying expectations for an easing, preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed. The consumer confidence index reading was 94.0, same as in March. Economists had expected 93.0. In February, the score was 91. 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.
[April 28, 2021] Galvanize Appoints Ricky Hamilton as New Chief Executive Officer

Galvanize - one of the nation's leading providers of software engineering and data science training - has announced the appointment of Ricky Hamilton as Chief Executive Officer. The news comes as parent company Stride, Inc. (NYSE: LRN) reports its career learning revenue grew 191% year-over-year in the third fiscal quarter, which ended on March 31, 2021. Mr. Hamilton brings a wealth of experience and energy to his new role. Prior to being named CEO, he served as Executive Vice President of Revenue Operations and as Chief of Staff to former Galvanize CEO Harsh Patel. Throughout his tenure at Galvanize, Mr. Hamilton has successfully led and contributed to a variety of strategic, revenue-generating, and cultural initiatives, including the acquisition of Hack Reactor in 2018, the evolution of the company's industry-leading Income Share Agreement (ISA) structure, a landmark scholarship initiative, and Galvanize's acquisition by Stride, Inc. in January 2020.



Galvanize is a part of Stride's growing portfolio of career learning brands and programs that target a variety of fields including IT and healthcare for students of all ages. "Ricky's professional experiences underscore his business philosophy and motivate him to make Galvanize an even greater success," said Dr. Shaun McAlmont, Stride's President of Career Learning Solutions. "His passion for leveling the playing field for access to high-quality education will continue to drive the company forward, as Galvanize connects working professionals with tech careers and helps companies find the right tech talent."

Prior to joining Galvanize, Mr. Hamilton worked at global management company McKinsey & Company (News - Alert) , where he helped Fortune 500 companies tackle their largest organizational challenges. Working across a breadth of industries including insurance, technology, telecommunications, and manufacturing, as well as the public sector, Mr. Hamilton enjoyed partnering with his clients to implement operational best practices for long-term results. "I'm honored to take on this role at Galvanize, and I'm proud of everything we've done to build an incredible community that's united by our shared devotion to lifelong learning," said Hamilton. "I look forward to building on Galvanize's legacy of transforming career paths and companies, and to supporting our growing community of educators, students, alumni, clients, entrepreneurs, and staff." Mr. Hamilton earned a bachelor's degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan, where he gained an early appreciation for the power of coding and data science. For more information about Galvanize, visit www.galvanize.com. About Galvanize Galvanize is a learning community for technology with eight physical campuses across the U.S. where innovative startups, aspiring students, and large enterprises benefit from a dynamic, unique technology ecosystem. Galvanize is an industry leader in technology education, offering the Data Science and Hack Reactor Software Engineering immersive bootcamps, that propel careers and help individuals thrive in the digital economy. In addition to its physical campuses, Galvanize offers full-time and part-time immersive bootcamps to individuals remotely, and tailored workforce training to enterprise clients to address each of their unique needs. With 8,000+ graduates, Galvanize alumni have gone on to bring their talents to over 2,250 companies. Galvanize is a subsidiary of Stride, Inc. (NYSE: LRN), a premier provider of innovative, high-quality online and blended education solutions, curriculum, and programs to students, schools and enterprises in primary, secondary and post-secondary settings. Learn more at www.galvanize.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005688/en/

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The California Energy Commission is awarding $2 million (GFO-20-604, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Demonstrations in Rail and Marine Applications at Ports (H2RAM)) and Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) will provide $200,000 in funding to support a project developing a hydrogen fuel cell solution to power harbor craft vessels.

The Small Fast Harbor Craft Project, led by Zero Emission Industries (ZEI) (formerly Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine) will test a commercial marine vessel modified to incorporate a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. The powertrain consists of a state-of-the-art hydrogen storage system, automotive-style fuel cell power system, safety system, control and automation system allowing for a powertrain with increased range, simple maintenance, and no emissions. Supported boat speeds range from a few knots to more than 50 knots.

Once brought to market, the fuel cell technology could reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollution from thousands of small commercial boats throughout California including patrol, fishing, fire, rescue, ferry, taxi, recreational and other vessels.

This project exemplifies our approach at Zero Emission Industries, which is to solve difficult challenges with hydrogen in ways that make it accessible for everyone. With California being home to over 1 million vessels, 98% of which are under 40 feet long, developing a small fast zero emission vessel solution will have a profound impact on the market, the economy, and air quality. Dr. Joseph Pratt, CEO of ZEI

The boat will be fueled with hydrogen through mobile, portable systems developed by ZEI for marine vessel fueling. These portable fueling systems will be built as part of the project, using hydrogen sourced from Californias retail hydrogen stations. The project will demonstrate the vessel for six months, split between the San Francisco Bay and Long Beach.

The Port of San Francisco, Red and White Fleet, Port of Long Beach and Harbor Breeze Cruises will assist in testing the technology.

Zero Emission Industries, launched 2017, develops and sells power systems for a range of applications. The company received a $3-million grant in 2018 from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to build the first hydrogen fuel cell vessel in the United States, the Water-Go-Round.
The Navy has released video of a US warship firing warning shots at three Iranian fast attack boats after they came within 68 yards of it on Monday night.

The Iranian craft ignored radioed warnings and blaring sirens as they sped towards two ships, forcing one, the USS Firebolt, to open fire.

Firebolt was sailing with the U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat Baranoff during the incident.

It came just a day after boats belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had harassed U.S. Coast Guard cutters in the same body of water.

The last time a Navy vessel fired warning shots in the Persian Gulf in an incident involving Iran was in July 2017, when the USS Thunderbolt, a sister ship to the Firebolt, fired to warn off a Guard vessel.

Regulations issued last year give Navy commanders the authority to take 'lawful defensive measures against vessels in the Mideast that come within 109 yards of their warships.

The USS Firebolt firing warning shots at three fast approaching Iranian attack vessels on Monday night.

A stock photo of the USS Firebolt that engaged the Iranian craft.

The image above shows a photo released by the US Navy of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Vessel cutting in front of the US Coast Guard ship USCGC Monomoy in the Persian Gulf on April 2

Quartermaster 3rd Class John McHugh, assigned to patrol coastal ship USS Firebolt, fires a .50 caliber machine gun during a live-fire drill in the Gulf of Oman on January 14

The Navy said the Iranian boats 'failed to exercise due regard for the safety of other vessels as required under international law as they came into close proximity to U.S. naval vessels in international waters.

'The IRGCN [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy] armed speed boats rapidly approached U.S. Navy patrol coastal ship USS Firebolt and U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat USCGC Baranoff to an unnecessarily close range with unknown intent, including a closest point of approach of 68 yards to both U.S. ships.

'The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loud-hailer devices, but the IRGCN vessels continued their close range maneuvers.

'The crew of Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the IRGCN vessels moved away to a safe distance from the U.S. vessels.'

The tense encounter in the Persian Gulf on April 2 was the first such incident in about a year amid wider turmoil in the region over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal.

Images released by the Navy showed a ship commanded by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard cut in front of the USCGC Monomoy, causing the Coast Guard vessel to come to an abrupt stop with its engine smoking on April 2.

The Iranian ship, Harth 55, also did the same with another Coast Guard vessel, the USCGC Wrangell, said Commander Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the incident, which resulted in no injuries or damage.

'The US crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, five short blasts from the ships horns, and while the Harth 55 responded to the bridge-to-bridge radio queries, they continued the unsafe maneuvers,' Rebarich said.

Iranian ship Harth 55 is seen cutting across the bow of the USCGC Wrangell in the Persian Gulf on April 2, the first such encounter in nearly a year

'After approximately three hours of the U.S. issuing warning and conducting defensive maneuvers, the (Iranian) vessels maneuvered away from the U.S. ships and opened distance between them.'

The interaction marked the first 'unsafe and unprofessional' incident involving the Iranians since April 15, 2020, Rebarich said.

However, Iran had largely stopped such incidents in 2018 and throughout most of 2019, she said.

The incidents at sea almost always involve the Revolutionary Guard, which reports only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured in April 2020).

In 2017, the Navy recorded 14 instances of what it describes as 'unsafe and or unprofessional' interactions with Iranians forces. It recorded 35 in 2016, and 23 in 2015.

The incidents at sea almost always involve the Revolutionary Guard, which reports only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Some analysts believe the incidents are meant in part to squeeze moderate President Hassan Rouhanis administration after the 2015 nuclear deal.

They include a 2016 incident in which Iranian forces captured and held overnight 10 US sailors who strayed into the Islamic Republic's territorial waters.

The incident comes as Iran negotiates with world powers in Vienna over Tehran and Washington returning to the 2015 nuclear deal.

It also follows a series of incidents across the Middle East attributed to a shadow war between Iran and Israel, which includes attacks on regional shipping and sabotage at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.
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Armed assailants on Wednesday freed 45 prisoners awaiting trial in South Africa on their way to their court hearings.

According to the police, nine of them were later arrested again shortly afterwards, while 22 pre-trial detainees were still on the run.

The police said the attack occurred at a location close to the eastern city of Pietermaritzburg.

According to media reports, the five assailants were armed with Ak-47 automatic assault rifles and had attacked a van carrying a total of 45 prisoners.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

(NAN)
A Hartford police sergeant who struck a woman in the face after she spat at him while being booked has been charged with misdemeanor assault.

Sergeant James Guzie, 47, was arrested on a third-degree assault charged in connection with the incident on March 15 in the police department detention area, authorities said on Tuesday.

Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody called Guzie's behaviour 'simply unacceptable,' saying in a statement: 'Despite the inappropriate behavior of the arrestee, the officer should never have reacted the way he did.'

A Hartford police sergeant who struck a woman in the face after she spat at him while being booked has been charged with misdemeanor assault. Sergeant James Guzie, 47, was arrested on a third-degree assault charged in connection with the incident on March 15 in the police department detention area

Police released officer body camera footage of the alleged assault that showed the woman, Felicia Jenkins, berating police with expletives.

Jenkins, who is black, called two of the officers 'white Trump supporters,' and then spat at Guzie, who is white.

Guzie then immediately rushed at Jenkins, punching her in the face with a closed fist, the video shows.

Guzie did not immediately respond to a phone message from the Associated Press seeking comment.

The Hartford Police Union has defended Guzie's actions, saying Jenkins needed to be brought under control because she had assaulted an officer, threatened physical violence against officers and refused to comply with their orders.

Jenkins, who is Black, called two of the officers 'white Trump supporters,' and then spat at Guzie, who is white

Guzie then immediately rushed at Jenkins, punching her in the face with a closed fist, the video shows

'Sergeant Guzie could see that the arrestee was getting more aggressive towards his officers and that action needed to be taken before his officers were injured,' the union said in a statement.

'He used appropriate and minimum force to bring the arrestee under compliance, and his actions were in line with Hartford Police Department policy and procedures.'

Guzie was released after his arrest and is scheduled to be arraigned in a court on May 19.

Thody said police had notified Hartford State's Attorney Sharmese Walcott of the incident, and Walcott ordered a criminal investigation that resulted in an arrest warrant.

Felicia Jenkins, of Hartford, was being booked on charges of trespassing and breach of peace when Guzie punched her

'The result of that investigation is that probable cause exists that the force used by Guzie following being assaulted was unreasonable under all the circumstances and such conduct violates' state law, Walcott said in a statement on Tuesday.

Jenkins, of Hartford, was being booked on charges of trespassing and breach of peace when Guzie punched her.

Police added a charge of assaulting a police officer against her after the incident.

Contact information for Jenkins could not be found.

Court records say the public defenders' office at Hartford Superior Court is representing her, but the office said on Tuesday that it had no record of her.
After a pause in use, Johnson & Johnsons Janssen vaccine will be added back into clinic rotations in west-central Illinois counties after the CDC recommended its use.

Clinics already are being planned in Morgan and Pike counties, with plans being made in Greene County for once the department replenishes its supply.

In Pike County, the health department has plans for clinics throughout the next month, three of them using the Janssen vaccine.

The vaccine had some interest because it is a one and done, said Sharon Bargmann, nursing director for Pike County Health Department. We will be having clinics again, so we will see what the interest is.

The use of the vaccine was paused as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration began looking into reports of severe blood clots  cerebral venous sinus thrombosis  that have occurred from six to 13 days after vaccination.

The CDC received 15 reports of women under the age of 59 who developed the clots  out of 8 million doses administered.

Though the clots are dangerous, the CDC has said the vaccine benefits outweigh the risk of suffering that particular side effect, which is exceedingly rare.

Bargmann is concerned the additional risks will cause some to hesitate about getting the vaccine, or refuse entirely, she said.

Those being vaccinated can request a specific brand.

It is a personal decision, Bargmann said. There are other vaccines and we dont encourage one over another. There are plenty of other vaccines but, quite frankly, people just are not getting vaccinated at a rate wed like.

Although 63.1% of Pikes residents 65 or older have been vaccinated, the percentage drops to 24.58% overall, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

There is a new warning to tell people, especially women, about the rare side effect, Bargmann said.

Clinics will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday (Moderna) and from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. May 6, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. May 13 and from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. and from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. May 20 (Johnson & Johnson).

Molly Peters, administrator for Greene County Health Department, said she still has had people requesting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, so she is encouraged that things will move forward once they get more vaccine in stock.

The purpose of the pause was to inform health care workers of the side effect and give them time to become aware that this could occur and prepare for it, Peters said. Overall, the vaccine is a viable and important vaccine.

While the public needs to be aware of all side effects, chances that they will develop are low, Peters said.

People understand that things have known risk, but the value of it is still high, Peters said.

Morgan County also will have a Johnson & Johnson clinic from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Passavant Area Hospital. People can register through Morgan County Health Department or walk in during the clinic time.
GCC reports 9% increase in EBITDA

28 April 2021

Mexicos GCC has seen its consolidated net sales for the first quarter of 2021 decrease by 1.5 per cent to US$178.8m from US$181.4m in the 1Q20. This was primarily due to lower cement and concrete volumes in the US and the depreciation of the Mexican peso. However, this was partially offset by increased cement and concrete volumes in Mexico and a favourable price environment in both markets.



The companys EBITDA advanced 9.2 per cent YoY to US$49.5m from US$45.3m in the 1Q20, while the EBITDA margin climbed to 27.7 per cent from 25 per cent.



"Our results reflect momentum in the industry and show early signs that we are entering into a new phase of the industry's cycle with a stronger demand for most of our products. Therefore, we will focus our efforts in producing cement to supply pent-up demand," said Enrique Escalante, CEO.



"Our backlog and the overall market trends of our business are encouraging in the US and Mexico. Both countries are emerging from tough and uncertain times into brighter months ahead. Our focus continues on maximising production, improving plant reliability and optimising our logistics network to take advantage of the pent-up demand we are experiencing."



US cement volumes declined 7.7 per cent YoY in the 1Q21, but prices improved 2.9 per cent. In Mexico, cement volumes were up six per cent, but prices slipped 0.8 per cent.

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Saudi Arabia's crown prince struck a softer tone toward Iran in a television interview broadcast late on April 27 in which he also said that Saudi Arabia and the Biden administration agreed on most issues of mutual concern.

"Iran is a neighboring country, and all we aspire for is a good and special relationship with Iran," Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman said.

"We do not want Iran's situation to be difficult. On the contrary, we want Iran to grow...and to push the region and the world towards prosperity."

Riyadh has been working with regional and global partners to find solutions to Tehran's "negative behavior," he added.

The two countries cut ties in 2016 after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions following the kingdom's execution of a revered Shi'ite cleric. They also back opposite sides in the war in Yemen, where a coalition led by Saudi Arabia is battling the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.

Prince Salmans comments were a change in tone from previous interviews in which he lashed out at Tehran, accusing it of fueling regional insecurity.

The prince did not mention any negotiations with Tehran, but there have been reports of secret direct talks taking place this month in Baghdad between the two countries.

Sources quoted by news agencies have confirmed the talks, but neither Saudi Arabia nor Iran have publicly confirmed or denied the talks.

The diplomacy comes amid an effort to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that the United States withdrew from in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump.

The prince said Saudi Arabia and the Biden administration agree on 90 percent of issues of mutual concern and disagree on the rest, but he did not elaborate.

The prince's standing with Washington remains damaged by the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul after the Saudi journalist grew critical of the crown prince.

U.S. intelligence concluded that the crown prince had approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi, but Saudi officials had said his death was the result of a "rogue operation" and was not state sanctioned.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview in March that he had "made it clear" to the princes father, 85-year-old King Salman bin Abdulaziz, "that things were going to change" in the relationship, though he also reaffirmed the decades-old alliance of their two countries.

With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
New Delhi [India], April 28 (ANI/PRNewswire): "This man is transferring Rs 2000/- to help each stressed university student fight corona crisis"

Manish Mishra, from Delhi is transferring 2000 Rs via IMPS/RTGS directly in the accounts of stressed university students across the nation starting from 1st May 2021 to 11th May 2021. All students requiring this exigency financial can send credentials and short note of crisis to bharatmanishmishra@gmail.com. This is the first and only initiative across India where an individual is depositing monies directly in account of student community.

Oxygen, injections, logistical help is coming in from NGOs, government, corporates. Certain emergencies require immediate cash in bank account. This initiative might end up encouraging a concept of crowd donations, which will enable various communities to have access to money which can be life saver in most cases.

"I am not a large corporate house, neither am I very affluent. I run a small human resources management firm. If even 1000 people in a population of 1.30 billion gather courage and motivation to do what I am doing, India will come out of this crisis faster," said Manish Mishra.

This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Albany

Janet DiFiore is officially the top judge in New York.

The state Senate on Thursday confirmed the former Westchester County district attorney in a unanimous vote and with words of praise and a standing ovation.

DiFiore watched the vote from a balcony with her husband, Dennis Glazer, and their three children and granddaughter.

She succeeds Jonathan Lippman, who retired at the mandatory retirement age of 70.

DiFiore, 60, of Bronxville, a Democrat nominated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last month, is only the second woman to hold the rank of chief judge. Judith Kaye, who died Jan. 7, was the first woman to hold the position.

DiFiore will start hearing cases Feb. 9.

"It's a high honor and privilege to serve as the chief judge of the Court of Appeals and of the state of New York and I am honored and obviously feel very privileged to be able to continue my service to the people of the state of New York in this new capacity," DiFiore told reporters following her confirmation.

The Senate Judiciary Committee cleared DiFiore for confirmation Wednesday.

On Thursday, the committee's chairman, Sen. John Bonacic, an Orange County Republican.

Every senator present voted for DiFiore's confirmation. One lawmaker, Sen. Tony Avella, D-Queens, abstained from voting because he has a case before the Court of Appeals.

"Based on the committee's review of the candidate, I think Gov. Cuomo has nominated a very impressive judicial nominee," Bonacic said,

Lawmakers, both Democrat and Republican, extolled the virtues of DiFiore, a St. John's University School of Law graduate whose resume includes president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, county judge, state Supreme Court justice and supervisor of criminal courts in the lower Hudson Valley. She also chaired Cuomo's Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

"She obviously has the demeanor having been a judge, having been under the pressures of being top prosecutor, to handle all types of issues and all types of disputes that may become before the high court of the state," said Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, a former Senate Judiciary Committee chairman.

DeFrancisco lauded DiFiore for allowing a wrongly convicted man, Jeff Deskovic, to get a DNA test to fight and eventually get his rape and murder conviction overturned.

"You don't see too many prosecutors doing that," DeFrancisco told the Senate.

"She did what most people would not have done. She listened, she went back, she examined and she found that there was an opportunity to free an innocent New Yorker who had already been since his youth, imprisoned," said Senate Democratic conference leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Westchester County. "And not only did she do that but went ahead to find the real killer and make sue that justice was served.

The real killer, Steven Cunningham, confessed to the 1989 rape and killing of Angela Correa in Peekskill. Deskovic, who spent 16 years in prison before being exonerated by DNA evidence, is now an activist.

For his part, Deskovic sent a letter to the Judiciary Committee urging DiFiore's nomination be denied because he did not support her overall record.

"My appreciating DA DiFiore doing the right thing in my case does not mean that I turn away from or remain silent in the face of her overall abysmal record on wrongful conviction and prosecutorial misconduct," Deskovic wrote to the committee. "Please do not get caught up in the hype surrounding her actions in my case."

New York State Bar Association President David Miranda said DiFiore has actively served on commissions calling for wrongful convictions reform, raising the age of criminal responsibility and that she "has demonstrated her commitment to justice and fairness in the courtroom."

rgavin@timesunion.c-om - 518-434-2403 - @RobertGavinTU
Torigen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a commercial-stage companion animal immuno-oncology company, today announced that founder and CEO, Ashley Kalinauskas, was recently named to the Domer Dozen by the YoungND Board of the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association for her work in developing an affordable cancer treatment for veterinary patients.

Now in its second year, the Domer Dozen celebrates and highlights young alumni that have shown extraordinary dedication to the four tenents of the Alumni Associations mission statementfaith, service, learning, or work.

Torigen is a startup company developed from University of Notre Dame technology that uses the animals own tumor and tumor-associated antigens to create a personalized immunotherapy that stimulates the pets immune system to fight the disease. For both pet owners and veterinarians, this is another tool in the toolbox to ultimately help animals live happy, healthy lives. Since its founding, Torigen has treated over 1,000 companion animals.

It is amazing to be recognized among eleven other incredible young leaders, said Ashley Kalinauskas, CEO, Torigen. Each of the alumni represent a focus on contributing to their community and being a force for good in the world. Im so thankful that the work we are completing has the opportunity to touch so many lives, and I love being able to inspire the next generation of leaders at Notre Dame.

Torigen currently employs 20 people and has formed one of the top teams in the animal health industry. Its labs are located at University of Connecticuts Technology Incubation Program. The company has raised $6 million in funding so far with backing from the University of Notre Dame, the University of Connecticut, prominent angel and venture groups. In 2018, Torigen was named 2018 Animal Health Innovator of the Year by the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor and Kalinauskas has received numerous accolades for her contributions to the animal health industry, including being named to the 2020 Forbes 30 under 30 list for her contributions.

"We are honored to celebrate Ashley as part of our Domer Dozen young alumni recognition program, said Dolly Duffy, executive director of the Notre Dame Alumni Association. It is heartening to see that the research she began during her studies at Notre Dame has blossomed into something much bigger. Our pets are such a meaningful part of our lives and families for so many of us, and the work she and her team at Torigen are doing to provide innovative and personalized cancer treatments is truly making a difference in veterinary care.

The complete Domer Dozen list can be found here: https://domerdozen.nd.edu/

For more information, email info@torigen.com, visit http://www.torigen.com or call 860-519-9956.

About Torigen Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Torigen Pharmaceuticals Inc. is focused on delivering affordable companion animal immuno-oncology products. Its initial patented product line utilizes a portion of the pet patients tumor to create a personalized cancer vaccine. With over 10 years of supporting pre-clinical publications, the Torigen team is focused on developing innovative veterinary cancer biologics that allow for the body to recognize foreign tumor-associated antigens and facilitate the reversal of immune senescence. For more information, please visit http://www.torigen.com.

Experimental autologous cancer vaccines created by Torigen Pharmaceuticals Inc. are regulated by the USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics. Torigens Autologous Prescription Product should be used under supervision/prescription of a licensed veterinarian. Safety and efficacy have not been established.

About Notre Dame Alumni Association

Celebrating its 153rd year in 2021, the Notre Dame Alumni Association furthers the Universitys mission of faith, learning, and service by facilitating more meaningful, lifelong relationships within the global Notre Dame family.


As of midnight, Tuesday April 27, the HPSC has been notified of 371 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There has now been a total of 247,857** confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. Of the cases listed today, 16 are attributed to Limerick, while the 14 date incidence rate per 100,000, which now stands at 120.6, is once again below the national average of 121.2

Of the cases notified today:

190 are men / 181 are women

77% are under 45 years of age

The median age is 28 years old

131 in Dublin, 38 in Kildare, 33 in Donegal, 18 in Cork, 17 in Meath and the remaining 134 cases are spread across 17 other counties***

As of 8am today, 153 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 45 are in ICU. 17 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 13 additional deaths related to COVID-19. Three deaths occurred in April, 3 in March, and 7 in February or earlier. The median age of those who died was 85 years and the age range was 60 - 95 years.

There has been a total of 4,896* COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of April 26th, 2021, 1,417,942 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:

1,014,640 people have received their first dose

403,302 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.
Some of Fernando Luis Ribas-Berains clearest memories from early childhood involve him waiting at the top of the stairs in for his dad to come home from work.

It was always the same thing, him in his flight suit and boots, black boots, laced up and shining, Ribas-Berain said.

He also has a clear memory of the day he learned his father wouldnt be coming home ever again.

On ExpressNews.com: S.A. musician in demand from here to New York

I vividly remember opening my eyes to the sound of my mother crying, he said. It was a muffled sound through those stone walls, through my closed door. She was downstairs.

And when I heard it, I kind of got out of bed, and I saw the military officer there, sitting next to her on a long couch we had. I see her on the couch crying, and I immediately know.

He was 5 years old.

His father, Major Fernando Luis Ribas-Dominicci, was a U.S. Air Force pilot. He and Capt. Paul F. Florence were killed during Operation El Dorado Canyon, a 1986 air raid on Libya.

The incident and the love story between Ribas-Berains mom and dad are recounted in Ribas-Dominicci, a new opera being developed by composer Nathan Felix.

A 25-minute segment of the piece will be streamed at 2 p.m. Friday on Texas Public Radios Facebook page as part of its Daystream series. It will be sung by mezzo-soprano Kathleen Shelton and baritone Lee Farrar Bailey, playing characters based on Ribas-Berains parents.

Oscar Moreno

Felix is developing Ribas-Dominicci into a full-blown opera he hopes to premiere next year. Ideally, hed like to see it staged in San Antonio or in Puerto Rico, which is where Ribas-Dominicci was born and raised and where a small airport was named in his honor after his death.

On ExpressNews.com: SA composer Darian Donovan Thomas is making a splash internationally

The composer and Ribas-Berain have been friends since they met in high school. Felix first heard the story of his friends dad two or three years ago, on a long drive to go camping. It left him in tears.

I thought it was common knowledge amongst my friends, but for some reason, that time I was probably focused on the story between him and my mother as opposed to the history of his death, said Ribas-Berain, 39. Thats why it was more touching for him. I think thats a much more relatable part of the story  the love and the loss.

Felix asked if he could write an opera about his parents. He chose that form because Ribas-Berains mom, Blanca Berain Ribas, is a lifelong opera fan.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

Ribas-Berain said his mom would have to OK it, so Felix asked her for her blessing. She gave it. She also has chatted with him over dinner from time to time so he could get a more personal account of who Ribas-Dominicci was than could be gleaned from news accounts and other sources.

I choke up so much doing the research. It is close to me because its my best friend and I grew up with him, Felix said. Its such a sad, sad story, but its also a heroic story. I feel very honored to tell it.

Ribas has heard some of the music, and she was impressed by it.

Theres a piece there, a part of it, where shes singing the Our Father and praying for her husband, and I found that very touching because I saw myself in that role, she said.

She and her husband were only together for eight and a half years, but that brief period had a big impact on her life.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

Weve been apart longer than we were together, said Ribas, 69. So many people ask me after I say that, they say, Why didnt you ever remarry? I think that I didnt remarry because I was always looking for another guy to give me that feeling that he gave me, and I never found it. I think my aspirations were a little too high. But Ive had a wonderful life.

The couple met in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, her hometown, in a shop she owned that sold jewelry and crafts to tourists. Ribas-Dominicci was getting his pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio and would cross the border on weekends.

His English was very bad, she said. And he would struggle the entire week while he was in training, trying to speak English. So he would go across to Mexico so he could find somebody to speak Spanish with so he could just get his tongue back more to normal.

Chats in the shop led to romance. But when he finished his training and received orders to go to Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, they parted. Neither was quite sure where the relationship was going, Ribas said.

Time apart seems to have clarified things, because shortly after he left, he suggested that she come join him. There was a university nearby, and she had always wanted to continue her studies. So she sold her business to her brother and moved to the United States. The day after she arrived, she and Ribas-Dominicci went to the justice of the peace and were married.

They were in Clovis, New Mexico, for six years. There was little to do in the tiny town, she said, but they made the most of it.

We had all those years that we were together without family, she said. It really gave us the opportunity to really know each other. I was floating on a cloud for the longest time. It took me a long time to come down.

On ExpressNews.com: Opera San Antonio returns to the Tobin Center stage

She got pregnant in her final semester at college. A few years later, the couple and their little boy moved to England. Thats where they were living when Ribas-Dominicci went on his final flight.

It was a secret mission, Ribas said. She thought he was taking part in a training exercise and was stunned when an officer came to her door to tell her that her husbands plane had crashed over the coast of Libya. News reports from the time stated that he had been part of a bombing raid ordered by then-President Ronald Reagan in retaliation for terrorist attacks by Libya.

It took a long time for Ribas to start to process her loss.

It was a very traumatic experience, she said. It took me most of my 30s to get over it.

The fact that her husbands body was missing and wasnt returned for more than two years after the crash made moving on even harder than it might have been.

I knew he had been killed in action. I wasnt delusional, she said. But in my heart, there was this tiny, tiny, tiny hope.

Before his body was recovered, there was so much speculation initially about what had happened  they couldnt find the capsule, or his stuff, and so, you just want to have hope.

Thirty-five years later, the incident has faded from many peoples memories.

Its been so many years, and it seems like the the more time goes by, fewer and fewer people that I meet know anything of it, she said. And it wasnt a big war or a big thing like that  it was just one action that Reagan decided to take. The reason it was impactful at the time was because we werent involved in any wars. We were in a cold war with the Soviet Union, but aside from that, we were not involved in any wars. So there werent servicemen being killed every other week.

It means a lot to her that Felix is telling the story. And she hopes the full piece gives people a sense of the man she fell for all those years ago.

He was an extraordinary individual, she said. It sounds like what the wife should say. But in actuality, if you take 10 people that knew him, those 10 people would say the same thing.

Im not just saying that because he passed away or the way he died or because he was my husband and I was in love with him, but because he truly was.

dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN
All those aged above 18 can register themselves on the CoWIN portal or using the Aarogya Setu app to get vaccinated against COVID-19 starting 4 pm on Wednesday, the Union Health Ministry said as the government gears up to launch the third phase of vaccination drive from 1 May.

"Registration for the newly eligible category for COVID-19 vaccination opens today at 4 pm on cowin.gov.in and Aarogya Setu app," the ministry tweeted.

After registration, taking an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccine jab would be mandatory for those aged between18and 44 years as walk-ins will not be allowed initially, officials had said.

Those above 45 years can still avail the facility of on-site registration to get vaccinated, they said.

As India witnesses a surge in cases, it has decided to allow everyone above18years of age to get vaccinated from May 1.

"An increased demand is expected once the vaccination is opened for all. For the purpose of crowd control, registering on CoWIN portal and making an appointment to get a vaccine will be mandatory for those aged between18and 45 years. Walks-in will not be allowed in the beginning so that there is no chaos," an official had said.

The inoculation process and documents to be provided to get the jab remains the same.

"Registration of citizens in18-44 age group will start with only online registration on COWIN from April 28 onwards," the ministry had said.

Also, from May 1, the types of anti- vaccine and their prices will be displayed on the CoWIN portal for citizens to make an informed choice at the time of booking an appointment at a private vaccination centre.

While those aged18to 44 years will be eligible to receive vaccination on payment from any of the private COVID vaccination centres (CVCs), citizens below 45 years shall also be eligible to receive a jab from a government CVC in a state or Union Territory which decides to lower the minimum cut off age for eligibility.

As provided in the Liberalised Pricing and Accelerated National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy document, all priority groups, such as healthcare workers, frontline workers and citizens above aged 45 years or more (as on 01.01.2022), shall continue to be eligible for vaccination free of cost from government CVCs, or on payment from private CVCS.
CANTON, Mass., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company , a national provider of insurance solutions for individuals and at the workplace, is celebrating supporting over 360 charitable organizations and more than 625 employee volunteer hours through its corporate citizenship program, Making An Impact , on the program's third anniversary. Launched in April 2018, the program unifies Boston Mutual Life's charitable giving efforts, both at the corporate and employee levels, and offers opportunities to support worthy causes through volunteering, monetary and goods donations, and partnerships with local and industry organizations on charitable initiatives.

Boston Mutual Life Celebrates Third Anniversary of Charitable Giving Program, Making An Impact Tweet this Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company is proud to recognize the third anniversary of its corporate citizenship program, Making An Impact, and the various causes and charitable organizations the company and its employees have supported through the program since its launch in April 2018.

For two consecutive years, Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company, through the Making An Impact program, has garnered recognition by the Boston Business Journal, which named it a top charitable contributor in 2019 and 2020.

"Boston Mutual Life values being a good corporate citizen and we're passionate about finding ways, both big and small, to give back to our community and pay it forward," said Paul A. Quaranto, Jr., Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President at Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company. "Our employees' passion for these causes enabled this program to be nimble during the pandemic and make a difference during these unprecedented times. Whether our support is done virtually or in-person, we are proud of the great work we have accomplished so far, and the difference that we have collectively made over the last three years through the program."

While Boston Mutual Life has always contributed to worthy causes during its 130-year history, the Making An Impact program is the first time the company has centralized and formalized efforts in an overarching program. Through Making An Impact, the company has contributed to a number of regional and national organizations, amplifying its support for a range of causes. In the past year alone, it supported over 120 different charitable organizations, with 20 contributions dedicated to supporting coronavirus relief efforts.

Boston Mutual Life focuses its charitable efforts on three pillars that align with its core mission: community and family, education, and environment. This includes employee volunteerism (most recently comprised of remote initiatives), public affairs, charitable giving, and environmental sustainability. In addition to traditional philanthropic activities, Making An Impact offers employee donation matches, educational opportunities, community leadership opportunities, and transformative donations such as technology solutions for local schools.

To learn more about Boston Mutual Life's corporate citizenship program, please visit https://www.bostonmutual.com/about-us/making-an-impact/ or contact [email protected] .

About Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company

Founded as a progressive life insurance company in 1891, Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company is a national carrier that provides insurance solutions designed for working Americans and their families, as well as enrollment and billing options at the workplace. With its home office based in Canton, Massachusetts, as a mutual company, Boston Mutual Life is dedicated to acting in the best interests of its policyholders, producers, employees, and its communities. For more information, please visit www.bostonmutual.com or contact your Boston Mutual Life representative. Follow the company on Facebook (/BostonMutualLifeIns) or LinkedIn (/company/boston-mutual-life-insurance).

Media Contact:

Meredith D'Agostino

Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company

[email protected]

(800) 669-2668 x276

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The Idaho State Legislature has become the first in the nation to put a bill on a governor's desk that would ban Marxist-based critical race theory from being taught in public schools.

Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Texas and West Virginia are among other states considering bans on such teaching, which regards America and Western Civilization as inherently racist.

Democrats contend the bill violates First Amendment rights.

Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking said the idea that schools are "brainwashing" children with "a liberal leftist indoctrination" is not true, the Idaho Press reported.

"Our universities and school districts districts already have procedures in place that will deal with any problem we have in curriculum," she said.

The bill bars teachers from forcing students into belief systems that claim a group of people as defined by sex, race, ethnicity or religion are inferior or superior to others.

Educators also cannot make students "affirm, adopt or adhere to" belief systems claiming they responsible for past actions done by people of their race or origin.

The teaching of critical race theory has gained momentum nationally in the wake of the death of George Floyd in police custody. However, the chief prosecutor in the trial of Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, Keith Ellison, said Sunday there was no evidence that race was a factor in the 46-year-old black man's death.

The Biden administration has proposed taxpayer money for critical race theory teaching in schools. In January, the president signed an executive order called the Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities to address "systemic racism" and "affirmatively" promote equity and racial justice in the federal government. And last week, his administration propose two new funding priorities to "incorporate racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse perspectives" in school curricula.

Last September, President Trump issued an executive order banning the teaching of the "malign ideology" to federal employees and federal contractors. A federal judge blocked Trump's ban in December and Biden revoked it in January.

'Self-awareness'

Among the student protesting the Idaho bill at the statehouse on Monday was 8th grader Yvonne Shen, a member of the Idaho Asian American Pacific Islander Youth Alliance, which organized the protest.

She told Idaho Press critical race theory is about "self-awareness" of the past.

"Many people seem to think that teaching our students about the cruelty and suffering of our country's past is some form of self-hatred for our own country. But, make no mistake, this is self-awareness," said Shen.

A math teacher at a wealthy private school in Manhattan, Paul Rossi, drew national attention last week when he was fired for writing an essay accusing the $57,000-a-year Grace Church School of indoctrinating students.

Rossi said he couldn't remain silent while "witnessing the harmful impact" of the "antiracism" instruction. He released a recording of a phone conversation with the head of the school George Davison, who admitted "we're demonizing white people for being born."

'It's all social justice'

Two professors at a university in Chicago who serve on a local school board were caught on an open Zoom call boasting of their influence on "social justice" teaching in schools.

West Cook News reported Monday that Gina Harris and Ralph Martire of Roosevelt University were engaged in the conversation before the Feb. 26 meeting of the Oak Park and River Forest High School school board.

"I mean, it's all social justice. All day, every day, I get to talk about the things I love. I'm really living the life over here," Harris said.

She noted she was teaching "middle school theory and practice" to future K-12 teachers at Roosevelt.

Martire, a Roosevelt professor of public policy and public administration, said the way he views government budgets is through a lens on how use them to "organize society."

"Yeah. I always flip out the kids that take my master's class on fiscal policy and public budgets within the first three or four classes are devoted to philosophy of social justice and how you organize society. We don't talk about one, you know, budgetary item. They're like, Oh, man. Professor Martire, this is a really weird way to teach a budget.

"If you don't understand your values, you can't allocate resources among public priorities that are scarce, but all needed. Right?" Martire said.

Harris, in addition to teaching at local Maywood Elementary, is a liaison officer for the nation's largest teacher's union, the National Education Association.

Biden funding

Last week, as WND reported, the Biden administration proposed offering grants for K-12 history classes that use curriculum claiming the United States is inherently racist.

The funding will support the teaching of critical race theory and the "1619 Project," the New York Times series that contends the United States was founded on slavery, regarding it as the defining characteristic of the American experience.

The grants, which distribute about $5 million a year, were listed in the Federal Register last week as proposed rules, open to comment until May 19.

The Department of Education said the teaching is important because the U.S. is going through a "national reckoning with systemic racism [that] highlighted the urgency of improving racial equity throughout our society, including in our education system."

In February, former Vanderbilt and Princeton political science professor Carol Swain warned that having already "destroyed" higher education, the political left is ramping up its effort to fundamentally transform K-12 schooling, teaching children that anything associated with Western Civilization.

Embedding racial 'equity'

In his first week in office, President Biden unveiled a plan to "embed racial equity," rather than equality of opportunity, in all government agencies and "redress systemic racism where it exists" across the nation.

Among his moves was the elimination of President Trump's 1776 Commission, for which Swain served as vice chairman. The Biden administration called the report the commission released just prior to Biden's inauguration "counterfactual.

With the aim of restoring education on America and its founding, the 1776 report argues that while the country "has its imperfections, just like any other country, in the annals of history the United States has achieved the greatest degree of personal freedom, security, and prosperity for the greatest proportion of its own people and for others around the world."

"These results are the good fruit of the ideas the founding generation expressed as true for all people at all times and places."

Last October, two members of the 1776 Commission, Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn and Hoover Institution fellow Victor Davis Hanson, were among the professors, academics and historians who signed a letter urging the Pulitzer Prize Board to rescind its award to the author of the "1619 Project," Nikole Hannah-Jones.

Posted on the website of the National Association of Scholars, the letter asserts there is "simply no evidence" for her claim that "protecting the institution of slavery was a primary motive for the American Revolution."

Mr. Lincoln weighs in on America's founding

Last Tuesday, Powerline blogger John Hinderaker noted the Biden administration and Democrats nationwide was pushing the idea that "systemic racism" permeates the nation and is woven into its founding documents.

Earlier that week, St. Paul, Minnesota, Mayor Melvin Carter quoted from the Supreme Court's infamous Dred Scott case to make that point, accepting Chief Justice Roger B. Taney's dubious interpretation of the Declaration and the Constitution. Taney said the original Constitution regarded black people "as so far inferior that they had no rights that white people were bound to respect."

"In fact they had no power to confer such a boon. They meant simply to declare the right, so that the enforcement of it might follow as fast as circumstances should permit," Lincoln said.

And, wrote Hindraker, America "fought a great Civil War that derived from the debate over [Taney's] teaching."

"It resulted in the adoption of the Civil War amendments to the Constitution and other civil rights laws. Yet ignorance rules the day," he said.

Hindraker argued "the United States is alone in the history of the world in its foundation on the principle of equal rights."

"We are proud of our founding documents and our history. We dispute the contentions of Taney et al. as self-evident lies."

Hindraker said the "original Constitution, and hence original intent jurisprudence, can only be defended if one distinguishes the principles of the Constitution from the compromises of the Constitution."

"Had the Constitution not been ratified, slavery would have been in a far stronger position. Instead, the new Constitution created a government strong enough to deal with slavery when the crisis finally came. Moreover, the future of the Union as a guardian of the cause of human freedom throughout the world depended upon this distinction between the Constitutions principles and its compromises."
A survey revealed that most Americans don't want President Joe Biden to pack the Supreme Court. Many of them also believe that protection for religious freedoms would be decreased if he did.

The Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy survey was conducted on 1,100 registered voters nationwide via telephone for the period April 15-19, 2021, CBN News reported. Part of the questions asked in the survey was how Americans felt if Biden would act on a proposal of the Democratic Party to increase the number of Supreme Court Judges to thirteen members from its current nine members.

According to Mason-Dixon, the question resulted to a 31% "should," 65% "should not," and 4% "not sure" on a nationwide level. This turns into 63% of "Dems," 3% "Reps," and 22% "Inds" saying Biden "should" when the results are broken down according to "party."

While, as per those aged 50 and above, 74% do not find this agreeable while those younger do at 55% with. By gender, 73% of "male" and 58% of "female" do not agree, 25% of "male" and 46% of "female" agrees, and 2% of "male" and 6% of "female" are actually unsure about the matter.

Prior to asking this question, respondents were asked on their familiarity with "packing the court" and on whether they support or oppose it.

Respondents were asked the given a situation of the Supreme Court being made into thirteen members but with the scenario of former President Donald Trump being reelected and initiating the packing. The results showed that 90% of "Dems" and 83% of "Inds" oppose while 14% of "Reps" support" it. On a nationwide scale, 11% support the idea while 83% oppose it and 6% were undecided.

Mason-Dixon also asked voters if they believe "protection for religious liberty would increase or decrease" if more justices were added to the Supreme Court. The nationwide results showed that 44% agree it will "decrease" religious liberty, 20% said it will "increase" it, another 20% said there will be "no change" to it, while 16% were "not sure" if there would be any effect to it.

The survey, Mason-Dixon explained, was conducted by interviewing randomly-selected voters taken from the nationwide list through land-lines and mobile phones. Mason-Dixon said that a quota was given to achieve voter registration by state and that the margin of error is plus or minus 3% points.

Biden announced earlier this month that a Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States will be formed through an executive order pending the results of the examination of a bipartisan group for it, CBN News said.

The said bipartisan group will study the Supreme Court's structure and from it decide if there is a need to restructure it or not. The Commission is said to be composed of former federal judges, scholars, and any one "who simply want to change America's democratic institutions."

According to CBN News, the structure and composition of the Supreme Court would "take an act of Congress" that is supported by the president. The U.S. Supreme Court is said to have had nine justices since 1869 and restructuring it to 13 justices comes as a "serious move" that will have a large impact in the country.

Republicans are against Biden's court packing since the Democrats only wanted more justices to approve "the rulings they want," CBN noted.

NBC News reported that a Democratic-bill pushed Supreme Court packing will only "politicize the system even more" and will be "to the detriment of the republic." NBC News was referring to the Judiciary Act of 2021 that the Democrats introduced last week.

"The court's democratic legitimacy as the final arbiter of deeply divisive policies and our most sacred rights - often defending them against the actions of the elected branches--relies on a reputation for impartiality. Turning it into a super legislature would make it more partisan in perception and reality, deepening the confusion of the legislative and judicial functions as both parties jockey for position on an unelected body that makes major decisions about how we are governed," NBC News said.
In 2011, Prince William tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. The couple had an extravagant wedding, and many people around the world tuned in to celebrate their love story.

While William and Kates wedding was mostly a public affair, there were some private moments people didnt get to see on TV. For example, William made a joke in a wedding speech that took digs at his younger brother, Prince Harry.

Prince William and Prince Harry | Toby Melville  WPA Pool/Getty Images

Prince William made a joke about Prince Harry playing the harp

People recently spoke to harpist Claire Jones, who helped entertain guests during the weddings afternoon reception at Buckingham Palace. Jones shared a funny joke William made about Harry.

[William] made a lovely little remark about me, Jones shared. The first thing he said to me was, Did you hear what I said in my speech? I said I did, but I asked him to remind me because I hadnt heard it all. He said, Thank goodness Claire turned up to play the harp because otherwise, wed have to get my brother to play it instead.

Jones recalled positive memories of the two princes at the royal wedding. She said William was very accommodating and warm. Meanwhile, Harry was down-to-earth, very friendly and easy to talk to.

While Harry did not play the harp at the wedding, Jones revealed the kids there took a liking to it. She said, The little ones wanted to have a go on the harp. They were really going for it with their little hands going up and down the harp.

Prince William and Prince Harry have made fun of each other many times

RELATED: Prince William Reportedly Helped Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Deal With Staff Drama Ahead of Their Wedding

William and Harry were extremely close growing up. The brothers got along so well that they felt comfortable poking fun at each other.

For example, William called Harry a big hairy fat ginger in a voicemail that got leaked in the 2000s. During the voicemail, he put on a high-pitched voice and pretended to be Harrys then-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy.

Hi, its Chelsy here, William said, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. I just want to say I miss you so much and I think you are the best-looking ginger I have ever seen, although you really are quite ugly for a ginger, but hope you are having a lovely time. I really miss you. It is lovely out here in Africa and hopefully I will see you very soon, you big hairy fat ginger. Anyway, speak to you later.

Harry, meanwhile, has also made jokes about Williams bald spots many times. As shared by E! News, Harry once commented on a portrait made of the brothers by saying, I dont know, Im a little bit more ginger in there than I am in real life, I think. And [William] got given more hair.

Prince William and Prince Harry have a tense relationship now

RELATED: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Didnt Like How Tiny Their Home Was Compared to the Cambridges, Royal Expert Claims

These days, William and Harry seem more distant than before. There have been a lot of reports of tension between the brothers, especially after Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stepped down as senior royals and moved to California.

Things seemed to escalate recently after Harry and Meghan gave a tell-all interview to Oprah Winfrey to share grievances against the royal family.

According to sources, William and Harry had conversations when Harry returned to to the United Kingdom for Prince Philips funeral. However, William and other family members reportedly still cannot trust him.
Lawton, OK (73501)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening. Thunderstorms likely late. Low 66F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening. Thunderstorms likely late. Low 66F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Indianapolis, IN (46208)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 68F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 68F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (Rakez) has recently added another renowned brand to its portfolio of growing businesses  Caresoft Global, a global company specialising in automotive benchmarking and engineering solutions.

The company occupies a 7,300 sq m facility in Al Hamra Industrial Zone and is set to create 100 engineering job opportunities in Ras Al Khaimah.

Established in 2007 and currently headquartered near Detroit, USA, Caresoft has built a presence in over 15 locations across North America, Europe, China, India, and Southeast Asia. The newly launched facility in Rakez is an expansion move to effectively cater to the increasing demand for reverse engineering solutions in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) markets.

We are excited about our newest venture. The Mena market is very promising, and with continuous infrastructure improvements in the region, our services can definitely add value to various construction projects and open up more opportunities for the talent pool in Ras Al Khaimah, said Mathew Vachaparampil, CEO of Caresoft Global. In terms of setting up, we are happy with the excellent support we received from Ras Al Khaimah authorities, especially Rakez. We work with over fifty global auto manufacturers, and with the viable ecosystem that the economic zone provides, we believe that we will be able to expand our activities to reach out to and serve bigger and newer markets.

Welcoming the new incorporation, Ramy Jallad, Group CEO of Rakez, said: In 2019, we launched our industrial strategy which aims to further develop the manufacturing sector of Ras Al Khaimah as well as increase the jobs within the segment. In line with this goal, we have introduced various new infrastructure and projects to attract more reputable industrial brands to the emirate. Hence, the joining of Caresoft Global to our portfolio is among our milestones in this continuous journey. We are looking forward to supporting more manufacturers, traders, logistic providers and the entire supply chain businesses that want to take advantage of the booming opportunities in the region. -- TradeArabia News Service
MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - Munich Reinsurance Company said it expects a profit of 2.8 billion euros in 2021. The company said continued earnings growth will translate into higher earnings per share, which are set to increase annually by at least 5% on average by 2025. The dividend per share is to rise by at least 5% on average - or even more, the company noted. 'Providing cover for cyber risks remains one of Munich Re's top priorities. As in the past, there are considerable market opportunities here. Our partnership with Google and Allianz will help us gain an even better understanding of cyber risks and refine our simulation models of them,' The Chairman of the Board of Management stated. The Group is proposing a stable dividend of 9.80 euros per share. 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.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 22:35:56|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- China's development achievements under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are worthy of long-term study, said Adham Sayed, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lebanon.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Sayed called China's development "a kind of miracle."

Having been living in China's central city of Wuhan since 2015, he said he has witnessed the daily development of the city firsthand and described it as a microcosm of the development of China everywhere.

He also expressed his admiration for China's achievements in scientific research and infrastructure, particularly in high-speed trains.

The elimination of extreme poverty in such a populous country is also unprecedented in the world, he added.

Sayed is also impressed by China's coping of the COVID-19 pandemic under the CPC.

When the pandemic broke out last year, Sayed was studying for his Ph.D. at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan and decided to stay on.

The almost three months living in lockdown was very tough, but the Chinese government offered great support not only to local residents in Wuhan, but also those from other countries, he recalled.

During that period, Sayed introduced through social media the effective measures taken by China under the CPC to combat the pandemic.

He later published a book, titled "Confidence Comes from Effectiveness: A Foreigner's Wuhan Diary," in China and its Arabic version back in Lebanon.

"The secret behind China's ability to control the pandemic lies in putting people's health first," he added, highlighting the CPC's dedication to the well-being of the Chinese people during the pandemic's darkest hours and beyond.

The CPC's achievements in China offers inspirations for political parties elsewhere.

"If a party wants to survive, it must put the interests of the people first, which is what the CPC has done throughout its march," Sayed said.

"The CPC has been able to mobilize the power that lies within the Chinese people," Sayed said, "and able to invest in this power for the benefit of China and the Chinese people."

(Video reporters: Dong Yalei,Yang Zhigang,Wang Yu; Video editors: Yang Zhixiang, Cheng Yiheng, Zhu Jianhui) 




Boston: US officials on Tuesday arrested Roman Sterlingov, the alleged principal operator of cryptocurrency money laundering website Bitcoin Fog, according to a federal court filing.

Sterlingov, a citizen of Russia and Sweden, was detained in Los Angeles on money-laundering related charges.

The Bitcoin logo at a store in Salem, New Hampshire. Credit:AP

Bitcoin Fog, launched in 2011, is one of the original Bitcoin tumbler or mixer services designed to help users anonymise cryptocurrencies payments, especially on so-called darknet online markets that trafficked in drugs and other illegal products, according to a legal statement accompanying the criminal complaint by Internal Revenue Service special agent Devon Beckett.

Analysis of bitcoin transactions, financial records, internet service provider records, email records and additional investigative information, identifies Roman Sterlingov as the principal operator of Bitcoin Fog, Beckett wrote.
Ex-police officer, former attorney sentenced to jail for fraud

 flickr.com/ Jobs For Felons Hub

10:56 28/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 28 (RAPSI)  A court in the Moscow Region has sentenced a former drug control department chief of the Mytishchi Directorate of the Interior Ministry and a former attorney to 2.5 years in penal colony each for fraud, the Moscow Regions Main Investigations Directorate of the Investigative Committee reports.

A civil 2 million-ruble ($27,000) lawsuit filed in the proceedings is to be considered separately.

According to the court and investigators, in May 2019, the defendants conspired to take possession of money belonging to a man under investigation. Using his job position, then police officer deceived the man and proposed him to give the attorney 3 million rubles ($40,000) for alleged non-bringing to the criminal liability and non-application of arrest and detention against him. The man agreed to give them only 2 million rubles. The criminals spent the money for their own purposes, investigators claimed. The injured party applied to law enforcement over fraud committed against him.

Over 10 searches were conducted at the defendants premises, over 20 interrogations were held and more than 10 examinations were carried out as part of the case.
Nature has hit us, and we cannot control nature, he said. When it comes, we have to deal with it. I would rather see a child with a certificate in their hand. I dont believe myself, (we should) hold them hostage because of something they have no control over.
(Newser)  Richard Barnett got his wish. The man photographed sitting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol has been released on bond almost four months after his arrest, and nearly two months after an outburst in court over his continued detention. A judge had refused to release him at the end of January, after he referred to himself as a nationalist prepared for violent death and tried to get rid of his phone, guns, and clothes, per the Washington Post. US District Judge Christopher R. Cooper ordered his release Tuesday, however, following a ruling in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. A panel of judges had approved the release of a mother and son, who allegedly brought a stun gun and plastic handcuffs into the Capitol, per the Toronto Star. The panel noted that without the mob, such nonviolent people "seemingly would have posed little threat."

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Cooper said the ruling could be applied to 60-year-old Barnett of Gravette, Ark, who also carried a stun gun. Cooper ordered that Barnettcharged with entering and remaining in restricted building grounds without authority, violent entry, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and theft of public propertybe held on conditional home confinement with electronic monitoring. "Consider this a test," Cooper said. Barnett's lawyer tells WREG that the defendant "should be back to his home in Gravette by the end of this week." He'll be wearing an ankle monitor, won't be able to travel more than 50 miles from his home, and cannot associate with anyone involved in the insurrection. He will also be required to surrender his passport and any firearms. The Post notes he may be offered a six- or seven-year sentence as part of a plea deal. (Read more Capitol riot stories.)
PANAMA CITY, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. ("Bladex" or the "Bank") today announced the successful closing of a US$300 million 7-year senior secured term loan (the "Facility" or the "Loan") for Investment Energy Resources Limited, the holding company of CMI Energia ("CMI Energia" or the "Company") as part of a US$1.0 billion liability management exercise, thus optimizing the Company's financial structure. The Facility is guaranteed by the Company's main renewable energy projects/subsidiaries and secured by shares of the majority of such operating entities.

Owned by Corporacion Multi Inversiones ("CMI" or the "Group"), one of Central America's largest agro-industrial conglomerates with headquarters in Guatemala, CMI Energia is the leading renewable energy player in Central America operating a portfolio of over 800MW of renewable assets. The Company currently has presence in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

The Loan was structured as a club deal among Bladex, Banco Industrial and Banco Davivienda, acting together as Joint Lead Arrangers. Bladex also acted as Loan Documentation Coordinator and Administrative Agent under the Facility.

Jorge Salas, CEO of Bladex, stated: "Bladex is very pleased to have worked together with CMI and the other Joint Lead Arrangers in structuring this very important facility for CMI. The transaction attests to Bladex's capabilities to work on higher value-added financial solutions for its customers, and is fully in line with the Bank's focus on fostering growth and economic integration throughout Latin America. Moreover, this transaction has positive environmental benefits, which is something that we are increasingly looking to support as part of our business activities."

The US$ 300 million Facility was issued concurrently with a US$ 700 million 2029 Reg S / 144A green bond (the "Bond") to refinance debt from renewable energy projects. The Bond represents the Company's debut to the green bond international markets, and the first corporate green bond from Central America & the Caribbean.

Corporacion Multi Inversiones is a family-owned multilatina company founded in 1920, with presence in 15 countries, operating two main business groups: CMI Foods, engaged in the milling and production of related consumer products, animal protein and operating fast-food restaurant chains (+1,000 restaurant locations, with Pollo Campero as the Group's leading restaurant brand), and CMI Capital, which operates renewable energy and real estate projects in addition to the Group's financial services business.

Bladex, a multinational bank originally established by the central banks of Latin-American and Caribbean countries, began operations in 1979 to promote foreign trade and economic integration in the Region. The Bank, headquartered in Panama, also has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the United States of America, and a Representative License in Peru, supporting the regional expansion and servicing of its customer base, which includes financial institutions and corporations.

Bladex is listed on the NYSE in the United States of America (ticker symbol: BLX), since 1992, and its shareholders include: central banks, state-owned banks and entities representing 23 Latin American countries, commercial banks and financial institutions, and institutional and retail investors through its public listing.

For further information on Bladex, please access its website at www.bladex.com or contact:

Felipe Suarez - SVP, Head of Loan Structuring & Syndications

Head Office Address: Torre V, Business Park, Avenida La Rotonda, Urb. Costa del Este, Panama, Republic of Panama

SOURCE Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (Bladex)

Related Links

http://www.bladex.com


Hawaii has noted the first COVID-19 related death under 11 years old in the country on Tuesday, Apr. 27.

According to the Hawaii Department of Health, the boy had already felt some symptoms at the time. Despite being accompanied by fully vaccinated parents en route to the Western part of the US, it is still a mystery how he contracted the coronavirus.

First Coronavirus Death Under The Age of 11

In an official statement, David Ige, the Governor of Hawaii since 2014, said that what happened to the child is "especially" heartbreaking to take amid the continuous mourning to those who died from the virus.

He continued that he expressed his deepest condolences to the young boy's family, as well as his other relatives, friends, and loved ones.

The death of the boy was also the first COVID-19 related fatality in Hawaii within the said age bracket. Currently, the state has already listed 479 deaths connected to the coronavirus, CTV News reported.

Read Also: France Pledges to Send Crucial COVID-19 Medical Aid to India

Earlier, Brooks Baehr, a spokesman of the Department of Health said that the symptoms were already showing to the child upon his arrival to Hawaii. He was rushed to the hospital but later succumbed to the deadly virus.

Before going to the state, the parents of the young boy were tested negative for COVID-19. They were also fully vaccinated at the time.

It was confirmed by Baehr that both the child's parents were negative to the virus. This also means that the child did not get COVID-19 from his parents.

For the outside travelers, Hawaii could make use of an exemption from the coronavirus test through a negative result. Having said that, this falls to an exemption of undergoing a mandatory quarantine for 10 days.

Before the arrival to the state, those children who are under five years old are not required to undergo a test. In line with this incident, the spokesman had no idea if the young boy underwent the procedure.

"While the parents appear to have taken the steps to insulate the child from COVID by, you know, getting vaccinated and they were tested before they came, this child still somehow was infected with the virus and eventually succumbed to it," Baehr stated.

Baehr continued that the additional details about the death of the young boy were not publicized due to laws concerning the privacy of the involved persons.

Vaccine Passport to be Implemented to All US Visitors

Earlier this week, Travel Weekly reported that those travelers who have full COVID-19 vaccination proof can now go between the Hawaiian islands without undergoing quarantine protocols and testing beginning on May 11.

However, they will only be allowed if they got their vaccine within the Aloha State.

This announcement was Gov. Ige's update in line with what happened on Apr. 20 during a press conference's Safe Travels program. He also said that another implementation that is similar to the previous one is already in development.

It is expected that it will be announced at a later period. Presently, Hawaii could only conduct the verification of the records limited to those who got vaccines locally.

In the coming months, Ige wants to accomplish having a verification system for the vaccine which will also include those who travel out of the state.

Related Article: Unvaccinated Worker at Nursing Home Causes Outbreak: 22 Fully-Vaccinated Individuals Infected, 1 Died

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Nicola Sturgeon - Russell Cheyne/Reuters

People in Scotland benefit from a 'union dividend' of more than 2,500, almost 30 times higher than the average English resident, research by an influential think tank has found.

The Institute for Government (IfG) found that in 2018/19, the most recent year for which full UK-wide figures are available, Scotland ran a deficit of more than seven per cent while Englands was just 0.3 per cent.

Each person in England benefited from public spending worth 91 more than the taxes they paid, while in Scotland the figure was 2,543 - 28 times higher than south of the border.

The gap was even wider in Wales and Northern Ireland where campaigns to quit the UK are gaining momentum, with public spending per head 4,412 and 5,118 higher than tax revenues respectively, the research, based on official Government and ONS data, found.

The non-partisan IfG think tank called on advocates of Scottish independence to "address the reality" of the gap between taxes raised north of the border and public spending, ahead of crucial Holyrood elections next week.

The controversial Barnett Formula, used to calculate the size of devolved administrations' block grant from the Treasury, is widely seen as delivering a generous funding settlement for Holyrood.

It was designed as a temporary mechanism in the late 1970s but has remained in force ever since due to fears axing it would drive up support for independence.

The IfG analysis follows a separate paper by the IFS, which found that public spending in Scotland is 30 per cent greater than the equivalent funding in England thanks to the Barnett formula.

Nicola Sturgeon is seeking a mandate for a new referendum by 2023 but opponents said the "chilling" analysis showed her independence plan would mean unprecedented tax hikes and spending cuts which would "inflict untold damage on families and business".

The First Minister was also warned that she would be forced to ditch flagship SNP policies such as free tuition fees and prescriptions, which are not available in England, if fiscal transfers within the UK were to end.

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Ms Sturgeon admitted at the weekend that her administration has carried out no new analysis of how independence would affect incomes north of the border. She has repeatedly claimed a new Scottish state could finance its deficit through borrowing.

However, Gemma Tetlow, the IfGs chief economist and the report author, warned that running such a deficit would not be sustainable, and said cuts to public spending or tax rises, likely on low or middle earners, would be needed.

She added that it would not be possible to get public spending under control in a way that would mean "a lot of ordinary people wouldn't notice the difference", and an independent Scotland would also face higher borrowing costs than the UK.

"An independent Scotland couldn't sustain annual levels of borrowing, year after year, at eight-and-a-half percent of GDP," Dr Tetlow said.

"Borrowing at that level would imply debt rising, relative to the size of the Scottish economy, inexorably. At some point, that becomes unsustainable.

"There are definitely difficult questions to be answered. Those questions have to be answered as part of the case for why leaving the union would be overall beneficial to the people of Scotland.

"Any advocates for breaking away from the UK must address the reality of the nations current fiscal imbalances and the difficult policy choices these would necessitate after secession."

SNP giveaways unaffordable

In her manifesto, Ms Sturgeon has offered a series of new giveaways, promising to scrap all charges at NHS dentists, double a Scotland-only welfare payment and even give free bicycles to children.

Maurice Golden, economy spokesman for the Scottish Tories, said existing policies would be unaffordable in an independent Scotland and called on Ms Sturgeon to be honest with the public.

"This respected independent think tank lays bare the chilling economic reality of ripping Scotland out of the UK," Mr Golden said.

"The nationalists are willing to inflict untold damage on families and business. The SNP would no longer be able to afford policies such as free prescriptions and free tuition as Scotland would face spending cuts and tax rises the likes of which we have never experienced.

"When all focus should be on recovery and rebuilding, this is reckless beyond belief. Deep down, Sturgeon must know the devastation this would cause."

Pressure on the PM

Opinion polls suggest that the SNP will easily win the election on Thursday next week, although whether the party will claim an overall majority is in the balance.

Scottish voters are highly likely to return a pro-independence parliament once the Scottish Greens and Alex Salmond's Alba Party are taken into account. Ms Sturgeon will then demand the powers to hold a new referendum from Boris Johnson.

The Prime Minister has previously insisted he would not allow another vote on separation to take place, although the First Minister claims he will back down in the face of an overwhelming democratic mandate.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair cast doubt on Tuesday on whether Ms Sturgeon winning a majority gives her a mandate for a second referendum.

He told ITV: "I'm not sure that even if the SNP win a majority in the Scottish Parliament that it necessarily means that people want to go through the disruption of an independence campaign - I would frankly doubt that."

Scandinavian model

Kate Forbes, the SNP finance secretary, said Scotland was a wealthy country and with independence could emulate Denmark and Norway which she said are richer per-head than the UK.

She added that the current fiscal position reflected Scotland "as part of the union" and that "different choices can and will be made" with independence.

She said: "When it comes to the finances of independence, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said, Scotland is a rich country - however, we don't yet have full control over those many resources.

"The key issue is for Scotland to have all the powers needed to manage our own recovery."
State Auditor Jim Zeigler and state Rep. John Rogers of Birmingham filed a lawsuit in Montgomery County Circuit Court today to try to block Gov. Kay Iveys plan to lease and operate two new mens prisons.

Joining Zeigler and Rogers were Kenny Glasgow, a pastor and prisoner rights advocate from Houston County, and Leslie Ogburn, whose property adjoins the site of a proposed prison near Tallassee in Elmore County, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs are represented by Montgomery lawyer Kenny Mendelsohn. Defendants in the case are Ivey, Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn, the ADOC, Government Real Estate Solutions of Central Alabama LLC, and Government Real Estate Solutions of South Alabama LLC. The two real estate entities were formed last year and are owned by CoreCivic, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit claims the leases violate restrictions in the state Constitution on putting the state of Alabama in debt. It claims the leases violate a state law that prohibits the ADOC from leasing facilities without consent of the Legislature.

The plaintiffs have asked the court to declare the leases null and void and to block the execution of the agreements.

Gina Maiola, press secretary for Ivey, declined comment, saying the governors office had not seen the complaint.

Zeigler, a Republican, called it a bipartisan lawsuit. Rogers is a longtime Democratic member of the House of Representatives.

Zeigler has criticized the governors plan as a poor use of taxpayer dollars.

This prison plan would be a 30-year mistake, Zeigler said in a press release about the lawsuit. It would force Alabama taxpayers to pay rents starting at $94 million a year and going up to $106 million. At the end of 30 years, the state would own equity in the prisons of zero. No equity. This is a bad business plan.

On Feb. 1, Ivey signed 30-year leases for new mens prisons that CoreCivic would build in Elmore and Escambia counties. The governors office said then that the financial terms would not be complete until CoreCivic obtained financing for the projects.

Last week, two investment banks backed out of the plan, Barclays and Keybanc Capital Markets.

A third prison is planned for Bibb County. It would be built and owned by a development team called Alabama Prison Transformation Partners. Ivey said in February that lease was still being negotiated.

In response to the banks pulling out of the plan, Ivey said the state remained fully committed to the projects. Ivey and Dunn have said the new prisons are essential to overhauling a prison system that faces a lawsuit from the Department of Justice because of the levels of violence in the aging, crowded, and understaffed prisons.

The three new prisons would hold a total of about 10,000 inmates and would replace as many as 11 of the 13 mens prisons. Ivey and Dunn said the new prisons would be safer, more efficient to staff, and would accommodate education, rehabilitation, and health care for inmates.

On Friday, Ivey said she would work with the Legislature to find ways to finance the prisons.

Were going to continue to move forward and work with the Legislature to find a way to make this happen, Ivey said. Weve got to have improved prisons, weve got to have new prisons and weve got to have criminal justice reform.

In the Legislature, the chairmen of the General Fund budget committees in the House and Senate said last week it was time for Ivey to drop the lease plan after the banks pulled out. Rep. Steve Clouse and Sen. Greg Albritton said the better approach would be for the Legislature to approve a bond issue to build prisons that the state would own.

Former Gov. Robert Bentley proposed a bond issue to build prisons, but lawmakers did not approve it.

Jackson McNeely, who has helped organize opposition to the prison planned for the Brierfield community in Bibb County, issued a statement supporting the lawsuit.

Since the moment we discovered that Governor Ivey intended to build a mega prison on top of our community, people in Brierfield have been screaming that we do not want it, McNeely said. Nobody asked us - we had to find out about it in the newspaper. Nobody did an environmental impact study or infrastructure assessment. Its ridiculous. If Governor Ivey and other elected officials wont listen to the people in these rural communities, then I suppose theyll just have to listen to us in court.

This story was edited at 3 p.m. on May 1 to correctly state the first claim in the lawsuit: The lawsuit claims the leases violate restrictions in the state Constitution on putting the state of Alabama in debt.
The best friend of an elderly man who vanished along with his secret lover during a camping trip in remote bushland has revealed the devastating conversation he had with the 74-year-old's wife a year after the disappearance.

Police this week renewed the search for Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, more than a year after they went missing from the Wonnangatta Valley in the Victorian Alps in March 2020.

Detectives have maintained the pair were set upon by unknown attackers and on Monday said they had found two shovels while searching the isolated Mt Hotham area.

Mr Hill's close mate Rob Ashlin said the bushland region was 'certainly not safe' and called for the person involved in the disappearance to come forward.

Investigators are still trying to determine how Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, disappeared while camping in the rugged bushland of the Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria's East Gippsland region on March 19, 2020

'Were waiting for people to drop their guard and open their mouths. Police have got to keep going, they can't leave a stone unturned,' Mr Ashlin told The Herald Sun.

'We want answers and that area of the bush is certainly not safe to go to at the moment.'

Mr Ashlin said Mr Hill's wife Robyn also wanted to know what happened, adding he had spoken to her on March 20 - exactly a year after the secret lovers, who had been having an affair for years, were last heard from on high-frequency radio.

'She is still on the sad side of things - she would like to know answers,' the friend said.

The search for Mr Hill and Ms Clay will now focus on the area along the Dargo High Plains Road, Cynthia Range Track, Herne Spur Track and the Wonnangatta Track.

Detective Acting Inspector Tony Combridge of the Missing Persons Squad said at the time police believed 'somebody was involved' in the pair's baffling disappearance.

They continue to investigate whether the pair met foul play.

Mr Hill left his home in Drouin, in Victoria's Gippsland region, on March 19 last year and collected Ms Clay from her home in the southeastern Melbourne suburb of Pakenham in his Toyota Land Cruiser.

The pair had been involved in a secret affair for years and had gone on the camping trip before their site was found burned to the ground two days later

Russell Hill and Carol Clay (pictured) were last heard from on March 20 last year and had told friends she was heading away and was expecting to return by March 29

They travelled through Licola, spending one night at Howitt High Plains before heading into Wonnangatta Valley and vanishing without a trace.

Mr Hill was last heard from on March 20 over the radio telling friends he was in Wonnangatta Valley, while Ms Clay had told friends she was heading away and was expecting to return by March 29.

Authorities found the couple's campsite burnt out near Mr Hill's car days later, before it was discovered their sleeping bags, phones, and his drone were also missing.

Detectives have believed since December that their attackers torched their campsite to destroy forensic evidence of a crime.

The pair went missing in the Wonnangatta Valley, more than 200km north east of Melbourne

Fire forensics expert Greg Kelly experimented with tent fibres and ropes to see if the fire could have taken hold accidentally, but said those materials burned slowly and extinguished themselves.

There were also no burn marks across the doors of the nearby car doors, the rubber tyres weren't melted, and the esky - which was underneath the car - was intact.

An earlier school of thought from police was that Mr Hill and Mrs Gray were ambushed or shot by deer hunters

Mr Kelly said the scene suggested the fire was short and hot, which was likely caused by an accelerant - such as the gas canisters inside the tent.

Cadaver dogs, which specialise in locating human remains, were sent to the region but failed to find any trace of the pair.

An earlier school of thought from police was that Mr Hill and Mrs Gray were ambushed or shot by deer hunters.

A number of friends agreed, with their bodies then dragged away in their sleeping bags.

Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper last month said officers were chasing all leads and had zeroed in on a driver of a white ute that was seen in the valley a day before the pair disappeared.

'It might seem like only a very small possibility that those in the white ute will have information about Russell and Carol's disappearance but we can't afford to leave any stone unturned,' he said.

The ute remains unaccounted for, along with the couple's sleeping bags, prompting speculation they may have been used as body bags.

The vehicle was spotted at a public 'long drop' toilet in the valley the day before the camping companions last made contact with friends.

Police have also noted the toilet at the campsite had been unused, suggesting the couple had not had time to settle in before they disappeared.

Mr Ashlin has speculated the pair could have been slain by illegal hunters after his drone - which Mr Hill was flying that day - unwittingly captured illegal activity.

The drone, thought to be a breakthrough in the year-old case, was handed in to Victoria Police at East Gippsland last weekend but officers confirmed it wasn't the DJI Mavic belonging to Mr Hill.

MISSING CAMPERS THEORIES SHOT BY HUNTERS Locals believe the pair may have been shot and killed after Mr Hill's drone unwittingly caught illegal hunters in the act. Large numbers of deer carcasses were found near the burnt out campsite. MURDERER STALKING THE AREA A friend of Mr Hill said hunters in the area has seen a 'sinister' figure lurking near their campfire. THE 'BUTTON MAN' An 'oddball loner' expert bushman known as the 'button man' for his habit of making buttons out of deer antlers became a person of interest after the disappearance, but there is no evidence he is linked to the disappearance. KILLED BY UNKNOWN ATTACKERS Police maintain the campers were killed by unknown attackers Advertisement

High country musterer, Lachlan Culican, who helped police during the search, also believes the pair may have accidentally witnessed illegal hunters in the area.

He was shocked by the the sheer quantity of dead deer in the area where their scorched campsite was found, explaining he saw a new carcass every '200m or 300m'.

Mr Ashlin, who was friends with Mr Hill for 30 years, also suggested there might be someone sinister lurking in the mountains.

He had a friend who was hunting deer in the region and set up camp for the night with someone else.

As they sat around the fire, they saw a person standing at the edge of the light, staring at them.

'One of them shot over to his vehicle and this person who was standing there just wandered behind the shadow of a tree and was gone,' he said.

In May last year, a bizarre theory surfaced when locals made a connection between the couple's disappearance and an 'oddball loner' living in the Victorian Alps, who had been questioned over a number of mysterious disappearances.

Known as 'Buttons' or ominously, 'the Button Man', the expert bushman became a person of interest after concerns about his odd behaviour was raised by locals.

He is understood to have earned his nickname due to his hobby of using deer antlers to make buttons - which he then uses as large ear piercings.

Police carrying out a renewed search for the pair earlier this month found two shovels which were placed in plastic bags and taken away for forensic testing

'Being creepy is not illegal,' a police source told Daily Mail Australia at the time.

The source confirmed there was nothing to indicate the mysterious loner had killed the couple.

'We don't think they're in Queensland living (a secret) life. They're too old really to drop off the grid and why would they?' the source said.

A number of searches have been conducted in and around the Wonnangatta Valley during the past 12 months.

Police are confident the pair did not fake their own deaths and do not believe it is case of murder suicide.

Detectives continue to appeal to anyone who was in the Wonnangatta area around the time of the campers' disappearance to make contact.

They also want to speak to anyone who was in the Howitt Plains and Zeka Spur Track area on March 19-20, and the Wonnangatta Valley and Wonnangatta Station area from March 20-24.
John Kinnear photo

Conglomerate boulder on hilltop

Just about anywhere you look in the valley bottom of the Crowsnest Pass you will find large errant boulders laying about. They have been left, for the most part, where they first landed but sometimes they get shoved off to the side or used for obstructions to keep red necks off of non-motorized trails. There is a remarkable collection of them scattered about in the bush around here, in some of the most unlikely places and they are often visible on the hillsides above the Crowsnest River.



I grew up playing on a huge displaced boulder that is definitely what one would call an erratic. It is a monstrous conglomerate chunk of rock from the Cadomin formation and it sits on top of the hill near my present home in Coleman. The reason I can say it is an erratic is because it doesnt belong where it is. It is now confined to the Mountain View Industries compound, surrounded by a chain link fence.



Conglomerate is natures version of concrete and like concrete is a composite of smaller round and angular pieces of other rocks fused together with a matrix of sand or silt or clay. The pieces of rock are referred to as clasts. Most conglomerates have hard chert pebbles within them and the cement is usually quartz which makes it an extremely hard, weather resistant rock. This ancient specimen is about a half mile away from its original source formation. It is not a long way for an erratic to travel but nevertheless definitely a boulder displaced by glaciation. Its source, the Cadomin conglomerate, is the basal sandstone of the Kootenay (coal bearing) formation and a bit of its outcrop is clearly visible on the bend in the highway just west of Horace Allen School.

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The ridge that this boulder sits on is part of the Virgelle Formation, a sequence of sandstones, shales and siltstones formed from the beach sands exposed on the shores of the ancient Colorado Sea. It is interesting to note that in several earlier years of Vern Decouxs scrapbooks there is reference to this boulder by Fire Chief Henry Zak. In articles run some weeks after the Yuletide he invites anyone with old Christmas trees to bring them up to the big boulder on the hill where a giant bonfire was planned. They obviously had a safe plan to conduct such an event on this promontory. Doesnt that sound like fun? The event undoubtedly was clearly visible from all over town.



Speaking of boulders, the scrap books mention, in 1951, that the Virgelle rock bluff near my home was blasted through to turn the then Fourth Street in Coleman into the main highway route. It created a lot of boulders which were summarily dumped further west to elevate and level the new road past places like the old Catholic Hall (now Rum Runners). A recent excavation into this roadway just west of Rum Runners proved to be a bit of a headache for the contractor repairing deeply buried services alongside the highway. Of course they unexpectedly ran into a lot of the boulders from the Virgelle bluff.



Decouxs 1957 scrapbook reveals a picture of that cut through the Virgelle that looks pretty dam scary. There was no allowance for sidewalks and the sides of the rock cut were steep. People trying to walk through the tight space alongside the highway there risked getting run over or clobbered by a loose boulder. A later 1959 scrap book clipping talks about the fact that the cut had been finally widened and sidewalks installed. There is also a picture of men working in the Nez Perce Creek bed near the highway lining the creeks edges with some of the rock from the Virgelle cut. A winter works project during the time that many coal mines were shutting town.



As mentioned in my March 24th column (Decouxs Delicious Dandies) the 1951 conversion of Fourth Street into the main highway also ran into some giant erratic boulders near Nez Perce Creek. Two totally different types, one conglomerate and one from the volcanics were found in 2019 when the town did the sewer and road upgrade near the underpass.

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The boulders of the Crowsnest Volcanics are hardened lava called trachyte and are readily recognizable, on closer examination, because of the pinkish feldspar, greenish pyroxene and black melanite crystals (phenocrysts) within the trachyte. I dug a few crystals out of the volcanics this summer, a rather tricky thing to do as they are quite friable. Black diamonds to me as a kid.Years ago I queried naturalist and explorer David McIntyre about volcanic erratics and was surprised to learn that there is a line of Crowsnest volcanic boulders that were marched eastward down the Crowsnest River valley out onto the prairie. David, in fact, indentified a large boulder on a ranch near the Montana border as being a piece of the said volcanic. Hows that for being shoved around 11,000 years ago?

Just east of the volcanic outcrop, below the trailer court above Willow Drive, one can find a dozen or so large volcanic boulders that are a couple hundred yards away from the source bed. They stick out like sore thumbs on the hillside. Curiously enough, most have split in half or develop large cracks in them, something that conglomerate or large sandstone boulders rarely do. Unless of course we help them along the way with a stick of powder or two. One volcanic boulder is large enough that a homemade ladder is still up against it for kids to climb up on it.



While sipping on a schooner at the Rum Runners patio the other day I noticed a magnificent river boulder rock wall on the north side of the highway. It forms the south fence of one of the houses perched on the hill. I got to thinking about early Pass pioneers and their penchant for weaving large river rock into walls and foundations of all types. Everywhere you look you can find rock walls and fences created with boulders and mortar and a bit of fitting creativity. It is a classic hallmark of early Pass constructions. Once you start to look around you realize they are everywhere. Italian immigrants to this boulder country did not hesitate to weave them into their properties.

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Looking further east, across from the Consolidated High School, one can find another enormous boulder sitting like a silent sentinel on a recently landscaped terrace there. It is another volcanic whopper and it isnt going anywhere anytime soon. Perhaps it will become an integral part of whatever is developed there. Some creative license will be required to make that ten ton boulder part of any construction there. You can be sure the dozer operator that ran into it was not impressed. Cudos to him for being able to stand it up the way he did.



For me the grand daddy of all boulders can be found within that 110 million tons of limestone that swept across the valley near Frank exactly 118 years ago. Bill Kovach told me that there is a monolithic monster within the slide that is affectionately referred to as Hotel Rock. The name is not far off the mark. I was stunned when I first approached it.



I took a photograph of Hotel Rock some years ago with my friend Lou Lecerf standing up against it to show its size. I did a little scale calculation using Lou as a height reference. The visible part of the boulder measures 60 feet wide by 30 feet thick by 50 feet long. One cubic foot of limestone weighs about 165 pounds. So what we can see of Hotel Rock weighs an astounding 7,425 tons.

continued below ...

What is even more interesting about this brobdingnagian is what you see on top. (I have always wanted to use that word somewhere by the way!) There is a very thin layer of dark shale on its topside and remarkably, a tree growing out of it. On the enhanced photo in this column the thick red line shows the contact between the Mount Head Formation (limestone) and the Kootenay Formation (sandstones, shales, coal). The black line on the rock shows the shale/limestone contact point. The Frank Mine travelled along that red line all the way to Hillcrest Mine! I am convinced Hotel Rock comes from this contact point between these two formations, along what is known as the Turtle Mountain fault. So because the shale is on the top side and the limestone forms the lower part of Hotel Rock it appears that this monster chunk of Turtle Mountain landed upside down from whence it came.



It is incredible when you think of it. One humungous boulder, 7,425 tons of rock in one piece, carried down the mountainside to where it lays today. Now thats a boulder story.



Authors Note: Check out the on-line version of this column for a lot more interesting boulder shots. Also see Pass Herald Archives June 15th,2010 for a related article entitled, Boulders From Another Place and Time to learn more about glacial erratics and the Foothills Erratic Train.

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Chants by the student-led campaign Students Against Sonny were heard across downtown Athens Tuesday. This protest followed the University System of Georgia Board of Regents recent pause in its search for a new chancellor, after controversy broke out regarding the boards consideration of former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.

The group met at the Arch with signs calling for change and transparency from the Board of Regents. One of the organizers, Layla Contreras, a sophomore marketing major at the University of Georgia, alongside students from other Georgia universities, helped start the campaign about two weeks ago.

We came together to use our resources and our networks to make sure we get this word out, Contreras said.

Students Against Sonnys effort has resulted in a petition with over 1,300 signatures opposing Perdues consideration. The petition outlines the groups four demands: no Sonny Perdue, transparency, experience and for the Board of Regents to pay attention to student values and voices.

We need the Board of Regents to be listening to all stakeholders as we search through somebody whos actually qualified to hold this important role, said Joseph Fu, a mathematics professor at UGA.

While protesting, the group was met by other Athenians stopping to hear more about their movement and their demands for the Board of Regents.

Its not like theres not many qualified people, said junior political science major Quin Thomas. So in this process of delaying it, what are they doing?

The group calls for politics to be removed as a factor when deciding a new chancellor and to appoint someone who has experience in education.

This is not a partisan issue, this is a people issue, said sophomore political science and international affairs major Patrick Mosley.

During this protest, other members of Students Against Sonny met at the Board of Regents office in Atlanta.
The Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has inspected work on the bulk power supply point substation currently being constructed at Kasoa in the Central Region to improve power supply in and around the town.



Sixty per cent of construction work has so far been done on the $50-million gas insulated switchgear (GIS) substation, with engineers assuring the minister that the infrastructure will be ready by the end of August this year.



Dr Prempeh was accompanied by the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah; the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr Kwame Agyeman-Budu, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Mr Jonathan Amoako-Baah.



Project



The 435 megawatts (MW) project is the second largest bulk supply point in the country, after the 580MW infrastructure at Pokuase, which is also currently being constructed.



The main difference between the two is that the Pokuase substation is air insulated, while the Kasoa substation is gas insulated.



The Kasoa substation is to address low voltage and frequent power outages caused by increasing domestic and industrial demand in Kasoa and its environs, including Senya Bereku, Bawjiase and Nyanyano.



It is being funded by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) under the Ghana Power Compact programme and is expected to benefit 241,508 customers of the ECG and contribute to a substantial reduction in transmission losses in GRIDCos transmission system.



Equipment



The CEO of the MiDA, Mr Martin Eson-Benjamin, said some few civil works still remained to be sorted.



He noted that new equipment that would improve and sustain power was being installed at the substation to ensure reliable power supply to customers.



So this is a very timely intervention, and I do believe that when we finish, Ghanaians will understand us. The money that we took from the Americans is being put to good use, he said.



Dr Prempeh said financial and other resources were being provided to ensure that the country tackled the current intermittent power challenges.



We were at GRIDCo three weeks ago; we were at Pokuase and today we are in Kasoa. Such system improvement is going on in parts of the country, he said.



We ask for cooperation, understanding, education and information through your various portals and platforms, he told the media.



Read also: Pokuase Bulk Power Supply point to be ready in July 2021

Reliable supply



Mr Agyeman-Budu said the Ministry of Energy was doing everything possible to make sure the countrys power sector was sustainable and provided reliable services for customers.



We are grateful to MiDA for this support. There is also an additional static synchronous compensator (statcom) transformer to provide additional support in case of an emergency, he said.



Mr Amoako-Baah for his part,said the current low voltage being experienced in Kasoa was attributable to population increase in the area, which received power supply from Winneba and Mallam in Accra, and gave an assurance that the situation would change with the completion of the project.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2021) The person believed to be behind the attempted military coup in Niger was detained in Benin and handed over to the Nigerien authorities in Niamey, French broadcaster RFI reported on Wednesday.

Captain Sani Gourouza, who served at an air base in Niger's capital city of Niamey, was identified as the leader of rebels in the March coup, according to the broadcaster. He was reportedly on the run since the events.

Gourouza was arrested by the Beninese special services on Monday and transferred to Niamey.

On April 20, two other members of Niger's military were detained in Benin over alleged involvement in the coup attempt.

They were also handed over to the authorities in Niamey.

On March 31, Niger's authorities announced that a coup was attempted by a part of the country's military. According to local media, gunfire was heard near the presidential palace in the center of Niamey overnight March 31. Several rebels were detained after clashing with the authorities.

A few days after the failed coup, Nigerien Mohamed Bazoum called upon regional neighbors to step up efforts in fighting terrorism.
Nearly three weeks after Samoas elections, the countrys leader of 22 years, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), is on the verge of being ousted by former deputy and Samoas first female MP Fiame Naomi Mataafa, leader of the new FAST (Faith in the One True God) party.

The HRPP has ruled the small Pacific island country for 39 years, with Malielegaoi one of the worlds longest serving prime ministers. Despite having only been formed last June, and running 50 candidates against HRPPs 100, FAST held the HRPP to a dead heat in the April 9 poll. Each party won 25 seats in the 51-seat parliament, with one going to independent Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio.

Tuilaepa with then Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in 2014 [Credit: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade]

The government-appointed head of state, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, immediately declared the creation of an extra seat, on the pretext of meeting a requirement that women make up at least 10 percent of MPs. The allocation of the new seat to HRPP candidate Aliimalemanu Alofa Tuuau put the party in the lead. But Tuala then announced that he would support FAST, leaving the two parties tied on 26 seats each.

The creation of the extra seat was attacked by the opposition as a manoeuvre to win the election, but Malielegaoi defended it, saying it was to make sure we have enough women in parliament. FAST filed a lawsuit challenging the move as unconstitutional and launched a further Supreme Court case over an opposing MP who has a criminal conviction.

Which party becomes the government is likely to be decided in the courts. But the election result is already a major defeat for the ruling HRPP, which had expected to be returned with at least 42 members. Journalist Keni Lesa told Radio NZ that people wanted change, and have been very vocal about it It is something I havent heard for a very long time, since Ive been covering elections in this country.

Damon Salesa from Auckland University described the election as the countrys first truly competitive poll, involving campaigning, billboards, endorsements, social media and party manifestos. He noted that the total number of votes favoured the HRPP by up to 20 percent, but in some electorates there were as many as four candidates for the HRPP, resulting in vote splitting. A total of 128,848 people had registered to vote.

Traditionally, elections have seen people voting on the basis of personal and family alliances, church connections and individual favours. This has allowed the current prime minister to sway local elections and act as king maker. Malielegaoi has been the dominant political figure since independence from New Zealand in 1962. Previously a public servant, he entered politics in 1981 after completing a commerce degree, becoming finance minister and then prime minister in 1998.

The countrys political structure is highly undemocratic. Matais, the countrys clan chiefs, wield immense power over family welfare, land, property, religion and politics. Until 1990, only matais could vote and stand as electoral candidates. Candidates for the Legislative Assembly must still hold a matai title.

FAST undoubtedly benefited from opposition to growing inequality, poverty and authoritarian measures by the ruling hierarchy, which has produced growing social tensions. Moreover, the coronavirus crisis has exacerbated Samoas plight. While border closures and geographic isolation have so far kept COVID-19 case numbers down to three, the tourism industry is in a state of collapse. With the country in recession and a foreign debt of $US 1.2 billion, the government is in no position to borrow to prop up the business sector.

GDP is just $US4,324 per capita and one quarter of this comes from remittances from expatriate families, many of whom have been hit hard by job and income losses. Before the pandemic, an estimated 20.3 percent of the population lived below the national poverty line, and unemployment was about 14.5 percent, according to the World Bank. The Asian Development Bank expects Samoas economy to shrink by 5 percent in 2020, and 9.7 percent this year.

The electoral districts in Savaii, the bigger and less developed of the two main islands, voted overwhelmingly in favour of the new party. A major factor was the governments disastrous handling of the deadly 2019 measles epidemic. Public anger erupted after it was revealed that the government had ignored advice in 2018-19 to launch a mass vaccination campaign. Officially 83 people, mainly children and infants, died unnecessarily, and no commission of inquiry has been held.

The HRPP also suffered controversy over legislation changing the way land disputes are resolved. About 80 percent of all land in Samoa is in customary ownership, and the constitution places an absolute bar on the sale of customary land.

Three bills, passed into law in December last year, grant the Land and Titles Courts sole power to determine matters of land ownership, according to Samoan customary law, and give the court its own appellate structure, beyond the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Opponents claimed the removal of the Supreme Courts jurisdiction and oversight would grant fono (village councils) power to make decisions without any possible redress for human rights breaches, and increased corruption. FAST harnessed this dissatisfaction, saying it would seek to repeal the three controversial bills, although a two-thirds majority of the house is needed.

FASTs rise was generally welcomed in the international media, with numerous references to its female leadership. The party, however, represents a dissatisfied faction of the ruling elite, and in no way represents a progressive alternative to the HRPP.

FAST was set up amid escalating tensions inside the ruling HRPP. Fiame was a member of HRPP, and became Samoas first female cabinet minister, and from 2016-2020, deputy prime minister. She is the daughter of Samoas first prime minister following independence and is highly connected internationally, particularly in New Zealand, where she was educated.

Neither party contested the election with a program that would in any way address the deepening social, economic and health emergency. The HRPP campaigned on promises of more infrastructure development and vague pledges to improve educational outcomes and hospital services.

FASTs manifesto contained equally vague references to equitable development and having a sustainable economy to benefit all people, while promising more support for businesses. FAST declared its aim was to ensure our people live in social harmony, which means, primarily, the promotion of culture and Christian practices.

Significantly, FAST has signalled it wants to shift Samoas foreign policy into line with the US and its regional imperialist allies, Australia and New Zealand, as Washingtons aggressive confrontation with Beijing intensifies. Tuala said he was supporting FAST because it had called for a review of Chinese investment and immigration.

According to the Samoa Observer, Canceling the construction of the Chinese-funded $250 million Vaiusu Wharf project was a key part of the partys policy manifesto. MP-elect Leatinuu Wayne Sooialo had campaigned on the issue, claiming that China would turn the wharf into a military basean unsubstantiated claim that was denied by the Chinese Embassy. Chinas loans and economic influence throughout the Pacific have been a source of alarm for Washington and its allies.

Whichever party of the Samoan ruling elites eventually assumes office will confront not only a sharp economic and social crisis, but the escalating dangers posed by climate change and the US-led war drive against China.
Amanda Burke covers Pittsfield City Hall for The Berkshire Eagle. An Ithaca, New York native, she previously worked at The Herald News of Fall River and the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise. Find her on Twitter at @amandaburkec.
(Natural News) Indias capital New Delhi on Saturday, April 24, recorded its highest single-day tally of supposed coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths after 357 people died within 24 hours. The city of around 30 million also recorded over 24,000 new cases in the same span of time. These deaths are taking place after covid vaccinations have surged across the country.

The COVID-19 death count for New Delhi as of that day stands at nearly 14,000 with a positivity rate of 32.27 percent.

The current situation in New Delhi is vastly different from where the city was in March, when an average of only four people died each day. (Related: New Delhi under weeklong coronavirus lockdown as cases surge in Indian capital.)

Delhis situation is really bad, said Sunil Kumar Aledia, executive director of a homeless charity in New Delhi. The administration has failed. Theres panic among the people.

Since the lockdown began on April 16, Aledia has been helping provide for people with COVID-19 as well as their families.

Delhis chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, mentioned earlier to the public that the states oxygen stock was sufficient only for two days. He shouldnt have talked this way. It spread a lot of panic. He still had two days to coordinate, said Aledia.

People are looking for beds and oxygen cylinders. These are materials. The reality, including peoples response to the situation, is linked to their mental state of being.

According to data issued by the citys health department, there are around 93,000 active COVID-19 cases in the city. A little over 50,000 of the active patients are in home isolation, with the remaining admitted to hospitals, COVID-19 care centers and other temporary coronavirus treatment centers set up all over the city.

New Delhi crisis overwhelms graveyards and crematoriums

The unprecedented number of deaths in New Delhi has pushed the citys graveyards and crematoriums to the brink of collapse. Many of the designated sites are being forced to skip individual ceremonies and similar Hindu rituals due to the immense number of people who need to be buried or cremated at any given time.

This is a serious issue, as Hindus believe these rituals help release souls from the cycle of rebirth.

In the Sarai Kale Khan cremation site, around 60 to 70 bodies are being handled every day even though the facility only has the capacity to perform 22 cremations daily. The site had to erect at least 100 new platforms in green spaces all over the complex in anticipation of the daily deaths increasing even further.

There is a lot of pressure to complete the construction of these new platforms, said one person working for the crematorium.

Sarai Kale Khans staff has also been overworked because of the number of cremations they have to perform every day. The situation has gotten so bad for the workers that relatives of the dead have often had to help in the cremation process, such as by moving and adding firewood.

Mohammad Shameem, the head gravedigger of New Delhis largest Muslim cemetery, related that over 1,000 people have been buried there since the pandemic began. I fear we will run out of space very soon, said Shameem.

Other state and city governments in India have experienced similar concerns. The government of Karnataka in southwestern India recently told local media outlet NDTV that the state government initiated the process of identifying land it can develop to set up temporary crematoriums.

In the city of Bhopal, many crematoriums were forced to increase their capacity from around a dozen funeral pyres each to more than 50. In the Bhadbhada Vishram Ghat crematorium, more than 110 people were cremated on Saturday.

The virus is swallowing our citys people like a monster, said Mamtesh Sharma, an official at a Hindu crematorium. We are just burning bodies as they arrive. It is as if we are in the middle of a war.

Learn more about how India is handling the coronavirus pandemic by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NDTV.com 1

Newsweek.com

ABCNews.go.com

NDTV.com 2
If you use Microsoft Office, it's likely you're used to seeing your copy appearing in the default Calibri font.

The inoffensive font features subtly rounded stems and corners that are visible at larger sizes, and has been Microsoft's default since 2007.

Now, the tech giant has announced that it's replacing Calibri with one of five potential replacements.

The news has stirred up mixed reviews on social media, with many happy to wave goodbye to Calibri, and others shocked at its loss.

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Microsoft has announced that it's replacing Calibri with one of five potential replacements

How to change the default font 1. Open a Word document 2. Right-click and choose 'Font' 3. Select your preferred typeface and font size 4. Click 'Set As Default' 5. Choose 'All documents based on the Normal template', then OK Advertisement

Microsoft announced the change in a blog this afternoon.

It explained: 'While default fonts may not have the same flair as some of their more eye-catching cousins (we're looking at you, Bauhaus 93 and Showcard Gothic), they communicate a distinct personality in their own quiet way - a personality that by extension becomes our personality as well.

'A default font is often the first impression we make; it's the visual identity we present to other people via our resumes, documents, or emails.

'And just as people and the world around us age and grow, so too should our modes of expression.

'Calibri has been the default font for all things Microsoft since 2007, when it stepped in to replace Times New Roman across Microsoft Office.

'It has served us all well, but we believe it's time to evolve.'

Calibri will be replaced with one of five new custom options - Bierstadt, Grandview, Seafor, Skeena or Tenorite.

Microsoft shared examples of the new fonts, adding: 'The new fonts span the various sans-serif styles - humanist, geometric, swiss-style, and industrial.'

The five new fonts are now available via the cloud across the Microsoft 365 apps and experiences.

Thankfully for Calibri fans, while the font will no longer be the default, it will still be available in the font menu.

Microsoft is calling on the public to help choose which of the five new fonts should become the default

Now, Microsoft is calling on the public to help choose which of the five new fonts should become the default.

It tweeted a screenshot of the new options, writing: 'We need to talk. What should our next default font be?'

Several eager fans have already replied, with mixed reviews for the new fonts.

One user wrote: 'Close tie between Tenorite and Bierstadt. Depending on the context, I'd use either.'

Another added: 'Bierstadt. Clear differentiation between glyphs (eg I and l), letters not too close together, easy to integrate into all sorts of documents.'

And one joked: 'I can tell you what it should NOT be. Comic sans.'

Microsoft added: 'Go use the fonts starting today, and show us which you love best with feedback and comments on social.'
The Arts Office Laois County Council is hosting a 4-week online course with writer Pauline Clooney that can help you if you are interested in short story writing.

The focus is to explore ideas for stories and learn the craft associated with the short story form.

Broken into four defined areas of development of the story, the classes will include activities that allow you to practice different elements of the craft. There will be a reading and a writing assignment each week and the goal will be to complete a short story.

In a relaxed atmosphere, those attending are invited to share work in progress each week to facilitate discussions.

Pauline Clooney, an award-winning short story writer, originally from Laois, has been living and working in Kildare for over thirty years. A former teacher of English and History, she left that career in 2017 to concentrate on her writing.

Her debut novel, Charlotte and Arthur, reimagining Charlotte Brontes honeymoon in Ireland in 1854, will be published by Merdog Books, October 2021.

Pauline is also the founder of Kildare Writing Centre where she facilitates courses in all aspects of creative writing.

Pauline presented a very successful writing workshop at Laois Arthouse, Stradbally for the Laois Bealtaine Festival 2018, so the Arts Office is delighted to welcome her back to facilitate this online course which starts on Monday, May 10. The course runs each Monday, May 31 from 7pm-9pm.

Open to adults only, places are limited to 10 and cost 30/20 (concession) Online payment required to secure a place.

To book email: artsoff@laoiscoco.ie with your name and contact number before Friday, May 7.
The Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM) has welcomed the call by the Lands and Natural Resource Minister, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor to deal with anyone involved in galamsey irrespective of party affiliation as a very bold step in the right direction.



It would be recalled that the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abudalai Jinapor, stated that the fight against illegal mining will be devoid of any form of partisanship under his watch.



Mr. Jinapor said the law enforcement component of galamsey continues to be the mandate of the countrys National Security as well as the District and Regional Security Councils.



In an interaction with MMDCEs in the Western Region on the first day of his tour of the area, the Minister charged the Security Councils to boldly enforce laws and new directives regarding illegal small-scale mining.



The Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners has commended the Minister for this call and has urged him to be bold enough to shame at least one or two politicians to serve as deterrent to the others if the Minister really meant what he said.



Speaking to Peace FM reporter Pious Baidoo Banson, the Communication Director for the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners, Abdul Razak Alhassan said those on the field are not the real galamsayers because most are sent to the filed by political figures, therefore the Minister must tighten his measures to delve deep to uncover the real people behind the act.



According to Abdual Razak Alhassan, its absurd and act of wickedness for politicians to enact laws to fight galamsey and then illegally engage in it without paying the necessary taxes to help the country at the expense of the registered miners.



He stated there must be a law that will destool any chief found involving in the galamsey act to help reduce the involvement of chiefs in galamsey.

Source: Pious Baidoo Banson/Peace News









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a questions and answers session at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, China, 28 April 2021. EPA



Hong Kong passed a new immigration law on Wednesday that includes powers to stop people entering or leaving the city, raising fears Chinese mainland-style "exit bans" could be deployed in the international business hub.



The legislation sailed through a legislature now devoid of opposition as Beijing seeks to quash dissent and make the semi-autonomous city more like the authoritarian mainland following huge and often violent democracy protests.



Activists, lawyers and some business figures have sounded the alarm over various provisions within the bill, including one that allows the city's immigration chief to bar people from boarding planes to and from the city.



No court order is required and there is no recourse to appeal.



The city's influential Bar Association (HKBA) warned the bill's wording gave "apparently unfettered power" to the immigration director.



Speaking after the bill was passed on Wednesday, labour activists and legal critics said the legislature had ignored concerns about the law's broad wording and said they feared exit bans could now be employed in Hong Kong.



"When they have this power, absolute power, you don't know who they will use it on," barrister Chow Hang-tung, from the pro-democracy Hong Kong Alliance, told reporters after the bill was passed.



Hong Kong's government said the immigration bill was needed to address a backlog of non-refoulement claims and to screen illegal immigrants before they depart for the city.



"It will only apply to flights heading to Hong Kong," the Security Bureau said.



However, the wording of the bill does not limit the power to arriving flights or immigrants and legal experts say it could also be deployed against anyone leaving or arriving in Hong Kong.



So-called "exit bans" are often used in mainland China against activists who challenge authorities. They have also impacted business figures.



One recent example is Richard O'Halloran, an Irishman who has been unable to leave Shanghai for two years because of a legal dispute involving the Chinese owner of a Dublin-based company for which he works.



Authoritarian swing



Under Beijing's direction, Hong Kong's government has swung more authoritarian since 2019's huge protests. Faith in official assurances that the city is not becoming like the mainland has been rattled by the recent crackdown.



Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong last year, arguing it was needed to return stability and would not impact freedoms.



But its broad wording and subsequent application has criminalised much dissent and radically transformed a once politically pluralistic city.



Many of Hong Kong's prominent pro-democracy figures have since been arrested, detained or fled overseas.



The city's formerly raucous legislature has been cleared of pro-democracy opponents who resigned en masse late last year after three of their colleagues were disqualified for their political views.



Since then, the government has fast-tracked a number of laws with limited scrutiny and dissent in the legislature.



Wednesday's immigration bill received 39 votes in favour and two against.



It was passed shortly after lawmakers approved a budget in record time with just one dissenting vote.



Beijing has also unveiled a new plan  dubbed "patriots rule Hong Kong"  to politically vet anyone standing for office and reduce the number of directly elected seats in the legislature to a small minority.



Critics of the immigration bill also say it will make it easier to detain and deport refugees.



Hong Kong only approves around one percent of refugee claims, one of the lowest rates in the world, and there is a huge backlog.



Refugees are unable to work while their applications are being processed and often live in miserable conditions. (AFP)


COLUMBIA  A Chester hospital will handle all non-emergency medical care for South Carolina prisoners starting next year under a state partnership officials say will increase safety, improve inmates' health and save money.

The consolidation means inmates in 21 prisons will no longer be shuttled to whatever hospital is closest  taking hundreds of officers yearly off their posts  but rather taken to a single, fortified wing in Chester that's guarded around the clock, Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said.

"Having all these people across the state in various places is not ideal," he told The Post and Courier ahead of the April 28 announcement of the alliance between his agency and the Medical University of South Carolina.

Fewer officers will be going down the road, spending less time in a hospital, he said. "This is going to be good for public safety, good for prison safety."

Dr. David Cole, president of MUSC, said it's a win for inmates too, providing them greater access to specialists, including through virtual consultations, and a continuity of care that reduces the overall cost for aging prisoners with complex medical issues.

"It makes a lot of sense," he said, calling it an "innovative solution."

It's too difficult to estimate the savings. But it will also include spending less on officers' overtime pay and reducing expenses through bulk purchases on prescriptions, Stirling and Cole said.

Taxpayers spend about $89 million yearly on health care for South Carolina inmates, according to Corrections.

On average, 25 inmates daily are transported for medical care for chronic issues such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke recovery and cancer, sometimes requiring lengthy hospital visits. Two officers must transport each inmate, and two per shift must stay, requiring four officers daily until the patient's released.

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That's the yearly equivalent of designating 255 officers to full-time hospital duty, further depleting prisons' already understaffed ranks, Stirling said.

But under the consolidation, two transporting officers will drop off the inmate in Chester and return to work. The wing at Chester will have 35 beds for inmates, staffed by 35 officers stationed there as their regular job.

That puts roughly 200 officers yearly back on duty at their prison post, which not only improves prison safety but should help in retaining officers and filling vacancies that have increased amid the pandemic.

For an officer overseeing some 260 prisoners, "having someone else standing with you  that calculation is invaluable," Stirling said. "It's self-fulfilling. When you have less officers, less people want to work; 200 officers showing up to work will be a tremendous boost."

The Chester hospital, among four MUSC bought in 2019, is central for most prisons. The farthest is Ridgeland Correctional in Jasper County, 180 miles away.

But even a 5-hour round trip for the transporting officers takes less of their workday than sitting in the hospital and won't require the hassle of arranging shift-change replacements, Stirling said.

For emergency care, inmates will still be taken to their nearest hospital.

Corrections expects to spend about $3 million fortifying the hospital wing and drop-off site to include bars on all windows, cameras and fencing. Renovations should start this summer, depending on how quickly contracts can be awarded, and the first inmates should arrive by mid-2022.

"It cant happen soon enough from my perspective," Stirling said. "This is that important."
A handful of programs to ease Manitobas nurse and health care aide shortages have barely made a dent.

"Everybody is just pissed off," said a retired nurse, who wants to remain anonymous.

"Theres not enough nurses in Manitoba," she said. "Theyve been in crisis for a long time."

Recent data from the Manitoba Nurses Union show Winnipeg is short nearly 1,300 registered nurses, and the situation is more dire in the northern region, where almost one out of every two nursing positions remains vacant.

Last year, the province issued a call for retired or out-of-province nurses to receive expedited temporary registration and join the pandemic workforce. The province has also supported Red River College in developing rapid micro-credential programs to train uncertified health-care support workers.

The College of Registered Nurses said 63 nurses  who were retired, on leave, in different careers or from out of province  registered as temporary pandemic nurses from April 1 to Dec 31, 2020. So far this year, that number has nearly doubled, to 123.

While those additional nurses have helped ease the shortage, the retired ICU nurse noted not enough was done to encourage retired nurses to return to the job. She was never contacted or asked to return to work, and knows many would not take the opportunity, if offered.

"Nurses are retired for a reason," she said. "I know several people who retired because of the pandemic. They just couldnt do it anymore."

Shelly Glover, a former member of Parliament and police officer, took the five-day micro-credential program at Red River College in Steinbach and worked in a southern Manitoba care home for more than four months.

During that time, Glover said staff was at their wits end as they scrambled to manage residents basic needs while working double-shifts to make up for a severe staff shortage.

"I thought we were supposed to be extra help and we were barely making up for the shortages," Glover said.

"Ive never seen anything like it. (Staff) have absolutely no time at all to do anything that is fun or that is helpful to the emotional needs of the residents."

Glover called the experience "heart-breaking," noting she stayed late some days to hold residents hands and provide emotional support.

Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions president Linda Silas said the fast-tracked programs are a temporary and marginal solution to a nationwide problem.

"Its like a big Band-Aid: you fix a hole quite quickly," Silas said. "You can do that with personal care workers, you cannot do fast-tracked (nursing) programs as quickly."

Assiniboine Community Colleges practical nursing program, for example, recently increased its class size by 10 spots to 35  but the program only runs every two years.

Though shortages are across the country, Silas said the situation in northern Manitoba is likely "the worst across the country," and Manitobas lack of critical care nurses is dire.

Silas said health-care shortages started after Canada stopped tracking and analyzing staffing needs in 2008. Without analysis, she said, there has been little policy and funding to support hiring and retention of staff, even as the number of registered nurses eligible for retirement increases.

More nurses are looking to change careers or retire as soon as the pandemic winds down, she said.

A recent study from the federation, Silas noted, said "the anxiety, major depression and PTSD of nurses is double what the general population is," prompting many to leave the profession.

The cycle of shortages will only end through policy changes and increased funding, though Silas said those measures are unlikely to come before the pandemic ends.

"Nurses tell us what they want to be satisfied in their job is to be able to do their job well," she said, noting government support would be needed to reach that goal.

A spokesperson for the province said approximately 300 uncertified health-care aides completed Red Rivers micro-credential course and are employed in the Winnipeg, Interlake-Eastern and Southern Health regions. Prairie Mountain and Northern health regions operate their own program largely modelled on the Red River program, the province said.

An additional 3,925 people have been hired into the COVID-19 casual pool since last spring to work in a variety of roles, including vaccination and testing.

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jsrutgers
On Sunday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted about President Bidens climate plan that would require Americans to cut 90 percent of red meat from their diets.

Except, there is no climate plan requirement of the sort.

Abbotts tweet included an image of what appears to be a Fox News TV segment in which details of the alleged requirement are shared. In the image, text incorrectly shows Biden calling for Americans to eat only one hamburger a month and a maximum of four pounds of red meat a year.

The governor may have been too up in arms about the fake news report to check his sources because the information in the image is completely false, which multiple Twitter users pointed out to Abbott. While some left more passionate responses than others, many called for the governor to take down the tweet.

Embarrassing that the Governor falls for a completely fake story by Fox News via the Daily Mail, said @thehowie. I will expect him to retract this and offer an apology. But not holding my breath.

Its not happening anywhere, you pathetic liar, because its not in Bidens climate plan, responded @kevinmkruse.

The governor is spreading a meme Snopes rates as completely false, pointed out @patrickw.

Snopes, a fact-checking website, verified that the claims made in the Fox News image are indeed false. While Biden last week announced his administrations plans to reduce gas emissions in half by 2030, the Daily Mail published a story that asserted that Bidens plan could theoretically require Americans to majorly reduce their consumption of red meat by 90 percent.

Daily Mails story quickly prompted right-wing politicians to dismiss Bidens climate plan completely while also spreading the false red meat narrative. Along with Abbott, Georgias Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene shared criticism of the false information and of Biden, who she called

The Hamburglar. Colorados Rep. Lauren Boebert, who also owns a restaurant where staff members are encouraged to openly carry firearms, also tweeted out the claim as fact and has not taken down the misinformation.
Washington:

US President Donald Trump has approved the release of nearly 3,000 secret files related to the assassination of former president John F Kennedy but withheld a few "sensitive" records to protect military and intelligence operations.

In a statement, the National Archives said that on orders from Trump it had released 2,891 records related to the assassination of Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

The assassination shocked the nation and spawned a conspiracy industry that continues to pump out alternative theories about who was really behind the killing.

However, at the request of security agencies, Trump agreed to withhold some files. He ordered that they be reviewed in the next 180 days.

"This temporary withholding from full public disclosure is necessary to protect against harm to the military defence, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure", Trump said in a statement.

Read more: India-NKorea ties could act as conduit for communications: Tillerson

The American public expects -- and deserves -- its government to provide as much access as possible to President John F Kennedy Assassination Records (records) so that the people may finally be fully informed about all aspects of this pivotal event, Trump argued.

"The President has demanded unprecedented transparency from the agencies and directed them to minimise redactions without delay", White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

The National Archives will therefore release more records, with redactions only in the rarest of circumstances, by the deadline of April 26, 2018, she said.

Early this year on July 24, the National Archives had released 3,810 related records, including 441 records previously withheld in their entirety and 3,369 records previously withheld in part.

According to a senior administration official, Trump was not happy that he had to withhold quite a number of files.

According to the National Archives, the final batch includes information on the Central Intelligence Agency's station in Mexico City, where assassin Lee Harvey Oswald showed up weeks before Kennedy's death.

There are also documents mentioning James Jesus Angleton, the agency's counter intelligence chief, at the time who took over the CIA's post-assassination investigation.

One of his communications with the CIA director is dated November 23, 1963, a day after the assassination and is described as about "assassination of President Kennedy", Politico reported.

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(@FahadShabbir)

The Indian Defense Ministry's research and development wing said on Wednesday it will employ military technology used on Tejas fighter jets to produce 500 devices generating medical oxygen for COVID-19 hospitals within the next three months

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2021) The Indian Defense Ministry's research and development wing said on Wednesday it will employ military technology used on Tejas fighter jets to produce 500 devices generating medical oxygen for COVID-19 hospitals within the next three months.

Indian hospitals have decried severe shortage of ventilator oxygen as COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket. Last week, the government had to ban the use of oxygen for non-medical purposes.

"The DRDO has initiated fabrication of 380 numbers of Medical Oxygen Plants with release of Supply Orders for 332 numbers on M/s Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Bengaluru and 48 numbers on M/s Trident Pneumatics Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore with a target of producing 125 plants per month under PM CARES Fund.

With this it is expected that 500 Medical Oxygen Plants will be installed within three months," the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said.

The generated oxygen, with concentration up to 96%, can then be supplied either directly to hospital beds or stored in cylinders, according to the statement.

Each device will have a capacity of 1,000 liters (264 gallons) per minute, enough to cater to 190 patients at a flow rate of 5 liters per minute and charge 195 cylinders per day, the agency said.

India has the second-highest COVID-19 toll in the world after the United States, having so far registered nearly 18 million cases and over 201,000 deaths.
KPMG said probe into 2015 video led to staff firings and efforts to change culture

A video invitation for a boozy 'boy's night out' event involving KPMG employees described one staff member crawling through his own vomit and a stripper allegedly being put on the company payroll to keep her quiet.

The consulting giant fired staff from its Private Enterprise division in Melbourne after discovering the invitation in 2018 which had been sent to 80 male employees three years earlier.

Senior employees would buy shots for their graduate colleagues at the event - leaving them 's**tfaced by 6.30pm' and 'vomiting through their noses' - a transcript of the video seen by The Australian Financial Review revealed.

In another segment, an employee alleged he paid a stripper $2,000 an hour to stop her from going public and claimed the transactions on KPMG's expenses system.

A KPMG staff member boasted in a video invite for a boozy 'boys night' event of expensing thousands of dollars for a stripper to keep her quiet (file image)

This transcript of the video invitation was produced for an internal investigation into the wild parties - which excluded female employees

'We had no choice, she was going to go public. I've been paying her wage for myExpenses for 12 months,' part of the transcript reads. 'We had to "put [it] on the books".'

The transcript was produced for an internal investigation into the wild parties, which on one occasion ended with 30 members of staff visiting a strip club.

KPMG CEO Gary Wingrove said the event - which excluded female staff and was planned in secret without the approval of company executives - led to a leadership overhaul at the firm.

'As soon as this was uncovered in 2018, I ensured it was investigated straight away, and took disciplinary actions, including people exiting,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

He said the changes included hiring more women and taking steps to improve the company's workplace culture.

One participant boasted in the transcript of how attendees at one boys' night were left so 'f***ed up' they suffered from traumatic stress and had to undergo an employee assistance program.

Almost two minutes into the video, one attendee joked how he was still haunted by a participant crawling in the street through his own vomit.

On one occasion, a 'boys' night' event ended with 30 members of staff visiting a strip club

A participant then said the only thing 'blown was my $5,600' in reference to him not being pleasured sexually that night.

Those who spoke in the video invitation did not name KPMG.

'At the time we also strongly reinforced with our partners and people that there is no tolerance for this behaviour in our organisation,' Mr Wingrove said.

'The conduct was totally unaligned with our values.'

KPMG CEO Gary Wingrove said the event led to a major leadership overhaul at the firm, and the company was now promoting more women into management positions

The video transcript emerged as Australian workplace cultures come under increasing scrutiny - with Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier this month announcing the definition of serious misconduct will be redefined across all workplaces to include sexual harassment.

Only 38 per cent of KPMG's 3,149 management staff are women, according to data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

Research in 2014 found a third of companies in Australia have no females in key management roles.
A man accused of murdering a T2 Trainspotting actor said in a message to a childhood friend it was all going to kick off in the days before the fatal shooting, a court has heard.

Bradley Welsh, 48, was fatally shot at his flat in the west end of Edinburgh on April 17 2019.

Sean Orman, 30, has pleaded not guilty to all 15 charges against him, including murder, attempted murder, firearms and drugs offences, and is on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Giving evidence on Wednesday, Levi Begg said she started to be in regular contact with Orman again in February 2019, although they had known each other from school.

The 30-year-old dental nurse gave police a statement on April 25 2019 in which she told officers about a WhatsApp message she received from Orman on April 15 that year.

Richard Goddard QC, advocate depute, said: In the message, he said he was sick of being taken for a mug and it was all going to kick off.

Ms Begg said she did not recall those messages from two years ago but agreed she would have said that to officers.

The witness also said she was called by Orman at around 8.45pm on April 17 2019 and he asked if she could collect him from the Kirknewton area of West Lothian.

He was said to have a small black bag with him at the time.

She told the court the pair talked about what they had been doing that day but could not remember the details.

Ms Begg said Orman asked to use her phone to make a call despite having his own available, but she did not know who he contacted.

It was heard Ms Begg took a wrong turn and ended up in a car park in the Balerno area of Edinburgh, where Orman chucked away another phone which she assumed was not working.

This was not mentioned to officers in her first three statements and the location of the stop-off was only revealed after she was notified by police her vehicles journey had been tracked.

Ms Begg said she had forgotten about the car park.

Floral tributes were left to Bradley Welsh near the scene of his shooting (PA)

The court was then told Orman had been trying to remove the Sim card from the phone before putting it down a drain.

Mr Goddard showed the witness a series of scrambled and unscrambled WhatsApp messages between the two, which had been sent in October 2020 when Orman was in custody.

The messages from Orman included the words shotgun, handgun, DNA, kill and arrested.

One unscrambled message was interpreted as saying terrible piece of evidence.

Ms Begg said she did not know what the messages were about but confirmed Orman later apologised for getting her involved in the inquiry.

She said: Just that hes sorry for dragging my family through it.

Being involved, getting police coming to my house and stuff like that.

Mr Goddard asked whether this was him accepting responsibility.

She said: No, hes always said that he didnt do it.

Meanwhile, the court was shown footage of a pursuit said to involve Orman driving an Audi around Edinburgh at excessive speeds in the early hours of April 22 2019.

The recording shows the vehicle pulling over on the A720 and Pc Paul McNiven exiting his vehicle to approach the suspect before the target car speeds off.

The subsequent pursuit saw the vehicle travel at speeds of up to 123mph on the Edinburgh City Bypass as well as over 90mph in residential areas.

Footage from the police vehicle shows the car said to be driven by Orman on the wrong side of the road and going the opposite way around roundabouts.

The car was eventually stopped by a stinger after a pursuit lasting around 20 minutes.

Pc McNiven said Orman was arrested on suspicion of failing to stop for police.

The trial, before judge Lord Beckett, continues on Thursday.
A reasonable counterpoint: What choice do right-thinking liberals have? American democracy is badly broken  unresponsive, unaccountable, broadly disconnected from the will of the people. Decades of gerrymandering have fractured many voting districts to favor the right wing, and the results of the 2020 census may well advance Republicans redistricting strategy even further.

Broad voter suppression laws of the same genus as the latest efforts in Georgia and Texas have opened a gulf between what voters want and what theyre even capable of asking for. And over the last decade, 10 wealthy donors alone have poured $1.2 billion into federal elections, while super PACs and other groups have spent $4.5 billion, with millions in dark money flowing legally and unaccountably into elections nationwide. You can vote for whomever you choose, but your choices are chosen for you by powers beyond your control.

But those powers, too, answer to some authority: capital. Just as workers can marshal the power they have over capital by going on strike, capital can leverage the power it has over governments by using capital strikes.

Occasionally, that kind of intervention can arrive as a welcome relief, especially when turned against countermajoritarian policies promulgated by legislators ensconced in crooked districts carved out to favor them.

So why not a marriage of convenience  at least a temporary one? For one: Capital is unfaithful. It can, and does, play all sides. Many of the courageous businesses that protested North Carolinas 2016 bathroom bill, for instance, also donated to political groups that helped fund the candidacies of the very politicians who passed the bill. It isnt possible to cooperate with capital on social matters while fighting them in other theaters; capital can fight you in all theaters at once, all while enjoying public adulation for helping you, as well.

Setting aside the fact that capital can in a single moment be both heroic and diabolical  Amazon wants you to be able to vote, but it would prefer if you didnt unionize  it is, incredibly, even less democratic, accountable and responsive than our ramshackle democracy.

Capital rallies to the defense of democracy while aggressively quashing that very thing in the workplaces where its workers labor. Its tempting, perhaps even satisfying, to call the governments boss, but after the dressing down, youre still just a customer, worth only as much as you can pay them or make them. That the jerks whove done their best to enervate our democracy are in the same boat as us is a cold comfort.
Pressure is mounting on the federal government to take back key national assets from Chinese control amid fears the communist superpower could disrupt our crucial infrastructure using advanced cyber attacks.

Two of Australia's most important harbours - Darwin Port and the Port of Newcastle - were leased to Chinese companies as state governments cashed in on lucrative private investment.

The Port of Newcastle, the world's biggest coal port, was handed over to a Chinese-backed consortium for 98 years for $1.75 billion when Mike Baird was NSW Premier in 2014.

The decision means the port is half controlled by Aussie company Gardior and half by China Merchants Port Holdings Company until 2112.

Meanwhile, Darwin Port is run by Chinese company Landbridge Group, which secured a 99-year lease in 2015 for just $506 million.

China Merchants Port Holdings has 50 per cent control of the Port of Newcastle (pictured), a major coal export hub, until 2112

Sydney's partnership with the Chinese city of Guangzhou will come under scrutiny under new foreign relations laws. Pictured: Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore welcomes Guangzhou Vice Mayor Mr Wang Dong

The federal government has been assessing all government deals with China after relations dramatically deteriorated during the coronavirus pandemic - but a new law which allowed Scott Morrison to tear up Victoria's 'Belt and Road' agreement last week does not apply to commercial leases.

Now the government is facing pressure to change the law or introduce new legislation that would allow it to take back the ports.

Peter Jennings, the Executive Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told Daily Mail Australia the ports should be taken back and warned they would otherwise be more vulnerable to cyber attacks from Chinese spies.

'Beijing couldn't be any clearer that it will use any economic lever to try to squeeze political concessions out of Australia on our security. That could include attempts to disrupt the operations of critical infrastructure by cyber hacking,' he said.

'You don't have to own a piece of critical infrastructure to hack into it, but ownership helps and Chinese law requires all Chinese businesses to assist their intelligence services if asked.'

Former NSW premier Mike Baird's government (above in Guangzhou in 2015) sold off Newcastle port in 98 year lease for $1.75 billion in 2014

In November 2015, the Northern Territory government decided to lease the Port of Darwin (pictured) to a Chinese company for 99 years

Last year Mr Morrison called an extraordinary press conference in which he said a foreign state was launching an unprecedented amount of cyber attacks on Australian institutions. Sources say the attacks have not slowed in recent months.

Mr Jennings said the federal government faces a 'difficult problem' in unwinding investment decisions made several years ago but said 'bad behaviour' from China - which has blocked several major Australian exports such as lobster, wine and barley during the pandemic - makes the decision easier.

'I have no doubt that the Federal Government will step in to resume control of our critical infrastructure in coming years,' he said.

Luke Gosling, the federal Labor member for Solomon - the electorate that contains Darwin - told Daily Mail Australia the city's port is a strategic asset that 'should be under Australian control'.

When the Northern Territory's ruling Country Liberal Party signed the lease in 2015, the move caught then prime minster Malcolm Turnbull off guard and enraged US president Barack Obama whose administration said it was 'blindsided'.

Luke Gosling MP wants Darwin Port back in Aussie hands

Mr Gosling slammed the federal government for not blocking the deal at the time and urged Mr Morrison to consider re-nationalising it.

'The Coalition were asleep at the wheel - or worse - when it waved through this century-long lease for a short-term cash injection,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.

'From the time of the sale, I have consistently challenged the decision to lease our nationally strategic port to a foreign entity.

'The $506 million was spent years ago, and the lease still has another 94 years to go.

'The Prime Minister must explain to Australians why his Government is not examining this deal, how this lease to a foreign entity is in our national interest or consistent with our foreign policy, and whether the Government is considering re-nationalising the port  and how much that will cost.'

Mr Gosling said the port - which is at the centre of the Indo-Pacific region, on major transport lines and is Australia's closest port to major trading partners in Asia - is 'strategically very significant'.

'Darwin is home to a major offshore marine supply hub and soon a ship lift facility. It is used by not only the Australian Defence Force but also the defence forces of visiting allies and partners, such as the United States Marines,' he said.

'The Darwin Port should be under Australian control.'

Mr Gosling is among several current and former politicians - including Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie and ex prime minister Kevin Rudd - who have called for the lease to be scrapped.

Last week foreign minister Marise Payne used the new Foreign Relations Act to cancel Victoria's two Belt and Road infrastructure construction deals with China, sparking outrage from Beijing.

The law, which came into force in December, allows the federal government to scrap agreements made with foreign governments by states, local governments and universities if they are contrary to the national interest.

In 2017 Tasmania signed a deal on Antarctic co-operation with the State Oceanic Administration of China. A 2014 deal on the Antarctic was signed in Tasmania by then Minister for Environment Greg Hunt (pictured with President Xi in the background)

Victoria's Belt and Road deal was torn up last week. Pictured: Premier Daniel Andrews and Chinese ambassador Jingye Cheng

The Act does not apply to deals with commercial corporations and state-owned enterprises, meaning it would have to be amended if the government wanted to end the Darwin Port or Port of Newcastle deals.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister Payne's office for comment.

Minister Payne is assessing if any further agreements made with China, and other countries, should be terminated.

Last year she identified 135 deals made with 30 countries that would be examined and potentially scrapped if they pose a threat.

Daily Mail Australia was sent a preliminary list of 52 deals that would need to be declared by state and local government and universities under the new laws.

More than half the deals - a total of 27 - were signed with China.

They include sister-city arrangements as well as co-operation deals in trade and investment, culture, education, science and technology.

For example, Melbourne's partnership with Nanjing, Mildura City Council's ties with the Wuhan Institute of Technology, and an agreement between Sydney and Guangzhou will all come under the microscope.

Agreements between the ANU and the University of South China, between UNSW and Qingdoa City and between the University of Queensland and the Confucius Institute on its Headquarters in China will also be probed.

Tasmania's Antarctic agreement, which allows the Polar Research Institute of China to use Hobart as a technical services hub for maintenance and supply of specialised equipment, was also on the list.

In 2016 Sydney Mayor Clover Moore planted a tree with Guangzhou Vice Mayor Mr Wang Dong to celebrate the cities' relationship
Jackson was at a family members house for a relatives repast, DeBoni said. People gathered outside of the home in the evening, and Jackson was going to his car to leave when Moss got out of a silver Buick Regal, reached into the backseat and walked up to Jackson with a gun at his side.
Philippine Coast Guard patrol boat BRP Cabra (center) and two Bureau of Fisheries vessels are seen patrolling in the South China Sea, April 13-14, 2021.

The Philippines said Wednesday that non-military agencies were coordinating in deploying patrols to South China Sea waters which it claims, as Manila faces an unabated challenge from Chinese ships scattered within its exclusive economic zone.

Also on Wednesday, the Philippine defense department hit back at Chinas criticism of its coast-guard exercises in Manilas EEZ, saying Beijing had no business telling the Philippines what it could do within its waters.

Vessels from the coast guard, the fisheries bureau and the national police will be regularly deployed, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea announced. The West Philippine Sea is Manilas designation for claimed territory in the South China Sea.

The non-military bodies are closely coordinating in the continuous regular deployment of vessels in the countrys maritime domain for law enforcement, monitoring, ensuring the safety of the Filipino fishermen, and protecting the environment, the national task force said in a statement.

The deployment of non-military patrols would complement Manilas naval fleet already out on the water.

Deployments are planned at Scarborough Shoal and at a chain of Philippine-controlled reefs and islets in the disputed Spratly Islands, including Thitu (Pag-asa) Island and Second Thomas Shoal, which host a small detachment of Filipino marines.

These areas have seen a lingering presence of Chinese coast guard vessels and fishing ships, which Manila believes are manned by maritime militia.

Military patrols had spotted three China Coast Guard vessels at Scarborough Shoal, one in the Spratly Islands, and one at Second Thomas Shoal, the Philippine national task force said Wednesday in its latest report.

An ongoing diplomatic spat between Manila and Beijing began after the Philippines said it spotted more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels at Whitsun Reef, first reported by Manila in early March.

Whitsun Reef is about 175 nautical miles (324 km) off the Philippine island province of Palawan and within the countrys 200-nautical mile (370-km) EEZ.

Beijing denied the accusations and ignored Manilas demands for a pullout, prompting Manila to file daily diplomatic protests with Beijing, including on Wednesday. Beijing also claims Whitsun Reef as part of its territories in the contested waterway.

The number of Chinese vessels in the Philippine EEZ had decreased to about 160 as of April 20, Manila said Wednesday.

By deploying civilian patrols to protect and assist Filipino fishing boats, Manila hopes to avoid provoking a naval standoff with Beijing, like at Scarborough Shoal nine years ago, officials had said.

In 2012, the Chinese seized Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground within the Philippines EEZ, after a two-month standoff with the Philippine Navy.

Beijing has maintained control of the shoal ever since, with its coast guard keeping traditional Filipino fishermen at bay.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BenarNews on Wednesday.

China is encroaching

Meanwhile, the Philippines responded to Chinas opposition to its coast-guard exercises in Manilas EEZ.

The Coast Guard and the agriculture departments Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources started their first-ever comprehensive maritime exercises in the Spratly Islands and at Scarborough Shoal on Saturday.

These joint exercises, a prelude to a heavier presence in the South China Sea, will run for at least 10 days.

They involve a total of eight vessels from both non-military agencies, including the coast guards most advanced offshore patrol ship, BRP Gabriela Silang.

A July 2016 U.N.-backed tribunals ruling had affirmed the Philippines sovereign rights in the waterway, Philippine Department of National Defense spokesman Arsenio Andalong said.

The arbitral award has categorically stated that the Chinese claim bounded by their so-called nine-dash line according to their historical right has no basis in fact, Andalong said in a statement.

Therefore, it is they who are encroaching and should desist and leave. We will continue to do what is necessary to protect our sovereign rights.

Beijing refuses to recognize the arbitral award, saying it has historical rights to much of the South China Sea. China has laid claim to most of the waterway using its so-called Nine-Dash Line, which appears on Chinese maps of the sea.

On Monday, China said it enjoyed sovereignty in the Spratly Islands, Thitu Island, the Macclesfield Bank and Scarborough Shoal, and their adjacent waters, and the Philippines must respect this sovereignty and stop actions complicating the situation and escalating disputes.

Six other Asian governments  Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam  have territorial claims or maritime boundaries that overlap with China.

While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the waterway that overlap with Indonesias exclusive economic zone.

Aie Balagtas See contributed to this report from Manila.
The Brilex Group of Companies recently announced the hiring of former Nucor executive Doyle Hopper as Chief Executive Officer of Brilex Industries, Inc, Brilex Technical Solutions, LLC. and Taylor-Winfield Technologies, Inc. As their CEO, Hopper will leverage nearly thirty years of steel industry and manufacturing expertise to drive strategic growth and commercial excellence across the Groups companies.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005767/en/

Former Nucor Exec, Doyle Hopper, Takes New Position as CEO Within The Brilex Group of Companies (Photo: Business Wire)

"We are thrilled to have Doyle take the reins as CEO," said Alex Benyo, co-founder of the Brilex Group. "Doyles role will drive integration and synergies between our companies, maximizing the value delivered to our customers and will lead to additional opportunities in the marketplace."

"His values and proven leadership combined with his knowledge of the steelmaking and automated manufacturing processes align perfectly with our Groups values, growth strategies and industries served." said Brian Benyo, co-founder of the Brilex Group.

Before joining the Brilex Group, Hopper had spent his nearly 30-year, professional career with Nucor, the largest producer of steel in the United States. Starting with Nucor out of college as an entry level welder and fabricator, Hopper continually advanced into expanded roles, eventually reaching executive positions as the Vice President of VULCRAFT and Cold Finish in Norfolk, Nebraska, Nucor Connecticut and most recently, Nucor South Carolina.

"I am thankful for the past three decades I have spent with Nucor," Hopper remarked. "The experiences and insights I gained into the ongoing evolution of steelmaking and manufacturing have prepared me for the exciting opportunities in the marketplace for the companies within The Brilex Group. I am honored to be joining these organizations that have earned their reputations for excellence in engineering and manufacturing innovation."

Story continues

Headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio, the Brilex Group of Companies is a tradename umbrella. It covers four distinct but commonly owned companies (Brilex Industries, Inc., Taylor-Winfield Technologies, Inc. Brilex Technical Solutions, LLC. and BBM Railway Equipment, LLC). Although each of the companies are independent  with their own unique core competencies and solutions  they share a common set of values and goals of manufacturing and industrial excellence.

Brilex Industries, Inc. is a one-stop-shop for full-service manufacturing, specializing in build-to-print services requiring fabrication, machining, assembly, rebuilds, roll forming and more. Brilex Technical Solutions, LLC. engineers heavy material handling solutions, scrap shredders, aluminum extrusion press components and upgrades, as well as turntable designs for marine cable laying, commercial vehicles, revolving restaurants and other unique applications. Taylor-Winfield Technologies, Inc. is a best-in-class custom automation & robotics solutions provider. Taylor-Winfield is world renowned for being a capital equipment manufacturer in standard and custom material joining for the steel industry including resistance welding, fiber laser welding, induction heating, ARC welding and more. BBM Railway Equipment, LLC offers cutting-edge railway maintenance and lifting equipment to transit and freight facilities across North America.

Hopper comes at a time when the Brilex Group is poised to accelerate the growth of all companies. As economic optimism in the manufacturing industry continues to inch closer to pre-COVID levels, and with possible infrastructure investments coming, the Brilex Group of Companies is well positioned for growth in 2021 and beyond.

Doyle Hopper graduated from Arkansas Northeastern College and holds his Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from North Carolina State University. Hopper has also completed the Executive Program at Harvard Business School.

To learn more about the Brilex Group of Companies, visit thebrilexgroup.com. For media inquiries, please contact Katie Denno at 330-259-8516 or kdenno@brilex.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005767/en/

Contacts

Katie Denno

kdenno@brilex.com

330-259-8516
In a heart-warming gesture, a Kerala man has donated his entire life's savings to the Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) for the state to buy COVID-19 vaccines for all.

Janardhanan, a former beedi worker of Kerala Dinesh Beedi, in Kannur has been showered with praises and love after it emerged that he was the 'anonymous donor who contributed Rs 2 lakhs to CMDRF, which was almost all his life savings.

P Jayarajan/ Facebook

It all began a couple of days ago when a bank employee narrated the inspiring story on his Facebook page.

Heartwarming story

"Yesterday, an elderly man came to our bank and asked me to check his account balance. When I told him that there was Rs 200850 in his account, he said he wanted to donate Rs 2 lakh to CMDRF to buy COVID-19 vaccines," the bank employee wrote.

He further said that after talking to the elderly man, he had no other income and asked him to reconsider his decision, thinking it was an impulsive one.

"I am not struggling to live in any way, I get a disability pension. Additionally, I still make around Rs 1,000 a week from making beedis. It was not a sudden decision. I have thought about it well," the elderly man insisted and asked him to make the donation as an anonymous donor.

P Jayarajan/ Facebook

The Facebook post went massively viral in Kerala and the bank employee lived up to his promise of keeping the identity hidden.





But some local journalist and Facebook users managed to identify him and Janardhanan, who did not even want his contribution to know has now emerged as the face of the #VaccineChallenge in Kerala.

Keral rallies to #vaccinechallenge . A beedi worker from Kannur donates 2lakhs to CMDRF leaving just 850 in his account. Bank staff hesitated but his answer was that he could still roll beedies and also was entitled to disability pension. We are humbled by response of people.  Thomas Isaac (@drthomasisaac) April 25, 2021

Many heart warming stories are coming up about donations to the CMDRF, including that of an elderly man who donated 2L from his savings bank account which had Rs. 200,850 in it. It is this love for one another that sets us apart. Once again, thank each and every one of you!  Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) April 24, 2021

Later speaking about his actions, Janardhanan said he was angered by some comments made by MoS External Affairs about the free COVID-19 vaccine promises made by the Kerala Chief Minister and wanted to do his part to make sure that it did not fail.

P Jayarajan/ Facebook

Kerala, like many other states, has promised free COVID-19 vaccines for all above the age of 18 in the state.

However, the Modi government's move to ask states to procure vaccines directly from manufactures at a higher cost was met with considerable anger in Kerala and many have come forward with #VaccineChallenge, an initiative under which people donate Rs 800 (the cost of two doses of Covishield) or above to CMDRF to ensure that the state can provide the life-saving shots for everyone during these tough times.
The whole theme of our Pride celebration this year is #welcomehome, Kniep said. We really want to drive home the fact that Pride isnt just about the gays anymore. Its about every single person, no matter who they love or what they look like, feeling safe in their communities. Were making Pride less of a, Were here, were queer, get used to it and more of a celebration of every single person in the community.
When sleepaway camps return to New Jersey this summer after being canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, unvaccinated campers and staff members must test negative for COVID-19 within 72 of arriving and then again within three to six days after arriving.

Operators should also strongly encourage campers and staff to quarantine before arriving. Camps should try to align beds so campers and staff can sleep head-to-toe and at last six feet apart. And camps should also ensure proper ventilation where campers sleep.

Thats under health and safety guidelines the state released Wednesday as Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order to allow both youth day camps and overnight camps to operate this summer as the states COVID-19 numbers continue to improve.

We are all committed to a safe and fun summer for our kids, Murphy said during his latest coronavirus briefing in Trenton.

The state allowed day camps last year during the pandemic, but with restrictions and under a delayed start. Now, overnight camps will be allowed for the first time in two years, with similar protocols.

Because vaccines have been approved in the U.S. only for those 16 and older, most campers and staff members will have to undergo the new testing requirements.

Among the other guidelines:

Camp operators should create assigned groups for staffers and children and limit movement between those groups.

Campers should wear masks at all times indoors, especially when social distancing is difficult. When assigned groups of campers cant keep a 6-foot distance between each other, campers should wear a mask. Campers are not required to wear a mask when they are in their bunks or within their group.

Staffers must wear masks at all time inside except when not practical, such as eating or drinking. Camps must supply staffers and campers with masks.

There must be daily health screenings for campers, staff and visitors.

Camps must have policies for if someone gets sick or tests positive, including immediate isolation and reporting it to local health officials.

All camps must conduct staff training on basic principles of infection control, hand washing practices, personal protective equipment and symptoms of COVID-19

Outdoor activities are encouraged.

All heating, ventilation and air condition units should be inspected to make sure they work properly.

Arrivals, drop-offs and meals should be staggered.

There must be social distancing between campers and drivers during bus rides.

Frequently touched surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected and shared objects cleaned between uses.

Murphy said the state is also providing greater flexibility to allow campers to take day trips and participate in other activities off of camp grounds.

The news comes two days after Murphy announced that outdoor gathering limits in New Jersey will increase from 200 to 500 people starting on May 10, in time for college and high school graduations. Plus, private catered events such as weddings and proms will go from 35% to 50% of a venues capacity with a maximum of 250 people, up from 150.

The governor also said the state is likely to announce more reopening steps in the coming weeks if numbers keep improving and people keep getting vaccinated.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

New Jersey on Wednesday reported another 1,838 confirmed cases and an additional 35 confirmed deaths.

The states seven-day average for new confirmed positive tests is now 2,053, down 31% from a week ago and 42% from a month ago. There were 1,768 coronavirus patients across the states hospitals as of Tuesday night, the lowest since Nov. 9.

Meanwhile, more than 2.9 million people have been fully vaccinated in the state  about 42% of the states 6.9 million adults. The states goal is to vaccinate 70% of its eligible adult population  about 4.7 million people  by the end of June.

A coalition of summer camps called Summer Camp Hub has also released suggestions for keeping kids safe.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 23:15:36|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Mexico will begin production of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine as early as in May, the vaccine's official Twitter account said Wednesday during Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard's ongoing visit to Moscow.

"Mexico remains the first and only state on the North American continent to have registered Russia's Sputnik V vaccine," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a press conference following talks with Ebrard.

"We have agreed that regular supplies of this vaccine in accordance with the contract signed with Mexico will continue without interruption," Lavrov said.

Ebrard thanked the Russian side, saying that more than one million Mexicans have already received the Sputnik V vaccine "with very good results."

Mexico's vaccine manufacturer Birmex will continue cooperation with its Russian partners to produce the vaccine "on a long-term basis," Ebrard added. Enditem
Children stuck at home during the Covid pandemic watched more programmes on YouTube and Netflix than they did on television, a new report has revealed.

For the first time ever, streaming services toppled traditional broadcast television in the children's show market.

On average, children aged four to 15 watched around seven hours a week of programmes on television - down roughly an hour from the year before.

Meanwhile, the use of streaming services exploded during lockdown, going from an average of just under eight hours a week to 11 hours a week in 2020.

However children did still tune in for big TV events, including BBC's Christmas Day special Zog and the Flying Doctors - which was the most watched television broadcast in 2020, according to the new report by Ofcom.

Spirit Riding Free - an acclaimed computer-animated series about a young girl and her horse Spirit - Carmen Sandiego - a cartoon about a young female master thief - and Pokemon - a Japanese anime set in a magical world of battling monsters - all proved popular on Netflix.

And on YouTube, children most enjoyed watching funny videos, jokes, pranks, and challenges.

Children stuck at home during the Covid pandemic watched more programmes on YouTube and Netflix than they did on television, a new report has revealed. Pictured: Library image of a family watching television

For the first time ever, streaming services such as Netflix (pictured: Library image) toppled traditional broadcast television in the children's show market

However children did still tune in for big TV events, including BBC's Christmas Day special Zog and the Flying Doctors (pictured) - which was the most watched television broadcast in 2020, according to the new report by Ofcom

Music videos and gaming tutorials were also among the most watched videos on YouTube by children aged four to 15.

The data comes from a new set of reports - released annually by Ofcom - into the media habits of children and adults.

The report, which surveyed 8,000 children under 16, found a huge spike in children viewing videos online during the Covid pandemic.

Children were twice as likely to watch TV programmes on video-on-demand (VoD) than live TV.

Almost all children (96 per cent) watched any type of VoD compared to just over half (56 per cent) watching live TV.

Average viewing time for online streaming also spiked by 44 per cent, from seven hours and 49 minutes in 2019 to 11 hours and 19 minutes in 2020.

Average viewing time for traditional TV dropped from 12 hours a week in 2015 to seven hours last in 2020.

According to some of those surveyed by Ofcom, the on-demand nature of streaming services was behind the big switch.

Average viewing time for online streaming also spiked by 44 per cent, from seven hours and 49 minutes in 2019 to 11 hours and 19 minutes in 2020. Average viewing time for traditional TV dropped from 12 hours a week in 2015 to seven hours last in 2020

One child surveyed, Ben, aged 13, said: 'I don't even know the last time I watched live TV. Probably not since the first lockdown.'

Another, Jack, aged 16, said he enjoyed streaming services because they allowed him to watch shows in 'binges' - where someone watches consecutive episodes back-to-back.

He said: 'I'm not sure what I like about it, it is just one of those things that is addictive. You just watch episode after episode.'

The survey work, which was largely carried out during winter lockdown in England, also looked into children's use of YouTube.

Ofcom's media literacy research found that YouTube was the most-used video-sharing platform among children aged five to 15 for watching content in 2020 (87 per cent).

And research by CHILDWISE highlights YouTube's sizeable presence in children's daily lives.

In total, 58 per cent of children said that they used YouTube every day, spending on average almost two and a half hours a day doing so.

But while use of YouTube was consistent across ages, TikTok (65 per cent), Instagram (65 per cent), Facebook (50 per cent) and Snapchat (53 per cent) were more likely to be used by 12-15s.

Speaking about Chinese video platform, TikTok, which has seen a huge popularity boom in lockdown, one child who was surveyed said: 'You go on it for five minutes, and then you end [up] scrolling for two hours.

On YouTube, children most enjoyed watching funny videos, jokes, pranks, and challenges. Music videos and gaming tutorials were also among the most watched videos on YouTube by children aged four to 15

The report, which surveyed 8,000 children under 16, found a huge spike in children viewing videos online during the Covid pandemic

'It's just addictive  once you get scrolling you just keep on doing it  I don't know what it is about it.'

Meanwhile, according to the findings, almost half of children said they watched vloggers or YouTube influencers.

This was more likely among 8-11s (47 per cent) and 12-15s (49 per cent) than among younger children aged 5-7 (34 per cent).

According to The Insights Family, the choice of vlogger varied by gender; KSI and PewDiePie were the favoured among the older boys (aged 12-15), while Zoella was the clear favourite among girls this age.

The report comes as Ofcom, the UK's broadcasting regulator, is set to become Britain's first online watchdog.

The new role will see Ofcom place a legal 'duty of care' on online services to protect users from illegal material on sites such as YouTube.

The regulator will be tasked with deciding whether firms have breached the agreement and whether to issues fines or legal action as punishment.

According to reports in the Financial Times in February, the role is set to be temporary until a full organisation is set up.

UK teenagers are shunning Facebook for Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok - with some spending up to 15 hours a DAY accessing social media on their phones, Ofcom reveals

By James Robinson for MailOnline

British youngsters are shunning Facebook for video-based social media sites such as TikTok and Snapchat, with some teenagers spending 15 hours a day accessing social media on their phones, a new report has revealed.

Facebook is by far the world's largest social media site, with over 2.7billion users world-wide.

But fewer than a third of British youngsters aged 17 and under surveyed in a new report by Ofcom said they used the platform.

And those who did said they used it for other reasons than keeping in touch with their friends - such as talking to extended family members or selling items on Facebook Marketplace.

Meanwhile, almost all of the youngsters surveyed said they used Snapchat - a short video messaging service.

Instagram, a picture and video based social media site, which is also owned by Facebook, was the next most popular, followed by Chinese video platform TikTok.

But Facebook itself ranked fourth, in line with Twitch - a live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming - and Discord - a chat service primarily used by young gamers.

The survey was carried out as part of a wider Ofcom report into consumption of media by children in England, published today.

The report chronicles the online lives of 18 children ranging from ages 9 to 17 during the third national lockdown in England.

Fewer than a third of British teenagers aged 17 and under surveyed in a new report by Ofcom said they used Facebook. Snapchat was the most popular, followed by Instagram and TikTok

Almost all of the youngsters surveyed said they used Snapchat - a short video messaging service

It found all but one had a smartphone, most had access to a laptop and more than half had access to a television or games console.

In one of the most shocking aspects of the report, it found one 17-year-old was clocking an average of 15 hours a day on his mobile.

Of that, the majority of his time was spent on 'Yubo' - a French social networking app which is 'designed to meet new people and 'create a sense of community'.

'I get up at 2pm... and play Xbox until 2am': Life of typical British teenagers during lockdown is revealed in Ofcom report A teenager has revealed his shocking daily routine in a new report by Ofcom. The 16-year-old, named only as Jack, told the watchdog he regularly wakes up at 2pm on a weekday. The 16-year-old, named only as Jack, told the watchdog he regularly wakes up at 2pm on a weekday He then revealed he plays Xbox and scrolls through social media with very little break right through until 2am in the morning. He told Ofcom he was training to be a mechanic at College before the Covid pandemic. But he said he became disengaged when the classes moved online again in the third national lockdown in England. Despite enjoying his gaming activities and using it as an opportunity to speak to his friends, he told Ofcom he saw these activities as a way to simply 'fill time' and repeatedly used the word 'addictive' to describe his behaviours on these platforms. Advertisement

Another 16-year-old clocked a weekly average screen time of 10 hours, mostly on Snapchat and TikTok, while one 16-year-old girl was spending around 8 hours a day on social media.

One 14-year-old was found to be spending an average of eight hours a day - with an average of two hours a day being spent on TikTok.

Videos on TikTok are no longer than 60 seconds, and are often even shorter, meaning the teenager could have consumed over 7,200 videos in those two hours.

And in another worrying trend, the report highlighted 'multi-screening', where children use multiple devices at once - such as watching TV while on a phone or laptop.

Screentime data collecting from one schoolboy showed he was using his phone while on his laptop for home learning - with schools closed due to the national lockdown in England's third national lockdown earlier this year.

The data shows, even within school hours (9am  4pm), the teenager was using his phone a lot  most often to talk to his friends on Snapchat or to scroll through videos on TikTok.

Other issues flagged included the amount of time spent on video games. The report highlighted one boy, aged 17, whose college life had been heavily disrupted due to Covid.

He had been studying to become a mechanic at college, but stopped engaging with online classes during the third national lockdown.

The report found his typical day would involve waking up at 1pm, playing games on his Xbox and scrolling through social media throughout the day, and then going to bed at 2am.

Meanwhile, the report found children remained disengaged from TV and radio news, and were mostly consuming it 'passively' via social media - in that they were not actively searching out news reports.

Many of the children said they picked up knowledge about the world through their Snapchat 'Explore' feed and viral videos on TikTok.

One youngster said he relied on his mother for news, saying: 'I don't really watch the news much, I just hear it from my mum and she will know if the news is real or fake so I just listen to what she says.'

However others feared the information they were getting from social media was causing things such as vaccine hesitancy.

In one of the most shocking aspects of the report, it found one 17-year-old was clocking an average of 15 hours a day on his mobile. Pictured: Ofcom asked youngsters to send in screenshots of their screen time

The report chronicles the online lives of 18 children ranging from ages 9 to 17 during the third national lockdown in England. It found all but one had a smart phone and most had access to a laptop

One girl, aged 17, said: 'Don't get me wrong I have seen some stuff about the vaccine and me personally I don't want it.

'I don't trust it in the slightest and I do think a lot of that is because of my social media but me obviously I make my own decisions and when I've thought about what social media is saying to me about it, then it does come across as correct.'

Ofcom also found that, despite being connected with friends online, that youngsters felt increasingly lonely in lockdown.

The youngsters said that although they could keep in touch with friends or family through gaming and social media, they did not consider this to be an adequate replacement for seeing people they were close to in person.

One said: 'It has been quite difficult  it's been very lonely It is really, really, really, lonely.

'Even when you do Facetime people and stuff it's not the same, you don't feel like you've got somebody there.

'When you're feeling down, you don't feel like you've got somebody there.'

The report also highlighted that several children had seen harmful content online, including self-harm videos or acts of violence.

Ofcom, the UK's broadcasting regulator, is set to become Britain's first online watchdog later this year.

The new role will see Ofcom place a legal 'duty of care' on online services to protect users from illegal material on sites such as YouTube.

The regulator will be tasked with deciding whether firms have breached the agreement and whether to issues fines or legal action as punishment.

According to reports in the Financial Times in February, the role is set to be temporary until a full organisation is set up.

Commenting on the report, Andy Burrows, Head of Child Safety Online Policy at the NSPCC told MailOnline: 'Ofcom's report shows the scale of harm children face online and how this is sharply increased for those who could be considered vulnerable.

'Tech firms should be preparing for upcoming legislation by making changes to the design of their sites so they are safe for all children while also recognising that not all young users are the same and some are at greater risk of avoidable harm.

'The Online Safety Bill can hardwire children's safety into platforms' design choices if Government gives Ofcom the agility to investigate firms and the power to hold named directors responsible for failures in their Duty of Care that put children at risk.'
Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC (AFP via Getty Images)

Donald Trump has continued his targeted criticism of Wyoming representative Liz Cheney, saying she is looking for a way out of her Congressional race after she refused to rule out a 2024 presidential run this week.

In a statement released by his leadership political action committee, Save America, the former president once again lashed out at the representative, who voted to impeach Mr Trump in January.

Liz Cheney is polling sooo low in Wyoming, and has sooo little support, even from the Wyoming Republican Party, that she is looking for a way out of her Congressional race, Mr Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added: Shell either be yet another lobbyist or maybe embarrass her family by running for President, in order to save face.

The Independent has reached out to Cheney for Wyoming for a comment regarding the remarks. There are no indications she is not planning to run for reelection next year.

The former president also called the representative a warmongering fool saying she wants to stay in the Middle East and Afghanistan for another 19 years, but doesnt consider the big picture  Russia and China!

Mr Trump has intensified his scrutiny of the Republican representative after she condemned the president following the 6 January insurrection, during which pro-Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol.

Ms Cheney was one of 10 house Republicans who voted to impeach Mr Trump on the accusation that he incited the riot. The former president was later acquitted during the Senate trial.

The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President, Ms Cheney said in a statement on 12 January.

She has also since made comments that have appeared to stoke further division among polarised Republicans as the party battles over its future, and Mr Trumps role within the GOP.

The Wyoming representative has advocated for the former president to hold a minimal role in the party and further stirred tensions with pro-Trump republicans after saying she would not rule out a future presidential run.

Story continues

Im not ruling anything in or out  ever is a long time, she told The New York Post when asked if she would ever consider running in the future.

The former president is yet to confirm if he will run again in 2024.

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VANCOUVER, BC, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Loop Energy (TSX: LPEN), a developer and manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell-based solutions, announces the receipt and fulfillment of an order for ten units of the company's proprietary eFlow fuel cell modules from Beijing IN-Power for integration by Skywell New Energy Vehicles Group (Skywell) in Nanjing, China. The shipment marks the second phase of a previously announced memorandum of understanding between the Lishui Economic Development Zone of Nanjing and Beijing IN-Power - Loop Energy's China-based joint venture partner supplying the fuel cell engines.

This second phase of the agreement is a direct result of a highly successful initial testing period. It marks a meaningful step toward Lishui reaching their objective of deploying a 300-vehicle fleet powered by hydrogen in Nanjing. This is key in complying with China's National Fuel Consumption Standard-a mandate required for all new commercial heavy-duty vehicles sold in China - and proving out the viability of hydrogen electric energy in the bus industry.

Skywell's newly released model NJ6106FCEV 10.5m long bus is manufactured by the company's subsidiary Nanjing Golden Dragon Bus Co., Ltd. The vehicle is equipped with a heavy-duty 50kW fuel cell engine, has a range of 450 kilometres with Loop Energy's signature high fuel efficiency eFlow technology and can eliminate more than 100 tonnes of CO2 emitted per diesel bus annually. Skywell received index approval from China's Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT) for a zero-emission public transportation bus powered by Loop Energy's fuel cell engines in 2020.

"We are excited to proceed to the next stage of this project with Loop Energy and Skywell, a project that leverages Loop's industry leading fuel cell modules and InPower's DC-DC unit for commercial vehicle applications in China," said John Zhang, Founder and President of IN-Power. "IN-Power and Loop will continue to provide Skywell with engine technology to progress their production of hydrogen electric vehicles and look forward to seeing their advancement in the alternative energy space."

"Embarking on the second phase of this project is an exciting milestone as we progress towards large-scale commercial deployment in China," said Ben Nyland, President and Chief Executive Officer of Loop Energy. "We are optimistic for China's implementation of hydrogen fuel-based solutions and are eager to continue our work with both Skywell and IN-Power to achieve our shared goal of broadly deployed hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in China."

ABOUT BEIJING IN-POWER ELECTRIC CO., LTD.

Founded in 2004, Beijing IN-Power is a high-tech Sino-foreign joint venture enterprise, headquartered in the High-tech Industrial Park, Zhongguancun, of Beijing. Through IN-Power's two R&D Centers, and four wholly-owned subsidiaries and twenty-five offices all over China, the company is engaged in the development, manufacturing and integration of new energy and power electronics technology, equipment and engineering services. For more information, please visit http://en.in-power.net/.

About Skywell New Energy Vehicles Corp.

Skywell New Energy Vehicles Corp., formed in 2011 following the acquisition of Nanjing Jinlong Bus Manufacturing Co., is a leading developer and global supplier of electric vehicles. With headquarters located in the Lishui Airport Economic Development Zone in Nanjing, China, with production factories located in Wuhan, Shenzhen and Xianyang, Skywell manufactures and markets an extensive range of sustainable vehicles from light-duty automobiles, to medium and heavy-duty buses, commercial and specialty fleet trucks. The company also operates buses in the Lishui district of China. www.skywellcorp.com

About Loop Energy Inc.

Loop Energy is a leading designer of fuel cell systems targeted for the electrification of commercial vehicles, including, light commercial vehicles, transit buses and medium and heavy-duty trucks. Loop's products feature the Company's proprietary eFlow technology in the fuel cell stack's bipolar plates. eFlow was designed to enable commercial customers to achieve performance maximization and cost minimization. Loop works with OEMs and major vehicle sub-system suppliers to enable the production of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. For more information about how Loop is driving towards a zero-emissions future, visit www.loopenergy.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflect management's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Company to execute on its strategy and the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the final long-form prospectus of the Company dated February 18, 2021. Loop disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Source: Loop Energy Inc.

Loop Energy Media Contact: Ashley Eisner | Tel: +1.212.697.2600 | aeisner@gscommunications.com; Loop Energy Business Contact: George Rubin | Tel: +1.604.828.8185 | grubin@loopenergy.com; Loop Energy EMEA Contact: Luigi Fusi | +39.028457.3048 | luigi.fusi@loopenergy.com
Michael Miller "With a meticulous attention to detail, Michael is committed to delivering innovation, precise execution, extraordinary design, and superior customer service to each client."

The Haute Design Network, well known for its exclusive and luxurious lifestyle publication Haute Living, is privileged to present Michael Miller as a member and expert in the interior design field. As a Haute Design partner, Michael Miller exclusively represents the Interior Design market of Chicago, IL.

Designed as a partnership-driven luxury design portal featuring two leading interior designers in each prominent market across the world, Haute Design focuses on growing its members brands as key influencers on design and deemed to be the best in their specific market.

ABOUT MICHAEL MILLER

With a passion for art and luxury design, in 2010 principal Michael Miller established Centaur Interiors, a boutique firm specializing in turnkey solutions for high-end residential renovation.

Michaels entrepreneurial outlook, technical education, experience, and architectural & mechanical background make him the ideal leader for all aspects from Conceptual Design-to Construction Completion.

Michael created a collaborative environment and network of industry experts; craftsmen, licensed tradesmen, architects, designers, and project managers, working in harmony to produce superior results. CI is redefining the art of building with their services including development, consulting, design-build, construction management, general contracting, interior architecture/design, furnishings, and art procurement.

Michaels love of art led him to launch an art gallery within the CI Showroom giving clients premier access to globally accomplished fine artists. Michael continues to innovate by uniting the design/build, art, and technology worlds with a breakout way to view the finest digital art, known as apollo.

With a meticulous attention to detail, Michael is committed to delivering innovation, precise execution, extraordinary design, and superior customer service to each client. The integrated services, unique skill set, and enthusiasm makes CI unparalleled in the industry.


Wednesday, April 28, 2021

The Herman Trend Alert

April 28, 2021

The Four-Day Work Week---Not a Pipe Dream Anymore

I remember back in grade school when we were told that in the future because machines would do so much of the work, the workforce would likely only be working four days per week. When I actually joined the world of work, the prospect of a four-day work week seemed like a remote possibility. Now, not only is it a possibility for many workers, but for a growing number of employees, reduced work time is a probability. For this Herman Trend Alert, I interviewed Thomas Michael Hogg, Tony Carnesi, and Brian Gorman---all proponents of the four-day work week.

A Symbol of Life/Work Balance



To all three colleagues, the four-day work week was more a symbol, than a reality. To them, it has more to do with striking the right life-work balance than actually having people work at their jobs four days a week. And please notice that I stated, life/work balance, not work/life balance, because, especially for the younger generations, life comes first.

The United States' Business Model versus Elsewhere



Hogg, who is located in Monterrey, Mexico is not very impressed with the total rewards packages offered by most employers in the US, including those in Silicon Valley. Benefits packages in the US compare only with those he sees in Mexico and other Third World Countries. From the amount of time off to the lack of childcare and the expense of healthcare, the employer offerings from US employers simply do not compare favorably to those in Europe and other places around the world. For instance, in Germany, many employers have implemented the four-day work week, including flextime and lots of time off. In general, people there are more protected and have more benefits. It is a more integrated, holistic model that considers the "tremendous value" realized when employees feel well taken care of. Hogg shared that when he worked at Adidas, his leaders sent him home at end of their workday, encouraging him to have a life.

Redefining the Work Week



Carnesi and Gorman take a slightly different approach. They hold that working four ten-hour days might not be a great idea, because the longer days can have a negative effect on innovative thinking, quality, and productivity in the workplace. With the ubiquitous nature of smart phones and other technologies that keep us connected to work 24/7, many of us are working more than a forty-hour work week. "Mr. Do and Mr. Be," as they call themselves, maintain that implementing the program is a matter of finding what works for each employee---one size does not fit all.

Microsoft tried it in Japan with Great Results



In 2019, before the Pandemic, Microsoft conducted an experiment in Japan. Every Friday, they closed their offices. More than 90 percent of their 2,280 employees enjoyed Fridays off. Though employees' work time was reduced by 20 percent, their productivity increased by 40 percent! The results achieved by Microsoft were only one of many experiments focused on diminishing the number of hours that workers spent at work. Other studies have consistently found business benefits from a shorter work week as well.

A Holistic Approach to Creating Life/Work Balance



All three consultants believe that each company needs to find the right balance for itself and its people. Implementing this approach will not only result in higher productivity, but also happier, dare we say, more loyal employees as well. Whether people take off two afternoons a week or choose to work from home for part of their worktime, or choose to work four days per week, the flexibility of the employer pays handsome rewards. What is important is that the employees feel listened to and taken care of

What the Future Holds for the Four-Day Work Week



With 15 million job openings in the US alone, the labor market is going to become increasingly competitive. This concept of flexible work will pay handsome dividends to those employers that are smart enough to embrace it. Carnesi and Gorman will soon begin offering a program for employers who want to implement these smart practices. To really adopt this concept will take openness and empathy. Like Hogg's bosses who sent him home, he believes, "We can only build a better next generation when we share our wisdom and experience."

Special thanks to Thomas Michael Hogg and The Do-Be Guys, Tony Carnesi and Brian Gorman.

Next Week's Herman Trend Alert: City of the Future



Last week, I virtually attended the Edison Awards, a group for which I used to serve on the Steering Committee. The event was held in Ft. Meyers, Florida. One of the Gold Award winners was the nearby city called Babcock Ranch, a 100 percent solar community about 20 miles away. Built with sustainability in mind, the town offers one gigabyte broadband and only allows electric vehicles. I want to move there!

**********
Megan Colone (R), Mario Barbosa-Juarez (C), Juan Ayala-Rodriguez (top L), and Oscar Garcia (bottom L) are murder suspects in the killing of 37-year-old Rossana Delgado, for which a manhunt is underway as of April 24, 2021. (Courtesy of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation)

National Manhunt for 5 Suspects Launched After Georgia Mother Found Dead

A national manhunt is underway for five alleged killers starting Monday after a mother of two, who is also a taxi driver, was found dead in Georgia.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued arrest warrants for four of the five suspects on April 24 after the murder of 37-year-old Rossana Delgado. The GBI on April 27 also announced it is seeking the publics help in identifying an associate of Delgado.

Delgado was last seen on April 16 in DeKalb County. Her husband had told a local Telemundo station that shed told him she was taking a passenger to a mall in the Atlanta metro area, and would then return home.

But she didnt return home, in Barrow County, that night. Later, her body was found nearly 100 miles away on April 20 in northern Gilmer County, at a residence in Cherry Log, according to authorities.

Autopsy results are pending as of April 24.

The suspects are 30-year-old Megan Alyssa Colone, 35-year-old Juan Ayala-Rodriguez, 26-year-old Oscar Manuel Garcia, and 29-year-old Mario Alberto Barbosa-Juarez. Colone, Ayala-Rodriguez, and Garcia are from Georgia, while Barbosa-Juarez is from Oklahoma.

The law enforcement agency is seeking public help in identifying the fifth suspect in the murder.

The GBI is requesting the publics assistance with identifying the fifth suspect in the Gilmer County murder investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the GBI Tipline at 1-800-597-TIPS(8477). pic.twitter.com/KbQacQNz0n  GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) April 25, 2021

The GBI announced that it is believed the five people may no longer be in Georgia and that Colone may be traveling using the alias Grace Beda. She is also believed to be traveling with her minor children.

A possible motive in the suspected murder remains unclear.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the four named suspects is asked to call the GBI Tipline at 1-800-597-TIPS(8477), report the information online or via the mobile app, See Something Send Something. People are also asked to not approach the individuals if they happen to see them, and instead to call 911 immediately.

On April 27, the GBI announced it is also seeking help in identifying a woman who is one of the last people to interact with Delgado. They released a video on April 16 of the unnamed woman.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday (April 28) directed the UP government to shift Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan lodged in Mathura Jail to a government hospital in Delhi for medical treatment.

The bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, Justices S. Kant and A.S. Bopanna was hearing the habeas corpus petition filed by Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) seeking Kappan`s release.

The Court said that he has to be given treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital or AIIMS or any other government hospital in Delhi and after recovery, he has to be sent back to Mathura jail, where he is under custody.

Kappan is charged with UAPA on the ground that he was trying to create communal unrest in UP after the Hathras gangrape-murder crime.

Earlier in the day, the CJI headed bench heard the arguments of Advocate Wills Mathew for KUWJ, who argued that Kappan was illegally arrested and that the allegations in the FIR and the chargesheet did not constitute any offence.

The UP Government in the morning filed an affidavit stating that Kappan`s RT-PCR test showed a negative result, and that he has been discharged from Mathura hospital and sent back to jail.

Wills Mathew, counsel for the petitioner, submitted that Kappan was a small-time, low profile journalist doing part-time reporting for an online news portal. He was receiving a salary of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month. As a journalist, Kappan will have to come into contact with persons in all walks of life, and he cannot be painted as a culprit merely on the basis of his association, Mathew argued.

Mathew stressed that the UAPA case was slapped against Kappan solely on the basis of conjectures and wild allegations.

The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta doubted the journalistic credentials of Kappan, by saying that he was holding an expired press card of a newspaper called `Thejus` which had shut down three years ago.

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The more transmissible South African variant of the SARS-CoV-2 has been spreading at a faster rate, with COVID-19 cases rapidly rising in many parts of France, French Minister of Health Olivier Veran warned Tuesday at a news briefing. We have seen a large increase this week in the proportion [of Covid-19 cases involving] the South African variant, which accounted for 6 percent of diagnosis and which now accounts for 10 percent, especially in the inner suburbs of Paris," Veran said. He added, that recently, the French capitals neglected suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis was the hardest hit, which had attracted flak for keeping the schools open even when the rest of the country entered stringent lockdown to stem the more virulent COVID-19 wave.

In an uplifting development, the French health minister told the reporters that thus far, France has registered no cases of the Indian variant in the mainland. But the new surge in the ICU admissions and hospitalization, caused by the South African 501Y.V2 variant, also known as 20H/501Y.V2, B.1.351 lineage in France has become a major cause of worry. Earlier last month, French health minister Veran travelled to the eastern department of Moselle to hold an emergency meeting with the regional leaders and health chiefs as France reported a high number of COVID-19 cases of the new variants, according to French media reports. Over the past few weeks, the variants of SARS-CoV-2 accounted for 25 percent of total cases in France, and nearly 30 percent across the Capital Paris.

In a statement earlier this month, the office of French prime minister Jean Castex said that France was grounding its international air travel, adding that the restrictions were due to the "uncontrolled spread of the virus in certain countries" and "in particular of several variants raising fears of a risk of increased transmissibility or vaccine escape."

South Africa variant 'particularly worries' France

On Monday, at least 6,000 COVID-19 patients who were infected with the South African more transmissible variant were rushed for Intensive care admission. As many as 400 succumbed to the infection despite stringent lockdown in place. At a weekly briefing, French Health Minister Veran said that the relentless spread of more infectious Covid-19 strains, especially the one detected in South Africa "particularly worries us. Calling the situation disturbing, the French minister said, We have to continue our efforts, particularly in the fight against the spread of the variants which, as we know, are more contagious. As of Tuesday, France, in its mass vaccination drive successfully inoculated approximately 20 million population, with at least 27 percent adult and more vulnerable population who had received the first dose.
ANN ARBOR, MI  Another $7.4 million in federal funding is coming to southeast Michigan land and water conservation organizations, officials announced this week.

The city of Ann Arbors greenbelt program, administered by The Conservation Fund, led efforts to secure the funding, acting as the lead partner among nine conservation groups that joined to create the Lake Erie Conservation Partnership.

The federal funds are coming through the U.S. Department of Agricultures Natural Resource Conservation Service and will be matched by local conservation funds, translating to over $15 million for farmland preservation, water quality protection and wildlife habitat improvements over a five-year period.

The Lake Erie Conservation Partnership will protect and conserve working agricultural lands vital to the overall health of Lake Eries waters, while also enhancing productive soils vital to the regional food systems resiliency and security, the NRCS website states, noting the partners intend to explore the potential to increase access to affordable farmland for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers.

Other Lake Erie Conservation Partnership partners include the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, Legacy Land Conservancy, Six Rivers Land Conservancy, Huron River Watershed Council, Washtenaw County Conservation District and Scio, Ann Arbor and Webster townships.

The partnership spans both the Huron and Raisin watersheds and aims to permanently protect 2,000 acres of land and support farmers in implementing systems that conserve water and soil resources, improve the health of wildlife habitats and increase climate resilience, officials said.

We appreciate NRCSs leadership and the support of Michigans congressional delegation for this project and for land preservation in southeast Michigan, Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor said in a statement.

This award is a testament to the importance of seeing a vision through to reality  parcel by parcel, stream by stream, added Remy Long, greenbelt program manager.

This vision started decades ago through grassroots efforts led by local champions of conservation. Today, that vision has become a cohesive, formidable and flourishing effort to guarantee a future that includes protected and stewarded lands and waters in southeast Michigan.

Fruits of Ann Arbors greenbelt program apparent in 53 farms after 15 years

The $7.4 million coming for the partnership led by Ann Arbor is among $330 million in total grants recently awarded to 85 conservation partnership projects across the nation.

Since 2000, local conservation partners have used $114 million to protect over 18,000 acres of land in Washtenaw County, including productive farmland and habitats that support carbon storage, water filtration and biodiversity, officials said. But the county has lost over 223,000 acres of farmland since 1935, an average of over 2,600 acres each year.

While these impacts to the landscape continue, the Lake Erie Conservation Partnership will help preserve what farmland and green infrastructure remains, the city stated in a news release. These protected lands create continuing environmental and social benefits, which include cost-effective landscape-level carbon storage and creating affordable farmland opportunities to support new and beginning farmers.

The top challenge for new and beginning farmers in the United States is finding affordable farmland, Long said.

By purchasing the development rights on farmland via permanent conservation easements, the decreased land value offers new and beginning farmers more affordable land access opportunities in the region, which can be especially important in the Ann Arbor greenbelt area where land values are higher compared to other parts of the county, Long said.

The federal funds will help the greenbelt program and other partners continue to leverage local funding to add thousands more acres of protected farmland to the landscape, increasing the total portfolio of affordable farmland in the region, he said.

The federal grant award also includes incentive payments for adopting farmland management practices that improve water quality, Long added, expressing hopes of connecting farmers with NRCS payment programs and the Huron River Watershed Councils Whole Farms for Clean Water program.

These kinds of programs help farmers diversify their revenue streams, which can be critical for long-term farm and business viability, Long said.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:

Ann Arbor OKs largest greenbelt purchase in history, preserving 375-acre farm

Take a virtual flyover tour of Ann Arbors greenbelt properties

Process issue puts proposed housing development north of Ann Arbor on hold

Ann Arbor council member proposes community forum on Palestinian human rights

Millennials, seniors predicted to drive more housing demand in downtown Ann Arbor
[April 28, 2021] IMA Financial Group Acquires Bolton & Company

IMA Financial Group, a North American insurance brokerage firm specializing in risk management, insurance, wholesale brokerage and wealth management, announced today that it will partner with California-based Bolton & Company to expand its brokerage services to California. The transaction is effective May 1, 2021. Together, the powerhouse brokerage firm will employ 1,200 associates and generate annualized revenues of over $300 million. The move will launch IMA into the top 20 insurance brokers in the U.S., based on last year's figures, yet the partners will remain focused on their client-first mentality and committed to being independent, employee-owned and dedicated to their communities. "This is a watershed moment for IMA and for the industry," said IMA Financial Group Chairman and CEO Rob Cohen. "It is unique for two large independent brokers that align so well in culture, strategy and community commitment to join forces. This move will take us to the next level, and we will stay on this path as long as we continue to find great strategic partners." IMA has tripled in size in just eight years through both organic growth and its commitment to seeking out like-minded firms such as Bolton. Today's announcement is IMA's fourth transaction since November 2020 nd its 10th in the last 12 months. The agreement represents the largest partnership in IMA's history.



Bolton, also an expanding company with 300% revenue growth over the past 10 years, will become an IMA Company and maintain its highly respected Bolton brand. Bolton President and CEO Steve Brockmeyer will continue in his leadership role and serve as market president for IMA's California division. The team of 200 employees will remain in the company's offices in Los Angeles, Orange (News - Alert) County and the San Francisco Bay Area. The combined firm will have offices across the U.S. and deliver expanded offerings in growing specialty industries. "Nearly a century ago, we set out to be an independent, trusted advisor for our clients by taking a tailored approach to helping clients achieve success and growth," said Brockmeyer. "This partnership amplifies that commitment. IMA is creating a new way forward, assembling independent partners that are highly experienced with a shared set of client-focused values."

Bolton started as a family-owned agency and maintained a deep commitment to its employees and clients as it grew into one of the largest independent insurance brokers in California. Both Bolton and IMA have consistently found new and better ways to innovate and serve the industry through service to The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB), for which both Cohen and Brockmeyer served as Board Chair. "Our shared vision and values will allow us to join our sizable teams seamlessly, forging a path that benefits our clients, our employees and the industry," said IMA Financial Group President Luke Proctor. IMA and Bolton also share a genuine commitment to the communities in which they live and work. The IMA Foundation and the Bolton Foundation together have donated nearly $1.5 million in the past two years in support of 250 nonprofit organizations. ABOUT IMA FINANCIAL GROUP IMA Financial Group is a North American insurance brokerage firm specializing in risk management, insurance, employee benefits and wealth management. The sixth-largest independent, employee-owned brokerage in the U.S., IMA employs nearly 1,000 associates, with anchor offices in Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas. The company's mission is to protect assets and make a difference for its clients, associates and communities. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005198/en/

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The shattered widow of a man who was killed in a sickening one-punch attack outside a kebab shop has told a court of the 'bittersweet' moment her daughter was born five months after her husband's death.

Giuseppe 'Peppe' Raco died after being hit in the back of the head in Northbridge, Perth in the early hours of July 4 last year while his wife Enza was pregnant with their second child.

The Paramount Nightclub manager was waiting for a kebab while on break when he tried to break-up a scuffle between a group of men and was punched by Jaylen Denny Dimer, who had been drinking heavily in the hours leading up to the attack.

Mr Raco stumbled about 20 metres before collapsing and suffering a brain hemorrhage that saw him placed into an induced coma.

Giuseppe 'Peppe' Raco's widow Enza (pictured together) told Western Australia's Supreme Court on Wednesday of the 'bittersweet' birth of the couple's second daughter five months after his death

Mr Raco (pictured with Enza) was killed in a sickening one-punch attack in Northbridge, Perth, in the early hours of July 4

The 40-year-old died the next day after his family, including wife Enza, made the heartbreaking decision to switch off his life support.

Dimer, 26, fled the scene without giving assistance but was arrested by police several hours later and charged with causing grievous bodily harm, which was later upgraded to manslaughter. He pleaded guilty.

Reading a victim impact statement in Western Australia's Supreme Court on Wednesday, Ms Raco told how her young family's life had been turned upside down and said there would never be any justice for her or her daughters.

Ms Raco gave birth to the couple's second daughter in December, which she described to the court as a 'bittersweet' moment.

She fought back tears as she told the court how she took her newborn baby to Fremantle Cemetery to meet her father after being discharged from hospital.

'That experience was one of the most awful, wrong things I have ever done,' Ms Raco said.

Jaylen Denny Dimer (pictured) pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to a maximum seven years and six months behind bars

Ms Raco told the court her eldest daughter, who is two-years-old, constantly asks for her 'papa'.

Dimer was sentenced to seven years and six months behind bars, with a non-parole period of five-and-a-half years.

But with time already served, he could be free from jail as early as January 2026.

Justice Stephen Hall said Dimer's actions were a 'cowardly attack on an unsuspecting victim' and while the attack was not planned, it was an 'extremely foolish and impulsive action by a drunken man'.

'It probably isn't widely appreciated that a single punch, a blow, to the head can cause death. It should be known,' Justice Hall said.

Dimer's lawyer Tony Hager told the court there were 'no words offered by me or my client, can do justice to the victim's devastated family'.

Mr Raco (pictured with wife Enza) was waiting for food at a Northbridge, Perth kebab shop when he tried to break up a scuffle and was fatally punched by Dimer

Outside court, Mr Raco's father Domenico Raco said the sentence handed down to Dimer was 'not fair' and although he had nothing against the police, lawyers or judges, 'the system' had its flaws.

'Whatever sentence, even if he got life, wouldn't bring my son back. But this, this is not fair. This is not fair,' he said.

He described his only child as 'a peaceful and respectful man' and asked 'Why did my son get killed, why? For nothing'.
Garrigue is one of those perfect wine words  a concise term that encompasses a larger, and very beautiful, idea. The word refers to the unique mix of vegetation that grows throughout parts of southern France, near the Mediterranean Sea: fragrant, shrubby plants including lavender, thyme, rosemary, white flowers and juniper. Its thought that the oils from the native flora make their way onto grapes in nearby vineyards, imbuing the resulting wines with the intoxicating flavors and aromas that recall those plants.

That exact set of flora doesnt appear in California, of course, but we do have our own version of garrigue. Ours is called chaparral, and it is often marked by the presence of scrub oak, sage, chamise and manzanita, among other plants. Although you can find chaparral-influenced wines throughout the West Coast, one place where its imprint is particularly potent is in the Sierra Nevada.

A delicious red wine from the Sierra foothills, in Amador County, pays homage to that. Domaine de la Terre Rouges Garrigue cuvee is a hearty, rich, structured red, but its overall effect is lightened by its lilting fragrances and fresh flavors  its deep notes of blackberry and blueberry are countered by lightly herbal and intensely floral accents. Mint, thyme, resiny pine needle and earthy, wet soil appear alongside the fruit.

Winemaker Bill Easton has no doubt that those notes are the gifts of nearby vegetation. Wild chapparal  buck brush, coyote brush, toyon, yerba santa  surrounds the vineyards whose fruit goes into this wine. Some of the areas vegetative signature, he says, connects directly with that of southern France: Both places have pine trees and wild thyme, for example. But even when they diverge, Easton believes theres something similar about the smells and tastes you get from these resiny types of plants.

The Garrigue wine pays a more specific homage, too, to a winery in Provence called Domaine de Trevallon. Its red wines are an equal blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, two grapes rarely seen together. Syrah is prevalent in this part of southern France, but Cab  a popular grape variety in other French wine regions, like Bordeaux  is anything but. Yet Trevallon has earned an ardent following for its unorthodox blend, and Easton counts himself among its biggest fans.

Michael Macor / Special To The Chroicle

Ive always liked that perky spiciness, Easton says of the Trevallon red. Thats what really inspired me here.

His blend washes out a little differently, with about two-thirds Syrah and one-third Cabernet. Domaine de la Terre Rouge is currently selling the 2013 vintage of Garrigue, which is old for a current-release wine. Thats standard practice for Easton, who holds back all of his red wines several years before selling them. In my mind, the delayed release adds value to the bottles, since the winery has already done the aging for you. And like many of Eastons reds, the Garrigue has held up nicely at eight years old, with flavors that still feel fresh and vibrant and primary. The advantage is that the few extra years of age have softened and smoothed this grippy wines texture.

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For that type of elegant, aged, structured red wine, youd be hard-pressed to find a more fairly priced wine in California than this, which goes for about $25.

The wine is available from Domaine de la Terre Rouges website, K&L or William Cross Wine Merchant. Please note that price may vary slightly depending on the retailer, and stores may run out of inventory.

Domaine de la Terre Rouge Garrigue Sierra Foothills 2013 ($25)

Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley
The National Bank of Bahrain introduced Tamweel Al Watani, a new lending scheme that aims to support locally owned businesses.

The new financing plan further empowers SMEs, aiding them in their sustainability goals, while simultaneously improving cash flow positions across the kingdom. And to further support to the kingdoms integral SME sector, the bank is providing an easier application process and quick turnaround for applicants of this lending scheme.

As part of the new scheme, small and medium businesses can be eligible for up to BHD100,000 in facilities, with repayment plans up to 5 years. Businesses have to meet certain eligibility requirements to qualify for the new scheme, including meeting the Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Tourisms (MOICT) Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) definition and preferably hold the MOICT issued SME classification certificate.

Arif Janahi - Head of Commercial and SMEs at NBB, said: We are pleased to announce the new lending scheme for small and medium enterprises. The pandemic had a significant impact on the economy, and many efforts have been made to ensure its long-term survival. In line with His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Ministers vision and directions to support small and medium business owners, our new scheme is introduced to play an integral part in the continuous efforts towards the revival and sustainable development of our local market in the near future.

Eyad Ebrahim - Head of Business Management for Commercial & SMEs at NBB, added: At the bank, we are working with our clients to overcome the impacts of the pandemic on the economy. We always try to introduce inclusive solutions with more ease, aimed to help SMEs sustainable development. Locally owned small and medium businesses are an important pillar of the economy and our goal with the new scheme is to provide the required support to viable SME businesses.

The initiative is another step in NBBs ongoing endeavours towards becoming a more responsible organisation, reflecting the Banks long term commitment towards the community in which it operates to enrich the lives of generations.-- TradeArabia News Service
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohios closely watched two-week rate of new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents has taken a sharp turn for the better.

The rate reported Thursday in the weekly update from the Ohio Department of Health likely will be near 155.5 cases per 100,000 over the last two weeks, cleveland.com projects.

This is a significant turnaround from just two weeks ago, when the two-week rate reported by the state had increased for the fourth straight week, reaching 200 cases per 100,000. It dropped to 185.8 last week.

Gov. Mike DeWine on March 4 announced that he would lift all his state health orders if the rate dropped to 50 per 100,000.

But after the rate went up in recent weeks, DeWine said he may replace that target with another measure, such as vaccination rates. And on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control said Americans who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks outdoors unless theyre among a large crowd of strangers. Still, many other limits are tied to DeWines orders.

The Ohio case rate was last at 50 in June, but was as high as 845.5 in mid-December before beginning a steady decline through the beginning of March.

This rate is based on when people became sick or were first identified with the virus, not when the cases were reported by the state, and it excludes incarcerated individuals.

The official number released by the state likely will differ some from the cleveland.com estimate, mainly because its unknown how many of the recently reported cases involve incarcerated people. But in each of the last seven weeks the cleveland.com projection has been within decimal points of the official number, and sometimes exactly the same.

Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. Find data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral. Find previous census 2020 at this link.

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See which ZIP codes have the highest coronavirus case rates in Ohio

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Ohio coronavirus vaccine demand has slumped. Now comes the long slog toward herd immunity
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Xtrava Health, a health technology company, today announced it has been awarded a $6.2 million contract by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADxSM) initiative to expedite the launch of its SPERA COVID-19 antigen test. Xtrava Health is one of the companies selected from a pool of more than 700 RADx applicants for the scale-up phase of the initiative.

This contract follows months of meeting milestones and vetting Xtrava Health's technology and scale-up plans by clinical, diagnostics industry, and academic experts including independent evaluation and validation of the SPERA COVID-19 Ag Test's analytical and clinical performance by Emory University. RADx is supporting the company's analytical and clinical trials costs as well as program management and commercialization efforts.

"We are honored to be selected as part of the RADx initiative to help significantly increase the number, type, and availability of COVID-19 tests, which is essential to a full reopening of the economy," said Sameh Sarhan, CEO of Xtrava Health. "For the point-of-care market, our ability to quickly deliver millions of easy-to-use rapid antigen tests should contribute to the overall effort, with a subsequent over-the-counter test that will further maximize the impact."

The SPERA COVID-19 Ag Test is top-ranked for its ease-of-use -- only requiring shallow nasal swabs and providing results in 15 minutes or less. The test is currently in clinical trials for use in point-of-care settings. Over-the-counter clinical trials will soon follow current efforts where the test will be combined with a portable digital reader and smartphone app for increased sensitivity.

In addition, Xtrava Health is proud to announce its partnership with Denka Corporation, a Japan-based top tier infectious disease diagnostics developer and large-scale manufacturer.

Denka has successfully developed and commercialized numerous tests and has held the leading manufacturer position in Japan of diagnostic tests, including a multiplex QuickNavi-flu A/B rapid test and most recently adding a rapid antigen SARS-CoV-2 test to their portfolio.

"The strength of this partnership will allow Xtrava Health to meet the current market demand, while continuing to develop innovative diagnostics solutions," said Mr. Sarhan. "This includes our next-generation, consumer-facing digitally connected COVID-19 test and digital reader targeted for launch later this year."

Xtrava Health is committed to increasing the availability, ease, and accuracy of point-of-care testing, as well as expanding its over-the-counter testing platform to reach those who need it the most. "We believe our large-scale connected diagnostic platform will play a key role in responding to COVID-19 as well as providing the tools that are needed to mitigate the impact of future pandemics," said Iman Sadreddin, Xtrava Health's COO.

This project has been funded in part by the NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADxSM) initiative with federal funds from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. 75N92021C00002.

About Xtrava Health Xtrava Health is a Silicon Valley company, founded in 2014, on a mission to bridge the gap between diagnostics and everyday users. Leveraging unique technology and strategic global partnerships, Xtrava Health develops, manufactures, and commercializes easy-to-use, accurate, and affordable diagnostic products for health professionals and at-home use. Xtrava Health is currently on the forefront in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xtrava-health-receives-nih-funding-for-their-spera-covid-19-ag-test-301279230.html

SOURCE Xtrava Health
Michele Pitre, the owner of Norwood Florist Design Studio, hopes everyone has some patience as Mothers Day approaches.

Michele Pitre, the owner of Norwood Florist Design Studio, hopes everyone has some patience as Mothers Day approaches.

Unlike other industries that can stockpile supply in anticipation of demand thats about 10 times greater than a normal week, florists are at the mercy of just-in-time delivery.

But with production and supply chains disrupted around the world and pent up demand has soared because people cant actually see their loved ones in person, florists are being subjected to intense uncertainty in terms of supply combined with sometimes very specific, emotional demands from customers.

"We literally dont know what we will receive until Monday morning," said Pitre. "For people who, for sentimental reason, only want a certain colour of roses they may have difficulties."

Since about 80 per cent of cut flowers sold in Canada are imported, the industry is always at the mercy of weather conditions in Colombia and Ecuador  the largest source of roses and carnations  and with the pandemic causing different jurisdictions to shut down and then open repeatedly, its caused all sorts of supply disruptions.

Michele Pitre, owner of Norwood Florist Design Studio, is heading into Mothers Day, the busiest week of the year for the industry. The sector has experienced business increase by 30 per cent during the past year because people are sending more flowers since they can't meet in person. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press)

But Pitre is not complaining. After business fell off by about 80 per cent when the first lockdown happened last spring, its back in a big way this year.

Business at her small St. Boniface shop is up 30 per cent since the pandemic began.

Whereas Pitre can ask her customers to have faith in her expertise in finding appropriate alternatives, Callia Flowers, the Winnipeg-based national online order and delivery operation, needs to have the bouquets it delivers exactly match those pictured on its web site

Catherine Metrycki, the founder and CEO of Callia, said this is the most challenging the industry has been in the history of her company in terms of being able to get supply.

She said her team has been working on Mothers Day since before Christmas and she is feeling good about building in a little more flexibility, but she knows it is going to be a crunch.

"Because, industry-wide, the supply is not there for what the demand is looking like it is going to be," she said.

So it is the worst of times and the best of times for the $600 million annual Canadian floral industry.

Not only does it have to deal with the production and logistics of perishable products, but the industry now also has to deal with huge fluctuations in production, delivery and demand.

In a recent article in the University of Manitoba publication, UM Today, Paul D. Larson, CN Professor of Supply Chain Management, at the U of M, wrote that the "market wilted to an estimated $29.2 billion US in 2020, a 6.2 per cent contraction from 2019, largely due to the pandemic."

He said the journey those still-blooming roses take  from a farm in Colombia to flower shop in St. Boniface  takes as little as four days. Even so, 45 per cent of cut flowers die before they are sold.

Catherine Metrycki founder and CEO of Callia Flowers, a tech-enabled flower delivery company. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)

Mariette Mulaire, the CEO of World Trade Centre Winnipeg, said the perspective she has from that global organization helps her remember that everyone around the world has been affected by the pandemic.

"This is not the last story well hear about supply chains disruptions," she said. "People have been sending flowers when they dont normally during the pandemic. Demand has skyrocketed, but they dont have the supply. It is an example of how fragile it can be when the supply chain you count on is so challenged."

But florists have the good fortune of being in the business of providing happy moments  even now that many people are sending flowers because they are sad they cant see their loved ones in person.

Theyre just hoping that people will be patient and that wont be upset if there are no yellow roses to be found.

"Sometimes people forget that flowers are real, live, growing things," Metrycki said. "So its not like you can pre-produce 100,000 of them and have them sitting in the back of warehouse. All of us, from the farmers, to the wholesalers to the florists are doing their best managing this incredibly perishable inventory."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
GRAND HAVEN, MI -- A 30-year-old Grand Haven man has been sentenced to a minimum 15 years in prison for fatally stabbing his roommate in 2019.

Justin David Streeter was sentenced Tuesday, April 27 in Ottawa County Circuit Court.

He earlier pleaded guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder.

Hes accused of stabbing to death Thomas Allen Kennedy, 55, on July 5, 2019.

Kennedy was found dead in an upstairs apartment at a residence in the 1300 block of Columbus Avenue.

During Tuesdays sentencing, defense attorney Terry Nolan said Streeter was able to get on different medication while being treated at the state Center for Forensic Psychiatry and is now a totally different guy.

Nolan said Streeter did not appear to know that Kennedy was dead when he first met with him.

He asked me if he was OK, Nolan said.

Ottawa County Circuit Judge Karen Miedema sentenced Streeter to 15-50 years in prison and ordered him to pay $2,401 in restitution to help cover funeral expenses for Kennedys family. He was credited with already serving 660 days in jail.

Ottawa County prosecutors said Kennedys family was consulted about the sentence and satisfied this is justice.

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Unilever provides support to UNHCRs global efforts for better hygiene environment in the time of COVID-19.

Following the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic, the multinational supplier company donated much-needed hygiene materials to UNHCR to distribute to persons in need of international protection and also to host community members in Turkey. The donation includes 300,000 disinfectants and 150,000 bars of soap.

We are experiencing a challenging period, tells Azadeh*, a 19-year-old Afghan who lives with her family in Kayseri. None of us would have thought that the pandemic would have this much of an impact worldwide, she adds. Azadeh is one of the persons in need of protection who received Unilever-donated items. When her father lost his job, the family did not give up on the preventive measures against COVID-19: We know that hygiene has the utmost importance in avoiding the virus. With the soap and disinfectants we received, we were able to wash our hands and clean our house frequently. Thanks to this support, we feel more protected in our home.

In this initiative, UNHCR collaborates with its partners across Turkey for the distribution of disinfectants and soap. One of UNHCRs local partners, the Afghan Refugees Solidarity Association (ARSA) carries out the needs assessment and makes the material distribution at their office in Kayseri. So far, 1,000 households in Kayseri received the hygiene kit with the support of ARSA.

18-year-old Mina*, who also resides in Kayseri, suffered from coronavirus in late 2020. It was the fall when I contracted the virus. My family and I spent two weeks in quarantine at home, she expresses. This has made Mina pay extra attention to wearing a mask everywhere, cleaning her house regularly, and keeping social distance wherever she goes. She often warns her neighbours and friends to be careful and avoid crowds: With the protective measures, I believe that we can get through this COVID-19 pandemic together.

Globally, Turkey hosts the largest number of persons in need of international protection, including more than 3.6 million Syrians and close to 320,000 international protection status holders and asylum-seekers of other nationalities. The partnership between Unilever and UNHCR, which comes at a critical time, helps persons in need of protection in playing an active role to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Ali*, who is from Afghanistan and lives with his children, highlights that when each family member spends most of their time at home because of the lockdowns and restrictions, the need for cleaning products increases significantly. At a time when he faces economic instability, Unilevers donation was quite meaningful. Ali believes the disinfectant and soap provided by Unilever eased the burden on his family in these extremely challenging times: I felt relief upon receiving the hygiene items as I was facing a lot of financial difficulties. Upon receiving the items, he informed his acquaintances and friends in need to apply to ARSA to receive the items.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global health situation that was not experienced before. In this extraordinary time, people forced to flee are particularly exposed. Thanks to the support of Unilever, persons in need of protection received hygiene materials for better sanitary prospects in Turkey. At a time when international solidarity is needed more than ever, Unilevers timely donation helps the most vulnerable stay safe by enhancing hygiene.

*Names have been changed to protect identity.

Photos are taken during the distribution made by UNHCRs local partners, the Afghan Refugees Solidarity Association (ARSA) in Kayseri and the Afghanistans Hazaras Culture and Solidarity Association in Trabzon.

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LANE COUNTY, Ore. -- Horse owners and advocates are speaking out after a Creswell woman convicted of 11 counts of animal neglect avoided jail time again, despite violating her probation agreement.

Gwenyth Davies reportedly missed nearly all her payments and was only sporadically sending photos of the few animals she has been allowed to have.

RELATED: CRESWELL WOMAN WHO NEGLECTED HORSES AVOIDS JAIL AGAIN

"If you have an animal in your care, and you're not taking care of it, it's just heartbreaking," said Whispering Meadows Director Wendy Hensley.

Horse lovers say that cases like Davies' happen all too often.

"This is an all too common situation," said Oregon Horse Rescue co-founder David Kelly. "Horses have stunningly little right to a decent life under Oregon law. The worst I heard of was someone being denied horse ownership for five years."

However, the prosecutor on Davies' case said that they are restricted by Oregon law regarding what penalties they can impose. Currently in Oregon, there is no legal way a judge can ban animal ownership for life.

Plus, since Davies was involved in a commercial livestock operation where horses were considered livestock, Davies was not prohibited from ownership.

Although horse advocates say that stricter laws need to be enforced against animal cruelty, animal defense attorneys say that Oregon has one of the strongest animal protection laws.

"Each year we publish a rankings report and based on the state animal protection laws, Oregon is ranked third," said Animal Legal Defense Fund attorney Kathleen Wood.

Prosecutors also said that violating probations isn't enough to give Davies jail time. However, if she doesn't meet her most recent settlement in which she agreed to make a lump sum payment of $500 and lease one of her three horses to someone else, prosecutors say she may face additional sentencing or jail time.
Looks as if it's not just mansions for smooth operator Patrisse Cullors, who co-founded Black Lives Matter.

She's also into stretches at luxury resorts, with some very curious accounting.

According to an investigative report from the Daily Caller:

Los Angeles-based jail reform group led by BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors spent nearly $26,000 for "meetings" at a luxury Malibu beach resort in 2019, according to campaign finance records reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Reform LA Jails dropped $10,179 for "meetings and appearances" at the Calamigos Guest Ranch and Beach Club in Malibu, California, and another $15,593 at the Malibu Conference Center, a corporate conference facility owned by the resort, according to the records, which covered the time period between July and September 2019. Guests at the 200-acre resort, where rooms start at $600 a night, have exclusive access to a private five-acre strip of the Malibu coast.

That's all fine and dandy, but the records of the groups involved don't show any such "meetings," the Caller reported.

A review of Reform LA Jails' social media records shows that the group organized multiple events in the Los Angeles area in the second half of 2019, including a party at actress Jane Fonda's house and a "day party + summit" in Pasadena featuring live music and local artists. But the DCNF was unable to locate any public records of the group holding an event at the Malibu beach resort.

That might mean that the "meeting" involved a lot of lounging around. Some of it, yes, was for conference space, so some kind of meeting may have happened. But a lot of it was not, and it was done in a three-month window in 2019. Self-described "trained Marxist" Cullors elsewhere has dropped a cool $3.2 million on four houses and mansions, at least two of them in the Los Angeles area. She couldn't hold these off-the-record "meetings" in one of those places? Sounds a little funny.

The Malibu resort, in fact, is a pretty tony affair. Rooms start at $669 a night for the cheapies ($839 with taxes and fees) and go up to $795 ($992 with taxes and fees) for the luxe ones, according to Expedia. Membership rates may be lower, so if she's a repeat-customer member there, it's less, but either way, costs can pile up fast. Amenities include a private beach, lake tours, pool, spa, air-conditioning, free wi-fi, and pet-friendliness.

And this is the only resort visit that we know about. There could be others.

The Caller continued:

"Reform LA Jails' filings raise a number of questions," said Peter Flaherty, the chairman of the conservative watchdog group National Legal and Policy Center. "An audit would establish whether any campaign funds were used for personal purposes."

BLM, in fact, has taken in tremendous corporate donations. Following its trashing of American cities, leaving black shop-owners weeping in the ruins after losing all they had worked for in the BLM arson attacks, lootings, riots, and resulting public abandonment of the areas, corporate America lined up to donate to these trashers, in hopes the crocodile would eat them last.

Cullors, as noted earlier, is a "trained Marxist" and, through her co-founder, Opal Tometi, seems to learned her wokester shtick at the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez's knee  the nomenklatura part in particular, as if all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. If the Caller could find this resort activity on someone claiming to fight for "the people," it's probable that a lot more of this stuff is going on. Diamond life, as they say. And sure enough, a smooth operator.

Image: American Luxury Limousine, via Flickr // CC BY 2.0

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The National Day of Prayer is Thursday, May 6. The Midland First United Methodist will celebrate from noon to 1 p.m. on the Main Street lawn. Social distancing and masks are encouraged.
Having grown up poor in a rural village in Zimbabwe, Wilson Majee saw firsthand as a child the lack of educational opportunities that were easily accessible and how that impacted the youth in his village.

Now an associate professor in the University of Missouri School of Health Professions, Majee researches the challenges facing disadvantaged, rural youth. He found in a recent study that young people who are disengaged from their communities are much more likely to participate in risky behaviors such as substance abuse, particularly in rural areas that lack educational opportunities.

For the study, Majee spoke with youth in rural South Africa about the factors contributing to drug abuse for the NEET population, which stands for young people around the world "Not in Employment, Education or Training." He found that a lack of educational opportunities, combined with other factors - such as a lack of motivation, absent adult role models and few recreational activities - compound to create feelings of hopelessness and despair in young people. These feelings can influence drug use and other risky behaviors.

All of these factors the young people mentioned, in addition to poverty, unemployment and a lack of basic resources such as health facilities, libraries, available drinking water and internet access, compound together to limit opportunities for rural youth. Toward the end of Apartheid in South Africa, there was a mass migration of young people to urban cities, and since then, the necessary infrastructure has not been put in place in rural areas to help struggling youth successfully advance in life." Wilson Majee, Associate Professor, University of Missouri School of Health Professions

The number of young people around the world in the NEET population, currently an estimated 273 million worldwide and 10 million in the United States, has been steadily increasing since 2017, according to the International Labor Organization. Majee explained that, as it was for him almost 35 years ago, access to higher education has remained a major challenge for rural youth, particularly those who have never traveled to larger cities where more resources and universities are typically located.

"At the time I was pursuing higher education, there was only one university in all of Zimbabwe, and it was very far from my village, so I was overwhelmed at first when I attended because I had never been to a big city before," Majee said. "I also knew I had to be among the best students in the nation to earn a spot at the university."

According to Majee, in rural South Africa, as in rural Zimbabwe, primary and secondary schools often lack the infrastructure and resources necessary to prepare students for diverse fields.

"Rural schools not only lack qualified teachers, but they also often lack a variety of subject choices for students to take, as many rural schools do not offer classes in science, information technology, engineering or math," Majee said. "Yet we live in a technology-driven world that is fueled by these STEM subjects; so rural youth see no value in going to school if they can't learn the subjects that will help them get a job."

When Majee asked the rural South African youth who participated in the study for possible solutions to their challenges, the most common suggestion was creating smaller, community college-style satellite campuses for major universities that would be located in rural areas to increase access to those resources. Others emphasized the need for agriculture training programs, educating parents and community members on the power of role models and mentors, and the establishment of internet cafes to provide youth with a safe environment to explore topics that interest them.

"These complex solutions will require collaboration from community members, families, youth, private organizations, universities, researchers and government," Majee said. "These are multi-level issues the youth are facing, which calls for diverse stakeholders to come together to address them."

The goal of Majee's research is to empower youth by exploring strategies that help them become engaged members of their communities so they are less likely to participate in risky behaviors like drug abuse and crime.

"Young people today are the future community leaders of tomorrow," Majee said. "We need to invest in them to make sure they have the skills and knowledge they need to save their communities in the future, which will ultimately benefit society at large."
To help India strengthen its battle against Covid-19, Singapore has flagged off another 2 of the Singapore Air Force's C-130s, arriving in India today with necessary resources.

As the Coronavirus crisis deepens in India, the first emergency relief shipment, which is expected to arrive on a military transport aircraft from Travis Air Force Base, will include 440 oxygen cylinders and regulators donated by the state of California. Singapore has once again extended its support to India as the Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman flagged off 2 of the Singapore Air Forces C-130s, arriving in India today with 256 Oxygen cylinders. Earlier Temasek, a Singapore investment company, also sent medical supplies, including four cryogenic oxygen cylinders donated by Indias Tata Group.

In the midst of a critical medical oxygen shortage in Delhi, Punjabi Bagh Police have arrested two people for illegally selling oxygen cylinders. They were found with four Oxygen cylinders and one large commercial Oxygen cylinder. On Tuesday, Delhi high court chastised the Delhi Government on the issue of black marketing and asked to immediately take over an oxygen refilling plant and issued five other refillers with contempt notices.

As Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc in the capital city, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Tuesday that 21 ready-to-use Oxygen plants would be imported from France to meet the demand for medical oxygen. In total, 44 oxygen plants will be built in the nations capital, he said. The city government will set up 15 while 21 will be imported from France.

Every other state is facing the same situation of oxygen shortages. Four tankers of Liquid Medical oxygen reached Delhi yesterday, whereas 3 tankers reached Maharastra. On the other hand, Lucknow also received 5 tankers of 90 MT of liquid medical oxygen and almost 302 MT of O2 has been transported to different parts of India. Maharashtra government furthers announced a global tender for oxygen production and medical supplies.

Arvind Kejriwal also said that they are importing 21 ready-to-use Oxygen plants from France. They can be put to use right away. These will be built in various hospitals, assisting them in resolving oxygen shortages in those facilities. Kejriwal also announced yesterday that almost all the beds in Delhi are full and 1,200 proper ICU beds would be available to Delhi residents by May 10. Though 500 ICU beds are being built near the GTB hospital and the main Ramlila Site, 200 ICU beds are being built at the Radha Soami complex.

Read More: France, US and other countries to send medical aid to India, UKs first shipment reaches Delhi
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A multidecade study of young adults living in the United Kingdom has found higher rates of mental illness symptoms among those exposed to higher levels of traffic-related air pollutants, particularly nitrogen oxides, during childhood and adolescence.

Previous studies have identified a link between air pollution and the risk of specific mental disorders, including depression and anxiety, but this study looked at changes in mental health that span all forms of disorder and psychological distress associated with exposure to traffic-related air pollutants.

The findings, which will appear April 28 in JAMA Network Open, reveal that the greater an individual's exposure to nitrogen oxides across childhood and adolescence, the more likely they are to show any signs of mental illness at the transition to adulthood, at age 18, when most symptoms of mental illness have emerged or begin to emerge.

The link between air pollution exposure and young adult mental illness symptoms is modest, according to the study's first-author Aaron Reuben, a graduate student in clinical psychology at Duke University. But "because harmful exposures are so widespread around the world, outdoor air pollutants could be a significant contributor to the global burden of psychiatric disease," he said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) currently estimates that 9 out of 10 people worldwide are exposed to high levels of outdoor air pollutants, which are emitted during fossil fuel combustion in cars, trucks, and powerplants, and by many manufacturing, waste-disposal, and industrial processes.

In this study, air pollution, a neurotoxicant, was found to be a weaker risk factor for mental illness than other better-known risks, such as family history of mental illness, but was of equal strength to other neurotoxicants known to harm mental health, particularly childhood exposure to lead.

In a previous study in the same cohort, Helen Fisher of King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, and coauthor and principal investigator for this study, linked childhood air pollution exposure to the risk of psychotic experiences in young adulthood, raising concern that air pollutants may exacerbate risk for psychosis later in life.

When combined with studies showing increased hospital admissions for many psychiatric illnesses during "poor" air quality days in countries like China and India, the current study builds on past findings to reveal that "air pollution is likely a non-specific risk factor for mental illness writ large," said Fisher, who noted that exacerbations of mental illness risk may show up differently in different children.

The subjects of this study are a cohort of 2,000 twins born in England and Wales in 1994-1995 and followed to young adulthood. They have regularly participated in physical and mental health evaluations and have provided information about the larger communities in which they live.

Researchers measured exposure to air pollutantsparticularly nitrogen oxides (NOx), a regulated gaseous pollutant, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a regulated aerosol pollutant with suspended particles below 2.5 microns in diameterby modeling air quality around study member's homes at ages 10 and 18 years using high-quality air dispersion models and data provided by the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory and the Imperial College's UK road-traffic emissions inventory. Twenty-two percent of the study members were found to have had exposure to NOx that exceeded WHO guidelines, and 84% had exposure to PM2.5 that exceeded guidelines.

The research team, based at Duke and King's IoPPN, also assessed participant mental health at age 18. Symptoms associated with ten different psychiatric disordersdependence on alcohol, cannabis, or tobacco; conduct disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorder; and thought disorder symptoms related to psychosiswere used to calculate a single measure of mental health, called the psychopathology factor, or "p-factor" for short.

The higher an individual's p-factor score, the greater the number and severity of psychiatric symptoms identified. Individuals can also differ on their mental health across sub-domains of psychopathology, which group together symptoms of distress or dysfunction that are manifested in outwardly visible ways (externalizing problems, like conduct disorder), experienced largely internally (internalizing problems, like anxiety), and via delusions or hallucinations (thought disorder symptoms). Air pollution effects on mental health were observed across these subdomains of psychopathology, with the strongest links to thought disorder symptoms.

Unique to this study, the researchers also assessed characteristics of children's neighborhoods to account for disadvantageous neighborhood conditions that associate with higher air pollution levels and greater risk of mental illness, including socioeconomic deprivation, physical dilapidation, social disconnection, and dangerousness. While air pollution levels were greater in neighborhoods with worse economic, physical, and social conditions, adjusting the study results for neighborhood characteristics did not alter the results, nor did adjustment for individual and family factors, such as childhood emotional and behavioral problems or family socioeconomic status and history of mental illness.

"We have confirmed the identification of what is essentially a novel risk factor for most major forms of mental illness," said Reuben, "one that is modifiable and that we can intervene on at the level of whole communities, cities, and or even countries."

In the future, the study team is interested in learning more about the biological mechanisms that link early life air pollution exposure to greater risk for mental illness at the transition to adulthood. Previous evidence suggests that air pollutant exposures can lead to inflammation in the brain, which may lead to difficulty regulating thoughts and emotions.

While the findings are most relevant to high-income countries with only moderate levels of outdoor air pollutants, like the US and the UK, there are also implications for low-income, developing countries with higher air pollution exposures, like China and India. "We don't know what the mental health consequences are of very high air pollution exposures, but that is an important empirical question we are investigating further," said Fisher.

Explore further Childhood cognitive problems could lead to mental health issues in later life

More information: "Association Of Air Pollution Exposure in Childhood and Adolescence With Psychopathology at the Transition To Adulthood," Aaron Reuben, Louise Arseneault, Andrew Beddows, Sean D. Beevers, Terrie E. Moffitt, Antony Ambler, Rachel M. Latham, Joanne B. Newbury, Candice L. Odgers, Jonathan D. Schaefer, and Helen L. Fisher. JAMA Network Open, April 28, 2021 Journal information: JAMA Network Open "Association Of Air Pollution Exposure in Childhood and Adolescence With Psychopathology at the Transition To Adulthood," Aaron Reuben, Louise Arseneault, Andrew Beddows, Sean D. Beevers, Terrie E. Moffitt, Antony Ambler, Rachel M. Latham, Joanne B. Newbury, Candice L. Odgers, Jonathan D. Schaefer, and Helen L. Fisher., April 28, 2021 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.7508
Waco shoppers can find major savings and deals on select GMC and Buick models at Richard Karr Motors in Central Texas.

The Richard Karr Motors dealership in Waco, Texas, is known for offering its shoppers some of the best deals in town on new Buick, Cadillac and GMC models. The dealership is currently offering a dealer discount on select new 2020 and 2021 Buick and GMC models to help shoppers save even more at checkout.

Richard Karr Motors is currently offering a dealer discount of up to $1,050 on select 2021 Buick Encore models, on top of available Buick & GMC Consumer Cash Program offers. The 2021 Buick Encore is a perfect match for shoppers looking for a small and compact SUV that offers the right amount of space and the latest infotainment features.

Shoppers considering a new 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 can save up to $2,250 on select models in the Richard Karr Motors inventory with the available dealer discounts. The Sierra 1500 is a longstanding fan favorite at Richard Karr Motors thanks to its powerful engine lineup and incredible capability on and off the road.

Shoppers can save hundreds and even thousands of dollars on select new Buick and GMC vehicles at Richard Karr Motors right now when they take advantage of available dealer discounts. Select offers can be combined with other available deals and incentives, but terms and conditions may apply.

Anyone can view the available lineup of new Buick and GMC models with qualifying dealer discounts on the Richard Karr Motors website, richardkarr.com. Members of the Richard Karr Motors team are available by phone, 254-776-1111, to assist with any specific inquiries or questions. Richard Karr Motors is located at 900 W Loop 340 in Waco, Texas, and is open Monday through Saturday.
Dennis Tito, on the left beside two Russian astronauts, was the first private citizen to ever go to space  and he spent more than a week on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/WikimediaCommons

For most people, getting to the stars is nothing more than a dream. On April 28, 2001, Dennis Tito achieved that lifelong goalbut he wasn't a typical astronaut. Tito, a wealthy businessman, paid US$20 million for a seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to be the first tourist to visit the International Space Station. Only seven people have followed suit in the 20 years since, but that number is poised to double in the next 12 months alone.

NASA has long been hesitant to play host to space tourists, so Russialooking for sources of money post-Cold War in the 1990s and 2000shas been the only option available for those looking for this kind of extreme adventure. However, it seems the rise of private space companies is going to make it easier for regular people to experience space.

From my perspective as a space policy analyst, I see the beginning of an era in which more people can experience space. With companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin hoping to build a future for humanity in space, space tourism is a way to demonstrate both the safety and reliability of space travel to the general public.

The development of space tourism

Flights to space like Dennis Tito's are expensive for a reason. A rocket must burn a lot of costly fuel to travel high and fast enough to enter Earth's orbit.

Another cheaper possibility is a suborbital launch, with the rocket going high enough to reach the edge of space and coming right back down. While passengers on a suborbital trip experience weightlessness and incredible views, these launches are more accessible.

The difficulty and expense of either option has meant that, traditionally, only nation-states have been able to explore space. This began to change in the 1990s as a series of entrepreneurs entered the space arena. Three companies led by billionaire CEOs have emerged as the major players: Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX. Though none have taken paying, private customers to space, all anticipate doing so in the very near future.

British billionaire Richard Branson has built his brand on not just business but also his love of adventure. In pursuing space tourism, Branson has brought both of those to bear. He established Virgin Galactic after buying SpaceShipOnea company that won the Ansari X-Prize by building the first reusable spaceship. Since then, Virgin Galactic has sought to design, build and fly a larger SpaceShipTwo that can carry up to six passengers in a suborbital flight.

SpaceX has already started selling tickets to the public and has future plans to use its Starship rocket, a prototype of which is seen here, to send people to Mars. Credit: Jared Krahn/WikimediaCommons, CC BY-SA

The going has been harder than anticipated. While Branson predicted opening the business to tourists in 2009, Virgin Galactic has encountered some significant hurdlesincluding the death of a pilot in a crash in 2014. After the crash, engineers found significant problems with the design of the vehicle, which required modifications.

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, respective leaders of SpaceX and Blue Origin, began their own ventures in the early 2000s.

Musk, fearing that a catastrophe of some sort could leave Earth uninhabitable, was frustrated at the lack of progress in making humanity a multiplanetary species. He founded SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of first developing reusable launch technology to decrease the cost of getting to space. Since then, SpaceX has found success with its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX's ultimate goal is human settlement of Marssending paying customers to space is an intermediate step. Musk says he hopes to show that space travel can be done easily and that tourism might provide a revenue stream to support development of the larger, Mars-focused Starship system.

Bezos, inspired by the vision of physicist Gerard O'Neill, wants to expand humanity and industry not to Mars, but to space itself. Blue Origin, established in 2004, has proceeded slowly and quietly in also developing reusable rockets. Its New Shepard rocket, first successfully flown in 2015, will eventually offer tourists a suborbital trip to the edge of space, similar to Virgin Galactic's. For Bezos, these launches represent an effort at making space travel routine, reliable and accessible to people as a first step to enabling further space exploration.

Outlook for the future

Now, SpaceX is the only option for someone looking to go into space and orbit the Earth. It currently has two tourist launches planned. The first is scheduled for as early as September 2021, funded by billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman. The other trip, planned for 2022, is being organized by Axiom Space. These trips will be costly, at $55 million for the flight and a stay on the International Space Station. The high cost has led some to warn that space tourismand private access to space more broadlymight reinforce inequality between rich and poor.

Blue Origin's and Virgin Galactic's suborbital trips are far more reasonable in cost, with both priced between $200,000 and $250,000. Blue Origin appears to be the nearest to allowing paying customers on board, saying after a recent launch that crewed missions would be happening "soon." Virgin Galactic continues to test SpaceShipTwo, but no specific timetable has been announced for tourist flights.

Though these prices are high, it is worth considering that Dennis Tito's $20 million ticket in 2001 could pay for 100 flights on Blue Origin soon. The experience of viewing the Earth from space, though, may prove to be priceless for a whole new generation of space explorers.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Some of Australia's most violent foreign criminals and drug thugs are allowed to remain in in the country after getting a second chance because they've 'found god' or suffered childhood trauma.

Several non-citizens and asylum seekers, including a wife killer, carjacker, drug trafficker, a bikie and a domestic violence thug, were deported from Australia by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke.

But they have now been allowed to stay in the country after the Administrative Appeals Tribunal overturned the government's decision.

The criminals either turned to religion, suffered childhood trauma or needed to put the needs of their Aussie children first, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Several non-citizens, including a wife killer, carjacker, drug trafficker, a bikie and a domestic violence thug, were deported from Australia by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke (pictured)

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Mr Hawke said the AAT 'must give weight to serious crimes committed by visa holders'.

'In light of some concerning decisions, I issued a ministerial direction making it abundantly clear that having an Australian visa is a privilege and not a right, and that those who commit serious crimes should face the full force of the law,' he told News Corp.

Among the thugs allowed to stay in Australia is an Uber driver who beat his wife with a large stick in 2014.

His bid for citizenship was in refused on character grounds before the AAT overturned the decision and ruled he 'appears to have devoted himself' to his wife and children.

An Afghan asylum seeker who became a bikie gang member of the New Boyz and attacked a man with an axe Adelaide will also be allowed to stay in Australia.

The 33-year-old had his visa revoked, before the AAT ruled the man not to be a 'danger to the community'.

A French engineer is allowed to visit his daughter in Australia despite being convicted of killing his wife in 1999 amid their bitter divorce.

He was initially banned from entering the country, but the AAT overturned the Home Affairs Department's decision, citing Moreau 'does not pose a risk of reoffending'.
, Inc ( ) Co-Founder and Vice President Jason Sunstein tells Proactive the San Diego, California-based group is seeing residential home demand from first time home buyers at its Mexico properties in Baja California.

Sunstein says first time home buyers are getting priced out of the Southern California market, where median home prices are moving to around $680,000, and buyers are now seeing the allure of a lower price point of around $189,000 in Mexico, 45 minutes south of the border.
For a month, the European Unions top executive, Ursula von der Leyen, had been exchanging texts and calls with Albert Bourla, the chief executive of Pfizer. Two things became clear: Pfizer might have many more vaccine doses it could offer the bloc. And the European Union wanted them.

That personal diplomacy played a big role in a deal, to be finalized this week, in which the bloc will lock in 1.8 billion doses from Pfizer.

The deal will establish the European Union as Pfizers biggest client and allow the bloc to resell or donate the vaccines to partners, empowering it to support poorer countries struggling immunization efforts.
Veteran news anchor Peter Hitchener has given an update on his health after he was taken off air mid-bulletin during Channel Nine's 6pm Melbourne news.

The 75-year-old sparked concern after he stumbled over his words on March 29 due to a migraine, causing producers to quickly cut to a pre-recorded story.

But on Wednesday, Peter assured The Herald Sun that 'everything's good' with his health, and confirmed he's looking after himself more than ever since the on-air incident.

Doing better: Veteran news anchor Peter Hitchener has given an update on his health after he was taken off air mid-bulletin during Channel Nine's 6pm Melbourne news

'Im very good now and making sure I drink plenty of water,' he said, before confirming he had visited the hospital as a precaution.

Peter, who has since returned to work, added that he had only started suffering with migraines over the past few years.

'It was the first time on air and I hope it never happens again,' he said.

Shortly after the footage aired, Nine - who Peter has been reading the news for since 1998 - issued a statement to confirm that he was suffering from a migraine.

'He is now resting and we expect to see him back on deck tomorrow night. He is grateful for everyones concern,' Nine's Twitter account said.

Anguish: The 75-year-old sparked concern after he stumbled over his words on March 29 due to a migraine, causing producers to quickly cut to a pre-recorded story

Peter was replaced on the broadcast by Clint Stanway who acknowledged the anchor's absence before moving on with the news.

Nine tweeted that the news legend was feeling OK before the end of the broadcast, with Peter himself tweeting just after its conclusion at 7pm that he was fine.

'Thanks so much for your well wishes... I am feeling better already. I am most grateful for your support,' he said.

Veteran: Peter has been a mainstay as the face of Nine News Melbourne since 1998

'Better already': Nine tweeted that the news legend was feeling OK before the end of the broadcast, with Peter himself tweeting just after its conclusion at 7pm that he was fine

There was immediate concern for Peter's health, with Australian wheelchair star Dylan Alcott one of the first to comment.

'@9NewsMelb can someone please replace Peter Hitchener for the rest of the night and make sure the king is ok? Worried about him!!!' the reigning Australian Open champion tweeted.

'Fingers crossed he is feeling a bit better. I know all his viewers would be very concerned,' another Twitter user said.

Other observers said Peter looked to have been struggling throughout the broadcast and were relieved to see him taken off and hear that he was fine.
Modus Energy International, a member of the Lithuanian diversified company Modus Grupe, has initiated an arbitration against Ukraine over the retrospective reduction of feed-in tariffs in seeking to compensate damages of EUR 11.5 million, according to a draft government resolution on the procurement of legal advisors services to defend the interests of the state in arbitration.

The draft resolution, authorizing the Ministry of Justice to apply the simplified negotiating procedure, was included in the agenda of the government meeting on Wednesday.

According to an explanatory note to the draft resolution, the Ministry of Justice received a notice of arbitration against Ukraine on March 23 from the owner of Bolokhivsky Solar Park 1 LLC, Bolokhivsky Solar Park 2, as well as Solar Zalukva LLC  the Lithuanian company Modus Energy International. The company, in particular, claimed that Ukraine violated the Energy Charter Treaty by lowering feed-in tariffs from August 1, 2020 by 15%., the amount of which was guaranteed until the end of 2029, through the adoption of Law No. 810-IX.

According to preliminary estimates, the damages claimed are EUR 11.5 million.

According to the note, Modus Energy International did not agree to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding between the government and investors signed in June 2020, which provides for a reduction in feed-in tariffs in exchange for repayment of debts to electricity producers from renewable energy sources.

The company asks the arbitration tribunal to recover from Ukraine, including the losses incurred, as well as interest on them and all costs of the arbitration proceedings.

For its part, the Ministry of Justice points out in a note that a meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group was held on April 2, at which it was deemed expedient to involve a legal advisor to properly protect the interests of the state in arbitration in the course of applying the negotiation procedure for the purchase of its services.As reported, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission of Ukraine (NEURC) in 2019 approved a feed-in tariff of 15.03 euro cents per 1 kWh for solar power plants Bolokhivsky Solar Park 1 and Bolokhivsky Solar Park 2 until January 1, 2030. Investments in the project amounted to EUR 30 million. In addition, in the first half of 2019, Modus Grupe began construction of two solar power plants in Ukraine with a total capacity of 46 MW.
SPS new transparent cards offer empowers financial institutions and card vendors innovative marketing strategies Jean-Baptiste Leos, Product Marketing Director Payment at SPS declares: Transparent cards with either SPS standard design or specific antenna design is a strong, efficient and original differentiation means for banks for a fraction of the cost of their usual marketing campaigns.

SPS, a brand of the IN Groupe, is proud to announce its new offer for transparent cards that brings a fully qualified and industrialized answer to the need of custom designs for contactless and dual interface payment cards. Banks, traditional ones and neobanks alike, are in need of differentiation to gain new customers. They keep on designing new cards allowing them to micro-segment their clientele and show each of their cardholders the uniqueness of their status.

SPS has developed new antennas that benefit from the latest technology developments and allow a thinner design than before. Unlike wired coils, SPS antennas are printed with aluminum, allowing for an extremely stable and repeatable design, that makes it easy for designers to integrate the antenna through the card with their specific artwork and guarantee a perfect alignment of graphical items. SPS transparent card offer is compatible with many other card body options such as metal cards or cut or rounded corners.

SPS standard new antenna for transparent cards covers only two thirds of the card surface leaving a lot of space for the visuals and allowing graphical combinations between the artwork and the antenna. Certified by Visa and Mastercard, this new antenna design allows four lines of embossing on the card.

To bring even more flexibility and an always better answer to artwork designers demands, SPS proposes its CAI - Custom Antenna Image  technology that allows to specify the most suitable antenna design that will combine graphical elements on the card with specific antenna features. For instance, the bank name or its logo or any other representation of card status level, can appear as a part of the antenna design, visible through the transparent plastic surfaces.

With SPS new transparent card offer, financial institutions are able to enrich their portfolio of credit and debit cards without limits: they can propose regular cards, colored edge cards, transparent cards, metal cards, or heavy cards, with an almost infinite variety of design features to micro-segment their clientele and satisfy the need for status of all market niches.

By integrating this new comprehensive offer, smart card manufacturers are able to adapt to always-evolving market demands, as they expand their product offer for their customers while improving their margin levels.

Jean-Baptiste Leos, Product Marketing Director Payment at SPS declares: Transparent cards with either SPS standard design or specific antenna design is a strong, efficient and original differentiation means for banks for a fraction of the cost of their usual marketing campaigns.

SPS new antenna for transparent cards are fully qualified and readily available from SPS. They are already certified by Visa and Mastercard, thus facilitating their integration in a smart card vendor manufacturing process to obtain the full satisfaction of issuing financial institutions. SPS cards build upon SPS longstanding eBooster inductive coupling technology, which consists in using electromagnetic coupling between the antenna and the module (no physical connection between the chip and the antenna) for contactless or dual interface cards. High yields and insignificant return rates ensure that the whole process is extremely cost-effective and brings a high level of satisfaction for the issuers as well as the cardholders.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 250 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

SPS and Surys are part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The company plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity.

Whatever the challenge, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

IN Groupe runs three affiliated brands, SPS for electronic components, Surys for optical and holographic security and Nexus for workforce identity and object identity solutions, technological leaders in their markets.

Key figures: 407M turnover (proforma 2019), 1,500 employees - 7 sites in Europe - +100 countries using IN Groupe solutions - 28 partner governments.

More information at: https://www.ingroupe.com
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee has announced $140,000 in funding for school buses for two mid-Michigan schools.

The Clio Area School District will replace five diesel school buses using $100,000 the federal funding. Whittemore-Prescott Area Schools, north of Midland, will replace two buses with the remaining $40,000.

The funding was awarded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program.

Students ought to be going to school on safe buses, Kildee, D-Flint Twp., said. By replacing old diesel school buses with newer and cleaner models, we can both reduce pollution and protect public health.

As schools reopen safely for in-person learning, I am pleased to announce these federal grants for the Clio Area School District and Whittemore-Prescott Area Schools.

Read more on MLive:

Mott Community College to host COVID-19 vaccination event next week

Heres why Genesee County recycling services are paused until May 5

Back to the Bricks scholarship applications open until May 7

Flint board members surprised by possible multi-million dollar agreement with Mott Foundation, state to build and renovate schools
U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the "stunning" progress that the United States has made in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as he addressed the nation from the White House on Tuesday.

"While we still have a long way to go in this fight, a lot of work to do in May and June to get us to July 4, we've made stunning progress because of all of you, the American people," Biden said, referencing Independence Day as a milestone goal in the fight against the virus.

"Cases and deaths are down - down dramatically from where they were when I took office," The AFP cited him as saying.

Biden spoke out as the country's premier health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued new guidance notifying Americans vaccinated against the coronavirus that they no longer need to wear masks outdoors.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 08:46:33|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Australian athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be given priority access to coronavirus vaccines before departing.

The federal government has announced that approximately 2,050 athletes and support staff traveling to Japan for the delayed Olympics and Paralympics will be considered a priority group in the troubled vaccine rollout.

Greg Hunt, the Minister for Health, said that vaccines would safeguard Australians traveling to Tokyo in July and August.

"We want to see our athletes head to Tokyo to compete and then return to Australia safely," he said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

As of Tuesday, there had been about 1.9 million coronavirus vaccine doses administered in Australia, with the rollout having been plagued by supply issues and safety concerns over Astrazeneca's vaccine.

However, Sport Minister Richard Colbeck reassured Australians that the decision to prioritize Olympians would not delay vaccinations for vulnerable people.

"While vulnerable Australians remain an absolute priority as the vaccine rollout continues, National Cabinet understands the pressure our high-performance athletes have been facing as the Tokyo Games draw closer," he said.

"This will be a very different Olympics and Paralympics, but our athletes deserve the opportunity to compete."

The Tokyo Olympics are set to start on July 23, having been postponed in 2020 amid the pandemic.

According to the statement, the vaccinations will comprise both Pfizer and AstraZeneca (for team members aged over 50 years).

The Pfizer shot is the preferred vaccine for team members under the age of 50. Enditem
Louisiana joined several southern states Tuesday in lifting its mask mandate, which had been in effect since July 2020 to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Besides schools, nursing homes and hospitals, where masks will still be required statewide, businesses and even local governments can decide whether to keep the mandate in place. The new rules start Wednesday and come after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully vaccinated people -- and even non-vaccinated people in some cases -- can go outside without masks unless they are in a big crowd.

Shortly after Gov. John Bel Edwards announced to end the statewide mandate, some metro New Orleans parishes either made the switch to lift the mandate or kept the rules, albeit loosened.

Here's what you need to know about mask mandates in the New Orleans area:

Orleans Parish

Throughout the pandemic, New Orleans officials have opted to forge their own path instead of following the loosened restrictions put out by Edwards.

The decision to keep rules the same will be the case for the mask mandate too. But on Tuesday, officials hinted at loosened guidelines to come as early as this week.

Read more here.

Jefferson Parish

Orleans Parish's neighbor took a different approach following Edwards' announcement: their officials said they too would end the mask mandate.

In announcing the move, Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng said she was following state health officials as she has throughout the pandemic.

Read more here.

St. Tammany Parish

North Shore officials also joined Jefferson Parish in dropping the mask mandate starting Wednesday.

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper added that parish officials are not considering more stringent coronavirus restrictions outside of what state officials have put in place.

Read more here.

Plaquemines Parish

Only minutes after Edwards lifted the mandate, Plaquemines officials shared to their Facebook page the new rules from the state, which also said that masks were still encouraged.

St. John the Baptist Parish

Council members in St. John Parish voted Tuesday evening to follow the new state rules, which will mean individual businesses in the parish will get to decide whether or not to implement a mask policy.

A spokesperson added that masks will still be required in parish government buildings.

St. Charles Parish

The parish said Wednesday that it won't have a local government mask requirement. In a news release it said the mask mandate is lifted for all government buildings, including the Parish Courthouse in Hahnville. Also, temperature checks won't be needed to enter government buildings.

However, masks are still required in the parish's courtrooms as ordered by the parish's 29th Judicial District Court. Masks will also be required during meetings taking place in the Parish Council chambers due to inability to social distance in that room.

St. Bernard Parish

Officials of this parish didn't appear to release information about the mask mandate via email or on social media.

Any metro New Orleans parishes with more information on the mask mandate can send details to onlinenewsdesk@theadvocate.com
Most of the spending and tax cuts in Wednesdays proposal is directed at families, with provisions for a national paid family and medical leave program; child care subsidies; and extensions of several tax credit expansions from the most recent Covid-19 relief law.

Newly proposed education spending includes universal prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds; two years of free community college; an increase in the maximum Pell Grant award; and investments in colleges and universities serving minority groups.

The plan also calls on Congress to adjust the unemployment insurance system so that it would automatically link the length and amount of benefits to economic conditions.

The president intends to pay for the infrastructure portion of the plan with 15 years of higher taxes on corporations.
According to the researchers, three songs from a playlist are enough to identify the person who chose the songs. Hence, companies like YouTube and Spotify can accumulate a great deal of information about their users based only on their musical preferences.

The study was led by Dr. Ori Leshman of the Jaime and Joan Constantiner School of Education at Tel Aviv University and Dr. Ron Hirschprung of the Department of Management and Industrial Engineering at Ariel University. The study was published in the journal Telematics and Informatics.

The study included about 150 young people (all undergraduate students), in 4 groups of about 35 people each. Participants were asked to identify group members based on only three songs from their favorite playlist. The variety of the students' musical preferences was wide and very diverse, including, for example, both old and new Israeli music (from Sasha Argov to Kaveret, Zohar Argov, Omer Adam and Hanan Ben Ari), classic rock and pop (from the Beatles and Pink Floyd to Beyonce and Ariana Grande), Israeli and international hip hop (from Kendrick Lamar and Eminem to Hadag Nahash and Tuna) and more. The analysis of the choices was carried out according to a mathematical model developed by the scholars.

The findings surprised even the researchers. The analysis of the data showed that the group members were able to identify the study participants according to their musical taste at a very high level of between 80 and 100%, even though the group members did not know each other well and had no prior knowledge of each other's musical preferences.

Dr. Leshman and Dr. Hirschprung explain: "Music can become a form of characterization, and even an identifier. It provides commercial companies like Google and Spotify with additional and more in-depth information about us as users of these platforms. In the digital world we live in today, these findings have far-reaching implications on privacy violations, especially since information about people can be inferred from a completely unexpected source, which is therefore lacking in protection against such violations. Visiting YouTube is perceived by the ordinary person as an innocuous act, but this study shows that it can reveal a lot about that person. On the other hand, this knowledge can be used as a bridge between people and perhaps in the future lead to the creation of new diagnostic methods and fascinating intervention programs that will make use of people's favorite music."

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This study was made available online in January 2021 ahead of final publication in issue in June 2021.
Revenue growth totalling 2.2%

Clear improvement in organic revenue growth 1 (-0.5%) with respect to the past three quarters

Buoyant market conditions confirming the outlook of a return to organic revenue growth starting in Q2 2021

Regulatory News:

Sopra Steria (Paris:SOP) generated revenue of 1,165.2 million in the first quarter of 2021, representing growth of 2.2%.

Changes in scope had a positive impact of 32.9 million. The impact of currency fluctuations was virtually neutral (-1.4 million). At constant scope and exchange rates, revenue contracted slightly (0.5%).

Sopra Steria: Consolidated revenue Q1 2021 m % Q1 2021 Q1 2020 Organic

growth Total

growth Revenue 1,165.2 1,140.1 -0.5% 2.2%

Comments on Q1 2021 business activity

Market conditions were buoyant in Q1 2021. Business activity was brisk and improved with respect to previous quarters. The public sector and defence remained highly active. As an illustration, several major contracts in these two sectors were announced during the quarter: Brasidas (a unique new information system for ensuring the operational readiness of aeronautics equipment) for the French Defence Ministry, cybersecurity for the EU agencies eu-LISA and Frontex, the development of a centralised border control system for the French Interior Ministry, and the development of a national road traffic information system for Highways England. All the other vertical markets, to varying extents, saw improved trends.

In this context, and with downtime lower than in Q1 2020, recruitment picked up again starting at the beginning of the year. Nearly 2,000 people joined the Group during the quarter. In addition, support provided by X-Shore platforms was reinforced and the use of subcontracting was relaunched.

However, the base of comparison with Q1 2020 (3.3% organic growth) was highly unfavourable, particularly in the aeronautics and transport sectors. As such, despite an improvement in the overall environment, organic revenue growth for Q1 2021 remained slightly negative (-0.5%). However, this performance reflects a very substantial improvement with respect to the past three quarters (-8.4%, -5.9% and -4.2%2 in Q2, Q3 and Q4 2020, respectively). It confirmed the outlook of a recovery in organic revenue growth for the Group starting in Q2 2021.

Breakdown of Q1 2021 business activity by reporting unit

In France (40% of the Group total), revenue came to 460.2million, equating to an organic contraction of 6.3%. The aeronautics and transport sectors were down 19% and 16%, respectively. Nevertheless, Q1 2021 showed a significant improvement with respect to negative growth rate seen in the previous three quarters (-12.6%, -15.4% and -10.6% in Q2, Q3 and Q43 2020, respectively). The public sector remained very buoyant, and the other vertical markets all saw improved trends. In this context, hiring resumed (700 people hired in Q1) and the use of subcontracting increased once again. These elements confirm a return to organic growth starting in Q2 2021.

Revenue for the United Kingdom (18% of Group revenue) saw substantial organic growth (16.8%), totalling 208.9million. This performance was mainly driven by the two joint ventures specialising in business process services for the public sector (NHS SBS and SSCL). They were boosted by strong business activity, in particular in connection with human resource management on behalf of a number of UK ministries. The rest of the public sector returned to positive growth. Negative growth persisted in the private sector but at an improved level, which is expected to continue to improve in the upcoming quarters.

The Other Europe reporting unit posted 331.2 million in revenue (28% of the Group total).Organic revenue growth averaged 4.6% in the reporting unit's countries, some of which such as Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia delivered very strong performances. In parallel, as part of the transformation programme underway, Sopra Financial Technology (the joint venture that operates the information system of the Sparda banks) recorded 44.2 million in revenue, contracting in line with the business plan.

Revenue for Sopra Banking Software (9% of Group revenue) came to 101.4 million (equating to negative organic growth of 8.8% with respect to Q1 2020), mainly due to a decline in services revenue. During the quarter, product synergies were pursued, as were efforts to digitise solutions. The integration of Fidor is underway and should be finalised in the second half of 2021. An initiative was launched, combining the assets of the Digital Banking Engagement Platform (DBEP) and Fidor, which confirms the synergies projected to meet digital banking user needs.

The Other Solutions reporting unit(5% of Group revenue) posted revenue of 63.5 million, representing organic growth of 3.2%. After a relatively slow start to the year, business picked up again in both human resources and property management solutions. Investments will continue to step up the digitisation of solutions and fuel growth.

Workforce

At 31 March 2021, the Group's workforce totalled 45,959 people, with 17.5% working in X-Shore zones. It totalled 46,567 people at 31 March 2020 and 45,960 people at 31 December 2020.

Outlook

As things stand at the end of April 2021, the overall environment still offers little visibility and the situation in certain business sectors remains highly challenging.

Nevertheless, trends steadily improved in Q1 2021, allowing the Group to anticipate a return to organic revenue growth and a higher operating margin on business activity in 2021.

Recap of targets for 2021

Organic revenue growth of between 3% and 5%

Operating margin on business activity of between 7.5% and 8.0%

Free cash flow of around 150 million

Q1 2021 revenue presentation meeting

Revenue for the first quarter of 2021 will be presented to financial analysts and investors via a bilingual (French and English) conference call to be held on 28 April 2021 at 8:00 a.m. CET:

French-language phone number: +33 (0)1 70 71 01 59 PIN: 32899556#

English-language access number: +44 207 194 37 59 PIN: 34586864#

Practical information about this conference call can be found in the 'Investors' section of the Group's website: https://www.soprasteria.com/investors

Upcoming events

Wednesday, 26 May 2021 at 2:30 p.m.: General Meeting of Shareholders, to be held in closed session on an exceptional basis.

The General Meeting will be live streamed in the 'Investors' section of the Group's website (https://www.soprasteria.com/investors) unless technical issues prevent or seriously disrupt the live stream. A recorded video will also be made available.

In addition to the application of the legal framework pertaining to written questions submitted in advance, shareholders will also have the opportunity to ask questions during the General Meeting. The procedure to be followed for these questions, which is to be implemented in connection with the live stream of the General Meeting, will be announced as soon as possible.

The procedures for taking part in the 2021 General Meeting may change based on public health and/or legal imperatives. Shareholders are requested to regularly consult the dedicated General Meeting section on the Company's website: https://www.soprasteria.com/investors/investors-relations-shareholders/shareholders-meetings

Thursday, 29 July 2021 (before market open): Publication of H1 2021 results

Friday, 29 October 2021 (before market open): Publication of Q3 2021 revenue

Glossary

Restated revenue Revenue for the prior year, expressed on the basis of the scope and exchange rates for the current year.

Revenue for the prior year, expressed on the basis of the scope and exchange rates for the current year. Organic revenue growth Increase in revenue between the period under review and restated revenue for the same period in the prior financial year.

Increase in revenue between the period under review and restated revenue for the same period in the prior financial year. EBITDA This measure, as defined in the Universal Registration Document, is equal to consolidated operating profit on business activity after adding back depreciation, amortisation and provisions included in operating profit on business activity.

This measure, as defined in the Universal Registration Document, is equal to consolidated operating profit on business activity after adding back depreciation, amortisation and provisions included in operating profit on business activity. Operating profit on business activity This measure, as defined in the Universal Registration Document, is equal to profit from recurring operations adjusted to exclude the share-based payment expense for stock options and free shares and charges to amortisation of allocated intangible assets.

This measure, as defined in the Universal Registration Document, is equal to profit from recurring operations adjusted to exclude the share-based payment expense for stock options and free shares and charges to amortisation of allocated intangible assets. Profit from recurring operations This measure is equal to operating profit before other operating income and expenses, which includes any particularly significant items of operating income and expense that are unusual, abnormal, infrequent or not foreseeable, presented separately in order to give a clearer picture of performance based on ordinary activities.

This measure is equal to operating profit before other operating income and expenses, which includes any particularly significant items of operating income and expense that are unusual, abnormal, infrequent or not foreseeable, presented separately in order to give a clearer picture of performance based on ordinary activities. Basic recurring earnings per share This measure is equal to basic earnings per share before other operating income and expenses net of tax.

This measure is equal to basic earnings per share before other operating income and expenses net of tax. Free cash flow Free cash flow is defined as the net cash from operating activities; less investments (net of disposals) in property, plant and equipment, and intangible assets; less lease payments; less net interest paid; and less additional contributions in respect of retirement benefit obligations to address any deficits in defined-benefit pension plans.

Free cash flow is defined as the net cash from operating activities; less investments (net of disposals) in property, plant and equipment, and intangible assets; less lease payments; less net interest paid; and less additional contributions in respect of retirement benefit obligations to address any deficits in defined-benefit pension plans. Downtime Number of days between two contracts (excluding training, sick leave, other leave and pre- sale) divided by the total number of business days.

Disclaimer

This document contains forward-looking information subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may affect the Group's future growth and financial results. Readers are reminded that licence agreements, which often represent investments for clients, are signed in greater numbers in the second half of the year, with varying impacts on end-of-year performance. Actual outcomes and results may differ from those described in this document due to operational risks and uncertainties. More detailed information on the potential risks that may affect the Group's financial results can be found in the 2020 Universal Registration Document filed with the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) on 18 March 2021 (see pages 35 to 42 in particular). Sopra Steria does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this document beyond what is required by current laws and regulations. The distribution of this document in certain countries may be subject to the laws and regulations in force. Persons physically present in countries where this document is released, published or distributed should enquire as to any applicable restrictions and should comply with those restrictions.

About Sopra Steria

Sopra Steria, a European leader in consulting, digital services and software development, helps its clients drive their digital transformation and obtain tangible and sustainable benefits. It provides end-to-end solutions to make large companies and organisations more competitive by combining in-depth knowledge of a wide range of business sectors and innovative technologies with a fully collaborative approach. Sopra Steria places people at the heart of everything it does and is committed to putting digital to work for its clients in order to build a positive future for all. With 46,000 employees in 25 countries, the Group generated revenue of 4.3 billion in 2020.

The world is how we shape it.

Sopra Steria (SOP) is listed on Euronext Paris (Compartment A) ISIN: FR0000050809

For more information, visit us at www.soprasteria.com

Annexes

Sopra Steria: Impact on revenue of changes in scope and exchange rates Q1 2021 m Q1 2021 Q1 2020 Growth Revenue 1,165.2 1,140.1 +2.2% Changes in exchange rates -1.4 Revenue at constant exchange rates 1,165.2 1,138.6 +2.3% Changes in scope 32.9 Revenue at constant scope and exchange rates 1,165.2 1,171.5 -0.5%

Sopra Steria: Changes in exchange rates Q1 2021 For 1 % Average rate

Q1 2021 Average rate

Q1 2020 Change Pound sterling 0.8739 0.8623 -1.3% Norwegian krone 10.2584 10.4652 +2.0% Swedish krona 10.1202 10.6689 +5.4% Danish krone 7.4372 7.4715 +0.5% Swiss franc 1.0913 1.0668 -2.2%

Sopra Steria: Revenue by reporting unit Q1 2021 m % Q1 2021 Q1 2020

Restated* Q1 2020 Organic

growth Total

growth France 460.2 491.3 464.6 -6.3% -0.9% United Kingdom 208.9 178.8 181.3 +16.8% +15.2% Other Europe 331.2 328.7 326.9 +0.8% +1.3% Sopra Banking Software 101.4 111.2 105.7 -8.8% -4.1% Other Solutions 63.5 61.5 61.5 +3.2% +3.2% Sopra Steria Group 1,165.2 1,171.5 1,140.1 -0.5% +2.2% * Revenue at 2021 scope and exchange rates

Sopra Steria: Workforce breakdown 31/03/2021 3/31/2021 3/31/2020 France 19,861 19,809 United Kingdom 6,654 6,294 Other Europe 10,886 10,876 Rest of the World 508 508 X-Shore 8,050 9,080 Total 45,959 46,567

___________________________

1 Alternative performance measures are defined in the glossary at the end of this document

2 Change restated to exclude the impact of the October 2020 cyberattack

3 Change restated to exclude the impact of the October 2020 cyberattack

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210427006079/en/

Contacts:

Investor Relations

Olivier Psaume

olivier.psaume@soprasteria.com

+33 (0)1 40 67 68 16

Press Relations

Caroline Simon (Image 7)

caroline.simon@image7.fr

+33 (0)1 53 70 74 65
Labor has attacked the federal governments unveiling of a major upgrade to military bases in the Northern Territory, saying it is a rehashed announcement of a project and $300 million over budget.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will on Wednesday announce the $747 million spending package on four key training bases in the top end and expanded war games with the United States.

US Marines embark an aircraft at RAAF Base Darwin for their return home. Credit:ABIS Kayla Hayes

The package includes the lengthening of an airstrip to support larger aircraft, an overhaul of firing ranges and new training facilities set up for Australian defence personnel and US marines.

According to AusTender documents, the Prime Ministers announcement is for upgrades confirmed two years ago in a closed tender, which estimated the works to be $447 million. Two of the bases - Bradshaw and Robertson - were slated to be updated by 2020 in the 2016 Defence White Paper.
Children and young adults with compromised immune systems, such as those undergoing cancer treatment, may experience a prolonged period of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and the extended duration of infection may increase the incidence of mutations. This case study was conducted by investigators at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and is published in the journal EBioMedicine.

Most people are infectious for about 10 days after first showing COVID-19 symptoms. In this study, researchers describe two children and a young adult with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 for months. This is the first report of prolonged infection in a pediatric or young adult population.

"It's significant that these patients continued to have active symptoms and active infections for such a long time," says lead author Jennifer Dien Bard, PhD, Director of the Clinical Microbiology and Virology Laboratory at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. "The large number of pediatric and adult patients receiving cancer therapy and being actively screened for the virus leads us to conclude that this is a rare occurrence but one that could have public health implications."

SARS-CoV-2 mutates about once or twice a month, according to Dr. Dien Bard. A long period of infection raises concerns about the development of viral mutations. When a virus replicates, it copies its genetic code, but sometimes the virus makes a mistake known as a mutation. Most mutations have no effect on how the virus behaves or on the disease it causes, but some may result in the virus acting differently. For example, the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant, which has 17 mutations, is thought to be more infectious than other virus variants.

Dr. Dien Bard notes there is some evidence to suggest the B.1.1.7 variant may have originated in a person who was immunocompromised and consistently infected with SARS-CoV-2. Yet even in immunocompromised patients, months-long infections are rare.

"We have had many other immunocompromised patients who have not experienced these prolonged infections, but it's something to be aware of, and hospitals may want to consider changing infection control policies to address this particular special population," says Dr. Dien Bard.

Dr. Dien Bard and other experts at Children's Hospital Los Angeles have been genetically sequencing SARS-CoV-2 samples since March of 2020. Learn more about their work here and here.

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Additional authors on the paper include: first author Thao T. Truong, Alex Ryutov, Rebecca Yee, Lishuang Shen, Moiz Bootwalla, Dennis T. Maglinte, Dejerianne Ostrow, David Ruble and Jennifer H. Han of Children's Hospital Los Angeles; Lior Goldberg, Deepa Bhojwani, Paibel Aguayo-Hiraldo, Jaclyn A. Biegel, Pia S. Pannaraj, Maurice O'Gorman, Alexander R. Judkins and Xiaowu Gai of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Keck School of Medicine at USC; Benjamin A. Pinsky, Oliver F. Wirz, Katharina Roltgen, ChunHong Huang and Malaya K. Sahoo of the Stanford University School of Medicine; Scott D. Boyd of the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research; Andrew Pekosz and Maggie Li of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Utsav Pandey of Westchester Medical Center/New York Medical College.

This work was funded, in part, by The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the Johns Hopkins Center of Excellence in Influenza Research and Surveillance, NIH/NIAID R01AI127877, NIH/NIAID R01AI130398, NIH 1U54CA260517, the Crown Family Foundation, the Swiss National Science Foundation, a Coulter COVID-19 Rapid Response Award and a SHARE Research Fellowship.

About Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Founded in 1901, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is the highest-ranked children's hospital in California and fifth in the nation on the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of Best Children's Hospitals. U.S. News ranks Children's Hospital Los Angeles in all 10 specialty categories. Clinical care at the hospital is led by physicians who are faculty members of the Keck School of Medicine of USC through an affiliation dating from 1932. The hospital also operates the largest pediatric residency training program at a freestanding children's hospital in the Western United States. The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles is home to all basic, translational, clinical and community research conducted at the hospital, allowing proven discoveries to quickly reach patients. Our mission: to create hope and build healthier futures. To learn more, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter, and visit our blog at CHLA.org/blog.
SS Rajamoulis RRR Release May Be Pushed To Makar Sankranti 2022; Heres What We Know

Ace filmmaker SS Rajamoulis magnum opus RRR is undoubtedly one of the biggest releases scheduled for this year. Starring South superstars N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan along with Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt, superstar Ajay Devgn and Olivia Morris, the period action drama is expected to hit theatres on 13th October this year. However, heartbreaking reports now suggest that the film may not make it to the big screen on the decided date due to the situation that the second wave of coronavirus has caused.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by SS Rajamouli (@ssrajamouli)

According to a report shared by Bollywood Hungama, one of the actors told a writer, How can it release on 13 October? Both Ramcharan Teja and NTR Jr have a lot of pending shooting for RRR. Ramcharan hasnt shot much this year. He was busy with his other project Acharya (featuring father and son Chiranjeevi and Ramcharan). NTR Jr also didnt shoot this year. The plan was for them both to shoot and complete the film by July 2021. This now seems unlikely with the new Covid upsurge.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by SS Rajamouli (@ssrajamouli)

Adding that a digital release for the much anticipated film is out of the question, the source stated, We may come for Makar Sankranti in January 2022. Even that is doubtful at the moment. This is definitely going to break many hearts as audiences were eagerly waiting for RRR to release. However, keeping the current situation in mind, maybe its better to wait for a time when we can thoroughly enjoy the masterpiece without having to worry about the pandemic.
will provide 10 million dollars to India to support the country in its fight against the unprecedented second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister has announced.

Addressing a press conference, Trudeau said that Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau had direct conversations with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar about how can best help, including the donation of extra medical supplies.

We are also ready to provide 10 million dollars through the Canadian Red Cross to the Indian Red Cross, the Prime Minister said.

This will support everything from ambulant services to buying more Personal Protective Equipment locally, he said.

If you want to donate to the emergency efforts on the ground, go to redcross.ca As a world, we are in this fight together, Trudeau said.

About the talks between the Foreign Affairs Ministers of both the countries, he said: We are there to support in any ways we can, and those conversations are very much ongoing.

It's something that Canadians are extremely concerned about as we see the terrible and tragic images coming out of India.

We know that we need to be there for our friends. And indeed, we need to be there for everyone around the world because we don't get through this pandemic anywhere until we get through it everywhere, Trudeau said.

Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister Garneau said on Twitter that he spoke to his Indian counterpart Jaishankar about the COVID-19 situation in the country and conveyed Canada's solidarity with the people of India.

This morning, I spoke with @DrSJaishankar to convey Canada's solidarity with the people of India as they face this deadly wave of #Covid19. is exploring all options to support India's urgent needs. We are ready to assist, he said in a tweet.

India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

India saw a record single-day rise of 3,60,960 cases, which pushed the total tally to 1,79,97,267, while the death toll crossed two lakh following 3,293 fresh fatalities, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

The death toll stands at 2,01,187, it said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's largest carmaker on Wednesday said it will shut down its factories in Haryana to make available for medical needs as ravages the country. The company said it is committed to support government in diverting for saving lives.

In this regard, the company advanced its bi-annual maintenance shutdown to May 1 through May 9 from earlier plan of June. the car major has factories in Haryana's Gurugram and Manesar.

"As part of the car manufacturing process, uses a small amount of in its factories while relatively much larger quantities are used by the manufacturers of components. In the current situation, we believe that all available oxygen should be used to save lives. Accordingly, has decided to advance its maintenance shutdown, originally scheduled for June, to 1st to 9th May. Production in all factories will close for maintenance during this period," the company said in a stock exchange filing.

The company said it has been informed that Suzuki Motor Gujarat has taken the same decision for its factory.

The car major reported 9.7% decline in net profit to Rs 1,166.10 crore on 33.6% increase in net sales to Rs 22,958.60 crore in Q4FY21 over Q4FY20.

The scrip gained 0.2% on Wednesday to end at Rs 6,571.10 on the BSE.
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The national body of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has kicked against the declaration of partial opening of courts in Lagos by the Lagos State government chapter.

Isaiah Adetola, the JUSUN general secretary, said in a statement on Wednesday that the move by the Lagos chapter to break ranks with the national body is unacceptable.

No branch or chapter has the powers to call a local congress or enter into any agreement with employers to wave the directive or decision of the NEC.

No branch/chapter is authorised to open the door of courts in Nigeria including Lago State until the points in disputes are resolved, the national body said in the statement.

JUSUN commenced a nationwide strike on April 6, to protest the lack of financial autonomy from the executive.

Lagos JUSUN breaks ranks

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the chairperson of JUSUN, Lagos chapter, Shobowale Kehinde, announced a partial opening of courts in the state, last week, following meetings with the state executives.

Stating the reasons for the partial opening, Mr Kehinde said the auxiliary demands of JUSUN in Lagos State are being met.

Lagos JUSUN finds out that its only the Lagos State Government that had shown concern and seriousness with listening ears to this JUSUN struggle. At this moment, Lagos JUSUN has had four meetings with powerful government officials, especially Mr Governor himself.

Our auxiliary demands are being speedily looked into and results are manifesting, Mr Kehinde said in a statement.

The state chair added that the national leadership has not made significant progress as Lagos JUSUN does at the moment.

National body kicks

Communicating the position of the national body on Wednesday, Mr Adetola said it is unacceptable.

It has reached the notice of the National Secretariat of JUSUN in Abuja that the chairman, Lagos state Branch of JUSUN has authorised partial opening of courts in Lagos State.

May I inform you that the on-going industrial action is called by the NEC of JUSUN. Therefore, no branch or chapter has the powers to call a local congress or enter into any agreement with employers to wave the directive or decision of the NEC.

The national body urged the judiciary workers to keep faith with JUSUN and its leadership.

No branch/chapter is authorised to open the door of courts in Nigeria including Lagos State until the points in disputes are resolved, the statement further reads.

The national body of JUSUN emphasised that the judiciary is an arm of government which must grow gradually along with her infrastructural needs.

All judiciary workers in all the states and the FCT are enjoined to stay in their homes. Developments will be communicated please. Comrades, this strike is the last opportunity for the Judiciary and we must all co-operate to fight it to the last,  the statement reads.
Normally we don't blog crash reports but this tragic scene in Midtown turned out the lights this morning and elicited more than a few e-mails among our blog community.

And so, in hopes of distinguishing fact from fiction and REALLY WEIRD RUMORS about an intersection that has always been a bit treacherous . . . Here's the word from police:



"In regard to a two vehicle collision with life threatening injuries. A silver Chevy Monte Carlo was traveling west on 39th Street, at a high rate of speed. The Monte Carlo failed to stop for the red traffic signal and struck a tan Chevy Silverado pickup that was traveling south on Southwest Boulevard. Both vehicles then slid to the southwest, into the wooden utility pole, knocking out power to the area. The driver of the Silverado was transported to an area hospital with life threatening injuries. The driver of the Monte Carlo was taken into custody for investigation of DUI. The passenger in the Monte Carlo was transported to an area hospital and reported in stable condition."

Update . . .

"Officers responded to an injury accident at 39th and Southwest TFRY involving two vehicles. Upon arrival they located the driver of one of the vehicles who was suffering life-threatening injuries. That driver was transported to the hospital in critical condition. They also made contact with the driver and passenger of the other vehicle involved. The passenger of that vehicle was suffering from an apparent gunshot wound from an attempt suicide according to the driver and he was transported to the hospital in critical condition."

Developing . . .
New Delhi, April 28 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief JP Nadda on Wednesday launched a nation-wide free tele consultation helpline to help Covid patients in home isolation. Nadda launched the helpline - 80 6817 3286 - in the presence of BJP's National General Secretary Tarun Chugh and BJP Youth Wing Chief and Lok Sabha member Tejasvi Surya.

Launching the helpline, Nadda lauded the efforts of the BJYM (Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha) and the partnerships it has forged with young entrepreneurs and start-ups to run a tech platform aimed at helping citizens. He commended such synergies and mentioned that this is a way forward to harnessing the power of young citizens for service to the country.

During the launch, Nadda was also appreciative of the helpline's seamless workflow. Once citizens call and register their preferences on the IVR, they will receive a call from the doctors enrolled on the helpline. After the call, the caller will receive information about their respective state BJYM Helplines so that he can connect to BJYM workers for necessary support.

Chugh said that the BJP and its youth wing BJYM have been working relentlessly in serving citizens and helping the country come out of this crisis.

"Most the Covid patients don't need hospitalisation. However, due to the lack of medical advice and panic they occupy hospital beds, thereby denying the really deserving ones hospital care. The BJYM Doctor Helpline is an initiative aimed at addressing this," Surya said.

Surya told IANS that over 500 doctors including 100 Ayush practitioners are on board with the BJYM and over 300 will be joining the movement in the coming days. "Any citizen from across the country can dial the helpline number 080 6817 3286 and receive advice on Covid symptoms, need for hospitalization and consultation during home isolation, Surya said.

According to Surya, currently the telemedicine facilities are available in three languages -- Hindi, English and Kannada. "In the next 10 days the consultation will be available in six more Indian languages," the BJYM Chief said.

Surya highlighted that apart from telemedicine consultation, the BJYM workers will also ensure delivery of medicine and other essential items to the patients in home isolation.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Its almost been a year since Irrfan left us with a void that continues to remind us of the artiste and philosopher we lost last year. He was a beloved actor not just in India but across the globe and left a legacy that will continue to inspire millions for generations to come.

But unlike the actor that spoke a lot with just his eyes, his wife Sutapa Sikdar remembered him as a shy boy in National School of Drama that she met who wouldnt say a word for hours. She spoke of how their son Ayaans personality and integrity is a constant reminder of Irrfan for her. She said, "Ayaan reminds me of Irrfan's integrity, honesty, and he's equally shy like Irrfan. He doesn't say a word, which is very similar to Irrfan. It took a long time for Irrfan. The Irrfan you all know is probably very different from the one I knew - the one I met at NSD. He was this shy boy who was just standing there and would not talk to the whole group, the classmates. We would talk for three hours, and he wouldn't answer. He would just quietly sit and listen. So that's what Ayaan, my younger one, is like. There is this reflection of him which suddenly seems very similar.

She further spoke of how Babil, their elder son took his look and spirituality for his father, "Babil looks very much like him. His looks are a strong reminder - and also his love for spiritualism. Irrfan was also a spiritual person. I get quite startled by a 22-year-old suddenly talking about extremely spiritual things.

With the sense of nostalgia that this sends through our hearts, we remember Irrfan with fond memories.
Representative image

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 28 (ANI): Ahead of the Istanbul conference on Afghanistan slated for next month, Pakistan is putting efforts to convince the Taliban for rejoining the peace process otherwise the Taliban may face tough actions from Islamabad.

This comes after the Afghan peace conference scheduled for April 24 was postponed to May 4 amid the Taliban's refusal to attend the UN-backed meet. The conference was meant to fast-track the peace process but new administration in Washington changed the withdrawal date of US troops from May 1 to September 11, Dawn reported.

Hamid Mir, Pakistani journalist and columnist in an opinion piece for the Dawn said, "Top Pakistani security officials have approached Afghan Taliban leadership in Doha and made it very clear to them that their refusal to participate in Istanbul Conference was a big blow to the Afghan peace process and if they will not show some flexibility they will face consequences."

Last week, Afghanistan State Minister for Peace Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi blamed the Taliban for the postponement of the Istanbul conference on Afghan peace which was slated to take place later this month.

"Afghanistan side is prepared and has a will for the peace, but there is no intention of peace from the Taliban side", Naderi was quoted as saying by Khaama Press.

"Turkey, Qatar and the United Nations had planned to co-convene a high-level conference in Istanbul, from 24 April to 4 May 2021, with the participation of the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban to add momentum to the negotiations that started in Doha last September to achieve a just and lasting peace in Afghanistan," Turkish Foreign Ministry had said.

Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden had said that the United States will start its final withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan on May 1 and complete its pullout ahead of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Meanwhile, Kabul has backed Washington's decision to withdraw forces from Afghanistan by September this year. (ANI)
Breast cancer diagnosis: Around 88 percent of patients survive the dangerous disease in the first five years. Work is important for getting back to normality. Researchers from the University of Bonn and the German Cancer Society investigated how satisfied former patients are with their occupational development over a period of five to six years since diagnosis. About half experienced at least one job change during the study period. Around ten percent of those affected even report involuntary changes. The researchers conclude that there is a need for long-term support measures for patients. The study is now published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship.

Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women. Almost 70,000 cases are diagnosed every year in Germany alone. Studies show that the five-year survival rate is 88 percent. "Returning to work is important; it provides a sense of normality and meaning after a crisis caused by cancer," explains sociologist Kati Hiltrop from the Center for Health Communication and Health Services Research at University Hospital Bonn (UKB). But a breast cancer diagnosis and successful treatment are often followed by long-term difficulties such as fatigue syndrome, which means a feeling of persistent tiredness, exhaustion and listlessness. Other after-effects of chemotherapy and the fear that the cancer will return can also limit productivity.

How do breast cancer patients succeed in returning to work? "There are numerous studies on this. Our long-term study now focuses on the post-return phase from the patient's perspective," says Hiltrop. Together with the head of the research center, Prof. Dr. Nicole Ernstmann, who is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Life and Health" at the University of Bonn, and the German Cancer Society, the sociologist investigated how a total of 184 former breast cancer patients fared after returning to work over a period of five to six years after diagnosis.

From the perspective of breast cancer patients

The study focused on how satisfied the patients were with their occupational development since diagnosis. About half experienced at least one job change during the study period. "The main finding is that we found no relationship between the number of job changes and satisfaction, but that greater involuntariness of change was associated with lower satisfaction," Hiltrop says. "The results suggest that the quality of change matters more than the quantity." About 16 percent of job changes did not happen by choice. These changes included, for example, increased workload or retirement. The results suggest that the former breast cancer patients have difficulties in meeting the job requirements in the long term after their return, resulting in changes at work.

The research team's findings show what can contribute to satisfaction at work. "Providing a welcoming work environment and showing patients understanding and support can facilitate a satisfactory return to work," Hiltrop explains. This can help avoid involuntary job changes that are perceived as particularly drastic. The researchers conclude from the results that a satisfactory return to work and, in particular, remaining at work requires long-term support, for example because chemotherapies and aftercare have to be continued, there is a fear of a recurrence of the tumor, or fatigue symptoms have to be managed.

The current study is a follow-up study of the project "Strengthening patient competence: Breast cancer patients' information and training needs" (PIAT), which surveyed approximately 1000 breast cancer patients. The researchers interviewed the PIAT participants again 5-6 years after diagnosis. At four measurement points, surveys and interviews were used to explore the subjective assessment of health status, how often job changes occurred, and how fulfilling the job was. Socioeconomic data, such as age, number of children, and education, were also surveyed. Satisfaction with occupational development was associated with higher age, better perceived health status, and lower levels of involuntariness of job changes.

"Open communication with managers and colleagues about expectations and what can be accomplished is very important," explains Hiltrop. In addition, handling the situation more flexibly, can increase the likelihood that patients will be satisfied when they return to work.

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Financial support and participating institutions

The study involved the University Hospital Bonn, the German Cancer Society, the Federal Centre for Health Education, the Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research, and Rehabilitation Science at the University of Cologne, and the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. The German Statutory Pension Insurance Scheme and the Federal Ministry of Health funded the projects.

Publication: Kati Hiltrop, Paula Heidkamp, Clara Breidenbach, Christoph Kowalski, Anna Enders, Holger Pfaff, Lena Ansmann, Franziska Geiser and Nicole Ernstmann: Involuntariness of job changes is related to less satisfaction with occupational development in long-term breast cancer survivors, Journal of Cancer Survivorship, DOI: http://dx. doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s11764-021-01035-5

Contact:

Kati Hiltrop

Forschungsstelle fur Gesundheitskommunikation und Versorgungsforschung

Klinik und Poliklinik fur Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie

Universitatsklinikum Bonn

Tel. +49-228-28711803

E-Mail: Kati.Hiltrop@ukbonn.de
In a statement of support for the vote, the White House called methane a potent climate-disrupting greenhouse gas that is responsible for approximately one-third of the global warming.

The statement added that addressing methane pollution is an urgent and essential step.

The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to reverse any executive-branch rule within 60 legislative days of its enactment, but because the president can veto review act measures, the law can be effectively deployed only after a new administration takes control.

Republicans used the procedure to wipe out 14 late-term Obama administration rules in the first 16 weeks of the Trump administration, but Wednesdays vote was the first time Democrats have used the procedure to undo the policy of a Republican administration. Democrats plan to use the procedure just once more in the coming weeks, before their window to do so expires in late May, with a vote to repeal a labor rule that had made it easier for employers to deny worker claims of employment discrimination.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, called Wednesdays vote one of the most important votes, not only that this Congress has cast, but has been cast in the last decade, in terms of our fight against global warming.

It will be more difficult for Democrats to push through broader climate change legislation  they will need to either muster enough votes from Republicans to reach the 60-vote majority required to overcome a filibuster, or to try to fold climate measures into a proposed infrastructure spending package, and hope they can use a budget rule that allows passage with 51 votes.

Still, Mr. Schumer noted that Wednesdays vote represented a glimmer of bipartisanship on climate change. Mr. Graham, who has stood as a staunch ally of Mr. Trump, said of his vote to restore the methane rule, I think its just unnecessary emissions that they can do something about, and theyll need to do it.

Most Republicans opposed the move to reinstate the regulation, but they were muted in their opposition to reining in methane pollution.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland responds to questions from MPs after she delivered the federal budget in the House of Commons in Ottawa on April 19, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Industry Says Feds Not Doing Enough to Fortify Supply Chains, Manufacturing

News Analysis

Industry participants in the supply chain for products vital to Canadas long-term economic success and security say Budget 2021 did not go far enough to ensure the country remains resilient and globally competitive.

COVID-19 has forced nations to re-examine their supply chains and manufacturing to ensure critical goods are available in sufficient quantities to meet their citizens rapidly changing needs. It has also advanced the pace of technological adoption.

In the April 19 budget, the feds noted that reciprocity in procurement partnerships is another approach it will be taking to fortify Canadas supply chains.

The government will pursue reciprocal procurement policies to ensure that goods and services are only procured from countries that grant Canadian businesses a similar level of market access. This will protect Canadian supply chains, according to the budget.

A relevant example is the COVID-19 vaccine-development partnership between Canada and a Chinese firm that was abandoned last August due to Chinese customs not approving a shipment of vaccines to Canada for phase one clinical trials.

Conservative shadow minister for public services and procurement Pierre Paul-Hus said China proved to be an untrustworthy partner and that was a bitter setback for Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government.

I find it a bit rich for Justin Trudeau to announce that his government will now pursue reciprocal procurement policies, Paul-Hus said in an email to The Epoch Times.

Public Services and Procurement Canada did not respond to a request for more detail on reciprocal procurement, as mentioned in the budget.

Comprehensive, Targeted Manufacturing Strategy Missing

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) noted some of the positive steps the budget took to help its industry recover from the pandemic, but CEO Dennis Darby said theres not enough in there to move the needle and drive long-term growth.

Longstanding requests from CME to significantly drive technology investment and scale-up and commercialization through a comprehensive, targeted manufacturing strategy are largely missing, according to a post-budget CME press release.

CME pointed out that the governments own Industry Strategy Council recommended such a strategy. The council was created last May to assess COVID-19s impact on the economy and to gather the business communitys input.

In its October 2020 report, the council recommended that Canada follow the examples of our peer countries and apply a national security lens more broadly to drive domestic procurement in areas critical to the well-being of Canadians, such as transportation, energy, bio-technology, and life sciences.

It added that if the government is the first buyer of made-in-Canada innovations in these spaces, that would enable firms to grow faster and enhance export potential.

The United States has been on a path of bolstering its supply chains given the threats and dominance from China.

U.S. President Joe Biden via executive order is fortifying supply chains in four critical industries, and the Republicans want him to work with allies on key technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and 5G in the race against China.

In a May 2020 report, British think tank the Henry Jackson Society provided recommendations on how the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing networkconsisting of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United Statescould break their dependence on China on imports that include 260 categories servicing critical national infrastructure like telecommunications.

The report specifically recommended that those countries work with their closest allies on goods and services associated with core areas of the future economy, the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, which include AI, computing hardware, and quantum technology.

The report also singled out goods like magnesium, the rare-earth elements, food supplementals, and pharmaceuticals.

Securing the Essentials

The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) applauded the budget initiative to establish and grow a domestic battery electric vehicle supply chain, which will need more production and manufacturing of critical minerals.

But the MAC also said the measures relating to rare earths are insufficient to displace reliance on China. The rare earths are a subset of critical minerals.

More must be done to specifically advance REE [rare earth element] development in Canada if we are to be an equal and credible partner with the United States in shoring up a domestic North American supply chain for these materials, said MAC president and CEO Pierre Gratton in a press release.

He added that Canada can be a global leader in this space and be self-sufficient.

The feds announced a critical minerals list on March 1131 minerals considered critical for the economic success of Canada and its allies. These are minerals that can be produced in Canada, are essential to domestic industry and security, and have the potential to support supply chains to meet global demand.

Australia is boosting local processing of critical minerals and resources to counter Chinas control of supply chains. It wants to avoid simply exporting raw material to China and then buying the refined product at higher margins.

In a move to address shortages of drugs for treating COVID-19, Canada announced establishment of a Critical Drug Reserve on April 14. The government is procuring an initial three-month supply of 12 drugs.

The feds also aim to break down interprovincial trade barriers and reduce bureaucracy and red tape to strengthen supply chains.
President Maia Sandu has dissolved the Moldovan parliament and called snap elections for July 11, shortly after the Constitutional Court canceled a state of emergency that lawmakers had approved.

"The Constitutional Court has opened the way for Moldovan citizens to elect a new parliament," Sandu told a televised briefing.

The state of emergency, which was declared last month to help fight a surge in COVID-19 infections, had prevented Sandu from calling an election.

Sandu, who came to office in November on a pro-European Union ticket, has accused the pro-Moscow, Socialist-dominated parliament of sabotaging her reform agenda and repeatedly pushed for snap elections in order to acquire a working majority in the 101-seat legislature.

Moldova, with a population of about 3.5 million, is one of Europe's poorest countries and is sharply divided between those who support closer ties with Russia and those who advocate links with the European Union and, especially, neighboring EU member Romania.

Most of Moldova was part of Romania until World War II, when it was annexed by the Soviet Union, and a majority of its population is ethnic Romanian.

With reporting by Reuters
[April 28, 2021] Amazon, Walmart and eBay Offer SPYR Technologies Access to 500-Million Active Monthly Marketplace Shoppers

NEW YORK, NY, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SPYR Technologies (OTC Pink: SPYR) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Applied MagiX, have spent the last 3 weeks adding one new distribution channel after another. And the results are great news for the company and its shareholders. The expansion of the companys distribution network has netted SPYR and Applied MagiX access to more than 500-million active monthly users with its presence on the top 3 most-visited online retailers in the world, Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. Amazon Storefront (300-million active mo. users) http://bit.ly/AppliedMagix-StoreFront Walmart Marketplace (120-million active mo. users) http://bit.ly/AppliedMagix-Walmart eBay Marketplace (107-million active mo. users) http://bit.ly/AppliedMagix-eBay According to Statista, a leading provider of market and consumer data, in 2020, about 65% of the entire US population visited one of Amazons websites at least once per month. This stunning statistic proves Amazons e-commerce dominance in the US. The data firm forecasts that during 2021, about 2.14 billion people worldwide are expected to buy goods and services online, up from 1.66 billion global digital buyers in 2016. A study from the U.S. Postal Service and comScore found that 97% of online customers first browse products on an online marketplace before making a purchase. So, given the difficulty of growing an audience from scratch, online marketplaces are a godsend for e-commerce businesses like Applied MagiX, a registered Apple developer operating in the multi-billion-dollar smart home market. As e-commerce continues to explode exponentially worldwide, SPYR and Applied MagiX have wisely chosen the 3 most popular online retailers to assist the company in driving sales, which should eventually lead to profit growth. SPYRs California-based Internet of Things (IoT) subsidiary recently launched a host of Apple HomeKit smart home products, including a secure video camera and 3 different smart home sensors that Applied MagiX sourced from its technology partner, Onvis. Since announcing the first products in its lineup, the company has been focused on reaching more shoppers, and to that end, both SPYR and Applied MagiX wasted no time increasing the number of online shoppers who can view their products by creating a distribution network of household names. Each of these retail marketplaces will offer Applied MagiX the opportunity to showcase and sell sourced smart home products and accessories, as well as Apple CarPlay and Apple Watch products and accessories from trusted partners while developing relationships with customers and building an audience for its own brand and signature line of smart home products and accessories. There is no smarter plan for a company starting from scratch than building its business and brand by placing the companys products on online marketplaces that have enormous built-in audiences of consumers who regularly shop these sites. Partnering with these large retailers also offers sellers access to some of the most innovative e-commerce solutions  advanced listing quality tools, advertising options, and expedited shipping programs that can organically boost conversion. Amazon is overwhelmingly the worlds largest online retailer with 300-million active monthly users to its platforms, while also being the most popular shopping app in the United States with over 150-million mobile users. A staggering 63% of online shoppers go to Amazon to begin their search for products, and its an ideal online marketplace for Applied MagiX to have a storefront with electronics being the most popular product category for Amazon shoppers. Additionally, Amazon website statistics show that 86% of Amazons third-arty sellers were profitable in 2020. According to Jungle Scout, Amazon sellers rake in between $26,000  $810,000 per year in profits, and Amazon seller statistics from Jungle Scout showed that 92% of Amazon sellers continued to use the platform in 2020.



Meanwhile, Walmart's online Marketplace with its 120-million active monthly users has been growing its e-commerce business year over year since its launch in 2009, culminating in a 79% increase in e-commerce growth in 2020. Walmart has a monthly mobile app audience of over 86-million users. Finally, the eBay Marketplace, which registers 107-million active monthly users, is currently the second-largest online marketplace in the total number of active buyers. In 2020, eBay added 11 million new buyers to bring its total to just over 185-million active buyers around the world.

The eBay app is used by 34.9% of all US mobile users, the third most popular shopping app among US shoppers behind Amazon (80%) and Walmart (43.8%). And like Amazon, eBays top-selling product category is electronics & accessories. Applied MagiX also offers its current sourced products on its own e-commerce website. The company will be adding additional sourced products and its own brand as well, with a signature line of products currently in development. Onvis C3 Apple HomeKit Secure Video Camera - $59.99 https://appliedmagix.com/shop/onvis-c3-camera

Onvis SMS1 Multipurpose Smart Sensor (Environment & Motion) - $19.99 https://appliedmagix.com/shop/onvis-sms1-homekit-motion-sensor

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Onvis CT2 Door/Window Contact Sensor - $15.99 https://appliedmagix.com/shop/onvis-door-window-contact-sensor-ct2 Read SPYR Technologies press releases at https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/spyr/press-releases About SPYR Technologies SPYR Technologies is a technology company that, through its subsidiary, Applied MagiX Inc., develops and resells Apple ecosystem compatible products with an emphasis on the growing multi-billion-dollar smart home market. SPYR continues to identify and target acquisitions that will grow its footprint in the industry and expand the products it offers consumers, including companies developing artificial intelligence and smart-technology products. About Applied MagiX, Inc. Applied MagiX is an Internet of Things (IoT) company headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California, with an office in Hong Kong. The company is a registered Apple developer that develops and resells Apple ecosystem compatible products with an emphasis on the growing multi-billion-dollar smart home market. About Stock Market Media Group Stock Market Media Group is a news & media content development IR firm offering a platform for corporate stories to unfold in the media with press releases, feature news articles, corporate videos, radio-style CEO interviews, and research reports. This article was written based on publicly available information. Stock Market Media Group may, from time to time, include our own opinions about the companies, their business, markets, and opportunities in our articles. Any opinions we may offer about any of the companies we write about are solely our own and are made in reliance upon our rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and are provided solely for the general opinionated discussion of our readers. Our opinions should not be considered to be complete, precise, accurate, or current investment advice, or construed or interpreted as research. Any investment decisions you may make concerning any of the securities we write about are solely your responsibility based on your own due diligence. Our publications are provided only as an informational aid, and as a starting point for doing additional independent research. We encourage you to invest carefully and read the investor information available at the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov , where you can also find all of SPYR Technologies filings and disclosures. We also recommend, as a general rule, that before investing in any securities, you consult with a professional financial planner or advisor, and you should conduct a complete and independent investigation before investing in any security after prudent consideration of all pertinent risks. We are not a registered broker, dealer, analyst, or advisor. We hold no investment licenses and may not sell, offer to sell, or offer to buy any security. Our publications about SPYR Technologies are not a recommendation to buy or sell a security. Should Stock Market Media Group and its management own shares in the profiled company, they may benefit from any increase in the share price of the profiled companies and hold the right to sell the shares bought or issued at any given time including shortly after the release of the companys profile. Section 17(b) of the 1933 Securities and Exchange Act requires publishers who distribute information about publicly traded securities for compensation, to disclose who paid them, the amount, and the type of payment. 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Arthritis affects 54 million children and adults in the United States, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, the disease limits the activities of about 1 in 4. One of the best ways to fight back against arthritis is through exercise -- specifically, workouts in the water.

Aquatic exercise -- specifically for individuals with arthritis, related rheumatic diseases and/or musculoskeletal conditions -- has been clinically proven in reducing pain levels, improving the ability to function independently in day-to-day life and improve overall physical strength, balance and range of motion, explained Rita Simmons, aquatic wellness director for COM Aquatics.

Shes hoping West Texas will discover more about these benefits this Friday, when COM hosts the Water Walk to Cure Arthritis. The 2021 campaign theme is Give $54, Tell 54, Move 54 in honor of those 54 million sufferers.

By exercising in the water, individuals benefit from the properties of its environment like buoyancy and hydrostatic pressure. The buoyancy of water reduces the influence of gravity on the body and its joints, allowing individuals the opportunity to exercise with greater ease, she said. And if that isnt enough to encourage an arthritis sufferer moving, the pressure of the water also reduces swelling in the legs, helps minimize pain, builds muscle and improves posture.

Plus, exercising in the water provides a fun, friendly and supportive environment that encourages health and fitness in all aspects of life, Simmons added.

Simmons said there are several ways to get involved with the water walk. The first is through donating to the Arthritis Foundation, and all funds raised support local arthritis education and programming. The second way is by joining her Team Wavemakers. Team members pledge to exercise safely in the water for 54 minutes through water walking, swimming or attending an arthritis water exercise class. The third way to be a part of the event is to simply stop by COM to learn more about community resources, exercise programs and patient education materials.

Angie Billingsley, executive director of the Arthritis Foundation, will be there all day to meet with people that have questions about living with arthritis in West Texas.

We are really looking to expand our programming, Billingsley said. She said she hopes to see new area support groups forming as well as beginning new informational webinars.

Water Walk to Cure Arthritis will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and is open to all adults. A COM membership is not required for Team Wavemakers, simply purchase the $10, one-day event pass to attend an arthritis class, water walk or swim laps. Simmons All participants will be eligible for prizes donated by H-E-B, Natural Foods, Market Street, Mulberry Cafe, JumBurrito and Michaels Bar & Grill.

Simmons and Billingsley agreed that one of the best parts of the event will be seeing people enjoying themselves in the pools.

The pandemic has affected everyone, especially our aging population, Simmons said. For many of these individuals, the isolation and lockdown measures took a toll on their physical, mental and emotional well-being. The loss of exercise or movement can lead to decreased function and disability, which leads to more pain, depression and social withdrawal. My staff and I were very concerned for many of our members during the pandemic due to the fact that our water exercise program literally kept some of our members functioning day-to-day.

But more at-risk people getting their COVID vaccinations coupled with relaxing CDC guidelines means many people are returning to COM.

It makes us very happy! Simmons said.

To donate or to register, visit https://events.arthritis.org/team/Wavemaker or email rsimmons@comaquatics.com.






A former CEO of the well-known charity Bothar, David Moloney, has admitted to misappropriating large amounts of monies donated to the charity for his personal use, the High Court has heard.

Earlier this month Bothar, whose activities including aiding poor farmers in developing nations through donations of livestock, secured a temporary High Court injunction freezing the assets of Mr Moloney, who resigned his post as the organisation's CEO in February.

Mr Maloney had initially denied any wrongdoing, however when the matter returned before the High Court on Tuesday Frank Beatty SC for Bothar said his client had been furnished with a letter from its former CEO where he makes several admissions of wrong doing regarding the charity's monies.

Counsel said that the order originally obtained against Mr Maloney had prevented the former CEO from reducing his assets below a value of 465,000. Arising out of the admissions, counsel said Bothar wanted that figure raised to 769,000. Mr Justice Senan Allen agreed to amend the freezing order,

Counsel said Mr Moloney had admitted to his clients that both he personally, and Bothar founder the late Peter Ireton, had personally benefited from monies donated to the charity.

He admitted that these monies included approximately 200,000 that the charity believed was donated to projects run by an order of Roman Catholic nuns in the African nation of Tanzania between 2013 and 2018, which the order never received.

Other monies they benefitted from, counsel said, was 34,000 in money donated to a project in Kenya in 2015, which the Catholic order involved said it never received.

Mr Moloney also admitted misappropriating 127,000 which was paid to an English company called Agricultural Innovation Consultants Limited for services it provided in relation to purported projects in Rwanda, which were never carried out.

He admitted that, in 2016, 100,000 of the charity's money was fraudulently paid in a pension fund he set up for himself. He also admitted that 10,000 of Bothar's monies were used to pay for a hayshed on his own personal property.

He also admitted getting paid additional monies on top of his salary of 44,000 that he should not have received, and personally benefitting from expense payments he claimed from Bothar.

Mr Moloney also admitted that he and other staff at the charity benefitted from Christmas bonus payments, which in 2018 amounted to 19,000, that were not authorised by Bothar's board.

Counsel said while the admissions were welcomed, Mr Moloney had not given his client other information it requires including where the money has gone, and details about his assets.

Marguerite Bolger SC, for Mr Moloney of Clino, Newport, Co Tipperary, said her client had previously denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

However, he has since made some admissions, counsel said. He was now willing to fully co-operate with the and was consenting to summary judgements being made against him.

Counsel said that while has made admissions in relation to the 2016 pension he set up, two other pensions, set up in 2006 were legitimate, counsel said.

Mr Maloney, counsel said, lives a modest lifestyle and his only income is social welfare. The court also heard from lawyers representing Olive Moloney, Mr Moloney's wife.

While it was accepted that she had no hand, act or part in her husband's activities, she was concerned about the effect the orders would have on her own assets, including bank accounts, and any assets of his that she has a joint interest in.

The court heard that she may have to be joined to the proceedings, where Bothar seeks certain orders against Mr Moloney as a notice party, or bring proceedings against Mr Moloney.

Ms Bolger said it was Mr Moloney's intention to support his wife.

Mr Beatty said that his side, which wants full transparency in all matters relating to Mr Moloney, would not be happy for any part of this dispute to end up as a family law issue between the Maloneys which would be heard in camera.

Mr Justice Allen said this was a complicated dispute. He was satisfied to increase the value of the freezing orders, and directed that Mr Moloney provide the court with a statement of his assets and details of where the monies have gone by May 4 next.

He said that it would be premature for Ms Moloney to be joined at this stage to the action, but gave her permission to bring any motions she requires to bring.

The judge, who noted her concerns about the impact of the freezing order would have on bank accounts she holds, said the orders did not apply to accounts in her own name, but did apply to any joint accounts she jointly has with her husband.

In relation to any future proceedings between the Moloneys, the judge said that Bother, as a notice party, may make an application to have those actions heard in public.

Bothar claims in its proceedings that an on-going investigation into Mr Moloney's conduct has revealed that he is "guilty of an egregious breach of trust and an appalling dereliction of his duty to Bothar and the beneficiaries of its charitable objects".

Mr Moloney has worked with Bothar since 1995, and was its CEO for eight years. He was suspended from his role after concerns were raised about his actions, and resigned earlier this year.

This resulted in the charity seeking "mareva' or freezing type orders against Mr Moloney.

The action was made returnable to date next month.
Family members and relatives perform the last rites amid the funeral pyres of victims who died of the Covid-19 coronavirus during mass cremation held at a crematorium in New Delhi on April 27, 2021. (Prakash Singh/Getty Images)

Thousands of Australians Stranded in India

The federal government has promised to help Australians stranded in India get back once flights resume.

As soon as its possible for us to look at flights to bring them back to Australia, we will be doing all that we can to make that happen, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews told Sky News on Wednesday.

There are about 9000 Australians now stranded in India after a ban of flights from the country until at least May 15. Both flights from India to Sydney and repatriation flights to Darwin are paused, as well as indirect flights from India via Doha, Dubai, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur.

The images that were seeing of whats happening in India just shows the devastation of what is being experienced by so many people, Andrews said, noting that the second-most populous country in the world has been recording over 300,000 new cases of CCP virus for days in a row.

Member for Macpherson Karen Andrews speaks to media during a doorstop in the Press Gallery at Parliament House on March 23, 2021, in Canberra, Australia. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

The government will take further health advice and consider the situation in India around the mid of May to decide whether to extend the ban. The most vulnerable people who need to come back to Australia, which are about 650 in numbers, will be prioritized when flights resume.

Meanwhile, the Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan told the press on Wednesday that one or two new cases in his state today are from India.

Four new cases from India were already recorded in hotel quarantine in Perth; all returned on April 24. McGowan believes that there will be more new cases in the following days from that specific flight, with 79 passengers from the COVID-stricken country.

These days the rate is now over half of our cases are out of India, McGowan said.

Its terribly tragic You see the news, those terrible cremations that are going on. Theyre basically cutting down trees in parks to provide enough wood for cremations because so many people are dying. Its awful.

Family members and ambulance worker wearing PPE kit (Personal Protection Equipment) carry the bodies of the patients who died of the Covid-19 coronavirus at a cremation ground in New Delhi on April 27, 2021. (Prakash Singh/Getty Images)

But as weve seen over the course of the last week, it puts a lot of pressure on our system, so were doing all we can to make sure that Australia and Western Australia remain in the very good condition we are, and that means we have to make difficult and tough decisions, he said.

India has recorded over 17,600,000 cases and 198,000 deaths so far, according to Our World in Data.

8.8% of the countrys population has been vaccinated and 1.7% fully vaccinated, according to the New York Times tracking report of COVID vaccinations around the world.

The Morrison government has promised immediate humanitarian support to India, which includes non-invasion ventilators, oxygen concentrators, and other medical equipment.
Variants that have emerged in Britain, South Africa, Brazil and now India have all been the focus of fears of implications for the Covid-19 pandemic

Fast-spreading coronavirus variants have ignited global concern over whether existing vaccines will be able to protect the world from a virus that is constantly mutating.

Variants that have emerged in Britain, South Africa, Brazil and now India have all been the focus of fears of implications for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here's what we know.

How many variants?

Viruses continually mutate as tiny errors are introduced each time they replicate cause new variants to appear. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is no different, and has already undergone several thousand mutations since it emerged in humans in late 2019.

Of the current known variants, three are particularly worrying: those initially detected in southeast England, South Africa and in travellers from Brazil arriving in Japan.

They circulate respectively in 139, 87 and 54 countries, according to an April 27 update from the World Health Organization.

It has designated them "variants of concern" because of their increased transmissibility and/or virulence, which worsens an epidemic and makes it more difficult to control.

The WHO also listed seven "variants of interest" in its April updateup from three a month earlier.

These are under surveillance because of potentially problematic genetic characteristics.

The latest variant added to this list is the one initially spotted in India, where a huge surge of cases in recent days has swamped hospitals. It has now been recorded in at least 17 countries.

The other variants of interest were initially detected in Scotland, the United States, Brazil, France, and the Philippines.

And there are others circulating and being tracked by the scientific community through genetic sequencing.

"The coming weeks and months will tell us whether they fall into the worrying category of variants that spread rapidly, or if they will remain as variants that circulate weakly," Etienne Simon-Loriere, head of viral evolution at France's Pasteur Institute, told AFP.

More contagious?

The three "variants of concern" are all understood to be more infectious.

But for now, estimates of transmissibility are largely based on observations about how fast a variant spreads and given this can depend on various factors, such as social distancing measures, it can be difficult to pinpoint the increase in contagiousness.

The WHO estimates that the English variant is between 36 percent to 75 percent more contagious, while the South African strain is thought to be 1.5 times more transmissible.

It said data for the Brazil variant, known as P.1, is still preliminary, but a recent study of health data in the city of Manaus where the variant has spread widely had suggested it could be 2.5 times more contagious than previous strains.

In recent days there have been increasing suspicions that the Indian variant may also spread more quickly, as case numbers rocket.

The WHO says this transmission could partly be explained by shortfalls in public health measures, as well as several large public meetings that have been allowed to go ahead, "including mass gatherings during cultural and religious celebrations, and elections".

Millions of pilgrims, mostly without masks, have attended the recent Kumbh Mela religious gathering in the country's north.

But the variant also has a combination of mutations potentially associated with increased transmissibility.

Mutation

All variants are categorised according to the mutations they have acquired. Each occupies its own spot in the genetic family tree of SARS-CoV-2.

It's a tree that is constantly growing branches, as more variants emerge.

Scientists are monitoring how changes in the virus might affect the way it infects

Unlike viruses themselves, variants do not have a recognised international naming system, so their official titles tend to be somewhat technical.

For example, the strain that appeared in England is called 501Y.V1 or VOC202012 / 01 and belongs to the line B.1.1.7.

People have thus resorted to the snappier terms "English variant", "South African variant" and so on, although this has raised concern that certain countries will be stigmatised.

Most mutations will not have "a direct benefit to the virus or other public health impacts", according to the WHO.

But some can alter how it spreads or interacts with the immune system.

The English, South African and Brazilian variants all share a particular mutationnamed N501Ythat is thought to increase infectiousness.

The mutation occurs on the virus' spike protein, which makes it more effective at binding with human receptor cells.

And the South African and Brazilian variants carry another mutation, E484K, suspected of reducing the immunity acquired either by a past infection (with therefore an increased possibility of reinfection), or by vaccines.

More dangerous?

Most of the research so far on this question has been on the English variant.

British authorities said in January that the strain that emerged in England was up to 40 percent more deadly, based on a number of studies in the UK.

One of these, which was published in the BMJ medical journal in March, found that the variant was 64 percent more deadly than pre-existing strains.

But in mid-April, another study found that this variant did not cause more serious forms of COVID-19although it focused on patients already in hospital, so could not show whether the variant increased hospitalisation across the general population.

Are vaccines still effective?

Several studies have shown that while vaccines maintain their effectiveness against the English variant, they might have a weaker effect against the South African and Brazilian strains, because of the E484K mutation.

The Indian variant raises the same fears because of a nearby mutationknown as E484Qbut more research is needed.

A small preliminary study made public found that the Covaxin vaccine, from the Indian laboratory Bharat Biotech, remains capable of neutralizing it although its efficacy was reduced.

This is an important nuance that applies to the other variants as welleven if vaccines are less effective against them, it does not mean that they do not work at all.

Also, most studies focus on a single response of the bodythe production of antibodies.

They often do not assess other parts of the potential immune response, such as from memory T- and B-cells.

One recent study by researchers from the US National Institutes of Health gave cautious reassurance.

While they said more research was needed, the NIH said the work suggested the T- cell response in people who have been infectedand possibly those who have been vaccinatedwas "largely not affected" by the mutations in the English, South African and Brazilian variants and "should offer protection against emerging variants".

Meanwhile, manufacturers are working on updated vaccines, tailored to the variants.

As long as case figures remain high globally, the chances of significant mutations will also stay elevated.

This is why, experts say, it is crucial to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible.

And measures such as distancing and mask wearing will continue to be vital, even as more and more people receive a vaccine.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
A Metairie Country Club employee hacked a man to death with a machete and then reported to work before investigators arrested him last week, according to the New Orleans Police Department.

Don Woods, 59, faces a count of second-degree murder after being jailed in one of nine killings investigated during a six-day period beginning April 20. Authorities havent publicly identified the man that Woods is accused of killing.

According to criminal court records, NOPD investigators recovered a video that showed Woods get out of his white Chevrolet Silverado and fight with a man in the 1300 block of North Galvez Street in Treme about 11:55 a.m. on April 21.

Woods began striking the man with a machete and drove away with the weapon, police said. The victim was brought to a hospital and died there.

+2 On violent Monday in New Orleans, man shot dead in home, and killer flees in victim's car A man was shot dead inside his home in the Upper 9th Ward and the killer fled with the victims car, according to New Orleans police, who on T

Police first went to Woods home in the Lower 9th Ward to search for him, but he wasnt there, investigators wrote in court records. They then went to Woods' longtime workplace, Metairie Country Club, spotted his Silverado in the parking lot and obtained a warrant to arrest him.

Metairie Country Club General Manager Gordon Digby confirmed Tuesday that Woods has been a longtime employee but declined further comment. Court records show police arrested Woods at his home the night after the killing.

Woods faces mandatory life imprisonment if convicted of murder. He remained in jail Tuesday in lieu of $350,000 bail.

As of Tuesday, police had arrested suspects in three of the other killings reported between April 20 and 26.

 Cordell Ellis, 52, was booked with murder following the fatal shooting of Michael Monroe, 57, on April 20 in the 5300 block of Lafaye Street.

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 Jeremiah Mark, 23, was booked with manslaughter after he allegedly punched 61-year-old Margaret Street in the 100 block of Royal Street on April 20. Street died two days later, police said.

 Michael Kikuchi Jr., 33, was booked with second-degree murder following the fatal shooting of John Robicheaux, 56, in the 5500 block of McKenna Street on April 22.

Police have also obtained warrants to arrest suspects in the fatal shootings of 14-year-old Joel Nichols in the 2700 block of LaSalle Street on April 20 and of Kevin Goins Jr., 22, in the 1100 block of Nunez Street on April 22. Police didnt release the suspects' names.

The killings of 33-year-old Leslie Brown, who was fatally shot April 21 in the 4000 block of North Galvez Street, and of Melvin Dabney, 39, who was stabbed in the 5700 block of Wisner Boulevard, remain unsolved, police said.

NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said Tuesday the city has tallied at least 66 killings this year, an increase of about 27% when compared to the same time last year. Ferguson said his agency believes psychological stressors in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic are contributing to a homicide rate above normal.

(Its) road rage,  acquaintance arguments, that have escalated to these violent acts, Ferguson said. It is not just our normal neighborhood feuds. It is not drug transactions or narcotics that are leading or driving our homicides anymore.

WWL-TVs Paul Murphy contributed to this report.
Protesters rallied in North Carolina on Tuesday as the FBI has launched a civil rights probe into the death of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man killed by deputies in the U.S. state.

The announcement on Tuesday came hours after Brown's family released an independent autopsy showing he was shot five times, including in the back of the head.

The autopsy results come a day after Brown's relatives were shown a 20-second clip of footage from one deputy's body camera.

One of the Brown family lawyers, Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who viewed the video, said Monday that officers opened fire on Brown while he had his hands on the steering wheel of a car.

She said the video showed Brown trying to drive away but posing no threat to officers. Protester Lamon Mulled said he found this detail especially disturbing.

"I have my hands up. I have my hands on the steering wheel. If I comply with everything, lay on the ground, you're still going to kill me? What chance do I have as a Black man?"

Protests were held in Elizabeth City on Tuesday night. Local news outlets WVEC-TV and WITN-TV reported that a curfew went into effect at 8pmET (1200G) and that there were some arrests.

Keith Rivers is President of the Pasquotank County NAACP (National Associated for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organization).

He says the protests have been peaceful and advised demonstrators to keep their own safety in mind.

"We want to make sure that the protesters themselves are safe. That they understand that if they choose to be arrested, let it be civil disobedience," he said.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
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Jonathan Van-Tam today said the UK is 'at or close to the bottom' of its Covid outbreak as data showed daily cases fell again by 10 per cent in the past week, to 2,166, while 29 more deaths were announced.

The deputy chief medical officer said at today's Downing Street briefing that he was 'hopeful' about Britain getting back to normal in the coming months and said vaccines should mean tough national lockdowns won't happen again.

He compared the situation now to last September's, before the devastating second wave ignited by the Kent variant, and said: 'The vaccine has undoubtedly helped... it really is the way out of getting into trouble of the same size and magnitude ever again.'

The Department of Health's usual update today showed there were 2,166 positive test results received in the past 24 hours, down 9.6 per cent from a week ago. Another 29 deaths were recorded, up by a third on the 22 last Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a major Office for National Statistics (ONS) testing survey revealed 68.3 per cent of people in England had coronavirus antibodies in the week ending April 11, up from 53.1 per cent a fortnight prior. It suggests the majority of the population now has some immunity against the disease.

The finding highlights the success of the huge vaccination drive, which today saw another 116,328 people given a first dose and 379,265 their second. In total almost 34million Brits have been given at least one injection and 13.5m have been fully immunised.

And separate analysis today revealed a single dose of vaccine slashes the risk of spreading coronavirus to a member of your household by up to half. This means not only do they reduce the chance of catching Covid in the first place, the jabs greatly reduce the chances of passing it on.

The deputy chief medical officer, Jonathan Van-Tam, said at today's Downing Street briefing that he was 'hopeful' about Britain getting back to normal in the coming months and said vaccines should mean tough national lockdowns won't happen again

Professor Van-Tam said in the briefing: 'We are really in very low levels that are comparable to where we were in September last year. We are running as a typical seven-day average at just over 2,000 people testing positive per day.

UK BUYS 60m MORE PFIZER VACCINE DOSES Britain has bought another 60million doses of Pfizer's Covid vaccine as part of plans to launch a booster jab rollout this autumn, Matt Hancock revealed tonight. Ministers hope the extra supplies  which will take No10's total order to 100million  will start to be delivered from September through to early 2022 so everyone in the country can be offered a third vaccine. Some of the supplies may also be used for second doses for under-30s vaccinated in June and July, who would expect their boosters in September and October. Young adults are not likely to get the AstraZeneca vaccine because of concerns about blood clots. The autumn vaccine rollout will offer everyone who has been vaccinated a third jab, either of the same type or potentially a different vaccine if studies prove this works, to boost their immunity for the long-term, officials said. The extra jabs will be the same as the Pfizer ones given out at the moment, not specific ones targeted at the South Africa or Brazil variants, although the company is working on these. Mr Hancock said at a Downing Street briefing today that 'evidence is stacking up that the vaccine protects you, it protects your loved ones, and it's the way out of this pandemic'. Advertisement

'My sense is that probably we are at or close to the bottom at the moment in terms of this level of disease in the UK.

'Most of the steady decline we have seen, the disappearance of our third wave, has been down to the efforts of the British people in following lockdown.

'The vaccine has undoubtedly helped in the later stages and there is good evidence that the death rate in the elderly has dropped faster than it has in the younger age groups and it has dropped faster than it did in the second wave, and that is undoubtedly a vaccine effect.

'What is important about these vaccines and the vaccine rollout is it really is the way out of getting into trouble of the same size and magnitude ever again, and that's why it's important that this job must get finished.'

Health Secretary Matt Hancock and the NHS's Dr Nikki Karanani took to the Downing Street podiums to announce that Britain had bought 60million more doses of the Pfizer vaccine for an autumn third-jab rollout.

They showed charts painting a picture of impressive vaccine uptake across the UK, urging younger people to come forward when they are allowed to, as Mr Hancock, 42, will get his vaccine tomorrow.

Professor Van-Tam added: The modelling consensus is clear, we will have what's called a third wave.

'I am fairly hopeful that, if the vaccine programme continues at pace and continues to be as successful as it has been, the third wave might just be a third upsurge and much less significant because of the delinking of cases to hospitalisations and deaths.

'But I think it is inconceivable to think we will go from a period of relative calm, which is where we are now, with no further bumps in the road in terms of upswings in activity between now and this time next year.'

Today's ONS report, based on random blood tests of around 20,000 adults across the UK, estimated 62.5 per cent of the adult population in Northern Ireland have the proteins. The figure was slightly lower in Wales at 61 per cent and Scotland (57.8 per cent).

As well as through jabs, antibodies are made in response to previous infection. The fact that almost half (46.5 per cent) of people aged 16 to 24 in England tested positive for antibodies suggests younger people are enjoying protection from prior infection.

About seven in 10 adults in England have coronavirus antibodies, according to a major Office for National Statistics (ONS) testing survey. It also estimated 62.5 per cent of the adult population in Northern Ireland have the proteins. The figure was slightly lower in Wales at 61 per cent and Scotland (57.8 per cent)

How antibody levels have increased over time thanks to vaccines: The jab programme was rolled out to older people first (highlighted in February, left) and has gradually opened up to younger groups

The results highlight the success of Britain's vaccine programme, which has seen almost 34million Britons - more than half the entire population - receive at least one dose. Some 13.2m of them have been given both injections

And official data shows nearly 40 million Britons live in practically 'Covid-free' areas, where two or fewer cases were recorded during the latest week. England is split into 6,800 areas - which each have average population of approximately 8,200 - to record data on Covid. Public Health England (PHE) redacts data for areas that see two, one or no cases in one week so as to protect the identities of those infected (a graph showing areas based on the number of Covid cases). A total of 4,819 areas have had their information pulled by PHE

It comes as a major Government analysis today revealed a single dose of vaccine slashes the risk of spreading coronavirus by up to half. Adults who received the Pfizer vaccine (red) but still caught the virus were 49 per cent less likely to spread it to other household members than those who weren't inoculated. Those given the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab (blue) were 38 per cent less likely to transmit it to others in their household. The graph shows that in the first few days after vaccination (right), people are more likely to pass the disease on compared to weeks later, when immunity has time to build up (left). The figures are based on an odds ratio, meaning anything above one is an increased risk - and anything below is the opposite

NHS England began offering people a jab to people aged 42 and over this week and the programme is expected to open to people in their 30s next week. Only younger people with underlying health conditions or who live in areas where GPs have extra stock have been offered an appointment.

In England, the highest percentage of adults testing positive for Covid-19 antibodies in the week to April 11 was estimated to be the 70 to 74 age group (87.6 per cent), followed by 80 and over (87.1 per cent) and 60 to 64 (85.7 per cent). The lowest percentage was for 16 to 24-year-olds (46.5 per cent).

TAKING RAPID COVID TESTS DOESN'T MAKE YOU 'INVINCIBLE', HEALTH CHIEF WARNS People who are vaccinated and using rapid turnaround Covid-19 tests are 'not invincible', Professor Anthony Harnden of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), has said. 'If you've got a positive lateral flow test that's quite helpful in the sense that you know that you need to have a PCR and you may well have the infection and you may be infectious to other people,' he told the Science and Technology committee of MPs today. 'The problem is with a negative lateral flow test doesn't mean to say necessarily you've not got the infection. 'I think everybody's got to be cautious and just because you've been vaccinated, and just because you have a negative lateral flow test, does not mean you're invincible because these tests are not perfect. 'Of course, as the prevalence infection goes down in the population the predictive value of all these tests becomes problematic as well, so I would say they're helpful, as part of the arsenal of tests and investigations and vaccine and everything else, but they shouldn't be just taken in isolation.' Source: Press Association Advertisement

In Wales, the highest proportion of adults likely to have tested positive for antibodies was the 70 to 74 age group (83 per cent) followed by 65 to 69 (82.9 per cent) and 60 to 64 (82.8 per cent).

In Scotland the highest percentage was estimated to be among 65 to 69-year-olds (85.1 per cent), followed by 70 to 74-year-olds (81.4 per cent) and 60 to 64-year-olds (80.1 per cent).

In Northern Ireland, the ONS uses different age groups due to small sample sizes and estimates 82 per cent of people aged 70 and over were likely to have tested positive for antibodies in the week to April 11. All figures are for people in private households and do not include settings such as hospitals and care homes.

Other scientific advisers have warned that the country must stick to its rigid lockdown-easing schedule, which won't see pubs and restaurants open for indoor service until May 17, when foreign travel will also resume. They said speeding up lockdown-easing plans would still be a 'big mistake'.

Professor Peter Openshaw, chair of the SAGE subgroup NERVTAG, told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: 'I really think that we're doing the right thing by being cautious and by proceeding according to the evidence and not easing too fast.

'I think we do know that easing too fast would be a big mistake and we don't want to lose all the ground that's been gained by massive public effort to get to where we are now. It's so vital that we do keep up the precautions and move with cautious speed.'

Dr Tildesley suggested the decision on whether social distancing would be needed after the June road map date could be a political one.

However, he said vaccines were doing the job of preventing most people falling seriously ill, and he was hopeful hugs would be back on the agenda by the date the Government has set for lifting legal limits on social contact.

Speaking on Times Radio, Dr Tildesley was asked at what stage people will be able to be close to another person, such as a family member, if both have been vaccinated.

He said: 'I think this is really difficult because of course, in a sense, this becomes more of a sort of a political decision rather than an epidemiological decision because we have been told that on June 21 all of these legal limits on contact will be removed, but it's still unclear exactly what that means.

'Whether that means that on that date some social distancing will be in place or whether all of those will be removed and you'll be able to go and hug your loved ones...

'I think the key thing is that if you're both vaccinated, of course, it does reduce the risk of anyone becoming severely ill and my hope is that as we move towards that June date, we will be in a position that we can not just see our loved ones, but also we can hug our loved ones because it's been a very long time since we've been able to do that.'

Brits rush to download NHS App after Grant Shapps confirmed it WILL be used as Covid passport for travel The NHS app will double as a covid passport with vaccinations already uploaded, it was revealed today, as Portugal said it would welcome tourists with jabs from mid-May and Spain from June. Thousands have rushed to download the app this morning and were shocked to discover the details of their jab - including how many they've had - is already on there. He tweeted a picture of his record in the 'medicines and treatments' section of the NHS app to his 895,000 followers, which led to a flurry of replies from others who had discovered the same thing. But the Department of Health has denied claims it has secretly rolled out covid passports, insisting that all vaccines are automatically added to the app containing the user's medical records. The spokesman could not confirm if this is how people will present proof of being vaccinated airports, or how a negative test will be uploaded to the app if it is not done via the NHS. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today revealed the NHS app is being worked on to become a health certificate for international travel - but explained it will be housed on the app used to book appointments and repeat prescriptions, not the Covid-19 one currently used to check into pubs, cafes and other venues. His announcement led to a rush of people trying to download the app, but people using smartphones such as the Apple iPhone 6, launched in 2014, claim they were unable to use it. Domestic coronavirus statistics 'look good' enough to enable the resumption of foreign holidays from May 17, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also revealed. Mr Shapps also said the NHS app is being worked on to become a health certificate for international travel - but it is the app used to book appointments, not the Covid-19 one currently used to check into pubs, cafes and other venues. Advertisement

He said there was a need for ongoing monitoring of the situation, including of what happens when people are allowed to mix indoors again.

From May 17, up to two households, or six individuals from other households (the rule of six), will be able to meet inside.

Dr Tildesley said: 'We obviously do need to monitor the data as we get to the main relaxation, when you are allowed to go inside people's households, it's really important that we monitor that data and ensure that we don't get a resurgence at that point.'

It came after research by Public Health England (PHE) found just one dose of vaccine cuts the risk of spreading the disease to others by half.

The analysis, which involved almost 1.5million adults, is the first of its kind to confirm the effectiveness of the vaccines in curbing the virus's ability to spread.

The new study on transmission of the virus found that adults who received the Pfizer vaccine  but still caught the virus  were 49 per cent less likely to spread it to other household members than those who weren't inoculated.

The results for the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab were not quite as good but nonetheless, those who received it were 38 per cent less likely to transmit it to others in their household.

But the fact that both vaccines dramatically reduce the virus's ability to spread  as well as preventing serious illness  offer renewed hope that they hold the key to a return to normal life.

They have already been shown to reduce coronavirus hospitalisations and deaths by 80 per cent after one dose, rising even higher after full immunity.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: 'This is terrific news, we already know vaccines save lives and this study is the most comprehensive real-world data showing they also cut transmission of this deadly virus.'

Previous analysis had already confirmed the jabs were excellent at preventing severe disease and death but one of the unanswered questions was how much they stopped transmission.

Scientists have repeatedly warned a jab that is poor at halting the disease's spread meant there was always a risk of the virus circulating in high numbers and eventually spilling into the small number of vulnerable people who aren't jabbed or for whom the jabs don't work.

On PHE's latest analysis, Mr Hancock added: 'It further reinforces that vaccines are the best way out of this pandemic as they protect you and they may prevent you from unknowingly infecting someone in your household.

'I urge everybody to get their vaccines as soon as they are eligible and make sure you get your second dose for the strongest possible protection. This is a huge national effort and we will beat the virus together.'

The jabs' ability to prevent virus transmission kicked in after just 14 days and they worked regardless of a person's age or the number of people within their household, with whom they had close contact.

One jab HALVES spread of virus in your home A single dose of vaccine slashes the risk of spreading coronavirus by up to half, a major study reveals today. Not only does the jab reduce a person's chance of catching Covid in the first place, it greatly reduces their chances of passing it on, should they get infected. The research by Public Health England (PHE) which involved almost 1.5million adults is the first of its kind to confirm the effectiveness of the vaccines in curbing the virus's ability to spread. The new study on transmission of the virus found that adults who received the Pfizer vaccine  but still caught the virus  were 49 per cent less likely to spread it to other household members than those who weren't inoculated. The results for the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab were not quite as good but nonetheless, those who received it were 38 per cent less likely to transmit it to others in their household. But the fact that both vaccines dramatically reduce the virus's ability to spread  as well as preventing serious illness  offer renewed hope that they hold the key to a return to normal life. They have already been shown to reduce coronavirus hospitalisations and deaths by 80 per cent after one dose, rising even higher after full immunity. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: 'This is terrific news, we already know vaccines save lives and this study is the most comprehensive real-world data showing they also cut transmission of this deadly virus.' The results will come as a huge boost for the country's lockdown easing plans, given that almost 34million Britons - more than half the entire population - have had one dose. Some 13.2m of them have been given both injections. It comes as Boris Johnson said yesterday that the 'road ahead looks positive' as separate figures revealed Covid deaths have plummeted 97 per cent since the second peak. Previous analysis had already confirmed the jabs were excellent at preventing severe disease and death but one of the unanswered questions was how much they stopped transmission. Scientists have repeatedly warned a jab that is poor at halting the disease's spread meant there was always a risk of the virus circulating in high numbers and eventually spilling into the small number of vulnerable people who aren't jabbed or for whom the jabs don't work. On PHE's latest analysis, Mr Hancock added: 'It further reinforces that vaccines are the best way out of this pandemic as they protect you and they may prevent you from unknowingly infecting someone in your household. 'I urge everybody to get their vaccines as soon as they are eligible and make sure you get your second dose for the strongest possible protection. This is a huge national effort and we will beat the virus together.' Advertisement

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at PHE, said: 'Vaccines are vital in helping us return to a normal way of life.

'Not only do vaccines reduce the severity of illness and prevent hundreds of deaths every day, we now see they also have an additional impact on reducing the chance of passing Covid-19 on to others. I encourage anyone who is offered a vaccine to take it as soon as possible.

'While these findings are very encouraging, even if you have been vaccinated, it is really important that you continue to act like you have the virus, practise good hand hygiene and follow social distancing guidance.'

Meanwhile, official data has revealed nearly 40 million Britons live in practically 'Covid-free' areas. The UK's hugely successful vaccine rollout and continued lockdown measures have meant that seven in ten people now live in places where two or fewer cases were recorded during the latest week.

In another positive sign, yesterday's daily deaths figure halved in a week - with 17 recorded on Tuesday, compared to 33 one week prior. England is split into 6,800 areas - which each have average population of approximately 8,200 - to record data on Covid.

Public Health England (PHE) redacts data for areas that see two, one or no cases in one week so as to protect the identities of those infected. A total of 4,819 areas have had their information pulled by PHE, analysis by The Times revealed.

This means that 38 million people are in areas where two or fewer cases have been recorded in the most-recent week of available data.

It was also revealed today that the NHS app will double as a Covid passport with vaccinations already uploaded.

Thousands have rushed to download the app this morning and were shocked to discover the details of their jab - including how many they've had - is already on there.

He tweeted a picture of his record in the 'medicines and treatments' section of the NHS app to his 895,000 followers, which led to a flurry of replies from others who had discovered the same thing.

But the Department of Health has denied claims it has secretly rolled out covid passports, insisting that all vaccines are automatically added to the app containing the user's medical records.

The spokesman could not confirm if this is how people will present proof of being vaccinated airports, or how a negative test will be uploaded to the app if it is not done via the NHS.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today revealed the NHS app is being worked on to become a health certificate for international travel - but explained it will be housed on the app used to book appointments and repeat prescriptions, not the Covid-19 one currently used to check into pubs, cafes and other venues.

His announcement led to a rush of people trying to download the app, but people using smartphones such as the Apple iPhone 6, launched in 2014, claim they were unable to use it.

Domestic coronavirus statistics 'look good' enough to enable the resumption of foreign holidays from May 17, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also revealed.

Mr Shapps also said the NHS app is being worked on to become a health certificate for international travel - but it is the app used to book appointments, not the Covid-19 one currently used to check into pubs, cafes and other venues.

He told Sky News: 'In terms of vaccine certification, I can confirm we are working on an NHS application, actually it will be the NHS app that is used for people when they book appointments with the NHS and so on, to be able to show you've had a vaccine or you've had testing.

'I'm working internationally with partners across the world to make sure that system can be internationally recognised, as that's the way forward.

'Actually, I'm chairing a meeting of the G7 secretaries of state for transport, my equivalents from America and Canada and all the G7 countries, next week on exactly this subject'.

Overseas leisure travel could resume for people in England on May 17 under Boris Johnson's road map for easing restrictions.

Mr Shapps told Sky News: 'I have to say that so far the data does continue to look good from a UK perspective, notwithstanding those concerns about where people might be travelling to and making sure we're protected from the disease being reimported.'

He added he will set out which countries fall into the 'green', 'amber' and 'red' categories under the new risk-based traffic light system 'towards the beginning of May'.

That will determine what testing and quarantine requirements travellers will face when they return from various destinations.

Revealing Spain was throwing open its beaches, tourism minister Fernando Valdes Verelst said: 'June will be the start of the recovery of tourism in Spain. By then, we will have a digital vaccination certificate in place and we will be able to reopen our borders.'

He said Spain was pushing for the UK's digital vaccine passport to be 'mutually recognised' and that he welcomed Boris Johnson's plans to restart international travel.

Mr Verelst said he expected Spain to be on the UK's travel green list when international travel resumes thanks to the country's successful vaccine rollout which has seen 22 per cent of the population receive a first dose.

This would mean Britons returning to the UK from Spain would not have to quarantine.

But Mr Shapps said the public will have to 'wait and see' about whether the UK will permit travel to Spain.

He told Times Radio: 'Spain specifically, I'm afraid I just don't have the answer to that because the Joint Biosecurity Centre will need to come up with their assessment and we can't do that until a bit nearer the time.

'So we will need to wait and see.'

Speaking at the World Travel and Tourism Council in Mexico, he added: 'Because of the progress in our vaccine rollout with 22 per cent of our population having had their first dose already, we expect by June to be at the green light.

'We are having close conversations with UK authorities and we are exchanging information on Spain's digital system and the trial happening at our airports in May.'

Spain is the UK's most popular overseas destination with 18.1million people visiting the country from the UK in 2019.

The port city of Malaga in Spain's Costa del Sol was easyJet's top beach destination for British tourists in 2019.

The UK has earmarked May 17 as being the earliest date when international travel would be allowed for non-essential reasons following a winter lockdown, with a 'traffic light system' based on individual countries' COVID risk levels.
BUFFALO, N.Y., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OmniSeq, an innovator in next generation sequencing in oncology, today announced the New York State Department of Health's Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program has approved the OmniSeq INSIGHTSM test. The test detects genomic variants, genomic signatures, and immune gene expression, providing physicians with clinically actionable evidence to inform therapeutic treatment decisions and identify potential clinical trial options for patients with late-stage solid tumor cancers.

The test will be commercially available to U.S.-based clinicians exclusively through Labcorp and globally to biopharmaceutical companies through Labcorp Drug Development. Throughout Canada, the test will be available through Dynacare, a Labcorp company.

"The launch of OmniSeq INSIGHT represents the continued evolution of our commitment to innovation and to the delivery of the most advanced, comprehensive solid tumor profiling assay," said Margot Schoenborn, Chief Executive Officer, OmniSeq. "It is designed to detect and characterize the genomic and immune features of patients' cancer tumors to quickly guide more precise, individualized treatment decisions for patients to ensure they receive the best personalized medicine options available."

OmniSeq INSIGHT is a tissue-based, next generation sequencing test. It has been clinically and analytically validated for all solid tumors, interrogating gene alterations that are targets identified for therapy. Completely unique to the test is the integration of immune expression profiling, which detects genes involved in the anti-cancer immune response and tumor-immune mechanisms including low-expressing genes involved in inflammatory signaling. The combined profiling of molecular and immune genes delivers an unparalleled and powerful new tool to help physicians more effectively select personalized therapies and immunotherapies, as well as match patients to clinical trials based on multi-immune marker analyses.

OmniSeq INSIGHT delivers the distinct advantage of leveraging three technologies to better inform physicians in selecting the most appropriate therapies or clinical trials for their patients. DNA sequencing is used to detect base substitutions, insertions, deletions, copy number alterations, tumor mutational burden and microsatellite instability. RNA sequencing is employed for detection of known and novel gene arrangements in order to maximize detection of fusion events and gene expression profiling; this also provides differentiating insight into critical tumor-immune interactions. Additionally, PD-L1 expression is measured by immunohistochemistry using FDA-approved assays based on the tumor type tested.

OmniSeq INSIGHT can be used in both diagnostic and drug development settings. It is actively integrated into numerous drug development programs and can be configured as an effective discovery tool, screening tool or clinical trial assay and can drive companion diagnostics development and commercialization initiatives. OmniSeq INSIGHT is offered to global biopharmaceutical customers directly and through Labcorp Drug Development, which collectively have an extensive track record in validating assays across key regulatory standards, including CLIA, CLEP, CE-IVD and FDA under an ISO 13485 quality management system for medical devices.

CONTACT: Sawyer Lipari, [email protected]

SOURCE OmniSeq
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Treasure hunters are planning to dig up what they say could be 48 crates of Nazi gold worth nearly half a billion pounds at a palace used by Hitler's SS as a brothel.

The dig, which starts next week, is hoped to uncover 10 tonnes of gold along with other valuables in the grounds of the 18th century palace in the village of Minkowskie in southern Poland.

The treasure was stolen on the orders of SS boss Heinrich Himmler towards the end of WWII to set up a Fourth Reich.

It is thought to include the so-called 'Gold of Breslau' which went missing from police headquarters in what is now the nearby Polish city of Wrocaw.

It is also thought to include jewellery and valuables from the private collections of wealthy Germans who lived in the region and who handed their possessions to the SS in order to protect them from being looted by the advancing Red Army.

The location was revealed by secret documents, an SS officer's diary and a map that the treasure hunters received from the descendants of officers belonging to a secretive lodge dating back over 1,000 years.

Treasure hunters are planning to dig up what they say could be 48 crates of Nazi gold worth nearly half a billion pounds at a palace (pictured) used by Hitler's SS as a brothel

Starting next week, the dig is expected to uncover 10 tonnes of gold along with other valuables in the grounds of the 18th century palace (archive picture) in the village of Minkowskie in southern Poland

The location was revealed by secret documents, a diary (pictured) and a map that the treasure hunters received from the descendants of SS officers belonging to a secretive lodge worshipped by Himmler and dating back over 1,000 years

Among the bundle of documents is a letter (left) from a senior SS officer called von Stein to one of the girls who worked at the palace in Minkowskie and who later became his lover. The officer wrote: 'My dear Inge, I will fufill my assignment, with God's will. Some transports were successful. The remaining 48 heavy Reichsbank's chests and all the family chests I hereby entrust to you. Only you know where they are located. May God help you and help me, fulfil my assignment.' Right: A diary (one page pictured), said to have been written by a high-ranking SS officer under the pseudonym Michaelis, last year revealed the location of another palace in the region where it is thought 28 tonnes of treasure is buried at the bottom of a well

The same diary, said to have been written by a high-ranking SS officer under the pseudonym Michaelis, last year revealed the location of another palace in the region where it is thought 28 tonnes of treasure is buried at the bottom of a well.

The treasure was stolen on the orders of SS boss Heinrich Himmler (pictured) towards the end of WWII to set up a Fourth Reich

But the treasure hunters say they will start digging at the new location because the buried loot is easier to access.

Among the bundle of documents is a letter from a senior SS officer called von Stein to one of the girls who worked at the palace in Minkowskie and who later became his lover.

The officer wrote: 'My dear Inge, I will fufill my assignment, with God's will. Some transports were successful. The remaining 48 heavy Reichsbank's chests and all the family chests I hereby entrust to you.

'Only you know where they are located. May God help you and help me, fulfil my assignment.'

The pencil-written pages of the diary are said to identify 11 locations across Lower Silesia which before and during the war was German territory.

An entry from March 12, 1945, referring to the treasure at the palace in Minkowskie says: 'A trough has been dug in the orangery, which is a safe "home" for the delivered chests and containers.'

It continues: '48 chests from the Reichsbank, in good condition, were hidden, very well covered with earth and "greened" with still living plants.

'Let providence watch over us.'

The pencil-written pages of the diary (left) are said to identify 11 locations across Lower Silesia which before and during the war was German territory. Right: Roman Furmaniak, head of the Silesian Bridge foundation leading the hunt for the treasure, holding the diary

Roman Furmaniak, head of the Silesian Bridge foundation leading the hunt for the treasure, told MailOnline: 'Several people took part in hiding the deposits in Minkowskie. One of them was an officer called von Stein.

'He used to stay in the palace because he had a lover there. Due to its location it was often visited by high-ranking SS officers who treated it like a brothel.'

Hitler's SS used the building as a brothel. Pictured: Hitler in 1935

Inge was the guardian appointed by von Stein to keep an eye on the hiding place.

Furmaniak said: 'She was in love with the handsome officer in a black SS uniform. They were like gods.

'She believed that she would have to stay there for a year, maybe two, then it would all be over.

'Nobody believed then that the region would come under the control of the Soviet Union.

'There was a two-month period in 1945 when she had to hide in the forest from the Russians. But when she got back, the area had not been disturbed.

'If they had dug a hole, they would have taken what they wanted and then left the hole. We have seen this in history many times in Poland.'

At the end of the war, the region was handed over to the new Soviet-controlled Poland, the entire German population was expelled and Poles who had been living in Western Ukraine arrived.

To blend in with the new population, Inge changed her appearance and identity - eventually marrying a local man - and continued to watch over the treasure until her death 60 years later.

The palace in Minkowskie dates back to the 18th century when it was built by Prussian general Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz.

Over the years it changed hands several times and after the war the Red Army and the Polish Army were stationed there at different times.

Later it was used as a local council office, a kindergarten and even a cinema.

Now, in a dilapidated state and in private hands, the Silesian Bridge foundation has taken a long-term lease on the property.

A diary entry from March 12, 1945, referring to the treasure at the palace (pictured) in Minkowskie says: 'A trough has been dug in the orangery, which is a safe "home" for the delivered chests and containers'

Roman Furmaniak, head of the Silesian Bridge foundation leading the hunt for the treasure, told MailOnline: 'Several people took part in hiding the deposits in Minkowskie. One of them was an officer called von Stein. He used to stay in the palace (an interior image, pictured) because he had a lover there. Due to its location it was often visited by high-ranking SS officers who treated it like a brothel'

The palace in Minkowskie (archive picture) dates back to the 18th century when it was built by Prussian general Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz

The dig, which starts next week, will take place in the grounds of the 18th century palace in the village of Minkowskie, Poland

Last year, the foundation released the location of one of the 11 hiding places identified in the diary, a palace in the village of Roztoka.

Furmaniak told MailOnline: 'The diary says that the deposits in Roztoka are buried 64 metres at the bottom of a well.

'It would be a huge task to excavate that site. We are focusing on Minkowskie now because we think it will be easier.'

He added: 'The recovery of lost works of art and their return to their rightful owners could become a catalyst for changes aimed to bring unity - not polarization. This notion guides our mission.

'We are preparing to explore another location, which we will start to explore at the same time or just after Minkowskie.

Over the years the palace (archive picture) changed hands several times and after the war the Red Army and the Polish Army were stationed there at different times

'We have all the required permits for carrying out this work.

'We are cooperating all the time with the Ministry of Culture and the heritage conservator.'

The lodge that handed over the documents takes its name from Quedlinburg, a small town in Saxony-Anhalt. Quedlinburg members were appointed to top positions in many Nazi-era institutions, most notably the fearsome Waffen SS. Among them was SS monster General Hans Kammler (pictured) who led work on the design of gas chambers and crematoria used in death camps

The lodge that handed over the documents takes its name from Quedlinburg, a small town in Saxony-Anhalt.

It dates back to the 10th century and the rule of the first German king Henry the Fowler. SS chief Heinrich Himmler was fascinated by the ruler and believed that he was his reincarnation.

In the 1930s, the lodge formed an alliance with Hitler under which it became part of the cultural elite in the Third Reich.

The deal protected its own status and gave Hitler's thuggish brown-shirt movement an air of respectability.

It also provided the Nazi project a sense of historical legitimacy.

The Nazis used King Henry's legacy to legitimise their own power, and they held ritual ceremonies at the site of his tomb in Quedlinburg monastery on the anniversary of his death.

Quedlinburg members were appointed to top positions in many Nazi-era institutions, most notably the fearsome Waffen SS.

Among them was SS monster General Hans Kammler who led work on the design of gas chambers and crematoria used in death camps.

Furmaniak said that the lodge, whose members are descended from the SS, had made the diary and documents available to his foundation as a gesture of atonement for Poland's suffering at the hands of Germany during the war.

In a statement, the foundation said: 'The return of world heritage is seen as a milestone on the long path of reconciliation.'
Mayor Mihai Chirica announced on Wednesday that he will self-suspend from all political positions which he holds within the northeastern Iasi branch of the National Liberal Party (PNL), because he does not wish for the accusations that are being brought to him to affect the image of the PNL.

"I have peace of mind, in front of the citizens of Iasi and God, that I am innocent and I have the belief that I will prove this as quickly as possible," mayor Mihai Chirica declared, through a press release.

He specifies that there is no truth to any of the criminal accusations brought to him and says that he is "the target of political attacks and of other nature, which won't stop".In his opinion, "PNL is going through a difficult period, in a continuous effort, but without the desired results, of cohabitation and collaboration with other political parties".Furthermore, he shows his disappointment towards "the unproductive way of functioning of this government alliance and the fact that its results are not in accordance with PNL aspirations and the Romanians".The mayor of Iasi Municipality, Mihai Chirica, is currently being investigated by the prosecutors of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in a case of fraud with a land belonging to the city hall.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- A giant mural of jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny survived only a matter of hours before the authorities in Russian President Vladimir Putin's hometown, St. Petersburg, painted over it.

In the work, Putin's most vocal critic is shown smiling and making the shape of a heart with his hands with the slogan "A hero of a new time" next to them.

The painting appeared overnight on a wall of a building in St. Petersburg's central Pushkarsky park. The artist of the mural is not known.

By early morning on April 28, police arrived at the scene, followed by a work crew, who quickly painted over the mural with mustard-colored paint.

"The beautiful St. Petersburg graffiti with Navalny was quickly painted over. This is how they transform everything 'alive' and beautiful into faceless and 'dead,'" Navalny lawyer Lyubov Sobol said on Twitter.

"We have Russia for happiness, they have it for despondency and stagnation."

Several people commented on Twitter that the police acted quicker in response to the picture than they do for violent crimes.

The incident comes a day before a court is expected to rule on a motion by prosecutors to label Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and his regional offices as "extremist" organizations.

That proposal has been condemned by international and domestic human rights groups who say that if they're are labeled as "extremist," their employees and those passing on information about the groups could face arrest and lengthy prison terms.

Navalny was arrested in January upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he received life-saving treatment for a poisoning attack in Siberia in August 2020.

He blames the poisoning with a Soviet-style chemical nerve agent on Putin and Russia's security services. The Kremlin has denied any role in the poisoning.

In February, a Moscow court ruled that while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an old embezzlement case that is widely considered to be politically motivated. He is currently serving 2 1/2-year sentence at a prison in the Vladimir region.

Navalny's incarceration sparked numerous protests across Russia, which were violently dispersed by police.
UFC fighter Rose Namajunas's family reportedly fled communism in Lithuania and settled in America. The champion said in a recent interview with Lithuanian National Radio and Television that her experience serves as her inspiration that propels her to victory.

"The animosity and things like that, those can be very motivating factors in short moments," she was quoted saying by CBS Sports. "But in all actuality going into the fight, maybe there was certain rivalries and things like that, but I always kept myself in control."

Rose Namajunas became the new UFC strawweight champion on Saturday night. Immediately, she credited God with her victory, reported CBN News.

During an interview with Joe Rogan, Namajunas was able to reroute the flow of the audience's focus back to God.

"I did it again, but God did it," she told him. "I really just had to have faith in Him but that's what got me through."

Namajunas stunned Zhang Weili in the first round at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida. The 28-year-old knocked out her rival with a head kick and several blows, prompting the referees to stop the bout.

She said in the interview that overcoming Weili was about more than just regaining the title she lost in May of this year, but also about overcoming a competitor who happened to be a representative of a communist regime.

"It's nothing personal against her (the opponent), but that's a huge motivating factor of why I fight, and I fight for freedom," Namajunas said during the interview. "I've got the Christ consciousness, I've got Lithuanian blood, and I've got the American dream. All of those things I'm taking with me into the fight."

Namajunas informed Rogan after Saturday's match that any anti-communist remarks she made were not aimed at anyone and that she loves everybody.

"It's just my history and my past and that's it," she clarified. "I love all people, all cultures, everybody in the world."

Her great grandfather was assassinated by the Soviets while serving in the military of Independent Lithuania. These were some of the reasons driving Namajunas to take on China's champion.

Praying for Anyone Who Needs It

In December, Namajunas gave a public prayer on YouTube to "anyone who needs it."

"I'm not a preacher or anything," she said, "but I do know the power of prayer is real."

In the prayer, she wasn't thankful for her blessings alone; she was also thankful that God didn't remove the hardships she experienced along the way. She believes that adversity helps people grow and that it teaches them to be creative in finding ways around their struggles.

She prayed for all those affected by the pandemic, including individuals and enterprises. Finally, she prayed for herself, asking that she be thankful always and that her influence will have a good effect on others.

"The power of prayer guys," she declared after she uttered her prayer. "No matter what's going on right now...there's lots of craziness, God is in the center of all that and that's where peace is found. If you can find that center, that peace in the midst of all this - that's the whole goal."
The United Kingdom is playing a significant subversive role in relations between Russia and the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2021) The United Kingdom is playing a significant subversive role in relations between Russia and the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Sputnik.

"As far as the relations between Russia and Europe are concerned, I still believe that the UK is playing an active and a very serious subversive role. It withdrew from the European Union, but we see no decrease in its activities on this track.

On the contrary, they are trying to influence EU member states' approaches to Russia to the maximum possible extent," Lavrov said.

"At the same time, you know, they send us signals, they propose establishing contacts. This means, they do not shy away from communication [with Russia], but try to discourage others. Again, probably [this can be explained by] their desire to have a monopoly of these contacts and again prove that they are superior to others," the Russian diplomat elaborated.
A seventh New Jersey college  Drew University  says students must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the time time the fall semester begins.

Students who take online only courses are exempt, with the private school in Madison to consider other medical and religious exceptions, it said in a statement. Drew officials are still considering whether or not vaccines will be required from faculty and staff members.

Students must provide proof they were vaccinated at least two weeks before returning to campus.

Drew enrolls about 2,000 students and has 148 full-time faculty members. The school has 16 active cases of COVID-19, according to its dashboard. Since the pandemic began in March 2020, 113 of the 6,786 tests administered by the school resulted in a positive.

Rutgers University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey City University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Montclair State University and Princeton University have already announced that vaccines will be mandatory.

All employees of New Jersey colleges and universities became eligible for the coronavirus vaccination on April 5. Everyone in New Jersey age 16 and older became eligible April 19.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
First jab from AstraZeneca, second from Pfizer? State is hesitant, experts supportive

The mixing of vaccines has been approved in Germany, France and Sweden.

Font size: A - | A +

Those who have been vaccinated with the vaccine Vaxzervia by AstraZeneca in Slovakia could theoretically receive their second vaccine dose from another company.

However, the combination of various vaccines is not allowed by the Health Ministry, even though several EU states are implementing this option.

Experts addressed by the Sme daily are not against combining vaccines. Such an option should be safe, but the effectiveness of the combined vaccination is questionable.

Same vaccines for both doses

27. Apr 2021 at 11:14 | Jan Krempasky
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Is forest harvesting increasing in Europe? Yes, but not as much as reported last July in a controversial study published in Nature.

The study Abrupt increase in harvested forest area over Europe after 2015, used satellite data to assess forest cover and claimed an abrupt increase of 69% in the harvested forest in Europe from 2016. The authors, from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), suggested that this increase resulted from expanding wood markets encouraged by EU bioeconomy and bioenergy policies. The publication triggered a heated debate, both scientific and political, as the EU Parliament and Council were discussing the Post-2020 EU Forest Strategy.

In a response published in Nature, 30 scientists from 13 European countries have discovered evidence that throws into doubt the conclusions of the JRC study. In Concerns about reported harvests in European forests, Palahi and colleagues demonstrate that the large harvest changes reported by JRC result from methodological errors.

These errors relate to satellite sensitivity improving markedly over the period of assessment, as well as to changes in forests due to natural disturbancesfor example drought and storm related die-back and tree-fallsbeing often attributed wrongly to timber harvests.

Dr. Marc Palahi, Director of the European Forest Institute (EFI), who led the response said: "In the future forest information should be more carefully assessed, taking into account a wide variety of methodological issues and factors, before drawing hasty conclusions. This requires enhanced collaboration as well as scientifically robust and common approaches between the European Commission and Member States to enable better informed forest-related policies in the context of the EU Green Deal."

"Over the years, we are becoming better and better at detecting forest loss" said Dr. Ruben Valbuena from Bangor University who co-led the study. One of the errors in the JRC study was to underestimate how satellite images, and the methods used to analyse them, have improved over the periods they compared. "Satellite products can only be employed under strict protocols assessing errors, and with better distinction between deforestation and other causes of forest loss", he said.

Professor Gert-Jan Nabuurs from Wageningen University, an IPCC lead author who participated in the study, commented that "the harvest across Europe's forests has increased in recent years, but by just 6%, not the 69% claimed by the JRC study. This is due primarily to a moderate economic recovery after the 2008-2012 recession. What is really striking is the unprecedented levels of natural disturbances affecting our forests in many parts of the continent in recent years."

The implications of the errors found by Palahi and colleagues are of global relevance, as many studies to inform policy-makers and society at large on the state of the world forests are nowadays based on remote sensing. The analysis of products based on satellite imagery is becoming key for instance to understand the extent of global deforestation, and thus we need scientifically robust remote sensing methods for sound policy-making.

More information: Palahi, M., Valbuena, R. et al. Concerns about reported harvests in European forests. Nature (2021). Palahi, M., Valbuena, R. et al. Concerns about reported harvests in European forests.(2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03292-x Ceccherini, G., Duveiller, G., Grassi, G. et al. Abrupt increase in harvested forest area over Europe after 2015. Nature 583, 72-77 (2020). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2438-y Journal information: Nature
(A) Schematic representation of important connectome details in Parkinsons disease (PD). (B) Brain-first PD: the asymmetric distribution of alpha-synuclein persists into later disease stages. (C) Body-first PD: the symmetric alpha-synuclein pathology leads to more symmetric motor symptoms. Credit: Journal of Parkinsons Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by slowness of movement and tremors, which often appear asymmetrically in patients. The new model of PD described in this review article published in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease may explain these perplexing asymmetrical motor symptoms and other known variations such as different degrees of constipation and sleep disorders.

PD is a heterogenous disorder. Symptoms and the speed with which symptoms progress vary greatly among patients. In three-quarters of patients, motor symptoms initially appear in one side of the body. Some patients develop constipation, loss of smell, sleep disorders, and other symptoms several years before diagnosis, but others do not. Although it is possible to define several subtypes of PD characterized by similar constellations of symptoms, the underlying causes of these differences are poorly understood. Aggregation and neuron-to-neuron spread of the protein alpha-synuclein is thought to be involved.

The alpha-synuclein Origin and Connectome (SOC) model presented by Per Borghammer, MD, Ph.D., DMSc, Department of Nuclear Medicine & PET, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark, proposes a unifying model, which may explain much of this variation among patients. The SOC model is fundamentally based on two ideas: the location or origin of the first alpha-synuclein aggregates, and the importance played by the neural connectome in transmitting the alpha-synuclein pathology to other parts of the nervous system.

This model was developed by integrating already available evidence from clinical and imaging studies of patients, animal models of PD, and postmortem findings in brain tissue from PD patients. This unifying model seems capable of explaining why PD is often an asymmetric disease in the first place, but also why some patients show more asymmetry than others and some no asymmetry at all. It also explains why certain subtypes of PD seem to exist, including why constipation and sleep disorders emerge prior to diagnosis only in some patients.

"Imaging studies of living PD patients and studies of biopsies and gut and brain tissue from biobanks clearly suggest that PD patients display different profiles of neuronal damage," explained Dr. Borghammer. "In some patients, the brain is damaged before the peripheral nervous system, and in others the opposite pattern is seen. This new model, which is an extended version of the body-first versus brain-first hypothesis we described in this journal in 2019, proposes a simple explanation for motor asymmetry, while simultaneously offering explanations for several other unexplained phenomena in PD."

The model postulates that the first instance of pathological alpha-synuclein typically starts in a single location, and then spreads from this origin site using permissible neural connections. The origin site can occur in the enteric nervous system of the gut, leading to a body-first subtype of PD. This type is characterized by early symptoms from gut and other peripheral organs and also sleep symptoms stemming from the lower parts of the brainstem.

In contrast, the first alpha-synuclein pathology can also start inside the brain leading to a brain-first subtype. "Such patients will often develop motor symptoms quite quickly, whereas sleep symptoms and autonomic symptoms develop only later," noted Dr. Borghammer. "At later disease stages, the two types of patients will have a similar burden of motor and non-motor symptoms, but early on they are very different."

The second component of the SOC model pertains to how neurons are wired to each other, known as neuronal connectivity. One brain hemisphere communicates mainly to itself with only 1% of neuronal connections crossing the midline to the other hemisphere. Therefore, if the first occurrence of pathological alpha-synuclein arises in a single location in the brain, it will by definition be in either the left or the right hemisphere. The subsequent spreading of pathology will therefore happen primarily via "same-sided" connections including to the dopamine cells on the same side of the brain. This leads to asymmetric damage of the dopamine neurons causing asymmetric motor symptoms in patients.

"In short, we think that the motor asymmetry in PD must be understood in a brain-first vs. body-first context. In brain-first PD, the initial pathology starts in one hemisphere and initially damages that hemisphere via the predominantly same-sided connections, leading to marked asymmetry," noted Dr. Borghammer. "With time, the other hemisphere is also involved, evidenced by the increasingly symmetric motor symptoms in the patient."

Dr. Borghammer explained that the model also predicts that body-first PD patients will be different and generally have more symmetric motor symptoms. This is because the pathology spreads from the gut to the brain in a more symmetric fashion due to left/right overlapping connections in the peripheral nervous system. This then leads to a "wave" of spreading pathology inside the brain, which is more symmetric than that seen in brain-first patients. They therefore display more symmetric dopamine loss and motor symptoms, and this is exactly what clinical and imaging studies have been reporting. The model also predicts that at diagnosis, body-first patients already have a larger, more symmetric burden of alpha-synuclein pathology, which in turn promotes faster disease progression and accelerated cognitive decline.

"It is known that PD patients of the body-first type are at an increased risk of developing dementia. According to the SOC model this increased risk follows from the fact that, at the time of a PD diagnosis, the alpha-synuclein pathology is more widespread, more symmetrical, and shows more involvement of certain brainstem neurons, which are themselves involved in cognitive decline and dementia," Dr. Borghammer added.

Asked about the future outlook for the SOC model, Dr. Borghammer responded that it will now be tested in future studies. "A good scientific model should be testable and falsifiable, and the present model lives up to these requirements. The scientific community now needs to study whether the SOC model has more explanatory power than previous models of PD pathogenesis. It is certainly not a complete description of what goes wrong in PD and needs to be further refined," he concluded.

PD is a slowly progressive disorder that affects movement, muscle control, and balance and is characterized by a broad range of motor and non-motor symptoms. It is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder affecting about 3% of the population by the age of 65 and up to 5% of individuals over 85 years of age.

Explore further Parkinson's disease may originate in the intestines

More information: Per Borghammer. The -Synuclein Origin and Connectome Model (SOC Model) of Parkinson's Disease: Explaining Motor Asymmetry, Non-Motor Phenotypes, and Cognitive Decline, Journal of Parkinson's Disease (2021). Journal information: Journal of Parkinson's Disease Per Borghammer. The -Synuclein Origin and Connectome Model (SOC Model) of Parkinson's Disease: Explaining Motor Asymmetry, Non-Motor Phenotypes, and Cognitive Decline,(2021). DOI: 10.3233/JPD-202481
This is your overview of news from Slovakia on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. This is a free-of-charge service for our readers. If you want to support us, become a subscriber and get access to more detailed news and interesting feature stories about Slovakia.

Russia will expel Slovak diplomats

Three Slovak diplomats will have to leave Moscow by May 5.

The decision comes as a response to the same step made by Slovakia on April 22, when the countrys representatives decided to expel three Russian diplomats in reaction to the suspicions that the Russian intelligence services were involved in the 2014 explosion in Vrbetice, the Czech Republic.

Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok (SaS nominee) sees the step as a reciprocal reaction to the earlier actions of Slovakia.

Of course, it will impact the work of our embassy as we will miss the three people who need to leave the Russian Federation, but I believe we will manage the situation, Korcok said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

The conflict between the Czech Republic and Russia was also discussed at his April 28 meeting with Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Jakub Kulhanek. The Slovak minister reiterated that Slovakia stood on the right side in this conflict and said that the country will be interested in how the conflict between the Czech Republic develops while his Czech counterpart appreciated the support received from Bratislava.

UPDATED: Russia will expel three Slovak diplomats Read more

Recovery plan approved

Slovakia can now send its Recovery and Resilience Plan to Brussels. The cabinet approved the document at its Wednesday session, with objections.

Education, science and research, green economy, health care, public administration and digitalisation are among the priorities of the document, and the country is expected to receive more than 6 billion to adopt necessary reforms.

Later on April 28, President Zuzana Caputova, Speaker of Parliament Boris Kollar and PM Eduard Heger signed a letter on the recovery plan addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The deadline for submitting the final plans for all EU member states is April 30.

Cabinet approved the final recovery plan to be sent to Brussels Read more

Further restrictions may be lifted

The cabinet also approved the new map of districts that will come into force next Monday, May 3. Only 10 districts will be placed in the dark red tier (down from the current 22), 60 53 in the red tier and nine in the light red tier (up from the current five).

Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO) has suggested that the cabinet may lift more anti-pandemic restrictions, but no concrete plans have been presented yet. The cabinet is expected to discuss them in the evening.

It is clear, though, that more districts will be allowed to open all schools since they switched to the light red tier. The cultural sector will start following its own warning system from next Monday, which will allow for some mass events to be held.

The Health Ministry will also make some changes to its registration system for vaccination, which will open to everybody older than 16 years tomorrow. People will now choose the district where they want to be vaccinated rather than a specific vaccination centre. Second, patients suffering from chronic diseases will be given preference in vaccination.

The system for picking a vaccination centre will change Read more

More Covid and vaccination news

682 out of 7,508 PCR tests carried out on April 27 came back positive, which represents 9.08 percent. Out of 121,120 antigen tests, 483 were positive (0.40 percent). 39 people died , increasing the total number of Covid deaths to 11,611.

carried out on April 27 came back positive, which represents 9.08 percent. Out of 121,120 antigen tests, were positive (0.40 percent). , increasing the total number of Covid deaths to 11,611. The agreement between Slovakia and Russia on the Sputnik V vaccine will be published today , Health Minister Lengvarsky has confirmed.

between Slovakia and Russia will be published , Health Minister Lengvarsky has confirmed. 600 doses of Sputnik V, which are to be tested in Russia, were taken from the Imuna Pharm plant in Sarisske Michalany on the morning of April 28 . The tests should take about a month.

plant in Sarisske Michalany on the . The tests should take about a month. Holidays abroad may be restored after May 15 if the pandemic situation allows it, said Martin Klus, deputy minister of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. He admitted that although the national emergency has been prolonged until May 28, it can end two weeks earlier if the situation is deemed favourable.

if the pandemic situation allows it, said Martin Klus, deputy minister of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. He admitted that although the national emergency has been prolonged until May 28, it can end two weeks earlier if the situation is deemed favourable. LAMP tests have been approved by the Interior Ministry to use for mass events as an alternative to PCR tests.

Picture of the day

Japanese cherry trees in bloom decorate the streets of Nitra. (Source: TASR)

Feature story for today

Lubica Karvasova has served as the diplomatic advisor on EU affairs to Igor Matovic when he was prime minister and now continues her mission under his successor, Eduard Heger. She was an important member of the delegation that negotiated the re-distribution of an additional 10 million vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech in the European Union. Read her interview with the Sme daily, where she shares more about the negotiations and also explains how Slovakia's purchase of the Sputnik V vaccine influenced her during the negotiations.

The woman who negotiated additional Pfizer vaccines for Slovakia: In the EU, Sputnik is not taboo Read more

In other news

The Cabinet gave a green light to the nomination of Michal Alac to the post of the director of the Slovak Information Service (SIS) intelligence agency. His nomination still needs to be approved by the president.

to the post of the (SIS) intelligence agency. His nomination still needs to be approved by the president. Finance Minister Igor Matovic and OLaNO MP Gyorgy Gyimesi will travel to Hungary , where they will informally discuss the Sputnik V vaccine. Matovic would also like to discuss the Slovak-Hungarian electricity networks connection.

and OLaNO MP will travel to , where they will informally discuss the Sputnik V vaccine. Matovic would also like to discuss the Slovak-Hungarian electricity networks connection. The Specialised Criminal Court sentenced Daniel Cech , former deputy of the Financial Administration who faced corruption-related charges, to three years in prison with four years probation . He also needs to pay a fine at 30,000 . The ruling is valid and the court was in fact deciding on a plea bargain between Cech and the prosecutor.

, former deputy of the Financial Administration who faced corruption-related charges, to . He also needs to pay a fine at . The ruling is valid and the court was in fact deciding on a plea bargain between Cech and the prosecutor. The Specialised Criminal Court has turned down the request of Kajetan Kicura , former head of the Administration of State Material Reserves, to be released from custody. Kicura has challenged the decision.

, former head of the Administration of State Material Reserves, to be released from custody. Kicura has challenged the decision. Comenius University ranked 404th in the Round University Ranking (RUR) and was the only Slovak university in the ranking. It received the best score in education, where it placed 165th.

in the Round University Ranking (RUR) and was the only Slovak university in the ranking. It received the best score in education, where it placed 165th. The tram line between Florianske Namestie square and Spitalska Street in Bratislava will be closed in May due to the construction works on Americke Namestie square. There have been some problems with the recently reconstructed paving in the square.

Read more on Spectator.sk

Assistance for UK nationals applying for residency in Slovakia extended Read more

Mobile provider launches trial operation of 5G network in Bratislava Read more

A reopened museum in Darney, France will offer a fresh look at the Czechoslovak army Read more

If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
Furious New South Wales councils have banded together to demand an end to shark nets that are killing hundreds of animals - including dolphins, stingrays and turtles.

The Northern Beaches and Newcastle councils made their vote to the state government on Tuesday night saying alternate methods to monitor sharks should be set up and the nets taken down.

Out of the 3,000 marine animals caught in shark nets in the state since 2012, more than 1,500 have been killed - many being turtles, whales and dolphins, according to the Humane Society International.

Those voting against the nets also pointed out that they do not stretch across the whole beach and are only six metres high - with sharks still able to swim over them.

Furious New South Wales councils have banded together to demand an end to shark nets that are killing hundreds of animals - including dolphins, stingrays and turtles

A shark is seen caught in a net as NSW councils band together to vote for nets on their beaches to be removed

It was also revealed that 40 per cent of sharks were being caught on the beach side, according to the HSI.

Speaking in support of the ban on nets were marine biologists, shark scientists and world champion surfer Layne Beachley.

Beachley said that having spent most of her life in the ocean, the nets were posing more of a threat to marine life than they were protecting swimmers.

'The majority of sharks, and marine life for that matter, caught in the nets have been caught on the beach side or on their way back out to sea, posing no threat to ocean users, yet senselessly losing their lives,' she said at the meeting.

'They effectively kill marine life en masse and attract bigger predators to feed on their carcasses.'

The nets have also been found to have killed turtles, whales and dolphins, according to the Humane Society International

Animals that are caught in nets can often become the prey of another fish in the ocean

The councils voting against the nets also pointed out that they do not stretch across the whole beach and are only six metres high - with sharks still able to swim over them

Dolphins can also become stuck in the nets that are setup along Australia's east coast

The champion surfer said she would rather beaches have sonar technology or drone surveillance instead.

SMART drumlines - which allows sharks to be tagged and then relocated - is another option the councils have put forward.

'I despise the idea that animals are dying along the beaches for ocean users and surfers (such as myself),' she said.

'It distresses me to know dolphins, turtles, rays and small harmless sharks die every year.

'Even whales have been caught and killed... there is an abundance of evidence highlighting just how destructive these nets have been, and continue to be.'

In the Northern Beaches alone, 17 dolphins and 21 turtles have been killed in netting since 2012.

Lawrence Chlebeck, a marine biologist for the HSI, said he was also in support of the ban.

'What a lot of people might not realise is that the nets are not complete barriers, they are only about 150 meters long and 6 meters high and sharks swim over and around them,' he said.

'The technology is nearly 100 years old, we would never accept safety technology that old in any other facet of our lives, why should ocean safety be any different?

'Shark nets never have and never will reduce the risk of a shark bite.'

Other councils asking for alternative options to be used include the Randwick, Wollongong and Waverley councils.

There are currently 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong which use shark nets.

A turtle is seen on a boat after it was caught in shark nets
"The Tech Hub will be a catalyst for our emerging tech ecosystem," said Rene Jones, M&T Bank Chairman and CEO. "This investment will help us attract talent  not only to M&T Bank, but to all companies  and to make our region a magnet for people who want to solve problems and develop solutions that make a difference in people's lives. It will unleash talent to create positive change that emphasizes opportunities for all, spark entrepreneurial activity that lifts our economy and grow an inclusive ecosystem that extends into our community and region."

Creating Jobs and Attracting Talent  M&T to Hire Over 1,000 Technologists

M&T announced plans to hire over 1,000 technologists over the next three to five years, as it expands its capabilities to rapidly develop, improve and deploy financial technology solutions. Towards this goal, the bank has already hired more than 400 experienced technology professionals and over 120 recent college graduates in STEM-related fields.

"The Tech Hub at Seneca One is transforming Buffalo by creating technology jobs, encouraging tech firms to locate here and developing tech training programs for our community. It's an exciting, tech-driven path to inclusive growth," said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. "The potential of the Tech Hub is boundless, but it will require community collaboration and innovative policymaking to fully achieve it. That's why we launched Buffalo's Race for Place, a public-private partnership that supports talent attraction by creating innovative, engaging environments through placemaking, infrastructure improvements and business development."

Drawing Tech Firms to the Region, Sparking Buffalo-born Startups

The decision to locate the Tech Hub at the previously vacant tower set in motion a massive redevelopment effort led by Douglas Development, which completely gutted and restored Seneca One's over 1.2 million square feet of space and built new additions to the complex. Already, the project is attracting new talent, startups and tech firms to Buffalo. Odoo, Serendipity Labs, Lighthouse Technology Services, AML RightSource, as well as startup competition and accelerator 43North and dozens of its portfolio companies have signed leases and moved into Seneca One.

"The Tech Hub expands the resources available to local startups and creates added momentum for our city's tech ecosystem," said 43North President Colleen Heidinger. "The co-location of startups and technology firms at the Tech Hub brings visionaries, innovators, and change agents together in shared spaces, creating a density that leads to collisions of talented people who are ready to collaborate in ways that lift our community. This is more than a vision, it's more than talk of supporting startups  it's another tangible and integral part of a collective movement to build an ecosystem that celebrates and drives entrepreneurism."

Fostering Homegrown Talent through Universities, Community Partnerships, Apprenticeships

As it pushes ahead with its tech hiring plans, M&T has launched national recruitment efforts to attract diverse candidates to the bank. It has also built recruiting partnerships with regional universities and created its own talent development initiatives, such as the Technology Development Program and Z Development Program Mainframe Apprenticeship, to help recent college graduates and community members start their tech careers.

"In today's economy, the success of cities hinges on its talent. Working with companies like M&T Bank, our partners in the public sector and our peers in education, we continue to develop a talented workforce with the knowledge, skills and innovative spirit to compete successfully in our global economy," said Satish K. Tripathi, president of the University at Buffalo. "Beyond traditional university settings, our collective work focuses on building community-based talent pipelines for local students to study tech and start careers in Buffalo."

Developing Skills in the Community  Tech Academy's First Program Available to 3,000 People

Among the many highlights in the Tech Hub is a Tech Academy. Its first program  a collaborative, regional effort to provide free skills training called the WNY Tech Skills Initiative  is already actively serving the community with access for up to 3,000 people to participate in the program.

The bank has engaged General Assembly (GA), a globally known pioneer in career transformation and development, as its educational partner for the Tech Academy. With input from regional stakeholders, GA will develop skills training and instructional programming designed to achieve two overarching objectives  providing continuous learning for local technologists and creating pathways for the community to access the skills and training to be a part of the city's tech industry.

Building a Modern Workforce Through Design

M&T invested nearly $58 million to transform the Tech Hub. It will occupy 13 floors in the 38-story building, including two large floor plates in its pedestal  the Plaza and Pearl levels  as well as floors 13 through 23 in the tower. The modern design of the new space emphasizes flexibility and adaptability, enabling technologists, bankers, customer experience engineers, data scientists, programmers and others to work collaboratively to develop new products and services for customers.

For its Tech Hub workspaces, M&T will adhere to the return-to-offices plans it has set for the entire company, which is guided by a committee that has adopted agile principles and modern design techniques to ensure a safe and collaborative return. The company expects to implement a phased strategy to bringing its workforce into the Tech Hub.

"As a lifelong resident of Western New York who witnessed the industrial decline of my community, Buffalo's emergence as a thriving tech hub in this magnificent space is a huge source of pride for me," Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul said. "As we celebrate this milestone made possible by M&T Bank and Douglas Development, this more inclusive and innovative ecosystem that creates the workspace and jobs of tomorrow telegraphs to the world that Buffalo's future has arrived."

About M&T

M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB) is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T's principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, operates banking offices in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Trust-related services are provided by M&T's Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and by M&T Bank.

Media Contact:

Julia Berchou, (716) 842-5385, [email protected]

 2021 M&T Bank. Member FDIC.

SOURCE M&T Bank

Related Links

http://www.mtb.com


Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 14:50:34|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Japan's upper house of parliament on Wednesday approved the world's largest free trade deal, which comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The House of Representatives, the lower house of the parliament gave its approval earlier this month.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will create a massive free trade zone which will cover roughly 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product, trade and population.

For Japan, it will be the first trade deal that comprises both China, its largest trading partner and South Korea, its third largest trading partner.

The deal was signed by China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 members of ASEAN in November 2020.

The pact will enter into force 60 days after it is ratified by six of the ASEAN members and three non-ASEAN countries.

China, Singapore and Thailand have completed procedures for ratification as of Wednesday.

China, the world's second-largest economy, completed the procedures for ratification on April 15 this year, and approved the ratification of the RCEP agreement on March 22, according to the ministry of commerce.

Singapore, for its part, ratified the RCEP agreement on April 9, 2021, while the parliament of Thailand, approved the RCEP agreement on Feb. 11, 2021, the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minster Jurin Laksanawisit, said.

China's commerce ministry, in addition, has said that all RCEP signatories have expressed their intentions and will strive to complete the ratification process within the year so as to see its enactment by Jan. 1, 2022.

Once in effect, the deal will eliminate tariffs on as much as 90 percent of goods traded between its signatories over the next 20 years.

The deal will also standardize rules on investment and intellectual property to promote free trade among its signatories.

As for Japan, the government said on March 19 that the RCEP accord will boost the country's GDP by 2.7 percent.

In the country's first publicized estimate on the impact of the trade deal, the government also expected some 570,000 jobs to be created.

RCEP groups together the 10 ASEAN members -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- plus Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Enditem
The ability to turn on and off a physical process with just one photon is a fundamental building block for quantum photonic technologies. Realizing this in a chip-scale architecture is important for scalability, which amplifies a breakthrough by City College of New York researchers led by physicist Vinod Menon. They've demonstrated for the first time the use of "Rydberg states" in solid state materials (previously shown in cold atom gases) to enhance nonlinear optical interactions to unprecedented levels in solid state systems. This feat is a first step towards realizing chip-scale scalable single photon switches.

In solid state systems, exciton-polaritons, half-light half-matter quasiparticles, which result from the hybridization of electronic excitations (excitons) and photons, are an attractive candidate to realize nonlinearities at the quantum limit. "Here we realize these quasiparticles with Rydberg excitons (excited states of excitons) in atomically thin semiconductors (2D materials)," said Menon, chair of physics in City College's Division of Science. "Excited states of excitons owing to their larger size, show enhanced interactions and therefore hold promise for accessing the quantum domain of single-photon nonlinearities, as demonstrated previously with Rydberg states in atomic systems."

According to Menon, the demonstration of Rydberg exciton-polaritons in two-dimensional semiconductors and their enhanced nonlinear response presents the first step towards the generation of strong photon interactions in solid state systems, a necessary building block for quantum photonic technologies.

Jie Gu, a graduate student working under Menon's supervision, was the first author of the study entitled: "Enhanced nonlinear interaction of polaritons via excitonic Rydberg states in monolayer WSe2," which appears in "Nature Communications." The team also included scientists from Stanford, Columbia, Aarhus and Montreal Polytechnic universities.

The research of Professor Menon and his co-workers could have a tremendous impact on Army goals for ultra-low energy information processing and computing for mobile Army platforms such as unmanned systems," said Dr. Michael Gerhold, program manager at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory. "Optical switching and nonlinearities used in future computing paradigms that use photonics would benefit from this advancement. Such strong coupling effects would reduce energy consumption and possibly aid computing performance.

###

The research was supported by the Army Research Office, an element of DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, through the MURI program and the NSF through the MRSEC program.
More details about popular Yoruba actor Olarenwaju Omiyinka aka Baba Ijeshas alleged rape case emerged on Tuesday night .

Nigerian comedian cum actress Damilola Adekoya, who is popularly known as Princess, revealed she was the guardian of the 14-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by her colleague.

She said this on her official Instagram handle.

In the video, the comedienne revealed how some parents had allowed their kids to stay with her after her marriage crashed so she would not be lonely.

On, April 22, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Lagos State police command arrested the actor for allegedly raping a minor.

The Lagos State Police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said preliminary findings revealed that the suspect allegedly began sexually assaulting the victim, 14 since she was 7-years-old.

Princess later clarified that her colleague only raped the minor twice and not for seven years as the police claimed.

Princess reported the incident at Sabo Police Station, Yaba, Lagos.

Contacted on Wednesday morning, the police spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, told PREMIUM TIMES that the suspect is being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti.

He said the police is yet to charge him to court as the courts are not sitting because of the ongoing judiciary strike in Lagos.

This reporter made several fruitless attempts including visits to the police station where the actor is being held to see if he could get his (suspect) lawyers contact or the detainees reaction to the allegations against him and the new ones by his colleague.

The suspect has no known spokesperson.

Allegations

Narrating how Baba Ijesha was caught in the act, she said she had a very cordial relationship with Baba Ijesha and always came to his aid on several occasions. He was also a regular visitor at her Lagos home. They also starred in some movie productions together.

She said it was during one of his visits that he molested one of three girls living with her.

After seven years, the girl opened up to Princess and her friend.

She said she wanted to catch him red-handed and had to call him for a meeting in her house where she set up a CCTV camera, and he was captured trying to molest the girl again.

I have always been paranoid I dont trust anybody, just three or four minutes for me to go down and open the gate for my aunty to climb up, within the space of that time, see the damage he did, it is not fair, God has said this is what will happen, anybody that is close to me will tell you, people have brought their children from outside Lagos to live with me.

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Adults who have had domestic violence issue have come to my house to live with me, not once not twice, please if am not a careful person will I be insisting for seven years, all my family said I am insisting too much, shebi you are a Christian, just pray and leave it to God, and is said it is not spiritual, now this is it, she said.

She also berated people who are accusing her of trying to set up the actor and tarnish his image.

Princess, who does not have a biological child of her own, broke down in tears as she labelled those asking to see video evidence of Baba Ijesha assaulting the girl as wicked.

Describing the pain she feels as too much, Princess said peoples insensitivity hurts her more. She was particularly upset at her colleague and self-confessed rape survivor, Foluke Daramola, who endorsed a statement by actor Yomi Fabiyi asking to see the CCTV evidence.

Regrets

Without mentioning Folukes name, Princess asked if there was video evidence when she claimed she was raped years ago.

Princess said the rape harmed the child as she became withdrawn while her grades dwindled.

Sorry, that I am crying o, its just that the pain is too much, please, when this thing happen the child have (sic) been failing so many things and I am the one that is insisting that something is wrong even when everybody said we should pray.

I am the one insisting that because he never came to my house after that, I kept insisting that something is wrong because something in me saidthe child was failing woefully and was behaving strangely even her brothers could not play with her, she said.

She urged parents with similar experiences with the comic actor to send her a message on her Instagram handle or go to the Gender Unit of the Panti police station to report the crime.

Baba Ijesha

Baba Ijesha, who belongs to the league of Baba Suwe and Mr Latin, opted for a quiet wedding in 2012 .

This newspaper cannot confirm if the actor is still married as his private life is a closely guarded secret.

Though he is a big player in the Yoruba movie sector, Baba Ijesha kept his private world hidden from public view.

He earned the moniker, Baba Ijesha, due to his ability to mimic in Ijesha dialect an old unintelligent man in movies. He shot into limelight after starring in Omo Orita which was written and produced by Saheed Balogun.
NEW YORK, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Less than a year after its over-subscribed 2020 StartEngine campaign, PaQui Tequila is launching a second equity crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine. Last year PaQui was one of only 48 companies that raised the maximum allowed amount of $1.07 million. PaQui will now take advantage of the new Reg C maximum allowed raise of $5M implemented by the SEC last month.

PaQui Tequila is 100% blue agave tequila made in the Highlands of Jalisco. Lejana y Sola Mezcal is an ensemble mezcal featuring espadin and rare, wild cuishe agaves. It's made in the artisanal method (without use of electricity).

"There is no better time to own a piece of two of the highest quality brands in the agave spirits category," said company founder and CEO John Chappell. "With luxury tequila category growth of 46 percent last year and sales of mezcal growing five-fold in the last five years, consumer demand for tequila and mezcal is clear."

Excellent Reviews

PaQui Silvera Tequila received a 94-point review from Wine Enthusiast and PaQui Reposado earned a 93-point review, also from Wine Enthusiast. Both expressions out-score billion-dollar brands including Patron, Don Julio and Casamigos, and PaQui Silvera just received a Gold Medal in the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The brand has been featured in media outlets including Market Watch, Beverage Industry News, Just Drinks, Beverage Dynamics, Distiller, Elite Traveler, Hype and Man of Many. During 2020, despite the pandemic, PaQui grew by 84 percent.

"We created exciting momentum from our first campaign, launching robust digital marketing and PR campaigns and expanding distribution into six new markets with more on the way. We're now ready to create greater awareness and distribution of both brands," added Chappell.

Lejana y Sola Mezcal Launch

Since the 2020 campaign, Chappell launched a new Mezcal Artesanal called Lejana y Sola. The name translates to "Afar and Alone" and was inspired by the famous Federico Lorca poem, "Il Cancion del Jinete," or "The Horseman's Song." In the poem, it becomes clear that the lone horseman  tiring on his journey to Cordoba - will expire en route. Eventually we will all fall off the horse and die, but a great mezcal can inspire us to focus on the present and enjoy life!

Lejana y Sola is an ensemble mezcal made in Lachila, Oaxaca from Espadin agave and the rare, wild Cuishe agave. The result is a delicious mezcal with light smoke in perfect balance with sweet agave fruit and intriguing notes of spices, earth and musk. The Cuishe agave adds mysterious flavor notes with no easy comparison. Very drinkable and smooth with lingering flavors. It has already been embraced with enormous enthusiasm from bartenders and retailers in New York, Florida and California.

The new StartEngine campaign is open to current and new investors now. Investment opportunities begin at approximately $250. Investors will receive perks including branded merchandise and bonus shares and they'll be a part of a community of like-minded agave spirits lovers.

Tequila Holdings, Inc. is an early stage spirits company founded by career alcohol beverage executive John Chappell and Dr. Javier Martinez, a Mexican expert in tequila and mezcal. Both brands are currently available nationally online. For more information, visit PaQuiTequila.com and LejanaySola.com. Follow both brands on social media @paquitequila and @lejanaysola

Contact: Liz Barrett

(312) 446-6945

[email protected]

SOURCE PaQui Tequila
Indias vaccine material shortage reveals unfair supply chain that tilts towards the rich world

13:18, April 28, 2021 By Dennis Meng ( People's Daily Online

A mysterious fire breaks out in Village X. Fueled by the timbers of wooden buildings and roaring winds, the blaze soon swallows the entire community. Villagers, unprepared and puzzled, with pipes and buckets in hand, are readying themselves to fight it. But they encounter one fatal problem: theres not enough water. The wealthy, which control most of the water valves, later decide to shut off the water flow to put out the fires at their own houses first, leaving the poor helpless, hopeless, and inflamed.

In view of the international communitys present efforts to distribute COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, the real-world scenario appears to be more complicated and crueler than the frantic scramble for water in that imaginary village. As the rich nations of the world vie for their share of jabs and shop around for which vaccines to choose from, many poor countries can only regard vaccines of any efficacy as a luxury. On average in high-income countries, almost one in four people have received a COVID-19 vaccine. In low-income countries, it's one in more than 500, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), in a recent news conference.

But the disproportionate distribution of the desperately-needed vaccines isnt the sole hindrance to the delicate goal of health equity that the Global North has long appealed to. The fact that India, which has just shattered world records for new COVID-19 cases for the past several days in a row, is now desperate for medical aid and raw materials for vaccines amplifies another entrenched reality--the developed nations of the world have remained steadfast in their reluctance to allow for the free flow of raw materials beyond their borders, preventing developing nations from at least having a chance at saving themselves.

Burning funeral pyres are seen during a mass cremation for those who died from the COVID-19 at a crematorium in Delhi, India, on April 26, 2021. (Photo by Partha Sarkar/Xinhua)

Back in March 2020, former U.S. President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act of 1950 to grant executive powers to prioritize the domestic production of coronavirus-related medical supplies. Apart from that move, the administration had also ordered billions of masks, respirators, ventilators, and other supplies, from other countries. The act, however, also severed the exports for several key raw materials needed to produce vaccines in other regions of the world.

100 days into the Biden administration, the lifeline linking the U.S. and the rest of the world is still a one-way road.

Last month, the Serum Institute of India (SII), the worlds largest vaccine manufacturer, said that it was worried the U.S. ban on exports of materials like filters and bags, which aimed to stockpile them for U.S. companies only, would limit production, according to Reuters.

With the unfolding tsunami-like coronavirus surge, many have leveled their criticism on social media at Americas raw materials ban. Indians in [the] U.S. who voted for Biden & Kamala must be enjoying to see their families suffer in India due to Biden's export ban on raw materials for COVID-shield vaccine[s] & other essential medicines, one netizen said indignantly.

Some also cast doubt on Americas vaccine surplus. Ashish Jha, an adjunct professor of public health at Harvard University tweeted that India is in the throes of a horrendous COVID surgeThey are struggling to get more people vaccinated. We are sitting on 35-40 million doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine Americans will never use. Can we please give or lend them to India? Like may be [sic] now? It'll help. A lot, he added.

People wearing face masks stand in a queue for vaccination in Goregaon, a western suburb in Mumbai, India, April 26, 2021. (Str/Xinhua)

Some rich countries hoarding of raw materials, key components, and technologies is nothing new. Standing at the top of the value chain, they have long enjoyed the lions share while shutting their eyes to the silent suffering at the bottom (of the chain). They act as the world guardians, saviors, and givers when everything is fine; when crisis strikes their home base, or the world as a whole, the professed altruistic principles they used to support are nowhere to be heard.

On April 26, after a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. President Joe Biden promised that the U.S. would provide its COVID-besieged ally with oxygen supplies, raw materials for COVID-19 vaccines, and PPEs. That promise seemed to come too little too late. On that same day, India set a daily record at 352,991 new cases of COVID-19. Two days later, the country logged another record of 360,960 cases, the seventh consecutive day it registered over 300,000 cases.

Besides India, other developing nations and low-income countries are also in the throes of a second wave. On April 25, 3,076 patients died from COVID-19 within a 24-hour period in Brazil, where the seven-day average for COVID-19 deaths surpassed 2,500. At the same time, sanctions-battered Iran is suffering its worst wave yet, with more than 25,000 cases a day, according to Al Jazeera.

A boy with a face mask walks past closed shops at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, April 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)

In an opinion article in the New York Times entitled I Run the W.H.O., and I Know That Rich Countries Must Make a Choice, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for the rich countries of the world to share their vaccines and technologies with the rest of the world. If they keep their vaccine promises, the pandemic can end, he said. Whether or not we do is not a test of science, financial muscle or industrial prowess; its a test of character.

Someday in the future, the pandemic may be contained, much like the fire in Village X will eventually burn itself out. But the global villagers in our international community cant pretend as if nothing has happened. As long as the unfair distribution rules and tilted supply chain still persist, they all know quite well that the order for boarding the metaphorical Noahs Ark in the next crisis will still be fixed.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Former Today show host Deborah Knight has revealed her shock skin cancer diagnosis.

The 48-year-old journalist spoke about her health scare on her 2GB radio show this week, Afternoons with Deborah Knight.

Deborah admitted that the diagnosis is 'not the best news' before urging fans and listeners to regularly get their skin checked.

'It's not the best news': Former Today show host Deborah Knight, 48, has revealed her shock skin cancer diagnosis

'I got my results from the bioscopy on the bump on my nose that my dermatologist was worried about,' Deb said.

'I told Ray about it when I had the big whopping band aid on my nose about this time last week well it's not the best news. It is a small basal cell carcinoma.'

She added that she has to get it cut out, but assured listeners it is 'not spreading' and is 'not urgent.'

Candid: The 48-year-old journalist spoke about her health scare on her 2GB radio show this week, Afternoons with Deborah Knight

'I told Ray about it when I had the big whopping band aid on my nose about this time last week well it's not the best news. It is a small basal cell carcinoma,' she said

'So, it's a small cancer and it's nodular which means I've got to get it cut out. I've got to go under the knife.'

She finished: 'But get your skin checked, we can't afford not to in Australia. We are the skin cancer capital of the world.'

In June last year, Deborah had a coronavirus scare and got tested because she felt unwell and had a sore throat.

'Negative!! Had a COVID test after feeling blah with a sore throat... all clear! Better to play it safe with this wretched pandemic,' she wrote at the time.

Familiar face: Deborah is a veteran journalist and TV personality. In November 2019, Nine announced Deborah and Georgie Gardner would be stepping down as hosts of the Today show

Other familiar faces who have recently had skincare scares include Braith Anasta's fiancee Rachael Lee and Deborah Hutton.

Mother-of-two Deborah is a veteran journalist and TV personality.

In November 2019, Nine announced Deborah and Georgie Gardner would be stepping down as hosts of the Today show.

At the time, Georgie said she was shocked by the network's decision to sack her and Deborah and reinstate Karl, who had previously been axed in December 2018.

Deborah still works as a newsreader for Nine, hosts her radio show and regularly hosts A Current Affair on the weekends.
By Ritah Kemigisa

The Uganda Registration and Services Bureau, URSB has revealed that the covid-19 pandemic has triggered several liquidation and bankruptcy filings as most companies seem to have fallen into financial limbo due to the covid19 pandemic.

Speaking at a joint two-day conference under the theme; Insolvency and Intellectual Property Rights in the face of COVID-19, the URSB Director Insolvency and Receivership Mustapher Ntale said they have so far received about three top companies which have formally exited the market citing covid.

He adds that they have also received reports of several entities which have not formally exited business but are going through dire financial challenges.

Officiating at the conference, the justice, and constitutional affairs minister Prof Ephraim Kamuntu said the government is revising laws to ensure that costs involved in business formalization and Intellectual property registrations are reduced.

This will help businesses to formalize and protect their innovations as they enter these competitive markets, said Prof Kamuntu.

The register general URSB Mercy Kainobwisho has also advised businesses to take advantage of available legal mechanisms and rescue options to avoid insolvency.

Meanwhile, the Bureau has also called for a mindset change about insolvency (bankruptcy) which many brand as a negative state.

Mr Mustapher says insolvency has been used in developed countries to regain stability.

Ntale now advises entities that are struggling financially not to shy away from but rather apply for insolvency which he insists is a positive calling.

We are fully aware that societies consider insolvency as a negative thing, we are aware that economies world over have used insolvency to regain stability, it is normal to make mistakes in the process of being an entrepreneur, what matters is how you deal with the situation, said Mr Ntale.

Insolvency refers to situations where a debtor cannot pay the debts she owes, for instance, a troubled company may become insolvent when it is unable to repay its creditors money owed on time, often leading to a bankruptcy filing.
Burma Villager Dies After Being Abducted and Tortured by Myanmar Junta Forces

Residents in Kani Township, Sagaing Region, take to the streets against the military regime on March 30. / CJ

A resident of the Chaungma village of Kani Township in Sagaing Region died after being abducted by junta forces on Tuesday.

Ko Kyaw Naing, 36, was arrested along with another villager at a checkpoint by soldiers and police.

A brutal crackdown in Kani Township in mid-April left at least six civilians dead after a shootout between the regimes security forces and a civilian protection group formed by anti-regime protesters. At least 20 people are still missing.

Following the shootout, soldiers raided Chaungma village, forcing villagers to flee their homes. Clashes between the resistance and junta forces have been reported in villages near Chaungma in previous weeks.

On Wednesday, when Ko Kyaw Naing s family members were seeking to bail him out they learned he had been killed and his body was at Kani hospital. Family members and villagers who witnessed the injuries and bruises on his body believe that he was tortured to death while in custody.

He was severely bruised on his chest, both shoulders, thigh and back. It seemed he was kicked and [stomped on], a family member said.

The funeral was held on Wednesday evening. Known as an honest person living a simple life, Ko Kyaw Naing, earned his living by doing casual jobs and was not a political activist. He leaves behind his wife and two young children.

I despise this injustice. I want to say that we, people [of Myanmar], will keep fighting together until the military dictatorship is eradicated, his brother said.

No information was available about the other detained villager as of Wednesday evening. Since the Feb. 1 coup, at least 755 people have been killed by the juntas forces.



You may also like these stories:

Protesters in Myanmars Biggest City Return With Guerrilla-Style Tactics

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Myanmar Junta Forces Detain Mother and Brother of Bomb Suspect in Pyay
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HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo.  UDR Inc. (UDR) on Tuesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results fell short of Wall Street expectations.

The Highlands Ranch, Colorado-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $151.2 million, or 47 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 48 cents per share.

Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.

The company said it had net income of $2 million, or 1 cent per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $301.4 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $299.8 million, also falling short of Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $301.3 million.

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................................................................

For the current quarter ending in July, UDR expects its per-share funds from operations to range from 47 cents to 49 cents.

The company expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $1.91 to $2 per share.

The companys shares have climbed 22% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $46.80, a rise of 24% in the last 12 months.

_____

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UDR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/UDR
The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is returning to the physical world in 2022, after this year's event was forced to go online only due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, organizer Consumer Technology Association (CTA) said Wednesday that the conference will see attendance numbers slashed for the January 2022 event in Las Vegas.

Before the pandemic, CES was the largest annual show in Las Vegas and in 2020 drew about 170,000 attendees - with about 4,000 companies exhibiting their technology and gadgets.

CTA expects 75,000 attendees next year and so far 1,000 companies have committed to the show, with more expected, said Jean Foster, senior vice president of marketing and communications.

The smaller number of attendees is due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions that are likely to keep companies and crowds at bay.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is returning to the physical world in 2022 following this year's event being moved entirely online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

'We're thrilled to return to Las Vegas  home to CES for more than 40 years  and look forward to seeing many new and returning faces,' said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. 'Hundreds of executives have told us how much they need CES to meet new and existing customers, find partners, reach media and discover innovation.'

CES in 2021 was the first time the popular tech show was held online into 53-year history.

However, organizers initially pushed to host it physically and even announced new safety measures, including sanitation stations, contactless scans at entry points and on-site medical aid - but the pandemic pulled the plug on their plans.

'With the growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it is not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person,' CES shared in July 2020.

Although CES 2022 will have a physical presence, Foster said companies will be able to have a digital exhibit as well.

CTA expects 75,000 attendees next year and so far 1,000 companies have committed to the show, with more expected, said Jean Foster, senior vice president of marketing and communications

The show's digital platform will remain online for two to three months and help broaden the global reach of the show.

Foster said the show floor will have wider aisles and more space between booths to allow for more social distancing.

It will benefit from an extra newly built west hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center that connects to the rest of the center through two one-way 0.8-mile (1.3 km) tunnels built by Elon Musks The Boring Company.

Visitors will be shuttled through in Tesla cars - with drivers - according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

The tunnel loop will debut in June at the World of Concrete show, it said.

The tech show will be open to the media from January 3 and to all other attendees from January 5 through January 8.

Visitors will be shuttled through in Tesla cars - with drivers - according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The tunnel loop (pictured) will debut in June at the World of Concrete show, it said

Digital audiences will also experience the spirit of the live event in Las Vegas. The CES anchor desk, which debuted at CES 2021, will travel to Las Vegas and connect the digital audience with exhibitors, conference sessions, keynotes and product announcements from the live event. New content will also be added once CES departs Las Vegas, enabling attendees and exhibitors to continue connecting and exploring.

'Our customers are enthusiastic about returning to a live event in Las Vegas,' said Karen Chupka, EVP, CES, CTA.

'Global brands and startups have shared that plans are already well underway and are committed to sharing the magic of an in-person CES with even more people from around the world.'
A trio of Caryl Churchill's short plays will reopen the Greenwich Theatre.

Playing from 23 June to 10 July, the shows  Abortive, Seagulls, and Three More Sleepless Nights, will be directed by the venue's artistic director James Haddrell. Paul McGann, of Withnail and I and Doctor Who fame, will lead the shows, with further casting and creative team to be revealed.

Haddrell comments: "We are delighted to be emerging from the last year of closure with this special collection of short plays. Caryl Churchill is undoubtedly one of the most important British playwrights of the past half century, and thanks to support from Arts Council England I am excited to be able to share some of her earliest, most rarely performed work.

"With special permission from Churchill herself to bring the pieces together under the title Bad Nights and Odd Days, I know that this collection of intimate, quietly heart-stopping dramas will offer a powerful, moving evening of live theatre - the kind of evening that we have all been missing so much."
The proxy battle that has plagued Lagardere, the parent company of Hachette Livre, for the past year has been resolved, as the company has agreed to dissolve its previous operating structure and transition to a more conventional joint stock company. Previously, Arnaud Lagardere, the son of the founder, was able to exert an inordinate amount of control over the company through his family's holding company, despite owning only 7% of shares. Other stakeholders, including Vivendi, which owns a 26.7% stake, and Amber Capital, which owns 20% of Lagardere, had been pushing for greater control.

Under the new structure, Arnaud Lagardere will be appointed chairman and CEO for a six year term, while retaining control of three seats on the company's board. Vivendi will also control three, while Amber Capital and other stake holders will get one each.

The fear had been that the proxy fight might end with the company being broken up and its publishing assets sold off to Vivendi. Today's news appears to alleviate that threat, with the company asserting in a press release that the new structure is a "reaffirmation of the integrity of the group, focused on its two pillars, Lagardere Publishing and Lagardere Travel Retail, together with its the other activities."

Next, the deal awaits approval from French financial authorities.
Southern Pines, NC (28387)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies with a few showers after midnight. Thunder possible. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies with a few showers after midnight. Thunder possible. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.
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A former Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), Peter Ezenwa Ekpendu, is currently being interrogated by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.

Mr Ekpendu is being questioned over allegations of involvement in a case of procurement fraud and diversion of public funds, those familiar with the matter told PREMIUM TIMES.

The former Prisons boss, who arrived at the headquarters of the Commission at about 10 am Wednesday, willingly responded to an invitation by the anti-graft agency.

Although details of the case against Mr Ekpendu were sketchy as of the time of filing this report, sources said four companies belonging him were allegedly fingered in suspicious payments over contracts executed for the Correctional Service.

It is unclear when the contracts were executed and payments made. Nigerias Code of Conduct Act forbids the countrys public office holders from running private businesses while in office.

The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed that Mr Ekpendu was invited and was being interrogated by operatives. He, however, declined further comments when pressed for details of the allegations against the retired official.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Mr Ekpendu comptroller-general of the correctional service on December 5, 2014.

He retired from service and stepped down from the position on May 17, 2016, about a year after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office.

The Nigerian Correctional Service, formerly known as Nigerian Prison Service (NPS) is a government agency which operates the countrys prisons. It is under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior.
A strange boat-shaped rock has been discovered in a 'satanic' Icelandic cave and Vikings likely used it to ward off the apocalypse 1,100 years ago, study suggests.

The discovery is in a cave near a volcano that erupted almost 1,100 years ago at a time when the Vikings had recently colonised Iceland.

Within the cave there was a boat-shaped structure made from stone and a series of trade goods from the middle east, likely placed to try and avert Ragnarok, an end-times event where the world would be engulfed in flames.

Lead author Kevin Smith from Brown University said the eruption of the volcano would have been 'unsettling' and posing existential challenges to the new arrivals.

Even after Christianity became dominant in Iceland, people associated the cave with the end of the world, according to the study authors, who said the historical record records it as 'the place where Satan would emerge on Judgment Day.'

A strange boat-shaped rock has been discovered in an Icelandic cave and Vikings likely used it to ward off the apocalypse 1,100 years ago, study suggests

The discovery is in a cave near a volcano that erupted almost 1,100 years ago at a time when the Vikings had recently colonised Iceland

Surtshellir Cave: The doorway to the end of the world in Iceland Surtshellir Cave is a lava cave in western Iceland situated about 35 miles from Borgames. The cave is about a mile long and was the first known lava tube in the world. Icelands Viking Age settlers maintained a ritual site inside Surtshellir for more than 80 years. Vikings created a boat-shaped structure out of stone in the cave that would have been used for rituals. . Surtshellir was abandoned within a generation after Icelands conversion to Christianity. Advertisement

The researchers found that as the lava from the eruption began to cool, the Vikings entered the cave and constructed the 'boat-shaped structure'.

Once complete they would have burned animal bones in sacrifice, including those from sheep, goat, cattle and pigs.

The Vikings may have done this to try to avert another eruption, or what they may have perceived as signs of Ragnarok.

As well as the boat shaped formation made from rock there were 'trade goods' inside the cave.

Archaeologists from Brown University found 63 beads inside the cave, including three from Iraq.

Smith, who is chief curator of the Haffenreffer Museum at Brown University lead the excavation.

During the the work Smith and colleagues found a mineral from Turkey called orpiment alongside the beads.

This mineral was used to decorate objects such as beads and other items, however very few examples of it have been found in Scandinavia.

They were all found within Surtshellir Cave, which is 30ft below the Hullmundarhraun lava field.

Surtshellir Cave is a lava cave in western Iceland situated about 35 miles from Borgames

This lava field is situated in Western Iceland, about 40 miles from the settlement of Borgames.

Smith said finding this unusual mineral inside the cave was a 'great shock' as it is rarely discovered in Scandinavian nations and is rare.

The reason why such rare minerals and goods travelled so far to be in an Icelandic cave, but it is thought they could indicate previously unknown trade routes.

The researchers found that as the lava from the eruption began to cool, the Vikings entered the cave and constructed the 'boat-shaped structure'

About 100 years after the boat was created the people of Iceland converted to Christianity and this is the time they also stopped placing objects in the cave

Historical records have shown that the Vikings associated the cave with Surtr, a Norse giant who would cause the events leading up to Ragnarok.

'The world would end when Surtr, an elemental being present at the world's creation, would kill the last of the gods in the battle of Ragnarok and then engulf the world in flames," the authors wrote in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Archaeologists from Brown University found 63 beads inside the cave, including three from Iraq

Study authors predict the rare middle eastern goods may also have been placed in the cave to appease Surtr in a bid to stop him from destroying the world, or maybe even to strength Freyr, the fertility god who fought Surtr according to mythology.

About 100 years after the boat was created the people of Iceland converted to Christianity and this is the time they also stopped placing objects in the cave.

The last items deposited inside the boat-shaped stone was a set of scale weights, including 'one in the form of a Christian cross,' the team said.

The findings of the study have been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
When U.S. Catholic bishops hold their next national meeting in June, they'll be deciding whether to send a tougher-than-ever message to President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians: Dont receive Communion if you persist in public advocacy of abortion rights.

At issue is a document that will be prepared for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops by its Committee on Doctrine, with the aim of clarifying the church's stance on an issue that has repeatedly vexed the bishops in recent decades.

It's taken on new urgency now, in the eyes of many bishops, because Biden - only the second Catholic president - is the first to hold that office while espousing clear-cut support for abortion rights.

Such a stance, by a public figure, is 'a grave moral evil,' according to Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, who chairs the USCCBs Committee on Pro-Life Activities and believes its necessary to publicly rebuke Biden on the issue.

'Because President Biden is Catholic, it presents a unique problem for us,' Naumann told The Associated Press. 'It can create confusion. ... How can he say hes a devout Catholic and hes doing these things that are contrary to the churchs teaching?'

US Catholic bishops will decide whether to tell President Joe Biden to stop receiving Communion if he persists with advocating for abortion. He is pictured at mass with first lady Jill Biden on inauguration day

The document, if approved, would make clear the USCCB's view that Biden and other Catholic public figures with similar viewpoints should not present themselves for Communion, Naumann said.

In accordance with existing USCCB policy, it would still leave decisions on withholding Communion up to individual bishops. In Bidens case, the top prelates of the jurisdictions where he frequently worships - Bishop W. Francis Malooly of Wilmington, Delaware, and Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C. - have made clear that Biden is welcome to receive Communion at churches they oversee.

The document-in-the-works results from a decision in November by the USCCBs president, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, to form a working group to address the 'complex and difficult situation' posed by Biden's stances on abortion and other issues that differ from official church teaching. Before disbanding, the group proposed the drafting of a new document addressing the issue of Communion - a project assigned to the doctrine committee.

The committee has not released details about its work. Naumann said the matter will be discussed at the USCCBs meeting in June and the bishops will vote on whether the committee should continue working on the document so it could be publicly released later.

A two-thirds majority would be needed for work to proceed, Naumann said. But even critics of the initiative, such as Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, predict the endeavor will win overwhelming approval.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, (left) and Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles (right) have both spoken out against Biden's stance on abortion

Stowe is among a relatively small group of U.S. bishops who worry that the USCCBs emphasis on abortion is undercutting Pope Francis exhortations for the church to also stress such issues as climate change, immigration and inequality. Stowe also worries that the U.S. bishops are missing a chance to find common ground with Biden on such issues.

'If a politician is targeted as a negative example by his own church, that sets a sad context in which the church can deal with this Catholic president,' Stowe said. 'It contributes to the polarization of the church and of society.'

Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego has expressed similar concerns.

'I do not see how depriving the president or other political leaders of the Eucharist based on their public policy stance can be interpreted in our society as anything other than a weaponization of the Eucharist ... to pummel them into submission,' McElroy said during an online forum in February.

Nonetheless, the bishops wanting to send a tough message to Biden are determined to press ahead.

'Theres a growing sense of urgency,' said San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. 'Abortion is not just one among many important issues. ... Its a direct attack on human life.'

Cordileone envisions a statement from the USCCB to Biden and others 'that would move them in their conscience.'

'They need to understand the scandal that is caused when they say they are faithfully Catholic and yet oppose the church on such a basic concept,' he said.

American Cardinal Raymond Burke has broached the possibility of Catholicisms ultimate sanction. He says politicians who 'publicly and obstinately' support abortion are 'apostates' who not only should be barred from receiving Communion but deserve excommunication.

Bishops already troubled by Bidens stance on abortion grew more dismayed by three measures from his administration in mid-April.

It lifted restrictions on federal funding for research involving human fetal tissue. It rescinded a Trump administration policy barring organizations such as Planned Parenthood from receiving federal family planning grants if they also refer women for abortions. And it said women seeking an abortion pill will not be required to visit a doctors office or clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling women to get a prescription via telemedicine and receive the pill by mail.

Naumann, who issued strongly worded denunciations after each action, told AP he was frustrated that Biden could authorize those while identifying as a devout Catholic.

'He doesnt have the authority to teach what it means to be Catholic - thats our responsibility as bishops,' Naumann said, 'Whether intentional or not, hes trying to usurp our authority.'

The Vatican has not ruled on the specific matter of Communion and politicians supporting abortion in a major teaching document, though the churchs in-house canon law says people in a situation of persistent sin shouldnt be allowed to receive Communion. It has also issued guidelines for the behavior of Catholics in political life exhorting them to uphold principles consistent with church doctrine.

The then-head of the Vaticans doctrine office, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, told U.S. bishops in 2004 that priests 'must' deny the sacrament if a politician goes to receive Communion despite an 'obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin,' including the sin of consistently campaigning for permissive abortion laws.

Ratzinger wrote a confidential letter outlining the principles to U.S. bishops in response to their question about whether to deny Communion to John Kerry, who was the Democratic nominee for president. In the end the bishops ignored Ratzingers advice and voted instead for the policy currently in place allowing bishops to decide themselves whether to withhold it.

The document being drafted by the doctrine committee may contain some guidelines for bishops, Cordileone said, but it will not seek to strip their decision-making authority.

'This will put the burden of responsibility on Catholics who are prominent in public life,' he said.

Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver, who has sharply criticized Bidens abortion stance, told the AP he favors creation of a national policy on Communion, as opposed to the current 'patchwork approach.' He said bishops should first have a private conversation with an individual deemed to be in a state of sin, and deny Communion if they persist.

Edward Peters, who teaches canon law at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, said the USCCB would have the option of seeking Vatican approval for a unified Communion policy applying to all bishops. But he doubted such a request would be made.

'The bishops conference does have broad responsibility to speak out on matters that impact the effectiveness and clarity of Church's mission,' Peters said via email. 'The bad example being given by some high-profile Catholics who consistently fail to protect innocent human life is surely one of those matters.'

Some Catholic academics are uneasy about the document.

'Are you really going to deny Communion for the president of the United States?' asked Margaret McGuinness, a religion professor at La Salle University in Philadelphia. 'I dont think this is going to shake his faith. ... I don't see anything constructive coming out of it.'

She noted that a majority of U.S. Catholics, according to polls, say abortion should be legal in at least some cases.

Steven Millies, a professor of public theology at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, said the Catholic church received significant financial support in recent years from conservative philanthropists who are skeptical of Francis and favored Donald Trump over Biden in the 2020 election.

'What we're seeing now is an effort to please donors who want a church which will wage a culture war,' Millies said.
Electricals retailer Dixons Carphone is to close airport store business Dixons Travel after it was hammered by the pandemic and the end of tax-free tourist shopping.

Shares in the PC World owner slid after it revealed plans to shut the 35-shop business.

It told investors that it does not expect passenger numbers to sufficiently compensate for the removal of airside tax-free shopping, which was introduced by the Government at the start of the year.

This has led to the difficult decision to close this business, which historically made an annual profit contribution of over 20 million, the company added.

The group said that around 400 staff at Dixons Travel have been offered jobs in other areas of the business.

In an update to the stock market, the company also said that it has now reimbursed the Government with the 73 million in furlough support it claimed following the impact of Covid-19.

Dixons Carphone said it has also paid all of the 144 million in VAT deferred by the Government in the past year.

Sales in 2021 have remained strong despite the third national lockdown, the company said in the update.

It said that group revenues saw like-for-like growth of 12% in the 25-week period of April 24, driven by 14% growth in its international business.

Meanwhile, its UK & Ireland electricals operations delivered 11% like-for-like sales growth.

This was boosted by very strong online growth, with group electricals online sales more-than-doubling to 4.5 billion for the year.

Shares in the company were 4.1% lower at 150.8p in early trading.
NEW DELHI: Delhis Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal is now the government in the Union Territory as the Centre has notified the amended Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021 on Tuesday.

Government of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021, notified with effect from April 27; now govt in Delhi means Lt Governor, a notification issued by the Centre said, according to PTI.

This would mean that Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal - a representative of the Centre - would now have more powers than Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal - the NCT's elected government.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the "government" in Delhi now means the "Lieutenant Governor" and the city government will now have to seek the opinion of the L-G before taking any executive action.''

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act 2021 (15 of 2021), the Central Government hereby appoints the 27th April 2021 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force," the notification signed by additional secretary in the MHA, Govind Mohan, said.

President Ram Nath Kovind had last month cleared the controversial law giving more powers to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.

The law that is said to undermine the elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi and has faced huge criticism by the Opposition, which called it ''anti-democratic and unconstitutional.''

What does the GNCT Act mean?

The amended GNCT Act redefines Delhi Government as the L-G. It says the L-G's opinion "shall be obtained" on all such matters as may be specified by him before any executive action on decisions of the Council of Ministers.

The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on March 22 and the Rajya Sabha on March 24 amid a huge uproar. In the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition had staged a walkout, describing the Bill as "coercive federalism."

AAP's Rajya Sabha MP ND Gupta had earlier said that the party will move the Supreme Court if the Bill is passed.

When the bill was passed by Parliament, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had termed it a "sad day for Indian democracy".

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So what is the state of press freedom around the world? What barriers do journalists still face? And what do people in different countries think about the restrictions and liberties they are confronted with every day?

May 3 marks World Press Freedom Day. It is an opportunity to celebrate the core principles of a free press, remind governments of the need to respect that freedom, and pay tribute to the journalists who have lost their lives carrying out their work.

The State Of Press Freedom Around The World

Each year, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) publishes the World Press Freedom Index, which ranks 180 countries according to their media independence, transparency, acts of violence against journalists, and several other criteria.

According to the latest survey, published in April 2021, journalism is seriously under threat in almost three-quarters of all countries -- the report describes the situation in those places as "problematic," "bad," or "very bad." Only 12 countries have respectable press-freedom environments, the lowest number since 2013 when the current evaluation methodology was adopted.

Press Freedom By Country

(Based on RSF's 2021 report)

According to RSF's report, the state of press freedom was not described as "good" in any country in RFE/RL's coverage area. Romania received a "fairly good" ranking, but the remaining countries RFE/RL covers were among those ranked as "problematic" or "bad." In Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan, the state of press freedom was described as "very bad."

Since 2013, 12 countries in RFE/RL's coverage area have improved their ratings, while 10 countries have seen theirs worsen. The most significant difference was observed in Georgia, which climbed 40 places in the rankings, followed by Ukraine (29 places), and Kyrgyzstan (27 places). Tajikistan saw the biggest decline -- by 39 places -- followed by Hungary (36 places) and Moldova (34 places).

State Of Press Freedom In Selected Countries

(2013 and 2021 rankings compared)

Dangers That

Journalists Face

Journalists in many countries face violence and various forms of intimidation, especially when reporting about authoritarian regimes or organized crime.

Between 1992 and 2021, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has registered more than 1,400 journalists who were killed in retaliation for their work -- and another 560 killings where the exact motive was not clear. The year 2012 saw the largest number of journalists killed -- more than 100 -- due to the conflict in Syria and a record number of shootings in Somalia.

While it might seem that the total number of slain journalists has been dropping over the past few years, the CPJ has warned that reporters are now more frequently killed in areas that are considered peaceful. For example, in 2016, 42 percent of killings happened in nonwar zones, but in 2020, it was 68 percent.

Number Of Journalists Killed By Year

(Killings with confirmed and unconfirmed motives combined)

In addition, there were 274 imprisoned and 65 missing journalists as of the end of 2020, the highest number ever recorded.

Number Of Imprisoned

And Missing Journalists

(Data as of the end of each year)

Over the last three decades, more than one-quarter of all slain journalists died in just three countries -- Iraq, Syria, and the Philippines. Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Russia -- countries in RFE/RL's coverage area -- are also among the 10 countries with the highest number of journalists killed. Furthermore, they were included in the Impunity Index Report released in December 2020 by the CPJ, listing countries where "journalists are singled out for murder and their killers go free."

Most Dangerous Countries For Journalists

(Number of slain journalists by country, 19922021)

Many journalists also face persecution online, including harassment, hate speech, and trolling. Female journalists have faced considerable challenges. In November 2020, a study by the International Center for Journalists and UNESCO revealed that almost three-quarters of all female journalists who participated in the survey experienced threats online in the course of their work. Almost 50 percent were abused with hateful language and one-quarter received threats of physical violence.

Is A Free Press Important To People?

In 2019, the U.S.-based Pew Research Center Pew Research Center interviewed people in more than 30 countries to find out whether media freedom was important to them. Americans were among those who cared the most -- 80 percent said that it was very important to them that the media can report the news without state or government censorship. In Russia, only 38 percent of people agreed with that statement -- down by 8 percentage points from 2015.

Freedom Of The Press Is Very Important

(Percentage of people who agreed, selected countries included)

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, which surveyed 28 countries in November 2020, more than 60 percent of people think the media is failing to be objective and nonpartisan. People were also asked whether they trust the media "to do what is right." Confidence was highest in Indonesia (72 percent) and lowest in Russia (29 percent).

Trust In Media "To Do What Is Right"

(Top 3 and bottom 3 countries included)

In October 2020, the Ipsos market research group discovered that almost 80 percent of Russians and Hungarians only read news they could access for free -- the largest shares among the 27 countries surveyed. In a separate question, people were asked whether they were willing to pay for news from sources they could trust. In Russia, only 15 percent said yes; in Hungary, 23 percent.

I Only Read News That I Can Access For Free

(Percentage of people who agree, 2020 data)

RFE/RL Journalists Who Have Lost Their Lives So Far This Century

2000: Iskandar Khatloni

Iskandar Khatloni, 45, was a Moscow-based correspondent for RFE/RL's Tajik Service. He was attacked by an unknown assailant in his apartment and died from his injuries in the hospital on September 21, 2000. Khatloni covered many topics, but focused on human rights in Chechnya and drug trafficking in Tajikistan.

2006: Ogulsapar Muradova

Ogulsapar Muradova, 58, died in custody in September 2006 after being swept up in a Turkmen government crackdown on dissidents. The circumstances of her death while being held at the notorious Ovodan Depe prison are not clear. After her body was released to her family, Muradova's children said they found a "large wound" on her head. Muradova was a reporter for RFE/RL's Turkmen Service, where she reported on human rights in the country.

2007: Nazar Abdulwahid al-Radhi

Nazar Abdulwahid al-Radhi, 38, was fatally shot outside a hotel in the southern Iraqi city of Al-Amarah on May 30, 2007, after he had finished covering a journalism workshop. Radhi was a correspondent for the Aswat Al-Iraq news agency and RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq. He was passionate about training young journalists.

2007: Khamail Muhsin Khalaf

Khamail Muhsin Khalaf, 50, had been missing for two days before she was found dead in Baghdad on April 5, 2007. She had been tortured and shot in the head. Khalaf worked for RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq. She was an advocate of women's rights and other reforms.

2007: Alisher Saipov

Alisher Saipov, 26, was fatally shot while waiting for a taxi with a friend outside his office in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, on October 24, 2007. Besides working for RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, he also contributed to Voice of America's Uzbek Service, the BBC World Service, and other media outlets. In particular, Saipov reported about corruption in Uzbekistan and rights violations in the Ferghana Valley.

2014: Mohammed Bdaiwi Owaid al-Shammari

Mohammed Bdaiwi Owaid al-Shammari, 46, was fatally shot at a checkpoint near his office in Baghdad on March 22, 2014. He was shot by an off-duty presidential guard who was later prosecuted and imprisoned. Shammari was the bureau chief of RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq and was also a member of several editorial boards of Iraqi media institutions.

2018: Maharram Durrani

Maharram Durrani, 28, was still in training when she died in a coordinated suicide bomb attack in Kabul on April 30, 2018. According to local police, the attack -- which killed 25 people -- deliberately targeted the press. Durrani was a student of Islamic law at Kabul University and was passionate about reporting on women's issues in Afghanistan.

2018: Abadullah Hananzai

Abadullah Hananzai, 26, died on April 30, 2018, in a coordinated suicide bomb attack in Kabul. Hananzai led a project reporting on drugs for RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan.

2018: Sabawoon Kakar

Sabawoon Kakar, 30, died on April 30, 2018, after he was critically injured in a coordinated suicide bomb attack in Kabul. Kakar was a video journalist and often covered the aftermath of suicide attacks, counterterrorism operations, and other security-related issues.

2020: Mohammad Ilyas Dayee

Mohammad Ilyas Dayee, 33, was a journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan. He was killed in a car bomb attack in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province, on November 12, 2020. Dayee reported the news from his native Helmand Province, which is where most of the world's illicit opium is produced.
They are the fashion phenomenon that no one admits to wearing.

Yet Crocs sales have again soared as the so-called ugly footwear made another comeback during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Academy Awards' musical director Questlove sent fashion directors quaking when he wore a gold pair on the red carpet on Sunday.

And the US-based shoemaker yesterday reported record sales for the first three months of the year with a rise of 64 per cent to 331million ($460million).

Worldwide pre-tax profit grew to 88.2million ($122.5m) between January and March from a previous 13.5million ($18.7million).

Demand is up as far as 210 per cent, according to The Sole Supplier.

The Academy Awards' musical director Questlove (pictured) sent fashion directors quaking when he wore a gold pair on the red carpet on Sunday

In February, Crocs had predicted an increase in sales of up to 25 per cent for the year, but its estimates have now doubled.

The brand's chief executive, Andrew Rees, expects sales for the full year to rise by 50 per cent after people turned to comfort during lockdown at the start of this year.

The company has long turned to celebrities to promote their footwear - which feature 13 holes on the tops and sides for ventilation.

In 2018, Crocs partnered with rapper Post Malone before working with Justin Bieber and Latin pop-star Bad Bunny.

Mr Rees said demand is 'stronger than ever' in 2021, adding: 'In the first quarter we achieved record revenues and profitability, with growth in all regions and all channels.

Meredith Vieira and Mario Batali with host Jimmy Fallon during an interview on October 3, 2013. Chef Batali is wearing bright orange Crocs

Jared Leto (left) wearing silver Crocs in 2007, when the shoes were at the height of their success in the 2000s, and Justin Bieber 12 years later

American rapper Post Malone has also worked with Crocs to design his own line of the footwear.The first collection, launched in November 2018, sold out in just 10 minutes

Fashion houses including Christopher Kane (left) and Balenciaga (right) have helped Crocs reach record sales during the past 20 years

'We have raised full year guidance as we continue to see consumer demand for our product accelerate globally.'

Online sales have grown 75.3 per cent in the first quarter - making up a third of the total sales for the period.

Revenue rose the most in the Americas, at 87.5 per cent, while a 41 per cent boost was seen in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In Asia revenue rose by 20.1 per cent.

Crocs, launched in 2001 at Fort Lauderdale Boat Show in Florida, were initially designed to be worn on boats.

Eastenders actress Maisie Smith spotted leaving Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals wearing pink Crocs in November 2020

The odour-resistant resin coating made it a popular choice, and the company initially sold 200 pairs. It has now sold more than 300 million.

To the horror of fashion directors, sales soared in 2006. Tim Gunn, a fashion consultant, told Time magazine at the time: 'The Croc  it looks like a plastic hoof. How can you take that seriously?'

By 2009 Crocs was heading steadily towards bankruptcy after making a $159million loss on the previous year. It was through brand deals with fashion houses such as Balenciaga the company was able to head back towards profitability.
by Austin Bay April 27, 2021

April 27 was an explosive Tuesday for the Middle East, explosive diplomatically in Vienna and Washington, but literally explosive in one incident: the drone boat attack on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea oil port of Yanbu.

In Vienna, Austria, talks involving Iran, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia resumed, with the U.S. participating "indirectly." The stated goals are twofold: Convince the Iranian dictatorship to end its nuclear weapons-development violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official name of former President Obama's 2015 "Iran nuclear deal"; and convince the U.S. to revive the JCPOA, from which former President Donald Trump's administration withdrew in 2018.

In Washington, D.C., high-ranking Israeli and American diplomats held what diplomats call frank discussions. The Jerusalem Post quoted Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Gilad Erdan, as saying, "We made our clear opposition to the return to the JCPOA. ... (I)t is a flawed and bad agreement, and returning to the same deal makes it less likely to reach a better one in the future."

Meanwhile, back in Yanbu: An unmanned, remotely piloted speed boat loaded with explosives targeted the port. The Saudis claim they destroyed the robot kamikaze. However, one source reported the blast damaged a ship.

The Saudi's East-West pipeline, which transports crude from eastern oil fields, terminates in Yanbu. Tankers loading in the Red Sea port avoid transiting the Persian Gulf's Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint Tehran routinely threatens to close.

The attack may have done little damage, but for Tehran, it served as military and economic strategic "propaganda by the deed."

Who conducted the attack? Yemen's Houthi rebels have launched Red Sea boat attacks. I'll wager an Iranian Quds Force officer controlled the operation. The Houthis have a cause, but one Iran callously exploits as Tehran attacks Saudi Arabia through its "Yemeni rear."

The Yemen war and the Yanbu attack illustrate the Iranian regime's intrinsic violent nature. The regime is also utterly corrupt. Iranians claim the mullahs and Revolutionary Guards are more corrupt than the shah they overthrew in 1979.

The corrupt regime wages numerous slow wars, first and foremost against Israel and the Gulf Arab states, but they also target the Great Satan, the U.S.

Iranian agents conduct or finance violent meddling operations in at least 30 different countries. The regime uses transnational criminal operations, such as narcotics smuggling and human trafficking, as a source of income.

So let's return to the JCPOA and American economic sanctions imposed on Iran after the Trump administration withdrew from the inane and unverifiable agreement.

Incorporating "comprehensive" in the JCPOA's name was reprehensibly dishonest, for the Obama deal was not comprehensive. Follow the JCPOA's timeline and you discover the Obama administration gave Tehran's bad guys billions in cash before they officially agreed to the slimy deal.

The ayatollahs used Obama's payoff cash to wage war in Yemen and Syria.

In May 2018, I wrote that the JCPOA failed to penalize the Iranian regime's violent troublemaking and its criminal operations, a grievous flaw. I wrote that column a week after Israel released an information trove documenting the regime's failure to comply with key JCPOA nuclear weapons development provisions.

The economic sanctions imposed by the Trump administration frustrated Iran's ability to finance war and terror. Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA was the predicate action that made the Abraham Accords possible -- Nobel Prize-worthy peace treaties between Israel and the UAE and other Arab states.

If Joe Biden revives Obama's lousy deal, expect war, not peace. Revival of the JCPOA would also confirm that the Democratic Party's hard-left, anti-Israel media and academic wing dictates Slow Joe's foreign policy.

Iran's ayatollahs call Israel a "one-bomb state."

The Israelis know an existential threat when they hear one. If the Biden administration caves, Israel won't.
Sustaining its efforts in the fight



against COVID-19, Indian Navy is continuing with its mission of " Express" in order to render support to the administration of the Union Territory of

A Defence release said 41 cylinders (collected from the islands) were refilled and embarked onboard Indian Navy hired vessel, Meghna here for onward delivery to the and Minicoy Islands.

The operations are being progressed under the supervision of the Naval Officer-in-Charge at under the aegis of Headquarters Southern Naval Command in coordination with the Lakshadweep administration.

The vessel is expected to reach the islands by today or tomorrow and would again carry back empty cylinders on its return voyage.

This is in pursuant to the Government of India and the Indian Navy's efforts to provide sustained supply of Oxygen to the islands, the release said.

According to sources, over two thousand cases have been reported from the islands.

Earlier, INS Sharda, had undertaken transfer of essential medical supplies to the various islands of Lakshadweep, including Oxygen cylinders, RADT kits, PPE, masks and other items to fight the COVID 19 pandemic.

In addition, the Southern Naval Command has also started Battle Field Nursing Assistant (BFNA) training for preparing non-medical personnel to assist the medical staff in case the cases surge overwhelmingly.

A defence spokesman said 80 personnel are being trained every week to meet the urgent requirements of the Navy and civil administration.

(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.)
16:50 - Louis Fitzgerald Hotel Hurdle

DECIMATION (9/4) is the one for me in this for the powerful De Bromhead/Blackmore combination. Blue Sari is the market leader and based on his beating of The Bosses Oscar at this track last year, he would take all the stopping if not for his inability to finish his last three starts. A horse with letters instead of numbers in their form is one to be avoided for me from a betting perspective. He was pulled up twice at Leopardstown in February and then fell, albeit when going well and looking likely for second place, in the Coral Cup at Cheltenham. Decimation on the other hand is very progressive and is consistent. His form book reads 22212 for his last five starts and his 10-length win over Hallowed Star two starts ago was very eye-catching.

17:20 - Irish Mirror Novice Hurdle

Three Cheltenham winners go head to head here and the one I'm siding with is VANILLIER (3/1). The Albert Bartlett winner is on the up in a big way for Gavin Cromwell who had great success with hurdlers over the bigger distances this spring. His charge Flooring Porter also won the stayer's hurdle at Cheltenham and this race is over three miles. He won over 2M 7F at Cheltenham and was galloping through the line at the end, winning by 11 lengths. Galopin Des Champs and Telmesomethinggirl are big dangers for sure but something tells me three miles will suit the selection best of the trio.

17:55 - Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup

Clan Des Obeaux is an interesting British raider here but both Al Boum Photo and Kemboy have had his measure in the past and I think it is a match between the Willie Mullins pair once again, as it was in 2019 when Kemboy emerged victorious. I've gone back and forth on this all week but I just keep landing on KEMBOY (4/1) upsetting the odds again. He will get his conditions to suit again as he did in 2019 and on that day he faced the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner in the shape of Al Boum Photo. He was only third this year and while Kemboy was well held in the Cheltenham showpiece, he is much more suited to the flatter track at Punchestown. For whatever reason, Al Boum Photo just didn't sparkle at Cheltenham in a race he was laid out for and I think the effects of that defeat might be enough to let Kemboy boss this for another win.

18:30 - ITM - Supporting Irish Store Sales Champion I.N.H. Flat Race

I'm taking KILCRUIT (5/4) to reverse the form of his Cheltenham defeat to Sir Gerhard here. The pair clashed in a race dictated by Sir Gerhard and he was doing well to hang on from a fast-finishing Kilcruit. Sir Gerhard got first run that day and it's tough to reel in an opponent up the Cheltenham hill. I think the tactics will be different today and Derek O'Connor won't let Patrick Mullins on Sir Gerhard get too far in front of him. I still have visions of Kilcruit's 12-length win over Letsbeclearaboutit at Leopardstown in February and I can't help but think he is very special. He was one of my bets of the week and let me down at Cheltenham but I think he can repay the faith today.
Global enterprises like IBM and Amazon have significantly ramped up efforts - including setting up vaccination drives and offering paid leaves and insurance - to ensure the well-being of their staff in India as the country reels under a deadly second wave of the pandemic.

In an email to employees, IBM Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna said the company will continue to take firm and coordinated action to support IBMers in India and other parts of the world where COVID is surging.

He said the company is supplementing medical coverage to ensure COVID-19 care for the employees and has put in place a dedicated health line to provide medical care and consultations from medical professionals for staff, who are isolating at home.

"We are supporting efforts to increase vaccination among IBMers. For those who volunteer, we are creating a decentralised distribution model where IBMers and their covered family members can get the vaccine in any approved center close to where they live or a facility on our own campuses...we are looking into providing emergency transport services to help IBMers and their families reach medical care in cities where we operate," Krishna said.

The massive rise in infections in the second wave of the pandemic has led to hospitals in several states reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds. Social media timelines are filled with SOS calls with people looking for oxygen cylinders, hospital beds, plasma donors, and ventilators.

With India registering a record number of COVID-19 cases daily, there could be an impact on timelines for delivery of projects and IT services companies are looking at various options to tackle the challenge.

HCL Technologies, for example, had stated that it is engaging closely with clients to prioritise work, and shifting some workload from India to other geographies to ensure business continuity.

Amazon India Global Senior Vice President and Country Head India Amit Agarwal said the company continues to look for ways to help employees, including creating a bank of oxygen concentrators, oximeters, and other supplies.

"We have also launched an initiative where employees who have fully recovered from COVID-19 can volunteer to donate blood plasma and help other Amazonians and their loved ones. Amazonians have volunteered to create COVID warriors groups in cities to coordinate response for those in critical need," he added.

Agarwal noted that there are Indians in the US and around the world, who are reaching out for help as they are unable to take care of their family in India.

"We are discussing how we can scale our COVID support team to help with critical supplies," he said adding that the company is working on making COVID-19 tests easily accessible to all employees and is focused on getting employees vaccinated (as available) when broad eligibility opens up on May 1.

"We have made hotel rooms available for employees and their dependents who have mild COVID-19 symptoms and do not need intensive care for quarantine...Based on a patients' condition and unavailability of hospital beds, we are using the insurance support to help set up ICU/ventilator at home for COVID-19 treatment," he further said.

Organisations across the spectrum have come forward to source and donate oxygenators, breathing machines, and ventilators.

A group of Gurugram-based entrepreneurs have launched 'Mission Oxygen' and are importing oxygen concentrators (OCs). While the programme started with a target of raising Rs 2.5 crore to procure 500 OCs, more than 10,000 global donors helped raise more than Rs 10 crore for 800 additional OCs. The group has now set a target at Rs 20 crore, which will allow the procurement of at least 3,000 OCs.

Consumer tech products maker Boat said it has donated Rs 50 lakh to procure high-grade OCs and essential medical supplies for hospitals. The boat has partnered with SaveLIFE Foundation to deliver the OCs across Delhi and will work closely with the Health Department over the next few days for further distribution to the hospitals and COVID care centers. Yellow Messenger, a conversational AI platform, has launched 'Yellow Messenger Cares' that will help NGOs, hospitals, support groups, and businesses get an AI chatbot to drive crisis efforts.

When designed and deployed effectively, chatbots may help prevent misinformation, aid in symptom detection, engender infection-limiting behaviors, encourage positive health impacting behaviors, while reducing psychological damage caused by fear and isolation, the company said in a statement.

These bots can support real-time services like providing medical information related to plasma donation, oxygen/hospital bed availability, vaccine registrations, scheduling appointments, collecting patient data, mental health assistance, and handling insurance queries.

Caller ID app Truecaller has launched a COVID Hospital Directory for users in India that include telephone numbers and addresses of COVID-designated hospitals from multiple states across the country, sourced from official government databases.

A search button helps users quickly find the information they need. However, it does not assure hospital bed availability.

"We wanted to quickly introduce a simple directory of important numbers for COVID-related services. We have started with this hospital list and we're working to add more verified sources soon," Truecaller India Managing Director Rishit Jhunjhunwala said.

Shiprocket, a tech-enabled logistics aggregation platform, has launched a free service wherein it will provide free shipping of essential items for NGOs and non-profit organisations that are looking for assistance.

Organisations working to deliver items such as groceries, vital medication, medical equipment, and personal protective gear will be eligible to avail Shiprocket's free shipping services to supply the goods to hospitals or those in need.

(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.)
CALABASAS, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) (the "Company"), a leading provider of high-quality single-family homes for rent, today released its 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance Report that highlights the Company's commitment to ESG initiatives and its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"American Homes 4 Rent's commitment to embracing ESG principles in our business operations is a key driver in our ability to deliver long-term value for our stakeholders and provide quality, sustainable housing that delights our residents," said David P. Singelyn, American Homes 4 Rent's Chief Executive Officer. "We are proud of our company's ability to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic as we effectively adapted operations to support the health and safety of our residents, employees and communities."

American Homes 4 Rent's 2020 ESG report was prepared in accordance with the reporting frameworks provided by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

View the full 2020 ESG Report here.

About American Homes 4 Rent

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high-quality, good value and tenant satisfaction. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. As of December 31, 2020, we owned 53,584 single-family properties in selected submarkets in 22 states.

Additional information about American Homes 4 Rent is available on our website at http://www.ah4r.com.

Contact:

American Homes 4 Rent

Media Relations

Megan Grabos

Phone: (805) 413-5088

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE American Homes 4 Rent

Related Links

https://www.americanhomes4rent.com


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A socio-cultural group, Nkata Ndi Inyom Igbo, has called on South-east governors to dialogue with youth as one of steps to tackle the current insecurity in the region.

Josephine Anenih, the president-general of the group, made the call at a news conference in Awka on Wednesday.

The deadly attacks on security agents in the South-east have compounded the security challenges in the region.

The governors, including other leaders, in the region have held joint security meetings, twice in April, and have agreed to form a joint security outfit, Ebube-Agu, but that seemed not to have slowed down the attacks on security agencies in the region.

Mrs Anenih, a former minister of women affairs, said the sense of insecurity in the region was so strong that people now lived in fear, while parents were afraid to send their children to school for fear of attack.

She said the governors in the region should be united and play a fatherly role by making efforts to bring angry youths to a roundtable for dialogue and possible way out.

We are saddened by the fact that blood is being spilled all over the country. As women, we are appalled that we cannot go about our businesses without fear of being killed, raped, or kidnapped.

We are unhappy because our children cannot go to school feeling safe and protected by adults and the governments.

We appeal to the governors of our region to step up beyond the establishment of Ebube-Agu to dialogue with all those that can make peace return to our region.

For so long, the South-east has been burdened by economic hardships and movement around the region has been made more expensive because of the several roadblocks that translate not to more or better security but avenues for extortion and intimidation.

Today, we the women are shocked that the seeming sense of security being provided cannot protect us and our children as there have been a series of deaths, abductions and arson in the region, children are dying before they live, she said.

The group said the governors should go beyond formation of the Ebube-Agu security outfit and demonstrate that the lives and property of the people in the region were of priority to them.

The women said the security situation was hurting the economic and social life of the people as no productive life could exist in a state of anarchy and insecurity.

We believe in the Igbo mantra of Agu neche Ibe that mandates everyone to look out for the security of each other.

Ebube Agu must be married to the Agu neche ibe social mantra. We want the security of our region to be taken more seriously, she said.

(NAN)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 06:43:14|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called for efforts to tackle the root causes of conflict as a fundamental way to protect civilians and civilian objects.

War and armed conflict are systemic risks to civilians. In a flipped-over nest, hardly any eggs can remain intact, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

"In the event of conflict or war, it is difficult to ensure absolute security for civilians and civilian objects. To solve this problem, we must look at the big picture and tackle it from its root," he told a Security Council open debate on the protection of civilian objects in armed conflict.

The vast majority of armed conflicts stem from absolute poverty and scarcity of resources. Promoting peace through development is the fundamental way out of this conundrum. The international community should coordinate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to help conflict-affected countries and regions meet the challenges in poverty reduction and pandemic control, thus gradually eliminating the root causes of conflict, he said.

Infrastructure for agricultural production, food security, water and power supplies, health care, and others, is essential to ensure the subsistence of civilians and improve the humanitarian situation. And the protection of these facilities is an explicit requirement of international humanitarian law. In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring the safety and accessibility of medical facilities to conflict-affected civilians is a shared priority for the international community, he said.

Zhang also stressed the need to adhere to the peaceful solution to conflicts through dialogue, good offices and negotiations.

At present, multiple hot-spot issues on the Security Council's agenda are at a critical stage. The international community should support dialogue and consultation, strengthen mediation and good offices, intensify diplomatic efforts, prevent escalation of tension, and free civilians from the ordeal of war at an early date, he said.

The Security Council and other UN bodies should play a coordinating role and support regional organizations that have the advantage of success in finding regional solutions to regional disputes, so as to forge synergy for promoting talks for peace. All parties to conflict should respond positively to the UN secretary-general's appeal for a global cease-fire and take forward political processes through inclusive dialogue, he said.

Zhang asked the international community to help countries in question strengthen capacity-building.

The governments of the countries in question should assume the primary responsibility for the protection of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. All parties to conflict must fulfill their obligations under international law, protect civilians and civilian objects, strictly distinguish between military targets and civilian installations, ensure the functionality of infrastructure, and prioritize the needs of vulnerable groups, such as women and children. The international community should respect the sovereignty of host countries, focus on their needs, heed their views, and help them build up their capacity to operate and protect infrastructure on their own, he said.

He also called for attention to terrorist forces controlling or destroying infrastructure or even launching cyberattacks on critical infrastructure by using digital technology.

The international community should work together to protect civilians and civilian objects and ensure civilians' sustainable access to essential services. The various UN bodies should, in accordance with their respective mandates, display their advantages and strengthen coordination with regional organizations and international bodies to tilt the focus of humanitarian relief and development assistance toward civilians and civilian objects, and play a greater role in post-conflict reconstruction, he said.

Over the years, by aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, China has deepened cooperation with relevant national, regional, and international organizations to help developing countries build up their infrastructure, boost employment, and improve people's livelihood, said Zhang.

China has helped build 24 agriculture technology demonstration centers in Africa, benefiting more than 500,000 local people. The development sub-fund under the China-UN Peace and Development Fund has implemented 34 projects involving multiple UN agencies, benefiting dozens of countries, he noted.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has provided emergency medical assistance to several conflict-affected countries and dispatched medical teams to help them fight the pandemic. Looking forward, China will continue to work with the international community to help conflict-affected countries build up their capacity for independent development and for the protection of civilians, he said. Enditem




South Korea will try to help move nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea forward and restore its own dialogue with Pyongyang, the government said Wednesday in a policy report on inter-Korean relations for this year.







The report, submitted to the National Assembly, was a yearly action plan designed to carry out a five-year blueprint that lays out the objectives and directions of the government's policy on inter-Korean relations for 2018-2022.







Under the latest plan, South Korea vowed to push the stalled nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang under the principle of "no war," "mutual security" and "joint prosperity."







"We will work closely with the new U.S. administration and come up with a coordinated policy to make progress in achieving denuclearization and building peace," it said.







The government said it will strengthen communication with China and the international community to restart the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.







It also pledged efforts to restore inter-Korean talks via a video link amid the global virus pandemic.







The latest plan was announced as the Joe Biden administration is undergoing a comprehensive review of its North Korea policy.







South Korea's peace process has stalled since the second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi ended without a denuclearization agreement in 2019. (Yonhap)


People with certain blood types are more likely to have blood clots or bleeding conditions, kidney stones, or pregnancy-induced hypertension, suggests a study published today in eLife.

The study confirms previously identified connections between certain blood types and the risk of blood clots and bleeding, and makes a new connection between kidney stones and having type B blood as compared to O. The discoveries may lead to new insights on how a person's blood type may predispose them to developing a certain disease.

Previous studies have found that people with blood type A or B were more likely to have cardiovascular disease or experience a blood clot than people with type O blood, and that people with type O blood were more likely to have a bleeding condition. Others have suggested that people with certain blood types may be more susceptible to some infectious diseases.

There is still very little information available about whether people with RhD-positive or RhD-negative blood groups may be at risk of certain diseases, or how many more diseases may be affected by blood type or group. To help fill this gap, we used an unbiased approach to investigate the link between ABO blood types and RhD groups and more than 1,000 diseases." Torsten Dahlen, First Author, PhD Student, Department of Medicine, Solna, at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden

Dahlen and colleagues scanned Swedish health registries with information on more than five million people for links between ABO blood type or RhD-positive or RhD-negative blood groups and more than 1,000 diseases. They found 49 diseases that were linked to ABO blood types, and one that was linked to the RhD group.

Their findings confirmed that people with type A blood were more likely to experience a blood clot and that those with type O blood were more likely to experience a bleeding disorder. They also verified that women with type O blood were more likely to experience pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Additionally, they found a new connection between having type B blood and a lower risk of developing kidney stones. And women who were RhD-positive were more likely to experience pregnancy-induced hypertension.

The authors say that more studies are needed to confirm the results and to determine how different blood types or groups may increase the risk of certain diseases, or whether there are alternative explanations for these relationships.

"Our findings highlight new and interesting relationships between conditions such as kidney stones and pregnancy-induced hypertension and blood type or group," concludes senior author Gustaf Edgren, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet, and a physician in the Department of Cardiology at Sodersjukhuset Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. "They lay the groundwork for future studies to identify the mechanisms behind disease development, or for investigating new ways to identify and treat individuals with certain conditions."
ANN ARBOR, MI -- The new manager of the Ann Arbor Farmers Market is hoping to develop a more diverse vendor community.

Stefanie Stauffer became Ann Arbors Farmers Market Manager in late May 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged. As she stepped into her new role, new protocols were put into place due to the pandemic.

Although she faces obstacles from the pandemic, Stauffer hopes to develop a more diverse group of vendors as well as bring in a younger generation of vendors to ensure a continuing vibrant market.

Because theres so many families that have been there forever, its hard to break in as a new vendor. So Ive been really trying to help with that, Stauffer said.

Stauffer is originally from Wayland, Massachusetts, and moved to Ypsilanti back in 2010 where she became an Ypsilanti Farmers Market vendor, Stauffer said. This year will be her eleventh season with them, she said.

My farm is called Nightshade Farm and my specialty is heirloom tomatoes and peppers. But I do all sorts of interesting heirloom varieties of vegetables, Stauffer said. And then I do also value added approaches. So I make paprika, garlic powder, infused vinegars and all sorts of stuff like that mostly with peppers, although obviously with garlic as well.

Stauffer has also spent the last five years teaching sociology at Washtenaw Community College, and has been on the board of Growing Hope for the last two years.

Stauffers interest in farmers markets stems from the dissertation project she did for her PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Stauffer said.

It was about urban agriculture and the local food movement in California compared with Michigan. So I was looking at sort of like the two case studies, and thats really how I got involved in markets in the first place, Stauffer said. Thats sort of how I came to Ypsilanti because I was doing a lot of observation as part of my research of the Ypsilanti Farmers Market, and then just became really connected with Growing Hope and that whole community there.

As she started her new position in the midst of a pandemic, there were new safety protocols that were initiated.

23 Ann Arbor Farmers Market reopens

Signs were put up to indicate one-way traffic to help mitigate large crowds, Stauffer said. Hand washing sinks and sanitizing stations were also put up, and physical distancing between vendor stalls were implemented by leaving an empty stall between each vendor, she said.

The market office is closed, but a walk-up office window is available for those who wish to buy tokens, and portable toilets are available in the parking lot, she said.

Curbside pickup is also available for customers, and everyone is required to wear a mask at the market, those without one are able to obtain a free mask from the office window.

Although all events were cancelled last year as a result of the pandemic, many vendors told Stauffer that last year was the best year theyve ever done in terms of sales.

I think partly its people just feel a lot more comfortable shopping outside, Stauffer said. And also, people want to make sure local businesses stay around. So I think its a combination of those two things.

Stauffer and her team are easing back into events this year, the first one being Flower Day on May 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in partnership with Sunday Artisan Market.

Currently the Ann Arbors Farmers Market is turning away new vendor applicants to ensure social distancing for their usual vendors, Stauffer said. However, she still hopes to be able to bring more diversity to the farmers market when she can, she said.

Ive personally been trying to bring on more diverse vendors that are, you know, better reflective of our Ann Arbor community being so diverse, Stauffer said. Obviously, right now thats on pause we will be opening applications again, most likely in the fall for people.

Stauffer also hopes to bring in younger vendors as their veteran vendors begin to retire, she said.

We need to make sure we keep up a vibrant market going, Stauffer said.

This Saturday, the Ann Arbors Farmers Market hours will be changing and they will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Starting on May 5, the farmers market will start being open on Wednesdays as well with the same hours.

More information about the Ann Arbor Farmers Market can be found here.

Read more:

Ypsilanti farming nonprofit aims to change the soil by breaking cycle of incarceration

Ann Arbor all aglow for alternative FoolMoon event

Ann Arbor to give away free trees to reach 10K goal
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Given the critical importance of U.S.-China collaboration in addressing global challenges in food security, climate volatility and pandemic human and animal diseases, between March 23 and April 8, the US Heartland China Association hosted a four-part virtual Agricultural Roundtable that brought together an exceptional array of American agribusiness CEOs, bipartisan government officials, commodity group executives and Land Grant and HBCU Deans with Chinese counterparts to identify "The Way Forward from Shared Challenges to a Shared Future."

Over the course of four dialogues, just weeks before a U.S-China cooperative agreement on climate change was reached, leaders from the agriculture industry and academia agreed that collaborations in agriculture, especially as pertaining to climate change, are crucially important and perhaps the best path forward for close collaborations between the two largest economies of our world.

At what he calls the "most significant event in the last several years" to promote enhanced U.S.-China scientific cooperation and agricultural trade, former Governor Bob Holden, Chairman of the US Heartland China Association (USHCA) said, "I am very pleased that leaders from across the Ag ecosystem, senior officials from the soy, dairy and pork industries and senior educational leaders from Tuskegee, UC-Davis, Ohio State and Texas A&M joined us for this significant dialogue." He also expressed his appreciation to Ambassador Lin Songtian, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and Dr. Wang Lei, Director General of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences for their leadership in co-organizing this Roundtable and to all Chinese participants who joined this significant dialogue.

This inaugural agriculture roundtable was dedicated to three pioneers in agriculture whose accomplishments helped shape modern agriculture and enabled farmers to feed millions of people around the world: Norman Borlaug, Yuan Longping, and George Washington Carver.

Kicking off the series of dialogues, Ambassador (ret.) Quinn, President Emeritus of the World Food Prize, outlined his belief that, "if the U.S. and China can find a way to work together, our world will have a better chance of addressing major global challenges."

Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa also called upon the participants to apply the "same ingenuity (to) move our nations beyond the immediate challenges of today to a brighter tomorrow."

In his opening remarks, Erik Fyrwald, CEO of the Syngenta Group, expressed his optimism. "We in agriculture, supported by efforts like these dialogues, can help agriculture be a wonderful shining example of win-win bridge building between the U.S. and China."

This was echoed by the comments from Pin Ni, president of China General Chamber of Commerce U.S.A.-Chicago. "When business interaction starts, common sense will follow, and compromise can be reached."

John C. May, Chairman and CEO of Deere & Company, reminded the audience that, "The world's most productive farmers, many of whom call the U.S. Heartland home, greatly benefit from open markets for the food they grow and the livestock they raise. Whether it's the agricultural equipment being sold there, or the agricultural commodities being consumed there, China plays an important role in the health of the U.S. farmer and the U.S. Heartland."

From the Capital, Congressman Darin LaHood echoed the sentiments of the participants, noting that there is much to be gained from a cooperative and robust relationship between the countries. "Given that the United States and China have the first and second largest economies in the world, there will always be areas of both cooperation and strain within the relationship," LaHood said. "I support regular and continued dialogue to best meet these challenges, particularly as it relates to agriculture."

Throughout the dialogues, far from the Beltway, a much more collaborative mood can be felt as represented by the remarks of Polly Ruhland, CEO of the United Soybean Board. "Understanding and respect regarding the cultural and social differences between our countries and our people plays a fundamental role in successful trade and recognizing shared values."

Min Fan, Executive Director of USHCA, reflected on the significance of this inaugural U.S.-China Agriculture Roundtable. "The need for this type of constructive dialogue is evident by the outpouring of enthusiasm and support that we have received. USHCA is proud to have built a new bridge between our two nations at this icy moment, like the Ping Pong players did 50 years ago."

The Opening Session of this four-part event is available for viewing at: https://usheartlandchina.org/webinars/opening-celebration-replay/

The USHCA also wishes to thank the sponsors and partners who made the exchange possible:

Ford Foundation

JobsOhio

Carter Center

China General Chamber of Commerce U.S.A. - Chicago

of Commerce - Chinese People's Association for Relations with Foreign Countries

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

The US Heartland China Association is a 501(C)3 bipartisan organization that is dedicated to building healthy ties between the heartland region of the United States and the People's Republic of China. USHCA builds those ties through promoting exchanges in culture, education and business. More information is available at USHeartlandChina.org .

Contact:

Min Fan, Executive Director

[email protected]

SOURCE US Heartland China Association

Related Links

http://www.USHeartlandChina.org


KYODO NEWS - Apr 29, 2021 - 00:00 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan reported 5,793 additional coronavirus cases Wednesday, the highest daily level in over three months, with Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures confirming record figures amid a fourth wave of infections.

Osaka Prefecture, which has been hit hardest by the recent resurgence, confirmed another 1,260 infections, a day before the start of the nation's Golden Week holidays.

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura told a press conference that the upcoming holiday period is expected to be "a make-or-break stage" in battling the resurgence, which has put a serious strain on the prefecture's medical system.

Fukuoka Prefecture reported 440 additional cases, the highest for the southwestern prefecture, eclipsing its previous single-day record of 411 logged on Jan. 16, when a second COVID-19 state of emergency was in place.

The nationwide tally for Wednesday was also the highest since Jan. 16, despite the country's third state of emergency imposed in Tokyo and three western prefectures including Osaka on Sunday.

The governors of Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures urged residents Wednesday to refrain from traveling to, from and within the metropolitan region ahead of the string of holidays.

In an online meeting, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and her counterparts from Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures asked for people to stay at home and to stop drinking on streets and dining with non-family members.

The local government chiefs asked businesses to cut the number of commuters by 70 percent through the promotion of remote working.

Koike told the meeting that the Golden Week holiday period through early May is "a juncture that will decide whether we can stop the explosive spread of infections," with the Tokyo metropolitan government reporting another 925 infections, the highest figure since Jan. 28.

She said, "We can more effectively curb" the surge of infections now driven by the rapid spread of more contagious variants of the virus.

Meanwhile, Japan's health ministry said that 619 new cases of such variants had been reported in the week to Tuesday, up from 505 in the previous week.

Under the state of emergency through May 11, which also covers Osaka's neighboring prefectures of Hyogo and Kyoto, large commercial facilities, theme parks, movie theaters, karaoke establishments and restaurants serving alcohol have been asked to close.

However, there have been cases of Tokyoites drinking on streets or in restaurants and bars in neighboring prefectures that are under a quasi-state of emergency with less strict measures.

Chiba Gov. Toshihito Kumagai stressed the importance of curbing infections in Tokyo, which has confirmed over 137,000 coronavirus cases, the highest cumulative total among the nation's 47 prefectures.

Saitama Gov. Motohiro Ono said in the virtual meeting, "Since commuting to work and school will be reduced during the holidays, we should take this opportunity to make improvements" in the virus situation.

With Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama under a quasi-state of emergency, eateries in some areas of the prefectures have been asked to close at 8 p.m. and refrain from serving alcohol.
Analysts say Chinese President Xi Jinpings in-person commissioning of three major warships on Friday represents a bold step toward tightening naval control over contested Asian seas and another pushback against what Beijing perceives as the United States growing influence in the region.

State media in Beijing say the three vessels, described as a destroyer, a nuclear-powered strategic ballistic missile submarine and an amphibious assault ship, formally entered the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy. The unprecedented commissioning represents the rapid development of the PLA Navy and Chinese shipbuilding industry amid the grave military struggle pressure China is facing, the Beijing-based Global Times reported.

Chinese officials see the ships as a new way to help deter the United States from sending its own vessels to the seas near Chinas coasts, warn other Asian countries who contest Beijing's maritime sovereignty and slowly gain military control inside the first island chain, say some analysts. The chain runs from the Kuril Islands of Russia through Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Particularly at stake is the South China Sea, a 3.5 million-square-kilometer waterway contested by China and five other, militarily weaker nations: Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The sea stretches from Hong Kong south to Borneo.

The commissioning of those ships and the fact that Xi Jinping himself went to baptize the new naval units is a way to announce to the region and the world that the PLA Navy has evolved into a combined, multifunctional and efficient marine combat force capable of near coast defense, near seas active defense and far seas operations alike, said Fabrizio Bozzato, senior research fellow at the Tokyo-based Sasakawa Peace Foundations Ocean Policy Research Institute.

Chinese officials cite historical usage records to back their claims to about 90% of the sea, which is prized for fisheries and undersea fossil fuel reserves. China has alarmed the other Asian claimants by developing islets in the sea for military infrastructure and sending previously deployed ships into their exclusive economic zones.

China has the strongest armed forces in Asia, prompting the other maritime claimants to look toward the United States for support as China becomes bolder offshore.

Concern in Beijing that former U.S. President Donald Trump might have been planning an attack in the disputed sea or near Taiwan drove China to warn current President Joe Biden that its up for any challenge, said Yun Sun, East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center in Washington.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii confirmed with VOA that 10 U.S. warships reached the South China Sea last year following 10 in 2019. Just five were logged in each of the two years before 2019.

Beijings highly publicized ship deployment was aimed first at showing Chinese people their country has added strength and "material wealth" under Xi, Sun said. The rest of the world was supposed to notice for a different reason she said.

The other message, to the outside world, is a deterrence message, that any country in the Chinese view intervening in the South China Sea issue should pay attention to Chinas strengthening maritime military capability and also be prepared for the consequences of any potential transgression in the Chinese eyes," Sun said.

The three ships wont necessarily scare Southeast Asian claimants to the disputed sea as much as any moves that suggest China might harm oil and gas equipment in the waterway's exclusive economic zones, said Shariman Lockman, senior foreign policy and security studies analyst with the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Malaysia. Malaysia is a particularly active explorer for undersea fuels.

For us, the oil and gas sector is all important, so if there is any indication whatsoever that indicates that they are to remove structures from waters, that sort of stuff worries people, he said.

China eventually wants to break through the first island chain, said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. He said adding naval power is one way to advance that cause, which could be a long process.

As of 2012, the Chinese navy had 512 ships, according to the British think tank International Institute of Strategic Studies. It now has more than 700 ships, the database Globalfirepower.com says.

The Chinese way of doing things is much more nuanced, Oh said, comparing it to other powers. I wouldnt say subtle but certainly nuanced  if I cant get my way the hard way, then I would do it the soft way. Then theyd do more if they can get away with it.
NEW ZEALANDBest-selling New Zealand adult toy Kama will become available globally May 3 through a new distribution deal with New Zealand distributor Wholesale Solutions.

Kama is a hands-free dual stimulation adult toy by Share Satisfaction, a New Zealand-based sex toy brand launched in October 2020. Kama is one of 150 products in the range and is the only product currently sold exclusively through online adult retailer Adulttoymegastore. Kama became the retailers third best-selling adult toy for 2020 within two months and has received numerous five-star reviews.

Commented Wholesale Solutions business and product development manager Taslim Parsons, Its such a buzz that Kama has taken off like it has. Im so proud of the product, range and the work weve done. Its great to know youre bringing so much pleasure to the world.

Based on the sales and five-star reviews, I think it will become the biggest toy of 2021 in New Zealand and Australia," Pasons continued. "It certainly has the potential to take the market by storm globally to become an internationally best-selling product.

We sent Adulttoymegastore samples to try before we released Kama and they loved it so much they pre-purchased a large quantity and negotiated exclusivity. It quickly became one of their best sellers and a topic of conversation. People have heard about it and it has opened up conversions about female pleasure and self-loveexploring and enjoying your own body and what it can do.

The exclusivity period is coming to an end and since there has been so much demand from our other retail customers for Kama, were delighted to be able to offer them the entire Share Satisfaction range.

Having curated the Share Satisfaction range, Parsons noted, We worked on the range for almost two years. It has been a real labour of love. We worked with some of the best manufacturers in the world to bring the range to life and considered every aspect, from when the person receives the product, opens the box, right through to how its stored. We wanted the photography and videos to resemble a perfume brand and make them objects of desire.

Nothing in the range will shock or intimidate. Its very accessible, beautiful and well-priced for what you get. Theres something in the range for everyone.

Vanessa Sculley, owner of Sinderellas in Invercargill, has sold the Share Satisfaction range since it launched. Commenting on the ranges performance, she said, Ive had a lot of people come in asking for Share Satisfaction and its particularly taken off in the past month or so. I think its the colours and how they look. Im really impressed with the range. I think Share Satisfaction will be the next big brand.

To learn more, visit www.wholesalesolutions.co.nz.
A shoplifting dispute at an Oklahoma mall on Monday left a man hospitalized with a stab wound, police say.

A 71-year-old man was shopping in a Dillards store at the Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa when he thought he saw a man shoplifting, Tulsa police wrote in a Facebook post.

When the shopper confronted the man, he pulled out a knife and stabbed the shopper in the chest, police said.

A little scuffle happened with them and they separated, Danny Bean, a public information officer with the Tulsa Police Department, told KTUL. About that time our suspect drew a knife out of the coat he was wearing and then stabbed our victim in the chest.

The shopper was rushed to a hospital where he underwent surgery, police said. Hes in stable condition.

After the stabbing, the man ran off and police asked for the publics help in locating him.

Police said Tuesday theyd arrested 19-year-old David Alvarado.

He was booked into the Tulsa County Jail on a complaint of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

Officials say to be cautious when choosing whether to intervene in a situation.

We dont want citizens to take matters into their own hands because they dont know what theyre getting into, Karen Gilbert, executive director for Tulsa Crime Stoppers, told KTUL. You dont know if that suspect has a weapon on them, whether it be a knife or a gun, so thats why its so important to be that good witness.

She added that a bystander can step in if they feel its necessary.

He didnt make himself a victim by any chance, Bean told KTUL. Whatever you feel is safest doing, if you feel safe confronting someone, thats going to be your decision.

Read next:

Aggressive bee attack kills one, sends another to the hospital, Texas officials say

Man stalked, left gifts for former co-worker before attacking her, Oklahoma cops say

Dog that became aggressive at dog park is shot by another pet owner, Oklahoma cops say
After the first wave of coronavirus infections and Covid-19 deaths peaked in April 2020, health officials began trying to figure out how many nursing home residents had died, according to three people with knowledge of the process who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss its details.

The officials surveyed nursing homes late last April  a process overseen by Mr. Cuomos aides  and gathered data on residents who died in the facilities, as well as those who had died after being transferred to hospitals, the people said.

Amid criticism about Mr. Cuomos policies, the Health Department began preparing a report on the issue in the spring of 2020, under the close watch of the governors top advisers.

We are getting anxious over here on this report, wrote Ms. DeRosa in an email to health officials and top Cuomo aides on June 18, which was reviewed by The Times. She laid out what the strongest points that should be made in the report were from my perspective; each had to do with knocking down the idea that readmitting infected people to nursing homes was problematic.

Needs to be able to stand up to scrutiny and definitively tell the story, Ms. DeRosa added.

The final version of the report, which The Times has reported was rewritten several times by senior advisers to Mr. Cuomo and published in early July, emphasized that admissions from hospitals were not a driver of nursing home infections or fatalities. Instead, the report contained the lower death count and cited staff as the most likely source of infections.

But another version of the study, aimed at the scientific press and drafted at the same time by nearly a dozen health officials, took a more nuanced view.

That draft, reviewed by The Times, reached the same conclusions but included a lengthy paragraph describing the limitations of the analysis, such as a lack of information about staff-resident interactions. It put the number of residents with Covid-19 killed in the pandemic at 9,739 through the end of May, far higher than what the administration was saying publicly at the time.
TEL AVIV, Israel, April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Materials Zone, the AI cloud-based materials discovery platform disrupting the way materials-based products are developed and manufactured, announced today that it raised $6 million in Series A funding led by Insight Partners, with participation from OurCrowd.

"In order to develop new technologies and physical products, companies must first understand the materials that comprise those products, as well as those materials' properties. Understanding the science of materials has therefore become a driving force behind innovation. However, the data behind materials R&D and production has traditionally been poorly managed, unstructured, and underutilized, often leading to redundant experiments, limited capacity to build on past experience, and an inability to effectively collaborate, which inevitably wastes countless dollars and man-hours," says Dr. Assaf Anderson, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Materials Zone.

"The process of inventing, improving, and building new products requires first understanding the materials' fundamental properties and the way they are processed; only then can they be systematically changed to reach the desired effect. Today, for example, to develop a photovoltaic transparent window or a non-flammable, high energy density solid-state battery, tens of thousands of experiments would be necessary to find the core materials' optimal parameters and to understand how they will orchestrate as a complete device. This process is long, costly and rarely successful. Materials Zone's platform makes this process faster and cheaper by providing data standardization, process and workflow management tools, which enable the user to apply and use analytical and AI/ML tools to better understand their data and receive real-time guidance, thus achieving better results."

"We are thrilled to partner with Materials Zone in its effort to provide materials scientists with tools that allow them to improve their product development and manufacturing processes," says Daniel Aronovitz, Vice President at Insight Partners. "Materials Zone's ability to provide solutions to multiple real-world problems and challenges in blue ocean fields such as materials informatics and industry 4.0, especially when combined with the quality of its team and its early success, affirmed our excitement to work with Assaf and his team."

Materials Zone has created an online materials discovery platform that funnels R&D and manufacturing data into an interoperable and structured database, enabling users to achieve meaningful AI/ML insights, reduce R&D research times, and efficiently collaborate with others. The platform is domain-agnostic and can serve customers from different verticals, such as Energy Storage, Renewables, and Nano-Materials, supporting both simple and complex materials architectures. The company already serves paying customers, including a Fortune 100 company.

"Much of innovation's future depends on breakthroughs in material science," says OurCrowd CEO, Jon Medved. "Bringing AI to help solve this challenge is essential, and Materials Zone is a pioneer in this exciting field. OurCrowd is proud to be backing this wonderful team building this game changing technology platform."

"As a materials scientist, I have experienced R&D challenges first-hand, thereby gaining an understanding of how R&D can be improved," continues Dr. Anderson. "We developed our platform with our years of experience in mind, leveraging innovative AI/ML technologies to create a unique solution for these problems. I am excited to welcome both Insight Partners and OurCrowd to our family; with their guidance and support, I'm confident we will be able to take Materials Zone to the next level. This investment is a boost of confidence to the company and, most importantly, to our incredible team. I would like to thank my team for their daily hard work, dedication, and professionalism."

"The closing of this investment round is a great milestone for the company and for the team," says Mark Weissman, a seasoned investor and director at Tidhar Group Ltd., who serves as the company's chairman of the board. "Materials Zone is now on a clear path to success and uniquely positioned to serve customers hungry for a quality materials discovery solution. I'm confident Materials Zone will grow, expand, and accomplish its goals."

Materials Zone plans to use the investment funds to hire additional team members, continue improving its product offering and pursue customers from additional verticals, such as Green Construction, Perovskites, Automotive and Semiconductors.

About Materials Zone

Materials Zone is an innovative materials informatics company which developed a unique AI cloud-based materials discovery platform designed to make the process of development and manufacturing of any physical product faster and cheaper. The company has spun-out of Bar Ilan University in late 2017, leveraging on years of experience and knowhow to develop its agnostic platform that can serve customers from different segments, industries, and verticals. Materials Zone has a proven track record, already catering the needs of multiple customers and enabling them to improve their R&D and manufacturing processes. The company's main offices are in Tel Aviv. For more information, please visit our website www.materials.zone.

About Insight Partners

Insight Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight Partners has invested in more than 400 companies worldwide and has raised through a series of funds more than $30 billion in capital commitments. Insight's mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on software expertise to foster long-term success. Across its people and its portfolio, Insight encourages a culture around a belief that ScaleUp companies and growth create opportunity for all. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners.

About OurCrowd

OurCrowd is a global venture investment platform that empowers institutions and individuals to invest and engage in emerging companies. With $1.7 billion of committed funding, and investments in more than 255+ portfolio companies and 27 venture funds, OurCrowd offers access to its membership of 90,000 individual accredited and institutional investors, family offices, and venture capital partners from over 195 countries to invest alongside, at the same terms. Rated by PitchBook as the most active venture investor in Israel, OurCrowd portfolio companies have been acquired by some of the most prestigious brands in the world, including Microsoft, Uber, Canon, Oracle, Nike, and Intel. To register visit www.ourcrowd.com.

SOURCE Materials Zone

Related Links

https://www.materials.zone


EXPLAINER: The potential risks of political crisis in Chad View Photo

DAKAR, Senegal (AP)  The killing of President Idriss Deby Itno has left his son in charge of Chad, the first change of power in more than three decades for the central African nation that borders some of the worlds most volatile countries.

The militarys decision to make Mahamat Idriss Deby the interim leader provoked an immediate outcry from both the Chadian political opposition and the rebel forces blamed for his fathers assassination.

Here is a look at the uncertainty in Chad and the potential threats for the region in the weeks to come:

WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED TO CHADS LONGTIME PRESIDENT?

The military announced April 20 that President Idriss Deby Itno had been mortally wounded during a visit to the troops north of the capital, who were battling an anti-Deby rebel group. The exact circumstances are murky, though. The military publicly acknowledged only five casualties in battles that reportedly killed 300 rebels.

Deby, a 68-year-old former army commander, was known for making visits to the front lines. However, security analysts have questioned how such a high-profile person could have been killed in a battle that was supposed to be to the militarys advantage.

SO WHOS IN CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY NOW?

The military appointed a council to lead an 18-month transition to new elections and put Debys 37-year-old son in charge.

The transitional council also announced that the interim prime minister post would go to a former opposition presidential candidate, Albert Pahimi Padacke, who finished second in the April 11 vote. The move appeared to be a concession aimed at placating political opponents, who maintain that the president of the National Assembly should have been the one named interim leader under Chads constitution.

Mahamat Idriss Deby has insisted that he has no long-term political ambitions, though many Chadians have noted that he is about the same age his father was when he overthrew then-President Hissene Habre and then stayed in power for more than 30 years.

COULD THESE REBELS REALLY ATTACK THE CAPITAL?

Chadian rebels groups have made it to NDjamena before: In 2008, they even reached the presidential palace before being repelled back toward the Sudanese border.

These latest rebels are from a group known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, which has been threatening to advance on the capital for more than a week now. Initially the rebels said they would wait to do so until after Debys funeral on Friday, but there has been no sign of them now for several days.

Chads military spokesman alleged Sunday that some of the rebels had instead retreated to neighboring Niger and were nowhere near NDjamena.

However, a representative for the rebel group denied that claim, telling The Associated Press that they still intended to move on the capital in the coming days if no agreement is reached with the interim government.

An agreement appeared unlikely. Military spokesman Gen. Azem Bermandoa Agouma said Sunday that now is not the time for mediation or negotiation with outlaws.

WHO ARE THESE REBELS EXACTLY?

The group, known by its French acronym FACT, is led by Mahamat Mahdi Ali. He formed FACT in 2016 after breaking away from another Chadian armed group based in Libya known as the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development.

FACTs stated objectives to date have been purely political: First they sought to depose Idriss Deby Itno, and now they vow to unseat his son.

Chads transitional government, though, accuses the groups leader of making dangerous alliances with Islamic extremists and traffickers operating near Chads border with troubled Niger.

A military spokesman also claimed that Mahamat Mahdi Ali has been charged with war crimes in southern Libya, where the group trained for years before crossing back into Chad earlier this month.

International Crisis Group says that FACT reportedly has 1,000 to 1,500 fighters in its ranks. It is unclear how many rebels from other armed groups may have joined forces with FACT in recent days.

WHAT ROLE IS FRANCE PLAYING IN ALL OF THIS?

Chad was a French colony until 1960, and the French military has headquartered its regional counterterrorism forces there.

France considers Chad to be a key ally, as the country has contributed critical troops toward the dangerous U.N. peacekeeping force working to stabilize Mali after a French-led military intervention there in 2013 ousted Islamic extremists from power in major towns across the north.

French officials called Deby a courageous friend in the days after his death and then dispatched President Emmanuel Macron to the funeral despite the rebel threats of violence. While the French government has encouraged a swift transition toward a civilian government, it seems to be embracing Debys son in the interim in a bid to avoid destabilizing a critical ally in the fight against extremism.

France also appears to be providing intelligence to the Chadian military. The rebels say French reconnaissance flights have already given away their positions. France denies carrying out any airstrikes as it did when another armed group posed a similar threat back in 2019.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN FOR CHADS NEIGHBORS?

Under Debys tenure, the Chadian military was a major contributor not only to the peacekeeping efforts in northern Mali but also to a regional security force battling extremism known as the G5 Sahel. Earlier this year, Chad announced that it was sending 1,200 troops to an embattled corner of the Sahel where Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger meet.

Some fear that a protracted conflict in Chad could force the diversion of Chadian soldiers elsewhere, weakening the regional fight against militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

By KRISTA LARSON

Associated Press
If theres one thing Florida Democrats dont need, its more dissension and infighting. But simmering tensions among Senate Democrats boiled over Wednesday and forced the immediate ouster of Sen. Gary Farmer of Lighthouse Point as leader of the 16-member caucus.

The eruption exposed bad blood between Broward lawmakers. The timing was especially awkward, with three days left in a legislative session that has been one long exercise in frustration for Democrats.

Heres what happened: Senate Democrats held tight Tuesday and killed a bill that would have made university presidential searches secret. (As a new public records exemption, the bill, House Bill 997, required a two-thirds vote in the Senate, and 14 Democratic votes were exactly enough to block passage.)

Soon after the bill was killed, talk circulated that one or more Democrats might switch their votes, revive the bill and pass it. Under Senate rules, a senator on the prevailing side of an issue can make a motion to reconsider the vote. Speculation among lobbyists and legislators centered on Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, who was designated last week as the next Democratic leader to follow Farmer in place of former designee Sen. Perry Thurston, who will resign his Senate seat to run for Congress. Old animosities between Farmer and Book have been well-documented.

The Senate Democrats pre-session caucus Wednesday morning was close to an end when Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, said he had heard his name was being circulated as a possible vote-switcher. He told Farmer that not being truthful is something that pisses me off  to have my character put on the line.

Farmer told Jones: You had told me you were a no on that bill and I absolutely took you at your word.

Contacted by the Sun Sentinel Tuesday, Jones said he would not switch his vote. He cited text messages from a number of unions that oppose the secrecy bill. Two attempts to reach Book Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Story continues

As talk in the caucus meeting grew more tense, staff members quickly exited the room. Democrats briefly pulled the plug on the public video feed of the caucus meeting but reconnected it a short time later. A Sun Sentinel writer was in the room at the time.

Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, told Farmer: I think sometimes we (senators) dont feel protected.

Sen. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, said it was the second time she had seen Jones feel humiliated by remarks she attributed to Farmer. This is not the way adult senators of the Florida Senate behave, she said. Im tired of people feeling dismissed (and) humiliated. We have to work on this, guys.

Senators ended the caucus and gathered in the bubble, a private room just off the Senate floor where private meetings are common. Not long afterward, Book announced that she was chosen as Farmers immediate successor.

The Democrats defeat of the university secrecy bill was one of the minority partys few moments of triumph in an otherwise dreary session. But it didnt last  and it led to more drama.
IRVING, Texas, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences, a leading innovator in molecular science and artificial intelligence focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, announced the appointment of Joseph E. Gilliam to the Caris Board of Directors, effective April 12, 2021. Following the appointment of Mr. Gilliam, the Board will be comprised of 10 directors.

The Caris Life Sciences Board of Directors is responsible for the overall management of the company, including guiding strategies and monitoring company performance. The Caris Board is composed of a diverse group of leaders with distinct perspectives. Many of the current directors have held leadership roles at major domestic and international companies, academic and scientific organizations, and governmental agencies.

"We are pleased to welcome Joe to the Caris Board," said David D. Halbert, Chairman and CEO of Caris Life Sciences. "Joe's expertise in the life sciences industry, including the diagnostics and biotechnology sectors, will be helpful as we continue to advance precision medicine, accelerate corporate growth and pursue our vision to improve patient outcomes across all cancer types worldwide."

"I am excited to join the Caris Board, and look forward to working alongside fellow board members and Caris' management team," said Mr. Gilliam. "I welcome the opportunity to contribute to Caris' future growth and success as the company advances innovative technologies that revolutionize patient care."

Mr. Gilliam is currently the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at Glaukos Corporation, and has served in this role since May 2017. Prior to joining Glaukos, Mr. Gilliam held roles of increasing responsibility at JPMorgan over the course of a nearly 20-year financial services career. As a managing director in the healthcare investment banking group his experience spanned mergers and acquisitions, initial and follow-on public equity offerings, bank lending, bond offerings, and other transactions for a variety of companies in the life science tools, diagnostics, biotechnology and medical technology sectors. Mr. Gilliam's prior experience includes positions at The Beacon Group (which was combined with JPMorgan and Chase Manhattan in 2001) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Gilliam has a B.S. in accounting from the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University.

About Caris Life Sciences

Caris Life Sciences is a leading innovator in molecular science and artificial intelligence focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine through quality and innovation. The company's suite of market-leading molecular profiling offerings assesses DNA, RNA and proteins to reveal a molecular blueprint that helps physicians and cancer patients make more precise and personalized treatment decisions. MI Exome whole exome sequencing with 22,000 DNA genes, and MI Transcriptome whole transcriptome sequencing with 22,000 RNA genes along with cancer-related pathogens, bacteria, viruses and fungi analysis run on every patient provides the most comprehensive and clinically relevant DNA and RNA profiling available on the market.

Caris is also advancing precision medicine with Caris Artificial Intelligence, combining its market leading service offering, Caris Molecular Intelligence with its proprietary artificial intelligence analytics engine, DEAN, to analyze the whole exome, whole transcriptome and complete cancer proteome. This information, coupled with mature clinical outcomes on thousands of patients, provides unmatched molecular solutions for patients, physicians, payers and biopharmaceutical organizations.

Caris Pharmatech is changing the paradigm and streamlines the clinical trial process by connecting biopharma companies with research-ready oncology sites for clinical trials. With over 420 research sites within the Caris Pharmatech Just-In-Time (JIT) Oncology Network, biopharma companies can identify and enroll more patients, faster. Caris Pharmatech Just-In-Time Clinical Trial Solutions focus on rapid site activation and patient enrollment to streamline the drug development process. By implementing Caris' Just-In-Time Trial-Matching System, Caris will automatically match patients to clinical trials and sites can be activated and eligible to enroll patients within one week.

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences has offices in Phoenix, Denver, New York, and Basel, Switzerland. Caris provides services throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and other international markets. To learn more, please visit CarisLifeSciences.com or follow us on Twitter (@CarisLS).

Caris Life Sciences Media Contact:

Lindsey Bailys

GCI Health

[email protected]

212-798-9884

SOURCE Caris Life Sciences

Related Links

http://www.carislifesciences.com


English Lithuanian





The management company INVL Asset Management, a subsidiary of Invalda INVL, hereby gives notification regarding amendments to the operational documents of the harmonised investment fund INVL Umbrella Fund (hereinafter  the Fund), the subfunds of which are the INVL Emerging Europe Bond Subfund, the INVL Russia TOP20 Subfund and the INVL Emerging Global Market Bond Subfund. The Bank of Lithuania approved the amendments to the Rules of the Fund on 26 April 2021. The amended Rules of the Fund and the accordingly amended Prospectus will enter into force on 30 June 2021.

KEY CHANGES AND AMENDMENTS:

The INVL Emerging Europe Bond Subfund is becoming a feeder fund

The INVL Emerging Europe Bond Subfund (hereinafter  BEO), a subfund of the Fund, is becoming a feeder undertaking and will invest in the investment units of the INVL Emerging Europe Bond Fund (hereinafter  LUX) which is a subfund of the INVL Fund, an umbrella fund newly established together with partners in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

BEO will invest at least 85 per cent of its net assets in LUX Unit Class I which is intended for institutional investors. Thus, BEO will act as a feeder collective investment undertaking and LUX as a master collective investment undertaking. The remaining portion of the net assets of BEO may be invested only in liquid assets conforming to the investment strategy, in compliance with the restrictions laid down in the Rules of BEO and the applicable legislation. The Management Company envisages that almost all BEO net assets will be invested in the LUX subfund and only a small portion will be held in cash in a bank account to be used to cover BEOs current expenses and to execute requests by investors to redeem investment units.

LUX investment decisions will be made by the team of fund managers at the management company INVL Asset Management. Therefore, the LUX investment strategy will correspond with the current investment strategy of BEO in terms of its principal direction. LUX will invest up to 100 per cent of its assets in sovereign and corporate debt securities in Emerging Europe. LUX will invest at least 51 per cent of its bond portion in sovereign and corporate debt securities in Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Belarus, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Malta, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Montenegro, Cyprus, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Kosovo).

The BEO management fee is being reduced from 1 per cent to 0.45 per cent. As the LUX management fee is 0.55 per cent, thus the total size of fees for investment management will remain unchanged for BEO investors.

Although no contribution or redemption fees may be applied to BEO investments in the LUX subfund, it is envisaged that due to BEOs operating expenses, BEOs total costs will be similar to their current size.

Due to the close relationship between BEO and LUX, the definition of a BEO business day is changing: a business day of BEO will be deemed to be any calendar day except public holidays and rest days in Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the State of Hessen, Germany. This change is relevant to investors who switch BEO investment units into or from units of another subfund of the INVL Umbrella Fund, as the switch will be carried out only on a business day of both subfunds. All non-business days of BEO in 2021 are available on the website www.invl.com.

INVL Russia TOP20 Subfund: changes to the investment strategy, performance fee and name

Taking due account of clients needs, the management company INVL Asset Management made the decision to adjust the investment strategy of the INVL Russia TOP20 Subfund (hereinafter  RTS), a subfund of the INVL Umbrella Fund.

The new description of the investment strategy defines that RTS assets may be invested only in financial instruments of companies operating in the Russian Federation and other CIS countries (including former CIS countries), excluding state-controlled companies. State control shall be deemed to mean a holding of more than 20 per cent of the shares of a company. This means that, upon the entry into force of the amended Rules of the Fund, RTS will no longer be able to invest in state-owned enterprises.

This amendment is aimed at ensuring that investments are made in enterprises that are not owned by the state and are managed in a more effective and transparent manner and, therefore, are more attractive in the long-term. The new strategy will also make it possible to increase investments in new economy (information and financial technologies, e-trade, etc.) companies, the weight and the value of which in the economy are rapidly growing. Based on the assessment of the Management Company, the growth potential of private companies should be higher and the RTS portfolio should be more stable in the long-term.

Due to the aforementioned changes, the name of RTS is being changed to INVL Russia ex-Government Equity Subfund.

The rate and the principle of calculation of the RTS performance fee is also changing. Upon the entry into force of the new wording, the performance fee will be 20 per cent (currently it is 15 per cent) of the increase in the RTS net asset value exceeding the 8 per cent hurdle rate over the last 3 years. The current 15 per cent performance fee is calculated on the basis of a simple increase in value. For three years from the entry into force of the new wording of the Rules, the 8 per cent hurdle rate criterion will be applied only from the entry into force of the new wording of the Rules, i.e. the hurdle rate will not be applied retroactively. In the opinion of the Management Company, the adjusted formula for calculation of the performance fee, which introduces additional criteria, will ensure that the performance fee is applied to clients only when the RTS subfund steadily generates a high return over the medium term.

As until now, the increase in the net asset value will be calculated according to the high watermark principle. The highest peak in value reached since the entry into force of the new wording of the Rules will not be recalculated, i.e. the historical highest peak will continue to be used.

Cut-off time for applications to purchase, switch and sell is changed

The cut-off time for applications to purchase, switch and sell investment units of all the subfunds constituting the Fund is being changed from 24:00 hrs to 11:00 hrs. This means that applications received before 11:00 hrs and paid by 23:59 hrs on the same day will be carried out on the basis of the value as of the date of submission of the application, and applications received after 11:00 hrs and paid by 23:59 hrs on the same day will be subject to the value as of the nearest business day. In the event of a difference between the date of receipt of the application and the payment date, the value effective as of the payment date will be applied. Further information on the rules for submission and carrying out of applications is provided in the Prospectus of the Subfunds which is available on the website: www.invl.com.

Supplement to the list of other expenses

The expenses to be covered from the assets of the respective Subfund are being supplemented with the fees to the Supervisory Authority for the supervision of financial market participants and to providers of financial indexes used in the benchmark indexes of the subfunds for the information and historical data on index compositions. These new fees are being added to other expenses to be covered from the assets of the respective subfund, the maximum rate of which is not changing and stands at 1 per cent of the subfunds average annual net asset value. The list of terms and cases in which legal expenses would be covered from the assets of the respective Subfund is being revised as well.

Other amendments

At the same time, other smaller amendments are being made in the operational documents of the Fund.

Additional information:

Investors have the right to request redemption of the investment units held by them in the respective subfund until 29 June 2021 (inclusive). As until now, no redemption fee will be applied.

The documents of the Fund which are being amended (the Rules and the Prospectus) are available on the website: www.invl.com, at the registered office of the Management Company at Gyneju g. 14, 01109 Vilnius, or by e-mail: info@invl.com.

Contact person for further information:

Vaidotas Rukas, Head of the Investment Management Division at INVL Asset Management

E-mail vaidotas.rukas@invl.com




Edmond Harris, 18, of the 1300 block of South Independence Boulevard, Chicago, was charged with attempted first degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated vehicular hijacking at 12 p.m. April 27 for an incident that occurred in January, police said.
New Delhi, April 29 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that his government will expedite the process of adding more oxygen beds across the national capital in the coming weeks.

Chairing a meeting with health officials on the coronavirus situation, he deliberated on the plan to increase the number of oxygen beds in the coming days, along with strengthening the home isolation system.

Deputy Chief Minister and Nodal Minister Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain, the Additional Chief Secretary, and Health Secretary were also present in the meeting along with health officials.

"We are noticing that this new strain of coronavirus is quite dangerous and often leads to respiratory and breathing issues. It has become very important to provide beds to every patient who needs oxygen. We have to expedite the process to add more ICU and oxygen beds in the coming weeks," Kejriwal said.

"We have to further strengthen our home isolation system. Every patient who is recovering from corona under home isolation should receive regular calls from Delhi government doctors and an oximeter. We have to monitor the daily condition of every patient recovering from Corona in home isolation," he said.

In the last few days, the Delhi government has been working towards increasing the count of ICU and oxygen beds across the city on a war footing. Kejriwal visited several hospitals to review their Covid preparedness.

A total of 1,200 oxygen beds will be added by May 10, out of which 500 oxygen beds facility will be established at Ramlila Maidan opposite the LNJP hospital, and 500 at the GTB Hospital, while 200 ICU beds will be added in Radha Soami Satsang Beas Covid Care Centre.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Little did Don Lewis know that a serendipitous gift of a sack of locally grown, freshly milled flour 20 plus years ago would lead him to spearhead a revitalization of the grain movement in the Hudson Valley.

When I touched, smelled and tasted it, I realized it was a world of difference from the commodity flours I'd been using, recounts Lewis, who was then baker/proprietor of Wild Hive Farm Bakery in Clinton Corners in Dutchess County.

As Lewis figured out to bake with the silky flour that a local grower named Alton Earnhart gave him, he started to get the readout of how important it was, he says.

His breads and pastries tasted richer, more complex and nuanced. The flour had true, distinctive flavor, says Lewis, was nutrient dense (nutrients provide the flavor), and fresh  which is not usually the case with flour sitting on a supermarket shelf. No one wants to eat old food, he contends. This was how flour was before modernization and mechanization of the milling process, since eternity until the Industrial Revolution.

Soon he began milling grains grown by Earnhart for his cafe and bakery, and encouraging area farmers to grow local grains as well. He ascribes their unique attributes to terroir, meaning the taste and sense of place.

Seeing the potential for producing and milling grains like rye and soft winter wheat for human consumption, he stopped baking in 2012 to begin milling full time, providing the infrastructure necessary for grains to be ground for sale.

Today, Wild Hive Farm offers 50 non-GMO products including whole grains, beans, and sourdough starter, and heritage and ancient grains like red fife wheat and black emmer. The company is collaborating with Hudson Valley Seed Company on over a dozen test plots of domestic and European grains, including a rye from Estonia.

Over the years, Wild Hive has also developed a rabid fan base.

Ariel Yotive, the head baker of Troutbeck, the country resort in Amenia, says Lewis is known as someone who's really championed the regional grain, small artisan mill movement long before it was popular the way we see it today. She lauds his availability as she tinkers and says his flour sets their croissants apart.

It makes a huge difference, she declares. I always use it as an example of why it's important to support farms with these projects. Taste it against conventional flour, it's a game-changer.

Scott Gordon Bleicher

Starting a milling operation from scratch

In the late 80s, Lewis had begun worrying about his children and the future of the food system. Their generation was not going to have access to the clean fair food that I and my parents had other than what they produced themselves, he explains.

When he was young, before foods were genetically modified, fruits, grains, and vegetables were selectively crossbred. In that process, the original genetics were lost. Lewis says while there are hundreds of varieties of wheat, 20 years ago less than a dozen were grown in the country.

He told his wife he needed to try to find something that could be done. Then he met Alton Earnhart, the grower who gifted him that flour. On the day Lewis stopped by Earnharts farm to buy organic chicken feed, he was milling wheat he had grown on a dare on a tiny mill for his wife, who was using the flour to bake cookies.



Lewis wanted to develop a network model in which farmers grew a variety of grain for human consumption for Wild Hive, connecting them as resources for one another. He reached out to farmers who were already growing animal feed. Since more labor was involved, he created a payment structure different than that for commodity grain, paying a higher price and one that was stable rather than fluctuating.

Finding farmers willing to take on the risk was a challenge because there was little demand at the time. I had to educate consumers to buy the bread showcasing the grains we were growing 20, 30 miles away from where it was being sold, Lewis comments.

He recalls working those unfunded early days with duct tape and shoestrings. Heirloom seed was in short supply; some growers had saved a bit from grains their fathers had grown.

At Lewiss request, Earnhart, who had grown grains for human consumption while in the Peace Corps, grew a few acres of soft wheat, gradually diversifying grains and adding acreage. Lewis took over the milling. To create a secure food system of resilience and depth with diverse locations, growers, and grains, he broadened his scope to the wider Hudson Valley region. More farmers joined in and Wild Hive expanded. Today the company boasts five stone mills.

Their largest two were just installed and will double capacity, improve efficiency, and further increase flour quality since they can grind even more finely. Its perfect timing: Wild Hives pandemic retail sales jumped 25 percent as quarantined masses took up baking while at home.

Scott Gordon Bleicher

Winning hearts the old-fashioned way

Originally a commercial beekeeper who sold local honey at New York City farmers markets  hence the name Wild Hive Farm  Lewis was accustomed to creating customer awareness and demand. He remembered the close communication his father, a poultry farmer in Middletown, had with his customers. For years Lewis regularly locally distributed samples of his bread. That was fundamental, he maintains. It took a lot to get people to come on board.

The most important thing was to get it in their stomachs, he continues. Because I was convinced, and I found this out as being true later, that if you digest it, then you understand it. And that's what happened. He observes that today people are more open to learning and interested in eating healthier and buying local.

Today, Lewis advises prospective grain farmers and is heartened more are growing grains in the Hudson Valley than certainly since the 1700s when the area was the breadbasket of the country, he notes.

Well over a dozen groups from the Valley to the Canadian border are part of his network model of grain growers. He has also added a corollary, bakeries that mill their own flour, to the equation. Lewis encourages these small operations and they purchase what they cant mill themselves from his wide array of products.

Stuart Farr of Hudson Valley Hops & Grains has sold Lewis rye and other grains since meeting him at a Northeast Organic Farming Association conference six years ago.

I've grown grains all my life, says Farr. But [when it comes to the quality] and characteristics of the grain in this region, Don has got probably an unequaled knowledge of whats useful to a baker. Having his knowledge of what constitutes a product that a customer, miller, and a baker are going to want is important because he's basically representing the people who are going to make bread and cakes.

Lewis brought his baking and milling expertise to years of work with Cornells plant breeding program in Ulster.

I learned a lot about blending different grains to make these really important flours, he says. That's a lot of what my business is built on. I understand the chemistry, the nuance of grains, and baking. I have a lot of fun doing that.

(Note to home bread bakers: he'll be producing a blend with a French grain called Rouge de Bordeaux which he raves makes beautiful baguettes.)

Chefs like Ric Orlando of the late New World Home Cooking Company in Saugerties, also sing Lewis praises. Searching for local, non-GMO products 20 years ago, Orlando fell in love with his polenta, using it in shrimp and grits and cornbread. It's really clean and he's a very cool guy, so I made a commitment to use his product as often as I can, he explains.

Lewis has spoken at numerous conferences about developing regional grain-based food systems that establish growers, infrastructure, demand, and critically, access, especially in light of seed patents and the early pandemic food shortages.

Grown, processed and consumed in the region, thats really important, he maintains. It makes for healthy consumers, for a very healthy, secure food system for the area. The general health of the region is better when it can rely on regional resources.

For thousands of years, explains Lewis, neighbors have supplied regions with food. Everyone can reach it, find it, get it, he says. The soft-spoken Hudson Valley native is proud Wild Hive is a key access point here.

If I do something, build a model that can be replicated elsewhere, then that that's my contribution to this generation.
Sambhal : , April 28 (IANS) A 26-year-old Covid positive pregnant woman successfully delivered twins at a Covid community health centre in Chandausi in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh.

In a statement, a team of three doctors said, "The woman was admitted to the hospital in its emergency unit with oxygen saturation of 87 on Monday and was put on oxygen support. On Tuesday, she went into labour and delivered twins in the specially arranged 'labour room'." Dr Khilendra Saxena, who works at the Narauli CHC, said, "The doctors attended to the woman. All precautionary measures and Covid guidelines were followed in the emergency room during the time of delivery. She gave birth to twins. The first child was healthy and normal. The second child, who was delivered after a few minutes, had some breathing complications initially and was given oxygen but she improved later. Both infants are healthy now and Covid-free.

The doctors said that since the woman is still Covid-positive, she was shifted back to the Covid ward.

Dr Manoj Junabai, nodal officer, Covid-19, Sambhal, told reporters, "It is not necessary that if the mother is Covid positive, then her child will be too. However, as a precautionary measure, the babies will again be tested for Covid-19 two days later. As of now, they have been separated from the mother and handed over to family members."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
WOODRIDGE, Ill., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GovQA, the largest provider of cloud-based SaaS automated workflow solutions for government compliance, applauds police and fire departments, city and township halls, county and state offices and military and other facilities during Public Service Recognition Week (May 2-8)especially the unsung heroes who keep us informed in uncertain times.

The president and Congress designated the first full week in May as Public Service Recognition Week in 1985 to honor the men and women who dedicate their lives to serving the public.

Nearly every government agency responds to requests for information contained in public records. Since the pandemic started, those working in law enforcement, public safety agencies, and health departments have seen exponential growth in the volume and complexity of requests for information and public records.

"While it's not any agency's primary mission, dedicated public servants at each organization work hard to keep citizens, the media, and other governments informed and themselves accountable," said Jennifer Snyder, chief evangelist at GovQA.

This year municipalities across the nation using GovQA software have responded to nearly a half million requests for informationand the number is projected to grow. According to GovQA's Peers in Public Records (PiPR) Index, which tracks state and local public records trends, request volumes increased by 21% from June to December 2020. As requests become more voluminous and complex, the total time an average agency spends processing requests has skyrocketed, from an average of 438 hours in the second quarter to more than 2,100 by year's end (a 388% increase). Demand for larger files, such as audio and video data, has increased substantially.

Many state and local agencies across the nation invest in technologies that allow them to better manage the volume of records requests while becoming more efficient, saving tax dollars and freeing up staff to work on other important business. GovQA's cloud-based, secure public records (FOIA) software promotes efficiencies by reducing repetitive work, limiting errors, streamlining collaboration and improving customer service.

"Recognizing public service employees is especially important this year as public service employees have had to scale many barriers to keep communities informed and functioning during the pandemic," said Snyder. "GovQA salutes these unsung heroes."

About GovQA

GovQA is the largest provider of cloud-based SaaS automated workflow solutions for government compliance. Its Public Records Request Management software handles more Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for state and local governments than any other software provider. With 20 years' experience in advanced technology for government agencies, GovQA combines trusted tools and security, proven government expertise, and a scalable platform that enables cities, counties, and state agencies to securely collect and control time-sensitive information within, across, and outside governments. GovQA's proprietary Peers in Public Records (PiPR) Index is the only index that tracks trends in public records for state and local governments. Visit www.govqa.com for more information.

Media Contact:

Patrick McLaughlin

[email protected]

734-255-6466

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SOURCE GovQA
In an effort to offer travellers in the Middle East a more localised and user-friendly experience, leading global travel marketplace Skyscanner has rolled out the Arabic language offering across all domains, including UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Travellers visiting Skyscanner on the desktop, mobile web or via the app will now be able to select Arabic as a language option to access more localised content, including local currency and a better user experience when linking to partner sites to complete their travel bookings.

Travel is returning in the region at a strong pace. On Skyscanner, interest in both domestic and international flights have increased steadily from UAE travellers, with a lift of 23 per cent in searches and even more dramatically from Saudi travellers, where there was an increase of 110 per cent in searches from February to March of this year.

UAE

23 per cent month-over-month increase in searches on Skyscanner, March 2021 vs February 2021

Top searched countries in March

 India

 Philippines

 Pakistan

 United Kingdom

 Russia

Saudi Arabia

110 per cent month-over-month increase in searches on Skyscanner, March 2021 vs February 2021

Top searched countries in March

 Saudi Arabia

 India

 Pakistan

 Philippines

 Egypt

According to a recent YouGov survey, commissioned by Reed Exhibitions, ahead Arabian Travel Market 2021, the money that Middle East travellers spend on international leisure travel will begin to exceed 2019 levels in as little as three years.

Were pleased to be able to offer travellers in the Middle East a far more relevant experience on desktop, allowing them to plan and book travel in their local language and currency, said Gavin Harris, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Skyscanner. Arabic is one of the 5th most spoken languages in the world and outbound travel from the UAE and Saudi Arabia accounts for a significant proportion of the total travel market. We previously launched the Skyscanner app in Arabic to great success, so it was a logical next step to bring the localised experience to desktop users too. Were excited about the opportunity this will afford our partners in the region as well.

Now, travellers in the Middle East will be able to choose Arabic as their language of choice when visiting Skyscanner, giving them access to all of Skyscanners leading flight search, comparison and booking functionality and features. When travellers select a flight option with a partner, they will automatically be redirected to the Arabic locale on the partners site, where it is offered as a language option, ensuring for a smoother, more user-friendly experience.

Skyscanner is already a well-established player in the region, with Etihad Airways, Emirates and Air Arabia all participating in the travel marketplaces direct booking platform to sell tickets directly to Skyscanner users. Skyscanner offers partnership opportunities for airlines, destination management companies, travel operators and companies from a range of sectors, such as advertising, data & analytics solutions, as well as a world leading affiliates programme and flights APIs to power flight search on partner websites and apps. - TradeArabia News Service
The final results of the physician-led National Cardiogenic Shock Initiative (NCSI) Study demonstrate a 71% survival to discharge with greater than 90% native heart recovery when best practices are used, including placement of an Impella heart pump prior to revascularization (PCI). The study evaluated the outcomes of 406 consecutive patients who presented with acute myocardial infarction cardiogenic shock (AMICS) at 80 participating sites throughout the United States. The study shows a protocol-based approach to increasing survival rates in cardiogenic shock is reproducible in both academic and community hospital settings. Results were presented today by Babar Basir, DO, director of the acute mechanical circulatory support program at Henry Ford Hospital and co-principal investigator of the study, at the 2021 Society of Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) Scientific Sessions.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428006079/en/

The NCSI Study is a single-arm, prospective study assessing outcomes associated with early mechanical circulatory support (MCS) in AMICS patients treated with PCI. The goal of the NCSI Study is to increase cardiogenic shock survival, which has historically been approximately 50%, by providing early unloading therapy and allowing the heart to rest prior to PCI, promoting native heart recovery. The NCSI Study prospectively validated the previously identified best practices of identifying shock early, placing Impella support pre-PCI within 90 minutes of arriving at the hospital, using a pulmonary artery catheter to guide decision-making, and reducing the use of inotropes and vasopressors.

The study investigators categorized patients according to SCAI Shock classification stages. For SCAI stages C/D, they found higher survival to discharge (79%), 30-days (77%) and 1-year (62%) compared to historical data in similar patients during the last 30 years. SCAI stage E patients, who are on the brink of cardiovascular collapse, also had improved survival to discharge (54%), 30-days (49%), and 1-year (31%) compared to recent studies of patients who were not treated with the NCSI protocol that published in Journal of American College of Cardiology (33% survival to discharge) and Catherization and Cardiovascular Interventions (22.6% survival to 30-days).

Story continues

"The NCSI Study demonstrates the benefit of following a protocolized approach to AMICS, which includes early implantation of Impella. We are impressed with the improved survival rates seen with the use of best practices compared to the stagnant historical survival rate," said Dr. Basir. "It is important to emphasize that the majority of hospitals in the NCSI Study were large community-based programs where heart attack patients first present. Giving these care teams a safe and effective protocol to manage critically ill patients has saved many lives."

"NCSI is the largest prospective study of therapy for AMICS done in the U.S. in the last 20 years. We have found that the original observations from the Detroit Cardiogenic Shock Initiative have been reproduced showing significantly higher survival rates," said William ONeill, MD, medical director of the Henry Ford Health System Center for Structural Heart Disease and co-principal investigator of the study. "If implemented across the country, the NCSI protocol can save 20,000 lives a year."

Other investigator-led research demonstrates results similar to the NCSI Study results, including the 2019 Inova Study and the 2020 J-PVAD Study. These studies found an 82% and 77% survival at 30 days, respectively, when best practices were followed including the early identification of cardiogenic shock and the early use of Impella. (see figure 1)

"The NCSI Study has shown that, through rapid identification and treatment of patients who will benefit from mechanical circulatory support, higher cardiogenic shock survival rates can be achieved," said Andrew M. Goldsweig, MD, MS, an assistant professor of interventional cardiology and associate catheterization lab director for structural heart disease at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The authors concluded early use of mechanical circulatory support and hemodynamics is associated with improved outcomes. Additional clinical research in the treatment of cardiogenic shock includes the RECOVER IV RCT, which is being developed and will be a prospective, two-arm trial to assess whether Impella pre-PCI is superior to PCI without Impella in AMICS patients. In addition, the DanGer Shock RCT is an ongoing trial in Denmark and Germany assessing primary outcome of death from all causes at six months with Impella CP, compared to standard of care.

To watch Dr. Basir and Dr. ONeill discuss the NSCI Study results, and the ability of the NCSI protocol to improve outcomes for patients, please visit HeartRecovery.com.

ABOUT IMPELLA HEART PUMPS

The Impella 2.5 and Impella CP devices are U.S. FDA approved to treat certain advanced heart failure patients undergoing elective and urgent percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), such as stenting or balloon angioplasty, to reopen blocked coronary arteries.

The Impella 2.5, Impella CP, Impella CP with SmartAssist, Impella 5.0, Impella LD, and Impella 5.5 with SmartAssist are U.S. FDA approved to treat heart attack or cardiomyopathy patients in cardiogenic shock and have the unique ability to enable native heart recovery, allowing patients to return home with their own heart.

To learn more about the Impella platform of heart pumps, including their approved indications and important safety and risk information associated with the use of the devices, please visit www.abiomed.com.

ABOUT ABIOMED

Based in Danvers, Massachusetts, USA, Abiomed, Inc. is a leading provider of medical devices that provide circulatory support and oxygenation. Our products are designed to enable the heart to rest by improving blood flow and/or provide sufficient oxygenation to those in respiratory failure. For additional information, please visit: www.abiomed.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Abiomed's periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428006079/en/

Contacts

Media:

Sarah Lima

Communications Manager

978-882-8211

slima@abiomed.com

Investors:

Todd Trapp

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

(978) 646-1680

ttrapp@abiomed.com
Markel and Nationwide join AmWins, CRC Group, Heffernan, and Patra to bring standardized technology-enabled solutions to the insurance industry with AI and Automation

EL DORADO HILLS, Calif., April 28, 2021  A consortium of insurance industry leaders that formed InsurConneXtions Alliance, including AmWins, CRC Group, Heffernan Insurance Brokers, Patra, and others, today announced two new members in Markel and Nationwide. The addition of Markel and Nationwide further enhances the InsurConneXtions Alliances goal of driving processing efficiencies and industry standards by building solutions that leverage AI and automation for the nations Broker Agencies, Wholesalers, MGAs, and Carriers.

With Markel and Nationwides addition, the InsurConneXtions Alliance now has market-leading underwriting representation as each will bring their perspectives, needs, and priorities for technology and automation that will provide the most impact efficiencies to the industry. Markel and Nationwides Underwriting expertise complements AmWins and CRCs Wholesale perspectives and the retail perspectives of Heffernan and the other brokers. The InsurConneXtions Alliance, formed in October of 2020, delivered on its first significant initiative earlier this year of using AI to process policy checking and loss run reporting.

Joining the InsurConneXtions Alliance will enable Nationwide to further expand its innovation footprint and collaboration to bring new efficiencies and technological capabilities to our agency partners, said Peter McMurtrie, Nationwides President of Commercial Lines. This partnership aligns with our focus on delivering best-in-class and easy-to-deploy solutions to agencies that help create new value, improve on customer experience, and drive revenue for their business.

We are extremely motivated to join forces with other members of the InsurConneXtions Alliance to tackle inefficiencies in our market, said Glenn Harris, Managing Executive, Distribution Strategies and Business Development of Markel. Complex environments require transformative thinking. This partnership expands our capabilities and demonstrates the power and versatility of bringing new technology to all parties to provide exceptional customer service.

About Markel Corporation

Markel is a diverse financial holding company serving a variety of niche markets. The companys principal business markets and underwrites specialty insurance products. In each of the companys businesses, it seeks to provide quality products and excellent customer service so that it can be a market leader. The financial goals of the company are to earn consistent underwriting and operating profits and superior investment returns to build shareholder value. Markel is a registered trademark of the Markel Corporation. Visit Markel on the web at markel.com.

About Nationwide

Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the United States. Nationwide is rated A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poors. An industry leader in driving customer-focused innovation, Nationwide provides a full range of insurance and financial services products including auto, business, homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector retirement plans, annuities and mutual funds; excess & surplus, specialty and surety; pet, motorcycle and boat insurance. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About Patra

Patra is a leading provider of technology-enabled services to the insurance industry. Patras team of global experts allows brokers, MGAs, wholesalers, and carriers to capture the Patra Advantage  profitable growth and organizational value. Patra powers insurance processes by optimizing the application of people and technology; supporting insurance organizations as they sell, deliver, and manage policies and customers. For more information, visit patracorp.com or follow us @Patracorp on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

William Wagner

Patra Corporation

650-279-0325

wwagner@patracorp.com
Lisa Rinna was spotted out on the town for the first time after publicly weighing in on her 19-year-old daughter Amelia's romance with Scott Disick, 37.

The 57-year-old Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star looked like the picture of casual chic on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

The wife of actor Harry Hamlin was makeup free as she was joined by a female friend.

Having her say: Lisa Rinna was spotted out on the town for the first time after publicly weighing in on her 19-year-old daughter Amelia's romance with Scott Disick, 37

Lisa was wearing a pair of loose-fitting light wash high-waisted jeans with a long-sleeved black button-down top.

The stylish actress sported beige Gucci slip-on mules lined with lamb fur.

Lisa carried a black leather Balenciaga tote handbag as she walked through a parking lot.

Her short, tousled brunette hair was styled casually and she had on no makeup except a glossy lipstick.

No frills: The 57-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star looked like the picture of casual chic on Tuesday night in Los Angeles

Her jewelry was also minimal with the former Melrose Place actress wearing only her diamond wedding rings and a red string bracelet.

The reality star seemed to be in a jubilant mood as she removed her black face mask and smiled.

Rinna was picked up from the outing by a young brunette woman. As Lisa slid into the passenger seat of the car, she looked cheerfully out the windshield while putting on her seatbelt.

Good vibes: The reality star seemed to be in a jubilant mood as she removed her black face mask and smiled

Lisa had been missing in action since making her first remarks on the 18-year age gap between Amelia and the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star.

The next season of Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills will see the famous mom addressing her daughter and Scott's romance.

In a teaser for season 11, Lisa 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, six, and Penelope, eight - 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 relationship 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 with Amelia 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.
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jenna Bush Hager, New York Times best-selling author and host of NBC's "TODAY," is making a $100K donation to No Kid Hungry, a national campaign to end childhood hunger in America. The donation is being made to the anti-hunger campaign on behalf of the release of Hager's new book, Everything Beautiful in Its Time: A Family Journal, which is on sale now.

A companion to Hager's best-selling memoir Everything Beautiful in Its Time, the journal serves as a means to collect memories for her children and future generations, and encourages readers to capture their own family memories and milestones for years to come. As a passionate No Kid Hungry supporterand with child hunger on the rise during the COVID-19 crisisHager wanted the journal to benefit kids, as well.

"This journal is inspired by family and the memories we make and cherish together. For many families, the best memories are made around tables of food, but there are far too many families in America struggling to put food on the table in the wake of COVID-19," said Hager. "Food and family are at the heart of any home, and the memories we make together. That's why in honor of my journal release, I'm supporting No Kid Hungry and its work to connect millions of children and families to the food they need during this crisis and every day."

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, 1 in 6 kids could face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry has a plan to make sure kids are fed, during this crisis and all year long. Since March 2020, No Kid Hungry has provided more than $70 million in grants to schools and community groups across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. Together, No Kid Hungry grantees have reported serving nearly a billion meals to children and families across the country.

"Hunger in America can take different forms. It's a mom who skips a meal so her child can eat. It's the parent who has to make the unthinkable decision between paying for groceries or paying the rent. But it doesn't need to be this way," said Pamela Taylor, chief communications and marketing officer at Share Our Strength, the organization behind No Kid Hungry. "Childhood hunger is a solvable problem, and we're grateful for supporters like Ms. Hager, who are helping us ensure that families don't have to make unthinkable decisions to put food on the table."

Everything Beautiful in Its Time: A Family Journal is on sale now, and available wherever books are sold. To learn more about No Kid Hungry, visit NoKidHungry.org.

About No Kid Hungry

No child should go hungry in America. But in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, 1 in 6 kids could face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty. Join us at NoKidHungry.org.

Media Contact: Allison deBrauwere; [email protected]

SOURCE No Kid Hungry
SINGAPORE, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Energy Market Authority (EMA) of Singapore announced "Advancing the Energy Transition" as the theme for Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2021.

2. Given the global momentum to tackle climate change, the energy transition is an urgent priority for many countries including Singapore. While green growth and low carbon energy sources are developing rapidly, challenges remain. As energy demand growth is expected to remain high in Asia, more efforts will be needed to reset the balance between economic growth and energy sustainability. International collaboration will be vital to create business opportunities, green jobs and enhancing energy resilience to ensure a more sustainable energy future for all. Against this backdrop, global stakeholders will gather at SIEW 2021 to discuss how we can advance the low carbon energy transition.

3. The SIEW 2021 theme was announced at the hybrid SIEW Global Launch featuring speakers from Accenture, DBS, Envision, Sembcorp Industries, Shell, and also representatives from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the United Kingdom Government. The speakers shared their perspectives on promoting low carbon energy in Asia and the role of private sector in pursuing green growth. The launch attracted over 900 onsite and online attendees.

Highlights at SIEW 2021

4. SIEW 2021 will kick off on 25 October 2021 with key anchor events  the SIEW Opening Keynote Address and the Singapore Energy Summit. Featuring global thought leaders, these events will set the stage for a week of discussions on how we can reset, restructure and reinvent the energy industry for a more sustainable future.

5. Delegates can look forward to several new events at SIEW this year. Co-hosted by EMA and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the inaugural Singapore-IRENA High-Level Forum will focus on Investing in an Inclusive and Just Clean Energy Transition, where speakers will exchange views on mobilising investments to support and shape an inclusive energy transition.

6. Mr Ngiam Shih Chun, Chief Executive of Energy Market Authority, said: "The theme for SIEW 2021 emphasises the importance of advancing the energy transition collectively to ensure a more sustainable and resilient global energy system. In this regard, the collaboration with IRENA is timely given the importance of investments in advancing an inclusive energy transition, especially in Asia. We welcome all energy stakeholders to join us at SIEW this year to exchange views on how we can navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by the energy transition."

7. Mr Francesco La Camera, Director General, IRENA, said: "The energy transition is fundamental to putting our energy systems and our economies on a path to net-zero by the middle of this century. Southeast Asia is a diverse, thriving region with significant renewables potential that is well positioned to occupy a leadership position in the shift to new models of sustainable growth and long-term prosperity. We look forward to working closely with the Energy Market Authority to reinforce this message at Singapore International Energy Week this year."

8. SIEW 2021 will also feature a new industry-driven conference on the Future of the Grid, with a special focus on Grid Optimisation and Electrification. This event highlights the importance of resilient and interconnected grid infrastructure in driving a sustainable energy future. Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES), Asian Downstream Summit (ADS) and LNG and Hydrogen Gas Markets Asia will also return as SIEW partner events.

9. The Singapore-International Energy Agency (IEA) Forum, SIEW Energy Insights and SIEW Thinktank Roundtables will continue to showcase perspectives from renowned international organisations, including:

Agora Energiewende;

ASEAN Centre for Energy;

Atlantic Council;

Energy Research Institute @ NTU;

Energy Studies Institute;

Institute of Energy Economics, Japan ;

; United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

10. SIEW 2021 will be held in a hybrid format this year, comprising both onsite and online elements. From 25 to 29 October 2021, the event will take place at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Delegates can register their interest to attend the event on the SIEW website (www.siew.gov.sg) and more updates will be shared when registration opens in July.

About SIEW

The Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) is an annual platform for energy professionals, policymakers and commentators to discuss and share best practices and solutions within the global energy space. SIEW 2021 will be held from the 25-29 October at Marina Bay Sands.

About the Energy Market Authority

The Energy Market Authority (EMA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Our main goals are to ensure a reliable and secure energy supply, promote effective competition in the energy market and develop a dynamic energy sector in Singapore. Through our work, the EMA seeks to forge a progressive energy landscape for sustained growth. Please visit www.ema.gov.sg for more information.

SOURCE Energy Market Authority

Related Links

http://www.ema.gov.sg


(Photo : Screenshot From Pxhere Official Website) Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Tries to Trick Paparazzi with 'Sunscreen Disguise'

Celebrities hide from the paparazzi using unusual methods but it seems like Mark Zuckerberg tops the list. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was caught and photographed surfing and enjoying himself in Hawaii wearing what looked like a lot of sunscreen.

What Sunscreen Does Mark Zuckerberg Use?

Although the Facebook CEO might have been available to avoid the sunburn, he still got roasted for what he tried to pull off. Adam Mosseri had Zuckerberg address the whole sunblock incident, according to the story by Buzzfeednews.

It was said that as another pale-skinned person, he also likes to wear a lot of sunblock in order to keep his skin remaining healthy while swimming or even doing water sports. In the photo, however, Mark Zuckerberg is seen wearing what was called "mineral-based" sunscreen known to leave a white cast.

Mark Zuckerberg Sunscreen Memes

The Facebook CEO then revealed that there was actually another reason behind him really putting a large quantity of sunscreen on his face. He apparently saw that he was well being followed by a certain photographer while he was trying to surf. He then thought that he could easily disguise himself with the help of a lot of extra sunscreen.

The photo was reportedly taken by a certain paparazzi agency known as Mega who had been following him as he tried surfing with the professional surfer known as Kai Lennon. Zuckerberg had reportedly admitted that his ploy, in the end, did not work. He even noted that the whole delta between just how cool one thinks they look and what was said to be the "worst photo a paparazzi can take" for him is "pretty funny."

Mark Zuckerberg Surfing Picture

The Facebook founder also notes that he bares no hard feelings to anyone and if people want to use the particular photo as a sunscreen meme, he said that he is actually really cool about it. He notes that he is happy to give the whole internet some laughs.

This isn't the very first time that Mark Zuckerberg has addressed the whole sunscreen photo. At another company-wide meeting that was reported by Buzzfeednews and the Verge, he also noted that he is not going to apologize for wearing way too much sunscreen. He also noted that he thinks that sunscreen is good and that he actually stands behind it.

my therapist: mark zuckerberg with a face full of sunscreen and a thick ass isn't real, it can't hurt you



mark zuckerberg with a face full of sunscreen and a thick ass: pic.twitter.com/jS983iuIY9  Bobby  (@WheelyBadTweets) July 19, 2020

Read Also: Facebook Hack: Mark Zuckerberg's Phone Number Links to a Signal Messenger Account-Boycotts WhatsApp?

Mark Zuckerberg Surfing Sunscreen

This incident is yet another instance of a popular person trying to evade the paparazzi. While others might try to hide behind covering their faces, what Mark Zuckerburg did was to wear additional sunscreen in order for him to continue surfing.

The photo has since then been used as a meme known as the "Mark Zuckerberg sunscreen meme" and as expected, has been making its rounds across the internet. Whether or not the Facebook CEO will try this stunt again is unknown.

Related Article: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Confirms 'Instagram for Kids' Safe: Congress Hearing Says Its Apps Are the 'Biggest Fear as a Parent'

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian B.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
This is the appalling moment a gang of feral schoolboys pushed a 74-year-old pensioner into the River Mersey.

The youths, who today were being hunted by police, targeted the elderly gentleman as he was fishing on the banks of the famous waterway in Warrington on Sunday afternoon.

One boy, 15, has been arrested on suspicion of assault.

Once they had spotted him just after 2.30pm they charged into the back of him, catapulting him into the river.

As he floundered in the waters the cowardly trio ran away, laughing at the assault.

This is the moment a gang of feral schoolboys pushed a 74-year-old pensioner into the freezing River Mersey

The youths targeted the elderly gentleman as he was fishing on the banks of the famous waterway in Warrington on Sunday afternoon

Luckily two 14-year-old girls nearby spotted the attack and helped him out at the bank.

Sergeant Mark Spaven, of Warrington Local Policing Unit, said: 'This was a shocking and upsetting incident which has understandably left the gentleman shaken.

'He returned home freezing cold and had sustained a cut to his face due to banging his head as he fell into the water.

'We are determined to find those responsible and I am urging anyone who has any information or believes they know who did this to come forward.

Sergeant Mark Spaven, of Warrington Local Policing Unit, vowed to catch the culprits

'I also want to appeal to the two women who thankfully came to his rescue to please get in touch with us as you could have information which could help our investigation.'

The incident took place between 2.30pm and 3pm on Sunday, April 25 while the man was sat on a bank of the River Mersey on Wharf Street near Riverside Retail Park.

After the attack he walked home and informed his family, who reported the assault to the police.

If you can assist police with their enquiries please contact 101 quoting IML 973152 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
LISLE, Ill., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SXC) today reported results for the first quarter 2021, reflecting the strong performance in both the Domestic Coke and Logistics segments.

"I would like to thank all the SunCoke employees for their continued commitment and contributions through a challenging period. The dedication of our team is clearly visible through our excellent safety performance, where we achieved zero recordable injuries during the first quarter, a record for our company. While continuing to follow CDC mandated guidelines, our cokemaking operations returned to full capacity and delivered excellent results. Our logistics segment delivered strong results handling more than two million tons of coal, and we also signed a new take-or-pay agreement to handle iron ore at CMT." said Mike Rippey, President and Chief Executive Officer of SunCoke Energy Inc. "We are very pleased to see our operations running at optimum levels, which is the key driver of our excellent financial results. Continued strength in steel and coal markets coupled with our first quarter results leads us to project full year results at the high end of our adjusted EBITDA guidance."

FIRST QUARTER CONSOLIDATED RESULTS



Three Months Ended March 31, (Dollars in millions) 2021

2020

Increase (Decrease) Revenues $ 359.9



$ 382.7



$ (22.8)

Net income attributable to SXC $ 16.5



$ 4.9



$ 11.6

Adjusted EBITDA(1) $ 70.6



$ 62.1



$ 8.5







(1) See definition of Adjusted EBITDA and reconciliation elsewhere in this release.

Revenue in the first quarter 2021 decreased $22.8 million compared to the prior year period, reflecting pass through of lower coal prices and lower volumes in our Domestic Coke segment partially offset by higher volumes in our Logistics segment.

Net income attributable to SXC increased $11.6 million from the prior year period driven by improved operating results in our Logistics segment discussed below. Net Income attributable to SXC also reflects lower income tax expense, which in the prior year period included expense for the revaluation of certain deferred tax assets due to lower apportioned state tax rates.

Adjusted EBITDA increased $8.5 million as compared to the prior year period primarily driven by higher volumes in the Logistics segment.

FIRST QUARTER SEGMENT RESULTS

Domestic Coke

Domestic Coke consists of cokemaking facilities and heat recovery operations at our Jewell, Indiana Harbor, Haverhill, Granite City and Middletown plants.



Three Months Ended March 31, (Dollars in millions, except per ton amounts) 2021

2020

Increase (Decrease) Revenues $ 335.3



$ 365.2



$ (29.9)

Adjusted EBITDA(1) $ 63.5



$ 63.4



$ 0.1

Sales volumes (thousands of tons) 1,038



1,064



(26)

Adjusted EBITDA per ton(2) $ 61.18



$ 59.59



$ 1.59







(1) See definition of Adjusted EBITDA and reconciliation elsewhere in this release. (2) Reflects Domestic Coke Adjusted EBITDA divided by Domestic Coke sales volumes.

Revenues decreased $29.9 million largely due to pass through of lower coal costs as well as lower sales volumes driven by timing of shipments.

Adjusted EBITDA was reasonably consistent with the prior year period. Lower operating and maintenance cost and higher energy revenues offset the decrease in volume discussed above.

Logistics

Logistics consists of the handling and mixing services of coal and other aggregates at our Convent Marine Terminal ("CMT"), Lake Terminal, Kanawha River Terminals ("KRT") and Dismal River Terminal ("DRT").



Three Months Ended March 31, (Dollars in millions, except per ton amounts) 2021

2020

Increase Revenues $ 16.1



$ 9.0



$ 7.1

Intersegment sales $ 6.6



$ 6.6



$ 

Adjusted EBITDA(1) $ 10.9



$ 3.3



$ 7.6

Tons handled (thousands of tons) 5,300



4,214



1,086







(1) See definition of Adjusted EBITDA and reconciliation elsewhere in this release.

Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA increased by $7.1 million and $7.6 million, respectively, as compared to the same prior year period driven by the improved export coal market, which resulted in higher throughput volumes at CMT.

Brazil Coke

Brazil Coke consists of a cokemaking facility in Vitoria, Brazil, which we operate for an affiliate of ArcelorMittal.

Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA were $8.5 million and $4.5 million, respectively, during the first quarter 2021, which was comparable to revenues and Adjusted EBITDA of $8.5 million and $4.1 million, respectively, during the first quarter 2020.

Corporate and Other

Corporate and other expenses, which include activity from our legacy coal mining business, was $8.3 million during first quarter 2021, $0.4 million lower than $8.7 million during first quarter 2020 as a result of lower professional services and employee related costs as well as the absence of $0.8 million foundry related research and development costs incurred during 2020. These savings were largely offset by $1.7 million of period-over-period, mark-to-market adjustments in deferred compensation driven by changes in the Company's share price during the three months ended March 31, 2021 as compared to the same prior year period.

2021 OUTLOOK

Our 2021 guidance is based on our Domestic Coke plants running at full capacity supported by export sales and foundry coke sales. It also assumes higher volumes at Logistics facilities as compared to 2020 results.

Our 2021 guidance is as follows:

Domestic Coke total production is expected to be approximately 4.1 million tons

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $215 million to $230 million

to Capital expenditures are projected to be approximately $80 million

Cash generated by operations is estimated to be between $160 million and $180 million

and Cash taxes are projected to be between $5 million to $10 million

RELATED COMMUNICATIONS

We will host our quarterly earnings call at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time (9:30 a.m. Central Time) today. The conference call will be webcast live and archived for replay in the Investors section of www.suncoke.com. Investors and analysts may participate in this call by using the following link:

http://www.directeventreg.com/registration/event/7997750

Upon registration, each participant will be emailed a confirmation, dial-in details, and a registrant ID.

SUNCOKE ENERGY, INC.

SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SXC) supplies high-quality coke to the integrated steel industry under long-term, take-or-pay contracts that pass through commodity and certain operating costs to customers. We utilize an innovative heat-recovery cokemaking technology that captures excess heat for steam or electrical power generation. Our cokemaking facilities are located in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and Brazil. We have more than 60 years of cokemaking experience serving the integrated steel industry. In addition, we provide export and domestic material handling services to coke, coal, steel, power and other bulk and liquids customers. Our logistics terminals have the collective capacity to mix and transload more than 40 million tons of material each year and are strategically located to reach Gulf Coast, East Coast, Great Lakes and international ports. To learn more about SunCoke Energy, Inc., visit our website at www.suncoke.com.

SunCoke routinely announces material information to investors and the marketplace using press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission filings, public conference calls, webcasts and SunCoke's website at http://www.suncoke.com/English/investors/sxc. The information that SunCoke posts to its website may be deemed to be material. Accordingly, SunCoke encourages investors and others interested in SunCoke to routinely monitor and review the information that SunCoke posts on its website, in addition to following SunCoke's press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission filings and public conference calls and webcasts.

DEFINITIONS

Adjusted EBITDA represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"), adjusted for any impairments and gain on extinguishment of debt. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not represent and should not be considered alternatives to net income or operating income under GAAP and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures in other businesses. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure in assessing operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors because it highlights trends in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on GAAP measures and because it eliminates items that have less bearing on our operating performance. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, and they should not be considered a substitute for net income or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP. Additionally, other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.

represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"), adjusted for any impairments and gain on extinguishment of debt. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not represent and should not be considered alternatives to net income or operating income under GAAP and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures in other businesses. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure in assessing operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors because it highlights trends in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on GAAP measures and because it eliminates items that have less bearing on our operating performance. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, and they should not be considered a substitute for net income or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP. Additionally, other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure. Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SXC represents Adjusted EBITDA less Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interests.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release and related conference call contain "forward-looking statements" (as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). Such forward-looking statements include statements that are not strictly historical facts, and include, among other things, statements regarding: our expectations of financial results, condition and outlook; anticipated effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and responses thereto, including the pandemic's impact on general economic and market conditions, as well as on our business, our customers, our results of operations and financial condition; anticipated actions to be taken by management to sustain SunCoke during the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic and related business actions; and anticipated actions by governments to contain the spread of COVID-19 or mitigate the severity thereof.

Forward-looking statements often may be identified by the use of such words as "believe," "expect," "plan," "project," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "may," "will," "should," or the negative of these terms, or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and involve significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties (many of which are beyond the control of SunCoke) that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to domestic and international economic, political, business, operational, competitive, regulatory and/or market factors affecting SunCoke, as well as uncertainties related to: pending or future litigation, legislation or regulatory actions; liability for remedial actions or assessments under existing or future environmental regulations; gains and losses related to acquisition, disposition or impairment of assets; recapitalizations; access to, and costs of, capital; the effects of changes in accounting rules applicable to SunCoke; and changes in tax, environmental and other laws and regulations applicable to SunCoke's businesses.

Currently, such risks and uncertainties also include: SunCoke's ability to manage its business during and after the COVID-19 pandemic; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SunCoke's results of operations, revenues, earnings and cash flows; SunCoke's ability to reduce costs and capital spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; SunCoke's balance sheet and liquidity throughout and following the COVID-19 pandemic; SunCoke's prospects for financial performance and achievement of strategic objectives following the COVID-19 pandemic; capital allocation strategy following the COVID-19-related outbreak; and the general impact on our industry and on the U.S. and global economy resulting from COVID-19, including actions by domestic and foreign governments and others to contain the spread, or mitigate the severity, thereof.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, but are based upon the current knowledge, beliefs and expectations of SunCoke management, and upon assumptions by SunCoke concerning future conditions, any or all of which ultimately may prove to be inaccurate. The reader should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. SunCoke does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update or alter its forward-looking statements (or associated cautionary language), whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this press release except as required by applicable law.

In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, SunCoke has included in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission cautionary language identifying important factors (but not necessarily all the important factors) that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by SunCoke. For information concerning these factors, see SunCoke's Securities and Exchange Commission filings such as its annual and quarterly reports and current reports on Form 8-K, copies of which are available free of charge on SunCoke's website at www.suncoke.com. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by such cautionary statements. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed in this release also could have material adverse effects on forward- looking statements.

SunCoke Energy, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited)





Three Months Ended March 31,



2021

2020



(Dollars and shares in millions,

except per share amounts) Revenues







Sales and other operating revenue

$ 359.9



$ 382.7

Costs and operating expenses







Cost of products sold and operating expenses

274.0



304.4

Selling, general and administrative expenses

15.3



16.2

Depreciation and amortization expense

32.4



34.1

Total costs and operating expenses

321.7



354.7

Operating income

38.2



28.0

Interest expense, net

12.7



14.6

Gain on extinguishment of debt





(2.9)

Income before income tax expense

25.5



16.3

Income tax expense

7.3



10.4

Net income

18.2



5.9

Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests

1.7



1.0

Net income attributable to SunCoke Energy, Inc.

$ 16.5



$ 4.9

Earnings attributable to SunCoke Energy, Inc. per common share:







Basic

$ 0.20



$ 0.06

Diluted

$ 0.20



$ 0.06

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:







Basic

82.8



83.7

Diluted

83.5



83.9



SunCoke Energy, Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheets





March 31, 2021

December 31, 2020



(Unaudited)







(Dollars in millions, except par value amounts) Assets







Cash and cash equivalents

$ 54.0



$ 48.4

Receivables, net

45.8



46.3

Inventories

136.1



126.6

Income tax receivable

1.7



5.5

Other current assets

6.7



2.9

Total current assets

244.3



229.7

Properties, plants and equipment (net of accumulated depreciation of $1065.3

million and $1032.9 million at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,

respectively)

1,304.9



1,328.0

Intangible assets, net

36.7



37.2

Deferred charges and other assets

19.2



18.5

Total assets

$ 1,605.1



$ 1,613.4

Liabilities and Equity







Accounts payable

$ 106.2



$ 104.1

Accrued liabilities

46.0



49.8

Current portion of financing obligation

3.0



3.0

Interest payable

13.0



2.0

Total current liabilities

168.2



158.9

Long-term debt and financing obligation

641.6



673.9

Accrual for black lung benefits

60.9



60.0

Retirement benefit liabilities

24.2



24.7

Deferred income taxes

162.4



159.3

Asset retirement obligations

11.7



11.4

Other deferred credits and liabilities

23.0



24.3

Total liabilities

1,092.0



1,112.5

Equity







Preferred stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized 50,000,000 shares; no issued

shares at both March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020







Common stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized 300,000,000 shares; issued

98,382,357 and 98,177,941 shares at March 31, 2021 and December 31,

2020, respectively

1.0



1.0

Treasury stock, 15,404,482 shares at both March 31, 2021 and December 31,

2020

(184.0)



(184.0)

Additional paid-in capital

715.3



715.7

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(17.7)



(17.1)

Retained deficit

(35.1)



(46.6)

Total SunCoke Energy, Inc. stockholders' equity

479.5



469.0

Noncontrolling interest

33.6



31.9

Total equity

513.1



500.9

Total liabilities and equity

$ 1,605.1



$ 1,613.4



SunCoke Energy, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)





Three Months Ended March 31,



2021

2020













(Dollars in millions) Cash Flows from Operating Activities:







Net income

$ 18.2



$ 5.9

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:







Depreciation and amortization expense

32.4



34.1

Deferred income tax expense

3.1



11.1

Payments in excess of expense for postretirement plan benefits

(0.4)



(0.5)

Share-based compensation expense

0.5



1.1

Gain on extinguishment of debt





(2.9)

Changes in working capital pertaining to operating activities:







Receivables, net

0.5



4.1

Inventories

(8.9)



(3.1)

Accounts payable

12.9



(22.8)

Accrued liabilities

(3.7)



(5.3)

Interest payable

11.0



11.9

Income taxes

3.8



(1.6)

Other

(4.6)



(5.2)

Net cash provided by operating activities

64.8



26.8

Cash Flows from Investing Activities:







Capital expenditures

(20.1)



(22.8)

Net cash used in investing activities

(20.1)



(22.8)

Cash Flows from Financing Activities:







Repayment of long-term debt





(8.9)

Proceeds from revolving facility

161.8



247.2

Repayment of revolving facility

(194.1)



(90.5)

Repayment of financing obligation

(0.7)



(0.7)

Dividends paid

(5.1)



(5.0)

Shares repurchased





(7.0)

Other financing activities

(1.0)



(0.4)

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

(39.1)



134.7

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

5.6



138.7

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

48.4



97.1

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

$ 54.0



$ 235.8

Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information







Interest paid, net of capitalized interest of $0.1 million and zero, respectively

$ 0.5



$ 1.6

Income taxes paid

$ 0.4



$ 0.9



SunCoke Energy, Inc. Segment Financial and Operating Data

The following tables set forth financial and operating data for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively:





Three Months Ended March 31,



2021

2020













(Dollars in millions, except per ton amounts) Sales and other operating revenues:







Domestic Coke

$ 335.3



$ 365.2

Brazil Coke

8.5



8.5

Logistics

16.1



9.0

Logistics intersegment sales

6.6



6.6

Elimination of intersegment sales

(6.6)



(6.6)

Total sales and other operating revenues

$ 359.9



$ 382.7

Adjusted EBITDA(1):







Domestic Coke

$ 63.5



$ 63.4

Brazil Coke

4.5



4.1

Logistics

10.9



3.3

Corporate and Other(2)

(8.3)



(8.7)

Total Adjusted EBITDA

$ 70.6



$ 62.1

Coke Operating Data:







Domestic Coke capacity utilization

101 %

101 % Domestic Coke production volumes (thousands of tons)

1,036



1,069

Domestic Coke sales volumes (thousands of tons)

1,038



1,064

Domestic Coke Adjusted EBITDA per ton(3)

$ 61.18



$ 59.59

Brazilian Coke productionoperated facility (thousands of tons)

417



410

Logistics Operating Data:







Tons handled (thousands of tons)

5,300



4,214







(1) See definition of Adjusted EBITDA and reconciliation to GAAP elsewhere in this release. (2) Corporate and Other includes activity from our legacy coal mining business, which contributed Adjusted EBITDA losses of $1.9 million and $2.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Additionally, Corporate and Other includes foundry related research and development costs of $0.8 million during the three months ended March 31, 2020. (3) Reflects Domestic Coke Adjusted EBITDA divided by Domestic Coke sales volumes.

SunCoke Energy, Inc. Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Information Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA





Three Months Ended March 31,



2021

2020



(Dollars in millions) Net income attributable to SunCoke Energy, Inc.

$ 16.5



$ 4.9

Add: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests

1.7



1.0

Net income

$ 18.2



$ 5.9

Add:







Depreciation and amortization expense

32.4



34.1

Interest expense, net

12.7



14.6

Gain on extinguishment of debt





(2.9)

Income tax expense

7.3



10.4

Adjusted EBITDA

70.6



62.1

Subtract: Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interests(1)

2.6



2.0

Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SunCoke Energy, Inc.

$ 68.0



$ 60.1







(1) Reflects noncontrolling interest in Indiana Harbor.

SunCoke Energy, Inc. Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Information Estimated 2021 Net Income to Estimated Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA





2021



Low

High



(Dollars in millions) Net income

$ 15



$ 35

Add:







Depreciation and amortization expense

137



133

Interest expense, net

55



50

Income tax expense

8



12

Adjusted EBITDA

$ 215



$ 230

Subtract: Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interest(1)

9



9

Adjusted EBITDA attributable to SunCoke Energy, Inc.

$ 206



$ 221







(1) Reflects noncontrolling interest in Indiana Harbor.

SOURCE SunCoke Energy, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.suncoke.com


The Hamilton County Health Department will continue to encourage county residents, businesses, and schools to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations to use a mask and practice physical distancing, even after the mask mandate is lifted Thursday, April 29, 2021.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has affected everyone in our county in one way or another, said Dr. Urrego, Interim Health Officer with the Hamilton County Health Department. As of April 27th, 44,006 cases and 491 deaths have been reported in Hamilton County. Since the first case was identified March of 2020 and throughout the pandemic, the Hamilton County Health Department has recommended and implemented public health measures to mitigate transmission of the SARS-CoV-2. The health departments efforts have and will continue to focus on the health of the residents of Hamilton County.



Mitigation efforts that have proven to be effective in reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 include:



 Wearing a mask



 Physical distancing

 Hand washing

Early in the pandemic, the Health Department recommended these measures and a reduction of cases was seen. When the mask mandate was put in place July 10, 2020 the rising trend of Covid-19 cases stabilized proving the efficacy of masks to reduce transmission. Later in the year, the county had a significant surge in cases that were probably due to inconsistent use of mask wearing and physical distancing combined with increased travel and gatherings for the holidays.



A combination of more consistent practice of mitigation measures and the introduction of vaccines have now brought cases of Covid-19 to levels seen right before the time the mask mandate was originally put in place. Although the cases have significantly decreased compared to the peak of the last surge, the cases remain at a level considered high by the (CDC) and mitigation measures should continue.



This week, the mask mandate is due to expire allowing residents and businesses to choose whether they want to continue with SARS-CoV-2 mitigation measures. The Hamilton County Health Department will continue to encourage county residents, businesses, and schools to follow CDC recommendations to use a mask and practice physical distancing.



The Health Departments recommendations to continue to wear a mask are based on many factors:



 First, the cases in the community remain high and there is evidence of more transmissible variants of the SARS-CoV-2 in our community.



 Second, a significant number of eligible residents have not been vaccinated and remain at risk.

Officials said, "Wearing a mask and physically distancing are effective measures that, when consistently used by everyone, will protect our community."



The Health Departments recommendations of when masks are not needed will follow recent revised guidelines recommended by the CDC.



 Vaccinated people can visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or physically distance.



 Recommendations to wear a mask indoors in public spaces for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals is still recommended.

 Vaccinated people can safely go outdoors without wearing a mask to exercise and gather in small groups as well as dine outdoors - but should still consider wearing a mask when in large outside gatherings.

 Unvaccinated people may also go outdoors to exercise and attend small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated family and friends.

The Health Department encourages those that have not been vaccinated to consider the many activities that are now safe to do without being at risk for getting Covid-19. Vaccination opportunities are readily available in Hamilton County. Those who are interested in learning more can visit the Health Departments website, call the COVID-19 hotline at 423-209-8383, or visitvaccinefinder.org to identify other vaccination sites in Hamilton County.



The Health Departments mask recommendations will be modified and updated as the status of the pandemic evolves.


Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA

Federal investigators have executed a search warrant at a New York office and private apartment belonging to Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of the city and personal lawyer to Donald Trump.

Federal authorities have been examining whether Giuliani illegally lobbied the Trump administration in 2019 on behalf of Ukrainian officials and oligarchs, who at the same time were helping him search for dirt on Trumps political rivals.

Investigators had seized some of Giulianis electronic devices from the Upper East Side residence, and from his law office on Park Avenue, early on Wednesday, the New York Times reported.

Giulianis own lawyer, Robert Costello, condemned the raids as legal thuggery, claiming his client had cooperated with prosecutors and offered to answer questions not involving his privileged communications with Trump.

What they did today was legal thuggery. Why would you do this to anyone, let alone someone who was the associate attorney general, United States attorney, the mayor of New York City and the personal lawyer to the 45th president of the United States, he told the Wall Street Journal.

Giuliani posted, then deleted, a tweet saying he would be giving a live statement about the raids during his afternoon radio show on WABC radio. When the show started at 3pm, Giuliani was missing and a guest host, Dominic Carter, was presenting.

Giuliani was considered a heroic figure in New York politics for his role as a top mafia prosecutor and then as mayor during the 9/11 terror attacks. But his reputation nosedived during the Trump era as he became embroiled in numerous scandals involving the administration and his role as one of Trumps most fervent cheerleaders and attack dogs.

In the infamous quid pro quo episode, officials in Ukraine were alleged to be simultaneously attempting to dig up dirt on Trumps political rivals, including Joe Biden, who was shortly to become the Democratic partys presidential nominee.

Story continues

Related: Trump and Giuliani sued by Democratic congressman over Capitol riot

Bidens son, Hunter, had business dealings in Ukraine when his father was Barack Obamas vice-president earlier in the decade, including a seat on the board of Burisma, one of the countrys largest energy companies.

The Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara) makes it a federal crime to try to influence or lobby the US government at the request of a foreign official without informing the justice department.

Giuliani was back at the heart of the news cycle after the 2020 presidential election last November. He was a leading proponent of the big lie, Trumps false claim that the election was stolen from him by widespread fraud in the voting process.

Giuliani became something of a laughing stock when he represented Trump in numerous failed legal challenges to the election result and made inept appearances in court and at press conferences.

But the anti-democratic campaign ultimately led to the 6 January insurrection by Trump supporters at the US Capitol, during which five people lost their lives.

According to the New York Times, the US attorneys office in Manhattan and the FBI have been seeking a search warrant for Giulianis phones for months, which officials in Trumps justice department continually sought to block.

Following Trumps departure from office in January, and confirmation in March by the US Senate of Bidens pick Merrick Garland as attorney general, the justice department dropped its opposition.

The Times noted that while the warrant is not an explicit accusation of wrongdoing against Giuliani, it showed the investigation was entering an aggressive new phase. The newspaper contacted the FBI and US attorneys office, both of which, it said, declined to comment.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Michael Cohen, Trumps former personal attorney who was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion, campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress, and who has since become a Trump critic, said simply: Here we go folks!!!

The New York Times further reported that the FBI also served a search warrant Wednesday on the Washington DC home of attorney Victoria Toensing, an associate of Giuliani and reported contact of Ukraine officials who were looking into the Bidens. Toensing, the newspaper said, has previously represented Dimitry Fitash, a Ukrainian energy billionaire with alleged mob contacts who is under indictment in the US for bribery.

The Wall Street Journal said Costello told its reporters that authorities arrived at Giulianis apartment at 6am and seized his devices.

He said the search warrant described the investigation as a probe into a possible violation of foreign lobbying rules and sought communications between Mr Giuliani and individuals including John Solomon, a columnist who was corresponding with Mr Giuliani about his effort to push for investigations of Joe Biden in Ukraine.

Solomon, a conservative political operative and Giuliani ally, has been accused of using his columns in the Hill to help spread disinformation about the Bidens dealings in Ukraine, his writing earning praise from Trump and his acolytes, who called them worthy of a Pulitzer.

The Hill, meanwhile, decided in 2018 to classify Solomons future contributions as opinion.

Costello added that in recent years he had offered to answer investigators questions as long as they agreed to say what area they were looking at ahead of time. He said they declined the offer. Its like Im talking to a wall, Costello said.

Prosecutors began looking into Giuliani after building an unrelated case against Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two Soviet-born American citizens alleged to have aided his efforts in Ukraine and later charged with crimes including conspiracy and campaign finance violations.

The Times said the investigators were looking into Giulianis push to remove the then US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, whom Trump considered disloyal and obstructive, and whom he removed in May 2019.

The Ukraine scandal, and Trumps dark prediction during his notorious July 2019 call with the countrys president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that Yovanovitch was going to go through some things, was the subject of Trumps first impeachment trial.

 This article was amended on 29 April 2021. Volodymyr Zelensky is the president of Ukraine, not the prime minister as an earlier version stated.
Marketing startup Iterable dismissed its chief executive officer over violations of company policy, Iterable said in a note to employees on Monday.

The fired CEO, Justin Zhu, said the boards chief reason for ousting him was that he took LSD, an illegal drug in the US, before a meeting in 2019. Zhu said he was experimenting by taking a limited amount of the drug, or microdosing, in an effort to boost his focus.

Ousted Iterable CEO Justin Zhu said he was microdosing LDS in an attempt to boost his focus. Credit:Shutterstock/AFR

In an email to staff, co-founder Andrew Boni said Zhus dismissal was over unspecified violations of Iterables Employee Handbook, policies and values. The board replaced Zhu with Boni as CEO, Boni wrote. A spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based company didnt immediately provide a comment.

Zhus behaviour also undermined the boards confidence in Justins ability to lead the company going forward, Boni wrote in his note, obtained by Bloomberg. He also described Zhu as a world-class innovator and creative thinker whose vision, creativity and passion will remain a core part of our culture.
Burma Protesters in Myanmars Biggest City Return With Guerrilla-Style Tactics

Anti-regime protesters stage a surprise march in Sanchaung, Yangon on Tuesday. / The Irrawaddy

The streets of Myanmars commercial capital, Yangon, have seen a limited resumption of protest activity after more than three weeks of relative calm due to brutal crackdowns by junta forces, including the use of explosives.

In the 57 days between Feb. 1 and March 29, around 210 anti-regime protesters, residents and bystanders were killed by the regimes police and soldiers in the commercial capital.

On March, 29, regime forces even used heavy explosives in cracking down on an anti-regime protest in Yangons South Dagon Township, killing at least 15 protesters.

Since then, anti-regime protests have been few and far between in Yangon due to the heavy presence of junta forces and widespread arrests of protesters. Military troops have been deployed in every township.

Meanwhile, many of the youths who were once on the frontlines protecting protesters from crackdowns have joined ethnic armed organizations in the countryside to learn military training in order to fight back against the juntas forces.

While there have been no planned, full-scale protests for the past three weeks, the capital has seen a number of small-scale, spontaneous anti-regime demonstrations pop up in many townships.

On April 23, several dozen anti-regime protesters returned to the streets of downtown Yangon to call for democracy a day before Myanmar military coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing left to attend an ASEAN summit in Indonesia.

Since then, a series of guerilla-style protests have been seen on the streets of Kyauktada, Sanchaung, Ahlone, Hlaing, Kamayut, Dawbon, Thaketa, Tarmwe, Insein and Hlaign Tharyar townships.

More than 200 anti-regime protesters staged a surprise march on the streets of Yangons Sanchuang Township on Tuesday.

To show their support for the protest, many residents joined in, while street vendors and residents of surrounding apartments clapped and flashed three-finger salutes.

A 30-year-old protester who helped organize some guerilla anti-regime protests in the city told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that protesters are returning to streets in order to show that people still do not accept military rule in the city.

When asked about the risk of being shot or arrested, the protester said, We are scared as we cant defend ourselves from them anymore. But, we will have to live a lifetime of fear if we stay at home. So, we decided to fight, he said.

The protester said he and all his family members had to flee their homes in fear of raids after an arrest warrant was issued for him by the junta for his involvement in anti-regime activities.

Now, I am on the streets and I have lost my future. The only thing in my mind is to achieve victory in our fight [for democracy]. So, we will fight till the end [of military rule], said the protester.

The Association of South East Asian Nations urged Myanmars coup leader to end the violence in the country and seek a political resolution to the crisis through dialog at their summit in Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday.

However, coup leader Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said only that the junta will consider constructive suggestions from ASEAN once the situation returns to stability in the country.

The military regime has continued its brutal killings and arrests of anti-regime protesters and civilians.

As of Tuesday, more than 750 people have been killed by the juntas forces during their crackdowns, raids, arrests, interrogations and random shootings, said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) which has been compiling data on arrests and deaths since the Feb. 1 coup.

Those killed include anti-regime protesters, NLD party members, bystanders, pedestrians and residents.

More than 3,440 people including elected leaders, NLD party members, election commissioners, protesters, activists, doctors, journalist, writers, artists, teachers and civilians have been detained.

Amid the brutal killings and arrests, people across the country have taken to the streets to protest against the military regime using various methods.



You may also like these stories:

Civilian Resistance Fighters Kill Three Myanmar Regimes Troops

Myanmar Junta Forces Detain Mother and Brother of Bomb Suspect in Pyay

US Senators Call for Sanctions on Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise
The Young Parliamentarians Forum (YPF) has urged young Members of Parliament (MPs) nominated for ministerial appointments to give their best to lift the image of the forum.



To our colleague young MPs, ministers and deputy ministers designate, you are proof that good things come to those who are willing to sacrifice to achieve higher goals, as this new portfolio would be a good match for your skills and dedication.



Remember, to whom much is given, much is expected. Leadership and Members of the Young Parliamentarians Forum (YPF) are hopeful that this opportunity given to our young men and women would go a long way in strengthening and increasing the quantitative and qualitative participation of the Ghanaian youth in order to eradicate poverty, foster growth and ensure that the youth remain the most critical and influencing stakeholder in national development, a statement issued in Accra and signed by the Vice-President of YPF, Ms Betty Nana Afua Krosbi Mensah, who is also MP, Afram Plains North, said.



Presidents confidence



The statement said the Presidents nomination of young people demonstrated his certainty in the young MPs and also buttressed his resolve in building a better future with deserving youth ambassadors.



While congratulating the appointees, it also commended the President for following the example of his predecessors.



Nominees



Some of the young MPs nominated and subsequently assuming various ministerial portfolios after Parliamentary approvals include: Sarah Adjoa Safo, MP for Dome Kwabenya and Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, MP for Ofoase-Ayeribi and Minister for Information, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, MP for Damongo and Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Francis Asenso-Boakye, MP for Bantama and Minister for Works and Housing.



The group was elated that President Akufo-Addo also nominated Mr George Mireku Duker, President of YPF and MP for Tarkwa- Nsuaem as Deputy Minister Designate for Lands and Natural Resources.



It said Mr Mireku Dukers versatility, dedication and exemplary leadership qualities earned him several successes in his political career which they were proud of.



Other members of the YPF nominated by President Akufo-Addo include Ms Mavis Nkansa Boadu, MP for Afigya Sekyere East, Deputy Minister Designate for Roads and Highways, Nana Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, MP for Akwapim North, Deputy Minister-Designate for Trade and Industry, Rev. John Ntim Fodjour, MP for Assin South, Deputy Minister Designate for Education among others.











Source: graphiconline.com









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[April 27, 2021] Huawei Named to TIME's First Annual TIME100 Companies PLANO, Texas, April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei was named to TIME's first annual TIME100 Companies, as a top disruptor advancing transformative technology that betters society. As a top company on the Fortune 500 list, the inclusion of Huawei as a TIME100 company further cements the company's reputation as an award-winning telecommunications innovator on the global stage. In the inaugural year of TIME100 Companies, the list commends organizations shifting their attention toward the positive role they can play within society. TIME recognizes the corporate innovators, pioneers, disruptors, titans and leaders who are shaping the world today, focusing on impact and relevance rather than size or scale. Despite the unique challenges brought on by COVID-19 and U.S. sanctions in 2020, Huawei raised its net profit by 3.2% year-on-year as recently announced via its annual report. Since its inception more than 30 years ago, Huawei has been investing at least 10% of its revenue each year into R&D, with a $22 billion investment in 2020 alone. Additionally, more than half of Huawei's employees are dedicated to R&D. Furthermore, over the past 30 years, Huawei has continuously prioritized business transformation as well as process and IT implementation. As a result, the company has seen stable development, rapid growth, expansion from China to the world, and diversification from a single business to multiple business groups servin a variety of customers and industries. "Since 100% of our company is owned by employees, our global workforce is the source of Huawei's strength and stability," said Joy Tan, SVP of Public Affairs. "With more than 190,000 employees across 170 countries, Huawei is able to continue pushing the limits of innovation and empowering our employees while staying committed to its mission to bring digital to every person, home and organization." The fourth industrial revolution will open up new waves of innovation and economic growth through established and emerging technologies. Huawei is committed to developing and promoting these technologies, including cloud computing, 5G, and the Internet of Things, and as a result, has over 100,000 active patents and counting. Recently, Huawei shared its insights on industry trends and the applications of solutions in specific industry scenarios at the Huawei Global Analyst Summit (HAS), helping customers from all kinds of industries to create new value together. Huawei will continue to enable joint innovation, build open ecosystems, and achieve shared success with all types of partners, building innovative, scenario-specific solutions based on Intelligent Twins as technology architecture. Doing so, the company supports intelligent industrial upgrades and facilitates digital transformation for all industries including automotive, energy, education, healthcare and financial services. By the end of 2020, more than 700 cities and 253 Fortune 500 companies selected Huawei as their digital transformation partner. As a TIME100 company, Huawei will continue to connect the world via invaluable and intelligent technology. Through investment in sustainable initiatives and cutting-edge solutions, Huawei will shift society toward a digital future that leaves no one behind. For more information and to view the TIME100 Companies, visit: TIME.com/collection/time100-companies. About Huawei

Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains  telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services  we are committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. Huawei's end-to-end portfolio of products, solutions and services are both competitive and secure. Through open collaboration with ecosystem partners, we create lasting value for our customers, working to empower people, enrich home life, and inspire innovation in organizations of all shapes and sizes. At Huawei, innovation focuses on customer needs. We invest heavily in basic research, concentrating on technological breakthroughs that drive the world forward. We have more than 188,000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees. For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com or follow us on: http://www.linkedin.com/company/Huawei

http://www.twitter.com/Huawei

http://www.facebook.com/Huawei

http://www.youtube.com/Huawei Contact: Kimberlee Bradshaw Archibald / kbradsha@huawei.us View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/huawei-named-to-times-first-annual-time100-companies-301278280.html SOURCE Huawei Technologies USA

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The total number of migrants who have crossed the Channel has hit the 2,000 mark and is three times more than this time last year, figures have revealed.

Border Force agents detained more than 200 migrants attempting to cross the Channel yesterday in nine separate incidents.

A total of 209 migrants were picked up by officers as they attempted the crossing in small boats - a new daily record for 2021.

People smugglers took advantage of calm conditions to attempt the treacherous 21-mile crossing of the Dover Straits - the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

Meanwhile, French authorities picked up 166 migrants and prevented them from leaving, which means the total number who tried to cross was 375.

The daily figures recorded yesterday takes the total number of migrants who have arrived in the UK so far this year up to at least 2,000.

Border Force detained more than 200 migrants attempting to cross the Channel yesterday in nine separate incidents. Pictured: A group of migrants brought into Dover Marina in Kent

In total 209 migrants were picked up as they attempted crossing - a new daily record for 2021

Smugglers took advantage of calm conditions to attempt the 21-mile crossing of the Dover Straits. Pictured: A Border Force vessel is seen bringing a group of migrants into Dover

This migrant received a helping hand as they clambered out of a patrol boat in Dover, Kent

French authorities arrested two individuals in relation to small boat crossings.

The first was just south of Boulogne. A van was stopped and found to contain two boats and two engines and the driver arrested.

The second was in a similar area when an estate vehicle was stopped and found to contain a boat, an engine and fuel.

Additionally two separate material finds on the evening of the 26th of a concealed boat and a concealed engine add to the eight finds of concealed boats and engines the week prior.

A Home Office spokesperson said yesterday: 'We are working closely with our partners in France to stop migrants from leaving French beaches.

'More than 2,000 people have been prevented from making dangerous crossings so far this year, including 166 overnight and today.

'Also overnight, French authorities arrested two individuals found with evidence of intention to facilitate small boat crossings, and confiscated a further two hidden boats this week.

Number of migrants who reached UK by illegally crossing Channel has risen 192% year-on-year

A number of migrants stand huddled together at Dover Marina after being brought ashore by Border Force officers

Border Force agents help lift one migrant out of a vessel and onto dry land in Dover yesterday

'We acknowledge there is more work to be done, which is why we are bringing forward our New Plan for Immigration to break the business model of people smugglers who put lives at risk by facilitating dangerous journeys into the UK and overhaul our broken asylum system.'

The previous daily record for attempted migrant crossings this year had been 183 on March 23.

There were 1,850 migrants detained recorded for the entire year in 2019.

In 2020 there were a record 8,410 migrants detained reaching the UK across the Channel in small boats compared to 2019.

But the latest figures have heightened fears that this total will be surpassed this year despite the increase in funding and resources to tackle the problem.

The National Crime Agency has issued an alert to the UK maritime industry, warning them that organised crime groups may target them to obtain small boats for people smugglers.

A migrant is guided up a ramp towards dry land yesterday after officials detained a group

A migrant, wearing a high-visibility jacket walks up a ramp in Dover after being brought ashore

The alert warns that since global Covid-19 lockdown measures were imposed in March 2020 the number of migrants attempting to enter the UK using small boats has rocketed.

The NCA says UK law enforcement detected in excess of eight thousand migrant arrivals throughout 2020 and that this has led to a rise in demand for vessels to aid migrant Channel crossings, with demand likely to continue as weather conditions improve through spring and summer.

It says organised crime groups are known to target legitimate sellers of vessels and equipment such as outboard motors and life jackets, both in person and online.

There are also incidents recorded of boats and equipment being stolen.

The NCA has conducted a number of operations targeting those who supply boats to people smugglers, but the agency is asking those in the industry to report concerns or suspicious activity relating to the purchase of boat equipment.

NCA Head of Organised Immigration Crime Operations, Miles Bonfield, said: 'Today we are directly appealing to those within the marine and maritime industries to help us stop those involved in organised people smuggling.

A view of boats used to cross the channel are stored at a warehouse facility in Dover after being intercepted in The Channel by Border Force as attempts to make the crossing continue

The NCA says since the pandemic began, crossing attempts have increased significantly as it issues a warning to the maritime industry to look out for those involved in organised crime

'Crossing the channel in vessels like these is extremely dangerous and life threatening  but the organised crime groups involved don't care about safety or welfare, they just see migrants as a commodity to be exploited.

'We're already working closely with a range of partners in the UK and on the continent to target the supply of these vessels, but we are now asking that the UK industry helps us and report any suspicions they may have.'

Officers have listed warning signs to look out for including cash being used in large sums to make payment, an unusual combination of boats and equipment in one transaction, enquiries about bulk purchase of equipment such as life jackets and a lack of concern about the condition of boats and equipment.

Lesley Robinson, CEO of British Marine, the trade association for the UK leisure, superyacht and small commercial marine industry, commented:

'We are pleased to be working with the NCA to help raise awareness of this concerning issue and to reduce criminal activity.

'The NCA plays a key role in supporting the security and safety of the marine industry, and today's warning about organised crime linked to small boats in particular is ultimately a safety issue and one that British Marine and our members take very seriously.

'The UK leisure marine industry must always play it's part and I am confident that British Marine members will take the lead in this area and share the warning and 'red flags' to be mindful of within their businesses.'
Britain's extortionate twice-a-week coronavirus testing blitz has been a waste of money, critics warned today.

Boris Johnson launched the near-3billion scheme at the start of the month, with everyone in England able to get two free lateral flow tests every week regardless of whether they have symptoms.

The kits, previously only routinely used in schools, hospitals and care homes, can either be shipped to people's homes or picked up in a local pharmacy free of charge.

The scheme  a watered down version of No10's ambitious 'Operation Moonshot' 10million-tests-a-day project  launched on April 9. Matt Hancock said at the time it would be 'one of our most effective weapons in tackling this virus'.

But data from the Government's Covid dashboard shows only about 100,000 extra lateral flow kits are being used every day since its introduction, averaging around 800,000.

Officials also won't say how many are from people picking up the tests themselves  some of the increase could be down to businesses offering employees tests under the Government-backed scheme.

High street chemist Superdrug told MailOnline just 12,000 kits have been handed out over the last 16 days across 176 of its English pharmacies. That works out at a rate of 4.2 kits  which include seven tests  being collected per pharmacy each day.

Around 10,000 pharmacies are signed up to the scheme in England in total.

Boots said uptake of the tests at its stores had been substantial, but admitted there are still 'plenty available for asymptomatic customers'.

Dr Angela Raffle, a public health expert from Bristol University, told MailOnline the biweekly testing programme was a 'waste of taxpayers' money'. And the Institute of Economic Affairs think tank said it seemed 'excessively expensive'.

Meanwhile, Labour's shadow health minister Justin Madders said the Government must do 'all they can to publicise this scheme' in the face of low uptake.

Dr Angela Raffle, a public health expert from Bristol University, told MailOnline the Government's near-3billion scheme twice-weekly free rapid testing scheme is a 'waste of taxpayers' money'

Dr Raffle said: 'It is misleading to tell everyone this is wonderful and this is going to mean lockdown can be eased.

'Nobody with any experience in public health outbreak control or pandemic responses has ever said 'let's test lots of low risk people with an approach that's never been evaluated'.'

Dr Raffle, a staunch critic of lateral flow kits, and others have pointed out that the devices can be highly inaccurate and often give people the wrong result.

This can lead to needless self-isolating, or, worse, infected people taking risks because they have falsely tested negative.

She added: 'If you've been following the rules and social distancing why would you take an [inaccurate] test twice weekly?'

And Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, said he was not surprised so few people appeared to be using the rapid kits.

He told MailOnline: 'I wouldn't expect to see massive uptake voluntarily. I don't see why someone who doesn't have symptoms and doesn't have any signs [of illness] would take one.'

Mr Snowdon added that even though uptake appeared to be low among the general public, he does not 'see them gathering dust for too long'.

Data from the Government's Covid dashboard shows show only 100,000 extra lateral flow kits are being used every day since the introduction of the scheme, a watered down version of No10's ambitious 'Operation Moonshot'

The biweekly testing scheme has also been mired in controversy due to concerns about the accuracy of the lateral flow devices.

No10 has put kits made by Californian-firm Innova - owned by Chinese-born American businessman Charles Huang, who was born in the pandemic's epicentre Wuhan - at the heart of the programme.

Ministers spent 2.8billion on hundreds of millions of the kits, which give a result in 30 minutes. They have been shown to miss infectious people up to 40 per cent of the time.

Britain's medical watchdog the MHRA has accused ministers of 'stretching the rules' around the approval of Innova's tests.

It initially approved them to be used in schools and hospitals to find cases, not green light people enjoying more freedoms. Regulators believe ministers are blurring the line between the two.

Britain's drugs watchdog accuses No10 of 'stretching' approval rules of lateral flow tests Britain's medical regulator has accused ministers of 'stretching' its approval of controversial lateral flow tests for coronavirus. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warned the way they are currently being used risks infected people assuming they are clear and safe to mingle with others. Regulators approved the controversial kits - which give a result in under half an hour - to be used as a way to find Covid cases, helping to keep schools and workplaces Covid-free after lockdown. But due to fears about the accuracy of the tests, the MHRA stressed they were not to be seen as a 'green light' for those who test negative to enjoy greater freedoms. The MHRA has expressed concern that the Government's universal testing programme may blur the line between the two. It warned the twice-weekly testing regime unveiled earlier this month was 'a stretch' of the rules for how the tests should be used. Boris Johnson today doubled-down on the tests, however, saying they 'offer great prospects' for the UK and are 'very useful' n helping to isolate cases. The Government has been criticised for rolling the lateral flow devices out for people to do themselves, despite manufacturers admitting they are built for professional use and on people with symptoms. Numerous studies have shown the kits are far less accurate when self-administered and leaked Department of Health emails earlier this month revealed senior officials fear they only pick up on 10 per cent of infections when done this way. No10 has spent more than 2billion so far on the tests, which were initially used to in schools and offices but are now available to everyone. Advertisement

The MHRA has raised the concerns with Matt Hancock's Department of Health, asking officials to produce more accurate data about how reliable they are when they are self-administers, which is the primary way they are being deployed across the country under the new two-test scheme.

Figures show the average number of rapid lateral flow devices being used overall in England has increased since since the scheme launched on April 9, rising from 662,674 to 794,319 by April 23.

But schools  where rapid tests have been in use since children returned to classrooms in March reopened after the Easter break during the same period, so it is not possible to tell how much of this increase has come as a result of the scheme.

And the number of rapid tests being deployed each day is still far lower than its peak on March 21, when the seven-day average reached more than 1million.

Likewise, when the free rapid testing scheme includes free tests for businesses, so it is not possible to determine how much an increase in testing is actually coming from people picking up tests for themselves and family members at pharmacies or in the post.

Labour's shadow health minister Justin Madders said: 'Regular testing is a vital tool in our fight against Covid as the country begins to open up further.

'Its vital that Ministers do all they can to publicise this scheme and make it as accessible as possible.'

Meanwhile pharmacies supplying the tests say there are still 'plenty' of tests available in stock.

A Boots spokesperson said: 'Since we began the free NHS Lateral Flow Device distribution service in over 1,500 Boots stores, we're pleased to say that there has been a substantial uptake from the public.

'We still have plenty available for asymptomatic customers to pick up in selected stores, as and when they need them.'

Superdrug said: 'Our customers have been very positive at being able to easily access the free rapid testing scheme at 176 of our pharmacies located in England.

'They have been available at these pharmacies since April 12, 2021, and over 12,000 test kits have been handed out over the last three weeks.

'Theres good availability of the rapid test kits in all of our English pharmacies.'

The Department of Health and Social Care said the scheme was launched in line with clinical guidance and the department is working to provide 'the most useful statistics' around rapid test uptake.

A spokesperson said: 'With around one in three people not showing symptoms of Covid, regular, rapid testing is an essential tool to control the spread of the virus as restrictions ease by picking up cases that would not otherwise have been detected.

'Everyone in England can now access rapid testing twice a week, in line with clinical guidance.

'NHS Test and Trace provides a range of statistics and we are working with the country's official statisticians to provide the most useful statistics around take up of LFDs.'

The lateral flow kits available on the new scheme are free of charge and dished out at approved testing sites, more than 5,000 pharmacies and by post. People can collect tests for up to four household members at a time.

Boots told MailOnline people can turn up to the pharmacy on the day and do not need to pre-book their tests in advance.

In an effort to kick-start the huge testing blitz, a major public information campaign featuring NHS staff has been launched across TV, radio and social media.

Mr Hancock said at the time: 'Around one in three people have coronavirus without any symptoms, so getting tested regularly is one of the simplest and easiest ways we can keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

'I'd encourage everyone to take up the offer and test twice a week.

'Alongside the successful rollout of the vaccination programme, rapid testing will be one of our most effective weapons in tackling this virus and ensuring we can cautiously reopen our economy and parts of society that we have all missed.

'The British people have made a tremendous effort throughout the pandemic and I am confident they will do the same now by taking up this offer of free, rapid tests.'
London: Britains electoral commission has opened an investigation into the way Boris Johnson funded a redecoration of his official residence in Downing Street, saying there were grounds to suspect an offence may have been committed.

The Prime Minister, when grilled on the issue in the Commons, did not deny that a Conservative Party donor initially paid for a 200,000 ($358,000) renovation of his official living quarters.

Boris Johnson is facing an investigation into the funding of a refurbishment of his official residence. Credit:Getty Images

Johnson lives in the flat above Number 11 Downing Street, which is bigger than the flat above Number 10, with his fiancee Carrie Symonds and their son Wilfred, who turned 1 on Thursday, and their dog Dilyn.

He has already ordered his Cabinet Secretary to review the funding arrangement, but is now facing an investigation by the independent electoral commission.
AKRON, Ohio  A fire Tuesday night heavily damaged a multiunit building in the North Hill neighborhood, leaving seven people without a home.

Akron firefighters were called to the residence on the 100 block of East Cuyahoga Falls Avenue just after 7 p.m. When they arrived, there were heavy flames and smoke coming from the building, according to a fire department report.

Firefighters initially were told that two people were trapped on the second floor of the building. A search of the building revealed no one was inside. There were no injuries and the fire was under control by 7:30 p.m.

Two of the buildings five units were destroyed and the remaining three units had heavy smoke damage, the report shows. The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the seven people who lived in the building.

The cause of the fire and the estimated cost of the damages were not listed on the report.

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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.

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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.
India's mismanagement of the second wave has led to widespread panic and deaths due to a shortage of crucial resources.

Need an oxygen cylinder urgently in Noida, reads one tweet, scroll down and another one asks, Any leads on ventilator beds in Patna? Ever since the second wave of COVID-19 made its wrath felt in India, social media platforms like Twitter have become an impromptu aggregator for crucial resources like beds, medication, vaccines and now even crematorium availability.

Last year we were not prepared for the pandemic, people were facing the issue for the first time and even the government wasnt sure of what had to be done, says Mishika Singh, a Delhi-based human rights lawyer. A year later, mismanagement has taken thousands of lives across the country as the pandemic rages on and health services are pushed to the brink. Singh is the force behind a major petition demanding that the government create a centrally updated database with information on beds, oxygen, medication, and other urgent resources.

She pointed out that one of the main apps that have been pushed by the government is Aarogya Setu which allows people to find out whether they have been in contact with anyone who is COVID-19 positive or if anyone has tested positive in their vicinity. But, even that has been largely inefficient with people sharing that the app hasnt shown them any warnings even when their own families and neighbours tested positive.

Singhs petition has been addressed to the Prime Ministers Office as well as the Health Minister. Singh has also personally written to Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan with her recommendations.

The petition was started to have basic COVID-19 protocols, built into Aarogya Setu, says Singh, explaining that since it was mandatory for people to have it, it would be easier than building a new database or app. The idea was to have the app indicate how many COVID hospitals were nearest to the person, availability of beds as well as non-COVID hospitals for other emergencies, she remarks.

Speaking about what sparked the idea, she says, I had people around me who didnt know what their rights were. After testing positive, Singhs friend in Uttar Pradesh called her out of panic because theyd received a notice saying that they would be picked up and taken to a facility but they couldnt leave their elderly family members alone. How do you assert a right that no one has told you exists, she asks. Thats how the petition started to demand that relevant information be provided.

Need for a proactive government response

The need for the centralised database has become more severe with the new wave with thousands of lives being lost to a shortage of life-saving resources. Singhs petition has been addressed to the Prime Ministers Office as well as the Health Minister. Singh has also personally written to Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan with her recommendations.

While health is a state subject which implies that state authorities are to be responsible for its management, earlier last year, the Union government invoked its powers under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to enhance the preparedness and containment of COVID-19 at hospitals.

However, some states have fared much better in their capabilities to delegate resources more efficiently. In Mumbai, where the cases had shot up initially, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) set up a COVID-19 war room which helps in triaging patients. An all-Mumbai BMC dashboard provides real-time updates of bed availability across all COVID facilities. Handlers manage incoming calls and classify patients depending on the severity of their infection and liaise with hospitals depending on the availability of beds and other requirements. States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala too follow similar protocols and were able to exercise better control over the situation, thereby preventing widespread panic and deaths unlike in other states.

Read more: Busting Myths: Getting A COVID Jab During Menstruation Is Absolutely Safe, Say Experts

On Twitter and WhatsApp, every group that Im a part of has become an SOS group, says Singh, noting that in emergency situations, people are forced to call over 2,000 numbers to frantically secure a hospital bed for their loved ones. Everyone is looking for verified leads but what is verified now, after two hours could become unavailable or out of stock, she remarks. She points to Delhis dashboard, which is only for hospital beds and is missing out on other key elements like medication and oxygen cylinder availability. She insists that the government needs to put everything in one place and keep verifying it. Its literally the governments job, it shouldnt be school and college students coming together and verifying each number, she says.

The second wave has only deepened the gap between urban populations  who have access to the internet to be able to find resources  and the rural population whose voices and demands are still going unheard. I dont understand why a central database is not being made, the only reason I can understand is lack of intent which is very scary, says Singh. Its not a mammoth task and if people like us can do it, then whats stopping the government, she questions.

(Edited by Amrita Ghosh)
DALLAS, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SC) ("SC" or the "Company") today announced net income for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 ("Q1 2021") of $742 million, or $2.42 per diluted common share.

On April 27, 2021, Santander Holdings USA, Inc. received an exception to the extended interim policy (the "Interim Policy") from the Federal Reserve. As a result, the SC Board of Directors will consider declaring a dividend during the second quarter 2021.

Management Quotes

"Our first quarter results demonstrate the strength of our business model and our people, supported by unprecedented government assistance, resilient consumers and the continued outperformance of the auto industry. All these factors led to record first quarter results, including $742 million in net income, $8.6 billion in loan and lease originations and continued improvement in key credit indicators. We remain dedicated to supporting all of our dealers, our OEM partner, Stellantis, and our customers and employees as we manage through the economic recovery," said Mahesh Aditya, SC President and CEO.

Fahmi Karam, SC Chief Financial Officer, added, "Our first quarter earnings are a result of disciplined underwriting and risk management before and during the pandemic, strong market share across our dealers, low losses and record used car prices. The quarter was also highlighted by more than $7.0 billion of funding through a series of on and off-balance sheet transactions which will lead to a more efficient balance sheet. We sold our held for sale, unsecured personal loan portfolio, and entered into a forward flow agreement to fund future receivables. We also added approximately $2.5 billion to our serviced for others portfolio, driven by prime loan sales to third parties. Our liquidity and capital levels remain robust, and position the company to continue to manage the remaining uncertainty in the economy, while also driving shareholder value."

Strategic Highlights & Balance Sheet Optimization

Termination of the Federal Reserve Written Agreement dated March 21, 2017

Declared and paid a $0.22 ordinary dividend and a $0.22 special dividend in March 2021

ordinary dividend and a special dividend in Sold ~$1.3 billion held for sale, personal loan portfolio as well as entered into a forward flow agreement to fund 00future obligations

held for sale, personal loan portfolio as well as entered into a forward flow agreement to fund 00future obligations Executed ~$2.4 billion in off-balance sheet prime loan sales, adding to the serviced for others platform

in off-balance sheet prime loan sales, adding to the serviced for others platform Issued ~$3.5 billion of asset-backed securities

of asset-backed securities Named Bruce Jackson as Head of Chrysler Capital & Auto Relationships

First Quarter of 2021 Highlights (variances compared to first quarter of 2020 ("Q1 2020"), unless otherwise noted)

Net Income of $742 million

Total auto originations of $8.6 billion , up 24%

, up 24% Core retail auto loan originations of $2.8 billion , up 21%

, up 21%

Chrysler Capital loan originations of $3.7 billion , up 40%

, up 40%

Chrysler Capital lease originations of $2.2 billion , up 7%

, up 7%

Chrysler average quarterly penetration rate of 36%, down from 39%



Santander Bank , N.A. program originations of $2.0 billion

, N.A. program originations of Net finance and other interest income 2 of $1.4 billion , up 19%

of , up 19% 30-59 delinquency ratio of 4.4%, down 390 basis points

59-plus delinquency ratio 1 of 2.2%, down 240 basis points

of 2.2%, down 240 basis points Retail Installment Contract ("RIC") gross charge-off ratio of 9.7%, down 580 basis points

Recovery rate of 69.1%, up from 50.1%

RIC net charge-off ratio 3 of 3.0%, down 470 basis points

of 3.0%, down 470 basis points Allowance ratio of 18.9%, up from 18.5% as of December 31, 2020

Troubled Debt Restructuring ("TDR") balance of $4.4 billion , up from $3.9 billion as of December 31, 2020

, up from as of Return on average assets ("ROA") of 6.1%

Expense ratio of 1.8%, down 10 basis points

Common equity tier 1 ("CET1") ratio of 16.5%

1 Delinquency Ratio is defined as the ratio of end of period delinquent principal, over 59 days, to end of period gross balance of the respective portfolio, excludes finance leases. 2 Includes Finance receivables held for investment, Finance receivables held for sale and Leased vehicles. 3 Net Charge-Off Ratio stated on a recorded investment basis, which is unpaid principal balance adjusted for unaccreted net discounts, subvention and origination costs.

Conference Call Information

SC will host a conference call and webcast to discuss its Q1 2021 results and other general matters at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The conference call will be accessible by dialing 1-866-548-4713 (U.S. domestic), or 1-323-794-2093 (international), conference ID 1344654. Please join 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. The conference call will also be accessible via live audio webcast through the Investor Relations section of SC's corporate website at http://investors.santanderconsumerusa.com . Choose "Events" and select the information pertaining to the Q1 2021 SC Earnings Conference Call. Additionally, there will be slides accompanying the webcast. Please allow at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary software prior to the call.

For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, a replay of the call will be available on the Company's website or by dialing 1-844-512-2921 (U.S. domestic), or 1-412-317-6671 (international), conference ID 1344654, approximately two hours after the conference call. An audio webcast of the call and investor presentation will also be archived on the Investor Relations section of SC's corporate website at http://investors.santanderconsumerusa.com , under "Events".

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives, assumptions, or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as anticipates, believes, can, could, may, predicts, potential, should, will, estimates, plans, projects, continuing, ongoing, expects, intends, and similar words or phrases. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on various important factors, some of which are beyond our control. For additional discussion of these risks, refer to the section entitled Risk Factors and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K, or other applicable documents that are filed or furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (collectively, our "SEC filings"). Among the factors that could cause the forward-looking statements in this press release and/or our financial performance to differ materially from that suggested by the forward-looking statements are (a) the adverse impact of COVID-19 on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations; (b) continually changing federal, state, and local laws and regulations could materially adversely affect our business; (c) adverse economic conditions in the United States and worldwide may negatively impact our results; (d) a reduction in our access to funding a reduction in; (e) significant risks we face implementing our growth strategy, some of which are outside our control; (f) our agreement with FCA US LLC may not result in currently anticipated levels of growth and is subject to certain conditions that could result in termination of the agreement; (g) our business could suffer if we are unsuccessful in developing and maintaining relationships with automobile dealerships; (h) our financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations depend on the credit performance of our loans; (i) loss of our key management or other personnel, or an inability to attract such management and personnel; (j) certain regulations, including but not limited to oversight by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the European Central Bank, and the Federal Reserve, whose oversight and regulation may limit certain of our activities, including the timing and amount of dividends and other limitations on our business; and (k) future changes in our relationship with SHUSA and Banco Santander that could adversely affect our operations. If one or more of the factors affecting our forward-looking information and statements proves incorrect, our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking information and statements. Therefore, we caution the reader not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information or statements. The effect of these factors is difficult to predict. Factors other than these also could adversely affect our results, and the reader should not consider these factors to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties as new factors emerge from time to time. Any forward-looking statements only speak as of the date of this document, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking information or statements, whether written or oral, to reflect any change, except as required by law. All forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements.

About Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.

Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SC) ("SC") is a full-service consumer finance company focused on vehicle finance, third-party servicing and delivering superior service to our more than 3.1 million customers across the full credit spectrum. SC, which began originating retail installment contracts in 1997, had an average managed asset portfolio of approximately $64 billion (for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021), and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. ( www.santanderconsumerusa.com )

Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.

Financial Supplement

First Quarter 2021

Table of Contents

Table 1: Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets Table 2: Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income Table 3: Other Financial Information Table 4: Credit Quality Table 5: Originations Table 6: Asset sales Table 7: Ending Portfolio Table 8: Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures

Table 1: Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets



March 31, 2021

December 31, 2020 Assets (Unaudited, Dollars in thousands) Cash and cash equivalents $ 415,969



$ 109,053

Finance receivables held for sale, net 



1,567,527

Finance receivables held for investment, at amortized cost 32,090,201



33,114,638

Allowance for credit loss (6,005,115)



(6,110,633)

Finance receivables held for investment, at amortized cost, net 26,085,086



27,004,005

Restricted cash 2,623,565



2,221,094

Accrued interest receivable 345,769



415,765

Leased vehicles, net 16,478,224



16,391,107

Furniture and equipment, net 58,081



62,032

Goodwill 74,056



74,056

Intangible assets 73,833



70,128

Other assets 1,079,419



972,726

Total assets $ 47,234,002



$ 48,887,493

Liabilities and Equity





Liabilities:





Borrowings and other debt obligations $ 38,541,624



$ 41,138,674

Deferred tax liabilities, net 1,497,829



1,263,796

Accounts payable and accrued expenses 567,474



531,369

Other liabilities 395,222



331,693

Total liabilities $ 41,002,149



$ 43,265,532









Equity:





Common stock, $0.01 par value 3,060



3,061

Additional paid-in capital 387,946



393,800

Accumulated other comprehensive income, net (41,818)



(50,566)

Retained earnings 5,882,665



5,275,666

Total stockholders' equity $ 6,231,853



$ 5,621,961

Total liabilities and equity $ 47,234,002



$ 48,887,493



Table 2: Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income



Three Months Ended March 31,

2021

2020

(Unaudited, Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) Interest on finance receivables and loans $ 1,304,651



$ 1,273,819

Leased vehicle income 740,884



747,979

Other finance and interest income 1,426



7,551

Total finance and other interest income 2,046,961



2,029,349

Interest expense 253,537



328,834

Leased vehicle expense 423,795



552,912

Net finance and other interest income 1,369,629



1,147,603

Credit loss expense 136,209



907,887

Net finance and other interest income after credit loss expense 1,233,420



239,716

Profit sharing 67,326



14,295

Net finance and other interest income after credit loss expense and profit sharing 1,166,094



225,421

Investment losses, net (14,712)



(63,426)

Servicing fee income 18,694



19,103

Fees, commissions, and other 100,528



95,130

Total other income 104,510



50,807

Compensation and benefits 153,895



133,326

Repossession expense 45,346



57,662

Other expenses 95,251



91,685

Total operating expenses 294,492



282,673

Income (loss) before income taxes 976,112



(6,445)

Income tax expense 234,457



(2,458)

Net income (loss) $ 741,655



$ (3,987)









Net income per common share (basic) $ 2.42



$ (0.01)

Net income per common share (diluted) $ 2.42



$ (0.01)

Weighted average common shares (basic) 306,108,987



334,026,052

Weighted average common shares (diluted) 306,325,155



334,346,122

Number of shares outstanding 306,033,735



321,117,187



Table 3: Other Financial Information



Three Months Ended March 31, Ratios (Unaudited, Dollars in thousands) 2021

2020 Yield on retail installment contracts 14.8 %

15.3 % Yield on leased vehicles 7.3 %

4.4 % Yield on personal loans, held for sale (1) 34.7 %

26.5 % Yield on earning assets (2) 12.7 %

11.8 % Cost of debt (3) 2.5 %

3.3 % Net interest margin (4) 10.7 %

9.2 % Expense ratio (5) 1.8 %

1.9 % Return on average assets (6) 6.1 %

(0.03) % Return on average equity (7) 50.1 %

(0.3) % Net charge-off ratio on individually acquired retail installment contracts (8) 3.0 %

7.7 % Net charge-off ratio (8) 3.0 %

7.7 % Delinquency ratio on individually acquired retail installment contracts held for investment, end of period (9) 2.2 %

4.6 % Allowance ratio (10) 18.9 %

17.7 % Common stock dividend payout ratio (11) 18.2 %

* Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio (12) 16.5 %

13.8 % Charge-offs, net of recoveries, on individually acquired retail installment contracts $ 244,075



$ 593,046

End of period delinquent amortized cost over 59 days, retail installment contracts held for investment 698,620



1,418,857

End of period personal loans delinquent principal over 59 days, held for sale 



161,639

End of period delinquent amortized cost over 59 days, loans held for investment 699,005



1,419,865

End of period assets covered by allowance for credit losses 31,840,959



30,781,350

End of period gross retail installment contracts held for investment 31,813,760



30,741,144

End of period gross personal loans held for sale 



1,341,361

End of period gross finance receivables and loans held for investment 31,813,760



30,753,640

End of period gross finance receivables, loans, and leases 49,114,776



48,598,983

Average gross retail installment contracts held for investment 32,569,618



30,718,119

Average gross retail installment contracts held for investment and held for sale 32,853,151



30,768,423

Average gross finance receivables, loans and finance leases 33,909,419



32,242,390

Average gross operating leases 17,281,874



17,735,640

Average gross finance receivables, loans, and leases 51,191,293



49,978,030

Average managed assets 63,779,438



60,207,338

Average total assets 48,262,590



47,690,751

Average debt 40,070,243



39,692,456

Average total equity 5,922,904



6,006,455























(1) Includes Finance and other interest income; excludes fees (2) "Yield on earning assets" is defined as the ratio of annualized Total finance and other interest income, net of Leased vehicle expense, to Average gross finance receivables, loans and leases (3) "Cost of debt" is defined as the ratio of annualized Interest expense to Average debt (4) "Net interest margin" is defined as the ratio of annualized Net finance and other interest income to Average gross finance receivables, loans and leases (5) "Expense ratio" is defined as the ratio of annualized Operating expenses to Average managed assets (6) "Return on average assets" is defined as the ratio of annualized Net income to Average total assets (7) "Return on average equity" is defined as the ratio of annualized Net income to Average total equity (8) "Net charge-off ratio" is defined as the ratio of annualized Charge-offs, on a amortized cost basis, net of recoveries, to average unpaid principal balance of the respective held-for-investment portfolio. (9) "Delinquency ratio" is defined as the ratio of End of period Delinquent principal over 59 days to End of period gross balance of the respective portfolio, excludes finance leases (10) "Allowance ratio" is defined as the ratio of Allowance for credit losses, which excludes impairment on purchased receivables portfolios, to End of period assets covered by allowance for credit losses (11) "Common stock dividend payout ratio" is defined as the ratio of Dividends declared per share of common stock to Earnings per share attributable to the Company's shareholders. The Common stock dividend payout ratio for the three months ended March 31, 2020 has not been disclosed since the earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2020 was a negative number (12) "Common Equity Tier 1 Capital ratio" is a non-GAAP ratio defined as the ratio of Total common equity tier 1 capital to Total risk-weighted assets (for a reconciliation from GAAP to this non-GAAP measure, see "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures" in Table 8 of this release)

Table 4: Credit Quality

The activity in the credit loss allowance for retail installment contracts for the three month ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was as follows

(Unaudited, Dollar amounts in thousands):



Three Months Ended March 31, 2021

Three Months Ended March 31, 2020

Retail Installment Contracts

Retail Installment Contracts Allowance for Credit Loss Non-TDR

TDR

Non-TDR

TDR Balance  beginning of period $ 4,792,464



$ 1,314,170



$ 2,123,878



$ 914,718

Day 1 - Adjustment to allowance for adoption of CECL standard 







2,030,473



71,833

Credit loss expense 40,059



98,722



757,193



150,850

Charge-offs (a) (586,793)



(202,461)



(899,550)



(289,567)

Recoveries 416,903



128,277



470,669



125,402

Balance  end of period $ 4,662,633



$ 1,338,708



$ 4,482,663



$ 973,236







(a) Charge-offs for retail installment contracts includes partial write-down of loans to the collateral value less estimated costs to sell, for which a bankruptcy notice was received. There is no additional ACL on these loans.

A summary of delinquencies of our retail installment contracts as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 is as follows (Unaudited, Dollar amounts in thousands):

Delinquent Balance

March 31, 2021



Amount

Percent Amortized cost, 30-59 days past due

$ 1,409,974



4.4 % Delinquent amortized cost over 59 days

698,620



2.2 % Total delinquent balance at amortized cost

$ 2,108,594



6.6 %









Delinquent Balance

December 31, 2020



Amount

Percent Principal 30-59 days past due

$ 1,971,766



6.0 % Delinquent principal over 59 days

1,038,869



3.1 % Total delinquent principal (a)

$ 3,010,635



9.1 %

The retail installment contracts held for investment that were placed on nonaccrual status, as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 (Unaudited, Dollar amounts in thousands):

Nonaccrual Balance March 31, 2021

Amount

Percent Non-TDR $ 544,228



1.7 % TDR 260,408



0.8 % Total non-accrual loans (a) $ 804,636



2.5 %

(a) The table includes balances based on amortized cost.

Nonaccrual Balance December 31, 2020

Amount

Percent Non-TDR $ 748,026



2.3 % TDR 385,021



1.2 % Total nonaccrual principal (a) $ 1,133,047



3.5 %

The table below presents the Company's allowance ratio for TDR and non-TDR individually acquired retail installment contracts as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 (Unaudited, Dollar amounts in thousands):

Allowance Ratios March 31, 2021

December 31, 2020 TDR - Unpaid principal balance $ 4,357,438

$ 3,945,040 TDR - Impairment 1,338,708

1,314,170 TDR - Allowance ratio 30.7%

33.3%







Non-TDR - Unpaid principal balance $ 27,442,853

$ 28,977,299 Non-TDR - Allowance 4,662,633

4,792,464 Non-TDR Allowance ratio 17.0%

16.5%







Total - Unpaid principal balance $ 31,800,291

$ 32,922,339 Total - Allowance 6,001,341

6,106,634 Total - Allowance ratio 18.9%

18.5%

The Company's ACL decreased $0.1 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2021. For the three months ended March 31, 2021, the decrease was primarily due to balance and improved macroeconomic outlook.

Table 5: Originations

The Company's originations of loans and leases, including revolving loans, average APR, and dealer discount (net of dealer participation) were as follows:



Three Months Ended

Three Months Ended

March 31, 2021

March 31, 2020

December 31, 2020 Retained Originations (Unaudited, Dollar amounts in thousands) Retail installment contracts $ 4,383,146

$ 3,846,226

$ 3,954,958 Average APR 15.0 %

15.3 %

15.1 % Average FICO (a) 606

607

609 Discount/(premium) (1.6) %

(0.8) %

(1.4) %











Personal loans (b) 

270,835

$ 526,541 Average APR  %

29.8 %

29.5 %











Leased vehicles 2,154,506

2,020,721

$ 1,956,559











Finance lease 2,796

3,002

$ 3,026 Total originations retained $ 6,540,448

$ 6,140,784

$ 6,441,084











Sold Originations









Retail installment contracts $ 95,738

$ 

$  Average APR 9.5 %

 %

 % Average FICO (c) 688















Personal Loans (d) $ 292,709

$ 

$  Average APR 29.7 %

 %

 %











Total originations sold $ 388,447

$ 

$ 











Total originations (excluding SBNA Originations Program) $ 6,928,895

$ 6,140,784

$ 6,441,084





























(a) Unpaid principal balance excluded from the weighted average FICO score is $450 million, $432 million, and $392 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, and for the three months ended December 31, 2020, respectively, as the borrowers on these loans did not have FICO scores at origination. Of these amounts, $154 million, $139 million, and $153 million, respectively, were commercial loans.



(b) Included in the total origination volume is $21 million, and $143 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2020, respectively, related to newly opened accounts.



(c) Only includes assets both originated and sold in the period. Total asset sales for the period are shown in table 6. Unpaid principal balance excluded from the weighted average FICO score is $2 million, zero, and zero for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, and for the three months ended December 31, 2020, respectively, as the borrowers on these loans did not have FICO scores at origination. Of these amounts, the commercial loans were zero.



(d) Included in the total origination volume is $25 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 related to newly opened accounts.

SBNA Originations Program

Beginning in 2018, the Company agreed to provide SBNA with origination support services in connection with the processing, underwriting and purchase of retail loans, primarily from Chrysler dealers. In addition, the Company agreed to perform the servicing for any loans originated on SBNA's behalf. The Company facilitated the purchase of $2.0 billion of retail installment contacts during the three months ended March 31, 2021.

Table 6: Asset Sales



Three Months Ended

Three Months Ended

March 31, 2021

March 31, 2020

December 31, 2020 Assets Sold (Unaudited, Dollar amounts in thousands) Retail installment contracts $ 2,380,785

$ 

$  Average APR 4.0%

 %

 % Average FICO $ 740















Personal loans $ 1,253,476



$  Average APR 29.7%

 %

 %











Total asset sales $ 3,634,261

$ 

$ 

























Table 7: Ending Portfolio

Ending outstanding balance, average APR and remaining unaccreted net discount of our held for investment portfolio as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, are as follows:



March 31, 2021

December 31, 2020

(Unaudited, Dollar amounts in thousands) Retail installment contracts $ 31,813,760

$ 32,937,036 Average APR 15.9%

15.2% Discount/(premium) (0.48)%

(0.15)%







Leased vehicles $ 17,273,817

$ 17,259,468







Finance leases $ 27,199

$ 26,150



Table 8: Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures



March 31, 2021

March 31, 2020

(Unaudited, Dollar amounts in thousands) Total equity $ 6,231,853

$ 5,146,103 Add: Adjustment due to CECL capital relief (c) 1,805,720

1,669,466 Deduct: Goodwill, intangibles, and other assets, net of deferred tax liabilities 163,359

153,712 Deduct: Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net (41,818)

(63,655) Tier 1 common capital $ 7,916,032

$ 6,725,512 Risk weighted assets (a)(c) 47,995,845

48,829,941 Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio (b)(c) 16.5%

13.8%





















(a) Under the banking agencies' risk-based capital guidelines, assets and credit equivalent amounts of derivatives and off-balance sheet exposures are assigned to broad risk categories. The aggregate dollar amount in each risk category is multiplied by the associated risk weight of the category. The resulting weighted values are added together with the measure for market risk, resulting in the Company's total Risk weighted assets.



(b) CET1 is calculated under Basel III regulations required as of January 1, 2015. The fully phased-in capital ratios are non-GAAP financial measures.



(c) As described in our 2020 annual report on Form 10-K, on January 1, 2020, we adopted ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments -Credit Losses ("CECL"), which upon adoption resulted in a reduction to our opening retained earnings balance, net of income tax, and increase to the allowance for credit losses of approximately $2 billion. As also described in our 2019 10-K, the U.S. banking agencies in December 2018 had approved a final rule to address the impact of CECL on regulatory capital by allowing banking organizations, including the Company, the option to phase in the day-one impact of CECL until the first quarter of 2023. In March 2020, the U.S. banking agencies issued an interim final rule that provides banking organizations with an alternative option to delay for two years an estimate of CECL's effect on regulatory capital, relative to the incurred loss methodology's effect on regulatory capital, followed by a three-year transition period. The Company elected this alternative option instead of the one described in the December 2018 rule.

SOURCE Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc.

Related Links

http://www.santanderconsumerusa.com


New Delhi: Actor and good samaritan Sonu Sood is doing all he can to help the masses amid the COVID crisis. The second wave of this pandemic has wreaked havoc in the country and not just celebs but everyone who can extend a helping hand is doing his or her bit to save lives.

Sonu Sood, who is active on social media and responds to fans seeking genuine help has been trying hard to arrange for hospital beds and oxygen cylinders for COVID-19 patients. Take a look at his tweets:

In the middle of night,after making numerous calls if u r able to get beds for needy, oxygen for some people n save few lives, I swear..it's million times more satisfying than being a part of any 100cr film. We can't sleep when people are infront of hospitals waiting for a bed.

In the middle of night,after making numerous calls if u r able to get beds for needy, oxygen for some people n save few lives, I swear..it's million times more satisfying than being a part of any 100cr film. We can't sleep when people are infront of hospitals waiting for a bed.  sonu sood (@SonuSood) April 27, 2021

Sonu Sood, who recovered from COVID-19 recently is back at the service of the people and has been helping the distressed in these testing times.

Ventilator bed in the hospital is Done

Wish u a speedy recovery @SoodFoundation https://t.co/Svy8PqXW82  sonu sood (@SonuSood) April 28, 2021

We are trying our best to reach out to you. If there are delays or we miss out.

Then pardon me..Apologies pic.twitter.com/4NvjrnZ4zP  sonu sood (@SonuSood) April 28, 2021

The actor after getting his first dose of coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday (April 7, 2021) urged the government to start the drive for people as young as 25. The 47-year-old actor, who hogged the spotlight for helping migrants reach their homes during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown last year, is now encouraging people to receive the vaccine dose.

He also launched "Sanjeevani: A Shot of Life" - a vaccination drive campaign to create awareness. The actor recently arranged for as many as 10 oxygen generators for COVID-19 patients in Indore.
ROME, APR 28 - Seven far-left former terrorists, including ex members of the Red Brigades (BR), were arrested in Paris on Wednesday. Rome has long been pressing Paris to arrest a long list of former terrorists who have taken refuge from Italian justice in France. The BR committed many atrocities during Italy's years of lead of political violence in the 1970s and 80s, including the kidnapping and murder of former premier Aldo Moro in 1978. The operation, conducted by the French police's SDAT anti-terrorism unit in collaboration with Criminalpol and the Italian police, led to the arrest of former BR members Enzo Calvitti, Giovanni Alimonti, Roberta Cappelli, Marina Petrella and Sergio Tornaghi, plus Giorgio Pietrostefani of Lotta Continua and Narciso Manenti of the Nuclei Armati contro il Potere Territoriale group. There others, Luigi Bergamin, Maurizio Di Marzio and Raffaele Ventura, managed to get away before being arrested and are on the run. All 10 have been convicted of terrorism-related crimes. A statement by French President Emmanuel Macron's office said his administration had wanted to solve an issue that has long caused tension with Rome. "France, which is also affected by terrorism, understands the absolute need to provide justice for victims," the statement said. "It is also part of the absolute need to build a Europe of justice in which mutual confidence must be central". Under the "Mitterrand Doctrine" Paris allowed former left-wing terrorists to stay in France and not get extradited to Italy as long as they pledged to renounce violence. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio welcomed Wednesday's development. "These former BR members had been accused and convicted in Italy of acts of terrorist linked to bloodshed in the 1970s and 80s," Di Maio said via Facebook. "Total commitment to combat crime and terrorism. "You cannot flee from your responsibilities, from the pain caused, from the evil generated". Irene Terrel, a lawyer who has represented many former Italian terrorists in France, said Paris had committed a "nameless betrayal". (ANSA).
A Dallas megachurch bishop shared his views about best practices on using social media.

Speaking to The Christian Post, Bishop T.D. Jakes, founder and pastor of The Potter's House, said that addressing a controversial subject online should be viewed "holistically" and not just through one's personal point of view.

He suggested that before posting about a sensitive subject on social media platforms, it must be properly researched on or discussed with a "trusted friend," whom one can consider as "a focus group," to ensure "that [a person is] looking at it holistically, and not just narrowly through the lens of [his] own point of view, so that when [he] make[s] a statement, it sheds light rather than generates heat."

He added that doing so "will save" a person from grief, pain and finances for rectifying an erroneous statement shared to countless people online.

"If you go through that litmus test prior to typing, it will save you a lot of grief and pain, and perhaps in certain cases, finances, trying to rectify a ship that has gotten off course because you're exposing it to millions and millions of people around the world without the benefit of the kind of process that normal people would go through."

Jakes just released his new book, "Don't Drop the Mic: The Power of Words Can Change the World," that discusses about communication that glorifies God.

The bishop drew a parallel on making a documentary wherein creators don't just "throw ideas into the public domain" but would discuss about a certain subject first through focus groups. He said that this practice is "very helpful" in sharing ideas on social media.

"It's better to say what you have learned or what you're thinking or what you're wondering about rather than stated as a fact and become an authority without credentials," he further stated.

Jakes also said that good communication is important in building relationships to advance the Gospel.

He revealed that he grew up in West Virginia, where most of his neighbors are Caucasians. When the nation began to have conversations about race, he courageously spoke "to several white pastors who got backlash from the black community because of the way they phrased or said certain things."

The bishop advised that people must not be silent in addressing sensitive issues.

"And what I said at every turn, is, 'Keep talking, don't withdraw into a shell and become silent and stop talking.'"

"We must continue to communicate about this because it's not going to go away by us going back into our tribalism in our silos. We have to keep talking. And get it right," he continued.

He also said that having been corrected from a mistake does not mean that one should "stop talking."

"We need your voice. We all need each other's voices in order for us to be the human race that we were meant to be," he pointed out.

He further mentioned that for people to survive "as a society," they must have unity.

"We are one species, and we need to be more proficient at accentuating our oneness and acknowledging our differences in a way that brings wholeness," the bishop concluded.

Jakes is also the CEO of TDJ Enterprises, an advertising and marketing company covering film, radio, television, podcasts, publishing and music label.
In acquiring Concho Resources earlier this year, ConocoPhillips not only gained acreage and drilling locations throughout the Permian Basin. It acquired Conchos long-standing support for communities where it had a presence.

Following the acquisition of Concho, ConocoPhillips now has approximately 700,000 acres of high-quality land across both the Delaware and Midland basins. As part of that transaction, the company is moving approximately 100 employees to Midland, bringing the total employee count in the Midland area to about 730 and approximately 1,350 in the greater Permian Basin.

Pledging to uphold Conchos commitments to the community, Conoco Tuesday announced $2.5 million in charitable grants and sponsorships across the region. Of that, $1.7 million was presented to more than 50 organizations in the Midland area. Areas focused on by the grants range from education, health and safety, the arts, civic and social services to disaster relief.

Alongside those grants, the company announced it will double its initial investment in the Permian Strategic Partnership by becoming a Tier-1 member company to support the PSPs mission of improving the quality of life for Permian Basin residents.

The continued investment from ConocoPhillips signals a confidence in the work the Permian Strategic Partnership is doing across the Permian Basin. We are grateful for their ongoing support and look forward to what we are able to accomplish as we work alongside ConocoPhillips and our dedicated member companies to address the needs of our communities, Tracee Bentley, PSPs president and chief executive officer, told the Reporter-Telegram by email.

ConocoPhillips pledge to continue supporting community initiatives include supporting maintenance of Centennial Park in downtown Midland.

Centennial Park transformed our downtown area. Concho was involved in the project from the beginning. ConocoPhillips also believes in the project and understands its importance to our community, said Jack Harper, Permian president, in a statement.

The company also plans continued support of education and childrens services through organizations such as Hillcrest School, Bynum School, Midland Colleges engineering program and Midland Childrens Rehab Center.

ConocoPhillips will also continue to aid the West Texas Food Bank, the largest collaborative non-profit agency in the Permian Basin. There will also be support for local law enforcement and fire departments, as well as support for community events throughout the area.

In addition to creating value for shareholders, one of the most important parts of this transaction for us was the benefit to local communities where we operate. Were very pleased with the enhanced competitive position this brings to Midland. ConocoPhillips is committed to investing in and enhancing the places where we live and work, said Lower 48 Executive Vice President Tim Leach in a statement.
CAMBERWELL, VICTORIA / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Oak Road Estate continues to remain the top 3 independently owned online wine retailers in Australia, providing a stapled service of excellence. The company has been a quiet achiever over the last 6 years starting from Ezra McInnes' the co-founder and now Managing Directors bedroom with a mobile phone and white pages cold calling potential clients.

The business is the one-stop online shop for a plethora of favourite and exclusive wine brands which suit all occasions. For years, Oak Road Estate has represented esteemed values of "Quality, Consistency, great service and unbeatable prices forming a truly incredible success story and helping Australians make fond memories on a special occasion with a case of high-quality wine.

Oak Road Estate has a collection of exclusive wine brands, including some of the highly sought-after options. The range is carefully selected, and only a handful of picks are provided for sale a month. Each blend undergoes systematic taste testing and a stamp of approval from an expert panel of wine connoisseurs at the company, and with the company's grape to glass business model, it means there are no middlemen, making prices more affordable to the consumer, and the value for money is unbeatable.

Oak Road Estate which sits under The Wine Group Australia's business banner has seen surreal growth in the past six years, with each year exceeding over 100% growth. Additionally, it has been able to expand its call center and customer service pool by a staggering 118% and, as a business, saw a 220% growth spike during the last financial year which saw the active buyers top 80,000 and the total customer pool exceed 180,000. These numbers reflect the hard work, due diligence, and commitment to customer's priorities which the company has maintained a proven track record of and now boasts a 62% reorder rate for any new customer.

It is due to this growth and with Oak Road Estate being the most successful business in The Wine Groups portfolio, they have their eyes set on new markets in the United States. The business is planning to pioneer direct to consumer online sales from Australia creating a model which supports Australian Wineries and Winemakers allowing them to go direct to consumers in America rather than be stuck in the traditional method of wholesale, and what better platform to launch this model on than wines.com.au - which is set for a mid-May launch in Los Angeles.

Their excellence in Australia's horizon of liquor is specially managed by a close-knit relationship with suppliers and wineries. All of the company's partners provide unparalleled support as an extension of their goodwill. Oak Road Estate provides them a marketplace online where winemakers have managed to reach their target market. What is also exceptional is the competitive pricing of some of the exclusive varieties of wine. Customers take pride in their service as Oak Road Estate's complete product portfolio is offered at the best prices.

Enjoy the best collection of wines in Australia at wholesale and at the most affordable prices. People can choose from red wine, whites, sparkling wine, cellar specials, limited collections, and mixed cases. These marvellous wines on wholesale makeup splendid gift items can suit any occasion. People can present their loved ones with bottles of their favourite blend, and they would make up for a sophisticated present.

Media contact

Company: Oak Road Estate

Contact: Ezra McInnes, Managing Director

E-Mail: ezra.mcinnes@oakroadestate.com.au

Address: 357 - 361 Camberwell Rd, Camberwell, Victoria, 3124

Website: https://www.oakroadestate.com.au/

SOURCE: Oak Road Estate

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/642844/Oak-Road-Estate-Rise-Continues-as-It-Eyes-North-America
Arlene Foster has announced she is resigning as DUP leader and First Minister of Northern Ireland after an internal party revolt over her handling of Brexit.

Mrs Foster said in a statement published this afternoon that she intends to step down as DUP leader on May 28 and will then quit as First Minister at the end of June.

She said it has been the 'privilege of my life to serve the people of Northern Ireland as their First Minister' as she brings the curtain down on her five and a half year tenure as DUP leader.

The 50-year-old Fermanagh and South Tyrone representative also indicated her resignation will mark the end of her political career, as she said she was preparing to 'depart the political stage'.

Mrs Foster's decision to step down comes after reports that three quarters of the DUP's Northern Ireland Assembly members had signed a letter of no confidence in her leadership, with at least half of the party's MPs in Westminster said to have followed suit.

It was claimed that 21 MLAs, four MPs and at least one peer had signed the letter.

She had faced an outcry over the handling of the Brexit process which culminated in the emergence of an Irish Sea border.

And her decision to abstain in a vote calling for a ban on gay conversion therapy last week appears to have further agitated sections of the party's fundamentalist grassroots. The majority of her party Assembly colleagues voted against the motion, having failed to amend it to include reference to religious protections.

Arlene Foster this afternoon announced she is stepping down as DUP leader and First Minister of Northern Ireland

Mrs Foster used her resignation statement to criticise Boris Johnson's Brexit deal. She said the Northern Ireland Protocol 'foisted upon Northern Ireland against the will of unionists has served to destabilise Northern Ireland in more recent times'. The pair are pictured together during a visit to Enniskillen in March this year

Who could replace Arlene Foster as DUP leader? Arlene Foster's resignation has fired the starting pistol on the leadership race to succeed her. Here are some of the names previously tipped for the DUP top job: Sir Jeffrey Donaldson The DUP's chief whip in Westminster, Sir Jeffrey played a crucial role when the party agreed to a Confidence and Supply arrangement with Theresa May's government following the 2017 general election. He is the party's longest serving MP, having represented Lagan Valley since 1997 and has been group leader since the 2019 general election when Nigel Dodds lost his seat. Edwin Poots Currently serving as Stormont's Agriculture Minister, Mr Poots has been a vocal critic of the Northern Ireland Protocol. He claimed post-Brexit checks on goods are negatively affecting the region's agri-food sector. The MLA for Lagan Valley briefly took time off from his role earlier this year to undergo cancer surgery. Gavin Robinson The current MP for Belfast East, Mr Robinson would be the party's youngest ever leader at the age of just 36. His election as leader would likely signal an attempt by the DUP to broaden its voter base and to appeal more to younger voters. He was first elected to Westminster in 2015 and currently serves as the party's defence spokesman. Nigel Dodds Lord Dodds was made a peer after he lost his Belfast North seat at the 2019 general election. He had served as the party's leader in Westminster and played a crucial role, along with Sir Jeffrey, in the DUP forming an alliance with Mrs May's government. Advertisement

DUP leadership contests are restricted to the party's MLAs and MPs, and with 27 MLAs and eight MPs currently in office, the reported scale of opposition would have left Mrs Foster with no chance of winning a vote should she have tried to cling on.



Mrs Foster said in a statement: 'A short time ago I called the Party Chairman to inform him that I intend to step down as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party on the twenty-eighth of May and as First Minister of Northern Ireland at the end of June.

'It is important to give space over the next few weeks for the Party Officers to make arrangements for the election of a new leader. When elected I will work with the new leader on transition arrangements.

'As First Minister it is important that I complete work on a number of important issues for Northern Ireland alongside other Executive colleagues.

'Northern Ireland and its people have been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and there remains more work to be done to steer us thorough the pandemic and to lessen its impact on the lives of everyone.

'It has been the privilege of my life to serve the people of Northern Ireland as their First Minister and to represent my home constituency of Fermanagh/South Tyrone.'

Mrs Foster said that as she 'departs the political stage' it is her view that 'if Northern Ireland is to prosper then it will only do so built on the foundations of successful and durable devolution'.

She said she would be the 'first to recognise there have been ups and downs over the last five and a half years'.

She said the DUP's confidence and supply agreement with Theresa May's Conservative government in the wake of the 2017 general election 'was able to bring one billion pounds of extra spending for everyone in Northern Ireland'.

But Mrs Foster hit out at the terms of Boris Johnson's Brexit deal as she said the Northern Ireland Protocol being 'foisted upon Northern Ireland against the will of unionists has served to destabilise Northern Ireland in more recent times'.

She said: 'For almost five and a half years I have been incredibly humbled to have the opportunity to lead the Democratic Unionist Party.

'I have sought to lead the Party and Northern Ireland away from division and towards a better path.

'There are people in Northern Ireland with a British identity, others are Irish, others are Northern Irish, others are a mixture of all three and some are new and emerging. We must all learn to be generous to each other, live together and share this wonderful country.

'The future of unionism and Northern Ireland will not be found in division, it will only be found in sharing this place we all are privileged to call home.'

Following the news that she had resigned Boris Johnson thanked Mrs Foster for her 'dedication' to the people of Northern Ireland over many years.

Mr Johnson said he hoped Mrs Foster will continue in public service, tweeting; 'I want to thank Arlene Foster @DUPleader for her dedication to the people of Northern Ireland over many years.

'She will continue to play a vital role as First Minister until June and I hope that she stays in public service for years to come.'

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis paid tribute to Mrs Foster as he described her as a 'truly dedicated public servant'.

He tweeted: 'There are many young people, particularly young women, who will be inspired by her example to follow a path into politics.

Critics have accused Mrs Foster of failing to use the party's influence in Westminster  particularly during its confidence and supply deal with the Conservatives  to secure a Brexit deal that saw Northern Ireland leave the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK

'I wish her all the best and look forward to continuing to work with her in the days and weeks ahead, delivering for all the people of NI.'

Mrs Foster had only yesterday dismissed suggestions that her leadership of the party was in jeopardy.

She said that 'these stories come up from time to time' and she intended to 'deal with it and move on'.

But party sources had insisted that they believed she would have no choice but to resign given the scale of the internal party backlash at her handling of Brexit.

The DUP has been facing anger from the wider loyalist and unionist community over the rollout of the Northern Ireland Protocol which critics argue has created an economic and trade border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Critics have accused Mrs Foster of failing to use the party's influence in Westminster  particularly during its confidence and supply deal with the Conservatives  to secure a Brexit deal that saw Northern Ireland leave the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK.

Poor polling numbers have exacerbated the discontent among the party faithful.
UPDATE: N.J. will see accelerating opening up of the state with announcements soon, Murphy says

New Jersey on Wednesday reported another 1,838 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and an additional 35 confirmed deaths as the number of people hospitalized across the state dropped to its lowest number since early November.

More than 2.9 million people have been fully vaccinated in New Jersey  roughly 42% of the states adult population. The states goal is to have 70% of the states eligible population  about 4.7 million people  vaccinated by the end of June.

More than 4.1 million people  about 60% of adults  have received at least one vaccine dose as of Wednesday.

Even though we are 62% of our way to our initial vaccination goal, we know that that we still have 38% to go, Gov. Phil Murphy said during his latest COVID-19 briefing in Trenton, noting that New Jersey ranks eight in the nation for fully vaccinated adults.

We continue to be a nation-leading state in vaccinations:

10th in total doses administered per 100,000 residents

8th in percent of all adults with at least one dose

8th in percent of fully vaccinated adult population pic.twitter.com/43SYrnCWUY  Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) April 28, 2021

Murphy also said hell have more news on Monday about further lifting New Jerseys COVID-19 restrictions.

Youre going to see us accelerating opening up of the state, he said.

There were 1,768 COVID-19 patients hospitalized across New Jerseys 71 hospitals as of Tuesday night. Thats the lowest number since Nov. 9.

The states seven-day average for new confirmed positive test dropped to 2,053, down 31% from a week ago and 42% from a month ago, as the states third wave of the outbreak continues to recede.

The state has reported fewer than 2,000 new positive test for the last four days.

It is now quite clear that this thing has turned and turned for the better, Murphy said. Thats really good news. Dont let that lull you into not getting vaccinated.

The statewide rate of transmission is 0.80 as of Wednesday, down from 0.88 a day earlier. Any number under 1 indicates that the outbreak is slowing and each new case is leading to less than one additional case.

The positivity rate for tests conducted on Saturday, the most recent day available, was 8.99% based on 18,622 tests. Positivity rates tend to be higher on weekend days when fewer tests are conducted. The positivity rate during weekdays last week was under 7%.

New Jersey has now reported 869,344 confirmed coronavirus cases out of more than 13.2 million PCR tests in the nearly 14 months since the state reported its first case March 4, 2020.

There have also been 123,779 positive antigen tests during the outbreak. Those cases are considered probable, and health officials have warned that positive antigen tests could overlap with the confirmed PCR tests because they are sometimes given in tandem.

The state of 9.2 million people has reported 25,509 residents have died from complications related to COVID-19  including 22,884 confirmed deaths and 2,625 fatalities considered probable. The probable deaths, which are revised weekly, increased by 14 fatalities on Wednesday.

New Jersey has the most coronavirus deaths per capita among American states.

Murphy on Monday revealed that outdoor gathering limits in the state will increase from 200 to 500 people starting on May 10, in time for college and high school graduations. Plus, private catered events such as weddings and proms will go from 35% to 50% of a venues capacity with a maximum of 250 people, up from 150.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY NUMBERS (sorted by most new cases)

Passaic County: 64,107 confirmed cases (231 new), 1,664 confirmed deaths (195 probable)

Essex County: 83,410 confirmed cases (203 new), 2,597 confirmed deaths (295 probable)

Middlesex County: 83,288 confirmed cases (194 new), 2,047 confirmed deaths (246 probable)

Bergen County: 87,710 confirmed cases (178 new), 2,526 confirmed deaths (295 probable)

Union County: 59,166 confirmed cases (139 new), 1,702 confirmed deaths (223 probable)

Hudson County: 77,420 confirmed cases (133 new), 2,004 confirmed deaths (212 probable)

Camden County: 47,280 confirmed cases (124 new), 1,164 confirmed deaths (98 probable)

Monmouth County: 66,175 confirmed cases (93 new), 1,432 confirmed deaths (142 probable)

Ocean County: 64,468 confirmed cases (93 new), 1,950 confirmed deaths (159 probable)

Burlington County: 37,320 confirmed cases (66 new), 766 confirmed deaths (68 probable)

Mercer County: 30,854 confirmed cases (60 new), 887 confirmed deaths (43 probable)

Gloucester County: 25,642 confirmed cases (59 new), 574 confirmed deaths (30 probable)

Morris County: 41,312 confirmed cases (57 new), 960 confirmed deaths (251 probable)

Atlantic County: 24,300 confirmed cases (46 new), 626 confirmed deaths (35 probable)

Somerset County: 23,691 confirmed cases (36 new), 716 confirmed deaths (108 probable)

Salem County: 5,317 confirmed cases (31 new), 163 confirmed deaths (13 probable)

Cumberland County: 14,145 confirmed cases (25 new), 384 confirmed deaths (36 probable)

Warren County: 8,637 confirmed cases (25 new), 208 confirmed deaths (25 probable)

Sussex County: 11,290 confirmed cases (24 new), 227 confirmed deaths (67 probable)

Hunterdon County: 8,620 confirmed cases (13 new), 118 confirmed deaths (54 probable)

Cape May County: 4,446 confirmed cases (4 new), 169 confirmed deaths (30 probable)

HOSPITALIZATIONS

There were 1,768 patients hospitalized with confirmed (1,646) or suspected COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday night  52 fewer than the previous night, according to state data.

That included 375 in critical or intensive care (23 fewer than the night before), with 232 on ventilators (15 fewer).

There were also 214 COVID-19 patients discharged Tuesday.

Statewide hospitalizations are down 26% from April 7, when there were 2,378 patients  the states spring peak.

By comparison, hospitalizations peaked at more than 8,300 patients during the first wave of the pandemic in April and more than 3,800 during the second wave in December.

SCHOOL CASES

New Jersey has reported 254 in-school coronavirus outbreaks, which have resulted in 1,125 cases among students, teachers and school staff this academic year, according to state data.

The state defines school outbreaks as cases where contact tracers determined two or more students or school staff caught or transmitted COVID-19 in the classroom or during academic activities at school. Those numbers do not include students or staff believed to have been infected outside school or cases that cant be confirmed as in-school outbreaks.

There are about 1.4 million public school students and teachers across the state, though teaching methods amid the outbreak have varied, with some schools teaching in-person, some using a hybrid format and others remaining all-remote.

Murphy has said New Jerseys schools are expected to return to full in-person classes for the next school year.

AGE BREAKDOWN

Broken down by age, those 30 to 49 years old make up the largest percentage of New Jersey residents who have caught the virus (30.9%), followed by those 50-64 (22.6%), 18-29 (19.9%), 65-79 (10.1%), 5-17 (9.8%), 80 and older (4.4%) and 0-4 (2%).

On average, the virus has been more deadly for older residents, especially those with preexisting conditions. Nearly half the states COVID-19 deaths have been among residents 80 and older (46.57%), followed by those 65-79 (32.97%), 50-64 (15.99%), 30-49 (4.06%), 18-29 (0.39%), 5-17 (0%) and 0-4 (0.02%).

At least 8,027 of the states COVID-19 deaths have been among residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to state data.

There are active outbreaks at 223 facilities, resulting in 2,477 active cases among residents and 3,346 among staffers. Those numbers have slowed as vaccinations continue at the facilities.

GLOBAL NUMBERS

As of Wednesday, there have been more than 148.8 million positive COVID-19 tests across the world, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. More than 3.1 million people have died from coronavirus-related complications.

The U.S. has reported the most cases, at more than 32.1 million, and the most deaths, at more than 573,400.

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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
Sherry Liang and Rachel Priest reflect on the March 16 Atlanta spa shootings, where a white man killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women. Liang and Priest are two of the few Asian editors to work at The Red & Black.
Galicia, April 28, 2021 (SPS) - In a climate marked by the resumption of the armed struggle in the Western Sahara and the tensions generated by Morocco with neighboring countries, the Galician Parliament supported a motion this Wednesday in which expresses its firm support and solidarity with the Saharawi people and their legitimate representative, the Polisario Front, in accordance with the principles set forth in the Charter of Nations and in the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council.

The Galician legislature indicates that "given the current situation of armed conflict, we call for the responsibility of the parties to accelerate the negotiation process and find a peaceful solution to the conflict, which respects the rights and freedoms of the Saharawi people"

Along these lines, the motion sees as "fundamental that the United Nations, through its Secretary General, appoint an envoy or special representative for Western Sahara, with full democratic guarantees and respect for the human rights of the Saharawi population." SPS

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In November 2020, it was announced that the popular Netflix series, "Money Heist" would get a Korean adaptation. Given the global following of this series, and the growing number of Korean drama aficionados, the news is positive all the way around for many.

"Money Heist" Korean Version Has a Unique Character Named Seoul

Now that a few weeks have passed since the official cast of the "Money Heist" SK version was announced, there's a new update on the show, which comes in the form of an unconfirmed rumor.

Reportedly, the Korean version of "Money Heist" will get a new character, aptly named "Seoul."

Allegedly too, this will be played by the South Korean actress Im Ji Yeon. This was tweeted out on April 28, Tuesday, but since there are no reports about it, it can first be taken with a grain of salt.

How cool is though to have a character named after the capital of the country?

"Money Heist" Korean Version - Everything We Know So Far

Details about the show apart from its official cast have been quite scarce, which adds to the excitement of fans raring to see how the popular show would be given a Korean twist.

South Korea is known for churning out great dramas and thrillers like pancakes, providing fans with wise and never-before-seen plots and twists, so fans are excited to know how a "Money Heist" with a Korean flavor would look like.

On March 31, it was announced that the show will be quite star-studded. The original "Money Heist" requires a lot of cast members to make the show work, some of whom are not that known before this show. When it comes to the number of cast members, it is not that different for this version. The main cast however for this Asian version is composed of actors who have their own strong fan bases.

In particular, it includes Yoo Ji-Tae, Park Hae-Soon, Jeon Jong-Seo, Lee Won-Jong, Kim Ji-Hun, Jang Yoon-ju, Park Jung-woo, Kim Ji-hun, and Lee Kyu-ho. They will be playing the professor, Berlin, Tokyo, Moscow, Denver, Nairobi, Rio, Helsinki and Oslo, respectively.

In the original show's Season 4, a character named Manila was introduced. It remains to be seen if there would be a Manila in the Korean version or if Seoul is actually the counterpart.

In addition, more known actors would play the Task Force Team in this South Korean adaptation of "Money Heist." Kim Yunjin will take on the role of Seon Woojin. On the other hand, Kim Sung-o will take on the role of Cha Moohyuk. Meanwhile, Park Myun-hoon will carry out the character of Cho Youngmin and Lee Joobeen will be Youn Misun. Youngmin and Misun are the hostages in the show.

"Money Heist" Korean Version Release Date

"Money Heist" SK version will have a total of 12 episodes. It will be set in the Korean peninsula.

The show will be under the helm of director King Hong-sun, whose portfolio of works included "The Guest," "Voice," and "Black." These are well-embraced dramas.

Up to now, Netflix has not yet provided the official release date for the Korean adaptation.

The original "Money Heist" creator and executive producer Alex Pina have revealed how confident he is that Korean creators will manage to develop the show successfully.

"Korean creators have been developing their own language and audiovisual culture for years. They have managed, like our series, to go beyond cultural borders and become a point of reference for thousands of viewers around the world, especially among young people," he said.

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars.

Kdramastars owns this article.

Written by Annie Dee
For the first time, researchers have systematically analysed social and clinical factors associated with psychiatric hospital admission of children and adolescents, finding nearly one-quarter (23.6%) were admitted involuntarily. The study was published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal.

Researchers also found that children and adolescents who were involuntarily hospitalised were nearly three times more likely to belong to a Black rather than a white ethnic group than those hospitalised voluntarily and more likely to have a diagnosis of psychosis, substance misuse, or intellectual disability.

Involuntary hospitalisation is a legal procedure used to compel an individual to receive inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder against his or her will. Mental health legislation varies nationally and regionally, with different legal criteria for involuntary hospitalisation. There is growing evidence from research into adult psychiatric hospitalisations that factors outside of those described in mental health legislation, including race and ethnicity, can influence whether someone is admitted voluntarily or not. Until now, little research has investigated social and clinical factors that may affect whether children and adolescents are admitted involuntarily to psychiatric hospitals.

Lead author, Dr Susan Walker from UCL, UK said: "This is the first research to systematically examine involuntary admission to psychiatric hospitals for children and adolescents and our results clearly warrant further discussion and analysis to understand what is behind the discrepancies in the use of involuntary over voluntary hospitalisation among different groups. Although involuntary hospitalisation is designed to offer protection to those who are temporarily unable to look after and make decisions for themselves due to the presence of a mental disorder, being admitted against one's will can be a traumatic experience at any age. The number of children and adolescents being admitted to hospital involuntarily is growing in some countries, including the UK, but research into the factors associated with involuntary hospitalisation among young people is surprisingly limited. Understanding why some people may be more likely to be admitted without their consent is key to understanding how we can reduce the numbers of involuntary admissions." [1]

The review identified 23 studies that included information on whether children and adolescents were admitted to hospital voluntarily or involuntarily. The studies were from 11 high-income countries [2], representing 41,271 young inpatients in total. Researchers amalgamated and analysed data from 19 studies (31,212 participants) to assess the association with 10 clinical and social factors [3].

For young people with psychosis, the odds of an involuntary rather than voluntary hospitalisation were more than three times higher than for those without psychosis. However, a diagnosis of anxiety was associated with voluntary rather than involuntary hospitalisation, as was a diagnosis of behavioural problems such as ADHD and conduct disorder. For young people with a primary diagnosis of substance misuse the odds of an involuntarily rather than voluntary hospitalisation were nearly twice as high.

For children and young people, the distinction between voluntary and involuntary hospitalisation is not always clear. For example, children and adolescents can be admitted to hospital under parental consent, and, even if the young person does not agree, this admission would legally be considered voluntary.

The analysis found that a diagnosis of intellectual disability increased the odds of an involuntary rather than voluntary admission by more than three times (233%). Intellectual disability was included in the analysis whether it was a comorbid or primary diagnosis [4]. Psychiatric hospitalisation, whether involuntary or voluntary is rarely appropriate for young people with intellectual disability and this study highlights the need for further investigation into whether this group have been provided with appropriate and timely care in the community.

Young people perceived to be at risk to themselves or others were twice as likely to be involuntarily than voluntarily admitted. No association was found between gender and involuntary hospitalisation in children and adolescents. Older adolescents (16-17 years) were more likely to have been subject to involuntary hospitalisation than younger adolescents (aged 12-15), according to the study.

Three of the studies included ethnicity in their analysis [5]. Analysis of these studies found that the odds of involuntary rather than voluntary hospitalisation among children and young people from Black ethnic groups were nearly twice as high (172%) than for those from white ethnic groups. No difference was found between young people from Asian and other groups compared to young people from white groups.

Dr Walker said, "By providing insight into the factors associated with involuntary hospitalisation our study represents an important step in reducing coercive psychiatric admissions and ensuring equity of care." [1]

She added: "Among adults, there are consistent findings that people from minority ethnic groups are more likely to be diagnosed with severe mental illness than people from white groups. However, recent research in England has shown that children and adolescents from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds are less likely than those from white ethnic backgrounds to have any mental disorder [6]. It is essential that we understand more about the reasons behind the diagnostic discrepancies between different ethnicity and age groups, and how they relate to psychiatric hospitalisation. An assessment of the role of race in involuntary hospitalisation of young people should be a focus of urgent further investigation." [1]

The researchers acknowledge that limited research in this area is one of the main shortcomings of the study. The researchers also highlight that the review includes studies from different countries with different legal criteria for involuntary hospitalisation, alongside different mental health systems and processes. Another limitation is that the studies are all from high-income countries, highlighting the lack of data from low- and middle-income countries. In addition, the studies included in the analysis had little information on children under the care of social services, socio-economic status, and how patients came to be hospitalised (for example, if police were involved), which meant that these factors could not be investigated. The researchers suggest that it would be helpful to investigate the differences between subtypes of voluntary and involuntary admission i.e whether consent is from parents/caregivers or from the patients and how this affects experiences of care and mental health outcomes.

Writing in a linked Comment, Dr Schuyler W Henderson from Bellevue Hospital, USA, who was not involved in the study, said, "This study, in tandem with other studies identified by Walker and colleagues, shows evidence of a systematic bias against Black populations, honing in on a pervasive limitation to our practice. Antiracism initiatives and anti-racist education are required to address one kind of systematic bias that Walker and colleagues expose and discuss."

He added, "What we are seeing in this study is a vision of children and adolescents through the prism of adult systems and adult paradigms. Although clinicians will certainly want to dig into these findings to make sense of them, and Walker and colleagues provide interesting but cautious interpretations of their findings around diagnosis, age, risk of harm to self or others, and so forth, there is a real risk to this speculation, especially when it comes to adults thinking about children. We are too comfortable assuming we know the answers."

###

NOTES TO EDITORS

Peer-reviewed/ Systematic Review/ People

This research was funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) and the Wellcome Trust. It was conducted by researchers from UCL, UK.

[1] Quote direct from author and cannot be found in the text of the Article.

[2] The 11 countries were Finland, Germany, UK, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Israel.

[3] The ten factors were gender, primary diagnosis, intellectual disability, ethnicity, living arrangements, risk to self, risk to others, previous abuse, previous psychiatric hospitalisation and age.

[4] Intellectual disability was only clearly defined in one study as IQ<80. In UK mental health law intellectual disability is not classified as a mental disorder so someone cannot be admitted to hospital involuntarily with a diagnosis of intellectual disability alone.

[5] Ethnicity was generally defined in the studies non-specifically using aggregated ethnic groupings and it was unclear whether ethnicity had been self-reported.

[6] NHS Digital. Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2017 https:/ / digital. nhs. uk/ data-and-information/ publications/ statistical/ mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/ 2017/ 2017

The labels have been added to this press release as part of a project run by the Academy of Medical Sciences seeking to improve the communication of evidence. For more information, please see: http://www. sciencemediacentre. org/ wp-content/ uploads/ 2018/ 01/ AMS-press-release-labelling-system-GUIDANCE. pdf if you have any questions or feedback, please contact The Lancet press office pressoffice@lancet.com

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Tuxera recognized as one of the ?20 Coolest Data Management Companies? in CRN Storage 100 2021 list

HELSINKI, Finland, April 28, 2021 ? Tuxera, a world-leader in quality-assured storage management and enterprise network storage software, announced the company was selected for the CRN Storage 100 2021 list, published by The Channel Co. in CRN magazine, April 12, 2021. According to CRN, the Storage 100 list ?highlights the best, brightest, and most innovative providers of storage technology for solution providers.? Tuxera is named among the ?20 Coolest Data Management Companies?, a complementary list to the main CRN Storage 2021 list. The company appears alongside prominent players in the data management solutions arena, including Snowflake, Veeam, Veritas Technologies, and others.

Meeting the world?s data storage needs through innovative solutions

CRN notes that the 100 storage solutions vendors featured in their 2021 selection are among the most innovative providers of storage technology used in enterprise deployments, from traditional on-premises to full-on cloud. Further, the list ?recognizes the need solution providers have for finding the right storage infrastructure for each customer based on its own need for performance, flexibility and costs.?

This recognition comes in context of Tuxera?s numerous contributions to data storage management technology over the past year, with prominent advances in automotive and enterprise network storage. From 2020-2021, the company?s most notable contributions include:

1. Tuxera was granted five new US patents, most notably for novel methods of ensuring fail-safety at a file system level.

2. The company was the first to bring SMB compression to Linux through its network file-sharing product, Fusion File Share by Tuxera. This feature enables the compression of files inline during transfer over a network, significantly reducing bandwidth and file transfer time for enterprises using Linux.

3. Groundbreaking file system traversal technology was developed for Tuxera?s commercial-grade NTFS file system implementation, providing three times faster speed-performance to AWS servers for Orca Security?s multi-cloud security platform. This feature is currently being adapted to bring performance boosts to other enterprise use cases.

4. Tuxera invested heavily into high-performance, flash-aware file system development efforts, specifically targeted at the automotive domain. In this industry, the requirements for both data performance and specifically data reliability are growing significantly in magnitude due to software-defined vehicles.

5. The company also put hefty investments into flash storage testing for Tuxera?s customers, simulating specific use cases and workload conditions. This enabled the company to focus its research and development into optimizing their storage solutions, specifically toward industry-specific requirements.

In 2020, the company also established an official Japanese subsidiary, Tuxera Japan KK, to support the accelerating data storage needs for the Japanese market. Additionally, in 2019, the company acquired Datalight, a forerunner in data storage management solutions, to create the most comprehensive portfolio of storage management solutions on the market. The companies devoted significant effort from 2019-2020 into consolidating their entire global operations under the unified brand, Tuxera.

Strategic focus on storage industry leadership

?We?re honored to be recognized alongside these great companies ? and very proud to see our strategic focus on storage industry leadership is starting to show to the outside world,? says Tuukka Ahoniemi, Tuxera CEO. ?The value of user data for businesses is priceless, and getting recognized for our mission to enable people and business to ?store and do more with their data? is really energizing.?

Tuxera?s promise is to deliver reliable storage management solutions for a data-driven world. The company is committed to helping its customers store, safeguard, and manage their critical data. Tuxera?s strong reputation in the storage industry is built on this assurance.
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The Lagos State Government has donated meat confiscated from two illegal sheep and goat slaughter slabs in the state to the Little Saints Orphanage, Abule Egba.

Abisola Olusanya, the commissioner for agriculture, said in a statement Wednesday that the donation was made after the meat was confirmed fit for consumption.

The Monitoring, Enforcement, and Compliance (MEC) Team of the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture arrested three butchers and confiscated 29 live goats, three live sheep, 14 slaughtered goats and 30kg meat carcass at New Alade Market, off Oregun road, Lagos.

According to Ms Olusanya, illegal slaughter slabs, abattoirs, and meat markets pose a health hazard to the state and its residents.

Seeing that animals slaughtered and sold in these places are not inspected by veterinary officials, thus, the wholesomeness of such meat can not be vouched for.

Hence the need for the dislodgement exercise, the commissioner said.

She said the slaughter slabs were located at the New Alade Market, behind Mobil Filling Station, off Oregun Road, and at Idi Ogbo, Eleko, Ibeju Lekki area of the state.

The commissioner added that over 1.5 tonnes of meat carcass that was confiscated at Idi Ogbo in Eleko were also donated to the Bab-Es-Salam Home and Correctional Home for Boys, Oregun.

Last year, there was an option of fine on confiscated live animals but this year, it will not be so.

All confiscated live animals will be auctioned at the Mobile Court of the Task Force Office and all arrested offenders will be duly prosecuted, the commissioner said.

Ms Olusanya appealed to all operators of illegal abattoirs and slaughter slabs in the state to desist from such harmful activities.

She also urged residents to only patronise approved meat shops and abattoirs for their meat products to ensure the safety of the meat consumed. (NAN)


Radio active waste discharge to endanger humans, ecosystems



By Chang Mari





On April 13, Japan unveiled a plan to release radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. The decision is simply unprecedented. Opposition from other countries and strong criticism within the country have been marginalized by the Japanese government.







The decision is a breach of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) since it fails to meet the requirements of an environmental impact assessment, information sharing consultation and negotiation with impacted countries. Greenpeace has advocated requesting provisional measures from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) as an immediate action.







Since one of the worst nuclear accidents in history, the Japanese government has downplayed the damage and dangers. Multiple radiation surveys by Greenpeace since 2011, however, reveal scientific facts that are in stark contrast to the Japanese government's claims.







For one, Japan claims that the discharge can be conducted without concerns since tritium will be treated to a safe level. But there is no safe level for radioactivity and the risks from radiation, including for tritium. And the water remains contaminated by many other radionuclides, such as strontium-90 and carbon-14 which are even more harmful than tritium. The Japanese government singled out tritium in an attempt to divert the public's attention and downplay the danger.







The Japanese government also claims that the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) can be used to remove cesium-137, strontium-90, and other more harmful radionuclides, which is inaccurate. ALPS has already failed, as recognized officially by the Tokyo Electric Power Company in 2018. Over 70 percent of the wastewater after initial treatment contained 100 times higher cesium-127 and 20,000 times higher strontium-90 than safety levels.







Even if the water is treated for a second time, the results are not guaranteed. The Japanese government is manipulating the facts by labeling the contaminated water as "treated," while the fact remains the same, that 1.25 million tons of wastewater in storage is highly toxic even after ALPS treatment.







Japan has also downplayed the danger of tritium. Once entering into living organisms, tritium exchanges hydrogen to form organically bound tritium, which remains in the human body for longer than 12.5 years, the half-life of tritium, causing necrosis, cancers and genetic disorders. The Japanese government withheld this fact until Greenpeace revealed the existence of carbon-14 in the contaminated water in "Stemming the tide 2020: The reality of the Fukushima radioactive water crisis" published in October 2020.







The U.S. and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) support the decision, claiming that the water poses no threat as long as the level is lowered to meet safety guidelines. The guidelines, however, are skewed to benefit the nuclear industry with no limit on the total amount of radionuclides. Radioactive water can be diluted to meet the guidelines, but it does not stop radionuclides from entering the ocean.







U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry expressed concerns over the possible impact on Americans saying "that is why we have the IAEA." The IAEA, however, is established to promote the agenda of nuclear power, which makes it impossible to be an impartial mediator.







The decision to discharge was solely based on non-scientific assumptions and without validation. Additionally, by 2030 there could be an additional 450,000 tons of highly contaminated water in addition to what exists today.







In a report "Decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant" published in March 2021, Greenpeace alerted Japan's neighboring countries to the gravity of the issue. The report was based on technical analysis by Satoshi Sato, a former GE nuclear engineer who led the GE team at the Fukushima plant, warning that the decommissioning technology opted for by TEPCO will produce contaminated water for over a century.







The fact is that as much as twice the amount of highly radioactive molten nuclear fuel exists at Fukushima than Chernobyl. Japan's plan presented just eight months after the March 2011 accident proclaimed that it would restore it to "greenfield" within 30-40 years. However, this lacked feasibility given technologies currently available. Sato pointed to expected technological advances for more effective decommissioning.







Ocean release will mark the beginning of decades of major radioactive pollution. Decommissioning for a century or longer will add more radioactive water. Sato warns that contaminated water to be produced in the future will potentially be even more lethal. The current fuel removal process of pouring tons of water into the damaged reactors increases the risk of plutonium and other very hazardous radionuclides being dispersed outside them.







The Fukushima accident and resultant radioactive water remind us that a nuclear accident is so disastrous that it threatens the long-term health of people and the environment. Japan's actions are deplorable conduct for a government which is legally required to protect its people from pollution.







As United Nations human rights special rapporteurs have warned the Japanese government's decision threatens the human rights and livelihoods of citizens in Japan, and also in Korea and other neighboring countries. Therefore, the Japanese government's move to discharge the wastewater cannot be tolerated.







The significance of Japan's decision extends beyond South Korea. It will pose a threat to generation after generation. The U.S. understands this, too, which is why it hasn't lifted its ban on agricultural and fishery imports from Fukushima since the accident.







Japan should not risk the life of global citizens and ecosystems only to pursue its political interests. It is putting international waters in danger for its own sake. International intervention supported by UNCLOS should be facilitated without delay to stop Japan's dangerous plan.









Chang Mari (

) is a campaigner at the Greenpeace East Asia, Seoul office.







Korea can ask international court for measures to stop disposal plan





By Duncan Currie
Iconic Japanese artwork turns into satirical symbol over Japan's nuclear wastewater dumping

Global Times) 10:40, April 28, 2021

SOS, Save Our Sea. Graphic: Xiong Xiaoying/GT

The image of Japan as a nation dedicated to etiquette is on the edge of collapse among Chinese people over Japanese government's irresponsible decisions, including plans to dump Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the Pacific and leader's visit to a militaristic shrine, observers said.

Echoing South Korea's strong opposition toward the dumping, China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it urged Japan to rectify the plan for nuclear wastewater dumping. "Don't let the people around the world pay for Japan's misdeeds," spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

One of the great Japanese Ukiyo-e works, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, seen as a symbol of brave human beings who are able to face difficulties and forge ahead tenaciously, is now being turned into a satirical symbol on Chinese social media.

One adaption of the masterpiece, created by an illustrator from Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, recently became a hit with netizens on Chinese social media Sina Weibo.

The white spray at the crest of the waves was recreated as deformed human fingers, twisted babies, and mutated marine creatures struggling in the sea. Japanese bureaucrats in ties are bowing and apologizing for their wrong decision, while workers wearing protective clothing and gas masks pour buckets of nuclear wastewater into the sea.

The adaptation was named The Great Wave off Kanagawa Tritium.

The 1.23 million-plus tons of contaminated water that the Japanese government has decided to dump are estimated to contain many radioactive isotopes such as tritium or carbon-14, strontium-90, iodine-129 or cobalt-16, experts said.

The illustrator, who preferred not to be identified, told the Global Times that he feels terrible about Japan's decision, adding that the illustration is his own way of protesting it.

"All the details of my design are intuitive, and I hope the painting will be understandable to Chinese, Japanese or Westerners The consequences for all of humanity will be as the painting depicts, if Japan eventually dumps the nuclear-contaminated water," he said.

The illustrations inspired a wave of imitations on Sina Weibo, with more talented Chinese netizens producing their own creations. Some of them chose to use fluorescent green as the sea color to illustrate a toxic ocean and bizarre mutant marine animals after being polluted by the radioactive water.

Expressing their deep disappointment toward Japan, some netizens said it is killing its image as a nation of civilized etiquette and persistence in environmental protection. The Japanese government "will pay for its rabid evildoings one day," said one.

Distrust among Chinese in relation to Japan is still heating up, especially after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine, which is viewed by countries that were invaded by Japan, including China and South Korea, as a symbol of Japan's past militarism and lack of repentance for its war crimes.

Some netizens said that "the idea of militarism has been in their minds, and the nuclear-contaminated water dumping can be viewed as another kind of invasion."

The Yasukuni Shrine honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead including 14 Class-A convicted war criminals in World War II along with its historically inaccurate museum. The Shinto shrine has long been a source of diplomatic friction between Japan and its neighbors.

Wang Shaopu, a Japanese studies scholar at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, elaborated to the Global Times that Japanese culture is usually represented by two extreme impressions among Chinese people. One is its positive image of being a civilized nation, while the other is its militarism and invasive mentality.

The Suga administration's insistence on dumping nuclear-contaminated water in disregard of opposition from the international community and the domestic public fully exposes its hypocrisy and ugly true colors, Wang said.

Expressing opposition by redesigning an internationally renowned composition may be interpreted as an offense to its culture, but such voices from netizens reflect how Chinese people in general view the Japanese government's decision, Zhang Yiwu, a professor of cultural studies at Peking University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Liang Jun)
Marriott International has signed an agreement with RDK Tourism Investment LLC to amplify its luxury presence in the UAE with the addition of The St. Regis Downtown Dubai.

The signing is expected to further enhance the companys luxury footprint across the UAE where it currently operates 17 properties and more than 6,000 rooms across seven of its luxury brands.

We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with RDK Tourism Investment with this milestone project, said Jerome Briet, Chief Development Officer, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International. St. Regis delivers exquisite experiences and anticipatory service in some of the most desirable locations around the world. With this addition, the brand will arrive at one of the finest addresses in Downtown Dubai, which is home to the citys most iconic landmarks. The St. Regis Downtown Dubai is set to offer unparalleled luxury, bespoke service and modern glamour for leisure and business travellers alike.

The St. Regis brand continues to expand its renowned global portfolio by adding the highly sought-after address of Downtown Dubai with the anticipated transformation and rebranding of the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai by the end of 2021. The renovation plans are expected to include a residential inspired sophisticated design of the lobby and the addition of an Astor Ballroom, which speaks to the brands focus on hosting iconic celebrations. The renovations will be blended with the hallmarks of St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, including the brands celebrated Rituals and signature St. Regis Butler Service.

We look forward to building on our relationship with Marriott International to further expand our hospitality portfolio in the region, said Rashid Darwish Ahmed Saif Al Ketbi, Chairman of RDK Group. As a company we remain committed to positively contributing to the local economic development by continuing to invest and develop landmark projects that offer the highest standards of quality and international standards.

Situated in the heart of Business Bay along the canal waterfront, and within close proximity to the Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall, the hotel will offer bespoke guest experiences and luxury accommodations tailored to meet global travellers needs.

The St. Regis Downtown Dubai is expected to mark the brands fourth location in the UAE, joining The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi and the anticipated The St. Regis Dubai, The Palm. - TradeArabia News Service
OAKLAND, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The newly launched Justice40 Accelerator will support communities on the front lines of the climate crisis in accessing federal funding flowing from President Joe Biden's historic executive order directing 40% of the benefits from government-funded climate action to disadvantaged communities. Participating organizations can share existing expertise, and qualify for capacity-building grants averaging $25,000 each. After a dialogue with potential applicants and in response to needs in the field, the accelerator will also offer project development workshops, partnership opportunities, technical expertise, and informational briefings and resources to support dozens of community-based organizations as they apply for federal funds.

"The Biden/Harris administration's Justice40 Initiative is an incredible opportunity to finally center communities that have suffered most from dirty energy and the effects of climate change  the same communities that can lead us through a just transition to a clean-energy economy," said Gloria Walton, CEO of the climate justice grantmaking organization The Solutions Project , which funds and amplifies community-based climate solutions.

"But this historic plan will work only if climate funding flows directly to those front-line communities, instead of solely to the same old organizations and businesses that already have plenty of resources and inside-the-Beltway connections," said Walton. She joined The Solutions Project's co-founder, the actor Mark Ruffalo, to announce the Justice40 Accelerator on CBS This Morning.

Community-based organizations are creating innovative climate solutions across the United States, but often lack access to the resources they need to realize them fully. Most front-line climate organizations are rooted in and accountable to communities of color, which bear disproportionate burdens from climate change and dirty energy. They are historically underinvested in across both philanthropy and government funding  and the convoluted federal funding ecosystem is difficult for even the most well-resourced organizations to access.

The Justice40 Accelerator aims to provide philanthropic and technical support to access federal grants and contracts, and will also serve as a navigator for front-line organizations to access the funding they deserve.

Climate justice and other community groups are working on the front lines of rising sea levels in Miami and warming temperatures in Iowa, and on the fence lines of oil sands pipelines in Minnesota and oil drilling in Los Angeles. They are bringing clean energy and safe drinking water to predominantly Black communities in the South, creating wind-energy jobs in multi-racial communities in the urban Northeast, and building efficient, affordable, solar-powered housing in Indigenous communities on the Great Plains.

"Washington ideas can feel impossibly far away and inaccessible when you're working on the front lines of climate solutions," commented Lenwood Coleman, Chief Program Officer of community clean power and resilience nonprofit Groundswell. A U.S. Air Force veteran and longtime community development leader, Coleman knows the perseverance and commitment to service that it takes to make community-focused programs work for the people. "The District of Columbia is Groundswell's hometown, our team has seen it from all sides, and we're here to stand in the gap."

The Justice40 Accelerator is a partnership project of the nonprofit organizations Groundswell , Elevate , the Partnership for Southern Equity, and The Solutions Project, with support from The Hummingbird Firm , drawing on decades of experience and a commitment to serving the needs of front-line organizations as these groups seek to access federal funding at this important time. The accelerator is independent of the federal government and of the Justice40 Initiative.

"For ongoing guidance and support throughout the process of competing for federal funding, community organizations can team up with peer nonprofits involved in similar work so lessons can be shared in real time," said Nathaniel Smith , founder and chief equity officer of the Partnership for Southern Equity, which works for racial equity and shared prosperity in Atlanta and across the American South. "The Justice40 Accelerator aims to level the playing field  or at least tilt it in the right direction  so that front-line climate communities can access federal funding and take their place at the heart of a just transition to a clean energy economy. We hope dozens of organizations will join this initiative by participating in the accelerator and showcasing their incredible innovations for the various federal agencies looking to scale community climate solutions that work for everyone."

The Biden/Harris administration's Justice40 Initiative isn't a new grant program with a clear application process. Rather, it is a target woven into existing programs across government, such as the American Jobs Plan, which includes energy, water, housing, and transportation and mass transit.

Many environmental justice and other community groups felt caught flat-footed in the face of the nation's last massive recovery program, 2009's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which prioritized shovel-ready projects.

"We are in a much stronger position as a movement now and have important lessons to put into practice," said Gloria Walton, who was working for a community-based organization when ARRA was passed. "In 2009, organizations, businesses, and state government agencies that routinely got federal funding already knew how to ramp up quickly, and they got most of the money. That left innovative and potentially transformative frontline climate projects out in the cold  and that can't happen this time around," said Walton.

The Justice40 Accelerator is inviting front-line climate organizations and other community groups in environmental justice communities, most especially organizations led by Black, Indigenous, and other people of color to get the process started by signing up to learn more about the accelerator and attending informational webinars. Registration is at www.Justice40Accelerator.org , and additional information is available at www.thesolutionsproject.org .

Elevate seeks to create a just and equitable world in which everyone has clean and affordable heat, power, and water in their homes and communities  no matter who they are or where they live. Our programs, policy agenda, and partners reflect this commitment.

Groundswell builds community power to create equitable clean energy futures. A 501c3 nonprofit, Groundswell develops community solar projects and resilience hubs, helps neighbors to share power, reduces energy burdens with efficiency, and connects clean energy supply chains to local economic development - all informed by data science and pioneering research.

Partnership for Southern Equity advances policies and institutional actions that promote racial equity and shared prosperity for all in the growth of metropolitan Atlanta and the American South.

The Hummingbird Firm is a community engagement consulting firm, specializing in face-to-face and digital engagement for public involvement, public participation, environmental communications, climate action, and cultural competency training. We specialize in outreach to underrepresented, underserved, and underrepresented communities.

The Solutions Project is a national nonprofit organization that promotes climate justice through grantmaking and amplifying the stories of front-line community leaders in the media. The organization seeks to accelerate the transition to 100% clean energy and equitable access to healthy air, water, and soils by supporting climate justice organizations, especially those led by women of color.

Media contact: Carina Daniels

[email protected]

510-847-1617

SOURCE The Solutions Project

Related Links

https://thesolutionsproject.org


By Joseph Otis Minott

Plans for the proposed PennEast pipeline have repeatedly shifted since first announced in 2014, but certain facts have remained constant: the project has always been unnecessary, unwanted, and environmentally destructive.

PennEast Pipeline Company LLC initially proposed this ill-conceived project with the promise of bringing fracked gas from the Marcellus Shale to customers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. However, PennEast has ignored questions about whether there is any true public need for the pipeline. The originally proposed project lacked a clear benefit for customers in Pennsylvania, since the state already has an extensive network of natural gas pipelines and has been a major exporter of natural gas for years.

Across the Delaware River, New Jerseys Rate Counsel, the state agency responsible for representing the interests of residents, businesses, and other rate payers in dealing with regulated public utilities, argued that the states robust natural gas pipeline network well exceeded demand already and stated that there is no imminent need for significant amounts of additional capacity.

After facing significant legal and regulatory opposition in New Jersey, PennEast introduced a phased proposal to initially build a portion of the pipeline in Pennsylvania only. The phased proposal similarly lacked a clear need or public benefit.

Although PennEast argued that the Pennsylvania-only, Phase 1 portion of the pipeline could operate on its own regardless of whether the Phase 2 portion in Northampton Country, Bucks County, and New Jersey would ever be completed, it still failed to demonstrate its supposed public benefits.

PennEast was only able to obtain purchasers for half of the Phase 1 pipelines capacity, and those purchasers were all self-dealing partners of the PennEast pipeline, indicating a lack of demand for the destructive project.

Meanwhile, eastern Pennsylvanias residents arent exactly clamoring for the construction of the new pipeline through their properties and communities.

Lehighvalleylive.com reported that PennEast opponents outnumbered supporters three-to-one at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protections (DEPs) most recent public hearing in January on water-related permits needed for the construction of Phase 1.

If regulators are still contemplating the risks of such a pipeline project, they need only look a few counties south to the path of Sunocos Mariner East 2 pipelines. Mariner Easts construction has left unprecedented damage in its wake, causing more than 300 drilling fluid spills and damaging water ways, drinking water sources, and recreational areas.

PennEast could similarly damage waterways and neighborhoods all along its route, which would also cross numerous beloved recreation and tourism areas critical to the economy of the Poconos region.

Pennsylvania residents shouldnt be forced to stand by and watch as a for-profit company seizes their properties, cuts through state-owned recreation and conservation areas, and threatens their drinking water sources, all for a project that lacks any supposed public benefits.

With the U.S. Supreme Court deciding to hear the case PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC v. State of New Jersey, the future of the pipeline remains uncertain.

As we all await the Supreme Courts decision, DEP has a chance to hit the pause button and reconsider the project and the uncertainties that come with it.

Regardless of this cases outcome and whether PennEast continues to pursue its phased approach or instead seeks to build the Pennsylvania and New Jersey portions as originally proposed, one thing remains constant: the environmental costs of this pipeline project far outweigh any supposed public need or benefit.

In either scenario, regulators should do the right thing and halt PennEast  for good.

Joseph Otis Minott is executive director and chief counsel of Clean Air Council.
Seven illegal aliens and a driver are apprehended in La Salle County, Texas, on April 24, 2021. (La Salle County Sheriff's Office)

Texas Counties Declare Disaster Over Border Crisis

A Honduran womans body was found dumped in the brush on private property in Goliad County, Texas, after she had been smuggled hundreds of miles north from the border in March, according to county Sheriff Roy Boyd. In another case, an old shed on a ranch was being used to strip stolen vehicles in preparation for smuggling people.

Boyd says the countywhich sits about 200 miles north of the U.S.Mexico borderis used as a staging area for smuggling illegal aliens to Houston.

What happens is theyll bring them up from the border to somewhere in this area. Theyll drop them off at a temporary holding site and then someone from Houston comes and picks them up and then takes them to Houston, where theyre distributed across the United States, he said.

Goliad County, with a population of 7,600, is one of four Texas counties that issued local states of disaster last week due to the impact of the border surge. Three of the counties are located 40 to 200 miles north of the border but are dealing with cross-border crime and human smuggling every day.

In their declarations, each of the countiesKinney, Goliad, La Salle, and Atascosasaid the health, life, and property of their residents are under imminent threat of disaster from the human trafficking occurring on our border with Mexico.

Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 76,000 illegal aliens along the U.S.Mexico border in the first two weeks of April. In addition, the average number of illegal aliens who evade capture is about 1,000 per day.

The ongoing border crisis has resulted in thousands of illegal aliens invading South Texas and overwhelming our local, state, and federal law enforcement, the Goliad County declaration reads.

This continual violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity has resulted in residents of South Texas being assaulted, threatened with violence, and robbed, while also sustaining vast amounts of property damage.

The declarations request that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott deploy additional law enforcement personnel and state military forces to help control the situation.

Goliad County Judge Mike Bennett, who signed his countys declaration, said he expects 200 or more of Texass 254 counties to follow suit.

We dont have a lot of redundancy in these small counties and its taking up every bit of their resources, Bennett said during a public meeting in Westache on April 22.

This needs to be addressed at the sourcewhich is our borderand thats what were hoping our governor will do.

On April 26, Abbott asked county judges to send him a full and accurate estimate of the fiscal impact on their county so he can bill the federal government for costs incurred.

Boyd said hes been dealing with border issues since 2005.

Ive never seen anything quite like this, he said at the public meeting. Things pretty much started drying up on the border during the last administration. Things were pretty much under control.

Well, that came to a real fast end, and its the Wild West on steroids.

Boyd asked locals to check their land for signs of illegal activity, including discarded water bottles, campfire remnants, and large amounts of trash.

If were not going to do something about any of this, then were not a nation, he said.

Id much rather see the federal government get off their duff and do something about this, but, Im sorry, I have no faith. Its going to have to come from the state of Texas. If the state doesnt do something, its all going to be over.

Short on Resources

Kinney County, which started the ball rolling on the disaster declarations, is the only one of the four counties thats situated on the international border. The county is a direct smuggling route from Del Rio to San Antonio.

Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe said he has six full-time deputies to cover 1,400 square miles.

We cant do it, he said.

My guys have been in more pursuits in the past year than most police officers will do in a lifetime. Were catching more and more every day. We file charges, [then] we have to let them go because our jails are full.

On April 23, the sheriffs office posted a message on its Facebook page: In less than 18 hours, Kinney County Sheriffs Deputies have encountered 5 human trafficking cases and 1 stolen vehicle.

Kinney County attorney Brent Smith said Texas should act on its own accord to enforce its border with Mexico.

It is my opinion that an emergency declaration by Governor Abbott or the Texas Legislature would authorize Texas to take certain steps in the enforcement of its own borders and the protection of its citizens health, safety, and welfare, Smith wrote in The 830 Times on April 8.

Newly elected Lavaca County Judge Mark Myers also spoke at the public meeting, despite his county not declaring a disaster. His county sits between the border and Houston.

Since January, within the county, more than 13 pickup trucks have been stolen, and seven high-speed pursuits ended in crashes. Three illegal aliens have been airlifted to hospitals.

This all costs taxpayer money, because illegal aliens dont pay that billyou do, Myers said, adding that it costs $40,000 to airlift an injured person.

This is not a sustainable future. We cannot do this.

Myers encouraged the 400 to 500 participants at the meeting to flood the telephone network of state representatives in Austin.

The governor needs to act on this, and he needs to treat it as what it is, which is an invasion of our nation. This is an act of war, Myers said.
The Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine gives enough antibodies to combat the virus Indian strain, director of the Gamaleya Center, the vaccine developer, Alexander Gintsburg said on Tuesday.

"If necessary, we will combat the Indian strain by high titers of antibodies triggered by the Sputnik V vaccine. As a rule, it generates antibodies 20, 30, 80 times as much as necessary to neutralize the biggest amount of the virus in an infected organism. Sputnik V will be effective against the Indian strain," TASS cited him as saying.

Indias health ministry reported in late March that a new coronavirus variant with E484Q and L452R mutations in the S protein had been detected in the country. The ministry said that it was especially worrying that the new strain had two mutations previously observed in other virus variants. It was also reported that these mutations occurred in some 15-20% of samples and were detected in the British, South African, and Brazilian strains.
Married At First Sight's most controversial couple Bryce Ruthven and Melissa Rawson recently signed a deal with podcasting company Podshape.

And it didn't take long for the pair's critics to attack them online for cashing in on their notoriety with a 10-part series about their lives post-MAFS.

Bryce, 32, who is regularly trolled by self-righteous viewers, took aim at several followers who mocked his new career move with schoolyard taunts.

Not having it: Former Married At First Sight star Bryce Ruthven (left) has hit back at trolls saying they would 'rather die' than listen to his new podcast with 'wife' Melissa Rawson (right)

'Can't wait to listen to it on silent,' one person commented on Bryce's Instagram account.

'Clicks,' the former MAFS groom responded.

'I would rather die,' another troll insensitively wrote, to which Bryce responded with a telephone emoji and a link to the Beyond Blue helpline.

Ouch: 'Can't wait to listen to it on silent,' one person commented on Bryce's Instagram account

Not nice: 'You should not breed! You're wasting our oxygen as it is,' another troll wrote

Exchange: 'I would rather die,' one troll insensitively wrote, to which Bryce responded with a telephone emoji and a link to the Beyond Blue helpline.

A third user wrote: 'You should not breed! You're wasting our oxygen as it is.'

Bryce quit his last position as an announcer for Hit104.7 Canberra's afternoon show in February.

He announced his new role with Podshape on Tuesday.

Announcement: Bryce is officially back in the media industry after signing a contract with Podshape. His first assignment for the podcasting company is a series with his 'wife' Melissa all about their life post-MAFS, titled What Happens After

His first assignment for the company is a podcast with his 'wife' Melissa all about their life post-MAFS, aptly titled What Happens After.

A two-minute trailer for the Podshape exclusive was released last week.

In the promo, the couple talk about their time on Nine's hit reality series, as well as what's happened to them since the cameras stopped rolling.

Origin story: In a two-minute trailer released last week, the couple talk about their time on Nine's hit reality series, as well as what's happened to them since the cameras stopped rolling

'The bad things have definitely been the trolls, and the lack of understanding around our relationship,' says Melissa.

Bryce even alludes to marriage for the pair - and children.

'I think it's about time we make it legal at some point in the near future,' he says, adding: 'I would like to have kids. I'm not getting any younger.'

'That will be an interesting topic to discuss!' adds Melissa.

What Happens After launches on Tuesday, May 4, and will run for 10 episodes

Broadcast career: Bryce quit his last position as an announcer for Hit104.7 Canberra's afternoon show in February. He announced his new role with Podshape on Tuesday
Burma Myanmar Junta Forces Detain Mother and Brother of Bomb Suspect in Pyay

The signboard of Pyay. / The Irrawaddy

Junta security forces have arrested the mother and brother of a man alleged to be involved in the manufacture of homemade bombs seized in Pyay, Bago Region. After junta forces failed to find the suspect, they detained his mother and brother in his place. Relatives said they have lost contact with the two since their arrest two weeks ago.

Security forces came for Ko Yan Naing Lin, who lives in Pyays Ywabe ward, on April 14 over his alleged involvement in homemade bombs seized in Pyays Khatara ward.

After failing to find Ko Yan Naing Lin at his home, junta forces arrested his 65-year-old mother and 28-year-old brother instead, as well as searching their house, local residents said.

They took the mother as a hostage as they couldnt find the son. Nothing illegal was found at their house in their search. We are worried about their well-being as they are being held incommunicado, said a relative.

Their relatives have called for the immediate release of the pair as they have not done anything unlawful. Ko Yan Naing Lin has gone into hiding following the arrest of his family members.

Pyay has seen a number of civilian casualties from brutal crackdowns on anti-regime protesters. Residents said that junta forces are now arresting protesters and activists at night. But young anti-coup protesters are continuing their daily protests against the military regime in different ways.



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North Korea has executed a party official after they defied Kim Jong-un in the hope of getting an empty showpiece hospital opened to patients.

The dictator personally broke ground on Pyongyang General Hospital amid much fanfare in March last year, demanding that the facility be built in just over six months.

But his deadline came and went without a grand opening, amid rumours that the finished building was an empty shell, lacking basic medical equipment.

Now a party official has paid the ultimate price, after a workaround was proposed that clashed with Kim Jong-un's vision for the hospital.

The tyrant wanted the facility kitted out with medical equipment from Europe, according to South Korea's Daily NK newspaper.

Kim Jong-un personally broke ground on Pyongyang General Hospital amid much fanfare in March last year, demanding that the facility be built in just over six months

The hospital under construction last year. Kim had asked that it be completed in just over six months

A mock up of what the hospital in the capital was supposed to look like

But an alternative plan was made to use Chinese equipment instead  and the official was blamed when an 'outraged' Kim Jong-un found out.

The condemned man was a deputy director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who was aged in his early 50s, and was responsible for importing and exporting, Daily NK reported.

An executive at the Ministry of Health was also dismissed, the newspaper said.

Kim Jong-un, who spent part of his boyhood in Switzerland, reportedly believes European-made equipment to be of the highest quality.

The party therefore allocated a large budget to furnish the hospital in line with his wishes.

But officials allegedly struggled to overcome European sanctions against North Korea and, due to the pandemic, also had difficulty bringing the items into neutral third countries.

It was then that a plan was made to use cheaper Chinese equipment that could be more easily imported.

However, a contract was reportedly signed before Kim Jong-un could approve of the change.

North Korea analyst Martyn Williams, who has kept tabs on the hospital's construction via satellite imagery, said in January that sourcing medical equipment appeared to be the problem.

'We cannot judge interior progress,' he said.

'One of the main sticking points will be procurement of medical equipment.

The hospital in September last year. The tyrant wanted the facility kitted out with medical equipment from Europe, according to South Korea's Daily NK newspaper.

Scanners and the like are not cheap and North Korea isn't rich.

'I understand it has been asking foreign governments for donations of equipment but that hasn't come to much yet.

'Photos from Kim Jong-un's visit to the hospital last July showed that the structure was largely finished, though most windows had not yet been installed.

A subsequent photo from September shows the exterior all but completed.

The tyrant originally ordered the hospital to be open by October 10, 2020  the 75th anniversary of the day that the ruling party was founded.

But state propaganda hasn't offered an update on the project since September, when it boasted that external work was in its final stages and progressing 'at a rapid pace'.

North Korea's broadcasting arm, Korean Central Television, even edited the hospital out of a December propaganda reel, according to reports.

Meanwhile, a government document listing 'important national construction projects' for 2021 failed to mention the project.

Mr Williams, a fellow with the Washington DC-based Stimson Center, said that the hospital is primarily a 'propaganda project' and he therefore expects it to be shown off as soon as it's done.

He said: 'State media has simply ignored it and the hospital has been dropped from news updates.

Kim is pictured outside the hospital in July last year

'As it missed its deadline, it's not a surprise that it dropped out of the propaganda, but I expect they will get back to it and it will reappear in the media once it is complete.'

The hospital is not the first major construction project to fall by the wayside in North Korea.

The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, also known as the Hotel of Doom, was supposed to be completed by 1992, but the 105-storey skyscraper remains empty and unfinished today.

And a beach resort in the eastern city of Wonsan, dubbed the North Korean Benidorm, has blown through several deadlines without opening.
AMHERST  Whats in the water?

If there is too high a level of substances known as PFAS, the water isnt safe to drink. A University of Massachusetts Amherst civil engineering team is supervising a study of the states public and private wells to find out.

We dont touch the water. Our job is to get response from public water systems, arrange for transit of sample bottles and provide heavy oversight, said David Reckhow, a UMass professor whose group includes another professor, John Tobiason, as well as 11 other professionals, six graduate students and 24 undergraduates.

Theyre working with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to administer a $1,072,791 state grant to sample public water supplies.

The target of the testing is per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Included in the project are not only public wells throughout the state, but also selected private water wells in 84 Massachusetts cities and towns.

The 84 communities were targeted if 60% or more residents were served by private wells. About half are located in Western Massachusetts, primarily in rural sections of Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties, with a smattering in Hampden County.

PFAS has been in the news in Western Massachusetts in recent years after it was detected in municipal wells in Westfield and linked to firefighting foam used in the past at Barnes Air National Guard Base. The city has spent $13 million to filter the chemicals out of its drinking water, with some reimbursement from the federal government.

The UMass study does not involve any Westfield sites. A list of communities being targeted by the project can be found on the MassDEP website. More details can be found at the states PFAS website.

Laboratory analysis of each sample provides data on the concentration of 18 commonly measured PFAS species, especially the six specific substances that make up the regulated PFAS group.

PFAS are a group of chemicals manufactured for industrial applications since the 1940s. The chemicals are found in a variety of products, they dont break down and can easily accumulate in humans over time.

There is scientific evidence that exposure to PFAS can have adverse health effects in humans. Reckhow says an important component of the study is to locate the source of such chemicals if high levels are identified  perhaps, he used as one example, from an upstream industrial site.

The state DEP does not regulate private wells. Thats in the hands of local health boards. If we find a level that would seem to present an imminent hazard, the DEP gets involved, he said.

Water quality is regulated largely at the state level with local involvement, rather than at the federal level.

The MassDEP came to us as a natural outgrowth of concerns over PFAS. The federal government was not (studying the matter), so many states started doing it on their own, and establishing their own limits on compounds, Reckhow said.

While Reckhow sees advantages to state and local monitoring, he thinks a more hands-on approach by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is possible. The new EPA administrator, Michael Regan, began his tenure on March 11.

The EPA is trying to rebuild the science basis for regulation, but (Regan) is very new to the job. We do have a backdrop of (federal) regulation, but states have the option of adopting stricter regulations, Reckhow said.

The UMass partnership with MassDEP is designed for faster results that the state agency would have been unable to handle on its own. The work was initially planned to be finished by June 30, but the coronavirus pandemic forced the staff to work almost entirely remotely, which delayed the rollout and will extend the work into fiscal 2022.

Reckhow said proper supervision is vital because water quality is an emotional issue. The results must be reliable and science-based.

We have to deliver the correct message. That means making sure the labs are using quality control, he said.

Not every Massachusetts community has signed on for the project, but Reckhow thinks more will do so because its being offered at no charge to them. These communities will eventually have to test their water, anyway, and if they dont do it through this initiative, theyll probably have to do it at cost.

Funding for the UMass groups study will not be needed for some aspects of the research, notably laboratory analysis. Altogether, $8.4 million has been budgeted.

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Princess Beatrice proved she has been making the most of lockdown restrictions lifting as she dined out with her husband and friends earlier this week.

The Queen's granddaughter, 32, and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 36, were spotted enjoying lunch at a restaurant down by the river in West London on Saturday, before hopping into a car home.

Beatrice opted for a casual low-key look for the occasion, pairing a dark blue gilet with a black floral dress, while Edo donned a navy jacket with straight black trousers.

The couple appeared relaxed as they chatted with friends after the lunch, which came days after they enjoyed dinner at the exclusive members club George in Mayfair.

Princess Beatrice proved she has been making the most of lockdown restrictions lifting as she dined out with her husband and friends earlier this week

The Queen 's granddaughter, 32, and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi , 36, were spotted enjoying lunch at a restaurant down by the river in West London on Saturday, before hopping in a taxi home

Beatrice opted for a casual low-key look for the occasion, pairing a dark blue gilet with a black floral dress, while Edo donned a navy jacket with straight black trousers

Beatrice opted for a black floral dress for the occasion, and ensured she stayed warm against any spring chill by wearing dark tights and a pair of chunky black biker boots.

Meanwhile she layered up in a striped breton style blazer with a black puffer gilet.

Princess Beatrice wore her auburn tresses in loose waves over shoulders and opted for a natural makeup look.

She ensured she remained stylish throughout the lunchtime meet by opting for a pair of cool black and gold sunglasses.

The couple appeared relaxed as they met with friends, one of whom appeared to be showing off a blossoming baby bump, at the restaurant

The couple could be seen chatting animatedly to a friend as they waited outside the restaurant ahead of their lunch date

The couple appeared relaxed as they met with friends, one of whom appeared to be showing off a blossoming baby bump, at the restaurant.

It comes days after Beatrice and Edo dined out with one another at an exclusive member's club.

The couple appeared smitten as they enjoyed dinner on the terrace at the club, with Beatrice beaming as she chatted to her husband.

The VIP visitor wore her hair in loose curls which were brushed back into a loose side parting, keeping her makeup to a minimum.

Taking the leftovers home! After leaving the lunch, Beatrice was seen carrying a yellow take-out box

The couple could be seen chatting animatedly, before stepping out of the club and climbing into a taxi.

It is not known whether Beatrice is a member of the exclusive club - which counts the likes of David Cameron among its regulars and costs more than 750 a year - or just a guest.

Infamous for its strict dress code, t-shirts, leggings and flip flops are strictly banned for female guests while men are forbidden from sporting untucked shirts.

The couple were joined by a second friend as they left the restaurant, who could be seen walking alongside Beatrice (right)

At one stage, the friend could be seen removing her cosy green jumper as she lapped up the sunshine alongside Beatrice

Princess Beatrice's husband, whom she wed last summer, appeared animated as he spoke with the royal on their way to their car

A bottle of wine can cost as much as 28 a glass, while one bottle of vintage champagne is priced at an eye-watering 700.

She has been spotted at the club in the past, and was seen leaving the exclusive bar at 2.30am the week of her sister Eugenie's royal wedding.

The outings come after a difficult period for the couple, as the royal family came to the official end of the mourning period for Beatrice's grandfather Prince Philip.

The group walked through the sunshine and continued to chat as they arrived at Beatrice's car with one another

The outings come after a difficult period for the couple, as the royal family came to the official end of the mourning period for Beatrice's grandfather Prince Philip

Edo joined Beatrice for the funeral last week, marking his first royal ceremony since the couple tied the knot last summer.

Beatrice wore a long collared jacket, believed to be a custom Claire Mischevani coat, as she attended St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, accompanied by her husband for the funeral last weekend.

She paired her sophisticated ensemble with a round hat embellished with a large black bow and a pair of understated stiletto heels as she joined her family to mourn the loss of the late Duke of Edinburgh.

The couple appear to have been enjoying the spring-weather in London following the end of the official mourning period for Prince Philip

After the lunch, Beatrice could be seen offering her friend a close hug before hopping into her waiting car

Beatrice and her husband joined other royals outside St George's Chapel ahead of the funeral, including her younger sister Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank, Kate Middleton and Zara and Mike Tindall.

The couple then entered St George's Chapel and sat alongside Eugenie, 31, and her husband Jack, as well as Zara and Mike - both of which have recently welcomed baby boy's who they named after Prince Philip - for the emotional ceremony.

Days earlier, Princess Beatrice shared a lesson she learned from her grandfather at her final public appearance before his death - explaining how he encouraged her not to become 'obsessed with solutions' and to focus on the journey to get there instead.
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough wants more veterans who believe they were sickened by exposure to burn pits overseas to seek help from the department, despite many being turned away.

"We're urging vets to come forward with their claims," McDonough said at a press briefing Monday. "Our commitment is to treat each claim with the care it deserves. As we get more claims, we can aggregate those claims to draw bigger conclusions."

As of March 31, the VA had denied 72% of burn pit claims, according to agency data obtained by Military.com. Between June 2007 and March 31, the VA processed 15,640 disability compensation claims related to burn pit exposure. Of those, 3,510 veterans had at least one burn pit issue granted.

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The top three diagnoses related to burn pits are bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis and allergic rhinitis, according to department data. The most common reasons for a veteran to be denied is not having a diagnosed medical condition or being unable to connect the condition to their service -- 43.1% and 42.8% of denials, respectively.

But the data doesn't reflect the scope of the issue. The number of patients filing claims might be disproportionately small given VA estimates that 3.5 million veterans have been exposed to burn pits since 1990. It is unclear how many are sick due to their exposure or have died as a result.

McDonough suggests that more data is needed, and he wants more veterans to seek help from the VA so officials can get a better grasp on the issue.

The burn pit data also could be inherently flawed. To get the data, the VA had to use text mining, searching for keywords such as "burn pit" and "burn pits" in its patient databases, according to department records. This means patients coming forward with issues related to burn pits might not automatically be listed as burn pit patients if that phrase wasn't used in their records.

Out of the 2.5 million Global War on Terrorism veterans, 781,384 have filed claims related to respiratory issues. According to VA data obtained by Military.com, 63% were granted. Of all the GWOT veterans, 42,686 filed for claims related to cancer; 37% of those claims were granted.

The VA's research shows GWOT veterans are three times more likely than non-deployed veterans to file claims related to respiratory issues and twice as likely to file claims for cancer.

"Although the GWOT-deployed and GWOT non-deployed population sizes are relatively the same, the GWOT-deployed cohort has more than two times the number of service-connected cancers," according to the agency's findings.

Burn pits are often referred to as the post-9/11 generation's Agent Orange, referencing the bureaucratic maze and uneven claims process veterans have to navigate, and what could be a decades-long legislative fight to issue easy-to-access health care and disability compensation.

The House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees and advocacy groups have made toxic exposure the top issue this year. Congress is looking at some two dozen bills, ranging from incremental improvements to sweeping health care bills for all 3.5 million veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic environments.

But it's unclear what can actually make it to President Joe Biden's desk. Some lawmakers and advocates are concerned over what is very likely to be a huge tab to cover the cost of opening the VA up to a huge swath of new patients.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: Lawmakers Rush to Introduce Relief Bills as Military Toxic Exposures Come to Light
BOSTON  Ahead of a debate on Beacon Hill expected to focus sharply on labor agreements, state senators will work into the night Wednesday to flesh out 23 proposed amendments to a $600 million bond bill to enable a new Holyoke Soldiers Home and enhanced statewide veterans services.

Aside from the price tags for the new facility and expanded veterans services across the state, amendment No. 1  a project labor agreement plus  is expected to be the most hotly contested when the Senate convenes at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Its been a short and winding road for the bond bill, born of a COVID-19 outbreak at the Soldiers Home that claimed the lives of at least 77 veterans last year. After clearing three legislative committees and the full House, the bill is now scheduled for debate before the Senate.

Depending on the outcome, the bill could be headed for another hearing committee or straight to Gov. Charlie Bakers desk. The bill was first proposed by Baker strictly to finance the Holyoke Soldiers Home  among the reforms his administration proposed in the wake of the outbreak. But it has since evolved to include not only $400 million for the new Holyoke facility, but also $200 million for veterans services across the state.

The Senates version includes nearly two dozen amendments for labor agreements, regional equity, transportation concerns and other issues.

Conclusion: nothing in government comes easily, it seems. However, the bills staunchest advocates remain hopeful.

I am very optimistic that the Senate will pass the Holyoke Soldiers Home bill tomorrow, said John Velis, a freshman senator who spent seven years in the House and whose district includes Holyoke.

Velis, a U.S. Army veteran, has been out in front on the bill as it has been challenged by lawmakers in the eastern part of the state as too focused on Western Massachusetts. Advocates in this region have countered that the road to a new Chelsea Soldiers Home  approved in 2018  met with no resistance from lawmakers in any part of the state.

A veteran is a veteran is a veteran, Velis has said many times throughout the debate.

Parallel to the bond bill debate, a special legislative oversight committee commissioned by former House Speaker Robert Deleo hosted eight public hearings on the impact of COVID-19 at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. It is from those discussions that dissent began to crop up in eastern Massachusetts over the project.

The legislature must pass the bond bill for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to commit up to $260 million to offset the construction cost.

From my conversations with colleagues and Senate leadership, there is a clear understanding of how important this bill is for our veterans and our region, Velis said.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MAG Silver Corp. (TSX / NYSE American: MAG) (MAG or MAG Silver) is pleased to report 2021 first quarter production of underground development material from the Juanicipio Project (56% / 44% joint venture between Fresnillo plc (Fresnillo) and MAG Silver). As reported to MAG by the project operator Fresnillo, 36,395 tonnes of development material were processed during the quarter ended March 31, 2021. On a 100% basis, total production for the quarter based on provisional estimates before liquidation adjustments from the prior quarter, totaled 462,321 silver ounces and 697 gold ounces (attributable to MAG: 203,421 ounces of silver and 307 ounces of gold). The associated lead and zinc production will be reported with MAGs first quarter filings.



The development material is being processed through the nearby Fresnillo processing plant (100% owned by Fresnillo) with the lead (silver rich) and zinc concentrates treated at market terms under off-take agreements with Met-Mex Penoles, S.A. de C.V. in Torreon, Mexico. The revenue from this production, net of processing and treatment charges, will be used by the joint venture to offset initial project capital cash requirements.

Weve now successfully milled approximately 108,000 tonnes of development material at the Fresnillo plant since early August of 2020 generating cash-flow to help offset capex, gaining valuable metallurgical understanding, and providing confidence for the high stope grades expected once full scale mining production commences, said George Paspalas, MAG Silvers President and CEO. Well continue to see these benefits through to Q4 2021 when we transition to the Juanicipio processing facility.

Project development and construction of the Juanicipio processing plant is making good progress at site, with the plant still expected to commence commissioning in Q4-2021 according to Fresnillo, the operator. Mineralized material from development will continue to be batch processed on commercial terms at a targeted rate of 16,000 tonnes per month at the Fresnillo plant until the Juanicipio plant is commissioned. Construction photos are available at https://magsilver.com/projects/photo-gallery/#photo-gallery.

Qualified Person: Dr. Peter Megaw, Ph.D., C.P.G., has acted as the Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 for this disclosure and supervised the preparation of the technical information in this release. Dr. Megaw has a Ph.D. in geology and more than 38 years of relevant experience focused on ore deposit exploration worldwide. He is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG 10227) by the American Institute of Professional Geologists and an Arizona Registered Geologist (ARG 21613). Dr. Megaw is not independent as he is Chief Exploration Officer and a Shareholder of MAG.

About MAG Silver Corp. ( www.magsilver.com )

MAG Silver Corp. (MAG: TSX / NYSE A) is a Canadian development and exploration company focused on becoming a top-tier primary silver mining company by exploring and advancing high-grade, district scale, silver-dominant projects in the Americas. Its principal focus and asset is the Juanicipio Project (44%), being developed in a Joint Venture partnership with Fresnillo Plc (56%), the Operator. Juanicipio is located in the Fresnillo Silver Trend in Mexico, the world's premier silver mining camp, and the Joint Venture is currently developing an underground mine and constructing a 4,000 tonnes per day processing plant which is expected to commence commissioning in Q4-2021. Underground mine production of development material commenced in Q3-2020, and an expanded exploration program is in place targeting multiple highly prospective targets both at Juanicipio by the Joint Venture and by MAG at the Deer Trail 100% earn-in project in Utah.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts are forward looking statements, including statements that address future mineral production, reserve potential, exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Although MAG 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. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, changes in commodities prices, changes in mineral production performance, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions, political risk, currency risk and capital cost inflation. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, including that data is incomplete and considerable additional work will be required to complete further evaluation, including but not limited to drilling, engineering and socio-economic studies and investment. The reader is referred to the Companys filings with the SEC and Canadian securities regulators for disclosure regarding these and other risk factors. There is no certainty that any forward-looking statement will come to pass and investors should not place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements.Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the NYSE American has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this press release, which has been prepared by management.

Please Note: Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosures in MAG's annual and quarterly reports and other public filings, accessible through the Internet at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov LEI: 254900LGL904N7F3EL14


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She was a bubbly, smart, energetic and talented grade school student, and we are extremely proud to call her our very own. We wish her continued success as she pursues her dream and look for more great things to come in the years ahead. We at our school all say: Congrats, Zaria!
Things are not entirely as they seem in the case of social media influencer Rozalia Russian and her rule-breaking Instagram post.

This story involves a new industry crackdown on social media stars who have long featured products, trips and meals without disclosing to their followers that the posts are really commercial arrangements in disguise, either because they are paid cash or supplied with free product.

Rozalia Russian Credit:Instagram

The regulator Ad Standards has got pretty tired of this, and now requires influencers to clearly label their posts with obvious hashtags like #Ad or #PaidPartnership.

And so to Russian, a Melbourne influencer and wife of nightclub owner and one-time Melbourne lord mayor candidate Nick Russian, who fell foul of the crackdown when Ad Standards ruled she had breached the new advertising code.
Fact Checks and Analysis of Bidens Address to Congress and the G.O.P. Rebuttal New York Times reporters watched President Bidens address and Senator Tim Scotts rebuttal, offering analysis and fact-checking the remarks. The coverage below is in reverse chronology. Follow live: The latest news from Washington.

Fact-check Reporter fact check It will be easier to vote in Georgia than in Democrat-run New York.  Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina This is exaggerated. Mr. Scott is correct in some ways, but the opposite is true in others. Georgias new voting law, for example, requires at least 17 days of early voting while New York offers nine. But early voting may not take place before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. in Georgia, and the state does not require counties to allow for early voting on Sundays. In contrast, New York mandates that polls open for early voting for at least five hours on weekends during that nine-day period. Georgias new voting law also requires voters who apply for an absentee ballot provide the number from a drivers license or an equivalent state-issued identification. That requirement does not exist in New York. Read more

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Pentagon Correspondent fact check After 20 years of American valor and sacrifice, its time to bring those troops home. Even as we do, we will maintain an over-the-horizon capacity to suppress future threats to the homeland. Troops in Fort Drum, N.Y., this month after returning from Afghanistan. Credit... John Moore/Getty Images  Mr. Biden This lacks evidence. The top American commander in the Middle East has said it would be extremely difficult for the United States to watch and counter terrorist threats in Afghanistan from groups like Al Qaeda after American troops leave the country by Sept. 11. The Pentagon is looking to place troops near Afghanistan to track and attack militant groups if they threaten the United States. Possibilities in the region include Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, but those countries are under the sway of Russia to one degree or another, Attack planes aboard aircraft carriers and long-range bombers flying from land bases along the Persian Gulf and even in the United States could strike insurgent fighters spotted by armed surveillance drones. But the long distances are costly and riskier. Read more

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Pentagon Correspondent Fact check And we wont ignore what our own intelligence agencies have determined  the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland today: white supremacy terrorism. Mr. Biden spoke about white supremacy being the most lethal terrorist threat. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times  President Biden Mostly true. While U.S. spy agencies still express concern about the threat from Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, whose affiliates have spread around the globe, intelligence officials say the most immediate threat to the homeland comes from right-wing extremists and white supremacists. A recent intelligence assessment highlighted the threat from militias, predicting that it would be elevated in the coming months because of contentious sociopolitical factors, likely a reference to the fallout from the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob and the increasingly partisan political climate. Previous analyses by the F.B.I. and Department of Homeland Security have warned of the looming dangers of domestic terrorism, particularly after followers of President Donald J. Trump embraced his baseless claims of election fraud. Read more

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Economics Reporter fact check In the process, while this was all going on, the economy created more than 1,300,000 new jobs in 100 days. More new jobs in the first 100 days than any president on record. A waiter taking an order in Manhattan, N.Y., in March. Between mid-January and mid-March, employment expanded by about 1.38 million jobs. Credit... Desiree Rios for The New York Times  President Biden This is misleading. It is true that the economy has been very rapidly adding back jobs  between mid-January and mid-March, employment expanded by about 1.38 million jobs. That is extremely fast by historical norms, but its also a function of the state of the economy. About 8.4 million jobs are still missing compared to the employment level before the pandemic started to weigh on the economy in March 2020. Most people who lost jobs in the downturn are expected to come back fairly quickly as reopening gets underway, because they presumably want to work, but have been thrown out of jobs by state and local lockdowns. It doesnt make sense for Mr. Biden to seemingly take credit for the rapid rebound in his bragging point, because it is partly or mostly the result of economic reopening.

Fact-check Reporter fact check Were also providing rental assistance  you all know this but the American people, I want to make sure they understand  keeping people from being evicted from their homes. Mr. Biden speaking to Congress on Wednesday night. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times  Mr. Biden Mostly true. Congress approved $25 billion in rental assistance in December and added more than $20 billion in March, but only a small portion has reached landlords and tenants, The New York Times has reported. The program requires hundreds of state and local governments to devise and carry out their own plans, and some have been slow to begin. Renters have faced hurdles such as lack of internet to computer access, not having the necessary paperwork or landlords declining to participate. There is no complete data on how many tenants have been helped. But of the $17.6 billion awarded to state governments, 20 percent is going to states not yet taking applications, though some local programs in those states are. Read more

fact check The climate crisis is not our fight alone, either. Its a global fight. The United States accounts for less than 15% of carbon emissions. The rest of the world accounts for 85% The U.S. is no longer the largest annual emitter of greenhouse gases  China surpassed America more than a decade ago. Credit... Greg Baker/Agence France-Presse  Getty Images  President Biden Mostly true. The United States does account for 15 percent of global emissions and tackling climate change requires that every country  fully industrialized ones like the U.S., Japan, Australia and the European Union as well as major emerging economies like China, India and Brazil  significantly ratchet up their efforts to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. But Mr. Bidens emphasis on the relatively small percentage of emissions the U.S. creates lacks some context. Not all countries have contributed to the climate problem equally. The U.S. is no longer the largest annual emitter of greenhouse gases  China surpassed America more than a decade ago. But the U.S. has put the most carbon dioxide pollution in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution began than any other country and still produces more emissions per capita than most other countries. As nations negotiate ahead of a United Nations climate summit in November, one key question will be whether the countries most responsible for climate change should do more financially to help others curb emissions. Read more
(Natural News) The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) could not identify the blue aircraft that plunged into the sea off the coast of Hawaii last December. In an Air Traffic Mandatory Occurrence Report, the FAA said that there was no active training in the area at the time. It also reported that none of its pilots could have possibly deviated from the protocol.

A resident named Moriah saw the unidentified flying object (UFO) hovering above her house in Oahu at around 8:30 p.m, Dec. 29. The 38-year-old and her husband hopped in their car and gave chase. After less than three miles, the UFO stopped and vanished into the water, she said.

I dont know what it was, Moriah remarked. This one was going so fast.

Grainy footage taken by other witnesses showed what appeared to be a blue bolt of light streaking through the sky and dropping onto the horizon. The couple called 911 to have somebody inspect the flying object. While the police were investigating, the two witnessed a second light. It was white, smaller and was coming in the same direction as the blue one, the Oahu resident said.

The Honolulu Police Department notified the FAA to determine whether any of its aircraft was flying nearby at the time. John Greenwald, who runs the investigative site The Black Vault, obtained a copy of the report on April 12 after issuing a Freedom of Information request.

A summary of the report read: Honolulu Police Department called to ask if we were missing any A/C (aircraft). Someone from Nanakuli called them and said there is a possible downed A/C 300 yards off shore. I checked with the H controller and we are not missing any A/C.

Some people said they were not surprised the FAA was not able to identify the object since the video was very odd. Others dismissed the sighting, suggesting that the UFO might have simply been a man-made craft.

Seen a lot of LED kite comparisons and it definitely resembles one, one commented. Another opined: It was a Chinese balloon on fire that accidentally got snagged by a small commercial drone. No mystery. (Related: Leaked Pentagon footage shows what appears to be pyramid-shaped UFOs swarming Navy warship.)

US military sometimes detect unidentified transmedium UFOs

Last December also, The Debrief leaked the details of two UFO-related reports from the Department of Defenses Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. One of the reports, which was issued last summer, featured a clear image of an unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP)  the Pentagons term for UFOs.

The triangular UAP had rounded edges and large, perfectly spherical white lights in each corner. Officials who read the report revealed that the image was taken after the craft emerged from the ocean and ascended straight upward at a 90-degree angle. An F/A-18 fighter pilot captured the photo in 2019 off the eastern coast of the United States.

Officials disclosed that the report primarily focused on unidentified submersible phenomena, which include unidentified transmedium vehicles that can operate both underwater and in the air. The nature of the report suggested that the task force was concerned that some UAPs might have originated from within the worlds oceans, officials told The Debrief.

This sighting was not the first time a submersible craft was seen in American territory. Marc DAntonio, an image analyst for the Mutual UFO Network, a nonprofit that studies UFO sightings, claimed a few years ago that he saw an underwater fast mover while sailing as a civilian onboard a Navy attack submarine. Several Navy vets supported his account, acknowledging that sensors sometimes detected unexplained, high-speed sonar targets.

A senior member of the intelligence community, who worked on underwater surveillance and reconnaissance programs for decades, told The Debrief that there was validity to those claims. But the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, declined to comment further.

This came as the Pentagon and other concerned federal agencies were set to publish a report this June on what they know about UAPs. The report would be declassified but would also contain a classified supplement.

Unexplained.news has more on UFO sightings.

Sources include:

DailyStar.co.uk

HawaiiNewsNow.com

TheDebrief.org
Perfect weather, excited racegoers and .... a big commotion. It wouldnt be the Kentucky Derby without one, right?

This is a doozy, though. A group of human rights lawyers and students at the University of Louisville have filed a complaint with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, asking them to ban Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum  owner of Kentucky Derby favorite Essential Quality  from the Derby on Saturday because of alleged human rights abuses against at least one of his daughters. Such a ban would mean Essential Quality, the 2-1 morning-line favorite, would not be allowed to race.

Its the same complaint Brandeis Law School Professor Sam Marcosson and the U of L Human Rights Advocacy Project filed in 2019, alleging that Sheikh Mohammed should not be allowed at the Derby because in March 2018 he had allegedly kidnapped his daughter as she tried to escape Dubai in a boat.

Marc Guilfoil, executive director of the racing commission, confirmed the complaint and said only that it was under review.

The racing commission dismissed the complaint previously because it was based on press reports, Marcosson said. However in March 2020, the family division of the British High Court found that Sheikh Mohammed had arranged the kidnapping of two of his adult daughters and forcibly returned them to Dubai after they attempted to flee on different occasions. It also found the sheikh conducted a sustained campaign of fear, intimidation and harassment of his now ex-wife, Princess Haya, who was one of the leaders of the 2010 World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The hearings were part of a wardship process that Princess Haya filed to protect her two children with the sheikh from being taken back to Dubai. The sheikh appealed unsuccessfully to the UK Supreme Court to keep the courts findings private. Also last spring, video of Princess Latifa was released in which she claimed she feared for her life. According to the BBC, a Dubai Royal Family statement released after the Panorama programme said Latifa was being cared for at home and the media coverage was not reflective of the actual position.

Story continues

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum and Princess Haya Bint al Hussein were together in the paddock before the 2009 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. They have since divorced.

The BBC also noted that the case has put the British Horseracing Authority in a difficult position as horse racing has already suffered under the pandemic, and Sheikh Mohammed is probably the biggest and most important owner in England, employing hundreds and spending millions on racing and breeding stock there.

The sheikh is not as well known in the U.S, but is extremely visible in Kentucky, due to his racing and breeding operations centered at Jonabell Farm in Fayette County, the center of Godolphins U.S. operations.

Jonabell Farm officials told the Herald-Leader that Sheikh Mohammed was not planning to attend the Derby.

The complaint specifically asks the commission to bar Sheikh Mohammed from entering any horses in any races, including the Derby and the Oaks until such time as his daughter, Princess Latifa, is free from captivity, or (b) hold an immediate public hearing to assess the serious allegations of his human rights abuses.

Now we believe there is credible evidence for the Kentucky Racing Commission to take action or hold a hearing to determine whether these allegations are credible, Marcosson said. The commission has in the past suspended people or barred them for their actions; we think since they have acted on other issues, they should do so when someone is involved in gross human rights violations.

Two of Sheikh Mohammeds daughters have tried to flee Dubai; Princess Shamsa ran away from one of his English country houses and was later captured by bodyguards in Cambridge in 2000. She was returned to Dubai and little heard from since. Princess Latifa had a far more dramatic and recounted escape attempt in 2018, fleeing on a boat with a Finnish fitness instructor before being captured in international waters by Indian special forces off the coast of Goa.

An image from a YouTube video Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed al Maktoum made, warning that she may be killed or drugged for trying to escape Dubai and her father, Kentucky-connected Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.

Marcosson is working with Los Angeles civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom, who was approached by intermediaries on behalf of Princess Latifa, although she does not officially represent her. Marcosson said the complaint is not aimed at punishing Sheikh Mohammed, who is the ruler of Dubai, in addition to being the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. This is to call attention to the case, raise a higher profile and perhaps ultimately, through legal action, get the sheikh to allow Latifa to leave, he said.

Throroughbred horse racing has always been full of princes and potentates, scoundrels and scam artists; where would the racing commission even begin to start turning away the morally compromised? And speaking of that, do we really think the racing commission should even get close to geopolitical power plays? Tracks like Churchill Downs who are now, finally, paying attention to unions and Black Lives Matter, could also decide what manner of people theyre willing to have on site.

However, the commission has rarely, if ever, suspended someone who has provided such an integral financial backbone to much of the racing industry in Kentucky, and in England for that matter, with his extensive racing operations through Godolphin (an enterprise named after one of the Arab stallions who became a foundational sire to Thoroughbreds). Sheikh Mohammed has won nearly every race in the world except the Derby.

So its not at all clear how the racing commission will handle this, if at all.

But theres a much bigger problem horse racing does need to work on, one that might streamline how the industry deals with everything from over-punitive fathers to overuse of drugs: Stop opposing the Horse Racing Integrity Act with lawsuits that were seeing from the National Horsemens Benevolent and Protective Association and others and get on board to get racing clean once and for all.

Is this the year Sheik Mohammed and Godolphin fulfill their Kentucky Derby quest?

Bad luck finds a two-time Kentucky Derby winner in post-position draw

Undefeated Essential Quality named Derby favorite. Heres the full field with odds.

I got away with it. Death of trainer John Ward recalls his stirring Derby victory.

BBN Racing brings UK basketball theme to Kentucky Derby with long shot Hidden Stash

The transition Derby. How the 2021 Ky. Derby will inch our state toward normalcy.
A grant from The Frederick County Business Roundtable for Education Fund, one of more than 740 component funds of The Community Foundation of Frederick County, is providing support to the Youth Apprenticeship Program in Frederick County.

Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) was selected as one of two county school systems in Maryland to pilot the Youth Apprenticeship Program Earn and Learn program, which is now in 18 school districts across the state. Students work with a mentor in a state-approved industry to learn valuable skills and earn industry credentials while receiving high school credit. The program focuses on furthering education that leads to sustainable employment in manufacturing and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations.

Lester Gonzalez, a student at the Frederick County Career and Technology Center, is a youth apprentice at Second Chances Garage. He is performing basic maintenance on different types of automobiles, as well as learning more challenging tasks, such as brake line repair and replacing steering components.

As a leader in grant and scholarship funding, The Community Foundation of Frederick County has given back more than $71 million to the community since 1986. To learn more about the Community Foundation, visit http://www.FrederickCountyGives.org.


Hong Kong: FS expects strong GDP growth

Financial Secretary Paul Chan welcomed the passage of the Appropriation Bill 2021, adding that he expected Hong Kong to register a relatively strong, positive GDP growth in the first quarter.

Meeting the media after the bill was passed by the Legislative Council today, Mr Chan noted that the advance estimates on GDP for the first quarter will be published next week.

He expected a rebound in the GDP figure due to the improved COVID-19 pandemic situation and strong recovery in the external economic environment.

We expect there would be pretty strong GDP growth because of the fact that the comparison base last year is very low. We registered a contraction of 9% in last years first quarter.

Also, since the middle of last year, although on a year-over-year basis the GDP continued to contract, on the basis of quarter-to-quarter GDP comparison we have seen gradual improvement since the third quarter.

Given that the pandemic situation now in Hong Kong is pretty much under control - although we still need to be very vigilant - and considering the fact that the external economic environment is also recovering very strongly, no matter if it is in the Mainland, the US or other Asian countries, we are confident that with the impressive improvement on the trade side and the gradual recovery on domestic consumption, the first quarter of this year will see a relatively strong, positive GDP growth.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday revised its COVID-19 guidance on the wearing of masks outside during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But things are just as muddled as before.

The update was heralded with great fanfare in the days leading up to the formal announcement by CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. It was as if something truly liberating was coming down the pike.

Liberty! Freedom!

Not so much.

Walensky announced that Americans who are fully vaccinated would now be permitted to go outside without having to wear facial coverings. That includes while running or biking outside, as well as gathering in small groups that include unvaccinated people.

The CDC also said that fully vaccinated people could dine outdoors without a mask on while with people from multiple households.

As if we hadnt been doing much of this already, even here in New York State, which has had some of the strictest lockdown rules in the country.

Many of us gathered this way at outdoor bar and restaurant areas as far back as last summer, before the vaccine was even available. In fact, weve gathered indoors with people the same way. No vaccines. No masks. No problem.

So whats really changed now? Nothing.

Weve known for a while now that we are at very low risk of getting COVID in outdoor settings. Plenty of people have been out and about on public streets and in parks without masks.

So its puzzling why the CDC says that even fully vaccinated people must wear masks when at larger outdoor events like concerts, sporting events or parades. Does the vaccine work or not?

And if we really are at such low risk from outdoor virus spread, why then do healthy, unvaccinated people have to continue wearing masks outside if they keep their distance from other people?

President Joe Biden didnt set a very good example on Tuesday, wearing a mask as he strode outside the White House to give remarks before a small, very socially distanced group. He took the mask off when he got to the podium.

And by the way, how is all this mask/no mask stuff going to be policed? How can we tell if that guy in the park without a mask really is vaccinated?

The new indoor guidance for fully vaccinated people also leaves you scratching your head.

The CDC on Tuesday said that fully vaccinated people can, while wearing a mask, go to houses of worship, a barber shop or salon, a bar or restaurant or an exercise class.

Again, just like weve been doing for months now: Wearing masks indoors. Theres no change there. I was at the barber last week. I wore a mask in the chair. The barber wore a mask while doing my haircut.

At a time when fewer Americans are seeking to get a vaccine, the updated CDC guidance provides no incentive for people to get inoculated, because being vaccinated doesnt allow us to really change how we go about our lives.

If getting vaccinated for the good of society is good enough for you, youll get no argument from me. But Im looking for something more: Getting back to normal life.

Walensky said that things would stay this way until more people are vaccinated. She didnt say how many more.

Walensky did say that the mask guidance would remain in place as long as the U.S. sees 50,000 or more new cases of COVID-19 per day. Which is at least a benchmark that we can keep an eye on.

Dr. David Chokshi, commissioner of the city Health Department, said earlier in the day that even if it were not required, some New Yorkers might find it reasonable and rational to keep their masks on outside, even if they are fully vaccinated.

Thats up to each person. I know what Im going to do.
According to Pitkin County officials, 62% of county residents have been vaccinated, the vast majority of whom received one or both of their shots at the Benedict Music Tent parking lot in Aspen (pictured Tuesday). More than 18,000 vaccine doses were administered at the mass drive-thru site.
Professor Anthony Harnden said officials were discussing making the change

Officials may decide whether under-40s should also be offered an alternative to AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine in a crunch meeting tomorrow.

Professor Anthony Harnden, who sits on No10's jab advisory panel, said dwindling Covid cases had left officials needing to review current recommendations.

Britain's medical chiefs ruled in April that under-30s should be offered either Pfizer or Moderna's jab because of rare blood clots linked to AstraZeneca's shot.

Health bosses insist the UK-made vaccine is safe for almost everyone and that the risk of getting the complication is tiny.

The decision was only made because the benefits of the jab are not as clear-cut to younger adults, who face a vanishingly small risk of dying from Covid.

But amid plummeting cases across the UK, officials have been forced to recalculate whether the benefits of being jabbed still clearly outweigh the risks for under-40s  who are also at low risk from the virus.

Professor Harnden told MPs on the Science and Technology Committee today that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) was 'looking at this group very carefully'.

He also hinted officials would only press ahead with the recommendation under-40s are given alternatives to the AstraZeneca vaccine if they were confident in supplies.

Delaying the immunisation roll-out could 'push infection rates up' and lead to 'many, many more deaths and hospitalisations', Professor Harnden warned. MPs were also told that the roll-out would be expanded to thirty-somethings within weeks.

In the same briefing today, another top medic claimed women face no greater risk of suffering the rare blood clots linked to AstraZeneca's vaccine.

Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chairman of the Commission on Human Medicines, said rates were 'very similar' between genders and figures may have appeared skewed because more women work in the NHS and social care  where the jab was mainly deployed.

The Government wheeled out a series of graphs comparing the risk of falling ill with Covid compared to the threat of developing blood clots after getting the AZ vaccine in various age groups. In low Covid levels, every 100,000 vaccines prevent 0.8 ICU admissions from coronavirus in people under 30 but 1.1 people will suffer blood clotting after having the jab, making the threat higher than the virus itself. The benefits were more obvious for adults in their thirties at the time

Professor Harnden said: 'We are actually meeting twice a week at the moment and almost all the discussions have been about this (alternative vaccine for the under-40s).

'So we will be meeting tomorrow and we will be deciding about whether we leave that decision to the following week or whether we take it this week.'

He added: 'We are looking at this group very carefully.

'If we see infection rates rise then potentially there is a public health imperative to carry on with the vaccine programme.

'This is against, of course, supply and availability of the vaccines, and we are given information  though it's commercially confidential  about how much vaccine that we have and what we can offer people.

'So, for instance, if we do make a decision for the under-40s that will delay the immunisation programme.

'[It] therefore may push infection rates up and therefore, from a public health perspective, may end up getting many, many more deaths and hospitalisations because of that.'

Justifying their recommendation to offer under-30s an alternative to AstraZeneca's vaccine, British health chiefs wheeled out a series of graphs comparing the risk of falling ill with Covid compared to the threat of developing blood clots after getting the AZ vaccine in various age groups.

Data at the time suggested that, in low Covid levels, every 100,000 jabs prevent 0.8 ICU admissions from coronavirus in people under 30 but 1.1 people will suffer blood clots, making the threat to younger adults slightly higher than the virus itself.

The benefits were more obvious for adults in their thirties at the time but the data was based on an infection rate of around 20 cases per 100,000 people every week. The UK's current rate stands at around 20.

The MHRA  UK's drug regulator  has been looking closely at people developing blood clots that appear alongside low platelet counts (thrombocytopenia) because this appears to have emerged as an unusual pattern among people who have had the vaccine.

There have been 168 cases linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine so far in Britain, out of millions of doses dished out.

Experts think the clots occur when the vaccine  which contains a piece of the virus  trigger the immune system to start attacking platelets, which then form blood clots.

Doctors are most concerned about a condition called CVST, which is a blood clot in a vein in the head that can trigger strokes if left untreated.

Several EU countries also restricted the vaccine for certain age groups, despite the risk being tiny and the jab proven to save lives. Denmark took the controversial move to stop using it completely.

Regulators in the US have found the same condition appearing in people who have had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which works in the same way as AstraZeneca's.

More than 33.8million Britons have now received a first dose of the Covid vaccine, and 13.2million have got a first dose.

Q&A: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COVID VACCINES AND BLOOD CLOTS IS THERE ANY PROOF THE JAB CAUSES THE BLOOD CLOTS? Scientists have repeatedly insisted there is no proof yet that coronavirus vaccines cause the extremely rare complication  blood clots occurring alongside low platelet levels. But officials are still investigating the link  found in recipients of both AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson's vaccines  and can't rule it out completely. DO SCIENTISTS HAVE A THEORY FOR WHAT MAY BE THE LINK? Experts are stumped as to why the vaccines may be triggering blockages in very rare cases. But one explanation gaining ground is that it may be down to an over-reaction in the immune system, making the body attack its own platelets  tiny chunks of cells inside blood that build clots to stop bleeding when someone is injured. Experts believe the jab could cause the body to produce antibodies  normally used to fight off viruses  which mistake platelets in the blood for foreign invaders and attack them. To compensate, the body then overproduces platelets to replace those that are being attacked, causing the blood to thicken and raising the risk of clotting. This then causes levels of platelets to fall. The researchers say the phenomenon is similar to one that can occur in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), when sufferers take a drug called heparin. WHAT SYMPTOMS DO THEY CAUSE? The EMA said symptoms can strike up to three weeks post-vaccination. British regulators say the complication tends to occur four days after people first get jabbed. Symptoms of the two blood clots can include: Shortness of breath

Chest pain

Swollen legs

Persistent stomach pain

Severe or persistent headache

Blurred vision

Confusion

Seizures

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Indias health minister has claimed that the country is better prepared for the second wave of Covid-19 even as total deaths due to the virus have crossed 200,000, second only to the US.

Dr Harsh Vardhan said the country is better prepared mentally and physically with more experience to beat the pandemic compared to 2020.

Dr Vardhans statement came on Tuesday while he was inaugurating a series of blood donation camps at 13 different locations in Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh through a webinar.

The health minister exhorted people to donate blood at least once a year, claiming that donating blood is even more pious than visiting revered holy places.

India is in the middle of a severe second wave of Covid-19 and for the past seven days, it has recorded over 300,000 cases every day  over two million in total.

It is not just the high number of coronavirus cases that are of concern to the authorities in India but the lack of critical medical supplies, hospital beds, oxygen including cylinders and even places for the cremation of those who have died.

The health minister is under severe criticism because of problems with the health infrastructure of the country. Many users on social media have called for his resignation.

On Tuesday, India recorded over 360,000 cases, a global record, and nearly 3,300 deaths. Since the start of the pandemic, India has recorded about 18 million cases.

Dr Vardhan said the prime minister, Narendra Modi, launched the largest Covid-19 vaccination drive in the world in January 2021 which is now being accelerated further as the vaccination of young people is about to begin from 1 May.

He said the blood donation drive is being done before the vaccination of the youth, because after being vaccinated it is advisable to not donate blood for two months.

Though the health minister claimed India is better prepared for facing the pandemic this time, many countries across the world such as the US, Canada, Ireland, Thailand, and Singapore have come forward to assist it in managing the spread of the pandemic.
NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson has a theory why homicide numbers in New Orleans are up this year.

The number of killings in the city is up by 27% over this time last year, he said.

This week, he told the City Council Criminal Justice Committee that normal neighborhood feuds and the drug trade are no longer driving the citys murders.

"There are real stressors out there, psychological, mental stressors that have pushed this homicide rate above normal," Ferguson said. "Meaning road rage, meaning stressors such as acquaintance arguments that have escalated to these violent acts."

1 shot and killed in Florida Area; 7 more injured in separate shootings across New Orleans A man was shot and killed in the Florida Area neighborhood Monday evening following a rash of gun violence under investigation in New Orleans.

Nine people were shot in the city on Monday.

One victim was killed and 8 others injured, including two children and an infant.

Thats on top of ten homicides last week.

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

Criminologist Dr. John Penny at Southern University at New Orleans says Fergusons theory has some merit. He said New Orleans is a melting pot of social ills which can trigger mental illness and violent crime.

"Like idleness, unemployment, under-education, under socialized and just underprivileged and inequities," Penny said. "Theres just a whole lot of insanity around us right now, of mental health issues that are paralyzing the very sense of normalcy."

+4 Metairie Country Club employee hacks man to death with machete, reports to work before arrest: NOPD A Metairie Country Club employee hacked a man to death with a machete and then reported to work before investigators arrested him last week, a

Penny says trying to live a life without hope is dangerous.

If you dont have a normal life then youre going to go against the grain. Thats whats going on right now," he said.

New Orleans police are holding a news conference Wednesday to announce a series of arrests in recent violent crimes in the city.

This story by Paul Murphy originally appeared on WWLTV.com. NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune and WWL-TV are news partners.

+5 New Orleans launches effort to address gun violence, will focus on interventions without police New Orleans efforts to combat gun violence will now be housed in a city office rather than exist as ad hoc collection of programs, a change t
(Newser)  Body camera footage just released by authorities in Alameda County, Calif., shows a man died in police custody after he was pinned facedown on the ground for five minutes. Mario Arenales Gonzalez, a Hispanic man, died April 19, one day before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd, who died under similar circumstances. An initial police report said the 26-year-old "suspect in a possible theft" died at a hospital after suffering a "medical emergency" while officers tried to detain him. But Julia Sherwin, a lawyer representing Gonzalez's family, compares the report to one issued after Floyd's death, saying it amounts to "misinformation." "Drunk guy in a park doesn't equal a capital sentence," she tells the New York Times. At a Tuesday press conference, Gonzalez's brother said "there was no reason to detain him, let alone kill him," per CBS News.

story continues below

One 911 call described a loiterer breaking security tags off alcohol bottles. Another described a man talking to himself. "He's not doing anything wrong. He's just scaring my wife," the caller said, per the Times. In the footage seen here (warning: graphic), Gonzalez seems unable to provide his name to questioning officers. He looks in pain as they try to force his hands behind his back. They then take him to the ground, where he's seen coughing and whimpering. Three officersEric McKinley, Cameron Leahy, and James Fisherappear to press their body weight onto Gonzalez before realizing he's unresponsive and beginning chest compressions. Interim Police Chief Randy Fenn calls the death "a terrible tragedy," while Gonzalezs family is calling for criminal charges against the officers, who are now on administrative leave. They say Gonzalez was healthy with no known medical conditions. An autopsy is pending. (Read more police officers stories.)
She confirmed her pregnancy in February 2021.

And on Tuesday, pregnant Selling Sunset star Christine Quinn posed in three different racy looks for a cover shoot for Glamour Bulgaria.

The 32-year-old pregnant star cradled her baby bump in some shots during the outdoor shoot.

Flawless: She confirmed her pregnancy in February 2021. And on Tuesday, pregnant Selling Sunset star Christine Quinn posed in three different racy looks for a cover shoot for Glamour Bulgaria

Christine, who is currently in her seventh month of her pregnancy, showcased her long, toned legs in a shiny midnight blue maxi skirt, featuring buckle detailing on both sides with a very high slit.

The high-waisted belted number covered her growing baby bump.

Christine wore a matching bralette top, which had cut-out detailing beneath her chest, revealing glimpses of her cleavage.

She added white strappy heels with her platinum locks in waves around her, adding pink glossy lipstick on her full pout and bronzer on cheekbones.

Wow: The 32-year-old pregnant star cradled her baby bump in some shots during the outdoor shoot

The mom to be then slipped on a plunging gold dress that put her long legs on display, as well as her braless cleavage and a hint of her baby bump.

Christine's gown had intricate shoulder details with flared sleeves and an asymmetrical skirt.

The star wore her locks pulled back with the same makeup look.

Her third look consisted of a blue and green textured polka dot dress featuring see-through panels along her thighs and hips.

Strike a pose: The mom to be then slipped on a plunging gold dress that put her long legs on display, as well as her braless cleavage and a hint of her baby bump

Closer look: She added white strappy heels with her platinum locks in waves around her, adding pink glossy lipstick on her full pout and bronzer on cheekbones

Details, details: Christine's gown had intricate shoulder details with flared sleeves and an asymmetrical skirt

Christine confirmed her pregnancy in February 2021.

In March, the blonde beauty opened up about her pregnancy during a virtual interview with People magazine, at the time revealing she had passed the six month mark of her pregnancy.

She also discussed why her and husband Christian Richard, 42, aren't planning on finding out the gender.

Baby on the way: Christine confirmed her pregnancy in February 2021

Glowing: In March, the blonde beauty opened up about her pregnancy during a virtual interview with People magazine, at the time revealing she had passed the six month mark of her pregnancy

Beaming: She also discussed why her and husband Christian Richard, 42, aren't planning on finding out the gender

Christine said that they were 'doing a lot of Netflix and chilling' during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

'It seems like there are so many COVID babies because the only thing left to do was Netflix and chill. So we were doing a lot of Netflix and chilling.'

Christine also touched on why they aren't going to find out the gender: 'I don't really see gender.'

Explaining: So it's something that my husband and I both decided that wasn't important. We just want a really happy, healthy baby and we're coming up with unisex names right now because I think it's important to have something that goes with whatever our angel wants to be.'

The nursery she revealed features a jungle theme with animal, plants and banana-print wallpaper.

'We're doing something that any baby will love regardless of gender. So we're not concerned about that.'

Sultry: Her third look consisted of a blue and green textured polka dot dress featuring see-through panels along her thighs and hips

Another one: Christine posed up a storm a the outdoor shoot

Team: Seen between shots during her glamorous photoshoot

They were talking about having kids 'for a while' and after she got pregnant they 'found out pretty early on.'

Christine explained: 'It was something that we had been talking about for a while. Corona really brought us closer, believe it or not, because we were in the house all the time and we had kind of joked around, "Is this the perfect time to have kids?" And we've been talking about it for a while. So, its just one of those things that, it worked out great, the timing was perfect.'

The talk of children has been something they have discussed since they first started dating.

Stylish: Christine, who is currently in her seventh month of her pregnancy, showcased her long, toned legs in a shiny midnight blue maxi skirt,

Lights, camera, action: The Netflix star posed for the photographer near a satin curtain backdrop

More: Christine also posed on a rock

Glittering: For her third look, the dress skirt was held up so that the images had a whimsical element

Christine said Christian mentioned that his birthday was coming up and that he didn't have kids or a family to celebrate it with.

'And I felt like the timing was just right. So we were talking about it and I was thinking about it for a while and I was just really, really blessed that it happened pretty quickly.'

Christine says she's 'so excited to pop out a baby' and looking forward to taking care of, adding: 'I can't wait to dress my little angle up in Gucci and Louis Vuitton and just make my baby so extra and over the top.'

The star is planning on a natural birth and is something she wants to try, however if she needs an epidural she is open to that: 'It's all about the safety of the baby. And I think it's really important to realize that.'

She said though she has been doing a lot of squats and prepping for it.'

Mom to be: The talk of children has been something they have discussed since they first started dating

She's also been doing yoga every day as well as headstands and inversions.

The star is 'most nervous' about delivery.

She spoke to her Selling Sunset co-stars Davina and Amanza who she said they have 'both been wonderful.'

'Mary reached out as well and we had a brief conversation, which was really nice.'

Amanza and Mary are both moms so she said they told her that they are there for her if she needs anything.

'Me and Amanza have had a lot of really long FaceTimes at night' and gives her insight on motherhood.

Christine revealed that things she used to love like eggs and meat now make her sick and she just wears stretchy dresses as she can't fit in jeans and has yet to wear any maternity clothes.

Glow: Christine says she's 'so excited to pop out a baby' and looking forward to taking care of, adding: 'I can't wait to dress my little angle up in Gucci and Louis Vuitton and just make my baby so extra and over the top'

She started showing about three weeks ago and was very strategic with vacation photos in January.

She said it wasn't meant to be like a trick or tricking anyone, but she wanted it to be a surprise after she popped.

The picture from Bora Bora in January said Christian and he made sure to take it while she was at an angle and twisting her body.

She married Christian, a businessman, in a lavish gothic themed ceremony in a Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles in December 2019.
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The Report Contact Lenses Market [By Product Type (Soft Lens, Hybrid Lens, Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) Lens); By Design Type (Toric, Spherical, Multifocal, Others); By Usage (Corrective, Therapeutic, Cosmetic/Lifestyle, Prosthetic) By Regions]: Market Size & Forecast, 2017  2026 According to a new study published by Polaris Market Research the global contact lenses market is anticipated to reach USD 18.9 billion by 2026.

Once of the key factor driving the contact lenses market is to enhance aesthetic appearance by using them as fashion accessory particularly, by the youth population. Also, constant development in technology of product materials and given a boost to colored or decorative contact lenses, which is further anticipated to influence the demand. Moreover, the rising incidences of visual imparities such as myopia, presbyopia, hyperopia and astigmatisam is propelling the market growth. The World Health Organization, in 2015, estimated that approximately 1.9 billion people across the globe have been affected by myopia and the number is anticipated to be more than 2 billion by 2020. Thus, the demand for contact lenses during the forecast period will experience a growth.

Browse for full research summary: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/contact-lenses-market

The contact lenses manufacturers and vendors are appealed by the high profit margins offered by the contact lenses thus, boosting its manufacturing as well as enhancing the network of distribution. Also, advancements in technology in form of material will provide new opportunities to the manufacturers with time. By type segment, the Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) Lenses was valued over USD 800 million in 2017 owing to factors including, sharp vision, high oxygen permeability, cost-effectiveness in the long run, and durability.

The contact lenses market by usage type is segmented into Corrective, Therapeutic, Cosmetic, Prosthetic, and Lifestyle-oriented. The corrective lenses usage segment is currently growing at a CAGR of more than 6.2%. The demand is attributed to its various applications. Whereas, cosmetic lenses segment is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. On the basis of design, the hybrid lens segment is anticipated to experience a noteworthy growth as it is a combination of both soft lenses and rigid gas permeable lenses. Thus, it provides comfort of soft lenses coupled with the visual clarity offered by rigid gas permeable lenses. The growth of hybrid lenses segment is expected to propel with the increased demand from people with keratoconus and astigmatism conditions.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/contact-lenses-market/request-for-sample

The North America market holds the largest share owing to presence of better eye care treatment facilities as increasing elderly population. Although, the Asia Pacific market is expected to bolster with a high CAGR attributed to the increased awareness regarding contact lenses among the population as well as their increasing ability for healthcare spending.

The key strategies adopted by the market players include long-term partnerships among the other players in supply chain particularly, distributors and suppliers with an aim to increase their geographical footprint. For instance, in 2016, Vision Direct Group Ltd. was acquired by Essilor International S.A. for the enhancement of its online retailing business presence. Major industry players include Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Abbott Medical Optics, Inc., Bausch + Lomb, Incorporated, Carl Zeiss AG, CooperVision, Inc., Contamac U.S., Inc., Hoya Corporation, Essilor International S.A., Medennium and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. among others.

Check for discount: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/contact-lenses-market/request-for-discount-pricing

Contact Lenses Market Size and Forecast by Product Type Rigid Gas Permeable Lens Hybrid Lens Soft Lens

Contact Lenses Market Size and Forecast by Design Type Spherical Lenses Toric Lenses Multifocal Lenses Others

Contact Lenses Market Size and Forecast by Usage Type Corrective Lens Therapeutic Lens Cosmetic Lens Prosthetic Lens Lifestyle-oriented Lens

Contact Lenses Market Size and Forecast by Regions North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany UK France Italy Asia Pacific China South Korea Japan India Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East & Africa



Make Inquiry about this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/contact-lenses-market/inquire-before-buying

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
[April 28, 2021] Deadline Extension for 2021 Davos Communications Awards - WCFA

DAVOS, Switzerland, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The deadline for the 2021 Davos Communications Awards has been extended to May 17, 23:59 CET. Submit your entry now for a chance to win on www.davosawards.com. The Davos Communications Awards honour the individuals and organizations around the world, who demonstrate exceptional professional work in public relations, marketing, branding, social media, CSR and leadership. WCFA President Maxim Behar said: "We received a great number of requests from participants for an extended entry deadline, so we decided to give more people the chance to showcase their professional excellence in the industry." All award entries are judged by 15 highly professional PR practitioners and senior industry leaders from Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and Latin America, based on the following criteria: insight and research, strategy and planning, innovation, implementation, creativity and originality The Davos Communications Awards categories include: - 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 unde the age of 30







- Best Leader in Public Relations and Communications

- Annual Davos Award for Global Communications Overall Achievement

- Best Public Relations or Communications Student 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 or contact Maxim Behar, WCFA President, at mainoffice@wcfaglobal.com or +359 888 50 31 13. 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. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498824/Main_Davos_Awards.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1485528/Davos_Communications_Awards_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deadline-extension-for-2021-davos-communications-awards---wcfa-301279201.html SOURCE World Communications Forum Association

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The investigation into the murder of the son of an Armenian businessman near Voronezh, Russia, has been completed, and the case has been sent to court.

A 61-year-old resident of Moscow was hired to commit murder in exchange for 1 million rubles, according to the All Voronezh News portal.

The man carried out the order by shootingwith a gunan Armenian businessmans 23-year-old son while he was driving out of the yard of his parents' home.

It happened on February 27 last year; on the eve of the young man's engagement.

One of the bullets hit his heart, and the young man died.

The murderer was arrested.

He collaborated with the investigation, and confessed that he should not have killed the young man, but his father, who was always with the aforesaid car.

The person who ordered the crime and his accomplices were also arrested.

The gunman himself, in addition to murder, is charged also with illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition.

The criminal case, along with an indictment, has been sent to court.
(Natural News) A new petition from LifeSite asks the Vatican to cancel its upcoming health conference featuring a slew of globalist and pro-abortion speakers, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chelsea Clinton, and the CEO of abortion pill-producing drug company Pfizer.

(Article by Victoria Gisondi republished from LifeSiteNews.com)

The theme of the conference this year is Exploring the Mind, Body & Soul. It will be held virtually from May 6 to 8. The cover photo on the conference website features a spoof of Michelangelos The Creation of Adam in which the hands of God and Adam are both covered in rubber gloves.

Vatican News describes the event as bringing together physicians, scientists, ethicists, religious leaders, patient rights advocates, policymakers, philanthropists and commentators to discuss the status quo in medical research and technology, and how these are implemented at a global level.

A special opening conversation on shaping the future of healthcare for a healthier world will be hosted by the experimental vaccine-pushing, double-masking Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has assured the World Health Organization that the Biden regime is committed to funding abortions.

Clinton, vice chair of the corrupt, pro-abortion Clinton Foundation, is on the list of speakers along with former super-model Cindy Crawford, a public supporter of abortion who has attended events to benefit the National Abortion League. Crawford is also famous for posing nude.

Population control advocate Jane Goodall will also speak.

Marc Benioff, chair and CEO of tech giant Salesforce, is on the list of speakers. Salesforce has discriminated against and maligned conservatives who questioned the integrity of the elections.

Another speaker is Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer. In addition to making an abortion-tainted experimental coronavirus mRNA vaccine, Pfizer also makes an abortion pill.

Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, also has a place of honor along with Dr. David Feinberg, head of Google Health.

The speakers are so unapologetically anti-Catholic this year that Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano said the Holy See is making itself the servant of the New World Order.

The fact that the deep church has managed to elect its own member so as to carry out this infernal plan in agreement with the deep state is no longer a mere suspicion, but a phenomenon which it is now essential to ask questions about and shed light on, Vigano expressed in a letter published by LifeSiteNews. The submission of the Cathedra veritatis to the interests of the Masonic elite is manifesting itself in all its evidence, in the deafening silence of the Sacred Pastors and in the bewilderment of the People of God, who have been abandoned to themselves.

Further demonstration of this degenerate libido serviendi of the Vatican towards the globalist ideology is the choice of speakers to give testimonials and lectures: supporters of abortion, of the use of fetal material in research, of demographic decline, of the pan-sexual LGBT agenda, and last but not least, of the narrative of Covid and the so-called vaccines, the archbishop continued.

Commenting on the conferences main image of The Creation of Man with Gods and Adams hands masked, Vigano wrote, In this sacrilegious representation, the order of Creation is subverted into therapeutic anti-creation, in which man saves himself and becomes the mad author of his own health redemption. Instead of the purifying laver of Baptism, the Covid religion proposes the vaccine, the bearer of disabilities and death, as the only means of salvation. Instead of Faith in the Revelation of God, we find superstition and the irrational assent to precepts that have nothing scientific about them, with rites and liturgies that mimic true Religion in a sacrilegious parody.

LifeSites petition asking the Vatican to cancel the conference notes that the event is so beyond an outrage, it is a closer to a sacrilege.

The petition and more information can be found here.

Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com
Boris Johnson will have the final say on whether he breached the ministerial code over the Downing Street flat, Number 10 has revealed.

Former private secretary to the Queen Lord Geidt was appointed as the new independent adviser on ministers' interests this morning, charged with prioritising the so-called "cash for curtains" row.

But the Prime Minister's official spokesman said Mr Johnson has concerns that an independent adviser with powers to launch probes could be drawn into an investigation with "trivial or vexatious complaints".

"So he will remain the ultimate arbiter of this," he said.

The Geidt probe will run in parallel to one carried out by Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, and both are distinct to the formal investigation launched by the Electoral Commission this morning.

A spokesman for the watchdog said they had "reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred".

During a heated PMQs, Sir Keir Starmer said this was "incredibly serious".

The Labour leader added: "Can the Prime Minister tell the House does he believe that any rules or laws have been broken in relation to the refurbishment of the Prime Minister's flat?"

Mr Johnson: "No, I don't. What I believe has been strained to breaking point is the credulity of the public."

Follow the latest updates below.

05:01 PM

Mr Hancock on Tory sleaze: 'Concentrate on the big things that really matter'

During the Downing Street Press Conference, Mr Hancock explained why he would not answer questions on Tory sleaze because the importance should be on updating the public on the country's progress amid the pandemic.

Story continues

He said that there were "endless questions" in the Commons during PMQs this afternoon on the same topic.

"You've also got to concentrate on the big things that really matter," he added.

Asked about whether the Government will set a timetable for an inquiry into how the Covid-19 pandemic has been handled, the Health Secretary said "there will be time for an inquiry" but that the most important focus for ministers right now is to make sure they "keep learning".

Professor Van-Tam added that his view on the inquiry into the pandemic is that "it's very important but please not now".

Health Secretary Matt Hancock - AP Pool

04:50 PM

60m Pfizer doses ordered 'have not yet been manufactured', says Health Secretary

"The 60m Pfizer jabs have not yet been manufactured," says Mr Hancock, adding that it is a "forward order" for the UK's booster vaccination programme.

"The vaccine breaks the link between cases and hospitalisations and deaths," he says and adds that we now know vaccines also reduce transmission of the virus.

"We're going to have to live with coronavirus much like we do with flu," he admits, but says that the vaccination programme hopefully means it will not "dominate our lives".

04:43 PM

Vaccines working 'extremely well' against dominant variant in UK, says Prof Van-Tam

Asked about the perilous Covid-19 situation in India, Mr Hancock says we do not have "any excess vaccine doses" for India.

He adds that by producing the AstraZeneca vaccine at-cost and working with the Serum Insistute of India, we have made the "biggest contribution" possible.

Asked about when funerals will be allowed to take place without restrictions in the UK, Matt Hancock says we are on-track to open the country up as planned according to the Prime Minister's roadmap.

"We are precisely on track for where we expected to be at this point," he says.

On the threat of variants in the UK, Prof Van-Tam says "we are extremely confident" that our current vaccines are working "extremely well" against the dominant variant in the UK, which remains the Kent variant.

04:35 PM

Matt Hancock will not comment on 'cash for curtains' row

Health Secretary Matt Hancock declines to answer the first question from a journalist, which is about whether a Government minister who breaks the rules on party funding should resign.

The question comes after Boris Johnson insisted he had not broken any laws over the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat.

Speaking at the Downing Street briefing, Mr Hancock says: "I know that the Prime Minister answered lots of questions about this in the House of Commons earlier.

"And given that this is a coronavirus press conference, you won't be surprised that I'm not going to add to the answers the Prime Minister has given."

No 11 Downing St - AFP

04:33 PM

UK's biomedical health research will continue post-Covid

Mr Hancock says that the UK will never block vaccine exports from being distributed around the world.

He adds: "We want to make it an impossible choice for a pharmaceutical company not to invest in the UK.

"And one of our commitments is that we will not ever block exports to anywhere around the world of a product made for a market around the world."

Dr Kanani urges the public to "keep engaging in research".

Prof Van-Tam says he's "particularly proud of the UK" in the scientific research conducted during this pandemic.

He adds that "we're in a good place" with science and scientific research.

04:28 PM

More data needed to see what protective measures will be in place for those in care homes

The first question from a member of the public is about when families can reunite safely, especially with older members of the family who are in care homes.

Mr Hancock says "we are working on it right now" and that he hopes he will have some good news on this soon but that the rules have to be right in order to protect everyone.

Prof Van-Tam adds that this is "desperately important for people's mental health" but that we "still need further data" on whether the vaccines work as well in the elderly as in the younger, more fit adults.

04:24 PM

Latest Covid-19 vaccination data

Dr Nikki Kanani starts by citing the most recent Covid vaccination figures, which are as follows:

A total of 39,797,081 Covid-19 vaccinations took place in England between December 8 and April 27, according to NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 398,683 on the previous day.

NHS England said 28,441,846 were the first dose of a vaccine, a rise of 85,067 on the previous day, while 11,355,235 were a second dose, an increase of 313,616.

She adds that she is "particularly proud" that the vaccination booking line was opened to 44-year-olds on Monday and 42-year-olds today.

04:22 PM

Household transmission cut significantly with one dose of vaccine, study shows

The next slide shows how we can "finish the job" and curb the spread of the virus with the vaccinations, as a study shows that you are 38pc less likely to pass the virus on in your household after one dose of AstraZeneca and 49pc after one dose of Pfizer.

Prof Van-Tam calls the study results "conservative" and "cautious estimates".

He adds that a second dose will "improve the situation further".

04:18 PM

Jonathan Van-Tam: We are 'close to the bottom' of daily cases and hospitalisations in UK

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam takes over from the Health Secretary to show the latest Covid-19 data slides.

The most recent seven-day average of people testing positive for Covid-19 is 2,299 cases daily.

He says this shows that we are "close to the bottom" of daily cases in the UK.

Prof Van-Tam adds: "We are really in very low levels that are comparable to where we were in September last year.

"We are running as a typical seven-day average at just over 2,000 people testing positive per day.

"My sense is that probably we are at or close to the bottom at the moment in terms of this level of disease in the UK."

The next slide shows that on the 26th of April, 1,634 people were in hospital in the UK with Covid-19.

The most recent seven-day average for Covid-related daily deaths is 22 - "This is a very different place from where we were in those very dark first few weeks of 2021," Prof Van-Tam says.

04:13 PM

A further 60m doses of Pfizer vaccine secured for the UK, says Mr Hancock

The Health Secretary announces that a further 60 million doses of the Pfizer vaccination have been secured for the UK's booster vaccination programme.

Matt Hancock says: "To keep us safe and free here, while we get this disease under control across the whole world, we have been working on a programme of booster shots for over a year now.

"And we've backed some of the only clinical trials in the world looking specifically at booster shots.

"I'm delighted to be able to tell you that we've secured a further 60 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that will be used alongside others as part of our booster shot programme later this year."

He says these booster jabs are " all about protecting the progress we've made."

04:12 PM

Matt Hancock: 'The vaccine is helping us to bring back our freedom'

Mr Hancock continues by saying he is "delighted" that anyone who is 42 and over can now get their jab and he adds he's also delighted because "I can get my jab too".

The Health Secretary is getting his first jab "first thing tomorrow morning".

Mr Hancock says that more than seven in 10 adults in England now have Covid antibodies due to the vaccination programme.

"The thing that makes me proudest is that when the call came, the whole nation who was asked have effectively come forward," he adds.

"The vaccine is helping us to bring back our freedom," he says.

04:08 PM

'Really encouraging' results showing vaccine reduction in virus transmission, says Health Secretary

Matt Hancock begins today's press conference by giving an update in "our fight" against coronavirus.

He says that "really encouraging" results show the impact of the vaccines in reducing transmission of the virus.

He says there is a two thirds reduction in catching the virus at all and a four fifths reduction in hospitalisations. He adds you are also half as likely to pass it onto someone you live with after having just one dose.

"The evidence is stacking up that the vaccine protects you, protects your loved ones, and it is our way out of this pandemic," he says.

He pays tribute to India by saying "it pains each one of us" who are seeing the footage from India amid a record-breaking surge in Covid-19 cases.

"Everyone across this whole United Kingdom stands side-by-side with the people of India in these troubled times, because in this battle against coronavirus we are all on the same side - this fight is a global fight," he says.

"And when other nations face their hour of need, as we've faced our hour of need here at home, we'll be there."

Mr Hancock adds that it is a "stark reminder that this is not over yet" and that we must remain "vigilant at home".

03:54 PM

Matt Hancock to lead a Downing Street press conference at 5pm

Health Secretary Matt Hancock will will lead a Downing Street press conference at 5pm.

He will be joined by England's deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam and NHS England's Dr Nikki Kanani.

You can follow the live feed at the top of this blog.

You can also follow live updates on our dedicated coronavirus blog.

Matt Hancock

03:47 PM

Arlene Foster resigns as First Minister amid revolt against her leadership in Ulster

Arlene Foster has quit as leader of the DUP and First Minister of Northern Ireland in the face of mounting discontent among her party, writes Gareth Davies.

She said she will leave her DUP role on May 28 and resign as First Minister at the end of June.

Ms Foster had faced a revolt against her leadership over the handling of Brexit and a decision to abstain in a vote on gay conversion therapy.

"It has been the privilege of my life to serve the people of Northern Ireland as their First Minister and to represent my home constituency of Fermanagh/South Tyrone," she said.

Read the story in full here.

Arlene Foster resigns in a statement on Sky TV News

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, tweeted:

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03:41 PM

Treasury official's time wasted on Greensill meetings, says former minister

One of the most senior civil servants in the Treasury would not have spent so much time talking about now collapsed Greensill Capital during the early days of the pandemic without pressure from David Cameron, a former City minister has said.

Communications between former prime minister David Cameron and the Treasury have been under scrutiny in recent weeks around his conversations attempting to get Greensill Capital access to Government-backed loan schemes.

Lord Myners, who was a minister for two years under Gordon Brown, told MPs on Wednesday that it was an "extraordinary waste" of the time of Charles Roxburgh, the second permanent secretary to the Treasury.

Greensill office - AFP

Addressing the Treasury Select Committee, Lord Myners said: "The Chancellor said he was pushing his officials, and that I think explains why there were nine meetings.

"That would have been a significant distraction because Roxburgh is one of the most senior and talented people in the Treasury, and it does seem tiresome at the very minimum that he was required to spend so much time on Greensill."

"I have no doubt that he would not have done that had it not been for the pressing by David Cameron on the Chancellor of the Exchequer and two other senior Treasury ministers."

03:34 PM

International travel talks with leaders of UK's devolved nations to take place Wednesday evening

Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford said leaders of the UK's devolved nations will discuss the Government's plans to resume international travel with Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove on Wednesday evening.

Mr Drakeford said: "I will repeat again this evening to Mr Gove my view that the biggest danger we now face is the reimportation of coronavirus from other parts of the world.

"We've done such a fantastic job here in Wales to get us to where we are today.

"Surely the last thing we want is to go headlong into international travel, have people go into parts of the world where coronavirus is in much more vivid circulation, where there are new variants that we don't know anything about, and then to find that coming back here and undermining everything we have done."

03:25 PM

Blower's take on the 'cash for curtains' row in tomorrow's Daily Telegraph

Blower's cartoon - Blower

03:12 PM

Arlene Foster resigns after 75pc of DUP's NI Assembly members call for leadership contest

In a statement, Arlene Foster said: "A short time ago I called the Party Chairman (Lord Morrow) to inform him that I intend to step down as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party on May 28 and as First Minister of Northern Ireland at the end of June.

"It is important to give space over the next few weeks for the party officers to make arrangements for the election of a new leader. When elected, I will work with the new leader on transition arrangements."

The outgoing first minister added: "The future of unionism and Northern Ireland will not be found in division. It will only be found in sharing this place we are privileged to call home."

"The future of unionism and Northern Ireland will not be found in division, it will only be found in sharing this place we all are privileged to call home."

Read the latest on Arlene Foster's resignation here.

03:04 PM

Arlene Foster to step down as DUP leader

Northern Ireland's Arlene Foster has said she will step down as Democratic Unionist Party leader and Northern Ireland's First Minister.

She said she will step down as leader of the DUP on May 28 and as First Minister of Northern Ireland at the end of June.

Her resignation follows calls within the party for a leadership contest, after 75 per cent of the DUP's Northern Ireland Assembly members signed a letter demanding the contest.

She described serving the people of NI as "the privilege of my life".

Arlene Foster steps down as DUP leader - Sky News

02:46 PM

Exclusive: Civil servants could work from home after pandemic as Rishi Sunak looks to cut costs

Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson wrote to all Cabinet colleagues announcing a 'savings and efficiency review' - Getty

Working from home could become a permanent option for some civil servants as the Treasury tells Cabinet ministers to consider keeping Covid changes that save money.

Whitehall departments could also see office space downsized or more officials relocated out of London permanently in the new drive to reduce costs.

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, on Tuesday wrote to all Cabinet colleagues announcing the savings and efficiency review and urging their cooperation.

The Telegraph understands the letter said the review would allow the Government to capitalise on the productivity gains identified through our response to the pandemic.

Read the full story here.

02:32 PM

John Lewis mocks Boris Johnson over 'cash for curtains' row

Department store John Lewis appeared to mock Boris Johnson as he faced a probe into the controversial refurbishment of his Downing Street flat.

The lavish update of the Downing Street decor was reportedly inspired by a desire to get rid of the "John Lewis furniture nightmare" left over by Theresa May.

As the Electoral Commission launched an investigation into how the new look was funded, John Lewis suggested it had something for "almost" everyone.

The description of the flat - attributed to a visitor - was included in a Tatler article on Mr Johnson's fiancee Carrie Symonds.

On Twitter, John Lewis said: "Time for an interiors refresh? We pride our Home Design Service on having something for *almost* everyone."

02:12 PM

David Cameron 'should have known' Greensill was in trouble, says former minister

David Cameron remains in the spotlight over Greensill - Fiona Hanson

David Cameron "should have known" that Greensill was in financial difficulty, a former City minister has said.

While admitting that he could not know if the former prime minister did know, Lord Myners listed 10 reasons for his scepticism, including: "High risk concentration both in assets and liabilities, concentration of power in the hands of a single man in the form of Lex Greensill, the fact businesses were not subject to any regulation, the fact it was growing very rapidly..."

Greensill's valuation also "simply defied logic", he said.

Lord Myners, who has repeatedly raised questions about Greensill in recent years, said "one should have been highly suspect about Greensill".

But he added: "I don't know how many of those points the former pm identified, or the degree to which he was much bothered about what was in the product as opposed to selling the product."

02:05 PM

'Barclays and Lloyds called me daily during financial crash,' reveals former minister

A former City minister revealed he was called daily by some of the country's biggest banks during the financial crisi as he stresses the importance of "recording what went on".

Lord Myners, a Treasury minister in Gordon Brown's Labour government, told the Treasury Select Committee he was "targeted by those involved in the global financial crisis", adding "barely a day went by when I didn't get a phone call from either the chairman or chief executive of Barclays and Lloyds".

He added: "I always endeavoured to tell them they should ring me on my official line, because calls on my official line could be listened to by my private secretary who could make a note of the meeting... if however that wasn't possible, I made an immediate note to myself so I could tell my private secretary.

"An important part of the process is recording what went on... because we are dealing with public money here."

01:51 PM

Tory MP blasts Government for 'doing nothing' on cladding costs

After 2017's Grenfell disaster, many tower blocks were found to be unsafe - PA

A Conservative MP has accused the Government of having done "done nothing" in the last five months to develop proposals from him and others to help leaseholders.

Royston Smith, who alongside Stephen McPartland tabled a rebel amendment to the Fire Safety Bill back in February to ensure all leaseholders are protected from costs, said ministers must put forward a compromise.

It comes after a further amendment brought by the Lords was rejected by the Commons yesterday.

Mr Smith told the Commons: "We have less than 48 hours until the end of this parliamentary session. If the Government and minister agree that innocent leaseholders shouldn't pay and if they're concerned they're running out of time, shouldn't they have attempted a compromise in the last five months since we tabled our amendment?"

Mr Smith said the Lords had found a mechanism to save the Fire Safety Bill and require the Government to protect leaseholders from "crippling" charges for remediation work, adding: "I can't repeat this endlessly enough - this is not of their making. We have repeatedly asked the Government to compromise, they have not done so.

"This amendment allows them to do so now at the 11th hour."

01:28 PM

No 'immediate sign' of Heathrow's third runway hopes being revived, says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson: I don't see any immediate sign of that particular project coming off - Reuters

Boris Johnson has said he does not see "any immediate sign" that plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport will develop further.

Challenged today over the impact it would have on the Government's net zero target, Mr Johnson told MPs he could not see proposals for an additional runway at the London airport "coming off".

Having famously promised to lie in front of bulldozers to prevent the runway being built, the Prime Minister absented himself during a key vote on the matter when he was foreign secretary.

But last February the plans appeared to be scuppered for good after a court ruling against the controversial project.

01:20 PM

Lobby latest: Boris Johnson 'happy to assist' on cash-for-curtains probe

The Electoral Commission said it had "reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred". - Bloomberg

Boris Johnson will be "happy to assist" if the Electoral Commission asks for any information from him during its investigation, Downing Street has said.

Asked if Mr Johnson is willing to be questioned in person, the Prime Minister's press secretary said: "This is a matter for the Conservative Party as a political party and CCHQ have said they will continue to work constructively with the Electoral Commission on this matter.

"They will provide all necessary information to assist the commission.

"The Prime Minister hasn't been asked for any information but he and the Government will of course be happy to assist if asked."

01:17 PM

Lobby latest: Boris Johnson will be 'ultimate arbiter' of investigation

Protesters are lining up in Westminster today - AP

Boris Johnson will remain the "ultimate arbiter" of any investigation into whether he breached the ministerial code, Number 10 has admitted.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Mr Johnson has concerns that an independent adviser with powers to launch probes could be drawn into an investigation with "trivial or vexatious complaints".

"So he will remain the ultimate arbiter of this," he said.

Asked if that means the Prime Minister could reject any findings on himself, the spokesman said: "The Prime Minister will remain the ultimate arbiter of this, yep."

01:15 PM

Lobby latest: Lord Geidt's Downing Street flat probe is on top of Simon Case's review

Boris Johnson's new adviser on standards will run a separate investigation into the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat, alongside existing probes, No 10 has confirmed.

Lord Geidt, who was named as the new independent adviser, has been charged with looking into the matter as a priority. But this will run in tandem with the existing review being carried out by Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary.

They are both distinct to the Electoral Commission's "formal investigation", which was also announced today.

But, asked why there was capacity for these inquiries to take place while there was none available for the long-awaited review into the pandemic response, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said there was "no update on the Covid inquiry".

01:11 PM

Lobby latest: Electoral Commission probe for Tory party - but PM - claim No 10

The Electoral Commission's formal investigation into the donations used for the Downing Street flat refurbishment is focused on the Tory party, rather than Boris Johnson, No 10 has said.

A spokesmen told journalists the Prime Minister has not yet been asked questions directly.

This is a specific matter for the Conservative Party as a political party," the spokesman added.

"They'll provide all necessary information to assist the Commission, the Prime Minister hasn't been asked for any information on this, so it's not really a question yet."

01:04 PM

Boris Johnson's PMQs outburst was his 'Kevin Keegan moment', say Labour

Boris Johnson's PMQs outburst was his "Kevin Keegan moment", Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman has said.

The description - a reference to the then Newcastle United manager's televised outburst in 1996 - is already doing the rounds on Twitter.

The Prime Minister became visibly rattled towards the end of the clash with the Labour leader, following a series of questions and the suggestion he was "mired in sleaze, cronyism and scandal".

Watch the clip below to compare and contrast.

12:59 PM

'These are the bodies that were piled high,' says protesters outside No 10

Protesters are lining up outside Downing Street and reading out the names of those killed by coronavirus, following the allegation that Boris Johnson said he would rather 'let bodies pile high' than impose another lockdown.

The Prime Minister has denied these claims - but that isn't stopping these campaigners.

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12:53 PM

Matt Hancock's wait for the Covid jab call is over

Matt Hancock yesterday said he was "standing by my phone" after the Covid vaccine programme reached those aged 42 and over.

Luckily for him, the Health Secretary did not have to wait long.

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12:45 PM

Labour's first prime minister 'had to borrow and buy from fleamarkets'

While Boris Johnson fends off questions over the so-called "cash for curtains", and criticism for his apparent dislike of John Lewis, one former MP has highlighted how different things used to be.

Ramsay Macdonald, Labour's first prime minister who governed in the 1920s, "had to borrow & buy from fleamarkets", says Caroline Flint.

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12:36 PM

Labour told of plans to create trust for Downing Street last June

Labour received correspondence from the Government about setting up a trust for Downing Street in June 2020, the party has revealed.

Speaking to reporters after today's PMQs clash, Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said: "As far as I'm aware it was about the building overall, the Downing Street building overall, not about the Prime Minister's flat or paying for refurbishment of that flat."

The spokesman added: "When that correspondence came in, we didn't engage with the idea of establishing the trust."

12:30 PM

Labour goes to war... over John Lewis

The Downing Street flat at the heart of the row - AFP

Labour appears to be going to war with Boris Johnson - over the fact he and Carrie Symonds redecorated the Downing Street flat to allegedly rid it of the "John Lewis nightmare".

A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer said that "unlike the Prime Minister he doesn't turn his nose up to John Lewis thinking it's too downmarket" and "wouldn't spend 840 per roll on wallpaper".

The spokesman told reporters in Westminster: "The real question here is about whether or not the Prime Minister has complied with the rules governing the ministerial code, the rules governing MPs making a declaration to the register of interests and - as we have seen today - whether or not the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister followed electoral law.

"That's the big issue of today and if the Prime Minister wanted to end this saga he would come clean about precisely what's happened.

"The only reason we are talking about wallpaper and furnishings is because the Prime Minister hasn't come clean on what is becoming a daily story of more Tory sleaze."

12:26 PM

Covid patients in England drop to lowest level in seven months

The number of patients in hospital in England with Covid-19 has dropped to its lowest level for seven months, figures show.

A total of 1,310 patients were in hospital at 8am on April 27, according to figures from NHS England, the lowest since September 21.

At the peak, on January 18, there were 34,336 people hospitalised with Covid - far higher than the first wave's peak of 18,974 on April 12 2020.

Hospital admissions of patients with Covid-19 are also back to levels last seen in mid-September, with a a total of 107 admissions reported for April 25.

It comes ahead of Matt Hancock's press conference at 5pm today.

12:20 PM

Support provided by the United Kingdom will save lives, says minister

The UK is offering India support that "will save lives", a Foreign Office minister has insisted.

Challenged over why the UK Government isn't doing more to help the Covid-stricken country, Nigel Adams told the Commons that the UK is sending further 400 oxygen concentrators in the next couple of days, after an initial shipment of ventilators arrived yesterday.

"The heartbreaking scenes in India have shocked us all," he told MPs. "As the PM has said, we stand side-by-side with India as a friend and partner in the fight against Covid-19.

"Support provided by the United Kingdom will save lives," he added.

12:04 PM

Why Labour isn't going harder on the 'pile bodies high' comment

The reason that Labour is focusing on the Downing Street flat affair, rather than claims he said 'let the bodies pile high', is clear for two reasons.

Firstly, unless or until a recording surfaces, it's a case of he-said-she-said, and ultimately up to individuals which account they believe. Boris Johnson has repeatedly and emphatically said it's not the case.

The second is set out rather clearly by former minister Simon Clarke below. While it might be an eyebrow raising phrase, the fact is he did order another lockdown - being all too aware of how appalling they are.

That "speaks well of him", notes Mr Clarke.

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11:57 AM

Boris Johnson fact-checked on sexual offenders claim

Labour is keen to hammer home their argument that Boris Johnson can't be trusted - even at the dispatch box.

But while much of the focus is on the headline-grabbing allegations about the Downing Street flat and claims he said 'let the bodies pile high', one shadow minister has zeroed in on another topic.

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11:44 AM

Have your say: Does it matter who gave Boris Johnson a loan?

Labour is making much of the fact that we don't know who may or may not have given Boris Johnson a loan to cover the costs of the Downing Street flat refurbishment.

Sir Keir Starmer dedicated several of his questions to this matter. Although the Prime Minister claimed to have answered his question, saying he has "covered the cost" personally, we are still in the dark as to where the cash initially came from.

But does it matter? Sir Charles Walker, who is no fan of the PM, has said as long as his constituents aren't on the hook it is irrelevant, and that is certainly the argument being pushed by Number 10.

Have your say in the poll below.

11:42 AM

What the lobby made of today's PMQs...

It was certainly an explosive PMQs - but did Sir Keir Starmer really land any punches, or has Boris Johnson fended them off successfully?

Here's what the press pack made of today's clash.

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11:38 AM

PMQs: Boris Johnson quizzed over when he learned of ESL plans

Rachel Hopkins, Labour's MP for Luton South, asks a straightforward question - "When was the Prime Minister and his chief of staff first made aware of plans for a European Super League?"

Boris Johnson replies that it was "Sunday night and we acted decisively, using the arsenal of legislative freedoms we have thanks to leaving the EU".

He adds that "The UK Government took a dim view of this matter - and the same goes for my chief of staff."

11:36 AM

PMQs: Boris Johnson thinks rules are for 'the sort of people who shop at John Lewis', claims Labour MP

Boris Johnson was grilled over the 'cash for curtains' row - AFP

Labour MP Lillian Greenwood says the "cash for curtains" row shows that Boris Johnson thinks "rules, laws and decency are for other people - the sort of people who shop at John Lewis, or Ikea or Argos."

But the Prime Minister fires back that "people think Labour are losing all the arguments across British politics".

He claims the opposition has "no vision for our country".

11:33 AM

PMQs: Boris Johnson challenged over unpublished James Dyson texts

Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Minister's Questions - PA

Christian Mathers, Labour's MP for the City of Chester, says Boris Johnson promised to publish his texts to Sir James Dyson and has not "made good on that promise".

He asks when the messages will be published.

The Prime Minister replies: "I promised to publish my account of dealing with James Dyson, which is exactly what I have done".

He says Labour is trying to do "a W-turn" and asks if the party supports efforts to secure ventilators.

11:31 AM

PMQs: Labour have 'nothing to say' on important issues, claims Boris Johnson

Janet Daby, Labour's MP for Lewisham East, says it is "absolutely shocking" that the Electoral Commisison is investigating the Downing Street flat donations.

She asks why Boris Johnson thinks these stories "about sleaze, corruption and dishonesty" keep happening to him.

He replies that it is "because people are absolutely determined to find anything they can hang onto to talk about, except our vaccine rollout, our plans to level up and unite the country... because they can't win on those issues.

"They have absolutely nothing to say," he adds.

11:28 AM

PMQs: Boris Johnson backs public inquiry into Post Office scandal

Conservative MP Duncan Baker, a former subpostmaster, says last week's ruling is "the beginning, not the end" and calls for "a proper, judge-led inquiry" into the scandal.

Boris Johnson says he is "totally right", and what happened was "one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in our history".

He confirms the High Court judge will be making recommendations about future steps.

11:27 AM

PMQs: 'What happens when a prime minister goes rogue?' asks Plaid Cymru MP

Liz Savile Roberts, Plaid Cymru's leader, says the sole judge of questions on conduct is the Prime Minister himself, "what happens when a prime minister goes rogue?"

Boris Johnson says the public have the opportunity to make their minds up on May 6 - when the local elections will take place.

11:25 AM

PMQs: Boris Johnson 'up to his neck in sleaze', says SNP MP

Ian Blackford replies that it is "the Prime Minister's behaviour that is not in order".

He claims Boris Johnson is "up to his neck in Tory sleaze", and that he is dodging questions - but they won't go away.

"When exactly was money funnelled through Tory HQ into his personal bank account?" he asks, adding "who was the donor who originally donated them."

He asks if the PM will publish the details today or "wait for the police to come knocking at his door".

Mr Johnson says the SNP's Westminster leader is "talking complete nonsense".

11:22 AM

PMQs: Ian Blackford asks Boris Johnson if he is a liar

Ian Blackford was criticised for his 'unsavoury' question - PA

Ian Blackford gets around the Parliamentary rules that ban him from calling the Prime Minister a liar by asking him if he is.

There is a long pause before Boris Johnson says he leaves it to the Speaker to decide whether they are in order.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle said they were "not savoury, and not what we would expect".

Mr Johnson then challenges the SNP's Westminster leader to "produce the author" of the claims "because I can't find them".

11:18 AM

PMQs: Boris Johnson is 'Major Sleaze', says Sir Keir Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer then goes through the principles of those in public life, which include "accountability, openness, honesty and leadership".

He says the Prime Minister is "Major Sleaze" - a riff on the Captain Hindsight moniker that Boris Johnson has given him.

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But Mr Johnson hits back, saying Labour has attacked him for speaking for James Dyson about ventilators and has attacked Kate Bingham over her work on vaccines.

He also crowbars a reference to the European Parliament vote on Brexit last night, saying the Government is "taking back control of our country".

11:15 AM

PMQs: Boris Johnson denies 'rules or laws have been broken' over Downing Street flat

Boris Johnson gets heated during PMQs - AFP

Sir Keir Starmer says Boris Johnson should "answer the question" but notes that he "never answers the question".

The Labour leader points to the fact that donations should be reported within 28 days.

He cites the Electoral Commission's investigation, saying it is "incredibly serious" and asks if the Prime Minister believes any "rules or laws have been broken" over the flat refurbishment.

"No I don't," says Mr Johnson. "What I believe has been strained to breaking point is the credulity of the public... when I have told him umpteen times I have paid for it."

11:13 AM

PMQs: Boris Johnson challenged over Downing Street flat donation

PMQs has been fiery - PA

Sir Keir Starmer attacks Boris Johnson's claims he is focused on the pandemic, saying he has been "nipping out to buy wallpaper" and personally briefing newspapers about Dominic Cummings.

He asks about the allegations that Lord Brownlow was asked to donate 58,000 for the cost of the refurbishment, and asks if that is true.

Mr Johnson says he has answered the question "many times now", repeats that he has covered the cost personally "in full", and repeats his attack line that "Tony Blair wracked up a bill of 350,000" on doing the flat up.

"What people want to see is minimising taxpayer expense," he adds.

11:10 AM

PMQs: Boris Johnson says he has 'conformed in full' with code on Downing Street flat

Livid: Boris Johnson hits back at sleaze allegations

Sir Keir Starmer says there are "only four options" for who paid the initial invoice, saying it "should be easier than finding the Chatty Rat".

But Boris Johnson says he has "given him the answer - I have covered the costs.

"Most people will find it absolutely bizarre that he is focusing on this issue," he adds, stressing that he has "conformed in full with code of conduct and ministerial code", and that officials have been advising me throughout this whole thing".

The Prime Minister says he would "rather not pay taxpayers' money" unlike the former Labour government did "tarting it up".

11:08 AM

PMQs: 'Someone isn't telling the truth', says Sir Keir Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer challenges the Prime Minister - PA

Sir Keir Starmer says "someone isn't telling the truth", and highlights the ministerial code requirement that those who "knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation".

He adds: "I'll leave it there for now" - prompting MPs to mutter and jeer.

The Labour leader then asks who "initially" paid for the Downing Street flat refurbishment.

Boris Johnson attempts to turn the tables by saying that Sir Keir had said the UK should remain in the European Medicines Agency, and that Sir James Dyson is a "personal friend of mine", which has been clarified in today's Telegraph.

"As for the latest stuff, he should know I paid for the Downing Street refurbishment personally... any further declaration I have to make, if any, I will be advised upon by Lord Geidt."

11:04 AM

PMQs: Boris Johnson denies 'bodies pile high' comment

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle calls PMQs with jeers from MPs who are anticipating an explosive session.

Boris Johnson says he welcomes the High Court ruling to overturn the convictions of the 39 subpostmasters, saying it was an "appalling" situation.

Sir Keir Starmer echoes these remarks about the "ongoing injustice", saying it is "even more poignant than usual" because of what frontline workers have endured this year.

He then turns to the multiple reports that the Prime Minister said he would rather have 'bodies piled high' than impose another lockdown. He asks "yes or no" if he made those remarks.

"No, Mr Speaker," comes the reply.

"If he is going to repeat allegations, he should come to this House and substantiate them."

He adds: "Lockdowns are miserable,.,. but we had absolutely no choice."

10:58 AM

Boris Johnson en route for PMQs

Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street for PMQs - AFP

Boris Johnson is on his way into PMQs where he will no doubt face a barrage of questions from opposition MPs about the Electoral Commission's investigation.

It couldn't have come at a worse time - but as one senior Tory tells me, "never bet on his downfall".

10:46 AM

Downing Street flat is top of the inbox for Boris Johnson's new standards adviser

Lord Geidt's inbox is full before he even starts - Getty

Lord Geidt has been confirmed as the Prime Minister's new independent adviser on interests, as Boris Johnson attempts to grapple with the deluge of accusations of sleaze.

The Telegraph had revealed this morning that the former private secretary to the Queen would be named today (see 10:45am).

A Number 10 statement said: "He brings a distinguished record of impartial public service and experience of Government to bear on the appointment. The Prime Minister is grateful for Lord Geidts willingness to assume this important role, and for the particular contribution it will make to the maintenance of the integrity of the Ministerial Code."

Lord Geidt, a crossbench peer, will "begin by ascertaining the facts surrounding the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat", the statement added.

10:43 AM

Labour calls on minister to apologise for PM's 'let bodies pile high' comment

Labour's Ian Murray has called on a Cabinet minister to apologise on behalf of Boris Johnson for his alleged remarks that he said 'let the bodies pile high'.

But Alister Jack, the Scotland Secretary, said he had "no recollection of the Prime Minister being focused on anything other than saving lives and protecting the NHS".

He told MPs: "On the bodies remark, every conversation I have had with the Prime Minister in the last year, his desire at all levels has been to save lives and protect the NHS."

Mr Jack added that his boss had been "entirely focused on this pandemic all the way through - he hasn't been distracted like others have".

He noted that SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon "admitted taking her eye off the ball - he hasn't taken his eye off the ball."

10:39 AM

Boris Johnson is a 'serial liar', says MP

The revelations that the Electoral Commission has launched an investigation into the Downing Street flat comes ahead of what is likely to be an explosive PMQs, with opposition MPs lining up to attack the Prime Minister.

Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, told Radio 4's Today programme he was "a serial liar".

"This is a man who isn't just lying occasionally, he is routinely lying at the dispatch box and that makes it impossible for MPs to hold him to account," she added.

Lisa Nandy, Labour's shadow foreign secretary, claimed the secrecy over the loan meant "we do not have a Prime Minister in this country that we can be confident is acting in the interests of the British people."

But Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, told Sky News that the row was simply "the opposition trying to stir it up", because they did not want to "talk about the success of the vaccine programme".

10:33 AM

What can the Electoral Commission do?

The Electoral Commission has launched an investigation into the donations used to pay for the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat, saying it believes "an offence or offences may have occurred".

But what can this oversight body actually do if it finds that any such funds were not "reported as required"?

Here's what I've been told:

We cant speculate in relation to specific investigations but we have a range of civil sanctions available to us that we can use if it is appropriate and proportionate to do so. Where we do issue fines, we do so in line with our Enforcement Policy. Our fines range from 200 to our maximum of 20,000.

The Enforcement Policy also states that the Commission can "seek prosecution" if there is sufficient grounds.

10:17 AM

Downing Street flat row 'isn't going to end well for Boris', says Labour MP

The row over who lent the Prime Minister cash for the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat "isn't going to end well for Boris", Labour's shadow business minister has said.

Moments ago, the Electoral Commission announced it has launched an investigation into the donations used for the work, saying it believes "an offence or offences may have occurred".

Lucy Powell, Labour MP for Manchester Central, said: "This isnt going to end well for Boris. The pleading poverty defence really is a smack in the face for vast majority of Britons."

Lewisham East MP Janet Daby added: "All eyes on PMQs."

09:45 AM

Boris Johnson to name Queen's former private secretary as new standards adviser

One of Lord Geidts first tasks in the role will be to scrutinise the long-delayed list of ministers interests - Chris Jackson Collection

Boris Johnson will name a former private secretary to the Queen as his new ministerial standards adviser, The Daily Telegraph understands.

Lord (Christopher) Geidt, a crossbench peer who served Her Majesty in that position between 2007 and 2017, taking up a seat in the House of Lords after leaving the role, is expected to be confirmed in the role shortly before today's PMQs.

The announcement has been expected for more than a week, and is likely to be used by Mr Johnson to attempt to draw a line under days of politically damaging front pages, with the local elections less than a fortnight away.

One of Lord Geidts first tasks in the role will be to scrutinise the list of Government ministers interests, the release of which has been long delayed.

Interest in the list has been heightened by the row over how Mr Johnsons Downing Street flat refurbishment was paid for and whether it was declared correctly.

09:41 AM

Women at no greater risk from blood clots following AstraZeneca jab, MPs have heard

Women are at no greater risk from blood clots after the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, despite there being more cases and deaths reported in them, MPs have heard.

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chairman of the Commission on Human Medicines, told the Science and Technology Committee: "There are two things to consider - the first is the way the vaccine was deployed, particularly in healthcare workers and social care workers.

"The majority of the workforce there is female and so they had higher exposure rates.

"But when you then start relating to the exposure rate in different populations, what you find is that the case incidence rate between male and female is actually very similar.

"So, from our data that we've got in the UK, it doesn't look as if the females are at a higher risk of this adverse event compared to males."

Sir Munir added: "The only risk factor that we are finding is age in that there is a slightly higher risk in the younger age group compared to the older age group."

09:29 AM

Prime Minister cannot be expected to 'live in a skip', says Michael Gove's wife

Boris Johnson "can't be expected to live in a skip", the wife of Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said.

Sarah Vine said the Prime Minister must live "to a certain standard" and that it is "perfectly reasonable" for him to want to change the colour of his sofa.

Prime ministers are allocated a budget of up to 30,000 per year to renovate their Downing Street residency, but newspaper reports have suggested Mr Johnson has spent up to 200,000 on the changes.

No 10 has refused to answer questions on whether Tory HQ or a party donor, Lord Brownlow, either donated or loaned tens of thousands of pounds to the Cabinet Office to pay for the initial flat renovation, before Mr Johnson paid back the cash out of his own pocket.

A Downing St spokesperson issued a statement last night saying: "Any costs of wider refurbishment this year beyond those provided for by the annual allowance have been met by the Prime Minister personally. Conservative Party funds are not being used for this."

Boris Johnson is under pressure to reveal details of this financing of his Downing Street flat refurbishment - Shutterstock

Ms Vine told the BBC Radio Four Today programme: "The thing about the whole No 10 refurbishment thing is that the Prime Minister can't be expected to live in a skip."

The Daily Mail columnist said Mr Johnson is "working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, trying to run the country which is quite a difficult job to do".

While she does not think the taxpayer should fund such work, she said a "transparent" arrangement for refurbishment is the way forward, such as a "trust" with a "clear budget".

She added this approach would mean "my husband wouldn't have to cancel all his very important NHS procurement meetings on an afternoon to go and answer an urgent question about curtains".

09:09 AM

Arlene Foster fighting for political survival after claims of DUP revolt

Arlene Foster appeared to be fighting for her survival as Northern Irelands First Minister on Tuesday night amid claims that dozens of DUP politicians had signed a letter of no confidence in her, writes Harry Yorke.

The letter has not yet been made public but is said to contain the signatures of at least 21 Stormont Assembly members and four MPs, and comes 24 hours after 18 constituency associations submitted letters of concerns.

Arlene Foster has faced mounting criticism over her handling of the Northern Ireland Protocol - PA

It comes amid mounting frustration within the party over the leaderships handling of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the post-Brexit trading arrangements which have caused significant disruption for traders moving goods across the Irish Sea.

Despite Mrs Foster being a vocal opponent of the protocol and demanding it be scrapped, some in the party believe she failed to take a hard enough stance over what they believe to be a "betrayal" by Boris Johnson.

Read the full story here.

08:54 AM

Madeline Grant: In SNP Scotland, do the facts matter any more?

The SNP fear spooking moderate swing voters with talk of radical change - Reuters

In the comic sci-fi masterpiece The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the giant supercomputer Deep Thought calculates that the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is the number 42, writes Madeline Grant.

Similarly, members of the Scottish National Party have long favoured a single response, providing the perfect riposte to any criticism flung their way. It is Independence.Their interpretation possesses a gloriously irrefutable circular logic. Problems in Holyrood can usually be blamed on some combination of Westminster, the Tories, or Tory austerity  and, by extension, not enough independence. Any Whitehall failure further vindicates the case for independence. It is a cynical strategy, but it has helped them dodge accountability with remarkable success  even in areas that fall entirely within their remit.Yet the sight of Scottish pubs reopening, though forbidden to sell alcohol and forced to close at 8pm, has coincided with something equally bizarre. Ahead of the Holyrood elections, the SNP has suddenly become curiously reluctant to talk about independence.

Read the rest of Madeline's latest column here.

08:34 AM

Have your say: Does it matter who gave Boris Johnson a loan?

Labour is making much of the fact that we don't know who may or may not have given Boris Johnson a loan to cover the costs of the Downing Street flat refurbishment.

Yesterday Jon Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said the country should know who he was "beholden to", adding: "Who is loaning you the money to buy your cushions, your sofa, the bed you sleep in at night?"

Colleague Lisa Nandy picked up on that refrain this morning, saying the country must know who Mr Johnson "may owe favours to". Sir Keir Starmer is likely to run with it.

But does it matter? Sir Charles Walker, who is no fan of the PM, has said as long as his constituents aren't on the hook it is irrelevant, and that is certainly the argument being pushed by Number 10.

Have your say in the poll below.

08:28 AM

Analysis: BBC breaks rank over Boris Johnson  but is it being used in a revenge game?

It was a subtle yet significant shift in the way the BBC and ITV report political stories, writes Camilla Tominey.

The state broadcaster and its commercial rival would ordinarily shy away from confirming newspaper reports that had been categorically denied by Downing Street.

Yet in the case of Boris Johnson allegedly declaring that he would rather see bodies pile high in their thousands than order a third lockdown, both appear to have made an intriguing exception.

On Monday, the Prime Minister completely rebuffed claims he had made the controversial remark last autumn after agreeing to a second lockdown  answering no when asked if he uttered the comment. It came after he had earlier branded the reports total, total rubbish.

Yet that did not stop both the BBC and ITV leading their evening news bulletins by citing sources who contradicted the rebuttal of the high-vis jacket-wearing PM, pictured below.

Read the rest of Camilla's analysis here.

08:16 AM

Hugging from June: Hopes rekindled by Government adviser

People may be able to hug their loved ones after June 21, a Government scientific adviser has said, as a new study shows a single jab cuts virus transmission by up to half.

Dr Mike Tildesley, from the University of Warwick and a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) group, said it was "a political decision rather than an epidemiological decision", although noted there was confusion about what the lifting of "legal limits on contact" meant.

Dr Tildesley told Times Radio: "Whether that means that on that date some social distancing will be in place or whether all of those will be removed and you'll be able to go and hug your loved ones...

"If you're both vaccinated, of course, it does reduce the risk of anyone becoming severely ill and my hope is that as we move towards that June date, we will be in a position that we can not just see our loved ones, but also we can hug our loved ones because it's been a very long time since we've been able to do that."

It comes as a new study from Public Health England (PHE) shows that a single dose of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines can slash virus transmission by up to half.

08:13 AM

British people cannot be sure Boris Johnson is acting in their interests, says Labour MP

Lisa Nandy said 'somebody is lying' about the flat fund row - Getty

The country cannot be sure that Boris Johnson is "acting in the interests of the British people", a Labour frontbencher has said.

Lisa Nandy, shadow foreign secretary, told Sky News: "The problem with what has gone on over the flat is we still don't know who loaned the Prime Minister this money, he won't even confirm or deny whether it was loaned or not, we don't know why he didn't declare it and we don't know what he offered them in return.

"The reason those rules are there is so we know who powerful figures are beholden to, who they may owe favours to so we can properly scrutinise and check that they're not acting in the interests of a privileged few over and above the majority of people in this country.

"At the moment, we do not have a Prime Minister in this country that we can be confident is acting in the interests of the British people, that's just unacceptable."

Mr Johnson should "come clean about who offered him money, who he took money from, and what he owes them in return", she added, saying "somebody is lying".

08:06 AM

Matt Hancock to give Downing Street press conference today

Matt Hancock will give the Downing Street press conference this evening - UK Parliament

Matt Hancock will lead a Downing Street press conference this afternoon.

The Health Secretary will no doubt want to focus on the success of the UK's vaccine rollout, after it was announced yesterday that a quarter of the adult population of the UK have received both jabs.

Yesterday also saw the programme progress to those aged 42 and over.

But he'll be unlikely to escape without questions on sleaze, the Downing Street flat and why the UK isn't doing more to help India.

07:46 AM

Downing Street flat donations row 'a story of the past', says Grant Shapps

The row over who made an initial loan to cover the costs of the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat is "a story of the past", Grant Shapps has said.

The Transport Secretary told Radio 4's Today programme the Prime Minister "has met the costs of the refurbishment", adding that "if all the details set out that would be helpful, and the Cabinet Secretary will do exactly that.

"The most important thing is the Prime Minister has paid for it, and the annual report and accounts from cab office will set out all the details as well," he added.

Challenged over where the initial loan came from, and "what they want in return", the former party chairman said "the fact that Prime Minister has paid for the wider refurbishment costs does render it, if anything, a story of the past."

He noted there was "a slightly unusual situation of living above the shop" which made the idea of setting up a trust to cover costs a "perfectly sensible, rational idea".

07:38 AM

Brexit vote 'the final step in a long journey', says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has welcomed the "final step in a long journey", after the European Parliament voted to approve the Brexit trade deal.

The Prime Minister said: "This week is the final step in a long journey, providing stability to our new relationship with the EU as vital trading partners, close allies and sovereign equals.

"Now is the time to look forward to the future and to building a more Global Britain."

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07:29 AM

Lord Frost hails 'new chapter' as Brexit deal gets Brussels sign-off

Lord Frost has hailed the beginning of a "new chapter" in UK-EU relations after the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to approve the trade deal.

The Brexit minister said he "hugely" welcomed the overwhelming vote in favour of the trade deal and thanked former counterpart Michel Barnier and the European Commission for "helping us get here".

"Hope we can now begin a new chapter together as Europeans, characterised by friendly co-operation between sovereign equals," he added.

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07:25 AM

Lord Lister quit before sleaze row

Lord Udny-Lister had been one of the names in the frame to replace Dominic Cummings - NurPhoto

Boris Johnson's longest-serving aide has insisted he quit Downing Street before the row over second jobs and sleaze surfaced.

Lord Udny-Lister, the 71-year-old who has worked with the Prime Minister since his time as London Mayor, told Politico it was "the right time for me to go" and had handed in his notice three months ago. His departure was only made public on Friday.

"My letters were in, the agreement was done  all of that was sorted," he said.

Lord Udny-Lister had been one of the names in the frame to replace Dominic Cummings as Mr Johnson's chief adviser, but sources at the time suggested he was looking to reduce, rather than increase, his workload. He subsequently became the PM's Gulf envoy.

"I thought that was quite a good role as a part-time role. But it was quite clear that wasnt going to work as a part-time role. Youve either got to be in Government 100 percent or out of Government. There isnt a half-way house."

07:17 AM

European Parliament votes to approve Brexit trade deal

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised MEPs the deal had "teeth" - EPA

The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to approve the UK and European Union's post-Brexit trade deal.

Yesterday Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the Brexit trade deal has "real teeth" as MEPs branded leaving the EU a "historic mistake".

Mrs von der Leyen said: "This agreement comes with real teeth with a binding dispute settlement mechanism and the possibility for unilateral remedial measures were necessary. And let me be very clear. We do not want to have to use these tools, but we will not hesitate to use them if necessary."

The European Commission president said that Brussels would not hesitate to hit Britain with trade tariffs if it failed to implement its commitments in Northern Ireland, before the European Parliament voted to ratify the deal in the final step of the years-long Brexit negotiations.

07:10 AM

Data 'looks good' for international travel to restart mid-May, says Shapps

The Transport Secretary has said the "data does continue to look good" for reopening the UK's borders from mid-May - although cautioned that Covid cases in other countries could hinder global travel.

Grant Shapps told Sky News he was pressing ahead with plans for a traffic lights system to come into force from May 17, but would not be able to confirm which countries are given the green light for another "couple of weeks", owing to the uncertain outlook overseas.

"Beyond our shores seeing highest levels of coronavirus we have seen so far, right now, so we do need to make sure we do this very carefully," he said.

The four factors will include vaccine rates, Covid rates, variations and "how accurate we believe their reporting to be, which is absolutely essential". He noted that in the UK "we take it for granted" that figures are independently verified.

Concerns are growing that India, which is in the grip of another wave, is suffering a daily death toll that is actually 20 times higher than official figures.

07:05 AM

NHS app will form basis of vaccine passport, says Grant Shapps

The NHS app will act as a digital Covid vaccine passport for international travel, Grant Shapps has confirmed.

The Transport Secretary told Sky News: "In terms of vaccine certification, I can confirm we are working on an NHS application, actually it will be the NHS app that is used for people when they book appointments with the NHS and so on, to be able to show you've had a vaccine or you've had testing.

"I'm working internationally with partners across the world to make sure that system can be internationally recognised, as that's the way forward.

"Actually, I'm chairing a meeting of the G7 secretaries of state for transport, my equivalents from America and Canada and all the G7 countries, next week on exactly this subject."

07:02 AM

India wouldn't have any vaccine without UK's help, minister insists

A Cabinet minister has defended the decision not to share surplus vaccine supplies with India, saying the AstraZeneca-Oxford jab "simply wouldn't exist" without the UK's R&D support.

Grant Shapps fended off accusations that the UK was not doing enough to help the country, which recorded 360,000 new daily infections - a global record - and over 3,000 deaths on Wednesday.

India's official death toll is now pushing towards 200,000, but many states are only recording Covid-19 fatalities if there are no comorbidities. Some estimates put the current daily death toll at 20 times higher than official figures.

Pressed on why the UK isn't doing more, Mr Shapps said: "One of the biggest things we have done in response to these heart-breaking images is to be the country that researched, developed and produced the vaccine they used in India.

The Transport Secretary added: "Actually, thanks to the Oxford research and AZ approach, the way this has been licensed -unlike other very successful vaccines like Pfizer, this is being made without profit. That is way bigger than any other countrys contribution."

06:57 AM

Self driving cars will help save lives, says Grant Shapps

Self-driving cars will not be introduced unless they are safer than having drivers behind the wheel, the Transport Secretary has said.

Grant Shapps told Sky News: "It will be safer than people driving and if it's not, then we won't do it.

"This isn't about the kind of cars that are already available, this isn't about a self-driving Tesla or something, those would not qualify currently for full self-driving capability. Instead, this is about new technology, new types of car."

Mr Shapps said that around 85% of the 1,800 road deaths in the UK yearly are due to driver error.

"The deaths come from primarily errors made by human beings, because we're all human, and I just think if we're ever going to drive that down lower, we can't turn our back on technology," he said.

06:39 AM

Sir James Dyson exclusive: BBC twisted the truth over my links to the Tories

Sir James Dyson: BBC twisted the truth over my links to the Tories - AFP

Sir James Dyson has accused the BBC of a grotesque mischaracterisation of his links to the Conservative Party as he denied acting inappropriately over his texts with Boris Johnson.

Speaking for the first time since the row over his messages broke last week, the British inventor and businessman said it was untrue he tried to extract favours from the Prime Minister.

The messages, revealed by the BBC last Wednesday, showed Sir James sought clarification from Mr Johnson on UK tax matters related to building ventilators during the pandemic.

It thrust a spotlight on how figures in the private sector communicate with the Prime Minister and raised questions about how such requests are handled inside government.

Writing for the Telegraph, inventor says it is untrue that he was a major donor and that he tried to extract favours from Boris Johnson
Despite the re-emerging Covid 19 crisis in India, oil prices maintained momentum even as OPEC+ has decided to go ahead with previously agreed production hike plans.

Oil prices have been surprisingly steady over the past week, despite serious doubts about the state of the demand recovery in India. Saudi Arabia, in particular, is expected to be cautious when it comes to additional production hikes.

The markets have already priced in recovering jet fuel demand

The group is now expected to bring back 350,000 bpd from OPEC+ and 250,000 bpd from Saudi Arabia in May, going up to 2.1 million bpd in July. While the OPEC+ technical committee, or JTC, expressed concerns about rising cases of COVID-19 in India, Japan, OPEC has not changed its demand forecast for the second half of the year, which is currently standing at 5.95 million bpd. The expected recovery in aviation this summer and high electricity demand in the Middle East which leads to more crude-fired power generation may have supported the groups decision. With many airlines around the world announcing the resumption of international flights, the markets also seem to have already priced in jet fuel demand recovery in the summer.

Related Video: Oil on Guard over Yemen as Saudi, Iran Meet in Secret



Furthermore, the current uptick in gasoline demand has boosted the US refinery utilisation factor, which is now approaching the five-year average at 85.3% of total capacity. This week, the US crude oil stocks both commercial and strategic had a saw a tiny increase of 100,000 barrels w/w, and current commercial stocks stand at 493.1 million barrels, close to the five-year average. Next to this, there has been a noticeable decline in the demand for all petroleum products by 1.5 million bpd w/w with the exception of gasoline whose demand rose nearly to pre-pandemic levels at 9.1 million bpd, a level not seen since April 2020. Additionally, crude oil production in the United States remains fixed for a second consecutive week at 11 million bpd while the number of oil rigs declined by only 1 rig in the Permian, the first decline in 2021, leaving the total number at 343 rigs.

Implementation of the NOPEC bill has never been feasible

Another important issue that may be of a concern for OPEC+ is the so-called NOPEC bill, a wildcard that is usually brought up by US lawmakers when crude prices begin to rise. Last week, the Secretary-General of OPEC, Mr. Barkindo, has urged OPEC countries to lobby against the legislation which may put not only their interests but also US interests at risk. It is worth mentioning that the NOPEC bill draft has existed for a long time, yet its implementation has never been feasible. Under President Trump, who was a major critic of OPEC, the NOPEC bill was on the table when prices went above $70 in 2017-2018. Then, when prices collapsed during April 2020 we saw President Trump brokering an OPEC+ deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia, and on top of that giving thanks to OPEC+ for saving the US oil industry. Related: The 5 Most Influential Oil Companies In The World

Concerns of market share as Irans production is rebounding

One issue that may influence the groups decision this week is the current discussion in Vienna between Iran and western powers which is already showing some progress. This can lead to a scenario where Iranian crude will find its way back to the markets. Its official production could therefore increase by more than 1 million bpd on top of its current 2.3 million bpd. Yet, it is important to realise that Iran's production is already rebounding despite the ongoing US sanctions. Currently, a major part of Iranian exports, 1.2 million bpd, are being sold to China at a discount, in spite of U.S. sanctions.

Whether the group will continue to ramp up production until July remains to be seen. Much will depend on the demand situation in India, and it is expected that the group will review its production policy again next month. This means that we may also see a delay in planned production increases as Saudi Arabia may consider keeping its voluntary cuts in place to prevent another price collapse.

By Yousef Alshammari for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The attorney for Michelle Troconis filed a series of new motions this week seeking the family psychological report done as part of the Jennifer and Fotis Dulos divorce and custody battle while also trying to compel a court reporter to provide a transcript of a hearing on the report.

Attorney Jon Schoenhorn, representing Troconis, filed a civil writ compelling court reporter Melanie Moss, who works at the Stamford Judicial District, to provide a court transcript of the two-day hearing on the psychological report meant to aid a judge in family court proceedings.

The hearing was held on May 14 and May 17, 2019 just days before Jennifer Dulos disappeared. The hearing was canceled after the reports author, Dr. Stephen Herman, refused to continue his testimony.

Schoenhorn is asking Stamford-Norwalk Judicial District Judge John Blawie to reconsider his decision to deny his client access to the report. He also wants Moss or her successor to provide the transcript of the hearing.

The report has been under seal since the hearing in May 2019.

Jennifer Dulos disappeared on May 24, 2019. Troconis and attorney Kent Mawhinney are the remaining defendants charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the disappearance. Both have pleaded not guilty and are free on bond.

Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos, died on Jan. 30, 2020, two days after suicide attempt. He had been charged with the kidnapping and murder of Jennifer Dulos three weeks earlier.

At the time of Jennifer Dulos disappearance, she and Fotis Dulos were embroiled in a contentious divorce and custody battle over their five children. The findings in the psychological report have never been made public.

Moss declined to provide him with a transcript of the proceedings in March, Schoenhorn said. Although the report has been sealed, Schoenhorn said there appeared to be no prohibition against the public attending the hearing, which would make the transcript public.

To the plaintiffs knowledge the May 14 and May 17, 2019, public courtroom proceedings were never ordered sealed or closed to the public, Schoenhorn said.

By refusing to provide him with the transcript, Moss acted in violation of her statutory authority and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, Schoenhorn said.

Schoenhorn is also asking Blawie to sanction Chief States Attorney Richard J. Colangelo Jr. by precluding evidence and witnesses or by dismissing the criminal charges against his client since Colangelo has not turned over the remaining evidence in the case.

That evidence included photos and videos captured by the residents of 77 Mountain Spring Road, located near where Fotis Dulos owned property; any documents pertaining to the arrest of Mawhinney on sexual assault and violation of probation charges related to incidents involving his estranged wife; and all cell phone records from Mawhinney, Fotis Dulos, Jennifer Dulos and several others, Schoenhorn said.

In a separate motion this week, Schoenhorn argued that Stamford States Attorney Paul Ferencek had not filed an appearance in the criminal cases against his client so he had no standing to file motions.

Ferenck, in a motion, had asked Blawie to vet any motions from Schoenhorn before they could proceed. Schoenhorn said this was incorrect and misleading, according to filings.

Schoenhorn previously filed several motions that included evidence from the case including snippets of his client being interviewed by state police. Ferencek said in his request to have Schoenhorns motions vetted by the judge that he was causing significant damage to the integrity of the judicial process.

Schoenhorn countered in his objection filed this week that he was demonstrating that the state had included misleading evidence in their arrest warrants for his client.

Attorney Colangelo and several state police investigators have appeared on national television programs to theorize about the case, Schoenhorn said.

Those theories included that his client had knowledge about Fotis Dulos plan to kill his wife, when in fact, she repeatedly denied during three interviews with state police having any knowledge of the crime, Schoenhorn said.

Any alleged damage to the integrity of the judicial process, if it exists, is exclusively due to the repeated comments and interviews given to the media by police investigators and Chief States Attorney Colangelo, and not due to any defense motion filed with the court, Schoenhorn said.

Troconis is due back in court on May 25.
[April 27, 2021] FLAGSTAR INVESTOR ALERT by the Former Attorney General of Louisiana: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates Adequacy of Price and Process in Proposed Sale of Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. - FBC

Former Attorney General of Louisiana Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq. and the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") are investigating the proposed sale of Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC) to New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: NYCB). Under the terms of the proposed transaction, shareholders of Flagstar will receive only 4.0151 shares of New York Community for each share of Flagstar that they own. KSF is seeking to determine whether this consideration and the process that led to it are adequate, or whether the consideration undervalues the Company. If you believe that this transaction undervalues the Company and/or if you would like to discuss your legal rights regarding the proposed sale, you may, without obligation or cost o you, e-mail or call KSF Managing Partner Lewis S. Kahn (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) toll free at any time at 855-768-1857, or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-fbc/ to learn more.



To learn more about KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General, visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210427006209/en/

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THE Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) has joined with the three local authorities in the region to sign a deal paving the way for a European development corridor.

Limerick City and County Council, Clare County Council and Tipperary County Council have all signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which its hoped will allow higher education institutes to work with regional governments in driving innovation in their European provinces.

The project stems from the European Regional University Network initiative of which LIT, and its technical university consortium partners are members of, alongside six other colleges in the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Hungary, and Portugal.

The MoU was signed following a discussion on the role European universities should play in regional development and in the leadership of regional innovation ecosystems as a way to create a European Zone for interregional development.

LIT president Dr Vincent Cunnane joined Limerick Council chief executive Dr Pat Daly and other senior colleagues in the regional local authorities to sign the deal earlier this month.

Dr Cunnane said: The signing of the MoU for the European zone for Inter-Regional development copper fastens the role LIT and our higher education partners play in driving social and industrial innovation in our regions across Europe by working in partnership with local government. It also opens up new possibilities for international collaborative research and development activities among members, thereby strengthening our individual and joint capabilities.

Limerick Council chief executive Dr Daly said: Our Smart Limerick strategy is on using technology to better serve the people of Limerick so the objectives of this agreement means we can pilot the novel ideas and processes in real life scenarios.

Our focus is on internationalising Limerick and this project will see us work with partners across Europe, gaining knowledge and collaborations which can only be positive for Limerick and the Mid-West region.
In other words, we need Big Pharma to cooperate and license its technology to as many manufacturers at possible. Somewhat to my surprise, the vaccine industry seems already to be working unusually hard at this. While the usual timeline for technology transfer is years, one study looked at over 70 such outsourcing and partnership deals during the pandemic and found that the typical time between the transfer and the start of manufacturing had shrunk to six months.
[April 28, 2021] DigiPlex Hailed as a Top 10 Best Places to Work in Norway

OSLO, 28 April 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DigiPlex, the Nordic leader for scalable, secure and sustainable data centers, has been recognized by Great Place to Work as one of the ten Best Places to Work in Norway 2021. Just two weeks after its official certification as a Great Place to Work for the third year in a row, DigiPlex was yesterday recognized as one of Norway's Best Workplaces. Achieving 10th place on the list of in the 50-199 employees category is testament to the strength of DigiPlex's culture and its ability to attract and retain the best in the industry. The business' commitment to sustainability at the core is a fundamental element in this success, cited by staff as well as customers, as an important differentiator. A rigorous evaluation process is heavily based on the employee experience. The Trust Index survey and Culture Audit assessment capture both the employee feedback and the organizational practices that make up a truly impactful workplace culture. Assessed against stringent criteria and rated against some of Norway's biggest names, DigiPlex has jumped five places in a year (from 15th in 2020). To do this in a year of pandemic disruption, and whilst still growing headcount by 25% is a significant achievement. Over the past 14 months DigiPlex has been sure to maintain extra focus on the wellness, happiness, and motivation of all staff. In addition to ensuring every employee was equipped to work effectively and comfortably from home, DigiPlex has also made sure that even with most staff working from home they could regularly get together virtually to stay connected and have fun, with the latter taking priority. These aspects, plus to the sense of personal responsibility and engagement that are frequently reported by staff are contributing to DigiPlex being a Great Place to Work. "Last year we set ourselves the goal to at least maintain our status in the Great Place to Work rankings. To move up five places, against the background of the challenges of the COVID pandemic, is testament not only to the commitment of all our employees, but to the resilience of our culture. I am super proud of our people," said Haakon Holm Knapstad, Chief HR & Compliance Officer at DigiPlex. "In my first year as CEO I have constantly seen evidence of how DigiPlexers take ownership, initiative and support each other as they collaborate to develop and deliver solutions and service to our customers. They have the can-do attitude that makes this such an exciting, empowering and rewarding place to work. I am honored that we have reached 10th place in Norway's Best Workplaces especially in times like these," said Wiljar Nesse, CEO DigiPlex. "For DigiPlex to advance five levels up to 10th position amongst Norway's Best Workplaces in just one year, and during a global pandemic, is impressive. Such a rapid advancement is seldom seen during the history of GPTW. It is clear that the DigiPlex team has a very special spirit of camaraderie, and this has grown even stronger despite the many challenges of this past year," said Jannik Krohn Falck, CEO Great Place to Work. DigiPlex has participated in the Norwegian survey since 2018 and is has now been certified as a Great Place to Work (GPTW) for the third consecutive year. The rankings are based on a thorough and independent analysis of direct feedback from employees conducted by Great Place to Work Norway. Connect with DigiPlex For more information please contact: Haakon Holm Knapstad, Chief HR & Compliance Officer, DigiPlex, hhknapstad@digiplex.com, +47 934 93 821 Contact: Elisabeth Lennhede

Head of Communications

+46703322705

elisabeth.lennhede@digiplex.com



This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/digiplex/r/digiplex-hailed-as-a-top-10-best-places-to-work-in-norway,c3335367 The following files are available for download:







https://mb.cision.com/Main/7526/3335367/1408908.pdf 210428_DigiPlex Hailed as a Top 10 Best Places to Work in Norway https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/great-place-to-work-2021-norway-s-best-workplaces,c2906370 Great Place to Work 2021 Norway s best Workplaces https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/haakon-holm-kapstad--chief-hr---compliance-officer,c2906309 Haakon Holm Kapstad, Chief HR & Compliance Officer https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/wiljar-nesse--ceo--digiplex,c2906310 Wiljar Nesse, CEO, DigiPlex https://news.cision.com/digiplex/i/jannik-krohn-falck--ceo-great-place-to-work,c2906311 Jannik Krohn Falck, CEO Great Place to Work

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Iman rarely talks about her late husband, music legend David Bowie. But in a recent interview, the supermodel opened up about their enduring love story, sharing the surprising way they met and fell in love.

Iman and David Bowie posing at an event | Time Life Pictures/DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images

David Bowie and Imans love story began with a blind date

During an Apr. 27 appearance on fellow model Naomi Campbells YouTube show No Filter with Naomi, Iman got candid about her romance with Bowie.

According to the supermodel, she and Bowie first met on a blind date, which neither she nor the rockstar had any idea they were on.

I moved to LA, and while I was in LA, I met David. And it was a blind date, we were really set up, the catwalk queen recalled. I met this hairdresser at a photographers dinner one night, and he said, Id like you to come to my birthday party. And it was at a restaurant, so I thought it was a birthday party. And it was four of us. David, the hairdresser, and the boyfriend, and me.

RELATED: Davie Bowies Daughter Lexi Jones Complains About Not Seeing Mom Iman In 6 Months

She continued, The hairdresser was Davids hairdresser, but David didnt even know. David was told also it was a birthday dinner. And thats how I met him. And it was 29 years ago. Its literally when people say do you believe in destiny? Yup. Yeah, this could not have happened I truly in my heart feel it was predestined.

Iman and David Bowie had an enduring romance

In 2000, Bowie opened up about his first meeting with Iman, saying that it was love at first sight for him.

My attraction to her was immediate and all-encompassing, he said during an interview with Hello! magazine. I couldnt sleep for the excitement of our first date. That she would be my wife, in my head, was a done deal. Id never gone after anythingwith such passion in all my life.

After two years of dating, Bowie and Iman tied the knot during a private ceremony in Switzerland on Apr. 24, 1992. Two months later, the couple solemnized their union in Florence, Italy.

It rained! Iman recalled in 2012 of their nuptials, per Biography. They said, Oh, you shouldnt complain, youre going to be married for 50 years, its going to be happy. And they were right.

The couple went on to have one child together  a daughter, Alexandria Lexi Zahra Jones.

Though they kept much of their relationship to themselves, Iman and Bowie had an enduring romance that was captured whenever they step foot in the public eye.

David Bowie and Iman attending Keep A Child Alives 5th annual Black Ball in 2008 in New York City| Kevin Mazur/WireImage

RELATED: Carrie Fisher Had an Intense Affair With David Bowie When She Was 17, Book Claims

From staring lovingly at each other while attending red carpet events to speaking highly of their relationship during interviews, the couples love was just as beautiful as the life they shared together.

The pair remained in a loving and committed relationship until Bowie shockingly died of liver cancer at the age of 69 in 2016.

Iman vowed to never remarry after David Bowies death

Two years after Bowies death, Iman opened up about her life without him in an interview with Net-A-Porter magazine.

Sometimes, I dont want people to know how sad I am, the supermodel shared. People say to me, Oh, youre so strong. Im not strong  I am just trying to keep it together.

When asked if she would ever consider entering into another romantic relationship, the fashion icon recently made it clear that her heart will forever belong to Bowie.

David is in our hearts and minds on a daily basis, for all of us. You know, this was my true love, she told Harpers Bazaar UK in January 2021. My daughter once asked me if I would ever marry again and I said, Never.'

She continued, It was a really everyday marriage. He was a very funny, warm gentleman  you know, everyone talks about him being futuristic, but no, he was not, he liked more than anything to wear a three-piece suit. It was a beautiful, ordinary life and that was what was great about it.

We could live in New York, pick up our daughter from school, walk everywhere, Iman said before lamenting, I wish we had had more years.
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April 28 : Fatima Sana Shaikh, who was lauded for her recently released Netflix anthology Ajeeb Dastaans, has decided to take a break from social media.

Taking to her Instagram story, the Dangal actress announced her plan to go for a digital detox and take a break from social media. While the actress didn't reveal the reason for taking such a decision, she asked her fans to stay safe during the pandemic. Fatimas Instagram story message read as, Taking a break from social media. Stay safe guys.

Image Source: Instagram/fatimasanashaikh Fatima Sana Shaikh shared on her Instagram story

The Ludo actress had tested positive for COVID-19 recently. She has now recovered from the virus. Recently, her film Ajeeb Dastaans released on Netflix and the actress was busy promoting it. After recovering from the virus, Fatima started promoting Ajeeb Daastaans virtually. She was a part of the film titled Majnu co-starring Jaideep Ahlawat and Armaan Ralhan.

Fatima Sana Shaikh rose to popularity with her debut film Dangal, co-starring Aamir Khan. She was again seen with Aamir Khan in the not-so-successful film Thugs of Hindostan, which also starred Amitabh Bachchan and Katrina Kaif. Fatima was also praised for her performance in Anurag Basu's Ludo, which released on Netflix earlier this year. The actress recently starred in Suraj Pe Mangal Bhaar, co-starring Manoj Bajpayee and Diljit Dosanjh. Earlier this year, the actress was also shooting in Rajasthan for an unannounced and untitled project with Anil Kapoor.

Recently, actress Hina Khan, who lost her father, also announced that she was taking a break from social media as she was mourning. Hina shared a note on Instagram story by which she informed her fans and followers that she is taking a break from social media. Temporarily, Hinas accounts will be handled by her team, she said. While Hina said that she is mourning, she added a message of gratitude for those who showed their support to her during her hard times. My beloved father Aslam Khan left for heavenly abode on April 20. I am grateful to each one of you for checking in on me and my family during these tough times. While me and my family are mourning the loss, my social media accounts will be handled by my team for upcoming work commitments. Thank you for your support and love, the actress wrote.
Pipelines run down the deck of Hin Leong's Pu Tuo San VLCC supertanker in the waters off Jurong Island in Singapore (Photo : REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo)

Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday as OPEC, Russia and their allies agreed to stick to plans to raise output slightly from May 1, suggesting they don't see a lasting impact on demand from India's coronavirus crisis.



OPEC+, as the producer group is known, has also ditched plans to hold a full ministerial meeting on Wednesday, sources said. A technical meeting on Monday had voiced concern about surging COVID-19 cases but kept its oil demand forecast unchanged.



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The panel decided to stick to policies broadly agreed at a previous April 1 meeting of OPEC+, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said after the talks.



Brent crude ended the session up 77 cents, or 1.2%, at $66.42 a barrel after climbing to a session high of $66.51. U.S. oil gained $1.03, or 1.7%, to settle at $62.94.



Prices gave up some gains in post-settlement trade after U.S. crude stockpiles rose by about 4.32 million barrels last week, sources said, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute.



OPEC+ was set to slightly ease oil output cuts from May 1, under a plan agreed before the coronavirus surge in India.



India, the world's third-largest crude importer, has recorded a daily rise of more than 300,000 cases for several days. It has also reported a total of almost 200,000 deaths.



"The possibility that increasing OPEC+ production could be intersecting with weakening Asian oil demand suggests a possible end to the reduction in the global oil supply surplus that has been supporting the complex during the past year," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates.



Record OPEC+ supply cuts last year helped to drive a recovery in prices from historic lows. Most of the curbs are still in place, even after the plan to raise output slightly from May.



"With only a modest production increase outside of OPEC+, and OPEC+ pursuing a cautious approach, we expect the oil market to be undersupplied by 1.5 million barrels per day this year and forecast Brent will reach $75 a barrel in the second half of this year," UBS GWM analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.



In another development that could eventually add supply to the market, talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear accord were set to resume on Tuesday.


European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech during the debate on EUUK trade and cooperation agreement during the second day of a plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels, on April 27, 2021. (Olivier Hoslet/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

European Parliament Approves Post-Brexit Trade Deal With UK

The European Parliament announced on Wednesday that EU lawmakers had voted overwhelmingly in favor of the agreement with Britain on post-Brexit trade arrangements.

EU lawmakers approved the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement by 660 votes to five, with 32 abstentions.

The vote cleared the last hurdle towards the full ratification of the agreement, and marks the end of more than four years of negotiations that began after the UK decided to leave the European Union in a referendum in June 2016.

Great news that the European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of our zero tariffs, zero quotas Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Now is the time to look forward to a new relationship with the EU and a more Global Britain.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 28, 2021

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: This week is the final step in a long journey, providing stability to our new relationship with the EU as vital trading partners, close allies and sovereign equals. Now is the time to look forward to the future and to building a more global Britain.

The UKs Brexit Minister Lord Frost said the vote was an important moment, as it brings certainty and allows us to focus on the future.

There will be much for us and the EU to work on together through the new partnership council and we are committed to working to find solutions that work for both of us.

We will always aim to act in that positive spirit but we will also always stand up for our interests when we mustas a sovereign country in full control of our own destiny.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also welcomed the result, saying the Brexit deal marks the foundation of a strong and close partnership with the UK.

But she emphasized that faithful implementation is essential.

The EU has concerns about Johnsons stance on the Northern Ireland Protocol, a part of the Brexit withdrawal deal which guarantees there is no land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which the EU sees as key to protecting the Northern Ireland peace process set out in the Good Friday Agreement.

But it effectively erects a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK and has been vehemently opposed by unionist politicians.

Johnson said earlier this month that he would end ludicrous barriers to internal trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, despite having signed the Brexit withdrawal agreement himself in Jan. 2020.

Talking to the European Parliament on Tuesday, von der Leyen said: This agreement on paper is only as good as implementation and enforcement in practice. And I share the concerns you have on unilateral actions taken by the United Kingdom since the agreement came into provisional application.

But she said the Brexit deal comes with real teeth, with a binding dispute settlement mechanism and the possibility for unilateral, remedial measures where necessary.

And let me be very clear: we do not want to have to use these tools. But we will not hesitate to use them if necessary, she warned.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Professor Alessandro Serretti and Dr. Daniel Souery Join Taliaz's Advisory Board Science, expertise and innovation are three of Taliazs key values, which is why I am happy to welcome two of Europes leading psychiatrists in the field of mental health, Professor Serretti and Dr. Souery, to our Advisory Board, said Dekel Taliaz, CEO of Taliaz.

Taliaz, a mental health startup harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise mental health treatment and management, is pleased to announce today the addition of leading European psychiatrists, Professor Alessandro Serretti and Dr. Daniel Souery, to its Advisory Board.

Science, expertise and innovation are three of Taliazs key values, which is why I am happy to welcome two of Europes leading psychiatrists in the field of mental health, Professor Serretti and Dr. Souery, to our Advisory Board, said Dekel Taliaz, CEO of Taliaz. Their vast experience as practicing psychiatrists and as distinguished scientists furthering mental health research, will be invaluable to strengthen Taliazs scientific data-driven approach to create practical solutions to address the growing mental health crisis driven by COVID-19.

Prof. Alessandro Serretti MD, PhD, is the Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Bologna University in Italy. He is the Director of an outpatient service focused on mood disorders and the coordinator of a research unit active in clinical and genetic studies of major psychoses. He has authored more than 600 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals in the field of Mood disorders, Schizophrenia, Genetics of Major Psychoses, Therapy and Psychopathology, one textbook of psychiatry, 15 book chapters, and over 650 presentations at meetings of which more than 150 as invited speaker or chairman. He is also a reviewer or member of the editorial board for 170 journals and 55 funding agencies, and has worked on more than 15 international collaborations.

Today, 1 in 5 people globally suffer from mental health disorders. Yet, GPs and psychiatrists still have very limited tools to personalize treatment for these highly complex diseases. Taliazs AI mental health platform offers a new completely digital approach based on science to address this gap and help significantly improve care. I am delighted to join its Advisory Board, said Professor Serreti.

Dr Daniel Souery, MD, is a psychiatrist and the director of Psy Pluriel. His work has mainly focused on the management of unipolar and bipolar affective disorders. He launched the COPE-Bipolar programme (Clinical Outcome and Psycho-Education for Bipolar disorders) in Belgium. COPE-Bipolar is now available in different centres throughout Belgium. He is also the coordinator of an international group of experts on treatment resistant depression, and a member of the Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum (CINP), as well as an active member of the scientific programme committee of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP). He is a member of the task force on the use of psychotropic drugs at the Belgian Ministry of Health (Conseil Superieur de la Sante).

Psychiatry is always looking for a practice based on the application of discoveries in neuroscience. The complexity of mental disorders and their high heterogeneity makes it difficult to extrapolate these discoveries at the clinical level. As a psychiatrist, I am excited to collaborate with Taliaz and join their advisory board. PREDICTIX is a perfect example of integrating clinical and genetic variables towards a more reliable psychiatry and personalized medicine. The use of AI will certainly revolutionize the way we approach the treatment of mental disorders, said Dr. Souery.

About Taliaz

Taliaz is revolutionizing mental health treatment and management with PREDICTIX. Combining science with AI, PREDICTIX translates complex genetic, demographic and clinical patient data into a time-saving assessment, management and prescribing support tool for healthcare providers. PREDICTIX improves treatment prescribing accuracy and can save a minimum of 12% in mental health costs. PREDICTIX is currently available for commercial use in the EU, UK, United Arab Emirates, Australia and Israel. Learn more at https://www.predictix.ai.
The Punchestown Covid-19 vaccination centre will open today, Wednesday, April 28.

Vaccinations of those aged 65-69 and 60-64 who have registered will begin today at the Kildare venue. However, not all Kildare vaccinations will take place at the site, with some people being directed to Citywest for their jabs.

The Covid-19 vaccine being offered to people attending Punchestown vaccination centre is the AstraZeneca vaccine.

According to Dublin South, Kildare and West Wicklow Community Healthcare, which will operate the centre, this vaccine has been approved for use by both the EMA (European Medicines Agency) and NIAC (National Immunisation Advisory Committee) in keeping with the strictest standards of safety and quality, and is a highly effective vaccine.

Ann OShea, Chief Officer for Dublin South, Kildare and West Wicklow Community Healthcare (CHO7) said, The opening of Punchestown Vaccination Centre is a welcome announcement for the people of Kildare and the wider area. I am delighted to welcome those who have registered in the 65 to 69 year and 60-64 age groups to attend the centre. The vaccination centre will play a vital role in the Covid-19 Vaccination programme, as more of our population will be protected from Covid-19. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff, vaccinators and volunteers who have worked tirelessly to open the centre. We will continue working with our local and national partners to support the operation of Punchestown Vaccination Centre.

Margaret McQuillan, Vaccination Lead, said, Punchestown Vaccination Centre will open for people in the 65 to 69 and 60-64 year age groups who are registered on Wednesday, April 28. The centre has been vaccinating people identified in the cohort 4 grouping. To date there have been 23,132 vaccines administered to residents and staff in Nursing Homes, Disability and Mental Health sectors by our community and hospital vaccinators across the region.

Dr Gabriel Fitzpatrick, Public Health Medicine Specialist, added: The enormous efforts made by the people of Ireland show that we have the power to stop the spread of Covid-19 and that we have protected each other from serious illness. We are also seeing the combined impact of our sacrifices and the Covid-19 vaccination programme. Case numbers are falling and there are fewer people in hospital  but were not quite there yet."

Advice to protect ourselves from Covid-19:

 Keep our distance and stay two metres away from each other

 Wear masks when it is not possible to keep socially distant

 Wash our hands

 Call the GP as soon as you notice any possible Covid-19 symptoms
The Fallbrook elementary school board adopted new voting districts Monday, in response to concerns that the current at-large elections disenfranchise Latino voters.

However, community members who submitted an alternative map for electoral districts say the new plan doesnt maximize the Latino vote in the community, and delays district voting by two years.

We are definitely concerned with the lack of urgency that the board expressed with our concerns, so we really want to have an opportunity for our town to have a chance at the 2020 elections, to have a representative there, said Stephanie Ortiz, a community member and former student of Fallbrook Union Elementary School District. Our primary concern is that the California Voting Rights Act is not being upheld, and the remedy is being postponed.

District Spokesman Bill Billingsley said many Fallbrook voters are satisfied with the map the council approved, despite the opposition from Ortiz and some other residents.

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Theres broad community support for that map that was selected, Billingsley said. There are four individuals in the community that expressed their concern with it.

School Trustee Caron Lieber, the lone vote against the adopted map, agreed with residents on the urgency of creating an electoral district that increased representation of Latino voters. Students need to see elected officials that reflect their culture and background, she said, and parents are more likely to communicate with a board member who speaks their primary language, she said.

The California Voters Right Act was enacted in 2002, 17 years ago, she said in a statement. The Hispanic/Latino community has been very patience with us. Seventeen years is a long time to wait. For that reason, and the ones I have already mentioned, I feel that the time to give a voice to the Hispanic/Latino population of Fallbrookis now.

According to the state website Ed Data, Fallbrook Elementary district had a student population that was 61 percent Latino in the last school year. In August, the district received a letter from attorney Kevin Shenkman, stating that the district was violating the California Voting Rights Act by holding at-large elections, in which voters choose trustees for the district as a whole. At-large elections are illegal if they hinder the ability of a protected class, including certain racial groups such as Latino voters, from electing representatives of their choice.

To avoid litigation, the school board voted in November to move to district elections in which voters choose board members to represent specific geographic areas. Its the latest of a number of San Diego County public agencies, including the cities and school districts of Escondido, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista and San Marcos, to make that switch.

In the following months, the district considered several plans to create electoral districts that concentrate the number of Latino voters, improving their ability to elect their preferred candidates. In Fallbrook, Ortiz teamed up with fellow residents Leticia Maldonado Stamos and Ricardo Favela to draft a map that would include a downtown voting district consisting of 52 percent Latino voters. According to their proposed plan, that district would vote on a new school board member in the next presidential election, in 2020.

On Monday, the board approved a different plan that would create a downtown district consisting of 50 percent Latino voters, and would place that area on the ballot in 2022. Community organizers complained that the adopted plan postpones their ability to gain representation by two years, and schedules that choice for a midterm vote, which typically produces lower turnout than presidential elections.

It just puts it off, said Ricardo Favela, a member of the Fallbrook Human Rights Committee, and a parent of two students in sixth and second grade at Maie Ellis Elementary This is supposed to remedy historic discrimination against our community. And we want that remedy immediately.

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Favela said he became involved in the districting process as soon as he heard about it, providing feedback at community meetings, talking to demographers and reviewing census blocks.

We thought we submitted a good map that creates a strong Latino community district, and surrounds Fallbrooks downtown, he said. And that map would allow us to vote on this position in the next election, 2020.

The adopted version features a boundary that captures the home of an incumbent, said Julia Gomez, an attorney for the Los-Angeles-based Mexican American Legal Defense Educational Fund (MALDEF). Thats not necessarily a problem, she said, except that it dilutes Latino voting power, and delays the opportunity for an election in that district.

It looks like what Fallbrook was doing when it adopted its map, is that it was trying to protect incumbents, to the detriment of its Latino population, she said.

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The California Voting Rights Act was passed in 2001, so Fallbrook is already behind in complying with it, Favela said.

Moreover, he argued, Fallbrook has past racial injustice to address, noting that Tom Metzger, a former Klu Klux Klan leader and founder of White Aryan Resistance, made the community his home and center of operations. As a student in Fallbrook, Favela said, he endured anti-Latino threats and taunts, so he wants to ensure that Latino students and families have a voice in the school district going forward.

I was born in this town, Favela said. I know many of the migrant workers. My father was a migrant worker. Were well familiar with the violence that our community went through.

The adopted map will go next to the County Board of Educations committee on school district organization for review. There isnt a hearing scheduled yet, Gomez said, but Favela said that community members plan to lobby against its approval. If the county committee approves it, Gomez said, MALDEF and the community organizations may consider challenging it in court.

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Police officers who are being questioned by a disciplinary agency have no right to see the agencys confidential reports until the questioning is over, a state appeals court has ruled in an Oakland case. Because another appeals court reached the opposite conclusion in an earlier case, the dispute must now be resolved by the state Supreme Court.

The Oakland case involved police who went to a home in December 2017 after hearing that a resident was drunk, armed and suicidal. After officers handcuffed the resident and put him in a patrol car, one officer entered the home twice, without a warrant, and found a weapon on the second search. Another officer later obtained a warrant from a judge, searched the home and confiscated additional items, which the court did not describe.

The Oakland Police Department found no wrongdoing by the officers, although it said they should have obtained a warrant before entering the home. But the independent Community Police Review Agency then opened its own investigation and questioned the officers.

During the interrogation, the officers sought copies of the agencys preliminary report on the case, but the agency refused. After further questioning, the agency found that the officers had violated the residents rights by entering the home without a warrant and concealing their action from investigators.

The agency, which has the power to discipline officers, recommended disciplinary action and changes in the Police Departments search policies. Final action has been postponed during an appeal by the officers and their union.

An Alameda County judge ruled in the officers favor, saying state law entitled them to see the agencys report before being questioned. The judge relied on a 2017 ruling by a state appeals court in a similar case in Santa Ana that has been binding on trial courts statewide. But it was not binding on other appellate courts, and on Monday the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco interpreted the law differently.

Under state law, police cannot be disciplined based on an agencys confidential reports, but the officer is not entitled to see those reports while being investigated, Justice Gabriel Sanchez said in the 3-0 ruling. He said disclosure before questioning was complete could allow officers to tailor their testimony to match accounts by witnesses.

Requiring earlier disclosure could severely hamper the agencys investigation, and therefore undermine the publics confidence in the integrity of the law enforcement agency, Sanchez said.

But he said an agency must turn over nonconfidential reports to officers who request them, and cannot recommend punishing officers based on confidential reports that have not been disclosed.

The conflict in appellate rulings can be resolved only by the state Supreme Court.

Michael Rains, a lawyer for the officers, said Mondays ruling was a legitimate interpretation of the law but added, We need some clarity statewide.

J. Scott Tiedemann, general counsel for the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association, also called for review by the states high court. In the meantime, he said, the new ruling will have an immediate and positive impact on how law enforcement agencies conduct effective misconduct investigations.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
[April 28, 2021] Certiverse Funded by Hyde Park Venture Partners to Support Growth of Industry-Transforming Test Development Platform

CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Certiverse, the first-of-its-kind online exam development system, today announced a new $2 million Series Seed financing round. The growth financing is led by Hyde Park Venture Partners, with follow-on participation from existing investors Chingona Ventures, Angeles Investors and Hunt Holdings, LP.

With more than two decades of experience solving testing industry challenges with technology, Certiverse CEO and co-founder Ruben Arturo Garcia invented and patented a remote proctoring system, since acquired by PSI Services, that significantly drove down overall exam costs and provided greater access to test-takers. Crtiverse is now doing the same for exam content by developing a platform where subject matter experts can contribute asynchronously to leading industry exams and certifications. The move toward democratizing learning, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, is also fueling the need for the companys all-in-one online solution.



Founded in 2019, Certiverse launched its first live exam with The Linux Foundation in late 2020. This new entry-level certification in the IT space was developed in 12 weeks without upfront content-creation costs, enabling aspiring professionals to begin IT careers with proven, up-to-date skills and lower financial barriers to entry. The success of this exam brought multiple new clients to Certiverse and thousands of qualified candidates to the workforce. Building on this momentum, the funding will be primarily targeted toward developing additional solutions for clients and increasing product visibility. Hyde Park Venture Partners interest in Certiverse was increased by the current acceleration of online learning and microcredentialing borne of pandemic-related employment shifts, as well as the more than 200 years of industry experience within the organization.

Tech start-ups are everywhere, but its not often that you find one with such a wealth of industry experience and insight, said Allison Weil, Investor at Hyde Park Venture Partners. The Certiverse team has deep roots in certification, and they have a strong vision for how the test development process needs to evolve. We seek out connections with partners who understand our goals, said Ruben Arturo Garcia. Were deeply appreciative that Hyde Park Venture Partners shares our desire to transform and innovate a market thats poised for change. About Certiverse:

Certiverse helps learners succeed by democratizing the exam development process. Its revolutionary online platform uses industry-leading psychometric standards, intuitive machine learning, and asynchronous crowdsourcing from experts to quickly create rigorous, cost-effective exams. Certiverse is an industry innovator empowering organizations to engage, expand, and diversify their pools of subject matter experts, rapidly develop valid test content at scale, and create exams with less environmental impact.



MEDIA CONTACT: Andria Brown answers@certiverse.com

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Global and Indian firms are flexing their industrial muscle to help the world's second biggest population battle coronavirus, coming to the rescue of a public health system buckling under the weight of surging infections and deaths.

com, Intel and Google, as well as Indian firms Tata Sons, Reliance Industries and JSW Steel have pitched in with everything from airlifts of medical equipment and funding pledges to making medical oxygen.

"What we need is better planning with the recognition that government's capacity is limited and therefore requires private participation," said economist Madhura Swaminathan of the Indian Statistical Institute in Bengaluru.

Hospitals struggling with a massive second wave of infections are turning away patients as beds and oxygen supplies run out, and social media brim with desperate calls for help in finding supplies of oxygen and drugs such as remdesivir.

A record increase in deaths over the prior 24 hours carried India's toll past 200,000 on Wednesday, a situation that experts blame on lack of oxygen supplies and infrastructure challenges.

COVID-19 cases in election bound states

On Tuesday said it would ship 100 ICU ventilator units to India from the United States.

It had earlier worked with partners to airlift more than 8,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 ventilators from Singapore, relying on its massive global logistics network to hasten procurement, a spokeswoman said.

Google promised $18 million in new funding for India, including advertising support for public health campaigns.

India's largest steel maker by market value, JSW, has stopped making some of the construction raw material as it diverts resources to turning out liquid oxygen instead.

From April 21 to 23, JSW supplied 898 tonnes of oxygen each day from its plants, equivalent to about 13% of the combined daily demand for 6,785 tonnes of the life-saving gas in India's 20 worst-hit states.

Covid-19 hospital beds in New Delhi Covid-19 hospital beds in New Delhi

JSW said it was building large COVID patient centres around its plants, so that they can be serviced via a pipeline.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries tweaked manufacturing at its oil refineries to produce hundreds of tonnes of oxygen for hard-hit areas such as Maharashtra, India's richest and worst-hit state.

Tata Group, one of India's oldest conglomerates, imported 24 cryogenic containers to transport liquid oxygen, while its Tata Steel unit ramped up oxygen supply.

"The government single-handedly cannot deal with this crisis any more, it is very important that the corporate sector gets into motion," said Kunal Kundu, India economist at Societe Generale in Bengaluru.

"We need all the help we can get."

Economist Swaminathan called for the scope of private sector contribution to be widened beyond the merely voluntary.

"Anybody who has surplus funds and equipment should step in to help," she added. "In terms of logistics, beds, oxygen, hospitals, the private sector has to be asked to do its task as part of policy."

(Reporting by Chris Thomas, Sachin Ravikumar, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Sethuraman N.R. in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Neha Arora in New Delhi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 06:14:11|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Tuesday adopted a strategy on voluntary return and reintegration in a bid to address the issue of illegal migration that has plagued the European continent for years.

It sets out practical measures to strengthen the legal and operational framework for voluntary returns from Europe and from transit countries, improve the quality of return and reintegration programs, establish better links with development initiatives and strengthen cooperation with partner countries, read a press release from the commission.

The strategy's new tools include the creation of "return coordinators" and an enhanced mandate for Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. Frontex now becomes the new European Return Agency, on top of its current role of border management, said the commission's Vice-President Margaritis Schinas.

The strategy is "an important piece of the puzzle" when it comes to migration and asylum in the EU, said Schinas.

So far, only a third of people with no right to stay in the EU return to their country of origin, and among those who do, fewer than 30 percent do so voluntarily, said European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson.

When it takes a long time to hear the final decision, it is more difficult for people to willingly return to their country of origin, according to Johansson.

"Voluntary returns are always the better option: they put the individual at the core, they are more effective and less costly," she said. Enditem
A trio of men that was arrested for growing cannabis in Nakuru refused to take a plea when they appeared before the magistrate on Monday.

Victor Kungu, his son Broddus Wainaina, and Dennis Matete were charged with cultivating cannabis when they appeared before Chief Magistrate Josephat Kalo via a video link.

While refusing to plead, Kungu maintained that he was only a representative of a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) that is legally mandated to manufacture medicinal substances.

I cannot answer to such charges on behalf of our organisation because the matter is concerning partners, individuals and organisations mandated to manufacture and export medicinal substances, said Kungu.

Kungu said the CBO, under the name Victors CBO, was registered as NKU/W/DSS/CBO/053, under the East African Community Labour and Social Protection.

We are in charge of 16 organisations and submitted all documents to show our organisation is a health initiative group, he said.

Kungu, who continued speaking despite several attempts to stop him, added that they plant trees and cannabis after which they export medicinal substances to medical factories abroad.

Wainaina on the other hand said he did not know what to say when asked to take a plea. Matete on his part could not plead as Kungu interjected.

Kungu accused the Directorate of Criminal Investigations of sabotaging the organisation and destroying evidence to prove its legality during a raid on their farm in London area last Friday.

He also claimed that the DCI officers their documents and bank statements.

The trial magistrate entered a not guilty plea for all three and ordered that they be remanded at Nakuru Central Police Station.
Biordi Art Imports 75th Anniversary We are so honored to receive this Proclamation from the City of San Francisco. We chose this specific day for the celebration because May 1st is Labor Day in Italy and has particular significance because Biordi has been the lifeline for many of the artisans during the devastating pandemic in Italy.

This year marks the 75th Anniversary for Biordi Art Imports, a historic treasure located at 412 Columbus Avenue in San Franciscos North Beach District. To chronicle this significant milestone, The Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco is honoring Biordi Art Imports with a Proclamation designating May 1st BIORDI ART IMPORTS DAY. Supervisor Aaron Peskin will present the Proclamation and Consul General Lorenzo Ortona of the Italian Consulate in San Francisco will be in attendance in support of the Proclamation and the work Biordis has done for the Italian artisan community. Festivities are planned on May 1st at the historic Biordi Art Imports store located in the heart of North Beach. Biordi Art Imports will offer $75 off any purchase over $250 during the month of May in appreciation to their loyal customers. Contact Biordi Art Imports to attend the event. Space it limited due to covid restrictions.

We are so honored to receive this Proclamation from the City of San Francisco. We chose this specific day for the celebration because May 1st is Labor Day in Italy and has particular significance because Biordi has been the lifeline for many of the artisans during this devastating pandemic in Italy, said Deborah Baldini, owner of Biordi Art Imports. Our mission is our passion. But 2020 also made it something even more: a calling. The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly left Italy reeling. Family-run ceramic workshops that depend heavily on its tourist trade have been especially hard hit.

The owners of Biordi Art Imports pivoted during the pandemic, ensuring the business could survive. The government stimulus assistance of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) were instrumental in providing the needed bridge during the most challenging days of the pandemic. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) a program hosted by the Office of Economic Development (OEWD) has provided valued expertise throughout the year. Today, the exquisite hand-painted ceramics can be found by a visit to its historic store in North Beach, once again open, as well as on the company website, biordi.com, broadening the reach of this handcrafted art to a much broader audience.

75 Years in History

Biordi Art Imports has a rich history, spanning over three-quarters of a century. It is a story of immigrants, a story of community and a story of passion.

In 1946, Emilio Biordi a native of the Abruzzi region of Italy, opened Biordi Artigianato Italiano, on Columbus Avenue in San Franciscos North Beach neighborhood. Emilio featured a broad range of Italian handicrafts and products including espresso machines, ravioli cutters, rolling pins and pasta machines -- ceramics were tucked away in every corner. Through word of mouth both locals and visitors came from far and wide to see the beautiful Italian Majolica Ceramics available at Biordi.

Gianfranco Savio, a native of Florence became Biordis second owner once Emilio Biordi retired. He traveled throughout Italy in search of the finest artisans establishing long-lasting relationships with many artisan families represented in the store today. Gianfranco successfully established Biordi Art Imports as the premier retailer for high quality, original Majolica in the United States. When Gianfranco retired, he placed the future of Biordi in the hands of Michael and Deborah Baldini, ensuring that the Biordi legacy continues. Long-time Biordi customers, the Baldinis are the third Italian family to hold the Biordi passion for Italy, Italian Majolica ceramics and the artisans that create them. We are honored to carry on the legacy of the Biordi brand, Baldini states. They have evolved Biordis into a successful retail brand, selling artisanal functional art and preserving this 500-year-old art form. Stepping through the open door of Biordis is like a visit to a beautiful art gallery in Italy.

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The top ten most secured countries are in Europe, a Surfshark in-depth analysis finds, and identified that countries based in Southern Asia, Western Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America are least prepared to secure their citizens lives. It also highlighted the countries which do not have data protection laws and explained its consequences.

Fifteen out of 85 countries in Asia, South America, and Africa dont have any data protection laws, while governments in Europe, Southeast Asia, and North America are prepared to counter cyber threats the most, according to an in-depth analysis conducted by privacy protection company Surfshark.

As people realise the importance of strong electronic security, it can also affect their digital experience, the study says. It also reveals the prevailing inequalities among countries and identified those who did not have any data protection laws for their citizens.

Electronic security scores were defined by the index of the national levels of cybersecurity and the status of citizens data protection laws.

Key findings:

 South-eastern Asian countries and Australia fall short on personal data protection.

 The top 10 countries with the highest e-security levels are in Europe.

Vytautas Kaziukonis, Surfshark CEO, explains: Cybersecurity risks need to be considered on a strategic level. Therefore, a countrys commitment to and the effectiveness of its national cybersecurity and data protection are critical to its citizens well-being and economic development.

EU leads in implementing effective cybersecurity policies

A report shows that EUs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has put the entire region at the forefront of global e-security: EU states lead in implementing effective cybersecurity policies and ensuring personal data protection globally.

According to a study, the top ten most secure countries are all in Europe: United Kingdom, France, Lithuania, Estonia, Spain, Norway, The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, and Germany.

Whereas countries based in Southern Asia, Western Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America are least prepared to secure their citizens lives. The bottom ten countries are: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Nepal, Pakistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Guatemala, Lebanon, and Honduras.

15 countries do not have data protection laws

The research found that 15 countries (10 Asian, 3 South American, and 2 African) out of 85 examined do not have any data protection laws for their citizens: Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Nigeria, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Panama, Guatemala, Lebanon, and Honduras.

The study warns: No data protection laws mean that the processing, privacy, and use of Personal Data are unregulated, leaving third-party companies or individuals to do with collected data as they please.

This seriously impacts a countrys overall e-security because it leaves its citizens well-being open to potential compromise, the study adds.

Stronger e-security indicates better DQL

Notably, the e-security index (cybersecurity and data protection scores) correlated the most (0.89) with the overall digital quality of life (DQL) out of all the examined factors like internet quality and affordability, e-government, and e-infrastructure.

At the same time, e-security shows the smallest correlation (0.58) with a countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This suggests that other factors besides GDP per capita, like governing efficiency, legislation, technical and organizational measures, are more important for the overall e-security.
Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale briefed lawmakers on the Oversight Committee Wednesday where he admitted to the USPS legal arm spying on Americans' social media

The U.S. Postal Service admitted during a Wednesday meeting to spying on citizens with its law enforcement arm, claiming it worked with other agencies to track Americans' social media posts.

Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale briefed lawmakers on the Oversight Committee regarding the program known as iCOP, or Internet Covert Operations Program, but could not provide a date for when it was initiated.

'The Chief Postal Inspector was wildly unprepared for this briefing,' GOP Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina told DailyMail.com following the meeting with Barksdale.

The inspector was called for a briefing after iCOP was first made public in a report last week.

Yahoo obtained and published documents related to iCOP, which includes an operation where analysts page through social media sites to look for 'inflammatory' posts, including messages about planned protests.

Mace said Barksdale revealed the program has not led to any arrests thought it's still unclear how long it has been operating.

'Analysts with the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) monitored significant activity regarding planned protests occurring internationally and domestically on March 20, 2021,' a March 16 government bulletin, marked as 'law enforcement sensitive', reads.

The bulletin focuses on a March 20 protest, the World Wide Rally for Freedom and Democracy which demonstrated against COVID lockdowns.

In a government bulletin, distributed through the DHS's fusion centers, it details that the Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) analyzes social media sites for 'inflammatory' posts, including messages about planned protests

It includes screenshots of posts from Facebook, Parler, Telegram and other social media sites about protests

'Locations and times have been identified for these protests, which are being distributed online across multiple social media platforms, to include right-wing leaning Parler and Telegram accounts,' it continues, but later notes: 'No intelligence is available to suggest the legitimacy of these threats.'

Barksdale told the Oversight Committee that while the operation would continue, they would put an end to the bulletin.

The bulletin, distributed through the Department of Homeland Security's fusion centers, includes screenshots of posts from Facebook, Parler, Telegram and other social media sites about the protests.

It does not appear any of the posts from the bulletin, including one from an alleged Proud Boy, contain any threatening language.

Individuals, who were mentioned by name and other identifying information.

Former President Donald Trump and his allies continue to push claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election  specifically in relation to the mass amounts of mail-in ballots due to increased remote voting during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rep. Mace, who serves on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, revealed that Barksdale claims iCOP isn't a real 'program' at USPS because it's 'incident-related' not an ongoing matter, but the social media operation is being overseen by an 'executive.'

Barksdale also said he doesn't know how much money is being allocated for the spying initiative, Mace said, and would not say during the briefing which agencies are coordinating with USPS.

The USPS was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. In August 2020 it reported losing $2.2 billion in the three months that ended in June.

When reached about the law enforcement arm of USPS, the US Postal Inspection Service told Yahoo: 'The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the primary law enforcement, crime prevention, and security arm of the U.S. Postal Service.'

'As such, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has federal law enforcement officers, Postal Inspectors, who enforce approximately 200 federal laws to achieve the agency's mission: protect the U.S. Postal Service and its employees, infrastructure, and customers; enforce the laws that defend the nation's mail system from illegal or dangerous use; and ensure public trust in the mail.

They added: 'The Internet Covert Operations Program is a function within the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which assesses threats to Postal Service employees and its infrastructure by monitoring publicly available open source information,.

'Additionally, the Inspection Service collaborates with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to proactively identify and assess potential threats to the Postal Service, its employees and customers, and its overall mail processing and transportation network.

'In order to preserve operational effectiveness, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service does not discuss its protocols, investigative methods, or tools.'
Chippewa Nature Center Executive Director Dennis Pilaske recently received the Central Michigan University Museum Studies Alumni Leadership Award.

The award recognizes excellence in leadership in the museum field. The first annual alumni award ceremony was part of the 50th anniversary of CMUs Museum of Cultural and Natural History.

Pilaske earned a bachelor of science degree in history and geography from CMU in 1994, and a master of arts degree in history (museum studies) in 1996. He first joined Chippewa Nature Center in 1997 as the curator of collections and exhibits. He filled that role for six years before becoming the director of interpretation in 2004, and has served in the executive director role since 2017.

At Chippewa Nature Center, Pilaske works closely with the board of directors to drive the strategic vision of the organization. He oversees a team of about 40 staff and five department directors, comprising the leadership team. His primary responsibilities include developing external business and organization stakeholder relationships to support program enhancement and fund development to meet operational goals.

Pilaskes numerous professional affiliations include multiple roles with the National Association for Interpretation  Great Lakes Region 4. He served on the Interpretive Project Grants Committee, has been a conference presenter and has chaired or co-chaired regional interpreters workshops. He has been active with the Association for Nature Center Administrators, completing the Professional Leadership Institute, serving as a Consult Team participant and co-chairing the Michigan Peer Group.

His community involvement includes serving on committees and boards such Great Lakes Bay Regional Trail, Phoenix Community Farm, Chippewa River Water Trail Committee, Riverdays Festival Committee, Keep Midland Beautiful, Chippewa River Watershed Council and Friends of the Pine River. Pilaske was also a member of the Midland Business Alliances Leadership Midland class of 2002 and the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliances Institute for Leaders class of 2014.

For more information, visit www.chippewanaturecenter.org or contact CNC at info@chippewanaturecenter.org or 989-631-0830.
VueMinder is a full-featured calendar and reminder program for Windows. It supports multiple calendars displayed simultaneously in layers. These can be viewed and printed by day, week, or month. Events and tasks can be quickly defined using default calendar settings, and viewed in a list supporting customizable filters. Calendars or events can also be imported/exported to Microsoft Excel and Outlook. Automatic calendar synchronization with Outlook is also provided.

VueMinder provides many flexible reminder options including popup reminders, desktop alerts, and reminders that can be sent via email or SMS text messages, both to yourself and others. Popup reminders can optionally contain pictures, video, music, or web pages. Desktop alerts fade into view unobtrusively in the lower-right corner of the screen. These can be set to play a sound and, if desired, automatically snooze after a specified amount of time. Recently viewed or dismissed reminders are easily accessible and can be redisplayed with a single click.

VueMinder fully supports the iCalendar standard, allowing calendars to be easily shared and synchronized between computers or over the web, including secure servers using SSL. The same calendar can be both published and subscribed to a common location, allowing it to be shared by any number of people or computers. Reminder settings can also be shared, so anyone subscribing to your calendar can be reminded when and how you want.

VueMinder also provides a wide variety of print layouts and styles, covering everything from detailed daily event reports spanning multiple pages to an entire year's calendar on a single page. A dynamically updating print preview window allows you to instantly see what will be printed as the various printing options are modified.

What's New:
Anna Chan has joined Dentsu International as Media Ceo, effective from June 1.

According to the sources, Chan will directly report to dentsu International Hong Kong CEO Simone Tam in her new position and will oversee the full suite of dentsus media business including its data consulting and trading units. Her resposibility will include accelerating the networks transformation agenda into high growth areas such as data, brand commerce and performance marketing, developing an integrated portfolio of solutions and capabilities.

Chan will be joining from PHD Hong Kong as she is currently working as a managing partner, leading the HSBC account for APAC. Before joining dentsu International, she was associated with AdOps at dentsu APAC; and regional managing director at dentsus programmatic arm Amnet, where she took a responsibility in setting up the networks programmatic operations in key markets including Hong Kong, India, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
Brown was also recently hired by the Womens Justice Institute and will continue to work on the task forces mission. She will do so on a new laptop that the organization has given her, leaving her latest typewriter available to be donated to the prison system for an inmate who might need it.
HOUSTON, April 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (the Company) (NYSE: KYN) announced that it reached a conditional agreement with institutional investors relating to a private placement of $70 million of senior unsecured notes (Notes). The private placement is expected to close on or about May 11, 2021.



Net proceeds will be used to refinance existing leverage and for general corporate purposes. The table below sets forth the key terms of the Notes to be issued:

Series Principal

($ in millions) Interest

Rate Maturity Date Series PP (floating rate) $50 3-month LIBOR + 125 bps 6/19/2026 Series QQ (fixed rate) $20 1.81% 6/19/2025

Closing of this transaction is subject to investor due diligence, legal documentation, and other standard closing conditions. The Notes issued in connection with this private placement will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration.

Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (NYSE: KYN) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, whose common stock is traded on the NYSE. The company's investment objective is to provide a high after-tax total return with an emphasis on making cash distributions to stockholders. KYN intends to achieve this objective by investing at least 80% of its total assets in securities of Energy Infrastructure Companies. See Glossary of Key Terms in the Companys most recent quarterly report for a description of these investment categories and the meaning of capitalized terms.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy, nor shall there be any sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer or sale is not permitted. Nothing contained in this press release is intended to recommend any investment policy or investment strategy or take into account the specific objectives or circumstances of any investor. Please consult with your investment, tax, or legal adviser regarding your individual circumstances prior to investing.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This communication contains statements reflecting assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions, or beliefs about future events. These and other statements not relating strictly to historical or current facts constitute forward-looking statements as defined under the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties. These risks include, but are not limited to, changes in economic and political conditions; regulatory and legal changes; energy industry risk; leverage risk; valuation risk; interest rate risk; tax risk; and other risks discussed in detail in the Companys filings with the SEC, available at www.kaynefunds.com or www.sec.gov. Actual events could differ materially from these statements or from our present expectations or projections. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Kayne Anderson undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein. There is no assurance that the Companys investment objectives will be attained.
This is a contributed article by Nick Emanuel, Senior Director of Product, Webroot.

A terrible virus, concerns over the Olympic games, the word 'Brexit' on people's lipsdoes this sound familiar?

While you can see the echoes of what we're experiencing today, the world also was grappling with numerous challenges in 2016. The emergence of the Zika virus was causing alarm after shifting from an emergency to a long-term public health challenge. Construction delays had cast doubts over the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. And a closely fought referendum in the UK started the country's exit from the European Union.

Amidst this turbulent time, a new assailant was emerging in the form of Petya  a devastating ransomware which would impact thousands of companies across the globe. Well-crafted in form, it used social engineering techniques and a clever use of phishing to trick victims into downloading and executing a file. If people were tricked into handing over admin privileges, the user would be forced out of the boot process, before then being 'ransomed' in Bitcoin to decrypt the hard drive.

The parallels between malware and viruses such as Zika, and COVID-19, are commonplace but accurate, as what makes a contagious, biological infection so dangerous can also be applicable to digital viruses. We see new strains of malware every day, but it requires a perfect storm of contagiousness, proximity of hosts, and incubation time, that can lead to one taking over the globe. The key difference, of course, is Petya was designed to make money.

But not even its original creator could have anticipated the eventual impact the virus would have. Five years later, the lessons learned from Petya, and its variants, demonstrate how the malware changed cybersecurity forever.

On the front-line of defence

In 2017, attackers used a supply side attack on a Ukrainian accounting company that infected machines with a new variant of the original Petya malware. The touch paper was lit, and instead of one "patient zero" there were thousands of infected machines.

Dubbed 'NotPetya' by researchers, it was seen as having the greater potential to do harm.

Rather than requiring spam email or human engineering to spread, as Petya did, NotPetya was able to exploit a backdoor and gain admin access, before remotely infecting all machines on the network. There was also no request for Bitcoin. If a machine became infected, it was unlikely to be recovered at all.

NotPetya was believed to be a state-sponsored attack  the original virus had been deliberately enhanced to create the biggest amount of damage possible.

Looking back, it is interesting to re-evaluate our response to this completely unprecedented attack. Being a cybersecurity software vendor, the nature of our business is 24x7, but Webroot's global offices allowed us the luxury of a 'follow the sun' approach, in which threat researchers could continue investigating and protecting against the threat with no downtime.

We took a war room approach in which we monitored attacks, how they were compiled, and analysed what methods were being used to trick people into installing the malicious file. At the time we saw more than 293 million unique instances of new files and classified an average of 736,000 new files per month. Some 93% of those malicious files first seen in this period were witnessed on strictly one personal computer within our user base.

The experience helped us to become more resilient and dynamic, and Petya/NotPetya left a lasting impact on how security teams were perceived at the boardroom table  narrowing the gap between 'IT decisions' and 'business decisions.'

A lasting legacy

A White House assessment at the time estimated $10 billion worth of damages from NotPetya, and it's been described as the "most devastating cyberattack in history."

The cybersecurity industry knew it had to address the problem. What mattered across the sector in 2016 was protecting the disappearing network perimeter, while managing a growth in users working outside of a traditional network.

NotPetya cemented the need for security awareness training which focused on preventing and detecting possible threats in employees' day-to-day interactions with their devices. Prior to 2016, user training was focused only on compliance or delivering specialised information to select security analysts or administrators.

Looking back over the 5 years, I'm proud of how the industry adapted to a paradigm shift in the attack surface and the progress we've made since. Vendors have brought additional tools and services to market to uncover threats more quickly, are sharing more data and information and gearing products to reduce the burden on operators, freeing up time for essential tasks.

We've come to recognise "cyber resilience" and the need to equip users as a key layer of defence. Combined with practicing recovery and a strong back-up routine, these are basic best practices all businesses can get right. The lessons learned from Petya/NotPetya are still pertinent today and they won't be the last, as new threats are constantly emerging. But by taking security and cyber resilience seriously, businesses will be much better prepared to face future challenges.

Nick Emanuel is Senior Director of Product at Webroot. He joined Webroot in August 2015, and is responsible for Webroots Business Platform and Services Portfolio. Emanuel has been a PM for over 14 years, and held PM positions in Symantec and MessageLabs, as well as a Development Leadership role managing a building and operating (at the time) the largest BEA/Oracle portal installation in Europe. Before joining the world of cybersecurity, Emanuel ran a trading division for an oil & gas firm, cutting his teeth on edge-thin margins, understanding profit and loss, and the importance of positive cash flow.
(Natural News) On Wednesday, April 14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that it had learned of a seventh woman who developed a severe blood clot after being inoculated with the vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson.

The seventh possible patient was identified as a 28-year-old woman. This case did not involve a brain hemorrhage, as some of the other cases did. No other details about her have been made public, such as what kind of blood clotting issue she has or the severity of her condition. (Related: New Jersey man in critical condition with coronavirus less than a month after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.)

The revelation of the seventh blood clotting case comes as the CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) debates whether or not the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should be used by the public or discontinued. The ACIP also met to discuss whether it could make an interim age or risk-factor based recommendation regarding the shot.

In the end, the committee came to the conclusion that it needed more information, and it felt it was inappropriate to release a definitive statement regarding the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Rather than hold a vote on any decision, the ACIP moved to extend the Food and Drug Administrations and the CDCs recommended pause on the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine rollout. As of press time, the committee has not provided any details for when the next meeting will be and if it will have enough information by then to make a decision.

If the statements of individual members of the committee are anything to go by, its possible that the CDC will end up allowing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to continue.

We do need to better understand the risk, which we know is going to be very rare, very low, but we really dont know exactly how low, said Dr. Beth Bell, a member of ACIP and a clinical professor of global health at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Several other members of the committee have expressed their concern regarding the delay in making a decision, amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases being reported.

Six other women experienced blood clots following Johnson & Johnson vaccination, at least one dead

Prior to the CDCs revelation, it had known about six other women who developed severe blood clots. Little is known about them, as the CDC has not released a lot of information.

Of the six other cases, all are White women between the ages of 18 and 48, with a median age of 33. Three women remain hospitalized, with two of those in intensive care.

In Virginia, a 45-year-old woman who got vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson in March was hospitalized 11 days later with serious adverse symptoms. She passed away on March 18.

A 59-year-old with no known history of coronary artery disease presented to the hospital seven days after receiving her shot with extensive deep venous thrombosis, or a blood clot in the vein, usually the leg. She has not recovered.

In Nebraska, a 48-year-old with a medical history that health authorities claim to be unremarkable was taken to the emergency room three days after getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. She had been feeling general discomfort and abdominal pain ever since she got vaccinated. She remains in critical care.

A 38-year-old presented to the hospital with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), or a blood clot that forms in the outer layers of the brain. She has not recovered.

A 26-year-old with obesity from the Pennsylvania-New Jersey area was hospitalized seven days after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine presenting with some kind of blood clot. She has since been discharged.

In Nevada, an 18-year-old with unknown history was taken to the hospital with CVST with hemorrhage two weeks after receiving the vaccine. She has not recovered.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Johnson & Johnson said the company strongly supported campaigns to raise awareness regarding the potential side effects of its vaccine, but it continued to believe in the positive benefit-risk profile of our vaccine.

Learn more about how dangerous the coronavirus vaccines are by reading the latest articles on Vaccines.news.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

FoxNews.com

ABCNews.go.com
Workers and young people in Britain spoke to the World Socialist Web Site about why they are attending the International Online May Day Rally being held by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) on Saturday, May 1. We urge all to attend this important event by registering here.

Bryan, a teacher from Merseyside in North West England, said, I think its really important to be part of the International Workers Alliance of Rank and File Committees and to attend the May Day meeting on the World Socialist Web Site.

Workers here in the UK as well as internationally have been let down by the main political parties and the union organisations, as they all work together to support the greed of the super-rich at the expense of the lives and health of workers and their families. We have been spun a web of lies by the corporate backed media, telling us that everything is safe and we need to learn to live with the virus.

Nobody, other than the WSWS, is consistently holding the murderous policies of the UK government, as well as others, to account. We need to work together to build a movement which opposes these policies and advances the needs of workers and I believe the online meeting on May Day can help us to achieve this.

Dave is a senior health care assistant in the northwest of England. He said, I'm attending the May Day rally because it's not only a significant historic celebration of international working class solidarity, but also this May Day, with the call for the building of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, marks the start of the international working class fighting back against capitalism and the treachery of the leadership of social democracy, the trade unions and their petty-bourgeois cheerleaders.

The ICFI is calling on, and organising, the international working class to go on the offensive against capitalist barbarism. What better way of celebrating May Day than to call for international unity and action against capitalism. Not just empty words, phrasemongering, but international co-ordinated action with the goal of ending capitalism.

Jude Jackson, a supporter of the Socialist Equality Party (UK) and reader of the WSWS, said, The May Day online rallies, held by WSWS for several years now, are always informative, intelligent events, analysing the global political situation, and putting forward a coherent program to respond to this situation.

This year, with the COVID pandemic running rampant across the planet, it is more important than ever to take part, and especially to read the statement released on April 23, 2021 by the International Committee of the Fourth International: Forward to the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees!" These are the most precipitous times that the human race has faced in recent history, and the working class must take on board the lessons and tasks that are its historical mission.

Claude, a young unemployed worker from London who recently attended a meeting of the Education Rank-and-File Safety Committee in Britain, said, I have been fighting for five years to bring to peoples attention the situation facing thousands of young people who confront homelessness and discrimination in educationespecially those with neurodiversity and the importance of hidden disabilities being acknowledged.

I support the setting up of the International Workers Alliance of Rank and File Committees and thats why Im attending the May Day meeting on Saturday.

Ben, a software engineer from York, said, Capitalism cannot survive the pandemic without perhaps tens of millions of Covid deaths. Covid-19 requires immense global coordination and resources to be ended humanely, and climate change a thousandfold more. Workers must take power to ensure this! Attend this May Day rally!

Rachel, a support worker in a school, backs the International May Day Rally and said of the Socialist Equality Partys recent meeting in support of establishing a network of rank and file committees, I thought the network meeting was a good idea because workers and society in general need a voice. The British government has continually put profits before lives and continues to tell us their strategy means more lives will be lost against a backdrop of having already lost more lives per capita than any other country in the world. Their policy displays an abject focus on herd immunity, a theory that many researchers call a 'dangerous fallacy' and is likened to 'social murder'.

It was only through parental pressure that school closures took place in the UK in January 2021 when the government was intent on opening to all pupils despite mass death and infection rates.

A collaborative voice against such policy decisions is the only way voices will be heard against a government that is becoming ever more greedy and intent on forcing through policies that do not align with the needs of the general population without debate or due consideration of the impact it has on the lives and welfare of the population at large.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a message of condolences to Indonesian President Joko Widodo over the sinking of an Indonesian navy submarine recently.

In his message, Xi said he is shocked to learn that an Indonesian navy submarine has sunk in the sea, leaving many crew members aboard dead.

On behalf of the Chinese government and people as well as in his own name, Xi expressed deep condolences over the victims and extended sincere sympathies to the bereaved families.

On Saturday, the Indonesian navy confirmed its missing submarine sank off the coast of Bali, leading to the death of 53 crew members.
Gunther Steiner has denied that Mick Schumacher has a "huge advantage" over fellow Haas rookie Nikita Mazepin in 2021.

While 22-year-old Mazepin's debut season on and off the track has been tumultuous so far, the similarly-aged Schumacher has had a comparatively smoother time.

"I am positively surprised by the team - it's fantastic," Michael Schumacher's son told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "We are already in synch even if we haven't known each other for a long time. I feel at home.

"The team has a good structure and there is a good atmosphere and this is certainly positive," Schumacher added.

However, Schumacher headed off to Maranello after Imola to work in Ferrari's simulator, and then he tested a 2018 Ferrari on the Fiorano circuit.

Russian Mazepin, in contrast, told Match TV: "As I am not a member of that youth team, I do not have such a privilege. I will prepare for Portimao here in Moscow."

However, Haas boss Steiner denied that Schumacher is enjoying a clear advantage over Mazepin.

"I wouldn't say it's an advantage," he told the German broadcaster n-tv. "Nikita also drives in the simulator. Driving is always good, you always learn something.

"But actually there is very little advantage in driving a two-year-old car in Fiorano," Steiner insisted.

What Steiner does admit is that Schumacher's situation could be playing on Mazepin psychologically.

"If you put yourself in his situation, it all goes into the driver's psyche," he said. "He (Schumacher) drives more, so that certainly doesn't help. But you have to deal with these things, and he will.

"It is definitely not a disadvantage for Mick, but it's not a huge advantage either," Steiner added.

Some have already given Mazepin the cruel nickname 'Mazespin' after repeated incidents in Bahrain and Imola, but Steiner insists: "To reproach him now doesn't help.

"You just have to explain to him that sometimes you have to take one step back and then two steps forward. You have to find the limit by approaching it."

Meanwhile, what is clear is that Steiner is happy with Schumacher so far.

"He continues to motivate the team, which is not always easy," Steiner said. "He's a real professional - it seems like he's been doing this for years. He leaves nothing to chance."

(GMM)
Thupten Tsewang, president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, cuts a cake in celebration of the Panchen Lama's birthday, April 26, 2021.

Birthday celebrations for Tibets Panchen Lama, who vanished into Chinese custody as a young boy in 1995, were held earlier this week in Ladakh and at Tashi Lhunpo monastery in South India, the now 32-year-old spiritual leaders monastic seat in exile.

In Indias northwestern territory of Ladakh, celebrations were held on Sunday at Tiktse monastery in the regional capital Lehthe first observance to be held in the territory, the scene of recent border clashes between Indian and Chinese troops.

Event organizer Lobsang Tsultrim noted that although the Panchen Lamas birthday is regularly celebrated by Tibetans around the world, this was the first celebration to be held in Ladakh.

It is a sad fact that he has not been with us all these years, Tsultrim said. His disappearance has been an unfortunate reality not just for Tibetans, but for other Buddhist and Himalayan communities as well.

Now, we are celebrating the Panchen Lamas birthday today so that we can explain the situation [of his continued disappearance] to our esteemed guests and try to do something about it, Tsultrim said.

The Buddhist community of Ladakh had overlooked the Panchen Lamas birthday until this year, agreed Thupten Tsewang, president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association. But now we must continue to celebrate this significant day, he said.

The Panchen Rinpoche was abducted when he was only six years old, said Tenzin Choephel, a representative of the Ladakh Student Body, using an honorific Tibetan term for a revered spiritual teacher.

But we and the Indian government then overlooked this situation for such a long time. From now on we, the youth of Ladakh, will do everything in our power to raise awareness of this issue, Choephel said.

Celebrations were also held on Monday at Tashi Lhunpo monastery in Bylakuppe, in southern Indias Karnataka state, the exile branch of the Panchen Lamas traditional monastic seat in Shigatse, Tibet, with Tashi Lhunpos abbot Zikyab Rinpoche calling on China to free their detained spiritual leader.

In a statement, Zikyab Rinpoche noted that NGOs and sympathetic governments of countries around the world, including the United States, have collectively intensified their demands that the Panchen Lama be freed.

We will not rest until the issue is resolved, Zikyab Rinpoche said.

Forcibly disappeared

Tibets Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was recognized on May 14, 1995 at the age of six as the 11th Panchen Lama, the reincarnation of his predecessor, the 10th Panchen Lama, who died in 1989.

The recognition by exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama angered Chinese authorities, who three days later took the boy and his family into custody and then installed another boy, Gyaincain Norbu, as their own candidate in his place.

Tibetans remain bitter about Chinese intervention in the selection of the current 11th Panchen Lama, whose predecessor died in 1989, and the Panchen Lama installed by Beijing remains unpopular with Tibetans both in exile and at home.

Concerns over the advancing age of the Dalai Lama, now 85, have meanwhile renewed uncertainties in recent years over his possible successor after he dies, with Beijing claiming the right to name his successor and the Dalai Lama himself saying that any future Dalai Lama will be born outside of China.

Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force 70 years ago, and the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers later fled into exile in India and other countries around the world following a failed 1959 national uprising against Chinas rule.

Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the region, restricting Tibetans political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment, and extrajudicial killings.

Reported by Trinley Choedon and Pema Ngodup for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Neighbours star Takaya Honda has watched his mother's health decline over the years following her dementia diagnosis 11 years ago at just 52 years old.

The actor, 33, told the Herald Sun on Wednesday that he has struggled seeing his mother, Rhonda, battle with the degenerative brain disease.

'It is a heaviness that I carry with me at all times and even saying that makes me feel guilty because I am aligning my mum with a negative, but ultimately it is the truth of it,' he said.

'It is a heaviness that I carry with me at all times': Neighbours actor Takaya Honda discussed the heartbreak of his mother's battle with dementia and the 'feeling of guilt' he 'carries' with him on Wednesday

Takaya, who plays Dr David Tanaka on the long running soap, added that he finds it difficult to hear stories from his friends and colleagues about their mothers because of his mother's health.

'It impacts me because it is something I can do nothing about, but I have to live with it,' he said.

He also shared that happy occasions, including his recent beach wedding to his fiancee Amy Schwab, have a tinge of sadness because of his mother's condition.

Heartbreak: The actor, 33, said he struggles seeing his mother, Rhonda, battle with the degenerative brain disease. 'It is something I can do nothing about, but I have to live with it,' he said

Doing his part: Takaya, who is an ambassador for Dementia Australia, added that he finds it difficult to hear stories from his friends and colleagues about their mothers because of his mother's health

'Even happy occasions can become sad because you become aware that this is a moment she dreamed of, but can't experience it in the way that she dreamed of,' he said.

Takaya tied the knot with his fiancee Amy Schwab in a stunning Byron Bay ceremony, back in December.

The couple shared pictures and video from their big day, which featured a gorgeous couture gown, a vegan wedding cake and a romantic dance on the beach after saying 'I do'.

Bittersweet: He also shared that happy occasions, including his recent beach wedding to his fiancee Amy Schwab (pictured), have a tinge of sadness because of his mother's condition saying: 'She (his mother) can't experience it in the way that she dreamed of'

Rhonda, who is mostly non-verbal, was able to attend her son's wedding day.

Takaya proposed to Amy in Byron Bay in 2019, popping the question at sunset on the beach.

The couple had been dating for five years.
Today is Glow Orange Day for Work Zone Safety

By West Kentucky Star Staff

WESTERN KENTUCKY - As spring arrives, colorful plants are blooming everywhere, and bright orange barrels also start showing up on highways across the country. That's why this is National Work Zone Awareness Week.The Federal Highway Administration says one person is killed every 13 hours and one is injured every 13 minutes in a work zone. In Kentucky in 2020, there were 905 work zone crashes, 228 injuries and six fatalities. All of those killed were drivers.Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesman Keith Todd told West Kentucky Star that KYTC is promoting two opportunities to show support for work zone safety. Wednesday is "Glow Orange Day," during which KYTC invites organizations and individuals to use the Cabinet's Facebook profile frame, posts and tweets to show support for work zone safety (see link below.) Participants can use a #glowky hashtag.On Thursday, it will be "Vested in Work Zone Safety Day." The Cabinet requests participants to wear high visibility gear, take photos and post them on social media accounts using #vestedinwzsafety.Todd said a work zone is where you should "expect the unexpected."As a local example for this week, Todd said there have been lots of people speeding through the work zone on US Highway 62 in Paducah, where the highway is being widened to four lanes between Olivet Church Road and McCracken Boulevard. The speed limit is 45 mph, and a Kentucky State Trooper has been present for over a week providing enhanced enforcement.On the Net:
EUGENE, Ore. -- Governor Kate Brown announced Tuesday that 15 counties including Lane and Linn will move into the extreme risk category on Friday, April 30.

RELATED: LANE AND LINN COUNTIES MOVING TO EXTREME RISK

That means restaurants and bars will be forced to pause indoor dining. Outdoor dining will be limited to a maximum of 100 people and groups must contain no more than six people.

"It's probably going to put a little bit of a damper on our business," said Linda Brown, who works at The Delta Bar in Eugene.

Fitness centers will also see tightened restrictions under the extreme risk category.

KEZI spoke to Aaron Orton who owns Genuine Fitness in Eugene about how the change in risk levels will affect his business.

"We have capacity limitations. Obviously we're not allowed to hold any larger events or get togethers. We restrict access to the front door. It's by appointment only," said Orton.

Under the extreme risk guidelines, fitness facilities 500 square feet or larger can have a maximum of six clients inside at one time. Facilities smaller than that can have a maximum of one client in the facility at any given time.

The last time Linn County was classified as extreme risk was Feb. 11. The last time Lane County was classified as extreme risk was Feb. 25.

Douglas County will downgrade from high risk to moderate risk, while Coos and Benton will remain in high risk.

The full list of restrictions for counties in each risk level is available on the Oregon Health Authoritys website.
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Daryl-Anne Steffen explained she had penned the note in an attempt to make friends (Global News)

A 30-year old message in a bottle has been discovered washed by by a lake in Alberta, Canada  and the woman who found it couldnt be more delighted.

Michelle Schwengler told Global News that she discovered the bottle while on a community clean-up at a lake in Leduc.

She smashed the bottle open to find a note along with illustrations of a house from a young girl dated to 1993.

I thought oh my gosh I have left so many messages in bottles as a kid and now Im actually finding one, Ms Schwengler told the broadcaster.

With her curiosity piqued, Ms Schwengler set out on a mission to locate the author of the message, posting a photograph of the note on her social media.

She told the broadcaster that someone quickly reached out within 24 hours to say that they were friends with the girl who wrote the message at school.

She called me to say that I may have put a letter in a bottle that you found, Ms Schwengler said.

Daryl-Anne Steffen, the original author of the note, told the broadcaster: I vaguely remember writing it and throwing it in the lake with my friend.

She added: Its really neat that its still there, to see my writing after so many years still on the page and still legible. It was pretty cool.

Ms Steffen explained that she had written the note in an attempt to make friends, saying ironically she has ended up connecting with even more people than [she] had planned, adding: It worked!

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[April 28, 2021] iTecs Enters Into A Reseller Partnership With CoSoSys

DALLAS, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- iTecs Outsourcing, LLC, an IT MSP, cloud hosting, and cybersecurity firm based out of Dallas that works with companies across the United States, has officially entered into a reseller partnership with CoSoSys, an IT security company that developed the Endpoint Protector software suite.

Founded by Brian Desmot in 2002, iTecs works with companies in all sectors and provides many IT-related services, including cloud hosting and cybersecurity as a managed service. Many of iTecs existing clients rely on the company to serve as their offsite IT department, handling procurement of technology, CIO/CTO consulting, break-fix support, and cloud hosting services. This puts iTecs in a unique and advantageous position to become a reseller of CoSoSys's Endpoint Protection software.

"We are excited to provide Endpoint Protector to our existing clients as the Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technology built into Endpoint Protection is second to none. Large and enterprise organizations and businesses in the medical and financial sectors will appreciate the platform's granular and robust features. As iTecs continuously evolves into the best-in-class Managed Security Service Provider, adoptng the best tools available on the market is a high priority goal." Says Brian Desmot, CEO and Founder of iTecs.





Endpoint Protector uses advanced technologies such as N-gram-based text categorization to accurately discover intellectual property, such as source code, within hundreds of file formats and then monitor and control any transfers. It also prevents data loss or theft by monitoring activity related to device use and file transfers. Monitor what sensitive data leaves your company and prevent data exfiltration with an all-in-one Data Loss Prevention solution.

"Endpoint Protection provides a solution for device control, content-aware protection, enforced encryption, and eDiscovery. We host the EP server in the iTecs Promus data center that allows us to ensure continuity, management, and security." Brian Desmot concludes.

For more information on iTecs IT MSP division, visit the https://itecsonline.com About iTecs IT Outsourcing and Support Brian Desmot founded iTecs in 2002, a white-glove IT support, consulting, managed IT services provider. The firm delivers an umbrella of IT services from break-fix, consulting, cybersecurity, to procurement for businesses of all sizes. If you need a professional, customer-centric offsite IT department, iTecs is the best choice. Press Contact: Mark Labrecque, 214-744-3354, https://itecsonline.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/itecs-enters-into-a-reseller-partnership-with-cososys-301279590.html SOURCE iTecs IT Outsourcing and Support

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Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) Exchange Rate Forecast: Could Souring Risk Sentiment Weaken the Aussie This Week?

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The Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate held steady today despite Australias latest consumer price index falling below forecasts of 0.9% to 0.6%. The pairing is currently fluctuating around AU$1.79.The Australian Dollar (AUD) rose despite the nations CPI falling well below the Reserve Bank of Australias (RBA) target.CommSec chief economist Craig James expressed confidence in Australias economy, however, saying:The economy is recovering much quicker than initially expected and that could mean higher-than-expected price increases and a tighter job market.Mr James also added that consumer prices would remain well below the RBAs targets, with the bank likely to maintain its resolve and keep the cash rate at record lows until 2024.Rising demand for the US Dollar has however clipped some demand for the risk-sensitive Aussie today as Covid-19 cases continue t o surge in India.Consequently, the AUD/GBP exchange rate could swiftly fall today if risk sentiment continues to sour.The Pound (GBP) held steady today after the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reported the sharpest growth in retail sales since 2018.As a result, GBP investors have become more confident about the British economy. UK lockdown measures are also expected to be eased in May, promising further improvements on the horizon.Fraser McKevitt, head of retail at Kantar, commented:There is a growing sense that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, and people are becoming more comfortable with venturing out to the supermarket. The past four weeks have been the busiest in store for the grocers in more than a year.In the absence of any notable UK economic data today, the Pound has remained relatively rudderless despite signs that the nations Covid-19 infection rates are remaining relatively stable.Meanwhile, growing tensions between the UK and the EU have dampened demand for Sterling.The EU is now forwarding its legal case against Oxfords AstraZeneca as the European Commission criticizes the Anglo-Swedish company for not having a reliable plan to ensure timely deliveries of the vaccine.The Australian Dollar (AUD) will remain sensitive to global risk sentiment this week. If Covid-19 cases continue to rise in places like India, then we could see demand for the risk-sensitive Aussie quickly begin to slide.The Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate could begin to edge higher this week if the outlook for the British economy continues to improve.

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The Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifted nine cryogenic oxygen containers from Dubai and Singapore and has brought them to the Panagarh air base in West Bengal, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday.

These containers were brought on Tuesday, it said.

In addition, the IAF's C-17 aircraft on Tuesday also airlifted two cryogenic oxygen containers from Indore to Jamnagar, two from Jodhpur and Udaipur to Jamnagar and two from Hindon to Ranchi, it said.

"IAF's C-17s have airlifted six cryogenic oxygen containers from Dubai to Panagarh Air Base. Another C-17s brought three oxygen containers from Singapore to Panagarh Air Base," the statement said.

The IAF also airlifted eight cryogenic oxygen containers from Hyderabad to Bhubaneswar, two from Bhopal to Ranchi and two from Chandigarh to Ranchi, it said.

India is struggling with the second wave of the coronavirus infection and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds in view of a rising number of COVID-19 cases.

The IAF has been airlifting empty oxygen tankers and containers to various filling stations across the country to speed up the distribution of the much-needed medical oxygen in treating COVID-19 patients.

Also read: Maharashtra likely to see Covid-19 peak in May, India in June: CLSA report

Also read: India to get Sputnik V doses in May; 1st batch to be imported from Russia, says Dr Reddy's CEO
In a recent development on global front, German Ambassador to India, Walter J. Lindner, announced to provide support to India in combating COVID-19. Several other countries have lent their support as COVID-19 figures have stretched its medical infrastructure to capacity. Lindner acknowledged India's global contribution by producing COVID-16 vaccines and medicines and said that it was time when 'we need to give back to our friends'.

Lindner stated that Germany was ready to transport a large oxygen production plant to India. He said that they are already in contact with the Ministry of External Affairs, the Red Cross and other bodies for the same. This would provide requisite medical oxygen across States which are facing shortages. In the recent past, COVID-19 patients have succumbed to the virus due to a dearth of medical oxygen supply at hospitals.

Expressing mutual concern for India's ongoing scuffle with COVID-19, the German Ambassador to India said,

"I feel half Indian and half German. My heart bleeds when I see on social media , messages / pictures of people looking for hospital beds, etc. People here are very resilient. We'll get through this together and one day we will again see the beauty of India."

Lindner also acknowledged the two 'made in India' COVID-19 vaccines- COVAXIN and COVISHIELD and urged people to get vaccinated

Amid raging COVID-19 figures, media reports, and gutting images of collapsing medical infrastructure, many countries have poured in their solidarity with India. Previously, United Kingdom, United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, European Union, Singapore, Bhutan amongst few others have come forward to provide assistance to India in procuring tonnes of liquid medical oxygen, transporting mobile oxygen plants, drugs, and vaccines against destructive COVID-19 second-wave.

List of countries that have offered aid to India
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28) Filipinos hoping to return home from India will be also be barred from entering the Philippines during the travel ban imposed amid the ongoing COVID-19 surge in the South Asian country, officials said on Wednesday.

Unlike previous travel bans, Filipinos who recently traveled to India will not be allowed to return to the Philippines from April 29 to May 14 as the government imposes restrictions.

"Even our fellow Filipinos hindi muna natin papapasukin for this temporary period so we can ensure na ma-guard ang borders natin," Department of Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing.

[Translation: We will not allow the entry of Filipinos during this period to ensure that we guard our borders.]

The Bureau of Immigration also said the travel ban is not "nationality-specific" and applies to any traveler coming from the South Asian nation.

Vergeire said the restrictions were put in place as a precautionary measure to prevent the entry of another COVID-19 variant first detected in India. The B.1.617 coronavirus variant dubbed as the "double-mutant strain" has a number of mutations that could increase transmissibility and help escape immune response, Indian health authorities said.

"Of course our country would like to restrict the borders first, mag-iingat tayo kasi nakikita na natin ang nangyayari sa kanila at ayaw natin magkaroon ng enabler ang ibang variants na pumasok sa bansa," Vergeire said.

[Translation: We'd like to restrict the country's borders. We are being careful because we see what is happening there. We don't want other variants to enter the country.]

The official, however, noted that experts are saying that the variant first found in the United Kingdom could be the reason why India is spiraling deeper into the COVID-19 crisis.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. is worried that the ban on returning Filipinos could pose a bigger problem if the second wave in India gets worse.

"Good policy but consider every Filipino has the absolute right to go home... If any get infected in India and die for lack of medical care, were screwed," he tweeted.

Maria Isabel Pol, a Filipino based in Bangalore, said they are left without any option even if they want to return home.

"Even na gusto naming umuwi sa amin, we cannot do anything kasi nga 'yung airport nila, parang strict din sa mga international travels... Naka-ban kasi 'yung travel ng India to everywhere, so hindi talaga kami, walang choice talaga po. Talagang nandito lang kami," she told CNN Philippines.

She said she and her husband are staying in their home since there is an ongoing lockdown and government is enforcing a limited time to access essential goods.

Deadlier virus?

Asked about the pandemic situation in the South Asian country, Philippine Ambassador to India Ramon Bagatsing Jr. told CNN Philippines' News Night that the new strain appears to be deadlier and more contagious.

Last year, people were kind of easy because if you get hit, its a mild attack, you survive, Bagatsing said. Its very sudden, its treacherous.

Bagatsing said a member of the Filipino community in India passed away just three days after contracting the virus.

RELATED: Two Filipinos die of COVID-19 in India this week

Delay in India-made vaccines

Meanwhile, the Health Department admitted that the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines manufactured in India could be delayed as that country grapples with record-breaking new cases and death surges due to coronavirus infections. Vergeire assured that the Philippines' vaccine cluster is devising a distribution back-up plan.

"Because of what's happening in India, nagkaroon ng redistribution ng mga dapat na bakunang darating by May, June, July because of this issue. Flexible ang plano natin so we can be able to adapt and adjust," she said.

[Translation: Because of what's happening in India, the vaccines that were supposed to arrive in May, June, and July were redistributed. Our plans are flexible so we can adapt and adjust.]

Bagatsing said on Tuesday that the eight million doses of Covaxin vaccines made by Bharat Biotech that was ordered by the private sector and local government units could arrive in the country by the last week of May.

He also said the 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Covavax from Serum Institute of India  purchased by the national government  could arrive in the country by September.
The Holiday Guru is always on hand to answer your questions.

This week issues tackled include British Airways vouchers for a cancelled trip to Miami and whether to abort a Tui holiday to Tunisia.

Q. Last August I had BA Miami flights cancelled. I accepted a voucher, then asked for a refund. This was refused, so I made a Section 75 credit card claim. Now I have the cash plus the voucher. Is it still valid?

Graham Manson, via email.

One reader had BA flights to Miami cancelled and accepted a voucher before getting a refund. He asks if his voucher would still be valid

A. No. BA says the voucher will not work as you accepted the cash after claiming under Section 75.

Q. Our Czech Airlines Dubrovnik flights were cancelled last September. The tickets, costing 252, were booked through Mytrip, but no refund yet. Any advice?

Jo Champion, Paignton, Devon.

A. Mytrip, part of the Etraveli Group in Sweden, says it is waiting for an airline refund, even though in Britain your contract would be with it  and it would therefore pay. Also, Czech Airlines was recently declared bankrupt.

Try your travel insurance or make a Section 75 credit card claim or a bank chargeback claim; see moneysavingexpert.com.

Q. We booked two subsequently cancelled Air Europa flights (1,189) to Cuba with Mytrip. Can you help?

Jack Wolland, via email.

Another reader asks for help for claiming money back on two cancelled Air Europa flights to Cuba. Pictured is the country's capital, Havana

A. Sadly, you are in the same position as Jo Champion [above].

Q. We have a Tui holiday to Tunisia on May 24, but flights are currently banned. If we cancel, we will lose 2,500. Advice?

Toni Saunders, via email.

A. Do not cancel: change to another date for free now or wait until closer to departure when the trip will probably be cancelled and you will be refunded.

WERE HERE TO HELP

If you need advice, the Holiday Guru is here to answer your questions. Email us at holidayplanner@dailymail.co.uk.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 08:22:26|Editor: huaxia

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Tourists visit the Archaeological Park of Pompeii in Italy, on April 27, 2021. Italy took a first decisive step toward a post-pandemic phase on Monday, the first day of reopening amid decreasing coronavirus cases. (Xinhua)
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US Marine Corps squadron VMFA-211 is preparing to deploy with a carrier strike group led by British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. Royal Navy

US Marine Corps F-35s flew 5,000 miles from Arizona to the UK this week.

The fifth-gen jets are preparing to deploy aboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

It will be the first full operational deployment of a US F-35B squadron aboard the British carrier.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

US Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters flew over 5,000 miles this week for an upcoming deployment aboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Related: How fighter pilots train to fly the Marine Corps' F-35B

Ten fifth-generation fighter jets assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211, a unit known as the "Wake Island Avengers," flew from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona to RAF Lakenheath in the UK for final training before next month's deployment.

For HMS Queen Elizabeth's maiden deployment, the first-in-class ship will lead the large, multinational Carrier Strike Group 21. The CSG will sail over 26,000 nautical miles and visit 40 countries during the deployment, according to the Royal Navy.

VMFA-211 will integrate with Britain's 617 squadron, known as the "Dambusters."

-U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe & Africa (@USMCFEA) April 28, 2021

Although the B variant F-35s used by the Marine Corps is built for short takeoff and vertical landings aboard big-deck amphibious assault ships, they have also proven capable of operating off the British Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.

US Marine Corps F-35 pilots have trained alongside their British counterparts aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth, but this will be the first full operational deployment of a US F-35B squadron aboard the British carrier, according to the US Marine Corps.

Last September, VMFA-211 trained alongside the Dambusters at Royal Air Force Marham, where the two squadrons worked together to develop the essential mission skills necessary to function as a combined force for the upcoming deployment.

Story continues

The US Marine Corps first announced plans to deploy F-35Bs aboard the Queen Elizabeth for a 2021 deployment in 2019.

Ships of Carrier Strike Group 21 Royal Navy

In addition to the 65,000 metric ton British carrier, the CSG with which the US Marines will be operating will include the British destroyers HMS Diamond and Defender, frigates HMS Richmond and Kent, support ships Fort Victoria and Tidespring, and a submarine.

A Dutch frigate and American destroyer will also be a part of the group.

The CSG, which will also include more than 30 aircraft, will be the largest fleet of Royal Navy ships to deploy abroad since the Falklands War.

The deployment is expected to take the group into the Indo-Pacific region, likely through contested waterways like the South China Sea, where China routinely bristles at US aircraft carrier operations. The plan is for the strike group to visit Signapore, South Korea, Japan, and India, among other nations.

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Monday that "when our Carrier Strike Group sets sail next month, it will be flying the flag for Global Britain."

He said the CSG will be "projecting our influence, signaling our power, engaging with our friends and reaffirming our commitment to addressing the security challenges of today and tomorrow."

'"The UK," he said, "is not stepping back but sailing forth to play an active role in shaping the international system of the 21st century."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Listen: #Chamberbreakers - Why businesses have a direct responsibility on alleviating homelessness
BASF is strengthening its innovation capabilities in Asia by breaking ground for the third phase of its Innovation Campus Shanghai. The expansion includes an additional research and development (R&D) building and one R&D workshop building.

BASF is strengthening its innovation capabilities in Asia by breaking ground for the third phase of its Innovation Campus Shanghai and by establishing an academic sounding board as part of the Network for Asian Open Research (NAO). The expansion includes an additional research and development (R&D) building and one R&D workshop building. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2022; by then, the total investment of BASF into its Innovation Campus Shanghai will sum up to around 280 million.

This further expansion demonstrates BASFs continued commitment to further build up innovation capacities in China and the whole Asia Pacific region. With this expansion, BASF will strengthen its R&D capabilities for advanced materials and systems as well as for chemical engineering in order to serve the needs of growing industries, such as automotive, construction, and coatings.

Accompanying this expansion at the Innovation Campus Shanghai, BASF is establishing a sounding board made up of experts from top universities in Asia as part of the Network for Asian Open Research (NAO). The sounding board will strengthen BASFs innovation pipelines and accelerate market introduction by providing professional consultancy for R&D projects, anticipating industry trends, and enhancing the collaborations between BASF and universities.

Launched in 2014, NAO is a joint platform of BASF and meanwhile 12 prestigious universities and institutes in Asia Pacific. To date, more than 70 joint projects have been completed, covering a wide range of research areas including monomers, polymers, surfaces and interfaces, coatings, catalysis, battery materials, chemical and process engineering, insecticides, as well as digitalization and smart manufacturing in R&D.

Innovations have made BASF the leading chemical company and they are the key driver for our profitable organic growth. We are increasing our R&D presence in Asia, intensifying our open innovation activities and strengthening our capabilities to meet the needs of our customers in Asia and across the globe, said Dr. Jeffrey Lou, President, Advanced Materials & Systems Research, BASF.

The Innovation Campus Shanghai has become an innovation powerhouse for BASF and its partners. Over the past five years, the Innovation Campus Shanghai has applied for more than 220 patents. The site plays an increasing role in the development of innovations for the automotive, construction and consumer goods industries.

The further expansion of the R&D capabilities at the Innovation Campus Shanghai provide excellent support to our business operations, which strengthens the position of BASF a preferred local innovation partner, said Dr. Stephan Kothrade, President and Chairman Greater China, BASF.
JACKSONVILLE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / GEE Group Inc. (NYSE American:JOB) ("GEE" or the "Company"), a provider of professional staffing services and solutions, today announced that the underwriter of its recent public offering exercised in full its 15% over-allotment option to purchase an additional 12,499,999 common shares (the "option shares") of the Company at the public offering price of $0.60 per share. GEE has closed the transaction and received gross proceeds from the sale of the option shares of approximately $7.5 million, before deducting the underwriting discount and commissions and offering expenses. The Company previously closed, on April 18, 2021, an underwritten public offering of 83,333,333 shares of its common stock at the public offering price of $0.60 per share (the "firm shares"), for gross proceeds of approximately $50,000,000, before deducting the underwriting discount and commissions and offering expenses.

The Company, on April 21, 2021, used the net proceeds of the sale of the firm shares, together with its available cash, to payoff in full approximately $56,000,000 in aggregate outstanding indebtedness under its existing Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement. GEE intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the option shares to pay outstanding fees of approximately $5 million owed to its lender under such agreement in lieu of payment of the fees in GEE common shares. The remainder of the net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital and potential acquisitions.

ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc., acted as sole book-running manager for the offering.

A registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-254235) relating to the shares was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and became effective on April 14, 2021. This offering is being made only by means of the prospectus contained in, or which forms a part of, such registration statement. Copies of the final prospectus may be obtained from ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc., 17 State Street, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10004, by telephone at (877) 436-3673, by email at prospectus@think-equity.com. The final prospectus has been be filed with the SEC and is available on the SEC's website located at http://www.sec.gov.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About GEE Group Inc.

GEE Group Inc. ("GEE" or the "Company") is a provider of specialized staffing solutions and is the successor to employment offices doing business since 1893. The Company operates in two industry segments, providing professional staffing services and solutions in the information technology, engineering, finance and accounting specialties and commercial staffing services through the names of Access Data Consulting, Agile Resources, Ashley Ellis, General Employment, Omni-One, Paladin Consulting and Triad. Also, in the healthcare sector, GEE Group, through its Scribe Solutions brand, staffs medical scribes who assist physicians in emergency departments of hospitals and in medical practices by providing required documentation for patient care in connection with electronic medical records (EMR). Additionally, the Company provides contract and direct hire professional staffing services through the following SNI brands: Accounting Now, SNI Technology, Legal Now, SNI Financial, Staffing Now, SNI Energy, and SNI Certes.

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, this press release contains statements relating to the Company's future results (including results of business operations, certain projections, future financial condition, pro forma financial information, and business trends and prospects) that are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended, (the "Exchange Act"), and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to the "safe harbor" created by those sections. The statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events. Such forward-looking statements often contain, or are prefaced by, words such as "will", "may," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "pro forma", "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential," "intends," "suggests," "appears," "seeks," or variations of such words or similar words and expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions, and are subject to various known risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and, consequently, as a result of a number of factors, the Company's actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The international pandemic, the "Novel Coronavirus" ("COVID"-19), has been detrimental to and continues to negatively impact and disrupt the Company's business operations. The health outbreak has caused a significant negative effect on the global economy, employment in general including the lack of demand for the Company's services which is exacerbated by government and client directed "quarantines", "remote working", "shut-downs" and "social distancing". There is no assurance that conditions will not worsen and further negatively impact GEE Group. Certain other factors that might cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation: (i) the loss, default or bankruptcy of one or more customers; (ii) changes in general, regional, national or international economic conditions; (iii) an act of war or terrorism, industrial accidents, or cyber security breach that disrupts business; (iv) changes in the law and regulations; (v) the effect of liabilities and other claims asserted against the Company including the failure to repay indebtedness or comply with lender covenants including the lack of liquidity to support business operations and the inability to refinance debt, failure to obtain necessary financing from commercial sources or government programs such as the main street lending facility or other economic relief programs, failure to obtain partial or full forgiveness on payroll protection loans or the inability to access the capital markets and/or obtain alternative sources of capital; (vi) changes in the size and nature of the Company's competition; (vii) the loss of one or more key executives; (viii) increased credit risk from customers; (ix) the Company's failure to grow internally or by acquisition or the failure to successfully integrate acquisitions; (x) the Company's failure to improve operating margins and realize cost efficiencies and economies of scale; (xi) the Company's failure to attract, hire and retain quality recruiters, account managers and salesmen; (xii) the Company's failure to recruit qualified candidates to place at customers for contract or full-time hire; (xiii) the adverse impact of geopolitical events, government regulations and mandates, natural disasters or health crises, force majeure occurrences, global pandemics such as the deadly "coronavirus" (COVID-19) or other harmful viral or non-viral rapidly spreading diseases and such other factors as set forth under the heading "Forward-Looking Statements" in the Company's annual reports on Form 10-K, its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and in the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 SEC. 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 is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) and does not intend to publicly update, revise, or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:

Gee Group Inc.

Kim Thorpe

904.512.7504

invest@genp.com

SOURCE: GEE Group Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/642896/GEE-Group-Announces-Full-Exercise-and-Closing-of-Over-Allotment-Option-in-Connection-with-its-Underwritten-Public-Offering
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 11:16:14|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, on Tuesday called for urgent action to protect essential services in conflict zones.

"Today, the International Committee of the Red Cross brings a warning to the (Security) Council: without urgent action to protect essential services in conflict zones, we face a humanitarian disaster on a vast scale," Maurer told a Security Council open debate on the protection of civilian objects in armed conflict.

Through its work in various conflict zones, the ICRC has become all too familiar with the severe and cumulative impacts on populations when essential services including electricity, health, education, water and sanitation are damaged in conflict, he said.

The humanitarian consequences are grim: from health crises, displacement, to environmental degradation. There is often no safe water to drink, no electricity to power homes, no health services to treat the wounded and sick, he said.

It is those who already face barriers and disadvantages that are the most affected, including women and children, older people and persons with disabilities. In protracted conflicts, children under 5 years old are 20 times more likely to die from diseases linked to unsafe water and sanitation than from violence, he said.

Maurer made five appeals.

The first call is for all parties to armed conflict, and those who support them, to work for better respect of international humanitarian law. This includes those rules on the conduct of hostilities that protect civilians and civilian objects, including critical infrastructure that enables the delivery of essential services, that protects civilian personnel who operate, maintain and repair infrastructure.

His second call is for the adoption of an "avoidance policy" regarding the use of heavy explosive weapons in populated areas. These weapons should not be used against targets in populated areas unless sufficient mitigating measures are taken to reduce the risks to civilians, including measures to limit their wide-area effects.

Thirdly, he called on states to ensure sanctions regimes and counter-terrorism measures comply with international humanitarian law, notably the rules governing humanitarian activities. Effective mitigating measures, in particular lasting and well-framed humanitarian exemptions, must be put in place to enable impartial humanitarian organizations to ensure the continuity in the delivery of essential services.

Fourthly, he called for the adoption of measures so that health care and interconnected services such as water, sanitation, electricity, are protected to safeguard against public health risks. "Frequently, we see infectious diseases, such as cholera epidemics, rip through communities where water and sanitation infrastructures have been destroyed during fighting. Preventable diseases are costing too many lives."

Finally, he called on states to adopt measures to increase their understanding of the effects of conflict on natural environment and minimize the impact of military operations on the environment and dependent civilians.

Parts of the natural environment are indispensable for the survival of civilian populations. Damage to critical infrastructure poses a wide range of threats to the environment, which in turn can have devastating environmental health impacts. Climate risks now magnify this harm for dependent communities, he said.

Maurer called for the leadership of the Security Council so that the suffering of women, men and children who have already lived through the horrors of wars is not compounded by larger effects and impacts. Enditem
Boeing Co. posted its sixth straight quarterly loss as the COVID-19 crisis and languishing deliveries for the South Carolina-based 787 program continued to weigh on the planemaker's finances.

The company on April 28 reported a narrower loss of $561 million for the first three months of the year, compared to a $628 million loss for the same period of 2020.

Revenue dropped 10 percent to $15.2 billion, a decline tied in part to the 787 program, according to Boeing's latest financial results. Right up until the end of the first quarter, Dreamliner deliveries remained on pause because of lingering production issues and inspections, leaving dozens of the jets in inventory.

So far, nine 787s have been handed over to customers since deliveries resumed late last month, CEO Dave Calhoun said Wednesday. He added that "a couple more" of the widebodies could get picked up before the end of the week.

Boeing has about 100 Dreamliners in its inventory, finance chief Greg Smith said.

The company still says it expects to hand over most of the 787s in inventory by the end of the year, though Calhoun said the main constraint will be the switch to a higher monthly delivery pace  not a reluctance among customers to take them.

"It's just gonna be because of logistical timing with respect to when crews can get in and take delivery and move them out," he said.

Smith didn't give a specific timeframe for how long it's taking to rework 787s that are found to have the issue that set off these inspections  wrinkles in areas where sections of the fuselage are joined  but he said it's a matter of days per plane and that the process is moving more quickly now that workers are "coming down the learning curve."

While the 787 delivery delays were a blow to first quarter results, Calhoun said in a note to employees that halting deliveries to do checks and rework aircraft was "the right thing to do."

"Our pause went on longer than I think anybody wanted it to, maybe even including us," Calhoun said of the hiatus, which lasted nearly five months.

That long pause, which required "an awful lot of energy, a lot of cost and a lot effort" was purposeful, he said, and allowed them to "eliminate rework loops."

"We've taken really hard actions over the course of this year to stop things when we see an issue and get them fixed once and for all," Calhoun said, adding that the 787 is a "glaring example of that."

As of late February, Boeing's North Charleston campus has been the only site where the 787 is assembled. It had been splitting the work with the widebody factory in Everett, Wash., until the previously announced plan to consolidate production of the jet in South Carolina was made official last quarter.

That transition "went smoothly," Calhoun said.

Dreamliners haven't disappeared entirely from the Seattle-area site, where the original production has been shut down. Because of the inspections, workers in the Puget Sound region are continuing to handle rework and deliveries of Everett-made 787s.

The North Charleston site is juggling inspections, rework and assembly simultaneously, though new jets are being built at a slower pace.

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Production of the 787 slowed to a rate of five per month in the first quarter, Calhoun noted, meaning the North Charleston site is building fewer aircraft than it did when it was sharing the work with Everett. The lower rate is a response to the pandemic-induced drop in demand for new airplanes.

Just four Dreamliner orders have been logged so far this year  the first since March 2020.

Orders for the narrow-bodied 737 Max accelerated in the last several months, though, with Boeing securing substantial sales agreements with Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Those orders gave Boeing its first months with net positive order outcomes since 2019.

But the Max has suffered a new setback: Electrical problems that Boeing disclosed earlier this month grounded dozens of Max jets, not long after federal regulators approved the planes for commercial flights again late last year.

Because of those groundings, Calhoun said on Wednesday's call that deliveries of the 737 have been temporarily put on pause, which will "make April deliveries very light." They expect to catch up on Max deliveries "over the balance of the year," he said.

Calhoun said Boeing is "finalizing the plans and documentation" with the Federal Aviation Administration on how operators can safely return those jets to service.

Once those plans are approved, Boeing expects it will take "a few days per plane" to complete the necessary work. About 100 in-service aircraft are affected, Calhoun said.

Smith, the Boeing finance chief who announced last week he'll be retiring after 30 years with the company, said he believes that, from a cash perspective, the company has endured its most challenging quarter of 2021.

Unloading 787 inventory and getting Max deliveries back on track are still the biggest drivers for improving "all financial metrics" for the planemaker in 2021, Smith said.

Calhoun said Boeing sees this year as a "critical inflection point," especially as more COVID-19 shots are administered.

"Vaccine distribution remains the critical hurdle to a broad reopening," he said.

The air travel industry's active fleet is still around three-quarters of its pre-pandemic size, he said, and, since domestic markets are rebounding first, single-aisle jets, like the 737 Max, are performing better than twin-aisle planes, like the 787, which are used for the likely last-to-recover long-haul routes.

In February, international air travel traffic was 11 percent of what it was in 2019, slightly below prior expectations, Calhoun said.

Returning to pre-pandemic levels of demand will still take "multiple years," he said.

Calhoun is expected to stay at the manufacturer's helm for at least several years of its COVID-19 recovery, following a board decision last week to raise the mandatory retirement age to 70 from 65. Without that change, Calhoun would have been forced to step down as CEO next April.
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Re: 2022 Honda Civic revealed; full debut on April 28 2022 Honda Civic sedan spied ahead of official debut



Honda recently released a single official image of its upcoming 11th-generation Civic sedan. The Japanese company also announced that all details of the new sedan will be revealed on April 28, 2021.







Now, just a couple of days ahead of its debut, the 2022 Honda Civic has been spied. The new spy images reveal more exterior details of the upcoming sedan, including the design of the front grille, the sleek LED headlamps with the integrated LED DRLs and the turn indicators. The images also give a glimpse of the side profile, along with its newly-designed alloy wheels.







Inside, the new Civic is said to receive a major update over the current model. This includes a revamped dashboard layout. The new Civic is expected to feature a large touchscreen infotainment system, multifunction steering wheel, wireless charging, ventilated front seats and plenty others as well. Reports also suggest that customers will get multiple upholstery options to choose from.



The 11th-generation Honda Civic is said to get two petrol engine options. The lower trims will come with a 1.5-litre unit, while the higher variants will get a more powerful 2.0-litre engine. The transmission options will include both manual and automatic, based on the trim level.



Image Courtesy:



Link to Team-BHP news Honda recently released a single official image of its upcoming 11th-generation Civic sedan. The Japanese company also announced that all details of the new sedan will be revealed on April 28, 2021.Now, just a couple of days ahead of its debut, the 2022 Honda Civic has been spied. The new spy images reveal more exterior details of the upcoming sedan, including the design of the front grille, the sleek LED headlamps with the integrated LED DRLs and the turn indicators. The images also give a glimpse of the side profile, along with its newly-designed alloy wheels.Inside, the new Civic is said to receive a major update over the current model. This includes a revamped dashboard layout. The new Civic is expected to feature a large touchscreen infotainment system, multifunction steering wheel, wireless charging, ventilated front seats and plenty others as well. Reports also suggest that customers will get multiple upholstery options to choose from.The 11th-generation Honda Civic is said to get two petrol engine options. The lower trims will come with a 1.5-litre unit, while the higher variants will get a more powerful 2.0-litre engine. The transmission options will include both manual and automatic, based on the trim level.Image Courtesy: Kurdistan_automotive_blogs
Outer Banks is a Netflix series with a devoted fan base. In preparation for the new season, many fans are rewatching Outer Banks Season 1. In doing so, one fan discovered a major plot hole regarding the $400 million in gold.

Outer Banks Cast | Netflix

Outer Banks season 2 is coming soon

The new season of Outer Banks was filmed in the Charleston, South Carolina area, including Mount Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston. Some of season 2 was also shot in Barbados.

Jonathan Daviss, who plays Pope on the show, wrote about the series wrap on Instagram. Goodbye Barbados , thats a wrap on @obx season 2!!! he stated. Ive absolutely fallen in love with this beautiful country. Cant wait for you guys to see the amazing work our entire cast and crew did this season #obx #obx2.

RELATED: Outer Banks: Chase Stokes and Madelyn Clines Relationship Is Still Thriving; Heres Proof

Netflix hasnt announced an official release date. But fans know its only a matter of time until new episodes are released.

Season 1 of Outer Banks focused on $400 million of buried treasure

In the premiere season of the Netflix series, John B.s (Chase Stokes) father, Big John (Charles Halford), goes missing after trying to find the gold that reportedly sunk with the Royal Merchant ship. Eventually, John B. discovers Sarah Camerons (Madelyn Cline) father, Ward (Charles Esten), is responsible for his dads death and the location of the $400 million in gold.

When the Pogues find the gold buried on the Crain property, John B. and company seem to have no trouble getting it out of the ground. But in reality, one fan points out how they would never have been able to get the gold up the way they did, let alone load it on a plane to fly it to the Bahamas.

Outer Banks Netflix episodes have a few plot holes

With a fan base as devoted as Outer Banks, viewers are bound to have questions. In season 1 alone, some fans wondered how John B. and Sarah Cameron could take a ferry from the island to the landlocked Chapel Hill. Showrunner Jonas Pate chalked it up to an Uber ride being cut from the script.

Still, fans had questions about other plot holes in Outer Banks Season 1. Like how did Scooter Grubbs (David Ury) wife find out about Big John Routledges death? And how is John B. surviving on his own without parental supervision? Moreover, what is with the Outer Banks font?!

All of that aside, one fan recently uncovered what might be the biggest mystery in Outer Banks Season 1. How did the Pogues get all of that heavy gold out of the ground?

Outer Banks plot hole involving the weight of the gold

A fan on Reddit recently calculated what the weight of that gold in Outer Banks would be. Their findings were shocking.

Using the current price of gold, this fan did the math and discovered the gold the Pogues found would weigh more than six tons.

If this was the case at current prices, $1,836 per ounce  $400,000,000 / $1,846 = 216,684oz / 16oz = 13,542 lbs = 6.77 tons, they shared on Reddit. They would need forklifts to move that gold not a wheelbarrow or small plane.

Its all about the suspension of disbelief, right? Regardless of how impossible some of the Outer Banks plot points might seem, you can bet fans will tune in when season 2 drops.
A total of 62 countries will be represented on the exhibition floor this year at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2021, which takes place in-person at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) on May 16 -19.

Now in its 28th year, the regions largest travel and tourism showcase has attracted key exhibitors from inbound and outbound markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UK, China, Germany, Russia, Greece, Egypt, Cyprus, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Maldives, the Philippines, Thailand and the US.

This is an impressive response from travel and tourism organisations across all travel sectors, given the various travel restrictions in place around the world, and provides a major boost for the travel industry in the Middle East, commented Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director Middle East, Arabian Travel Market.

Many destinations participating in ATM this year will be hoping to attract GCC visitors in the second half of this year. Countries such as the Maldives for example, will have a significant presence at ATM, as well as perennial favourites such as Malaysia and Thailand, Germany, Greece, Italy and Switzerland.

The Maldives has done exceptionally well in 2021 so far, welcoming over 200,000 visitors in the first two months of the year. It is one of the top destinations for UAE travellers and to cope with the increased demand, in March Emirates announced it was increasing its services over the Easter holidays, offering customers 28 weekly flights to Male, up from the scheduled 24 weekly flights, added Curtis.

ATM 2021 is spread across nine halls. Consistent with the existing density restrictions and social distancing guidelines and regulations, there will be 11,000 people in the halls at any given time. The theme of this years show is A new dawn for travel and tourism and the spotlight will be focused on the very latest Covid news from around the world  vaccine rollouts, the current state of the industry and more importantly, what the future holds.

Staying with the international flavour, overall, ATM 2021 features 67 conference sessions with over 145 local, regional and international speakers. Onsite, there is a Global Stage which will include a hotel industry summit, dedicated buyer forums for Saudi Arabia and China, an International Tourism & Investment Conference (ITIC), as well as an aviation panel, and a special session on Gulf-Israeli ties.

Other features this year will include Travel Forward at ATM, which has world-class technology experts, providing industry-leading insights about the latest technologies and trends that will undoubtedly shape the future of travel and tourism.

ATM 2021 will once again play an integral role in Arabian Travel Week, which will feature exhibitions, conferences, breakfast briefings, awards, product launches and networking events.

This year the introduction of a new hybrid format will mean a virtual ATM running a week later to complement and reach a wider audience than ever before. ATM Virtual, which made its debut last year, proved to be a resounding success attracting 12,000 online attendees from 140 countries.

This is now an integral part of the ATM offering. Not every industry professional from around the world, can attend in-person every year, particularly this year with travel restrictions changing rapidly around the globe, said Curtis.

Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world to visit with a wide range of precautionary measures in place to ensure the safety of tourists at every stage and touchpoint of their travel journey, from arrival to departure. Over 10.3 million doses have already been administered in the UAE, which is also a major achievement. It was also awarded a Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

ATM 2021s strategic partners include Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) as Destination Partner, Emaar Hospitality Group as Official Hotel Partner, Emirates as Official Airline Partner and The Vision as Official Destination Management Partner. - TradeArabia News Service
Although Miami Vice was only around for five seasons, the show has had a major impact on the television industry and American culture. It reimagined the way that television shows could be styled, and it gave a complete overhaul to the use of popular culture in detective shows. Perhaps the area that saw the most impact from the show was the city of Miami itself. Learn more about the show, its style, and its role in preserving unique buildings in the area.

What is Miami Vice?

RELATED: Miami Vice: How Mark Harmon Almost Replaced Don Johnson in Season 3

Miami Vice is an American television series focusing on two detectives that work undercover in Miami, Florida. The show follows James Sonny Crockett, played by Don Johnson, and Ricardo Rico Tubbs, portrayed by Philip Michael Thomas, for five seasons as they worked to solve crimes that were loosely based on real crimes that occurred in Miami in the past. Miami Vice ran from 1984  1990 on NBC.

Most episodes focus on crimes like drug trafficking and prostitution. The characters often cynically discuss the Whack-a-Mole nature of detective work, in that cartels bring in new workers as soon as their current ones are detained. The first two seasons are known for being lighthearted and sprinkled with humor, but the later seasons take on a much darker tone.

The show is still praised for taking on social issues of the day, such as the AIDS crisis, the longstanding effect of the Vietnam War, child abuse, homophobia, and more. According to IMDb, Miami Vice won 13 awards, including Primetime Emmy Awards and Golden Globes, and was nominated a total of 29 times.

Miami Vice enjoyed decent viewership and ratings, though that began to drop after season four. The staff decided to make the fifth season the final season, but Michael Mann directed a film adaptation of Miami Vice that was released in 2006.

The style of Miami Vice

RELATED: How Much of Miami Vice Did Michael Mann Control as Executive Producer?

Miami Vice is known for its unique style, which includes the outfits of the characters, the style of the surrounding buildings, the colors of the vehicles driven, and even the music that was played in the background. Miami Vice relied on a pastel color pallet that was unlike anything else on television at the time. According to an NBC archive, People remarked that it was, the first show to look really new and different since color TV was invented.

The creators of the show were so invested in the art and colors of the show that the executive producer, Michael Mann, forbade earth tones from being used on the set. After Mann departed a few seasons later, the style changed a bit, but still largely relied on pastel colors. Americans began embracing the use of a sport coat over a T-shirt and wearing loafers without socks thanks to the outfits worn by the main characters on the show too.

Aside from the outfits and cars, perhaps the most important stylistic choice was the art deco buildings in the background.

Thanks to the show, Miamis art deco buildings are protected

(l-r) Philip Michael Thomas as Detective Ricardo Rico Tubbs, Don Johnson as Detective James Sonny Crockett | NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

RELATED: Miami Vice: How to Watch the Classic Show in 2021

The areas where Miami Vice was shot were full of historic art deco-style buildings, but many of them featured neutral or beige colors. According to Mental Floss, the design crew on Miami Vice teamed up with the Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL) and set out to beautify South Beach by adding pastel colors to old buildings that would be used in shots for the show.

This brought a whole new interest to Miami, and it helped bring tourism to the Art Deco district, bringing a financial boost to an area that had struggled in the past. Mann, the former executive producer for Miami Vice, even sponsored an early iteration of Art Deco Weekend, which has continued to take place every year since.

Whether you are a fan of the show or not, its impossible to deny the effect that Miami Vice had on our culture, and more specifically the South Beach area.
I know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have, he wrote in his 1974 autobiography, Carrying the Fire. This venture has been structured for three men, and I consider my third to be as necessary as either of the other two.
Former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett speaks at a news conference to talk about overseeing a 2020 election ballot audit ordered by the Arizona Senate at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 22, 2021. (Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo)

Judge Rejects Democrats Bid to Immediately Halt Arizona 2020 Election Audit

An Arizona judge on April 28 rejected an attempt by the Arizona Democratic Party to immediately halt an audit of the 2020 election in the states largest county.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel Martin said Democrats didnt provide substantive evidence of any breaches or threatened breaches of voter privacy.

The lawsuit, filed just before the audit started last week, may ultimately succeed, the judge added. But it fell short of the strong likelihood of succeeding standard required for a temporary restraining order.

Martin also expressed doubt that the balance of hardship in the case or public policy favors the plaintiffstwo factors that are needed to grant the order.

Arizona Democrats must now decide whether to seek a review of the ruling from a higher court or to advance to an evidentiary hearing to try to make their case for an injunction.

Lawyers for the party had argued that Cyber Ninjas, one of four firms hired by the Arizona Senate to conduct the audit, didnt properly train their personnel and hadnt implemented plans for security procedures, such as securing ballots.

But the exhibits they entered, including local news reports alleging lax security at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, where the audit is taking place, didnt contain enough evidence to convince the judge to halt the process.

Martin said he took into account how the audit has already started and that halting it would cause a significant disruption.

Earlier in the proceeding, the judge ruled against Cyber Ninjas attempt to file under seal documents the company described as sensitive. The company failed to show an overriding interest exists that supports filing under seal and overcomes the right of public access to the information, he ruled.

The hearing took place one day after Martin, who took over the case after the previous judge recused himself, decided against halting the audit. But he also said he could stop it during the next hearing, stoking further interest in the April 28 proceedings.

Some of the 2.1 million ballots cast during the 2020 election, ready for recounting at a 2020 election ballot audit ordered by the Arizona Senate at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, during a news conference in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 22, 2021. (Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo)

Defendants have asserted that the coliseum and approximately 2.1 million ballots being reviewed, along with machines used in the election, are properly secured.

Former Republican Secretary of State Ken Bennett, tapped by the state Senate to be the audit liaison, told reporters that the facility is under armed guard 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Only he and one other person have keys to unlock the containers the ballots are being held in when theyre not being counted, he added.

We have to do everything we can to protect the sanctity of the ballot box. Were never going to get 100 percent of the people to agree on who should win the election, but we should have as close as possible to 100 percent of the people who have confidence that the election process was done with integrity, and thats what were here to do, Bennett said during an April 27 press conference.

Critics including Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs have called the audit unnecessary, pointing to reviews done after the 2020 election that uncovered little fraud.

Its clear now that theres really nothing valid thats going to come out of this exercise, Hobbs, a Democrat, said during an appearance on MSNBCs Rachel Maddow Show on April 27.

All this is going to do is continue to undermine voters confidence in the process.

Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, appearing on Newsmax around the same time, accused Democrats of trying to delay the audit.

Theyre trying to throw as many problems into the process that they can to slow this down, she said.

John Brakey, co-founder of Audit USA and a progressive Democrat, was appointed by Bennett as assistant liaison to try to stem some criticism from the left of the audit. Brakey told reporters that the 2020 election was not audited before.

Even the hand-count audit of the primary election only reviewed 1 percent, or 25 ballot batches, Brakey noted, in contrast to the full review currently going on.

That count took roughly 100 people appointed by county party chairs about a day and a half, a county spokeswoman told The Epoch Times via email.

Workers in the current audit have counted about 100,000 ballots as of April 27, according to Bennett.
"George Serafeim is a renowned business strategist and academic leader who comes to our board with valuable insights and perspectives," said Long. "His background and thought leadership will play a pivotal role as we continue our sustainability journey and deliver on our belief that progress happens when people feel secure."

Professor Serafeim has received a number of awards for his courses in the MBA, executive education and doctoral programs at Harvard Business School and is the faculty chair of the school's Impact-Weighted Accounts Project, which drives the creation of financial accounts that reflect a company's financial, social and environmental performance. A co-founder of leading consulting firm KKS Advisors and technology firm RGS, and with deep experience in investment management, he has helped organizations build effective strategies that pave the way to a sustainable society.

"Liberty Mutual's venerable history is a testament to its resiliency and ability to position the business for long-term success," said Serafeim. "I look forward to working closely with my fellow board members and the Liberty Mutual management team to continue driving business growth and movement around the company's sustainability goals."

Recognized as one of the most influential people in the field of sustainable investing, Professor Serafeim has presented his research in over 60 countries around the world, including to global leaders at events such as the Davos World Economic Forum and the Aspen Ideas Festival. He has written more than 100 articles and business cases, publishing numerous studies in top-tier academic journals, including Strategic Management Journal, Management Science and The Accounting Review, and his work is frequently quoted in media outlets such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Professor Serafeim has presented his research at more than 300 conferences and also serves as a board member for other companies in the private and non-profit sectors. He earned his doctorate in business administration at Harvard Business School and holds a master's degree in accounting and finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance

At Liberty Mutual, we believe progress happens when people feel secure. By providing protection for the unexpected and delivering it with care, we help people embrace today and confidently pursue tomorrow.

In business since 1912, and headquartered in Boston, today we are the sixth largest global property and casualty insurer based on 2020 gross written premium. We also rank 77th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2019 revenue. As of December 31, 2020, we had $43.8 billion in annual consolidated revenue. Our board of directors has also been recognized for its diversity by the National Association of Corporate Directors.

We employ over 45,000 people in 29 countries and economies around the world. We offer a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, specialty lines, reinsurance, commercial multiple-peril, workers compensation, commercial automobile, general liability, surety, and commercial property.

For more information, visit www.libertymutualinsurance.com.

Contact: Liberty Mutual Insurance Public & Media Relations

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Today, the Statewide Womens Justice Task Force, organized by the Womens Justice Institute (WJI) with funding from major philanthropic organizations, hosted an event to release an historic plan to reduce the number of women incarcerated in Illinois prisons by 50%+ and beyond to an audience of over 300 people.

Launched in 2018, the Task Force originally projected the plan would require seven years to achieve at least a 50% reduction. However, the report released new data showing that crisis-driven responses to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an unanticipated 37% reduction in the Illinois womens prison population in the year 2020 alone, demonstrating the feasibility of the plan. The Task Force called on officials statewide to sustain this reduction by taking action on report recommendations and the 2021 SAFE-T Act, which was recently signed by the Governor JB Pritzker.

This report reveals that too many women are serving prison sentences for finding ways to survive unacceptable community conditions, for having mental health and substance use issues that often arise from the trauma of gender-based violence, poverty, and racism, and for crimes deeply linked to sexual and economic exploitation, said WJI Co-Founder Alyssa Benedict, who leads training programs for justice system personnel working with impacted women nationally. Prisons have been deployed as a default response, yet there is no evidence that any amount of time in prison is helpful or even improves public safety. On the contrary, prisons replicate those harms and further entrench women and their families in the justice system and create lasting harms to their health and well-being.

The report presents startling new data showing that there have been nearly 68,000 court admissions to state womens prisons in the last three decades, of which over 86% were convicted of nonviolent offenses, an estimated 98% had histories of gender-based violence or other forms of abuse and over 80% are mothers.

Due to years of skyrocketing womens incarceration rates in Illinois, our state has spent an estimated $1.4 billion on the womens prison and parole system in the last decade alone. While the pandemic has caused incalculable harms, it has yielded dramatic reduction in the womens prison population that present our state with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to permanently reverse decades of womens mass incarceration faster than we ever imagined, said Deanne Benos, Co-founder of the Womens Justice Institute and a former state corrections official. This report offers the state a $1 Billion Proposition: Lets cut the womens prison population by 50% and beyond, improve public safety, save taxpayer dollars and  most importantly  start investing in womens health and well-being instead.

The report details how prison disciplinary policies disproportionately impact women and a lack of access to credit-earning programs are keeping women in prison longer. For example, the report presents new data showing that access to Program Sentence Credits (PSC) programs in womens prisons, which allow them to reduce their prison time, declined from 45% in 2011 to 24% in 2018; and that women are receiving more than double the average number of disciplinary tickets in prison than men  a practice that often prohibits them from participating in needed treatment and education programs or visiting with children and family.

Elevated by the lived experience of formerly incarcerated women, the entirely woman-led Task Force engaged over 500 women statewide, including currently and formerly incarcerated women, officials from the Illinois Department of Corrections, national experts and teams from jails, prisons, courts, probation/parole, academia, social services and downstate counties most impacted by rising rates of female incarceration.

For far too long formerly incarcerated women have been invisible in the criminal justice reform dialogue, when we should be at the forefront. This report truly centers on our voices and provides a platform for us to redefine the narrative on what justice truly means for women before, during and after incarceration, said Colette Payne, Co-Chair of the Statewide Womens Justice Task Force, who was incarcerated five times related to addiction, starting at age 14.

The report also published the results of extensive interviews with over 100 currently and formerly incarcerated women statewide, and provided extensive data detailing deeply concerning womens prison conditions linked to the failed conversion of Logan Correctional Center into a womens facility in 2013. The highly criticized conversion was made to save resources, yet ultimately saddled future administrations with an increasingly costly facility that continues to fall into disrepair and face staffing challenges. The report provides detailed accounts of how these chronic conditions worsened as a result of the pandemic, even as the overall prison population declined, as well as unique challenges faced by justice-involved pregnant women, mothers and their children before, during and after incarceration.

In the conversation about criminal justice, we must carve out specific space for women, both in the reforms we propose, and by letting those with lived experience lead, said Illinois First Lady MK Pritzker, who was a featured speaker at the event. This report will play an essential role in our work to re-shape our restorative system, and I offer my appreciation and admiration to all the Task Force members for their commitment to a truly just Illinois.

The Task Forces plan calls for the state to leverage public-private partnerships in order to launch an historic Womens Justice Reinvestment Strategy (W-JRI) that includes investments into prevention, diversion, recidivism reduction, prison disciplinary policy changes, and alternatives to incarceration.

For decades our systems have overlooked the impact of our criminal justice system on women, and women of color continue to be disproportionately impacted and re-traumatized by these deeply concerning prison conditions, said State Representative Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, Chair, Illinois House Democratic Women's Caucus. We can and must do better for them, which is why the Illinois House Democratic Women's Caucus members will launch a series of subject matter hearings to explore ways the SAFE-T Act and other solutions from this report, such as justice reinvestment, can be leveraged to transform justice for women.

The report findings were also informed by the launch of two new WJI assessment tools to help counties address the challenges facing women throughout the justice continuum, including policing, courts, jails and probation. Demonstrations were conducted in McLean County under the leadership of the Task Forces Central Region Co-Chair Judge Rebecca Foley, McLean County Circuit Court, and Southern Region Co-Chair Presiding Judge Jo Beth Weber, Jefferson County Court. Data shows that womens prison admissions are down statewide, but 43 counties primarily throughout rural communities, had increases believed to be linked to the resurgence of the meth epidemic.

I was honored to serve as the Southern Region Chair of the Task Force and to be part of the historic effort to help identify solutions to the recent rise in womens justice involvement. The resurgence of the methamphetamine epidemic, along with addiction to alcohol and other illicit drugs throughout Southern Illinois, has devastated far too many families. The challenge for our court system is that we have limited access to alternatives and to the necessary pretrial resources to treat the addiction, poverty, homelessness and trauma that lead people into the justice system, said Jefferson County Presiding Judge Jo Beth Weber.

Supported by Loyola University Chicagos Center from Criminal Justice Research and Policy, the report offers three decades of data and analysis on the history and trends of Illinois womens prison population, as well as the nations first Cutting 50%+ and Beyond Opportunities Matrix focused exclusively on women and detailed policy recommendations designed to reduce womens justice involvement before, during and after prison. Learn more at redefine.womensjusticeinstitute.org.
They've been nearly inseparable since going public with their age gap relationship late last year.

But Amelia Hamlin and her beau Scott Disick are apparently enjoying some healthy time apart as they were spotted on different coasts this Tuesday.

The 19-year-old model was seen indulging in some retail therapy with her older sister Delilah, in Beverly Hills, California, while the 37-year-old entrepreneur took care of business in New York City.

Retail therapy: Amelia Hamlin was seen shopping in Beverly Hills, California with her older sister Delilah, 22, on Tuesday

Taking care of business: Meanwhile, Amelia's much older boyfriend Scott Disick was seen out and about in New York City the same day

Amelia and Delilah, who are the daughters of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, donned contrasting ensembles for their shopping trip with pals.

Amelia put her toned midriff on display in a black tie-front top that coordinated with her flared high-waisted trousers.

She wore her lengthy brunette hair in a sleek middle part and fastened several chains around her neck.

The girlfriend of Scott Disick completed her ensemble with a pair of maroon and white Nike trainers and a stylish pouch bag.

Just a peek: Amelia put her toned midriff on display in a black tie-front top that coordinated with her flared high-waisted trousers

Contrast: Amelia and Delilah, who are the daughters of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, donned contrasting ensembles for their shopping trip with pals

Meanwhile, Delilah rocked a beige oversized sweater and a pair of baggy off white jeans.

The 22-year-old model had a woven bag tucked under her arm as she strolled besides her younger sister.

Unlike Amelia, Delilah kept her hair pulled back out of her face in order to display her chunky hoop earrings.

Lunch break: After shopping, the sister duo and their crew hit up a nearby restaurant and enjoyed a gourmet meal outdoors

Minimalist: She wore her lengthy brunette hair in a sleek middle part and fastened several chains around her neck

Crew: Joined by a few male pals, Amelia and Delilah browsed several high end stores, including the French luxury brand Cartier

The sisters sported face masks that matched their monochromatic outfits.

Joined by a few male pals, Amelia and Delilah browsed several high end stores, including the French luxury brand Cartier.

While conversing with one male friend, Amelia put on an exceptionally animated display - raising her hands up to the sky joyously and whipping her hair around.

Animated: While conversing with one male friend, Amelia put on an exceptionally animated display - raising her hands up to the sky joyously and whipping her hair around

During the pair's exchange, Hamlin stopped to take a phone call that put a large smile on her face.

The brunette beauty was also seen talking on the phone, while inside Cartier.

After shopping, the sister duo and their crew hit up a nearby restaurant and enjoyed a gourmet meal outdoors.

Smiley: During the pair's exchange, Hamlin stopped to take a phone call that put a large smile on her face

As for Scott, the father of three looked noticeably dressed up for his day in the Big Apple.

He had on a black puffer jacket layered over a black tee and a pair of kaki trousers.

The Talentless founder finished off his business casual look with some statement making sneakers and a pair of RayBan shades.

Chatty: The brunette beauty was also seen talking on the phone, while inside Cartier

Spiffy: As for Scott, the father of three looked noticeably dressed up for his day in the Big Apple

Disick was still rocking his bleach blonde hair, which was lightly styled wit hair gel.

Amelia and Scott were first romantically linked in late October, when they were seen arriving to Kendall Jenner's star-studded birthday party in West Hollywood.

Since then, the couple have made their relationship Instagram official and have gone on several lengthy vacations together to Mexico and Miami, Florida.

Romance: Amelia and Scott were first romantically linked in late October, when they were seen arriving to Kendall Jenner's star-studded birthday party in West Hollywood; Amelia and Scott pictured in February

Meeting the family: Scott has also introduced Amelia to his three children, sons Mason and Reign and daughter Penelope, whom he shares with ex Kourtney Kardashian, 42; Kourtney and Scott pictured in 2017

Scott has also introduced Amelia to his three children, sons Mason and Reign and daughter Penelope, whom he shares with ex Kourtney Kardashian, 42.

Amelia recently made it known that she is getting close to his kids by way of a comment she left on his latest Instagram post.

Disick shared a photo of Penelope, eight, as he wrote, 'Driving miss poosh,' prompting an adoring comment from Amelia.

Amelia shared the nickname she has for Penelope, lovingly dubbing her 'Peesh.'

Bonding: Amelia recently made it known that she is getting close to his kids by way of a comment she left on his latest Instagram post

Sweet: Disick shared a photo of Penelope, eight, as he wrote, 'Driving miss poosh,' prompting an adoring comment from Amelia

Kourtney had originally named her lifestyle brand, Poosh, after she and Scott's nickname for the middle child, with his girlfriend putting her own spin on it.

Prior to Amelia, Scott was in a years-long romance with Lionel Richie's now 22-year-old daughter Sofia Richie.

The pair split in May of last year after three years together, followed by a brief reconciliation in early July and a finite breakup in August.

Sofia is now in a full blown romance with music mogul Lucian Grainge's son Elliot, 27, whom she has been sharing photos of to Instagram in recent weeks.

Former flame: Prior to Amelia, Scott was in a years-long romance with Lionel Richie's now 22-year-old daughter Sofia Richie; Sofia and Amelia pictured in February 2020
In the week since a wave of protests in support of imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei Navalny swept Russia on April 21, at least 115 people in 23 cities have been detained by police. At least seven journalists who were covering the protests have also been summoned for questioning.

Immediately after the protests, activists and observers noted the relatively mild reaction of the authorities to the unsanctioned demonstrations, particularly in contrast to similar protests in January and February at which thousands of people were detained, often brutally.

But in recent days, Russian police have unveiled a new strategy, using surveillance-camera footage and other techniques to identify demonstrators and track them down, days after the event.

"I think they are trying a new tactic now," opposition politician and political analyst Leonid Gozman told Current Time, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. Earlier, he said, the police would detain 2 or 3 percent of the protesters at a rally and the rest would go home feeling relieved.

"Now we have a different situation," he continued. "They are signaling to everyone: 'Go ahead and march, guys, but a year from now you can expect we'll come, expect a knock at your door. And we'll come or not as we wish....' Now they have placed everyone in that position."

Making a similar point, Ekho Moskvy editor in chief Aleksei Venediktov posted a warning to his own journalists on Twitter. "To all seven Ekho correspondents who were working the streets on April 21, get ready," he wrote.

At the same time, the authorities are proceeding swiftly to proclaim three national organizations tied to Navalny as "extremist," which would place their employees and donors at risk of arrest and long prison terms. The Moscow City Court on April 26 approved the city prosecutor's injunction suspending most activities by the organizations, including Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and his network of regional offices.

The court is expected to rule on the "extremist" designation at a closed hearing in Moscow on April 29.

"Most likely on April 29, they will make that decision. And not in our favor," said Ksenia Fadeyeva, the former director of Navalny's office in the Siberian city of Tomsk, who was elected to the city council in September 2020. "We have little hope of a miracle. So we are getting ready for the work of our offices to be shut down completely. The offices will be closed. There will be no meetings of volunteers or staff -- who, by the way, are not able to meet anyway. All of them except for me are under arrest."

Potentially, everyone who has ever donated to any of Navalny's organizations could be in jeopardy, lawyer Dmitry Dmitriyev said, and could face up to eight years in prison.

"In addition, all of those people will most likely find themselves on the Rosfinmonitoring list of terrorists and extremists," he said, referring to the state financial-transactions-monitoring agency. "That would mean their bank accounts would be blocked and they would only be able to spend 10,000 rubles ($134) per family member per month."

The assault against Navalny's organizations and supporters comes as Russia prepares for elections to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, that must be held by September 19. The ruling United Russia party is polling at record-low popularity following its support of a reviled increase in retirement ages and the adoption of a raft of constitutional amendments, including one that would allow longtime authoritarian President Vladimir Putin to remain in office until 2036.

On April 27, the BBC reported that data about Navalny supporters that was hacked from a website set up to create momentum for protests was being used to pressure employers. At least three companies told the BBC they had received anonymous e-mails informing them that some of their employees were among Navalny's supporters and that employing them could be considered "support for an extremist organization."

Aleksei Golovenko, a gastroenterologist, was interviewed by the BBC during the April 21 demonstration in Moscow, although he says he was only on the scene by chance. On April 25, he was detained by police while taking a walk with his wife and children.

During his hearing, prosecutors presented a clip from a surveillance camera. It was one of several reported cases in recent days of officials using Moscow's newly created "Smart City" surveillance system to pressure demonstrators.

The 15-second clip of Golovenko walking down the street failed to convince the judge, who unexpectedly dismissed the charges.

"I think this might have happened because of the support that suddenly appeared and, to be honest, which I didn't expect," Golovenko told RFE/RL, referring to the fact that many of his medical colleagues spoke up on social media and offered other assistance. "I am definitely not the most famous gastroenterologist in Russian and certainly not the best. But most likely it has some effect because most social-media platforms were writing about it. I was stunned by the support from some of my eminent colleagues."

Golovenko said the support he received and the fact that others were also being held for allegedly participating in the protest made his ordeal bearable.

"I don't regret one kopeck of the money I've donated to OVD-Info," he said, referring to the independent monitoring group that publicizes police activity around the country. "I regularly send them money and urge all activists to support them. Their slogan is: 'No one should be left alone against the system.' And it is true. The frightening thing isn't that they might beat you...but that you are alone for two days and you don't know what is happening in your life or what they are doing to your family.

"Repression," he added, "is very effective."

Exactly how effective remains to be seen, said political commentator and former Kremlin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov.

"The demand for an opposition is not going to go anywhere," he told RFE/RL. "It exists and will grow stronger. After all, the fundamental reasons for it have not been addressed. Standards of living have not improved, Putin hasn't gotten any younger, and the last 20 years are still with us. The demand for some renewal is only going to get stronger.

"But for some time, the protest movement will be without a leader, more chaotic, and less rational," he added. "It won't be able to generate political slogans as effectively, so it will flare up in completely unpredictable places. The authorities have significantly increased the likelihood of a strong protest vote in the Duma elections."

Opposition politician Gozman said the state's heavy-handed tactics were having two effects.

"First, it is reducing the number of people who will come out to protest, he told Current Time. Second, it is radicalizing those who will come out anyway. That is, they are provoking violent actions, which is something our country has seen in the past.

Written by Robert Coalson based on reporting by Mark Krutov and Maria Chernova. Timofei Rozhansky and Ksenia Sokolyanskaya of Current Time contributed to this report.
Marine scientists claim they've discovered up to 25,000 barrels of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)-contaminated water spilled off the coast of southern California near Catalina Island, where a vast underwater hazardous waste site dating back to WWII has long been believed.

Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, collected 27,345 "barrel-like" photographs. They surveyed over 36,000 acres of the seafloor between Santa Catalina Island and the Los Angeles peninsula, in an area where elevated levels of the toxic chemical had previously been discovered in sediments and the environment.

DDT Dumping

Before 1972, when the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, also known as the Ocean Dumping Act, was passed, historical shipping records indicate that mining industries in southern California used the basin as a dumping area.

The particular site and scope of the dumping, which is deep in the ocean, was unknown until now.

According to Eric Terrill, chief scientist of the expedition and director of the Marine Physical Laboratory at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the area covered was "staggering."

High-resolution photographs of barrels resting 900 meters (3,000 feet) below the surface were taken by underwater drones using sonar technologies all over the steep seafloor surveyed. They were also seen outside the dumpsite's boundaries.

"Everyone who dealt with the data and sailed at sea was amazed," he told reporters on Monday.

The survey offers a "wide-area map" of the bottles, Terrill said, but it will be up to others to validate that the containers contained DDT by sediment sampling. The amount of DDT dumped in the area, 12 miles from Los Angeles and 8 miles from Catalina Island, is estimated to be between 320 and 640 tons.

Related Article: Can California Successfully Ban Fracking and Oil Extraction by 2024?

Effects of DDT to Wildlife

According to Scripps chemical oceanographer and professor of geosciences, Lihini Aluwihare co-authored a report in 2015 that found elevated DDT levels and other man-made chemicals in the blubber of bottlenose dolphins that died of natural causes, the long-term effects on aquatic life and humans was still uncertain.

"These findings also raise concerns about continued exposure and possible effects on marine mammal health," said Aluwihare, who was not part of the survey expedition.

If the barrels were proven to contain the poisonous chemical, Diana Aga, a chemistry professor at the University at Buffalo who is not associated with the report, said the results were surprising. She commented, "That's a lot of DDT at the bottom of the ocean."

If the barrels had not spilled, they might have been transferred to a better storage location, according to Aga. Scientists might take samples from the sea, sediment, and other aquatic life to assess the impact if they spilled.

Following a Los Angeles Times article last year about evidence that DDT was pumped into the ocean, scientists performed the survey from 10 to 24 March.

"Unfortunately, starting in the 1930s, the basin offshore Los Angeles had been a dumping ground for toxic waste for many decades," Terrill said. During the wide-area survey, we discovered a large debris field."

Professor David Valentine of the University of California, Santa Barbara, had found concentrated accumulations of DDT in the sediments and spotted 60 barrels about a decade earlier, and scientists began their search there.

DDT levels in the area's marine mammals have been shown to be high, and the chemical has been attributed to cancer in sea lions.

Clean-Up Attempt

Researchers at Scripps say they think their survey will help with cleanup efforts. A team of 31 scientists, engineers, and crew members worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on the Sally Ride research vessel, which featured two autonomous underwater vehicles.

Also Read: After A Month of Nonstop Coastal Cleanup, Israel Oil Spill Emergency Finally Declared Over

For more environmental news, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
XPhyto delivered 2,000 of its 25-minute PCR tests to Israeli distributor for clinical evaluation and regulatory approval

Potential customers include government institutions, private healthcare providers and neighboring countries

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. (CSE:XPHY)(OTCQB:XPHYF)(FSE:4XT) ("XPhyto" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has delivered 2,000 of its rapid 25-minute PCR tests ("Covid-ID Lab") to an established medical distributor in Israel for clinical evaluation of Covid-ID Lab for the purpose of commercial regulatory approval and potential product distribution.

Based on the European CE-IVD approval of Covid-ID Lab, announced by the Company on March 18, 2021, Covid-ID Lab will be evaluated by the Medical Device Division of the Israeli Ministry of Health (AMAR) for the purpose of securing Israeli regulatory approval. Israel recognizes several international medical device certifications including the European CE-IVD mark. The clinical evaluation process is expected to be complete in less than 90 days and will form the basis for commercial approval of Covid-ID Lab in Israel.

The Israeli distributor markets and distributes a range of medical products, including diagnostics, in Israel and surrounding Middle Eastern countries. Its customers include government and private institutions such as hospitals, pharmacies and a broad range of health care providers.

"We are excited by the opportunity to expand potential distribution beyond Germany. We are building strong partnerships around the world and Israel is a leading nation for COVID-19 management and research," said Hugh Rogers, CEO and Director of XPhyto. "We expect that rapid and accurate diagnostic testing will remain a primary tool for pandemic management and monitoring for many years to come."

Covid-ID Lab is a multiplex viral RNA probe kit based on the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Covid-ID Lab requires only a single 20-minute PCR thermal cycle for assay performance without prior RNA extraction as part of the sample preparation. Many widely available standard PCR instruments are suitable to run the test. Results are collected after the PCR cycle via easy-to-read optical indicator strips on a simple fluidics platform. The elimination of RNA extraction for sample preparation reduces cross-contamination risk and minimizes the need for lab materials and trained personnel. The rapid results, minimal laboratory equipment, and ease of use are expected to translate into reduced operating costs, greater convenience and superior portability.

XPhyto is currently in discussions with various potential customers, distribution and wholesale partners as well as potential licensees. The sales launch in Europe is targeted for Q2 2021. The Company will provide further information and updates in due course.

The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its product has the ability to eliminate, cure or contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

About XPhyto Therapeutics Corp.

XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. is a bioscience accelerator focused on next-generation drug delivery, diagnostic, and new active pharmaceutical ingredient investment opportunities, including: precision transdermal and oral dissolvable drug formulations; rapid, low-cost infectious disease and oral health screening tests; and standardization of emerging active pharmaceutical ingredients for neurological applications, including psychedelic compounds and cannabinoids. The Company has research and development operations in North America and Europe, with an operational focus in Germany, and is currently focused on regulatory approval and commercialization of medical products for European markets.

XPhyto Therapeutics Corp.

Hugh Rogers, CEO and Director

Investor Inquiries:

Mr. Knox Henderson

T: 604-551-2360

E: info@xphyto.com

Media Inquiries:

MC Services AG

Julia Hofmann, Andreas Jungfer

T: +49 89 210 228 0

E: xphyto@mc-services.com

Forward looking statements

This news release includes statements containing forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "develop", "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "potential", "propose" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, and in this release include the statement regarding the Company's goal of building a successful diagnostic, drug delivery, and medical cannabis company. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including: that the Company may not succeed in developing a commercial product; that the sale of products may not be a viable business; that the Company may be unable to scale its business; product liability risks; product regulatory risk; general economic conditions; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; currency risks; competition; international risks; and other risks beyond the Company's control. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE: XPhyto Therapeutics Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/642735/XPhyto-Pursues-Market-Access-in-Israel-for-its-COVID-19-PCR-Rapid-Test
President Joe Biden will call for free universal pre-K, two years of paid community college, a national family leave program and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit in his address to the nation on Wednesday night.

It's all part of his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, his proposal for one of the biggest social programs in US history, which the White House calls an investment in 'human infrastructure.'

In his joint address to Congress, his most high-profile speech since his inauguration, Biden will lay out his sweeping plan that outlines billions for in social programs, including college tuition for Dreamers, expanded child care options, an increase in programs that combat childhood hunger, and more aid for minority-serving institutions.

It will be paid for - in part - by a tax on the rich and more enforcement on corporations, which the administration says will raise $700 billion over 10 years.

The White House has portrayed its plan as a Robin Hood-style effort to tax the rich in order to spend on benefits for the middle class and poor.

It's an argument that the hundreds of billions of dollars controlled by the wealthiest sliver of the country - or 0.3 percent of the top earners - would lead to better results for the country if they were distributed instead to families

President Joe Biden will pitch free universal pre-K, two years of paid community college, a national family leave program and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit as part of his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan

Jill Biden, Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff will be among the shortened list of guests for Biden's first address to Congress on Wednesday night

Biden's $1.8 trillion American Families Plan The provisions in President Biden's $1.8 trillion American Families Plan include: $200 billion for free universal pre-school for all three and four year olds, benefiting 5 million kids and saving the average family $13,000 $109 billion for two years universal free community college, including to Dreamers, young illegals who were brought to the US as children by their parents $85 billion for additional Pell grants and would allow Dreamers access to them $62 billion to strengthen retention rates at community colleges $46 billion investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities 2 (TCUs), and institutions such as Hispanic-serving institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, and other minority-serving institutions (MSIs) $9 billion for teacher training and to address teacher shortages $225 billion to ensure no low-and middle-income families spend more than 7% of their income on child care $225 billion for a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave to guarantee 12 weeks of paid parental, family, and personal illness/safe leave by year 10 of the program $25 billion to expand nutritional assistance programs to reduce child hunger to summers $17 billion to expand healthy school meals $1 billion to launch a healthy foods incentive $200 billion to expand the lower premiums for the Affordable Care Act Expand the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for six year olds and above and $3,600 for children under the age of six and makes the credit fully refundable on a permanent basis Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit to make it permanent, giving families a tax credit for their spending on childcare Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to make it permanent for childless workers - White House fact sheet Advertisement

The White House argued the 10-year plan is worth the money, claiming it will yield significant future economic returns.

'There is a wealth of economic research that shows that the investments proposed in the American Families Plan will yield significant economic returns, boosting productivity and economic growth, producing larger more productive and healthier workforce on a sustained basis, and generating savings to state and the federal states and the federal government,' a senior administration official told reporters on a call Tuesday night previewing the plan.

Republicans are likely to oppose the proposal out of the gate while some Democrats will complain about what it lacks, such as a proposal to cut prescription drug prices, an issue of particular importance to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will help shepherd the massive package through Capitol Hill.

It's unclear how long it would take to move the massive legislation through Congress nor what it may look like in its final form. Democrats control both chambers but have a narrow margin in the House and the Senate is evenly divided.

'We would like to see it passed as soon as possible,' a White House official said. Some items the administration can do through executive power, such as their desire to increase Pell grants, but others will need congressional approval.

As part of his plan, Biden will specifically call for $200 billion for free universal pre-school for all three and four year olds. The administration claims it will benefit 5 million kids and save the average family $13,000.

He'll also call for $109 billion for two years universal free community college. That money will apply to Dreamers, young illegals who were brought to the US as children by their parents. Students will the option to use the funds for three or four years if they cannot do fulltime enrollment.

The plan will also increase Pell grants, invest in minority colleges and universities and expand teacher training.

Also in the proposal is $225 billion for child care, which is specifically targeted to women, who have been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 1.5 million moms of school-aged children dropped out of the work force, The Wall Street Journal reported, doing so to take care of their kids when schools closed.

Low income families will have their child care costs fully covered and the White House said no household will pay more than 7% of their income on childcare.

Biden will also propose $225 billion for a national, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program that will guarantee 12 weeks of paid parental, family, and personal illness/safe leave by year 10 of its existence. The program will provide workers up to $4,000 a month, with a minimum of two-thirds of average weekly wages replaced, rising to 80 percent for the lowest wage workers.

The president is also directing $45 billion to tackle child hunger and food insecurity, which has increased during the pandemic. More than 42 million people may experience food insecurity, including a potential 13 million children, according to Feeding America.

Bien will look to keep his expanded tax cut premiums for the Affordable Care Act and expand the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for six year olds and above and $3,600 for children under the age of six.

The plan will cost $1 trillion in investments and $800 billion in tax cuts.

To pay for it, Biden has a four-part proposal:

Focus on corporations and high worth individuals who may be hiding income with new disclosure requirements for large companies, businesses estates and higher income individuals, where the majority of the underreporting and tax non compliance currently is

Reverse the 2017 tax cuts so to raise the top marginal income tax rate on wealthy Americans to 39.6 per cent - up from 37 per cent - with a focus on those in the top one percent

Raise capital gains tax rates for households that earn more than $1 million a year

He will also close a loophole known as 'step up basis' that allows the wealthy to escape taxes on accumulated gains when they leave it to their heirs but will exempt family-owned businesses and farms when given to heirs who will continue to run them

As part of his plan, President Biden will specifically call for $200 billion for free universal pre-school for all three and four year olds

President Biden call for $109 billion for two years universal free community college, which will apply to Dreamers, young illegals who were brought to the US as children by their parents

THE 'DE FACTO' DESIGNATED SURVIVOR Typically during a presidential address to Congress, all members of the Cabinet attend except one  the designated survivor. That person stays back should some incident kill everyone in the House chamber, requiring the designated survivor to act as president  something which has never happened in US history. However, each time a president makes such an address there is usually a guessing game as to who the designated survivor will be. Most Cabinet secretaries wont be attending President Joe Bidens speech on Wednesday night due to coronavirus limitations. But several of the top members in the line of succession will be there, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Pro Temp Patrick Leahy, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd. That leaves Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who is not attending but is the next most highest-ranking Cabinet member, the designated survivor. Advertisement

The administration is selling their tax hikes as a way to level the play field between ordinary tax-paying Americans and the wealthy who use sophisticated methods to avoid paying their faire share.

'The president will be proposing a set of measures to make sure the wealthiest Americans pay the taxes that they owe, while also ensuring that no one making less than $400,000 per year we'll see their taxes go up,' a senior administration official said.

First lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will be on hand for the socially distance speech, where people will be scattered throughout the House floor and in the guest balconies above.

The White House has stressed only the wealthy will feel the tax hikes.

Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, earlier this week emphasized the capital gains hike would affect a small number of Americans - about three-tenths of 1 per cent or about 500,000 people.

The president and his administration will hit the road to sell the plan to the public. On Thursday, President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will be in Georgia. Biden heads to Philadelphia on Friday. Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Baltimore Thursday and Ohio on Friday while second gentleman Doug Emhoff travels to North Carolina on Friday.

Biden's speech to Congress on Wednesday night comes before his 100th day in office. Due to COVID limitations it will not be the traditional address Americans are used to seeing on their TV screens.

'The speech will of course look and feel different from past years,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki conceded on Tuesday.

Only 200 tickets were distributed to a chamber that usually is filled with 1,600 people. Speaker Nancy Pelosi divided the lot. She gave 40 to Democrats in the House and 40 to House Republicans with 30 going to Senate Democrats and 30 to Senate Republicans, Republican Senator John Thune, a member of party leadership, told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Biden is expected to unveil Wednesday a massive capital gains increase. California, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and Oregon would have the highest top capital gains rates

Joe Biden's tax hikes targeting the rich: Who will have to pay Capital gains tax on investment sales for those earning more than $1million a year: Current law: 20% Proposal: 39.6% With an effective rate of 43.4% when the Medicare surcharge is added. Investors currently pay 23.8% as the top capital gains rate along with the 3.8% net investment income tax, known as the Medicare surtax. Around 500,000 people in the US, or 0.32% of the population, have recorded a gross income of over $1million. For those earning more than $1 million in high-tax states, the total rate will be even higher given the combined federal and state tax capital gains. In New York it could be as high as 52.22% and for Californians it could be 56.7% Wealthy residents pay Capital Gains on the growth in value of investments when they are sold. They are mainly placed on profitable stock trades and real estate deals. They can also apply to sales of collectible cars, art, businesses, gold. Investors are taxed on the difference between what they paid for the asset and what they sold it for. Investments held for at least one year tops out at 20% and those held under a year are taxed the same as salaries and wages. An additional 3.8% tax applies to those earning at least $200,000. The US rate ranks in the middle of countries around the world. Investors generally support lower capital gains tax because they say it rewards entrepreneurship and encourages people to sell what they own. Corporate taxes Current top rate: 21% Proposed top rate: 28% These hikes have already been proposed in the first part of his infrastructure plan. He is also targeting US firms' profits overseas and companies who use offshore businesses. Biden has still vowed that no one earning under $400,000 a year will pay more taxes in his administration. Advertisement

Party leadership will decide how to split them up. Despite reports of a GOP boycott, several Republican senators said they plan to attend, including Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, and Lindsey Graham. Among the Republican senators skipping are Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio and Susan Collins.

Current Top Capital Gains Tax Rates v. Biden's Capital Gains Tax Proposal State Current Top Capital Gains Biden's Proposed Top Capital Gains Alabama 28.8% 46.4% Alaska 23.8% 43.4% Arizona 29.8% 49.4% Arkansas 26.8% 46.4% California 37.1% 56.7% Colorado 28.4% 48% Connecticut 30.8% 50.4% District of Columbia 32.8% 52.4% Delaware 30.4% 50% Florida 23.8% 43.3% Georgia 29.6% 49.2% Hawaii 31.1% 50.7% Idaho 30.7% 50.3% Illinois 28.8% 48.4% Indiana 27% 46.6% Iowa 32.3% 48.6% Kansas 29.5% 49.1% Kentucky 28.8% 48.4% Louisiana 29.8% 47% Maine 31% 50.6% Maryland 29.6% 49.2% Massachusetts 28.8% 48.4% Michigan 28.1% 47.7% Minnesota 33.7% 53.3% Mississippi 28.8% 48.4% Missouri 29.2% 48.8% Montana 30.6% 50.2% Nebraska 30.6% 50.2% Nevada 23.8% 43.4% New Hampshire 28.8% 48.4% New Jersey 34.6% 54.2% New Mexico 27.3% 46.9% New York 34.7% 54.3% North Carolina 29.1% 48.7% North Dakota 25.5% 45.1% Ohio 28.6% 48.2% Oklahoma 28.8% 48.4% Oregon 33.7% 53.3% Pennsylvania 26.9% 46.5% Rhode Island 29.8% 49.4% South Carolina 27.7% 47.3% South Dakota 23.8% 43.4% Tennessee 23.8% 43.4% Texas 23.8% 43.4% Utah 28.8% 48.4% Vermont 32.6% 52.2% Virginia 29.6% 49.2% Washington 23.8% 43.4% West Virginia 30.3% 49.9% Wisconsin 29.2% 48.8% Wyoming 23.8% 43.4% Average (unweighted) 29% 48.4%

Biden will enter the chamber the traditional way, walking through the rear doors, down the aisle to the dais where he will make his remarks. He will wear a face mask for his walk on the House floor but remove it to give his remarks.

'The president will preserve a few traditions, including the walk down the center aisle that we have seen presidents do for many years. He will, of course, be wearing a mask for that. He'll remove the mask when he delivers his speech,' Psaki said.

Before his speech on Wednesday, Biden will meet with career staffers - men and women who were at the Capitol during the January 6th MAGA riot that left five dead and a trail of destruction through the building.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd will represent the Cabinet. Chief Justice John Roberts will be there for the Supreme Court and General Mark Milley will be there for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

While his American Families Plan will be the main topic of the speech, Biden will address a range of topics, including COVID-19, police reform, and immigration.

Police reform has returned to the forefront of public discourse in the wake of Derek Chauvin being convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Biden addressed the nation in the aftermath of the verdict.

Psaki said Biden supports a bill that would ban chokeholds and require that deadly force only be used as a last resort in arrests.

That bill has passed in the House of Representatives but faces a rough time in the closely divided Senate.

Biden is expected to address immigration reform in some fashion.

His immigration proposal - unveiled in March via Democrats on Capitol Hill - offers an eight-year path to citizenship for most of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, eliminates restrictions on family-based immigration and expands worker visas.

What is unclear is how he will address the situation on the US-Mexico border where a record number of migrants are crossing illegally.

In March, US Custom and Border Patrol apprehended 18,656 unaccompanied minors at the southern border, a record since at least October 2009 and double February's numbers.

The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 does not include a large focus on increased border enforcement. And Biden has stopped work on Trump's border wall.

Biden tapped Vice President Harris to deal with the diplomatic aspect of the crisis. She has yet to visit the border but she does plan to visit Central America in June. She also held a virtual meeting on Monday with the president of Guatemala.

After Biden's remarks, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina will give the GOP response.

Scott, the lone black Republican in the Senate, has taken the lead on police reform for his party.

The senator joked to reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday he was preparing for his remarks with 'lots of ice cream and cookies and sitting on the couch, hanging out a little bit.'

Actually he conceded, he has been practicing - 'a bunch.'
Woven Planet Holdings, Inc. (Woven Planet), a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, has agreed to acquire Level 5, the self-driving division of Lyft, Inc., one of the largest ride-hailing companies in the world. This marks the first major deal for the newly established Woven Planet.

The deal will bring together world-class scientists and software engineers from Level 5, Woven Planet, and researchers from Toyota Research Institute, Inc. (TRI) already working together with Woven Planet. The resulting combined dream team of approximately 1,200 will represent one of the most diverse, well-resourced and talented groups in this field.

Todays announcement places Woven Planet at the center of the connected and automated driving movement by providing:

Talent: an international team of top-tier engineers, research scientists, and domain experts in mobility services.

Technology: a robust set of sensing, computing, and software assets, and strategic capabilities in automated driving systems

International Footprint: once the acquisition is complete, Woven Planet will have an expanded footprint beyond its Tokyo headquarters, with offices and engineering teams in Palo Alto, CA and London, UK.

In addition to the acquisition of Level 5, Woven Planet and Lyft have signed commercial agreements for utilization of the Lyft system and fleet data to accelerate the safety and commercialization of the automated-driving technology that Woven Planet will develop.

Lyft will receive approximately $550 million in cash, with $200 million paid upfront subject to certain closing adjustments and $350 million of payments over a five-year period.

As a result of this transaction, Woven Planet will accelerate revolutionizing the world of mobility and realize its mission of Mobility to Love, Safety to Live, fueling a broader vision of human happiness and well-being on the planet Earth.

Comment from James Kuffner, CEO, Woven Planet

This acquisition advances our mission to develop the safest mobility in the world at scale.The Woven Planet team, alongside the team of researchers at TRI, have already established a center of excellence for software development and technology in the Toyota Group. Bringing Level 5s world-class engineers and experts into the foldas well as additional technology resourceswill allow us to have even greater speed and impact. This deal will be key in weaving together the people, resources, and infrastructure that will help us to transform the world we live in through mobility technologies that can bring about a happier, safer future for us all.

Comment from Logan Green, CEO, Lyft

Todays announcement launches Lyft into the next phase of an incredible journey to bring our mission to life. Lyft has spent nine years building a transportation network that is uniquely capable of scaling autonomous vehicles. This deal brings together the vision, talent, resources and commitment to advance clean, autonomous mobility on a global scale.

Comment from George Kellerman, Head of Investments & Acquisitions, Woven Planet

With the acquisition of Level 5, Woven Planet is driving towards its mission to combine the innovative culture of Silicon Valley with world-renowned Japanese craftsmanship to create the mobility solutions of the future. This acquisition significantly accelerates our ability to bring technology solutions forward with an influx of exceptional engineers and leading-edge technology. It also provides a solid foundation for international expansion and future hiring efforts in the worlds strongest talent markets. We aim to become the center of interconnected mobility systems, weaving together a variety of technologies and partnerships extending far beyond the automotive industry. This acquisition marks the first in a coordinated strategy to consolidate leading technologies and talent to help realize this vision.

Comment from Luc Vincent, Executive Vice President, Autonomous Technology, Lyft

Both Woven Planet and Level 5 are focused on improving mobility through technology, bringing about a future that benefits people around the world. With this deal in place, I am very excited that the Level 5 team will be better positioned than ever to deliver on its long term mission to bring autonomous vehicles to market. As part of Woven Planet, we will be able to leverage exceptional automotive engineering expertise as well as the considerable resources of an iconic business, while continuing to move with the energy and speed of a start-up. It is exhilarating to be part of this new venture, expanding our mission and building the foundational technology that will support mobility and the smart cities of tomorrow.

About Woven Planet Group

At Woven Planet Group, we are on a mission to design a happier planet through secure, connected mobility solutions. Starting business in January 2021, Woven Planet Group is an expansion of the operations of Toyota Research Institute - Advanced Development, Inc. dedicated to bringing its vision, Mobility to Love, Safety to Live to life. Under this shared goal, our four companies, Woven Planet Holdings, Woven Core, Woven Alpha and Woven Capital are transforming how people live, work, and move through new innovations and investment in automated driving, robotics, smart cities, and more.

For more information, please visit: https://www.woven-planet.global/

About Lyft

Lyft was founded in 2012 and is one of the largest transportation networks in the United States and Canada. As the world shifts away from car ownership to transportation-as-a-service, Lyft is at the forefront of this massive societal change. Our transportation network brings together rideshare, bikes, scooters, car rentals and transit all in one app. We are singularly driven by our mission: to improve peoples lives with the worlds best transportation.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210426005826/en/
The Duchess of Cambridge has swapped the 'classic girl next door' beauty look for a refined Queen-in-waiting style during first decade of life in the royal family, make-up experts have revealed.

When Kate Middleton, now 39, first met Prince William at university, her go-to makeup was a liberal application of heavy black eyeliner on her bottom lids, and plenty of bronzer.

It was no suprise that she started opting for a more polished appearance around the time of their engagement and wedding, showcasing her famous bouncy blow dry, while still remaining wedded to her beloved kohl.

However, these days she has pared back her beauty look with softer eye make-up and matte skin to create an elegant look.

From her style as a 'youthful, fun, modern woman' who fell for Prince William to the 'coiffured' Queen-in-waiting, here FEMAIL reveals how Kate's appearance has changed during the last decade...

Since marrying into the royal family, Kate Middleton, 39, has overhauled her appearance, according to some of the UK's leading hair and makeup experts. Pictured: Kate returning home from a nightclub, in 2007

Beauty experts revealed the Duchess of Cambridge has subtly changed her styling, including her hair and makeup, during the past 10 years. Pictured: December 2020

BEFORE 2010: CLASSIC GIRL NEXT DOOR

When 19-year-old Kate met Prince William at St Andrews University, she was 'youthful, fun and modern' with her glowing skin and striking eye makeup.

Award-winning celebtrity makeup artist Joy Adenuga said Kate appeared the 'classic girl next door' as a student and adopted many make-up trends popular with teens at the time.

She explained: 'A barely there base, English rose blushed cheeks, with a burst of subtle black kohl liner and mascara were her staples. Her skin was sunkissed and lightly bronzed, and her natural glow shone.

Experts revealed the Duchess was the 'classic girl next door' during her time at St Andrews University, and, like any teenager, would often tried out different hairstyles and makeup looks (Pictured: Kate at a student fashion show in 2002)

'This had an incredibly youthful and free-spirited finish.'

Meanwhile celebrity hairstylist Dionne Smith revealed Kate's free-spirited and youthful lifestyle was also reflected in the way she styled her hair.

She explained: 'When Kate first came onto the scene, her hair reflected everything that she encapsulated - a youthful, fun, modern woman.

'Her style was very "of the moment" and could be seen on young women all over the UK.

'It was epitomised by a full bouncy blow dry with side parting, choppy layers and side fringe. Not to mention the incredible shine.

Meanwhile they revealed Kate's hair was epitomised by a full bouncy blow dry with side parting, choppy layers and side fringe. Pictured: At graduation in 2005

As Kate settled into life at St Andrews, Dionne said the royal pushed the boundaries of styling her locks.

She revealed: 'Back then, Kate was much more experimental and relaxed with her style, like we seen in her St Andrews catwalk show, with her curls and braids.'

According to the founders of Mishel Makeup, Michelle Abels and Shelley Greenham, by the time the Duchess graduated in 2005, she had further embraced a more dramatic style of makeup.

Michelle revealed: 'Kate glows at their graduation with a more luminous look but continuing with the classic feel.'

Michelle Abels and Shelley Greenham of Mishel Makeup said as the Duchess graduated and left St Andrews University in the spotlight as Prince William's girlfriend, she began to emphasis her eyes more with dark shadow and liner. Pictured: Prince William and Kate in 2008

Meanwhile Shelley said that after leaving university life behind in the spotlight as Prince William's girlfriend, the royal's make-up style evolved again.

She revealed the Duchess focused more heavily on emphasising her eyes with her shadow and liner, explaining: 'Concentrating on the eyes with a classic brown socket eyeshadow and dark liner around the eyes, just enough to show off her beautiful eyes without it looking heavy.

'Her eyebrows becoming a little darker at this stage, just the right amount of depth to show off their lovely shape.'

2010s: SUBTLY POLISHED

When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced their engagement in 2010, experts said Kate already appeared more refined than her university days.

Make-up artist Olivia Todd said Kate looked more 'polished' in engagement photographs taken at St James Palace to mark the occasion, and the royal continued to perfect her appearance ahead of her wedding in 2011.

Olivia revealed the images showcased the beginning of the Duchess' infamous 'bouncy blow-dry' styled hair.

She explained: 'In her engagement photos, her hair is far more polished, with the shine and shape you would only get from nourishing hair care - plus a really good blow dry.'

When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced their engagement in 2010, experts said Kate already appeared more refined than her university days, with 'more polished' hair and a 'softer smokier' makeup look (Pictured: Engagement shoot in 2010)

Meanwhile the Duchess' make-up had also taken a departure from the heavier, more dramatic style of her younger days.

Olivia explained: 'Her eye makeup is much smokier, due to being lined with a soft, heavier kohl pencil on the upper and lower lash line.

'Her eyebrows are fuller and more natural looking, I imagine due to using a brow pencil that you can apply in upward motions to mimic the natural hairlines.'

She also revealed the royal had also ditched the bronzed look for a lighter style to appear 'lightly sculptured.'

She explained: 'Her cheekbones are lightly sculpted with a bronzer that isn't overpowering but does enough to accentuate Kate's already chiseled cheekbones.

'Her lips are a nude with a touch of gloss for added hydration to create a full and youthful look to the lips.'

Olivia said Kate created the illusion of full and youthful lips on her wedding day (pictured) by hydrating them with a touch of gloss

Meanwhile Olivia said the Duchess refined her style to a 'picture perfect' look for her royal wedding day to Prince William on April 29 2011.

Kate famously did her own makeup on her wedding day, enlisting the help of beauty guru Arabella Preston to teach her all her tips and tricks.

Olivia said the royal appeared to have been perfectly prepped for the occasion, explaining: 'On her wedding day, Kate is picture perfect, her eyes are lightly accentuated and her cheekbones are sculpted in a subtle way that simple enhances - not masks.

'Think well-prepped moisturised skin, complimented by light foundation, a pop of rosy blush on the apples of the cheeks, lashings of mascara, no doubt a waterproof one, and a soft wash of warm toned browns on the eyes.'

Meanwhile Michelle and Shelley agreed, saying Kate's unusual choice to do her own make-up for the occasion was a wise decision from the bride.

Michelle explained: 'I think it was a good move for her.

'She had a few makeup lessons prior to her wedding, but she has always been good at her own makeup and knew how she wanted to look.'

She continued: 'The effect was stunning. Her own natural make-up was a perfect for a bridal look, concentrating on the eyes and keeping things natural otherwise, with pinky brown blushers and lipsticks.'

EARLY YEARS OF MARRIAGE: 'POWERFUL AND PRIMPED'

As she settled into life in The Firm, from public engagements to international tours, experts said the Duchess opted for a 'powerful' beauty look (Pictured: Duchess of Cambridge in 2011)

Joy said Kate slowly replaced her bronze skin for more peachy tones on the cheeks, and a matte finish and would emphasis her eyes with a strong smokey eye Pictured: Duchess of Cambridge visiting homeless charity in 2011

During her first year in the royal family, Kate began adopting a more dramatic makeup look.

As she settled into life in The Firm, from public engagements to international tours, experts said the Duchess opted for a 'powerful' beauty look.

Joy revealed: 'In the years straight after her marriage to Prince William, we could see Kate adopting a much stronger, smoky eye to public events.

'Her trusty liner and mascara became heavier, with dark brown and mauve eyeshadow which created a very powerful "she means business" look.'

Meanwhile the Duchess was also leaning away from 'youthful beauty trends' in order to appear more mature.

Joy explained: 'The golden, bronzed skin was still there, but was slowly being replaced with more peachy tones on the cheeks, and a matte finish.

'For me, this was a sign of her style maturing for her senior duties.'

Meanwhile the Duchess was also leaning away from 'youthful beauty trends' in order to appear more mature, sweeping her hair into preened up-dos for formal events (Pictured: Kate attending a St Patrick's Day Parade in 2013)

Olivia agreed, saying the royal's style subtly became more refined over the years.

She explained 'She looks progressively more primped and preened and elegant in early marriage.

'Her skin is nourished and radiant from beautiful skincare and her cheekbones, eyes, brows are subtly enhanced with careful placement of makeup to achieve a natural, yet polished look.'

And Dionne said the decade was the period when the Duchess became known for her iconic bouncy blow dry style.

She explained: 'In the years preceding the marriage, Kate continued to favour her big, bouncy blow dry signature style with slick waves and curls.

'It was all about the body, the shine, and a very "just stepped out of the salon" look.

But despite her look becoming more refined and mature, Dione suggested elements remained youthful.

She said: 'There was never a hair out of place, but it still looked youthful thanks to its vibrancy and volume.

'It's also the time we started to see Kate move from a side parting to a middle parting, following popular trends and fashion, as well as subtle caramel highlights which warmed up her face beautifully.

'At formal events, we saw a lot of half up looks, or loosely pulled up dos which retained an air of "young woman".'

In the 2010s we started to see Kate move from a side parting to a middle parting, following popular trends and fashion, as well as subtle caramel highlights which warmed up her face beautifully

2020s: A QUEEN-IN-WAITING

As she approaches a decade in the royal family, experts suggested Kate's look has refined further and 'more structured.'

Joy explained: 'Fast forward and Kate looks to have taken inspiration from senior Royals such as The Queen, and even Diana.

'Her skin is paler, her make-up has become matte, and the eyeliner and mascara have become much heavier.

'This can have an ageing affect at time, but Kate pulls it off as a future Queen. One thing Kate has carried through is her strong brow, which frames her face beautifully.'

Dionne said Kate's hair is a reflection of her position within the royal family and now appears more structured. Pictured: Duchess of Cambridge at Beating Retreat Ceremony in 2019

Meanwhile Dionne said Kate's locks have also matured from the loose-youthful styling.

She explained: 'As the years have gone on, we have seen Kate's hair become more structured and 'done' as he has matured and taken her place as a prominent senior Royal.

'Gone are the natural, flowing locks, and instead we see more structured and intricate up dos that replicate the older generation of the family. Her hair is incredibly polished, with not a strand out of place.

'To me, it seems like Kate's hair is a reflection of her position within the family, it must be impeccable at all times in a public setting.'

Ondine Cowley of Nicky Clarke said Kate has grown into a regal woman who carefully chooses her look Pictured: Duchess of Cambridge at Caernarfon Coastguard Search and Rescue Helicopter Base in 2019

Ondine Cowley, who is a Wedding Hair Specialist at Nicky Clarke in Mayfair, said Kate has always looked like a princess, but has become more 'regal' throughout the years.

She explained: 'She's grown into a regal woman, and holds herself amazingly.

'These days, Kate's hair doesn't look contrived  her carefully chosen style and look show she knows who she is and what she wants.

'Kate looks magical and amazing at the moment, she is holding her own and knows what she wants.'

Michelle and Shelley pointed to the Duchess' recent appearance at Prince Philip's funeral as an elegant look that would remain iconic for years

Michelle and Shelley pointed to the Duchess' recent appearance at Prince Philip's funeral as a look that would remain iconic for years.

Michelle explained: 'Kate looked so beautiful at Prince Philip's funeral. I felt her look was just perfect a picture of elegance.

'She accentuated her eyes with a slightly longer eyeliner, keeping it simple and wearing a stylish black face mask.

'Her hair so beautifully styled up in a neat updo away from her face, which complimented her magnificent head piece.

'Her makeup has changed slightly over the years, becoming like her hair more coiffured, but one can see if one goes by her make-up, she is a natural girl at heart. '
Partnership Enables CSPs to Reduce OpEx, Protect Revenue and Improve Customer Experience with Autonomous Network Monitoring

Anodot, the autonomous business monitoring company, today announced a strategic reseller agreement with LS International, a Swiss system integrator and technology provider. Anodot's industry-leading autonomous network monitoring capabilities will allow LS International to deliver end-to-end service experience monitoring to some of the world's largest communications service providers (CSPs) across Switzerland and Europe, enabling them to reduce OpEx, protect revenue, and improve customer experience.

Increasing network complexity resulting from new technologies, new services, and more vendors has created a siloed approach where many CSPs monitor each domain and layer in their network separately, lacking a single holistic view across the network. This leads to static monitoring that results in massive alert volumes, blind spots due to limited granularity, a dependence on manual processes, and most importantly, limited real-time visibility of the customers' service experience. Anodot's AI-based platform, combined with LS International's implementation and support expertise, will enable CSPs to:

Monitor end-to-end service experience based on collection of all data types, at any scale, and correlate anomalies across the entire telco stack to improve service experience.

Optimize operations performance and reduce operational expenses by detecting and resolving issues in real time.

Avoid customer churn and revenue loss associated with poor service.

"Telco organizations around the world struggle with the complexity of monitoring complex networks, which often makes it challenging to maintain and improve service quality. Poor service quality increases customer churn and damages the brand, and that's why early detection of service degradation or network failure is so important," said Davide Bortolotto, CEO at LS International. "Anodot's powerful ML-based autonomous network monitoring platform provides real-time cross-domain correlation at scale, creating accurate, pin-pointed alerts in context, enabling faster time to detection and resolution that results in better service experience."

LS International has partnerships and business alliances with technology providers, delivering a collaborative and customer-centric approach to networking.

"We are thrilled to join the long list of partners that are helping LS International simplify the complexity of networking for their customers across the globe," said Amir Kupervas, Managing Director at Anodot. "Telcos around the world rely on Anodot's autonomous network and service experience management capabilities, and we believe that our platform is a natural extension of the LS International stack that will make it easier for CSPs across Europe to find and fix network issues before they impact customers."

About Anodot

Anodot's Autonomous network monitoring platform provides the ability to monitor cross-layer network performance and service experience in one platform. We collect all data types, at scale, use AI/ML to detect and correlate anomalies across the entire telco stack. Our platform is the "brain" on top of the OSS that detects service-impacting incidents in real time. We help customers like T-Mobile and Megafon protect their revenues, reduce OPEX and improve service experience reducing the number of alerts by 90% and shortening incident Time to Resolve by 80%.

To learn more, visit www.anodot.com/oss-telecom and follow them on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

About LS International

LS International SA is a Swiss company with an international vision: it is part of Lantech Longwave, the Italian leading system integrator, and part of the Zucchetti Group, the first software house in Europe. Its main focus is creating simple and efficient ways to collaborate between people and companies through innovative IT networking technologies with a special attention for Cybersecurity.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005067/en/

Contacts:

Media Contacts

Joanna Cucci

fama PR for Anodot

anodot@famapr.com



LS INTERNATIONAL

Marta Brambilla

m.brambilla@lsinternational.ch
There are a lot of things people are sick of these days: bad news, limited gatherings, Zoom calls, incessant cleaning and disinfecting, and, judging from the comments I see on social media, the color gray. Whether it's a pale shade or a deep charcoal, gray seems to have overstayed its welcome.

I get that many of you are sick of the color, in all of its variations, especially given the gloomy year we've had.

Gray-haters (or grayters, as I like to call them) complain that the color is ubiquitous, and, to some degree, they're right. Walk into just about any design store, and you'll see swaths of gray upholstery, bedding and accessories. Rental properties and spec houses have rooms upon rooms of what my educated gray eye recognizes as Benjamin Moore's Gray Owl on the walls of bedrooms, living rooms, halls and bathrooms. Every HGTV home renovation that you see seems to be saturated with Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter or Sherwin-Williams's Morning Fog.

How do I know my way up and down the gray paint chips so well? I painted almost every room of my house a shade of gray almost 10 years ago, and I wrote about it. Gray has been my go-to neutral because of its versatility; like a pair of gray pants, it goes with everything.

But grayters call the color depressing, dull and too safe. Gillian Gillies, a Toronto-based, Scottish-born interior designer who has never embraced gray, says she hopes the pandemic has ended the color's run as the "in" neutral.

"We need hope, joy and the promise of brighter things, and I don't think gray can offer us that." She says her clients, who at one time were clamoring for gray, are suddenly requesting highly pigmented, saturated colors, such as aubergine, saffron yellow and all shades of green.

Colson Horton, a stylist and founder of ADR Creative in Nashville, recently left a mostly gray-hued house for a quintessential 1970s ranch house that even has a "Brady Bunch"-style sunken living room. She has gutted the home, tearing down walls and adding dentil molding and paneling. And she has painted the rooms various shades of white, blue and green.

"My old house had very tall ceilings and was very open, so gray suited the space, because it didn't overwhelm everything," Horton says. "It was a neutral palette that worked for the height and the scale of the rooms."

Her new house, though, backs up to a state park, so it was important to her to carry the colors of the house's natural surroundings to the inside, hence the focus on greens and blues. Other colors Horton is using in her house echo those that Gillies is gravitating toward: mustard yellow, ochre, chartreuse, mulberry and rust. "I felt like I needed some vibrancy," Horton says. "Gray felt too even of a playing field, and I wanted more energy. Gray doesn't move me in a way that I need right now."

Jared Hughes, an Atlanta-based designer, is not averse to gray - as long as it's a warm gray that veers closer to a brown or black. His go-to gray is Farrow & Ball's Pavilion Gray. What he doesn't like are grays that go too purple or pink. His other decorating peeve is when entire rooms are layered only in shades of gray. "Those rooms have such a Restoration Hardware circa [five to seven] years ago look. Totally one-note," Hughes says. "I think in general, gray became overused, and not in the right ways - too mainstream - and it needs a break." For an alternative, he suggests Farrow & Ball's Stone White, a cool neutral with green undertones.

I, too, am feeling restless about some of my gray rooms. My living room (painted with Gray Owl) is about to be done over in a textured Robin's Egg Blue wallpaper. The room has a large skylight, windows and French doors that show off lots of sky, and I have decided that rather than have the room mirror a gray, cloudy day, I want it to reflect a brighter, blue day. But other parts of my house - the guest room, guest bathroom, hallways and stairwell - will keep their Gray Owl paint, because it continues to be a solid neutral that unites the spaces, and it has allowed me to successfully mix in other colors and layer art and pattern.

I am also keeping the Benjamin Moore Whale Gray in my TV room. It's the perfect cozy color for movie-watching, and it complements the mustard yellow and saffron accents I've layered into the room. (I guess I'm also gravitating toward those colors.) And I don't think I will ever change the woodwork and trim of my bathroom, painted in Benjamin Moore's Coventry Gray. It is still one of my favorite colors, with just the right blue undertone.

The thing is, I will always count gray as a viable neutral. I find that it works better with my aesthetic than its counterpart, beige. And although I love white, gray tones are just that much more of a color commitment and statement. Maybe, like Hughes says, there has been too much gray, and a natural correction is taking place. But regardless of your feelings about the color, I think everyone needs to stop judging other people for using it. The same color of gray that reads as depressing for some feels cozy and inviting to others.

Your home should be a reflection of what you like, regardless of what's hot on Instagram or design blogs. Full stop. And remember: Decorating is a process. It's about evolving and finding what makes you and your loved ones happy. Color is one effective way to get to that happiness. If you are drawn to gray - or any color, for that matter - go ahead and embrace it. Or if gray is no longer bringing you joy, then maybe it's time for you to let it go. But only you can make that call.

- - -

Elizabeth Mayhew, a "Today" show style expert and former magazine editor, is the author of "Flip! for Decorating."
Police said theyre searching for multiple suspects accused of shooting a man in the chest in Dudley late Tuesday in what some news outlets are reporting was a home invasion.

Dudley police officers and fire and EMS personnel responded around midnight to 12 Green St. for a report of a man who was shot, according to authorities.

Emergency responders arrived a short time later and treated the 26-year-old man, a resident of the home, who had suffered a gunshot wound to his chest. He was driven by ambulance to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester and is expected to recover, the Dudley Police Department said in a statement.

According to police, multiple suspects forced their way into the first-floor apartment at 12 Green St. and confronted the victim. A woman, who is also a resident of the home, as well as two children were present at the time of the shooting. No one else was injured.

NBC Boston reported the break-in at the apartment was a home invasion. Dudley Police Chief told the news outlet the injured man is in serious condition and that authorities are actively seeking anyone who was involved.

After the shooting, the suspects ran away in an unknown direction, according to the department.

Authorities dont believed the shooting was a random act, police said.

Massachusetts State Police and members of the Webster and Oxford police departments are helping investigate the incident. The investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information or possible video evidence has been asked to call Dudley police at (508) 943-4411.
The wetland is located at the main entrance to the village of Riverhurst. This image was taken about five years ago during a period of higher water levels.
There could be as many as 15 Moon Trees in the UK  trees grown from seeds flown around the Moon by NASA astronaut Stuart Roosa in 1971. But where are they now?



The RAS & @spacegovuk would love to know - if you have any information, get in touch!https://t.co/PjJLJdmsUK pic.twitter.com/sOM4k82FYv  Royal Astronomical Society (@RoyalAstroSoc) April 20, 2021

The third mission to the Moon took off in 1971 with Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, and Stuart Roosa on board. Like both other missions before them, two of the astronauts, Shepard and Mitchell, descended down to the surface of the Moon while Roosa stayed in orbit, overseeing their actions.Roosa, a former U.S. Forest Service (USFS) smoke jumper, had with him small, sealed plastic bags containing up to 500 seeds from five tree species: Loblolly Pine, Sycamore, Sweetgum, Redwood, and Douglas Fir.They were taken up there as part of a joint project between NASA and USFS, one that tried to find out whether tree seeds that were sent to space were still viable.Despite the long journey in zero-g and an incident that caused the bags to burst open once Apollo 14 was back on Earth and undergoing decontamination, it seems most of them still ended up as trees.Starting with 1976, when America celebrated its bicentennial, these seeds were planted all across the nation (full list of locations here ). Later, they would be shipped to other countries as well, including Brazil, Switzerland, and Japan.Presently known as Moon Trees, these trees are even found in the UK. At least, that is what the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) believes, and in the spirit of that belief, it launches a cry for help of sorts.RAS says there could be up to 15 Moon Trees on UK soil, but the problem is it has no idea where they could be. Finding them is even more challenging considering how there are no records of the seeds coming to the UK, which is why the organization is asking for the publics help
Good morning, its Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Joseph R. Biden delivers his first State of the Union address tonight, although in a presidents first year in office these speeches are officially known as addresses to a joint session of Congress. But presidential scholars view them as the new chief executives State of the Union speech, and most journalists do as well. Whatever they are called, Joe Biden has attended dozens of them: He served six terms in the Senate and was vice president for eight years as well. And now, at age 78, he will enter that storied chamber as the commander-in-chief and ascend to the podium as the 46th president of the United States.

During his 36 years on Capitol Hill, Biden was considered verbose even by U.S. senator standards, which is saying something. Tonight, though, the microphone is all his.

Im obliged to mention that South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is delivering the Republican rebuttal. This is an odd custom, albeit not a new one: Dating to 1966, it is billed as the opposition partys response to the State of the Union speech. The obvious problem is that it has to be written before the president speaks, so its not much of a response, although it did help produce a quirky addition to American English -- the word prebuttal. I covered them for years and can remember little other than Marco Rubio gulping from a water bottle and Bobby Jindal getting panned (though I cant recall anything specific Jindal did wrong). Its the format that often sinks them.

Another bit of SOTU trivia: Three politicians have delivered both the State of the Union and, in a previous job, their partys response. They are Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush. Tonight, Joe Biden will become the fourth.

With that, Id point you to RCPs front page, which presents our poll averages, videos, breaking news stories, and aggregated opinion pieces spanning the political spectrum. Todays include Alana Abramson and Brian Bennett previewing the big speech (Time); a Q&A with James Carville on wokeness (Vox); Jordan Davidson on wearing masks outdoors (The Federalist); and Tom Friedman on U.S.-China tensions (New York Times). We also offer original material from our own reporters, columnists, and contributors:

* * *

San Franciscos Dubious Cure for Intractable Homelessness. The city has applied ineffective remedies to a perilous trifecta of people at once homeless, psychotic, and addicted, Christopher F. Rufo reports for RealClearInvestigations.

A Fiduciarys Duty Is to Retirees Alone. Patrick Pizzella assails the undoing of a Labor Department rule that made it more difficult for retirement plans to direct investments into socially conscious funds.

Prioritize the Western Hemisphere in Vaccine Aid. At RealClearWorld, M.F. Bozmoski and Wazim Mowla urge the Biden administration to boost vaccination efforts in Central America and the Caribbean ahead of hurricane season, which is sure to slow inoculation progress.

Smiling While He Steamrolls. Brian Burch writes that Joe Bidens first 100 days have brought a partisan wrecking ball to the priorities of religious voters.

UPenn COVID Policy Underpinned by Junk Science. At RealClearPolicy, Frederick M. Hess and Hayley Sanon spotlight flimsy research cited by the school in adjusting standards for female and minority faculty members impacted by the pandemic.

We Must Strengthen Our Laboratory System. At RealClearHealth, Scott J. Becker and Julie Khani highlight the need to bolster a research system that has proved life-saving during the pandemic.

Why Simply Returning to the JCPOA Would Be a Mistake. At RealClearDefense, Yossi Kuperwasser writes that flaws in the original Iran nuclear deal have become more apparent in the years since it was signed.

Chinas Attempt to Dominate Low-Earth Orbit. At RealClearScience, Brandon Weichert warns that the Xi regime will place military and geopolitical goals ahead of peaceful ones once it assembles a new space station.

Climate Change and Social Control. At RealClearEnergy, Rupert Darwall considers the overarching impact of decarbonization efforts.

A Roadmap for Improving American Civic Education. At RealClearWire, Mike Sabo explores the new framework aimed at inculcating the principles of citizenship among K-12 students.

* * *

Carl M. Cannon

Washington Bureau chief, RealClearPolitics

@CarlCannon (Twitter)

ccannon@realclearpolitics.com
A sign of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 24, 2020. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

WHO Urged to Invite Taiwan to Participate in World Health Assembly

An international group of parliamentarians on Tuesday launched a global campaign urging the World Health Organization (WHO) to invite Taiwan to participate in the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA), warning that it is allowing a dangerous gap in the global network.

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) released a video statement featuring 15 legislators from 12 legislatures across Europe, North America, and Australia, all of whom urged the UN agency to allow Taiwan to participate in the 74th WHA in Geneva, Switzerland, scheduled to take place from May 24 to June 1.

BREAKING: #IPAC launches global campaign calling on the @WHOto invite Taiwan  to participate in the upcoming World Health Assembly. If Taiwan is left out, we all suffer. Its time to #LetTaiwanHelp.  Watch our video statement below  pic.twitter.com/RWwqUFQN4h  Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (@ipacglobal) April 27, 2021

The assembly is the WHOs decision-making body.

The IPAC was established last year to coordinate policies among democratic nations to address the Chinese regimes threats.

Taiwan is not a WHO member state. But from 2009 to 2016, Taiwans health ministers were allowed to take part in the WHA as observers.

Since 2017, Taiwan has been barred by Beijing from taking part in the assembly and its meetings.

Beijing opposes Taiwan from taking part in any international meetings and organizations because it sees the island as a part of its territory, despite the fact that the self-ruled island has a functioning democratic government with its own military, currency, and constitution.

The parliamentarians in their video criticized the WHO for jeopardizing the health and wellbeing of Taiwans 23 million citizens and creating a dangerous gap in the global network by continuing to refuse Taiwans participation in the meeting.

In a statement, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) called on the health body to stop acting as Communist Chinas puppet and accept Taiwan as a member-state.

We must hold Communist China accountable as they continue to intimidate our peaceful and democratic ally, Taiwan, Scott said.

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) accused the WHO of being heavily influenced by the Chinese regime for too long.

Its time for all of us to stand firm and demand that the WHO allow the full participation of Taiwan. Today, Im joining my colleagues to send a clear messagewe need to #LetTaiwanHelp, he said in a statement on Twitter.

As the global community continues to struggle to combat COVID, its important that [Taiwan] be allowed to share its experience and best practices with the world. Together, we can work to overcome the pandemic and future global health challenges, added Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Other lawmakers featured in the video included Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rep. and Chair of the House Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and Nonproliferation Ami Berra, UK MP and former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan-Smith, and Australian Senator Kimberly Kitching.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan thanked IPAC for recognizing the need to allow Taiwans participation in the upcoming event.

Your staunch support of #Taiwan & its right to participate in the activities, mechanisms & meetings of the @WHO like the #WHA is greatly appreciated by the government & the people. Yes! #TaiwanCanHelp, it said on Twitter.

Frank Fang contributed to this report.
Yves here. I would not be so concerned about the prospect of more Federal control of primary and secondary school education if they had proven to be any good at it. And given our societys increasing orientation toward treating education as vocational training as opposed to producing competent citizens who can function well at a wide range of cognitive tasks and help school the next generation, you would think theyd sponsor a technical track to help non-college bound students get specific workplace skills and internships with potential employers. But no, were likely to get more half-baked testing schemes.

But having said that, there are some outlier bad ideas that do deserve to be quashed. I recently met a high school chemistry teacher in California and overheard one of her classes on Zoom. She teaches in a magnet school in a poor-ish area of the state. I was shocked at how basic the class was (I was a math and science nerd in high school) and said I noticed how different her chemistry course was from the one Id taken many years ago. She understood immediately what I was hinting at.

This teacher said the reason high school chemistry had been so dumbed down from the level she and I had gotten (and remember this woman is a generation younger than me) is that many students in her class had deficient reading and math skills. And that was because no student in California could be held back a grade if the parents said no.

By Nicholas Tampio, Professor of Political Science, Fordham University. Originally published at The Conversation

The president has called on Congress to make a historic investment in the Title I grant program. The program provides financial assistance to school districts that have high numbers or percentages of students from low-income families. The Biden administration wants US$36.5 billion for the program, an increase of $20 billion from the 2021 enacted level.

As a political scientist who examines education policy, I believe this larger influx of cash would give the president more power to shape the structure of American education.

I also believe it could make it harder for states to push back against the federal government when it comes to such matters as standardized testing.

History shows how a larger federal role is part of an ongoing trend. Since the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the federal government has attached conditions that states and districts must meet to get federal education funds. Based on these conditions, if Biden succeeds in his plan to increase federal spending by 41% in fiscal 2022, then the federal government will have even more control over school spending.

From Cradle to College

In 2009, the Obama administration launched a competitive grant program, Race to the Top, that financially rewarded states that invested in early childhood education, standards to promote college and career readiness and systems to collect students test data throughout their time in public education. The Biden administration is similarly seeking to build an education system that takes young people from cradle to college.

When President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965, federal investment in public education more than doubled from under $1 billion to nearly $2 billion. Upon signing the act, President Johnson said, From our very beginnings as a nation, we have felt a fierce commitment to the ideal of education for everyone. One of the debates since then, however, has been how much the federal government should steer  as well as help fund  public education.

The 1994 version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act required states to adopt standards-based education reform for all schools, not just high-poverty ones, to receive Title I grants.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 expected states to test students in reading and math on a fixed schedule, bring all students to the proficient level by the 2013-2014 school year and hold schools accountable for student outcomes.

In 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act, which gave states some leeway about their education plans. Still, the new law required states to place much greater weight on academic indicators such as test scores and graduation rates than more subjective measures.

Conditional Contributions

The federal government covers about 8.5% of K-12 school districts budgets. However, the percentage varies by state. In fiscal 2017 in New York, for example, federal funding made up approximately $1.6 billion of the more than $70 billion that the state spent on elementary and secondary education. Given that there are costs associated with meeting the conditions necessary to get Title I funds, it might make sense for the state to forgo Title I grants and instead increase state school aid for high-need school districts.

The countrys elementary and high school education does not mandate what states and school districts do. Instead, school districts and states apply for Title I grants, and the federal government comes up with the conditions to get the money.

People close to the Biden administration are aware of Title Is power to nudge states and school districts to do things they might not otherwise want to do. For instance, Ary Amerikaner, vice president of The Education Trust, a nonprofit that advocates for low-income students and students of color, as well as a member of Bidens education transition team, supports the requested $20 billion increase in Title I. However, she wants the Biden administration to leverage it to change the vast rest of the public education spending inequities in our country.

Resisting Federal Authority

Or take the topic of administering tests during a pandemic. In February 2021, Ian Rosenblum, acting assistant secretary of education, told chief state school officers that the Biden administration expects states to administer federal tests. We remain committed to supporting all states in assessing the learning of all students, he stated. The U.S. Department of Education has denied requests for a testing waiver from some states, including New York, Georgia and South Carolina.

The chancellor and commissioner of the New York State Education Department told the Biden administration that his department was deeply disappointed with the U.S. Department of Educations denial of its request for a testing waiver. They added that canceling state assessments would be the most appropriate and fair thing to do for students living through a pandemic.

In a decision that seems to thwart the Biden administrations expectation that states assess the learning of all students, New York officials decided this spring to have students opt in if they want to take the state test.

New York education leaders are taking a risk that the federal government might financially retaliate. In 2005, the U.S. Secretary of Education threatened to withhold $76 million from Utahs federal education funds if the state did not use No Child Left Behinds way to measure student achievement. In 2019, the U.S. Department of Education told Arizona that it could lose $340 million in Title I funding if it did not comply with federal testing requirements.

Bidens pitch to increase Title I funding is not just about investing more federal money in education. It is also about giving more education power to the federal government.
Two Miami Herald series are sharing first place in this years Esserman-Knight Journalism Awards, which honor local reporting in South Florida. A total of six reporting teams will share $23,000 in prize money for their work in public service journalism, according to an announcement Wednesday.

The late South Florida auto dealer Ron Esserman, his wife, Charlene, and their children Jim, Susan, Lisa and Laura created the awards in partnership with the Knight Foundation in early 2020 to invest in local journalism. This years awards drew 61 nominations  almost three times as many as the first year.

Sharing first place was a series by immigration reporter Monique O. Madan documenting conditions for Immigration and Customs detainees throughout the pandemic. Over the course of the year, Madan interviewed more than 370 people behind bars to detail living conditions and expose gaps in immigration procedures. Her story of a Cuban detainee led to his release after 11 years in ICE custody.

Also sharing first place was a series by a Miami Herald team that investigated the cruise ship industrys handling of the pandemic. Tourism reporter Taylor Dolven and colleagues created a sophisticated database revealing that outbreaks on cruise ships were far more common than companies initially claimed. Long after passengers returned home, Dolven continued to follow shipboard workers forced to stay at sea for months, sometimes without pay, presenting their despair and struggle to return home. The team included visual journalist Emily Michot, investigative reporters Sarah Blaskey and Nicholas Nehamas, climate change reporter Alex Harris, audience growth editor Forrest Milburn and business editor Jane Wooldridge.

Jacqueline Charles, the Heralds Caribbean correspondent, received an honorable mention for documenting the pandemics impact on Miamis Haitian-American community and the 10-year anniversary of the deadly earthquake in Port-au-Prince.

Public service journalism brings value to peoples lives, said Karen Burkett Rundlet, director of the Knight Foundations journalism program. This is work that makes a difference, whether its creating awareness and increasing dialogue about an issue or actually changing a law.

Story continues

A team at WPLG TV  including reporter Glenna Milberg, photographer Mario Alonso and producer Natalie de Varona  were named runner-up. Additional honorable mentions went to Mario Ariza, Cindy Goodman and David Fleshler of the Sun Sentinel and Dan Christensen of the Florida Bulldog.

As local news has shrunk there are fewer reporters in many American cities, Burkett Rundlet said. Whats left is national news and its getting more and more polarized. The thing about local news is theres much more of a community connection.

Top winners will talk about their stories at a virtual event May 13. Yamiche Alcindor, PBS White House correspondent and Miami native, will be honored for excellence in journalism at the event. Registration is now available at essermanknightawards.org.
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Boris Johnson faces the threat of tough sanctions from the House of Commons standards watchdog if it is confirmed he took a loan to pay for refurbishment of his Downing Street flat.

The prime minister was facing growing pressure over the 88,000 refit, with Labour demanding an investigation into whether Mr Johnsons former press secretary misled the media by denying that Conservative Party funds were used and whether there was a cover-up by senior members of the government.

And, in a letter obtained by The Independent, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called on the head of the civil service Simon Case urgently to reveal whether any donor received anything in return for helping the PM with the lavish renovation of the No 11 apartment.

A No 10 spokesperson attempted to kill off the growing controversy by repeating Fridays statement that Mr Johnson had personally paid for any spending above the 30,000 permitted annually from the public purse, adding: Conservative Party funds are not being used for this.

But critics said that key questions remain to be answered, as the statement did not exclude the possibility that party money was initially used but had now been returned by the PM, or resolve the issue of whether Mr Johnson had been forced to take out a loan in order to repay the cash.

If the money was originally received as a loan, the PM could fall foul of rules requiring him to update the register of MPs interests within 28 days.

And he is already under a warning that he faces a tough punishment for further breaches of the rules  even including suspension from the Commons  after twice previously being admonished for filing interests late.

In a report in 2019, shortly before Mr Johnson became PM, parliamentary standards commissioner Kathryn Stone revealed that he had missed the deadline for registering a financial interest in a property in Somerset, just months after apologising for a delay in declaring outside earnings and assuring her that his records were now up-to-date.

Ms Stone said the late declaration showed a pattern of behaviour which could be seen as a lack of respect for Commons rules. And the cross-party Committee on Standards warned that any repeat of his over-casual attitude would be treated as a matter which may call for more serious sanction.

As Mr Johnson has already apologised to the commissioner and the Commons for previous lapses  and been ordered to meet with the registrar of interests to have his obligations as an MP explained  the next most serious sanction could involve a recommendation for suspension, though this would almost certainly be rejected in a Commons vote.

One Conservative former minister told The Independent that Tory MPs were less concerned about voters views of the propriety of the flat refit than about the impact of the PM appeared to regard himself as above the rules.

Outside the metropolitan bubble, theres not an enormous sucking of teeth about his accommodation, said the MP. If anything, voters are puzzled as to why the PM has to pay for the wallpaper in his office, and a lot of them think good old Boris.

What people on the Tory benches are worried about is not the flat, its this idea that he has an entitlement to be above the rules because hes Boris. If people are playing fast and loose with the conventions, that is very dangerous.

Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross three times declined to say that he regarded Mr Johnson as a man of honour and integrity in an ITV interview.

A survey by pollsters Ipsos Mori found that a massive 59 per cent of voters do not regard Mr Johnson as trustworthy, compared to little more than a third (35 per cent) who do. By comparison 42 per cent regard Labour leader Keir Starmer as trustworthy and 41 per cent do not. David Cameron, whose lobbying on behalf of finance firm Greensill kicked off the latest sleaze furore, was seen as untrustworthy by 74 per cent.

However, Mr Johnsons overall satisfaction ratings were unchanged and Ipsos Mori head of political research Gideon Skinner said: As previous leaders have shown, you dont have to be ahead on trust to win elections if the public thinks you have other strengths.

In his letter to Mr Case, Sir Ed Davey said there were legitimate concerns about the ultimate source of the money used to refurbish the flat.

Leaked emails suggest that Tory donor Lord Brownlow paid the Conservative Party 58,000 last year, to cover payments to party had made to a planned trust intended to look after the funding of future renovations, which he was expected to chair.

But the trust was not established, and Downing Street today said that a review being conducted by cabinet secretary Mr Case and expected to take a few weeks would look into whether it was an option.

Details of any loans or gifts to the PM would normally be published in the twice-yearly register of ministerial interests. But no register has been published since July last year, and Downing Street says this cannot happen until the appointment of a new independent adviser to replace Sir Alex Allan, who quit in November after Mr Johnson overruled his finding that Priti Patel bullied Home Office staff.

Sir Ed said that any delay in making details of the funding public was unacceptable, telling the cabinet secretary: You must act decisively to clear up any questions about: the source of this money; whether anyone who contributed funds for this purpose received anything from the prime minister in return; and what action wil be taken if any wrongdoing is found to have been committed.

Ms Stratton told reporters on 8 March that Conservative Party funds are not being used to pay for any refurbishment of the Downing Street estate. And on 26 March, Tory chair Amanda Milling said that party funds are not being used to pay for the flat, but declined to say whether they had previously been used. In a letter to Mr Case, Labours deputy leader Angela Rayner demanded an investigation into whether the former press secretary knowingly misled journalists and the public, or was misled herself by senior members of the government who seem intent on a cover-up.

A No 10 spokesperson said: Any costs of wider refurbishment this year beyond those provided for by the annual allowance have been met by the prime minister personally. Conservative Party funds are not being used for this.
Work has stopped on a new Stephen Sondheim musical based on two films by Spanish surrealist director Luis Bunuel, the New York Times reports.

News of the musical, which was to be inspired by the films The Exterminating Angel and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, first broke in 2014. Sondheim's original collaborator on the production, which was said to be about a group of friends trying to dine together at the end of the world, was book writer David Ives. According to various publications, Ives may have departed the project at some point in the last half-dozen years, with Jeremy Sams eventually coming on as a replacement.

Various mini-readings and workshops of the show  dubbed Bunuel in the press, but, according to Sondheim, never officially titled that  had been held through the years at the Public Theater, with Joe Mantello directing. Various actors involved through the years reportedly included Michael Cerveris, Shuler Hensely, Heidi Blickenstaff, Sierra Boggess, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Michael C. Hall, and Jennifer Simard.

Sondheim, 91, did not respond to the New York Times story with comment, though a spokesperson for the Public told the publication that the composer had informed them last year that the musical was no longer in development.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi chairs a video conference of Foreign Ministers of China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on coping with COVID-19, April 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Xiang) Foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Tuesday agreed to deepen cooperation as South Asian countries are facing a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted a video conference with his five counterparts, discussing efforts to consolidate anti-coronavirus cooperation including vaccine supply, to boost post-epidemic economic recovery, and to maintain sound international environment for the development of all countries. China expresses deep sympathy for the raging pandemic in India and extends its sincere condolences to the Indian people, Wang said. "China is ready to provide support and assistance to the Indian people at any time according to the needs of India," Wang said. He expressed the hope that Tuesday's meeting, to which India was also invited, will act as the assistance to India's fight against the pandemic. "China will uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity, stand firmly with the people of South Asian countries, and join hands and unite until all countries in the region eventually prevail over the pandemic," Wang said. Calling on the six countries to consolidate consensus on cooperating in the fight against COVID-19, Wang said the countries should continue to oppose attempts of labeling the virus and politicizing the epidemic, in order to prevent interference in international anti-epidemic cooperation. China is willing to promote vaccine cooperation with other countries through flexible methods such as free aid, commercial procurement, and filling and production of vaccines, under the framework of the six-nation cooperation mechanism, so that people in South Asia can obtain more diversified and stable vaccine supplies, according to Wang. He said China is also willing to establish a China-South Asia emergency supplies reserve following friendly consultations with all parties. On boosting the post-epidemic recovery, Wang said China proposes to establish a China-South Asia poverty reduction and development cooperation center to exchange experiences in poverty reduction with other countries. In the third quarter of this year, a forum on rural e-commerce and poverty reduction in South Asian countries and China will be held to build a new platform for poverty reduction, he said. Calling on all parties to maintain an international and regional environment that is conducive to the development of all countries, Wang said China will work with countries in the region to defend the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international laws, and to resist illegal acts of interfering in other countries' internal affairs and coercing other countries to choose sides. Wang's proposals were supported by the other foreign ministers, who said that vaccines should be distributed under the principle of fairness and equality, instead of being monopolized by a few countries. They spoke highly of China's efforts in achieving availability and affordability of vaccines in developing countries. The foreign ministers said their countries are willing to work with China to continue to deepen the joint construction of the Belt and Road, maintain the stability and security of the industrial and supply chains, strengthen cooperation in non-traditional security areas such as poverty reduction and food, and discuss measures to facilitate personnel exchange and commodity circulation based on the regular epidemic prevention and control. The six foreign ministers issued a joint statement on cooperation in fighting the epidemic after the meeting.
As he rounds out his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden's focus on reining in the coronavirus during the early months of his administration seems to have paid off: He can check off nearly all his campaign promises centered on the pandemic.

Biden has delivered on a number of his biggest campaign pledges focused on climate change and the economy as well. But some issues have proved to be tougher for the administration - including immigration, where Biden is grappling with how to enact promised reforms in the face of a steep increase in unaccompanied minors seeking to cross the border. On some of his promises, Biden is waiting for Congress to act.

Where Biden stands on some of his key promises:

IMMIGRATION

- Raise refugee cap to 125,000, up from the 15,000 set by President Donald Trump.

Nowhere close. The White House first said it would stick to Trump's 15,000 cap due to "humanitarian concerns." After facing backlash from Democrats, it shifted gears and said Biden would increase the historically low cap on refugees set by Trump - but probably not all the way to the 62,500 that Biden previously had planned. And the numbers actually admitted this year are likely to be closer to 15,000.

- Surge humanitarian resources to the border and encourage public-private partnerships to deal with an increase in migration there.

Yes, but is it enough? The Department of Homeland Security has deployed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help deal with the major increase of border arrivals, and Biden signed an executive order asking officials to prepare plans for using humanitarian resources there. He has yet to establish any new public-private partnerships. The largest number of unaccompanied children ever at the border created massive overcrowding at Customs and Border Protection facilities and set off a mad scramble for temporary space at convention centers, military bases and other large venues.

- Reform the U.S. asylum system.

Incomplete. Biden signed an executive order in February directing his officials to craft a strategy for migration, including refugees and asylum seekers. Biden has promised to unveil a new "humane" asylum system but he and his aides have been mum on timing and offered no specifics. Hes eliminated some Trump-era policies, like a requirement that new asylum seekers wait in Mexico. But he has kept a Trump-era policy that allows Customs and Border Protection to expel migrants who enter the country without authorization to avoid the spread of COVID-19. And Biden has yet to articulate a plan to manage asylum flows beyond proposing that billions of dollars be spent to address root causes in Central America.

- Deliver a comprehensive immigration reform bill to Congress within his first 100 days.

Done.

- End travel restrictions on people from a number of Muslim-majority countries.

Done.

- Reverse Trump-era order expanding criteria for deporting immigrants and return to Obama-era principle of prioritizing deportations of immigrants posing a national security, border security or public health risk.

Done.

- Stop funding and building the border wall.

Done.

- Reverse Trumps public charge rule discouraging immigrants from using public benefits.

Done.

- Restore the Obama-era principle of deporting foreigners who are seen as posing a national security threat or who have committed crimes in addition to the crime of illegal entry.

Done.

- Freeze deportations for 100 days.

Attempted, but blocked in court.

- Streamline and improve the naturalization process for green card holders.

In progress. Biden signed an executive order in February ordering a plan to improve the naturalization process, and the Department of Homeland Security has since revoked some Trump-era rules, sought public input into naturalization barriers and reverted to a 2008 version of the U.S. civics test for applicants, considered more accessible than the Trump-era revamp.

- End family separation and create task force to reunite families separated at the border.

In progress. Biden signed executive orders ending the policy and establishing a task force focused on reuniting families. The task force is making slow progress as it pores over thousands of records.

- Order a review of Temporary Protected Status.

No review has been ordered, but Bidens Department of Homeland Security has granted TPS for Venezuelans and Burmese, extended it for Syrians and extended a related program for Liberians.

- Convene a regional meeting of leaders, including officials from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Canada, to address the factors driving migration and propose a regional resettlement solution.

Not yet. Vice President Kamala Harris, tasked with dealing with the root causes of migration, has spoken to the leaders of Mexico and Guatemala, but no regional meeting is on the horizon.

- Protect those often described as "Dreamers" - young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents - and their families by reinstating DACA, the Obama-era policy defending them from deportation.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in March his agency was issuing a rule to "preserve and fortify DACA," but the policy faces a Texas court challenge that could invalidate protections for those often described as "dreamers."

- Ensure that personnel within Immigration and Customs Enforcement and within Customs and Border Protection abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.

Biden included funding for training and investigating misconduct in his immigration bill and in the budget he proposed to Congress. His administration has faced questions about allegations of abuse in at least one Texas facility, which are being investigated.

- End prolonged migrant detention and invest in a case-management system to process people.

Theres been no announcement of added investments in case-management systems. The administration did roll out plans to release parents and children within 72 hours of their arrival in the United States in March. Officials subsequently acknowledged that hundreds of children have been held by Border Patrol for much longer, due to an increase in unaccompanied minors arriving at the border and a lack of facilities to house them.

___

DOMESTIC POLICY

- Reverse transgender military ban.

Done.

- Establish police oversight board.

Abandoned. The Biden administration said it was scrapping the idea, after consultations with civil rights groups and police unions that said it would be counterproductive.

- Direct attorney general to deliver a list of recommendations for restructuring the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other Justice Department agencies to better enforce gun laws.

Not yet.

- Direct FBI to issue report on delays in background checks for gun purchases.

Not yet.

- Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act

Requires congressional action.

- Sign Equality Act

Requires congressional action.

- Create Cabinet-level working group focused on promoting union organizing tasked with delivering a plan to increase union density and address economic inequality.

Not yet.

___

COVID-19

- Rejoin World Health Organization.

Done.

- Ensure 100 million vaccines have been administered before the end of his first 100 days, later increased to 200 million.

Done.

- Increase access to testing and establish pandemic testing board.

Done.

- Issue mask mandate on federal property and ask Americans to wear masks for 100 days.

Done.

- Extend nationwide restrictions on home evictions and foreclosures.

Done.

- Continue to pause student loan payments.

Done.

- Safely reopen a majority of K-8 schools.

According to data collected by Burbio, a school-tracking site, as of April 18 62% of schools offered in-person learning every day. Its unclear what percentage of those schools are elementary schools.

- Push for passage of $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief legislative package.

Done; the bill passed in March.

___

CLIMATE

- Rescind Keystone XL oil pipeline permit, protect the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, rejoin the Paris climate agreement and embrace the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to reduce harmful hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.

Done.

- Convene climate world summit and persuade nations to set more ambitious emissions pledges.

Done.

- Ban new oil and gas leases on federal lands and offshore waters.

Sort of - he's imposed an indefinite moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters.

- Reverse Trump rollbacks on 100 public health and environmental rules.

In progress. Biden signed an executive order on Inauguration Day ordering a review of Trump-era rules on the environment, public health and science, and has begun the process of rolling back some.

___

ECONOMY

- Roll back Trump's 2017 cuts to corporate tax rates.

In progress. Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from the 21% rate set by Trump's 2017 overhaul of the tax code.

- Provide $2,000 in direct payments as part of COVID-19 relief.

Done. The aid package approved right before Biden became president offered $600 in direct payments to eligible Americans. Biden said the payment should have been $2,000. His $1.9 trillion relief package included $1,400 in additional direct payments, which with the prior round adds up to $2,000.

- Pause federal student debt payments.

Done.

- Order a review of U.S. supply chains.

Done.

___

FOREIGN POLICY

- "End the forever wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East" and terminate U.S. involvement in the Yemen civil war.

In progress. Biden announced that the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan would begin by May 1 and the redeployment would be done no later than Sept. 11. Biden announced he was ending American support for the five-year Saudi Arabia-led military offensive in Yemen.

- Put human rights at the center of foreign policy.

Mixed. Biden has directly raised concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Hong Kong, human rights abuses against Uyghur and ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang province, and its actions toward Taiwan. Hes repeatedly raised concerns about the jailing and treatment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. But Biden declined to hold Saudi Arabias crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, directly responsible for the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi even after the publication of U.S. intelligence showing Salman approved of the hit.

- Improving relations with allies who had rocky relations with Trump.

Mostly accomplished. Allies like Canadas Justin Trudeau and Germanys Angela Merkel, who had stormy relationships with Trump, have praised Biden for his efforts reclaim U.S. leadership on climate issues, and leaders in the Indo-Pacific have been pleased by early efforts at coordination on China policy.

- Reversing the embrace of "dictators and tyrants like Putin and Kim Jong Un."

Mostly accomplished. Biden has levied two rounds of sanctions against the Russians. His administration decided to be measured in its approach with Putin and has said that hes interested in finding areas where the U.S. and Russia can find common ground. Bidens team acknowledges they have sought to reengage with North Korea, but have been rebuffed.

- Quickly rejoin the nuclear deal with Iran so long as Tehran comes back into compliance.

Mixed. Indirect talks are under way among other signatories of the 2015 deal, including British, German, French, Chinese and Russian officials, with American officials down the hall. But the path forward is less than certain as Tehran has thus far refused to come into compliance with the old deal without sanctions relief and it recently began enriching uranium to its highest purity ever.

- Recognize World War I-era atrocities against Armenians as genocide.

Completed. As a candidate, Biden said, if elected, he'd make it U.S. policy to recognize the killings and mass deportations by Ottoman Empire forces of hundreds of thousands of Armenians more than a century ago - something past presidents have avoided doing out of concern of angering strategic ally Turkey. Biden followed through on the promise on the annual commemoration Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Turkey swiftly condemned the move.

- Associated Press
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 05:00:26|Editor: huaxia

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Volkan Bozkir, president of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), addresses the opening ceremony of the 20th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the UN headquarters in New York April 19, 2021. (Manuel Elias/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

Now it is time for the world to extend aid and support to India. No one is safe until everyone is safe, said UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir.

UNITED NATIONS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, on Tuesday called for international aid to India in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, said his spokesman.

Bozkir was worried about the COVID-19 situation in India, a country that has done so much to ensure the distribution of vaccines to vulnerable countries, said Brenden Varma, the spokesman.

Now it is time for the world to extend aid and support to India. No one is safe until everyone is safe, said Bozkir.

The General Assembly president said his thoughts are with the Indian government and people at this time.

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 17,636,307 on Tuesday with 323,144 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours, said the federal health ministry. This was the sixth consecutive day when over 300,000 cases were registered in a single day. 
U.S. President Joe Biden said that he would be in trouble if he keeps on taking press questions during a conference on Tuesday afternoon.

He was answering questions until questions about his own mask-wearing and possible summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on the table.

"I'm sorry. This is the last question I'll take, and I'm really gonna be in trouble," Biden was quoted in a Fox News report.

His statement caused a stir on social media, with one user asking "who will Biden get in trouble" for answering some press questions.

Biden has become more reserved and has limited his engagements with the media since he became president.

READ MORE: Biden "Limits" Sharing of Info About Migrant Surge, Officials Claim

Biden Press Conference

Biden has discussed a number of things during his press conference, including the pandemic, his economic agenda, and vaccination rates.

Biden has urged all Americans to get vaccinated while citing new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new guideline stated that individuals who are fully vaccinated can resume some outdoor activities without wearing masks, according to a CBS News report.

U.S. residents 16 and older are not eligible for the vaccine. In addition, the president has set Jul. 4 as a target date for resuming some aspects of life as normal.

Biden said that there is still a long way to go in the fight against the pandemic.

But the president noted that the country has made stunning progress with the help of the American people.

About 230 million doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered, and around 54 percent of the U.S. adult population have already got at least one of their shots.

Biden said that if you are vaccinated, you can do more things, more safely, both outdoors and indoors.

Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, echoed Biden's sentiments.

Walensky said that if one is already fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, they can return to normal and continue doing many activities safely.

Meanwhile, Biden is seen to allocate another $80 billion to the Internal Revenue Service.

This is part of his efforts to raise money for his economic plans.

Biden is also eyeing to ramp up IRS's efforts to crack down on individuals and corporations that evade paying federal taxes, according to The New York Times report.

The said recouped tax funds will help pay for the cost of his American Families Plan. The said plan has a price cap of $2.3 trillion.

Biden is also set to nominate Ed Gonzalez to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to White House.

Gonzales is a sheriff from Texas and a known critic of the Trump administration's immigration policies.

The previous administration has had six leaders for the department but none were confirmed by the Senate.

Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, said that Gonzalez is eligible to lead ICE with his distinguished career in law enforcement.

Under the Biden administration, ICE agents will now have limits to arrest undocumented immigrants.

READ NEXT: Biden Admin May Have To Restart Border Wall Construction To Fill Holes

WATCH: US President Joe Biden addresses the nation on Covid-19 response - watch live - from Guardian News






Shopify's stock surged Wednesday after it reported higher-than-expected revenue in the first quarter of 2021, as the company continues to build on the momentum sparked by the shift to e-commerce amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shopify, (SHOP) (SHOP.TO) which reports earnings in U.S. dollars, booked total sales of $988 million in the three-month period ending March 31, a 110 per cent increase from $470 million during the same time last year. Analysts had expected revenue of $866 million, according to data from Refinitiv.

The results sent Shopify's stock up as much as nearly 13 per cent in early trading Wednesday. The company's stock was trading at $1,571.68 on the TSX at 10:49 a.m. ET, a rise of nearly 10 per cent.

Adjusted net income for the quarter hit $254 million, or $2.01 per diluted share, compared to an adjusted net income of $22 million, or 19 cents per diluted share, in the same period last year.

"Shopify's momentum continued into 2021 as digital commerce tailwinds remained strong and merchants took advantage of the range of capabilities offered by our platform," Amy Shapero, Shopify's chief financial officer, said in a statement released with first quarter results.

Shopify's first-quarter revenue surpassed what it earned in the fourth quarter, something Shapero called "a remarkable achievement, given we typically see a seasonal decline" following the period that features the holiday shopping season.

The company expects that it will continue to grow revenue through 2021, albeit at a slower rate than it saw in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses and consumers to shift rapidly to e-commerce. With vaccination efforts ramping up and economies gradually reopening around the world, Shopify expects full-year adjusted operating income to be lower than 2020, when it hit $437 million.

So far, Shopify president Harley Finkelstein told analysts on a conference call Wednesday that the company has not seen a slowdown in growth as the North American economy, particularly in the United States, has started reopening in recent months.

Story continues

"Consumer preferences have shifted permanently. The centre of gravity was offline, it is now online, and there is no going back to the pre-pandemic version of that," he said, pointing to Australia and New Zealand  which have formed a travel bubble with few cases of COVID-19  as an example of what the future may look like in other regions. He noted that the company has not seen "any slowdown whatsoever" when it comes to consumers buying from Shopify merchants in those two countries.

"Consumers want to buy, and they're voting with their wallets, to buy from independent, direct-to-consumer brands of which Shopify has the majority," Finkelstein said.

"I think that you're going to continue to see this trend continue well beyond the pandemic. Again, e-commerce is still really quite small relative to total retail, and it will continue to grow really nicely."

The results come the day after Shopify released its 2020 Economic Impact Report. Conducted by Deloitte, the report found that Shopify merchants had a global economic impact  which includes profit, labour income and tax revenue  of $307 billion, creating 3.6 million jobs worldwide. In Canada, Shopify merchants created more than 123,000 jobs and $18 billion in economic activity.

Chief executive Tobi Lutke announced earlier this month that three of Shopify's top executives will leave the company. Chief technology officer Jean-Michel Lemieux, chief talent officer Brittany Forsyth and chief legal officer Joe Frasca are expected to leave their posts "over the coming months."

When asked by an analyst about his future at Shopify, Lutke reiterates that he's "in for the long term here."

"I'll never in my life come up with a better idea than the one of Shopify," he said. "I'm all in."

With files from Reuters.

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
[April 28, 2021] Getac's next generation K120 fully-rugged tablet combines advanced versatility with superior performance for optimal productivity in the field

TAIPEI, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Getac has today announced the launch of its next-generation K120 fully rugged tablet, for mobile field professionals working in challenging industries including public safety, manufacturing, utilities, defence, transportation, natural resources, and oil & gas. Superior performance in field environments Building on a proven track record of success, the next-generation of Getac's popular K120 tablet features a multitude of upgrades and enhancements over its predecessor, to further optimise productivity in remote and/or adverse environments. A powerful 11th Generation Intel quad-core i5/i7 processor with integrated Iris Xe graphics (codename "Tiger Lake") delivers extraordinary performance, rapid responsiveness and rich visuals, meaning the K120 can be used to carry out multiple tasks simultaneously without slowing or overheating. Enhanced connectivity, thanks to inbuilt Wi-Fi 6, WWAN with Integrated GPS/GLONASS and Bluetooth 5.2, enables users to utilise a wide selection of over-air interfaces, while Thnderbolt 4 technology makes data collection in the field quick and easy. Additional key features include PCIe NVMe user-replaceable SSD storage and 16GB of memory as standard.



The K120 also includes a 12.5-inch, 1,200 nits LumiBond 2.0 display with Getac sunlight readable technology, for easy operation in even the brightest outdoor environments. Multiple touch modes (regular touch, glove and pen modes, plus an optional digitizer mode) enhance performance in a range of situations, while an innovative dual hot-swappable battery design offers uninterrupted full-shift functionality. To keep sensitive data fully protected, the K120 features a powerful suit of security features and multifactor authentication management including Intel vPro Technology, TPM 2.0, HF RFID reader, smart card reader, fingerprint reader and Windows Hello. Enhanced versatility for every user scenario

The next-generation K120 has been designed with versatility at its core. This means it can be quickly and easily adapted to numerous real-world use cases via an extensive range of user modes and optional Getac accessories, including secure vehicle and office docks, hard handle, shoulder strap (2-point), dual bay battery charger and full-size keyboard. Market leading IP66 and MIL-STD certifications Like all Getac devices, the next-generation K120 is built rugged from the ground up to offer exceptional reliability that easily outperforms other rugged devices currently available on the market. MIL-STD-810H, MIL-STD-461G and IP66 certification, 6ft (1.8m) drop resistance and an operating temperature range of -29C to 63C (-20F to 145F) mean users can get to work without fear of data loss, damage or failure. Getac Select  tailored for industry needs The next-generation K120 is part of Getac Select, which combines pre-configured rugged devices, software, accessories, and professional services into a total solution optimised for both individual applications and user groups. Key software utilities available for use alongside the K120 are the Virtual Global Positioning System Utility (VGPS), Getac Driving Safety Utility, Getac Device Monitoring System (GDMS), and KeyWedge Barcode Reader Utility.1 A versatile, all-purpose solution for firefighting professionals Firefighters need digital devices that let them work effectively in a diverse range of day-to-day scenarios, from updating vital fire safety and critical awareness data, to coordinating crews and controlling drones while on-scene at an emergency incident. The K120's versatility makes every task quick and easy. Its powerful processor, superb connectivity and inbuilt security features mean it can be relied on in even the most adverse emergency scenarios, while five programmable buttons provide fast, one-touch access to first responder applications. An optional dedicated GPS unit makes it suitable for high speed navigation during emergency response callouts, and Getac's VGPS utility can be used to extend the life of important legacy applications. Digitally transform manufacturing environments As digital transformation gathers pace throughout the manufacturing sector, organisations are increasingly turning to robust mobile devices to perform key tasks, such as industrial programming, robotic control and warehouse/inventory management. The next-generation K120 has been designed with this squarely in mind. Its extensive connectivity features, including Wi-Fi 6, WWAN and Bluetooth 5.2, enable employees to connect and control machinery from anywhere in the facility, while multiple I/O options support the continued use of legacy equipment wherever required. The K120 also seamlessly integrates with leading inventory management, ERP and WMS software, while an optional barcode and RFID reader aids smooth warehouse/inventory management operations. Efficient asset/workforce management for utilities and field services Efficient asset and workforce management are both key aspects of the utilities industry, but they can be challenging to achieve from the field without the right devices and applications. The K120's thin and light form factor, multiple usage modes and Thunderbolt 4 technology makes all kinds of data collection and communication fast and efficient, while an optional RS232 port supports legacy equipment, helping to extend lifecycles and streamline field operations. Extend the life of legacy applications with Getac's Virtual Global Positioning System (VGPS) Getac's VGPS utility is a software solution that replicates GPS data to multiple virtual COM ports, allowing up to five different software applications to run simultaneously on a Getac device. Doing so helps extend the life of legacy applications that require COM port interfaces to run in parallel, such as AVL, CAD, or eCitation. VGPS can be seamlessly integrated with any GPS-equipped Getac device. "The original K120's blend of portability, connectivity and rugged reliability made it ideal for customers who needed a solution that could excel in every scenario, not just a few," says Rick Hwang, President of Rugged & Video Solutions Business Group at Getac. "The next generation K120 raises that bar even higher, combining industry-leading rugged design with the latest technology, applications and services, to deliver a comprehensive solution that helps optimise productivity across a wide range of challenging industries." Availability The next-generation Getac K120 will be available in July 2021. For more information, please visit: https://www.getac.com/intl/products/tablets/k120/. 1. Virtual Global Positioning System Utility (VGPS), Getac Driving Safety Utility, Getac Device Monitoring System (GDMS), and KeyWedge Barcode Reader Utility are individual options for the K120 under the Getac Select. For more information, please visit https://www.getac.com/intl/getac-select/ About Getac Getac Technology Corporation is a key subsidiary of MiTAC-Synnex Business Group with a 2020 annual revenue of US $41.3 billion and listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE: 3005). Getac was established in 1989 as a joint venture with GE Aerospace to provide defence electronics. Today Getac's business includes rugged laptops, rugged tablets, software, and mobile video solutions for defence, police, firefighters, utilities, automotive, manufacturing, transport and logistics. For more information visit: http://www.getac.com Media Contact: Getac Technology Corp.

Christin Wang

Tel: +886-2-27857888 ext. 5633

christin.wang@getac.com SOURCE Getac

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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

After raising concerns about an alleged rodent infestation at Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants, a former employee says she was made to feel unsafe and was retaliated against, forcing her to resign.

Now, with the help of the New Mexico Prison and Jail Project, social worker Nicole Ramirez has filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe against the New Mexico Corrections Department.

This is a textbook violation of our Whistleblower Protection Act, Steven Robert Allen, director of the New Mexico Prison and Jail Project, said in a news release. Were grateful that people like Nicole have the courage to come forward and report on problems they see in our prisons and jails. She should have been commended for her actions. Instead, leadership at the womens prison retaliated against her.

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Since taking her on as a client, the group says it discovered that the Corrections Department withheld Ramirezs complaints about the rodents in a public records request, prompting the Prison and Jail Project to file a lawsuit alleging violation of the states the Inspection of Public Records Act.

A Corrections Department spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Ramirez was employed by Centurion Health, which was contracted to assess and maintain health care services at the womens prison. She worked there from December 2019 to about May 2020, according to the lawsuit, and during that time inmates told her about the rodent infestation in the prisons kitchen. She filed a complaint with the departments Office of Professional Standards. The complaint states that when inmates told correctional officers about the problem, they were told the rodent feces sounds like extra protein and were told to file a grievance.

After Ramirez filed her complaint with the Corrections Department, the prisons warden, Vincent Vigil, called her into his office, according to the lawsuit. He wanted to know why Ramirez made the complaint and told her boss, Laura Sedillo, that she would need to be disciplined for filing the complaints.

Sedillo did write up Ramirez, telling her she needs to not work in ways that are detrimental to the department, according to the lawsuit.

Soon after she met with Warden Vigil, Ramirez was told by inmates that Vigil instructed correctional officers to keep an eye on her. At about the same time, Ramirezs security card to the prison stopped working, court documents say. She soon felt unsafe working at the prison due to staffs hostility toward her, and resigned.

When Ramirez went to pick up her belongings at the prison, she was told by Sedillo that the prisons administration decided to pull her security clearance due to untruthful statements she made in an Office of Professional Standards investigation.
Editor's Note This article is brought to you by Lafayette Travel and Louisiana Travel.

The dancehalls and music venues that are a staple of life in Acadiana are coming back in a big way.

Now that live music is once again allowed, albeit with certain COVID-19 safety precautions, many shows are taking place on a regular basis, said Ben Berthelot, president and CEO of Lafayette Travel. For example, there are now weekly shows scheduled at Blue Moon Saloon, The Grouse Room, The Hideaway, Vermilionville, Rock n Bowl and more.

While Lafayette is known for welcoming all genres of music, its the lively Cajun and Zydeco tunes that often draw the largest crowds.

We pride ourselves on being the hub of Cajun and Zydeco music, Berthelot said. Its music that makes you want to dance. If you dont know what to do, the locals will get you out on the dance floor and show you. People love the rhythm and the energy of the music.

The infectious spirit that permeates Cajun and Zydeco music often makes a lasting impression on visitors, as does the fact that at least a portion of many songs are often sung in French. Berthelot said he often hears from people from other states who want to know more about local bands or artists after they have seen them perform live.

Just last week, I got an email from someone who wanted to know which band had performed at a venue here. He wanted to go online and order their CD, Berthelot said. We hear stories like that all the time.

Although live music can be found at many Lafayette-area venues, including some restaurants and tourist attractions, the sounds can always be heard coming from local dancehalls. These buildings first became popular in South Louisiana around the time of the Civil War. Part bar, part performance hall and part community center, the traditional dancehall provided a space for much-needed recreation.

Today, some of the venues that are carrying on the dancehall tradition include El Sidos Zydeco Club, Feed & Seed, Freds Lounge in Mamou, Lakeview Park and Dancehall in Eunice, La Poussiere Cajun Dancehall in Breaux Bridge, Pats Atchafalaya Club in Henderson and Vermilionville, among many others.

While live music shows are taking place, many venues continue to require guests to wear masks and remain socially distant. For updated listings of shows, visit www.lafayettetravel.com/things-to-do-in-lafayette-this-weekend.

In addition, most Lafayette restaurants are now open for visitors. While Lafayette and the surrounding area is best known for its Cajun and Creole dishes, there are also dozens of restaurants that offer cuisine such as traditional plate lunches, barbecue, Asian dishes, Mediterranean food, Mexican fare and much more. Many of these will be featured in the Taste of EatLafayette and Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off, which are slated to take place later this year.

We have more than 200 locally-owned eateries featured right now, Berthelot said of EatLafayette. The diversity in the food is so vast. We really encourage people to take advantage of any opportunity they can to enjoy what our local chefs have to offer.

For a guide to Lafayette-area restaurants, visit www.eatlafayette.com.
Russia has announced the expulsion of seven diplomats from Slovakia and the three Baltic states in a continuation of the diplomatic war sparked by Czech allegations that Russian spies were involved in a deadly arms depot explosion in 2014.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in statements on April 28 that the ambassadors of the four European nations had been informed that three officials at the Slovak Embassy in Moscow, two officials at the Lithuanian Embassy, and one official of each from the embassies of Latvia and Estonia had been ordered to leave Russia before May 5 for their "pseudo-solidarity" with the Czech Republic.

Earlier this month, the Czech Republic expelled scores of Russian diplomats over the accusations, prompting a tit-for-tat response from Moscow.

Last week, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia -- all former Soviet republics -- said they were expelling Russian diplomats in solidarity with the Czechs, while Slovakia also told Russia three diplomats must leave the embassy in Bratislava over the allegations.

Lithuania said after the announcement that the two diplomats from its embassy "have never carried out activities incompatible with their diplomatic status."

"The Foreign Ministry also hopes that Russia will change its aggressive foreign policy, stop accusing other states of escalating the situation, and, finally, hear the messages sent to it by the Western community," it said in a statement.

All of the countries are members of the European Union and the NATO security alliance.
LONDON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Finastra has announced BANK OF AFRICA, a pan-African financial group, has selected Conpend's TRADE AI app from its open innovation platform, FusionFabric.cloud. The app extends the functionality of Finastra's Fusion Trade Innovation technology and enables users to reduce document and compliance checking time. It digitizes trade finance processes, using optical character recognition (OCR), natural language processing (NLP) and progressive machine learning to reduce the risk and cost of trade finance operations.

"The solution will improve our trade finance operations by speeding up the approval of trade finance documents. We expect it will digitize manual, paper-based processes, reduce processing time by 30 per cent, and reduce trade finance risk levels by up to 80 per cent. Having access to third-party apps was a clear differentiator when looking at trade finance solutions," said Leila Bahoum, Board member in charge of Trade Finance Operations from OGS Subsidiary of BANK OF AFRICA.

Conpend TRADE AI extracts unstructured data from scanned paper documents and can also process already digitized data. The data is then screened and analyzed, using rules and advanced analytics, to empower business users to make informed business decisions quickly and accurately. It is fully compliant with all major global regulations and automatically performs all necessary compliance checks for a trade transaction. This includes money laundering screening and handling alerts during the screening process, which dramatically reduces false positives and time spent on decision-making. The solution also enables vessel checking and voyage tracking to support goods in transit.

Marc Smith, Founder and Director, Conpend said, "We're so pleased that BANK OF AFRICA has chosen to plug our innovative technology into its systems. This is one of the big benefits of us making our app available on Finastra's FusionFabric.cloud. We've been able to build our solution out quickly on the platform and make it available to banks around the world in support of Finastra's vision of openness and collaboration."

Anastasia McAlpine, Principal Product Manager, Trade and Supply Chain Finance at Finastra said, "This is another great example of banks and fintechs collaborating to bring innovative technology to market fast. We are confident BANK OF AFRICA will realize great results with the Conpend Trade AI app and look forward to other banks tapping into this opportunity to further enhance the functionality of our Fusion Trade Innovation."

For more information about Conpend's TRADE AI app on FusionFabric.cloud visit: https://store.fusionfabric.cloud/details/tradeai/

For further information please contact:Caroline DuffGlobal Head of PRT +44 (0)7917 613586E caroline.duff@finastra.com finastra.com

About BANK OF AFRICA

BANK OF AFRICA is a multi-business universal banking group and one of Africa's leading financial institutions. Its wide range of business activities includes commercial banking, investment banking, bank-insurance and asset management. BANK OF AFRICA, established in 1959, is Morocco's most internationally-oriented banking group with operations in 31 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America, the Group employs more than 15 200 employees. Its 1,800 branches serve 6.6 million customers. BANK OF AFRICA is a leading player in environmental matters and corporate social responsibility. BANK OF AFRICA Foundation aims to promote education in rural areas for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and to contribute to environmental protection in Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa. Learn more at bankofafrica.ma

About Finastra

Finastra is building an open platform that accelerates collaboration and innovation in financial services, creating better experiences for people, businesses and communities. Supported by the broadest and deepest portfolio of financial services software, Finastra delivers this vitally important technology to financial institutions of all sizes across the globe, including 90 of the world's top 100 banks. Our open architecture approach brings together a number of partners and innovators. Together we are leading the way in which applications are written, deployed and consumed in financial services to evolve with the changing needs of customers. Learn more at finastra.com

Corporate headquarters4 Kingdom StreetPaddingtonLondon W2 6BDUnited KingdomT: +44 20 3320 5000

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bank-of-africa-selects-conpend-trade-ai-app-via-finastra-to-digitize-trade-processes-301278775.html

SOURCE Finastra
Army wants AI to improve analysis of intelligence data

With all the complex, high-speed data coming at military intelligence analysts, decision-makers and warfighters, the Army wants to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to decrease the cognitive burden on analysts, provide timely information to decision-makers and identify specific targets with a high confidence in real or near-real time.

As part of its intelligence modernization efforts, the Army plans to provide three interdependent, AI-enabled systems that improve processing and data dissemination capabilities for intelligence analysts across multiple intelligence domains on various security classification networks.

A new data warehousing capability will include data ingress, cleansing, processing, egress and querying to enable storage and timely processing, exploitation and dissemination of intelligence data.

A ground station modernization program will leverage modern networking technologies for data discovery, data exchange and the use of AI/ML applications that improve the timeliness and accuracy of reports to combat operations even in disconnected environments. The near-term focus is on incorporating data from national, joint, commercial and Army sensors and platforms.

A new software baseline called Intel Apps will replace select legacy capabilities in the command post computing environment, allowing analysts to process intelligence faster and more accurately.

In an April 27 request for information, the Army wants to hear from providers who can deliver explainable AI/ML models for processing a variety of applications, including moving target indicators, electronic intelligence, measurement and signature intelligence and natural language processing. It also wants to know what kind of sensors are supported, whether the tools are open source or proprietary and the type, amount and veracity of training data required for the models. Responders are also asked to provide security and company/cost details.

Responses are due May 14.
Michigan beekeepers can sign up to receive email alerts notifying before aerial pesticide applications

For immediate release: April 28, 2021

Program contact: Brian Verhougstraete, 517-582-4573

Media contact: Jennifer Holton, 517-284-5724

LANSING, MI - Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Gary McDowell and Senator Rick Outman (R-Six Lakes) announced today that the state's beekeepers can now self-subscribe to receive email alerts during public health emergencies, such as outbreaks of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) or West Nile Virus, requiring aerial pesticide applications.

Michigan law requires pesticide applicators making community-wide or right-of-way applications to notify people in the target area prior to the application. However, during a declared public health emergency the notification requirement is waived to not hinder critical response efforts.

"MDARD and Senator Outman's office worked together on a solution to provide a direct line of communication to our beekeeping community to protect their hive, but not slow response efforts during public health emergencies," said McDowell. "Through partnership with the Senator, the department can leverage existing technology, which means no additional funding was needed. I appreciate his support to ensure the viability of Michigan's important bee population."

In 2019 and 2020, Michigan saw a EEE outbreak of in several areas of the state. The virus is spread by mosquitos and has a 33 percent fatality rate. To protect public health, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services contracted with licensed businesses to conduct emergency pesticide applications.

"I introduced Senate Bill 136 after speaking with some beekeepers back home in my district who were unhappy about the current notification system for emergency aerial pesticide spraying," said Rick Outman, R-Six Lakes. "The idea is to give folks an official alert that tells them if they are in an area that will be treated and roughly when the application will occur. I want to thank the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for working with me to create an alert system to send email messages to those who wish to receive them before an application occurs."

Beekeepers can subscribe to receive email notifications by visiting MDARD's website and clicking on the "Emergency Notification for Beekeepers" link. After entering a valid email address, subscribers will receive an email notification whenever an emergency pesticide application is required.

For more information on MDARD's Pesticide and Plant Pesticide Management Division, visit Michigan.gov/MDARD.

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The Osun government has concluded plans to construct perimeter fence in all public primary and secondary schools in the state to ensure the safety of pupils and students.

Ajibola Famurewa, the Executive Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), said this at an enlightenment programme organised by the Ministry of Information and Civic Engagement on Wednesday in Ilesa.

Mr Famurewa said the initiative was part of Governor Gboyega Oyetolas security measures to ensure the safety of pupils, students and their teachers in all public schools in the state.

The SUBEB boss, who noted that Osun was peaceful, said the issues of kidnapping of students by bandits in some parts of the country had necessitated the move by the government.

Government will soon commence building of perimeter fence in all the public schools.

This is part of Gov. Oyetolas security plans to ensure the safety of our children, who are the leaders of tomorrow.

Although Osun is a peaceful state, the spate of kidnapping, especially students in some parts of the country is scary, hence the need for government to put security measures in place in all public schools, Mr Famurewa said.

Mr Famurewa also said the state government was providing more than 7,500 school furniture in all the public schools in the state to ensure delivery of quality education.

According to him, government has embarked on more than 143 projects in all the public primary and secondary schools in the state.

Earlier, Adekunle Aramolaran, the Owa-Obokun of Ijesaland, commended Gov. Oyetola for the prompt payment of teachers and other civil servants salaries in the state.

Mr Aromolaran, however, appealed to Mr Oyetola to upgrade the Ilesa College of Education to a University.

The traditional ruler said if the government could accede to the request, it would gladden the heart of the Ijesa people.

Also speaking, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Civic Engagement, said the programme was organised as a feedback mechanism for the government.

Mr Oyintiloye, who noted that the governor was passionate about the welfare of the people of the state, said the programme was to allow people to air their view on the governments policies and programmes.

He said Mr Oyetola would continue to do what was best for the people who elected him into office.

(NAN)
Each hospital in Boone County will provide a daily report of either green status, yellow status or red status.
NEW YORK - Federal agents raided Rudy Giulianis Manhattan home and office Wednesday, seizing computers and cellphones in a major escalation of the Justice Departments investigation into the business dealings of former President Donald Trumps personal lawyer.

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2020, file photo, former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington. A law enforcement official tells the Associated Press that federal investigators have executed a search warrant at Rudy Giuliani's Manhattan residence. The former New York City mayor has been under investigation for several years over his business dealings in Ukraine.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

NEW YORK - Federal agents raided Rudy Giulianis Manhattan home and office Wednesday, seizing computers and cellphones in a major escalation of the Justice Departments investigation into the business dealings of former President Donald Trumps personal lawyer.

Giuliani, the 76-year-old former New York City mayor once celebrated for his leadership after 9-11, has been under federal scrutiny for several years over his ties to Ukraine. The dual searches sent the strongest signal yet that he could eventually face federal charges.

Agents searched Giulianis Madison Avenue apartment and Park Avenue office, people familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press. The warrants, which required approval from the top levels of the Justice Department, signify that prosecutors believe they have probable cause that Giuliani committed a federal crime  though they do not guarantee that charges will materialize.

A third search warrant was served on a phone belonging to Washington lawyer Victoria Toensing, a former federal prosecutor and close ally of Giuliani and Trump. Her law firm issued a statement saying she was informed that she is not a target of the investigation.

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2020, file photo, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was a lawyer for President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington. A law enforcement official tells the Associated Press that federal investigators have executed a search warrant at Rudy Giuliani's Manhattan residence. The former New York City mayor has been under investigation for several years over his business dealings in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The full scope of the investigation is unclear, but it at least partly involves Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine, law enforcement officials have told the AP.

The people discussing the searches and Wednesday's developments could not do so publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. News of the search was first reported by The New York Times.

In a statement issued through his lawyer, Giuliani accused federal authorities of a corrupt double standard, invoking allegations he's pushed against prominent Democrats, and said that the Justice Department was running rough shod over the constitutional rights of anyone involved in, or legally defending, former President Donald J. Trump."

Mr. Giuliani respects the law, and he can demonstrate that his conduct as a lawyer and a citizen was absolutely legal and ethical, the statement said.

Bernie Kerik, who served as New York Citys police commissioner during the Sept. 11 attacks and is a longtime Giuliani friend, said the former mayor called him as agents were searching his home on Wednesday morning. Kerik, who was pardoned by Trump for felony convictions that put him behind bars for three years, declined to describe his friends mood or reaction, but expressed alarm at the raid, saying agents shouldnt have been there in the first place.

Reporters assemble outside the building where Rudy Giuliani lives, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in New York. A law enforcement official tells the Associated Press that federal investigators have executed search warrants at Giulianis Manhattan residence and office. The former New York City mayor has been under investigation for several years over his business dealings in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

I think its extremely concerning, he said.

Giuliani's son, Andrew Giuliani, told reporters the raids were disgusting" and absolutely absurd.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Attorneys office in Manhattan and the FBIs New York office declined to comment.

The federal probe into Giuliani's Ukraine dealings stalled last year because of a dispute over investigative tactics as Trump unsuccessfully sought a second term. Giuliani subsequently took on a leading role in disputing the election results on the Republican's behalf.

Wednesday's raids came months after Trump left office and lost his ability to pardon allies for federal crimes. The former president himself no longer enjoys the legal protections the Oval Office once provided him  though there is no indication Trump is eyed in this probe.

New York City Police officers walk out of the apartment building where former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani resides, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in New York. Federal agents on Wednesday raided Giulianis Manhattan home and office, seizing computers and cell phones in a major escalation of the Justice Departments investigation into the business dealings of former President Donald Trumps personal lawyer. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Trumps spokesman did not immediately respond to questions about Wednesdays events.

Many people in Trumps orbit have been ensnared in previous federal investigations, including special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian election interference. Some, like former Gen. Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and Paul Manafort, were pardoned. While there were discussions about a pre-emptive pardon for Giuliani, it did not materialize.

Trump, his aides and many prominent backers were silent on the action Wednesday, with no widespread denunciations or witchhunt claims. Trump, who remains barred from Twitter, issued a statement on an Arizona election recount, but steered clear of defending his longtime lawyer, whose loyalty he had long professed to admire.

Giuliani was central to the then-presidents efforts to dig up dirt against Democratic rival Joe Biden and to press Ukraine for an investigation into Biden and his son, Hunter  who himself now faces a criminal tax probe by the Justice Department.

Giuliani also sought to undermine former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was pushed out on Trumps orders, and met several times with a Ukrainian lawmaker who released edited recordings of Biden in an effort to smear him before the election.

New York City police officers set up barricades to contain members of the media outside the building where Rudy Giuliani lives, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in New York. A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that federal investigators have executed search warrants at Rudy Giulianis Manhattan residence and office. The former New York City mayor has been under investigation for several years over his business dealings in Ukraine. Details of the reasons for Wednesday's searches were not immediately available. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Giulianis lawyer, Robert Costello, said the warrants involved an allegation that Giuliani failed to register as a foreign agent and that investigative documents mentioned John Solomon, a former columnist and frequent Fox News commentator with close ties to Giuliani, who pushed baseless or unsubstantiated allegations involving Ukraine and Biden during the 2020 election.

Phone records published by House Democrats in 2019 in the wake of Trumps first impeachment trial showed frequent contacts involving Giuliani, Solomon and Lev Parnas, a Giuliani associate who is under indictment on charges of using foreign money to make illegal campaign contributions.

Contacted Wednesday, Solomon said it was news to him that the Justice Department was interested in any communications he had with Giuliani, though he said it was not entirely surprising given the issues raised in the impeachment trial.

He was someone that tried to pass information to me. I didnt use most of it, Solomon said of Giuliani. If they want to look at that, theres not going to be anything surprising in it.

Everything was sitting in plain view, Solomon said. He said he believed his reporting had stood the test of time and maintained that he was unaware of a single factual error in any of his stories.

Solomons former employer, The Hill newspaper, published a review last year of some of his columns and determined they were lacking in context and missing key disclosures. Solomon previously worked for The Associated Press, departing the news organization in 2006.

The federal Foreign Agents Registration Act requires people who lobby on behalf of a foreign government or entity to register with the Justice Department. The once-obscure law, aimed at improving transparency, has received a burst of attention in recent years  particularly during Mueller's probe, which revealed an array of foreign influence operations in the U.S.

Federal prosecutors in the Manhattan office Giuliani himself once led  springing to prominence in the 1980s with high-profile prosecutions of Mafia figures  had pushed last year for a search warrant for records. Those included some of Giulianis communications, but officials in the Trump-era Justice Department would not sign off on the request, according to multiple people who insisted on anonymity to speak about the ongoing investigation with which they were familiar.

Officials in the then-deputy attorney generals office raised concerns about both the scope of the request, which they thought would contain communications that could be covered by legal privilege between Giuliani and Trump, and the method of obtaining the records, three of the people said.

The issue was widely expected to be revisited by the Justice Department once Attorney General Merrick Garland assumed office, given the need for the department's upper echelons to sign off on warrants served on lawyers. Garland was confirmed last month, and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco was confirmed to her position and sworn in last week.

Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister and Tom Hays in New York, and Colleen Long and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed reporting.
Stanton Healthcare Applauds Idaho Governor, Brad Little, for Signing 'Heartbeat Bill'

This law would outlaw abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected.



NEWS PROVIDED BY

Stanton Healthcare

April 27, 2021



BOISE, Idaho, April 27, 2021 /Standard Newswire/ -- Stanton Healthcare, based in Boise, has life-affirming Clinics in Idaho and affiliates across America and internationally. Stanton provides compassionate and professional women's healthcare along with holistic services to clients experiencing an unexpected pregnancy.



Stanton's medical staff, team and clients all testified before the Idaho Legislature in support of the Heartbeat legislation.



Stanton's mobile clinic unit was parked in front of the Capitol Building (photo) to conduct live ultrasounds as State Legislators and members of the Press were invited to hear actual heartbeats of preborn children which afforded them the opportunity to "testify" in support of this legislation.







McKinzy Troudt, Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS) with Stanton Healthcare, testified:

"At Stanton, we want every woman to be educated about what is happening in her body before she makes a very weighty decision that will follow her for the rest of her life."

Samantha Doty, PA, Director of Clinical Services at Stanton, also testified to the scientific details of the developing heart of the preborn child:

"The importance of a beating heart is as important at the end of life as it is as the beginning of life. When an abortion happens, a beating heart is stopped and a life is forever ended. How is it that the courts recognize the unborn baby as an individual human being in the case of homicide, but ignore the same fact in the setting of abortions?



"Abortion is not women's health care. Medical professionals take an oath to 'do no harm.' If ending the heartbeat of a tiny baby is not the epitome of 'harm,' then I don't know what is."

Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO of Stanton Healthcare, comments;

"Stanton applauds Governor Brad Little for signing this historic legislation. We believe this 'Heartbeat Bill' will be a powerful step in bringing an end to abortion violence by giving women medically accurate information and ensuring every child in Idaho is protected and treated with equality."

For more information or interviews with Ms. Swindell or Stanton Healthcare call: Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741



SOURCE Stanton Healthcare



CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741


Robert J. Whann IV, known as Sandy, and Katherine Whann, fourth-generation members of the family, run the business today. Behind them is a framed photo of George Leidenheimer. (Photograph taken by the Southern Foodways Alliance)

Leidenheimer Baking Company: A 125-Year-Old New Orleans Tradition

Since 1896, the family-run institution has been making crisp, airy loaves of the city's famous French bread

New Orleans is passionate about its bread, especially when it comes to the po-boy. Some say the citys signature sandwich, usually stuffed with fried oysters, shrimp, roast beef, sausage, or meatballs, isnt the real deal unless its served on a locally baked Leidenheimer loaf.

The most important part of the po-boy is the bread, said Joanne Domilise, one of the family members who runs Domilises Po-Boy & Bar. Leidenheimers bread has a crispy crust and is light and airy inside. Its not bready or doughy like a hoagie or submarine. If you dont have the right bread, its just not a po-boy.

Like Domilises, and many other local institutions, the G.H. Leidenheimer (pronounced LYE-den-high-mer) Baking Company is a century-old family food business. Its been a hub of New Orleans French bread baking for 125 years.

A Family Legacy

Founder George Leidenheimer immigrated to New Orleans from Deidesheim, Germany in the late 1800s, and established his namesake bakery in 1896. Initially, he made the dark, dense brown breads popular in his homeland. But he found success perfecting lighter French-style breads to complement the local cuisine, which draws from the bounty of the Gulf waters and the citys Creole and Acadian heritage.

As the nations interest in regional American cooking and artisan foods grew over the years, and New Orleans became a tourism hub known for its outstanding restaurants, recognition for Leidenheimers distinct breads grew.

Being a local family-run business was also important.

Family culture is everything in New Orleans, said Robert J. Whann IV, known as Sandy, a fourth-generation member of the Leidenheimer family. People return home to this city to be with their families. Thats why it has many multigenerational families who run businesses.

Whanns grandmother was George Leidenheimers only daughter, Josephine. Her husband, Robert J. Whann Jr., took over the company with his brother, Richard.

Sandy Whann joined the company in 1986, after college, and today, he runs it with his sister, Katherine.

Ive been fortunate during my 35-year tenure to work with Katherine to manage the company. My brother-in-law, Mitch, has served as operations manager for 20 years. My son, William, and daughter, Katie, are now also involved with the company.

Whann takes carrying on the family baking tradition seriously. You wont see a gluten-free loaf coming out of this bakery.

We produce traditional New Orleans French bread, and we are blessed that we are kept busy doing it. When we are approached about doing something new we have to consider it very carefully. We are not going to jump on the bandwagon and bend to trends, he said.

Since 1904, Leidenheimers baking headquarters have been in a large white brick building on Simon Bolivar Avenue in the central city. Many of the companys 100 or so employees represent multiple generations.

Being family-run with many long-tenured employees is a potent combination for success. We have route salesmen who have been with us over 40 years, and many bakery employees for 20 years, said Whann.

A Time-Honored Process

My mother used to tell me New Orleanss bread has a unique texture because of the water. Whann acknowledged that the local water has a good pH level for making bread, but explained the time-honored process in further detail.

Leidenheimers bread is made with flour, yeast, water, and a little salt and sugar. Lard was removed in the 1960s and replaced by small amounts of soybean oil. The flour is milled from a high-gluten spring wheat, sourced in the Dakotas and shipped to Ardent Mills near Baton Rouge. The company has been milling flour for Leidenheimers for 70 years.

We start with the best ingredients and let time and temperature do their work through natural fermentation, Whann said. All our po-boy loaves are hand-stretched. Our bakery workers know by touch when the dough is right, from how much water to add to how long to stretch it to achieve that light consistency.

Once the dough is ready, the baking process involves copious amounts of steam and monitoring the temperature to achieve just the right texture.

Weather is also an important factor. New Orleans is an inhospitable place for bakers. We have two seasons: Its either hot and cold [in the winter] or hot and hotter [in the summer], Whann said. Our bakers need to be aware of the weather conditions since the dough is sensitive to atmospheric conditions such as humidity and temperature.

For French bread, which is inherently light, on a day with 100 percent humidity, it acts like a sponge. We have to bake the bread more to keep its texture. On colder days, we need to bake the bread less.

Legendary Loaves

Leidenheimer produces a small variety of artisan breads, sold locally and distributed nationally. There are three main types:

Its signature pistolet is an oblong loaf with a very crisp crust and a fluffy interiora texture many compare to cotton candy. Available in different sizes, up to 12 inches long, the pistolet is usually served warm, wrapped in white napkins, at fine dining restaurants like Commanders Palace and Galatoires.

I can always tell locals from the visitors when our pistolet is brought to the table, Whann said. While visitors reach for a fork and knife, locals just grab the bread and tear it apart with their hands to share with their table companions. Either way, the light-as-air loaf is heavenly slathered with butter.

The po-boy loaf is a 32-inch-long French bread loaf used for the namesake sandwich. Unlike a traditional French baguette, which has tapered ends, a po-boy loaf, like the pistolet, is uniform from end to end.

The muffaletta is a large, round, seeded bread used to make a sandwich by the same name. Another New Orleans icon, the muffaletta sandwich is a savory combination of salami, ham, provolone cheese, marinated olives, and giardiniera, said to have been created in 1906 by Central Grocery in the French Quarter, to feed the Italian immigrants who worked at the nearby dockyards.

Locals Loyal to the Last Crumb

New Orleans has many family-run bakeries known for their signature products, whether cakes, pastries, or breads. But when it comes to New Orleans French bread, loyalists always look to Leidenheimers.

Leidenheimers is the only bread in town with that crackly crust. Its both an art and a science to make it with such consistency, said Justin Kennedy, general manager and head chef at Parkway Bakery and Tavern. They sell about 2000 sandwiches a day. We lightly toast our bread to bring out that crunch even more.

That loyalty transcends distance. At Local Catch Bar and Grill in Santa Rosa, Florida, chef Adam Yellin, a transplant from New Orleans, only uses Leidenheimer bread for the restaurants po-boys. When I was living in New Orleans, wed squeeze the bread a little and listen for the outside crunch to know it was fresh, he recalled.

Good to the last crumb, is Leidenheimers sloganand its true. New Orleanians know to ask for extra napkins and a crumb catcher when they tear apart a pistolet or devour a po-boy. All that crust leaves a beautiful mess of crumbs!

The Po-Boy: Perfect End-To-End

The history of the poboy explains how the unique loaf for the sandwich was created.

Louisiana-born brothers Bennie and Clovis Martin worked as streetcar conductors before opening Martin Brothers Restaurant in the French Quarter in 1922. In 1929, when the streetcar workers went on strike, the Martin Brothers, sympathetic to the workers plight, gave them free sandwiches filled with fried potatoes, gravy, and bits of roast beef on French bread loaves. When a striking worker would come into the restaurant, one of the brothers would call out, Here comes another poor boy.

As Whann tells the story: Back then, the bread was a traditional French baguette with tapered ends. The person who received the middle portion of the sandwich made out like a bandit, but those with the ends were not as fortunate. The Martin Brothers asked a local baker, John Gendusa, to make a 32-inch loaf that could be cut into equal-size sandwiches. No one would be stuck with the ends. The sizable, shareable sandwich was a hit and became part of the Martin Brothers regular menu.

Now, the ubiquitous sandwich can be found on many menus, from small po-boy shops to fine restaurants throughout New Orleans and beyond.

Melanie Young writes about wine, food, travel, and health. She is the food editor for Sante Magazine, co-host of the weekly national radio show The Connected Table LIVE! and host of Fearless Fabulous You! both on iHeart.com (and other podcast platforms). Instagram@theconnectedtable Twitter@connectedtable
A nurse prepares an AstraZeneca vaccine shot in the central Quang Nam Province, April 23, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Dac Thanh.

Part of a sum saved from last year's budget expenditure will be used to purchase Covid-19 vaccines, as approved by the parliament's standing committee.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly (NA) has agreed to extract VND12 trillion ($520.44 million) from an amount of VND64.76 trillion, which Vietnam has saved from last years spending, to buy vaccines.

The NA's Finance and Budget Committee said it is necessary to serve an urgent issue, and complies with State Budget Law.

Besides, the government has also asked for the NAs approval to use a sum of VND1.237 trillion left from a pandemic prevention fund for 2020 of the Ministry of Health to buy vaccines.

The Finance and Budget Committee said the government proposal is reasonable given the complicated, unpredictable development of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, since the State Budget Law does not allow such a sum to be transferred from one year to the next, a final decision would be taken at the coming NA meeting in July.

Vietnam has secured a deal to have Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC) buy 30 million doses from British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca. Of these, 117,600 doses have been delivered.

Through the Global Covid-19 Vaccine Facility (Covax), Vietnam will be provided 38.9 million doses of the vaccine.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Tuesday authorities need to ensure greater access to Covid-19 vaccines through international collaboration.

The Health Ministry last month said local firms were in talks with companies in the U.S. and India for diversification of vaccine sources as Vietnam seeks to obtain a total 150 million doses this year to immunize 70 percent of its population.

The nation is also developing four Covid-19 vaccines in various stages of testing.

Besides frontline medical workers, medical staff, the military, and police, Vietnam's priority list for Covid-19 vaccination includes teachers, diplomatic personnel, customs and immigration officers, those working in essential services like transport, people aged 65 and above, the poor, and those with chronic diseases.

People seeking to study or work abroad or living in pandemic-hit areas are also on the list.

The ministry has reported the nation now has 19.4 million people in priority groups, with Ho Chi Minh City accounting for the most at 1.56 million.

Demand for the free vaccine among priority groups, however, could be lower than expected because some are reluctant to receive it following global reports of side effects, the ministry noted.
YEREVAN, 28 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 28 April, USD exchange rate down by 0.48 drams to 519.81 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.58 drams to 627.20 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.01 drams to 6.95 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.51 drams to 721.96 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 153.13 drams to 29817.21 drams. Silver price up by 2.52 drams to 439.28 drams. Platinum price up by 198.28 drams to 20773.36 drams.
The Palace of Westminster seen from east. Victoria Tower and the House of Lords is on the left. The Clock Tower of Big Ben and the House of Commons is on the right. (Alvesgaspar via Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0)

As the EU Showed Britain, You Can Have Socialism or Democracy, but You Cant Have Both

Commentary

On April 28, the EU voted to ratify the post-Brexit trade deal by 660-5 with 32 abstentions. But this overwhelming majority was begrudgingly given, as not meeting the deadline would have resulted in the UK leaving on a no-deal basis and subject to World Trade Organization tariffs on trade.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sought to reassure her colleagues why ratification of the post-Brexit trade deal was so important: It will give us the tools we need to ensure full and faithful compliance with the obligations, which both sides signed up to.

While some Brexiteers voiced concerns that the deal conceded too much to Brussels, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the vote marked the final step in a long journey, providing stability to our new relationship with the EU as vital trading partners, close allies and sovereign equals.

Surprisingly, Britains chief negotiator, Lord Frost, also used the same term sovereign equals, but the EU is a political union rather than a sovereign entity and its member nations no longer enjoy the level of sovereignty that Brexit is supposed to have given back to Britain.

In the debate leading up to the vote, the EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier expressed a feeling shared by many within the European Parliament: This is a divorce. Its a warning. Meanwhile the former president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, called Brexit, one of the most spectacular mistakes in history.

When the UK formally left the bloc on Jan. 31, 2019, Swedens foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, said she cannot forgive them for this. She was referring to the British politicians who had succumbed to pressure from the renegade Nigel Farage and allowed their people to exercise their democratic rights, with 52 percent voting to leave the EU.

That democratic process, which Mr. Farage once hailed as an epic triumph for the people against the political classes, was unforgivable to Ms. Wallstrom, and was an historic mistake according to the EU resolution that has just been passed.

The EU has many democratic-sounding institutions, like its parliament based in Strasbourg, but its laws are solely made by the EU Commission, which is comprised of one political appointee from each of its remaining 27 member states. The people of Europe only get to vote for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who have very little power to change anything.

This is not an administrative oversight waiting to be reformed. The EU began as a socialist experiment where a supranational state was to be created that would dismantle and replace the nation states of Europe.

This is according to founding member and first president of its executive body, Jean Monnet, who wrote in 1943, There will be no peace in Europe if the States rebuild themselves on the basis of national sovereignty The States of Europe must therefore form a federation or a European entity that would make them into a common economic unit.

Europe would soon be saved from the Nazis by the free nations of America and the UK, but his view remained that countries, rather than the evil ideologies that had perverted the Axis States, are intrinsically unstable and so dangerous.

A more recent view to question the viability of nation states is that they arent big enough to deal with global environmental threats and pandemics. So governments are now pressured to make legally binding international commitments.

Yet bodies such as the World Health Organization and the U.N., which sponsored the Paris Agreement on climate change, are not democratically elected. The more power that is ceded to them, the less power voters have to question how their lives are being governed and a crucial level of checks and balances is removed.

Donald Trump understood this, which is why he pulled America out of many of its global obligations and sought to give power back to the U.S. Congress. He knew that democratic accountability does not yet exist anywhere above the national level.

The left understands that the most effective way to gain public consent for eroding their hard-fought-for democratic rights is through an overwhelming global crisis. And COVID fever was strong enough to convince the President too.

At the end of 2019 Donald Trumps electoral lead looked unassailable, yet by March 2020 he had been convinced to start putting Americas economy on life-support and committed it to a process he had never heard of until two months earlier when the Chinese Communist Party invented something called lockdown that was quickly endorsed by the World Health Organization.

Now that Trump momentum has goneat least for nowand Joe Biden has rushed to sign the United States back into legally binding international commitments, which will necessarily make the U.S. government weaker and more dependent on organizations outside of its control.

Yet American exceptionalism has saved the rest of the world from itself on many occasions. If that is swapped for socialism, which country will there be to turn to when another idea goes wrong?

Andrew Davies is a UK-based video producer and writer. His award-winning video on underage sex abuse helped Barnardos childrens charity change UK law, while his documentary Batons, Bows and Bruises: A History of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, ran for six years on the Sky Arts Channel.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Middle schools across Massachusetts are slated to return to full in-person learning Wednesday as part of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Educations phased coronavirus reopening plan.

During a March board meeting, DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley, who was granted the authority to make districts transition to from remote or hybrid instruction to fully in-person learning, announced elementary school students in grades K-5 would be required to return to the classroom five days a week come April 5 and middle schools in grade 6-8 would have to be back in buildings full-time starting April 28.

In another announcement Tuesday, Riley said high school students would have to return to the classroom five days a week by May 17.

Earlier this month, most of the Bay States school districts, roughly 90%, were set to have their elementary schoolers transition to full in-person learning. Dozens of districts  Boston, Worcester and Springfield among them  were granted waivers to postpone the return to the classroom to May 3 or earlier.

For around half of the districts granted waivers by DESE, the reason was because the districts include fifth grade in their middle schools. The rest were set to return to in-person instruction within weeks, according to Riley.

On Monday, Boston Public Schools started welcoming K-8 students back to in-person learning after more than a year of remote instruction due to the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Many school districts have been safely educating students in person since September, and we are thrilled that the remainder of all elementary students will be back in classrooms soon, Riley said in late March. Bringing all our kids back to school is crucial for their educational progress and emotional and social well-being.

Riley noted this week that coronavirus public health metrics continue to improve and many school districts have already started to bring more students back to classrooms full-time.

Currently, there are 146 districts that already have fully in-person learning in place for grades K-12. By May 17, a total of 198 districts plan to have K-12 students returned to the classroom, representing two-thirds of all high schools in the state.

Unless a school district receives a waiver from DESE, all high schools must move to fully in-person instruction by May 17, he pointed out.

The DESE commissioner urged districts and schools to make every effort to have high school students who have significant and complex disabilities or who are English-language learners return to full-time in-person learning before the May 17 deadline.

Every day a child is in a classroom is crucial. In addition to academic instruction and support, we know when students are in school, they have the opportunity to learn important social and emotional skills and have access to healthy meals as well as mental health and other support services, Riley said in a statement.

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Former Big Brother star Skye Wheatley has taken to Instagram to try to squeeze some free baby clothes out of potential sponsors.

The reality TV personality, 27, who welcomed her second child, a son, with her boyfriend Lachlan Waugh just days ago, asked fans to 'tag companies' that make clothes for newborns.

Wheatley needed clothes for her son because she 'didn't realise he would be so small'.

Freebies wanted: Former Big Brother star Skye Wheatley has taken to Instagram to try to squeeze some free baby clothes out of potential sponsors

Taking to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, Wheatley wrote, 'None of the clothes fit I have for bub because I didn't realise he would be so small haha'.

'Please send through new born shops I need to get him some cute outfits that actually fit ASAP'.

She then asked fans to 'DM me tags pretty please or just tag companies here'.

The influencer, who boasts over 670,000 followers on Instagram, regularly promotes clothing brands like Taeger footwear, Meski and ASOS.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Wheatley for comment.

Oversize: Taking to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, Wheatley wrote, 'None of the clothes fit I have for bub because I didn't realise he would be so small haha'

On Tuesday, the emotional mother shared a heartwarming post revealing how much she was loving being in her 'newborn bubble'.

In a caption alongside a photo of her breastfeeding, Skye - who is also mother to Forest, two - wrote: 'My hormones and emotions are insane - I literally cry looking at old videos and photos of baby Forest.

'It goes so so fast, and before you know it they're not your little babies anymore.'

Old hand: The influencer, who boasts over 670,000 followers on Instagram, regularly promotes clothing brands like Taeger footwear, Meski and ASOS

She continued: 'Loving the newborn bubble and never want it to end. I wish I could relive Forest's new born bubble all over again!'

Skye shared the news of her baby's arrival on Friday, posting a sweet video of their older son Forest, two, meeting the newborn in hospital.

In the clip, which was posted on her stories, their family can be seen gazing affectionately at the newborn who is sleeping in his crib.

Family: Skye and her boyfriend Lachlan Waugh already share son Forest, two, together

The doting parents have yet to reveal their tot's name.

In the early hours of Friday morning, the former reality star-turned-influencer revealed that she had officially gone into labour and was having painful contractions.

Skye shared a video from her home, informing her fans she was about to head to hospital after doing a live stream from her bedroom.

Labour pains: In the early hours of Friday morning, the former Big Brother star-turned-influencer revealed that she had officially gone into labour and was having painful contractions

The waiting game: She then shared a picture of Lachlan relaxing in their birthing suite, with a waterbirth set up in the background and said she was '9cm dilated'

'Hey guys, so to anyone who missed the live, just letting you know I'm in labour and my contractions are hurting really badly,' Skye said.

'I wish I went to the hospital way earlier because oh my God, I cannot with the pain.'

Skye said Lachlan 's mother was on her way to their Gold Coast home to look after the couple's son Forest.

She then shared a picture of Lachlan relaxing in their birthing suite, with a waterbirth set up in the background and said she was '9cm dilated.'

Skye rose to fame on Big Brother Australia back in 2014. She debuted her relationship with tradesman Lachlan in November 2017.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of an individual or individuals involved in the killing of a bald eagle with a large-caliber rifle in Broome County earlier this month.

The incident and the reward involving the dead raptor were mentioned in the state Department of Environmental Conservations weekly summary of incidents involving state Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) throughout the state.

On April 3, conservation officers received a complaint about an unknown individual shooting a duck or goose, DEC said. One conservation officer responded and upon further investigation, determined the shot bird was a bald eagle. A forensic examination determined the eagle was shot by a large-caliber rifle.

The reward is being offered for information that significantly furthers this investigation or leads to the arrest of the individual or individuals involved.

The eagle is believed to have been perched in a tree on the edge of a field near 1022 Nanticoke Road in the town of Nanticoke, Broome County, when it was shot., DEC said.

Although bald eagles are no longer listed as federally endangered, these birds remain protected under the New York State Environmental Conservation Law and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection acts. Maximum fines for killing them are $15,000 and $100,000, respectively, with possible imprisonment up to one year, DEC said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the New York State Environmental Conservation Police are asking anyone with information about this incident to contact either the DEC at (607) 621-3464, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Amherst, NY at (716) 691-3635 x205, or 1-844-FWS-TIPS (397-8477).

*****

The following are other recent incidents involving DEC conservation officers. All information below was supplied by the DEC.

Walleye Spawning Detail - Madison County

During the first three weeks of April, ECOs in Madison County conducted focused patrols of several creeks and streams entering Oneida Lake along the lakes south shore. These patrols were initiated to protect walleye during annual spawning runs upstream from Oneida Lake. ECOs conducted foot, canoe, and boat patrols along Oneida Lake and Chittenango, Cowaselon, and Canaseraga creeks to look for poachers who would take advantage of these vulnerable spawning fish. The successful detail resulted in more than 40 tickets being issued for violations associated with taking walleye.

Persistence Pays Off  Sullivan County

On April 13, an illegal bear case pending in the Town of Fallsburg Court was resolved after years of persistence, patience, K9 assistance, DNA testing, and a photograph.

In September 2019, an ECO received a complaint about suspects unlawfully shooting a bear with the aid of bait in the town of Fallsburg. The illegal activity reportedly happened over the final weekend of the early bear season. The officer responded to the area and patrolled on foot with his partner, K9 Deming. The officer located two stands around a bait pile and the dog located blood and black fur. The officer photographed the area and collected the blood for potential future testing.

On opening day of rifle deer season in November 2019, the same officer returned to the area with K9 Deming and a New York State Trooper as part of the annual Green and Gray Patrol, a detail that pairs ECOs and Troopers in areas with a high call volume during hunting seasons. During the patrol, the officers observed hunter Michael Travis in one of the bait stands with his younger brother. When asked who else was hunting, Travis was adamant that he was alone. However, K9 Deming quickly tracked to a vehicle in the woods where another hunter, Tasha Curry, was found hiding with her rifle. Officers interviewed Travis and Curry and charged them with hunting deer with the aid of bait. Curry was issued an additional charge of failing to report her bear harvest during the previous bear hunting season as required.

The ECO remained committed to finding the bear and solving the illegal bear take case. The two hunters eventually admitted to killing a bear illegally and taking it to a residence in Ulster County until they could get it mounted. The officer made several attempts to locate the bear carcass at the Ulster County residence with negative results, but eventually found it at Travis residence. DNA test results confirmed that the animal was the bear killed in September 2019. In addition, the officer observed a photograph of Curry posing with the bear in the same area of the bait stands, where the evidence was found.

On Feb. 4, 2020, Travis and Curry appeared in Fallsburg Court for hunting deer with bait on the opening day of rifle season. Both pleaded guilty and were fined. The illegal bear case was resolved in the Town of Fallsburg Court on April 13, 2021. Curry and Travis each pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges of taking protected wildlife except as permitted by Fish and Wildlife Law. They were each fined $2,000 for the illegal bear and mandated to pay a $120 surcharge, plus $450 in DNA testing restitution, to DEC.

The Over-Friendly Turkey - Erie County

On April 14, an ECO received a call from a State Trooper about a turkey in a rest stop parking lot off the Thruway in Angola. The turkey was reportedly extremely friendly, allowing people to pet it, and refused to leave the area. The ECO and the State Trooper responded to the location and observed the full-grown turkey hanging out near the Troopers car. The officers were caught the turkey without incident, placed it in a container for transport, and drove the bird to a more rural area where it was released, unharmed.

Illegal Netting of Herring  Ulster County

On April 16, an ECO conducted a nighttime patrol of Black Creek in the town of Esopus in response to several complaints about people using nets to catch river herring, which is illegal in any embayment or tributary. During his patrol, the officer observed two individuals by the side of the creek with seven herring in a bag and no fishing poles. After questioning the pair and finding their net, the officer issued the individuals several summonses for taking herring with a net in a tributary and failing to carry a fishing license. While leaving the area, the officer noticed another car pull up to the creek and two additional subjects netting for herring. The anglers had just started and hadnt caught any fish, but were also issued summonses for attempting to take herring with a net. The violations carry a fine of up to $250 per fish and forfeiture of all nets upon conviction.

11th Annual Yates County Youth Turkey Hunt  Yates County

Over the weekend of April 24, several municipalities across New York State held their annual youth turkey hunts. In Yates County, the annual youth turkey hunt began in 2010 as a collaborative effort by an ECO and a dedicated group of volunteers and sponsors focused on increasing and promoting youth hunting opportunities in and around the Finger Lakes region. Over the past several years, this event has provided a positive youth hunting experience to an estimated 300 first-time turkey hunters from across New York State and beyond. This year, due to the generosity of the Penn Yan Moose Lodge, New York State Conservation Officers Association, Schuyler County Sheriffs Association, O.F. Mossberg and Sons, Rock Ridge Outdoors - Dead Ringer / The Grind, Bass Pro Shops, and local sponsors, all 25 participating young people received a turkey vest, hat, gloves, face mask, calls, gun case, and Dead Ringer peep sights, among other giveaways. For more information, check out the Yates County Youth Turkey Hunt Facebook page.

(Witness an environmental crime or believe a violation of environmental law occurred? Call the DEC Division of Law Enforcement hotline at 1-844-DEC-ECOS (1-844-332-3267).)

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Turkey has signed a deal for 50 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine which will start arriving next month, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

"We are at the last stage for Sputnik V vaccine emergency use authorisation and made a deal for its procurement. Turkey signed a deal to receive 50 million doses within six months," Koca said in a televised speech.

Turkey has until now been using COVID-19 vaccines developed by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd and Pfizer and BioNTech. It has carried out 22 million inoculations, with 13.55 million people having received a first dose.

On Monday, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said a Turkish pharmaceutical firms will produce Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine at its plants.
OPEC and its allies will proceed with plans to gently revive oil production as global demand recovers from the pandemic, despite surging infections in India.

A committee led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed the coalition should press on with its roadmap for increasing supply by 2 million barrels a day over the next three months, a decision that was later rubber-stamped in a statement from the whole group.

World oil consumption will rebound by a vigorous 6 million barrels a day this year, according to OPEC+ estimates, though the recovery remains at risk from virus outbreaks in India and Brazil. As a result, the glut of oil inventories that amassed when demand collapsed last year will be almost gone by the end of this quarter.

We can take comfort in knowing that our leadership has helped turn the tide, Mohammad Barkindo, secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said on Twitter. But at the same time, the persistence of COVID reminds us that this is no time to stray from the cautious and steadfast approach we have taken over the past year.

The OPEC+ alliance slashed output to help revive the global oil industry from an unprecedented price rout last year, when the pandemic crushed fuel demand. The producers are now carefully restarting those supplies as economic activity resumes, beginning with an increase of about 600,000 barrels a day in May. The group is currently idling about 8 million barrels a day, or roughly 8 percent of world supplies.

In its statement, OPEC+ highlighted the continuing recovery in the global economy but also noted that COVID-19 cases are rising in a number of countries, despite the ongoing vaccination campaigns, and that the resurgence could hamper the economic and oil demand recovery.

The global oil market is on the one hand positive, we see a recovery of demand and higher global GDP estimates, Russias Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Rossiya 24 television after the OPEC+ committees conference call. Nevertheless, the group must keep monitoring the coronavirus situation across many regions, including Asia, he added.

We see that some countries record higher coronavirus numbers, like in India and Latin America, which raises some concerns about further growth of demand, Novak said.

It was the OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee that initially recommended sticking to their planned output increase. Ministers from the panel then asked other OPEC+ members to cancel the full meeting scheduled for Wednesday, and instead they drafted Tuesdays statement by exchanging diplomatic messages.

Global oil inventories will decline at a rate of 1.2 million barrels a day on average this year, technical experts at OPEC+ estimated on Monday. Its a faster pace than the draw-down of 800,000 a day they projected a month ago. As a result, the stockpile surplus in developed nations will be whittled down to 8 million barrels by the end of the quarter.

Youre seeing incredibly strong demand, BP Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney said in a Bloomberg TV interview on Tuesday. Chinas oil demand is above pre-pandemic levels, the U.S. is almost back there and vaccines are going to kick in now in Europe.

Virus infections in India, the worlds third-biggest oil importer, are increasing at a record pace. The outbreak could crimp the countrys fuel demand this month by as much as 350,000 barrels a day, according to consultant OilX. But for the time being, the recovery in China and the U.S. is eclipsing lower demand in India, said one senior OPEC+ delegate, who asked not to be identified.

The coalition has the ability to move quickly if the situation deteriorates, because it now meets roughly every month, the delegate said. The next OPEC+ gathering is scheduled for June 1, according to the statement.

The dark cloud is India, said Helima Croft, chief commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets LLC. But even if Indian demand were to deteriorate further, they have a mechanism to act pretty quickly.
A woman waits for an international traveler to arrive to LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2020. (David McNew/Getty Images)

US Allows Travel Exceptions for Students From Brazil, China, Iran, South Africa

Students, certain academics, and journalists from China, Iran, Brazil, and South Africa will be able to qualify for a National Interest Exception (NIE) and be allowed to enter the United States, the Biden administration determined on Monday.

The NIE is a designation granted for people who can demonstrate that their entry into the United States is a matter of national interest, allowing them an exception to certain travel bans such as those currently in place due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease.

Similar exceptions were made July last year under the Trump administration for students from Europe. The State Department also on March 2 had made similar exceptions for travelers from the Schengen Region, the UK, and Ireland.

As a result of the latest determination by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, along with other exceptions already in place, travelers from China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, the Schengen area, the UK, and Ireland may qualify for the NIE, if they are seeking to provide vital support for critical infrastructure; journalists; students and certain academics covered by exchange visitor programs, the State Department announced in an update.

Foreign students and academics from China, Iran, Brazil, or South Africa, may qualify for a NIE only if their academic program starts on Aug. 1 or later.

Students with valid F-1 and M-1 visas may enter within 30 days before the start of their academic studies without needing to seek an individual NIE to travel. Those who are seeking new F-1 and M-1 visas should contact an embassy or consulate to apply, and if they are qualified, will be automatically considered for an NIE.

Travelers with other valid visas or have a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) should contact their nearest U.S. embassy or consulate to seek for a National Interest Exception. If approved, they can travel under their visa or ESTA authorization.

Those entering the United States must show a negative test for the CCP virus to be admitted. They do not need to show proof of vaccination. However, certain universities now require students to be vaccinated to be allowed on campus for in-person instruction.

A student studies in the sunshine at Georgetown University in Washington on March 9, 2021. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

The ease on restrictions could provide financial help to some colleges whose enrollments declined during the CCP virus pandemic.

Chinese students comprise the largest number of international students in the United States. About 35 percent of international students in the 2019-20 school year were from China, according to the International Education Exchange (IEE), nearly twice as high as the second highest, India.

In the 2019-20 academic year, 372,000 Chinese nationals attended universities and colleges in the United States, the IEE said in a November 2020 report.

Overall, postsecondary enrollments declined 2.5 percent in fall 2020, nearly twice the rate of enrollment decline reported in fall 2019, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly on Tuesday named attorney and community leader Emily ODonnell as his pick to serve as city attorney. If approved by the City Council, she would be the first woman in history to occupy the citys top legal office.

Mayor Kelly said, Emily is an outstanding attorney and a committed advocate for families. Throughout her career, she has been a champion for women and vulnerable communities, most recently launching an eviction prevention initiative that kept dozens of families in their homes. As city attorney, I know she will bring the same conviction, compassion, and commitment to the job and will work tirelessly to make our city a more just and prosperous community for all of our neighbors.

Ms. ODonnell spent the first half of her career as an attorney for Legal Aid, providing legal services across the Chattanooga region, from assisting victims of the 2013 Patten Towers fire to litigating in General Sessions, Juvenile, Circuit, and Chancery Courts and the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

As part of her work for Legal Aid of East Tennessee, ODonnell practiced in Hamilton, Bradley, Sequatchie, Rhea, Meigs, McMinn and Monroe counties, and was involved in a wide range of cases, including housing, domestic relations, employment and consumer issues. She moved on to private practice in 2018, litigating property, contract, probate and business disputes, eventually founding her own firm in 2019 to focus on family law.

I am honored to have the opportunity to serve our community from the city attorneys office where we will uplift families, uphold justice, and remove the barriers to opportunity that exist for too many of our neighbors, Ms. ODonnell said. I look forward to serving the people of Chattanooga as their advocate, working alongside Mayor Kelly and the City Council to ensure that all voices are heard, and that residents always have someone in their corner.

Previous Mayor Andy Berke had named Wade Hinton as the first black city attorney. He later resigned and was replaced by Phil Noblett, a longtime employee of the city attorney's office.
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Three River Studios (Trackers) has optioned the rights to develop, finance and produce a live action, returnable TV series based on Bryan Talbots cult graphic novels The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and its sequel Heart of Empire.

Written for a mature readership and born out of the anti-establishment wave of the 1970s and 1980s, and as a protest against the far right, the graphic novel series is among the most significant produced out of the U.K. They boast a combination of satire, science fiction, steampunk and adventure.

The novels are set across a multiverse in which many alternate versions of history exist parallel to one another. Talbots hero, psychic secret agent Luther Arkwright, has the ability to move between these parallels and he fights the malign influence of the Disruptors, a group who have manipulated humanity throughout history. He is aided by fellow agent Rose Wylde, a telepath who can communicate with her many alternative selves across the multiverse.

The series is being produced by Jonathan Drake, CEO of Three River Studios, with Talbot attached as executive producer.

Bryan Talbots work is everything science fiction should be. He stands at the very beginning of a tradition that gave us the likes of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis  his works were then, and remain now, cutting edge, Drake said. The best sci-fi always says something meaningful about the world or asks new questions about it. The Adventures of Luther Arkwright is unique for its time in being aimed squarely at adult readers, with a rich and sophisticated visual style that echoes some of the great auteur film makers. It thrills, challenges readers, and makes you think.

Luthers unique status as a traveller between parallel realities and his saviour-like qualities might liken him to Doctor Who  but an R-Rated version, that doesnt shy away from sex, politics and the grim realities of violence, Drake added.

Talbot said: Im very excited that Three River Studios is working on a TV adaptation of the Luther Arkwright stories. With the digital technology at their disposal and a genuine love of the original, Im very much looking forward to the series.

The graphic novels have been previously adapted into an audio play starring David Tennant. Talbot is also currently writing a new instalment of Arkwrights saga, The Legend of Luther Arkwright, due in 2022.

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Xi says CPC honors its commitments, nobody left behind in poverty battle

Xinhua) 09:48, April 28, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspects progress in promoting rural vitalization and grassroots-level governance in Maozhushan village of Caiwan, a town in Quanzhou County in the city of Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

NANNING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Tuesday said the Chinese people, the CPC, and the CPC leadership have honored and will continue to honor their commitments.

No individual or ethnic group has been left behind throughout the nation's battle against poverty, and this will remain true as China embarks upon its new journey toward socialist modernization, Xi said.

Xi made the remarks during an inspection tour of the city of Nanning in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Cylera, the leading healthcare IoT (HIoT) cybersecurity and threat intelligence company, announced today the addition of Core to Cloud to the company's Global Channel Partner Program. Based in the U.K., Core to Cloud delivers innovative cybersecurity solutions that enable secure digital business in a world of growing threats.

"With in-depth industry experience and a strong focus on healthcare, education, compliance and security, Core to Cloud creates bespoke solutions that effectively help organizations with visibility, validation, governance and response to cyber threats. This creates the perfect opportunity for Cylera to partner with a strong industry-leading provider with clear success in U.K. markets," said Timur Ozekcin, Co-Founder and CEO of Cylera. "We are already seeing success through Core to Cloud's enhanced offering with Cylera's HIoT cybersecurity platform."

Along with its extensive work within the public sector and healthcare, Core to Cloud's unique, consultative approach has positioned the firm as one of the most trusted cybersecurity specialists out there. In the last couple of years, Core to Cloud has quickly gained a reputation for bringing highly disruptive security technologies to market and this was one of the key reasons why Cylera chose to partner with the organization.

"With a go-to-market strategy that provides a solution-led approach that puts the customer needs first, we are excited to add Cylera's technology to our capabilities and aid the expansion of the relationship," said James Cunningham, Managing Director at Core to Cloud. "This collaboration will enable both Core to Cloud and Cylera to be jointly competitive in U.K. markets."

"We have already seen demand with multiple NHS customers asking us for an IoT solution that would provide a complete asset list of all their connected devices and provide a clientless way to secure medical devices as well as highlight their vulnerabilities, show granular device information and utilization as well as provide the information needed for segmentation. We researched and tested the market and found the best fit was the Cylera solution, which is custom-built for hospitals and provides rich information for IT, IG and Medical Engineering."

Cylera is a contextually-aware platform for asset management, risk analysis and threat detection. The platform is purpose-built for complex, high-impact environments, and combines comprehensive, deep understanding of operational workflows. Cylera's insights and recommendations simplify response playbooks, decrease time to remediation, and enable informed decision-making.

To learn more about the Cylera and Core to Cloud partnership, see Core to Cloud's blog post here.

ABOUT CYLERA

Founded in late 2017, and headquartered in New York, Cylera is the only centralized cybersecurity solution that secures the entire connected IoT environment. Cylera's patented platform is contextually-aware for asset management, risk analysis and threat detection to deliver the strongest, most advanced healthcare IoT (HIoT) cybersecurity risk management solution for the industry.

ABOUT CORE TO CLOUD

Core to Cloud was founded in 2015 and delivers highly disruptive security and compliance technologies to the market. Core to Cloud has a great go-to-market strategy that provides a solution-led approach that puts the customer first. There is a logical process that means the vendors they work with have a greater opportunity to engage with the end user at the right time rather than just pushing product for the sake of it. Core to Cloud is excited to be able to aid the expansion of its relationships by adding the Cylera product to its portfolio.

To find out more about Core to Cloud please visit: www.coretocloud.co.uk

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005345/en/

Contacts:

Media for Cylera:

Danielle Ostrovsky

Hi-Touch PR

410-302-9459

Ostrovsky@hi-touchpr.com

Media for Core to Cloud:

Paula Elliott

C8 Consulting

+44 7894 339645

paula@c8consulting.co.uk
Vietnamese in India, currently the worlds Covid-19 epicenter, are anxious that there are a lot of new cases every day and many of the patients roam carelessly and freely around.

Nguyen Thi Toan, a Vietnamese resident of Mumbai, wakes up to the sound of ambulances every morning these days.

"Too many Covid-19 patients and too many people have died, I have no idea whether I will be in an ambulance in the next few days," said Toan, who still goes to work every day wearing a mask and carrying a bottle of hand sanitizer.

Six of her Indian friends have been infected with the novel coronavirus, "so I must be on my guard all the time," said Toan, a cook working at a local restaurant in Mumbai.

"I have never seen and felt the thin line between life and death until this outbreak," she said.

A woman is consoled after her husband died due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outside a mortuary of a Covid-19 hospital in Ahmedabad, India, April 15, 2021. Photo by Reuters/Amit Dave.

The stress and anxiety exerted by Indias crisis are keenly felt by more than a hundred Vietnamese living in the country.

On Sunday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally admitted that a "storm" of infections had shaken India, as the country set a new global record for the highest number of Covid-19 infections in a day. Many experts have pointed out that the actual number of infections and deaths is most likely much higher than the official figures.

Officially, the number of cases in India surged by 362,902 in the past 24 hours. As of Tuesday, the country of 1.3 billion people has recorded a total of 17,9 million infections and 201,165 coronavirus deaths, after 3,285 more died overnight, health ministry data showed.

The new outbreak in India is so severe that hospitals in the most severely affected states are running out of oxygen and beds, and many people who have fallen ill are being turned away.

Le Thu Uyen, 28, has stayed in her New Delhi apartment for the last six months, only buying food from online stores with contactless delivery services. But that did not keep her safe from the virus.

"I have been infected and have no idea about the source. Now I just try to be strong and fight against it, because if I get worse, there would be no oxygen to cure me," she said, adding a lot of her colleagues and friends in New Delhi have been infected recently.

She said a Vietnamese family in her neighborhood has four of its members being infected after their son ventured out with his friends. This has worried many residents, who never step out of their apartments now, she said.

Uyens neighborhood has been quiet for days as people only go out for vaccinations or grocery stores.

Do Thanh Hai, Counselor and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Vietnam in India, said Vietnamese expats in the country were facing many difficulties apart from the very high risk of contracting the dreaded Covid-19 disease.

If they get infected, the risk of serious illness or death is very high because India's health system is overwhelmed already. Traveling and getting access to essentials have also become difficult these days, and the psychological stress they are experiencing is high, he said.

While it is being said that latest outbreak has caught India off guard, many Vietnamese have been disappointed and even angry at how careless Indian have been in fighting the pandemic.

Earlier this month, millions of pilgrims gathered for a religious ritual at the confluence of rivers including the Ganges. They did not wear masks or practice any semblance of social distancing, according to local media.

"They were nonchalant and now thousands of people are facing deadly outcomes," said Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, a diplomat residing in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, with her husband and children.

Van, who was infected several months ago, added that many Indians still meet, hug and talk to others.

"Even when they clearly have symptoms, they still reject the tests and self-quarantine, saying the Covid-19 pandemic is a hoax," Van lamented.

As a diplomat, the Vietnamese woman has attended many events with high-profile people in Hyderabad. "Most of them did not wear masks and got annoyed when seeing my husband and I wear them," she recalled.

In Mogra, West Bengal, Thong Tran, a Vietnamese engineer, was also shocked at the festival crowds and rallies he saw during his business trips to Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar.

Thong Tran (L) and an Indian colleague (C) take a selfie with a flight attendant on their flight from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar, India, in early April. Photo courtesy of Thong Tran.

But it is good that the media was doing a good job of telling people to wear masks when going out, said Tran, traveling to India with a group of Vietnamese engineers.

"We have no reason to venture out if we do not have a mask, because the police will find us and stores wont let us buy anything," he said.

Lie low or leave

As local crematoriums and cemeteries are overwhelmed in many of the most afflicted states, and harrowing reports of the medical system collapsing come out, most of the Vietnamese expats decided to return home or go to another country.

According to Counselor Hai, most of around 1,000 Vietnamese expats in India have been sent home.

The 100 or so who still remain live in different parts of India, and the embassy is keeping in touch with them to provide timely help when needed, he said.

Van, whose husband is a British diplomat, also flew back to London one day before the U.K. government added India to its travel "red list" last Friday.

"The situation was getting worse, getting out of India was the best option I could think of," said Van, who wakes up at 4 a.m. every morning to work remotely with her Indian colleagues.

Van said many rich people in India have hired private planes and left the country for Dubai and from there to other destinations.

Among the Vietnamese expats saying back is Tran, who heads a group of Vietnamese workers helping his partner build a seafood processing factory. He said he had no choice but to stay in India and finish the job.

"All my Vietnamese colleagues are required to stay inside their hotel rooms, they are only allowed to travel to the factory, and vice versa," Thong said, adding that he has reduced the number of Indian workers from ten to three to make sure they have less contact with outsiders.

"The Covid-19 pandemic spares no one, but we have to be here, keep calm and do the job before we can go home."

A vegetable vendor in Mogra, the Indian state of West Bengal, rejects buyers who don't wear masks, April 24, 2021. Photo by Thong Tran.

In New Delhi, Uyen, not wanting to reveal her real name for fear that her family in Vietnam would know that she was infected, is trying to her finish her work soon. She yearns for home.

"Most Vietnamese have left, so people like me are rare, but we keep in touch every day and are trying to wrap up every thing to be home as soon as possible," Uyen said.

Both she and Thong are hoping for a repatriation flight in May.

In Mumbai, Toan said she would stay back and remain vigilant.

"I dont want to return home and accidentally bring the virus back, I will be here, earn money, and keep my masks on until I can get vaccinated."
Some fly the flag for the values of justice. Others, those who have been investigated and their followers, talk only of persecution. In the middle, there is a lot of noise and a collection of institutions that regularly find themselves called into question. From Mexico to Argentina via Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia, leaving power has become an almost automatic precursor to ending up in front of a judge. Every case is different, as are the scope of the investigations and the seriousness of the accusations, but the phenomenon is transversal and has opened a debate surrounding judicial independence, impunity and political interference in Latin America.

The recent quashing of Luis Inacio Lula da Silvas convictions in Brazil, confirmed this week by the Supreme Court, is the latest example of a trend that is putting the credibility of the courts to the test, or in the worst of cases undermining them. The general premise throughout the region is the deep entrenchment of a corruption that for decades has co-existed with the political class and corroded the system. It has also eroded the trust of a population who, ever more divided, wind up championing their political beliefs while they turn their backs on the rule of law. These are the main judicial processes former Latin American leaders have been implicated in or affected by.

Brazil

The jailing  and subsequent annulment of the conviction  of former president Lula da Silva laid the Brazilian judicial system bare in the eyes of the world. According to investigators, Lula was the primary beneficiary of a corruption scheme within the state-owned energy company Petrobras. His sentencing in 2018 on charges of money laundering and corruption was held up as a trophy by investigators, whose probe had shaken up the political establishment for four years. In 2021, having had his political rights restored by the courts, it is the leader of the Workers Party (PT) who is now placing the entire case on the ropes after uncovering some 100 messages between the public prosecutor and the presiding judge, Sergio Moro, apparently conspiring to have Lula da Silva convicted.

The broad-ranging investigation, dubbed Lava Jato (Operation Car Wash), has lost prestige and momentum. The current president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has also not raised any complaints at the winding up of the operation. An investigation into his own son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, over alleged money laundering has led the president to abandon the anti-corruption rhetoric that won him the general election. I have brought an end to Lava Jato because there is no more corruption in the government, said Bolsonaro last October. It was a radical turn in the story of a politician who won power by convincing Brazilians that he would fight against the misappropriation of power, and who installed Moro as his minister of justice. Moro hung up his robe in 2019 and a year later stepped down from his government role, accusing the president of interfering with the running of the Federal Police.

Today, Bolsonaro retains his grip on power surrounded in parliament by allies who were investigated in Operation Car Wash. The investigation that rocked Brazilian politics followed in the wake of another large-scale corruption case, the so-called mensalao scandal of 2005, which focused on political bribes to members of Congress in exchange for backing government projects during Lula da Silvas first term in office. It was also far from the first to fall into the hands of the Supreme Court.

Lava Jatos longevity led to the belief that it would have a different ending to other judicial operations targeting politicians and entrepreneurs, which have always had a tendency to be thrown out of court on technical grounds. The sense of impunity was interrupted by mensalao, which led to the conviction of several PT politicians but during which Lula da Silva was not accused of wrongdoing. It was during the dozens of televised court sessions of the mensalao trial in 2012 that the population at large became familiar with the names of Supreme Court judges.

The influence of judicial power in Brazilian politics became apparent a year later with Operation Car Wash. The Supreme Court justices refuted government decisions with express judgments and politicized dates for hearings. Judges regularly give interviews to get their opinions across to the wider population.

Mexico

In Mexico, the crusade against former president Enrique Pena Nieto and his entourage has become increasingly intense as the Public Prosecutors Office scrutinizes the six-year term (2012-18) of the man who was tasked with modernizing the venerable Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which had governed Mexico uninterruptedly for 80 years up to the year 2000. The key figure in the domino effect of corruption the former president and his close confidants are accused of coordinating is Emilio Lozoya, the former chief executive of state energy company Pemex and Pena Nietos campaign manager.

Former Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at a meeting in Washington in November 2012. Chip Somodevilla / GETTY

Lozoya, who was extradited from Spain last August, stands accused of being the front man of a multi-million-dollar web of bribery connected to the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, which was at the center of a worldwide corruption scandal and in 2019 admitted making slush fund payments to election campaigns across Latin America. After reaching an agreement with prosecutors, Lozoya confessed to distributing suitcases full of Odebrecht money during the election campaign. He also said that several members of parliament received bribes to support Pena Nietos drive to privatize the energy sector. The former Mexican president, who now lives in Spains capital, Madrid, has not made any statement on the accusations against him. For the time being, prosecutors have only ordered the detention of his former Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Luis Videgaray, as part of the investigation while making clear their belief that Pena Nieto used Videgaray and Lozoya as instruments.

Other ministers of Pena Nietos administration have also fallen into the hands of the judicial system. Rosario Robles, former Secretary of Social Development and Secretary of Agrarian, Land and Urban Development, is in preventive custody for her alleged involvement in a vast corruption case known as La Estafa Maestra (the Master Scam) involving the embezzlement of huge amounts of public funds. At the end of last year former Secretary of Defense Salvador Cienfuegos was arrested in the US on charges of drug trafficking. After an unprecedented extradition to Mexico, he was cleared.

In the face of mounting evidence linking Pena Nieto and his entourage to various alleged crimes, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has proposed a controversial public poll, which has been backed by the Supreme Court, to let citizens decide if five former Mexican presidents should be put on trial.

Argentina

The justice system does not enjoy a good public image in Argentina. Its credibility has fallen to below 8%, less than half its rating a decade ago, according to the latest data from the Argentinean Observatory on Social Democracy. The government, far from seeking to reverse this trend, has accused the judiciary of being politicized. And the political establishment scored a recent victory when the Federal Court of Criminal Cassation shelved an investigation into former president and current vice-president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, known as the dollar futures case, related to alleged fraud in the purchase of currency and one of the weakest cases currently open against Argentinas leader from 2007-15. As far as the opposition are concerned the judicial changes sought by the government have only one objective: to guarantee the judicial impunity of Fernandez de Kirchner.

A protest in Buenos Aires against Argentina's vice-president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, in August 2020 AGUSTIN MARCARIAN / Reuters

In March or April 2018, when he wasnt even considering running for office, Lula was sentenced in Brazil, where Judge Moro and the prosecutors invented a case to incriminate him. I wrote a note called ArgenLula to show the similarities with what was happening in Argentina at that time, President Alberto Fernandez said last week.

I have no doubt that something happened here that had never happened before: the government using the justice system to harass their opponents. I have no doubt. And so it happened with Lula, who found emails between Judge Moro and the prosecutors asking for rulings to be rushed through to prevent [Lula da Silva] from running as a candidate. In Argentina things like this are also going on: calls, telephone cross-checks and emails convening the judiciary, which the former president knew existed, added Fernandez in reference to the publication of alleged meetings between former president Mauricio Macri and judges who were ruling in a case against a business group with links to Fernandez de Kirchner.

If the governments proposed judicial reform prospers, the power of federal judges will be diminished: the number of magistrates will rise from 12 to 46. The major cases against Fernandez de Kirchner, which include allegations of money laundering, illicit association and fraudulent administration among others, are in the hands of this court.

The vice-president denies the allegations against her and has claimed she is the victim of judicial harassment, a theory that has garnered the support of the new Minister of Justice, Martin Soria. She, who has nothing to do with this, who is innocent, who was accused in the media, politically and judicially, only asks for the same judicial system to clear her of blame and charges, which is what it should do when one has done nothing wrong, said Soria.

Some of the cases against Fernandez de Kirchner appear to have little solid grounding, but not those that are looking into the rapid enrichment of the Kirchner family during her 12 years in power. However, it is clear that cases involving the political elite gather momentum or are slowed down depending on who is occupying the presidential palace of Casa Rosada, which only serves to add to the lack of public confidence in the judges in the eyes of a polarized citizenry.

Peru

In order to understand the scope of corruption in Peru it is sufficient to state that six of the past seven presidents are currently under investigation. But it is not just that. The judicial system, which it is to be understood is responsible for reining in corruption, was itself embroiled in a scandal in 2018 that uncovered a systemic mafia that included the payment of bribes in return for rulings and irregularities in the appointments of judges and prosecutors. The long shadow of wrongdoing threatens the entire institutional system of a country where almost a quarter of the population live in poverty and have no access to drinking water but where corruption is considered the most pressing national problem.

Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) is in prison for corruption and crimes against humanity. Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006), Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) and Pedro Pablo Kuczynsky (2016-2018) stand accused of involvement in the Odebrecht scandal, as did Alan Garcia, who committed suicide when he was about to be arrested. Martin Vizcarra (2018-2020) is being investigated for alleged illegal payments. Only Valentin Paniagua, the interim president between 2000 and 2001, is not under the judicial microscope.

In this landscape, which also extends to members of Congress and city mayors, the judiciary has come down hard on former leaders linked to Odebrecht, whose influence in Peruvian politics came to light in 2017. With various cases ongoing, Toledo is in custody in the US pending an extradition order, Humala served time in prison and Kuczynsky remains under house arrest.

The judicial system, while the investigations remain open, is pending a reform that political instability has temporarily put on the back burner and that will be in the to-do tray of the new president after the run-off between Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori in June.

Colombia

The juxtaposition of the words political leader and justice in Colombia usually produces the same result: Alvaro Uribe. The former president elicits almost equal parts veneration and hatred among Colombians. His supporters view him as a victim of persecution and everybody else, not necessarily limited to opponents and detractors, want to see the air surrounding the man who governed during one of the darkest periods of the war with the FARC cleared.

Former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe during a conference in Miami, in May 2016. Alvaro Uribe Leigh Vogel / Getty

Under his two terms from 2002 to 2010, the Colombian military carried out over 6,400 extrajudicial killings of civilians who were subsequently passed off as FARC guerrillas killed in combat, the so-called false positives. That number was calculated by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in February, almost trebling the previous estimate of the Public Prosecutors Office.

The investigation that led to Uribes house arrest last August was marked by this historical context but is also connected to the alleged manipulation of witnesses in a case against paramilitary activity that was initiated in 2012. The accusation by leftist leader Ivan Cepeda sought to prove links between Uribe and paramilitary organizations. The latter in turn accused Cepeda of orchestrating a plot against him, but the judiciary shelved that case and opened another one against Uribe that was passed to the Supreme Court. However, after his arrest Uribe stepped down from office and renounced the legal protection the presidency offered, leading his case to be referred back to the Public Prosecutors Office, which in March recommended the case be dropped. Since then, it has been in the hands of a judge who will decide whether it should be shelved or if Uribe will face trial.

Beyond its judicial repercussions, the case against Uribe, much like his political persona, has for years been dividing the country. Colombia recently emerged from an armed conflict lasting half a century and the path to reconciliation is based on the principle of seeking the truth. The severity of the suspicions surrounding the former president and the accusations against him have been measured precisely by the pain caused by the war and the desire of vast swaths of society to draw a line under the conflict.

The current president, Ivan Duque, has consistently defended his predecessor. Like Uribe, he has unequivocally rejected the peace agreements brought about by former president Juan Manuel Santos that led to the demobilization of the FARC. Uribe is not prepared to admit any kind of responsibility and it is in the hands of the judiciary to determine his future.

Ecuador

It was one of his first messages after the results of the election were made known last Sunday and he repeated it on Monday in his first public statement: the president-elect of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, promised there would be no persecution on his watch. That has had its day, said the veteran conservative leader. That statement alone would be unprecedented under normal conditions, as would being asked about it during a press conference. But Ecuador has a very recent precedent.

Former president Rafael Correa remains one of the most influential figures in Ecuadors politics but he exercises that influence from afar due to his legal problems. Over the past four years the courts have amassed a dozen cases against Correa and last year the leader of the so-called citizens revolution was sentenced in absentia for bribery. Correa currently resides in Belgium, his wifes native country, and in an interview with EL PAIS he stated that he is being prevented from returning to Ecuador due to the fear he will run again for the presidency, and win.

The investigations into Correa began when he left office in 2017, passing the baton to his protege Lenin Moreno, who will himself hand over power to Lasso in May. Moreno won the 2017 election largely because he presented himself as a continuity candidate allied to Correas ideals, but once in office he broke with his mentor, who he had served under as vice president from 2007 to 2013. Correa refused to return to Ecuador to face a trial that he believes is overtly political. And he chose to continue playing his hand from abroad. Correa backed the candidacy of his political ally Andres Arauz in the elections but the latter was defeated by Lasso in the run-off.

Correas return to the political fold in Ecuador remains complicated. Despite Lassos assurance that the persecution has had its day, the justice system will nonetheless run its course.

Bolivia

Bolivias most recent leader, Jeanine Anez, was arrested in March along with other members of the interim administration that governed for a year after arriving in power in the middle of a social upheaval after the resignation and self-exile of Evo Morales, who stepped down amid accusations of fraud at the 2019 election and following the militarys withdrawal of support. Morales left the country, found shelter in Mexico and later sought refuge in Argentina. One of the first accusations leveled at Morales by Anezs interim government was of sedition and terrorism. Morales returned to Bolivia after 11 months in November, after the election victory of Luis Arce restored his Movement for Socialism (MAS) to power. Anez was subsequently arrested on the same charges of sedition and terrorism and remains in preventive custody.

Jeanine Anez, ex-interim president of Bolivia, is admitted into a La Paz penitentiary on March 15, 2021. Stringer / EFE

This cycle of political attrition not only represents a judicial process questioned by various organizations including Human Rights Watch: it is also a portrait of a broken society and of a political class that prioritizes personal vengeance over the real and pressing problems Bolivia faces. Arce told EL PAIS after his election victory that he would not be seeking to settle old scores: We do not want revenge in Bolivia, there are a lot of things to do. Arce, who has a more pragmatic track record than Morales, later said that Anezs arrest was not based on revenge or carried out as an act of hatred.

What drives us is an unwavering desire for justice, Arce said.

English version by Rob Train.
By Joseph Nasr

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's domestic spy agency is monitoring individuals who have joined anti-lockdown protests to decide if their rejection of government curbs amounts to subversion and incitement to violence.

The surveillance includes some members of the "Querdenker" or "Lateral Thinkers" movement, which has been organising increasingly violent protests against coronavirus lockdowns and includes conspiracy theorists and suspected far-right extremists, a spokeswoman for the BfV spy agency said.

The movement started with small demonstrations in the southern city of Stuttgart last year but has grown in scope and reach, drawing to its protests Germans from all walks of life frustrated with lockdowns in place since November.

Authorities fear that far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists who either deny the existence of COVID-19 or downplay its threat to public health are exploiting lockdown frustrations to stir anger against politicians and state institutions five months before a general election.

"Legitimate protests against the coronavirus politics are being repeatedly and increasingly exploited to provoke an escalation," said BfV spokeswoman Angela Pley.

"Organisers of demonstrations which are mainly led by protagonists of the Querdenker movement have an agenda that goes beyond protesting against the state's measures against the coronavirus."

She added that members of the far-right "Reichsbuerger" movement that denies the existence of the modern German state as well as anti-Semitic groups have participated in the protests.

Domestic spies fear far-right extremists could seek to boost anger against state institutions such as the police after parliament gave temporary powers this month to Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to enforce lockdowns in areas with high infection rates.

The new powers have drawn fierce criticism from opposition parties, including the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, whose leaders have joined anti-lockdown protests.

Story continues

The BKA federal police agency has told parliament that the names of lawmakers who voted for the amendments figured in an online document titled, "Death list of German politicians", while adding that they were in no imminent danger.

"The whole movement underwent a massive radicalisation in recent weeks," Georg Maier, interior minister of the eastern state of Thuringia, told news outlet RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland.

"A manifestation of this radicalisation can be seen in attacks against members of the police."

(Additional reporting by Holger Hansen; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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NEW YORK, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- First Sentier Investors, a leading global asset manager and one of the world's largest infrastructure investors, today announced the appointment of Chris Tehranian as a senior director, distribution, reporting to Bachar Beaini, managing director, Americas.

Tehranian, who is based in New York, will work closely with the firm's North American clients and consultants, focused on direct infrastructure investments.

"Our direct infrastructure business is growing and we sought a highly accomplished leader for this new distribution role," Beaini said. "Chris brings to First Sentier deep knowledge of and broad experience in this important asset class."

Before First Sentier Investors, Tehranian was a partner and head of U.S. project management for Firstavenue, a leading global advisory and private placement firm, where he worked since 2017. While at Firstavenue, Tehranian advised infrastructure general partners on fundraising and business development. He also worked closely with institutional investors globally on infrastructure market research, market mapping and strategic initiatives.

From 2007 to 2017, Tehranian was principal and head of infrastructure research for consultant Meketa Investment Group, where he specialized in infrastructure and energy investments. Earlier in his career he was a financial analyst for Gulf Power, a portfolio analyst for Franklin Templeton Investments, and an analyst for Segal Advisors.

First Sentier Investors manages more than US$12.7 billion of direct, or unlisted, infrastructure investments across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America, with a focus on mid-market companies in the transportation and utility sectors worldwide. The firm has completed several direct infrastructure investments in the United States since late 2019, including Patriot Rail and Ports , the Rialto Bioenergy Facility , and Terra-Gen .

"It's an exciting time to be in infrastructure investing at First Sentier, a firm with a long and successful track record in this area, and I'm delighted to work with its talented direct infrastructure team as we expand our business in North America," Tehranian said.

Tehranian received a bachelor of science degree in finance and international economics from the University of Florida Warrington College of Business and a master's degree in finance from the Boston College Carroll School of Management.

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Margaret Kirch Cohen

CL-Media Relations LLC

E: [email protected]

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CL-Media Relations LLC

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About First Sentier Investors

First Sentier Investors manages US$180.3 billion in assets (as of March 31, 2021) on behalf of institutional investors, pension funds, wholesale distributors, investment platforms, financial advisers and their clients worldwide.

The firm operates as a standalone global investment management business with offices across Europe, the Americas, and Asia Pacific. First Sentier Investors' expertise spans a range of asset classes and specialist investment sectors focused on delivering sustainable investment success based on responsible investment principles.

Formerly First State Investments, the firm was acquired from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in August 2019 by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.

SOURCE First Sentier Investors
The castle was a youth hostel until 2011 (SWNS)

The poshest youth hostel in the UK has gone on the market for a cool 1.5million.

Carbisdale Castle near Bonar Bridge in Sutherland, Scottish Highlands, was built in 1906 on a hilltop, for an aristocrat to be close to her late husband's family.

With a storied history, the castle was sold to Norwegian royalty in the 1930s and King Haakon VII of Norway took refuge there during the War.

Read more: These are the top 10 staycation spots for summer 2021

At the end of the War, it was donated to the Scottish Youth Hostels Association in 1945 and became Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel, which closed in 2011.

The six-storey castle sprawls over 41,000 square feet and is perched on the famous North Coast 500 road trip route.

The castle sits next to a loch and has its own clocktower (SWNS)

In 2018 it was bought by an investment firm with plans for a swimming pool and spa. However, as this never reached fruition, the castle has been listed for sale, with significant repairs required.

Robert McCulloch, head of the estates and farm agency at Strutt & Parker, said the property had attracted significant interest since going up for sale just a week ago.

Read more: The best UK seaside getaways to book right now

"Carbisdale Castle is an iconic building with a really rich and notable history, McCulloch said.

"The property today can be viewed as a blank canvas of almost 42,000 square feet of internal accommodation, enabling a buyer to take the property in whatever direction they prefer. That could be as a private home, a commercial venture (e.g hotel or holiday apartments), or a mixture of both, subject to the appropriate consents.

Ornate fixtures including a stained glass wall inside the castle (SWNS)

With UK holidays beginning to restart, McCulloch suggested that the castle could be a good commercial investment - and he anticipated a wave of interested buyers from the US.

"The flexibility of its future use, together with its striking architecture and dramatic position, will undoubtedly attract global interest, McCulloch continued.

Read more: The best UK road trips to take this summer

Story continues

"In particular  and following a surge in American interest in Scottish properties which saw more sold to US buyers in 2020 than any other year on record  we anticipate interest from the other side of the Atlantic.

"What remains to be seen  and will be interesting to discover  is whether the buildings future will be as a private home for the exclusive use of its purchaser, or as a commercial property to be enjoyed more widely".

Additional reporting by SWNS.

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Watch: Former royal butler, Paul Burrell, describes how he flew Concorde with the Queen for the first time




South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific Group said Wednesday its first-quarter earnings soared nearly 90 percent on-year thanks to strong online and overseas sales.







Net profit stood at 176.8 billion won (US$159.2 million) in the January-March period, up 86.5 percent from a year earlier, the group said in a regulatory filing.







Sales climbed 8.5 percent to 1.39 trillion won, with operating income shooting up 191.1 percent to 197.7 billion won.







Amorepacific Corp., the group's flagship, reported a first-quarter net profit of 137.6 billion won, up 105.4 percent from a year earlier. Sales gained 10.8 percent to 1.25 trillion won, with its operating income rocketing 189.2 percent to 176.2 billion won.







Amorepacific Group, which includes smaller brands like Innisfree and Etude, said its strong first-quarter performance was driven by resilient online and overseas sales.







The group's domestic sales increased 6.9 percent on-year in the first quarter, with online shipments surging more than 30 percent. Local offline sales were sluggish due to social distancing sparked by the coronavirus outbreak.







First-quarter overseas sales swelled 19.6 percent from a year earlier, powered by a jump of more than 30 percent in China, the world's most populated nation.







Sales in Europe increased 4 percent on-year in the first three months of the year, while those in North America sank 7 percent due to efforts to boost the efficiency of its offline outlets, according to the group. (Yonhap)


PITTSBURGH, April 28, 2021 - Asthma exacerbations rose following a catastrophic Christmas Eve fire two years ago that destroyed pollution controls at the Clairton Coke Works--the largest such facility in the nation, a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health analysis concludes.

The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, was possible because of a collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Asthma and Environmental Lung Health Institute at UPMC and the Allegheny County Health Department, with funding from The Heinz Endowments.

"In addition to verifying that people living within a 10-mile radius of the coke works had higher rates of asthma exacerbations and use of albuterol rescue medication than those living outside the radius, we learned that nearly half of the people with asthma closest to the fire were unaware of the pollution problem and, therefore, unable to take steps to avoid exposure," said lead author Brandy Byrwa-Hill, M.S., a Ph.D. student in Pitt Public Health's Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.

The Clairton Coke Works is located in a suburb south of Pittsburgh and produces highly refined coal, or "coke," which is used as fuel in the manufacture of steel. Creating coke results in several air pollutants, which are minimized through the plant's pollution controls. On Dec. 24, 2018, a fire destroyed the pollution controls, and, for 102 days, the plant emitted sulfur dioxide at levels 25 times greater than typical emissions.

Byrwa-Hill and the Pitt Public Health team used the Pitt Asthma Institute Research (AIR) registry to quickly collect information from 39 asthma patients living within 10 miles of the coke works and 44 patients living beyond that radius in the six weeks after the fire.

During the pollution control breach, participants who lived closest to the plant had an 80% increased risk of worsened asthma symptoms compared with those furthest from the plant. The difference normalized after the plant was repaired.

Despite news reports and alerts from the Allegheny County Health Department urging people with certain health conditions to take precautions, 44% of the participants were unaware of the excessive pollution.

"When we asked the participants if they would want to know about an environmental disaster, of course they said they would," said senior author James Fabisiak, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental and occupational health and director of the Center of Health Environments and Communities at Pitt Public Health. "Our study reveals that there is a need for a more robust notification system that uses many modes of communication so people can make informed, timely decisions to protect their health."

In addition, the study highlighted the benefit of having a pre-existing registry of well-characterized, geographically identified asthma patients willing to participate in research, said co-senior author Sally Wenzel, M.D., chair of Pitt Public Health's Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.

"I'd encourage any city or county that is home to a significant point source of air pollution to create a similar registry," said Wenzel, who also directs Pitt's Asthma and Environmental Lung Health Institute at UPMC. "People with asthma are particularly sensitive to air pollution, and their experience can be informative to all of us when it comes to maintaining healthy air quality."

###

Albert Presto, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, was a coauthor of the study.

This research was funded by National Institutes of Health grants P01 AI106684-01A1, R01 AI 145406-01A1, The Heinz Endowments grant E4820 and the Dellenback Funds.

To read this release online or share it, visit https:/ / www. upmc. com/ media/ news/ 042821-hill-sw-coke-fire-asthma-jaci .

About the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health

The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, founded in 1948 and now one of the top-ranked schools of public health in the United States, conducts research on public health and medical care that improves the lives of millions of people around the world. Pitt Public Health is a leader in devising new methods to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases, HIV/AIDS, cancer and other important public health problems. For more information about Pitt Public Health, visit the school's Web site at http://www. publichealth. pitt. edu .

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Contact: Sarah Katz

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E-mail: KatzSB@upmc.edu
Flutist Anthony Trionfo, fresh out of graduate school, wants to be a star soloist and he seems to be off to a fine start. His first recital since the Covid lockdown is for Clarion Concerts and will be streamed starting on May 8. Clarion is a well established though modest local series, but its artistic director is the internationally acclaimed flutist Eugenia Zukerman. If a flute player receives a booking through Zukerman, then theyve got to be great.

More than just giving her imprimatur, Zukerman also provided the Times Union with this statement: I believe Anthony Trionfo is one of the best flutists of all time. He is only 24-years old but performs like a master! He is a phenomenal musician.

Trionfo recalls that he and Zukerman met a few years ago at a gala. The two have more than an instrument in common. In 2016 Trionfo won a spot with Young Concert Artists, a distinguished and highly selective management program in New York. Zukerman herself was on the YCA roster in her early days and she now serves on its advisory board.

I knew about Eugenia Zukerman before we met. Shes an alum of YCA, one of the first flutists on that roster, recalls Trionfo. Shes so small and bright and lively, a living legend.

Trionfo is starting to rub elbows with some other big talents. At the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles he studied with James Walker, former principal flute of the LA Philharmonic. Hes part of a glittering array of talents at YCA, where other alumni include pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, soprano Dawn Upshaw and flutist Paula Robison.

Paulas phenomenal, gushes Trionfo. Theres something about musicians with long careers, theyre so patient and kind. I hope I can be that way in years to come. If that spirit of generosity includes actively encouraging younger musicians and also lending a hand to advance the field, than Trionfo is, again, well on his way.

During Trionfos years at Coburn, which is located in downtown LA, he was a teaching artist in Jump Start, the conservatorys outreach program for underprivileged children. Now back home in Columbus, Ohio, for the duration of the pandemic, hes giving private lessons to local students and online instruction through an ingenious virtual academy called MusicAlly. With the mission of bringing music to all, the program offers a sliding scale for lessons to students 3 to 18 years old. If a family is able to pay full freight for a lesson, theyll be underwriting a second free lesson for a less-privileged child. Its helping make music accessible to a broader crowd, says Trionfo.

As a mixed-race musician in a predominantly white profession, Trionfo is stepping up as a new leader. In the realm of teaching, hes part of the Umoja Flute Academy, dedicated to improving opportunities for flutists of African descent. (Umoja is a Swahili word meaning unity and it is celebrated on the first day of Kwanzaa.)

Recently Trionfo served as a programming adviser for the Aspen Music Festival, where he was a fellow for two summers in his teens. (While there, he appeared on the radio program From the Top.) Trionfo helped to review submissions with the intention of greater representation for Black composers. We were going through thousands of pieces. Theres a wealth of music now being recognized and I find new pieces daily, he says. Were seeing music by Black composers all over the place. If thats coming from a genuine place, Im all for it.

For more than 20 years a leader in advancing artists of color in classical music has been the Sphinx Organization. Among Trionfos involvements, during the early weeks of the Covid lockdown last year, he and a couple of other young Black professionals curated and produced a series of video interviews of musicians and administrators who are committed to diversity in classical music. The Illuminate Series is available on the Sphinx Organizations YouTube channel.

Among the guests was violinist Hilary Hahn. She was incredible! We talked about her taking time off from violin, trying to find more music and mixing up her team, recalls Trionfo. We want to see white advocates. It takes everybody.

Learning to Listen is a kind of followup video produced by Young Concert Artists. This time Trionfo and violinist Randall Mitsuo Goosby moderated a forum of nine successful Black musicians representing several generations to share their experiences. The hourlong discussion in Zoom format was recorded last June and can be found on the YCA YouTube channel.

The most prominent speaker in the Learning video is Anthony McGill, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, where he is the only Black member and only the third in the orchestras 160-year history. The first was violinist Sanford Allen, whose tenure ran from 1963 to 1979. Now retired and in his early 80s, Allen led the discussion by observing that back in the 60s he heard the same kinds of stories hes hearing today -- stories about lack of opportunities and closed minds. Another obstacle to his generation was an inability to network with others, something that technology now makes possible. Im a little bit consoled by your doing this, he told Trionfo and the other organizers.

Allen, by the way, is another YCA alum and during his long career after the Philharmonic, he was artistic director of Clarion Concerts for 18 years before passing the post on to Zukerman in 2014.

As for Trionfo, his one-hour program for Clarion features repertoire drawn from composers of the 19th and early 20th century -- Bartok, Gaubert, Doppler and Schulhoff (all white males). Having that pointed out to him, Trionfo replies with an easy chuckle: Its music I naturally love and gravitate towards. Besides, me just being myself can be enough. We dont need to make everything into an identity project.

Performing with Trionfo is his frequent collaborator, pianist Albert Cano Smit. Eugenie Zukerman will join in the music-making for the final two selections, including as an encore the Flower Duet from Delibes opera Lakme.

The program debuts at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 8, on Clarion Concerts YouTube channel, where it will be available for about six months. The suggested donation for streaming is $20.

Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy.
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The remains of Dorothy Yohanna, one of the abducted students of Greenfield University Kaduna, were laid to rest on Wednesday.

Ms Yohanna, 23, was one of the undisclosed number of students abducted by the bandits on April 20.

The state government announced the recovery of the bodies of Ms Yohanna and two other students on Friday.

It also announced the killing of two more abducted students of the university. They were suspected to have been murdered by their assailants, on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Government has said while it will not pay ransom or negotiate with the bandits, it will ensure that the students are released.

Over 30 out of the 39 students kidnapped at Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka area of the state, also remain in captivity.

The funeral service of Ms Yohanna was held at ECWA Goodnews Church Narayi in Kaduna State.

Below are pictures.
A mum-to-be with a gigantic baby bump - which was so large that doctors thought she had a secret twin - has given birth to a 13lb newborn.

First time mum Amber Cumberland, 21, from Aston, Oxfordshire, gave birth to her daughter Emilia on April 16, weighing a whopping 12lb 14oz.

Baby Emilia created such a big bump during pregnancy that doctors werent sure if there would be a surprise second baby in labour.

But instead, she is believed to be the second biggest baby girl ever born in the UK after the 2012 record breaker at 14lbs 4oz.

Amber was induced almost two weeks overdue and spent 24 hours in labour until baby Emilia entered the world via an emergency C-section.

'Before the pregnancy I was 12.5st and a size 14 and at the end of the pregnancy, I couldnt fit into anything smaller than a size 20 and was about 17st,' said Amber, who is 59. 'Since the birth Im back in size 16 and weighing just under 15st.'

Amber Cumberland, 21, from Aston, Oxfordshire, gave birth to her daugther Emilia on April 16. At 12lb 14oz, Emilia is thought to be the second biggest baby to ever be born in the UK (pictured: Amber, with her partner Scott Joy, 22 and Emilia leaving the hospital

Amber's baby bump, pictured, grew so big that doctors weren't sure if she was expecting a second 'surprise' baby, but she eventually only gave birth to Emilia

Amber said: 'Doctors thought it was twins during pregnancy because she was so big, even though we could only see one on the ultrasounds.

'We heard it so much we actually started to believe there was another one hiding in there.

'It became a game when we went to the supermarket to see if we would get a comment about the size of the bump and we always did.

'When she came out Scotts face was white and all the surgeons were looking at each other in shock and laughing - they brought her to me and said "Congratulations youve had a toddler".

Nurses joked Amber had given birth to a toddler when Emilia, pictured, finally made it out of her womb after induced labour

Amber and Joy, pictured in hospital with Emilia after her birth, had started to believe Amber might have been expecting twins

Britain's biggest ever babies While Emilia's birth weight is impressive, she's no where near the record for the biggest baby born in Britain. The heaviest baby ever born in the UK was 15lb 8oz Guy Carr, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, who was welcomed via caesarean section in 1992. George Joseph King, who arrived on February 11 in 2013, is thought to be the biggest baby born naturally in Britain. He weighed a staggering 15lb 7oz (more than double the average newborn weight of 7lb 8oz) when he was born at Gloucester Royal Infirmary. George's mother Jade Packer, then 21, who had gas, air and a last-minute epidural, described the labour as 'horrifically traumatic'. In December 2017, Brodey Young became the heaviest baby born at a hospital in a decade, tipping the scales nearly 13lb. He weighed in at 12lb 130z - nearly the same as a bowling bowl, stunning midwives and doctors on the Blueberry Ward at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby - and his mother Sheralyn Wilcock, of Cleethorpes. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the heaviest baby ever born was the son of Canadian giantess Anna Bates (nee Swan) who gave birth at her home in Seville, Ohio, on January 19, 1879. Her not-so-little boy weighed 22lb (9.98 kg) and measuring 71.12 centimetres (28 in). The baby, who was not officially named but just referred to as 'Babe', sadly died 11 hours later. Advertisement

'We were just so glad it was only one baby and that she was healthy.'

Baby Emilia began measuring big in the third trimester, reaching the average size of a 36 week baby by her 32 week scan and was estimated at 8lb 12oz on an extra growth scan at 36 weeks.

Ambers partner and Emilias dad, Scott Joy, 22, spent 42 hours in the car park of John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford in the space of three days leading up to the birth - not allowed to join Amber until she was in active labour due to Covid restrictions.

Amber said: 'I got to eight centimetres dilated and she couldnt go any further - if she went any further down they wouldnt be able to get her back up and she wouldve got stuck.

'During the C-section it took two people to lift her out and one to hold everything back to get her out.

'The whole outfit we brought didnt fit her but luckily we had some spare 0-3 month clothes packed and the hospital staff had to hunt down bigger nappies from paediatrics for us.

'Nurses at the hospital even stayed over time to see the weight of the baby and take photos with her because she was so big.'

Ambers giant pregnancy bump created lots of painful complications that meant the first time mum couldnt wait to be induced and get her baby out.

She tried home remedies to induce herself and get things moving but nothing worked.

Nurses and doctors holding 12lb 14oz Emilia during labour. Amber was two weeks overdue and had to be induced

The mother-to-be's gigantic baby bump during her pregnancy. Amber admitted she had been 'desperate' to get Emilia out

A scale recorded that, at birth, Emilia weighed 5.9kg, or 12lb 14 oz. An impressive weight making her the second biggest baby to be born in the UK since 2012

Amber said: 'I was so desperate to get her out I tried everything - I ate half a kilogram of raw pineapple, used essential oils and bath salts, even acupressure - anything I read online that might help.

'The bump was so big I got lots of stretch marks and my skin was so weak from being stretched out that they would bleed if I stood up too quickly.

'My stomach muscles completely split to the point where the doctors could barely distinguish them during the C-section and said they were the worst theyd ever seen.

Strong girl! Newborn Emilia holding on to her dad's finger in hospital after being born. Amber revealed her daugther was so heavy she could not breastfeed her

Proud dad Scott with Emilia in hospital. Amber is currently on a waiting list for physiotherapy to help her heal from the pregnancy and birth

Emilia clenching her fists in her birth picture. Amber said she still had a numb bit of skin around her belly button following the pregnancy

'I also had awful sciatica and compressed nerves in my hips and legs because of the weight of her and I couldnt even roll over in bed without Scott to help me.'

Just over a week after giving birth Amber is starting to heal but expects to take a while to fully recover due to the damage done to her body by the difficult pregnancy and birth.

She is currently on a waiting list for physiotherapy to help heal her badly split stomach muscles.

Amber said: 'Ive still got a completely numb bit of skin around my belly button where the nerves have just given up.

'Because of the damage to my stomach muscles the stitches have no support and I have to be really careful.

'I cant pick Emilia up or breastfeed her because shes so heavy and theres no protection for my organs, but Im slowly getting better.

'Im still as uncomfortable as when I was pregnant but I do feel a lot lighter and have no more trapped nerves which Im very grateful for.

'Were both so overjoyed with our gorgeous little girl.'
A former adviser to the Obama White House was arrested on allegations of stealing from a charter school he founded, according to the Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday that Seth Andrew had been arrested on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements to a bank in connection to $218,005 allegedly stolen from Democracy Prep Public Schools.

Defence attorney Michael Yaeger said Mr Andrew would plead not guilty and was reviewing the governments case, according to CNBC.

Mr Andrew, 42, served in the Office of Educational Technology during the second term of the Obama administration from 2013 to 2016, according to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors also allege that Mr Andrew, who founded the charter school network in 2005, used the stolen funds to obtain savings on a mortgage for a $2m Manhattan apartment in 2019.

The criminal complaint alleges that between March and August 2019, Mr Andrew used his past association with Democracy Prep to access escrow accounts he previously established for schools in the network.

FBI assistant director William Sweeny Jr alleged in a statement that Mr Andrew used the funds to lock in a low-interest rate when applying for a loan.

We allege today that Andrew did just that, and since the employer he stole from was a charter school organization, the money he took belonged to an institution serving school-aged children, Mr Sweeny said.

Democracy Prep CEO Natasha Trivers said in an email to school families that Mr Andrews left the network in 2013 and a series of "financial safeguards" implemented in 2019 led to the discovery of unauthorised withdrawals.

"His alleged actions are a profound betrayal of all that we stand for and to you and your children, the scholars and families that we serve," Ms Trivers email said, according to CNN.

"To be clear, at no time did the alleged crimes pose any risk to our students, staff or operations in any way."

At a US District Court appearance in Manhattan, Mr Andrew was released on a personal recognizance bond to appear in court on 27 May.
ATLANTA, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its aggressive growth strategy in North America, Rinnai America Corporation has created a Strategic Business Development team to pursue acquisitions and partnership opportunities that expand its product offerings in new and existing categories.

"Rinnai Corporation, Rinnai America's Japanese parent company, has identified the North American market as the growth vehicle for the global organization in the coming years," said Frank Windsor, President, Rinnai America Corporation. "While we have made significant investments in internal innovation capabilities and domestic manufacturing, we are also aggressively pursuing opportunities to expand through acquisitions of other organizations and technologies. We anticipate that potential acquisitions will fit into our brand promise of Creating a healthier way of living."



The company began its domestic manufacturing strategy in 2018 with the opening of a facility in Griffin, Ga. Later in the year, the company announced its new innovation department combining both engineering and product management. In 2020, Rinnai announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art Innovation Center of Excellence located in Peachtree City, Ga. Since then, Rinnai has continued to elevate its positioning with a groundbreaking for a new factory located on a 60-acre Greenfield site, also in Griffin, and scheduled to open later in 2021.

Rinnai's Strategic Business Development team is pursuing opportunities to acquire or partner with organizations or technologies in similar or adjacent categories.

"Rinnai Corporation fully supports our initiatives and has committed the resources and financial support to help us achieve our vision for growth," said Ray VanAssche, VP of Innovation, Rinnai America Corporation. "We anticipate and have planned a very aggressive innovation and technology expansion that hopes to propel the market forward."



Elliott Willey, Rinnai America Corporation's Senior Manager of Business Development is also bullish given trends in company markets, "Specifically, we are expanding our continued strength in vertical segments enabled by the anticipated rebound later this year, as well as expanded service offerings within our trade network coupled with increased consumer emphasis on comfort and health."

Willey, VanAssche, and Perry McGuire, Rinnai America Corporation's VP and General Counsel, make up the core Business Development Team.

Rinnai has developed several relationships with industry partners, consulting and advisory firms on a non-exclusive basis to assist with identifying and evaluating opportunities that fit the organization's strategic mission. To learn more about Rinnai, visit www.rinnai.us.

ABOUT RINNAI

Rinnai America Corporation, a subsidiary of Rinnai Corporation in Nagoya, Japan, was established in 1974 and is headquartered in Peachtree City, Ga. Rinnai Corporation manufactures gas appliances including tankless water heaters, a wide range of kitchen appliances and heating and air conditioning units. As the technology leader in its industry, Rinnai is the largest gas appliance manufacturer in Japan and is the number-one selling brand of tankless gas water heaters in the United States and Canada. Annual corporate revenues, including those of its subsidiaries, are in excess of $3.2 billion. With a global perspective to create 21st-century products for the home and business, Rinnai Corporation commits itself to safety and Creating A Healthier Way of Living. For more information about Rinnai's entire product line, visit www.rinnai.us.

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Rinnai and A Healthier Way of Living are the registered trademarks of Rinnai Corporation used under license by Rinnai America Corporation.

SOURCE Rinnai America Corporation

Related Links

http://www.rinnai.us


The Pasquotank County sheriff on Thursday identified three deputies he said fired shots at Andrew Brown Jr. and four other deputies involved in the incident in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, who have returned to duty from administrative leave.

Sheriff Tommy Wooten said in a news release that he looked at body camera footage and other evidence.

'It's obvious that four of the deputies never fired their weapons and deserve to be reinstated to active duty. More investigation is necessary into the three deputies who did fire their weapons and they will remain on administrative leave,' he said.

Investigator Daniel Meads, Deputy Sheriff II Robert Morgan and Cpl. Aaron Lewellyn are the deputies on leave, the sheriff said.

According to the release, Lt. Steven Judd, Sgt. Michael Swindell, Sgt. Kenneth Bishop, and Sgt. Joel Lunsford have returned to active duty.

Brown, 42, was fatally shot when Pasquotank County deputies were trying to execute a warrant, officials said. Protesters and family members have called for the release of body camera footage to determine what led to the shooting that came amid national conversations over policing and racial bias.

According to the arrest warrant, issued on April 20 and obtained by CNN on Thursday, Brown 'unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did possess with the intent to sell and deliver a controlled substance, namely approximately three grams of cocaine.'

The sheriff's office in nearby Dare County was seeking Brown's arrest, according to the document.

Family and DA offer different accounts of his car's movements

Brown's family and the district attorney for the region offered different accounts Wednesday as to what led to the fatal shooting.

The family and their attorneys have been allowed to see some of the deputies' bodycam footage and a judge ruled Wednesday the family can view more of them, but Judge Jeff Foster denied media requests to make the videos public for at least 30 days.

District Attorney Andrew Womble, the district attorney for the district that includes the county, said officers fired when the car Brown was driving moved toward them. Brown's family and attorneys, who had watched 20 seconds of video earlier this week, said he was driving away to save his life from gunfire.

Brown's son Khalil Ferebee said he saw his father driving away from the deputies, not toward them. Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, one of the family attorneys, said the video showed an 'execution,' in which deputies shot at Brown as he sat in his car with his hands on the wheel.

However, Womble said Wednesday that Brown's car in the video was stationary when officers approached shouting commands. Womble said in the video, as officers attempted to open a door on the car, the vehicle backed up and made contact with an officer. He said the car then stopped before moving forward and again made contact with law enforcement. After the car moved forward, shots are heard, Womble said.

North Carolina law says body camera video is not a public record and cannot be released without a court order. A media coalition including CNN had petitioned for the footage to be publicly released.

Wooten also called for the release of the video from four body cameras associated with the shooting, and said the judge's decision was not what he wanted.

Family and officials call for release of video

Attorneys for Brown's family said they were deeply disappointed in the judge's ruling.

'In this modern civil rights crisis where we see Black people killed by the police everywhere we look, video evidence is the key to discerning the truth and getting well-deserved justice for victims of senseless murders,' the team said in a statement.

Family members also responded with skepticism at the district attorney's account of the shooting.

'This is the first time I've heard about it,' Brown's cousin Elisha Villard told CNN's Jason Carroll. 'So, to me, I don't know if they were telling the truth or not.'

Brown's aunt Lillie Brown Clark said she's 'not buying it.' Brown is no longer able to tell the nation what happened, Clark said, making the release of the footage so much more important.

'That's how he will speak to us. And that will be his side of the story,' she said.

In addition to Wooten, the governor of North Carolina also called for the footage to be released.

'I have continued to support a change in the law that would presume that this kind of videos are public record and a court would have to come in and find reason not to have them released to the public. Right now, the law is the opposite,' Gov. Roy Cooper said. 'I do know that changes need to be made to ensure fairness in the justice system and to stand up against racial injustice in North Carolina.'

Protesters calling for the release of the video have gathered for eight nights in the city.

Demonstrations have remained peaceful since Brown's death, but the city declared a state of emergency Monday and has imposed an 8 p.m. curfew that will continue until rescinded, according to the county.

Seven people were arrested Tuesday night, the first night of the curfew, the Elizabeth City Police Department said.

On Thursday morning, Police Chief Eddie M. Buffaloe said nine people were arrested overnight in Elizabeth City. Seven of the arrests were for violating curfew and two were for impeding traffic.
MasterChef Australia's Katrina Dunnett was eliminated this week after failing to impress the judges with her 'wet' pudding.

But it turns out that the 25-year-old was struggling with a secret issue behind-the-scenes that may have contributed to her early demise.

The young cook suffers from coeliac disease, which means she can't taste test any of her own dishes that contain gluten.

'I can't eat gluten': MasterChef Australia's Katrina Dunnett has revealed that she was secretly struggling with coeliac disease behind-the-scenes of the show

'It's pretty ironic for me because I actually have coeliac disease, so I can't eat gluten, which is both pasta in the first challenge, and then bread in the second, so I guess it's pretty classic in a way,' she told Yahoo.

Katrina is the third person to be eliminated from MasterChef.

On Tuesday, viewers bid farewell to the 25-year-old after she was tasked with cooking a bread dish by Italian chef Massimo Bottura during the show's Superstar Week - but her attempt didn't quite meet the mark.

Judge Andy Allen delivered the news, telling her: 'The texture of your pudding was wet, and we couldn't taste the bread because of the flavours of orange and raisins.

Goodbye! Katrina became the third person to be eliminated from MasterChef during Tuesday's tense episode

'I'm sorry you've missed the brief. That's why unfortunately you're going home.'

Speaking after her departure, Katrina said: 'MasterChef has been an incredible journey. It's completely different to cooking at home, and I've just learned so much from these people.

'It's absolutely inspired me to do more with my cooking, and I can't wait to take that on.'

Gone: On Tuesday, viewers bid farewell to the 25-year-old after she was tasked to cook a bread dish by renown Italian chef Massimo Bottura during the show's Superstars Week - but her attempt didn't quite meet the mark

Katrina had been in the bottom four alongside Pete Campbell, Tom Levick and Dan Dumbrell after their mac and cheese dishes were slated by the judges.

Prior to Katrina's departure, Trent Vu was the first contestant to be eliminated on Thursday night, while YoYo Yang was given the boot on Sunday.

This year's Superstar Week has so far hosted an international bevy of renown chefs, including Yotam Ottolenghi and Nigella Lawson, who have all appeared via video on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gone: Trent Vu (pictured) was the first contestant to be eliminated on Thursday

Over: YoYo Yang was given the boot on Sunday night's episode, after she failed to wow the judges after British chef Nigella Lawson tasked her with recreating her iconic toasted marshmallow and rhubarb cake from description alone

Last year Nigella and Heston Blumenthal were forced to miss out on their scheduled appearances due to coronavirus travel restrictions and border closures.

Gordon Ramsay, Curtis Stone and pregnant popstar Katy Perry were able to film separate segments before Australia shut its borders in early 2020.

MasterChef continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel 10
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28) - A lawmaker on Wednesday vowed to fight the Food and Drug Administration in court if it blocks his plan to distribute the antiparasitic drug ivermectin for free.

Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Mike Defensor and House Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta are holding an "Ivermectin Pan-three" - inspired by the community pantry initiative - in Quezon City on Thursday. They will give away three capsules of the drug per beneficiary at no cost.

Defensor said those hoping to get ivermectin can present their medical prescriptions. If unavailable, there are doctors at the event who can prescribe it based on their medical information. He added the drugs will be made by a licensed compounding laboratory.

Defensor argued they will not be violating any law with the free distribution because it complies with FDA regulations. The lawmaker said FDA Director Eric Domingo himself told a recent Congressional hearing that the use of human-grade ivermectin capsules is allowed, as long as it is made by a licensed compounding laboratory with a doctor's prescription.

The congressman threatened legal action if the regulatory body issues an order against their event.

"I know I am not violating any law unless they would tell me otherwise... If they will again stop this initiative, I will fight them in court. Because legally, compliant kami [we are legally compliant]. On two occasions during the hearings, sinabi nila na ito ay pupwedeng proseso [they said this process is allowed]," he said.

The FDA chief said he has no objection to the planned ivermectin pantry as long as a doctor will check those in line before issuing a prescription.

Domingo supported Defensor's statement that lawmakers are not required to obtain a compassionate special permit as long as the medicines will come from licensed compounding pharmacies.

He stressed that the doctor giving the prescription will be held responsible for possible side effects from the drug.

"Lahat naman ng doctor may karapatan magreseta sa pasyente. Ang pasyente may karapatan magpatingin sa nanaisin nila. As long as assured ang safety ng pasyente then I do not see any problem with that," Domingo said in a separate interview.

[Translation: All doctors have the right to prescribe medicine. Patients can seek consultation. I don't see any problem with that as long as the safety of the patient is assured.]

The Health Department said only the five hospitals granted compassionate special permit by the FDA can "legally" distribute ivermectin. But Domingo said it's a different case because the hospitals apply for this permit so they can import the drug that is still unregistered in the Philippines.

He said if the compounded ivermectin was made by a licensed pharmacy then prescribed by the doctor then that is "legal."

"The FDA is not for or against any medicine. Ang bawal lang sa amin ay unregulated at unregistered [We only prohibit unregulated and unregistered drugs]," Domingo added.

Dr. Iggy Agbayani of the Concerned Doctors and Citizens of the Philippines estimates that over 100,000 people will be given ivermectin over the next few weeks. He said they will also regularly monitor the effect of the drug on the recipients.

"We are doing a clinical trial, pero hindi siya [but it is not] part of any big scheme to wait for," he noted. "Like any group of doctors, we want to know kung may impact 'yung gagawin [if this initiative will have an impact]."

Agbayani said they still expect there would be adverse effects from the drug, such as allergy, nausea, or diarrhea, but noted these are normal. He added recipients will be asked to register and report their health condition online or through their barangay officials.

Still no solid evidence on ivermectin vs COVID-19

The DOH maintained there is still no concrete evidence to show ivermectin is effective in treating mild to moderate COVID-19 infection.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said this is still their stand especially after the reevaluation conducted by a group of experts composed of medical societies, including the DOH and FDA.

"This is a conditional recommendation from them (against its use) because of the very low quality of evidence found across the globe," she said.

However, Agbayani called this untrue, saying at least 50 studies have been done globally suggesting ivermectin's efficacy in the prevention and early treatment of COVID-19.

"'Yung mga nakakausap natin sa gobyerno para bang nagbubulag-bulagan eh [The government officials we have talked to seem like they're deliberately ignoring these research]," he said. "Imagine that. There are 50+ studies, and they keep saying na wala or kaunting-kaunti [there is none or very little available].

Agbayani said he believes they're "making a difference" and that the drug will help make COVID-19 cases in the country more manageable.

Besides the DOH and FDA, other health experts, including from the World Health Organization, have cautioned the public against the use of ivermectin for COVID-19 prevention or treatment. According to Vergeire, there are also suggestions against the use of ivermectin for severe COVID-19 patients. Experts have also warned high doses of ivermectin could cause brain damage in humans, or even death.

CNN Philippines correspondent Xianne Arcangel and Carolyn Bonquin contributed to this report.
Maninder Singh Walia, a leader of the Sikh coalition of the Sikh Satsang of Indianapolis, speaks during a vigil at Monument Circle for the victims of the mass shooting at the FedEx facility on April 18, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Four of the eight victims of the April 15 shooting were Indian American Sikhs. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
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Allie Fox is a man with a lot of anger to throw around. Like Jackson Pollock using bile instead of paint, the lead of Apple TV Plus limited series The Mosquito Coast spreads his rage everywhere  including and especially on the lives of his family, whom he uproots for an adventure in Mexico. Played by Justin Theroux, Allie is a genius inventor who is infuriated by all aspects of American culture, including and especially consumerism, the way our country creates products meant to be indifferently enjoyed then tossed.

Whats surprising, then, about the show that contains Allie is how disposable it feels. Theroux, among the executive producers as well as a star, is working to adapt a novel of the same title by his uncle Paul Theroux; that novel previously was source material for a 1986 Peter Weir film that has many flaws but a clear understanding of Allie Foxs character. Perhaps too clear an understanding: As played by Harrison Ford, that films Allie Fox came not merely to define but to overpower the movie. As if in response, this Mosquito Coast de-centers Allie and amps up the proportion of the story thats about sketchily drawn and limply unbelievable violence and conspiracy. Increasingly from the storys margins, Allie protests a culture that is, perhaps, the only one that could have made this series.

Consider the way Allie and his family end up in Mexico: Theyre on the run from police after Allies daughter Dina (Logan Polish) frees him from custody in a feat of risky creative ingenuity that belies her young age. A stretchy and elastic creative universe can be a lot of fun, but this is the first of several daring bits of trickery executed by a family of Alias-level escape artists, and the air begins to seep out of the show as it becomes clear that the shows imagination extends precisely as far as making their time on the lam seem exotic, rather than for a moment real. His wife (Melissa George) fantasizes about getting through Mexico and to the shore, with her dreaminess underscored by the Beach Boys Kokomo; its an early sign of what these characters want to use Latin America for, and how hazy their understanding is of whats ahead.

This seems at times to be edging up to an excoriating look at American delusion. To wit, Allies children (his son is played by Gabriel Bateman) meet a group of students in Mexico vastly more cosmopolitan than they are. The show is critical of these snobbish scholars, but seems, too, to be raising the question of what exactly is being learned in the Foxes school without walls; Dinas critiques of them as bourgeoise hipster dilettantes is both fair and so tonally similar to her father as to provide an unusually sly look at the ways in which hes defined his familys reality and shaped their thinking.

This is a brief side adventure, though. More often, though, the show treats Mexico as, alternately, host nation for a familys group epiphanies and violent force pushing that family away. We meet, for instance, a mob boss (Ofelia Medina), drawn as a sort of profile in exaggerated villainy: A capo from hell, she practices silky sweetness until she threatens her insufficiently loyal deputies with scissors to the tongue. Its a performance, and a role, that seems written in part to heighten the stakes on a show thats already fairly tense. More perniciously, it also does a trick that is growing more and more familiar from shows including, most recently, Amazon Prime Videos Them  attempting to subvert a dubious trope often put to offensive ends (in this case, the fearsome Mexican organized crime kingpin) by depicting it in such an extreme way that it explodes the stereotype.

What ends up happening, though, is that the show runs aground on this story turn. Treating Mexico as the Mosquito Coast  the vexed place that responds with a crisp and efficient slap back at each of the Fox familys attempts to progress  would be a difficult needle to thread for a significantly more thoughtful show. This show doesnt try to do much more with a setting that Americans have been conditioned for years to view as full of bad hombres. A monologue by a character enlisted to serve as guide for the Foxes (Scotty Tovar) states fairly plainly the problems with the familys attitudes: You want to run away from America, but you cant. Youll never be able to. Because of the way you are. The way you think you can buy people. The way you think you can buy anything you want. Take anything you want from anyone you want. And anything you dont like you just burn it to the ground.

Thats phrased crisply and gets at the problem of Allie Fox as incisively as can be achieved by a writer on a mission to spell out his argument. Allie hates American culture, and brings it with him wherever he goes; he cannot escape himself. Its little wonder he comes to play a smaller role in the story than Fords Allie did in the 1980s: It would take a more carefully built story to genuinely explore this contradiction, rather than merely acknowledge it and try to bear it.

Theroux, an actor who, after three seasons of The Leftovers, could credibly be called fearless, is true-to-form strong. George, playing his wife, is given significantly more to do than Helen Mirren in the Weir film, and executes it gamely effectively in a performance that calls little attention to itself. Polish and Bateman are strong, too, and the show is beautifully shot, if at times raising the question of what so much beauty is trying to say. (A long unbroken shot over a busy worksite, in the shows Rupert Wyatt-directed first episode, shows us in granular detail the machinations of a place that has no bearing on the rest of the story and that well never see again.)

But the shows skittish unwillingness to look hard at its characters for longer than a monologue dooms it  not to failure but to a sort of absence, making a show about people in the fight for their lives feel like something to have on in the background. Whats left, after you move beyond the biliousness of Allie, echoed by his family members, is an adventure story of four Americans confronting the hostility that lies just beneath our southern border and finding within themselves the strength to fight back. These are folks whose loudly expressed principles exist basically separately from the story they are in. Its less that theyre inconsistent and more that they dont matter in an action-adventure story that, give or take a monologue, does not have too much on its mind.

The Mosquito Coast premieres Friday, April 30 on Apple TV Plus.

Apple TV Plus. Seven episodes (all screened for review).

Production

Executive Producers: Rupert Wyatt, Paul Theroux, Justin Theroux, Edward L. McDonnell, Alan Gasmer, Peter Jaysen, and Bob Bookman

With

Justin Theroux, Melissa George

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GURUGRAM, India, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Key Findings

Power tillers, tractors and threshers are the most common equipments used in the Myanmar agriculture machinery segment. Out of these, Power Tillers are the most selling agricultural equipment in the region.

agriculture machinery segment. Out of these, Power Tillers are the most selling agricultural equipment in the region. The agriculture equipment market in Myanmar is currently exclusively import dependent. The Ministry of Commerce, effective from November 2017 , granted the permission for joint ventures (JVs) between foreign and domestic companies to import and sell agricultural machinery.

is currently exclusively import dependent. The Ministry of Commerce, effective from , granted the permission for joint ventures (JVs) between foreign and domestic companies to import and sell agricultural machinery. Central Region consisting of Dry Zone of Magway and Mandalay area and Delta Zone of Bago, Yangon , Ayeyarwady and Mon State has the highest demand for agricultural equipments in Myanmar . The region will witness a CAGR of ~10% growth in demand for tractors during 2020-2025.

Shortage of Skilled Farm Labour and Increasing Wages: The daily farm workers in rural parts of Myanmar are shifting to work in construction activities in urban regions such as Yangon and Ayeyarwady. Moreover, some workers are shifting to foreign locations such as Thailand and Cambodia in order to work in tobacco factories, as they offer better monetary opportunities. This has led to shortage of skilled labor in the region, which has driven the wages upwards. Therefore, farmers are upgrading to using equipments such as Tractors and Combine Harvesters, as they are more cost and time efficient. Further, this helps in increasing the yield and productivity.

Low Down Payments and Ease in Financing: Farmers can easily procure agricultural machinery such as Tractors and Combine harvesters by paying a small down payment of 10% and getting 2-3 years loan on semi-annual payment basis. This has helped in attracting farmers, and increasing the penetration for farming equipments in the region.

Government Efforts for Modernizing the Agriculture: Government is promoting sustainable agriculture mechanization through Agriculture Mechanization Department (AMD). It is focusing on - modernizing farmland through proper farm roads, drainage, irrigation network and other facilities, increasing the machinery usage for pre and post harvesting activities, enabling local farmers to buy tractors and educating farmers on different agriculture aspects and techniques. Many other initiatives other than this have been undertaken for improving the productivity in the country.

The report titled " Myanmar Agriculture Machinery Market Outlook to 2025: Driven by Growth in Machinery Supply and Government's Focus on Agriculture Mechanization in the Country " by Ken Research provides a comprehensive analysis on the performance of the agriculture machinery market in Myanmar. The report covers various aspects including sales value, volume, trends & developments, issues & challenges faced by the industry, competition landscape, financing players, and others. It also covers the country overview, regulatory framework, agricultural overview of Myanmar, land under cultivation, changes in the cropping patterns, farm holding structure & scale of mechanization. The report concludes with the projections for the future of industry including forecasted sales value and volume; future projections by product type and regional demand by the year ending 2025, COVID-19 impact, and analyst recommendations highlighting the major opportunities and cautions in the industry. The market is expected to register a positive six year CAGR of 25.1% and 27.1% in terms of sales value and volume respectively during the forecast period 2020-2025. Tractors market, combine harvesters market and implements market in Myanmar is further expected to grow at revenue CAGR of 30.0%, 18.0% & 27.3% respectively and volume CAGR of 30.0% & 18.0% respectively during forecast period 2020-2025.

Key Segments Covered:

Total Myanmar Agriculture Machinery Market: By Product Type

Tractors

Combine Harvesters

Implements

Myanmar Tractor Market

By Product Type

Two Wheeler Tracto



Four Wheeler Tractor

By Power

Less than 40HP



From 40HP to 70HP



Above 70HP

By State

North



Central



South

Myanmar Combine Harvester Market

By State

North



Central



South

Companies Covered

Kubota Myanmar Co., Ltd.

Sonalika

Yanmar Myanmar Co., Ltd.

New Holland

John Deere

Mahindra

Chinese Players (Dongfeng, Iseki, Shifeng, Yto, Wuzheng Group and Others)

Key Target Audience

Agriculture Equipment Manufacturing Companies

Industry Associations

Regulatory Bodies

Financing Companies

Agriculture Equipment Distributors & Authorized Dealerships

Time Period Captured in the Report:-

Historical Period - 2014-2020

- 2014-2020 Forecast Period - 2020-2025

Key Target Audience

Agriculture Equipment Manufacturing Companies

Industry Associations

Regulatory Bodies

Financing Companies

Agriculture Equipment Distributors & Authorized Dealerships

Key Topics Covered in the Report:-

Agriculture Overview in Myanmar

How do Farmers operate in Myanmar ?

? Supply Side of Myanmar Agriculture Machinery Market

Myanmar Tractors and Combine Harvesters Market, 2014-2025

Snapshot on Rental Agriculture Equipment Business in Myanmar

Snapshot on Second Hand Machinery Market in Myanmar

Financing for Agriculture Machinery in Myanmar

Comparative Landscape in Myanmar Agriculture Machinery Market

Agriculture Machinery Market Impact of COVID-19 on Myanmar Agriculture Machinery Market

Myanmar Future Outlook & Projections, 2020-2025

Analyst Recommendations

Myanmar Agriculture Equipment Sales Value

Myanmar Tractors Market Size

Myanmar Combine Harvesters Market Size

Myanmar Implements Market Size

Financing for Agriculture Equipment in Myanmar

2 nd Hand Agriculture Equipment Scenario in Myanmar

Hand Agriculture Equipment Scenario in Rental Agriculture Equipment Scenario in Myanmar

Major Staple Crops Produced in Myanmar

Major Cash Crops Produced in Myanmar

Major Rice producing Regions in Myanmar

producing Regions in Trade Scenario of Food Crops in Myanmar

Tractors in Myanmar

Combine Harvesters in Myanmar

Implements in Myanmar

Production of Rice in Myanmar

Cropping Cycle of Rice in Myanmar

Cropland Planting Trends in Myanmar

Myanmar Agribusiness Tools

Myanmar Farmer Characteristics

Daily Wage of Farmers in Myanmar

Myanmar Average Farmer Smallholder Household

Small Family Farming Myanmar

Farming Systems Adopted in Myanmar

Myanmar Farm Labor Wages

Import Duties Myanmar Agricultural Machinery

CO2 Emissions in Myanmar

Competition Scenario in Myanmar Agriculture Equipment Market

Agriculture Equipment Market Myanmar Agriculture Equipment Market Future Revenue

Dominance of Second Hand Tractors in Myanmar

Average Distributor Margin Myanmar

Myanmar Agriculture Equipment Market Covid Impact

For More Information, Refer to this link,

Myanmar Agriculture Machinery Market Outlook to 2025: Driven by Growth in Machinery Supply and Government's Focus on Agriculture Mechanization in the Country

Related Reports

Thailand Agricultural Machinery Market Outlook to 2025 - Agriculture Tractor Market (By Type: 2W and 4W Tractors, By Power: 8HP-15HP, 20HP-35HP, 36HP-47HP, 48HP-75HP, 75HP-100HP, 100HP-120HP and Above 120HP), Combine Harvester Market (By Power: 70HP & Below, 75HP-105HP and Above 105HP), By Rice Transplanters (By Rows: 4Row, 6Row and 8Row), Agriculture Implements Market

The report covers aspects such as the market size on the basis of sales volume and revenue for Tractors, Combine Harvesters, Rice Transplanters, and Agriculture Implements. The segmentation for Tractors, Combine Harvesters has been created on the basis of Horsepower while the segmentation for Rice Transplanters has been showcased by Row. The report also covers the market share, competitive landscape, and business model of hire purchase and lease, along with the strength and weaknesses of major players. In addition to this, the report also covers the country overview, government regulation, and agricultural overview of Thailand.

US Tractor and Combine Harvesters Market Outlook to 2024 - By Tractor Type (2WD and 4WD), By Tractor HP (<40 HP, 40-100 HP and >100 HP) and By Combine Harvester HP (Upto 250 HP, 250-350 HP and Above 350 HP)

The report covers various aspects including market overview, value chain analysis, market evolution, market size of tractors and combine harvesters by sales value and volume, market segmentation by type and its sub segments by horse power, trade scenario, regulatory framework impacting the US market, snapshot on secondhand agriculture equipment market, equipment financing market, rental market and after sale services market, customer profiling in US agriculture equipment market and competition landscape.

Philippines Agricultural Equipment Market Outlook to 2023- By Product Type (Tractors, Combine Harvesters, Planters, Seeders and Tillage Equipments and Tillage Equipment), By Tractor Segment (Up to 60 Hp, Between 61-130 Hp and above 130 Hp), By Production (Imported and Domestically Manufactured) and By Region (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao)

The report covers various aspects including overview and market size, market segmentation, trends and development, issues and challenges, snapshots on (Equipments Financing and Rentals, Aftermarket services and Diesel Engines), competitive landscape, market share of major players (Kubota, Yanmar, Massey Ferguson, CNH, John Deere, McCormick and Landini) in agricultural equipment market. The report concludes with market projection and analyst recommendations highlighting the major opportunities and cautions.

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Ken Research

Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications

Ankur@kenresearch.com

+91-9015378249

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for more efforts to break new ground in promoting high-quality development in ethnic border regions.



Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during his inspection trip to south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from Sunday to Tuesday.

Xi called on these regions to better serve and integrate into the country's new development pattern, make new progress in advancing green development, and be more committed to consolidating and developing ethnic unity, social stability and border security.

During his inspection tour, Xi went to Guilin, Liuzhou and Nanning, visiting a local revolutionary memorial, an ethnic museum, villages and enterprises to inspect the localities' work in implementing the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).

On Sunday morning, Xi visited a memorial park dedicated to the Battle of the Xiangjiang River during the Long March in the 1930s in the city of Guilin. He presented a flower basket in memory of the martyrs in the battle.

Noting that the battle was a life-or-death event in China's revolution history, Xi stressed the importance of CPC members staying true to their ideals and convictions.

Xi then visited Maozhushan village in Guilin to inspect the local grape growing industry. He called for efforts to pursue rural vitalization based on local specialty industries and make better use of science and technology in promoting the agricultural sector.

He also stressed measures that can ensure farmers benefit more from the development of rural industries.

Xi walked through the village, dropping by the home of villager Wang Deli and chatting with the family.

He said that as the CPC is about to celebrate its centenary, the country has scored a complete victory in its fight against poverty. However, he said promoting rural vitalization on all fronts will be no easier than the anti-poverty battle, allowing no letup or sluggishness.

On Sunday afternoon, Xi went to a dock on the Lijiang River in the city of Guilin. He called for more efforts in ecological restoration and pollution prevention and control to improve the environment, the ecosystem, and the overall function of the river basin.

On Monday, Xi visited a scenic park in Guilin. He lauded the city as a treasure bestowed on the Chinese nation by nature and called for efforts to improve its protection.

In the afternoon, Xi went to the city of Liuzhou. Inspecting machinery manufacturer Guangxi Liugong Group Co., Ltd., Xi said the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry is the top priority in promoting China's high-quality economic growth.

He urged efforts to keep a firm hold on the initiative in pursuing innovation-driven development and uphold the overall leadership of the Party in state-owned enterprises.

Xi then went to a food-processing zone for local specialty Luosifen rice noodles. He praised the role of local signature industries in developing the real economy and called for more support for private enterprises to help them grow and tackle challenges.

On Tuesday morning, Xi visited the Anthropology Museum of Guangxi in the regional capital city of Nanning.

As the country's demonstration zone of ethnic unity and progress, Guangxi should continue to play its exemplary and leading role, Xi said.

In the morning, Xi also heard the regional Party committee and government of Guangxi report their work.

Xi urged efforts to promote the high-end, intelligent and green transformation of traditional industries, optimize and upgrade their entire industrial chains, and actively cultivate emerging industries.

Calling for joint efforts to build the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, Xi stressed the importance of strengthening China-ASEAN cooperation and carrying out solid work on pilot free trade zones.

Amid the fight against pollution, authorities should incorporate the goal of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality into the overall plan for economic and social development and building an ecological civilization, Xi said.

Xi also underscored the introduction of job policies targeting key groups including college graduates and migrant workers, and the protection of the legitimate interests of truck drivers, couriers and food delivery riders.

He also called for maintaining COVID-19 control measures and highlighted the importance of raising public awareness of ethnic unity and progress.

Urging Guangxi to utilize its abundant revolutionary resources in boosting Party history learning and education, Xi asked Party members to appreciate the power of belief from CPC's centenary endeavor to maintain firm resolve and the courage to prevail over major difficulties and challenges.

All Party members and cadres must realize that socialism with Chinese characteristics is the only path to the development of China, and have complete trust in the CPC in rallying the Chinese people and leading them in following the path to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Xi noted.
With inside knowledge of how wineries operate, Out of the Box can bring a level of service we honestly havent seen in this industry in Napa before, Burnett said.

Tourism will return to the valley post-COVID, but the shift toward DTC shipping will continue because consumers want to enjoy their wine at home  even if home is in another country, he said.

I just got a call from a client who wants to ship something overnight to somebody for their birthday tonight, Burnett said. We can make it happen.

Greg Baylor has over 40 years of experience in warehousing.

The integrity of the wine is the most important thing, Baylor said. If Im going to ship from here to Florida, its going to go through four or five hot states to get there. And depending on the shipping method it might take four or five days, so theres a chance it might get compromised.

Amazon has changed the way consumers think about shipping, but the reality is that wine shipping is expensive and highly regulated, Burnett said.

In this business, you get what you pay for, he said. Our rates are very competitive, but we also deliver on that great service.
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The fourth Digital China Summit concluded Monday in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province, with investments worth 318.8 billion yuan (about 49 billion U.S. dollars) involving 523 projects signed during the event.



The projects cover fields such as artificial intelligence, 5G, industrial internet and blockchain, and embody the summit's role as a platform for exchanges in digital technology and industry cooperation.

The first public display of the digital yuan was also held during the summit. State-owned enterprises including China National Nuclear Industry and State Grid demonstrated their innovations in digital transformation.

The two-day event, held both online and offline, had been categorized into seven sections including the main forum, an exhibition, 20 sub-forums and an innovation contest.

The exhibition, which will last till Thursday, has attracted 54 leading companies including tech giants Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent, with 36 state-owned enterprises displaying their products and services. The exhibition saw 120,000 visitors as of Monday.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Lara Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: LRA) ("Lara"), is pleased to report on preliminary metallurgical test work carried out by Blue Coast Research Ltd ("Blue Coast") of Parksville, British Columbia, Canada, on composite samples from across and down through the copper mineralized zone at the Homestead target of the Company's Planalto Copper Project, located in the Carajas region of northern Brazil. The key results are:

Flotation rougher and cleaner test work has shown that it is possible to achieve a commercial quality copper concentrate, grading 30-33% copper, with recoveries of 85-87%, after a regrind of the rougher concentrate product to 20 microns.

A locked-cycle test conducted on a master composite with a primary grind of 75 microns achieved a copper recovery of 90% to a final concentrate grade of 29% copper, with very low contents of deleterious elements and halides such as arsenic, antimony, mercury, chlorine and fluorine.

The test work indicated that a commercial quality chalcopyrite copper concentrate could be achieved using a simple flow sheet with the readily available collector and frothing agents after a primary grind of nominal P80 at 75 microns and a regrind of the flotation concentrate of P80 at 20 microns.

Preliminary metallurgical test work was undertaken on bulk sample composites from the Homestead mineralized zone, comprising approximately 139kg of quartered NQ-size drill core samples, selected from across and down through the disseminated and vein-hosted chalcopyrite mineralized zone. Eighty-one individual drill core samples, ranging from 1m to 2.5m interval length, representing the original half core sample intervals analyzed for copper, were assembled into four bulk samples by Blue Coast: one master composite (PL-3 MC) for the entire deposit and three elevation composites representing the upper (PL-3 U), middle (PL-3 M) and lower (PL-3 L) levels of the mineralized zone. The lower level of mineralization represented in the sample is from approximately 110-170m vertical below the surface. The calculated weighted copper and gold grades for this selection were 0.47% Cu and 0.052 g/t Au, respectively based on the original half core assays. All the samples were of fresh rock, with no material from the weathered zone (near surface to 5-25m depth) included in the tested composites. The average grades for the head samples generated by Blue Coast for each of the four composites are summarised in the following table:

Composite Approximate vertical depth below surface

(m) Cu % Fe % S % Au g/t PL-3MC 20 -170 0.51 7.50 0.57 0.04 PL-3U 20 - 80 0.50 8.67 0.54 - PL-3 M 80 - 110 0.46 7.38 0.52 - PL-3 L 110 - 170 0.58 7.33 0.70 -

The test work conducted by Blue Coast included studies on chalcopyrite liberation, rougher and cleaner flotation and comminution, QEMSCAN mineralogy studies and some trialing of gravity concentration on the final copper concentrate to see if a commercial grade gold-copper concentrate could be attained.

Mineralogical analysis showed chalcopyrite liberation to be 71-73 % at 80% passing 75 microns, whereas with the coarser grind of 106 microns, the liberation was only 55%. A portion of the chalcopyrite has been shown to occur as fine-grained disseminations enclosed in silicate minerals and as such not readily liberated. A total of eight flotation tests were trialed, using different primary grind sizes and different frothing and collector agents to determine the best flow sheet to achieve an optimum copper grade and recoveries into the rougher concentrate. Copper flotation recoveries into the initial cleaner concentrates were found to be low (as low as only 13% Cu), so further testing at the cleaner stage incorporated a regrind step on the rougher concentrate to attain a cleaner flotation concentrate at a commercial copper grade.

Rougher flotation test work indicated that it is possible to attain copper recoveries up to 93% at the nominal primary grind of P80 passing 75 microns. With regrinding of the rougher flotation concentrate, to a nominal P80 of 20 microns, it was possible to obtain cleaner flotation copper concentrates with copper grades between 30-33% copper. The best results of copper recovery were achieved using a simple flow sheet using the readily available collector and frothing agents. Similar results were attained for the three elevation composites indicating a relative uniformity of the mineralization throughout the deposit as was also indicated by the QEMSCAN mineralogy studies on the elevation composites.

One Locked-cycle Test conducted on a sample of the master composite using a primary grind of 75 microns and several stages of regrind achieved a final copper concentrate of 28.9% Cu with an overall recovery of 90% of the copper. The gold and silver contents of the final concentrate are relatively low at 1.79 g/t Au and 27 g/t Ag, respectively. Chemical analyses for deleterious elements and halides in the concentrate showed only low levels of all commonly encountered penalty elements, such as arsenic, antimony, mercury, chlorine and fluorine.

Comminution testing, using a closing screen size of 106 microns for all three elevation samples, has the ore classified as hard, with a Bond Ball Work index average of 19 kWh/tonne metric with a range between 18.5 for the lower level to 20.5 for the middle level composites.

The QEMSCAN mineralogy on a representative sample of the master composite showed the dominant sulphide mineral of interest to be chalcopyrite (1.54 vol %) with only minor presence of pyrite (0.19 vol %). Minor traces of galena, sphalerite and molybdenite were reported. The main gangue minerals are quartz (20%), chlorite (19%), feldspar (18.5%), phlogopite-biotite (10%), feldspathoids (5-6%) and muscovite (5%). Minor calcite and fluorite were recorded.

Trialing of gravity testing on the final concentrate indicated the possibility of producing a separate gold-copper concentrate with over 100g/t Au but more testing is required to determine if this would be a commercially viable option.

Sampling methodology, Chain of Custody, Quality Assurance and Quality Control

The sample collection and dispatch to Belem (Para State) of the bulk sample was carried out by and under the supervision of the Company's Vice-President Exploration. The sample was air freighted by an international carrier from Belem to Canada. Sample intervals for the individual drill core samples making up the bulk sample varied between 1.0m and 2.5m and were contiguous with the sampling intervals used during the earlier half core drill hole sampling used to determine the composite copper grades for each of the drill holes.

About the Planalto Project

The Planalto Copper Project covers meta-volcano-sedimentary sequences and intrusives of early Proterozoic-age with IOCG-type mineralization, located near Vale's Sossego copper mine and Oz Minerals Antas and Pedra Branca copper mines, in the Carajas Mineral Province of northern Brazil. Lara has a staged earn-in agreement with Capstone Mining Corp., (see Company news release of February 4, 2019 for details), whereby Capstone can earn up to a 70% in the Project by funding exploration, feasibility studies and electing to finance, build and manage a commercial mining operation, with Lara repaying its pro-rata share of the production financing out of cash flow.

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 and Peru. Lara's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "LRA".

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.

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/81953
OSE Immunotherapeutics and Veloxis Pharmaceuticals Enter Into Global License Agreement to Develop, Manufacture, and Commercialize FR104, a CD28 Antagonist, in the Organ Transplantation Market

Details Category: Antibodies Published on Tuesday, 27 April 2021 14:42 Hits: 850

Agreement expands Veloxis product portfolio and the continued commitment to improving the lives of transplant patients.

OSE Immunotherapeutics to receive up to 315 million in potential milestones, including a 7 million upfront, and tiered royalties on sales.

NANTES, France and CARY, NC, USA I April 26, 2021 I OSE Immunotherapeutics (ISIN: FR0012127173; Mnemo: OSE) and Veloxis Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Asahi Kasei, today announced a global license agreement granting Veloxis Pharmaceuticals worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize FR104, a CD28 antagonist monoclonal antibody fragment, for all transplant indications. In parallel, OSE Immunotherapeutics retains all product rights to develop FR104 in autoimmune diseases. Through this license agreement, Veloxis plans to develop FR104 to provide a new therapeutic option for prophylaxis of organ rejection in patients receiving a solid organ transplant.

According to the agreement, OSE Immunotherapeutics will receive up to 315 million in potential milestones from Veloxis, including a 7 million upfront payment; development, registration and commercialization milestone payments; as well as additional tiered royalties on potential future sales. Veloxis will assume all production, development and commercialization costs in the transplant indications for FR104.

Alexis Peyroles, Chief Executive Officer of OSE Immunotherapeutics, comments: We are excited to begin this collaboration with Veloxis, a leading transplantation company, and the perfect partner for clinical advancement of FR104 in this field. This partnership demonstrates the outstanding value and great potential of our clinical stage product to meet patients and physicians needs in transplantation.

Ulf Meier-Kriesche MD, Chief Scientific Officer of Veloxis, a board-certified Nephrologist with over 20 years of practical clinical experience in transplantation, comments: We are very excited about the opportunity to develop this new molecular entity as a potential alternative to CNIs in the immunosuppressive regimen following kidney transplantation. The range of successful non-clinical pharmacologic, mechanistic and toxicology studies already conducted with FR-104 as well as the first-in-man data that have been generated provide us a good foundation to advance the product development. We believe this is a significant step towards addressing some of the critical unmet medical needs in transplantation. It also reinforces our commitment to our patients and the transplant community we serve.

About Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Veloxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, an Asahi Kasei company, is a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company committed to improving the lives of transplant patients. Headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, USA, Veloxis is focused on the direct commercialization of immunosuppression medications in the US, expansion of partnerships for markets around the world, and acquisition of assets utilized in transplant patients and by adjacent medical specialties. For further information, please visit www.veloxis.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 further information, please visit www.asahi-kasei.com.

ABOUT OSE Immunotherapeutics

OSE Immunotherapeutics is an integrated biotechnology company focused on developing and partnering therapies to control the immune system for immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases. The companys immunology research and development platform is focused on three areas: T-cell-based vaccination, Immuno-Oncology (focus on myeloid targets), Auto-immunity & Inflammation. Its balanced first-in-class clinical and preclinical portfolio has a diversified risk profile:

Vaccine platform

Tedopi  (innovative combination of neoepitopes): the companys most advanced product; positive results for Step-1 of the Phase 3 trial (Atalante 1) in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer post checkpoint inhibitor failure.

In Phase 2 in pancreatic cancer (TEDOPaM, sponsor GERCOR).

In Phase 2 in ovary cancer (TEDOVA, sponsor ARCAGY-GINECO) in combination with pembrolizumab.

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, accrual of new patients in TEDOPaM should restart in 2021.

(innovative combination of neoepitopes): the companys most advanced product; positive results for Step-1 of the Phase 3 trial (Atalante 1) in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer post checkpoint inhibitor failure. In Phase 2 in pancreatic cancer (TEDOPaM, sponsor GERCOR). In Phase 2 in ovary cancer (TEDOVA, sponsor ARCAGY-GINECO) in combination with pembrolizumab. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, accrual of new patients in TEDOPaM should restart in 2021. CoVepiT: a prophylactic second-generation vaccine against COVID-19, developed using SARS-CoV-2 optimized epitopes against multi variants. Positive preclinical and human ex vivo results in August 2020. In clinical Phase 1.

Immuno-oncology platform

BI 765063 (OSE-172, anti-SIRP mAb on SIRP/CD47 pathway): developed in partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim; myeloid checkpoint inhibitor in Phase 1 in advanced solid tumors.

(OSE-172, anti-SIRP mAb on SIRP/CD47 pathway): developed in partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim; myeloid checkpoint inhibitor in Phase 1 in advanced solid tumors. CLEC-1 (novel myeloid checkpoint target): identification of mAb antagonists of CLEC-1 blocking the Dont Eat Me signal that increase both tumor cell phagocytosis by macrophages and antigen capture by dendritic cells.

(novel myeloid checkpoint target): identification of mAb antagonists of CLEC-1 blocking the Dont Eat Me signal that increase both tumor cell phagocytosis by macrophages and antigen capture by dendritic cells. BiCKI: bispecific fusion protein platform built on the key backbone component anti-PD-1 (OSE-279) combined with new immunotherapy targets; 2nd generation of PD-(L)1 inhibitors to increase antitumor efficacity.

Auto-immunity and inflammation platform

FR104 (anti-CD28 monoclonal antibody): positive Phase 1 results; ongoing Phase 1/2 in renal transplant (sponsored by the Nantes University Hospital); Phase 2-ready asset in a niche indication in autoimmune diseases.

(anti-CD28 monoclonal antibody): positive Phase 1 results; ongoing Phase 1/2 in renal transplant (sponsored by the Nantes University Hospital); Phase 2-ready asset in a niche indication in autoimmune diseases. OSE-127/S95011 (humanized monoclonal antibody targeting IL-7 receptor): developed in partnership with Servier; positive Phase 1 results; in Phase 2 in ulcerative colitis (OSE sponsor) and an independent Phase 2 planned in Sjogrens syndrome (Servier sponsor).

(humanized monoclonal antibody targeting IL-7 receptor): developed in partnership with Servier; positive Phase 1 results; in Phase 2 in ulcerative colitis (OSE sponsor) and an independent Phase 2 planned in Sjogrens syndrome (Servier sponsor). OSE-230 (ChemR23 agonist mAb): first-in-class therapeutic agent with the potential to resolve chronic inflammation by driving affected tissues to tissue integrity.

SOURCE: OSE Immunotherapeutics
CBH CAPS Program Now a Medicaid Supplemental Service

PHILADELPHIA, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania's Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) has approved the Community Autism Peer Specialist (CAPS) Program as a Medicaid Supplemental Service. The new approval will allow the CAPS program, developed initially with reinvestment funding, to be sustained over time as a Medicaid reimbursable service. Community Behavioral Health (CBH), a division of the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS), launched the CAPS program as a pilot in 2019.

The first CBH CAPS cohort pictured with staff and program partners. Photo by: Drexel University

The CAPS program is a community-based, peer-support behavioral health service that provides person-centered, participant-directed support to individuals on the autism spectrum. The program's goal is to help those on the autism spectrum increase personal wellness, independence, and enhance community participation. CAPS is an initiative of the Philadelphia Autism Project and was developed in partnership with the Autism Services Education Resources and Training (ASERT) Collaborative Eastern Region.

"We are thrilled for the OMHSAS approval of our CAPS Program," CBH CEO Dr. Faith Dyson-Washington said. "Our partnerships with self-advocates, caregivers, and peer specialists were an integral part of the development of CAPS. The success of this program is due to the collaborative spirit and the shared vision to serve those in need. The goal of the CAPS program truly aligns with CBH's mission of improving the health and wellbeing of all Philadelphians."

Essential to the development of the CAPS Program were the collaborative efforts of:

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services' Office of Developmental Programs' Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations

OMHSAS' Bureau of Policy, Planning, and Program Development

DBHIDS

The Philadelphia Autism Project

The ASERT Collaborative

Mental Health Partnerships (MHP)

The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion

"Innovative initiatives like the CAPS program are exactly what DBHIDS has in mind as we strive to educate, strengthen, and serve individuals and communities so all Philadelphians can thrive," DBHIDS Commissioner Jill Bowen, Ph.D., said. "I'm very pleased the program was approved as a Medicaid Supplemental Service, making it that much easier for Philadelphians to benefit from the experience and skills of the Community Autism Peer Specialists."

Story continues

"When we talk about creating a more diverse and inclusive world, having the CAPS program as a Medicaid Supplemental Service is an integral part of that vision," said City Councilmember At-Large Derek Green. "I'm thrilled that CAPS' footprint is expanding in such a major way and will be accessible to so many more families to utilize as a vital resource in navigating the complexities of Autism Spectrum Disorder."

To be eligible to receive CAPS service, individuals must be at least 14 years of age, have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis, Community Behavioral Health insurance or be Medicaid eligible, and reside in Philadelphia County.

CAPS use their lived experiences and skills learned from the 75-hour training course (adapted for individuals on the autism spectrum) to earn the peer specialist distinction. The training course, developed with peer-support experts, and representation from behavioral health and ASD, addresses how to support youth, young adults, and adults on the spectrum in enhancing their life satisfaction, self-knowledge, self-advocacy skills, and community participation.

CAPS support the individuals they serve by creating an individual support plan to document these identified areas. Activities relevant to the topics chosen by the participant may address skill-building for employment or postsecondary education, leadership as young adults, living independently, caring for health and service needs, enhancing interpersonal relationships, navigating public transportation, engaging in community through recreation, and other various areas of growth.

The CAPS program was launched through MHP in September 2019. To date, 31 CBH members have been served through the program, and 10 CAPS have gained employment at various organizations, including MHP, DBHIDS, CBH, Temple University, and Access Services, in a variety of roles centered around traditional peer support, community wellness engagement, clinical care management, training research, and advocacy.

CBH, along with the Policy and Analytics Center of the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University and the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion, will continue to evaluate the CAPS candidate process, service delivery, and program outcomes in the future.

About CBH

CBH is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) corporation contracted by the City of Philadelphia's Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services to manage the delivery of behavioral health services for Medicaid recipients of Philadelphia County. For more information about CBH, visit cbhphilly.org.

About DBHIDS

The Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, part of the City of Philadelphia's Department of Health and Human Services, offers behavioral health care, intellectual disability supports, and early intervention services in one comprehensive, integrated system. For more information about DBHIDS, visit DBHIDS.org.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/community-behavioral-health-ends-autism-acceptance-month-with-state-approval-for-community-autism-peer-specialist-program-301278525.html

SOURCE Community Behavioral Health
Linfield University on Tuesday fired English professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, a public advocate for students and faculty who had complained about alleged sexual abuse by board trustees.

Pollack-Pelzner, 41, also earlier this month accused university President Miles K. Davis of making anti-Semitic comments to fend off criticism of how the school handled those sexual abuse complaints. Pollack-Pelzner first shared the allegations on a Twitter thread this month.

The universitys human resources manager summoned Pollack-Pelzner to a 4 p.m. mandatory meeting Tuesday and divulged little about the session, saying only that it regarded his employment, according to emails shared with The Oregonian/OregonLive.

An hour later, the school confirmed it had fired Pollack-Pelzner for cause, describing him as insubordinate and having interfered with the universitys administration of its responsibilities.

Pollack-Pelzner said hes consulting a lawyer and declined comment.

The university said in a statement that the tenured Shakespeare studies professor, who also served as a faculty trustee, had engaged in conduct that is harmful to the university; deliberately violated instructions to preserve the attorney-client privilege with respect to information that was entrusted to him in a position of trust and confidence; deliberately circulated false statements about the university, its employees and its board; refused to comply with university policies and, in doing so, has been insubordinate and interfered with the universitys administration of its responsibilities.

The firing wasnt in retaliation for Pollack-Pelzner speaking out against the president or board chair but for his propagated false and defamatory statements, university spokesman Scott Nelson and communications consultant Jillian Cohan Martin said by email.

The universitys provost, Susan Agre-Kippenhan, also sent a message to faculty and students, referencing the schools extraordinary step of firing a faculty member, alleging serious breaches of the individuals duty to the institution.

Linfield unequivocally supports academic freedom and a diversity of opinion and has resoundingly reinforced the goal of a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for all, the provost wrote. That cannot be achieved if individuals abuse their positions of trust and take deliberate actions that harm the university.

The subject line of Linfield University Provost Susan Agre-Kippenhan's message about the professor's firing read: "Extraordinary step."

Pollack-Pelzners allegations led the Oregon Board of Rabbis last week to call for the resignation of the university president and board chair for their mishandling of serious allegations of sexual harassment and a stream of comments insinuating religious bias. The Anti-Defamation Leagues Pacific Northwest regional director urged the school to investigate Pollack-Pelzners allegations.

According to Pollack-Pelzner, Davis remarked upon the length of Jewish noses in their first one-on-one meeting in early October 2018. Then last year after Pollack-Pelzner brought sexual harassment complaints from students and faculty to the board of trustees, he said Davis suggested divisive people could show loyalty to the private university with a Baptist heritage only by accepting the teachings of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

Davis, who said he is not of the Christian faith, firmly denied Pollack-Pelzners allegations and accused Pollack-Pelzner of a smear campaign against him.

An outside lawyer hired by the university to investigate Pollack-Pelzners allegations couldnt substantiate the Jewish noses, remark as no other witness was present.

But the lawyer did find that Davis was upset with Pollack-Pelzner for bringing up the sexual abuse complaints and it was plausible that Pollack-Pelzner felt he was facing retaliation as a result.

Two Linfield psychology professors, Jennifer Linder and Tanya Tompkins, then came forward earlier this month and independently recalled a disturbing comment they said Davis made about Jews and the Holocaust in a meeting with department staff in late October 2018 shortly after he arrived on campus.

Davis had been talking about transparency and told faculty at the meeting that they wouldnt be caught by surprise about potential staff cuts or other changes, Linder and Tompkins said.

Davis, according to Tompkins, then shared that a former professor of his once said: You dont give Jews soap when you send them to the showers. Linder remembered that Davis said: You dont send Jews to the showers with soap.

The psychology professors said they didnt object at the time but brought it up recently because Davis had tried to discredit Pollack-Pelzner.

Davis said this month said he didnt recall making a reference to the Holocaust as alleged during the psychology faculty meeting. He also said he was sorry if any of his remarks have made people uncomfortable.

Pollack-Pelzners firing drew immediate rebuke from other faculty, students and alumni.

I am outraged, English professor Anna Keesey said. Hes a person of high integrity, a star teacher and scholar, and a whistle-blower on corrupt, ugly behavior on the part of the president and the chair of the board. Hes a hero. Its a phenomenally stupid, destructive move, but its what weve come to expect. The administration narrative is and has been for two years a false and self-serving one.

I have never seen such extraordinary violation of due process, academic freedom and retaliation against a faculty who stood up for JUSTICE, wrote Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt, a Linfield English professor and colleague of Pollack-Pelzner, on Twitter, Tuesday.

Alumna Kyra Rickards, who graduated in 2014 with an honors degree in English literature, said Pollack-Pelzner was her honors thesis mentor. She said he was a faculty member who was an integral part of her Linfield education and truly stood up for marginalized voices.

Shame on you @LinfieldUniv- violating due process, academic freedom, and for protecting sexual predators, Rickards wrote on Twitter.

Pollack-Pelzner grew up in Portland, graduated from Lincoln High School, obtained a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University in 2001 and later his doctorate degree from Harvard in 2010.

He began teaching at Linfield in 2010, became a tenured professor in 2016. He has served a two-year term as a faculty trustee on the universitys board.

Earlier this month, he told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he tried to work for change from within the university system but his efforts were blocked at every turn.

I am terrified of retaliation but I feel like its my duty to my colleagues who entrusted their experiences to me, he said then.

The schools faculty handbook says faculty with tenure will be fired only for adequate cause, retirement by choice or for medical disability, reduction in staff of a department due to finances or discontinuation of a program or department.

If a teacher is fired for cause, the university must present a statement of charges and the faculty member has the right to be heard by an elected faculty hearing committee, according to the handbook.

Dismissal will not be used to restrain faculty members in their exercise of academic freedom or other rights of American citizens, the handbooks appendix says based on the American Association of University Professors.

Nelson, the university spokesman, said due process applies to terminations related to duties as a professor, such as teaching effectiveness, but doesnt apply in Pollack-Pelzners case.

Todays termination was for cause, not in retaliation for issues raised. The university has repeatedly stressed the need to report where required by law or by policy. Issues raised by the terminated faculty member were independently investigated and no violations of university policy were found, Nelson wrote.

Linfield faculty and students have repeatedly in the last two years called the administration and trustees to account for how they have addressed sexual abuse and harassment complaints.

Former trustee David Jubb, who has resigned from the board, was indicted on allegations of abusing a student trustee after a faculty-trustee dinner in February 2019 and abusing three other students in 2017. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In the same month as Jubbs indictment, an overwhelming majority of faculty members issued a vote of no confidence in the board chair, David Baca, finding he knowingly failed to protect students.

Separately, another Linfield professor filed complaints last year alleging that Davis and another board trustee, Norm Nixon, had touched her inappropriately at school events. Another outside investigator substantiated the claims but said they didnt violate the universitys sexual harassment policies. Davis denied the allegation but issued a public apology for causing the professor discomfort.

Recently, the school stripped the faculty trustee position of voting power on the board and barred the faculty trustee from attending the boards executive sessions. Instead, it added to the number of faculty trustees who can sit on the board without voting power.

Last week, Reginald C. Richardson Sr., the president of the Salem Keizer NAACP chapter, sent emails to Pollack-Pelzner, the two psychology professors and other teachers who have spoken out against the president, asking them to sit for an interview to have a conversation about the racial climate on campus.

The teachers said they felt singled out for challenging the Linfield president. Some asked for more information until they would agree to meet.

Richardson did not respond to emails, seeking comment.

Recent Linfield graduate Kiana L. M. Anderson, in an email, said she was sickened by the universitys action. Anderson graduated in May 2020 and is now a graduate student in English literature at University of Arizona.

To say that these allegations have harmed the university is completely backward thinking it is the institution, that is harming the community. We are hurting. It is the institution that has failed so miserably. This was the last straw for me, she wrote. I will continue to stand in solidarity with Daniel and all of the other voices that have been silenced along the way. At some point, the institution will have to recognize that Linfields falling apart. The centre cannot hold  to quote Yeats. It may not be today or tomorrow, but the truth will prevail. There is an entire community standing behind Daniel and what he represents. This will not go without consequence.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. A bipartisan group of over 65 U.S. House members joined in the Congressional Armenian Caucus request for the House Appropriations to allocate over $100 million in U.S. aid to Armenia and Artsakh following Turkey and Azerbaijans devastating attacks last year, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) reported.

U.S. Representatives sent a letter to House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Ranking Member Hal Rogers (R-KY), as the panel begins crafting the FY2022 Foreign Aid Bill.

We want to thank Armenian Caucus leaders and Congressional cosigners from across the U.S. for supporting U.S. re-engagement through robust U.S. assistance to Artsakh, an immediate cut-off in all U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, and strong support for the sovereignty of Armenia as a pillar of regional security architecture, said ANCA Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan. We look forward to working closely with House and Senate appropriators to ensure maximum funding reaches Armenians displaced by Turkish and Azerbaijani aggression, as Artsakh rebuilds from the devastating war.

The United States is uniquely positioned to help Armenia that has been shaken by last years war in Artsakh and the resulting uncertainty. Providing significant economic assistance to Armenia will help make its people more secure, bolster its democracy, help sustain economic development, stabilize its civil society, and aid its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and, most urgently, alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, said Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who along with Co-Chair Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Vice-Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA), led the effort.

In a letter to their Congressional colleagues, Reps. Pallone, Speier, and Schiff wrote: The below requests for Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh in the Fiscal Year 2022 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs appropriations bill are critical for assisting the country in helping to make its people more secure, bolster its democracy and sustainable economic development, stabilize its civil society, aid its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and, most urgently, alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, which included the following budgetary requests:

 Robust funding to directly aid the Armenian people of Nagorno Karabakh to recover and rebuild, including urgently needed housing, food security, water and sanitation, medical and refugee assistance, rehabilitation, and infrastructure needs.

 $2 million for Conventional Weapons Destruction programs in Nagorno Karabakh.

 $100 million for economic, governance, rule of law, and security assistance to Armenia through State Department and USAID accounts.

 The suspension of all U.S. security assistance for Azerbaijan until it has been verified to have ceased all attacks against Armenia and Artsakh.
TORONTO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX: DML) (NYSE American: DNN) congratulates Uranium Participation Corp. ("UPC") (TSX: U) and Sprott Asset Management LP ("Sprott") on having reached an agreement to convert UPC into the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (the "Trust")  effectively aligning UPC's business with the world's leading physical commodity investment vehicles and making it eligible to pursue a listing in the United States (the "Transaction"). Upon completion of the Transaction, Sprott will become the manager of the Trust and the Management Services Agreement ("MSA") between Denison Mines Inc. (the "Manager", a wholly owned subsidiary of Denison) and UPC will be terminated. View PDF version

The current MSA was entered into as of April 1, 2019 with a five-year term ending March 31, 2024. The MSA includes a termination provision whereby, subject to certain exceptions, if the MSA is terminated early by UPC, the Manager will receive a termination payment equal to the base and variable management fees that would otherwise be payable to the Manager (calculated based on UPC's Net Asset Value ("NAV") at the time of termination) for the lesser period of (a) three years; or (b) the remaining term of the MSA. Denison estimates the termination payment due from UPC to be approximately $5.3 million. The actual termination payment may differ, as it will be based on UPC's NAV as of the month-end immediately prior to the date of a formal notice of termination to Denison by UPC in accordance with the MSA.

David Cates, Denison's President & CEO, commented, "As the Manager of UPC since inception, Denison has worked hand-in-hand with the UPC Board for nearly two decades to manage the world's pre-eminent physical uranium investment vehicle. Over that time, UPC has executed on an accretion model that has delivered long-term value to UPC shareholders in the form of increased exposure to physical uranium on a 'pounds U 3 O 8 equivalent per share' basis over a period where ordinary storage and operating costs should have resulted in significant natural dilution to UPC's holdings. UPC's track record of accretion is truly remarkable, and Denison is proud to have executed on the corporation's unique strategy.

An important element of the Transaction is the pursuit of a U.S. listing for the Trust. As we have witnessed with Denison's recent increase in trading liquidity, the United States represents a powerful marketplace with a uniquely global reach  offering the potential to significantly increase trading liquidity and access to investors. We believe this is an exciting development for UPC shareholders and the broader uranium market  potentially making investments in physical uranium holdings, through the Trust, more accessible to investors at a time when (1) uranium market fundamentals are progressing towards recovery and (2) investor and public appreciation of the critical role that nuclear energy must play in the clean energy transition is rapidly increasing.

With Denison's involvement in UPC coming to an end, we would like to thank UPC and its shareholders for their years of trust and support. The Denison team is looking forward to focusing our full attention on our exciting multi-asset Athabasca Basin uranium development portfolio  including the high-grade Phoenix in-situ recovery uranium project, which has the potential to be one of the lowest cost uranium mines in the world."

In its current corporate form, UPC is not eligible to complete a listing in the United States. Transitioning to a Trust structure, in which form UPC is expected to be eligible to pursue a listing in the United States, requires management also be transitioned to a registered investment fund manager. Sprott, as a registered investment fund manager, is expected to integrate the Trust into its existing portfolio of physical commodity trust products (all of which are dual listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE Arca).

About Denison

Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The Company's flagship project is the 90% owned Wheeler River Uranium Project, which is the largest undeveloped uranium project in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan. Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake joint venture ("MLJV"), which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill that is contracted to process the ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest Main and Midwest A deposits, and a 66.90% interest in the Tthe Heldeth Tue ("THT", formerly J Zone) and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake property. Each of Midwest Main, Midwest A, THT and Huskie are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill.

Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Closed Mines group (formerly Denison Environmental Services), which manages Denison's Elliot Lake reclamation projects and provides post-closure mine care and maintenance services to a variety of industry and government clients.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this news release constitutes 'forward-looking information', within the meaning of the applicable United States and Canadian legislation, concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Denison.

Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'plans', 'expects', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'estimates', 'forecasts', 'intends', 'anticipates', or 'believes', or the negatives and/or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will be taken', 'occur', 'be achieved' or 'has the potential to'.

In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the following: the Transaction and anticipated elements and benefits thereof, including the termination of the MSA; Denison's development and expansion plans and objectives; and expectations regarding its joint venture ownership interests and the continuity of its agreements with its partners.

Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For example, the Transaction may not be completed or, if completed, may not be on the terms described herein or otherwise achieve the objectives stated herein, such as the US listing and other potential benefits; and/or the termination payment may be materially different than the amount stated herein, more or less than the amount estimated herein. Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be accurate and results may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors that could influence forward-looking events, please refer to the factors discussed in Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 26, 2021 or subsequent quarterly financial reports under the heading 'Risk Factors'. These factors are not, and should not be construed as being exhaustive.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Any forward-looking information and the assumptions made with respect thereto speaks only as of the date of this news release. Denison does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this news release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in Denison's expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation.

SOURCE Denison Mines Corp.

Related Links

http://denisonmines.com/s/Home.asp


New York Governor Andrew Cuomo hit out at the mounting allegations of sexual harassment Tuesday, firing back that 'yes' he has 'touched people' because he 'shakes hands' with people but denied that he has ever 'touched anyone inappropriately'.

Cuomo was forced to shield questions about his behavior for a second day in a row Tuesday as he held a press briefing at Binghamton University where he announced that all state-run mass vaccination sites will take walk-in appointments for anyone aged 16 and over starting Thursday.

The briefing came one day after he finally held his first in-person Q&A session with the press since November and flatly denied all allegations against him.

When New York was the virus epicenter of the world last spring, Cuomo always took questions from the press as part of his daily briefings, which went to earn him an Emmy.

But the typically outspoken governor has fallen media shy in recent months, as a flurry of allegations of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior surfaced against him from multiple different women.

Now, at least nine women have come forward with accusations including three former and two current aides in his office.

The governor has repeatedly denied the allegations saying he 'never touched anyone inappropriately' and 'never made any inappropriate advances' but has apologized for making anyone feel 'uncomfortable.'

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo hit out at the mounting allegations of sexual harassment Tuesday, firing back that 'yes' he has 'touched people' because he 'shakes hands' with people but denied that he has ever 'touched anyone inappropriately'

When asked by a reporter Tuesday if he touched anybody or any woman in his executive mansion, a defiant Cuomo fired back that 'yes' he has 'touched people'.

'Have I touched people? Yes,' he said abruptly, before moving on to another question.

He then circled back to the question later to clarify that he has touched people because he 'you shake hands' with people but insisted he had not touched anyone in an inappropriate way.

'To your question 'do you touch people?' Of course, you touch people,' he said.

'I just shook hands with people etc. I didn't touch them inappropriately.'

When pressed if he had inappropriately touched anyone in his office, he added: 'I didn't touch them inappropriately. But I just shook hands with the mayor, I just touched people.'

The most serious allegation to date against the governor has been made by a current aide, who is the only accuser to remain anonymous, who claims Cuomo groped her at the Executive Mansion late last year.

The woman shared her story publicly for the first time in an interview with Times Union of Albany earlier this month where she told how he allegedly closed her in a room with him and pulled her in for a hug before reaching under her blouse and groping her breast.

'I told you, I never touched anyone inappropriately,' Cuomo retorted, when these allegations were put to him Tuesday.

The reporter continued to press him, asking if he did behave in the way that the woman alleges but that he may not think it inappropriate.

Cuomo was forced to shield questions about his behavior for a second day in a row Tuesday

'I have never touched anyone inappropriately, and groping would be inappropriate,' he replied.

Cuomo doubled down on his repeated insistence that he 'didn't do anything wrong'

He also hit out at a reporter from the New York Post saying 'what you reported yesterday is not what I said and you know that.

'I said I didn't do anything wrong,' he said.

It was not clear what report Cuomo was referring to but a Monday article by the Post reported that Cuomo had said in that day's briefing that 'some of his accusers just 'want attention' and 'are jealous.'

Cuomo, who previously worked as New York's top prosecutor, also urged both the media and New Yorkers to wait to hear both sides of the story.

'When I was in the Attorney General's office, when I was an assistant district attorney, I used to say to my team, 'Be careful when you only hear one side of the story,' he said.

'I say to my daughters now, "Be careful when you're on the other side of the story. You've only heard one side of the story," Cuomo added.

'I said yesterday, I haven't done anything wrong. I said from the beginning, I haven't done anything wrong.

'I said to anyone who I made feel awkward or misinterpreted my comments, I apologize. But I didn't do anything wrong. If someone felt awkward, I apologize.'

Cuomo was also asked about an allegation made by another accuser - Charlotte Bennett - that he had asked her about her experience as a survivor of sexual assault and whether he thought it was appropriate for him as a boss to ask this.

'Let's get both sides of the facts and then we'll see what you think when you hear both sides of the story,' he said.

Protesters gather at Washington Square Park to demand the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in March

An impeachment probe was launched by state lawmakers amid the sexual harassment and nursing home scandals

Demonstrators in New York City called on the governor to resign amid sexual assault allegations in March

He also flatly denied there was any truth in recent reports that he fostered a toxic work environment in Albany and suggested there are 'political agendas' to the claims.

'No,' he responded abruptly.

'I know that's what you report that people say. Let's get both sides of the story. I understand there are political agendas here,' said Cuomo.

'I understand your agenda. Let's get both sides of the story and then the New Yorkers can decide.'

Cuomo's denials came one day after he took reporter's questions in person for the first time in months Monday. Previously, he only took questions over the phone or via webcam, sparking claims his aides had too much control over which journalists were called, and whether they were able to ask follow-up questions.

During Monday's briefing Cuomo also faced multiple questions about the allegations.

He insisted he 'didn't do anything wrong' and so is not worried about the results of the State Attorney General's investigation into the claims.

'The report can't say anything different,' he said.

Cuomo also told reporters that he did not regret asking one of the accusers into the Executive Mansion, although he says he did nothing wrong.

'I have many women who were working state government. I'm very proud that we probably have more women in senior positions than ever before,' he said. 'And I think that's a good thing.'

Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo aide, came out in December with allegations against him  she further detailed her experience in a February post to Medium

Charlotte Bennett, 25, accused Cuomo of propositioning her in his office in June 2020

Karen Hinton (left), a press aide, and Jessica Bakeman accused Cuomo of inappropriate actions

Anna Ruch (left) and Ana Liss both accused Cuomo of inappropriate behavior

McGrath (pictured) claimed Cuomo looked down her shirt to compliment her on her necklace during a meeting with him

Sherry Vill shared this image of Governor Cuomo kissing her on both cheeks in 2017 when touring her house which had flooded

Lindsey Boylan, 36, was the first woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment.

She worked for Cuomo's team from March 2015 to October 2018 and recounted her story of sexual harassment in the series of Twitter posts.

She then elaborated on her accusations in a February 24 blog post in which she said Cuomo once suggested a game of strip poker.

Boylan claims the unwanted advances included an unsolicited kiss on the lips in Cuomo's New York City office. The governor has denied these allegations.

Charlotte Bennett, 25, became the second woman to come forward in February saying he asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life and if she ever had sex with older men and left her feeling 'terrified'.

She said she complained to Cuomo's chief of staff and was transferred to another job.

A third accuser, Anna Ruch, 33, then came forward saying Cuomo put his hands on her face and asked if he could kiss her after meeting her at a September 2019 wedding.

Karen Hinton, 62, then came forward to accuse Cuomo of an incident in 2000 where she said he summoned her to his 'dimly lit' hotel room and embraced her after a work event.

Cuomo called Hinton's allegations 'not true' and labeled her a 'long-time political adversary of mine'.

Ana Liss, 35, who previously served as Cuomo's policy and operations aide between 2013 and 2015, then claimed the governor had subjected her to unsolicited advances, including touching her lower back, kissing her hand and quizzing her about her love life.

The most damning allegations leveled against Cuomo to date came from his sixth accuser, whose name has not been released and continues to work in his office.

She alleged that he closed a door, reached under her blouse and fondled her after summoning her to the governor's mansion in Albany for help with his cellphone.

This woman was the first current staffer to come forward with allegations.

Emergency Medical Service workers unload a patient into their ambulance at the Cobble Hill Health Center in April. Cuomo's office is also accused of hiding nursing home death data

Journalist Jessica Bakeman then claimed in a first-person article for New York Magazine that she was sexually harassed by Cuomo on several occasions since the start of her career in 2012.

A second current staffer - and the eighth accuser - then came forward.

Alyssa McGrath, a current administrative assistant in Cuomo's office, said Cuomo looked down her shirt, quizzed her about her marital status, and told her she was beautiful, using an Italian phrase she had to ask her parents to interpret.

McGrath also doubled down on the allegations made by her coworker - the anonymous accuser - saying the woman had told her about the incident.

The ninth woman - Sherry Vill, 55 - then alleged Cuomo grabbed her face and kissed her 'aggressively and in a sexual manner' on both cheeks in May 2017 while he was touring her home in Greece, near Rochester, as he inspected local flood damage.

The governor has said he 'never touched anyone inappropriately' but has apologized for making anyone feel 'uncomfortable'.

He has blamed his tactile behavior on his Italian-American heritage.

Cuomo is under investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James over the allegations.

An impeachment investigation has also been launched by state lawmakers.

Cuomo has vowed he will not stand down and has called on people to await the outcome of the investigation.

The governor is also being investigated over claims he covered up COVID-19 deaths in the state's nursing homes.
New Delhi, April 28 : India Railways' Oxygen Express trains have delivered a cumulative 510 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxygen to Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh. Haryana is also getting its first Oxygen Express.

"Indian Railways is continuing its journey of delivering liquid medical oxygen to various parts of the country. So far, more than 510 metric tonnes LMO have been delivered to Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi," the Railway Ministry said, adding that Haryana government has also requested an Oxygen Express.

"Currently, tankers are being loaded in Faridabad, which will be sent for filling to Rourkela. As of now, it is planned that two Oxygen Express with a capacity of five tankers each will be run specifically for Haryana," the ministry said.

Madhya Pradesh has received its first Oxygen Express carrying more than 64 metric tonnes of LMO early on Wednesday. These tankers were unloaded at various locations in Madhya Pradesh in cities like Jabalpur (one tanker), Bhopal (two tankers) and Sagar (three tankers).

The fourth Oxygen Express destined for Lucknow will be reaching on Wednesday carrying three tankers of LMO. Another empty rake is on its way (sixth) from Lucknow to Bokaro, which will bring another set of oxygen tankers replenishing oxygen supply to Uttar Pradesh.

"So far, Indian Railways has delivered 202 metric tonnes to Uttar Pradesh, 174 metric tonnes to Maharashtra, 70 metric tonnes to Delhi and 64 metric tonnes to Madhya Pradesh," the Railways said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
[April 28, 2021] Global leading AMI vendor Ubiik Completes US$5M Series A funding

TAIPEI, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The leading Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) solutions provider Ubiik today announces that it has completed its US$5M Series A funding led by Taiwania Capital. The investment will fuel the global expansion of its industry-leading AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) technology and energy IoT solutions, as well as growing its promising cellular IoT business. Based in Taipei and with offices in Silicon Valley and Osaka, Japan, Ubiik is the largest AMI vertical solutions provider for Taiwan's smart electricity meter deployment, the largest IoT project in Taiwan. By winning three consecutive tenders of Taiwan Power (Taipower), the "state-owned" electricity company, from 2018 to 2020 at a total value of US$45Mn, Ubiik is tasked to deploy its AMI system for 600,000 electricity meters by 2022, of which more than 200,000 are already online. Utilizing its breakthrough Weightless LPWAN wireless communication technologies and PaaS head-end system, Ubiik has managed to achieve more than 99% of success rate for meter data collection and set the benchmark for reliability and efficiency among all vendors. Since late 2019 Ubiik's vertical AMI solution has also successfully landed in Japan and is now expanding to markets in the US, India, Middle East, and the ASEAN countries. "Ubiik has demonstrated to be not just a team with great technologies and can-do spirit, but also one with excellent business development capability that could deliver business success," said Cheng Wu, Taiwania Capital's general partner who have founded 4 successful start-up companies, including ArrowPoint Communications, which was sold to Cisco in 2020 for US$5.7Bn. "It is a rare company having the ability to design al the components of a complex system, including hardware, wireless connectivity, embedded software and cloud platform. In Ubiik, we see a leader in AMI and the enormous market potential in IoT and Electric Vehicles. Taiwania is honored to be a partner to shape that future".



"We are excited about having Taiwania Capital, the leading technology venture capital in Taiwan, becoming our investor, and a hugely respected and successful entrepreneur to be our strategic advisor," said Tien-haw Peng, Founder and CEO of Ubiik. "With the Series A financing and the industry insights and network that Cheng is bringing to our company, we are on the right track for expanding our successful story from Taiwan's AMI champion to a global energy IoT leader." About Ubiik

Founded in 2016, Ubiik started its IoT business by providing Weightless LPWAN, a high performance open standard for bidirectional, fully synchronised, low-power wide area public or private networks, solutions. Since its successful AMI project in 2018 which has expanded its product portfolio to PaaS cloud platform and edge computing, Ubiik has become a vertical IoT solutions provider. It has since grown its connectivity offerings to include NB-IoT and LTE Cat-M to cover the multi-modality of the IoT market, especially for applications requiring the use of public cellular networks. Ubiik is a team of nearly 70 members from more than 7 countries/regions located in Taiwan, US and Japan, and is expected to grow to 100 members by end of 2021 to meet the strong growth for its AMI, energy IoT, smart grid and EV related businesses. https://www.ubiik.com About Taiwania Capital Taiwania Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2017 by the "National Development Fund of the Executive Yuan of Taiwan" and private enterprises. We focus on investing in early-stage companies and have launched two funds during 2017-2018. Fund I was launched with a fund size of US$150M. The key areas are enterprise software, autonomous systems, AI, IoT, robotics & drones, next-gen semiconductors, sensors, and cloud infrastructure. For each industry sector we approach, our investment targets represent those start-ups with the greatest inchoate potential. www.taiwaniacapital.com About Cheng Wu Cheng is a successful serial entrepreneur and well-acclaimed industry veteran, having founded and led numerous businesses spanning various industries. His entrepreneurship began in 1995. He founded Arris Networks, a start-up that developed high-density Internet access products that Cascade Communications acquired for US$217M in May 1996. In 1997 he founded ArrowPoint Communications, where he served as CEO, leading the company to a successful IPO, and was acquired by Cisco Systems for US$5.7 billion in 2000. Through this acquisition, he joined Cisco Systems and held various positions, including Group VP. In 2002, he founded Acopia Networks with US$65M and was acquired by F5 Networks for US$210M in 2007. In the same year, Wu founded Azuki Systems with US$6M specializing in broadband wireless multimedia data transfer software, which Ericsson subsequently acquired for US$100M in February 2014. SOURCE Ubiik Inc.

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Unlike two months ago, those vaccinations are available now, Pritzker said during an appearance in Normal, Illinois. If you want to get vaccinated, essentially over the next two weeks and beyond, youre going to be able to raise your hand and go somewhere today to get vaccinated.
The night vision camera operated remotely by U.S. agents captures the silent drama of a coyote  a smuggler of people  straddling the border wall on a recent spring day , raising a child from the Mexican side. The coyote lowers the small child to the U.S. side slowly with one hand. He stretches his arm to reduce the childs fall. The child lands and remains still face down, probably stunned, then stands unsteadily like any toddler. The man carefully drops another child, larger and presumably older, who lands feet first and falls to a sitting position. The coyote drops a small package containing their passports and a cellphone near the children and flees into the Mexican night with another man. The younger child bends over slightly to help the older child.

What must they have said? What fear and confusion must these two children have felt from the moment they left their familys embrace to landing in the New Mexico desert?

Rescued by Border Patrol agents, the toddlers, sisters, ages 3 and 5, were uninjured and taken to safety. The parents had left their daughters in a remote, mountainous town in Ecuador with maternal grandparents. Their parents, now in the U.S., paid the coyote to bring the girls. They are now reunited with their parents. In the 58 wordless seconds of that video, we saw just two of the thousands of unaccompanied children arriving at our southern border.

Government officials, television talking heads and countless other critics have decried the brazen, coldhearted act of those smugglers and questioned the parents judgment.

Not me. The coyotes had done their job: Bring two sisters to the safety of our great nation, just as their parents had purchased.

I may never know the girls parents. But I dont blame them. What conditions would drive parents to such desperation, giving their children to strangers to carry them 2,980 miles to New Mexico? What must their anguish be not knowing their childrens fate?

More than once during the past 100 years we have seen parents make Solomon-like decisions, just as the little girls parents did to save them. Jewish parents in Nazi Europe put their children on trains or handed them to underground operatives, out of harms way. Cuban parents in 1960 placed more than 14,000 of their children aboard Peter Pan flights to Miami. Vietnamese parents herded their children onto American helicopters, planes and boats as Saigon fell in 1975. All of these parents knew that they might never see their children again.

What we saw that night on television was not new. Unaccompanied children have been crossing our border for decades, just not in the numbers we see today. Our government has had ample time to prepare with humane approaches and using the best practices of the child welfare system, which is predicated on the standard of serving the best interest of the child.

We must do a better job of explaining the factors that drive parents and children to take enormous risks. Vice President Kamala Harris is tasked to engage Central American countries to address the root causes of migration. Its a start. But its not a time for politics and empty diplomacy. Humanitarian action is needed.

The U.S. can quickly mobilize a humane system of care that begins at the border and safely brings children to the arms of loved ones here. Reception centers dont have to be tent cities. They can be sophisticated places that conduct pediatric, dental, educational and psychological evaluations and treatments, and provide clean clothes, nutritious food, warm shelter and small communal arrangements. Sibling groups must never be separated, even when those older than 19 are considered adults. Like any logistical system, it involves a pipeline. Processing centers are just the entry point for unaccompanied children. Each step of the way to their destination cities requires the same level of tender loving care.

We dont want to see toddlers dropped on our soil by coyotes or imagine parents desperately putting their children at such risk. But if coyotes can bring two toddlers uninjured a vast distance, we surely can take care of the children once they are here. We have the know-how. All we need is the will.

Zayas is the dean of the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin.
Hours after President Joe Bidens inauguration, he told nearly 1,000 new White House staff and political appointees, We work for the people. This was a pandemic-era ceremony in which faces appeared in small boxes on several large screens in the State Dining Room.

Meghan Maury, a 2004 Holyoke Community College graduate, was among those whose faces graced the screens that day, taking an oath as senior advisor to the director of the U.S. Census Bureau.

It was very cool, Maury said.

For many assuming coveted posts with the new administration, the day may have been a dream come true. For Maury, it represented something else entirely.

It was pretty shocking to me. As a person who is formerly homeless, who was a heroin addict, you just dont expect to be recruited to work for the White House, said Maury, who uses they/them pronouns. It was surreal.

The last few weeks have been a busy time for Maury as the Census Bureau was preparing the first batch of new data from the 2020 Census. The first set, released Monday, provided state population totals that will be used to reapportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Im excited as a nerd, but Im also excited as a big fan of democracy, Maury said during a recent interview.

For now, with the pandemic requiring remote work, Maury has remained in Brooklyn, New York, with fiance Rebecca Fox. But soon the couple expects to move to the D.C. area so Maury can report to the office at the U.S. Census Bureau in Suitland, Maryland.

Seventeen years ago, Maury, now 42, graduated from Holyoke Community with an associate degree in accounting. After that, Maury continued studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for a bachelors degree in accounting, then the Isenberg School of Management for a masters degree in accounting, eventually earning a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2013.

There was a time when Maury believed pretty much any level of higher education was simply out of reach. I thought Id blown it right after high school, said Maury, who is originally from Connecticut but later lived in Springfield.

I was a rough kid  and just 14 when their mother died: I didnt know how to deal with it.

That trauma led to substance use, then a heroin addiction and a life of severe instability, living in shelters, in a car, on the streets. When Maury was 18, their partner overdosed and was revived by police who arrested them both.

For Maury, that arrest resulted in a term of probation and a requirement to submit to drug screens. Maury admits to not liking the urine tests but acknowledges that those screens may have helped usher in their sobriety.

Eventually, that sobriety led to enough stability to consider college. By then, Maury was living in Holyoke and had met other HCC students and graduates: I realized maybe I could do it. It was affordable and right down the street  I had a criminal record, and they didnt care.

Inspired by an aunt who was an accountant, Maury pursued a major in accounting. That looks like a stable job, Maury reasoned. But it was coursework unrelated to accounting that changed the direction of Maurys life.

Through an HCC Learning Community course that combined English and history  taught by professors Diane Beers and Deborah Fairman  Maury studied the history of the LGBTQ movement, social justice, advocacy, and how social change movements work. I had always thought I was terrible at history, Maury said.

Turns out that wasnt true, and the experience proved to be an awakening. It just changed how I looked at the world, said Maury. Its what made me pursue social justice activism.

In the class, Maury learned about icons of the LBGTQ movement, such as Urvashi Vaid, an activist and former executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, founded in 1973 and said to be the oldest LGBTQ rights organization in the U.S.

In another class, English professor Kim Hicks introduced The Craft of Research, a standard college text on creating well-reasoned and researched papers that Maury still keeps handy. Its a tool I use all the time, Maury said.

Beers, Fairman and Hicks became role models, inspirations and mentors. All three invested in me as a person and as a student and it helped me feel like I had something to offer, Maury said. It just gave me a feeling that not only was I a person who had things to say, but a person who I looked up to wanted to invest in me.

Hicks, now dean of arts and humanities, recalls that Maury seemed to seek out ways to put academic pursuit into action  to make it mean something. She still remembers Maurys research paper, Radical Action: A Necessary Reaction, which examined the historical moments that produced the Black Panther Party, ACT-UP, and the Environmental Liberation Front, asserting that radical action is a viable form of dissent in response to what groups perceive as a mortal threat.

The proposal for that paper seemed to be a blueprint for a life, said Hicks. That Meghan is now in a place of being able to influence policy and create policy on a national stage is just amazing and so inspiring to me.

After law school, Maury landed a job as policy director for the National LGBTQ Task Force, where they met people theyd studied about at Holyoke Community, including Urvashi Vaid.

One of the first meetings I went to she was running, Maury said, chuckling at the memory. Now I think of her as a friend and colleague.

During time at the task force, Maury led a campaign to queer the census, initiated because the dearth of data about the LGBTQ community was a serious problem. In trying to create policy that aimed at helping LBGTQ teens living on the streets, for example, policy makers would question the extent of the problem. When Maury offered personal experience as a concrete example, the response often was that they were an unusual case.

It ends up being really tough to do policy work without data, Maury said. When we had data showing that 40% of LGBTQ youth experience homelessness, it changed the tenor of the conversation.

Work like that captured the attention of the Biden transition team, which earned Maury a seat at the table as the administration consulted with advocates for various constituencies.

And then, Maury was invited to apply for a position. At the very first interview, Maury disclosed their criminal record as a teenager, wanting to avoid wasting anyones time if that proved a deal-breaker. The response was a huge relief: The folks doing the interview said that is not a barrier.

As senior advisor to the Census Bureau, Maury is a liaison to nonprofits, members of Congress and other stakeholders, providing education about the work of the bureau to make what is complex and technical accessible to people who are not necessarily data experts.

In August, September and beyond, more Census data will offer information about race, ethnicity and other demographics. Maury will pore over that data, analyzing it to see what it says about the population of the United States in an effort to improve the lives of people who are LGBTQ, BIPOC (Black, indigenous, people of color), low income, those with disabilities and those who belong to other marginalized groups.

I never thought to have this dream, so I cant quite say it fulfilled a dream, Maury said. But it feels amazing to be serving this community in this position where I can make real change.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 19:04:27|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Rising COVID-19 infection rates and tightened lockdowns were "weighing on the consumer climate" in Germany, according to a monthly study published by the Nuremberg-based market research institute GfK on Wednesday.

The forward-looking consumer sentiment index for May declined by 2.7 points compared to the previous month and remained negative at minus 8.8 points, according to the study based on monthly interviews of around 2,000 German consumers.

"The recovery of the domestic economy will continue to lag due to the third wave," said Rolf Buerkl, GfK consumer expert, in a statement.

As in 2020, "consumption will again not be a pillar of the economy this year," added Buerkl. In the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, "private consumer spending had still made an important contribution to the growth of the German economy."

Propensity to buy in Germany was "still resisting the third wave" and increased for the third month in a row, while the indicator for income expectations dropped by 13 points and almost completely lost the strong gains from the previous month, according to GfK.

For many employees in Germany's retail sector, the hope that reopening of stores would noticeably improve their income again had been destroyed. Moreover, the "tightening of the lockdown is likely to have reignited unemployment fears," GfK noted.

The economic outlook for Germany also lost the gains from the previous month, according to GfK. Although exports were improving, particularly to China and the United States, "weak consumer spending is proving to be slowing down the economy this year" in Germany. Enditem
Seth Andrew delivers a TEDx Talk on the charter school network he founded (YouTube / TEDx Talks)

A former adviser to the Obama White House was arrested on allegations of stealing from a charter school he founded, according to the Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday that Seth Andrew had been arrested on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements to a bank in connection to $218,005 allegedly stolen from Democracy Prep Public Schools.

Defence attorney Michael Yaeger said Mr Andrew would plead not guilty and was reviewing the governments case, according to CNBC.

Mr Andrew, 42, served in the Office of Educational Technology during the second term of the Obama administration from 2013 to 2016, according to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors also allege that Mr Andrew, who founded the charter school network in 2005, used the stolen funds to obtain savings on a mortgage for a $2m Manhattan apartment in 2019.

The criminal complaint alleges that between March and August 2019, Mr Andrew used his past association with Democracy Prep to access escrow accounts he previously established for schools in the network.

FBI assistant director William Sweeny Jr alleged in a statement that Mr Andrew used the funds to lock in a low-interest rate when applying for a loan.

We allege today that Andrew did just that, and since the employer he stole from was a charter school organization, the money he took belonged to an institution serving school-aged children, Mr Sweeny said.

Democracy Prep CEO Natasha Trivers said in an email to school families that Mr Andrews left the network in 2013 and a series of "financial safeguards" implemented in 2019 led to the discovery of unauthorised withdrawals.

"His alleged actions are a profound betrayal of all that we stand for and to you and your children, the scholars and families that we serve," Ms Trivers email said, according to CNN.

"To be clear, at no time did the alleged crimes pose any risk to our students, staff or operations in any way."

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At a US District Court appearance in Manhattan, Mr Andrew was released on a personal recognizance bond to appear in court on 27 May.

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[April 28, 2021] RingCentral Brings Accessible, Mobile Communications to CNIB Foundation

RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE:RNG), a leading provider of global enterprise cloud communications, video meetings, collaboration, and contact center solutions, today announced that the CNIB Foundation (Canadian National Institute for the Blind), Canada's oldest and largest organization serving people with sight loss, has selected RingCentral (News - Alert) Office as its cloud communications solution. RingCentral provides accessible, cloud-based communications capabilities that enable CNIB Foundation's staff to more effectively connect, communicate, and collaborate with each other. As an organization dedicated to helping people with sight loss lead independent, active lives, the CNIB Foundation needed a communications solution that was accessible by design. They were previously hampered by an on-premise legacy PBX (News - Alert) system, as that was the only option available that offered accessibility features. Without RingCentral, the CNIB Foundation found it difficult to modernize their communications infrastructure and offer a more mobile solution for its staff. The switch to modern communications was challenging because there are not many technology solutions that cater to people with sight loss. Features such as screen magnification, screen reading, and keyboard-controlled hot keys are essential to CNIB Foundation's workforce, as 20 percent are people with sight loss. They selected Web Content Accessibility Guidelines-compliant RingCentral Office for its ability to samlessly switch from desktop to mobile, making it easy for those who are blind or partially sighted to work from anywhere. With the organization's mission to enable people impacted by blindness to "live the lives they choose", RingCentral was the right technology fit.



"Our goal is to give people with sight loss the tools, programs, and support they need to lead full, barrier-free lives," said Frank Lombardo, vice president, Property and Technology for CNIB. "By providing us with an accessible communications solution, RingCentral is playing an integral role in advancing this mission. We're also very excited to be part of RingCentral's Customer Advisory Board, which gives us a platform to provide insights into technological advancements that can be developed when it comes to designing for accessibility." With 54 offices spread across Canada, a cloud-based communications approach was important for the CNIB Foundation. It was also cumbersome to coordinate office moves with infrastructure, equipment, and all the added moving costs associated with on-premise solutions. With its communications now in the cloud with RingCentral, the non-profit can be more agile in the way they provision new users, enabling them to deploy donor funds in a more meaningful way.

"CNIB Foundation does incredible work advocating for Canadians with sight loss. I am thrilled that RingCentral is able to partner with them to help enable their workforce to be more productive and mobile," said Phil Sorgen, chief revenue officer for RingCentral. "Technology has the potential to level the economic playing field for people with disabilities. Together, we can promote accessibility within communication tools so that every individual is empowered to thrive." About RingCentral RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG) is a leading provider of business cloud communications and contact center solutions based on its powerful Message Video Phone (News - Alert) ??(MVP) platform. More flexible and cost effective than legacy on-premise PBX and video conferencing systems that it replaces, RingCentral empowers modern mobile and distributed workforces to communicate, collaborate, and connect via any mode, any device, and any location. RingCentral offers three key products in its portfolio including RingCentral Office, a Unified Communications (News - Alert) as a Service (UCaaS) platform including team messaging, video meetings, and a cloud phone system, Glip?the company's free video meetings solution with team messaging that enables Smart Video Meetings, and RingCentral cloud Contact Center solutions. RingCentral's open platform integrates with leading third-party business applications and enables customers to easily customize business workflows. RingCentral is headquartered in Belmont, California, and has offices around the world.  2021 RingCentral, Inc. All rights reserved. RingCentral, Message Video Phone, MVP, RingCentral Office, Glip, Smart Video Meetings, and the RingCentral logo are trademarks of RingCentral, Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005219/en/

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- Improving enterprise-wide safety performance in a year of unprecedented challenges

- Advancing a high-performing culture by championing people and communities

- Investing in critical new energy infrastructure to further energy decarbonization and diversification initiatives

SAN DIEGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) today released its 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report, highlighting the company's actions to create long-term value for shareholders and other stakeholders by managing risks and capturing opportunities related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. The company's actions are anchored to its four key sustainability pillars:

Sempra Energy Releases 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report

Achieving world-class safety;

Enabling the energy transition;

Driving resilient operations; and

Championing people.

View the full details in the report at: sempra.com/sustainability/sustainability-report.

"Over the last two decades, the United States has doubled its gross domestic product, while registering the largest absolute decline in energy-related CO 2 emissions of any country in the world," said Jeffrey W. Martin, chairman and CEO of Sempra Energy. "We think there is an opportunity to continue making real progress and are committed to advancing critical new infrastructure investments that support decarbonizing the economies of North America, while making lower- to zero-carbon energy sources available to our global partners. Our multi-factor approach to managing our business is directly aligned with the value proposition of creating durable value for our shareholders, customers, employees and other stakeholders."

Achieving World-Class Safety

Safety underpins the high-performance culture seen across the Sempra Energy family of companies, where community safety is prioritized and every employee feels responsible for their own safety as well as the safety of others. The Sempra Energy board of directors oversees this mandate across the organization through its Safety, Sustainability and Technology Committee.

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The unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19 reinforced the company's unwavering commitment to health and safety. Identified among the country's critical infrastructure, Sempra Energy and its operating companies activated business continuity plans and safety protocols aimed at identifying and mitigating risks while continuing to work to deliver energy safely. Through these actions, Sempra Energy's safety performance improved in 2020 with all operating companies achieving decreases in their employee recordable injury rate. Examples of safety highlights at each of Sempra Energy's operating companies can be found on pages 55 and 80 of the report.

Enabling the Energy Transition

Sempra Energy and its family of companies have been advancing programs to decarbonize, diversify and digitalize its energy infrastructure while continuing to work hard to deliver safe, reliable and affordable energy to more than 36 million consumers across North America. The company's "3Ds" framework supports its enterprise-wide goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 across scopes 1, 2, and 3 for its operations and the customers it serves. Sempra Energy is investing in the energy infrastructure needed in the following three key areas to expand its energy systems and help achieve its climate goals:

Decarbonization: Reducing the carbon content of energy in critical economic sectors  industrial, transportation and power generation  and emitting no more carbon in its operations than it removes from the atmosphere.

Diversification: Bringing new lower- to zero-carbon fuel choices to every market it serves, coupled with the expansion of advanced energy networks and storage to improve resiliency.

Digitalization: Integrating real-time information and cutting-edge analytics to benefit network operators and consumers with improved operational reliability and safety.

"Climate is at the center of our business strategy. That is why we have introduced an action-oriented framework around these three areas in this year's report  all with a focus on building a stronger and more growth-oriented business, while allocating capital with a view toward emitting less carbon dioxide than we remove from the atmosphere by the middle of this century," said Lisa Alexander, senior vice president of corporate affairs and chief sustainability officer for Sempra Energy. "We are optimistic about the future and committed to living our values  doing the right thing, championing people, and shaping the future  and I could not be more proud of the contributions of our more than 19,000 employees towards serving our stakeholders every day."

The company's action plan towards net-zero emissions includes interim goals and infrastructure deployment plans through three time periods: 2025, 2030 and 2050. Planned activities are outlined on page 22 of the report.

Driving Resilient Operations

Amidst the pandemic, employees across the Sempra Energy family of companies have continued to deliver essential energy to more than 36 million consumers in North America. With global energy demand projected to increase by 50% by 2050 according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, resilient energy infrastructure will take on even greater importance. That is why Sempra Energy is continuing to invest in and expand its energy transmission and distribution networks. Examples include, among others:

Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) connected more than 60 central-station renewable generators to the energy grid in 2020 with the capability of producing 11,000 megawatts of energy, while also connecting more than 40% of the state's wind generation capacity to the energy grid through its transmission facilities.

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is leveraging artificial intelligence and satellite technology to improve wildfire mitigation initiatives and help keep its communities safe from wildfire risks with one of the largest utility-owned weather monitoring networks in the nation.

Southern California Gas Co.'s (SoCalGas) natural gas system provides flexible fuel delivery, long-term storage and reliable energy, especially for critical end-uses. The flexibility of natural gas as an energy resource has been critical in helping California's electricity providers increase renewable energy penetration.

Sempra LNG's design standards for infrastructure resiliency were demonstrated as Cameron LNG experienced the effects of two Category 4 hurricanes in 2020 with no injuries and minimal damage to the newly constructed liquefaction facilities.

IEnova, as a top renewable energy generator in Mexico, is making critical infrastructure investments with a goal of achieving 97% availability for its renewable generation fleet by 2030 and supporting clean and sustainable economic growth in Mexico.

Championing People to Advance a High-Performance Culture

Sempra Energy is continuing to advance its high-performing culture centered on the company's vision, mission and values to provide a clear sense of purpose for its more than 19,000 employees with an unwavering focus on safety.

Other key factors in the company's high-performance culture are a commitment to workforce development and training and a focus on fostering an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives and backgrounds are embraced. In 2020, Sempra Energy created an enterprise-wide action plan centered on five strategic pillars designed to advance the company's goals for promoting diversity, economic prosperity and social justice. The five pillars include:

Leading from the top

Accelerating engagement

Creating opportunity

Driving conscious inclusion

Partnering with our communities

Learn more about Sempra's action plan on page 57 of the report.

Sempra Energy's operating companies are also committed to promoting an inclusive supplier base that represents the communities they serve. Moreover, the Sempra Energy family of companies is championing people with a focus on promoting economic opportunity and well-being within these communities. Actions taken include, among others:

SDG&E and SoCalGas purchased more than $1.7 billion in goods and services from businesses owned by women, minorities, service-disabled veterans and members of the LGBTQ community in 2020, marking the eighth consecutive year that each company's supplier diversity spending exceeded 40% in total, consistently surpassing the California Public Utilities Commission's goal of 21.5%.

Oncor's supplier diversity accounted for nearly $335 million or 12% of its procurement spend, while the company issued $450 million in sustainable bonds with proceeds designated for investments or expenditures with women- and minority-owned suppliers.

Sempra Energy, its operating companies and the Sempra Energy Foundation contributed nearly $52 million to charities and other nonprofit civic and community groups in 2020. This includes more than $14 million to support community-based organizations engaged in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guidelines for the Report

This is the company's 13th annual sustainability report. This year's report draws guidance from leading global disclosure frameworks, including the Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, together with the company's stakeholder materiality assessment introduced in its 2019 report. In addition, the report pilots 22 of the World Economic Forum's Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics introduced in Fall 2020.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra Energy's mission is to be North America's premier energy infrastructure company. The Sempra Energy family of companies have more than 19,000 talented employees who deliver energy with purpose to over 36 million consumers. With more than $66 billion in total assets at the end of 2020, the San Diego-based company is the owner of one of the largest energy networks in North America serving some of the world's leading economies. The company is helping to advance the global energy transition by enabling the delivery of lower-carbon energy solutions in each market it serves, including California, Texas, Mexico and the LNG export market. Sempra Energy is consistently recognized as a leader in sustainable business practices and for its long-standing commitment to building a high-performing culture including safety, workforce development and training, and diversity and inclusion. Sempra Energy is the only North American utility sector company included on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and was also named one of the "World's Most Admired Companies" for 2021 by Fortune Magazine. For additional information about Sempra Energy, please visit Sempra Energy's website at www.sempra.com and on Twitter @SempraEnergy, and sempra.com/sustainability/sustainability-report for Sempra Energy's latest sustainability report.

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions with respect to the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other factors.

In this press release, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "can," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "in process," "under construction," "in development," "target," "outlook," "maintain," "continue," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections, intentions or expectations.

Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating to: California wildfires, including the risks that we may be found liable for damages regardless of fault and that we may not be able to recover costs from insurance, the wildfire fund established by California Assembly Bill 1054 or in rates from customers; decisions, investigations, regulations, issuances or revocations of permits and other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions by (i) the Comision Federal de Electricidad, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, Public Utility Commission of Texas, and other regulatory and governmental bodies and (ii) states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions in the U.S., Mexico and other countries in which we do business; the success of business development efforts, construction projects and major acquisitions and divestitures, including risks in (i) the ability to make a final investment decision, (ii) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (iii) the ability to realize anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, and (iv) obtaining the consent of partners or other third parties; the resolution of civil and criminal litigation, regulatory inquiries, investigations and proceedings, and arbitrations, including, among others, those related to the natural gas leak at Southern California Gas Company's (SoCalGas) Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our capital projects, regulatory approval processes, supply chain, liquidity and execution of operations; actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or to place those ratings on negative outlook and our ability to borrow on favorable terms and meet our substantial debt service obligations; moves to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas and the impact of volatility of oil prices on our businesses and development projects; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, acts of terrorism, computer system outages and other events that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause the release of harmful materials, cause fires and subject us to liability for property damage or personal injuries, fines and penalties, some of which may not be covered by insurance (including costs in excess of applicable policy limits), may be disputed by insurers or may otherwise not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; the availability of electric power and natural gas and natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the transmission grid, limitations on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities, and equipment failures; cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, storage and pipeline infrastructure, the information and systems used to operate our businesses, and the confidentiality of our proprietary information and the personal information of our customers and employees; expropriation of assets, failure of foreign governments and state-owned entities to honor their contracts, and property disputes; the impact at San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) on competitive customer rates and reliability due to the growth in distributed and local power generation, including from departing retail load resulting from customers transferring to Direct Access and Community Choice Aggregation, and the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets and contractual obligations; Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC's (Oncor) ability to eliminate or reduce its quarterly dividends due to regulatory and governance requirements and commitments, including by actions of Oncor's independent directors or a minority member director; volatility in foreign currency exchange and interest and inflation rates and commodity prices and our ability to effectively hedge these risks; changes in tax and trade policies, laws and regulations, including tariffs and revisions to international trade agreements that may increase our costs, reduce our competitiveness, or impair our ability to resolve trade disputes; and other uncertainties, some of which may be difficult to predict and are beyond our control.

These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that Sempra Energy has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on the company's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements.

Sempra North American Infrastructure, Sempra LNG, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and Infraestructura Energetica Nova, S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as the California utilities, SDG&E or SoCalGas, and Sempra North American Infrastructure, Sempra LNG, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC.

Sempra Energy Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Sempra Energy)

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Rising COVID-19 cases in Oregon and rising numbers of vaccinated Americans collided on Tuesday. This resulted in new national guidelines that allow more people to put away their masks, at the same time that Oregon announced new restrictions on some activities.

First, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated pandemic guidance, declaring that fully vaccinated Americans no longer have to wear a mask outdoors -- except when in crowds.

Its the return of freedom, University of Alabama infectious-disease expert Dr. Mike Saag told The Associated Press. Its the return of us being able to do normal activities again.

Soon after this announcement, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown moved 15 counties -- including much of the Portland metro area -- back into the extreme risk category, due to a surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

The renewed restrictions in these 15 counties as of Friday mean no indoor restaurant dining and strict capacity limits at movie theaters, gyms and other businesses. Still, the state appears to be accepting of the CDCs new mask guidelines, considering the caveats.

Even unvaccinated people can put away their masks when outdoors alone or with members of their household, or in small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated people, the CDC now says. But they should put on a mask outdoors around other unvaccinated people or people whose vaccination status they dont know.

Everyone should continue to wear masks at indoor public places, the CDC says.

These recommendations can be confusing, and inevitably they will lead to situations where people are unsure whether its recommended that they wear a mask. One way that Oregonians can best take advantage of the new mask freedom: head for the wide-open spaces of a state park.

Parks are often the best way to be with people from outside your bubble, as long as you wear a mask when in congested areas, says Chris Havel, an associate director at the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Thats how the state guidance from [the Oregon Health Authority] reads today, and when they update it, well get it down to the ground as quickly as possible. Until then, when in doubt, wear a mask, especially in areas where you cant maintain distance from strangers. Just a little longer.

Oregon Parks and Recreation announced earlier this month the resumption of reservations for group facilities at state parks.

About 30% of American adults are fully vaccinated. That means the U.S. remains at substantial risk for continued COVID-19 case surges. Health officials encourage people who have not yet been vaccinated to do so.

-- Douglas Perry

dperry@oregonian.com

@douglasmperry
[April 28, 2021] Options Achieves Microsoft Cloud Service Provider Status in Canada

Options, the leading provider of cloud-enabled managed services to the global capital markets, has been awarded Microsoft (News - Alert) Cloud Service Provider Status in Canada. This achievement marks the latest milestone in Options' continued efforts to offer a fully cloud-agnostic platform to all customers globally. The addition of Cloud Provider Status in Canada is part of an initiative to bring increased solution flexibility to clients, and it will allow for full Public Cloud solution deployments. Alongside the existing CloudConnect solution, Options can provide solution architecture, deployment and management services utilising Microsoft's global Public Cloud. Achieving this status enables Options to procure and manage Canadian-based client Azure instances, ensuring a premium service consistent across the US, EU, Asia and Canada. Options facilitates new fund and firm launches with a fully managed Microsoft 365 service available alongside the firm's application management solution and best-in-class resiliency and security compliance to SOC1, SOC2, SOC3, ISO27001 and AICPA standard. Danny Moore, Options' President and CEO, said, "Options has been a prominent provider of Cloud-based solutions to the front office for over a decade, operating as a Microsoft Cloud Gold Partner, an accolade awarded to only the top 1% of Microsoft partners worldwide. In addition to achieving Cloud Service Provider status, we have recently appointed a Canadian head of business development to ensure clients in the region can avail of a premium service from a local expert in tandem with our team's global expertise, all in an Investment Bank Grade security and compliance wrapper. Canada is a key area of focus for us, and we are excited by the opportunities there." Options' Cloud solutions and applications provide clients with value through the highest levels of performance, economic efficiency, security, and high touch support. The Options solution reduces the TCO associated with technology procurement, connectivity, and resource management. With enterprise-grade managed service regions worldwide and connectivity to several hundred native market data feeds, it enables firms to deploy applications in the Public Cloud. The platform allows clients to focus on business innovation and provides cost certainty through an all-inclusive subscription model. About Options (www.options-it.com):



Options Technology is the No. 1 provider of IT infrastructure to global Capital Markets firms, supporting their operations and ecosystems. Founded in 1993, the firm began life as a hedge fund technology services provider. Today, the company provides high-performance managed trading infrastructure and cloud-enabled managed services to over 200 firms globally, providing an agile, scalable platform in an Investment Bank-grade Cybersecurity wrapper.

Options clients include the leading global investment banks, hedge funds, funds of funds, proprietary trading firms, market makers, broker/dealers, private equity houses and exchanges. With offices in 8 key cities; New York, Toronto, Chicago, London, Belfast, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand, Options are well placed to service their customers both on-site and remotely. In 2019, Options secured a significant growth investment from Abry Partners, a Boston-based sector-focused private equity firm. This investment has enabled Options to considerably accelerate its growth strategy to invest further in its technology platform and expand its reach in key financial centres globally. Options has been named among the UK's leading growth companies in the 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017 Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table. For more on Options, please visit www.options-it.com, follow us on Twitter at @Options_IT and visit our LinkedIn page. About Abry Partners (www.abry.com) Abry is one of the most experienced and successful sector-focused private equity investment firms in North America. Since its founding in 1989, the firm has completed over $82 billion of leveraged transactions and other private equity or preferred equity placements. Currently, the firm manages over $5.0 billion of capital across their active funds. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005549/en/

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Orleans Parish Criminal District Court judges this month settled the last of several lawsuits over bail fees and court costs that dogged them for six years.

A joint order from the judges in February formalized new bail rules that paved the way for the settlement. The agreement comes after drawn out wrangling over how judges in New Orleans can impose bail or fines and fees on thousands of defendants each year, the vast majority of them poor.

Under the new order, defendants must have an attorney when their bail is set. The judges also promise to inquire into defendants' ability to pay, to consider alternatives to cash bail and to explain their reasoning when they do keep defendants behind bars.

Former Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell previously agreed to follow those rules for defendants making first appearances in his court. The Feb. 4 joint state court order enshrines the rules for Criminal District Court as a whole.

Orleans magistrate judge violates constitutional rights during bond hearings: federal judge A federal judge has ruled Orleans Parish Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell is violating the constitutional rights of people who appear before hi

For civil rights lawyers, its a long-awaited concession to indigent defendants rights. For the court, it is the end to costly litigation and a reflection of the growing power of progressive judges. Several judges elected last fall promised to re-evaluate the courts reliance on cash bail.

The first of numerous lawsuits against the court was filed in 2015 over the judges use of conviction fines and fees. Many of those are mandated by state law, which directed a percentage of the court costs straight back to the Criminal District Court budget.

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The judges salaries werent drawn from the fines and fees, but civil rights lawyers called the arrangement a flagrant conflict of interest. In 2018, a federal judge agreed.

Separately, civil rights lawyers targeted in a 2017 lawsuit the bail fees which defendants paid before they went to trial, a portion of which went back to the court budget. In far too many cases, Cantrell failed to consider whether bails would keep defendants locked up simply because they were poor, the attorneys said. They won a district court ruling against Cantrell in 2018.

The plaintiff's lawyers didn't win a ruling outright banning cash bail in New Orleans. But they did win an agreement from Cantrell to shape up his practices.

Lawsuit: New Orleans judge violates rights of poor defendants by imposing $2,500 minimum bail A class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses a New Orleans magistrate judge of turning a blind eye to the inability of poor defendants to pay 

The legal battle continued in 2019 and 2020 with additional lawsuits that sought to force district court judges and court commissioners to follow the new rules as well. They did so in their Feb. 4 joint order. With that order in hand, lawyers from the MacArthur Justice Center in New Orleans and the non-profit firm Civil Rights Corps agreed to drop their lawsuits.

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon formally dismissed the lawsuits on April 4. No money changed hands as a result of the settlement.

The legal battles over bail in New Orleans have coincided with a drop in the jail population that began before the lawsuits and has continued since. On Sunday, the jail had 742 people in its custody, the lowest number since the New Orleans City Council began keeping records in 1991.

Eric Foley, a staff attorney for the MacArthur Justice Center, said he was reluctant to identify the litigation as the main reason for the declining inmate population. He noted there has also been pressure from community organizers for smaller bails that defendants can post.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-27 19:57:36|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on June 27, 2020 shows tourists experiencing surfing in Tenghai village of Sanya, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- In a few days, China's airports, train stations and tourist sites will be filled with buzzing travelers and tourists while regular COVID-19 containment measures remain in place.

A travel bonanza is fast approaching as tickets during the upcoming five-day Labor Day holiday starting on May 1 have been in high demand.

"The holiday gives me a chance to escape from the stress of work," said Zhang Chuanshi, 35, who works for an internet company. He decided to go to Yunnan after Beijing scrapped mandatory nucleic acid tests for arrivals from areas with low COVID-19 infection risks.

Zhang said his family had to drop their overseas travel plans due to concerns over the epidemic situation.

SPEEDY RECOVERY

Leading indicators such as search volumes for travel destinations, flights and hotels suggest the tourism industry will embrace a welcome boom during the holiday.

On online travel booking platform Ctrip, orders for flight tickets, accommodation, admission tickets, and car rentals rose 23 percent, 43 percent, 114 percent and 126 percent from the same period of 2019 as of mid-April.

The number of travelers over the period is expected to reach 200 million and surpass the pre-pandemic level, according to Ctrip's projections.

"Many people will take advantage of the long holiday to go somewhere relatively far from their homes, such as Xinjiang and Tibet," said Zhao Chenyan, an operator at Beijing Zhuyuan International Travel Service Co., Ltd.

The surge in demand has been met with a similar surge in prices. For instance, the price for joining a tour to Sanya in south China's island province Hainan is three times higher than a year ago, as island resorts in Thailand, Bali and the Philippines are still not fully open to foreign tourists, she said.

"Thanks to the effective epidemic containment measures adopted by China, the five-day holiday is expected to unleash the pent-up demand for air transport," said Shang Kejia, vice director of the Department of Transport of the Civil Aviation Administration of China(CAAC) at a press conference on April 16.

"Both the volume and prices of flight tickets showed rapid growth, and are likely to rise above the level from 2019, boosted by the sharp growth in the number of mid- and long-distance travelers in the extended holiday," said Shang.

Cultural sites, including science halls, archaeological sites and museums, are among the most popular destinations, partly because public holidays represent the best opportunity for families with children to travel in the middle of a semester.

This year marks the centenary of the Communist Party of China, which has fueled people's enthusiasm for "red tourism," a term referring to visiting historical sites with a revolutionary legacy.

People visit the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan City, southwest China's Sichuan Province on April 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Mengqi)

"We have rolled out a two-week tour to retrace the Long March route of the Red Army in the 1930s, which has attracted many retired people who have the money and time as well as the desire to pay their respects to the heroes," said Zhao.

Recent discoveries at the Sanxingdui Ruins in southwest China's Chengdu City, which unveiled the mysteries of the Shu Kingdom dating back thousands of years, could be partially responsible for the Beijing-Chengdu flight route enjoying the largest rise in popularity among all routes on online travel service provider Qunar.com.

EPIDEMIC PRECAUTIONS

As China's COVID-19 vaccination program is expanding and domestic travelers coming from areas with low infection risks are no longer required to undergo nucleic acid tests, people are now more comfortable going on a trip, said Zhao.

"However, we still require our clients to wear face masks throughout their journey and our staff to sterilize the buses twice a day," she said.

Passengers operate automatic check-in machines at Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Tian Jianchuan)

The CAAC has advised passengers to maintain anti-epidemic measures, use self-service check-in facilities to reduce direct contact with other people and notify staff if they develop symptoms include fever, dry cough or fatigue.

Passengers are urged to pay close attention to the epidemic situation and related regulations of their destination, and avoid traveling to places with a medium or high risk of infection, the CAAC noted.

In the first quarter of 2021, China recorded 136 percent and 150 percent increases in tourist trips and tourism revenue from a year earlier, respectively, data from the China Tourism Academy (CTA) showed.

A survey by the academy suggested that over 83 percent of the respondents said they are willing to travel in the second quarter of 2021, up 1.02 percentage points and 4.93 percentage points compared with the last quarter and the second quarter of 2020, respectively.

"China's tourism consumption is enjoying a speedy recovery. It will see a consumption boom in the third quarter of this year, especially during the weeklong National Day holiday," said Dai Bin, director of the academy.

According to the CTA, 4.1 billion domestic tourist trips are expected to be made in China in 2021, up 42 percent from 2020, and domestic tourism revenue is expected to surge 48 percent to reach 3.3 trillion yuan (about 508 billion U.S. dollars). 
[April 28, 2021] Medici Land Governance Launches Ubutaka: Piloting a Paperless Land Transfer System in Rwanda

Medici Land Governance (MLG), in partnership with the Government of Rwanda through Rwanda Land Management and Use Authority (RLMUA) and the Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA), is implementing a pilot project in Gasabo District, Kigali Province, to make land transfers by voluntary sale paperless and more secure. In addition, those citizens would only need to visit the notary office once. MLG has built a land transaction system, Ubutaka, that will be integrated across essential Rwandan services for improved efficiency. The project will save time for both citizens and the Government, while also enhancing security through the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and blockchain technology. "MLG is proud to be working with Rwanda, a globally recognized leader in land registration and technology," says Ali El Husseini, PhD, CEO of Medici Land Governance. "Our collaboration will continue in helping to facilitate their trajectory which emphasizes the values and objectives of innovative technology adoption and good governance. We look forward to reaching a point when Rwandan citizens can carry out all types of land transfers in a secure and paperless way, without losing time or work during their day." Rwanda has set the gold standard for land governance in Africa and beyond. The pilot project builds on the Government of Rwanda's foundational work, including the Land Tenure Regularization Progrm (LTRP), the Land Administration Information System (LAIS), and Irembo.



Through the pilot project, landowners in Gasabo District will initiate a land transfer by voluntary sale in the Irembo platform. The data entered in Irembo is then pushed to Ubutaka, which notaries in Gasabo District will utilize to verify seller and buyer identities. Notaries will compare buyer and seller photos with the National Identification Agency Database and collect buyer and seller signatures, fingerprints, and photos to verify identities and prevent the double-selling of land. This information will be encrypted to protect the privacy of Rwandan citizens. The notary uses web-based PKI software to digitally sign all associated identity and purchase documents, and those documents are then transferred to LAIS, where the registrar reviews, approves and signs using PKI. Upon final approval, the digital proofs of all transaction data, authorization by the notary, and approval by the registrar, are published to a public blockchain for future auditing purposes and irrefutable proof of transfer by all parties involved. "Since 2009, Rwanda Land Management and Use Authority has worked diligently to digitize all land services. So far, twenty-two land services are processed online yet for some steps, applicants are requested to submit hard documents to support their applications. The existing Land Administration Information System needs to be upgraded in order to address some issues that any digitized system can encounter, including land title duplications, data errors, document misplacement, land document forgery, fraud, error or the alteration of records.

This pilot project is a great opportunity to test the new technology, Ubutaka, based on the use of blockchain technology developed by Medici Land Governance. Ubutaka will enable the Government to prevent the above-mentioned issues and make the delivery of land services more secure and efficient. In addition, the reduction of papers usage in land services will contribute to the realization of objectives of climate change adaptation and resilience in Rwanda. This pilot phase will be conducted in Gasabo District and for land transfer by voluntary sale only. After three months of the pilot, there will be an assessment after which the Government of Rwanda and MLG will decide on the scaling up the use of Ubutaka in all districts and consider all other land related transactions. We appreciate the good cooperation between Government of Rwanda and Medici Land Governance." - Esperance Mukamana, Director General and Chief Registrar of Land Titles of Rwanda Land Management and Use Authority About Medici Land Governance Medici Land Governance leverages blockchain and other technologies (such as cryptography, AI and others) to support land governance, titling, and administration with a secure public record of land ownership. With land records stored on the blockchain, land ownership is standardized and can be recognized by local and global economies. Medici Land Governance supports agencies in the digitization of their current records, engendering trust and security in data by diminishing human error and accidental damage to records. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005538/en/

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Rewind exactly one year. NSW was a very different place. While the state was no longer experiencing COVID-19 cases in the hundreds, the virus was still spreading and nerves remained frayed.

On April 29 last year, there were 11 new cases of community transmission in the state and 17 people in intensive care, including 14 on ventilators. The outbreak in aged care home Newmarch House was taking hold, with four more elderly residents dying that day (another 12 would follow). NSW remained in lockdown and school students were still learning from home.

Dont rush? Premier Gladys Berejiklian received her first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in March. Credit:Brook Mitchell/Pool/Getty Images

One year on, even as the world watches in horror as the virus devastates India with more than 300,000 new cases a day, the pandemic has become an abstract concept in NSW. Life has almost returned to normal.

With the exception of social distancing restrictions remaining in hospitality venues and the requirement that we clock our movements through a QR code, COVID-19 is a sleeping beast. Complacency has crept in. Even once socially unacceptable handshaking and kissing have made a steady return.
Theres a new boss at ERCOT, and let us be among the first to say thats a good thing.

Former president and CEO Bill Magnesss ouster just after the human-fueled failure of the states electric grid came not a minute too soon. Magness had lost the confidence of Texans.

He had company of course. Gov. Greg Abbott also removed two of the members of the Public Utility Commission, including its chair, in the weeks following Winter Storm Uri.

Whether the hiring of Brad Jones, an industry veteran named Tuesday as interim president and CEO, better protects Texans against a repeat of the tragic blunder that cost nearly 200 lives and by some counts more than $100 billion in economic losses is another thing altogether.

The failure to keep Texans lights  and their heat and water, too  on during the February deep freeze was about much more than just mistakes by people at the top. There were plenty of mistakes, alright, and given recent revelations that Abbotts aides were present when some of the costliest ones were made, we still dont know how far up the chain responsibility goes. But the biggest culprit in Februarys debacle was the failure of philosophy, of the very idea so many who lead Texas wrongly believe makes our state so exceptional.

The idea is that regulation is for losers, and that businesses, not government, are nearly always the parties best suited to decide how and whether to operate safely.

Everyone knew, or should have known, that Texas energy suppliers needed to weatherize. Ten years ago, after an ice storm nearly canceled the Super Bowl in Arlington and knocked power out for thousands of customers statewide, federal officials told Texas that its grid was too vulnerable to the cold.

Many in the Legislature knew, too. Ten years ago, lawmakers, including Houstons Sen. John Whitmire and then-Rep. Sylvester Turner, urged tough-minded reforms of ERCOT, the nonprofit that manages Texas grid, and the PUC, which oversees ERCOTs board. Legislators studied and drafted and debated and ultimately rejected those reforms. What survived was a meager measure that required energy providers to file annual plans for how they would prepare for extreme cold.

That rule proved woefully  and obviously  inadequate. It was like asking heavy industry to file a plan for minimizing air pollution, but leaving it up to the polluters to decide what that plan should be and whether to comply with it.

It made Texans more vulnerable than they should have been to the deadly consequences of Februarys failures. Did we mention already that at least 194 people died as a result?

The voluntary compliance regime wasnt by accident. The reforms were killed on purpose  and in perfect accordance with the philosophy the Republican leaders who have governed Texas for roughly a quarter-century have embraced like a new kind of religion.

Like most dangerous creeds, the tenets of the Texas philosophy are simple and, at first glance, alluring: Keep costs as low as possible for employers, so companies (and their jobs) will move to or stay in Texas. Keeping energy costs low, and therefore free of regulation, is one way to reduce the cost of doing business.

Every state would like to attract and retain jobs, of course. But most insist on checks and balances that keep the welcome mat from being an invitation to exploitation.

When it comes to energy, that means some states have tied their grid to regional networks, in effect spreading the risks of outages. In many others, regulators insist that companies supplying energy for the grid take common-sense steps to prepare for emergencies. Like weatherizing on the off chance that the mercury dips so low that wind turbines freeze or natural gas plants shut down  or that demand for heat goes through the roof.

Abbott has urged the Legislature to require companies to winterize, a move weve called progress. But the legislation has passed only the Senate, and left unresolved is the question of who will pay for the improvements? The state? The companies? Ratepayers?

Whitmire told the board Tuesday hes frustrated at the slow pace of progress. With Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick still squabbling over what to do about the energy prices that surged during the storm, the rest of the agenda appears bogged down. Texas is no better prepared today than it was before the storm, he said. We have fives weeks left, and the Legislature is still looking for a consensus.

No new appointment will matter unless the GOP leaders who have governed for so long finally rethink the tragic Texas philosophy. It has left the state, and its people, dependent on private industry for safety, rather than on elected leaders who cant seem to stop saying to industry of all types pretty please, if you feel like it.
Here's a look at President Joe Biden's first 100 days, achievements, and failures from promises he set when he took office. President Joe Biden accepted responsibility for a series of extraordinary threats when he took the oath about three months ago, including a global pandemic, an economic recession, and a country beset by political and racial tensions. He promised a series of quick and broad steps to resolve the number of issues he inherited during his campaign and became president-elect.

As he hits his 100th day in office on Thursday, here is a look at how Biden is doing to achieve some of his goals when he took office.

Biden succeeds in his $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan

Throughout 2020, Biden outlined his strategy for combating the COVID-19 pandemic and helping Americans recover from the financial crisis. He publicly announced a relief package dubbed the "American Rescue Plan" shortly after taking office, which became the basis for COVID-19 relief law, as per ABC News via MSN.

Stimulus checks, grants for schools to introduce protective programs and reopen, small businesses funding, funds for vaccines, monitoring, and contact tracing were among Biden's campaign commitments. Many of these elements were included in the $1.9 trillion bill eventually signed into law by Biden on March 11 after Congress passed it. However, Biden failed to keep what he said about winning bipartisan approval for the bill. He was unable to convince even a single Republican senator to vote in favor of it.

Biden Administration Expands Food Aid To Cover 30 Million Low-Income Children After School Year

Biden achieves timeline for COVID-19 vaccine shots

Biden has followed through with his promise to bring 100 million vaccination doses into the arms of Americans, increasing the number to 200 before the deadline. His team has used the Defense Production Act, moved vaccines out through a national pharmacy scheme, and partnered with vaccine producers to ensure that enough vaccines are available.

Critics also suggested that Biden lowered his target to render it more achievable. However, the nation has persevered after failures to reach a consistent 3 million shots per day at peak delivery. The country currently has ample vaccine on hand to solve a setback with Johnson & Johnson's one-shot vaccine. It is considering mailing out AstraZeneca doses that are not yet accepted for use in other nations.

According to officials, as India fights a devastating rise in infections, President Biden has vowed to ship up to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to other hard-hit countries. The AstraZeneca vaccine is used in other countries, although it has not yet been approved in the United States, as per NY Post.

"Given the large portfolio of vaccines that the United States currently has and that have been approved by the FDA, and given that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not approved for use in the United States, Americans do not need to use the AstraZeneca vaccine here for the next few months," White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said Monday.

President Joe Biden's Ambitious Climate Goals To Be Hindered by America's Predominant Gas-Fueled Vehicles

Joe Biden faces record migrant surge at the border

It is on immigration where Biden has failed to put his proposals into action when dealing with political issues to address the situation at the southern border. In part, the failures have had a disproportionate effect because they have fueled detractors and taken Biden off track from his desired message of concentrating on his attempts to combat the virus.

Biden kept his promise to propose legislation that would include a road to citizenship for millions of estimated undocumented immigrants - but getting it through is a different story. His effort to offer so-called DACA applicants permanent rights is being challenged in court, Daily Mail reported.

While he promised to end child separation at the border, the president is now dealing with an influx of unaccompanied minors. The administration has acknowledged that it is not always willing to comply with a statute requiring the transition of refugees from Customs and Border Protection detention to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Biden fails on guns and racial justice

According to Daily Mail, shootings in public places have resurfaced as a nationwide issue. Biden has spoken publicly about the disaster but has been unable to persuade Congress to vote on his calls for increased background checks and an assault weapons ban. He has not yet ordered the FBI to release a report on the delays in weapons background checks. After a jury convicted Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, Biden addressed the country. Legislators from both sides have yet to reach a consensus on a bill that will pass the Senate.

The White House has dropped the notion of a police oversight board, claiming that alternative methods are available. Biden has not yet succeeded in persuading Congress to renew the Voting Rights Act. Minorities and women have lost their job amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joe Biden Plans To Increase Capital Tax Rate to as High as 43.4% On Wealthy Individuals

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Detectives released the names of three men, two of them 18 years old, and a woman killed in separate shootings around the city over the past two weeks.

So far there have been 40 homicides this year in Albuquerque. By this time last year there were 20.

Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman, identified the men as Oscar Fuerte, 20, Miguel Sanchez and Ryan Saavedra Jr., both 18, and the woman as Callie Garcia, 30.

No arrests have been made in the deaths of Sanchez, Saavedra Jr. and Garcia.

Gallegos said the the death of Fuerte  who was shot during a domestic dispute early Sunday  is being looked at as a possible justifiable homicide.

Officers had responded sometime after midnight to a home in the 1200 block of Chama NE, near Mountain and Louisiana, when a woman fatally shot Fuerte.

Gallegos said the woman who shot Fuerte was questioned and released the night of the incident and the shooting may be ruled as being done in self-defense.

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Last Thursday, officers responded sometime before 10:45 p.m. to reports of a woman on the ground lifeless near Central and Vermont SE. Police found Garcia fatally shot and pronounced her dead at the scene.

The day before, police responded around 12:45 a.m. after friends brought Saavedra Jr., who had been fatally shot, into the hospital.

Officers determined he had been shot at Westgate Heights Park, west of Unser and Arenal.

Then, on April 17, police responded to a crash outside the Quality Inn at 1315 Menaul NE. They found that a passenger in the vehicle, Sanchez, had been shot.

Gallegos said Sanchez died in the hospital on April 21.


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Philippine Coast Guard patrol boat BRP Cabra (center) and two Bureau of Fisheries vessels are seen patrolling in the South China Sea, April 13-14, 2021.

The Philippines said Wednesday that non-military agencies were coordinating in deploying patrols to South China Sea waters which it claims, as Manila faces an unabated challenge from Chinese ships scattered within its exclusive economic zone.

Also on Wednesday, the Philippine defense department hit back at Chinas criticism of its coast-guard exercises in Manilas EEZ, saying Beijing had no business telling the Philippines what it could do within its waters.

Vessels from the coast guard, the fisheries bureau and the national police will be regularly deployed, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea announced. The West Philippine Sea is Manilas designation for claimed territory in the South China Sea.

The non-military bodies are closely coordinating in the continuous regular deployment of vessels in the countrys maritime domain for law enforcement, monitoring, ensuring the safety of the Filipino fishermen, and protecting the environment, the national task force said in a statement.

The deployment of non-military patrols would complement Manilas naval fleet already out on the water.

Deployments are planned at Scarborough Shoal and at a chain of Philippine-controlled reefs and islets in the disputed Spratly Islands, including Thitu (Pag-asa) Island and Second Thomas Shoal, which host a small detachment of Filipino marines.

These areas have seen a lingering presence of Chinese coast guard vessels and fishing ships, which Manila believes are manned by maritime militia.

Military patrols had spotted three China Coast Guard vessels at Scarborough Shoal, one in the Spratly Islands, and one at Second Thomas Shoal, the Philippine national task force said Wednesday in its latest report.

An ongoing diplomatic spat between Manila and Beijing began after the Philippines said it spotted more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels at Whitsun Reef, first reported by Manila in early March.

Whitsun Reef is about 175 nautical miles (324 km) off the Philippine island province of Palawan and within the countrys 200-nautical mile (370-km) EEZ.

Beijing denied the accusations and ignored Manilas demands for a pullout, prompting Manila to file daily diplomatic protests with Beijing, including on Wednesday. Beijing also claims Whitsun Reef as part of its territories in the contested waterway.

The number of Chinese vessels in the Philippine EEZ had decreased to about 160 as of April 20, Manila said Wednesday.

By deploying civilian patrols to protect and assist Filipino fishing boats, Manila hopes to avoid provoking a naval standoff with Beijing, like at Scarborough Shoal nine years ago, officials had said.

In 2012, the Chinese seized Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground within the Philippines EEZ, after a two-month standoff with the Philippine Navy.

Beijing has maintained control of the shoal ever since, with its coast guard keeping traditional Filipino fishermen at bay.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, on Wednesday.

China is encroaching

Meanwhile, the Philippines responded to Chinas opposition to its coast-guard exercises in Manilas EEZ.

The Coast Guard and the agriculture departments Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources started their first-ever comprehensive maritime exercises in the Spratly Islands and at Scarborough Shoal on Saturday.

These joint exercises, a prelude to a heavier presence in the South China Sea, will run for at least 10 days.

They involve a total of eight vessels from both non-military agencies, including the coast guards most advanced offshore patrol ship, BRP Gabriela Silang.

A July 2016 U.N.-backed tribunals ruling had affirmed the Philippines sovereign rights in the waterway, Philippine Department of National Defense spokesman Arsenio Andalong said.

The arbitral award has categorically stated that the Chinese claim bounded by their so-called nine-dash line according to their historical right has no basis in fact, Andalong said in a statement.

Therefore, it is they who are encroaching and should desist and leave. We will continue to do what is necessary to protect our sovereign rights.

Beijing refuses to recognize the arbitral award, saying it has historical rights to much of the South China Sea. China has laid claim to most of the waterway using its so-called Nine-Dash Line, which appears on Chinese maps of the sea.

On Monday, China said it enjoyed sovereignty in the Spratly Islands, Thitu Island, the Macclesfield Bank and Scarborough Shoal, and their adjacent waters, and the Philippines must respect this sovereignty and stop actions complicating the situation and escalating disputes.

Six other Asian governments  Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam  have territorial claims or maritime boundaries that overlap with China.

While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the waterway that overlap with Indonesias exclusive economic zone.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
WESTFIELD  This is the time of year when college administrative jobs across the United States are filled, so Westfield State University trustees didnt want to hesitate and risk losing their top choice.

They chose Linda Thompson on Wednesday to become the 21st president of a university that was founded 182 years ago by Horace Mann, who is known as Americas Father of Public Education.

In Thompson, trustees were convinced they had the right person to build on that proud past with a vision for the future. Still to come is approval from the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, which appears to be nothing more than a formality.

Linda Thompson a visionary in the field of higher education, and a strategic thinker. She is committed to equity, inclusion and diversity, said Kevin Queenin, chair of the board of the trustees.

Thompson has served as dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at University of Massachusetts Boston since 2017. She previously held a similar position at West Chester University in Pennsylvania.

At both institutions, Thompson developed and implemented a comprehensive five-year strategic plan to increase enrollment, expand partnerships and academic programs, secure funding, and increase diversity among students and faculty.

Those attributes convinced trustees to finalize their decision one week after interviews with the five finalists had been completed.

At this time of year, a lot of quality offers are floating around. The longer you wait, the more you risk that the best candidates in your search will take another job, Queenin said.

Trustees laid out an unofficial target date of May for a decision, but Queenin said the integrity and pace of the process was maintained, despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. From an original field of 68 applicants, a search committee narrowed the list to five by April 21.

The next day, the committee completed its review to trustees  without making a recommendation, according to its guidelines.

In addition to looking forward to welcoming (Thompson), I offer sincere thanks to the hardworking and thoughtful members of the Presidential Search Committee for their invaluable role in this important selection process, said trustee Robert Martin, who chaired the search committee.

Of the five finalists, four visited the campus and a fifth chose to interview by Zoom. Queenin said Thompson was one of the four, though that appeared to have no impact on the decision, since the search committee said it respected the decisions of all finalists.

According to Queenin, Thompsons strengths included a knowledge of the state university system, gained through her years at UMass Boston, and a student-centric attitude that fit well with leading during a transformative period in American education.

Queenin said it came down to Thompson and Darrell Kruger, professor of geography and former provost of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

They were both outstanding candidates and either one could have led us into the future. But you can only have one president, Queenin said.

Thompson was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but is expected to address the media in the near future.

Linda is looking to be up to full speed to kick off the fall semester, Queenin said.

Thompson enters a university that, like others throughout the nation, plans to reclaim a nearly normal campus atmosphere that was interrupted over the last 13 months by the pandemic.

Like other institutions in the state university system, Westfield State will require students to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before coming to campus in September. The university is planning a full in-person class schedule, with traditional levels of residency and extra campus activities, including sports.

Queenin said the decision reflected feedback from the entire Westfield State community, including faculty.

They were very engaged. The level of feedback from the entire community was outstanding, and beneficial, he said.

Such input could be especially meaningful at Westfield State, where the experience with recent presidents has resembled a rollercoaster ride. The most recent president, Ramon Torrecilha, retired in 2020. He was hailed by trustees and members of the community, but faculty soured on Torrecilha and bitterly criticized his management style.

An interim president, Roy H. Saigo, was hired to bridge the time between Torrecilhas retirement and the selection of a new, permanent president. Saigo was not a candidate for the permanent job.

Thompson has taught nursing and public health at 10 colleges and universities. She has served as provost and vice chancellor at North Carolina A&T State University, dean of nursing at Oakland University in Michigan, and associate dean at the University of Maryland School of Nursing.

As director of occupational medicine and safety in Baltimore, Maryland, she developed programs and policies to promote the health of the citys workforce. She served as state special secretary for Children, Youth, and Families in Maryland, and she developed programs and policies to improve the quality of care for vulnerable populations of children.

Many of these programs have been duplicated through her advisory and consulting roles in Brazil, China, India, Korea and the Caribbean. Thompson was the chief policy adviser to the Maryland governors office on all children and youth matters, and has published more than 100 articles and books.

Related content:
OTTAWA  Manitoba officials have been rolling up their sleeves for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which could help cut down on worries about a COVID-19 shot marred by bad press.

OTTAWA  Manitoba officials have been rolling up their sleeves for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which could help cut down on worries about a COVID-19 shot marred by bad press.

A month ago, Manitobas top doctor got the AstraZeneca shot, as have Health Minister Heather Stefanson and northern Grand Chief Garrison Settee.

All three would have qualified for either Moderna or Pfizer shots administered at super sites, based on age or the fact Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, still performs front-line health tasks.

But opting for the AstraZeneca shot could help reduce peoples hesitancy about getting that shot.

"It is important for leaders to show leadership on this," said Dr. Kate Mulligan, a University of Toronto public-health professor who specializes in social and behavioural sciences.

Roussin, Stefanson and Settee all insisted that Manitobans should take whichever COVID-19 shot theyre offered, arguing Canada has one of the best regulatory systems to assess risk and safety.

Elsewhere, politicians have been more upfront about getting AstraZeneca, with Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott telling reporters she specifically got that dose to try to ease concerns about it.

"Theyre both ways to demonstrate confidence in the vaccine supply we have," Mulligan said.

"You can either name it directly, that youre taking this one thats come under scrutiny. Or you can show that I will take the first one that comes to me, which is kind of the same message."

John Woods / The Canadian Press Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. (MKO) Grand Chief Garrison Settee receives the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from Dr. Joss Reimer.

Like the Moderna and Pfizer shots, the AstraZeneca jab is considered extremely effective at preventing death and severe disease.

Still, Canada and other countries have changed the age eligibility for AstraZeneca shots as a precaution around an extremely rare blood-clot issue that might be related to the vaccine.

Thats led to a lot of questions from the public.

Mulligan said having a transparent process means following the science as it evolves in real time, which should help bolster the publics trust in vaccinations writ large.

Yet she acknowledged these constant changes to eligibility and news about blood clots have created unease.

"There have been enough media articles that people have very little sense of the relative risk," said Mulligan, who received an AstraZeneca shot herself last week.

"Your risk of getting a blood clot from COVID is much, much higher than getting a blood clot from AstraZeneca."

Ryan Chan, owner of the Exchange District Pharmacy, said about 95 per cent of patients who signed up for the AstraZeneca vaccine have asked him about issues with the shot.

"People are questioning it, and it just comes down to proper education," said Chan, who has printed out research to give patients and help them make their own choice.

"We talk about the pros, the cons and the significance of the information out there  and where that information originated from," he said.

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files Sophie Gregoire Trudeau watches as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gives the thumbs-up after receiving his first COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccination in Ottawa last week.

"We try to present it by being objective, saying this is the research and what the numbers tell us."

Mulligan said thats the right approach, and that Manitoba officials should be telling people to ask their family doctor or clinician about any concerns they have.

"People should not feel that theyre being pushed into (a vaccine) that they feel risk about," she said. "If youre nervous, talk to your primary care provider."

That view is shared by Doctors Manitoba, who launched ManitobaVaccine.ca to answer questions from the public.

"These are the people who often do your flu shot, they do a lot of the other immunization work and they have a long-term relationship with you," Mulligan said.

Mulligan, who is advising the Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, on equity issues in COVID-19, also praised Manitobas recent move to expand vaccinations to Indigenous clinics.

The Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre and Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre are now offering shots. Mulligan said both will likely help some of the most vulnerable Winnipeggers get vaccinated, because its in a space that feels safe and familiar.

Ultimately, tailored projects like that will likely have more of an impact than officials being photographed getting their shots.

"The broad population message is really not an equity approach, and it doesnt work for us across all our differences," Mulligan said.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Global investment in the insurtech sector reached a new quarterly high of US$2.55 billion during the first quarter of 2021.

The number of mega-rounds reached eight, more than any other three-month period, according to the new Quarterly InsurTech Briefing from Willis Towers Watson.

Total funding during the quarter grew by 180% compared with Q1 2020, which declined due to COVID-19. The latest total grew by 22% relative to more comparable Q4 2020, while the number of discrete deals soared 42% higher than during the previous quarter.

Investment was driven primarily by property/casualty focused companies, which represented 69% of deal share.

Eight companies accounted for more than $1.13 billion in funding during the quarter, 44% of the total raised. That marks a new quarterly high for the number of mega-round fund raisings of $100 million or more. Next Insurance, Coalition, Zego, Sidecar Health, Pie Insurance, Clarify Health, Corvus Insurance Agency, and TypTap all raised sums equal to or greater than the threshold, propelling Coalition and Zego to billion-plus unicorn status.

The record level of activity this quarter reflects our industrys ever more widespread willingness to engage and adopt technology, which continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, said Dr. Andrew Johnston, global head of InsurTech at Willis Re.

Johnston said COVID-19, more than any other factor, has rapidly accelerated the change that was already well under way.

Alongside the unicorn-making rounds was a 13 percentage-point increase in early-stage deals compared to Q4 2020. Willis found that 60% of investments in Q1 2021 were Series A or B fund raisings.

The global footprint of insurtech also increased during what was the most geographically diverse set of early-stage start-ups in a single quarter, representing 24 countries including Bangladesh, Estonia, Brazil, Nigeria, and U.A.E.

According to Johnston, the products offered by insurtechs must make intellectual and commercial sense to their target users, whether theyre insurers, brokers, or insurance buyers. Unfortunately, he added, a failure to understand this in addition to the general difficulty of entering an industry as a nascent business, means that many insurtechs will most likely never achieve the grandeur of their aspirations.

Source: Wills Towers Watson

Topics InsurTech Tech Property Casualty
ESMO Breast Cancer Virtual Congress 2021

Lugano, Switzerland, 28 April 2021 - The 2021 ESMO Breast Cancer Congress will be held as a virtual meeting, on 5-8 May. (1)

Highlights

- Impact of ethnicity-based differences - Optimising the management of premenopausal women with early breast cancer - Latest advances in adjuvant, neoadjuvant and immunotherapy - Cutting-edge surgical research, keynote lecture by Masakazu Toi, Saturday 8 May at 14:15 CEST

The programme will address other topics such as integrating insights from translational research into cancer care: new agents on the horizon; the role of molecular and functional diagnostics as well as biomarkers for more precise treatment options; latest research applications in the clinical setting. (2)

The results of nearly 200 studies from researchers in various parts of the world will be presented either as oral or poster presentations, and published online as a supplement of Annals of Oncology. The abstract titles can be viewed through the online programme.

Press Programme

- "The switch of breast tumours to HER2-low status in recurrence might provide greater therapeutic options".

The finding that breast tumours can evolve to express low HER2 potentially widens the number of patients who can benefit from new investigational agents, typically novel antibody-drug conjugate therapies, that are currently in clinical trials for HER2-low tumours.

- "Personalisation of follow-up care is needed to address varying health burdens in breast cancer patients".

As breast cancer becomes a largely curable disease, with more than 70% of women surviving at least 10 years after diagnosis across most of Europe thanks to early detection and treatment, the quality of life after cancer has become an important aspect of the patient journey - one that may be inadequately addressed with current standards of follow-up.

ESMO Breast Cancer Award keynote lectures

Andrew Tutt, The Institute of Cancer Research and Guy's Hospital, Kings College London, London, UK, will be recognised with the ESMO Breast Cancer Award 2021 for his exceptional contribution to developing our understanding of breast cancer. He will deliver the award keynote lecture "Targeting HR deficiency: Finding an Achilles heel in hereditary breast cancer" on Friday, 7 May at 11:55 CEST. (3)

Also, the congress will host the award lecture of the 2020 recipient of the ESMO Breast Cancer Award, Sherene Loi, Peter MacCallum Cancer Center Melbourne and University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia on "Stories in breast cancer immunology and genomics" on Saturday 8 May at 12:00 CEST.

Media registration

ESMO welcomes media interested in obtaining information and reporting on cancer issues. Only through the official accreditation process with the media registration form, accredited media representatives will be able to access scientific and educational sessions (live streamed and on-demand), livechat andQ&A, e-posters and chat with poster presenters, virtual exhibition and industry satellite symposia, Congress webcasts, and embargoed material.(4)

###

For further information

ESMO Press Office

media@esmo.org

Notes to Editors

Please make sure to use the official name of the meeting in your reports: ESMO Breast Cancer Virtual Congress 2021

Official Congress Hashtag: #ESMOBreast21

References

(1) ESMO Breast Cancer Virtual Congress 2021 https:/ / www. esmo. org/ meetings/ esmo-breast-2021-virtual

(2) Programme https:/ / cslide. ctimeetingtech. com/ breast21_virtual/ attendee/ confcal/ session/ calendar

(3) ESMO Breast Cancer Award 2021 https:/ / www. esmo. org/ about-esmo/ awards/ esmo-breast-cancer-award

(4) Media Registration Form https:/ / esmo. formstack. com/ forms/ media_registration_form_breast_2021

About the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)

ESMO is the leading professional organisation for medical oncology. With more than 25,000 members representing oncology professionals from over 160 countries worldwide, ESMO is the society of reference for oncology education and information. ESMO is committed to offer the best care to people with cancer, through fostering integrated cancer care, supporting oncologists in their professional development, and advocating for sustainable cancer care worldwide. https:/ / www. esmo. org/

About the ESMO Breast Cancer Award

The ESMO Breast Cancer Award was established in 2019 to acknowledge distinguished experts who have devoted a major part of their career and made a special contribution to the discovery and development of education, research and clinical practice in the breast cancer field. https:/ / www. esmo. org/ about-esmo/ awards/ esmo-breast-cancer-award

This story has been published on: 2021-04-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Just days into his administration, President Biden signed an executive order to rejoin the Paris Agreement in a move that exemplifies a ramping up of climate change mitigation efforts at the international, federal, and state levels. Stakeholders in global food systems  including the dairy community  are being asked to collaborate to meet sustainability targets. As part of these efforts, its critical to broaden the definition of sustainability beyond protecting planetary health to also address the health of people and communities.

Consider sustainable nutrition

Many health experts, advocates, policymakers, and consumers are already moving in the direction of sustainable nutrition, a framework for thinking about the health of both people and the planet. By broadening the lens of sustainability to include nutrition, there is opportunity for the dairy community to highlight the value of dairy foods as part of healthy and sustainable daily eating patterns.

The reality is, most Americans are still not consuming enough high-quality, nutritious foods to meet their nutritional needs. Encouraging people to consume the recommended daily servings of dairy foods like milk, cheese, and yogurt will help close existing nutrient gaps.

Additionally, when sustainable nutrition is coupled with nutrition security  defined as having consistent access, availability, and affordability of foods and beverages that promote health  dairy foods are well-positioned to be part of the solution to creating nutrition equity so that children, families, and communities are supported to thrive.

The dairy community also has a positive story to tell in terms of improvements in environmental stewardship. Californias dairy farm families are world leaders in sustainable farming practices and are participating in innovative climate-smart programs such as the cap-and-trade program to drastically cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.

Nationally, the dairy industry is aiming to become carbon neutral, optimize water usage, and improve water quality by 2050. Sharing the dairy communitys ongoing commitment to innovation and continuous improvement toward planet-smart practices can go a long way toward building trust with a public that is increasingly aware of the connection between the food they eat and its impact on the environment.

Moving forward, its critical for the dairy community to work together to broaden the definition of sustainability to include the nutritional needs of people as well as economics, culture, and other sociological factors. By doing so, dairy foods can be part of sustainable food systems that support healthy people and a healthy planet.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.

(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2021

April 22, 2021
KERRVILLE, Texas, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- James Avery Artisan Jewelry, a family-owned jewelry retailer based in Texas, announces the opening of its newest store today in Singing Hills at 326 Singing Oaks, Ste 151, Spring Branch, Texas 78070.

"Our associates are ready to greet customers in the new Spring Branch store today," says James Avery CEO John McCullough. "This beautiful location offers timeless James Avery favorites in sterling silver, 14K gold and gemstones, rooted in our Texas Hill Country heritage."

Putting customer and associate safety first, the Spring Branch store is following recommended COVID-19 health protocols and guidelines implemented in all James Avery stores. Hand sanitizing stations are set up in store for customers and associates and areas throughout the store are regularly cleaned and sanitized. Additionally, the company requests customers to honor social distancing guidelines and to wear face coverings when in store. James Avery associates undergo daily health screenings and wear facemasks.

Operating hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, 12 to 6 p.m. and are subject to change. Store Manager Anna Russell and her team are ready to welcome customers to shop in the new store or use the Contactless, Curbside Pickup or Buy Online, Pickup in Store options at JamesAvery.com.

About James Avery Artisan Jewelry James Avery is a vertically integrated, family-owned company located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. We offer finely crafted jewelry designs for men and women in sterling silver, 14K and 18K gold, bronze and gemstones. James Avery jewelry is designed and crafted by our own skilled artisans in Kerrville, Comfort and Hondo, TX using the finest materials sourced worldwide. We are a multi-channel retailer with over 100 James Avery stores in four states. Our jewelry is also available at JamesAvery.com, more than 200 Dillard's locations and Dillards.com. You can also find our designs at airport stores in Austin and Houston and at the AAFES locations in Fort Hood and Fort Belvoir. For more information, visit JamesAvery.com or facebook.com/JamesAvery.

SOURCE James Avery Artisan Jewelry

Related Links

http://www.JamesAvery.com


Big W is selling a stylish autumn dress that's almost identical to one more than four times the price.

The Australian discount store's $35 'Tiered Shirred Dress' is a brilliant dupe of the $160 'Paisley Midi Dress' from upscale clothing brand, Seed Heritage.

Both dresses are black and knee-length with long sleeves and a striking paisley print.

The most obvious difference is the neckline - Seed's style has a modest V-neck while Big W's version is a square.

Scroll down for video

Save: The $35 'Tiered Shirred Dress' from Big W

Splurge: The $160 'Paisley Midi Dress' from upscale clothing brand, Seed Heritage

Australian influencers have been raving about the affordable alternative on Instagram, with Sydney fashion blogger Dani - who posts as Luxe and Lemonade - posting a comparison photo of the two dresses on her story.

Big W is not the only Aussie label selling cheaper versions of designer goods.

In February, popular clothing store Cotton On launched loungewear sets that are almost identical to a best-selling design from Kim Kardashian's SKIMS label which are more than three times the price.

Kim Kardashian wears the SKIMS Cozy Collection set in 'dusk' (left); a model poses in the Cotton On bargain version in fairytale pink (right)

The $60 'Fluffy Lounge' tank and shorts are a clever dupe of the $187 'Boucle' top and shorts from the Cozy Collection, one of the most popular ranges from the 40-year-old reality star's intimate fashion brand.

Both sets have strappy, sleeveless tops and shorts with high-cut waistbands, while even the colours are strikingly similar.

Cotton On's 'fairytale pink' is just a shade brighter than SKIMS 'dusk', which Kardashian modelled in a recent Instagram story filmed in the walk-in closet of her $76million (AUD) Hidden Hills home.

The 40-year-old reality star turned businesswoman (pictured) has described the fabric of her intimates line as thick without adding weight to your body

Cotton On customers are already stripping the shelves of the designer dupe (pictured), with only sizes small and medium left in stock

The biggest difference is the material.

While the discount retailer's sets are made from nylon and acrylic, Kardashian's are made from boucle, an exceptionally soft, lightweight fabric that is naturally stretchy.

'It's thick, but it's not a material that adds weight to you,' the makeup mogul said.

Cotton On customers are already stripping the shelves of the designer dupe, with only sizes small and medium left in stock.

The cut-price imitation - which is sold in pink, lilac and beige floral print online and in stores across Australia - can also be bought as separate tops and shorts for $29.99 each.
Charlotte Crosby has lashed out at reporters for repeatedly asking her questions about her plastic surgery and lip filler.

The former Geordie Shore star, 31, said she's always asked the same 'boring' questions about her cosmetic produces during every interview.

'Every f**king interview is so f**king boring because all I get asked is when is the next time I am going to get lip filler,' she told Sydney's Daily Telegraph while promoting her new unfiltered podcast.

Hitting back: Former Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby (pictured) lashed out at reporters on Tuesday for asking 'boring' questions about her plastic surgery and lip filler

She continued: 'How boring. Who cares? Sadly all anyone wants to talk about is what I am planning next plastic surgery-wise. Nothing and that is the answer.'

It comes after British TV network Channel 5 was forced to remove its documentary critiquing Charlotte's history of plastic surgery from its online player My5 after sparking a backlash.

Charlotte had shared a lengthy statement on Friday saying she was 'appalled' by the program which criticised her 'plastic face' and 'duck lips,' after years of being targeted by trolls due to her appearance.

'Every f**king interview is so f**king boring because all I get asked is when is the next time I am going to get lip filler,' she told Sydney's Daily Telegraph while promoting her new podcast

In a statement shared with MailOnline on Saturday, a spokesperson confirmed the show had been taken down and that they 'apologise for any upset caused'.

'Channel 5 and the program's producers, Crackit Productions, take duty of care very seriously,' the spokesperson said.

'While we acknowledge that the programme was OFCOM compliant, we have taken on board Charlotte's feedback and removed the episode from our streaming platform My5. We apologise for any upset caused.'

Charlotte had taken to Instagram on Saturday to share an emotional video thanking her fans for their support, revealing she had received messages calling the show 'vile' and that her phone almost 'exploded' with kind messages.

Addressing her fans make-up free from her home, Charlotte revealed her initial thoughts after the documentary aired were 'I've done this to myself, I deserve it'.

Taken down: It comes after Channel 5 was forced to remove its documentary critiquing Charlotte's history of plastic surgery from its online player My5 after sparking a backlash

Tearfully explaining her point of view, the TV personality told her friends and fans that they had made her realise her 'self worth'.

She explained how her phone 'almost exploded' after sharing her heartfelt statement about the show and said she couldn't believe 'how kind everyone has been'.

On Friday, the reality star had shared a lengthy statement saying she was 'appalled' by the programme which criticised her 'plastic face' and 'duck lips,' after years of being targeted by trolls for years due to her appearance.

Charlotte went onto write that while she is 'grateful' for her fame, she's struggled with 'self-confidence and personal trauma' for years, and urged bosses to use their airtime to raise awareness of mental health.

She wrote: 'I cannot quite believe I am saying this but here goes. Last night, Channel 5 & Crackit Productions put out a one-hour documentary called 'Celebrities - What Happened To Your Face - Charlotte Crosby.

Apology: In a statement shared with MailOnline on Saturday, a spokesperson confirmed the show had been taken down and that they 'apologise for any upset caused'

'In 2021, a main UK channel and production company believe it would be a good use of airtime, to dissect my physical appearance.

'I have seen how many of you saw it, switched off and complained - many not even 'fans' of me, just good people who know right from wrong. Thank you for that, and for your messages of love and support.

'I am aware I have put myself and my face in the public eye. TV and broadcasting had given me and my family a life we could never have dreamed of. I enjoy it, am enormously grateful for it and many of my respected closest friends work within the industry.'

Charlotte, who has openly discussed having various procedures including a nose job, lip filler and breast enhancement, told fans she'd spent years being trolled for her appearance.

'I have had a public battle with my appearance, and have had to go through personal trauma & issues of self-confidence in the spot-light. I like to think I'm an honest, balanced person - I get it, I understand the interest.'

Emotional: Charlotte had taken to Instagram on Saturday to share an emotional video thanking her fans for their support, revealing she had received messages calling the show 'vile' and that her phone almost 'exploded' with kind messages
Farmers need to plant soon, but most lack the tractors to finish plowing.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance to the Kumsong Tractor Factory in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang on November 15, 2017.

North Korea has ordered its farmers to begin planting crops, but many farms in the country have yet to be plowed due to a severe lack of adequate farming machinery, sources told RFA.

During Januarys Eighth Party Congress, the central government said that, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, North Korea had been too reliant on China for covering its food shortages, and that too much of its economy was dependent on cross-border trade.

When Beijing and Pyongyang closed their border and suspended all trade in January 2020, the North Korean economy came to a near halt. International organizations warned that the country of 23 million people could suffer a severe food crisis.

The central government set lofty goals for agricultural production during the congress, preaching that the country should depend on its founding Juche philosophy of self-reliance to get through its economic difficulties.

But most collective farms do not have enough tractors to finish plowing in time for the optimal sowing period. The Soviet-made tractors they have were built in the 1970sthey require too much fuel and break often due to a lack of available replacement parts.

Farmers are hoping that they will be able to fulfill their quotas after hearing rumors that China would provide modern cultivator machines that are more efficient, but until then they must either wait their turn on the old tractors or try to plow with animal power, another problem since North Korean oxen are underfed and too frail to work.

An agricultural official in the northeastern North Hamgyong province told RFAs Korean Service on April 21 that the rural operations committee of the province told the farms to increase their efforts.

They said the future of the country depends on farming. They continue to demand that farming preparations be made on time to carry out the decision of the Eighth Party Congress, said the source.

Some of the farms in Chongjins Chongam district are not expected to be able to finish sowing because they have not finished plowing yet. The biggest reason they failed to reach their plowing goals is because the farm-owned cattle are too lean and not strong enough because they arent eating enough, said the source.

The source said that the people are aware that farms in other countries have the benefit of modern technology like fertilizers spread by machines and pesticides sprayed by helicopter.

The farmers who know this are releasing a collective sigh. Some farm workers complain about their lives. They say that if these stories of other countries are true, they wonder why North Korea has not caught up with the 21st century, said the source.

The Central Party is pushing them every day to finish plowing in time for the scheduled sowing period, but the farm officials are in a situation where they cant just rush the farm workers. The tractors owned by the farms are so old that they are useless. Even if they are operable, they are so old, so they are still unusable because they guzzle fuel. Meanwhile the cattle do not have enough energy to work, and it is impossible to plow the fields on manpower, said the source.

The source said that one of the local farms is using a tractor manufactured in the Soviet Union, North Koreas historic patron, in the 1970s.

Its literally rusting away. Meanwhile more than half of all the tractors are broken. Due to a lack of parts and their poor fuel economy, they are never repaired and are left in storage like they are junk, said the source.

The authorities are aware of the serious situation on the cooperative farms, so they are trying to bring in agricultural machinery from China. Farming machines from China are these small multi-purpose cultivator tractors, so the farmers hope to get their hands on them soon, the source said.

Another source, from North Hamgyongs Kyongsong county, told RFA that plowing there hadnt started in some places.

More than half of the fields have yet to be plowed, so some farms will miss the right time to sow, though others are nearly ready to sow. The farmers are at a loss, the second source said.

They failed to finish plowing because the tractors are inoperable because they are so old and break down frequently. They are just piles of scrap metal. The one or two tractors that work cant be used because they guzzle too much diesel fuel, said the second source.

News of farm assistance from China in the form of pesticides and plastic film was welcome to the ears of many of the farmers according to the second source.

But they still hope to get machinery so they can complete the plowing on time, the second source said.

The small cultivator machine that China will provide takes about a quarter of the fuel compared to our large tractor, and it performs well with a variety of different functions. I hope that the news about the Chinese machinery is more than just a rumor, said the second source.

The local farm management committee is pushing unrealistic grain production quotas set by the central committee, according to the second source.

But how can farms that have not yet even finished plowing achieve such lofty goals? Everyone is putting their hopes on these small Chinese cultivators, said the second source.

A third source, from northern Ryanggang province, told RFA April 23 that one of the farms there is equipped with newer farming equipment thanks to a visit 18 years ago by then leader Kim Jong Il.

The Highest Dignity visited in 2003, so the Sindok cooperative farm was designated as a guidance farm. They have various modern farming machines, including the North Korean-made Chollima tractor, several Belarusian and Russian tractors, harvesting machines for wheat, barley and soybeans, and of course the old tractors from the 70s, the third source said, using an honorific to refer to the countrys leaders.

But the Samso and 6-gok farms were never visited by anyone important, so they are using 40-to-50-year-old tractors with parts that are difficult to find. Since they require too much fuel, the farmers dont know what to do. They are facing a major crisis.

The division of Korea following the 1950-53 Korean War left the North without enough farmland to feed itself, as the peninsulas breadbasket is in the southwest. But the North was able to get by on aid from the Soviet Union, which provided inexpensive fuel and petrochemical fertilizers to increase farm yields.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the aid stopped flowing in, and the countrys centralized and closed economy was not prepared to adapt. This resulted in the 1994-1998 North Korean famine which killed millions, as much as 10 percent of the country by some estimates. North Korean farms to this day still struggle with a lack of fuel and the people are often mobilized to provide human waste as fertilizer. The result is that the country has yearly food production deficits.

According to estimates in a Dec. 2020 report by the South Korean agricultural ministrys Rural Development Administration, North Korea in 2021 would grow only 80 percent of the 5.5 million tons of food that it needs each year.

Reported by Jeong Yon Park for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MONTEVIDEO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2021) Paraguay is negotiating production of Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V with private companies, a health ministry source has told Sputnik.

"It is currently at the level of discussions ... There were meetings between representatives of the foreign ministry and private companies," the source said, adding that it is premature to talk about dates.

The country is said to be ready to fill the vaccine into vials and package it but a complete transfer of technology will take at least four months.

The source mentioned Paraguay received Sputnik V shipments in February and April, with the next shipment being scheduled for May.

Sputnik V, the world's first registered coronavirus vaccine, has been approved for emergency use in 60 countries across the globe. The efficacy of the vaccine stands at 97.6%, based on the latest analysis of data on the post-vaccination infection percentage among 3.8 million vaccinated Russians. It is higher than the 91.6% efficacy shown in an interim analysis from the trial published in The Lancet in early February.
Montreal Canadiens winger Jonathan Drouin is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team. (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Jonathan Drouin is taking some time away from the Montreal Canadiens.

The club announced Wednesday that the high-profile winger will take an indefinite leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.

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From a transactional standpoint, he will be placed on long-term injured reserve  likely retroactively  meaning he will need to miss at least 10 games or 24 days dating back to his last appearance in the Montreal lineup.

Drouin has missed the last three games with what was classified as a "non-COVID related illness," last dressing April 21 in a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers.

Drouin has two goals and 21 assists in 44 games for the Canadiens this season.

Montreal is asking that his privacy remain respected as he attends to the personal matter.

The Canadiens' lines looked like this at practice Wednesday ahead of their clash with the Toronto Maple Leafs:

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Lasselsberger Group's 700tpd white cement plant nears commercial start-up

28 April 2021

The Lasselsberger group of Austria is preparing to launch a new 700tpd of white cement plant in the Abzelilovsky district of Bashkiria, Russia. It is the second white cement plant in Bashkiria.

The Cemix plant under construction in Bashkiria will start producing its main product in May 2021. In addition to white cement, the company will produce coloured paving slabs and facade tiles. The facility is currently undergoing commissioning. According to the director of the company Ilya Dvornikov, the plant is almost ready to start up.

The cement production process is not easy. There are several semi-finished products in the production chain. Now all the raw materials are loaded into the bins. Next week we are planning to get raw meal  this is the grinding of limestone and white clay. And in another week we will try to produce white clinker  this is the second semi-finished product before cement production. We plan to produce the finished product, cement, in the second half of May, said Mr Dvornikov.

In the future, the dry-process production of white cement will reach 1000tpd. The company plans to produce up to 240,000tpa of white cement and thus cover the country's entire need for this product.

The official opening of the Cemix enterprise is scheduled for August 2021. Until that time, the plant is planning to carry out the final adjustment of production and improve the territory.

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South Los Angeles Pastors Hold Press Conference to Highlight Community Issues and Support Congresswoman Maxine Johnson. Tweet this

"As Congresswoman Maxine Waters' friend, we commend her fierce defense of liberty and justice for all  we, and other religious leaders, stand for her, as she continues to push for justice and accountability. The pendulum in American history is swinging. This pendulum of the new majority of like-minded people who have come together, have set into motion meaningful change that will last for centuries to come in America if we continue to fight. African Americans, Latinos, Asian Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, Caucasians, immigrants and refugees have a right to come together in order to form a more perfect union. We cannot continue to suffer at the hands of those who are sworn to serve and to protect us."

South Los Angeles-based pastors state that the work of justice is not yet done and we cannot stop not-violent protesting, legislating and fighting back until black, brown, yellow and every other lives in America matters. Scott went on to say that "Congresswoman Waters was right, while speaking in Brooklyn Center, MN, where Daunte Wright was shot and killed by police and a few miles from where former Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty, when she said, "'We've got to stay on the street. And we've got to get more active. We've got to get more confrontational. We've got to make sure that they know that we mean business.'"

Together, the new majority, from all walks of lifethe street, the boardroom, the church, the workplace, and in our homes where we teach our children "that we hold these truths to be self-evident", must continue to push for change because in the greatest country on Earth, The United States of America, the majority rules and we are the new majority.

In addition to Pastor Scott and Pastor Worsham, the following religions leaders will also attend the press conference - Pastor J. Edgar Boyd, Senior Minister, First AME Church, Reverend John Edward Cager III, Senior Pastor, Ward AME Church, Pastor Najuma Smith-Pollard, Program Manager, USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement and Senior Pastor K. W. Tulloss, Weller Street Missionary Baptist Church.

The press conference is open to the public.

The Macedonia Baptist Church is a 112-year old landmark in Los Angeles where Pastor Shane B. Scott is senior pastor. Pastor Scott has been serving the Watts community since he arrived in Los in 2011 from Fresno, California. Under his leadership, the church is a strong voice for the advancement of social justice in transforming the quality of life for the community. For more information, visit www.macedonia-la.org.

The Agape Church of Los Angeles is located in south Los Angeles and was founded and is led by Bishop Craig Worsham . Bishop Worsham superintends and covers some 50-plus churches in the country and is known for his expertise in community development and youth ministry. He is also an international evangelist who has led hundreds of students abroad for mission work in Jamaica and Mexico. He is currently the chair of Faith Based Partnerships for the National Association of Real Estate Brokers in Baltimore which strives to create two-million new African American homeowners over the next five years. For more information, visit www.agapela.org.

Media Contact: Alex Guerrero

[email protected]

(661) 425-5733

SOURCE Macedonia Baptist Church

Related Links

http://www.macedonia-la-org


Sergeant Czar Valdehueza of the Union City Police Department, who also happens to be of Filipino-American descent, led this event to encourage dialogue between community members and their various agencies by providing resources such as pamphlets containing information on reporting hate crimes in multiple languages, as well as safety tips on crime prevention. It was a great show of solidarity between police enforcement and community members, community leaders, faith-based organizations together with government entities. Not only was the event informative, but many enjoyed the Filipino Food and Ice Cream provided by Island Pacific Supermarket.

Island Pacific has pledged continued support for our law enforcements in their effort to curb the rising Anti-Asian Hate crimes by making sure that all hate crime incident gets reported to increase awareness and make sure that all perpetrators of hate crimes face justice.

Because of the success of the Stop Asian Hate inaugural community event in Island Pacific Union City, another one is slated for Saturday, May 22, 2021 from 10am - 3pm at the Marina Food Parking Lot at 1791 Decoto Road, Union City. All are welcome to attend. If anyone you know has experienced any hate related crimes, please encourage them to call the Union City Police Department at 510- 471-1365.

[Island Pacific is supermarket chain dedicated to promoting Filipino Food and Seafood to the rest of the world. It is headquartered in Walnut, California and currently has 16 supermarket branches serving communities in California and Las Vegas.]

SOURCE Island Pacific Market

Related Links

http://www.islandpacificmarket.com


Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 14:02:49|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, April 28 (Xinhua) -- China will be more willing to participate in global trade reforms if it does not feel being targeted by other countries, said the World Trade Organization(WTO) chief.

According to a Reuters report, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made the remarks at a conference on Monday hosted by the European Commission.

The United States, European Union and Japan are pushing for curbs on state support for industrial subsidies to address concerns about China's state-owned enterprises, the report said.

However, their proposals need to be unanimously approved by all members of the WTO.

The WTO head considered the dealings she has had with China "very constructive," saying that China would be more receptive if it saw the WTO addressing other types of subsidies.

China has said it would be more ready to discuss industrial subsidies if talks are also extended to agricultural subsidies prevalent in the West.

Currently, the WTO is working with other parties on a study on overall subsidies to "put some objective facts on the table," Okonjo-Iweala said. Enditem
Big 3 of Chinas aerospace ready to serve the globe

By Zhang Baoshu (People's Daily Overseas Edition) 13:57, April 28, 2021

A 1:1 model of the core module Tianhe of the China Space Station is exhibited at the 12th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China) in Zhuhai, south Chinas Guangdong Province, Nov. 7, 2018. (Photo by Peoples Daily Online)

After over 70 years of continuous efforts, especially since the implementation of the reform and opening up policy in 1978, a batch of major equipment have been constructed or are being constructed in China.

They not only demonstrate Chinas remarkable progress, but also carry an important mission to enhance China-foreign sci-tech cooperation and exchanges.

Among them, the big 3 of Chinas aerospace technology, namely the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) and China Space Station (CSS) are pioneering Chinas sci-tech cooperation and exchanges with the rest of the world.

The FAST, located in Pingtang County, southwest Chinas Guizhou Province, is the worlds largest single-dish radio telescope. Upon completion in September 2016, the telescope was put into a pilot run. In January the last year, the project went through acceptance inspection and began formal operations, which marked a major breakthrough made by China in cutting-edge astronomy.

The telescope, independently developed by China, has a comprehensive performance that is 10 times better than that of the Arecibo Observatory, a 305-meter vast telescope in Puerto Rico, and it can receive electromagnetic signals 10 billion light years away. As of the end of March, the FAST had identified over 300 pulsars.

The National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), which initiated the FAST project, recently announced that the gigantic telescope would be open to the world and accept observation applications from scientists around the world since March 31.

All foreign applications will be evaluated in a unified manner. The results will be announced on July 20 and observations will begin in August.

This indicated a higher level of opening up of the FAST and demonstrated Chinas willingness to cooperate with the international science community.

The Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south Chinas island province of Hainan experienced a busy April. Aerospace experts from across the country gathered there to build the CSS.

China is scheduled to launch three modules, four cargo spacecraft, and four manned spacecraft for its space station construction in 2021 and 2022.

As early as May 2018, China and the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space launched the United Nations/China Cooperation on the Utilization of the China Space Station, during which the two parties announced cooperation details of using the Chinese infrastructure.

As a result, nine international scientific experiments of 17 countries, including Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Kenya and Japan, would be included in the CSS, covering multiple disciplines such as space astronomy, geoscience, space life-science and biotechnology. This marked Chinas sincerity and concrete action in promoting international sci-tech cooperation with the CSS as a platform.

On June 23, 2020, as the 55th satellite of the BeiDou satellite family, or the last of the BDS-3, the third generation of the BDS, was launched, China completed the constellation deployment of the BDS-3 half a year ahead of schedule, and started global service of the navigation system.

The construction of navigation system not only needs a strong power in space science, but also occupies spatial frequency and orbit resources, which calls for a series of efforts in international coordination.

In 2013, China built its very first ground monitoring station for the BDS in Pakistan, marking the start of the construction of BDS overseas stations.

As one of the four major satellite navigation systems recognized by the UN, BDS products have been exported to over 120 countries and regions, offering services for more than 100 million users. Besides, China is also further enhancing cooperation on compatibility and interoperability between the BDS and its counterparts from the U.S., Russia and the EU.

The BDS will always stay committed to its global services and keep benefiting the mankind.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) in Australia and New Zealand held an online public meeting last Saturday, reviewing the escalating US-led war drive against China, and putting forward a socialist and internationalist perspective for the working class to prevent such a catastrophe.

The event, which can be viewed below, was attended by students from a host of universities in Sydney, Brisbane, Newcastle, Melbourne and Adelaide, working class youth and high school students, and international participants, including from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, the US, Germany and Britain.

Meeting: Oppose the US-led war drive against China!

Chairing the meeting, IYSSE (Australia) convenor Oscar Grenfell pointed to some of the indications of the war drive, including statements by senior US admirals forecasting a conflict, and a series of recent provocations, centering on Taiwan. He noted active discussions underway within the ruling elite, over the use of nuclear weapons in such a war.

Evrim Yazgin, a leading member of the IYSSE and the president of its club at the University of Melbourne, delivered a report detailing Australias integration into the US preparations for conflict with Beijing. He explained that this was initiated by the Greens-backed Labor government in 2011 and had been deepened by each of its successors. A host of military and basing arrangements had been established behind the backs of the population, while universities across the country were involved in both the technological and ideological preparations for war.

Yazgin spoke out against an anti-China campaign, by the political and media establishment, that has particularly targeted the universities. He explained that the IYSSE was oriented to the working class, and was seeking to build an international anti-war movement based on a socialist program.

WSWS correspondent and Socialist Equality Party National Committee member Mike Head gave the main report. He placed the danger of another world war in the context of the deepening breakdown of world capitalism, intensified by the disastrous coronavirus pandemic.

Head reviewed the analysis of the pandemic, developed on the WSWS, as an historic trigger event akin to World War I. The dramatic spread of the virus was a consequence of the pro-business policies of governments everywhere, aimed at reopening the economy to boost corporate profits.

All the existing geopolitical, economic and social crises that had developed over the previous decades were being greatly exacerbated. This included the protracted attempt by the US ruling elite, to offset the decline of American imperialism through confrontation with potential rivals, especially China and Russia.

Head stressed that war, like the continued spread of the pandemic, was not inevitable. History has shown that the same capitalist crisis that produces the insanity of war also generates the impulse for social revolution, which is the only way to stop war, just as the October 1917 Russian Revolution ended World War I, Head stated.

Today, there is growing anger and opposition among billions of people around the worldto war, to staggering levels of social inequality, and to the threat of fascism and other authoritarian forms of rule. Strikes and mass struggles by workers and young people are developing again, after the initial shock of the pandemic.

What is required is a political movement of the working class, based on the lessons of history and a revolutionary perspective directed against the source of the crisis, the capitalist system.

The reports provoked lively discussion. Questions were raised about the extent of Australias military spending, and its plans to begin missile production; how the pandemic could be brought under control; the attitude of socialists to religion, and the growth of social inequality over the past year.

A series of questions was raised, relating to the possibility of halting war.

In response, Head and Yazgin stressed that there is widespread anti-war sentiment and developing struggles by the working class. Head reviewed the experience of the mass demonstrations against the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The largest protests in human history, they had been unable to prevent the US attack, because they were politically-subordinated to the pro-war parties of big business, including Labor in Australia and the Democrats in the US.

A new anti-war movement will need to be based on the principles elaborated in the International Committee of the Fourth Internationals 2016 statement, Socialism and the fight against war. It insisted that such a struggle could only go forward if it were international, independent of the capitalist political establishment, based in the working class and fighting for international socialism.

The speakers encouraged participants to attend the International Online May Day rally that is being held this weekend. [link]

A number of attendees gave comments to WSWS correspondents, expressing their appreciation for the meeting.

Kobra, a student of Afghan descent at Sydneys Macquarie University, said: The meeting was an imperative one for me because it helped clarify my understanding of some of the principal tenets of socialism. By addressing my concerns it further strengthened my resolve to educate myself, and the people around, me on the topic.

Kobra

As someone who has had to flee their home country because of an ongoing inhumane and unnecessary war, I am completely opposed to the US and Australian governments war preparations against China. This is why I support the IYSSEs efforts to oppose the war drive. before it is too late.

Elias, another Macquarie University student, explained: I attended the IYSSE meeting as I was interested in a different perspective on the war effort from what I would get from mainstream news sources, which focus on how China is wielding its power, which is not healthy for the global economy or global society. The US has military authority through its hegemony. It has used threats of war, and war itself. So it is not surprising that the US is advancing war against China.

Elias agreed that the war drive was going hand in hand with an onslaught on the social position of the working class. When it comes to problems of scarcity, distribution is a big deal, he said. People are being disenfranchised faster than social safety nets are put in place. People are worse off from the pandemic. Social relations are being restructured using the coronavirus as a pretext. Theres a move to Amazon-style work. That wont go back. During a crisis, the grip tightens, but after the crisis the grip loosens only a little.

Mark, a young worker in Sydney, said: I attended the meeting so that I could hear the next generation of leaders. It is heartening to know that there are young revolutionaries who are eloquent and knowledgeable. Among other things, I learned that the integration of the universities into the war drive is well advanced and that wholesale resources have been devoted to the domestic manufacture of weapons.

The mainstream media is, as usual, cheerleading for war, poisoning public opinion and generally doing a disservice to humanity. The liberal and conservative press each seek to outdo the other in lurid and unsubstantiated claims of Chinese human rights abuses, repeating the now well-worn formula of the big lie.

By contrast, the WSWS is a unique no-nonsense resource, which can clarify the issues of the day, as one presenter put it. What makes the site so reliable is its unparalleled analysis, which events have borne out time and again (just read through the archives.) There is a burning necessity to build a party of the working class. Anything less will fail to halt the ongoing medical catastrophe, social disaster, and impending war.

Scott, a hydraulics worker in Newcastle, attending his first IYSSE meeting, agreed that the official response to the pandemic had been criminally-negligent. The ultimate goal for governments is profit, he said. It drives all their decision-making.

It was interesting to be part of the meeting, understanding the why and the how, whereas the government and the media just repeats, tensions with China are rising. As I understand it, it is our own government and the US that are concocting this situation.

Scott

For instance, the economic deals between China and Victoria were recently scrapped. It wasnt China that did that! We backed out of the deal, citing national security.

The meeting made me understand more about the need for internationalism, and for workers to cooperate against the drive to war.

Zach, a member of the IYSSE at Western Sydney University, said: I attended the meeting because the drive to war is going to affect all of us, as have wars of the past. I think it was an incredibly important meeting with regards to the constant hair triggers and flashpoints in the world right now.

One of the main points from the meeting is that there is actually an anti-war movement. If you are isolated from the revolutionary party you would think there were no anti-war movements at the moment, that virtually every section of society was supporting this war drive. But thats not the case. There is a genuine alternative to war that can be pursued through a socialist perspective.

Zach

What I took out of the meeting was a greater understanding of history, of China, and US imperialism over the past three decades. And not just me, I think a lot of people would have left with a greater understanding of current events, including the war preparations being made against China and Russia.

The meeting made it clear that it was necessary not to be passive. Its not simply a matter of saying no to war. We are seeking to mobilise a movement, an anti-war movement, not simply to promote an anti-war sentiment.

The International Workers Alliance of Rank and File Committees, announced in the lead up to the international May Day rally, will be a critical part of our fight. We need the political independence of the workers. If we dont, then we have the trade unions or the so-called workers parties, like Labor, which support the war drive.
Chris Hemsworth might be known as a Hollywood megastar, thanks to his roles in movies like Thor and The Avengers.

But at home, the 37-year-old actor is a doting father to three children with his wife Elsa Pataky, and enjoys living the quiet life in Byron Bay, NSW.

On Wednesday, Chris shared a glimpse of his family life by posting a video to Instagram of himself horse riding in the countryside.

Yee-haw! Chris Hemsworth shared a glimpse of his family life on Wednesday by posting a video to Instagram of himself horse riding in the countryside

At one stage, he put his Australian accent to good use by saying: 'Yep, looks like a storm comin', ah the clouds are coming... it's going to get rainy out here.'

Chris, who is currently filming Thor: Love and Thunder in Australia, also shared a cute video of his sons Tristan and Sasha, both seven, on the back of a tractor.

As he drove the tractor across a field, one of his twin boys jumped off to chase a herd of sheep.

Twang: At one stage, he put his Australian accent to good use by saying: 'Yep, looks like a storm comin', ah the clouds are coming... it's going to get rainy out here'

'Finally found a way to exhaust my kids #classicsheepdog,' he captioned the footage of his children.

It comes after the former Home and Away star offered fans another glimpse into his home life last week.

In a video on Instagram, Chris attempted to assemble a surfboard while his boys constantly interrupted him.

Daddy duties: Chris, who is currently filming Thor: Love and Thunder in Australia, also shared a cute video of his sons Tristan and Sasha, both seven, on the back of a tractor

Off he goes! As he drove the tractor across a field, one of his twin boys jumped off to chase a herd of sheep

Tired out: 'Finally found a way to exhaust my kids #classicsheepdog,' he captioned the footage of his children

Both Chris and a friend off camera could be heard laughing hysterically as the kids continually attempted to thwart their famous dad.

At one point, one of the boys said: 'Dad, I don't wanna go to the lake!'

Chris and Elsa moved to Bryon Bay with their children, daughter India Rose, eight, and twin sons Sasha and Tristan, seven, in 2014.

Family first: It comes after the former Home and Away star offered fans another glimpse into his home life last week. In a video on Instagram, Chris attempted to assemble a surfboard while his boys constantly interrupted him

'Dad, I don't wanna go to the lake!' Both Chris and a friend off camera could be heard laughing hysterically as the kids continually attempted to thwart their famous dad

They live in the suburb of Broken Head, a 20-minute drive from central Byron, in a mega-mansion estimated to be worth $30million.

They spent years renovating their home, which sits on 4.2 hectares of land, with the help of Sydney-based MCK Architects - but the development faced some resistance from locals, who compared it to a multi-storey car park or shopping centre.

The property features a 50-metre infinity pool, a large Indigenous mural, two bars and a gym complex including steam, sauna and massage rooms.

The home's 50-metre pool alone is estimated to have cost at least $400,000, and the enormous indoor mural could be worth as much as $100,000.
A Sydney child care worker bound a disabled four-year-old boy's hands together with duct tape and laughed at him before defending her actions as a joke, a court has heard.

Jennifer Helen Wood, 31, on Wednesday appeared before Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on charges of assaulting a school student while attending a school.

Wood denies the allegations and on Wednesday sought to have the matter addressed under the Mental Health Act due to several mental health disorders including depression and anxiety.

Jennifer Helen Wood, 31, on Wednesday appeared before Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on charges of assaulting a school student while attending a school

The Crown alleges Wood was working at the inner Sydney child care centre in 2017 when she bound the hands of the boy, then aged four, on two occasions. The boy lives with Down syndrome.

On the first occasion, Wood allegedly bound the boy's hands in front of him with duct tape before laughing at him. When allegedly confronted by witnesses about the behaviour, she said 'it was just a joke'.

'Evidently Ms Wood thought it was very funny at the time (as) she was laughing,' magistrate Julie Huber told the court.

On the second occasion, Wood allegedly tied the boy's wrists with shoe laces, prompting the boy to struggle to free his hands.

Wood was dismissed from her child care job in November 2020, around the time she was charged by NSW Police.

Defence lawyer Catherine Newman said Wood had 'long-standing mental health issues that remain largely untreated' and applied for the matter to be dealt with under the Mental Health Act.

Ms Newman also said the allegations against Wood were 'made in very suspicious circumstances' but did not elaborate.

'(Wood) is not a good vehicle for general deterrence,' Ms Newman said.

Wood (pictured above, centre) tried to have her two assault charges heard under the Mental Health Act but failed after Magistrate Julie Huber said there was no clear link between her mental health and the alleged assaults

But Ms Huber rejected the application, saying Wood's mental health reports did not show a clear link between her mental illness and the alleged offending.

She also said the crown allegations were 'disturbing'.

'The highest (the psychologist) goes ... is at the time she would've been suffering from those disorders,' Ms Huber said.

The allegations will now be dealt with under the law, with the Crown and defence proposing six trial witnesses each.

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Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE: PLX) provided an update regarding the Complete Response Letter (CRL) received from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the Biologics License Application (BLA) seeking accelerated approval of pegunigalsidase alfa (PRX102) for the proposed treatment of adult patients with Fabry disease. Receipt of the CRL was announced earlier today.

The CRL did not report any concerns relating to the potential safety or efficacy of PRX102 in the submitted data package.

In the CRL, the FDA noted that an inspection of Protalix's manufacturing facility in Carmiel, Israel, including the FDA's subsequent assessment of any related findings, is required before the FDA can approve the BLA. Due to travel restrictions, the FDA was unable to conduct the required inspection during the review cycle. The FDA explained that it will continue to monitor the public health situation as well as travel restrictions, and is actively working to define an approach for scheduling outstanding inspections. With respect to the third-party facility in Europe at which fill and finish processes are performed for PRX-102, due to COVID19, the FDA reviewed records under Section 704(a)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in lieu of a pre-licensing inspection. In the CRL, the FDA stated that it will communicate remaining issues to the facility in order to seek prompt resolution of any pending items.

In addition to the foregoing, the FDA noted that Fabrazyme was recently converted to full approval which must be addressed in the context of any potential resubmission seeking accelerated approval of PRX102. Protalix intends to work collaboratively with the agency to identify the most expeditious pathway to approval, including accelerated approval. Protalix remains confident that it will be able to work with the FDA to resolve these issues and provide a new, alternative drug to Fabry patients. Protalix intends to request a Type-A meeting with the FDA, and will provide further updates on next steps after the meeting.
Shaken U.S. Capitol on high alert for Biden's first address to Congress

Security fences, erected following the January 6th attack, are seen surrounding the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S (Photo : REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday will take place in a U.S. Capitol on high alert, with memories fresh of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the building by supporters of his predecessor, Donald Trump.



The crowd inside the Capitol will be a fraction of the hundreds of members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, top government officials and guests who typically attend, to allow for more social distancing in a COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 572,000 Americans.



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But security will be higher than usual, even for what is officially designated a "National Special Security Event," with the Secret Service in charge of security.



"The Secret Service and all law enforcement and public safety partners have worked hard collectively in preparation to secure this significant event," said a Secret Service representative, adding that "every security contingency is accounted for."



U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday said she is confident about security for Biden's speech.



"I actually had a very strong briefing on Monday. I said I wish I had had this briefing, you know, before January 6. But we insisted on knowing every detail of it," she told reporters.



The limitations on attendance, she said, mostly are being driven by COVID-19 precautions, but security also is playing a role.



The white-domed building is still surrounded by a black steel mesh fence with some 2,250 armed National Guard troops from the District of Columbia and 18 states on duty in the city, the vestiges of a much larger force put in place after Trump supporters stormed the building as Congress was voting to certify Biden's election victory.



Five people, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer, died from the violence and dozens of police were injured in clashes with rioters. More than 400 people have been charged in connection with the attack, and authorities expect at least 100 more will be charged, federal prosecutors said in a court filing last week



District of Columbia authorities have asked the Pentagon to authorize the district's National Guard contingent to help local police handle any anti-Biden protests coinciding with Wednesday's address.



"The D.C. National Guard is prepared to support D.C. law enforcement, pending approval" by acting Army Secretary John Whitley, the D.C. National Guard said in a statement.



It was not immediately known if Whitley would approve the request. The National Guard deployment already has cost more than $520 million, according to the U.S. National Guard Bureau.



'THE FENCE IS EVERYWHERE'



The howl of leaf blowers mingled with the roar of heavy machinery this week around the fenced-in Capitol as ground staff cleared withered leaves and construction crews worked on renovating a fountain at the foot of the complex.



Steel barriers lined sidewalks, glinting in the sun. Ambulances sat before the House.



Gena Whalon was among a smattering of out-of-town visitors taking selfies outside. She reflected on the insurrection and the U.S. Capitol Police's failure to prevent Trump supporters from breaching the building.



"If all those people were Black, they would have fired tear gas," said Whalon, an African American from Austin, Texas.



"The fence is everywhere," she said, standing outside it. "It's completely understandable because of the dangers of the protesters. It does suck, though, because the fence prevents you from taking good pictures."



Capitol Police said on Monday they had taken into custody a 22-year-old man who scaled the fence late on Sunday.



Congress is only just starting to grapple with the aftermath of the violence.



Michael Bolton, the Capitol Police inspector general, appeared before a House committee earlier this month to present findings of "deficiencies" within the unit that handles public disturbances and poor coordination and training in its intelligence unit.



Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is working to secure Republican backing for a bipartisan commission that would investigate the riot.


27.04.2021

First EUCHIS webinars on Chitin and Chitosans: Patterns of Acetylation and 3D Printing

Today at 11 am, the European Chitin Society EUCHIS launched its first Chitin & Chitosans webinar, in an attempt to close the communication gap between EUCHIS conferences caused by the pandemic. Our last meeting has been in Seville in 2017, the next one had been planned for 2019 in Ireland. We had to postpone it for technical reasons to 2020 when it was planned to be held in Kazan, Russia. The pandemic forced us to postpone again, first to 2021, now to 2022. During a recent virtual Board meeting, Dr. Gregor Tegl suggested to organize a monthly webinar on Chitin & Chitosans, including other biopolymers as they relate to chitin and chitosans. The idea met with broad approval, and Gregor volunteered to take the responsibility. We decided to have two talks each time, one from an experienced researcher and one from a young scientist, 20 minutes each, with a short discussion. Today, we started! As the current EUCHIS president, Bruno Moerschbacher had the privilege to give the first seminar, on Structure-Function Relationships of Chitosans: The Pattern of N-Acetylation, followed by Prof. Rupert Kargl from Graz University of Technology who talked about Methods for the Processing and Shaping of Polysaccharide-Based Materials. About 65 participants from all over the world, many of them not yet EUCHIS members, followed both seminars, and both speakers received interested and interesting questions  directly after the talk, and also later via email. We will try to make available the presentations on the EUCHIS website. And we are looking forward to the next seminars, on May 25th, again at 11 am.


Acting Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan today received Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Armenia Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri.

As reported the Government of Armenia, greeting the Ambassador, Grigoryan attached importance to and highly appreciated the relations with Iran and the existing cooperation in various sectors and stressed that Armenian and Iran have a big agenda of bilateral ties.

Irans Ambassador expressed gratitude for the reception and stated that Armenia is a friendly and fraternal country for Iran.

The interlocutors discussed the possible directions for development of bilateral ties and touched upon the energy, transport and economic sectors. They also exchanged views on expansion of cooperation within the scope of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as the prospect for Irans entry into the Unions market via Armenia, which is a member state of the Union.

Grigoryan and Zohouri considered the opportunities for intensification of contacts between the private sectors of both countries and all the preconditions for this. They also touched upon regional developments and the coronavirus vaccination processes.
When I began my war on standards series many years ago, I recognized that the left was trying to tear down core standards of behavior and merit for no other reason than the fact that one racial group was failing, disproportionately, to meet them. I expected the rot to spread far and wide, and it has  to the detriment of society.

However, I never thought it would spread to an attack on the standard against knife fights.

Yet, that now has happened, following the fatal shooting of a black teenage girl who attacked another black teenage girl with a knife. John Kass reports:

One of the more insane developments from the tragic shooting death of knife wielding MaKhia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio, has been the emergence of a desperate fantasy from the political left: The Let the kids have their knife fights coalition that must think West Side Story is real life. Valerie Jarrett, the former Obama administration adviser, offered her idiotic notion, echoed by many others. A Black teenage girl named MaKhia Bryant was killed because a police officer immediately decided to shoot her multiple times in order to break up a knife fight, Jarrett tweeted. Demand accountability. Fight for justice. #BlackLivesMatter.. . . Teenagers have been having fights involving knives for eons, tweeted Bree Newsome, a prominent defund-the-police activist. We do not need police to address these situations by showing up to the scene & using a weapon against one of the teenagers.

Kass points out that the Bryant incident wasnt a knife fight. The girl Bryant attacked was unarmed, from all that appears. It also seems clear that the only way to prevent Bryant from stabbing the victim was to shoot the perpetrator (and not in the leg).

But the larger point is that (1) knife fights shouldnt be deemed business as usual among teenagers, such that the police must refrain from doing whats necessary to prevent stabbings and (2) Jarrett and Newsome wouldnt be arguing that they should be if Bryant had been a white girl attacking a black girl (or, indeed, if both Bryant and her potential victim were white).

Conservatives have responded to this line of argument primarily with parody. Thats probably the best response, given the obvious idiocy of what Jarrett and Newsome have said. One shouldnt have to demonstrate, as Kass does, that stabbings can very easily be fatal.

But its no laughing matter that the war on standards has taken us to the point where teenage knife fights are viewed by some on the left as girls being girls. At this point, I cant help but wonder if any standard that Blacks disproportionately fail to meet, no matter how self-evidently justified the standard, is safe from attack from the increasingly influential Black/left coalition.
The Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reportedly bringing back wide receiver Antonio Brown on a one-year deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

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The deal is reportedly worth $3.1 million guaranteed, but Brown could earn up to $6.25 million.

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Brown, 32, returned to the NFL in 2020 after appearing in just one game in 2019. He was suspended for eight games in July 2020 for multiple violations the NFL's personal conduct policy after he'd been accused of rape and sexual assault by several woman, and one of them, his former trainer Britney Taylor, had sued him. Brown also allegedly sent intimidating text messages to one of his accusers.

Brown settled the civil suit with Taylor in mid-April, which reportedly set the stage for the Buccaneers to bring him back.

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In eight games with the Buccaneers, Brown made 45 catches for 483 yards and scored four touchdowns. He also scored a touchdown in the Bucs' Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Stability with Buccaneers

If all goes according to plan, this will be the first time Brown has started the season on time and with the same team he ended it with since 2018. He spent the first nine seasons of his career as a standout with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the relationship had become strained by the end of the 2018 season. He was benched in Week 17 after reportedly skipping practice, and had gotten into fights with teammates.

The Steelers traded him to the Las Vegas Raiders in March 2019, but things took a bizarre turn not long after he arrived to training camp in a hot air balloon. He was sidelined after hurting his feet during a cryotherapy session, and then filed a grievance with the NFL after he was told he could no longer wear his preferred helmet due to safety regulations. Brown also reportedly had a confrontation with general manager Mike Mayock over fines, and asked for his release shortly after.

On the same day he was released, Brown signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots. He would end up playing just one game with them before being released again due to additional sexual assault allegations coming to light. He did not play for the rest of the 2019 season.

Story continues

Antonio Brown is reportedly going back to Tampa Bay. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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The National Youth Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye has called on Ghanaians to help the Regional Minister for Greater Accra, Henry Quartey to succeed.



The support according to him includes praying for him (Minister) against "evil eyes and hands".



Speaking during a panel discussion on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Nana B commended Henry Quartey who is poised to give his region a facelift.



"Accra is a hot place and already people are criticizing him here and there; with the evil eyes and hands pointing at him, he really needs our prayers. Now, look at Madina . . . "



Listen to him in the video below





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Register now for upcoming NotMISpecies webinars

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 28, 2021

Nick Assendelft, EGLE, AssendelftN@Michigan.gov, 517-388-3135

Joanne Foreman, DNR, ForemanJ@Michigan.gov, 517-284-5814

Are you concerned about invasive species in Michigan? Wondering what's being done or what you can do? The NotMISpecies webinar series - offering different topics May through July - has answers and information you can use.

The hourlong, monthly series hosts experts with hands-on experience in invasive species research, management and prevention who provide current information on threats to Michigan's land and waters. Question and answer sessions and links to resources help attendees get the most out of each presentation.

The Michigan Invasive Species Program has added new sessions for the spring and summer. To register for these webinars, click on the title of each session to go to the registration page:

"Dynamite! And other tools to protect Michigan's state park trees" (9 a.m. Tuesday, May 25): explores how and why tree health is a critical component of state park management. Learn about the variety of tools, including explosives, used to control invasive insects and diseases to keep the forest ecosystem intact and ensure you have a great recreation experience.

"Big, hungry fish" (9 a.m. Thursday, June 24): Currently, there is no evidence of live, invasive bighead, silver and black carp - commonly called Asian carp - in the Great Lakes. Find out how Michigan, Illinois and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are working to keep it that way.

"Hey! What's that in your backyard?" (9 a.m. Tuesday, July 27): Representatives from the Michigan Invasive Species Coalition will discuss Michigan's 22 cooperative invasive species management areas (CISMA), how they can help with management of invasives on your property and the benefits of partnering with your local CISMA.

If you are new to the series, it is easy to catch up on topics including red swamp crayfish management, invasive species resources for boaters and lake associations, and the threat posed by spotted lanternfly. Recorded versions of all previous NotMISpecies webinars are available at Michigan.gov/EGLEEvents under Featured Webinar Series.

Michigan's Invasive Species Program, a collaborative effort of the departments of Natural Resources; Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy; and Agriculture and Rural Development, coordinates and supports invasive species initiatives across the state and provides support through the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program.

# # #
States will not be in a position to start the drive for those aged 18 to 45 from May 1 because of vaccine manufacturers prior delivery commitments and supply constraints.

The Maharashtra government announced free for those aged 18-45 on Wednesday, but the state Health Minister Rajesh Tope made it clear that for this category will not start from Saturday. Punjab, too, will continue vaccination for those aged above 45 because of supply constraints. The Andhra Pradesh government expects its deliveries only by the first or second week of May.

As a result, Maharashtra and Punjab are planning to prioritise vaccinations for sub-groups within the 18-45 age group and bureaucrats and expert groups in the states have been tasked to formulate plans in this regard.

Tope said Maharashtra aims to complete vaccination of over 57 million persons in the 18-45 group in six months. The state Cabinet has approved an allocation of Rs 6,500 crore for vaccine procurement.

The state, he said, has reached out to both Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech. While Bharat Biotech has one million doses each in May and June, SII has verbally informed that it can supply 10 million doses per month. The government is also looking to procure Russian-manufactured Sputnik V. The availability of vaccines remains a big challenge and assured and consistent supply are a must if the state has to start vaccinating persons aged 18-45, Tope said.

Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan told CNBC-TV18 that state has placed an order with SII for 3 million doses. We have heard from them saying that there is a constraint and they will let us know how many doses they will provide and by when, she said.

Recognising that there will be a constraint and that entire 18-45 age group will not be immediately get vaccination we are working with an expert group so that whatever quantities come in we are able to allocate in the best possible manner with a view to control spread of pandemic, Mahajan said.

Maharashtra health department, too, is considering ways to prioritise vaccination. Tope said that vaccination 18-45 age group could be divided to further sub-groups. Priority could also be given to those with co-morbidities in this category.

Andhra Pradesh has placed orders worth Rs 1,600 crore with the vaccine manufacturers and is hopeful of receiving its stock from first or second week of May. Uttar Pradesh has ordered 10 million doses and is waiting for a schedule from the manufacturers.

Meanwhile, the Kerala government decided to procure 10 million doses for the third phase of vaccination for persons above 18 years. The state Cabinet decided to purchase 7 million doses of Covishield and 3 million doses of Covaxin for the vaccination drive.

Tamil Nadu will procure 15 million doses. In the first phase, the doses would be sourced by the state-run Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation for the inoculation drive, to be done free of cost to the 18-plus category, the government said in an official release.

As per Chief Minister K Palaniswamis orders, all necessary steps are being taken to vaccinate people aged above 18, from May 1, the government said.

(With inputs from PTI)
A woman in New York appeared in court on murder charges, accused of killing her two twin babies.

Danezja Kilpatrick, 23, is accused of murdering twins Dallis Bentley and Dakota Bentley, who were just 46 days old.

She was arrested on Thursday after a phone call between Ms Kilpatrick and a cousin, Keywona Llanos, who reported her to police with concerns.

When officers arrived at the address, one of the infants was found deceased in a crib, unconscious and unresponsive, with trauma to the body, said NYPD chief of housing David Barrere on Thursday.

The other infant was found beneath a sink, wrapped in a blanket, and also unconscious and unresponsive, said Mr Barrere.

Police confirmed that a knife was recovered from the scene and that an investigation into the incident was ongoing on Thursday.

According to the court, the 23-year-old was formally charged with the murders on Friday.

The family member who called police with concerns, Ms Llanos, described the incident "a tragedy for the whole family" and said she was "at a loss for words". Yahoo News reported.

Ms Kilpatrick is being held without bail on charges of first and second degree murder, in addition to two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She is scheduled to appear in Queens Criminal Court to face the charges on 21 May.

A vigil for the twins was held outside the family home on Monday night, police said.
New Delhi: Three more countries--Russia, South Korea, and Canada have announced assistance to India to deal with the COVID crisis as supplies continue to pour in from different parts of the world including Singapore.

On Wednesday, Russian President Putin called Indian PM Modi and assured full support for India to deal with the covid crisis. Russian foreign ministry in a statement said that the country will deliver a "large batch of medical aid" to India which includes oxygen concentrators, lung ventilators, and other necessary medical supplies and drugs in next coming days.

It further said, "The Russian leadership has made a decision in the spirit of friendship and especially privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India and with the goal of combating a surge in the coronavirus incidence."

Last year, Russia's main defense export body Rosoboronexport made a donation for PM cares fund formed to deal with the COVID crisis. Rosoboronexports Director General Alexander Mikheev had said, "In 2020, Rosoboronexport was one the first to react to the worsening of the situation, related to the spread of COVID-19 in India, and decided to make a donation to the Fund of the Prime Minister of India to support Indian citizens and assist them in emergency situations."

South Korean govt continues consultations with India on delivery of "urgent medical supplies" to deal with the pandemic, and its mission in a statement said, "Korean government will continue to closely cooperate with India, our Special Strategic Partner, in its fight against COVID-19."

Earlier in the day, Canada announced that it will be providing $10 million as "humanitarian assistance" that will be used to procure essential supplies like medicines, PPEs, oxygen cylinders for clinics and ambulances. The fund will be provided to Canadian Red Cross which will provide support to the Indian Red Cross.

A show of solidarity for India, that has been seen across the world for the country was seen in Canada as well with Canadian PM, Foreign minister, envoy tweeting. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said, "Right now, the people of India are facing a tragic situation. We stand ready to donate extra medical supplies, too."

Right now, the people of India are facing a tragic situation. To help with everything from ambulance services to buying personal protective equipment, were contributing $10 million to @IndianRedCross through @RedCrossCanada. We stand ready to donate extra medical supplies, too. https://t.co/YUuJTGSIoG  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) April 28, 2021

The foreign minister Marc Garneau, pointing out his talks with India's External Affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar regarding the covid crisis and tweeted, "We are ready to assist."

This morning, I spoke with @DrSJaishankar to convey Canadas solidarity with the people of India as they face this deadly wave of #Covid19. Canada is exploring all options to support Indias urgent needs. We are ready to assist.  Marc Garneau (@MarcGarneau) April 27, 2021

Canadian Envoy Nadir Patel also extended his country's support.

#Canada stands in solidarity with our friend & partner #India and offer our support as we work together to win the fight against the #COVID-19 pandemic @CanadainIndia https://t.co/96PwRi8q7H  Nadir Patel (@nadirypatel) April 27, 2021

Meanwhile, Singapore sent 256 oxygen cylinders, continuing its support for New Delhi. The oxygen cylinders were brought to India on 2 Air Force planes of Singapore. The entire mission was flagged off by Singapore's second minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Maliki Osman in the presence of the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore P Kumaran.

Speaking at the ceremony, Osman said, "we see here today is a testament to the excellent relations between Singapore and India. This is made possible because of the existing close relationship between our two peoples, our governments, and our countries."

Supplies were brought from Hong Kong as well, with a private airline Spice Jet airlifting 1000 oxygen concentrators and bringing them to Delhi. This is the 2nd big consignment of Oxygen concentrators being ordered from Hong Kong by the same company.

Speaking in the British Parliament, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, "thoughts of members across the House are with the people of India. We're supporting India with vital medical equipment and we will continue to work closely with the Indian authorities to turn in what further help they may need".

Charles, Prince of Wales, the heir apparent to the British throne, in a message for India said, "As India has helped others, so now must we help India", adding, "we will win this battle".

The UK also announced that it will send 600 pieces which include ventilators and oxygen concentrator devices to India. The first batch reached India on Tuesday morning, and all in all nine airline container loads of supplies will be reaching the country this week. This includes 495 oxygen concentrators, that can extract oxygen from the air, 120 non-invasive ventilators, and 20 manual ventilators.

Live TV
Downing Street insiders fear Dominic Cummings could publish WhatsApp messages that are at the hear of the government's who-said-what row over lockdown.

Former chief adviser Cummings is locked in an explosive war of words with Boris Johnson after Downing Street accused him of a string of leaks - including claims about the PM's 58,000 flat makeover.

Cummings reportedly left Downing Street with a 'treasure trove' of damaging information about the government and advisers now fear he will release tell-all WhatsApp messages if he is criticised too heavily.

The messages are said to contain information on the government's lockdown strategy and allies of Cummings have claimed he also has audio recordings to hand.

A Whitehall official told the Sun: 'Everyone is worried about going too hard on Dom in case he drags them in too.

'Some very senior people are scrolling back through their phones wondering if they are in trouble.'

Downing Street insiders fear Dominc Cummings could release WhatsApp messages said to contain information on the government's lockdown strategy

Boris Johnson faces the threat of suspension from the Commons if he is found to have failed to register a 60,000 Tory contribution to refurbishing his Downing Street flat.

The PM has already been put on notice he risks a 'serious sanction' after a report two years ago condemned his 'repeated' breaches of Parliamentary rules.

Conservative chiefs are believed to have secretly approved a 58,000 payment to the Cabinet Office in July last year to cover the works - which was on top of the 30,000 annual sum for upkeep that the taxpayer foots.

However, the government has insisted that the premier has now funded the overhaul himself. Downing Street has refused to deny reports that Mr Johnson secured a loan from a Tory donor  believed to be financier Lord Brownlow  to pay for the decor.

But experts say that should have been declared in the MPs' register of interests within a month.

Mr Johnson has previously been berated by the Commons standards watchdog for repeatedly failing to declare financial interests.

In a report in Spring 2019 - shortly before he became PM - the cross-party committee said: 'Should we conclude in future that Mr Johnson has committed any further breaches of the rules on registration, we will regard this as a matter which may call for more serious sanction.'

Beyond apologies, potential punishments could include suspension.

There is also speculation that if a donor footed the cost, Mr Johnson could face a significant tax bill because HMRC would consider it a benefit in kind.

Former chief adviser Cummings is locked in an explosive war of words with Boris Johnson after Downing Street accused him of a string of leaks - including claims about the PM's 58,000 flat makeover

Former Cabinet Secretary Lord O'Donnell said transparency over the murky arrangements was 'very late', warning that PMs need to 'set an example' and 'obey the rules'.

Whitehall sources have told the Mail Mr Johnson may be forced publicly to declare exactly how the costly refurbishment was funded.

One source said further details were likely to be revealed in an updated register of ministerial interests, which could be released as early as this week.

But Mr Johnson first has to appoint a new adviser on ministerial standards  a post that has been vacant since Sir Alex Allen resigned in November in protest at the PM's refusal to sack Home Secretary Priti Patel over bullying allegations.

The appointment was due to be announced last week but the preferred candidate is said to be 'wobbling' about whether to accept the post.

The ministerial register is separate to that produced by Parliament.

It would not typically be used for declaring donations to ministers - although there are signs that Downing Street might argue that is the appropriate place to list the flat arrangements.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case yesterday confirmed Mr Johnson had wanted to set up a charitable trust more than 12 months ago to pay for the flat's refit.

But he said it was now clear that it would be illegal for a charitable trust to pay for the upkeep of private quarters.

Dyson hits back: There was nothing wrong with my texts to Boris Johnson over ventilators and the BBC twisted them to make it appear I was trying to 'extract favours', entrepreneur rages

Sir James Dyson has hit back at claims he acted inappropriately in texts with Boris Johnson and insisted he did not try to 'extract favours from the Prime Minister'.

Speaking for the first time since the messages emerged last week, Sir James, 73, accused the BBC of 'grotesque mischaracterisation' over links between him and the Conservative Party.

He also said it was 'entirely the right thing' for Mr Johnson to contact him directly about proposed changes to the tax status of his employees making ventilators during the pandemic.

Sir James said: 'The BBC's characterisation of me as a prominent Conservative donor, or supporter, leveraging a position of power to extract favours from the Prime Minister, is completely untrue.

'I have met Boris Johnson only three times... I have not attended any Conservative social events.'

Sir James Dyson, 73, accused the BBC of 'grotesque mischaracterisation' over links between him and the Conservative Party

He also said it was 'entirely the right thing' for Mr Johnson to contact him directly about proposed changes to the tax status of his employees making ventilators during the pandemic

Last week, Boris Johnson mounted a furious defence as he came under fire over the leaked private texts in which he promised Sir James he would 'fix' a tax rule so the tycoon's staff could help make ventilators for the NHS.

Sir James wrote an official letter to the Treasury asking for the tax status of his staff to remain the same if they moved from Singapore to the UK to produce vital ventilators during the pandemic.

But in a private text seen by the BBC, Mr Johnson told Sir James that he 'will fix it' himself.

He then added 'Rishi says it is fixed!! We need you here'.

Just two weeks later, Rishi Sunak told MPs that those coming into the UK to offer help during the pandemic would not see a change in their tax status.

It was the latest in a string of cronyism and lobbying questions facing the Conservative Party, after accusations that David Cameron used his influence and contacts to lobby ministers and officials behalf of his financier boss Lex Greensill.

This included texting Mr Sunak in an unsuccessful effort to secure coronavirus loans.

Hitting back at the BBC's report, Sir James wrote in the Daily Telegraph: 'There were myriad questions, from the technical to medical and compliance.

'It was in this context that we wrote formally to the Chancellor on March 15 for clarification on how UK tax rules would apply during this period of unprecedented upheaval. Far from concealing the text exchanges, we shared them explicitly with officials at the Treasury and No10 via email on March 28.'

A BBC spokesman said: 'The BBC has led the way on reporting a significant story which is clearly in the public interest. Sir James Dyson has informed us he is not a prominent Conservative supporter.'

Text exchange between Boris Johnson and Sir James Dyson over the tax status of his employees Dyson: 'We are ready. But nobody seems to want us to proceed. Sadly, James' Johnson: 'I will fix it tomo! We need you. It looks fantastic' Johnson: 'Rishi says it is fixed!! We need you here' Dyson: 'Thanks! I will give the ventilator our all. James' Dyson: 'Dear Boris, I'm afraid that we need a response to our letter below from Rishi please? We really need Rishi to answer the letter we sent (attached) - now. Or to make the position clear. Rishi has fixed the Country Day Count issue but not Work Days. The former is now covered under an 'Exceptional Circumstances' umbrella, Work Days are not. So, he has freed up your ability to be in the UK but not to work there - even in support of this National emergency.' Johnson: 'James I am first lord of the treasury and you can take it that we are backing you to do what you need.' Just two weeks later, Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs that those coming into the UK to offer help during the pandemic would not see a change in their tax status. Advertisement

Dyson played a key role during the pandemic, working with scientists and a Cambridge-based Technology Partnership to produce 10,000 ventilators for hospitals across the country.

In messages between the PM and Sir James, the former writes: 'We are ready. But nobody seems to want us to proceed. Sadly, James.'

Mr Johnson replied saying he will 'fix it tomorrow' adding: 'We need you. It looks fantastic.'

Sir James replied saying: 'Thanks! I will give the ventilator our all.'

He then adds: 'Dear Boris, I'm afraid that we need a response to our letter below from Rishi please?

'We really need Rishi to answer the letter we sent (attached) - now. Or to make the position clear.

'Rishi has fixed the Country Day Count issue but not Work Days.

'The former is now covered under an ''Exceptional Circumstances'' umbrella, Work Days are not.

'So, he has freed up your ability to be in the UK but not to work there - even in support of this National emergency.'

Mr Johnson reassured him, writing: 'James I am first lord of the treasury and you can take it that we are backing you to do what you need.'

Under the ministerial code - a list of rules laying out the conduct expected by ministers - 'a private secretary or official should be present for all discussions relating to government business'.

Should a conversation happen without an official, 'any significant content should be passed back to the department as soon as possible after the event'.

It also states that ministers should 'act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner' and 'must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias'.

It's costing tens and tens of thousands... I cannot afford it: Boriss despairing cry to Downing St aides about lavish new decor  as revealed in definitive account of THAT scandal

BY SIMON WALTERS FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Like many of the most explosive political bombshells, the Downing Street flat scandal had a long fuse.

It was fourteen months ago  back in February 2020  that officials first became alarmed by renovations to the No 11 flat.

They had good reason not to pay too much attention to decorators who had been at work there since the New Year. A dozen or so cases of Covid had been reported in Britain, and the possibility that it could endanger the UK was starting to be taken seriously by some Downing Street officials.

It was fourteen months ago  back in February 2020  that officials first became alarmed by renovations to the No 11 flat. Pictured: Lulu Lytle's collection

Mr Johnson was still on a high from his election triumph in December 2019 and had had a Christmas holiday in Mustique in the Caribbean with partner Carrie Symonds  they were still to become engaged.

The couple were overjoyed to learn she was pregnant, though they had not yet shared the news with the rest of the world.

As is now well known, at this stage life-long libertarian Mr Johnson was among those who were less alarmed about the risk of a pandemic.

But he was suddenly alarmed by signs of a political problem closer to home.

They had good reason not to pay too much attention to decorators who had been at work there since the New Year. Pictured: Lulu Lytle's collection

The cost is totally out of control  shes buying gold wallpaper! he is said to have raged to aides.

It is not clear if this was classic Johnson hyperbole  or whether the wallpaper really is gold. In fact, the upmarket interior eco designer Lulu Lytle  whose Soane Britain company was commissioned by Miss Symonds  sells Yellow Gold and Old Gold wallpaper.

When aides asked him how much it was costing, he said: Tens and tens of thousands  I cant afford it.

The Cabinet Office, which is in charge of maintaining the Downing Street estate, told him there was a 30,000-a-year publicly funded allowance for refurbishing the flat.

Mr Johnson would have to pay the rest  58,000.

The cost is totally out of control  shes buying gold wallpaper! he is said to have raged to aides. Pictured: Lulu Lytle's collection

It led to friction between Miss Symonds and Helen MacNamara, Director General of Propriety and Ethics in the Cabinet Office.

Miss Symonds is said to have urged Mr Johnson to sack Miss MacNamara after she refused to sign off extra money for the flat.

Despite his 150,000-a-year salary as Prime Minister, he is said to struggle to make ends meet as a result of losing an estimated 250,000 a year from his journalistic career as well as an expensive divorce with ex-wife Marina.

By March, Mr Johnson was having to take time out from crisis meetings on the pandemic to deal the issue his advisers called Wallpaper-gate  after the 1970s Watergate political scandal in the US that brought down President Richard Nixon.

It is not clear if this was classic Johnson hyperbole  or whether the wallpaper really is gold

In fact, the upmarket interior eco designer Lulu Lytle (designs pictured)  whose Soane Britain company was commissioned by Miss Symonds  sells Yellow Gold and Old Gold wallpaper

Despite his 150,000-a-year salary as Prime Minister, he is said to struggle to make ends meet as a result of losing an estimated 250,000 a year from his journalistic career as well as an expensive divorce with ex-wife Marina

How the controversy over the Downing Street flat refurb unfolded July 2019: Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds, pictured, move into the four-bedroom flat above No11 Downing Street. Like previous PMs, the couple choose to live there rather than the No10 flat as it is bigger. Ms Symonds is reportedly keen to get rid of the 'John Lewis furniture nightmare' left by Theresa May. April 2020: The couple's son Wilf is born. July 2020: The Conservative Party pays 58,000 to the Cabinet Office for the cost of refurbishing the flat. October 2020: Tory donor Lord Brownlow emails party chairman Ben Elliot and head of fundraising Mike Chattey, saying he has given 58,000 to cover payments 'the party has already made on behalf of the soon to be formed 'Downing Street Trust'. Lord Brownlow says he chairs the trust, which reportedly planned to preserve the famous street's heritage and decor. Another gift of 15,000 was for general party funds, discloses the email, obtained from Downing Street sources. This was duly declared to the Electoral Commission watchdog, in accordance with transparency rules. Crucially, the email - also sent to Conservative chief executive Darren Mott - shows a second donation of 58,000 was to pay for new decor for Mr Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symondss flat at 11 Downing Street. This has not yet been declared to the Electoral Commission. The email was marked 'Donation' and reads: 'Hi Mike ... further to our conversation I am making a donation to the Party. 'It includes the 15,000 you and I have agreed  plus 58,000 to cover the payments the Party has already made on behalf of the soon to be formed Downing Street Trust  of which I have been made chairman, as you know.' A second leaked email from Lord Brownlow in June 2020 shows the decision to set up the trust was taken by Mr Johnson as long as ten months ago. March 6, 2021: The Daily Mail reveals that Mr Johnson wanted Tory donors to contribute to the cost of redecorating the flat, and that the party tried to launch a cover-up. No 10 insists there has been no wrongdoing. March 20, 2021: The Electoral Commission quizzes Tory chiefs over the funding of the makeover and has asked Mr Elliot to explain whether the Conservative Party complied with laws on political donations. April 21, 2021: The Mail publishes emails sent by Lord Brownlow to Mr Elliot. April 22, 2021: It emerges that Whitehall's most senior mandarin, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, is investigating how the refurbishment of Mr Johnson's flat was paid for. April 23, 2021: The Cabinet Office announces that beyond basic taxpayer-funded work on the flat any wider refurbishment costs 'have been met by the PM personally'. No 10 does not give details of how Mr Johnson paid the 58,000. Mr Johnson's former chief of staff Dominic Cummings says he warned the PM in 2020 he could be breaking the law if he asked Tory donors to pay for the refurbishment, calling the proposal 'unethical, foolish and possible illegal'. Mr Cummings claims he refused to help arrange any such payments and, as a result of him expressing his opposition to the idea, Mr Johnson stopped discussing moves with him to get donors to fund the flat refurbishment. Mr Cummings stated: 'The PM stopped speaking to me about this matter in 2020 as I told him I thought his plans to have donors secretly pay for the renovation were unethical, foolish, possibly illegal and almost certainly broke the rules on proper disclosure of political donations if conducted in the way he intended. 'I refused to help him organise these payments. My knowledge about them is therefore limited.' April 26, 2021: Mr Case tells MPs the idea of setting up a trust to fund the upkeep of Downing Street has been looked into but it could not pay for refurbishments to the Prime Minister's flat. April 27, 2021: Former Cabinet Secretary Lord O'Donnell wades into the row saying Mr Johnson is 'very late' declaring the arrangements and should be 'setting an example'. A standards committee report from April 2019 is highlighted warning Mr Johnson that he faces a 'serious sanction' if he breaches declaration rules again. Advertisement

They started discussing who was going to pay Miss Lytles bill  and how.

Tory chairman Ben Elliot, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, is more noted for his political connections than his political achievements.

Like Mr Johnson he is an Old Etonian; he is best friends with another Old Etonian Lord (Zac) Goldsmith  more of whom later  and pals with Miss Symonds.

He is also a nephew of the Duchess of Cornwall.

Unlike famous Conservative chairmen of the past such as Norman Tebbit, Mr Elliot prefers to operate behind the scenes in No10 and Tory HQ.

Which is where he began to grapple with Wallpaper-gate.

Mr Johnsons first idea was to ask Tory donor Lord Bamford, boss of the JCB construction giant, to pay off the 58,000.

Lord Bamford and his companies have given more than 10million to the Conservatives over the years  and wife Lady Bamfords Daylesford farm shops delivered healthy meals to No10 after Mr Johnson recovered from Covid.

The Bamford option was dropped, though it is unclear why.

By early June, it is believed the Cabinet Office had paid the entire bill, including the excess 58,000.

But it had to be paid back.

Mr Johnsons team came up with another wheeze: a blind trust modelled on the White House Trust used to maintain the US Presidents Office.

The official aim was to preserve Downing Street for posterity including the State Rooms.

In fact, it seems the real aim was to recoup the 58,000.

The advantage of the blind trust would be that the prime minister of the day would not know who had given money to the trust so there could be no conflict of interest.

The proposal was soon abandoned as impractical.

Undeterred, Mr Johnson resolved to set up a different, more open, form of Downing Street trust.

Another multi-millionaire Tory donor, Lord Brownlow, was asked by Mr Johnson to set up the new trust.

It emerged yesterday that former Labour Chancellor Lord (Alistair) Darling turned down an offer in July to lead the trust.

So Lord Brownlow took on the job.

It was around this time that Tory HQ paid 58,000 to the Cabinet Office to clear the debt.

But after being told it could fall foul of Electoral Commission rules which say party funds should be used for political campaigning, the party appears to have panicked.An extraordinary apparent attempt to disguise the payment was launched.

This newspaper has been told that in early October Mr Johnson also discussed his financial woes in No10 with Lord Goldsmith.

Miss Symondss appointment in January as head of communications for the Aspinall Foundation, a wildlife charity, was a welcome boost to her and Mr Johnsons income. A leaked email obtained by the Daily Mail showed that on October 23, Lord Brownlow told Mr Elliot that he had made a 58,000 donation to Tory HQ.

He made it clear it was to cover the same sum paid by the party to the Cabinet Office.

He added the 58,000 was to be attributed to the soon-to-be-formed Downing Trust  headed by Lord Brownlow himself. Six months later the trust is no nearer to being established.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said this week that it could not be used to pay to refurbish either of the two Downing Street flats at numbers 10 and 11  either now or in the future.

Bearing in mind that was its real, albeit unstated, purpose all along, insiders say the trust will now be quietly dumped. Meanwhile, Downing Street now says the refurbishment costs have been met by the Prime Minister personally, but has not explained how Mr Johnson paid the 58,000.

It is not clear where he got the money from  nor who he has paid it to.

Miss Lytle? The Cabinet Office? Tory HQ? Lord Brownlow? The money trail is not just murky, it is dizzying. Opposition by Mr Johnsons former chief of staff Dominic Cummings to using donors to pay for the flat was one of the reasons of his acrimonious exit from Downing Street in December.

But this newspaper has been told that when his successor, ex-banker Dan Rosenfield joined No10 in January, he was similarly shocked.

He couldnt believe anyone had allowed such a crazy arrangement to go ahead in the first place  or that so much time had been spent on trying and failing to sort out the mess, said a source.

Former Cabinet Secretary Lord ODonnell said yesterday: Prime ministers have to set an example and should abide by the rules which are there for a good reason. He needs to concentrate on issues like Covid and the way to do that is to abide by the rules.

In his blistering attack last week Mr Cummings said he told Mr Johnson early last year that the funding of flat makeover was unethical, foolish and possibly illegal.

Whether you think Cummings is a genius or the devil incarnate, it is hard to disagree that Mr Johnson is guilty on at least one of the three counts.
Guwahati, April 28 : At least 10 persons were injured as a powerful earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale jolted Assam, other northeastern states and adjoining North Bengal, while 10 aftershocks were recorded in the hours after the first quake which shook Sonitpur in northern Assam at 7.51 a.m. on Wednesday.

According to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), the tremors were also felt in North Bengal and other northeastern states, including Arunachal Pradesh and neighbouring Bhutan.

As per the disaster management officials in Guwahati, there are reports of damage to buildings, roads and some other infrastructure in different parts of Sonitpur, Tezpur, Nagaon, Morigaon and adjoining areas. Detailed reports are awaited.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Assam Disaster Management Authority, G.D. Tripathi, said that no human casualty has been reported yet but 10 persons were injured in Darrang, Kamrup Metro, Nagaon and Sonitpur districts.

The official said that several apartments, buildings and hotels developed cracks. Electricity and gas supply were disrupted in some places.

The NCS data said that after the first quake, 10 aftershocks of magnitude 2.9 to 4.7 on the Richter scale were recorded over the next around 10 hours (until 5.40 p.m.) in the vicinity of Sonitpur, Nagaon, Morigaon, Darrang, Kamrup Metro districts.

The earthquake struck at 7.51 a.m. on Wednesday at a depth of 17 km from the surface.

According to a report of the NCS, the epicentre is closer to the plate boundary and located at about 80 km northeast of Guwahati and 132 km north of Shillong.

"The earthquake was also felt in some parts of Bihar, West Bengal and Bangladesh," the NCS report said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region) Minister Jitendra Singh spoke to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and assured all possible help.

After speaking over phone with Sonowal twice, Modi tweeted: "Spoke to Assam CM Shri Sarbananda Sonowal Ji regarding the earthquake in parts of the state. Assured all possible help from the Centre. I pray for the well-being of the people of Assam." Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he stood in solidarity with the people of quake-hit Assam and asked party leaders and workers to be at the forefront of rescue and relief efforts.

Railway lines in northern and western Assam developed some problems due to the tremor even as the engineers and technical personnel of the Northeast Frontier Railways quickly restored the lines. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have been alerted.

Tagging a video, Assam Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a tweet: "Water seeping out from a paddy field in Narayanpur area of Dhekiajuli, the epicentre of the massive 6.7 earthquake in Assam." Immediately after the tremors were felt, Assam CM Sonowal rushed to Dhekiajuli, 140 km north of Guwahati, to assess the situation.

Successive earthquakes in the mountainous northeastern states, especially in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, have made the authorities worried.

The northeastern states, especially Mizoram, frequently witness mild to moderate earthquakes that force the public and private builders to construct quake resistant houses.

Seismologists consider the mountainous northeastern region as the sixth most earthquake-prone belt in the world. In 1950, an earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale had altered the course of the mighty Brahmaputra river, which passes by the Guwahati city.
International Dance Day is a global festival of dance, created by the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI), the main partner of UNESCO's performing arts. The event takes place on April 29 every year, the anniversary of the birth of Jean-Georges Novre (1727-1810), the creator of the modern ballet. The day seeks to encourage participation and education in dance through events and festivals held around the world. UNESCO formally identifies ITI as the creator and organizer of the event.

Every year since its creation in 1982, an outstanding dance personality is selected to write a message for International Dance Day. ITI also creates a major event in a selected host city, which includes dance performances, educational workshops, humanitarian projects, and speeches by ambassadors, dignitaries, dance personalities, and selected message writers for that year. This day is a day of celebration for those who can see the value and importance of dance as art, and act as a wake-up to governments, politicians, and institutions who have not yet recognized the value of it to the people.

To help make International Dance Day public every year, the International Theatre Institute chooses an outstanding personality to become a message writer for the event from the world of dance. In the message, it is hoped that the author can underline the relevance and power of dance. Previous authors include Trisha Brown, Alicia Alonso, and Mars Cunningham. As 2018 marked the 70th anniversary of ITI, 5 message writers were selected for the 2018 event, one of every 5 UNESCO areas. There were 5 writers; Georgette Gebara (Lebanon, Arab countries), Salia Sanau (Burkina Faso, Africa), Marianella Ban (Cuba, The United States), Willie Saso (China, Asia-Pacific), and Ohad Nahrin (Israel, Europe).

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The man who hit an NYPD detective with a stick while he probed a robbery was pictured appearing in court on Tuesday and was ordered to receive a psychiatric evaluation as serious crime has spiraled in New York City.

Akeele Morgan, 25, appeared in Queens Criminal Court for an arraignment relating to a brazen daytime attack on Monday in which he allegedly hit an NYPD detective over the head with a stick. However, the arraignment was delayed when he failed to cooperate with the court.

Morgan, of the Bronx, had been arrested on Monday morning and was questioned by officers with the 109th precinct before he was brought to the courthouse early Tuesday morning. He wore the same clothes he was in when he was caught on video during the attack.

He was uncooperative with court officials the entire morning and refused to talk to his lawyer or anybody else. When Morgan finally did appear to agree to talk to his lawyer, he said he would only talk directly to the judge - who initially declined his request but decided to allow it as long as his lawyer was present.

When Morgan appeared before the judge, he continued to remain silent - and when asked questions, he would both shake and nod his head indicating the answer as both 'yes' and 'no' while refusing to answer verbally.

Eventually, the court gave Morgan two weeks to complete a psychiatric evaluation to determine if he is fit to stand trial and, depending on the results, he will either finally be arraigned or committed for psychiatric treatment.

Akeele Morgan, 25, appeared in Queens Criminal Court for an arraignment relating to a brazen daytime attack on Monday in which he allegedly hit an NYPD detective over the head with a stick

However, the arraignment was delayed when Morgan failed to cooperate with the court on Tuesday - which ordered him to complete a psychiatric evaluation

On Monday afternoon, a detective in Queens was hit over the head with a plastic baton by a man believed to be Morgan as he investigated a scene. Morgan was arrested not far from the scene on 39th Avenue, near Prince Street in Flushing.

The Sergeant's Benevolent Association (SBA) - which represents more than 11,000 current and past NYPD officers, tweeted 'Welcome to the city of violence' while attacking Mayor Bill de Blasio for investing $30 million on boosting tourism instead of tackling crime.

They spoke out as an unnamed 20-year-old man was shot and killed in broad daylight near Manhattan's Park Avenue on Monday.

Jason Rivera, 35, was shot and killed in the Bronx on Friday night after he helped a disorientated man, asking: 'Are you OK?' and helping him onto a bench in the Parkchester area

Monday's shooting - said to be linked to a cannabis deal gone wrong - came at the end of a week that saw 50 people shot across the city.

That is a 257 per cent spike from the same time last year, when the pandemic forced New Yorkers into their homes.

From 12am on Friday until midnight on Sunday, 31 people were wounded in 28 shootings, and six killed.

Among those who lost their lives was Jason Rivera, 35, who shot and killed in the Bronx on Friday while asking a man sat on a bench if he was okay.

On Saturday, an unnamed former NYPD cop was hit by a stray bullet after leaving a party a group of men had been turned away from, prompting them to open fire.

The 30 year-old was struck in the stomach, and is expected to survive her injuries.

A man in an orange hoodie, named by police as Akeele Morgan, 25, of the Bronx, hits an officer on the head

The officer, working in Queens, recoils in pain and Morgan looks on, before running away and being arrested

A New York police officer inspects the car where a 20-year-old man was killed on East 95th St near Lexington and Park Avenue on Monday during a suspected drug deal gone wrong

Police cordon off the scene of Monday's fatal shooting. Park Avenue is visible at the top of the hill. The leafy neighborhood is full of multimillion-dollar homes

A police officer stands guard in the Upper East Side on Monday afternoon after the shooting, just across the street from a Honda belonging to the victim

The dented front of the Upper East Side victim's car. It's unclear if the damage is connected

The neighborhood is home to famous faces including Bette Midler, with the SBA union claiming Mayor Bill de Blasio's policies have cause crime to rocket

Earlier this month, a concerned Brooklyn mother called Nicole confronted under-fire Mayor Bill DeBlasio during a radio phone-in about shootings in New York, and asked him 'What's being done?'

The mayor blamed COVID-19 for the crime spike, saying: 'I think it comes back to this horrible combination of things we saw, you know, people didn't have jobs, almost a million people lost their jobs, schools were closed, houses of worship were closed. Things really were falling apart.'

DeBlasio went on to hail reopening measures, which he claims will cut crime as people return to work, and also cited his 'community based solutions to gun violence.'

He went on to cite two anti-gun crime initiatives, called Cure Violence Movement and Crisis Management System.

Cure's website claims it 'leverages young men of color' to act as 'credible messengers of an anti-violence message' in areas hit hard by gun crime.

Crisis Management System deploys mediators to try and cool down brewing conflicts before they spill into violence, and connect 'high risk individuals' to services aimed at stopping them from offending.

De Blasio oversaw in June a $1 billion reduction in New York Police Department's $6 billion budget, at the height of the 'defund the police' protests.

The deal involved moving school safety agents, who are unarmed but wear police uniforms, into the Department of Education; canceling a July class of roughly 1,100 police recruits; and shifting certain homeless outreach operations away from police control.

Critics say it has made the city less safe. De Blasio has been met with widespread disdain by New York's officers, and will complete his second and final term as mayor in office in November.

Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, is accused by critics of ignoring gun violence in the city

On Tuesday, to combat gun crime, he announced that the NYPD will reassign 200 officers to areas where New York has seen the highest rates of gun violence as part of their annual Summer All Out program.

Rodney Harrison, the NYPD Chief of Department, said the 'bulk' of those officers would be moved to East New York and Brownsville, which have seen gun violence upticks of 67 per cent and 88 per cent, respectively.

He also noted Bronx neighborhoods, Mott Haven, Highbridge and Crotona, would get some additional patrols.

However, critics noted that those areas were singled out for additional policing last year, but with 300 additional officers.

De Blasio has tried to downplay the crime, insisting: 'Everything's interconnected, bringing back the city, bringing back the jobs, bringing back the schools.'

Yet this month alone a five-year-old was shot in Brooklyn, a tourist shot in crossfire in Manhattan and a 66-year-old Asian man sucker-punched in the Bronx.

On Wednesday, a 51-year-old woman was shot dead by another woman in broad daylight on a Brooklyn street in the affluent Park Slope district.

The wealthy Manhattan enclave was taped off on Monday afternoon following the shooting

This week the NYPD has also detailed plans to discuss additional patrols, in areas of midtown Manhattan where business owners are concerned.

Dan Biederman, president of the 34th Street Partnership, a business-improvement district covering parts of midtown Manhattan, told The Wall Street Journal that increased numbers of aggressive panhandlers and people experiencing mental-health crises have made some office workers and shoppers cautious about returning to the area.

NYPD statistics show that assaults, robberies, auto thefts and burglaries have risen this year in the Midtown South police precinct, where the 34th Street Partnership is located.

'Really our biggest problem right now is erratic behavior from people on the street,' Biederman said.

'We have complaints of emotionally disoriented people, or people on drugs, yelling at the top of their lungs.'

So far this year 416 people have been shot citywide, compared to 242 by the same time last year - a 72 per cent increase, according to Fox News.

Murders are up by nine per cent, with 120 recorded through April 25, compared to 110 over the same timeframe last year.

The Upper East Side shooting happened at 2:10pm on Monday afternoon, on East 95th and Lexington Avenue - an area that Bette Midler, Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon and late artist Mark Rothko all called home.

The unnamed victim was shot in a parked car.

Police suspect that it was a marijuana deal gone wrong, and say a large bag of it was found inside the victim's car. Possession of the drug is legal in the state, but selling it is not.

'There is a considerable amount of marijuana in the car. They haven't gotten to it yet because they need a warrant,' a police source told the Daily News.

The victim was sitting in the back of the car when he was shot.

The gunman got inside the car, and shot him in the heart, then got out and ran away.

The driver of the vehicle, and the front seat passenger, were questioned by police.

The victim was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside, but could not be saved.

The weekend began with another shooting, of a 35-year-old who stopped to ask if a man was OK, before being shot and killed.

Jason Rivera, 35, pictured with his wife Shantay White, 30. White said she was not surprised he died helping someone

Jason Rivera was shot and killed in the Parkchester area of the Bronx at 11:42pm on Friday

Police have released an image (above) of the man they are seeking in connection with Rivera's murder

White has three children with Rivera, and is currently pregnant with twins

Rivera lived in the Bronx before moving to Staten Island around two years ago, White said

Jason Rivera, a father of three whose wife is expecting twins, was murdered in the Parkchester area of the Bronx at 11:42pm on Friday.

His last words, caught on security camera, were him bending over a man slumped on a bench.

'You good?' he asked the man, described by the New York Daily News as a 43-year-old disturbed man, who had been seen behaving erratically in a nearby park. 'You OK?'

The cameras caught sight of a man walking past them, having arrived in a Mercedes SUV.

He then doubled back, and shot and killed Rivera.

Rivera, who had recently relocated from the street where he was killed in the Bronx to Staten Island, was described by his wife as having 'a good heart'.

Shantay White, 30, told the Daily News that his death while helping someone else did not surprise her.

'He's always been like that,' said White. 'People know him over there for that. People just know him, period, for that.'

Rivera and White are parents to a seven-year-old girl, three-year-old girl and two-year-old boy.

White, who met Rivera on the block where they lived until two years ago, and where he was killed, said he had issues with some people in the neighborhood.

But, she added, she did not believe it was anything serious.

'It wasn't to where it had to be something like this,' she said.

'His beef was minor beef, like guy beef stuff, you know. It wasn't something for somebody to have that much hatred, to take their time to sit and actually wait for him.'

She said she was shocked at the crime.

'There were kids in the park.

'The block that it happened on seemed kind of busy at the time. It seemed like people were outside.

'And for the person to just walk away and go back the same way.'
Dr. Kidong Park, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam

Vietnam has mounted a successful response to the pandemic, which has been globally acknowledged. The government and partners are sustaining these efforts and making sure we do not let our guard down. The countrys successful response is a product of long-term investment in health security, highlighted by three main factors.

First was the early and timely activation of a response system which the country greatly invested in before the pandemic even occurred. Vietnam responded to this outbreak swiftly, proactively, and consistently. Throughout the response, the country has sustained its efforts in early detection, reporting and risk assessment, laboratory testing, thorough public health measures implementation, and communicating risk to the public.

The country established the multisectoral National Steering Committee on COVID-19 response led by high levels of the government. Even at the very early stage of the outbreak, the country already had a national response plan in place, as well as technical guidelines implemented from central to local levels.

There has been persistent and strict application of key outbreak response measures using the core capacities built and strengthened by the country over time. Over the years, the WHO has been supporting Vietnam in developing and enhancing these capacities for managing disease outbreaks and public health emergencies, as required by the 2005 International Health Regulations.

The second factor is the strong government leadership and vision, and rapid mobilisation of resources using a whole-of-society approach. For instance, when a new community transmission case was confirmed in late July 2020 after 99 days with no recorded cases from the community, the country quickly mobilised all the necessary resources. The system to detect and report COVID-19 cases from the field to the central level was also enhanced across the country.

National experts were deployed quickly to the field when the outbreak occurred and where necessary, to support outbreak investigation, laboratory testing and/or case management. Testing capacity was rapidly increased to more than 10,000 tests per day in the field. In addition, field hospitals with a capacity of 1,000 beds were built in a short time.

All of these became possible with the National Steering Committee being central to the command and control governance of the COVID-19 response.

Thirdly, there have been comprehensive and credible communications. The government actively engages the media and provides them with timely, clear, accurate, and consistent information. Transparency and consistency in messaging has also bred trust, and this trust has brought the people to also do their part in the response.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) and the WHO co-produced a documentary on Vietnams success story. I highly recommend watching the film that features the efforts of the government and the people of Vietnam, with support from the WHO and other partners, in achieving initial victory against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WHO is a long-term public healthcare partner of the Vietnamese government. We have been working closely with our counterparts even before the pandemic in making sure systems and capacities are in place to prepare for, detect, and respond to health emergencies. These investments have been critical to Vietnams success, and the government was able to act urgently and consistently as the health sector is prepared to manage a large-scale outbreak.

Over the course of more than a year now, the WHO has worked and continues to work hand-in-hand with the MoH counterparts in providing technical, operational, and logistical support in all aspects of the response, especially in surveillance, risk assessment, clinical management, laboratory, public health measures, risk communication, and logistics.

As part of the global effort for equitable and affordable vaccine allocation, the WHO is working with partners in the COVAX Facility to bring vaccines to the country. On April 1, Vietnam received its first shipment of over 811,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped via the COVAX Facility, with support from the WHO, UNICEF, and the Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. An additional shipment of over 3.36 million doses is expected by the end of May, followed by more later in the year.

Rollout of these vaccines is ongoing in Vietnam and we are optimistic that these vaccines will benefit more frontline workers and high-risk populations. The WHO will continue to work alongside our counterparts to make sure these vaccines benefit those who need them the most.

Although the outbreak is controlled in Vietnam, the world still continues to fight the pandemic. We have reaffirmed our lesson in pandemic response that no country is safe until all countries are safe. Therefore, the risk remains high for Vietnam.

Vietnams healthcare sector can greatly benefit from all partners working together, including the private sector through corporate social responsibility. We need to remain vigilant. It is required to further strengthen capacities of surveillance and risk assessment, laboratory network, compliance of appropriate infection prevention control, and ensure case management and risk communications in order to support early detection and response to COVID-19.




Haiti - News : Zapping...





16 Haitian migrants intercepted in Guatemala

The National Civil Police reports that 16 people of Haitian origin were arrested by agents in a hotel in zone 3 of San Mateo, in Quetzaltenango (second largest city in Guatemala). The migrants entered the country illegally. After receiving treatment, they were transferred to the headquarters of the Guatemalan Migration Institute to resolve their situation.



The cost of the referendum

Guylande Mesadieu, President of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), said the referendum budget amounts to US $ 40 million. However, she clarified "the 40 million dollars are not allocated only to the referendum since the implementations will also be used during the organization of the elections."



BRH : The "Bitkob" Logo Contest is extended

The BRH informs you that the registration deadline for the Logo competition for its digital currency "Bitkob" is extended until May 10, 2021. To participate, register https://www.brh.ht/concours-gourde-digitale/



Hurricane : Construction of shelters at Douillette

Emergency preparedness is a crucial step in preventing and reducing the risks associated with natural disasters. During his mission in the South, Charge d'affaires ai Fabrizio Poretti of the Swiss Embassy in Port-au-Prince spoke with departmental civil protection officials during a meeting at the Emergency Operation Center departmental. He also took advantage of his visit to the South to visit a project to build community shelters resistant to hurricanes in Douillette (800m altitude) in Makaya Park. The construction of these shelters is funded by the Swiss Embassy through the Housing Reconstruction Support Program with Training in the South (PARHAFS).



Referendum : 4.5 million people will be able to vote

Tuesday Guylande Mesadieu, the President of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) confirmed that the referendum register had been closed since Monday April 26 at midnight with some 4.5 million people registered, who will be able to vote for or against the new Constitution project.



Sign language training

Tuesday, as part of the Franco-Haitian cooperation, the Haitian Institute of Sign Language (IHLS) and the French Institute in Haiti (IFH) signed a training partnership for hearing people whose "spinoffs will be in favor of disabled people, in particular those living with a hearing impairment."



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Researchers from Erasmus School of Economics, IESE Business School, and New York University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines what business schools do wrong when conducting academic research and what changes they can make so that research contributes to improving society.

The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled "Faculty Research Incentives and Business School Health: A New Perspective from and for Marketing" and is authored by Stefan Stremersch, Russell Winer, and Nuno Camacho.

In February 2020, an article in the Financial Times stated that business schools' research model is "ill," with faculty increasingly focusing on "abstract, abstruse and overly academic topics with little resonance beyond the higher education sector."

The researchers demonstrate that business schools use the wrong research metrics and incentives with research faculty. As Stremersch explains, "We show that business schools focus excessively on the quantity of research and insufficiently on other critical aspects such as the quality, rigor, relevance, and creativity of such research." To gauge whether research incentives in business schools are indeed badly designed, they surveyed 234 marketing professors in business schools across 20 countries and completed 22 interviews with 14 (associate) deans and eight external institution stakeholders.

Results show that business schools' research incentives are badly designed for three main reasons. First, business schools use the wrong research metrics to monitor their faculty's research, often harming the quality (rigor and relevance) of the research produced by their research faculty. Second, research with lower-than-desired practical importance may hurt teaching quality, which negatively impacts business school health. Third, while research faculty feel undercompensated for the research they do, (associate) deans feel that the current compensation levels for faculty are not sustainable.

The researchers assert that business schools need to recalibrate their faculty research incentives. To do so, business schools can start with three concrete actions. First, business schools need to develop better research metrics. "Schools need to reduce the weight they place in low-effort metrics (such as the mere number of publications or citations) and increase the weight they place in effortful metrics such as awards, research creativity, literacy, and relevance to non-academic audiences," says Winer.

Second, business schools need to develop a high commitment working environment where research faculty internalize and actively contribute to the health of the business school. Such high commitment environments should improve alignment between schools and their research faculty in terms of compensation.

Third, business schools need to improve the practical importance of their faculty's research. Several (associate) deans at top business schools whom the researchers interviewed report that the business schools they lead have made more progress on rigor than on practical importance and that they are concerned about a further decline in such practical importance in recent years.

In sum, business schools need to revise their faculty research incentives to ensure their faculty produce research that lives up to society's expectations and improves managers and firms' decision making.

###

Full article and author contact information available at: https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1177/ 00222429211001050

About the Journal of Marketing

The Journal of Marketing develops and disseminates knowledge about real-world marketing questions useful to scholars, educators, managers, policy makers, consumers, and other societal stakeholders around the world. Published by the American Marketing Association since its founding in 1936, JM has played a significant role in shaping the content and boundaries of the marketing discipline. Christine Moorman (T. Austin Finch, Sr. Professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University) serves as the current Editor in Chief.

https:/ / www. ama. org/ jm

About the American Marketing Association (AMA)

As the largest chapter-based marketing association in the world, the AMA is trusted by marketing and sales professionals to help them discover what is coming next in the industry. The AMA has a community of local chapters in more than 70 cities and 350 college campuses throughout North America. The AMA is home to award-winning content, PCM professional certification, premiere academic journals, and industry-leading training events and conferences.
Alas, product shortages are not yet a thing of the past.

Boba shops across the country are experiencing a shortage of boba due to an issue in the supply chain.

SUMMER SIPS: This is the secret for the best homemade frozen mango margarita ever

The Houston Chronicle's Emma Balter reported earlier this month that a maritime traffic jam in California's Bay Area was preventing millions of dollars in consumer goods from reaching their intended destinations, including boba, the chewy tapioca balls found in the bottom of bubble tea.

KPRC's Howard Chen reached out to several boba shops in the Houston area, and none of them reported a shortage in their supply... yet.

Former Heavenly Beverages owner Pablo Ng told KPRC that like most issues lately, the shortage can be blamed on the pandemic.

A lot of it is affected mainly from short staff in CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Patrol) and FDA (U.S. Food & Drug Administration) personnel, Ng said, according to Chen. (COVID-19) is one of the causes.

But that's no guarantee that every shop is operating as usual. Chen reports that independent shops are limited in how much boba they can order right now, and The Boba Spot in Houston posted on its Instagram that the shortage meant there would be a limited amount of boba available each day.

NO SUCH CLUCK: Texas is at the center of a tragic national chicken wing shortage

So the impending shortage hasn't seemed to have widely hit Houston yet  great news for anyone looking to celebrate National Boba Day on April 30.

Time will tell if Houston milk tea enthusiasts will eventually have to go without for a while.
UPDATE: Coroner identifies man in double shooting deaths in Easton, says he died from suicide

Authorities released the name of one of two people who died from gunshot wounds late Tuesday in Easton as authorities continue to investigate the incident.

Northampton County District Attorney Terence Houck confirmed 34-year-old Shakeeyah Jackson was shot and killed about 11:30 p.m. in her home in the Canal Park 3 apartments in the 600 block of Canal Park on Eastons South Side.

A 42-year-old man also died from gunfire in the apartment. Houck did not identify the man because authorities are still trying to locate his next of kin.

Houck confirmed two children were present for some part of the incident.

Im not going to get into what part, he said. The 5-year-old and 7-year-old, who lived in the apartment, are now with relatives, Houck said.

He said a gun and evidence of shootings were recovered at the crime scene.

Were not looking for anyone in connection with the shootings, he said. He doesnt believe theres any further risk to the public at this point.

He said hed be able to release more information after an autopsy scheduled for this evening. He declined to speculate on the manner of death for the victims or say where on their bodies the two people were shot.

Houck confirmed a 63-year-old woman was shot in the leg after a bullet went through the wall of the apartment next door and into her apartment. Houck declined to identify the 63-year-old.

She was understandably very, very upset. A bullet came through her wall. She was a totally innocent victim in all this, Houck said.

The woman was treated at a hospital and released, Houck said.

Jacksons body was found directly inside the doorway and the mans body was located in the kitchen area, according to contents of a search warrant that was returned Wednesday morning to District Judge Daniel Corporas court on the South Side. Both were shot, the paperwork says.

But Houck and Easton police Lt. Matthew Gerould refused to say where the gun was found.

Police are not releasing any more details due to the ongoing investigation and lab testing, Gerould said.

The weapon was a 9mm IWI Jericho II handgun with a visible serial number, court papers say. Investigators are still trying to determine the gun ownership and if it was legally purchased.

Police also found 11 shell casings, two unfired rounds, a magazine containing two rounds, a magazine containing 17 rounds, one unfired round from the chamber of the handgun, three bullet fragments, one partially full box of 9mm Luger Fiocchi bullets (31 rounds), one partially full box of 9mm Luger Federal bullets (32 rounds) and a folding knife, court papers say.

They recovered two cellphones (a Motorola and a Samsung), a wallet with a Pennsylvania ID, a set of keys and $40 in cash, court papers say. They also collected two DNA swabs and a hair from a kitchen cabinet, court papers say.

The warrant couldnt be served on a person because of the deaths, the paperwork says.

The papers were signed by District Judge Robert Weber, who issued the warrant while on night duty.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com.
A recording of Prime Minister Scott Morrison discussing his deeply held Christian faith at a conference in Brisbane last week burst onto social media with quite a bang on Monday.

Mr Morrison discussed the role of what he called the evil one in social media, and how he practices laying on of hands when meeting with the public.

On this episode of Please Explain, Tory Maguire discusses religion in politics with chief political correspondent David Crowe, who wrote that it would have been better if the speech had not been kept secret, but that some of the reaction to it has been very disrespectful.

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On April 27, Hulu released the first three episodes of season 4 of The Handmaids Tale: Pigs, Nightshade, and The Crossing. The fourth season was originally set to premiere on April 28, but Hulu released the new episodes a few hours early.

In Pigs, June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) and her friends find refuge at a farm run by a 14-year-old Wife, Mrs. Esther Keyes (Mckenna Grace), as June recovers from a gunshot wound. Nightshade continues this storyline, but as June heals she finds herself looking to exact revenge on Gilead.

[Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for season 4 episode 2 of The Handmaids Tale.]

Elisabeth Moss in The Handmaids Tale | Sophie Giraud/Hulu

June wants to help a Jezebels in The Handmaids Tale

While on the Keyes farm, June, Janine (Madeline Brewer), Alma (Nina Kiri), Brianna (Bahia Watson), and the other Handmaids disguise themselves as Marthas. At the end of Pigs, Mrs. Keyes and the Handmaids murder Commander Johnny Pogue (David Thompson).

Nightshade picks up with Guardians arriving at the Keyes farm looking for Commander Pogue. When the Guardians say they plan to come back to speak to the Marthas, June decides it is best for the group to move on to a new safe house.

Guardian David (Samer Salem) takes June to a local Jezebels to speak with a Mayday contact. While June gets information about the next safe house, she decides she wants to try and help the women at the Jezebels first.

Characters in Canada get some screentime

In Canada, Junes husband Luke (O-T Fagbenle), and her friends Moira (Samira Wiley) and Rita (Amanda Brugel) have started an organization called Angels Flight.

RELATED: The Handmaids Tale Season 4: Elisabeth Moss Reveals Which Episodes She Directed

At a banquet for the foundation, Luke and Rita both speak to encourage people to donate to help the children rescued from Gilead. While Luke and Moira are both hopeful about the possibility of June still being alive, Rita is less optimistic.

Moira and Emily (Alexis Bledel) find themselves overwhelmed with finding homes for the children that escaped Gilead at the end of the third season. While some have surviving family in Canada, Moira realizes some kids are having trouble adjusting and actually miss Gilead.

June and Esther scheme together in The Handmaids Tale

Esther finds out the Handmaids plan to leave, and because she has grown attached to June, she begs to go with them. June tears up at Esthers request, and she agrees. Esther then reveals that she has been slowly poisoning her Commander, and June enlists her help to create a poison for the men at Jezebels.

Maybe there are no good men in Gilead, Esther tells June.

June smiles and says, I think there are good men everywhere.

Based on Junes response, one can assume that she is thinking of Luke and her lover, Commander Nick Blaine (Max Minghella).

Poison in tow, David takes June back to the Jezebels. She sticks around for a bit to watch the women subtlety poison the Commanders drinks.

The Handmaids Tale episode has a thrilling ending

Throughout the episode, Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski) works to get her charges cleared. After a meeting with her lawyer, she visits her husband Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) to try and manipulate him into redacting his claims against her.

He refuses, and Serena goes to Mark Tuello (Sam Jaeger) to try and separate her case from Fred. She barely gets a word out before Mark tells her that a recent doctors appointment confirmed Serena is pregnant.

RELATED: The Handmaids Tale: Yvonne Strahovski Teases Serena Joys Pregnancy in Season 4

June and David return to the farm, but they find it empty with bullet casings on the ground. In a split second, David is shot and sniper lasers point at June. Nick emerges from the darkness and demands to know where the Handmaids are.

He walks up to June and quietly reassures her that he is trying to keep her alive, and she surrenders. As soldiers surround June, angst-filled music swells, and June and Nick stare at one another, taking their star-crossed lovers relationship to a new extreme.
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Barely 24 hours after Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, decried the violent killing of residents by suspected herders, the police announced the killing of two bandits in the state.

Mr Ortom who lambasted the federal government for being complacent in the face of insecurity on Tuesday, said not less than 70 lives were lost in two weeks in Makurdi local government area of the state.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the police in Benue, Catherine Anene, said an identified bandits camp at a forest in Tomatar Imande Ukusuu Mbacher Council ward, Kastina-Ala Local Government Area was raided by operatives of Benue police command on Wednesday.

The operation, which resulted in a prolonged exchange of gunfire between the police and bandits, led to the killing of two bandits, she said.

Consequently, three (3) of the bandits were arrested with bullet wounds while other suspects fled with injuries.

Ms Anene said the injured suspects were rushed to hospital but confirmed dead by the doctors.

Corpses of the deceased have been deposited at Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi.

Exhibit recovered from the suspects include; two (2) AK47 riffles loaded with twenty-nine (29) rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, cutlasses, a bunch of substances suspected to be charms and knives. Effort is on going to arrest fleeing suspects, she added.

The police, however, urged the people Sankara to cooperate with its operatives by providing any useful information that will lead to the arrest of the suspects at large.
Dallas, TX, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "A first conviction for DWI in Texas is a Class B misdemeanor, but it is a serious matter. A DWI conviction costs money in fines and other costs, raises your insurance premiums, and can affect your employment situation. In Texas, by law, you cannot get deferred adjudication for a DWI." John Helms, Dallas DWI Defense Attorney.

If you have been arrested for driving while intoxicated in Texas, youve probably already started searching for information about your legal rights. Understandably, you want to know how to handle your case to minimize the impact of the DWI on your personal and professional life.





Unfortunately, not all the information you might stumble across is accurate. Here are five DWI myths to be aware of.

1. You Can Only Be Charged with Drunk Driving If Your BAC Is .08 or Higher

Under Texas law, the police have the authority to place a motorist under arrest if they believe the person is too impaired to drive safely. While the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration is .08, this doesnt mean that a BAC under the legal limit automatically means a person is immune from arrest.

In fact, the police will place you under arrest prior to asking you to submit to a breath or blood test. The police will typically use their own observations of your behavior, including the results of field sobriety tests, to determine if you are too impaired to drive.

From there, they can ask you if youre willing to take a breath or blood test, which you have the right to refuse. However, the police still have the authority to take you into custody.

Even more fundamentally, you can be convicted of a DWI if you have lost your normal physical and mental abilities, even if your actual blood alcohol content is not known.

2. You Cant Get Arrested for DWI If You Park and Sleep Off Your Intoxication

If youve ever felt too intoxicated to drive, you might have pulled over and attempted to sleep until you feel safe to continue. While this is definitely more responsible than continuing behind the wheel, it wont necessarily stop you from getting arrested for DWI.

The bottom line is that you dont need to be in motion to get a DWI. Simply sitting in your car can sometimes be enough for police to consider you in operation of your vehicle.

However, there are several things you should do to help decrease the risk of getting a DWI if you decide to stop. You should always park in a parking spot rather than just pulling over to the side of the road. You should also turn off your engine and remove any keys from the ignition. It may also help to move to the passenger seat if you intend to sleep. If you stay in the drivers seat, you should try to remain awake and alert.

3. Breathalyzers Dont Make Mistakes

Many people believe that a breath test is the ultimate piece of damaging evidence for police and prosecutors. However, this simply isnt the case. There are several things that can cause an inaccurate results, from improper calibration of the machine to various health conditions.

Its even possible for something a person recently ate to throw off the results of a breath test. In some case, an experienced Texas criminal defense lawyer can submit evidence that the police officer operating the machine wasnt properly trained to perform breath tests. This can result in the court suppressing the evidence, which can result in reduced charges or even an acquittal.

4. People Charged with DWI Should Plead Guilty to Speed Up Their Case

Just because youve been charged with DWI doesnt mean the prosecution will always secure a conviction against you. There are several ways to fight a DWI charge. However, you cant mount a defense if you plead guilty from the start.

This is why its important to discuss your case with a Texas criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible.

5. You Are Required to Answer All Police Questions If Youre Stopped

Its normal to feel nervous and frightened when youre stopped by the police. Many people panic and offer up unlimited information to the police. This can be extremely damaging to any future defense case.

If youre pulled over by the police, you have the right to stay silent. You must answer basic questions about your name, birthdate, and address, but you dont have to provide any information about where youve been or what destination youre traveling to.

On the other hand, its always a good idea to be respectful and courteous toward police officers. If youre confused, you can ask them to repeat a question or to slow down their line of questioning. Keep in mind, however, that youre under no obligation to provide anything other than basic identifying information.

Talk to a Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer About Your DWI Case

If you have been charged with DWI, its important to discuss your case with a Dallas DWI Defense Lawyer. A drunk driving conviction can impact just about every area of your life, including your personal relationships, your career, and even your ability to find housing. Dont leave your future to chance. Talk with a Texas criminal defense lawyer about your options.

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Three compulsory purchase orders have been completed to date on vacant properties by Offaly County Council.

Replying to a query from Cllr Clare Claffey at this month's meeting of the local authority, the county council outlined how as part of the planning team plan for 2021 Vacant and Derelict sites have been given priority status.

An internal working steering group has been established between Housing and Planning on this matter and have met on a number of occasions to discuss the way forward.

Three successful CPOs have been completed to date by Housing on vacant properties and future works will proceed subject to availability of resources, the reply outlined.

Cllr Claffey asked whether Offaly County Council could provide an update as agreed on the feasibility of establishing a vacant properties task force to address the issues of derelict and vacant properties in the county.

The update was agreed upon by county councillors on November 16 2020, following a motion by Cllr Clare Claffey to address the issues of derelict and vacant properties in the county.

However, Cllr Claffey submitted a further question on whether the update can be provided for this month's meeting of Offaly County Council, held on Monday, April 19.

Responding to the query, the local authority outlined how as part of the planning team plan for 2021 Vacant and Derelict sites have been given priority status.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Claffey welcomed the update before asking a number of further questions including whether the group was working off the register that was in place two years ago or had it subsequently been updated. She also asked what resources were in place regarding funding, how many were on the steering group and who was leading the steering group?

Responding to the councillor's questions, Stephane Duclot, Director of Services pointed out the issue had been identified as a priority for 2021. However, Covid-19 has its impact but it will be a priority for the last part of 2021. I will come back to you with further information on this in the future, he added.

Cllr Ken Smollen also noted the amount of vacant property in both Tullamore and Clara. I think that it is time we had some sort of register, and update as to who the owners are. These buildings can't be left vacant and derelict, as some of them are. Some of them have even gone into dangerous condition. I would like to see something done there on this.

Replying, the Director of Services, Mr Duclot outlined how it was planned to update the vacant site list where the council would include vacant properties. We will also look at Clara, he added.

Some people have described dereliction in Ireland as being an epidemic.
Line Of Duty fans are waiting with bated breath for the explosive series six finale this Sunday - in which the infamous 'H' is set to be unmasked.

And a new photo from the police drama's finale episode will only heighten speculation the OCG is set to be taken down by AC-12, with DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) looking tense during a shootout.

The dynamic officers are both clad in bulletproof vests and brandishing guns as they stand on a residential street by a van - with a tense Steve talking into a police radio.

They're sucking diesel now! A new photo from the Line Of Duty series six finale sees DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) looking tense during a shootout.

In the background, former AC-12 officer Kate looks frightened as she stares into the distance.

Eagle-eyed fans will note that Kate is wearing the same grey turtleneck jumper and Steve the same grey suit as in set images of the show from October 21 - where Kate and Steve were seen having a heated conversation with Ted Hastings and the gaffer dramatically exited the station.

The snaps, believed to be taken during filming of the seventh episode of the series, show a concerned Kate and Steve standing united as they speak to Superintendent Ted Hastings.

Same outfits: The new photo sees Steve and Kate wearing the same outfits captured in images from the Belfast set of Line of Duty, taken during filming on October 21 last year

There have already been cracks appearing between the AC-12 trio after Steve discovered that Hastings blew John Corbett's cover - which resulted in John having his throat slit by Ryan Pilkington - and seemingly gave his widow Steph 50,000.

In the tense images, Kate looks worried as she stands with her arms folded alongside Steve, while Hastings stands some distance away from the duo looking sombre.

Hastings, who has already become exasperated with time running out before he's forced into retirement and AC-12 is disbanded, is also seen rushing out of a police car as things heat up.

Coming back: Line Of Duty will be back on Sunday night and fans are eager to find out whether AC-12 will finally crack the case on the elusive H

Trailer: In a teaser released on Monday, viewers can be certain of an action-packed finale episode with a police standoff, the return of balaclava men and that 'definately' misspelling

While another snap showed a stony-faced Hastings pointedly walking out of the front gates of Decker Avenue Police Station, where former solicitor Jimmy Lakewell was taken before withdrawing his cooperation with AC-12 and subsequently getting murdered at HMP Blackthorn.

The photos will leave fans wondering if Kate and Steve are going to confront Hastings about the mysterious wad of cash given to Steph, as well as what the trio are doing at Decker Avenue Police Station.

The new photo comes two days after a new trailer for Line Of Duty's finale was released, only serving to heighten speculation around the identity of 'H'.

AC-12: The trailer starts off with Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), state: 'All of these suspicious deaths were orchestrated by one officer in particular, H. The fourth man'

Fall from grace: The trailer then shows acting Superintendent Jo Davidson (Kelly MacDonald) leaving the high-security prison in handcuffs

Scary: She ends up alone in a van with a corrupt prison officer who previously injured Lindsay Denton in series three

Clue: A handwritten note is also teased in the trailer, with the word definite misspelt to mirror what viewers have seen previously- will this be the clue AC-12 needs?

Viewers can be certain of an action-packed finale episode complete with a police standoff, the return of balaclava men and the discovery of a written note with THAT 'definately' misspelling.

The trailer starts off with Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), who is facing imminent retirement, state: 'All of these suspicious deaths were orchestrated by one officer in particular, H. The fourth man.'

Hastings' powerful words went alongside flashbacks of the deaths of solicitor Jimmy Lakewell, police officer Lisa Patel, journalist Gail Vella and former Detective Inspector Marcus Thurwell- whom fans believe is still alive.

Drama: It certainly seems Hastings and his team are on to something as police cars speed down the road, while armed officers close in on a residential area and Hastings briefs his team

Shootout: And it only gets more dramatic as balaclava men jump out of vehicles armed with guns themselves

Crime: The police board shows AC-12's work so far; with DI Dot Cottan, Chief Superintendent Derek Hilton, Gill Biggeloe and OCG members including Lisa McQueen and Tommy Hunter

The trailer then shows acting Superintendent Jo Davidson (Kelly MacDonald) leaving the high-security prison in handcuffs, only to end up alone in a van with a corrupt prison officer who previously injured Lindsay Denton in series three.

Jo says: 'What's going on?', before the camera flashes a sinister look from the prison officer.

A handwritten note is also teased in the trailer, with the word definite misspelt to mirror what viewers have seen previously.

A huge clue of the identity of H began to emerge in series five, when the OCG communicated with 'H' through a computer.

Eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice H spelling definitely as 'definately', and this misspelling has been repeated in subsequent episodes.

Corrupt? Partricia Carmichael will also return after her suspicious behaviour during the interview on the last episode

Will this handwritten report be the breakthrough AC-12 need to close in on 'the fourth man'?

It certainly seems Hastings and his team are on to something as police cars sped down the road, with armed officers closing in on a residential area during the trailer.

The Superintendent briefs DI Kate Fleming, DI Steve Arnott and DC Chloe Bishop as they arrive at the scene.

Hastings says: 'AFO's will secure the suspect down', while the words 'Every investigation has led to this... H'.

And it only gets more dramatic as balaclava men jump out of vehicles armed with guns themselves.

Kate opens the police van, brandishes her gun and shouts: 'armed police' before the screen fades to black.

Action: The snaps, which are thought to be depicting the seventh episode of the series, show a stoney-faced Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) getting out his police car

Intriguing: Another snap shows Hastings pointedly walking out of the front gates of Decker Avenue Police Station, where Jimmy Lakewell was taken before withdrawing his cooperation with AC-12

The newly-released trailer for the finale showed Kate wearing the same grey turtleneck jumper as she is seen wearing in the on-set snaps, while it teases at the return of the balaclava men and shows DCI Jo Davidson handcuffed in prison.

Viewers were stunned on Sunday night when it appeared James Nesbitt's character was killed off before he even appeared on screen - but some are convinced it was a cover-up.

Towards the end of the nail-biting penultimate episode, Guardia Civil police officers stormed Marcus Thurwell's Spanish home, while the AC-12 team watched via video link.

When the law enforcement officers entered the home, they were met by two bodies, and a Spanish captain turned to the camera and identified one as 'Senor Thurwell'.

While many viewers expressed surprise an actor of Nesbitt's calibre was denied even a scene, some were left convinced Thurwell was in fact the Spanish AFO leading the raid on his home.

Showdown? Other images show Kate (centre) and Steve (right) speak to Hastings, leaving fans asking if the duo confront the AC-12 boss about the 50,000 given to John Corbett's widow Steph

Under pressure: Hastings, who has already become exasperated as time is running out before he's forced into retirement and AC-12 is disbanded, is seen looking concerned in the images

One tweeted: 'Is it just me or was one of those Spanish "police officers" Thurwell? Im sure it was him.'

Another wrote: 'Exactly what I was thinking? Nice job if James Nesbitt only got paid for a few photos so I suspect that Marcus Thurwell is 100% alive.'

And one commented: 'Is this Marcus Thurwell or have they just found the Spanish Jimmy Nesbitt to play the part?' - sharing a series of screenshots to illustrate the likeness.

AC-12 were looking into the retired former detective chief inspector after SI Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) learned that Gail Vella - the journalist who was murdered - had been looking into the death of Lawrence Christopher while in police custody - a case Thurwell was in charge of.

Ready to go: Hastings, who is up against the clock before AC-12 is disbanded, is also seen getting out of a police car as things heat up during the series

Link: A dramatic trailer for the BBC drama's finale showed Kate wearing the same grey turtleneck jumper as she is seen wearing in the on-set snaps (pictured)

Thurwell also has links to Darren Hunter, the son of former organised crime group boss Tommy Hunter.

The OCG also murdered Oliver Stephens-Lloyd before he had an opportunity to give evidence about sexual abuse at Sands View Boys' Home, with Superintendent Ted Hastings convinced Thurwell is connected to the killing and the abuse cover-up.

When Thurwell was found 'dead', Hastings was visibly exasperated - with time running out for him to solve the mystery before his impending retirement.

Elsewhere in the episode, viewers learned PC Ryan Pilkington met a grizzly end, after working as an inside man in the Murder Investigation Team (MIT) for the Organised Crime Group (OCG).

Trouble ahead? The images have left people questioning whether Kate and Steve are going to confront Hastings about the mysterious wad of cash given to Steph, and wondering what the trio are doing at Decker Avenue Police Station

Determined: In snaps taken on set, Hastings appeared to be hard at work ahead of his forced retirement as he was seen getting out of a police car looking determined

After being lured to a lonely car park by DCI Jo Davidson during the previous episode, Kate was met by armed officer Ryan who said he planned to kill her as he held up his gun and aimed it at her.

The episode ended as two gun shots sounded, before the new episode revealed that Ryan had been shot twice in the chest, with Kate and Jo fleeing the scene in a Thelma and Louise-inspired fashion.

When DI Steve Arnott arrived with the AC-12 unit they discovered that Kate and Jo had gone on the run and Ryan was dead.

DCS Patricia Carmichael could be heard telling officers that the duo were considered to be 'armed and dangerous' and sent out an order for their address.

Theory: Fans were stunned on Sunday night when it appeared James Nesbitt's character was killed off before he even appeared on screen - but some are convinced it was a cover-up

Towards the end of the penultimate episode, Guardia Civil police officers stormed Marcus Thurwell's Spanish home, while the AC-12 team watched via video link. They found Thurwell's body (right) - but some fans believe the Spanish captain was Thurwell in disguise (left)

Despite the gripping hunt for Jo and Kate which commenced, fans were overjoyed that one of their favourite characters had survived.

Elsewhere during the new episode, fans were left convinced that Detective Chief Superintendent Patricia Carmichael is the fourth man after Sunday's episode.

The officer, played by Anna Maxwell Martin, placed herself at the centre of the action as she ordered Kate Fleming to be arrested following the shootout and then tried to shut down Ted Hastings' questions during a very intense interview of Jo.

Some viewers even theorised that Carmichael was trying to send a message during the 'puzzling' interview - which also saw Jo discover her paternity despite offering more 'no comments' than answers - based on how often she tapped her pen.

This Morse code theory popped up during Arnott's questioning of Davidson, specifically when he tried to get information about Gail Vella's laptop and computer.

Although Davidson remained tight-lipped, Carmichael did seem to start sweating a little as she tapped her pen four times and took a sip of water.

Interesting: While many viewers expressed surprise that an actor of Nesbitt's calibre was denied even a scene, some were left convinced that Thurwell was in fact the Spanish AFO

She's alive! Line Of Duty ended on a tense cliffhanger last week after gunshots were fired as DI Kate Fleming and bent copper Ryan Pilkington held up their weapons

Cliffhanger: After being lured to a lonely car park by DCI Jo Davidson (pictured) [Kelly MacDonald] during the previous episode, Kate [Vicky McClure] was met by armed officer Ryan

Man down: The episode ended as two gun shots sounded, before the new episode revealed that Ryan had been shot twice in the chest

Morse Code is an alphabet that spells out words or messages using a series of short and long sounds, with the officer appearing to make four taps and spell out H.

Carmichael again set alarm bells ringing when she cut off Hastings at the end of the interview following his knockout question about Osborne being H.

Cutting off the AC-12 head's question, she declared that Davidson was being charged with 'perverting course of justice and misfeasance in public office'.

The Line Of Duty series six finale airs on BBC One on Sunday at 9pm.

Could it be? Line of Duty fans were left convinced that Detective Chief Superintendent Patricia Carmichael is the fourth man after Sunday's episode

Trying to hide something? The officer, played by Anna Maxwell Martin, tried to shut down Ted Hastings' questions during a very intense interview of Jo Davidson


Quarterly Activities & Cashflow Report

Perth, April 28, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Musgrave Minerals Ltd ( ASX:MGV ) ( FRA:6MU ) is an Australian resources company focused on gold exploration and development at the Cue Project in the Murchison Province of Western Australia (Figures 1 and 2*).At the Cue Project, the total project gold resources (Indicated and Inferred) have increased to 6.59Mt @ 3.2g/t Au for 659koz Au following a Mineral Resource update for the Break of Day deposit announced in November 2020 that included the new Starlight discovery (see MGV ASX announcement 11 November 2020, "Break of Day High-Grade Mineral Resource Estimate"). Prefeasibility level studies have commenced at Break of Day and Lena.During the quarter, activity on the Company's wholly owned tenure at Cue has included a large regional aircore drilling program to test new gold targets. A total of 255 holes for 17,644m of drilling was completed and identified anomalous gold in the regolith to define a new gold corridor parallel to, and west of Lena.An initial 5,149m, 49 drill hole follow-up reverse circulation ("RC") drill program at the White Heat, Target 14 and Big Sky prospects intersected high-grade gold in all three targets. Drilling is continuing.The exploration upside for the project is high with significant follow-up drill programs planned for the June quarter.CorporateAt the end of the March 2021 quarter, the Company held $23.8 million in cash.During the quarter Mr Brett Lambert was appointed as a Non-executive Director. Mr Lambert brings extensive skills and expertise across project development and mining which will be of significant benefit as the Company progresses through development studies to mining.Musgrave successfully completed a capital raising via a Share Purchase Plan ("SPP") which raised $3.523 million (before costs) and was closed in January 2021.There have been a number of changes to the Company's unlisted options with 1.4 million unlisted options exercised during the quarter raising $178k. At 31 March 2021 the Company's capital structure comprised:- 533,222,949 fully paid ordinary shares ( ASX:MGV ); and- 15,280,000 unlisted options at various exercise prices and expiry datesThe Quarterly Cashflow Report (Appendix 5B) for the period ending 31 March 2021 provides an overview of the Company's financial activities. Cash exploration expenditure for the reporting period was $1.2M. Corporate and other expenditure amounted to $362k. The total amount paid to directors of the entity and their associates in the period (item 6.1 of the Appendix 5B) was $128k and includes salary, directors' fees, and superannuation.InvestmentsThe Company holds 12.5 million shares in Legend Mining Limited ("Legend") currently valued at approximately $1.5M based on a Legend share price of $0.12/share. Musgrave also holds 1,308,750 ordinary shares in Cyprium Metals Limited ("Cyprium") currently valued at approximately $0.3M based on a Cyprium share price of $0.27/share.To view the full quarterly report, please visit:About Musgrave Minerals Ltd

Musgrave Minerals Ltd (ASX:MGV) is an active Australian gold and base metals explorer. The Cue Project in the Murchison region of Western Australia is an advanced gold and copper project. Musgrave has had significant exploration success at Cue with the ongoing focus on increasing the gold and copper resources through discovery and extensional drilling to underpin studies that will demonstrate a viable path to development in the near term. Musgrave also holds a large exploration tenement package in the Ni-Cu-Co prospective Musgrave Province in South Australia.
By honoring women professionals on the rise, Built In extends its steadfast commitment to empowering women in tech. Tweet this

EMPOWERING WOMEN ON THE RISE IN TECH

"This program is part of Built In's steadfast commitment to empowering women in tech  and in this case, we're honoring women on the rise," says Maria Christopoulos Katris, Co-Founder and CEO, Built In. "The 2021 Moxie Awards shine a bright light on women whose track records of excellence indicate they're likely to advance to incredible heights in their careers."

The winning nominees work in the industry across a range of tech and tech-adjacent disciplines, including but not limited to engineering, customer success, marketing, product and design. What they share in common is "moxie," a quality Built In defines as a combination of courage, determination, energy and know-how.

ESTEEMED JUDGES' PANEL OF WOMEN LEADERS

"To the winners, congratulations!" says Katris. "I can't wait to see where these outstanding professionals take their careers. And thank you to the women who served as judges. After seeing the impressive nominations, I didn't envy their work in having to select winners. But I know our judges joined this endeavor because of their conviction that the time to uplift women in tech is now. For this I feel a sense of shared purpose and gratitude."

The judges' panel included 15 women leaders whose areas of expertise range far and wide, including technology, DEI, product, marketing, customer success, women's professional advancement and LatinX advocacy, to name just a few.

Learn about the 2021 Moxie judges here.

"I was so honored to serve as a judge for the Moxie Awards," says Kellie Wagner, CEO, Collective  A DEI Lab. "Even as we make strides around the representation of women in tech, barriers to promotion and challenges to having a true voice remain, a reality that's even truer for women of color. While some individual companies are recognizing women's contributions adequately, the industry overall has work to do. That's why this program spoke to me. The Moxie Awards Program is filling in a substantial gap and honoring women in tech when there's too little recognition overall."



The 2021 Moxie Awards Program to honor women, in this inaugural year, received more than 400 nominations from across the US.

THE 2021 MOXIE AWARDS PROGRAM WINNERS

Melissa Acker , Engineering Manager, Performance, at Sprout Social Lauren Allison , Sr. Director of Insights at MVPindex Samantha Berg , Head of Design at Chime Fabiola Blas , Account Director, Paid Media, at Incubeta NMPi Jennifer Esterline , Director of Mechanical Engineering at Peloton Alexandra Felsenstein , Creative Director at Yext Jovana Florus, Sr. Engineering Manager, Consumer Tech, at Farmer's Fridge Liza Fryberger , Director of Product at Cityblock Health Laura Garcia , PhD, Manager of Research & Development at AppliedVR Kendra Gaunt , Data & Artificial Intelligence Product Manager at The Trevor Project Liz Gillette , Director & Practice Area Lead, Digital Transformation, at Logic20/20 Polina Giralt , Staff Software Engineer at Squarespace Chelsea Green , Staff Software Engineer at 7Factor Software Xiao Guo , Director of Engineering, Software, at Instacart Maggie Hays, Sr. Product Manager at SpotHero Amanda Henry , Manager, Consulting, at Strata Decision Technology Claudia Hoeffner , VP of Revenue Marketing at Nexthink Ann Howard , VP of Product at GoNoodle Renee Iinuma , Software Engineering Manager at Bombora Arielle Israel , Quality Engineering Manager at The Zebra Jessica Kaplan , VP of Finance at Common Mary Lawler , VP of Marketing at Telnyx Taylor McGrath , Head of Customer Solutions at Rivery Gabrielle Mellon , Sr. Director of Talent Acquisition at Axon Jennifer Meyer , Director of Product Management at Gotransverse Michelle Michael , Director of Employer Brand & Recruiting Ops at Centro Andrea Miller , Director, Client Lead at Kin + Carta Sarah Mogin , Associate Tech Director at Work & Co Mehreen Mundh , Head of Sales Strategy & Operations at Blueground Elyse Munselle , Director of Client Success at Take Command Health Amanda Murrin , Associate Creative Director at Nexthink Sierra Navarro , Director of Technical Operations at Enova Fion Nguyen , Group Product Manager at Faire Courtney Palm , RVP of Sales, Central & West, Blis Sara Radkiewicz , Head of Product at CarePort, powered by WellSky Jismy Raju, Customer Success Manager at monday.com Bridget Reed , Head of Content, GR0 Ifat Ribon , Senior Software Developer at LaunchPad Lab Ofelia Rodriguez, Lead Quality Engineer at The Zebra Antonia Rubell , Data Analyst, Data & ML Engineering, at Nurx Shireen Santosham , Head of Strategic Initiatives at Plenty Portia Kibble Smith , Diversity & Inclusion Lead at Karat Michele Teixeira , Director of Customer Success at OwnBackup Pauliina Tornqvist , Producer at Activision Hau Tran , Director of Product Design at Slickdeals Paige Weldon , Technical Principal at Kin + Carta Noelle Wiggins , Product Manager at Ekata Stacy Williams , Vice President of Global Operations at Feedonomics Gillian Wilson , VP of Human Resources at Atmosphere Vanessa Yepes , Head of Customer & Partner Experience at AppSumo

ABOUT THE 2021 MOXIE AWARDS

Built In's 2021 Moxie Awards Program celebrates women in tech whose leadership qualities, expertise and passion for their disciplines indicate that they're likely to advance to the pinnacles of their careers. A judges' panel of celebrated women leaders in the tech industry selected 50 winners, using scorecards with identifying information removed. To be eligible, nominees must have met requirements: They must identify as women, whether through gender identity, gender expression or sex; serve in roles such as director, individual contributor, manager or VP but not on executive or C-Suite teams; and work in traditional tech roles (engineering) or in tech-adjacent roles, which include any discipline that supports a company's technology.

ABOUT BUILT IN

Built In's mission is to connect the world through a shared passion for tech and the human need for purpose. The technology recruitment platform helps 1,800 customers of all sizes attract best-in-class talent to their technical roles of the future. Through content and digital recruitment solutions, Built In amplifies these companies' brands, whether they want to be known as national, local or remote employers of choice, or leaders in DEI. Monthly, 2.5 million tech professionals visit Built In to read our industry coverage, including trends and breaking news, and to discover stories about companies with missions they want to join. The venture-backed platform has been included in Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 for two consecutive years and was included in the 2020 Inc. 5000 list. http://www.builtin.com

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Tiffany Meyers, Built In

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This custom home, built in 1998, sits on nearly four acres of valley land in York County, offering sweeping views of the landscape from all sides.

Starting with the outside, the home, built by Farinelli Construction, impresses with its custom finishes. The entire structure is clad in a stone exterior giving it a stately look, which carries to the slate front walkway and front steps and to a large, slate backyard patio.

Upon entering the 7,122-square-foot interior, the home continues to impress with hardwood floors throughout the first floor to detailed finishes, ranging from 10-foot ceilings, pocket doors, custom door and window casings in every room, to baseboards, wainscoting, picture frame wall molding, panel molding, crown moldings, coffered ceilings in the great room and custom built-ins.

The home has two staircases offering access to four second floor bedrooms. Two additional staircases also offer access to the finished walk-out lower level.

The interior layout offers a formal living room and formal dining room, both with their own butler pantries, a great room and gourmet kitchen. A guest bedroom with full bath rounds out the first floor.

The great room features floor-to-ceiling built-ins on one end, and coffered ceilings on both ends, with a soaring two-story vaulted ceiling centerpiece of the room capped by exposed wood beam trusses and a two-story stone chimney.

Both sides of the wood burning fireplace in the great room feature built-in window seats and ceiling-height windows on either side. French doors in this room open directly to the outdoor slate stone patio.

The kitchen was designed by an award winning designer and features granite countertops, double ovens, Subzero refrigerator, custom cabinetry, arched tiled alcove above the gas cooktop, large island with sinks and barstool seating and breakfast nook. The kitchen also offers direct access to the screened-in porch and backyard patio.

On the second floor, past the large laundry room, the master suite, sunlit by bay windows, includes a master bath with heated tile floors, a tiled walk-in shower, raised ceiling above the whirlpool tub overlooking the backyard, dual separate vanities, and two walk-in closets, including a cedar closet.

Two more fulls baths and three bedrooms round out the second floor. A bonus playroom, located off of what is now an office room, with octagonal windows overlooking the front yard, offers a private play area for children that is accessed through a crawl space-sized doorway opening.

The finished lower level includes a mirrored home gym area, bath, a large area that flows to the kitchenette area, and a separate walled-off workshop room that could be turned into a wine cellar.

Located at 617 Southridge Drive in Fairview Township, York County, the home is listed at $1,175,000 by agent Angie Miller with RE/MAX Premier Services.

Want more Cool Spaces? See all of our stories showcasing the neatest homes in central Pennsylvania by clicking here. Know of any Cool Spaces? Submit ideas to dgleiter@pennlive.com.

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Photo: The Canadian Press

India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse.

The health ministry reported a single-day record 3,293 COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing India's total fatalities to 201,187, as the world's second most populous country endures its darkest chapter of the pandemic yet.

The country also reported 362,757 new infections, a new global record, which raised the overall total past 17.9 million. The previous high of 350,000 on Monday had capped a five-day streak of recording the largest single-day increases in any country throughout the pandemic.

India, a country of nearly 1.4 billion people, is the fourth to cross 200,000 deaths, behind the United States, Brazil and Mexico. And as in many nations, experts believe the coronavirus infections and fatalities in India are severe undercounts.

The first known COVID-19 death in India happened on March 12, 2020, in southern Karnataka state. It took five months to reach the first 50,000 dead. The toll hit 100,000 deaths in the next two months in October 2020 and 150,000 three months later in January this year. Deaths slowed until mid-March, only to sharply rise again.

For the past week, more than 2,000 Indians have died every day.

India thought it had weathered the worst of the pandemic last year, but the virus is now racing through its population and systems are beginning to collapse.

Hospitalizations and deaths have reached record highs, overwhelming health care workers. Patients are suffocating because hospitals oxygen supplies have run out. Desperate family members are sending SOS messages on social media, hoping someone would help them find oxygen cylinders, empty hospital beds and critical drugs for their loved ones. Crematoriums have spilled over into parking lots, lighting up night skies in some cities.

With its health care system sinking fast, India is now looking at other nations to pull it out of the record surge that is barrelling through one state and then another.

Many countries have offered assistance, including the U.S., which has promised to help with personal protective equipment, tests and oxygen supplies. The U.S. will also send raw materials for vaccine production, strengthening India's capacity to manufacture more AstraZeneca doses.

Health experts say huge gatherings during Hindu festivals and mammoth election rallies in some states have accelerated the unprecedented surge India is seeing now.

The national capital New Delhi is in lockdown, as are the southern states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.
A worker pushes a cart past a screen showing a photo of the Fujian Pilot Free Trade Zone, at the venue of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on April 26, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

Leaked Document Shows How Beijing Woos Foreign Firms to Prop Up Free-Trade Zones

The Chinese regime has been rolling out free-trade zones (FTZs) in recent years in an effort to entice foreign investments in the country. Since its initial effort in Shanghai in 2013, China has now expanded to about 20 FTZs.

A leaked document recently obtained by The Epoch Times reveals how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) went about wooing foreign companies for its FTZ at Hainan, an island province located in the South China Sea.

Hainan, which is roughly the size of Maryland, was designated an FTZ by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in April 2018. That month, Chinas cabinet-like State Council announced a guideline outlining reforms and measures that the provincial government should undertake, including how the proposed FTZ should later transition to a free port with Chinese characteristics.

Among the recommended measures were how the Hainan government should become an important technological hub with its own management system to welcome foreign high-tech experts, and support Beijings Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, also known as One Belt, One Road) and military-civil fusion (MCF) policies.

These two CCP policies have drawn international criticism in recent years, with critics arguing that Chinas BRIan investment initiative Beijing rolled out in 2013 to build up trade routes linking China and other parts of the worldhas steered developing countries into a debt trap.

The U.S. State Department has warned on its website that Beijings MCF strategywhich calls for the leveraging of commercial technologies for military developmentinvolves intellectual property theft.

The State Councils guideline concluded by emphasizing the importance of the Hainan government to strengthen the Partys leadership in all aspects of works in the province.

The leaked document, issued by the municipal government in Hainans capital, Haikou, in May 2018, outlined strategies for how local authorities should entice Chinese and foreign companiesin particular those in the Fortune Global 500 listto set up headquarters or regional offices at Hainans FTZ. The document emphasized that the strategies were made in accordance with the State Councils guidelines.

For example, the document said it was important to have well-known global accounting, law, and product testing and certification companies create offices in the FTZ to create a business environment that complies with internationally accepted rules.

Gu Gang and Sun Shiwen, who were both deputy mayors in Haikou at the time, were assigned to reach out to the Big Four accounting firmsUK-based PwC and Ernst & Young, Netherlands-based KPMG, and New York-based Deloitteaccording to the document.

Another deputy mayor, Ju Lei, was tasked to reach out to foreign high-tech companies. According to the document, these companies included the U.S.-based companies Apple, Dell Technologies, and Microsoft, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics, Japan-based Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, and Taiwan-based chipmaker TSMC.

Having major companies establish their business in Hainan served one purpose, the document stated, which was to speed up the transformation and upgrade of [the] provinces economic structure and build a modern economy system.

Finally, the document set out a goal of having at least five companies from the Fortune Global 500 set up offices at the FTZ before the end of 2018.

On March 11, the Hainan FTZ announced on its official website that 11 Fortune Global 500 companies, including Chinas state-owned Datang Corp., had set up business at one of its 11 industrial parks. Datang, a power generation firm, was ranked 465 on the Fortune Global 500 list in 2020.

Since 2018, the Haikou municipal government has continued its efforts to entice companies through financial incentives.

For instance, in a policy announcement in February 2020, the Haikou municipal government said it would provide international companies that decide to set up a regional base at the Hainan FTZ with a one-time payment of 3 million yuan (about $462,450). The amount was increased to 30 million yuan (about $4.6 million) for certain high-tech companies.

The policy also included government subsidies of no more than 3 million yuan in five years for companies that take out rental spaces at the FTZ.

Hainan has been a key venue for the CCP officials to interact with foreign business leaders since 2002, when the province held its first Boao Forum for Asia. The Boao is known as Chinas equivalent of Davos, an annual conference held in Switzerland by the nonprofit organization The World Economic Forum to boost public-private sector cooperation.

The Boao Forum is another vehicle through which Beijing hopes to woo foreign investors. According to another leaked document obtained by The Epoch Times, the Haikou government announced in October 2017 that local officials should reach out to companies that attended the 2017 forum, in a bid to secure their participation in 2018.

The document also obtained an undated list of companies that Chinese authorities tried to invite to the Boao Forum. The list consisted of representatives from 164 Chinese and foreign companies and institutions. Among the names on the list were Stephen A. Schwarzman, CEO of U.S.-based investment firm Blackstone Group, and Frank Meng, chairman of semiconductor company Qualcomm Asia.
Research by RMIT University has found restricting internet searches for investors increases stock market crash risk by 19%. The study looked at the ramifications on the stock market following Google's withdrawal from mainland China in 2010

The research by RMIT University looked at the ramifications on the stock market following Google's withdrawal from mainland China in 2010.

It found access to unbiased information about companies' performance - aided by unrestricted internet search results - led to investors making more informed decisions.

On the flip side, search results manipulated to show overly positive information led to stocks for those companies being overvalued temporarily, increasing the stock market crash risk by 19%.

The study has been published in the Journal of Financial Economics.

Lead researcher Dr Gaoping Zheng, a lecturer in finance at RMIT, said the study showed search results influenced decisions, a challenge to previous thinking that they merely justified people's existing ideas.

"Until now it's been widely thought that unrestrictive internet searches result in bias and an overvaluation of stocks but that would mean restricting search would decrease stock market crash risk. Instead, we saw a significant jump," Zheng said.

"This suggests internet searching does not exacerbate investors' biases - instead, it facilitates their ability to access and analyse information."

The research has implications for Australia following Google's recent attempt to withdraw from the country.

"While China has alternative search engines, their results are concentrated and an identical search on Google would show vastly different results," Zheng said.

"Our research emphasises the importance of access to diverse results and if Google did decide to withdraw, it could have a destabilising impact on the economy."

Comparing China during and after Google

In 2010, Google unexpectedly withdrew its searching business from China, reducing investors' ability to find information online.

To measure the impact, researchers divided a list of Chinese firms into two groups: firms that had a high search volume on Google prior to 2010 and firms that were not regularly searched for on Google prior to 2010.

By averaging the stock price cash risk of both groups after Google withdrew and comparing their standard deviation, the researchers found firms that were regularly searched for on Google were 19% more unstable.

Zheng said while Chinese investors could still look for information about stocks using other search engines, they were more likely to be shown positively-biased information from websites hosted in China.

"Google was more likely to show content from international websites such as Bloomberg, Reuters or The New York Times, which are free from political constraints to talk about what is happening," she said.

"Investors were more likely to overvalue stocks due to biased information found through Chinese-owned search engines."

Zheng said restricted searches gave firms opportunities to hide adverse news from the public, preventing potential investors from discovering accurate information online.

"If managers withhold negative news, investors are less likely to mitigate their misconceptions and biases surrounding a certain stock," she said.

"Let's say I believed that eating carrots could cure cancer and searched the internet to confirm this. An unrestricted search would correct my bias because I would find that carrots are not actually a cure for cancer."

###
Women's Group to Host Town Hall on Redistricting

By The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - The Kentucky League of Women Voters will host a statewide virtual town hall to discuss the states upcoming redistricting process.A statement from the organization says the event on May 5 can be viewed on the leagues website and Facebook page.It will feature two national experts on the issue: activist and filmmaker Robert Millman and University of Kentucky College of Law professor Joshua A. Douglas.The statement says attendees will learn more about the redistricting process and how to ensure that the publics voice is heard.Every decade, states are required to redraw congressional and state legislative boundaries following release of U.S. Census data.
PHILADELPHIA, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CARISMA Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative immunotherapies, announced findings from two studies accepted for virtual presentation at The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 24th Annual Meeting on Tuesday, May 11  Friday, May 14. The findings mark the first time chimeric antigen receptor macrophages (CAR-Ms) have been assessed in a fully immunocompetent animal model and highlight the potential of CAR-monocytes (CAR-Mono) as an innovative and expedited immunotherapeutic pathway.

Dr. Stefano Pierini, Senior Scientist at CARISMA, will present findings from "Chimeric Antigen Receptor Macrophages (CAR-M) Induce Anti-Tumor Immunity and Synergize with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Pre-Clinical Solid Tumor Models," which established a fully immunocompetent solid tumor mouse model and evaluated the interaction of CAR-M with the tumor microenvironment and the endogenous adaptive immune system. The findings demonstrate that CAR-M therapy showed significant tumor control, increased overall survival, remodeled tumor microenvironment, and protected mice from antigen negative tumor recurrence. The results also exhibit that CAR-M synergize with T cell checkpoint inhibitors against PD1 resistant solid tumors. The data complement findings from CARISMA's foundational CAR-M platform that were published in Nature Biotechnology in March 2020.

CARISMA Scientist, Dr. Linara Gabitova, will present "Anti-HER2 CAR Monocytes Demonstrate Targeted Anti-Tumor Activity and Enable a Single Day Cell Manufacturing Process," which shows the successful development of CAR-Mono with direct anti-tumor activity and capacity to differentiate into M1-polarized CAR-M. In this study, CARISMA also established an ultra-rapid, same-day CAR-Mono manufacturing process, which holds the potential to significantly reduce the future cost of goods and manufacturing turn-around-time associated with the autologous cell therapy.

The following presentations will be available on the ASGCT Annual Meeting website for registered attendees during the dates/times indicated below:

Tuesday, May 11 at 8:00  10:00 am ET : Anti-HER2 CAR Monocytes Demonstrate Targeted Anti-Tumor Activity and Enable a Single Day Cell Manufacturing Process

: Anti-HER2 CAR Monocytes Demonstrate Targeted Anti-Tumor Activity and Enable a Single Day Cell Manufacturing Process Thursday, May 13 at 5:30 pm  5:45 pm ET : Chimeric Antigen Receptor Macrophages (CAR-M) Induce Anti-Tumor Immunity and Synergize with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Pre-Clinical Solid Tumor Models There will be a five-minute question and answer period with Dr. Pierini following the ten-minute presentation.

: Chimeric Antigen Receptor Macrophages (CAR-M) Induce Anti-Tumor Immunity and Synergize with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Pre-Clinical Solid Tumor Models

About CARISMA Therapeutics Inc.

CARISMA Therapeutics Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing a differentiated and proprietary cell therapy platform focused on engineered macrophages, cells that play a crucial role in both the innate and adaptive immune response. The first applications of the platform, developed in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, are autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-macrophages for the treatment of solid tumors. CARISMA Therapeutics is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA.

For more information, please visit www.carismatx.com

Media Contact:

Christina Khoury-Folkens

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A woman has opened up about how she escaped Charles Manson's murderous cult just months after members of his 'Family' committed the gruesome Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969.

Juanita Wildebush, 77, from Oregon, detailed the time she spent with Manson and his followers at Spahn Ranch in Los Angeles County, saying she fears she would have been involved in the murders if she was there because Manson's hold on her was so powerful.

The retired social worker, who has worked with cult survivors, told The Daily Beast that Manson was an incredible lover, which was part of his allure.

'He was amazing,' she said. 'He was so tender, he would bring you just to the point of orgasm and then he would bring you back. Like a Kama Sutra kind of thing, you know, just bring you up, and bring you up, and bring you back.'

Memories: Juanita Wildebush (pictured in red) spoke to The Daily Beast about the time she spent with Charles Manson and his followers as a member of his 'Family' in the late 1960s

Mind control: The 77-year-old, who now lives in Oregon, said Manson (pictured in 1969) was an 'amazing' lover who 'would bring you just to the point of orgasm' and then 'bring you back'

Wildebush was raised in Westwood, New Jersey, a suburb across the river from New York City. She was close with her father, but she had a contentious relationship with her mother, who 'had a rule for everything.'

After high school, she attended the Universidad de las Americas in Mexico City, where she earned a degree in psychology in 1967. While at the university, she fell for a handsome philosophy major named Carlos and tried LSD for the first time.

At the time, Wildebush was idealistic and disillusioned with the U.S.'s politics and capitalist values. She traveled with Carlos and his friend from school to villages around Mexico, where they would meet hippies who were living abroad, and developed an interest in communal living.

When she graduated in 1967, Manson was fresh out of prison after serving seven years for transporting women across state lines for the purposes of prostitution.

The then 32-year-old petty criminal started forming his 'Family' in San Francisco during Summer of Love, recruiting mostly young girls, before relocating to Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Wildebush had returned to New Jersey with Carlos, who only stayed a short time before going back to Mexico. They agreed that she would save up enough money to buy a van and meet him there.

In the summer of 1968, she drove her newly purchased Dodge van cross country to California with a friend, whom she dropped off in San Francisco. She planned to drive to Phoenix, Arizona, but her $850 stereo was stolen out of the vehicle the night before she was supposed to leave.

Twist of fate: Wildebush picked up hitchhiker Susan 'Sadie' Atkins and two other Manson Family members in 1968 and brought them to Spahn Ranch (pictured)

Moving on: In 1968, Wildebush moved to Barker Ranch (pictured) in Death Valley with the Manson Family, but she was left behind when they returned to LA. She later left the cult

After finding a replacement stereo in San Jose, she came across a pregnant woman who was holding up a sign that said 'Los Angeles.' Wildebush offered to give her and the two men she was with a ride.

The hitchhiker was Manson Family member Susan 'Sadie' Atkins, who would later be convicted for her participation in the Tate-LaBianca murders.

Wildebush said that as soon as Atkins got into the van, 'she starts telling me about "the Family" and how theyre a band, how they sang with the Beach Boys. I liked her right away.'

She drove them to Spahn Ranch in San Fernando Valley, where Manson lived with his commune following his stays at a flophouse in the Topanga Canyon area and Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's Pacific Palisades home.

Atkins asked Wildebush to spend the night, telling her that she couldn't wait for her 'to meet Charlie.' When she saw the cult leader for the first time, he was walking out of a trailer naked with one of his lovers.

She told The Daily Beast that they were warm and welcomed her with a joint and an offer of some tea. She felt a connection with them because they shared her values and weren't concerned with material wealth.

Manson invited himself into her van that night when everyone else went to bed, but she turned him down.

'Well, now youre just being selfish,' he told her. 'But were gonna fix that.'

Horrific: On August 9, 1969, Manson Family members Tex Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Linda Kasabian, and Atkins murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate in her Los Angeles home

Tragedy: They killed a total of five people: Voytek Frykowski, Tate, Stephen Paren, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger (left to right)

Crime vicim: Tate's body is pictured being taken from her rented house on Cielo Drive in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles after the murders

He greeted her in her van with coffee the next morning and showed her around the 'magical' horse property, which sometimes served as a movie set. The longer she spent with the Manson Family, the less interested she was in leaving and meeting Carlos in Mexico.

Wildebush, who was 24 at the time, didn't avoid Manson's advances for long. She recalled how Atkins and Steven 'Clem' Grogan had paired off in her van one day, leaving her alone with Manson.

After he kissed her, she asked, "What about Carlos?' prompting Manson to giggle.

'You dont need to worry about Carlos, because I am him, and he is me,' he said before making love to her in the back of the van.

Grogan and Atkins were having sex above them at the same time, and Manson invited them to join him and Wildebush.

Later that night, she agreed to give Manson her van and the $14,000 she had in a trust fund account.

In November 1968, the Manson Family packed up and headed to Meyers Ranch in Goler Canyon in Death Valley, but they ended up staying at the nearby Barker Ranch, which had more space.

Manson and his followers had returned to Spahn Ranch in March 1969 to prepare for the 'race war' he had predicted and called 'Helter Skelter' after a song on the Beatles' White Album.

However, Wildebush and 19-year-old Brooks Poston were left at Barker Ranch to watch the place. After being there by themselves for three months, they met gold prospectors Paul Crockett and Bob Berry showed up looking for a place to stay.

Killing spree: The following night, the same group  together with Leslie Van Houten and Manson  murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their home in Los Feliz, Los Angeles

Scary: Wildebush said she has 'survivor's guilt' because she likely would have participated in the murders if she was with them. A police officer is pictured blocking the LaBiancas' driveway

Crocket and Berry offered them food and started sleeping in the 'bunkhouse' off the main house at the ranch. While Wildebush and Poston were worried about how they would get rid of their unexpected guests before Manson returned, they also enjoyed their company.

They would have dinner together and sing songs while Poston played the guitar. Crocket could tell they were afraid of Manson and 'outsiders' at Barker Ranch. He had them visualize an arch of energy at the base of Golar Canyon that says 'all those who pass this point must be prepared to pay their karmic debts.'

Wildebush said that for a while people stopped coming to Barker Ranch. She was later told that Manson had tried to come up a number of times but couldn't make it.

The power Manson had over them started to wane, and they took interest in Crocket and Berry's gold prospecting excursions. Wildebush eventually became romantically involved with Berry.

When Family members 'Little' Paul Watkins and Barbara Hoyt went to the ranch to get Wildebush and Poston, they revealed that they were decided to leave the family.

Watkins tried to warn Crocket about the impending upcoming race war, but it was of little concern to the prospector. Like Wildebush and Poston, Watkins started to think Crocket had more powers than Manson and considered deflecting as well, but he had promised the Family's leader he would come back.

'When he was leaving, we said, (Little) Paul, will you do us a favor? Some evening when Charlie and everybody are together in the living room, would you tell Charlie that we want him to release us from all agreements implied or direct? And we will do the same for him,' Wildebush said.

'And so Little Paul, I guess, went back and did it, and Charlie said something like, "Thats fine. I dont care."'

Instinct: Wildebush knew Manson and the Family were behind the murders the moment she heard about them on the news, months before they were linked to the crime

Blinded: Many of Manson's followers remained devoted to him while he was on trial. Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme, Sandra Good, Mark Ross, Paul Watkins, and Catherine 'Gypsy' Share are pictured in 1970 (left to right)

Murders: Wildebush was friends with Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten (pictured left to right), who were all convicted and sentenced to life in prison

On August 9, 1969, Manson Family members Tex Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Linda Kasabian, and Atkins murdered pregnant actress Sharon Tate at the home she shared with her husband, film director Roman Polanski, on Cielo Drive, near Beverly Hills.

They also killed three of Tate's friends  Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, and Voytek Frykowski  and Steven Parent, an 18-year-old man who was visiting the caretaker of the estate.

The following night, the same group of young followers  together with Leslie Van Houten and Manson  murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their home in Los Feliz, Los Angeles.

Wildebush, who had married Berry, knew Manson and the Family were behind the murders the moment she heard about them on the news, months before they were linked to the crime.

Manson, Watson, Krenwinkel, Kasabian, and Atkins were sentenced to death after being convicted of the murders, but after the Supreme Court of California ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional, their sentences were commuted to life in prison.

Watson, Krenwinkel, and Kasabian all remain in prison after being denied parole over a dozen times each. Both Atkins and Manson died in prison in 2009 and 2017, respectively.

Wildebush went on to lead a relatively normal life as a licensed therapist. She stayed married to Berry up until his death two years ago. Their one son has children of his own, and she is now a retired grandma.

She told The Daily Beast that has struggled with knowing that she could have been a part of the murders and considered visiting Atkins in prison, but her therapist convinced her not to do it.

'Thats what the survivors guilt was about. I had no doubt that had I been there, I would have done (the same thing),' she said. Sadie (Atkins) and Leslie (Van Houten) were the people I felt the closest to, she tells me candidly. She even admits that she considered visiting Sadie in prison at one point, though her therapist talked her out of it.
English Finnish

NOTICE TO THE GENERAL MEETING OF VALOE CORPORATION 28 April 2021

Notice is given to the shareholders of Valoe Corporation to the Annual General Meeting to be held on 20 May 2021 at 11:30 (Finnish time) at the Concert and Congress Hall Mikaeli at Sointukatu 1, 50100 Mikkeli, Finland. The reception of persons who have registered for the meeting and the distribution of voting tickets will commence at 11:00 (Finnish time). There is no catering at the meeting.

A. Matters on the agenda of the General Meeting

At the General Meeting, the following matters will be considered:

1. Opening of the meeting

2. Calling the meeting to order

3. Election of persons to scrutinize the minutes and to supervise the counting of votes

4. Recording the legality of the meeting

5. Recording the attendance at the meeting and adoption of the list of votes

6. Presentation of the financial statements, the group financial statements, the report of the Board of Directors and the auditors report for the year 2020 and the review by the CEO

7. Adoption of the financial statements and the group financial statements

8. Resolution on the use of the profit shown on the balance sheet and the payment of dividend

The Board of Directors proposes to the General Meeting that the loss for the financial year ended on 31 December 2020 is entered in retained earnings and that no dividend will be distributed.

9. Resolution on the discharge of the members of the Board of Directors and the CEO from liability

10. Handling of the Remuneration Report for Governing Bodies

11. Resolution on the number of members of the Board of Directors

12. Resolution on the remuneration and principles for travelling cost payments of the members of the Board of Directors

13. Election of members of the Board of Directors

14. Resolution on the remuneration of the auditor

15. Election of auditor

16. Authorization of the Board of Directors to decide on a share issue as well as other option rights and other special rights entitling to shares in the company

The Board of Directors proposes to the General Meeting, that the General Meeting authorizes the Board of Directors to decide on a share issue with and/or without payment, either in one or in several occasions, including right to resolve on option rights and other rights entitling to shares pursuant to the Chapter 10, Section 1 of the Finnish Companies Act so that the number of new shares issued based on the authorization or number of shares issued based on option rights and other special rights entitling to the shares pursuant to the Chapter 10, Section 1 of the Finnish companies Act, could increase by a total maximum amount of 150,000,000 shares. The authorization does not exclude the Boards right to decide also on directed issue of shares or option rights and other special rights pursuant to the Chapter 10, Section 1 of the Finnish Companies Act. It is proposed that the authorization may be used for important arrangements from the companys point of view e.g. to strengthen the capital structure, to finance investments, for acquisitions and business transactions or other business arrangements, or to expand ownership structure, or for other purposes resolved by the Board involving a weighty financial reason for issuing shares or option rights or special rights entitling to shares pursuant to the Chapter 10, Section 1 of the Finnish Companies Act. The share issue may be executed by deviating from the shareholders' pre-emptive subscription right provided the company has a weighty financial reason for that. It is proposed that the authorization is in force until 30 June 2022.

17. Authorization of the Board of Directors to decide on option rights

The Board of Directors proposes to the General Meeting, that the General Meeting authorizes the Board of Directors to decide on option rights pursuant to the Chapter 10, Section 1 of the Finnish Companies Act so that, following the share subscriptions based on option rights, the number of the shares in the Company could increase by a total maximum amount of 210,000,000 shares in three years. It is proposed that the authorization may be used for a stock option scheme directed to the companys personnel, the Directors of the Board and CEO during 2021 - 2023. It is proposed that the authorization is in force until 30 June 2024.

It is proposed that based on this authorization, the following option rights would be given to the Directors of the Board and CEO: during 2021 a minimum of 18 million option rights and a maximum of 36 million option rights subject to a market value increase of more than 100 percent and conditions attached to the increase; during 2022 a minimum of 21 million option rights and a maximum of 42 million option rights subject to a market value increase of more than 100 percent and conditions attached to the increase; and during 2023 a minimum of 24 million option rights and a maximum of 48 million option rights subject to a market value increase of more than 100 percent and conditions attached to the increase.

18. Closing of the meeting



B. Documents of the General Meeting

The above-mentioned proposals for the decisions on the matters on the agenda of the General Meeting as well as this Notice to the General Meeting are available on Valoe Corporations website at www.valoe.com.

The latest financial statements, the latest group financial statements, the latest report of the Board of Directors and the auditors report of Valoe Corporation are available on the above-mentioned website.

The proposals for decisions and the other above-mentioned documents are also available at the General Meeting. Copies of these documents and of this Notice to the General Meeting will be sent to shareholders upon request.

The minutes of the meeting will be available on the above-mentioned website as from 3 June 2021.

C. Instructions for the participants in the General Meeting

1. Shareholder registered in the shareholders register

Each shareholder, who is registered on 7 May 2021 in the shareholders register of the company held by Euroclear Finland Ltd., has the right to participate in the General Meeting. A shareholder, whose shares are registered on his/her personal Finnish book-entry account, is registered in the shareholders register of the company.

A shareholder, who is registered in the shareholders register of the company and who wants to participate in the General Meeting, shall register for the meeting no later than 17 May 2021 by 4:00 p.m. (Finnish time) by giving a prior notice of participation which shall be received by the company no later than on the above-mentioned date. Such notice can be given:

(a) by e-mail to the email address minna.wilkman@valoe.com

(b) by telephone to the number +358 40 5600 530 (Minna Wilkman) from Monday to Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Finnish time); or

(c) by regular mail to the address Valoe Corporation, Minna Wilkman, Insinoorinkatu 5, 50150 Mikkeli, Finland.

In connection with the registration, a shareholder shall notify his/her name, personal identification number, address, telephone number and the name of a possible assistant or proxy representative and the personal identification number of a proxy representative. The personal data given to Valoe Corporation is used only in connection with the general meeting and with the processing of related registrations.

The shareholder, his/her authorized representative or proxy representative shall, where necessary, be able to prove her/her identity and/or right of representation.

2. Holder of a nominee registered share

A holder of nominee registered shares has the right to participate in the General Meeting by virtue of such shares, based on which he/she would be entitled to be registered in the shareholders register of the company held by Euroclear Finland Ltd on 7 May 2021. The right to participate in the general meeting requires, in addition, that the shareholder on the basis of such shares has been registered into the temporary shareholders register held by Euroclear Finland Ltd. at the latest by 17 May 2021 by 10:00 a.m. As regards nominee registered shares this constitutes due registration for the General Meeting.

A holder of nominee registered shares is advised to request without delay necessary instructions regarding the registration in the temporary shareholders register of the company, the issuing of proxy documents and registration for the General Meeting from his/her custodian bank. The account management organization of the custodian bank has to register a holder of nominee registered shares, who wants to participate in the General Meeting, into the temporary shareholders register of the company at the latest by the time stated above.

3. Proxy representative and powers of attorney

A shareholder may participate in the General Meeting and exercise his/her rights at the meeting by way of proxy representation. A proxy representative shall produce a dated proxy document or otherwise in a reliable manner demonstrate his/her right to represent the shareholder at the General Meeting. When a shareholder participates in the General Meeting by means of several proxy representatives representing the shareholder with shares at different securities accounts, the shares by which each proxy representative represents the shareholder shall be identified in connection with the registration for the General Meeting.

Possible proxy documents should be delivered to the address Valoe Corporation, Minna Wilkman, Insinoorinkatu 5, 50150 Mikkeli, Finland or by email minna.wilkman@valoe.com, before the last date and time for registration.

4. Other instructions/information

Pursuant to Chapter 5, Section 25 of the Finnish Companies Act, a shareholder who is present at the General Meeting has the right to request information with respect to the matters to be considered at the meeting.

5. Cancellation of the meeting

Valoe Corporation reserves the right to cancel the Annual General Meeting and convene a new Annual General Meeting if the instructions issued by the South Savo Regional State Administrative Agency regarding meetings due to the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be followed. If Valoe has to cancel the meeting, it will disclose the cancellation of the meeting on the companys website and notify registered shareholders in person no later than two days before the date of the meeting.

On the date of this Notice to the General Meeting, 28 April 2021, the total number of shares in Valoe Corporation is 255,359,195 shares.

In Mikkeli, on 28 April 2021

Valoe Corporation

Board of Directors

For more information:

Hannu Savisalo

Chairman of the Board

Tel. +358 50 2688
An unlikely Australian city has been dubbed the 'new Bali' as eager travellers free to move between states begin flocking to the outback oasis.

The small town of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory has emerged as the one of the most popular tourist spots after fan-favourite locations like Bali and Thailand remain off the cards amid an international travel ban.

Travel company Skyscanner released a report on Wednesday and found Alice Springs was now rivalling the pristine beaches of the Gold Coast, Cairns and the Whitsundays as winter approaches.

The small town of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory has emerged as the one of the most popular tourist spots amid the international travel ban

The Northern Territory has emerged as a popular tourist spot for eager travellers as winter approaches

The travel destinations of Proserpine and the Whitsundays in Queensland took the top two spots but the unlikely contender of Alice Springs came in third.

The report said Australians are now trading in destinations like Phuket and Bali for local getaways like Alice Springs and even Darwin came in fourth place.

Darwin has also been dubbed the 'new Milan' and Athens by replacing European countries as the second most popular tourist spot for couples and groups.

The Whitsundays in Queensland (pictured) remained at the top spot as one of the most popular holiday destinations

Darwin (pictured) has also been dubbed the 'new Milan' and Athens by replacing European countries as the second most popular tourist spot for couples and groups

Queensland (pictured) remained the most popular state for eager travellers free to move between states

Experts aren't counting on international travel to be completely back up and running for Australians until 2024.

The Far North Queensland town of Cairns retained its top spot as the most popular travel destination for families, couples and groups.

The Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Darwin, Port Douglas, the Whitsundays, Hobart, Broome, Townsville and Port Douglas followed closely behind.

In comparison the international locations of Fiji, Rome, Milan, Santorini and Las Vegas dominated the wish lists of travellers back in 2019.

Skyscanner surveyed more than 1,000 Australians over the course of 13 months to tabulate the results.
One of the largest health care settlements in U.S. history has left nearly $2 billion available for many people covered by Blue Cross plans between February 2008 and October 2020.

While the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and associated plans have denied allegations of wrongdoing, plaintiffs claim the plans violated antitrust laws by entering into an agreement not to compete with each other and to limit competition among themselves in selling health insurance and administrative services for health insurance, according to notices sent to plan members.

The lack of competition led some plans to charge higher rates for coverage, but Blue Cross Blue Shield asserts that its actions reduced health care costs and provided greater access.

A court has not decided the lengthy antitrust case, which was settled in a federal court in Alabama last year for nearly $2.7 billion. The defendants agreed to make changes in the way they do business to increase the opportunities for competition in the market for health insurance, according to notices.

About $700 million will likely go to attorneys, leaving roughly $1.9 billion available for subscribers during the eligible period. For more on the settlement, read here or call (888) 681-1142.

Subscribers who believe they may be impacted must make a claim online at www.BCBSsettlement.com, or by mail, by Nov. 5, 2021.

Dependents and beneficiaries are not eligible to receive payments. Those impacted during the 2008 to 2020 time period include individuals, insured groups and self-funded accounts, according to Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Former plan members could decide to opt out of the settlement and retain the right to file a separate lawsuit. They can also object to the lawsuit by sending a letter to the court, postmarked by July 28, 2021, or they can do nothing and receive no payment.

To make a claim or object by mail, write to Blue Cross Blue Shield Settlement c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91390, Seattle, WA 98111.

In a hearing on Oct. 20, 2021, some impacted plan members will be given the chance to speak before the settlement is finalized before the end of the year.

Anyone with questions can visit www.BCBSsettlement.com or email info@BCBSsettlement.com.
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Beiersdorf?AG (BDRFY.PK, BDRFF.PK) reported that its first quarter Group sales were up 6.3% year-on-year on an organic basis to 1.9 billion euros. Consumer Business Segment increased sales by 2.7% to 1.5 billion euros. The Group said the upward trend was driven by the EUCERIN and AQUAPHOR dermatological brands as well as the exclusive skin care from LA PRAIRIE. For fiscal 2021, the company expects positive sales growth for the Beiersdorf Group and Consumer Business Segment, with the EBIT margin from operations remaining level with the previous year. The EBIT margin from operations will be below last years' level, the Group said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The IYSSE at NYU will be hosting a meeting, A socialist perspective for Columbia and NYU graduate students, on Wednesday, April 28, at 7 p.m. Eastern time. We encourage graduate students, undergraduates and workers from the New York City area to attend.

Two major graduate struggles are unfolding just six miles from one another in New York City. Some 2,000 graduate students at New York University (NYU) are entering their third day of a strike for higher wages and better health care, just as many graduate students at Columbia University (CU) are deciding to vote no on a contract that would result in a pay cut for them in the first year.

Administrations at both schools have taken an intransigent position in the negotiations and employed ruthless tactics against the students aimed at breaking the strikes. At Columbia, the university docked workers pay during the strike in order to impose economic pressure.

NYU graduate workers on strike (WSWS Photo)

On Monday, NYU president Andrew Hamilton, who takes home about $2 million every year, sent an email to the parents of striking graduate students as well as undergraduates on Monday in a blatant attempt to break the strike. Calling the strike unwarranted, untimely, and regrettable, he threatened again that NYU will do everything it can to minimize the impact of the strike.

Both universities are run by multi-millionaires and billionaires and maintain close ties to the American state and the Democratic Party. In line with the policy of the entire ruling class, they see the contract negotiations as an opportunity to impose austerity on the workforce.

The strike at NYU comes just days before the finals period begins. Most of the grading in classes is done not by professors, but by their graduate teaching and course assistants (TAs).

Unsurprisingly, the NYU administration has been referencing the sell-out deals arranged by the UAW at both Columbia and Harvard University as a basis for their arguments. Despite the fact that graduate workers at all of these universities are earning poverty wages, they claim that NYU graduate students are still better off than others and cannot expect a wage increase.

Hamiltons email has provoked as much anger as ridicule among graduate students, their parents as well as undergraduates and faculty. One graduate student tweeted: The ONLY place NYU has my mom's email is as one of two emergency contacts. I'm furious.

An NYU undergraduate tweeted, addressing the NYU administration, [Yo]u charge the money [yo]u do and then play stocks and sh** with that money instead of actually using it for the things students pay for. NYUs chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued a statement strongly advocating that faculty resist any call to substitute their own labor for that of their TAs in the matter of grading or teaching.

These expressions of support and the scorn at the NYU administration, which is universally seen as engaging in blatant self-enrichment at the expense of both the employees and the students of the university, are indicative of the broader social anger that underlies the strike.

However, this is also precisely why the union, working closely together with the Democratic Party, is seeking to isolate the struggles of graduate students from broader sections of the working class, while preparing to sell them out.

The Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC), affiliated with the United Auto Workers union (UAW), has lowered the demands for wage compensation by a whole third, from $48/h to $32/h. In the last bargaining session, the union again dropped demands, while agreeing to bring in a federal mediator. At Columbia University and many other recent workers struggles, federal mediators have been brought in to arrange contracts in favor of corporate management.

There is significant anger over the role the union is playing in undermining the struggles among graduate students at both NYU and Columbia. The UAW is actively seeking to separate the workers at NYU from the workers at Columbia, despite the fact that they are part of the same amalgamated UAW Local 2110.

An NYU graduate student spoke to an International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) member about the call to build new forms of organization independent from the unions and both political parties, as well as the need for a class perspective.

I agree with the World Socialist Web Site s position and think other forms of organizing are necessary. I know the members of GSOC are attempting to fight in good faith, but are afraid of UAW leadership and have been pressured heavily by them. The student also added, I appreciate you doing the only reporting on the corruption of trade unions in the USA. Thank you for your bravery in covering this issue!

At Columbia University, there are reports that entire departments are voting no on the contract that the UAW has negotiated. Moreover, the vote itself has already been delegitimized in the eyes of many graduate students.

On Friday, three days into the voting period for the tentative agreement at Columbiawhich ends on April 30 at 5 p.m.the bargaining committee (BC) of the Graduate Workers at Columbia (GWC)-UAW emailed the graduate worker unit, announcing there was a typographical error correction in tentative agreement. The change affected PhD workers beyond their guaranteed years of funding in year one of the contract who were previously guaranteed a five percent increase. This was now corrected to a three percent increase. As expected, the BC, which has done everything to suppress opposition to the UAW, went along with the altering of the contract language during the vote.

The experience of Columbia University has not been lost on NYU graduate students, many of whom have expressed concern that the NYU strike would become a repeat of the Columbia experience.

With the UAW increasingly discredited, the Democratic Party, and its pseudo-left appendage, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), are heavily intervening in the NYU strike to prop up the union and tie graduate students to capitalist politics.

At NYU, GSOC-UAW is closely affiliated with the DSA. The union invited Dianne Morales, a Democratic candidate in the New York City mayoral election, to the picket line on the first day of the strike. The UAW had just officially endorsed her in the election. Several other Democratic Party figures have tweeted about the strike as well, cynically using it as a means to bolster their election campaigns.

The DSA, which functions as a faction within the Democratic Party, has also intervened from day one. Eric Blanc, who is an NYU graduate student in sociology, a member of the DSA and prominent writer for Jacobin Magazine, has been promoting GSOC-UAW on Twitter, while arguing against a break from the Democratic Party.

On Tuesday, following tweets from the NYU picket line, Blanc tweeted, The strategic starting point for socialists is how to build working-class power, not how to split from the Democratic Party as soon as possible.

In reality, any genuine struggle for the development of working class power requires complete independence from the Democratic Party, which is one of the oldest capitalist parties in the world, and responsible for countless crimes of US imperialism at home and abroad.

Blancs intervention at NYU doesnt come out of the blue. Over the past weeks, Blanc has denounced the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and the WSWS for its exposure of the right-wing record of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who recently attacked genuine socialists for opposing the Biden administration. The exposures have struck a deep chord among many left-wing youth and workers and triggered a crisis within the Democratic Party establishment.

In 2019, Blanc authored the book Red State Revolt on the teachers strikes in 2018, which developed into a rebellion against the trade unions. The DSA intervened aggressively to stifle this rebellion politically and tie workers to Democratic Party politics and the unions.

The same goal also animates the DSAs intervention in the NYU strike, which is developing under far more explosive social and political conditions in the US and internationally.

The IYSSE and WSWS are advancing an entirely different perspective. We are fighting for the orientation of graduate students toward the international working class and principled, Marxist politics, independent from the Democratic Party and trade unions. To learn more about a socialist strategy to put an end to the pandemic and capitalism, we encourage graduate students to join the International May Day rally this upcoming Saturday.
CHARGE syndrome is a rare genetic disorder affecting about 1 in 10,000 newborns. It can lead to neurological and behavioural disorders for which no treatment is currently available. Dr. Kessen Patten and his team, from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) have just discovered a compound that could alleviate these symptoms. The results of their research were published in the journal EMBO Reports.

Understanding Neurological Disorders

First described in 1979, CHARGE syndrome is caused by mutations in the CHD7 gene and is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disability, attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity, seizures and autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Patten's research team studied the neurological symptoms of this syndrome, which are still poorly understood.

The team developed a genetic model of zebrafish with loss of function of the CHD7 gene similar to that observed in humans. They found that the CHD7 gene regulated the type of GABAergic neurons that are essential for proper brain function.

"The loss of function of CHD7 appears to cause developmental and functional abnormalities in GABAergic neurons in the zebrafish brain that are related to the observed neurological and behavioural disorders," explained Dr. Patten, who specializes in genetics and neurodegenerative diseases. The team also identified molecular events controlled by the CHD7 gene to explain these neurological symptoms in their genetic model. Similar findings were made using cells from patients with the disease.

Finding a Drug

The research team tested hundreds of compounds already approved for clinical use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Drug screening was used to identify potential candidates for treatment--ephedrine was selected as the most therapeutic compound. "We observed therapeutic effects on both, the neurological and behavioural symptoms," said PhD student Priyanka Jamadagni, lead author of the article. "It allowed the diseased zebrafish model to partially recover its normal functions."

This research opens the door to new avenues for the treatment of other neurological disorders with similar neuronal imbalances, such as autism spectrum disorder and hyperactivity.

###

About the study

The article "Chromatin remodeler CHD7 is required for GABAergic neuron development by promoting PAQR3 expression," by Priyanka Jamadagni, Maximilian Breuer, Kathrin Schmeisser, Tatiana Cardinal, Betelhem Kassa, J Alex Parker, Nicolas Pilon, Eric Samarut, and Shunmoogum A. Patten, was published in the journal EMBO Reports. Led by Dr. Patten, the study was conducted with the help of collaborators from the CHUM Research Centre and Universite de Quebec a Montreal (UQAM). The study received financial support from the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Rare Disease Foundation. The lead author holds a doctoral scholarship from the Center of Excellence in Research on Orphan Diseases - Courtois Foundation (CERMO-FC) and a scholarship from the Armand-Frappier Foundation.

About INRS

INRS is a university dedicated exclusively to graduate level research and training. Since its creation in 1969, INRS has played an active role in Quebec's economic, social, and cultural development and is ranked first for research intensity in Quebec and in Canada. INRS is made up of four interdisciplinary research and training centres in Quebec City, Montreal, Laval, and Varennes, with expertise in strategic sectors: Eau Terre Environnement, Energie Materiaux Telecommunications, Urbanisation Culture Societe, and Armand-Frappier Sante Biotechnologie. The INRS community includes more than 1,500 students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty members, and staff.

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BRIDGEPORT  The Fairfield States Attorneys Office says its investigating how Bridgeport police handled a 911 call made by a Bethel woman about a week before she was killed.

Emily Todd, 25, was found dead in Bridgeport about eight days after she called 911 in 2018, seeking help for Brandon Roberts, who she said was threatening to harm himself after breaking up with him.

Roberts has pleaded not guilty to murder and he is being held on $2 million bond while his case is pending.

Todds family contends that Bridgeport 911 dispatchers and police mishandled her call on Nov. 30, 2018, even as the woman tried to stress that Roberts had a gun and was threatening to harm himself.

She reported her concerns to the dispatcher stating, hes going to kill me for telling anyone that and also providing his cellphone number, information on his current location as well as the name and location of the motel he had recently been staying at, her mother Jennifer Lawlor told the Judiciary Committee in March.

More than an hour after the 911 call, Bridgeport police found Roberts, but he drove off with a police supervisor telling officers not to engage him in a pursuit, Lawlor said. Police originally told Hearst Connecticut Media that they terminated the pursuit because Roberts was driving recklessly.

The department had his date of birth, license plate number, the vehicle description, the knowledge that he possessed a firearm along with a likely location where he could be found and made no effort to locate or apprehend him after disengaging from the vehicle pursuit on Nov. 30, Lawlor said.

She has been advocating for change, supporting a bill that would allow family members and dating partners to seek a warrant to seize guns from a person who is at risk of harming themselves.

From a mental health perspective, there should absolutely be a protocol that officers need to follow, she said. If I can be a driving force for change, thats what I want. One decision by one officer to follow up on that chase, you cant tell me that likely wouldnt have changed the outcome.

Bridgeport officials declined to provide details, citing the pending investigation.

The city and police department are cooperating with States Attorneys Office and are unable to respond to inquiries regarding this matter as it remains an active investigation, said Scott Appleby, director of Bridgeports Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security/Emergency Communications.

Fairfield States Attorney Joseph Corrandino told Lawlor in an email dated March 17 that he assigned an inspector to start gathering available information.

At this time, our office is focusing on the prosecution of the person charged with the murder of Emily Todd and seeking justice for her family, Corrandino said in a statement to Hearst Connecticut Media Group this week. The inquiry into the familys complaint against the Bridgeport Police Department is ongoing.

Lawlor said she repeatedly spoke to former Fairfield States Attorney John Smriga about the handling of the 911 call. But Lawlor said no action was taken until Judiciary Committee members questioned Deputy Chief States Attorney Kevin Lawlor, who is not related, during a public hearing on March 5.

The truth matters, Kevin Lawlor said. I dont have anything left but the truth. I know nothing is going to bring her back.

Todd and her mother tried several times to get information about whether Bridgeport police were successful in reaching Roberts after he fled from officers the night she called 911, Jennifer Lawlor said. But Bridgeport police never returned their calls, she said.

About a week later, Lawlor said her daughter never came home on the night of Dec. 8, 2018. Jennifer Lawlor initially didnt think anything of it until the next morning when she realized her daughter was supposed to be at work, but her bag was still in her bedroom.

The family reported Todd missing, and hours later, a line of police cruisers showed up at their home, Jennifer Lawlor said.

Her daughter had been found shot to death along a small patch of beach on the Bridgeport shoreline. She was largely unrecognizable, Jennifer Lawlor said, and had to be identified by her tattoos.

Along with supporting the recent gun legislation, Jennifer Lawlor has also sought a greater role in advocating for victims by co-founding Violent Crime Survivors, a group that lobbies legislators on criminal justice issues and will eventually provide resources for crime victims and their loved ones.

She wants police to be accountable for the way the 911 call was handled.

I believe an officer of the law should be obligated to 100 percent care for any human being in their jurisdiction, Jennifer Lawlor said. Its very important to me that the officer be drawn out for their mistakes. They shouldnt have had discretion on whether they needed to follow up.
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Restaurants in Britain are facing a recruitment crisis as they gear up to fully reopen in three weeks' time, after more than 350,000 jobs were lost in the hospitality industry over the past year during the pandemic.

Jobs lost in hospitality account for 43 per cent of the national total during the coronavirus crisis, with many staff who have lost their employment moving into retail - and others heading back to their home countries in Europe.

Some restaurant bosses told MailOnline that furloughed staff had left to get a better-paid job at an agency, while another said he had not had a single response to an advert for a bar worker on a salary of 22,000 a year.

Those trying for a job in hospitality said they were grateful for the 'abundance' of jobs available at the moment, but bosses have 'concern' about the exodus of Eastern European workers following the pandemic and post-Brexit.

Among the chains facing a big recruitment effort is Pizza Express which is trying to hire 1,000 staff to join its 360 sites across the UK before indoor hospitality returns on May 17, having spent much of the past year closed.

Wages are on the rise with businesses telling of their struggle to find bar staff despite offering higher rates - and waiters commanding 15 an hour in South East England, equating to nearly 30,000 a year if full-time.

Many workers from Eastern Europe are said to have gone back to their home country before the third Covid-19 lockdown with no reason to return to Britain because much of the hospitality industry has remained closed since.

And one in five companies with furloughed staff now say they are unlikely to keep all of them on, according to a YouGov study released this week. The UK Government estimates 4.9million workers were furloughed in February.

No one has applied for bar positions despite adverts highlighting higher pay Gordon Anthony, general manager at The Park Hotel Ayrshire in Kilmarnock 'We did a recruitment drive a couple of weeks ago. We were looking for various positions from waiting staff to chefs and bar staff. 'We had a fairly good response but the difficulty we found is that for bar staff, there were zero applications for the positions we had available and purely I think that's based on the fact that the alcohol restrictions in Scotland have probably been more effective than the food aspect. 'We've been open from yesterday but you still can't have alcohol indoors. I genuinely believe that people are nervous are move to a different job at the moment because obviously if things go pear-shaped and we go back into a lockdown, they could be left without a job and without furlough. 'We're hopeful it will change, alternatively we'll just need to retrain personally in other positions. The hotel added on an extension last year, it's a brand new cafe bar, so our focus was going to be on cocktails. So we're really looking at people who are good at cocktails. We're hoping to launch the bar on May 17. 'I think a lot of people have moved from the hospitality sector. Pretty much the bulk of the people have moved to retail because there's a wee bit more stability in the retail industry, but people are very nervous about hospitality. 'We've tried over and above the minimum wage for the position, so we've predominantly focused our advertising on the fact that it's higher paid. I've worked all over Scotland, and the difficulty we have is our location. We're about 30 minutes from Glasgow, and all the trained cocktail mixologists already work in the city, so trying to find that kind of talent outside is very tricky.' Advertisement Workers have a 'different perspective' and it is 'not so easy' to hire staff now Prem Anand, who runs the Mango Tree vegan restaurant in Taunton, Somerset 'The first thing is we have to recognise that people have taken a different perspective now after what has happened. It has been not so easy as it used to be (to hire staff) - quite understandably what has happened is they've been hit and people have been signed off and the confidence level has gone done and hence it's been difficult. 'With regards to Mango Tree, there is a huge communal feeling which has doubled up around Mango Tree which has got good standing here. People who wish to be around these values such as living kindly, they wanted to sign up, but it's not so easy to find people who subscribe to these. 'I've asked Somerset Jobs to get me some people - so we're going to go into frozen food so we want some staff. We are trying to keep all the people who are here. We also are going to put out little posters. We are doing various things. 'We are not looking for people to come in and go, it's not a short-term thing. Our concept of working is we keep it small but we want expressing what we stand for. The choice is quite focused on what we are looking for. 'Even when the business goes up, we are going to start from minus, not from zero. The wages have gone up. 'The thing now with the furlough is that it was a great help for us, but when we open all these people come to work we have to be fully open, because we must from day one get the amount of money that we have to pay. When I have to pay, I have to make that money. 'I have to have that money coming in. As business people we are always wanting to do, but the scenario, the things around us is making that quite challenging. From tomorrow we are going to open outside, with 12 covers.' Advertisement

Matthew Holland , who co-owns Willmore's 1938 in Penarth, South Wales, with his partner Charlotte Court, told MailOnline yesterday: 'Right through furlough we kept a member of staff in full time employment, he was almost doing his hours but was on flexi furlough.

'He's been offered a job now with an agency where the pay is considerably more. He can get an extra 5 or 6 an hour at the agency. We made his salary up to the maximum during lockdown so we're a bit frustrated.

Restaurant kept member of staff through furlough but they've gone to an agency for 6/hour more Matthew Holland, who co-owns Willmore's 1938 in Penarth, South Wales, with his partner Charlotte Court Mr Holland said: 'Right through furlough we kept a member of staff in full time employment, he was almost doing his hours but was on flexi furlough. 'He's been offered a job now with an agency where the pay is considerably more. He can get an extra 5 or 6 an hour at the agency. We made his salary up to the maximum during lockdown so we're a bit frustrated. 'We've been trading right through lockdown with various steps. We've found now that we are struggling to find staff because a lot have moved out of the industry. It is uncertain at the moment. Tips are really good source of income for people, so the salaries tend to be quite low.' He said there were concerns among many workers from the EU and Eastern Europe about their 'long-term employment' prospects in the UK hospitality industry. Mr Holland added: 'There's a lot of people from Eastern Europe who have been working in the hospitality industry. It's the type of employment that crosses over quite easily from Europe to here. 'If you're a barista in Italy, you can do it here. That's a definite concern for not just hospitality, but lots of different industries.' Advertisement

'We've been trading right through lockdown with various steps. We've found now that we are struggling to find staff because a lot have moved out of the industry. It is uncertain at the moment. Tips are really good source of income for people, so the salaries tend to be quite low.'

He said there were concerns among many workers from the EU and Eastern Europe about their 'long-term employment' prospects in the UK hospitality industry.

Mr Holland added: 'There's a lot of people from Eastern Europe who have been working in the hospitality industry. It's the type of employment that crosses over quite easily from Europe to here.

'If you're a barista in Italy, you can do it here. That's a definite concern for not just hospitality, but lots of different industries.'

Damian Wawrzyniak, who owns the House of Feasts restaurant, a bakery, street food kiosk and retail shop in Peterborough, told MailOnline today: 'Recruitment is a massive issue, but it's not from today, not because of Brexit, it's an ongoing problem.

'The biggest problem why people don't want to work in hospitality is because it's not treated like a profession. If it was then people would like to work.

'I had a lady who quit just before the pandemic kicked off and then now she wants to come back to me. She was a chef, then she went to work in an NHS testing centre, and now because the testing centre is closing she wants to come back into hospitality.'

Mr Wawrzyniak, who is from Poland, said some of his employees left to go to Poland during the pandemic but they are already back, adding: 'Hospitality is in much worse shape in Poland than in the UK.'

He said: 'If the place is bankrupt in England where they used to work, maybe they went back, but we didn't and are operating. Mainly the people who left to Poland used to work in businesses that went bankrupt.'

Mr Wawrzyniak said his business was expanding  and he had gone from eight staff before the Covid-19 crisis to 27 now, but added: 'I'm struggling to fill up my posts currently. Bar staff is a problem and waiting staff is a problem. My kitchen is fully staffed at the moment.'

Asked about waiters from Eastern Europe who have moved back to their home countries during the pandemic, he added: 'Yes that's the problem as well - we have all nationalities, English, you name it, Polish.

'But obviously lots of people switched their profession during the pandemic. Some got training and went to work in retail, basically they took their future in their own hands.'

He admitted he was 'worried' about the recruitment situation, but added: 'Obviously I'm positive as well. We need to get it done. I'm not going to (stop) expanding because I cannot find staff. Maybe expansion will take a bit longer.'

Among those hoping for a role is Aimee, 21, from Bo'ness, Scotland, who is searching for a job in the industry after completing the Springboard hospitality training programme last Friday.

The Park Hotel Ayrshire in Kilmarnock is offering higher wages to bar staff but said it has still not had any applications

Prem Anand, who runs the Mango Tree vegan restaurant in Taunton, Somerset, said that potential workers have a 'different perspective' in the current climate and it is 'not so easy as it used to be' to hire staff

Office for National Statistics data revealed that of the 813,000 decrease in payrolled employees since March 2020 (as shown above), some 355,000 can be attributed to employees working in the accommodation and food service activities sector

Data from Indeed UK shows job postings are 16 per cent down on their level before the pandemic, although this is an improvement of 20 points since the Febraury 22 roadmap was announced

She said: 'It's a very competitive market out there with lots of young people, like myself, desperately looking for work now that the industry slowly starts to reopen.

Hospitality workers have returned to Poland after businesses went bust Damian Wawrzyniak, who owns the House of Feasts restaurant, a bakery, street food kiosk and retail shop in Peterborough, Mr Wawrzyniak told MailOnline today: 'Recruitment is a massive issue, but it's not from today, not because of Brexit, it's an ongoing problem. 'The biggest problem why people don't want to work in hospitality is because it's not treated like a profession. If it was then people would like to work. 'I had a lady who quit just before the pandemic kicked off and then now she wants to come back to me. She was a chef, then she went to work in an NHS testing centre, and now because the testing centre is closing she wants to come back into hospitality.' Mr Wawrzyniak, who is from Poland, said some of his employees left to go to Poland during the pandemic but they are already back, adding: 'Hospitality is in much worse shape in Poland than in the UK.' He said: 'If the place is bankrupt in England where they used to work, maybe they went back, but we didn't and are operating. Mainly the people who left to Poland used to work in businesses that went bankrupt.' Mr Wawrzyniak said his business was expanding  and he had gone from eight staff before the Covid-19 crisis to 27 now, but added: 'I'm struggling to fill up my posts currently. Bar staff is a problem and waiting staff is a problem. My kitchen is fully staffed at the moment.' Asked about waiters from Eastern Europe who have moved back to their home countries during the pandemic, he added: 'Yes that's the problem as well - we have all nationalities, English, you name it, Polish. 'But obviously lots of people switched their profession during the pandemic. Some got training and went to work in retail, basically they took their future in their own hands.' He admitted he was 'worried' about the recruitment situation, but added: 'Obviously I'm positive as well. We need to get it done. I'm not going to (stop) expanding because I cannot find staff. Maybe expansion will take a bit longer.' Advertisement

'After almost a week of looking for relevant positions, I am grateful to see such an abundance of jobs being advertised in my local area, and have actually applied for six front of house jobs in the last 24 hours.

'But, realistically, there needs to be a vast amount of job openings to cater for the thousands of people seeking new opportunities in the industry.

'I haven't had any interviews yet but I think what will happen, due to the amount of applications employers will be receiving during this period, is a scenario whereby candidates are employed on a first-come, first-serve basis.

'I think that's the reality here. So I'm hoping I can secure a challenging and exciting role over the coming days and weeks.'

Among the business owners facing recruitment problems is Gordon Anthony, manager of The Park Hotel Ayrshire in Scotland, who said no one has applied for bar positions despite their job adverts highlighting the higher pay.

His business is facing having to retrain other staff for bar work if they can't recruit mixologists, and Mr Anthony added that people are leaving hospitality to work in retail instead because it's perceived as a more stable industry.

He told MailOnline: 'We did a recruitment drive a couple of weeks ago. We were looking for various positions from waiting staff to chefs and bar staff.

'We had a fairly good response but the difficulty we found is that for bar staff, there were zero applications for the positions we had available and purely I think that's based on the fact that the alcohol restrictions in Scotland have probably been more effective than the food aspect.'

Mr Anthony added: 'I think a lot of people have moved from the hospitality sector. Pretty much the bulk of the people have moved to retail because there's a wee bit more stability in the retail industry, but people are very nervous about hospitality.

'We've tried over and above the minimum wage for the position, so we've predominantly focused our advertising on the fact that it's higher paid.'

Prem Anand, who runs the Mango Tree vegan restaurant in Taunton, Somerset, said that potential workers have a 'different perspective' in the current climate and it is 'not so easy as it used to be' to hire staff.

He also told MailOnline that workers' confidence is down and it is hard to find people who subscribe to his company's vegan-friendly ethos, while he remains concerned about making enough money to pay people immediately when furlough ends.

Mr Anand said: 'People have taken a different perspective now after what has happened. It has been not so easy as it used to be (to hire staff) - quite understandably what has happened is they've been hit and people have been signed off and the confidence level has gone done and hence it's been difficult.'

He added: 'Even when the business goes up, we are going to start from minus, not from zero. The wages have gone up.

'The thing now with the furlough is that it was a great help for us, but when we open all these people come to work we have to be fully open, because we must from day one get the amount of money that we have to pay. When I have to pay, I have to make that money.'

'Springboard to 2022' is a drive launched by the UK hospitality charity of the same name, which is aiming to have 10,000 young people trained and ready to work by next year in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry to tackle the staffing crisis.

It said there has been a 307 per cent rise in the number of applications for its training programmes since the February 22 roadmap announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

It had 3,367 applications in the six months from August 21, 2020 to February 21 this year, then 4,561 applications in the two months from February 22 to April 20.

Chris Gamm, chief executive of Springboard, said: 'Hospitality is an industry that suits creative, intuitive, and hardworking people with a strong desire to learn.

'Abundance' of jobs being advertised in hospitality Aimee, 21, from Bo'ness, Scotland, who is searching for a job in hospitality after completing the Springboard training programme last Friday 'It's a very competitive market out there with lots of young people, like myself, desperately looking for work now that the industry slowly starts to reopen. 'After almost a week of looking for relevant positions, I am grateful to see such an abundance of jobs being advertised in my local area, and have actually applied for six front of house jobs in the last 24 hours. 'But, realistically, there needs to be a vast amount of job openings to cater for the thousands of people seeking new opportunities in the industry. 'I haven't had any interviews yet but I think what will happen, due to the amount of applications employers will be receiving during this period, is a scenario whereby candidates are employed on a first-come, first-serve basis. 'I think that's the reality here. So I'm hoping I can secure a challenging and exciting role over the coming days and weeks.' Advertisement

'The industry can't continue to thrive on its existing talent pool. New recruits are essential  and it's important that we are actively reaching out to young people in schools and colleges.'

Data from Indeed UK shows job postings are 16 per cent down on their level before the pandemic, although this is an improvement of 20 points since the Febraury 22 roadmap was announced.

The reopening sectors are among the biggest gainers since that date, including sports, beauty and wellness and food preparation and service.

UKHospitality has been campaigning for its industry after it was disproportionately hit by the pandemic.

Office of National Statistics data shows four in five people who have lost their jobs since the pandemic began are under the age of 35, and hospitality businesses were the worst hit with 355,000 fewer employees than a year ago.

Hospitality's young workforce is also reflected in the figures, with 78 per cent of those leaving payroll employment under the age of 35, and more than half who have lost jobs being under 25.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, told MailOnline: 'Some sector businesses are experiencing recruitment challenges for some roles, and this is just one of the many negative effects stemming from a prolonged period of closure that hospitality has suffered.

'Whilst furlough has helped protect many sector jobs, businesses that have been haemorrhaging cash or accruing debt during enforced enclosures and trading restrictions have been forced to let staff go and were unable to reopen with full teams intact.

'Some of these workers will have moved to different sectors that have been open and busy over the course of the pandemic.

'This is just more evidence of how hospitality has been uniquely hit by the pandemic and of the crucial need for Government to continue its support of the sector.

'For hospitality to rebuild and play its full role in the economic recovery, additional support for jobs as well as long term plans to facilitate enhanced training and apprenticeships are vital.'

'Even then, with so many companies facing rent debts and business rates bills, after more than a year with little trading, many companies  and thousands more jobs  will be in jeopardy unless further support is forthcoming.'
Samsung will be hosting its next big virtual event, the Galaxy Unpacked 2021, on Wednesday (April 28). It is going to be the third virtual event by the Korean consumer electronics maker in 2021, and many fans are having high expectations from the company.

What Samsung may launch at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked April 2021?

As of now, Samsung hasnt officially revealed what the brand is going to release at the mega event. The official invite to the event points out that Samsung will launch its most powerful Galaxy device yet. Moreover, going by media reports, Samsung is expected to launch a new range of Galaxy laptops.

Samsung is likely to launch at least two new laptops at the Galaxy Unpacked 2021 event: Samsung Galaxy Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360. The two models are expected to be packed with 13 and 15 inch AMOLED displays, respectively. Both the speculated laptops are likely to come with LTE wireless connectivity, and are expected to be powered by Intel chipsets.

The Galaxy Book Pro 360 is rumoured to have S Pen stylus support and a 360-degree hinge design. Both laptops are expected to woo gamers and professionals, alike. Besides the Galaxy Book Pro models, Samsung might also launch an affordable laptop, Galaxy Book Go.

Where to watch the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked April 2021?

You can watch the live streaming of the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2021 here: https://news.samsung.com/global/ and on the companys official YouTube channel. The event will kick off at 7:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST).
Mr. Biden would also invest $80 billion in personnel and technology enhancements for the I.R.S., in hopes of netting $700 billion in additional revenues from high earners, wealthy individuals and corporations that evade taxes.

Republicans and conservative activists have criticized all those measures. Administration officials told reporters that the president would be open to financing the spending and tax credits in his plan through alternative means, essentially challenging Republicans to name their own offsets, as Mr. Biden did with his physical infrastructure proposal.

Still, many of the details in his new proposal poll well with voters across the political spectrum. Much of the package could win the support of the full Democratic caucus in Congress, which would need to band together to pass all or part of the plan through the fast-track process known as budget reconciliation, which bypasses a Senate filibuster.

Expanded access to government-subsidized preschool and community college may have broad appeal.

Workers with only high school degrees are often stuck in low-wage jobs, and two-thirds of mothers with young children are employed, and thus need reliable child care. The high cost of quality day care and pre-K puts these services out of reach for many families, who may rely on informal networks of relatives and neighbors who are untrained in early education.

Expanding access to pre-K has been particularly popular over the past decade in states and cities, including some with Republican governors. A large body of research shows that achievement gaps between poor and middle-class children emerge in the earliest years of childhood and are present on the first day of kindergarten. Administration officials contend that free, quality early childhood education can both help cash-strapped parents and build students skills in ways that will help them become more productive workers.

Still, there are major disagreements about how generous any expansion of pre-K should be. President Barack Obamas administration generally favored a centrist approach in which new seats were geared toward lower-income families.
DGAP-News: Dialog Semiconductor Plc. / Key word(s): Miscellaneous

Dialog Semiconductor Plc.: Notification of Q1 2021 Results



28.04.2021 / 18:30

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



(R) low energy and industrial edge computing solutions, will announce its First Quarter 2021 results on Wednesday 12th May 2021. Dialog Semiconductor (XETRA: DLG), a provider of highly integrated power management, Configurable Mixed-signal IC, AC/DC power conversion, solid state lighting, Bluetoothlow energy and industrial edge computing solutions, will announce its First Quarter 2021 results on The Company will not host a conference call on the day of results. The full announcement will be made available on the Investor Relations website: https://www.dialog-semiconductor.com/investor-relations For further information please contact: Dialog Semiconductor

Jose Cano

Head of Investor Relations

T: +44 (0)1793 756 961

jose.cano@diasemi.com FTI Consulting London

Matt Dixon

T: +44 (0)2037 271 137

matt.dixon@fticonsulting.com FTI Consulting Frankfurt

Katharina Tengler

T: +49 (0)69 9203 7118

katharina.tengler@fticonsulting.com About Dialog Semiconductor



Dialog Semiconductor is a leading provider of integrated circuits (ICs) that power mobile devices and the Internet of Things. Dialog solutions are integral to some of today's leading mobile devices and the enabling element for increasing performance and productivity on the go. From making smartphones more power efficient and shortening charging times, enabling home appliances to be controlled from anywhere, to connecting the next generation of wearable devices, Dialog's decades of experience and world-class innovation help manufacturers get to what's next. Dialog operates a fabless business model and is a socially responsible employer pursuing many programs to benefit employees, the community, other stakeholders and the environment we operate in. Dialog's power saving technologies including DCDC configurable system power management deliver high efficiency and enhance the consumer's user experience by extending battery lifetime and enabling faster charging of their portable devices. Its technology portfolio also includes audio, Bluetooth(R) Low Energy, Rapid Charge AC/DC power conversion and multi-touch. Dialog Semiconductor Plc is headquartered in London with a global sales, R&D and marketing organisation. It currently has approximately 2,300 employees worldwide. In 2020, it had approximately US$ 1.38 billion in revenue. The company is listed on the Frankfurt (XETRA: DLG) stock exchange (Regulated Market, Prime Standard, ISIN GB0059822006)





Contact:

Jose Cano

Director, Investor Relations

jose.cano@diasemi.com

+44(0)1793756961 Contact:Jose CanoDirector, Investor Relationsjose.cano@diasemi.com+44(0)1793756961

28.04.2021 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

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Look out, Steve Madden: This region is home to some up-and-coming sneaker designers featured in a national contest.

Beaverton High School and Bullock Creek High School advanced art students have designed their way into the top 50 of Vans Custom Culture art contest, vying for $50,000 for their schools art department.

Beside those two schools, only one other school in Michigan  Erie Mason High School  made the top 50 out of 250 schools that were initially selected for the contest. Each of those finalist schools submitted shoe designs in two categories: "Hometown Pride" and "Head in the Clouds."

Visit this link to vote for one of the top 50 schools in the Vans Custom Culture contest. Voting opened on April 26 and each person can vote once every day, until 8 p.m. Friday, May 7.

Bullock Creek art teacher Dana Murray said her students are excited to be finalists.

"They were kind of surprised, and they were proud of themselves," Murray said. "When you think of a competition that is for the whole United States, it really brings an awareness that we're not so different when you can compete with other states. You're not so little anymore."

Of course, Murray, who has taught in the Bullock Creek district for 22 years, shares that excitement, along with being proud of her students.

"I love when they can see how their creativity can take them into something they could use later on, not only in a career sense but in finding some therapy in creating," Murray said. "They're seeing how some initial thoughts can come into play and lead to an end result.

"To me, that 's the important process of art  taking an idea and seeing it through to completion. I'm really proud of them for that," Murray added.

Murray explained her students initially created four shoe designs and did their own voting to narrow it down to the two designs that were submitted for the contest. About 65 Bullock Creek students were involved in the process, she said.

For the "Hometown Pride" design, the Lancers created a pair of shoes that commemorates the flooding that devastated the Bullock Creek community and the region almost a year ago, and the inspiring response from the community.

"The idea that the school helped so many during that time with food, shelter and supplies  it really hit the kids," Murray said.

She said one of the art students, Anna DeBolt, was specifically touched by seeing a community member drive all the way to Clare and back to purchase supplies and give them out to those who needed them.

For the "Head in the Clouds" design, the Bullock Creek students created an image of a postcard on the shoes that read, "Let us all practice creating a safe and healthy environment for all continents."

"(For 'Head in the Clouds'), they wanted you to incorporate bigger goals (and to imagine) the way you would hope things would look in the future," Murray said.

Meanwhile, Beaverton High School art teacher Bre Barnett has been participating in the contest for many years, learning about it because she avidly wears the Vans brand.

Barnett, who has been teaching for nine years altogether and began teaching in Beaverton about two years ago, said her school didnt take part in the contest last year because they were virtual in the spring.

She said the Vans company does great things for schools and art education.

The Beaverton advanced art class of 23 students just learned of its placement in the top 50 on Monday.

They were so excited and wanted to tell everyone that they could to go and vote, Barnett said.

Beaverton Schools Superintendent Joe Passalacqua said he is thrilled with the initiative and what it could offer the art department.

Barnett said in addition to the possibility of winning, the contest shows her students what potential they have.

I'm hoping it will help show students and the community just how important art is and how big of an impact it has in daily life  right down to the shoes that we wear, Barnett said. Even if we don't win (obviously I hope that we do), I hope it gives the students some confidence in themselves and their ideas and abilities.

They are talented, brilliant artists and I just hope that this helps them believe in themselves like I do, Barnett added.

After the class entered the contest, Vans sent the students three blank canvas shoes. The students designed them, and via various classes voting it was narrowed to two designs, Barnett said. The two shoes in the top 50 are themed Head in the Clouds and Hometown Pride. Barnett said both designs demonstrate the depth of their visions.

She said the shoe designs showed the students werent dreaming of winning the lottery, they were thinking of world peace and people getting along. For one of the shoes, the students researched all the different flags which line the sole of the shoe.

In addition to the $50,000 that's on the line, the winning art department will also get a visit from one of the artists that designs Vans Custom Culture shoes. Barnett said both rewards would be huge for the Beaverton art department.

Along with the $50,000 first prize, Bullock Creek's Murray said, the second-place through fifth-place schools will each receive $15,000.

Now, all that's left is the voting.

"There's a lot of Instagram and Facebook posts (about the voting), and we put up flyers today around the school," Murray said.
In backing former President Donald Trump, a political firebrand unafraid to lash rivals and throw his weight around, Lin Wood sought chaos.

I was in for Trump, the iconoclastic attorney told more than 100 people at an Aiken Republican Club luncheon Tuesday. I said, Lets have chaos instead of criminals. And, boy, did we get chaos, which is exactly what this country needed.

Now, as he seeks the S.C. Republican Party chairmanship and goes for the throat of a two-term incumbent, Wood is harnessing that same turbulent energy.

We need some chaos in the Republican Party in South Carolina. Somebody needs to shake it up, said Wood, who traffics in conspiracy theories and has assailed former Vice President Mike Pence as well as Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Wood threw his hat into the chairman ring  he described it as jumping in  earlier this year, shortly after moving to the Palmetto State from neighboring Georgia. Both states, he alleged Tuesday, are rife with corruption.

Youve got problems that need to be fixed? Face them. Fix them, Wood said. And then focus: How can we make the South Carolina Republican Party better? How can we make South Carolina better? How can we make America better?

His decision to campaign for state GOP chair was motivated by his desire to reform and return the power to the people, he has explained. He offered similar remarks  barbed and purposeful  Tuesday at Newberry Hall.

So, if you decide that you want change in your leadership in the South Carolina Republican Party, Wood said, if you want the people, the members, to have control of their party, then youre going to have to have change.

Wood is competing against incumbent Drew McKissick, a man in pursuit of a third term with a pair of Trump endorsements in his pocket.

President Trump endorsed my reelection campaign, McKissick told the Aiken Standard on Tuesday, and that speaks for itself.

The chairman previously welcomed Woods challenge. But after a testy confrontation and exchange, filmed and posted to YouTube, and Woods chaos-clasping campaign in Aiken, McKissick brandished knives.

Lin Wood is a carpetbagging RINO whos been in South Carolina for just two months  probably because hes under investigation for voter fraud and is ducking a mental evaluation from the Georgia Bar Association, McKissick said. Hes a slick trial lawyer who donated to Obama twice, supported candidates endorsed by Planned Parenthood, but has no experience running campaigns.

McKissick is scheduled to address the Aiken Republican Club in May. Club President John Massie said he was invited prior but things didnt work out.

One of the basic tenets of the Aiken Republican Club is that we invite people of all political opinions, all conservative Republicans, who want to have a forum to talk about their plans, their dreams and aspirations, and their beliefs, Massie said.
Bengaluru, April 29 : Grappling with unprecedented spike in Covid cases, Karnataka is facing another challenge, of tracking and tracing of anywhere between 2,000 to 3,000 Covid positive patients who have "gone missing", state Revenue Minister, R. Ashoka revealed on Wednesday.

After his meeting with various department heads here, Ashoka, who is also Vice Chairman of the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority, told reporters that he has already directed the state police to track and trace these missing Covid patients.

"At least 2,000 to 3,000 people in Bengaluru have gone of our radar by switching off their phones and left their houses. We don't know where they have gone," he admitted.

Bengaluru, has become epicentre of the viral spread ever since the pandemic broke out, often contributing a minimum 50 per cent to the state's overall tally of Covid patients, fatalities and nearly two-third of patients in ICUs.

"With most of these patients switching off their mobile phones, the Health Department is not able to trace them and most of them are also not available at their given addresses, it is construed as they have 'missing'. Certainly there is a potential threat for these missing patients. These patients can turn out to be super-spreaders," Ashoka warned.

He added that the state had to rope in police as they have required expertise to track switched off mobile phones.

The minister added that the state government was giving free medicines to people, which can control 90 per cent of cases, but these Covid-19 infected people have switched off their mobile phones.

"Some them reach hospitals at a critical stage and desperately look for Intensive Care Unit beds. This is what is contributing more to the already existing confusion," he said.

Ashoka appealed to those who have tested positive for the viral disease to keep their cell phones on so that the official responsible for contact tracing and follow-ups could reach them.

"I pray to them with folded hands that Covid-19 cases will only increase due to this. It is wrong when you try for ICU beds at the last moment," the minister said.

The Karnataka government had recently increased its contact tracing activity after it was found that the officials in Bengaluru and other districts were tracing only four contacts per infected person, while the guidelines mandate tracing at least 20 contacts.

Health Minister K. Sudhakar said Bengaluru had been the victim of this problem ever since the pandemic broke out.

"In my more than one year's experience of handling this pandemic, it is observed at least 20 per cent of the patients do not respond to our phone calls. Though in most of the cases, police track them down in their own way but there are some of them who migrate to other states and take this disease with theme there too," he told reporters at a separate press conference.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
WASHINGTON (AP)  The first Senate hearing for President Joe Bidens judicial nominations featured two African American nominees for appeals court openings, giving Democrats an early chance to promote racial diversity on the bench and provide a contrast to the Trump era, when no Blacks were among the 54 such judges confirmed.

The Biden nominees said Wednesday they did not believe race would play a role in their decisions, though they said diversity helps increase confidence in the courts.

Over the course of the prior administration, our federal judiciary became markedly less diverse," said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Today marks an important step in reversing that trajectory and creating a federal judiciary that reflects the America that it serves."

Democrats, narrowly controlling the Senate for the first time in eight years, are eager to turn the page from the Trump administration, especially when it comes to judges. More than one-quarter of the federal judiciary is made up of President Donald Trump appointees. Most notably, he nominated three members of the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the committee's top Republican, harkened back to the Barrett confirmation in setting the tone of GOP senators. He noted that Democrats warned that Barretts confirmation was designed to ensure Trumps reelection and to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, the Obama-era health law.

Well, I just checked. Joe Biden is president of the United States and Obamacare is still on the books, Grassley said. If my friends dont want to apologize to Justice Barrett publicly, shes right next door and Ill bet shed be happy to accept any apologies in person.

The committee heard from five nominees on Wednesday, with Ketanji Brown Jackson attracting most of the attention.

She is a federal judge in the District of Columbia, and Biden wants her promoted to the appeals court seat left vacant when Merrick Garland became Biden's attorney general. Biden has promised to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court if a vacancy arises and Jackson is widely seen as a potential pick down the line.

Story continues

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said that because Democrats were placing so much emphasis on race, he wanted to know what role it would play in judicial decisions.

I don't think race plays a role in the kind of judge that I have been and that I would be, in the way that you asked that question" Jackson said. She added: I'm methodically and intentionally setting aside personal views, any other inappropriate considerations, and I would think race would be the kind of thing that would be inappropriate to inject in my evaluation of a case."

Cornyn also tried to get her to weigh in on the debate about expanding the Supreme Court, an idea being pushed by some Democratic lawmakers. Biden this month created a commission charged with examining the politically incendiary issues of expanding the court and instituting term limits for justices, among other topics.

Do you think the Supreme Court is broken?" the senator asked.

I've never said anything about the Supreme Court being broken, and again, you know, I'm not able to comment on the structure, the size, the functioning even of the Supreme Court," Jackson said.

Jackson had gone before the committee in 2012 for her current job. Introducing her was then-Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who later became House speaker and is related to her by marriage. Now, our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanjis intellect, for her character, for her integrity, it is unequivocal, Ryan said at the time.

As for whether there might be a Supreme Court opening in the near future, Justice Stephen Breyer, 82, the courts oldest member, has been mum about any retirement plans. The last he had to say on the topic, in an interview published in December, was: I mean, eventually Ill retire, sure I will. And its hard to know exactly when.

Liberal groups have urged the court's most senior liberal justice to step down while Democrats have Vice President Kamala Harris to break a confirmation vote tie in a Senate split 50-50. And it's getting to be the time of year when justices often announce their retirements.

If Breyer were to retire this year or next and Biden were to select Jackson to replace him, it would be a quick potential promotion, but also not out of step with other members of the court.

President George H.W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court in 1991, just a year after putting him on the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit. Last fall, Trump nominated Barrett to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was just three years after he put the Notre Dame law professor on an appeals court.

Also being considered for the appeals court was Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, 41, a Washington attorney. She previously served as a federal public defender in Chicago. Democratic lawmakers embraced her work as a public defender, saying such experience is too scarce in today's federal judiciary.

Jackson-Akiwumi said she too believed that race wouldn't play a role in the type of judge that she would be.

I do believe that demographic diversity of all types, even beyond race, plays an important role in increasing public confidence in our courts and increases the public's ability to accept the legitimacy of court decisions," she said.

Three other Biden nominees who testified were: Julien Xavier Neals, who is Black and is county counsel for New Jersey's Bergen County; U.S. Magistrate Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, who is Muslim and of Pakistani ancestry; and Regina M. Rodriguez, who is Hispanic and is a Denver lawyer.
By Pak Yiu

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong's legislature passed on Wednesday a controversial immigration bill, which lawyers, diplomats and right groups fear will give authorities unlimited powers to prevent residents and others from entering or leaving the Chinese-ruled city.

The government has dismissed those fears as "complete nonsense," saying the legislation, which will come into effect on Aug. 1, merely aims to screen illegal immigrants at source amid a backlog of asylum applications and does not affect constitutional rights of free movement.

"We are facing increasing challenges, especially preventing the number of illegal immigrants from rising and claimants from abusing the system," Security Secretary John Lee said, adding that travel rights remain guaranteed and that the government will introduce subsidiary legislation in the near term.

The assurances, however, come in a climate of mistrust after the increasingly authoritarian path officials have taken the imposition of a sweeping national security law by Beijing last year.

"What is concerning is that in hastily pushing this bill forward, the government has chosen to ignore civil society groups that have flagged legitimate concerns," said Michael Vidler, a lawyer with Vidler & Co Solicitors.

Lawyers say the new law will empower authorities to bar anyone, without a court order, from entering or leaving Hong Kong - essentially opening the door for mainland China-style exit bans - and fails to prevent indefinite detention for refugees.

The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) said in February the bill failed to explain why such powers were necessary, how they would be used and provided no limit on the duration of any travel ban, nor any safeguards against abuse.

The Security Bureau said the law would be applied only to inbound flights and target illegal immigrants, expressing disappointment at the "unnecessary misunderstanding" caused by HKBA.

Story continues

Still, lawyers, diplomats, trade unions and business bodies were puzzled by the government's reluctance to add the stated limitations into the bill.

A group of U.S. senators last year estimated at least two dozen U.S. citizens had been prevented from leaving China in recent years and face regular surveillance and harassment by authorities. China denies foreign nationals are under threat of arbitrary detention or exit bans.

REFUGEE RIGHTS

Activists also say the new legislation raises concerns about refugees' rights and well-being. It allows immigration officers to carry guns and, in some cases, requires asylum seekers to communicate in a language other than their mother tongue.

The government says there are currently 13,000 refugee claimants in Hong Kong and that it wants to tackle the backlog.

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Elizabeth Quat told the legislature the number of refugees was "a threat to peace and stability" and the city needed to heal this "cancer."

The screening process can take years and the claimants' success rate is 1%. During that period, it is illegal for asylum seekers to work or volunteer, and they live in limbo, on food vouchers.

Currently, asylum seekers can be detained only if they break the law or for deportation, for a "reasonable" period.

The bill adds that authorities can also detain a refugee if "the person poses, or is likely to pose, a threat or security risk to the community" and does not state what constitutes such a risk. Rights groups say it broadens the scope for indefinite detention.

David, 25, was granted asylum after arriving from an east African country four years ago. He said he was detained for 92 days while being processed and the new bill could lead to an even worse experience for new claimants.

"It's pretty terrifying, being there without knowing ... how long you're gong to be there for," said David, who asked Reuters not to use his full name due to the sensitivity of the matter.

(Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Lincoln Feast & Simon Cameron-Moore)
COLUMBIA  Gov. Henry McMaster said government-mandated mask wearing and other COVID-19 restrictions need to end in South Carolina, and he's willing to do "whatever's necessary" to put a stop to them if local officials don't do so themselves.

"Its time to start getting back to normal. Id ask the cities and counties if they have restrictions out there, to wrap it up," he told reporters April 28 outside the Governor's Mansion.

"I think some of them are being unreasonable, and if they need some help in removing those restrictions, Ill be glad to help them," he added.

Whether to mask up should also be a choice  not a requirement  in schools, he said, now that all employees have had the opportunity to get vaccinated on their own or through clinics that every district arranged with a local health care provider after workers became eligible March 8.

"It is the height of ridiculosity for a school district to make that decision for the parents," McMaster said.

His comments came two days after dozens of parents protested outside the Charleston County School District, calling for its mandate to become an option.

"Those parents are exactly right," McMaster said, adding that studies showed even at the height of the pandemic that the virus largely was not spread at school and when it did, it wasn't from child to adult.

"If the parents do not want their children wearing masks, then they shouldnt be required by the government to wear a mask," the governor said. "Its just that simple."

School district spokesman Andy Pruitt disagreed, saying Charleston County will continue to follow the guidance of infection control specialists from the Medical University of South Carolina.

South Carolina is among just a handful of states where every school is offering a full return to the classroom. Only a few of the state's 79 districts hadn't already provided the option for all grades before legislators passed a law setting an April 26 deadline.

State schools Superintendent Molly Spearman advised districts to continue following the guidelines of public health experts. However, "if the governor feels that they are no longer needed, he has the power to issue an executive order directing districts to abandon them," said her spokesman, Ryan Brown.

McMaster said he might.

He declined to be more precise, repeating only that he would do "whatever is necessary."

He also declined to specify how long he's willing to wait on local officials, saying, "That depends on what happens. But we're getting pretty close."

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Unlike other states, South Carolina never had a statewide mask mandate, though McMaster encouraged local governments last year to pass their own ordinances. That encouragement officially ended when he lifted his mandate for face coverings in state buildings March 5.

More than 1.2 million South Carolinians have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations, or more than 30 percent of adults. State health officials say reaching so-called herd immunity  when enough people have immunity to prevent the virus from spreading  will require 70 percent of adults getting vaccinated.

But McMaster said the dropping rate of new cases and deaths suggest the state is getting there despite being far below that benchmark, noting many South Carolinians have natural immunity from having the virus and recovering.

Nearly 580,000 South Carolinians have tested positive for the virus over the last 13 months, and about 9,500 of them died, according to public health data.

McMaster, who is among the South Carolinians who recovered, called it "absurd" for President Joe Biden and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue calling for fully vaccinated people to wear masks indoors, even while easing guidelines April 27 for outdoors.

"I think that's totally unreasonable," said McMaster, who got his first shot April 19.

Many local governments are already choosing not to renew their mask mandates when they expire.

The city of Charleston extended its mandate through May 13. But City Council voted April 20 to eliminate fines and the requirement to wear masks outdoors.

"The city of Charleston has worked hard to be both responsible and reasonable throughout the pandemic," said city spokesman Jack O'Toole.

The supply of vaccines in South Carolina is now greater than the demand, as many appointments go unfilled, and officials shift their strategy to convincing those who are hesitant or refusing to get a shot.

Those declining to roll up their sleeve include employees of K-12 public schools, according to a voluntary survey collected over two weeks and sent to the state education agency.

It shows the percentage of staff who had received at least a first dose by April 12 ranged from about 25 percent in Richland 1 (Columbia), Lexington-Richland 5 (Chapin), and Greenville County, the state's largest, to nearly everyone in several small districts, including Barnwell 19 (Blackville-Hilda) and Barnwell 29 (Williston-Elko). Half of Dorchester 2 employees said they'd gotten a shot, while 61 percent of Charleston County employees and two-thirds of Horry County's did, the survey shows.

"Everybody has had the opportunity to get vaccinated," McMaster said. "That was supposed to be the end of it  when everybody gets vaccinated, then were back to normal."

Libby Stanford contributed to this report from Charleston.
Arlene Foster is on the brink of being forced out as DUP leader amid a growing backlash at her handling of Brexit.

Three quarters of the party's Northern Ireland Assembly members have signed a letter of no confidence, according to Sky News.

Meanwhile, at least half of the party's MPs in Westminster as well as some of its peers have also backed the push against Mrs Foster, according to the Belfast News Letter.

Reports suggest that 21 MLAs, four MPs and at least one peer have signed the letter.

Voting in a leadership contest would likely be restricted to the party's 27 MLAs and eight MPs.

If the reported numbers backing the no confidence letter were replicated at a formal contest Mrs Foster would see her five and a half year tenure as party leader come to an end.

It remains unclear whether Mrs Foster, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, would contest a leadership vote if one is triggered.

But her position at the top of the party appears to be in growing peril, with DUP sources telling PoliticsHome that Mrs Foster is in 'very dangerous territory'.

Another source said they expect Mrs Foster to resign due to the scale of opposition against her.

Mrs Foster yesterday dismissed suggestions that her leadership of the party was in jeopardy.

She said that 'these stories come up from time to time' and she intended to 'deal with it and move on'.

Arlene Foster, pictured yesterday during a visit to a youth centre in Belfast, is on the brink of being forced out as DUP leader amid a growing backlash at her handling of Brexit

The DUP has responded to the reports that a significant number of elected representatives have signed a letter of no confidence in Mrs Foster.

The party said its internal democratic electoral processes were a matter for its members and declined to make further public comment on Mrs Foster's future.

'The Democratic Unionist Party conducts its business in accordance with its constitution and rules,' the party said in a statement.

'The Officers of the Party oversee the conduct and organisation of its internal democratic electoral processes.

'Whilst understanding that there will be from time-to-time public interest in party processes, these issues, in the first instance, are matters for members of the party and we are not able to make any further comment at this time.'

There has been growing discontent among DUP members about Mrs Foster's leadership in recent months.

The primary source of their concern is her handling of the Brexit process.

The DUP is facing anger from the wider loyalist and unionist community over the rollout of the Northern Ireland Protocol which critics argue has created an economic and trade border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Critics have accused Mrs Foster of failing to use the party's influence in Westminster  particularly during its confidence and supply deal with the Conservatives  to secure a Brexit deal that saw Northern Ireland leave the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK.

Poor polling numbers have exacerbated the discontent among the party faithful.

Responding to reports of internal party unrest, Mrs Foster said yesterday: 'Stories on leadership come up from time to time, and it's one of those times.

Critics have accused Mrs Foster of failing to use the party's influence in Westminster  particularly during its confidence and supply deal with the Conservatives  to secure a Brexit deal that saw Northern Ireland leave the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK

'So we'll just deal with it and move on because I've bigger things to do, including getting us through this Covid pandemic, including listening to the concerns of working-class communities. These stories come up from time to time. This is no different.

'I haven't received any letters from constituency associations so I'm not going to get into a running commentary on these issues, they come up from time to time. I think it's important to note that there is the big job of work to do. We have a year left of this mandate.

'It's important that we lift our eyes and continue the work of rolling out of the restrictions, deal with the Northern Ireland Protocol.'
A convicted child rapist who killed two six-year-old boys in Southern California in the 1980s was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Kenneth Rasmuson, 59, showed no emotion as he was sentenced in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Pomona over the abduction and killing of Jeffrey Vargo and Miguel Antero in the 1980s. He had pleaded no-contest in February.

Rasmuson murdered 6-year-old Jeffrey Vargo, who disappeared on July 2, 1981, after he left his house in Anaheim Hills in Orange County to look at a fireworks stand.

Rasmuson (pictured in court in February) has previously spent 17 years in prison for the separate abuse of an 11-year-old boy in Santa Barbara County and a three-year-old boy in Los Angeles

His body was found the next day by workers at a construction site in Pomona, in eastern Los Angeles County.

'I had hoped to be at your execution because I wanted to look in your eyes and see the same terror that my son saw at his last moment,' the boy's father, Bob Vargo, told Rasmuson at the sentencing hearing.

'Because of your evil acts, the last time we saw our son was to view his scarred and lifeless body lying in a casket with his favorite toys,'

Rasmuson also kidnapped, stabbed and strangled 6-year-old Miguel Antero, who vanished on April 8, 1986, after stepping off of a school bus near his Agoura Hills home.

His body was found that day in a wash near his home in the northwestern county.

His father, Gil Antero, said in court that Miguel was 'caring and full of joy' and said his killing 'has shattered our lives to pieces.'

The convicted child rapist is expected to be sentenced for life for the killings of Miguel Antero (right) and Jeffrey Vargo (left)

Kennth Rasmuson has pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting and murdering two boys in California in the 1980s

Decades after the boys were killed, DNA evidence linked Rasmuson to the slayings, prosecutors said. In 2015, he was arrested at his parents' home in Sandpoint, Idaho, where he had been living as a registered sex offender.

Rasmuson pleaded guilty in February to two counts of murder with the special circumstance that he committed multiple killings.

The case was marked by conflict over District Attorney George Gascon's policies that bar the filling of special-circumstance allegations and prompted the District Attorney of neighboring Orange County to file his own case against Rasmuson out of concern that he might one day be eligible for parole.

Miguel's body was discovered (pictured) seven hours after he went missing with his body covered in stab wounds

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said he stood 'shoulder to shoulder' with the families, friends and neighbors of the two boys outside the courthouse and released white balloons in honor of the victims.

'This is what victimization does,' Spitzer wrote on Facebook. 'It isn't just one life interrupted. Or one family. It ripples across families, across neighborhoods, and across entire communities.'

'The pain of losing two beautiful, 6-year-old boys will never go away, but today there was justice for Jeffrey and Miguel,' Spitzer wrote.

Rasmuson spent 17 years in prison for the 1980s molestation of an 11-year-old boy in Santa Barbara County and a 3-year-old Los Angeles boy.

After serving his time, he was committed to a state mental hospital as a dangerous sex offender but was released in 2007.

Miguel pictured with his mother Ana Bradshaw. She has had to wait almost 30 years to see someone appear in court over his death

Rasmuson might never have been linked to Miguel's murder if retired Sheriff's Sgt. John Laurie - one of the original detectives assigned to the homicide investigation - hadn't been watching TV at his home in Orange County.

The news show he was watching aired an item - with a mugshot - about Pomona police arresting Rasmuson in connection with Jeffrey Vargo's murder.

Laurie immediately recognized the man in the mugshot as the same one who - 28 years earlier - he'd suspected of killing Miguel Antero.

But at that time, he couldn't find enough evidence to charge Rasmuson with murder.

After the TV news show ran in 2014, Laurie called LA County Sheriff's cold case unit and asked them to dig out the dust-covered evidence files from Miguel's 1986 case.

'Take it to the lab and just run it through. I'm convinced this is our suspect,' Laurie recalled telling a trusted investigator.

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department senior criminalist, who performed the lab work, used the latest techniques and identified DNA evidence which connected Rasmuson to Miguel's murder.

He was arrested and charged with both the killings in 2015 at his home in Sandpoint, Idaho, where he was living as a registered sex offender.

Connie Vargo (centre right), Jeffrey's mother, said she feared Rasmuson could have been released early before the plea deal was struck, leading to his conviction

But a protracted court battle has caused divisions in the Los Angeles justice system over Rasmuson's potential punishment.

He was charged with murder with special circumstances because of the multiple killings, making him eligible for the death penalty.

But Gascon barred prosecutors from pursuing the punishment because a capital sentence could lead to decades of costly appeals with little chance of an execution.

California has not executed anyone since 2006 and there are more than 700 people on its death row.

Gascon also barred prosecutors from filling special circumstance allegations.

But after facing a backlash, he made exceptions for certain cases including those involving child sexual abuse.

Judges also blocked his office's attempts to get rid of the sentencing enhancements in this case.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer offered in February to try the case in his county with special circumstances because Jeffrey was first kidnapped there.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer (pictured in court) offered in February to try the case in his county with special circumstances because Jeffrey was first kidnapped there

Spitzer said he would dismiss the case in his own county once sentencing has taken place.

The case became the source of tension among prosecutors and district attorneys in California who are disputing progressive reforms in sentencing.

Iniguez accused Spitzer of political grandstanding with his attempt to move the case, while Spitzer said the plea deal was only reached because of the pressure brought about by his filing.

Connie Vargo, Jeffrey's mother, said she feared Rasmuson could have been released early if Spitzer had not become involved in the case.

She said, according to the Los Angeles Times: 'I'm afraid that the outcome might have been that they dismissed the special circumstances which means he could have possibly gotten out in 14 or 15 years.

'Imagine that a murderer, a child molester, a deviant to society. I'm just glad that that didn't happen.'
OSLO, 28 April 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DigiPlex, the Nordic leader for scalable, secure and sustainable data centers, has been recognized by Great Place to Work as one of the ten Best Places to Work in Norway 2021.

Just two weeks after its official certification as a Great Place to Work for the third year in a row, DigiPlex was yesterday recognized as one of Norway's Best Workplaces. Achieving 10th place on the list of in the 50-199 employees category is testament to the strength of DigiPlex's culture and its ability to attract and retain the best in the industry. The business' commitment to sustainability at the core is a fundamental element in this success, cited by staff as well as customers, as an important differentiator. A rigorous evaluation process is heavily based on the employee experience. The Trust Index survey and Culture Audit assessment capture both the employee feedback and the organizational practices that make up a truly impactful workplace culture.

Assessed against stringent criteria and rated against some of Norway's biggest names, DigiPlex has jumped five places in a year (from 15th in 2020). To do this in a year of pandemic disruption, and whilst still growing headcount by 25% is a significant achievement. Over the past 14 months DigiPlex has been sure to maintain extra focus on the wellness, happiness, and motivation of all staff. In addition to ensuring every employee was equipped to work effectively and comfortably from home, DigiPlex has also made sure that even with most staff working from home they could regularly get together virtually to stay connected and have fun, with the latter taking priority. These aspects, plus to the sense of personal responsibility and engagement that are frequently reported by staff are contributing to DigiPlex being a Great Place to Work.

"Last year we set ourselves the goal to at least maintain our status in the Great Place to Work rankings. To move up five places, against the background of the challenges of the COVID pandemic, is testament not only to the commitment of all our employees, but to the resilience of our culture. I am super proud of our people," said Haakon Holm Knapstad, Chief HR & Compliance Officer at DigiPlex.

"In my first year as CEO I have constantly seen evidence of how DigiPlexers take ownership, initiative and support each other as they collaborate to develop and deliver solutions and service to our customers. They have the can-do attitude that makes this such an exciting, empowering and rewarding place to work. I am honored that we have reached 10th place in Norway's Best Workplaces especially in times like these," said Wiljar Nesse, CEO DigiPlex.

"For DigiPlex to advance five levels up to 10th position amongst Norway's Best Workplaces in just one year, and during a global pandemic, is impressive. Such a rapid advancement is seldom seen during the history of GPTW. It is clear that the DigiPlex team has a very special spirit of camaraderie, and this has grown even stronger despite the many challenges of this past year," said Jannik Krohn Falck, CEO Great Place to Work.

DigiPlex has participated in the Norwegian survey since 2018 and is has now been certified as a Great Place to Work (GPTW) for the third consecutive year. The rankings are based on a thorough and independent analysis of direct feedback from employees conducted by Great Place to Work Norway.

Connect with DigiPlex

For more information please contact:

Haakon Holm Knapstad, Chief HR & Compliance Officer, DigiPlex, hhknapstad@digiplex.com, +47 934 93 821

Contact:

Elisabeth Lennhede

Head of Communications

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But the Capitol itself will be emptier than it has ever been for the speech. The House sergeant-at-arms has asked anyone who does not have a ticket to attend  including lawmakers  to leave the building by 5 p.m. Wednesday, hours before Mr. Biden is to arrive.

The unusual preparations promise to lend a surreal mood to what is usually an elaborate and tradition-bound ritual in Washington  a State of the Union-style address delivered by a newly sworn-in president. They are the latest reminder of the challenges facing Mr. Biden, who took office during one of the more difficult and traumatic stretches in modern American history.

Itll be its own wonderful character, Ms. Pelosi said of the atmosphere for the speech. We go from 1,600 people to 200 people. Thats a different dynamic, but it has its own worth.

Already, the speech has been delayed for months after it was initially expected, as the White House and congressional leaders grappled with the public health and security concerns during Mr. Bidens first weeks in office. Yogananda D. Pittman, the acting chief of the Capitol Police, testified in February that militia groups involved in the Jan. 6 assault wanted to blow up the Capitol and kill lawmakers around Mr. Bidens first formal address to Congress.

With most cabinet officials staying away, there will be no need for another custom: the annual revelation, usually only minutes before the speech, of a designated survivor  one official instructed to stay away from the Capitol in case of a mass casualty attack on the building, to ensure there would be somebody remaining to run the government.
Adams Planners Approve Marijuana Cultivator Plans

ADAMS, Mass.  The Planning Board approved marijuana cultivators LC Square's site plan for Howland Avenue.

"It is just an improvement on the site, and there really isn't anything changing much," Chairman David Rhinemiller said Monday.

Art Babayan, principal of LC Square, came before the town in 2018 to share his intentions of establishing a marijuana cultivation business at 173 Howland Ave., the former Berkshire Outdoors building.

Although COVID-19 delayed some of the initial plans, Babayan went before the board Monday to get the project moving again.

Jeff Randall of Hill Engineers said site work is really limited, and their aim is to make improvements to the interior and exterior of the building.

"There is limited site work associated with this project. We are moving a few doors," Randall said. "We want to dress it up a little with some plantings and green space."

LC Square plans to have between 30 and 35 employees. During a given shift there will be 12 to 15 employees on site. Randall said they plan to install a 25-space parking lot to accommodate this.

He said they plan to use the existing loading dock and the new use should have no adverse effect on utilities.

Babayan went over some of the security features. He added that traffic should be minimal with scheduled truck deliveries and pickups likely to take place only a few times a month.

He said they plan to sell to mostly Berkshire County retailers.

The building will utilize a mostly closed-air system with only 10 to 15 percent of the air being exhausted. He said possible odor will be mitigated with an advanced filtration system.

"There will be very little air going out," Babayan said.

Babayan said hours of operation would be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Two-thirds of the employees are anticipated to be full time and he hopes to hire residents.

"Everything we do is focused around Adams," he said.

He said they will reuse soil and plant waste will be ground down and given to local farmers for compost.

In other business, the Planning Board voted to schedule a public hearing to discuss amending the zoning bylaws to allow marijuana cultivation, testing, and manufacturing in the Industrial Park.

"You can see with Art's plans it is in line with manufacturing and very technical akin to other uses in the industrial park," Donna Cesan, with Community Development said.

Cesan said when the town first crafted its marijuana bylaws they were extremely cautious in where they would allow marijuana to be grown and sold. Now that marijuana sales and cultivation have become quite normal in the state, the Board of Selectmen voted to ask the Planning Board to make some reconsiderations, specifically in the Industrial Park where the use seems to fit.

Most recently, the Zoning Board of Appeals made way for a retail and cultivation business to operate out of the former Burke Construction property at the entrance to the park.

Cesan added that the town receives inquires from marijuana-related businesses about vacancies in the park a few times a year.

Some board members had concerns about odor and asked that they have data from surrounding communities to help in their decision-making.

Board members also agreed that retail did not seem to be a good use in the park.

After a public hearing, town meeting ultimately will make this approval.
Cryopreservation, or the long-term storage of biomaterials at ultralow temperatures, has been used across cell types and species. However, until now, the practical cryopreservation of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster)-;which is crucial to genetics research and critical to scientific breakthroughs benefiting human health-;has not been available.

"To keep alive the ever-increasing number of fruit flies with unique genotypes that aid in these breakthroughs, some 160,000 different flies, laboratories and stock centers engage in the costly and frequent transfer of adults to fresh food, risking contamination and genetic drift," said Li Zhan, a mechanical engineering postdoctoral associate with the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering and the Center for Advanced Technologies for the Preservation of Biological Systems (ATP-Bio).

In new research published in Nature Communications, a University of Minnesota team has developed a first-of-its-kind method that cryopreserves fruit fly embryos so they can be successfully recovered and developed into adult insects. This method optimizes embryo permeabilization and age, cryoprotectant agent composition, different phases of nitrogen (liquid vs. slush), and post-cryopreservation embryo culture methods.

Researchers were able to:

show that the method is broadly applicable and easily adopted by non-specialists, with it being successfully implemented in 25 distinct strains for fruit flies from different sources (e.g., laboratories);

demonstrate that for most strains, more than 50% of embryos hatch and more than 25% of the resulting larvae develop into adults after cryopreservation; and

show that flies retain normal sex ratio, fertility and original mutation after successive crypropreservation through generations and long-time storage in liquid nitrogen.

Our multi-disciplinary team is pleased to contribute an accessible protocol to cryopreserve numerous strains of Drosophila, an important biomedical model, while also hopefully informing other insect and related species embryo preservation." John Bischof, Study Co-Author, Director of the Institute for Engineering in Medicine and Professor in the College of Science and Engineering and Medical School

As humans share more than half of their genes with the fruit fly, Drosophila research and its implications for human health are significant.

"By studying mutants in the Drosophila model system, it can reveal how those genes function in human development and disease," said Tom Hays, head of the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development in the Medical School and College of Biological Sciences. "Fly studies have provided crucial insights on human diseases from Alzheimer's to Zika and revealed genetic pathways and mechanisms underlying embryonic development, olfaction and innate immunity."

Beyond training individuals in this method, the University of Minnesota team is looking to adapt it to other applications.

"It will be important to understand the genetics that influence cryopreservation in Drosophila and other insects," said study co-author Mingang Li, a research associate in the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development. "This method could support research aimed at pest control for Drosophila suzukii, a fruit fly that infests ripening fruits and has become a pest in the Americas and Europe, as well as for malaria research in Anopheles mosquitoes."

Funding for the research was provided by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, ATP-Bio from the Institute for Engineering in Medicine, and the University's Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.
Amanda Bartlett/SFGATE

San Francisco's historic movie theaters have had a tough year. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, they've faced a future that is uncertain at best. Online fundraisers have helped sustain staff members, outdoor parklet screenings have kept the movie magic alive and a dream team of iconic theaters joined forces to launch a drive-in. But there's still been a sinking fear that some might close for good.

As San Franciscans return to their regular moviegoing habits, the reopening of one particular local landmark has been on many people's minds. Even lighting up the Castro Theatre's sign felt so special that it made headlines. Now fans of the theater, and their long-time organist, can rejoice at news about their reopening.
BOSTON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- New England ABA, a local provider of home and community-based Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy services to children and adolescents with autism and related diagnoses and part of The Stepping Stones Group, is proud to have been selected to partner with the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program on its new Autism Spectrum Disorder-Intellectual Disability clinical support service (MCPAP for ASD-ID). This service offers timely support and best clinical practices consultation to address crisis situations for youth and young adults with ASD-ID.

MCPAP for ASD-ID was created by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services in July 2020 in response to the challenges children and youth with ASD and/or ID and their families were facing during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of providing increased supports, particularly during times of crisis.

The MCPAP for ASD-ID program is staffed by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) who work with behavioral health Emergency Services Program/Mobile Crisis Intervention (ESP/MCI) and Emergency Department (ED) clinicians serving youth and young adults up to age 26 with ASD-ID. They partner with clinicians to complete an assessment of the individual in crisis, provide strategies for mitigating the crisis, and help youth and young adults remain safe in their homes. MCPAP for ASD-ID is a state funded program that is open to all at no cost to the youth or their family.

In addition to the ABA consultation services, MCPAP for ASD-ID also provides physician consultations, provided by a team of experts from across the Commonwealth. A MCPAP for ASD-ID physician will assess medical issues that might be related to the youth's crisis (e.g., medication side effects, sleep problems, or other physical issues) and how best to treat them.

"This partnership between MCPAP and New England ABA brings timely and best clinical practices to help de-escalate emergent crises for children with ASD-ID. Having our BCBAs as a resource will help those with ASD-ID navigate crises safely with the goal of keeping families together. We are honored to work with first responders to help them better serve those affected by ASD-ID across the Commonwealth," said Laura Hanratty, PhD, BCBA-D, LABA, Manager of Specialty Programs at New England ABA.

"As the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program launches its newest program, MCPAP for ASD-ID, we are thrilled to welcome New England ABA to the team. The skills and knowledge that their clinical experts bring to individuals in crisis and clinicians seeking consultation services is exemplary. We look forward to working together for many years," said John H. Straus, MD, Medical Director of Special Projects at the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership/Beacon Health Options (MBHP/Beacon) and Founding Director of MCPAP.

About the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (MCPAP)

The Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (MCPAP) is a system of regional children's behavioral health consultation teams designed to help primary care providers and their practices to promote and manage the behavioral health of their pediatric patients as a fundamental component of overall health and wellness. Through consultation and education, MCPAP improves pediatric teams' competencies in screening, identification, and assessment; treating mild to moderate cases of behavioral health disorders; and in making effective referrals and coordinating the care for patients who need community-based specialty services. Founded in 2004, MCPAP has the widespread support of family advocates, legislators, and pediatric primary care providers and serves over 6,000 children and families across the Commonwealth each year. To date, 38 states, Washington, DC, and British Columbia, struggling with similar and even more severe access issues, have developed child psychiatry consultation programs based on the MCPAP model. For more information about MCPAP, visit www.mcpap.com.

About New England ABA

Founded in 2015, New England ABA, Inc. has been providing home and community-based Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy services to children and adolescents with Autism. New England ABA is part of The Stepping Stones Group. The Stepping Stones Group is a leading provider of therapeutic and behavioral services to children including those with special needs and autism. The company partners with over 900 school districts, Medicaid programs, human service agencies and commercial insurers to serve over 200,000 children annually across over 42 states. With over 30 years of experience, our team consists of over 6,000 licensed clinicians and special educators dedicated to delivering high-quality therapeutic and behavioral health services. The company is privately held by Five Arrows Capital Partners, the North American corporate private equity business of Rothschild & Co Merchant Banking. For more information on New England ABA, please visit www.ne-aba.com/ . For more information about the company, please visit https://thesteppingstonesgroup.com/ .

SOURCE New England ABA

Related Links

http://www.ne-aba.com/


No one is perfect, and your favourite celebrities, contrary to what you might think, are included. Some of these convicted celebrities fall from grace but were able to rebound back into everyones lives; while some have disappeared from the scene for good. Yahoo Lifestyle SEA rounds up a list of seven local and regional celebrities and their brush with the law in recent years.

Singaporean actor Shane Pow. (PHOTOS: Facebook / Shane Pow, Wan Ting Koh)

1) Shane Pow

Recently charged for drink drinking, this is Singapore actor Shane Pows second brush with the law for the same offence. Pow committed the alleged offence on 17 September 2020, after breaching COVID-19 safe management measures in October 2020. If convicted, Pow faces a mandatory jail term of up to two years and a fine of between S$5,000 and S$20,000, along with a driving ban of at least five years.

Blindsided by his offence, Mediacorp had parted ways with the C.L.I.F 5 star, stating that they were not notified by Pow prior to it being reported in the media on 22 April 2021.

2) Khaeryll Benjamin Ibrahim

In 2017, Malaysian actor Khaeryll Benjamin Ibrahim was sentenced to 11 years in prison for trying to smuggle drugs into the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The then-38-year-old had attempted to smuggle 4.5grams of crystal methamphetamine hidden in his rectum and was caught at the Kualanamu International Airport.

Known to his fans as Benjy, the actor starred in films and dramas such as Gangsterock Kasi Sengat, What If, and Kerana Cintaku Saerah.

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3) Mark Anthony Fernandez

After Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte launched his war against drugs, several Filipino celebrities, including popular actor Mark Anthony Fernandez, were arrested for alleged illegal drugs. Son of actor Rudy Fernandez and actress-politician Alma Moreno, Fernandez was arrested in October 2016 after the Angeles City Police found illegal drugs inside his vehicle.

However, after a year of being jailed, he was released when the courts dismissed his case. Fernandez had admitted to being a marijuana user but denied that the kilo of marijuana in his vehicle was his, saying that it was placed by someone else in his car.

Story continues

4) CJ Ramos

Former Filipino child actor CJ Ramos was another celebrity that was arrested after President Dutertes war on drugs. In 2018, Ramos was caught in the act of buying illegal drugs in Caloocan City, Philippines, and admitted to using illegal drugs due to personal problems. The actor admitted to using drugs for the past ten years.

First starred in Okay ka, Fairy Ko in 1987, Ramos made his acting comeback via FPJs Ang Probinsyano shortly after his release and has been on the show ever since.

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5) Ashley Rita

Former Miss Universe Singapore 2017 contestant Ashley Rita Wong Kai Lin was convicted and jailed for six weeks in February 2021 for using her friends debit cards to make unauthorised purchases after memorising them. The 27-year-old e-gaming commentator had pleaded guilty to the four charges under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act, with another 27 charges taken into consideration.

Wong had memorised two of her friends debit card details in 2016 and used their cards to make unauthorised purchases online. She had used one victims debit card illegally more than 20 times between August and September 2016 to buy various items.

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6) Neelofa

Malaysian celebrity Neelofa and family were fined a total of RM60,000 for violating the COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOP). The breaches were committed during her recent wedding ceremony, including regulations on interstate travel. With her husband, the couple had travelled to Langkawi for a work trip that many said was a disguise for their honeymoon.

The RM60,000 fine includes members of the couples family, who were issued fines of RM1,500 each, totalling RM30,000. They had been convicted for failing to observe physical distancing during the couples marriage solemnisation ceremony in March 2021. Seemingly unaffected by the fines, Neelofa continues to share photos of videos of her at work despite the controversy.

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7) Terence Cao

Local actor Terence Cao is in trouble with the law as he allowed 12 individuals, including Shane Pow, Jeffery Xu, Sonia Chew, and Jeremy Chan, to enter his house for a birthday celebration last year.

Held between 2 and 3 October 2020, Cao hosted the celebrities, seen in a photo uploaded onto social media, when the regulations then prohibited more than five visitors in a household at any one time.

The guests at the gathering were fined S$300 each, and Caos hearing for him to plead guilty has been fixed for 25 May. If convicted of flouting COVID-19 regulations, Cao could face a jail term of up to six months and a maximum fine of S$10,000.
Carnegie Corporation of New York Announces 26 Andrew Carnegie Fellows

With the goal of applying scholarly perspectives to some of society's most important issues, Carnegie Corporation of New York today announced the 2021 class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows. The philanthropic foundation will grant each fellow $200,000 to fund significant research and writing in the social sciences and humanities that address important and enduring issues confronting our society.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005071/en/

Through the humanities and social sciences, #CarnegieFellows help us to better understand where we've been, where we're going, and the enduring challenges confronting our society. Congratulations to the Class of 2021! (Photo: Business Wire)

The Corporation launched the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program in 2015 as an initiative that was conceived by the late Vartan Gregorian, who served as president of the foundation from 1997 until his death on April 15, 2021. Gregorian, a former professor of history and past president of Brown University, aimed to advance and elevate the work of the fellows to reinforce the importance of the social sciences and humanities in academia and American life. The program was inspired in part by an early fellowship that Gregorian received that helped catapult his career.

The most generous stipend of its kind, the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program has funded a total of 216 scholars, journalists, and authors, representing an investment of $43.2 million. It focuses on subjects such as U.S. democracy, the environment, technological and cultural evolution, and international relations. The criteria prioritize the originality and promise of the research, its potential impact on the field, and the scholar's plans for communicating the findings to a broad audience.

Among this year's winning research topics:

Law enforcement: developing tools to analyze policing data, including large volumes of body-worn camera video, to monitor racial bias and suggest evidence-based reforms

Pandemic recovery: studying the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable families and women in the workforce to identify policies that will help rebuild a more just society

Voting access: analyzing strategies to modernize the U.S. electoral system, including mail voting, same-day registration, and calls for a National Accessible Election law

Racial justice: telling the story of mid-19th-century Black New Yorkers who campaigned to desegregate public transit with pioneering civil disobedience strategies

Rural opportunity: exploring the history of agricultural property law and the views of American farmers to develop a more inclusive and sustainable land ownership system

"Me Too" movement: documenting the cultural history of the movement and social media's ability to expose offenders and hold them accountable

Immigration: exploring the immigration detention system and its multiple, unseen sites within and outside U.S. borders to understand policies and their impact on migrants

Climate change: developing inclusive approaches to climate policy by centering indigenous knowledge cultivated over 2,000 years of human adaption in Madagascar

"The members of the jury will miss Vartan Gregorian - his wisdom, his devotion, and his leadership. He took immense pride in the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program and was deeply involved in every aspect of the process, personally reviewing each nomination that was submitted," said John J. DeGioia, chair of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program jury and president of Georgetown University. "Vartan and I agreed that the caliber of the proposals presented by this year's fellows was exceptional, showing great potential in helping to solve the social, political, and economic challenges facing our world today. These projects fulfill Vartan's vision of universities, academies, and academic associations playing an essential role in producing critical information and advancing knowledge through scholarship. We are grateful for Vartan's foresight and are proud to continue his legacy as we congratulate our newest class of fellows."

Georgetown's DeGioia, who has been a member of the jury since the start of the program, replaced the founding chair, Susan Hockfield, professor of neuroscience and president emerita of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, Alondra Nelson, president of the Social Science Research Council, stepped down after three years of service on the fellows jury when she was asked to join the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as deputy director for science and society. Today, the jury is comprised of 14 distinguished scholars and academic and intellectual leaders from some of the nation's most prominent educational institutions, foundations, and scholarly societies.

This year's class of 26 fellows was selected from 311 nominations. The group is made up of 18 women and eight men, including one transgender person. The program seeks to include emerging (10) and established scholars (16) from across the country, and to represent public institutions of higher education (14) and private colleges or universities (12).

As part of the nomination process, 700 individuals - including heads of independent research institutes, societies, and think tanks; university presidents; directors of major university presses; and editors of leading newspapers and magazines - were invited to recommend up to two individuals. All proposals undergo a preliminary, anonymous evaluation by leading authorities in the relevant fields. The top proposals are then forwarded to the jury for a final review and selection.

The award is for a period of up to two years and its anticipated result is a book or major study. Read more about the Class of 2021, the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program, the work of past honorees, the criteria for proposals, and a historical timeline of scholarly research supported by the Corporation. Celebrate the Class of 2021 with our social media and press kit, and join the conversation online at #CarnegieFellows and via Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.







Class of 2021

Elizabeth Oltmans Ananat Barnard College, Columbia University

Beth Bailey University of Kansas

Richard Bell University of Maryland, College Park

Deborah A. Boehm University of Nevada, Reno

Kristina Maria Guild Douglass The Pennsylvania State University

Tanisha M. Fazal University of Minnesota Twin (News - Alert) Cities

Christine Folch Duke University

Shana Kushner Gadarian Syracuse University

Kali Nicole Gross Emory University

Francoise N. Hamlin Brown University

Adria L. Imada University of California, Irvine

Jeanne-Marie Jackson Johns Hopkins University

Dean Knox University of Pennsylvania

Daniel Laurison Swarthmore College

Sonali Shukla McDermid New York University

Leonce Ndikumana University of Massachusetts Amherst

Jessica A. Shoemaker University of Nebraska College of Law

Stefanie Stantcheva Harvard University

Susan C. Stokes University of Chicago

Neel U. Sukhatme Georgetown University Law Center

Kevin J. A. Thomas The University of Texas at Austin

Salamishah Tillet Rutgers University-Newark

Caroline Tolbert University of Iowa

Jessica Wilkerson West Virginia University

Gillen D'Arcy Wood University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Gabriel Zucman University of California, Berkeley

Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program Jurors

CHAIR: John J. DeGioia President, Georgetown University

Joseph E. Aoun President, Northeastern University (News - Alert)

Jared L. Cohon President Emeritus and University Professor of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

Robbert Dijkgraaf Director and Leon Levy Professor, Institute for Advanced Study

Jonathan F. Fanton President Emeritus, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Amy Gutmann President, University of Pennsylvania

Rush D. Holt CEO Emeritus, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Alberto Ibarguen President and CEO, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Ira Katznelson Interim Provost and Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University

Arthur Levine President Emeritus, The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation

Earl Lewis Founding Director, Center for Social Solutions, University of Michigan; Former President, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Marcia McNutt President, National Academy of Sciences

Louise Richardson Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford

Pauline Yu President Emerita, American Council of Learned Societies

About Carnegie Corporation of New York

Carnegie Corporation of New York was established in 1911 by Andrew Carnegie to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. In keeping with this mandate, the Corporation's work focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: education, international peace, and a strong democracy.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005071/en/
Online fashion retailer Asos is calling for the implementation of mandatory human rights due diligence legislation in the UK to strengthen the 2015 Modern Slavery Act, as part of the publication of its fifth Modern Slavery Statement.

Such legislation, currently being developed by the European Commission for the EU, would if introduced in the UK, ensure that companies must take steps to prevent and mitigate risks and protect vulnerable people within supply chains in line with their responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles. It would also require businesses to disclose these actions and be held to account for taking them.

Asos CEO Nick Beighton explains why the retailer would support such legislation to drive up standards, alongside targeted interventions such as a UK garment manufacturer licensing scheme, in an article published today (28 April) in The Times Red Box.

Its clear that the Modern Slavery Act needs strengthening. Adopting the recommendations set out in the Transparency in Supply Chains consultation, as the Home Office has done to its credit, is a welcome and much-needed step. It goes some way to bringing the UK in line with countries that have since legislated on modern slavery, following our lead while taking notes from the gaps in our approach, Beighton writes.

He adds, however, bringing the UK back into line with its peers is not enough.



Companies already have a responsibility to undertake this due diligence under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Legislation would make this legally binding by requiring UK companies to report on their efforts to mitigate risk and protect people in supply chains globally. By building a failure to prevent mechanism into this legislation, following the lead of the 2010 Bribery Act and as put forward last year by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, we can take this further and hold businesses and leaders to account for not doing enough to stop all forms of human rights abuses  including modern slavery  wherever they occur, and in turn ensure that victims have access to justice, he asserts in The Times.

Beighton also points to sector-specific interventions to address risks and notes Asos backs calls by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) to introduce a UK garment manufacturer licensing scheme.

Beefing up enforcement powers is also critical. Like many others weve advocated for the introduction of a single enforcement body for employment rights, as included in the 2019 Conservative manifesto. We urge the government to bring forward legislation to make this a reality, he writes.

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These steps, taken together with international action on problems facing UK supply chains further afield, including in China, would help create real change in the fight against modern slavery.

Asos fifth Modern Slavery Statement covers the modern slavery risks identified and actions taken by the company from February 2020 to January 2021. It details the measures implemented by Asos to ensure people in its global supply chain have been protected during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the steps taken to ensure UK brand partners sign up to the Transparency Pledge and the Fast Forward auditing programme, co-founded by Asos in 2014 to tackle problems with UK garment manufacturing supply chains.

Other key areas of activity featured include the continued operation of the Migrant Resource Centre in Mauritius, currently funded by the UK Home Offices Modern Slavery Innovation Fund and part of a joint project between Asos, Anti-Slavery International, IndustriAll Global Union, and local affiliates; the publication and distribution of a human rights handbook for workers in Bulgaria with local IndustriAll affiliates; and the steps the company has taken to further strengthen its internal policies and procedures in order to protect workers and support suppliers in complying with its standards.

With todays publication, Asos claims it has become the first fashion company globally to include independent NGO commentary in its Modern Slavery Statement, provided by Anti-Slavery International. The commentary focuses on Anti-Slavery Internationals views on the challenges faced by the fashion industry and garment manufacturers during the Covid-19 pandemic and the steps brands and retailers must take to address modern slavery risks throughout global supply chains.

Anti-Slavery International has acted as a critical friend and advised Asos on its modern slavery policies, in-country programme work and practices since 2017.

There is absolutely no place for modern slavery in todays world, and after an incredibly challenging year for the fashion industry and for garment workers worldwide, all companies and brands must now share the risks they have identified and the actions they have taken to ensure we can work together to deliver effective change, Beighton says in a statement. Were incredibly grateful to Anti-Slavery International for providing commentary and constructive challenge for this years statement and look forward to continuing our partnership as we seek to drive further change over the years to come.

Anti-Slavery International CEO, Jasmine OConnor OBE, adds: We welcome Asos call for a new UK law to hold companies to account when they fail to prevent human rights abuses. We hope other UK companies across all sectors follow Asos leadership, and that the UK Government responds to the growing calls from civil society, trade unions and business to go beyond the Modern Slavery Act and introduce stronger laws.

Germanys new proposed law on due diligence in supply chains had its first reading in the Bundestag, the German parliament last week  but unions are concerned that employers associations will attempt to block it or dilute its proposals.

A Government spokesperson told just-style: The Government is committed to eradicating modern slavery from the global economy and increasing transparency in supply chains.

Following strong support from stakeholders, we have committed to taking forward an ambitious package of changes to strengthen and future-proof the Modern Slavery Acts transparency legislation, including extending the reporting requirement to public bodies with a budget of GBP36m or more  a global first.

Businesses and public bodies must be more vigilant than ever before and ensure they are not inadvertently allowing forced labour in their supply chains.

just-style understands the Government announced plans in January of last year to introduce financial penalties for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. However, these new measures require legislative change and will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows.

It is also understood that the Government is due to publish its response to a three-month public consultation it ran in January 2019 on the single enforcement body for employment rights in due course.
The renewals will provide more visibility over our cashflow and backlog, Dr Mohamed Farouk commented.

Rig contractor ( ), which is set to be acquired by Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund, today announced renewals for seven rigs under contract in the country.

Four rigs are tied up for an additional 10 years, two are extended for 5 years and one will run for another 3 years.

"We are extremely pleased to secure such substantial amount of backlog with one of our largest clients and an almost doubling of our backlog figure from FY20, said chief executive Dr Mohamed Farouk.

The company said that the total backlog is now estimated at US$950mln with daily rates being broadly similar to current contracts.

In March, the Middle East drilling group announced it had agreed to be taken private by a consortium including Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund in a deal worth US$516mln.

The recommended US$12.50 a share offer represents a 40% premium to the previous night's closing price and was worth 36% more than the volume-weighted average price over the last 30 days.

The bid has been tabled by newly formed Innovative Energy, which is jointly owned by 64% shareholder ADES Investments, Saudis Public Investment Fund and Zamil Group.
[April 27, 2021] W.R. GRACE INVESTOR ALERT by the Former Attorney General of Louisiana: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates Adequacy of Price and Process in Proposed Sale of W. R. Grace & Co. - GRA

Former Attorney General of Louisiana Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq. and the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") are investigating the proposed sale of W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA) to Standard Industries Holdings Inc. Under the terms of the proposed transaction, shareholders of Grace will receive only $70.00 in cash for each share of Grace that they own. KSF is seeking to determine whether this consideration and the process that led to it are adequate, or whether the consideration undervalues the Company. If you believe that this transaction undervalues the Company and/or if you would like to discuss your legal rights regarding the proposed sale, you may, without obligation or cost to you, e-mail or call KSF anaging Partner Lewis S. Kahn (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) toll free at any time at 855-768-1857, or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-gra/ to learn more.



To learn more about KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General, visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

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Dr John Kani honoured with Pragnell Shakespeare Award

Veteran actor and playwright adds one more accolade to his list of achievements.

Veteran actor and playwright Dr Bonisile John Kani (honoris causa DLitt 2020) has been awarded the 2021 Pragnell Shakespeare Birthday Award.

Introduced in 1990, the Pragnell Shakespeare Birthday Award is an international award, presented annually, on the occasion of the Shakespeare Birthday Celebrations luncheon in Stratford-upon-Avon. Each year, the recipient is chosen by a committee of representatives from The Shakespeare Institute, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The award recognises outstanding achievement in extending the appreciation and enjoyment of the works of William Shakespeare and in the general advancement of Shakespearian knowledge and understanding.

Dr Kani has had a lifetime of interaction with Shakespeares work as an actor and playwright. His own play Kunene and the King (2019) deals with the effects of apartheid 25 years into democracy as seen through the lens of King Lear. He wrote the play for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and performed it at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. It has also been named as one of the 10 best productions put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

Dr Kani said on Twitter: I am overwhelmed by this honour with pride. In his acceptance speech he described his introduction to Shakespeare at the age of 11 in the little dusty town of New Brighton in Port Elizabeth through the isiXhosa translation of Julius Caesar by WB Mdledle. That was unbelievable. It opened my mind to another world, great thoughts, another understanding of the world.

Shakespeare has been an integral part of my lifeShakespeare transcends culture, geography, lands, groups and ethnicityHe is a heritage to everybody who walks this earth. Therefore, it is my great honour to accept this prize with incredible humility. It is one of the things that will be a highlight of my life.

Dr Kani joins an elite group of actors, such as Wits alumna Dame Janet Suzman (BA 1959) who was the recipient of the award in 2012, and Sir Antony Sher in 2017.

Professor Michael Dobson, Director of The Shakespeare Institute, described Dr Kani as the theatrical equivalent of Nelson Mandela. Not only does he have tremendous gravitas, but he is an accomplished actor on and off screen, who has helped introduce Shakespeare to new audiences around the world.

Dr Kani was nominated for an Olivier Award for his performance in My Children! My Africa!, and won a Tony Award for his role in the anti-apartheid Broadway plays Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island, which he co-wrote. Dr Kani appeared as Othello in Suzmans 1987 production in Johannesburg, which was credited with helping to accelerate the end of apartheid. In 2014, the Main Theatre in the citys Market Theatre, where he performed, was renamed the John Kani Theatre in his honour.

Dr Kanis extraordinary career has led to countless awards and honours, including honorary doctorates from the universities of Durban-Westville, Rhodes, Cape Town, Nelson Mandela University as well as Wits in 2020. He has also received the Hiroshima Foundation Award for Peace, as well as Fleur du Cap and Naledi lifetime achievement awards (in addition to a Naledi International Impact Award). The Afrikaans community rewarded him with the kykNET lifetime achievement award, and in 2005 he also received a national honour from the South African president  the Order of Ikamanga in Silver  recognising his contribution in the struggle through his work in the arts.

Dr Kani will receive a decorative silver scroll and medallion, handcrafted in Pragnells workshop.

See full speech from Pragnell here
CaixaBank, Spains largest domestic retail bank, is working closely with the trade unions and the Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government to axe 8,291 jobs. Yesterday, it reduced the cuts to 7,791 jobs. This is still the biggest ever staff reduction in the Spanish banking sector, however.

Last week, management informed the trade unions, the Stalinist Workers Commissions (CCOO) and social-democratic General Union of Labor (UGT), of plans to slash staff from 44,000 to 36,109. Over 1,500 branches will be closed.

Caixabank headquarters in Madrid, Spain, 2013 (Photo: Luis Garcia)

This is the result of the merger last September between La Caixa and bailed-out Bankia, backed by the PSOE-Podemos government, the Bank of Spain and the European Central Bank. The merged bank holds around 650 billion in assets.

In 2012, Bankia was bailed out with 22.5 billion. Nine years later, barely 3.3 billion has been recovered. It is not expected that the new merger will mean that this money will ever be returned.

The savage attack on workers was widely anticipated, with reports of 6,000 to 10,000 redundancies. The CCOO and UGT did not mobilise the workforce but, instead, made clear from the start their willingness to accept job losses.

Last September, Unai Sordo, general secretary of the CCOO, said the merger has a fairly strong business logic and, if confirmed, has an important strategic scope because we are talking about a financial entity with significant stakes in other energy, communication and infrastructure companies. He continued, Whenever there is a merger this has some kind of effect on labour relations and on the number of staff, pledging to ensure there are no traumatic redundancies.

UGT representative Daniel Esteban said the UGTs aim was to minimize the destruction of employment.

In the next six months, the trade unions did nothing publicly, but behind the scenes made clear their support for job cuts. El Espanol wrote, A trade union source present at the CaixaBank redundancy scheme negotiating table explained to this newspaper that its calculations estimated a 5,000 surplus of the workforce after the integration of Bankia.

Now, the unions are cynically stating they were surprised about the announcement. UGT general secretary Pepe Alvarez said that the redundancies are evident proof of lack of sensitivity. He added, we indebted the country as a whole so that today the financial sector can be alive.

The truth is, the ruling class, in collaboration with the trade unions, bailed itself out with billions from tax payers money to be paid for by social attacks on the working class.

The CCOOs Sordo called the Caixa-Bank redundancy measures an obscenity, especially after the austerity policies were imposed in Spain in exchange for the bailout of the bank. Calling it a shame, Sordo continued: We demand co-responsibility from the financial sector and it is not having a co-responsible attitude when it comes to approaching its modernization process.

Just two days later, another bank, BBVA, announced plans to lay off 3,800 workers, or 16 percent of the workforce, and shut 530 branches. Once again, the CCOO pretended to be surprised, calling the plan indefensible and scandalous.

Overall, the Spanish banking sector could slash as many as 15,000 jobs this year. Since 2008, it has lost nearly 120,000 workers (35 percent of the total) and closed 20,000 branches, according to the Bank of Spain. Over the same period, it reaped 200 billion in profits.

The union bureaucracies have no intention to wage a struggle. Closely tied to the capitalist state and the corporations, they barely attempt to pose as defenders of the workers they supposedly represent. Instead, they act as the labour police, suppressing struggles, imposing job cuts and social retrogression on the workers in the interests of privileged bureaucracies. They cannot be pressured to pursue policies favourable to workers interests, any more than one can pressure the Spanish Federation of Employers Organisations for a pro-workers policy.

The CCOO and UGT act as co-implementers of CaixaBanks redundancy plans. The same can be said of the other dozens of redundancy schemes being implemented throughout Spain, affecting nearly 30,000 workers in all major industrial sectors. In the past six years, over 250,000 workers have lost their jobs under these schemes.

The trade unions play a despicable role in these redundancy schemes. Part of the redundancy money goes straight into union coffers as commissions per worker made redundant, in most cases without the workers knowledge. Trade unions can gain up to 10 percent for each worker dismissed. In addition, workers in redundancy schemes pay a fixed amount, ranging from 100 to 400, for the unions legal advisory services. This helps to explain these schemes popularity with the union bureaucracies and big business over the past decade.

During the pandemic, the trade unions have also co-implemented the ruling class policy of herd immunity and massive handouts to the rich. They supported back-to-work and back-to-school policies responsible for millions of COVID-19 infections and tens of thousands of deaths. Spain has now an excess death rate of over 100,000 and 3.4 million infections.

As to the bailout expected to distribute 140 billion of EU funds to the corporations and banks, the CCOO and UGT sit in the funds advisory committee overseeing how the money is handed out. When this package was announced, both unions claimed they were not tied to austerity. In the past weeks, the PSOE-Podemos government has announced major pension reforms to raise the retirement age, while at the same time implementing another labour reform, the fourth in a decade, aimed at attacking workers rights and conditions.

As for Podemos, like the unions, they were aware of CaixaBanks job destruction in advance. They issued toothless criticisms, while making clear they will not mobilise workers against this.

Podemos fraudulently claims the PSOE did this without consulting them. Its regional branch in Andalusia claimed the bank merger was done thanks to PSOE support in the Government, without asking for the opinion of Podemos.

On Twitter, Podemos economic chief, Nacho Alvarez, impotently appealed to the PSOE to use its 16 percent minority holding in CaixaBank shares to stop the redundancies, writing: Podemos said that the merger of Bankia and CaixaBank was worrying news and, unfortunately, time has confirmed us. The state must use its participation in the entity to defend employment and the public interest. Alverez did not call workers to protest, let alone strike.

The treachery of the unions and the Left Populist Podemos party reflect the fact that both these forces speak, not for the working class, but for affluent sections of the middle class, indifferent and hostile to the interests of workers.

For the working class to fight back, workers must create new organs to coordinate its struggles in different factories, industries and countries in opposition to the ruling class and the corporatist trade unions. For this purpose, the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), the WSWS and its affiliated Socialist Equality Parties are calling for the formation of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC).

The development of a network of workers committees is absolutely essential. But this must be based on a socialist programme and principles. This can only be fought for by the development of a revolutionary party in the working class, opposed to the petty-bourgeois parties like Podemos. We urge readers and sympathisers to register and join the ICFIs Online May Day Rally to find out more about the IWA-RFC. It will be streamed live at wsws.org/mayday.
A teenager appeared in court this morning to face a series of charges two days after an armed incident at Crawley College.

Sandijs Dreimanis, 18, who is from the West Sussex town, faces a charge of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

He has also been charged with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and possession of a bladed article on a school premises.

Dreimanis appeared at Crawley Magistrates' Court today, wearing grey sweatshirt and dark trousers, a face mask and sporting a graze to his forehead.

He spoke only to confirm his name and address. Dreimanis entered no pleas to the charges and the case was sent to Lewes Crown Court for a hearing on May 26.

Melanie Wotton, prosecuting, told the court: 'Armed with an imitation firearm and a knife, [the suspect] had entered Crawley College and walked around the college for a period of time.

'[The suspect] then took the firearm out and pointed at members of staff and aimed that imitation firearm and then pulled the trigger causing [a] great amount of distress.

'[The suspect] was wrestled to the floor. [The suspect] said he had wanted armed officers to attend so he would be shot.'

Magistrate Paul Dalby said: 'The allegation involving a firearm can only be dealt with at the Crown Court, and as the other matters occurred at the same time they too will be dealt with at the Crown Court. Until then you will be remanded in custody.'

It comes two days after students and staff at Crawley College were evacuated with their hands on their heads after shots rang out at the campus.

The suspect is led by an officer outside Crawley Magistrates' Court in West Sussex today

Sandijs Dreimanis, 18, has been charged following the incident at Crawley College on Monday

The suspect is led away from the scene at Crawley College following the incident on Monday

The heroics of one teacher and their colleague, who were injured tackling an armed suspect, were hailed by police and the college praised the emergency services.

As the suspect fled on Monday, mechanical engineering teacher Steve Hopkins, 51, raced out of his classroom and faced them down.

Local officers were liaising with counter-terror specialists on Monday evening but later announced that it was not being treated as a terrorist incident.

The incident saw significant numbers of armed police dispatched after officers received multiple calls shortly after 3.10pm of reports of shots fired at the college.

Crawley College principal Vicki Illingworth said on Tuesday: 'Our college community was shaken by the actions that occurred yesterday afternoon.

Armed police at the scene of the incident at Crawley College in West Sussex on Monday

Mechanical engineering tutor Steve Hopkins, 51, raced outside and faced down the suspect

The suspect is seen being tackled to the ground during the incident in Crawley on Monday

'I cannot praise the courage, resilience and support shown by our staff enough.

'They have been incredible and the care and compassion they shared with our students and with each other continues to fill me with admiration.

'We can confirm two members of our staff did sustain some minor injuries, which were not gunshot wounds.

'Their heroic actions, and the rapid response of emergency services, helped to protect our college community.'

Monday's incident saw significant numbers of armed police dispatched to Crawley College

Police searching the suspect's home in the West Sussex town of Crawley yesterday

A Sussex Police spokesman said this morning: 'Police investigating an incident at Crawley College on Monday, April 26 have charged a man with multiple offences.

'Shortly after 3.10pm, police received reports of shots being fired at the site in College Road.

'Officers swiftly responded to the scene, where the suspect had been detained by two college employees; a teacher and a member of support staff.

'A blank firing handgun and a knife were seized, and at 3.20pm an 18-year-old man from Crawley was arrested.

Armed police at the scene of the incident at Crawley College in West Sussex on Monday

'Two people sustained minor injuries  not gunshot wounds  and presented themselves to a walk-in medical centre. Thankfully, no other injuries were reported.

'Sandijs Dreimanis, 18, of Crawley, has been charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and possession of a bladed article on a school premises.

'He has been remanded to appear at Crawley Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, April 28.

'Police are treating this as an isolated incident which was not terror-related, and nobody else is being sought in connection with it.

Local officers were liaising with counter-terror specialists on Monday evening

Armed police at the scene at Crawley College on Monday following reports of gunshot fire L

'Officers continue to work with the college and the local authority to manage the welfare and well-being of those involved, including students.

'Anyone with any information can report it online or call 101, quoting Operation Reset.

'Crawley College is assisting Sussex Police with its investigation, and has confirmed that the college will be closed until at least Thursday, April 29.'
[April 28, 2021] Warren Receives R$ 300 Million in New Funding and Continues to Revolutionize Brazil's Financial Market

On the heels of celebrating its four-year anniversary, Warren has consolidated its position among Brazil's top financial institutions by announcing a R$ 300 million Series C round. The round was led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, a long-term global investor with investments in large groups such as Nubank, Sankhya, VR Beneficios and Hotmart. This funding round, which, at twice as much as the two prior rounds, was a record for the company, also included participation from Ribbit (News - Alert) Capital, Kaszek and Chromo Invest - investors since Series A - and from QED Investors, Meli Fund and Quartz - investors since Series B. The fundraise reinforces Warren's place as a pioneer in disrupting Brazil's financial market, offering a transparent model aligned with the client. "Before Warren, Brazilians had to choose between either earning very low interest on savings accounts or paying very high commission fees to brokers who are incentivized to sell them products they don't need, says Lauren Morton, a partner at QED Investors. "Warren changes everything by redefining how Brazilians build their equity. Their team combines vast industry experience with an unwavering passion for the mission of democratizing investing in Brazil. This approach has had excellent results and Warren is now the country's largest independent broker." The investment will help in hiring more workers to continue to bring the best features in the market to clients, for both investors and professional partners. It will also go to potential M&As being considered which could add even more to the complete experience offered by the company. By incorporating another global fund into its portfolio, Warren is reinforcing how valuable it is in the Brazilian market to have a business model that is aligned, transparent and free of conflicts of interest. "We will bring our message to potential clients and business partners with much more impact," says Warren CEO Tito Gusmao. "We are the only ones in Brazil offering clients total transparency. Everyone else is still working with a model where the client's interest is not treated as a priority. This needs to end and Warren has taken the lead. Our clients are always the focus and we only grow when our clients grow." Warren is notable in the market for delivering a complete investment experience free of complications, through a savings account, direct access trading and managed portfolios that can be created according to goals. In the latter, the client chooses an investment goal and the products and allocation are selected according to the term and investor's profile. In contrast to the market, this and other services are offered by the broker with a flat fee. This fee-based billing model is the most transparent model that a broker can use and it is most aligned with client needs. "We didn't invent the wheel. We just distributed to everyone a model to which only the very wealthy had access and which is already commonly found in developed economies, including the USA and Australia, to name a few," added Tito. "Using the Warren model, we democratize wealth management services. Our clients invest according to their goals, theypay no brokerage fees, paying only a flat fee for all of our services and moreover receiving 100 percent of our commission back when they invest in funds belonging to other managers on our platform.



The fee-based model is still new in Brazil, as opposed to commission-based model - a compensation system used by the largest brokers and investment banks that is based on commissions being built into the products that are recommended to and contracted by investors, such as investment funds. Another major innovation from the broker is its platform for investment market professionals: Warren for Business. Some of the new funding will go to enhancing technological resources, which should help the brand reach 400 partners by the end of this year and giving this platform a 60 percent share of Warren's total AUM - it currently accounts for 20 percent. Right now, there are 300 professionals connected and using Warren's platform to facilitate and serve as a major ally in development of their business.

In an effort to grow both its digital and physical presence, Warren has in the last four years invested in people and in the platform's brick-and-mortar offices. Since opening in 2017, the company has seen its assets under management and number of employees grow ten-fold - 400 employees are currently working at a total of nine spaces, with locations in Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo, the interior of Santa Catarina and in Parana. This increase occurred in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, the company was dedicated to completing its entire portfolio of offers for clients, including currency exchange products, life insurance, education, financial planning and offshore, in addition to starting up its institutional business, which helped to further leverage the good relationship already built with managers in the Brazilian market. This means that Warren now provides a complete wealth management ecosystem for its clients. The company went from R$ 500 million in 2020 to R$ 5 billion in total under management, with hopes to reach R$ 10 billion by the end of 2021. According to Gusmao, the idea is for growth and hirings to continue at the same pace. Continuing along the path to democratization of good investing, Warren has already gone through two investment rounds: in 2019, R$ 25 million was raised, and in 2020, R$ 120 million was raised. The first round was led by Ribbit, an American venture capital fund in Silicon Valley that has invested in fintechs such as Robinhood, Coinbase and Wealthfront. The second round was led by QED Investors, a venture capital fund investing in companies including Nubank, Loft and GuiaBolso. Series C is the biggest round ever for Warren, which continues to count on participation by Kaszek Ventures and from Chromo Invest, a Rio Grande do Sul-based fund manager, as well as from Ribbit. The QED Investors, Meli Fund and Quartz funds, which entered Series B, are also taking part in the broker's third round of funding and are now reinforcing their new investment. According to Tiago Wallau Kretzmann, a partner at Chromo Invest, this new funding will let Warren further expand its product and service offerings, providing both big and small investors with a complete solution. "For years, Chromo has supported and invested in the transformation that Warren has been making in the financial market, offering a new way to invest that is aligned with client interests, on a unique, intuitive and efficient platform," he says. Christiano Gallo, a partner at Quartz, is of the same mind as Kretzmann. "The Warren model truly places the client at the center, looking to build a long-term relationship with the investor, with more chances for the client to obtain good returns and avoid making investments in products that are only favorable to those selling them," Gallo says. In the opinion of Nicolas Berman, a co-founder and partner at Kaszek, believes that now more than ever, people need to rely on institutions that put client interests first. "Warren offers this with great clarity and effort and stands out as a third option, because it offers Brazilians a unique opportunity to securely build their equity while considering what really matters, which are their own goals in life," says Berman. Nikolay Kostov, a partner at Ribbit Capital, shares the Kaszek co-founder's position: "Warren is revolutionizing how Brazilians invest to lead better financial lives. And even during the difficult times of the last year, Warren delivered differentiated growth, while rapidly launching more products and services to meet the ever evolving needs of its clients. The Warren team is driven by a shared passion to create the best wealth management and investing experience in Brazil, offering both a cutting-edge digital platform coupled with highly personalized services and advice." "We are proud to be part of yet another round of investment in Warren and to see that we continue to be aligned with the mission of democratizing access to financial services in Latin America," says Renato Pereira, a partner at Meli Fund. About Warren Warren launched in 2017 as a broker and asset manager under Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Market Entities (Anbima) and Brazilian Central Bank regulations, with the belief that investments are an instrument for people to fulfill their short-, medium- and long-term life projects. By managing globally diverse portfolios, a free savings account with a 100% return on the Interbank Certificate of Deposit (CDI) and a Trade tab for more autonomous clients, Warren offers a comprehensive solution for every moment in the investor's life, whether a beginner or a seasoned veteran in the investment market. The company is a pioneer with its Warren Model, offering a relationship that is 100% transparent and aligned with the client, using a flat fee, goal-based investment and 100% cashback on third-party products. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005159/en/

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The information campaign on COVID-19 vaccination will be adapted to each sector targeted by the relaxation measures, informs the Government, in a press release sent at the end of the meeting of the Interministerial Committee for Romania's return to normalcy starting June 1, 2021.

The second meeting of the Committee, which took place on Wednesday, at Victoria Palace of Government, highlighted the need to adapt the gradual relaxation measures to the specifics of each field of activity, the quoted source states.

In parallel, the Government will expand the vaccination campaign, in order to facilitate the access of as many citizens as possible to immunization.

The representatives of the profile associations and organizations came up with concrete proposals regarding the perspective of organizing some cultural pilot events, which should be carried out in conditions of health safety. The representatives of the Association of Municipalities expressed their readiness to host such pilot events, the Government said in a statement.

According to the quoted source, the preparation of the gradual reopening of the hospitality sector was also discussed, as the vaccination campaign progresses.

The elimination of restrictions and the reopening of the sectors severely affected by the pandemic will be possible gradually, depending on the increase of the population's immunization rate. The information campaign on vaccination will also be adapted to each sector targeted by the relaxation measures, the release states.

Thus, the proposals will be analyzed starting Thursday in technical working groups by areas, in which the representatives of the competent ministries and institutions will agree on the specific proposals for measures. These will then be submitted to the Interministerial Committee for approval. The working groups will analyze the proposals in the fields of economy, health, labor and social protection, transport and infrastructure, education and research, youth and sports, and culture.

"The vaccination campaign is going well at the moment, there are enough doses of vaccine to reach our target of 5 million people vaccinated by June, so that the immunization rate will allow us to gradually return to normalcy," said the Secretary General of the Government, Tiberiu Horatiu Gorun, who chaired Wednesday's meeting of the Interministerial Committee, as vice president.

The meeting at Victoria Palace was attended by representatives of the ministries and institutions involved in the management of the pandemic situation, as well as of the local authorities, of the tourism, culture and event organization sectors. They underlined that they support the COVID-19 vaccination campaign as a sure solution for Romania's gradual return to normalcy in conditions of health security for everyone, the release also reads.
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Enteral Feeding Formulas Market Growth & Trends

The global enteral feeding formulas market size is expected to reach USD 9.3 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2021 to 2028. The growing prevalence of chronic diseases such as cancer, stroke, multiple sclerosis, dementia, chronic liver disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and diabetes is projected to drive the demand for products that support patients with oral intake issues. In addition, the rise in preterm births is one of the significant factors boosting the demand for enteral feeding formulas to meet the nutritional requirements of newborns.

Based on product, the standard formulas segment dominated the market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 54.0% in 2020. This high share is attributable to the availability of a vast variety of standard formulas coupled with increased demand for low-cost nutrient formulations. In addition, the demand with respect to standard tube feeds is significant among the volume-sensitive patients or the patients on fluid restrictions. Such conditions include renal failure, congestive heart failure, and Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone (SIADH).

In 2020, based on flow type, the intermittent feeding flow type segment accounted for the highest revenue share in the market because intermittent feeding has shown better tolerance in patients as compared to bolus feeding. Moreover, this type of feeding does not require feeding pumps, which is helpful in allowing greater mobility in between the feedings. This is expected to increase its adoption among the hospital as well as homecare settings, thereby affirmatively impacting the segment growth.

In 2020, based on stage, the adults' segment accounted for the highest revenue share of 88.4% in the market. The segment is projected to witness the fastest CAGR over the forecast period. The rising adoption of tube feeds in adults is one of the crucial factors driving the growth. In addition, the availability of large number of tube feeds or products for adults on a commercial level also contributes to the large share held by the segment. Glucerna, Osmolite, TwoCal, Vital, Promote, and Jevity are some of the popular brands by Abbott Nutrition for adults.

Based on indications, other indications, followed by cancer care accounted for the largest share in terms of revenue in 2020. The increasing prevalence of cancer and other health conditions associated with cancer is likely to promote market growth. For instance, according to GLOBOCON 2020, there were around 19.3 million new cases of cancer worldwide in 2020. Europe accounted for about 23.4% of total cancer cases and Asia had the highest population suffering from cancer, which was about 60%.

In 2020, based on end user, the homecare segment accounted for the highest revenue share in the market and this segment is projected to witness the fastest CAGR over the forecast period. The increasing number of patients that receive home enteral feeding due to growing awareness about complete and balanced nutrition is one of the key factors contributing to the growth of this segment. For instance, according to a recent survey conducted in the U.K., there were 187 patients on home enteral tube feeding out of the total 257 patients. This suggested that approximately 72% of patients were on home enteral tube feeding.

North America dominated the market with a revenue share of 29.7% in 2020 owing to the growing burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and other neurological conditions. Furthermore, increasing preference for home-based enteral therapy has decreased the number of patient visits to hospitals and clinics. In addition, increasing malnutrition is expected to further boost the demand for enteral feeding formulas in this region.

In addition, the rising number of COVID-19 cases in various geographies coupled with the large geriatric population, susceptible to various health conditions, are among the factors contributing to the growth of the market. For instance, according to an article published in Europe PMC in 2020, enteral nutrition is generally preferred over parenteral nutrition for COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICUs. In addition, it should be provided within 48 hours of admission. Hence, such instances signify increasing adoption of enteral feeding formulas during the pandemic.

Request a free sample copy or view report summary: Enteral Feeding Formulas Market Report

Enteral Feeding Formulas Market Report Highlights

The market is anticipated to grow over the forecast period owing to the growing prevalence of chronic diseases and the rise in preterm births

The standard formulas segment dominated the market in 2020, owing to the availability of a wide variety of standard formulas coupled with increased demand for low-cost nutrient formulations

The intermittent feeding flow segment dominated the market in 2020, owing to better tolerance in patients shown by intermittent flow as compared to bolus feeding

Adults accounted for the largest revenue share in the market in 2020 owing to the rising adoption of tube feeds in the adults and the availability of a large number of tube feeds or products for adults on the commercial level

Other indications followed by cancer care accounted for the largest share in terms of revenue in 2020. The increasing prevalence of cancer and other health conditions associated with cancer is likely to promote market growth

The homecare segment accounted for the highest revenue share in the market owing to the rising number of patients that receive home enteral feeding due to growing awareness about complete and balanced nutrition

North America dominated the market with a revenue share of 29.7% in 2020 owing to the growing burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and other neurological conditions

Access Press Release@ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-enteral-feeding-formulas-market

Enteral Feeding Formulas Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global enteral feeding formulas market based on product, flow type, stage, indications, end-user, and region:

Enteral Feeding Formulas Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2028)

Standard formula

Disease-specific formula

Enteral Feeding Formulas Flow Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2028)

Intermittent feeding flow

Continuous feeding flow

Enteral Feeding Formulas Stage Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2028)

Adult

Pediatric

Enteral Feeding Formulas Indication Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2028)

Alzheimers

Nutrition Deficiency

Cancer Care

Diabetes

Chronic Kidney Diseases

Orphan Diseases

Dysphagia

Pain Management

Malabsorption/GI Disorder/Diarrhea

Others

Enteral Feeding Formulas End-user Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2028)

Hospitals Cardiology Neurology Critical Care (ICU) Oncology Others

Home Care

Enteral Feeding Formulas Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2028)

North America US. Canada

Europe UK. Germany Italy France Spain Russia

Asia Pacific Australia China Japan South Korea India Singapore New Zealand

Latin America Mexico Brazil Argentina

Middle East Africa South Africa Saudi Arabia UAE



List of Key Players of Enteral Feeding Formulas Market

Abbott

Danone SA

Fresenius Kabi

Nestle

Victus, Inc.

Primus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Meiji Holdings. Co., Ltd.

Rickett Benckiser Group Plc.

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.
Tamil Nadu: Trace missing fishermen, say kin

April 28,2021 | Source: The Hindu

The families of two fishermen, who went missing 10 days ago, submitted a petition to Collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver on Monday seeking help in locating them. Accompanied by village elders, panchayat president and their children, Vijaya, 21, wife of Vedamanickam, and Thesarus, 26, wife of Balamurugan appealed to the Collector for assistance in the hour of crisis. The sight of Ms. Vijaya with her four-month-old child was moving. On April 11, fourteen fishermen  seven from Tamil Nadu and the rest from West Bengal and Assam  ventured into the sea from Kozhikode jetty. On April 14, a Singapore cargo ship allegedly collided with their boat off Mangalore coast. Two fishermen, Velmurugan from Kannirajapuram in Ramanathapuram and Sunil Das from West Bengal were rescued by the cargo ship. The Indian Coast Guards surveillance team recovered seven bodies. The fate of the remaining five fishermen is not known till date.



The Collector said the administration was in touch with naval authorities and the State government would take it up with the Centre. He informed media persons that the government had sanctioned relief of Rs. 2 lakh to the family of a fisherman killed in the collision. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu AITUC Fishermens Association submitted a memorandum to the Collector and urged the State government to file a case against the Singapore cargo ship claiming compensation for the legal heirs of the fishermen. State president Muruganandam and secretary C R Senthilvel said the government should engage scuba divers to find the fishermen, sanction compensation of Rs. 5 crore to the families and impound the ship until then.

 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD.
BRUSSELS  The European Parliament has voted by a large margin to give the European Unions final approval to a Brexit deal already beset by difficulties, complaints and a court challenge.

The tally, released Wednesday, was 660 in favor, with five against and 32 abstentions.

While the outcome was never really in doubt, the Parliament expressed considerable concerns about the trustworthiness of the current British government to carry out its side of the Brexit bargain, including the trade deal that was just approved.

That agreement, which governs trade and customs issues and provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas, has been applied conditionally since the beginning of the year. But a negative vote by the European Parliament would have killed it, producing the no-deal Brexit that neither side favored.

The deal leaves out key issues like financial services and foreign and security policy. Debates and consultations over how best to implement the trade deal and the general withdrawal agreement in real life seem fated to extend indefinitely.
Women bosses are better at keeping workers happy, according to a study of nearly 12,000 lawsuits which revealed stock market firms led by female CEOs faced fewer claims of malpractice and coercive behaviour.

New research released today by the Journal of Banking & Finance found that female chief executive officers foster better employee relations.

Using workforce disputes, the study considered whether there is a link between the gender of a chief executive officer and the company's connections between employees.

Researchers analysed data on 11,970 labour lawsuits filed against leading stock market firms from 2001 to 2014.

The results showed that firms led by female CEOs had 'significantly fewer' labour lawsuits filed against them and were also less likely to experience allegations of coercive labour practices.

New research released today by the Journal of Banking & Finance found that female chief executive officers foster better employee relations (file photo)

Female CEOs were also associated with a greater variety of employee-friendly initiatives adopted by their firms.

The results backed up previous studies suggesting that female corporate leadership styles may be better at building good relationships with employees.

Lead author Chelsea Liu, from the University of Adelaide in Australia, said: 'Given that CEO selection is one of the most important decisions made by a board of directors, this research provides new evidence about the relationship between CEO gender and employee relations.'

She said evidence shows that female and male executives tend to have different management styles.

Specifically, researchers find that female executives on average are characterised by a more democratic or participative style, in contrast with the more directive style adopted by male executives.

Female managers are also more likely to foster an environment of trust and cooperation, whereas male leaders tend to emphasise command, compliance, and competition.

Using workforce disputes, the study considered whether there is a link between the gender of a chief executive officer and the company's employee relations (file photo)

In the context of relations with a workers, a more inclusive leadership style is expected to contribute to building stronger relationships with employees.

Ms Liu said: 'In the event of potential issues, a culture of trust and cooperation can help prevent, mitigate or resolve contentions before they escalate to grievances or complaints.

'Overconfident CEOs are more likely to make decisions which increase their firms' vulnerability to problems, crises and litigation risks.

'Empirical evidence shows that female executives and directors exhibit less overconfidence and a greater openness to seek expert advice and both traits are expected to reduce the risks of labour disputes and to prevent or mitigate breakdowns of labour relations.'

She added that female corporate leaders tend to demonstrate greater sensitivity towards ethical issues as found in previous research, which showed female executives are more receptive to a code of ethics compared to male executives.
June is alive! Like a Postal Service employee with a Rambo complex, neither imprisonment nor beatings nor a gunshot wound to the abdomen will stay this warrior from the swift overthrow of a terrorist junta!

Last season  which aired its finale a distant 20 months ago  ended with yet another bighearted display of gumption from June when she and her handmaid posse gave up their own seats on the escape flight from Gilead to Canada; instead, they distracted guards at the airfield so the 86 children onboard could take off unimpeded. As June darted through the forest afterward, a bullet tore through her gut and, for a brief moment (ignoring the knowledge that absolutely nothing can kill the protagonist of this streaming cash cow), it appeared her time might have been be up.

But season four and plot armor  that wondrous elixir  have revived June and thrust her and the other escapee handmaids into an admittedly intriguing situation. First, how does she recover? Her quick-thinking friends hustle her off to a secure building (?) that comes equipped with a curling iron, a feminine token deployed as a makeshift cauterizing tool. Like Hamishs father in Braveheart (minus the anesthetizing booze), June bites down, and Janine jams the flaming red iron into her side. Imagine what Junes bra-burning mother would make of that $34.99 barrel wand from Ulta saving her daughters life.

The handmaids are hustled off to a New England farm by a kindly Guardian, who stuffs them under the seats in a truck, then leaves them to walk the last miles. By the time they wander up to the farms gates, Junes depleted body cant take much more. Really, who can blame her? Its been put through hell seven times over, and her own savior complex has seemingly made her believe shes immortal. Its no surprise that she hears the words Youre safe and keels over.

Up in Canada, the Waterfords are, despite charges of rape, torture, and general assorted war crimes, physically thriving (if emotionally suffering) in their Brutalist Zen prison/palace. (Im all for a rehashing of judicial systems and prisons, but this is a bit much. The Hague as Aman Spa.) Free to roam the complex and unencumbered by trivialities like locks and guards, theyre called into a meeting (?) together (??) without lawyers present (???), at which Joel from Parenthood stops by to tell them about the Marthas and thee 86 children recovered from the Angels Flight. Serena, whose repentance for her Gileadean crimes wavers and flutters like underwear on a clothesline, worries about their poor families, meaning the Commanders and Wives who stole them. Fred raises his brow a lot. And then Joel from Parenthood drives in another dagger: The leader of the plot was none other than June, a.k.a. Offred. They are displeased. Hahaha.

Commander Lawrence is imprisoned too, though his dank underground cell in Gilead isnt quite living up to the luxury of the Axel Vervoordtdesigned Canadian jail. (I did spy, however, a leaning tower of books in the corner of the room, as if he were a political prisoner in Henry VIIIs court and had spent several years waiting for the monarch to rule on his fate.) Promoted last season to the position of Commander, Nick is still waiting, for unclear reasons, to be sent west to the front in Chicago. In the meantime, he is appointed the liaison to Lawrence. Although every other accused offender was present at his or her sham trial (remember Nicks wife, Eden, who was tried, convicted, and pushed into a swimming pool with a chain around her?), Lawrence was kept from his. How did it go? Well, Nick is just there to thank him for his service to Gilead. In other words, Lawrence is a dead man.

Except he has a bargaining chip. Lawrence was always able to live outside the typical parameters of a Gileadean man. His house was filled with deviant modern art, his wife kept out of the social fray, and his whims were given more latitude. As the architect of Gileads economy and the voice of political wisdom, Lawrence bartered his brains for some independence. He does the same in this episode, reminding Nick that his expertise could keep Gilead from losing on the western front and in their diplomatic struggle with Canada. Lawrence knows Nick is sympathetic  and the father of Junes baby  so he adds a little endnote: Its Junes legacy.

Eager to get in one last act of psychological torture, Nick and the guards come into Lawrences cell early the next morning, walk him into what appears to be an orthodontic torture chamber and then  offer him a shave. Lawrence is now a consultant for the Commanders, meaning he can charge them an astronomical sum, recommend restructuring, and leave without solving their problems or suffering any consequences. Congrats, Commander Lawrence!

Aunt Lydia hasnt been quite so lucky. The escaped handmaids were under her charge, and the Council of Commanders believes she should have done more to prevent them from hatching a full-fledged plot under her nose. (This is a fair assessment!) So for 19 days, they politely interrogate her (read: beat her about the face) to determine whether shes fit to return to service. Shell resume her post  Gilead may simply be running out of devotees to place in positions of power  and shell also turn her full attention to hunting down Delilah June, which may make for a very rogue Auntie.

So lets talk about where exactly June has wandered off to. She has escaped  by my count, this is the third time  to an odd kind of freedom on the Keyeses farm. Commander Keyes is an old man, easily in his 80s, with a failing memory and is too depleted to even notice the sudden influx of new Marthas, let alone tell any authorities. His wife, Mrs. Keyes (14-year-old Mckenna Grace, who played a young Tonya Harding in I, Tonya, and Theo in The Haunting of Hill House), effectively runs the farm.

The pairing of June and Mrs. Keyes  whos a kind of surrogate for Junes daughter Hannah  is one of the episodes better ideas. Mrs. Keyes, a young teenager now and possibly prepubescent when she was married off, cant quite decide what power she wields. When June first arrives and tumbles to the ground, Mrs. Keyess voice floats in, telling June that she had dreamt about her, that they were killing people together. She has kept June on in the hope that Mayday will adopt her as a child soldier and take her along as they unfurl a plan to topple the patriarchy. Shes impatient for revenge, and after this many seasons, I cant exactly blame her.

As always, theres a suffering contest at the heart of the show: When Mrs. Keyes demands Janine eat a chop from the pig she loved so much that she named him after a beloved (if shitty) romance hero, June dresses her down, citing the bodily horror that has been wrought on Janine and all the handmaids. As Mrs. Keyes points out, wives have bad things too  in this case, rape after rape after rape of her young body. Mrs. Keyess assertions of power are actually jolts of anger. I think God is just, and he is going to make those men pay, she seethes. I want to hurt them so badly.

She gets her chance. Capturing the Guardian she spots trespassing on her property is a tremendously foolish idea  releasing him is the only thing that would make it worse. But June disregards the simpler plan to shoot him and drag him down to the river. Her own idea is more vicious and fulfilling. Its also a direct echo of Aunt Lydia.

Gathered around his dangling body, she starts a little speech that may as well be in Ann Dowds signature imperious voice. Girls, she says, this man betrayed his own country, the United States. Hes a traitor. And this man raped a child, repeatedly. The punishment for these crimes is death. The role exchange is remarkable: Heres high-minded June, so incensed by the violence visited upon a child that she adapts her enemys techniques and philosophies. She hands a cleaver to the young girl she just held and reassured of her protection and encourages her to make me proud. Junes motives have shifted so readily since we first met her at the Waterfords Cambridge mansion that its often hard to pin down exactly who the shows writers want her to be. Vengeful menace? Guardian angel? Unhinged victim? But this is a decisive stroke forward in one direction: The June of this season, who hugs a bloody Mrs. Keyes and calls her by her daughters nickname, has crossed the Rubicon.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 15:14:57|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that the process of talks aimed at reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is "on the right track," yet there are still important challenges to address, Iranian media reported.

Araqchi, head of the Iranian delegation, made the remarks after he and negotiators from Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany met within the framework of the JCPOA Joint Commission in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Tuesday.

On Tehran's position with regard to the Iran nuclear deal, "the United States must first lift all sanctions, and Iran will return to its obligations only after verifying the lifting of U.S. sanctions," Araqchi was quoted by the Iranian news network Press TV as saying.

"We can see enough seriousness in all delegations," he said, adding that "everybody is serious enough to work hard in order to come to a conclusion."

Especially, "we have common positions with Russia and China on many Issues, almost on all issues, and there is a good understanding between the three delegations, and we have very close cooperation," the Iranian negotiator added.

According to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on its official website, participants in the JCPOA Joint Commission's talks decided on Tuesday to speed up the process of negotiations, and agreed that the activities of expert groups continue in a fast and intensive way in the two domains of "removal of sanctions" and "nuclear issues."

They also decided to form a working group to discuss practical arrangements for the removal of the U.S. sanctions against Iran and its return to the deal, the statement added. Enditem
By Ivan Ssenabulya

Two journalists were injured while covering a strike in Wakiso by residents who were challenging power blackouts.

Amon Kayanja of Salt Media and Nakaliga Teddy of Spark TV were beaten up by the military while on duty and their gadgets including camera and phone destroyed.

According to the Executive Director of Uganda Journalist Network, Robert Ssempala, the reporters sustained injuries and are currently being assessed by medical personnel.

Adventists Media Association has also condemned the assault, which comes a week after the media engagement between security and the media.

Joshua Musasizi Nsubuga the associations president said that this is an indication that security is not committed to improving the working relationship with the media.

Security is yet to comment on the matter. In the engagement, the UPDF army leadership committed to improving the relationship.
Strengthen surveillance of Xylella fastidiosa say experts Viable way to prevent pathogen's spread - XF-ACTORS researchers

(ANSA) - BRUXELLES, 28 APR - The implementation of strict surveillance and monitoring programs is a viable way to prevent the spread of the Xylella fastidiosa plant pathogen in the EU, scientists have said.



"Data show that the bacterium has been in Europe since the 1990s, its evolution is slow and mutations are not as frequent as we thought in the beginning, so reinforcing surveillance can prevent the spread of the bacterium, before it settles permanently, as happened in Puglia and Spain", said Donato Boscia from the Italian IPSP-CNR Institute.



Scientists from all over the world are taking stock of the results of studies carried out as part of the XF-ACTORS project, the first EU-funded research project entirely devoted to Xylella fastidiosa.



Final data on resistant varieties, which was presented by the XF-ACTORS Coordinator Maria Saponari (IPSP-CNR), "show that good management practices in the field improve the resistance traits of the olive cultivars" naturally, said Marie-Agnes Jacques, from the French INRAE Institute, in her concluding remarks.



For real progress on the understanding of Xylella fastidiosa's interactions with hosts such as olive trees, European researchers should make wider use of agricultural biotechnology, said Pasquale Saldarelli (IPSP-CNR). (ANSA).




DUBLIN, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "North America Buy Now Pay Later Industry and Trends 2021" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

"North America Buy Now Pay Later Industry and Trends 2021" provides insights into the current state and trends in the BNPL market in North America, as well as offers an overview of the industry developments globally, including such major BNPL service providers as Klarna, Afterpay and Affirm.

Consumers worldwide are increasingly opting for BNPL services, but this sometimes comes at high costs

According to figures cited in the report, the majority of BNPL users worldwide are of the younger generations. For instance, in a March 2021 survey, in the USA, close to two-thirds of respondents in the age group 18-44 at least once opted to use a BNPL service. In Canada, the majority of respondents in the October 2020 survey were willing the BNPL option to be offered at checkouts.

Nevertheless, the BNPL services do have some clear downsides for the consumers, as alone in the USA, a significant share of BNPL users have already missed at least one payment, while approximately two-thirds of users had their credit card at more than 75% of the maximum limit at the moment of the first BNPL transaction.



Amid the coronavirus pandemic, various authorities became concerned about the accelerated activity of BNPL service providers

Consumers worldwide became increasingly attracted by the BNPL services because of the economic disruptions of the COVID-19 health crisis. The increased use of BNPL raised concerns of several governmental representatives, as the regulatory frameworks are still quite unclear for the industry.

This happened, for example, in Europe, as the European Commission stated plans to update the current consumer credit agreements, considering the BNPL service providers activity; in the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority intends to introduce initiatives concerning the industry this year; and in Australia, where at the behest of Australian Securities and Investment Commission, the Reserve Bank of the country proposed new regulations.

The regulators are mainly concerned about overspending by local consumers and the lack of transparency of the exact terms that BNPL providers apply. Regarding the USA, it is still unclear how the government is going to regulate BNPL services, however, there is already some expectations about the future developments, as detailed in the publication.

Despite major BNPL service providers accelerating their market shares, local ones are still stepping in

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Klarna, one of the main BNPL service providers saw its customer base grow rapidly, as more than 20% of its users connected in 2020. Despite steadily growing revenues, the company initiated new services and further market expansion, which resulted in negative net profits.

Another serious BNPL player, Afterpay, more than doubled its sales, total income, active customer base, and significantly increased the number of connected merchants during the health crisis. Similarly, Affirm, which mainly operates in North America, in January 2021 officially acquired Toronto-based buy now pay later service provider PayBright, in November 2020 stated its partnership with Adyen, and managed to almost double the number of active users in 2020, compared to 2019. Additionally, the company presented its ambitious plan to nearly double its revenue by the end of the 2021 financial year, according to the report.

Report Coverage

This report covers North America buy now, pay later market, including USA and Canada . The report also includes data on activities of various governments globally, businesses, banks, and market trends, as well as consumers preferences and demand drivers.

buy now, pay later market, including and . The report also includes data on activities of various governments globally, businesses, banks, and market trends, as well as consumers preferences and demand drivers. Moreover, the report provides an overview of three major BNPL service providers: Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm. The choice of the companies was based on the number of customers their serve, as well as on the fact that all three have different countries of origin.

The report contains relevant information about regulations, international comparisons, market trends, BNPL adoption rates and usage, consumer preferences, and players. Not all types of information were included for each country, due to varying data availability.

Report Structure

The report starts with an overview of a global overview of the regulations applied to the BNPL service providers, BNPL trends and benefits for merchants.

Regional chapters follow the global overview and include information on countries' activities, consumers' attitude towards BNPL services, and other data points.

The market report concludes with the profiles of three major BNPL service providers and their activities during the COVID-19 health crisis, as well as industry related activities of different payment facilitators.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Management Summary

2. Global Overview

BNPL Regulations Overview, April 2021

BNPL Trends and Benefits for Merchants, April 2021

Breakdown of Payment Methods When Booking a Service Related to Travel, incl. BNPL, in % of Adult Travelers, 2020

3. United States of America

4. Canada

5. Major BNPL Service Provider: Klarna

Klarna's Activity Overview, April 2021

Top 10 CNBC Disruptor Companies, incl. Klarna, June 2020

Klarna's Total Net Operating Income, and Net Profit, in SEK thousands, 2016-2020

Overall Number of Klarna's Users, and Klarna's Monthly Active App Users, in millions, 2019 & 2020

Terms of Use of Klarna's Services, incl. Pay in 4, Pay in 30, Pay Now, and Financing, March 2021

Share of Klarna's User Who Ever Missed a BNPL Payment, in %, October 2020

6. Major BNPL Service Provider: Afterpay

Afterpay's Activity Overview, April 2021

Overview of Afterpay's, PayPal's and CommBank's BNPL Service, incl. credit check, individual purchase price, max credit limit, Use Cases, Payment Plan, and Late Fees, March 2021

Afterpay's Underlying Sales, Net Transaction Margin, Gross Losses, Total Income, Active Customers, Merchants, FY 2016-FY 2020, and Year-on-Year Change, in %, FY 2020

Share of Transactions via Afterpay that are Paid Back on Time, in %, February 2021

Afterpay's Share of Late Fees, in % of Afterpay's Total Income, February 2021

7. Major BNPL Service Provider: Affirm

Affirm's Activity Overview, April 2021

Overview of Affirms's Key Financial Metrics, incl. GMV, Total Revenue, Transaction Costs, and Adjusted Operating Loss, Q4 2019, Q4 2020, H2 2019, H2 2020

Overview of Affirms's Key Financial Metrics, incl. GMV, Total Revenue, Transaction Costs, Adjusted Operating Loss, and Weighted Average Shares Outstanding, Fiscal Q3 2021e, and Fiscal 2021f

Affirms's Active Users, in millions, December 2019 , June 2020 , and December 2020

8. Payment Facilitators Offering BNPL Services

Various Facilitators' BNPL Activity Overview, incl. Stripe, Mastercard, and Shopify, March 2021

Share of PayPal Credit's User Who Ever Missed a BNPL Payment, in %, October 2020

Companies Mentioned

Adyen

Affirm

Afterpay

Amazon

American Eagle

Apple Pay

Ardene

BikeExchange

Clearbanc

Dermalogica

Divido

Flexiti

FragranceX.com

Fundera

FuturePay

GOLI

Google Pay

Greensky

Herschel Supply Co.

Huda Beauty

Klarna

Mastercard

Maelys Cosmetics

Native Shoes

Nixon

PayBright

PayPal

PayPlan

Perfume.com

QuadPay

Royal Bank of Canada

Sezzle

Shopify

Splitit

Squarespace

Stripe

Visa

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hbpzah

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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SEATTLE (AP)  Amazon has started to vaccinate thousands of its warehouse and delivery workers, contractors and their families in Washington state and plans to host more vaccination clinics to inoculate its employees.

Amazon.com Inc. hosted its first clinic on Monday, with employees receiving their first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.





. . .
GREAT BARRINGTON  Bo Bo Nge, a Myanmar official with strong ties to the Berkshires, appears to be alive in an army interrogation center in that country, a close friend said Tuesday.

Nge, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar, was jailed in February, amid a military coup in that Southeast Asia country, and had been feared dead in recent days. But, a photo of Nge that surfaced has confirmed that he remains alive.

He looked pale and his hair was long, said Abby Pratt, of Great Barrington, noting that whomever took and released the photo through secret channels took a great risk.

But, she said, she still worries about Nge, who has a heart condition. The Tatmadaw, the military regime, is notoriously brutal, fanning out across the country and using severe torture to extract confessions and information  and stoke fear, she added.

Imagine the worst, and thats what happens there, Pratt said. It is so evil.

Nge was taken from his home Feb. 1 by members of the military after they overthrew the democratically elected leadership.

Rumors of Nges death while in the custody of the military regime swept across social media this month, and with it despair that a man beloved for his brilliance and kindness had been lost.

But, the recent photo was confirmed to be authentic, and friends and family received definite confirmation of Nges location at the interrogation center, contradicting earlier reports that he was held at Insein Prison in Yangon, Pratt said.

A Facebook post this month said he had died there.

It spread like wildfire, Pratt added.

This prompted a member of the junta, on April 10, to say on a website that Nge is alive and that the rumor was spread to stir more demonstrations. The website also said that Nge was being held in a Yeiktha, which translates into guest house, according to Ba Win, a friend and former dean of students and provost at Bard College at Simons Rock.

God spare me their guest houses, he said, noting that it might be better than a jail cell, which in Myanmar is a very grim place.

It also stirred grief. Friends abroad couldnt be sure after losing contact with Nges wife  she fled to a village with the couples young son after Nge was abducted. His wife has been silent, out of concern by her family that she or the child would be abducted, Pratt added. Also, the regime has cut the countrys internet.

Friends of the couple hope that continued news coverage of his plight will help apply pressure for the release of Nge and other detainees. Win said the strong voices of U.S. officials are noted.

Hes, in a way, a high-value hostage, Win added. We keep hoping.

The crisis began after the landslide election of Aung San Suu Kyi, and her party, the National League for Democracy, sparked a military coup as the regime declared the election results fraudulent.

Bloodshed ensued, and included the killing of children and use of torture. More than 700 people have died and several thousand are detained as protests against the military regime continue across the country. Others have disappeared.

While President Joe Biden in February asked for the release of detainees and ordered sanctions that would lock $1 billion of the countrys U.S. assets, people feel that the world isnt helping them enough.

Nge was jailed for 4 years for leading student protests in the 1988 uprising.

After fleeing to Great Barrington in 2000, with assistance from Win and Pratt, a former Eagle reporter and editor, Nge went to Berkshire Community College. He was a dishwasher at various restaurants and worked with Pratts late husband, the economist Lawrence Pratt, at American Investment Services in Great Barrington, and at the American Institute for Economic Research.

He later received a bachelors degree from Bard College, a masters degree from Johns Hopkins University and then a Ph.D. from the University of London, before returning to his home country.

Laurence Harris, a friend and professor of economics who was Nges Ph.D. adviser at the University of London, said he worries for his health, and is pained thinking of Nges separation from his young son. He and others had sent pleas for help to members of parliament.

Harris said Nge has been 100 percent committed to making Myanmar better in very practical ways.

It was very brave work that he was doing and technically very sound, Harris said. He was in charge of the reform of the banking sector. Thats a very difficult job to do in any country.

Donald Lathrop, a professor of Nges at Berkshire Community College who previously saw him in December, on a Christmas Zoom call with the family, said he hadnt heard the rumor of his death. He said he recently was cleaning pine needles off his roof when he grew emotional because Nge had helped him shingle it.

Hes lucky to be alive, Lathrop said.
A swarm of bees attacked and killed a man at his Texas home on Monday.

Thomas Hicks, 70, was doing yardwork when the 'aggressive' bees swarmed him, severely stinging the man.

The bee sting sent his body into cardiac arrest, ultimately killing Thomas, while his wife Zoni was stung multiple times.

She had to be removed from the house wearing firefighting gear to protect her body and was hospitalized.

The attack took place at a home near Hubbard Creek Lake in Stephens County, Texas, with the Breckenridge Fire Department dispatched to the scene.

Thomas Hicks (right, with wife) was killed after going into cardiac arrest after he was stung

The Breckenridge Fire Department helped destroy a hive in the yard of the Texas home

Pictured: Multiple layers of comb laid out by the fire personnel and a beekeeper

Thomas was mowing his lawn in the afternoon, which may have been the noise that triggered the bee swarm.

Zoni went to go grocery shopping prior to the bee attack.

'I said honey please dont go back in the back area, because those bees are back there, and he said "I wont, I promise,"' Zoni told BigCountryHomepage.

When she returned home, she quickly discovered that her husband was jumping around and screaming, covered in bees.

'I mean you couldnt even see his back and his whole head he was just covered in killer bees,' Zoni said.

She placed the call to 911 and performed CPR on her husband before emergency personnel responded.

Zoni, Thomas' wife (left, with Thomas in an old photo), needed to be hospitalized following multiple stings

When the firefighters arrived along with sheriff's deputies and other medical personnel, they were 'met with very aggressive bee activity,' according to a Facebook post from the Breckenridge Fire Department.

One person had already been severely stung by the time emergency responders arrived, going into cardiac arrest.

Medics and firefighters were forced to fight through a swarm of bees when entering the home to reach the victim.

One firefighter, meanwhile, took off their gear and put it on the woman in the house to protect her from the bees. She was ultimately removed and taken to a friend's house.

She was then transported to a hospital for her injuries. She was able to return home the following morning.

Local beekeeper Joey Venekamp (pictured) helped to remove the beehive from the tree

Pictured: The tree that housed the hive needed to be split to reveal the size of it

After the individuals were removed from the scene, deputies and firefighters went door-to-door asking neighbors not to use noisy equipment outside until the bees were removed.

Joey Venekamp, a local beekeeper, then offered his expertise to find and remediate the hive.

'Once one of them stings its going to let off a pheromone and thats like a red flag to the other onesbest thing to do is take cover,' Venekamp said to BigCountryHomepage afterwards.

Venekamp discovered a beehive in a tree that contained approximately 60,000 honeybees, which had been there for three years, according to KTXS.

'This particular hive yesterday had about it had about 4 or 5 queen cells in there,' Venekamp added to BigCountryHomepage.

Venekamp was able to locate the hive the help of a firefighter and remove them from the scene, using hand tools and foam.

Honeybee stings can be life-threatening to those allergic to their venom.
During nightly protests in Portland against racism and police brutality, the painful impacts of tear gas appeared obvious: People staggered through clouds of fumes, some hunching over to gag into face coverings and others tilting their faces up to have their eyes flushed by volunteer medics.

A new study released Tuesday of more than 2,000 people who were exposed to tear gas last summer, most as protesters, found that almost all reported experiencing physical and mental health effects, some for days, even weeks afterward  often pushing them to consider or seek treatment.

One of the novel findings was that more than half of participants who menstruate reported a disruption of their cycles after tear gas exposure, said Britta Torgrimson-Ojerio, lead author of the study and a nurse researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.

But much still remains unknown about the longer-term impacts of exposure to tear gas, she said.

Theres a commonly held belief that the chemical agents that are used for crowd control  and were referring to them as tear gas  cause just short-term sensory impairment  and that these things dissipate really quickly, Torgrimson-Ojerio told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Its really important to understand that not only are more people having these issues, but they were not minor, she said. They were major enough that people needed to work with health professionals.

Graphic by Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.

This research should be only the beginning, Torgrimson-Ojerio said.

This is a really important call to action in the research community for people to investigate this further, she said.

Research scientists at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland put out an anonymous, voluntary survey last August asking people who were exposed to tear gas in the city between July 30 and Aug. 20, 2020, to share their experiences. Over 2,000 people opted to take the 38-question online survey, which was available in both English and Spanish. The majority of participants  93%  reported being exposed to tear gas while at a protest, but 7% reported being exposed only at their homes or elsewhere.

The findings were published in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal BMC Public Health. The 2,257 adults in Portland who answered the survey said they were exposed to tear gas  the colloquial term for riot control agents including CS gas, CN gas and pepper spray.

Almost all of the participants  93.8%  reported experiencing physical or psychological issues immediately after being exposed to tear gas. These physical effects included burning eyes, blurred vision, shortness of breath, a choking sensation, rash, burns, nausea, cramping and dizziness.

More than half of all participants reported receiving or planning to seek medical or mental health care for tear gas-related health issues.

And over 80% of the participants reported longer-term health issues that appeared within days or weeks after tear gas exposure  most commonly a disruption of their menstrual cycles.

The various forms of gas are designed to irritate the eyes, nose and respiratory system and have been widely adopted by police agencies to break up crowds. The repeated use of these chemical agents during civil unrest in Portland drew criticism, lawsuits and a ban of CS gas use by Portland police except for when public safety is at risk.

Prior to this study, Torgrimson-Ojerio said scientific literature hasnt focused much on the health effects of tear gas on humans. Most safety data came from studies done on animals and healthy young men during the mid-20th century and suggested tear gas caused no serious harm to people, she said.

She said the menstrual cycle effect finding has not been published in the scientific literature before.

Of the 1,650 participants who identified as female or cisgender women, transgender men, or genderqueer and those who did not specify their sex or gender identify, 54.5% reported disruptions to their menstrual health or tenderness in their breasts and chest. Within that group, 36.6% reported increased menstrual cramping, 27.8% had unusual menstrual spotting, 23.6% had increased bleeding, and 18.9% experienced more days of bleeding.

A July 2020 investigation by Oregon Public Broadcasting was first to sound these alarms, revealing more than two dozen protesters in Portland had experienced irregularities in their menstrual cycles after being tear gassed, along with blurred vision, burning skin, choking and difficulty breathing.

Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research

The Kaiser Permanente study demonstrates that the health impacts of tear gas exposure also stretched beyond the physical.

Nearly three-quarters of participants said their mental health worsened after tear gas exposure, reporting increased anxiety, startle response, fear, fatigue, sadness or depressive feelings after exposure.

This could be linked to tear gas exposure, but could also be a health consequence of participating in or being in the vicinity of a protest, the study noted. Other studies have shown active or indirect participation in protests can result in a substantial increase in anxiety, major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers said. According to Torgrimson-Ojerio, another source of anxiety for participants was not knowing how the tear gas exposure would impact their health in the future.

People were expressing how they were feeling anxiety, they were feeling lots of fatigue and inability to even function in their day to day lives, sometimes for days or a week, she said. People were just confused and not fully sure about what was going to happen to them.

Since law enforcement officials first started using riot control agents like tear gas to disperse protesters last summer, Portland residents, community leaders and local and state public officials have raised concerns about their impacts, both on peoples health and on the environment.

Last October, a coalition of environmental advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, alleging federal officers use of chemical weapons was hazardous to the environment and peoples health. Letters asking for an end to chemical weapons use have been sent to heads of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security by the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden.

Wheeler in September barred Portland police from using CS gas, a widely used form of tear gas, to disperse protesters after a judges order restricted its use by Portland police to only encounters when lives or public safety were at risk.

However, those restrictions dont apply to officers from federal agencies who regularly spar with demonstrators outside federal buildings, such as the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland.

For months, parents and staff at Cottonwood School, next to the ICE building, have been pleading with federal agents to stop using chemical weapons to disperse people protesting outside the building. Though the school reopened for in-person learning April 12, the outdoor play area remains closed because it is too contaminated with tear gas and other chemical munitions to be used, school officials said.

Participants in the Kaiser Permanente study expressed a desire for more information. Within the questions posed in the online survey, researchers left an open-ended section where people could submit additional information.

Many of them used that section to express gratitude for the study, Torgrimson-Ojerio said.

People were just thankful that we were doing this research because they really wanted to know what was happening to them in hopes that other people could be informed after their experience.

-- Catalina Gaitan; @catalinagaitan_
If you often order a Kingfisher during a curry night, you may be getting your drink pairings wrong, an expert has revealed.

Speaking exclusively to FEMAIL, Master of Wine Nicola Arcedeckne-Butler, who works as buyer for wholesaler Private Cellar said that Chianti or Rioja is more suited to a hot curry and that drinking beer can unpleasantly amplify spices in the mouth.

Nicola is working with the Virtual Lord Mayor's Big Curry Lunch for 2021, the charity event is one of the biggest in the City of London's calendar and raises funds for veterans.

While, it's usually based around a 1,500 guest lunch in Guildhall and attended by royals, this year it's being held virtually, with Nicola helping to send out wine paired with curry made by some of London's top chefs.

2020's lunch was virtual, while in 2019 Prince Harry attended and in 2018 his cousin Princess Eugenie went along.

Speaking exclusively to FEMAIL, Master of Wine Nicola Arcedeckne-Butler, who works as buyer for wholesaler Private Cellar said that Chianti or Rioja is more suited to a hot curry and that drinking beer can unpleasantly amplify spices in the mouth.

'I think the link with beer and curry goes back to the days of the British in India where wine wasn't common and beer was the alcohol of choice (after spirits),' she explained.

'It is a natural thirst quencher so matches well, but I do find that if the curry is really spicy, the bubbles in the beer amplify the effect on my tongue  a bit like a thousand needles simultaneously stabbing my tongue after I have swallowed the curry! And for that reason I would never recommend sparkling wines with spicy food.

Instead, Nicola recommends looking for lower tannin wines.

What wine should you pair with a curry? Nicola says: MASALA Chianti, Rioja, Valpolicella, perhaps a Chilean Merlot, reds from Puglia or whites like Soave, Fiano, young white Burgundy  fruity types. KORMA Chablis, Riesling, Sancerre for the white, Pinot Noir, Merlot or New World Cabernet Sauvignon for the reds. VINDALOO German Riesling, Viognier, a plump Chardonnay Advertisement

'My rule of thumb when pairing with spicy foods is to look for lower tannin wines in reds and fruity or full bodied whites,' she explained.

'Tannins and spice can turn metallic on the palate and lightweight whites are overwhelmed by the complex spices,' she added.

Nicola added that red wines that go well with curry include, Beaujolais, Valpolicella, Pinot Noir in all its incarnations from around the world, light Cotes du Rhone.

Meanwhile, white pairings include Picpoul de Pinet, South African whites, Chardonnay from almost anywhere  and very rarely Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.

But she added that different curries should be paired differently depending on their levels.

'For a masala, I would be looking at Chianti, Rioja, Valpolicella, perhaps a Chilean Merlot, reds from Puglia or whites like Soave, Fiano, young white Burgundy  fruity types,' Nicola explained.

'Basic rules of thumb, tomatoes lend more towards soft red wines (think Mediterranean style foods) whilst coconut and almond flavours make it slightly sweet so the wines require a nice bite of acidity to complement the food  no acidity would leave both wine and food flat.

'For a korma  the coconut here makes the curry quite sweet so I would be looking to pair with a bit of acidity to counteract this.

'Chablis, Riesling, Sancerre for the white, Pinot Noir, Merlot or New World Cabernet Sauvignon for the reds.

'For me, copious amounts of yoghurt and no wine at all for a Vindaloo.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex is greeted by the Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin as he attends the Lord Mayors Big Curry Lunch at the Guildhall, central London in 2020

Princess Eugenie of York given pairs of socks, saying she knows who will like them at The Lord Mayor's Big Curry Lunch in 2019

What is a Master of Wine? Nicola Arcedeckne-Butler works for Private Cellar an independent wine merchant established 15 years ago by three friends. She is also a Master of Wine (MW  there are only 417 in the world, 1/3 of which approx. are female) and a prolific traveller when circumstances allow in order to get my feet on the ground and hunt out exciting new wines. Master of Wine is a qualification issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional knowledge Advertisement

'If I really wanted to pair a wine I would be looking at something with low acidity and some residual sweetness, so a German Riesling, Viognier, a plump Chardonnay. Probably not red.

'The hotter you go, the more difficult it is to pair a wine because of the impact of the spices on the tastebuds; in terms of mildness, I think in general lower tannins and lower acidity are a safe bet, but again, it depends on which dish you are having.'

'It is always worth going a little higher up the price scale  very inexpensive wines tend to be short on flavour whilst even a small step up the price ladder gives you a lot more wine for your money  if you bear in mind that the cost of duty and VAT on a bottle of wine is 2.50, before considering the cost of bottles, shipping, retail margin and VAT on the wine itself, it leaves very little for the actual wine.

'So the more expensive the wine, a smaller percentage consists of tax and fixed costs and more goes towards the liquid itself!'
Regulatory News:

NOXXON Pharma N.V. (Euronext Growth Paris: ALNOX) (Paris:ALNOX), a biotechnology company focused on improving cancer treatments by targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME), announced today its financial results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020.

"The year 2020 has been a year of resilience for NOXXON, that successfully continued its clinical development and activities while adapting to the health situation. With its new Scientific Advisory Board, composed of eminent experts in pancreatic cancer, and a strong cash position, NOXXON is now in a perfect position to accelerate the development of its main drug candidate, NOX-A12, which showed promising results in its completed combination trial with Merck's Keytruda in pancreatic and colorectal cancer patients and has very recently advanced in the final phases of its Phase 1/2 dose-escalation study in combination with radiotherapy in first-line brain cancer patients. We are thrilled by the prospects that are waiting for NOXXON in 2021 and are more than ever convinced that our unique approach to target the tumour microenvironment can enhance the way cancer is treated," said Aram Mangasarian, CEO of NOXXON.

Highlights for 2020 and 2021 Year-to-Date

In 2020, NOXXON successfully raised 14.5 million which allowed the company to advance its strategic goals. Cash secured in 2020 and 2021 combined with the available convertible bond financing vehicle has extended NOXXON's financial visibility to Q2 2022. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has continued its clinical development and investment activities as planned with minimal delay or disruption.

NOX-A12 Immunotherapy Clinical Trial in Heavily Pre-Treated Metastatic Pancreatic and Colorectal Cancer Patients

In 2020, NOXXON completed the clinical trial of the combination of NOX-A12 with Keytruda in heavily pre-treated metastatic micro-satellite stable pancreatic and colorectal cancer patients. One of the most interesting aspects of final top-line data, published by Prof. Niels Halama at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in September 2020, was the updated overall survival data showing that three patients, including two receiving their fourth line of therapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer, had lived more than one year and one of them living for almost two years. Overall, data from this study confirmed NOX-A12's mechanism of action and demonstrated that as monotherapy, NOX-A12 penetrates the tumor tissue where it neutralizes its target. This mechanism allows NOX-A12 to stimulate an increased immune response within the tumor, making the tumor microenvironment immunologically "hotter". In the second part of the study, when NOX-A12 was then combined with Merck's anti-PD-1 immunotherapeutic antibody, Keytruda, 25% of patients achieved stable disease according to the iRECIST criteria, despite only 5% having any response to their prior anti-cancer treatment before entering the NOXXON clinical trial.

NOX-A12 Radiotherapy Clinical Trial in First Line Brain Cancer Patients

Throughout 2020 and to date, NOXXON has successfully advanced its Phase 1/2 dose-escalation study of NOX-A12 in first-line brain cancer patients in combination with radiotherapy, conducted in six clinical centers in Germany. The company completed recruitment of patients into the last of the three planned cohorts in April 2021. Preliminary data from the first dose group showed tumor reductions in all three patients, with one patient achieving a durable longer than four months objective response (tumor volume reduction of >50%). Top-line data from the second cohort will be reported in May 2021 and the one from the third cohort later in November 2021.

Scientific Advisory Board

In February 2021, NOXXON appointed a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) under the chairmanship of Dr. Jose Saro. The SAB includes four leading pancreatic cancer experts: Dr. Elena Gabriela Chiorean, Dr. Eileen M. O'Reilly, Prof. Dr. Thomas T. W. Seufferlein and Dr. Daniel D. Von Hoff. The formation and composition of the SAB reflect NOXXON's clinical development strategy as the company prepares to initiate a two-arm Phase 2 trial in pancreatic cancer in Europe and the US.

Manufacturing Drug Supply

To meet the needs of upcoming clinical trials leading to approval of NOX-A12, NOXXON has made investment commitments and initiated manufacturing of drug supply of NOX-A12. In addition, NOXXON also initiated NOX-E36 manufacturing for future clinical trials.

COVID-19

After careful assessment of risks associated with the global COVID-19 pandemic, the company has implemented risk mitigating steps that minimized the impact of the pandemic on the organization. Overall, the impact of the pandemic on the operations, clinical trials and finances has been manageable and was limited in scope.

Strong Cash Position on December 31, 2020

On December 31, 2020, NOXXON had cash resources of 10.3 million. The company successfully raised 14.5 million in cash in 2020 through multiple private placements, exercises of outstanding warrants to purchase NOXXON's shares, and the Atlas Special Opportunities (ASO) financing vehicle of which 12.8 million is still available. Subsequent to December 31, 2020, the company raised an additional 6.4 million from a private placement. These financings combined with the potential of the ASO vehicle have extended the financial visibility to Q2 2022.

2020 Financial Summary

In both, Fiscal Year 2020 (FY 2020) and Fiscal Year 2019 (FY 2019), NOXXON did not generate any revenues. The Group NOXXON Pharma N.V. and NOXXON Pharma AG does not expect to generate revenues from any product candidates currently in development, until the Group either signs a licensing agreement, obtains regulatory approval and commercializes its products, or enters into collaborative agreements with third parties.

Other operating income decreased from 279 thousand in FY 2019 to 147 thousand in FY 2020. In 2020, other operating income resulted from sale of raw materials, services provided, the derecognition of benefits waived and the derecognition of liability, as well as other income, mainly resulting from foreign exchange differences.

Research and development (R&D) expenses increased from 2,108 thousand in FY 2019 to 4,017 thousand in FY 2020. The increase in R&D expenses in 2020 compared to 2019 was mainly due to higher costs for drug manufacturing, service fees and other costs related to clinical trials and preclinical testing. Personnel expenses included non-cash share-based payment expenses amounting to 51 thousand in 2020 and 53 thousand in 2019. When such non-cash share-based payment expenses are not taken into account, the remaining personnel expenses were 622 thousand in 2020 and 530 thousand in 2019.

General and administrative (G&A) expenses decreased from 2,115 thousand in FY 2019 to 1,881 thousand in FY 2020. The decrease in G&A expenses in 2020 was mainly driven by lower legal, consulting and audit fees as well as public and investor relations expenses compared to 2019, partly offset by higher personnel expenses. Personnel expenses included non-cash share-based payment expenses amounting to 111 thousand in 2020 and 54 thousand in 2019. When such non-cash share-based payment expenses are not taken into account, the remaining personnel expenses were 858 thousand in 2020 and 741 thousand in 2019.

Foreign exchange losses increased from 4 thousand in FY 2019 to 18 thousand in FY 2020, due to a higher volume of purchases denominated in currencies other than Euro in FY 2020.

Finance income (all non-cash) decreased from 3,091 thousand in FY 2019 to 418 thousand in FY 2020. Finance income of 406 thousand resulted from the derecognition of conversion rights in connection with the ASO financing upon conversion of the bonds and of 12 thousand relating to the cashless exercise of warrants.

Finance cost in FY 2020 and FY 2019 was non-cash, except for transaction costs of 123 thousand in 2020 borne by the Group in conjunction with its issuance of convertible bonds. Finance cost of 3,153 thousand related to the ASO financing entered into in 2020 and reflected losses on initial recognition of convertible bonds, conversion losses and conversion right derivatives as well as transaction costs. Further, 998 thousand of finance cost related to the exercise of warrants by Yorkville, 878 thousand related to the cashless exercise of all remaining Acuitas warrants outstanding and 23 thousand related to the fair value adjustments of detachable warrants issued to Kreos, Yorkville and certain other investors and 3 thousand related to interest expense for lease liabilities.

As a result of the above factors, the Group's loss before income tax increased by 9,546 thousand from 860 thousand in FY 2019 to 10,406 thousand in FY 2020 (thereof loss from operations amounting to 5,769 thousand in FY 2020 vs. 3,948 thousand in FY 2019, resulting in an operating cash outflow of 5,224 thousand in FY 2020 vs. 4,286 thousand in FY 2019).

Income tax expenses decreased to nil in FY 2020 from 1 thousand in FY 2019.

On December 31, 2020, the Group had cash resources of 10.3 million (compared to 1.4 million on December 31, 2019). The Group succeeded in raising 14.5 million in 2020 from multiple sources, including private placements, exercises of outstanding warrants and the ASO financing vehicle. In 2021 to date, the Group has raised further 6.4 million from a private placement. Importantly, no warrants or other option-like instruments were attached to the shares issued in these financings. The continued support of investors willing to purchase shares in this manner is key for NOXXON to reduce reliance on instruments that have the potential to create divergent interests between various groups of investors. These financings were essential to allow NOXXON to complete the NOX-A12/Keytruda trial in pancreatic and colorectal cancer patients, to progress the NOX-A12/radiotherapy combination trial in brain cancer patients and to initiate manufacturing of NOX-A12 and NOX-E36 for upcoming clinical trials. On December 31, 2019, a significant number of warrants linked to previous financings, that are subject to anti-dilution adjustments affecting exercise price and number of shares issued, were outstanding. During 2020, Yorkville exercised a large portion of its detachable warrants and Acuitas executed its right to cashless exercise for all of its warrants. As a result, the company's capital structure has become less complex.

Outlook 2021

The current budget projects a cash need of approximately 1.5 million per month in 2021, including all planned activities for the ongoing NOX-A12 brain cancer trial, drug production and trial initiation of the upcoming NOX-A12 pancreatic cancer study as well as the NOX-E36 trial. Current cash resources are projected to finance the company into November 2021 and with the resources of the ASO financing vehicle into May 2022. The company is pursuing various financing alternatives to secure future budget requirements, including outreach to well-known US healthcare investors, obtaining further funding from existing investors through additional funding rounds, seeking strategic partnering deals as well as merger or acquisition opportunities.

NOX-A12 Immunotherapy Chemotherapy in Second Line Pancreatic Cancer Patients

With encouraging data from a previous study and with guidance of the SAB, NOXXON is preparing to initiate a two-arm clinical trial in pancreatic cancer. On top of the combination therapy of NOX-A12 plus anti-PD-1, the study will test two different standard of care chemotherapy treatments in second-line patients. The trial initiation is planned for H2 2021 and its completion is expected in 2023. This strategic approach will enable NOXXON to choose the optimal regimen to move forward into a randomized, controlled pivotal study targeting market authorization application in 2026 and approval in 2027.

NOX-A12 Radiotherapy in First Line Brain Cancer Patients

It is NOXXON's key priority to ensure timely completion of the ongoing Phase 1/2 dose escalation trial and present top-line data in 2021. Aiming to obtain additional safety data prior to launching the pivotal trial, NOXXON is currently preparing to expand the number of patients at one of the tested dose levels. Anticipating that the ongoing Phase 1/2 trial data supports further development, NOXXON plans to initiate in 2022 a pivotal trial of NOX-A12 combined with radiotherapy in first line MGMT promoter-unmethylated glioblastoma patients vs. standard of care, with first market authorization application targeted for 2024 and approval for 2025.

Clinical plans for NOX-E36

With its improved finances, NOXXON plans to restart clinical trials with NOX-E36. Manufacturing of clinical supply has been contracted and the drug supply is projected to be available in H2 2021. Pre-clinical work comparing combination strategies for NOX-E36 in solid tumors to identify the most promising approaches are also advancing. The company plans to initiate the first clinical trial of NOX-E36 combinations testing safety in 2021.

The Annual Report 2020, as approved by the management and supervisory boards on April 28, 2021, is available on NOXXON's website (www.noxxon.com).

2020 Financial Results

NOXXON's Key Financial Figures for Fiscal Year 2020 Compared to the Same Period in 2019

[in thousands] 2020 2019 Other operating income 147 279 Research and development expenses (4,017) (2,108) General and administrative expenses (1,881) (2,115) Foreign exchange losses (18) (4) Loss from operations (5,769) (3,948) Finance income 418 3,091 Finance cost (5,055) (3) Loss before income tax (10,406) (860) Income tax (0) (1) Net loss attributable to owners of the company (10,405) (861) Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest (1) (0) Loss per share (in , basic and diluted) (0.32) (0.08)

About NOXXON

NOXXON's oncology-focused pipeline acts on the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the cancer immunity cycle by breaking the tumor protection barrier and blocking tumor repair. By neutralizing chemokines in the TME, NOXXON's approach works in combination with other forms of treatment to weaken tumor defenses against the immune system and enable greater therapeutic impact. NOXXON's lead program NOX-A12 has delivered final top-line data from a Keytruda combination trial in metastatic colorectal and pancreatic cancer patients published at the ESMO conference in September 2020 and based on the trial results, including overall survival and safety profile, further studies are being planned in pancreatic cancer. NOXXON is also studying NOX-A12 in brain cancer in combination with radiotherapy which has been granted orphan drug status in the US and EU for the treatment of certain brain cancers. A trial of NOX-A12 in combination with radiotherapy in newly diagnosed brain cancer patients who will not benefit from standard chemotherapy has delivered preliminary data from the first cohort showing consistent tumor reductions. The company's second clinical-stage asset NOX-E36 is a Phase 2 TME asset targeting the innate immune system. NOXXON plans to test NOX-E36 in patients with solid tumors both as a monotherapy and in combination. Further information can be found at: www.noxxon.com

Keytruda is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp Dohme Corp

https://www.linkedin.com/company/noxxon-pharma-ag

https://twitter.com/noxxon_pharma

Disclaimer

Certain statements in this communication contain formulations or terms referring to the future or future developments, as well as negations of such formulations or terms, or similar terminology. These are described as forward-looking statements. In addition, all information in this communication regarding planned or future results of business segments, financial indicators, developments of the financial situation or other financial or statistical data contains such forward-looking statements. The company cautions prospective investors not to rely on such forward-looking statements as certain prognoses of actual future events and developments. The company is neither responsible nor liable for updating such information, which only represents the state of affairs on the day of publication.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005849/en/

Contacts:

NOXXON Pharma N.V.

Aram Mangasarian, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer

Tel. +49 (0) 30 726247 0

amangasarian@noxxon.com

Trophic Communications

Gretchen Schweitzer and Valeria Fisher

Tel. +49 (0) 172 861 8540 and +49 (0) 175 804 1816

noxxon@trophic.eu

NewCap

Arthur Rouille

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arouille@newcap.fr
(Newser)  The former CEO of telemedicine company VisuWell is out of a job due to remarks he made at a Tennessee high school prom. Dalton Stevens, 18, was with his boyfriend Jacob Geitmann, taking pictures at a hotel prior to the Franklin High School event, when they encountered Sam Johnson, who allegedly asked Stevens why he was wearing a dress. He allegedly made homophobic and derogatory remarks, and part of the incident was caught on video by Geitmann, who posted the footage online Sunday. By the following day, VisuWell had condemned Johnson's actions and announced he'd been terminated effective immediately; on Tuesday, the company further clarified that Johnson is no longer employed there "in any capacity."

story continues below

Johnson says the exchange didn't happen the way the teens describe, telling Newsweek that he was upset about "obnoxious, loud behavior" and approached the group to ask them to "tone down the vulgarities around the families and children who were present," including Johnson's. He says most of the exchange was "edited out" of the video, but Geitmann says Johnson hit his phone out of his hand when he first started recording, and what ended up online was his second attempt. Geitmann also says Johnson at one point hit Stevens in the back while taking a swipe at Geitmann's phone. Johnson claims he left on his own, but police confirm he was asked to leave by officers who responded, NBC News reports. Stevens tells WKRN he wants to raise awareness about gender norms and clothing, and says he knew he looked amazing at his prom. (Read more Tennessee stories.)
Traffic was brisk along East Houston street when WestCare Foundation staffers Rosie Baca and Rita Bethany set out on one of their three weekly visits to East Side residents, bearing news of help available in the area.

Clipboards in hand, they went door-to-door in the Jefferson Heights neighborhood, where renovated homes share blocks with older dwellings. They placed pamphlets at doors without an answer. Barking dogs tugged leashes and lunged at them. They left flyers rolled into the diamond-shaped spaces of chain link fences. And unseen residents spoke to them through slightly opened windows and closed doors.

Bethany, 67, stopped at several homes as she headed toward the Alamodome. Baca, 57, shouted Good morning! before she knocked on Jamie Flemings door. The homeowner cracked the screen door, and Baca offered her name and the reason for her visit  to hear any concerns about the neighborhood. Several minutes later, Baca left Flemings feeling upbeat after hearing there were groups that could help with criminal activity in the area.

Ms. Rosie has a nice spirit, Flemings, 44, said. It uplifted me just the little encounter we had. More people need to see Ms. Rosie and get involved. This is a popular area for violence and everything else. This is very much needed.

Canvassing the neighborhoods is more than a job for the duo. Its about building relationships in the area where they grew up and still live. Their coverage area stretches for several blocks around the Ella Austin Community Center, 1023 N. Pine St. Baca said they stop at more than 95 homes on each outing.

We give them an ear, Bethany said. I tell people its all about your story, not Ritas story.

Baca said after five years of spending time with residents, surveys show their most pressing concerns were shootings, murders and drug activity.

Lisa Krantz, Staff / Staff photographer

Speeding and lack of lighting at night have also caused worries for respondents. Baca said they partnered with Neighborhoods First Alliance to distribute dusk to dawn LED lights for a light up the neighborhood project. Neighborhoods First Alliance is a nonprofit of more than 30 member organizations founded by community organizer T. C. Calvert.

Its hard for emergency services and the police to find addresses, Baca said. Its just dark on the East Side.

Bethany and Baca usually leave between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a. m., after gathering paperwork that includes a neighborhood survey, resource list and hotspot card.

They pass schools where they studied, churches where they worshiped and houses that were once family homes. Baca pointed out a boarded-up store the alliance helped close in the Harvard Place Eastlawn neighborhood because of drug activity near an elementary school.

Thats the blessing, Baca said. We get to come back and give back to our community. I love doing this. These people need to know what little bit of help they can get. 

The duo asks residents to check off three things from the survey they would like to see changed in their neighborhood. Issues include burglaries, break-ins and drive-by shootings. The resource list contains details about a monthly resource fair at the center, HIV and hepatitis testing, and Stand Up for Kids, a program that serves homeless youth from 13 to 25.

A hotspot card allows residents to anonymously report a crime without fear of retribution. Alliance members and the canvassers pick up and take the cards to the San Antonio Police Department.

Baca, a community activist, and Bethany, a WestCare receptionist, work at the historic center that offers multi-social services like childcare, after-school programs, senior services and a food pantry. Elizabeth Franklin, interim Ella Austin Community Center director, said the womens reach extends to seniors and residents often without resources.

They cover community members that dont necessarily have access to Wi-Fi or the internet, Franklin said. And if they do, on their phone, they dont really know how to use it as a tool.

WestCare pays for the canvassing campaign through East Side neighborhoods in the Promise Zone, a 22-square-mile area that extends from the AT&T Center to U.S. 281. Its one of five locations across the nation that President Barack Obama designated to receive federally funded revitalization.

The outreach is patterned after the Neighborhoods First Alliance, a nonprofit whose mission is to take back the East Side, block by block. Baca, also an alliance member, has sought opinions from residents about their communities for more than five years. Bethany has been involved in the resource awareness drive for a year and a half.

The women, who call each other sister, said they dont worry about their safety on the streets but do their best to stay vigilant. Baca recalled a day when a man pulled back his shirt to reveal he had a gun. She initially felt a flash of fear, but remembering their mission gave her even more strength.

I always walk with God on my side, she said.

Bethany concurred. She also leans on her faith, praying for the angels to watch over them on their routes.

They said the first thing they do before canvassing neighborhoods is pray.

Though not everyone answered their door, the morning yielded results. Baca said Flemings expressed interest in volunteering and attending a neighborhood meeting.

Thats what we do, she said. We try to help each other. Thats the only way.

vtdavis@express-news.net
Britons rejoiced as hair salons across England reopened on April 12 - but Tony Blair clearly didn't get the memo.

The former prime minister, 67, stunned ITV viewers yesterday after debuting a silver mullet hairstyle, which some likened to Doc from Back to the Future and a slew of other fictional characters.

The ex-Labour leader was speaking to Paul Brand about devolution and a potential Scottish independence referendum, but his new 'do dominated reaction to the interview.

Many men have embraced their longer lockdown locks and opted to keep them despite the fact they can now get a professional trim - so what do the celebrity stylists make of Blair's new coiffure?

Here FEMAIL consults the experts - and reveal what other politicians would look like with Tony's tresses -and the celebrities with fabulous hair he could have taken style inspiration from instead.

Tony Blair caused a stir on social media after unveiling his long lockdown locks in an interview with ITV

Celebrity hair stylist James Johnson said he's a fan of Blair's lockdown locks and suggested he's a spray tan away from becoming an Essex lad.

'I think Blair like many of us have experimented with our lockdown growth!' he told FEMAIL.

'For men it's especially harder to style out grown hair cuts, but I do think this style does suit Blair.

'For older gentlemen especially, having length and weight at the back can give the illusion of a fuller head of hair whilst still keeping it smart with a combed back placement. Just please don't put it into a low pony... that's a big no!

'For me personally, I'm liking Blair's new adaptation to the lockdown hair growth. He's a spray tan away from being an Essex lad!

'Now that salons are open it will be very interesting to see where the hair goes from here; is he going to grow it fully into a Jason Mamoa, Pete Wicks vibe, or go for the short back and sides chop we're used to pre-Covid?'

HOW BLAIR'S BONCE LOOKS ON OTHER PMS AND POLITICIANS Boris without his blonde bouffant! The current prime minister if he were to sport his predecessor's grey mullet Former prime ministers Gordon Brown (left) and David Cameron (right) sporting Blair's silver tresses If Theresa May decided to grow out her fringe and slick back her silver locks a la Tony, this is the result It ain't Priti! Cabinet ministers Priti Patel and Matt Hancock sporting Blair's lockdown locks Should ex-aide Dominic Cummings decide on some grey hair extensions, he too could sport a mullet like Blair Advertisement

Celebrity hair stylist Tom Smith added: 'While a mullet is absolutely having a resurgence in hair fashion at the moment, with more and more of my clients being interested in this previously controversial silhouette, in this case the reality is Tony Blair has simply just not had the chance to get a haircut.

Stylist Tom Smith advises Blair to have his mullet shaped to look less 'Hairy Biker'

'A mullet typically showcases much shorter hair on the top and around the face, preserving a lot of length at the back towards the nape of the neck. Tony Blair looks as though he has a good thick head of hair, and can carry longer hair quite well, although a little reshaping, particularly through the back of his hair, will allow him to wear longer hair in a more flattering, current way.

'This sweptback style can look very sophisticated and Mediterranean or similar on more mature men who still have thick hair. Tony Blair usually frequents a tan and he has a dewy glow about him which adds to the appeal of his hair style.

'Therefore I would advise he enjoys the longer style for a bit longer with a little alteration to reshape and lift the back up a bit. This subtle shaping will help him look more Julio Iglesias than Hairy Biker.

'As he's not rushed to the hairdressers to get a lockdown haircut, it suggests he is secretly loving his hairdo. He appears as confident as ever with his lockdown locks and I can see him keeping them for a while yet.

'With salons closing perhaps it has given Tony the opportunity he has always looked for - he could never have worn this style previously with his job. It is more acceptable now due to the circumstances over the past 12 months.'

CELEBRITY STYLES BLAIR COULD GO FOR WITH HIS NEW LONGER LOCKS

Should Blair opt for a shorter crop, he could perhaps bring some hair forward and dye his silver locks blonde like former US president Donald Trump

If Blair is enjoying his longer locks, he could take inspiration from Brad Pitt (left) and Pete Wicks (right) by avoiding a trim - though he'd need some serious highlights or a dark rinse to banish the grey

For a complete overhaul, Blair could do away with his locks altogether and embrace the bald like Hollywood hunk Jason Statham

The reaction on social media to Mr Blair's decision to keep his longer lockdown locks was far from positive, likening him to Lord of the Rings' Gollum and Bill Nighy's ageing rocker character in Love Actually.

One user wrote: 'Tony Blair is slowly transforming into Doc Brown.'

Another tweeted: 'Tony Blair morphing into the possessed Vigo painting in Ghostbusters.'

And a third added: 'Tony Blair looks like a goblin who will try to lure you into his cave for a riddling contest.'
Last summer, in an attempt to curb overcrowding during the pandemic, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo required bars and restaurants to serve food with alcoholic drinks. New Yorkers have been ordering margaritas with a side of microwaved nachos ever since.

But soon, the infamous Cuomo snacks could be a thing of the past, with lawmakers expected to put a pause on the requirement.

[New Yorks legislature will suspend a rule that required food to be ordered with alcohol.]

Heres what you need to know:

The details

Today, leaders of the New York State Legislature plan to move to suspend the food directive. The repeal of the rule must pass both chambers in order to go into effect, which could happen this week.

Last July, the governor cracked down on bars with rules meant to enforce social distancing at a time when videos and photos of large groups were shared on social media. Customers had to be seated, not standing, while sipping a drink, and alcohol had to be served with food.
In 2011, a curious marine scientist captured a series of photos of the ocean floor that left him disturbed. Using a sea drone, he documented dozens of corroding industrial barrels, scattered 12 miles off the coast of Los Angeles. Tests later showed that the sediment inside contained exceptionally high concentrations of DDT, a pesticide banned in the 1970s, and other chemical waste.

How serious his discovery was for marine life  and for the humans who consume that marine life  depended in part on whether he had captured the bulk of this eerie chemical graveyard or just a tiny piece.

A decade later, that scientist, David Valentine, a professor of biology and earth science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has an answer. This week, a group of scientists shared the results of an extensive mission focused on mapping the area. They counted more than 25,000 barrels that they believe may contain DDT-laced industrial waste.

Astonished by the number, the scientists operating the sonar devices used to detect the barrels began running tests to make sure they were not malfunctioning, according to Eric Terrill, the leader of the expedition and director of the Marine Physical Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Zulkiflee Anwar Ul Haque, more popularly known as Zunar, speaks to a reporter at his office in Kuala Lumpur, April 13, 2015.

Malaysian police are investigating a noted Malaysian editorial cartoonist for his caricature of a states chief minister, he and officials said Wednesday, after authorities arrested another satirist last week over social media posts about the queen.

In addition, the government plans to summon representatives from two media outlets over the credibility of reports about a senior police officers comments, the Home Minister said Tuesday.

In a statement to the press, Zulkiflee Anwar Ul Haque, more popularly known as Zunar, said police northern Kedah state had summoned him to appear on May 2. Zunar is a contributor to BenarNews.

I was contacted by Police Inspector Zulkifli Bin Musa from Padang Terap district in Kedah informing me that I have to report to the police station to be investigated regarding my cartoon which was produced on Jan. 23, 2021.

The cartoon was published on the Zunar Cartoonist Fan Club page on Facebook, Zunar said.

The moves against Zunar, the satirist and two local news outlets come ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, and after Reporters Without Borders demoted Malaysia by 18 spots  the largest drop of any nation  on its annual press freedom index.

Malaysia, under a year-old unelected government, embodied the desire for absolute control over information, the watchdog group said in publishing the index on April 20

Zunars cartoon depicts Kedah state Chief Minister Muhammad Sanusi Md Norm using a meat cleaver to split apart a group of four people representing different races.

He produced the cartoon in response to the state governments decision to not grant a public holiday for Thaipusam  an annual Hindu prayer festival  along with the cancellation of all festival activities because of COVID-19 safety procedures.

Perhaps, this is to shut the mouth of critics, Zunar told BenarNews.

Zunar said his lawyer would accompany him when he appears at the police station on May 2.

Kedah state police chief Hasanuddin Hassan confirmed that officers had summoned the cartoonist for questioning. Zunar, he added, was being investigated under the penal code and the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA).

If charged and convicted, Zunar could face a fine and a prison sentence.

Previously under the Barisan Nasional government led by then-Prime Minister Najib Razak, Zunar faced up to 43 years in prison after authorities filed nine charges tied to Malaysias Sedition Act as well as another charge under the CMA for his cartoons lampooning the leader.

All charges were dropped in July 2018 under the government of Mahathir Mohamad, whose coalition upset Barisan in a general election two months earlier.

Satirist arrested

On April 23, police arrested political artist Fahmi Reza over satirical commentary and an online music playlist that poked fun at comments by Queen Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.

The playlist on Spotify featured a photo of the queen with the title This is Dengki Ke (Are You Jealous), and contained 100 songs themed around jealousy.

The satire was in response to a comment the queen allegedly posted on Instagram asking a random commenter if he was jealous that she had received her COVID-19 vaccine.

Arrested at his home, Fahmi was taken to a police station in Kuala Lumpur. A day later, a magistrate rejected a request that he be remanded for four days, leading to his release.

In February 2018, the Ipoh Sessions Court sentenced Fahmi to one month and fined him 30,000 ringgit ($7,313) after finding him guilty of violating the CMA for uploading a clown sketch of Najib on Facebook in 2016.

After the change in government, prosecutors dropped the charges against Fahmi while his case was being appealed to the High Court.

Summons for news agencies

Meanwhile, the home ministry announced Tuesday that it would summon online news outlet Malaysiakini and the Chinese-language newspaper China Press over their reporting of a comment made by Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, the nations deputy police chief.

The home ministry is seriously looking into the inaccurate media reporting published by Malaysiakini portal and China Press newspaper relating to a statement by Deputy Inspector General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, it said in a statement.

No date has been set for the meeting.

Acryl Sani, who was asked about a rape threat against a schoolgirl during an online press conference Monday, allegedly said that it was perhaps teasing from her classmates that she could not accept.

In a three-page statement explaining his comment, police spokesman Skandaguru Anandan said what the deputy police chief said about perhaps teasing did not mean that he meant it is just teasing, as portrayed by Malaysiakini and China Press.

The Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ) said there was no need for the ministry to summon the news organizations over their reporting.

If the authorities are of the view that they have been misquoted or misrepresented, they are entitled to clarify their statement, which the police have done, CIJ executive director Wathshlah G. Naidu said in a statement.
Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media

HAMDEN  Police are investigating an incident in which a 29-year-old man was shot in the back Saturday.

Officers responded to Hamden Park Drive at approximately 1:15 a.m. Saturday for a reported shooting, Capt. Ronald Smith said in an email.
Gemma Collins is said to be in line for a major pay day 'after signing a seven-figure deal' to replace Dani Dyer as the new face of Surf washing powder.

The former TOWIE star, 40, will take over from Love Island winner Dani, 24, for a series of commercials that will earn her well over 1million, The Sun reports.

Dani - the daughter of EastEnders star Danny Dyer - became known for her 'Perf with Surf' catchphrase while filming the comical adverts in 2019.

New role: Gemma Collins is said to be in line for a major pay day 'after signing a seven-figure deal' to replace Dani Dyer as the new face of Surf washing powder

An insider said: 'Gemma is the new face of Surf washing powder and it's the most lucrative deal she has ever signed.

'The money on the table for the gig is well over 1million and includes TV and social media adverts.'

It's understood that Gemma will be filming her first commercial for the brand 'over the weekend' after Dani decided to step back from the role.

The source added: 'She [Dani] has a lot on with her baby son and those in charge at Surf wanted to tap into Gemma's brand power. She has such a huge following and everything she endorses turns to gold.'

MailOnline has contacted a representative for further comment.

Back then: Love Island star Dani, 24, became known for her 'Perf with Surf' catchphrase while filming the adverts in 2019

Gemma, who rose to fame on The Only Way Is Essex, has also starred in her own series Diva Forever.

She recently revealed her body double to Instagram as she shot scenes for a secret project and teased a mystery stunt at an unknown location.

The TV star captured the crew and set in-between takes before showing the lookalike actress who rocked a floor-length pink dress.

Mirror image? Gemma Collins revealed her body double to Instagram as she shot scenes for a secret project and teased a mystery stunt at an unknown location

The body double rested a face mask on her chin while she sat down and gave a sweet wave to the camera. 'Body double, body double,' Gemma said.

In a separate clip uploaded to social media, the self-proclaimed Essex diva filmed a roll of grass leading to a green crash mat.

It was surrounded by high-end recording equipment including lights, multiple cameras and a tracking dolly.

All crew members were seen sporting PPE as Gemma said: 'Big shoot day today. Where is my stunt advisor?' before greeting them: 'Hello!'

The upload comes after MailOnline reported on Thursday that Gemma has finally moved on from James Argent by getting back with ex-fiance Rami Hawash, who's now a father.

The former TOWIE star was engaged to Rami, 45, before they split in 2014, but she reconnected with the businessman this year and has been seeing him in secret for over six months.

Since 2013, when he proposed to Gemma by hiding a diamond ring in a Christmas pudding, Rami has become a father to three-year-old son, Tristan.

A source told MailOnline: 'Gemma has been seeing Rami again in secret for the last six months.

'The pair have enjoyed spending time together and getting reacquainted during date nights in London and Essex.

'Gemma suffered a lot of stress and trauma during her relationship with Arg, which has been on and off for years  but she's finally putting herself first and moving forward with her life.'
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases

By Chris Boyle Published: April 28 2021

Petty Officer Third Class Daniel Vintimilla joined the Navy three years ago and was the first generation in his family to serve.

A 2017 Commack High School graduate and native of Commack, New York, is serving aboard USS Iwo Jima, a U.S. Navy Wasp-class amphibious assault ship.

Petty Officer Third Class Daniel Vintimilla joined the Navy three years ago and was the first generation in his family to serve.

"I aim to make a name for myself and to be as successful as I can be to make up for the sacrifices my parents made for me," said Vintimilla.

Today, Vintimilla serves as a machinist's mate responsible for working on, operating and maintaining marine boilers which provide steam for propulsion of naval ships.

"I also test the test and treat water, fuel and oil that we use for propulsion boilers and associated equipment," said Vintimilla.

Iwo Jima is the seventh Wasp-class amphibious assault ship and the second ship in the U.S. Navy to bear that name. The ship was named for the Battle of Iwo Jima of World War II.

According to Navy officials, amphibious assault ships are designed to deliver U.S. Marines and their equipment where they are needed to support a variety of missions ranging from amphibious assaults to humanitarian relief efforts. Designed to be versatile, the ship has the option of simultaneously using helicopters, Harrier jets, and Landing Craft Air Cushioned (LCAC), as well as conventional landing craft and assault vehicles in various combinations.

According to Vintimilla, the values required to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Commack.

"Commack taught me to excel in problem solving in situations that I have experienced and scenarios that come up unexpected," said Commack.

Though there are many opportunities for sailors to earn recognition in their command, community and career, Vintimilla is most proud of saving enough money to buy a house for future investment.

As a member of the U.S. Navy, Vintimilla, as well as other sailors, know they are part of a tradition providing the Navy the nation needs.

"Serving in the Navy allows me to open up doors for more opportunities and jobs for the future though the different programs and qualifications I have and can obtain throughout my Naval career." added Vintimilla.
DALLAS, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

What's the news?

Delta Air Lines will help lead the commercial airline industry into the 5G era. Together with AT&T Business and Apple, Delta will equip every one of their 19,000+ flight attendants with iPhone 12, enabling them to harness the power of AT&T's nationwide 5G network to enhance the travel experience for all passengers.

Why is this important?

2021 is a crucial year as pandemic-driven travel behaviors continue to change. This new infusion of technology and connectivity from AT&T and Apple will help Delta and its flight attendants better adapt to whatever the future of travel holds.

The powerful capabilities in performance, durability and connectivity on iPhone 12 combined with the high-speed, low-latency connectivity of the AT&T 5G network opens entirely new possibilities on the ground and in the air.

This could mean unleashing the potential of augmented reality (AR) to shape the future of air travel and the passenger experience with capabilities like:

More accurately assessing in-cabin inventory quickly using AR with the camera on iPhone 12.

Immersive training using AR to help flight attendants perform critical tasksfrom safety checks to passenger assistance from nearly anywhere.

These new capabilities are not only possible, but are on the horizon, and Delta will continue work with AT&T and Apple to develop new use cases and applications that will help Delta continue to set new standards for service.

Why are iPhone 12 and AT&T 5G great fits for Delta?

The Apple-designed A14 Bionic  the fastest chip in a smartphone  powers every experience on iPhone 12 while efficiently managing battery life.

It also features a new flat-edge design with an aerospace-grade aluminum enclosure, and the breakthrough Ceramic Shield front cover, with 4x better drop performance.1 iPhone 12 also has an industry-leading IP68 rating for water-resistance, giving flight attendants peace of mind while on the go.2 Viewing training and customer itineraries even in dim cabin lighting will be made easy with an expansive, edge-to-edge Super Retina XDR display with OLED for a brighter, more immersive viewing experience.

Flight attendants can also feel confident knowing that AT&T was recently named the fastest network for iPhones according to Speedtest by Ookla.3 The iPhone 12 can also access AT&T's fast, reliable and highly secure 5G network, reducing the need to connect to public Wi-Fi hotspots in between flights. AT&T's 5G network reaches over 230M Americans in more than 14,000 cities and towns. The iPhone 12 is also capable of tapping into the AT&T 5G+ network, which is available in parts of 38 cities in the U.S.

In addition, Delta utilized the trade-in value of iPhones to enable a cost-effective lease from AT&T Capital Services and Apple Financial Services.

What are people saying?

"Our flight attendants are the finest professionals taking to the skies day in and day out, so when we were looking for outstanding products that meet the Delta standard, Apple and AT&T were top of mind. This relationship is a step towards the future of a more connected and human onboard experience."  Allison Ausband, Senior Vice President - In-Flight Service, Delta Air Lines

"Our visionary collaboration with Delta Air Lines is proof that connectivity is more than just a means to an end. We are thrilled to work with Delta to empower their employees and create new 5G-enabled experiences on iPhone 12 to fuel and invigorate the commercial airline industry for years to come."  Rasesh Patel, Chief Product & Platform Officer, AT&T Business

Where can I find more information?

*About AT&T Communications

We help family, friends and neighbors connect in meaningful ways every day. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to mobile video streaming, we @ATT innovate to improve lives.

AT&T Communications is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). For more information, please visit us at att.com.

1 Claim is based on iPhone 12 Ceramic Shield front cover compared with the previous-generation iPhone.

2 iPhone 12 is splash-, water-, and dust-resistant, and were tested under controlled laboratory conditions and have a rating of IP68 under IEC standard 60529 (maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes). Splash, water, and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and resistance may decrease as a result of normal wear. Do not attempt to charge a wet iPhone; refer to the user guide for cleaning and drying instructions. Liquid damage is not covered under warranty.

3 Fastest based on analysis by Ookla of Speedtest Intelligence data median download speeds on Apple Manufactured phones for Q1 2021. Ookla trademarks used under license and reprinted with permission.

SOURCE AT&T Communications

Related Links

https://www.att.com


Singapore-based Asian Scientist magazine has included five Vietnamese scientists on the list of 100 Asian scientists who have had outstanding achievements in scientific research.

The list honors scientists and leaders whose studies contribute to solving the world's urgent issues, including the prevention of Covid-19.

Those named on the list must have had a national or international award in 2020. In addition, they must have significant achievements in scientific discovery or be a leader in the domain of learning.

The five Vietnamese scientists in the top 100 this year include: Assoc. Prof,Dr. Tran Thi Thu Ha (Thai Nguyen University); Assoc. Prof,Dr. Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan (University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City); Assoc. Prof, Dr. Le Thi Quynh Mai (Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology); Assoc. Prof, Dr. Pham Tien Son (Da Lat University); and Dr. Nguyen Truong Thanh Hieu (Ton Duc Thang University  HCM City).

The five Vietnamese scientists in the top 100 Asian scientists in 2020: Dr. Nguyen Truong Thanh Hieu, Dr. Dr. Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan, Dr. Pham Tien Son, Dr. Le Thi Quynh Mai, and Dr. Tran Thi Thu Ha (from left to right).

Assoc. Prof., Dr. Tran Thi Thu Ha was honored in the field of agriculture. Ha was the winner of the Kovalevskaia Award 2019 for her research on propagation and intensive cultivation of medicinal plants, and development of local medicinal plants.

Two scientists were honored in the field of biomedical science. Assoc. Prof, Dr. Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan was one of three recipients of the Ta Quang Buu Award 2020 for a study that compared the methods of transferring fresh and frozen embryos for in vitro fertilization. Assoc. Prof., Dr. Le Thi Quynh Mai was the head of a group of female scientists who were awarded the Kovalevskaia Prize in 2019 for successfully isolating a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus, making Vietnam one of the first four countries successfully isolating this virus.

Assoc. Prof, Dr. Pham Tien Son was honored in the field of Mathematics. Son was one of three scientists who received Ta Quang Buu Award 2020.

Dr. Nguyen Truong Thanh Hieu was honored in the field of Physics. Hieu was one of three recipients of the Ta Quang Buu Award 2020 for his work "Average Free Distance of Low Energy Electrons in Materials".

This is the sixth consecutive year that Asian Scientist magazine has honored the best researchers in Asia. Other scientists on the list are from other Asian countries such as: China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Thuy Nga

Female scientist with PhD in immunology pursues research on rare diseases Tran Nguyen Kim Thi is a postdoc majoring in AI usage in medicine at the Huge Kaul Precision Medicine Institute at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) in the US.
[April 28, 2021] Embassy REIT Joins the WELL Portfolio Program to Advance the Global Healthy Building Movement

Embassy REIT, India's first listed REIT and the largest office REIT in Asia by area, announced today it has subscribed to the WELL Portfolio program by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) to create healthier office buildings and thriving business ecosystems in India. IWBI is the world's leading organization championing a global movement to expand and accelerate a culture of health by advancing health and well-being in buildings, communities and organisations. Embassy REIT has pioneered the total business ecosystem in India, and delivers an unparalleled experience for occupiers, employees and visitors by focusing on high-quality environmentally sustainable practices and wellness projects. The participation in IWBI's WELL Portfolio program further augments Embassy REIT's commitment to creating healthier and safer office environments as health and wellness take centre stage in a post Covid-19 office environment. Michael Holland, CEO, Embassy REIT, said, "For our 200+ blue-chip occupiers and the 250,000 employees who occupy our properties, the office is their home. Therefore, ensuring the safety, health and well-being, and business continuity of our park occupiers is of paramount importance to us. Our participation in the WELL Portfolio program for the next five years reaffirms our priority commitment to the health and well-being of workers and visitors first, and of fostering a safer and healthier environment for businesses from all around the world to flourish and grow." Most of Embassy REIT's properties are Platinum or Gold certified with all new developments designed to be LEED Gold certified. The firm has been accredited with certifications such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001. In addition, Embassy REIT's portfolio has been awarded as the Best Green Building and Green Campus initiative across multiple industry platforms. Rachel Hodgdon, President & CEO, IWBI, said, "We are delighted to welcome Embassy REIT into the WELL Portfolio program. As an organisation that has been at the forefront of advoating the cause of green, sustainable and healthy working spaces in India, Embassy REIT can now advance health and well-being at scale for its employees, clients and all stakeholders who spend time in their Portfolio spaces. We are highly encouraged to see their continued leadership in this vital space, and we are proud to support our WELL Portfolio members in prioritizing people's health and well-being as they plan for reopening workplaces."



WELL is focused on the ways that buildings, communities, and organizational policies can improve our comfort, drive better choices, and generally enhance, not compromise, our health and wellness. Delivered by IWBI, WELL is a performance-based rating system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of our buildings that impact human health and wellness, through Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind and Community. WELL is in use by over 20,000 projects in nearly 100 countries, encompassing two billion square feet of real estate around the world. By applying the world's leading health-focused building standard, Embassy REIT will integrate WELL's comprehensive strategies and a roadmap to elevate the performance of every building and improve health, wellness and productivity for all inhabitants and visitors across its business parks. About Embassy REIT

Embassy REIT, listed in April 2019, is India's first publicly listed Real Estate Investment Trust. The REIT owns and operates a 42.4 million square feet ("msf") portfolio of eight infrastructure-like office parks and four city-centre office buildings in India's best-performing office markets of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, and the National Capital Region ("NCR"). Embassy REIT's portfolio comprises 32.3 msf completed operating area and is home to over 200 of the world's leading companies. The portfolio also comprises strategic amenities, including two operational business hotels, four under-construction hotels, and a 100MW solar park supplying renewable energy to tenants. Disclaimer

This press release is prepared for general information purposes only. The information contained herein is based on management information and estimates. It is only current as of its date, has not been independently verified and may be subject to change without notice. Embassy Office Parks Management Services Private Limited ("the Manager") in its capacity as the Manager of the Embassy Office Parks REIT ("Embassy REIT"), and Embassy REIT make no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to, and do not accept any responsibility or liability with respect to, the fairness and completeness of the content hereof. Each recipient will be solely responsible for its own assessment and analysis of the market and the market position of Embassy REIT. This press release contains forward-looking statements based on the currently held beliefs, opinions and assumptions of the Manager. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, financial condition, performance, or achievements of Embassy REIT or industry results, to differ materially from the results, financial condition, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the impact of COVID-19 on us, our occupiers and the Indian and global economies, recipients of this press release are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Manager disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments or the impact of events which cannot currently be ascertained, such as COVID-19. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005416/en/

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Lopez founded the Race-Class Narrative Project along with Anat Shenker-Osorio, a California-based communications consultant, and Heather McGhee, a former president of Demos, a liberal think tank and author of the recent book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.

I asked Lopez about the English-Kalla paper. He was forthright in his emailed reply:

As my work and that of others demonstrates, the most potent political message today is one that foregrounds combating intentional divide-and-conquer racial politics by building a multiracial coalition among all racial groups. This frame performs more strongly than a class-only frame as well as a racial justice frame. It is also the sole liberal frame that consistently beats Republican dog whistling.

Shenker-Osorio faulted English and Kallas work for being unsurprising:

If you tell someone to support a policy because it will benefit a group theyre not part of, and that doesnt work as well as telling them to support a policy they perceive will help them  this isnt exactly shocking.

Testing the effectiveness of messages on controversial issues, Shenker-Osorio continued, has to be done in the context of dealing with the claims of the opposition:

Politics isnt solitaire and so in order for our attempts to persuade conflicted voters to work, they must also act as a rebuttal to what these voters hear  incessantly  from our opposition. A class-only message about, say, minimum wage, held up against a drumbeat of immigrants are taking your jobs or racially-coded caricatures of who is in minimum wage jobs doesnt cut through. Neither does a message about affordable housing credits or food stamps when the opposition will just keep hammering home the notion of lazy people wanting handouts.

Unless Democrats explicitly address race, Shenker-Osorio wrote, millions of whites, flooded with Republican messages demonizing minorities, will continue to be

primed to view government as taking from hard working people (coded as white) and handing it to undeserving people (coded as Black and brown). If we do not contend with this basic fact  and todays unrelenting race baiting from the right  then Nixons Southern Strategy will simply continue to haunt us. In other words, if the left chooses to say nothing about race, the race conversation doesnt simply end. The only thing voters hear about the topic are the lies the right peddles to keep us from joining together to demand true progressive solutions.

The Race-Class Narrative Project, which has conducted extensive surveys and focus groups, came to the conclusion that race could effectively be addressed in carefully worded messages.

For instance:

No matter where we come from or what our color, most of us work hard for our families. But today, certain politicians and their greedy lobbyists hurt everyone by handing kickbacks to the rich, defunding our schools, and threatening our seniors with cuts to Medicare and Social Security. Then they turn around and point the finger for our hard times at poor families, Black people, and new immigrants. We need to join together with people from all walks of life to fight for our future, just like we won better wages, safer workplaces, and civil rights in our past.

The race-class project also tested the efficacy of a class only message  We need elected leaders who will reject the divide and conquer tactics of their opponents and put the interests of working people first  versus a race and class message that simply added the phrase whether we are white, Black or brown to read:

We need elected leaders who will reject the divide and conquer tactics of their opponents and put the interests of working people first, whether we are white, Black or brown.

The result? The race and class message did substantially better than the class alone message among both base Democratic voters and persuadable voters. Base Democrats approved of the class message 79-16 and approved of the race and class message 86-11. Fewer persuadable voters approved of the class message than disapproved, 42-45, while more approved than disapproved of the race and class message, 48-41.

I asked Shenker-Osorio how well she thinks Biden is doing when he talks about race:

Its definitely hit or miss. Sometimes he uses what I shorthand as dependent clause messaging where you name race after youve laid out an economic problem or offered an economic solution  e.g. Its getting harder for people to make ends meet, and this impacts [X Group] in particular. This doesnt work. For many people of color, this feels like race is an afterthought. For many whites, it feels like a non sequitur.

At other times, Shenker-Osorio continued, Biden

does what weve seen work: begin by naming a shared value with deliberate reference to race, describe the problem as one of deliberate division or racial scapegoating, and then close with how the policy he is pushing will mean better well-being or justice or freedom for all working people.

In partial support of the Shenker-Osorio critique, Jake Grumbach, a political scientist at the University of Washington, emailed me to say:

The English and Kalla survey experiment was done in a particular context that did not include Republican messaging, media coverage and imagery, and other content that real-world politics cannot escape. If Republicans use race, whether through dog whistles or more overt racism, then it might be the case that Democratic class only appeals will fall flat as voters infer racial content even when Democrats dont mention race.

Another important piece of context, Grumbach wrote, is that Biden is an older white man, which, research suggests, makes his policy appeals sound more moderate to voters than the actually more moderate Obama proposals.

There is no consensus in the world of liberal advocacy on the most effective approach to racial issues.

Celinda Lake, the Democratic pollster who conducted much of the research for the Race-Class Narrative Project, was outspoken in her criticism of the English-Kalla paper, writing in an email: There are huge flaws in their study and therefore in their conclusions. No candidate would run on what they put forward as the race message.

When I asked Kalla about these criticisms, he countered:

The messages that we tested did come from the real world of politics. Our messages came from actual politicians. As we note in the paper: To improve the external validity of these findings, we adapted the frames from real-world political sources.

In addition, Kalla noted that the paper does not say that we cannot talk about race. We do not make such a blanket claim.
PORTLAND, Ore., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Drug-Eluting Stents Market by Coating (Polymer-Based Coating and Polymer Free Coating), Application (Coronary Artery Disease and Peripheral Artery Disease), and End User (Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202027." According to the report, the global drug-eluting stents industry generated $6.38 billion in 2019, and is estimated to generate $8.77 billion by 2027, witnessing a CAGR of 8.7% from 2020 to 2027.

Prime determinants of growth

Surge in prevalence of cardiovascular disease, emergence of advanced drug-eluting stents, and increase in demand for minimally invasive surgical procedures drive the growth of the global drug-eluting stents market. However, strict government regulations for product approvals hinder the market growth. On the other hand, untapped potential in emerging countries presents new opportunities in the coming years.

Download Sample Report at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/10969

Covid-19 Scenario

The production activities of drug-eluting stents halted due to lockdown measures implemented in various countries. In addition, raw material shortage occurred. Owing to supply chain disruptions, distribution activities also affected.

During the pandemic, surgeries during the extreme cases were only carried out. Other surgeries were postponed to focus on the treatment of coronavirus-infected patients. The demand from hospitals also lowered down.

Manufacturing activities and supply chain is expected to get back on track during the post-lockdown. In addition, the demand will increase steadily.

The polymer-free coating segment to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period

Based on coating, the polymer-free coating segment accounted for the largest share in 2019, contributing to nearly three-fourths of the global drug-eluting stents market, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period. In addition, this segment is estimated to portray the fastest CAGR of 9.1% from 2020 to 2027. This is due to technological advancements in polymer-based coating DES, surge in prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, rise in healthcare expenditure, and demand for biodegradable polymer-based coating DES. The research also analyzes the polymer-based coating segment.

The hospitals segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period

Based on end user, the hospitals segment held the highest market share, accounting for around half of the global drug-eluting stents market in 2019, and will maintain its lead position during the forecast period. Moreover, this segment is expected to manifest the highest CAGR of 9.5% from 2020 to 2027. This is attributed to their effectiveness in the treatment of chronic diseases such as coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease and its multi-specialty or multi healing efficiently and cost-effectively. The report also analyzes the segment including ambulatory surgical centers and others.

Enquiry for Short-term and Long-term Impacts of COVID-19 at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/10969

North America to maintain its dominance in terms of revenue by 2027

Based on region, North America contributed to the largest market share in 2019, accounting for around two-fifths of the global drug-eluting stents market, and will maintain its dominance in terms of revenue by 2027. This is due to rise in a number of cardiovascular disease patients, surge in patient awareness towards minimally invasive surgical treatment, increase in availability of advanced healthcare facilities with trained medical professionals. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the largest CAGR of 10.0% during the forecast period, owing to rise in prevalence of coronary artery and peripheral artery disease, supportive reimbursement policies associated with cardiovascular surgery, and improvement in healthcare facilities.

Leading market players

Abbott Laboratories

Alvimedica

B. Braun Holding GmbH & Co. KG

Biosensors International Group

Biotronik Inc.

Boston Scientific Corporation

Cook Group (Cook Medical)

Medtronic Plc

Stentys SA

Terumo Corporation

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Similar Reports:

Stents Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202027

Coronary Stents Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2027

Bioabsorbable Stents Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2027

Gastrointestinal Stents Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192027

Radioactive Stents Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192027

Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192027

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - A city in the Golden Triangle is becoming a little greener after signing a deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

Starkville Utilities announced it's agreed to work with TVA to bring sustainable, solar energy to the city making Starkville the first Mississippi municipality to join TVA's "Green Invest Solar Project."

Starkville Utilities signed a bill to bring solar energy to Starkville residents. Courtesy: Origis Energy. Starkville Utilities signed a bill to bring solar energy to Starkville residents. Courtesy: Origis Energy.

Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill believes this could be a big step in maintaining the beautiful city.

The intent is to go as sustainable as we can over the coming years and recognize that we want to reduce our carbon footprint," she said. "This is a part of that effort.

The utility company purchased 30 megawatts of solar energy which is equal to 15% of the city's annual electricity consumption.

Surprisingly, Spruill said this environmentally-friendly change will not increase folks' bills.

It does not increase our electricity rates so it is an opportunity for us to begin a transition that is going to be a decades-long transition to where we can have a more sustainable form of energy.

Spruill said she's never been afraid to be a leader in something worth fixing and hopes other communities follow Starkville's footsteps.

The solar farm will be in Artesia and should be operational in early 2023.
The Sustainable Forest Management project, implemented by U.S.-based economic and social development firm DAI Global, would help reduce carbon emissions from deforestation, forest degradation and poor timber plantation management in Vietnam, USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) said.

It would also help strengthen Vietnamese law enforcements ability to combat forest crimes like illegal logging, improve the livelihoods of 60,000 people in forest-dwelling communities and bolster the management of more than 250,000 ha of forest, it added.

The Biodiversity Conservation project, implemented by international NGO World Wildlife Fund, would protect critical ecosystems and build resilience against the impacts of climate change, increase forest quality and protect wildlife populations.

It is also expected to improve community patrol teams ability to detect and deter wildlife trafficking, improve economic opportunities for forest-dependent communities and bolster the management of around 700,000 ha of forest.

Both projects are expected to help conserve over 950,000 ha of forests across 12 Vietnam provinces, contributing to the climate change fight through promoting biodiversity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

At an online climate summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden last Friday, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Vietnam was committed to reducing emissions and promoting sustainable energy development.

Vietnam will reduce 9 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions using domestic resources, or 27 percent with international assistance. It would also continue reducing the use of thermal power and increase that of sustainable energy sources towards the latter accounting for 30 percent of the nation's total primary energy sources by 2045. Vietnam will also internalize international treaties on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the president said.
Workers at Britain's most advanced steelworks are hoping against hope that owner Sanjeev Gupta can keep their site going as he battles to obtain funding after the collapse of lender Greensill Capital.

The future of the giant plant in Stocksbridge, in South Yorkshire  which makes specialist steel for use in aviation, aerospace, defence and medical products  hangs in the balance.

Clive Royston, a national executive committee member of steel workers' trade union Community, and who has worked at the site since 1978, is clinging to the belief that the Indian-born businessman can save the plant.

Threat: The future of the Stocksbridge steel plant  which makes specialist steel for use in aviation, aerospace, defence and medical products - hangs in the balance

This month, Gupta declared none of Liberty's plants would shut 'under my watch' though it remains unclear how he will replace finance from Greensill.

Royston, 59, a crane operator, believes Stocksbridge's position as the UK's only major producer of highly-specialist steel will help ensure its survival, saying: 'It's no good to anybody to lose it.

'We recently marked 175 years and it's an incredible history. The lads are proud to be steel workers.

'At one time nearly everyone in Stocksbridge was at the steelworks and it's still a major employer.'

He said that if Liberty were to go out of business, as well as the 2,900 workforce at its 12 UK sites, thousands more people in the supply chain and other businesses around the company's sites could lose their jobs. You could be looking at 10,000 out of work,' he added.

The Government 'must be ready to intervene to protect our jobs and strategic steel assets,' he said, adding that it is a 'test of (its) commitment to industrial communities across the UK'.

As well as producing high-grade speciality steel for the likes of Rolls-Royce and Airbus, Stocksbridge benefits from the UK's greenest electric arc furnace systems at its sister plant in Rotherham, powered by electricity rather than coal.

Scrutiny of tiny auditor who signed off accounts The tiny firm that audits the accounts of dozens of Sanjeev Guptas firms is set to come under scrutiny as the crisis at the steel magnates empire escalates. King & King, which signs off the accounts of around 60 Gupta businesses in the UK, is little known even in the accounting world. King & Kg, which signs off the accounts of around 60 Gupta businesses in the UK, has offices near Wembley Stadium (pictured, with a traffic cone on the roof above the door) The two-partner firm has offices near Wembley Stadium and above a cosmetics shop on Regent Street. It is led by Milan Patel, 58, a chartered accountant. Parliaments Business Committee has launched an inquiry into the crisis at Guptas Liberty Steel, part of his GFG Alliance empire. Liberty has been on the brink since early March when the biggest lender to GFG, Greensill Capital, went bust. King & King audits were crucial to Greensill lending money to GFG companies. The firm has not been accused of any wrongdoing and has not been named as a group that the committee will seek evidence from. It did not respond to a request for comment.

The furnaces  the second of which was launched by Prince Charles in 2018  are the only ones in the UK and are important assets as the country looks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

They produce the steel which is then transported by rail to Stocksbridge to be re-melted, rolled and processed.

Generations of the Royston family, like many others, have worked in the steel industry. Clive's grandfather had a job at Stocksbridge, while his father worked nearby in Sheffield.

Clive's son Andrew, 32, continues the family tradition at Stocksbridge, a vast, mile-long site at the foot of a steep valley.

One way the Government could help, he believes, is by finding ways to lower energy prices and reduce costs such as business rates.

He added: 'There would be nothing green about letting us close and bringing in imports.'

Although providing far fewer jobs than it used to, Stocksbridge steelworks, established by industrialist Samuel Fox in 1842, is still the main employer in the Pennine town, employing 750. Another 700 are employed at the Liberty plant in Rotherham.

Neighbouring Sheffield and Barnsley are up to half an hour's drive from Stocksbridge, and an hour away by public transport.

One worker on his lunch break at the brand new Fox Valley shopping complex opposite the site gates, said: 'The Government definitely needs to support us.'

'Very few companies can make what we do and a lot of investment which has been made in recent years would go to waste.'

Hopes: Clive Royston (pictured), a national executive committee member of steel workers' trade union Community, has worked at the Stocksbridge plant since 1978

A clutch of bars, cafes and shops say that they rely on businesses from the steelworkers and fear that closure would 'devastate' the town.

Tracey Martin, owner of sandwich shop Samuel's kitchen, located near the steelworks' main gates and named after founder, Samuel Fox, said that if the site were to close 'the supply chain will feel it too and it will impact not only local businesses but (others) nationally'.

She added: 'Many firms may find it hard to survive, especially the numerous small ones the steelworks works with.

Hopefully there will be light at the end of the melting pot and, with a bit of help and support, the future of these businesses  along with speciality British steel  will keep on rolling along.'

Labour councillor Julie Grocutt, who represents Stocksbridge on Sheffield City Council, believes the Government must step in to ensure the works is safe.

She said: 'Locally, unemployment is running at 6 per cent at the moment and we can't afford to add to that number. Where are the alternative jobs here?'

Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of the Community union, said the industry has been 'forced to compete with one hand tied behind their back' due to energy costs and business rates clobbering owners with huge bills.

He said: 'We welcome Sanjeev Gupta's commitment to keep every British steel plant open, though we will need to be convinced of his plans to accomplish this. These are very challenging times and the Government must be ready to intervene to safeguard the jobs and the assets should that become necessary.

'The fact is so long as our steelworkers are forced to compete with one hand tied behind their back the future is not secure for any of our steel companies. Our energy prices are 86pc more than they pay in Germany, our business rates can be ten times more, we are years behind our competitors on decarbonisation, and the Government is failing to use procurement policy to support British jobs and industry.

'Boris Johnson's government can no longer hide behind EU state aid rules as an excuse for doing nothing.

'In this year of Brexit, COP 26, and massive investment in public infrastructure, our steelworkers need to see decisive game-changing interventions.'

As for Clive Royston, he speaks for many when he says that he doesn't know how Gupta might raise funding.

In the past, he says, the steel magnate 'has a habit of coming up trumps'. Can Gupta defy the odds and do so again?

The town of Stocksbridge, whose past and future is so intertwined with steel, will soon find out.


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A rich cache of data on some 533 million Facebook users was posted to a hacker forum over the weekend and is available to download for practically free. The information is from a data breach that occurred in 2019, but hasn't been widely available until now.

The data was posted to an English-speaking cybercriminal forum called RaidForums by a hacker going by the handle TomLiner.

"The Facebook data was first listed for sale on RaidForums on June 6, 2020, but the initial sale allegedly asked users for US$30,000 in exchange for the data," explained Ivan Righi, a cyber threat intelligence analyst with Digital Shadows, a San Francisco-based provider of digital risk protection solutions.

"TomLiner's post exposed the data for eight forum tokens -- approximately $2.52," he told TechNewsWorld. "The data has been unlocked by close to 3,800 users, generating TomLiner over $9,500."

Michael Isbitski, a technical evangelist with Salt Security, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of API security, added that at the time of that incident in 2019, Facebook indicated the data of 220 million users was scraped prior to the company restricting access in the platform to preserve users' privacy.

"It's plausible that this is partially the old data set resurfaced and combined with other scraped data sets since the number has now ballooned to 533 million users," he told TechNewsWorld.

Phone Number Flaw

In a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by Facebook, the company said it is confident the posted information is old data that originated from a weakness in its contact importer feature that was discovered and fixed in August 2019.

At that time, it explained, the company removed people's ability to directly find others using their phone number across both Facebook and Instagram -- a function that could be exploited using sophisticated software code to imitate Facebook and provide a phone number to find which users it belonged to.

Using that software, it continued, it had been possible to input multiple phone numbers and, by running an algorithm, connect numbers to specific users.

Facebook never returned a phone number, it explained, the attacker provided the numbers by which to do the matching.

Through this process, it was possible at that time to query user profiles and obtain a limited amount of publicly available information, it added.

Playbook for ID Theft

Although the data may be old, it still has value to hackers, cybersecurity experts told TechNewsWorld.

Admittedly, the data's value has been diminished as a saleable asset, observed Andrew Barratt, managing principal for solutions and investigations at Coalfire, a Westminster, Colo.-based provider of cybersecurity advisory services.

"But the data is still a ready-made playbook for identity theft, impersonation, and potential Facebook account take over, which often has more far reaching consequences if Facebook accounts are used to access other sites, or services," he said.

"Look at the number of fitness tracking systems, which log relevant healthcare data that leverage a Facebook login to get in," he added.

Righi noted that it is likely that most phone numbers are still active and remain linked to legitimate Facebook users.

"Cybercriminals can use information such as phone numbers, emails and full names to launch targeted social engineering attacks, such as phishing, vishing, or spam," he said. "As most users are still working from home due to the pandemic, these attacks could be effective if personalized to target victims."

"Now more than ever it is important to seriously reconsider using phone numbers as logins or sharing phone numbers with apps," added Setu Kulkarni, vice president for strategy at WhiteHat Security, a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of application security.

"Switching phone numbers is inordinately more taxing than switching email IDs," he added.

Exploiting the Pandemic

Being in the middle of a pandemic may also add value to the recycled data from the Facebook breach.

"Having access to all the data may be a golden nugget for criminals orchestrating large spam or phishing campaigns, many of which have been tailored to pandemic-themes -- stimulus checks, mask politics, geographical restrictions or track and trace scenarios," observed Barratt.

"Whether it's more or less valuable is complex because of the general state of the global economy," he continued.

"It might be harder to scam an individual for a higher amount of money, however it might be possible to scam a larger volume of people for smaller amounts that are 'on trend' from a pandemic perspective," he explained.

Saryu Nayyar, CEO of Gurucul, a threat intelligence company in El Segundo, Calif. added that the global scope of the pandemic can be an asset to scammers armed with data from the Facebook breach.

"Every country is in different stages of grappling with their Covid-19 vaccine rollout, and cybercriminals can absolutely use this data to socially engineer vaccine misinformation," she told TechNewsWorld.

"I can already see the targeted phishing email headlines: Get your vaccine today -- new vaccination center near you! Find out which of your neighbors have Covid-19. Choose which vaccine you get with our new app," she described.

Daniel Markuson, digital privacy expert with NordVPN, a VPN service provider based in Nicosia, Cypress noted in a statement that his company found that vaccine-related Google searches in the United States grew by 1,900 percent since January.

"This shows that Americans are becoming increasingly anxious to get their Covid-19 vaccine and might be an easy target for hackers," he reasoned.

Markuson added that in December, Interpol issued an alert to law enforcement across 194 countries, warning them to prepare for crimes revolving around Covid-19 vaccines.

Investigators have also reported vaccine-related activities on the Dark Web, he added.

No Stranger to Breaches

Over the years, the social network has been the target of a number of headline-grabbing data breaches.

"Facebook has been hit with data incidents from every angle," observed Paul Bischoff, privacy advocate at Comparitech, a reviews, advice and information website for consumer security products.

"It has left user data sitting on exposed servers, allowed app developers to abuse access to user accounts, and left bugs in code that hackers could exploit to steal data," he told TechNewsWorld.

"On top of that, most Facebook profiles are public, which means third parties can scrape them using bots," he said.

Data security and privacy was never high in the minds of the Facebook developers when they built the platform, maintained Purandar Das, CEO and cofounder of Sotero, a data protection company in Burlington, Mass.

"On the other hand, the platform was all about monetizing the users' data," he told TechNewsWorld.

"When you design products or platforms that start with no attention to security and privacy," he said, "it becomes very hard to go back and retrofit those capabilities."

John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John.


Nearly one quarter of the land in the Northern Hemisphere, amounting to some 9 million square miles, is layered with permafrost -- soil, sediment, and rocks that are frozen solid for years at a time. Vast stretches of permafrost can be found in Alaska, Siberia, and the Canadian Arctic, where persistently freezing temperatures have kept carbon, in the form of decayed bits of plants and animals, locked in the ground.

Scientists estimate that more than 1,400 gigatons of carbon is trapped in the Earth's permafrost. As global temperatures climb, and permafrost thaws, this frozen reservoir could potentially escape into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane, significantly amplifying climate change. However, little is known about permafrost's stability, today or in the past.

Now geologists at MIT, Boston College, and elsewhere have reconstructed permafrost's history over the last 1.5 million years. The researchers analyzed cave deposits in locations across western Canada and found evidence that, between 1.5 million and 400,000 years ago, permafrost was prone to thawing, even in high Arctic latitudes. Since then, however, permafrost thaw has been limited to sub-Arctic regions.

The results, published in Science Advances, suggest that the planet's permafrost shifted to a more stable state in the last 400,000 years, and has been less susceptible to thawing since then. In this more stable state, permafrost likely has retained much of the carbon that it has built up during this time, having little opportunity to gradually release it.

"The stability of the last 400,000 years may actually work against us, in that it has allowed carbon to steadily accumulate in permafrost over this time. Melting now might lead to substantially greater releases of carbon to the atmosphere than in the past," says study co-author David McGee, associate professor in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

McGee's co-authors are Ben Hardt and Irit Tal at MIT; Nicole Biller-Celander, Jeremy Shakun, and Corinne Wong at Boston College; Alberto Reyes at the University of Alberta; Bernard Lauriol at the University of Ottawa; and Derek Ford at McMaster University.

Stacked warming

Periods of past warming are considered interglacial periods, or times between global ice ages. These geologically brief windows can warm permafrost enough to thaw. Signs of ancient permafrost thaw can be seen in stalagmites and other mineral deposits left behind as water moves through the ground and into caves. These caves, particularly at high Arctic latitudes, are often remote and difficult to access, and as a result, there has been little known about the history of permafrost, and its past stability in warming climates.

However, in 2013, researchers at Oxford University were able to sample cave deposits from a few locations across Siberia; their analysis suggested that permafrost thaw was widespread throughout Siberia prior to 400,000 years ago. Since then, the results showed a much-reduced range of permafrost thaw.

Shakun and Biller-Celander wondered whether the trend toward a more stable permafrost was a global one, and looked to carry out similar studies in Canada to reconstruct the permafrost history there. They linked up with pioneering cave scientists Lauriol and Ford, who provided samples of cave deposits that they collected over the years from three distinct permafrost regions: the southern Canadian Rockies, Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories, and the northern Yukon.

In total, the team obtained 74 samples of speleothems, or sections of stalagmites, stalactites, and flowstones, from at least five caves in each region, representing various cave depths, geometries, and glacial histories. Each sampled cave was located on exposed slopes that were likely the first parts of the permafrost landscape to thaw with warming.

The samples were flown to MIT, where McGee and his lab used precise geochronology techniques to determine the ages of each sample's layers, each layer reflecting a period of permafrost thaw.

"Each speleothem was deposited over time like stacked traffic cones," says McGee. "We started with the outermost, youngest layers to date the most recent time that the permafrost thawed."

Arctic shift

McGee and his colleagues used techniques of uranium/thorium geochronology to date the layers of each speleothem. The dating technique relies on the natural decay process of uranium to its daughter isotope, thorium 230, and the fact that uranium is soluble in water, whereas thorium is not.

"In the rocks above the cave, as waters percolate through, they accumulate uranium and leave thorium behind," McGee explains. "Once that water gets to the stalagmite surface and precipitates at time zero, you have uranium, and no thorium. Then gradually, uranium decays and produces thorium."

The team drilled out small amounts from each sample and dissolved them through various chemical steps to isolate uranium and thorium. Then they ran the two elements through a mass spectrometer to measure their amounts, the ratio of which they used to calculate a given layer's age.

From their analysis, the researchers observed that samples collected from the Yukon and the farthest northern sites bore samples no younger than 400,000 years old, suggesting permafrost thaw has not occurred in those sites since then.

"There may have been some shallow thaw, but in terms of the entire rock above the cave being thawed, that hasn't occurred for the last 400,000 years, and was much more common prior to that," McGee says.

The results suggest that the Earth's permafrost was much less stable prior to 400,000 years ago and was more prone to thawing, even during interglacial periods when levels of temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide were on par with modern levels, as other work has shown.

"To see this evidence of a much less stable Arctic prior to 400,000 years ago, suggests even under similar conditions, the Arctic can be a very different place," McGee says. "It raises questions for me about what caused the Arctic to shift into this more stable condition, and what can cause it to shift out of it."

###

This research was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Polar Continental Shelf Program.

Written by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office
The leaders of the New York State Legislature said Tuesday they would move on the next day to suspend a pandemic directive that required customers to order food when purchasing alcohol at bars and restaurants.

The food directive was originally imposed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in July 2020 in an attempt to keep patrons seated at tables and reduce mingling that could lead to large crowded gatherings, fueling the spread of the virus. The repeal of the rule would go into effect after passing both legislative chambers in Albany, which could happen this week.

The rule had been criticized by many, including the restaurant industry and many Republican lawmakers, as arbitrary and an unfair business regulation economically detrimental to bars that werent accustomed to serving food.

While some bars and restaurants had begun to eschew the directive in recent months, others were using creative workarounds to comply with the rule, providing the bare minimum and cheapest option that would count as food under the governors directive.
Photo: The Canadian Press Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on the speakers' list next month at a celebrity-laden global concert promoting vaccine equality.

The Global Citizen Vax Live Concert to Reunite the World will air on YouTube May 8, hosted by Selena Gomez and featuring performances by Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder and the Foo Fighters.

Trudeau's office confirms he will deliver a speech about the need for international co-operation to end the pandemic.

The concert's organizers are asking political leaders to commit to ensuring vaccines are available to every country.

Canada is among the countries criticized for vaccine hoarding, as wealthy countries lined up to sign private deals to buy doses, and poorer countries will wait longer to vaccinate even their most vulnerable citizens.

Canada is one of the largest contributors to the global vaccine sharing initiative known as COVAX and has committed to providing excess doses to other countries once Canadians are vaccinated, but has been criticized for also taking doses from COVAX despite having privately purchased enough vaccines to give as many eight doses to every Canadian.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are raising money for the COVAX vaccine sharing facility, are also participating in the concert, as are U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
A landscaper who had a dispute over pay with a deputy in Georgia found himself strapped to a restraint chair for several hours at the county jail after the sheriff intervened, federal prosecutors said.

Others had similar ordeals, according to prosecutors.

Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill is accused of frequently strapping detainees to a chair and leaving them for hours at a time in violation of their constitutional rights, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Georgia said. An indictment charging him with federal civil rights violations was unsealed Monday, and prosecutors announced the charges Tuesday.

Badges and guns dont come with the authority to ignore the Constitution. They come with the responsibility to protect it from anyone who would violate it, especially another public servant, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Christopher Macrae with the FBI in Atlanta said.

He also said Hill abused his privileges and abandoned his responsibilities.

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Hill, 56, pleaded not guilty and was released on bond, according to The Washington Post. In a statement early Tuesday, the sheriff said he will continue to focus on the mission of fighting crime in Clayton County for continued success.

Today I will begin the process of fighting a political motivated federal legal case, Hill said. My legal team are the only ones authorized to speak on the details of this matter, and they are confident about the facts of this case.

His attorney, Drew Findling, told The New York Times that restraint chairs are often used in jails.

Were really shocked by this, Findling said, according to The Times. Theres no evidence or allegation of systematic violence.

Alleged civil rights abuses

In an indictment filed under seal April 19, prosecutors outlined four instances in which Hill reportedly ordered a detainee be put in the restraint chair.

The first occurred in February 2020, when a man accused of assaulting two women at a grocery store was picked up by deputies. While he was being booked into the Clayton County jail, prosecutors said, Hill confronted him about what he was doing in Clayton County on the day of the alleged assault.

Story continues

The man reportedly told him, Its a democracy, sir. Its the United States. To which Hill responded, No, its not, not in my county.

He then asked Hill if he was entitled to a fair and speedy trial.

You entitled to sit in this chair, and youre entitled to get the hell out of my county and dont come back, Hill said, according to the indictment. Thats what youre entitled to.

Prosecutors said the man was handcuffed throughout most of this exchange and did not present any threat but was strapped into a restraint chair and left there for hours per Hills orders.

In April, prosecutors said a 17-year-old was arrested on charges he vandalized his mothers home. When the Clayton County deputy who arrested him texted Hill about the case, the sheriff reportedly asked how old he was. The deputy told him 17.

Chair was all Hill responded, according to the indictment.

The next day, another man was arrested after a domestic disturbance. Prosecutors said the man pretended to pass out at the police station following his arrest and was taken to the hospital, where he reportedly refused treatment and left. Police officers arrested him again later that day, prosecutors said, but he didnt comply with commands and had to be carried to the car.

Once he arrived at the jail, the man was reportedly left strapped in a restraint chair where he later peed himself because he was not allowed to go to the bathroom, prosecutors said.

Hill is accused of threatening to put him and the 17-year-old in the chair for sixteen hours straight.

Do you understand me? he told them, according to the indictment. I need to hear from both of yall that yall not gonna show yalls a** in my county no more.

The final incident occurred in August and involved a landscaper who reportedly did some work for a Clayton County deputy.

There was some dispute about the payment, prosecutors said, and Hill called the man to ask why he was harassing his deputy. The man proceeded to FaceTime the sheriff and confirm his identity. He also reportedly texted Hill.

Hill warned him not to call again or send any more texts, then told a deputy to file an arrest warrant against the man for harassing communications, prosecutors said. The sheriff texted him twice over the the next two days to tell him about the warrant and order him to turn himself in.

Prosecutors said Hill sent an armed fugitive squad to arrest the landscaper.

The man reportedly retained a lawyer and turned himself in several days later. He was seen cooperative and compliant on surveillance footage at the jail, prosecutors said. But when Hill arrived, he was immediately strapped into a restraint chair and left there for several hours per Hills orders.

Contentious past

Hill refers to himself as THE CRIME FIGHTER on Twitter and talks about the aggressive tactics of his elite Fugitive squad, NPR reported.

He was first elected in 2004 but lost his re-election bid for the following term, according to The Post. Hill was subsequently indicted on 27 public corruption charges stemming from allegations he siphoned off county resources for vacations and stole funds from his election campaign.

A jury acquitted him on all 27 charges, according to The Times.

The sheriff was indicted again in 2015 on charges of misdemeanor reckless conduct after he shot a woman at a model home, according to NPR. Both parties reportedly agreed it was an accident, and Hill pleaded no contest.

Hes also been named in a civil lawsuit alleging he didnt protect inmates at the county jail from the coronavirus, NPR reported.
The late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, center, is seen with his daughters Lee Boo-jin, left, and Lee Seo-hyun at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas in 2010. On the right is his wife Hong Ra-hee. Courtesy of Samsung Group



Samsung family to pay record inheritance tax of $10.7 bil.



By Kim Bo-eun



Heirs of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee will pay more than 12 trillion won ($10.7 billion) in inheritance taxes, while separately donating one trillion won to support the fight against COVID-19 and research into rare child diseases, the group announced Wednesday.



The Lee family, including his wife and three children, also decided to donate around 23,000 works from the deceased's art collection, valued at around 2.5 trillion won, to national museums.



The combined worth of the inheritance tax and donations is more than half of the late Lee's assets estimated at over 26 trillion won, including stocks, real estate and artwork. The legendary head of Samsung was the richest man in Korea.



The family plans to pay the tax  one of the largest ever imposed worldwide  in six installments over the next five years, but details of how they would do this were not revealed. Samsung also failed to announce how the late Lee's shares in group affiliates, including its crown jewel Samsung Electronics, would be allocated. Payment of the first installment of the inheritance tax is due Friday.









The late Lee's family members  his wife and former Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, director Hong Ra-hee, only son Jae-yong, older daughter Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin and younger daughter Samsung Welfare Foundation Chairwoman Lee Seo-hyun  are expected to pay the 12-trillion won inheritance tax with dividends coming from Samsung affiliate stocks, and possibly loans.



This is one of the largest-ever inheritance tax bills in history  it is more than three times the total inheritance tax paid in Korea last year, and 3.5 times the amount imposed on the late Apple founder Steve Jobs' estate.



Most of Lee's art collection will be donated to state institutions  21,600 ancient cultural properties, including national treasures such as the Joseon-era landscape painting "Inwang Jesaekdo" by legendary painter Jeong Seon, will go to local museums.



A total of 1,600 works will be donated to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, including Western pieces such as Claud Monet's "The Water Lily Pond" and painting by Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso. Lee was an avid collector of fine art, particularly ancient Korean works.



Of the 1 trillion won donated for medical purposes, 700 billion will be for combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, with 500 billion used to establish the nation's first hospital for infectious diseases.



The remaining 200 billion won will go toward setting up a state-of-the-art infectious diseases research center affiliated with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and into vaccines and medicines research.



Another 300 billion will be used to fund treatments for pediatric cancer and rare childhood diseases. Samsung family members will set up a committee at the Seoul National University's Children's Hospital to carry out the program to assist underprivileged children. Costs for genetic testing, chemotherapy and other treatments will be covered for 17,000 underprivileged young patients over the next decade.





Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong / Korea Times file
The President and Board of Trustees of The American University of Rome today announced that actor, writer, and producer, Stanley Tucci, has been nominated as their honorary degree recipient for 2021. The degree will be conferred at their annual commencement ceremony on 21 May 2021.

In making the announcement, AURs President, Dr. Scott Sprenger, stated We are delighted that Mr. Tucci will be accepting this distinction from the university. The award is bestowed with our deepest respect and in honor of Mr. Tuccis contribution to the arts and his sustained promotion of Italian life and culture.

Stanley Tucci, whose multi-award-winning film and television career spans four decades, is of direct Italian descent and throughout his life and career he has been an ambassador for Italian art, lifestyle, and culture. He described his latest series for CNN "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy" as a passion project and love letter to the place where my family is from...

The American University of Rome, situated on Romes Janiculum Hill, is the oldest degree-granting American university in Italy. A liberal arts institution offering accredited US undergraduate and graduate degrees, the university attracts not only American and Italian students but students from across the globe for an extraordinary educational experience of discovery in the heart of the Eternal City.

As an Honorary Doctor of The American University of Rome, Stanley Tucci joins a list of distinguished recipients that includes Alice Waters, Andrea Camilleri, Roger Waters, Aurelio De Laurentiis, Paolo Sorrentino, Oscar Farinetti, and James Murdoch.

Ph: magicinfoto / Shutterstock.com
Peter Earle has been representing child victims of lead paint poisoning for more than 20 years and he and his fellow lawyers for the cause are not about to let another legal setback affecting three cases bring an end to the fight.

They have more than 160 Wisconsin plaintiffs they are representing against paint manufacturers over lead poisoning and many more court dates to come.

The defendants are pursuing a bet, the company litigation strategy, and were pursuing a fight-to-the-death strategy. We will not give up, Earle said. This in my view, and the view of the other lawyers, is one of the most catastrophic environmental injustices against mostly minority children this countrys ever seen. There are literally millions of children throughout the United States and hundreds of thousands in Wisconsin who are living in lead traps.

Last week, a federal appeals court cleared one paint manufacturer and ordered retrials for two others, upending a 2019 case in which a jury had awarded $2 million each to three men who blamed their brain damage on their years of exposure to lead in paint.

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 62-page opinion (Burton v. DuPont) said the lower district erred in expanding the states shared liability theory.

When a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in 2005 (Thomas ex rel. Gramling v. Mallett) adopted a risk-contribution theory of liability for plaintiffs suing manufacturers, it applied the risk contribution theory only to makers of a paint ingredient known as white lead carbonate. However, the 7th circuit court stressed, that high court opinion did not extend the theory to paint makers that did not themselves manufacture that ingredient but used lead carbonate manufactured by another company in their products.

In the opinion written by Judge Amy J. St. Eve, the 7th Circuit Court concluded that applying the risk contribution theory to paint manufacturers or finished paint products would extend Thomas beyond its bounds. It sent the $6 million verdict back to the lower court for a new trial.

The plaintiffs in the Burton consolidated cases are three young men who grew up in Milwaukee homes that had lead-based paint on the walls. They were diagnosed with lead poisoning as young children in the 1990s or early 2000s. Years later, they sued several manufacturers of white lead carbonate, seeking compensation for brain damage and other injuries resulting from their ingestion of lead paint particles.

After years of pretrial litigation, the plaintiffs went to trial against five manufacturers on claims of ordinary negligence and strict liability failure-to-warn. The jury found three of the manufacturers liable and awarded the plaintiffs $2 million each. The three defendants found liable were E.I. du Pont de Nemours, Sherwin-Williams and Armstrong Containers. The three companies appealed, challenging a long list of the district courts rulings.

Now the federal appeals has ruled that paint maker Sherwin-Williams is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, Armstrong is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the strict liability claims and a new trial on the negligence claims, and DuPont is entitled to a new trial on both claims.

The courts error requires a new trial because it significantly expanded the scope of the defendants potential liability and the evidence at trial. It also deprived the defendants of the opportunity to build an appropriate defense, the opinion states.

The judge noted that for years, the defendants had litigated under the assumption that they were liable only in their capacity as pigment manufacturers. Less than six weeks before trial, however, the defendants learned for the first time that they were also subject to liability as manufacturers of paint products containing white lead carbonate.

The courts last-minute, legally incorrect ruling left them scrambling to adapt their defenses to the plaintiffs newly enlarged theory of liability, St. Eve wrote.

Under the risk contribution theory endorsed by the states high court in 2005, a plaintiff does not have to prove that a specific defendants conduct caused his or her injury. It instead seeks to apportion liability among the pool of defendants who could have caused the injury.

Each of the defendants argued that the risk-contribution theory applies to them only if they manufactured white lead carbonate. The 7th Circuit Court agreed:

[T]he Wisconsin Supreme Court has made clear that such companies are liable under the risk-contribution theory only in their capacity as manufacturers of white lead carbonate pigment. As a practical matter, this means that a paint manufacturer cannot be liable under the risk-contribution theory for selling a finished product that contains another companys white lead carbonate. Only the manufacturer of the white lead carbonate can be liable.

The district court and plaintiffs had based their more expansive reading of Thomas on the Wisconsin Supreme Courts use of the word marketed. As the district court saw it, a company that sells lead-based paint is marketing lead pigment, even if it is not producing it. Thus, the court reasoned, a paint manufacturer could be liable for selling paint containing another companys white lead carbonate. The federal court disagreed with this approach, calling it a strained interpretation of marketing.

The appeals court also found that the lower court erred in allowing testimony on lead paints effect on IQ from a witness without questioning the reliability of the methodology set forth by the witness.

Earle said he was surprised by the ruling but is confident about winning in the end.

We see a very clear path to the retrial and the trial of all the other cases. And were confident we can win, he said.

Earle noted that the cases are complicated because at some point in their history most paint manufacturers made their own carbonate but then stopped and incorporated others carbonate into what was essentially the same paint they sold.

They didnt change it. They just simply bought the white lead carbonate. The exact same product essentially generic. And so we felt they should be liable for that entire period of time. They said, no, the liability is only for pigment manufacturers, Earle commented.

While he and his plaintiffs lost that part of the argument, Earle is actually encouraged by other parts of the 7th circuit opinion, including its support for the plaintiffs position on bifurcating the trial between the liability phase and the apportionment phase.

The court said that while there is no ordinary negligence claim detached from a product defect, that there are other negligent claims based on product defect, other than an inadequate warning, he explained.

He maintains there are post-sale instructions, warnings and mitigation efforts that the lead paint companies could and probably should have undertaken.

On retrial, he expects to pursue claims of product defect along with negligence and duty to warn. Its really easy to do because there is no dispute that the white lead carbonate constituted a hidden danger which foreseeably put children at risk, he said.

He said his side has a massive record of evidence about what the companies knew, when they knew it, what was known in medical literature and among public health experts and consumer advocates at the time.

The remaining 160 or so cases in Wisconsin have been divided into three groups. The recent ruling involved the first of the three. But its unlikely there will be any more in Wisconsin as the legislature has ended the contributed risk theory for paint cases.

The federal government banned lead-based paint for residential use in 1978 and Wisconsin followed suit in 1980. Even after these bans, however, lead-based paint remains on the walls of many homes throughout the United States.

Wisconsin is not the only state that has been dealing with lead paint liability cases over the years. Other cases have been heard in California, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
The Church has solutions for post-Covid education

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Education is in crisis. Teachers, students, parents all know it; anyone with even a tenuous connection to the education system knows it. A global pandemic did not cause this crisis, but it has shown a spotlight on increasing problems and turned subtle warning signs into glaring marquees of distress. Cracks in the system that have been noticeable for decades now seem as deep chasms that perhaps cannot be bridged, let alone mended. At a time when societys push for individual rights is at an all-time high, accommodation for individual educational needs is at an all-time loweven though the technology is available to do it. This is because the promotion of state-mandated conformity and the promotion of contrived individualism are mutually exclusive. One cannot accommodate the other. Thats why a new approach is needed. The church can provide a solution.

The Problem

It has been a full year since the world shut down and schools began scrambling to change their entire method of education. Government schools rushed to figure out how to provide online education, and to do so with no existing infrastructure in place for the teacher or the student. Private schools found themselves in only slightly better situations, simply because they had to do it on a smaller scale. In the assumption that shut-downs would only last a couple of weeks, simple stopgap measures were taken. Some schools took an extra week of Spring Break. Others sent busy work home with students, prepared to go back to real instruction once in-person classes resumed. Once it became evident that learning would be virtual for the remainder of the year, learning became even more rushed, patched, unplanned, and inadequate. It was justifiable; after all, it was only for one quarter, right?

Now here we are a full year later. What was novel is now the norm. Virtual learning has become an essential and integral part of education. Platforms such as Google Classroom and Zoom are part of the common vernacular. Curriculum companies have pushed to meet the needs and demands; schools have exceeded budgets in trying to catch up with the demands. And students? Students are failing. At the end of the fall semester, F grades had spiked by 83%. Teachers? Teachers are pulling their hair out. Ask any teacher and they will tell you they are working harder and accomplishing less than they have in their entire teaching career. Parents? Parents are at their wits end. Even non-essential workers had to go back to work, yet their kids are still learning from home with no supervision. How do you homeschool when you arent home?

Many school districts have declared that the student shouldnt be held responsible for a global pandemic. Therefore, even if a child does no work for the 2020-2021 school year, they will still not be given a failing grade. They will move on to the next grade, and the next teacher will have to determine how to proceed. (Congratulations, Sixth Grade teachers. Next year you will be teaching Fifth Grade.) Conversely, a chronically-ill student in Florida who homeschools through the state-provided virtual system is still required to attend a brick and mortar school for standardized testing. Regardless of the individual needs of this straight-A student, if they do not attend in-person standardized testing, they will be given a 59 on their student transcript. They will, however, still be promoted to the next grade. So much of public education is upside down!

Who is being served by passing students who are failing? Whose needs are being met? Certainly not the students. Not the parents. Not societys. What is being accomplished in this commitment to the status quo? In twenty years will it be enough to explain that we have an entire generation without basic skills simply because the education system could not handle a global pandemic? Or will America continue to progress downward in the global ranking of education? Are we really so ill-equipped that we will continue to patch up a failing system with bubble gum and duct tape, just because no one could figure out how to meet the crisis?

For years we have hollered that the educational system is broken and must be fixed. The GW Bush administration tried to fix it with No Child Left Behind, and left us with a system that teaches a test rather than conceptual learning. The Obama administration tried to fix it with Common Core, and left us with such a convoluted set of essential concepts (such as Critical Race Theory and sex-equality education) that the teacher has no time for the Three Rs. Covid has done nothing but highlight and exacerbate these weaknesses. The entire education system has been systematically deconstructed over the past 12 months, and no amount of patching and stopgaps are able to hold up. The mandate is clear: If you want your child to have an education with any sort of normalcy and educational value, the parents must start taking charge of their childs education. After all, when the world shut down, who was left with the responsibility? The parent.

And parents are stepping up. Unwilling to settle for mediocre but passing grades, parents are making changes to their entire family life in order to improve their childs educational chances. Parents used the availability of working from home to monitor their childs progress. Private tutors have become small classroom facilitators. As pod schools became a trend in the fall, churches began opening their doors to host virtual learning. Purely by necessity, the responsibility for learning has returned to the cornerstones of society: family and church.

The Solution

The church CAN HELP! We have outlined a bleak and frustrating situation. The pains and annoyances of the current educational market provide the church with a unique opportunity for ministry. Here is a way for the church to not only reach into the community and assist in real-time problems, but it is also a way to fulfill the Great Commission. How often have we regretted that churches only get 3-5 hours per week with a child, but the school gets 30-40? How often have we lamented the wicked, vile things being indoctrinated into our children, and wished there was a way to shelter them from the evil? You can provide a shelter from this onslaught, and at the same time instill Biblical values into this generation. The church can provide a high-quality education that fills in the many learning gaps that have been created. The answer is individualized Christian education.

One group of people was not taken by surprise by the global shut down. This group continued their childs educational studies with little to no accommodations being made. Parents, schools, and educators who already use individualized Christian educational curriculum saw barely a hiccup in the education of their students. Christian schools using individualized, self-instructional curricula (e.g., Ignitia or Accelerated Christian Education) simply sent the necessary materials home with the student and continued to monitor their progress in the same way as before. Homeschoolers never even looked up. Students finished the year with a complete, uncompromised transcript. Parents and educators didnt spend the summer trying to figure out what to do in the fall. It was business as usual. One such school in Massachusetts was able to report that 75% of the student body had completed 100% of all required assignments for the year with no adjustments or accommodations for COVID. This is unheard of! However, it is commonplace in Christian schools with individualized programs.

The media and medicine are saying that virtual learning is harmful to students, but what about the success stories? It is certain that Zoom classes on a strict schedule dont work. Yet it is also certain that individualized, self-instructional curricula (that have been around for 50 years) do work and produce results.

Its now time for the church to leverage what weve learned. Daily discipleship through effective Christian education is possible for our children. As parents take up the mantle of responsibility for their childrens education, the church must be a support system. Pastors need to thunder sermons on this topic regularly. Maybe its time for the church to start a school. Perhaps opening the doors of the church building so that families can practice shared responsibility for learning is a better format for your congregation. Whether its an every day program, a homeschool hub, or a hybrid approach, the church needs to be a presence and encouragement.

This level of ministry opportunity hasnt been seen in decades. People are looking for answers. They are looking for solutions. The church leadership needs to be like Moses and help guide in the great exodus from secular education that is taking place. Lets provide a place of shelter, hope, and help to our families and communities. In the process, we can share the Gospel and train a new generation of Christian leaders to be faithful to the cause of Christ.
Prince Harry should have better prepared Meghan Markle for royal life but 'didn't want to' put her off by explaining how hard she would have to work, Prince Philip's biographer has claimed.

The Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex, 39, are currently living in their $14 million Californian mansion with their son Archie, having stepped back from royal duty in March last year.

Robert Jobson, who penned the biography Prince Philips Century, has said Megxit is mostly Prince Harrys fault for not properly preparing Meghan for life in the royal family, telling Page Six: 'Hes not the sharpest guy, but maybe he didnt want to explain it.

'Its hard work being a member of the royal family. People think its not but it is. Its not glamorous and maybe she didnt fancy that after at all.'

The Duke of Sussex, 36, should have better prepared Meghan Markle, 39, for royal life but wanted to 'have his cake and eat it' so 'didn't want to explain' how hard she would have to work, a royal expert has claimed

Meanwhile he said Harry's lack of guidance may have meant Meghan started life in the royal family with little understanding about how The Firm worked.

He said that the mother-of-one appeared to have little understanding of their pecking order and struggled to come to terms with it.

Robert revealed: 'When she saw that she had the little house and William and Kate were the number one couple she probably didnt understand that and thought, "Well we can do better than this and start commercializing the royal family," well frankly thats not acceptable.'

He added: 'I blame Harry really because he knew the story but he wanted his cake and to eat it and you cant do that.'

Royal expert Robert Jobson has said Prince Harry 'may not have wanted to explain' to Meghan Markle that life in the royal family 'wasn't glamorous' but was 'hard work' (pictured at their engagement shoot in 2017)

After stepping back from life in the royal family, the Sussexes signed multi-million deals including a 30million ($42m) partnership with Spotify and a 100million ($140m) partnership with Netflix.

It comes amid reports that Prince William will struggle to ever forgive sister-in-law Meghan after she sat down with Oprah Winfrey to attack his beloved wife and then accuse his flesh and blood of racism and uncaring behaviour towards someone with mental health issues.

Sources told MailOnline's Dan Wootton that Prince William 'cannot countenance the way the Duchess of Sussex has treated his wife', saying: 'Kate attempted to try and help Meghan understand the responsibilities of royal life, but her efforts were constantly misinterpreted.

'But to name Kate so publicly during the Oprah interview as the person who made her cry was beyond the pale. Meghan would have been acutely aware that Kate is powerless to fight back.

'Despite her growing confidence in public, Kate is a deeply sensitive woman who likes to stay behind-the-scenes as much as possible to support her family and the country.

Robert said the Duchess was likely confused when she arrived in London and Prince William and Kate Middleton were 'number one'

'William thinks the way she has been treated is unfair.'

Prince William is said to have had doubts about the speed of Harry's relationship from the beginning.

He reputedly tried to encourage his brother to slow the pace of their courtship, which exacerbated tensions between them.

After Meghan entered the family officially, William began to question some of her motives, with another senior royal source explaining: 'William soon began to wonder about some of Meghan's traits and motivations.

It comes amid reports that Prince William will struggle to ever forgive sister-in-law Meghan after she sat down with Oprah Winfrey to attack his beloved wife Kate (pictured together in 2018)

'He was worried that at times she seemed to be more concerned about her personal progression or profile over the wider goals and aims of the Royal Family.

'But he largely kept any reservations to himself as he desperately wanted her to be happy and appreciated the huge adjustment of entering the Royal Family.

'Following Megxit though, everything changed. He could no longer hide his true feelings because he felt like she had publicly attempted to disrespect his family and the Queen.'

It comes after royal biographer Angela Levin said Prince Harry and Meghan Markle face being 'ditched' from the Royal family by Prince Charles as he streamlines the Monarchy.

She thinks this could be the point at which the Duke and Duchess are cut loose.

A smaller-sized 'Firm' could see just Charles, Camilla, William, the Duchess of Cambridge, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte as senior royals.
A California school district is being criticized for offering a support circle for white students after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder in the death of George Floyd.

A TikTok video with more than 4,700 comments shows an email from Piedmont Unified School Districts assistant superintendent about a white student support group for white students who would like to discuss how the trial, verdict, and experiences related to the George Floyd murder are impacting you.

Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died while in police custody last May, and his death sparked protests across the nation. He died after Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who is white, pressed his knee into Floyds neck for more than nine minutes, as three other officers didnt intervene.

Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Superintendent Randall Booker released a statement on Saturday, calling the emails subject line referring to a white student support group as a poor choice of words that led to the perception that White students needed the same kind of support as our BIPOC students.

Students of all racial backgrounds rightfully pushed back on that idea. We agree, and we want to affirm in the strongest terms that our commitment is to give all students a place to express their feelings and to learn how to engage in important issues, Booker said.

He added: The intent of a circle for White allies is to discuss how to be a better ally in the pursuit of racial justice. Additionally, we are planning to offer circles open to all in order to give students of different backgrounds a chance to process together.

The school district did not immediately respond to McClatchy News request for comment Tuesday morning.

The district says its racial equality policy goals are committing the school to fighting institutional racism, making sure the district is an inclusive and welcoming environment for Black, Indigenous People of Color and getting rid of gaps in opportunity for BIPOC students.
Now that Colorado is getting an additional congressional seat, the attention turns to where to put it on the map.

Why it matters: The 8th District will force the independent commission tasked with drawing the new political boundaries to reconfigure the political picture. And where the lines go will help determine who will run for office.

Sheena Kadi, a Democratic strategist, told Axios that she's confirmed with nine current Colorado elected officials and one former elected official who said they would consider running if they're drawn in the new district.

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The big picture: The Denver area's population boom gives it the advantage for landing the new district, experts tell Axios, but it's not a done deal and various interests have their own ideas.

The 12-person commission must ensure the districts represent roughly equal populations, preserve the racial and geographic makeup of communities and remain as compact as possible, per the state constitutional criteria.

Then the panel must maximize the number of competitive districts.

In addition, the lines cannot protect incumbents or dilute the influence of minority voters.

Between the lines: The prioritization of competitiveness is unique compared to other state commissions but the map probably won't drastically change.

Colorado is "more straightforward than other states because there are a couple different sensible ways to draw an 8th District map," said Dave Wasserman, a reapportionment expert at the Cook Political Report.

State of play: Wasserman drew two potential options:

"The first would unite Fort Collins and Greeley in a swingy, compact new Northern Colorado seat, which would've voted Trump '16 and Biden '20."

"The other option might be to anchor a swingy new [district] in the southern Denver exurbs, anchored by Douglas Co. This version ... also would have voted for Trump '16 and Biden '20  something of a 'fair fight.'"

The other side: In a series of interviews, others have different ideas.

Advocacy groups that represent the Western Slope, Eastern Plains and southern Colorado collectively demanded two rural districts to bracket the Front Range metro area.

Heavily Republican El Paso County has the population to support its own district, said Alan Philp, a GOP strategist.

Drawing the Latino community in the Denver area together would allow "a higher likelihood of being able to help elect a more diverse federal delegation," said Gena Ozols, a Democrat consultant.

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ROME, APR 28 - Health Minister Roberto Speranza defended himself on Wednesday as the Senate debated three non-confidence motions against him in relation to his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the motions was presented by the Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, the only big party not supporting Premier Mario Draghi's government. He said that Italy was "unprepared for COVID because for decades the public health system had been neglected as it was considered a cost. "Over the years an illusion that public health care could gradually be replaced by private care was fed into," he continued. "The opposite is true". He said said the country's pandemic plan had now finally been updated after "seven governments" failed to do so. He denied having anything to do with the World Health Organization pulling a report that was critical of Italy's initial response to the coronavirus emergency, saying it was an "internal" decision made by the UN agency. He also called for "unity, unity, unity" in the fight against COVID-19, stressing that the virus is the enemy to fight. (ANSA).
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 17:23:50|Editor: huaxia

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Afghan army soldiers take part in a military operation against militants in Ghazi Abad district of Kunar province, Afghanistan, April 28, 2021. The Afghan national security forces have killed nine militants and destroyed many of their weapons during an ongoing operation in Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan, an army source confirmed on Wednesday. (Photo by Emran Waak/Xinhua)

ASADABAD, Afghanistan, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan national security forces have killed nine militants and destroyed many of their weapons during an ongoing operation in Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan, an army source confirmed on Wednesday.

"Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDFS) launched a military operation in Ghazi Abad district on Tuesday. Aiming to clear the militants from the district, the operation is continuing in the mountains region, and nine Taliban militants have been killed as of midday on Wednesday," General Rahimdel Sapay from army's 201 Selab Corps based in the region told Xinhua.

There were also four security forces members and six militants wounded during the fightings, he said.

The operation will continue before the areas are cleared from the presence of militants, the army general added.

The ANDSF continued the mopping-up operations across Afghanistan but the militants attack government interests in the provinces from time to time.

On Monday, 15 civilians, mostly religious students, were wounded after several rockets fired by militants struck provincial capital Asadabad. Enditem
The Office cast had plenty of fond memories from their time on the show, but Jenna Fischer can easily point to the hilarious scenes that were her favorite to shoot. During an episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Fischer shared how the Party Planning Committee meetings were always a good time.

The Office cast: Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, Steve Carell, Phyllis Smith, and Jenna Fischer | Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank

The Office Goodbye, Toby episode involves a big party

During the April 28 episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Fischer and her co-host Angela Kinsey discussed The Office Season 4 episode Goodbye, Toby.

In the episode, Toby Flenderson is leaving Dunder Mifflin for a new adventure in Costa Rica. Michael Scott is thrilled to see Toby go and wants the Party Planning Committee to throw a big celebratory send-off.

Kinsey and Fischer shared their fondness for doing these scenes. I loved every minute of this scene, Kinsey said.

I loved every minute of doing it, Fischer echoed. I loved every minute of watching it.

The committee doesnt have much going on for Tobys goodbye party besides a cake and slideshow that features two photos of Toby. Michael wants something much bigger and since theres no money in the budget, he pulls cash out of his shoe to pay for it.

Michael explains every year his grandma sends him $50 for his birthday, but lately shes been sending him about nine or 10 checks a year, Fischer explained. He was saving for a motorcycle, but he thinks this is what he wants to spend his money on.

Michael starts listing all of these ridiculous things he wants at this party, Kinsey noted. He says he wants to feel like hes flying through the air without this ugly weight holding him down. He wants an anti-gravity machine.

You know what? Angela has had it. She has had it, Kinsey added. She said she doesnt want his foot money.

When Kinsey recalled how fun that scene was, Fischer shared, Oh, my gosh. We loved these scenes with Steve and the Party Planning Committee. They are truly some of my favorite to shoot.

According to Kinsey, the scenes didnt feel like work because of how fun they were. I just couldnt wait. And my biggest goal was just to not laugh so that we could get some usable footage, she said.

RELATED: The Office: Jenna Fischer and John Krasinskis Instant Chemistry Proves They Were the Perfect Jim and Pam

Phyllis struggles with planning such a huge party

In the scene, Michael puts Phyllis in charge of planning the party when Angela objects to his over-the-top requests.

Kinsey shared that things dont go well, however. Phyllis is trying to find an antigravity machine, she explained. So far, shes only found someone who can connect her to anti-depressants. I am telling you  Phyllis is about to break when the lady on the phone says antidepressants. You can see her starting to laugh.

Later, Phyllis approaches Angela for assistance with planning the party and Angela isnt helpful. When Phyllis asks her for a list of the vendors, Angela tells her, I shredded it.

Phyllis retaliates by accidentally knocking papers off of Angelas desk.
A powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Covid-ravaged India today, sending terrified residents fleeing as the aftershocks were felt for hundreds of miles.

The US Geological Survey said the epicentre was in a hilly region in Assam state near India's border with Bhutan.

There have been no reports of casualties so far, with residents saying the main human toll was stress, minor cuts and bruises.

It comes as India is in the throes of a savage second wave of coronavirus, with more than 360,000 cases recorded on Wednesday as the death toll soared over 200,000.

A man searches for his belongings amidst the debris after a boundary wall of his house collapsed following an earthquake in Nagaon district in the northeastern state of Assam

A woman is seen picking up the picking up the pieces in Guwahati after the 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit northeastern India on Wednesday

The US Geological Survey said the epicentre was in a hilly region in Assam state near India's border with Bhutan. The quake was felt for hundreds of miles, as far away as the state of Bengal, as well as neighbouring Bhutan and Bangladesh.

Fortunately northeastern India, where this morning's quake struck, has not yet experienced a widespread outbreak of coronavirus, being more sparsely populated than the central and western states.

The quake was felt for hundreds of miles, as far away as the state of Bengal, as well as neighbouring Bhutan and Bangladesh.

It rocked Tezpur, a city of 100,000 people, located just 28 miles from the epicentre.

'It lasted more than 20 seconds and we were really scared,' Tezpur resident Swati Deb Dey said.

'The walls shook as we ran downstairs and even outside the road was moving. Everyone is shocked,' she added.

Residents said many buildings suffered cracked walls and broken windows. Fissures spread across roads.

'There are some cracks in pillars and walls but no major damage or casualties so far,' said Mugdhajyoti Dev Mahanta, a police superintendent for Sonitpur district, which includes Tezpur.

'Our teams are on the ground and assessing the situation.'

In Assam's main city, Guwahati, about 95 miles to the south, the quake shook buildings and chunks of concrete fell off the side of buildings that were cracked.

Residents said at least two big aftershocks were felt.

In Nagaon, one apartment block tilted onto an adjacent building.

Assam's Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted photos of broken walls in a Guwahati building minutes after the quake.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had spoken with state authorities and promised assistance from the central government.

A resident in the Assam city of Guwahati inspects cracked walls in the garage below his building on Wednesday

In the state's main city, Guwahati, at least two aftershocks were felt

'I pray for the well-being of the people of Assam,' Modi said on Twitter.

According to the USGS, the quake's relatively shallow depth of 21 miles had increased the risk of severe damage.

It said the main tremor struck at 0221 GMT in hills just north of Dhekiajuli, a town in a tea-growing district of northern Assam.

A second one with a magnitude of 4.0 hit 10 minutes later and others followed.

The Himalayan region is notorious for big earthquakes that hit each year.

A 1950 quake killed about 4,800 people in Assam and Tibet.

The Great Assam Earthquake of 1897 is said to be one of the most powerful to have hit India, leaving hundreds dead in the remote hills.
As India battles the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and resultant oxygen scarcity, the Centre and state governments have taken various measures to augment the production of medical oxygen in the country. Besides, efforts are also being made to procure and import oxygen concentrators to deal with the shortage of oxygen. Various foreign governments and global private sector companies have come forward to help India in the hour of crisis by sending oxygen concentrators. Here's where India is getting oxygen concentrators from:

FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Air India is airlifting over 10,000 oxygen concentrators, manufactured by Philips, from various countries, and has already flown in 636 concentrators from US till Tuesday. While Philips has sent 381 concentrators from US, the Indian Red Cross Society, which is working closely with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has imported 95 oxygen concentrators.

Besides, India is also likely to get 25,000 oxygen concentrators from China. A Jiangsu-based medical equipment supplier in China has received orders for 18,000 oxygen concentrators from India. The supplier is likely to send another 7,000 concentrators in early May, sources told India Today. Overall, India has received 495 oxygen concentrators from UK, 256 from Singapore and 800 from Hong Kong. Another 700 concentrators are likely to arrive in India on Thursday from Ireland.

Also read: COVID-19: Reliance Industries to set up 1,000-bed hospital in Jamnagar

PRIVATE ENTITIES

A lot of private entities from across the world have also been providing oxygen concentrators to India. The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) is sourcing 1,00,000 portable oxygen concentrators through donation from member companies. The concentrators will be shipped immediately to India for use at home and hospitals. While Microsoft has said it will help in purchase of concentrators, Amazon India is procuring over 1,500 oxygen concentrators and other medical equipment for donating to hospitals and medical facilities.

Amazon is also collaborating with ACT Grants, Temasek Foundation, Pune Platform for COVID-19 Response (PPCR) and others to airlift over 8,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 BiPAP machines from Singapore. While Deloitte has already provided 1,000 oxygen concentrators, it is sourcing another 11,000 concentrators. Industry body FICCI has joined hands with its German partner BVMW to import 1,500 oxygen concentrators from the country.

The Centre has formed a Inter-Ministerial Group to ensure that the imported medical equipment are cleared quickly and provided to recipient hospitals and institutions across the country in coordination with the state government agencies.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sanctioned procurement of 1 lakh portable oxygen concentrators from the PM CARES Fund. Besides, 500 new pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants were also sanctioned. These PSA plants are in addition to the earlier sanctioned 713 PSA plants from PM CARES Fund.

Also read: Local production discouraged, nearly 100% import-dependent India hunts for oxygen concentrators around the world

Also read: COVID-19: Centre to procure 1 lakh portable concentrators from PM Cares Fund
The first Royal Investment Summit hosted by Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Duaij Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa Private Office will be held here on May 25 and 26.

The Summit will feature two days of curated content from over 40 innovators from around the world to discuss innovative solutions and investment propositions.

The Summit collaborated with more than 200 Family Offices in the region and worldwide to select industry pioneers in the field. Furthermore, the Summit will connect participants with key clients and highlight prospects on a regional and international scale to raise money and build relationships for future opportunities.

The Summit will present extensive and diversified content collected from a plethora of the most notable investors, economists, and business consultants, to optimise the participation of all involved delegates. The Agenda of the 2-day summit will feature a spotlight on the Kingdom of Bahrain, and provide insight on AI & Machine Based learning, Cryptocurrency & Blockchain, Financial Technology, Healthcare & Tech, Cybersecurity, E-commerce, Banking & Finance, AgriTech, and Venture Capital.

Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Duaij Bin Khalifa al Khalifa stated on the launch: The Royal Investment Summit will bring visionaries together in one platform and shed light on the challenges, perspectives and learnings and road ahead for the global economy when it comes to the main and impactful sectors.

He added: We welcome more entities and visionaries to join us and be part of this exclusive event which will bring together regional and global leaders to address current challenges, share their rich insights and perspectives, showcase their innovative solutions and investment prepositions spanning across various industries and sectors.

The Royal Investment Summit is an ideal opportunity for UHW Private Investors, Royal Family members, Prominent Business Owners, Holdings from around the world, to evaluate the best investment opportunities.

Attendees will access networking opportunities to connect with those changing the face of investment across the region, establish connections with investors and asset allocators from all over the region and meet them virtually and extend their network.

Furthermore, the summit will provide opportunities for corporates and startups to expand their business in the GCC and explore co-investment collaborations.

Sponsors of the summit include Microsoft, Microsoft for Startups, VISA, Al Rashid Group, Liht Organics Cosmetics, Cyber Chasse Inc, Al Tamimi & Co, R&P Consulting, Fuel Venture Capital, CENTRED wellness, Nexus, and more to be announced.

Speakers at the event include Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Duaij bin Khalifa al Khalifa; Founder & Chairman - Royal Investment Summit & Chairman of The Sheikh Office, Sheikha Hend bint Salman al Khalifa; President - The Bahrain International Federation for Business & Professional Women (BIFBPW) Chairperson of the Board of Directors Rashid Investment Holding, Dr Sheikha Hind bint Abdul Aziz al Qasimi; President AMAE International Educational Investments & Chairwoman of BPW Emirates Club, Paola Amadei, Ambassador of Italy to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Prince Carl Eduard von Bismarck  Bismarck Family Office, Dr Amin Hussain Al Amiri; Asst. Undersecretary - UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention; Dr Sultan Al Tukhaim; Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) - Saudi Investment Bank, Anilkumar Jayaprakash, Founder & President Cyber Chasse Inc., Mary Spio, Ceo & Founder CEEK VR, Board of Facebooks Oculus VR - US Dept of State Speaker, Muhammad Bin Ghatti  Ceo Bin Ghatti Holding, Ms Foutoun Hajjar; Partner & Head of the office at Al Tamimi & Co, Wai-Lum Kwok; Senior Executive Director  Capital Markets Financial Services at ADGM, Nerissa Low; Founder & Director  Liht Organics Cosmetics, Sophia Swire; Award winning social entreprenuer & Gender Lens Investor, Mona Hayat; Founder & Ceo - Nexus Digital Technology. Dr Roberto Croci; Managing Director - Microsoft for Startups in the Middle East & Africa Region, Mr. Biteye Mamadou; Vice President, Inclusive Growth, Global Impact - VISA, Cheong Say Lim; CEO -Lootah Global Capital (LGC), Patrick Tsang; Chairman - Tsangs Group, Dr Jassim Haji; President - AI Society, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brandon Rowberry; Managing Director - 7R Ventures, Private Investor, Simone Carminati; Chief Business Development CE Group - Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait, Dr Winston Ma; Tech Investor and Author of the Hunt for Unicorns and more.-- Tradearabia News Service
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Another moment of excitement is here for savings customers of Polaris Bank as they gear up for the grand finale draw of the ongoing nationwide Save & Win promo, scheduled to hold tomorrow, April 29, 2021.

Highlights of tomorrows draw will be the emergence of six millionaires with 60 other Nigerians walking away with N100,000 each as consolation prize winners.

A whopping N26,000,000 cash would have been won by 188 Polaris Bank customers nationwide at the end of the promo having so far recorded two draws in February and March respectively.

Six millionaires will emerge from the six geo-political zones of Nigeria and 60 other customers will go home with a consolation sum of N100,000 each at the grand finale draws.

Winners will emerge through a transparent, electronically-generated process that relevant regulatory institutions will supervise.

The Save & Win promo aims to make millionaires of Nigerians by encouraging current and new customers to save a minimum of N10,000 monthly.

The promo which was launched in November 2020, has thus far produced two millionaires: Lucky Okunzuwa, a customer of the Banks Akpakpava branch in Benin City, Edo State, and Ikechukwu Bartholomew Obiefuna, a customer of Okeke Street Branch, Awka, Anambra State.

In addition, 120 customers have also walked away with N100,000 cash each across the previous two draws which took place on the 9th of February and 9th of March, bringing the total amount won so far to N14 million.

Commenting on their win, both the first and second millionaire, Lucky and Ikechukwu expressed immense appreciation to Polaris Bank and had positive things to say on the ongoing Save & Win promo cash prize.

I am very delighted about winning one million naira in the Polaris Bank Save & Win Promo. It was like a dream when I was told but this is a reality. The money will go a long way in supporting my small business to grow. I also commit to continue to save more. I sincerely thank Polaris Bank for this novel initiative, Lucky remarked.

Also, representatives from relevant regulatory bodies have also attested to the free, fair and transparent process of the draw adopted in selecting the winners. They also commended Polaris Bank for keeping its promise to the winners.

Giving a background to what informed the promo, Polaris Banks Acting Managing Director/CEO, Innocent C. Ike, said, it is a reward for our customers, who despite the challenging times, can put aside some money as savings.

He reiterated that in not-so-pleasant economic times, there is a compelling need to save  not only to win a prize  but also to plan for the rainy day. He disclosed that both existing and new savings account customers of the Bank are eligible to participate in the promo.

Savings Account accessibility is swift and straightforward in Polaris Bank. Prospective customers can dial *833*0# on their phones to follow the prompt to create or reactivate their savings account from their devices by visiting https://accounts.polarisbanklimited.com/ opening/ or any of the Banks branches across the country.

Polaris Bank is a future-determining bank committed to delivering industry-defining products and services across all sectors of the Nigerian economy.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a visit to a COVID-19 vaccination site at State University of New York in Old Westbury, N.Y., on March 15, 2021. (Mark Lennihan/Pool/Getty Images

New York Governor Announces Lift on CCP Virus Curfew for Bars, Restaurants

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that a statewide curfew restricting food and beverage service in the state will end next month for both indoor and outdoor dining areas.

The 12 a.m. curfew for outdoor dining areas will be lifted on May 17, while the 12 a.m. indoor service curfew will end two weeks later on May 31, according to an April 28 statement from the governors office.

The curfew for food and beverage services was recently extended by one hour, from 11 p.m. to midnight.

Cuomo also said the 1 a.m. curfew for catered events where attendees have provided proof of immunization or a recent negative CCP virus test will be lifted starting May 17, with the curfew for all catered events set to be lifted on May 31.

Catered events can resume at residences beginning May 3 above the States residential gathering limit of 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors, according to the press release.

And starting on May 3, seating at bars will be allowed again in the city, consistent with the food services guidance in effect statewide.

NEW: Beginning May 17, the 12am outdoor dining area curfew for bars & restaurants will be lifted. The 12am indoor area curfew will be lifted on May 31.  Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 28, 2021

We know the COVID positivity rate is a function of our behavior, and over the last year, New Yorkers have remained disciplined and continued with the practices we know work to stop the spread of the virus, Cuomo said.

Everything weve been doing is workingall the arrows are pointing in the right direction, and now were able to increase economic activity even more. Lifting these restrictions for restaurants, bars, and catering companies will allow these businesses that have been devastated by the pandemic to begin to recover as we return to a new normal in a post-pandemic world.

COVID-19 is caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly referred to as the novel coronavirus, which originated in China in late 2019.

The announcement comes as the restaurant industry had lobbied for months for the restrictions against the food and beverage services to be lifted, saying these restrictions are unnecessarily penalizing the industry, which was hit hard by the lockdowns.

An empty table at a closed restaurant in Manhattan on Aug. 31, 2020. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Finally, several other industries will also have their capacities increased starting on May 15 after proving they can safely reopen in accordance with the states CCP virus health and safety guidelines.

Gyms and fitness centers outside New York City will have their capacity increased to 50 percent from 33 percent, casinos will be increased to 50 percent from 25 percent, and offices will have a capacity increase to 75 percent from 50 percent.

From NTD News
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Having been working for Shinhan Card (Korea), the parent company of Shinhan Vietnam Finance Company (Shinhan Finance), for more than 26 years, Oh Taejoon has a wealth of experience in risk management, business operation management, and financial product development.

Prior to his appointment as general director of Shinhan Finance, he was the deputy CEO of the company from February 2020, along with the role as member of the Member Council from November 2020.

Oh Taejoon has made great contributions to Shinhan Finances notable achievements in the financial sector with constantly improving business results. He is personally participating in the companys entire transformation journey, helping promote digitalisation across the board, from customer service to office and human resources management, to improve operational efficiency.

Oh Taejoon, new general director of Shinhan Finance

I am honoured to take on the responsibility of leading Shinhan Finance to new heights in its transformation and development. Vietnam is a critical market for our global business with great opportunities to expand our offerings, leveraging strategic and technical support in digitalization by Shinhan Card, said Oh Taejoon. Our top priority will be on diversifying compassionate finance solutions and benefits to our customers, partners, and the communities, capitalising on our credible corporate reputation of nearly 15 years and international brand heritage.

He added, I highly appreciate my Vietnam team for their strong capability and potential which is one of the key factors for Shinhan Finance to strive for a sustainable growth, meeting the various demands for financial services, promoting financial inclusion, and supporting local people to fully and conveniently access quality financial services.

I also appreciate the companionship of customers and their confidence in us for years. It has been a motivation for Shinhan Finance to make greater efforts for sustainable development.

Shinhan Finance, a member of Shinhan Card  Koreas leading credit card issuer  has been operating officially under the Shinhan Finance brand since July 2019. With Shinhan Cards know-how in financial products and nearly 15 years of experience in Vietnams consumer lending market, Shinhan Finance aims to carve out a spot among best customer-oriented finance companies in Vietnam.

With a widespread nationwide business network, the company has the capacity to serve customers with flexible financial solutions, enabling customers to fulfil their dreams and enhance their living standards. The company was honoured as the Best Sustainability Development Company Vietnam 2020 by the UKs Global Banking & Finance Review.

*The Best Sustainability Development Company Vietnam 2020 by Global Banking & Finance Review - United Kingdom, shinhanfinance.com.vn
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden and target of Republican attacks during the 2020 presidential campaign for his business dealings in Ukraine, is one of nine guest speakers scheduled to address a new 10-week class at Tulane University, a university spokesperson confirmed Tuesday night.

The online course is called "Media Polarization and Public Policy Impacts." Fox News said it will focus on "the current state of the media landscape in the United States and how media polarization, fake news and the economics of the new business impact public policymaking in Washington D.C."

Hunter Biden facing federal investigation over 'tax affairs' WASHINGTON (AP)  President-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter said Wednesday that his "tax affairs" are under federal investigation, putting a rene

A Tulane spokesperson said the course's co-teacher will be Andrew Schwartz, communications director for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank that researches national security policy.

The course is to rotate through these guest speakers, in addition to Biden:
Govt won't tighten quarantine for May holidays, but will strengthen control over compliance with restrictions  Shmyhal

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has said that the government will not tighten quarantine restrictions on Easter and during the May holidays, but will strengthen control measures over compliance with the already established restrictions.

"The government will not increase quarantine for Easter and May holidays. But we will strengthen control measures over compliance with already established restrictions. First of all, we are talking about social distance and mask mode," Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Wednesday.

The prime minister asked citizens to give credence to the Ministry of Health and the leaders of churches and religious organizations, who urge to observe sanitary standards and celebrate Easter at home.
Her WAG war with Rebekah Vardy is drawing to a close.

And Coleen Rooney cut a laid back figure as she stepped out for a trip to the shops in Cheshire on Wednesday.

The WAG, 35, opted for a casual look for the day, sporting a black hoodie and a matching pair of leggings.

Out and about: Coleen Rooney cut a laid back figure as she stepped out for a trip to the shops in Cheshire on Wednesday

The media personality styled her brunette locks into a ponytail and also donned a pair of black trainers.

Coleen kept her accessories to a minimum for the outing as she simply wore a pair of diamond earrings.

The star's outing comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed that Rebekah Vardy is making a fresh bid to weaken rival Coleen's case before their so-called Wagatha Christie case reaches its dramatic conclusion.

Rebekah, 39, is working to have a section of evidence from Coleen's defence 'struck out' in her latest move, the section is known as 'TV Details story' and stems from a story Coleen claims she leaked in September 2019.

Outfit: The WAG, 35, opted for a casual look for the day, sporting a black hoodie and a matching pair of leggings

Meanwhile, Coleen was given just 24 hours (until 4.30pm on Friday) to add any more evidence before a new deadline, with Rebekah then given a chance to serve a reply to Coleen's evidence documents.

The twin developments signal that the two warring Wags are further than ever from reaching an eleventh-hour agreement to prevent a lurid and hugely expensive court case from going ahead.

Rebekah, married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, is suing mother-of-four Coleen for libel after Coleen accused her to leaking false stories over her private life.

The long-running feud between the high-profile WAGS erupted after Coleen revealed that she had set a trap to see who was responsible for the leaks, which earned her the nickname Wagatha Christie.

Casual: The media personality styled her brunette locks into a ponytail and also donned a pair of black trainers

Coleen famously wrote: 'I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It's ................ Rebekah Vardy's account.'

Soon after, Rebekah took to social media to deny being the person who had leaked the stories to the press, after Coleen's post went viral.

Last June, it emerged that Rebekah had launched a case to sue Coleen for 1 million.

The latest twist in the saga saw Mr Justice Nicklin, set the deadline in an order, telling both women that if they want to change any dates, they have to apply formally to the court.

Claims: Meanwhile, Rebekah Vardy is making a fresh bid to weaken rival Coleen's case before their Wagatha Christie case reaches its dramatic conclusion (pictured November 2020)

He also set down a timetable to take the case forward, with both women being required to serve revised costs budgets with the court by June 18 this year.

The section of evidence which Rebekah wants to be 'struck out' in her latest move - removed as evidence from the case - is known as the 'TV Details story' and stems from September 2019.

At that point, Coleen claims to have blocked all followers from her Instagram Stories, except Rebekah, then posted a selfie alongside the text: 'Up and out!! Easing my way back into work!! TV decisions today maybe it's time for Australia' and 'Good Day' with a heart emoji.

Three days later the Sun published an 'exclusive' story suggesting that Coleen was in talks to join Strictly Come Dancing the following year and was looking 'to revive her TV career'.

Deadline time: Coleen has just 24 hours to add any more evidence before a new deadline, MailOnline has learned (pictured October 2020)

According to Coleen's defence document, Rebekah could be inferred to be the source of the Sun's story, but Rebekah's lawyers reject that conclusion, and want the judge to agree with them by striking out the passage.

A costs and case management hearing will take place before procedural judge Master Roger Eastman on July 2, likely to last two and a half hours. The hearing will decide how the case will go ahead.

Already Coleen has described Rebekah's budget of nearly 900,000 for the case as 'grotesque' after a virtual hearing before Master Eastman in March, who said the budgets for both women were 'extraordinarily large.'

Coleen estimated her budget for legal fees at 402,312.

Case: The twin developments signal that the two warring WAGs are further than ever from reaching an eleventh-hour agreement to prevent a lurid and hugely expensive court case

Efforts at mediation in the hope of settling the case are thought doomed to failure, especially since Coleen has declined to remove the posts at the centre of the libel action, which remain accessible online.

Since Rebekah initiated the case there have been a series of legal skirmishes ahead of the planned full case.

In October 2020, Coleen 'doubled down' by filing her 55-page defence and sharing images of the Instagram posts she alleged Rebekah leaked.

The following month, Rebekah won the first round of her High Court libel battle at the 'meanings hearing'

Time's running out! Coleen now has until 4.30pm on Friday to present evidence to oppose the striking out, and Rebekah will then get a chance to serve a reply to Coleen's evidence

Sued: Rebekah, married to Jamie Vardy, is suing Coleen for libel after Coleen accused her to leaking false stories over her private life (pictured with husband Jamie and daughter Olivia)

In February, the pair attended a court-ordered mediation session on Zoom, their first meeting for years.

Zoom proceedings began with both sides reading out a statement and then breaking off into separate virtual rooms as the mediator spoke to them and their legal representatives independently.

Former columnist Coleen reportedly tried to reach out to brunette Rebekah after another round of failed talks to avoid a costly legal battle.

However, it's thought that she saw the mediation as a 'waste of time' as TV star Becky continues to demand she apologise for her fierce accusationLast February, Rebekah broke down on ITV's Loose Women, saying the feud was 'one of the worst things I had to deal with apart from being abused when I was younger'.
The Queen wore a diamond floral brooch she received as a wedding gift for her first public engagement since the funeral of her husband Prince Philip yesterday.

The monarch's, 95, stoic spirit shone through as she welcomed dignitaries to Buckingham Palace via videolink from Windsor Castle.

She opted to wear the glittering rose brooch from Cartier for the meeting, which was given to her by the Nizam of Hyderabad on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947.

The Queen, 95, wore a diamond floral brooch she received as a wedding gift for her first public engagement since the funeral of her husband Prince Philip yesterday

She opted to wear the glittering rose brooch from Cartier for the meeting, which was given to her by the Nizam of Hyderabad on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947

Among the Queens many wedding presents were a stunning Cartier tiara and necklace from the Nizam of Hyderabad, an Indian monarch and one of the wealthiest jewellery collectors in the world.

The tiara, which cost 5,000 in 1947 (equivalent to 189,000 today), was set with 1,033 diamonds and had three detachable roseshaped brooches.

Oddly, despite his generosity, the Nizam was not invited to the wedding.

The Queen wore his gift several times over 25 years, including on this visit to the Norwegian Embassy in 1951, but had it broken up in 1973 and asked the then Crown jeweller Garrard to make a new tiara.

Among the Queens many wedding presents were a stunning Cartier tiara and necklace from the Nizam of Hyderabad, an Indian monarch and one of the wealthiest jewellery collectors in the world

She still wears the matching necklace, which she loaned to the Duchess of Cambridge in 2014.

Yesterday, the monarch held a virtual audience to receive Her Excellency Ivita Burmistre, the Ambassador of Latvia, at Buckingham Palace.

She also received Her Excellency Sara Affoue Amani, the Ambassador of Cote d'Ivoire, during the virtual meeting.

It comes 10 days after the funeral of her husband Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 earlier this month.

The Queen has regularly worn the stunning necklace (left, circa 1953) and has even lent the piece to the Duchess of Cambridge (pictured right, in 2014)

Though it is the first time the Queen has been photographed working since the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, on April 17, it is not the first time she has been back to work since his death.

The Queen returned to royal duties just four days after the death of the Duke of Edinburgh on April 9.

On that occasion she attended retirement ceremony for the former Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel on Tuesday.

Notably, in her most recent appearance today the Queen was pictured no longer in a black mourning outfit.

The Queen was dressed in a pale blue floral dress which featured large purple, white and yellow flowers, with a three-string pearl necklace and a diamond brooch as accessories (pictured, on videolink to Buckingham Palace)

She was dressed in a pale blue floral dress which featured large purple, white and yellow flowers, with a three-string pearl necklace and a diamond brooch as accessories.

Two weeks of royal mourning in memory of the Queen's husband of 73 years ended for the monarchy and their households on Friday April 23, meaning the Windsors were allowed to go back to work full-time.

The royal family gathered for a poignant final farewell to Philip on April 17 at a socially-distanced funeral service in St George's Chapel, with the Queen pictured sat alone as she grieved for her consort.

The royal family gathered for a poignant final farewell to Philip on April 17 at a socially-distanced funeral service in St George's Chapel, with the Queen pictured sat alone as she grieved for her consort

The Queen turned 95 just 12 days after the duke died and used her birthday to release a message thanking well-wishers for their tribute to Philip.

She said she and her family were in a 'period of great sadness' but were comforted by words of praise for the duke.

'We have been deeply touched and continue to be reminded that Philip had such an extraordinary impact on countless people throughout his life,' she added.
New Delhi: People all over the country were desperately waiting for one thing today and that is OTP or One Time Password. The reason is that the vaccine registration for phase 3 that makes all above 18 years eligible started today at 4 pm.

But the path to a vaccine is not so simple and despite successful registration on apps and web portals, the uncertainty remains.

Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Wednesday (April 28) discussed how the opening day of vaccine registration panned out and why the uncertainty over getting vaccine still remains.

From 4 pm onwards, people aged between 18 and 44 thronged to book an appointment for vaccination on the three platforms  CoWIN, Aarogya Setu and Umang app.

The rush was so much that all three platforms crashed as people kept waiting for OTP to appear on their smartphones. People were disappointed and many of them expressed it over social media.

Despite the hurdles, around 80 lakh people got registered by 7 pm today and the number crossed 1 crore by 9 pm.

However, after registration, people did not get an appointment to get the vaccine. This is because the slots can be booked only after the state government and private hospitals come up with a schedule. And that will depend on the number of people registering and the availability of vaccine stocks.

This means that though the third phase of the vaccination drive was scheduled to start from May 1, the chances of it happening are slim. In all likelihood, the dates will be extended in most states.

Many states are not yet prepared for the next phase. There are some states which have not yet ordered vaccines from the two manufacturing companies  Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech.

There is hardly any information regarding the details of agreements of purchase of vaccine between the state governments and the companies.

Only five states have been found to have placed vaccine orders. They include: 1. Odisha which has ordered 3 crore 70 lakh doses, 2. Tamil Nadu (1.5 crore doses), 3. Goa (5 lakh doses), 4. Assam (1 crore) and 5. Kerala (1 crore).

One thing to understand here is that two vaccine manufacturing companies have been mandated to provide 50 percent of the total vaccine production to the central government, while the remaining 50 percent will be shared between states and private hospitals.

Several states have so far stated that they are not ready to start the next phase of vaccination as per schedule. These include Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.

It is quite clear that people above 18 years will have to wait further to get vaccinated.

Live TV
Nigeria on Tuesday reported one COVID-19 death and 156 new infections in 11 states.

The death toll from the disease in Nigeria has reduced recently with only two fatalities recorded in about two weeks.

With one new death on Tuesday, the fatality toll rose to 2,063 in total.

This is according to an update published by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Tuesday night.

The country has also had a steady run of low COVID-19 cases in the past two months.

According to the NCDC, the 156 new cases were reported from 11 states: Lagos-50, Enugu-43, Adamawa-40, FCT-8, Ogun-5, Akwa Ibom-3, Plateau-3, Jigawa-1, Kaduna-1, Oyo-1 and Rivers-1

With the new cases, Nigeria has recorded a total of 164,912 infections as of April 27.

A breakdown of the data shows that 434 persons were discharged on Tuesday after testing negative for the COVID-19 virus following treatment. This brings the total number of discharged persons to 155,012.

There are still 9,900 active COVID-19 infections in the country as of the time of reporting.

Since the pandemic broke out in Nigeria in February 2020, the country has carried out 1,912,628 million tests, according to the NCDC.

Vaccination campaign

Nigeria commenced vaccination in early March beginning with healthcare workers. Over one million people have since been vaccinated.

The Nigerian government has said it plans to vaccinate 109 million people against the COVID-19 virus over a period of two years.

Health authorities said only eligible population from 18 years and above will be vaccinated in four phases.

Nigeria has received approximately 4.4 million doses of the oxford- Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccines, which is quite insufficient considering the target of its population eligible for vaccination in the first phase.

Due to limited doses of vaccine available, the government recently directed states to halt vaccination once they use half of the doses allocated to them.

We are aware of the global scarcity of COVID-19 vaccines due to high demands especially in countries where vaccines are being produced, head of Nigerias immunisation Agency, Faisal Shuaib, said at a briefing of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on Monday.

Mr Shuaib said the government anticipates a delay in vaccine supply which may also affect and impact the remaining phases of the vaccination campaign.

He also said the country expects to receive about 29.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines, which requires the administering of just a single shot.

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The J&J vaccine is compatible with standard vaccine storage and distribution channels with ease of delivery to remote areas.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 14:45:26|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- In his recent remarks during an inspection trip, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated strengthening belief via the learning of the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

As the CPC marks its centenary in 2021, the Party looks back at its history and recounts the shining moments in it.

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has on multiple occasions shared stories about the CPC and the spirit manifested within.

TRANSLATOR WHO TOOK INK FOR SUGAR

When speaking of the first Chinese version of the Communist Manifesto, Xi often shares the quote "the taste of truth is so sweet," which originates from the deeds of translator Chen Wangdao.

In 1920, young Chen Wangdao started translating the manifesto in his home village in east China's Zhejiang Province. One day, Chen's mother made him sticky rice dumplings and suggested he dip them in brown sugar water.

"I did, and they were very sweet," he responded. However, he was so absorbed in his work, and did not realize his mouth was stained black as he had dipped the dumplings in ink instead. It was with such dedication that Chen finished the translation and introduced the principles of Marxism into China.

Chen's work paved the way for the birth of the CPC. Over the years, the CPC has inherited the ideas and combined the fundamental principles of Marxism with China's reality during the country's revolution, construction and reform.

To this day, Chinese leaders have attached great importance to studying the Communist Manifesto. In the new era, the principles and spirit of Marxism continue to lead the way for the CPC.

SOLDIERS WHO CUT UP THEIR QUILT

Members of the CPC always bear in mind the interests and needs of the people. In September 2020, when visiting the city of Chenzhou, central China's Hunan Province, Xi cited a revolutionary story that took place there in 1934.

In the middle of the arduous Long March, Xu Jiexiu, an impoverished mother living in the local village of Shazhou, received three female Red Army soldiers at her home.

Shocked that Xu had only hay for mattresses and some torn-up cotton wool for quilts, the soldiers shared their only quilt with her and her son during their stay. As they were leaving, they insisted that she keep it for the winter, which Xu refused.

To settle the dispute, a soldier cut the quilt and left Xu half of it. Deeply touched, Xu never forgot about the soldiers or their acts of kindness for the rest of her life.

Lacking food and clothing, even facing life-or-death situations, the Red Army still kept the people's well-being in mind, Xi said, noting that the story shows the CPC's original aspiration and character.

Today, nearly a century from when Xu sheltered the three soldiers, the spirit manifested in the story of "half a quilt" still shines on.

As China embarks on a Long March of the new era, Xi has reassured the public of the CPC's people-oriented attribute, stressing that the Party remains committed to serving the people, which is not only a slogan, but also an action of persistence.

Achieving a complete victory in China's fight against poverty, which saw the final 98.99 million impoverished rural residents lifted out of poverty over the past eight years, the Party is moving on toward its goal of building a modern socialist China and common prosperity for all.

"BEGGAR" WITH GOLD BARS ON HIS BACK

It is the CPC's uncompromising requirement for its members to remain incorruptible. When inspecting east China's Jiangxi Province in 2019, Xi spoke of the deeds of Liu Qiyao, a faithful and uncorrupted Party member.

As the leader of the Communist authority in Jiangxi, Liu was once trusted with the activity funds of the local Party organization, including 13 gold bars.

In the 1930s, after losing connection with his comrades in a battle, Liu packed up the hidden funds, embarked on a journey to find them during which he once even lived a beggar's life.

After finally getting in touch with other Party members, Liu submitted the funds. To everyone's surprise, none of the valuables were missing. Even in his most desperate days, Liu did not use any of the funds for himself.

"Only if we remain clean and upright in governance can we win public trust," Xi noted.

Despite historic achievements made over the past years on fighting corruption, it remains the biggest risk to the Party's governance, as Xi has pointed out.

The self-improvement of the CPC, a ruling political party with more than 91 million members, has a major bearing on the future of a country of over 1.4 billion people.

Just as Xi once put it, "The governance over the Party must always be strict, so that the CPC can lead and ensure the smooth sailing of the great ship of socialism with Chinese characteristics." Enditem
Washingtons focus on disrupting narco-trafficking in Latin America, through a combination of coca crop eradication, enforcement and seizures is placing pressure on criminal organizations to find other sources of income. This has seen criminal organizations and non-state armed groups at all levels across the region move to generate much-needed revenue from less hazardous ventures.

One illicit activity, which has exploded in popularity in Latin America since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic is the theft of crude oil and derivative products such as gasoline. The pandemic has exacerbated many of the structural weaknesses that exist in the region, notably fiscally weak governments, entrenched poverty, ingrained inequality and high degrees of lawlessness. That has precipitated a sharp increase in crime across Latin America, which many regional governments are struggling to contain. The proliferation of oil theft is aided by pipelines passing through remote terrain making them easily accessible, the view is that it is a victimless crime and the fact that it is less risky to profitably dispose of petroleum than illegal substances such as cocaine.

Colombia has experienced a sharp uptick in the volume of petroleum theft since the pandemic began. Toward the end of September 2020 Colombias national oil company Ecopetrol stated it had found almost 900 illegal valves on pipelines during the first eight months of the year compared to 747 for the same period a year earlier. The national oil company estimated around 2,500 barrels per day of oil and derivative products were being stolen. In January 2021 Ecopetrol announced that during 2020 crude oil theft had surged by a worrying 46% year over year to 2,638 barrels per day. Most of that petroleum was stolen from the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline, a frequent target for sabotage by leftist guerillas including the National Liberation Army (ELN  Spanish initials) which has also been linked to crude oil theft and trafficking. Based on a 2020 average Brent price of $41.96 per barrel that equates to around $40 million or 0.02% of 2020 gross domestic product, although the proceeds are likely considerably lower with the oil stolen being sold at a deep discount to market prices.

Related Video: Oil on Guard over Yemen as Saudi, Iran Meet in Secret

Colombia is experiencing a security crisis, precipitated by the pandemic and a weak state presence in many regional areas, which is impacting oil industry operations including exploration activity and potentially production volumes. Violence is rising as evidenced by the increased number of massacres and murders of community leaders as well as activists, especially in rural regions. There has also been a notable increase in oilfield invasions, which since peace negotiations with the FARC commenced in 2012 have been rare events. When those factors are combined with Colombias long-history of lawlessness and violence, a renewed crackdown on cocaine trafficking and the failed implementation of the 2016 FARC peace agreement, it is likely that the theft of crude oil will continue to rise. Colombias national police claim (Spanish) that over a third of all crude oil stolen in the Andean nation ends up in Venezuela. The near-failed Latin American state is an ideal location to dispose of illegally acquired petroleum. Venezuela shares a highly porous border with Colombia, while Caracas exerts little control over territory outside of the major cities, making it easy to transport illicit cargoes between the countries. The petrostates large but deteriorating petroleum industry and high levels of corruption, combined with a notable increase in the dark voyages of oil cargoes since Washington ratcheted up sanctions in 2019, makes it easy to sell crude oil regardless of its origin.

It is not only Colombia which has been impacted by a sharp increase in oil theft. Argentina experienced petroleum theft on a never seen before scale during 2020. A sophisticated scheme (Spanish) was uncovered by authorities where an organized group had tapped the 325,000 barrel per day Rosales-La Plata pipeline operated by national oil company YPF. The pipeline, which carries light sweet Medanito and heavy sweet Escalante crude oil grades, connects the Port of Rosales to YPFs La Plata refinery. The volume of crude oil siphoned from the pipeline was not announced but Argentinas federal police arrested 21 suspects, including YPF employees, and found a YPF cistern containing 20,000 liters of crude oil. This, however, was a rare event for Argentina with the country not previously having experienced large scale petroleum theft like Venezuela, Colombia or Mexico.

Related: The Ugly Truth About Renewable Power

Theft of petroleum and gasoline soared in Brazil where a deep recession before the pandemic triggered a spike in illicit activities. According to news agency Reuters, theft from Petrobras pipelines in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo during 2018 surged to 261 incidents compared to a single case in 2014. During June 2020 former Petrobras CEO Roberto Castello Branco stated that oil theft was costing Petrobras logistics business Transpetro more than $28 million annually. Incidents of theft are reportedly falling because of a crackdown by Brazilian authorities and Petrobras.

Those numbers pale into insignificance compared to Mexico, where the robbery

of crude oil and fuels which began in the 1990s has become a highly organized and lucrative activity. It is estimated that the theft of petroleum and refined products costs Mexicos national oil company Pemex a stunning $3 billion annually. A crackdown by President Lopez Obrador, who took office in December 2018, has seen the volume of stolen crude oil plunge significantly over recent months. Official data shows (Spanish) there has been a sharp decline in the volume of crude oil and derivative product theft in Mexico over the last two years. By December 2020, the theft of petroleum products from Pemex had fallen to 5,640 barrels daily compared to a whopping 74,000 barrels per day at the end of December 2018.

The theft of crude oil and derivative products is a significant problem for the oil industry in many Latin American countries, notably Colombia where the incidence is rapidly rising, and Mexico. While the war on drugs and violent offences are a top regional priority for Washington and regional governments, the theft of petroleum is a low priority crime which has been placed on the backburner in many jurisdictions. Not only is it perceived to be a victimless and non-violent crime but declining fiscal income across Latin America because of the pandemics economic fallout is forcing governments to prioritize spending and distribution of hard-pressed security resources. That means already thinly stretched and underfunded regional law enforcement agencies are focusing on containing high impact crimes linked to significant violence such as narco-trafficking. The near collapse of the Venezuelan state is further destabilizing Latin America and amplifying the conditions which are allowing petroleum and gasoline theft as well as trafficking to thrive in the region. A long history of regional lawlessness and weak states combined with rising regional poverty due to the pandemic means it will remain a key risk for Latin Americas oil industry for some time to come despite recent crackdowns.

By Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
VDS is a German-based provider of speed radar, adding new monitoring and enforcement capabilities to International Road Dynamics ("IRD")

VDS to be integrated into IRD's wholly owned subsidiary, Sensor Line GmbH

Acquisition price of approximately $2.8 million

TORONTO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Quarterhill Inc. ("Quarterhill") (TSX: QTRH) (OTCQX: QTRHF), announces that it has completed the acquisition of all the issued and outstanding shares of VDS Verkehrstechnik GmbH ("VDS"), a German-based Intelligent Transportation Systems ("ITS") provider of high precision traffic monitoring devices, for cash consideration of approximately $2.8 million. All dollar amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

Based in Lobau, Germany, VDS develops, manufactures and sells fixed and mobile traffic monitoring devices that record driver speed and red-light infractions. VDS's devices are currently the only radar-based products certified under new regulations in Germany that enable direct enforcement of traffic violations. VDS has one manufacturing facility and two service centers in Germany and will be integrated into Sensor Line GmbH, which was acquired by Quarterhill in January 2021 and is one of VDS's largest suppliers of sensors. Sensor Line and VDS will continue to build on their 20-year partnership and undertake joint technology development.

"This acquisition further increases the number of well-engineered products to our suite of solutions and global sales channels," said Rish Malhotra, CEO of IRD. "VDS's technology expands our enforcement capabilities with the ability to generate speeding and red-light violations. These products are highly sought-after as governments at all levels seek to enhance transportation safety and identify new revenue opportunities. VDS also broadens our customer base to some of the largest cities and municipalities in Germany and their team will also support IRD's projects in the region."

"The acquisition of VDS fits with our strategy to support the growth of IRD and to expand our ITS business," said Paul Hill, CEO of Quarterhill. "Our existing ITS platform provides for seamless integration and improves the potential for business synergies. We were introduced to VDS through Sensor Line, and this demonstrates how our presence in the ITS industry can lead to unique opportunities for acquisitions. We are pleased to have already completed two deals in 2021 and look forward to more M&A activity during the remainder of the year."

Post synergies, VDS is expected to generate approximately $5.0 million in revenue and $600,000 in Adjusted EBITDA on an annual basis. For more information on VDS, please visit: https://www.vds-verkehrstechnik.de/en

About Quarterhill

Quarterhill is a growth-oriented company in the Intelligent Transportation System industry as well as a leader in Intellectual Property licensing. Our goal is to execute an investment strategy that capitalizes on attractive market opportunities within Intelligent Transportation Systems and its adjacent markets to become a global leader. Quarterhill is listed on the TSX under the symbol QTRH and on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol QTRHF. For more information: www.quarterhill.com

Forward-looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding IRD, Quarterhill and their businesses. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by IRD and/or Quarterhill in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and the expected effects of new business strategies, as well as other factors that IRD and/or Quarterhill believe are appropriate in the circumstances. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed herein may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting IRD and/or Quarterhill, including: potential risks and uncertainties relating to the ultimate geographic spread of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19"); the severity of the disease; the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak; actions that may be taken by governmental authorities to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or to treat its impact; the potential negative impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and financial markets and any resulting impact on IRD and/or Quarterhill and/or their businesses. Other factors include, without limitation, the risks described in Quarterhill's March 11, 2021 annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2020 (the "AIF"). Copies of the AIF may be obtained at www.sedar.com. IRD and Quarterhill recommend that readers review and consider all of these risk factors and notes that readers should not place undue reliance on any of IRD's forward-looking statements. IRD has no intention, and undertakes no obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Cautionary Note Regarding Use of Non-IFRS Measures

Quarterhill has historically used a set of metrics when evaluating our operational and financial performance. We continually monitor, evaluate and update these metrics as required to ensure they provide information considered most useful, in the opinion of our management, to any decision-making based on Quarterhill's performance. This section defines, quantifies and analyzes the key performance indicators used by our management and referred to elsewhere in this Press Release, which are not recognized under IFRS and have no standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. These indicators and measures are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.

In this Press Release, we use the non-IFRS term "Adjusted EBITDA" to mean net income (loss) from continuing operations adjusted for: (i) income taxes; (ii) finance expense or income; (iii) amortization and impairment of intangibles; (iv) special charges and other one-time items; (v) depreciation of right-of-use assets and property, plant and equipment; (vi) effects of deleted deferred revenue; (vii) stock-based compensation; (viii) foreign exchange (gain) loss; and (ix) equity in earnings and dividends from joint ventures. Adjusted EBITDA is used by our management to assess our normalized cash generated on a consolidated basis and in our operating segments. Adjusted EBITDA is also a performance measure that may be used by investors to analyze the cash generated by Quarterhill and our operating segments. Adjusted EBITDA should not be interpreted as an alternative to net income and cash flows from operations as determined in accordance with IFRS or as a measure of liquidity.

SOURCE Quarterhill Inc.

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Chennai, April 28 : The Madurai city police have started taking effective preventive measures to fight the second wave of the Covid pandemic.

Accordingly, the city policy have commenced administering the second dose of the Covid vaccine to their 3,500-strong force, with a target of inculcating 500 persinnel a day.

Madurai city police commissioner Prem Anand Sinha told IANS, "The police have already administered the first dose of the vaccine to 96 per cent of its personnel with the remaining 4 per cent not taking the jab on the advice of their doctors based on their health conditions. The second round will see 500 personnel getting the second shot per day." He also said that all the police officers have been briefed about the Covid measures that need to be strictly followed.

According to the guidelines issued by the police commissioner, a police personnel should be there at the entrance of each police station and should ensure that people wear masks, maintain social distance and sanitise themselves before entering the station. The body emperature of each person entering the police station will also be checked.

The Madurai city police have already fined 28,639 people for not wearing masks, and Rs 57,27,800 has been received as fine amount so far. As many as 221 cases have registered for not following social distancing measures, resulting in the collection of fines to the tune of Rs 1,10,500.

It may be noted that in the ongoing second wave of the pandemic, six police personnel in the city have tested positive. While three of the six have recovered, two are in home isolation and one is undergoing treatment at a hospital.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Leaked audio of dour foreign policy assessments from Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has raised a political storm amid questions about who was behind its release at a crucial juncture for Iran and the region.



In it, Zarif complains of interference by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Iran's foreign policy and says assassinated Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani colluded with Russia to undermine nuclear diplomacy.



The IRGC's role in Iranian foreign policy, mainly in the region, and its opposition to improved ties with the West are no secret. Neither is it a surprise that Iran's postrevolutionary system heaps power in the hands of an unelected supreme leader and other hard-line institutions.



But Zarif's blunt insights into the power that the IRGC wields and his obvious frustrations with the revolutionary guards and with ally Russia, which according to Zarif opposes any Iranian thaw with the West, came as a surprise to many.



"We paid for the [military] field more than the [military] paid for us," Zarif complains in the audio recording, which was said to have been recorded as part of an oral history of current Iranian politics.



Zarif also says he was often left in the dark on important foreign policy decisions.



"During my work, I couldn't -- not that I didn't want to -- tell the field commander, 'Do this, I need it for diplomatic reasons,'" Zarif is heard saying.

'Betrayal' And 'Defamation'



The Tehran prosecutor's office said on April 27 in an apparent reference to the leak that it had opened a criminal case "to identify the elements who committed the crime." Meanwhile, hard-liners accused Zarif of "betrayal" and "defamation" of Soleimani, who has been hailed as a national martyr since being killed by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.



The audio recording leaked via the London-based news channel Iran International on April 25 as the country's power struggle intensifies amid a return to international negotiations over Iran's nuclear activities and ahead of a June presidential election.

Iranian government officials have alleged that domestic rivals are working to undermine indirect talks in Vienna with the United States aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA).



The Zarif interview was recorded on February 24 as part of an "oral history" series, the interviewer, prominent economist Saeed Laylaz, says in an audio file that was posted online.



Zarif can be heard repeatedly saying his comments are not for publication.



After the disclosure, the Foreign Ministry said the most controversial excerpts were taken out of context from a seven-hour conversation.

'Beginning Of The End'



There has been speculation that it was leaked by Zarif's rivals as a political death blow or to thwart a possible presidential bid to succeed Rohani, who is in his second and final term.



"This is the Iranian equivalent of an October surprise -- a deliberate leak timed to prevent the pro-engagement forces of Iranian politics from having any say in the upcoming elections," said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group (ICG).



Vaez said all signs point toward the IRGC as the probable culprit, adding, "It likely signals the beginning of the end of Zarif's political life."



But in a reflection of Iran's complicated political scene, others have suggested that Zarif and his allies were behind the leak in order to boost his visibility and highlight his willingness to question state policies.

One Tehran-based observer told RFE/RL that the leak could increase Zarif's popularity because it shows he is willing to challenge state policies and to criticize Russia, which he said was "unprecedented."



"Public opinion is usually anti-Russia and anti-China, which contravenes the so-called 'look eastward' [policies] promoted by the establishment," said the source, who requested anonymity to speak openly without fear of official reprisal.



He acknowledged, however, that the recordings could be used by the conservative Guardians Council to disqualify Zarif from the June 18 presidential vote.

Moscow has consistently supported Tehran at the United Nations, and it called the U.S. assassination of Soleimani a "reckless step" that threatened regional stability.



Zarif has made around 30 visits to Russia during his seven-year tenure as foreign minister.



Moscow has worked with Tehran in Iraq and Syria, and has generally strengthened an already friendly and strategic relationship with Iran as tensions ratcheted back up between Iran and the United States.

Nuclear Talks?



Speaking on April 28, President Rohani suggested that the leak was aimed at derailing the nuclear talks, in which President Joe Biden is seeking a return to the JCPOA abandoned nearly three years ago by his predecessor.



"Right at the time that Vienna talks were on the verge of success, they broadcast [the Zarif comments] to create discord inside the country," Rohani said. He urged the Intelligence Ministry to do "its utmost" to discover how the recording was "stolen."

ICG's Vaez said he thought the controversy was unlikely to affect the current nuclear talks in Vienna.



Earlier this week, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei noted that the interview was first aired by London-based Iran International TV, which Tehran says is funded by Saudi Arabia to undermine the leadership in majority-Shi'a Iran.



Rabiei said those circumstances proved it was "a conspiracy" against the government and Iranian national unity.



Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, blasted Zarif's comments and blamed Rohani adviser Hesamodin Ashena for the leak.



The interview was reportedly recorded at the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS), a research arm of the presidency that is currently headed by Ashena.



"Was Ashena, who is among the security figures in Rohani's government, unaware of the importance of this audio file and did he neglect to safeguard it, or has this file been published with prior planning to influence the [June] election?" Tasnim asked.

"What's going to happen in the end?" asked another IRGC-affiliated media outlet, the Javan daily. It accused Zarif of insulting Soleimani and suggested that the Iranian foreign minister should face consequences.



"Zarif's explanation and apology? Zarif's resignation? Impeachment and dismissal? Or his trial for expressing an analysis that insults soldiers of the [military] field?" the Iranian daily wrote.



Javan also noted that former U.S. Secretary of State and current White House climate envoy John Kerry had faced political pressure over another of Zarif's claims in the interview.



Zarif is heard saying that Kerry acknowledged to him that Israel had attacked Iranian interests in Syria 200 times.



Kerry has rejected that claim as "unequivocally false."

State Department spokesman Ned Price said earlier this week that he would not comment on "purportedly leaked material" and could not "vouch for the authenticity of it or the accuracy of it."



"In the United States, John Kerry came under intense pressure over a sentence in Zarif's audio recording. But in Iran, there's still no news of action against Zarif by oversight bodies," Javan wrote.



Iranian lawmaker Mohammad Taghi Naghdali called for Zarif to apologize for his comments and vowed that parliament would take action. Another lawmaker, Nasrollah Pejmanfar, said Zarif should explain his remarks, which he said challenged Iranian "red lines."



In his first public reaction to the controversy, Zarif on April 28 posted to Instagram a video of himself visiting the memorial to his "longtime friend" Soleimani in Baghdad. He wrote that he favors a "smart adjustment" between the diplomatic and the military spheres.

Zarif said he regretted that a "confidential theoretical discussion about the necessity to increase cooperation between diplomacy and the [military] field" had turned into an "internal conflict."
New Delhi, April 28 : With all the emphasis on craft, sustainable materials, organic dyes and clothes that last forever, India's dressing traditions are certainly having a moment.

Fashion's future is often created by reinventing the past and finding fresh inspiration in tradition. As fashion focuses on becoming ''good'', many Indian companies are looking at innovation in ways to recycle, upcycle and make the supply chain more eco-conscious and less wasteful. It really is in the countries of manufacturing where the change needs to happen. With India being a global manufacturing hub its role in taking the ''good fashion'' conversation forward is vital.

Fashion for Good (FFG) is a global initiative based out of Amsterdam. Their Innovation Programme focuses on technologies, developments, and innovations in -- solving water pollution, hemp value chain, bio-based pigments, and dyes among other advancements in the industry. FFG recently announced its global list for the third patch of selected startups, and three (Chlorohemp Agrotech, Graviky Labs and Deven Supercriticals) of the ten companies are from India. The companies which are shortlisted become part of a nine-month long programme which includes an introduction to Fashion for Good's Investor Network and also a chance to participate in pilot projects with FFG's network of global partners.

Here is what Katrin Ley, Managing Director at Fashion for Good had to say about India's role in sustainable innovation in the fashion industry: Q: Tell us about the innovator programme?

A: The Programme scouts the most promising innovators and brings them together-- global and local apparel brands, manufacturers, and investors, with the aim to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy and to scale the much-needed sustainable innovative solutions.

Q: Where does FFG feel India stands in the whole sustainability conversation? A: India is a key country with regards to sustainability, not just as one of the largest manufacturing markets, but it is also turning into a large consumption market with a third of the world's population buying more and more. The Indian fashion industry has so far played a reactive role in the sustainability conversation. There's been a lot of push from the west (mainly buyers) to improve sustainability practices and compliance. We are now starting to see the leading players particularly becoming pioneers in sustainable practices in both the social and environmental arena.

Q: All three players are very different--Hemp, Dying and Carbon Emissions runs us through each one? A: Chlorohemp Agrotech, the company specialises in making fabric from hemp that acts as an ideal substitute for cotton. As a raw material, hemp requires less water and grows faster -- has strong and breathable fibres with antibacterial properties and is suitable for both summers and winters. It grows like weed which means that it statistically produces 200 to 250 per cent more fibre than cotton when cultivated within the same stretch of land.

Deven Supercriticals is a company that is dedicated to supercritical CO2 based processing, offering an efficient single-step dyeing and finishing technology for man-made, natural and blended textiles which allows the use of traditional dyes, improved dye utilisation, easy scale-up and less than half the batch time needed in current supercritical CO2 dyeing processes.

Last but not least, Graviky Labs is a startup that turns end-of-life carbon emissions into industrial grade materials, helping manufacturers produce more sustainably and creating a positive impact on climate. The carbon emissions are recycled into products such as screen-print and inkjet inks, dyestuff and transfer inks that could be used in apparel and packaging applications.

Q: Where do you feel there really is a need for change in India? A: Considering India is among the largest suppliers of cotton, a drastic change in cotton farming would be an area to improve. Cotton as a material deals with multiple challenges like water consumption, excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers, soil depletion and more. Then there is factory waste and post-consumer waste; finding solutions to minimise waste and energy use.

The writer Sujata Assomull is an IANSlife columnist. Assomull is the author ''100 Iconic Bollywood Costumes'' and was the Founding Editor In Chief of Harper's Bazaar, India.

(IANSlife Features can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
The year 2020 was a hard one for everyone, but especially for actor Rhea Chakraborty who has had to deal with a lot on her plate since the demise of Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput last year.

 Instagram

Rhea was a victim of a nationwide witch-hunt after being accused of abetting Sushant's suicide by his family, following which she has chosen to stay away from the limelight and has barely been seen on social media.

 India Times

However, according to reports, the 28-year-old "Jalebi" actress is now looking to work in Hyderabad after seeing a lack of opportunities in Bollywood.



As per a source talking to The Indian Express, the actress has been knocking on every door to get opportunities in order to restore some normality.

The multiple events of the last year took a massive toll on Rhea. It has taken her a humongous amount of effort to try starting all over again. She has been knocking on every door she can, asking for work, trying to get her life back to normal.

This is not going to be an easy task for Rhea but she needs to do this to move on and start her life again, from scratch, said the source.

Rhea, who started her career as a video jockey on MTV India, was arrested last year in a drug case linked with the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, who she had been dating at the time.

 Telly Chakkar

In what is a sign of the actor looking to move on from the past incidents, Rhea was seen sharing a social media post featuring a picture of the cover of the Hanuman Chalisa book from her Instagram handle.



"Give us the power to fight this storm , Give us the strength to withstand this misery. Give us your blessings to heal. Jai Bajrangbali." the post said.




HOUSTON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wallis Bank, a full-service community bank, recently dedicated time to help fight childhood hunger throughout Houston communities. Over two days, employees of the Bank volunteered at Kids' Meals, Inc., an organization committed to ending childhood hunger, to pack nearly 3,000 bags with trail mix, which were included in lunch bags for food-insecure children without access to free school-based meal programs. These meals are delivered directly to the homes of deserving children across the Houston area.

Kids' Meals, Inc. is a social services organization dedicated to delivering healthy meals to food-insecure children under the age of six throughout Houston. With a mission to provide essential resources for families and end the cycle of poverty, the organization has delivered more than eight million healthy meals across 42 Houston-area zip codes since 2006. One in four Houston children are food-insecure; to help reduce this number, Kids' Meals, Inc. delivers meals to about 7,883 preschool-aged kids each weekday.

Wallis Bank supports Kids' Meals, Inc.'s incredible effort to end childhood hunger and will continue to partner with several organizations and school districts as part of their ongoing commitment to give back to local communities.

About Wallis Bank

Wallis Bank is a full-service community bank dedicated to serving both rural customers as well as large international clients with the highest level of personal service. The Bank was established in 1906 in Wallis, Texas and holds the unique experience of surviving the Great Depression and both World Wars. Over the years, the company underwent the expansion of additional branches and offices in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. The Bank continues to expand its offering of digital products and services for enhanced customer experience. In 2019, Wallis Bank was named to ICBA's Best of the Best community banks. This marks the sixth time in seven years that the Bank has been recognized for this honor.

Lisa Diaz

Phone: 713.935.3722

Email: [email protected]

www.wallisbank.com

SOURCE Wallis Bank
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A trade group for the oil and gas industry gave almost $1.5 million to a pair of dark-money groups that failed in their attempt to block House Bill 6, Ohios nuclear bailout law, public records show.

In 2019, the American Petroleum Institute gave $975,000 to Ohioans Against Nuke Bailouts, and $500,000 to Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts, according to their 2020 tax returns, obtained and published this week by Environment & Energy Publishing. The tax records confirm what was generally suspected -- that industry competitors to the two Ohio nuclear plants that benefitted from HB6 helped finance the deep-pocketed campaign to repeal the bill.

The groups paid for $4.9 million in TV and radio ads while the legislature considered passing HB6, according to Medium Buying, a Columbus political advertising firm. They also hired signature-gathering firms to circulate petitions as they tried to collect the hundreds of thousands of signatures needed to place the issue on the ballot for a possible repeal. An anonymously funded pro-HB6 campaign, which a federal bribery investigation showed largely was funded by FirstEnergy, thwarted the repeal effort by hiring petition blocking firms and circulating meaningless competing petitions.

Neither of the anti-HB6 groups disclosed their donors. They were organized as 501C4 nonprofits, often referred to as dark money groups since they can spend money influencing politics but unlike traditional political campaign committees, under federal law, they dont have to say where they got their money.

But because they raised money for a possible state issue campaign, state law required the anti-HB6 groups to disclose their financial backers and spending activity.

They didnt. The Ohio Elections Commission in August 2020 fined Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts $5,225, or $25 for each day that had passed since they missed a filing deadline. The group hasnt paid anything toward the fine, Elections Commission Director Phil Richter said Wednesday.

API opposed HB 6 because it was deeply flawed legislation, which amounted to nothing more than a bailout for Ohio nuclear plants and further subsidies for others at the expense of Ohio ratepayers, API Ohio Executive Director Chris Zeigler told the Cincinnati Enquirer in a statement. APIs activities were conducted in full accord with state law.

The coalition that opposed HB6 also included state environmental groups and conservative free-market advocacy groups.

The 2019 fight over HB6 saw dueling dark-money groups spend tens of millions of dollars on a campaign to push the bill through the legislature. HB6 paid $1 billion to two Ohio nuclear plants owned by a former FirstEnergy subsidiary. Federal prosecutors have said FirstEnergy and its allies spent $61 million in a complex bribery scheme to get the bill passed, including supporting then-House Speaker Larry Householder, who was the bills key proponent. Legislators have repealed many of its key provisions, including the fees on Ohioans power bills that paid for the bailout, in the wake of the federal investigation.

Householder and four others involved with the pro-HB6 campaign were arrested last summer. He has pleaded not guilty to a federal racketeering charge.
On a rainy night in 2013, three veterans were walking the Appalachian Trail through Schuylkill County in an attempt to heal from what they experienced in war. They passed the New Ringgold home of author Cindy Ross, who invited them in for some trail magic  a shower and a hot meal.

Ross doesnt remember what they ate that night  probably lasagna  but she does know what they talked about. Ross asked the trio  Steve Clendenning, Adam Bautz and Stephanie Cutts  to share their war stories. She expected reserved replies, but instead, the talk turned into what Ross called a very emotional evening.

Right away they trusted us, Ross said. There were lots of people crying because the guys were crying as they were talking.

The incident inspired Ross and her husband, chainsaw carver Todd Gladfelter, to found River House PA, a nonprofit that promotes healing through nature, and she turned their stories, and the stories of many other veterans, into her ninth book: Walking Toward Peace: Veterans Healing on Americas Trails. It debuted April 1.

Hauling nightmares

Ross, who first hiked the Appalachian Trail 40 years ago, described the legendary pathway as full of life and beauty.

Sure, theres hardship trying to hike thousands of miles and carry everything you need on your back, but life is watered down to just the basic simple things of walking and being one with nature, she said. I go out for a hike every day of my life because I need it.

Walking Toward Peace, which took five years to research and write, contains dozens of interviews with veterans, many of whom served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was a big deal for them to tell me their story, Ross said. For most of the vets, I had to build a pretty close relationship before they would trust me to do that.

For the book, Ross looked into how hiking benefits mental health and the psychological effects of war on the young people who go off to fight in them. Ross writes that the 19-year-old male brain is characterized by passion without much reason, reproduction without much responsibility, and performance without caution, just the right time in a young mans life to convince him to go off to war to kill, but especially traumatizing afterward.

I was never one for war to begin with, Ross said, and Im convinced 100% more that the damage that is done to these veterans cannot ever be worth it. There need to be alternatives to war, and to not go into them as quickly as we have been.

For Ross and Gladfelter, hikes and campfires are everyday occurrences. But to the veterans, they can be part of lifes best memories.

Still, on the trail, the veterans, many suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, may have nightmares in their sleeping bags. Off the trail, guilt, alcoholism, drug addiction and lasting trauma, including thoughts of suicide, may plague them. Many live off disability benefits and dont have to work, but if they do not have anything meaningful to do in their lives, their conditions deteriorate.

It wasnt enough to pack 30 pounds on sore knees and aching muscles, Ross writes in the introduction of her book. They also hauled war-induced nightmares and memories up the mountains.

Building trust

When Ross met veteran Shawn Murphy, he lived in the Arizona wilderness with no phone or means of contacting him.

The desert is beautiful and harsh, Murphy said. That and the fact that there arent many people around are why he loves living there.

At first, Murphy did not want to appear in Ross book, but he changed his mind when his years of hiking put him in contact with veterans who, like him, experienced addiction and homelessness.

I realized that with all the time Cindy spent on (the) trail, she would be the one person who would understand how nature heals, Murphy said.

Another veteran, Travis Johnston, drove all the way from New Mexico to Schuylkill County to sit on Ross sofa and tell his story. Johnston organized a memorial climb in memory of Zach Adamson, an Army Ranger who died by suicide at 25. The book contains a heart-wrenching letter from Adamson to his parents, who walked the Appalachian Trail in his honor.

Johnston also introduced Ross to his friend Dan Stein, who happened to live down the road from her. After several serious accidents while serving as an Army Ranger from 2007-11, Stein lived as a recluse in Reading, hiding his physical and emotional scars. After all the time that he spent in the hospital, even simple tasks like going to the grocery store had become difficult.

Over time, he opened up to Ross and shared the poems he wrote about his experiences. Stein stayed in Ross cabin for two nights, and the two hiked to Hawk Mountain. It was the first time in years that Stein had stepped outside. Ross now calls Stein her surrogate son.

It was a whole process of building trust and getting to know each other, Ross said.

That, she said, was the easy part. The hard part was experiencing the veterans pain alongside them.

They have relapses, she said. They have times where they doubt themselves. They forget that going out there brings them peace.

Similarities, not differences

The trail to healing, Ross said, is not a straight path that always moves forward.

One year on Christmas Eve, sometimes the worst time for people with mental illness, three veterans announced to her via phone and text message that they were going to kill themselves. One called her as she and her family were playing cards. She told him to pour his bottle of moonshine down the drain, call his wife and daughter, and go for a walk with his dog. She managed to talk him away from the cliff.

Military people, a lot of them are wary because they dont think (civilians) understand, Ross said. I would never have believed seven years ago that this was gonna be a good fit, especially with the way the whole political arena was in the last years.  But it doesnt matter when it comes to helping these veterans. Thats so refreshing today to not see differences but similarities, just to reach out to someone in need.
Slovakia is likely to take action in the wake of the latest information about the Vrbetice blast.

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The military intelligence service had been following Oto Ch., a Slovak army official, for two years, when the police came for him in the spring of 2014. He was suspected of conducting espionage for Russia.

The Slovak secret service had been intrigued about how frequently he was changing his luxury cars. As a deputy of the then chief of the General Staff, Peter Vojtek, he had direct access to most classified information that Slovakia received as an ally from NATO and the European Union.

Months later, the police still had not charged the military officer. The results of the prosecution of sabotage and corruption remain unknown to this day. The only thing we know is that Oto Ch. quit working for the armed forces shortly after he was detained.

Now, in the wake of the revelations of the probable sabotage by Russian agents that caused the explosion of an ammunition warehouse in the Czech village of Vrbetice in 2014, Slovakia is likely to react in a much more determined and unambiguous fashion. Slovakia is likely to expel some Russians with diplomatic cover.

Related article Slovakias Security Council summoned to discuss situation in Czechia Read more

Our response will be decisive, substantial and will prove our credibility towards our allies, in this case, the Czech Republic, said Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok (SaS nominee). He added that he will act to make sure there are no doubts about where the Slovak Republic stands.

The Slovak authorities are awaiting more information from their Czech counterparts now. The Czech Deputy PM Jan Hamacek (CSSD) has acknowledged the findings of the investigators and secret services as sufficient to allow him to speak of the engagement of the Russian secret service GRU in the Vrbetice blast.

The Slovak government's Security Council will convene Tuesday, April 20, to discuss Slovakia's reaction in support of Czechia, including the option to expel Russian diplomats and agents.

Slovak officials, including the head of state, President Zuzana Caputova, reacted on Sunday. The Visegrad Group foreign ministers have prepared a joint statement upon the initiative of Slovak minister Korcok.

A potential decision to expel some Russian diplomats from Slovakia may complicate the operation of the Russian agents on the country's territory.

"If you're asking if my predecessors and the previous government were informed about foreign powers carrying out various activities here, the answer is very simple: Yes, they were," Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad (OLaNO) admitted there has been knowledge about Russian intelligence operations in Slovakia.

Agents from the 29155 elite unit of GRU allegedly operate in Slovakia. The men who were involved in the Vrbetice explosion, Alexandr Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov (the names in the passports they were using), are reportedly members of that unit too. Their real names are Alexander Mishkin and Anatoly Chepiga.

The Czech authorities allege they are the same people who have been linked to the case of the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom.

Russian agents in the Tatras and in Bratislava

20. Apr 2021 at 12:36 | Michal Katuska
The Marine Corps' junior enlisted ranks make up nearly half of the force, with most leaving the service after just one four-year term. Now, leaders say, they need to change the service's personnel models to build up more senior ranks as Marines face new threats.

Small units -- including infantry squads -- need to be led by a staff sergeant, Commandant Gen. David Berger wrote in a new update to his 10-year force design plan. Putting staff noncommissioned officers in those roles will be a big cultural change for the service, which pushes leadership and decision-making far down the chain of command.

Marine leaders "will develop options for improving and sustaining the quality, maturity, and experience of small unit leader tactical skills and decision-making along with a pathway toward ensuring each squad or small unit within the infantry and reconnaissance communities is led by a Staff Sergeant," Berger wrote.

Read Next: The Marine Corps Is Experimenting with a Concept that Could Reshape the Infantry

Corporals and sergeants currently lead infantry squads. The change is one of many facing the Marine Corps as the service reorganizes for a possible fight with China.

"You can't accelerate experience and maturity," Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, deputy commandant for Combat Development and Integration, said last week. "... If we're going to be operating in a disaggregated environment where you have 75 Marines throughout the first island chain -- at times under duress, in competition and in crisis -- you need that really seasoned, mature decision-making capability.

"There is an age component to that."

Marines' responsibilities are changing quickly as the military emerges from decades of fighting insurgents in the desert to gearing up to face off against Chinese or Russian forces. Marines will be operating in small teams, largely independently. Theyll be using high-tech unmanned technology and will be responsible for defending, from land, Navy ships ability to maneuver at sea.

Instead of a Marine firing a precision-guided artillery round to hit a target 25 miles away, "now you're shooting a naval-strike missile out in excess of 100 miles," Smith said.

"You want somebody who has done that a couple of times," he said.

At least two other commandants have suggested the Marine Corps would need more seasoned staff NCOs in leadership positions as warfare becomes more complex. Then-Commandant Gen. Joe Dunford told members of Congress in 2015 that he didn't think a largely first-term force would work for the wars ahead.

"Today, we may have a 60% first-term force, but I don't believe that it should be that case in the future," Dunford said.

Two years later, when Gen. Robert Neller was commandant, the Marine Corps was examining a plan to put staff sergeants in infantry squad leader billets, rather than corporals and sergeants.

To get that kind of force, though, the Marine Corps will need to pay. Lance corporals at the E-3 rank pocket about $2,300 a month, while a staff sergeant in the E-6 paygrade takes home roughly $3,300. To make up the difference, the Marine Corps is planning to drop 10,000 personnel by 2030 to reach an end strength of about 174,000.

A quarter of first-term Marines currently reenlist each year. That means, on average, about 20,000 junior Marines leave the Corps annually, said Maj. Joshua Benson, a spokesman for Combat Development and Integration.

Smith said giving more Marines the option to stay will likely be welcome news for many.

"The problem you have as a commander is telling them, 'Sorry you have to go home,' because we have too many that want to stay for the current model," he said.

Now as the Marine Corps shrinks in size while holding onto more personnel, recruiting requirements will also change. The Marine Corps currently adds about 30,000 new enlistees a year. That's going to drop in the years ahead, Smith said.

"What it says to those potential recruits that are in high school right now is, 'You're going to want to bring your A game. You're going to want to make sure that you are the most qualified,'" the general said. "If you wish to join the Marine Corps that's doing these kinds of difficult, challenging tasks inside of the engagement zone ... it's a competition. And I hope everybody's ready to compete."

The changes will also affect who the Marine Corps is recruiting. Maj. Gen. Jason Bohm, the head of Marine Corps Recruiting Command, told Military.com in December that Berger's plan for the service means more emphasis on cyber and information missions, electronic warfare and unmanned systems.

"What we're looking for is people that have a lot of self-discipline, self-confidence -- who are flexible, adaptable problem-solvers," Bohm said. Prospective Marines need to thrive in complex environments where they could lose communication with their commanders.

"We're focused on continuing to find that smart elite warrior," he added.

Smith stressed that Marine brass aren't saying every leadership position a sergeant fills now will become a gunnery sergeant billet. With the right training and through experimentation, they may find that lower-ranking Marines can qualify for the roles.

As a largely young force, the Marine Corps puts a great deal of leadership responsibility on its NCOs. Corporals and sergeants made strategic decisions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and even if there are fewer of them, Smith said he doesn't see that aspect of the service's culture and leadership changing.

The Marine Corps' future warfighting strategy centers around expeditionary advanced base operations, a concept that could spread a small team of 75 across an island in the Pacific, where they'll be tasked with defending sea and airspace from ashore to ensure Navy ships can move freely.

In that type of challenging environment, Smith said, "There's always going to be a [private first class] who's told, 'Hey, I need to step up and act like a lance corporal.' There's always going to be a corporal being told, 'I need you to step up and fill a sergeant's billet.'

"I don't fear [losing] that at all," he added.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Tank Marines Get the Chance to Leave the Corps Early as Units Shut Down
The accord of the approach and structure of the National Resilience and Recovery Plan (PNRR), which will be presented in Brussels is the main topic of discussion within the governing coalition reunion, the deputy PM Dan Barna said, co-chairman of Save Romania Union - Party of Liberty, Unity and Solidarity (USR PLUS).

Regarding the possibility of the PM to be the one who will negotiate the PNRR with the European Commission and not the minister of European Funds, the leader of USR PLUS said that the PM has a coordinating role, decision which was negotiated and agreed upon in the coalition, because it is necessary for a political support to exist throughout the political level - PM, Minister, President - being about a "very solid and assumed" program by the Romanian establishment.

Regarding the financing of the irrigation program through PNRR, Dan Barna said that the message of the European Commission on this project formula is necessary for additional discussions, which will occur next week.

"The Minister of Agriculture will have a consultation and a presentation regarding the irrigation project with the European Commission, in order to see if it is possible to change this European position," the deputy PM concluded.
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Summit Health is collaborating with a coalition of 60 of America's top hospitals and health care institutions on a nationwide campaign to encourage adults to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Led by Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic, the campaign "Get the Vaccine to Save Lives," is designed to reassure the public that vaccines are safe, effective and necessary to achieve herd immunity and a return to normal activities.

"Summit Health is committed to safeguarding the health of our patients, providers and employees and stopping the spread of COVID-19. Vaccination is an important step in this endeavor and likely our best hope for ending this pandemic," said Jeffrey Le Benger, MD, CEO of Summit Health. "We are proud to join other leading health care providers across the country in this immense and historic vaccination effort."

The campaign hopes to reach adults who are hesitant to receive a vaccine, including racial and minority ethnic groups and people living in rural communities. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey published March 30, 17% of the public say they will take a wait-and-see approach before getting it themselves, and another 20% say they will never get a vaccine or will only get it if required to do so for work, school or other activities. This leaves a significant portion of the population at risk of going unvaccinated.

The nationwide campaign includes print and digital advertising, media outreach, social media, an awareness video and an informational website.

With vaccine distribution underway, the campaign aims to help Americans feel safe and confident about receiving a vaccine. To achieve herd immunity and help end the pandemic, leading health officials say at least 75% of the population needs to receive a vaccine. Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected  not just those who have been vaccinated.

More than 232 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered and over 54% of the population age 18 and over has received at least one vaccine dose in the U.S. through April 27, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials. The vaccines met the Food and Drug Administration's rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.

Ethos Creative Group of Burlington, North Carolina, created the campaign and donated their services. The New York Times, The Washington Post, Spectrum Reach and USA Today also provided complimentary resources.

For more information about the campaign, visit ourshot2savelives.org.

About Summit Health

Summit Health is a physician-led, patient-centric network committed to simplifying the complexities of health care and bringing a more connected kind of care. Formed by the 2019 merger between Summit Medical Group, one of the nation's premier independent physician-governed multispecialty medical groups, and CityMD, the leading urgent care provider in the New York metro area, Summit Health delivers a more intuitive, comprehensive, and responsive care experience for every stage of life and health condition through high-quality primary, specialty, and urgent care.

Summit Health has more than 1,600 providers, 8,000 employees and over 200 locations in New Jersey and New York, as well as more than 130 providers and six locations in Central Oregon. For more information, please visit summithealth.com.

SOURCE Summit Health

Related Links

http://www.summithealth.com


NEW HAVEN  A former New Haven police officer is seeking to get his position back after he resigned following internal affairs investigations that determined he violated department regulations in sexual interactions with two women, documents show. .

The police union is backing former Officer Gary Gamarra in his bid to be reinstated, saying he is entitled to due process. But Acting Chief Renee Dominguez is seeking to have his state certification revoked, saying we do not tolerate conduct that would dishonor the badge.

The internal affairs investigations began in November 2019 and July 2020, respectively, after Beatrice Codianni, executive director of the Sex Workers and Allies Network, shared allegations from two women that an officer, later identified as Gamarra, had solicited sexual acts from them, the IA report documents say.

The Police Department released both internal affairs reports, as well as associated memos and emails, in response to a Freedom of Information request. Gamarra could not be reached for comment.

The complainant in the 2019 case that was investigated by Detective Ryan Macuirzynski reported that she had been stopped by the officer in fall 2019 and the officer said at the time that he would not arrest her, but she owed him, Macuirzynskis report says. Days later, the woman met Gamarra while he was driving his own car; he reminded her of the past incident; she later performed a sex act with him as he drove, according to Macuirzynskis report.

(She) said the Officer did not use a weapon or assault her at any time, only force by verbal, Macuirzynski wrote. She stated her options were to be harassed and constantly pulled over or give him (a sex act) ... and hes gonna go away.

The complainant in the case investigated by Detective Kealyn Nivakoff reported the officer, also later identified as Gamarra, began repeatedly stopping her after responding to a dispute between her and a male friend.

The complainant said the officer had called out to her while she was walking on Ferry Street in July 2020 and ordered her into the car; she felt obligated to get into the car because he was an officer, according to Nivakoffs report

According to the report, the officer drove to another area , where they had intercourse. The woman reported she cried during the interaction, but did not tell him that she did not want to have sex, or tell him to stop.

(The woman) stated she felt like she didnt have a choice but to have sex with him and that the officer raped her, Nivakoff wrote. (She) stated she never told the officer that she didnt want to have sex with him because she was scared to say it. (She) stated that she felt she had to do it because he was the law.

Macuirzynski and Nivakoff, with other officers, interviewed Gamarra regarding the allegations in December 2020. (Gamarra initially denied having sexual contact with either of the women, but, over the course of the interview, changed his stance, said he (expletive) up, and admitted to both encounters, according to Nivakoffs report. He said the sex was consensual, according to the report.

(Gamarra) stated that he was having problems with his girlfriend at the time and his aunt just died of cancer, Nivakoff wrote. (He) stated he just wasnt thinking, and he just didnt care at the time.

Gamarra was found to have violated departmental rules of conduct concerning principles and procedures, Macuirzynski wrote.

(Gamarras) actions are held to a higher standard and he destroyed the confidence and respect of the citizens he served in his employment as a New Haven Police Officer, Macuirzynski wrote

Gamarra resigned from his position on Dec. 18, but then sought to be reinstated through a union grievance on Dec. 28, according to a letter Gamarra wrote to top police officials.

(T)he manner in which I was compelled to resign was unfair and coercive, Gamarra wrote in a letter to now former Police Chief Otoniel Reyes and Elm City Local police union President Florencio Cotto. I want to resume work as a New Haven police officer.

Marshall Segar, an attorney representing the Elm City Local, said in a statement the city was duty-bound to restore Gamarras position, as it had not appropriately responded to his grievance.

The Union has filed a grievance on behalf of Gary Gamarra. The basis of the Unions complaint is that the City failed to reinstate Gary once he rescinded his letter of resignation. The City took no action to accept or reject the letter as required, thus Gary filed a timely rescission and must be reinstated, Segar said. The Citys failure to act constitutes the violation of the CBA because by not acting, the City turned the resignation into a termination thus invoking the grievance procedure. Simply put, regardless of the allegations against Gary, he is entitled to due process.

But Reyes and Dominguez both sought to have the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council revoke Gamarras certification.

Dominguez said POST was reviewing the request to revoke Gamarras certification.

Karen Boisvert, POST academy administrator, said the process had begun, but the matter had not been brought to the organizations governing council.

Dominguez condemned Gamarras actions and said the department would swiftly investigate any such matters, now and in the future.

We obviously take this very seriously and we dont think this meets the standards of law enforcement or the New Haven Police Department, said Dominguez.

Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Lisa DAngelo said, in a memo to Lt. David Zannelli, head of the Police Departments internal affairs division, that there was not probable cause to arrest Gamarra.

SWAN, in a recent press release, expressed displeasure with the decision not to arrest Gamarra.

This decision sends the message that sex workers who are victim of sexual violence cannot expect to see justice, and contributes to a climate of impunity for violence against sex workers, often perpetrated by law enforcement, the organizations release said.  Sex workers deserve protection against abuse and violence. Police officers must be held accountable when they harm community members. Sex work is work and should not be criminalized.

Dominguez asked anyone with information regarding Gamarras actions to step forward. The state attorneys office had expressed willingness to revisit the matter if more evidence was provided, she said.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
The Monmouth County man who worked at a U.S. Navy base when charged with participating in the assault on the U.S. Capitol has lost a second attempt to be released from jail while awaiting trial.

Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 31, of Colts Neck, will remain in federal custody in a Washington, D.C. jail as his case proceeds, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, denying a motion from his lawyer to have him released to New Jersey. Hes been indicted on seven crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot.

This is the second time Hale-Cusanelli has sought to be released from pre-trial detention, and each time federal prosecutors have effectively argued he remains an ongoing danger to the community.

The government has described Hale-Cusanelli, who is also a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, as a white supremacist who has worn his mustache like Hitler and who wishes for a civil war in the country.

Federal prosecutors included these pictures of Timothy Hale-Cusanelli in court papers opposing his release from custody pending trial. The Colts Neck man has been indicted on seven crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In legal briefs for this hearing, prosecutors reiterated their beliefs that if freed, Hale-Cusanelli is a threat, specifically to the predominantly Hasidic Jewish community in Lakewood, not far from his home. (Hale-Cusanelli grew up in the Howell area and was living in housing on Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck, where he worked.)

Beyond his desired participation in a future civil war, [Hale-Cusanelli] poses a more localized threat to the community, particularly the Hasidic community in Lakewood, New Jersey. [Hale-Cusanelli] has demonstrated specific animosity towards the Jewish population and expressed a desire to commit violence against Jewish people, a prosecutor wrote.

Hale-Cusanellis lawyer has repeatedly countered that his client is accused of no specific violence on Jan. 6, to which he wore a suit and tie, and has a support system ready for him in New Jersey and would comply with any restriction the court or prosecutors desire.

The governments arguments for dangerousness rely almost singularly on defendants alleged rhetoric that the government interprets as [Hale-Cusanelli] being a white supremacist, antisemitic and a racist. While [Hale-Cusanellis] alleged ideology may be repugnant or outside acceptable and polite society, we do not incarcerate people in this country on words alone, his lawyer argued in his brief.

As for the Lakewood argument, Hale-Cusanellis lawyer, Jonathan Zucker, wrote that prosecutors suggest that hes been out in the streets terrorizing members of this community.

Not true, Zucker said.

While [Hale-Cusanelli] may have made inappropriate remarks in private conversations and expressed disagreement with their religious ideology, the government points to no acts by [Hale-Cusanelli] that endangered members of this community, Zucker argued.

The government conflates disagreement with dangerousness, Zucker wrote.

Zucker sought the latest effort following a federal appeal in another case, now known as the Munchel decision, which basically split Capitol suspects into two categories, ones who committed specific acts of violence, and those who rushed into the Capitol afterwards. Many in the latter category have since been released to some form of house arrest.

The judge in Hale-Cusanellis case, Judge Trevor N. McFadden, said Wednesday that he remains too dangerous to release due to possible future acts, not what hes alleged to have done on Jan. 6, according to a CNN reporter who heard the virtual hearing.

I was concerned, and remain concerned, that the defendant bears animus toward groups of people in this country.his conduct in this case made me concerned that he was perhaps looking to act on these violent tendencies, McFadden said, CNNs Marshall Cohen reported. If I was just looking at what the defendant did on January 6, he would be a free man right now, the judge said, noting the Munchel case.

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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.
Credit: University of Rhode Island

The Anak Krakatau volcano flank collapse, triggered by an eruption on December 22, 2018 provided a deadly reminder of how vulnerable and unprepared we are when it comes to natural disasters.

The tsunami created by the flank collapse hit the coast of Indonesia with waves as tall as 5 meters, leaving 420 people dead and 40,000 people displaced from their homes.

New Data Used for Modeling

Ever since the eruption occurred, scientists have been collecting evidence to determine exactly how it happened, just as crime scene investigators attempt to recreate a crime scene.

"Up until now, a lot of the information we had was based on satellite images and conjecture," said University of Rhode Island Distinguished Engineering Professor Stephan Grilli. "Until there was real data, nobody could do any better."

By combining new synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, field observations from a marine geology underwater survey, and aerial photographs taken by drones, a more accurate model can now be created of the volcano before and after it collapsed.

New high-resolution seafloor and sub-seafloor hydroacoustic surveys have provided a comprehensive view of what the landslide deposits look like underwater.

"The renderings show how deep the sediment slid underwater and how large the pieces were that collapsed," said Grilli.

3D rendering of pre- and post-collapse (likeliest scenario) of Anak Krakatau and the surrounding islands based on available pre-event data outside of the Krakatau Islands and field survey data from August 2019. Credit: Stephan Grilli.

Published Findings

The data collected by Grilli and his colleagues will appear in Nature Communications, which is considered one of the world's leading multidisciplinary science journals.

"For many researchers working in the natural sciences, publishing a paper in one of Nature's journals is really an honor and a sign that one's work is being recognized by the scientific community," said Grilli. "This also brings great visibility to the work, which is important because as we improve our understanding and modeling of how tsunamis are generated by natural hazards, we can improve our mitigation of their effects in coastal areas and hopefully save lives."

Grilli's research was funded by the National Science Foundation. Other co-project investigators at URI were Annette Grilli, associate professor of ocean engineering and Steve Carey, professor of oceanography.

Most of Stephan Grilli's peers who are co-authors on the Nature article are from the United Kingdom and were funded by its Natural Environment Research Council.

Closer to Home

As devastating as the tsunami caused by Anak Krakatau was, a potentially much greater threat exists closer to the United States.

According to Grilli, if one of the volcanos in the Canary Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Northwest Africa was to erupt and suffer a large flank collapse, the results would be catastrophic.

Drone footage of Anak Krakatau, taken on January 10-11, 2019, after the collapse and eruption of the volcano. Credit: Earth Uncut TV.

"Our sights are on the Canary Islands because that volcano shows signs of becoming unstable and an eruption could cause a major landslide on one of its flanks, which studies have shown could be up to 2,000 times larger than what we saw in Indonesia," said Grilli. "That could create a mega-tsunami, with the potential to cause inundations along the East Coast of the United State, in some areas twice as large as a category five hurricane. It could mean major destruction along the East Coast."

On a smaller scale, but within the United States, Hawaii's volcanos pose a constant threat of eruption and flank collapses.

"If a piece of one of Hawaii's volcanos was to break off, it could create a significant tsunami," said Grilli.

Not Much Warning

Despite advances in technology, there is still very little warning when a volcano is on the verge of eruption or a tsunami is forming as a result of it.

"We have high-frequency radar and systems that can monitor surface currents, including those caused by tsunamis, but we're still a long way from being able to predict when an earthquake, volcano eruption or tsunami may occur," said Grilli.

After Japan was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 in 2011, resulting in a tsunami and a nuclear power-plant accident, which left close to 18,000 people dead, the country spent $12 billion to build 42-foot-high concrete seawalls.

The walls block the view of the ocean, but experts say the barriers are worth it, as they should minimize damage and buy time for evacuation. In some areas of the United States, such as along the Cascadia subduction zone off of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington, there would be very little time to retreat to safe ground should a large earthquake and tsunami occur.

"In Oregon, people are worried about evacuation if we had "The Big One,'" said Grilli. "Even though people have built artificial hills for a vertical evacuation, at most there would be a 15-minute tsunami warning. There just wouldn't be enough time to get everyone to safety."

Explore further Scientists model Anak Krakatau volcano, tsunami to help prep US for future tsunamis
Daniel Rodgers, a family physician, is running for the Portland school board seat representing much of Northeast Portland that is being vacated by one-term incumbent Scott Bailey. He says viewing the impact of school closures on his young patients, particularly those with disabilities, is part of what drove him to step up to run.

He is one of two candidates for the Zone 5 seat, along with small business owner Gary Hollands.

The 2021 campaign comes at a time when families and employees in Portland Public Schools are charting courses for post-pandemic education. The states largest district was among the areas last to open for in-person instruction.

Portland Public Schools will offer among the fewest classroom hours to students of the 14 largest Portland-area districts, an Oregonian/OregonLive analysis found.

District officials have pledged to prioritize Black, Indigenous and other students of color in their budget proposals and programming on the tail of the pandemic, just as they promised to do in previous years.

The school board has the final say in Superintendent Guadalupe Guerreros spending plans.

The Oregonian/OregonLive sent a survey to every candidate who will be on Mays ballot. Here are Daniel Rodgerss answers, edited for length.

Name: Dan Rodgers

Seat youre running for: Portland Public School District Director - Zone 5

Occupation: Family physician

Education: HS diploma - West Chester Public Schools (Henderson HS); bachelor of biology - Kutztown University; medical doctorate - Drexel University College of Medicine; residency certificate - Wellspan York Hospital Family Medicine

Do you have children who attend or attended Portland Public Schools? If so, please provide details.

My daughter, Rowan, is not yet primary school aged (shes 2 ); She will attend Vernon once she is school age.

What inspired you to run for the board?

When I first came to Portland, I wanted to get involved in our education system but wasnt sure where I would have the most impact. As COVID started impacting our community, I saw a profound impact on many of my patients, especially those with individual education plans (required for students with disabilities); I came to realize the way I would most effectively be able to use my skills to better our education system would be on the board. Im running to ensure inclusive, equitable, and top-notch education to all children in Portland. I want to help create a school system that we can all be proud of.

Did you have any previous involvement in PPS, either as a volunteer or member of an advisory council or committee? If so, what were your duties?

When I moved to Portland, I had hopes of getting involved with community service in the schools and elsewhere.

Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic struck during our first year here. Serving as a physician during the pandemic, and adhering to social distancing hindered my involvement, but I tried to stay engaged.

I read the minutes from several board meetings and paid close attention to the negotiations between the district and teachers focused on getting kids back in schools.

How much time do you envision yourself setting aside for board duties every week?

The short answer: as much time as required.

In my professional life, I will be moving to a new practice in the coming months with a reduction in work schedule; this will allow me to spend more time focusing on my role in the community and my family.

In addition to the typical duties, I hope to be accessible in person at schools in the district to hear concerns at least once per month. I hope this practice will better inform my decisions to reflect what the community needs and prioritizes.

What are the two most pressing issues facing Portland Public Schools and why?

Its difficult to narrow to two issues, but these are top of mind:

First - The impacts of COVID on education on many levels. Too many kids are falling behind; Ideally we need to find a path for full-time in person education; this needs to be done with a heavy emphasis on safety for all involved. If we arent able to safely do that in the fall, we absolutely must improve our hybrid learning model.

Second - Addressing the continuing inequities in our schools. Specifically, I want to turn an eye toward our K-8 education, and our vocational offerings in secondary education.

How will you hold the superintendent accountable?

In my professional life I have learned that accountability starts with me. Being a leader involves fostering a culture of accountability; not focusing on keeping one person accountable, but emphasizing that all involved are accountable. This requires a framework for continuous evaluation and improvement, an expectation and practice that feedback, criticism, and responsibility are embraced.

I would hope to set predefined expectations for endeavors undertaken by the superintendent and the board; this would allow a transparent avenue for evaluation and accountability. I hope to have a community voice present to define these goals and expectations

How would you rate the performance of the Portland Public Schools boards response to and handling of COVID-19-related developments so far? What would you have done differently?

I give the PPS board credit for navigating the many unknowns we have faced in this pandemic, but frankly we need to do better. I hope to bring my expertise in the area of healthcare and biology to put us on a path to full attendance in the classroom come fall; Im optimistic, but I recognize there are many unknowns and the situation is ever evolving.

Our decisions need to be based on available scientific knowledge and foster a safe learning environment; we must balance the various risks, including the inadequate support for disadvantaged students with the current hybrid model.

How will you engage with the community?

I plan to offer multiple avenues for families, kids, teachers, and staff to have their voices heard. To ensure this is equally accessible, we cant focus only on board meetings , or internet forums alone - this ignores families with time constraints (e.g., single parents working multiple jobs) and families without internet access.

I plan to be available in person at schools on a rotating basis (with other board members if theyre available) at predefined times. I would offer this in conjunction with electronic and pen-and-paper opportunities for the community to start a dialogue.

How will you engage historically underserved families?

My first step will be to ensure families in these communities have a voice at the table. I want to ensure that all families, especially those in historically underserved areas, have access to the board.

As an elected official, I view it as my duty to understand the views and needs of the community, and then advocate for those ideals on the board. In addition, I would institute a committee of volunteers from historically underserved communities to hold the board accountable and serve as a check.

How will you balance the interests of students and teachers as represented by their union, should those interests be at odds?

At their core, the interest of students, teachers, or the board shouldnt be at odds. In practice, when dealing with the details of day-to-day business, or negotiations, impasses will inevitably arise.

I will work to establish a culture of accountability where we are able to establish a set of common core goals that put student success at the forefront and help all involved focus on that goal even when disputes arise.

How will you handle disagreements with fellow board members?

Our board and entire PPS system needs to further the commitment to a culture of accountability.

If I am on the board, it will start with myself, and the rest of the board; we all need to be accountable and receptive to positive and negative feedback. If we have a culture of accountability that appreciates feedback, disagreements become less personal, and more about achieving our common goals.

I am never afraid of being vocal when it comes to keeping those on my team accountable, especially when the wellbeing of our kids is at stake.

Portland Public Schools, like other districts, has largely discontinued interim and year-end standardized testing to measure students reading, writing and math skills. Do you agree with that decision? When would you want such testing to resume?

I agree that the temporary suspension of standardized testing helped free resources and time to focus on implementing , and improving hybrid learning.

As we move back towards full-time in person education we need to bring assessment of each students progress back into the fold.

We will be facing a reality where many students will be behind where they would have been had we not had a global pandemic, and assessing a baseline for students will be important in identifying those needing the most help.

I am optimistic that we could focus on achieving this in the upcoming academic year.

What metrics will you be watching as a board member?

I will be watching and seeking out feedback that is pertinent to what I consider the most important issues: COVID-19 and in person learning, racial and social justice and addressing inequities, improving communication and accessibility of the board, and expanding equal access to vocational learning programs.

Among other specifics, I will look at COVID-19 rates; feedback from the students, staff, and community about perceived safety and satisfaction with board communication, and disparities in proficiencies across our schools. I hope to hear unfiltered feedback from faculty, staff, students and families about performance and the direction of the district.

What strengths would you bring to the board? Why, essentially, is it crucial the voters choose you?

I will bring a unique approach to the board and the decisions we make; one focused on an evidence based approach based on data and science. Getting back to in person learning in a timely and safe manner is a primary concern and I will use my understanding of health, science, and process improvement to get us there.

I will focus my communication skills and relationship with our community to enable an open dialogue with the community so we can best represent what the community feels the direction of the district should be.
CPTPP bright spot in Americas

At a seminar themed "CPTPP - Opportunities for Vietnams exports to American markets", held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) in Hanoi on April 27, MOIT Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai said that the agreement, officially approved on December 30, 2018 and effectual in Vietnam from January 14, 2019, is considered an important turning point, creating a new impetus to promote cooperation in trade and investment between Vietnam and its partner countries in general and the Americas in particular.

Among the 11 member countries participating in the CPTPP, there are four in the Americas, including Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru, of which Canada, Mexico and Peru are the three that reached free trade agreements (FTA) with Vietnam in recent times. They also have commitments to cut very high tariff rates for Vietnamese goods as soon as the CPTPP comes into effect, with Chile at 95%, Canada 94.9%, Peru 81% and Mexico 77%.

Some two years since CPTPP being put into effect, Vietnams exports to the two countries that have ratified the CPTPP  Canada and Mexico  have grown strongly, reaching US$4.4 billion (up 45%) and US$3.17 billion (up 41%). The remaining countries also witnessed very fast growth, with Chile up 30% and Peru 21% compared to 2018, although they have as of yet not ratified the agreement.

According to Deputy Minister Hai, in 2020, amid the world going through a special year of fluctuations and recessions, as well as the negative effects of COVID-19, Vietnam's exports to the Americas still achieved encouraging results, becoming a bright spot in its trade exchanges with the world. Specifically, total trade turnover between Vietnam and the Americas reached nearly US$111.5 billion, up 16% compared to 2019; of which exports reached US$89.7 billion, up 21.7% ,accounting for 31.7% of the total. Notably, despite COVID-19, Vietnam's exports to CPTPP countries in the Americas still grew 10.23% reaching US$8.84 billion. In particular, export growth to Canada and Mexico continued to take the lead in the CPTPP market block, up 12%, much higher than the overall increase in exports.

Following the growth momentum of 2020, in the first three months of 2021, Vietnam's exports to its CPTPP partners in the Americas also increased positively. Specifically, exports to Canada increased 15%, reaching US$1.13 billion; Mexico up 17%, reaching US$931 million; Chile up 12% to reach US$321 million; and Peru increased by 35%, reaching US$134 million.

These figures confirm the CPTPP has become a driving force to open up the door for Vietnamese goods to new markets in the Americas, still a very new market with high potential, emphasised the MOIT deputy minister.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai speaking at the workshop.

Taking opportunities for Vietnamese products to conquer Americas

Besides the CPTPP, the opportunity to penetrate into the American markets for Vietnam's goods is still active thanks to the available trade blocs and FTAs within the region. According to Do Thi Thu Huong, Vietnam Trade Counselor in Canada, in addition to exploiting the CPTPP markets, Vietnamese businesses can seek opportunities in taking advantage of local economic linkages and the available infrastructure of the CPTPP member countries, through which Vietnamese products can penetrate and expand to other markets in the Americas.

The region has various economic linkages through the FTAs with close ties, such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) with nearly 500 million people and GDP at US$21 trillion, the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) including Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay with 265 million people and a GDP of US$2.4 trillion, the Pacific Alliance (AP) formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru with 230 million people and GDP at US$2.1 trillion, and Andean Community (CAN) comprising Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru with 111 million people and GDP worth US$700 billion.

If good use is made of these economic linkages and trade incentives, Vietnamese enterprises can find favourable opportunities to diversify their products and export markets in the region, especially in the trend of global supply chains shifting and priorities being given to recovery and maintaining economic development both during and after the pandemic.

In addition to its favourable conditions, the Vietnamese business community and its partners in the CPTPP and the Americas still face a range of challenges in business cooperation, such as remote and unpredictable geographical distances, without direct passenger and freight routes, language barriers, and the lack of up-to-date information on market access. In addition, Vietnamese businesses are also facing some difficulties in meeting rules of origin, product quality and market standards.

According to Nguyen Cam Trang, Deputy Director of the MOITs Agency of Foreign Trade, meeting origin standards is one of the prerequisites for Vietnamese goods to enjoy tariff preferences from CPTPP as well as the FTAs. However, to achieve this requirement, there are still some difficulties, especially for products of Vietnam such as textiles and garments. In addition, quality requirements are also an issue, especially for agricultural products, which are also one of Vietnams strengths. In addition, the limited number of businesses grasping fully the commitments needed for preferential tariffs in the CPTPP is also an issue hindering them from taking advantage and boosting exports.

Therefore, to make effective use of the CPTPP, according to Trang, more powerful and new solutions are needed. On the side of state management agencies, it is to improve the efficiency of enforcement, while continuing to review legal documents and especially improving the business environment as it is a premise to facilitating production, business operation and exports.

In addition, communications should continue to be focused on providing information related to commitments, tariff incentives and rules of origin in a more specialised direction, going deep into each market, each specific product, with specialised training offered having a more strengthened impact on specific target groups. Information on import markets related to taste, capacity and especially management policies should also be provided to businesses for their production orientation.

On the business side, they also need to improve their activity in capturing the above information. In addition, when accessing a new market, businesses also need to renew their business thinking, improve their product competitiveness and prepare in a more methodical manner in terms of both human and capital resources.

According to Pham Cao Cuong, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Institute of American Studies under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, most Vietnamese businesses today are small and medium-sized ones, so the approach to new markets for them is very important. They need to proactively grasp information about supply chain movement around the world to be autonomous in accessing these and ensuring their exports. Meanwhile, State management agencies also need to have more policies and campaigns in place to help foreign markets know more about Vietnamese businesses and their products through diversified access channels, thereby contributing to raising trade exchange turnover.

Along with the efforts from the Vietnamese Government against COVID-19 and rejuvenating the economy, the MOIT affirmed it would continue to support localities and the business community in market information and connection with foreign businesses, partners and importers to seek opportunities for key Vietnamese products, thereby helping them build market access and business strategies more methodically, as well as taking advantages of existing incentives within CPTPP and assisting them in solving problems arising in market penetration and business development.
North Adams Abandons Plans for Greylock School Project

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  School officials pulled the plug Tuesday on a potential renovation or rebuild of Greylock School and dissolved the School Building Committee.

The decision came after feedback from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which raised serious concerns about the city's projected enrollment over the next decade and the taxpayers' appetite to fund a new school.

"While this is disappointing given what we heard from them in the preliminary conversation and some of the very strong suggestions, I think I mentioned at the last meeting, some of the questions that they were asking weren't really questions," Mayor Thomas Bernard said at the joint meeting of the School Committee and School Building Committee. "I think they were leading us to, in some ways, prepare for this possibility ...

"I appreciate the work of the MSBA to be considerate of the of the fiscal realities of the city and that's an important thing for us all to consider. But really the data that was most powerful was the data related to enrollment."

Instead, it was suggested the city consider the MSBA's accelerated repair program to address Brayton School's improvement needs.

Committee members weren't caught completely off-guard. Two enrollment studies by the MSBA and the New England School Development Council had projected an enrollment 10 years out off about 625 students in Grades kindergarten through 6. Brayton and Colegrove Park currently have a capacity for 716.

"The reality is if we redistricted right now, we really only need two schools. I'm not recommending that, I don't think that that's an appropriate response particularly right now because of the pandemic," Superintendent Barbara Malkas said. "But, there is a reality that we do not need to operate three schools even based on current enrollment figures."

Members noted there had been a slight bump in population during the pandemic and a brisk housing market. Member Lisa Blackmer noted the school-age population was contracting countywide, as has been tracked by the Berkshire Education Task Force, and there was the possibility of smaller schools closing and sending their students here.

"I just wanted to say that this is extremely disappointing and disturbing. I don't think either of reports had any of the contingencies," said School Committee member Heather Boulger. "No one expected that during this pandemic our population would probably increase, which would also includes more children in our district.

Malkas any decision to close Greylock was likely years away, which would allow the school district to gradually absorb students from Greylock, renovate Brayton and consider future needs.

"Because the district went through that major redistricting not long ago, that would not be something that I would recommend to a school building committee to consider," she said. "I would rather see a very mindful process over multiple years, we have to first really look at what is the timeline with respect to renovation. Then think about looking at the numbers at that point of what is the best phasing process over time. And that would also give us the opportunity of having a quite a few years to really see if in fact we're going to attract young families to the area, and preferably young families that want to increase our population with with having families here.'

Her son was looking for a house and planning to get married, but like other young people moving here, it would 10 years before the city would see if there was any significant change.

Building committee member Richard Alcombright asked if the MSBA would give them an extension to consider their options and in light of what would be a new government and mayor coming into office. Malkas, however, pointed out the state agency had already given a six-month extension because of the pandemic.

The city had until May 27 to decide if it wanted to be considered to continue into the feasibility stage. Malkas said MSBA officials had highlighted the fact that a feasibility study would cost around $750,000.

"What came out of the meeting from the MSBA was that feasibility has a high cost to it, it is estimated to be at three-quarters of a million dollars," she said. "We do not have the enrollment toward a new school building, and their feeling is we can handle the projected enrollment capacity based on the existing two school buildings that we have in the district. The other point that they made was that they always look for an overwhelming majority vote for a new building project or a major renovation such as at Colegrove. Their concern is that the needs of the community will make that a difficult road to achieve for approval. And so we would have spent money for feasibility that we could not then recoup the costs as an MSBA project."

Greylock School had been invited into MSBA's eligibility phase in December 2019. The 59,000-square-foot school had been next on the priority list for nearly a decade. The pandemic had delayed the School Building Committee's work and it hadn't begun meeting until last fall.

"I'm certainly not surprised, I think disappointed because I think we all wanted something more grand than what we have," said Alcombright, who as moyor had pushed through the $30 million award-winning renovation of Colegrove Park. "I am pleased that the MSBA has kind of extended, in a sense, the olive branch to allow us to look at a renovation project."

Brayton, built in 1991, has some roof and HVAC issues and school officials had already considered applying to the accelerated repair program.

That left the question of what to do with the School Building Committee and if it should start to tackle Brayton's short- and long-term needs. Malkas said she did not for sure but suspected MSBA would see Brayton as a brand-new project and that the city would have to submit a new statement of interest. The agency did send some information on three other ditricts that were able switch to the repair program.

Member Benjamin Lamb said if the conversation was no longer about Greylock than it was logical to dissolve the body, with the caveat it might call on members for a new committee.

With that, a motion was made to dissolve and approved by members of both committees.

"I share everyone's disappointments ... We talked a lot about being data driven in all kinds of ways and it's disappointing when being data driven leads us toward an outcome that none of us hope for, and nor wanted, I want to thank everybody who gave their time, their participation."
TORONTO, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Red White & Bloom Brands Inc. (CSE: RWB and OTC: RWBYF) (RWB or the Company) is pleased to announce that, further to its press release of February 25, 2021, its new subsidiary, RWB Florida LLC, has completed the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Acreage Florida, Inc. (Acreage Florida) from High Street Capital Partners, LLC (the Seller), a subsidiary of Acreage Holdings Inc. (Acreage) (CSE: ACRG.A.U; ACRG.B.U) (OTCQX: ACRDF, ACRHF). RWB also completed the acquisition of certain owned and leased real estate assets used in Acreage Floridas operations (the Florida Real Estate).



RWB Florida is licensed to operate medical marijuana dispensaries, a processing facility, and a cultivation facility in the state of Florida. The deal also includes the sale of property in Sanderson, Florida that includes over 15 acres of land and approximately 114,000 SF facility for cultivation and a 4,000 SF freestanding administrative office building. In addition, RWB Florida has 8 leased stores in prime locations throughout the state.

The Florida cannabis market is poised for tremendous growth and is forecasted to be a top 5 State by the year 2025, said Brad Rogers, CEO of Red White & Bloom. With approximately 450,000 medical cannabis patients currently registered in Florida, we see this as an amazing growth opportunity for the company. Combine this with a population of 20M and we are delighted this deal has been finalized and look forward to delivering the highest quality medical products to the market.

Jim Frasier, formerly of Acreage, has been appointed the position of Florida General Manager for Red White & Bloom. Our employees are impressed with Red White & Blooms commitment to the local communities as they expand their ESG program around the environment, jobs, social justice and governance. We are excited to play a major role in the benefits cannabis can bring to the state of Florida.

Deal Terms:

RWB, RWB Florida and Seller entered into a definitive Stock Purchase Agreement on February 21, 2021, as amended on April 27, 2021, to acquire Acreage Florida and the Florida Real Estate from Seller for an aggregate purchase price of US $60,000,000 in cash, stock and other considerations including:

an up-front cash payment of US $5,000,000 previously paid on execution of the Stock Purchase Agreement;





a cash payment of approximately US $16,500,000 made on closing (the  Cash Purchase Price );





); US $7,000,000 in common shares of RWB ( RWB Shares ), amounting to 5,950,971 RWB Shares based on a Volume weighted average price of RWBs Shares on the CSE for the 5 trading days prior to closing, subject to a 12 month lock-up agreement dated April 27, 2021 between Seller and RWB (the  Lock-Up Agreement ) pursuant to which 1/6 of the RWB Shares will be released to the Seller each month commencing the 6 th month after the entering into of the Lock-Up Agreement, or immediately upon a change of control transaction;





), amounting to 5,950,971 RWB Shares based on a Volume weighted average price of RWBs Shares on the CSE for the 5 trading days prior to closing, subject to a 12 month lock-up agreement dated April 27, 2021 between Seller and RWB (the  ) pursuant to which 1/6 of the RWB Shares will be released to the Seller each month commencing the 6 month after the entering into of the Lock-Up Agreement, or immediately upon a change of control transaction; US $28,000,000 in vendor take back promissory notes (comprised of a US $10,000,000 7 month note bearing interest at 8% per annum, a US $18,000,000 13 month note bearing interest at 8% per annum and an approximate US $3,500,000 5 Business Day Note bearing interest at 1% per annum) (collectively, the  Promissory Notes );





); The Promissory Notes are secured by a pledge agreement between RWB Florida and Seller pursuant to which the shares of Acreage Florida were pledged to Seller and the Promissory Notes are guaranteed by the Company; and





The parties entered into a transition services agreement dated April 27, 2021 (the TSA) whereby Seller agreed to provide certain transition services to RWB with respect to continued operations of Acreage Florida by RWB until September 1, 2021 including certain financial reporting and general accounting support, the use of the Botanist Brand until such time as RWB receives regulatory clearance in respect of the High Times brand or other alternative brand in Florida as well as certain HR and IT support.



To assist in the funding of the transaction:

RWB closed on an aggregate principal amount of US $11,000,000 unsecured debentures (the Debentures) on April 21, 2021 from arms length investors (the Debenture Purchasers). The Debentures bear interest at the rate of 12% per annum and mature 150 days from the date of issuance. In consideration of the purchase of the Debentures by the Debenture Purchasers, RWB issued the Debenture Purchasers an aggregate of 900,000 RWB Shares at a price of $1.184 per Origination Share; and



RWB and RWB Florida entered into a binding expression of intent (the Binding Term Sheet) with four (4) arms-length investors (the Term Sheet Investors) pursuant to which the Term Sheet Investors would invest US $8,000,000 to purchase:



an aggregate amount of US $3,000,000 of equity RWB Florida (representing approximately 3.75% of the equity of RWB Florida) (the Term Sheet Equity) subject to the right of RWB to repurchase this equity from the Term Sheet Investors for the amount equal to the EBITDA of RWB Florida with a multiple of 8x; and



purchase an aggregate principal amount of US $5,000,000 unsecured convertible debentures of RWB (the Term Sheet Debentures). The principal of Term Sheet Debentures plus interest in the amount of 24.0% (8% per annum) will be due and payable on the 3rd anniversary of the Term Sheet Debentures; provided that the Term Sheet Investors may convert their Term Sheet Debentures into RWB Shares at a conversion price equal to US $2.75 per RWB Share; provided, further, if the RWB Shares are valued at US $6.00 per RWB Share, RWB may force conversion. RWB will have the option to repay the Term Sheet Debentures after one year along with 8% annual interest.



To date, a total of US $5.5M towards the purchase of Term Sheet Equity and Term Sheet Debentures has been funded and used by RWB towards the Cash Purchase Price. The Term Sheet Investors, RWB Florida and RWB will enter into certain definitive agreements in respect of their investments in the coming days.



A finders fee is payable on the transaction.

About Red White & Bloom Brands Inc.

The Company is positioning itself to be one of the top three multi-state cannabis operators active in the U.S. legal cannabis and hemp sector. RWB is predominantly focusing its investments on the major US markets, including Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Arizona and California with respect to cannabis, and the US and internationally for hemp-based CBD products.

For more information about Red White & Bloom Brands Inc., please contact:

Tyler Troup, Managing Director

Circadian Group IR

IR@RedWhiteBloom.com

Visit us on the web: www.RedWhiteBloom.com

Follow us on social media:

Twitter: @rwbbrands

Facebook: @redwhitebloombrands

Instagram: @redwhitebloombrands

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Companys current expectations. When used in this press release, the words estimate, project, belief, anticipate, intend, expect, plan, predict, may or should and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. There is no assurance that these transactions will yield results in line with management expectations. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: risks associated with the implementation of the Companys business plan and matters relating thereto, risks associated with the cannabis industry, competition, regulatory change, the need for additional financing, reliance on key personnel, market size, and the volatility of the Companys common share price and volume. Forward-looking statements are made based on managements beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

There are a number of important factors that could cause the Companys actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others, risks related to the Companys proposed business, such as failure of the business strategy and government regulation; risks related to the Companys operations, such as additional financing requirements and access to capital, reliance on key and qualified personnel, insurance, competition, intellectual property and reliable supply chains; risks related to the Company and its business generally; risks related to regulatory approvals. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on the Companys forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company has assumed a certain progression, which may not be realized. It has also assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time.

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, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.




The propaganda techniques that Spains far-right Vox party has adopted in its campaign for the Madrid regional election of May 4 were already tried and tested in Germany by the Nazis.

Both the campaign billboard in which Vox attacks the cost to the Madrid region of unaccompanied migrant minors, and the words used to dehumanize the leftist Unidas Podemos candidate, Pablo Iglesias, such as rat and hunchback, mirror strategies used by Hitlers National Socialist German Workers Party to win over millions of Germans in their drive to persecute and annihilate not only the Jews but also the disabled and sick.

Using the word mena  an acronym with negative connotations for unaccompanied foreign minors  Voxs juxtaposition of the 4,700 it allegedly costs to maintain a migrant minor with the 426 in pension payments received by your grandma has one clear goal: to vilify and expel unaccompanied children and teenagers from Spain, as Vox candidate Rocio Monasterio has made clear. The billboard has been strategically placed in various commuter train stations around Madrid, but not only is it inaccurate, it is also under investigation by the prosecutors office as an alleged hate crime.

Voxs election billboard inside a train station in Madrids underground system. PODEMOS / Europa Press

By law, the Madrid region takes all minors requiring protection measures into care, regardless of their nationality or social circumstances. According to data released on March 31 from the regional department for family and social issues, Madrid has a total of 3,709 minors in its care. Of these, 2,637 are Spanish (71.1%) and 1,072 (28.9%) are foreign. Among the migrant minors, 269 have arrived in Spain unaccompanied by an adult, amounting to 7.2% of the total.

So where does Vox get its figure of 4,700? In the Madrid regions 2020 budget for the care of protected minors, a total of 96.1 million was allocated to pay for 1,903 places in care homes  other minors are cared for by families  resulting in an average monthly cost of 4,208 per place. It should be noted that this money is handed to the organizations responsible for the care of these minors.

Aside from whether the figure is accurate or not, the big question is whether it is legitimate in a democracy to discuss the cost to the public coffers of caring for a person in need, instead of reflecting on how to manage resources to improve their care. The Nazi regime used this kind of propaganda to justify a no-spend policy on people with disabilities or hereditary diseases.

"60,000 Deutschmarks is what this handicapped person costs us over the course of his life. This money is also yours says the poster on the left, while the one on the right points out that a patient suffering a hereditary disease costs an average of 50,000 Deutschmarks (DM) by the time they reach 60. Unknown / Unknown

On July 14, 1933, the German government passed the Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases, mandating the sterilization of people suffering from genetic diseases, including mental disorders, learning disabilities, physical deformities and even alcoholism. Although it is impossible to know the exact number of sick people who suffered under the Nazi regime, it is estimated that some 300,000 people were killed and another 400,000 sterilized, according to research published in The First into the Dark: the Nazi Persecution of the Disabled by Michael Robertson, Astrid Ley and Edwina Light.

Underpinning the violent rhetoric against the sick and those with special needs was propaganda aimed at convincing German citizens of the high cost of maintaining these parasites to the state, as Michael Burleigh points out in his book Death and Deliverance: Euthanasia in Germany, c.1900 to 1945 published in 1994. According to Burleigh, the spin was partly successful, as secret police reports reveal that people were far from unanimously condemning these eugenic policies.

This Nazi propaganda, titled "How much does the care of hereditary disease cost?" compares the annual cost of a sick person with workers salaries: One year of hospital: the annual salary of two workers; seven years of hospital: the annual salary of seven workers; 10 years in an asylum: the annual salary of 10 workers. Unknown

There is nothing new about Voxs strategy of slamming public spending on the care of unaccompanied migrant minors: it is the same propaganda technique used by the Nazi regime to justify the annihilation of those it perceived as genetically inferior.

But this is not the only similarity with Nazism. On April 23, shortly after receiving a death threat in a package with four bullets, Unidas Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, who recently quit his job as deputy prime minister to run in the Madrid election, noted that those insulting him have switched from Red [communist] shit to hunchback and rat. It was also on April 23 that Vox deputy Macarena Olona tweeted the message PONYTAILED RAT, alluding to Iglesias. Her followers on Twitter managed to turn both this and hunchback into trending topics on the social networking service. These are the same terms used by the Nazis to insult the Jews, whom they depicted at times with a rodents body, sparse beard and aquiline nose. They murdered six million.

English version by Heather Galloway.
More than 84,000 Sydney residents from 17 suburbs have been put on high alert after fragments of Covid were detected in wastewater.

Fragments of the virus were detected in sewage systems at Allambie Heights on Sydney's northern beaches from a sample taken on April 27, the second time in a week.

NSW Health is concerned the fragments could signal undetected cases circulation in the community.

The plant services Allambie Heights, Balgowlah, Curl Curl, North Curl Curl, North Manly, Freshwater, Collaroy, Collaroy Plateau, Narrabeen, Wheeler Heights, Oxford Falls, Dee Why, Cromer, Beacon Hill, Narraweena, Brookvale, Frenchs Forest.

The plant services Allambie Heights, Balgowlah, Curl Curl, North Curl Curl, North Manly, Freshwater, Collaroy, Collaroy Plateau, Narrabeen, Wheeler Heights, Oxford Falls, Dee Why, Cromer, Beacon Hill, Narraweena, Brookvale, Frenchs Forest

Residents are advised to monitor for potential symptoms and get tested if any develop

Residents are advised to monitor for potential symptoms and get tested if any develop.

'These positive sewage results may indicate the presence of people who have recently recovered from COVID-19, as they can continue to shed fragments of the virus for several weeks after recovery,' NSW Health said.

'However, NSW Health is concerned that they could signal undetected cases in the community, and asks people in these areas to be alert for any cold-like symptoms that could signal COVID19.'

Meanwhile, NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of Covid in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday night, while nine new cases in hotel quarantine were recorded.

More than half a million people in NSW have been vaccinated, with NSW Health administering 198,492 doses by 8pm on Tuesday, and the Commonwealth taking care of 393,043.

The premier on Wednesday also resisted calls from her state counterparts for a shake-up of hotel quarantine.

'We wouldn't want to tinker with our quarantine system in NSW ... I think it would be a dangerous call to try to change things at this time,' she said.

'I don't support what other states are doing in setting up new systems in the back of nowhere.'
He was too polite to ask. I could sense that a friend I hadnt spoken to in a long time was interested in what my eyes could see. So this is my story.

Everyone whose eyes stop working has a different story. Some have no light perception at all. Some can only dimly perceive light and shade. Some have tunnel vision where a little central vision remains but the peripheral is gone.

For others, its the opposite - they have some peripheral vision but no central. Yet others have very blurred vision that no glasses can correct. Some people have to put up with extreme light sensitivity even though they cant see much at all. Some people go blind instantly, some over years.

Im one of those losing sight slowly, although it doesnt always seem like that. Its an inherited condition called Late Onset Retinal Degeneration. The late onset means it only started in my early fifties. My grandmother, mother and all her brothers were affected.

I first noticed a problem with my night vision in 2010 on a foggy predawn drive over small roads in north west Donegal to Carrickfinn airport. I had trouble sorting out the edges of the road. It was a new kind of scary and I was glad to get there in one piece.

I stopped night driving altogether on moving home to the country roads of Leitrim in 2013. I was ok during daylight until I noticed blank spots around my central vision. It took me a while to understand what was happening as none of the previous generation had mentioned this and I wasnt expecting it.

I went for an eye test in 2016, failed and stopped driving there and then. It broke my heart. In an hour, I went from an independent traveller to a dependent one. It was the first of many changes.

There was a circle around my central vision in which I couldnt see. But it was deceptive in that it wasnt black or grey. My mind merged all the colours -so if I were looking at three dogs on a beach, say 100m away, I could see the middle one but not the other two. They just vanished until I scanned and found them.

Kayaking with whales



In 2017, I had the wonderful opportunity to go kayaking with whales off Vancouver Island in Canada. Thankfully I was with three people with really sharp eyes as I could hear the blows but only found them occasionally. I had no problem seeing a pod of young Orca powering straight towards me, diving under the kayak at the last moment and surfacing behind.

There was a wonder to listening to a midnight chorus of humpbacks blowing just off the little island on which we were camped. I had a lot to relearn about camping. like, never put anything down. Everything had its place and had to go back there or into a pocket, otherwise it was lost. Three years later, this is how I operate everywhere.

A low point at the end of the trip was when we got to a whale museum. I was really looking forward to it. After two weeks on the water, I couldnt read the signs or see the exhibits. It was utterly disheartening. I sat down and I cried. However, the trip was a lifetime highlight and Im so glad I got to go when I did.

I cant imagine what it must be like to lose ones sight instantly. The good thing about losing it gradually is that I can take it one step at a time. When a new problem presents itself, I have to drop the frustration and find a workaround.

Sitting on dogs and cats



Sometimes that happens quickly and easily, sometimes not. It is important that the workaround will be ok when all sight is gone, otherwise its only temporary. In the last two days, I have sat on one large dog and one small cat! We all survived. But with four dogs and two cats, I now have to check the chair every time I sit down. Its not as easy as it seems. It takes time and concentration to establish a new habit. Since I made the resolution, Ive sat on the other cat! She also survived.

Have a think about how you might pour a cup of tea without spilling or scalding, go shopping, brush your hair, walk over rough ground or recognise someone. The people who train guide dogs use a blindfold in their own training and learn a lot from it.

Losing ones sight is like the death of a very close family member. A sudden loss is like a sudden death. There is huge shock, anger grief and an instant, massive change to ones life. A slow loss of sight is like a long, lingering illness. The difficulty is that theres never a day off, no down time. The problems come in waves.

In my current wave, my remaining pinpoint vision in my left eye has been enveloped in a dark mist so I can no longer see any detail. A week ago, I could see one icon on my phone and just read my laptop if the light was right. Now thats gone. Everything on my phone is done using Voiceover, a screen reader built into Apple phones. It works brilliantly but takes a lot of learning. This piece is written on an iPhone and a Bluetooth keyboard with the screen turned off. My laptop will remain dormant until I learn a similar screen reader for Windows.

This assistive technology is liberating. I can do anything from reading a food packet to navigating using my phone. Forty years ago, my mother was limited to a talking book machine which needed a wheelbarrow to move it around. Now its all in my pocket.

The blind community



One of the fantastic things is becoming part of the blind community. And lockdown has been a massive benefit as I can now zoom weekly groups in Cork, Dublin, Sligo and Donegal, covering anything from tech support to counselling. It makes a massive difference in reducing isolation and helps problem solving. Ive met some lovely people.

The National Council for the Blind (NCBI), Fighting Blindness and Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind (IGDB) facilitate these groups and give great support to those with sight problems.

I was really excited last October when guide dog Paige arrived. Shes a lovable, bright two-year-old Labrador golden retriever cross. She can lead me safely around town, learns new routes quickly and knows where the to find the dentist and the pharmacist. She has a special love for a deli in Sligo. I can say find Cosgroves from 400m and shell take off at a gallop as she gets a piece of ham there! Even in lockdown, she has transformed my ability to get around independently. Itll be even better when public transport is back.

All the learning has been essential, challenging and frustrating, interesting and Ive a long way to go yet. Its been similarly difficult for my wife Sonja. Being the partner of someone with sight loss is all of those things and shes been brilliant. I can be a right pain when I get frustrated and it can be very difficult for her to know when to help and when to let me find my own way. Shes also got very good at describing whats happening around us. Another job is to tell me who were meeting in the street.

Not being able to see faces, expressions or body language makes it much harder to communicate, especially if Im not quite sure whom Im talking to! However, its amazing how many strangers will have a chat because Ive got Paige with me. Lots of people will say Hi Paige and they havent a clue of my name! Its great.

The amount of goodwill I come across in shops, on the street and the roads is heartwarming.

Sight loss is a major trauma but is not going to kill me unless I stray under the Donegal bus.

There is great hope for the future for both prevention and cure thanks to work being done in medical research and genetics.

There are some things you can do to help partially sighted or blind people.

Say your name on meeting.

Leave the dog alone when shes in harness. Shes working. Paige is a super friendly girl and wants to say hello to everyone but she has a job to do and needs to concentrate on that. Also, some people dont like dogs and I dont want her scaring someone by accident.

Avoid the use of words like here, there, this or that. They dont make sense to a blind person.

Try not to point or beckon.

Neither visually impaired humans or guide dogs are very good at social distancing so verbal help is very welcome.

If you see a visually impaired person looking lost, ask them if they need help. Dont assume you know whats best for them.

Someone who is losing their sight and lives alone may become very isolated and virtual prisoners in their own home, particularly during Covid. A call or a visit to check if they need anything may make the world of a difference.

Walking 100km in aid of Irish Guide Dogs



In aid of the wonderful Irish Guide Dogs, Ill be walking 100km in May alongside Sonja and Paige. Our local walk, while only being about 3km, does have a hill of 80m. Thats about 2500m over the month which should shift some of the lockdown weight! If youd like to make a donation, no matter how small, please see our fundraising page at https://guide-dog-day-2021. raisely.com/sonja-keaney

I hope this gives you a better understanding of sight loss.

Thanks for your interest.
(CNN)  When India asked the United States this month to lift a ban on exporting vaccine raw materials to help with the South Asian country's Covid crisis, Washington appeared to drag its feet, citing the need to "vaccinate the American people" first.

This tepid response disappointed and angered many in India, which is grappling with the world's worst outbreak: daily infection numbers are hitting new records, hospitals and cremation sites are overflowing and patients are dying due to shortage in medical supplies.

A backlash at home, as well as widespread international criticism, quickly led the US to reverse course, promising to provide aid to India.

Outside of India itself, the loudest and harshest critic was China: over the past week, state media has published a flurry of articles lashing out at Washington, claiming the initial response "fully exposed its selfishness" and accusing it of "obstructing global efforts" to distribute vaccines to developing countries in dire need.

Since containing its own domestic coronavirus outbreak, Beijing has positioned itself as a global leader in fighting the pandemic, often contrasting its eagerness to help other countries with the "America first" approach of the US under former President Donald Trump.

And as the crisis has rapidly spiraled out of control in India, Chinese leaders have repeatedly expressed a desire to help, pledging to "offer support and assistance to the best of our capability if the Indian side informs us of its specific needs."

New Delhi, however, has so far not taken Beijing up on this offer, symptomatic perhaps of what has become a deep and oftentimes mutual distrust between the two Asian powers.

This reticence is all the more remarkable considering India was one of the first nations to send medical supplies to the Chinese city of Wuhan after the initial coronavirus outbreak there in late 2019.

But since then, bilateral relations have deteriorated rapidly, due in large part to tensions along a shared border high in the Himalayas. In June, the two countries saw their deadliest border clash in more than 40 years, with at least 20 casualties on the Indian side (China later said four Chinese soldiers died during the brawl).

Meanwhile, New Delhi has forged closer ties with Washington, which sees India as a key partner in dealing with China's growing presence and ambition in the region, redoubling India's commitment to the Quad, an informal alliance with the US, Australia and Japan.

After castigating India for moving closer to the US, the failure of Washington to come to its ally's assistance at a time of need has been a major line in Chinese state media, with one paper describing the US as an unreliable partner that treats India like a "pawn," to be "discarded like used tissue" when no longer useful.

While some in India may well agree with this assessment, many are nevertheless disinclined after the last year to believe that Beijing has their best interests at heart either, and a perception that China is attempting to take advantage of the crisis to drive a wedge between Delhi and Washington could ultimately backfire.

Under domestic and international pressure, US President Joe Biden on Sunday pledged "America's full support to provide emergency assistance and resources in the fight against COVID-19," during a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

China, on the other hand, can't even get a call back.

Beijing said Tuesday it would establish a COVID-19 "emergency supplies reserve" for South Asian countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. India was invited to attend the online meeting, but it did not join, according to Chinese state media.

"It is hoped that our meeting today can also assist India in the fight against the pandemic," said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

This story was first published on CNN.com "China offered Covid aid to India while US dragged its feet, but Delhi isn't that keen"
The Vietnamese Ministry of Health said that COVAX Facility has committed to provide Vietnam with nearly 40 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, enough for over 19 million people categorized as priority.

As a result, Vietnam does not need to buy more AstraZeneca vaccines.

Vietnam will receive 38.9 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from COVAX, so the Ministry of Health has said there is no need to buy more vaccines.

Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong has sent a document about the vaccines to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

According to the Ministry of Health, there are 19.4 million people in nine groups of people priotized for Covid-19 vaccination, including the highest number in HCM City, about 1.56 million people, and the lowest in the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan, with just over 41,000.

Previously, the Government assigned the Ministry of Health to coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to receive 150 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine for people aged 18 and over from various sources like imports and foreign aid.

For AstraZeneca vaccine alone, Vietnam is expected to receive 30 million doses from COVAX Facility, a multilateral distribution framework to ensure equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines led by the Gavi vaccine alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and 30 million doses imported via the private firm VNVC.

After identifying 19.4 million of people priotized for vaccination, on April 14 the Ministry of Health proposed buying an additional 10 million doses of vaccine through VNVC, plus 30 million doses from COVAX, to have 40 million doses for the prioritized people.

However, the Ministry of Health has negotiated with COVAX to have more vaccines and the partner pledged to provide Vietnam with 38.9 million doses of vaccine this year, enough for 19.4 million people, covering 20% of the population as committed.

The Ministry of Health has proposed that sources from the budget not be used to buy more vaccines from VNVC.

The 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine that the Ministry of Health plans to buy through VNVC may be distributed by VNVC through socialization mechanism? or sold to provinces that can pay for the vaccine themselves for their entire local population.

In related news, Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong has signed a decision to allocate 20,000 doses of Covid 19 vaccine to nine provinces, including 5,000 doses for Lao Cai province, 2,000 doses for Tien Giang province, 2,000 doses for Ben Tre province, 1,800 doses for Vinh Long province, 1,800 doses for Tra Vinh province, 1,800 doses for Hau Giang province, 2,000 doses for Soc Trang province, 1,800 doses for Bac Lieu province, and 1,800 doses for Ca Mau province.

Previously, the Minister of Health requested provinces to complete vaccinations before May 5.

Thuy Hanh - Nguyen Lien

Vietnam to have its first Covid-19 vaccine Results of a clinical trial phase 2 of made-in-Vietnam Covid-19 vaccine Nanocovax showed that 100% of vaccinated people made antibodies to fight the virus. The vaccine was also effective on the British variant of the coronavirus.
New Delhi: As India gears up for the third phase of COVID-19 mass vaccination drive from May 1, the Serum Institute of India (SII) on Wednesday announced that it is reducing the price of Covishield vaccines for sale to states from Rs 400 per dose to Rs 300.

Making the announcement on Twitter, SII Chief Adar Poonawalla wrote: "As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives."

As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives.  Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) April 28, 2021

On April 25, the United States announced assistance to India by providing raw material for the manufacture of Indian Covishield vaccine in India, in the wake of deepening COVID-19 crisis.

The breakthrough came after Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and American National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to each other on telephone. Other than that, US will be supplying therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and PPE, oxygen generators, deploy an expert team of health advisors from CDC & USAID to help India.

Meanwhile, the registration for COVID-19 vaccine for all adults began from 4 pm today, April 28. All adults are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine jab and can register themselves on the CoWIN portal or the Aarogya Setu app.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds take part in a doorstep clap in memory of Captain Sir Tom Moore outside 10 Downing Street on Feb. 3, 2021. (Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

UK Watchdog to Probe Funding of Boris Johnsons Flat Renovation

The UKs political spending watchdog said on Wednesday it will conduct a formal investigation into the source of funding for the refurbishment of Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Downing Street flat.

The Electoral Commission said there were reasonable grounds to suspect an offence had been committed.

Johnson came under pressure to explain how the expensive refurbishment was paid for, after his former chief advisor Dominic Cummings said Johnson had planned to have donors secretly pay for the renovation.

Dominic Cummings, former chief advisor to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, leaves his home in London on March 17, 2021. (Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

In a blog post published on April 23, Cummings said he told the prime minister that he thought the plans were unethical, foolish, possibly illegal and refused to help organise these payments. As a result, he said, Johnson stopped speaking to him about this matter in 2020.

An Electoral Commission spokesperson said on Wednesday, We have been in contact with the Conservative Party since late March and have conducted an assessment of the information they have provided to us.

We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred. We will therefore continue this work as a formal investigation to establish whether this is the case.

The investigation will determine whether any transactions relating to the works at 11 Downing Street fall within the regime regulated by the Commission and whether such funding was reported as required.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: We believe all reportable donations have been transparently and correctly declared and published by the Electoral Commission. But he said the party will continue to work constructively with the Electoral Commission on this matter.

The main opposition Labour party welcomed the investigation and stressed that no stone should be left unturned during the probe.

Britains opposition Labour party Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Keir Starmer delivers a speech at their election campaign event on Brexit in Harlow, England, on Nov. 5, 2019. (Matt Dunham/AP Photo)

At the Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Electoral Commissions suspicion that offences may have occurred was incredibly serious, and asked Johnson if he believed any rules or laws might have been broken.

Johnson replied that he had paid for Downing Street refurbishment personally, adding I have met the requirements that I have been obliged to meet in full.

When it comes to the taxpayer and the costs of Number 10 Downing Street, it was the previous Labour governmentI think Tony Blairracked up a bill of 350,000 [$485,000].

And I think what the people of this country want to see is minimising taxpayer expense they want to see a government thats focused on their needs and delivering more homes for the people of this country.
The brother of the Fishmonger's Hall terrorist Usman Khan has apologised to the families of those killed by the jihadi and insisted his family was 'truly sad' about the terror attack.

The older sibling, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made a direct apology to the families of Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, who were killed by the convicted terrorist, 28, at Fishmongers' Hall in central London in November 2019.

He also said Khan had 'seemed fine as a child' at the age of around 12, but added he did not know too much about his younger brother because there was an age gap of several years.

In a short statement before giving evidence, Khan's brother said: 'First all, sincere condolences to Jack and Saskia's family. We are truly, truly sad of the events that happened.

Fishmonger's Hall terrorist Usman Khan (pictured) killed Cambridge graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, at Fishmongers' Hall in central London in November 2019

'Whoever's been affected physically or mentally, we are really sorry as a family - really, really sad. I just wanted to get that off my chest.'

The witness also told the court that Khan had 'kept everything to himself' and that his arrest in 2010 after plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange came as 'a total shock' to the family.

The jury heard that despite living in a three-bedroom house between 2005 and 2010, the brother did not pay attention to what Khan was doing with his life, assuming he was 'chilling with his friends'.

Around this time, Khan got involved in gang-related criminality but the witness said: 'I didn't know anything about that. Usman kept everything to himself.'

After an incident where Khan hit someone with a brick and received a police caution, the witness said he 'told him off' but that his brother told him it was because someone had sworn at him.

In 2008, Khan became involved with distributing extremist literature and during this time the house where he was staying was raided.

'The time he got raided, we got really worried about him. We asked ''what's going on?'' He was saying ''I've done nothing wrong'',' the witness said.

Later, Khan pleaded guilty to involvement in a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange and admitted planning to set up a terrorist training camp in Pakistan which might send fighters back to the UK.

The witness said the family only found out details of the plot on the news and said: 'It was a total shock. It was a total shock. It was unbelievable.'

Asked if he had any suspicion that his sibling had become involved in terrorism, he said: 'Not at all. If we did we would be the first ones to inform, to stop him in his tracks.'

Khan was sent to prison from December 2010 until 2018 but relatives only spoke to him about 'random things' during visits, and not his offending, the court heard.

The witness said: 'He was 19 and we thought he was so young, he was in prison as well, he was so young.

Cambridge graduates Jack Merritt (left), 25, and Saskia Jones (right), 23, were stabbed by the terrorist during a Learning Together rehabilitation project event

Khan was pursued onto nearby London Bridge by three bystanders who were armed with a fire extinguisher and a narwhal tusk in an attempt to disarm him

'We didn't want to - in case in prison he loses the plot - we didn't want to stress him.'

The jury heard that Khan threatened to stop his family visiting if they pushed him to discuss the case.

Khan's brother said his attitude 'seemed very positive' upon his release from prison.

The witness said: 'He was thinking about getting a job. He was very optimistic about the future, wanted to get married, have a family of his own.

'We thought: ''Wow, he has (made) progress''.'

After his release from prison in 2018, the witness said Khan would regularly visit the family home but would routinely dismiss any queries from them about his past.

The brother said: 'He used to brush it off (and say) 'don't think about the past.''

'We didn't ask him about his current attitude on religion, but he didn't seem religious.

'From what it (his religion) was eight years back ... he was a completely different person.'

Jonathan Hough QC, counsel to the inquests, asked: 'In the course of the Sunday visits, the family never got a straight answer out of Usman and what got him into prison?'

The witness replied: 'No. He said: ''I was young, I was silly, I got into stupid things''.'

A Metropolitan Police photograph of an improvised explosive device which was shown during the inquest

The terrorist's brother went on to say that when he saw Khan the Sunday before the Fishmongers' Hall attack he was 'absolutely normal'.

On the day of the attack, the witness said he heard about the atrocity by reading Sky News at 6pm but did not immediately pay it much attention as he 'completely forgot' his brother was in London.

He then received a call from his mother, who was concerned Khan was 'not picking his phone up'.

He told the inquests: 'Then it hit me. I thought - ''whoa, no way''. This wasn't in our wildest dreams. I thought he had been escorted by officers, he will be fine.

'I said to my mum: ''Don't worry, he couldn't have gone on his own''.'

The witness said the concerns he and his mother had at that time were that Khan had been injured in the attack - not the belief that he was potentially responsible.

He said he went to his mother's house to comfort her, during which time the police arrived.

The witness said: 'Police said the person who was shot and killed was Usman Khan.'

During the inquest, Nick Armstrong, for the family of Jack Merritt, told the witness that despite his claims that his brother kept everything to himself, he was 'literally standing in the street waving a flag'.

The witness was shown pictures from local Stoke paper The Sentinel of Khan holding extremist leaflets and waving a jihadi flag in the street, as well as with extremist Anjem Choudary.

Mr Armstrong said: 'He (Khan) was a nasty, violent, self-regarding piece of work.

'All the signs were there, and you looked away, didn't you? You saw none of that.'

The inquests have previously heard how Khan was involved in a string of violent incidents and 'extremist bullying' during his eight years in seven prisons for planning a terrorist training camp, before being released on Christmas Eve 2018.

Jurors were also told Khan had been an 'influential' inmate who associated with other high-profile terrorists including Fusilier Lee Rigby's killer.

He had engaged with prisoner education programme Learning Together while in jail, and he travelled to London from his home to attend a five-year celebration event at their request on November 29 2019.

In the week prior to the terrorist attack, Khan had bought several items such as knives, a large coat and gaffer tape, and had cut his hair and trimmed his beard in 'preparation for martyrdom', police said.

On the day of the attack, Khan hid in a toilet cubicle, shaved his bodily hair, and armed himself with the knives, the inquest heard.

He fatally stabbed Cambridge graduates Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones- both part of the Learning Together scheme to help prisoners access education - and injured three others, before telling those who tried to challenge him that he was 'waiting for the police'.

Khan was pursued on to nearby London Bridge by three bystanders, armed with a fire extinguisher and a narwhal tusk in an attempt to disarm him, where he was shot by police.

The inquests continue.
Commissioner Austin Cullen listens to introductions before opening statements at the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia, in Vancouver on Feb. 24, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

Current, Former B.C. Cabinet Ministers Questioned During Money Laundering Investigation

Following the testimony of former British Columbia premier Christy Clark, the inquiry into money laundering in the province has moved forward with testimony from current and former high-profile provincial officials.

The Cullen Commission recently questioned former attorney general Shirley Bond, former finance minister Mike de Jong, former assistant deputy minister of policing Kevin Begg, and former deputy minister responsible for gaming Lori Wanamaker. The commission also heard from current Attorney General David Eby, who helped set up the commission, and MLA Rich Coleman, who was the former minister in charge of gaming.

Begg was questioned on his management of provincial policing, particularly the steps that were taken to prevent the criminal abuse of ports of entry, while the remaining witnesses were questioned on their knowledge of suspicious financial transactions happening during their tenure.

In her testimony on April 22, Bond, B.C.s former AG, said that in her portfolio she was focused on public safety as mandated by the premier. She added that she had no experience in the gaming industry, but the issue of money laundering had the attention of her Liberal government.

Bond said that gambling addiction, civil forfeiture, and gang violence were major concerns when the gaming file was part of her duties in 2011. She added that she implemented recommendations from a government report on anti-money laundering strategies as minister.

In response to Commission counsel Patrick McGowans question on whether she made a request to the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB) or the British Columbia Lottery Commission (BCLC) following media reports of suspicious cash transfers in B.C. casinos, Bond replied that she did not. She said a previous provincial-commissioned review showed that there were adequate anti-money laundering measures already in place.

The review, conducted by Rob Kroeker of the provinces Civil Forfeiture Office in 2011, concluded that the province had appropriate measures to deal with criminal activity at B.C.s casinos, especially money laundering, but recommended a task force be created to find out more about the issue.

Bond also expressed that she was not involved in the day-to-day operations of casinos and relied on expertise in the ministry. The gaming file was transferred from Bonds portfolio to the finance minister in 2012.

Former finance minister de Jong said in his testimony on April 23 that he has no background in the gaming sector. He also said he was advised by an assistant deputy minister not to get too involved in day-to-day gaming operations.

We have this unique political system where generally the minister is the least qualified person in the room amongst a group of experts, de Jong said, adding that therefore the minister in charge is not always the best person to be probing or challenging if there are cases where agencies have differences of opinion about how to proceed.

De Jong also expressed his frustration at the view that his government was disinterested in the subject of anti-money laundering due to fiscal considerations.

I was pretty hard-assed about expenses, de Jong said regarding the BCLC.

De Jong denied that his government was lax on money laundering in order to facilitate revenue, saying that he never questioned the BCLC on revenue but only asked about its expenses. He said he did not want to muck it up and was not anxious to have more information than was necessary.

I purposefully of course did not watch the testimony of former premier Clark, said de Jong. But when I get around to reading the transcript, Im hoping you asked her what possessed her to assign the gaming file to the finance minister. Because Ive never asked her and Im very curious to know.

Coleman, who was the cabinet minister in charge of gaming, told the commission on April 28 that when he first assumed responsibility for the file in 2001, money laundering was not considered a major issue.

Coleman distanced himself from licensing granted to River Rock Casino, which witnesses have testified about at the inquiry while discussing alleged money laundering operations. Cullen noted that approval and licensing would have been done at arms length from me.

In his testimony on April 21, Begg, former assistant minister of policing, said he thought there was considerable lack of federal funding for effective anti-money laundering operations in the province.

We did negotiate an agreement with the federal government which provided some financial assistance to OCA [Organized Crime Agency] for some capacity at the port, said Begg. But it was far less than what originally had been there.

Begg said he did not believe the gap was properly filled when the federal government disbanded the OCA over his objections.

Wanamaker, former deputy minister responsible for gaming, was questioned at the commission on whether Doug Scott, former general manager of the GPEB, had told her that there were hundreds of thousands of dollars in suspicious cash transactions occurring in the provinces casinos, or whether Scott had raised his belief that this cash may have been the proceeds of crime. Wanamaker replied that she could not recall.

This contradicts Scotts testimony to the commission in February, when he said Wanamaker was indeed aware of his belief that the proceeds of crime were entering casinos.

The GPEB regulates all gambling in B.C. and is responsible for ensuring the integrity of gambling industry companies, people, and equipment. It is also tasked with investigating allegations of wrongdoing.

Current Attorney General Eby told the commission on April 26 that there were significant information gaps about suspicious cash at casinos during different briefings he had with the GPEB and BCLC. He said his conclusion was that the casino issue was significant and that the gaps between the GPEB and BCLC needs to be addressed.

The final report of the Cullen Commission is scheduled to be released in December this year. It was initiated in May 2019 in response to multiple reports on money laundering in B.C. that outlined how hundreds of million of dollars in illegal cash transactions affected the provinces real estate, luxury vehicle, and gaming sectors.

With files from The Canadian Press
PALERMO - The Teatro Greco in Siracusa, Sicily, will reopen with classics including "Baccanti" by Euripides, directed by Carlus Padrissa, "Coefore" and "Eumeni" by Aeschylus, directed by Davide Livermore, and "The clouds" by Aristophanes, directed by Antonio Calenda. The Foundation Inda has scheduled for the 2021 season three new productions that aim to renew classical tragedies through the eyes of great contemporary artists with part of the program that was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID.

Season number 56 is scheduled from July 3 until August 22 and provides for two replicas and a new play by Catalan Carlus Padrissa, among the founders of Fura dels Baus, a company celebrated worldwide for its ability to rewrite the language of contemporary theater.

After the success of "Helen" by Euripides in 2019, Davide Livermore returns to Siracusa with the second and third act of the "Oresteia" by Aeschylus, "Coefore" and "Eumedidi", a coproduction with the Teatro Nazionale in Genoa decided to remember the centennial of the resumption, under the same title, of classical representations at the Teatro Greco after World War One and the Spanish flu.

An interactive exhibit of historic photos will be dedicated to this event. It will be on display at Inda from the summer of 2021 until the winter of 2022.

Finally, Antonio Calenda will return directing "The clouds".

"Iphigenia in Tauris" by Euripides directed by Jacopo Gassmann is scheduled in 2022.

Starting on April 29, it will be possible to convert tickets bought in 2020 to see performances scheduled this year.


Chris Thorold is counting down the days until his wife comes home this summer.

The fact that the medical team responsible for her care have even pencilled in a possible date of the end of May feels nothing short of miraculous.

Back in January she was so catastrophically injured in a road accident, it made headlines. She fractured her skull and broke virtually every bone on the right side of her body including her cheek bone, several vertebrae, her pelvis, hip, arm and leg. She was in a coma for ten days and drifted in and out of consciousness for the next 40. Few thought Rachael, 36, would ever wake up, let alone ever leave hospital

No wonder Chris, 35, cant wait. But there will be no bunting, no party, no champagne corks popping when Rachael comes home.

Just hours before the accident on January 22, Rachael was photographed by a friend. In her arms, grinning gummily, is her five-month-old son, Louis.

Louis died instantly in the accident which left Rachael fighting for her life. She was pushing him in his pram along a footpath beside the A10 in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire when a car, driven by an elderly woman, was in a collision with a van. Careering off the road, the van crashed into Louiss pushchair, throwing the sleeping baby from his pram.

Chris Thorold is waiting for his wife Rachael, 36, to come home after she was so catastrophically injured in a road accident in January that few thought she would ever wake up (pictured with their son Louis)

Rachael will be walking into a home where everything is the same: the gallery of photos of a chubby-cheeked Louis, the tiny crib, the 5ft high stuffed giraffe in the nursery.

But nothing is. Its a home whose heart has been ripped out.

I dont know how Rachaels going to feel. Neither of us do, says Chris. Its a miracle shes coming home. Her determination has been phenomenal. But its not over. Shes now got to face a home without Louis.

Chris is talking exclusively to the Daily Mail for the first time since the accident because he is determined to honour Louiss very short life and express the devastation the accident has wreaked on the family.

The couple feel so passionately that Rachael joins our conversation briefly via Zoom from her hospital bed. She talks slowly but clearly and cogently, only breaking down once when she talks about her baby.

Im doing everything to get better because I want to be the mum Louis loved, she says. I owe it to him. Ive never once thought of giving up.

Adding to their suffering is the fact that the driver they believe to be responsible, who lives in the same village, has still not been charged over the crash.

From his conversations with police, Chris believes the woman driver is ill  whether with a pre-existing condition, or as a result of the accident, hes not sure.

Nevertheless, hes been told shes been seen driving around the village, making the possibility of meeting her face-to-face an ever-present, terrible prospect.

And frightening  although shes only in her 70s, it is still unclear whether she was medically fit to drive on the day of the accident.

Plus, theres been no apology. No note. No flowers.

Yet through it all, Chriss pride in his wife radiates: only in March was she stable enough to start rehabilitation at a private London hospital.

A car, driven by an elderly woman, was involved in a collision with a van, where she careered off the road, crashing into five-month-old Louiss (pictured) pushchair, throwing the sleeping baby from his pram where he died instantly

The hours of intense exercise are paying off. She is smashing every goal she is set. Something like learning to use a toothbrush again takes four weeks. It took Rachael ten minutes. At first she couldnt even remember where she lived. Now she can operate Zoom.

The couple are fired by a determination to try to make some good come from their little boys short life.

They have set up a charity in his name: the Louis Thorold Foundation. It aims to eradicate child pedestrian deaths by improving road safety and to compel drivers over the age of 70 to be retested regularly.

Its a highly contentious issue: with people living longer, the number of elderly drivers on UK roads is at an all-time high. There are thought to be more than four million. Yet under the current rules, drivers aged 70 and over have to renew their licence by post or online every three years  and inform the DVLA if they have a health condition that may affect their ability to drive.

The Thorolds, and many others, believe this is not enough.

Were not vindictive but people should understand the devastation a driver can cause. Louis was my little mate and the apple of Rachaels eye. We couldnt believe we had this precious little gift. His death has to mean something.

The couple met at Newcastle University in 2003 where Chris was reading Accounting and Finance, and Rachael, Town Planning.

While Rachael rose to her current role as planning policy manager for Elmbridge Borough Council, Surrey, Chris was jetting round the world as a chartered accountant with various blue chip companies.

Deciding the time was right to start a family, they married in August 2015. However, to the couples intense disappointment, Rachael failed to get pregnant. It was the start of a testing five-year struggle. In the end they decided to pay for IVF treatment at a private clinic in Cambridge.

They told themselves they would give it just three attempts, yet Rachael fell pregnant at the very first, in November 2019. Celebrating that Christmas, they were ecstatic.

Chris had started a new job as finance director of Marshall Aerospace And Defence Group, a privately owned defence company, in Cambridge. He was also studying for an MBA masters degree at Cambridge University, so they decided to move to the area.

In February  when Rachael was three months pregnant  they swapped their cottage in Epsom, Surrey, for what seemed the perfect family home: a new build in the sleepy little village of Waterbeach, six miles outside Cambridge.

Rachael sailed through her pregnancy, spending every moment she wasnt working excitedly preparing for the baby.

She was in her element, Chris says. Shes always been practical and super organised. She loved getting everything ready, researching prams and car seats. I teased her because she bought the silliest things, too  like a 5ft tall stuffed giraffe. She couldnt help herself.

Louis was born at The Rosie Hospital, Cambridge on August 4 last year, weighing 8lb 3oz.

We were punchdrunk on happiness, says Chris. Everyone tells you your life will change when you have a baby but until it happens you cant imagine that level of love.

I had longed to be a mum for so long, Rachael says, trying hard not to cry. It had been a massive struggle. Louis was our little miracle and a lovely baby. He was just wonderful, smiley and happy. We had him for such a short time but he was everything to us.

Their only sadness was that owing to Covid restrictions they couldnt visit family members. It meant that some of the family, including Chriss dad, never got to meet Louis.

They took endless photos and videos to send the family (6,000 in total)  something for which they are now inordinately grateful. In the very last video, filmed the night before he died, Louis is fresh from his bed-time bath, showing his new skill of rolling over. Hes wriggling and gurgling wickedly and rolling around as Chris tries to dry him.

Also due to Covid restrictions, Rachael had rarely ventured far from home. But the next day, January 22, she took the train to Cambridge to meet a friend and her baby.

She looked so happy, sporting sunglasses as she cuddled a snugly wrapped up Louis, that her friend took a photo  their last of Louis. It was such a beautiful, bright day that Rachael, a keep-fit fanatic, decided to walk home. It should have taken an hour.

Chris is talking exclusively to the Daily Mail for the first time since the accident because he is determined to honour Louiss very short life and express the devastation the accident has wreaked on the family

It was 3.50pm and Rachael was just ten minutes from home, walking along the pavement beside the A10 when the accident happened at what the couple have since learned is a notorious blackspot.

Two air ambulances were at the scene within eight minutes and Louis and Rachael were airlifted to Addenbrookes Hospital (the two drivers had minor injuries.)

Mercifully, Rachael remembers nothing of the accident. The first Chris knew of it was when a policeman knocked at his door 30 minutes later. I assumed he was a delivery driver, Chris says. Then he showed me Rachaels drivers licence and explained there had been an accident. He couldnt tell me any details.

It was only when Chris arrived at Addenbrookes that staff broke the terrible news. Knowing he could do nothing for his wife  who was undergoing a range of brain scans  Chris went to say his last goodbyes to Louis.

I spent two hours holding him, recalls Chris. He had a little smile on his face. There were a few tiny cuts and bruises but otherwise he looked so perfect. I had to ask the nurses to call me away. It was the only way I could leave him.

Rachael was in a coma. The doctors were frank. Her brain injury was so severe that her chances of making it were less than 50:50. I was prepared for Rachael to die. I told myself at least she would be with Louis.

I realised I had two choices  I could end it all. Or I could be there for Rachael. As long as she was still alive, she needed me. If it was hard for me, it was 100,000 times harder for her.

That night Chris also made a vow to himself. He would ensure something good came out of the tragedy. Incredibly, within a week he had established a foundation in Louiss name. The horror of the accident and the goodwill this hugely likeable man generates meant that, within hours of posting on his LinkedIn page, he had received 500,000 views. Meanwhile, in one week friends and neighbours raised 20,000, which will be used to support charities that helped Rachael and Louis  East Anglian Air Ambulance and Magpas Air Ambulance  and road safety charity Brake.

The foundation has been keeping me sane and focused, he says. At first I was living hour by hour. Doctors were blunt. They didnt expect Rachael to last 72 hours. Even if she survived, she might never wake from her coma.

Rachaels life hung in the balance for three weeks. Chris visited every day, carrying with him Louiss favourite toy, a small stuffed elephant. It smelt of Louis.

I felt I was bringing Rachael a little bit of Louis, says Chris, whos being supported by his father and stepmother, who rushed from their home in France in the wake of Louiss death.

Rachael was still drifting in and out of consciousness when Chris held Louiss funeral. Its hard to imagine how lonely he must have felt. Every day is tough but the funeral was the hardest, he says. I had no idea what Rachael would want.

Mourners lined the street as the cortege passed through Waterbeach on its way to the service in Cambridge. Chris put Louiss little grey elephant in the coffin with him. Louis loved that toy. I told him: I need to borrow it for a bit, mate. But it was his toy. He needed it more than me.

But he has no answer for what to do with his babys ashes. They would look so sad on the mantelpiece, he says. So theyre in his bed, wrapped in the sleeping bag he wore at night.

Rachael thinks its macabre but for now its comforting to feel he is snug and warm.

Rachael drifted in and out of consciousness for nearly eight weeks. All the while the dread of telling her about Louis hung over Chris.

I remembered being pregnant, she says. And because there was no baby I realised I must have lost him. I knew in my heart he had passed away.

Very gently Chris filled in the details. I said: Now you know how the story ends you can fill in all the happy bits beforehand. It cant get any worse, he recalls.

Adds Rachael: Im determined to come home before summer although I know it will be hard. The whole house is fully absorbed in Louis.

Chris is on leave from his job and spending every hour away from Rachaels hospital bed working on the charity.

This is going to be our lifes work, he says. There are 1,800 road deaths a year. Around 500 of them are pedestrians. And 18 of those are children.

We need to make the world a safer place for our children and that can start with improving our roads. We cant bring Louis back but we can make his life count.

n For information go to louis thorold.com. For support, call the Samaritans on 116 123.
The double-board certified patient with an international following is based in Beverly Hills, California. Places like the Gangnam District in Seoul or Sao Paulo, Brazil play host to many truly outstanding plastic surgeons but, for foreign individuals, in particular, distinguishing between the very best and those who may be trying to capitalize on the sterling reputations of others can be difficult.

An April 15 article on CNN World reports on tragedies related to so-called ghost doctors in South Koreas bustling plastic surgery scene. The term refers to unscrupulous plastic surgeons allowing someone else to step in and perform the surgery after the patient has been anesthetized -- and that person won't necessarily be a plastic surgeon. While the practice is illegal, tragic deaths have been associated with it and South Korean activists fault lax regulation as they fight for stricter oversight and enforcement. Payam Jarrah-Nejad, M.D., F.I.C.S., F.A.C.S., better known as Dr. J, says that the issue is a reminder that great caution is called for in selecting a plastic surgeon. It also highlights why the U.S. board certification process is an outstanding tool for selective patients.

Whether someone is interested in a facelift, breast augmentation, or any other procedure, patients must steer clear of cut-rate surgeries wherever they are offered, says Dr. J. He adds, however, that even locales where prices are comparable or perhaps even higher than the U.S. require scrutiny. The doctor says places like the Gangnam District in Seoul or Sao Paulo, Brazil play host to many truly outstanding plastic surgeons but, for foreign individuals, in particular, distinguishing between the very best and those who may be trying to capitalize on the sterling reputations of others can be difficult. Language is one frequent issue but there are also myriad legal, medical, and cultural distinctions that can make it difficult for people attempting to get the best treatment possible to know which doctors should be considered.

For people looking for a qualified plastic surgeon in the United States, Dr. J says that its relatively easy thanks to the board certification process for plastic surgeons. He adds that patients seeking a plastic surgeon in the United States should only consider board-certified plastic surgeons, which means they have passed muster with the rigorous standards of the countrys leading organization for plastic surgeons. He adds that, in his opinion, patients should not only rule out plastic surgeons who are not board-certified but should also be careful regarding surgeons who may be board-certified only in other specialties. They may be outstanding in their specific field but, says Dr. J,, patients need to be certain they are getting treatment from an expert in plastic surgery and not something else.

Dr. J notes that he is double board-certified, which means that he has been certified as a plastic surgeon by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and also as a general surgeon by the American Board of Surgery. While most plastic surgeons stay with the one board certification, Dr. J notes that he has decided to maintain his general surgery board certification to ensure that all of his skills are fully up to speed across the board and he is fully able to provide patients with the best possible work at all times.

Readers who are interested in learning Dr. J can call (310) 228-3151 to learn more. His qualifications as a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon can be seen on his website.


Are rafters-counting a bad thing to engage in because of the lack of dinners for people who deliberately demarket their good government? After all, we cannot be working in Daily Times and be collecting money from Guardian or Vanguard! Na wia we work we go chop.

I woke up to the news about the government response to citing the Twitter African hub in Ghana the other day. In order not to misbehave in my response, I went back to bed.

As I gazed at the blank ceiling, my mind went to the teenage years when due to disobedience or shakara or both, we missed dinner only to have a long night counting rafters or the squares of the ceiling board. The rafters counting was more profound than that of ceiling boards.

But quite unfortunate, in this instance, there were no rafters to count, only the pain and agony of a statement that was not only insensitive but a complete abdication of responsibility.

So, it took a whole president of Ghana, out of his busy schedule to negotiate the deal with Jack Dorsey of Twitter, what a super permanent secretary would have delegated to an assistant director or a loyal personal assistant (PA), and just sign the dotted lines. Our African neighbour is demeaning what governance should be.

We were told that we Nigerians are bad people by our government! So, the good government produced bad Nigerians? Or is it that good Nigerians produce bad government? I am even confused now. Okay, just take anyone and run with it.

If only Lagos boycotts the products of Michelin and Dunlop for just one month, we may get our mojo back. After that, we can deal squarely with Twitter. However, in the spirit of owambe, Lagos is never primed for such luxury. It is the same reason that strikes of any kind can only be effective for two days in Lagos.

In terms of market size and economic strength, Ghana compares fairly well with Lagos State. This is no disrespect to Ghana, and far from an exaggeration.

Michelin and Dunlop relocated to Ghana from Nigeria years back but they still sell their products to the Nigerian market, which may be responsible for up to 60 per cent, if not more, of their product sales. In the same manner, a mere eight million Twitter users overshadowed the over 21 million users in Nigeria for the location of the African hub of the social media company, Twitter. Out of these 21 million users, no less than 12 million will be from Lagos. Defying the basic economics of nearness to their markets, Michelin, Dunlop, and now Twitter disregarded Nigeria because we have a bad government in place, which allows Ghana to take away our lunch. Now we are not even sure of dinner either. We might as well brace for a long night of rafters counting if we continue this way.

But Lagos can bail us out. Will it?

If only Lagos boycotts the products of Michelin and Dunlop for just one month, we may get our mojo back. After that, we can deal squarely with Twitter. However, in the spirit of owambe, Lagos is never primed for such luxury. It is the same reason that strikes of any kind can only be effective for two days in Lagos. The exception being the #EndSARS protest of last year.

Here is the reason why.

As we know, the Lagos weekend begins on Thursday, and anything that will jeopardise the preparation for the weekend jollof rice is vehemently resisted. Jollof rice holds the key to social cohesion in Lagos. Apart from that, two days without the danfos working will subject the drivers, conductors, and his Excellency Oluomo to rafters counting. They will not allow that to happen. By noon on Wednesday, Lagos markets are already in full swing for ingredients purchase for Thursday. This was the reason why the #EndSARS organisers, who understand Lagos very well, generously took jollof rice to the venues of protest, and hence it lasted more than three days to the consternation of our self-proclaimed government.

With no hope of Lagos leading the boycott, nothing will happen; the bad people of Nigeria will continue to produce good governments who in turn will create the enabling environment for continuous rafters-counting at night.

If our government thinks that things will always be in our favour, no matter what, because of our size and appetite for consumption, perhaps they may take a look at not only Michelin, Dunlop, and Twitter, but so many other opportunities we have been losing and may continue to lose to Ghana.

Furthermore, perhaps because Uncle Lielai is a proper Lagosian who learnt about shifting cultivation in earlier Agricultural Science classes, but did not practice farming, he may be justified. We should remember that in Lagos, parming is not our fride (in the voice of ex-Governor Yerima of Zamfara State). Uncle Lielai thought it might also mean shifting responsibility, and therefore he successfully shifted the responsibility of Michelin, then Dunlop relocating to Ghana, and now Twitter, to the bad people who are demarketing their good government.

Yet, the more this trend continues, the less the opportunity for survival for our teeming populace and the more our good government is strengthened to continue in the oppression of the people by faulty negotiation capabilities. This is also in terms of deluding itself in the self-importance of size and market fundamentals, which actually appear shaky or nonexistent, that Nigeria is a beautiful bride of Africa that must always attract the first choice of courting. The reality is, unfortunately, quite the opposite. Even postulators of Economics always add the caveat, all things being equal. Can anything be equal if bad people are the ones who produced a good government?

Maybe, we should reason together.

If our government thinks that things will always be in our favour, no matter what, because of our size and appetite for consumption, perhaps they may take a look at not only Michelin, Dunlop, and Twitter, but so many other opportunities we have been losing and may continue to lose to Ghana.

But can a good government do wrong to her people?

Are rafters-counting a bad thing to engage in because of the lack of dinners for people who deliberately demarket their good government? After all, we cannot be working in Daily Times and be collecting money from Guardian or Vanguard! Na wia we work we go chop.

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Oluwadele Bolutife is a Chartered Accountant and Public Policy Scholar based in Canada. He is the author of Thoughts of A Village Boy. Email: bolutife.oluwadele@gmail.com
Yavatmal : , April 28 (IANS) Activists and conservationists are agitated at the shocking news of a pregnant tigress with four foetuses in the womb being found brutally killed in the forests near Pandharkawada in Maharashtra's Yavatmal The incident, which happened last Sunday, came to light a day later when the mutilated carcass was found in a pool of blood with the poachers having chopped off its front paws to extract the claws.

The wildlife community and officials have reacted strongly to the incident which occurred within the Mukutban ranges of the thick forests, known to be frequented by tigers in the Vidarbha region.

Member of State Board for Wildlife and Satpuda Foundation founder Kishore Rithe exposed the matter in public and demanded stringent action against the culprit-poachers responsible for the "murder".

He termed it as one of the most horrible instances of a tigress' death which has never been heard or witnessed in recent years.

A team of veterinarians comprising Dr. Chetan Patond from Pench Tiger Project, Dr Arun Jadhav from Wani, Dr S.S. Chavan of Zari, Dr D.G. Jadhav of Mukutban and Dr V.C. Jagde performed the autopsy on the tigress and the report is awaited.

As per preliminary investigations by forest officials, the tigress in advanced stage of pregnancy was using an underground den with a small opening for rest and safety.

Apparently, the stalking poachers may have espied her entering the den and they blocked its small opening with sticks and stones before setting it afire to suffocate and immobilise the tigress.

"To ensure her death, they had pierced her body with sharp bamboo sticks or metal rods as she struggled inside the den, causing severe injuries. Later, they dragged out her body and chopped off her paws," said Rithe.

The forest officials have recovered bamboo sticks, clutch wires and other evidence and also it came to light that she was just a month due before delivery.

"The only similar incident I recall in over 30 years in wildlife was when a tigress was electrocuted in 2004 in Melghat which led to the abortion of her three cubs due to the massive electric shocks. The latest incident is even more barbaric," Rithe said.

Conservationist Varad Giri said that the country is losing its pride of an animal by such heart-wrenching incidents and demanded strict action against the poachers.

Soon after the incident, top officials including Pandharkawada Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife) Subhash Puranik, Mukutban Range Forest Officer Vijay Ware, Honorary Wildlife Warden Dr Ramzan Virani, representative of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) in Nagpur, Prakash Mahajan, visited the spot.
Woke students have forced Liverpool University to rebrand an accommodation block named after William Gladstone because of his family's links to slavery.

Gladstone Halls will be renamed after racial inequality campaigner Dorothy Kuya, who was the city's first community slavery officer.

But the move has caused fury among members of the faculty, with politics professor Dr David Jeffrey slamming the decision as 'shameful'.

He added: 'Liverpool University is shamefully going ahead with renaming Gladstone Hall. Named after one of our greatest Prime Ministers and one of Liverpool's most consequential political exports.

'He worked for the abolition of slavery and never owned slaves himself.'

Gladstone Halls will be renamed after racial inequality campaigner Dorothy Kuya (pictured), who was the city's first community slavery officer

Gladstone (pictured) - the British prime minister between 1868 and 1894 - never owned slaves himself, but his family had links to the trade

Gladstone - the British prime minister between 1868 and 1894 - never owned slaves himself, but his family had links to the trade.

The move to change the name of the halls was first touted in 2017, when students signed an online petition.

Who was Liverpudlian race campaigner Dorothy Kuya? Dorothy Kuya was 'Liverpool's greatest fighter against racism,' according to the director of National Museums Liverpool. Born in the Granby area of Toxteth in 1932, her father was from Nigeria and her mother from Liverpool. She went on to dedicate her life to racial injustice, becoming a British communist activist, and co-founding Teachers Against Racism. She was also the general secretary of the National Assembly of Women. She was the first Community Relations Officer on Merseyside in the 1960s and later moved to London to be the Head Race Equality Adviser for Haringey Council. When she returned to Liverpool she helped set up the International Slavery Museum. She died in 2013. Advertisement

Alisha Raithatha, from Birmingham, spent her first year at Liverpool University living in the Roscoe and Gladstone Halls.

She did not realise Gladstone's links to slavery until making a trip to the city's slavery museum.

I didnt realise  I dont think anybody did, she told the Liverpool Echo. I looked it up and realised William Gladstone wasnt in favour of abolishing slavery. I was a bit disgusted to live in the building without realising that history.

So she began a petition on the Liverpool Guild of Students website, explaining she was horrified by the news about Gladstones past.

We believe, the petition said, that someone with this controversial background should not have a university hall named after them, especially in a city where we try hard not to forget the atrocities that took place on our docks.

In a follow up tweet after the final decision was made in March, Dr David added: 'We're post-truth. It doesn't matter what the facts are, if you can kick up a storm on social media you can bully your way to getting what you want.

'Liverpool's going to be a historically barren place if you erase everyone who was even close to someone who owned slaves.'

Gladstone, a Liberal politician, once campaigned for compensation for slave owners after the abolition of the horrific practice but also dubbed slavery the 'foulest crime.'

The university halls will be now named after Liverpudlian race campaigner Ms Kuya.

A Liverpool Guild spokesperson said: 'Students have been at the heart of this campaign and I wanted to personally thank all previous students and Student Officers for working so hard on this.

'And finally a huge thank you to everyone who had their say and voted in the referendum.

'I am so proud to have finished what they had started and taking the necessary steps to create a more inclusive and diverse campus.'

The university halls (pictured) will be now named after Liverpudlian race campaigner Ms Kuya

The decision was revealed after 4465 votes were cast in a referendum

Politics professor at Liverpool University, Dr David Jeffery slammed the decision

It comes as it was revealed Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are to be relabelled in the British Library to explain how it once came to be owned by a slave-trading family. Left, a portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer (c 1342 to 1400), who wrote The Canterbury Tales (right)

Dorothy Kuya was born in 1932 in Toxteth, Liverpool, before becoming a lifelong commuist activist, co-founder of Teachers Against Racism, and the general secretary of the National Assembly of Women.

Ms Kuya also served as the Head of Race Equality for Haringey Council and helped to establish the Liverpool International Slavery Museum in 2007.

It comes as it was revealed Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are to be relabelled in the British Library to explain how it once came to be owned by a slave-trading family.

The relabelling of the collection is part of the institution's 'anti-racism action plan' which was put in place after the Black Lives Matter protests last year, internal documents seen by The Sunday Telegraph reveal.

It will see an overhaul of all 210 items in the library's public-facing Treasures Collection which includes invaluable literary artefacts such as Shakespeare's First Folio, some of which have links to the slave trade in their history.
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SEATTLE (AP)  After four straight quarters of sales declines, Starbucks returned to growth in the January-March period.

The Seattle-based coffee giant said Tuesday its sales rose 11% to $6.7 billion in the quarter. That was just shy of Wall Street's forecast revenue of $6.78 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.





. . .
Apr. 28VINEMONT  The Vinemont High School library was turned into a courtroom Tuesday morning as the school's senior Honors English students conducted a mock trial based on John Milton's poem, "Paradise Lost."

Milton's poem includes the story of Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden after eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge, and the students' trial centered around Eve's guilt or innocence after she was tempted by the serpent into eating the fruit and sharing it with Adam.

English teacher Jason Teichmiller presided over the trial as its judge, and deliberating the verdict was a jury made up of Cullman County Schools Superintendent Shane Barnette, Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry, Cullman graduate and former University of Alabama basketball player Lawson Schaffer, Cullman County School Board member Mike Graves, Vinemont teacher Tammy Guthery and Congressman Robert Aderholt's Press Secretary Carson Clark.

After the defense and prosecution made their cases to the jury, including cross examinations of Adam, Eve, the serpent and Satan, who all testified about their roles in the crime and the temptations that Eve faced when she was encouraged to eat the fruit.

After closing arguments, the jury's members found that the prosecution's case against Eve was too strong to deny and found Eve guilty, but they recommended that her sentence be limited to the punishment she had already received from God.

Teichmiller said the fundamental question behind the trial, whether or not Eve was guilty in eating the fruit of the tree, led to an easy verdict for the jury, but he commended the students in both the prosecution and defense teams for their work on both sides of the argument.

"Both cases were argued really well," he said.

Before the trial got underway, Teichmiller spoke to the Times about his reasons for organizing the mock trial for the students.

He said Vinemont High School had never had a similar event in the past, but he has worked this year to bring in some new experiences for this year's senior class after they missed out on some of the usual events during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Story continues

"I've been trying to think of extra things that we could do for these kids, because they've missed a lot these past two years," he said. "There's so much they missed, and I just want to give them some stuff that they can remember."

Bringing in jury members from around the community was also an important aspect of the trial, because it shows the students that there are people who care about them and their educations, Teichmiller said.

"I don't know if they realize how much the community would do for them if people would ask," he said. "A person can give five minutes of their time that means nothing to them but means the world to other people."
President Joe Biden and federal health authorities announced Tuesday that vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks outdoors in most cases except major crowds. A move toward bringing "life in America closer to normal" by the Fourth of July, said the president.

No need for vaccinated Americans to wear masks outdoors

Biden spoke to reporters outside the White House on what he described as a "beautiful day" in Washington. "Beginning today, gathering group of friends, in a park, heading for a picnic, you should do so without a mask as long as you're vaccinated and outside."

Biden said that Americans had made "stunning strides" only two days before his 100th day in office, after U.S. COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have all decreased significantly since January. However, he cautioned that masks are still needed at outdoor concerts and sporting activities. And he urged American citizens who have not yet done so to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated, as per N.Y. Times.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released new guidelines stating that fully vaccinated Americans do not need to wear masks while walking, biking, hiking, or riding outside, either alone or with family members, and in small outdoor gatherings. According to the CDC's updated recommendations, the possibility of the virus circulating out is so remote that even unvaccinated people who hike, walk, ride, or run alone or with a household member do not need to wear masks.

People who have not been vaccinated can attend small outdoor gatherings without wearing masks as long as friends and relatives surrounding them are completely vaccinated. Immunized people can remove their masks when they hold small meetings with people who have not received their vaccinations or dine at a restaurant outside with people from other households.

U.S. Lifts Pause on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine but Warns Increased Risk of Rare Blood Clots

The CDC stopped short of advising even completely vaccinated citizens from removing their masks entirely in outdoor environments, citing the still-present danger of coronavirus transmission, unexplained vaccination levels among crowds, and still-high caseloads in certain parts of the country. However, with both the overall number of vaccines increasing and the daily number of cases decreasing, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said she now feels more "hopeful."

The dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, Ashish Jha, said Tuesday that now that more Americans have been vaccinated, the CDC will certainly provide changes to public health recommendations more often, as per POLITICO.

Jha said, "Today, every adult in America who needs a vaccine can get one. I believe this changes the CDC's degrees of freedom because it recognizes that it cannot simply issue instructions without considering how they will be implemented. As a result, I appreciate the criticism - the CDC has been slow at times. I believe they are attempting to strike a balance between science communication and how it can influence policy."

Antiseptic Throat Spray, Malaria Drug Cut COVID-19 Infection Risk, According to Researchers

Biden keeps his mask on despite CDC's new guidelines

President Joe Biden retained his face mask on Tuesday after the CDC announced that completely vaccinated Americans could now easily go outdoors without masks, claiming that he was doing so to prove a case. When he walked out onto the North Lawn of the White House to deliver remarks on the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden wore his face mask.

Against the bright, sunny day, he wore the dark mask with his trademark aviator sunglasses. He said he walked out of the White House wearing one so people could watch him remove it and not put it back on until he was back inside the building.

Before taking the oath of office on Inauguration Day in January, Biden was completely vaccinated against COVID-19. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said the president would obey the new guidelines, but it would take some time for him to adjust to the new routine.

The president talked for a little more than five minutes on the pandemic, encouraging people to get vaccinated while the country's vaccination rate has begun to decline. He emphasized that getting vaccinated is a requirement to returning to normalcy, Daily Mail reported.

Social Distancing At 6 or 60 Feet To Prevent COVID-19 Has No Difference, Study Claims

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YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei sent an appreciation letter to President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian in response to the congratulatory message sent by the President of Armenia on the occasion of Nowruz.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the President's Office, the letter runs as follows,

''Considering the long-standing ties and existing capacities between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Armenia, I hope that the relations between the two countries in the direction of securing common interests and strengthening the regional and international peace and security will further develop and strengthen'.
Weather Alert

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT SOUTHWESTERN WILKES COUNTY... At 758 PM EDT, a strong thunderstorm was located near Cedar Rock, or 9 miles southwest of Boomer, moving northeast at 10 mph. Winds in excess of 30 mph are possible with this storm. Locations impacted include... Boomer... Wilkesboro Reservoir... Moravian Falls... and Elkville. Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm, and may cause localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. If you are on or near West Kerr Scott Reservoir, get out of the water and move indoors or inside a vehicle. Remember, lightning can strike out to 10 miles from the parent thunderstorm. If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning. Move to safe shelter now! Do not be caught on the water in a thunderstorm.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has dismissed Joe Rogan's claims that there's no need for young people to get vaccinated as selfish and ill-informed.

Rogan set off a firestorm Tuesday for telling millions of listeners of his The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that there was no need for 'fit, young, healthy' people to be vaccinated.

The comments provoked an immediate backlash on social media, with many accusing Spotify of helping their $100 million star spread COVID-19 misinformation that would discourage people from getting vaccinated and get Americans killed.

Speaking on The Today Show Wednesday, Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Rogan was 'incorrect' about young people not needing to be vaccinated.

'You're talking about yourself in a vacuum then. You're worried about yourself getting infected and likelihood that you're not going to get any symptoms. But you can get infected and will get infected and put yourself at risk.

'And even if you don't have any symptoms, you are propagating the outbreak... and you may inadvertently and innocently infect someone who really could have a problem with a severe outcome.

'So if you want to worry about yourself, and not society. then that's OK. But if you say to yourself even if I get infected, I could do damage to somebody else... That's the reason why you've got to be careful and get vaccinated.'

You can get infected, and will get infected, if you put yourself at risk. -Dr. Anthony Fauci responding to podcast host Joe Rogans suggestion that young people not get the COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/6E02GI31VV  TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 28, 2021

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Dr Anthony Fauci blasted Joe Rogan's comments that young people don't need to be vaccinated on The Today Show, saying: 'So if you want to worry about yourself, and not society. then that's OK'

Rogan has earned an enormous following - and fortune - in part for being unafraid to share controversial views on topics like politics, transgender rights, and COVID-19

Spotify had thus far failed to address Rogan's comments and has not responded to several requests for comment from DailyMail.com.

The company has brushed off previous controversies involving Rogan by saying it was important to have 'diverse voices' on its platform, but has quietly deleted at least 40 old episodes as a condition of their $100m deal.

Hours after Rogan's comments, the Swedish tech giant reported year-on-year revenue growth of 16 percent to $2.6 billion - and said their success was in part due to the popularity of Rogan's podcast.

A small number of social media users said they would be canceling their $9.99 monthly subscription as a result of Rogan's comments.

The controversy kicked off when Rogan, speaking on a new episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, said he recommended 'vulnerable' people get the shot, adding his parents had received their vaccines.

'People say, Do you think it's safe to get vaccinated? I've said, yeah, I think for the most part it's safe to get vaccinated. I do. I do.

'But if you're like 21 years old, and you say to me, Should I get vaccinated? I'll go no,' he said.

'If you're a healthy person, and you're exercising all the time, and you're young, and you're eating well, like, I don't think you need to worry about this.'

The comments drew outrage on social media where people pointed out his lack of medical expertise; others said they were glad someone was speaking their mind about the issue.

@juddlegum tweeted: 'My feeling is that, no matter what your age, you should not take medical advice from Joe Rogan'

User @aweiss tweeted: 'I spend 5 days in hospital and am still on supplemental oxygen because of COVID. I may have permanent lung scarring ... They need to fire Joe Rogan immediately'

His comments go against guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say vaccinations are safe for everyone over 16, and are necessary for the country to reach herd immunity and safely open up.

On Twitter, user @JuddLegum said: 'My feeling is that, no matter what your age, you should not take medical advice from Joe Rogan.'

Another user pointed out his own experience with COVID-19 and called for Spotify to fire the podcaster. User @aweiss tweeted: 'I spend 5 days in hospital and am still on supplemental oxygen because of COVID. I may have permanent lung scarring ... They need to fire Joe Rogan immediately.'

Another podcaster, Brandon Farmahini, tweeted that Rogan's take was 'very cringy'. 'Young healthy people should get vaccinated because they can easily contract Covid, spread it & potentially serve as a vessel for the virus to mutate to be deadlier and resistant to existing vaccines. Come on @joerogan, be better,' he tweeted.

Brandon Farmahini, tweeted that Rogan's take was 'very cringy'. 'Young healthy people should get vaccinated because they can easily contract Covid, spread it & potentially serve as a vessel for the virus to mutate to be deadlier and resistant to existing vaccines. Come on @joerogan, be better,' he tweeted

User @downeast72 labeled Rogan irresponsible, tweeting: 'Healthy 20 year old just died of covid where I live today. 13 year old yesterday. Incredibly irresponsible of you to encourage young people not to be vaccinated. It protects them, their loved ones and helps control the spread of covid'

Fox News host Tucker Carlson criticized the media reaction to Rogan's comments on his show on Tuesday night.

'If you've gotten the vaccine, why is other peoples' refusal to get the vaccine a problem for you?' Carlson asked.

Rogan's supporters came out to support the besieged podcaster, with many applauding Rogan for his honesty.

'I'll cancel Spotify if they cancel Joe Rogan for telling the truth and speaking his mind,' one wrote.

The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are currently only authorized to be given to people over 18, while anyone over 16 is eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.

Clinical trials are still being carried out to assess the effects of the vaccine on children under 18. A key aspect being studied in the trials is whether the vaccine prevents transmission among young people.

Speaking on the podcast, Rogan said his daughters - Lola, 12, and Rosa 11 - had COVID and 'it was nothing'.

'I mean, I hate to say that if someone's children died from this. I'm very sorry that that happened. I'm not in any way diminishing that. But I'm saying the personal experience that my children had with COVID was nothing.'

Rogan's guest, the comedian Dave Smith responds: 'Yeah, I'm not injecting my daughter with something to f***ing virtue signal.'

The CDC says children and adolescents are less likely to get extremely ill or die from COVID-19, but it's not impossible - and they can still spread the virus to others, including older people.

Comedian Dave Smith, a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience, said 'I'm not injecting my daughter with something to f***ing virtue signal'

Rogan signed an exclusive content deal with Spotify for $100m in 2020.

On Wednesday, Spotify reported strong revenue growth in the first quarter of 2021, with revenue increasing 16 percent year-on-year to $2.6 billion.

The streaming giant attributed the growth in part to the strong performance of The Joe Rogan Experience. It reported it now has 356 million active users and 158 million paid subscribers globally.

Rogan confirmed in a recent interview the decision by Spotify to remove the shows was a condition of their $100 million agreement with him.

'There were a few episodes they didn't want on their platform, and I was like 'okay, I don't care',' Rogan told recent interview guest Fahim Anwar.

The streaming giant quietly pulled 40 episodes of Rogan's podcast, which is no longer available on other platforms like Apple Podcasts or YouTube.

The deleted episodes include interviews with the founder of the Proud Boys Gavin McInnes and right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.

Others cut by Spotify include seven episodes with Pizzagate conspiracy theorist David Seaman, and British filmmaker Louis Theroux.

Rogan's also courted controversy for hosting a now-deleted interview with Infowars host Alex Jones, who was allowed to promote COVID-19 conspiracy theories unchecked when he appeared last October.

After Jones' appearance, Spotify defended Rogan, with one executive saying in a leaked internal email: 'we are not going to ban specific individuals from being guests on other people's shows'.

Rogan cultivated an enormous following for his longform, free-flowing interview style, with episodes often lasting more than three hours.

He's smoked marijuana with Elon Musk on-air, discussed the origins of the universe with Neil deGrasse Tyson, and shared his brash views on topics like politics, psychedelic drugs, comedy and cage-fighting.

Rogan is also a stand-up comedian, former Fear Factor host and MMA commentator.

Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, 43 percent of the US population have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 29 percent are fully vaccinated.

It's estimated for the country to reach herd immunity, 70 to 85 percent of the population needs to have been vaccinated

A CBS News poll released this week found about 40 percent of Americans remain hesitant about getting the shot.

When asked if they'd get the jab, 18 percent said 'maybe' and 22 percent were an outright 'no'.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden hailed the US's 'stunning progress' on Covid but warned it was not the time to let up.

The White House has pledged every American adult will be available for a vaccine by May 1.
Niky House

In addition to the multiple shutdowns and restrictions the hospitality industry has endured this past year, Gratzi in Downtown Midland often faces apprehensions from its customers related to the pandemic. To confront these concerns, the restaurant will conduct a special, private, virtual meeting with Dr. George E. Kikano to discuss COVID-19 and answer questions from the staff.

Manager Tiffany Southworth presented the idea to have the talk, which was further endorsed by General Manager Bill Koelsch and Dining Room Manager Samantha Peters. Southworth asked Eduardo Guzman, one of the waiters, to reach out to Dr. Kikano, as Guzman personally knew him (Kikano is the dean of Central Michigan University College of Medicine and vice president for Health Affairs at CMU). The goal is to have all of Gratzis Midland employees be on the same page about the virus and to help pass along credible information to guests if inquiries arise.
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The executive secretary, Anambra State, Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Paul Odenigbo, has said there was no case of killing in Internally Displaced Camp (IDP) in the state.

Mr Odenigbo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Awka that the agency has 28 camps across the state.

Of all these 28 camps, none is open now. The camps are all used anytime we have cases of flooding.

I am surprised to hear that people were killed in IDP camp in Anambra because as at today April 27, 2021, none of the camps is open, he said.

The police spokesperson in Anambra State did not respond to calls seeking comment on the development, NAN reported.

Anambra, like other states in the South-east region, including the South-south, has been grappling with severe security challenges, including deadly attacks on security agencies in the state.

The latest incident in the state occurred on Monday where nine people were killed in Ukpomachi community, Awkuzu in Oyi Local Government Area of state by hoodlums who invaded the community.

Because of the killing, students of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University living off the Igbariam campus, have fled their lodges over fear of reprisal.

Two police officers were killed on April 19 when some unknown gunmen attacked the Zone 13 police headquarters at Ukpo, near Awka.

Part of the police station, including vehicles parked at the premises, were razed during the attack.

(NAN)
Photo: The Canadian Press

Five First Nations whose land stretches along most of Alberta's Rocky Mountains and three coal companies hoping to develop mines in the area have written the province to demand better Indigenous consultation.

"Alberta has not engaged with Siksika in any meaningful way," says one letter from Chief Ouray Crowfoot.

Evan Steinhauer, manager of the Whitefish Lake First Nation, writes that "Alberta has failed to develop an adequate Indigenous-specific consultation process."

The Kainai, Ermineskin and Aseniwuche Winewak First Nations have also sent letters.

The coal companies asking for better consultation are Cabin Ridge, Montem Resources and Benga Mining, which currently has a project before a federal-provincial regulatory panel.

"We support and encourage the government of Alberta, and Siksika and Kainai Nations to press on with the important discussions that lead the parties through to an accommodation table," says the letter from Bradley Johnston, chief development officer for Cabin Ridge.

The First Nations say they have never been consulted on any of the United Conservative government's moves  from rescinding, then restoring a policy that protected the Rockies from open-pit coal mines to the current approach to consultations.

"Ermineskin was not even advised that the decision (to rescind the policy) was to be made or that it had been made," wrote Carol Wildcat, consultation co-ordinator for the First Nation located about 80 kilometres south of Edmonton.

"Ermineskin became aware through media reports."

The bands say they are concerned about the erosion of the land base they need to practise their treaty rights: hunting, gathering natural medicines and holding religious ceremonies. They're also worried about mining's potential environmental effects on water and land.

Energy Minister Sonya Savage said in an email that more details on consultation are coming.

"We have already connected with Indigenous leaders to provide more details outlining how we will seek their input. This process will run in parallel to the engagement being led by the coal policy committee," she said

Savage said last week there would be government-to-government talks.

The letters refer to a government offer to meet with the five chiefs. First Nations are also free to make a presentation to the coal consultation panel, which has one Indigenous member.

"(The government) appears to be relying on a public consultation process that was unilaterally developed," Steinhauer wrote. "A public consultation process will not suffice."
Less than four months after fascist militias, aided and abetted by elements of the state, stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to take congressional members hostage in order to overthrow the election and install Trump as president-dictator, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced that the department would begin an internal review to address the threat of domestic violent extremism within the Department of Homeland Security.

In an extraordinary statement issued Monday, Mayorkas acknowledged that far-right elements have thoroughly infiltrated the massive 240,000-person Homeland Security bureaucracy that is charged with overseeing fascistic repressive agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) and the US Marshals Service.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in Washington, D.C., February 3, 2021 (Photo: U.S. Department of Homeland Security)

The DHS secretary wrote that identifying, addressing, and preventing domestic violent extremism, is the top priority of the department, noting that domestic violent extremism poses the most lethal and persistent terrorism-related threat to our country today. As we work to safeguard our Nation, we must be vigilant in our efforts to identify and combat domestic violent extremism within both the broader community and our own organization.

Hateful acts and violent extremism will not be tolerated within our Department, he added. As part of the order, an internal team led by the DHS chief security officer will produce a report with recommendations for Mayorkas on how best to identify and respond to threats related to domestic violent extremism, including those based on racially- or ethnically-motivated violent extremism.

That Mayorkas issued this statement, publicly, less than three days before President Joe Biden is expected to give his first speech before a joint session of Congress since becoming president, reflects the immense fear within sections of the ruling class that these far-right elements still pose a very real threat. Even as Biden is set to give his speech, some 2,400 National Guard soldiers remain deployed in Washington, D.C.

The statement from Mayorkas follows a similar stand-down order issued by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in February of this year. Austin explained that the stand-down order was given in order to discuss the problem of extremism throughout the 2.1-million-person US military.

The latest arrest figures from CBS News revealed that of the more than 410 arrests so far in the Capitol siege, at least 42 are current or former military. At least 20 arrested military members served in the US Marines, and at least one, 55-year-old Virginia man Jeffrey McKellop, was a former Green Beret in the US Army Special forces. According to the Washington Post, McKellop had been deployed as a contractor in a overseas combat zone as recently as 2018.

The 60-day military stand-down concluded earlier this April with little to show for it. Respondents to a Military Times survey described the one-day training as forced with many noting that leadership did not take the issue seriously.

One naval officer told the Military Times, the stand-down script seemed forced and leadership at times would make it a verbal point that we have to do this, obviously not authentically interested in leading the discussion or covering the required topics. They also seemed reluctant to have in-depth discussion, brushing off questions, or just moving the conversation to the next topic. It was very surface-level, without significant substance.

Another petty officer 1st class told the Military Times it was clear that the leader giving the training in her unit wouldnt punish anyone for these offenses, which lets sailors know they dont have to change their words or actions.

Even as the military stand-down was ongoing, a lightly publicized investigation from NBC News earlier in April revealed that thousands of Special Forces members in private Facebook groups, including current and former Rangers and Green Berets, were sharing memes and posting comments in support of the fascist QAnon conspiracy theory while claiming the election was stolen. NBC News reported that the comments were made in private groups that describe themselves as solely for special operations forces.

In the groups, SF Brotherhood-PAC and US Special Forces Team Room, NBC reported seeing many negative comments made against Secretary Austin after he announced the stand-down. He has risen to the very peak of his profession, riding on the color of his skin, wrote a member of SF Brotherhood-PAC on February 26, according to NBC.

NBC reported that in one QAnon post, several members of a special forces group were upset that aides to former Vice President Mike Pence were allegedly part of a Concerted effort by the thieves and pedophiles walking the hallowed halls of the peoples [sp] government to undermine Trump.

In a just world, they would have already been taken out behind the court house [sp] and shot, another member of the group wrote in agreement. In response to a post criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement, one member posted an image with a noose captioned, IF WE WANT TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE EVIL PEOPLE FEAR PUNISHMENT AGAIN.

Trump was sabotaged once again! wrote another member of the US Special Forces Team Room on January 7. Speaking to NBC, Jack Murphy, a former Army Ranger and Green Beret, said the growing problem of fascistic attitudes within the military is not limited to just a few lower-ranking, young soldiers.

Its not just the occasional private in the 3rd Infantry. There are senior officers and noncommissioned officers in the military who believe this.

The fact is, backward, reactionary and fascistic attitudes have been allowed to fester within the ranks of the US police, military and intelligence agencies for decades under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

The rise of the far right in the recent period, most notably under Trump in the US, but also internationally in countries such as in Spain, Germany and Brazil, is a deliberate decision on the part of sections of the ruling class, to blunt the decline of their global economic position through military means, which requires the promotion of fascistic forces in order to carry out the militarization of society abroad and at home.

This militarization of society is most starkly expressed in the heart of world imperialism, the United States. From the moment Trump announced he was running for president, he sought to cultivate a base of support within the American Gestapo by demonizing immigrants as rapists and murderers while promising to increase funding for ICE and CBP and to build a big, beautiful wall along the southern border with Mexico.

This process however did not begin with Trump and, despite the claims of those on the pseudo-left, has not ended with the election of Biden. The very creation of the DHS following the still unexplained terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, was a part of this still-ongoing process that will end in either imperialist war or socialist revolution.

After US soldiers were sent overseas to claim blood and treasure in the name of US imperialist interests, once they returned home they were recruited and encouraged to join police departments across the country. In 2009, Daryl Johnson, a former intelligence analyst for the Department of Homeland Security, warned about the growing threat of right-wing extremism for the Department titled, Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.

In the report, Johnson wrote: Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to right-wing extremists. DHS/I&A is concerned that right-wing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to boost their violent capabilities.

Despite the report accurately noting that veterans of the neo-colonial occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq provided a fertile base of recruitment for fascistic forces, Obamas then-DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano buckled to Republican fury over the report allegedly slandering veterans and for making a delineation between the threats posed from far-right and far-left violence. Napolitano issued an apology before retracting the report entirely.

A more recent example of the DHS being forced to omit the danger of the far right in order to serve the political agenda of more reactionary elements in the ruling class was revealed last year in the whistleblower complaint of the former head of intelligence analysis at DHS, Brian Murphy.

In his complaint, Murphy alleged that then-DHS acting secretary Chad Wolf, and his deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli, instructed him to modify domestic terrorism threat assessments in order to downplay the threat from the far right and white supremacists while inflating the threat of amorphous groups like antifa.

A similar phenomenon took place during the January 6 attack on the Capitol, as revealed in recent House Administration Committee hearings concerning the response of the Capitol Police department. Last week, chair of the committee Rep. Zoe Lofgren revealed that rank-and-file police were instructed the morning of January 6 to ignore Trump protesters and instead target anti-Trump counter-protesters, despite the fact that the Capitol Police departments own intelligence reports warned of violent Trump supporters viewing January 6 as their last attempt to overturn the election and that Congress itself would be the target, not antifa or left-wing counter-protesters.

The Democrats, in an effort to rehabilitate the Republican Party in order to carry out their shared class policy of herd immunity at home and Great Power competition with China and Russia abroad, are forced to continue to downplay and cover up the ties that the fascists have, not only to the Republican Party but to the state as a whole.
PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Sanofi (SNYNF, SNY) reported that its first-quarter net income attributable to equity holders of the company declined to 1.57 billion euros or 1.25 euros per share from 1.68 billion euros or 1.35 euros per share in the same quarter last year. But, quarterly business net income increased 5.1% year-over-year to 2.02 billion euros and increased 14.7% at CER. Business earnings per share was 1.61 euros, up 5.2% on a reported basis and up 15.0% at CER, driven by efficiency and sales performance, supported by a one-time payment. Business earnings per share included an incremental 8 cents due to a payment related to the termination of a collaboration in Japan. Quarterly sales were 8.59 billion euros, down 4.3% from last year. At constant exchange rates, sales increased 2.4%, driven by growth drivers Dupixent and vaccines. Specialty Care sales grew 15.3% at CER, due to strong Dupixent performance and oncology launches. In the first quarter, Dupixent (collaboration with Regeneron) sales were strong despite the COVID-19 environment and increased 45.6% to 1.05 billion euros at CER. The company affirmed its full-year 2021 business earnings per share guidance. Sanofi expects 2021 business earnings per share to grow high single digitat CER, barring unforeseen major adverse events. Applying average April 2021 exchange rates, the currency impact on 2021 business earnings per share is estimated to be between -4% to -5. 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.
Nicola Sturgeon came under fire over her separatist 'circus' during the latest bruising Scotitsh election TV debate.

The SNP leader made clear she has no intention of putting her referendum drive on hold for the coronavirus recovery.

In the latest clashes on Channel 4 last night, she confirmed she wants a rerun of the divisive 2014 vote within two-and-a-half years.

But she was heavily criticised by opponents for rushing to hold the vote during the recovery phase.

She was also accused of hypocrisy after attacking the Tories for sleaze when her party has been embroiled in scandals.

In the latest clashes on Channel 4 last night, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed she wants a rerun of the divisive 2014 referendum within two-and-a-half years

The SNP leader made clear she has no intention of putting her referendum drive on hold for the coronavirus recovery

When questioned about why she had failed to provide an economic analysis of independence despite planning another referendum, Miss Sturgeon said she had put all preparations on hold to allow her to focus on the coronavirus pandemic.

Host Krishnan Guru-Murthy said: 'So delay the referendum. If you have put everything on hold why haven't you said we are going to put the referendum on hold?'

Ms Sturgeon said: 'I am not planning a referendum immediately. I've said... we should have the right to choose.

'Just as we did in 2014, completely different to the Brexit referendum, we put forward a prospectus saying what independence meant, what the challenges would be. We will do that again.'

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said: 'Nicola Sturgeon has just confirmed that she will set out the plans to hold another independence referendum if the SNP get a majority [and] that another referendum could be held in the first two years.

'So when we should be focused on recovery and rebuilding, Nicola Sturgeon has just accepted that government officials' time and resources will be spent drafting up a case for another independence referendum. That is reckless, it would put jobs at risk, it would put our recovery at risk.'

Ms Sturgeon said she would 'focus on the pandemic for as long as it takes' but failed to set out how this would be judged.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: 'The idea we say to people 'it's OK, we've come through this greatest of challenges in our lifetimes' and it will be a light-switch moment and won't take time is simply not acceptable.'

He added: 'Do we really want the next parliament to be an extension of this argument, frankly of this circus?

Mr Guru-Murthy said Scotland 'turned on itself' during the 2014 campaign, but Miss Sturgeon replied: 'That wasn't my experience but I respect that that was the experience of other people.

With just a week until the election, Ms Sturgeon said she would 'focus on the pandemic for as long as it takes' but failed to set out how this would be judged

'But settling disagreements democratically, for any country, is not divisive. Politicians trying to dictate to people what the future should be, that is more divisive.' After the SNP leader said people can 'judge for themselves where my focus has been over these last 12 months', Mr Ross told her: 'Your eye has been off the ball.'

Boris Johnson's conduct was repeatedly raised, with Ms Sturgeon claiming there was a 'stench of sleaze' around him.

But Mr Guru-Murthy then asked her whether she could 'really take the moral high ground' when there had been a 'long list' of impropriety claims against the SNP.

Ms Sturgeon said that in relation to the Alex Salmond affair she had been 'investigated over allegations of breaching the ministerial code and I was cleared... I was investigated and I was subject to months of intense scrutiny'.
Armies of new Covid marshals are being hired across the country for jobs that could last for another two years despite lockdown restrictions being set to end in eight weeks' time.

Councils in England are in the process of recruiting a new legion of marshals who are expected to take to the streets from July this year despite Government plans to lift remaining coronavirus restrictions on June 21.

It comes as data revealed nearly 40 million Britons now live in practically 'Covid-free' areas following the UK's hugely successful vaccine rollout and continued lockdown measures.

Hertfordshire County Council is among those advertising for Covid marshals, with the local authority offering a contract worth an estimated 3 million to a provider that can supply 60 marshals from July 1 until January 31 next year.

A new legion of Covid Marshals are being employed by councils across England and are expected to take to the streets from July. Pictured: Marshals watch a crowd of revellers in London's Soho

The new recruits will 'provide practical support to aid and encourage compliance' and will remain in force despite Government plans to lift remaining coronavirus restrictions on June 21

It comes as data showed that nearly 40 million Britons now live in practically 'Covid-free' areas. England is split into 6,800 areas - which each have average population of approximately 8,200 - to record data on Covid. A total of 4,819 areas have had their information pulled by PHE

The contract also comes with a possible one-year extension to 2023.

In its description of the marshals' duties, the contract notice reads: 'Provide practical support to aid and encourage compliance, such as dedicated staff in public areas, business support, or support for individuals.'

It continues: 'Introduce measures to aid public and business awareness and understanding of regulations and guidance.'

Hertfordshire County Council defended its decision to recruit marshals, saying it is 'not indicative of any increases in restrictions from July 2021 onwards'.

Jim McManus, director of Public Health for Hertfordshire County Council, said: 'In line with the Government's projections for the roadmap out of lockdown, we are working towards restrictions being eased by 21 June 2021, but we know that the virus is still circulating and will be for some time.

'We know from last year that numbers of infections can change rapidly, and Government are very clear that we should plan in case a third wave arises.

'It would be a dereliction of duty not to prepare for a third wave, at the same time as doing all we can to prevent it happening by keeping infections as low as possible so we can enjoy summer with no restrictions.

'Covid Marshals are a very effective asset in the fight against Covid-19 and one of the key ways we manage local outbreaks as they continue to occur in our communities.

'Feedback from Hertfordshire schools, businesses and health partners is that they provide reassurance and encourage simple but effective infection control measures such as social distancing, hand washing, face coverings and ventilation.

'For example, in the weeks leading up to Step 2 of the Government's roadmap Covid Marshals visited nearly 4,000 businesses across the county to provide advice and guidance on reopening safely.

Also among the councils set to employ the new army of marshals are Sunderland City Council and Northumberland Council.

Meanwhile Darlington, Portsmouth, Cornwall and Carlisle councils have also extended existing contracts for marshals beyond July, The Telegraph reports.

According to the recruitment website North East Jobs, Covid Marshals will be required to advise members of the public on social distancing rules and other coronavirus measures in public areas.

They will also patrol areas of the city and manage queues and one-way systems in order to prevent mixing between groups in public spaces.

The site states that a marshal employed by Sunderland City Council will be eligible to earn 20,092 to 21,748.

The new plans come after figures showed nearly 40 million Britons now live in practically 'Covid-free' areas.

The UK's hugely successful vaccine rollout and continued lockdown measures have meant that seven in ten people now live in places where two or fewer cases were recorded during the latest week.

Hertfordshire County Council, Sunderland City Council and Northumberland Council are among those set to recruit new marshals. Pictured: Two Covid marshals look out from Bournemouth Pier

It came as yesterday's daily deaths figure halved in a week - with 17 recorded on Tuesday, compared to 33 one week prior.

England is split into 6,800 areas - which each have average population of approximately 8,200 - to record data on Covid.

Public Health England (PHE) redacts data for areas that see two, one or no cases in one week so as to protect the identities of those infected.

A total of 4,819 areas have had their information pulled by PHE, analysis by The Times revealed.

This means that 38 million people are in areas where two or fewer cases have been recorded in the most recent week of available data.

The figures will increase hopes that Boris Johnson will proceed with the next stage of his roadmap out of lockdown as planned on May 17.

The date marks the restarting of non-essential foreign travel and allows up to six-people - or two households - to gather indoors.

Dr Mike Tildesley, from the University of Warwick team that correctly predicted the UK's second wave, said 'things are very much moving in the right direction'.

The infectious disease modeller, who is also a member of the SPI-M group whose calculations feed into SAGE added: 'The roadmap for relaxation is on track but we need to ensure we monitor it at every stage as the country reopens to evaluate the impact of unlocking society upon cases, hospital admissions and deaths.

'The vaccination campaign continues to be successful, so I hope that the road map can proceed on schedule. But it is really important we monitor the data over the next few weeks.'

Yesterday the Joint Committee on Human Rights MPs demanded a review on the thousands of Covid fines that had been handed out amid the pandemic and called on ministers to ensure that no coronavirus fine should ever result in a criminal record.

It came after figures showed more than 85,000 fixed penalty notices have been issued to people who are said to have broken Covid-19 laws since March last year.
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While UK royal family had a rough month as they mourn the passing away of Prince Philip, Prince Charles is about to receive a special honour. The 72-year-old Prince of Wales is getting a brand new title which is the patron of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), a London-based group. Prince Charles appointment coincides with RPOs 75th anniversary that will take place in September and was announced by the groups managing director, James Williams. In a statement, Williams revealed that he could not be more thrilled to collaborate with Prince Charles.

Williams said on Prince Charles new role, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is honoured to welcome as its Patron The Prince of Wales, a longstanding champion of the Arts in this country. The era of COVID-19 has presented a seismic challenge for the Arts community but, as lockdown slowly eases, it is time to look forward.

At the RPO, we have been hard at work for some months, shaping a bold strategy for our concert, community engagement, inclusion and education programmes to enrich communities when it matters most; we aim to help people and businesses to rebuild after the long, dark months of lockdown. With the announcement of The Prince of Wales as our Patron and the appointment of Vasily Petrenko as our new Music Director, the RPO is well placed to lead the resurgence and spread the joy of orchestral music in a post-COVID world, he added.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is delighted to announce HRH The Prince of Wales as our new patron, ahead of the 75th Anniversary Season this autumn.



Find out more: https://t.co/a8u3QkGBol



 Black Swan pic.twitter.com/AJhTxXl0Gg  Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (@rpoonline) April 27, 2021

Queen resumes royal duties

Meanwhile, on April 27, UKs Queen Elizabeth II held her first video meetings since the funeral of her husband of over 73 years, Prince Philip as she kickstarted her royal duties. The British monarch accepted the credentials of new ambassadors from the Ivory Coast and Latvia and images of the meeting were shared on the social media accounts of the royal family. She held the virtual audiences from Windsor Castle where she spent the entire time as the world tackled the COVID-19 pandemic. She only ended a two-week period of royal mourning on April 23 while Duke of Edinburgh was laid to rest on April 17.

Today The Queen held Audiences with incoming Ambassadors via video link from Windsor Castle to Buckingham Palace.

Her Excellency Mrs Ivita Burmistre, Ambassador from the Republic of Latvia.

Her Excellency Mrs Sara Affoue Amani, Ambassador from the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire. pic.twitter.com/LIjQWwacLp  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 27, 2021

Image credits: @rpoonline/Twitter/AP
We actually want to get the data to evaluate, are we achieving our goals? Youngquist said. By having the bioblitz and doing all of this measuring and monitoring and documenting, well have that hard data to actually tell us that, yes, the restoration is working. It can tell us where we need to improve and maybe target other efforts.
HARRISBURG, Pa., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania will receive $24.1 million in national Housing Trust Fund dollars this year, representing a 148% increase compared with its 2020 funding amount of $9.7 million. This is according to an announcement by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which distributes HTF funding. Only six states received more HTF financial support for 2021. Pennsylvania has the fourth greatest percentage increase in HTF funding among the 50 states.

The total amount included in the 2021 national HTF disbursement is nearly $700 million, which is the largest annual allocation ever provided since the fund was created in 2008. The 2020 HTF total funding amount, for comparison, was $322.5 million.

This year's generous funding is extremely welcome as the pandemic has demonstrated the urgent demand for more affordable rental housing. Also, changes in the economy, including spikes in residential construction costs, have prevented many Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects from closing on the financing needed for them to proceed.

As a result of this, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has decided to allocate funding from 2021 HTF monies to financially assist some LIHTC projects that have previously received tax credits so they can move forward. PHFA is the administrator of HTF funding and federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits in Pennsylvania.

"Some of this year's significant increase in national Housing Trust Fund support will be used to assist Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects hampered because of changes in market conditions," said PHFA Executive Director and CEO Robin Wiessmann. "We're all aware of how construction costs have jumped during the past year. Recognizing this, we will provide additional financial support to our tax credit projects which, in year 2020 alone, will provide nearly 1,800 additional units of needed rental housing."

The national Housing Trust Fund was launched in 2008 as an affordable housing production program to complement existing federal, state, and local efforts to increase and preserve the supply of affordable housing for low- and extremely low-income households, including families experiencing homelessness. The housing government sponsored entities (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are required by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008 to contribute annually to the HTF.

Regulations require all HTF funding be directed to help extremely low-income households when the overall annual amount available is $1 billion or less, as is the case for 2021. All HTF-assisted units are required to have a minimum affordability period of 30 years.

A list of the affordable housing projects awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credits last summer is available on the PHFA website under the "2020" header and dated August 13.

About PHFA

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency works to provide affordable homeownership and rental housing options for older adults, low- and moderate-income families, and people with special housing needs. Through its carefully managed mortgage programs and investments in multifamily housing developments, PHFA also promotes economic development across the state. Since its creation by the legislature in 1972, it has generated more than $15.2 billion of funding for more than 182,570 single-family home mortgage loans, helped fund the construction of 138,000 rental units, distributed more than $121 million to support local housing initiatives, and saved the homes of nearly 50,400 families from foreclosure. PHFA programs and operations are funded primarily by the sale of securities and from fees paid by program users, not by public tax dollars. The agency is governed by a 14-member board.

Contact:

Scott Elliott

717-649-6522 (cell)

[email protected]

SOURCE Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency

Related Links

www.phfa.org


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the frontline positions of servicemen on Ukraine's administrative border with the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the head of state's press service has reported.

"Captain Ruslan Maryshev acquainted the head of state with the operational situation and the system of fortifications on the administrative border with the Autonomous Republic of Crimea," the report reads.

Zelensky inspected a dugout and trenches and spoke with the servicemen. He inquired about the level of security and conditions on the fighters' positions.

"The head of state also visited the base camp of the Ukrainian military near the village of Chaplynka, where he got acquainted with the living conditions of the personnel. In a modular town, Zelensky inspected the dormitory, sanitary modules and field gym," the report reads.

He also handed over night vision devices and thermal imagers to two military units.

Zelensky is on a working visit to Kherson region on April 27.
South China's Guangdong province provides online training courses for teachers in Xinjiang

14:04, April 28, 2021 By Han Liqun ( People's Daily

He Wanhua, an English teacher at a primary school in Foshan, south China's Guangdong province, gives an online training class to teachers at Payzawat county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. (Photo/Official website of the government of Payzawat county)

Payzawat county, Kashgar prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, recently sent a silk banner to a primary school in Foshan, south China's Guangdong province, to express gratitude to the school for the online training it provided for teachers in the county.

During last winter holiday, several thousand teachers in Payzawat county took online training courses provided by an alliance made of 13 schools from nine cities in Guangdong, according to Yang Xiuhui, deputy director of the teacher training center in Payzawat county.

Located in the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains and the western margin of the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang, Payzawat county was in one of Chinas contiguous poor areas.

With over 10,000 teachers and 160,000 students in 465 primary and middle schools and kindergartens, the county has huge demands for teacher training, Yang pointed out.

In response to the call of the central government, Guangdong province carried out a program that encourages teachers to give lessons in the schools of Xinjiang and southwest China's Tibet autonomous region in 2018.

Under the program, the province sent two teams of teachers to Kashgar prefecture, among whom 20 came to Payzawat county. They established 15 teacher training workshops in primary and middle schools, providing training covering courses like Chinese, math, geography, history, moral and physical education, music, calligraphy and painting, information science, and classics reading.

Guangdong has made active efforts to ensure that each school that it sent teachers to has at least one teacher training workshop, and that each teacher from the teaching teams dispatched by Guangdong to Payzawat county pairs up with at least one local teacher to provide professional guidance for the latter and participates in at least one activity designed to bring educational resources to rural schools, according to Chen Haotang, head of the teaching team sent by Guangdong to Payzawat county as well as vice principal of a high school in the county.

So far, 170 teachers from Guangdong have paired up with a total of 307 teachers from five schools in Payzawat county.

Teachers from 13 schools in nine prefecture-level cities in Guangdong, including Foshan, Shantou, Heyuan, Huizhou, Shanwei, Zhongshan, Zhanjiang, Zhaoqing, and Yunfu, have actively joined the program since it was launched.

On Dec. 28, 2020, the 13 schools formed the alliance to train teachers in Payzawat county.

In last winter holiday, the alliance rolled out online training courses via live streaming, which were expected to have 3,000 participants but attended by about 5,000 teachers from all primary and high schools in Payzawat county.

The live-streaming courses were arranged for the time period between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. for the convenience of teachers in Payzawat county. To guarantee the quality of the online courses, relevant teachers in Guangdong all stayed in their schools after school to give lessons using school facilities.

The key to helping Xinjiang with education and providing online training courses is to share teaching and education research experience, as pointed out by Luo Qiuxia, principal of a primary school in Foshan, who conducted investigations in Payzawat county and gave lessons there in 2019.

As the beneficiaries of the training were mostly young teachers who just started to work, the way of teaching is just as important as what to teach during the courses, according to Wei Lirong, a teacher in Chinese from Guangdong.

"All the members of our Chinese teaching and research group made up of teachers sent to aid schools in Xinjiang discuss together how to evaluate the teaching quality of Chinese courses," Wei added.

"We really appreciate the opportunity to learn from experienced teachers in Guangdong and have benefited a lot from their targeted and practical courses," said Bao Jinlong, a teacher from Payzawat county who took part in the training courses.

Launching one training activity and donating a batch of books and stationery are not enough for assisting Xinjiang with its education, said Chen, who considers long-lasting efforts necessary.

"By rolling out online courses and sharing education research experience, we intend to build a standing volunteer teaching team for Xinjing and equip local teachers with our teaching concepts and methods via an education assistance mechanism," Chen said.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Abu Dhabi is launching two major infrastructure public-private partnership (PPP) projects under the Partnership Projects framework issued by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), for the procurement of three new schools and Phase Two of its street lighting upgrade programme.

Potential bidders can now submit expressions of interest for the two projects, said a statement from ADIO.

These PPP projects will enhance opportunities for private sector involvement in the delivery of infrastructure projects and public services, while improving liveability, access and quality of services for Abu Dhabi residents.

ADIO Director General Dr Tariq Bin Hendi said; "Collaboration with the private sector is an integral part of the Abu Dhabi leaderships vision to drive long-term economic growth in the emirate. In 2020, ADIO laid the foundations to supercharge collaboration between business and government."

"With Abu Dhabis PPP framework firmly established, we are launching new major infrastructure projects as part of a pipeline of PPP projects that will strengthen sustainable private sector-led economic growth in the emirate," he noted.

The Zayed City Schools PPP project will provide three new schools with a capacity of 5,360 students in Abu Dhabi.

The project, structured in a collaboration framework between ADIO and the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK), will provide students access to high-quality learning environments and modern facilities, enhancing the attractiveness of Zayed City and Abu Dhabi.

The scope of work includes the design, build, finance, maintenance and transfer of three schools with a concession period of 22 years, inclusive of a construction period of 24 months and a maintenance period of 20 years.

Amer Al Hammadi, Under-Secretary of ADEK, said: "We are committed to the continuous enhancement of Abu Dhabis education infrastructure in alignment with the emirates growing residential communities. Across our sector, PPP models continue to diversify the school ecosystem and enrich students learning experience and future pathways."

"Leveraging our successful Charter School model, which currently counts 15 private sector-operated and public sector-owned schools across the emirate, the project for three new Charter Schools in Zayed City will offer convenient and high-quality education options for catchment students, aiding Abu Dhabis ongoing social development," he noted.

Phase 2 of the Street Lighting LED PPP programme will see approximately 140,000 of the emirates streetlights replaced with energy-efficient LED technology, resulting in a reduction of approximately 76 percent in power consumption - equivalent to cost savings of AED705 million - and will be structured as a 12-year concession agreement with DMT.

Abdullah Al Sahi, the under-secretary of the Department of Municipalities and Transport, said: "The success of Abu Dhabis PPP programme is based on several key components, the most important of which is the consolidation of cooperation between people and institutions in working towards the common goal of creating tangible positive effects for our societies."

"We are paving the way for ambitious projects through the implementation of the second phase of the Street Lighting LED PPP project, which comes as a continuation of the first phase to achieve high-quality street lighting," stated Al Sahi.

According to him, the Street Lighting LED PPP programme will reduce operating costs and improve the elements of smart city empowerment by replacing the existing street lighting with energy-saving LED streetlights.

"In the second phase, we are expanding the geographical scope of the project to include the Al Ain City and the Al Dhafrah Region," he stated.

"We will continue to achieve sustainable achievements through the exemplary employment of partnerships with the private sector, in conjunction with adherence to the highest international quality standards, to establish the position of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi among the most preferred cities to live in the world," he added.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)-A grease fire broke out at an apartment along northern Sagamore Parkway. Thankfully, no one was hurt during the blaze. The fire occurred in a second-floor apartment at Scholar Place. Firefighters arrived to find smoke billowing out of the window. Most of the damage was isolated to the single apartment. This allowed some people to return to their apartment once it was over. Wabash Township Fire Deputy Chief Jim Lewis says the room is still structurally sound.

He also says the fire was quickly dealt with thanks to the help they received from the West Lafayette Department.

"We had West Lafayette Fire come out to assist us in order to make sure that we have everything we need," said Chief Lewis. "We need a little help from our friends every once in a while."

Lewis says now they're taking out cellulose insulation from the apartment. This is to avoid the fire being rekindled by any lingering embers.

"We used less than three thousand gallons of water on the fire so there wasn't a lot of residual water in the apartment," said Chief Lewis.
TEMECULA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Hop-on, Inc. (OTC PINK:HPNN) announced that the Company is requesting Shareholders to submit their questions before the meeting at 1:00 PM PST today via email to Contact@hop-on.com

Currently, there are over 500 people who want to attend and participate in the questions and answers about the Company's licensing deals, DigitalAge.com portal for a decentralized IPFS Social Media "Free Speech" Platform that including Digital Rights Management for Influencers and other creators of sought-after original content.

The meeting will be held on April 28, 2021, at 1:00 PM PST via Zoom. Please submit your emails before 10:AM PST.

Due to the ongoing worldwide pandemic with restrictions on travel and gathering, the shareholder meeting is being held online.

Zoom and call-in information:

https://zoom.us/j/96163686698?pwd=WlRNbG5RK25wdGFNRnA0NzlkNkhMQT09

Meeting ID: 961 6368 6698

Passcode: 743879

One tap mobile

+16699009128"96163686698#""*743879# US (San Jose)

+12532158782"96163686698#""*743879# US (Tacoma)

Dial by your location

+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abljHLS1Wd

About Hop-on

Hop-on, Inc. (HPNN.PK) is a US-based international leader in the development and manufacture of electronics, distributed software and telecommunications hardware and services, capitalizing its secured essential license agreements for mobile and computing technologies. Since 1993, the company has a proven record of innovation and market development. From developing the world's first CDMA the disposable cell phone to the upcoming DigitalAge decentralized social media platform promoting data portability and free speech, and engineering essential tools for content protection and royalty management across social platforms and devices, the company works closely with inventors and patent holders to bring the latest technologies to demanding markets. www.hop-on.com, www.digitalage.com

Peter Michaels, CEO

contact@hop-on.com

+1-949-756-9008

www.Hop-on.com

Forward-Looking Statements: https://www.hop-on.com/forward-looking-statements

Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933, and are subject to Rule 3B-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the company, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and other results and further events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Hop-on, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/642740/Hop-on-Requests-Questions-Submission-from-Shareholders-and-Interested-Parties-Prior-to-Meeting-Re-DigitalAgecom-and-Revenue-Models-of-the-Companys-Core-Business
Diep and her daughter were shocked about the news that Hanoi would stop enrolling students in the double-degree training program for the next academic year as they have been preparing for the entrance exam to the program for two years.

The dual-degree training program is favored by many students

The Hanoi Education and Training Department has worked with district sub-departments on a plan to stop enrolling students in the sixth grade of the dual-degree training program after three years of running the program on a trial basis.

The department asked for the Hanoi Peoples Committees opinions on the issue.

Parents and students were surprised because the education department had mentioned enrollment in the dual-degree program in a document released some weeks ago.

Vain effort

When their daughter entered the third grade, Diep and her husband began thinking about where to send the girl when she finished primary school  the dual-degree program or the high-quality program at the Cau Giay Secondary School.

After consulting with her colleagues at the office, she decided that her daughter would apply for the dual-degree program, because she would be able to practice English every day following the advanced training program.

We need to program our daughters study very early because she needs time to prepare for the entrance exam, Diep explained, adding that many students want to follow the program and her daughter would have to compete with many excellent students.

To prepare for the exam, Diep registered for many tutoring classes in English and Math (taught in English) for her daughter. She has pursued a very busy timetable for the last two years.

But it seems their efforts were in vain.

Why a dual-degree program?

More than 3,000 students attended entrance exams in July 2020 to seven schools allowed to run the dual-degree training program. The students finishing the program will get an IGCSE Cambridge certificate (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) in addition to a Vietnamese secondary school certificate.

Only 350 students were chosen from the exam, which means that one student had to compete with nine other students for a seat at the schools. Education experts commented that the competition ratio was too high, and the entrance exam was even tougher than the university entrance exam.

H.T.M, whose daughter is a fifth grader in Tay Ho district and is preparing for the entrance exam to the dual-degree program at Chu Van An Secondary School, said the program is favored by parents because students can study English with native speakers. Also, there are not too many students in the classes, and the tuition is not as high as tuition set by private and international schools.

With the program, public school students can access international education at a reasonable cost, she explained.

M said she could not understand why Hanoi decided to stop the program which is running well and favored by many students.

Education experts commented that the competition ratio was too high, and the entrance exam was even tougher than the university entrance exam.

She said the education department should have informed them about the intention to stop the program many months ago.

They always make sudden decisions, which puzzles us, M said.

Diep complained that she doesnt know what to do now. "It is too late to begin preparing for the high-quality training program now, she said.

What does the education department say?

The Hanoi Education and Training Department on April 23 held a press briefing about about stopping student enrollment for the dual-degree program in the 2021-2022 academic year.

Pham Xuan Tien, deputy director of the Hanoi Education and Training Department, said the stop was foreseeable.

Under the the dual-degree training program on a trial basis for six years approved by the Hanoi Peoples Committee in Decision 2830 on June 8, 2018, enrollment of students in the sixth grade of the program would be implemented in the 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years. From the following academic years, Hanoi will not enroll sixth graders for the program, but will only continue teaching students who will move up to the 7th, 8th and 9th grades.

Under the project, the education department will join forces with local departments to review the implementation of the project and make decisions for the next period.

Asked why the education department still showed guidance on enrollment in the program in a document released a couple of weeks ago, he said after consulting city leaders on the issue, the department decided to stop the enrollment.

He said that schools know the roadmap of the project, and that parents were surprised about the suspension of the program because of problems in information.

We regret that the details of the program could not reach all parents, and some parents misunderstood that the program would continue, he said.

Regarding the police investigation, Tien said this is professional work of the police, and the department did not know about the investigation as it is a national secret. He reaffirmed that the program has been suspended not because of the investigation. The suspension had already been planned before.

Thanh Hung

Universities' English language requirements may hinder rural students, experts warn As more and more top Vietnamese universities consider prospective students' English language ability for admission, concerns have been raised about inequality for students in rural areas.


Dharmendra was one of the biggest superstars of his time. Deemed as the He-man of Bollywood, the actor was known for his enigmatic personality. Since the past few years however, he hasnt been seen doing films. Though the actor has made a few appearances on television shows. Recently, the actor got nostalgic as filmmaker Anil Sharma who shot with him for Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969) tweeted a picture from their days on set to which Dharmendra replied saying, "Kahan gaie woh din .... Anil, I am missing those moments full of lively laughter.........A loner, living with the remembrance of those touching memories....."





The filmmaker was quick to reply saying, "Sir u can never b loner .. whole worlds loves u n with u .. sab aake APNE hain ..corona ka samay hai toh bas mulakatein nahi ho pa rahi hain .. pls stay safe sir @aapkadharam." Sweet, isn't it?
From the age of 5, Filipino graphic artist Percival Lugue has had a passion for collecting toys from fast-food restaurant chains like McDonald's, Burger King and home-country favourite Jollibee.

Now, nearly five decades later, the 50-year-old has about 20,000 toys packed from floor to ceiling in his home and holds a Guinness World Record from 2014, when his collection reached more than 10,000 items.

"The toy is like a storyteller in itself," said Lugue, explaining his hobby while sitting among an eclectic mix of toys in his three-storey home.

"For example, it gives me a glimpse of that particular period when I got it, the story of what's going on, what are the incidents that are attached in the acquisition," he said.

Percival Lugue's certificate for the Guinness world record for the largest fast-food toy collection is photographed with his toy collection in his home in Apalit, Pampanga province, Philippines, April 20, 2021. Photo: Reuters

Lugue, who lives in Apalit in Pampanga, a province northwest of Manila, built his home especially to house his collection.

He likens the excitement that getting new toys gives him to Christmas morning.

He has always played with the toys, but even as a child took good care of them and put them on display "unlike the other kids, who would tear up their toys into smithereens."

While most of his toys were obtained through personal purchases, some were donated by friends and family.

Percival Lugue, who has the Guinness world record for the largest fast-food toy collection, poses with his toy collection in his home in Apalit, Pampanga province, Philippines, April 20, 2021. Photo: Reuters

"I would invite my friends to... have lunch at McDonald's... and in one sitting I would be able to complete the whole set," he said.

One of his most treasured pieces is a "Hetty Spaghetti" figurine, a mascot from the Jollibee chain that his mother gave him in 1988.

His dream now is to eventually put his collection on display for the public or even open a museum to "give others a chance to revisit their own childhood memories."
STOCKHOLM, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Zinzino (publ) announces that the Annual Report for 2020 is now published in Swedish at the company's website, zinzino.com. An English version will be published within 45 days.

Zinzino will hold the Annual General Meeting on Thursday May 20th, 2021. Taking into account the health of both the shareholders and the company representatives as well as ongoing efforts to limit the spread of infection, the Annual General Meeting will be held without the possibility of physical participation.

Shareholders exercise their voting rights at the Annual General Meeting only by prior postal voting in accordance with section 22 of the Temporary Exemptions Act to facilitate the conduct of company and association meetings. For voting, a digital form is used which is available on the company's website:

https://www.zinzino.com/site/SE/sv-SE/page/About/Corporate-Info/General-Meeting .



For more information:

Fredrik Nielsen, CFO Zinzino + 46 (0) 707 900 174, zinzino.com

Pictures for publication free of charge:

Marcus Tollbom +46 (0) 70 190 03 12, marcus.tollblom@zinzino.com

Certified Adviser:

Erik Penser Bank Aktiebolag, +46 (0) 8 463 83 00, email: certifiedadviser@penser.se

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/zinzino/r/annual-report-english-2020-zinzino-ab--publ-,c3335460

The following files are available for download:
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has called on the Federal Government to ensure that bandits, kidnappers and criminals are made to fa...





Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has called on the Federal Government to ensure that bandits, kidnappers and criminals are made to face the full wrath of the law.

Atiku, a former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said adequate punishment would weaken bandits, kidnappers and criminals from carrying out their evil acts.

In a statement he issued, Atiku reiterated his earlier call for a state of emergency on Nigerias education sector amid attacks from bandits.

He urged the Federal Government to invest more in securing the lives of Nigerian youths.

When criminals profit from their criminality, crime will increase.

The only response from all governments in Nigeria to acts of abduction, kidnapping and unlawful detention of persons ought to be to bring the full weight of the law on the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.

Once these criminals have clarity on what awaits them should they tow such evil paths, then their audacity to commit evil will be weakened, and gradually, this ugly chapter in our national life will become a thing of the past.

I renew the call I made on Monday, March 15, 2021, for a state of emergency to be declared in the education sector and for 24 hour armed guards to be posted at all schools in the affected states.

Yes, it is an expensive venture. Nevertheless, we must accept that whatever we invest in preserving the lives of Nigerias youth is worth the price, as nothing is, or can be more valuable to us than our youths, who will take up the baton after we are gone.
Kingston Technology's IronKey S1000 Encrypted USB Drive Wins 2021 Govies Awards

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, announced that its IronKey (News - Alert) S1000 encrypted USB flash drive has been named The 'Govies' Government Security Awards Platinum winner for best Cyber Defense Solution for 2021. It also received a Gold award for Encryption. The awards, sponsored by Security Today, honor outstanding government security products, for which Kingston has manufactured solutions for many years.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005275/en/

Kingston 's IronKey S1000 encrypted USB flash drive (Graphic: Business Wire)

IronKey S1000 features an on-device Cryptochip Encryption Key protecting 100% of the data via 256-bit AES-XTS encryption. The cryptochip is a smart card that works with the encryption controller to form an ultra-secure architecture designed to provide the highest level of security possible. A smart case chip is like a computer within a chip with strong security capabilities. For example, the cryptochip incorporates anti-tampering defenses that will disable the chip and wipe out all stored keys and other data should chip tampering be detected. The S1000 with the cryptochip architecture is also FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validated, making it the strongest mobile data security solution available in the market. IronKey S1000 is made for government customers and industries like finance and healthcare, which adhere to strict regulations, including FIPS, HIPAA, HITECH, PCI (News - Alert) and GLBA.

"We are honored to receive two 'Govies' Awards for our IronKey S1000, the industry's leading encrypted USB drive," said Richard Kanadjian, encrypted USB business manager, Kingston. "While S1000 is our flagship and offers top-of-the-line securty with a built-in cryptochip, Kingston carries a full range of portable encrypted solutions for customers of all levels when data needs to go outside the firewall. An encrypted USB is an important component in any organization's security policy and we want our customers to get the right drive for their needs."







Kingston previously won 'Govies' Awards in 2020 for its KC600 SATA and KC2000 (now 2500) NVMe SSDs in the Encryption, Storage and Cyber Defense Solution categories. In 2018, its IronKey D300 (now D300S) was recognized with a Platinum award for best Encryption, as well as capturing gold for Cyber Defense Solution. Kingston encrypted USB drives are available as a stand-alone drive or managed solution to give IT admins remote capabilities such as password recovery, drive disable and more.

For more information visit kingston.com.

Kingston can be found on:

YouTube

Instagram

Facebook

LinkedIn

Twitter

Kingston Is With You

About Kingston Digital, Inc.

From big data, to laptops and PCs, to IoT-based devices like smart and wearable technology, to design-in and contract manufacturing, Kingston helps deliver the solutions used to live, work and play. The world's largest PC makers and cloud-hosting companies depend on Kingston for their manufacturing needs, and our passion fuels the technology the world uses every day. We strive beyond our products to see the bigger picture, to meet the needs of our customers and offer solutions that make a difference. To learn more about how Kingston Is With You, visit Kingston.com.

Editor's Note: For additional information, evaluation units or executive interviews, please contact David Leong, Kingston Technology Company, Inc. 17600 Newhope Street, Fountain Valley, CA (News - Alert) USA 92708, 714-438-1817 (Voice). Press images can be found in Kingston's press room here.

Kingston and the Kingston logo are registered trademarks of Kingston Technology Corporation. IronKey is a registered trademark of Kingston Digital, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005275/en/
New Delhi:

A new video has been released by activist Rahul Eashwar in which Hadiya earlier known as Akhila Ashokan can be seen pleading to help her end her confinement. Hadiya can be heard saying, Get me out here. Today or tomorrow, I am going to die. I am sure about this. My father is getting angry, I can make out. He pushes me, stamps at me." According to activist Eashwar the video was recorded in August. She has been living with her father after the Kerala High Court annulled her marriage to Shafin Jahan, 27 in May this year and ordered her to return to live with her parents in Kottayam. Policemen stand guard round-the-clock to make ensure she follows the court order. Eashwar had met the woman and her family in August. He had earlier released a video excerpt of his conversation. NDTV quoting Eashwar wrote, I am a Hindu activist, I believe Hadiya's voice must also be heard." He also told the news channel that he would be handing over the entire footage to the court. The Kerala High Court had gave its verdict going with Hadiyas fathers Ashokan KMs claim that Shafin Jahan has links to terror-outfits and forcefully converted to Islam. Also read: Kerala Love Jihad case: Can High Court annul a marriage? Asks Supreme Court

Jahan made an appeal against this high court verdict in the the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Dipak Misra hearing the plea observed that A 24-year-old woman "cannot be controlled by her father", Right-groups wings in Kerala and across the country termed the marriage a love jihad and have alleged it as an Islamist strategy to convert Hindu women via first romance and then marriage. Also read: Hadiya 'Love Jihad case: No need for NIA probe, Kerala govt tells SC

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on his visit to Kerala last year cited this case to accuse the Left-led government of not taking steps to check a "dangerous trend like love jihad".

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The action commenced with a button min-raise to 800,000 by David Coleman and Markus Leikkonen elected to defend the big blind. The flop brought and Leikkonen check-called for 860,000. That exact action repeated on the turn for 400,000 and Leikkonen also checked the river.

Coleman moved all-in for nearly two times the pot and jammed for 8,380,428, nearly 21 big blinds. Leikkonen snap-called and had set the trap with for sixes full. Coleman went down with a gusty bluff, holding just . The American poker pro had to settle for the runner-up spot and takes home $502,622.

For nosebleed heads-up cash game player Leikkonen, the festival ends with a victory and top prize of $651,821. A full recap of today's action is to follow.
JW Marriott Hotel Seoul presents the "Miffy's Day at JW" package to celebrate the "family month" of May that includes Children's Day. Courtesy of JW Marriott Hotel Seoul



By Jun Ji-hye



As the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic around the world has driven up demand for domestic travel, luxury hotels here have launched a variety of promotions to mark May, which is called "family month" in Korea, to offer guests safe and comfortable family getaways.



May holds four important days: Children's Day on May 5, Parents' Day on May 8, Teachers' Day on May 15 and Husband and Wife's Day on May 21.



JW Marriott Hotel Seoul is celebrating May by offering special family accommodation packages and dining promotions.



The "Miffy's Day at JW" package features a deluxe room with a tepee and mat installed, creating a unique space for children to play, as well as a variety of gifts featuring Miffy, the fictional rabbit appearing in a series of picture books drawn and written by Dutch author Dick Bruna, including soft toys, framed pictures and coloring books.



Flavors, the buffet restaurant on the second floor of the hotel, will serve special family buffet dishes including seafood stew, herb-roast lamb rack and sweet-and-sour pork.



A special children's menu of mini burgers, fried chicken and hotdogs will be served on May 5, 8 and 9 only, while cotton candy and a variety of cakes, cookies, macarons and mini cupcakes featuring Miffy characters crafted from cream and chocolate awaits.



The hotel's Japanese restaurant, Tamayura, will serve a family lunch and dinner set menu, along with a dessert of seasonal fruit and handmade Monaka ice cream.





The kids' lounge of Kensington Resort Seorak Beach, dubbed "Cocomong Kids World" / Courtesy of Kensington Hotels and Resorts



Kensington Hotels and Resorts is presenting a "Kids & Family Special Event" until June 30.



The promotion is designed to offer a fun and relaxing trip with family access to a variety of benefits within hotels and resorts for parents with children.



Key features include one night in a regular room or kids' room and breakfast for three (two adults and one child) as well as various benefits for the whole family to enjoy together at each of the resort group's eight properties across the nation.



Benefits by property include kids' amenities; welcome cookie sets; kids' lounge vouchers for safe indoor playground admission; and benefits for the whole family such as outdoor adventures that include rabbit feeding and rental of VR devices.





Millennium Hilton Seoul runs "Mom and Kids" package, featuring a guest room and family lounge decorated with diverse toys. / Courtesy of Millennium Hilton Seoul
EQS Group-News: Jacobs Holding AG / Schlagwort(e): Beteiligung/Unternehmensbeteiligung

Jacobs Holding AG: Jacobs Holding schliesst Platzierung von 550'000 Aktien von Barry Callebaut durch ein beschleunigtes Bookbuilding-Verfahren erfolgreich ab



28.04.2021 / 06:55





NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, CIRCULATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN OR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL



Jacobs Holding schliesst Platzierung von 550'000 Aktien von Barry Callebaut durch ein beschleunigtes Bookbuilding-Verfahren erfolgreich ab

Zurich, 28. April 2021 - Die Jacobs Holding AG (Jacobs Holding) hat die Platzierung von 550'000 Aktien von Barry Callebaut AG (10.0% des Aktienkapitals) uber ein beschleunigtes Bookbuilding-Verfahren (das "Angebot") zu einem Preis von CHF 1'990 je Aktie erfolgreich abgeschlossen.

Mit einer Beteiligung von 30,1% bleibt die Jacobs Holding Hauptaktionarin von Barry Callebaut und weiterhin in vollem Umfang an der Entwicklung des Unternehmens beteiligt, was auch eine unveranderte Vertretung im Verwaltungsrat einschliesst.

Jacobs Holding hat sich fur die verbleibende Beteiligung an Barry Callebaut zu einer Sperrfrist von einem Jahr nach Abschluss des Angebots verpflichtet.

Credit Suisse und Goldman Sachs International fungierten bei diesem Angebot als Joint Bookrunners.

Medienkontakt Jacobs Holding:

Andreas Hildenbrand, Lemongrass Communications

+41 44 202 52 38, andreas.hildenbrand@lemongrass.agency

The offering of the shares in Switzerland is exempt from the requirement to prepare and publish a prospectus under the Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA) because such offering is made to professional clients within the meaning of the FinSA only (article 36 para.1 lit. a FINSA). This press release does not constitute a prospectus as such term is understood pursuant to the FinSA or under any applicable laws or regulations.

This announcement may contain specific forward-looking statements, e.g. statements including terms like "believe", "assume", "expect", "forecast", "project", "may", "could", "might", "will" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may result in a substantial divergence between the actual results, financial situation, development or performance and those explicitly or implicitly presumed in these statements. Against the background of these uncertainties, readers should not rely on forward-looking statements. Jacobs Holding assumes no responsibility to update forward-looking statements or to adapt them to future events or developments.

The information contained herein shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation would be unlawful prior to registration, exemption from registration or qualification under the securities laws of any jurisdiction.

This announcement is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States (including its territories and dependencies, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia), Canada, Japan, Australia or any jurisdiction into which the same would be unlawful. This announcement does not constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to purchase, subscribe for or otherwise acquire securities in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia or any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is unlawful. Barry Callebaut AG shares have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or under any securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold, taken up, exercised, resold, renounced, transferred or delivered, directly or indirectly, within the United States except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance with any applicable securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. There will be no public offering of securities in the United States.

The Barry Callebaut shares have not been approved or disapproved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, any state's securities commission in the United States or any US regulatory authority, nor have any of the foregoing authorities passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of Barry Callebaut AG shares or the accuracy or adequacy of this announcement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.

The offer referred to herein, when made in member states of the European Economic Area (EEA), is only addressed to and directed to "qualified investors" within the meaning of article 2(e) the Prospectus Regulation ("Qualified Investors"). For these purposes, the expression Prospectus Regulation means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 14, 2017 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market, and repealing Directive 2003/71/EC, and includes any relevant delegated regulations.

The information contained herein does not constitute an offer of securities to the public in the United Kingdom. No prospectus offering securities to the public will be published in the United Kingdom.

This document is only being distributed to and is only directed at Qualified Investors within the meaning of UK version of the Prospectus Regulation which is part of English law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 who are (i) persons outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals falling within article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The securities are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds may have to hand over personal emails and phone messages to an official inquiry.

In a bombshell move, the Electoral Commission yesterday opened a formal investigation into the funding of the lavish refurbishment of the couple's official flat.

'We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred,' announced the watchdog.

It has sweeping powers to demand documents and interview witnesses under caution. Failure to comply or tell the truth is a criminal offence.

Boris Johnson (pictured) and Carrie Symonds may have to hand over personal emails and phone messages to an official inquiry

No serving prime minister has ever been interviewed under caution in relation to an alleged breach of the law.

The inquiry follows a string of revelations in the Mail suggesting a 58,000 cost overrun may have been paid originally by the Conservative Party before being covered by Tory donor Lord Brownlow.

Mr Johnson angrily told MPs yesterday that he had settled the bill with his own money. But he ducked repeated questions about who originally paid out when the work at 11, Downing Street was completed last year. Failure to declare donations is an offence under electoral law, punishable by fines of up to 20,000.

The Electoral Commission can pass on investigations to the police if it uncovers evidence of criminal offences or believes its efforts are being frustrated.

Downing Street yesterday said Mr Johnson was willing to co-operate fully with the inquiry, which could demand to see relevant emails and WhatsApp messages. His fiancee Miss Symonds, who masterminded the costly redecoration, could also face questions.

Asked if Mr Johnson was willing to be questioned in person, his press secretary said the commission's investigation was a matter for the Conservative Party, and the Prime Minister 'will of course be happy to assist if asked'.

In a bombshell move, the Electoral Commission yesterday opened a formal investigation into the funding of the lavish refurbishment of the couple's official flat. Pictured: A design by Lulu Lytle, who is believed to have carried out the refurbishment

The investigation came as:

The PM announced that the Queen's former private secretary Lord Geidt will serve as his new adviser on ministerial standards and will launch an investigation into the flat makeover;

However, the PM was accused of 'marking his own homework' after it emerged Lord Geidt will not be able to instigate probes into breaches of the ministerial code without Mr Johnson's approval;

In angry exchanges in the Commons, Mr Johnson denied saying he would rather 'let the bodies pile high' than order a third lockdown;

Chancellor Rishi Sunak raised eyebrows by revealing he had paid the full cost of refurbishing his Downing Street flat from his own pocket;

Department store John Lewis mocked the PM and Miss Symonds, following claims they ordered the makeover to deal with the 'John Lewis furniture nightmare' left behind by Theresa May.

The inquiry follows a string of revelations in the Mail suggesting a 58,000 cost overrun may have been paid originally by the Conservative Party before being covered by Tory donor Lord Brownlow. Pictured: Lulu Lytle

Mr Johnson appeared rattled in the chamber after Sir Keir Starmer accused him of 'major sleaze'

Labour peer 'invited to join No10 Trust' The Tory donor who is thought to have given a loan to Boris Johnson to pay for his flat's makeover approached a Labour peer to sit on a trust overseeing the work. Baroness Jay, daughter of former prime minister James Callaghan, said Lord Brownlow asked her to become a member of the proposed Downing Street Trust. Last night, the baroness said she understood it would be for the public part of the buildings, not the residences. She told BBC Two's Newsnight: 'Nothing formal was agreed [but] I did say I'd be interested... on the basis it were similar to the Chequers Trust, of which I used to be a member.' Advertisement

Tory MPs were aghast at the row, which comes when the Government is facing sleaze allegations over lobbying and procurement deals and only a week from a major round of local elections.

'It is a stupid self-inflicted wound that makes us look shifty and out of touch,' one former minister told the Mail.

'If it had been dealt with straight away then people would have thought nothing of it. But the attempt to cover up what happened looks dodgy.'

Another veteran Tory said: 'I genuinely think we are in trouble. You can argue that none of the things add up to much on their own. But there is a carelessness and arrogance in No 10 that is very dangerous.'

There was also resentment in some quarters toward Miss Symonds, with the PM's fiancee dubbed 'Carrie Antoinette' on Tory WhatsApp groups over her allegedly expensive tastes.

But there was also anger at the Electoral Commission over the timing of the announcement, which came less than an hour before Mr Johnson was due to answer questions in the Commons.

Mr Johnson appeared rattled in the chamber after Sir Keir Starmer accused him of 'major sleaze'.

Jabbing his finger at the Labour leader, he said he was 'playing political games, whereas this party gets on with delivering on the people's priorities'. He insisted no laws or rules had been broken, adding that he had 'met the requirements that I have been obliged to meet in full'.

Downing Street yesterday said Mr Johnson was willing to co-operate fully with the inquiry, which could demand to see relevant emails and WhatsApp messages. His fiancee Miss Symonds (right), who masterminded the costly redecoration, could also face questions

Downing Street said Mr Johnson had not received any requests for information from the commission.

But David Howarth, a former commissioner at the elections watchdog, said it was 'inconceivable' that his conduct would not be looked at along with that of the Conservative Party.

The Cambridge law professor said: 'The investigators will look at every single transaction relating to payment for the works on the flat with a view to finding out whether reportable donations have been reported in time. The question is, who paid the bill and was it reported?'

Prime ministers can spend up to 30,000 a year of public money on their private residence. But the makeover bill came in much higher, prompting Mr Johnson to order a search to find someone to pay for the 58,000 excess. He was forced to pay himself  after various parties are all said to have funded the work at some point.
BEIJING, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix New Media Limited ("Phoenix New Media", "ifeng" or the "Company") (NYSE: FENG), a leading new media company in China, today announced that it filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 (the "2020 20-F") with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 28, 2021. The 2020 20-F can be accessed on the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.ifeng.com. The Company will provide a hard copy of its audited consolidated financial statements contained in the 2020 20-F, free of charge, to its shareholders and ADS holders upon request. Requests can be directed to Investor Relations Department, Phoenix New Media Limited, Sinolight Plaza, No. 4 Qiyang Road, Wangjing, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100102, People's Republic of China.

About Phoenix New Media Limited

Phoenix New Media Limited (NYSE: FENG) is a leading new media company providing premium content on an integrated Internet platform, including PC and mobile, in China. Having originated from a leading global Chinese language TV network based in Hong Kong, Phoenix TV, the Company enables consumers to access professional news and other quality information and share user-generated content on the Internet through their PCs and mobile devices. Phoenix New Media's platform includes its PC channel, consisting of ifeng.com website, which comprises interest-based verticals and interactive services; its mobile channel, consisting of mobile news applications, mobile video application, digital reading application and mobile Internet website; and its operations with the telecom operators that provides mobile value-added services.

For investor and media inquiries please contact:

Phoenix New Media Limited

Qing Liu

Email: [email protected]

ICR, Inc.

Jack Wang

Tel: +1 (646) 405-4883

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Phoenix New Media Limited

Related Links

www.ifeng.com


As the pandemic spread across the world last year, newsrooms worldwide took a hit, as furloughs, layoffs, salary freezes, print reductions, outsourcing, consolidations, and closures accelerated across an already-beleaguered industry. Last week, Axios reported that 2020 yielded a record number of unionization efforts in US newsrooms, a trend that has been intensifying for years. Even as the economic crisis as exacerbated by COVID shows signs of slowing, the union movement is trending in the opposite direction. Its going to explode, Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America, told Sara Fischer. This will be a record year for unionization in the industry.

The unionization trend itself may be a healthy sign of welcome change. With an industry that has been facing decline for yearsmuch at low-level staffers expenseits evident that the story of local journalism over the past year is, in large part, a labor story. As the news industry takes stock and tries to regain footing, its important to consider what has been gained, what has been lost, and who holds the power, moving forward.

In March of 2020, Brooke Hauser, the editor in chief of the Daily Hampshire Gazettea Massachusetts paper owned by Newspapers of New Englandannounced that several talented staffers would be laid off as a result of the pandemic and declining revenue (the Tow Centers cutback tracker reports thirteen chain-wide layoffs in March). We all hope its a temporary state and that we can bring back as many people as possible in the near future, Hauser wrote. In June, the Gazettes parent company announced the closure of their Northampton printing press, leading to job losses for more than twenty print employees. In July, The Shoestring reported that the Gazettes unionformed in 2018was fighting to stop the outsourcing of print jobs to Gannett. They lost the fight; as a result, their union membership was cut in half amid contract negotiations. In December, Hauser was laid off, alongside as many as seven other Gazette employees losing their jobs or taking buyouts.

Similar stories echo across the local news landscape. In March of 2020, Gannettthe largest newspaper chain in the countryimplemented widespread furloughs; in October, they announced voluntary buyouts, which six hundred employees took. Melissa Taboada, a reporter at the Austin American-Statesman for twenty years, was one of the Gannett staffers to choose a buyout. If we cant have more resources, then we need to adjust the way that we cover news, Taboada told me in November; three months later, the American-Statesman voted 36-12 in favor of a union. More than forty Gannett papers have unionized in the past year, Axios reported, and over the past three years, nearly every Tribune-owned newspaper has unionized. (In February of this year, the New Jersey Globe reported that three local Gannett-owned newspapers had failed to cover a unionization bid by their own reporters.)

Yesterday, the NewsGuild published a report on pay equity across fourteen Gannett newsrooms belonging to the union. The report found thatwith the exception of one newsroom studiednewsrooms were predominantly white and less racially diverse than the communities they serve. In median salaries, women earned almost $10,000 less than their male counterparts, and women of color around $15,700 less. (A Gannett spokesperson said they strongly disagree with the [studys] methodology and its findings.) The pay gap is smaller among those newsrooms that have longstanding union contracts, Gabby Miller noted yesterday for CJR.

Even as the economic situation improves across some newsrooms, union contracts are calls for accountability and transparency in both local and national newsrooms. In April of 2020, the Dallas Morning News implemented pay cuts, restoring salaries for some in August and returning pay to pre-pandemic levels for all but top executives by October, when journalists at the Morning News and Al Dia won the right to negotiate together for a contract. This week, Digiday reported that Insiders union was pushing back against a metrics evaluation system that awards impact points for different types of engagement; changes are likely coming for a system that some writers found so stressful it prompted them to quit, Kayleigh Barber wrote.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

Its been a bad decade and a horrific year for the people who sustain journalism, particularly at the local level. Its not enough to ensure that people have access to news; its just as important to ensure fair and equitable labor standards for the people who produce it.

The Journalism Crisis Project aims to train our focus on the present crisis, tallying lost jobs and outlets and fostering a conversation about what comes next. We hope youll join us (click to subscribe).

EXPLORE THE TOW CENTERS COVID-19 CUTBACK TRACKER: Over the past year, researchers at the Tow Center have collected reports of a wide range of cutbacks amid the pandemic. Now theres an interactive map and searchable database. You can find it here.

CONTRIBUTE TO OUR DATABASE: If youre aware of a newsroom experiencing layoffs, cutbacks, furloughs, print reductions, or any fundamental change as a result of COVID-19, let us know by submitting information here. (Personal information will be kept secure by the Tow Center and will not be shared.)

Below, more on recent media trends and changes in newsrooms:

JOURNALISM JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES: Poynter has put together a list of places to search for journalism jobs and internships. MediaGazer has been maintaining a list of media companies that are currently hiring. You can find it here. The Deez Links newsletter, in partnership with Study Hall, offers media classifieds for both job seekers and job providers. The Successful Pitches database offers resources for freelancers. The International Journalists Network lists international job opportunities alongside opportunities for funding and further education.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Lauren Harris is a freelance journalist. She writes CJR's weekly newsletter for the Journalism Crisis Project. Follow her on Twitter @LHarrisWrites.
SALEM, Ore.  Oregon legislators considering the boundary lines for another Oregon U.S. Representatives district might have to draw on a sixth sense.

This year, Oregons legislative special committees for redistricting are adjusting U.S. House districts in the state as its seats increase from five to six. That official effort has an unofficial endorsement this week. U.S. Census Bureau figures Monday show Oregons steady population growth, 10% during the past decade, to more than 4.2 million is enough to give Oregon an another congressional district for the first time in 40 years.

When lawmakers craft legislative districts, the practice called gerrymandering generally suggests they use political party lines to draw district boundary lines in ways to favor the party in power. This year Democrats, who control the state politically and hold all but one of the States Congressional seats, agreed to give up their advantage in redrawing political boundaries in a deal to stop Republicans from blocking legislation.

State legislature members of both parties comprise House and Senate Special Committees on Redistricting, and both committees meet simultaneously Friday to advance their course toward remapping Oregons U.S. House districts to include a sixth district.

They have until September 27 to complete that process this year. That date differs from the Oregon Constitution and state laws which make the deadline to redraw districts July 1. When the Census Bureau had warned that its 2020 census figured might not be available until fall, Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, and House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, filed a petition with the state Supreme Court for a redistricting extension until the end of the year.

The Oregon Supreme Court ruled this month the Legislature has until September 27 to complete its redistricting process in an unanimous decision by justices to give legislative leaders nearly three more months to do their work. The process of redrawing State legislative and Congressional districts occurs every 10 years based on new census data.

If the Legislature does not implement new legislative districts by September 27, Oregons Secretary of State must enact new legislative districts by October 18, 2021.
Minimize social confusion by reflecting different voices



The legal definition of family will be expanded to embrace diverse forms such as unmarried cohabiting couples through a revision of relevant laws. And parents will be allowed to give either of their surnames to children at the time of birth as the current system of prioritizing paternal roots is abolished.



"As households diversify rapidly in accordance with declining marriages and childbirths and the rising phenomenon of late marriage, it's necessary to create an environment in which all forms of the family are respected without suffering social discrimination and exclusion from government policies," Minister of Gender Equality and Family Chung Young-ai said Tuesday, unveiling her ministry's five-year plan for "healthy homes."



The plan, which was approved at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, reflects the reality that types of family units are rapidly diversifying. To begin with, the percentage of typical nuclear families  consisting of a married couple and their children  to total households fell from 37 percent in 2010 to 30 percent in 2019, whereas the ratio of one-person households jumped from 23 percent to 30 percent during the period. Also, there have been diverse forms of households like elderly out-of-wedlock couples living together, and single parenthood using artificial insemination, which became widely known after Sayuri, a Japanese TV personality based here, gave birth to a boy in Japan last November despite being unmarried. Currently, Korea only recognizes families related to marriage, blood and adoption.



The plan means a lot in that it suggests the overall direction of the nation's family-related policies. It will also help cope with problems associated with the low birthrate and gender equality. But controversy is inevitable, given that the plan contains lots of sensitive issues concerning family, marriage and childbirth. So the gender ministry is right to conduct a survey on some ethical questions featured in it through June to form a social consensus. It's imperative to minimize social confusion by reflecting different voices in the plan.


The China Coast Guard (CCG) will keep a closer eye on the country's coastal areas to ensure the enforcement of the summer fishing ban starting from May 1, the CCG said in a statement on Tuesday.

The CCG as well as the agricultural and police authorities will step up maritime patrols to strengthen scrutiny over fishing boats and key waters, the statement added.

The authorities plan to make better use of monitoring technologies in the process, the statement said, noting that relevant departments will enhance consultation, coordination and information sharing with one another.

The fishing ban, which will come into force from May 1, covers the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the waters north of 12 degrees north latitude in the South China Sea.

It is part of China's efforts to protect marine fishery resources.

The enforcement actions will last through Sept. 16, according to the CCG.
The eurozone is at risk of a tsunami of bankruptcies as Covid life-support schemes for businesses are wound up, regulators have warned.

A report by the EUs key risk watchdog, which is chaired by European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde, said that companies may struggle to stay solvent the longer they relied on emergency financial support.

A report by the EUs key risk watchdog, which is chaired by European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde, said that companies may struggle to stay solvent the longer they relied on emergency financial support. Credit:Bloomberg

This could cause debt to accumulate, increasing the risk of a pent-up wave of insolvencies, it warned.

Companies in the bloc have claimed a total of 1.5 trillion ($2.3 trillion) in grants, tax deferrals and loans during the pandemic, the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) said.
Blue Run 13.5-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon Two Bourbons from recently launched Blue Run Spirits snagged top honors at the prestigious 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition  before they are even launched to the public.

Two Bourbons from recently launched Blue Run Spirits snagged top honors at the prestigious 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition  before they are even launched to the public.

Blue Run 13.5-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon was awarded Best Single Barrel Bourbon  11 Years & Older, as well as a Double Gold Medal. Blue Run 14-Year-Old Bourbon won Best Small Batch Bourbon  11 Years & Older, along with a Double Gold Medal. In addition, Blue Run Rye Whiskey received a Gold Medal.

A great whiskey brand always starts with a great liquid and we couldnt be prouder that our Bourbons are being recognized as being best in class, said Mike Montgomery, CEO of Blue Run Spirits. Our vision to pair whiskey icon Jim Rutledge with Devon McKinneys modernized approach to design has proven to be a winning combination as we continue to broaden todays audience of Bourbon drinkers.

Blue Run Spirits was launched last year by a group of friends and Bourbon lovers  a Nike designer (McKinney), Facebooks first director-level employee, a hospitality executive, a political advisor and a philanthropist  that seeks to evolve the Bourbon industry, creating fine products for the modern whiskey fan. Understanding that could never happen without exceptional whiskies, they teamed with Jim Rutledge, a 50+ year whiskey veteran who serves as the brands liquid advisor.

Their first collaboration was Blue Run 13-Year-Old Small-Batch Bourbon (113 proof) released in October of 2020 at $169 in select states and online. Each of the two batches sold out in less than one week.

Blue Run 13.5-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon (~130 proof) will be available starting in May 2021 at $229, uniquely presented as ten separate limited-edition bottlings from ten different barrels.

Blue Run 14-Year-Old Bourbon (113 proof) will be available starting in June 2021.

Blue Run Rye Whiskey (95 proof) is expected to arrive at the end of summer. More information on new products will be available at their launch.

Blue Run is currently distributed in Kentucky, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., and Canada, as well as online.

Find Blue Run Spirits online at http://www.bluerunspirits.com, and on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

EDITOR NOTE: Hi-res bottle images can be found HERE.

ABOUT BLUE RUN SPIRITS

Blue Run Spirits is a new kind of spirits company, creating a unique luxury proposition by tapping into the deep heritage and craft that makes a truly great whiskey, then elevating it through a modern design and marketing lens to reach a younger, broader and more diverse whiskey drinker. The companys founders include a Nike designer, the first director-level employee at Facebook, a hospitality executive, a political advisor, and a philanthropist  all huge whiskey fans and individuals who acutely understand how to build demand and buzz for a contemporary consumer product. They are backed by a team of advisors including Nike marketing experts; the Campari communications veteran behind the US launch of Espolon Tequila and the Aperol Spritz; a former spirits distributor; and others with deep industry experience. The Blue Run name is a nod to one of our founders upbringing in Georgetown, KY, where Bourbon began in the Bluegrass State.
TURIN, APR 28 - Turin prosecutors on Wednesday said they were probing a new terrorist group calling itself Individualists Tending To Savagery (ITS, in the Italian acronym). They said ITS was very active in South America where it had claimed responsibility for many terrorist acts in the last few years. The group has posted videos on how to build parcel bombs on Italian Internet sites, the prosecutors said. (ANSA).
A New Bedford police sergeant and retired U.S. Marine has died on Wednesday after contracting COVID-19, the New Bedford Police Department announced on Wednesday.

Sgt. Mike Cassidy joined the department in 1994 after serving in the Marine Corps during Operation Desert Storm.

It is with is with the heaviest of hearts and deepest of respect that Acting Chief Paul Oliveira mourns the passing of NBPD Sgt. Mike Cassidy after a valiant battle with COVID-19, the department said in a Facebook post.

It is with is with the heaviest of hearts and deepest of respect that Acting Chief Paul Oliveira mourns the passing of... Posted by City of New Bedford Police Department (Official) on Wednesday, April 28, 2021

The members of the Boston Police Department send our heartfelt condolences to our @newbedfordpd family after the loss of Sgt. Michael Cassidy, who lost his battle with COVID-19 today. We will continue to keep Sgt. Cassidys family, and the NBPD, in our thoughts and prayers. pic.twitter.com/jobcmNBIn2  Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) April 28, 2021

Cassidy had received numerous recognitions in connection with his service overseas and as a police officer, including a New Bedford Life Saving Awards in 2006 and 2018. He had served in the Uniform Patrol, Narcotics, Criminal Investigations and Firearms, the department said.

This is a tremendous loss to our department and to the City of New Bedford as we all know Sgt. Cassidy was a proud Officer who served the people of this city with his whole heart, Oliveira said, according to the post. Sgt. Cassidy loved being a Police Officer and went above and beyond to impact the lives of others in a positive way.

The Boston Police Department tweeted their condolences Wednesday afternoon.

The members of the Boston Police Department send our heartfelt condolences to our @newbedfordpd family after the loss of Sgt. Michael Cassidy, who lost his battle with COVID-19 today, Boston police tweeted. We will continue to keep Sgt. Cassidys family, and the NBPD, in our thoughts and prayers.
Ghislaine Maxwell lost her latest bail hearing in New York on Tuesday and is now likely to remain in prison until her trial.

The British socialite is accused of recruiting underage girls who were abused by disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The court considers Maxwell, who has US, British and French passports, a flight risk. This is the fourth time since her arrest that she has been denied bail.

Maxwell's claims that she is being mistreated in custody were not enough to persuade a panel of three appeals court judges in New York to overturn the decision to deny her bail.

Maxwell's lawyer said guards in her Brooklyn jail were keeping her awake at night to ensure she wouldn't commit suicide like financier and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

But in a brief order, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said that to the extent Maxwell is being deprived of sleep, she should seek relief from U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, who oversees her criminal case.

David Markus, Maxwell's attorney, said he was 'heartbroken' by the ruling and the team are now 'considering our options for next step.'

Maxwell, 59, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and other charges over her alleged role in procuring four teenage girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004.

She had been appealing Nathan's March 22 rejection of a $28.5 million bail package which the judge, who has denied bail three times, said did not keep Maxwell from being a 'significant risk of flight.'

Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured in a court sketch from her latest court appearance last week) lost her fourth bail hearing in New York and is therefore likely to remain in prison until her trial, currently scheduled for July 12

In oral arguments on Monday, Markus objected to jail guards' waking Maxwell every 15 minutes with flashlights to make sure she was still breathing.

Epstein, a financier, killed himself in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

'We just want a fair opportunity, a fair chance, so she can get ready for the trial of her life,' Markus told the appeals court. 'It's impossible to prepare for trial when you're getting no sleep.'

Maxwell faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted. She is seeking a delay in her trial that is currently scheduled for July 12, 2021.

Earlier this week, Ghislaine Maxwell accused prison guards of intimidating and humiliating her by standing over her while she used the toilet after she was 'falsely accused' of being in possession of illegal documents behind bars.

Just weeks ago, she was called out by guards for not flushing the toilet, a claim she adamantly denied blaming rotting pipes for causing the stench.

In a letter submitted to a judge on Monday by attorney Bobbi Sternheim, the British socialite, 59, claimed a senior guard at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn stood 'knee to knee' with her while 'she sat on the commode' on Saturday.

Moments earlier, guards had confiscated some documents from Maxwell which they claimed she had obtained by her lawyers during a visit in breach of prison protocol.

Pictured: The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) where Ghislaine Maxwell is being held. After losing her fourth bail hearing on Wednesday, she is likely to remain there until her trial

In court papers obtained by DailyMail.com, Maxwell's legal team denied the violation and claimed that the guards waited until her lawyers were gone and 'took undue advantage of her.'

Her lawyers and prosecutors have previously argued about whether Maxwell can wear an eye mask and whether or not she is flushing the toilet in her cell.

In Monday's filing, Sternheim said she and fellow attorney Leah Saffian attended a scheduled two-and-half hour in-person legal conference with Maxwell on Saturday during which they were under 'constant watch of four to five guards.'

After the meeting, she received an email from MDC legal counsel Sophia Papapetru, who claimed had Maxwell 'received paperwork that was not in her possession upon entering the legal visiting area.'

Papapetru cited MDC rules which ban lawyers from giving clients materials during a legal visit and said the documents had been confiscated and would be given back to Sternheim during her next visit.

The 59-year-old British socialite claims a senior guard stood knee to knee with her as she sat on a commode as punishment for an alleged infraction. Pictured: A typical combination toilet and sink fixture found at MDC cells

Sternheim, who denied the breach, said 'guards seized all of Ms. Maxwell's legal papers, consisting of multiple letter-sized manila folders containing documents and a composition notebook within a Redweld folder.

'The guards told Ms. Maxwell they believed she improperly retained documents given to her by her attorneys and that this was a very serious offense.'

According to Sternheim the guards told Maxwell: 'We want you to know that what you did was a very serious infraction.

'It was so serious that it is worthy of an incident report and a disciplinary. It has been decided this time you will receive a caution.'

After the incident, Maxwell requested and was given permission to use the bathroom.

'But unlike any other occasion, the guard team leader stood knee to knee with Ms. Maxwell while Ms. Maxwell sat on the commode in the small area containing one toilet and a sink,' Sternheim wrote.

'In addition to denying Ms. Maxwell any privacy, the guard confronted her in a confined space off-camera.

'Although Ms. Maxwell was ultimately informed that she would not receive a disciplinary infraction for the incident, being falsely accused of "a very serious offense" and having a guard standing over her while she used the commode caused Ms. Maxwell to feel intimidated and humiliated.'

Maxwell is being held in the federal prison until her trial for allegedly procuring underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein

As a result of being 'falsely accused' Maxwell feels a 'heightened insecurity under the control of her officious handlers,' Sternheim added.

The incident has put a 'chill' on attorney-client communication because Maxwell feels she can't bring legal documents to meet her lawyers.

In an emailed response to Papapetru, Sternheim claimed the 'accusation is inaccurate as is the information reported to you by your staff.

'Nothing in Ms. Maxwell's legal papers was given to her by me or by Leah Saffian, Esq,' she said.

Sternheim has claimed that the conduct of the guards was 'reprehensible' and said they 'took undue advantage' of Maxwell by waiting until her lawyers had left the prison.

Maxwell fears the confidentiality required to prepare her defense has been 'irreparably breached' and worries her confidential documents have been copied and disseminated, though Sternheim provided no grounds for such a claim.

A padlocked black sedan with dark tinted windows believed to be carrying Maxwell was seen driving to the Brooklyn prison

Padlocks were seen on the dark Dodge Caravan that is believed to have driven Maxwell back to prison

The attorney wrote that in future Maxwell is 'fearful that she will be subject to retaliation, baseless allegations, and unwarranted and unprovoked discipline.'

Maxwell's complaints about the conditions inside the MDC have been a recurring issue in her ongoing bid for bail.

Her lawyers have alleged that she is being woken up every 15 minutes with a flashlight by guards to check on her.

They claimed Maxwell has lost weight, her hair is thinning out and that she is a 'shell of her former self.'

They also allege the water coming out the taps is brown and that Maxwell's food has melted into its microwave packaging, making it inedible.
Hyderabad, April 28 : Television actor Lakshmi Narasimha Reddy was arrested on Wednesday on charges of cheating a businesswoman to the tune of Rs 85 lakh here, police said.

He had taken the money from Sindhura Reddy for investment into real estate but failed to develop the property or return her money. Police also arrested a woman identified as Jayanti Goud who was also threatening the victim on behalf of Narasimha Reddy.

Narasimha Reddy, who is the husband of TV anchor Shyamala, had approached Sindhura Reddy and invited her to make the investment. He told her that he owns four acres of land land valued Rs 100 crore in Gandipet area in Hyderabad and plans to build a swimming pool, pub and game zone there.

Sindhura Reddy, in her complaint to the police, said she paid Rs 85 lakh in the form of cash and cheques in 2017 but no construction was taken up. When she demanded her money back, he started threatening her.

The victim alleged that Jayanti Goud, who introduced herself as the sister of Narasimha Reddy, was also threatening her.

Sindhura Reddy lodged a complaint with Raidurgam police station under the limits of Cyberabad police commissionerate on April 19. The police registered a case of cheating and took up investigation. They arrested the accused on Wednesday.
Andrew Cruise, managing director of Routed, views the companys support of enterprises throughout Africa as more than a technological endeavor.

Routed empowers its partners and its customers to prosper and grow, grounded by solid and secure cloud infrastructure foundations, says Cruise. In much the same way, the baobob tree provides for people in Africas savannah regions  serving as the tree of life and giving them the materials they need for shelter, clothing, food, and water  all while providing the roots that serve as a strong foundation. We like to think of ourselves as the baobob of cloud infrastructure providers.

The first provider in Africa to achieve the VMware Cloud Verified status, Routed offers an integrated cloud platform that addresses enterprises cloud, disaster recovery, and application development needs. In addition to serving customers in a wide array of industries, the company also provides ISPs and telecommunications companies with infrastructure they can white label, package, and offer as value-added services.

Weve taken the cloud IP we amassed and used it to develop solutions that make the cloud viable for even the smallest businesses, adds Cruise. On the other end of the spectrum are the self-service offerings our partners offer through the channel and in conjunction with their own products. Our typical end user is a medium to enterprise-level organization in South Africa that has an existing cloud strategy or is looking to migrate parts of their network into the cloud.

Cruise notes that these organizations are IT savvy, aware of the benefits of the cloud, and want to maximize the returns associated with their cloud investment. In the channel, the company typically works with resellers and managed service providers that offer support for Routeds VMware Cloud products and solutions.

VMware brings significant strength

Working with VMware brings significant strength to our offerings, he says. The VMware Cloud Verified badge signals to customers that we offer a service running on top of the complete VMware Cloud Infrastructure stack. It demonstrates that they can attain access to the full set of VMware capabilities including integration and interoperability, cost optimization, and flexibility. Routeds VMware Cloud is also an ideal platform into which enterprises can expand their on-premises VMware infrastructure, particularly when a big bang approach with one lift and shift deployment is not practical.

Notably, Routed offers a number of connectivity options, including ones that address clients needs for both physical and software-defined environments and that enable seamless and secure connectivity between customers data centers and Routeds private cloud. These options including private cross-connects and virtual cross-connects.

Many of our customers no longer want to manage their legacy compute, storage, and networking infrastructure and are ready for the flexibility and agility of the cloud, says Cruise. Our VMware Cloud is the ideal cloud destination and the perfect platform for these customers business-critical applications.

In addition to providing Routeds Cloud Verified VMware Cloud, the company also offers a VMware-powered DRaaS.

Routed also offers a multi-cloud application development service as extensions to its VMware Cloud. Through the VMware Cloud Director user interface, customers can manage and deploy containers and deploy virtual applications as VMs or containers from the companys curated catalog using VMware App Launchpad.

Cloud computing provides a natural extension to service-oriented architecture and the Internet, Cruise observes. It leads to a complete paradigm shift in a number of areas such as software development, deployment, IT usage, and the software services industry. Among these areas, the impact on software development requires special attention as it plays a pivotal role in cloud assessment and migration. It is clear that the cloud surge will continue and Africa will continue to be a significant player within the global cloud. We look forward to being an active participant in the developing cloud sector across the continent.

Learn more about Routed and its partnership with VMware here.
WOLVERINE, MI  A Northern Michigan bar can be held responsible in an attack on a Black customer six years ago, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled, 9&10 News reports.

Six years ago, Edward Tyson, a Black man, went to B.S. and Co. Bar in Wolverine to pick up a pizza, the TV station reports. When he arrived David Dawkins, another customer, called Tyson racial slurs and punched him in the head. He was rendered unconscious and suffered brain damage. The beating continued while Tyson was unconscious.

Dawkins was convicted of aggravated assault, the report said. Tyson then filed civil lawsuits against him and the bar. A lower court judge had said the bar couldnt be held liable for one customer attacking another. The appeals court disagreed, saying that the attack was ongoing and the bar was legally obligated to call the police immediately, which it didnt.

Tyson was the only Black person who lived in the Cheboygan County town at the time. The lawsuit is expected to proceed in Cheboygan County Circuit Court.

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BP likely made more than $1 billion from its energy trading business when natural gas prices skyrocketed during the February winter storm.

The British oil major, which has one of the largest trading hubs in North America, on Tuesday said the business had an exceptional first quarter in which the company posted a $2.6 billion profit on $6.1 billion of revenue. Analysts had expected BP to report a first-quarter profit of $1.4 billion.

BP said it doesnt disclose trading numbers, but Citigroup analyst Alastair Syme said he estimates the company made a large profit during the storm.

Gains from trading in gas and power are not quantified, but the move in (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) suggest these easily topped $1 billion, Syme said in a research note to clients. Although not mentioned by name, we think positioning around the February storm in Texas, Storm Uri, has been the biggest driver of these gains.

An accounting of the energy industrys winners and losers has emerged in the weeks since the storm and power grid collapse killed nearly 200 Texans and caused billions of dollars in damage.

Vistra, the largest power generator in Texas, on Monday said it took a $1.6 billion financial hit as a result of the storm and crisis. Houston pipeline operator Kinder Morgan last week said it earned $1.6 billion after it was able to keep natural gas flowing through its pipelines, in large part because it had invested in safeguards to protect equipment from brutally cold temperatures.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Vistra, Texas' largest power company, forecasts $1.6 billion financial hit from winter freeze

Natural gas prices skyrocketed as the winter storm plunged Texas into frigid darkness, causing gas production to fall by nearly half during the storm. Operators of gas-fired power plants said inadequate natural gas deliveries brought some of their operations to a halt, resulting in a cycle in which power outages took out more natural gas production that led to more blackouts.

Vistra said it was forced to spend $1.1 billion on natural gas in the spot market at a price of $700 per million British thermal units to keep its natural gas-fired power plants operating during the storm. The company typically contracts for gas at about $3 per million British thermal units.

BP said it generated surplus revenue of $1.7 billion during the first quarter, helping it to meet debt reduction targets a year ahead of schedule.

While the companys trading business benefited from the high prices, CEO Bernard Looney said thousands of BP employees in Texas endured days without power and water, as well as damage to their homes. The company paid to house some of its 4,000 Houston-area employees in hotels.

After taking care of its employees, Looney said BP focused on how it could keep electricity and natural gas flowing in Texas. Employees worked 24 hours a day, sometimes driving around Houston in search of available Wi-Fi networks to keep operations running, and helping utility companies secure power and gas.

I think it is important that people understand that, first and foremost, Texas is not just a market for us, it is our home in America and we have thousands of employees, many of whom went without water or power for many, many days, Looney said. The whole focus was on maintaining as much supply to our customers as we could, operating within the market and, obviously, doing everything with the utmost of integrity.

After its strong earnings during the first quarter, BP said it plans to buy back $500 million worth of shares from investors during the second quarter. The company warned investors, however, that during the second quarter it will pay Gulf Coast states and the U.S. government the annual $1.2 billion pre-tax payment related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident, which caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

paul.takahashi@chron.com

twitter.com/paultakahashi
Emmanuel Macron has threatened to punish generals who signed an open letter warning that the country is heading for 'civil war' because of radical Islam, The Daily Mail reported.

Twenty retired generals, as well as several serving soldiers, signed the letter which warned that failure to act against the 'suburban hordes'a reference to the predominantly immigrant population of the housing estates which surround French citieswill lead to deaths 'in the thousands.'

The government strongly condemned the letter, which was published on the 60th anniversary of a failed coup d'etat by generals opposed to France granting independence to Algeria.

The open letter claims a military coup might be necessary to stop a 'civil war' in France.

Despite condemnation from the government and left-wing parties, Marine Le Pen hailed the letter which was signed by 80 officers, as well as the 20 generals.

The lead signatory was Christian Piquemal, 80, who commanded the Foreign Legion before losing his privileges as a retired officer after being arrested while taking part in an anti-Islam demonstration in 2016.

It was written by Jean-Pierre Fabre-Bernadac, a former officer, and signed by 1,000 others who were in lower ranks.

The incendiary letter reads: 'France is in danger. Several mortal perils threaten her. Even in retirement, we remain soldiers of France and cannot in the present circumstances remain indifferent to the fate of our beautiful country.'

The retired officers claimed that France was 'disintegrating with the Islamists of the hordes of the banlieue [suburbs] who are detaching large parts of the nation and turning them into territory subject to dogmas contrary to our constitution'.

Macron also came under fire with the retired officers blasting the state for allowing brutal police action against yellow vest protesters in the country.

The letter claimed that the country would 'explode' into civil war if 'nothing was done,' which would lead to the deaths of thousands.

They also claimed they had broad support in the military and were 'ready to support' politicians who focused on the 'safety of a nation.'

Le Pen's National Rally gave the letter their backing, saying it reflected the views of 'patriots' like General Pierre de Villiers, former chief of the defense staff, who was sacked by Macron in 2017.
ROME (AP)  The Vatican No. 2 is skipping a planned trip to Venezuela this week because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vaticans former ambassador to Caracas, had planned to celebrate the April 30 beatification of Jose Gregorio Hernandez, dubbed the doctor of the poor.

The Vatican said Wednesday that because of issues linked to the pandemic, Parolin wouldnt make the trip.

His visit coincided with revived efforts by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduros government to court the Biden administration in hopes it will ease sanctions meant to isolate the socialist leader.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, leads President Joe Biden into the room for a COVID-19 briefing at the headquarters for the CDC in Atlanta, Ga., on March 19, 2021. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

Fully Vaccinated Older Adults Are Far Less Likely to Be Hospitalized: CDC

A new CDC review shows that fully vaccinated adults 65 years and older are 94 percent less likely to develop symptoms from the CCP virus that require them to be hospitalized than people of the same age who are not vaccinated.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, causes the disease COVID-19.

These findings are encouraging and welcome news for the two-thirds of people aged 65 and up who are already fully vaccinated, said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective and these real-world findings confirm the benefits seen in clinical trials, preventing hospitalizations among those most vulnerable. The results are promising for our communities and hospitals. As our vaccination efforts continue to expand, COVID-19 patients will not overwhelm health care systemsleaving hospital staff, beds, and services available for people who need them for other medical conditions.

Severe symptoms from the virus sometimes lead to hospitalization, intensive care, ventilators to assist breathing, or death.

People 65 and older who had one dose of the two-dose vaccine were 64 percent less likely to be hospitalized with severe symptoms than people who were not vaccinated.

Dr. Walensky said on April 23 that 66 percent of the U.S. population 65 and over has been fully vaccinated, which is about 36 million Americans.

We are well on our way to having one of our most vulnerable populations fully protected against this deadly virus and that is a reason to celebrate, said Walensky.

She said this was accomplished because of a joint effort from the CDC, FEMA, HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration), state governments, and private sector partnerships.

Meanwhile, Andrew Slavitt, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said, We have 75,000 places for Americans to get back to. Importantly now, 90 percent of all Americans live within five miles of a vaccination site. By the end of May, well have enough vaccine supply for every adult who wants one.

Dr. Walensky urged American to do more to keep other safe, especially getting fully vaccinated.

Looking county by county there are some unsettling gaps in our coverage. Some areas are doing very well with greater than 65 percent coverage for those over the age of 65  but many areas have far less coverage, less than 47 percent.

Because this virus is an opportunist, we anticipate that the areas of lightest vaccine coverage now might be where the virus strikes next, and with modest protection of our oldest population many more deaths could ensue, Walensky added.

Now that everyone is eligible to receive a vaccine, please help turn your county toward more protection, said Walensky.
A month ago, ConocoPhillips warned it would book a $600-million impairment to its first-quarter profits from its acquisition of Concho Resources and, as Reuters reported at the time, related oil price hedges. Now, it is emerging that Concho is not the only one that hedged too early.

When the price of crude oil began to recover last year after a devastating first half of the year, U.S. oil producers began to hedge their 2021 output at higher prices. They hedged less than normally, Rystad Energy noted in an October report, at 41 percent of their forecast production in 2021. But they hedged this at an average of $42 per barrel of crude. That compared with a bottom hedging price of $56 per barrel for 2020 production Rystad said in its report. Then prices climbed higher but, it seems, many oil producers continue hedging at low prices into 2021.

Now, U.S. oil companies are facing billions in missed opportunity losses, Reuters reported this week, because of this overly pessimistic hedging. The report quoted the co-head of commercial intelligence of energy data at Enverus, Andrew McConn, who said some 66 oil producers had accumulated missed opportunity losses of as much as $7 billion for the first quarter of the year.

Hedging at around $40 per barrel obviously made sense in late 2020 and early 2021. Uncertainty about oil demand, despite the production-cutting agreement of OPEC+, continued high as global Covid-19 infection rates also stayed high and are rising fast. This uncertainty remains. Oil prices recently suffered a decline because of the surge in infections in India.

Yet, in hindsight, it appears that many U.S. oil companies overestimated this uncertainty and the risks it carried for their oil production. Diamondback Energy hedged some of its output at a little over $46 per barrel and now expects losses of some $102 million, Reuters reported. Cimarex, for its part, said it would report hedging losses of $162 million for the first quarter. Chesapeake Energy will also likely post hefty losses as it hedged some 19 million barrels of future production at a price of $42.69 a barrel. Related: Oil Prices Climb As OPEC+ Holds Firm On Output Cuts

Meanwhile, World Oil reports that oil companies are beginning to hedge their output further into the future than normally. A survey among the 30 largest public E&Ps in the United States revealed that although most companies hedged only their 2021 output, some made hedges on output to be produced as far in the future as 2023 and 2024. As for prices, the average price of WTI at which the companies hedged was $44.69 per barrel for 2021 production and $43.88 per barrel for 2022 production.

The numbers confirm that a lot of companies hedged cautiously and have, as a result, suffered losses either from unwinding these contracts or from missing the opportunity to make more money from their barrels. Whether this cautiousness will subside this year, however, remains to be seen. Oil prices are certainly higher, but so is the global production of oil. And it might grow higher still if OPEC further relaxes its output curbs, unlikely as this is at current prices.

The good news, according to analysts, is that few if any oil companies hedge all their output. While this is confidential information for most of E&Ps, a handful of participants in the World Oil survey disclosed the amount of output they'd hedged, which was an average of 80 percent, including three-way contracts believed to be safer than two-way ones.

Yet most producers hedge a lot less than this, one analyst who spoke to Reuters said. The average is about half of annual production, and with the right ratio, the hedging company could still make money from the barrels it didn't hedge in case it hedged at too low prices.

"If you have the appropriate hedge ratio, you should want to lose money because you're making money on the other part of your portfolio," John Saucer from commodity advisors Mobius Risk Group said.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
In this Wednesday, June 19, 2019 file photo, astronaut Michael Collins attends the JFK Space Summit at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. Collins, who piloted the ship from which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday, April 28, 2021, of cancer, his family said. He was 90. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, who orbited the moon alone while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their historic first steps on the lunar surface, died Wednesday. He was 90.

Collins died of cancer in Naples, Florida. "Mike always faced the challenges of life with grace and humility, and faced this, his final challenge, in the same way," his family said in a statement.

Collins was part of the three-man Apollo 11 crew that in 1969 effectively ended the space race between the United States and Russia and fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's challenge to reach the moon by the end of the 1960s.

Though he traveled some 238,000 miles to the moon and came within 69 miles, Collins never set foot on the lunar surface like his crewmates Aldrin and Armstrong, who died in 2012. None of the men flew in space after the Apollo 11 mission.

"It's human nature to stretch, to go, to see, to understand," Collins said on the 10th anniversary of the moon landing in 1979. "Exploration is not a choice reallyit's an imperative, and it's simply a matter of timing as to when the option is exercised."

Collins was later the director of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.

"Michael Collins wrote and helped tell the story of our nation's remarkable accomplishments in space," said President Joe Biden in a statement, noting that Collins "demanded that everyone call him, simply, Mike."

In this June 19, 1969 file photo, Apollo 11 command module pilot astronaut Michael Collins takes a break during training for the moon mission, in Cape Kennedy, Fla. Collins, who piloted the ship from which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday, April 28, 2021, of cancer, his family said. He was 90. (AP Photo/File)

Collins spent the eight-day Apollo 11 mission piloting the command module. While Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the moon's surface in the lunar lander, Eagle, Collins remained alone in the command module, Columbia.

"I guess you're about the only person around that doesn't have TV coverage of the scene," Mission Control radioed Collins after the landing.

"That's all right. I don't mind a bit," he responded.

Collins was alone for nearly 28 hours before Armstrong and Aldrin finished their tasks on the moon's surface and lifted off in the lunar lander. Collins was responsible for re-docking the two spacecraft before the men could begin heading back to Earth. Had something gone wrong and Aldrin and Armstrong been stuck on the moon's surfacea real fearCollins would have returned to Earth alone.

Though he was frequently asked if he regretted not landing on the moon, that was never an option for Collins, at least not on Apollo 11. Collins' specialty was as a command module pilot, a job he compared to being the base-camp operator on a mountain climbing expedition. As a result, it meant he wasn't considered to take part in the July 20, 1969, landing.

In this July 20, 1999 file photo, Apollo 11 astronauts, from left, Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, are awarded the Samuel P. Langley medal, at a ceremony at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum in Washington. Collins, who piloted the ship from which Armstrong and Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday, April 28, 2021, of cancer, his family said. He was 90. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File)

"I know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have," he wrote in his 1974 autobiography, "Carrying the Fire." "This venture has been structured for three men, and I consider my third to be as necessary as either of the other two."

Aldrin, the remaining Apollo 11 astronaut, tweeted a picture Wednesday of the three crewmates laughing, saying: "Dear Mike, Wherever you have been or will be, you will always have the Fire to Carry us deftly to new heights and to the future."

Collins was born in Rome on Halloween 1930. His parents were Virginia Collins and U.S. Army Maj. Gen. James L. Collins. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1952, a year behind Aldrin, Collins joined the Air Force, where he became a fighter pilot and test pilot.

John Glenn's 1962 flight making him the first American to orbit the Earth persuaded Collins to apply to NASA. He was accepted on his second try, in 1963, as part of the third group of astronauts selected. Collins' first mission was 1966s Gemini 10, one of the two-man missions made in preparation for flights to the moon.

Along with John Young, Collins practiced maneuvers necessary for a moon landing and performed a spacewalk during the three-day mission. During the spacewalk, he famously lost a camera, which is frequently cited as one of the items of "space junk" orbiting Earth.

In this July 19, 1979 file photo, Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins attends a news conference on the 10th anniversary of historic moon landing. Collins, who piloted the ship from which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday, April 28, 2021, of cancer, his family said. He was 90. (AP Photo)

On Jan. 9, 1969, NASA announced that Collins, Armstrong and Aldrin would be on the crew of Apollo 11, the United States' first moon landing attempt. Of his fellow Apollo 11 astronauts, Collins said they were: "Smart as hell, both of them, competent and experienced, each in his own way." Still, Collins called the group "amiable strangers" because the trio never developed as intense a bond as other crews.

"We were all business. We were all hard work. And we felt the weight of the world upon us," Collins said in 2019.

Of the three, Collins was the acknowledged jokester. Aldrin called him the "easygoing guy who brought levity into things." In summarizing Kennedy's famous challenge to go to the moon, for example, Collins later said: "It was beautiful in its simplicity. Do what? Moon. When? End of decade."

The Apollo 11 crew trained for just six months before launching on July 16, 1969, from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The mission insigniaan eagle landing on the moon with an olive branch in its talonswas largely Collins' creation.

Collins said one of the things that struck him most was the way the Earth looked from spacepeaceful and serene but also delicate.

In this 1969 file photo, Apollo 11 astronauts from left, Col. Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, lunar module pilot; Neil Armstrong, flight commander; and Lt. Michael Collins, command module pilot, stand next to their spacecraft. Collins, who piloted the ship from which Armstrong and Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday, April 28, 2021, of cancer, his family said. He was 90. (AP Photo/File)

"As I look back on Apollo 11, I more and more am attracted to my recollection, not of the moon, but of the Earth. Tiny, little Earth in its little black velvet background," Collins said while marking the mission's 50th anniversary in 2019.

In contrast, he said the moon seemed almost hostile. In fact, it was considered so hostile that on their return, Collins, Armstrong and Aldrin all spent several days in a quarantine trailer. They received visitors, including President Richard Nixon, staring through a window.

When the group was finally deemed safe, they went on a world tour, visiting 25 countries in just over five weeks.

Collins often remarked that he was surprised that everywhere they went people didn't say "Well, you Americans finally did it." Instead, they said, "Well, we finally did it," meaning "we" humans.

Early on, Collins said Apollo 11 would be his last mission, though officials at NASA wanted him to continue flying. Collins soon left NASA and joined the State Department as assistant secretary for public affairs. Though he enjoyed the people he later wrote that "long hours in Washington flying a great mahogany desk" didn't suit him.

In this July 24, 1969 file photo, President Richard Nixon, back to camera, greets the Apollo 11 astronauts in a quarantine van on board the U.S.S. Hornet after splashdown and recovery in the Pacific Ocean. From left are Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. Splashdown was east of Wake Island, and south of Johnston Atoll. Collins, who piloted the ship from which Armstrong and Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday, April 28, 2021, of cancer, his family said. He was 90. (AP Photo/File)

In this Friday, July 19, 2019 file photo, President Donald Trump listens to Apollo 11 astronauts Michael Collins, third from left, with Vice President Mike Pence and first lady Melania Trump, during a photo opportunity commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Collins, who piloted the ship from which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday, April 28, 2021, of cancer, his family said. He was 90. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

After about a year, he left and joined the Smithsonian Institution. There, he led a team responsible for planning and opening the National Air and Space Museum. The Apollo 11 capsule is in the museum's collection along with many of Collins' personal items from that mission, including his toothbrush, razor and a tube of Old Spice shaving cream.

"Whether his work was behind the scenes or on full view, his legacy will always be as one of the leaders who took America's first steps into the cosmos," acting NASA administrator Steve Jurczyk said in a statement.

Collins is survived by two daughters and grandchildren. He died on the 64th anniversary of his wedding to Patricia Finnegan Collins, who died in 2014.

Along with his autobiography, Collins wrote a book on his experience for younger readers, "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story." In a 1994 preface to the book, Collins urged more spending on space exploration and on an astronaut mission to Mars.

"I am too old to fly to Mars, and I regret that. But I still think I have been very, very lucky," he wrote. "I was born in the days of biplanes and Buck Rogers, learned to fly in the early jets, and hit my peak when moon rockets came along. That's hard to beat."

Explore further Obama salutes 45th anniversary of US astronauts' Moon landing

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
A memorial fund that will support aspiring journalists has been created in honor of KCUR reporter Aviva Okeson-Haberman, who was fatally shot in her Kansas City apartment.

KCUR and and KBIA at the Missouri School of Journalism, where Okeson-Haberman started reporting in college, are working to set up the legacy fund to support journalists who, like Aviva, show potential to change the world through journalism.

The fund will honor Okeson-Habermans tremendous commitment to curiosity, compassion and the truth, according to the donation page on KCURs website.

The 24-year-old reporter died after she was found wounded Friday in her first-floor apartment in the 2900 block of Lockridge Avenue in Kansas City. Detectives are investigating her death as a homicide.

Colleagues remembered Okeson-Haberman as one of the most conscientious reporters they knew. She covered Missouri government and politics for the public radio station, but she assisted with a range of stories from City Hall coverage and the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the shooting, KCUR was inundated with calls and messages from across the U.S. with people asking if there was a way to honor Okeson-Habermans memory, KCURs general manager, Sarah Morris, said in an email.

The station coordinated with KBIA because leadership knew they wanted to do something to support future journalists, especially those who will follow the same career path Okeson-Haberman had.

Condolences for Okeson-Habermans loved ones and her colleagues also poured in.

In remembering her, the Society of Professional Journalists called her a rising star in the industry. On Twitter, the group shared a feature in its magazine, in which Okeson-Haberman talked about uncovering problems with Missouris elder abuse hotline  a story that led to a state investigation and reforms.

What Im most proud of is the fact that changes were made because of the reporting, Okeson-Haberman recently told Quill. Thats why I got into reporting, and thats what I love about my job.

Gun violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America and sponsored in part by Missouri Foundation for Health. As part of this project, The Star will seek the communitys help.

To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.
Charlie Louvin, Ken Holloway and Earl Freudenberg. It was taken in the early 90s and it hung in the museum.

Tuesdays fire at Jim Olivers Smokehouse on Monteagle Mountain apparently destroyed hundreds of historical items of the Louvin Brothers country music stars.

The Louvin Brothers were raised on a farm in Henagar, Ala. The brothers were very popular in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Charlie Louvin said in the early days the brothers worked third shift at Peerless Woolen mills in Rossville. Louvin said the brothers would take their break from 4:305:30 and rush to WDEF radio in the Volunteer building in Chattanooga. They would do a 15-minute radio show from 5-5:15. Louvin said they took turns driving to the radio program and eating sandwiches their mother fixed them. The Louvins joined the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in 1955.

Charlie collected all the brothers' memorable and opened a museum at the North Alabama home place. Charlie sold the farm and moved his residence and museum to Bell Buckle, Tn. Ira Louvin died in a car accident in1965. Charlie Louvin died of cancer in 2011.

Former Cleveland, Tn. Mayor Tom Rowland said he was told Jim Oliver and Charlie Louvin were good friends. Charlies family apparently donated the museum items to Oliver and he re-opened the museum in his Smokehouse at Monteagle.

When Ken Holloway and I visited the Grand Ole Opry in the early 90s Charlie had a picture made with us and the original hung in Jim Olivers museum. Several years ago Judge Russell Bean, who attended the University of the South, took Ben Cagle and myself on a mountain tour. We ended up eating lunch at the Smokehouse and visiting the museum.

The fire apparently destroyed hundreds of Louvin Brothers historical pictures and LP jackets. A fire official said it will be impossible to replace those items. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. There were no reported Injuries. Firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to nearby cabins. The iconic restaurant opened in 1960.
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan held a meeting with the Ambassador of Iran to Armenia Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri, the Deputy Prime Ministers Office said in a news release.

Grigoryan highly appreciated the relations with Iran and the existing cooperation in various sectors, emphasizing that Armenia and Iran have a big agenda of bilateral relations.

The Iranian ambassador noted that Armenia is a friend and a brotherly country for them, and that Armenias successes are important for Iran as well.

Potential directions for developing the bilateral relations were discussed, addressing the sectors of energy, transport and the economy.

Ideas were exchanged over enhancing the cooperation also within the framework of the EEU and the prospect of Iran entering the unions market through EEU-member Armenia.

Grigoryan and Zohouri both emphasized the existing big potential for developing bilateral relations and the need for taking joint efforts in this direction. The opportunities for bolstering contacts between the private sectors of both countries were discussed.

Regional developments, as well as the COVID-19 vaccinations were also addressed.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and state Department of Human Services hosted a forum Tuesday with court and law enforcement personnel from Northeast Pennsylvania to discuss criminal justice reform for people with autism.

Local attendees included Luzerne County Judge Jennifer L. Rogers and District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce.

The virtual forum kicked off with Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty discussing the importance of bringing about change that will improve outcomes for people with autism who encounter the criminal justice system.

We have judges and district attorneys and mental health professionals and parents and individuals who are on the spectrum who are going to have a candid conversation with all of us and all of you to hopefully bring about some change in the court system regarding autism and ultimately bring about some change in our everyday lives, Dougherty said.

Nina Wall, director of the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations at the state Department of Human Services, discussed the importance of recognizing that autism is not a mental illness, but rather a neurodevelopmental disorder.

We have seen examples of some of the negative outcomes and sometimes the sad trajectories that can occur when individuals with autism intersect with the justice system for a multitude of reasons, Wall said. But, weve also seen examples of how some of these adverse outcomes can be avoided. And thats when the community and justice system professionals have knowledge about autism, about what makes autism distinct.

Rogers, who is the countys juvenile court judge and previously presided over family court, said she makes a habit of asking up front if anyone at a pretrial hearing has special needs and is willing to make accommodations, such as turning down the lights, allowing personal items like a blanket and not requiring people with autism to testify from the witness stand.

I think that one thing we can do as judges is to listen very carefully, Rogers said. Listen, because then when youre interviewing the child you understand what that child needs.  I certainly try, when Im interacting with an autistic child to know that that child appreciates knowing whats going to happen. That child appreciates having an order described to him or her.

Pennsylvania State Police Capt. Christopher King said police need to know when theyre dealing with someone on the spectrum, and said disclosure from the person or those around him or her is crucial.

The difficulty of being a police officer is working on limited information, King said. We do our best, and I think we do a good job training our troopers and police officers to understand autism, but sometimes you have to keep too, a lot of behaviors that are being exhibited might be for other reasons.

Sanguedolce, who has a 6-year-old nephew with autism, said its also important that attorneys learn early on when they are dealing with a person who is on the spectrum.

Raise it as soon as possible, Sanguedolce said. I know lawyers are often overwhelmed by their caseloads and things that are going on. The earlier and more often you raise it, the better  alert somebody that this case needs special attention.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - New York State lawmakers on Tuesday announced that they would rescind a number of Gov. Andrew Cuomos emergency pandemic restrictions.

Chief among them: The Cuomo rule that customers must also purchase a food item when drinking alcohol in a bar or restaurant. The edict has been controversial and was slammed by tavern owners and patrons alike.

Also Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that fully vaccinated persons would be able to be outdoors without masks.

In its updated guidance, the CDC did say that fully vaccinated people should continue to wear masks when in large groups, such as at public performances or sporting events.

The coronavirus pandemic has turned our world upside-down, and we need information like we never have before.

How many new cases were there on Staten Island today? How many deaths? How many people have been released from the hospital?

What are out elected officials, federal, state and local, doing to keep New Yorkers safe?

What other news is top of mind?

More importantly, when are we going to get back to normal, whatever normal is?

Its almost too much to keep up with.

So every day around 4 p.m., Mark and I take to Facebook Live to give you all the information you need. You can then look for this written wrap-up on SILive.com at the end of the day.

Well give you the numbers and all the latest news. Well answer your questions. Well follow up on your news tips.

Well share the good news too, the way that the Staten Island community is coming together in this time of crisis. Or well just share this strange and unique pandemic moment with you, as fellow Staten Islanders.

Were all in this together. Well all get through this together.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - BMEX Gold Inc. (TSXV: BMEX) (FSE: 8M0) ("BMEX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has engaged the services of Laurentia Exploration ("Laurentia"). In this role Laurentia will act at as geological consultants to BMEX and provide a full suite of services including the planning, execution, and interpretation of exploration programs and strategies with a particular focus and expertise on orogenic gold and gold-rich VMS mineralization. Recently Laurentia has been involved in several significant discoveries, particularly in Quebec, Canada. Laurentia will report to, and work directly with, Chris Wild the Company's newly appointed Chief Geologist.

Chris Wild, Chief Geologist at BMEX, added, "Our first priority is to evaluate and model the historical work done on the King Tut property combined with the results from the recent drill program. From there we will do the same for the Dunlop Bay property. I am excited to work with Laurentia Exploration, they have a methodical approach to exploration, bringing structure and discipline to our program, while still being able to think outside the box. As a group we are very much aligned in our approach and in our optimism for our projects and I look forward to working with them and to delivering results for shareholders."

Warner Uhl, President and CEO of BMEX, commented, "Since joining the BMEX team I have made some very important additions to the technical team that shore up our technical expertise. We have assembled a highly prospective property package and I am confident that the technical expertise of our new additions will be invaluable to BMEX Gold as we advance these projects."

Laurentia is very experienced in Quebec exploration and has clients in the vicinity of The King Tut property including Amex Exploration, Starr Peak, Generic Gold, Chicobi Gold, Spearmint Resources and Frontline Resources. Near the Dunlop Bay project, Laurentia has worked for Frontline Resource with the road 109 project and one of the principals of Laurentia worked for Glencore at the Matagami mining camp for several years.

In addition, BMEX announces the departure of Mr. Martin Demers from the position of V.P. Exploration of BMEX. The Company wishes to thank him for his contributions.

About BMEX Gold Inc.

BMEX Gold Inc. is a junior Canadian mining exploration company with the primary objective to acquire, explore, and develop viable gold and base metal projects in the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Quebec, Canada. BMEX is currently fully focused on earning 100% interest in its two projects, both located in the prolific Abitibi greenstone belt:

King Tut Project consists of 120 contiguous claims on 5,206 hectares

consists of 120 contiguous claims on 5,206 hectares Dunlop Bay Project consists of 76 mineral claims that cover 4,226 hectares

BMEX common shares trade under the symbol "BMEX" on the TSX-V and under the symbol 8M0 on the Frankfurt Exchange.

For further information please contact:

BMEX Gold Inc.

Dylan Sidoo, Business Development

Tel: 1 (604) 423 4499

Email: info@bmexgold.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. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward looking information" (as defined under applicable securities laws), based on management's best estimates, assumptions, and current expectations. Such statements include but are not limited to, statements with respect to the plans for future exploration and development of the King Tut and Dunlop Bay properties and the acquisition of additional exploration projects. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects", "expected", "budgeted", "forecasts" , "anticipates" "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "aims", "potential", "goal", "objective", "prospective", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "can", "could" or "should" occur. 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 expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: risks related to the King Tut and Dunlop Bay projects; risks related to general economic conditions, actual results of current exploration activities, unanticipated reclamation expenses; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; fluctuations in prices of metals including gold; increases in market prices of mining consumables, possible variations in resource estimates, grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry; delays in the completion of exploration, development or construction activities, changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, tax rules and regulations, and political and economic developments in areas in which the Company operates. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The forward-looking statements and forward looking information are made as of the date hereof and are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any forward-looking statements or forward looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as require by law. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. Please refer to the Company's most recent filings under its profile at www.sedar.com for further information respecting the risks affecting the Company and its business.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82028
The social media-dominated lives of Britain's locked-down youngsters have been outlined in a shocking new report.

It reveals how some youngsters, prevented from seeing their friends during the Covid lockdown, have been spending up to 15 hours a day on social media.

Other teenagers, who have seen their school lives turned upside down by Covid closures, say they have been using their mobiles while taking part in Zoom lessons.

Another admitted to spending 12 hours a day playing on X-Box, waking up at 2pm and gaming right through to 2am.

And in a damning indictment on the reach and influence of social media, one ten-year-old girl told report writers she worried about being a 'laughing stock' if she didn't get her 'lighting' right in her TikTok videos.

The eye-opening report, published today by Ofcom, looked into children's social media use during lockdown.

It chronicles the online lives of 18 children ranging from ages 9 to 17 during the third national lockdown in England.

The social media dominated lives of Britain's locked-down youngsters have been laid bare in a shocking new report.

One 16-year-old, named only as Jack (artist's impression left), told the watchdog he regularly wakes up at 2pm on a weekday. He says he then plays Xbox and scrolls through social media with very little break right through until 2am in the morning. Pictured right: Jack's screen-time

Another teenager Alice (artist's impress right) admitted she was 'hooked' on Netflix. She said she had watched all 17 season of medical drama Grey's Anatomy - often 'binge' watching the show for hours at a time

Children involved in the report were asked to send over screen-time data and spoke to researchers about their activities online.

In one of the most shocking parts of the report, it found one 17-year-old was clocking an average of 15 hours a day on his mobile.

Of that, the majority of his time was spent on 'Yubo' - a less well known French social networking app which promotes itself as a place to 'meet new people and 'create a sense of community'.

Another 16-year-old clocked a weekly average screen time of 10 hours, mostly on Snapchat and TikTok, while one 16-year-old girl was spending around 8 hours a day on social media.

One 14-year-old was found to be spending an average of eight hours a day - with an average of two hours a day being spent on TikTok.

Videos on TikTok are no longer than 60 seconds, and are often shorter - with an average clip lasting 15 seconds.

That means the teenager could have consumed almost 500 videos in those two hours.

Another teenager revealed his shocking daily routine to report writers.

The 16-year-old, named only as Jack, told the watchdog he regularly wakes up at 2pm on a weekday.

He says he then plays Xbox and scrolls through social media with very little break right through until 2am in the morning.

One teenager admitted admitted to spending 12 hours playing on X-Box, waking up at 2pm and gaming right through to 2am

Pictured left: Nathan, 14, says he sometimes watches up to 20 anime episodes back-to-back. Pictured right: He sent screen time data to Ofcom, showing he spent on average eight hours a day on his phone

Four to 15-year-olds watch 11 hours of streamed shows on YouTube and Netflix every week compared with less than seven on TV By James Robinson for MailOnline Children stuck at home during the Covid pandemic watched more programmes on YouTube and Netflix than they did on television, a new report has revealed. For the first time ever, streaming services toppled traditional broadcast television in the children's show market. On average, children aged four to 15 watched around seven hours a week of programmes on television - down roughly an hour from the year before. Meanwhile, the use of streaming services exploded during lockdown, going from an average of just under eight hours a week to 11 hours a week in 2020. However children did still tune in for big TV events, including BBC's Christmas Day special Zog and the Flying Doctors - which was the most watched television broadcast in 2020, according to the new report by Ofcom. Spirit Riding Free - an acclaimed computer-animated series about a young girl and her horse Spirit - Carmen Sandiego - a cartoon about a young female master thief - and Pokemon - a Japanese anime set in a magical world of battling monsters - all proved popular on Netflix. And on YouTube, children most enjoyed watching funny videos, jokes, pranks, and challenges. Music videos and gaming tutorials were also among the most watched videos on YouTube by children aged four to 15. The data comes from a new set of reports - released annually by Ofcom - into the media habits of children and adults. The report, which surveyed 8,000 children under 16, found a huge spike in children viewing videos online during the Covid pandemic. Children were twice as likely to watch TV programmes on video-on-demand (VoD) than live TV. Almost all children (96 per cent) watched any type of VoD compared to just over half (56 per cent) watching live TV. Average viewing time for online streaming also spiked by 44 per cent, from seven hours and 49 minutes in 2019 to 11 hours and 19 minutes in 2020. Average viewing time for traditional TV dropped from 12 hours a week in 2015 to seven hours last in 2020. According to some of those surveyed by Ofcom, the on-demand nature of streaming services was behind the big switch. Advertisement

He told Ofcom he was training to be a mechanic at college before the Covid pandemic.

But he said he became disengaged when the classes moved online again in the third national lockdown in England.

Despite enjoying his gaming activities and using it as an opportunity to speak to his friends, he told Ofcom he saw these activities as a way to simply 'fill time' and repeatedly used the word 'addictive' to describe his behaviour.

Another teenager Alice admitted she was 'hooked' on Netflix. She said she had watched all 17 season of medical drama Grey's Anatomy - often 'binge' watching the show for hours at a time.

Despite watching it once, she says she wants to watch it again. She told report writers: 'I'm so hooked. I've watched the whole 17 seasons, so I'm watching it again.'

School students in England were locked out of classrooms earlier this year - and during the first lockdown in March last year - due to the Covid pandemic.

Children - apart from those of key workers who were allowed into schools - were instead forced to take lessons from home on Zoom or Microsoft teams.

But some teenagers told Ofsted they were not focused during the lessons.

Screen time data collecting from one schoolboy showed he was using his phone while on his laptop for home learning - with schools closed due to the national lockdown in England's third national lockdown earlier this year.

The data shows, even within school hours (9am  4pm), the teenager was using his phone to talk to his friends on Snapchat or to scroll through videos on TikTok.

And when asked about it, the teenager, named Peter, said: I feel like it doesn't distract me from my work I just respond to my messages and put it down.

'In a normal classroom you don't sit in silence - you still have to speak to your friends.'

According to the report, it was not just time consumption that was an issue.

The report also highlighted that several children had reported seeing harmful content online, including self-harm videos and acts of violence.

It also looked into the impact of social media use on children, with some reporting feeling 'lonely' despite being in almost constant contact with their friends.

One of the most worrying parts of the report came from comments made by a 10-year-old girl.

The girl, named only as Suzy, spoke about feeling self-conscious before posting content on TikTok.

She said was very much aware of the negative attention that some videos could receive on the site - which has a 13 and over age restriction.

Suzy said: 'You've got to have pretty good lighting and make sure that if you are going to do something you're pretty good at it, otherwise you can be made into a laughing stock.'

The report, and the comments made from those who took part, have raised concerns among children's charities.

The NSPCC today called on more regulation for social media companies to keep children safe.

Commenting on the report, Andy Burrows, Head of Child Safety Online Policy at the NSPCC, told MailOnline: 'Ofcom's report shows the scale of harm children face online and how this is sharply increased for those who could be considered vulnerable.

One 10-year-old girl, named only as Suzy (artist's impression left), spoke about feeling self-conscious before posting content on TikTok. Screen time data collecting from one schoolboy called Peter (artist's impression right) showed he was using his phone while on his laptop for home learning - with schools closed due to the national lockdown in England's third national lockdown earlier this year

Sarah spoke to Ofcom about her personal experience of social media during lockdown, describing it as 'lonely'. Pictured right: She clocked on average more than six hours a day of screen time

'Tech firms should be preparing for upcoming legislation by making changes to the design of their sites so they are safe for all children while also recognising that not all young users are the same and some are at greater risk of avoidable harm.

'The Online Safety Bill can hardwire children's safety into platforms' design choices if Government gives Ofcom the agility to investigate firms and the power to hold named directors responsible for failures in their Duty of Care that put children at risk.'

Ofcom, the UK's broadcasting regulator, is set to become Britain's first online watchdog later this year.

The new role will see Ofcom place a legal 'duty of care' on online services to protect users from illegal material on sites such as YouTube.

The regulator will be tasked with deciding whether firms have breached the agreement and whether to issues fines or legal action as punishment.

According to reports in the Financial Times in February, the role is set to be temporary until a full organisation is set up.

UK teenagers are shunning Facebook for Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok - with some spending up to 15 hours a DAY accessing social media on their phones, Ofcom reveals

By James Robinson for MailOnline

British youngsters are shunning Facebook for video-based social media sites such as TikTok and Snapchat, with some teenagers spending 15 hours a day accessing social media on their phones, a new report has revealed.

Facebook is by far the world's largest social media site, with over 2.7billion users world-wide.

But less than a third of British youngsters aged 17 and under, surveyed in a new report by Ofcom, said they used the platform.

And those who did said they used it for other reasons than keeping in touch with their friends - such as talking to extended family members or selling items on Facebook Marketplace.

Meanwhile, almost all of the youngsters surveyed said they used Snapchat - a short video messaging service.

Instagram, a picture and video based social media site that is also owned by Facebook, was the next most popular, followed by Chinese video platform TikTok.

But Facebook itself ranked fourth, in line with Twitch - a live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming - and Discord - a chat service primarily used by young gamers.

The survey was carried out as part of a wider Ofcom report into consumption of media by children in England.

The report, published today, chronicles the online lives of 18 children ranging from ages 9 to 17 during the third national lockdown in England.

Less than a third of British teenagers aged 17 and under surveyed in a new report by Ofcom said they used Facebook. Snapchat was the most popular, followed by Instagram and TikTok

Almost all of the youngsters surveyed said they used Snapchat - a short video messaging service owned by SnapInc

It found all but one had a smartphone, most had access to a laptop and more than half had access to a television or games console.

In one of the most shocking aspects of the report, it found one 17-year-old was clocking an average of 15 hours a day on his mobile.

'I get up at 2pm... and play Xbox until 2am': Life of typical British teenagers during lockdown is revealed in Ofcom report A teenager has revealed his shocking daily routine in a new report by Ofcom. The 16-year-old, named only as Jack, told the watchdog he regularly wakes up at 2pm on a weekday. The 16-year-old, named only as Jack, told the watchdog he regularly wakes up at 2pm on a weekday He then revealed he plays Xbox and scrolls through social media with very little break right through until 2am in the morning. He told Ofcom he was training to be a mechanic at college before the Covid pandemic. But he said he became disengaged when the classes moved online again in the third national lockdown in England. Despite enjoying his gaming activities and using it as an opportunity to speak to his friends, he told Ofcom he saw these activities as a way to simply 'fill time' and repeatedly used the word 'addictive' to describe his behaviours on these platforms. Advertisement

Of that, the majority of his time was spent on 'Yubo' - a less well known French social networking app which promotes itself as a place to 'meet new people and 'create a sense of community'.

Another 16-year-old clocked a weekly average screen time of 10 hours, mostly on Snapchat and TikTok, while one 16-year-old girl was spending around 8 hours a day on social media.

One 14-year-old was found to be spending an average of eight hours a day - with an average of two hours a day being spent on TikTok.

Videos on TikTok are no longer than 60 seconds, and are often shorter - with an average clip lasting 15 seconds.

That means the teenager could have consumed almost 500 videos in those two hours.

And in another worrying trend, the report highlighted 'multi-screening', where children use multiple devices at once - such as watching TV while on a phone or laptop.

Screen time data collecting from one schoolboy showed he was using his phone while on his laptop for home learning - with schools closed due to the national lockdown in England's third national lockdown earlier this year.

The data shows that, even within school hours (9am-4pm), the teenager was using his phone to talk to his friends on Snapchat or to scroll through videos on TikTok.

Other issues flagged included the amount of time spent on video games. The report highlighted one boy, aged 17, whose college life had been heavily disrupted due to Covid.

He had been studying to become a mechanic at college, but stopped engaging with online classes during the third national lockdown.

The report found his typical day would involve waking up at 1pm, playing games on his Xbox and scrolling through social media throughout the day, and then going to bed at 2am.

Meanwhile, the report found children remained disengaged from TV and radio news, and were mostly consuming it 'passively' via social media - in that they were not actively searching out news reports.

Many of the children said they picked up knowledge about the world through their Snapchat 'Explore' feed and viral videos on TikTok.

One youngster said he relied on his mother for news, saying: 'I don't really watch the news much, I just hear it from my mum and she will know if the news is real or fake so I just listen to what she says.'

However others feared the information they were getting from social media was causing things such as vaccine hesitancy.

The report chronicles the online lives of 18 children ranging from ages 9 to 17 during the third national lockdown in England. It found all but one had a smart phone and most had access to a laptop

One girl, aged 17, said: 'Don't get me wrong I have seen some stuff about the vaccine and me personally I don't want it.

'I don't trust it in the slightest and I do think a lot of that is because of my social media but me obviously I make my own decisions and when I've thought about what social media is saying to me about it, then it does come across as correct.'

Ofcom also found that, despite being connected with friends online, that youngsters felt increasingly lonely in lockdown.

The youngsters said that although they could keep in touch with friends or family through gaming and social media, they did not consider this to be an adequate replacement for seeing people they were close to in person.

One said: 'It has been quite difficult  it's been very lonely It is really, really, really, lonely.

'Even when you do Facetime people and stuff it's not the same, you don't feel like you've got somebody there.

'When you're feeling down, you don't feel like you've got somebody there.'

The report also highlighted that several children had seen harmful content online, including self-harm videos or acts of violence.

Ofcom, the UK's broadcasting regulator, is set to become Britain's first online watchdog later this year.

The new role will see Ofcom place a legal 'duty of care' on online services to protect users from illegal material on sites such as YouTube.

The regulator will be tasked with deciding whether firms have breached the agreement and whether to issues fines or legal action as punishment.

According to reports in the Financial Times in February, the role is set to be temporary until a full organisation is set up.

Commenting on the report, Andy Burrows, Head of Child Safety Online Policy at the NSPCC, told MailOnline: 'Ofcom's report shows the scale of harm children face online and how this is sharply increased for those who could be considered vulnerable.

'Tech firms should be preparing for upcoming legislation by making changes to the design of their sites so they are safe for all children while also recognising that not all young users are the same and some are at greater risk of avoidable harm.

'The Online Safety Bill can hardwire children's safety into platforms' design choices if Government gives Ofcom the agility to investigate firms and the power to hold named directors responsible for failures in their Duty of Care that put children at risk.'
Stepping up to aid India's battle against COVID-19, the United Nations said that its teams at WHO & UNICEF are procuring equipment & supplies, incl 7,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 nasal devices for oxygen supply and oxygen generating plants. It added that WHO is also helping to set up mobile hospital units. Over 2,600 WHO field officers have been deployed to support health authorities, said UN. The WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had termed India's COVID situation 'beyond heartbreaking'.

UN: 2600 WHO & UNICEF officers on ground

Our team in India is supporting authorities response to COVID19 by providing equipment, supplies, incl to local govts.WHO & UNICEF procuring equipment & supplies, incl 7,000 oxygen concentrators & 500 nasal devices for oxygen supply, as well as oxygen generating plants: UN Spox  ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2021

Global support to India

India has been offered aid from several countries like United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Russia, Kuwait, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Hong Kong, Thailand, Pakistan, United States and China promising oxygen concentrators, ventilators, liquid oxygen, PPEs, test kits, N95 masks, cryogenic Oxygen Containers. The US had lifted its ban on exporting raw materials needed to manufacture COVISHIELD doses. Currently, India is facing a delayed vaccine rollout as innoculation for those above 18 begins on May 1. Most states have complained to Centre regarding lack of doses as India faces vaccine shortage amid a huge COVID surge. India has 29,78,709 active cases and 1,48,17,371 recovered doses and 2,01,187 fatalities - reporting 362,757 new infections and 3,293 deaths in 24 hours - a new global record. India has administered 14,69,42,541 doses of which 2,44,77,479 have received the 2nd dose.

India's oxygen shortage

Currently, India is grappling with acute oxygen supply with Delhi being hit the worst - atleast ten hospitals have moved the High Court seeking oxygen supply. While the Centre and Delhi govt have blamed each other for the ongoing oxygen crisis in the national capital, Railways has started 'Oxygen Express' to transport liquid oxygen to the states via green corridors. These trains have already begun to arrive at UP, Maharashtra, Andhra from Odisha, Jharkhand and others. Delhi, which has demanded a consistent supply of 480 MT oxygen per day is yet to receive its quota as the state govt has not been able to provide tankers for transportation to the Railways. Delhi has demanded the Centre's help in procuring more oxygen, accusing UP and Haryana of obstructing its supply. Except for nine sectors, supply of oxygen for industrial purposes by manufacturers and suppliers has been prohibited from April 22 as a temporary measure.
[April 28, 2021] Mobvista has Entered into an Agreement to Acquire Reyun, China's Leading Mobile Measurement and MarTech Company

GUANGZHOU, China, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobvista , a technology platform providing a unified stack of SaaS products and services, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Reyun , a leading Chinese third-party mobile measurement and marketing technology company, to further the expansion of its SaaS tooling ecosystem. The deal is valued around 1.5 billion RMB (including cash and stock transaction). Once the transaction is completed, Reyun will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mobvista, Tony Bai will continue as CEO of Reyun, and Senior Vice President of the Mobvista Group. "At Mobvista, we're always looking for new ways to excel global business growth by unlocking access to China and the rest of the world digitally and efficiently," said Clement Cao, CEO & Co-founder at Mobvista. "We're excited by the potential Reyun's SaaS products present, having a mature business model and a high degree of commercializaton. Mobvista's acquisition and integration of Reyun and its products will greatly enrich our product matrix in the MarTech industry chain to strategically strengthen our foothold on the competitive Chinese market."



The Mobvista ecosystem provides a number of integrated cloud-based platforms to scale global business growth and has unlocked access to billions of overseas users for its clients since Mobvista's founding in 2013. Fusing the power of Mobvista and Reyun's SaaS services is a transaction that will fully cover the developers core demand scenarios of the digital industry value chain. Together, their robust global localization capabilities will integrate and develop multiple product lines to increase overseas users and revenue for today's mobile application developers. Reyun provides data monitoring, campaign management services and analyzes data from more than 700 million active devices each month. With its thriving sales team's rich experience in SaaS product marketing and a complete after-sales service mechanism, the integration of Reyun's services into Mobvista's ecosystem will greatly enhance the commercialization capabilities of Mobvista's cloud products.

"Reyun's mission is to 'simplify marketing' by providing the data and technology developers need to grow and thrive. The acquisition enables us to build more comprehensive, data-fueled solutions that meet customers' needs across their entire value chain and product life cycle. Together we will create more value and accelerate growth for our customers," said Tony Bai, CEO of Reyun. Reyun services wide-ranging companies including mobile games, social networking, finance, e-commerce, education, live broadcasting, life services, utility and mobile network operators. Mobvista's acquisition will include Reyun's full suite of products and solutions for mobile advertisers, which include Tracking IO, AdsDesk, Intelligent Ad Creative Analysis Platform (PAAS + Customized), APPADHOC (SaaS + Customized), Game Analysis, and PERSEUS. About Mobvista Inc.

Mobvista is a leading technology platform dedicated to driving global business growth in the digital age. With strong industry experience and cutting-edge technology, Mobvista's goal is to build a SaaS tooling ecosystem that includes products and solutions for mobile marketing, data analytics, creative automation, monetization, and elastic cloud cost optimization. Mobvista aims to be the catalyst that connects China and the rest of the world by helping customers build ambitious business models and drive business growth. Mobvista was founded in Guangzhou, China, in 2013 and has been listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (01860.HK) since December 2018. Currently, Mobvista has over 800 employees with offices in 18 cities across the world. Learn more at mobvista.com. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498558/Mobvista_and_Reyun.jpg

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China's communist government has launched a new app that urges citizens to report anyone expressing "mistaken opinions" on the internet. The new platform will also target anyone who criticizes the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), disputes the official CCP version of the country's history, or traffics in "misinformation."

The new website and app were recently unveiled by an arm of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), and authorities called on users to play an "active role" in helping to identify "malicious people distorting facts and confusing" others. CCP authorities stated: "We hope that most internet users will play an active role in supervising society ... and enthusiastically report harmful information," adding that they strongly "encouraged" netizens to report fellow internet users who have the audacity to spread "mistaken opinions" online in order to create a "good public opinion atmosphere." Particularly egregious offenses would apparently include "distorting" the party's history, attacking its leadership and policies, and "denying the excellence of advanced socialist culture."



Thought uniformity is an old concept in China. CC BY-NC 2.0 license.

This new app is in addition to and augments China's existing oppressive social credit score system that bans people from traveling and engaging in other basic societal activities and functions if they commit even minor "infractions" such as jaywalking or buying too much junk food.

"Mistaken opinions"? Particularly astute readers of this post will note that this is the third time I have used that term, two of which I've hyperlinked. The reason should be obvious. "Opinions" are just that. Two plus two does equal four, regardless of what modern espousers of Critical Race Theory may say, but opinions are, by definition, not immutable truths. That is why they are termed "opinions." Yet the CCP, in using the term "mistaken opinions," is clearly if obliquely asserting that its opinions are facts and those of anyone dissenting from them are false, untrue, lies...calumnious.

This may seem extreme and an attack on cherished God-given freedoms to some in the United States  or the West in general, but is it really at all different from how Twitter, Facebook, Google, YouTube, Instagram, et al. police their platforms? Or how social media mobs in the West currently conduct preposterously biased witch hunts that often lead to people being ostracized, de-platformed, and unemployed, simply for expressing "mistaken opinions"? Is this really at all different from what CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Hollywood, Big Academia, Big Tech, and the hyper-craven-cum-hyper-woke CEOs of giant multinational corporations are engaging in? It is certainly akin to the actions and policies the Biden administration  and the majority of Democratic leaders and governors mayors  have advocated, embarked on, and instituted.

So wear your mask and stay socially distant, Westerners. Get vaccinated pronto. Don't forget to use the pronouns of others' choice! Don't question your betters' leadership, actions, or agenda! Experts know best! The science is settled!

And always remember, the elites are only doing what they think is best for you! Don't question that. Or they'll have no choice but to punish you. For your own good, of course.

By the way, have you jaywalked lately? Denied the excellence of advanced socialist culture as portrayed by the Squad? Purchased too many bags of Cheetos and potato chips?

Don't plan on traveling anytime soon.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
By Morgan Brewster, marketing communications intern

The IT Flies! aircraft simulation competition is a tradition very close to the heart of the University of Dayton School of Engineering. Every year, the Merlin Flight Simulation Group and the School of Engineering host student teams from the United States and the United Kingdom on campus in the Flight Simulation Laboratory in Kettering Labs. During the competition, test pilots from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots "fly" the student-designed simulations and contribute significantly to their aircraft design knowledge-base. This year, IT Flies! celebrated 10 years of friendly competition across the globe on April 17th.

The IT Flies! competition is the only aircraft competition in the world that uses a flight simulator and allows students to have their designs actually flown and evaluated by test pilots and engineers.

Hosting students from across the globe in the IT Flies! competition for the last 10 years has been incredible in terms of fostering connections among students, faculty, and test pilots across the nation and the world, said Sidaard Gunasekaran, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and organizer of the IT Flies competition. No other equipment in the academic circle adds significant value to student learning like the Merlin Flight Simulator. Whether it is for a class or for a competition, flying student designs in the simulator and getting feedback from test pilots is a unique and memorable experience. It brings a new dimension to experiential learning.

Due to COVID-19, the IT Flies competition in 2020, unfortunately, had to be canceled. This year, things looked up as students and faculty prepared for a virtual competition. We had six teams: two from UD, two from University of Manchester and two from Mississippi State, Gunasekaran recalled. We connected the flight simulator screen on Zoom, and international students saw the test pilots fly their plane in real time and heard the pilots feedback.

This years competition teams had a wide range of designs, from landing cargo to a design similar to that of the Boeing midsize airliner. Students presented their designs and findings to a panel of judges, then their designs were tested using the MP521 simulator on UDs campus.

This year, the students design teams were asked to create a video presentation of their design to be passed on to the judges.

After going through all the flights, the judges met via Zoom and decided the winners.

1st Prize: Sparrow (University of Manchester)

2nd Prize: Switchblade (University of Dayton)

Best Presentation: Big Bertha (Mississippi State University)

Congratulations to all who won and also to those who participated to make this years extraordinary 2021 virtual competition a reality!
Mark Harmon's wife Pam Dawber made her appearance on the hit crime drama series "NCIS" early this month.

However, her special role on the show has been a long time coming.

According to Dawber, she had been asked to appear as a guest star throughout the years for different reasons, but she never accepted those invitations.

The mom-of-two revealed to ET Canada that she was once overwhelmed with the idea of acting because she had kids to take care of.

Most significantly, some of the roles pitched to her "didn't really entice" the Detroit-native.

"One of the first ones that came my way was to play, you know, his girlfriend. And it's like, I am not doing that. That is so corny."

On "NCIS," Pam Dawber played the role of investigative journalist Marci Warren. Though she was intrigued to portray a "fun grown-up woman with a strong personality," she admitted that she still had mixed feelings about it.

The 69-year-old recalled, "I was rather panic-stricken when it came to me because I thought I had retired. And it's like, oh, God, this is so good."

"But I'm scared, but this is so good. Am I going to do it?"

The former model questioned herself with, "What am I going to feel worse for doing?"

In the end, she realized, "And I knew that if I turned it down, I would feel bad about that. I would not really be pleased with myself because I would have chickened out... so I decided to do it."

Despite feeling anxious upon taking the role, there was a sense of familiarity in her case because Dawber has been visiting the set of "NCIS" over the years.

But she credited her husband of 34 years, Mark Harmon, for the show's production set, having an excellent reputation in Hollywood.

Dawber explained, "If you have a miserable, egocentric lead actor, it will destroy a show so fast. And Mark is a team player."

"This is almost 20 years this show has been on, and it's impressive that people still are having a good time and everyone's treated the same."

READ ALSO: 'The Voice' Recap: What Does Snoop Dogg Feel About Blake Shelton?

Pam Dawber's Supportive Husband

In an interview with EW, Pam Dawber was asked what it was like working with her husband at the moment.

"He's just a giving, great guy. He just gives me attagirls, you know?"

In another interview with TVInsider, when Dawber asks to run lines with Mark Harmon, he would go but would first have to ask, "But can we watch this game?"

READ MORE: Why Fans Don't Want A Remake of Oscar-Winning Movie 'Another Round' Starring Leonardo Dicaprio

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
Silent-chill.ru scored 51 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2.5/5.0 Stars by Social Team

This CoolSocial report was updated on 9 Sep 2019, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.

The total number of people who shared the silent-chill homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the silent-chill homepage on Twitter + the total number of silent-chill followers (if silent-chill has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the silent-chill homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if silent-chill has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the silent-chill homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the silent-chill homepage on Delicious.

Basic Information

PAGE TITLE DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS



The title found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage.

Domain and Server

DOCTYPE HTML 5.0 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 SERVER Variti/0.9.3a OPERATIVE SYSTEM

Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) The language of silent-chill.ru as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Type of server and offered services.

Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world.

Referring domains for silent-chill.ru by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines.

Facebook link

FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND

The URL of the found Facebook page. The type of Facebook page. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file.

Twitter account link

TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND
Some women are reporting temporary changes in their menstrual cycles after taking their dose of the COVID vaccine.

Anecdotal evidence from women worldwide had raised questions about whether the COVID vaccine affects menstrual cycles, ABC 7 Chicago reported.

"I had my 1st COVID-19 vaccine in January followed by the 2nd in February, and since then I have had hemorrhagic bleeding with clots. This month of April was the heaviest," one woman wrote in a social media post.

Another woman said: "My period has been the lightest in years for the past 2 cycles. Was beginning to wonder if I was pushed into pre-menopause."

READ NEXT: U.S. to Hand Out COVID Vaccine Raw Materials to India

Experts Explanation

UCSF OBGYN, Dr. Heather Huddleston, told ABC7 that these changes are very common. Huddleston, who specializes in reproductive endocrinology, said the changes in a menstrual cycle might be connected to stress or disrupted sleep, or disrupted body temperatures.

"All of those things could have led to something in the menstrual cycle getting a little thrown off for a month," she noted.

Huddleston said that she noticed receiving fewer complaints about cycle changes in recent weeks at her clinic. She also wanted to reassure women that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe.

Alice Lu-Culligan and Dr. Randi Hutter Epstein at Yale School of Medicine said there is no data linking the vaccines to changes in menstrual cycles.

"Even if there is a connection, one unusual period is no cause for alarm," they wrote in the New York Times.

Dr. Jen Gunter, an obstetrician-gynecologist and pain medicine physician, also said the COVID vaccine could not exert reproductive control via proxy, The Guardian reported.

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology also issued messages and statements saying that there is no evidence that the COVID vaccine could affect fertility.

The organization is also urging pregnant and lactating women to get the vaccine as data proved it is safe and effective for both mother and child.

COVID Vaccine And Shingles

A 27-year-old patient had received the first dose of the COVID vaccine. But weeks later, the patient was said to have developed shingles.

Infectious disease experts do not think that this was a side effect of the vaccine. Also known as herpes zoster, shingles is a viral infection that people who had chickenpox could get when the virus is reactivated.

Aaron Glatt, MD, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, NY, and a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said there is no scientific evidence that there is a connection, WebMD reported.

Cases of shingles emerging are not surprising, according to the experts. However, there is still no evidence that it can be linked to the COVID vaccine.

Glatt said almost one out of three people in the U.S. would develop shingles in their lifetime.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), two doses of the shingles vaccine would prevent it in 91 to 97 percent of adults, but it depends on their age when they get vaccinated. The shingles vaccine is reportedly recommended for people ages 50 and up.

Researchers noted that shingles appear to be triggered partially by a decrease in immunity. It can also be linked to stress and depressive symptoms; both were common during the pandemic.

READ MORE 'Vaccine-Gate' Scandal: Over 400 Peruvian VIPs Secretly Got COVID-19 Shots Before Official Rollout

WATCH: Can COVID-19 Vaccine Impact Your Menstrual Cycle? Doctors Address Side-Effects Concerns - From WTVR CBS 6






Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Lobe Sciences Ltd. (CSE: LOBE) (OTC Pink: GTSIF) ("Lobe" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent dated April 27, 2021 (the "Agreement") with Core One Labs Inc. (CSE: COOL) ("Core One Labs") to pursue the formation of a joint venture involving the development, regulatory approval and marketing of biosynthetic psilocybin and other psychedelic compounds (the "Joint Venture").

"Lobe is pleased to pursue a partnership with Core One Labs, as we continue our business expansion efforts within the rapidly growing psilocybin and psychedelics space," said Philip Young, CEO of Lobe. "A joint venture is the logical next step for us as it has the potential to provide cGMP grade psilocybin for use in clinical studies we plan to initiate in the future."

The Agreement proposes that Core One Labs would develop and manage the cGMP production and delivery of biosynthetic psilocybin and Lobe would be responsible for the clinical development, and commercialization of the product(s). Vocan Biotechnologies Inc. ("Vocan"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Core One Labs, would produce the biosynthetic psilocybin and other psychedelic compounds to be used. Vocan has identified a patentable method of producing psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychotropic mushrooms.

The structure and terms of the Joint Venture remains subject to negotiation between the parties. The Joint Venture is subject to a number of other conditions, including but not limited to, legal and regulatory due diligence by the parties, negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement (the "Definitive Agreement") with binding terms and conditions for the Joint Venture, including, but not limited to, customary representations and warranties, royalty structure for payments by Core One Labs for product sales initiated by Lobe, the price of biosynthetic psilocybin to Lobe, the production schedule of Core One Labs and the timeframe for product order fulfillment and delivery, which shall supersede the Agreement and receipt of applicable corporate and regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that the Joint Venture will be completed as proposed herein or at all.

About Lobe Sciences Ltd.

Lobe is a life sciences company focused on psychedelic medicines. The Company, through collaborations with industry leading partners, is engaged in drug research and development using psychedelic compounds and the development of innovative devices and delivery mechanisms to improve mental health and wellness.

For further information please contact:

Lobe Sciences Ltd.

Philip J Young, CEO

info@lobesciences.com

Tel: (949) 505-5623

THE CSE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Disclaimer for Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company, the proposed Joint Venture with Core One Labs and products expected to be developed, approved and commercialized, statements regarding research and development using psychedelic compounds, the development of innovative devices and delivery mechanisms to improve mental health and wellness, the initiation of future clinical trials, and business expansion initiatives, are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of the forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including that the expected benefits to be derived from the proposed joint venture with Core One Labs may not materialize as expected, including that the Joint Venture may be unsuccessful in developing, obtaining regulatory approval and commercializing any products and/or the risk that the Company may not realize a return on its investment in the Joint Venture, changes to the regulatory environment; that the Company's drug research and development activities may be unsuccessful; the completion of a Definitive Agreement, that drugs and medical devices produced by, or on behalf of, the Company, may not work in the manner intended or at all, and may subject the Company to product liability or other liability claims; that the Company may not be able to attain the Company's corporate goals and objectives; and other risk factors detailed in the Company's continuous disclosure filings from time to time, as available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. As a result, the Company cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made only as of the date of this news release and the Company does not intend to update any of the included forward-looking statements except as expressly required by applicable Canadian securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82040
TD Jakes on how Christians can best use social media to 'shed light,' not 'generate heat'

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In an increasingly polarized society, Bishop T.D. Jakes has encouraged Christians to use discretion when posting on social media, stressing the power of content that sheds light rather than generates heat.

When you're broaching a sensitive subject, a controversial subject, a subject where you have an opinion ... but may not have necessarily done your research on, I think it's better to start a conversation with a trusted friend and almost use him as a focus group to make sure that you're looking at it holistically, and not just narrowly through the lens of your own point of view, so that when you make a statement, it sheds light rather than generates heat, Jakes, founder of The Potter's House, told The Christian Post on Thursday when asked about best practices when it comes to posting on social media.

If you go through that litmus test prior to typing, it will save you a lot of grief and pain, and perhaps in certain cases, finances, trying to rectify a ship that has gotten off course because you're exposing it to millions and millions of people around the world without the benefit of the kind of process that normal people would go through, he added.

Jakes recently released his latest book, Dont Drop the Mic: The Power of Words Can Change the World. In it, The New York Times bestselling author highlights why effective, God-glorifying communication matters more now than ever before, particularly as everyone has a platform thanks to social media.

Jakes, who also serves as the CEO of TDJ Enterprises, spanning film, television, radio, publishing, podcasts and an award-winning music label, explained that before creating a film or documentary, creators typically go before focus groups  they dont simply throw ideas into the public domain."

I think that would be a very, very helpful practice to do, Jakes said, adding that platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are bad places to start a relationship with other groups and entities if you don't have the prerequisite of a personal real relationship that causes you to share what you have learned.

It's better to say what you have learned or what you're thinking or what you're wondering about rather than stated as a fact and become an authority without credentials, he said.

During the interview with CP and other reporters, the Dallas-based pastor also reflected on why good communication is important for building connection and community and ultimately, furthering the Gospel.

He shared how, growing up in West Virginia, he was surrounded by a predominantly white community, compelling him to build relationships across many different platforms, races and cultures.

When America started finally having a real, open conversation about race, it was quite inflamed and difficult and awkward because most Americans, and Christians in particular, think that silence equates to unity. But it's really just like a bad marriage where communication has eroded [and that] doesn't mean that the people are happy in the relationship, he said.

As difficult as this conversation is, I think it's a critical conversation to have, he said. I have gone out of my way to talk to several white pastors who got backlash from the black community because of the way they phrased or said certain things. ... And what I said at every turn, is, Keep talking, don't withdraw into a shell and become silent and stop talking.'

We must continue to communicate about this because it's not going to go away by us going back into our tribalism in our silos. We have to keep talking. And get it right.

One of the most influential communicators of today, Jakes shared how there have been times in his own life and ministry where hes gotten it wrong  and been forced to admit his wrongdoing and make changes going forward. Making mistakes  and then being corrected  doesnt mean to stop talking, Jakes emphasized.

We need your voice. We all need each other's voices in order for us to be the human race that we were meant to be, he said.

The bishop stressed that effective communication and ongoing dialogue will help promote unity in a society that seems increasingly divided.

In order to survive as a society, as an entity, we must recognize our own unity, and not allow the color of the coats of skin that's placed on our backs to ignore the fact that my kidney will work in your body, your blood will work in mine, and it doesn't take away from anything that I have.

We are one species, and we need to be more proficient at accentuating our oneness and acknowledging our differences in a way that brings wholeness.
Consumer forums have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure equitable distribution and easy accessibility of Covid vaccines across India as the third phase of vaccination drive is to begin from May 1.

The mass inoculation drive, expanded for all adults in the country from next month, is aimed at fighting the Covid pandemic.

In letters to the prime minister and the health ministry, Patient Safety and Access Initiative of India Foundation (PSAIIF) and Consumer Online Foundation stressed on the need to ensure equitable, uniform and maximum access of vaccines to people living in hard-to-reach areas and achieve comprehensive immunization.

The organisations led by Bejon Misra, a consumer policy expert, suggested a door-to-door immunization strategy. "This is in addition to giving people an option to seek an online appointment with specific allotted time slots to get vaccinated and avoid crowding," Misra said.

Congratulating Prime Minister Modi for launching the world's largest vaccination drive to immunize India's young population against Covid-19 from May 1, the organisations have suggested ways to make the Covid vaccination exercise for everyone successful.

Noting that India has the largest and fastest-growing dependent population with no significant income, the consumer forums recommended subsidized vaccination for all college students and other dependents having no income of their own.

This will make vaccines affordable and accessible to them thereby ensuring efficient and seamless execution of the vaccination drive.

Going a step further, the forums advised providing vaccine access to people especially students, the migrant population, etc irrespective of the region or location.

This is important as large population of India including migrant workers, tourists, and students are stranded in various States due to the surging Covid wave, the forums suggested.

Misra said, "Coronavirus infections have been rising in the country at an alarming rate. In this scenario, the expansion of the immunization drive for all adults above the age of 18 years is a welcome move as vaccines have a critical role to play in breaking the chain of Covid transmission, especially in the long run".

"The government must, now, focus on addressing concerns related to vaccine supplies, pricing, efficacy, awareness and crowd management to make this program a grand success", he added.

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.
Three days before his wedding, Tim Smith was preparing the family property for his nuptials when he was crushed between a bobcat and excavator.

The accident caused injuries so critical that his soon-to-be wife was encouraged to ride in the rescue chopper with him.

Tim Smith with wife Kym, son Hudson and daughter Willow, after he was crushed between a bobcat and 30 tonne excavator in Toowoomba in 2019. Credit:Pic: Fig Tree Pictures

Mr Smith suffered critical head and upper body injuries and spent several weeks in a coma before he woke up to discover his partner, Kym, was expecting their second child.

More than two years later, Toowoomba builder has returned to work part-time.
Although plants may look fairly inactive to casual observers, research into plant biology has shown that plants can send each other signals concerning threats in their local environments. These signals take the form of airborne chemicals, called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), released from one plant and detected by another, and plant biologists have found that a diverse class of chemicals called terpenoids play a major role as airborne danger signals.

Past studies have shown that soybean and lima bean plants both release terpenoid signals that activate defense-related genes in neighboring plants of the same species, and this chemically induced gene activation can help the plants protect themselves from threats like herbivorous pests.

In recent years, scientists have realized that the capacity of these chemical signals to boost plant defense mechanisms could make them useful pest control tools for agriculture and horticulture. One such scientist is Prof. Gen-ichiro Arimura of the Tokyo University of Science, Japan. Prof. Arimura notes that "the development of agricultural technology to date has been largely reliant on the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, which has resulted in environmental pollution and the destruction of ecosystems." As a greener alternative to pesticides, terpenoid signaling molecules may help farmers continue their production of vital foodstuffs while lessening the associated environmental costs.

In pursuit of this goal, Prof. Arimura and his colleagues chose to investigate the terpenoid compound menthol, which is derived from mint leaves and can activate plant immune systems. The aim of this project, which the researchers describe in an article recently published in the journal Plant Molecular Biology, was to develop compounds that are structurally similar to menthol but improve upon menthol's ability to activate plant immune systems. The researchers therefore experimented with chemically modifying menthol by attaching amino acids, which are a structurally diverse set of compounds that living cells use to construct proteins. In total, the researchers synthesized six different menthol derivatives with attached amino acids.

The researchers then tested the resulting menthol derivatives to see whether the modified compounds could outperform unmodified menthol at activating plant defense mechanisms. To do this, they treated soybean leaves with either menthol or one of the six menthol derivatives to see which of the derivatives, if any, could outclass menthol itself at boosting the expression levels of two defense-related soybean genes after 24 hours of exposure. The found that only one of the modified compounds bested menthol, and this compound is called valine menthyl ester, or "ment-Val" for short.

The researchers found that spraying soybean leaves once with a ment-Val solution boosted expression of the defense-related genes for three days, and a second spraying on the fourth day worked to boost the expression of those genes again. These findings suggest that ment-Val could provide sustainable pest control for farmers growing soybeans. Further experiments showed that ment-Val also increased the expression of defense-related genes in other crops, including peas, tobacco, lettuce, and corn. Ment-Val also proved to be quite stable under various conditions, which suggests that farmers would probably not lose the compound to degradation during storage.

Overall, these results suggest that ment-Val could be extremely useful as an alternative to the chemical pesticides that so many farmers rely on. Prof. Arimura notes that spraying ment-Val may be an effective way "to reduce pest damage to soybeans and other crops." He has applied for a patent on ment-Val's use as a crop protection agent, and he predicts that the commercialization of ment-Val "will generate billions of yen in economic benefits through its usage by companies operating in the fields of horticulture and agriculture." He also notes that ment-Val's anti-inflammatory properties could make it useful for human medicine.

The future is certainly going to be exciting for research into menthol derivatives like ment-Val!

###

About The Tokyo University of Science

Tokyo University of Science (TUS) is a well-known and respected university, and the largest science-specialized private research university in Japan, with four campuses in central Tokyo and its suburbs and in Hokkaido. Established in 1881, the university has continually contributed to Japan's development in science through inculcating the love for science in researchers, technicians, and educators.

With a mission of "Creating science and technology for the harmonious development of nature, human beings, and society", TUS has undertaken a wide range of research from basic to applied science. TUS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive study in some of today's most vital fields. TUS is a meritocracy where the best in science is recognized and nurtured. It is the only private university in Japan that has produced a Nobel Prize winner and the only private university in Asia to produce Nobel Prize winners within the natural sciences field.

Website: https:/ / www. tus. ac. jp/ en/ mediarelations/

About Professor Gen-ichiro Arimura from Tokyo University of Science

Dr Gen-ichiro Arimura is a Professor in the Department of Biological Science and Technology within the Faculty of Advanced Engineering at TUS, Japan. After completing his postgraduate education at the Hiroshima University Graduate School, he worked in the field of plant biology for several years before moving to TUS in 2013. A senior and well-respected researcher, he has more than 110 publications to his credit. His key research interests include plant biotechnology, ecology, and biochemistry.

Funding information

This work was funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; the Japan Science and Technology Agency; the Fuji Foundation for Protein Research; and the Nagase Science and Technology Foundation.


Nadine Korehnke B. G., Opalesque Geneva: We have been reporting since the beginning of the pandemic on an artificial intelligence program called VSOP, which runs an equity tail hedge strategy. And for good reasons; it finished 2020 up more than 30%, and it is still on a roll with a Q1-2021 performance of +2.77%. VSOP is managed by Quantumrock, a German hedge fund manager. "We are convinced that artificial intelligence (AI) will be a key driver of exceptional performance in asset management," Quantumrock's Nadine Korehnke tells Opalesque. "Already today, we can attribute a significant part of our positive performance to AI technologies. "Artificial intelligence has disrupted most industries in recent years and the asset management industry will be no exception. In the process of developing new strategies, AI can deliver better return and risk characteristics by its ability to process large amounts of data and by understanding complex and multidimensional patterns." Mrs. Korehnke, Head of Family Office Relations at Quantumrock, will be presenting in Opalesque's next webinar, Small Managers - Big Alpha, on Tuesday 11th May. She spent much of her career at Merrill Lynch in New York and London as well as at Deutsche Bank and Unicredit in Munich. Before Quantumrock, she built a single-family office in Munich, worked for a family-owned project developer, and fundraised equity for the DACH Family Office. VSOP "With Quantumrock VSOP, we offer protection against extreme losses in equity markets through a situational hedging mechanism and therefore provide investors with an effective equity tail hedge," she says. VSOP (Volatility Special Opportunities Program) uses a systematic multi-strategy approach in the S&P 500 index volatility market with a real-money track record dating back to July 2016. The program consists of several proprietary algorithmic and fully automated sub-strategies. Returns among the sub-strategies are low-correlated, internally diversifying the program. VSOP provides an intraday and short-term tail hedge through situative long VIX exposure while generating returns via its long equity bias during bullish market phases. The first quarter of 2021 was dominated by rising bond yields and a value-led equity market rally says a March manager commentary. The two key drivers of the program's performance were the Democrat victory in Georgia at the start of the year, paving the way for massive further US fiscal stimulus, and the success of the vaccine rollout in the US. The rise in bond yields has been closely correlated with significant outperformance for financials and value stocks. Value stocks are up +9.8% YTD compared with +0.3% for growth stocks. The Volatility strategies contributed with +1.79% to the +2.4% March 2021 return, profiting mostly from the volatility spike in late February. Autocorrelation strategies on the S&P500 and US Treasuries contributed with +0.98%. The strategy's total gross performance since its June 2016 inception is 97%, averaging 15% p.a. with a realised volatility of almost 13% p.a. It currently manages about $68m. Quantumrock GmbH is an AI investment technology company founded in 2012 and based in Munich. The firm has been since the beginning focusing on a systematic, algorithmic-driven investment process underpinned by proprietary technology and quantitative approaches such as machine learning. Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence is a suite of technologies, enabled by adaptive predictive power and exhibiting some degree of autonomous learning, that dramatically advance our ability to recognize patterns, anticipate future events, create good rules, make good decisions, and communicate with other people. A number of hedge funds are using AI to analyse masses of data, predict corrections in supply and demand imbalances, and forecast market movements for tactical asset allocation. This has the potential to assist a CIO's team to combine different strategies and tailor allocations. Asset managers that have implemented a full range of artificial intelligence techniques - including data mining, signal generation, and optimisation - are generating 3 percent in alpha, reportedly says a recent Accenture report. The Eurekahedge AI Hedge Fund Index, an equally weighted index of 14 funds, was down 2% in Q1-2021 after returning +11% in 2020 and +6% in 2019. By comparison, the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index (2,305 funds) returned almost +5% in Q1, +12.5% in 2020 and+ 9% in 2019.

Next webinar: Small Managers - Big Alpha With larger quantities of capital chasing the same alpha strategies and continuing to erode Alpha, savvy investors are turning to smaller and/or emerging managers as they look for alternative sources of return. Opalesque presents a carefully screened panel of investment managers worth taking a look at.

With:

Nadine Korehnke, Quantumrock

Elias Nechachby, Icon Asset Management

Paul Lucek, Ridgedale

Richard Simmons, Derby Street When : Tuesday, May 11th, 2021 at 10:30 am ET

Free registration here: www.opalesque.com/webinar/
Much credit is due to Lindsey Olivares, who served as both character and production designer on the film. The first person to join director Mike Rianda on the project, Olivares assembled much of their art team and shaped the films style with her bold, caricaturistic sensibility. Remarkably, this is her first production design credit: she previously worked as a visual development artist for a number of studios, including Dreamworks (Trolls, Penguins of Madagascar) and SPA (The Emoji Movie).

Ahead of the films release on Netflix, we spoke to Olivares about her experience of the production. She tells us how the team came together, how they brought their characters to life, and how production design is, in her view, an extension of caricature. The interview is presented below, alongside Olivaress character designs and development artwork 

Cartoon Brew: You have this dual title on the film. What was the extent of your oversight? Were you focused on characters or any other areas, or were you overseeing the design of the whole film equally?

Lindsey Olivares: Overseeing the entire set of the film equally. But the character design component, I did a lot of that before I was the production designer  before we were greenlit  and then I became the production designer. We had some other artists that supported us in character design. At our vis-dev models stage, before the production models stage, we were a really small team. We werent greenlit and I had the time to really work with our 3d modeler, very one-on-one.

And so I got backup once I moved into the production design role, but still did a lot of it. By the time were hiring most people, were really moving quickly. Each artist has their own hand in the way of doing it, so there were a lot of things that, to keep it in that same style, I was pretty hands on with  which was a lot, you know, to do both [roles]. But it was also, I think, a nice, cohesive thing to do.

The film has a strikingly different look from a lot of a big-studio productions. At Annecy last year, Mike Rianda said that you started out with this manifesto: to do something new with animation. Im wondering at what point that crystallized into the look of the film.

Its a good question. It felt like it happened gradually. There was a version of that in my early drawings, but they were more kind of line drawings, not so much like a final render. But they had a certain quality to them  a kind of scribbly, slightly inky, watercolory texture.

[After the early design phase] I feel like we really hugged to where we were. You do have to let it be a little bit more, in the way that their eyes are basically black dots, but when you look close up, theres a little bit of iris that doesnt go all the way around  its just a little hit of it. But its that level: you have to gain a little bit so that it doesnt feel  I dont want to say cheap, but so that it just feels more, because you do need to use the tools you have. I dont think I wanted it to look just like a sketch.

But we hugged really closely to the things where it was like, do we have to get rid of linework? Or does the collar have to become real fur? Ive always liked [to think]: how do we use the computer as a tool to make it look like anything? Because you start to get types of 3d looks, so it feels fun to do something different.

Our movie is about humans versus machines. Obviously, humans are always making these [films]. But how can we make it feel more like a human hand made it, and youre seeing strokes of brush texture from the look-dev surfacing team, and you can feel like its almost more traditionally made, in ways? That felt appropriate for this human-versus-machine story.

Coming after Spider-Verse, it felt like theres a lot that was learned too. Our style is a bit different, but there are some elements of pushing and trying new things that [are similar]. It was, I think, really lucky for us that we were able to come after that production, because there are some things that we learned and some confidence that I think the studio had, too.

While you were developing the look of the film, how conscious were you of what the Spider-Verse team was doing, in terms of experiments with rendering and so on?

Well, its interesting, because I started the project remotely. I was in Northern California, living with my grandmother, which is how Mike found me: I had these little animated GIFs of me and my grandmother hanging out. So I was actually kind of in a vacuum from that. I started down at Sony in 2018, so I wasnt able to see any of [Spider-Verses production].

Had I been exposed to it when we were in production, it might have been like, you know, being too aware of it. I dont remember if I first saw it from the trailer eventually, when I was down at the studio. It mostly worked in all positive ways, like, Oh yeah, we can do something new, too. While we were working on it, we had this feeling of big shoes to fill for the project coming after [Spider-Verse]. But earlier on, I was a little bit more in my own freelancer, outside-the-studio space. So I didnt have to compare.

Mikes family served as inspiration for the characters. Did they serve as visual reference for the designs of the characters as well?

I dont know that they look like them in any kind of specific likeness. But I definitely had reference. The closest one is: theres a photo of Mikes dad that  is exactly the costume the dad, Rick, wears. And then the other ones, it was a mix of getting photo reference from them and their energy is really big. Linda, the mom, is a mix of Mikes mom and aunt. And Id have all these photos of them kind of jumping around and theres this big energy. In a character way, they were very much a part of it.

And then a lot of the detail came from a lot of different places. I really like observation. My character design process is usually me really digging on things like Facebook, or, whats the closest thing I can do to people watching  looking at someones purse, or details of clothes, or how they fit, or something?

So its a mix of general observation based on the character clues that I got from his family. Katies kind of a version of Mike, but also kind of her own thing. And Aarons a bit of Mike, so there were some childhood pictures of Mike that hed send. And then on top of that, its nice because you get that knowledge of who the character is, because its so clear in [Mikes] mind. So theres a nice kind of foundation to design from.

When you were designing the characters, had the voices been cast?

Mostly Id say no, but for some of the characters they had been. There was a version where I designed them in the beginning, and some parts of that stayed really the same. But the Katie character took a little bit longer to find. We did tons of versions of her. By the point that we were solidifying her, Abbi [Jacobson] had just been cast.

I actually found a video that was really crucial. Theres a point where we started to get a design that we kind of liked, but it wasnt quite enough. She was a little more like mild, or a little bit less like the main character of the movie. But Abbi had just been cast, and she had just done this really awesome voice recording session. She knew the character by that point and it was all very specific, but I think she was just improvising and it was so good. It brought a lot of, Oh, I really get who the character is.

Abbi did all these great line reads and I did several drawings where I just put her in these poses, because I wanted to use that as inspiration and see how it felt. And my main drawing, where I really found her and pushed her clothing to be a little more iconic, was while working with Abbis acting. Im not saying that [Katie] looks like her, but her personality really helped in that stage.

With Mark Bowman, the tech CEO, we had a design for him and we were changing it. At that point, I had Eric [Andre, who voiced the character], and I kind of drew him. We werent trying to be caricatured  I do like caricature, but we werent trying to do [the actors] literally  but I love to draw to video, so being able to put a video of Eric Andre up and draw that character definitely help find him and give him some life.

You have an amazingly strong caricaturistic style in your art. Did you have many discussions with Mike and the team about how far to push the caricature in this film? Because there are moments in which they break into the very cartoonish, stylized expressions, and so on.

When I first started with Mike, he asked me to do a range, because I think he was unsure how realistic to go. I think there was a part that he wanted it to feel like this is a real world with real stakes and real people, but [also] wanted a certain type of playfulness of animation. We talked about that and landed in a kind of in-between spot.

I think the movie has a lot of mixed elements, in a way. Some things are really naturalistic: the animation, the acting, the little moments that are very human but, like you said, can be also very broad. [The characters] have a certain cartooniness. I think that tonally, that works for what [Mike] wanted to do.

The animation kind of took it to the next level, too. And they were really good at matching the boards  theyve got really incredible rigs at [Sony Pictures] Imageworks.

When youre designing the characters, are you already thinking from the start in terms of how they will adapt to 3d models, the limitations of 3d?

At the beginning, not really. For me, the main thing is trying to find the character, and I usually wont weigh myself down too much [by wondering], How do we translate it? I think that might inhibit the process a little bit. But yeah, you do need to translate it ultimately. [At that stage], you make more discoveries, and go to another level of specificity and form in a technical sense.

I wanted to ask about the tech world. Its threatening, but not too much, because this is still a family comedy, and also because the film has positive things to say about tech as well. I found that balance interesting, and I was wondering how difficult it was to strike it.

I dont know if I initially approached it with, like, How menacing?, but it would come up a lot. But the first thing I got excited about with the tech stuff, or started to understand it, was  I guess I said this before, but I like caricature. But to me, [caricature] is not just a big nose or goofy face or something: youre really distilling the clearest thing to really exaggerate it, so that its really clear. I feel like production design is an extension of that, because youre caricaturing a world or feeling.

I was like, Im going to caricature tech, these companies that were familiar with. I looked at different apps  I wont single anybody out  and theres lots of simple gradients, bright colors. Its like Apple, its the apple. Their design is so minimalist and clean  its kind of the opposite of what were doing in the human world. So that contrast is appropriate and made sense.

My specialty is more the kind of human lived-in stuff. I think I had a point of view with that. But we had a lot of really great artists that were also taking us to the next level. Arthur Fong did a lot of cool work like Pals office; we had Ryan Lang doing the robots, and Alex Konstad did a lot of really cool robot development. Our art director Toby Wilson did a lot of really cool robot tech effects and stuff. And we had a really cool motion graphics designer.

This was your first leadership role. What were the challenges of working with a large team and maintaining a consistency of style across the project?

It was an interesting position because Id been onboard in the early days, and by the point when we got a team, we were a little bit later than I was used to in my experience at those studios. I think its nice when you have artists that get to have some room to explore and try new things. And we kind of had [that] point of view. So it was like, How do we keep that evolving? And I think there was a lot of really great stuff people brought to the table that was in line with that.

But, you know, theres things too where youre like, Oh, this thing is not right, whether its paintovers, or getting everybody onboard with the brushes or [reference material]. How do you share [the things in your head] with the team so that we all start thinking similarly? Thats the challenge of it, because you have all of these people that all have their own unique styles. Theres things that kind of come into it.

Part of its in the hiring: I can see everybodys different, but [with some people] I can see theres this component thats going to really adapt really well, or its going to bring something really specific. Part of its in the community culture. I think we had a nice dynamic; it was obviously mostly pre-pandemic, so it was nice to be all together.

All that stuff kind of happens naturally: I mean to trust your team, give feedback, hear feedback. It was interesting doing leadership for the first time. It felt really rewarding.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines will be released on Netflix on April 30.

(Olivaress answers were edited for clarity and brevity.)
Dems laud racial diversity as panel turns focus to judges View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  The first Senate hearing for President Joe Bidens judicial nominations featured two African American nominees for appeals court openings, giving Democrats an early chance to promote racial diversity on the bench and provide a contrast to the Trump era, when no Blacks were among the 54 such judges confirmed.

The Biden nominees said Wednesday they did not believe race would play a role in their decisions, though they said diversity helps increase confidence in the courts.

Over the course of the prior administration, our federal judiciary became markedly less diverse, said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Today marks an important step in reversing that trajectory and creating a federal judiciary that reflects the America that it serves.

Democrats, narrowly controlling the Senate for the first time in eight years, are eager to turn the page from the Trump administration, especially when it comes to judges. More than one-quarter of the federal judiciary is made up of President Donald Trump appointees. Most notably, he nominated three members of the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the committees top Republican, harkened back to the Barrett confirmation in setting the tone of GOP senators. He noted that Democrats warned that Barretts confirmation was designed to ensure Trumps reelection and to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, the Obama-era health law.

Well, I just checked. Joe Biden is president of the United States and Obamacare is still on the books, Grassley said. If my friends dont want to apologize to Justice Barrett publicly, shes right next door and Ill bet shed be happy to accept any apologies in person.

The committee heard from five nominees on Wednesday, with Ketanji Brown Jackson attracting most of the attention.

She is a federal judge in the District of Columbia, and Biden wants her promoted to the appeals court seat left vacant when Merrick Garland became Bidens attorney general. Biden has promised to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court if a vacancy arises and Jackson is widely seen as a potential pick down the line.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said that because Democrats were placing so much emphasis on race, he wanted to know what role it would play in judicial decisions.

I dont think race plays a role in the kind of judge that I have been and that I would be, in the way that you asked that question Jackson said. She added: Im methodically and intentionally setting aside personal views, any other inappropriate considerations, and I would think race would be the kind of thing that would be inappropriate to inject in my evaluation of a case.

Cornyn also tried to get her to weigh in on the debate about expanding the Supreme Court, an idea being pushed by some Democratic lawmakers. Biden this month created a commission charged with examining the politically incendiary issues of expanding the court and instituting term limits for justices, among other topics.

Do you think the Supreme Court is broken? the senator asked.

Ive never said anything about the Supreme Court being broken, and again, you know, Im not able to comment on the structure, the size, the functioning even of the Supreme Court, Jackson said.

Jackson had gone before the committee in 2012 for her current job. Introducing her was then-Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who later became House speaker and is related to her by marriage. Now, our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanjis intellect, for her character, for her integrity, it is unequivocal, Ryan said at the time.

As for whether there might be a Supreme Court opening in the near future, Justice Stephen Breyer, 82, the courts oldest member, has been mum about any retirement plans. The last he had to say on the topic, in an interview published in December, was: I mean, eventually Ill retire, sure I will. And its hard to know exactly when.

Liberal groups have urged the courts most senior liberal justice to step down while Democrats have Vice President Kamala Harris to break a confirmation vote tie in a Senate split 50-50. And its getting to be the time of year when justices often announce their retirements.

If Breyer were to retire this year or next and Biden were to select Jackson to replace him, it would be a quick potential promotion, but also not out of step with other members of the court.

President George H.W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court in 1991, just a year after putting him on the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit. Last fall, Trump nominated Barrett to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was just three years after he put the Notre Dame law professor on an appeals court.

Also being considered for the appeals court was Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, 41, a Washington attorney. She previously served as a federal public defender in Chicago. Democratic lawmakers embraced her work as a public defender, saying such experience is too scarce in todays federal judiciary.

Jackson-Akiwumi said she too believed that race wouldnt play a role in the type of judge that she would be.

I do believe that demographic diversity of all types, even beyond race, plays an important role in increasing public confidence in our courts and increases the publics ability to accept the legitimacy of court decisions, she said.

Three other Biden nominees who testified were: Julien Xavier Neals, who is Black and is county counsel for New Jerseys Bergen County; U.S. Magistrate Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, who is Muslim and of Pakistani ancestry; and Regina M. Rodriguez, who is Hispanic and is a Denver lawyer.

By KEVIN FREKING and JESSICA GRESKO

Associated Press
World Immunization Week offers the scientific community a platform to showcase the most forward-thinking vaccination developments. This sharing of information allows scientists to educate themselves on the directions that vaccinations are taking and how they will improve the health of people across the globe, which is particularly relevant to preventing new diseases such as COVID-19 and ensuring old ones dont reemerge.

World Immunization Week gives key insights into the key advancements in the field; here, we discuss the current innovations in vaccine technology that are driving the future of healthcare.

Image Credit: Foxeel/Shutterstock.com

The rapid development of new vaccinations

Traditionally, vaccines take over a decade to research, develop, and be confirmed as safe for use in humans. For many years, scientists have recognized that this process is not fast enough to respond to novel infectious diseases.

Before COVID-19 emerged, scientists had been working on cutting-edge platform technologies to change the vaccine development landscape. In particular, a team at Imperial College London had been working on a groundbreaking new platform known as Rapidvac that aimed to develop new vaccines in months instead of years.

When COVID-19 became a global pandemic, scientists were under immense pressure to develop a new vaccine in a short timeframe. Thanks to developments like Rapidvac, scientists were equipped with the tools to create new vaccinations in record-breaking times. Before 2020, the fastest development of a vaccine had been the four years it had taken to get the mumps vaccine approved back in the 1960s.

What was achieved with the COVID-19 vaccines demonstrates a possible paradigm shift in vaccine development and deployment. It shows how vaccines can rapidly and effectively developed in short time frames to respond to novel diseases.

Syringe-less vaccines

Historically, syringes have been vital for administering vaccinations. Rates of trypophobia, the fear of needles, are fairly prevalent in the population, with recent studies estimating that around 20-50% of adolescents and 20-30% of young adults exhibit fear of needles. Therefore, the efficacy of controlling diseases via syringe-delivered vaccines is limited as there will always be a percentage of the population who will avoid taking the vaccine due to a phobia.

To overcome this issue, scientists are developing a method of delivering vaccinations via micro-patches. A team at the Hilleman Labs in India has recently developed such patches that could be used to vaccinate against Hepatitis B.

The method of patch-delivery also has further advantages, such as that they are cheap to make and easy to store, whereas many syringe-delivered vaccines are required to be kept at cold temperatures so that they remain viable. Therefore, patch-delivered vaccines offer rural and poor communities access to vaccinations that previously may have been out of their reach.

The future of vaccines: micro-patches will make vaccines more accessible than ever Play

Iris scanning helps to establish digital vaccine records in developing countries

The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak that hit West Africa was the largest and most complicated outbreak ever since the discovery of the virus back in the 1970s. Given that the average fatality rate of the disease is around 50%, providing those in at-risk areas with vaccination was vital to tackling the spread of the disease and preventing unnecessary deaths.

Fortunately, by 2014, two effective vaccines had been developed to protect against the Ebola virus. However, the challenge was that two doses of the vaccination were required, with the second dose administered 56 days after the first. In Western Africa, a developing area of the world, keeping track of who had received the vaccine and when they required the second dose was difficult given the lack of health infrastructure for tracking medical records.

To resolve this, scientists developed an innovative biometric tool to scan the iris and fingerprints of those receiving the vaccine. These scans were used to identify patients. Additionally, biometric tracking offered a way of tracking those who had been vaccinated in a non-stigmatizing manner, which was important in West Africa where many people did not want to be associated with Ebola.

The development of the biometric tracking method demonstrates a revolutionary way to manage vaccination deployment in developing countries that are often at greater risk of infectious viruses.

The future of vaccines: iris scanning technology is helping to contain outbreaks like Ebola Play

Infection research

A team of scientists in Kenya is currently developing a vaccine against the Shigella bacteria which is a major cause of infant death across the globe. The team is using an innovative protocol to investigate the efficacy of their vaccine.

Volunteers are being infected with the bacteria under test conditions in a controlled environment and being administered with the vaccine to quickly collect data on how effective the developing vaccine is against the bacteria. Studies like this could help speed up vaccine development for a number of diseases.

Advancements in vaccine technology, such as those discussed here will help shape the future of healthcare and will likely save many more lives from preventable diseases.

References

Gerberding, J. and Haynes, B., 2021. Vaccine Innovations  Past and Future. New England Journal of Medicine, 384(5), pp.393-396. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2029466

Latest COVID-19 vaccine based on technology tested for safety & immunogenicity in IMI Ebola projects. Innovative Medicines Initiative. Available at: https://www.imi.europa.eu/news-events/newsroom/latest-covid-19-vaccine-based-technology-tested-safety-immunogenicity-imi

McLenon, J. and Rogers, M., 2018. The fear of needles: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(1), pp.30-42. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30109720/

The lightning-fast quest for COVID vaccines  and what it means for other diseases. Philip Ball. Nature. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03626-1

Further Reading
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Parents of teens who went through puberty early may be more lenient when it comes to letting them consume alcohol, according to a new Penn State study. But the researchers said that even if adolescents appear more mature, drinking alcohol is still not safe for them.

Rebecca Bucci, a PhD candidate in criminology at Penn State, said the study -- published today (April 28) in Child Development -- aimed to discover why adolescents who go through puberty early are more likely than their peers to drink alcohol.

"A surprising proportion of parents in our study allowed their early-developing children to drink alcohol at the age of 14 -- in fact, one in seven," Bucci said. "It is important to remember that early puberty does not mean the child is more advanced in cognitive or brain development. They are not older in years or more socially mature. So allowing them freedoms common for young adults is risky."

According to the researchers, previous studies have found that adolescents who go through puberty early compared to their peers are at a greater risk for problem behaviors, including being two to three times as likely to drink alcohol.

While prior studies often didn't delve into why these heightened risks exist, the researchers said there are theories. For example, adolescents who develop earlier than their peers may have weaker relationships with their parents or have less parental supervision.

To this point, Bucci said there are conflicting theories about how to parent adolescents who are more physically mature than their peers.

"Parents want to do what is best for their children, and some may wonder whether a child who starts looking older should begin to have some adult freedoms," said Jennifer Maggs, professor of human development and family studies. "Ultimately, we wanted to understand why adolescents who experience puberty at younger ages drink more than others, including factors involving the parents."

The researchers used data from more than 11,000 adolescents in the Millennium Cohort Study -- a nationally representative sample of children in the United Kingdom. Data was collected at various checkpoints throughout the children's lives, including information on whether they'd ever drank alcohol, how often they drank and whether they had ever drank five or more drinks on one day.

They also gathered information about whether the parents permitted alcohol use, as well as the adolescents' "perceived pubertal timing."

"In our study, the measure of pubertal timing is based on adolescents' reports of their own pubertal changes," said Lorah Dorn, professor of nursing. "Adolescents were asked a series of questions about their physical development and we averaged these scores for each person and compared them to the scores of same-sex adolescents who were very close to them in age."

The researchers then grouped participants into three perceived pubertal timing groups -- early, on-time and late.

After analyzing the data, the researchers found that adolescents who experienced early puberty were more likely to drink at age 14 than their on-time peers.

Girls who went through puberty early were 29% more likely to have ever drank and 55% more likely to frequently drink. Among boys, the results were 22% and 61% more likely, respectively. Boys who developed early were also 78% more likely to have binge drank compared to boys who went through puberty on time.

Additionally, the researchers found that adolescents who experienced earlier puberty were more likely to be allowed to drink by their parents.

Specifically, while 15 percent of parents overall allowed their adolescents to drink alcohol at age 14, this was largely driven by parents of adolescents who went through puberty early -- 20 percent of those parents allowed their children to drink. Teens who developed early were also more likely to have friends who drank and more likely to be allowed to hang out with peers without adult supervision.

According to the researchers, these factors partially explained why adolescents with early puberty had higher rates of drinking.

Bucci said the results suggest that parents can have a hand in helping their teens avoid early drinking.

"This further instills the idea that parents should consider not allowing their child to drink alcohol, even if they appear more physically mature," said Jeremy Staff, professor of sociology, criminology, and demography. "Even if their child starts to look like a teenager or adult at a young age, parents should maintain the level of support and structure that matches their child's actual age and developmental maturity level."

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The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Economic and Social Research Council UK helped support this research.
Immunohistochemistry for alpha-synuclein showing positive staining (brown) of an intraneural Lewy-body in the Substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease. Credit: Wikipedia

EPFL scientists are developing a completely new 'brain stress test' for evaluating the mental status of patients with Parkinson's disease, the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease worldwide. It involves awakening the 'ghosts' hidden in specific networks of the brain to predict the onset of hallucinations.

"We're developing something similar to a cardiac stress test, but instead of testing the heart, we're testing the brain," says EPFL neuroscientist Olaf Blanke.

EPFL scientists are providing a new way to evaluate the onset of hallucinations in patients with Parkinson's disease with the help of a newly developed brain stress test, focusing their research on presence hallucinations. They also provide evidence of a promising biomarker for predicting the severity of the disease's progression. The results of their three-tier study, involving 56 patients affected by the disease and recruited at several centers in Switzerland and Spain, are published in today's edition of Science Translational Medicine.

"An important challenge with hallucinations is that they occur spontaneously, that their occurrence cannot be predicted, that many patients may not openly report them, possibly out of fear, and that it is currently very challenging for physicians to quantify their occurrence, phenomenology and intensity," says Fosco Bernasconi, co-first author of the paper. "We have established a robotic-medical device and procedure that can provoke a specific hallucination, the presence hallucination, safely and under controlled conditions in a hospital setting."

A spectrum of hallucinations in Parkinson's

Parkinson's disease is well-known for leading to slowness of movement, muscle stiffness, as well as uncontrollable shaking of the limbs. But alterations of movement are far from being the only symptom of the disease.

A few years into retirement and after an operation for treating Parkinson's disease, Joseph Rey from Geneva began to have strange and recurrent experiences, characterized by feelings of being accompanied by one or several people, either behind him or by his side. The intensity of these experiences was so convincing that he frequently had to turn around, only to find that no one was there.

Rey, who had a career in tourism, has never been bothered by the hallucinations: "I call them my guardian angels," he says. "They do me no harm. They follow me around. It's reassuring in a way, because I am not alone."

Maurizio De Levrano, based in Martigny and specialized in industrial, public and luxury lighting, has now been living with Parkinson's disease since 2015. He too experiences hallucinations. "It happens when I am alone, cooking or sitting at the table. I see spiders of sorts falling from the ceiling out of the corner of my eye. I know very well that they are not there, but instinctively, I am always compelled to turn and look. I've also felt a presence behind me. It felt like the ghost of my mother."

Both Rey and De Levrano experience these hallucinations on top of debilitating movement deficits that are typical of Parkinson's disease. They are also not the only patients with Parkinson's disease to experience hallucinations.

Study participants with Parkinsons disease describing hallucinations induced by the robotic system. Credit: F. Bernasconi et al., Science Translational Medicine (2021)

Presence hallucinations is underdiagnosed in Parkinson's disease

Hallucinations are frequent in the disease, affecting both both women and men. In fact, roughly half of people with Parkinson's disease experience hallucinations of some sort, like presence hallucinations, or guardian angels in Rey's case, or visitations as with De Levrano. Hallucinations of the peripheral vision that involve sightings of individuals, animals, or spiders, passing by quickly in the corner of one's eye, are also possible, as are visual misperception of objects, or even fully colored and formed visual hallucinations.

Parkinson's disease is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease worldwide after Alzheimer's and affects primarily the elderly. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that has been traditionally defined as a movement disorder, characterized by tremor, rigidity and slowness of movement. But many patients also suffer from a wide array of symptoms that are not associated with movement and some may go on to suffer from mental symptoms like psychosis, depression, apathy, cognitive decline and even dementia.

A growing body of clinical evidence suggests that hallucinations might be precursors to these more severe mental and cognitive symptoms. But hallucinations, like presence hallucinations, remain underdiagnosed. It may be that patients are reluctant to report them to their doctors, and that non-specialized clinicians fail to ask about them or lack rigorous tools to assess them.

A robotic procedure for safely awakening 'ghosts' in the brain

In a 2014 study, Blanke discovered that it was possible to induce presence hallucinations in healthy individuals, within the setting of his neuroscience laboratory. When subjected to a very robotic procedure, using specific movement and somatosensory signals, healthy individuals reported feelings of being accompanied by some sort of presence or person.

It was a natural step for Blanke to wonder if his robotic procedure would consistently induce presence hallucinations in individuals with Parkinson's disease given the prevalence of mental alterations and especially presence hallucinations in the disease. Indeed, an improved version of the robotic device and procedure is at the core of their "brain stress test" and the results of their latest study.

Towards a clinical tool for diagnosing presence hallucinations

In the first part of the STM study, the scientists start by establishing that the "brain stress test" is an appropriate tool for inducing presence hallucinations in patients with Parkinson's disease. The robotic procedure involves asking the participant to make repeated poking gestures. A robotic arm behind the patient imitates these gestures on the patient's back. When both the gestures and the poking felt on the back are in synchrony, the brain is able to make sense of the observed spatial dissonance and the patient reports nothing out of the ordinary. But when the gestures and poking on the back are out of synchrony, both healthy participants and patients with Parkinson's disease report presence hallucinations. More importantly, the scientists find that patients with pre-existing presence hallucinations, like Rey, have heightened sensitivity to the robotic stimulation compared to patients with no prior hallucinations. The "brain stress test", aka "robot ghost test" or "hallucination stress test" as Blanke calls it, was tested on 26 patients with Parkinson's disease.

"When I had no control over the robot touching my back, I felt a presence, like there was somebody with me, touching my back," says Rey who was also one of the 26 patients involved in the study. "It is not quite the same presence as my guardian angels. I feel the presence of my angels, but I never know when they will appear, and my angels have never touched me."

A healthy participant interacting with the MRI robotic system. Credit: F. Bernasconi et al., Science Translational Medicine (2021)

Neural networks and biomarkers

With a robotic "brain stress test" in their toolbox for the second part of the STM study, the scientists went on to identify for the very first time the neural networks in the brain responsible for presence hallucinations in healthy patients. The region includes three fronto-temporal cortical brain regions that the scientists refer to as the presence hallucination network.

Building on their discoveries in the first and second part of the study, the scientists embarked on a third part involving a second group of 30 new patients with Parkinson's disease that were investigated together with the team of Dr. Jaime Kulisevsky at Sant Pau Hospital (Barcelona, Spain). The joint teams of EPFL scientists and Sant Pau clinicians were able to accurately predict the severity of the patients' symptoms based on brain scans.

"Adapting the robotic device and procedure to the scanner allowed us to identify a brain network that is relevant for presence hallucinations in patients with Parkinson's disease and that could potentially serve as a biomarker for more severe forms of the disease associated with hallucinations and cognitive deficits," explains Eva Blondiaux, co-first author of the study.

Future prospects and clinical outlook

The EPFL scientists may not have discovered a cure, but they have invented a new method that reveals the underlying mechanisms of hallucinations in Parkinson's disease. It provides rigorous insight into the severity of mental and cognitive impairments related to a specific form of the disease. Their vision is to ultimately give medical practitioners the tools they need to test their patients' sensitivity to hallucinations, providing an objective and early marker rather than relying on today's standard of verbal exchange.

For Rey, the hallucinations become more and more vivid as the disease progresses. "I have been on many adventures with my guardian angels," describes Rey with a laugh. "The most difficult part about Parkinson's disease is being diagnosed with an illness that can only get worse, but I continue to hope that we will one day find a cure."

De Levrano likens Parkinson's disease to a dark tunnel that keeps on getting longer and longer as the disease progresses. "My father has Parkinson's disease. One day I learned from a nurse that he felt sorry and responsible that I got the disease. So I went to him, and I told him not to be sorry. The disease has been one of the biggest gifts of my life," De Levrano explains. "I used to be macho. Before, I would have never been able to understand someone else's pain. Being ill has been very humbling. I am a better person because of Parkinson's, because of the obstacles that arise from my own body and nervous system, and that is why I am driven to participate in research like this."

Explore further Brain disconnections may contribute to Parkinson's hallucinations

More information: F. Bernasconi el al., "Robot-induced hallucinations in Parkinson's disease depend on altered sensorimotor processing in frontotemporal network," Science Translational Medicine (2021). Journal information: Science Translational Medicine F. Bernasconi el al., "Robot-induced hallucinations in Parkinson's disease depend on altered sensorimotor processing in frontotemporal network,"(2021). stm.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/  scitranslmed.abc8362
Dozens of medical workers at a Ho Chi Minh City hospital have tested negative for COVID-19 once, after coming into contact with a pregnant Cambodian woman and her mother who illegally crossed the border into Vietnam for a medical examination, according to the municipal Department of Health.

Their illegal entry was uncovered on Monday, Nguyen Tan Binh, director of the health department, said on Wednesday.

The 33-week pregnant woman and her mother boated from Cambodia to bordering An Giang Province in Vietnam on April 20, Binh elaborated.

They made the illegal entry because the pregnant woman was suffering vaginal bleeding and wanted a medical check-up at a Vietnamese hospital.

Both caught a bus to Ho Chi Minh City from An Giang before hailing a motorbike taxi to get to Tu Du, a leading and crowded obstetrics and gynecology in the city and the country.

The two women used Vietnamese IDs for the medical examination registration and hid their Cambodian nationality as well as illegal entry, Binh said, quoting a Tu Du report.

The pregnant woman was hospitalized and diagnosed with placenta previa, which occurs when a baby's placenta partially or totally covers the mother's cervix.

During their check-up, hospital staff found out the twos real identity and illegal migration so they sent them to a quarantine ward, as Vietnam requires all arrivals from outside the country be quarantined to prevent COVID-19 spread.

The hospital has identified 39 direct contacts of the two women, who are doctors, nurses, and nurse assistants.

All of them and the two Cambodians have tested negative for the coronavirus once.

Ho Chi Minh City has detected 68 instances of illegal entry since the beginning of this year, Binh revealed.

The Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control has recommended that medical centers and private clinics keep a close eye on border jumpers coming for medical check-ups.

There are patients who have illegally entered Vietnam, using public transportation or hiring private cars to visit medical facilities in Ho Chi Minh City, the center said in a statement.

The health sector warns medical facilities, including small clinics, and the people to keep vigilant against instances of illegal entry and timely deal with them in accordance with regulations.

Those living in Cambodia and wanting to come to Vietnam for medical examinations are required to adhere to regulations on entry and quarantine to prevent COVID-19 transmission, the center added.

Entrants who have completed their mandatory quarantine and tested negative for COVID-19 can then go on to use the medical services they are looking for.

Vietnam has logged 2,865 COVID-19 patients, including 1,571 locally-transmitted cases, since the pathogen first struck it on January 23, 2020, according to the Ministry of Healths data.

The Southeast Asian country has gone 33 days without detecting any community transmission.

Recoveries have reached 2,516 while 35 patients have died, most having suffered critical pre-existing conditions.

The government has urged everyone to stay on high alert as the virus is taking a toll on its neighbors Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.

Fireworks displays originally meant to celebrate Reunification Day (April 30) have been canceled around Vietnam.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Cambodia has surged to over 11,000, with daily spikes recorded in the hundreds, while its deaths have risen to 82, according to statistics.

Thailands tally has mounted to almost 60,000, with more than 160 deaths, whereas Laos has locked down its capital to prevent transmission.

Vietnamese border jumpers have been discovered sneaking into Vietnam from Cambodia to dodge obligatory quarantine over the past few weeks.
After the quarter ended, Boeing suffered a new setback with its 737 Max jetliners, the grounding of dozens of the planes because of issues around electrical grounding of some parts. Boeing continues to say that the fix is simple and will take three or four days per plane once the Federal Aviation Administration approves Boeings repair method, but airlines including Southwest, American and United have now been without some of their Max jets for nearly a month with no certainty about when they will be able to use them again.
Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin speaks during a mask burning event at the Idaho Statehouse in Boise, Idaho, on March 6, 2021. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Idaho Senate Votes to Ban Teaching of Critical Race Theory in Public Schools

Update: Idado Gov. Brad Little on late April 28 signed H 377 into law.

The claim that there is widespread, systemic indoctrination occurring in Idaho classrooms is a serious allegation, Little wrote in the bills transmittal letter addressed to Republican House Speaker Scott Bedke, reported The Associated Press. Most worryingly, it undermines popular support for public education in Idaho.

Original article below:

The Idaho Senate approved a proposal on April 26 to prevent the teaching of critical race theory in the Gem States public schools and universities.

The measure, H 377 (pdf), was passed largely along party lines in a 278 vote; one Republican, Sen. Dan Johnson, joined Democrats in opposing the bill. The legislation now heads to Republican Gov. Brad Littles desk as the state House has also approved it.

The bill mandates that no public schools shall direct or otherwise compel students to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to critical race theory or similar tenets, such as that individuals, by virtue of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin, are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little speaks at the White House in Washington, on July 16, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

According to state law, the governor can sign it into law or allow it to become law by not signing it within the five days allowed. When asked by The Epoch Times whether Little will sign the bill, his office only responded that the governor generally doesnt comment on pending legislation.

About 100 high school and college students protested on the steps of the state Capitol on April 26 when the state Senate was discussing the bill. Students claimed that the bill was government censorship, and the legislature didnt offer them a chance to voice their opinions.

Senate Education Committee Chairman Steven Thayn, a Republican, said that no topic or book is banned under the bill, the Post Register reported.

It doesnt ban anything. What it says is that it cannot compel students to adopt or adhere to certain principles.  Critical race theory tends to undermine the thesis that each of us [is] responsible for our actions, Thayn said.

Earlier this month, Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin assembled a task force to protect our young people from the scourge of critical race theory, socialism, communism, and Marxism.

We need to look at what Florida, Arkansas, and North Carolina are doing to combat these poisonous theories, McGeachin said at the time.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently denounced critical race theory as unsubstantiated and hateful.

Theres no room in our classrooms for things like critical race theory, he said. Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to the media about the cruise industry during a press conference at PortMiami in Miami, Fla., on April 8, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Arkansas, North Carolina, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Texas, and Iowa have introduced similar proposals to push against the critical race theory.

In September 2020, then-President Donald Trump issued an executive order that banned federal agencies, contractors, subcontractors, and grantees from instructing their employees to follow critical race theory tenets. However, President Joe Biden reversed it the first day he took office.

Last week, the Biden administration proposed two new funding priorities to encourage schools to teach critical race theory tenets.
(Natural News) While thinking over this past weekend about the huge difference between the left and the right on how the two groups think about Covid-19, lockdowns, vaccinations and everything else now unfolding in America, (with reports of martial law already now coming out as well explore more below), I came across a 2008 medical study which helped put things into proper perspective.

(Article by Stefan Stanford republished from AllNewsPipeline.com)

With 45% of Republicans in 2021 saying they wont get the shot while only 7% of Democrats say the same, even leftist comedian Bill Maher recently destroyed the left on their insane reaction to Covid as this Tyler Durden story over at Zero Hedge points out (we also hear from Maher in the must-watch 1st at the bottom of this story). So its easier to understand why the left thinks we all need to get vaccinated when we understand the situation many on the left have put themselves into.

According to this 2008 study published at the National Institute of Health titled Social Contacts and Mixing Patterns Relevant to the Spread of Infectious Diseases, the average human being (back then) had approximately 13.4 contacts with other people on the average day.

With that number of daily contacts obviously much higher for people who live in the cities or suburban areas due to public transportation, large office buildings and jam-packed grocery stores and other locations, while often being much lower on average for people who live out in the country or mountains due largely to population density, we see why theres such a huge difference in perception.

For example, while living out in the suburbs of Washington DC over a decade ago, I could go out to run a few errands and run into 10 or 15 or even 1,000 different people or more during a normal day out, depending upon where I was going and what I was doing.

And while I have always chosen to avoid public transportation, millions of people in the DC region, and many other population hubs, use public transportation daily, making for many more daily interactions between people.

While out here in the much less populous areas, the red zones across America, MOST people have many fewer interactions with others daily, though of course that depends upon ones line of work, etc, and is not an across the board assumption.

So with me personally having only about 3 to 4 person-to-person interactions with others in any given WEEK here in 2021, much less in any day or hour, the chance of me being exposed to Covid-19, or most any other communicable disease for that matter, are much less than for someone who is mixing with others non-stop daily.

With many people out in the area we live completely unconcerned about even wearing masks at all except for when going into a public store where it is mandated by the health department and refusal to do so could result in harassment or arrest, its easy to see why so many people who live in the red zones arent as concerned as those in the cities who mix with the masses daily.

So with that giving us all another reason to move out of the suburbs/cities if possible if we hadnt yet, as well explore in the next section of this ANP story, one US state is even paying remote workers to move into their state, with Almost Heaven West Virginia recently launching a program that will pay you to move into a location many will fall in love with due to its incredible natural splendor. And in the final section well take a look at more signs the big cities in America are about ready to explode in the coming days, with reports of martial law already being instituted in the cities.

So if youre looking to move out of the cities/suburbs and are looking for a place to go, you might want to look into a program such as Ascend West Virginia.

With that program actually PAYING PEOPLE $12,000 to find a place in the hills, anyone looking to get away right now from their city habitat who can do remote work might have their answer right here.

With the Ascend West Virginia program featuring the cities of Morgantown, Lewisburg and Shepherdstown currently, this story over at Fox 59 in Beckley West Virginia gives us more details.

Many people have been working from home since the beginning of the pandemic. So it leaves a big question: Will this be a permanent thing?

A new program called Ascend West Virginia is trying to do just that, and draw more people to the Mountain State. Were going to invite people to take a permanent vacation in the place John Denver dubbed Almost Heaven 50 years ago, said, Chelsea Ruby, Secretary of West Virginia Tourism.

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signed a bill that would modernize the corporate tax structure in the state, with the goal of attracting more remote workers. Now this trend was alive and well heading into COVID when it was estimated that nearly 400 million people in the United States had permission to move anywhere they wanted while doing their jobs, said Brad Smith, a Kenova native.

The goal is to leverage one of West Virginias most appealing asset  its natural beauty  to stop population loss in the only state that has fewer residents now than it did in 1950. We have these amazing mountains and these rivers and these trails that once served as walls but they now serve as welcome signs as rural becomes the new urban, added Smith.

Smith is throwing in incentives to get people to relocate. If people choose West Virginia as their home, they will receive 12,000 dollars in relocation and retention incentives. Theyll get a free years worth of outdoor activities. he said.

And Governor Justice says with this opportunity, people wont overlook West Virginia any longer. Just sit back and wait and watch how the diamond in the rough is going to continue to be exposed to the world.

The program is now accepting applications for the first 50 openings in Morgantown.

Read more at: AllNewsPipeline.com
The number of basic and secondary industries in the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY) industrial cities has reached nearly 870 units, a report said.

The key factor is that for every riyal spent by the government on the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, SR8 is attracted from the private sector, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has disclosed, said a report in the Saudi Gazette

The ministry said that the value of the Royal Commissions investments has reached nearly SR203 billion, equivalent to 17% of the total investments. The private sector's investments reached nearly SR988.4 billion, equivalent to 83%, it said.

According to private sector investments, industrial investments amounted to approximately SR934.31 billion, urban investments to SR37.41 billion, while the value of commercial investments reached SR16.69 billion.

The investments were divided among four major cities  Jubail, Ras Al-Khair, Yanbu, and Jazan  supporting a population of 430,000 among the population of the Royal Commission.

The number of the workforce in the cities reached 194,000 workers, while the total number of employees in the Royal Commission has reached 10,000. -- TradeArabia News Service
Motorists were left stunned after ten illegal immigrants were hauled out of a refrigerated lettuce lorry.

Police were alerted to an Italian-registered lorry on the A24 in Findon Valley near Worthing, West Sussex.

Officers found the group of stowaways just before 7pm on Tuesday before emergency services carried out welfare checks.

The lorry driver has since been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences.

Police were alerted to the Italian-registered lorry on the A24 in Findon Valley near Worthing, West Sussex

Officers found the group of stowaways just before 7pm on Tuesday before emergency services carried out welfare checks

The lorry appeared to be transporting green vegetables in crates but also had people stowed away in its rear.

Video taken by passing drivers show the immigrants sitting by the side of the road as police officers carried out a search of the vehicle.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said the lorry driver had been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences.

The police spokesman said: 'The suspected immigrants were checked over by paramedics.

'They were then escorted away by officers to be handed over to Home Office Immigration Enforcement and Border Force.

'The driver was arrested on suspicion of immigration offences and taken to custody.'

The lorry driver has since been arrested by Kent Police on suspicion of immigration offences

Passing motorists were left stunned after police hauled ten illegal immigrants out of the refrigerated lorry on Tuesday

Video taken by passing drivers show the immigrants sitting by the side of the road as police officers carried out a search of the vehicle

The group were escorted away by officers to be handed over to Home Office Immigration Enforcement and Border Force

Minister for Immigration Compliance and Justice Chris Philp told MailOnline: 'We are determined to go after the callous people smugglers who exploit vulnerable people and put them in life-threatening situations.

'Immigration Enforcement Investigators have already secured 21 convictions this year.

'We continue to work with law enforcement agencies to ensure that those who put lives at risk for money face the full force of the law.

'As part of the New Plan for Immigration announced by the Home Secretary recently we proposed increased sentences in the UK for the facilitation of illegal entry to act as a further deterrent to these criminals.'

Motorists were left stunned after ten illegal immigrants were hauled out of the refrigerated lorry by police

The lorry appeared to be transporting green vegetables in crates but also had people stowed away in its rear

The group were escorted away by officers to be handed over to Home Office Immigration Enforcement and Border Force

It comes just months after four people smugglers who killed 39 Vietnamese migrants by bringing them into the UK in a sealed lorry were jailed for a total of 78 years.

Drivers Eamonn Harrison, 23, and Maurice Robinson, 26 - together with Romanian fixer Gheorghe Nica, 43 - were paid by Ronan Hughes, 40, to ferry non-EU citizens into the UK.

Hughes headed the million-pound people-smuggling ring which used death trap lorries on multiple occasions - charging his human cargo up to 14,000 a head for a 'VIP' service.

But the journey in October 2019 went horribly wrong when driver Robinson opened the back of his refrigerated trailer in an industrial park in Grays, Essex, to be met with a gush of steam - and 39 bodies.

Hughes was jailed for 20 years, while fixer Nica - who arranged transport from Essex to London for the foreign nationals - was sentenced to 27.

Robinson was handed a 13-year and four-month sentence, while Harrison - who dropped off the trailer in Zeebrugge before it was sailed to Britain - was jailed for 18 years.
Georgia megachurch votes to disaffiliate from UMC after lead pastor was reassigned

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A United Methodist megachurch based in Georgia has filed a complaint against regional church leadership as part of its effort to leave the denomination for multiple reasons.

The leadership of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church, a Marietta-based congregation with approximately 10,000 members, voted earlier this month to begin the process of disaffiliation.

One issue was the decision of the UMC North Georgia Conference, the regional body that Mt. Bethel is part of, to reassign lead pastor, Jody Ray, to another position within the conference.

In the UMC, pastors are typically assigned to a congregation for one year at a time, with the possibility of being assigned to a different congregation or another role occurring on an annual basis.

A spokesperson for Mt. Bethel told The Christian Post in an email that the Mt. Bethel Administrative Council voted unanimously to enter into the disaffiliation process on April 18.

Given the recent actions of our bishop and the direction of the United Methodist denomination, both the leadership and members of Mt. Bethel Church strongly believe it is time for us to part ways with the denomination, the spokesperson wrote.

We believe this process could be accomplished in a matter of months if the Bishop and the North Georgia Annual Conference are willing to enter into an amicable and orderly disaffiliation.

The church went on to state that they simply want to continue serving in this great community and making our church a beacon of hope for all Gods people.

Mt. Bethels complaint, filed with the leadership of the UMC Southeastern Jurisdiction College of Bishops, was announced via an emailed statement sent to media outlets.

The complaint accuses North Georgia Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson and a local district superintendent of Disobedience to the Order and Discipline of The United Methodist Church and accuses Haupert-Johnson of Relationships and/or Behaviors that Undermines the Ministry of Another Pastor.

At a press conference on Monday, Ray explained that he was surrendering his credentials as a UMC pastor. Mt. Bethel intends to keep him on as a lead preacher, however.

I will not engage in trying to read the Bishops mind for why she has taken this hasty and ill-conceived action, stated Ray at the press conference.

 but I do know she has undermined her credibility with the people of Mt. Bethel Church and jeopardized the health and vitality of this great congregation that is a beacon of hope and light in this community and beyond.

A spokesperson for the North Georgia Conference directed CP to a pastoral letter by Bishop Haupert-Johnson posted Monday defending the decision to move Ray to another congregation.

The reassignment of a pastor is not done out of spite. The placement of a pastor is not done as a form of punishment. The reassignment of a pastor is not designed to persecute, wrote Haupert-Johnson.

Instead, the process is begun with the goal of matching the gifts and graces of a particular pastor with the ministry needs of a particular congregation and community in a particular season.

The bishop also said that Mt. Bethel and Ray were uncooperative with the Conference leadership, purportedly refusing to discuss any alternative solutions.

When the district superintendent and the assistant to the bishop met with church leaders to further consult about the projected appointment, they refused to have any meaningful conversation, she continued.

When asked to further the consultation by submitting written concerns to the Cabinet, they gave no missional reasons against the appointment. The leaders wrote that they would withhold compensation, benefits and any reimbursement for a new pastor.

Ray had served with Mt. Bethel for over five years but was reassigned to an "evolving conference position having to do with racial reconciliation." An online petition against the decision to reassign Ray has amassed over 4,700 supporters.

Ray and the church argue that the conference didn't follow the expected process for new appointments.

"Many people know my heart for this very important issue and timely matter [of racial reconciliation]. So had the Bishop come to me last December or earlier this year to engage me in productive conversation about this emerging position, invited me to help shape it, and then given me some time to pray about it, then we would likely be in a very different

place today," Ray stressed. "But instead, there was no conversation or consultation at all."
A French-Jewish judge has resigned in protest after a controversial high court decision not to prosecute a man who killed a 65-year-old Jewish woman because he was on drugs at the time.

Jack Broda quit his post at the Tribunal of Commerce of Nancy, in eastern France, over the decision, which has seen demonstrations in France and globally.

'I decided to resign over the ruling, which at first I couldn't believe,' said Broda, according to Le Figaro.

'My resignation was accepted and regretted.'

The case sparked global protests, including outside the French consulate in Los Angeles, California (above)

Sarah Halimi, 65, an orthodox Jew, was beaten and thrown off her Paris balcony in 2017

He also called for a new trial and welcomed plans by the French government to change the law on crimes committed after taking drugs.

Sarah Halimi, 65, died after being beaten and thrown from a balcony in her Paris apartment in 2017.

French courts have recognised the killing as an anti-Semitic crime.

But this month France's highest court, the cour de cassation, upheld an earlier ruling that suspect Kobili Traore was unfit to stand trial as he was in a 'delusional fit' at the time caused by smoking cannabis.

Protesters outside the Eiffel Tower in Paris (above) rally calling for justice for Sarah Halimi

Celebrities including former French first lady Carla Bruni (above) have attended demonstrations

Traore, 32, is currently in a psychiatric hospital.

The decision sparked protests across France as well as in London, Rome, Tel Aviv, Los Angeles, Miami and New York.

Halimi's sister, Esther Lekover, is seeking to prosecute Traore via an Israeli court using a law that means charges can be brought for offences against an Israeli citizen such as Lekover. However, France does not extradite French nationals to other countries.

The killing has drawn extra attention as neighbours claim Traore shouted 'Allahu Akbar' and recited verses from the Qur'an while beating Halimi.

France has suffered a number of Islamist terrorist attacks, including many targeting Jews.

In Knightsbridge, London, outside the French Embassy protesters call for solidarity with French Jews, with signs recalling earlier antisemitic attacks

The satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo, whose offices were fatally attacked by Islamist terrorists in 2015, ran a cover this week with a Muslim man lighting eight joints with a Jewish menorah, and the headline: 'Should we decriminalize antisemitism?'

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'It is a testament to the failure of France's justice system that Sarah Halimi's family are now having to travel 3,000 miles to seek justice in Israeli courts.

'The deep anguish and disgust of French Jews is slowly becoming clear, with a Jewish judge, Jack Broda, now feeling unable to remain in the judiciary given his colleagues' decision to refuse to try Dr Halimi's murderer.'

They added: 'This sad affair shows that France is betraying its vow in the wake of the Holocaust to defend its Jewish population from antisemitism.'
Although he retired in 1992 and died in 2005, the consensus remains that Johnny Carson was the greatest late night-talk show ever. His reign on NBC's Tonight show lasted just a few months short of 30 years. His old Tonight shows are still around, running weeknights under the name of Johnny Carson on the digital subchannel network Antenna TV.

With recordings available from the late '70s to Carson's retirement, the programs are an interesting time machine, the best feature being Carson's comic monologues. If one was around in those days, memories return as Carson pokes fun at politicians, celebrities, and different items in the news. He was a master. There is a slew of items today considered politically incorrect  Carnac the Magnificent (cultural appropriation), recognition that some women are beautiful (wrongthink because...because...well, just because).

In recent weeks of Johnny Carson shows, several guests have broken the typical lineup of comedians, actors plugging movies, colorful old ladies, and unique animals. Two heavyweights of mid-20th century broadcast news, Walter Cronkite and Sam Donaldson, appeared on separate 1980s programs.

Interviews with both men showed how journalism has changed in the past few decades. Cronkite, with a newspaper and broadcast career dating back to the 1930s, was the legendary anchor of the CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981. Iconic images of him burned into the minds of many Americans include on-air fighting back tears while announcing that President Kennedy had been pronounced dead after being shot in Dallas and the picture of grinning Cronkite's boyish glee at the first manned moon landing.

"Uncle Walter's" broadcast delivery seemed right down the middle. But his post-retirement autobiography, A Reporter's Life, showed an overwhelmingly liberal worldview. It's a credit to his professionalism (or perhaps because we didn't know any better) that the extent of his leftist bias remained fairly hidden.

On the recent Johnny Carson rerun, Carson asked Cronkite if there was anything he regretted in his career. Cronkite responded that in the 1968 Chicago riots at the Democratic National Convention, he regretted that he had allowed controversial Chicago mayor Richard Daley, who headed up police who beat demonstrators and reporters, to speak without interruption. Cronkite told Carson that in speaking, he felt that Daley would just hang himself. Daley did not. Rather, he made a good defense of himself and what happened in Chicago. Cronkite regretted letting him speak. It's obvious that in those days, Cronkite, "the most trusted man in America," was not totally committed to the later concept of "we report, you decide."

Sam Donaldson's late 1980s appearance with Carson showed him to be affable, a great storyteller, and presenting an image different from the one that often offended conservatives: a nemesis to then-president Ronald Reagan, aggressively shouting questions at the president wherever Reagan might appear. Donaldson credited the president for being a gracious man and admired his ability to communicate and his gift for self-deprecation. But in addition to making fun of Reagan's forgetfulness, Donaldson's liberalism was clear when he said he liked Reagan but not his policies. A person down on his luck could go into the Oval Office, Donaldson said, and tell his sad story to Reagan, and the president "would give him the shirt off his back." Then, Donaldson said, Reagan would sit there in his undershirt and cancel the Social Security of the man's parents.

Watching the old Carson shows, one can see a reflection of a different era. Few knew of Cronkite's intense liberal bent. And, unlike the hand-in-glove relationship between news media and the Democratic party, Donaldson said he did not make friends with the politicians he was covering. There was recognition among many in those days that people were doing their jobs, that things weren't personal. Donaldson said while speaking on the air that he once made a remark about Nancy Reagan that he later realized was very unkind. As a result, he wrote a personal letter offering an apology to the first lady. She accepted it.

But the roots of modern coarseness were already there. About the time of the Donaldson appearance with Carson, Judge Robert's Bork's unsuccessful confirmation bid for the U.S. Supreme Court met with so much hostility that "bork" became a verb for attempting to politically destroy someone. Bork's wife, Mary Ellen, was deeply offended when Sen. Edward Kennedy, after personally attacking Bork, came up to the couple with a "buddy-buddy-it's-just-politics" demeanor.

We've now witnessed two decades of politics as war. Democrats are on a scorched earth campaign to fulfill Barack Obama's promise to fundamentally change America. While the news media of Walter Cronkite's and Sam Donaldson's day were unabashedly liberal and Democrat, there remained some sense of decency and a degree of allegiance to principles of the Republic. No more. Legacy media are operatives of the Democratic Party, cancel culture plagues the land, and the unholy alliance between government and major corporations, including those of Big Tech, provides the scent of growing fascism.

It's grown so sour that comedians find it hard to make jokes. Perhaps it's for the best that Carson's humor is now limited to events of long ago contained in ancient reruns on a little known network.

A retired marketing professor, Mike Landry is a freelance writer in Northwest Arkansas. He can be reached at landry_74464us@yahoo.com.

Image: Alan Light via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).

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[April 28, 2021] Cowen Eliminates Ad Hoc Data Requests with Sigma, Empowering Business Teams with Self-Service Analytics on Five Billion Rows of Data

Sigma Computing, an innovator in cloud analytics and business intelligence, has provided Cowen Inc. ("Cowen"), a leading financial services firm, with a platform where business teams, analysts and IT can collaborate on data validation, exploration and analyses via a user-friendly spreadsheet interface. Since deploying Sigma, Cowen has gained a holistic view into the firm's five billion rows of data, the finance team is creating reports six times faster and alignment across the finance, operations and compliance teams has greatly improved. "Sigma checked all the boxes for us. Not only did it seamlessly connect to Snowflake, our current cloud provider, but it also has an interface similar to Excel that our business teams felt comfortable with," said Ross Levin, Managing Director, Global Clearing, Settlement & Securities Finance, Cowen. "Layering Sigma on top of Snowflake has given us enhanced visibility into our business, streamlined operations and improved efficiencies across all of our teams." As a diversified financial services firm with millions of trades each day, Cowen is responsible for storing each individual transaction and providing timely responses to regulatory requests. Prior to implementing Sigma, the compliance team had to submit requests to IT, which would then be fulfilled via multiple Excel worksheets because the datasets were too large to fit into a single worksheet. This made it difficult to get a holistic view of the data, increased the possibility of formula errors and made responding to regulatory requests time-consuming and labor-intensive. The direct, governed access to all of the firm's live data that Sigma provides and the ability to drill down into row-level data has dramatically eased the pressure of meeting stict regulatory requirements for Cowen.



"I love hearing success stories like Cowen's, where Sigma has put data directly into the hands of the teams that need it most, streamlined workflows and given people some much-needed time back in their days," said Mike Palmer, CEO, Sigma Computing. "While Sigma is industry-agnostic and would be a benefit to any company with cloud data, Financial Services is the first industry that comes to mind that absolutely needs Sigma. There is no other solution on the market that can handle billions of rows of data, provide visibility into individual transactions and satisfies the fine-grained control financial services require - all at cloud speed and via a spreadsheet interface that anyone can use." Read the complete Cowen case study or join Levin, along with experts from Sigma and Snowflake, at the "Data on the Rocks: Driving Productivity with Self-service Analytics for Financial Services" webinar on May 13, 2021, to learn about additional outcomes the company has achieved since implementing a self-service analytics program for business teams.

Sigma recently announced that the company has completed a comprehensive TruSight assessment, the industry standard established by leading financial services companies. The decision to undergo the assessment demonstrates the company's commitment to meeting data security industry control standards and providing transparency into its control environment, ensuring that customers can be confident when selecting Sigma. ABOUT SIGMA Sigma is the only cloud analytics and business intelligence solution empowering business teams to break free from the confines of the dashboard, explore live data independently, and make better, faster decisions. The award-winning platform capitalizes on the power of cloud data warehouses to combine data sources and analyze billions of rows of data instantly via an intuitive, spreadsheet-like interface - no coding required. Sigma automates workflows and balances data access with unparalleled data governance to make self-service data exploration available to everyone and safe for the first time. https://www.sigmacomputing.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005084/en/

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Earlier this month, the Florida House of Representatives adopted Resolution HR 145, named the Individual Liberty, Private Property, and Democracy Act, which denounces democratic socialism in favor of the true American values of individual liberty, private property, and constitutional democracy.

Republican Representative Tom Fabricio, the sponsor of the resolution, told reporters: This is a message from the Florida House of Representatives to say that we stand by our economic system, progress, and our system of government.

The resolution was adopted 79-36, with four of the 42 sitting Democrats voting in favor. The rest of the yea votes were supplied by Republicans, who have given denunciations of socialism a prominent place in their promotion of far-right and fascistic forces and their intensifying attack on democratic rights.

The Florida legislation is consistent with bills being introduced in Republican-controlled states across the US further undermining the ability of working class and poor people to vote, targeting left-wing protests against police violence, and facilitating witch-hunts against professors singled out by right-wing forces.

On both the national and state level, a large majority of Republican Party organizations continue to promote Trumps fabricated claim of a stolen election and attack the few Republican members of Congress and state officials who voted for his impeachment or refused to accede to his demands that they overturn the election results. This underscores the complicity of the Republican Party in the far-reaching conspiracy to maintain Trump in power as de facto dictator, which culminated in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 by fascist insurrectionists whipped up by Trump and openly or tacitly supported by the Republican Party and sections of the financial oligarchy and military/police/intelligence apparatus.

Ron Desantis speaking at the 2018 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida (Photo: Gage Skidmore)

That the Republican Party has become an incubator of far-right and fascist forces is further demonstrated by the ascendancy within the party of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, one of Trumps most diehard defenders. In his 2018 gubernatorial election campaign, DeSantis followed Trumps lead by placing denunciations of socialism at its center.

On Monday, the majority-Republican Florida Senate approved a restrictive voting bill (SB 90), which includes limits on the casting of ballots by mail and the availability of ballot drop boxes. The legislation would limit where drop boxes can be placed and require those casting ballots in this fashion to show identification to an election official first.

A third bill advanced by Republicans (HB 233), which is currently awaiting the signature of DeSantis, encourages the reporting of university lecturers who supposedly stifle intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity on college campuses. It also requires all state-funded institutions of postsecondary education to conduct an annual survey of faculty and students to establish how well intellectual freedoms are protected on campus. This is intended as an assault on what Republicans call Marxist professors and students at public universities, who allegedly push their politics on conservative students.

HB 233 lines up with the activities of right-wing activist groups such as Turning Point USA, which maintains an online watchlist of radical professors who advance leftist propaganda in the classroom. There is no doubt that this would be used not only against professors, but also against student organizations such as the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), which has had members of Turning Point USA attend and disrupt its public meetings on Florida university campuses in years past.

The response of the Democrats to such bills and resolutions has been utterly feckless. Following the line set by President Biden, who stated shortly after the January 6 coup attempt that America needed a strong Republican Party, the Florida Democrats have merely chastised their Republican colleagues and couched their criticisms in the language of racialist identity politics.

Regarding the anti-socialist resolution that was passed in the House, Democrats either tried to amend the resolution or denounced the Republicans for wasting time talking about socialism in the first place. Representative Fentrice Driskell of Tampa, for instance, argued that lawmakers should be talking about COVID-19 rather than socialism. There are many important issues that we can take up in this body as a Legislature, but members, this is not one of them. In reality, the Biden administration and the Democratic Party have in all essentials continued Trumps criminal policy of herd immunity, ignoring the repeated warnings of reputable scientists that the premature reopening of non-essential industries and schools in the midst of a still raging pandemic would result in new eruptions of the pandemic and countless thousands of additional deaths.

Those Florida Democrats who tried and failed to amend the resolution did not seek to remove any of the fascistic language, but rather to append a denunciation of fascism, defined entirely as a manifestation of white racism, to the bills anti-communist attack on socialism. Democrats denounced neo-Nazis and neo-fascists solely for their divisiveness and their white supremacy, bigotry, and race and religious hatred. The more fundamental class issues in the turn by capitalist governments all over the world toward dictatorship and the promotion of fascist forces were deliberately obscured.

The Democrats made a similar response to the Senate bill restricting mail-in voting (SB 90). According to the Guardian, Democratic State Senator Audrey Gibson and other black senators called these restrictions an extension of the legacy of the Jim Crow South. While the Republicans, in seeking to roll back the historic gains in voting rights for African-Americans achieved through the mass civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960swith the active support and participation of tens of thousands of white workers and youthappeal to racist and other backward sentiments, their attack on the right to vote is directed against the working class as a whole.

In the case of HB 233, which gives right-wing organizations the legal means to attack left-wing professors and students, the Democrats once again placed this anti-democratic attack entirely within a racialist framework, attributing it to white supremacy. Dr. Karen Morian, the president of the United Faculty of Florida, pointed to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), a historically black university, as the main target of the Republican attack.

In all of these cases, the Democrats are seeking to cover up the more basic class issues in the turn by the ruling class toward fascisman international process driven by the crisis of the capitalist system and the growth of the class struggle. In so doing, the Democratic Party, one of the oldest capitalist parties in the worldhistorically the party of the Southern slaveowners and later the party of Jim Crow segregation in the Southseeks to sow divisions in the working class and block the development of a united and politically conscious struggle against the real source of racism and all forms of national chauvinism, the capitalist system.

It is significant that Florida is playing a particularly prominent role in the Republican-led attack on basic democratic rights, against which the Democrats are neither able nor willing to conduct a serious struggle. This is the state where the Democrats allowed the 2000 presidential election to be stolen by George W. Bush and the Republicans.

As the World Socialist Web Site explained at the time, the 5-4 US Supreme Court ruling by the Republican majority on the court shutting down a vote recount in Florida that would have given the states electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote, Democrat Al Gore, and thereby a majority of electoral votes and the presidency, and the refusal of the Democrats to oppose it, demonstrated that there was no longer any significant constituency within the ruling class for the defense of democratic rights.

Florida was also where Governor DeSantis ordered the arrest of Rebekah Jones, the courageous COVID-19 whistleblower and scientist who was jailed for refusing, as an official of the Florida Department of Health, to doctor coronavirus case numbers.

In addition to the measures denouncing socialism and boosting the drive by the far-right to purge the campuses of faculty it deems to be left-wing, the anti-riot bill (HB 1) was recently signed into law by DeSantis. This act criminalizes popular protests against police violence and ensures that funding cannot be cut from police departments in the state.
A man dressed in a national costume runs with his border guard shepherd dog Alabay during Dog Day celebration in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (AP)

Turkmenistan has dedicated a new national holiday to a very special native breed of dog.

The state holiday was celebrated for the first time on Sunday in honour of the Alabay dog, with an awards ceremony to encourage veneration of the breed as a symbol of national pride.

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov established the holiday on the same day the Turkmenistanis celebrate the native akhal-teke horse, which is well-loved for its speed and endurance.

Alabays are a type of native sheep dog and are among the largest canines in the world, weighing up to 80kg.

A 15m-tall (50ft) golden statue of an Alabay was unveiled in the capital of Ashgabat by Mr Berdymukhamedov last year.

On Sunday, a large crowd gathered in the city to celebrate the breed, clapping and cheering during a best-of-show competition highlighting the dogs appearance and agility.

AP

A dog in the border guard service was awarded the top prize for courage, which was presented by the presidents son, deputy prime minister Serdar Berdymukhamedov.

Mr Berdymukhamedov, who has been in power since 2007, is widely viewed as an autocratic ruler and Turkmenistan is one of the least free countries in the world, according to a survey by Freedom House.

He sometimes gifts a horse or puppy to leaders of allied nations. In 2017, he was widely criticised for his rough handling of a puppy he gave to Russias Vladimir Putin after a video of the incident went viral.

Read More

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TORONTO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Yooma Wellness Inc. ("Yooma") (CSE: YOOM), an emerging marketer and distributor of cannabinoid and hemp-derived wellness products, is pleased to announce CBD food products from its MYO Plant Nutrition and Blossom brands have been added to the U.K. Food Standard Agency's novel foods list.

On February 13th, 2020 the FSA announced it would impose a deadline of March 31st, 2021 for companies to submit a novel food authorization application for CBD food products sold in the region. The process is meant to ensure the items meet legal standards, including on safety and content. After an initial review, MYO and Blossom's products have been granted validation to stay on sale in the U.K. market. Full authorization is expected within 9 months after a rigorous safety assessment. MYO Plant Nutrition and Blossom are part of a small number of CBD brands to be granted approval.

"This approval represents a significant milestone for the MYO and Blossom brands," commented Lorne Abony, Chairman of Yooma. "This is a meaningful evolutionary step for MYO and Blossom; one which creates a significant barrier to market entry."

"We're delighted that the U.K. FSA (Food Standards Agency) has included in their public list ten products from portfolio brands MYO Plant Nutrition and Blossom," said James Lawson Baker, Founder of MYO Plant Nutrition. "The validation cements our position as a leading and trusted U.K. and European supplier of branded ingestible CBD products."

MYO Plant Nutrition combines high-quality plant-based ingredients with carefully selected key active ingredients to form functional nutrition products including plant proteins, branched-chain amino acids ("BCAA's"), essential amino acids ("EAA's") and CBD oils. Its plant-based performance nutrition products are currently carried in the U.K.'s largest health and wellness retailer, Holland and Barrett. Blossom is a premium skincare brand that counts ingestible oils and teas as part of its product mix.

About Yooma Wellness Inc.

Yooma's mission is to build a global leader in the marketing, distribution, and sale of wellness products including hemp seed oil and hemp-derived and cannabinoid (CBD) ingredients. The company leverages strategically curated sales channels and ecommerce networks to deliver a diverse mix of wellness products through subsidiaries in China, Japan, and the United States. Yooma has assembled an international team of multicultural industry professionals with extensive experience in digital marketing, ecommerce and social media in the EU, North America, and the pan-Asian region, with particular depth in the Chinese ecommerce market. Learn more at www.yooma.ca.

Media Contact:

Ron Wardle

Email: [email protected]

Notice regarding Forward Looking Statements

All information included in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Wherever possible, such information or statements are identified by words such as "expected", "evolutionary", "intend", "will", "anticipate", "to build" and other similar expressions. There are many risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements including, among others, the uncertainties, effects of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, reliance on licenses, competition, regulation of the CBD and wellness products industries, changes in laws, regulations and guidelines, compliance with laws, unfavourable publicity or consumer perception, product liability, risks related to intellectual property, product safety and recalls, litigation, breakdowns in Yooma's relationships with its business partners, suppliers and distributors, unanticipated changes in the demand for CBD or wellness products, and other matters which are beyond the control of Yooma. Although the statements contained herein reflect management's current beliefs and reasonable assumptions based on information available to management today, Yooma cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information. Yooma cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Yooma disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law. Nothing herein should be construed as either an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or sell securities of Yooma.

SOURCE Yooma Wellness Inc.
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.
A summer of travel chaos may be looming across the United States given the Transportation Security Administration has yet to hire for 3,800 of the 6,000 security screening positions it's aiming to fill.

Checkpoint waiting times at airports already are spiking to pre-pandemic levels.

The TSA had planned to hire the 6,000 security checkpoint officers by summer due to the expected increase in travel due to the number of Americans being vaccinated and decreasing COVID-19 infections.

Since announcing the job drive back in February, the TSA has only filled 2,200 of those positions.

According to internal agency bulletins obtained by the Washington Post, wait times at some TSA checkpoints across the country are currently more than 45 minutes.

These pre-pandemic wait times at some airports may be an indication of staffing issues and increased passenger numbers.

Meanwhile, airport security line waiting times aren't the only post-pandemic travel challenge Americans are likely to face: Even those driving could see gas shortages after a recent shortage of drivers for tanker trucks that transport fuel.

A summer of travel chaos may be looming across the United States given the Transportation Security Administration has yet to fill 3,800 of the security screening positions they are aiming for. Pictured above is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia

The TSA has screened an average of 1.4 million people per day so far in April, which is a significant increase compared to this time last year when the number was just over 106,000

As for air, already so far in April, the TSA has screened an average of 1.4 million people per day, which is a significant increase compared to this time last year when the number was just over 106,000.

The current travel levels are still down dramatically from 2019 when the average number of people being screened was 2.4 million.

It is only expected to increase over the summer, however, when even more Americans are vaccinated.

The TSA had tried to entice recruits by offering a $500 bonus at some airports if the job candidates filled out their applications within five days, according to the Post.

For much of last year, TSA officers were kept home and the agency slowed hiring during the pandemic; 16 workers have died of COVID, the Post reports.

Although TSA officials say they're confident they'll be able to ramp up hiring, the starting salary starts at $16.51 an hour - leading the TSA officers' union to have long complained about relatively low pay, according to the Post.

TSA avoided large-scale layoffs during the pandemic, but it cut the hours of part-time screeners, according to Government Executive magazine. Those hour cuts might have caused some workers to quit, shrinking the pool of screeners.

Also, the TSA offered early retirement across its entire workforce, the Federal News Network reported last May. People who took advantage of that program also likely thinned out the TSA's ranks.

Currently, 42.7 percent of the US population has received at least one vaccine dose.

With Memorial Day approaching next month, a TSA spokesperson said the agency - which employs about 47,000 officers - was 'well-positioned to support increased travel volumes through the summer'.

'Travel patterns changed somewhat during the pandemic and some passengers may have grown accustomed to walk-up screening,' a TSA statement read.

'Passengers should anticipate that wait times will begin to return to pre-pandemic levels.'

They said the goal for 6,000 officers is actually target for the budget year.

As part of the recruitment drive to hire more TSA screening agents, the agency started offering candidates at some airports a $500 bonus if they could submit their background check documents in five days.

2021: So far in April, the TSA has screened an average of 1.4 million people per day. Pictured above is New York's JFK airport this month

2020: This time last year the TSA was only screening an average of 106,000 passengers per day. Pictured above is JFK airport in April last year

Officials have said that efforts to hire more staff actually increased late last year before they made their employment drive public back in February.

It comes as American Airlines, United, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines have all committed to hiring more pilots in the coming months as the travel industry recovers the pandemic.

United Airlines also revealed last week it was adding more than 480 daily flights to its domestic schedule in June to meet summer travel demand.

'As leisure travel continues to return this summer, we are adding more flights to our June schedule,' Ankit Gupta, vice president of domestic planning and scheduling at United, told Reuters.

The company said it plans to fly 67 percent of its domestic schedule and 60 percent of its overall schedule compared to 2019 June.

The additions will include new flights to Hawaii, Alaska and Montana.

Meanwhile, Delta said earlier this month that the airline expects to break even in June given domestic bookings have recovered to 85 percent of 2019 levels.

Hotels are also making a comeback with demand - and average prices - increasing.

Demand during the week ending April 11 surged more than fourfold compared with a year ago and was up 10.9 percent compared with the same week in 2019, according to Koddi, an advertising technology company.

Travel is only expected to increase over the summer, however, when even more Americans are vaccinated. Currently, 42.7 percent of the US population has received at least one vaccine dose
New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to accord urgent hearing on a plea challenging a notification of the Department of Telecom (DOT) for mandatory linking of mobile numbers with Aadhar cards.

Bench of Justices J Chelameswar and S Abdul Nazeer refused to list the plea tomorrow and said that a bench of Chief Justice Deepak Mishra was seized of similar matters. The plea was filed by one Tehseen Poonawala who has sought direction to quash the notification of March 23 issued by the DOT and to hold it "unconstitutional" and "null and void".

The court asked the counsel, who sought for an urgent listing of the plea, to mention the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice on October 30 when matters related to Aadhar will be taken up.

The Centre on Wednesday had informed a bench headed by Chief Justice that deadline is mandatory Aadhaar linking to avail benefits of various government schemes.

Also read: SC to pronounce judgment on pleas challenging exception clause in rape law today

The top court on February 6 asked the Centre to put in an effective mechanism to scrutinise details of identity of over 100 crore existing and future mobile telephone consumers.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Current chairman Eric Xu warned 2021 would be a 'challenging year' for the troubled telecoms giant

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei said Wednesday that first-quarter revenue tumbled after harsh US sanctions ripped into its phone business.

Huawei has been at the centre of intense US-China trade and technological rivalry in recent years and the Trump administration accused it of potential espionage on behalf of Beijing without providing hard evidence.

As a result, it was placed by Washington on a 2019 blacklist that prevented it from acquiring US-made technology crucial to its operations, in particular chips.

Its 5G infrastructure has also been removed or delayed in a succession of Western countries on national security concerns, which drew sharp rebukes from Beijing.

Huawei said it generated first-quarter revenue of 152.2 billion yuan ($23.4 billion)a fall of 16.5 percent on-yearand attributed the drop to a decline in consumer revenue as the result of offloading a smart device brand. The firm sold its Honor budget phone line to a domestic consortium late last year.

The group's current rotating chairman Eric Xu in a statement that "2021 will be another challenging year for us, but it's also the year that our future development strategy will begin to take shape".

"No matter what challenges come our way, we will continue to maintain our business resilience."

Chief financial officer Meng Wanzhoudaughter of CEO and founder Ren Zhengfeiis currently under house arrest in Canada battling extradition to the US on charges of fraudulently conducting business with Iran in defiance of international sanctions.

Ren, controversial for his past links to the People's Liberation Army, in February called on new US President Joe Biden's administration to implement a "policy of openness" after the setbacks of the Donald Trump era.

So far, not much has changed on that front.

Germany last week approved a new cyber security law that allows its government to block "untrustworthy" suppliers of 5G technology, bringing it in line with other EU countries such as France, which quietly limited orders of Huawei equipment last year.

The UK, New Zealand and Australia have formally blocked Huawei from their 5G networks following US pressure.

Pressure from Washington weighed on Huawei's results last year. Unlike in 2019, the group has not yet disclosed in detail the number of phones it sold in 2020.

Explore further Huawei posts record profit but US pressure, pandemic hit revenue

 2021 AFP
BESSEMER, Ala. (AP)  A juvenile is in custody in the 2020 shooting death of a Mississippi man whose body was later found inside an abandoned home in Alabama.

Bessemer Police Chief Mike Roper told news outlets Tuesday that the young suspect was arrested in Bessemer on a charge of felony murder in the death of 45-year-old Michael Jones of Columbus, Mississippi.

Roper did not release the name or age of the suspect.

It was unknown if the suspect has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Jones vanished May 20, 2020, after leaving work in Columbus.

His pickup truck was found two days later and a further search led investigators to Jones body in the vacant home.

Family said Jones had arranged to meet someone to buy an iPhone 11 and believe he was lured to his death.
Billionaire investing legend Warren Buffett will hold court for hours at the Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) shareholder meeting streamed live on Yahoo Finance on Saturday, answering dozens of questions from attendees watching virtually around the world.

Some of those questions will likely boil down to the same query: How do I invest as well as you do?

In a new interview, Robert Hagstrom  portfolio manager and author of many books on Buffett, including "Warren Buffett: Inside the Ultimate Money Mind"  says Buffett's investing success owes to his possession of two inextricably linked attributes: philosophy and method.

Buffett has enjoyed consistently strong returns over the decades because he combines a flexible method that responds to the market and a bedrock philosophy that grounds each of his decisions, said Hagstrom, the Chief Investment Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager at Equity Compass.

"Investing is really two distinct classes," Hagstrom says. "It is a philosophical bucket  that thinking bucket that then connects to the method."

Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett gestures at the start of a 5km race sponsored by Brooks Sports Inc., a Berkshire-owned company, in Omaha May 5, 2013, a day after the company's annual meeting. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

"You can't be successful in your methods if you're not anchored well in the philosophical side," he adds. "What makes what Warren does successful is combining the philosophical with the methods, both of them working in tandem."

Since 1965, Buffett has built textile company Berkshire Hathaway into a giant holding company, along the way popularizing the strategy of value investing, which identifies stocks trading at a price lower than their book value, and patiently waits for them to rise.

Buffett has also exhibited deft decision-making when sudden market swings require it. In October 2008, the immediate aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Buffett wrote in The New York Times, Fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nations many sound companies make no sense." He accurately predicted that most major companies would soon enough set new profit records.

To illustrate the mix of philosophy and method, Hagstrom pointed to Buffett's use of the phrase "money mind" during remarks at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting four years ago.

"Ive known very bright people that do not have money minds, and they can make very unintelligent decisions," Buffett said. "They can do all kinds of other things that most mortals cant do. But it just doesnt, it isnt the way their wiring works."

[See also: Warren Buffett's 25 best quotes about business, investing, and life]

Today, Berkshire Hathaway owns over 60 companies, like Geico and Dairy Queen, plus minority stakes in Apple (AAPL), Coca-Cola (KO), among others. Buffett holds a net worth of $102.8 billion, and has vowed to give away nearly all of it.

Buffett learned his investment philosophy from his father, Howard Buffett, and his professor at Columbia University, Ben Graham, known as the father of value investing, Hagstrom said.

Over time, he developed a "money mind" that could pair that philosophy with an investing method, which he has since applied in a range of circumstances, said Hagstrom, who has closely examined Buffett for a quarter century.

"It's really fascinating and humbling that it took me 25 years to figure this part out," Hagstrom says. "But I think it's a critical variable."

He also acknowledged a third attribute rooted in Buffett's personality.

"What is probably one of the most important parts of being a successful investor is Warren is honest, and that's about temperament," Hagstrom says.

2021 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting

Read more:
Tucker Carlson has defended Joe Rogan telling young people to not worry about getting vaccinated against Covid-19.

The Spotify podcaster faced a barrage of criticism for saying on The Joe Rogan Experience that he would not encourage a 21-year-old to get the vaccine.

Carlson doubled down the day after he told viewers of his own Fox News show to call the police or make a report to child protective services if they saw a child wearing a mask outdoors.

And he attacked the push to make all Americans get the vaccine on his Tuesday show.

If youve gotten the vaccine, why is other peoples refusal to get the vaccine a problem for you? Carlson asked.

If the vaccine is so effective why are the people who choose to get mad at the people who choose not to get it? Huh?

Do people whove slimmed down from gastric bypass yell at fat people on the street? You wouldnt think so. Its not really their business.

Rogan sparked controversy on his Monday podcast, after admitting that the vaccine was for the most part safe to get.

But if youre like 21 years old, and you say to me, should I get vaccinated? Ill go no. Are you healthy? Are you a healthy person? he added.

If youre a healthy person, and youre exercising all the time, and youre young, and youre eating well, like, I dont think you need to worry about this.

Carlson defended Rogans comments enthusiastically.

So if youre at risk, get the vaccine, protect yourself, be happy with it, be grateful we have the vaccine. And if youre not at risk, maybe you dont. Is that a crazy point?

Carlson told Fox News host Brit Hume, who was a guest on his show, that he had had a million vaccines over my lifetime and I think vaccines are great.

Hume said that he had been fully vaccinated but Carlson did not say if he had also been vaccinated against Covid-19
2020

Bonmarche, the value-oriented clothing retailer, went into administration for the second time in a year on December 2, 2020.

There are 226 stores and more than 1200 employees. It is owned as a separate business by Philip Day, whose EWM is also in crisis (see below).

Philip Day put this company into administration a few months ago, and reaquired it via a pre-pack. It is thought unlikely that he will do this again a second time.

Age UK, the charity focused on supporting the elderly, closed 133 of its 392 charity outlets in 2020 and made 400 people redundant. During the first lockdown approximately 70 per cent of its staff were on furlough.

Debenhams, the oldest retail chain in the UK, announced on December 1, 2020 that it had no alternative except to go into liquidation.

BooHoo is to acquire the Debenhams' website, brands and goodwill, but close the Debenhams' stores, came on 25 January 2021.

It marks the end of a well-known retailer, whose problems stemmed from the manner in which the company was managed or exploited in the last 20 years.

In the past 35 years it has had a variety of owners none of which was fundamentally committed to the future of Debenhams Group or was able to introduce a coherent long-term strategy.

Arcadia, the fashion giant owned by Philip Green's wife in Monaco, went into administration on the last day of November 2020. It consists of the former Burton Group, with major subsidiaries Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Burtons, Miss Selfridge, Wallis and Evans.

These are all well-known brands. The administrators are allowing the stores and the website to continue to trade while new purchasers for the business or businesses are found. There are around 440 stores and 12,000+ staff.

The heyday of Philip Green's Arcadia was probably 2004-2007, but it failed to invest sufficiently in shops, IT or modern designs. Its dinner has been eated by upstarts like Primark, BooHoo, Zara, Next and even by grocery clothing lines.

For some years, the company has lacked a clear sense of direction and suffered from low investment and an unwillingness to develop its online sales. It has cut its store numbers by more than half since 2012. Comparatively staid business like John Lewis and Next have heavily invested in their online operations and now produce half their sales online.

ASOS, the UK online fashion retailer, has acquired from the shell of Arcadia the brands and websites of Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and the athleisure HIIT brands. The purchase excludes the retail stores owned by Arcadia, but there may be further news of these later.

The Irish arm of Arcadia comprising TopShop, Dotty P, Burton, Miss Selfridge etc have now closed and all 490 staff are being made redundant. The administrators have sold to online-retailer BooHoo, the online business and original Burton brands, Burtons, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis. Meanwhile, news from Deloitte is that Arcadia owed creditors as follows: HMRC 44.2m, suppliers 163m, landlords 35.5m and giftcard holders 5.6m. As secured creditors, the Green's family loan of 50m takes precedence over the unsecured creditors. The bill for taxpayers will be around 250m+, consisting of the redundancy pay owing to sacked staff and supporting the pension scheme.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Mill, both parts of Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group (EWM Group), went into administration in November.

But Pureplay Retail Limited, a company backed by 'international investors', has since taken over the EWM Group along with Bonmarche which owed 190m to creditors.

Pureplay has taken over 50 Bonmarche stores (1,000 staff) and 246 EWM and Ponden Home sites (1,452 staff). Bonmarche originally had 225 stores when it went into administration. Around 85 EWM and 34 Ponden Home stores will be closed and their 485 staff will lose their jobs.

This is in addition to the 64 closures and 860 staff that lost their jobs when EWM originally went into administration.

It seems that Philip Day, the founder of the EWM Group, may have lent investors some of the money required to buy out his operations, but retains fixed and floating charges as a secured creditor over the business along with Pureplay Retail Limited. Under the new agreement, Philip Day seems to have retained ownership of the various brands that are franchised to Pureplay Retail.

J Crew, American 'preppy' clothing retailer, is to close all six of its UK stores making their staff redundant. Its parent company has recently emerged from administration and seems to have decided to liquidate its UK subsidiary.

Celine Group Holdings, the parent company of Debenhams, has called in FRP Advisory to prepare for its own administration.

This is understood to have been done to prevent any creditor taking action against them in the period when Debs is up for sale and trying to find a new owner.

It is said that interest is overdue on 200m of loans made to Celine: administration would mean there would be no need to pay it. Any administration of Celine would not affect Debenhams store operation per se.

M&Co, the Scots-based value clothing retailer previously called Mackays, has gone into administrators and been bought by its previous owners as part of a pre-pack to save the business. There are 262 stores and 2,700 employees.

The covid-19 lockdown cost the firm more than 50m: in its last financial year profits fell by 40 per cent to 3.6m. Forty-seven stores are to close (380 redundancies) as part of its recovery plan.

D W Sports, a sportswear and gym retailer owned by Dave Whelan, went into administration in the first days of August.

The company's outlets - as non-essential retailers - have been closed since lockdown started: its 73 gyms were about to re-open until the change in government policy that postponed the resumption of trading by gymnasia, bowling alleys etc.

There are 75 DW Sports retail stores: these will all close in four weeks. The Group has a total of 1,700 employees. Twenty-five stores have closed already.

The Fitness First Group which is also owned by Dave Whelan is not to go into administration: its 43 clubs will remain trading.

Feather & Black, the award-winning bed specialist rescued in 2017 from administration, has been bought by Dreams.

None of its stores is to reopen after the easing of lockdown. It will become online only, probably with concessions in Dreams.

Outstanding orders will be honoured. The Company was rumoured last February to be up for sale, so these closures are not strictly caused by coronavirus, although being closed for three months would not have helped its chances of survival.

Grosvenor Shopping Centre in Chester went into receivership along with its car park earlier in July 2020. It was originally built in the 1960s and refurbished in the 80s. There are 101 retail units, all on one level. The Shopping centre continues trading.

Oliver Sweeney Trading, the retail arm of the prestige shoe company Oliver Sweeney Group, was placed in administration in mid-July.

All its seven stores are closed as the company sees its retail future as online only. This administration does not affect the wholesaling and online arms of the business.

Muji, the Japanese high-street homewares retailer, has applied for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. It has debts of $64m and the Covid-19 lockdowns in the UK and the U.S. have hit it hard.

It won't be included in our UK figures, but, under U.S. law the corporation will be required to produce an exit plan to revamp the company. This may well have implications for UK stores. The stores continue to trade.

Cardinal, the Yorkshire-based firm of shopfitters (outfitting or remodelling store interiors), went into administration in mid-July.

One hundred and thirty-five staff amongst its 170 employees have already been made redundant. Their business has been hit by the pandemic.

In addition their customers (i.e. the retailers) were unable to make firm commitments about work they needed in 2020, H2, into 2021.

The impact of Covid-19 upon retailers has meant that most companies are now unsure about the number, type and location of stores that they are going to need in 2021-2025. The collapse of work for Cardinal is a symptom of the bloodbath on the high street.

Soletrader, a footwear retailer established in 1962, went into a creditors' voluntary liquidation in mid-July 2020. Its assets including stock and brand names Sole and Soletrader were purchased by its owner, the Twinmar Group, and are now invested in a new subsidiary, Twinmar London.

Most of the company's stores opened for trading in July, but eight shops have been closed. Soletrader's website is a separate entity and is unaffected by the liquidation.

Peter Jones (China), a 50-year old crockery and gift business based in Wakefield, went into administration in mid-July. It had not opened after the lockdown eased. There were ten stores and 76 staff. The business is expected to be liquidated.

Norville Group, a Gloucestershire-based firm of opticians and optical suppliers to the industry, went into administration early in June after selling its nine Norville Opticians' practices the previous week.

Since then the former Norville laboratories, which were renowned for being able to produce lens to the very highest standard, have been acquired from administration by Inspecs, the new owner of the Norville Group, and continue to trade.

Benson Beds, the beds and bedding business owned by Alteri, was put into pre-pack administration at the same time as Harveys (see below).

Alteri bought the business out immediately and put 25m into the company to invest in its development. There are 242 stores and 1,900 staff. Bensons (at present) is seen as a much better business than Harveys, most UK bedding is made in the UK, it faces less competition from overseas operators and Alteri is likely to focus on improving its operations, while keeping Harveys Furniture stable. The company continues to trade and existing orders will be fulfilled.

Harveys Furniture, the second largest furniture retailer in the UK, was put into administration by its owners, Alteri Investors on the last day of June.

There are 105 stores, which have been struggling for some years, and 1,575 staff. The company is looking to close 20 stores and make 240 staff redundant. The company continues to trade and existing orders will be satisfied.

T M Lewin, retailer of shirts and ties online and in 65 stores, went into administration on the last day of June after failing to find a buyer.

The shops have not re-opened following the relaxation of the lockdown. The business had been acquired from Bain private equity only last month (May). The new owners, SCP Private Equity, expect to close all the stores, making the company online only. Six hundred employees are likely to lose their jobs.

Bertram Books, the Norwich-based book wholesaler, went into administration towards the end of June 2020 with debts now (Aug 2020) known to be 25m.

Most of its 450 workforce has been made redundant. Bertrams was particularly important to smaller publishing companies.

Changes in the book market in the last 20 years including the growth of online sales and dramatic price cutting, highly-promoted 'blockbusters', the growth of Amazon and direct-to-customer applications as well as e-books adversely affected Bertram Books' business model.

But sub-optimal decision-making by a succession of uncommitted owners have also brought it down.

The coronavirus pandemic, closing both libraries and bookshops, proved to be the final blow for Bertram Books.

Intu Properties, the major property company that owns and manages some of the largest and best UK retail malls, went into administration on 26 June 2020. Many of its retail clients are not paying their rents and INTU's creditors are not as forebearing.

It has total debts of 4.5bn, a merger with a European property company came to nothing and it has failed to raise more capital. Its recent negotiations with other parties, where it hoped to arrange a 'standstill agreement' with its lenders, led to no useful outcome, so it went into administration.

Major sites include Lakeside, Glasgow's Braehead, Manchester's Trafford Centre, Nottingham's Victoria Centre and Norwich's Chapelfield. This administration will be a major blow to the UK retail sector, although, coming after many other impossible-to-believe 'major blows', its significance may be less apparent.

It may not be possible for the Administrators to run all the shopping centres without outside funding, although so far all sites have been kept open. It is still possible that many of their shopping centres will close unless a new potential buyer acquires some or all of them.

Go Outdoors, the outdoor sports, walking, climbing, camping, riding and exercise retailer owned by JD Sports, went into administration towards the end of June.

It was immediately bought out of administration by J D Sports for 56.5m (pre-pack administration), enabling the company to be reorganised. J D Sports has stated that it wishes needs to re-think the Go Outdoors business but does not expect large-scale redundancies and closures.

There are 2,400 employees and 67 stores. Since the firm was bought by JD Sports it has lost 291m (to August 2019) and the massive losses caused by the coronavirus lockdown have only worsened the situation. In July, the Administrators estimated that unsecured creditors would receive only 1p in the 1.

Lee Longlands, the Birmingham-based upmarket furniture retailer, went into administration towards the end of June to enable the company to restructure and improve cash flow. The company continues to trade and outstanding orders will be met.

There are six stores, mostly in the Midlands. Lee Longlands was purchased via a management buy-out in 2015. The company started in Broad Street Bham as an antiques business in 1902.

Poundstretcher Properties, a company connected to discount-chain Poundstretcher, is to be placed into administration as part of a CVA programme by 450-store group Poundstretcher to reorganise its store portfolio, cut rents and reduce other costs.

The Poundstretcher Group has argued that around 250 stores will close if the CVA is not approved by its creditors. Poundstrecher Properties holds the leases on only 23 stores and this will not affect the legal position or ownership of the group as a whole. Poundstretcher faces the same issues as the rest of the high street, compounded by the lockdown, now in its 85th day (it is really that long?).

Oak Furnitureland, the specialist furniture store that started off on eBay, has gone into administration, and was immediately bought out of administration (pre-pack) by hedge-fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management.

There are 105 showrooms and 1,491 employees. The business continues still to trade, but the new owner expects to rationalise the business, probably through the closure of some stores and reductions in staff.

Le Pain Quotidien, the French-themed retailer, bread/coffee/restaurant chain, went into pre-pack administration in mid-June. It has been bought out of administration by a new vehicle, BrunchCo21, believed to be linked to its former owner, Cobepa. Ten of its 26 outlets have been closed with the loss of around 200 jobs in stores and the closure of its head office.

The new owners expect to negotiate T&C with the landlords of the remaining 16 properties, and the results may lead of course to further closures.

Monsoon Accessorize, the womenswear and accessories chain with 181 stores, went into administration early in June. It is a private company owned by its founder, Peter Simon, which started as a market stall.

Monsoon Accessorize was immediately bought out of administration by Mr Simon. Thirty-five stores closed with 545 employees made redundant.

The business had 181 stores and 2,534 UK staff before administration. It currently sells through 156 stores, 155 which have re-opened along with one new 'concept store' in Marylebone.

In 2019 the company survived a previous crisis through a large cash injection from its owner, the closure of 40 stores and a CVA that cut rents on three-quarters of its stores.

Monsoon's international business is unaffected, with 49 stores and 966 staff outside the UK.

Quiz, the Glasgow-based fashion group, put its physical stores division into administration in early June. Ninety-three head-office and warehouse redundancies have already been declared. The business wants to renegotiate rents for its 82 stores and the eventual size of the group will only be known, when this has been done. KPMG has been appointed to review the firm's options, which are likely to include store closures. There are 915 staff in the stores division. Quiz's online business continues unaffected, as are its 300+ concessions.

Victoria's Secret, the UK arm of the U.S.-owned global retailer, went into administration early in June 2020 having made a loss now known (Aug 2020) to be 100m in the last financial year. The UK fashion trade has experienced a torrid three years and the coronavirus lockdown, which prevented 'non-essential' stores trading (though not online), has been the final hammer blow. There are 25 stores and 800 staff. The company is reported as looking for a light-touch administration, allowing them to restructure the business, reduce costs and possibly find a new owner.

Aldo, a Canadian-based international chain of stores, went into administration early in May 2020. Five UK stores were permanently closed, leaving eight surviving while the administrators sought new owners for the UK business. The UK network was acquired by a Birmingham-based investment firm in September of last year, after the administration period saw them open three additional stores. Nine stores will be reopening to welcome shoppers back from 12th April 2021, with a further three to follow. Aldo shoes, handbags and accessories are still available for purchase in the UK both online and in its 28 UK concessions. The Irish arm of Aldo has already gone into administration. The company and its brands (chiefly 'Aldo' and 'Call It Spring') are major international businesses, operating around 3,000 stores globally served by 20,000 staff. Apart from the UK, Aldo businesses are expected to reopen as each government permits in the post-coronavirus world.

DVF Studio, the luxury fashion company owned by Diane von Furstenberg, has gone into administration, citing 'coronavirus', and is closing its Mayfair store. The company has an online business as well as concessions in prestigious department stores, including Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. It announced earlier in 2020 that it was starting a subscription luxury service. The e-commerce business and concessions continue to trade.

Antler, the luggage retailer which runs 18 stores and a concession, went into administration in mid-May. There are 194 employees: 164 of these have been made redundant. The Administrators announced in mid-July that they had successfully sold the brand name, Online business, stock and assets, but the stores remain closed and there was no news of their future.

Johnsons' Shoes, also trading as Bowleys Fine Shoes, went into administration in mid-May. There are 12 stores, all in the South East of England. The 145 furloughed staff will retain their jobs as the administrators seek to reopen the businesses. The group was later acquired by Newjohn Limited, part of Daniel Footwear. Six stores were closed.

Dawson's Music, one of the oldest stores selling musical instruments (est. 1898), went into administration early in May. There are six stores in Leeds, Manchester, Chester, Liverpool, Reading and Belfast. It is still open and is hoping to be sold as a going concern. There are 75 staff. The coronavirus lockdown proved to be the last straw for a retail group that was already facing a decline in sales. There is also an Educational Division which supplies schools, colleges and universities. In late May, the chain was purchased by Andrew and Karen Oliver, who took over all the stores and retained the staff.

J Crew, the U.S. fashion retailer with six UK stores, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the beginning of May. It has 500 stores in the U.S., trades online, and owns the J Crew Factory and Madewell brands. It intends to continue trading online while it gives control of the business to its lenders who will cancel debts of $1.65bn (1.3bn). It is unclear how this will affect its UK business.

L K Bennet, the fashion retailer which went into administration in March 2019, is to extend its administration for another twelve months. The company expects to open seven stores on 15 June 2020 (when non-essential stores are allowed to start trading) with the remaining 10 stores to open at a later date.

Oasis and Warehouse, two fashion retailers owned by Icelandic-Bank Kaupthing, went into administration in mid-April 2020, having failed to find a buyer for the group. All its 92 stores were closed, 2,300 staff made redundant and the 437 concessions terminated. The 13 stores and 29 concessions in the Irish Republic had already gone in into administration under Irish law: there were 248 staff in Ireland. The Oasis and Warehouse brands and e-commerce operations were bought by Hilco, which sold them in June to BooHoo, the successful e-commerce apparel business. BooHoo raised 200m in May to help it take advantage of 'opportunities', and now also owns brands such as NastyGal, PrettyLittleThing, Karen Millen, MissPap and Coast. Concessions and stores in other countries will continue to trade. Oasis and Warehouse had been suffering recently from the problems common to most UK mid-range fashion businesses. The coronavirus lockdown - closing all its stores - made it impossible to continue operating and ended any chance of a sale.

Spicers, the office-supplies wholesaler, employing 1,200 people started by John Spicer in 1796 ceased trading in April. It built up a European presence, but the UK arm and the European operations were separated in 2011, Spicers being bought by Better Capital, the private equity firm controlled by John Moulton. When it went into administration its administrators were not able to sell it and the business was liquidated.

Simply Scuba, an award-winning diving retailer based in Faversham, went into administration in June. Thirty-two jobs are at risk. The Simply Group also runs SimplyHike and SimplySwim. The Simply Scuba website continues to trade.

Kath Kidston, the vintage-inspired fashion and accessories chain, appointed administrators early in April 2020. It has now announced that it will close its UK branches, concentrating on Asia, the wholesale business and online sales. The company - like many fashion retailers - has had problems in maintaining sales and profitability. Since 2018 it lost 27m, resulting in its closing stores and cutting head-office staff. There are 200 stores globally. All 60 UK sites are to close, with only 32 of its 941 UK staff being retained. It will now operate in the UK as an online-only retailer. The company's owners, Barings Private Equity Asia, have bought it out of administration on a pre-pack basis, having previously tried to sell it. Finances were so poor towards the end that initially Kath Kidson announced that they would only be paying part of the wages owed to employees: they have now agreed to make payments in full, but a up to a week late. The company suppliers, including HMRC and clothing manufacturers, are owned 90m by the failed company.

Autonomy Clothing, a small fashion chain with three stores, 100 concessions and 44 staff, went into administration towards the end of March 2020. It has been beset by the same problems as the rest of the industry, the lockdown being the last straw. All employees have been made redundant.

Lombok, the aspirational furniture and furnishings business, went into administration at the end of March. It operates both online and offline and is best known for its teak products made mostly from reclaimed timber. It has experienced two pre-pack administrations before (2009 and 2011). All 43 staff have been made redundant.

Brighthouse, the rent-to-own household goods retailer, appointed administrators at the end of March 2020. There are 240 stores and 2,700 employees. The administration does not affect customers that rent goods, as their obligations will transfer first to the administrators and then to any new owner. The business mainly deals with low-income households and was fined by the financial regulator for mis-selling and 'unfair' interest charged as part of consumer transactions. The compensation it must pay to 250,000 customers is understood to cost 1m per month and its most-recent financial report (February 2020) showed showed corporate losses of 16m.

Laura Ashley, the fashion retailer with 155 stores, went into administration in mid-March 2020. The administrators permanently closed 70 of the company's outlets: 1,669 staff were furloughed and 677 staff continued working in the business with more redundancies announced in mid-June. Only 18 of its remaining stores have re-opened post lockdown, though this may not be ominous. Gordon Bros have been allowed to purchase the Laura Ashley brand and its archives, leaving the future of the stores, logistics and manufacturing in Britain and Ireland unresolved. The Pension Protection Fund is asking for another administrator to be appointed to ensure the protection of Laura Ashley shareholders. Administration comes after a long period of poor results from a retailer that had been a star in the 80s and early 90s. The post-2016 deterioration in fashion sales affecting most clothing retailers was certainly a factor, but the failure of the business to match modern consumer requirements meant it was difficult to see the purpose of the company.

Kikki.K, an Australian-based retail group selling Swedish-designed stationery, has gone into voluntary administration as a result of the problems of Australian retailing plus the cost of its global expansion (now including Hong Kong, the UK, Singapore and New Zealand). There are up to five stores in the UK, three shops-within-shops in stores like Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges and an online business which, in Europe, seems now to be switched through to Australia. There are 100 stores globally. The Australian stores remain open, but the UK online business is currently uncontactable due to 'unprecedented shipping delays'.

Homebase, the DIY chain, has returned to profit after its experiences first as Bunnings UK and then a large CVA case. It used its CVA to cut rents and close more than 70 stores. It is therefore quitting its CVA eighteen months early. CVAs have had mixed results when used by retailers, but this is one that seems to have turned up trumps for the business.

Soak, a major online bathroom products retailer, went into administration at the end of February. The market is intensely competitive and Soak's revenue fell from 70m (2018) to 43m (2019). Its profit on the 2018 figures was only 2.9m. Price competition between online and bricks-and-mortar retailers has meant that few operators are making much of a profit, hence the decline of Soak and the collapse of other kitchen and bathroom retailers, such as Better Bathrooms. There are 220 employees.

T J Hughes Outlet Division has issued a notice of intended administration for its Outlet Division, prior to renegotiating their rents. Lewis's Home Retail Limited, a subsidiary of LHR Holdings (the master company for T J Hughes), owns eight stores, two of which have already been saved via agreed rent reductions. This does not affect the whole Group, but only outlet stores.

HonestJohn.co.uk, the online advice website for car owners, went into administration and has been bought by Heycar, an online retailer of used cars. The staff, IP and assets have been transferred.

Ashbury Furniture, a large furniture and soft furnishings salesroom, went into administration in February, caused by constant road engineering on the M20 (making it hard to get to the showroom) and the impact of rent and rates.

Ena Shaw, a producer and retailer of soft furnishings based in St Helens, went into administration in February 2020, closing its factory and store. There were 167 employees.

Oddbins, the wine and drinks off-licence business of European Food Brokers, went into administration at the beginning of February. There are 56 stores, mostly trading as Oddbins or Wine Cellars: two have now closed. Employees number around 567. Less than one year ago 45 EFB off-licence businesses were sold or closed on the basis that they were no longer viable.

Hearing and Mobility, a specialist national chain of hearing and mobility stores, has ceased trading and administrators have been appointed. Hearing and Mobility (HHML) is a Northampton-based company founded in 2002 with 18,000 customers. It established a chain of 27 hearing and mobility stores throughout Britain, later focusing mainly on the Midlands and the South with 15 stores. Starting in 2016, the company closed many of its mobility stores to concentrate on hearing disabilities. The company rarely made a profit and by January 2020 had only four stores. After its stores had 'temporarily' ceased trading they were sold to two other companies trading in this vertical market. Amplify Hearing has acquired HHML hearing operations, assets and 76 staff, enabling customers to continue being provided with service.

Hawkins Bazaar, a Norwich-based games retailer with a focus on adult merchandise, went into administration in the latter days of January. There are 20 stores and 177 staff. The company went into administration previously in 2011. Weak trading in 2019 and a poor Christmas have led the firm's current problems. The stores will remain open while a buyer is found, but by mid-February were all to close.

Houseology, a Glasgow-based e-commerce furniture business, has gone into administration after a doleful Christmas. Twenty-three staff have been made redundant. Bureau, its office-oriented associate business, continues to trade and is not affected by Houseology's failure. By the end of February Houseology's assets including IP had been acquired by competitor Olivia, part of the Moot Group. Moot Group started in 2018 and is targeting turnover of 20m by end-2020.

Beales, a 22-store department store chain, went into into administration, having failed to find a new owner or additional finance in the latter end of 2019. At first, the company's stores remained open in the hope that a new owner could be found. They have all now closed. The loss-making stores in the Midlands and the South were closed suddenly when no new owner cold be found, and were followed a fortnight later by the remaining stores, which were mostly in East Anglia. Losses rose from -1.3m in 2018 to -3.1m in 2019 and poor trading over Christmas made it essential to secure new funding. The company had announced in December 2019 that it was in difficulties and needed refinancing. Beales employed more than 1,200 staff. Colliers International reported in January 2020 that Beales was paying 2.85m in business rates, 1m more than should have been the case.

2021

Jessops, the chain of camera dealers now with only 17 stores, appointed administrators at the end of March. It had previously gone into administration at the end of 2019, after which it closed more than half its stores. In the Lockdowns the shops have been unable to trade and more and more business is shifting online. There are around 120 staff.

The Hummingbird Bakery, a London-based American-style bakery, has been bought by pre-pack administration by Acropolis Capital, a family investment company. The Hummingbird bakery and three of its stores are part of the pre-pack, but two other sites are excluded.

Preston St George's Shopping Centre went into the control of administrators on February 2 2021, when its parent company (InfraRed) entered administration. InfraRed acquired the Shopping Centre in 2015 for 73m, supported by a loan from Wells Fargo Bank. Trading continues as normal, although the Preston Centre, in common with every UK shopping mall, has suffered considerably from the closure of non-food stores in Lockdown.

Paperchase, the up-market stationery, student accessories and gift business, has gone through a pre-pack administration, closing 37 stores with the loss of 500 jobs. Before issuing a notice of intent to appoint administrators in early January 2021, the company had 127 stores and around 1,500 staff. The new owners are to be Permira. Around 40 per cent of Paperchase sales occur in November and December each year, but government restrictions have meant that most stores had been closed for up to six of its best shopping weeks.

Jaeger brand and stock have been purchased by Marks & Spencer, but not its staff and stores. All 63 Jaeger stores and concessions, its retail staff and 80 per cent of head office staff will be made redundant apart from a few employees in distribution and head office. The brands Austin Reed and Jacques Vert, previously operating as part of the Jaeger Group, did not form part of the M&S acquisition.

Source: Centre for Retail Research
As the COVID-19 caseloads in neighboring countries are rising steeply, Vietnams Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has pointed out the looming threat of another outbreak in the nation, which requires urgent preventive measures to be taken.

The statement was made by the deputy premier during a meeting of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Tuesday.

The steering committee required a thorough probe of the countrys quarantine center system, both army-run and privately-owned facilities, to prevent cross infection among residents.

Quarantine centers should be equipped with surveillance cameras that provide real-time footage for multiple management bodies at the same time, the committee added.

The probe should also cover the monitoring protocol and medical screening for discharged quarantine residents.

A plan to expand the capacity of the quarantine zones to pre-empt a future outbreak should also be in place, the committee said.

Free COVID-19 testing for all

Vietnam is seeing signs of negligence of coronavirus prevention protocols, namely public gathering restrictions and face mask wearing, despite its current success in containing the pandemic, evidenced by the country having gone 33 days in a row without any new community case, according to the Ministry of Health.

Border guards have reported a multitude of illegal entrants to Vietnam in the past weeks, which could bring the COVID-19 pathogen back to the country and enkindle another outbreak.

The risk is even higher, considering Vietnamese residents are taking advantage of the upcoming four-day holiday weekend to travel in droves, which would make COVID-19 containment much more challenging.

The Reunification Day and International Workers' Day entitle most workers in Vietnam to a four-day break from April 30 to May 3.

Deputy PM Dam emphasized the immense risk of transmission from neighboring countries, as well as from members of the local community.

He pointed out a recent case, where a hotel staffer was infected after coming into contact with a group of Indian experts quarantined in northern Yen Bai Province, as a prime example.

Dam called for a continued effort in epidemic detection, prevention, isolation, outbreak outlining, and treatment.

Country borders must be thoroughly monitored, while awareness-raising campaigns on the threat of border jumpers and the importance of early reports of illegal entrants must be boosted in border areas, the official underlined.

Entrants who come to Vietnam legally through border gates will not have to pay for quarantine fees and testing, as the majority are indeed unable to pay, according to the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

During the meeting, the steering committee also urged the Ministry of Health to complete a testing plan with sufficient adaptability against discrete pandemic scenarios, plus integration of the latest foreign technology and acceleration of homegrown vaccine development.

Testing capacity in areas at high risk of transmission, namely the southwest provinces that adjoin Cambodia, must be raised to brace for a potential hike in testing demand in the future.

Preparing for social distancing

A representative of the committee also urged the Ministry of Health to report to the prime minister a coordinated social distancing plan.

Whenever a province- or city-scale social distancing mandate is required, local authorities must discuss with their neighboring provinces and cities and inform the prime minister.

The social distancing should be limited to the smallest possible area and introduced with a specified end date so that the damage from disruption of business operations can be minimized.

Provinces and relevant agencies are required to adhere strictly to the prime minister's guidance on curbing social gatherings.

The country should stay ready against another outbreak, but business operations should also be maintained with respect to safety guidelines, Deputy PM Dam stated.

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As the past is as incendiary a force in Turkey as it is in Ireland, then it is unsurprising that US president Joe Bidens remarks last weekend  when he recognised the 1915/1916 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide  stretched the frayed relationship between the Nato allies. The gesture, more symbolic than concrete, recognised that around one million Armenians were killed by Turkish Ottoman troops during those years.

One of the atrocities occurred less than two years after Cork was burned. The port of Smyrna  holidaymakers today know it as Izmir  was razed in September 1922. The death toll is disputed, but it may be as high as 100,000. One detail of the sack remains unforgettable.

Military bands on Allied powers ships anchored in Smyrnas harbour were ordered to play ever-louder to block out the screams of the townspeople drowning in the harbour, where they were driven by fire or Turkish troops. Behaving in a way complicit with the Turks, the Allied sailors prevented those drowning souls from boarding Allied ships. There was an exception, however: A Japanese freighter jettisoned cargo and took on as many refugees as was possible.

The standard invocation that such an atrocity could not happen today is, as ever, indulgent and wrong. So, too, is the suggestion that the US is unstained. Figures released by the International Organisation for Migration record that 4,159 migrants intercepted in the Mediterranean this year by the EU-supported Libyan coastguard were returned to Libya. Their fate is unknown, but it is unenviable.

If Mr Bidens clarity has strained relationships with conservative Recep Erdogans Turkey, then that countrys relationship with the EU must be strained by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyens necessary declaration that sexism was behind an incident in which she was snubbed during a visit to Ankara.

Violence against women and children is a crime. We must call it a crime and it must be punished as such

I have to conclude, it happened because I am a woman, she told MEPs in the EU parliament. That sleight spoke volumes, but Turkeys decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, the first internationally binding instrument to take a broad approach to combat violence against women and children, shows how deep the cultural divide between the West and Turkey remains. It is disconcerting, too, and undermines the EU that several EU states have not yet ratified the convention.

This is not acceptable, warned von der Leyen. Violence against women and children is a crime. We must call it a crime and it must be punished as such. The Istanbul treaty has been ratified in Ireland and came into force in 2019. However, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, and Lithuania have not endorsed it, which means that the EU, as a whole, is not a party to it.

Though it took the US a century to call genocide a genocide, the wriggle room on these issues is not as abundant as it was. The EU, through von der Leyen, is right and must challenge behaviour fundamentally opposed to European values  not only because it is the right thing to do, but because of the support it offers to the millions who want to live in a society where gender is no longer a defining, chaining issue.
Markus Leikkonen Wins Final GGSF Event For $650K

April 28, 2021 Matthew Pitt

The curtain came down on a massively successful GG Spring Festival on April 27 when the $10,300 Super MILLIONS concluded under the watchful eyes of the PokerNews Live Reporting team. Markus Leikkonen of Finland was the last man standing from the 347 entrants. His reward? A cool $651,821.

GGSF Event H-108: $10,300 Super MILLION$

Place Winner Country Prize (in USD) 1 Markus Leikkonen Finland $651,821 2 David Coleman United States $502,622 3 Yuri Dzivielevski Brazil $387,575 4 Christian Jeppsson Sweden $298,861 5 Daniel Dvoress Canada $230,453 6 Timothy Adams Canada $177,704 7 George Wolff United States $137,028 8 xyzpoker Austria $105,663 9 Konstantin Maslak Russia $81,478

Brazilian superstar Yuri Dzivielevski was the chip leader going into the nine-handed final table, closely followed by Daniel Dvoress. Neither was able to build on their impressive start and become the final champion of the GG Spring Festival.

The final table lost a player when Konstantin Maslak shoved for 9.5 big blinds with and lost a coinflip against Dzivielevskis .

Cooler Hand Claims Tournament Life of xyzpoker

Dzivielevski was the executioner against in a cooler hand that saw xyzpoker hit the rail in eighth-place. xyzpoker must have been rubbing his hands together in delight after looking down at and seeing Dzivielevski all but min-raise in front of him. Delight turned to despair when the Brazilian snap-called xyzpokers 8.5 big blind three-bet all-in, doing so with .

Leikkonen went on the hunt and snared himself George Wolff, who he sent to the rail in seventh place, a finish good for $137,028. Leikkonens prevailed against the dominated in Wolffs hand.

Timothy Adams lost a key coinflip with queen-jack against Christian Jeppssons pocket sixes to leave him with only five big blinds. Adams pinned his tiny stacks hopes on but ran into Dvoress .

Dangerous Dvoress Destroyed

Daniel Dvoress

The final five became four when Dvoress busted. Dvoress lost the majority of his stack to David Coleman when the latters spiked an ace on the flop to crack Dvoress red kings. Coleman got his hands on the rest of Dvoress chips, his prevailing against the of Dvoress.

Colemans march towards the top of the chip counts continued at Jeppssons expense. The talented pair got their chips into the middle, Jeppsson holding , and Coleman the . Coleman flopped a gutshot straight draw and a flush draw in addition to his two overcards. The turn bricked and it was starting to look like Coleman had too many outs. Jeppsson improved to a set on the river, but the six was of hearts, which completed Colemans flush.

Heads-up was set soon after when Dzivielevski open-shoved for 14 big blind with and Leikkonen called out of the small blind with . You need to win your coinflips to take down tournaments, which is what Leikkonen did courtesy of an ace on the river.

Advantage Coleman, But Not For Long

David Coleman

Coleman held the advantage going into heads-up, his 19,303,914 stack up against Leikkonens 15,396,086. Coleman pushed further ahead, but Leikkonen pulled level before forging a lead for himself.

The final hand occurred during the 200,000/400,000/50,000a level, and saw Coleman min-raise to 800,000. Leikkonen called before check-calling an 860,000 bet on the flop. It was a similar story on the turn, Leikkonen checking before calling Colemans 400,000 bet. The river saw Leikkonen check for a third time. Coleman took the bait and jammed all-in for almost twice the size of the pot. Leikkonen instantly called having set a trap with his , which was now a full house. Coleman could only muster the .

Leikkonen, a high-stakes cash game specialist, walked away with $651,821, leaving Coleman to lick his wounds with $502,622 to show for his efforts.

Read a blow-by-blow account of the Super MILLION$

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(Natural News) Experimental covid vaccines are causing blood clots in some recipients, and may cause life-threatening medical emergencies in young people who arent even at risk from a natural infection. Governments around the world have temporarily paused the emergency rollout for these vaccines, but nothing is being done to fix the problem with this controversial science. German scientists have recently discovered why this type of vaccine causes blood clots to form in some people.

The AstraZeneca and the Johnson & Johnson shots are adenovirus-vector vaccines. This vaccine model uses a modified adenovirus taken from monkeys to carry specific instructions to cells in the human body. After the modified adenovirus is injected into people, it carries unique genetic information from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This genetic information is relayed to the cells, forcing the cells to produce copies of the inflammatory spike protein  the infectious property of the virus. When this foreign spike protein is produced on the cells surface, the immune system is supposed to respond, forcing an antibody response. This process doesnt work perfectly in every person and may cause an autoimmune attack on the bodys own platelets.

Adenovirus-vector vaccines cause inflammatory autoimmune responses that lead to blood clots

Andreas Greinacher, MD, head of the Institute of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, University Hospital Greifswald, Germany, was one of the first scientists in the world to discover how these vaccine-induced antibodies attack a key protein in platelets, causing rapid formation of blood clots.

The problem begins with the adenovirus shell and the foreign proteins that were used to cultivate that virus. Once these foreign particles are injected, they may come into contact with platelets from the blood. The bodys platelets may over-react, rushing to the site of injection. These platelets rush in to stop the bleeding and also provide an initial immune response. The platelets will then surround the injected adenovirus shell and any foreign proteins. Once the platelets are activated, they let off chemical signals that are stored up in granules. The vaccination breaches the normal routes of exposure and can therefore excite an abnormal number of platelets.

This causes a massive release of chemical signals, instructing an abnormal number of B-cells to attack the platelet factor 4 protein, which regulates blood clotting. This allergic flood of B-cells is called into action because the body believes it is under an enormous attack from invading pathogens. The flood of B cells creates antibodies for the platelet factor 4 protein, which helps coordinate blood clotting. The antibodies attack the bodys own platelets, prompting the platelets to recruit white blood cells. By then the whole thing is exploding, said Dr. Greinacher. The inflammatory reaction causes an autoimmune attack on the bodys own platelets, causing blood clots to form.

The vaccines EDTA content also contributes to life-threatening vaccine injury

The German scientists discovered another process that contributes to this life-threatening vaccine injury. These adenovirus-vector vaccines contain a calcium binding agent and stabilizer called EDTA. This additive, essential to the science of the vaccine, is responsible for prying open the junctions between cells that form the walls of blood vessels. As EDTA opens up these junctions, it permits the foreign proteins and platelets to enter the bloodstream. If enough activity is detected in the blood stream, the immune system will overreact, triggering an onrush of autoimmune attacks that precede the blood clots.

Adenovirus-vector vaccines were developed as one-dose protocols because the immune system quickly gains immunity to the adenovirus vector, thwarting the full process. This renders future doses of the vaccine less and less efficacious. These vaccines will not be valuable long term, as new mutations and variants of coronavirus circulate. Any re-vaccination for coronavirus mutations and variants will not convey the full, intended immune response, leaving people dependent on a faulty science of waning immunity that also includes hyper-inflammatory blood clotting risks and other severe adverse events.

Sources include:

GreatGameIndia.com

WexnerMedical.OSU.edu

ClinicalTrialsArena.com
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One day after Vice President Kamala Harris told Guatemala's president that the U.S. is planning to increase relief to the Northern Triangle region, she met virtually with community organizers from that country to talk about migration.

"The word diplomacy generally suggest a relationship between government leaders," Harris said. "But I believe it has to be broader than that."

"That's why we are building a comprehensive strategy that includes business leaders, foundation leaders and community leaders like you," she said.

Harris is ramping up of her diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of migration from the region, a role she was given by President Joe Biden last month. She has plans to hold a similar virtual meeting with the Mexican president next month, before heading to visit Mexico and Guatemala in June.

The United States has agreed to train members of a Guatemalan task force responsible for protecting the countrys borders and putting a brake on uncontrolled migration.

The U.S. will send 16 employees of the Department of Homeland Security to aid in the effort. The United States will also help Guatemala to build shelters for returned migrants and help the migrants transition back to life in their home communities.

The agreement comes amid a spike in the number of migrant children arriving at the U.S. border, many of them Guatemalan.

"I believe you know exactly what is happening on the ground, exactly how much people are suffering and exactly why people are leaving their homes," Harris said.

"What has worked from your perspective and what has not? And what might work, what has not been tried that could work," Harris asked.

The Border Patrol picked up a record number of unaccompanied children attempting to cross the border in March, and the influx of migrants has put a strain on the federal departments tasked with detaining, housing and processing those migrants.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
MILFORD  A judge ordered a Massachusetts man held on $1.25 million bond Wednesday at his arraignment on charges he raped a 74-year-old woman in a West Haven senior living facility.

This is one of the most appalling scenarios that I have read in a police report in the 25-plus years that I have been a judge, Judge Maureen Dennis said to the suspect, 27-year-old Giani Morales.

Morales faces charges of first-degree sexual assault, home invasion, first-degree burglary, third-degree assault of an elderly person and third-degree assault.

According to a police report, detectives were sent to Surfside Apartments about 7 p.m. Tuesday.

A woman there told police she moved to the complex a few weeks ago and had left her apartment to walk her dog when a man later identified as Morales, who she said she did not know, allegedly approached her and began to push up on her and brush against her as she waited for the elevator.

However, when the elevator arrived and the doors opened, the woman said, there was a man inside who the woman knew is afraid of dogs. The man yelled at her not to bring the dog inside the elevator, so she decided to wait for the next one to arrive, the report states.

(The woman) stated that the male (Morales) was now standing beside her exposing himself, the police report said, so the woman decided that the elevator was not worth it and she made a quick retreat back to her apartment. Morales allegedly followed her.

Morales allegedly pushed her into her apartment as she opened the door, the report said.

The woman told police that Morales raped her inside the apartment after she tried to fight him off.

She said she eventually persuaded Morales to let her open the door to let her dog, who had been locked outside, back into the home. Instead, she made a run for it and yelled for someone to call police from the lobby.

The report said police found Morales passed out inside the womans home, where he was taken into custody.

Giani Morales was still in no shape to be interviewed or answer any questions as of the writing of this report, Detective Anthony Simone wrote about 10:42 p.m. Tuesday. At this time it is unknown where Giani Morales, who is from Massachusetts, is staying and why or how he was in the building . . . which is a secured building where only residents and guests are allowed.

The defendant would not have any reason to be at that location, Assistant States Attorney Alanna Paul said.

The woman was brought to a hospital and remained there Wednesday, the prosecutor said.

The victim in this matter is still in the hospital, Paul said. They kept her overnight. They believe she may have suffered a heart attack from this incident.

The prosecutor then said that new details have come to light since Morales initial arrest.

This is an ongoing investigation, Paul said. The police have located a knife and a chain they believe were the defendants in the victims apartment.

Senior Assistant Public Defender Jeffrey LaPierre, who represented Morales Wednesday, declined to comment on the case.

Morales is scheduled to return to court May 11.
Singapore: The Singapore government has sent a consignment of oxygen cylinders to support India's COVID-19 pandemic response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force is transporting the cylinders on board two C-130 aircraft from Singapore to West Bengal, according to a report by Channel News Asia.

Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Maliki Osman handed over the two planeloads of oxygen cylinders to India's High Commissioner P Kumaran at Paya Lebar Air Base on Wednesday morning.

We have all witnessed in the past year how this pandemic is a transboundary threat, Maliki said at the airbase. It gives no regard for country, nationality or race. This is exactly why we must work collectively to support each other, the Channel quoted him as saying.

Minister Maliki Osman flagged off 2 of the Singapore Air Force's C-130s, arriving in India today with 256 Oxygen cylinders: Singapore's diplomatic missions in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai#COVID19 pic.twitter.com/6MltQ7NkJq  ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2021

Singapore and India share a close relationship, Maliki said, thanking the Indian government for continuing to work with Singapore throughout the pandemic by keeping supply chains open and essential goods flowing.

While our contribution is modest, we hope that it will bring comfort and relief to those in need and encourage those on the frontline in India, who are working tirelessly, to fight on. I have no doubt that the fighting spirit of the Indian people will prevail, Maliki said.

Singapore investment firm Temasek has also sent medical equipment while India's Tata Group donated four cryogenic oxygen cylinders sourced from Singapore. That consignment landed in West Bengal over the weekend.

India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

India saw a record single-day rise of 3,60,960 coronavirus cases, which pushed the total tally to 1,79,97,267, while the death toll crossed two lakh following 3,293 fresh fatalities, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

The death toll stands at 2,01,187, it said.

Meanwhile, South Korea has said that it will provide India with oxygen concentrators, COVID-19 diagnostic kits and other aid items to help the South Asian nation with the world's worst surge in coronavirus infections.

Health official Yoon Taeho said Wednesday the government will also allow irregular flights to bring back South Korean nationals from India. He says those returning will undergo virus tests three times and be placed under quarantine.

Yoon didn't elaborate on the amount of aid items South Korea will send to India. The country's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the amount of material it was considering sending to India would be considerable.

Earlier Wednesday, South Korea reported 775 new virus cases, taking the country's total to 120,673, with 1,821 deaths.

Live TV
[April 28, 2021] CYBER.ORG Launches K-12 HBCU Feeder Program to Grow and Diversify the National Cybersecurity Workforce

CYBER.ORG today announced the kickoff of a new pilot program created to recruit a diverse body of K-12 students to pursue undergraduate cybersecurity degrees and bolster the U.S. cybersecurity workforce. Through a $250,000 grant provided by the National Security Agency (News - Alert) (NSA), CYBER.ORG will develop a K-12 feeder program for Grambling State University (GSU) in Northern Louisiana, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and the first university in the state to create a cybersecurity undergraduate degree. The goal is to replicate this model between school districts and HBCU's across the country. This project aims to address the lack of diversity in the cybersecurity workforce, which is due uneven and unequal access to K-12 cybersecurity education. A recent EducationWeek study revealed students in small and high-poverty school districts are significantly less likely to be exposed to cybersecurity education, resulting in lower-income and minority students having significantly less entrance to this critical field of study. CYBER.ORG will integrate its state approved curricula into both Huntington High School and Southwood High School's course offerings to raise students' foundational and technical skills in cybersecurity and increase interest in GSU's freshmen enrollment, specifically in cybersecurity. CYBER.ORG has also hired veteran educator Willie Henderson as a Cyber Education Specialist to support teachers across the district with CYBER.ORG professional development. "There is an urgent ned to solve the cybersecurity workforce gap, but a problem of this scale requires an innovative approach to recruiting and training future cybersecurity professionals of diverse backgrounds," said Kevin Nolten, Director of Academic Outreach at CYBER.ORG. "This program harnesses the power of both the high school and university community to provide students with the support they need to succeed in cybersecurity careers. We're proud to kickoff of this effort and look forward to partnering with other HBCUs around the country to grow the cybersecurity talent pipeline in communities across the country."



As the leading provider of K-12 cybersecurity education, CYBER.ORG implements programs that encourage students of all backgrounds to pursue cybersecurity in order to fill the global cybersecurity workforce shortage, which is projected to reach 1.8 million unfilled positions by 2022. "Our partnership with CYBER.ORG will be central to introducing more students at the high school level to the possibility of pursuing cybersecurity degrees and careers," said Grambling State University President, Rick Gallot. "This initiative is critical to ensuring that all students regardless of race, gender or socioeconomic status have equal opportunity to enter the cybersecurity field. We're confident that other HBCUs and universities around the country will implement similar models with their own regional high schools."

"Currently less than half of all school classrooms across the U.S. offer cybersecurity education," said Dr. Lamar Goree, Caddo Parish School Superintendent. "This partnership will be critical to changing that statistic and ensuring that our high school students can pursue cybersecurity degrees and careers. Our partnership with Grambling State and CYBER.ORG is a wonderful investment in our students' futures." CYBER.ORG is currently seeking additional HBCU partners to participate in similar pilot programs to be replicated across the country. To learn more about how to get involved, visit: www.cyber.org/hbcu About CYBER.ORG CYBER.ORG, formerly the National Integrated Cyber Education Research Center (NICERC), is a cybersecurity workforce development organization that targets K-12 students with cyber career awareness, curricular resources and teacher professional development. The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) supports CYBER.ORG through a grant from the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) to develop and distribute cybersecurity education content to educators across the country at no cost. Currently, more than 18,000 teachers across all 50 states and three U.S. territories are enrolled in the CYBER.ORG content platform. For more information, please visit http://www.CYBER.ORG. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005629/en/

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CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Rotary Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Market by Power Rating (up to 1000 kVA, 1001-2000 kVA, 2001-2500 kVA, and Above 2500 kVA), Type (Diesel, Hybrid), Application, and Region(APAC, North America, Europe, MEA, South America ) - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Rotary UPS Market is projected to reach USD 0.8 billion by 2026 from an estimated USD 0.7 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 4.9% during the forecast period. The growing need for zero downtime power supply solutions for critical power applications is the major driver of the rotary or Rotary UPS Market. The advantages of rotary UPS such as high efficiency, fewer space requirements, and low lifetime costs are expected to further drive the demand. Increasing data center investments are expected to be the single biggest contributing factor to the growth of Rotary UPS Market during forecast period.

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Above 2500 kVA is expected to be the largest Rotary UPS Market segment by power rating

The market for rotary UPS of above 1800 rpm is expected to be the largest during the forecast period. Rotary UPS are inherently suitable for high power rating applications and are most economical at these power ratings. These large-rated power rotary UPS find applications in energy-intensive applications such as data centers, manufacturing industries, aerospace & defense, and healthcare & pharmaceuticals. With the increasing investments in large-scale data centers, especially in Asia Pacific and Europe, the demand for rotary UPS in this segment is expected to grow.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Rotary UPS Market"

128 - Tables

42 - Figures

169 - Pages

View Detailed Table of Content Here:

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/rotary-uninterruptible-power-supply-market-66258457.html

Datacenter segment is expected to capture the major share of the Rotary UPS Market by application

Datacenter segment by application is expected to be the largest segment during forecast period. The demand for data centers is continuously increasing, and the amount of energy consumed by them has also surged. This is due to the increased load of IT devices that are installed in these data centers. The continuity of power supply is critical for the effective functioning of IT loads in data centers and power outages in them are costly. Investments in large hyperscale data centers have increased significantly to meet the increasing data demand. These drivers are expected to play a key role in the growth of the Rotary UPS Market for data center applications.

Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing segment of the global Rotary UPS Market

The Rotary UPS Market in Asia Pacific, led by China, is expected to grow. Increased investments in data centers, especially in China, Australia, Japan, and Singapore along with the thriving electronics & semiconductor sector in countries such as Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore are expected to drive the demand for rotary UPS.

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To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the Rotary UPS Market includes profiles of some of the leading players, such as Piller Power Systems (Germany), Hitec Holdings (Netherlands), Rolls Royce Holdings (UK), Hitzinger (Austria), and IEM Power Systems (US) along with other prominent manufacturers of rotary UPS.

Browse Adjacent Markets: Energy and Power Market Research Reports & Consulting

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Modular Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Market by Component (Solutions (50kVA & below, 51-100 kVA, 101-250 kVA, 251-500 kVA) and Services (Consulting, Integration & Implementation)), Enterprise Size, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/modular-ups-market-176385588.html

Data Center Power Market by Solution (Power Monitoring, Power Distribution, Power Backup, and Cabling Infrastructure), Service (System Integration, Training & Consulting, and Support & Maintenance), End-User Type, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/data-center-power-market-262148719.html

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But as more international delegations take trips to Xinjiang to see the region for themselves, a different narrative has emerged. According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, over the past years, more than 1,200 diplomats, journalists, and religious personnel from over 100 countries have visited Xinjiang. They saw the region with their eyes, realizing that what they witnessed was different from some Western media reports.

To shed new light on the ongoing debate about what's happening in Xinjiang, CGTN anchor Liu Xin invited Moin ul Haque, Pakistani Ambassador to China, Fariz Mehdawi, Palestinian Ambassador to China, and Imad Moustapha, Syrian Ambassador to China, for a 30-minute roundtable discussion. The three diplomats shared their firsthand experiences in Xinjiang and tried to uncover the intentions of some Western countries' portrayal of Xinjiang.

The discussion took place in a Chinese-style opera house in central Beijing. Liu Xin just wrapped up a two-week trip to Xinjiang, where she interviewed many local officials, academics, farmers, and local residents.

Xinjiang in the eyes of ambassadors

Pakistani Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque visited Xinjiang this March. He described this trip as "an experience of a lifetime." After visiting various places, including local families, development projects, and mosques, he was attracted by the cultural and religious diversity and harmony in this region. Instead of the so-called "forced sterilization" imposed on ethnic minorities, which some Western "researchers" claim, he said "Xinjiang is a mosaic of 50-plus ethnic minorities, and these ethnic minorities exist in Xinjiang in a very peaceful and harmonious manner."

Fariz Mehdawi, Palestinian Ambassador to China, was impressed by the number of religious places. He visited Xinjiang in 2020 and observed that there were mosques in intersections wherever he looked, and there were five mosques actually in the same neighborhood, and a specialized religious learning institution had been established too.

Some people argue that these diplomats' tours are all staged and do not reflect the real situation. Ambassador Fariz said he thinks such an opinion is not respectful. "One should not believe that diplomats are so naive that they could be maneuvered to take and buy anything," he argued, adding "the diplomats are not part of a conspiracy, that they would justify something against what they had seen."

Anti-terrorism achievements in Xinjiang

In the past, Xinjiang suffered from "the three evil forces": separatism, extremism, and terrorism. But thanks to China's efforts, there have not been any terrorist attacks in Xinjiang for more than four consecutive years.

The reason behind this, the ambassadors said, is that Chinese authorities have done two right things: one is eradicating hardcore terrorists with force, and the other is the emphasis on people and developing the society.

Syrian Ambassador to China Imad Moustapha told Liu Xin that China is doing the right thing. China went to the core issues, which are how to develop the society and how to prevent the people in Xinjiang from falling prey to the propaganda of radical extremism.

Why has Xinjiang become such a controversial topic?

The contrast between the ambassadors' personal experiences and the narratives of the Western world is stark. Why?

Fariz Mehdawi, Palestinian Ambassador to China, explained that it is not about human rights; it is about geopolitical challenges.

Syrian Ambassador to China Imad Moustapha said, "let's look at the issues as they are. The issues have nothing to do with Xinjiang. It has to do with the media campaign in the West against China, demonizing China. China is bad. And whatever China does, it's bad."

The ambassadors expressed hope that China could stay the course, continue its development path, continue opening up, continue to reform, continue the people-centric approach. They agreed that Xinjiang is a beautiful ancient land of diverse people who have hopes and inspirations.

The ambassadors' views do not represent the views of all countries, however. Since February 2021, the governments of Canada, the Netherlands, and the UK have passed non-binding motions declaring China's conduct in Xinjiang amounts to genocide. The U.S. State Department labeled China's actions in Xinjiang genocide in its 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released in March. China has strongly rejected such allegations.

Link: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-04-27/What-do-three-ambassadors-talk-about-Xinjiang-with-Liu-Xin--ZMA1UeE2T6/index.html

SOURCE CGTN

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For a start, a public authority under the Right to Information (RTI) Act can reject information under any of the 10 sub-sections of Section 8; under Section 9, which protects private copyright; under Section 11, which exempts third-party information relating to commercial and trade secrets and; under Section 24, which relates to public authorities dealing with security and intelligence (though they are required to disclose information regarding corruption and human rights violation).

The CIC annual report of 2019-20, that has recently been uploaded on its website, is by itself a mundane narration with tables and graphs and it would be difficult for a layman to make sense of it. Its thanks to the painstaking efforts of RTI activist and research scholar Venkatesh Nayak that some shocking facts are revealed.

For example, he points out that Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act was the most favoured and frequently invoked of the permissible exemptions across public authorities in India in 2019-20.

Section 8(1)(j), by the way, permits denial of access to personal information if disclosure has no relationship to any public activity or public interest or is likely to cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual concerned.

Observes Mr Nayak, One in every three RTIs was rejected based on the Section (1) (j) exemption during this period. However, as compared with the frequency of use in 2018-19 (34.28%) there is a slight decrease (34.05%) in the use of this exemption in 2019-20. The use of this exemption was highest (37.06%) in 2011-12.

Time and again, experts have pointed out how there is rarely a reply from a central public information officer (CPIO) or public information officer (PIO), which would state that the personal information indeed has a larger public interest. So timid they are!

Rejections under Section 8 (1) (j)

So, which is the public authority which has rejected the maximum RTI applications under Section 8 (1) (j)?

Amongst all the central public authorities at the Centre, public authorities under the ministry of finance invoked Section 8(1)(j) the most number of times, that is a whopping 7,528 times which amounts to 41.99% of the total number of rejections of RTI applications in 2019-20.

The next dubious distinction goes to public authorities under the ministry of defence which invoked this provision in more than a third of rejections, that is in 755 RTI applications comprising 37.44% in rejections. The department of atomic energy rejected 168 RTI applications which comprise 50% odd of the requisitions received.

Mr Nayak observes this implies that one out of every two RTIs was rejected under Section 8 (1) (j) the department of atomic energy.

Besides, he says, the ministries and key public authorities which rejected more than 200 RTIs by invoking Section 8(1)(j) of the Act are: the ministry of electronics and information technology (93.54%), ministry of human resource development (65.68%), ministry of coal (49.41%), ministry of power (42.16%), ministry of communications (40.13%), ministry of defence (37.43%), Supreme Court of India (37.27%), ministry of petroleum and natural gas (36.82%), Delhi police (36.05%) and ministry of railways (23.8%).

Rejections under Section 24

The second most frequently invoked of permissible exemptions across public authorities is Section 24.

As of now, the Central government has notified 26 intelligence and security agencies such as the IB, National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Assam Rifles, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) under Section 24(1) of the RTI Act.

These organisations are partially excluded from providing information but they are required to disclose information pertaining to allegations of corruption and of human rights violation within 45 days with the approval of the CIC.

However, observes Mr Nayak in his analysis, One in every five RTIs (22.34%) was rejected under this provision in 2019-20- a significant increase from 20.29% reported in 2018-19.

"Taken together, Sections 8(1)(j) and 24 accounted for more than half (56.39%) of the RTIs rejected under permissible exemptions in 2019-20 (excluding rejections under "Others" category). This is the highest percentage of use of both exemptions since 2005. In 2018-19 this proportion was 54.57%. Strangely, the ministry of labour and employment rejected 150 RTIs (40% of the total number rejected RTI applications) under Section 24 of the Act although none of its public authority comes under Section 24 of the RTI Act. However, there is no discussion on this subject in the Annual Report.

Rejections under Other Sub-sections of Section 8

Similarly, other sub-sections of Section 8 have also been generously used to reject RTI requisitions under commercial confidence and intellectual property rights where disclosure is likely to harm the competitive position of a third party; under denial of disclosure of information in fiduciary relationship; those under sovereignty, defence, economic, strategic or foreign relations and; breach of privilege of Parliament and state legislatures.

Most shockingly", says Mr Nayak, Rejection of RTI applications happens under `Others category, although this cannot be the ground of rejection. The CIC includes this data in its annual report without questioning its validity.
The official death toll tops 200,000 for the whole country, but evidence suggests that real number is probably much higher. COVID-19 deaths in hospital are recorded, but many die at home, said Bishop Thottumarickal. Many of these deaths could have been avoided if we had had adequate stocks of medicines and oxygen, noted Father D'Souza.

New Delhi (AsiaNews)  From one end to another of India, death and cremation pyres are everywhere. For days, COVID-19 has been raging, turning the country into the epicentre of the pandemic. The lack of medical treatment, hospital beds, ventilators and oxygen cylinders are to blame for most of the dead.

In the past 24 hours, 3,292 deaths were reported, pushing the total death toll above 200,000. Delhi alone had a record 381 deaths in a single day. However, there is a lot of evidence that these figures largely underestimate the real numbers.

New Delhi Television (NDTV) compared the numbers of bodies burnt in recent days in crematoria set up for COVID-19 patients, and the official figures released by the Indian government, showing a difference of 1,158 more deaths than reported. In Delhi local authorities are preparing for a thousand cremations a day.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Bishop Chacko Thottumarickal of Indore (Madhya Pradesh), SVD, acknowledged the discrepancy between the official death toll and the real situation. COVID-19 deaths in hospital are recorded, said the prelate. But many die at home and in villages and their death does not appear.

The death rate in Indore is very high; more than a thousand. Hospitals are full; people wait for beds that are not available. Oxygen is in short supply, and essential medicines are rationed. Many young people are also dying; last week a Verbite priest died, two days ago a diocesan priest did.

For Father Frederick D'Souza, former executive director of Caritas India, The new wave has caught us unprepared. There are many reasons for this, namely, a more contagious strain of the virus, people not paying attention to health measures, equipment shortages.

This time, more young people are dying compared to the first wave and the contagion is spreading quickly. But one thing is clear: Many of these deaths could have been avoided if we had had adequate stocks of medicines and oxygen. Instead, chaos reigns.

With oxygen shortages in hospitals, why are individuals still allowed to buy cylinders? he asks. Then there's the question of vaccines. They cost less than a new lockdown. So why can't they be free for everyone?

The Indian government should be held accountable for the lack of appropriate policies and throwing the country into chaos. For now, the Modi administration seems more concerned about containing criticisms on social media, such as getting Twitter to block some posts by politicians and journalists it accuses of spreading panic.

Meanwhile, the third phase of Indias vaccination campaign is set to start on 1 May, but many fear that chaos will increase further since anyone above 18 can now get vaccinated. Before only those over 45 could.

What is more, vaccines will no longer be free. Hitherto, Indias federal government bought them from manufacturers at controlled prices. Now, for people under 45, individual Indian states or private hospitals will have to buy the doses at a higher price.

Some states have promised citizens that the vaccine will still be free. But many fear that the decentralised process will result in slower vaccine rollout and favour speculation at a time when India urgently needs to speed up its vaccination campaign.

So far only 10 per cent of the population or 147 million people have been vaccinated. But things have slowed down in the past two weeks because of shortages and practical problems associated with hospitals overwhelmed by new COVID-19 patients.
Shares were more than 28% higher intra-day to A$0.705, a new record high for the company, which has a market cap of approximately A$292.7 million.

The strongly supported placement will provide the company with resources to fully scope the discovery.

( ) has received firm commitments from new institutional and significant sophisticated investors in a strongly supported placement that has raised $40.2 million.

There will be 80.4 million shares issued at $0.50 per share and the company plans to use funds to fast-track the advancement of its major zinc-lead discovery at the Earaheedy Project in Western Australia.

These funds will provide the company with the resources to fully scope the major discovery, including a scaled-up diamond core and reverse circulation (RC) drilling program set to begin in the coming weeks.

The scaling-up will also include initial metallurgical test work and other studies.

The news was cheered by investors who pushed the companys shares up by more than 28% to A$0.705 intra-day, a new record high.

Strong support

Rumble Resources managing director Shane Sikora said: The company is pleased to welcome new major institutional and well known significant sophisticated investors as Rumble shareholders.

We see the strong support from the placement as vindication of the companys pipeline of projects strategy, with a number of years of systematically advancing a number of exciting projects which led to the major discovery at the Earaheedy Project.

The company looks forward to rapidly advancing the major discovery and advancing the companys other projects, which also have Tier 1 potential.

Placement details

As a part of the placement, the company will issue shares in two tranches.

The first tranche of 78.4 million shares will be issued using the companys existing capacity under ASX Listing Rule 7.1 and are anticipated to be allotted on Wednesday, May 5, 2021.

A second tranche of 2 million shares will be settled subject to shareholder approval at a shareholder meeting to be arranged shortly, as they are proposed to be issued to non-executive directors Matthew Banks and Michael Smith.

Ashanti Capital Pty Ltd and Bell Potter Securities Limited acted as joint lead managers to the placement.

Other projects

Following the placement, the company will also be able to undertake work at its other projects, which have also been prioritised with the aim of defining further Tier 1 discoveries, as well as funding working capital.

Earaheedy is about 110 kilometres north of Wiluna, Western Australia, and the company owns 75% of E69/3464 with ( ) holding the remaining 25%.

The company acquired the project in October 2017 and since then has systematically advanced it culminating in the new major zinc-lead discovery.

Last week, the company released the initial assay results of an RC drilling program that confirmed the discovery at the Chinook Prospect.

The company believes Chinook has the potential to be at the upper end of the existing exploration target based on the consistent grades (4-5% zinc and lead).

Rumbles zinc-lead exploration target at Earaheedy is between 40 to 100 million tonnes at a grade ranging between 3.5% to 4.5% zinc-lead.

The exploration target is at a relatively shallow depth (50-150 metres), and over 40 kilometres of prospective strike (completely open) has been defined within the Earaheedy Project.
Chennai, April 28 : With Covid-19 related lockdown in different parts of the country affecting production and sales, micro and small scale units are pleading for interest waiver, moratorium and lending against credit guarantees.

An official of a public sector bank preferring anonymity told IANS that if the government does not come out with a package, then the non-performing assets (NPA) of the banking sector are set to surge ahead this year.

"Already 40 per cent of our member units are sick for want of working capital and raw material. Further the increase in raw material prices have hit the units hard," Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA) President S. Anburajan told IANS.

He said many units supply the products to public sector units (PSU) and government utilities and are penalised for delayed supplies.

"We would like the PSUs not to penalise their small sized vendors for delay in supplies during the pandemic period. There should be a moratorium for loans and interest could be waived for the small units," Anburajan added.

Demanding delinking of medium units from micro, small and tiny units, TANSTIA past President V.S. Narasimhan told IANS: "Banks should be made to lend against credit guarantee rather than collaterals. The government should also infuse additional capital into the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation so that banks have the confidence to loan, based on the credit guarantee." "Countries like the US and Japan have big hearts for small units. In most of the other countries, loans are given against credit guarantee and not collaterals," he said.

Narasimhan also demanded waiver of interest by the banks for small units.

He said small industrial units have to run their units failing which they would be losing their workforce (mainly migrant workers), customers as well as vendors and regaining them will be difficult.

Bankers are worried about the impact of Covid-19 second wave on the economy.

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer K.V. Rama Moorthy said he is apprehensive about how it would pan out and whether there may not be another countrywide lockdown.

With Covid-19 vaccination, the situation would improve and it is for the Central government and the RBI to decide on loan moratoriums for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), he said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Protesters clash with police and security forces at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Secrecy Surrounds Solitary Confinement of 2 Men Arrested in Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

Julian Khater of Pennsylvania and George Tanios of West Virginia are being held without bail by the federal government in a District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DOC) restrictive housing facility.

Restrictive housing is another way of saying solitary confinement. Khater and Tanios are restricted to their cells for all but one hour of each day, which is their only opportunity for physical exercise, talking with other inmates, or conferring with their attorneys.

According to Politico, the plight of the men is shared by dozens of Jan. 6 detainees who also are being held in restrictive housing.

Spokesmen for both the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and DOC didnt respond to multiple requests from The Epoch Times to interview Khater and Tanios, or to answer questions about their cases.

Attorneys for Khater and Tanios declined to comment on the case. Their clients are charged with multiple felonies in connection with their participation in the Jan. 6 protests and breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Among the charges are assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon, civil disorder, conspiracy to injure an officer, obstructing or impeding an official proceeding, physical violence while on restricted grounds and resulting in significant bodily injury, violent entry and disorderly conduct, an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds, and aiding and abetting.

In its announcement of the arrests of the two men, the DOJ said the charges were based on evidence in which they were observed in video footage working together to assault law enforcement officers with an unknown chemical substance by spraying officers directly in the face and eyes.

During the investigation, it is alleged that law enforcement discovered video that depicted Khater asking Tanios to give me that bear [expletive]. Tanios replied, Hold on, hold on, not yet, not yet  its still early. Khater then retrieved a canister from Tanioss backpack and walked through the crowd to within a few steps of the police perimeter, the announcement reads.

The video shows Khater with his right arm up high in the air, appearing to be holding a canister in his right hand and aiming it at the officers direction while moving his right arm from side to side.

The complaint affidavit states that Officers [U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian] Sicknick, [C.] Edwards, and [Metropolitan Police Department Officer D.] Chapman, who were all standing within a few feet of Khater, each reacted to being sprayed in the face. The officers retreated, bringing their hands to their faces and rushing to find water to wash out their eyes.

Sicknick died Jan. 7 and was initially reported by The New York Times to have died after being hit with a fire extinguisher thrown by a protester. Later, media reports said Sicknick died due to being hit in the face with bear spray.

The District of Columbia Medical Examiner ruled April 19 that Sicknick died of natural causes, thus eliminating the possibility that Khater and Tanios could, as widely reported, be charged in connection with the officers death due to the bear spray.

The Washington Post reported, referring to Khater and Tanios, that the ruling will make it difficult for prosecutors to pursue homicide charges in the officers death. Two men are accused of assaulting Sicknick by spraying a powerful chemical irritant at him during the siege, but prosecutors have not tied that exposure to Sicknicks death.

The two men are among the more than 400 arrested to date by federal authorities in connection with Jan. 6. Most of those arrested were released, pending their trials. But Khater and Tanios are still in custody.

Their plight has drawn public expressions of concern from two of the most liberal members of the U.S. Senate, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was a 2020 Democratic presidential nomination contender.

Warren told Politico that solitary confinement is a form of punishment that is cruel and psychologically damaging. And were talking about people who havent been convicted of anything yet.

A Warren spokesman told The Epoch Times the senator had no additional comment on the issue or the status of Khater and Tanios in confinement.

Durbin, who is also chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, recently told Politico that restrictive housing, or solitary confinement, should only be used in limited circumstances.

He also is a co-sponsor of the Solitary Confinement Reform Act. During an April 15 Judiciary Committee hearing, Durbin asked Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Michael Carvajal if he agreed with a DOJ analysis that solitary confinement can cause serious long-lasting harm.

Carvajal responded by calling solitary our jail within the jail, and it should be a last resort, but there are people because of circumstances, or behavior, violence, things like that, theres going to be a need for it.

Attorneys for Khater and Tanios recently filed pleas with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for their release, but no decision has been rendered. Tanioss attorneys were unable to complete their presentation.

Both pleas denied the governments charges, claimed the two men are no threat of physical violence or failure to appear for their trials, and pointed to claimed weaknesses in the governments case.

He never entered the Capitol Building, never sought to threaten members of Congress, and never intended to forcibly interfere with the peaceful transfer of power, the Khater plea said.

The Khater plea also noted that many defendants charged with violent and/or aggressive behavior on Jan. 6 have been released, pending trial.

The Tanios plea argued that he is an ordinary businessman with a family, no felony convictions and no history of violence, much less a history of violence against law enforcement officers. Most importantly, the record doesnt reflect that Mr. Tanios has the capability of dangerousness in the future.

The Khater plea also pointed to problems with the governments case, including that Khater appearing to hold the bear spray canister is less than definitive evidence that he wielded the spray as a weapon.

In addition, the plea noted that proof that he took aim at officers is, at best, equivocal, given the Governments claim that he stood as much as eight feet away from the officers and did not spray directly at them but only in the officers direction.

The plea further argued that the fact that, according to the government, Khater was moving his right arm from side to side, undercutting the claim that he aimed at Sicknick or other officers.

Congressional correspondent Mark Tapscott may be reached at mark.tapscott@epochtimes.nyc
SAN FRANCISCO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and California Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis are among the participants during this week's virtual business delegation from Norway to California. Co-organizers of the business delegation, the California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and the Norwegian government's business enterprise agency, Innovation Norway, solidified their close collaboration by singing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Equinor floating offshore wind turbine in coastal setting with offshore vessel in the distance. Credit: Equinor / ?yvind Grava?s

The MoU signifies the mutual commitment to sharing best practices on energy, sustainability, circularity, and electrification, for the mutual benefit of both economies, and to create a more just transition to a carbon-free future.

California and Norway share big ambitions for tomorrow's green solutions, particularly zero-emission vehicles and renewable energy. The MoU will intensify the cooperation between Californian and Norwegian companies. For example, we've already seen close collaboration between Aker Offshore Wind, Equinor, Cognite, along with their Californian counterparts in the sector of offshore wind.

Hakon Haugli, CEO of Innovation Norway, said: "California has paved the way for developing and deploying green technology. The state has shown that it wants to take a leading role in reaching the goal of the Paris climate deal. That gives us a fantastic starting point for cooperation between Norwegian and Californian companies and stakeholders."

"I am enthusiastic that this MOU will be a platform for Norwegian businesses to leverage as they seek to expand to California; and for Californian companies to put Norway on the map as an international destination that shares their vision."

Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to Governor Newsom and GO-Biz's Director said: "I am proud to sign this critically-important MOU with Innovation Norway so that we can chart a path forward in these uncertain times more strongly together. Together, we can increase two-way trade and investment and develop the blue-green economy, leveraging the richness of our beautiful coastal and land resources.

"Together, we can promote interaction between industry, enterprises, financial institutions, and governments to share strategies and best practices."

Press contacts in California

Kristian Bye, Director

Innovation Norway in Palo Alto

email: [email protected]

phone: (650) 575-1000

GO-Biz's office

[email protected]

Lt. Governor's office

[email protected]

Related Images

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SOURCE Innovation Norway
Mumbai: Indias COVID-19 death toll has exceeded 200,000 after a record number of 3293 fatalities were reported on Wednesday, as patients across India continue to pay extortionate black market prices for oxygen and essential medicines.

The second wave of COVID-19, believed to be driven by more contagious variants, has wreaked devastation on India and the current daily death tolls are thought to be up to 20 times higher than recorded figures.

A COVID-19 patient sits inside a car and breathes with the help of oxygen provided by a Gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship, in Delhi, India. Credit:AP

Many state governments are not reporting COVID-19 deaths if there is comorbidity, in order to reduce panic and for political point-scoring, while testing shortages mean many Indians are dying before it is confirmed they have the virus.

I can easily say that around 1000 COVID-19 cases are getting funerals every day. This figure is seven to eight times higher than the official figures, the manager of one crematorium in Delhi said.
The Governments flagship infrastructure programme, the most expensive in modern history, is in danger of collapse, with Transport Minister Michael Wood now refusing to say whether all the 22 projects promised nearly a year ago will actually be built in the way they were announced.

That puts the fate of $6.8 billion worth of road and rail infrastructure up in the air, and could lead to projects like Aucklands $1.3b Mill Rd, or Wellingtons $817m Otaki to North of Levin and $258m Melling Interchange either pared back or dropped entirely.

In January last year, the Government announced the NZ Upgrade Programme, a $12 billion infrastructure package which includes upgrades to schools, hospitals and infrastructure needed to combat climate change.

The centrepiece of the project was $6.8b lavished on transport projects of which $5.3b was to be spent on roads.

The $5.3b cost of those projects was taken from the best estimates of Waka Kotahi-NZTA at the time. After the projects were green lit, Waka Kotahi went back and did a more detailed costing of the roads, a practice known as baselining.

Documents released to Stuff under the Official Information Act show that this took almost a year. Each month, officials provided an update to the Transport Minister Phil Twyford and later Michael Wood.

Some of these briefings warned that the baselines were facing pressures that could push costs significantly higher than those forecast in January 2020. They also warn that there is no contingency fund built into the Upgrade funding for transport, meaning any overruns will force Wood to go back to the Finance Minister for more money.

Wood has finally received advice based on those baselines. When asked by Stuff about the cost pressures mentioned in the OIAs, Wood said that the baselines responded to cost escalation seen across the country post-Covid.

Transport Minister Michael Wood is considering advice on the Upgrade Programme, and is weighing up whether all the projects will be implemented.

Given the Programme was announced pre-Covid, a baselining exercise has been done to provide more certainty around the scope, cost and schedule of the programme, says Wood.

When asked specifically whether he could commit to delivering all the projects announced back in January 2020, Wood declined to answer. Instead, he said the Government was weighing up its options.

Ministers are considering this advice and an announcement will be made in the future, Wood says.

Stuff has already seen early snippets of the advice provided to Wood, in a wad of heavily redacted papers from the Ministry of Transport. Requests to see the finished baselines have been rebuffed.

One briefing warned of a significant increase in [the] volume of property transactions required by projects in the programme and said that unplanned cost increases are an emerging issue.

Another said that the Wood would be advised in March of this year about the total set of choices or trade-offs that may be required to deliver the Programme.

Another paper said that Crown financed projects, including NZ Upgrade programme had incorporated risk that would normally be measured through separate pre-implementation steps.

- Reporting by Thomas Coughlan/Stuff.
Police investigating cryptocurrency fraud

Police are warning people about crypto currencies after a resident lost money to a fraudster.

Officers are currently investigating a fraud whereby a resident utilised an exchange website to buy bitcoin; unfortunately the vendor took the money and failed to deliver.

A force spokesperson said: "If you are considering buying crypto currencies please carefully research the exchange and wallet provider you chose; there are many reputable and safe companies working in this sector but sadly some disreputable ones as well."

"A good tip would be to only use an exchange that requires you to prove who you are as they will also have identification for the other party should they prove to be dishonest."

"Buying directly from an individual carries even greater risk; do not transfer any money unless you are satisfied that the vendor is genuine."
AGAWAM  Thomas Sullivan has been elected as the chair of the Hampden County Regional Board of Retirements Advisory Council, replacing a member who resigned in the wake of a highly critical state audit.

Sullivan, the assistant town administrator for budget and finance in Wilbraham and the towns collector and treasurer, was unanimously elected Wednesday morning. In his newly elected role, Sullivan will serve as the Advisory Councils representative to the retirement board. His term runs from May 4 through Dec. 31.

Members of the Advisory Council for the Hampden County system are treasurers for each of the retirement systems member units.

Sullivan replaces Laurel Placzek, who resigned from the role in a March 31 letter to Julianne Bartley, executive director of the regional retirement system. She had held the position since 1998.

After many years serving as your representative on the Hampden County Regional Retirement Board, I feel that it is time for a new set of eyes on the board, Placzek wrote in an April 5 letter to Advisory Council members, saying her resignation date would be May 3.

The position is typically a three-year term, but members of the Advisory Council voted to allow candidates to choose to complete Placzeks term, which was set to expire Dec. 31.

Placzek was the second member of the retirement board to resign following the release of a sharply critical state audit and amid growing calls for changes to the retirement systems management.

Richard M. Theroux also resigned in March from his role as the retirement boards chairman and treasurer, but has not provided an official resignation date. Theroux has been a member of the board for 22 years and its chairman for the last 15.

Auditors with the state Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission reviewed the pension system from January 2014 to December 2017 and flagged issues ranging from questionable spending on services for the boards website, to high bank service charges, to unusual contracts that paid over $250,000 in health insurance premiums to two part-time attorneys.

The audit was publicly released in February.

At the end of March, the state commission adopted a temporary order that provides additional oversight and monitoring of the retirement board.

Prior to the Wednesday meeting, Hampden Select Board Chairman Don Davenport expressed concern about the process for replacing Placzek. In emails sent to treasurers within the pension system and obtained by The Republican, Davenport said he believed Placzek was attempting to influence the choice of her successor by not resigning prior to the vote for her replacement.

Davenport also submitted a letter to Michelle Hill, president of the Massachusetts Collectors and Treasurers Association and the town treasurer in Southwick, asking her to use her leadership position and available resources to canvas the Hampden County unit members and jointly insist that Ms. Placzeks resignation take affect April 28, 2021 prior to the convening of the scheduled meeting of the HCRRBC and encourage potential candidates committed to reform to step forward.

Although Placzek did attend the meeting, she did not conduct the election. Instead, she created a new position: an election chairperson.

Absent legal counsel, out of the spirit of neutrality and transparency, I will entertain a motion to create the role of an election chairperson to conduct the election for Advisory Council chairperson, she said.

Hill was nominated by Sullivan and was unanimously elected, with no other candidates in the running. Placzek, who is the treasurer for the Town of Agawam and for the Western Hampden Veterans Services, voted in favor of Hill on behalf of both entities, which are member units of the regional retirement system.

Theroux abstained from the vote.

Representatives from East Longmeadow, Hampden, Ludlow, Southwick, WestComm and Wilbraham were recognized in their votes. But technical issues prevented some other members from speaking during the meeting, held via the online platform Zoom.

Placzek then nominated Sullivan, who also ran unopposed. He was unanimously elected, with Placzek again voting in the affirmative for both member units she represents.

Theroux again abstained, and offered a statement.

Madame chairman, I wish to explain my votes previous and the vote I will cast now, which will be abstained: I came to this meeting in order to make sure you had a quorum. You do have a quorum, and at this point, I dont feel its proper for me voting on something thats going to go further, even though I think Tom Sullivan is without a doubt an excellent candidate, he said. But I abstain on this nomination.

Related content:
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Parliament convened an extraordinary session today.

2 issues are on the agenda.

The lawmakers will debate at first and second hearings the package of making changes and amendments to the Criminal Code and the Tax Code.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Advertisement

A woman who was force fed bootleg alcohol and repeatedly raped by her scientist father from the age of 11 has told of her childhood from hell in a devastating new book.

On the face of it, Kim Chown, now 56, from Darlington, County Durham, was the daughter of a respectable scientist and university lecturer who worked around the developing world, moving from Nigeria, Sudan and Brunei to Papua New Guinea and the Atlantic island of St Helena.

But behind closed doors, tragic Kim lived a life of forced depravity, rape, sexual abuse and botched DIY abortions all at the hands of her paedophile father.

Francis Beaumont, known as Bernard, a microbiologist and histology expert who was an 'esteemed lecturer at universities around the world', even threatened to dissolve his daughter in an acid bath if she ever told of the sickening years of abuse she had suffered.

Kim's parents married in 1960, and she spent her early years in Nigeria and the Sudan with both her parents, who separated in 1968, with her mother taking her four children back to Leeds.

At the age of 11, Kim's father took her away for what was meant to be a six-week holiday to Kenya, but he kept her with him to endure a sickening catalogue of abuse.

In 2018, he was finally brought to justice and jailed for 20 years for five counts of rape, after Kim's husband eventually persuaded her to report him to the police.

Kim Chown, who lives in County Durham, has opened up about the horrific abuse she faced a the hands of her scientist father Francis Beaumont throughout her young teenage years. Kim is pictured at 15 with Beaumont in Africa

Kim Chown, now 56, has written a book entitled Who Will Believe You? detailing her abusive childhood and how her father told her he'd dissolve her in acid if she told anyone he'd raped her

Her late mother, who died of a heart attack in 2007, was also emotionally and mentally abused by her father and 'struggled with life', according to Kim.

Kim's book, entitled Who Will Believe You? details how she was taken thousands of miles from her home in Leeds to Nairobi, Kenya to live with predatory Beaumont.

She was forced to endure years of horrendous sexual and mental abuse and as a young teenager underwent two abortions.

Beaumont, 82, was finally brought to justice in May 2018 and sentenced to 20 years for five offences of rape

Bernard Beaumont forced her to drink home brewed beer and wine laced with pure alcohol which he took from the laboratories where he worked, and dressed her up in adult lingerie before raping and abusing her for hours on end.

'My dad would make me wear suspenders belts, stockings and high heels,' said Kim.

The first time he dressed her up, she told how Beaumont used a sex toy to penetrate her, claiming he would 'do it himself' but she was a 'little too young yet' and he 'had morals' and 'didn't want blood all over him'.

He then used a tall white candle, 'switching between objects, trying to ram each one harder inside' while she screamed with pain. He then forced her to perform a sex act on him. The following night he raped her for the first time.

'He went through these strange rituals where he would make me get drunk and forced me to listen to the same Pink Floyd record over and over again whilst he raped and abused me,' Kim recalled.

'Then I would have to get up, put my uniform on and go to school whilst he lay in bed sleeping it all off.

'He told me I would be dissolved in acid if I ever told and that the only thing that would be left of me would be my teeth. Nobody would ever know that I existed.'

When she was just 15-years-old, and despite being forced to take the contraceptive pill, Kim became pregnant and had to endure the harrowing ordeal of having an abortion in an African country where the procedure was illegal.

When he estimated she was 12 weeks gone, Kim told how her father ordered her to lie on her back with the legs in the air, at which point he shoved a coat hanger inside her to 'poke this thing out'.

Kim said he told her he was trying to reach the sac to puncture it so that the foetus would die, and jabbed harder and harder as he became more frustrated.

Bernard Beaumont forced her to drink home brewed beer and wine laced with pure alcohol which he took from the laboratories where he worked. Beaumont and Kim are pictured in Africa when Kim was 16

Kim lived a life of forced depravity, rape, sexual abuse and botched DIY abortions at the hands of her paedophile father. Kim is pictured as a child in Africa

Kim was taken thousands of miles from her home in Leeds to Nairobi in Kenya aged 11 to live her with her father. Pictured, Beaumont in Africa

'The pain was horrendous', she recalled. 'For the next 15 minutes, my father used a coat hanger and a torch to perform his DIY abortion. By the end of it I was in agony.'

When that failed, he force-fed her pills and then tried to 'suck' out the foetus using a bicycle pump. Eventually he took her to a doctor who made arrangements for her to have a termination.

An estemed lecturer around the world From a young age, Kim knew her father had an 'important job at a university teaching people about science'. When she was little they lived in the Sudan and Lagos, Nigeria, before she moved back to the UK with her mother when her parents broke up. He stayed on in Nigeria before returning the UK, then left for Kenya in 1973. He landed a job at a polytechnic in Nairobi to teach histology and histopathology. Histology is the study of body tissues and their structure/function, while histopathology is the microscopic examination of tissue and mainly diseased issue. Kim said: 'I remember seeing him place specimens of tissue on glass slides before staining them pink (or other colours) and looking at them through a microscope.' Beaumont's next position was in Brunei at the university. But despite being an esteemed lecturer at universities around the world, he then moved back to the UK because he'd bought a chip shop in Leeds. 'Of course it was strange to go from being a lecturer to making chips but I didn't question his life choices, I just made sure to avoid the area,' Kim recalled. 'It didn't take long before I heard that my dad's new venture had failed. I learned he didn't get on with his customers as he told them chips were bad for their health. If they came into the chippie more than once a week, he'd tell them they were eating too much of the wrong stuff.' Having sold his home in Guiseley and then the chippie, Kim said he squandered the money and moved into a dark and dingey two-bedroom council flat in Roundhay Park, Leeds. Beamount later went to live in St Helena, a remote volcanic tropical island in the South Atlantic Ocean off the West Coast of Africa, part of the British Oversea Territory. Kim said she had no idea what he was up to there but believed he'd found work as a lecturer. 'He'd lied on his CV saying he was 10 years younger than he was,' she said. Eventually Beaumont moved back to Leeds before marrying a 20-year-old Filipino woman 50 years his junior, whom he'd met online. He spent months in the Philippines. Advertisement

The following year, Kim again fell pregnant, but this time she said her father wanted to keep the baby and live as a family.

Kim said: 'I couldn't believe it when I was pregnant again less than a year later. This time he wanted to keep the baby and play happy families.

'Having an abortion was traumatic, but there was no way I was going go through with his plan. A friend helped and he arranged an abortion.'

Kim said her dad 'liked to give the impression she was a man-eater' who would 'seduce any male who stepped foot over the threshold'.

'The reality was, I was so shy, I could barely look anyone in the eye, let alone flirt with them,' she said.

Kim added that having her sister join them in Kenya and having people over to stay 'made no difference' to her father's routine of raping her 'most nights'.

'I was utterly within my father's control and after six years couldn't remember a time when I wasn't being raped,' she said, adding that it didn't occur to her to tell her sister at that time what was going on.

Following her second termination, Kim returned to the UK. Her father took up a microbiologist post in Brunei and Kim thought her nightmare was over.

But bizarrely, sick Beaumont gave up his high-flying science job and opened a chip shop in Leeds.

Kim said: 'I begged him to let me come back to the UK because I couldn't get a job in Kenya. So, I eventually came home in 1985. Dad owned a house in Guiseley, near Leeds which he rented out, but it was empty. So, I went and stayed there.

'But he followed me and two weeks later, he turned up at my door. He came back and raped me again.

'He was following me around raping and abusing me. I couldn't get away. I was trapped.

'Just like in Africa, he told me that I could never tell anybody and even if I did, he was a respected scientist and university lecturer, nobody would believe me over him. This is why I called my book, Who Will Believe You?.'

At 21-years-old, Kim met her husband Jonathan, a meeting that would signal the end of the abuse.

She married Jonathan in 1991 and went on to have a lasting marriage with two children and one grandchild.

Since the launch of her harrowing life story in April, Kim has had messages from abuse survivors from all over the world. But it wasn't until 2015 that her husband persuaded her to go to the police.

Beaumont, 82, was finally brought to justice in May 2018. At Leeds Crown Court, he was locked up for 20 years after a jury found him guilty of five offences of rape between 1979 and 1985, and received a 20 year sentence.

Kim bravely waived her right to anonymity in the hope of becoming an ambassador for abuse victims.

Her book is a no-holds-barred account of her life and how she has overcome her trauma to build a happy and successful life.

Kim, pictured at the age of 12 forced, was to endure years of horrendous sexual and mental abuse during her time in Africa

When she was just 15-years-old, and despite being forced to take the contraceptive pill, Kim became pregnant and had to endure the harrowing ordeal of having an illegal abortion

At 21 years-old, Kim met her husband, Jonathan, a meeting that would signal the end of the abuse. Kim is pictured with Beaumont at the age of 21

Kim, pictured with her husband, runs a successful business, has been sober for four years since going into rehab shortly after reporting her father to the police

Kim bravely waived her right to anonymity in the hope of becoming an ambassador for abuse victims

Kim added: 'The book is primarily about closure for me. But it is also to raise awareness of this largely hidden, dreadful scourge on our society.

'It is so important that people can report this and that they are going to be listened to.'

Kim, who now lives in County Durham and runs a successful business, has been sober for four years since going into rehab shortly after reporting her father to the police.

Who Will Believe You? published by Bonnier Books UK.
The four fired Minneapolis police officers charged in the killing of George Floyd, starting from left, are Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. Three of the men stood by as Chauvin murdered Floyd. (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office)

Last week in the Orange County town of Westminster, police arrived on Locust Street in response to a call about a woman who had allegedly assaulted another woman who was trying to rescue a dog that was running loose.

After police arrived, they called paramedics and handcuffed the suspect, 34-year-old Ciomara Garcia, whose brother told a local TV reporter that his sister is mentally ill.

A neighbor of Garcia, a young woman named Sandy Armenta, began filming the encounter on her cellphone.

Her video shows two officers grappling with a handcuffed Garcia on the grass of the parkway. As she falls to the grass, and as the officers kneel at her side, she appears to kick at one of the officers, perhaps in the groin. Whereupon he punches her fast, two times, right in the face.

At that point, the other officer, as well as a third officer, intervene. They push the attacking officer's hand aside and eventually he stands up and backs away.

What, one wonders, would have happened if one of Derek Chauvins fellow officers had done the same, instead of standing by as Chauvin snuffed the life out of George Floyd?

The incident raises a crucial question: Why arent officers trained to intervene when they see a colleague overreacting?

The simple answer, according to police training experts, is that they are.

The problem is, too often they dont.

Joe Levy is a former Long Beach police commander who now contracts with police departments all over the state to do training in what he calls soft skills  that is, de-escalation, dealing with mental illness and building workplaces that are respectful and inclusive. He teaches police how to avoid racial profiling and other kinds of bias.

It is my opinion, he told me Monday, that what happened in Minneapolis in the George Floyd incident was a direct result of [police department] culture, and what I mean by that is an organizations culture will dictate whether or not it is OK for other officers to intervene.

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The question I often pose in our training courses is how much misconduct exists in the average law enforcement agency? The answer is: As much as it is willing to tolerate.

Levy often collaborates in police trainings with Yolo County Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Raven. Both Levy and Raven have been training first responders for more than a decade, but as Raven told me, theres no real metric for success, so its hard to know, except anecdotally, how much progress they are making on rooting out systemic bias and raising ethical standards and increasing accountability in police departments.

The Westminster officer who pushed his colleague away, said Raven, did the right thing. The cop who punched Garcia, said Raven, was causing them issues and they pushed him away. What you saw in that video, I am sure, happens a lot.

What happens, though, in a situation with no video, when an officer must decide whether to report his colleague to higher-ups?

What if hes a veteran and youre a new guy? asked Raven. A few years ago, you would be scorned for doing that. Im sure in plenty of places, that is still the case. But Levy and Raven think police culture is starting to change.

Last week, the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police issued a statement titled It Is Beyond Time that called for, among other things, the adoption of a national consensus policy on use of force. The policy would emphasize that the job of police is to value and preserve human life. This policy also makes clear that an officer has a duty to intervene to prevent or stop the use of excessive force by another officer and addresses the issue of chokeholds and vascular neck restraints, the association said in a statement on its website.

Last year, the California Legislature sidelined a bill that would have toughened penalties for officers who fail to intervene when a colleague uses excessive force.

Gov. Newsom did sign a bill that would allow officers to use deadly force only when necessary instead of when reasonable. And officers are no longer permitted to fire at fleeing felons who do not pose an immediate danger. Stephon Clarks Law was inspired by the March 2018 killing of Clark, a Sacramento man who was holding a cellphone that police mistook for a gun.

After I wrote on Sunday about how too many deaths of Black people follow pretextual traffic stops  for minor issues such as expired tags or missing taillights  I got an earful from readers offended that I failed to urge people not to resist police under any circumstances.

I am guessing most of these people are not Black, said Raven. Thats someone who hasnt walked in their shoes.

He mentioned Caron Nazario, the Black and Latino U.S. Army Medical Corps lieutenant, who was assaulted by a Virginia police officer after getting pulled over for not having a permanent license plate on his car. The recently purchased vehicle had a temporary plate taped to the inside of the back window. When police lights came on behind him, Nazario, who was in uniform, drove a mile to a well-lit gas station to pull over, where the encounter was videotaped.

With his bare hands visible and his phone on the dashboard, Nazario asked what was going on, and says, I am honestly afraid to get out of the car. (Would those who have judged Nazario be so quick if they knew he was related to Eric Garner, the Black man who died in the custody of New York City police after being placed in a chokehold in 2014?)

Yeah, said the officer, you should be. Seconds later, a video shows the officer spraying Nazarios face. Earlier this month, the officer was fired.

So honestly, what does "Dont resist" even mean? That you must check your dignity and humanity at the door every time a cop initiates an encounter?

In Westminster, meanwhile, the punch-throwing officer has been put on paid administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation.

Garcia, who is now a suspect and a victim, was not injured, according to police. She had an outstanding felony bench warrant for vandalism, and was booked into an Orange County jail. Police are asking the Orange County prosecutors office to charge her with assault and battery on the woman she is alleged to have attacked, along with charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance, resisting arrest and assault on a police officer.

Let's hope they pursue a case against the officer who struck her just as energetically.

@AbcarianLAT

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
SABECO tries its best to usher a brighter 2021 despite challenges ahead

Vietnam's biggest brewer has set a target revenue of VND 33.49 trillion ($1.33 billion) and net profits of VND5.2 trillion ($208 million) for 2021, a 20 per cent and 7 per cent on-year increase, respectively.

According to general director Bennett Neo, SABECO will continue to drive the growth of its brands in 2021 by improving brand awareness, distribution, and consumption. This includes initiatives to further develop Bia Lac Viet and Bia Saigon Chill, which the company launched last year.

This is one of the weapons to increase market share as SABECO looks to continue to take over the premium beer segment by targeting enlightened, optimistic, and sociable Vietnamese consumers in context of a rising number of consumers paying more attention to such products thanks to its better quality and taste, and increased willingness to pay higher prices.

Besides that, SABECO has pointed out key solutions including operational efficiency through the continued implementation of its SABECO 4.0 initiative, operational and cost excellence, and human capital as well as adaptation to the dynamic local market with its ever-changing business environment.

Neo explained, For 2021, SABECO aims to leverage on the resiliency of the Vietnamese economy, and the growth opportunities that will come as it continues to bounce back.

At the presentation of the group's 2020 financial results, SABECO highlighted that while revenues and profit after tax were down 26 per cent and 8 per cent from the previous year, it still managed to surpass its targets by 17 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively. Specifically, the beer company exceeded its revenue targets by VND4.16 trillion ($166 million) and its target net profit by VND1.6 trillion ($64 million).

Industry insiders predict that competition will remain stiff with every brewer vying for a higher market share, in which the trend of consuming mass premium brands will continue to grow over the long run. However, potential consumers down-trading may have an impact on 2021 sales due to their income being affected by the lingering pandemic.

Under the guidance of the Board of Directors, the relentless efforts of the Board of Management and all employees, as well as SABECOs enduring spirit of never giving up, I strongly believe that we will usher in a brighter 2021, Neo added.
A man giving bribe money in a brown envelope. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  Three Singaporeans were found guilty on Wednesday (28 April) of corruption related to the selection of two insurance firms to provide performance bonds for Indonesian maids.

Freelance translator Abdul Aziz Mohamed Hanib, 65, insurance agent James Yeo Siew Liang, 49, and company director Benjamin Chow Tuck Keong, 57, were convicted by District Judge Ong Luan Tze of either corruptly receiving or giving bribes between late last year and June this year.

From 1 February 2018, the Indonesian embassy in Singapore made it compulsory for all local employers hiring Indonesian foreign domestic workers to purchase a $6,000 Performance Bond (PB).

This allowed the embassy to call on the PB for the benefit of the maid in the event of any breach of employment conditions by an employer.

Agus Ramdhany Machjumi, as the labour attache at the embassy, was in charge of issuing accreditation to insurers for the PB. Instead of freely and openly giving accreditation to the 37 licensed general insurance companies in Singapore, Agus tasked Aziz to look for insurance companies or agents who would agree to give them a share of the premiums collected in exchange for accreditation. It it unclear how Agus and Aziz first knew each other.

As Aziz did not know any insurance agent, he asked his friend, Samad Salim, who then asked Chow for help. Chow connected Aziz to Yeo, who was an insurance agent representing AIG Asia Pacific Insurance and Liberty Insurance.

Once Yeo agreed to share the commissions, AIG and Liberty were both accredited by Agus to sell the PB.

AIG and Liberty issued over 5,700 PBs between February and June 2018. Acting in his own capacity, Yeo then shared his commission of around $124,619.26 with Aziz, Agus, Samad, and Chow.

Chow was convicted of one charge of intentionally aiding Aziz to corruptly solicit gratification from Yeo. Yeo was convicted of 18 charges, eight of which were related to him giving gratification to Agus through Aziz, 10 of which were of him giving Aziz gratification. Aziz was convicted of his 18 charges, which mirrored Yeos charges.

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Aziz was also convicted of an additional charge of soliciting gratification on behalf of Agus from an agent of Tokio Marine Insurance Singapore.

In finding the trio guilty, DJ Ong placed weight to each of the accused persons statements, which she found had been voluntarily given.

All three had chosen to remain silent during trial when called upon to present their defence. DJ Ong inferred from their silence that they did not challenge their statement, in which they had confessed the offences.

While Yeo had claimed in an ancillary hearing that the percentage payment he made was payment for corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, DJ Ong rejected the defence as there were no supporting documents. Furthermore, CSR was also not mentioned in statements recorded from other accused persons.

In any case, the CSR argument was a red herring, DJ Ong said. A bribe is a bribe even if the money eventually goes to charitable causes, she said.

While the judge acknowledged that Chows role was limited to him introducing Yeo to Aziz, she noted that Chow made the introduction knowing the corrupted nature of Azizs plan.

Meanwhile, Agus, who is covered by diplomatic immunity, is no longer in Singapore.

After the trio were convicted, Yeos lawyer Chia Boon Teck, applied for his client to leave jurisdiction on a cruise to nowhere from 7 June to 1 July.

The prosecution then applied for Yeos bail to be increased, but Chia objected. The lawyer said, It is a cruise to nowhere, there is really no need to increase the bail. It is not like he is going to jump 13 decks into the sea and swim to nowhere.

DJ Ong approved the application for Yeo to leave jurisdiction, and imposed an additional bail of $25,000 on Yeo.

All three will return to court on 14 July for their sentencing.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

Other Singapore stories:

Teen slashed stranger at Boon Lay supermarket over refusal to buy cigarettes

COVID-19: Actor Terence Cao to plead guilty over 13-person gathering at his house

350 local and imported cases of various COVID-19 variants in Singapore so far: MOH

COVID-19: Tighter measures for workers from dorms, certain sectors infected with COVID
People at a memorial for Ma'Khia Bryant on Legion Lane, where a police officer shot the 16-year-old girl as she was attacking a woman with a knife, in Columbus, Ohio, on April 23, 2021. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

On Street of Columbus Shooting, Understanding and Criticism of Police Response

COLUMBUS, Ohio.In front of 16-year-old MaKhia Bryants foster home, a memorial of sorts had been set up with rows of small white candles, an array of colorful balloons, some with personal messages scrawled on them, and fluffy brown teddy bears.

Roughly every 30 minutes or so, a car would drive by and someone would emerge to drop off some flowers or say a prayer. Bryant was shot four times by a police officer on April 20, as she swung a knife at a young woman. The incident sparked a wide range of reactions among the usually quiet and suburban Columbus neighborhood.

The Epoch Times spoke to over half a dozen residents on the same block. Some neighbors said the officer should have de-escalated the situation with a Taser, others believe law enforcement was doing its job and responding to an incident that might have resulted in someone getting stabbed to death.

On April 23, Brent Edens drove two hours to visit the memorial outside Bryants home. He said police officers still need better training.

Im not a police-hater, theres good police officers and theres bad ones, he told The Epoch Times. I think in this situation, even though she had a knife, the police officer overshot.

Dont get me wrong, he had a right to stop her, even if you shoot in the leg or tase, he said.

Brent Edens at a memorial for MaKhia Bryant on Legion Lane, where a police officer shot the 16-year-old girl as she was attacking a woman with a knife, in Columbus, Ohio, on April 23, 2021. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Mike Fair at a memorial for MaKhia Bryant on Legion Lane, where a police officer shot the 16-year-old girl as she was attacking a woman with a knife, in Columbus, Ohio, on April 23, 2021. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Mike Fair, who describes himself as a community activist, also drove by to visit the memorial. He believes the shooting could have been avoided.

This right here could have been de-escalated, he told The Epoch Times. I dont get it. They should have asked her what her name was and they should have sent some people here to de-escalate it.

Footage released by authorities showed multiple adults standing around Bryant at the time of the incident. Surveillance footage from some of the neighbors was also released. The case has since gained national attention.

Will Blaine lives on the same street where Bryant was shot. On the day of the shooting, he recalled driving home, passing Bryants home, and seeing the woman in the body-cam video that Bryant nearly stabbed.

He waved at her and thought she was just walking her dog at the time. About 30 minutes later, he saw a policeman walking past his front yard with tape.

I dont think its the guns fault, Blaine told The Epoch Times. I think there were several bad decisions that were made on several peoples accountsnot only the police. There were lots of people in the neighborhood that could have maybe done something before.

Will Blaine at his home in Columbus, Ohio, on April 24, 2021. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

A memorial for MaKhia Bryant on Legion Lane, where a police officer shot the 16-year-old girl as she was attacking a woman with a knife, in Columbus, Ohio, on April 23, 2021. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

I dont know that he had that much time to de-escalate anything, Blaine said, referring to the officer. It seems like he was just walking into the situation.  Its not easy to de-escalate a situation when somebodys emotions are running high.

At 4:32 p.m., on April 20, a male dispatcher received a call from a female caller. It remains unclear who the caller was, but Bryants family members told The Associated Press that Bryant called law enforcement. Officer Nicholas Reardon, who has been on the force since December 2019, was dispatched three minutes later. Two other officers, Eric Channel and Serge Akpalo, followed closely behind.

Hey, whats going on? Reardon asks upon exiting his vehicle at 4:44 p.m. In those next 11 seconds, Bryant was seen charging at 20-year-old Shai-Onta Lana Craig-Watkins with a kitchen knife and then moving on to 22-year-old Tionna Bonner before Reardon yelled, Get down! several times, then fired four consecutive shots into Bryants chest.

Bryants foster mother, Angela Moore, didnt open her door when asked for comment by The Epoch Times.

Police Response

One homeowner who also lived on the same street described the community as quiet, saying the shooting was the first time such an incident had happened in his recollection.

Ousmana Sy has lived in the neighborhood for the past seven years and said his daughter often plays outside with their neighbors. He said he rarely sees police patrolling their street.

Its sad to see someone lose their life, but at the same time, maybe the police had to do his job to maybe protect the other people that were being assaulted, Sy told The Epoch Times outside his home.

Ousmana Sy and his daughter on Legion Lane, close to where a police officer shot MaKhia Bryant, a 16-year-old girl, who was attacking a woman with a knife, in Columbus, Ohio, on April 23, 2021. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Its mixed feelingsyou have two girls that are being attacked by someone holding a knife.

Sy said he heard a lot of stories that Bryant was being attacked by the girls around her at the time, which is why she had a knife for self-defense. The details in the case, however, are still unclear.

The police had to do his job, he was called to do his job, Sy said. I think when the police came, things were intense. I think they had to make a quick decision to protect the other girls.

Cedric Sloculo, a 17-year-old teenager said he was asleep in his room when he heard the four gunshots. He told his mom and sister about the shots and they all ran outside to see what had happened.

Theyre located just a few houses away from the foster home where Bryant was living in at the time.

I see her body, and it was just surreal, Sloculo told The Epoch Times.

The teen later saw footage of the incident and the knife. He understands that the officer only had a short amount of time to make a decision. He said it happened at a time when crime is starting to increase.

Cedric Sloculo on Legion Lane, close to where a police officer shot MaKhia Bryant, a 16-year-old girl, who was attacking a woman with a knife, in Columbus, Ohio, on April 23, 2021. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Honestly, Im not a cop, so I cant make a good judgment call on that, he said. Thats a split second, you know.

Ive been here for four years. Up until a week ago, this was a really good community, he said. I just think that crime is going up cause its getting warmer, and no one really has anything to do, and most people arent even in school.

Another neighbor, John Blackburn, said he believes there was only one course of action the officer could have taken. Blackburn said the neighborhood is mostly African American, and that he gets along well with his neighbors.

He was in the right, he told The Epoch Times, referring to the officer. She had a knife. If he didnt do anything, she probably would have stabbed the other girl to death. This was to protect the other girl.

He cautioned people to wait until more evidence comes out before protesting against police conduct.

John Blackburn at his home in Columbus, Ohio, on April 24, 2021. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Threats

Donovan Brinson and Ira Graham III both lived on the same street as Bryant and had previously given comments to the media that appeared to suggest the officers actions were correct in those circumstances.

Grahams wife declined to comment to The Epoch Times and said her husband, Ira, had since received threats after speaking to the media. Brinson similarly declined comment, saying that his words had been twisted by the press.

Some neighbors told The Epoch Times they wished to remain anonymous for fear of backlash and that they didnt want to offend anyone. They indicated mixed reactions to the shooting and could see multiple sides and perspectives.

One neighbor who has lived in the community for more than 10 years said she witnessed the majority of what happened on that day from her bedroom window.

People at a memorial for MaKhia Bryant on Legion Lane, where a police officer shot the 16-year-old girl as she was attacking a woman with a knife, in Columbus, Ohio, on April 23, 2021. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

You never know what you would do when youre in that situation, the neighbor said. I kind of see both sides of it. I just wish the officer had tried to take other measures.

Blaine, who has also lived in the neighborhood for over 10 years, hopes such incidents wont happen in the future, but he believes it takes a fundamental change in a person rather than following political theater.

We had people in the neighborhood chanting Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matterits all political statements, he said. It doesnt change anything, it doesnt make the situation better. The only way youre going to change things is to change peoples hearts.

Peoples attitudes have been changing, and theyve become more and more self-centered, Blaine said.

If everybodys looking out for themselves, and everybody makes their own standards and makes their own judgments, everybodys right in their own eyes, right?

The Associated Press contributed to this report
Now Open

28 April 2021

The highly-anticipated Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Duluth Downtown (3141 Hill St. NW) constructed in the recently revitalized downtown area of Duluth, GA, officially opened its doors to guests on April 27, 2021. Located just outside of Atlanta, this 100-room property offers a small-town feel with big-city amenities. The Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Duluth Downtown, owned by Southeastern Development and managed by LBA Hospitality, is the only hotel in Downtown Duluth, GA.

Courtyard by Marriott continues to innovate the guest experience to meet the changing needs of travelers. Designed with the business traveler in mind, the newest guest room layout offers hybrid zones for both working and relaxing. The Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Duluth Downtown features Marriott's latest open and inviting lobby design, and at its epicenter, a newly designed Bistro offering upscale fast-casual dining, Starbucks  , and an array of cocktails, beer, and wine for guests to unwind.

Guests of the Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Duluth Downtown can soak in local culture atop the terrace overlooking the Duluth Festival Center, and work, stay, and play within walking distance of the quaint cafes, restaurants, and one-of-a-kind boutiques, unique to Downtown Duluth. The hotel's 2,134 square feet of flexible meeting space, with floor-to-ceiling windows and stunning views of the Duluth Town Green, offers the perfect venue for socially distanced meetings and events under the Georgia sun.
One of the Brown family lawyers, Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who viewed the 20-second video, said Monday that shots were heard from the instant the clip started with Browns car in his driveway and his hands on the steering wheel. She said he did not try to back away until after deputies ran up to his car and began shooting, and he did not pose a threat to deputies, explaining: He finally decides to try to get away and he backs out, not toward officers at all.
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[April 28, 2021] Globant Announces Office Expansion in Miami; to Launch Smart Venues Hub and Provide 150 New High Tech Jobs

MIAMI, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Globant?(NYSE: GLOB), a digitally native company, today announced the expansion of its footprint in Miami, Florida. Over the next three years, the company plans to recruit 150 employees, on top of the 90 professionals already based in South Florida. In Miami, the company plans to build its Smart Venues Hub, a place to centralize its expertise in helping companies as they work to blend physical and digital experiences to deepen customer engagement. From the Hub they will partner with clients to create memorable journeys for their customers and fans. The Hub leverages Globant's approach accelerating the patron experience through the use of emerging technologies, including the IoT, AI, and hyper-connectivity. Tomorrow's venues will be central hubs of communities, where guests and fans drive their optimal personal engagement, and celebrate participation. This announcement follows Globant's recent opening of an Innovation Center in Malaga, Spain, reinforcing the company's commitment to driving innovation worldwide. "We want to remove the barriers and limitations of physical space -- whether it be retail, hospitals, sporting arenas or other venues. The Smart Venues hub comes to address this vision" said Martin Nanni, head of the new hub and VP of Technology. "Through digitalization, Globant will revolutionize how companies interact with consumers, patrons, patients, and fans in physical locations and online to allow them to create new blended experiences." "Miami is increasingly becoming an important hub to boost tech-enabled innovation in a host of sectors such as healthcare and life sciences, logistics and transportation, financial services, retail, as well as travel and leisure. We will partner with our clients to deliver profoun digital transformation to consumers, bridging the digital and physical worlds," said Fernando Matzkin, Chief Business Officer for Globant North America. "As a cosmopolitan melting pot that is the meeting point of the Americas, Miami possesses a strong and diverse talent base that will propel forward the business of our clients, implementing solutions that digitize and enhance consumer experiences.



"Our Miami is on a journey to become the capitol of capital and businesses are choosing our city because of the diversity, talent and innovative spirit of our people." said Francis Suarez, Mayor of the City of Miami. "It is for this reason that our Miami is so excited to welcome a globally renowned digital native company like Globant in their decision to launch a regional hub for their operations in our city. The expanded presence of Globant in Miami is a further validation of the emergence of our Miami as a globally competitive tech ecosystem." "Businesses have become more focused on the importance of transforming technology and realizing the needs to become an adaptive organization," said Nicolas Avila, Chief Technology Officer for North America at Globant. "Our growth in Miami will allow us to partner with companies across industries to completely reimagine the consumer experience and enhance their competitiveness in this new digital era."

As part of this expansion, the Globant office will be located at 5201 Blue Lagoon Drive, Miami, FL 33126, at the Waterford Blue Lagoon Office Park. Visit Globant Career Opportunities in Miami ? About Globant: We are a digitally native company that helps organizations reinvent themselves to create a way forward and unleash their potential. We are the place where innovation, design and engineering meet scale.? We have more than 16,250 employees and we are present in 18 countries working for companies like Google, Rockwell Automation, Electronic Arts and Santander, among others.

We were named a Worldwide Leader in CX Improvement Services by IDC MarketScape report.

We were also featured as a business case study at Harvard , MIT , and Stanford.??

, , and Stanford.?? We are a member of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord.

For more information, visit? www.globant.com Contact:

pr@globant.com Sign up to get first dibs on press news and updates here View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/globant-announces-office-expansion-in-miami-to-launch-smart-venues-hub-and-provide-150-new-high-tech-jobs-301278554.html SOURCE Globant

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CHICAGO (dpa-AFX) - Boeing Co. (BA) on Wednesday reported a loss for the first-quarter that narrowed from last year, reflecting year-over-year KC-46A Tanker improvement, higher 737 deliveries, and lower commercial airplanes period costs, partially offset by lower tax benefits and higher interest expense. Quarterly revenues declined 10 percent from the previous year. The company cautioned that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge the global aircraft market.



'While the global pandemic continues to challenge the overall market environment, we view 2021 as a key inflection point for our industry as vaccine distribution accelerates and we work together across government and industry to help enable a robust recovery,' said Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun.



In Wednesday pre-market trade, BA was trading at $239.02 down $3.45 or 1.42 percent.



The Chicago-based company reported that its first-quarter net loss attributable to shareholders narrowed to $537 million or $0.92 per share from $628 million or $1.11 per share in the prior year.



Core loss per share was $1.53 compared to core loss per share of $1.70 last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $1.16 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.



Total revenues for the first-quarter declined 10 percent to $15.22 billion from the prior year's $16.91 billion, primarily driven by lower 787 deliveries and commercial services volume, partially offset by higher 737 deliveries and higher KC-46A Tanker revenue. Analysts expected revenues of $15.02 billion for the first-quarter.



Total company backlog at quarter-end was $364 billion.



Commercial Airplanes first-quarter revenue decreased 31 percent year-over-year to $4.27 billion, hurt by lower 787 deliveries, partially offset by higher 737 deliveries.



Boeing said it is continuing to make progress on the safe return to service of the 737 MAX worldwide.



The 737 program is currently producing at a low rate and continues to expect to gradually increase production to 31 per month in early 2022 with further gradual increases to correspond with market demand.



Commercial Airplanes continues to work closely with global regulators on all aspects of 777X development, including its rigorous test program, and the company still expects to deliver the first 777X in late 2023, Boeing said.



Defense, Space & Security first-quarter revenue increased to $7.19 billion from $6.04 billion in the previous year.



Global Services first-quarter revenue decreased 19 percent year-over-year to $3.7 billion and first-quarter operating margin decreased to 11.8 percent primarily driven by lower commercial services volume due to COVID-19.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna, co-chair of the USR PLUS Alliance, stated that he hopes the Bucharest City General Mayor, Nicusor Dan, and the USR PLUS councilors reach a consensus regarding the adoption of the Bucharest City budget, mentioning that, if necessary, he will get involved in the mediation process.

"I hope that the General Mayor and my colleagues reach a consensus, if it's necessary, I will be involved in mediating. The drawing up of a budget must be an agreement between those who support the General Mayor in each city in part. It's a natural thing, the debates will continue, I have no doubt we will have a budget," Barna mentioned on Wednesday, before entering the coalition meeting.

He added that the drawing up of a budget is done through the agreement of the interested parties, and what has happened in the sitting to adopt the Bucharest City budget shows that "no forcefulness, on one side or the other, will generate any result."

"My colleagues have already communicated the aspects on which discussions will continue, I repeat, the drawing up of a budget is done through the agreement of the interested parties. What happened today shows that no forcefulness, on one side or the other, will generate any result. The sooner we sit down at the dialogue table, the simpler everything will be. Bacau City does not have a budget either, there are several localities in the country where majorities are still being formed, the budget is being discussed," said the USR PLUS leader.

In this context, Barna said he had on Sunday a discussion with Nicusor Dan, regarding the budget of the Bucharest City Hall, adding that he relayed to him that he is willing to mediate, if necessary.
Most Venerable Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thero paved the way for the world to discover the knowledge of Buddhism

Abbot, Aggamaha Panditha Ven. Dr. Walpola Piyananda, Chief Sangha Nayaka of America, Pamankada Sri Maha Viharaya, Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara of Los Angeles, USA

Our most Venerable Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thero was born on 20th of January 1827. It was a dark era in the history of Sri Lanka where the country which suffered tremendously under the suffocating rule of Portuguese and Dutch colonists at the time, was forced to officially surrender itself to the British Empire. Thus on 2nd of March 1815, Sri Lanka lost its 2538 years of independence by becoming a colony of the British Empire. The Governor Robert Brownrigg who signed the Kandyan convention by promising to preserve the status of Buddhism as the country's main religion went back on his words once he came to power, by making it a priority to spread the word of Christianity throughout the country. Several decades after that, the Buddhist faith among the people started deteriorating. To salvage the situation Ven. Weliwita Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Thero started a religious revival which brought all the Sangha in the country together. However, the attempt was not successful due to various disagreements among different sects of the Buddhist Sangha. The situation became so bad that in year 1852 that Mr. James De Alwis, who translated Sidath Sangarawa in to English, predicted that by the end of 19th Century all Sinhala poets will begin their work by asking for the triple blessings of the Lord instead of the blessings of the Triple gems. As was published in the Journal of the Pali Text Society on 25th of October 1861, he had stated,

There are indeed good grounds for believing that Buddhism will at no very distant period disappear from this Island. What I believe is that if Christianity was spread throughout the country little by little without alerting the general populace, the prevalent false beliefs and foolishness in the country would lessen before long.

This statement was in agreement with a French newspaper journalist, Bertholomeusz, who stated that the Sangha in Sri Lanka is too weak to protect the Buddhist era from fading away, and that there is no sign whatsoever of this situation changing in the near future.

It's evident that the British Empire, which had governing power over the whole country at the time, hoped to completely eliminate Buddhism from Sri Lanka and build an empire of Christianity in its stead. In order to firmly establish their power in the country, this was a necessity. Therefore, Christian missionaries were sent to Sri Lanka from Europe in order to establish schools and start spreading western culture in the country. In a letter sent to the British politician, William Wilberforce, in England, on 13th of June 1816 Governor Robert Brownrigg stated that there were enough reasons to believe that Buddhism as a religion would soon disappear from Sri Lanka.

It was in such a dark period of time in Sri Lanka that a precious baby boy was born to Mrs. Dandegoda Gamage Christina and her husband, Mr. Don Johannes Abeyweera Gunawardhana Liyanarachchi. The boy was baptized at four years of age and was given the name Nicholas. If he was not given such a Christian name, he wouldn't have been allowed access to any of the schools established at the time. Since the first born son, Louis, of Mr. Gunawardhana became a disciple of Christianity as a result of his close association with fathers at the Christian Church, the five year old Nicholas was handed over to Ven. Sobhitha Thero at the village Temple. The little boy who grew up under the guidance of Buddhist monks was allowed access to the Central school at Galle Fort, as he was among those who were baptized by the Christian Church.

The village Astrologist who checked the horoscope of Nicholas managed to convince his father that the boy was very unlucky, and that he would die at a very young age due to his bad luck. This prediction completely changed the course of this young boys life. In 1840 he was ordained as a Buddhist monk at the Temple of Thotagamuwa , Thelwaththa, Galle, under the supervision of Ven. Mabotuwana Rewatha Thero and Ven. Malagoda Siriniwasa Thero. As a monk, he was given the name Hikkaduwe Sumangala. He was fortunate enough to study under the guidance of many erudite monks such as Ven. Walane Sri Siddhartha Thero, and he studied hard till he mastered several languages including Pali, Sinhala, Sanskrit, and English. In 1848 his higher ordination as a Buddhist monk took place at the Malwathu Buddhist Chapter house in Kandy. As a young Novice monk, Ven. Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thero started tackling the criticisms against Buddhism by Christian missionaries through publishing his comebacks in printed media. In 1858, to loosen the hold that other religions had over the Southern province of the country, Ven. Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thero established a printing press named Lankopakara, and started printing books  and most importantly, the Buddhist newspaper Lankaloka. Further, several Sinhala Buddhist schools were founded under his patronage and they were provided with all the required facilities. In 1871, Ven. Thero moved to Maligakanda area, and in 1873 he initiated the establishment of the treasure house of knowledge, Vidyodaya.

Even those who followed the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, such as Rev. Kojin Gunaratana, Rev. Kojina Kondanna, Sato and Tochibana, from foreign countries like Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh and Japan, also came to Vidyodaya Monastic College to study the teachings of Theravadha Buddhism under the tutelage of our Ven. Thero. Ven. Dhammananda Kosambi Thero, who travelled to Sri Lanka from India, also studied under the guidance of our Ven. Thero.

Ven. Mohottiwatte Gunananda Thero, who participated in the famous Panadura debate in 1873, made sure that Ven. Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thero also came along to assist him with the debate. The debate became so famous that information about it was also published in a magazine called The Truth Seeker in America (Mr. Thomas Paine who played a major role in creating the Constitution of the United States was also one of the patrons of this magazine). As a result of the published article about this debate, many important persons such as Colonel Henry steel Olcott and the Russian philosopher and author, Helena Blavatsky, were encouraged to visit Sri Lanka. On 17th of May 1880, they both embraced Buddhism as their religion at Vidyananda Monastic College in Galle, and started studying the Pali language and Buddhist philosophy under the tutelage of our Ven. Thero.

They understood the importance of education and how it could be used to salvage the pitiful situation that the Buddhist religion in Sri Lanka has fallen into. As a result, Parama Vignanartha Corporation was established in Colombo. In 1895, this corporation established Ananda Vidyalaya in Colombo with the Cambridge graduate A.E. Bultjens of American descent as its principal. This was followed by the establishment of several other schools in the country such as Nalanda Vidyalaya in Colombo, Dharmaraja Vidyalaya in Kandy, and Mahinda Vidyalaya in Galle.

In 1885 Ven. Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thero chaired the committee which designed the Buddhist flag. Many foreigners that were interested in studying Buddhist philosophy came to Sri Lanka just so they could meet our Ven. Thero and study Buddhism under his guiding hand. Thomas William Rhys Davids (1867), who was the Magistrate of Galle at the time, studied Pali language from several Buddhist monks including Ven. Yathramulle Dhammarama Thero, Ven. Dodanduwe Piyarathanathissa Thero, Ven. Weligama Sri Sumangala Thero, and Ven. Waskaduwe Subhuthi Thero. He also made sure to meet often with our Ven. Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thero to discuss Buddhist philosophy in depth, and thus he amassed a vast wealth of knowledge regarding Buddhism. This provided our Ven. Thero with an opportunity to associate with, and build friendships with, many important figures of British rule in Sri Lanka and to earn their respect. These relations allowed Ven. Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thero to get a fine understanding of how he should go about explaining the Buddhist philosophy to foreigners so they could clearly understand exactly what Buddhism is about.

Paul Dahlke, of German descent, was a famous Buddhist philosopher who came to Sri Lanka specifically to meet Ven. Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thero so he could study the doctrine of non-self (Anathmavadaya) as taught in Buddhism.

The youth, Rev. Anagarika Dharmapala, had written a letter complaining about the British Governor in Sri Lanka to the Foreign Affairs Secretary in Great Britain, in the name of our Ven. Thero. Though at the time our Ven. Thero was not aware that such a letter had been sent in his name, he wasnt bothered by the fact once he did get to know about it. Ven. Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thero was invited to an International Religious Conference held in Chicago 1893 as the representative of the Theravadha teachings of Buddhism. However, at our Ven. Theros request, and with his blessings, Rev. Anagarika Dharmapala participated the conference in his stead, and brought about a wave of interest regarding Buddhism in America. This built a great rapport between Ven. Thero and Rev. Anagarika Dharmapala. It was Ven. Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thero who became the very first chairperson of Mahabodhi Society. Ven. Thero supported and guided Rev. Anagarika Dharmapala all through his efforts to re-establish Buddhism on the Indian sub-continent.

In January of 1891 Ven. Thero made sure to send Ven. Kojin Gunaratana Thero, of Japanese descent, along with Rev. Anagarika Dharmapala, when he made his way to Bodh Gaya in India. However, Rev. Anagarika Dharmapala had to leave India that very same year in order to ask for the support of the Japanese government to rescue Bodh Gaya from the clutches of other religions that sought to destroy the sacred place. Upon his arrival back in India he was greatly dismayed to discover that Ven. Kojin Gunaratana Thero had passed away.

Ven. Hikkaduwe Sumangala Thero firmly stated that the best way to re-establish Buddhism in India is to educate the Indian scholars in the Pali language. In 1907, upon Ven. Theros request, Rev. Anagarika Dharmapala, together with the help of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, Chancellor of the University of Kolkata, established the Department of Pali language within the University. With permission from our Ven. Thero, Ven. Sooriyagoda Sumangala Thero was invited to Kolkata to become the very first Head of the newly established Department.

Great intellectuals such as Dr. Nalinaksha Datta, Sukumar Datta, Dr. B. C. Low, Dr. B. M. Baruwa, Anukul Chandra Baruwa, and Deepak Kumar Baruwa graduated from the Department of Pali language, University of Kolkata, and went on to contribute their valuable services in Universities all over India as well as in Europe. Even some well-known Sri Lankan scholars, Ven. Walpola Rahula Thero, Ven. Uruwela Dhammaratana Thero, Mr. Sagara Palansooriya, Mr. Siripala Leelarathna, Mr. Wimalananda Thennakoon, Mr. D. E. Hettiarachchi and Mr. Jinadasa Perera also graduated from the same Department in Kolkata University, India. The scholars thus graduated, Ven. Jagdish kashyap Thero and Ven. Uruwela Dhammaratana Thero together established the University of Nalanda, which gifted the world with many more great Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, Cambodian and Sri Lankan scholars. Among them were Most Ven. Akuratiye Amarawansa Thero, Ven. Raddalle Pangnaloka Thero, Ven. Ganegama Saranankara Thero, Ven. Kananke Wajiragnana Thero and Ven. Hagoda Kemananda Thero. Most of them went on to provide their valuable services at Vidyodaya Monastic College in Sri Lanka. The Department of Pali Language, which was first established only in the University of Kolkata, was later on established in several other Universities, such as Varanasi, Delhi, Pune as well as in Magadha University.
By Ho Quoc Tuan - Senior lecturer University of Bristol

The conclusion is welcomed by the Vietnamese government and the business community, as the previous label of currency manipulator led to concerns about possible countervailing duties imposed on imported goods from Vietnam.

The new development around the currency manipulation designation has relieved the concerns about any possible additional duties on Vietnam imports to the US for at least six months. However, the US Treasury noted that it will continue to engage with Vietnam and Switzerland to have a more thorough assessment and better determine whether either of these economies intervened in currency markets.

Besides Vietnam, Switzerland, and Taiwan, 11 other markets were included in the monitoring list of currency manipulations, including key trading partners such as China, Japan, and Germany. All these countries were in the December 2020 report.

The widened monitoring list suggests that the Biden administration is not necessarily more lenient on the currency manipulation matters. Instead, it chooses a more prudent and thorough approach by looking into all criteria in both, the 2015 and 1988 acts, and considers the impacts of the pandemic on these economies.

Vietnam may be relieved for six months, but it has to strengthen its relationship with the US and continue a close engagement with the US Treasury to ensure that it is not relabelled as a currency manipulator.

In his analysis at the East Asia Forum, David Dapice, senior economist at the Ash Center of Harvard University, argued that Vietnams main offense was to be in the right place at the right time and to take advantage of global developments in which they have little influence.

Tran Ngoc Tho, professor of finance at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, suggests that the decision of labelling Vietnam as a currency manipulator was driven by the Trump administrations frustration about not getting its share in the increasing bilateral trade between the US and Vietnam. However, the latter has little influence on these developments, consistent with Dapices own argument.

However, regardless of the true drivers of the trade surplus with the US, the new Vietnamese government under Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh should be aware that the decision on whether to label a country as currency manipulator is more a political decision than a decision based on thorough economic analysis. Therefore, they need to engage more closely with the US, especially with its Trade Representative Katherine Tai and the Treasury Department under the leadership of Janet Yellen, to maintain a good understanding of Vietnams currency practices.

There are three aspects that Vietnam needs to pay close attention to. First is the size and frequency of foreign exchange intervention by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), which was closely scrutinised by the US Treasury in their recent report. Second is the undervaluation of the VND as concluded in both the December 2020 and April 2021 foreign exchange policies reports. The US Treasury indicates that it will be working with Vietnamese authorities to develop a plan with specific actions to address the underlying causes of Vietnams currency undervaluation. The final aspect is the trade surplus with the US, which is at a record high.

On the first and second issues, the SBV has adopted a new mechanism of managing foreign exchange rates, including measures through the new cancellable forward contracts. These new measures allow less intervention of the SBV in the foreign exchange market while they can still give credible signals to the foreign exchange market about a desirable level of exchange rates.

This may alleviate future concerns from the US Treasury about the frequency and size of the SBVs intervention in the foreign exchange market. With the stability of macroeconomic factors and foreign inflows of capital, the SBV can continue to adopt these measures in a foreseeable future.

Regarding the currency undervaluation, the SBV should engage with both the International Monetary Fund and the US Treasury to provide counter evidence regarding the level of the VNDs undervaluation, whose subjective metrics rely on several assumptions and discretionary benchmarks that can be challenged with reasonable arguments.

The final and most important aspect is Vietnams sizable surplus in bilateral trade with the US. It is difficult to please a trading partner when you enjoy a much larger share of the trade benefits. A significant part of this surplus is driven by foreign firms, especially Chinese ones, that are using Vietnam as an intermediary to go around US-China trade tensions.

Vietnam does not necessarily benefit much from this behaviour, but it must bear the cost of the additional trade surplus. To enhance the future relationship with the US and gain more sustainable trade benefits, Vietnam should try to address this problem sooner rather than later.

The US Treasury Departments report suggests that the future relationship between the US and Vietnam is promising. However, the new Vietnamese government should not be complacent and try to capitalise on these positive developments. One of the possible areas for enhancing the relationship and reducing the current account surplus is to cooperate with the US in climate change and renewable energy, both key focuses of the Biden administration, which may lead to more investments and imports from the US in these areas.
Minister Coveney expresses condolences on death of Irish national in Burkina Faso

Statement

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, has learned with deep dismay of the confirmation of the tragic loss of life of Irish citizen, Rory Young, in Burkina Faso. Mr. Young was part of a group that on Monday morning was attacked by unknown assailants in the eastern part of Burkina Faso. The Minister wishes to express sincere condolences to Rory Youngs family, and to the families of the two Spanish nationals who also lost their lives in this tragic incident. The Department of Foreign Affairs is in contact with the family of Mr. Young and continues to provide all possible consular assistance. The Minister condemns in the strongest possible terms the actions of those who are responsible for this attack. We will continue to liaise with the authorities and partners on the ground on the matter.

ENDS

PRESS OFFICE

28 APRIL 2021

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FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2016, file photo, a customer looks at a SIG Sauer hand gun at a gun show held by Florida Gun Shows in Miami. The vast majority of mass shooters have acquired their firearms legally with nothing in their background that would have prohibited them from possessing a gun. But there have been examples of lapses in the background check system that allowed guns to end up in the wrong hands. Very few states also have a mechanism to seize firearms from someone who is not legally allowed to possess one. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) ORG XMIT: FLLS404
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Defiance Silver Corp. (OTCQX: DNCVF) (FSE: D4E) ("Defiance" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update to the ongoing drill program, including a newly-discovered zone of mineralization in the heart of the Veta Grande vein system at the Zacatecas silver project.

Summary of Results

DDSA-21-35 - Intersected high-grade silver, including 1.57 metres of 1340 g/t AgEq (from 248.70m-250.27m) within a wide intercept of 18.55m of 149 g/t AgEq (from 241.35m-259.90m).

DDSA-21-36 - An angled step-out drill hole from DDSA-21-35, which intersected multiple zones of silver mineralization including 4.73 metres of 386 g/t AgEq (from 193.80m-198.53m) within a wide zone of mineralization returning 23.5 metres of 148 g/t AgEq (from 188.05m-211.55m).

DDSA-21-37 - A drill hole designed to test the vein in a previously undrilled section returned multiple high-grade results, including 1.85 meters of 1157 g/t AgEq (from 270.45m-272.30m) within a wider intercept of 8.22m of 333 g/t AgEq (from 270.45 to 278.67).

DDSA-21-38 - A step-out hole from DDSA-21-37 returned 9.56 metres of 180 g/t AgEq (from 266.4m-275.96m).

Chris Wright, Chairman & CEO, commented: "This zone of high-grade mineralization within the Veta Grande structure highlights the near-term exploration and resource building potential for the project. We have always felt the principal structures were inadequately tested both along strike from previous drilling and also at depth. All holes reported in this release include zones of silver, gold, and base metal mineralization. We are encouraged by these results, some of which are the highest-grade silver results that Defiance has drilled to date at San Acacio. Follow-up drilling in this zone will be aimed at defining the structure up-dip, and systematically stepping down-dip to test the vertical profile of the Veta Grande structure. We look forward to releasing additional results this year as they are received."

Cross Sections





Figure 1- Cross Section of drill hole DDSA-21-35



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2950/82060_98ac013f24730b8d_002full.jpg





Figure 2- Cross section of drill hole DDSA-21-37



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2950/82060_98ac013f24730b8d_003full.jpg

Discussion of Results

The drill holes reported in this release were designed to test the northwestern portion of the historic San Acacio mine area (Figure 4, Figure 5). Hole DDSA-21-35 was an infill hole within a zone that has historical drill holes (Figure 1). The other three holes - DDSA-21-36, 37, and 38 - drilled into a zone without substantial historical drilling and with poorly understood geology. Previous generations of miners and explorers were not successful in locating the Veta Grande system in the area to the east of DDSA-21-35. It is evident from historical long sections of the mine that whilst there were tunnels probing this area, no significant workings were developed. A 1995 series of short drill holes along the trend of the outcropping Veta Grande vein also failed to return significant results. A zone of more than 250m of strike length remained untested at depth due to uncertainty regarding the location or presence of the vein system in this area (Figure 3).

Defiance Silver used historical data to compile a 3D model of the veins and undertook a surface mapping program to help constrain the geometries of the veins and potential faults in the area. Hole DDSA-21-36 was designed to drill from an area with good control into an area with poor control, using the modelling as a guide. DDSA-21-36 drilled through a faulted zone, into historic workings with only moderate alteration or mineralization, and then into several unmined, mineralized zones. The top of the widest zone of high-grade mineralization in DDSA-21-36 was approximately 15m below the workings and is believed to have been missed by the historic workers due to the small offset in elevation, likely the result of faulting.

Using the updated modelling and the structural data collected from oriented core drilling in hole DDSA-21-36, holes DDSA-21-37 and DDSA-21-38 were planned to follow up this newly located zone of mineralization along strike. Both holes DDSA-21-37 and DDSA-21-38 encountered wide zones of veinlet arrays and multiple vein zones (Figure 2). In both holes, as well as in DDSA-21-36, the lower vein zone [Veta Grande] is not a simple vein but is a polyphase breccia with volumetrically significant sulfide material. Clasts of particular importance include dark sulfide-matrix breccias and pieces of quartz-sphalerite-silver sulfide vein material. These polyphase breccias are observed in a number of other drill holes across the property.

The highest-grade silver mineralization is typically associated with honey-coloured sphalerite, argentiferous galena, variable silver sulfides, and spatially correlated with amethyst. The highest-grade gold mineralization is typically associated with pyrite, brown to red-coloured sphalerite, and occasionally with hematite. The hanging wall mineralization tends to express as a more conventional vein to veinlet array morphology while the Veta Grande often occurs as a breccia with vein-type textures and gangue.

San Acacio hosts a current inferred mineral resource estimate containing 16.97 M oz silver (17.76 M oz AgEq) grading 181.94 g/t silver (192.5 g/t AgEq) with a 100 g/t AgEq cut off (see the Technical report titled: Technical Report and Resource Estimate, San Acacio Silver Deposit, Zacatecas State, Mexico by Giroux and Cuttle dated September 26, 2014, which is available on Sedar and the company's website here).

Long Section of Drilling







Figure 3 - Schematic long section showing Veta Grande results, limits of current resource estimate and underground workings.



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Table of Results





Table 1 - Silver equivalent is calculated using the following formula: Silver-Equivalent (AgEq) = [(Au_ppm x 56.26)+(Ag_ppm x 0.80)+(Pb_ppm x .0016)+(Zn_ppm x 0.0026)]/ 0.80. Metal price assumptions are Au:$1750, Ag:$25, Pb: $0.75, Zn:$1.2. 100% recovery has been assumed for all metals. At this stage of the project, no metallurgy has been completed, and the reader is cautioned that 100% recoveries are never achieved. True thickness is assumed to be 50%-80% of downhole width.



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Drill Hole Information





Table 2 - All coordinates in WGS84 Zone 13N.



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The current drill program, a continuation of the previously numbered drill holes, commenced with hole DDSA-20-33. Defiance is currently drilling DDSA-21-45. This news release contains the results from 4 holes (DDSA-21-36 to 38) for a total of approximately 1496 metres. The company has drilled approximately 5600m of HQ3 drill core to date in the current program.





Figure 4 - Drill hole collar locations on the Veta Grande vein system.



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Next Steps

1) Increasing the 5,000 metre drill program to 10,000 metres.

2) Additional district-scale surface exploration, including mapping and sampling at the Lucita project.

3) Core re-logging of the historical drill holes.

4) Permitting for additional exploration holes as a follow up to the property-wide surface geochemistry and mapping program at San Acacio.

5) Permitting for phase 1 drilling at Lucita.









Figure 5 - Zacatecas project and reported drill holes in yellow.

Blue diamonds represent completed drill holes to date in current program.

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Discussion of QAQC and Analytical Procedure

Samples were selected based on the lithology, alteration, and mineralization characteristics; sample size ranges from 0.25 - 2m in width. All altered and mineralized intervals were sent for assay. One blank, one standard, and one duplicate were included within every 20 samples. Standard materials are certified reference materials [CRMs] from OREAS and contain a range of Ag, Au, Cu, Pb, and Zn values. Blanks, standards, and duplicates did not detect any issues with the analytical results.

Samples were analyzed by ALS Chemex Laboratories. Sample preparation was performed at the Zacatecas, Mexico, prep facility, and analyses were performed at the Vancouver, Canada, analytical facility. All elements except Au and Hg were analyzed by a multi-element geochemistry method utilizing a four-acid digestion followed by ICP-MS detection [ME-MS61m]; mercury was analyzed after a separate aqua regia digest by ICP-MS. Overlimit assays for Ag, Pb, and Zn were conducted using the OG62 method (multi-acid digest with ICP-AES/AAS finish). Gold was measured by fire-assay with an ICP-AES finish [50g sample, Au-ICP22].

San Acacio History

Zacatecas State continues to be the top producer of silver in Mexico and is one of the reasons Mexico remains the world's largest silver-producing region. The Zacatecas-Fresnillo Silver Belt is one of the most prolific silver producing areas in the world. Production at the San Acacio mine dates to at least 1548 when Spanish colonialists mined mainly bonanza oxide ores, typically grading in excess of 1kg/tonne Silver. The various veins were mined intermittently until the mid-1800s when an English company drove the ~2km Purisima tunnel to allow for deeper underground access and drainage. From the late 1800s until the Mexican Revolution in 1920, mining consisted of intermittent production from bonanza grade ores. During the Mexican Revolution, heavy fighting in the Zacatecas region led to the halt of most mining endeavors. In the mid 1920's, a cyanide plant targeting silica rich ores and a floatation plant for complex Pb-Zn ores were built with varying success until the transition from oxide to sulphide rich ores made for recovery complexities. In the mid 1930s the first tonnage estimate was created on the property, although the project sat mostly idle save for some stope and adit rehabilitation at Purisima and Refugio. Production was largely dormant except for some small processing done by CIA Fresnillo in the late 1930s to early 1940s. In the mid- 1990s Silver Standard Resources Inc. began a systematic exploration and evaluation program targeting an open pit silver mine consisting of backfill, remaining stopes and silica-rich hanging wall and footwall mineralization of the Veta Grande structure. This entry by a publicly-listed company kicked off nearly 3 decades of exploration, development, and bulk-scale processing.

Defiance Silver has been exploring the project since 2011 and has focused primarily on identifying near-term mine resources. Drilling by previous operators as well as Defiance Silver from 2009 to early 2017 confirmed the presence of significant mineralizing events that provide evidence for a long-lived mineralizing system. Drilling in late 2017 and early 2019 outlined complexities in the structural geology of the area and identified significant "down dropped" and rotated structural blocks as the company tested the Veta Grande at similar elevations where it was encountered by earlier mining and drilling.

About Defiance Silver Corp.

Defiance Silver Corp. (TSXV: DEF) (OTCQX: DNCVF) (FSE: D4E) is an exploration company advancing the district-scale San Acacio Deposit, located in the historic Zacatecas Silver District and the 100% owned Tepal Gold/Copper Project in Michoacan state, Mexico. Defiance is managed by a team of proven mine developers with a track record of exploring, advancing and developing several operating mines and advanced resource projects Defiance's corporate mandate is to expand the San Acacio and Tepal projects to become premier Mexican silver and gold deposits.

Mr. George Cavey P.Geo., Vice President Exploration, is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical information concerning the Company's material mineral properties contained in this press release.

On behalf of Defiance Silver Corp.

"Chris Wright"

Chairman of the Board

For more information, please contact: Investor Relations at +1 917-563-3821 or via email at info@defiancesilver.com.

www.defiancesilver.com

704 - 595 Howe Street

Vancouver, BC V6E 2K3

Tel: 604-669-7315 | Email: info@defiancesilver.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Defiance Silver Corp. relies upon litigation protection for forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82060
Designers of self-assembled 3-D ghost guns may post their plans online without seeking permission from the State Department, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, reinstating a Trump administration order that had been blocked by a federal judge.

The firearms, which do not require a gun-makers license, had been included in the State Departments Munitions List, which required approval from the department to export any such weapons. Federal courts applied that requirement in 2015 to weapons posted online for production on three-dimensional printers.

When President Donald Trumps State Department settled a suit with a 3-D gun company in 2018 and sought to remove the designs from the Munitions List, a federal judge in Seattle issued an injunction in March 2020 in a suit by California, 21 other states and the District of Columbia. Unrestricted publication of the designs would make dangerous weapons available to terrorists and thwart arms embargoes, said U.S. District Judge Richard Jones.

But the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 2-1 Tuesday that a 1989 federal law prohibits courts from overruling the State Departments decisions to either add or remove a weapon from the Munitions List.

The law says the designation of weapons for inclusion on the list shall not be subject to judicial review. In practice, various weapons have been added to and removed from the list over the decades, Judge Ryan Nelson, a Trump appointee, said in the majority opinion.

The lesser power to un-designate is part of the greater power to designate and likewise is immune from judicial review, said Nelson, joined by Judge Jay Bybee.

In dissent, U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley of Spokane, Wash., temporarily assigned to the appeals court, said the law was intended to prevent proliferation of dangerous weapons and should be interpreted on the side of safety.

This potential increase in the accessibility of ghost guns presents a serious threat to public safety, as ghost guns have already been linked to multiple mass shootings in the United States, Whaley said.

Most states do not regulate self-assembled guns. But California in 2018 banned sales of such weapons and required their makers to undergo background checks and obtain a serial number from the state and attach it to the weapon.

President Bidens administration could take action to repeal his predecessors rules. The State Department referred an inquiry to the Justice Department, which did not respond to a request for comment. The states could also ask the full appeals court to order a new hearing before a larger panel.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
(Natural News) Jack Dorsey and his minions are openly admittting that they are now working directly with Indian leaders to censor on Twitter all critics of the governments mishandling of the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) plandemic.

Just like Twitter does here in the United States, the social media platform is pulling down tweets and banning accounts that in any way suggest the Indian government is failing to handle the crisis perfectly through the use of Big Pharma injections and other interventions.

The Associated Press (AP), which is hardly trustworthy to begin with, wrote a piece revealing that Twitter complied with the Indian governments request to delete more than 50 tweets that appeared to criticize the administrations handling of the pandemic.

The targeted posts include tweets from opposition ministers critical of Modi, journalists and ordinary Indians, the article added.

In the event that Twitter determines a tweet to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, it claims the right to withhold access to content  in this case in India only.

Content that is demonstrably false or misleading and may lead to significant risk of harm (such as increased exposure to the virus, or adverse effects on public health systems) may not be shared on Twitter, the company says in its official documentation.

This includes sharing content that may mislead people about the nature of the COVID-19 virus; the efficacy and / or safety of preventative measures, treatments, or other precautions to mitigate or treat the disease; official regulations, restrictions, or exemptions pertaining to health advisories; or the prevalence of the virus or risk of infection or death associated with COVID-19.

Twitter says it also maintains the right to label all tweets that it deems to contain misleading information about COVID-19 in order to reduce their spread and provide additional context.

To learn more about how Big Brother is colluding with Big Tech to silence the truth online, be sure to check out Censorship.news.

Twitter tyranny is costing tens of thousands of people their lives

The fact that some of the information being censored could protect Indians who are suffering under the governments botched response to the plandemic just goes to show that Twitter is likewise contributing to mass death.

You might even say that Twitter is directly responsible for untold lost lives  lives that could have been saved if only Twitter would allow free speech to flow on its platform.

With the restricted content in India, Twitter is not merely labeling offensive tweets. It is actively pulling them at the governments request, setting a dangerous precedent for selective censorship of politically incorrect information online.

This is the face of the new censors, warns Jonathan Turley, writing for Technocracy.news.

The future in speech control is not in the classic state media model but the alliance of states with corporate giants like Twitter. Twitter now actively engages in what Democratic leaders approvingly call robust content modification to control viewpoints and political dissent.

Twitter also infamously censored former President Donald Trump at the request of Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and other far-left Democrats who oppose the First Amendment and want to see it abolished once and for all.

What are both of you prepared to do regarding Donald Trumps use of your platforms after he stops being president, will be still be deemed newsworthy and will he still be able to use your platforms to spread misinformation? Hirono sneered at Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey during a hearing on censorship from last year.

It is truly amazing to watch private Big Tech companies take on the governments censorship pleas with ease. What were once open platforms for sharing ideas have become pathetic ministries of truth for the deep state and echo chambers for deranged leftists.

Sources for this article include:

Technocracy.news

NaturalNews.com
Early voting turnout for San Antonios spring election broke records this week.

Over eight days, residents cast more than 113,000 votes, far surpassing early voting numbers in spring elections from the past 20 years, according to Jacque Callanen, Bexar County elections administrator.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio Election Voter Guide

Officials are baffled by the large turnout ahead of the May 1 election.

We cant figure it out, Callanen said. She wondered whether the increased availability of coronavirus vaccines or if the propositions on the ballot are bringing in more people. Either way, Were thrilled.

On Tuesday, the last day of early voting, 26,065 people cast their ballots in person at 37 polling sites, according to Bexar County Elections website. The total early voting turnout, including 12,375 mail-in ballots received by Wednesday morning, is about 11.9 percent, Callanen said.

Though the election is not countywide, Bexar County supports 17 tax entities, including school districts, small cities like Leon Valley and Alamo Heights, as well as San Antonio.

There are 958,341 eligible voters this election, and 812,100 of them are registered in the City of San Antonio, Callanen said.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio seeks to float bonds for affordable housing

During the last spring election, in 2019, 110,365 ballots were cast through Election Day, about two-thirds of which were during early voting. This resulted in an 11.5 percent voter turnout.. The runoff in June 2019 saw even larger numbers with 121,033 total ballots cast  31,654 of those on Election Day  resulting in a 15.4 percent turnout.

The increase in voter activity may become a trend. Presidential elections typically have more participation, but the November 2020 election shattered previous records with a 65 percent turnout rate  with most ballots cast during early voting.

Callanen expects to see upward of 55,000 people vote Saturday, but theres just so many variables.

There will be 243 polls open Election Day, Saturday, May 1, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eligible registered voters can cast their ballot at any location.

If necessary, a runoff election will be held Saturday, June 5. The last day to register to vote for the runoff election is Thursday, May 6. Early voting will run from Monday, May 24, to Tuesday, June 1. The deadline for Bexar County to receive an application for a mail-in ballot for the runoff election is Tuesday, May 25.

To view a sample ballot, check your voter registration, track a mail ballot or view more election information, visit www.Bexar.org/elections.
by Francis Khoo Thwe

The government-in-exile is seeking recognition from ASEAN and the international community. It says it could pay the salaries of civil servants involved in the civil disobedience movement. Meanwhile, the crackdown continues in Mandalay while casualties mount from fighting with armed Karen, Chin and Kachin groups. Young people are fleeing towns and villages to enlist in ethnic armed groups. The junta has killed so far 755 people and sentenced 79 to death. Some 3,448 people have imprisoned.

AsiaNews)  Myanmars National Unity Government (NUG), which was set up after its military seized power in a coup, has made it clear that it will not start talks with the ruling junta unless it first releases all political prisoners, starting with Aung San Suu Kyi.

The NUG, which was established this month by lawmakers along with representatives of ethnic minorities, is pressing for international recognition.

Last weekend, in an attempt to address the Myanmar crisis, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on a number of points, calling for an end to violence and the start of talks between the parties.

However, the regional grouping did not include the release of political prisoners, mostly MPs and ministers of the ousted democratically-elected government, as well as activists and members of Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NDL).

For NUG Prime Minister Mahn Winn Khaing Thann, Before any constructive dialogue can take place, [. . .], there must be an unconditional release of political prisoners, including President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Yesterday, the countrys military junta rejected ASEAN's proposal, saying that it would stop the violence only after the country returns to stability.

For their part, people continue to protest. Today, security forces dispersed thousands of anti-coup protesters in Mandalay (pictures 1 and 2). No deaths were reported.

Elsewhere, fighting between Myanmars military and armed ethnic groups continues. Tensions are running high in Karen State, on the border with Thailand. Tanks have been deployed in Hakka, a city in Chin State, where residents have been resisting for days.

Casualties were reported in Kachin State, where the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) seized some army bases. Another protest against the military dictatorship was held today in Hpakant (pictures 3 and 4).

As civil war looms on the horizon, sniper fire is forcing youths to flee from their towns and villages and many are enlisting and training with armed ethnic groups.

At the same time, the number of deaths and prisoners is growing. According to the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners, since the beginning of the coup d'etat, the junta has killed 755 people and sentenced 79 to death. The number of prisoners now stands at 3,448.

At the diplomatic level, the NUG slammed ASEAN for receiving junta leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, in Jakarta where the association is meeting. This is the generals first trip abroad.

For Myanmars parallel government, the visit is a tacit endorsement of the coup d'etat and a non-recognition of last November's election, which was overwhelmingly won by the NDL.

As if to bolster its claim to be the countrys legitimate government, the NUG said it is studying ways to pay the salaries of civil servants involved in the civil disobedience movement.

Since they went on strike, civil servants have not been paid, and have been attacked, harassed, humiliated and imprisoned by the military.

The NUG plans to ask the United States to release a US$ 1 billion it froze immediately after the coup. The money, which belongs to the Central Bank of Myanmar, is held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

In an act of civil disobedience, at least half of all civil servants, over 200,000, have gone on strike since the coup. This is negatively impacting the economy controlled by the junta because of poor performance and understaffed government offices.
Eleanor Tomlinson has left 18th century England behind in Poldark for a dystopian future in her new series Intergalactic.

The actress, 28, portrays Candy, a convicted drug mule from the planet Skov, and is believed to have a forked tongue and scales.

In a new clip from the upcoming Sky One series, the star is lead into a holding cell aboard a prison spaceship called the Hemlock in the year 2143.

New role: Eleanor Tomlinson has left 18th century England behind in Poldark for a dystopian future in her new series Intergalactic

The show takes place on a planet under the control of an authoritarian body known as the Commonworld.

The series follows Commonworld cop Ash Harper (Savannah Steyn) who is convicted of a crime she didn't commit and is sentenced to exile on a prison planet.

Her plans to return home safely are stopped when her fellow convicts overthrow the guards and hijack the Hemlock.

In the new clip, Eleanor is seen spitting at a guard before she is sent into a holding cell with several other convicts.

Character: The actress, 28, portrays Candy, a convicted drug mule from the planet Skov

A gangster named Tula Quik (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) stands in the middle of the room, eyeing the group when someone calls out her name.

'What?' she answers.

'Ive heard theres a cop in here!' the voice replies, sending Tula into a rage as she yells and kicks the wall.

Eleanor's character is part of a species of human that has evolved by the year 2143, when the show is set, and her character can smell her environment as well as sense other people's emotions.

Locked up: In a new clip from the upcoming Sky One series, the star is lead into a holding cell aboard a prison spaceship called the Hemlock in the year 2143

Earlier this month, Eleanor revealed that she experienced emotional high and lows during the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to Radio Times, she said of the national lockdown: 'It has been the most extraordinary experience.

'There have been moments of incredible happiness and also times of immense sadness,' she added.

Eleanor continued: 'I yearn for the day we don't have to wear masks any more...To be able to hug someone would be so amazing. I've really missed being able to do that.'

Setting: The show takes place on a planet under the control of an authoritarian body known as the Commonworld

The actress has recently been filming for a new show, The Offenders, for the BBC and Amazon in Bristol.

The Poldark star is set to play one of The Offenders' central characters, Gabby, alongside the legendary American star Christopher Walken, 78, who stars as Frank.

Intergalactic airs on Sky One at 9pm and is available as a box set on NOW, Friday 30th April.
When the Jefferson County Appraisal District worked out values for homes, businesses and utilities last year, it valued property far below what the state did in its biennial audit of property values across the state.

As a result, school districts did not receive the same amount of taxes the state expected them to, putting some of them at a substantial loss.

In Port Arthur, the Independent School District is working with an Austin-based law firm to appeal the state valuations in an attempt to claw back some of the $5 million or so in lost funding.

PAISD Superintendent Mark Porterie summarized the predicament at the a school board meeting earlier this month.

Jefferson County Appraisal District did the values for Jefferson County, and the state says that the values were too low, Porterie said. So, the states values are higher and they arent giving us the difference.

Related: Valero, BASF, Total protest in ongoing property tax battle

The losses are particularly damaging to the district, which absorbed unrelated losses as local refineries contested their value to the appraial district, thereby keeping tax dollars the school district already had planned to receive from the refineries.

Phyllis Geans, the districts Chief Financial Officer, said the state comptrollers office has to approve the valuations that the school district is contesting.

The firm Port Arthur ISD is working with, Perdue, Brandon Fielder Collins and Mott LLP, also is appealing values for Beaumont ISD  a process that began last month and could take several more.

The company is looking at the values and how they were calculated, and we may be able to get some back, Porterie said. The company will receive 10% of whatever is recovered.

In addition to Jefferson County, four other counties across Southeast Texas failed the comptrollers audit.

Related: Did your appraised value of your home skyrocket? Here's why.

The 2020 study definitely was a record year for the number of school districts that did not pass, said Carol Pope-Osborne, the appeals director for the firm working with the district.

If the firm is able to get the state and local funding within a margin of error of each other, the districts will be given a grace period to avoid losing funding.

Valuations in several categories are being appealed, including single-family residential, multifamily residential, commercial and utilities.

Single-family homes were appraised at 88% of the value from the state, outside of the margin of error.

Top hits: Get Beaumont Enterprise stories sent directly to your inbox

Utilities, including Kansas City Southern Railroad were very helpful in assisting and providing data for the district and the firm to supplement appeals, Pope-Osbonre told The Enterprise.

According to the Comptrollers office, the Legislature requires an independent estimate of taxable property value in each school district to ensure fair school funding as part of its response to court challenges about unfair distribution of school funding.

Porterie stressed at the meeting that while the district stands to take a hit, it is not in charge of appraising taxable values.

This has nothing to do with PAISD, he said. This is values that were taken by JCAD and now the state is saying the values were too low, thats why we had a decrease in our funding. The state is not going to give us any more money because they are saying you should have gotten your money from the local funds.

As current tax-assessed values are released this week, Jefferson County tax assessor Allison Getz is sharing that she too does not set property values.

The commercial property in Jefferson County is averaging an increase of 40%. I dont know how thats going to affect our refineries, but commercial property in the county, Getz said. The main thing  I want to make sure that everyone realizes that the tax office does not determine value. While I welcome everyone to call my office and I love visiting, we were not responsible for increasing values. All of the calls need to be directed to the appraisal district.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes


Exploration Activities Commence at Last Chance - Alaska

Ballarat, April 28, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - White Rock ( ASX:WRM ) ( OTCMKTS:WRMCF ) has commenced an airborne EM (SkyTEM) survey over the newly identified Last Chance VMS "camp" and the adjacent Last Chance IRGS/orogenic gold target (Figure 2*). A total of 1,900 line kilometres will cover some 400km2.The survey is being undertaken to identify conductivity anomalies potentially associated with massive sulphide mineralisation. Six new, potentially significant, mineralised massive sulphide targets were identified in the emerging Last Chance "VMS" camp during the 2020 field season. Assay results included:- Horseshoe (up to 8.3% Zn, 0.3% Pb, 1.1% Cu, 12g/t Ag & 3.6g/t Au).- Bib (up to 7.3% Zn, 5.1% Pb, 0.3% Cu, 40g/t Ag & 0.3g/t Au).- Bib West (up to 5.7% Zn, 1.4% Pb & 0.2% Cu)- Grapple (up to 3.6% Zn, 1.9% Pb, 0.7% Cu & 40g/t Ag).- Peaches (up to 2.9% Zn, 2.8% Pb, 0.2% Cu, 46g/t Ag & 1.5g/t Au).- Ringer (up to 1.0% Cu, 26g/t Ag & 0.4g/t Au).Previous SkyTEM flown over the Red Mountain VMS "camp" successfully identified conductivity anomalies associated with the Dry Creek and WTF VMS deposits, with discrete conductivity anomalies identified to depths of 300m. Acquisition of SkyTEM data will allow target definition work to be fast tracked ahead of drill testing in the coming 2021 field season.The SkyTEM survey will also extend over the Last Chance gold target where scout CSAMT ground geophysics completed during 2020 showed resistivity variation likely associated with geological structure and alteration. The systematic data acquired through airborne EM will assist in identifying zonation associated with the gold system, and aid drill targeting at depth.Following this SkyTEM survey, on ground field activities will commence late-May. Three drill rigs have been secured, as has supporting helicopter services, two remote accommodation camps and geophysical contractors. One drill rig will be dedicated to testing new VMS targets at both the Last Chance and the Red Mountain VMS "camps".RED MOUNTAIN PROJECT, ALASKAThe 100% owned Red Mountain Project is located in central Alaska. The Company is exploring for Intrusion Related Gold System (IRGS) mineralisation and high-grade silver-zinc-gold-lead volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits.Following the Company's successful capital raising, a fully funded 2021 exploration program is now in play. The first leg in this aggressive program is the acquisition of geophysical data to assist in geological interpretation and drill target identification.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About White Rock Minerals Ltd

White Rock Minerals Ltd (ASX:WRM) is a diversified explorer and near-stage producer, headquartered in Ballarat, Victoria. The Company's flagship exploration project is Red Mountain in central Alaska. At Red Mountain, there are already two high grade zinc - silver - gold - lead VMS deposits, with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 9.1 million tonnes @ 12.9% ZnEq for 1.1 million tonnes of contained zinc equivalent. The Company is also exploring its recently discovered large intrusion related gold anomaly at Last Chance, also located in the Tintina gold belt of Alaska, home to multi-million gold ounce deposits like Pogo, Fort Knox and the Donlin Project. The Company also has the Mt Carrington project, located near Drake, in Northern NSW, which is a near-production precious metals asset with a resource of 341,000 ounces of gold and 23.2 million ounces of silver on an approved mining lease, and with a Gold First PFS and JORC Reserve. White Rock Minerals is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
China intensifies crackdown on film copyright infringement

Xinhua) 16:05, April 28, 2021

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- China's film authorities will continue to crack down on film copyright infringement to maintain the sound development of the film industry, said a statement issued on the website of the China Film Administration (CFA) on Wednesday.

The statement was released in response to the recent rise in copyright-infringing short videos, such as those featuring synopses of films.

In cooperation with the National Copyright Administration, the CFA will continue to intensify the crackdown on film copyright infringement, said the statement.

The CFA will also regulate and punish producers and operators of "self-media" platforms that copy, edit or spread films without authorization, to protect the legitimate rights and interests of film copyright holders.

The protection of film copyright will stimulate the vitality of innovation and creation, and promote the development of high-quality films, it said.

The CFA has always attached great importance to the protection of film copyright and cracked down on illegal acts together with public security and copyright organs, the statement added.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
Workers at a terminal loading Brent in the UK North Sea, a component of the Brent Crude international benchmark, have overwhelmingly voted for a strike in the middle of May if a pay dispute with the local council is not resolved by thenan industrial action that could stop loadings of the Brent grade.

The tug and towage workers at the Sullom Voe Terminal voted this month to go on a strike in the middle of May if their employer, the Shetland Islands Council, does not recognize that the workers are entitled to a long-service award equivalent to a months salary like any other council worker, the trade union Unite Scotland said, Shetland News reports.

As much as 87 percent of the unionized tug and towage workers voted to approve a strike action if their demands are not met.

Our members in the Shetland Islands Council towage service just want to be treated fairly and the same as any other council employee, and that means they be given the long service award for the same dedication to their jobs, Unite industrial officer John Boland said.

We will now prepare to serve strike action notice, but hope that Shetland Island Council will come to their senses and resolve this dispute, Boland said, as carried by Shetland News.

Unites industrial officer told Reuters that if the tug and towage workers stopped work, oil tankers cannot be loaded or unloaded.

In addition, a potential stoppage of oil loadings at tankers could also affect oilfield production because storage space at the Sullom Voe terminal is limited.

There is limited storage at Sullom Voe, so this could have an impact on production for the Brent and Ninian fields, Boland told Reuters.

According to estimates from Argus, if the strike goes ahead, it will have a small impact on the supply of Brent in May because just one cargo is scheduled to load in the second half of May.

The three-week maintenance of the Forties Pipeline System (FPS) beginning on May 27 will have a larger impact on North Sea oil supply. The maintenance will see the pipeline shut, while the loadings of the Forties grade, another component of the Brent complex, are set to nearly halve, according to Argus.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Sensex and Nifty are likely to open lower today as Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 58.50 points, or 0.40 per cent, lower at 14,692. On Tuesday, benchmark indices ended higher for the second straight session today on heavy buying in banking and finance stocks. Sensex climbed 557 points to 48,944 and Nifty surged 168 points to 14,653. Here's a look at stocks which may remain in news today.

Info Edge: The board of directors has cleared sale of the company's stake worth Rs 750 crore in Zomato during the latter's upcoming initial public offering (IPO). The parent company will offload the shares via offer for sale.

Axis Bank: The lender reported a net profit of Rs 2,677 crore in Q4 as against a net loss of Rs 1,388 crore in the year-ago period. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, net profit rose 140 per cent.

Bajaj Finance: The largest NBFC reported a 42% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,347 crore in Q4 due to improved asset quality. The company said it can mitigate any disruption caused by the second wave of covid infections in the first quarter.

Britannia Industries: The firm reported a 3% decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 360.07 crore in Q4, affected by rise in commodity prices. Consolidated total revenue from operations rose 9% to Rs 3,130.75 crore.

TVS Motor: The auto firm reported nearly four-fold rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 319.19 crore in Q4 led by robust sales in the domestic and international markets. Revenue from operations rose to Rs 6,131.90 crore from Rs 4,104.71 crore.

Bajaj Finserv: The financial services company will declare its Q4 earnings on Wednesday. In Q3 , the lender reported a 15% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,290 crore. Consolidated interest income was marginally lower at Rs 6,599 crore as against Rs 6,699 crore in Q3FY20.

Sanofi India: Sanofi India reported a 71% rise in Q4 net profit at Rs 145.9 crore against net profit of Rs 85.4 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 725.1 crore in last quarter against Rs 784.5 crore for the same period a year ago.

HDFC Asset Management Company: The AMC reported a 26.5% growth in profit after tax at Rs 316.08 crore in Q4. Total income rose 21.3% to Rs 545.57 crore in Q4.

Maruti Suzuki: Maruti Suzuki India reported a 6.14 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,241. 1 crore in Q4 against net profit of Rs 1,322.3 crore in January-March quarter of 2019-20.
Brians breadth of experience within DEUTZ makes him an excellent addition to our sales team.

Brian Monaco is DEUTZ Corporations newest business development manager.

In his new position, Monaco will be responsible for developing and maintaining the companys relationship with the mining, construction and regional rental markets, including sales support for the entire range of DEUTZ products and services. Hell also be tasked with discovering new OEM opportunities and working with existing DEUTZ OEMs and end-user customers throughout the U.S., Canada and certain regions in Latin America where the mining industry is present.

Im very pleased to take on this new role with DEUTZ, said Monaco. Over the years, Ive been able to learn a great deal about our customers and their needs, and Im ready to apply those years of experience to help DEUTZ continue growing its business in these very important markets.

Monaco has been with DEUTZ for fourteen years, starting his tenure in 2007 as an engine technician, then moving into quality control a few years later. In 2016, he took a position in the Warranty Division and began to develop the companys Failure Analysis Department, eventually rising to supervise that department in 2018.

"Brians breadth of experience within DEUTZ makes him an excellent addition to our sales team, said Jim Miller, senior business development manager for DEUTZ Corporation. Hes truly moved up the ranks and learned the value of top quality products and services along the way. With his level of knowledge and experience, hell be a great resource for customers within his assigned markets.

To learn more about DEUTZ Corporation, as well as its complete line of diesel and natural gas engines, please visit http://www.deutzamericas.com.

ABOUT DEUTZ CORPORATION:

For more than 150 years, DEUTZ engines have supplied customized, cost-effective power to a broad array of machine types and market segments. The nine millionth DEUTZ engine was produced in 2015. From its headquarters in Norcross, GA, DEUTZ Corporation, a subsidiary of DEUTZ AG, supports a broad range of engines with capacities up to 620 kW that are used in construction equipment, agricultural machinery, material handling equipment, stationary equipment, commercial vehicles, rail vehicles and other applications.

The company is committed to providing optimized power solutions from the drawing board to prototype to production release. The organization serves as a sales, service, parts, and application engineering center for the Americas, employing nearly 300 people. DEUTZ Corporation also operates a value-added production facility for some of its key OEM partners, as well as an engine remanufacturing facility in Pendergrass, Georgia. Strategically located DEUTZ Power Centers and Service Centers are designed uniquely support both OEM partners and end users. For more information, visit http://www.deutzamericas.com.
New Delhi, April 28 : Consumer forums appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure equitable distribution and easy accessibility of Covid vaccines across India.

India's third phase of vaccination to begin from May 1. The mass inoculation drive, expanded for all adults in the country from next month, is aimed at fighting the disease outbreak.

In letters to the Prime Minister and health ministry, Patient Safety and Access Initiative of India Foundation (PSAIIF) and Consumer Online Foundation stressed on the need to ensure equitable, uniform and maximum access to COVID-19 vaccines to people living in hard-to-reach areas and achieve comprehensive immunization.

The organisations led by Bejon Misra, a consumer policy expert, suggested a door-to-door immunization strategy. "This is in addition to giving people an option to seek an online appointment with specific allotted time slots to get vaccinated and avoid crowding," Misra said.

Congratulating Prime Minister for launching the world's largest vaccination drive to immunize India's young population against Covid-19 from May 1, the organisations have suggested ways to make the Covid vaccination exercise for everyone successful.

Noting that India has the largest and fastest-growing dependent population with no significant income, the consumer forusm recommended subsidized vaccination for all college students and other dependents having no income of their own.

This will make vaccines affordable and accessible to them thereby ensuring efficient and seamless execution of the vaccination drive.

Going a step further, the forums advised providing vaccine access to people especially students, the migrant population, etc. irrespective of the region or location.

This is important as large population of India including migrant workers, tourists, and students are stranded in various States due to the surging Covid wave, the forums suggested.

Misra said, "Coronavirus infections have been rising in the country at an alarming rate. In this scenario, the expansion of the immunization drive for all adults above the age of 18 years is a welcome move as vaccines have a critical role to play in breaking the chain of Covid transmission, especially in the long run".

"The government must, now, focus on addressing concerns related to vaccine supplies, pricing, efficacy, awareness and crowd management to make this program a grand success", he added.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Centner Academy, a private school in Miami, said it will not employ anyone who takes the Covid-19 vaccine, NBC 6 reported on Tuesday.

The school added that further research needs to be available on whether the Covid-19 shot is impacting unvaccinated individuals.

In a letter sent to parents, the Centner Academy said it is advising school teachers against the vaccine or else they will not be allowed near students  this could, in turn, potentially lead to job losses.

Related: This Country Only Needed About 2 Weeks to Vaccinate Nearly Its Entire Adult Population

"We are not 100% sure the Covid injections are safe and there are too many unknown variables for us to feel comfortable at this current time," said the schools co-founder, Leila Centner, in a statement obtained by NBC 6.

As many of you may be aware, this injection is known to have issues. This injection is an experiment. It is not scheduled for FDA approval until at least 2023, the statement read.

Centner suggested that the injections could cause reproductive issues for women and that those who received the vaccine may be transmitting something from their bodies to those with whom they come in contact.

The new school policy is leaving some parents uncertain about what to do. One mother told NBC 6 that she doesnt know if the school will have teachers.

"The whole year has been unbelievably shuffled for all of us to know what to do," said the mother, who asked to be identified as only Lidia.

"They're very pro 'my body, my choice,' and yet, it's the complete opposite of that is what she's actually telling these teachers. It's your body, but it's her choice, she added.

Scientists and doctors who have been fighting vaccine misinformation and myths said that there is no sign that any of the vaccines causes reproductive issues.

Health officials told Reuters on Saturday that an immunized person cant transmit or shed as other false claims describe it  the vaccine to those who are unvaccinated.

"No safety concerns were observed for people vaccinated in the third trimester or safety concerns for their babies, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said last Friday.

As such, CDC recommends pregnant people receive COVID-19 vaccines," Walensky added.

To date, 42% of people in the U.S. (141.7 million) have received the first of the two-dose vaccine, while 96.7 million are fully vaccinated, according to the latest CDC data.

Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Two years ago, San Antonio witnessed a bare-knuckle brawl between Mayor Ron Nirenberg and then-City Councilman Greg Brockhouse for the mayors seat.

It was a bitter fight that often got personal. Brockhouse faced a pair of domestic violence allegations which he has since sought to dispel. Nirenberg and his allies accused Brockhouse, a former consultant for the police and fire unions, of gearing up to raid the citys coffers to pay off his union allies  who had been locked in years-long fights with city leadership over their contracts.

Brockhouse seized on discontent among social conservatives  particularly a City Council vote to nix Chick-fil-A from an airport contract  to whack at City Hall. At the time, some council members cited anti-LGBTQ behavior associated with the fast-food chain.

Brockhouse fought Nirenberg to a runoff  from which the mayor barely escaped with his job.

Now, as the two men face off once more in the May 1 election, that drama is missing.

The mayors race has no spark to it at all, said Christian Archer, a veteran strategist who ran campaigns for former mayors Phil Hardberger and Julian Castro.

Though Bexar County saw record turnout during early voting, the mayors race has been sleepy. Absent are the litany of ads flooding radio and broadcast television airwaves. Residents have seen some mailers from both camps in their mailboxes, but theyre not exactly overflowing. Both campaigns say they have been knocking on doors.

Perhaps most visible is the lack of debates. Mayoral hopefuls have appeared before smaller audiences in candidate forums either on Zoom or in-person.

But the two main candidates havent faced off in a debate because Nirenberg refused to do so  part of a larger strategy to mostly ignore Brockhouse.

The absence of the debates, I think, really takes away from the sense that were in a competitive race, said local Democratic strategist Laura Barberena.

A few signs point heavily in Nirenbergs favor.

In the final stretch heading into Saturdays election, Nirenberg outspent and outraised Brockhouse five-to-one. A recent poll put the mayor up 30 points over his main challenger  a result, political analysts say, of what residents view as Nirenbergs steady, calm handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nirenberg is leaning into the perception. In a recent mailer, he touted the number of residents who have received COVID-19 vaccinations as well as the millions of dollars the city has plugged into economic relief for ailing businesses and struggling residents amid the pandemic.

Nirenberg is also making jobs part of his closing pitch  pointing to more than $1 billion in major manufacturing investments as well as his $154 million workforce development plan, aimed at helping some 40,000 people who lost their jobs because of the pandemic enter college degree or job training programs.

Despite the pandemic, weve never lost sight that a good job is fundamental to a familys security and foundational to a vibrant city, Nirenberg wrote in a recent mailer. Working together, San Antonio is coming back stronger.

But the mayor hasnt discussed new policies he intends to pursue if voters give him a third term. That work comes after re-election, said Gilberto Ocanas, Nirenbergs campaign chairman and chief political consultant.

It would just be political rhetoric to promise stuff, Ocanas said.

Brockhouse is eager to poke holes in Nirenbergs campaign, arguing the mayor hasnt set the stage for the citys economic recovery.

For his part, Brockhouse has sought to position himself as the ideas candidate  releasing lengthy sets of lofty ideas on how to jumpstart the citys economy, overhaul public safety and retool the citys public-owned power provider, CPS Energy, in the wake of the winter freeze.

San Antonio businesses are lagging despite the states COVID-19 restrictions being lifted weeks ago, Brockhouse said. He placed the blame at the feet of Nirenberg, who Brockhouse feels has been an insufficient booster for businesses. Brockhouse also pointed to what he feels are insufficient local vaccination rates among seniors and Hispanic residents  roughly 57 percent and 42 percent, respectively.

What you see is a series of failures that when we deliver that message, Ron crumbles, when people know whats really happening, Brockhouse said.

Ocanas shrugged.

Im not sure what hes talking about, Ocanas said. Its easy to criticize. Its hard to govern.

Neither side expected the surge in voter turnout so far. Some 101,241 people cast a ballot during early voting  busting records going back two decades, election officials said Wednesday. In 2019, about 73,000 cast their ballot during early voting  and more than 110,000 people voted in that race altogether.

Much of that enthusiasm appears to be driven by Proposition B, which would strip the police union of their right to collectively bargain their contract with the city. Police reform advocates argue its necessary to make sure officers accused of misconduct are held to account, while union backers contend it would defund the police  neither of which is true.

Unclear is how turnout for Prop B will shape the mayors race. Brockhouse is a longtime police union ally who opposes the proposition and is banking on the anti-Prop B vote to work in his favor. But the union didnt endorse a mayoral candidate in this election, despite heavily backing Brockhouse two years ago.

Nirenberg, meanwhile, told the police union he supports collective bargaining but has avoided taking a position on the proposition itself.

San Antonio municipal races are non-partisan, but candidates nonetheless tend to fall under liberal and conservative monikers  Nirenberg on the left, Brockhouse on the right.

According to Barberenas estimates, nearly 46,000 Democrats turned out in the city elections during early voting  followed by 33,000 independents and 24,000 Republicans.

Not everyone who opposes Prop B is a died-in-the-wool Republican, Barberena notes. After all, the measure drew opposition from the San Antonio Central Labor Council  a consortium of unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO  on the grounds that it takes away union power. Therefore, neither candidates fate is tied to that of Prop B.

I dont think you can say hard and fast that it supports one or the other because it doesnt fall on partisan lines, Barberena said.

Both candidates have gone without the support of major outside groups they had in the last election.

Despite heavily backing Brockhouse two years ago, the police officers and firefighters unions are sitting out the mayors race  at least for now.

Nirenberg is doing without help from the progressive grassroots group Texas Organizing Project, which deployed its network of block-walkers to help the mayor fend off Brockhouse in the runoff two years ago.

The reason is simple: the Texas Organizing Project is pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into the campaign to pass Prop B, and Nirenberg doesnt support it.

In our local electoral work, TOP strategically focuses on where we can best have meaningful conversations that will drive progressive change, said Michelle Tremillo, executive director.

For this election, our members decided their priorities were supporting increased police accountability through Proposition B, and candidates who recognize the urgent need in our communities for greater police accountability.

To the Nirenberg camp, thats not a bad sign. The mayor has friends on both sides of the issue, Ocanas said. Nirenberg believes the best way to achieve police reform is at the bargaining table.

Hes trying to do the best thing that he can as mayor, Ocanas said.

Thats not to say Nirenberg isnt getting any outside help. The San Antonio AFL-CIO Central Labor Council endorsed the mayor early in the campaign and has been phone banking and sending direct mail to its 30,000 members urging them to cast ballots for Nirenberg.

In the last election, the AFL-CIO didnt back Nirenberg until the runoff. In exchange for an endorsement, Nirenberg agreed to stop using the phrase union bosses when attacking the firefighters union  then in a big battle with the city over its contract.

This time, its different.

This time around, there is no controversy, said Tom Cummins, the council president.
PARIS  On a recent chilly morning, a hundred people flocked to a tiny square near the Sacre-Coeur Basilica, at the top of the hill in Montmartre. They were not the usual tourists drawn by the breathtaking panoramic views over Paris, but left-wing demonstrators celebrating the 150th anniversary of a revolution that started right where they stood.

Were here, were here! a guitarist sang, playing a tune popularized by the Yellow Vest protesters who have in recent years faced off against the government of President Emmanuel Macron, as red flags and banners fluttered around him.

Mr. Macron, the guitarist sang, was equivalent to his 19th-century predecessor, Patrice de Mac Mahon, who crushed the revolution they had come to commemorate, the Paris Commune of 1871  a cataclysm that still consumes many on the French far left.

All the just causes of today were initiated by the Commune, by our forefathers, said Frederic Jamet, 61, who proudly described himself as a Yellow Vest veteran. Around him were other protesters wearing yellow vests, communist militants wrapped in red scarves and a handful of amused students and curious retirees.
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Its still easier to find a COVID-19 test at the Albuquerque International Sunport than it is a direct flight to San Diego or Kansas City, but officials say New Mexicos largest airport has started making bigger strides toward normalcy.

The Sunport had an average of 7,389 passengers moving through each day over the last month. That remains about 49% below the same period in 2019 but is a marked improvement over its pandemic depths when traffic plunged by more than 90%.

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................................................................

Last April, for example, the city averaged just 654 passengers per day.

It feels great  to walk through the terminal and feel the sense of bustling we missed over the past year, Albuquerque Aviation Director Nyika Allen said Tuesday morning during a media briefing with Mayor Tim Keller.

Airlines are also resuming some Sunport service they cut during the pandemic. American Airlines flight to Los Angeles returns in June; Allegiant Air, which had intermittently served the Albuquerque market during the pandemic, will start flying to Austin and Las Vegas, Nevada, again next month. Allegiant has flights scheduled through July with frequency increasing during that span. While that remains subject to change, a Sunport spokeswoman called it another encouraging sign.

The Sunport presently has direct flights to 20 different airports, down from 25 prior to the pandemic. Allegiants Austin service will add one more, but there still are no nonstop options to Kansas City, Orlando, San Diego and San Jose.

Spokeswoman Stephanie Kitts said the airlines base their decisions on demand, and that only customer appetite will bring lost flights back and drive any future expansions. While that was the case before the pandemic, Kitts said airlines pandemic-related staffing cuts have made them even more discerning when adding flights.

Both Allen and Keller on Tuesday urged Albuquerque residents to help the cause, encouraging them to look for and choose nonstop flights whenever possible to demonstrate community interest.

Some of this is kind of on us, Keller said. Pick direct flights out of here on any airlines, and well get more. Its a sort of self-reinforcing cycle.

The Sunport is also working to stoke demand on the opposite end, contributing $500,000 to a $1.5 million tourism campaign that will promote Albuquerque to travelers in other states.
Lots of great memories were made during the 2021 Youth Wild Turkey Hunt Weekend, which took place April 24-25 in most of the state.

The hunt, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, is an opportunity for junior hunters (ages 12-15) to spend time afield with experienced adult hunters, gaining the necessary knowledge and skills to become safe and responsible members of the hunting community. The regular spring turkey hunting season begins May 1.

The Youth Wild Turkey Hunt Weekend took place throughout upstate New York (north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary) and in Suffolk County. Read more on the DEC website.

Alex Buff , 14, of Latham NY shot this impressive gobbler during the 2021 Wild Turkey Hunt Youth Weekend in Paul Smiths in Franklin County. Also pictured are Izayah McGill, his adult mentor for the hunt, Izayah McGill, and Hayden Clay, 14, both of Latham.

Olivia Miles , 14, of Clifton Springs,N.Y. shot this wild turkey during the statewide Youth WIld Turkey Hunt Weekend. Rick Milham was her mentor. She used a Remington 12-gauge, 870 super mag. She was able to due this hunt through the Dresden Duck Hunters Club.

SHARE PHOTOS OF YOUR YOUTH WILD TURKEY HUNT

Photos need to include the young hunter who shot the bird. Include the hunters full name, age, where he or she lives, where and when the bird was taken and the full name of the adult mentor. Also, include what kind of firearm was used and any other interesting facts (length of shot, length of beard, weight, etc.). Send pictures and information to outdoors writer David Figura at dfigura@NYup.com.

Photos will be added to this gallery as they are received.

Luca Faggiano, 12, of Old Bethpage, Long Island, poses with his first Tom on his first hunting trip in Champlain, NY in Clinton County. It was a double-bearded 22 pounder taken between 4 Jakes during the statewide Youth Wild Turkey Hunt Weekend. He was guided on the hunt by Bryce Collins at Eastern View Outfitters.

A happy Brice Corbin, 12, of East Otto, N.Y. is pictured with his first turkey, a jake, that he shot in East Otto in in Cattaraugus County during the Youth Wild Turkey Hunt Weekend. Also pictured is Darin Jones, who called the bird in. William Corbin, the boy's father, wrote: "Brice was practice shooting for a month before the Youth Hunt and is excited and looking forward to try and fill both of his tags this season."

The family that hunts together...well, gets their turkeys. L-R: Elizabeth, Amanda, 12, Jacob, 15, and George Hackett, of Pitcher, N.Y. in Chenango County. Both kids shot jake turkeys on the Youth Wild Turkey Hunt Weekend on land in Pitcher. Their parents served as their adult mentors. Congrats!

Brady Stump, 15, of Bridgeport, NY, took this 14-pound Jake on Sunday during the 2021 Youth Wild Turkey Hunt Weekend with a Model 1912 Winchester Shotgun while hunting in the Cicero Swamp WMA with his grandfather, Ron Falkowski.

A smiling Andrew Rio, 12, of Port Byron, shot this wild turkey in Port Byron in Cayuga County on the first day of the statewide Youth Wild Turkey Hunt Weekend. His father, John Rio Sr., was his mentor.

Hunter Byron, 15, shot this turkey during the 2021 Youth Wild Turkey Hunt Weekend. He used a 12-gauge shot gun and the bird was taken in the town of Shandaken in Ulster county. The bird had a 10- inch beard and weighted 19 pounds. His father, Teddy Byron, was his adult mentor for the hunt.

Addison Streeter, 14, of Sayre, Pa., shot this wild turkey on Sunday during New York's Youth Wild Turkey Hunt Weekend on property in Tioga County N.Y. Her mentor was Steve Piatt, retired editor of New York Outdoors News. Piatt wrote: "Three jakes came into our decoy setup and flogged the jake decoy before one finally broke from the trio and offered a 17-yard shot with a .410. It was Addison's first turkey and was shot at about 6:20 a.m. on a rainy morning." Addie's grandfather, Bill McKinery, was also in the blind at the time. "We hope to do it again during the regular season," Piatt added.

READ MORE

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China and Japan recently accused each other of inappropriate behaviour after a Chinese government official posted an altered image of the famous painting The Great Wave Off Kanagawa to show nuclear waste being poured into the sea. Earlier this month, Japan had announced that it would release the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. The decision angered China as it called the plan extremely irresponsible.

On April 26, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, tweeted the image of the painting which was made in the 19th century by artist Hokusai. Lijian also shared the altered picture which showed green nuclear waste being poured into the sea by two people in orange Hazmat suits from a boat. The image, created by a Chinese illustrator, also showed a nuclear plant cooling tower instead of Mount Fiji.

An illustrator in #China re-created a famous Japanese painting The Great Wave off #Kanagawa. If Katsushika Hokusai, the original author is still alive today, he would also be very concerned about #JapanNuclearWater. pic.twitter.com/NlTFkqvwmN  Lijian Zhao  (@zlj517) April 26, 2021

When asked about the tweet at a news conference, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, on Tuesday said that he would not comment on every tweet by someone at the press secretary level. However, Motegi also added that Japan was lodging a forceful protest and seeking the tweets removal through diplomatic channels.

In response, Lijian said, You asked if I will delete the tweet and apologise. You may have noticed, I have pinned the tweet at the top. While speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the Chinese official said that the illustration shows the righteous call of the people. He added that it is the Japanese government that needs to revoke its wrong decision and apologise.

"Japan did a bad thing, yet can't let others talk about it?" Zhao said.

"The whole world has been protesting for a while now, some Japanese officials play dumb and pretended not to hear, yet they get so worked up over an illustration, he added.

South Korea expresses strong regret

Meanwhile, South Korea has also expressed strong regret about Japans decision to start releasing treated radioactive water from the wicked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. Earlier this month, the Minister of South Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination Koo Yun-cheol said that the plans were "absolutely unacceptable. He urged Japan to provide transparent information about the plan and specify how the plant's water would be treated and how its safety would be verified. Further, Koo also said that South Korea would raise its concerns to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

(Image: Twitter/AP)


In Uganda, 76-year-old President Yoweri Museveni, who has held the countrys top political office since 1986, prevailed again in the January 14 elections. However, the United States stated that the process was neither fair nor free and vowed to take action against those responsible for election-related violence or undermining democracy.

In a statement made on April 16, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Ugandan governments actions represent a continued downward trajectory for the countrys democracy and respect for human rights as recognized and protected by Ugandas constitution.

Opposition candidates were routinely harassed, arrested, and held illegally without charge. Ugandan security forces were responsible for the deaths and injuries of dozens of innocent bystanders and opposition supporters, as well as violence against journalists that occurred before, during, and after the elections. Civil society organizations and activists working to support electoral institutions and transparent electoral processes have been targeted with harassment, intimidation, arrest, deportation, and spurious legal charges and denial of bank account access.

The government limited accreditation for international and local election observers and civil society, but those who were able to observe the process noted widespread irregularities before, during, and after the election, which have undermined its credibility, said Secretary Blinken.

He then announced that the United States will impose visa restrictions on those believed to be responsible for undermining the democratic process in Uganda, including during the election and in the run-up to it. This means that the designated individuals are ineligible for entry into the United States. The restrictions may also apply to their families.

The Government of Uganda must significantly improve its record and hold accountable those responsible for flawed election conduct, violence, and intimidation, said Secretary Blinken, adding that the United States may take additional actions against individuals who had a hand in undermining democracy and human rights in Uganda, as well as their immediate family members.

Before the elections, U.S. officials made clear that the United States did not support any one particular candidate, but rather supported a free and fair democratic process. Unfortunately, that process overseen by the Government of Uganda fell far short. Nevertheless, the United States also emphasizes that we strongly support the Ugandan people, and we remain committed to working together to advance democracy and mutual prosperity for both our countries.
1. Yes. Its important to keep my child as safe as possible. We plan to take advantage.

2. Yes. With the school district dropping its mask mandate, its a necessary step.

3. No. Local COVID cases are dropping. There is no good reason to vaccinate my child.

4. No. There hasnt been enough data on vaccinated children. I think Ill hold off.

5. Unsure. I havent decided yet whether to take part in the vaccine clinics.

Vote

View Results
Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) and Lifebuoy have signed the first of its kind Hygiene Partnership Agreement in the Middle East.

Living true to the purpose of making hygiene commonplace, Lifebuoy and Saudia will come together to drive the common goal of keeping citizens, staff & passengers safe and protected on-flight and on-ground.

As per the agreement, Lifebuoy and Saudia-branded Personal Hygiene Kits will be provided on all international and domestic flights. Each kit will carry Lifebuoy Hand Sanitizer Gel and Antibacterial Wet Wipes along with a uniquely designed face mask. Keeping sustainability at heart, all kits are environmentally friendly, reusable, and recyclable.

The Personal Hygiene Kits are designed uniquely, each carrying Heritage-themed patterns highlighting and spreading awareness the Kingdoms historically rich regions to the passengers  Najd, Hejaz, Southern, Northern and Eastern provinces. The iconic regional patterns are selected in cooperation with the Saudi Heritage Commission.

Lifebuoy was chosen by Saudia for being the Global Leader in Personal Hygiene and Sanitization since 1894. Lifebuoy hygiene and high-quality personal care products are effective in protection against germs and bacteria. Since 2010, Lifebuoy has reached over 1 billion people through its Social Mission Handwashing Program that helps drive more hygienic, safe, healthier, and vital communities.

This builds on Saudias interest in providing the best customer care practices, stemmed by their position amongst the Top 10 Airlines in the world according to the Diamond Health Safety index by APEX, Health Safety standard powered by SimpliFlying.

Essam Muhammad Akhonbay, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management at Saudia Airlines, confirmed that Saudia continuously aims to progress its position amongst the top airlines in the world, stressing that safety concern began from the early days of Covid-19 pandemic, even before it was classified as a global epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). This contributed to our classification in the Diamond Health Safety index of the top 10 airlines in the world, said Akhonbay.

Khalil Yassine, Vice President of Customer Development Operations in the Middle East and North Africa at Unilever  the mother company of Lifebuoy said: This partnership with Saudia is a unique collaboration in the Middle East, both parties occupy a notable position globally and regionally, renowned for the highest quality, care and preventive standards to serve and protect citizens and passengers.

This Hygiene Partnership between Lifebuoy and Saudia will deliver safety excellence in flying experiences. This agreement will further accelerate Saudias mission and commitment to provide safe and trusted experience to its passengers while enhancing Lifebuoy Social Mission footprint by making hygiene accessible to all on-flight and on-ground. - TradeArabia News Service
Editor's note: In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to miss the major headlines, let alone San Antonio's must-read stories. In these regular roundups, MySA staff highlights the stories you need to know.

The conviction of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd has once again trained the national spotlight on the treatment of suspects while in police custody, including in South Texas.

In Colorado, a 73-year-old woman accused of shoplifting $13.88 worth of merchandise from a Walmart had her arm broken and shoulder dislocated. The woman's family later told police she suffers from dementia. On April 19, a California man died while pinned under police officers. Passersby had called 9-1-1 on Mario Gonzalez, 26, for appearing drunk or disoriented.

Here in San Antonio, the 2013 death of Jesse Aguirre is also getting attention. Aguirre was arrested while attempting to cross U.S. Hwy 90 near the intersection of South Zarzamora Street. Dashcam video of his arrest shows officers handcuffing Aguirre and flipping him head first over the cement median. He was later placed, restrained, on the ground under the weight of three police officers. Using the timestamp on the video, less than 10 minutes after police placed him handcuffs, Aguirre was unresponsive and officers began CPR.

Though Aguirre's death was ruled a homicide, San Antonio Police officers were never charged. But, as the Express-News reports, that might change. Last week, a federal appeals court overturned a San Antonio judge's ruling that "gave officers a pass because of a shield that usually protects officers in excessive force cases: Qualified immunity." The ruling could pave the way for Aguirres widow to sue the department.

San Antonio teachers get a big pay boost

Teachers in the San Antonio Independent School District are poised to get a big pay bump. SAISD has selected 193 teachers "for a five-year designation as a Master, Exemplary or Recognized teacher." Along with the recognition comes a massive salary increase amounting to nearly $100,000 per year.

Politico discovers the Alamo

Politico tackled George P. Bush and the Alamo this week, offering a sweeping look at how the heir to the Bush political dynasty got tangled in his own Battle of the Alamo. The piece is an exercise in questioning the historical myths that define us and questioning modern politicians who attempt to exploit those myths. (And, at the very least, it's a reminder that Phil Collins really, really, really loves the Alamo.)
(Natural News) Free speech social media site Gab.com, which has been completely de-platformed from all Silicon Valley business infrastructure, to the point of having the founders wifes Visa card cancelled, has called out the social media site Parler for caving to big tech and ending free speech.

(Article republished from CreativeDestructionMedia.com)

You can read Gab CEO Andrew Torbas comments below on the situation.

Today Apple announced that they would be allowing Establishment Oligarch-owned Parler back on the Apple App Store. This comes after Parler ousted their pro-free speech CEO and Founder John Matze, who claims that his 40% stake in the company was stolen from him. After removing Matze Parler implemented a troll filter to censor trolling content, whatever that means.

Bloomberg reported that Parler is working with third-party artificial intelligence software company Hive to automatically censor and remove content that Apple doesnt like. Hive works with other Big Tech companies like Reddit to leverage artificial intelligence to censor content at scale.

Shortly after this news, conservative firebrand Dan Bongino announced on his show that he is no longer involved in the day-to-day of Parler, which left the company at the whims of Billionaire Oligarch Rebekah Mercer.

The same Mercer family behind the atrocious privacy nightmare of Cambridge Analytica. The same people who threw Milo under the bus. The same people who threw Steve Bannon under the bus. The same people who threw Parler Founder and Former CEO John Matze under the bus. The same people who threw President Trump under the bus.

So in essence Parler is now a smaller version of Twitter for Fox News pundits to echo each other into oblivion and for the Mercer family to gather data on you.

Conservatives are celebrating Parlers capitulation to Apple and transformation into a de facto Big Tech-controlled social network as a win. Big Techs arbitrary censorship standards are now being applied across Parler by the same artificial intelligence company that Big Tech platforms use, but you wont find any conservative pundits bringing this fact up.

This is why the right continually gets steamrolled in the culture. Conceding to the Enemys demands in order to participate in the Enemys app stores is not a win for conservatives or the right in general. Its a PR win for Apple, who hopes to get Republicans in Congress off their back. The Mercers may see this as a win, but The People will not. Not the smart ones who see through the grift and pathetic weakness.

The People want one thing: to speak freely online without permission from some billionaire oligarchbe it the Mercers or Mark Zuckerberg. They certainly dont want to be policed by AI.

Parler had all the money in the world, all the influencers in the world, all the mainstream support from Fox News, members of Congress, and the Conservative Inc Machine. None of it mattered. Getting back on the App Store wont matter either.

Parler bent the knee and Big Tech has them under their thumb. No amount of shilling by Fox News pundits is going to change that fact. No amount of money spent trying to bring people back to have their speech policed by some robot is going to work.

Gab stands alone in the market as the leader and home of free speech online. Not only was Gabs app banned from both App Stores, but our entire Developer Account was banned from ever submitting apps to those stores ever again. So be it, we wear that as a badge of honor and it should be a sign to those of you reading this that we are and always have been serious about our mission.

Our mission is a simple one and has remained unchanged for almost five years now: we want everyone on this planet to speak freely on the internet without permission from Establishment Oligarchs.

We refuse to bend the knee to Big Tech and never will.

Read more at: CreativeDestructionMedia.com
Sony has announced 5.5 Pawgraphy Day on the back of the Pawgraphy initiative. Fifth May will be a day that welcomes and encourages paw parents to capture precious moments between them and their fur kids through stunning photos and videos. Sony will be empowering this with exclusive promotions on selected digital imaging products as well as holding a competition so that all pet owners can have a chance to showcase the love between them and their pets.

So often are pets left to patiently wait at home as their masters go about their busy lives. To an owner, a pet can be a friend or even a child. But to a pet, their owner is their everything. 5.5 Pawgraphy day is the ultimate celebration of this unique bond between pet owners and their loving fur kids. Sony encourages pet owners to take the best photo and video they can, together with their furry four-legged buddy.

5.5 Pawgraphy Day Contest

Sony will be holding a contest for Pawgraphy Day starting on 5 May 2021. To take part, pet owners will post a photo or video of themselves together with their pets on Instagram and accompany it with a heartfelt message dedicated to their fur kid. In addition to this they will also have to tag five friends, follow Sony Philippines Instagram page and include the following hashtags #PawgraphyBySony #55PawgraphyDay. The winner of the Pawgraphy Day contest will be announced by 10 June 2021.

There will be ten winners and one grand prize winner chosen for having the most liked and the most heartfelt content at the end of the Pawgraphy Day contest on 31 May 2021, with winners announced on 10 June 2021. The ten winners will stand to win a set of limited edition Pawgraphy premiums that include a matching Pawgraphy branded bandana and anti-bacterial face mask for the pet and owner respectively, a strap with adjustable leash and a Bellroy sling bag valued at Php7,540.00. The grand prize winner will win a ZV-1 digital camera complete with the VCT-SGR1 shooting grip worth Php45,999.00, to ensure that they will be able to shoot even more captivating moments.

Exclusive 5.5 Pawgraphy Deals

Sony will be empowering pet owners with deals and promotions on the Alpha 7C and the ZV-1 from 1-9 May. With every purchase of either camera, buyers can expect limited edition Pawgraphy premiums. Every purchase of the Alpha 7C also includes additional premiums like a Bellroy sling bag, lens pouch and hand strap.

The ZV-1 in particular will be a part of a special promotional Pawgraphy day kit, tailor made for fully covering your pet photography needs. This will include the VCT-SGR1 grip, NP-BX1 battery pack as well as the Pawgraphy premiums. The grip allows for worry-free shooting from a variety of angles such as a pets' eye level and an extra battery pack will assure even more time out capturing precious moments. To make the use of all these remarkable features, users can refer to the aforementioned Pawgraphy microsite and its bevvy of tutorials.

Pawgraphy

Pawgraphy, is a Sony initiative that encourages paw parents to celebrate the love of their furry four-legged companions through the lens of photography and casual video shooting by posting pawsome photos and videos of themselves and their fur kids on social media.

Pawgraphy Microsite

To ready themselves for 5.5 Pawgraphy day, pet lovers can visit the tailor-made Pawgraphy microsite crafted by Sony to access a bevy of resources and tutorials made to enrich paw parents aspiring to take beautiful photos and videos of them with their pets. Among these will be a basic introduction to pet photography and casual videography, aimed at inspiring beginners to strive for quality.

Other users can make use of videos containing tips and tricks for pet photography and videography as well as gear recommendations to best suit the bespoke needs of their Pawgraphy journey. In the future, these will also be accompanied by Pawgraphy workshops so pet lovers can have a first-hand opportunity to enrich their skills and learn together on how to take better photos and videos of them with their fur babies.

Sonys Advanced Offerings Simplify Professional Photography and Videography

For the Pawgraphy initiative, Sony has the Alpha 7C full-frame compact camera that can turn the work of a casual amateur photographer into beautiful professional grade photographs and the ZV-1 digital camera which can help a casual video shooter create inspiring high quality videos of themselves and their pets. These cameras are a lot better than usual smartphone cameras in the market. The ZV-1 is ideal for capturing casual videos while the Alpha 7C brings professional looking pet photographs to everyday pet owners, no matter their level of experience.
To the Editor:

We are writing to recognize and thank an unsung hero of Central New York, John McAuliffe. John served as the Syracuse program director for Honeywell. He oversaw the cleanup of Onondaga Lake pertaining to industrial contamination associated with the predecessor of Honeywell.

The cleanup and remediation of Onondaga Lake has been one of the important events for the development of Central New York in recent decades. Prior to the cleanup, Onondaga Lake was routinely called the most polluted lake in the U.S. It was an embarrassment for our community. There have been a number of heroes who played critical roles in the restoration of Onondaga Lake; John is certainly among them. There have been few successful projects anywhere remediating the impacts of multi-decadal industrial contamination. But because of John and others who worked with him, the cleanup of Onondaga Lake has been a success.

Few in the local community realize that the cleanup of Onondaga Lake was massive challenge and an engineering marvel. This was a long and complex undertaking that involved characterization of the extent of contamination and pathways of contaminant exposure to the lake and its organisms; the development solutions to remove and contain the contamination; and the design and implementation the engineering approaches used in the cleanup. Teams of engineers and technicians worked on this incredibly challenging initiative. Several new technologies were applied to the cleanup effort for Onondaga Lake that had never been previously used on this scale. Johns leadership and management was masterful and critical to the success of the cleanup effort. Consulting engineers working with Honeywell and John applied technologies that insured that contaminated soil and sediments would be removed and contained, that release of residual contaminates from sediments to the lake would be minimized, and the disturbed landscape and lake would be restored. Through this arduous path, John, a long-term resident of Central New York, was committed to a remediation effort that would lead to a clean and functional lake for the community to enjoy and utilize for recreation for decades to come.

As a true unsung hero, John is incredibly modest. When John receives accolades, he is quick to deflect the spotlight and give credit to others. John is also an engineers engineer. He is a strong advocate for engineering, science and technology and has an enduring commitment to the next generation of scientists and engineers in our community. He was a tremendous advocate for encouraging students to pursue STEM education. His support of Honeywell Summer Science Week at the MOST, a weeklong, hands-on science experience, resulted in more than 800 local middle school students pursue their passion and advance their academic careers.

This April, John McAuliffe is retiring after decades of work, much of it dedicated to the cleanup of the most polluted lake in the U.S John is a visionary who led a team to convert an environmental liability into an enduring asset that will positively influence our community for generations.

Thank you, John.

Charles Driscoll

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Syracuse University

Cornelius Neil Murphy

President Emeritus

SUNY ESF

Related: CNY native who led Honeywells Onondaga Lake cleanup retires
Canadas oil-producing province of Alberta scored a win in court this week after the Federal Court of Appeal said that the province had the right to enact its turn-off-the-taps legislation and to control the volume and the destination of oil flowing through its pipelines to other provinces.

During the height of the dispute between Alberta and neighboring British Columbia over the Trans Mountain Expansion project to twin the existing pipeline and expand the terminal in Burnaby, B.C., Albertas government approved in early 2018 the so-called Bill 12, which would give it the powers to reduce the flow of crude oil to British Columbia in retaliation for B.C.s relentless efforts to put a permanent end to the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Immediately after Alberta adopted the legislation, British Columbias Premier John Horgan threatened to take Alberta to court to prevent the neighboring province from enacting the legislation.

If the Alberta government chooses to proclaim their legislation, we will move quickly to strike it down, Horgan said at the time.

The court battle that ensued resulted in 2019 in a court granting British Columbia a temporary injunction against the bill on the grounds that the turn-off-the-taps legislation, if acted upon, would cause harm to its residents. Albertas argument in the case was that this harm was speculative.

The Federal Court of Appeal, however, ruled on Tuesday that the injunction granted to British Columbia by the lower court should be overturned. The province of British Columbia was also ordered to pay the costs of the litigation, the three justices said.

We are pleased with yesterdays decision by the Federal Court of Appeal. We remain committed to standing up for Alberta, including protecting the value of our natural resources, Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said in a statement on Wednesday carried by The Canadian Press.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
As India begins phase-3 vaccination for those above 18 years, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Wednesday stated that the first doses of its COVID-19 vaccine 'Sputnik V' will be delivered to India on May 1. However, a spokesperson for Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd - RDIF's partner, said it is not providing a specific date for the launch. India approved Sputnik V for emergency usage on April 13.

Sputnik V doses to come by May 1

While Dr. Reddy's had estimated that vaccine doses delivery will start from the end of May, that timeline has now been shifted to anytime in May. Discussions over pricing and the number of doses are still ongoing between Dr Reddys, RDIF and the government," the spokesperson said. RDIF has said that the company will price the vaccine at less than $10 ( 750) per dose in international markets.

RDIF said that it is expecting over 50 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine to be manufactured in India by this summer. "We believe more than 50 million doses a month (to be manufactured) in the summer (in a couple of months)," said RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev. Meanwhile, Russsian President Vladimir Putin talked to PM Modi promising "Our cooperation on Sputnik-V vaccine will assist humanity in battling the pandemic".

About Sputnik V

The vaccines efficacy is reported at 91.4% based on data analysis of the final control point of clinical trials, states its official website, which has been reviewed by Lancet journal. Currently, the vaccines clinical trials are underway in the UAE, Egypt, Venezuela and Belarus while it has been registered in Algeria, Argentina, Belarus, Bolivia and Serbia for inoculation, state reports. In September 2020, Dr. Reddys and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) entered into a partnership to conduct the clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine and the rights for distribution in India.

As per its official website, Sputnik V is the worlds first registered vaccine based on a well-studied human adenoviral vector-based platform. Ranking as one of WHO's top 10 candidate vaccines, Sputnik V is currently conducting post-registration clinical trial in Russia with 40,000 volunteers. While the vaccine's overall efficacy is confirmed at 91.4%, it boasts a 100% efficacy against severe cases of coronavirus. The cost of one dose of the vaccine for international markets will be less than $10 and Sputnik V is a two-dose vaccine that can be stored at a temperature of +2 to +8 degrees Celsius. Apart from India, Brazil, China, South Korea are RDIF's international partners.
[April 28, 2021] Time Tracking for Service Organizations from Replicon Now an SAP Endorsed App and Part of SAP's Industry Cloud

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Replicon announced today that its Time Tracking for Service Organizations solution is now an SAP endorsed app, available for online purchase on SAP Store . The solution, built on the Replicon Time Intelligence platform, is part of SAP's industry cloud for the professional services industry, providing a modern, mobile, secure, and scalable way to track 100% of time for professional services enterprises, helping them drive increased efficiency and profitability. "PwC chose Replicon as our go forward partner to provide frontline practitioners with a powerful, flexible and easy-to-use time capture capability. This is not only because Replicon has advanced features and user experience, but also because they share our vision and desire to ultimately transform the whole concept of revenue-based time capture from traditional inputs to simply automate and review," said Paul West, Engagement Management and Finance Transformation Leader at PwC. "Once deployed later this year with the integration with SAP S/4HANA it can help provide us with a single source of truth for project time, allowing better engagement management and ultimately accurate billing. We are delighted that Replicon is collaborating with SAP to deliver industry cloud solutions for the professional services industry." Replicon's Time Tracking for Service Organizations solution connects directly with SAP software systems to provide: A single source of truth for project time with global governance

A cloud-based solution that is secure, reliable, and scalable to one million employees

Modern interfaces and user experience tailored to each group and location

Support for statutory pay rules in over 250 jurisdictions

A configurable rules engine to automate approvals and workflows

Native mobile apps for employee tracking and manager approvals

Zero-touch time capture leveraging AI, GPS, calendars, and more

Full real-time visibility into project time data for billing across all groups

A global solution with multi-lingual and multi-currency support

An auditable record of time data

Speed of delivery and ability to integrate with a complex ecosystem

Highly secure platform that is ISO 27001 certified and SSAE 18 compliant "We are delighted to strengthen our SAP partnership with our time Tracking for Service Organizations, now an SAP endorsed app that is part of SAP's industry cloud. Time tracking is essential for professional ervices companies. Our Time Intelligence platform will continue to complement SAP capabilities to better serve customers in their transformation journey to become intelligent enterprises," said Raj Narayanaswamy, co-CEO at Replicon. "The partnership signals a shared commitment to provide businesses using SAP solutions with modern user experience and a platform that provides a single source of truth. Replicon's Time Tracking for Service Organizations extends the power of SAP S/4HANA in providing a configurable, global, employee-friendly, SaaS solution to professional services businesses. Replicon is working with SAP to create offerings that meet professional services and other industry specific requirements so customers can achieve better business outcomes."



SAP Endorsed Apps are premium certified by SAP with added security, in-depth testing and measurements against benchmarks results. Replicon's Time Tracking solution enables organizations to capture, validate, and transform project time data in a modern user experience across desktop and mobile. To enable companies to become intelligent enterprises, SAP is expanding its vertical solutions with an ecosystem of industry cloud applications . These solutions complement the existing SAP portfolio to extend the value of joint customer investments. These modular, industry specific solutions are developed by SAP and SAP partners to deliver business innovation, not just technologies. Replicon's solution integrates with SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central, complementing the power of SAP solutions to help ensure global governance and reduce revenue leakage.

"Ecosystem innovations are essential to SAP's vision and delivery of the intelligent enterprise," said Tom Roberts, senior vice president, partner solution success at SAP. "We applaud Replicon for its Time Tracking solution, now an SAP endorsed app and a part of SAP's industry cloud. Partners like Replicon are positioned to help us deliver on a vision and provide new innovations to our customers  quickly, easily and with solutions that have achieved premium certification and support of SAP." The Time Tracking solution is available for digital discovery and purchase at SAP Store , the digital marketplace for solutions from SAP and its partners. SAP Store provides customers with real-time access to more than 1,800 innovative solutions from SAP as well as partner solutions that complement and extend their SAP applications, enabling digital transformation of their business. About Replicon

Replicon, the Time Intelligence company, has over 20 years of industry leadership and is pioneering a new approach to time management. Time Intelligence elevates time as a strategic asset within an organization, to improve operational productivity, performance, and profitability. Replicon's Time Intelligence Platform offers solutions for global time and gross pay compliance, enterprise time management for ERP, professional services automation, and an SDK for continued development  expanding the company's award-winning portfolio of cloud-based products, including complete solution sets for client billing, project costing, and time and attendance. Replicon supports thousands of customers across 70 countries, with over 400 employees around the globe including the United States, Canada, India, Australia, and the United Kingdom. To learn more, visit www.replicon.com. Click to follow Replicon on LinkedIn , Twitter and Facebook . Replicon Time Intelligence Platform and other Replicon products and services mentioned herein and their respective logos are trademarks of Replicon. SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. SAP Forward-looking Statement

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.  2020 SAP SE. All rights reserved. For more information, press only:

Kyle Celeste

Resound Marketing for Replicon

Email: kyle@resoundmarketing.com

Phone: 609-279-0050 x111 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/time-tracking-for-service-organizations-from-replicon-now-an-sap-endorsed-app-and-part-of-saps-industry-cloud-301278699.html SOURCE Replicon

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Clifford Chance elects two new partners in the Middle East

Clifford Chance today announces the promotion of counsels Nicky Reader in the UAE and Sahel Mughal in Saudi Arabia, effective 1 May 2021.

Nicky works in the Firm's Global Financial Markets practice, based in the UAE. She has built a strong general finance practice throughout her career which focuses on general lending, acquisition finance and real estate finance matters, and her unique specialism is in financial restructuring. Nicky joined Clifford Chance as a trainee in London in 2008, qualifying into the London restructuring practice and spending a year on secondment to RBS before relocating to Abu Dhabi in 2017. She is qualified in England and Wales.

Sahel works in the Firm's Corporate and Equity Capital Markets practice in Riyadh. His broad practice includes advising on M&A, joint ventures, tech, funds and securities regulation. He joined the firm as a trainee in London in 2006 and, qualifying into the private funds group, he undertook a client secondment to the private equity firm, 8 Miles LLP, as general counsel. He has been based in Riyadh for the past ten years and is qualified in England & Wales.

Nicky and Sahel are part of a global cohort of 29 new partners drawn from all of the firm's market-leading practices and every region. Together, they specialise across a range of our leading practice and product areas that are critical to our clients and their strategic needs, in particular financial investors1, litigation and dispute resolution, ESG and financial restructuring.

"I am delighted to welcome Nicky and Sahel to our partner ranks in the Middle East," said Mohammed Al-Shukairy, Clifford Chance's Regional Managing Partner for the Middle East. "Our region is and will remain an area of significant focus for the Firm and we will continue to invest in our people and see organic growth in the years to come."

Matthew Layton, Clifford Chance Global Managing Partner adds: "I'd like to congratulate each and every one of our new partners for reaching this important milestone in their career. It is a testament to their commitment to being trusted advisers to our clients on their most complex and important challenges and opportunities. Together they underline the quality, diversity, and depth of talent that underpins our strategy and they embody the collaborative and inclusive culture that is at the heart of our firm. Promoting these new partners reinforces our ambitious commitment to invest in our firm for today and into the future."
Labour last night demanded an inquiry into whether the Prime Minister's press secretary 'knowingly misled' journalists over the refurbishment of Boris Johnson's flat.

Party deputy leader Angela Rayner said Cabinet Secretary Simon Case  the country's most senior civil servant  should look at Allegra Stratton's answers to reporters about the affair last month.

The former journalist was Mr Johnson's press secretary from October until last week, when the televised briefings she was to host were cancelled.

Labour's demand came after a No 10 spokesman yesterday declined to deny suggestions that the Prime Minister received a loan from the Conservative Party to cover the initial costs of the refurbishment, before repaying the party.

Party deputy leader Angela Rayner said Cabinet Secretary Simon Case  the country's most senior civil servant  should look at Allegra Stratton's (pictured) answers to reporters about the affair last month

That claim appears to run contrary to what Miss Stratton said last month.

At a briefing for journalists, she repeatedly said: 'Conservative Party funds are not being used to pay for any refurbishment of the Downing Street estate.'

The PM is facing continued questions about how the works were paid for, after former aide Dominic Cummings said Mr Johnson wanted donors to 'secretly pay' for the work in an 'unethical, foolish, possibly illegal' move.

The Tories declined to deny a suggestion that Conservative HQ paid the Cabinet Office to cover initial costs of the refurbishments, with Mr Johnson now repaying the party.

The PM's official spokesman said: 'Any costs of the wider refurbishment in No 10 have been met by the Prime Minister and he has acted in accordance with the appropriate codes of conduct and electoral law.'

The PM is facing continued questions about how the works were paid for, after former aide Dominic Cummings said Mr Johnson wanted donors to 'secretly pay' for the work in an 'unethical, foolish, possibly illegal' move

When he was pressed on Miss Stratton's denial at a Westminster briefing with journalists on March 8, he said: 'I've seen the reports and the speculation on that  I'm not going to jump ahead of any potential declarations that need to be made.'

Mr Case, the head of the Civil Service, has been tasked with reviewing the refurbishment of the flat in No 11. Miss Stratton, who moved roles this month after No 10 scrapped plans to hold televised press briefings, is yet to respond to requests for comment.

Downing Street was moved to issue a further defence of Mr Johnson later in the day, but it also stopped short of ruling out a loan from the party's HQ.

'Any costs of wider refurbishment this year beyond those provided for by the annual allowance have been met by the Prime Minister personally,' a spokesman said. 'Conservative Party funds are not being used for this.'

The PM's official spokesman said: 'Any costs of the wider refurbishment in No 10 have been met by the Prime Minister and he has acted in accordance with the appropriate codes of conduct and electoral law'

Labour health spokesman Jonathan Ashworth called for a 'full and frank' explanation from the Prime Minister.

'We really need to know who's given the loan, who's given the money, because we need to know who the Prime Minister, who Boris Johnson, is beholden to,' he told BBC Breakfast. 'To be honest, he lied yesterday  that's not good enough.'

An update of the separate register of MPs' financial interests on Tuesday showed no sign of a loan to Mr Johnson, with his only addition a 2,397 payment for book royalties.

Prime ministers get a budget of up to 30,000 a year to renovate their Downing Street residency, but reports suggest Mr Johnson has spent much more.
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Extremely low transmission latency is one of the key features promised by 5G communication networks. Additionally, smart networking requires technologies that monitor and anticipate failures to facilitate rapid network repair.

Behnam Shariati is part of a team of researchers that demonstrated a latency-aware optical metro network having sophisticated monitoring and data analytics capabilities. Shariati will discuss the network architecture and enabling technologies, as well as a video surveillance case of the system, during a session at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC), being held virtually from 06 - 11 June 2021.

The demonstration features automated deployment of a video surveillance case in an edge-computing-enabled optical networking ecosystem supporting interoperability of commercial hardware and prototypes, software-defined networking (SDN) controllers, orchestrators, and open-source application programming interfaces (APIs).

"The demonstrated technologies allow an operator to receive a high-level service description from a customer and implement it end-to-end across the infrastructure  an infrastructure comprised of equipment from different vendors," said Shariati.

One of the enabling technologies is a latency probe. The probe works by injecting time-stamped traffic information into the optical network, enabling the ability to measure the round-trip latency of the system autonomously and in real time, which enables optimized allocation of 5G services across the infrastructure.

To demonstrate their approach, the team evaluated the performance of a video surveillance system. Over a length of 80 kilometers, they achieved an end-to-end latency of less than 1/1000 of a second and a service setup time of less than 3 minutes. The service setup time was primarily the time it took for the transmitting laser to warm up and stabilize.

Shariati emphasized their approach is not limited to video surveillance, which is just one of many potential applications.

"The video surveillance application could be replaced with any other vertical application that requires high bandwidth, low latency, and edge computing resource availability across the infrastructure," he said.

If the quality of an optical connection has degraded, the monitoring and data analytics solution gives the network operator a full minute of response time, which is more than enough to implement counter measures and redeploy the network without encountering a lapse in connectivity.

"One minute can easily allow the reconfiguration of the deployed service, once one has optical transponders with fast laser warmup cycles," Shariati said.

Hear from the Research Team

"A Latency-Aware Real-Time Video Surveillance Demo: Network Slicing for Improving Public Safety," B. Shariati, J. J. Pedreno-Manresa, A. Dochhan, A. S. Muqaddas, R. Casellas, O. Gonzalez de Dios, L. L. Canto, B. Lent, J. E. Lopez de Vergara, S. Lopez-Buedo, F. J. Moreno, P. Pavon, L. Velasco, S. Patri, A. Giorgetti, F. Cugini, A. Sgambelluri, R. Nejabati, D. Simeonidou, R,-P, Braun, A. Autenrieth, J.-P. Elbers, J. K. Fischer, R. Freund, Friday, 11 June 2021, 11:00-11:15 PDT (UTC  07:00). Session ID - F4H.2

Registration Information

Credentialed media and analysts who wish to cover OFC 2021 can find registration and other essential information in the OFC media room. View the OFC website for upcoming announcements on registration, schedule updates and more.

About OFC

The 2021 Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC) is the premier conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals. For more than 40 years, OFC has drawn attendees from all corners of the globe to meet and greet, teach, and learn, make connections and move business forward. OFC includes dynamic business programming, an exhibition of global companies and high impact peer-reviewed research that, combined, showcase the trends and pulse of the entire optical networking and communications industry. OFC is co-sponsored by IEEE Communications Society (IEEE/ComSoc), IEEE Photonics Society, The Optical Society (OSA) and managed by OSA. OFC 2021, an all-virtual event, will take place 06  11 June 2021. Follow @OFCConference, learn more at OFC Community LinkedIn, and watch highlights on OFC YouTube.

About The Optical Society

Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional organization for scientists, engineers, students, and business leaders who fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings, and membership initiatives, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions, and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of optics and photonics experts. For more information, visit osa.org.

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SOURCE The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC)
Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 will achieve many of its goals before 2030, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defence was quoted as saying in a media report.



In an interview with local Saudi television, the Crown Prince completely ruled out any plans to impose income taxes in the Kingdom, reported Saudi Gazette.



There will be no income taxes at all in Saudi Arabia," he said, affirming that the maximum limit for value-added tax (VAT) is 15 percent for a period of 5 years, which is a temporary decision.



Prince Muhammed Bin Salman revealed that shares of Aramco will be sold to foreign investors during the next year or two, explaining that Aramco has an opportunity to be one of the largest industrial companies in the world, and the discussion is currently underway to sell 1 percent of Aramco to a foreign investor.



The Crown Prince said that oil served Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom existed before the discovery of oil, which still constitutes an essential part of income, however, the Vision 2030 was launched in order to achieve ambitions for a stronger economy and a better life for Saudis by strengthening the economy with funds and investments.



In addition to boosting the private sector to be the main facilitator in achieving the goals of the vision, he revealed discussions with 30 Saudi companies within the "Shareek" program.



He emphasized that my interest lies in achieving the growth of the Saudi nation and the satisfaction of citizens in line with Vision 2030.



The Crown Prince pointed out that the Public Investment Fund (the sovereign fund) aims to grow into a huge fund, and therefore its profits will not be transferred to the state budget. It will aim to increase the growth of the fund's size by more than 200 percent in the next five years.



The PIF is the Kingdom's new "oil barrel", and the target of the fund is to keep growing, the Crown Prince said.



He explained that the establishment of the investment fund for the "Roshen" company, which aims to raise the level of real estate development in the Kingdom and it will provide one million housing units.



The Saudi Crown Prince explained details related to the vision launched by the Kingdom in 2016, including developing housing policies, developing legislation, and ensuring an increase in the private sectors contribution to the Kingdoms economy, reviewing influential economic figures, most notably the rise in the Saudi Stock Market Index (Tadawul).



The Crown Prince confirmed that unemployment before the vision was 14 percent and there are plans to reduce it to 11 percent this year. The rate will continue to reduce to stabilize at the natural rate between 7 percent to 4 percent, he said explaining that the tourism sector targets include 3 million new jobs until 2030.



With regard to the level of education in the Kingdom, the Crown Prince considered that education in Saudi Arabia today is not bad and "the vision aims to have 3 universities out of the 200 most important universities in the world," indicating that educational resources have become open and the focus will be on skills development plans.



Regarding health, Prince Muhammed Bin Salman said that the transformation program in the health sector will make a major change in the level of services.



Speaking about Riyadh, he said the city was well planned by King Salman, and it is one of the best cities with infrastructure, compared to global cities with a population of more than 5 million, stressing that the focus will not be on Riyadh alone but on the various cities across the Kingdom.



Regarding the Green Saudi Initiative and the Green Middle East, the Crown Prince said that vegetation cover in Saudi Arabia has increased by 40 percent over the past four years, explaining that concern for the environment has a direct impact on tourism and attracting capital.


Bosses expect sales to grow in countries as lockdowns and social distancing measures are eased

Durex condoms are flying off the shelves in countries such as China where restrictions are easing

Durex condoms are flying off the shelves as couples who have been forced to stick to a two-metre distance throughout the pandemic are finally free to have sex again as lockdown restrictions ease.

Lovers in countries such as China, where restrictions are easing, are buying more condoms, causing sales to surge, according to consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser.

Bosses have reported a 'double-digit' increase in the condom sales and they expect this to grow in other countries as lockdowns and social distancing measures are eased, allowing more couples to have some alone time.

Durex condoms are flying off the shelves as couples who have been forced to stick to a two-metre distance throughout the pandemic are finally free to have sex again as lockdown restrictions ease

At the start of the pandemic last year Reckitt Benckiser, which owns Durex, saw a sharp drop in demand for condoms when lockdown restrictions were in place - banning people from different households having sex.

But as the social-distancing rules were relaxed in the summer months, sales of condoms rose by more than 12 per cent - and they have again this year as restrictions ease.

'Sexual wellness' products also saw a rise in sales in countries including China, as well as parts of the U.S. and Europe.

Meanwhile Reckitt Benckiser said sales of its disinfectant products Dettol and Lysol have increased as customers continue to take extra precautions to avoid spreading Covid-19.

Meanwhile Reckitt Benckiser said sales of its disinfectant products Dettol and Lysol have increased as customers continue to take extra precautions to avoid spreading Covid-19.

The boost in sexual wellbeing sales was not enough to offset an overall fall in the company's health division, where sales fell 16.4 per cent compared to a year ago, due to so many households stockpiling cold and flu medicines at the start of the pandemic.

People across the world have struggled throughout the pandemic with long distance relationships and having to put up with online dates.

But some couples have spent the last year living together and for some it has led to a better sex life.

It comes as Ann Summers in February reported an increase in the sale of sex toys as couples become more adventurous in the bedroom as they are spending more time together.

The retailer also said that more people are buying quiet vibrators as lockdown has forced flatmates to be cooped up or grown children to move back in with their parents.

Ann Summers said sales of its quietest vibrator, the Whisper Rabbit, are up by 60 per cent compared with a year ago.

Meanwhile, early on in the pandemic, many experts predicted that lockdowns and stay-at-home orders would lead to a surge in births because more couples were spending more time together and may be having more sex.

But in fact, the opposite has happened. In the US, states have shown declines in the number of babies born.

It comes as Ann Summers in February reported an increase in the sale of sex toys as couples become more adventurous in the bedroom as they are spending more time together

In Reckitt Benckiser's nutrition division sales fell 12.3 per cent, again due to stockpiling, the company said, but hygiene sales were up 21.1 per cent leading to an overall sales tally for the first three months of the year of 3.5 billion  down 1.1 per cent overall.

Chief executive Laxman Narasimhan said: 'Demand for Lysol and Dettol continues to be strong as consumers remain vigilant to the spread of the virus and see use of our products, and improved hygiene habits, as a way of protecting their health and regaining normality in their lives.

'As is to be expected, the underlying drivers of near-term demand for disinfectant products are dynamic, with countries around the world at different stages of the pandemic, and we are therefore closely tracking shifts in consumer behaviour to understand supply-and-demand trends.

'Our health business is seeing improved trading in sexual wellbeing, very strong growth in Gaviscon and improved execution overall.

'Meanwhile, we expect the difficult current market conditions for our cold and flu relief products to improve over time.

'In nutrition, trading continues to be strongly affected by the closure of the Hong Kong border, although we are beginning to annualise the impact of this.'
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that the federal government was taking all out measures for the progress and prosperity of the people of Baluchistan on priority basis

QUETTA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2021 ) :Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that the Federal government was taking all out measures for the progress and prosperity of the people of Baluchistan on priority basis.

He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting held here regarding the overall situation in Baluchistan and development matters.

Federal Ministers Asad Umar, Murad Saeed, Zubaida Jalal, Governor Baluchistan Justice Amanullah Khan, Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Provincial Ministers and senior officers attended the meeting.

Chief Secretary Baluchistan briefed the prime minister in detail about the situation of coronavirus in the province, precautions and the measures being taken to tackle the situation.

The meeting was also briefed about the availability of essential items at affordable prices in the holy month of Ramazan, provision of funds for the completion of development projects in the province at federal and provincial levels, utilization of energy resources especially the renewable energy and the proposed recommendations for agricultural development.

The prime minister was briefed about the setting up of border markets along the Pak-Iran bordering area and the various recommendations for benefiting from the opportunities of socio-economic development.

The meeting was also briefed about overall law and order situation in the province and the capacity building of police and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).

The prime minister appreciated the proposals regarding the law and order and economic development of Baluchistan and directed relevant federal institutions to finalize the recommendations and proposals of the provincial government.

\932
NORWALK  About 30 restaurants statewide are part of an anticipated growing list of restaurants offering a free alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink to customers with proof of coronavirus vaccination.

Seven Fairfield County restaurants are already registered for the initiative, including Match on Washington Street in South Norwalk. Both Match and its partner location, Match Burger Lobster in Westport, are participating in the free drink program, according to the campaigns website.

The initiative is a partnership between the governors office and the Connecticut Restaurant Association called #CTDrinksOnUs. Gov. Ned Lamont announced the program, which will run May 19-31, during his daily coronavirus update Monday.

Match co-owner Matt Storch said the restaurant association reached out to Monday and word of the program quickly spread.

The restaurant association has been quite good to us throughout this pandemic and prior to so when they ask me to do things I try to say yes, Storch said.

Each restaurant will decide what drinks they want to include on the set list of free beverages. Customers must purchase food to receive the free drink and the offering is limited to one drink per vaccinated customer, according to the DrinksOnUs website.

We are still working out the details of exactly what we are doing and how, Storch said. I dont know if its going to be a draft or a glass of wine or a shot.

To participate, customers must show they received either one or both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, likely by showing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination card, at which point they may choose an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink from a set list determined by the restaurant.

Restaurants may include as many different offerings on the free drink list as they choose, according to the website.

Storch said he is not concerned about a potential loss of revenue from the free beverages, and instead hopes it will prompt Connecticut residents to go out to eat and stimulate the local restaurant economy.

I dont see a loss, I see it as a good thing of people coming out and an extra inventive, Storch said. Its a drink, but the purchase of food helps revenue and people tend to get another drink as well.

Separate from the governors free drink initiative, a Norwalk bakery is offering a similar vaccination incentive for those with a sweet tooth. From now through the end of May, Forever Sweet Bakery on Main Avenue is offering one free cupcake to people who present their COVID-19 vaccination card, bakery manager and part-owner Sky Mercede said.

Mercede and his wife, Frances, the baking brains behind the operation, opened the business eight years ago and moved to their current Main Avenue location two years ago, Mercede said.

The idea for the free cupcakes originally came about a week ago but didnt end up formalizing until Monday, coinciding with Lamonts DrinksOnUs announcement.

Mercede first posted about the free cupcake campaign Monday afternoon and as of Tuesday afternoon, three customers arrived seeking their free sweet treat, he said.

In addition to the free cupcake, the name and phone numbers for cupcake recipients will be entered in a raffle for a free cake from the bakery. Depending on the number of entries, the free cake drawing may be weekly until the end of May, or just once during the month.

Unlike the DrinksOnUs campaign, no purchase from Forever Sweet is necessary to receive a free cupcake, Mercede said.

The hopes that maybe it would encourage some people that are on the fence a little bit they should get the vaccine, Mercede said. Maybe it will sweeten their day a little bit and maybe other businesses will do the same too.

As of April 22, more than 1.7 million Connecticut residents have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Department of Public Health. A full list of restaurants offering free drinks in Connecticut can be found at ctvisit.com/articles/DrinksOnUs.

abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has run into a wall of bureaucratic denial

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has run into a wall of bureaucratic denial. The anti-corruption watchdog regularly reviews pending cases and even called for a probe into pending corruption cases, but little has resulted from its efforts. Earlier this year in January, the commission set a timeline to finalise pending cases. It directed all chief executives and vigilance officers in various government organisations to finalise pending cases from the period between January 2011 and December 2018 by end of May this year.

With just about a month left for the deadline, chief vigilance commissioner Sanjay Kothari has now upped the ante and advised Union ministries to sort out complaints against officers within three months of their receipt. Reminding them of the May 31 deadline, Mr Kothari has now mandated that at the end of the third month from the date of receipt of the complaint and after deciding on a course of action, a copy of the complaint shall be made available to the concerned employee within 15 days. Once a decision is made to pursue the vigilance case, the concerned organisation shall send its inquiry report to the CVC or chief vigilance officer seeking first stage advice within three months of registration of a case.

Key appointment hangs in balance

Away from the Covid din, there is a tussle going on between the Punjab government and the Centre over the naming of 2002 batch IAS officer Vijay Namdeorao Zade as the finance secretary of the Chandigarh Administration. Mr Zade was nominated by the UT administration for the post, which is reserved for Punjab cadre officers and is the third most important post after the UT advisor and home secretary.

According to sources, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has sought details about Mr Zades professional profile and other information in a 17-point proforma. It wanted to know about Mr Zades completion of service in the cadre, the reason for seeking deputation, vigilance status and details of annual property returns, etc.

Sources say that this is the first time the ministry has asked for such details and there is no convention for this. Despite their reservations, the Punjab government has responded by providing all the information that was sought about the official. There has been no action from the MHA since then. It has to be remembered, sources say, that the recommendation of Mr Zade was forwarded to the Centre last year but there is no sign of any movement on the issue.

Maharashtra political rivalries affecting babus

The churning in police circles in Maharashtra continues unabated even after the unsavoury Param Bir Singh episode. And, not surprisingly, politics seems to drive most of what is going around these days between the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and the Opposition BJP.

The state government has now tasked Mumbai police to investigate the leaking of a report on corruption in the state police to BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis. The report, sources say, was prepared by former state intelligence chief Rashmi Shukla but landed into the hands of Mr Fadnavis. As part of the probe, the Mumbai Police has summoned Ms Shukla, who is now ADG of CRPF, to Mumbai to join the investigation.

The back story is interesting. The FIR was filed at the behest of state chief secretary Sitaram Kunte, who had reportedly alleged in a report to chief minister Udhav Thackeray that the finger of suspicion seemed to point at Ms Shukla herself. The episode has split opinion within the babu corridors with many murmurs about the probe as more of a hatchet job than a fair inquiry into the truth. The political waters in Maharashtra are roiled as it is, and this is hardly going to make way for more clarity.
JB Hi-Fi boss Richard Murray has been poached by billionaire rag trader Solomon Lew to lead his fashion empire Premier Investments, with the appointment blindsiding the electronics retailers board and investors.

The two businesses told shareholders on Wednesday morning that Mr Murray, who has been at the helm of JB Hi-Fis for the last seven years, would replace Premiers former chief executive Mark McInnes at the end of August. JB Hi-Fi will be led by Terry Smart, the current head of the electronics retailers Good Guys unit.

Billionaire Solomon Lew and the new head of his business empire Premier Retail, Richard Murray.

Its understood Mr Lew directly approached the JB Hi-Fi boss to offer him the job. The industry veteran told investors on Wednesday that Mr Murray was unquestionably one of the best retailers in Australia and would be a significant boon to the Smiggle and Peter Alexander owner.

Richards appointment continues Premiers track record of recruiting and retaining the best executives in the industry, Mr Lew said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 19:17:40|Editor: huaxia

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European Parliament President David Sassoli speaks during the announcement of results of the votes at European Parliament Plenary session in Brussels, Belgium, April 28, 2021. The European Parliament on Wednesday ratified the agreement on trade and cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) in a 660-5 vote. (European Union/Handout via Xinhua)

BRUSSELS, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The European Parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly gave its seal of approval to the trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) that had been agreed on Christmas Eve last year.

The decision was adopted by 660 votes in favour, five against and 32 abstentions, while the accompanying resolution, setting out the parliament's evaluation of and expectations from the deal, passed by 578 votes, with 51 against and 68 abstentions.

The vote took place on Tuesday, with results announced on Wednesday.

EU and UK negotiators had agreed on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in a last-ditch attempt last December when they established the terms for future EU-UK cooperation.

To minimise disruption, the agreement has been provisionally applied since the beginning of this year and valid until the end of April.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen immediately welcomed the news, which brings to an end more than four years of acrimonious negotiations between the two sides.

"I warmly welcome the@Europarl_EN vote in favour of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The TCA marks the foundation of a strong and close partnership with the UK. Faithful implementation is essential," she wrote on Twitter.

The UK joined the EU bloc in 1973 but announced to withdraw in 2016 after a referendum.

The EU-UK trade in goods has been deeply affected by Brexit, according to latest figures published by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.

In the first two months of 2021, exports from the bloc to the UK fell 20.2 percent compared to last year, while the EU's imports from the UK recorded an even sharper decrease of 47 percent. Enditem
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Embark Delta Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Embark Health Inc. ("Embark" or the "Company") has successfully completed a restock shipment of its concentrate products to the Ontario Cannabis Store ("OCS") with The Hank Co. ("Hank") Bubble Hash and The Hazel Co. ("Hazel") Hash Sticks. The OCS is the wholesaler and online retailer for recreational cannabis in the province of Ontario.

Bruce Dawson-Scully, CEO stated, "With Ontario holding the greatest number of stores among the provinces, we are happy to continue fulfillment of our solventless concentrate brands and products to the province of Ontario."





Hank is Embark's flagship brand under its solventless line of concentrates



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7351/82055_79f256fb94558962_002full.jpg

Hank is Embark's flagship concentrate brand under its solventless line. The Hank Bubble Hash is produced from quality whole flower trichome heads only, resulting in a flavourful experience. Produced through ice water extraction, the result is a light and golden hued, dabbable concentrate. Other concentrate products under the Hank brand, like Hank Pressed Hash, will soon be listed on the OCS and supplied to Ontario.





Hazel is Embark's premier brand under its solventless line of concentrates



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7351/82055_79f256fb94558962_003full.jpg

Hazel is Embark's premier concentrate brand under its solventless line. The Hazel Hash Sticks are a unique solventless concentrate for discerning cannabis connoisseurs who wish to expand their "go-to" options for concentrates. The hash sticks come in a pre-roll form, hand-crafted into a 1-gram hollow tube, and contain no paper or filter.

Make sure to follow Embark Health Inc. on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to keep up with latest news. Follow The Hank Co. on Instagram and Facebook, and The Hazel Co. on Instagram and Facebook.

About Embark Health Inc.

Embark Health Inc. is a leader in solventless cannabis extraction, with a focus on the formulation and production of advanced 2.0 products for the B2B, medical, and adult-use markets. Embark continues to be at the forefront of production of concentrate products including bubble hash, traditional pressed hash, rosin, and dry sift. Building on Embark's strength in innovation and creating industry-leading Cannabis 2.0 products, it recently announced new product offerings through its proprietary ground-breaking Embark Nano technology. The new suite of products coming to market include cannabis-infused beverages, topicals, edibles and water-soluble powders.

Embark-managed brands of next generation 2.0 products include The Hank Co. and The Hazel Co. under its line of solventless products, and, Distilled + Infused and Meridian under its line of beverage and topical products that utilizes the Embark Nano Technology.

It is Embark's mandate to pursue best-in-class production processes resulting in premium quality commercial and consumer extraction products. Embark Health Inc. is dedicated to unleashing the full potential of the cannabis plant through scientific approaches to extraction and the production of quality products to enhance everyday life. For more information, please visit www.embarkhealthinc.com.

Investor Relations Contact:

IR@embarkhealthinc.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws including statements regarding the ability to leverage its existing Cannabis 2.0 products for the Canadian market, access to future markets, Embark's ability to increase production and offer new products and services following receipt of applicable licences, the continued business-to-business activities of Embark, and the effects of the aforementioned activities on the operational and financial condition of Embark. Although Embark believes in light of the estimates by management, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them. Accordingly, Embark can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, changes in economic conditions or financial markets; regulatory delays; increases in costs; litigation; legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; and technological or operational difficulties. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect our forward-looking information. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Company.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO US NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82055
She's returning to television screens in a major way.

And Amy Schumer looked completely at ease in the director's chair as she began filming her latest Hulu comedy, Life & Beth, in New York City on Wednesday morning.

The 39-year-old actress sported an all-black ensemble while jumping in front of the camera for the series which she wrote and will also serve as the executive producer.

Action: Amy Schumer looked completely at ease in the director's chair as she began filming her latest Hulu comedy, Life & Beth, in New York City on Wednesday morning

Director: She made sure to take COVID-19 safety precautions by wearing a clear plastic face shield between takes

Amy stepped out wearing black pants with a matching shirt as she filmed scenes on the Upper West Side.

She made sure to take COVID-19 safety precautions by wearing a clear plastic face shield between takes.

Schumer stars as Beth in the upcoming show, who's 'life looks pretty great on paper,' but takes a turn as she dives into her past, according to the streaming service.

Out and about: Amy stepped out wearing black pants with a matching shirt as she filmed scenes on the Upper West Side

Brisk day: She stayed warm underneath a knee-length Patagonia jacket

'Impressive to everyone she grew up with. She makes a good living as a wine distributor. Shes in a long-term relationship with an attractive, successful guy and lives in Manhattan. When a sudden incident forces Beth to engage with her past, her life changes forever.

'Through flashbacks to her teen self, Beth starts to learn how she became who she is and who she wants to become. Well go on her journey toward building a more authentic life. Learning to express herself and living in an intentional way. A trip down memory lane is a strong source of trauma, comedy and moving forward,' the synopsis concluded.

Michael Rapaport recently signed on to play teenaged Beth's father, with Michael Cera also receiving a role in the comedian's new show.

Creative: Schumer stars as Beth in the upcoming show, who's 'life looks pretty great on paper,' but takes a turn as she dives into her past, according to the streaming service.

Working mama: The I Feel Pretty star has 23-month-old son Gene with her husband Chris Fischer, and has said shes keen to expand her brood and have a second tot soon

After taking on directing duties, Amy was spotted in another business casual ensemble as she filmed another scene for the series.

Unlike her first outfit, Schumer's new look featured a dark blue blazer layered over a white tee and a pair of skinny jeans.

Her hair was tied back into a ponytail and she had an off white purse slung across her body.

Take two: After taking on directing duties, Amy was spotted in another business casual ensemble as she filmed another scene for the series

Transformed: Unlike her first outfit, Schumer's new look featured a dark blue blazer layered over a white tee and a pair of skinny jeans

Directing duties: Before filming commenced, Amy was seen conversing with several crew members, even taking a peek behind the camera to make sure the shot set-up was just so

She strolled through the day's location in a pair of bright white sneakers with baby blue laces.

Before filming commenced, Amy was seen conversing with several crew members, even taking a peek behind the camera to make sure the shot set-up was just so.

Once everything was looked over, Schumer made her way in front of the camera to film a particularly dramatic scene with a male costar.

Features: Her hair was tied back into a ponytail and she had an off white purse slung across her body

Drama: Once everything was looked over, Schumer made her way in front of the camera to film a particularly dramatic scene with a male costar

Amy's character Beth appeared to be dismissing the man's aggressive behavior as she turned away from him to walk away.

As her costar continued to follow her, Amy, as Beth, eventually screamed back at him without ever turning her back to face him.

The I Feel Pretty star has 23-month-old son Gene with her husband Chris Fischer, and has said shes keen to expand her brood and have a second tot soon.

Not having it: Amy's character Beth appeared to be dismissing the man's aggressive behavior as she turned away from him to walk away

Breaking point: As her costar continued to follow her, Amy, as Beth, eventually screamed back at him without ever turning her back to face him

Coming soon: Schumer stars as Beth in the upcoming show, who's 'life looks pretty great on paper,' but takes a turn as she dives into her past, according to the streaming service

When asked about having baby number two by guest host Ashley Graham on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she said: 'Oh God, I hope so. We're trying to figure it out. I mean, you know, it's like there's nothing better. Yeah. What about you?'

Amy previously said she wouldnt be able to carry any future children after the process of welcoming Gene via IVF was 'really tough' on her.

In August, she explained: 'We did IVF and IVF was really tough on me. I don't think I could ever do IVF again. "I decided that I can't be pregnant ever again. We thought about a surrogate, but I think we're going to hold off for right now.'

Co-stars: Schumer was also seen with co-star Michael Rapaport who plays her character's father

Talk, talk, talk: The pair appeared to have a dialogue heavy scene as cameras rolled
The state Supreme Court cleared the way Wednesday for San Francisco to pay for additional child care and early education services with commercial rent taxes approved by 51% of the citys voters in June 2018.

The measure, Proposition C, was a ballot initiative designed to raise $146 million a year, mostly to fund child care and education for children younger than 6. It was challenged in court by anti-tax advocates who argued that ballot measures raising local taxes require approval of two-thirds of the voters.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, named for the sponsor of Californias tax-slashing Prop. 13 of 1978, relied on a follow-up state initiative, Prop. 218 of 1996, which required two-thirds voter approval for any tax increase proposed by a local government to fund specific programs.

But California appellate courts have recently ruled that the two-thirds requirement does not apply to measures placed on local ballots by signatures on initiative petitions because those are actions by the voters, not local governments. The First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco reached that conclusion last June in upholding another citywide initiative, a November 2018 measure raising business taxes to fund programs for the homeless. Another division of the court issued a similar ruling in January upholding Prop. C of June 2018.

The initiative power is one of the most precious rights of our democratic process and must be interpreted broadly, appeals court Justice Mark Simons said in a 3-0 ruling, quoting the earlier decision. He said Prop. 218s two-thirds vote requirement applies only to measures passed by a city council, board of supervisors or school board and submitted to the voters.

The Jarvis Association appealed to the state Supreme Court, which unanimously denied review Wednesday. The court had also denied review of the earlier appellate decision, allowing San Francisco to fund homelessness programs with $250 million to $300 million a year in new taxes on gross receipts of corporations with annual revenue above $50 million.

The June 2018 ballot measure was a 3.5% tax on business revenues from rentals of commercial space and a 1% tax on rentals of warehouse space, exempting businesses that receive up to $1 million a year in rental revenue.

In response to the ruling, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said: San Francisco voters have the right to direct democracy and self-government. This cements our victory and ensures long-term help for working families.

Laura Dougherty, lawyer for the Jarvis Association, said the court had wrongly allowed another loophole in the statewide ballot measures restricting tax increases. As a result, she said, if politicians simply copy and paste a government tax proposal into a citizens initiative petition, they can dramatically reduce the voter approval needed to impose it.

Although the states high court has not issued its own ruling on whether Prop. 218 applies to initiatives, the court interpreted the measure narrowly in a 2017 case. In deciding that a Southern California citys tax initiative was not covered by another provision of Prop. 218 that required special elections for local tax measures, the high court said neither the text nor the context of Prop. 218 supports the conclusion that the term local government was meant to encompass the electorate.

Jonathan Coupal, president of the Jarvis Association, has said his organization is prepared to sponsor another ballot measure to require two-thirds voter approval for any increase in local taxes for specific purposes.

The case is Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association vs. San Francisco, S267516.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
New Delhi: It is perhaps too little, too late. After being severely castigated by the Madras and Calcutta high courts over the second wave of Covid-19, the Election Commission on Tuesday banned all victory rallies by political parties and candidates after the Assembly election results are declared on or after May 2.

After being reprimanded by the courts, the EC, which had ordered an unprecedented eight-phase election in West Bengal, said: No victory procession after the counting on 2.5.2021 shall be permissible. Not more than two persons shall be allowed to accompany the winning candidate or his/her authorised representative receive the certificate of election from the returning officer concerned.

The eighth and last phase of the West Bengal election will be held on Thursday, April 29. Voting is already over in Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and the Union territory of Puducherry.

On Monday, the Madras high court in a stinging remark had said the EC should be put up on murder charges for being the most irresponsible institution. The Madras high court also said it would stop the counting if we do not find before May 2 a blueprint on how proper maintenance of Covid protocols will be maintained so that this state does not succumb to your idiosyncracies any further The EC has been directed to submit a detailed report to the high court on April 30.

A survey conducted by an English-language television news channel on Tuesday showed the steep spike in Covid-19 cases in the poll-bound states. In Kerala, the Covid cases had gone up by 130 per cent, while in Tamil Nadu it was by 56 percent. The channel claimed the cases had shot up by 215 per cent in Assam, while it was 86 per cent in West Bengal. In Uttar Pradesh, following the recent Kumbh Mela, the Covid-19 cases had seen a staggering rise of 47 per cent. At this point, India is reporting well over three lakh Covid cases and over 2,000 deaths a day.

While Covid-19 cases were on the rise, politicians cutting across party lines continued to address mammoth rallies in the poll-going states. Top leaders ranging from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and the Left leaders addressed several rallies in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Despite repeated appeals, the EC refused to club the election dates in West Bengal.

While Covid protocols were thrown out of the window, as supporters thronged in their thousands to cheer their leaders, the EC remained a mute spectator. Even as four candidates succumbed to Covid in West Bengal, the election mania went on unperturbed. A couple of days back, the TMC filed a complaint against BJP leaders Dilip Ghosh and actor-politician Mithun Chakraborty for holding rallies attended by over 500 people, which was the limit set by the EC in its Covid protocols. In fact, the Opposition parties had raised eyebrows over this particular EC figure of 500 people. It was alleged the EC came up with the 500 figure only after the BJP claimed it would restrict its rallies to 500 people.
Two-thirds of voters oppose Democrat push to add four seats to Supreme Court, new poll finds

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A little over two-thirds of Americans oppose the idea of expanding the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a new poll.

The survey of over 1,100 U.S. registered voters was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Inc. and sponsored by the conservative legal nonprofit First Liberty Institute, which is devoted to protecting religious freedom rights.

The poll gauged the opinions of voters about the debate over adding seats to the nine-justice Supreme Court days after President Joe Biden established a commission to look into adding justices to the Supreme Court.

Specifically, respondents were asked: For over 150 years, the United States Supreme Court has had nine justices. Court-packing is generally defined as increasing the number of Supreme Court seats, primarily to alter the ideological balance of the court. Do you support or oppose court-packing?

The polling firm found that 68% of respondents opposed court-packing, while 27% supported the proposal.

When broken down by political party, it was found that 90% of Republicans and 47% of Democrats opposed expanding the Supreme Court, as did 68% of independents. Half of Democrats (50%) said they support the idea.

When asked about a recently introduced legislative proposal by congressional Democrats to add four seats to the Supreme Court, 65% of respondents said President Biden should oppose it while 31% said he should support the idea.

Party identification again showed a large gap, as 63% of Democrats surveyed supported adding four seats while 95% of surveyed Republicans opposed adding four seats.

Mason-Dixon conducted the poll from April 15 through April 19, interviewing respondents over the phone. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO and of The First Liberty Institute, said in a statement that the results showed that Americans recognize that court-packing is a brazen power-play by political extremists to overthrow our court system.

Court-packing is a direct assault on the independence of the judiciary, stated Shackelford. Other countries have done this, with disastrous results.

The last thing our country needs right now is a coup on the Supreme Court. We need our Constitutional system. It is the envy of the world.

The recent poll is not the first to indicate that most Americans are hesitant to support expanding the number of justices to the highest court in the land.

Last October, The New York Times and Siena College Research Institute conducted a poll of 987 likely voters in the U.S. with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

When the Times and Siena asked if voters supported expanding the Supreme Court should Justice Amy Coney Barrett be confirmed and Joe Biden became president, 58% of respondents opposed expanding the court while 31% supported the idea.

Regarding party affiliation, the New York Times poll found that 89% of Republicans, 65% of independents and 28% of Democrats opposed expanding the number of justices on the high court. Fifty-seven percent of Democrats responded that Democrats should increase [the] size of Supreme Court.

Earlier this month, Biden signed an executive order creating the 36-member commission to assess the Supreme Courts current status and whether it should be reformed.
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. So far only 2641 vaccinations against COVID-19 were carried out in Armenia, the Deputy Director General of the National Center of Disease Control and Prevention Gayane Sahakyan told a news conference. However, she noted that a daily 4-5% growth in vaccinations is observed.

None of the persons who received vaccinations experienced any serious adverse reactions, she said.

Weve only had expected reactions, such as mild fever, general weakness, flu-like symptoms, which subside quickly, she said.

The vaccination regulations have been changed across the country, and now all persons above the age of 18 are eligible to get the AstraZeneca shot, unlike the previous regulation allowing a certain age group and at-risk people to receive it.

In addition, the polyclinics where the vaccinations are carried out are now working on weekends also.

The Sputnik V vaccine is available for at-risk persons below the age of 54.

Citizens willing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus can now apply to any polyclinic across the country, whereas previously they could get the shot only in the polyclinic of their registration.

Also, foreign citizens with residence permits can get the vaccine.

Armenia now uses the AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines.

Sahakyan says they are expecting the supplies of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine soon.

Well have other vaccines in the future also, she said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Anti-corruption campaigner, Mr P.C. Appiah Ofori has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and the NPP-Government to ensure that all challenges faced by the past Special Prosecutor (SP), Mr Martin Amidu is addressed before the incoming SP starts work.



He also urged the NPP government to resource the incoming SP to enable him work efficiently.



His advice comes after Kissi Agyebeng was pencilled for the Special Prosecutor position.



The legal practitioner and Chairman of the Electronic Communications Tribunal, Mr Kissi Agyebeng has been nominated as the next Special Prosecutor (SP).



Per section 13 (8) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), when the position of the SP becomes vacant, the President shall, within six months, appoint another qualified person for that portfolio.



Speaking on Atinka TVs morning show, Ghana Nie, hosted by Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Mr P.C. Appiah identified that too much interference during Martin Amidus tenure did not help him do his work as expected.



He advised the NPP-Government to cut down the interferences and allow the new SP to work independently.



The interference during Martin Amidus tenure is a lesson to government. When the interference is too much and the culprits are not punished, it does not help. President Akufo-Addo has appointed a Special Prosecutor to fight corruption, and protect public purse for the benefit of the citizens. He should ensure that all the Problems Martin Amidu faced are addressed. The SP should also be allowed to work without interference so that he brings to book those who are corrupt, he advised.



Mr P.C. Appiah noted that although corruption reduced when Martin Amidu was in office, it is on the rise now, especially after Martin Amidu left office.



He advised the incoming SP to boldly deal with corrupt people without fear or favour.



He should take the Auditor Generals report, the past one up to the present time, and prosecute those who have been exposed for engaging in corrupt practices,.



Kissi Agyebeng



Mr Agyebeng is the Chairman of the Electronic Communications Tribunal  the body which determines appeals from parties aggrieved by decisions of the National Communications Authority (NCA) on issues such as the closure of radio stations  and one of the best-known lawyers in the country.



He is the Managing Partner of Cromwell Gray LLP, a law firm based in Accra.





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.

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This Jan. 23, 2018 photo shows a special phone installed on the Mapo Bridge over Seoul's Han River, which connects a person considering suicide by jumping off the bridge directly to a counselor, as part of efforts to prevent suicide. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon



By Bahk Eun-ji



Social distancing, strict regulations on gatherings, and remote meetings have become the new normal since the COVID-19 outbreak, and the protracted pandemic has been taking a toll on people's mental health.



Studies have indicated that the number of people thinking about suicide could increase, given that the pandemic has been continuing for over a year and there is no end in sight.



According to a 2020 survey conducted by the Korean Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the rate of people experiencing suicidal thoughts grew as the pandemic went on, from 9.7 percent in March, to 10.1 percent in May and 13.8 percent in September of last year. The September figure was nearly three times higher than 2018's 4.7 percent.



Amid this situation, local governments across the country are working on suicide prevention measures to protect residents' lives, out of concern that social isolation and economic difficulties could lead to an increase in the number of suicides.



Among the eight special and metropolitan cities nationwide, Busan, which has the highest suicide rate  30.1 suicides per 100,000 people in 2019  has set a goal of reducing the rate to 25.6 by 2025.



To this end, the Busan Metropolitan Government plans to train 50,000 people, or 1.5 percent of its citizens, as "lifeguards" to spread the culture of respecting life, as well as to expand the number of counselors at mental health care centers.



It also seeks to establish a suicide prevention safety net in cooperation with the Busan Pharmaceutical Association (BPA). The Busan Metropolitan Government will provide education programs to pharmacists, to train them as "gatekeepers," playing a role in suicide prevention.



"The role of pharmacists is important, as pharmacies are highly likely to be visited by people at high risk of suicide," said Byun Jung-seok, the president of the BPA, citing people buying sleeping pills to overdose with.



The hope is that if pharmacists identify key markers in individuals with suicide plans, they could provide consultation and guide people to receive professional assistance, Byun said.



Busan City has also been running a support program for bereaved families of suicide through a mobile app that was developed by the Busan Metropolitan Mental Health and Welfare Center last year. If users upload information on their mental and physical condition anonymously, experts will provide them with psychological counseling.



The Nam District Office in Busan will launch the "Super Hero" project this year, using grocery stores in underdeveloped areas.



The project came from the idea that owners of small neighborhood grocery stores, which have operated in the same place for a long time, form deep ties with residents in the local community.



It was also taken into account that residents with limited living areas, or people with depression, who are at high risk of suicide, prefer small groceries in their neighborhood instead of large supermarket chains.



Employees and owners of these grocery stores are provided with education on how to notice those at high-risk of suicide. If they see a resident showing signs of depression or suicidal attempts, they can immediately request cooperation from the regional health authorities.





Graphs of suicide rates are posted on the wall of the Korea Suicide Prevention Center building in Seoul in this Jan. 23, 2018 photo. Korea Times file
When presiding judge Charles Malia first started racing horses there were 17 racetracks in New England.

I got my start with the Thoroughbreds as a hot walker, then a groom and exercise rider, said the retired school teacher. In those days there was a lot of opportunity for young people to get into the sport.

When Scarborough closed for the runners around 1969 he raced for another decade at Suffolk and Rockingham.

Malia said, I took on project horses. When others were having difficulty getting one to run, I would buy them and get them turned around.

By the mid-1980s, much of the flat tracks had evaporated so he made the jump into harness.

I started as a fan at Scarborough and then bought my first harness horse pretty cheap. Her name was Race Me Victoria, a Maine-bred mare who turned into an open pacer. We had a lot of fun. She won 12 races the year we bought her, Malia recalled.

Following his retirement from scholastics in 1998, Malia started hanging around the race office at Scarborough when Paul Verrette was a patrol judge. From there he worked his way up the officiating ladder and was the Presiding Judge when Scarborough closed in 2020.

Excited about the new era, Malia said, Maine racing has had a definite feel of insecurity for a period of time. If things grow with the passion shown by First Tracks Cumberland, Maine horseman will have some security going forward that has been absent for a decade or more.

Associate Judge Christine Miller echoed those sentiments. I am looking forward to serving with First Tracks and this new venture, which will hopefully resurrect Maine harness racing, she said.

Miller worked at Plainridge for six years as the Testing Barn Supervisor for the state of Massachusetts. No stranger to the inner workings of the harness game, Miller jumped at the opportunity to attend the USTAs Racing Officials Accreditation Program.

It was an immersive and comprehensive seven day course that was held at the Meadows in Pennsylvania in 2017. Chip Hastings and T.C. Lane were excellent instructors and I left there with the confidence and the knowledge to pursue a second career as a racing official.

Not one to let her engines idle, Miller also works for a Thoroughbred owner providing marketing services and customer relations. In addition, Miller and her husband (a third generation horse trainer) operate an Equestrian facility specializing in Hunter/Jumpers where they teach kids how to ride and train show horses.

It was at Plainridge where Christine Miller met a gregarious fellow named Frank DuBreuil.

Originally from Pawtucket, R.I., Frank DuBreuil knows just about everyone around New England and has been around forever. Truth be told, Frank has been around harness racing for half a century. He has been an owner, a trainer, a driver and a racing official.

He rubbed his first horse at Foxboro in in the mid-70s, then bought one and shipped to Maine to race. After several decades of racing horses he landed the position of paddock judge at Plainridge when they reopened in 1999, and held that job through 2015.

A familiar face around New England, Frank works many of the fairs around the state of Maine as an associate judge, presiding judge and sometimes as the assistant racing secretary.

Currently, DuBreuil works the back security gate at Plainridge on Monday, Thursday and Fridays, checking horses in on race days. Soon, he will trek up I-95 to be the paddock judge at Cumberland on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

DuBreuil knows that it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to put on a race card, but it also takes good people. Just ask Mike Timmons, the former chairman of the Maine Harness Racing Commission.

Aside from the Trainers, Drivers and Caretakers, twenty different people are responsible for facilitating and executing all the necessary steps in getting a horse race to the gate when the starter says ;'Go!'

Having spent decades as the Director of Harness Racing at the Cumberland Fair, he has been instrumental in ensuring that the show goes on. Currently, he is the vice president of the Maine Agricultural Association of Fairs, which oversees 26 fairs throughout the state. He served as president of the Cumberland Fair for 16 years.

When the first horses go behind the gate at First Tracks Cumberland, Timmons will start his new role at his old stomping grounds, that of a USTA accredited Associate Judge.

Once voted the Maine High School Principal of the Year, after retiring from 47 years in education, Timmons moved to a place he first visited in 1953The Cumberland Fairgrounds, where he now calls home.

I will have the shortest commute out of any of my colleagues, because I live right on the fairgrounds!

(First Tracks Cumberland)
TORONTO  The three-month trial of a lawsuit against Toronto-Dominion Bank, in which the liquidators of the collapsed Antigua bank of former Texas financier Robert Allen Stanford are seeking $4.5 billion in damages, is expected to end on Wednesday.

A written judgment from the court is expected in a few months.

In closing arguments at the Ontario Superior Court this week, lawyers for the court-appointed joint liquidators of Stanford International Bank (SIB) alleged negligence and knowing assistance by TD in providing a correspondent banking account that Stanford used to perpetuate fraud.

TDs lawyers said the bank did not know about the fraud, and that damages should be limited to the estimated $5 million in profit from its relationship with SIB.

Stanford is serving a 110-year prison term in the United States after being convicted in 2012 of running a $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.

Correspondent banking is the business of providing services to offshore financial institutions. The joint liquidators are Grant Thornton in the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands.

The plaintiffs alleged that TD was aware of possible risks of providing the services and that the bank was willfully blind, reckless and, at a bare minimum, negligent.

They argued that even after reports of Stanfords conduct came to light, TD did not terminate the services.

TD said media reports about Stanford were not easily accessible and that a U.S. government warning about criminal activity in Antiguas financial sector mentioned by the plaintiffs did not explicitly mention Stanford.

TD estimated reasonably possible losses from legal and regulatory actions including the Stanford litigation of as much as C$1.4 billion ($1.13 billion) as of Jan. 31.

Provisions related to legal action will be taken when a loss becomes probable and an amount can be reliably estimated, it said in its 2020 annual report.

The joint liquidators are also seeking $510 million from Societe Generale SA, after a Swiss court ordered the bank to surrender $150 million deposited by Stanford. ($1 = 1.2397 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting By Nichola Saminather Editing by Marguerita Choy)
(Newser)  Federal investigators from the office Rudy Giuliani used to lead searched the former New York City mayor's Manhattan apartment and Park Avenue office early Wednesday, sources tell numerous outlets. Insiders tell the New York Times that Giuliani's electronic devices were seized in connection with an investigation of his dealings in Ukraine. Sources tell the Times and AP that the United States Attorneys office in Manhattan, which Giuliani led from 1983 to 1989, pushed for a search warrant last year but the Justice Department under former President Trump refused to sign off on it. The AP reports that in doing so now, prosecutors are indicating they have probable cause that Giuliani committed a federal crime; that does not mean he will be charged. The Times calls it "an extraordinary move for prosecutors to take against a lawyer, let alone a lawyer for a former president."

story continues below

Giuliani lawyer Roberto Costello confirmed the searches to the Times, calling them unnecessary and "legal thuggery." Giuliani has not been charged and he has denied wrongdoing, CNN reports. He hasn't commented on the Wednesday search yet, but he has previously described the investigation as "pure political persecution." The Times reports that investigators have been focusing on whether Giuliani illegally lobbied for the administration on behalf of Ukrainian oligarchs. Giuliani has longstanding connections in Ukraine and worked on behalf of Trump to try to dig up damaging information on President Biden and his son, Hunter. Two Soviet-born men who aided Giuliani's investigation were arrested in the US in 2019 on campaign finance charges. Politico reports that investigators suspect Giuliani was paid for his efforts to persuade Trump to oust US Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. (Read more Rudy Giuliani stories.)
The first leg in an aggressive 2021 program is the acquisition of geophysical data to assist in geological interpretation and drill target identification.

Six new massive sulphide targets were identified at Last Chance VMS camp in the 2020 field season.

( ) ( ) has started 2021 exploration activities at the newly identified Last Chance volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) camp and the adjacent Intrusion Related Gold System (IRGS)/orogenic gold target in Alaska.

An airborne electromagnetic (SkyTEM) survey is underway over Last Chance, within the broader Red Mountain Project, totalling 1,900 line kilometres and covering some 400 square kilometres

The 100%-owned Red Mountain Project is in central Alaska and White Rock is exploring for IRGS mineralisation and high-grade silver-zinc-gold-lead VMS deposits.

Following the companys successful capital raising, a fully funded 2021 exploration program is now in play.

First leg underway

The first leg in this aggressive program is the acquisition of geophysical data to assist in geological interpretation and drill target identification.

A SkyTEM survey is being undertaken to identify conductivity anomalies potentially associated with massive sulphide mineralisation.

Six new mineralised massive sulphide targets were identified in the emerging Last Chance VMS camp during the 2020 field season.

Assay results included:

Horseshoe - up to 8.3% zinc, 0.3% lead, 1.1% copper, 12 g/t silver and 3.6 g/t gold;

Bib - up to 7.3% zinc, 5.1% lead, 0.3% copper, 40 g/t silver and 0.3 g/t gold;.

Bib West - up to 5.7% zinc, 1.4% lead and 0.2% copper;

Grapple - up to 3.6% zinc, 1.9% lead, 0.7% copper and 40 g/t silver;

Peaches - up to 2.9% zinc, 2.8% lead, 0.2% copper, 46 g/t silver and 1.5 g/t gold; and

Ringer - up to 1.0% copper, 26 g/t silver and 0.4 g/t gold.

Previous SkyTEM flown over the Red Mountain VMS camp identified conductivity anomalies associated with the Dry Creek and WTF VMS deposits, with discrete conductivity anomalies identified to depths of 300 metres.

SkyTEM data acquisition

Acquisition of SkyTEM data will allow target definition work to be fast-tracked ahead of drill testing in the coming 2021 field season.

The SkyTEM survey will also extend over the Last Chance gold target where scout CSAMT ground geophysics completed in 2020 showed resistivity variation likely associated with geological structure and alteration.

Systematic data acquired through airborne EM will assist in identifying zonation associated with the gold system and aid drill targeting at depth.

Ground field activities

Following this survey, the company plans to start ground field activities in late May.

Three drill rigs have been secured, as has supporting helicopter services, two remote accommodation camps and geophysical contractors.

One drill rig will be dedicated to testing new VMS targets at the Last Chance and the Red Mountain VMS camps.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration lifted the pause on the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine on Friday. The agencies previously had decided to pause administration of the vaccine due to cases of an extremely rare blood clotting disorder found in six women between the ages of 18 and 49 who had gotten the shot.

The initial pause was intended to inform health care providers about this rare disorder and its treatment, and to see if other cases would emerge.

Out of the nearly 8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered, the CDC said it has confirmed that there have been 15 cases total of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or blood clots with low platelets.

After reviewing the benefits and risks of the vaccine, an independent committee to the CDC recommended that the vaccine continue to be administered, but with additional information about the very rare possibility of TTS.

What does this mean for women -- those who have been given the vaccine and those who haven't but are considering it?

We asked CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She's also the author of the forthcoming book "Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health."

CNN: You're not only a doctor. You also took part in the Johnson & Johnson clinical trial. You then found out that you got the placebo, and then you chose to receive this vaccine. Why did you do so at the time?

Dr. Leana Wen: I liked the fact that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a one-dose vaccine. It's "one and done," can be transported and stored at refrigerator temperatures, and it offers a lot of advantages for ease of distribution, including in hard-to-reach populations in the United States and around the world. I was really proud to take part in the clinical trial, and when I had the opportunity to take the vaccine, I chose this one.

At the time, I didn't know about the risk of TTS. To be clear, this is a very low risk -- though it's one that appears to be concentrated in one specific group. I think it's important to be honest with younger women thinking about this vaccine to explain exactly what the risk is -- and, importantly, to discuss alternatives with the two other vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, that do not carry this risk.

CNN: Some people have said, what's the big deal about blood clots? Aren't they pretty common? And in this situation, 15 cases out of 8 million shots is a pretty low risk, right?

Wen: This is not a run-of-the mill blood clot. The clotting disorder, TTS, that's believed to be associated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, is a combination of blood clots and thrombocytopenia, or low platelets. This combination is extremely rare, and it's very serious. Out of the 15 women who developed TTS, three have died. Seven are still in the hospital, and four are in critical condition. It's not accurate to compare TTS with the normal kind of blood clot, or deep vein thrombosis.

In addition, the risk of TTS may be 15 out of 8 million when we look at the population, but the CDC projected that there would be 13 cases of TTS in a million if we're looking at the very specific population of women less than 50 years old. That's 1 in 80,000.

This is still low, and is certainly much lower than the risk of contracting coronavirus and having a severe outcome, but we have to stop saying things like the risk of TTS is the same as the lifetime risk of being struck by lightning. That may be true for the overall population, but does not appear to be the case for the subgroup of women under 50.

CNN: Why is it that younger women seem to be more affected? Does it have to do with women being on birth control pills?

Wen: These are good questions. This is part of why the initial pause was done by federal health officials, to investigate whether the initial six women had something in common. Here's what we know. Of the 15 women with TTS after this vaccine, 13 were between the ages of 18 and 49. The largest cluster in terms of age was in the mid-to-late 30s, with a median age of 37.

Only two of the women were on birth control pills. None were pregnant or postpartum, which are also risk factors for blood clots. There were no specific commonalities to explain why they would be at higher risk for TTS.

CNN: Are we sure this is related to the J&J vaccine?

Wen: We don't know the exact cause, but there are two reasons why this appears to be associated with the vaccine. First, TTS is extremely rare. Again, it's not like DVTs, the normal blood clot, which are pretty common in the population. To see a cluster like this, where the only commonality is recently receiving this vaccine, suggests a link.

Second, TTS is also seen as a rare side effect associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Both of these vaccines use a similar platform, the adenoviral vector platform. It seems likely that TTS is indeed associated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

CNN: For people who already have had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, what symptoms should they watch out for, and for how long?

Wen: The symptoms to watch out for include a severe, unrelenting headache; trouble breathing and chest pain; abdominal pain; leg swelling; sudden numbness or weakness in an arm or leg; and easy bruising. Call your doctor immediately if you have any of these symptoms.

All cases thus far presented between six and 15 days from the time of receiving the shot, so if you got vaccinated more than three weeks ago, you're probably in the clear. Similarly, it's unlikely that you will have symptoms immediately, so if you have fatigue, headache and muscle aches right after the vaccine, that's probably the normal reaction. These symptoms usually last for 24 to 48 hours. If you have severe headaches after three days, call your doctor.

CNN: What if people who got the vaccine need a booster? Do they have to stick with J&J?

Wen: There is no reason to think that that's the case. For other types of vaccines, there are boosters all the time that are manufactured by a different company. Someone who received J&J, if they need a booster in time, could get one from one of the other manufacturers, and vice versa.

CNN: What about women who haven't had the vaccine yet and are considering it -- would you recommend that they get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine?

Wen: It depends. The big benefit of this vaccine is that it's a one-dose vaccine. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines both require two doses. If someone is terrified of needles or has some reason as to why they would not want to come back for a second dose, I would definitely recommend the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Similarly, if someone doesn't easily have access to the other vaccines, then I'd certainly recommend the J&J, too. I have family in South Africa, for example, who don't have any other choice. There's no question that this is the right option for them.

There might be other, very specific reasons some women might choose the J&J vaccine. For example, I have had some patients say that they don't trust the messenger RNA technology used by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. I can explain to them why they should trust the technology and how over 100 million people have taken these vaccines without adverse effects, but if they still really want J&J because it's a more "traditional" technology, that would be fine, too.

Also, there are some patients who have experienced a severe allergic reaction to Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, and are told by their doctors that they should take J&J. Again, that's a good reason to choose it.

For women older than 50, the risk of TTS appears to be extremely low -- the CDC estimates it to be 2 in 1 million. I'd say that J&J is a good option for them, and for men.

However, for women under 50, who don't otherwise have a reason to specifically choose J&J, I'd recommend that they receive the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines instead. That's because these two vaccines do not have a risk of TTS. They have a completely different mechanism from the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines -- they use the messenger RNA platform instead of adenoviral vector platforms -- and over 100 million Americans have received them with no association with TTS.

Note that this is not what the CDC and FDA have said. I personally think that they should have given an explicit recommendation that women under 50 be offered Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna as first-line vaccines, and Johnson & Johnson as a second-line choice. They didn't do this, but I -- and I am sure other clinicians -- will be advising patients in this way.

That's because informed decision-making involves an understanding of the risks, benefits and alternatives -- and in this case, there are alternatives to the J&J vaccine that are equally effective and do not contain this rare but serious risk.

CNN: To be clear, this is not your recommendation in other groups, right?

Wen: Correct. I would only say that for women under 50, another vaccine should be offered first. By the way, this is standard practice in medicine. We frequently say that there is first-line treatment and second-line treatment that's different depending on a person's age, underlying medical conditions, circumstances, etc. So this isn't unusual.

We are getting to a point in the United States where vaccine supply exceeds demand. Americans will be fortunate to have a choice. Johnson & Johnson is an excellent choice, but it may not be the first-line choice for everyone. In time, we may find out that certain other groups may benefit most from certain types of vaccines. This is good and allows us to tailor recommendations for the individual.

In the meantime, it's really important that we help people understand the extraordinary benefits of the vaccines and keep risks in perspective. Let's not downplay the risks, but rather be honest about them, and present alternatives. That's critical to empowering all people to make the best decisions about their health.
MONTREAL, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - A group of Montrealers launched, in September 2020, an eLearning and virtual events platform: aSafari.ca

The platform is dedicated to professionals, entrepreneurs & artists with afro-descendants origins to share their knowledge and skills online with the world. No matter where they are and no matter their field of expertise.

On aSafari there is a variety of learning journeys (from project management to dance classes, etc.) and we will be hosting virtual events such as DJs livestreams, fundraising events, and so on.

aSafari offers the opportunity to our Guides (Teachers) to start giving classes online to a worldwide audience with no starting costs.

And our Travellers (Students) to have access to affordable learning journeys that they would not have access to elsewhere (because of the price or the non-availability of the content).

aSafari is the only EdTech platform that has a livestream feature integrated and that offers live support to its community of students and teachers.

'Representation matters! I have the career I have today because I was able to be inspired and identify myself into somebody else who looked like me and who have a similar life experience to mine'. Kelly David Nzeyimana - Cofounder & Director of Operations.

aSafari is currently open to onboard more Guides (Teachers) on their platform to contribute to their mission and vision.

'Our mission is to create wealth and knowledge within afro-descendants communities and to do so we aim to be a world reference in online learning journeys and virtual events'. Kelly David Nzeyimana - Cofounder & Director of Operations.

SOURCE Asafari Inc.
MABEN, Miss. (WTVA) - Students and teachers worked on learning in classrooms in one Webster County School on Tuesday.

Ten years ago, an EF-3 tornado ripped apart East Webster High School.

East Webster High School ten years after the EF-3 tornado destroyed the former high school. April 27, 2021. East Webster High School ten years after the EF-3 tornado destroyed the former high school. April 27, 2021.

The buildings were damaged and no one was sure what would come next.

High School history teacher Lavelle McAlpin recalled that dreadful day.

Walked into my classroom and found the porch off of the gym driven through my window, he said.

McAlpin said he vividly remembered stepping onto the campus of East Webster High hours after a tornado blew through the county.

I will never forget that, walking into that classroom door seeing the debris and that in the classroom, it still stays with me.

Principal Corey Stidham said the scene is also stuck in his mind.

It was pretty much total distraction. It demolished the gym -- most of the buildings," explained Stidham. "I think the great thing was it happened at 2 oclock in the morning when we werent on campus. I think that was a blessing.

The EF-3 tornado killed one person and injured 15 others as it traveled through Webster County.

With community help, East Webster High School students returned to class a few days later.

School leaders moved the school to the old Wood College campus and Mathiston.

McAlpin said teachers used cowbells to start and end class. "It's unforgettable," he added.

The motto was from the time the event happened was Bigger, Better, Stronger" said the principal. "I feel like weve continued with that over the process.

Stidham and McAlpin said all the progress would not have been possible without the community backing them up the entire way.
The UN refugee agency's high commissioner has crossed the border from Rwanda into Burundi alongside 159 refugees who are being repatriated.



Filippo Grandi joined the convoy as an observer while visiting the Great Lakes region.



A spokeswoman tells the BBC that more than 23,000 refugees have been repatriated since last August.



More than 100,000 refugees fled to neighbouring Rwanda during the 2015 political crisis in Burundi, and more than 60,000 still live in Rwanda.



Many more have registered to go back home since March when the UN's food agency reduced cut food aid by 60% to refugees in Rwanda blaming a sharp fall in international aid.



Many refugees in Rwanda said they expected solutions from Mr Grandi's visit, "but we havent heard any comforting news from him, David Ngarura of Mahama refugee camp told BBC.



Mr Grandi is now visiting Burundi after Rwanda and DR Congo.

Source: BBC









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The provincial state of emergency in British Columbia has been extended yet again.

The state of emergency is extended through the end of the day on May 11, 2021, to allow B.C. to " take the necessary actions" to manage COVID-19 outbreaks.

"With over 1.5 million British Columbians already vaccinated and tens of thousands more joining them each day, the end of this pandemic is in sight. But we're not there yet," said Premier John Horgan.

"I know how hard people have been working to keep others safe. The final mile of this pandemic is proving more difficult, but if we all keep doing our part to follow public health orders, including staying close to home, we will get through this sooner rather than later."

The state of emergency allows health and emergency management officials to continue to use "extraordinary powers" under the Emergency Program Act (EPA).

The Province continues to use measures the EPA to limit the spread of COVID-19, which includes issuing tickets for owners, operators and event organizers who host events or gatherings in contravention of provincial health orders. The original declaration was made on March 18, 2020.
DUBOIS, Wyo., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Museum of Military Vehicles (NMMV) announced today that its new Korean and Vietnam War Gallery will open Wednesday, May 26, 2021. The 40,000 square-foot, multi-million dollar gallery uses immersive dioramas, interactive exhibits, oral histories, vehicles, and other artifacts to honor the millions of Americans who served in these two wars.

"Our museum was voted one of the ten best new attractions in the U.S. in 2020 on the strength of our World War II Gallery," said Dan Starks, Founder and Chairman of NMMV. "We raise the bar in our Korean and Vietnam War Gallery by making the exhibits even more immersive and captivating."

The Korean War sometimes is called The Forgotten War. Not at NMMV! More than 5 million Americans served in the Korean War between June 1950 and July 1953. Approximately 140,000 were killed or wounded. Visit the museum to find out why along with how the American experience in the Korean War impacted American conduct during the Vietnam War.

Over 3 million Americans served in the Vietnam War. More than 200,000 were killed or wounded during their service. Many more died afterwards from their exposure to Agent Orange. More than 200,000 veterans still suffer from PTSD. Come to the museum to learn more about the Vietnam War and about why our veterans and their families deserve so much appreciation from all of us.

Sneak previews of the new gallery are available to media by appointment.

About the National Museum of Military Vehicles

NMMV is a privately funded, 140,000 square-foot facility located near Dubois, WY. The museum is home to more than 450 military vehicles, the largest private collection in the world.

The museum is a 501(c) non-profit organization whose mission is "to honor the service and sacrifice of veterans and their families, educate next generations on the history of American freedom, and share historic military vehicles."

The museum's World War II gallery opened to the public in August 2020.

Connect with us at www.nmmv.org and on Facebook at facebook.com/NMMVWY.

Further information: Alynne Catron: [email protected]

SOURCE National Museum of Military Vehicles

Related Links

https://nmmv.org/


Tesla hits a bump at Shanghai auto show

From:ChinaDaily | 2021-04-28 07:14

Electric carmaker criticized for its handling of unhappy customer

Elon Musk and his electric car company Tesla have a large following in Chinathe world's largest vehicle marketmuch to the envy of rivals.

Tesla was the bestselling maker of such vehicles in China last year, and last month was its best in the country to date, with 35,478 cars sold, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

However, a number of potential customers are deciding against placing orders and some owners are refusing to drive their Teslas to protest the way a customer who complained about an alleged brake failure was treated at the Shanghai auto show.

On April 19, the opening day of the show, which is held every two years, a woman got on top of a Tesla Model 3 car and shouted that the brakes did not work. She was quickly dragged away by security guards, who attempted to hide her from visitors with open umbrellas.

Footage of the incident taken by onlookers generated more than 150 million views on Sina Weibo within hours.

A business owner in Beijing surnamed Cui said, "I feel embarrassed, and I am worried that my Tesla Model 3 has the same problem, so I'm driving my Audi these days."

The protester, who was detained by police for disturbing public order, owns a Tesla Model 3 in Henan province, and her father was involved in a traffic accident in February while driving the car.

The woman claimed that the crash was caused by a technical problem with the car, but Tesla insisted the accident was due to excessive speed.

Soon after the protest, Grace Tao, a Tesla vice-president, told reporters: "There is no possibility Tesla will compromise ... I think she (the protester) is quite professional ... She has contributed to most of the negative news about Tesla recently."

The remarks made by Tao, who joined Tesla in 2014, escalated the protest.

Faced with mounting pressure, the company softened its stance, issuing a series of late-night statements. On April 20, it put out an apology and said it was carrying out a "self-inspection". Next day, it said it was "working with regulators for investigation".

On Thursday, Tesla disclosed data about the vehicle that crashed, generated before the accident. The data have not been independently verified.

Events took another turn three days later, when the woman protester, surnamed Zhang, was released from detention.

In a Sina Weibo post, Zhang said Tesla did not contact her or her family until the morning of her release from police detention. She added that the company should not disclose data about her vehicle without her consent, saying this was an invasion of privacy.

Yang Zhongyang, a senior auto reporter at Economic Daily, said the criticism leveled against Tesla centers mainly on how it responds to complaints, rather than referring to the quality of its vehicles.

In a news analysis, Reuters said Tesla defies industry convention, as it is based on a corporate culture that rarely admits mistakes.

The company has long been accused by customers of responding in an irresponsible manner to complaints about incidents such as battery fires, unexpected acceleration and failure to provide software updates.

Only two months ago, Tesla promised to "strictly abide by Chinese laws and regulations and always respect consumer rights "after the State Administration for Market Regulation urged it to heed consumer complaints.

Tu Le, analyst at research company Sino Auto Insights, said, "There have been constant complaints on social media about Tesla in China regarding quality and service issues, but they seem to have been largely ignored by the local team until Tuesday (April 20)."
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Market Reports on Saudi Arabia Provides the Trending Market Research Report on Microwaves in the United Arab Emirates under Consumer Goods category. The United Arab Emirates Microwaves Market is projected to exhibit highest growth rate over report offers a collection of superior market research, market analysis, and competitive intelligence and industry reports.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in the UAE required consumers to spend more time in the household, reducing sales through foodservice as consumers increased their home cooking. However, despite an increase in home cooking and baking, consumers were becoming increasingly price-sensitive throughout 2020. This was the result of job losses and working from home, increasing financial insecurity.

Microwaves in United Arab Emirates report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data 2016-2020, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market  be they new product developments, format trends or distribution issues. Forecasts to 2025 illustrate how the market is set to change.

Product coverage:

Built-in Microwaves, Freestanding Microwaves.

Request a free sample copy of United Arab Emirates Microwaves Market Report @ http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/sample/reports/833262

Data coverage:

market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data.

Why buy this report?

* Get a detailed picture of the Microwaves market;

* Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change;

* Understand the competitive environment, the markets major players and leading brands;

* Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop.

Table Of Contents

Microwaves in the United Arab Emirates

LIST OF CONTENTS AND TABLES

KEY DATA FINDINGS

2020 IMPACT

Price-sensitivity partners with a halt in construction work, leading to a volume decline

Players incentivise sales through price-discounts and free gifts with each purchase

Microwaves with all-in-one cooking features drive sales during home seclusion

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

Growth recovers from 2022 as freestanding microwaves boost sales forward

The return of busy, on-the-go lifestyles drive sales of microwaves

Sales in e-commerce rise, following heightened growth for the channel in 2020

CATEGORY DATA

Table 1 Sales of Microwaves by Category: Volume 2015-2020

Table 2 Sales of Microwaves by Category: Value 2015-2020

Table 3 Sales of Microwaves by Category: % Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 4 Sales of Microwaves by Category: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 5 Sales of Microwaves by Connected Appliances: % Volume 2016-2020

Table 6 NBO Company Shares of Microwaves: % Volume 2016-2020

Table 7 LBN Brand Shares of Microwaves: % Volume 2017-2020

Table 8 Distribution of Microwaves by Format: % Volume 2015-2020

Table 9 Forecast Sales of Microwaves by Category: Volume 2020-2025

Table 10 Forecast Sales of Microwaves by Category: Value 2020-2025

Table 11 Forecast Sales of Microwaves by Category: % Volume Growth 2020-2025

Table 12 Forecast Sales of Microwaves by Category: % Value Growth 2020-2025

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

COVID-19 impact on consumer appliances

COVID-19 country impact

Company response

Retailing shift

What next for consumer appliances?

MARKET INDICATORS

Table 13 Household Penetration of Selected Total Stock Consumer Appliances by Category 2015-2020

Table 14 Replacement Cycles of Consumer Appliances by Category 2015-2020

Table 15 Forecast Household Penetration of Selected Total Stock Consumer Appliances by Category 2020-2025

Table 16 Forecast Replacement Cycles of Consumer Appliances by Category 2020-2025

MARKET DATA

Table 17 Sales of Consumer Appliances by Category: Volume 2015-2020

Table 18 Sales of Consumer Appliances by Category: Value 2015-2020

Table 19 Sales of Consumer Appliances by Category: % Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 20 Sales of Consumer Appliances by Category: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 21 Sales of Major Appliances by Category and Built-in/Freestanding Split: Volume 2015-2020

Table 22 Sales of Major Appliances by Category and Built-in/Freestanding Split: Value 2015-2020

Table 23 Sales of Major Appliances by Category and Built-in/Freestanding Split: % Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 24 Sales of Major Appliances by Category and Built-in/Freestanding Split: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 25 Sales of Small Appliances by Category: Volume 2015-2020

Table 26 Sales of Small Appliances by Category: Value 2015-2020

Table 27 Sales of Small Appliances by Category: % Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 28 Sales of Small Appliances by Category: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 29 NBO Company Shares of Major Appliances: % Volume 2016-2020

Table 30 LBN Brand Shares of Major Appliances: % Volume 2017-2020

Table 31 NBO Company Shares of Small Appliances: % Volume 2016-2020

Table 32 LBN Brand Shares of Small Appliances: % Volume 2017-2020

Table 33 Distribution of Major Appliances by Format: % Volume 2015-2020

Table 34 Distribution of Small Appliances by Format: % Volume 2015-2020

Table 35 Forecast Sales of Consumer Appliances by Category: Volume 2020-2025

Table 36 Forecast Sales of Consumer Appliances by Category: Value 2020-2025

Table 37 Forecast Sales of Consumer Appliances by Category: % Volume Growth 2020-2025

Table 38 Forecast Sales of Consumer Appliances by Category: % Value Growth 2020-2025

Table 39 Forecast Sales of Major Appliances by Category and Built-in/Freestanding Split: Volume 2020-2025

Table 40 Forecast Sales of Major Appliances by Category and Built-in/Freestanding Split: Value 2020-2025

Table 41 Forecast Sales of Major Appliances by Category and Built-in/Freestanding Split: % Volume Growth

Browse our full report with Table of Contents: http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/microwaves-in-the-united-arab-emirates/833262

About Us

Market Reports on Saudi Arabia provides you with an in-depth industry reports focusing on various economic, political and operational risk environment, complemented by detailed sector analysis. We have an exhaustive coverage on variety of industries  ranging from energy and chemicals to transportation, communications, constructions and mining to Food and Beverage and education. Our collection includes over 3000 up-to-date reports all researched, analysed and published by top-notch international research firms.

Contact us at:

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COPPER HARBOR, MICH. -- The first thing Ranger Chris Amidon wants you to know about Isle Royale National Park? Its a destination that demands your time.

The parks location way out in Lake Superior, roughly 55 miles from the tip of Michigans remote Keweenaw Peninsula, has made this archipelago and its eponymous main island one of the least-visited properties in the entire National Park System. Getting there requires time, being there requires time, and even trip planning  a must for this place  can and should take time, too, ideally well before you visit.

But seasoned explorers of this epic destination will tell you that if you invest that time into properly planning an Isle Royale trip, youll be rewarded with a wilderness experience unlike any other in Michigan: Miles of hiking and water trails, unspoiled night skies, wildlife that includes wolves, bald eagles and moose, and so much more.

To help travelers sort out how to start planning a trip to this incredible Upper Peninsula treasure, were sharing a few insider tips and best practices from three Isle Royale veterans  including Ranger Amidon, plus a local kayak guide, and a professional photographer  as compiled by the Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Read on for their Isle Royale adventure advice, check out the need-to-know basics and park updates at nps.gov/isro, and find more tips on Isle Royale trip planning on the Keweenaw Peninsula website.

Travelers must access Isle Royale by boat or sea plane. | Photo by Adam Johnson, used with permission from Keweenaw Visitors and Convention Bureau

Start planning early. Isle Royale is not a last-minute trip choice for first-timers. Research, reservations, and even travel to the island from the mainland all add up, so dont attempt to tackle this kind of adventure on a whim. The more youre able to plan in advance, especially in 2021, the more likely a trip will happen, Amidon says.

Be realistic about the time you need to fully enjoy your adventure. A trip to a wild, remote chain of islands surrounded Lake Superior is nothing like camping at your favorite state park. If possible, budget for more time on the island than you think youll need.

Give yourself an extra day or two, Amidon says. Many fist-time backpackers overcommit on daily hiking mileage. What should be an enjoyable immersion into Isle Royales wilderness becomes a forced march to make ferry connections.

Keep a loose itinerary. Adam Johnson, owner and lead photographer for the Keweenaw-based Brockit Inc. photography studio, says that when it comes to Isle Royale, variables like weather and even wildlife might affect your agenda.

An open mind to flexibility is a must, Johnson says. Be ready to cozy up in a shelter or tent for a half a day while you wait for the wind and rain to die down. And dont be surprised when you have to huddle on the side of the trail for an hour while you wait for the moose and her babies to clear the path. Its all part of the adventure.

Pick your destinations wisely. Instead of rushing to a new camp destination every night, Johnson recommends visitors plan multiple nights at one basecamp from which to take shorter day hikes.

Your load will be lighter for those day-hikes, and youll get to settle in more at camp -- making it feel like home for a couple days instead of a place to crash for the night, he says, adding that park rangers at the headquarters can offer great suggestions for both base camps and nearby day hikes.

Test your gear beforehand. A backpacking trip to one of the countrys most remote national parks is not the time to learn how to use your new water filter. If youre bringing new gear to the island, whether its a tent, backpack, clothing, cooking equipment or some other item, be sure youve used it, worn it, and are confident in how to operate it well before you step foot on the Isle Royale ferry or seaplane. The island isnt the place to test the things Amazon Prime delivered the morning of your departure, Johnson says.

Pack smart. Know and bring the 10 essentials (which the National Park Service recently updated to include a mask and hand sanitizer). Dont obsess about the weight of every last item, but be realistic about what youll actually need: Youll pack as much gear for a two-day trip as you will for a 10 day trip  the only difference will be food, Johnson says. And youre going to wear the same clothes the entire time, dont kid yourself, so dont overpack.

If hiking isnt really your thing: Swap the backpack for a kayak, suggests Shelby Laubhan, co-owner of Copper Harbor-based Keweenaw Adventure Company. Witnessing the wonders of the isle from its exterior shorelines adds a whole new dimension of discovery, and kayaks also permit access to awesome  oftentimes less occupied  island campsites with zero hikers, she says.

For a no fuss, no muss trip, she recommends hiring a guide, who will deal with everything from permitting to weather forecasts, give you access to secret spots, and will even filter your water for you, too.

Practice leave no trace. Last summers surge of outdoor adventurers unfortunately coincided with a significant uptick in littering, graffiti and even vandalism at parks in Michigan and across the nation. Laubhan reminds visitors to pack out what they pack in, and to practice leave no trace principles, which the National Park Service outlines here.

If its your first time on the island: For stunning views and an immersive experience, Ranger Amidon recommends hiking the Stoll Trail to Scoville Point, a 4.2-mile trail with interconnected loops that skirts the iconic Isle Royale shoreline.

If its your first time staying at the islands Rock Harbor Lodge: Amidon suggests renting canoes or kayaks to paddle the quiet and relatively calm waters of Tobin Harbor, where you can watch for loons and moose before meandering to Hidden Lake Dock to hike the steep, two-mile round-trip trail to scenic Lookout Louise with views of Isle Royale, Lake Superior, and Ontario.

Dont obsess about photos. As a professional photographer, Johnson has a surprising suggestion when it comes to taking pictures during your trip: Leave your fancy camera at home.

Youre not traveling to the island to create marketing content, he says. Dont set yourself up to panic when your batteries die, when your memory card is full, or when you drop the whole thing into the mud. You should be immersed in the experience of the island instead of looking through the lens of a camera.

Instead, Johnson recommends travelers make sure theyre adept at using their smartphone cameras, and to bring a notebook, for journaling, instead of expensive photo gear.

Youre there to savor the experience through your senses and share them with the people youre with, he says. Be in the moment. Log what you see, what you smell, and what you feel. Thatll be more memorable than your snapshots.

Lastly: Pace yourself. With so much to see and do, and with so much effort required to even plan a trip, it can be easy to want to do it all  but resist that temptation. Isle Royale isnt going anywhere; you can always come back.

Isle Royale is a one-of-a-kind destination that should truly be savored instead of inhaled, Johnson says. Every time I step foot on the island I feel like I enter a different world. A world that doesnt require a watch or a calendar. Block the time and set the pace.

Find more resources at nps.gov/isro, and at keeweenaw.info.

RELATED:

7 secret spots to explore in Michigans Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

Wolf that left Michigans Isle Royale has had amazing 2-year journey, GPS data shows

7 wild and wonderful things to know about Michigans Porcupine Mountains State Park
Credit: Shunliang Wu

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, in collaboration with their Swiss colleagues at the University Hospital of Bern, have cracked the code for controlling a group of enzymes that affect our metabolism.

The researchers' findings could help us avoid diseases ranging from high cholesterol to infertility to certain types of cancer, which are all due, among other things, to hormonal imbalances.

They have found a way to influence a special protein called cytochrome P450 reductase (POR)popularly characterized as the 'conductor' of the body's protein orchestra, which helps regulate our hormones and makes it possible to break down medicinal products in the liver.

"We have developed a method to control this conductor using small molecules that are able to bind to the POR protein and thereby up- or downgrade the formation of certain hormones or help the degradation of certain drugs in the liver. These processes are important for several types of disease," explains Simon Bo Jensen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Chemistry.

Together with department colleague Associate Professor Nikos Hatzakis, who led the research project, Jensen found three molecules that can bind to the POR protein, and in doing so, influence how the conductor controls the protein orchestraand thereby prevent diseases from developing in the body.

"By affecting the POR protein, we can activate or deactivate proteins with different functionsjust as a conductor controls their orchestra. Imagine a violin that controls testosterone levels, a saxophone that affects cholesterol or a cello that is implicated in cancers. Now we can direct them," explains Nikos Hatzakis.

Their findings have just been published in the journal Nature Communications.

A potential prostate cancer remedy

The human body consists of many different proteins. One important group, often involved in several types of disease, is called P450. These proteins are managed by the heavy hand of the POR conductor.

If P450 proteins don't function as they ought to, they can create an imbalance in our sex hormones, which can then lead to prostate cancer or other diseases. Postdoc Simon Bo Jensen explains:

"When it comes to prostate cancer, patients typically have trouble regulating a particular P450 protein known as CYP17. Our new method lets us design a molecule that can bind to the POR conductor and increase or decrease CYP17 without affecting other P450 proteins. By so doing, we can treat diseases like prostate cancer far more effectively, while avoiding serious side effects," he says.

The researchers identified three molecules that can bind to and influence the POR conductor. Two of these are already being used in pharmaceuticals, while the third is a natural product derived from the sorghum plant.

The hope is that these three molecules will pave the way for the design of a greater number of even more effective molecules to prevent or treat diseases.

"By using artificial intelligence to sort data for hundreds of molecules, we can study which molecules bind to the POR conductor and cause it to act the way we want it to. So far, we've found the three mentioned," explains Simon Bo Jensen.

Paving the way for effective medicines of the future

The researchers' quest for just the right molecules to bind to the POR conductor is not over yet.

"We would like to explore whether there are other molecules that are even more effective at influencing the conductor's behavior. For now, we have taken the first step and demonstrated that we can influence the POR conductor. In doing so, we've paved the way for future treatment methods of various types of disease," says Nikos Hatzakis, who concludes:

"So far, we have tested the proteins in isolation, in the laboratory and in cells. When we have a potential drug with promising results, the next step will be to test it on animals and finally, in humans. We hope that our research will lead to the development of medicines in pill form in the near future."

Explore further New AI tool provides much-needed help to protein scientists across the world

More information: Simon Bo Jensen et al, Biased cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism via small-molecule ligands binding P450 oxidoreductase, Nature Communications (2021). Journal information: Nature Communications Simon Bo Jensen et al, Biased cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism via small-molecule ligands binding P450 oxidoreductase,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22562-w
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MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2021) Saudi Arabia has reached a consensus with the administration of US President Joe Biden on 90% of outstanding issues, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, adding that Washington is a strategic partner for Riyadh.

"The United States is a strategic partner [for Saudi Arabia] ... We agree with Biden's administration more than 90% regarding issues related to the Saudi-US interests," bin Salman said in a televised interview broadcast by the Al Arabiya channel late on Tuesday.

The crown prince, however, noted that disagreements between the two sides may either go down or up.

"Saudi Arabia is cooperating with all countries around the world ... We are working to maintain our strategic partnership with our partners in the region, as well as to enhance our alliance with other states and create new partnerships," bin Salman added.

Bin Salman reiterated that the kingdom does not accept any external pressure or interference in its internal affairs and also highlighted that Saudi Arabia's foreign policy is based on its national interests.

In a separate remark, the crown prince said that Riyadh aspires to have good relations with its regional neighbor, Iran, but there is a problem related to Tehran's "negative behavior," when it concerns the latter's nuclear program or support for "outlaw militias."

"Iran is a neighboring country, and we hope to have good relations with it ... We do not want to exacerbate the situation with Iran, but, on the contrary, we want Iran to develop and also want to have interests in it, and we want Iran to have interests in Saudi Arabia in a bid to push the region and the world to growth and prosperity," bin Salman added, as cited by Al Arabiya.

The crown prince highlighted that the kingdom is working with its regional and world partners to find solution to its issues with Iran.
Story Behind Revocation of Chinese State-Run Media CGTNs License in UK: Interview With Peter Dahlin

The Chinese regimes mouthpiece China Global Television Network (CGTN) lost its broadcasting license in the UK early this year, although the Beijing authorities put on a big effort to maintain its voice in Europe. Peter Dahlin, the person behind the effort, spoke about the process with The Epoch Times affiliate NTD in an April 9 interview.

CGTN is directly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party [CCP], said Dahlin. There are two amendments or proposals here, one deals specifically with these forced televised confessions and the broadcasting of human rights violation, and the other deals more with general propaganda from state-owned TV channels.

The legal safeguards in China werent particularly good before, of course, but its been deteriorating significantly  especially [over] the last four or five years, Dahlin added.

The meaning and effect of the UK revocation of CGTNs license is significant.

According to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television that was issued by the Council of Europe in 1989, the revocation means CGTN lost its right to air in the other 49 European countries that signed this treaty.

Dahlin is the director of Safeguard Defenders, a human rights non-governmental organization (NGO) registered in Spain. He worked for the Swedish government before he moved to China in 2007. In 2009, he co-founded a human rights group China Action, which trained about 800 Chinese lawyers and helped 150 human rights activists.

In 2016, Dahlin was forced to confess on camera which was broadcast on CCTVCGTNs mother company. The China Action was cracked down upon by Beijing authorities at that same time. Dahlin was released and expelled from China 3 weeks later. He founded Safeguard Defenders in late 2016 with the aim to support human rights activists, lawyers, and independent media in China who are persecuted by the Chinese government.

On April 3, the French television regulator Conseil Superieur de lAudiovisuel approved CGTNs broadcasting application, which reopened the European door to the propaganda agency. On April 5, Safeguard Defenders formally complained to CSA about CGTN.

In the interview, Dahlin talked about the UK case, as well as the activities that the Safeguard Defenders are doing in other countries.

Scenes from a program from the CGTN archive are displayed on a computer monitor in London, England, on Feb. 4, 2021. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

UK Case

CGTNs license to air in the UK was revoked on Feb. 4, due to a successful campaign work by Safeguard Defenders.

Complaints have been filed over the past two years to the UK broadcast regulators Office of Communications (Ofcom), exposing the Chinese regimes abuse and violation of laws.

CGTN is known to have broadcast videos of individuals who were forced to make scripted confessions in front of a camera when falsely told that the recording was for internal use.

Human rights violations are not the only breach conducted by the Chinese regime. CGTN broke broadcasting regulations in the UK, even though it was well aware of these regulations in the different countries where they operate, and they are intentionally choosing to ignore them because theyre expecting that there will be no punishment, Dahlin said.

In the UK, the Broadcasting Act 1990 prohibits license holders from being controlled by political bodies. CGTN is controlled by the CCP, and content such as forced confessions on video injure both the victims and the audience.

Its not just torturing these people physically and psychologically, but in some cases, going after their family members, detaining family members. In one case, the teenage son of one victim was taken to a police station, and video filmed dying, beaten up by the police, which was then shown to the parents. And only then, after months of torture, did he agree to make this recording, Dahlin said.

Dahlin explained that the victims were forced to tell lies in front of cameras, in order to produce propaganda suitable for the needs of the CCP. They suffered the consequences, such as losing their credibility in society, after being set free.

However, the control the CCP exerts over the victim wont necessarily be eased even after the victims fake confession on CCTV. Dahlin said that one lawyer, after being released, put on his social media account that his confession had been incorrect, that its been forced. And within 24 hours, the police threatened to detain him all over againjust for making that post.

At the same time, a large number of human rights lawyers disappeared.

Its a relatively new trend that weve noticed over the last four or five years, where police will take the suspect into an official pre-trial detention facility, awaiting trial, and they will register them under a false name. This means that the missing person cant be found by family or lawyers, as there will be no evidence of the missing person being detained at any detention center.

What is actually going on behind the scenes; that any individual complaint is just the tip of the icebergit represents something much bigger, Dahlin introduced more cases and stories of victims in the interview, as well as his own experience after the on-camera confession.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is seen on a program from the CGTN archive as it plays on a computer monitor in London, England, on Feb. 4, 2021. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Other Countries

In the interview, Dahlin talked about the cases that Safeguard Defenders are working on now.

The campaign against CCTV and CGTNagain with the point of stopping these forced televised confessionsis reaching new countries every week. We will have engaged on this issue in, soon 20 countries, and its going to continue after that. So this is not something thats stopping, this is something thats expanding, its going to continue to roll along. So our fight with CGTN is not over, by far, Dahlin said.

In Canada, Safeguard Defenders has presented the material on over 70 different victims to the TV regulators. [Canadian regulators] have no idea about this. So for many of them its a steep learning curve to realize what are these violations, what are false confessions, how it is aired in their country, Dahlin introduced.

After hard work in Canada, such as actively providing the information and support to politicians and regulators, Dahlin and his team saw a positive response.

The two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been detained for espionage in China since December 2018, have not been forced to confess on TV because of Safeguard Defenders actions against CGTN, according to Dahlin.

In Canada, were still quite hopeful that the TV regulator will take action, Dahlin said.
PHILIPSBURG:--- St. Maarten, Caribbean, 26 Apr 2021 - NAGICO Holdings Limited (NAGICO or the Company) today announced that it has appointed Mr. Marlon Matser as Chairman, succeeding Mr. Imran Amjad who served as Chairman since January 2014 and will remain on the Board. Four independent directors from diverse backgrounds were appointed to join the Companys Board. With the new additions, the Board now has seven members.

Born and raised in St. Maarten, Mr. Matser is a recognized leader in the accounting industry with a solid background of management experience, he has held various Board positions in the Caribbean region previously. Mr. Matser will provide NAGICO valuable insight and perspective, said Mr. Amjad. I have great confidence in the companys leadership and I look forward to seeing its continued success. The newly appointed directors join in an independent capacity and bring with them extensive business and insurance experience. Together the newly appointed directors will provide valuable strategic and commercial management input to our Board.

On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to express our gratitude to Mr. Amjad for his decades of service with our company as the Chairman and CEO prior to that, said Mr. Matser. At the same time, I am honored to be appointed as Chairman of NAGICO, a company with deep roots in the Caribbean region. Mr. Amjad and Mr. Michael Bishop will remain on the Board. Mr. Bishop joined as Board of Director since 2019, he will continue to support the board with his 50 years of experience in reinsurance.

Mr. Matser continued, I would also like to welcome Mrs. Maria Merkies-Groothuizen, Mr. Kenneth Hodge, Mr. Mark Kortenoever, and Mr. Ross Matthews to join the Board. I look forward to working with the Board and the company in this new capacity.

Mrs. Maria Merkies-Groothuizen has over 35 years of financial industry experience, of which 20 years were with a multinational firm specialized in corporate governance and compliance for the Caribbean and the international markets. Mr. Kenneth Hodge is a qualified chartered accountant with over 20 years of accounting and audit experience, he has been servicing a variety of local and international clients with operations in the British Virgin Islands. Mr. Mark Kortenoever is currently a member of the St. Maarten Bar Association, an attorney with over 30 years of experience, he was also a member of the General Audit Chamber at St. Maarten. Mr. Ross Matthews is an insurance expert with 40 years of experience in insurance operations, international expansion, and growth strategies. He has strong relationships within the international insurance market with deep management experience of general
A mother and her son were on their way to her husband's funeral, when they were killed in a fatal car crash.

The son's wife is also in critical condition, fighting for her life at a local hospital, after the crash in Bellevue, Michigan at 9.54am on Friday.

Loralie Hunter, 71, of Bellevue, her son Troy Bass, 53, and daughter-in-law Cindy Bass, had been on route to say their final goodbyes to Ross Hunter, who died on April 10. They were just minutes away from the funeral when a pick-up truck slammed into their Chevy Equinox.

Hunter and her son were killed at the scene, the Eaton County Sheriff's Office said. Cindy was rushed to hospital where she remains in a critical condition.

Loralie Hunter, 71, and her son, Troy Bass, 53, were on the way to her husband's funeral last Friday, when a pick-up truck struck their Chevy Equinox, killing them both

The driver of the pick-up truck, meanwhile, suffered only minor injuries, the sheriff's office reported.

Police are now investigating the accident.

'We have no words and are so numb,' Kayla Beers, Troy's daughter-in-law, posted on Facebook the next day, mentioning that her mother-in-law was fighting for her life in the ICU.

Cindy Bass, Troy's wife, was also in the car and is now in the ICU at a local hospital

When she and her husband heard the news, Kayla wrote, they immediately started packing up their car to head to Michigan from their home in California.

'Heaven has gained some true angels,' Kayla wrote, 'We love you guys. You will always be so loved and remembered.'

Loralie was born in Battle Creek, Michigan on April 8, 1950, and married Larry Bass in 1968, according to her online obituary. Together, they had Troy, Daniel and Michelle (Bass) Bush.

But Loralie's marriage to Larry Bass did not last, and she started dating Ross Hunter in 1985. They got married in November 1998.

'Loralie's infectious personality touched everyone she met, including the stranger in front of her at the grocery store,' her obituary says. 'She always made sure to be the first person to call friends and family on their birthdays, often singing over voicemail if they didn't pick up their phones.'

'She was a loyal and compassionate person who never hesitated to help a friend in need. Everybody loved her,' the obituary continues, calling Loralie a woman who would always make sure the stray cats in her neighborhood were fed.

'Anyone who was lucky enough to meet Loralie has a fun or hilarious story about something she did or said in their presence.'

Kayla Beers, Troy's daughter-in-law, posted a tribute to him and Loralie following the crash

Troy and Cindy were married in May 2001. Troy was killed in the crash while Cindy remains in hospital

Together, they raised a blended family of three children for nearly 20 years

Troy, meanwhile, was described in his obituary as 'an avid outdoorsman' and an 'avid Michigan State University fan' who enjoyed hunting and fishing, teaching others about the trade.

He worked at several different auto manufacturing plants in the area, and was a shift supervisor at Loc Performance when he died.

He had a daughter, Sara, from his first marriage with Michele Ameling, and raised a blended family of three children for nearly 20 years with Cindy Rugg-Beers, whom he married in May 2001.

A funeral for Lorelai and her husband Ross has been scheduled for 2 p.m. on May 1, and a funeral for Troy has not yet been set.

His obituary, however, asks mourners to send memorial contributions in his name to help pay for Cindy's medical expenses.

Lorelai is survived by her children, Daniel (Kelly) Bass, Michelle (John) Bush; grandchildren, Kenneth Bass, Sara (Jake) Esselink, Joshua Bass, Hailey French, Brynlee Bass, Clayton (Kayla) Beers, Rachelle Beers, Christina (Jeff) Lipscomb, Jane Bush; six great-grandchildren.
The online professional networking site LinkedIn today announced the No. 1 company where people want to work in 2021.

Amazon came in at No. 3 in 2019 and now is ranked first.

LinkedIn said its annual list identifies the most sought-after places to work. Using data from LinkedIns 740 million members, LinkedIns Top Companies list is designed to help professionals identify the best companies to grow their careers.

LinkedIns methodology evaluates how companies attract and retain the best talent, including through promotions, funding opportunities for employees to learn new skills, gender diversity, and hiring people from all backgrounds and levels of education. LinkedIn also looked at how much recruiters from other companies search for employees currently working at Amazon.

Beth Galetti, Amazons senior vice president of people experience and technology, said, Being Earths Most Customer-Centric company and Earths Best Employer are two sides of the same coin  were able to obsess over customers because weve created a great work environment for our employees.

I believe one of the biggest reasons that people want to work at Amazon is our culture of innovation. We are inventors at heart and provide our employees with an opportunity to think big and try things that have never been done before.

According to Amazon, last year the company created more than 400,000 jobs in the U.S. and 500,000 globally. Amazon said it received more than 30 million job applications in 2020, almost double the number from 2019. The company said that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, weve done more than 240,000 virtual interviews with candidates for corporate and tech roles.

Amazons starting rate is a minimum of $15 an hour - more than twice the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour.

Amazon said it currently employs more than 950,000 people in the U.S. Click here to apply for a job at Amazon.

More companies on the list were:

2. Alphabet (parent company of Google and YouTube)

3. JP Morgan & Chase Co.

4. AT&T

5. Bank of America

6. IBM

7. Deloitte

8. Apple

9. Walmart

10. EY

11. UnitedHealth Group

12. Accenture

13. Dell Technologies

14. Verizon

15. CVS Health

16. Raytheon Technologies

17. PwC

18. Comcast

19. Facebook

20. Keller Williams

You can see the entire list here.

READ MORE
(Natural News) Kaempferia parviflora, also known as Thai ginseng, is a medicinal plant that belongs to the ginger (Zingiberaceae) family. It grows in tropical areas in Asia, such as Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo and Thailand.

For centuries, traditional healers have been using the root of Thai ginseng to make natural medicines. Hill tribes in Thailand believe that the herb  locally known as krachaidum  can improve physical performance and enhance endurance. Over the years, many studies have discovered several properties of Thai ginseng that make it an excellent medicine for various ailments. These properties include anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, antimicrobial, anti-cancer, anti-obesity and cardioprotective activities.

According to chemical analysis, Thai ginseng owes these beneficial properties to bioactive compounds called methoxyflavones. The two primary methoxyflavones in Thai ginseng are 5,7-dimethoxyflavone (chrysin dimethyl ether) and 5,7,4?-trimethoxyflavone. The former is said to have antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-sarcopenic properties, while the latter has shown anti-plasmodial activity against the malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, and antiproliferative activities against human gastric cancer cells.

In a recent study, American researchers examined Thai ginsengs ability to improve sexual function in men. One of the traditional uses for Thai ginseng is an aphrodisiac that stimulates sexual performance in both men and women. The researchers wanted to know whether the herb can also ameliorate erectile dysfunction in otherwise healthy older men. They reported their findings in an article published in the Journal of Integrative Medicine.

Thai ginseng as a natural remedy for erectile dysfunction

According to the researchers, sexual health positively correlates with overall well-being. However, current strategies meant to enhance male sexual health  particularly that of older adults  are limited by many factors, such as responsiveness, adherence and adverse effects. Researchers understand the need for safe and effective interventions that could help preserve male sexual function. Hence, theyve started exploring the potential of herbal medicines that have been used for centuries to improve sexual health. (Related: Is oral hygiene the key to preventing erectile dysfunction?)

Thai ginseng is a popular medicinal herb in Asia that has been found to support cardiovascular health. A growing number of studies also suggest that it could be used to treat erectile dysfunction. According to a study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, the methoxyflavones in Thai ginseng are potent inhibitors of phosphodiesterase types 5 and 6, the enzymes whose activities are heavily implicated in erectile dysfunction. The researchers behind the study specifically identified 5,7-dimethoxyflavone as the main compound in Thai ginseng responsible for enhancing sexual performance in men.

To further investigate Thai ginsengs effect on male sexual performance, the researchers conducted an open-label, one-arm study involving 14 generally healthy males aged 50 to 68 years with self-reported mild erectile dysfunction. The participants received 100 mg of an extract obtained from the rhizome of Thai ginseng daily for 30 days. Primary efficacy analyses included the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), while secondary efficacy analyses included the Global Assessment Question about erectile function.

The researchers reported that 13 of the 14 participants completed the study. Supplementation with the ethanol extract obtained from the root of Thai ginseng induced statistically significant improvements in erectile function, intercourse satisfaction and total scores on the IIEF questionnaire. The Thai ginseng extract was well-tolerated by the participants and exhibited an excellent safety profile.

Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that Thai ginseng can improve erectile function in healthy, middle-aged and older men.

Sources include:

Science.news

Journals.SagePub.com

MDPI.com

MedChemExpress.com

ThailandMedical.news

ScienceDirect.com 1

ScienceDirect.com 2
A Ghanaian spiritualist has issued a strong warning to fast-rising rapper, Yaw Tog concerning his career as a musician and collaborations.



In an audio serving rounds on social media, the spiritualist whose identity we are yet to obtain warned Yaw Tog not to ever feature or do a collaboration with popular and award-winning rapper, Sarkodie, else he will kill his career.



He cautioned Yaw Tog's management not to allow him to go any close to the Tema-based rapper on the grounds that the latter is a destiny killer and he snatches the luck from young up and coming musicians when he features.



The anonymous man said that if Yaw Tog goes ahead and features Sarkodie on his song, that will be the end of his music career and after 5 years he will remember this warning.



Watch the video below:



Source: Eugene Osafo-Nkansah/Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Chandigarh, April 28 : India-origin Labour MP in Britain, Tan Dhesi, has urged his government to help India as Covid-19 situation worsened.

"Many are extremely anxious about loved ones in India, terrified after seeing the apocalyptic scenes of people dying on the streets for want of oxygen, a collapsing health system, and crematoriums and cemeteries overwhelmed with thousands of people dying everyday," he said in the House of Commons.

In an Urgent Question on this matter, the MP for Slough highlighted to Foreign Office Minister Nigel Adams the need for the UK to take the lead and help the Indian people in their hour of need, considering India is registering the highest ever Covid cases globally.
The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has grown the number of education courses it offers through its Skils Hub to over 3,000 in partnership with education institutions.

The AIIA says courses on Skills Hub are made available by Microsoft, IBM and AWS and with long held skills shortages in Australias ICT sector, the Skills Hub is one measure to help improve the supply of skilled Australian workers.

With long held skills shortages in Australias ICT sector, the Skills Hub is one measure to help improve the supply of skilled Australian workers as well as mapping employee skills to career pathways and relevant training courses, the AIIA says.

The nation is currently short of 2,300 workers in cyber security, with an expected demand of at least 17,600 additional professionals required in the sector by 2026.

Having partnered with leading education institutions from around Australia, including RMIT, QUT, University of Queensland, Central Queensland University, University of Sydney and NSW and QLD TAFEs, the AIIA has proudly welcomed AIIA members Microsoft, IBM and AWS in making available courses on the Skills Hub to further support the upskilling of Australians.

The AIIA says that for leading ICT vendors, the Skills Hub is a convenient platform to help train and develop staff.

AIIA CEO, Ron Gauci, said: We are excited at the traction our Skills Hub has achieved since its launch in January. With the support from our members and universities around the country showing that having a skills academy providing re-skilling, up-skilling and career pathway building meets current and future needs of the sector.

We already have hundreds of individual participants actively using the Hub to grow their skills and careers and we expect this number to grow significantly as the Hub is further expanded in the coming months.

The response from Australian education providers and the ICT sector has been tremendous in supporting the Skills Hub. It has been widely forecast that Australias skill shortage in the ICT industry is likely to increase significantly in the coming years. The AIIA is proud to be bringing a range of different stakeholders together to work towards building Australias skills in the ICT sector.

The AIIA Skills Hub is in active discussions with an additional 15 universities and TAFEs as well as industry courses from leading technology companies. Once these are onboarded, the AIIA Skills Hub will exceed 5,000 courses available to members by the end of 2021.

The past 12-months has demonstrated the importance of a strong domestic labour force. It has been widely forecast that Australias skill shortage in the ICT industry is likely to increase significantly in the coming years. In a post-COVID economy, we know that strong skills in the ICT sector will continue to be highly sought after by employers.

Weve seen the permanent adoption of digital services to the Australian economy triggered by the COVID pandemic that will shape the Australian economy for years to come, Gauci said.

The AIIA says its Skills Hub has been built to support two AIIA industry and QUT co-designed micro-credentialing courses on cyber security and innovation in IT - but will also provide a central place where any VET or tertiary courses can be plugged in to the Hub where employees can map their skills gap and identify appropriate courses to meet their future career needs.

Courses from education institutions are mapped against the global Skills Frameworks for the Information Age (SFIA), an industry skills framework used by major Australian digital employers - with individuals able to create a Skills Passport to map and manage their skills for career development.
Has the public lost faith in public health officials, who continue to communicate with so much confusion and ambiguity? During the COVID-19 pandemic, when trust should be the coin of the realm, physicians, researchers, and bureaucrats in the public health community seem unwilling or unable to articulate their message clearly and concisely. Because COVID presents a unique set of problems and continuously evolving circumstances, it is especially important to avoid certain pitfalls when talking to the public.

The most important of these priorities is thou shalt not mislead the public. It does not surprise us when politicians lie, but we dont expect mendacity from our doctors  nor should we. Case in point: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the countrys recognized COVID authority. In a Dec. 24 interview with The New York Times, Fauci admitted he deliberately understated the figures needed for herd immunity, partly based on new science but also on his sense the country was not prepared to hear his true feelings.

No matter his paternalistic good intentions, this was a lie. It cost him the trust of many, particularly in light of his statements early in the pandemic about masks being unnecessary: Right now in the United States, people should not be walking around with masks. In his defense, his comment about masks preceded research that pronounced masks somewhat effective. But when experts shade the truth or project unwarranted certainty, they risk having subsequent discoveries undermine their credibility.

A related pitfall public health experts should have avoided: appearing to be inflexible know-it-alls even as situations evolved. Consistency is a virtue, dogmatism is not. Everybody has been wrong about COVID-19 (I predicted we would be through the pandemic last summer), and it behooves us to admit our mistakes, rather than cling to them. This recalls a famous quote attributed variously to among others, John Maynard Keynes, Winston Churchill, and Paul Samuelson, When events change, I change my mind. What do you do? Be consistent, but not inflexible.

All of us have heard more than a years worth of predictions about the future course of the pandemic. Some experts engage freely in these projections, without allowing for uncertainty. They predict surges or huge waves of cases that never occur and then those prognostications are quickly forgotten. This is the medical equivalent of the economists who have successfully predicted nine of the last five recessions. A term exists for any COVID prediction that projects out more than six weeks  its called a guess.

Another lesson not easily learned is dont overextend expertise. During the first wave of the pandemic, epidemiologists, virologists, and experts such as oncologist Ezekiel Emanuel, strongly advised tight lockdowns without realizing the substantial social and economic costs, which themselves had terrible health consequences, especially for schoolchildren whove been isolated for more than a year. Lockdowns have a place in controlling viral spread in certain situations for a limited time. But imposing them requires the input of experts other than just physicians, who are rarely experts in matters financial or social. Fauci admitted as much after the fact in a congressional hearing. Venture out of your lane  and dont be surprised if you crash into a wall.

Finally, like their military counterparts, public health officials have an unfortunate tendency to fight the last war, with a reluctance to learn from history. A prime example was in 1976, when public health officials predicted that a new strain of swine flu would cause a pandemic in the United States. A mass immunization campaign for the country was recommended to President Gerald Ford, which he attempted to implement in good faith. The pandemic never materialized but the vaccine was associated with severe neurologic reactions in several hundred patients.

Two years after the swine flu debacle, President Jimmy Carters Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare commissioned a report by two prominent scientific policy analysts on the entire episode with special attention devoted to the role of the public health officials in charge of the campaign. The analysts found in the public health response: overconfidence by specialists in theories spun from meager evidence; conviction fueled by a conjunction of some preexisting agendas; zeal by health professionals to make their superiors do right; premature commitment to deciding more than had to be decided; failure to address uncertainties in such a way as to prepare for reconsideration; insufficient questioning of scientific logic and of implementation prospects; and insensitivity to media relations and the long-term credibility of institutions.

Sound familiar?

Cory Franklin, a retired Chicago-area physician, wrote this for InsideSources.com.
Indices were trading firm near the day's high in morning trade. The Nifty traded above the crucial 14,700 mark. Barring the Nifty Metal index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE were in the green.

At 10:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 316 points or 0.65% at 49,260.19. The Nifty 50 index was up 86.95 points or 0.59% at 14,740.85.

In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.67% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.88%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1789 shares rose and 723 shares fell. A total of 127 shares were unchanged.

Gains were capped investors are monitoring the progress on vaccination drive. Trading was also cautious ahead of the US Fed's monetary policy outcome on Wednesday.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs)'s outflow from domestic equities also worried investors. FPIs sold shares worth Rs 1,454.75 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,463.44 crore in the Indian equity market on 27 April, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 148,353,905 with 3,131,636 deaths.

India reported 29,78,709 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 201,187 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Assam Earthquake:

An earthquake of 6.4 magnitude on the Richter scale hit Assam on Wednesday. The National Centre for Seismology said that the epicentre of the quake was Sonitpur district. No casualty has been reported so far. The earthquake reportedly took place at 7.51 am at a depth of 17 km. Tremors were felt in the entire northeast region. Parts of West Bengal also felt the aftershock.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index slipped 0.83% to 4,620.70, snapping its two day winning run. The index rose 4.79% in the past two days.

Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.73%), JSW Steel (down 1.7%), Hindustan Zinc (down 1.51%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.46%), National Aluminium Company (down 0.99%), Tata Steel (down 0.93%) and Vedanta (down 0.53%) were top losers in metal space.

Results Today:

Bajaj Finserv (up 1.63%), Biocon (down 1.44%), Bombay Dyeing (up 1.3%), Carborundum Universal (up 1.69%), KPIT Tech (up 0.66%), Maharashtra Scooter (up 2.32%), Mastek (down 0.56%), Tata Communications (down 0.42%) and UTI AMC (up 0.87%) will announce results today.

Earnings Impact:

Axis Bank fell 0.46%. The private lender reported net profit of Rs 2677 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with net loss of Rs 1387.78 crore in Q4 FY20. Total income during the quarter declined marginally by 0.03% to Rs 20,213.46 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

The bank posted a pre-tax profit of Rs 3569.67 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with pre-tax loss of Rs 1878.91 crore in Q4 FY20. The bank's operating profit for the quarter grew 17% YoY and 13% QoQ to Rs 6,865 crore. Net interest income (NII) increased by 11% YoY to Rs 7,555 crore in Q4 FY21. Net interest margin (NIM) for Q4FY21 was 3.56%, as against 3.55% for Q4FY20. Provisions (other than tax) and contingencies stood at Rs 3294.98 crore in Q4 FY21 compared to Rs 7730.02 crore in Q4 FY20.

Bajaj Finance gained 2.67%. The NBFC's consolidated net profit jumped 42% to Rs 1,347 crore on 5% decline in total income to Rs 6,855 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. New loans booked during Q4 FY21 stood at 5.47 million, down by 9% over 6.03 million in Q4 FY20. Customer franchise as of 31 March 2021 was at 48.57 million compared with 42.60 million as of 31 March 2020. Bajaj Finance acquired 2.26 million new customers in Q4 FY21 compared with 1.85 million in Q4 FY20. Net Interest Income (NII) for Q4 FY21 stood at Rs 4,659 crore as against Rs 4,684 crore in Q4 FY20. Interest income reversal for the quarter was at Rs 298 crore as compared to Rs 122 crore in Q4 FY20. Total operating expenses to net interest income for Q4 FY21 stood at 34.5% over 31% in Q4 FY20.

Britannia Industries fell 1.17% to Rs 3,498.45 after the company's net profit fell 3.3% to Rs 360.07 crore on 8.2% rise in net sales to Rs 3,038.13 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. The FMCG company reported a consolidated revenue growth of 13% Y-o-Y (year-on-year) for the year to Rs 12,883 crore. Consolidated operating profit jumped 39% to Rs 2,311 crore in FY21 over FY20. Consolidated operating profit margin recorded an increase of 340 bps in FY21 from FY20. The return on capital employed stood at 40% for the year.

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CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This Friday, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, authentic Latinx recipes website Familia Kitchen is partnering with a leading consumer health website HealthCentral to unveil a special Healthy & Delicioso Cinco de Mayo menu makeover starring 6 traditional Mexican dishes. These good-for-you food updatesincluding healthy enchiladas, chocolate churros and even a cocktailare authentic, delicious and nutritious, especially for Latinos seeking diabetes-friendly options for Cinco De Mayo fiestas.

Cinco De Mayo is almost here! Healthy Paloma Recipe

Yes, the day is a celebration of when the state of Puebla in Mexico claimed victory over the French in 1862, however, today the best part of the holiday for most Latinos and non-Latinos in the United States is gathering with friends and family over delicious Mexican food and drinks. With Latinos over-indexing on the nearly 1.5 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes every year , these two trusted expertsFamilia Kitchen for real-deal Latinx dishes and HealthCentral for information on living your healthiest lifeknew they had to join forces to offer Latinx recipe makeovers once again .

To create the 6 Health & Delicioso dishes, Familia Kitchen turned to its Healthy & Delicioso editor and one of the website's favorite contributing cocineras, Naihomy Jerez. Naihomy is a Dominican-born health expert who owns a food and wellness consultancy, Bagels & Brussels. These traditional Mexican dishes were given Naihomy's famous "food flip" makeovers to create healthier versions. The result: All the amazing flavor, minus the sugar and fat on such Cinco de Mayo staples as guacamole, esquites, enchiladas, quesadillas, and let's not forget the palomas and chocolate churro waffles!

Latinos are at higher risk (17%) of having diabetes and diabetes complications than non-Hispanic whites (8%), according to the CDC. And, "Latinos also are more likely to be overweight, which is linked to higher rates of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and strokes. We wanted to offer Healthy & Delicioso special dishes, so everyone could join the fiesta and enjoy the truly authentic flavor of great Mexican food," adds Kim Caviness Familia Kitchen founder, CEO and editor-in-chief.

Health disparities in the Latinx community, including a higher risk of diabetes, are substantialthe impetus behind this special editorial partnership. "Familia Kitchen has developed low-fat, low-sugar, nutrient-dense food 'flips' that can benefit everyone who loves Latinx fare, including those with diabetes, and just in time to celebrate Cinco de Mayo," says HealthCentral's Senior Editor Lauren Paige Kennedy.

Everyone is invited to enjoy this healthy menu, especially in light of a recent JAMA Network Open study noting that Americans have gained an average of two pounds a month this last year of the pandemic. The recipes from Familia Kitchen and HealthCentral are a great way to celebrate and feel good about the healthy, festive fare you're preparing this Cinco de Mayo!

About FAMILIA KITCHEN

FamiliaKitchen.com recently launched to collect, preserve and celebrate favorite family recipes and cooking traditions of the 66-million-plus Latinos living in the United States. The website's abuela-style, authentic recipes speak to the website's commitment to buildwith mucho, mucho amorthe most complete, authentic and largest collection of traditional recipes, how-to tips and cooking techniques brought by Latinos from 19 Latin American and Caribbean Spanish-speaking homelands.

About HealthCentral

HealthCentral's goal is to help you create your healthiest life, whatever that means at this moment. When you're living with a chronic or other serious illness or looking for ways to be healthy, wellness doesn't fit in a tight little box. With the warmth of a friend, the authority of trusted experts and a clear-eyed understanding of the facts, HealthCentral helps you make informed decisions about your care with confidence not fear. https://www.healthcentral.com/

Media Contact(s):

Lisa Hunt Stevens (312) 524-0001

[email protected]

Carrie Kreiswirth (646) 326-9691

[email protected]

SOURCE Familia Kitchen
Guwahati, April 28 : A top Assam Police official on Wednesday said that the third kidnapped ONGC staffer is still in the captivity of outlawed ULFA-I in Nagaland and security forces are continuing their search for him.

Special Director General, Law and Order, G. P. Singh said that there was specific information from the Assam Rifles, the Army and, the Nagaland Police that Ritul Saikia is still in the captivity of the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent.

"The militants have kept Saikia in their hideout in Mon district (in Nagaland). The security forces would be able to rescue him very soon," said Singh, who is personally supervising the search operation since the three ONGC men abducted by the ULFA-I rebels from a rig site at Lakwa in eastern Assam's Sibsagar district on April 21.

The ULFA-I had kidnapped Mohini Mohan Gogoi, 35, and Ritul Saikia, 33, both junior technicians, production, and Alakesh Saikia, 28, a junior engineering assistant, production, but the the Army, along with Assam Rifles troopers, rescued Gogoi and Alakesh Saikia following a fierce encounter on April 23 night.

ULFA-I, headed by commander-in-chief Paresh Barua, in a statement on April 24 said that all three employees were handed over to villagers of Totokchingnyu in Nagaland amidst concerns for their safety. It claimed that Ritul Saikia may have been killed in the crossfire or the army is hiding him.
News Around the Republic of Mexico



Mexico Waives Second Vaccine Shipment from India



India supplied Mexico in February with some 870,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine made in India and had been due to deliver another consignment of the same size. Mexico City - Mexico is waiving an upcoming shipment of Covid-19 vaccines from India, which is in the throes of a brutal coronavirus second wave, as "a way of expressing our solidarity," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said.



India supplied Mexico in February with some 870,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab made in India and had been due to deliver another consignment of the same size, "but we told them we don't need them, that we understand what they're going through," the president told his daily news conference, calling it a way that Mexico can support "even with the limitations we have".



Mexico, which has one of the world's highest Covid-19 excess deaths tallies, sent Marcelo Ebrard, foreign minister, to Russia on Sunday night to discuss plans for



Landsteiner Scientific, a Mexican laboratory with international sales, also has the Russian jab in its sights.



"It's a travesty for the developing world to be beholden to the big multinationals [for vaccines]," said Robert Russell, Landsteiner's senior vice-president of international business.



Landsteiner has been in talks with the Russian Direct Investment Fund since last August about local production of the vaccine. "It would be beneficial to be able to have a facility in Mexico to be able to handle Mexico's requirement and beyond," Russell told the FT.



As a private company, he said Landsteiner would not give a figure for potential investment but noted that it had land and facilities to be able to locate a production plant and could scale up quickly. "We have the capacity to do 79m to 80m doses [fill and finish] in two weeks," he said.



Original article - Mexico is waiving an upcoming shipment of Covid-19 vaccines from India, which is in the throes of a brutal coronavirus second wave, as "a way of expressing our solidarity," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said.India supplied Mexico in February with some 870,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab made in India and had been due to deliver another consignment of the same size, "but we told them we don't need them, that we understand what they're going through," the president told his daily news conference, calling it a way that Mexico can support "even with the limitations we have".Mexico, which has one of the world's highest Covid-19 excess deaths tallies, sent Marcelo Ebrard, foreign minister, to Russia on Sunday night to discuss plans for Mexico to bottle the Sputnik V vaccine. Ebrard has also announced plans to visit India and China on a quest to secure vaccine supplies.Landsteiner Scientific, a Mexican laboratory with international sales, also has the Russian jab in its sights."It's a travesty for the developing world to be beholden to the big multinationals [for vaccines]," said Robert Russell, Landsteiner's senior vice-president of international business.Landsteiner has been in talks with the Russian Direct Investment Fund since last August about local production of the vaccine. "It would be beneficial to be able to have a facility in Mexico to be able to handle Mexico's requirement and beyond," Russell told the FT.As a private company, he said Landsteiner would not give a figure for potential investment but noted that it had land and facilities to be able to locate a production plant and could scale up quickly. "We have the capacity to do 79m to 80m doses [fill and finish] in two weeks," he said.



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GATINEAU, QC, April 28, 2021 /CNW/ - The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on all Canadians, but especially on young Canadians. That is why the Government of Canada continues to make historic investments to ensure that youth have the supports and opportunities they need to build long and successful careers.

Today, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, announced that more than 150,000 Canada Summer Jobs opportunities are now available at jobbank.gc.ca/youth. There, young Canadians can look for and apply for jobs in a wide variety of fields, including community and charity work, food industries, recreation and fitness, marketing and public relations, landscaping and farm labour, and many others.

In response to the ongoing pandemic, the Government is giving employers the flexibilities to hire youth to work on a full-time or part-time basis, as well as beyond the summer months, with some placements extending to February 2022.

This year's record-breaking number of job opportunities will help young Canadians discover different careers, gain meaningful experiences, and save up for school.

Supporting youth and ensuring their participation in all aspects of the economic recovery takes a collaborative and government-wide approach. Through Budget 2021, the Government is proposing to invest an additional $5.7 billion over the next five years to help young Canadians pursue and complete their education, acquire new skills and access more work opportunities. This is on top of the $7.4 billion already invested in young Canadians during the pandemic. Thousands more young Canadians will be able to benefit from the following historic Government actions:

30,600 new job placements through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy in 20212022;

220,000 job placements through Canada Summer Jobs over the program's 2021 and 2022 seasons;

50,000 work-integrated learning placements through the Student Work Placement Program in 20212022;

at least 85,000 work-integrated learning placements through Mitacs over the next 5 years starting in 20212022; and

28,000 training and work opportunities for young Canadians through the Canada Digital Technology Adoption program in 20212022.

Taken together, the Government of Canada's response to the current crisis represents one of the largest youth support packages in the world.

Quotes

"This year's Canada Summer Jobs program goes above and beyond to help support young Canadians through this pandemic. With a record-setting 150,000 job opportunities, more young Canadians across the country will be able to find a job and gain meaningful experience that they'll carry with them for the rest of their lives. There is only one way to describe the investments we have made and continue to make in young Canadians, and that is: ground-breaking. Our plan for a strong economic recovery includes youth and recognizes their important role in our future. We will always be there to support the next generation."

 Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough

"The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all Canadians and disproportionately certain segments, young people are no exception. Since the beginning, they have faced and continue to face a unique set of challenges and must be at the centre of Canada's recovery as we build back even better and consciously more inclusive. Prioritizing support for quality job opportunities, education, and skills-building for young Canadians  including those facing barriers  is not only a critical investment in their future success, it is also helping to empower them as leaders of today and tomorrow."

 Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth, Bardish Chagger

Quick Facts

Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) is part of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which helps youth, particularly those facing barriers, to gain the skills and experience they need to successfully transition to the labour market. The program strives to give young Canadians between the ages of 15 and 30 paid work opportunities so that they can grow professionally and improve their skills in the not-for-profit, small business and public sectors. It also supports the delivery of key community services to Canadians.





(CSJ) is part of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which helps youth, particularly those facing barriers, to gain the skills and experience they need to successfully transition to the labour market. The program strives to give young Canadians between the ages of 15 and 30 paid work opportunities so that they can grow professionally and improve their skills in the not-for-profit, small business and public sectors. It also supports the delivery of key community services to Canadians. In the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, temporary flexibilities similar to those introduced for CSJ 2020 are available this year to ensure that even more young Canadians can apply. These include:





an increased wage subsidy, so that private and public sector employers can receive up to 75% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage for each employee (not-for-profit organizations will continue to receive 100%);



an extension to the end date for employment to February 26, 2022 ; and

; and

allowing employers to hire staff on a part-time basis.





The CSJ 2021 call for employer applications closed on February 3, 2021 . Over 50,000 applications were received during the call, representing more than 240,000 jobs requested. More than 42,700 projects have been funded, representing more than 152,000 job opportunities.





. Over 50,000 applications were received during the call, representing more than 240,000 jobs requested. More than 42,700 projects have been funded, representing more than 152,000 job opportunities. CSJ-funded jobs started as early as April 26, 2021 . The last possible date for a work placement to start is January 15, 2022 . The latest end date for all CSJ jobs, subject to agreement length, is February 26, 2022 .

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

For further information: For media enquiries, please contact: Marielle Hossack, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, 819-654-5552, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]

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Margo Logan, a child care consultant who ran as the Republican challenger to House Speaker Tina Kotek last year, is seeking a seat on the Portland school board representing North Portland.

Shes one of three candidates on the ballot for the Zone 4 seat being vacated by one-term incumbent Rita Moore. She is also being challenged by write-in candidate Jamie Cale.

The winner of the Zone 4 race will take office along with at least one other new member come July after only one of the three members whose term ends this year opted to run for reelection.

The 2021 campaign comes at a time when families and employees in Portland Public Schools are charting courses for post-pandemic education. The states largest district was among the areas last to open for in-person instruction.

Portland Public Schools will offer among the fewest classroom hours to students of the 14 largest Portland-area districts, an Oregonian/OregonLive analysis found.

District officials have pledged to prioritize Black, Indigenous and other students of color in their budget proposals and programming on the tail of the pandemic, just as they promised to do in previous years.

The school board has the final say in Superintendent Guadalupe Guerreros spending plans.

The Oregonian/OregonLive sent a survey to every candidate who will be on Mays ballot. Here are Logans answers, edited for length.

Name: Margo Logan

Occupation: Child Care Consulting, LLC; analyst/expert witness for civil lawsuits related to child abuse; administrative hearings related to government regulation of small business.

My careers included being a group life counselor, program manager of an independent living program for foster youth, Child Protective Services investigator, child daycare licensor/investigator, subbed in Multnomah County public schools, taught a community class on recognizing and reporting child abuse class to daycare staff.

Education: Masters of social work in administration, Portland State University.

I have board experience serving on the board of the National Association of Social Workers. I had two supervisory positions with hiring and firing authority.

Do you have children who attend or attended Portland Public Schools? If so, please provide details.

Grandchildren, niece and godchildren. My grandson was in agony with how the teacher was teaching reading. I taught him to read and love to read in about six weeks time. With the conditions in Grant High, my niece created her own program via Portland Community College , joined search and rescue, petitioned to get out of high school. At the end of her program, she became an entrepreneur.

What inspired you to run for the board?

I subbed in public schools for seven years in Multnomah County. I saw and felt unfriendly environments. Lots of tension. Teachers and other school personnel stressed, disconnected, on edge. I saw unhappy children. We were directed to not call CPS or the police if we suspected sexual abuse by teacher or other school personnel but instead report to H.R. legal counsel and directed that under no circumstances are you to notify the parent or legal guardian. Seeing the board opening I saw another opportunity to report directly to parents about my witnessing.

Did you have any previous involvement in PPS, either as a volunteer or member of an advisory council or committee? If so, what were your duties?

No.

How much time do you envision yourself setting aside for board duties every week?

25-30 hours a week

What are the two most pressing issues facing Portland Public Schools and why?

The risk to children with the masking, distancing and the over a year of violence in Portland spilling into open and vulnerable school buildings. The Portland Public School building was attacked a couple of weeks ago, destruction to vehicles and fires set.

How will you hold the superintendent accountable?

I will go out to the schools in Zone 4, observe, talk to the community, the parents, students, and make an assessment related to the superintendents reports to the board. Is what is on paper manifested in real time with real people and real results?

How would you rate the performance of the Portland Public Schools boards response to and handling of COVID-19-related developments so far? What would you have done differently?

There was no emergency, shut down was illegal. Not one child in Portland died. Masking and terrifying children is child abuse. Increased use of antidepressants. Suicides. The first three weeks I went out daily to emergency rooms, UCs, MASH tents, and test sites documenting no emergency was in progress. Doctors office said few at the test site because we were getting too many negative test results.

Oregon Health & Science University reported homeless would die. Not one homeless person died. In a recent study all tested negative. No masking, no hand washing, no distancing, no positive test results and no homeless deaths. No child deaths.

How will you engage with the community?

I will go out and meet with the community in Zone 4. Any meetings, anywhere and will do so truthfully and transparently.

How will you engage historically underserved families?

Same as above and I will find out why the parents in Zone 4 dont get to (exclusively) elect their board member. Why in the world do the parents and voters in Zone 4 why are they not the ones to pick their representative on the board?

How will you balance the interests of students and teachers as represented by their union, should those interests be at odds?

Students come first. Would the union disagree with that?

How will you handle disagreements with fellow board members?

I will look at the source of the disagreement, where and how did they make their analysis and the factors related to the opinion they currently hold. Ill review their sources and documents; then research further and get back to them.

Portland Public Schools, like other districts, has largely discontinued interim and year-end standardized testing to measure students reading, writing and math skills. Do you agree with that decision? When would you want such testing to resume?

Sounds like we must wait for some outcome data? How is that being collected? We cant make a decision until we have some information in hand. I will meet with the Zone 4 community for their input.

What metrics will you be watching as a board member?

I think you must be on-the-ground in real time, community, communication, observation and intelligence gathering. Whats the board mission that was given to the superintendent? Whats been achieved and why? Whats not been achieved and why?

What strengths would you bring to the board? Why, essentially, is it crucial the voters choose you?

I will tell the truth. Not influenced by group pressure. Im not joining a private club. Too often that happens whether its working for the government, in the Legislature or on a school board. Group dynamics.

I was an investigator in my careers including the last 14 years where Ive been an investigator/analyst/expert witness in civil lawsuits and administrative hearings. In state government I was trained by a state attorney generals office where I was successful in all my legal cases. Since, Ive helped attorneys hold government agencies accountable including a school district in 2019.
Fulton County issues nearly 300 solicitations on BidNet Directs Georgia Purchasing Group In addition to our time savings internally, our valued vendors can now access not only our open bids, but those from other municipalities, counties and school districts throughout the state.

Fulton County announced today that since joining the Georgia Purchasing Group in April 2020, nearly 300 business opportunities have been distributed to registered vendors. Fulton County procurement utilizes BidNet Direct to post, distribute and manage RFPs, quotes, addenda and awards online. Fulton County invites all vendors to register for easy access to all open solicitations at https://www.bidnetdirect.com/georgia/fultoncounty.

The Georgia Purchasing Group streamlines the creation and issuance of bid requests, supplier response submission and the awarding of bids. By providing a single, online location for managing sourcing information and activities, Fulton County and other local government agencies throughout Georgia can minimize costs and time delays associated with the procurement process while also helping the vendor community be alerted to targeted, local business opportunities.

Fulton County has issued 289 solicitations since joining the platform. Electronic bid submission capabilities along with online questions and answers have allowed the County and interested bidders a simpler way to do business from anywhere, even still working remotely.

We have improved our efficiency by using the Georgia Purchasing Group and look forward to being able to continue to do so in other areas of sourcing such as evaluating responses and contract management. In addition to our time savings internally, our valued vendors can now access not only our open bids, but those from other municipalities, counties and school districts throughout the state. We invite all of our current vendors to register, stated Felicia Strong-Whitaker, CPPO, MCA, Director of Purchasing & Contract Compliance at Fulton County Government.

Fulton County invites interested vendors to visit https://www.bidnetdirect.com/georgia/fultoncounty and register to receive instant notification of matching opportunities. Registered vendors can access bids, related documents, addendum and award information.

About the Georgia Purchasing Group:

BidNet Direct, a mediagrif product, is a sourcing solution of regional purchasing groups available at no cost to local government agencies throughout the country. BidNet Direct runs regional purchasing groups, including the Georgia Purchasing Group, across all 50 states that are used by over 1,600 local governments. To learn more and have your government agency gain better transparency and efficiency in purchasing, please visit https://www.bidnetdirect.com/buyers
BOSTON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cobalt Software, Inc. ("Cobalt"), a leading portfolio monitoring solutions provider for the private capital industry, today released a new version of its platform for private equity and venture capital firms. The platform redefines the portfolio monitoring technology category to meet widespread demand for sophisticated but intuitive data analysis, performance reporting, and data collection tools in the private capital sector.

"With this new platform release, Cobalt has definitively leap-frogged the portfolio monitoring category on accessibility, sophistication, and value provided to private capital leaders and their teams," said Jason Weinstein, CEO of Cobalt. "We are delivering an entirely new level of operational efficiency and insight for private capital firms. It's the kind of sophistication the industry has come to expect from every technology they use, and now, portfolio monitoring need not be the exception."

Cobalt's latest release reflects years of market research and development consideration, including direct client input. The result is the industry's first self-service portfolio monitoring solution that combines the sophistication of a business intelligence tool with the approachability of consumer technology software.

Key features of Cobalt's new release include:

Personalized Dashboards , simplifying and configuring the experience for all users from Partners and team members spanning finance, investment professionals, portfolio operations and investor relations.

, simplifying and configuring the experience for all users from Partners and team members spanning finance, investment professionals, portfolio operations and investor relations. Advanced Performance Analytics, bringing even more power to Cobalt's in-platform analytics such as track record and attribution analysis, cash flow modeling, and easily creating LP reports.

bringing even more power to Cobalt's in-platform analytics such as track record and attribution analysis, cash flow modeling, and easily creating LP reports. Actionable Insights, enabling users to create powerful analyses by comparing specific investment performance with operating metrics and KPIs.

enabling users to create powerful analyses by comparing specific investment performance with operating metrics and KPIs. Streamlined Data Collection , providing close user control on Portfolio Company communication while further lightening collection workflow lift.

, providing close user control on Portfolio Company communication while further lightening collection workflow lift. Flexible Data Model, track cash flows and investment performance at the transaction level including tracking of cross-over investments, round-level performance, and consolidated investor reporting.

track cash flows and investment performance at the transaction level including tracking of cross-over investments, round-level performance, and consolidated investor reporting. Enhanced Permissions and Controls, delivering more support to account owners and user management capabilities.

The latest version of Cobalt is available now. To learn more, including scheduling a customized demonstration of the platform, please contact: [email protected] .

About Cobalt

Cobalt is private capital's premiere portfolio monitoring solution. We are the industry's key to collecting, analyzing, and reporting on fund and portfolio company financial metrics. Private equity and venture capital General Partners use Cobalt's intuitive technology platform to gain critical operational efficiencies, address increasingly complex LP and management demands, and, ultimately, competitively position their firm. Based on clients' firm size and investment style, Cobalt tailors its suite of solutions to suit their needs. We also place a premium on client service, so our team is available to our clients to identify smart solutions the way they need them. To learn more about Cobalt, visit: https://www.cobalt.pe/

SOURCE Cobalt Software, Inc.

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Dale Berman/Getty Images for MTV

Dedicated fans of EDM will want to keep their Memorial Day weekend wide open.

DJ Steve Aoki is set to return to the Alamo City with a show at Cowboys Dancehall on Sunday, May 30. Produced by Disco Donnie Presents, the rave party is centered around a narrative of Giant Freakin Laser Kitties that are planning to take over San Antonio. The #PewPewParty promises an immersive experience with booming beats and, of course, lots of lasers.
The leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the social system of socialism with Chinese characteristics suit China the best and are bound to help China continue with development and achieve greater progress in the future, former Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy said in an interview with Peoples Daily recently.

Every country is looking for a social system that best fits its history, culture and fundamental realities, Medgyessy said.

There are two main reasons why the CPC can always maintain its vitality and constantly make new achievements, Medgyessy said, explaining that the first reason is that the CPC has its highest ideal and ultimate goal that it can strive for in the long run, and the second one is that the Party keeps pace with the times and constantly makes innovations in practice.

Chinas achievements in development are attributed to the strong leadership of the CPC, and Chinas success represents the success of the CPC, Medgyessy said, noting that its not easy for a century-old political party of a major country to still maintain vitality.

Chinas development has not only benefited the Chinese people, but also created a huge market and many investment opportunities for the world, according to Medgyessy.

Since 1987, Medgyessy has visited China for multiple times at the invitation of departments and units including the International Department of the Central Committee of CPC, and has paid attention to Chinas development and changes for decades.

Many of Chinas achievements have impressed him a lot, Medgyessy said, referring to such accomplishments as economic take-off, lifting nearly 100 million impoverished rural residents living under the current poverty line out of poverty, as well as rapid development in high technologies in such fields as 5G communications network, artificial intelligence (AI), and aerospace.

Of all the achievements made by China, the most important one is the rapidly improving quality of peoples lives, Medgyessy pointed out.

Medgyessy has paid special attention to poverty reduction. Last December, he attended the International Forum on Sharing Poverty Reduction Experience host by China.

In his speech at the forum, Medgyessy pointed out that poverty exists in many countries in the world, and it takes political vision, long-term planning, and political, economic and social stability to realize economic development, improve peoples well-being, and eradicate poverty and backwardness.

Real statesmen can set long-term goals and implement plans with great consistency to achieve them, Medgyessy said.

China has been committed to implementing the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development all along and has achieved the poverty reduction target set in the 2030 Agenda ten years ahead of schedule, noted Medgyessy, adding that China has adopted far-sighted policies and measures and taken practical actions for eradicating poverty, which has won high praise from various parties in Hungary.

Since the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese people have united as one to battle against the pandemic and made a major strategic achievement in fighting the virus.

Against such a background, Medgyessy sent a letter to the Chinese Peoples Institute of Foreign Affairs. In the letter, he expressed his respect and admiration for the results Chinese people achieved in courageously fighting the pandemic under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He believed that China is capable of gradually eliminating the impacts of the pandemic on the economy and that Chinas achievements in fighting the COVID-19 would provide important experience for global efforts to combat infectious diseases in the coming decades, according to the letter.

The key to Chinas success in bringing the pandemic under control is that the CPC and the Chinese government are able to organize efforts properly and that the Chinese people have a strong sense of discipline, Medgyessy pointed out.

Noting that the COVID-19 is still spreading across the globe and posing severe challenges on the worlds poverty reduction cause, Medgyessy said that Chinas experience in alleviating poverty serves as reference for various countries around the world, and that the country is believed to share with the rest of the world its experience in development and fruits of development as always and continue to provide support for other developing countries.

During the interview, Medgyessy happily recalled the time when he met with Xi in 2009 during Xis visit to Hungary as the vice president of China. We had a meaningful conversation, and Im still proud of it now, Medgyessy said.

Xi has brought to the world a new way of thinking, Medgyessy noted, saying that Xi has clear ideas about Chinas development and the relationship between China and the world.

China has been actively taking part in international affairs, committed to safeguarding multilateralism, promoting world peace and development and the progress of human civilization, and pushing forward with the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, exerting a pr ofo und influence on the world, Medgyessy said.

The idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind proposed by Xi is very right and important, Medgyessy said, explaining that the world today is faced with various prominent global challenges that need to be tackled with joint efforts of all countries.

International cooperation and multilateralism is the effective approach to safeguarding peace and promoting development, Medgyessy added.

During his tenure as Hungarian Prime Minister between 2002 and 2004, Medgyessy actively advanced friendly exchanges between Hungary and China. The Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School in Budapest established at his suggestion is the only 12-year public school in Hungary and even Central and Eastern Europe that uses both the language of the host country and Chinese in teaching. The school has become an important platform through which Hungarian teenagers learn Chinese and acquire knowledge about Chinese culture.

Hungary is willing to build bridge for exchanges and cooperation between China and the European Union, according to Medgyessy, who believes that with the support of China and Hungary, the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School in Budapest will cultivate more constructors and successors of the friendly ties between the two countries.
Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media

FAIRFIELD  A man wanted in South Carolina on burglary and assault offenses was apprehended in Fairfield last week after officers pulled him over following a stop sign violation, police said Wednesday.

Patrol officers pulled over a blue 2007 Chrysler Pacifica after the driver did not make a complete stop at a stop sign around 10:30 a.m. April 21, police said.
(Natural News) Actor Vivekh passed away on April 17th, 2021. The actor had been hospitalized on Friday after suffering cardiac arrest.

(Article republished from GNews.org)

Vivekh, who was involved in shooting for the unknow project along with Legend Saravanan, felt uneasy while he was at his home the day before his death. He was soon rushed to the hospital. The actor was unconscious by then and was placed under observation with ECMO support. He had undergone angioplasty because of a block in the heart. Doctors in the hospital have clarified that he suffered a cardiac arrest and was due to a 100% block in the blood vessel.

He was known as the Indias Public Health Ambassador and recently he posted a video supporting vaccination and promoting COVID vaccine. In the video he claimed that he wanted to show people that there is no danger in getting vaccinated.

As a compassionate person, I must give condolence to his families and friends. But we must remember the true caused of his death. It was not COVID but the COVID vaccine. Blood vessel blockage is one of the side effects of COVID vaccination. It can cause death in extreme cases, especially for seniors and people who are obese.

COVID vaccine is a part of the evil human-extermination plan of the Chinese Communist Party.

All people, especially celebrities, should spread the information about the danger of COVID vaccines. The only way to end this COVID disaster is to compel the CCP to surrender every detail about the Wuhan lab and about the virus.

Read more at: GNews.org
The current Coca-Cola company policy states that if a law firm fails to comply with meeting the quotas, it faces a non-refundable 30% reduction in fees and may be shut out entirely.

Coca-Cola's stated goal is that the legal teams it hires "be representative of the population it serves," and the policy's minimum racial quotas therefore roughly track the racial distribution of the American population at large, rather than the labor market for attorneys.

The abrupt departure last week of Bradley Gayton after less than a year as General Counsel suggests that Coca-Cola is already aware that its racial quota requirements on outside firms are indefensible. Coca-Cola should act swiftly to publicly undo this unfair, polarizing, and illegal policy. Without a public statement forthcoming from Coca-Cola reversing these quotas, it must be assumed that the policy is still in effect and legal challenges may be forthcoming.

Edward Blum, president of the Project on Fair Representation, said, "It is obvious to all observers that Coca-Cola's recently enacted law firm contracting policies are illegal. The company should publicly withdraw these racial quota requirements immediately."

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 dozens of 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.

Contact: Edward Blum 703-505-1922

[email protected]

SOURCE The Project on Fair Representation

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Charles Krug Winery announced this week that on-premise events will return this spring and continue into the summer and fall, with a wide variety of safe gatherings.

A sample of the 2021 events hosted at Charles Krug includes:

Blue Note Napa

In partnership with Blue Note Napa (of the famed Blue Note New York Jazz Club), Charles Krug Winery will temporarily host Blue Note Napa for a series of outdoor shows. Concerts will be hosted twice per night every Friday, Saturday and Sunday where 260 guests can enjoy live music, food and wine at socially distanced, bistro-style tables. The concerts start on May 22 and continue through mid-October. Tickets will be available at bluenotenapa.com or ticketmaster.com, and feature acts like Brian McKnight, Tycho, Los Lobos, Pink Martini, and KT Tunstall.

Festival Napa Valley
He will sometimes use one or two words to ask for something. Sometimes he surprises us and he blurts out a sentence, Mr. Alarcon said. He would be so much more ahead had he had the full-time class.

Secaucus parents say they were told that classrooms were not large enough to safely fit all special-education students at once, leading officials to split classes into two time slots. The school superintendent, Jennifer Montesano, did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment.

The youngest, most disabled students in Secaucus were in class for one hour and 40 minutes, four days a week, from September through late October. As virus cases began to spike in New Jersey during the fall, all Secaucus schools were closed for four months before reopening for hybrid instruction March 8.

Last week, Secaucus elementary schools expanded in-person instruction to five half days per week, and class time for the most severely disabled students increased to four hours a day.

But Rutherfords public schools have been open five full days a week since September for most elementary students, including the most disabled students.

We have no idea why two towns so similar in so many ways can operate so completely at odds with one another, said Ruby Kish, a lawyer and mother of two who leads the Secaucus Special Education Parent Advocacy Committee.
President Zurabsihvili pardons co-founder of the opposition Mtavari Arkhi TV Channel

By Veronika Malinboym

On April 27, President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili pardoned the co-founder of the opposition Mtavari Arkhi TV Channel Giorgi Rurua as some members of the countrys opposition bloc entered the Parliament. In a post on her official Facebook page President Zurabishvili welcomed the beginning of the first stage of the implementation of the EU-proposed agreement, and emphasized that by signing the pardon of Giorgi Rurua, she kept to her word:I welcome the fulfillment of the first phase of the agreement! On my part, I kept my word and signed the act of pardon! Congratulations on the election of Kakha Kuchava as the Speaker of the Parliament! Congratulations to all the MPs who used the mandate given by the people for the first time today and entered the Parliament! Good luck to everyone!, read the post.Shortly after his release, Giorgi Rurua spoke to journalists and urged all political parties to enter the parliament:Now Nika [Melia] should leave prison quickly as well. I think National Movement and other parties should enter the parliament.Co-founder of the opposition-minded Mtavari Arkhi TV Channel was detained on charges of the illegal possession and carrying of the firearm in 2019, and, despite the oppositions repeated calls for his release, was sentenced to four years in prison in by Tbilisi City Court in July 2020. The countrys opposition bloc refers to him as a political prisoner and continue stating that his detention and the consequent sentence were politically motivated.On April 19, President Zurabishvili announced that she would pardon Rurua if the opposition parties enter the Parliament and sign the EU-backed agreement. In her tweet earlier last week, the president of Georgia stated that she would take it upon herself to end the political deadlock:Pardon is not a political decision. It must not be subject to interference, pressure, or negotiations. But I take upon myself the duty to end the deadlock. I will pardon, but only once the parties sign the final agreement and the EU/US announce that an agreement has been reached, President Zurabishvili said in her post.
Samsung has issued another update to the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, and it is over 1.1 GB in size. The update addresses a few issues for the flagship while also bringing the device onto the May 2021 security patch.

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Samsung has issued a new update to the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, currently the company's premier Galaxy S smartphone. So far, the update has gone live in Germany, but Samsung should start rolling it out in countries shortly. The build number to look out for is G99xBXXU3AUDA, with the lowercase 'x' changing depending on the region in which you purchased the device.

According to the changelog, Samsung has upgraded the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G to the May 2021 security patch, despite there being a few days of April left. Incidentally, Google is yet to publish its May 2021 Android security bulletin, so it is unclear what security issues that the company has addressed.
OSLO, Norway, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pexip today announced its virtual care solution, Pexip Health, won "Best Telehealth Platform" in the fifth annual MedTech Breakthrough Awards program conducted by MedTech Breakthrough, an independent market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global health and medical technology market.



Healthcare organizations rely on Pexip's secure video platform to deliver a broad spectrum of virtual care services. Patients can join video calls from the device of their choice, without the need to download any software or plugins, while providers can use the technologies they already own to meet with patients. With robust integrations and customization options, organizations can easily extend their care from hospital to home.



"Telehealth has been in the spotlight like never before and many organizations and patients are seeing how complex these healthcare video deployments can be," said James Johnson, managing director, MedTech Breakthrough. "Pexip Health simplifies complex video conferencing to empower individuals to meet, regardless of location or technology. We offer a hearty congratulations to Pexip for taking home our 'Best Telehealth Platform' award in the 2021 MedTech Breakthrough Awards program."



"Today's clinicians need secure, high-quality video that fits seamlessly into their daily workflows. The Pexip Health video solution was designed with these tenets in mind and is already powering more than 600,000 virtual visits a week for leading hospitals and health systems in North America," said Odd Sverre stlie, CEO of Pexip. "Many thanks to MedTech Breakthrough for putting a spotlight on our breakthrough telehealth and virtual health capabilities and we look forward to continued growth in this space."



MedTech Breakthrough Awards recognize the innovation, hard work, and success in a range of health and medical technology categories, including Robotics, Clinical Administration, Telehealth, Patient Engagement, Electronic Health Records (EHR), mHealth, Medical Devices, Medical Data and many more. This year's program attracted more than 3,850 nominations from over 17 different countries throughout the world.



Pexip Health powers some of the largest providers in the world with unprecedented usage and scale including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. Defense Health Agency (DHA), the largest nonprofit healthcare delivery system in the United States, Ontario Health in Canada, National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, Queensland Health in Australia, and the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland.



To learn more about Pexip Health, please visit pexip.com/healthcare.

About Pexip | pexip.com

Pexip simplifies complex videoconferencing to empower organizations with face-to-face collaboration, no matter the location or technology. Our scalable platform enables high-quality video meetings, with enterprise-grade security, and is easily adapted to fit customers' IT requirements and existing infrastructure. This makes Pexip the leading provider for large enterprises and public sector organizations. The solution is sold through 300 channel partners in 75 countries and used in more than 190 countries. Pexip was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in May 2020. Learn more at pexip.com.



Pexip Health is a virtual care solution that connects healthcare providers and patients through secure, easy-to-join telehealth visits from any device or location. Learn more at pexip.com/healthcare.

About MedTech Breakthrough

Part of Tech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence and recognition platform for global technology innovation and leadership, the MedTech Breakthrough Awards program is an independent program devoted to honoring excellence in medical and health related technology companies, products, services and people. The MedTech Breakthrough Awards provide a platform for public recognition around the achievements of breakthrough health and medical companies and products in categories that include Patient Engagement, mHealth, Health & Fitness, Clinical Administration, Healthcare IoT, Medical Data, Healthcare Cybersecurity and more. For more information visit MedTechBreakthrough.com.

CONTACT:

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[email protected] , tel. +47 40461025

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MISSOULA  The University of Montana will celebrate the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021 with two in-person, socially distanced Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 1, in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

UM will hold two Commencement ceremonies. The 9 a.m. ceremony will be for students in the:

College of Humanities & Sciences

College of Business

W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation

The 2 p.m. ceremony will be for students in the:

Phyllis J. Washington College of Education

College of Health

College of the Arts and Media

Missoula College

Master of Public Administration program.

Students and faculty members participating in the 9 a.m. ceremony should line up on the Oval at 8 a.m. Those participating in the 2 p.m. ceremony should line up on the Oval at 1 p.m.

Guest Tickets

Because of COVID-19 mitigation efforts, only students who RSVPd and their invited guests are allowed to attend Commencement ceremonies this year. Each graduating student is limited to eight guests. All attendees will be required to wear masks and practice social distancing.

Students must log into their personal account on MarchingOrder to claim their guest tickets. Students may print their guest tickets, receive them electronically and/or send them to their invited guests. Seating is general assignment and groups of up to eight guests will be able to sit together if they wish to do so.

Parking and Shuttles

Parking on campus is free on Commencement Day. Reserved parking spots are open to all Commencement guests. Please do not park in Handicap Parking unless authorized to do so. Quick Stop Parking spots are for 20 minutes or less.

ASUM Transportation will provide free shuttles between South Campus and the Music Building from 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Saturday, May 1. Shuttles run every 30 minutes. Find a shuttle schedule and map here.

After the Ceremony

At the conclusion of each ceremony, graduates will recess out of the stadium the same way they came in. Graduates and guests shoulw make a plan to meet outside the stadium and please remain mindful of social distancing between groups.

Livestream Available

A livestream of UM Commencement will be available at http://bit.ly/UMcommencement.

Honorary Doctorates

William Bill Franke will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Business. He will be the Commencement speaker for the 9 a.m. ceremony.

The late Bonnie HeavyRunner, a tribal court judge and staunch advocate for Native American causes, will receive a posthumous Honorary Doctorate of Law. Aislinn Roux, a three-time UM graduate and daughter of Bonnie HeavyRunner, will be the speaker for the 2 p.m. ceremony.

For more information, visit the about spring 2021 Commencement website. Email any questions to graduation@umontana.edu.

###

Contact: Maria Mangold, UM registrar, 406-243-2412, graduation@umontana.edu.
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Ministers desperately tried to shore up Boris Johnson today as opposition MPs branded him a 'serial liar' over the 88,000 Downing Street flat refurb and 'bodies piling up' comment.

Mr Johnson is facing a gruelling PMQs appearance with Sir Keir Starmer set to turn up the heat after a slew of revelations and a briefing war with former aide Dominic Cummings.

Scrutiny over the overhaul of the flat above No11 where Mr Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds and son Wilf live has refused to abate despite the government's efforts to draw a line under the issue.

Downing Street has declined to deny that Tory funds were used to cover 58,000 of the costs - on top of the 30,000 annual allowance given by the taxpayer.

But the gift last July has not been declared anywhere as yet, and Mr Johnson now insists he has paid the sum himself - with speculation he took out a loan.

And No10 has come under fire for saying Conservative funds are not currently being used for a refurbishment, without addressing the issue of whether they were in the past.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps tried to gloss over the row in a round of interviews this morning, claiming it is a 'story of the past' and declarations will be made.

Amid the fresh revelations as the crisis threatens to snowball for the PM today:

Mr Johnson's new chief of staff is said to have warned it was 'crazy' to ask wealthy Tory donors to fund a lavish renovation of the Prime Minister's flat

Downing Street apparently approached Labour former chancellor Alistair Darling to see if he would sit on a trust to oversee the refurbishment, but he said no

I nsiders fear Dominic Cummings c ould publish WhatsApp messages that are at the heart of the government's who-said-what row over

Mr Johnson is still under investigation over his declaration of a luxury holiday to Mustique after his huge election victory in December 2019.

Scrutiny over the overhaul of the flat above No11 where Boris Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds and son Wilf live has refused to abate despite the government's efforts to draw a line under the issue

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps tried to gloss over the No11 flat row in a round of interviews this morning, claiming it is a 'story of the past' and declarations will be made

In fact, the upmarket interior eco designer Lulu Lytle (designs pictured)  whose Soane Britain company was commissioned by Miss Symonds  sells 'Yellow Gold' and 'Old Gold' wallpaper

But shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News that 'somebody is lying here'.

Sleaze probe into PM's Mustique holiday still going on A sleaze inquiry into Boris Johnsons trip to Mustique is still ongoing some 16 months after the Prime Ministers lavish Caribbean holiday. Downing Street yesterday said Mr Johnson had made all relevant declarations after the ten-day luxury villa break, which was worth 15,000. But senior Tories are braced for fresh criticism of Mr Johnson over how his and Carrie Symonds trip was funded. The PM recorded the holiday in the register of MPs interests last year, stating the break came courtesy of Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross, who owns a holiday villa on the island. A spokesman for Mr Ross, a long-time Tory donor, initially told the Mail that the tycoon had not paid for the trip, describing the claim as a mistake. They later backtracked, saying Mr Ross had facilitated the holiday in December 2019. Advertisement

'We are focused on the pandemic but we also want to know that we have a Prime Minister in this country who puts the interests of the people in this country first,' she said.

'The problem with what has gone on over the flat is we still don't know who loaned the Prime Minister this money, he won't even confirm or deny whether it was loaned or not, we don't know why he didn't declare it and we don't know what he offered them in return.

'The reason those rules are there is so we know who powerful figures are beholden to, who they may owe favours to so we can properly scrutinise and check that they're not acting in the interests of a privileged few over and above the majority of people in this country.'

Green MP Caroline Lucas accused the PM of 'lying on an industrial scale'.

'Unfortunately I say he is a serial liar. This is a man who isn't just lying occasionally, he is routinely lying at the dispatch box and that makes it impossible for MPs to hold him to account,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

A No10 spokeswoman said renovation costs of Mr Johnson's living quarters, beyond those provided for by the 30,000 annual allowance, had been 'met by the Prime Minister personally', adding: 'Conservative Party funds are not being used for this.'

The Conservative Party leader has faced a flurry of questions regarding how the revamp was paid for following a fallout with former aide Dominic Cummings.

The former No10 chief, who quit his post last year, said Mr Johnson wanted donors to 'secretly pay' for the work in an 'unethical, foolish, possibly illegal' move.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, head of the Civil Service, has been tasked with reviewing the refurbishment of the flat in No11, while the Electoral Commission is also looking into the affair.

Mr Johnson is also likely to face a reckoning over whether the arrangement should have been declared on the Commons register of interests.

He has previously been forced to apologise to the House for failing to abide by transparency rules - with a warning two years ago that he will face 'serious sanction' if he strays again. That could potentially mean suspension, although it would need to be approved by all MPs.

The fresh claims about the flat come as Downing Street looked to sidestep allegations Mr Johnson told aides he would rather let coronavirus 'rip' than impose a lockdown last year.

His official spokesman said instead that the Prime Minister's actions were being distorted in words that did not amount to a denial, unlike No 10's strong rejection of the suggestion Mr Johnson said in October he would rather see 'bodies pile high' than announce a third lockdown.

Mr Shapps said the Prime Minister had 'paid 100 per cent for the refurbishments', seeking to portray the furore as an historical curiosity.

The minister said Cabinet Secretary Simon Case will answer whether Mr Johnson was given an initial loan to cover the costs of refurbishments.

Mr Shapps told Times Radio: 'I'll give you a completely straight answer, the Cabinet Secretary is actually conducting a review to look at the advice and the order in which everything happened with the maintenance of Downing Street.

'I just don't have the answer but the Cabinet Secretary will and it will be transparently produced in the annual report and the accounts of the Cabinet Office.'

Mr Johnson has also been under fire over claims he said he would rather 'let the bodies pile high' than trigger another lockdown last Autumn.

The premier has flatly denied making the remark, but the Mail, BBC and ITV have been told by multiple sources that he did.

Meanwhile, Sir James Dyson mounted a defence of his contact with Mr Johnson during the coronavirus pandemic after a text message he sent was made public by the BBC last week.

The British entrepreneur said it was a 'grotesque mischaracterisation' by the BBC to suggest he was a Tory backer, following his decision to message the Prime Minister about tax and other issues while designing extra ventilators at the height of the Covid-19 outbreak in spring 2020.

'The BBC's characterisation of me as a prominent Conservative donor, or supporter, leveraging a position of power to extract favours from the Prime Minister, is completely untrue,' he wrote in The Daily Telegraph.

'I have met Boris Johnson only three times - always with officials - the last time in 2016. I have not attended any Conservative social events.'

On a BBC corrections and clarifications web page, the publicly-funded broadcaster responded to Sir James' objections to the way he had been described.

'In our coverage of texts he had sent to the Prime Minister we referred in various outlets to Sir James Dyson as a prominent Conservative supporter or said he backed the Conservatives,' the website entry on Monday said.

'Sir James says this is factually incorrect. We are happy to set the record straight.'

'She's buying gold wallpaper. It's costing tens and tens of thousands... I cannot afford it': Boris Johnson's despairing cry to Downing St aides about lavish new No 10 decor - as revealed in definitive account of THAT scandal

BY SIMON WALTERS FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Like many of the most explosive political bombshells, the Downing Street flat scandal had a long fuse.

It was fourteen months ago  back in February 2020  that officials first became alarmed by renovations to the No 11 flat.

They had good reason not to pay too much attention to decorators who had been at work there since the New Year. A dozen or so cases of Covid had been reported in Britain, and the possibility that it could endanger the UK was starting to be taken seriously by some Downing Street officials.

It was fourteen months ago  back in February 2020  that officials first became alarmed by renovations to the No 11 flat. Pictured: Lulu Lytle's collection

Mr Johnson was still on a high from his election triumph in December 2019 and had had a Christmas holiday in Mustique in the Caribbean with partner Carrie Symonds  they were still to become engaged.

The couple were overjoyed to learn she was pregnant, though they had not yet shared the news with the rest of the world.

As is now well known, at this stage life-long libertarian Mr Johnson was among those who were less alarmed about the risk of a pandemic.

But he was suddenly alarmed by signs of a political problem closer to home.

They had good reason not to pay too much attention to decorators who had been at work there since the New Year. Pictured: Lulu Lytle's collection

The cost is totally out of control  shes buying gold wallpaper! he is said to have raged to aides.

It is not clear if this was classic Johnson hyperbole  or whether the wallpaper really is gold. In fact, the upmarket interior eco designer Lulu Lytle  whose Soane Britain company was commissioned by Miss Symonds  sells Yellow Gold and Old Gold wallpaper.

When aides asked him how much it was costing, he said: Tens and tens of thousands  I cant afford it.

The Cabinet Office, which is in charge of maintaining the Downing Street estate, told him there was a 30,000-a-year publicly funded allowance for refurbishing the flat.

Mr Johnson would have to pay the rest  58,000.

The cost is totally out of control  shes buying gold wallpaper! he is said to have raged to aides. Pictured: Lulu Lytle's collection

It led to friction between Miss Symonds and Helen MacNamara, Director General of Propriety and Ethics in the Cabinet Office.

Miss Symonds is said to have urged Mr Johnson to sack Miss MacNamara after she refused to sign off extra money for the flat.

Despite his 150,000-a-year salary as Prime Minister, he is said to struggle to make ends meet as a result of losing an estimated 250,000 a year from his journalistic career as well as an expensive divorce with ex-wife Marina.

By March, Mr Johnson was having to take time out from crisis meetings on the pandemic to deal the issue his advisers called Wallpaper-gate  after the 1970s Watergate political scandal in the US that brought down President Richard Nixon.

They started discussing who was going to pay Miss Lytles bill  and how.

Tory chairman Ben Elliot, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, is more noted for his political connections than his political achievements.

Like Mr Johnson he is an Old Etonian; he is best friends with another Old Etonian Lord (Zac) Goldsmith  more of whom later  and pals with Miss Symonds.

He is also a nephew of the Duchess of Cornwall.

Unlike famous Conservative chairmen of the past such as Norman Tebbit, Mr Elliot prefers to operate behind the scenes in No10 and Tory HQ.

Which is where he began to grapple with Wallpaper-gate.

Mr Johnsons first idea was to ask Tory donor Lord Bamford, boss of the JCB construction giant, to pay off the 58,000.

Lord Bamford and his companies have given more than 10million to the Conservatives over the years  and wife Lady Bamfords Daylesford farm shops delivered healthy meals to No10 after Mr Johnson recovered from Covid.

The Bamford option was dropped, though it is unclear why.

By early June, it is believed the Cabinet Office had paid the entire bill, including the excess 58,000.

But it had to be paid back.

Mr Johnsons team came up with another wheeze: a blind trust modelled on the White House Trust used to maintain the US Presidents Office.

Despite his 150,000-a-year salary as Prime Minister, he is said to struggle to make ends meet as a result of losing an estimated 250,000 a year from his journalistic career as well as an expensive divorce with ex-wife Marina

The official aim was to preserve Downing Street for posterity including the State Rooms.

In fact, it seems the real aim was to recoup the 58,000.

The advantage of the blind trust would be that the prime minister of the day would not know who had given money to the trust so there could be no conflict of interest.

The proposal was soon abandoned as impractical.

Undeterred, Mr Johnson resolved to set up a different, more open, form of Downing Street trust.

Another multi-millionaire Tory donor, Lord Brownlow, was asked by Mr Johnson to set up the new trust.

It emerged yesterday that former Labour Chancellor Lord (Alistair) Darling turned down an offer in July to lead the trust.

So Lord Brownlow took on the job.

It was around this time that Tory HQ paid 58,000 to the Cabinet Office to clear the debt.

But after being told it could fall foul of Electoral Commission rules which say party funds should be used for political campaigning, the party appears to have panicked.An extraordinary apparent attempt to disguise the payment was launched.

This newspaper has been told that in early October Mr Johnson also discussed his financial woes in No10 with Lord Goldsmith.

Miss Symondss appointment in January as head of communications for the Aspinall Foundation, a wildlife charity, was a welcome boost to her and Mr Johnsons income. A leaked email obtained by the Daily Mail showed that on October 23, Lord Brownlow told Mr Elliot that he had made a 58,000 donation to Tory HQ.

He made it clear it was to cover the same sum paid by the party to the Cabinet Office.

He added the 58,000 was to be attributed to the soon-to-be-formed Downing Trust  headed by Lord Brownlow himself. Six months later the trust is no nearer to being established.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said this week that it could not be used to pay to refurbish either of the two Downing Street flats at numbers 10 and 11  either now or in the future.

Bearing in mind that was its real, albeit unstated, purpose all along, insiders say the trust will now be quietly dumped. Meanwhile, Downing Street now says the refurbishment costs have been met by the Prime Minister personally, but has not explained how Mr Johnson paid the 58,000.

It is not clear where he got the money from  nor who he has paid it to.

Miss Lytle? The Cabinet Office? Tory HQ? Lord Brownlow? The money trail is not just murky, it is dizzying. Opposition by Mr Johnsons former chief of staff Dominic Cummings to using donors to pay for the flat was one of the reasons for his acrimonious exit from Downing Street in December.

But this newspaper has been told that when his successor, ex-banker Dan Rosenfield joined No10 in January, he was similarly shocked.

He couldnt believe anyone had allowed such a crazy arrangement to go ahead in the first place  or that so much time had been spent on trying and failing to sort out the mess, said a source.

Former Cabinet Secretary Lord ODonnell said yesterday: Prime ministers have to set an example and should abide by the rules which are there for a good reason. He needs to concentrate on issues like Covid and the way to do that is to abide by the rules.

In his blistering attack last week Mr Cummings said he told Mr Johnson early last year that the funding of flat makeover was unethical, foolish and possibly illegal.

Whether you think Cummings is a genius or the devil incarnate, it is hard to disagree that Mr Johnson is guilty on at least one of the three counts.
" " Apollo 11 Command Module pilot Michael Collins practices in the CM simulator on June 19, 1969, at Kennedy Space Center, just a month before liftoff. NASA

One of the three astronauts who made up the historic Apollo 11 crew, NASA veteran Michael Collins passed away today, April 28, 2021, at the age of 90.

"NASA mourns the loss of this accomplished pilot and astronaut, a friend of all who seek to push the envelope of human potential," said Steve Jurczyk, the agency's acting administrator, in a statement.

"Whether his work was behind the scenes or in full view, his legacy will always be as one of the leaders who took America's first steps into the cosmos. And his spirit will go with us as we venture toward farther horizons."

Collins was born on Oct. 31, 1930, in Rome, Italy. His father, a career officer in the U.S. Army who'd go on to retire as a major general, was stationed there at the time.

After his family returned stateside, Collins earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating with the class of 1952. He then became an Air Force test pilot, which opened some interesting doors (to say the least).

" " Official crew photo of the Apollo 11 Prime Crew. From left are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. NASA

In 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. Glenn's achievement was an inspiration for Collins. "I certainly had no childhood dream of flying to the moon or anywhere else, but the idea was damned appealing," Collins wrote in his autobiography, "Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys."

He was selected to join NASA's third class of astronauts the following year. His first extraterrestrial adventure came in 1966, when Collins embarked on a three-day spaceflight with fellow astronaut John Young. Known as Gemini X, their mission was one for the record books; the two men reached the then-unprecedented altitude of 475 miles (764 kilometers).

Of course, Michael Collins is best remembered for his role in Apollo 11.

" " On Jan. 9, 1969, NASA announced the prime crew of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. This portrait was taken on Jan. 10, the day after the announcement of the crew assignment. From left are Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin, Commander Neil Armstrong and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins. NASA

On July 16, 1969, at 8:32 AM (Eastern Standard Time), Collins, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Neil Armstrong were launched out of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They were the three explorers NASA had chosen for the first mission that would ever put a man on the moon.

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A Man Alone

Four days into their adventure, on July 20, Collins parted ways with his crewmates.

Seated in the Eagle landing craft, Armstrong and Aldrin made their descent onto the lunar surface. An American flag was planted; photos were taken; Armstrong said the immortal words, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Meanwhile, Collins stayed behind in the crew's command module, orbiting the moon as his colleagues explored it.

"I don't mean to deny a feeling of solitude," Collins said of his experience. "It is there, reinforced by the fact that radio contact with the Earth abruptly cuts off at the instant I disappear behind the moon, I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life."

" " As Mike Collins remains in lunar orbit, some thought he might be the most lonesome person in the universe "Actually, I was so glad to get behind the moon so Mission Control would shut up. Then I had some peace and quiet," Collins joked. Here he is seen in a command module simulator on June 19, 1969, during a practice rendezvous and docking maneuver with the lunar module. NASA

Charles Lindbergh sympathized. The Apollo 11 crew reunited in space and later returned to Earth on July 24. Back on their home planet, Lindbergh  the first pilot to complete a solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean  wrote a letter to Collins.

"I watched every minute of the walk-out, and certainly it was of indescribable interest," Lindbergh told him. "But it seems to me you had an experience of in some ways greater profundity  the hours you spent orbiting the moon alone, and with more time for contemplation. What a fantastic experience it must have been  alone looking down on another celestial body, like a god of space!"

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First Director of the National Air and Space Museum

Between Gemini X and Apollo 11, Collins logged 266 hours in space altogether. He retired from NASA in 1970, but went on to become the first director of the National Air and Space Museum. Collins held that position until 1978.

During his museum tenure, the former astronaut joined the Air Force reserve and would retire as a major general in 1982.

Collins enjoyed a number of hobbies, some more strenuous than others. Speaking to Air & Space Magazine in 2016, the then 85-year-old astronaut said, "I get a lot of exercise. I do one mini-triathlon a year, and I spend a lot of time fishing."

He was also a vocal supporter of Mars exploration; at an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, Collins described the red planet as a "much more worthwhile destination" than the moon.

"We will miss him terribly," said the family of Michael Collins in a statement released earlier today. "Yet we also know how lucky Mike felt to have lived the life he did. We will honor his wish for us to celebrate, not mourn, that life. Please join us in fondly and joyfully remembering his sharp wit, his quiet sense of purpose, and his wise perspective, gained both from looking back at Earth from the vantage of space and gazing across calm waters from the deck of his fishing boat."

HowStuffWorks may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article.

Now That's Interesting Michael Collins briefly served in Richard Nixon's administration as an Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 21:09:52|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- A foreign ministry spokesperson on Wednesday urged Japan to revoke and apologize for its wrong decision to dump contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a daily news briefing when asked whether or not to delete his related tweet, in consideration of protests from the Japanese side.

Zhao on Monday tweeted an image by a Chinese illustrator based on the famous painting "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. The new image depicts nuclear waste being poured into the sea.

"Japan has done a wrong thing. Don't people have the right to talk about it?" Zhao said.

He said that the new painting reflects the Chinese people's concern and dissatisfaction with Japan's unilateral decision to dump water contaminated with radiation from Fukushima into the sea.

"In fact, Japan's decision has aroused strong opposition and serious concern, not only from China, but also from the governments of many countries, international organizations, more than 300 environmental protection groups around the world, and people from various countries including Japan," he added.

The nuclear-contaminated water, from the date of discharge, will affect all littoral states of the Pacific Ocean within a few decades, and the radioactive materials it contains will bring harm to the global marine environment for thousands of years, said Zhao, adding that it is extremely irresponsible for Japan to unilaterally decide to release the nuclear wastewater into the sea for the sake of saving money.

"I have pinned the tweet at the top. The illustration reflects the righteous public opinion and the call for justice, and the Japanese government needs to revoke the wrong decision and apologize," he added. Enditem
Arizona governor signs abortion ban for genetic issues View Photo

PHOENIX (AP)  Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday signed a sweeping anti-abortion bill that bans the procedure if the woman is seeking it solely because a fetus has a genetic abnormality such as Down syndrome.

Doctors who perform an abortion solely because the child has a survivable genetic issue can face felony charges. The proposal also contains a raft of other provisions sought by abortion opponents.

The measure passed the Republican-controlled Legislature on party-line votes over unanimous opposition from minority Democrats. The Republican governor is an abortion opponent who has never vetoed a piece of anti-abortion legislation.

Senate Bill 1457 moved through the Legislature in fits and starts, stalling twice before moving again amid intense pressure by abortion opponents on GOP lawmakers who opposed some of its provisions. It finally passed both chambers last week.

The abortion bill as originally written made it a felony for a doctor to perform the procedure because the fetus has a genetic abnormality such as Down syndrome, and contained a slew of other provisions, including one that confers all civil rights to unborn children. Democrats call that personhood provision a backdoor way to allow criminal charges against a woman who has an abortion.

In addition to the ban on abortions for genetic abnormalities and the personhood provision, the bill bans mail delivery of abortion-inducing medication, allows the father or maternal grandparents of a fetus aborted because of a genetic issue to sue, and bans the spending of any state money toward organizations that provide abortion care.

The measure also requires fetal remains to be buried or cremated, and it forbids state universities from providing abortion care.

Theres immeasurable value in every single life  regardless of genetic makeup, Ducey said in a statement. We will continue to prioritize protecting life in our preborn children, and this legislation goes a long way in protecting real human lives.

The bill was amended twice to allay the concerns of a pair of Republicans  one worried that a woman would be forced to carry a fetus that could not survive and a second concerned that a doctors medical decisions could be overruled by a jury. That GOP-backed amendment also clarified that the personhood provision does not ban in-vitro fertilization.

The Democrats issued a lengthy written rebuttal to the bill after the final amendment.

The measure was a top priority for the social conservative group Center for Arizona Policy. Its president, Cathi Herrod, routinely backs anti-abortion bills in the Legislature. National anti-abortion groups hailed its passage.

Minutes after the governor acted, Herrod sent out a news release with the subject line Life Wins!

Today, Arizonans win. Arizona children diagnosed with disabilities prior to birth will no longer be discriminated against, Herrod wrote in the release. Arizona women will be ensured commonsense safeguards if they choose the abortion pill. Arizona taxpayers will not be forced to support abortions at public colleges and universities, and the laws of Arizona will be interpreted to value all human life.

Abortion rights groups had rallied at the Capitol on Monday, urging Ducey to veto the measure and presenting him with petitions signed by opponents of the bill.

Democrats lamented the governors action, including Rep. Diego Espinoza of Tolleson.

Gov. Duceys decision to sign SB1457 is not pro-life. It is anti-families, anti-woman, and anti-doctor, Espinoza tweeted. Im disappointed to see Arizona moving in this direction, ignoring the needs and desires of doctors, women, and families for an extreme political agenda.

Republican-controlled legislatures in Arizona and several other states  emboldened by the possibility that a more conservative U.S. Supreme Court could overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 decision that found women have a constitutional right to seek an abortion  have embraced proposals this year that could completely ban abortion. An Arizona proposal doing that, however, has not advanced.

Earlier this month, a divided federal appeals court lifted the hold on a similar Ohio law that prohibits doctors from performing abortions based on a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

Judges of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals narrowly reversed two earlier decisions blocking enforcement of Ohios 2017 law. A majority of the appeals court said the law doesnt impede a womans right to an abortion.

Mondays amendment to the Arizona bill also added a legislative intent clause that included much of the reasoning the appeals court used in the Ohio decision.

By BOB CHRISTIE

Associated Press
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 20:26:11|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD, April 28 (Xinhua) -- A blast near a police vehicle in Pakistan's southwestern district of Qilla Abdullah on Wednesday killed one policeman and left three people seriously wounded, local media and police said.

According to their reports, the explosion occurred at a market located alongside the Chaman Road in Qilla Abdullah district of the southwestern Balochistan province when policemen were performing duty near a mosque.

One police officer and two civilians were among the wounded. Police, security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site and shifted the body and the injured to a hospital in the district.

Local police said that around five kilograms of explosives along with ball bearings were used in an improvised explosive device planted at a motorcycle.

Some unknown miscreants parked the motorcycle near the police van and detonated the bomb with a remote-controlled device.

The police van and several other vehicles parked nearby were damaged in the attack.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Enditem
One Hundred Eighty-Six Years Ago: In the spring of 1834, Syracuse was one of many small, but growing villages that had sprung up along the Erie Canal since the completion of the first section in 1820.

The engineering marvel of its day, the Erie Canal drastically reduced the costs and time associated with transporting everything from goods, to people and ideas, and turned New York into the Empire State. At the same time, a new technology, the railroad, was emerging that ultimately displaced the canal after years of stout competition.

The success of the canal and the growth it engendered, prompted prominent citizens to become vigorous proponents for bringing the railroad into the village. None was more active or important than John Wilkinson.

John Wilkinson. His years in the railroad business made Wilkinson one of the wealthiest men in the region. He continued to hold stock in the NYCRR. He went on to act as president for the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana RR. He supervised the construction of nearly two-hundred fifty miles of track, including the Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad. He died in Syracuse in 1862. Courtesy of the Onondaga Historical AssociationCourtesy of the Onondaga Histori

Wilkinson was born in Skaneateles in 1798. His father, John, served in the American Revolution and, like many veterans, settled in the so-called Military Tract. In 1820, the junior Wilkinson literally named Syracuse and became the villages first postmaster.

A man of uncommon vision, he recognized very early the transformative potential of the railroad. He was instrumental in bringing the first statewide railroad convention to Syracuse, in October 1831, just three years after the nations first railroad opened, and the same year the Hudson & Mohawk launched the Dewitt Clinton, its first steam locomotive.

As a result, railroad fever swept through the village of 2,500 residents. Over the next three years, Wilkinson worked tirelessly to capitalize on it and bring the iron horse into the village. On May 1, 1834, the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad was incorporated, with Wilkinson acting as the chief architect of the deal in Onondaga County. The first passenger cars came into Geddes in the winter of 1837, pulled by mules and horses, just like on the Erie Canal.

The real action, though, was to come from the east and the bigger cities like Utica and Albany.

On May 11, 1836, the Syracuse & Utica Railroad was incorporated at a valuation of $800,000 ($22 million in 2020), with Wilkinson as President. He was the only man to serve in that capacity. The Syracuse & Utica set to work laying the fifty-three miles of track connecting Utica, Rome, and Syracuse.

In Syracuse, Wilkinson coordinated the construction of the first permanent depot on Washington Street, what became known as Vanderbilt Square. Designed and built by Daniel Elliot (whose son, Charles, would grow up to be one of the most celebrated American portrait artists of the century), the station opened in the spring of 1839.

At 8:30 a.m. on July 3, 1839 the first steam powered locomotive came thundering down the new iron rails into Mr. Wilkinsons depot.

Wilkinson was among a host of guests he and the company had invited to make the maiden voyage from Utica, through dense forest and over morasses and swamps. These first locomotives, the Syracuse and the Auburn, could make a staggering twenty miles per hour in good weather. For the sake of comparison, the average packet boat travelled at four miles per hour.

The completion of the Syracuse and Utica finally formed a complete line from Albany west, connecting with the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad, which opened on June 4, 1839. This put Syracuse within a nine-hour ride to the state capital and only nineteen hours from New York City, some 300 miles away.

This photo of the old New York Central Railroad Station was taken in the mid-1860s. The old wooden structure was completed in 1839. It was torn down in 1868. Courtesy of the Onondaga Historical AssociationCourtesy of the Onondaga Histori

On that most festive of days, July 4th 1839, the Syracuse & Utica Railroad officially opened to great fanfare. Speaking at the gala for the investors held at the Syracuse House on July 10, 1839, Thurlow Weed, Albany publishing titan and political king maker, predicted Syracuse is destined to become a great inland city, which, he continued, would accumulate wealth beyond the dreams of avarice.

Weeds prediction was absolutely correct.

Spurred by the vast improvements in transportation and the growth of the salt industry, the Central City had a population of 25,000.

By 1851, the Syracuse & Utica line carried almost 450,000 passengers annually. During this period, the railroad companies had to pay New York State for any freight displaced from the Erie Canal. Thus, passenger service was the bulk of the business for these first two decades.

Generally safe and uneventful, the route was plagued by the constant threat of cattle wandering onto the tracks. These meandering bovines were a regular feature of Wilkinsons annual reports on the status of the line.

In 1853, the Syracuse & Utica and the Auburn & Syracuse were part of the consolidation that created the New York Central Railroad.
On Monday, city officials in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, announced that they would be declaring a state of emergency ahead of the potential release of bodycam footage of last weeks police killing of Andrew Brown Jr., an unarmed 42-year-old Black man. Law enforcement and elected officials in Elizabeth City are following a familiar playbook for police departments that face calls for reform following high-profile killings of unarmed civilians, who are often Black: close ranks, delay information, and then, when the release of damaging information is imminent, preemptively attempt to shut down community protests.

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Following the police killing of Brown Jr., the sheriffs department waited three days to respond to community demands to release body camera footage from the incident. In a prerecorded video, Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten claimed he had no power to release the footage. The Brown family and their attorneys finally saw 20 seconds of redacted footage on Monday, six days after Browns killing; that same day, Elizabeth City Mayor Bettie Parker declared a state of emergency to ensure the safety of our citizens and their property.

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In Elizabeth City, hundreds of protesters marched, disrupting traffic and calling for the resignation of Wooten, County Attorney Michael Cox, and others they say are denying the community full transparency. On Tuesday, autopsy information showed that Brown died from a bullet wound to the back of his head.

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Elizabeth City has been girding for massive backlash to the shooting and community activists say that local officials have already used extreme measures to preemptively try to shut down dissent. Public schools moved to remote learning for the rest of the week, and students at Elizabeth City State University, a historically Black institution, were asked to leave their dorms.

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Dawn Blagrove, executive director of EmancipateNC, has traveled from Durham to Elizabeth City to give support to protesters. She says local outrage is more than a political response, but the reaction of a tightknit community losing one of their own. Attempts to stifle these community voices are only likely to backfire.

This is a small community, Blagrove said. Very few of [the protesters] do not know Andrew Brown or someone connected to his family personally, and their pain is compounded by the fact that their officials and county commissioners have taken such an antagonistic position toward transparency, toward the community.

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Blagrove also believes that Wootens claim that his sheriffs office doesnt have any ability to make the video public is a poor excuse for inaction. Police bodycam footage is not public record in North Carolina; releasing footage to the public requires a court order from a judge. But Blagrove, an attorney, says that under state law Wooten is custodian of the footage, could have shown it to the family at any point in the last week, and should have immediately filed a motion requesting its release to the public. Instead, she said, they dragged their feet, further traumatizing the family, and used the emergency declaration to shift attention away from state-sanctioned violence and onto the protesters.

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So far, marchers have been peaceful, according to Blagrove, despite attempts by counterprotesters to engage violently. The violence we see is always coming not from the folks [who] are most hurt, demanding that their humanity be seen, but by the people who think acknowledging someone elses humanity diminishes their own, said Blagrove.

Elsewhere in the state, this pattern is all too familiar.

Sylvester Allen, a lifelong resident of Alamance County who has been involved in numerous protests and marches there, including a Halloween voting rights march last year where dozens of people were pepper-sprayed, sees a clear parallel between what has happened in Elizabeth City and the history of policing in his own county. Its sad, its repellent, Allen told me. The first thing that happens is you hear about the killing. The next thing you do is you try to uncover what the police are hiding. Its stomach-turning that thats the process.

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Faith Cook, a community organizer in Alamance, said she went to the Graham town square to protest on Tuesday night because she couldnt take a day off of work to drive to Elizabeth City, more than three hours away. Elizabeth City was weighing on me, she said. I wanted to scream, I wanted to yell.

As founder of Light of Alamance, Cook has worked to demand accountability and justice in her own county, where in January 2020 another unarmed Black man, Jaquyn Light, was killed by police after he allegedly fled police who were serving an arrest warrant. The officer who killed Light did not turn on his body camera until after the shooting. He was not charged or fired. Again, this is par for the course in parts of North Carolina. Just last month, the town of Graham hired Douglas Strader, a so-called wandering officer who had been fired by Greensboro Police for shooting his gun into a fleeing vehicle. Given how Alamance handles both protesters and police violence, Cook fears for her family, including her 12-year-old daughter, who last August was almost run over by a white woman yelling racial epithets.

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What is happening in Elizabeth Citywith public officials clamping down on dissent even before everything about Brown Jr.s killing is known publiclyis very familiar to community activists in other parts of the state. Though protests in Alamance over past police violence have been peaceful, city and county officials have used frequently changed ordinances to try to shut them down, and elected officials are closely aligned with law enforcement. There have been no broken windows, theres been no graffiti, said Cook. But they keep adding different ordinancesnow if you have more than 10 people gathered, you need a permit. I dont understand why theyre trying to silence the people. Our voice is the only thing we have.

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On Tuesday, protesters in Graham plan to gather again to demand the release of the body camera footage that will show the world what happened to Andrew Brown Jr. Meanwhile in Elizabeth City, those who take a long view see the 8 p.m. curfew and university and school transitions to remote learning as part of a dark history.

North Carolina, South Carolina are where slave patrols started, said Blagrove. This curfew is an extension of control of Black and brown bodies.

Though the states Democratic governor and attorney general, Roy Cooper and Josh Stein, have both called for the videos release, Blagrove says that is not enough. They should be on the ground in Elizabeth City right now to ensure that the family is treated fairly and that law enforcement officers are held accountable, she said.

As for the rest of us? We need to push back against law enforcement and public officials in our own communities who seek again and again to stifle opposition to police violence. And those of us who can will need to watch the video of Andrew Brown Jr.s final moments, when that footage is released.

We have to face as a nation the horrors of being Black in America and living in a carceral state, Blagrove said.
Last month, the provincial government released the results of its long-awaited K-12 Education Review. While much will be made about the stated goals of modernizing, reforming and searching for efficiencies, the effects of the Public Schools Modernization Act will be both anti-democratic and discriminatory.

Opinion

Last month, the provincial government released the results of its long-awaited K-12 Education Review. While much will be made about the stated goals of "modernizing," "reforming" and searching for "efficiencies," the effects of the Public Schools Modernization Act will be both anti-democratic and discriminatory.

The proposed changes are undemocratic by design. They eliminate elected school boards and the ability of citizens to shape educational policy. They are to be replaced by new "school community councils," at least in theory. Years after Nova Scotias very similar changes (guided by Manitobas lead consultant, Avis Glaze), few schools have functioning councils. What councils exist, however, have little power.

As is demonstrated by Canadas "duty to consult" with First Nations, a seat at the table is not the same as having a say in critical decisions. At the end of the process, the government does what it wants. We should assume the parent councils are intended to be "influential" only so far as their input is congruent with the wishes of real policy-makers.

Council participation will be far easier for those with ample time and income. This will almost certainly ensure that those parents from working-class, Indigenous, refugee and single-parent households will be much less likely to have their voices heard.

Many of these more influential parents will be among those now able to opt their children out of "potentially sensitive content"  a dog whistle that will keep some students from receiving comprehensive sex education, including updated lessons on consent, sexuality and gender diversity. Maybe this helps explain why Winnipeg, with its relatively diverse population and complex challenges, merits only one region and rural Manitoba  with less than half the provincial population  gets 14. If only the Progressive Conservatives could redraw the election boundaries as easily.

The Pallister government is also suffering from what political scientist Janice Stein has called "the cult of efficiency": finding success in the reduction of spending, regardless of the effects. While in theory this pushes public services to run like businesses, business people know that such an approach will inevitably lead to underinvestment and subsequent collapse. One wonders to what extent that is precisely the goal.

There are plenty of examples of these tactics from south of the border (and Deputy Premier Kelvin Goertzen could probably tell us all about the ideas of such luminaries as Ted Cruz and Betsy DeVos, with whom he participated in webinars). With a declared commitment to increased standardized testing, Manitoba moves down the path laid out by punitive programs such as George W. Bushs "No Child Left Behind," which resulted in schools competing against each other for pieces of a shrinking educational funding pie.

Schools in relatively affluent communities will have little to fear from an increase in standardized testing. They will continue to have robust educational programming. In schools with more poor, Black and Indigenous students, however, experience teaches us that increased testing will threaten all "extras": guidance services and nutritional programs, as well as physical education, music and art. In efforts not to be declared "failing," schools also face new temptations to reject (or expel) particular types of students for fear they will lower test scores.

There is little joy in schools that exist only to prepare students to pass tests. Creative pedagogy in such settings is generally seen by administration as a waste of precious time. As such, creative and energetic educators often leave at the first opportunity. Such schools punish with inferior education precisely those students, neighbourhoods and communities that are already the targets of racial oppression.

All of this has contributed significantly to the ongoing polarization of cities  not least through the growing phenomenon of the "school-to-prison pipeline."

There are alternatives. Recent studies have Manitobas child poverty rate 49.6 per cent higher than the national average, while Manitobas math results trail the national average by 6.3 per cent. And although DeVos, Goertzen and current Education Minister Cliff Cullen might not agree, there are clear, established connections between child poverty and diminished school performance.

A government committed to the success and well-being of its entire community would focus on the greater need and launch a multi-pronged anti-poverty strategy with greater support for struggling families and communities. The Pallister government has instead chosen to focus on the far-smaller deficit  the one it is ideologically and self-interestedly inclined to address. And it has done so in ways that will further empower the wealthiest and whitest Manitobans.

Kelly Reimer and Brock Brown are members of Manitoba Educators for Social Justice.
[April 28, 2021] U.S. Space Command Continues Work with LinQuest for Operational Support

LinQuest Corporation, a leader in space systems technology and electronic warfare solutions for U.S. defense and intelligence communities, announced today that it was awarded a $31,676,388 million third sole source contract to support the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) operations. The contract has a one-year period of performance through April 2022. "We are pleased to continue our partnership with United States Space Command in this historic and vital warfighting effort," said LinQuest President and CEO, Tim Dills. "For over 30 years, LinQuest has worked with Government national security space stakeholders in architecting, acquiring, and operating space systems. This contract will sustain the coninuity of those efforts with the world's preeminent organization in employing space capabilities for national defense, USSPACECOM.



USSPACECOM's mission is to deter aggression and conflict, defend U.S. and allied freedom of action, deliver space combat power for the Joint/Combined force, and develop joint warfighters to advance U.S. and allied interests in, from, and through the space domain. LinQuest will provide analysis, assessments, and solutions assisting the USSPACECOM staff with operational activities across all Directorates. LinQuest will also assist the government with joint activities across all functional areas to help enable the Commander, USSPACECOM, to accomplish the joint warfighting mission for space.

About LinQuest Corporation LinQuest is a space systems technology company that provides innovative services and solutions to U.S. defense, national security, and intelligence communities that focus on the convergence of C4ISR, information, and cyber systems. These services and solutions span the integration, engineering, testing, operations, and sustainment of critical space, air, and ground systems capabilities and programs. More information can be found on the company's website at www.linquest.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005950/en/

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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

It's Boris Johnson's word against that of his former alter ego, Dominic Cummings. And, depending where you have read or heard about the accusations and counter-accusations flying between the pair, one or both are being a trifle "economical with the truth." The fact that most of what people see will have originated in either leaks from unnamed witnesses, or via the as yet unsubstantiated claims on Cummings' blog, will have only further muddied the waters.

But the biggest problem the prime minister and his erstwhile chief adviser have is that a growing number of people, whether inside or outside the Westminster bubble, are finding it increasingly difficult to take either men at their word.

It's their own fault, really. They have both long been devotees of what I and my colleague Caroline Fisher describe in a new journal article as "strategic lying." This is a techniquehoned by Cummings himself during the Brexit campaign and played masterfully during the 2019 election campaignin which a politician tells a deliberate lie with the purpose of shifting the news agenda onto his or her preferred territory.

It doesn't matter if the lie is easily rebutted. Indeed in one sense rebuttals are part of the plan because they result in the subject of the lie being amplified and kept on, or near, the top of the news agenda. The ultimate goal of strategic lying is to have an impact on the salience of issues.

As American media scholar Spiro Kiousis and colleagues explain in a 2010 study of US election coverage, this is a central objective for all political public relations messaging, particularly during an election.

Agenda-setting theory is useful for understanding this strategy, especially in the digital age. It is, if it ever was, not just a top-down activity but involves messages moving from politicians, to the media, to the public and back up again with the message being tailored at every point.

The related concepts of "priming" and "framing" come into play hereoften seen as extensions of agenda-setting, they look at not at just what issues are being discussed in the media, but how they are discussed, the context and emphasisin plain language, "spin."

"Brilliant' Brexit ploy

The classic strategic lie was the slogan painted on the side of the Leave campaign's bus during the Brexit referendum that claimed that the UK sent 350 million a week to the EU. It was a figure that was easily, and frequently, rebuttednot just by Remain campaigners but by all the reputable fact-checking organizations.

But that didn't matter. Cummings, made no attempt to defend the figure in his blog about the campaign but instead described it as "a brilliant communications ploy" saying that it "worked much better than I thought it would."

Cummings' ploy could be seen up and running within days of the Leave campaign's launch, when ITV's News at Ten devoted a full eight minutes to an interview in which Johnson was repeatedly and robustly challenged over the truth of the 350 million claim. The more naive might have thought that the interview had effectively destroyed the Leave campaign's key slogan. But far from it. The interview, and similar ones on other news bulletins, meant the issue of the UK's payments to Europe was seen by millions of viewers as the most important issue of the campaign.

In addition, once a statementor lie for that matterhas found a sympathetic ear, then no amount of rebuttal will convince people that it is not true. This is because the lie fits their worldview and to believe anything else would create a sense of cognitive dissonance, something we all seek to avoid. Furthermore, people's memories of corrections fade rapidly, but the memory of the original lie remains.

Hence, Remain campaigners found that every time they sought to rebut statements such as the 350 million claimor, for example, the notion that Turkey was about to join the EU (it wasn't, but it kept the issue of immigration front and central)  they found themselves inadvertently rebroadcasting the lies. This has been described by media scholar Caroline Jack as "unintentional amplification," which in turn leads to another phenomenon which she identifies as "inadvertent legitimisation"the act of giving credibility to "strategic lies" simply by repeating them.

Mud sticks

Striking quick and hard is one of the key components of the strategic lie playbook, as the Brexit referendum demonstrated and could also be seen during the 2019 general election. In the first week of the campaign, the Conservatives posted a doctored video clip showing Labor's then EU spokesperson, Keir Starmer, apparently stumbling over a question about the party's Brexit stance. But in the original Starmer had not stumbled at all.

Challenged about the doctored clip, Conservative party chairman James Cleverly sought to laugh it off by telling BBC Breakfast that, "Everyone could see the video was 'obviously edited' because of the music underneath."

Notwithstanding this, the doctored clip was viewed over a million times in the days immediately following and Labor's subsequent disavowal posts were seen by many morejust one BBC report of the incident received 1.1 million hits on Twitter.

Clearly, strategic lying raises a number of major ethical issues, but there is also an important practical one. What do journalists, particularly those working for the regulated public service broadcasters, do when faced with the conflict between disseminating what they know to be a lie and their legal responsibilities to exercise "due impartiality"?

Do they challenge the lie on-air, quote an opponent, quote a fact-checking organization or just not broadcast the lie? All are, or could be, problematic in the current regulatory environment. The quality of our democracy depends on the quality of the political debate within the public sphere. New campaigning techniques represent a real threat to both the debate and our democracy and something needs to be done urgently to address this problem.

Explore further Religion played an important role in Britain voting to leave the EU in 2016, research shows

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
From the northern city of Mancora, the 51-year-old teacher recalled that he had recently held a meeting with former Avanza Pais candidate Hernando de Soto clarifying those points.





"A statement saying no to communism has been issued. We have just sat down and clarified that we are not communists, we are not Chavistas, we are not terrorists. We are workers like any of you; we have met in the streets; within that framework, we ask you for tranquility," he expressed.





Likewise, the candidate greeted the businesspeople who have taken his side, agreeing that there will be a government characterized by legal stability and an open call to the business sector.





Previously, during his visit to Piura, Castillo said that if elected President of the Republic he will allow free access to universities, and ratified his proposal to increase the public budget allocated for education to 10%.





According to him, he will work to "make a great education revolution, without barriers, but with teachers."





"Enough of profiting from education, it will be a constitutional right, and I ratify to allocate 10% of the GDP budget to the education sector, so that our children can have free access to universities," he pointed out.





Moreover, the candidate assured that he will respect the autonomy of the Central Reserve Bank, as well as the independence of State powers.





After invoking the unity and tranquility that the country needs, he reiterated his request to put the stigmatization aside.





"Do not come to blame us that the U.S. Dollar has already risen because I am going to be a governor (...)," he said.





Castillo also greeted the parties that have decided to support him. "They have made the most correct decision, that of not obeying fear, the fears are over," he emphasized.





In addition, he reiterated that he will work together with businesspeople to modernize the country.





"I call for the broadest confidence in the national private company, as well as the micro and small companies to work and manage the industrialization of Peru together," he added.





As is known, Pedro Castillo will face Fuerza Popular presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori in the runoff election to be held on June 6.





(END) VVS/CVC/MVB
Singapore is ready to welcome travel-starved Australians as soon as the federal government allows them to fly there.

The city-state of six million - which has very low levels of Covid-19 - is already open to Australians and travellers from other low-risk countries including New Zealand and Taiwan as long as they test negative to the virus on arrival.

The Morrison government is in talks with Singaporean ministers about a two-way travel bubble, but they are in the early stages and no timeframe has been announced.

Singapore is ready to welcome travel-starved Australians as soon as the federal government allows them to fly there

Keith Tan, the boss of the Singapore Tourism Board, has revealed his nation stands ready to welcome Australians as soon as possible.

'We had our own unilateral opening in the hope that it would spur some reciprocation, which obviously hasn't happened,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'Nevertheless it was a signal to the world that Singapore was already prepared to open our borders in a safe way and a considered way.

'We were not throwing up high walls.'

Mr Tan said Singapore has been pursuing a risk management strategy which seeks to limit Covid cases to very low levels rather than eliminate the virus like Australia and New Zealand.

Australians are generally banned from leaving the country - except to New Zealand - until at least June 17.

The city-state of six million - which has very low levels of Covid-19 - is already open to Australians

Singapore has escaped the worst of Covid-19 with just 30 deaths and has only been recording between 10 and 40 cases per day over the past few weeks.

Earlier this month Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the government has been in early discussions with Singaporean counterparts about setting up a travel bubble similar to the one with New Zealand.

'We're in discussions with Singapore. We're having those chats, those initial chats with other countries as well, and as vaccines are rolled out here and elsewhere, these travel bubbles will be created, and it will get us back to some sort of pre-Covid normality,' he told Nine's Today show.

Trade Minister Dan Tehan previously said the government will take a 'systematic' approach to opening the borders which will see travels bubbles set up with individual nations.

'Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam have all been mentioned as potentials in that area,' he said, without giving any dates for when bubbles may start.
Toronto, ON, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Award-winning cannabis marketing and PR firm, Marigold PR, today announced the agenda for its second annual Womxn, Wellness and Cannabis Conference (WWC Conference) on May 26-27, 2021.

Hosted in celebration of the feminine cannabis and psychedelic experience, the largest free event of its kind provides a unique opportunity to network with industry trailblazers, in an inclusive, fun and educational online environment.

In association with Platinum Partner Lift & Co. Expo, North Americas largest cannabis industry conference and tradeshow, WWC Conference will feature two full days of engaging panel discussions, keynotes and live Q&As, with day one committed to cannabis and day two dedicated to psychedelics. Highlights of this years event include talks on:

The International Cannabis Industry : Charlotte Bowyer (Head of Consulting, Hanway Associates), Priya Mishra (Hempvati), Barinder Rasode (CEO of Grow Tech Labs), Maya Glogowski (Vice President, Cannabilog & Business Development, WomenCanCann) and Ulla Haaning Singapuri (CSO, KannaSwiss)

: Charlotte Bowyer (Head of Consulting, Hanway Associates), Priya Mishra (Hempvati), Barinder Rasode (CEO of Grow Tech Labs), Maya Glogowski (Vice President, Cannabilog & Business Development, WomenCanCann) and Ulla Haaning Singapuri (CSO, KannaSwiss) Compliant Marketing : Sarah Clowater (Cannabis Consultant), Alison Gordon (Founder and former CEO, 48North), Heather Schurr (Director of Operations, CFN Media Group) and Katie Pringle (Co-Founder & CEO, Marigold PR)

: Sarah Clowater (Cannabis Consultant), Alison Gordon (Founder and former CEO, 48North), Heather Schurr (Director of Operations, CFN Media Group) and Katie Pringle (Co-Founder & CEO, Marigold PR) Evolution of the Psychedelics Industry : Barinder Rasode (Co-Founder, Havn Life), Salimeh Tabrizi (Co-Founder, Canadian Psychedelic Association) and Stacey Wallin (CSO & Co-Founder, Numinus)

: Barinder Rasode (Co-Founder, Havn Life), Salimeh Tabrizi (Co-Founder, Canadian Psychedelic Association) and Stacey Wallin (CSO & Co-Founder, Numinus) Patient Insights : Ashleigh Brown (Founder, SheCann), Ashley Keenan (Journalist & Communications Specialist), Sabrina Ramkellawan (Co-founder, Knowde Group), and Dr. Jenna Valleriani (Director Patient Advocacy, Canopy Growth Corporation).

: Ashleigh Brown (Founder, SheCann), Ashley Keenan (Journalist & Communications Specialist), Sabrina Ramkellawan (Co-founder, Knowde Group), and Dr. Jenna Valleriani (Director Patient Advocacy, Canopy Growth Corporation). Cannabis Operations: Loretta Eldridge (Marketing Leader, EQUA Specialty Risk Partners Corporation), Kayla Mann (CFO, Habitat), Dr. Toni Rinow (CFO and Global Operating Officer, Neptune Wellness Solutions) and Theresa Robert (Vice President Finance, Mariwell),

Spearheaded by Marigold PR, with assistance from an advisory committee of industry experts, this years conference is sponsored by VIP Partners Flow Scientific and VIVO Cannabis. Flow Scientific supplies therapeutic naturally sourced terpenes, while VIVO Cannabis provides medical and adult-use cannabis products and services.

Katie Miller, Sales and Business Development at Flow Scientific, comments, Flow Scientific is proud to partner with WWC Conference and promote industry inclusivity. As the wellness landscape continues to develop, participating in thoughtful discussions with passionate contributors is essential to support product innovation.

Attendees are encouraged to register to claim their free ticket here. In addition to comprehensive free programming, WWC Conference provides participants unparalleled opportunities to forge relationships with industry influencers, through exclusive ticketed networking events.

VIVO Cannabis Carole Chan, Chief Commercial & People Officer, says, Were excited to collaborate with WWC Conference this year. Now more than ever, women coming together during the peak of a global pandemic is critical to supporting mental health and wellness. Patient, consumer and employee needs have changed dramatically over the last year, and its impact is shaping the future of the cannabis industry.

WWC Conference is supported by media partnerships across the cannabis and psychedelic industries, with CFN Media Group, PsyIndex, CannabisNewswire, PsychedelicNewswire, Truffle Report, Cannabis Retailer, StratCann, Flush, Canndora, ADCANN, Tokeativity, WEiC and Cannabis Prospect Magazine championing this years event.

For more information on WWC Conference, please follow #WWCConference on Twitter and Instagram, or visit https://wwcconference.com.

About Marigold Marketing & PR

Marigold Marketing & PR is an award-winning marketing and PR firm for licensed producers and national brands. Marigold offers full-service packages to clients that include branding, social media, PR and publicity and integrated marketing. Marigold creates results-driven marketing campaigns of all sizes, leveraging paid, owned and earned media. Marigold makes an impact for clients through awareness-building campaigns, industry focus and excellent service. Learn more about Marigolds all-encompassing services here.

Attachments
By Amanda Ferguson

BELFAST (Reuters) -Arlene Foster is to step down as Northern Ireland's First Minister at the end of June, bowing to pressure from members of her Democratic Unionist Party unhappy at her leadership over Brexit and social issues.

Her announcement adds to instability in the British province, where angry young pro-British loyalists rioted in recent weeks over the perceived growing power of Irish nationalists and post-Brexit trade barriers with the rest of the United Kingdom.

Foster, who took power in 2016, said in a statement that she would also step down as party leader on May 28.

Her leadership of Northern Ireland was "the privilege of my life," she said.

The announcement comes a day after a majority of DUP lawmakers signed a letter seeking a confidence vote in Foster, who many blame for mishandling Brexit negotiations.

Foster resisted compromise on the terms of Britain's exit from the European Union when her party wielded huge power in propping up the government of former British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Foster's decision to throw DUP support behind May's successor Boris Johnson then backfired spectacularly when he broke the party's "blood red line" and agreed to Brussels' demand for trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

The resulting Northern Ireland Protocol leaves Northern Ireland within the EU's trading sphere, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland but infuriating pro-British unionists by undermining the region's place in the United Kingdom.

Although Foster has repeatedly called on the EU to scrap the protocol - something it says it will not do - some party figures have demanded an even harder line.

Others have complained that she is too liberal for what is one of the most socially conservative political parties in Europe and that her opposition to gay rights and women's rights is not stringent enough.

Story continues

Johnson thanked Foster for her dedication to the people of Northern Ireland over many years. "I hope that she stays in public service for years to come," he said in a tweet.

Analysts have pointed to several possible candidates to succeed her including Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots, the party's leader in the London parliament, Jeffrey Donaldson and fellow MP Gavin Robinson.

But it was unclear how a new leader might shift the political fortunes of the DUP, which has been losing support to both the moderate cross community Alliance Party and the small hardline Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV).

"There isn't a clear ideological direction for the party to go in and that's the problem with this coup," said Jon Tonge, politics professor at the University of Liverpool.

A harder line from a new leader on either Brexit or social issues could destabilise Northern Ireland's power-sharing government that the DUP leads with Irish nationalist rivals Sinn Fein under the terms of the 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of political and sectarian bloodshed between pro-British unionists and Irish nationalists.

"Sinn Fein will work with all parties to progress social reform, political change and economic prosperity - but we will robustly oppose damaging policies or regressive throwback politics of the past," Sinn Fein's Northern Ireland leader Michelle O'Neill said in a statement.

(Reporting by Amanda Ferguson, Conor Humphries, Padraic Halpin and Paul SandleEditing by Gareth Jones and Angus MacSwan)
TORONTO, ON and NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / GlobeX Data Ltd. (OTCQB:SWISF) (CSE:SWIS) (FRA: A2PN34) ("GlobeX" or the "Company"), the leader in Swiss hosted secure communications and secure data management, is pleased to report that its Swiss hosted Sekur encrypted email, encrypted messaging and secure file-share solution will be featured on the Reason Foundation's Reason.com website through a series of paid informercials in a Podcast called The Reason Roundtable.

The Podcasts are scheduled to start on May 10 2021 and are scheduled on a weekly basis with informercial spots of 30 and 60 seconds each week. There will be a total of 31 informercials planned until December 31 2021. The Company has received the guarantee of minimum 23,000 downloads per podcast episodes. This puts Sekur in front of tens of thousands of listeners in a targeted audience seeking privacy and security in their data and communications. Additionally, the Company plans several sponsored email ads with Reason.com.

According to Reason.com, founded in 1968, Reason is the nation's leading libertarian magazine. they produce hard-hitting independent journalism on civil liberties, politics, technology, culture, policy, and commerce. As the magazine of free minds and free markets, Reason exists outside of the left/right echo chamber. Their goal is to deliver fresh, unbiased information and insights to our readers, viewers, and listeners every day.

Along with a monthly print distribution of 46,000, Reason.com attracts 5 million visits a month. Reason produces original videos that draw 5 million views a month, as well as podcasts, live events, and more. Their staffers regularly appear on leading cable news and radio programs and their work is widely cited in the media. Reason is published by Reason Foundation, a nonprofit education and research organization.

Alain Ghiai, CEO of GlobeX Data said: "We are very happy to announce the start of our US mass market launch with the signing of the deal with Reason.com. This is one of many more media contracts which we plan to complete in 2021 in order to bring awareness of the Sekur and SekurMessenger solutions. There is a need for privacy and security in the US market, and globally. By having informercials in podcasts, we are starting to educate our target audience about Sekur and all its privacy advantages. This is part of our plan to spend US$250,000 in 2021 as previously announced, in order to build a large mass market awareness in the US market. As we are not connected, and never have been connected, to AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud platforms, commonly referred to as "Big Tech", we can offer a truly independent, private and secure means of communications through secure messaging, secure voice record transfer and secure email through our proprietary technology and our secure servers based in Switzerland."

Sekur, which includes SekurMessenger as part of a bundle of email, messaging and file transfer into one app solutions, includes the Company's latest SekurMail technology, which includes proprietary anti-phishing and privacy feature called SekurSend. SekurSend lets a user send an email to any other recipient, whether they have Sekur or not, in full privacy and security as the email never leaves Sekur's encrypted email servers based in Switzerland. The recipient can then click on the notification and reply in the same manner using SekurReply, without the recipient having to register for a Sekur account. The sender can also decide to protect any email sent by adding a password to open it, a read-limit and a self-destruct timer as well. Sending an email with the SekurSend feature allows the senders and recipients to add limitless size attachments to the emails without crowding the recipients' email box. This also eliminates BEC attacks for businesses and email phishing attacks. Additionally, SekurMail includes full control of email delivery, automatic data export for large Enterprises and an automatic Data Loss Prevention technology ("DLP") with real time continuous archiving.

Recent data breaches in messaging applications and in particular in the WhatsApp application have created a certain urgency for businesses and data privacy advocates to protect their communications form cyber-attacks and identity theft via mobile and desktop devices.

SekurMessenger eliminates many of the privacy and security risks by not only not requiring a phone number, which would divulge a user's phone device ID, but also by not social engineering a user's phone or computer contact list and infecting the contacts by default as well, eliminating a huge loophole in security and privacy. SekurMessenger issues each user a username and a SM number. The SM number is the contact ID a user would disclose in order for other SM users to be added. The service comes with a self-destruct timer and other features as well, including GlobeX's proprietary VirtualVaults and HeliX technologies with all data stored in Swiss hosted encrypted servers.

Additionally, SekurMessenger now comes with a proprietary feature and technology called Chat by Invites. This feature allows a SekurMessenger user ("SM user") invite a non-SM user, or a group of non-SM users, to chat in a fully private and secure way, without the recipient ever having to register to SekurMessenger or download the app. At the end of the chat, the initiator of the conversation can remotely terminate the conversation and all traces of the conversation are deleted from all users, including the recipient. This unique feature is now fully deployed and functional on all iOS and Android devices and web platforms. The target sectors are numerous, including but not limited to real estate, legal, financial, government, energy, mining, manufacturing, trade and medical sectors.

GlobeX's Data privacy solutions are all hosted in Switzerland, protecting users' data from any outside data intrusion requests. In Switzerland, the right to privacy is guaranteed in article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Federal Act on Data Protection ("FADP") of 19 June 1992 (in force since 1993) has set up a strict protection of privacy by prohibiting virtually any processing of personal data which is not expressly authorized by the data subjects. The protection is subject to the authority of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

Under Swiss federal law, it is a crime to publish information based on leaked "secret official discussions." In 2010 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland found that IP addresses are personal information and that under Swiss privacy laws they may not be used to track Internet usage without the knowledge of the individuals involved.

About GlobeX Data Ltd.

GlobeX Data Ltd. is a Cybersecurity and Internet privacy provider of Swiss hosted solutions for secure data management and secure communications. The Company distributes a suite of secure cloud-based storage, disaster recovery, document management, encrypted e-mails, and secure communication tools. GlobeX Data Ltd. sells its products through its approved wholesalers and distributors, and telecommunications companies worldwide. GlobeX Data Ltd. serves consumers, businesses and governments worldwide.

On behalf of Management

GLOBEX DATA LTD.

Alain Ghiai

President and Chief Executive Officer

+1.416.644.8690

corporate@globexdatagroup.com

For more information, please contact GlobeX Data at corporate@globexdatagroup.com or visit us at https://globexdatagroup.com.

For more information on Sekur visit us at: https://www.sekur.com.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "project" and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guaranteeing future performance. GlobeX cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond GlobeX's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the future of the Company's business; the success of marketing and sales efforts of the Company; the projections prepared in house and projections delivered by channel partners; the Company's ability to complete the necessary software updates; increases in sales as a result of investments software development technology; consumer interest in the Products; future sales plans and strategies; reliance on large channel partners and expectations of renewals to ongoing agreements with these partners; anticipated events and trends; the economy and other future conditions; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in GlobeX's prospectus dated May 8, 2019 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, GlobeX undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

SOURCE: GlobeX Data Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/642693/GlobeX-Datas-Swiss-Hosted-Sekur-Secure-Email-and-Secure-Messaging-Application-to-Be-Featured-on-Reasoncom--Leading-US-Libertarian-Website
WASHINGTON  When one Capitol Police officer sees a photo of a fallen colleague, Officer Howard Liebengood, the loss still doesnt seem real all these months later.

I see Liebengoods picture on the wall and all these cards from all the kids in the area and senators. But to me, hes on vacation. Hes on his time off. Hes coming back, says the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk candidly about the strains on the force.

Capitol Police officers have been working to exhaustion, and many have not yet had time to fully process the Jan. 6 armed insurrection and the loss of three colleagues since that tragic day. Officer Brian Sicknick died from strokes the day after the insurrection, and Liebengood died by suicide days later. On April 2, Officer William Billy Evans was killed after a car slammed into him at a barricade near the Capitol.

Same thing with Brian. Same thing with Billy, who was just killed at North barricade, the officer said. You havent had time to process all this stuff yet. And thats because you were working so many days straight, with the crazy hours.

The last joint session of Congress was marked by the violent insurrection and followed by months of relentless hours for the traumatized force. Now, as many officers prepare to work a 16-hour day to secure the Capitol for President Joe Bidens Wednesday speech before a joint session, the toll on their personal lives continues to mount. Although the number of members of Congress and guests will be extremely limited, the events of the past few months hang over the preparations, and the lack of anything resembling a break for officers has left a mark.

We have zero vacation because theyre not granting more leave for officers, a second officer said. Our family lives are jacked up right now because they [USCP leadership] cant figure out manpower. They dont have a plan.

Through Bidens inauguration on Jan. 20, many officers worked at least 12-hour days, some for six or seven days each week. But it didnt end there. Officers have continued to work 12-hour shifts for months. Some divisions have gone back to five eight-hour shifts each week, but those officers are still drafted to work overtime, and their ability to take vacation is extremely limited.

Adding to the strain is the global pandemic. In total, 219 Capitol Police employees have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the most recent review of such figures. About 100 of those cases developed in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection. More than 67 percent of the department has received vaccines, according to acting Chief Yogananda Pittman.

Pittman told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee last week that the department has provided more than 19,600 nights in hotel rooms to cut down on officers commute times.

At least with the hotels, you were able to respond over to the hotel, kick your feet off. With going home, your eight-hour turnaround turns into two to three hours of sleep, the first officer said. With staying at the hotel, you probably got five hours of sleep, which you can work off of.

But the hotel stays came at the cost of not seeing their families.

Thanks for the hotel, but its a product of schedule, a third officer said. And, oh, if you have a family, guys are like, I appreciate the hotel, but what about my family at home that I have to go see?

I see my kids for an hour a day, the second officer said of working long shifts.

The first officer, who has about an hourlong commute to the Hill, recounted a 12-hour shift.

You wake up at 4:30 in the morning. You have your breakfast. You leave the house at 5 a.m. Your report time is 6:30 a.m., and then you work until 6:30 p.m, the officer said. You drive home. By 8:30 p.m., youre home. Pack your food for the next day. You go to bed. And then you wake up at 4:30 in the morning and do it all over again.

Such a schedule results in minimal time for a personal life, that officer said.

But they dont care if you have a family. You dont have a personal life if you work here, the officer said. Theyll ask you, Hows your family? Great, I havent seen my kid in three months.

Mass exodus

A security review by retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore and his task force found the Capitol Police to be significantly understaffed, with 233 vacancies. Honore noted the department was employing an unsustainable overtime model, and he recommended that a total of 854 positions be added to the force.

Those shortcomings need to be addressed soon because officers are worried about a mass exodus from the force.

The third officer said a lot of their colleagues are done with the Capitol Police.

The culture of Capitol Police, it seems broken to me. It seems like we are a number and were at the disposal of Congress, that officer said. Theres a hole on a schedule and they need a body to fill it and it doesnt matter my experience, my qualifications, anything.

The first officer said the strain is resulting in many close colleagues leaving. A lot of these young kids, I know eight to 10 on top of my head that are in the process of leaving, the officer said.

Currently, there are 1,843 sworn officers working for Capitol Police, 36 fewer than there were in September 2020. The number of officers leaving is expected to rise in the coming months and years, the officers said, unless there is a significant change in the structure of the department.

Were gonna start losing officers on the front end and back end, the second officer said of retirements and younger officers leaving early. So when they did the Honore report, he said were already short 233 officers, right? Since Jan. 6, weve lost 30 officers. You know how many classes we had go through the academy since Jan. 6? Zero. You know how long it takes to train somebody coming out of the academy? Eight months.

There are hundreds of older officers who could retire over the next three years.

The first officer agreed that the Capitol Police will have trouble executing Honore's hiring recommendation, which includes a suggestion to hire officers laterally.

That process is gonna take five years to get those numbers, the officer said. By the time you have the turnaround of people leaving and people retiring, youre breaking even. Youre not gaining 1,000 more. Youre gaining 1,000 to fill all the holes of where everybody just left.

Whether the department will undergo the tectonic shift its officers are craving is yet to be seen. In the meantime, they are holding out hope.

Im trying to be hopeful that theres a possibility of the department changing how it operates. So thats where Im at right now. But for a lot of people who arent from here whove come here expecting one thing and are getting another thing, they have no incentive to stay, the third officer said. Even the pay, which is good for a starting police department, its not worth it if you cant have a life or a family.

Trauma support

The department brought in peer support groups composed of law enforcement officers from other departments to speak with Capitol Police officers.

Those groups were great. They were hunting people to talk to, the first officer said. Because theres a lot of tough guys. I dont want to talk to anybody. That makes me sound crazy.

The ability to talk with other officers who have experienced similar trauma is important because there is a stigma associated with speaking to counselors, the officers said.

Theyre bringing in a lot of outside agencies now because no one wants to talk to the internal psychologists/psychiatrists because everyone associates that with If I tell them how Im feeling, theyre going to take my police powers away, the second officer said. And thats unfortunate.

Pittman has said the department is offering access to professional counselors through a partnership with the House Office of Employee Assistance, the peer counseling sessions and counseling services for officers family members.

Pittmans fiscal 2022 budget request, an ask of more than $100 million over the previous year, includes wellness initiatives for officers and aims to increase access to the Employee Assistance Program and other health and wellness programs.

Joint session security

The Secret Service is working with the Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Park Police and other law enforcement entities to secure the event. It is designated a National Special Security Event by the Homeland Security Department, the Capitol Police said in a statement.

A Capitol Police spokesman did not respond to requests for comment on the security preparations.

Biden plans to deliver remarks at 9 p.m. to a scaled-down crowd of lawmakers in the House chamber because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Looming over the preparations is the specter of the Jan. 6 attack.

On Tuesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters she had received a strong briefing on security, adding, I said I wish I had had this briefing, you know, before Jan. 6th, but we insisted on knowing every detail of it.

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said on April 22 that he is confident it will be a safe night.

I feel very assured that its a safe event, the California Republican said. Ive been very sure of our security and safety here.

Representatives for Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell did not respond to an email request for comment.

___

Chris Marquette of CQ-Roll Call wrote this story.

(c)2021 CQ Roll Call

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Armenia to the USA Varuzhan Nersesyan gave an interview to CNN, noting that on April 24 President Biden made a historical decision by recognizing the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire. ARMENPRESS presents the text of the interview.

Becky Anderson: Well, Varuzhan Nersesyan is the Armenian Ambassador to United States. He joins this live from Boston. Could we please have your opinions. By recognizing the mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War One as a genocide Joe Biden of course is breaking with his predecessors and decades of US foreign policy. I just wanted you to explain the significance of this and the impact it will have on Armenia and Armenians around the world.

Ambassador Nersesyan: Well, thank you very much Becky. Of course on April 24th President Biden adopted a decision of historic magnitude, of historic importance by recognizing the Genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Empire. This comes in addition to the 2019 Congressional recognition by the US House of Representatives and U.S. Senate of the Armenian Genocide by which now the United states officially recognizes the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians in their historic Homeland and this is as such as an act of historic importance. Of course this is not only about the past atrocities and past genocides. This is also very much a message to our contemporary times and to the future. Armenian Genocide was the first genocide in the 20th century and as such because it was not at the time of the genocide in the middle of the First World War condemned and recognized, it set a very tragic precedence for other genocides in the history of humankind. And then we saw the other crimes against humanity such as the Holocaust of the Jewish people, the genocide in the Rwanda, in Darfur and elsewhere and up until now. That's why the recognition is very important and also on the precedence of the Armenian Genocide the very term genocide was coined by Rafael Lemkin. So in this sense of course it has a lot to do with our also current times.

Bucky Anderson: So this announcement effectively equating the anti-Armenian violence in the First World War with the atrocities on the scale of those committed in Nazi Germany and in Rwanda as you as you rightly pointed out. Turkey and it was the Ottoman Empire that Joe Biden blamed for these mass killings and chose to describe it as genocide not Turkey. But Turkey says claims of genocide are outrageous and it has told the USA that this announcement has, let me quote him here, I quote Ankara here ''opened a wound in relations between the two'' and that will not surprise you at all. I wonder what you believe the broader geopolitical implications are of America making this declaration after all you have been lobbying Washington or your predecessors certainly have for years to ensure that the Americans would finally make this declaration.

Varuzhan Nersesyan: Thank you, Becky. Of course this declaration is an opportunity for Turkey itself to reconcile itself with its past and to recognize. Because if Turkey wants to heal the wounds, not to open the wounds. But this declaration is there an opportunity to heal the wounds and to open an opportunity for Turkey itself to recognize the Armenian Genocide and normalize afterwards the relations with his neighbor - with Armenia. But Turkey not only has not recognized the genocide but has been in complete denial and this denialism is what causes these waves of recognitions. And we are deeply grateful to President Biden for this historic recognition. So this recognition comes to bring a more security to our region and looks towards the future. But Turkey..

Bucky Anderson: Yeah I wonder if it does or not. So that they completely just put this point to you because I know what you wanted to achieve but I wonder whether that is what it will achieve because Ankara with President Erdogan in charge is absolutely furious about this. Look, Armenia's Prime Minister resigned yesterday in order to trigger an early election in June and he's been facing sustained criticism over his decision to call a cease fire last year with the conflict with Armenia's neighbor Azerbaijan backed significantly by Turkey in that. There is also lot of political unrest in the region around Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. There's been an awful lot of protest. I just wonder whether firstly you think these elections are going to solve any of these tensions in your country and whether you genuinely believe that by the US making this declaration which is fantastic for Armenians around the world, but whether you genuinely think that's going to actually plaster over the cracks in this region or actually could make them worse.

Varuzhan Nersesyan: Thank you, Becky. I genuinely believe this declaration is going to contribute to the peace and security in our region. But as I wanted to say that Turkey not only did not recognize the Armenian genocide and was in complete denial. Turkey in our days continues to threaten and destabilized and to threaten Armenia. Just like last September Azerbaijan conducted a full aggression with Turkish participation and support against the people of Nagorno Karabakh or Artsakh, Turkey became a full part of that war dispatching foreign terrorist fighters, jihadist terrorists there and dispatching is deadly drones there and its commandos. So, Turkey continuous its policy. That's why the recognition of Armenian Genocide is acute and extremely important because up until now Turkey continues the same genocidal intentions and genocidal policies towards the modern Republic of Armenia. That's why the declaration is not only about the crime that took place 106 years ago but also about our modern times trying to bring all those who tends to, you know, implement policies of aggression and policies of attacks to back to order. This is not a time global disorder, this is a time of order and International Security. As to the elections in Armenia all I can say of course there are there is now internal domestic political debates in Armenia, but Armenia is firm on his path towards democracy as different from Azerbaijan and Turkey - two authoritarian states in our region. Armenia will overcome these difficulties and the people of Armenia who are the survivors of you know, who are Genocide survivors, they have the resilience and political will to construct modern Democratic, vibrant Democratic society. And as Armenia heads towards elections on June 20 the people will have a choice to decide and then to continue the path forward.

Bucky Anderson: Let's just close this conversation with the sense of what this all means for Armenians, the Diaspora around the world many of whom of course, certainly those of a certain generation live with the ghosts of this genocide and it has been a huge part of your nation's identity. I know you'll also admit that there will be younger generations who simply wanted to move on from the ghosts of what had happened in the past. I just wonder just what sort of closure does this announcement by the White House bring to the Armenian community.

Varuzhan Nersesyan: This announcement Becky brings to Armenian- American community and Armenians worldwide a great degree of hope for the future that this will contribute to the regional peace and security in our region, because by calling the things by their own name, which is genocide, by recognizing the truth, we set the grounds, firm foundations for secure future in our region. And I hope, as I said in the beginning, Turkey will come into terms after this declaration and would recognize and reconcile itself with its own history to set a foundations for better future in our region. After all the people of Armenia, all they want - to live in peace and harmony with their neighbors but addressing looking to the truth, addressing the realities and setting up better foundations for regional peace and security.

Bucky Anderrson: With that Ambassador, we will leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us. A truly historic declaration by the US administration in Washington over the weekend.
Sir Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology series leads the nominations at the Bafta television awards, where it is in the running for 15 gongs.

There is recognition for John Boyega for his performance as Met Police officer Leroy Logan in the instalment Red, White And Blue, while Letitia Wright and Shaun Parkes are nominated for her performance in Mangrove and Sir Steve is nominated for best director.

The anthology, which was aired on the BBC, is in the running for nine craft prizes and six television awards, including best mini-series, and supporting actor nods for Malachi Kirby and Micheal Ward.

The Netflix royal drama The Crown scored 10 nods, six in craft categories and four in TV categories, including recognition for Josh O'Connor as the Prince of Wales, Tobias Menzies as the Duke of Edinburgh and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret.

The show is nominated for the best drama series prize alongside Gangs Of London, I Hate Suzie and Save Me Too.

Michaela Coel's powerful sexual assault drama I May Destroy You received eight nominations, including recognition for leading actress Coel and her co-star Paapa Essiedu, as well as a supporting nod for Weruche Opia, while the show is nominated for best mini-series.

Normal People, an adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel of the same name, scored seven nods, including best mini-series, while stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones are recognised in the leading actor and leading actress categories.

The Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards ceremony takes place on June 6 on BBC One and the British Academy Television Craft Awards will be streamed on Bafta's social channels on May 24.
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 28.04.21:

Ahead of snap parliamentary elections, Armenian authorities are trying to influence the upcoming campaign mechanisms following Nikol Pashinyan's failed visit to Syunik Province when he was met with curses by the residents.

The package of bills on amendments and additions to the Criminal Code and related laws implies criminal liability in cases when the voting results at election precincts are declared invalid due to interference in and obstruction of the electoral process.

Criminal liability will be imposed also for obstructing the election campaign, and using violence or threatening to use violence at or near the polling stations.

It is proposed also to impose criminal liability for publishing false information about a party, party bloc, or a candidate running in an election, in cases where this action was carried out for commercial purposes.

The Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan conveyed a video message to their families through the International Committee of the Red Cross.

According to Zara Amatuni, representative of the ICRC office in Armenia told NEWS.am, such a means of communication is used for the first time.

On April 25, the Azerbaijani side prevented the entry of 25 Armenian pilgrims to Dadivank where the ordination ceremony was foreseen by the servants of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Preventing the entrance of the faithful to Dadivank with obviously false and idle pretexts, the Azerbaijani military aimed to overturn the significant sacred ceremony of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Thus, the Azerbaijani side violated the agreement reached through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers. According to the agreement, the Armenian faithful can freely access and perform spiritual ceremonies in the Dadivank Monastery.

Freedom House human rights organization has published the 2021 report of the Nations in Transit, according to which Armenia's score declined for the first time since the revolution in 2018.

Armenia is ranked as a state with a semi-consolidated authoritarian regime.

"In Armenia, the war with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has triggered a domestic crisis that risks undoing the success of the 2018 Velvet Revolution," the report said. "The countrys democracy score declined for the first time since the revolution, and developments to date this year, including tensions between the military and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, demonstrate that the situation could grow worse."

Opening the border with Turkey will hit Armenian agriculture hard, second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, stated this during a talk with his supporters.

"But one thing is clear that opening the border of Armenia with Turkey today will deal a big blow to our agriculture because our two agricultures are rivals, and it is obvious that Turkeys agriculture is in a better condition, in larger volumes, and Turkeys government provides much bigger subsidies. It is virtually not done in Armenia, and the abolition of the Ministry of Agriculture left the sector completely ownerless.

This means that if the border opens now, the situation of our villagers in the Ararat Valley will be just awful. Their product will not be competitive in terms of price.

Before opening the border, at least a few years are needed to raise the level of your agriculture, bring the level of subsidies to the same level, protect your market with various taxes, after which you can only think about opening the border," Kocharyan noted.

The dead body has been found in a burnt house in Oshakan village of Armenias Aragatsotn Province Wednesday morning.

Those gathered at the scene said that the deceased was a former police officer.

As of Wednesday morning, 808 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 214,872 in the country, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Also, 13 more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 4,071 cases.

The number of people who have recovered over the past one day is 588, the total respective number so far is 196,289, and the number of people currently being treated is 13,503which is an increase by 206 in one day.

And 4,807 COVID-19 tests were conducted in Armenia over the past one day, while 974,776 such tests have been performed to date.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday he was likely to discuss the Donbass conflict at a summit with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin chief recently expressed a willingness to meet Zelenskyy in Moscow.

Last week, Russia began pullback on a troop buildup on the borders. The deployment had prompted fears in Ukraine and drew backlash from the West.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russia separatists picked up again earlier this year.
Egypt's foreign minister met Wednesday with the U.N. special envoy for the Middle East.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry discussed with Tor Wennesland the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid the recent violence in Jerusalem.

Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said the discussion tackled means to advance the peace track.

Wednesday's meeting came after Egyptian officials said the Palestinian Authority plans to call off its first elections in 15 years, citing Israel's refusal to allow voting in east Jerusalem.

The decision would effectively grant Israel a veto over the holding of elections, though President Mahmoud Abbas could also benefit from the canceling a vote in which his fractured Fatah party is expected to lose power and influence to the Islamic militant group Hamas.

Israel told European ambassadors on Tuesday that it would not prevent Palestinian elections, but authorities have yet to say whether they will allow voting in east Jerusalem. Israel's silence on the issue indicates that it would rather be blamed for a postponement than see elections that further empower Hamas.

An Egyptian diplomat and an intelligence official said they had been briefed on the Palestinians' decision to cancel the election, which will be announced Thursday at a meeting of Palestinian factions.

They said Egypt is in talks with Israel to reach a compromise to allow the vote but those efforts have so far failed.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Reading tutor Max Margolis is seeking a seat on the Portland school board representing schools in the districts Southeast neighborhoods.

He is one of three candidates on the ballot for the Zone 6 seat held by Julia Brim-Edwards, the only incumbent seeking reelection. Caterer Libby Glynn is also running.

The winner of the race will take office along with two new board members come July.

The 2021 campaign comes at a time when families and employees in Portland Public Schools are charting courses for post-pandemic education. The states largest district was among the areas last to open for in-person instruction.

Portland Public Schools will offer among the fewest classroom hours to students of the 14 largest Portland-area districts, an Oregonian/OregonLive analysis found.

District officials have pledged to prioritize Black, Indigenous and other students of color in their budget proposals and programming on the tail of the pandemic, just as they promised to do in previous years.

The school board has the final say in Superintendent Guadalupe Guerreros spending plans.

The Oregonian/OregonLive sent a survey to every candidate who will be on Mays ballot. Here are Margoliss answers, edited for length.

Name: Max Margolis

Seat youre running for: PPS Board of Education Zone 6

Occupation: Reading Tutor

Education: Bachelor of Arts Political Science Ohio University Athens, OH

Do you have children who attend or attended Portland Public Schools? If so, please provide details: Yes, I have a daughter who attends a PPS middle school.

What inspired you to run for the board?

During the severe snowstorm in February, I read an article in the Oregonian laying out the process for running the school board, then shook off my pandemic malaise and launched my campaign.

The secretary of states audit of PPS resonated with me because it mirrored my familys turbulent experience. Seeing how defensively the board responded to the audit and the review reImagine PPS, now the districts North Star, made me upset.

The district office is on a vision quest while our students get inadequate services and families relocate or enroll their kids in private schools.

Did you have any previous involvement in PPS, either as a volunteer or member of an advisory council or committee? If so, what were your duties?

I was the vice president of Vestal Elementary PTA.

I led a successful effort to have PPS Facilities and Maintenance remove deteriorating and filthy carpeting from our second and third-grade classrooms. PPS did a fantastic remediation job with new tile flooring and paint in the classrooms.

I attended a series of District Boundary Advisory Review Committee (DBRAC) forums and spoke in support of reestablishing Roseway Heights as a middle school. From 2003-2006, I directed an after-school drug prevention program at Jefferson High School where 9th and 10th-grade students produced movies and documentaries with filmmakers from NW Film Center.

How much time do you envision yourself setting aside for board duties every week?

As a rookie joining the board, I envision my first 90 days will be an intensive onboarding process to familiarize myself with PPSs organizational apparatus.

After that, being a board member will be part of my healthy lifestyle. I thrive with routine. For my board duties, I will devote 10-20 hours a week to preparation, participation, and reflection.

Preparation entails studying the board packet materials and listening to constituents concerns, 6-8 hours of participation in meetings, and my daily morning 3.5-mile walk promotes a healthy and quiet mindset to reflect on issues facing the district.

What are the two most pressing issues facing Portland Public Schools and why?

The two most pressing issues facing PPS are the achievement gap and reconfiguring school services and capacity post-pandemic.

Think of the achievement gap as a giant hole with thousands of students stuck in it. The district appears more interested in shaping and gauging public opinion about the structure, origin, and meaning of the hole than lifting the stranded students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the education landscape, the board will play an integral role in supporting an effective hybrid system that provides safe classrooms buttressed with engaging remote learning.

PPS must explore the viability of expanding its virtual academies.

How will you hold the superintendent accountable?

The superintendent has the largest executive team, 17 members, in the state.

His team must create a student-focused strategic plan that delivers an excellent and equitable school experience to PPS students.

Students and teachers are evaluated; the superintendent will be, too. In concert with the board team, I will ensure my priorities of raising PPS students out of the achievement gap, increasing school extracurricular activities, and improving PPSs website are included in the performance evaluation.

Ongoing and consistent communication, along with quarterly update reports, will demonstrate that accountability and transparency are common practices in overseeing the district.

How would you rate the performance of the Portland Public Schools boards response to and handling of COVID-19-related developments so far? What would you have done differently?

I give the PPS board high marks in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In meeting this moment, the board held open discussions on COVID-19, supported the development of Comprehensive Distance Learning, oversaw a successful bond measure, and approved the hiring of additional social workers to help students transition back into the classroom. In terms of quibbles, the middle school hybrid schedule is an unenticing glorified study hall.

This has been a very difficult year, I am thankful and impressed with the entire PPS community for demonstrating resilience, kindness, creativity, and dedication throughout this pandemic.

How will you engage with the community?

Community engagement is crucial to understanding the past, ongoing, and emerging issues facing the district.

I will be straightforward, collaborative, curious, accountable, and honest. I will provide the community with accurate information regarding the school districts goals, decisions, and policies. Community engagement requires flexibility.

The board should consider moving some board meetings to the morning hours to increase engagement.

I will be available to listen to and respond to the communitys concerns. However, I will not use social media to discuss PPS policies, because social media is antithetical to healthy discussions. I will respond to emails and phone calls.

How will you engage historically underserved families?

PPSs Student Engagement and Partnerships department is charged with providing student-centered, family-focused and partnership-driven with culturally specific services to support " to underrepresented families.

This department should provide the board with effective strategies and insights on engaging underserved communities.

I believe most families, privileged and underserved, would prefer that the district deliver quality education services over having to participate in board process and policy discussions. I am service-orientated, so my focus is on helping PPS provide an equitable and excellent educational experience to students from underrepresented families.

How will you balance the interests of students and teachers as represented by their union should those interests be at odds?

Our students safety will always be my No. 1 priority.

Any union policy that prioritizes a teachers job and retirement over the safety and well-being of our students will need to be renegotiated.

In 2018, PPS released an extensive report documenting its 32-year failure to protect students from Mitchell Whitehurst, a predatorial teacher, despite numerous student complaints. I trust this is a lesson learned for the district and the union.

If teachers and students are pursuing different interests, then the system has failed. I will always listen to the concerns of teachers and students to ensure a harmonious learning environment.

How will you handle disagreements with fellow board members?

In my professional life, I have worked with adjudicated youth, delivered thousands of drug prevention presentations to high school students, and facilitated contentious public safety community meetings, so Im comfortable with disagreement.

The PPS board should have lively, frank, and open discussions to make sure the district is fulfilling its mission. An effective school board embraces disagreement as a natural and healthy way to reach compromise, understanding, and enact sound policies.

As a board member, I will follow meeting protocol, listen to competing points of view, share my perspective, demonstrate humility, and respect the majority vote.

Portland Public Schools, like other districts, has largely discontinued interim and year-end standardized testing to measure students reading, writing and math skills. Do you agree with that decision? When would you want such testing to resume?

I agree with the decision. Everybody should be focused on reacclimating students to the new hybrid model, not on taking tests.

If schools are operating at full capacity this fall, I will listen to our educators and district administrators regarding the timing of resuming testing. In the interim, teachers will continue, as always, to develop and track our students reading, writing, and math skills.

What metrics will you be watching as a board member?

PPS is the largest school district in the state with an enormous and complex bureaucracy with over 60 different departments.

As a board member, I will be watching the percentage of students that meet or exceed language, math, and science standards, school enrollment & catchment data, school capacity percentages, graduation rate, student attendance rate, and hiring demographics.

A critical function of my job will be to help the board and Superintendent distill complex data sets into a transparent, compelling, and comprehensive narrative that communicates the districts successes, challenges, limitations, capacity, and goals to the public.

What strengths would you bring to the board? Why, essentially, is it crucial the voters choose you?

I believe my perspective, humor, experience, and work ethic will help the district deliver a better education experience to our students and better outcomes for our community. We need to move on from having a corporate lobbyist just doing things to our schools.

I am a sound alternative to an entrenched board member who peddles clout, swoosh, and political connections, while our students get lost in the achievement gap and vision statements. Our students deserve authentic and independent leadership. I am the right choice for our district!

Campaign website: www.maxmargolis.org
Trump Administration Safeguarded America Better Than Most: Kash Patel

Kash Patel, a former senior official in the Trump administration and key figure in uncovering the facts behind the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane investigation of Trumps 2016 campaign, said that he hopes the administrations legacy of protecting America will not be forgotten.

In an interview with The Epoch Times American Thought Leaders program, Patel noted that he hopes people will take an actual interest in the substantive work done in the President Trump administration and step back from the politicization of it to see what we did to safeguard this nation.

I think if you actually do that, whether youre a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or whatever, I think youll see we successfully executed that mission better than most in modern history, Patel said.

However, Patel is worried that the legacy of the Trump administration is being attacked by the current Biden administration, which he says is zero for three on significant defense issues in the first three months of their governance.

I would hope that the administration would stop politicizing the defense of our country, by senselessly and baselessly attacking those that have served in the past, and focus on actually crafting policies to counter China, to counter Iran, to protect our southern border, Patel said. Because so far, in the first three months, theyre oh for three.

Patel noted that although these issues often vary in terms of priority for each administration, essentially they are continuous topics that all administrations have to work upon.

National security is one of those uniquely apolitical things, Patel said.

I served more time in the Obama national security administration than I did in the Trump administration, and I feel like that things such as protecting our borders, the southern border, countering narcotics, countering terrorism, sanctions to our enemies, countering Iran; and the Chinese aggression, and the Russian aggression, and the threats from the Middle East  are things that should just stay, he said.

Patel is most known for his work with the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). His team found that Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign funded the compilation of a dossier of unsubstantiated claims about former President Donald Trump.

The dossier, which was authored by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer who was simultaneously working for a Russian billionaire with ties to the Kremlin, played a key role in the FBIs decision to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to spy on former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

Patel also oversaw some of the most significant actions in Americas Middle East policy, such as the initial steps of the Trump administration to end the forever wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, and Iraq, and to oversee the team that took out ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

His most diplomatic task in the Middle East, though, was his role in overseeing the retrieval of U.S. hostages from places like Syria, which he said was one of the biggest priorities for the 45th president, who placed a high emphasis on returning Americans who were detained abroad or held hostage.

Patel traveled to Syria in an attempt to gain proof of life on hostages like Austin Tice and became the first U.S. official to travel to Damascus in a decade.
LOWELL, Mass. - A product that detects and helps seal leaks in ill-fitting face masks to protect against COVID-19 and other environmental hazards recently won top honors in UMass Lowell's annual student entrepreneurship pitch competition.

Called TrueFIT, the invention was named the Rist Campuswide DifferenceMaker in UMass Lowell's 2021 DifferenceMaker $50,000 Idea Challenge, a contest that caps a year-long program that teaches students in all majors skills they can use to launch their own businesses and nonprofits.

TrueFIT was one of 10 innovations showcased before expert judges during the competition's final round, which was held online and viewed by more than 100 people. Fifty teams entered the challenge, now in its ninth year.

COVID-19 sparked the idea behind TrueFIT, a mask-fitting and sealing solution that adheres to any commercially available facial covering. The invention uses a temperature-sensitive, color-coded dye to indicate the completeness of a mask's seal. When a mask is touching a person's face, the product changes color; areas of a mask that are not touching the face show no color, to indicate lack of a seal.

The team behind the innovation includes Siddhant Iyer, a UMass Lowell plastics engineering graduate student from Lowell; Justin Marcouillier, an undergraduate business administration major from Chelmsford and Pranav Ramaswamy, a Westford Academy freshman.

"Pranav had worked on another project on thermochromic inks at his school. That's how TrueFIT came up with the idea to use thermochromics for better fit and seal," said Iyer.

"Color-changing materials, also known as thermochromic materials, have always been a fascination of mine," said Ramaswamy, 14. "Siddhant mentored me as we refined the idea, designed and made the prototypes. I learned a lot about skin-safe adhesives and thermochromic inks that change color at body temperature."

TrueFIT aims to protect people in their everyday lives as well as workers in the construction, health care, mining and other industries.

"The winning team came up with an innovative mask device that can be used well after COVID-19 and that will hit a larger target market. They did great research," said Holly Lalos, DifferenceMaker program director.

Iyer was energized by the team's first-place showing.

"There is no better feeling than having a community of people support an idea dedicated to solving a very important problem," he said.

The event highlighted the "depth, ingenuity and talent of the students at UMass Lowell," said Brian Rist '77, a UMass Lowell alumnus and namesake of the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute. Rist, who served as a judge for the competition, founded and grew Florida-based Storm Smart into the largest manufacturer and installer of hurricane-protection products in the U.S. He is the chairman of the Rist Family Foundation.

Noting TrueFIT's concept and product are "not only timely and marketable, but much needed," Rist predicted "TrueFIT will clearly be a DifferenceMaker."

Other teams competing in the challenge pitched everything from an appealing case for medication designed to look like an apple to an affordable device to power and maneuver wheelchairs. Two pitches focused new ways to support agriculture: one for a plant fertilizer production system in Uganda, the other a terrarium to grow food everywhere, even on Mars.

In addition to Rist, judges included Instinet Holdings Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Lorna Boucher '86; CondeCo CEO Cindy Conde '87, '91; Roger Cressey '87, partner, Liberty Group Ventures; Group III International Ltd. Chairman and CEO John Pulichino '67, '14 (H); Digital Federal Credit Union President and CEO James Regan '88; Mark Saab '81,'13 (H), founding trustee, Saab Family Foundation; and Prof. Jack Wilson, president emeritus of the UMass system and UMass Lowell distinguished professor of higher education, emerging technologies and innovation, who founded UMass Lowell's Jack Wilson Center for Entrepreneurship.

Overall, the challenge awards $50,000 in prizes to the 10 finalist teams. Each receives a share of $35,000 in privately funded prize money. In addition, this summer, the finalists will participate in the DifferenceMaker Program's boot camp, where they may apply for one of three awards of in-kind services worth $5,000 provided by sponsors Foley and Lardner, LLP and UMass Lowell alumnus Chris McKenna '89.

Since the program was founded in 2012, DifferenceMaker participants have launched 38 companies, raised $5 million to advance their inventions and have received or filed 10 patents. More than 60,000 students have been introduced to the program. Along with the TrueFIT team, winners were named in seven other categories. UMass Lowell student participants, their majors and hometowns are:

Significant Social Impact, $4,000

Digital Life - A prosthetic device for children with digital congenital deformities developed by biomedical engineering majors Smriti Kumar of Westford, Alejandra Luna Juarez of Methuen, Tina Thuy Nguyen Hoang of Revere and Amy Nguyen from Manchester, N.H.

Contribution to a Healthier Lifestyle, $4,000

Apple a Day - A container for medications that is discreet and appealing to children developed by mechanical engineering majors Emily Philpot of Topsfield, Param Rajeshbhai Patel of Lowell and Jack Ryan of Hanson.

Sutherland Innovative Technology Solution (sponsored by Andrew Sutherland '94), $4,000

NavLens - A wearable device that enhances spatial awareness for people with visual impairments

Alden Giedraitis, electrical engineering, Byfield;

Daniel Giuliano, mechanical engineering, Braintree;

Christina Haugh, business administration, Shirley;

Jack Houle, electrical engineering, Winchester;

Asa Losurdo, electrical engineering and computer science, North Brookfield;

Edwin Meriaux, computer engineering, Westborough.

Jack. M. Wilson First Product to Market Award (sponsored by Jack Wilson), $4,000

Wonder Wheel - An affordable assistive device for wheelchairs

Rasha El Ghazal, biomedical engineering, Merrimack, N.H.;

Alexander Hoefer, electrical engineering, Boxborough;

Khang Nguyen, mechanical engineering, Malden;

Sanskriti Sharma, computer engineering, Cambridge.

Commitment to a Sustainable Environment, $4,000

Green Fertilizer - A concept to design and build a fertilizer production system developed by energy engineering doctoral candidates Benard Tabu and Visal Veng of Lowell, and Samuel Alpert, a master's degree candidate in energy engineering from Needham.

Honorable Mentions, $2,000

Concept Project - A multimedia startup that creates awareness about social issues and provides mental and physical challenges in the outdoors developed by Garret Roberts, a business administration major from West Newbury.

Terminus - A terrarium that can be used to grow food anywhere

Brian Cleavitt, business administration, Hudson, N.H.;

Rohan Goyal, computer science, Shrewsbury;

Renin Kingsly Jose, computer engineering, Lowell

Eliot Pirone, mechanical engineering, Somerville;

Ariel Shramko, environmental engineering, Attleboro.

Tommy Vi's Gelato - A new dessert that blends Asian flavors produced with Italian machinery and techniques developed by Tommy Vi, a business administration major from Chelmsford.

VieVest - A product that protects athletes from impact and abrasions sustained from barbell use, developed by Alexander Frawley, a business administration major from Billerica.

###
Children concerned about their mother being physically abused by her boyfriend managed to get her help by passing a note about the abuse to the driver of their school bus.

Now Erik Alvarado, 40, has been taken into custody and is facing multiple criminal counts, according to a statement from the Las Cruces Police Department. Alvarado is charged with three third-degree felony counts of aggravated battery against a household member, as well as misdemeanor counts of battery against a household member and deprivation of property.

Police accuse Alvarado of beginning a night of abusing the victim beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 22. Police say he physically battered the woman and strangled her, twice suffocating her with a pillow and a shirt.

Alvarado also is accused of threatening to kill the woman. He reportedly took away her cellphone so she could not call for help.

Much of the abuse occurred in front of the victims three children, two school-age kids and a toddler, police say.

On Friday morning, the woman managed to secretly write a note seeking help. She gave the note to her kids and told them to give it to their bus driver, police say. Officers were then notified of the situation at 8 a.m. Friday.

Police went to the home and found the victim with multiple cuts, bruises and abrasions. Alvarado was taken into custody later Friday and is being held in the Dona Ana County Detention Center without bond.
CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Cancer Society, a global organization leading the fight for a world without cancer, and Pampered Chef, an Illinois-based mealtime solutions company, are teaming up to raise money for the American Cancer Society (ACS) Hope Lodge  Program, a free place to stay for cancer patients and their caregivers when their best hope for effective treatment may be far from home.

From May 1 -31, individuals can host Help Whip Cancer  fundraisers, and Pampered Chef will contribute up to 25% of total sales to the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge program. Pampered Chef will also contribute $1 to the American Cancer Society for every Scoop & Serve Spatula purchased during the month of May 2021. Help Whip Cancer fundraisers can be booked at pamperedchef.com.

"Our 2021 partnership with Pampered Chef provides a unique opportunity to raise money for our Hope Lodges as we prepare to welcome guests back home. With over two decades of support, Pampered Chef continues to make a meaningful impact in the fight against cancer by providing critical support to patients and their caretakers during treatment," said Wayne White, EVP of the American Cancer Society.

"Through our partnership with American Cancer Society, we have been able to raise funds to support Hope Lodges across the country," said Terry Haley, CMO for Pampered Chef. "The cornerstone of our business is shared mealtime. It's an honor to help provide cancer patients and their caregivers a safe place to gather, enjoy meals as a community and allow them to focus on what matters most  their care."

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Cancer Society temporarily suspended the Hope Lodge program nationwide to protect immune-compromised cancer patient residents, volunteers, and staff. The Society is working towards reopening these facilities to guests after Q2 of 2021. Funds raised by Pampered Chef will support the reopening of Hope Lodge facilities and provide support for cancer patients traveling for treatment.

About Pampered Chef

Pampered Chef, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a leading provider of personalized, inspirational mealtime solutions delivered by a community of 65,000 kitchen consultants. For more than 40 years, Pampered Chef has helped create countless mealtime moments with friends and family through high-quality, everyday cooking tools and inspiration, while providing each cooking consultant a flexible opportunity to build a business around his or her own lifestyle, goals and passions. For more information visit PamperedChef.com. Like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/PamperedChef or follow along at Instagram.com/PamperedChef.

About the American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 1.5 million volunteers dedicated to saving lives, celebrating lives, and leading the fight for a world without cancer. From breakthrough research, to free lodging near treatment, a 24/7/365 live helpline, free rides to treatment, and convening powerful activists to create awareness and impact, the Society is attacking cancer from every angle. The Society does not endorse any product or service. For more information go to www.cancer.org.

Media contact:

Mary Wilson

[email protected]

SOURCE American Cancer Society North Central Region
Biden Announces $1.8 Trillion Spending Plan, Tax Increase on Wealthy

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced another progressive piece of legislation, his $1.8 trillion American Family Plan, which will expand access to community college and preschool, as well as child care and healthcare for families, funded mainly by tax increases on wealthy Americans.

Bidens new plan is his third major legislative package. It will combine $1 trillion in spending with $800 billion in tax cuts and credits for middle- and lower-income families.

President Biden is calling for $200 billion for free universal pre-school for all three- and four-year-olds and $109 billion for two years of free community college, extending the child tax credit through 2025, financing teacher training, and expanding the earned income tax credit to childless adults with low incomes. The plan will also provide direct support to families by investing $225 billion toward child care and creating a national paid family leave program.

The new proposal comes right after Bidens $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan that is still pending consideration by Congress and a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan that Biden signed into law. The three packages expand social welfare programs while largely shifting the tax burden to the wealthy.

The President will be proposing a set of measures to make sure that the wealthiest Americans pay their share in taxes, while ensuring that no one making $400,000 per year or less will see their taxes go up, the White House wrote in a fact sheet about the legislation.

Wednesdays proposal would negate the 2017 Trump tax cuts by increasing the top individual tax rate from 37 percent to 39.6 percent for taxpayers in the top 1 percent of income. Biden is also proposing an increase in the capital gains tax rate to 39.6 percent for households making more than $1 million.

Biden is expected to lay out his full agenda for the coming months and highlight the American Family Plan during a speech before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night.

Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) supports legislation to expand government support for working families.

Our economy is premised on the idea that some workers are worthy of perks, like paid leave or affordable child care that works for their schedules, while the majority are forced to fend for themselves. For our economy to fully recover from this pandemic, we must finally acknowledge that workers have families, and caregiving responsibilities are real, said Chairman Neal in a press release.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the new proposal is bold and should be supported by both parties.

The American families plan is going to ensure that kids across the country, families across the country, get four years of additional education, universal pre- K, thats not a partisan proposal, thats something people across the country really could benefit from, said Psaki on NBC News on Wednesday.

Republicans, however, see Bidens new legislation as another gift to progressive and socialist policies.

We will now have by far the highest capital gains tax rate, by the way, itll be the highest in U.S. history, but itll be the highest of all the major countries, said Larry Kudlow on Fox News, director of the National Economic Council during the Trump administration from 2018 to 2021.

We are giving the store away. This is redistributionist, an assault on investment. It makes left-wing ideology, and I will say, House member AOC is right. The progressive left-left, won Bidens heart, absolutely, said Kudlow.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) acknowledged progressives appreciation for Bidens policies, saying the administration had surpassed her groups expectations.

I do think that Biden administration and President Biden has definitely exceeded expectations that progressives had, she recently said on CNN.

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) said Bidens legislation is expanding the progressive agenda and is not bipartisan.

And what were seeing in the name of an infrastructure bill or a COVID relief bill, which should be bipartisan, were [Democrats] going to use it to fill up with our liberal wish list, said Zeldin on Wednesday during a Fox News interview.

So thats not really compromise, its not common ground. Thats not unity. And not only is this contradicting the way he ran his campaign. It also contradicts the main theme of his inauguration address, said Zeldin.
Temperatures hit a high of 87 degrees Tuesday, tying the daily record from 1986. By evening, at the Northerly Island weather station on Chicagos downtown lakefront, temperatures dropped 30 degrees in 20 minutes from 6:45 to 7:05 p.m., the weather service tweeted. The cool weather should persist through Wednesday, with temperatures in the high 40s along the lakefront and mid-50s farther inland, said meteorologist Brian Leatherwood.
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Polaris Market Research assumes that with the expected launch of the potential promising therapies, the market is anticipated to expand in both psoriasis and atopic dermatitis segments. The Unites States accounts for the higher share of the market as compared to the Europe and Japan. The highest market size is due to the increased adoption of high priced biologics. Despite the launch and availability of multiple biologics, only 10% of the patients have access to these treatments and the market continues to remain underpenetrated.

Get sample copy of this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/dermatology-drugs-market/request-for-sample

Currently, the dermatology drugs market is highly fragmented but offer several commercial opportunities. There remains significant unmet need for safer and cost-effective treatment options. Psoriasis market was nearly USD 6 billion markets in 2016 due to the existing effective TNF alpha treatments. In Acne, retinoids and antibiotics are the mainstay treatments but what makes this indication lucrative is the promising candidates in the pipeline including Foamixs FMX-101 and Dermiras DRM-101.

Polaris Market Research has provided the forecasts of the Global Dermatology Drugs Market from 2016-2022. The major segments which has been investigated in the global market from 2016-2022 are:

 Market Analysis by Dermatology Key Indications

 Market Analysis by Treatment Class/Marketed Drugs

 Market Analysis by Regions

Complete Summary with TOC Available @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/dermatology-drugs-market

The Marketed Therapies undertaken in forecast from 2016-2022 are:

 etanercept; Enbrel

 infliximab; Remicade

 adalimumab; Humira

 ustekinumab; Stelara

 secukinumab; Cosentyx

 ixekizumab; Taltz

 golimumab; Simponi

 brodalumab; Siliq

 guselkamab; Tremfya

 Topical Drugs

 Oral Antibiotics

The Major Indications in Dermatology Therapy area:

 Atopic Dermatitis

 Psoriasis

 Acne

 Rosacea

Leading Companies investigated in the Report are:

 Allergan Plc

 Valeant Pharmaceuticals

 Dermira Inc

 Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc

 AnaptysBio, Inc

 Revance Therapeutics

 Foamix Pharmaceuticals

 Novan, Inc

 Sienna Biopharmaceuticals

 Pfizer

 Sanofi

 Galderma

 Leo Pharma

 Roviant Sciences

 Otsuka Pharmaceuticals

Avail discount on this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/dermatology-drugs-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
If you already have opened your 2021 appraised value notice, you might not be having a great week. And if you havent yet, you probably should open it sitting down.

Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick on Tuesday morning said his home will see a 34% increase this year, which gave him a little bit of sticker shock.

I think theres going to be a lot of people in Jefferson County that are going to have the same experience, he said, later noting that the county, city and school district are not responsible for changing appraised values.

During Tuesday mornings county commissioners meeting, he explained why a number of property owners across Jefferson County, and really greater Southeast Texas, likely will have the same experience. And it seems the region is finding itself on the bad side of a perfect storm.

Related: Pursuing racial parity in property valuations

Typically, he said, Texas law does not allow a homesteads appraised value to increase by more than 10% in any given year. However, if the property values were reduced as a result of a natural disaster  in Jefferson Countys case, Tropical Storms Harvey and Imelda or the TPC plant explosion  the appraisal district can go back to pre-disaster values and add 10% to that total.

At the same time, Jefferson County was one of five Southeast Texas counties that failed the comptrollers biennial appraised value audit.

One of the things that happens if the comptroller says youre too low, is they will take away your school funding, Branick said.

Top hits: Get Beaumont Enterprise stories sent directly to your inbox

As a result, the appraisal district again gathered information to come up with fair market values closer in line with others across Texas.

The county also failed its commercial property appraisal audit.

Tax Assessor/Collector and Voter Registrar Allison Getz, who also noted she does not set appraised values, said that commercial properties across Jefferson County are seeing about a 40% value increase.

Branick reminded residents that they have until late May to contest their appraised values if they desire. He noted that property owners can list unrepaired damages from Harvey, Imelda or TPC when creating a case.

Please go through that step, he said.

Property owners weren't the only ones negatively impact by these changes. At least one local school district is gearing up to fight the state to get more money back.

kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/KaitlinBain
Artificial super stool to bring hope for people with chronic gut disease

The urgent need for human stool donations to treat chronic gut infections could soon be eased with innovative research to develop artificial super stool.

The collaborative research aims to create a new generation of microbial therapies that can replace donor-derived faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT).

Technology that replicates the complex community of microbes in the human gut will be manufactured in Australia as part of the project.

Australian microbiome biotechnology company BiomeBank, in collaboration with RMIT University, has secured $100,000 in funding from the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC) to develop the new bioreactor technology.

Currently material for FMT can only be harvested from healthy human donors, which is time-consuming, expensive and difficult to scale-up for widespread clinical use.

The new innovation would provide significant advantages to the cost and scale of FMT, an established life-saving therapy for Clostridioides difficile infection that is also emerging as a clinically beneficial treatment for other gut conditions including Ulcerative Colitis.

BiomeBank CEO Thomas Mitchell said the IMCRC activate program funding was an exciting step forward in the collaborative development of advanced technologies to change the way gut disease is treated across the world.

"This will be a game-changer in the treatment of gut conditions, overcoming the current limitations of donor-derived FMT microbial therapies," Mitchell said.

"An important outcome will be enabling microbial therapies to reach more patients around the world.

"We're thrilled to partner with RMIT on this exciting project, connecting their manufacturing expertise to our company's unique capabilities in the development of microbiome drug products.

"BiomeBank will use this new manufacturing technology to develop second generation therapies to treat multiple diseases for the broader market."

Innovative manufacturing technology

RMIT School of Engineering researchers Professor Namita Choudhury, Professor Naba Dutta and Dr Srinivas Mettu will lead the project work.

Choudhury, Discipline Leader for Chemical Engineering at RMIT, said the collaborative project builds on the team's previous success in developing technology to produce multiple strains of probiotic bacteria in a single bioreactor.

"The new FMT manufacturing technology will support the growth of many beneficial bacteria strains simultaneously," she said.

"While individual probiotic bacteria can be cultivated commercially, we need multiple strains in order to restore the complex microbial diversity of the gut when this is lost due to illness, malnutrition or overuse of antibiotics - and we need to produce these varied strains efficiently and cost-effectively.

"We are excited to collaborate with BiomeBank to deliver innovative biomedical technology into the hands of clinicians to improve the health of millions of people globally who suffer from chronic gut conditions."

New business and export opportunities

Dr Matthew Young, Manufacturing Innovation Manager at IMCRC, said the FMT manufacturing technology developed as part of the research collaboration would be the first of its kind and presented a significant opportunity for BiomeBank and Australia, by creating pathways towards a manufacturing industry for microbial therapies in this country.

"Australia is leading the way globally in developing and implementing new manufacturing and business models in the medical space," Young said.

"If successful, the manufacturing technology developed as part of the project will allow BiomeBank to manufacture synthetic FMT or defined microbial products in a controlled, standardised way - ensuring quality, safety and efficacy, and opening up new business and export opportunities for high-value medical treatments."

The IMCRC funding, which is being matched by Biomebank, is enabling a $600,000 total project investment (cash and in-kind) from all partners into the development of the technology prototype.

The IMCRC-funded project draws on innovations in novel bioreactor development by Mettu and over 25 years of research in the formulation of hydrogels for biomedical and life science applications by Dutta and Choudhury.

These porous hydrogels are made from sustainable resources and can be precisely designed to support bacteria growth in the bioreactor, mimicking the levels of oxygen and acidity found in the human gut.

The new IMCRC Activate funding will advance the research to expand the diversity of microbial strains that can be cultivated simultaneously and cost-effectively.

###

Previously, RMIT's novel hydrogel bioreactor platform technology research was supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation GCE (Grand Challenges Exploration) funding to Mettu and Australian Research Council-funded Discovery projects to Choudhury and Dutta.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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SYDNEY, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday 6 August - 100 days from today - Vivid Sydney will make its much-anticipated return to the Harbour City, transforming Sydney into a kaleidoscope of creativity, innovation and technology.

Staged over 23 nights, the 2021 festival will fuse mesmerising art displays and 3D light projections with an eclectic line-up of musical performers, thought-provoking talks and workshops from some of the world's greatest minds.

Destination NSW CEO Steve Cox said Vivid Sydney is an opportunity for people from Australia - and New Zealand - to celebrate innovation and creativity in Sydney, kicking off with the launch of two showstopping Countdown Clocks, to count down each day to the festival's Lights On moment.

"We are so excited to have Vivid Sydney come back to Sydney from August 6-28, 2021. It is the biggest festival of lights, music and ideas and this year is going to be absolutely fantastic."

"Vivid Sydney celebrates innovation and creativity transforming the city into a playground of the unexpected each winter. The festival really encourages us to think differently and open our minds to infinite possibilities, which resonates broadly."

"Sydney is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in the world, providing the ultimate canvas for creatives. There is no better place to celebrate and host the largest festival of lights, music and ideas in the southern hemisphere than this amazing city."

The Countdown Clocks, a first in the 12-year history of the event, were designed by Vivid Light Curator Lucy Keeler and will be located in First Fleet Park, The Rocks and Wulugul Walk, Barangaroo. Sydney visitors can check out these Insta-worthy timepieces, capture a selfie and share on social media using vividsydney. A virtual version will also feature on vividsydney.com counting down to 6 August.

Festival Director Gill Minervini said this year's program offers a multitude of reasons for visitors to return throughout the festival, including a number of first-time program inclusions.

"This year, Vivid Sydney will deliver fresh experiences for our festival-goers to enjoy. For the first time ever, the waters of Cockle Bay in Darling Harbour will come alive as a floating Light Walk incorporating a large-scale artwork called Ephemeral from Sydney-based design studio Atelier Sisu.

"The facade of Customs House, one of the city's most iconic heritage buildings, will be brought to life with VORAX - an epic 3D tale of a mischievous thief's rise to greatness from Hong Kong's Treacle Media. And in The Rocks, artist Brad Robson and Esem Projects provide fascinating insight into the journey of creating Brad's dynamic portraits through Point of View," Ms Minervini said.

2021 Vivid Sydney Light Installations:

Ephemeral, Cockle Bay Darling Harbour

Produced by Sydney's own Atelier Sisu design studio, Ephemeral is an immersive light and sound art-chitecture exploring the ever-changing human experience. Housed on the waters of Cockle Bay at Darling Harbour, the installation incorporates a floating walkway over 200 bubble-like spheres and larger-than-life structures that tower up to eight metres above the water. Visitors will be invited to walk underneath the bubble spheres which emanate hypnotic sea of light changing in different contrasting hues and vibrant colours, set against a reactive soundscape.

VORAX, Customs House, Circular Quay

From Hong Kong's Treacle Media, VORAX is an epic 3D storytelling experience projected onto Customs House. Audiences will have the opportunity to watch the tale of a mischievous thief's rise to greatness while traversing through a plethora of mind-bending and surreal environments.

Point of View, The Rocks

A collaboration between Sydney artist Brad Robson and Esem Projects, Point of View captures Brad in the process of creating his dynamic portraits and elevates the concept of mural painting into a new and beautiful form. Audiences will be left enthralled by this beautiful reimagination of traditional art.



Vivid Sydney 2021 will activate and energise the Sydney CBD, The Rocks, Circular Quay and iconic city structures such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, MCA and Customs House.

The full Vivid Sydney program will be announced in late May. Go to vividsydney.com for more information. Vivid Sydney is proudly owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency.

NOTE TO EDITORS

Media assets available here to download.



Media releases, images and content can be downloaded from the Destination NSW media centre: www.media.destinationnsw.com.au

About Vivid Sydney:

Vivid Sydney is a celebration of creativity, innovation and technology that transforms the Sydney CBD in winter through Light, Music and Ideas. Celebrating its 12th anniversary in 2021, Vivid Sydney captures the uniqueness, vibrancy and imagination of Sydney, positioning the Harbour City as the creative hub of the Asia-Pacific. The festival features mesmerising art displays and large-scale 3D projections from local and international artists, an eclectic line-up of musical performers, thought provoking talks from some of the world's greatest minds, and collaborations including Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House. Vivid Sydney is owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency.

Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498456/100_Days_to_Vivid_Sydney_Social___International__1.mp4

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498455/Vivid_Sydney_2021_Light_Render_Ephemeral_Credit_Destination_NSW__1.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498457/Vivid_Sydney_2021_Light_Render_VORAX_Customs_House_Credit_Destination_NSW__2.jpg
A Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? contestant stormed through the questions last night to secure 250,000.

Julian Aldridge, a geologist from Manchester, who joked any winnings would be saved to pay for his two daughters' university fees, answered his final question on science within seconds.

Presenter Jeremy Clarkson asked: 'What is the name of the Swedish scientist famous for his role in defining and naming the world's plants and animals?'

Julian was given a choice of four answers, including Carl Linnaeus, Robert Koch, Paul Ehrlich and Niels Bohr.

At the sight of the question, Julian beamed and explained he'd briefly studied the scientist's methods during university, after giving Carl Linnaeus as the correct answer.

After winning the 250,000 prize, Julian opted to not risk answering the 500,000 question about national capitals and instead walked away with his winnings.

Scroll down for all the questions and answers

Julian Aldridge (pictured), a geologist from Manchester, who joked any winnings would be saved to pay for his two daughters' university fees, answered his final question on science within seconds

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Questions SCROLL DOWN TO FIND THE CORRECT ANSWERS 1. Fastest Fingers First question Put these Harry Potter-related terms in alphabetical order. A: Hogwarts B: Hedwig C: Hagrid D: Hufflepuff 2. (100) Margarine is a substitute for which food? A: Butter B: Salt C: Sugar D: Flour 3. (200) What is the US equivalent of a UK postcode? A: Button code B: Clasp code C: Snap code D: Zip code 4. (300) The White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat are characters in the Lewis Carroll book 'Alice's Adventures in...' where? A: Narnia B: Oz C: Wonderland D: Middle-earth 5. (500) By what first name is the TV adventurer Edward Michael Grylls more commonly known? A: Stoat B: Bear C: Toad D: Ferret 6. (1,000) Which Latin phrase is used in English to mean either sincere or authentic? A: Status quo B: Vice versa C: Ad hoc D: Bona fide 7. (2,000) In relation to taxation, what does the V stand for in VAT? A: Varaiable B: Volume C: Venture D: Value 8. (4,000) Ellie Simmonds has won five Paralympic gold medals in which sport? A: Cycling B: Athletics C: Swimming D: Gymnastics 9. (8,000) In the human body, which of these contains the vocal cords? A: Larynx B: Pituitary gland C: Oseophagus D: Adrenal gland 10. (16,000) The song 'Cell Block Tango' features in which musical? A: West Side Story B: Guys and Dolls C: Evita D: Chicago 11. (32,000) How many characters are there when 2019 is written in Roman numerals? A: Five B: Six C: Seven D: Eight 12. (64,000) In the 1930 Grant Wood painting 'American Gothic', the man holds which tool in his right hand? A: Hoe B: Pitchfork C: Scythe D: Hatchet 13. (125,000) Which of these Conservative politicians served the longest as Chancellor of the Exchequer? A: Kenneth Clarke B: Geoffrey Howe C: Normal Lamont D: George Osborne 14. (250,000) What is the name of the Swedish scientist famous for his role in defining and naming the world's plants and animals? A: Carl Linnaeus B: Robert Koch C: Paul Ehrlich D: Niels Bohr Advertisement

Julian's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? journey started when he correctly answered the Fastest Finger First Question in the quickest time.

He was asked to put these Harry Potter-related terms in alphabetical order: 'A: Hogwarts, B: Hedwig, C: Hagrid, D: Hufflepuff.'

The correct order was C: Hagrid, B: Hedwig, A: Hogwarts and then D: Hufflepuff, which Julian answered in 2.95 seconds.

Father-of-two Julian then raced through the other questions within the space of 30 minutes - using all his lifelines - before reaching the 250,000 stage.

For the question, Jeremy asked: 'What is the name of the Swedish scientist famous for his role in defining and naming the world's plants and animals?'

Presenter Jeremy Clarkson asked Julian (pictured): 'What is the name of the Swedish scientist famous for his role in defining and naming the world's plants and animals?'

Julian (pictured) was given a choice of four answers, including Carl Linnaeus, Robert Koch, Paul Ehrlich and Niels Bohr - and answered correctly

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Answers 1. Fastest Fingers First question Put these Harry Potter-related terms in alphabetical order. C: Hagrid B: Hedwig A: Hogwarts D: Hufflepuff 2. (100) Margarine is a substitute for which food? A: Butter 3. (200) What is the US equivalent of a UK postcode? D: Zip code 4. (300) The White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat are characters in the Lewis Carroll book 'Alice's Adventures in...' where? C: Wonderland 5. (500) By what first name is the TV adventurer Edward Michael Grylls more commonly known? B: Bear 6. (1,000) Which Latin phrase is used in English to mean either sincere or authentic? D: Bona fide 7. (2,000) In relation to taxation, what does the V stand for in VAT? D: Value 8. (4,000) Ellie Simmonds has won five Paralympic gold medals in which sport? C: Swimming 9. (8,000) In the human body, which of these contains the vocal cords? A: Larynx 10. (16,000) The song 'Cell Block Tango' features in which musical? D: Chicago 11. (32,000) How many characters are there when 2019 is written in Roman numerals? A: Five 12. (64,000) In the 1930 Grant Wood painting 'American Gothic', the man holds which tool in his right hand? B: Pitchfork 13. (125,000) Which of these Conservative politicians served the longest as Chancellor of the Exchequer? D: George Osborne 14. (250,000) What is the name of the Swedish scientist famous for his role in defining and naming the world's plants and animals? A: Carl Linnaeus Advertisement

Beaming before the options were even revealed, Julian was given a choice of four answers, including Carl Linnaeus, Robert Koch, Paul Ehrlich and Niels Bohr.

Without even questioning it, Julian locked in the answer of Carl Linnaeus, later explaining that he'd had to study the scientist's methods at Oxford university.

Upon Julian securing his winnings, host Jeremy said: 'Amazing, I'm just in awe of you, in awe of all your knowledge. You deserve every penny. What a contender, player and winner.'

In fear of answering it wrong, Julian opted not to answer the 500,000 question, which asked: 'Which of these places is not a national capital?', alongside the options: 'A: Chisinau, B: Surabaya, C: Juba, D: St George's,'

At the sight of the question, Julian (pictured) beamed and explained he'd briefly studied the scientist's methods during university, after giving Carl Linnaeus as the correct answer

He said: 'I don't know which it is, so I'm going to take the money, say thank you and call it a night.'

Tonight's episode was a repeat from 2019. Following his win at the time, Julian told The Bolton News: 'Im quite keen to keep the money and retire by the time Im about 50.

'I did have the idea of buying a Porsche vetoed by the missus straight away to be fair,' he admitted.

Julian had wanted to win big on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? after appearing on the BBC One quiz show The Code in 2017 and winning 15,000.
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The Edo State government said it has appointed a contractor for the flood control project at Ughoha community in Esan South Local Government Area of the state, signalling the commencement of the project.

The project coordinator, Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), Tom Obaseki, made this known on Wednesday at Ugboha, while introducing the project contractor to the community.

Mr Obaseki assured the people that the best contractor was selected to handle the project because of the importance of the community to the state.

Ugboha is very important to us and we thank the community for producing great men that have made so many positive contributions to the development of Edo State.

We made sure that in the process of recruiting a contractor for the job, we went for the best of the best, he stated.

Mr Obaseki solicited the support of the traditional head of Ugboha and members of the community for the smooth implementation of the project.

We want to solicit the support of your highness and the entire people of the kingdom so that there will not be hitches down the line.

Every time we waste or lose cannot be recovered. So, we want to seek your support in providing the enabling environment and security for the contractor, he said.

The traditional head of Ugboha, Ukato Steven II, assured that the community would provide a conducive environment for the successful and timely delivery of the project.

(NAN)
What was once the famous Hunts Pier on the Wildwoods boardwalk is home to arguably one of the most iconic symbols of the Five-Mile-Island  the tram car.

This past week workers fired up the 2,400-pound, 36-volt battery engines and began maintenance on the tram cars as they prepared them for what will be the 72nd year on the boardwalk.

The trams are such a huge part of the Wildwoods, said Patrick Rosenello, executive director of the Wildwood Boardwalk Special Improvement District. There is not another icon or image that says the Wildwoods more than the tram cars.

They began running in the summer of 1949 after being purchased by local businessman S.B. Ramagosa and havent missed a summer since. They were originally built to transport visitors around the 1939 Worlds Fair in Flushing, New York.

Last summer the rubber didnt meet the boards until after Memorial Day Weekend, a first according to Rosenelllo, because of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic and safety upgrades to the passenger cars. This year the trams will be back to its more traditional start and begin running May 7 the Friday before Mothers Day.

But they still need drivers.

Patrick Rosenello, executive director of the Wildwood Boardwalk Special Improvement District, stands by the tram cars in the warehouse they are stored in, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. The Wildwoods tram cars will begin this season on the boardwalk on Mother's Day Weekend.Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Not much about the trams will change from last year. The plexiglass dividers installed for public health reasons between cars will remain in place, its still painted bright yellow and blue and the costs for a one-way ride is still $4.

What Rosenello hopes will change is the hours the trams will run and the amount of cars they will have out on a daily basis. But that wont happen unless they can hire more bodies to fill the positions of driver and conductor.

Were not there yet, said Rosenello when asked about how the hiring was going.

Last summer the absence of students who get a J-1 visa to work at the Jersey Shore left a void in staffing and the trickle down effect caused the trams hours and the amount of cars running to be cut back.

According to Rosenello, because of staffing constraints, they had to cut out daytime trams Monday through Thursday last year and he could count on one hand how many nights they had a full complement of tram cars out on the boards.

Bill Murphy, night manager of the tram cars, drives a tram back into the warehouse, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. The Wildwoods tram cars will begin this season on the boardwalk on Mother's Day Weekend. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

On a typical day, six trams run during the day and eight at night and they run from 11 a.m. until after midnight.

If you dont have a certain amount of staff you simply cannot operate the full complement of tram cars, he said. Last year they lost over 50 percent of their revenue, a loss that was directly tied to a lack of staffing.

This summer the same problem looms on the horizon as Memorial Day Weekend approaches. Without a full staff they are looking to run a single shift which would be from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.

But that decision hasnt been made yet. Anyone looking for a summer job?

Rosenello said that they are looking forward to a good summer and that they are recruiting for employees. Its probably one of the most unique summer jobs you could ever imagine.

Crowds are going to be here, said Rosenello. Everything we hear from every hotel and Airbnb is that theyre booked solid already for this coming summer.

So someone has to collect the tickets and drive those approximately 600,000 people up and down the two-miles of boards this season.

A for hire sign is taped to a tram car engine, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. The Wildwoods tram cars will begin this season on the boardwalk on Mother's Day Weekend. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

There are many locations along the boardwalk to get a ticket including Moreys Piers.

Back for the second year is the tram car app which will allow for cashless payments. With the app the user can purchase single tickets, multiple tickets or day passes right from their phone and track the location of the trams along the boardwalk.

A single ride is $4 and there are discounts available for multiple ticket purchases and a $10 day pass will allow you to ride until 5 p.m.

The safety protocols from last year will remain in place. The staff will be masked and the dividers between the passenger vehicles, which were very well received, will remain.

It actually made the ride a little quieter. You dont have the wind resistance and youre not hearing the person next to you talking, Rosenello said.

After every lap last year the cars were sprayed with a disinfectant and wiped down. Rosenello explained that he is seeing new guidance from the CDC that suggests spraying aerosols and fogging, particularly outside, really has no benefit.

If theres no benefit and we dont have to spray chemicals then we think thats a good thing.

Rosenello said that they want to have a reliable schedule because people depend on the tram cars either as a type of amusement ride or to get from point A to point B, so the ability to staffing the trams will dictate the schedule.

Its such a unique thing to ride a tram car down the boardwalk in the middle of summer.

Bill Murphy, night manager of the tram cars, greases the wheel bearings on a passenger car, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. The Wildwoods tram cars will begin this season on the boardwalk on Mother's Day Weekend. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Tim Hawk may be reached at thawk@njadvancemedia.com.


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Jonathan Cran, founder and CEO of Intrigue, a cybersecurity startup based in Austin, Texas, used his company's network security tools to compile a list of Fortune 500 companies still exposed to last month's Microsoft Exchange breach. Potentially, many of those companies may not know their networks are compromised.

Intrigue's tools discovered the extensive infiltration from a successful breach by a Chinese cyber-espionage unit last month. Intrigue compiled a list of Fortune 500 companies still exposed to the Microsoft Exchange breach, however Cran declined to release the names on that list due to legal concerns.

The Microsoft Exchange breach focused on stealing email from some 30,000 organizations by exploiting four newly-discovered flaws in Microsoft Exchange Server email software. That attack seeded hundreds of thousands of victim organizations worldwide with tools that give the attackers total remote control over affected systems, according to published reports.

Fortune 500 Breach Victims

Intrigue's network monitoring discovered 120 exposures among the Fortune 500 companies. A total of 62 individual organizations were affected, and 23 organizations had multiple independent systems exposed. One professional services firm was found to have upwards of 25 independent systems exposed, noted Cran.

In terms of breadth of this exposure, Intrigue found Fortune 500 organizations were affected within a wide range of verticals. The exposure was not limited to specific segments of the industry but was widespread across all enterprise types, he said.

"These are known exposures discovered through a primarily passive methodology. We find that when our customers engage directly with us to map their attack surface, the number of known assets easily doubles or triples based on them providing more information and seeds, so this list of exposures is not comprehensive," Cran told TechNewsWorld.

He encourages all companies running Microsoft Exchange to log in to Intrigue and verify the findings and work with the security company to mitigate risk ongoing. Most of the Fortune 500 companies have addressed the vulnerability in their primary mail infrastructure for their primary domains but not all, he warned.

"Subsidiaries are a big problem and will continue to be as visibility into these systems can be more limited, and responsibility for ensuring security for these organizations can be more dispersed," said Cran.

Verticals Victimized in Breach

Although Intrigue's founder declined to identify specific companies caught in the Microsoft Exchange breach, Cran issued this extensive list of effected vertical industries to TechNewsWorld:

Advertising and Marketing

Apparel

Automotive Retailing, Services

Chemicals

Commercial Banks

Computer Software

Consumer Credit Card and Related Services

Delivery

Diversified Financials

Diversified Outsourcing Services

Electronics

Energy

Engineering, Construction

Financial Data Services

Food Consumer Products

Food Production

General Merchandisers

Home Equipment, Furnishings

Homebuilders

Hotels, Casinos, Resorts

Insurance: Life and Health

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Significance of the Breach List

Intrigue views the significance of the March Microsoft Exchange breach from two main vectors.

One is the breadth and severity of the exposure, as the vulnerability exists in software that is used extensively by almost every major organization worldwide and enables access to the most sensitive of employee and customer data and communications. The second is the continued lack of speed with which major organizations can assess their own exposure and mitigate risk.

"As we saw with other recent vulnerabilities (CVE-2020-0688), Exchange is a particularly appealing target. The challenge of patching quickly is real. Taking email infrastructure down is an exercise in faith. You just hope it comes back up. This means most organizations patch off hours and during a maintenance window. This, in turn, offers more of an opportunity to attackers," explained Cran.

The speed with which a nation-state developed Hafnium APT attack capability and spread to financial and other actors was striking, observed Cran. It will not slow down going forward, he warned.

"Why would attackers innovate if they can lie in wait and action a capability that the major governments of the world funded and created for them?" he observed.

While many of the Fortune 500 firms have secured their primary domains from the Exchange risk, often subsidiaries or legacy domains are left exposed. In an era of increasing integration and reliance on distributed IT and third-party solutions, no easy way is available for an organization to identify, measure, and resolve this extended, inherited exposure, which can cause just as much loss as a full-frontal breach, according to Cran.

Many Security Nonbelievers Exist

Cran worries about the resistance among some companies to taking protective action. Having worked in information security for a long time on many different problems with organizations of all types and sizes, he still sees some of the most well-funded and most seemingly capable organizations on the planet in a scenario where they still are blind to simple exposures in their organization.

"It is not because of a lack of trying, a lack of people, or a lack of allocated budget," he said.

Intrigue set out to find out why these organizations still find themselves discovering breaches through external means. His company developed a solution that could actually solve this problem now while being flexible enough to adapt as organizations and technology evolve, he offered.

Plans to Notify Victims

Cran told TechNewsWorld that his company will attempt whatever means possible to make its findings available to any organization found to be compromised. Intrigue will work through various CERTs and ISACs to share information during events such as this, as well as organizations like the CTI League and other information-sharing groups.

"In addition to this, to scale our outbound communication, we found it was necessary to allow security teams to self-sign into our portal to gain additional information and share our findings upon account creation," he added.

Intrigue has made access to its breach information simple. Users need to enter their company email address to get known information about their organization and share information about current vulnerabilities.

"Our ability to leverage passive and active techniques, along with our integration to over 250 external data sources and security tools, provides Intrigue with unique insight into not only what assets exist within an organization's network, but also what those assets are running and how they're configured. We then map that asset information against our knowledge base of threats to identify and assess threats," explained Cran.

Jack M. Germain has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His main areas of focus are enterprise IT, Linux and open-source technologies. He is an esteemed reviewer of Linux distros and other open-source software. In addition, Jack extensively covers business technology and privacy issues, as well as developments in e-commerce and consumer electronics. Email Jack.


Beginning July 1, patrons will only be billed for items that are 30 days overdue after the original due date, and no overdue fines will be charged, a City spokeswoman said.
MATRIXX Software, a global leader in 5G monetization for the communications industry, today announced it has extended its partnership with Italy's WINDTRE to power its digital mobile brand, Very Mobile. As the first-to-market in Italy with an app-based mobile service, Very Mobile has used the agility and flexibility enabled by MATRIXX to disrupt the market. Benefiting from strong growth at launch, Very Mobile is one of the nation's fastest-growing mobile brands. MATRIXX and WINDTRE have recently completed a seven-year extension of their partnership.

"For Very Mobile to fulfill its mission and disrupt the market, we had to do better than just offering simple pricing and great customer experience on day one," said Benoit Hanssen, CTO for WINDTRE. "As we embrace the future of mobile services and customer experience, we need a monetization partner with a product built for modern commerce and digital enablement. MATRIXX is that partner."

Officially launched in February 2020, Very Mobile is WINDTRE's truly omnichannel brand; whether a customer joins via e-SIM or a traditional retail channel, the app-powered service delivers a consistently simple and rich customer experience across every touchpoint. Very Mobile's market-leading features include support across the entire customer lifecycle, including e-SIM, fully digital onboarding and customer care, automatic recharge, bundle restart function and 1-click top-ups.

"We are proud to be the monetization partner powering Very Mobile's market disruptive offering," said Glo Gordon, MATRIXX CEO. "Witnessing how the team has leveraged our product-first solution to deliver flexible, real-time experiences is a powerful reminder of what's possible when a service provider embraces the possibilities of digital."

As the monetization engine at the heart of Very Mobile's new digital stack, MATRIXX Digital Commerce enables customers with full visibility into their account balances, services and spending at all times. Built with an API-first design, MATRIXX empowered Very Mobile to simplify its technology infrastructure to reduce complexity and costs. As an industry-leading cloud native solution, MATRIXX Digital Commerce is 5G-ready to support emerging charging use cases such as enhanced gaming and V/R experiences that will come for digitally savvy, Very Mobile customers.

About MATRIXX Software

MATRIXX Software is the global leader in 5G monetization for the communications industry. Serving many of the world's largest operator groups, regional carriers, and emerging digital service providers, MATRIXX delivers a cloud native digital commerce solution that enables unmatched commercial and operational agility. Unifying IT networks, MATRIXX delivers a network-grade converged charging system (CCS), enabling efficient hyper-scaling of infrastructure to support consumer services, wholesale and enterprise marketplaces. Through its relentless commitment to product excellence and customer success, MATRIXX empowers businesses to harness network assets and business agility to succeed at web scale.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005081/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact

Jennifer Kyriakakis

mediainquiry@matrixx.com
Mumbai, April 28 : In a significant development, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to give free vaccine doses to all people in the 18-44 age group from Maharashtra Day, May 1, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced here.

The decision was taken at a state cabinet meeting after which Health Minister Rajesh Tope informed the media about the details of the much-anticipated move.

Thackeray said that the citizens shall be informed of the mega-vaccination drive to be undertaken from May 1, depending on the supply of doses available from various sources, including imports if necessary.

"Despite the financial crises confronting the state, the health of the people is of utmost priority for us which is why the state government has decided to provide free vaccinations to all between 18-44 age group," Thackeray added.

Tope said that currently the vaccines are available from the private Serum Institute of India (SII) and from Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL) and the state government is in touch with them for procuring more doses.

While SII's Covishield will be sold to states at Rs 400/dose, BBIL will sell it for Rs 600/dose, and the prices shall be even higher for private hospitals, though the Centre on Monday appealed that both companies should consider slashing their rates.

Tope said that the state has an estimated 5.71-crore people in the 18-44 age-group and needs around 12-crore vaccines over the next several months.

"At the prevailing rates, the state will have to shell out around Rs 7,500-crore for inoculating the entire 18-44 age group population. In this situation, the state government will bear the cost of vaccinating the economically weaker sections of society," Tope said.

Thackeray appealed to people to first get their names registered on the Vaccination App and not rush to the vaccination centres.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
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Britain has bought another 60million doses of Pfizer's Covid vaccine as part of plans to launch a booster jab rollout this autumn, Matt Hancock revealed tonight.

Ministers hope the extra supplies  which will take No10's total order to 100million  will start to be delivered from September through to early 2022 so everyone in the country can be offered a third vaccine.

Some of the supplies may also be used for second doses for under-30s vaccinated in June and July, who would expect their boosters in September and October. Young adults are not likely to get the AstraZeneca vaccine because of concerns about blood clots.

The autumn vaccine rollout will offer everyone who has been vaccinated a third jab, either of the same type or potentially a different vaccine if studies prove this works, to boost their immunity for the long-term, officials said.

The extra jabs will be the same as the Pfizer ones given out at the moment, not specific ones targeted at the South Africa or Brazil variants, although the company is working on these.

Pfizer, which manufactures the vaccine in factories across Europe, has already supplied the UK with at least 16million doses since its first delivery at the start of December. All 40million doses of the initial order are due by the end of 2021.

Mr Hancock said at a Downing Street briefing today that 'evidence is stacking up that the vaccine protects you, it protects your loved ones, and it's the way out of this pandemic'.

60million extra doses of Pfizer's vaccine will put it on par with AstraZeneca's as the most widely available in the country, with 100million doses of each. The UK has enough supplies on order to vaccinate the entire population many times over

Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced at Downing Street today that the Government is buying booster jabs to try and minimise the threat of a new vaccine-dodging variant appearing later in the year

Mr Hancock said: 'The biggest risk to that progress is the risk posed by a new variant, so we're working on our plans for booster shots, too...

'We've backed some of the only clinical trials in the world looking specifically at booster shots. I'm delighted to be able to tell you that we've secured a further 60million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that will be used alongside others as part of our booster shot programme later this year.'

He added: 'We have a clear route out of this crisis but this is no time for complacency, it's a time for caution so we can keep the virus under control while we take the steps back to normal life.'

He reiterated that everyone over the age of 42 is now eligible for a coronavirus vaccine and that he was 'looking forward to getting my jab first thing tomorrow morning'.

The supply boost means that Britain now has orders in for 517million doses of vaccines, enough to vaccinate .

This includes 100m doses of Pfizer, 100m of AstraZeneca, 17m of Moderna, 30m of Johnson & Johnson, 60m of Novavax, 100m of Valneva, 60m of GlaxoSmithKline and 50m of CureVac.

The Health Secretary praised the high uptake of the vaccines, with more than 95 per cent of over-70s now immunised with at least one dose and more than half of them fully vaccinated.

And he said the Government now has its 'first concrete evidence' that vaccines reduce the transmission of Covid-19, which adds to proof that it reduces the risk of death, hospital admission or severe disease.

The latest data looking at people who had been given one dose of a vaccine found they were up to 50 per cent less likely to pass on the disease to someone in their household.

'We're looking at whether the second dose gives an even bigger effect,' said Mr Hancock.

'We know that indoor settings have the highest risk of transmission so these results are really encouraging in terms of the impact of the vaccine on reducing transmission.

'What it means is the evidence is stacking up that the vaccine protects you, your loved ones and it is the way out of this pandemic.'

Depending on when Britain gets the extra 60million Pfizer jabs, health chiefs may recommend some are used for people in their 30s who are expected to get jabs within weeks.

AstraZeneca's vaccine, the workhorse of the UK's roll-out, is safe to use but the drug regulator said there is a possibility it raises the risk of extremely rare blood clots in some people. Around 168 cases have been spotted in 21million people so far.

To be cautious No10's advisory panel ruled under-30s should be offered an alternative jab because their Covid risk is incredibly low.

JCVI bosses hinted today that officials could press ahead with the same recommendation for people aged 30 to 40, but only if there is enough supplies of Pfizer and Moderna to do so.

Professor Anthony Harnden told MPs that delaying the immunisation roll-out  which could happen if the move was made without enough extra doses being available  could 'push infection rates up' and lead to 'many, many more deaths and hospitalisations'.

Britain's first-dose rollout has already slowed drastically over the past month, with supply issues forcing the NHS to focus entirely on dishing out second doses.

Just 115,000 first-timers are getting jabbed every day now, according to Department of Health figures. More than 750,000 Britons were inoculated on one day in mid-March.

For comparison, the number of second doses being dished out stands at around 390,000. More than a quarter of all adults have now been fully vaccinated and nearly 34million adults have had their first dose.

The success of the vaccine programme means that the country will continue on its roadmap schedule towards coming out of lockdown for good on June 21.

Matt Hancock added: 'The data show that we are essentially precisely on track for where we expected to be at this point and that is obviously good news.

'It means we can follow the road map  and we look at the data all the time. The dates we set out are not-before dates because we want to see the impact of each step before the decision to take the next step.

'Thats why the road map has been structured the way it is, so that we can check that we are on track.

'The good news is that as far as the next step is concerned, which is in a few weeks time  and were going to keep monitoring the data  but as of today, we are on track for step three on May 17 and that is good news.'
New Delhi, April 28: The heart-warming story of the human-octopus friendship My Octopus Teacher documentary made it to the hearts of the Oscar Jury as it won the Best Documentary at the 93rd Academy Awards at Los Angeles.

The documentary directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, brings on screen the true story of friendship between the film-maker and diver Craig Foster and an octopus, when he decides to explore an underwater kelp forest near Cape Town, South Africa. The film brings to light the unusual strong bond the two form.

The documentary had already indicated that it is a strong contender for the Oscar this year as it had won several festivals and critics' awards, besides winning the Bafta and Producers Guild awards for Best Documentary. In the Academy Awards the film of course faced tough competition from a line-up which included criminal justice system testimony Time, disability documentary Crip Camp, and corruption investigation Collective.

What made My Octopus Teacher charm the viewers, critics and jury was the rare story of bonding between a human being and a creature in the wild.

The documentary is a 2020 Netflix Original film.

The genesis Foster, a South African filmmaker, took 10 years to make the footage used in My Octopus Teacher. According to Reuters it began as a personal video project by Foster to rekindle his connection with nature by observing an inquisitive female mollusc while free-diving near Cape Town.

In the film one gets to see how in 2010 Foster began free-diving in a cold underwater kelp forest at a remote location in False Bay, near Cape Town, South Africa. Located near Simon's Town on the Cape Peninsula, it is exposed to the cold Benguela current of the Atlantic Ocean.

The unusual bonding Foster started to document his experiences and, in course of time, he chanced upon a curious young octopus that got his complete attention. Deciding to continue to visit her den and tracking her daily movements for a year, he was keen to win her trust.

In course of time, the two formed a bond where she plays with Foster and allows him into her world to see how she sleeps, lives, and eats. Foster in the film goes on to describe the impact on his life of his relationship with the octopus.

The documentary captures beautifully Foster's growing intimate relationship with the octopus as he follows her around for nearly a year. The audience get to see the octopus defending herself against pyjama sharks. She loses an arm in one such attack and retreats to her den to recover, regenerating the arm slowly over a period of three months.

In another attack incident, she shows remarkable improvisation as she displays her creativity to survive, including sticking on the shark's back.

After mating with a bigger octopus and producing a large number of eggs, she dies naturally while tending for her eggs and a shark takes her body away.

Foster describes the effect of this mentorship that the octopus provided him with as teaching him a lesson on the fragility of life and humanity's connection with nature. This translated to Foster creating a deeper bond with his son as his son develops as a diver and marine life student.

Takeaways According to Foster his relationship with the octopus taught him about life's fragility and our connection with nature, and even helped him become a better father.

As per the Reuters, Foster said: "The really strange thing is that, as you get closer to them, you realize that we're very similar in a lot of ways. I had to have a radical change in my life. And the only way I knew how to do it was to be in this ocean with her." Grieving over the loss of his dear friend, Foster, showed his 3,000 hours of footage to fellow diver and director Pippa Ehrlich who shot additional material of the landscape beneath the cold waters of False Bay near Foster's home.

There were moments where I was editing and I got emotional in certain scenes. You know, when she loses her leg. The final scene from playing with the fish to her death. I think I cried while I was cutting that," remarked Ehrlich who co-directed the documentary with James Reed.

Highlighting the impact of the film, Ehrlich reveals: "To receive thousands and thousands of emails from people saying that they've been touched ... saying that they'll never eat octopus again." "The way that it's been received has been incredibly empowering. And yeah, it makes you believe in yourself," she adds.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Last January 27, Maricopa County Judge Daniel Martin said that he would not extend the temporary restraining order against the 2020 Election Audit. There will be another attempt by the Democrats to justify stopping the audit.

Maricopa County Judge says the 2020 Election Audit goes on

This was the decision of Judge Martin based on the case that he presides over after Judge Christopher Coury resigned himself from the case, based on court technicalities earlier, reported The Epoch Times.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who challenges the evaluation, and the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, a nonprofit that advocates journalists and counseled by Perkins Coie, were also granted motions to interfere by Martin.

After Judge Christopher Coury exempted himself due to a link to an attorney involved, Martin, a Democrat, was appointed judge in the vote audit case.

One of the conditions set by Coury is that the Democrats pay a $1 million bond on April 23 that would have stopped the audit temporarily. Martin mentioned that he wouldn't extend the restraining order if the Democrats paid the bond.

He was quoted to say, "I conclude this was a very productive and helpful hearing. I'm still contemplating whether or not the plaintiffs' requested relief is necessary. I'll do this between now and tomorrow morning."

Democrats lodged last-minute litigation last week, hours even before the 2020 Election Audit was due to start, to halt it. Contractors hired by the Arizona Senate, which ordered the election inspection, were reportedly not appropriately protecting ballots and equipment, according to Democrats. The Maricopa County Judge will listen to all arguments.

Democrats Attempting To Stop Vote Audit Find Way for Judge Coury to Recuse

Last April 23, an evaluation of more than 2 million votes and dozens of electronic tabulators started.

Arizona's Senate summoned the election records and devices in January, and a judge has ruled the subpoenas are legal and must be enforced the following month.

From the start, Democrats were ready to try everything to null the election audit. The Senate and defendant called it another ploy by the DEMS, who have no standing and substantive claims, that should be a decision in their favor.

One of the lawyers, Alexander Kolodin, counsel for Cyber Ninjas, one of the firms conducting the audit, said that even one day of stopping would impact the process he mentioned in court.

According to Martin, a Senate attorney, Kory Langhofer, the Senate intended to obey the law, but the case has raised the question of what the law requires.

The Arizona Senate states that the Democrats want to stop the audit, with no other reason than to keep the result from the public. Saying the injunction is just a way to stall for time.

According to Roopali Desai, an attorney for the Arizona Democratic Party said the Democrats are concerned about the lax security at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

Maricopa County Judge Martin finally sided with the defendants on the 2020 Election Audit, but he will follow up on the Democrat's arguments at the next hearing, slated for April 28.

Arizona Senate Approves Major Audit of 2.1 Million Votes in the 2020 Presidential Election

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Islamabad, April 28 : Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) would not be influenced to give relief to the disgruntled leader of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Jahangir Tareen, in the sugar scam probe but he would personally look into the matter to avoid any political victimisation in the case.

He was talking to a delegation of some pro-Tareen lawmakers who called on him. Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar was also present in the meeting, the Dawn reported on Wednesday.

The head of the MNAs' delegation, Raja Riaz, told media after attending the meeting that the Prime Minister had assured them that he would personally look into the case and ensure that no injustice was meted out to anyone.

"We have full confidence that the prime minister will not do injustice to anyone," he said.

Interestingly, the Prime Minister formed a one-man committee comprising his confidant, Senator Syed Ali Zafar, to ascertain whether the delegation's concerns that some people in the government and the PTI were politically victimising Jahangir Tareen were genuine. The decision to form the committee was made a day after media reports claimed the government had changed FIA's sugar inquiry chief.

According to media reports, the sugar scam inquiry team's head FIA Director for Lahore Mohammad RizAwan was removed from the investigation with immediate effect.

It may be mentioned here that Rizwan's removal was the main demand of the former PTI Secretary General Jehangir Tareen and the lawmakers supporting him.

Information Minister Fawad Hussain Chaudhry confirmed that the Prime Minister had decided not to influence the FIA inquiry against Tareen and other sugar barons and that the case would be decided on merit.

"During the meeting, the prime minister was of the view that a party (PTI) formed in the name of justice could not allow two types of justice - one for the poor and the other for wealthy people," he added.

"The Prime Minister said the FIA's inquiry into the sugar scam would not be influenced at any cost. However, concerns of the MNAs will be addressed and it will be ensured that no one politically victimises Tareen," the minister said.

He said that Khan tasked Senator Ali Zafar to present a report to him, but no timeframe was given to the committee.

When asked whether there was a possibility of the MNAs supporting Tareen joining another political party, especially Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the minister said that they would remain part of the ruling PTI.

The parliamentarians supporting Tareen have accused Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar of initiating undue action against Tareen and his son Ali Tareen by freezing their over two dozen bank accounts during the sugar scam investigations.
One of the few remaining Sears-branded stores in South Carolina is changing locations to make way for a new retailer.

Sears Hometown Store at 1013 Old U.S. Highway 52 in Moncks Corner is expected to close in about three or so weeks. It will move to an 8,450-square-foot former CVS space in a Food Lion-anchored shopping center at 1316 Red Bank Road in Goose Creek.

Harbor Freight Tools will be backfilling the current Sears site.

The California-based tool and equipment retailer plans to make interior and exterior alterations, including changing the storefront and adding new offices, restrooms, a break room, vestibule, sales floor, receiving area and loading dock, according to site plans.

Opening dates have not been announced for either Sears Hometown or Harbor Freight Tools.

The small-format Sears has four other locations in South Carolina  in Georgetown, Walterboro, Lake City and Greenwood. The tool retailer has another Charleston-area store on Dorchester Road in North Charleston and several other locations across the state.

Dollars and cents

A new discount store soon will open in Ladson.

Dollar Tree is nearly finished stocking the shelves of a new 11,000-square-foot shop in the renovated College Park Center at 113 College Park Road. It's expected to open by this weekend if not earlier, according to workers at the store.

The site once housed discount retailer Freds before it went bankrupt and closed all of its stores in 2019.

Prior to that, many years ago Piggly Wiggly was located at the property near the corner of U.S. Highway 78 before it moved across the street.

What's brewing?

A West Ashley brewery is adding a second location in the Charleston area.

Frothy Beard Brewing Co. at 1401 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. in Ashley Landing Shopping Center has acquired Hometown Brewhouse at 117 S. Main St. in Summerville and will convert it to a Frothy site by mid-June, the brewery announced April 27.

Hometown Brewhouse will continue to operate until the conversion takes place.

The new location will be called Frothy Beard Off World, offering food and drinks. It plans to be open for lunch Friday through Sunday, serve dinner seven nights a week and offer a special Sunday brunch menu.

The new location also will be used to create special small-batch beers in rotation with all the flagship Frothy beer offerings.

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Riding in

A new electric bike shop is now open in the Charleston area.

Pedego Electric Bikes opened April 23 at 628 Coleman Blvd. in Mount Pleasant.

"With access to the beach, hiking and biking trails, our Mount Pleasant storefront couldnt be in a better location," owner Rob Crabtree said.

Based in the Los Angeles area, the company was founded in 2008 and now has more than 140 locally owned stores in the U.S.

Revving up

Auto parts retailer AutoZone is planning another new store in the Lowcountry.

The Memphis-based company wants to build a new shop on U.S. Highway 52, or 3940 State Road, in St. Stephen in northern Berkeley County.

Separately, the auto-parts chain recently leased an 8,000-square-foot space in the Food Lion-anchored St. George Plaza on U.S. Highway 78 near Interstate 95 in St. George in western Dorchester County.

It also is opening a store in the former Pier 1 Imports location at 7643 Rivers Ave., for its fifth location in North Charleston.

Springing back

Ruke's roadside stand of fruits and vegetables is returning to Mount Pleasant for its seasonal run. The market, operated by Arthur Brown, will be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday starting May 10 on the grounds of Holy Trinity AME Church at 378 Mathis Ferry Road.

New moon

A North Charleston-based lifestyle brand retailer continues to expand and is now in six Southern states.

Palmetto Moon will open a new store in Riverchase Galleria May 1 in the Birmingham, Ala., suburb of Hoover.

The company currently operates 27 locations throughout the Southeast in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. The Hoover location will bring the count to 28. Two more stores are planned to open in 2021.

Additionally, the company has named Eric Holzer as chairman and John Thomas as CEO and chief merchandising officer. Holzer previously was CEO.
Quara Holding has announced a strategic partnership with CRMNEXT, Worlds No. 1 CRM and digital customer experience platform in banking and financial services, bringing world-class digital transformation solutions to Saudi Arabia.

CRM and customer experience management is a growing sector in the kingdom, especially in highly regulated industries such as finance, banking, and insurance. This partnership will allow Quara Holding to deliver the latest innovations in the digital and customer engagement space.

The strategic alliance between CRMNEXT and Quara Holding will help enterprises to reevaluate their on-going operations and adapt to new market challenges with multiple out-of-box solutions on a flexible deployment strategy i.e. public cloud/private cloud hosted out of KSA or on  premise.

CRMNEXT products and services will bring unparalleled benefits to the Saudi market in AI driven and cloud-based digital transformation solutions. This partnership brings together deep skills and capabilities in terms of strategy, product ideation and hyper scalable deployments to deliver high impact customer experience and relationship management solutions across complete customer lifecycle including marketing, sales, cross selling and servicing for banking, insurance and financial services.

For Quara Holdings users this translates into real business value, including smarter digital acquisition journeys with instant fulfillment, intelligent bots and extreme self-service capabilities. CRMNEXT solutions anticipate retail and corporate needs in advance, delivering customised, prequalified offers and digital journeys that enhance customer experience and loyalty.

In addition its AI driven visual digital journey designers and accelerators enable personalised sales and service offerings with significantly faster turnaround times and lower operational costs.

Quara Holding, CEO Ziad El Chaar said: The demand for world-class CRM solutions in Saudi Arabia is growing and is one of the most overlooked products in the Saudi markets. We have already signed deals with Dar Al Arkan, Saudi Home Loans, and Quara Finance and we are looking to onboard more customers in 2021. We are, therefore, delighted to announce our strategic partnership with CRMNEXT. It will combine our expertise of working with the highly regulated finance, banking, and insurance markets in Saudi with CRMNEXTs transformational integrator solutions programmes, leading to substantial competitive advantage for our clients.

El Chaar added: The result will be locally-hosted CRMNEXT solutions that enable companies in Saudi to provide better customer service, operate more efficiently and ensure data is safe and secure.

CRMNEXT Director- Sushil Tyagi said: We are very optimistic and have envisioned great things in this alliance with Quara Holding to fully transform the Customer engagement and Strategy landscape of the kingdom. Saudi Arabia is the fastest developing hub of innovation in the region and we would like to be the forerunners in this transformation drive. We look forward to leverage our deep global experience in delivering high impact customer experience and relationship innovation solutions to power enterprises with AI and cloud capabilities for faster and profitable growth.

Regional Head Vishal Khurana added: CRMNEXT is excited to embark on its new strategic partnership journey with Quara Holdings, as we seek to secure a stronger foothold in the kingdom. Importantly, the partnership strategically aligns CRMNEXT for its long-term and commitment to the region by enhancing solution for the local market and to create the talent pool in the kingdom. -- TradeArabia News Service
Sometimes leaders must tune out the squeaky wheels and do whats best for the entire organization, and wise executives should require employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to the office.

Some will undoubtedly howl about the injustice of it all. How dare my boss make vaccination or a doctors note a prerequisite for employment? My body, my choice, some will proclaim. Another infringement on personal liberty!

Get a grip. The U.S. Constitution did not protect Typhoid Mary, and it does not give you the right to become a super-spreader. If someone is among the tiny percentage of adults who should skip the vaccine due to a medical condition, they can get a note.

Employers are entirely within their rights to require vaccinations to ensure a safe workplace, and most Americans support it, according to multiple surveys.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: COVID makes the rich even richer - and takes away from workers

Seventy percent of Americans want employers to require a vaccine before a return-to-office order, according to Glassdoor, the workplace research and review site. More than three-quarters said they would get vaccinated.

COVID-19 has triggered a new wave of employee expectations, from incentives to get a vaccine to more flexible work options, even after its safe to return to the office, said Carina Cortez, Glassdoors chief people officer. Employers must take employee feedback into account to determine what is best for their workforce, including how to best support employees who plan to get the vaccine, and employees who do not.

Opinions about requiring vaccination differed based on age group. While 84 percent of 35- to 54-year-olds supported a mandate, only 58 percent of those between 18 and 34 thought their bosses should take a heavy hand.

No one should be surprised that younger people feel less strongly about vaccination. Many of them are essential workers who have risked their health and possibly contracted the disease without the severe consequences experienced by older people.

We also know that younger people do a poor job of assessing risk or understanding the consequences.

Perhaps that is why 20 percent of essential workers who are not involved with health care say they will wait and see what happens before they get a jab, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health care research nonprofit. Most of them are younger than 50.

This group is not necessarily anti-vaccinethats another columnbut they are on the fence. An employer mandate would likely push them toward obtaining protection from a life-changing, possibly life-ending illness.

Essential workers are more likely than those who are doing their jobs from home to say they will get the vaccine only if required, Glassdoors pollster wrote.

Here is where executives earn their money. The latest data show that remaining indoors with someone infected is the most likely way a person will contract COVID-19. Social distancing is not enough if you are sharing an indoor space with an infected person for hours at a time, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers.

Above all, our study makes clear the inadequacy of the Six-Foot Rule in mitigating indoor airborne disease transmission, and offers a rational, physically informed alternative for managing life in the time of COVID-19, the studys authors wrote.

There are only two solutions to establishing a safe workplace: require everyone to wear a mask all the time or allow only vaccinated people in the room.

Here is where the courage comes in. If an executive requires a vaccine to return to the office, some employees will cry foul and threaten lawsuits until the cows come home. Those who are grateful will likely say nothing.

Running a company is not a popularity contest. Yes, bosses should want happy workers. Health must come first. Leaders know when to ignore the noise in the name of the greater good.

Since COVID vaccines became available, most employers have resisted requiring them because they were hard to get. Many office-based companies kept people at home because they felt no rush to put people at risk.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: Economy bouncing back from COVID, but will be different from before times

Now, though, anyone can obtain a vaccine with little wait and at no cost.

Managers who want workers to return to the office owe those of us who are health conscientious, who support vaccination and worry about variants. We have more of a right to a virus-free workplace than those who would put us at risk and ignore public health.

More importantly, employers have the power to nudge workers who are on the fence toward doing whats best for the community. We need many more people to get vaccinated to reach herd immunity, which is the only way to stop mutations.

Texas is at a dangerous inflection point; we need employers to help maintain the momentum toward ending the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chris Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and politics.

twitter.com/cltomlinson

chris.tomlinson@chron.com
New Delhi: The Delhi Police are assisting citizens during the prevailing COVID pandemic in the country by providing food, assisting in Oxygen transportation and in several other ways by providing food to hungry families.

During the current pandemic situation and ongoing lockdown, it is becoming difficult for poor people to survive, especially those who are hand to mouth and have to earn their bread and butter daily. On April 26, Inspector KP Malik, Jamia Nagar received a telephone call from someone regarding some families facing scarcity of food to feed themselves in Tauba Colony Jugggi area in Jamia Nagar, Delhi.

Immediately, a team from PS Jamia Nagar led by SHO Jamia Nagar reached the said jhuggi area and distributed 50 packets of dry ration (containing 1 kg pulses, 1.5 kg rice, 1.5 kg atta, 0.5 kg sugar, 1 kg tea, half a kg Mustard oil, Turmeric powder, red pepper and salt each) to such needy families.

Providing Oxygen Green Corridor for Oxygen truck leading to AIIMS On April 26, information was received at Police Station Alipur Delhi that a truck/container, which was carrying 10,000 litres oxygen was stuck on Singhu Border and the same was scheduled to arrive at AIIMS Hospital at the earliest due to lack of oxygen cylinders in Delhi Hospitals in present COVID-19 scenario.

On receipt of this information, Station House Officer (SHO) Alipur, along with ERV staffs, HC Madan with available motorcycles on patrolling rushed to Singhu Border without wasting a single minute and found the truck stuck due to some vehicles movements.

Thereafter, the police staff showing their efficiency and presence of mind, cleared the way of the container and then successfully passed the container with safety.

This prompt action of police provided help saving hundreds of lives and brought smiles to the faces of families who were waiting for oxygen in AIIMS.

Narela Police Station's Head Constable donates blood 39th time HC Shankar, presently posted at Police Station, Narela has become a hero for donating regular blood and plasma for many patients and COVID patients during this pandemic situation all over Delhi.

He has donated his plasma for COVID patients three times since he became COVID positive and recovered in January this year. Till now he has donated blood and platelets to patients 39 times.

Moreover, he and his two friends namely Ravinder Dhariwal and Amit Phogat (both are personnel in Delhi Police) have been running a Delhi police Blood Donation Group on Whatsapp and Twitter and serving the needy people continuously.

They have proved the truth of the words in the logo `Dil ki Police, Delhi Police`. In many other incidents, Delhi Police assisted in the working of COVID warriors.

Live TV
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has gathered a diverse line-up of top industry leaders from both the public and private sectors to explore the critical challenges and issues facing our industry at the upcoming Virtual PATA Annual Summit 2021 taking place from April 27-29.

I am truly excited for this years Annual Summit as we have brought together CEOs and leaders from some of the biggest organisations in the industry, as well as senior representations from the public sector and other non-governmental organisations, said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy. As we look towards recovery and continue to build a future where tourism remains a positive tool in fuelling sustainable development and economic growth, this event provides us the perfect opportunity to reflect and reconnect in order to revitalise an industry in dire need. Therefore, I invite all industry stakeholders to join us and the already more than 2,500 delegates registered for the event and be part of the discussion as we work to restart a stronger, more responsible and more sustainable industry.

The three-day online event, with the theme Reflect, Reconnect, Revive, is organised with the support of Platinum Sponsor, the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) and Gold Sponsor, the Global Tourism Economy Forum. It includes a half-day forum, the PATA Board Meeting and Annual General Meeting, and the PATA Youth Symposium that allows students and young tourism professionals that opportunity to engage with senior industry leaders.

The half-day forum opens with a keynote presentation from Pansy Ho, Group Executive Chairman and Managing Director, Shun Tak Holdings, and Co-Chairperson and Executive Director, MGM China Holdings, who will provide her Reflections on Travel and how the industry needs to rethink tourism policies and government systems that can promote solidarity within the industry, and rediscover the most basic links between business and people's needs that pave way for a more resilient future.

Other confirmed speakers for the forum include Rochelle Turner, Head of Research & Insight, MaCher USA; John Perrottet, Global Tourism Specialist, The World Bank; Lauren Uppink Calderwood, Head of Aviation, Travel and Tourism Industries, World Economic Forum (WEF); Alain Dupeyras, Head of the Regional Development and Tourism Division, OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development); Siew Hoon Yeoh, Founder & Editor, WiT; Stephen Kaufer, CEO, Tripadvisor; Ross Veitch, CEO & Co-Founder, Wego; John Brown, CEO, Agoda; Aaron Heslehurst, Business News Presenter, BBC World News; Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airport; Sir Timothy Clark, President, Emirates; Raini Hamdi, Editor-at-Large, Skift; Adrian Zecha, Founder, Azerai; Greg Klassen, Partner, Twenty31 Consulting Inc.; Ghada Shalaby, Vice Minister for Tourism Affairs, Egypt; Sisa Ntshona, Chief Executive Officer, South African Tourism, and Benito C. Bengzon, Jr., Undersecretary, Tourism Development, Department of Tourism, Philippines.

The forum includes sessions on New Models of Tourism, Reconnecting Tourism in collaboration with WiT Middle East, Revitalising the Industry, which comprises an Aviation Discussion and a Hospitality Discussion and Whats Next, sponsored by Twenty31.

As part of the event programme, the Association will once again organise the PATA Leaders Debate. Sponsored by Airbnb, the debate will explore the tension between the environmental and economic impacts of tourism and discuss which is more important for the future sustainability of the tourism industry. The discussions will focus on articulating whether economic benefit or environmental sustainability should be the focus of the industrys collective efforts and activities as it plans to restart travel.

Speakers for the debate include Irina Bokova, Former Director-General, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Iyad Rasbey, Executive Director - Destination Tourism Development & MICE, RAKTDA; Suresh Singh Budal, 2020 PATA Face of the Future and CEO, PATA Nepal Chapter, and Surayyal Hizmi, 2021 PATA Face of the Future and Lecturer Advisor, PATA Lombok Tourism Polytechnic Student Chapter. The debate will be moderated by Rajan Datar, The Travel Show Presenter, BBC World News.

Before the debate, there will also be an Executive Interview between Carmen Roberts, The Travel Show Presenter, BBC World News and Raki Phillips, CEO, RAKTDA to learn more about the current developments taking place in Ras Al Khaimah, a destination with over 7,000 years of fascinating history, culture and magnificent landscapes.

Interested parties can still register for the event, and immediately login to the virtual platform to begin networking with delegates from over 80 global destinations. There are also opportunities to win prizes during the event courtesy of RAKTDA, such as a trip to the Sawaidi Pearl Farm for two, a half day excursion to the Bear Grylls Explorer Camp for two, or a zipline ride at Jais Flights for two.
MONSON  A fire that started with a grill on an outside deck is blamed as the cause of a three-alarm fire that destroyed a home at 170 Hovey Road and displaced four residents Tuesday night.

Fire Chief Brian S. Harris said the remote location of the home, narrow streets, and a lack of water lines and hydrants contributed to the fire spreading from the deck into the siding and then into the interior.

It took 12 to 15 minutes for the first fire apparatus to arrive on scene, he said. Fire can spread pretty quick in 12 to 15 minutes.

No one was injured in the fire, but the 2-story home is considered a total loss, he said.

The state Fire Marshalls Office determined the fire was accidental.

The fire was reported at around 8:40 p.m.

Monson police were first on the scene and reported the fire had spread from the deck to the exterior siding, Harris said. He said he arrived 12 minutes after the initial call, and the flames had spread into the interior.

With no hydrants available, the fire department shuttled water in a tanker truck from a pond roughly a mile away. The water was loaded into a collapsible 3,000-gallon pool set up at the scene, and firefighters drew water from it to fight the fire.

A second tank was set up, giving firefighters 6,000 gallons of water, and two tanker trucks continually drove back and forth between the pond and the fire scene.

Monson received mutual aid from fire departments in Wilbraham, Palmer, the Bondsville and Three Rivers sections of Palmer, Wales, Ludlow, Brimfield and Holland. Firefighters from Stafford, Connecticut, provided station coverage.

According to Monson assessors records, the home was constructed in 1997 and has a total assessed value of $386,400. The owners are listed as Anthony T. Sattler Jr. and Raquel Mello.
[April 28, 2021] dmg events Launches the Citizens Energy Congress to Accelerate Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future

World-class congress to take place virtually from June 15-16. Congress will bring together a broad spectrum of stakeholders to map out a bold new approach to how energy is produced, distributed, and consumed. LONDON, April 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- dmg events announced the launch of the Citizens Energy Congress, a unique energy industry event committed to resetting the energy agenda, post COVID-19, to drive the transition to a low carbon energy system that balances affordable energy access and climate change commitments. The Citizens Energy Congress will be a virtual event taking place from June 15-16. It will connect the fragmented, divergent, and polarising perspectives around energy and accelerate the industry's response to growing pressure for a bold new approach to how energy is produced, distributed, and consumed. The Citizens Energy Congress will bring together a broad spectrum of energy industry professionals, policy makers, investors, and civil society to challenge the concepts and constraints of the existing energy models and to foster consensus-driven foundations for a low carbon energy system. The Congress will seek to build on the growing momentum around the need to tackle global warming, reinvigorated by the virtual summit hosted by US President Joe Biden this month. At the two-day summit, attended by 40 world leaders, the world's leading economies either reaffirmed pledges, r committed to new targets, to reduce carbon emissions to address climate change. The Citizens Energy Congress will look beyond these pledges and examine how these ambitions can be met.



The Citizens Energy Congress will address the challenging questions at the heart of the energy transition, recognising the multifaceted nature of the energy system. Attracting global ministers, CEOs and influencers from across the energy ecosystem, the speaker line-up will provide diverse opinions and ensure vigorous debate to help shape future strategic direction. A selection of confirmed speakers include Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development and President of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, according to The New York Times "probably the most important economist in the world"; Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Former Danish Prime Minister and Former CEO of Save the Children, named by Forbes magazine in 2017 as one of the world's greatest leaders; Peggy Liu, Chairperson, Joint US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy (JUCCCE), one of the leading catalysts of a green China; Lorenzo Simonelli, Chairman & CEO, Baker Hughes and Mark Campanale, Founder and Executive Chair, Carbon Tracker.

Supporting organisations include OGCI, the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative, a CEO-led directive that aims to accelerate the industry response to climate change, and Boston Consulting Group, one of the world's leading management consulting firms and the official Strategic Insights Partner for the Citizens Energy Congress. Bob Dudley, Chair of OGCI and former Group CEO of bp said: "Solving the climate challenge will require new ideas, new technologies, new investments, and new government policies, all executed at scale and at speed. Commitment and collaboration across industry, finance, research, government and society are critical." Alan Thomson, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG as well as global leader of BCG's Energy practice said: "Private and public-sector organisations must collaborate more consistently, in order to develop and scale technologically and economically impactful solutions to be able to tackle global climate change challenges efficiently." Christopher Hudson, President of Global Energy, dmg events, said: "The Citizens Energy Congress will provide a uniquely balanced and inclusive debate between a broad audience of stakeholders across the energy value chain. Recognising we are all interconnected, our goal is to enhance understanding, not enforce agreement. Our intent is to deliver a world-class forum for a broad-based examination of the competing perspectives on how to achieve a sustainable energy future through strategy, collaboration and innovation." https://www.citizensenergycongress.com/press-release/ SOURCE dmg events

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Driven by online work and learning amid the ongoing pandemic, Teams now have 145 million daily active users globally, almost double the number a year ago, CEO Satya Nadella informed.

The number of organisations with more than 1,000 users integrating their third party and line of business applications with Teams has increased nearly three times year-over-year.

"In markets where employees have returned to the workplace including Australia, China, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan, we have seen usage continue to grow," Nadella said during the company's earnings call late on Tuesday.

The company has added more than 300 features in Teams over the past year, including more than 100 new capabilities so far in 2021.

New inclusive meeting experience for hybrid work including custom gallery views enable anyone to be seen, heard and participate whether they are at home, in a meeting room, at an office or on a factory floor.

"Customers like GM and Sanofi are using Teams for unified communications including for voice. Teams is extending beyond communications, creating an entirely new category of modern collaborative applications as organizations use Power Platform to build custom apps, bots and workflows within Teams," informed Nadella.

"We added support for shared workspaces with people outside the organisation and we are seeing Teams used for everything from virtual retail showrooms and personal shopping to interactive webinars," he added.

Teams rival Zoom revealed last year it had 300 million daily active participants while Google said it had 100 million daily active participants on its Meet app.

--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.)
The United States has provided $7.85 million in security assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has said.

"The United States continues its unwavering support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with $7.85M in command and control, communications, vehicle spare parts, medical components, and tactical equipment as part of the latest delivery of security assistance totaling more than $2 billion since 2014," the embassy wrote on its Facebook page on Tuesday, April 27.

On April 21, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the Ukraine Security Partnership Act of 2021 (S.814), which provides for increased support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

The Ukraine Security Partnership Act will provide Ukraine with up to $300 million a year in military assistance until 2026. The document also envisages that the United States will encourage third countries to donate excess defense equipment to Ukraine. In addition, the Ukraine Security Partnership Act includes the allocation of $4 million annually until 2026 for the training of Ukrainian officers.

Photo credit: U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Facebook
A narcotics detective has resigned from the Baton Rouge Police Department months after he was arrested for buying stolen property, allegations that prompted him to accuse his colleagues of even more serious misconduct.

Jeremiah Ardoin announced his departure Tuesday, leaving his job amid an ongoing corruption probe launched after he made allegations against other detectives.

"I cannot continue to successfully serve the Baton Rouge community while in a work environment where I must constantly watch my back in fear of retaliation," he wrote in a resignation letter.

After receiving a misdemeanor summons in December, Ardoin wrote a memo to the chief alleging widespread misconduct within the BRPD narcotics division, including at the leadership level. Weeks later, investigators arrested another detective, Jason Acree, who was accused of stealing marijuana seized as evidence and giving the drugs to a friend. He was booked into jail on possession with intent to distribute and malfeasance in office.

Alleged corruption in BRPD narcotics unit includes stolen drugs, illegal searches, planted evidence After a Baton Rouge police officer was accused of purchasing stolen electronics several weeks ago, he sat down and drafted a memo alleging wid

In addition to accusing Acree of stealing drugs from the evidence room, the memo claimed narcotics officers routinely stopped and searched Black people without probable cause, planted drugs on suspects and coerced prostitutes into setting up drug dealers.

Not long after Acree was arrested, BRPD transferred four narcotics supervisors to street patrols, effectively cutting the division in half, removing its leadership and suspending normal operations.

Ardoin wrote in the memo that supervisors sometimes participated in the misconduct and actively tried to cover it up.

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His attorney, Ron Haley, said in a statement Tuesday that Ardoin will continue to fight for justice. The resignation letter ends with a commendation of certain members of the police force.

"The Baton Rouge Police Department is full of some of the best officers and detectives in the nation who work hard to protect the men and women of this city," he said.

Convincing prostitutes to set up drug deals: The story of BRPD and its 'troll rips' When a friend texted Christopher Gregoire asking for some weed, he agreed to smoke with her and arrived at her Baton Rouge hotel room about 20

Ardoin served the department for a dozen years before stepping down this week. His decision to quit came before the chief issued a disciplinary ruling, though termination was a likely outcome since he was accused of violating criminal law.

He and Acree had both been on administrative leave since their arrests, which prompted East Baton Rouge prosecutors to dismiss over 100 pending drug cases that centered on testimony from the disgraced officers.

The sheer number of dropped charges also raised questions about whether some detectives were focusing on achieving a high volume of low-level drug arrests, rather than conducting large-scale drug trafficking investigations and bringing charges against the small group of dealers running the show.

Chief Murphy Paul said this month he assigned investigators to audit the entire narcotics division. He said some changes are on the horizon but declined to elaborate.
Prime Minister Florin Citu declared on Wednesday that he is convinced that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) will be a good one.

"I had a talk with the ministers regarding the PNRR. It is time to accelerate things. We have a few details to finish. I am certain that we will have a PNRR that will represent Romania's interests of development in the following period. There are several discussions, but I am certain we will have a good PNRR, a PNRR through which we will draw the sums allocated to Romania," Citu said.

He specified that in the event one of the projects within the PNRR does not respect the conditions requested by the European Commission, this will be financed from other sources.

"I have a different approach regarding PNRR. I am not looking at a particular sector. I am interested for this PNRR to represent Romania's interests. It is true that there are different sectors, but Romania needs more investments in certain areas and fewer investments in other areas. We are using this PNRR, but in the context of other financing sources, we are also financing from the budget, we are financing from European funds and we are financing from the PNRR as well. All projects which we consider important in the government program will have these three sources of financing. So if one of the projects we tried to put here does not respect the conditions set by the European Commission, for example, it will be financed from other sources. We must look at the PNRR, as to a piece of the financing puzzle we are making or of the projects we are making in the following years," the PM explained.

Asked if Minister Cristian Ghinea should have better consulted with the relevant ministers regarding the preparations of the PNRR fields, the head of the Executive replied: "We are in a negotiation process. You will see that in the end we will have a successful PNRR".

Also, he specified that the PM is the coordinator of negotiations.
Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2021 ) :President Joe Biden in his first address to Congress Wednesday will urge following up the fight against Covid-19 with a no less epic battle for a fairer United States, where the rich do more to help end inequality.

Speaking to a joint session of Congress on the eve of his 100th day in office, Biden will likely hail what on Tuesday he called "stunning" success in vaccinating Americans -- a national effort that has dragged the country from coronavirus catastrophe to leader in global recovery.

But with solid approval ratings and a Democratic majority -- albeit razor thin -- in Congress, Biden feels he has momentum on his side to take on new challenges.

Speaking on primetime television, he will promote what he touts as a plan of massive government spending to get the United States not just back on its feet but striding forward in a new direction.

In the foreign policy segment of the speech, Biden "will talk about his commitment to reengaging with the world, taking America's seat back in the world," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

At the center of his domestic agenda will be the unveiling of the American Families Plan, an expected $1.8 trillion spending splurge that Psaki termed "a historic investment in education and childcare." The goal is giving "help to American families, making transformative investments to rescue and rebuild our economy, and fundamentally showing the government can deliver for people," Psaki said.

The families plan alone -- which Biden wants to pay for with tax hikes on the most wealthy -- would represent a giant ask of Congress.

But this comes after Congress already approved a $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, injecting stimulus into almost every corner of the US economy, and is now debating a proposed $2 trillion-plus American Jobs Plan aimed at rebuilding national infrastructure.

The speech will also run through the rest of a lengthy Democratic wish list, including police reform, pro-immigrant reforms and gun control -- some of the most sensitive issues in US politics and ones where Biden insists he can deliver.

Biden, as he likes to say, wants to "go big." On Thursday, his 100th day, Biden will follow the speech by launching what Psaki called a "Getting America Back on Track" tour, starting with trips to Georgia and Philadelphia.

Vice President Kamala Harris will be taking the message to Baltimore and Ohio.

Psaki said Biden had been working on the speech for "weeks" and was now down to the final edits.

The setting for Biden's maiden address to Congress as president will reflect the crisis times in which he was elected last November, ending four chaotic years under Donald Trump.

Security has been at top level around the Capitol building since the January 6 riot when Trump supporters went on the rampage against what the Republican falsely claimed was a stolen election.

Ahead of his speech, Biden will be meeting staff who were trapped in the building during the terrifying incident, the White House said.

Although Covid-19 is on the back foot -- vaccinated Americans were told Tuesday they can now do most things outside without wearing a mask -- the pandemic will loom heavily.

Instead of looking out onto a House chamber crammed with the usual 1,600 or so politicians and guests, Biden will be greeted by a select group of around 200.

According to Republican Senator John Thune, Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi is allowing just 40 representatives from each of the two parties and 30 senators each.

Usually all nine members of the Supreme Court are in attendance, but this time only Chief Justice John Roberts will be there.

Of the cabinet, only the secretaries of defense and state will be in the room, meaning that the tradition of nominating a "designated survivor" -- someone who could take over the country if the entire government died while inside the Capitol -- is not necessary.

There "does not need to be a designated survivor because the cabinet will be watching from their offices or homes," Psaki said.

Biden has brought an old-fashioned, sunny optimism to Washington, often choosing to ignore the noisy rancor that Trump deliberately stoked and appeared to relish.

But that doesn't mean he has brought his opponents on side.

His big picture appeal for more government spending will likely get no applause from half the chamber and his expected plan to announce tax increases for America's most wealthy will likely stir Republican fury.

"President Biden ran as a moderate, but I'm hard pressed to think of anything at all that he's done so far that would indicate some degree of moderation," senior Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said Tuesday.
NEW YORK, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 11,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced Blackrock Silver Corp. (TSX-V: BRC; FRA: AHZ0; OTCQX: BKRRF), an acquisition, exploration and development company focused on precious mineral properties in North America., has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Blackrock Silver Corp. upgraded to OTCQX from the OTCQB Venture Market.

Blackrock Silver Corp. begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "BKRRF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.

Andrew Pollard, President and CEO of Blackrock Silver, commented, "Given the Company's focus on advancing our flagship Tonopah West silver-gold project situated in Nevada, we are delighted to graduate to the OTCQX which will further enhance Blackrock's presence within the United States." Mr. Pollard added, "Assets like Tonopah West are rare, and there is an increased demand for silver-primary projects located in North America. Trading on OTCQX will provide enhanced access to U.S.-based funds and retail investors, bolstering Blackrock's stock visibility. This represents a natural step forward in the growth and evolution for the Company."

About Blackrock Silver Corp.

Blackrock is a junior precious metals exploration company that is on a quest to make an economic discovery. Blackrock's flagship Tonopah West project consolidates the western half of the famed Tonopah Silver District within the Walker Lane trend of Nevada. Known as the Queen of the Silver Camps, the Tonopah Silver District produced over 174 million ounces of silver and 1.8 million ounces of gold from approximately 7.5 million tonnes of high-grade silver-gold making it one of the most significant silver-gold districts in North America. With 30,000m of exploration drilling completed in 2020, and a 40,000m core drilling program well underway this year, Blackrock aims to deliver a maiden resource estimate by the end of 2021 in an attempt to bring new life to this historic district.Blackrock Silver Corp is publicly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under BRC-TSX.V, trades on the OTCQX as BKRRF and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as AHZ0.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for 11,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.

To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are SEC regulated ATSs, operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.

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Media Contact:

OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected]

SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc.

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To the editor:

We agree with Jonh Elsens previous letter that the road diet and decisions of city council have not been in the best interest of the community. The community is asked our opinions, but most are overlooked and not taken into consideration.

The infrastructure in this city is crumbling as time marches on, but council is a great believer in putting a band aid on a gaping wound that will never heal unless seriously addressed. They are famous for prettying up the city with cosmetic improvements, but the serious ones are not addressed in a timely manner.

We are extremely happy that Councilman Steve Arnosky has kept the sewer and water backup issue going, this has not been easy.

It has been almost a full year since the catastrophic flooding and sewer backups, we as a community should never want that to happen again. This will take millions of dollars from everyone to make this happen, we hope Midland residents step up and support this when it comes to a vote.

The city will be receiving money from the government for the COVID relief plan, we hope they will put this to work in a productive way, rather than continuously employing studies.

They have to start looking at the bigger picture around Midland. When you look around the city, it looks beautiful on the outside, but what lies beneath is not beautiful. We want Midland to be attractive to people wanting to move here. What would be very attractive to people would be a city government that actually fixes the bigger issues. Having water and sewage in a basement for more than one instant is certainly not an attraction for people.

In order to have change, we as a community have to get involved. Watch the city council meetings, speak up with your opinions and have hope that change will come.

JIM AND MARY ELMORE

Midland
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Slave Lake Zinc (CSE:SLZ) ("Slave Lake" or "the Company") has now completed the data acquisition phase of the planned detailed airborne geophysical survey at the Company's O'Connor Lake, NWT, exploration project.

The airborne magnetic and VLF EM survey was flown by the Company's contractor, Precision Geophysics, at a line spacing of 50 meters using a helicopter-based geophysical system. A total of 880 line kilometers was flown covering the property's structural control corridor.

Data processing and interpretation is underway with target recommendations for follow up ground-based exploration and drilling programs expected shortly.

Slave Lake Zinc's O'Connor Lake property has had significant historical exploration work completed by a developer in the early 1950's (as reported previously). At that time work included constructing a 45 kilometer winter access road, 62 drill holes totalling 4121 meters of core drilling and sinking of a three compartment shaft to 55 meters with a level established at 45 meters to access the vein. A 26.3 ton bulk sample sent to the Trail smelter graded 55.0% Pb, 13.5% Zn and 2.7 OPT Ag.

The Company is looking forward to sharing the compiled data with their "Collaboration Agreement" partners in the Northwest Territory Metis Nation in order to discuss its plans for further exploration at O'Connor Lake.

About Slave Lake Zinc

Slave Lake Zinc Corp. intends to develop the potential of its O'Connor Lake property, an historic zinc lead copper property located in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The property is located south of Great Slave Lake and to the east of Osisko Metals' Pine Point project. The property was initially developed after the Second World War and subsequently abandoned in 1952 when the prices of zinc and lead collapsed post war. Slave Lake Zinc Corp. believes that it is well positioned to advance this project and to expand significantly the historic potential of the property. For more information please visit www.zinccorp.ca.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

Slave Lake Zinc Corp.

Per:

Ritch Wigham CEO & Director

Phone: 604-396-5762

Email: rwigham@zinccorp.ca

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.

Forward Looking Statement

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in both Slave Lake Zinc's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "potential", "should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the progress of a definitive offtake agreement, potential development and production at the Company's O'Connor lake project, future oriented events and other statements that are not facts. Forward-looking statements are based on a few assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which Slave Lake Zinc operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Such forward-looking statements should therefore be construed in light of such factors. Although Slave Lake Zinc has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and Slave Lake Zinc disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and Slave Lake Zinc does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company herein.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82037
[April 28, 2021] As Global Video Investment Accelerates, Zefr Continues Growth With Exclusive Mitsui Partnership In Japan

LOS ANGELES, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Zefr, the leading data company for brand suitability in video, today announces a strategic partnership with one of Japan's largest corporations, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui") to expand its video brand suitability solution to Japan. Zefr will work in collaboration with Legoliss Inc., a subsidiary of Mitsui that supports data-driven marketing, as well as a number of agency partners to deliver brand suitable video advertising products for the market. As part of the partnership, Mitsui is making a strategic investment in order to accelerate Zefr's growth in the market. According to Dentsu, the Japanese video advertising market in 2020 was 386.2 billion yen, an increase of more than 20% from the previous year, while the advertising market broadly shrank due to the coronavirus. With YouTube's global growth in revenue reported at over $20 billion USD in 2020 and experiencing 30%+ growth, the digital video ad market has exploded, yet marketers lack sophisticated solutions to manage their brand suitability in video. Zefr's patented video architecture solves this market need for transparent activation and verification. Zefr is a profitable technology company focused in digital media advertising, with over $100MM in annual revenue. "Video is exploding in consumption globally, and Japan is an incredibly important market. With Mitsui's expertise in the market, they knew partnering with Zefr was critical to ensure they brought a solution that was accurate in video, as legacy display and text-based solutions are ineffective for video," said Richard Raddon, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Zefr. "This partnership enables us to help advertisers accelerate incremental reach in emerging video channels while ensuring brand suitability in line with industry standards such as GARM, placing Zefr in a strong position for the next stage of its international expansion." Kiichiro Takanami, GM of Digital Marketing Business Division, Mitsui commented, "A worldwide trend to tighten restrictins on the handling of personal data and third-party cookies, means we need to consider new methods of ad targeting. We're pleased to partner with Zefr, which has the technology to target ads across video without leveraging personal data and provides solutions for the new age. The video advertising market is growing steadily in Japan, with YouTube and Facebook in particular becoming major media, and we believe Zefr is the right data company to achieve effective and brand suitable ad distribution on both platforms."



The partnership comes at a time when Zefr's approach to brand suitability, for video, is gaining momentum across the world. Major blue-chip brands are looking to shift ad spend from television to video, and to accelerate investment in platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. But they need transparent, video-level content control to ensure ad budgets are spent responsibly in brand suitable environments. Zefr's patented "human-in-the-loop" tech process was architected for scaled video platforms and has been applied to key industry issues in video, including activation and verification based on the Global Alliance of Responsible Media (GARM) framework. Zefr is currently developing brand safety and suitability reporting products with both YouTube and Facebook, with verification for end-to-end brand suitability in video expected to be made available for global brands in Q2 2021.

About Mitsui:

Mitsui & Co., Ltd (8031: JP) is a global trading and investment company with a diversified business portfolio that spans approximately 64 countries in Asia, Europe, North, Central & South America, The Middle East, Africa and Oceania. Mitsui has over 5,600 employees and deploys talent around the globe to identify, develop, and grow businesses in collaboration with a global network of trusted partners. Mitsui has built a strong and diverse core business portfolio covering the Mineral and Metal Resources, Energy, Machinery and Infrastructure, and Chemicals industries. Leveraging its strengths, Mitsui has further diversified beyond its core profit pillars to create multifaceted value in new areas, including innovative Energy Solutions, Healthcare & Nutrition and through a strategic focus on high-growth Asian markets. This strategy aims to derive growth opportunities by harnessing some of the world's main mega-trends: sustainability, health & wellness, digitalization and the growing power of the consumer. Mitsui has a long heritage in Asia, where it has established a diverse and strategic portfolio of businesses and partners that gives it a strong differentiating edge, provides exceptional access for all global partners to the world's fastest growing region and strengthens its international portfolio. For more information on Mitsui & Co's businesses visit, www.mitsui.com . About Zefr:

Zefr is the leading data company that enables responsible marketing for brands, agencies and platforms. Zefr's data and media solutions put brands in control of their content adjacency in video, based on brand and industry standards, including the Global Alliance of Responsible Media (GARM) suitability standards. As an official YouTube Measurement Partner and Facebook Marketing Partner, the company leverages patented Human-in-the-Loop technology to offer brands and agencies more precise and transparent brand safety and suitability activation and verification solutions on scaled video platforms. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with offices in New York, Chicago, London, Spain, Dubai and Sweden. For more information, go to: http://zefr.com . CONTACT: Andrew Serby, andrew.serby@zefr.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/as-global-video-investment-accelerates-zefr-continues-growth-with-exclusive-mitsui-partnership-in-japan-301279240.html SOURCE Zefr

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Pennsylvania is moving closer to a milestone in the COVID-19 vaccination effort, as nearly half of those eligible have received at least one shot.

So far, 48.1% of eligible Pennsylvanians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said Wednesday. Pennsylvania ranks 10th among all states in the nation in terms of first doses, according to The New York Times daily tracker.

Nearly 3.3 million Pennsylvania residents are fully vaccinated, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. More than 1.9 million people have received their first dose of a two-shot COVID-19 vaccine, the department said Wednesday. The state data doesnt include Philadelphia, which is handling its own vaccine rollout.

Philadelphia has hit a milestone of its own as more than 500,000 people are now fully vaccinated, according to the city health department. Nearly 750,000 city residents have had at least one shot.

Gov. Tom Wolf toured a clinic in Washington County Wednesday as he continues to urge Pennsylvanians to get the vaccine. Earlier this month, Wolf expanded vaccine eligibility to everyone 16 and over. The vaccines arent approved for those under 16 years old but Wolf said the vaccination effort helps kids and younger teens.

Any child under 16 is also being helped by our willingness to get this vaccine, Wolf said.

State Rep. Tim ONeal, a Republican who represents Washington County, appeared at the press event. ONeal, a member of the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, noted he and the Democratic governor agree on the need to get vaccinated.

The Wolf administration and area health care leaders are increasingly concerned about those who are refusing or reluctant to get the vaccine. On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Acting Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson toured the Cumberland County COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Carlisle to address the issue of vaccine hesitancy.

Starting Friday, WellSpan Health is beginning to offer walk-in hours on select days and times where people can get vaccinated without appointments (those interested can also still schedule appointments). Vaccinate Lancaster is allowing those wishing to get vaccinated to walk in on a first-come, first served basis, while also allowing people to register. Vaccine clinics across the state are touting the ease in getting appointments.

In Philadelphia, vaccine clinics are seeing a drop in demand as officials are scrambling to give out a few thousand vaccines before they expire, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The Center City Vaccination Center is welcoming walk-ins and staying open later to give out the shots, the city health department said.

Statewide, 2,447 people are being treated in hospitals due to COVID-19, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The state is starting to see a dip in hospitalizations. Last week, about 2,800 people with the coronavirus were being cared for in hospitals.

The health department reported 3,686 new cases Wednesday, raising the statewide total to 1,143,076. The state also reported 57 new deaths Wednesday. Since the pandemic began, 26,129 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, according to the health department.

Most of those who are infected with the coronavirus deal with relatively mild symptoms and many never get sick. But the virus poses risks to everyone, particularly seniors and those with certain health conditions, doctors say.

Area doctors say they are seeing more younger people being hit hard by COVID-19 and are urging everyone to get vaccinated.

More from PennLive

Blacks and Latinos in Pa. more likely to end up in hospital due to COVID-19

Still in need of a COVID-19 vaccine? Harrisburg holds 2 clinics on Thursday
WASHINGTON (AP)  Tim Scott, the only Black Republican senator, is often happy to dart past Capitol Hill reporters without saying much. This time, he and the spotlight have found each other.

Brought up by a single mother who worked backbreaking hours as a nursing assistant, the 55-year-old Scott has spent a decade in Congress representing South Carolina. Now, the lawmaker who combines a willingness to address racial questions with an advocacy of vintage conservative themes such as opportunity and optimism is giving his partys nationally televised response to President Joe Bidens Wednesday night address to Congress.

Scott also is the lead GOP negotiator as the two parties seek an accord on legislation overhauling police procedures. The issue has long eluded compromise despite national attention fanned by last years killing of George Floyd, a Black man, and this months conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer in his slaying.

You figure out who your audience is, you figure out what you want to say and you try and find a way to say it well, Scott told reporters Tuesday about his speech preparations. And you lean into who you are.

GOP leaders' choice of Scott to answer Biden comes at a tense political moment.

Demands for social justice are reverberating even as killings of Black people by white police officers continue. Following years of nativist appeals by President Donald Trump and others, out-of-power Republicans are trying to broaden their appeal before 2022 elections that they hope will deliver them control of Congress.

Scott, among only 11 Black senators in history, has used riveting Senate speeches to detail his own distressing encounters with the law. He's described being pulled over 18 times while driving since 2000 and being stopped by a U.S. Capitol security officer who didn't recognize him as recently as 2019, even though Scott was wearing a senator's lapel pin.

While I thank God I have not endured bodily harm, I have, however, felt the pressure applied by the scales of justice when they are slanted, he said during a 2016 Senate speech. I have felt the anger, the frustration, the sadness and the humiliation that comes with feeling like youre being targeted for nothing more than being just yourself.

Story continues

At the same time, Scott has remained a party loyalist who seldom makes waves and, like many Republicans, often avoided publicly criticizing Trump. Scott voted against removing Trump from office after the then-president's House impeachment for fomenting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, saying later, The one person I dont blame is President Trump.

Scott, from North Charleston, South Carolina, nearly dropped out of high school. He tells of a life-changing turnabout after befriending a businessman who became a mentor and stressed the value of hard work.

After graduating college, he entered the insurance and real estate businesses and was elected to the Charleston County Council. He was a co-chairman of the 1996 reelection campaign of Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., an overt segregationist decades earlier. When Scott was elected to the House in 2010, his closest GOP primary rival was Thurmond's son Paul.

Then-Gov. Nikki Haley appointed Scott to the Senate in 2013 when Sen. Jim DeMint resigned. Scott was easily elected to complete DeMint's term in 2014 and to his own six-year term in 2016, and is a favorite for reelection next year.

Scott's background and willingness to discuss racial disparities, a subject infrequently emphasized by the GOP, made him a natural choice for Wednesday's speech.

Ive never been stopped from driving while Black. He has multiple times, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. And hes sort of opened my eyes to some of the lack of trust between minority communities and law enforcement.

Scott joined Haley in 2015 when she announced the removal of the Confederate flag from the State House following the 2015 Charleston church massacre; the decision infuriated some conservatives. A white supremacist killed nine Black parishioners in that shooting.

Scott spoke out against some of Trump's racially offensive remarks and actions in measured tones. He said the president's moral authority" was compromised when Trump described very fine people on both sides after violence erupted between neo-Nazis and counter-demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

Some Democrats say Scott doesn't use his unique perch in the GOP often or vigorously enough.

Its one thing to speak out on issues of race," said Antjuan Seawright, a South Carolina-based Democratic consultant. But when you have the opportunity to do something about it, I think that you should take advantage of that, particularly when you are at the table.

Seawright also said GOP leaders seem to come to" Scott when racial issues arise. A Black man from the South. So you get those three things, thats like a political trifecta for Republicans."

No. 3 House Democratic leader James Clyburn of South Carolina told reporters last fall that Scott and the House's one Black Republican at the time sounds like tokenism."

But on Tuesday, Clyburn told reporters that Scott's selection to deliver the GOP response was a compliment and was good for their state, "irrespective of whether or not I agree with him."

Scott has long championed old-school conservative ideas such as tax breaks for companies investing in poor communities and federal aid that families could use for private schools. He has a solidly conservative voting record, backing Trump's Supreme Court nominees and the failed drive to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law.

Now, he's in the middle of talks on legislation revamping police procedures that have drawn intense public attention. The House approved a Democratic package in March ending protections individual police officers have against civil lawsuits, which Republicans are resisting.

Both sides express optimism that they can resolve disputes soon. History has its eyes on this moment, one negotiator, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told reporters.

Hes a good-faith actor, and hes also a Black man in America and knows a lot of these issues, personally, Booker said of Scott. So if anybody can get it done on his side, hes the right person to be negotiating.

___

Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
Amid a devastating surge in COVID-19 cases, the South Korean government has decided to provide medical supplies to India to prevent infected patients from succumbing to the virus. Several other countries have lent their support as COVID-19 figures in India have stretched their medical infrastructure to capacity. This came after India recorded 3,293 COVID-19 related fatalities.

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea said in a press release,

"Consultations are underway with the Indian side with regard to the specific medical items in need, such as oxygen concentrators. The Korean government will continue to closely cooperate with India, our Special Strategic Partner, in its fight against COVID-19."

According to a media report on Wednesday, health official Yoon Taeho, who made the announcement of aid for India, did not elaborate on the quantities of items South Korea would be consigning. The South Korean foreign ministry was quoted as saying that the amount of material would be considerable".

As India continues to grapple with an increase in demand of its health infrastructure needs due to the COVID-19 upsurge, World Health Organisation (WHO) had confirmed that it has bolstered its COVID-19 response to India by redeploying 2,600 health experts from other programs to counter the record-breaking consecutive single-day spike in cases and death toll. WHO spokesperson, in an email to CNN said,

"As is true in any country, WHO has said the combination of relaxing of personal protective measures, mass gatherings and more contagious variants while vaccine coverage is still low can create a perfect storm."

Amid raging COVID-19 figures, media reports, and gutting images of collapsing medical infrastructure, many countries have poured in their solidarity with India. Previously, United Kingdom, United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, European Union, Singapore, Bhutan amongst few others have come forward to provide assistance to India in procuring tonnes of liquid medical oxygen, transporting mobile oxygen plants, drugs, and vaccines against destructive COVID-19 second-wave. This would ensure requisite medical oxygen across states which are facing shortages. In the recent past, COVID-19 patients have succumbed to the virus due to a dearth of medical oxygen supply at hospitals.

COVID-19 tally in India

India witnessed a record single-day rise of 3,60,960 COVID-19 cases, which pushed the total tally to 1,79,97,267, while the death toll crossed 2 lakh following 3,293 fresh fatalities, according to Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease stands at 1,48,17,371, while the fatality rate stands at 1.12 per cent, as per the data updated at 8 am today.

Meanwhile, National Capital witnessed two depressed milestones on Tuesday  the highest number of fatalities in a day at 381 and the overall toll crossed the 15,000 mark. In the past 24 hours, 381 people succumbed to COVID-19, superseding the figure of 380 as recorded on Monday.

(With ANI Inputs)




Haiti - FLASH : Nearly a thousand Haitians escape military controls and enter Mexico





Nearly a thousand Haitian migrants with rucksacks on their shoulders, managed to illegally bypass military fences and checkpoints set up by the Mexican Government on the southern border with Guatemala (to prevent the spread of Covid- 19 and the increasing migration to the United States), arrived in the last hours in Tapachula, Chiapas.



Many Haitians gathered on Tuesday in front of the offices of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) to apply for a legal residence permit in the country.



In Comar, the process is slow and this leaves thousands of migrants from various countries in Central America and the Caribbean trapped in this region https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33574-haiti-mexico-2-459-haitians-applied-for-refugee-status-in-3-months.html



Men, women and children, of different nationalities in large groups, without sanitary measures, exceed the capacity of the COMAR authorities.



These events are occurring amid a record number of migratory flows, as evidenced by data from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which detained more than 172,000 undocumented migrants at the border with Mexico last March, of which nearly 19,000 were minors.



The National Migration Institute (INM) promised last week to install 17 shelters on the southern border, in the States of Chiapas and Campeche, to protect around 7,000 unaccompanied or accompanied minors. But in Tapachula, families with children under 5 still seek refuge throughout the city to avoid spending the night on the streets.



See also :/B>

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33574-haiti-mexico-2-459-haitians-applied-for-refugee-status-in-3-months.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31501-haiti-politic-mexico-expels-55-haitians.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33581-haiti-mexico-in-tijuana-haitian-refugees-live-in-an-overcrowded-and-unworthy-camps.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29945-haiti-social-mexico-repatriates-67-haitians-to-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-28679-haiti-mexico-haitians-and-africans-clash-with-tapachula-s-military.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-28169-haiti-politic-government-willing-to-collaborate-with-mexico-on-migration.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-28119-haiti-flash-haitians-mutinute-in-mexico-refusing-to-be-deported.html



S / HaitiLibre


















The Canadian border slammed shut to American tourists at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, and it's likely to stay that way for a while.

That appeared to be the consensus of business leaders on both sides of the border during a virtual panel discussion Wednesday morning.

First, Canadians largely oppose it, said Jean Charest, a former premier of Quebec who serves on a Wilson Center's Canada Institute panel studying how to reopen. A Leger poll taken last month showed 70 percent of Canadian respondents had concerns about reopening the border to Americans.

Charest said that, early on, Canadians were "smug" as their infection rates were well below those in the U.S. "The tables have turned," he said Wednesday, as a campaign to vaccinate Americans has reached a large share of the population. Meanwhile, Canadian infections are climbing as vaccine shortages slow progress.

On Wednesday, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported just 2.82 percent of Canadians were fully vaccinated, compared to 27.12 percent in the U.S.

The Leger poll results may have dampened enthusiasm at the national level for a quick border reopening, particularly if Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces re-election in the autumn. "Trudeau may want to delay any changes until after an election," Charest said.

South of that border, there's also a sense that newly elected President Joseph Biden hasn't made the Canada border reopening a top priority.

"We have to pressure our national governments to have a plan," said Charest. "We did not get the sense of urgency on both sides."

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, who co-chairs the Congressional Northern Border Caucus, spoke briefly before her connection to the virtual conference failed. An aide who filled in suggested business leaders could get the administration to focus on the issue.

"We're looking for more clarity ... on where we are in the process," Stefanik's aide said. "What can the public expect in the next couple of months?"

And Stefanik, in a follow-up video, echoed those comments.

"I have urged the Biden administration to make bilateral collaboration an immediate priority," Stefanik said.

Charest, meanwhile, said that governors and premiers were cooperating, but that "we need to have relationships at every level."

Impacts on both sides

Families remain separated, and while goods move back and forth across the border, workers and property owners often can't.

One red flag that popped up was Toronto's move to levy a non-occupancy tax on properties whose owners leave apartments or cottages vacant for a year or more. Vancouver previously instituted such a tax.

"If you're an American who owns a cottage in Canada, are you going to be taxed for not occupying it?" asked Charest. "Hopefully, the answer ... has to be no."

Garry Douglas, president and CEO of the North Country Chamber of Commerce in Plattsburgh, said businesses can't perform due diligence if they can't visit plant sites, while Charest said the border closing could have far-reaching effects.

"Business are going to make choices that are the consequence of a border closing," Charest said.

How long?

What will it take to reopen the border?

A certain level of vaccinations on both sides, a recent test for COVID-19, and a reduction to a certain level in infections and hospitalizations, will be required, officials agreed.

Then, said Charest, there'd also be the need to verify all this information at the border, perhaps a digital passport or similar tool.

Borders are a security issue, but crossing them should also be "as seamless as possible," he said. Above all, he pleaded, "we need a plan. Give us a plan. Give us a plan."

Wednesday's panel discussion included Charest, Stefanik, and Douglas, as well as Charles Milliard, president and CEO of the Federation des chambres

de commerce du Quebec.
Washington, April 28 : A US Navy patrol ship fired warning shots at Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels in international waters of the northern Persian Gulf, the Navy said.

Three IRGCN armed speed boats Monday rapidly approached US Navy patrol coastal ship USS Firebolt and a US Coast Guard patrol boat to "unnecessarily close range with unknown intent, including a closest point of approach of 68 yards (62 meters) to both US ships," the Navy said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The US crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loud-hailer devices, but the IRGCN vessels continued their close range maneuvers," the statement said. "The crew of Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the IRGCN vessels moved away to a safe distance from the US vessels." US media reported that it was the first time the US Navy had fired on Iranian vessels in nearly four years, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The incident also came amid indirect talks between the US and Iran in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments under the JCPOA in May 2019, one year after former US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/27/2021



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star Matt James and ex-girlfriend Rachael Kirkconnell reportedly "still have feelings" for each other but are not officially back together.Matt, 29, and Rachael, 24, were spotted hanging out together in California on Saturday, which sparked reconciliation rumors once again.Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone posted photos of the pair eating at Bear Flag Fish Co. in Newport Beach, and TMZ obtained pictures of Matt and Rachael at a bar called JuneShine with friends."Rachael and Matt have been spending the last week in Orange County together. They have been staying at a friend's house trying to be low-key," a source close to Matt told E! News.The source clarified, "They aren't back together, but definitely still have feelings."The hangout session came about a week after Us Weekly reported Matt and Rachael's relationship ended for good and they were "on non-speaking terms" after Matt was accused of two-timing Rachael with a woman named Grace from Florida and lying to both women."Matt felt horrible about what went down with him and Rachael recently and wanted to see her. He initiated the visit," the source explained.While Matt allegedly didn't reach out to Rachael during a visit to Atlanta over April 17 weekend to make amends, he reportedly contacted the Georgia native to meet up with him in California this past weekend.The source told E! News that Rachael was "very skeptical" of Matt's invitation but she ultimately "cares about Matt and wanted to hear what he had to say.""They are having a good time right now and everything feels back to normal between them," the source noted.Matt and Rachael fell in love on 's 25th season but then Matt said he broke up with the brunette beauty in mid-February after she apologized for racially-ignorant and racially-insensitive behavior over the last several years.Following their March appearance on : After the Final Rose, Matt stayed in touch with Rachael and allegedly told her that he still loved her and wanted to date her again, according to Carbone.Matt and Rachael therefore reunited in New York City on April 6. But just two days beforehand, Matt allegedly spent time in Miami, FL, and reached out to Grace, a woman he had dated before and after being named star last year.Carbone claimed in a recent Instagram Live session Matt had been "trying to hook up" with Grace in Miami and treated her like "a booty call."A source told Us earlier this month that Rachael thought she and Matt were on the track to getting back together but once she found out about Grace, she felt "manipulated" by her ex-boyfriend and "very emotional."Another insider echoed that sentiment and told E! News around the same time, "Matt and Rachael are no longer speaking and Rachael is really upset about the situation that happened.""She is devastated and feels totally played by Matt," the insider added. "Rachael really trusted that they could have a future together and is heartbroken."Although Grace and Matt did not actually meet up in Miami, Grace reportedly confronted Matt on the phone once she heard about Matt and Rachael's subsequent reunion in New York."Matt was flat out lying to [Grace's] face... He called Grace back and said, 'I would never try and get with you Sunday night if that were the case,'" Carbone claimed.A person close to Rachael reportedly made Rachael aware of Matt's alleged betrayal and then Rachael also demanded that Matt tell her the truth, which Carbone said resulted in Matt insisting Grace didn't mean anything to him and he just needed another body to fill out a table at a Miami club one evening.Not true, because when Grace told him, 'I'm not going to see you,' on [April 4 and] 'I don't want to go to a party,' [Matt] said, 'Well, maybe we can have time to ourselves,'" Carbone recalled."So it was clear Matt wanted to be with her on Sunday night, but she never did."The spoiler blogger added, "I just want to applaud Matt on the effort he's putting into playing two women at the same time."Despite Matt's denial about Grace, "Rachael essentially walked out on Matt and [said], 'We're done,'" according to Carbone."Matt got caught with his pants down and she left and called her [ ] girls and hung out with them... She left Matt's apartment in a huff very upset and crying," Carbone said.Rachael also reportedly contacted Grace directly to compare stories and the two women determined Matt had been playing them both.Grace later confirmed Carbone's reporting about her interactions with Matt when she participated in an Instagram Live session with the spoiler blogger, and the Us source claimed Grace totally "dropped [Matt]" after her findings.According to Carbone, early-April reports Matt was just hanging out with Rachael in New York as a supportive friend amid the fallout of her racism controversy "couldn't be further from the truth."Matt allegedly FaceTimed with Rachael every day following After the Final Rose and had every intention of reconciling with her until she discovered his alleged attempt to hook up with Grace."[Matt] has been up Rachael's ass for three weeks," Carbone argued on Instagram, elaborating, "[He's] been telling Rachael he wants to be back together with her and he wants to have a relationship with her."Carbone insisted, "The narrative him and his camp are spinning in the media right now is gaslighting, it's manipulative and it's bullsh-t... He's trying to cover his ass."Rachael was reportedly left feeling very hurt after the scandal but is doing well now."She's working on her mental health and getting into a much better headspace," the Us source said. "She's focusing on her own antiracism work and working on herself right now. She's not looking to jump into the dating field any time soon."When Grace shared her side of the story on Instagram Live with Carbone, she admitted Matt trying to spend time with her right before reuniting with Rachael "didn't sit right" with her.Grace said Rachael deserved to be made aware of Matt's behavior and she was the real "victim" in the situation."I'm completely fine... [but] when guys are two-timing you, it's just not okay. I hope [Rachael] finds someone better," Grace noted."At a certain point when you start changing your character and lying and gaslighting and doing all of these things to protect your image and your fame, that's sort of when I have an issue. All power to you if you go on the show for fame, but in Matt's case, it got to a point where it was a little too much."Matt previously said he had ended his romance with Rachael to allow her some space as well as an opportunity to educate herself on racism in America and "put in the work" to become a better person. Rachael, for instance, came under fire for posing in photos at an antebellum-themed "Old South" party at her Georgia college in 2018.Matt said during an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast last month, "You hear people harping on forgiveness and I forgave her when she told me [about her mistakes], but that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed and I don't want her to do better."Us recently reported Matt believes Rachael isn't a racist but he thought it "wasn't a good look for him to stay with her."Matt had suggested in multiple interviews, however, he wasn't necessarily permanently closing the door on his relationship with Rachael, who had called Matt "the love of my life" and defended star against bullying and harassment following the announcement of their split.Interested in more news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
Jaipur, April 28 : Bisleri has recently rolled out its new campaign "Samajhdaar Bisleri Peete Hai" which is not going down well with the teachers community of Rajasthan and Gujarat, who are openly criticising the campaign with a hashtag #BoycottBisleri, accusing the company of insulting the teachers with this ad.

While the company shows a teacher and a camel aiming at reinforcing consumers' trust and raise awareness about the difference between the original Bisleri and counterfeit alternatives in the market, the teachers on social media are pouring their heart out alleging that such advertisements are not acceptable as they degrade the nobility of their profession.

The TVC features Bisleri's Baadal (a camel) along with his thirsty teacher rider. At a shop, the shopkeeper hands him a local brand of bottled water despite him asking for Bisleri.

As the rider is about to drink the water, Baadal quickly intervenes and points out that what he is consuming may not be safe and directs him to a shop which sells the original Bisleri. The camel then declares, "Samajhdaar Bisleri Peete Hai", embarrassing his rider.

Darshan Menaria, president, RSTA from Udaipur, in his tweet said, "We the teachers of India condemn Bisleri for its disgraceful comments about teachers... The preceptor #ShameonyouBisleri #BoycottBisleri." Reena Yadav, another Twitter user who introduces herself as a lecturer-teacher-writer-poetess and nature lover, said, "This is not acceptable. This ad is disgusting and disrespectful for teachers. Don't degrade the nobility of this profession." She also used the hashtags #WithdrawBislerycamelschoolad, #boycottbisleriindia, #boycottbisleri.

Another Twitter user said, "I strongly oppose, condemn. Camels have special significance in Rajasthan in itself." "In such a way, the teacher is presented in front of a camel to degrade Indian culture by showing a negative mentality. The teacher is an environmental lover and nature worshipper," he said using the hashtag #BoycottBisleri.

There is no let up in the messages as another social media user said, "The current advertisement is totally against the teachers and educational system the company must apologise to the teachers fraternity and withdraw the advertisement."
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.

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Editors note: The following story contains content that could be upsetting to some readers.

A 40-year-old Caldwell man who pleaded guilty to various crimes related to a single victim was sentenced Tuesday to at least two years in prison for intimidating a witness, aggravated assault and violation of no-contact orders.

Brandon Hockenberry was arrested in May 2020 on battery and witness intimidation charges, according to court records. After a pretrial release, he was arrested again in January after police said they responded to a house in Caldwell where a woman said he had beaten her and threatened to kill her. The woman had visible wounds and bruises on her face and neck, according to police.

On New Years Day or Jan. 2, the same woman said Hockenberry followed her, choked her until she was unconscious and raped her in a field, police noted in a probable cause affidavit. The accuser told police that she had a no-contact order against Hockenberry. She reported trying to stab Hockenberry, but he then grabbed the knife and held it to her throat, she told police.

Hockenberry was charged with battery, attempted strangulation, assault, rape and a no-contact order violation. He initially pleaded not guilty to all charges and his bond was set at $1 million.

On Feb. 11, Hockenberry pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and a misdemeanor no-contact order violation, according to court records. In the ensuing months, prosecutors allege that Hockenberry repeatedly spoke on the phone with his victim, despite several no-contact orders.

Hockenberry was sentenced to 6 months in prison as part of a plea agreement that includes counts of witness intimidation, aggravated assault and two counts of misdemeanor no-contact violation. He was also sentenced to 18 months in prison on a felony no-contact violation.

In Idaho, conviction of violating a no-contact order for a third time results in a felony charge, according to state law.

Though the charges were spread between several cases, they were combined before sentencing under whats known as a global resolution, according to Joe Decker, a Canyon County spokesman. Hockenberry will serve the 6-month sentence and 18-month sentence consecutively. He will be credited for time already spent in jail.

Story continues

The sentencing came during a hearing in 3rd District Court on Tuesday, with Judge Andrea Courtney also ordering Hockenberry to pay $2,000 in fines, court costs, reimbursement of his public defender and a $500 civil penalty to his accuser.

The state also moved to dismiss counts of battery, attempted strangulation, aggravated battery, rape and other no-contact violations. Prosecutor Kara Przybos said at the hearing that Hockenberrys accuser had quit cooperating with the states case.

On Thursday, the court is set to consider a motion from the victim to drop a remaining no-contact order.
US President Joe Biden

Washington [US], April 28 (ANI): A bipartisan group of US Senators urged the Biden to impose additional sanctions on Myanmar's military junta over its February takeover of the government.

As reported by The Hill, six senators, led by Jeff Merkley and Marco Rubio, pressed Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a letter on Tuesday (local time) to "explore new avenues to support the people of Burma in their ongoing struggle for democracy in the face of escalating crimes against humanity."

"Since illegitimately seizing power in a coup on February 1, Tatmadaw forces have brutally murdered more than 700 protesters and detained or jailed thousands of innocent citizens across Burma. The innocent people of Burma - from children to senior citizens, journalists to teachers, not to mention already long-persecuted ethnic minorities like the Rohingya, Kachin and Karen who have been targeted by the military in the past - are at grave risk of increased violence as the military's campaign against the population continues," the group of bipartisan senators wrote.

While the members of the upper house applaud the Biden Administration's leadership in adding the Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited and the Myanmar Economic Corporation to the Treasury Department's list of targeted sanctions, the members of the upper chamber called for the administration to "explore new avenues to support" the people of Myanmar in their ongoing struggle for democracy in the face of escalating crimes against humanity being committed by the Myanmar military.

"In particular, we urge you to target or freeze all foreign currency revenues and foreign exchange reserves held in state accounts outside of Burma. As a first step, sanctions should be placed on the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), an agency within the Myanmar government's Ministry of Electricity and Energy which remains the largest source of foreign exchange for the Tatmadaw. MOGE is currently under the control of General Min Aung Hlaing, the coup leader, who has been sanctioned by the U.S. government," they wrote.

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The lawmakers also called for "the joint ventures involving multinational oil and gas companies pay revenue into a trust or protected account which is either held until such time as Burma has a legitimate and democratically-elected government or used for humanitarian purposes."

Beyond cutting off revenue to the MOGE, the senators also encourage additional efforts by the Treasury Department to maximize and focus its investigative capacity to identify and block any flow of resources to the Tatmadaw and its network of cronies, while minimizing unintended harm to the people of Myanmar.

"We also welcome the Administration's efforts to ensure that our allies and others in the region work in tandem with the United States to undertake similar concrete measures that close down other sources of revenue. Working in tandem with our allies and partners, we can ensure that the people of Burma soon enjoy the safe and democratic future they are currently risking their lives to demand," the senators stated.

According to The Hill, The Biden administration has already imposed a slew of sanctions on several Burmese entities, including Myanma Timber Enterprise and Myanmar Pearl Enterprise, two companies that oversee timber and pearl exports from Myanmar, and Myanma Gems Enterprise, a government-owned firm that oversees all gemstone activities in the country.

U.S. officials have sounded the alarm over the Feb. 1 takeover and the military's brutal campaign to crack down on subsequent protests.

Myanmar's military carried out a coup on February 1, arresting top officials over alleged electoral fraud and declaring a one-year state of emergency.

More than 3,400 people have been arrested since the protests began, and 755 have been killed, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which has been tracking the developments, as cited by The Hill. (ANI)
A magazine is loaded into a Sig Sauer P320 compact semi-auto pistol at a gun shop in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 13, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Arkansas Lawmakers Approve Bill to Block Federal Gun Restrictions, Gov. Says Hell Sign

Arkansas lawmakers on Wednesday approved a reworked bill that seeks to override federal gun restrictions, following objections to an earlier version of the measure on the part of the governor, law enforcement, and prosecutors, who argued some of its provisions posed a threat to public safety.

The bill invalidates in Arkansas any federal gun restrictions enacted on or after Jan. 1, 2021, that violate the constitutional right to bear arms.

The states Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson last week vetoed an earlier version of the bill, expressing concerns that prosecutors would be hamstrung in cases against violent criminals.

On Wednesday, both the Senate and House approved the reworked bill, with provisions that strengthen protections for law enforcement, sending the measure to Hutchinson for a signature.

While the reworked bill prohibits state or local officials from enforcing any federal restrictions that conflict with the state Constitutions right to bear arms, the measure does not prevent cooperation with federal authorities if the primary purpose isnt investigating or enforcing new federal gun restrictions.

The executive director of the Arkansas Sheriffs Association, which opposed the bill Hutchinson vetoed, said the group did not oppose the new measure.

Hutchinson said Wednesday that hell sign the bill when it reaches his desk.

It is tough and sends a message that we will protect the 2nd Amendment in Arkansas, but it supports law enforcement and will not jeopardize our critical partnerships in public safety, Hutchinson said in a statement.

Republicans in Arkansas and elsewhere have been pushing to block federal gun restrictions, citing fears of new gun control measures under President Joe Bidens administration. Similar bills seeking to nullify federal gun laws have been introduced in statehouses in more than a dozen states.

We are a country based on freedom and when our freedoms are threatened we must take action through the tools within our U.S. Constitution and our Arkansas constitution to protect those freedoms, Republican Sen. Missy Irvin, who sponsored the Arkansas bill, said before the Senate voted to approve.

Following two mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, Colorado, Biden and top Democrats said that its crucial to adopt new gun restrictions. Dozens of Democrat House members sent a letter to Biden several weeks ago, urging him to take executive action to ban concealable assault-style firearms such as the semi-automatic Ruger AR-556 pistol that was used in the Boulder shooting.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last week that Biden is looking to issue an executive order on gun control.

Jack Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The contentious Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021, has come into force. This Act gives precedence to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi over the elected government. According to this Act, the 'government' in Delhi is the 'Lieutenant Governor', says the law.

According to a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the provisions of this Act came into effect from April 27. The notification signed by additional secretary in the MHA Govind Mohan read, "In exercise of the powers by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act 2021 (15 of 2021), the Central Government hereby appoints the 27th April 2021 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force."

The Lok Sabha passed the bill on March 22, whereas the Rajya Sabha cleared it on March 24. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did not receive this announcement well. While AAP had said it would knock the doors of the Supreme Court against this bill, Kejriwal took to Twitter to express his disappointment.

"Rajya Sabha passes GNCTD Amendment Bill. Sad day for Indian democracy. We will continue our struggle to restore power back to people. Whatever be the obstacles, we will continue doing good work. Work will neither stop now slow down," tweeted Kejriwal.





RS passes GNCTD amendment Bill. Sad day for Indian democracy



We will continue our struggle to restore power back to people.



Whatever be the obstacles, we will continue doing good work. Work will neither stop nor slow down. a Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 24, 2021

Why is the GNCTD Act so contentious?

The Act equates 'government' in Delhi to the 'Lieutenant Governor'. This implies that the L-G will now have more powers than before. The bill is contentious as it may lead to decrease in the powers that rest with the Delhi chief minister.

The demarcation of powers between the L-G and the Delhi government is in line with a 2018 Supreme Court ruling, which held that though the Delhi government did not have to obtain L-G's concurrence on day-to-day administrative matters, it needed to keep the L-G office informed.

According to this legislation, the elected government will have to send its legislative and executive proposals to the L-G at least a fortnight in advance. In case, the L-G does not agree with the Delhi government, he can refer the bill to the Centre/President.

Besides, if the L-G considers a matter to be urgent, he can take immediate decision even if the matter is pending with the President.

This bill also gives the L-G the power to act according to his discretion in matters related to the All India (Civil) Services and the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which is not in the purview of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. According to this Act, validity of any decision taken by the L-G as per his discretion shall not be questioned.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal; with PTI inputs

Also read: India to get Sputnik V doses in May; 1st batch to be imported from Russia, says Dr Reddy's CEO

Also read: Indian economy to grow at 11% in FY22 amid 'strong' vaccine drive: ADB
ProStart, a two-year career and technical education program focused on culinary arts and restaurant management, is offered in 1,700 schools across the country and currently enrolls 130,000 students. This school year, ProStart educators have largely adapted to the COVID19 restrictions with a mix of virtual and in-person learning, posing challenges for students to learn the hands-on skills the program often requires. Funding from the RRF ProStart Grow Grants will enable schools to upgrade or purchase new resources, build up their classrooms in preparation for return to in-person learning, and support teachers with whatever they need to help their students learn career-building skills.

Over the past 15 years, more than 260 scholarships have been provided by Rachael Ray's Yum-o! organization and the Rachael Ray Foundation, totaling $1.8M in support to NRAEF scholarships and ProStart.

"ProStart educators and students have persevered through this difficult year and are continuing to pursue their passions for restaurants and foodservice against all odds" said Rachael Ray, award-winning television personality and philanthropist. "The Rachael Ray Foundation is proud to support their dreams to become future chefs and restaurateurs and provide them with the resources they need to be successful in their classrooms. We can't wait to see what these students will accomplish."

"The Rachael Ray Foundation is one of our most charitable partners, and with their support we are thrilled to offer these ProStart Grow Grants to 27 deserving schools," said Rob Gifford, president of the NRAEF. "This grant funding will ensure that students interested in restaurant and hospitality careers are getting the resources and tools they need to succeed in their classrooms and advance their futures as schools reopen and the restaurant industry continues to rebuild."

Winning schools awarded a ProStart Grow Grant were required to demonstrate how the program is positively impacting their students and the community. Grants are valued at $5,000 per school.

Winning schools include:

Blue Hills Regional Technical School Canton, MA Heartland Career Center Wabash, IN Northwest High School Grand Island, NE Summit High School Frisco, CO Chipley High School Chipley, FL Howard High School of Technology Wilmington, DE Pueblo East High School Pueblo, CO Taos High School Taos, NM Chugiak High School Chugiak, AK Kearny High School Kearny, NJ Pulaski County High School Dublin, VA Tiyan High School Barrigada, Guam Essex County School of Technology Bloomfield, NJ Lakeview Jr/Sr High School Campti, LA Ridgefield Park Jr/Sr High School Ridgefield Park, NJ Warrensville Heights High School Warrensville Heights, OH Greater Southern Tier BOCES Elmira, NY Lancaster High School Lancaster, TX Simon Sanchez High School Yigo, Guam Warsaw Community Schools Warsaw, IN Greene County CTC Waynesburg, PA Moody High School Moody, AL Southwest Career & Technical Education Center Gouverneur, NY Woodland Park High School Woodland Park, CO Harrisburg High School Harrisburg, SD Morris County Vocational School District Denville, NJ St. Georges Technical High School Middletown, DE



The winners will be able to use their funds from the Rachael Ray Foundation starting this year. To stay connected to how winners use their Grow Grants, follow the NRAEF's ProStart channels on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn and use the hashtag #ProStartGrowGrant.

About the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation

As the philanthropic foundation of the National Restaurant Association, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's mission of service to the public is dedicated to enhancing the industry's training and education, career development and community engagement efforts. The NRAEF and its programs work to Attract, Empower and Advance today's and tomorrow's restaurant and foodservice workforce. NRAEF programs include: ProStart  a high-school career and technical education program; Restaurant Ready  partnering with community based organizations to provide opportunity youth and previously incarcerated individuals with skills training and job opportunities; Military  helping military servicemen and women transition their skills to restaurant and foodservice careers; Scholarships  financial assistance for students pursuing restaurant, foodservice and hospitality degrees; and, the Hospitality Sector Registered Apprenticeship project  a partnership with the American Hotel & Lodging Association providing a hospitality apprenticeship program for the industry. For more information on the NRAEF, visit ChooseRestaurants.org.

About The Rachael Ray Foundation

The Rachael Ray Foundation (RRF) is a private foundation that is fully funded by the proceeds from the sale of Rachael Ray Nutrish. RRF was launched by Rachael in 2016 to better support the causes she cares for most such as helping animals in need. Additionally, RRF works with organizations that support the mission of Yum-o!, Rachael's 501c3, in order to bolster and amplify their efforts through additional funding. Yum-o! empowers kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking. It also teaches families to cook, feeds hungry kids, and funds cooking education, among other initiatives.

SOURCE National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation

Related Links

chooserestaurants.org


Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to a screen projection of Instagram logo on March 28, 2018. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

Facebook Extends Ban on Federal MP Craig Kelly to Instagram

Instagram, owned by Facebook, has banned Federal MP Craig Kelly only a day after the company banned the member of parliament on Facebook.

Prior to Kellys Instagram ban, the politician announced his plan to propose a Bill that would seek to rein in the power of Big Tech companies like Facebook.

The Bill would be based on a similar law passed recently in Florida that will penalise social media companies for removing political figures from their platform, with offenders expected to receive fines of around $100,000 for the banning of state-wide candidates.

The market power of the foreign-controlled tech-giants and their ability to censor political speech is an immediate and direct threat to our democracy, Kelly told The Epoch Times.

Facebook banned the main page of Kelly following controversial COVID-19-related posts that they claimed was not in line with official health guidelines.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies via video conference before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 29, 2020. (Graeme Jennings/Pool via Reuters)

According to Kelly however, Facebook had not responded to his requests for information regarding which posts led to the suspension of his account.

They have not even given the courtesy of a reply, said Kelly.

Previously, Kelly published several posts on data or studies that outlined alternative research to official Australian health guidelines.

Kelly denied claims that his posts were spreading misinformation, saying that his posts were merely a reflection of research done by scientists globally, not just in Australia.

Everything that Ive posted is 100 percent backed up by the science, the evidence, expert opinions of highly qualified people around the world, Kelly said.

Im quoting a doctor or a medical specialist that has a different opinion from another doctor or medical specialist. That doesnt make it misinformation; that makes it an alternative opinion, Kelly said.

A society where someone that has an alternative opinion to you is spreading misinformation is a fascist, totalitarian society.

Federal MP Craig Kelly, before addressing the media over his concerns with the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clotting during a press conference in the Mural Hall at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Mar. 16, 2021. (Photo by Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

While it is unclear why Kelly was banned specifically, some of his recent posts include reporting on rare blood clots following AstraZeneca vaccinations, both in Australia and abroad.

Kelly also made posts that linked to data in support of Ivermectin as an alternative form of treatment for COVID-19, a drug that has not been approved by the Australian Government Department of Health due to insufficient evidence.

According to Monash University, an Australian peer-reviewed study in April 2020 showed that a single dose of Ivermectin could stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus growing in cell culture but was not approved due to a lack of clinical trials.

In a post, Kelly linked an Ivermectin analysis website that lists 52 studies, of which 24 are peer-reviewed, detailing the effects of Ivermectin in early and late treatment of COVID-19.

Kelly had also proposed a No Vaccine Passports bill, with other remarks including opposing the need for children to wear masksa statement that drew backlash from the media.

A few months later, Kelly shared an article by the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), which said that YouTube took down an AIER-linked video containing comments by Harvard Professor Martin Kulldorff.

Children should not wear face masks, Kulldorff said. They dont need it for their own protection, and they dont need it for protecting other people either.

Kelly resigned from the Liberal Party in February and joined the crossbench following pressure on the government due to his views on COVID-19 treatments that were not approved by the Department of Health.

Kelly also regularly made posts condemning the Chinese Communist Partys influence in Australia, including criticising the Belt and Road initiative and Confucius institutes in Australian universities.

Kelly had one of the largest engagements of any Australian politician on Facebook, garnering around 1 million engagements per month.

Its just an appalling state of affairs that a foreign entity like Facebook would censor an Australian elected member of parliament, Kelly said.

A society where Facebook are the arbiters of truth is a very dangerous society.

Daniel Y. Teng, AAP, contributed to this report.
After sent a consignment of oxygen cylinders to support Indias pandemic response, Dr Maliki Osman, Singapore's Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, hailed the "close relationship" between the two countries.

Osman handed over Singapores humanitarian assistance to High Commissioner of the Republic of India, P Kumaran, earlier today at Paya Lebar Air Base. In his remarks, Minister Maliki reaffirmed the strong bilateral relations and highlighted that "Singaporeans stand in solidarity with our friends in India in their fight against the pandemic".

"This initiative, arranged at short notice, is testament to the close collaboration and partnership across multiple agencies on both sides. This initiative complements the numerous relief efforts and contributions in to bring humanitarian relief to India in this time of need," he said.

Two C 130 aircraft of the Republic of Air Force landed at Air Force Station Panagarh, West Bengal with 256 oxygen cylinders. The operation involved contactless offloading, flight planning and other ground operations. pic.twitter.com/ALAYonID7c  ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2021

"While our contribution is modest, we hope that it will bring comfort and relief to those in need and encourage those on the frontline in India, who are working tirelessly, to fight on," the minister further said."In addition, we hope that this will add momentum to the work undertaken by Singaporeans, our private entities, our civil society organisations, including the Singapore Red Cross, to contribute to Indias efforts against COVID-19," he added."The contribution represents our solidarity with India in its fight against the pandemic, and the least we could do after India helped the world in exporting vaccines and medicines, and keeping critical supply chains open since the start of the pandemic. It is a small contribution but we hope it will help support last-mile delivery of oxygen in India. As far as we are aware, Singapore is among the first countries to contribute cylinders at the Govt level. 7511 oxygen concentrators, 516 BiPAPs, and 256 oxygen cylinders have either arrived or are on their way to India ASAP. We have also facilitated the shipment of 8 cryogenic tanks with more on the way," said Singapore High Commissioner Simon Wong.
San Francisco, April 28 : Based on the company's ability to attract, develop and retain talent, Microsoft-owned professional networking platform LinkedIn on Wednesday named Amazon as the most desirable workplace in the US for 2021.

In the 2021 LinkedIn Top Companies List, Amazon was followed by Alphabet, JPMorgan Chase, AT&T and Bank of America as the top five.

Amazon is up from number 3 in 2019, the latest edition of this ranking.

This annual list uses data from LinkedIn's 740 million members across the globe to rank the most sought-after places to work for professionals in the US.

"We keep refining our Top Companies methodology each year," George Anders, senior editor-at-large for LinkedIn, said in a statement.

"Amazon's strong showing this year isn't just a tribute to how many different ways there are to make a career at the company. Our data shows that Amazon also is a standout in building employees' skills, year by year," Anders added.

LinkedIn's Top Companies list is designed to help professionals identify the best companies to grow their careers.

LinkedIn's methodology evaluates how companies attract and retain the best talent, including through promotions, funding opportunities for employees to learn new skills, gender diversity, and hiring people from all backgrounds and levels of education.

LinkedIn also looked at how much recruiters from other companies search for employees currently working at Amazon.

From corporate offices to fulfillment centers, Amazon is always looking for passionate, customer-obsessed people from diverse backgrounds to help us build the future, the report cited the company as saying.

Just this past year, Amazon created more than 400,000 jobs in the US and on-boarded tens of thousands of new employees virtually.
CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Machine Condition Monitoring Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis, by Monitoring Technique (Vibration Monitoring, Oil Analysis, Corrosion Monitoring), Monitoring Process, Deployment Type, Offering, Industry, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Machine Condition Monitoring Market size is projected to grow from USD 2.6 billion in 2021 to USD 3.6 billion by 2026; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.1% from 2021 to 2026. The growth of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market is majorly driven by significance of remote operations owing to spread of COVID-19, advent of secure cloud computing platforms used for machine condition monitoring, adoption of wireless communication technology in machine condition monitoring, inclination toward predictive maintenance of industrial machinery, and deployment of automated condition monitoring technologies in smart factories.

Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=29627363

Online Condition monitoring accounted for the larger size of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market in 2020.

Online condition monitoring accounted for the largest market in 2020. Online condition monitoring is an advanced monitoring process and it provides real-time plant data to operators, resulting in its higher adoption than portable condition monitoring process. Online vibration monitoring systems have applications in industries where a 24-hour production is required. In production-intensive industries, such as oil and gas, power generation, and mining and metals, failure of some devices leads to complete system overhauls, high repair costs, and an unsafe work environment. Thus, such industries require continuous monitoring of assets and machinery.

Oil and gas segment is expected to hold the largest size of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market in 2020.

Oil and gas segment is expected to hold the largest share in the Machine Condition Monitoring Market during the forecast period. The industry has been emphasizing increasing its profitability owing to the rising pressure of high operating costs of oil and gas plants. Fluctuations in oil prices in the global market are another factor contributing to the increasing pressure on the oil and gas industry to reduce its operating costs. Thus, this industry is expected to adopt condition monitoring systems and solutions to maintain the efficient working of its critical assets and reduce downtime. Moreover, the increasing demand for online condition monitoring solutions is expected to further drive the growth of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market for oil and gas industry. Though the oil and gas industry accounted for the largest share of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market in 2020, there was a sharp decline in oil prices owing to the COVID-19 in the same year. This may adversely affect the deployment of new machine condition monitoring systems and solutions in the oil and gas industry in 2021.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Machine Condition Monitoring Market"

218 - Tables

79 - Figures

293 - Pages

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https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=29627363

North America is projected to be the largest market for machine condition monitoring from 2021 to 2026.

North America accounted for the largest share of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market in 2020. Factors such as increased focus on optimum asset utilization; tight government regulations for workplace and personnel safety; and stringent quality control in the oil and gas, chemicals, and food and beverages industries drive the demand for machine condition monitoring systems and solutions in North America. The post-COVID-19 scenario is expected to be characterized by supply chain disruptions and suspension of commercial and industrial activities. Consequently, the demand for semiconductor devices in these segments is anticipated to reduce remarkably. The US, which is home to the majority of manufacturers of machine condition monitoring systems, has witnessed the impact of the COVID-19 on the production of sensors and other components owing to disruptions in the manufacturing activities caused by lockdowns and shutdowns of production facilities.

Emerson Electric Co. (US), General Electric Co. (US), Honeywell International Inc. (US), National Instruments Corp. (US), SKF AB (Sweden), ALS Ltd. (Australia), Wilcoxon Sensing Technologies Inc. (US), Parker Hannifin Corp. (US), Rockwell Automation Inc. (US), Schaeffler AG (Germany), Bruel & Kjaer (Denmark), Symphony Industrial AI Inc. (US), are some of the major players in Machine Condition Monitoring Market.

Related Reports:

Machine Safety Market with COVID-19 Impact, by Component (Presence Sensing Safety Sensors, Safety PLCs, Safety Modules/Controllers/Relays), Implementation, Application (Assembly, Packaging, Robotics), Industry, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

Vibration Monitoring Market by Component (Hardware and Software), System Type (Embedded Systems, Vibration Analyzers, and Vibration Meters), Monitoring Process (Online and Portable), Industry, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

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Solvang isnt in the clear, but City Manager Xenia Bradford said tax receipts have been on the upswing toward what she projected would be a th
SACRAMENTO, Calif.  For all the controversies and COVID-19 crises that now have Gov. Gavin Newsom of California facing a historic recall election, it was a pair of prosaic events on Nov. 6  a court hearing and a dinner  that led to the current political instability that will grip the state for months to come.

That Friday morning, a Sacramento Superior Court judge gave a small cadre of conservative Republicans four additional months to gather signatures for a petition to recall Newsom. The state felt the governor had such a compelling case that its lawyers did not even show up for oral arguments against the recall proponents, who said Newsoms pandemic restrictions had severely inhibited their ability to collect the nearly 1.5 million signatures required.

Then, that night, Newsom and his wife celebrated the birthday of Jason Kinney, a Sacramento lobbyist and longtime friend and adviser. The governor had recently urged residents to stay home amid fears of a holiday-season virus outbreak  but there he was in Napa Valley, schmoozing maskless at the French Laundry restaurant. Photographs of him mingling set off a fury up and down the state.

Within a month, a recall effort that had only managed to acquire roughly 4% of the necessary signatures was suddenly soaring, as major Republican donors sent money and the petition gained nearly 500,000 signatures.

With Mondays announcement that the recall has officially qualified for the ballot, California finds itself plunged into a political reversal-of-fortune scenario: A fading Republican Party that has not won a statewide election in 15 years is mounting a real challenge to a high-profile Democratic leader, in only the second recall election of a California governor in more than 80 years of attempts.

The recall effort has revealed that even a one-party stronghold like California can be rocked by the nations political polarization, as health emergencies and lockdown policies disrupt and divide a jittery public. It has also brought into relief the conservative vein that threads through the state, from the rural Far North, through the Sierra foothills, down the Central Valley and into the tile-roof-and-cinder-block tracts of the struggling Southern California exurbs.

The whole social reality is disturbing to a lot of people, said Jerry Brown, the former four-term governor of California, who said the recall effort also reflected anger at political leaders across the country. The destruction of so many businesses  theres an acceleration of instability and therefore in the confidence that millions of people have in their future. Thats then a breeding ground for hostilities. That certainly makes scapegoats very attractive.

The political targeting of Newsom comes as public schools have yet to fully reopen, leaving many children at home and many parents aggravated. Public school enrollment has dropped by more than 160,000 students, while the state has lost roughly 1.5 million jobs and unemployment remains at 8.3%, one of the highest rates in the country.

Theres a lot of frustration and rising anger on a variety of issues  jobs are leaving, homelessness is rising, so many parents across the state are furious, said Kevin Faulconer, the former mayor of San Diego and a Republican candidate for governor, who has made the slow reopening of public schools a central theme of his case against Newsom. I strongly believe that voters are looking for someone with common sense.

As a political force, Newsom has always been more inevitable than loved, a rich San Franciscan who has steadily climbed from political office to office and enjoyed long ties to Brown and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1 in California, and Newsom easily won the open governors seat in 2018.

Democrats still have a narrow window to block the recall, by convincing enough voters who signed the petition to withdraw their support, but even Newsoms aides have called that outcome unlikely. The Legislatures joint budget committee will also have to sign off on a California Department of Finance report on the cost of the special election, which Newsoms supporters estimate could be $100 million or more.

If those hurdles are cleared, as is widely expected, the recall would present Newsom with more political challenges and scrutiny than he has ever faced. Over the winter, his foes were already capitalizing on his every move.

As schoolchildren struggled with online instruction, recall supporters accused Newsom of coddling teachers unions. As small businesses withered, they pointed to Newsoms success as a wine merchant. When Newsom implied that his own children were being schooled virtually and it turned out that their private school had actually resumed in-person classes, his critics heckled his daily livestreams, accusing him online of French Laundry-style elitism.

Nor was he helped by a wave of fraud in the states pandemic unemployment insurance program in which death row inmates and international identity theft rings stole an estimated $11 billion to $30 billion. Or by a string of high-profile political vacancies that forced him to choose appointees from his own partys competing political factions.

The recall effort needed only to tap a portion of the 6 million Californians who voted to reelect Donald Trump  more Trump voters than even in Texas  to meet the signature qualifications. But actually recalling Newsom will prove far harder.

If the blue line of the Democratic Party holds for the governor, the pro-Trump Republican base would be easily outnumbered, and Newsom has been able to keep Democratic rivals off the recall ballot. The ultimate test would be turning out his voters, which would require not only the help but also the enthusiasm of critical constituencies such as organized labor.

Polls show a solid majority of support for Newsom, though some surveys indicate his standing may be soft among Latino voters. And some policies, such as a recent vow to gradually ban new fracking permits, have already put him on a collision course with unions that view the states fossil fuel industry through the lens of the higher-paying jobs it offers.

Californias politics are far left, but the state is predominantly blue-collar, said Erin Lehane, a Sacramento political consultant who works with unions. Those working families  those essential workers who have been out there this whole crazy year  will decide the vote in this recall.

Recall attempts are a political pastime in California, which, as a result of Progressive Era reforms passed in 1911, has some of the nations most generous rules for removing public officials from office. But initiatives to recall governors rarely manage to gather the support needed to make it onto a ballot.

California is enormous, with a population of nearly 40 million, and the funds and effort required to campaign statewide tend to thwart all but the most moneyed and determined critics. Only one other California governor, Gray Davis, has ever faced a recall election, which he lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003. That initiative struggled until Rep. Darrell Issa, who had hoped to replace Davis, donated $2 million to the campaign.

Newsom was a target almost from the moment of his election. Three groups had made five recall attempts against him by the time his critics began the current campaign. Their initial complaints were ideological. The lead proponent of this recall bid, a retired Republican sheriffs sergeant named Orrin Heatlie, took issue with the governors policies on the death penalty and immigration.

For a recall to qualify for the ballot, critics needed to gather valid signatures from 12% of the voters in the last election for governor. None of the petitions against Newsom came remotely close to that threshold until Judge James P. Arguelles  at that pivotal November hearing in Sacramento Superior Court  gave Heatlie and his California Patriot Coalition an extra four months to pass petitions.

This was the sixth recall attempt, said Nathan Click, a former spokesperson for the governor who is now helping run the campaign to defend him. Elections are about money and time. They would not have raised the money to get the signatures they did if the judge hadnt given them that extension. Without the time piece of this, theres no recall.

As the recall has become nightly grist on talk radio and conservative cable news shows, Newsom has gone on the offensive, guided by veteran Democratic strategist Ace Smith, who has handled past campaigns for Vice President Kamala Harris and Brown.

In March, Newsom delivered his State of the State address, a usually bland affair, with an empty Dodger Stadium as his backdrop, blasting the recall effort as a power grab by right-wing extremists trying to game the political system. And he has been touting his own successes. A shelter-in-place order issued early in the pandemic initially kept case rates remarkably low, and a program that leveraged federal money to provide quarantine space in motels for homeless people now offers thousands of Californians permanent supportive housing.

Helped by a Democratic White House and a multibillion-dollar state surplus  a result of the states heavy reliance on the kind of high-income earners whose jobs were generally untouched by the pandemic  he has dispensed state coronavirus relief worth $7.6 billion, rolled out more than 29 million vaccine doses and recalibrated health guidelines to prod teachers back into classrooms.

Governor Newsom thinks time is his best friend, said Joe Rodota, who worked as an aide to former Republican governors Pete Wilson and Schwarzenegger.

Already, the state is recovering, as are Newsoms approval ratings. A recent poll by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that about 56% of likely voters in the state do not support the recall. Unemployment, while high, has fallen steadily, Disneyland is set to reopen Friday, and the rate of new coronavirus cases in California is among the nations lowest.

Meanwhile, his allies, including those in the Biden administration, have managed to keep Democrats in line  a feat that Davis was unable to pull off. Some influential Republicans, too, are remaining on the sideline. Schwarzenegger has said he will remain neutral.

We have 40 million people in this state, Schwarzenegger said last week. I think theyre smart enough to figure out which direction to go. And how far they want to go  is this just going to be a threat? Get your act together and were going to back off? 

If so, he added, the recall proponents were, in a way, very successful  because he definitely got more engaged in the last few months.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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Boeing Co said on Wednesday it paused 737 MAX deliveries over an electrical issue that has partly re-grounded the fleet, and sounded notes of caution over surging coronavirus cases in India and simmering U.S.-China geopolitical tensions.

Boeing's shares fell nearly 3% after the U.S. planemaker reported its sixth straight quarterly loss and a charge on its high-profile Air Force One presidential jet program.

The smaller loss and a barrage of technical and financial challenges clouded optimism over a resurgent U.S. domestic travel market fueled by vaccinations and pent up demand.

"We view 2021 as a critical inflection point for our industry," Chief Executive Dave Calhoun told analysts on a conference call.

Boeing has paused 737 MAX deliveries to address the electrical issues, and expects to "catch up on deliveries over the balance of the year," Calhoun added. He also said he expects China to lift its grounding order on the 737 MAX in the second half of 2021.

But Calhoun earlier told CNBC he could not predict when the 737 MAX's electrical grounding issue would be resolved, and doubled down on caution over the long-off recovery of travel, citing the pandemic's impact and relations between Washington and Beijing.

Boeing has delivered more than 85 737 MAX jetliners, out of a backlog of some 400 jets, since it was cleared by most regulators to re-enter service late last year following two fatal crashes, lifting revenue and cash flow.

But Boeing's workhorse for short-haul travel remains banned in the rebounding China market, where Boeing remains exposed to long-simmering geopolitical tensions that have continued under U.S. President Joe Biden.

A new electrical grounding problem found on some models of the jet earlier this month has also cast a shadow on Boeing's freshly re-affirmed plans to increase 737 MAX production to 31 planes per month by early 2022. Airlines have pulled dozens of 737 MAX jets from service, awaiting repairs.

Last week, Boeing said it extended its required retirement age of 65 to 70 to allow Calhoun, 64, to stay in the top job.

Calhoun aims to stay in the role until he is 70, insiders say. His decision surprised many in the industry who saw him as a shorter-term crisis manager and triggered the upcoming exit of Boeing's well-regarded CFO and heir-apparent for the job, Greg Smith, 54.

Boeing also reaffirmed a sharply-reduced production rate of five 787 jetliners per month after consolidating production at its South Carolina factory.

It is facing reduced demand due to the pandemic's impact on longer-haul travel, and a growing price tag for 787 retrofits due to production defects embedded in dozens of the advanced carbon-composite jetliners.

It still expects to deliver the first 777X mini-jumbo in late 2023 despite certification and design challenges, with a combined output of the new 777X and its 777 legacy model of two a month.

The U.S. planemaker reported a core operating loss of $353 million in the first quarter, its sixth-straight quarterly loss, compared with a loss of $1.70 billion a year earlier.

Boeing recorded a $318-million pre-tax charge related to Air Force One presidential aircraft.

Boeing sued supplier GDC earlier this month for failing to complete interior work on the two heavily modified 747-8 Air Force One planes. GDC countersued, seeking at least $20 million for cancelling the contracts. GDC Technics filed for bankruptcy on Monday.

In July 2018, Boeing received a $3.9-billion contract to build two 747-8 aircraft for use as Air Force One, due to be delivered by December 2024.

In the quarter, Boeing completed a hot-fire engine test on NASA's forthcoming SLS rocket and started production on the U.S. Air Force's new trainer jet.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Nick Zieminski)
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that countries around the globe have failed to help avert the "tragic" coronavirus outbreak that is now overwhelming India, and he singled out wealthy nations for not providing equitable access to vaccines and treatments.

"The only way that you're going to adequately respond to a global pandemic is by having a global response, and a global response means equity throughout the world," Fauci told the Guardian Australia.

"And that's something that, unfortunately, has not been accomplished," he added. "Often when you have diseases in which there is a limited amount of intervention, be it therapeutic or prevention, this is something that all the countries that are relatively rich countries or countries that have a higher income have to pay more attention to."

India recorded 360,960 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, according to health ministry data, yet another new daily global record, the Guardian reported.

The latest epidemiological update from the World Health Organization (WHO) issued on Tuesday said COVID-19 cases increased globally for the ninth consecutive week, with nearly 5.7 million new cases reported, the Guardian reported. India alone recorded nearly 2.2 million new cases in the past weeka 52% increase.

Although the WHO is trying to support India through the Covax initiativea global program aimed at ensuring countries most in need get access to vaccines and other treatments"we have to do even more than that," Fauci added.

"The United States has really revved up their activity in helping out India we're sending oxygen, remdesivir, personal protective equipment, a variety of other medications and soon we'll be sending vaccine to help out," he noted.

"So I think that that's a responsibility that the rich countries need to assume. Right now it's a terrible tragic situation where people are dying because there's not enough oxygen, where there's not enough hospital beds," he noted. "We have to try, looking forward, to get as much equity when it comes to public health issues as we possibly can, because we're all in this together. It's an interconnected world. And there are responsibilities that countries have to each other, particularly if you're a wealthy country and you're dealing with countries that don't have the resources or capabilities that you have."

While the rapid rollout of the vaccination program in the United States has triggered a drop in new infections, there were still 406,000 new cases reported in the United States in the past week, the Guardian reported.

"This is such an important and challenging situation we're dealing with right now," Fauci said. "I'm devoting all of my attention, all of my energy, 24/7, on trying to get control of this terrible outbreak that we're experiencing, not only here in the United States, but throughout the world."

US to Share 60 million vaccine doses with other countries

As coronavirus cases surge around the world, the White House said Monday that the United States will share up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine with other countries.

The announcement came as India's health system showed signs of collapse amid a soaring case count. The AstraZeneca vaccine will be shipped out once it clears federal safety reviews, The New York Times reported.

Biden Administration officials noted that the move will not affect the United States' national vaccination drive.

"We do not need to use AstraZeneca in our fight against COVID," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a media briefing, the Washington Post reported.

The latest decision represents a shift for the White House, which has been reluctant to make extra doses of coronavirus vaccine available in large amounts.

Unlike the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, AstraZeneca's vaccine has not yet been granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and U.S. officials would not say which countries will receive it once it is approved, the Times reported.

Jen Psaki said about 10 million doses could be released "in the coming weeks" if the FDA determines that the vaccine meets "our own bar and our own guidelines," and that another 50 million doses are in various stages of production, the Times reported.

Although many countries are desperate for vaccines, AstraZeneca's shots may not be their first choice, as the vaccine has faced concerns about rare blood clots and its effectiveness against variants, the Post reported.

The European Union (EU) is suing the company for missed delivery targets, and South Africa stopped using the vaccine after a small trial found it was not effective against the dominant variant in the country. The EU also temporarily paused distribution of the vaccine while it investigated the blood clots associated with it, before ultimately resuming injections.

In a statement, a spokesperson for AstraZeneca said the company would not comment on specifics, but that "the doses are part of AstraZeneca's supply commitments to the U.S. government. Decisions to send U.S. supply to other countries are made by the U.S. government," the Times reported.

Millions of Americans have missed their second COVID shot

More than 5 million Americans have missed the second dose of their COVID-19 vaccine, new government data shows.

The number of vaccine recipients who missed their second dose now stands at nearly 8%, more than double the rate seen among people who got inoculated during the first several weeks of the national vaccine campaign, the Times reported.

Already, millions of people are wary about getting vaccinated at all, and now local health authorities are struggling to make sure that those who get their first shot also get their second.

"I'm very worried, because you need that second dose," Dr. Paul Offit, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory panel, told the Times.

Why the missed second shots?

Some said they feared the side effects, which can include flu-like symptoms, while others said they felt they were sufficiently protected with a single shot. But a surprising hurdle has also surfaced: A number of vaccine providers have canceled second-dose appointments because they ran out of supply or didn't have the right brand in stock, the Times reported. Walgreens, one of the biggest vaccine providers in the United States, sent some people who got a first shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to get their second doses at pharmacies that only had the other vaccine on hand, the newspaper said. Several Walgreens customers said they scrambled to get the correct second dose, but others likely gave up, the newspaper added.

Public health officials had worried from the start that it would be hard to get everyone to come back for their second shot, and now some state officials are scrambling to keep the tally of partly vaccinated people from swelling.

Compared with the two-dose regimen, a single shot triggers a weaker immune response and may leave some people more susceptible to dangerous virus variants, the Times said. And though a single dose provides some protection against COVID-19, it's not clear how long that protection will last.

While millions of Americans have missed their second shots, the overall rates of follow-through, with some 92 percent getting fully vaccinated, are strong by historical standards, the Times noted. As of Wednesday, nearly 142 million Americans had received their first shot, while 96.7 million have gotten their second, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, the U.S. coronavirus case count neared 32.2 million on Wednesday, while the death toll topped 573,000, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, nearly 149 million cases had been reported by Wednesday, with over 3.1 million people 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.
LONDON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Licel is pleased to announce that it has appointed the experienced cybersecurity business advisor, Andy Williams, to its Advisory Board. Williams will work with Chairman, Matthias Duensser, to provide strategic direction during what is expected to be a period of fast-paced growth for the company.

The global app protection company, Licel , already boasts more than a thousand customers in over 70 countries. But these figures are set to rise in 2021 as the business targets ambitious growth. For Licel CEO Ivan Kinash, the company's Advisory Board is a key facilitator of this strategy:

"Partnerships with industry experts like Matthias and Andy are vital for expanding our presence in key industries such as Finance, Healthcare, and the Public Sector. Their complementary skillsets and experiences can help us to drive growth as we explore new markets and opportunities in the coming months and years."

Matthias Duessner, who has been supporting Licel's growth strategy since 2019 and now acts as Chairman of the Advisory Board, is an experienced leader in the security software industry. He played a key role in the creation of the first RFID-enabled public key crypto chip used in public transport AFC systems. He then built on this technology, founding a company that used a certified embedded solution for electronic passports and ID documents. It became the global leader with more than 170m licensed products across 65 countries.

"We're living at a time where applications are fast becoming many companies' most important assets," Matthias said. "That's why equipping them with robust security is so important. I'm excited at the prospect of working alongside Andy and playing a strategic role in introducing Licel's vital app-protection products to new markets."

Andy Williams has acted as a strategic advisor to cybersecurity leaders in international business development. He has served in both the US and UK governments as an international trade adviser on cybersecurity matters. This included a spell as the UK cyber trade envoy to the US in Washington DC from 2015 to 2017.

"I'm delighted to be joining Licel's Advisory Board at such an exciting time for the company," Andy said. "With 9 million mobile apps in the world and global app revenues projected to reach a trillion dollars by 2023, there has never been a greater need for effective mobile application security. Licel's powerful in-app protection and real-time threat tracking solutions put the business in a great position to build substantially on its existing success."

Licel is a leading application security company. The home of DexProtector, the company's sophisticated protection techniques keep apps safe for millions of end users around the world.

Find out more about Licel .

Follow Ivan Kinash on LinkedIn .

Matthias Duessner is a leader in the development of sophisticated security for the smart card industry.

Follow Matthias Duessner on LinkedIn .

Andy Williams is an experienced advisor in the fields of cybersecurity, commerce, and innovation.

Follow Andy Williams on LinkedIn .

Media contact:

Tom Cross

[email protected]

+1.650.488.8366

SOURCE Licel
Paris, TX (75460)

Today

Isolated thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 69F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Isolated thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 69F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
SEVEN HILLS, Ohio -- What began with Hillside Middle School counselor Kasey Kellem sending a Christmas card to a former Normandy High School student serving overseas has grown into a memorable project for all involved.

I still kept in touch with Normandy High School Class of 2010 graduate Ryan Chambers through Facebook, so I sent him a Christmas card in December, Kellem said.

When I got a postcard from Ryan thanking me for the card, I thought, wouldnt it be neat if more people sent him messages and letters?

At that point, Kellem reached out to the schools language arts teachers about the idea.

Earlier this month, Hillside Middle School students sent more than 200 letters to U.S. Navy Lt. Chambers, who is currently serving at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Upon receiving the letters, Chambers shared them with his naval hospital staff members.

Receiving the letters from the students at Hillside Middle School was a wonderful surprise, said Parma native Chambers, whose mother, Mary Kay, works as a Hillside Middle School special education assistant.

It was a really nice reminder for a lot of the sailors here without their families that there is still a ton of support for them back home, he said.

The kindness Mrs. Kellem, Mrs. (Connie) Loescher, Mrs. (Thadda) Layhew, Mrs. (Allie) Krupp and all of their students showed us was a gesture that really brightened everyones week here at the command.

Hillside Middle school students sent more than 200 letters to Normandy High School Class of 2010 graduate and U.S. Navy Lt. Ryan Chambers, who is stationed at Guantanamo Bay. (Photo Courtesy of Parma City Schools)

Kellem said the kids really connected with the concept of someone who was from their area not only serving overseas, but also due to COVID-19 not being able to come home for a visit in more than a year.

The kids were really receptive and enjoyed having the opportunity to reach out to one of Parmas own graduates and students, Kellem said. It was eye-opening.

I know the teachers talked in-depth to the kids about their service, COVID and its impact on these service members. Their letters were sweet and heartfelt. It was a really positive and nice experience for all of them.

One of the students who participated in the letter-writing campaign was seventh-grader Isabel Kroth.

This project made me realize how lucky I am to be able to see my family, because some people cant, Isabel said. It also gave me a chance to write down all the things that have happened this year and reflect on the crazy year.

Ive not been able to see my friends, so I related to who I was writing to on some level. I enjoyed this project because it made me think.

In the same way that Hillside Middle School every year reaches out to veterans to visit students around Veterans Day, Kellem said its possible the letter-writing campaign for overseas armed forces members could become a tradition.

These kids are really well aware of our service members and all that they offer our country and the sacrifices they give, Kellem said.

Read more news from the Parma Sun Post.
Press officers for the F.B.I. and the U.S. attorneys office declined to comment.

The investigation of Mr. Giuliani grew out of a case against two Soviet-born men who aided his mission in Ukraine to unearth damaging information about Mr. Biden and his son Hunter, who was on the board of an energy company there. Prosecutors charged the men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, and two others with unrelated crimes in 2019, and a trial is scheduled for October.

Prosecutors have examined, among other things, Mr. Giulianis potential business dealings in Ukraine and his role in pushing the Trump administration to oust the American ambassador to the country, a subject of testimony at Mr. Trumps first impeachment trial.

As he was pressuring Ukrainian officials to investigate the Bidens, Mr. Giuliani became fixated on removing the ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch, whom he saw as an obstacle to his efforts. At the urging of Mr. Giuliani and other Republicans, Mr. Trump ultimately ousted Ms. Yovanovitch.

Prosecutors have explored whether Mr. Giuliani was working not only for Mr. Trump at the time, but also for Ukrainian officials or businesses who wanted the ambassador to be dismissed for their own reasons, according to people briefed on the matter.

It is a federal crime to try to influence or lobby the United States government at the request or direction of a foreign official without disclosing it to the Justice Department. At least one of the search warrants for Mr. Giulianis devices explicitly stated that the possible crimes under investigation included violations of that law, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, according to one person with knowledge of the matter.

Prosecutors have scrutinized Mr. Giulianis dealings with Yuriy Lutsenko, one of the officials who helped Mr. Giuliani and his associates in their efforts to tar Mr. Biden while also urging them to work to get the ambassador removed.

Among other things, prosecutors have examined discussions that Mr. Giuliani had about taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars in apparently unrelated consulting business from Mr. Lutsenko, which resulted in a draft retainer agreement that was never executed.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Based on what we know so far, the chances of developing a serious problem are roughly the chances you'll be struck by lightning this year. That's one reason why, after a thorough review, a panel of experts determined that the benefits of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine greatly outweigh its risksespecially for certain groups.

The concerns surrounding the vaccine are related to an extremely rare and serious blood clotting issue. At the time the expert panel met last week, this issue had been reported in 15 peopleout of nearly 8 millionwho had recently had the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

"Those numbers may change as we monitor for more cases, but we know the risks of COVID are much worse," said Angela Branche, M.D., infectious disease expert and co-director of the URMC Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit. "Your chance of being hospitalized for COVID is about 100 in 500,000. Your chance of dying from COVID is 15 in 500,000. And this vaccine is 100 percent effective at preventing both of those outcomes."

These are the sorts of calculations the panel used to decide that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should continue to be used in people over 18 years of age in the U.S. The expert scientists and doctors from the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weighed the risks and benefits of the vaccine both on the public and on individuals.

According to careful forecasting by CDC scientists, reinstating the vaccine for everyone over 18 could lead to as many as 45 blood clotting cases in the next six monthswhich experts hope will be easier to catch and treat now that we know what to look for. On the other hand, if the vaccine was no longer used, we could expect an extra 800 to 3,500 people ending up in the ICU with COVID and an extra 600 to 1,400 COVID deaths in a six-month span.

Risk also appears to vary by age and gender. Men and people over 50 have almost no risk of developing this clotting condition. The vast majority of cases reported so far have occurred in women of child-bearing agea group that is generally more prone to clotting. While women 18 to 50 years old bear the brunt of the risk, that risk is dwarfed by the vaccine's ability to prevent COVID deaths.

As of today, according to the CDC, the COVID death toll has topped 569,000 in the U.S. That's like losing more than 12 Yankee Stadiums or 15 Fenway Parks full of our fellow citizens in a little over a year.

And that's just the U.S. In order to end this pandemic and get back to normal, we need to think globally. The longer the virus can spread here and in other countries, the greater the risk that a variant could emerge that evades current vaccines, potentially resetting the clock on the pandemic.

"We can't vaccinate the world without this," said Ann R. Falsey, M.D., infectious disease expert and co-director of the Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit at URMC, referring to the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine. "The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines come with storage challenges that make it harder to get to certain vulnerable populations, like people who are homeless or homebound or incarcerated."

Coincidentally, the people who are hardest to reach with other vaccines are also most at-risk for bad COVID outcomes. These populations stand to benefit most from the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, because it only requires a single shot and can be stored under regular refrigeration for several months, making it easier to distribute to hard-to-reach and underserved areas of our nation and others.

"The bottom line isthis vaccine is still safe and has already saved many lives and will save many more," said Falsey. "The fact that we paused and examined this risk demonstrates the abundance of caution we take when we are studying and implementing new vaccines or therapies and shows that our safeguard systems work."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
NORTHVILLE, MI  A former Michigan school administrator has pleaded guilty to obstructing a federal grand jury investigation.

Deanna Barash, 46, of Auburn Hills, faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Barash, then the Assistant Superintendent of Northville Public Schools, approved a contract for NPS to purchase educational materials from a third-party without disclosing to NPS that she had a financial relationship with the party.

After Barash left NPS, school officials learned about the contract and made Barash aware that they were reporting her actions to authorities. Barash then deleted certain emails between herself and the third-party from her private email account.

In an interview, Barash lied to federal investigators about her actions. She originally claimed that she deleted the email messages only as part of her regular routine, but later admitted she deleted the messages because she learned she was under investigation and was attempting to keep investigators from seeing them.

Safeguarding the integrity of our public schools expenditures is of the utmost importance, said Acting United States Attorney Saima S. Mohsin in a statement.

We will continue to work with school systems when there are concerns of corruption or fraud related to the disbursement of their funds. Todays guilty plea underscores our offices commitment to hold people accountable for interfering with these and other federal investigations.

Barashs sentencing is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Aug. 25. Mohsin was joined in the announcement by Timothy Waters, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit, Michigan office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Deanna Barash used her position as the assistant superintendent of Northville Public Schools for her own financial gain, and then attempted to avoid accountability by destroying evidence of her wrongdoing, Waters said. The FBI is committed to preserving the publics confidence in government at every level and will hold accountable any public official who undermines that confidence.

Mohsin also thanked the Northville Public Schools for its cooperation in the matter.
By Edward McKinley | Times Union, Albany

Albany, N.Y.  The state Senates Democratic Majority Conference announced it will move Wednesday to suspend several executive orders that had been issued by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo during the coronavirus pandemic, including a rule requiring restaurants to serve food to any patrons ordering alcoholic beverages.

The Legislature had granted Cuomo sweeping powers to temporarily amend state law as the pandemic struck New York 13 months ago. He has used that authority to shut down and reopen the economy, implement restrictions and capacity limits on businesses, administer the vaccination roll out and handle all other related matters to COVID-19.

A statute passed in 1979 empowered the governor to temporarily suspend any statute, local law, ordinance, or orders, rules or regulations, or parts thereof for a period of 30 days. But as the coronavirus pandemic took hold last year, the Legislature gave Cuomo the ability to issue any directive ... necessary to cope with the disaster.

Those powers were partially rolled back last month with Cuomo facing controversies including his administrations handling of nursing homes, allegations that state health officials prioritized testing for the governors family members in the early days of the pandemic, accusations that Cuomo engaged in systemic sexual harassment, and the cover-up of structural issues with the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. More than half of the members of the Legislature have called for Cuomo to resign  most citing the sexual harassment allegations.

Republican members of the Legislature have pressed aggressively on the restaurant restrictions, saying that the supposed repeal of Cuomos emergency powers was a political show and left him with all the same functional powers he had before.

The expected action Wednesday from the Senate marks the first action to overturn Cuomos executive orders since the beginning of the pandemic, although the Legislature has for the entire time retained the ability to overrule the governor with a majority vote. Three orders will be suspended: the food-with-drinks at restaurants, regulations and restrictions on the vaccine roll out, and an order that exempted voluntary government consultants from the states disclosure requirements for public officials.

That last exemption was enacted, in part, because Cuomo had brought on many former aides to serve in his administration on a volunteer basis, including many assigned to his coronavirus task force. But some officials expressed concern that those officials could have undisclosed interests with businesses or entities that may do business with the state, including for pandemic-related services.

As more New Yorkers continue to get vaccinated, and our infection rates continue to decline, it is time to begin removing certain restrictions and regulations that are no longer necessary, so we can safely reopen and rebuild our states economy, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins wrote in a statement accompanying the announcement.

The Senates announcement said the conference will continue to review existing directives that can be removed as session continues.

Sen. John Mannion, a Syracuse Democrat, quickly followed the announcement with a statement of his own, saying: Ive been calling for an end to arbitrary restrictions like food with alcohol for months. It never made sense. The arbitrary curfew should be the next thing to go.
[April 28, 2021] Rokt appoints Chief People Officer to accelerate global growth goals

Rokt brings on highly-skilled People leader, Sarah Wilson, as Chief People Officer NEW YORK, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rokt , the global leader in e-commerce technology, today announced the addition of Sarah Wilson as Chief People Officer. Wilson will lead the design and execution of Rokt's People strategy, which includes talent acquisition and development, performance management, and inclusion in the workplace. Wilson joins the team at an exciting time, as Rokt sets ambitious recruitment and global growth goals after its recent US$80M Series D funding last October. Prior to joining Rokt, Sarah led the People function at SmartRecruiters, an HR technology startup in the Bay Area. After starting her career in contingency search, Sarah spent 15 years in the Talent Acquisition and HR space, consulting for top-tier brands on their talent strategies. Sarah has a tack record of delivering unconventional, business-first programs that drive performance, engagement, and innovation.



CEO Bruce Buchanan remarked on this appointment, "We are thrilled to have Sarah on board. Sarah shares our values around peoplepeople first, transparency, diversity, and the importance of strong people leaders. She also brings the expertise we need to tackle the challenges that come with our hyper-growth." "I am thrilled to join Rokt, a company that truly believes in talent as a competitive advantage," said Wilson. "I am looking forward to leveraging my experience to unleash the potential of our people and to be a part of building the future fabric of the culture at Rokt."

Rokt continues to invest in strengthening the executive team. Sarah's appointment comes shortly after the announcement of Hunter Yaw as Rokt's Chief Product Officer . Rokt has transformed e-commerce in 16 countries by using machine learning to serve up personalized and relevant experiences when consumers are buying online, unlocking the hidden potential in every Transaction Moment . For more information on Rokt, please visit rokt.com . For more information on the announcement, please contact press@rokt.com . ABOUT ROKT Rokt is the global leader in e-commerce technology, powering the Transaction Moment of best-in-class companies including Live Nation, Groupon, Staples, Lands' End, Fanatics, GoDaddy, Vistaprint, and HelloFresh. Rokt's mission: To make e-commerce smarter, faster, and better. Through its proprietary technology, Rokt enables its e-commerce clients to increase brand engagement and unlock new revenues in the Transaction Moment, allowing them to stay ahead of their competition while delivering a superior and individualized experience for each customer. Founded in Australia, the company now operates in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Japan. Learn more at rokt.com. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1494717/Sarah_Wilson_Final_Headshots4.jpg

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Indianas governor asked a court Tuesday to block a new law that legislators passed giving themselves more authority to intervene when the states chief executive declares an emergency.

Lawyers for Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb filed a lawsuit in Marion County court challenging the law that the Republican-dominated Legislature enacted 12 days earlier over his veto. The Republican state attorney general, however, indicated he could try to sideline the court fight in favor of the Legislature.

The measure establishes a new process under which legislative leaders can call the General Assembly into what it calls an emergency session. The governors lawsuit argues that the Legislature is usurping a power given exclusively to the governor under the Indiana Constitution to call lawmakers into a special session.

This controversy must be resolved as soon as possible or the consequences could be severe, including disruption to Indiana and the proper functioning of state government  something that concerns every Hoosier, the lawsuit said.

Republican legislators pushed the bill after criticism from many conservatives over the mask mandate and other COVID-19 restrictions that Holcomb imposed by executive order with the General Assembly not meeting for about nine months after its 2020 session ended. Similar debates are occurring in states across the country.

Republican legislative leaders have said they expected a court challenge to the emergency session plan. Theyve maintained that the measure wasnt anti-governor and have praised Holcombs handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which health officials say has killed more than 13,000 people in the state.

Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray and House Speaker Todd Huston, who are both named as defendants in the lawsuit, said in statements that Holcomb has been clear on his intent to challenge the new law.

We are in consultation with the Indiana Attorney Generals Office on what the next steps will be in this matter, Huston said.

Holcombs lawsuit argues that any use of the law would be disruptive and that the measure causes uncertainty and confusion over the constitutional powers of the Executive and Legislative Branches.

I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the State of Indiana and I have an obligation do so, Holcomb said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. This filing is about the future of the executive branch and all the governors who will serve long after Im gone.

The lawsuit could be challenged on procedural grounds as state law gives the attorney generals office authority over lawsuits filed on behalf of state agencies.

Attorney General Todd Rokita, who was a rival to Holcomb for the 2016 Republican nomination for governor, said during last years election campaign that he supported curtailing the governors emergency powers and avoided defending Holcomb from conservative critics of his coronavirus restrictions.

Rokita said in a statement that he denied the governors request to hire private lawyers for the case, saying he was fulfilling a key function of his office to set a single, unified legal position for the State as a whole.

Holcomb spokeswoman Rachel Hoffmeyer said the governors office went ahead without Rokitas consent because we believe under the unique circumstance of this situation, that his approval is not necessary.

Rokitas statement didnt specify whether he believed the new law was constitutional. In response to that question, Rokita spokeswoman McKenzie Barbknecht said, That will become evident in the next several days.

Former state Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan, who spent 19 years on the court after being a top staffer for Democratic Gov. Evan Bayh, is among the legal experts who have questioned the Legislatures action. Sullivan said he believed the state's high court would likely find that the Legislatures procedure is unconstitutional.

The Legislatures powers include authority to terminate emergency orders issued by the governor. Numerous Republican lawmakers sponsored such resolutions during this years session, but legislative leaders didnt advance any of them for votes before the regular legislative session ended last week.

Republican Sen. Sue Glick of LaGrange, who sponsored the new law, said Holcomb acted without legislative input in imposing restrictions on the states 6.7 million residents. Glick argued during the legislative session that shouldnt happen during such long-lasting emergencies.

Were not attempting to hold government hostage, Glick said. What were trying to do is get our seat at the table to be involved in the decision-making process, not be precluded from participation.
Ben Lacy, Austin Bowers, Erica Bennett and several of their fellow musicians helped provide a soundtrack of gratitude Monday afternoon at USC Aiken, with dozens of university boosters on hand for a salute to the chancellor.

Dr. Sandra Jordan, who has been at USCA's helm since July 2012, was the guest of honor at an event outside the Student Activities Center, and the university's jazz ensemble and Lacy (as a soloist) set the occasion to music, with a "traveling" theme, as one observer noted.

Jordan, who was seated with her husband, Michael, addressed the gathering, and borrowed a concept from President Theodore Roosevelt. "He said something to the effect of, if you can do work that you find meaningful, then that's how you built a really rich life," Jordan said. "My life has been so enriched by being here with you at USC Aiken."

High-profile visitors for the occasion included Bob Caslen, president of the University of South Carolina, who readily acknowledged Jordan's experience and wisdom. He has been at his current post since August 2019.

"I was not going to be teaching. I was going to be learning," he recalled, with a laugh. "Sandra  was the one that knew everything, and I recognized that right away."

Caslen cited such recent USCA accomplishments as being named by U.S. News and World Report as the South's best regional college, and having undergone an enrollment increase of 20% since 2012 and a 22% increase in "the number of underrepresented students."

He added, "Sandra, I envy what you have accomplished, and one of these days, we want to be like that, so thank you so much."

Caslen, a retired Army officer who was in the Pentagon during the terrorist attack on 9/11 and served for five years as the superintendent of West Point, also expressed his appreciation for USCA's steps to improve services for "veterans and military students."

The chancellor's husband, Michael (an architect), also spoke to the gathering, expressing his appreciation for Aiken.

"It has history. It has economy. It offers a great place for worship and jobs and making a career, and we have truly enjoyed being here," he said.

He acknowledged his wife's track record at the university and also expressed thanks for "so many fine people who've gotten behind the locomotive and been involved and pushed to make it all successful."
LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - There are no new safety concerns around the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and heart inflammation based on the rollout of the shot in Britain, the UK MHRA medicine regulator said on Wednesday, after cases of the condition in Israel.

"The MHRA is as aware of the reports of myocarditis under investigation in Israel. Based on our experience and safety monitoring in the UK, there is currently no new safety concerns raised regarding myocarditis," a MHRA spokeswoman said.

The comment echoed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which said it had not seen a link between the shot and heart inflammation. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Michael Holden)
Labor Secretary Tiffany P. Robinson said Labor is pleased to support the successful Aspire Training program led by techfrederick through the states nationally-recognized EARN program. This...funding ensures employers in the region have the highly-skilled and well-trained workforce necessary...

techfrederick, a non-profit 501(c)(3) coalition of local high-tech companies, just received its 5th round of funding from the Department of Labor, garnering its largest amount of funding in a single grant to date, $355,446. Since its inception, techfredericks Aspire Training program has been awarded just over $1.1m in grant funds through this initiative to offer high caliber, high tech training to local tech professionals seeking to upgrade their occupational skills.

Despite the logistical challenges of 2020, the ASPIRE program adapted and overcame to deliver:



18 training sessions to the local business community, covering topics ranging from cloud-based web service software to business strategy to project management and more

Participation of 240 individual employees to training classes that were identified as necessary to the business community through needs assessment surveying

Content which supported the attendees on pathways to various technical certifications and additional responsibilities in their roles

Increased retention for businesses by upskilling their staff

Both employers and their employees have found the subsidized training offerings to be impactful within their operations. Katie Barkdoll, Director of Budgeting and Purchasing with the City of Frederick, sought out techfredericks expertise when the City was transitioning to cloud-based Office 365. While not anticipating the pandemic ahead, this software proved invaluable to help keep the Citys operations continuous once staff was forced to telework. Techfrederick evaluated the Citys needs and provided the necessary training to 128 City employees. Ms. Barkdoll stated, The training prepared the City to make a smooth transition to Office 365 without a disruption to services. The COVID-19 shutdown wasn't anticipated at the time, however as a result of the training, employees transitioned to telework seamlessly. The additional TEAMS training gave the City the ability to continue holding public meetings and move important legislation through the public process. Internally, the City used TEAMS for staff meetings and other project meetings to further essential work."

Beyond training for upskilling and ensuring business continuity, techfrederick continued to offer classes in the software sector that prepared attendees to achieve industry certifications. John Lockney, Cloud Security Architect with Fannie Mae, attended an advanced Splunk Software training class. I have attended both AWS DevOps and Splunk Fundamentals 2 training available through Tech Frederick. With the latter training, and a bit more studying, I successfully passed the Splunk "Power Core Power User" certification exam. This hands-on training will be directly applicable in my work, the certification will be helpful in my annual review and enhancing my credentials. I am truly grateful to Tech Frederick for making these training opportunities available.

The successful community partnership of techfrederick, combined with funding from the Maryland Department of Labors EARN program, has helped create a local hub for tech organizations to find support. When asked to comment on techfredericks positive impacts for individuals, such as upskilling, taking on additional responsibilities in their roles, and community connections with others in their field, Labor Secretary Tiffany P. Robinson said Labor is pleased to support the successful Aspire Training program led by techfrederick through the states nationally-recognized EARN program. This critical funding will ensure that employers in the region have the highly-skilled and well-trained workforce necessary to fill their talent pipeline while supporting the states economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

About techfrederick:

techfrederick has been formed to cultivate all things tech. We identify, highlight, support, foster awareness of, advocate for, and develop Fredericks growing high tech community through community education and human resource development, entrepreneurship training programs, and related events.

Contact: Amy Pontius, apontius@techfrederick.org, 916-380-9875

About ASPIRE:

In partnership with the State of Maryland, Department of Labor, techfrederick  a consortium of local IT business leadership  is offering access to training, in order to upgrade occupational skills and increase employability within the IT industry. The best tech focused companies in the area have come together to identify the skills that talented people need to increase marketability and compete for positions in the growing technology fields.

The ASPIRE Training Program serves anyone within the community who is looking to enhance their skill set within the tech arena and offers customized training focused on critical occupations and skill shortages through the Maryland Department of Labor EARN Grant.

Learn More: https://techfrederick.org/initiatives/aspire-training/

Contact: Brooke Warburton, bwarburton@techfrederick.org, 301-456-4167

About EARN:

EARN Maryland is a state-funded, competitive workforce development grant program that is industry-led, regional in focus, and a proven strategy for helping businesses cultivate the skilled workforce they need to compete. It is flexible and innovative, designed to ensure that Maryland employers have the talent they need to compete and grow in an ever-changing 21st century economy.

Learn More: https://www.dllr.state.md.us/earn/
New Delhi: The police in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi booked a man accusing him of creating fear after he sent a 'fake' request for oxygen cylinder for a COVID-19 patient on social media.

The man identified as Shashank Yadav had shared a post that he needed an oxygen cylinder for his 88-year-old relative but it was later found that the case was not COVID-19 related and his post allegedly created a panic. He has been booked under the Epidemic Act

"Need oxygen cylinder, ASAP," Shashank Yadav had tweeted on Monday, and tagged Bollywood actor Sonu Sood.

While, Union Minister and Amethi MP Smriti Irani responded saying, "Called Shashank thrice...No response on the number shared by you in your tweet."

It was when Yadav did not pick his calls that the Amethi Police was called upon to investigate the matter. It came to light that the young man had not mentioned that his relative was not a COVID-19 patient.

The Superintendent of Police Dinesh Singh said on Wednesday tweeted, "When he was called, he did not pick up. We thought he might be in some problem and therefore he was not picking up the phone. So we used surveillance and tracked his location and reached his house, where he was found sleeping," Singh said, adding, "Shashank's motive was to create sensation and fear," he added.

The Amethi Police tweeted on Tuesday, "Neither the patient had Covid-19 infection nor did he require oxygen. He died due to cardiac arrest at 8 pm Monday. Making such tweets are not only condemnable but also an offence."

In his tweet, Yadav also had not said that his relative was COVID-19 positive, PTI reported.

While, an FIR has been lodged against Yadav under relevant sections of the Epidemic Act, and he was served a notice under section 41 of the CrPC (requiring appearance before police to prevent the person from committing any further offence), the SP said.

Yadav was taken to a police station for questioning, but was later let off.
Weve relied on medical experts to get us through the pandemic. Theyve told us how the virus spreads, how to protect yourself, what to expect from the vaccines and everything in between.

Now the vaccination effort is fully underway and the CDC has loosened mask guidance, were all hoping for a more normal summer. And with the warm weather coming, people are making plans to see faraway family members, to visit their favorite vacation spots and take some time off.

So what are the medical experts around the state planning to do? Most say theyre planning to stay close to home, though they said they would be willing to fly or stay in a hotel. Heres how they are spending their summer vacations.

Stephanie Navarro Silvera, public health professor at Montclair State University

Silvera said pre-COVID, her family would typically do one bigger trip and two smaller trips each summer. That was all called off last year.

Now that my husband and I are both fully vaccinated, as are my mother, brother, and sister-in-law, our first plan is to either travel to Michigan to see my brother and his wife or have them travel here, she said.

She said she would feel more comfortable renting a private home than staying in a hotel.

While you can dramatically reduce your risk of exposure in a hotel by avoiding places where people tend to gather  indoor dining  I would still feel more comfortable having a bit more control over our environment since our children are not yet eligible for the vaccine, Silvera said.

Stephanie Silvera, Epidemiologist and Public Health Professor at Montclair State University, at her home in Hawthorne.Steve Hockstein | For NJ Advance Media

She said shes not completely sure about air travel, especially with long flights where youre more likely to take your mask off to eat or drink.

It is still an indoor environment with people you dont live with  both in the airport and aboard the plane  and you have no control over the behavior of other travelers, she said. Because of this, were more likely to travel to locations that we could drive to, while packing meals to reduce the need to stop for food, which is safer and more economical.

In deciding travel plans, Silvera said people should consider if they are vaccinated, if theres a high-risk person in their traveling group and whether they are visiting a place that has lower vaccination rates or high levels of variants.

It is certainly easier to travel, and travel more safely this year than last, but the risk isnt gone and while we have many reasons to be optimistic, we are not through this pandemic yet, she said. With so many lives already lost, continuing to be cautious can prevent even more people from dying.

New Jersey state epidemiologist Christina Tan

Tan said she plans to stay local this summer, spending time with family and friends who will be fully vaccinated.

But she might travel further if colleges start giving in-person tours, she said.

Tuesday April 14, 2020 - State Epidemiologist Dr. Christina Tan at a coronavirus briefing in April 2020. (Pool photo by Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

In addition to following COVID-19 personal protection recommendations  we need to continue watching what disease activity might look like in the next several weeks  I will also be using sunscreen regularly, wearing insect repellent and avoiding mosquitoes and ticks, and following food safety practices, as I do every summer, Tan said.

Shobha Swaminathan, associate professor for Rutgers Division of Infectious Diseases and principal investigator for the Moderna vaccine trial at the school

Swaminathan said she doesnt have any travel plans yet.

However, if I do travel with family, since I have young children who are not yet vaccinated, I will be following (COVID precautions) and limit air travel if possible, Swaminathan said. I will personally not be eating at restaurants and will do take-outs and do outdoor activities with my mask.

She said she will avoid indoor dining because it involves being in an enclosed space with others not wearing masks, which she said can increase the risk of infection.

While the risk is low, it is higher than if you were eating outside with much better ventilation, she said, calling herself very conservative, especially given that we dont yet know how some of the variants behave.

She recommends families limit travel when feasible and try to stay within your family bubble. If you do travel, she said staying in the United States is preferred given that it is uncertain how well other countries are doing with vaccine rollout, quarantine, testing etc. If you must travel, then you need to check that.

Swaminathan said if you need to fly, you should try to select days and times when airports will be less busy. Hotels are fine, she said, but you should be mindful of crowded small spaces such as elevators.

Perry Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health

Halkitis said the pandemic will not go away with warmer weather so people need to remain vigilant.

Dean Perry Halkitis, Professor of Biostatistics and Urban-Global Public Health in the School of Public Health at Rutgers University, at his home in Newark. Steve Hockstein | For NJ Advance Media

This summer, I will be relaxing at home and enjoying outdoor activities while masking and physically distancing with my dogs, husband, and family who I know have been vaccinated and following COVID-19 safety guidance, Halkitis said. I would advise against traveling across the United States or out of the country until we have established some high level of herd immunity because the pandemic continues to evolve.

Eddy Bresnitz, Medical Advisor for the New Jersey COVID-19 response team

Bresnitz said his family and many of his friends are fully vaccinated, so hes comfortable with traveling.

Hes got some busy plans ahead.

When he spoke to NJ Advance Media, he was visiting family in Louisiana and California, taking his first flight since March 2020, waiting for the birth of his third grandchild.

Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, medical advisor to the New Jersey COVID-19 response team, speaks at the governor's briefing on Jan. 6, 2020.

He also has plans to visit friends in Colorado in July and to attend a wedding in Vermont in late August.

We wear masks when close to others in public but no longer with vaccinated friends and family, he said. We are very comfortable eating in outdoor restaurants, a little more cautious with indoor dining and only when wait staff wear masks and tables are at least six feet apart.

Nancy Holecek, senior vice president and chief nursing officer with RWJBarnabas Health

Holecek said she hasnt made any plans yet, but her vacation will probably be local and largely outside.

Maybe the Shore or a lake, but in terms of going away, certain domestic travel is still a concern to me, she said. Some of our states are struggling and internationally, its the same.

So getting on a plane wont be part of her plans.

I have been closely following all the regulatory bodies and the scientists and taking my cues from them, she said. Im also still watching the variants and while I understand they deem plane travel as safe and I have been vaccinated, Im conservative. Im comfortable just taking a conservative approach to vacation this summer.

Nancy Holecek, senior vice president and chief nursing officer with RWJBarnabas Health.

She does plan to do a lot of outdoor dining, she said, and her plans will include some extended family  all the adults have been vaccinated.

As for flying, Holecek said she supports the current travel recommendations but says mask wearing is still vital.

I think theres more risk in the airport than on the plane, she said.

For those who do travel to another state, Holcek said its important to review any local restrictions before you go.

Research the state guidelines because you may not be as comfortable with the other states guidelines, she said.

Reynold Panettieri, vice chancellor for translational medicine and science at Rutgers University

Panettieri said he thinks this summer will be fundamentally different than last year, thanks to vaccinations.

But, he said, precautions will still be necessary.

If you dont know with whom youre going to be interfacing, a mask and social distancing is necessary, he said. There is still a significant number of people who are not yet vaccinated and can spread variants. We are not out of the woods.

Panettieri said he and his wife will spend time at their beach house in Somers Point like last summer, when they went to beaches in a guarded manner but stayed within their own pod, avoided restaurants and did a lot of take-out.

But their children and grandchildren didnt stay with them last year.

We were able to see them remotely and then saw them while practicing good social distancing, but we would like to see them more physically, he said, adding that hes optimistic for this summer. My wife and I are vaccinated so we feel somewhat protected, he said.

Edward Liu, Jersey Shore University Medical Centers chief of infectious diseases and lead COVID vaccine/therapy researcher

Liu said he and his close relatives, all vaccinated, have rented an AirBnb in the Cape May area for a vacation.

I think a hotel is probably okay if its cleaned appropriately, but some of the AirBnbs are larger and you know exactly who is in your group, he said.

He said hed be willing to get on a plane for short trips, but there are concerns beyond the actual flight.

I have a young child, five years old, and what happens if he decides to tear off his mask and run into the airport? he said. I think for adults it would be perfectly reasonable.

Brian Strom, Chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences

Strom said he is traveling, but only to places within driving range, noting that hes fully vaccinated, healthy and not in a high-risk group other than being older than 65.

He said travelers should get vaccinated, avoid crowds and mask when youre around people who are not vaccinated. And if you or a family member is high risk, he recommends you stay isolated.

The vaccines are fantastically protective, but not 100%. We have had a few COVID cases already at Rutgers, after people got vaccinated, Strom said. They were mild, however, and that is the primary goal of the vaccine  to prevent death and hospitalization.

Christopher Freer, senior vice president for Emergency and Hospitalist Medicine for RWJBarnabas Health

Freer said he plans to be smart over the summer.

(The pandemic) is obviously not over, but Im optimistic, Freer said. With what Im seeing at the hospitals, as cases are going down and vaccines are going up, Im optimistic that July and August will be a lot better.

He plans to spend time at the Jersey Shore, dining outdoors and spending time on the beach with social distancing.

While he has no plans to get on a plane, he said he would do it, noting that those who decide to fly should be very cautious.

I wouldnt let my guard down. Thats a situation where youre so close to other people that you have to be hyper-aware of your surroundings, he said. Its different from getting in a car with your family and driving to the mountains or the Jersey Shore because youre in control of that situation.

He said the vaccine is also giving people a sense of ease, but its not 100%. You feel better but you still need to be alert and aware.

Hopefully people are patient to get to the end. Its not over. Were close, very close, but just not there yet, he said. I think life will get more normal but not back to normal pre-COVID.

Henry Raymond, associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health

Raymond said his family will be heading to Ithaca, his undergraduate college town, in late July.

Well be driving ourselves, have our own hotel room, and hopefully more people will be vaccinated by then, but will continue to mask up and social distance, he said. Were really looking forward to a lot of outdoor activities and outdoor dining, and of course, following all COVID-19 safety guidelines put forward by the State of New York and the CDC.

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Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.
Henry Williams Love Foundation (HWLF) received a $5,000 grant from SBB Research Group LLC (SBBRG), which awards monthly grants during the pandemic to support impactful organizations.

Headquartered in Hazel Crest, Illinois, HWLF provides short-term supportive services and advocacy to youth and families in need. In honor of their namesake, HWLF focuses on providing emergency services to those who have experienced unexpected loss, supportive services for entrepreneurs in its Black Business Incubation program, and access to technology, arts, and other educational resources.

"Henry Williams Love Foundation's goal is to help improve people's quality of life by planting seeds of hope, resilience, and skill-building that bloom equity, love, happiness, and prosperity throughout families, households, communities, and beyond," said HWLF President and CEO Kyla Williams. "We do our work quietly and with honor, just like our namesake, Henry Williams. This grant will be a tremendous help as we continue fulfilling our mission."

SBBRG's contribution will help support the operations of HWLF's outdoor programs, making it possible to run them successfully, safely, and free of charge.

"We are proud to support HWLF," said Matt Aven, COO of SBB Research Group. "It's important that underserved children and families in the community continue to have access to HWLF's services during these extremely challenging times."

For more information about HWLF, visit https://henrywilliamslove.org/

To apply for a grant from SBBRG, please visit sbbrg.org/apply-for-grant. Any 501(c)(3) non-profit organization is encouraged to apply, and donations are awarded to different organizations every month.

About SBB Research Group

SBB Research Group LLC is a Chicago-based investment management firm that views the market through a systematic, interdisciplinary lens. Led by applied mathematician Sam Barnett, Ph.D., and Matt Aven, an experienced professional in economics and computer science, the company specializes in bespoke investments designed to protect and grow investor capital.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005859/en/

Contacts:

Katie Lach

Organization: SBB Research Group

Email: grants@sbbrg.org

Address: 450 Skokie Blvd, Building 600, Northbrook, IL 60062 United States

Phone: 1-847-656-1111

Website: https://www.sbbrg.org/apply-for-grant
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. A stable operational situation with no incidents has been maintained along the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact of the Armenian state border overnight April 27-28, the Defense Ministry of Armenia told ARMENPRESS.

According to the information provided by the Armenian National Security Service, no border incidents were registered in Vorotan-Davit Bek section of the Goris-Kapan inter-state road which is under the responsibility of the NSS border troops.

The Armed Forces of Armenia and the NSS border troops confidently control the border situation along the entire borderline.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks during a news conference held by U.S. President Donald Trump in the Briefing Room of the White House on Sept. 27, 2020. (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

Federal Agents Search Giulianis Apartment, Seize Electronics: Lawyer

A lawyer for Rudy Giuliani said federal investigators executed a search warrant at the home of the former New York City mayor and attorney to former President Donald Trump and seized electronic devices.

Giulianis attorney Robert Costello told Fox News that seven FBI agents arrived at his Manhattan apartment at 6 a.m. on April 28 and remained there for about two hours. They seized laptops, cell phones, and other electronic devices, Costello said.

This is totally unnecessary, Costello told Fox News, adding that the raid was carried out to make him look like hes some sort of criminal.

The New York Times was the first to report on the search, claiming that it may have at least partially stemmed from Giulianis dealings in Ukraine. Giuliani wasnt arrested or charged with a crime, and its not clear exactly why the former mayors house was searched.

What they did today was legal thuggery, Costello told the paper. Why would you do this to anyone, let alone someone who was the associate attorney general, United States attorney, the mayor of New York City, and the personal lawyer to the 45th president of the United States.

Costello also told the Wall Street Journal that in recent years, he had offered to answer investigators questions, but they declined.

Its like Im talking to a wall, he said.

FBI officials and Giulianis team didnt respond to requests by The Epoch Times for comment by press time.

In late 2019, amid the first House impeachment inquiry against Trump about a conversation he had with Ukraines president in July of that year, prosecutors charged two alleged former associates to Giuliani, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, with unrelated crimes regarding alleged campaign finance violations.

On Jan. 20 of last year, Giuliani appeared on Fox News The Ingraham Angle and said hes no longer close to Parnas, a former client, and claimed that Parnas was lying about some of his claims.

One example, according to Giuliani, was a claim that Parnas met with Trump at the White House during Hanukkah and was deputized by the president.

The meeting never took place, Giuliani told Fox News at the time. The records indicate that it never took place. He lied. The man is a demonstrated liar.

Lev is someone I was close to. Obviously, I was misled by him. I feel very bad. I still feel sorry for him. Im not going to respond to him for each and every one of the misrepresentations hes made, because there were so many, he said. If Im called as a witness, Im prepared to do it.

Before that, Giuliani, who was Trumps personal attorney at the time, told CNN in 2019 that he asked Ukrainian officials to look into then-candidate Joe Biden before he noted that he asked them to look into the allegations that related to my client [Trump], which, tangentially, involved Joe Biden in a massive bribery scheme, not unlike what he did in China.

I asked the Ukraine to investigate the allegations that there was interference in the election of 2016 by the Ukrainians for the benefit of Hillary Clinton, Giuliani said.

When FBI officials searched the home of Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen the former president said it was part of a witch hunt against him on behalf of the federal law enforcement agency. Cohen was eventually convicted and sentenced, spending more than a year at a federal prison near Otisville, New York.

Trump has long said that the Russia inquiry and impeachment against him were part of a politically motivated campaign to undermine his presidency and the legitimacy of his 2016 election win.
TAIPEI, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Getac has today announced the launch of its next-generation K120 fully rugged tablet, for mobile field professionals working in challenging industries including public safety, manufacturing, utilities, defence, transportation, natural resources, and oil & gas.

Superior performance in field environments

Building on a proven track record of success, the next-generation of Getac's popular K120 tablet features a multitude of upgrades and enhancements over its predecessor, to further optimise productivity in remote and/or adverse environments. A powerful 11th Generation Intel quad-core i5/i7 processor with integrated Iris Xe graphics (codename "Tiger Lake") delivers extraordinary performance, rapid responsiveness and rich visuals, meaning the K120 can be used to carry out multiple tasks simultaneously without slowing or overheating. Enhanced connectivity, thanks to inbuilt Wi-Fi 6, WWAN with Integrated GPS/GLONASS and Bluetooth 5.2, enables users to utilise a wide selection of over-air interfaces, while Thunderbolt 4 technology makes data collection in the field quick and easy. Additional key features include PCIe NVMe user-replaceable SSD storage and 16GB of memory as standard.

The K120 also includes a 12.5-inch, 1,200 nits LumiBond 2.0 display with Getac sunlight readable technology, for easy operation in even the brightest outdoor environments. Multiple touch modes (regular touch, glove and pen modes, plus an optional digitizer mode) enhance performance in a range of situations, while an innovative dual hot-swappable battery design offers uninterrupted full-shift functionality. To keep sensitive data fully protected, the K120 features a powerful suit of security features and multifactor authentication management including Intel vPro Technology, TPM 2.0, HF RFID reader, smart card reader, fingerprint reader and Windows Hello.

Enhanced versatility for every user scenario

The next-generation K120 has been designed with versatility at its core. This means it can be quickly and easily adapted to numerous real-world use cases via an extensive range of user modes and optional Getac accessories, including secure vehicle and office docks, hard handle, shoulder strap (2-point), dual bay battery charger and full-size keyboard.

Market leading IP66 and MIL-STD certifications

Like all Getac devices, the next-generation K120 is built rugged from the ground up to offer exceptional reliability that easily outperforms other rugged devices currently available on the market. MIL-STD-810H, MIL-STD-461G and IP66 certification, 6ft (1.8m) drop resistance and an operating temperature range of -29C to 63C (-20F to 145F) mean users can get to work without fear of data loss, damage or failure.

Getac Select - tailored for industry needs

The next-generation K120 is part of Getac Select, which combines pre-configured rugged devices, software, accessories, and professional services into a total solution optimised for both individual applications and user groups. Key software utilities available for use alongside the K120 are the Virtual Global Positioning System Utility (VGPS), Getac Driving Safety Utility, Getac Device Monitoring System (GDMS), and KeyWedge Barcode Reader Utility.1

A versatile, all-purpose solution for firefighting professionals

Firefighters need digital devices that let them work effectively in a diverse range of day-to-day scenarios, from updating vital fire safety and critical awareness data, to coordinating crews and controlling drones while on-scene at an emergency incident. The K120's versatility makes every task quick and easy. Its powerful processor, superb connectivity and inbuilt security features mean it can be relied on in even the most adverse emergency scenarios, while five programmable buttons provide fast, one-touch access to first responder applications. An optional dedicated GPS unit makes it suitable for high speed navigation during emergency response callouts, and Getac's VGPS utility can be used to extend the life of important legacy applications.

Digitally transform manufacturing environments

As digital transformation gathers pace throughout the manufacturing sector, organisations are increasingly turning to robust mobile devices to perform key tasks, such as industrial programming, robotic control and warehouse/inventory management. The next-generation K120 has been designed with this squarely in mind. Its extensive connectivity features, including Wi-Fi 6, WWAN and Bluetooth 5.2, enable employees to connect and control machinery from anywhere in the facility, while multiple I/O options support the continued use of legacy equipment wherever required. The K120 also seamlessly integrates with leading inventory management, ERP and WMS software, while an optional barcode and RFID reader aids smooth warehouse/inventory management operations.

Efficient asset/workforce management for utilities and field services

Efficient asset and workforce management are both key aspects of the utilities industry, but they can be challenging to achieve from the field without the right devices and applications. The K120's thin and light form factor, multiple usage modes and Thunderbolt 4 technology makes all kinds of data collection and communication fast and efficient, while an optional RS232 port supports legacy equipment, helping to extend lifecycles and streamline field operations.

Extend the life of legacy applications with Getac's Virtual Global Positioning System (VGPS)

Getac's VGPS utility is a software solution that replicates GPS data to multiple virtual COM ports, allowing up to five different software applications to run simultaneously on a Getac device. Doing so helps extend the life of legacy applications that require COM port interfaces to run in parallel, such as AVL, CAD, or eCitation. VGPS can be seamlessly integrated with any GPS-equipped Getac device.

"The original K120's blend of portability, connectivity and rugged reliability made it ideal for customers who needed a solution that could excel in every scenario, not just a few," says Rick Hwang, President of Rugged & Video Solutions Business Group at Getac. "The next generation K120 raises that bar even higher, combining industry-leading rugged design with the latest technology, applications and services, to deliver a comprehensive solution that helps optimise productivity across a wide range of challenging industries."

Availability

The next-generation Getac K120 will be available in July 2021. For more information, please visit: https://www.getac.com/intl/products/tablets/k120/.

1. Virtual Global Positioning System Utility (VGPS), Getac Driving Safety Utility, Getac Device Monitoring System (GDMS), and KeyWedge Barcode Reader Utility are individual options for the K120 under the Getac Select. For more information, please visit https://www.getac.com/intl/getac-select/

About Getac

Getac Technology Corporation is a key subsidiary of MiTAC-Synnex Business Group with a 2020 annual revenue of US $41.3 billion and listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE: 3005). Getac was established in 1989 as a joint venture with GE Aerospace to provide defence electronics. Today Getac's business includes rugged laptops, rugged tablets, software, and mobile video solutions for defence, police, firefighters, utilities, automotive, manufacturing, transport and logistics. For more information visit: http://www.getac.com

Media Contact:

Getac Technology Corp.

Christin Wang

Tel: +886-2-27857888 ext. 5633

christin.wang@getac.com

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's ( ) (FRA:D86) Chris Gilchrist talks to Proactive London about his potash exploration and development about their latest activities for the March 2021 quarter.

During the quarter, the company conducted a successful media campaign in Germany where it received encouraging high-level political feedback as well as grassroots support from the South Harz community.

The firm has also proposed to be renamed South Harz Potash Limited in line with its focus on potash in Germany.
Apartment building in Melbourne is set to plummet, with a respected property research company tipping the number of units completed across Victoria to plunge from more than 16,000 this year to just 800 in 2024.

With lead-in times for a large apartment complex of up to five years, Charter Keck Cramer forecasts that in 2024 Victoria will build just 4 per cent of the number of apartments completed at the sectors 2016 peak, when 19,400 were built.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia says the present glut of apartments in central Melbourne, a result of the COVID-19 crisis, looks set to turn to an acute city-wide shortage in the coming years in an unexpected knock-on effect of the pandemic, costing jobs and making the citys housing supply problem worse.

Rental vacancies in central Melbourne have soared to 8.4 per cent  twice the rate of the broader metro region  with desperate landlords cutting rents below levels seen 10 years ago.

Apartment prices too have tumbled, but not as dramatically as rent.
While the drought conditions worsen across California, water officials have moved to stop the siphoning of millions of gallons of water out of the San Bernardino forest by the water and food company Nestle.

For years, environmentalists have accused Nestle of draining water supplies at the expense of local communities and the ecosystem. The latest development in a protracted battle between the bottled water company and local environmentalists is the draft cease-and-desist order, which requires the approval of the California Water Resources Control Board before getting any water supply.

According to The Guardian, Nestle has maintained that its rights to California spring water dates back to 1865. However, an investigation in 2017 found out that the company was taking far more than its share. Last year, the company drew out around 58 million gallons, which is far beyond the allowed 2.3m gallons per year that it could claim validly.

Millions of Gallons of Water Taken

The Story of Stuff Project is an environmental group that has been supporting the stoppage of the pumping in California of the water company for years. The group confirmed that the company has sucked up, on average, 25 times as much water as it may have a right to.

In addition, state officials sent a notification letter regarding the order to the company on Friday. Jule Rizzardo, the Division of Water Rights assistant deputy director, said the state has a limited amount of water. She also emphasized that the state already faced the second dry year in a row, and local officials must protect the municipal water supply and the environment.

ALSO READ: Redwood Trees in California State Park Shows Signs of Life Following Wildfires

Furthermore, Strawberry Creek, an area where the company has been pumping from, is a tributary of the Santa Ana River that provides drinking water for more than 750,000 residents in the state. The watersheds in the region also provided a habitat for deer, fox, mountain lions, and threatened Alameda whipsnake, The Desert Sun reported.

The draft order against Nestle came two months after the Switzerland-based company sold its U.S. and Canada-based water brands to equity firms One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos worth $4.3 billion.

Meanwhile, Nestle Waters North America, which has been lately rebranded as BluTriton Brands, has 20 days to appeal the draft order and request for a hearing. A spokesperson for the company stated based on their assessment that it only had the right to draw 7.26 acre-feet of water per year, and it was erroneous.

On the other hand, the battle over water supply by the company does not end in the state of California. They also have similar fights in the states of Oregon, Pennsylvania, Maine, and Michigan. Conservationists across the United States have accused Nestle of leveraging vast lobbying funds to bend local and federal officials to its will, Earth Island Journal.

Amanda Frye, an activist, provided the documents and research going back at least a century to state officials to show that Nestle did not have the right to the water it was pumping. She also emphasized that the forests that Nestle is draining are the forests of the people and supported by every U.S. taxpayer.

RELATED ARTICLE: Falling Redwood Tree Kills California Parents, Leaving 5 Children Behind

WATCH:Drought hit California orders Nestle to stop pumping millions of gallons - News Time
Joth Ricci

Ricci is chief executive and president of Dutch Bros. He also chairs the Oregon Business Plan, a joint venture of Oregon Business and Industry, the Oregon Business Council and the Portland Business Alliance. He lives in Jacksonville.

Oregon is on the verge of an extraordinary opportunity. A massive infusion of federal stimulus dollars is headed our way under the American Rescue Plan Act. While most of this money offers relief from the damage of the COVID pandemic, a significant share can be used to support Oregons transition to recovery.

The challenge that comes with this windfall is strategic  how we can make the best and highest use of these one-time funds for long-term impact.

Some $18 billion of ARPA funding is scheduled to flow into Oregon. The lions share is dedicated to low- and mid-income Oregonians, some of it in direct payments to individuals for personal financial relief and some of it in extended unemployment benefits. Another portion is earmarked for hard-hit small businesses.

However, more than $6 billion will go to state government, counties, cities, K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions. Oregon will receive the first wave of those funds in May, and the balance 12 months later, with all spending to occur by the end of 2024.

Jurisdictions are likely to use much of this funding to support current services, leaving the balance  perhaps $2 billion to $3 billion  for other purposes. This money could be transformational for cities, regions and the whole state if invested with discipline and careful forethought.

Business community leaders stand ready to partner with Gov. Kate Brown, the Legislature and other elected leaders in planning not just for recovery, but for a resilient long-term prosperity thats shared equitably among Oregonians. Those of us involved in the Oregon Business Plan are heartened to see that the governors Principles for ARPA Spending and her 10-point Economic Recovery Plan align so closely with our Recovery for Shared Prosperity agenda. We know legislators are considering investments with rescue-plan funds along similar lines.

To make the most of this funding, we should unite behind a few basic guidelines:

 Invest federal rescue plan dollars in select, transformational opportunities that carry high long-term benefit.

 Focus on reducing disparities for marginalized communities and building a better Oregon than we had before the pandemic.

 This is one-time money, so avoid creating programs or services that need recurring support.

 Coordinate among jurisdictions and invest strategically both to limit duplication of efforts and create opportunities for combining funds.

 Prioritize application of funds. First, assist individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits that are still struggling. Then fund longer term investments that will bolster our economic base. Set aside contingency funds for unforeseen challenges.

With an opportunity this special, we encourage our leaders to think boldly and creatively about the kind of Oregon we want to see 5, 10, 20 years ahead. Lets start with the end in mind.

Imagine an Oregon where those dislocated by the pandemic gain the education, training, and individual support they need to find well-paying work and financial security.

Imagine an Oregon with thousands of new high-wage manufacturing jobs, and greater access to them among communities of color and rural Oregonians.

Imagine an Oregon that beats back homelessness and makes housing more affordable statewide.

Imagine an Oregon where everyone can access high speed internet for education, health, and many other services.

Achieving these possibilities calls for careful planning, coordination , and execution.

Were eager to engage in this work.

Sign up for our free weekly Oregon Opinion newsletter. Email:


The fatal Tesla crash which resulted in the deaths of two men may have started after a 'significant front-end collision' ignited the battery, fire officials have said.

Dr. William Varner, 59, and Everette Talbot, 69, both died when the Tesla Model S smashed into a tree and burst into flames in Texas on April 17.

Police had said it was apparent that there was no one in the driver's seat at the time of the crash in the wealthy The Woodlands neighborhood, Houston.

On Monday, Tesla refuted police's claims, saying a deformed steering wheel suggested that someone was likely in the drivers seat.

Now the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office's report has revealed more details as to how the flames took hold.

It also reiterates local police's assertion that no one was in the driver's seat. The report classifies the crash as accidental.

Investigator Chris Johnson states that the fire was caused by the collision. The report did not note the car's speed or whether air bags and seat belts were used.

Tesla has not commented. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are both investigating.

The fatal Tesla crash which resulted in the deaths of two men may have started after a 'significant front-end collision' ignited the battery, fire officials have said

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are both investigating the crash

Dr. William Varner, 59, left, and Everette Talbot, 69, right, both died when the Tesla Model S smashed into a tree and burst into flames in Texas on April 17

The report states: 'There were signs of extensive mechanical damage caused by a front end collision, and the front end of the vehicle was in direct contact with the trunk of a large tree.

It also details how the vehicle's 'hood, front doors, front body panels, forward support pillars, trunk and roof were completely destroyed'.

Talbot was seated 'in a forward-leaning position, with both arms rolled forward', according to the report; Varner was 'in a rear-leaning position, with both arms rolled back and in a pugilistic pose.'

And it adds: 'Multiple fire patterns produced by both the movement and intensity of the fire indicate that the fire originated from the vehicle's power distribution system and related components located at the front end of the vehicle.'

'Any extensive damage to the battery, the power distribution systems, or the systems associated with battery cell temp regulation can result in electrical arcing and/or thermal runaway of the lithium-ion cells, which are both competent source of ignition.

'The vehicle sustained a significant front end collision which damaged one, or many of these systems, leading to the development of fire within with the vehicle.

The report states: 'I did not determine the specific vehicle component(s) or system(s) that provided the first heat source.

'I did rule out any scenario not specifically related to the motor vehicle collision causing ignition of the vehicle and immediate or subsequently resulting battery fire.'

The men drove from Varner's home, at the end of the cul-de-sac, and only made it a few hundred feet before crashing into trees

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in the crash's immediate aftermath data downloaded by Tesla indicate the vehicle was not operating on Autopilot, its semi-autonomous driving system

The U.S. safety board said Wednesday it is working to publish as soon as possible a preliminary report on the crash.

'A preliminary report typically comes out in a month, but we are working hard to get it out as soon as possible because we recognize there is this confusion out there,' Kristin Poland, Deputy Director at National Transportation Safety Board said.

Varner's Model S crashed into trees just a few hundred yards from his $2million home in the gated community of Carlton Woods Creekside.

Talbot is said to have been found in the front passenger seat; the car's owner, Varner, in the back seat. Police said it was apparent that there was no one in the driver's seat at the time of the crash.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in the crash's immediate aftermath data downloaded by Tesla indicate the vehicle was not operating on Autopilot, its semi-autonomous driving system.

Then on Monday, Tesla had again refuted police's claims, saying a deformed steering wheel suggested that someone was likely in the drivers seat.

'We recognize that thats not an ideal circumstance,' Poland said, referring to public confusion over what happened during the accident.

'The sooner we can get out the preliminary report out the better it will be for everybody to provide as much clarity as possible,' she said, saying the report will be based on solid facts.

She declined to discuss any findings so far, saying that the probe is under way.

Police had said it was apparent that there was no one in the driver's seat at the time of the crash. On Monday, Tesla refuted police's claims, saying a deformed steering wheel suggested that someone was likely in the drivers seat

The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office's report has revealed more details as to how the flames took hold. It also reiterates local police's assertion that said no one was in the driver's seat and classifies the crash as accidental

'We have a very, very experienced investigators that are doing this. It is not like the first time out,' the veteran NTSB official said.

The NTSB has criticized Tesla's Autopilot after a series of investigations into fatal crashes, including a lack of adequate driver monitoring systems.

The Autopilot system handles some driving tasks such as keeping lanes and maintaining distances between cars, but experts say the term 'Autopilot' can be misleading consumers to believe that the car can drive by itself.

Tesla says its features 'require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.'

To engage Tesla's autopilot, the car must think someone is at the wheel by detecting the weight of their hands on the steering wheel. If it doesn't, it'll stop but it can take up to 30 seconds for it to do so.

Autopilot must detect road markings before it can be enabled, according to Tesla. There are no markings on the private road they were on.
Philippines' DTI to begin anti-dumping investigation into Vietnamese imports

28 April 2021

The Philippines Department of Trade and Industry is expected to begin investigating allegations of cement dumping from Vietnam, following applications by three local manufacturers, according to the Manilla Standard.



Cemex Philippines, Holcim Philippines and Republic Cement all applied for an anti-dumping investigation into cement products imported from Vietnam.



The investigation will cover cement imported from July 2019 to June 2020, while the period of investigation for injury to the sector is from 2017 to June 2020.

"There are indications that cement from Vietnam is being dumped in the Philippines and, as a consequence thereof, the domestic cement industry suffered injury in terms of actual decline in market share, domestic sales, production, capacity utilisation, employment and profits."

"DTI reviewed the evidence adduced in the applications and has determined the existence of sufficient evidence to justify the initiation of an investigation," said Ramon Lopez, DTI secretary.

Published under
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has sent letters to Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric and Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Helga Maria Schmid, over the urgent issue of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians who are held captive in Azerbaijan. Mr. Sarkissian noted that Armenia is expecting support from the international partners over the quick return of all POWs and detained civilians from Azerbaijan, the Armenian Presidents Office told Armenpress.

In the letters the President emphasized that 2020 was a challenging year for Armenia not only due to the coronavirus pandemic, but also the war unleashed by Azerbaijan with the support and direct participation of Turkey against Artsakh on September 27.

Despite the international communitys regular calls to immediately stop the war, Azerbaijans military-political leadership was massively and deliberately targeting the civilian population and infrastructure, with gross violations of human rights and the norms of the international humanitarian law.

This led to the loss of thousands of young lives, made thousands disabled, led to the displacement of the population and destruction of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage.

During and after the war Armenian servicemen and civilians have been captured, they are subject to tortures and inhuman treatment by Azerbaijan, President Sarkissian said.

Emphasizing that today addressing the humanitarian situation in Artsakh is a key matter, and that the international community must show an urgent attention to it, the Armenian President said its highly important to conduct the exchange of all prisoners of war and detained civilians by the all for all principle, which is ignored by Azerbaijan.

Currently, Azerbaijan continues rejecting and obstructing the return of hostage-taken civilians and POWs with gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

In this context President Sarkissian highlighted the activity of the Ombudsman of Armenia, his fact-finding works, who always raises the concerns and problems of the Armenian side at the international arena.

In the end of his letters the Armenian President called on the CoE, the OSCE, their Secretary Generals to take all necessary measures in accordance with the international humanitarian law to ensure the immediate release and safe return of the prisoners of war and civilians.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 20:58:54|Editor: huaxia

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Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, attends a meeting of parliamentary leaders that focused on the role of legislators in consolidating peace and trust via video link at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 28, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu said Wednesday that exchanges between legislative bodies provide an important guarantee for the long-term stable and healthy development of state-to-state relations.

Li, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, made the remarks at a meeting of parliamentary leaders that focused on the role of legislators in consolidating peace and trust.

Li said peace and development are still the themes of the times, but peace and trust in the international community have been severely eroded, the international order and the global governance system have been impacted, and there is still a long way to go toward general security and common development, and thus all countries need to make concerted efforts and joint responses.

Noting that exchanges between legislative bodies provide an important guarantee for the long-term stable and healthy development of state-to-state relations, Li called on legislative bodies to adopt a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept and oppose the emergence of a new "Cold War" and ideological confrontation in whatever form.

He said legislative bodies should adhere to opening up and cooperation, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, maintain the stability and smoothness of the global industrial chain and supply chain, and promote the construction of an open world economy.

He called on legislative bodies to enhance mutual trust and reduce suspicion through candid and in-depth dialogue, uphold the principles of extensive consultations, joint contributions and shared benefits, adhere to the true form of multilateralism marked by openness and tolerance, strict rule of law, consultation and cooperation, and promote the development of the global governance system in a more just and reasonable direction.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. Li said different from traditional major countries, China is committed to the path of peaceful development.

The NPC stands ready to work with the legislatures of various countries to be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order, and jointly build a clean and beautiful world featuring lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness and inclusiveness, Li said.

The meeting among parliamentary leaders was hosted by Turkmenistan, and speakers or parliament leaders from Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan attended the meeting via video link. Enditem
President Joe Biden will call for free preschool for all three and four-year-old children on Wednesday - a $200 billion investment to be rolled out as part of his sweeping American Families Plan.

The president will make the announcement in his first joint address to Congress - a fulfillment of a campaign promise.

Biden campaigned on a national plan for universal preschool that would invest $775 billion over a 10-year period.

The administration said the historic investment would benefit five million children and save the average family $13,000.

It calls for providing federal funds to help the states offer preschool, with teachers and other preschool employees earning $15 an hour.

Joe Biden, seen on Tuesday, is expected to announce a $200 billion plan to help families

Biden's plan will see an estimated five million children benefit from the free preschool program

Vice President Kamala Harris is seen visiting preschool children on March 26 in West Haven, Connecticut

'These investments will give American children a head start and pave the way for the best-educated generation in U.S. history,' the administration said.

The new details are part of Biden's $1 trillion-plus package focused on so-called human infrastructure - child care, health care, education and other core aspects of the household architecture that underpin everyday life for countless Americans.

It would be paid for by hiking taxes on very high-income households, in keeping with the president's vow not to raise taxes on those making less than $400,000 a year.

Before Wednesday night's address, with details of the plan still in flux, lawmakers have been pushing to make sure key priorities are included in this next phase of Biden's massive infrastructure reinvestment program.

A group of leading centrist and progressive Democrats is meeting late Tuesday with the White House to discuss its priority of making permanent the Child Tax Credit, which was increased to as much as $300 a month as part of a COVID-19 relief package.

Right now, that benefit expires in 2022 and Biden has suggested extending it to 2025.

Biden's plan will save the average family an estimated $13,000 a year in childcare costs

Joe Biden will on Wednesday deliver his first joint address to Congress as president

'We continue to push,' Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, the chairman of the Banking Committee and advocate for a permanent child tax credit, said late Monday evening.

'We're hopeful. We want it to be permanent because it's so important for so many people's lives.'

A 2018 report into Washington, D.C.'s, universal pre-K program showed that, after the city implemented the program in 2009, rates of maternal participation in the work force rose by 12 percentage points.

New York City currently offers free pre-school education for all children up to the age of two, and intends to expand that program to three-year-olds as well.

The president's speech and the rollout of the American Families Plan come as Biden is marking his first 100 days in the White House, a rare moment for congressional action.

Democrats narrowly control the House and Senate, giving the president's party the full sweep of power for the first time in a decade.

While Biden is determined to reach out for bipartisanship, Republicans in Congress have largely panned his proposals as big government spending and vowed to oppose them.

Biden's Democratic allies in Congress are just as determined to ensure they seize this rare alignment of political power to deliver on long-sought priorities.

Administration officials said on Monday that details of the proposal were yet to be finalized.

But the package builds on Biden's proposed $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan, a massive investment in infrastructure that goes beyond roads and bridges to include veterans hospitals, child care centers and other developments.

The White House has portrayed its plan as a Robin Hood-style effort to tax the rich in order to spend on benefits for the middle class and poor.

It is an argument that the hundreds of billions of dollars controlled by the wealthiest sliver of the country would lead to better results for the country if they were distributed instead to families.

In addition to extending an expanded child tax credit through 2025, giving parents monthly payments of at least $250 per child, it would provide free community college and paid family leave, among other benefits.

Funding the initiative would be a tax increase on the extremely rich, most notably a near doubling of the capital gains tax rate on incomes above $1 million to 39.6 per cent.

Similarly, the top income tax bracket for those households earning beyond $400,000 is expected to revert to 39.6 per cent, according to a Democratic aide granted anonymity to discuss the planning.

That had been the top rate before the 2017 GOP tax overhaul approved by Donald Trump.

Initial reports of an increase in capital gains taxes triggered a stock market sell-off last week.

But Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, tried to assuage voters Monday by saying just a fraction of the country would be paying more.

At a White House briefing, Deese said that only the top 0.3 per cent of taxpayers would owe more.

Out of 1,000 taxpayers, that means three would be subject to the higher tax on capital gains - which reflect the profits from a sale of an asset such as a stock or house.

Because capital gains are taxed at a peak rate of 20 per cent now, wealthier individuals who earn most of their income through the financial markets can often pay a lower tax rate than people who think of themselves as middle class and live off their salary.

'We believe that its not only fair, but it would also help to reduce the kinds of tax avoidance that significantly undermines trust and fairness in the tax code itself,' Deese said.

'The revenue from this provision would help invest directly in our kids and our families and our future economic competitiveness.'

Republican leaders have said they are unwilling to undo the 2017 tax law, their signature achievement of the Trump presidency, to pay for what they view as big spending by Democrats.

No Republicans voted for Biden's coronavirus rescue plan, which was signed into law last month.

Last week, Republican senators proposed an alternative infrastructure plan focused on more traditional highway and bridge investments that would be one-fourth the cost, paid for by tolls and other user fees.
Its official: the first woman to step foot on the Moon will land in a fully reusable SpaceX rocket.

Last week, NASA revealed that it has chosen SpaceXs Starship as the lander that will bring two Americans to the Moons surface in 2024. The touchdown will be the climax of the Artemis program, which aims to put humans on the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. For SpaceX, the contract is a huge vote of confidence; for NASA, it represents a major step toward reusability and cost efficiency.

This means two separate launches will be needed for the mission. The Starship will be put into space by a Falcon Heavy, but its crew will leave Earth on an Orion spacecraft launched with NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Once in orbit around the Moon, the spacecrafts will dock together and two astronautsat least one of whom will be a womanwill take the Starship down to the lunar surface.

MAKING HISTORY: China will be first country after America to leave solar system

The contract is worth nearly $3 billion, and SpaceX beat out proposals by competing aerospace companies Blue Origin and Dynetics to win it. In a statement on its website, the private space company founded by Elon Musk said it was humbled to help NASA usher in a new era of human space exploration.

Gratitude is not uncalled for. SpaceX Starships have yet to demonstrate a successful landing from high altitude, with four recent tests all ending in explosions. Nonetheless, Starship is expected to provide a cheaper and potentially more efficient alternative for NASA than its usual SLS, which has been plagued by cost overreaches and delays. A single-use SLS rocket carries a price tag of nearly $2 billion, while a Falcon Heavy and Starship are expected to cost a fraction of that per launch and can (potentially) be used many times.

NASAs choice of Starship is also an investment in the long term. With a payload of over 100 tons, the spacecraft can hold much more than two astronautsmaterials for building infrastructure or next-generation space telescopes, for example. Cheaper, more sustainable forms of transporting humans and cargo in space could make future missions to establish a human presence on Mars and the Moon much easier. As Ars Technicas Eric Berger says, Suddenly, human landings on Mars about a decade from now seem a lot more realistic.

For now, SpaceX will continue to whip Starship into shape, with a new prototype scheduled to launch on Monday. Heres hoping this one doesnt end in a fireball.
Long-term weather data is absent in many places, complicating rain predictions for crops. Researchers found that the El Nino climate cycle can be a reliable substitute for weather data

When seasonal rains arrive late in Indonesia, farmers often take it as a sign that it is not worth investing in fertilizer for their crops. Sometimes they opt out of planting annual crops altogether. Generally, they're making the right decision, as a late start to the rainy season is usually associated with the state of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and low rainfall in the coming months.

New research published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports shows that ENSO, the weather-shaping cycle of warming and cooling of the Pacific Ocean along the Equator, is a strong predictor of cacao harvests up to two years before a harvest.

This is potentially very good news for smallholder farmers, scientists, and the global chocolate industry. The ability to predict harvest sizes well in advance could shape on-farm investment decisions, improve tropical crop research programs, and reduce risk and uncertainty in the chocolate industry.

Researchers say that the same methods - which pair advanced machine learning with rigorous, short-term data collection on farmer practices and yields - can apply to other rain-dependent crops including coffee and olives.

"The key innovation in this research is that you can effectively substitute weather data with ENSO data," said Thomas Oberthur, a co-author and business developer at the African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) in Morocco. "Any crop that shares a production relationship with ENSO can be explored using this method."

About 80 percent of global cropland depends on direct rainfall (as opposed to irrigation), accounting for almost 60 percent of production. But rainfall data is sparse and highly variable in many of these regions, making it difficult for scientists, policymakers and farmers groups to adapt to the vagaries of the weather.

No weather data? No problem

For the study, researchers used a type of machine learning that did not require weather records for the Indonesian cacao farms that participated in the research.

Rather, they relied on data on fertilizer application, yields and farm type, which they plugged into a Bayesian Neural Network (BNN) and found that ENSO phases predicted 75 % of the variation in yields.

In other words, the sea-surface temperature of the Pacific accurately predicted cacao harvests in a large majority of cases for the farms in the study. In some cases, accurate predictions were possible 25 months before the harvest.

For the uninitiated, a model that can accurately predict 50% of yield variation is usually cause to celebrate. And such long-range predictive accuracy for crop yields crops is rare.

"What this allows us to do is superimpose different management practices - such as fertilization regimes - on farms and deduce, with a high level of confidence, those interventions that work," said James Cock, a co-author and emeritus researcher at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. "This is a whole paradigm shift toward operational research."

Cock, a plant physiologist, said that while randomized control trials (RCTs) are generally considered the gold standard in research, these are extremely costly and consequently often impossible to perform in developing tropical agricultural areas. The approach used here is much lower cost, requires no expensive collection of weather records and provides useful guidelines on how to better manage crops under variable weather.

Ross Chapman, a data analyst and the study's lead author, explained some of the key benefits of machine learning methods over conventional data analysis approaches:

"The BNN modeling differs from standard regression modeling because the algorithm takes input variables, such as sea-surface temperature and farm type, and then automatically 'learns' to recognize responses in other variables, such as crop yield," Chapman said. "The learning process uses the same fundamental process that the human mind learns to recognize objects and patterns from real-life experience. In contrast, standard models require manual supervision of different variables via human-generated equations."

The value of shared data

While machine learning may promise better crop yield predictions in the absence of weather data, scientists - or farmers themselves - still need to accurately collect certain production information and have that data readily available if machine-learning models are going to work.

In the case of the Indonesian cacao farms in the study, farmers had been part of a major chocolate company's training program on best practices. They kept track of inputs such as fertilizer application, freely shared that data for analysis, and an organization with a local presence, the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), kept tidy records for researchers to use.

In addition, scientists had previously divided their farms into ten similar groups, where topography and soil conditions were similar. The researchers used data on harvests, fertilizer applications and yields from 2013 to 2018 to build their model.

The knowledge gained by cacao growers gives them confidence on how and when to invest in fertilizers. The agronomic skills this vulnerable group acquired shields them against a loss in their investment, which typically occurs when weather is adverse.

Thanks to their collaboration with the researchers, now their knowledge can be, in a way, shared with growers of other crops in other regions of the world.

"This research could not have happened without dedicated farmers, IPNI and a strong farmers' support organization, Community Solutions International, to pull everyone together," Cock said, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and balancing stakeholder's different needs.

"What scientists want is to know why something happens," he said. "Farmers want to know what works."

APNI's Oberthur said strong predictive modeling could benefit both farmers and researchers, and fuel further collaboration.

"You need to have tangible results if you're a farmer who is also collecting data, which is a lot of work," Oberthur said. "This modeling, which can provide farmers with beneficial information, may help incentivize data collection since farmers will see that they are contributing to something that provides benefits to them on their farms."

###

About the Alliance

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people's lives. Alliance solutions address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

The Alliance is part of CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.
A derailed tram sparked lunchtime chaos in Melbourne's CBD after it collided with a cement mixer truck.

The tram came off the tracks on Collins Street near the intersection of Exhibition Street about 1.30pm on Wednesday.

Paramedics were called to the scene but no one was injured.

The truck driver, 25, assisted police with their inquiries.

A derailed tram (pictured) sparked lunchtime chaos in Melbourne's CBD after it collided with a cement mixer truck on Wednesday

A message from Vic Traffic (pictured) confirming the collision between a truck and a tram

Paramedics were called to the scene but no one was injured. Police also spoke to the truck driver

The busy intersection was closed as 11, 12, 48 and 109 tram routes were diverted.

'There was a lot of drama going on down there,' Department of Transport's Andrew Crook told 3AW.

'We've got Fire Rescue Victoria, paramedics, police and of course Yarra Trams crews to hopefully get that tram back on the rails.'

Photos of the derailed tram show scrapes along the front of the vehicle.

The intersection was closed for around an hour and has since reopened.

Victoria Traffic urged to motorists use Russell, Flinders, Spring or Bourke streets as alternative routes.

Yarra Trams warned commuters to expect 'possible delays' as services slowly resume to normal throughout the afternoon.
Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to tell Nigerians the truth about the current sec...

Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to tell Nigerians the truth about the current security situation in the South East.

The 2019 presidential candidate said only President Buhari has all it takes to know what is going on in all parts of the country.

The spate of insecurity has risen further to a frightening level in the South East in recent days with unknown gunmen destroying government property and killing security personnel while herdsmen attack communities, killing innocent Nigerians.

And Ezekwesili, who is also a leading activist, believes Buhari as the Commander-in-Chief, should know betters.

My voice thunders out to @MBuhari @NigeriaGov. Commander -in-Chief of Nigeria, what precisely is going on in the South East?

No one else has the apparatus and authority to know. What, Mr President is going on in the South East? Tell Nigerians the truth, Mr. President, she tweeted.
VERO BEACH, Fla., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Artistic expression provides opportunities to think, problem-solve, and explore new ideas at any age and experience level. This month, the residents of Watercrest Newnan Assisted Living and Memory Care celebrated their artistic journeys in partnership with the Pre-K4 students from Saint Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Newnan, Georgia.

Watercrest Newnan Assisted Living and Memory Care partnered with Saint Mary Magdalene Catholic Church for a joint art show to celebrate the creative talent of their residents and the Pre-K4 class in honor of Earth Day.

The joint art show presented the artwork from Mrs. Lindsay's Pre-K4 Class and the original artwork created by residents at Watercrest Newnan. The preschool students read the book Little Cloud by Eric Carle and followed with their own interpretations of images in cloud painting. The lesson fostered language development, and incorporated literacy, as well as science and art. The children's paintings were on display with the resident's artwork as residents, staff and preschool families enjoyed the community art show on the 51st anniversary of Earth Day, April 24th, 2021.

At Watercrest Newnan, residents are exploring their creativity through Watercrest's signature program, Artful Expressions. Designed with evidence-based research, the program invites residents to celebrate their originality and imagination through a series of interesting and unique classes and workshops, from photography and poetry, to art history and performing arts.

"Our spring art show was a great success and fantastic opportunity to partner with Saint Mary Magdalene Catholic Church to encourage creativity and engagement for both our residents and the youth in our community," says Noel Fortner, Community Programming Director of Watercrest Newnan.

Artful Expressions is a critical element of Watercrest's Live Exhilarated program, which was created to focus on the active pursuit of 'personal wholeness' for each resident. The program includes thoughtfully planned, multi-part programs inspired by individual resident's passions and interests which align with the seven facets of wholeness: Get Active, Be Curious, Get Connected, Be Uplifted, Get Creative, Be Social, Be Adventurous.

Story continues

Watercrest Newnan is a 92,000 square-foot, signature Watercrest product offering 75 assisted living and 32 memory care apartments with premium accommodations, resort-style amenities, and world-class care. Watercrest Newnan is ideally situated on nine picturesque acres at 285 Summerlin Boulevard in Newnan, Georgia, southwest of Atlanta. For more information, contact the community at 770-637-2207.

About Watercrest Senior Living Group

Watercrest Senior Living Group was founded to honor our mothers and fathers, aspiring to become a beacon for quality in senior living by surpassing standards of care, service and associate training. Watercrest senior living communities are recognized for their luxury aesthetic, exceptional amenities and world-class care, including unparalleled service to seniors living with Alzheimer's and dementia. A certified Great Place to Work, Watercrest specializes in the development and operations of senior living communities and the growth of servant leaders. Visit www.watercrestseniorliving.com.

www.watercrestseniorliving.com (PRNewsfoto/Watercrest Senior Living Group)

Cision

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SOURCE Watercrest Senior Living Group
Press Release

April 28, 2021 State of calamity on ASF just waiting for President's approval OVER a month since the Senate passed resolution urging the declaration of a state of calamity due to the African swine fever (ASF) which is needed to free up funds to address the disease, government officials say that a resolution has already been cleared for approval of the President. The Senate Committee of the Whole convened for the third time on Tuesday to discuss the ASF outbreak, of which estimates show over P60 billion worth of damages has already been incurred by the local hog industry. "Our concern precisely is that the bureaucracy hopefully can act faster because the Senate Committee on Agriculture already endorsed this March 9, and it's already April 17. If it's a state of calamity declaration, one would like to think we should act swiftly," Pangilinan said. Pangilinan is the main proponent of the Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 676 urging the Department of Agriculture (DA) to recommend to the President the declaration of a state of calamity due to ASF's severe impact on the swine industry. SRN 676 was filed on March 10, 2021, and was adopted on March 15 as Resolution No. 97, also taking into consideration SRN 684 on tariff rates. According to National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has already met on the matter of declaring a state of calamity and a resolution has been cleared for approval of the President. DA Undersecretary Engineer Ariel Cayanan further notes that the Office of the President coursed the DA's recommendation for a state of calamity through the NDRRMC, and NDRRMC Chairman Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was given the go-signal to write directly to the Office of the President while the endorsements and provisions have already been provided. "The local industry has been crying, has been bleeding in terms of challenges. We hope that the state of calamity can be immediately issued because we are already in the second quarter of the year," Pangilinan said. "Talagang if we are serious about addressing the local hog industry's challenges, then that would be one clear indication of the resolve of the government," he said. In previous Senate hearings, DA Secretary William Dar said that the DA needs P8.6 billion to address the ASF in 2021. Current budget of the DA for ASF only stands at P2.6 billion. Pangilinan stresses that the declaration of a state of calamity will free up disaster relief funds allocated in the 2021 budget to be used for ASF management, prevention, and indemnification. Data disparity between DA and BOC prima facie evidence of smuggling Revisiting the issue of the disparity in data between the DA and the Bureau of Customs (BoC) in the matter of pork importation, Pangilinan said that differing data is prima facie evidence of smuggling. In an earlier Senate Committee of the Whole hearing, the BoC reported that the total value of imported pork in 2020 was over 225 million kilos worth over P16 billion. The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), for its part, said that the Philippines imported over 256 million kilos of pork. "We reiterated that the 31 million kilos is more than half the MAV allocation. And 31 million kilos is not a small amount. How do you explain and reconcile the huge gap between the figures of the Department of Finance and the DA? Your BAI says one figure, the BoC says another figure. Does that mean to say that 31 million kilos did not go through the BoC and therefore was smuggled?" Pangilinan asked during the hearing. Despite urgings for clarification from several senators, the BoC and the BAI said that they stand by their data. BoC Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said that it is possible that the BAI data were based on import clearances issued, which may not have been necessarily utilized. This was disputed by BAI Director Dr. Reildrin Morales, saying that the BAI data are based on actual arrivals as reported by quarantine officers. "Paiba-iba yung sagot eh so hindi namin alam and 31 million kilos is not a small number. You don't have to have the answers now but we have to have an answer as to why there is a discrepancy. I'd like to know if 31 million kilos that is not in the record of the BoC was smuggled," Pangilinan said. BAI proposes to sit down with the BoC to reconcile data -- which Pangilinan notes is precisely what the Senate wants to happen. "Both are claiming now that these are the millions of kilos that actually arrived but they are not the same number. There are 31 million kilos that cannot be explained...Meaning mas marami ang pumasok according to WTO pero mas maliit naman ang pumasok [according to BoC] and therefore the question is, is this smuggled? And it's unfortunate that both agencies are standing by their conflicting records. How do we move forward?" Pangilinan said. The Senate has suspended the Committee of the Whole hearings with hope that there can be a compromise between the government and the private sector on the matter of ASF. The Committee of the Whole is expected to release a committee report based on the last three hearings.
Sir James Dyson has hit back at claims he acted inappropriately in texts with Boris Johnson and insisted he did not try to 'extract favours from the Prime Minister'.

Speaking for the first time since the messages emerged last week, Sir James, 73, accused the BBC of 'grotesque mischaracterisation' over links between him and the Conservative Party.

He also said it was 'entirely the right thing' for Mr Johnson to contact him directly about proposed changes to the tax status of his employees making ventilators during the pandemic.

Sir James said: 'The BBC's characterisation of me as a prominent Conservative donor, or supporter, leveraging a position of power to extract favours from the Prime Minister, is completely untrue.

'I have met Boris Johnson only three times... I have not attended any Conservative social events.'

Sir James Dyson, 73, accused the BBC of 'grotesque mischaracterisation' over links between him and the Conservative Party

He also said it was 'entirely the right thing' for Mr Johnson to contact him directly about proposed changes to the tax status of his employees making ventilators during the pandemic

Last week, Boris Johnson mounted a furious defence as he came under fire over the leaked private texts in which he promised Sir James he would 'fix' a tax rule so the tycoon's staff could help make ventilators for the NHS.

Sir James wrote an official letter to the Treasury asking for the tax status of his staff to remain the same if they moved from Singapore to the UK to produce vital ventilators during the pandemic.

But in a private text seen by the BBC, Mr Johnson told Sir James that he 'will fix it' himself.

He then added 'Rishi says it is fixed!! We need you here'.

Just two weeks later, Rishi Sunak told MPs that those coming into the UK to offer help during the pandemic would not see a change in their tax status.

It was the latest in a string of cronyism and lobbying questions facing the Conservative Party, after accusations that David Cameron used his influence and contacts to lobby ministers and officials behalf of his financier boss Lex Greensill.

This included texting Mr Sunak in an unsuccessful effort to secure coronavirus loans.

Hitting back at the BBC's report, Sir James wrote in the Daily Telegraph: 'There were myriad questions, from the technical to medical and compliance.

'It was in this context that we wrote formally to the Chancellor on March 15 for clarification on how UK tax rules would apply during this period of unprecedented upheaval. Far from concealing the text exchanges, we shared them explicitly with officials at the Treasury and No10 via email on March 28.'

A BBC spokesman said: 'The BBC has led the way on reporting a significant story which is clearly in the public interest. Sir James Dyson has informed us he is not a prominent Conservative supporter.'

Text exchange between Boris Johnson and Sir James Dyson over the tax status of his employees Dyson: 'We are ready. But nobody seems to want us to proceed. Sadly, James' Johnson: 'I will fix it tomo! We need you. It looks fantastic' Johnson: 'Rishi says it is fixed!! We need you here' Dyson: 'Thanks! I will give the ventilator our all. James' Dyson: 'Dear Boris, I'm afraid that we need a response to our letter below from Rishi please? We really need Rishi to answer the letter we sent (attached) - now. Or to make the position clear. Rishi has fixed the Country Day Count issue but not Work Days. The former is now covered under an 'Exceptional Circumstances' umbrella, Work Days are not. So, he has freed up your ability to be in the UK but not to work there - even in support of this National emergency.' Johnson: 'James I am first lord of the treasury and you can take it that we are backing you to do what you need.' Just two weeks later, Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs that those coming into the UK to offer help during the pandemic would not see a change in their tax status. Advertisement

Dyson played a key role during the pandemic, working with scientists and a Cambridge-based Technology Partnership to produce 10,000 ventilators for hospitals across the country.

In messages between the PM and Sir James, the former writes: 'We are ready. But nobody seems to want us to proceed. Sadly, James.'

Mr Johnson replied saying he will 'fix it tomorrow' adding: 'We need you. It looks fantastic.'

Sir James replied saying: 'Thanks! I will give the ventilator our all.'

He then adds: 'Dear Boris, I'm afraid that we need a response to our letter below from Rishi please?

'We really need Rishi to answer the letter we sent (attached) - now. Or to make the position clear.

'Rishi has fixed the Country Day Count issue but not Work Days.

'The former is now covered under an ''Exceptional Circumstances'' umbrella, Work Days are not.

'So, he has freed up your ability to be in the UK but not to work there - even in support of this National emergency.'

Mr Johnson reassured him, writing: 'James I am first lord of the treasury and you can take it that we are backing you to do what you need.'

Under the ministerial code - a list of rules laying out the conduct expected by ministers - 'a private secretary or official should be present for all discussions relating to government business'.

Should a conversation happen without an official, 'any significant content should be passed back to the department as soon as possible after the event'.

It also states that ministers should 'act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner' and 'must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias'.

'The sword of Dom-ocles hangs over Downing Street': No10 insiders 'fear Dominic Cummings will publish WhatsApp messages at the heart of the Government's who-said-what Covid lockdown row

Downing Street insiders fear Dominic Cummings could publish WhatsApp messages that are at the hear of the government's who-said-what row over lockdown.

Former chief adviser Cummings is locked in an explosive war of words with Boris Johnson after Downing Street accused him of a string of leaks - including claims about the PM's 58,000 flat makeover.

Cummings reportedly left Downing Street with a 'treasure trove' of damaging information about the government and advisers now fear he will release tell-all WhatsApp messages if he is criticised too heavily.

The messages are said to contain information on the government's lockdown strategy and allies of Cummings have claimed he also has audio recordings to hand.

A Whitehall official told the Sun: 'Everyone is worried about going too hard on Dom in case he drags them in too.

'Some very senior people are scrolling back through their phones wondering if they are in trouble.'

Downing Street insiders fear Dominc Cummings could release WhatsApp messages said to contain information on the government's lockdown strategy

Boris Johnson faces the threat of suspension from the Commons if he is found to have failed to register a 60,000 Tory contribution to refurbishing his Downing Street flat.

The PM has already been put on notice he risks a 'serious sanction' after a report two years ago condemned his 'repeated' breaches of Parliamentary rules.

Conservative chiefs are believed to have secretly approved a 58,000 payment to the Cabinet Office in July last year to cover the works - which was on top of the 30,000 annual sum for upkeep that the taxpayer foots.

However, the government has insisted that the premier has now funded the overhaul himself. Downing Street has refused to deny reports that Mr Johnson secured a loan from a Tory donor  believed to be financier Lord Brownlow  to pay for the decor.

But experts say that should have been declared in the MPs' register of interests within a month.

Mr Johnson has previously been berated by the Commons standards watchdog for repeatedly failing to declare financial interests.

In a report in Spring 2019 - shortly before he became PM - the cross-party committee said: 'Should we conclude in future that Mr Johnson has committed any further breaches of the rules on registration, we will regard this as a matter which may call for more serious sanction.'

Beyond apologies, potential punishments could include suspension.

There is also speculation that if a donor footed the cost, Mr Johnson could face a significant tax bill because HMRC would consider it a benefit in kind.

Former chief adviser Cummings is locked in an explosive war of words with Boris Johnson after Downing Street accused him of a string of leaks - including claims about the PM's 58,000 flat makeover

Former Cabinet Secretary Lord O'Donnell said transparency over the murky arrangements was 'very late', warning that PMs need to 'set an example' and 'obey the rules'.

Whitehall sources have told the Mail Mr Johnson may be forced publicly to declare exactly how the costly refurbishment was funded.

One source said further details were likely to be revealed in an updated register of ministerial interests, which could be released as early as this week.

But Mr Johnson first has to appoint a new adviser on ministerial standards  a post that has been vacant since Sir Alex Allen resigned in November in protest at the PM's refusal to sack Home Secretary Priti Patel over bullying allegations.

The appointment was due to be announced last week but the preferred candidate is said to be 'wobbling' about whether to accept the post.

The ministerial register is separate to that produced by Parliament.

It would not typically be used for declaring donations to ministers - although there are signs that Downing Street might argue that is the appropriate place to list the flat arrangements.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case yesterday confirmed Mr Johnson had wanted to set up a charitable trust more than 12 months ago to pay for the flat's refit.

But he said it was now clear that it would be illegal for a charitable trust to pay for the upkeep of private quarters.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Bucephalus Capital Corp. (CSE: BCA) ("Bucephalus" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a service agreement with Ninepoint Partners ("Ninepoint") through its Ninepoint Digital Asset Group division. Through this partnership, Ninepoint will provide Bucephalus ongoing marketing and strategic advice, assist with the corporate development of planned investment opportunities and provide introductions to certain parties that may further the business of the corporation.

Ninepoint is among the largest independent asset management firms in Canada, with over $8 billion in assets under management and institutional contracts. Ninepoint manages unique alternative investment solutions that offer investors the benefits of better diversification. It manages investment strategies that are uncorrelated from traditional asset classes, such as equities and bonds, with the goal of lowering overall portfolio risk.

"Ninepoint prides itself on innovation and creativity in the allocation of capital. We are pleased to be involved, through Ninepoint Digital Asset Group, in this exciting opportunity," said James Fox, Co-CEO of Ninepoint Partners.

Bucephalus Capital Corp. is also pleased to announce that it has established an Advisory Committee to serve as a strategic resource for the Company's development and strategy and has appointed Alex Tapscott as its Chair and inaugural member.

Mr. Tapscott is Managing Director of Ninepoint Partners' Digital Asset Group. In addition, Mr. Tapscott is an entrepreneur, author and seasoned capital markets professional focused on the impact of Bitcoin, blockchain and other digital assets on business and financial markets. Mr. Tapscott is the co-author of the critically acclaimed non-fiction best-seller, Blockchain Revolution, which has been translated into more than 15 languages and has sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide. He is also the Editor and Co-author of Financial Services Revolution.

Mr. Tapscott is sought after world-wide for his expertise by business and government audiences. He has delivered over 200 lectures and executive briefings for global corporations and financial services firms. His TedX talk, "Blockchain is Eating Wall Street" has been viewed over 750,000 times. Mr. Tapscott has also written for The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, The Globe and Mail, National Post and many other publications.

In 2017, Mr. Tapscott co-founded the Blockchain Research Institute (BRI), a global think-tank investigating blockchain strategies, opportunities and use-cases. Mr. Tapscott is also a CFA Charterholder.

The Company's Advisory Committee will bring together members with a broad range of skills and experiences to offer unbiased perspectives on strategic matters. They will advise the Company on market and industry trends, with a focus on corporate and business development opportunities. The Company expects to announce the appointment of additional Advisory Committee members in the coming weeks.

"Blockchain, cryptoassets and DeFi are beginning to reshape financial markets and the economy in profound ways," said Alex Tapscott. "Bucephalus is helping to lead the charge. I'm pleased to join as the inaugural member of their advisory committee as the company explores new and exciting opportunities in this field."

"We are thrilled to appoint Alex as Chair of our Advisory Committee," said John McMahon, CEO. "Alex is a highly successful investment professional, and his experience and expertise will bring a unique perspective to our team of advisors and directors."

Further, the Company announces the entering into of a non-binding letter of intent to acquire a 100% interest in Layer2 Blockchain Inc., a company which manages capital, technology and infrastructure in the decentralized finance (DeFi) cryptocurrency sector, with a focus on scalable layer two DeFi protocols. Layer2 is led by Andrew Young, Jake Hannah and Julian Wilson, a seasoned team of blockchain and DeFi entrepeneurs with a proven track record as investors, technologists, and business builders in this emerging industry, having successfully launched a top DeFi protocol (the "Proposed Transaction"). The Proposed Transaction is subject to the parties completing its respective due diligence and negotiating and entering into a definitive agreement and other ancillary documents necessary to complete the Proposed Transaction.

In addition, the Company is pleased to announce that it intends to complete a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") for gross proceeds of up to $3,000,000 through the issuance of up to 10,000,000 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.30 per unit. Each Unit will consist of one common share and one common share purchase warrant. Each common share purchase warrant is exercisable into one additional common share at a price of $0.50 for a period of 36 months from the closing date. In the event that the closing price of the common shares of the Company on the Canadian Securities Exchange is greater than $1.00 for ten consecutive trading days, the Company may give notice to the holders of the warrants that the expiry time of the warrants has been accelerated and the warrant will expire on the thirtieth (30th) business day following the date of such notice at the price of $0.50 for each warrant exercised. The Private Placement is scheduled to close on or before May 31, 2021.

A finder's fee may apply to a portion of the proceeds raised under the Private Placement. All securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement will be subject to a four month hold period from the date of issue. Proceeds from the Private Placement will be used by the Company for working capital and for other general and administrative costs.

In consideration for services, Ninepoint will paid a $25,000 per month advisory fee and be issued 5,000,000 performance warrants exercisable at a price of $0.35 to purchase common shares of the Company for a period expiring on the earlier of 3 years or a date that is 90 days after Ninepoint ceases to provide services to the Company.

About Bucephalus Capital Corp.

Bucephalus Capital Corp. (CSE: BCA) is an investment company that is seeking investment opportunities in private and publicly listed entities.

Additional information about the Company can be found on the Company's website at www.bucephaluscapital.ca.

For further information, please contact:

John McMahon, CEO

Tel: (416) 786-9031

Email: jmcmahon@bucephaluscapital.ca

About Ninepoint Partners LP

Based in Toronto, Ninepoint is one of Canada's leading alternative investment management firms overseeing approximately $8 billion in assets under management and institutional contracts. Committed to helping investors explore innovative investment solutions that have the potential to enhance returns and manage portfolio risk, Ninepoint offers a diverse set of alternative strategies including North American Equity, Global Equity, Real Assets & Alternative Income. Ninepoint Digital Asset Group is a division of Ninepoint. For more information on Ninepoint, please visit www.ninepoint.com or for inquiries regarding the Fund, the Conversion or the ETF please contact us at (416) 943-6707 or (866) 299-9906 or invest@ninepoint.com.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking information that involves substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. This forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information. The parties undertake no obligation to update forward-looking information except as otherwise may be required by applicable securities law.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82056
[April 28, 2021] Backer raises $8.4M to make saving for education social

SAN FRANCISCO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CollegeBacker, the social savings platform that brought digital investment advice to 529 plans, has rebranded to Backer (at backer.com) and raised $8.4 million in venture capital. Backer's latest round of funding was led by Crosslink Capital with participation from Rally Ventures, Correlation Ventures, and Expansion Ventures. Jim Feuille, early investor and board member at Chime, Pandora, and Personal Capital, has joined the Backer board. Other investors include SoFi co-founder Dan Macklin, Patreon co-founder Sam Yam, veteran fintech investor Tom Blaisdell, along with Reach Capital, Ulu Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, and several universities (Princeton, Dartmouth, and USC). "From day one, our mission has been to revolutionize how Americans save money by making the process more collaborative," said Backer founder and CEO Jordan Lee. "We started with a social college fund powered by a 529 plan ecause parents were clamoring for a more modern way to save. As Backer, we will continue to propel the 529 industry forward technologically and support our families in new ways, making it easy to help loved ones arrive at life's biggest milestones with financial security."



Backer's rebrand comes in part because Congress has been steadily expanding the use of 529 plans beyond traditional college costs to include K-12 private school, apprenticeship programs, student loan paydown, and more. "Backer has done something truly novel: make saving money a social activity," said Jim Feuille of Crosslink Capital. "Much like Chime, they picked a difficult, unsolved problem and remained focused on it for years. By harnessing what motivates us all  our relationships with the people we care about  they are bringing a powerful financial tool to a wider audience."

Backer has already helped its clients save $20 million for college, with 40% of the money coming from family and friends  a rate of gifting that's 30x higher than the industry average. In recent years, 529 plans have struggled to overcome a reputation for being more popular with affluent families, but Backer's audience reflects the diversity of America: 60% of its customers are women, 70% have a household income below $100k, and 50% are non-white. "Educational attainment is a foundational element of a child's future success, and Backer is helping more kids get the access they deserve," said Miriam Rivera of Ulu Ventures. "If you go back 25 years, 529 plans were originally conceived to help ordinary Americans put their kids on the path to college, but they have fallen short of that mandate. By making college savings more inclusive and collaborative, Backer is not only democratizing access to 529 plans, it is pioneering a new, more collaborative phase of fintech." Media Contact:

Alyona Minkovski

alyona@backer.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/backer-raises-8-4m-to-make-saving-for-education-social-301278678.html SOURCE Backer

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Team Prosperty They have an impressive team, and their technology and product cover all the processes, from client onboarding to asset management to commercialization. I believe they can fundamentally change the way real estate is leased, bought and soldfirst in Greece, then Europe as a whole.

Maximillian Diez, CEO of Twenty Five Ventures, a consultancy firm that provides guidance and resources to emerging businesses in proptech, real estate tech and fintech has joined Prosperty as a senior advisor.

Prosperty, founded in 2020, is a revolutionary proptech company headquartered in Greece. It is transforming the way the real estate market works and is redefining the experience by making selling, buying, renting and managing property simple, contactless, transparent and efficient.

This move signals that Twenty Five Ventures is looking outside the US market for early-stage investments.

We have been carefully watching the European proptech scene and believe that Prosperty is well poised with their initial product offerings to pioneer this next stage in the regions evolution, said Diez. Europe is experiencing major innovation in brokerage services, ibuying and portfolio securitization.

Prosperty is disrupting a very traditional market by leveraging proprietary technology, process automation, advanced data intelligence and rich content. Led by Antonis Markopoulos, Nikos Patsiogiannis and Antonis Despotakis, Prosperty raised 1.1 million in 2020 and is in the early stages of raising capital for their platform.

Given our vision to expand across Europe, we are delighted to welcome to our team Maximillian Diez and EJ Pineda, said Antonis Markopoulos, CEO of Prosperty.

Diez and Pineda will be providing insights into the hybrid real estate brokerage business and the proptech industry overall, building on their collective experience at Redfin, ZipRealty, UpNest and Movoto.

Max's 20-plus years in the real estate industry as an executive, thought leader and a broker to advise and invest in seed- and series-stage companies will be a great asset to our company, said Antonis Patsiogiannis, COO of Prosperty. EJ's massive experience on proptech operational efficiency will allow us to scale fast by reducing our operational overhead.

I am excited to collaborate with Prosperty, said Diez. They have an impressive team, and their technology and product cover all the processes, from client onboarding to asset management to commercialization. I believe they can fundamentally change the way real estate is leased, bought and soldfirst in Greece, then Europe as a whole.
Airlines have only been fined 630 times for allowing passengers to fly without the right paperwork despite more than 12,000 people being caught on arrival into the UK since February, it was revealed today.

Carriers have been blamed for the chaos and delays of up to six hours at passport control at Heathrow because so many people arriving in the UK haven't had valid proof of a recent negative coronavirus test or a completed Passenger Locator Form.

Airlines, which are meant to check all documents before they board, face fines of 2,000 for each passenger they carry to England without the proper paperwork while passengers can be fined 500 if they do not have the documents.

Border experts have told MailOnline that a two minute processing time at passport control becomes 40 minutes if just one piece of paperwork is wrong. There are concerns the situation will get worse if travel opens up on May 17.

Airlines can also be fined 4,000 for failing to inform passengers of the requirements before departure and during the journey, and 2,000 if they carry passengers who have been in a red list country in the previous 10 days to a non-designated port. Fines are issued by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Carriers have already suffered a severe financial hit from the collapse in demand for air travel.

Airlines have only been fined 630 times for allowing passengers to fly without the right paperwork despite more than 12,000 being caught since February, which has caused continued chaos at Heathrow's passport control

Airlines face fines of 2,000 for each passenger they carry to England without the proper paperwork while passengers can be fined 500 if they do not have the documents

Covid passports for holidays to US, France, Italy and Germany 'could be in place by June'  as Spain throws open its beaches and Greece 'will allow Brits to show handwritten NHS cards as proof of jab' Covid passports for summer holidays could be in place by June with UK-EU talks to resume travel set to start in days, officials have suggested. Vaccinated Brits with Covid passports could holiday in the US, France, Italy and Germany by June 28, it was revealed, though Greece insists the handwritten paper NHS card handed out with a jab will suffice. Spain also confirmed last night it was looking forward to welcoming back British holidaymakers and said June would be the start of the 'recovery' for tourism. The EU is closing in on a deal with the US for Covid passports, with officials also saying they are open to a similar policy with the UK. In response, a UK government spokesman said Britain was also ready to open talks with the EU shortly. The spokesman said: 'Ensuring free and open travel with our European partners is vitally important which is why we will be engaging the European Commission on reopening travel routes from the UK shortly.' Revealing Spain was throwing open its beaches, tourism minister Fernando Valdes Verelst said: 'June will be the start of the recovery of tourism in Spain. By then, we will have a digital vaccination certificate in place and we will be able to reopen our borders.' He said Spain was pushing for the UK's digital vaccine passport to be 'mutually recognised' and that he welcomed Boris Johnson's plans to restart international travel. Speaking at the World Travel and Tourism Council in Mexico, he added: 'Because of the progress in our vaccine rollout with 22 per cent of our population having had their first dose already, we expect by June to be at the green light. 'We are having close conversations with UK authorities and we are exchanging information on Spain's digital system and the trial happening at our airports in May.' Advertisement

The DfT said the fines 'form part of the UK's tough border measures to protect the UK as the vaccine rollout continues to make progress'.

It added that Border Force is 'currently checking every individual coming into the country, no matter where they have come from, and will continue to carry out thorough checks at the border to keep the public safe'.

Earlier this month, a Heathrow executive said arriving passengers were being forced to queue for up to six hours due to checks at the border. Chief solutions officer Chris Garton told MPs that 'the situation is becoming untenable' and the police have been forced to step in.

Covid passports for summer holidays could be in place by June with UK-EU talks to resume travel set to start in days, officials have suggested.

Vaccinated Brits with Covid passports could holiday in the US, France, Italy and Germany by June 28, it was revealed, though Greece insists the handwritten paper NHS card handed out with a jab will suffice.

Spain also confirmed last night it was looking forward to welcoming back British holidaymakers and said June would be the start of the 'recovery' for tourism.

The EU is closing in on a deal with the US on Covid passports, with officials also saying they are open to a similar policy with the UK.

In response, a UK government spokesman said Britain was also ready to open talks with the EU shortly.

The spokesman said: 'Ensuring free and open travel with our European partners is vitally important which is why we will be engaging the European Commission on reopening travel routes from the UK shortly.'

Revealing Spain was throwing open its beaches, tourism minister Fernando Valdes Verelst said: 'June will be the start of the recovery of tourism in Spain. By then, we will have a digital vaccination certificate in place and we will be able to reopen our borders.'

He said Spain was pushing for the UK's digital vaccine passport to be 'mutually recognised' and that he welcomed Boris Johnson's plans to restart international travel.

Speaking at the World Travel and Tourism Council in Mexico, he added: 'Because of the progress in our vaccine rollout with 22 per cent of our population having had their first dose already, we expect by June to be at the green light.

'We are having close conversations with UK authorities and we are exchanging information on Spain's digital system and the trial happening at our airports in May.'

Meanwhile, it was revealed UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will hold talks with G7 counterparts at the Cornwall summit between June 11 and 13 with a view to securing a free travel agreement to popular destinations.

Mr Shapps will argue that they should agree international standards for vaccinated travellers heading to 'green list' nations who show digital proof of vaccination, a negative test or proof of immunity at passport control.

There would also be talks on bilateral 'travel corridors' to the US, France, Italy, Germany and other nations for passengers with a covid passport, according to the Daily Telegraph.

But Greece, which will open its borders on May 15 - two days before the UK allows holidays - is planning to go it alone, for now.

ITALY: Britain is pushing for vaccinated Brits with Covid passports to be able to holiday freely by the end of June

GREECE: The islands including Rhodes (pictured) are ready to welcome tourists in mid-May and plan random testing at airports to deal with tourists

Boris Johnson (pictured yesterday) has vowed to push on with vaccine passports despite increasing warnings they could discriminate but Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis says his country will welcome vaccinated Britons without one

Greece insists the paper handwritten NHS card handed out with a jab will suffice as proof until the EU catches up

Harry Theoharis, the Greek tourism minister, told The Times their resorts will be open to any vaccinated Britons as long as they present their NHS vaccination card, signed by a nurse of doctor after getting the jab.

He said 'Until the UK has a digital passport, we have seen the paper cards that are provided with the two vaccine appointment dates and we are recognising them. They can be used on the ground and at the borders.'

Mr Theoharis said that testing would take place on arrivals, but only at random, with a review if positive cases jump upwards in the UK.

Turkey and Bulgaria lift travel bans for Britons and confirm tourists WON'T need a vaccine while bookings for villas in Greece and Portugal soar Turkey has announced that British tourists will be welcome in the country this summer without having to show a vaccination certificate. Visitors from the UK will not need to produce a Covid vaccine passport, but will need to show proof of a negative PCR test. The country also promises to provide testing for tourists before they return to the UK, with tests at hotels or airports costing around 25. Until now PCR tests for a family of four can cost as much as 500. Tui, the world's largest tour operator, said it had seen a surge in bookings to popular Turkish coastal resorts even before today's announcement. Rental company The Luxury Travel Book told MailOnline it had seen a spike in bookings for luxury villas in Greece, Portugal and Mallorca after the Greek Tourism Minister announced the plan to welcome British tourists from mid-May. People are booking up for month-long trips and asking for WiFi and a desk and are taking the whole family so that they can get paid to work from home while on holiday. The firm has also seen double the amount of requests for Greek villas compared to previous years, with demand for fully serviced villas with a chef, butler and housekeeper so tourists can stay away from busy restaurants. Popular islands Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu and Crete are already getting booked up, with most bookings from 2020 rolled over into this year. Brits are also looking for properties on smaller islands including Hydra, Paxos and Syros, which are off the beaten track and away from the crowds. Advertisement

He added that once the EU sets up a digital scheme then they will sign up, but they are not willing to wait.

The European Union will throw open its borders to America this summer as it uses 'the same jabs' as the bloc, its top Eurocrat said yesterday.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was in advanced talks with Washington about kick-starting holidays by using 'vaccine passports' to re-open transatlantic routes.

But yesterday a Commission spokesman said there were 'no such contacts yet' between the UK and EU over recognition of health certificates for getting Britons back on European beaches.

In an interview with the New York Times Mrs von der Leyen said: 'The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines. This will enable free movement and the travel to the European Union.'

She added: 'Because one thing is clear: All 27 member states will accept, unconditionally, all those who vaccinated with vaccines that are approved by the EMA.'

Lavishing further praise on the Biden administration she added that the US was 'on track' and making 'huge progress' with its campaign to reach so-called herd immunity, or the vaccination of 70 percent of adults, by mid-June.

America is currently rolling out the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccine jabs, which are also approved for use across the EU by the European Medicines Agency.

Asked whether Mrs von der Leyen was in similar talks with the UK, a Commission spokesman said: 'So far there are no contacts to this end with the UK.'

The majority of Britons want the UK's foreign travel ban to last until next year - and most have no intention of going on holiday anywhere this summer, an exclusive poll for MailOnline revealed today, as Ministers rush through Covid passports in time to start foreign breaks on May 17.

As Spain said it was 'desperate' for Brits to return this summer, some 55 per cent back extending the Covid restrictions on non-essential trips abroad into 2022 - while just 21 per cent would oppose the idea.

Meanwhile, 43 per cent say they are not planning to go anywhere at all on holiday this summer, with only a quarter harbouring hopes of a break in another country.

The findings, in an exclusive poll for MailOnline by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, underline the level of nervousness among the population after a year of brutal lockdowns.

It comes as ministers try to rush through 'Covid passports' in time for the scheduled easing of the non-essential travel ban on May 17 - but will only reveal the UK's 'green list' of countries on May 7 - as Spain talked up a quarantine-free travel corridor.

Vaccine passports could create a 'two-tier society', but many voters back them for travel

Millions could go to pubs with no social distancing under plans to let drinkers use mobile phones to prove they are free of Covid. This graphic shows how the app would have worked

Greece says it is ready to welcome vaccinated British tourists immediately when its resorts open up on May 15, while Spain and Portugal say they will throw open their borders from June along with much of the EU.

Spanish Tourism Secretary, Fernando Valdes Verelst, said he wants UK holidaymakers to 'restart holidays' in six weeks, adding: 'We are desperate to welcome you this summer. We've been having constant conversations with UK authorities'.

Mr Valdes Verelst said a travel corridor between the two countries, allowing quarantine-free breaks, is firmly on the table but only with covid passports 'easing' the return of 'safe' travel.

The European Union's ban on visitors in 2021 is not expected to apply to the UK because of its world-leading jab programme that has seen more than 33million get one dose and 10million of those receive both doses already.

'Longest summer ever' as Britons plan to take holidays throughout autumn to beat global Covid crackdowns Britons are preparing for the 'longest summer ever' as lockdown-weary holidaymakers rush to go abroad as late as November to beat global Covid crackdowns. Autumn bookings for international trips have seen an 80 per cent surge in interest compared to 2019 - as tour operators, hotels and airlines all report increased queries about later holidays. It comes amid warnings that summer trips could be under threat if the Foreign Office advises against travel to green list countries. The Government is preparing to lift the ban on international travel on May 17 and is finalising plans for a 'traffic light' system to determine which countries will be authorised destinations. However, experts have warned of confusion because the Foreign Office is expected to publish its own advice which could differ from the colour-coded scheme. Advertisement

A Government source told MailOnline that the Covid passport scheme would be in place next month to help people who want to travel to countries that are requiring proof of vaccination - but the source insisted that the key factor for Britons will be the rules on quarantine when returning to the UK.

'You've got countries saying we will welcome you. But it depends what the precautions on return are. We will have that green, amber, red system. It is about what you face when you come back to the UK. Can you isolate for 10 days?', the insider said.

And they suggested that holidaymakers will not know what countries fall into what 'traffic light' category until around a week before May 17, probably May 7. The criteria for assessing countries are set to include whether there are variants of concern, how good their genomic scanning system is, vaccination levels, and overall infection levels.

'That will all become clear much nearer the time,' one source said. 'India has just gone off... You're going to book a holiday in Spain in June? Well, good luck, but just make sure you are insured.'

Britons are preparing for the 'longest summer ever' as lockdown-weary holidaymakers rush to go abroad as late as November to beat global Covid crackdowns.

Autumn bookings for international trips have seen an 80 per cent surge in interest compared to 2019 - as tour operators, hotels and airlines all report increased queries about later holidays.

It comes amid warnings that summer trips could be under threat if the Foreign Office advises against travel to green list countries.

The Government is preparing to lift the ban on international travel on May 17 and is finalising plans for a 'traffic light' system to determine which countries will be authorised destinations.

However, experts have warned of confusion because the Foreign Office is expected to publish its own advice which could differ from the colour-coded scheme.

This means if the FO advises against travel to a certain country - even if it is permitted by the traffic light system - holidaymakers could see their plans disrupted.

Most holiday companies will not operate services in countries the Foreign Office has advised against visiting.

Meanwhile, going to a country against government guidelines will invalidate travel insurance.

Britons keen to avoid potential holiday issues - and those concerned about a much-slower vaccine rollout in several European nations - are looking at going abroad much later in the year.

Online flight booking website Skyscanner told The Times that more sunseekers are looking at holidays in September, October and November now than they were in 2019.

Some 43 per cent of all bookings at Co-op Travel fell into the late-summer category.

It was earlier revealed that even destinations on the green or amber list - where travel is permitted - could be off-limits if the Foreign Office advises against travelling to them.

Their advice is based on factors such as the risk of individuals getting stuck by Covid restrictions or the capacity and quality of the country's health services.
WALLDORF, Germany, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced it has joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) as an innovation partner in WBCSD's Value Chain Carbon Transparency Pathfinder. The initiative is dedicated to enhancing transparency in corporate carbon emissions with the objective to ultimately decarbonize supply chains. The announcement was made at the SAP Sustainability Summit virtual event.

The membership accelerates SAP's momentum in sustainability leadership and innovation. Last year, SAP announced the Climate 21 program to help companies understand, minimize and disclose the full carbon footprints of their products and services.

"We are supporting businesses of all sizes and industries in determining the carbon footprint across their operations and supply chains down to the individual product level by embedding the corresponding capabilities into our core enterprise software systems," said Christian Klein, CEO and Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. "By partnering with WBCSD and other forward-thinking companies, we will jointly find new ways to collect and share product carbon footprint data with their customers and consumers, which will give them a real competitive advantage while accelerating global decarbonization efforts."

WBCSD is a global, CEO-led organization dedicated to accelerating the transition to a sustainable world. At the core of the network are its six work programs, including climate, energy and circular economy, which focus on helping realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. WBCSD invites businesses, standards-setting bodies, technology experts and other decarbonization initiatives to join the Carbon Transparency Pathfinder in helping develop an effective model to help decarbonize industry through data transparency.

"We're glad to be counting on SAP's support, drive and expertise across our programs and projects  especially in the Carbon Transparency Pathfinder, which is a perfect initiative for SAP because their software and data management solutions are used by many of the world's largest companies to run complex supply chain and manufacturing operations," said Peter Bakker, president and CEO, WBCSD. "We look forward to innovating with SAP and other members to make real, tangible progress on sustainable development and climate action for a more sustainable world in line with the recently released Vision 2050."

Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @SAPNews.

Visit WBCSD. Follow WBCSD on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About WBCSD

WBCSD is a global, CEO-led organization of over 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. We help make our member companies more successful and sustainable by focusing on the maximum positive impact for shareholders, the environment and societies. Their member companies come from all business sectors and all major economies, representing a combined revenue of more than USD $8.5 trillion and 19 million employees. Their global network of almost 70 national business councils gives our members unparalleled reach across the globe. Since 1995, WBCSD has been uniquely positioned to work with member companies along and across value chains to deliver impactful business solutions to the most challenging sustainability issues. The organization is a leading voice of business for sustainability, united by a vision of a world where more than 9 billion people are all living well, within planetary boundaries, by 2050. www.wbcsd.org

About SAP

SAP's strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world's transaction revenue touches an SAP system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers' businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want  without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people's lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 18:50:45|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, April 28 (Xinhua) -- All adult residents of Mongolia's capital Ulan Bator will receive the first jabs of COVID-19 vaccines before May 8, the date marking the end of the ongoing national lockdown, Mongolian Health Minister Sereejav Enkhbold said Wednesday.

In addition, the government has planned to offer the second doses of the vaccines to the adults in the city by the end of May, said Enkhbold.

Mongolia has so far registered a total of 33,608 COVID-19 cases, and most of them were detected in Ulan Bator, which is the hardest hit by COVID-19 and home to over half of the country's 3.3 million population.

The full nationwide lockdown, aimed at curbing the steep surge in local COVID-19 cases, took effect on April 10.

The Asian country is planning to vaccinate at least 60 percent of its total population against COVID-19, and 744,564 Mongolians have so far received jabs of vaccines, according to the country's health ministry. Enditem
According to one Bible scholar, a recent finding of a brass sculpture of a dinosaur-like beast adorning a 500-year-old tomb in an English cathedral proves that dinosaurs once roamed the Earth alongside humans, destroying the hypothesis of evolution.

According to a report from the Express, scientists reportedly believed that dinosaurs ruled the Earth for 66 million years. "Young Earth Creationists," however, have presented a different theory based on some interpretations of Biblical Chronology. They claim that the planet's age may be determined by tracing the lineage of mankind from Adam and Eve's creation in Genesis to the birth of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

Young Earth Creationists believe the earth is just 6,000 to 10,000 years old, which contradicts the geological estimate of 4.543 billion years. But how does this align with the fossil record and the dinosaurs that scientists say perished millions of years ago?

Tom Meyer, a Bible studies professor at Shasta Bible College and Graduate School in California, believes that there is definitive proof supporting the hypothesis that dinosaurs roamed the Earth at the same period as humans - evidence that he argues refutes Darwin's theory of evolution.

Meyer, also known as the "Bible Memory Man," suggests that the brass carving of a dinosaur-like beast adorning the tomb of an English bishop buried in the Middle Ages - more than 300 years before paleontologists invented the word "dinosaur" - is hard evidence. It's the tomb of Bishop Richard Bell which was discovered in 1496 on the floor of the famed Carlisle Cathedral in England.

"Startling evidence has come to light which demonstrates that English artisans had knowledge of what dinosaurs looked like as far back as the end of the Middle Ages," Professor Meyer said.

"His tomb was elaborately decorated with brass engravings depicting all sorts of animals contemporaneous to his time such as a bat, dog, pig, fish, eels, etc. But found among all these real and, to this very day, common animals, are depictions of two other real animals: dinosaurs," he explained.

The Express states that at first sight, the dinosaurs resembled the Brachiosaurus and Brontosaurus- members of the sauropod family - which had four-legged bodies and lengthy necks and tails.

"Sauropods are a group of dinosaurs that had very long necks, long tails, small heads, and four thick, pillar-like legs. They are famous for their sheer size, being among the largest animals to ever roam the Earth," said Meyer.

The professor argued that the early artisans for these dinosaurs would not have based them on fossils or skeletal reconstructions.

"If dinosaurs became extinct 77 million years before man evolved on the earth, how did these English Middle Age artisans know how to accurately depict them?" he pointed out. He goes so far as to claim that some of the brass etchings resembled the stereotypical Vulcanodon dinosaurs.

The second carving, according to Meyers, looks much like a Shunosaurus which paleontologists have only been able to locate in the Sichuan Province of China. The accuracy in the detail of the artisans' dinosaurs suggests that they have seen them in their lifetime.

"The engravings upon the tomb of Bishop Richard Bell and biblical chronology contest the conventional wisdom that dinosaurs became extinct 77 million years ago, well before man evolved via a series of chance mutations over billions of years," concludes the professor.

"The evidence matches the biblical belief better than the evolutionary belief, "he added.

This video from the Institute for Creation Research, posted years ago, shows how the carvings look like:
WASHINGTON, D. C. - A day after officially declaring his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by Republican Rob Portmans upcoming retirement, Niles-area Rep. Tim Ryan on Tuesday released a list of endorsements from 130 current and former elected leaders across Ohio to convey that the party has unified behind him.

Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur was on the list. So were former U.S. Reps. John Boccieri of Alliance and Zack Space of Dover, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and former State Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown. Fifteen current Ohio legislators were included as were the mayors of Akron, Barberton, Canton, Cuyahoga Falls, Lakewood, Massillon, Parma, Stow, Struthers, Tallmadge, Toledo, Warrensville Heights and Youngstown.

To put a cherry on top of the cake, former Secretary of State, First Lady and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton posted a message on Twitter to support Ryans candidacy: Ohioans deserve a leader who will fight for them. @TimRyan is that leader.

Although other Democrats including Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes of Akron and Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce have expressed interest in running for the seat, it would behoove Ryan to have a clear field while the multiple Republicans seeking the seat shred one another in a fractious primary. His list included numerous officials from Sykes base in Summit County, as well as Franklin County Recorder Danny OConnor and Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano.

A statement from Ryan said hes grateful for the support of leaders in every corner of Ohio.

Ohioans are working harder than ever before, theyre doing everything right, and theyre still falling behind, said Ryan. In the Senate, Im going to fight for all our communities, and work with leaders across Ohio to make sure were growing our businesses, rebuilding our infrastructure, creating new jobs, and cutting all our workers in on the deal.

Ryan also launched a Workers First Tour of Ohio by holding a virtual meeting with a group of Northeast Ohio nurses and visiting a farm in New Knoxville.

The underlying theme and values of our campaign is to figure out how we cut workers in on the deal, Ryan told the nurses. Ohioans have been working harder than ever before. Theyre doing everything right. Theyre tough, theyre gritty, they show up. And yet many still cant get ahead. And I dont think anybody embodies that, that grit more than nurses over the past year.

The nurses told Ryan that many health care facilities have a shortage of nurses. They described working long hours, and several nurses told Ryan they caught coronavirus at work. They urged Ryan to provide incentives for nursing education to get more of them on the job.

I think more money from the federal government focused on specifically nursing education would be a helpful thing, said Carol Roe, a nurse who formerly served as Cleveland Heights mayor. Weve also had some success in some nursing programs, with capturing those people that are looking at nursing as a second career.

Were going to shape the future, and my intention is to help be a leader to address some of these issues, Ryan told the nurses.

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Kathleen Cuddy, the county's public health director, said that the number of contacts linked to positive cases "boomed because of school." Purdy also noted the connection between the increase and the return to in-person classes.

"Right now, our investigation and tracing certainly have highlighted what is occurring in schools because now they're back in school, they're within 3 feet of one another, there's more socialization and we're seeing more cases around schoolchildren," Purdy said. "We certainly would like to positivity influence that by getting the vaccine to the 16- and 17-year-olds."

Not all of the children affected by COVID-19 are eligible for the vaccine. But for 16- and 17-year-olds who attend high school and participate in after-school programs, such as sports, the vaccine would provide protection against the virus.

There would be challenges for the health department to address before it could offer the Pfizer vaccine. Because of the refrigeration requirements, administration of the vaccine would be time-sensitive. The Pfizer vaccine is shipped in containers with five trays, with each tray holding more than 1,100 doses  far more than the county would need for a single clinic.
(Reuters) - Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was an important watchdog for investors but questioned why it was not more proactive against the growth of listed blank-check companies.

"They have an important role to play in protecting the public from getting swindled, but are sometimes too close to Wall St hedge funds imo (in my opinion)," Musk said on Twitter.

"Strange that they aren't taking more action on some of the SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies)," he added.

Reuters reported earlier on Tuesday that the SEC is considering new guidance to rein in growth projections made by SPACs, or listed blank-check companies, including clarification of when they qualify for certain legal protections. That would extend an SEC crackdown on a deal frenzy in SPACs, which the regulator worries is putting investors at risk.

Musk has had his own run-ins with the SEC. He reached a settlement with the regulator after he tweeted in August 2018 that he had "funding secured" to potentially take Tesla private in a $72 billion transaction. In reality, Musk was not close to acquiring funding.

Musk and Tesla each paid $20 million in civil fines, and Tesla lawyers agreed to vet some of Musk's tweets in advance.

Musk was sued by a shareholder last month who accused him of violating his 2018 settlement with the SEC. The case is ongoing.

Musk also tweeted earlier on Tuesday that he found the Federal Communications Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration to be "fair & sensible" and that he agreed with them "99.9% of the time".

"On rare occasions, we disagree. This is almost always due to new technologies that past regulations didn't anticipate", he said.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; editing by Jane Wardell)
As Southeast Texas prepares for a busy summer school season, Orangefield ISD is still polling where the greatest needs are.

At this time, each of our three campuses will conduct summer school programming, Orangefield ISD Superindent Shaun McAlpin said. We are currently gathering student data to determine who is in most need of these services. Our summer school programming will consist mainly of remediation, credit recovery, and for grade level promotion.

The summer school program will be roughly five to six weeks with students onsite four days a week at half day increments.

Some schools are charging fees for the summer programs, while others are providing them for free to close gaps opened during the pandemic. Beaumont ISD is providing free expanded summer learning programs for all elementary school students.

Port Neches-Groves ISD will offer some programs, including ESL and special education programs, for free, while charging fees for other programs.

Our summer learning programs are designed to offer interventions to help close the gaps in learning including credit recovery for our high school students as well as offer a variety of enrichment opportunities for our elementary students, the district said on their website. There is something for all PN-G ISD students pre-k through 12th grade.

At the Bob Hope School, which has campuses in Port Arthur and Beaumont, a number of summer options will be provided.

Southeast Texas Summer School dates *This does not include all summer school offerings in the region. Beaumont ISD Middle/High School: June 16-July 8 Pre-K through 5th Grade: June 16-July 14 Buna ISD June 1-25 Bob Hope School (all schools) Summer School/COVID Recovery Instructional Materials Support Initiative: June 14-July 8 Summer Bridge program: June 21-24; June 28-July 1 Jasper ISD K-5th Grade: June 7-July 2 6-12th credit recovery/attendance recovery: June 14-July 9 8th Grade & EOC Remediation (SSI) 6th & 7th Grade Sp Ed IPI: June 14-July 9 PNG-ISD K-5th grade: 4 weekly sessions June 7-July 1 (limited space) Elementary jump start camp: July 19-29 Middle School: June 2-June 24 High School: June 2-July 1 End of Course remediation: June 14-17 EOC Retesting: June 22-25 ESL Pre-K session 1: June 7 - July 1 ESL Pre-K session 2: July 19 - July 29 Special Education PreK-3rd: June 7- July 1 Special Education 4th-12: June 2-June 24 Port Arthur ISD June 7- July 1 See More Collapse

Bob Hope School will be providing summer school for credit recovery beginning June 14, summer bridge program for Early College HS students in partnership with Lamar State College Port Arthur and COVID Recovery Instructional Materials Support Initiative (CRIMSI) pilot program, Campus Director Jesus Acosta told The Enterprise. CRIMSI is a state of Texas initiative to help with the lost of instructional time due to the effects of COVID-19.

Port Arthur ISD is providing a broad range of options as part of their summer of academic refinement.

The SOAR program will include the required bilingual programs, extended school year (ESY) for students receiving Special Education services, and the tiniest Titans, Wheatley Summer Program.

Elementary and middle school programs will offer language arts, science, social studies and mathematics.

The Ninth Grade Success Initiative program will be offered for ninth-grade students who have not earned enough credits to be promoted to the 10th grade, according to the district.

The high school program for students in grades 10-12 will be offered for students who failed a core course or have not earned enough credits to be promoted to the next grade. Wilson Early College High School will offer a Summer Bridge program for its 2021-22 cohort.

Pre-registration for PAISD is open now through June 2.

Registration for all districts offering summer school programs are available on the districts website.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes
U.S. Navy fires warning shot at Iranian vessels

Xinhua) 13:34, April 28, 2021

WASHINGTON, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. Navy patrol ship fired warning shots at Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels in international waters of the northern Persian Gulf, the Navy said on Tuesday.

Three IRGCN armed speed boats Monday rapidly approached U.S. Navy patrol coastal ship USS Firebolt and a U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat to "unnecessarily close range with unknown intent, including a closest point of approach of 68 yards (62 meters) to both U.S. ships," the Navy said in a statement.

"The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loud-hailer devices, but the IRGCN vessels continued their close range maneuvers," the statement said. "The crew of Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the IRGCN vessels moved away to a safe distance from the U.S. vessels."

U.S. media reported that it was the first time the U.S. Navy had fired on Iranian vessels in nearly four years.

The incident also came amid indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments under the JCPOA in May 2019, one year after former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Dunn&Co. is a mighty and fearless, independent agency that has been turning out smart, compelling and beautiful creative work for years. Im very happy to be part of this fun and friendly team, which delivers the highest competency at every agency discipline, said Corley.

Dunn&Co., a leading branding and advertising agency, today announced that Chris Corley is joining the agency's Tampa flagship office as Executive Creative Director.

He will help set and implement the creative vision, oversee all creative development, spearhead the recruitment of top talent and guide new business creative efforts, working closely with President Troy Dunn and Managing Director/EVP Strategy, Kamden Kuhn.

"Were incredibly happy to welcome Chris to Dunn&Co, said Dunn. Hes the perfect creative leader for our shop and hes bringing his unique, award-winning talents to help our clients build amazingly sticky and talked-about brands. His work not only sells and entertains, but it becomes part of the cultural conversation, which continues to be the recipe for marketing success.

Corley has worked most of his career in Kansas City, where he spent the last eight years at VMLY&R becoming an Executive Creative Director, helping to lead the creative department and overseeing clients such as Wendys and Danone.

Earlier in his career, Corley spent ten years at Bernstien-Rein, where he helped shepherd brands like McDonalds, Walmart, and Bayer Animal Health. Prior to that, he spent two years at DMB&B, working on CPG accounts such as Coca-Cola and Mars, Inc. (Skittles and Milky Way.)

Corley is one of advertising's most-lauded creatives, such that in 2020, marketing news outlet The Drum named him one of the forty most awarded Creatives in the world. Hes played an active role in hallmark brand projects and has won numerous awards including a Grand Prix and 22 other Lions at Cannes, a Grand Clio and five other Clios, four One Show Pencils (two gold) and an Effie, among others. Among the prominent campaigns he helped develop are Keeping Fortnite Fresh we beefin (the Mixtape), Nuggs for Carter, National Roast Day, and Pretzel Love Songs for Wendys.

Dunn&Co. is a mighty and fearless, independent agency that has been turning out smart, compelling and beautiful creative work for years. Im very happy to be part of this fun and friendly team, which delivers the highest competency at every agency discipline, says Corley.

About Dunn&Co.

Dunn&Co. (http://www.dunn-co.com) is a branding, advertising and marketing communications firm with offices in Tampa and the United Kingdom. They provide award-winning creative solutions for clients worldwide, including GE Healthcare, Tampa Bay Lightning, Trivago, Baxter Healthcare, Checkers, Grow Financial, State of Florida, Abbvie, Smokey Bones, The Florida Aquarium, Edgewater Spirits, World of Beer, Sabal Trust, Arrmaz, and Connectwise.
Microsoft has patented an employee wellbeing recommendation feature that uses biometric data to detect a workers stress levels when completing tasks such as sending emails, encouraging them to take a break when anxiety levels run high.

The Emotion Detection From Contextual Signals For Surfacing Wellness Insights patent, filed in October 2019 and published last week, describes a wellness insights service that collates data from a range of sources. This includes blood pressure and heartrate monitoring data that could be obtained from an employees wearable devices, such as smart watches and fitness trackers.

The biometric data sources are combined with data generated within Microsofts Office apps to create an employee anxiety score. The range of possible inputs highlighted in the patent include audio and video meeting data, haptic sensor feedback showing how hard keys are pressed on a keyboard, or simply the amount of time it takes to draft an email.

US Patent Office One illustration from the Microsoft employee wellness patent published in April 2021.

Once the anxiety score threshold is met, an algorithm would then alert the employee and suggest an action. Those alerts might include telling a worker they're making more corrections than usual when drafting an email, or that their voice sounded agitated during a call; the feature would then recommend taking a break or perhaps a short walk to calm down.

The patent application was initially highlighted by the patentdrop substack and comes as employee wellbeing has become a growing focus for Microsoft and other companies  particularly during the pandemic, where the use of cloud apps boomed even as many workers reported burnout.

US Patent Office Notifications could be served up in a variety of ways: via email, in a pop-up window, or even within one of Microsoft's productivity apps.

It was not immediately clear whether Microsoft plans to release products based on the patent application. Companies routinely seek patents for technology or other intellectual property that don't necessarily translate into real-world offerings.

US Patent Office The wellbeing suggestions in the patent bear similarities to Microsofts existing MyAnalytics offering.

Microsoft recently took steps to combat worker stress with the introduction of a new capability in Outlook calendars that allows business customers to set all meetings to finish early or start late to prevent back-to-back meetings piling up. That's come to be seen as a common cause of stress for remote workers and has prompted companies to seek innovate ways to engage employees and re-create an informal office atmosphere.

Microsoft has introduced a several workplace analytics tools to its productivity and collaboration application suite in recent years. This includes MyAnalytics, which surfaces data to individual workers about their working habits and provides a range of wellbeing recommendations, encouraging them to reduce the number of meetings, for instance, or highlighting a potential lack of focus time.

The company also recently uneviled Viva, part of a new Teams-based employee-experience platform; it incorporates MyAnalytics and Workplace Analytics  another analytics tool Microsoft 365 that offers higher-level insights aimed at managers and business leaders.

Other software vendors are incorporating workplace analytics into their products; Cisco and Google are among the companies moving to offer wellbeing analytics to individual employees based on their application use.

The introduction of analytics into such tools has raised concerns about the potential for workplace surveillance, and vendors have been keen to highlight the employee wellbeing benefits, as well as ensuring that personal analytics are only available to the individual worker.

Biometric data is less common for tracking worker wellbeing and use of the technology in a workplace setting has at times proved controversial; Amazon has reportedly required delivery drivers to sign biometric consent forms and agree to storage of facial recognition biometric data.

When Cisco unveiled its plans to offer "People Insights" earlier this month, company officials stressed that personal analytics are anonymized and not accessible by managers. They're not meant for your organization, they're not meant for your boss, they're not meant for your peers, it's only for you, said Jeetu Patel, senior vice president and general manager for Security and Collaboration at Cisco.

The goal is not to inspect [what workers are doing], the goal is to help you manage your well-being, your productivity and nurture your relationships.

While workplace analytics for both individuals and managers are becoming more widely available, the use of biometric data to monitor employee wellbeing is less common, though the technology is used for authentication purposes in some cases. Its use in some cases can raise concerns about employee privacy, and Raul Castanon, a senior research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligences 451 Research advises caution when deploying the technologies.

Consumers are increasingly familiar and comfortable with the use of wearable devices for collecting biometric data to monitor their health and wellbeing; however, extending these capabilities into the workplace will likely be a cause for concern for employees, said Castanon.

There are many benefits that analytics can provide to employees, including monitoring their health and wellbeing at work and in their personal life, but navigating this area can be extremely delicate for the enterprise.
A Rio Grande Valley family is suing SpaceX for negligence following a fatal vehicle accident on Texas 4 before dawn on June 7 near the companys facility outside Brownsville.

Carlos Venegas, 35, of San Benito, was killed and his wife and three children were injured when their vehicle slammed into an eighteen-wheeler. The truck was stopped in the middle of the highway while trying to turn into the SpaceX facility near Boca Chica village.

The suit seeks $20 million in damages from the commercial space company and its affiliate, Dogleg Park LLC.

Listen to the EN-Depth podcast episode on Space X Listen to journalist Brandon Lingle explain his time spent reporting on SpaceX in Boca Chica and Brownsville. More from EN-Depth

Without any reflective signage, lighting of any kind, warning markers, reflective markers, stop lights, stop signs, cones, security personnel, or safety systems, the Venegas family could not see the truck at all, said the complaint filed on March 15 in federal court in Brownsville.

On ExpressNews.com: 'This is not SpaceX property': Elon Musk's company looks to rename South Texas town 'Starbase'

Venegas and his family were camping nearby when the tides came in and forced them to abruptly end their trip around 4 a.m. on June 7. The crash occurred as they drove west on the two-lane Texas 4 at the intersection of LBJ Boulevard.

Venegas died at the scene from blunt force trauma to his head, and his family suffered spine and leg injuries.

SpaceX responded April 16, denying all allegations and arguing that Venegas was at fault for the accident.

Lucinne Venegas, Carlos wife, and their minor children are the plaintiffs in the case.

This was no accident, Venegas attorney, Anthony Buzbee, said in the filing. Mr. Venegass senseless death could have been avoided had (SpaceX) taken specific steps to ensure that deliveries occurred safely

Before SpaceXs 2014 arrival in the area, it was quiet and frequently used by Brownsville nresidents as a popular camping area, Buzbee said in the filing.

In addition to local beach goers, traffic has spiked in the area with both SpaceXs commercial vehicles and fans trying to catch a glimpse of the ongoing Starship development.

2 1 of 2 William Luther, Staff / William Luther Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Brandon Lingle / Show More Show Less



Buzbee said that despite SpaceXs systematic, commercial use of this narrow, one-lane access point at the site, (the company) refused to take any necessary steps to upgrade and modernize this access point to accommodate the commercial traffic.

In 2017, the Texas Department of Transportation spent $3 million to improve 16 miles of Texas 4 to help facilitate SpaceXs operations.

Motorists often run into unscheduled delays or closures on Highway 4 as SpaceX moves heavy equipment or rockets.

Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. must approve SpaceXs requests for Texas 4 and Boca Chica Beach closures.

SpaceX and its lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

Brandon Lingle writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. brandon.lingle@express-news.net
An Alabama state trooper has been arrested on child sex charges.

Montgomery police Tuesday night announced the arrest of 41-year-old Christopher Bauer. Few details have been released, but MPD Capt. Saba Coleman said Bauer is charged with first-degree sodomy, incest and sex abuse of a child under the age of 12.

Bauer was booked into the Montgomery County Detention Facility with bond set at $105,000.
Statement by Ambassador Byrne Nason at UNSC Briefing on Syria (Political)

Statement

Mr. President, given that this meeting combines both political and humanitarian agenda items, I will now briefly say a few words in my national capacity about the political situation.

Geir, thank you again for your briefing today.

We note with regret and disappointment the lack of substantive engagement by the Syrian authorities in the work of the Constitutional Committee to date, and hope that the response you referred to this morning Geir is a positive one. Despite your intense efforts so far, intransigence continues to frustrate the possibilities for real progress at the Committee. The results of the Committees work continue to fall far short of the legitimate expectations of all the Syrian people.

Mr. President

On 22 April, the Secretary General released his report on Children and Armed Conflict in Syria documenting the terrible scale of grave violations committed against children. Over 2,700 children were verified as killed or maimed within just that two-year reporting period. Ireland condemns the unconscionable violations against children committed by all parties to the conflict, and urges all to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law. These parties, and those with influence on them, must take immediate actions to protect innocent Syrian children.

Ireland calls on all parties to take concrete and effective measures to prevent and end child casualties in the conduct of hostilities. The recruitment of children simply must cease and all children should be unconditionally released from the ranks of all armed groups.

Mr. President,

The plight of families left to suffer without information about their missing loved ones, is another cruel and a brutal form of collective punishment.

It is especially concerning that persistently high numbers of children are detained for alleged associations with conflict. Children caught in conflict must be treated primarily as victims. The parties must provide comprehensive information on and access to all detainees, particularly children. They must identify non-custodial alternatives for children and release them. Child protection actors simply must have access to detained children.

Geir, your continued efforts on detainees, abductees and missing persons have our full support.

In Ireland, we strongly believe in the centrality of education as a building block for progress of society. Attacks on schools and their use for military purposes are reprehensible and we call for an end to that. Children in areas controlled by armed groups of course should have access to a recognised curriculum. All parties should remove practical obstacles to education in areas under their control. Every child should be allowed to enjoy a natural right to education in accordance with their best interests and hopes for a better future.

Mr. President,

Accountability for violations of International Humanitarian Law and international human rights law is essential. Ireland commends the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria for their work.

Their reports, and others, including from civil society, testify to horrific crimes including the bombing of hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure.

Ireland clearly condemns these acts, in particular those on the hospital near Atareb and on humanitarian infrastructure near Bab al-Hawa on 21 March, as well as attacks against civil society and human rights defenders.

Finally, Mr. President

It is past time for this Council to shoulder its responsibility and call on the Syrian authorities to engage meaningfully within the Constitutional Committee and importantly with the wider political process, as outlined in resolution 2254.

This Council should also insist that the Syrian authorities comply with their obligations under international law and end brutal policies, so that the people of Syria can live their lives in freedom and without fear.

Thank you, Mr. President.

 Previous Item | Next Item 
WAVE BL is a blockchain-based system that uses distributed ledger technology to ensure that all parties involved in a cargo shipment booking can issue, transfer, endorse and manage documents through a secure, decentralised network. Users can issue all originals, negotiable or non-negotiable, and exchange them via a direct, encrypted, peer-to-peer transmission. It's also possible for users to amend documents. WAVE BL's communication protocol is approved by the International Group of Protection & Indemnity Clubs, and meets the highest industry standards for security and privacy.

"MSC has chosen WAVE BL because it is the only solution that mirrors the traditional paper-based process that the shipping and cargo transportation industry is used to," says Andre Simha, Global Chief Digital & Information Officer at MSC. "It provides a digital alternative to all the possibilities available with traditional print documents, just much faster and more secure."

The WAVE BL platform can be used free of charge throughout 2021 for exporters, importers and traders. Users only pay for issuing the original documents, and they do not need to invest in any IT infrastructure or make operational changes in order to use the service. They can simply sign up via MSC's website: www.msc.com/eBL.

Longstanding advocacy for digitalisation in shipping

MSC has long recognised the importance of digitalisation across the shipping industry and has been one of the pioneers behind the industry's digital transformation. As a founding member of the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), MSC has participated in a number of initiatives focused on driving standardisation, digitalisation and interoperability in container shipping. Andre Simha is also the Chairman of DCSA.

Introducing an eBL solution is a critical step in the overall digitalisation of the industry. "Traditionally, the shipping industry has relied quite heavily on physical paper documents. And among these, the BL is the most important transport document in international trade," states Andre Simha. "While there have been attempts to create an eBL solution in the past, we are now in a position to introduce a solution that can pave the way to mass eBL adoption, which will mean significant savings for the shipping industry."

Saving the shipping industry billions

DCSA research indicates that by achieving just 50% eBL adoption by 2030, the industry could potentially save more than USD 4 billion per year. In addition to the significant cost savings, the eBL offers a wide range of benefits to shippers, including eliminating the 'Document transportation' factor from the supply chain. Shippers can instantly transfer original and negotiable electronic documents across borders. The solution enables faster document transfers, which in turn, leads to a shorter payment cycle. And electronic processes are far less susceptible to forgery, fraud, loss or human error.

As Andre Simha comments, "Eliminating paper from the shipping transaction will make every aspect of commercial container shipping better, faster, more effective, more secure and environmentally-friendly."

Gadi Rushin, WAVE BL's CEO and Co-founder, "Our goal from the very start has been to change the way the world trades by digitising document workflows while ensuring the highest legal, security and privacy standards. MSC is helping to create a new trade norm that will ultimately affect the rest of the market and save the trade industry billions of dollars."

Helping countries severely impacted by COVID-19

While MSC has worked with WAVE BL on piloting its eBL solution since 2019, COVID-19 has created an even greater drive towards digitising the BL. "The global pandemic has restricted human and transport mobility in many places," Andre Simha explains. "Countless containers have been stuck at various ports, terminals, depots and warehouses around the world because the receiver doesn't have the original paper BL required to release these goods at their destination."

Here the eBL addresses a very current need, enabling stakeholders to overcome border restrictions, interruptions in postal services and other pandemic-related disruptions. Shippers can also allow employees to work remotely by dematerialising the BL and other shipping documents.

Worldwide implementation

After running successful pilot projects in select countries since 2019, MSC is now introducing its digital solutions to all customers worldwide, paving the way for widespread eBL adoption. MSC is also exploring other eBL platforms to adapt to market demands.

"Now we're introducing our eBL solution to our broad customer base to ensure that even more of our customers are able to benefit from the advantages of a digital BL solution. In a matter of a few years, we expect the eBL to become the new norm." Andre Simha states.

For more information on MSC's eBL: www.msc.com/eBL

For more information on WAVE BL: www.wavebl.com

About MSC: MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is a global leader in transportation and logistics, privately owned and founded in 1970 by Gianluigi Aponte. As one of the world's leading container shipping lines, MSC has 524 offices across 155 countries worldwide with over 100,000 employees. With access to an integrated network of road, rail and sea transport resources which stretches across the globe, the company prides itself on delivering global service with local knowledge. MSC's shipping line sails on more than 215 trade routes, calling at over 500 ports.

For more information visit www.msc.com

About WAVE BL: WAVE BL is a blockchain-based digital courier platform that mirrors the traditional process for transferring original paper documents  electronically. Our solution enables instant, encrypted and authenticated transfer of Bills of Lading and other unique digital documents. WAVE BL's platform is designed to meet the needs of every member along the supply chain, from the smallest importer to the largest shipping carriers and banks.

For more information visit www.wavebl.com

Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498110/MSC_eBL_Infographic.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1495491/MSC_Mediterranean_Shipping_Company_Logo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1496547/WAVE_BL_Logo.jpg

SOURCE MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company
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President Joe Biden will mention the January 6th Capitol riot in his speech to Congress during prime time tonight  while saying he assumed his office in a time of 'crisis.

Advance excerpts of Biden's speech to lawmakers  in a more socially distant Capitol than usual amid the pandemic  will explicitly reference the MAGA riot on the day Congress met to count the electoral votes.

He will call it 'the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.'

President Joe Biden will reference the Jan. 6th Capitol riot and will call it 'the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War' when he speaks to Congress Wednesday night

'As I stand here tonight, we are just one day shy of the 100th day of my administration. One hundred days since I took the oath of officelifted my hand off our family Bibleand inherited a nation in crisis,' he will say, according to excerpts released by the White House.

'The worst pandemic in a century. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.'

A group of 200 lawmakers will be seated inside the House chamber that was breached by rioters on the day Congress met to count the electoral votes.

Biden will call the Jan. 6th riot 'the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War'

Biden will stress the vaccine rollout in his speech

Military personal stage outside the US Capitol before U.S. President Joe Biden will address a joint session of Congress

Security barriers were in place once again for the speech

National Guard forces have been protecting the Capitol since the Jan. 6th riot

But after citing the historic challenges, Biden plans to deliver an optimistic turn.

'Nowafter just 100 daysI can report to the nation: America is on the move again. Turning peril into possibility. Crisis into opportunity. Setback into strength,' he will say.

Biden's remarks also include outreach to Americans who may feel 'left behind'  outreach to millions who remain unemployed, as well as to potential Donald Trump supporters who have registered complaints about the economic system and job disruptions.

'Now, I know some of you at home wonder whether these jobs are for you. You feel left behind and forgotten in an economy thats rapidly changing. Let me speak directly to you,' Biden will say  pivoting to his multi-trillion proposals.

'Independent experts estimate the American Jobs Plan will add millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in economic growth for years to come. These are good-paying jobs that cant be outsourced. Nearly 90% of the infrastructure jobs created in the American Jobs Plan dont require a college degree. 75% dont require an associates degree,' he will say.

He calls his plan 'a blue-collar blueprint to build America.'

And in outreach to his party's progressive left, Biden will say: 'And, it recognizes something Ive always said: Wall Street didnt build this country. The middle class built this country. And unions built the middle class.' Former primary rivals Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are set to be in the audience.

Biden plans to speak in broad strokes.

'We have to prove democracy still works. That our government still worksand can deliver for the people. In our first 100 days together, we have acted to restore the peoples faith in our democracy to deliver,' he will say.

And he will push his main focus: beating back the virus through vaccine and other means.

'Were vaccinating the nation. Were creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. Were delivering real results people can see and feel in their own lives. Opening the doors of opportunity. Guaranteeing fairness and justice.'

In his Republican response, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina will credit President Trump for the vaccines.

'This Administration inherited a tide that had already turned. The coronavirus is on the run!' scott will say.

'Thanks to Operation Warp Speed and the Trump Administration, our country is flooded with safe and effective vaccines. Thanks to our bipartisan work last year, job openings are rebounding,' he will say.

Biden took the Oath of Office Jan. 20th after 400,000 Americans had died from the virus. Vaccines were beginning to come online, with Pfizer and Moderna shots getting out of the gate first. The country was just days past a post-Christmas spike, with nearly 200,000 new infections per day, in what was the high point of the pandemic. On Tuesday there were just over 50,000 new cases.
Relatives perform last rites of a victim who died of COVID-19 coronavirus at a cremation ground in New Delhi on April 26, 2021. (Money Sharma / AFP via Getty Images)

China Suspends Cargo Flights to COVID-19 Stricken India, Disrupting Shipment of Medical Supplies, While Promising to Help

Update: On the night of April 27, Sichuan Airlines said it was working on a plan to resume the cargo flights to India, although they are currently still on halt.

India is experiencing a massive COVID-19 surge with more than 300,000 confirmed cases daily in the past week. Following democratic countries, the Chinese communist regime promised to help India, however, Indian media reported that a major Chinese state-run airline has suspended all cargo flights to India that are needed to bring in medical supplies, and Chinese manufacturers of medical supplies have raised prices.

In recent days, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have reached out to India to provide urgent assistance. The Biden administration promised to immediately provide India with the raw materials needed to produce vaccines, medical supplies, and protective equipment.

The Chinese government also promised to provide India with assistance and support. On April 26, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying tweeted, Were concerned about the grave situation in India. Were ready to be of help if India tells us its specific needs.

However, according to a Times of India report on April 26, Chinese state-run Sichuan Airlines had suspended all cargo flights to India for 15 days. It seriously affected the ability of locals to obtain oxygen concentrators and other urgently needed medical equipment from China.

In addition, traders also complained that Chinese manufacturers have increased the price of medical supplies by 3540 percent, and the freight charges have also increased by more than 20 percent, according to the report.

A Sichuan Airlines A320 jet inside a hangar at the Airbus Tianjin factory in Tianjin City, northern China on April 21, 2009. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)

At the Chinese Foreign Ministrys routine press conference on April 26, a reporter from the Indian Broadcasting Corporation asked the ministrys spokesperson Wang Wenbin about the suspension: You said last week that China and India are communicating on Chinas provision of medical supplies to India. At the same time, Indian companies are also purchasing medical supplies from China to meet Indias needs in response to the epidemic. But today, Chinas Sichuan Airlines suspended its cargo operations to India, which prevented India from purchasing urgently needed items at this critical moment.

Wang replied by repeating that China would provide assistance and said that the Indian companies urgent purchase of medical supplies from China is a normal purchasing behavior among companies. And he suggested the Indian reporter check with relevant airlines about the operation of specific flights.

At present, more than a dozen countries have suspended flights to India, but the ban does not include cargo flights or planes carrying medical personnel. On the contrary, countries such as the United Kingdom are actively dispatching flights loaded with medical supplies to India. A flight from the UK carrying ventilators and oxygen concentrators landed in Delhi on April 27.

Regarding Chinas promise to help India, U.S. columnist and China expert Gordon Chang replied on Twitter by asking China to reveal how the COVID-19 started.

The COVID-19 pandemic that started in Chinas Wuhan city last November has claimed 3.13 million lives worldwide, but so far the Chinese communist regime has not provided the original data on the virus, which has been criticized by many people around the world.

On April 22, a group of U.S. senators proposed a bill that would require President Joe Biden to declassify intelligence on the P4 lab, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is suspected of leaking the virus.
BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The 2021 China Brand Day events will be held from May 10 to 12 as the country seeks to boost domestic brands and spur consumption.

The events will be held both online and offline on the premise of strictly implementing regular epidemic prevention and control, said Xia Nong, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission.

During the period, China will host an international forum on China brand development and an expo on China indigenous brands, Xia said, adding the events will also help to guide local governments to organize activities to create distinctive brands.

Established in 2017, the China Brand Day is marked on May 10 every year.

China will also kick off a month-long campaign in May, which will feature a series of activities promoting consumption across the country.

[ Editor: WPY ]
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An 'angry' 18-year-old student who allegedly ran around his college with a knife and gun was 'having problems' and had been struggling with lockdowns before the incident, neighbours have claimed.

The masked man - who has not been named - reportedly went onto the campus and let loose a volley of shots from a handgun, before hero teacher Steve Hopkins, 51, confronted him.

A neighbour said the suspect 'went to the college', but was 'having problems' and had been struggling with Covid shutdown, adding that he lives with his mother, father and a younger sibling.

In Monday's horrifying attack, the suspect screamed at students to 'run for their lives' as he repeatedly pointed the gun at them and fired.

But as they fled, Mr Hopkins - a mechanical engineering tutor - raced out of his classroom and faced him down.

As he stood just yards away, the gunman allegedly raised the handgun and fired a series of shots directly at him.

Luckily the weapon was firing blanks and Mr Hopkins, who is also a parent, escaped injury.

The gunman - said to have been studying bricklaying - was later rugby-tackled and pinned to the ground by a second teacher and was later arrested by police.

Students who witnessed the terrifying incident at Crawley, College, West Sussex at 3.10pm on Monday said Mr Hopkins actions were 'amazing'.

Police take away the suspect from Crawley College after he allegedly ran around with a gun and knifing, injuring two members of staff and terrifying fellow students

Hero: Steve Hopkins, a mechanical engineering tutor, raced out of his classroom and faced down the armed man

Police remove evidence from a house in Crawley where it is believed the attacker in Monday's shooting at Crawley College lived

Elisa Stellabotte, 17, who is studying for a motor mechanics diploma with Mr Hopkins, said: 'It was so shocking. Everyone dived out of the classroom after we heard several shots.

'He pointed the pistol at my tutor, Steve Hopkins, and fired but they were just blanks thank God. He was so shocked.

'Steve was telling everyone to get back in the classroom. People were really terrified. My friend was having a panic attack.'

Last night reluctant hero Mr Hopkins, who lives in a quiet cul-de-sac in Pulborough, West Sussex was refusing to speak about the incident.

But Vicki Illingworth, Principal at the college praised brave staff. She said: 'I cannot praise the courage, resilience and support shown by our staff enough. They have been incredible and the care and compassion they shared with our students and with each other continues to fill me with admiration.

'We can confirm two members of our staff did sustain some minor injuries, which were not gunshot wounds.

'Their heroic actions  and the rapid response of emergency services  helped to protect our college community. They are both at home, resting.'

Traumatised students and staff at the college will receive counselling after the attack, it was revealed yesterday.

Armed police, snipers and dog units swamped Crawley College in West Sussex on Monday afternoon.

They confirmed an 18-year-old had been held on suspicion of firearms offences.

Children fled the campus or hid in toilets and classrooms after the hooded gunman entered the building 'waving a black pistol around' and yelling 'run for your lives' before shooting at children who had no idea the bullets were blanks.

Two teachers are understood to have suffered knife wounds to their hands and wrists as they confronted the attacker, while police were searching the suspect's home yesterday.

One student, Eddie, 18, who witnessed the incident, said: 'It was absolutely terrifying. I heard shots ringing out and they were unmistakably gunshots. I saw the guy. He was wearing a black hoodie and a jumper and he had a mask on.

'He was screaming at people telling them: 'Run for your lives, run, run!''and jumping around all over the place then he fired some shots. No-one knew they weren't live bullets but they turned out to be blanks. It was the scariest thing ever. Everyone thought it was a terrorist attack. I thought: 'Oh my God. There's going to be a massacre' and we all went back into the building for safety.'

Student Brad Stanger, 18, said: 'I've been told one member of staff had their hand sliced open and another cut their wrist. Some students were in the toilets'.

Police were searching the Crawley home of the teenage suspect, and were seen taking away evidence in bags

Students claimed a hero teacher jumped in to subdue the man, as shocking Snapchat footage (pictured) captured the suspect being tackled to the ground at the

The suspect detained after armed police swooped on Crawley College in West Sussex, where police snipers were brought in

Two people were injured. Witnesses said the gunman, who was also armed with a knife, stabbed one college lecturer in the hand and fired blanks directly at another lecturer.

Students flee with many fearing initially they were in the middle of a terror attack. Police have ruled this out

Armed police responded to 'reports of gunshot fire' as staff and students were evacuated from the building in West Sussex

Chief Inspector Shane Baker, of the Crawley Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: 'I'd personally like to thank everyone who helped to quickly bring this incident to a safe conclusion, especially the two members of college staff whose heroics have not gone unnoticed.

'They put themselves in harm's way in order to protect their students, fellow employees and the wider public, and I am hugely grateful for their quick-thinking actions.

'During this, they sustained minor injuries  not gunshot wounds  and presented themselves to a walk-in medical centre. Thankfully, no other injuries were reported, and no damage was caused by the blank shots fired.

'We are treating this as an isolated incident which was not terror-related, and while we are not seeking anyone else in connection with it, we will continue to provide a high visibility police presence in the area for community reassurance.

'We are also working with the college and the local authority to manage the welfare and wellbeing of those involved  including students  who will have been understandably shocked by this experience.

'Our enquiries are ongoing into this criminal investigation, and anyone with any information is urged to report it online or call 101, quoting Operation Reset.'

Crawley College is closed and is offering support to students caught up in the incident.

A spokesman said on Tuesday morning: 'At just after 3pm yesterday, the police received reports of shots being fired on College Road, Crawley.

'Police and armed police were swiftly on the scene and a man was detained with the help of staff from the College. A firearm and knife were seized at the scene.

'Two members of our staff at Crawley College sustained minor injuries during the incident but these were not gunshot wounds. Both members of staff have received treatment and will make a full recovery.

'In the aftermath of the incident, students and staff were evacuated to a safe space whilst the police carried out a thorough search of the campus and buildings'.

The spokesman added: 'We appreciate what a traumatic experience it must have been for all who were involved at Crawley in both the incident itself and the subsequent lockdown.

'We would like to thank to everyone for their support and resilience during the course of yesterday afternoon and evening - including the Police and emergency services. We will be offering counselling services to our students and staff.'

Police yesterday continued to search a house in the Crawley neighbourhood of Furnace Green as part of their investigation into the college shooting.

Officers were seen carrying evidence, including a laptop and items of clothing, out of the two-bedroomed 1960s white-bricked end of terrace former council house with forensic bags.

A neighbour said of the occupants of the house - which is on a footpath - being searched just metres away: 'They seem like lovely people. You just don't know what's going on behind closed doors.'

Carer Andrew White, 55, who lives nearby, was ordered back indoors by armed police at around 4pm on Monday.

He said: 'I went outside and as soon as I did the copper shouted 'go away'.

'Then I heard about six really loud bangs.

'I said to my wife Michelle 'I think that was gunshots love' but I now think it might have been a flashbang or something.

'The armed police were all wearing big helmets holding machine guns but they were so quiet. And then it all kicked off.

'Regarding the suspect, I have no idea who he is as I've only been here since November myself but I'm sure I would recognise him as it's a small area.

'I don't know who he lives there with but apparently the shock of the raid caused one woman to collapse. I saw the ambulance taking her away.'

One police van and police car remained at the scene on Tuesday.

Retired care assistant Sue Poole, 65, said: 'There was an awful lot of activity last night. They've been here overnight.'

Her husband David Poole, 69, a former warehouse worker, said: 'This is a nice place but we do seem to have a hell of a drug problem here. Youths are always congregating at the seating area and tearing up the paving stones which is near the house being searched.'

Officers were inside the terraced property, with officers seen searching the rooms inside throughout the day

Crawley College in West Sussex was evacuated on Monday afternoon with terrified students claiming a hooded and masked gunman entered the building while 'waving a black pistol around' before attacking lecturers.

Witnesses said the gunman, who was also armed with a knife, stabbed one college lecturer in the hand and fired blanks directly at another lecturer.

Officers received multiple calls shortly after 3.10pm to reports of gun shots being fired at the college. Armed police quickly rushed to the scene and an 18-year-old man from Crawley was arrested. The suspect remains in custody.

A gun and a knife were seized and two college staff members were treated for minor injuries. Around 30 armed response officers from forces across the southeast were involved in the operation, while a police helicopter hovered overhead.

A parent of one of the college's pupil's told The Sun: 'Pupils were running into other classrooms while they were in lessons in terror saying to others, 'have you seen what happened?'. A teacher rugby-tackled the gunman. It's absolutely horrifying.'

In an update last night, Sussex Police confirmed the event is not being treated as a terrorist incident.

Students said the masked gunman entered Crawley College at around 3.10pm and began waving around large black pistol in the car park.

The onsite car park was still full with the vehicles of staff members who were anxious to retrieve them after being rushed off the premises.

One asked on Twitter: 'Will the car park be open to recover cars locked in yesterday?'

Roads reopened at around 10pm on Monday night.

A car park warden said: 'The town is dead after the incident. I think everyone has been scared off by what happened and the community is shaken.

'I've never seen anything like it. I can't remember ever seeing that many police cars in one place.

'It seemed like a huge response to what could have been a far more serious incident. We should count ourselves lucky.'

At 6pm police snipers were seen on the roof of the college and armed response units were patrolling the grounds and carrying out room to room searches of the premises.

One tutor, who would not be named, said: 'It was a shocking incident. I think everyone is extremely shaken by it.'

Another staff member, who did not want to be named, said: 'The officers were just checking our details and asking whether we saw anything.

'I was just sat at my desk when I was told we should leave the building. I didn't see or hear anything.

'But some students are clearly visibly upset by whatever happened. It appears to be very serious. I just hope everybody is okay.'

Some students could be seen crying as they were picked up by their frantically worried parents.

One mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, said of her teenage son: 'He saw the whole thing. But he's too upset and terrified to talk about it.'

Armed police at Crawley College, following 'reports of gunshot fire' in the buildings

Two people are injured after 'shots are fired' outside college in Crawley

One man has been detained following reports of shots being fired near Crawley College

Two people have been injured and a man has been arrested following a suspected shooting outside a college in Crawley

The National Police Air Service (NPAS) said a police helicopter from Redhill was called to the scene to support local officers during the incident.

In a statement yesterday afternoon, Sussex Police said: 'One man has been detained following reports of shots being fired near Crawley College.

'Please stay away from the area at this time. There is a large police presence at scene and in the local area.'

In a further statement, the force said: 'Police have responded to reports of gun shot fire near Crawley College. Police received multiple calls shortly after 3.10pm.

'One man has been detained at the scene by police. Staff and students are being evacuated away from the college. Two people have suffered injuries, but these are not believed to be serious.'

Chief Superintendent Howard Hodges added: 'We continue to have a policing presence in Crawley and are speaking to witnesses. We are still appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

'Two staff members at the College suffered minor injuries and presented themselves to a walk-in medical centre. I want to thank those who helped apprehend the suspect before officers arrived and all the students, staff and public for their co-operation.'

A large police presence is in place near Crawley College and the public is being urged to stay away, a force spokesperson said

Armed police from elite Met Police units were also on the scene yesterday

Eyewitness Owen Smith-Carretero, 21, claimed there were police 'everywhere' after two people were hurt in the incident.

He told the Crawley Observer: 'There was a helicopter flying above. Ambulance there, three or for incident response units.

'They were swarming. They were walking up and down the road about 30-35 police officers, dozens of police cars and emergency vehicles.'
[Text of Letter to the Prime Minister of India by National Trade Unions and Text of Statement to the press by the joint platform of Central Trade Unions and sectoral Federations and Associations on 28th April 2021]

[1] Joint Letter from Trade Unions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi - April 28, 2021

28th April 2021

To

Shri Narendra Modi

Honble Prime Minister

Government of India,

New Delhi

Sir,

The nation is in the grip of the second wave of covid-19 pandemic and it is your responsibility, as the head of the executive, to cement a proactive unity of all our people and to meet the challenge posed by this calamity.

It is necessary for all sections to feel your government is taking care of them, especially the toiling masses, who are forced to leave their homes in search of livelihood. They suffered untold miseries last year as a result of sudden lock down and their plight continues to this day.

The frontline workers, Anganwadi Workers, ASHA, sanitation workers who have to deal with survey of covid-19 patients and to clear their refuse, have been burdened with work and have been given fake promises of compensation. They cannot be treated like this by the government itself.

What we unfortunately see is a complete lack of planning, callous, discriminatory policies and despicable blame game launched by your party to destabilise non-BJP state governments, when the need of the hour is proactive unity as stated in the beginning of this representation.

In the midst of this, the vaccine policy announced by the government puts corporate profits above the precious lives of people. Today, it is crucial to strictly regulate, under direct government supervision, the entire vaccination process to ensure that the entire population is vaccinated within a definite time frame. Vaccine production must be urgently scaled up; it must be imported as necessary. But the government is succumbing to the profit hungry international drug mafia and liberalised vaccine sales. The new vaccine policy liberalises the vaccine sale by deregulating the prices through a discriminatory process that too without taking any concrete measures for augmenting availability.

The policy that the state governments have to procure the vaccines from the open market with higher price of Rs 400/Rs 600 per dose as announced by the two vaccine companies in India. They will be thrown into unhealthy competition with each other and also with the private sector hospitals which are also free to procure the vaccines at Rs 600/ Rs 1200. It is atrocious that the Serum Institute has announced Rs 400 per dose of vaccine for the state governments and Rs 600 for private hospitals in India. It may be noted that Covisheild is priced at 1.78 Euro (Rs 160) in Europe and at $4 (Rs 300) in the US and Bangladesh, at Rs.237 in Brazil, at Rs. 226 in UK.

This pro-corporate deregulation on vaccine and other essential ingredients of pandemic management will further facilitate hoarding and black marketing which is already going on in case of essential medicines like Remdesivir and oxygen. The Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Federations demands the government to withdraw the new pro-corporate as well as discriminatory vaccine policy and take immediate measures to ensure 100% procurement of the vaccine, adequate supply of vaccines to the states, free of cost, utilizing the PM care fund. The Govt, sufficiently empowered by Disaster Management Act must not abdicate its responsibility of prioritizing protection of the lives of the people during this grave pandemic, over profiteering by vaccine-pharmaceutical barons.

The joint platform of trade unions point out that it is the public sector companies that are, as ever, coming to the rescue of the nation in this critical situation. It is the public sector steel companies that are producing and supplying oxygen; it is the Indian Railways that is transporting Oxygen to the needy states. We also remind the government that it was the public sector financial institutions in our country that have protected the country against the 2008 world crisis. The joint platform of trade unions demand that the government must immediately stop its mindless privatisation drive. We demand that immediate measures be taken to strengthen the existing public sector medicine and oxygen production units which are already playing a frontline role in producing/supplying oxygen and other necessities and establish new ones to ensure universal and comprehensive public health care. The defense production facilities should be put in use as they had been in the earlier wave and had done commendable job.

Ever since the first wave of the pandemic, you have used the consequent curbs as pretext to push through many anti-worker, anti-farmer legislations, unconstitutional and discriminatory legislations such as CAA, the New Education Policy and rank pro-corporate measures such as tax concessions for them, wholesale privatization of public sector entities of financial, manufacturing, power, defence, transport sectors, the launch of opaque PMCARES fund. All on the basis of your majority in the parliament.

Nearly the entire toiling masses are expressing their opposition to these measures, but you have shown scant regard for meaningful dialogue with any of the sectors involved.

The obvious taming of watchdog agencies created by our Constitution as well as the media (social, electronic as well as print) has led to your government being labelled "elected autocracy" in the democratic world.

We demand therefore that 4 labour codes and 3 farm laws be repealed immediately and thereafter enter into genuine dialogue with the stake holders.

Further at this crucial juncture of speedily unfolding humanitarian crisis, throwing lives and livelihood of the working people in total jeopardy, the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Sectoral Federations places and reiterates the following demands for urgent positive action from your end:

1. Ramp up vaccine production and ensure universal free vaccination within a definite time frame. Ensure free supply of oxygen in the crises as in present situation.

2. Ensure adequate hospital beds, oxygen and other medical facilities to meet the Covid surge

3. Scrap anti-people discriminatory pro-corporate Vaccine Policy

4. Strengthen public health infrastructure including recruiting the necessary health personnel

5. Any order under Disaster Management Act issued by any authority imposing restrictions in movement, curfew etc must accompany strict order on all employers and all concerned banning retrenchment, wage-cut and eviction from residences etc and same must be strictly enforced.

6. Scrap anti-worker Labour Codes and anti-people Farm Laws and Electricity Bill

7. Stop Privatization and Disinvestment of PSUs and Government departments

8. Cash transfer of Rs 7500 per month for all non income tax paying families

9. 10 kg free food grains per person per month for the next six months

10. Ensure non Covid patients get effective treatment in government hospitals

11. Ensure availability of protective gear, equipments etc for all health and frontline workers and those engaged in pandemic-management work including ASHAs and anganwadi employees along with comprehensive insurance coverage for them all

Yours Sincerely

INTUC AITUC HMS CITU AIUTUC

TUCC SEWA AICCTU LPF UTUC

And Sectoral Federations and Associations

[2] Joint Press Statement from Trade Unions in India - April 28, 2021

Trade Unions write to the Prime Minister

Deplore callous attitude of government in handling covid 19 crises

Calls for observing May Day

Against the anti worker, anti farmer, anti people policies of the Government

The online meeting of Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Independent Sectoral Federations held on 28th April 2021 expressed grave concern at the cruel insensitivity of the Government at the centre in addressing and combating the second wave of the Covid Pandemic. The alarming country wide surge of this second wave of Covid has thrown the lives of the people, working people in particulars in total jeopardy. The daily infection count has already crossed 3 lakhs and is estimated to grow further in the coming days. Number of daily deaths too has surged. A substantial part of deaths are preventable, being caused due to non-availability of basic infrastructure, oxygen, hospital beds and essential medicines. The CTUs and Sectoral Federations/Associations have written to the Prime Minister(The letter attached)

In the midst of such grave humanitarian crisis, the Central government ridiculously draws satisfaction over overcoming the crisis under the leadership of Narendra Modi! The Union Finance Minister has made mindless self congratulatory statement that their programme of privatisation/disinvestment is on track and in progress!

Caught unprepared, despite the warning about a second country wide wave, the Central government is now trying to blame the people, the state governments and everybody except itself for the surge of casualty with much more intensity and speed. The reprimand of EC by some High Courts has Vindicated the stand of Trade Unions having taken time to time. Now only the order has come not to organise any rally, celebration from 2nd to 15th may in the election bound states.

There is serious shortage of vaccines, testing facilities, hospital beds, ventilators, oxygen, medicines and above all trained personnel  doctors, nurses and other medical staff. The front line workers and employees are overworked and lack adequate protection. Instead of addressing these serious issues, BJP leaders including union ministers are engaged in shifting the responsibility to the state governments and indulging in blame games.

In the midst of this, the vaccine policy announced by the government puts corporate profits above the precious lives of people. Today, it is crucial to strictly regulate, under direct government supervision, the entire vaccination process to ensure that the entire population is vaccinated within a definite time frame. Vaccine production must be urgently scaled up; it must be imported as necessary. But the government is shamelessly succumbing to the profit hungry international drug mafia and liberalised vaccine sales. The new vaccine policy liberalises the vaccine sale by deregulating the prices through a discriminatory process that too without taking any concrete measures for augmenting availability.

States are not given the promised doses of vaccines. This has severely affected the first phase of vaccination itself. The new vaccine policy of Modi government stipulates that the state governments have to procure the vaccines from the open market with higher price of Rs 400/Rs 600 per dose as announced by the two vaccine companies in India. They will be thrown into unhealthy competition with each other and also with the private sector hospitals which are also free to procure the vaccines at Rs 600/ Rs 1200. More such notorious announcements are expected to pour in the days to come with the Govt-corporate nexus. It is atrocious that the Serum Institute which has announced Rs 400 per dose of vaccine for the state governments and Rs 600 for private hospitals in India.

Covisheild is priced at 1.78 Euro (Rs 160) in Europe and at $4 (Rs 300) in the US and Bangladesh, at Rs.237 in Brazil, at Rs. 226 in UK.

This pro-corporate deregulation on vaccine and other essential ingredients of pandemic management will further facilitate hoarding and black marketing which is already going on in case of essential medicines like Remdesivir and oxygen. Overwhelming majority of our people who cannot afford the huge price of the vaccine would be excluded. Policies of exclusion have now become the hallmark of the Central government.

The local and regional lockdowns and curfews being imposed in several states are creating uncertainties about the work and income among the working people, the migrant workers and workers in the unorganised sector in particular. Reminiscent of the migrant workers march around one year back, migrant workers are again heading to their native places. None of the orders under Disaster Management Act issued so far by various authorities on curfew or scaling down of operation by industry etc had cared to concretely direct the employers to protect employment/livelihood of workers, their incomes and residences. It is again an attempt by the governments, as last year, to sacrifice the lives and livelihood of the workers and the toiling people to safeguard the interests of the employers class.

The Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Federations demands the government to withdraw the new pro-corporate as well as discriminatory vaccine policy and take immediate measures to ensure 100% procurement of the vaccine, adequate supply of vaccines to the states, free of cost, utilising the PM care fund. The government, sufficiently empowered by Disaster Management Act must not abdicate its responsibility of prioritising protection of the lives of the people during this grave pandemic, over profiteering by vaccine-pharmaceutical barons.

The joint platform of Central trade unions and Federations point out that it is the public sector companies that are, as ever, coming to the rescue of the nation in this critical situation. It is the public sector steel companies that are producing and supplying oxygen; it is the Indian Railways that is transporting Oxygen to the needy states. We also remind the government that it was the public sector financial institutions in our country that have protected the country against the 2008 world crisis. The joint platform of trade unions demand that the government must immediately stop its mindless privatisation drive. We demand that immediate measures be taken to strengthen the existing public sector medicine and oxygen production units which are already playing a frontline role in producing/supplying oxygen and other necessities and establish new ones to ensure universal and comprehensive public health care.

The Joint Platform also demands that the Govt must ensure that any order issued by any authorities under Disaster Management Act imposing restrictions in movement, curfew etc must accompany strict enforceable orders to all employers and all concerned banning retrenchment, wage-cut and eviction from residences etc. It cannot be just an advisory but a stringently enforceable direction and the Disaster Management Act adequately empowers the Govt to issue such orders and enforce.

The Joint Platform calls upon the workers and toiling people to observe the forthcoming May Day, the international working class solidarity day through jointly organizing agitation in as many locations throughout the country to press for the following demands, while expressing solidarity with the working class movement going on throughout the world:

1. Ramp up vaccine production and ensure universal free vaccination within a definite time frame. Ensure free supply of oxygen in the crises as in present situation.

2. Ensure adequate hospital beds, oxygen and other medical facilities to meet the Covid surge

3. Scrap anti-people discriminatory pro-corporate Vaccine Policy

4. Strengthen public health infrastructure including recruiting the necessary health personnel

5. Any order under Disaster Management Act issued by any authority imposing restrictions in movement, curfew etc must accompany strict order on all employers and all concerned banning retrenchment, wage-cut and eviction from residences etc and same must be strictly enforced.

6. Scrap anti-worker Labour Codes and anti-people Farm Laws and Electricity Bill

7. Stop privatization and Disinvestment

8. Cash transfer of Rs 7500 per month for all non income tax paying families

9. 10 kg free food grains per person per month for the next six months

10. Ensure non Covid patients get effective treatment in government hospitals

11. Ensure availability of protective gear, equipments etc for all health and frontline workers and those engaged in pandemic-management work including ASHAs and anganwadi employees along with comprehensive insurance coverage for them all

Covid protocols  wearing masks, maintaining physical distance etc should be strictly followed by all our leaders, cadres, activists and members to safeguard their own health and the health of their comrades, colleagues and family members.

INTUC AITUC HMS CITU AIUTUC

TUCC SEWA AICCTU LPF UTUC

And Sectoral Federations/Associations
 DEPC and NASC present "Justice Counts: Using Data to Inform Policy and Bolster Public Safety" | Main | "The Fate of Lethal Injection: Decomposition of the Paradigm and Its Consequences" 

The Washington Times has this lengthy new article discussing the fallout of the Supreme Court's notable ruling last summer in McGirt v. Oklahoma under the headlined, "'A nightmare': Supreme Court ruling upends Oklahoma prosecutions of American Indians." Here are excerpts:

A Supreme Court ruling that bars state prosecutions of American Indians in Oklahoma for crimes on tribal land has led to a wave of appeals from convicts, a rising backlog of cases in federal and tribal courts, and an accused serial rapist walking away free on a technicality. If you were going to make a nightmare, you couldnt make one better than this, said Scott Walton, sheriff in Rogers County, Oklahoma.

Before the high court handed down its ruling in July, the U.S. attorneys office for the Northern District of Oklahoma prosecuted about 240 cases a year. The office now is indicting about 100 cases a month, about five times more, as the federal government picks up cases formerly in the states jurisdiction.

In the past eight months, the U.S. attorneys office has accepted 600 major felony cases for prosecution and sent 830 less-serious cases to tribal courts. Some prosecutions are falling through the cracks because of statutes of limitation for some federal crimes  a legal hurdle state prosecutors didnt face.

There is a small percentage of cases that cannot be prosecuted due to lack of/loss of evidence or due to the federal statute of limitations, said a spokesperson for the U.S. attorneys office in the Northern District of Oklahoma. Our office continues to work closely with district attorneys and tribal attorneys general to ensure a seamless transfer of cases for prosecution.

For minor crimes that carry maximum prison sentences of three years or less, tribal courts have the authority to prosecute defendants. Critics say the Supreme Courts 5-4 ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma left certain crimes such as larceny, which can carry a five-year sentence, in limbo between tribal courts and federal courts. Another concern is that federal prosecutors will focus on violent crimes such as rape and murder, leaving home burglary and others unresolved. Those cases just wont get prosecuted, Sheriff Walton said.

The McGirt case has major implications in Oklahoma because about half of the land in the state is considered Indian country, covering dozens of tribes. The city of Tulsa, which has a population of more than 400,000, sits predominantly on a reservation. The high courts ruling, which sent shock waves through the state, overturned the conviction of Jimcy McGirt, an American Indian charged with sexually abusing a 4-year-old girl in 1996.

The courts majority agreed with McGirts argument that the state didnt have jurisdiction to prosecute him because the crime took place on a reservation and he is American Indian. The justices said Congress never disestablished the 1860s-era boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nations reservation. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, joined four Democratic appointees, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in overturning McGirts conviction....

The U.S. attorneys office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, like the Northern District, has had a surge in cases. In one week this month, the office returned 90 felony indictments  more than the office normally brings in a full calendar year. An internal source said the U.S. attorneys office for the Eastern District could be handed 200 murder cases to try by the end of May. It is a conundrum without certainty, the source told The Washington Times, speaking on the condition of anonymity. We need some sort of legislative fix.

Many convicted felons are citing the McGirt case in appeals in an effort to overturn their sentences. Robert Gifford, a lawyer who works with tribes in Oklahoma, dismissed law enforcements concerns. He said most accused felons will be prosecuted again. They are portraying it that these people are walking free, but most of the major cases are being picked up federally, he said. Any major crimes would go to the U.S. attorneys office.
Emma Kinery | Bloomberg News (TNS)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his office is exploring whether it can contest a U.S. Census Bureau tally that found the state would lose a congressional seat after coming in 89 residents short of the cutoff.

Do I think it was accurate to within 89? No, and were looking at legal options, Cuomo said at a press conference Tuesday.

Census Bureau figures released Monday found the state missed a threshold for keeping all its 27 seats in the House of Representatives starting in 2022. New York joined California and other Democratic-led states that will lose a seat, while Texas and other Republican-led ones in the South and Southwest gain seats.

In news release, Cuomo said he would ask Attorney General Letitia James to explore avenues of legal relief.

At the press briefing, Cuomo shifted blame onto former President Donald Trumps administration, which tried unsuccessfully to add a question on citizenship status to the form.

You had people who were nervous to come forward, Cuomo said. I do believe the federal government had a chilling effect.

The state can sue, but historically that hasnt been an easy route. Utah did so after the 2000 census but was unsuccessful.

___

2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Credit Union Awareness LLC announced today that the AI driven, category-level brand campaign Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union has launched in Wyoming. Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union is a first of its kind digital campaign designed to dispel commonly held myths about credit unions while increasing consumer consideration for credit unions as their best financial partner.

What better way to celebrate the opportunities that credit unions bring to consumers in Wyoming, said Chris Lorence, Credit Union Awareness Executive Director. We are thrilled to bring this credit union driven campaign to Wyoming and are grateful to the Mountain West Credit Union Association for their enormous support for opening consumers eyes to credit unions.

Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union has gained over 1,116 supporting organizations and credit unions nationwide in a united 24/7/365 initiative to increase consumer consideration for credit unions through education and brand awareness. The campaign has launched in twenty-six states and is expected to launch in at least 4 other states in the upcoming months.
The Federal Government has inaugurated a homegrown Plagiarism Detection Software Code called EagleScan to enhance the integrity of higher institutions.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the inauguration of the software in Abuja on Tuesday said that plagiarism was a form of corruption.

Mr Osinbajo said that the initiative was part of the core mandates of President Muhammadu Buharis administration that announced the zero tolerance for plagiarism.

According to him, the Federal Government is fully committed to support all initiatives that will continue to build and enhance the integrity of higher institutions.

Let me also say that the government will give all that is needed to ensure that anti-plagiarism measures are instituted across the country, Mr Osinbajo added.

Speaking, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, while lauding the indigenous anti-plagiarism software, said it would facilitate the desired quality expected in institutions of higher learning.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abubakar Rasheed, emphasised the need to institutionalise an anti-plagiarism policy in all higher institutions.

Mr Rasheed said that doing this would encompass various aspects of Plagiarism.

Having the software is one aspect of the battle against plagiarism. Universities must take concrete steps to institutionalise anti-plagiarism policy that forbids all aspects of the intellectual theft.

For so long the issues of plagiarism amongst others such as copyrights, as well as abuses of infringements, have robbed our universities the much desired integrity, he said.

Similarly, the Chairman of the occasion and the Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Higher Education, Sandy Onor, said the software would address the challenges of academic research authentication and validation.

The EagleScan Plagiarism Detection Software integrates global open source and closed source repositories, local Open Education Repositories and allows users to validate titles abstracts and generate originality report, he said.

The Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Elias Bogoro, promised that the fund on plagiarism would be committed to working with the Committee of Vice-Chancellors to fight plagiarism.

Mr Bogoro said that the fund was not only committed to the initiative but had effectively proceeded to make funding commitment towards the project.

TETFund recently realised the need for software on anti-plagiarism for the National Research Fund.

We are also working on a software to package the impact of research but in respect of Plagiarism, we are happy to work with the Committee of Vice-Chancellors to fight plagiarism.

We are convinced of deepened content of academic engagement particularly research, the idea of operations must stop hence, the establishment of the Research & Development committee, Mr Bogoro added.

The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Ishaq Oloyede, called for an all-inclusive concentration on the EagleScan.

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Mr Oloyede pleaded that the Plagiarism Detection Software be tagged a National Repository, saying that this would create more opportunities for all institutions across all sectors to subscribe.

Also, the Chairman, Association of Vice-Chancellors, Timothy Olagbemiro, said the EagleScan would make the Nigerian university system more authentic.

Mr Olagbemiro added that it would add value to education both in Nigeria and internationally.

He, however, said the cost of development, deployment, maintenance and marketing of the software over the next three years had been projected at a total sum of N251,298,000.

(NAN)
This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays.

As their country is hit with the worlds worst coronavirus crisis, Indians are using Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and shared online documents to crowdsource medical help and hold their elected leaders accountable for their mistakes.

But the technology companies are mostly leaving Indians to fend for themselves.

Thats the message from Mishi Choudhary, a lawyer who works to defend digital rights in India and the United States. Choudhary told me that she is furious about what she believes are failures of both Indian officials and the mostly American internet companies that are dominant in the country.

Tech companies, she said, should be doing far more to fact-check coronavirus information that is spreading like wildfire on their sites and stand up to Indian officials who are trying to silence or intimidate people for speaking out online.

A consistent theme in this newsletter has been that a handful of technology companies have power on par with those of governments. Choudhary wondered what is the point of having so much power if big internet companies dont use it when it really matters.
COLUMBIA  After extensive delays due to the state's inability to obtain lethal injection drugs, death penalty executions could soon resume in South Carolina after a state House panel approved a bill that would let prison officials use the electric chair or a firing squad instead.

In a 13 to 9 vote, the S.C. House Judiciary Committee advanced the legislation April 27 that has already passed in the state Senate. If it passes in the House, Gov. Henry McMaster has vowed to sign it into law.

Under current law, death row inmates can choose whether to die by lethal injection or the electric chair. But pharmaceutical manufacturers that make the fatal chemicals have stopped selling them to prisons for fear of lawsuits and bad publicity, meaning inmates who select that method cannot be executed.

The lack of lethal drugs has so far delayed the executions of two death row inmates, and a third inmate could have his execution stayed by the courts soon, according to the S.C. Department of Corrections.

There are an additional 34 inmates on death row in South Carolina, but they have not exhausted all of their appeals.

The vote came over vigorous protests from some of the committee's Democrats, led by state Rep. Justin Bamberg, who made several futile attempts to amend the bill.

"If you vote for this, youre voting to kill at least three people," Bamberg said. "This is not some arbitrary future thing."

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State Rep. Cezar McKnight, D-Kingstree, said he believes in principle that some violent criminals should be sentenced to death. But he pointed to examples of people whose convictions came into doubt after they were executed as reason for lawmakers to exercise caution.

"The reason why I'm opposed to capital punishment is because we haven't yet discovered the ability to resurrect someone," McKnight said. "We know for a fact that we have wrongly executed people in this country."

Among Bamberg's proposals were amendments to prevent the change in law from applying retroactively to current death row inmates, livestream the executions online, let families of wrongfully executed inmates sue the state, add hanging or the guillotine to the list of execution methods and abolish the death penalty altogether.

All of the amendment proposals were voted down largely along party lines as the Republican majority advanced the bill unchanged.

The measure could come up on the House floor for one final debate as soon as this week.
A Luzerne County attorney has stepped down from his role as the president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association after he was charged with patronizing prostitutes.

Online docket sheets show that David Eric Schwager, 53, is charged with one misdemeanor prostitution charge, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 15.

The Times Leader reports that the woman tried to extort Schwager, of Kingston, by threatening to release a video of their encounter. She is charged with three misdemeanors including theft by extortion and sexual extortion.

Pennsylvania Bar Association Executive Director Barry M. Simpson confirmed in a statement that Schwager resigned after the groups leadership was notified of the charge.

While the charge is troubling, every person accused of a crime is considered innocent until proven guilty, and we have confidence in the operation of our justice system, Simpson said in a press release.

2020-21 President-elect Kathleen D. Wilkinson became the new president automatically, following the associations bylaws.

Read more on PennLive:
Key benchmark indices are trading firm in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 341.25 points or 0.7% at 49,285.39. The Nifty 50 index was up 95.80 points or 0.65% at 14,748.85. The Sensex regained the psychological 49,000 mark in opening trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.58%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.74%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1522 shares rose and 430 shares fell. A total of 96 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in news:

Bajaj Finance advanced 2.37%. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 42% to Rs 1,347 crore on 5% decline in total income to Rs 6,855 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. The NBFC's new loans booked during Q4 FY21 stood at 5.47 million, down by 9% over 6.03 million in Q4 FY20. Customer franchise as of 31 March 2021 was at 48.57 million compared with 42.60 million as of 31 March 2020. Bajaj Finance acquired 2.26 million new customers in Q4 FY21 compared with 1.85 million in Q4 FY20.

Axis Bank rose 0.64%. Axis Bank reported net profit of Rs 2677 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with net loss of Rs 1387.78 crore in Q4 FY20. Total income during the quarter declined marginally by 0.03% to Rs 20,213.46 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. The bank posted a pre-tax profit of Rs 3569.67 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with pre-tax loss of Rs 1878.91 crore in Q4 FY20.

Britannia Industries fell 1.16%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 2.78% to Rs 364.32 crore on 8.42% increase in total income to Rs 3,194.52 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

ABB India rose 1.44%. On a standalone basis, ABB India's net profit soared 118.64% to Rs 141.33 crore on 7.02% increase in total revenue from operations to Rs 1,629.15 crore in Q1 FY21 over Q1 FY20.

HDFC Asset Management Company (HDFC AMC) lost 2.48%. HDFC AMC reported 26% jump in net profit to Rs 315.9 crore on 6% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 502.9 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

TVS Motor Company jumped 9.99%. The company's consolidated net profit rose 318.76% to Rs 310.05 crore on 48.78% increase in total income to Rs 6,142.67 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

Info Edge (India) advanced 2.34%. Info Edge (India) said that it would sell stake worth Rs 750 crore in the initial public offering of Zomato through offer for sale.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are trading mixed on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision.

Japan's retail sales rose 5.2% in March as compared with a year ago, according to government data.

In US, the S&P 500 closed little changed near its record level on Tuesday as investors braced for a big batch of tech earnings.

The Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting Tuesday. The central bank is reportedly likely to hold and keep its asset-buying program in place at the same levels for the rest of 2021, despite growing concerns about an overheating economy.

Consumer confidence climbed sharply to hit a pandemic high with The Conference Board's index jumping to 121.7, the highest since February 2020.

Back home, domestic equity indices rallied for the second session on Tuesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 557.63 points or 1.15% at 48,944.14. The Nifty 50 index added 168.05 points or 1.16% at 14,653.05.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,454.75 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,463.44 crore in the Indian equity market on 27 April, provisional data showed.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Palestinian leaders have insisted that a foul-mouthed recording purportedly of president Mahmoud Abbas insulting China, Russia and the US, is fake.

Allies of the 85-year-old leader claim that the audio, which has been shared widely on social media, is designed to smear him ahead of upcoming elections.

The clip is said to have been secretly recorded at a Fatah party meeting on April 19 when an unidentified attendee asked Abbas what his message was to China on the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.

'F***k the c*** of China with a shoe,' an irate voice, said to be that of Abbas, growls in Arabic, 'That good for you?'

The rant continues: 'And Russia, America, and all the Arabs. What's wrong with you? All of you go to hell.'

Leaked audio recording of Mahmoud Abbas cussing out Russia, the Arabs, and China (Fatah Central Committee meeting April 19,2021) pic.twitter.com/bLngjLMXl8  Fadi Elsalameen   (@Elsalameen) April 22, 2021

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting with the Palestinian leadership, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on August 18, 2020. The president is under great pressure ahead of elections, the first in Palestine in 15 years. The polls, scheduled for next month, were today delayed amid splits in the Fatah party and over whether the vote should be held in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.

The clip was shared online by anti-corruption activist Fadi Elsalameen, a prominent critic of the Palestinian regime who has claimed that he has received death threats from Abbas-backed terrorists.

Abbas confidantes were quick to pour scorn on the claims that their boss would have launched such a vulgar tirade.

A member of Abbas' Fatah party council told Russia Today: 'What was published is a voice composite on a picture and may be fabricated. Those who published this are parties whose aim is to offend the Palestinian leadership and strike its relationship with the countries mentioned.'

Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the president's religious affairs adviser, wrote on Facebook: 'The destructive fabrication, which is falsely attributed to the president, did not and will not succeed in influencing our steps and our national fight against occupation.

'Nor will it succeed in confusing our relations with our brothers, our friends whom we cherish, their supportive attitudes, our national cause, our legitimate rights to liberation, independence, and our independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.'

Critics of Abbas claim the recording proves concerns that the elderly president is in mental and physical decline and 'lashing out' as he faces pressure in the upcoming elections.

Those polls were today delayed amid an ongoing row within the Fatah party and over whether the vote should be held in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.

Many Palestinians were sceptical from the start on whether parliamentary and presidential votes planned for May and July would even take place after they were announced by Abbas in January.

Abbas has been in power since 2005 and there have long been questions over who will succeed him.

Peace talks between Israel and Palestine have been put on ice since Jerusalem agreed historic deals with Arab nations, brokered by the Trump administration.

'Abbas has been under immense pressure to hold elections after being marginalised for the last four years by former president Donald Trump and a number of Arab states,' Jonathan Schanzer, a Middle East expert told The Washington Free Beacon.

'He has felt alienated. Now he is boxed in. He is lashing out.'

The wall between Palestinian territory and Israel. Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state in the West Bank and Gaza, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 but the move has not been recognised internationally. The area is still considered as occupied by most of the international community, although Israel deems Jerusalem its 'eternal and indivisble' capital.

The timing of the long-awaited polls was largely seen as a bid to reset relations with Washington under President Joe Biden.

Earlier this month, Biden began to restore U.S. aid to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza that was cut under predecessor Donald Trump.

Wasel Abu Youssef, an Abbas confidant and member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee, confirmed to Reuters on Tuesday that the issue of voting in Jerusalem was a key factor in Abbas's thinking.

'Any prevention or obstruction of holding elections in Jerusalem would entail a postponement,' he said.

Another Palestinian official close to Abbas, Hussein al-Sheikh, said Israel had officially informed the Palestinians that it would not permit balloting in Jerusalem, the contested city at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state in the West Bank and Gaza, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 but the move has not been recognised internationally. The area is still considered as occupied by most of the international community, although Israel deems Jerusalem its 'eternal and indivisble' capital.
PARIS  The French police on Wednesday arrested seven former members of Italian left-wing extremist groups who had been convicted of terrorism crimes in Italy decades ago, but were given refuge in France.

A court will now decide if the militants, arrested at the request of the Italian authorities, can be extradited to Italy, a decision that could take several years depending on appeals.

Dozens of Italian leftist extremists were given refuge in France decades ago by the socialist government at the time if they agreed to renounce violence, a move that long poisoned the diplomatic relationship between France and Italy.

The governments announcement of the arrests on Wednesday signaled an easing of that troubled relationship, with Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy and President Emmanuel Macron of France managing to establish closer ties in recent months.
China expects May Day travel boom with anti-epidemic measures in place

Xinhua) 16:53, April 27, 2021

BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- In a few days, China's airports, train stations and tourist sites will be filled with buzzing travelers and tourists while regular COVID-19 containment measures remain in place.

A travel bonanza is fast approaching as tickets during the upcoming five-day Labor Day holiday starting on May 1 have been in high demand.

"The holiday gives me a chance to escape from the stress of work," said Zhang Chuanshi, 35, who works for an internet company. He decided to go to Yunnan after Beijing scrapped mandatory nucleic acid tests for arrivals from areas with low COVID-19 infection risks.

Zhang said his family had to drop their overseas travel plans due to concerns over the epidemic situation.

SPEEDY RECOVERY

Leading indicators such as search volumes for travel destinations, flights and hotels suggest the tourism industry will embrace a welcome boom during the holiday.

On online travel booking platform Ctrip, orders for flight tickets, accommodation, admission tickets, and car rentals rose 23 percent, 43 percent, 114 percent and 126 percent from the same period of 2019 as of mid-April.

The number of travelers over the period is expected to reach 200 million and surpass the pre-pandemic level, according to Ctrip's projections.

"Many people will take advantage of the long holiday to go somewhere relatively far from their homes, such as Xinjiang and Tibet," said Zhao Chenyan, an operator at Beijing Zhuyuan International Travel Service Co., Ltd.

The surge in demand has been met with a similar surge in prices. For instance, the price for joining a tour to Sanya in south China's island province Hainan is three times higher than a year ago, as island resorts in Thailand, Bali and the Philippines are still not fully open to foreign tourists, she said.

"Thanks to the effective epidemic containment measures adopted by China, the five-day holiday is expected to unleash the pent-up demand for air transport," said Shang Kejia, vice director of the Department of Transport of the Civil Aviation Administration of China(CAAC) at a press conference on April 16.

"Both the volume and prices of flight tickets showed rapid growth, and are likely to rise above the level from 2019, boosted by the sharp growth in the number of mid- and long-distance travelers in the extended holiday," said Shang.

Cultural sites, including science halls, archaeological sites and museums, are among the most popular destinations, partly because public holidays represent the best opportunity for families with children to travel in the middle of a semester.

This year marks the centenary of the Communist Party of China, which has fueled people's enthusiasm for "red tourism," a term referring to visiting historical sites with a revolutionary legacy.

"We have rolled out a two-week tour to retrace the Long March route of the Red Army in the 1930s, which has attracted many retired people who have the money and time as well as the desire to pay their respects to the heroes," said Zhao.

Recent discoveries at the Sanxingdui Ruins in southwest China's Chengdu City, which unveiled the mysteries of the Shu Kingdom dating back thousands of years, could be partially responsible for the Beijing-Chengdu flight route enjoying the largest rise in popularity among all routes on online travel service provider Qunar.com.

EPIDEMIC PRECAUTIONS

As China's COVID-19 vaccination program is expanding and domestic travelers coming from areas with low infection risks are no longer required to undergo nucleic acid tests, people are now more comfortable going on a trip, said Zhao.

"However, we still require our clients to wear face masks throughout their journey and our staff to sterilize the buses twice a day," she said.

The CAAC has advised passengers to maintain anti-epidemic measures, use self-service check-in facilities to reduce direct contact with other people and notify staff if they develop symptoms include fever, dry cough or fatigue.

Passengers are urged to pay close attention to the epidemic situation and related regulations of their destination, and avoid traveling to places with a medium or high risk of infection, the CAAC noted.

In the first quarter of 2021, China recorded 136 percent and 150 percent increases in tourist trips and tourism revenue from a year earlier, respectively, data from the China Tourism Academy (CTA) showed.

A survey by the academy suggested that over 83 percent of the respondents said they are willing to travel in the second quarter of 2021, up 1.02 percentage points and 4.93 percentage points compared with the last quarter and the second quarter of 2020, respectively.

"China's tourism consumption is enjoying a speedy recovery. It will see a consumption boom in the third quarter of this year, especially during the weeklong National Day holiday," said Dai Bin, director of the academy.

According to the CTA, 4.1 billion domestic tourist trips are expected to be made in China in 2021, up 42 percent from 2020, and domestic tourism revenue is expected to surge 48 percent to reach 3.3 trillion yuan (about 508 billion U.S. dollars).

(Web editor: Liang Jun, Bianji)
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) announced on Wednesday that it plans to set up 500 oxygen plants under the PM CARES fund within three months. This will be done to augment oxygen supply across the country which is dealing with an unprecedented surge in the COVID-19 cases. India has been reporting over 3 lakh fresh coronavirus cases every day for the past week.

The Medical Oxygen Plant (MOP) technology, that has been developed by DRDO for on-board oxygen generation in India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, will be utilised in these 500 oxygen plants.

The MOPs have been designed with the capacity of 1000 litres per minute. The system can provide oxygen to 190 patients at a flow rate of 5 litres per minute. It can also charge 195 cylinders in a day, explained DRDO. The MOP technology is capable of producing the oxygen that can be directly supplied to hospital beds and can also be used to fill cylinders.

"It utilizes Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technique and Molecular Sieve (Zeolite) technology to generate oxygen directly from atmospheric air," DRDO said. This technology has already been used by some army sites in North East and Leh-Ladakh region.

Using this technology, hospitals will be able to generate on-site medical oxygen. This will be achieved in a cost-effective manner with the oxygen plant rather than depending on other sources.

DRDO has done Transfer of Technology with Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Bengaluruanda and Trident Pneumatics Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore, who will be producing 380 such plants for installation in various hospitals around India. While industries working with the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun will produce 120 oxygen plants with 500 litres per minute capacity. Site preparation for 5 such plants to be installed in Delhi NCR has already begun.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh appreciated DRDO for utilising MOP technology to generate much-needed oxygen for coronavirus patients. While Secretary DDR&D & Chairman DRDO, Dr G Satheesh Reddy has assured DRDO's support for the usage of MOP technology by hospitals and other health agencies.

(Edited by Mohammad Haaris Beg)

Also Read: IAF brings 9 cryogenic oxygen containers from Dubai, Singapore to India

Also read: Maharashtra likely to see Covid-19 peak in May, India in June: CLSA report

Also read: India to get Sputnik V doses in May; 1st batch to be imported from Russia, says Dr Reddy's CEO
Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: If I were Commander-in-Chief, I would shoot myself if there were such situation

Armenia 3rd President Sargsyan: We have not lied, have not manipulated people, have not divided our society

Armenia ombudsman: Azerbaijan soldiers try to steal about 20 horses from Gegharkunik Province village shepher

Russia begins testing reliability of its nuclear weapons

Armenia acting PM: There is a future

NATO kicks off BALTOPS exercise in Baltic Sea

Armenian Catholicos patriarchal visit to Artsakh ends (PHOTOS)

Iran loses right to vote at UN due to non-payment of dues

Trump: All Joe Biden had to do was sit back and do nothing

At least 88 people killed in Nigeria attacks

Armenia former President Sargsyan visits memorial chess tournament in Jermuk (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM's election campaign is carried out with large-scale use of administrative resources

Mexico holding parliamentary, local elections

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Not safe today even in Yerevan (PHOTOS)

78,004 more passengers leave Armenia by air in first 5 months of 2021 than arrive

Putin-Biden possible meeting place in Switzerland is named

UN condemns "heinous attack" in Burkina Faso

Prosperous Armenia Party leader: Only Russia can ensure security of our country

Stoltenberg warns Russias Putin, Belarus Lukashenko against destabilization in NATO eastern flank

Woman found dead in Yerevan Lake

Catholicos of All Armenians presides over Divine Liturgy in Stepanakert

Turkey airstrike kills at least 3 Kurdish refugees in Iraq

Trump demands billing China $10 trillion for coronavirus damage

Bright Armenia Party leader: We are on verge of civil war

Several explosions occur in Syria

Biden not seeking conflict with Russia

Armenia acting PM sends congratulatory message on Sweden National Day

Passenger flow at 2 Armenia international airports increase by 24% in May

37 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Apple employees are against returning to work in office

Person dies in Armenia town mountains

Kim Jong Un appears in public for first time since early May

Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijanis fire at Gegharkunik Province village shepherd for about 30 minutes

Iraq may face severe water shortages

G7 countries sign deal to tax largest multinational companies

1st round of debates of presidential candidates takes place in Iran

6 die and 5 go missing in Sri Lankan flooding

Powerful blast thunders in Somalia capital

A body found in Artsakh

Nearly 100 people killed in Burkina Faso

Acting PM: It is necessary to create professional army in Armenia

UN demands investigation amid discovery of mass grave of children at Canada school

Acting PM: Armenia is a paradise for business

ICRC representatives visit 6 captured Armenian soldiers

Pashinyan: An absolute record for Armenia has been set for number of registered jobs

Civil Contract party holding fundraising evening

Nikol Pashinyan sends congratulatory message to Bashar al-Assad

South Korean air force chief resigns amid scandal over female sergeant suicide

Nikol Pashinyan visits morgue in Abovyan

Acting PM announces interference of external forces in electoral processes in Armenia

Pashinyan conducts procession in Abovyan

MO: Azerbaijanis carry out engineering work on territories without crossing Armenian border

8 security officials killed in Taliban attack in Afghanistan

Philip T. Reeker's visit to Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia

Biden gives prosecutors more freedom to terminate immigration cases

93 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Armenia per day

Total of 1,557 bodies found in territories not controlled by Artsakh

Twitter launches paid subscription Twitter Blue

Robert Kocharyan: We are able to find solutions

Tennessee boat merchant willing to pay $ 100,000 to anyone who catches specially marked fish

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
Seeing Machines Ltd ( ) welcomed what it said is building momentum in the US for mandatory driving monitoring system (DMS) technology to assist in improving road safety.

The company, which specialises in artificial intelligence (AI) powered operator monitoring systems, noted new legislation such as the SAFE (Stay Aware for Everyone) Act that has been introduced in the US Senate. The legislation requires the Department of Transportation to research driver inattention and misuse of advanced driver assistance technology over the next two years to decide whether DMS technology should be required on all new vehicles within four years.

Seeing Machines also highlighted that the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group that represents automotive manufacturers, in consultation with the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, has released a document entitled Level 2 Driver Monitoring Principles. This focuses on DMS and requires the technology be provided as a standard feature in any vehicle with a Level 2 system, incorporating driver warnings with the ability to re-engage the driver (and understand to stop alerts when the driver is engaged) as well as considering the requirement for the DMS to be camera-based.

The company said these developments in the US, one of the worlds largest car markets, strengthened its view that DMS is fundamental to the automotive transport sector and that the fitment rate will accelerate substantially globally over the coming years.
MASON CITY, Iowa  A Missouri man is accused of stealing from a Mason City grocery store.

Antonio Jones, 44 of St. Louis, MO, is charged with ongoing criminal conduct. He was booked into the Cerro Gordo County Jail Tuesday afternoon and is being held on $20,000 bond.

A criminal complaint filed on March 2 accuses Jones of stealing $3,400 from the Fareway grocery store in Mason City on January 2. Jones is also accused of stealing from Fareway stores in Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Burlington, and Moline, Illinois. Investigators say all the thefts were of the same manner and all were viewed on store security cameras.
For Tom Sanders, its the void left by the death of a cousin and the mans wife, killed when a tornado mowed through a placid Alabama valley. To Markedia Wells, its the stolen innocence of her sons, who still get nervous anytime it starts raining. Darryl Colburn laments a lost way of life in his hometown, which was all but leveled in seconds.

Waves of tornadoes pummeled the Eastern U.S. over four days in the spring of 2011, killing more than 320 people in six states, including about 250 who died in Alabama on April 27 of that year. A decade has passed, but time has been unable to erase the pain or replace the losses inflicted by the terrifying storms.

Homes and businesses were rebuilt and new trees have grown; empty seats around dinner tables were filled as babies were born and a new generation came of age. Yet theres still a sense of absence, a lingering feeling of sorrow, in communities where so much was lost so quickly.

I dont know if its a day to remember, but its a day you cant forget, said Colburn, the mayor of tiny Hackleburg, where 18 died in an EF-5 twister with winds estimated at 210 mph (338 kph). The same twister hit nearby Phil Campbell, where a granite monument at the center of town honors 27 who were killed.

To mark the anniversary, Gov. Kay Ivey ordered flags lowered to half-staff on Tuesday, which she proclaimed a statewide day of remembrance for a horrible event that has impacted the state of Alabama forever.

Storms that began in eastern Texas mushroomed by the time the line reached Mississippi, where one twister was so intense it scoured 2 feet (0.61 meters) of dirt from the ground. More than 60 tornadoes then struck Alabama, including one that was captured on video as it decimated the city of Tuscaloosa, and storms continued as far north as New York state.

Another major tornado outbreak had killed more than three dozen people across the South about two weeks earlier, and a spring of pain got even worse two weeks later, when an EF-5 ripped through Joplin, Missouri. About 160 people died there.

The government funded construction of hundreds of residential safe rooms and community storm shelters following the outbreak, still one of the deadliest in U.S. history, and meteorologists improved forecasting systems. One study suggested better ways of communicating weather threats through live TV, including the constant presence of maps on screen so viewers can understand where dangerous storms are located.

But better preparation for future disasters has done little to ease the pain of those who still relive the horror of past storms and the loss of loved ones.

In east Alabamas Shoal Creek Valley, where 12 died, families are still coping with unforgettable images and stories like that of Albert Sanders, 44, who died in the arms of his father, Buford Sanders, after being flung by a twister in a field.

He basically held him in his arms, and then finally Albert told him that he felt like he was fixing to die and (said), `I just want you to know I love you, daddy,' said Alberts cousin Tom Sanders. And then he died right after that.

Tom Sanders home was badly damaged. Another relative, Jim Wilson, dug the graves for Albert and his wife, Angie Sanders, a few days later. A shiny black tombstone marks the spot in the cemetery of a country church. The couples three daughters, teens at the time, were injured but survived, Wilson said.

Markedia Wells, 39, and her two young sons survived a monster tornado that left a path of destruction through the heart of Tuscaloosa, but their house was twisted off its foundation. She recalls shielding the boys eyes from the sight of a dead neighbor being carried out of the rubble of a home by volunteers who used a door like a stretcher.

Recently married, Wells lives with her husband and sons, now 14 and 16, in one of dozens of homes built by Habitat for Humanity volunteers in the same neighborhood. But dozens of empty lots and barren concrete slabs mark the spots where homes once were, and the boys are still skittish about the weather, she said.

Ill be the first to admit the emotional loss in it all, she said. Were still very much nervous when it rains. When the weatherman is talking about bad weather or they speak about a tornado that may be coming, it all comes flooding back.

Located about 95 miles (153 kilometers) northwest of Birmingham, the town of Hackleburg lost nearly all of its 30 or so businesses, two schools, 180 homes, several churches, a doctors office, pharmacy and most municipal buildings to the twister, said Colburn, the mayor. He can still point out the underground shelter where he survived the storm with 11 others.

We came out and wondered if we were the only ones who survived, said Colburn, whose wife lost an uncle in the tornado.

Fewer than 60% of the towns homes have been rebuilt, and bare foundations are all that remain of the old brick storefronts that used to make up Hackleburgs downtown. The citys 1,500 or so residents still struggle with a lack of housing and retail options, he said.

The schools were rebuilt along with a new City Hall and a textile warehouse that was leveled, and churches that were wiped out have new buildings. But long gone are the old school buildings that graduates used to visit during homecoming. So are the sanctuaries where generations were baptized, married and eulogized, along with nearly every familiar sight that made the place home.

The landscape of the town was forever changed, Colburn said.

The story is much the same about 70 miles (113 kilometers) away in Cordova, where four died. The entire downtown was badly damaged by twisters, and what little remained caught fire a few weeks later. Today, 20-year-old Austin Thomas skateboards across the bare concrete foundations of a place he barely remembers from childhood.

One tornado just ruined everything, he said.

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Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Trends Profit Loss Windstorm
Shahjahanpur : , April 28 (IANS) After her son refused to cremate her when she died of Covid, it was the daughter who, with help from local people, finally performed the last rites of a mother in Uttar Pradesh.

Sudama Devi, 61, lost her battle to Covid-19 on Monday but no one from her family turned up to take the body though she is survived by a son and a daughter.

Her son Ajay, an alcoholic, refused to claim her body which lay in the mortuary for hours.

Her daughter Manju lives in Powayan town but had no money to travel to Shahjahanpur where her mother lived.

The body lay at the mortuary of Shahjahanpur medical college for three days since Friday when the old woman died.

A local journalist, Mirazuddin Khan, who has been reporting from the hospital for his private news portal, came to know about the matter and with the help of an ambulance driver, he pooled in money and arranged for Manju to reach the district hospital.

Khan said, "When I contacted the woman's son, he refused to come for the cremation because of the infection. His younger sister agreed, but she did not have the money. Then an ambulance driver, Veeru Kumar, and I collected money and ensured that the final rites of the woman were completed in the presence of her daughter." Manju told reporters, "My brother did not come, but I have now got many brothers here. They ensured that the last rites of my mother were performed following the rituals." Ajay had got his mother admitted to the district hospital and left her there after she tested Covid positive.

Chief Medical Superintendent Dr U.P. Sinha said, "The woman's son did not turn up after her death on April 23 fearing that he would get infected. On Tuesday, however, her daughter claimed the body."
Apparently, communication between military robots is already good, if they are able to freely talk to one another. But if they cant communicate directly, whether because radio signals are affected by clutter or because the nature of the mission requires them to remain hidden, then thats a potential issue.This is what Army researcher Dr. Bradley Woosley had in mind when he joined other researchers from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), the Army Research Laboratory and the University of Nebraska, in trying to find a solution for indirect communication between robots within the same team.During a mission, if several robots intended to operate in the same area and werent able to communicate with each other, there would be a risk of some of them performing the same task. In order to avoid that, they should be able to find out, indirectly, who is doing what.The technique developed by the team of researchers, called -shape, allows robots to communicate the task they are about to do to only one of them, who would be able to remember this information and respond whenever some other member of the team asks about the same task.By integrating a geometric approximation with an intelligent search algorithm, this technique allows robots to search in the communication network, find goal conflicts and store them. And this is possible even when some members of the team become disconnected from the network.The -shape solution proved to be a fast way to prevent duplicated tasks within a robot team, even in scenarios where there are communication loses.So far, it has been tested on Clearpath Jackal Robots, as well as simulated robots in various scenarios. The next step for the team of researchers is developing the robots ability to predict each others behavior.
After the 2020 election, those ideals have been tested in unprecedented ways.

There is a tension there  on the one hand, Ive always believed, and I still believe fervently, that we need to publish major voices that are at the center of the national conversation, whether we agree with them or not, said Adrian Zackheim, the president and publisher of two Penguin Random House imprints, including Sentinel, which is geared toward conservative books. On the other hand, we have to be leery of public figures who have come to be associated with blatant falsehoods.

At the same time, conservative publishers and some literary agents say there is enormous demand for books from voices on the right, particularly now that Republicans are out of power, and publishers are demonstrating that they are eager to work with politicians they regard as acceptable mainstream conservatives. Politico reported that William P. Barr, Trumps former attorney general, sold a book about his role at the Justice Department. Sentinel acquired a book by Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, whose appointment by Mr. Trump last year caused an uproar on the left. Ms. Conways book will be published by Threshold, a Simon & Schuster imprint focused on conservative titles, though a person familiar with it said it would be more of a memoir than a standard political book.

Simon & Schuster declined to comment.

The company published several political blockbusters last year, including Mary L. Trumps Too Much and Never Enough and John R. Boltons The Room Where It Happened. This year has been more complicated.

In January, Simon & Schuster dropped plans to release Mr. Hawleys book following criticism of his efforts to overturn the election and accusations that he helped incite the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. This month, it said it would not distribute a title, published by Post Hill Press, a small publisher in Tennessee, by one of the police officers in the raid that killed Breonna Taylor.

The petition drafted by Simon & Schuster staff, which circulated on social media last week, demanded the company cancel Mr. Pences books, not sign any more former Trump officials and end its distribution deal with Post Hill Press. Jonathan Karp, Simon & Schusters chief executive, wrote a letter to the company saying it wouldnt take those actions.

We come to work each day to publish, not cancel, Mr. Karp wrote, which is the most extreme decision a publisher can make, and one that runs counter to the very core of our mission to publish a diversity of voices and perspectives.
A federal ban on menthol cigarettes may move forward this week as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reportedly faces a Thursday deadline to respond to a citizen petition pressing health officials to pull the flavor from shelves.

If the FDA decides to ban menthol cigarettes, federal officials would conduct a years-long rule-making process before the ban went into effect, NBC News and The Washington Post reported. But the push from the Biden administration comes as anti-tobacco groups and Black health advocates argue the aggressive marketing to the Black community has led to disproportionate health impacts.

The winds are definitely in our favor, Delmonte Jefferson, executive director of the Center for Black Health & Equity, told NBC News.

Jefferson and other health officials note that the cooling flavor makes it easier to pick up smoking  and harder to quit  according to data tracked over decades. More than 85% of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes, and Black smokers are more likely to die from smoking-related diseases than whites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

According to The Washington Post, the Biden administration is also seeking to ban other flavors in mass-produced cigars, many of which are popular with young people.

Tobacco is still a leading source of death in the U.S. and globally. According to CDC, smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. Nearly half a million Americans die annually due to smoking, according to CDC, including nearly 41,000 from secondhand smoke exposure. The totals amount to nearly 1,300 deaths per day.

Sales of cigarettes in Massachusetts dropped by almost a quarter last summer, after the state implemented its first-in-the-nation ban on menthol cigarettes. Three months after the ban, the state saw a $30 million-plus drop in tobacco excise taxes, prompting concerns from some lawmakers and tax groups.

Convenience store owners also cited an uptick in crime after the ban, noting people go to New Hampshire or Rhode Island to buy cartons of menthols and then sell them in Boston and other Massachusetts cities.

But antismoking and Black advocacy groups say the health benefits outweigh such concerns. According to the Post, they have gained optimism about a federal ban in part due to Bidens pledge to address public health disparities that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated.

Related Content:
STORY: Switzerland UN Northern Cyprus - Northern Cyprus leader, Turkish FM arrive in Geneva

LENGTH: 01:00

FIRST RUN: 1713

RESTRICTIONS:

TYPE: Natsound

SOURCE: TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY HANDOUT

STORY NUMBER: 4323040

DATELINE: 27 April 2021 - Geneva

SHOTLIST:

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY HANDOUT

Geneva - 27 April 2021

1. Northern Cyprus President Ersin Tatar, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Northern Cyprus Prime Minister Ersan Saner walking down steps of plane

2. Tatar and Cavusoglu greeting delegation

3. Various of Tatar (left), Cavusoglu (middle) and Jean-Paul Carteron (right), Founder of NGO Crans Montana Forum, in meeting

STORYLINE:

Northern Cyprus President Ersin Tatar arrived in Geneva on Tuesday ahead of an informal meeting with U.N Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Turkey's Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Northern Cyprus Prime Minister, Ersan Saner, also travelled to the Swiss city for the discussions.

Guterres' meeting aims to bring together the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities as well as the foreign ministers of Greece, Turkey and Britain  a former colonial ruler in Cyprus.

The three-day talks will look to scope out chances of resuming formal peace negotiations between the two communities on Cyprus, which was split along ethnic lines in 1974 when a coup aimed at union with Greece triggered a Turkish invasion.

Over 47 years of talks, the ultimate goal endorsed by the U.N. Security Council had been to reunify a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south as a federation - two zones running their own affairs with a federal government overseeing the core elements of national governance such as foreign policy and defense.

But now Turkey, and the new Turkish Cypriot leadership that espouses even tighter bonds with Ankara, have changed the rules, dismissing further talks about a federation-based accord as a waste of time because nearly five decades of negotiations on that model have gone nowhere.

Theyre proposing instead essentially a two-state model that Greek Cypriots say theyd never accept because it would legitimize the countrys partition forever.

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COLUMBIA  A sweeping bill to reduce penalties for drug crimes passed the South Carolina House hours after state Attorney General Alan Wilson sent a letter to lawmakers opposing it.

In a 62-45 vote, the House approved the 20-page bill April 28 that would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, reduce non-parole-eligible sentences and increase the drug amounts necessary for charges.

The bill is not likely to come up in the Senate until next year because only a few weeks remain in this year's legislative session.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Chris Murphy, R-North Charleston, said the bill had been the product of more than a decade of work and had been whittled down from a much broader sentencing reform bill that dealt with more crimes than just drugs.

"It brings our drug laws in line with our neighboring states and with what the Trump administration did with federal drug reform on that level," Murphy said.

Passage came despite a last-minute letter that Wilson sent to lawmakers on the morning of the vote opposing the bill, saying it "would have significant negative consequences on the prosecution of drug and other offenses in South Carolina."

Wilson took particular umbrage with the reduction of drug-trafficking sentences and the elimination of mandatory minimums, which he argued would make South Carolina's drug- trafficking laws weaker than other states in the Southeast.

"Our state is in the middle of a heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine crisis, and it is not the time to send the message to drug traffickers and criminal gangs that South Carolina is open for business with the lightest penalties around," Wilson wrote.

Murphy criticized Wilson for the timing of his intervention, saying from the House floor that the attorney general had not raised any concerns to him previously about the bill, despite their regular conversations about other legislation.

"He has not talked to me about this bill once, and at the 11th hour he sends a letter trying to claim that we're trying to weaken our drug laws," Murphy said. "We're not. We're doing the exact same thing that President Trump did when he was elected and reformed the federal drug laws because our laws are antiquated and need to be reformed."

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Wilson's spokesman Rob Kittle responded that the attorney general's staff had expressed concerns about the bill to law enforcement, prosecutors and other legislators, but he acknowledged that they had not spoken directly with Murphy.

"We decided to put the concerns in writing after being asked by legislators hoping to raise those concerns as the full House considered the bill," Kittle said. "The concerns outlined in the Attorney Generals letter have previously been shared publicly by numerous law enforcement, prosecutorial and victims advocacy organizations."

Murphy also pushed back on claims the bill would "open the floodgates" for prisoners to be released. Out of around 20,000 inmates, only 70 would be eligible for parole if the bill passes, Murphy said, and the total number of inmates eligible for a reduced sentence over the next 24 years would be 495.

The average inmate that would be released by the bill would only be cutting their original sentence by about a year and four months, Murphy added, and the legislation would also save the state's prisons agency almost $3.5 million.

"This fallacy that's being put out there that this is going to cause a major influx of inmates into South Carolina is false and it's wrong," Murphy said.

State Rep. Tommy Pope, R-York, said he is concerned the bill "goes too far."

"While we all recognize the need to do better with people that are users of drugs or are addicted to drugs, when it starts stepping up into the distribution and the trafficking realms, I think we have to have that fear of punishment as a tool for law enforcement and prosecution to keep our communities safe," said Pope, a former prosecutor.

Murphy said he expects the bill may face an uphill climb in the Senate next year, but he touted the House passage as a key victory that would help propel the issue forward.
When Joseph Hyman, a rare spirits specialist for Skinner Auctioneers, first examined the brown-glass flask that his employer was preparing to sell, he already suspected it was one of the oldest bottles of American-made whiskey hed ever seen.

For one thing, it was embossed with the name Evans & Ragland, a grocer and whiskey bottler that operated in LaGrange, Ga., for about a decade after the Civil War. And a typed note taped to the back suggested that the whiskey had been distilled before 1865, since there were no known distilleries in Georgia after the war that might have sold it to Evans & Ragland to bottle. Mr. Hyman figured it might have been made in the 1850s, then stored until after the fighting ended.

To authenticate it, Mr. Hyman used a syringe to extract a small sample and worked with labs at the University of Georgia and the University of Glasgow to analyze it. The results shocked him: Radiocarbon dating indicated, with 81 percent accuracy, that the whiskey was distilled between 1763 and 1803, making it by far the oldest American whiskey in existence.

It was a cool story beforehand, Mr. Hyman said. But once the tests came back, it became a monster of a story. Its still blowing my mind.
The global refugee crisis has always been about more than just statistics. At its heart, the refugee crisis is about people and how to care for them.

In the midst of all thats going on today, its easy to lose sight of this personal dimension. But refugees are people with their own hopes, dreams, fears, families and futures. If we really want to protect refugee lives, then we have to hear their stories and lift up their voices.

Through my work at World Relief, Ive been blessed to hear refugee stories firsthand. And this space of encounter has transformed the way I understand Gods call to care for the neighbor. The Bible asks us to love refugees as we love ourselves. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt, reads Deuteronomy 10:19. As Christians, we can do more to center refugee stories with love; we can and must meet refugees with an open mind and a prayerful heart.

In prayer, we can transform Gods church into a place of friendship for the foreigner, for the oppressed and for our global neighbors in need. Today and every day I pray for the refugees Ive met and heard. And I think its important to share my prayer with the world.

I pray for my friend Sunny. Sunny has spent over four years waiting to be reunited with his wife in Spokane, Washington. Sunny, who fled Pakistan after being kidnapped and tortured for his Christian faith, has already been processed for resettlement to the U.S. as a refugee, but he needs our government to complete the process so he can come to America and rebuild his family. In the meantime, he is suffering from separation in a faraway and dangerous country. His story is the story of a love that wont quit, in spite of the odds and obstacles against him.

I pray for Joe. After being beaten for participating in a peaceful pro-democracy march in Venezuela, Joe traveled for a year to get to Tijuana and request asylum at the U.S. port of entry. After months of waiting in Mexico, he endured six months in a U.S. immigration detention prison. But Joe had his asylum case denied. He remains in legal limbo, without any option to stay permanently in the U.S.

I pray for Ny. Ny is an orphan living alone in Egypt. Many years ago, her parents died in the violence of South Sudans civil war. Her uncle, aunt and cousins are the only family she has left, and all of them are living far away from her in Spokane. Shes been waiting for five years to rejoin them. But so far, her pleas to enter the United States have fallen on deaf ears.

I pray for Kalima and her family, who I visited in the Kutapalong camp in Bangladesh. I first met Kalima over three years ago. But while Ive since returned to America, she and her family are still there, waiting patiently and fervently for someone to start caring enough to let them start a new life somewhere. Just a few weeks ago, a brutal fire burned down the homes of 10,000 of her neighbors; we live in comfort, but Kalima and her family face devastation and hardship.

These stories are all unique, yet they are not out of the ordinary. There are thousands of refugees like Kalima, Ny, Joe and Sunny. These are people whose lives have been put on hold by persecution, poverty, illness and suffering. They are more than just a number for the media to report on; they are human beings seeking the comfort and care of good neighbors.

America has the power and prosperity to change their lives forever. But our political leaders need wisdom and compassion to hear refugee stories and make good on Americas centuries-old promise to be a home to the worlds tired, hungry and poor. Thats why I also pray for President Biden, who has the legal authority to reopen and rebuild our refugee resettlement program and our asylum system  but who despite inspiring statements, has thus far continued the refugee ceiling of the previous administration and continues to expel asylum seekers who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border. If God can touch his heart to show him the way to restore Americas refugee program and rebuild our asylum system, then we can start to make a difference for thousands of people made in Gods image.

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I invite everyone reading this to join me in my prayer. Through prayer, we can become better instruments of Gods will for a transformed and more loving world. I invite you to join me in praying for and hearing from the worlds refugees. With Gods help, we can build a better tomorrow for our neighbors in need.



Dr. Mark Finney is the director of World Relief Spokane and lead pastor of Emmaus Church. Some of the names mentioned here have been changed to respect the individuals privacy.
Farmers markets help Stohrs introduce goat dairy products to SD

Stohr Diary invests in the dairy goat industry. Helps grow awareness to the benefits of goat dairy within South Dakota.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28)  China is in no place to ask the Philippines to stop its drills in the West Philippine Sea, Filipino officials said Wednesday, adding Manila will continue holding maritime patrols and filing diplomatic protests against Beijing.

In a statement, the Department of National Defense stood firm in its assertion that it is the East Asian giant encroaching on Philippine territory.

"China has no business telling the Philippines what we can and cannot do within our own waters," DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said.

"We will continue to do what is necessary to protect our sovereign rights," he added, as he cited the 2016 arbitral ruling which rejected China's sweeping claims over territories falling within its so-called nine-dash line.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. also maintained the Philippines has the right to conduct maritime exercises in its exclusive economic zone within the contested South China Sea.

"They have their claims, we have our claims, and so it is a disputed area. But we have to enforce, because we have UNCLOS (United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea) supporting us," Esperon told CNN Philippines.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin asked Manila not to "escalate disputes" by holding drills in the West Philippine Sea. This is despite the arbitral award which Beijing has repeatedly ignored.

READ: China urges PH: Respect our sovereignty and rights, stop drills in South China Sea

Amid China's insistence, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. directed his department on Wednesday to lodge another diplomatic protest. Since last month, the Philippines has filed several protests against China for its refusal to withdraw its vessels from Philippine waters.

"They can say what they want from the Chinese mainland; we continue to assert from our waters by right of international law what we won in The Hague," Locsin said in a tweet. "But we must not fail to protest. @DFAPHL have we fired off a diplomatic protest? Do it now."

Locsin on April 7 said they will file a protest for each day the Chinese ships refuse to leave the area.

Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros said China must be "hallucinating" to make such a statement. She added the country should stop "contorting facts to suit her baseless claims."

"In truth, it is China that has been harassing our fisherfolk, reclaiming land in territories she does not own, and even using war vessels to chase off Filipino civilians," she said. "China can't even respect freedom of navigation on the high seas, and now she wants respect for her unfounded nine-dash line?"

House Deputy Speaker Rep. Rufus Rodriguez also called Beijing's call "ridiculous" and demanded that they leave the West Philippine Sea immediately.
Bank of India said that a meeting of board of directors of the bank is scheduled on 30 April 2021 to consider and approve fund raising plan.

The board of directors of the state-run bank would consider the proposal of raising capital including by way of a further issue of equity shares and BASEL III Compliant Additional Tier-I, Tier-II bonds etc.

The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 27 April 2021. Shares of Bank of India rose 1.3% to settle at Rs 66.05 yesterday.

The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 101.45 on 19 February 2021. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 31 on 20 May 2020.

Bank of India is a public sector bank. The Government of India held 89.10% stake in Bank of India as on 31 March 2021.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chandigarh: Amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, the Haryana government has said that prohibitory orders will be imposed throughout the state.

"Section 144 to be imposed throughout Haryana," a state government release quoting Home and Health Minister Anil Vij said on Tuesday.

Section 144 of the CrPC prohibits the assembly of four or more people and earlier it was imposed in a few districts in the state, including Gurgaon, Faridabad, Hisar, Panchkula and Sonipat.

In the current month, Haryana has registered a sharp surge in COVID cases, while the viral infection-related deaths too have witnessed a rise.

On Tuesday, the state recorded the biggest single-day jump in deaths and cases as 84 fatalities took the cumulative toll in the state to 3,926, while 11,931 fresh infections pushed the total count to 4,47,754.

The restrictions which are already in place to contain the spread of infection include daily night curfew in the state, curtailed timings for closure of shops, barring those dealing in essentials, besides restrictions on the number of people allowed for indoor and outdoor gatherings.

Vij sought by Thursday details from all deputy commissioners regarding oxygen beds, oxygen storage capacity and other requirements, including ventilators in all private and government hospitals of their districts.

The minister, who was presiding over a meeting of the state-level COVID monitoring committee and with deputy commissioners through videoconference, said that every coronavirus patient in the state has to be saved.

"For this, every necessary arrangement will be made," he said according to the release.

He directed the DCs to ensure arrangements for funeral to be conducted on the same day for those who lose their lives to coronavirus while observing all COVID-related protocol.

The health minister asked the deputy commissioners to set up district-level COVID monitoring committees with secretaries of various departments, including District Legal Services Authority, as their members.

He directed all civil surgeons to arrange for consultation of patients undergoing home isolation in their area every second day and make medicines, AYUSH kits and other necessary materials available to them.

Along with this, numbers and names of doctors should be published so that patients in home isolation can regularly consult them, he said.

Vij directed all deputy commissioners and superintendents of police to maintain security in all private and government hospitals.

Along with this, the deputy commissioners have been asked to increase bed capacity at hospitals or other places in their districts so that no patient is denied treatment. He said critical corona care centres are being set up in all government medical colleges in the state.

The minister asked the deputy commissioners to collect empty oxygen cylinders from all industries in their areas so that maximum oxygen can be stored and added that the gas will also be sourced from abroad to meet the needs of COVID patients of the state.

Haryana Chief Secretary Vijai Vardhan directed the deputy commissioners to strictly follow COVID-19 protocols in micro-containment zones. He said that DCs and other administrative officers should make necessary arrangements after taking stock of the situation.

Additional Chief Secretary (Health Department) Rajiv Arora said that medical oxygen licenses will be made available in 24 hours to industries in the districts and they should apply for it early.

The number of ventilators in state government hospitals has been increased from 94 to 141. Rules for admission and discharge of COVID patients to hospitals will also be issued soon, he said.

Financial Commissioner (Revenue and Disaster Management) Sanjeev Kaushal took stock of COVID preparation from all deputy commissioners and asked for the immediate release of the required budget.

Live TV
Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu has described as disappointing the nomination of Kissi Agyebeng to the Office of Special Prosecutor following Martin Amidus resignation. According to him, the nomination goes to prove that the President Akufo-Addo is unwilling to fight corruption. You dont want people who shine their eyes on malfeasance, misappropriation, embezzlement and corruption. So it a disappointing appointment but lets see what he is able to do, he told JoyNews.



Legal practitioner, Kissi Agyebeng according to a letter from the Attorney General to the President has been earmarked to replace former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu. Reiterating his disapproval of Mr Agyebengs nomination, the Tamale South MP opined the experience and expertise of Mr Agyebeng are unparalleled to that of Martin Amidu, hence making him unfit for the job of Special Prosecutor.



Credentials compared to who? Compared to Martin Amidu, he is a non-starter. Compared to Martin Amidu in terms of stature, experience, integrity and reputation, he just doesnt come close.



After Martin Amidu, I mean he is a person with unquestionable integrity and his integrity, you will not find many that can stand up to the moral standard of Martin Amidu. He has been Attorney General, he said.



For that reason, he indicated that you need men of wits and will to fight corruption.



Mr Iddrisu also used the platform to register his displeasure on how President Akufo-Addo has tackled the issue of corruption.



He noted that due to the failure of the government to lend a hand to Martin Amidu in its corruption fight, it lost its best candidate for the job.



Martin Amidu suited perfectly into it but because he could not get the cooperation and support of the president, he had to bow out. Look at how they shamelessly got the Auditor General out of office in one breathI just think Nana Addo Dankwa has lost the fight against corruption.



Corruption is real in Ghanaian public life. It has permeated the moral fact break of our public service. Sometimes we narrow it to political office holders, politicians and ministers but you need to open your eyes for it to be more inclusive, he added.







Source: Joy News









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 F-14 Tomcat is the swing-wing interceptor based on aircraft carriers launched by steam catapults. It was best as interceptors and best known for its specialty in firing long-range air-to-air missiles.

F-14 Tomcat built for combat

One of the best carrier-based fighters that feature the best technology in any aircraft in service during the Cold War. Used for air defense, intercept, strike, and reconnaissance missions, the two-seat fighter was developed for its specific role in naval aviation. It replaced the excellent F-4 Phantom fighter bomber used in the Vietnam war, and Tomcats were first onboard carriers in 1972.

The F-14 Tomcat and catapult.



Two of our favorite cats on this #NationalCatDay. pic.twitter.com/qiCd27jrZ7  U.S. Navy (@USNavy) October 29, 2014

The first variant of the Tomcat was kept the same with no upgrades until 1986. In 1987 the major changes in the equipment were installed. It was the F-14B that got a better engine to improve its performance, and another improvement is the addition of newer radar equipment for target acquisition.

#DYK the F-14 Tomcat was a superior offensive attack aircraft and the first such American jet fighter with twin tails? It also appears at the end of the new "Top Gun: Maverick" trailer! #NorthropGrumman #NationalAviationHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/Rpk5QhErHh  Northrop Grumman (@northropgrumman) November 26, 2019

Aerial agility was improved with better flight controls and avionics, especially new missiles that got it named the Super Tomcat 'D,' ready for missions in 1988.

Types of the F-14

The US Navy flies about 338 Tomcats in all three variants (F-14, B, D), although the 18E/F Super Hornet replaced it due to certain factors. It was too expensive to operate, which made the development of the Hornet possible.

In July 2006, the F-14 Tomcat flew of the steam catapults off a flat-top deck, but on September 22 in 2006, it was officially retired, and the F/A-18 Hornet took its place.



F-14 Tomcat: The Iranian Air Force Reverse Engineering the Fourth Generation Fighter

But, the F-14s Iran got in the 70s from the US are still in operation with the Iraqi Air Force (IAF). IAF Tomcats have been able to overpower older fighters from the Soviet Union.

Weapons of the Tomcat

This twin-engine fighter has the Vulcan M61A-1 20mm gun loaded with 675 rounds shells to shoot down other planes for close-in dog fights or weapons of last resort.

Under the plane are eight hardpoints for bombs and missiles, four on the body and two on the wings to mount weapons. Missiles are short-range, medium, and long-range air-to-air missiles like the AIM-9, AIM-7, and AIM-54. Bombs that can be carried are the Rockeye bomb and CBU cluster bombs.

The ranges of the missiles are 45 km. or 8 km. but the longest range is 150 km. The Tomcat can shoot six targets at the same time when detected by radar or infrared.

Other bombs that the F-14D carries (4 maximum) the joint direct attack munitions (JDAM), first used in March 2003. They are guided by the LANTIRN targeting pod that designates what to attack. On the nose is a Lockheed Martin infrared search and track system.

How the Tomcat sees

Equipped sensors are its eyes and ears, with a Raytheon AN/APG-71 digital multimode radar (F-14D), tactical air reconnaissance pod system (TARPS) with several functions that allow the plane to scan see its environment for awareness electronically.

One system is the Lockheed Martin AN/AAD-5 infrared line scanner that allows near real-time images sent to the aircraft carrier command center via a data link.

With the TARPS is the fast tactical imagery (FTI) line-of-sight system for targeting and reconnaissance. The F-14 Tomcat Northrop Grumman has these tactical systems that make it an excellent interceptor.

The F/A-18 E Super Hornet: More Advanced Block III Variant for US Navy

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Right now hottie Kara and her social media promo winning on an overcast day inspires inspires this peek at pop culture, community news and top headlines.



Local Artsy Opportunity

ArtsKC announces recipients of the 2020-2021 Inspiration grants A few of the grant recipients. // Courtesy of ArtsKC Each year since 2016, ArtsKC Regional Arts Council has been providing funds for local artists through Inspiration Grants. This year, ArtsKC is giving $35,468 in Inspiration Grants to 18 local artists.

Get Poked In The Dotte

COVID-19 vaccines in Wyandotte County available to anybody over 16 - even those outside of Kansas The Unified Government Public Health Department said Tuesday it will now offer COVID-19 vaccinations to anyone 16 and older, regardless of where they live or work, including people who live outside of Kansas."Getting more and more people vaccinated is the best opportunity we have to control and stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community," said Juliann Van Liew, director of the Unified Government Public Health Department.

More Deets Revealed Ahead Of Johnson Drive Construction

Mission to scale back lanes on Johnson Drive in hopes of improving public safety MISSION, Kan. - Traffic flow will soon be changing in downtown Mission. Last week the city council unanimously approved plans to reduce Johnson Drive from four lanes to three. Johnson Drive runs through the center of the downtown Mission business district.

Hottie Tech Debuts

Model Kara Del Toro Drops Exclusive 10-Photo NFT With Stunning Instagram Post Kara Del Toro is cashing in on the NFT craze with a one-of-one art capsule featuring 10 stunning photos. If this is the first you're hearing of the popular new form of cryptocurrency, "NFT" is an acronym for "Non-Fungible Token." While most other cryptos like Bitcoin are mutually interchangeable, an NFT possesses a unique encrypted ID, making it irreplaceable.

Prez Biden Grabs Guns

Exclusive: Biden to urge Congress to pass anti-gun violence legislation in Wednesday address WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden will use his first address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday to pressure lawmakers to confront gun violence, underscoring the administration's focus on fulfilling a campaign pledge that had been mostly overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Rudy Under Siege

Federal investigators search Rudy Giuliani's NYC apartment WASHINGTON - Federal officials executed a search warrant at Rudy Giuliani's Manhattan apartment Wednesday, sources familiar with the matter confirmed, signaling that prosecutors are ramping up their investigation into former President Donald Trump's lawyer. It was unclear what was seized in the search, which The New York Times first reported.

Vaxx Talk Denounced

White House blasts Joe Rogan for discouraging vaccination on his podcast Rogan's remarks to his legion of fans - which have since spread widely on social media - come at a particularly inconvenient moment for White House officials, who are working to persuade the vaccine-hesitant, especially conservative men and younger Americans, to get their shots as the U.S. vaccine supply begins to outpace demand.

Fake News Reporter Resigns

New York Post temporarily deletes, then edits false story that claimed Harris' book was given out in migrant 'welcome kits' The New York Post temporarily deleted, and then edited and republished, a debunked article that falsely claimed that copies of Vice President Kamala Harris' book were being included in "welcome kits" given to migrant children at a shelter in Long Beach, California.

Brit Testimony Coming Soon

Britney Spears Will Finally Speak On Her Own Behalf in Court Over Her Conservatorship Variety reports that Britney Spears will head to court in June to speak to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny on her legal conservatorship. As the outlet notes, she's made it clear, amid turmoil in the public over the nature of her legal situation, that she wants father Jamie Spears removed from his role as conservator.

Local Fashion Reflections

Young designer pulls from painful part of U.S. history for KC Fashion Week inspiration Cydni Stanford has modeled for four seasons and five designers during Kansas City Fashion Week in the past. This year, she's making her debut as a designer. "I've wanted to be a designer since I was like six," she said.

New Americans Arrive

600 people from 41 countries become American citizens at Park Hill High School KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Six hundred people from at least 41 different countries are becoming American citizens Wednesday in four separate ceremonies. Nearly 2,400 people have been naturalized as U.S. citizens in the western district of Missouri since March 2020. Many say they still consider the United States to be a land of opportunity.

Midweek Weather Peek

Your Storm Track 5 Daily Forecast Umbrellas will be a much-needed tool this evening for anyone wanting to spend a little time outside, that includes a quick dash to your car. Temperatures are expected to fall from the upper 60s at sunset to the lower 60s by the late evening hours aided by the rain that will fall from passing thunderstorms. The storms are not likely to be strong or severe, but a few passing cells could produce brief heavy rain.

Lake Street Dive - "Hypotheticals" is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
One week after the death of crane operator Terry Garr at Stellantis' Sterling Stamping Plant north of Detroit, the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter has learned that another worker, millwright Mark Bruce, has passed away from COVID-19. Multiple sources confirmed the death to a reporting team during a shift change on Tuesday afternoon.

Sterling Stamping, the largest automotive stamping plant in the world, saw its largest one-month surge in new infections in March, with 28 confirmed cases, up from one in the entire month of February. This coincided with a record-breaking surge in cases throughout the state of Michigan, driven primarily by school reopenings. The Autoworker Newsletter had previously learned of severe cases in the plant which required hospitalization, but this is the first confirmed death in plant.

Sterling Stamping workers (WSWS Media)

While United Auto Workers Local 1264 has run several death notices of autoworkers and their family members over the last two months, it has yet to report on Bruce's death. One worker said the UAW and the company were concealing information about outbreaks of COVID-19 in the plant. He said he knew Mark Bruce for a long time. Mark died of COVID last Friday and nothing is being said about it. I only learned about it because another worker texted me.

Were getting notices, sometimes seven times a week, about new COVID cases. But they arent saying where and what workers could have been exposed.

Nationwide, the UAW has helped management impose a blackout on infections and deaths in the auto plants in order not to instill panic. This prevents workers who are potentially exposed to the deadly virus from taking the necessary measures to protect themselves, co-workers and family, ensuring even more infections and death. In addition to covering up infections, management is penalizing workers who contract the virus or stay home with symptoms, thus encouraging workers to report to the job when they are sick.

Amid widespread anger over the death of Garr, crushed to death during a die staging at the end of his shift last week, the UAW went into damage control on Tuesday, announcing a token, one minute of silence each shift to honor Garr on April 28, Workers Memorial Day.

While workers want to know the truth about the circumstances which led to his death, in a statement posted on the UAW Local 1264 Facebook page at the plant, LaShawn English, the local president, offered prayers and condolences but no new information on the tragedy. Neither did English outline what steps the UAW is taking to investigate Garrs death or encourage workers with information to come forward.

Sterling Stamping

A preliminary report from the Michigan Occupational and Health Administration (MIOSHA) indicates Garr was staging a die, which was lifted by a crane. However, the die was not aligned with the locating pins.

While standing between the die and the press, the crane operator maneuvered the die onto the bolster pin. "The misalignment of the hoist to the center point of the die caused the die to swing to the home position, resulting in the die striking the crane operator," the report said. Garr was transported to an area hospital, where he later died, according to Sterling Heights police.

A full report from MIOSHA may take months to produce, according to the Macomb Daily, which originally reported on the preliminary findings.

A worker who contacted the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter in the wake of the accident suggested the tragedy had been caused by management pressuring die setters to disregard safety over production. The fatal accident was due, the worker wrote, because of Management being in a hurry and pressur[ing] die setters to hurry up and get a job done that management assigned towards the end of shift.

While Bruce and Garr died of different causes, the common factor in both deaths is management's determination to maintain production in the teeth of the pandemic. While Stellantis, like the other major auto companies, has been forced to idle much of its production due to a global chip shortage, the company is determined to keep open Sterling Stamping Plant, which produces critical body panels for much of the company's North American assembly plants, at all costs.

Across the street at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, which produces the company's best-selling and highly profitable Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck, production workers have been on forced overtime for most of the year, and skilled trades are working on a brutal new 12-hour day, 7 days per week work schedule.

During a shift change on Tuesday, workers said that the death of Garr coming at the time of surging COVID-19 infections underscored the fact that workers take their lives in their own hands every day they come in to work. We are signing up for risk every day we work here, one said.

Said another, Ive heard from other workers who said when the plant manager first heard about the accident, he asked if Garr was wearing a hard hat when he was killed, as if that would have saved him.

Other than that, we havent heard anything. Maybe he was working alone when he shouldnt have been. Maybe they were rushing him to finish a job. All I know is that it is being covered up and were not being told anything.

The situation at Sterling Stamping underscores the urgent need for a four-week national shutdown of production, a demand raised in a statement by the Autoworker Rank-and-File Safety Committee Network. This is not only necessary to prevent new infections spreading outward from plants into surrounding communities, but to put an end to the reckless and dangerous regime of speedup and overtime imposed by management with the support of the UAW.

A veteran worker at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant commented, Last March, workers stopped the line and that saved lives. We did it out of pure fear. We were afraid for our lives and the lives of our families, and we were asking, Doesnt anybody hear us?' Six workers have died at Warren Truck and the company and the union did nothing. The UAW are managements spies and muscle. They are totally corrupt and in cahoots with the bosses.

Workers getting killed in the plant and dying from COVID is like going back to the immigrant garment workers who were killed in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. It took a lot of tragedies before things changed. Today, there are tragedies and there are no improvements. Now we have two entities against us, the UAW and the company.

We urge workers to support the call by Sterling Heights Assembly Rank-and-File Safety Committee Sunday for a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Terry Garr. For more information contact autoworkers@wsws.org .
VANCOUVER, BC, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSXV: WELL) (the "Company" or "WELL"), a company focused on consolidating and modernizing clinical and digital assets within the primary healthcare sector, today announced that it has filed its Notice of an Intention to Make a Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB") with the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX"). The NCIB remains subject to approval by the TSX.

WELL believes that share purchases pursuant to the NCIB will contribute to the facilitation of an orderly market and be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. In the event that WELL believes that its common shares begin trading in a price range that does not adequately reflect their underlying value based on WELL's business prospects and strong financial position, WELL may purchase shares pursuant to the NCIB. Depending upon future price movements and other factors, WELL believes that its outstanding common shares represent an attractive investment and a desirable use of a portion of its corporate funds.

At the opening of the stock market on today's date, the Company is expected to have 195,161,273 common shares issued and outstanding. Under the NCIB, if approved by the TSX, the Company may acquire up to an aggregate of 4,879,031 common shares over the next 12-month period, representing approximately 2.5% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company.

Purchases subject to this NCIB will be carried out pursuant to open market transactions through the facilities of the TSX and any other available markets and alternative trading systems in Canada by a broker on behalf of the Company in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements. All common shares purchased by the Company under the NCIB will be returned to treasury and cancelled.

To the knowledge of the Company, no director, senior officer or other insider of the Company or any of their associates currently intends to sell any common shares under this bid. However, sales by such persons through the facilities of the TSX or any other available market or alternative trading system in Canada may occur if the personal circumstances of any such person change or if any such person makes a decision unrelated to these normal course purchases. The benefits to any such person whose shares are purchased would be the same as the benefits available to all other holders whose shares are purchased. The commencement and termination dates for this NCIB will be announced once the NCIB has been approved by the TSX.

WELL HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES CORP.

Per: "Hamed Shahbazi"

Hamed Shahbazi

Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Director

About WELL

WELL is an omni-channel digital health company whose overarching objective is to empower doctors to provide the best and most advanced care possible while leveraging the latest trends in digital health. As such, WELL owns and operates 27 primary healthcare clinics in both Canada and the US, operates a multi-national digital Electronic Medical Records (EMR) business serving thousands of healthcare clinics and health systems of all sizes, operates a multi-national portfolio of telehealth services which includes one of the largest telehealth service providers in Canada. WELL is also a provider of digital health, billing and cybersecurity related technology solutions. WELL is an acquisitive company that follows a disciplined and accretive capital allocation strategy. WELL is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "WELL". To access the Company's telehealth service, visit: tiahealth.com, and for corporate information, visit: www.well.company.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including, without limitation, the expectation that, if the NCIB is approved by the TSX, the Company will conduct a Normal Course Issuer Bid and purchase the maximum number of common shares permissible thereunder as described in this news release. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, and contingencies. The Company assumes that the NCIB will be approved by the TSX; however, there can be no assurance that approval will be obtained and the timing for such approval. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. WELL's statements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and conditions, many of which are outside of WELL 's control, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding the NCIB, including that: the TSX may not approve the NCIB; WELL's assumptions in making forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect; adverse market conditions; risks inherent in the primary healthcare sector in general; that future results may vary from historical results; and that market competition may affect the outcome of the business, results and financial condition of WELL. Except as required by securities law, WELL does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise.

SOURCE WELL Health Technologies Corp.

Related Links

well.company


The current price of PVC reaches a 10-year high

Last week, the price of PVC futures hit a 10-year high. Many market participants thought it was reasonable. Strong fundamentals were the main driving force behind the rise of PVC prices.

Huaan Futures analyst Lu Zheyuan told the Futures Daily reporter that since the beginning of this year, PVC prices have risen one after another, mainly due to the impact of the US cold wave that began at the end of February. The cold wave caused a large number of PVC plants in Texas to shut down due to power problems. As the main international supplier of PVC sources, the United States has been affected by the cold wave and the suspension of production of many PVC factories has supported the price of PVC in the internationally tight PVC market.

"In the second half of last year, the olefin plants in Europe and the United States were not operating normally. In addition to the cold wave in the United States in February this year, the power equipment was interrupted, the chlor-alkali plant was damaged, and the real estate boom in the United States continued to rise. The price of PVC in foreign countries continued to rise, and the U.S. export price (FAS Houston) ) From US$1,450 per ton to US$1,800 per ton. The CFR China price of Formosa Plastics rose from 1160 yuan per ton to 1510 yuan per ton, equivalent to RMB 11,000-12,000 per ton. Lin Xiaotao said, the domestic export space opens up , The export volume in the first quarter reached 510,000 tons, exceeding the full-year level of 2019 and approaching the full-year level of 2020.

In fact, PVC exports have increased more than expected. Since August last year, the price gap between the domestic and foreign markets has gradually widened, the export arbitrage window has opened, and the PVC export market situation has improved.

"In 2021, the PVC export market is still relatively optimistic, and the number of export orders has increased significantly. Statistics show that China\'s cumulative PVC exports in the first quarter were 509,300 tons, which was significantly higher than the same period in the previous year. Among them, the export volume in March was as high as 229,300 tons. The overseas epidemic situation has improved, and demand for PVC has recovered rapidly, but the recovery of PVC production has not been sufficient, which has led to a significant increase in foreign trade demand, and the role of PVC export market in stimulating consumption has been greatly enhanced." Founder Mid-term Futures analyst Xia Congcong said.

With the accelerated recovery of the global economy and a positive macroeconomic environment, domestic PVC downstream demand has gradually increased. "The proportion of PVC downstream products has not changed much. Pipes per pipe fittings, profiles per doors and windows are in an important position, which is the main driving force for the growth of PVC demand. Pipes per pipe fittings and profiles per doors and windows are mainly used in the construction field. The development of domestic real estate construction affects PVC Demand plays a decisive role." Xia Congcong introduced that the off-season effect of the real estate market weakened in the first quarter, the supply area of commercial residential buildings in key cities continued to grow, and transactions maintained a certain degree of activity. In the first quarter, the national commercial housing sales area and sales amount both hit new highs in the same period in recent years. The overall market is improving, and other indicators of the industry have also improved significantly. From the perspective of terminal demand, PVC just needs to maintain a steady upward trend.

In addition, rising costs also support PVC prices to a certain extent. Xia Congcong told a reporter from the Futures Daily that since March, the policy level has increased its influence on the calcium carbide market. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region issued the "Guarantee Measures for Ensuring the Completion of the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for Energy Consumption Dual Control Target Tasks "Draft for Solicitation of Comments". Under the influence of the energy consumption dual control policy, the operation of calcium carbide plant has further declined, which has exacerbated the tight supply of calcium carbide.The price of calcium carbide broke last year of high and hit a record high. The operating range of the raw material calcium carbide price has moved up significantly, and the cost of PVC production has continued to increase.

Affected by the The current price of PVC reaches a 10-year high the Nano BN powder market is changing rapidly. These changes are indicators of market growth.This year-on-year upward trend in the market indicates that the next November 2020-2026 will show an oval but steady growth.If you are looking for Nano BN powder or buy Nano BN powder in bulk,please send an email to:sales@ozbo.com

The price of Nano BN powder continues to be affected by factors such as market growth momentum,various opportunities and challenges.However,during the forecast period from 2020 to 2026,the global Nano BN powder sales market is expected to continue to be above average.The growth rate will continue to increase.It is expected that from today to next week,the price of Nano BN powder will increase to a certain extent.

Due to changes in consumer demand,import and export conditions,and various investigations on the development of Nano BN powder,the cost of Nano BN powder is constantly changing.Taking into account the current market macroeconomic parameters, value chain analysis,channel partners,demand and supply,the cost of Nano BN powder will also be affected to a certain extent.It is estimated that the cost of Nano BN powder will increase slightly from today to next week.

However,Ozbo.com provides high purity Nano Nano BN powder with steady price.In order to feedback to old customers,the company is still in full operations to provide Nano BN powder with competitive price.said Olina,sales manager of Ozbo.com.

About Ozbo.com

Ozbo.com (aka.Tanki New Materials Co.Ltd.) is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12 years experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials.As a leading nanotechnology development and Nano BN powder manufacturer,Tanki New Materials Co.Ltd dominates the market.Our professional work team provides perfect solutions to help improve the efficiency of various industries,create value,and easily cope with various challenges.If you are looking for Nano BN powder, please send an email to:sales@ozbo.com
Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) and UNCF (United Negro College Fund) have announced that scholarship applications are now being accepted for students wishing to pursue a career in the wine industry.

The first recipients will receive support toward college tuition this fall.

Last September, NVV committed $1 million to the fund, pledging $200,000 each year for the next five years, and has begun a fundraising effort to build the fund beyond that initial investment.

"The NVV represents one of the foremost wine regions and strives to be a leader in the world of wine," said Linda Reiff, president and CEO of Napa Valley Vintners. "We hope to strengthen our industry by attracting more diverse talent who will bring new points of view and contribute in meaningful ways to all aspects of our wine community. Were excited to have an opportunity to make a difference starting this fall with the first 40 recipients beginning their careers in as soon as one to four years."

The new scholarship program was created to encourage people of color to pursue college degrees and careers in the wine industry in subjects ranging from grape growing, winemaking, marketing, business and more at a college or university that has an established wine-related program of study. Over the next five years, 200 need-based scholarships will be awarded.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded the team, including Jennifer Munson, associate professor at the Fralin Biomedical Institute at VTC, $3.75 million to study how fluid flow affects CAR-T cell therapy on brain cancer

Glioblastoma multiforme is among the most lethal of cancers and the most stubborn in the face of treatment. Fewer than 20 percent of patients survive more than two years after diagnosis, according to the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States.

But a team of researchers at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and City of Hope, a comprehensive care center, believes the complex way fluid flows through glioblastoma tumors holds the key to the therapy's success. They believe they can use that flow to improve chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy (CAR-T) and help more patients survive.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded the team $3.75 million to study the impact of fluid flow on the therapy over the next five years.

"We believe we can actually encourage the T cells to move deeper into the tumor and search out those invading tumor cells in the brain and kill them," said Jennifer Munson, associate professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.

Christine Brown, The Heritage Provider Network Professor in Immunotherapy, and Russell Rockne, director of the Division of Mathematical Oncology, both at City of Hope in Duarte, California, complete the multi-investigator team.

CAR-T cell therapy has been successful in treating a range of cancers. The method uses immune system cells called T cells that are genetically engineered to recognize and kill cancer cells. These engineered cells are injected into the patient's body where they replicate and attack the tumor.

Brown has led the preclinical development and clinical translation of CAR-T cells for the treatment of glioblastoma at City of Hope and was part of the team that in 2017 successfully used CAR-T cell therapy to drive glioblastoma into remission in a patient.

But results of the therapy have been inconsistent from patient to patient, Munson said. The team's study aims to identify the patient-specific factors that cause the therapy to work in some patients, but not others, while improving the therapy's implementation.

Munson's lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute will study the movement of liquid within human tissues, called interstitial fluid flow, to understand how beneficial T cells penetrate tumors. Munson specializes in engineering tissue models, so-called "tumors in a dish," which can replicate the tumors of individual patients, so the researchers can see how the cells move inside a tumor.

Munson and Brown's labs will work together to develop methods to adjust fluid flow to improve the effectiveness of the T-cell therapy. Ian Kimbrough, assistant professor in Virginia Tech's College of Science, and John Rossmeisl, the Dr. and Mrs. Dorsey Taylor Mahin Professor at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, are part of the team for this aspect of the study.

"We want to know if we can deliver T cells into a specific part of the tumor, or at a specific flow rate or volume, to basically push the T cells around or move them where we need them to go," said Munson, who also is an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics in Virginia Tech's College of Engineering.

Rockne will build mathematical models to identify biomarkers to predict if the therapy will be effective in individual patients. He compared fluid flow through tumors to a river reaching the ocean, where it may leak in numerous directions.

"Glioblastomas disrupt the blood vessel network, creating leaky vessels, like river deltas, that create complicated flows within and around the tumor. Mathematics allows us to model and quantify how those complicated, river delta-like disrupted flows contribute to CAR-T cell migration and efficacy," Rockne said.

Treatments and the survival rates for patients with gliobastomas haven't improved in decades, Munson said. The team's study affords an opportunity to contribute to progress in the ongoing enterprise of the research community to deploy multiple approaches to improve outcomes for patients with this disease.

###
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic checks blood pressure before receiving the second dose of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine in Doljevac, Serbia, April 27, 2021. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday received the second dose of the Chinese Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine here in southeastern Serbia and expressed gratitude to China and the Chinese people for "enormous support and help." (Photo by Wang Wei/Xinhua)

DOLJEVAC, Serbia, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday received the second dose of the Chinese Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine here in southeastern Serbia and expressed gratitude to China and the Chinese people for "enormous support and help."

After taking the jab at the health station at the village of Pukovac, Vucic invited all people to follow his example and further speed up the immunization campaign.

After the vaccination, the president, on behalf of the Serbian people and in his own name, sent his message of gratitude to the Chinese people and leadership.

"We are very grateful to China and the Chinese people for enormous support and help, for the vast quantity of vaccines that we received," Vucic said. "We hope that we will also improve cooperation on vaccine manufacturing, as well as in genetic sequencing, in cooperation with the BGI."

He said the vaccination did not hurt at all, and appealed for the public to receive it because in this way "you protect your own life and the lives of many other people."

When receiving the fifth batch of the vaccines from China on Monday, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said it would help the country inoculate 37 percent of its population by the end of April, and hopefully put a full stop to the epidemic during May and June.

One month after a serious peak in the daily number of new infections, Serbia on Monday once again reported under 2,000 new cases. Schools and shopping malls opened here in mid-April. Restaurants and cafes can serve outdoors.

5

1

[ Editor: WXL ]
LONDON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As many countries attempt to recover from the economic fallout of the pandemic, the introduction of a wealth tax has become an increasingly popular solution to tackle this. While some experts have concluded that a wealth tax could be a short-term tool to raise revenue, many others have also highlighted the concerns attached to the taxation. South Africa has become the latest country rumoured to introduce a wealth tax with a recent study by the World Inequality Lab demonstrating that the tax could generate up to 160 billion rand ($10.7 billion dollars). Similarly, experts at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg have suggested establishing a progressive wealth tax for those earning above 3.6 million rand which accounts for 354,000 high-earners in the country. While there have been no plans as yet to establish the levy, the nation has advanced on its 'high wealth individual taxpayer' division.

Announced during February's Budget Speech, the segment is aimed at cracking down on individuals who have not declared all their income due to 'complex financial agreements'. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has already begun identifying wealthy citizens who fall under this bracket, with many expected to receive their first letter this month. Extensive studies have shown that South Africa's wealthy population continues to decline with roughly 1,900 millionaires leaving since the last figure recorded in 2020. According to New World Wealth's Africa report, a total of 4,200 high net-worth individuals have left the country over the last decade. With the possibility of higher taxes for the wealthy, this number is likely to grow.

"Applying further draconian tax laws on productive entrepreneurs is counterintuitive to creating a holistic economic development plan. This proposed move of SARS will create further mistrust in the government, driving more skilled professionals to explore other countries that offer an equitable and welcoming environment," says Micha Emmett, CEO of CS Global Partners and dual-qualified lawyer with decades of experience in investment migration. "Investors are looking at nations with better economic opportunities that allow them to protect their wealth in a politically and economically stable democracy."

The Caribbean has become an ideal destination for South Africans who want to remain in a similar environment without the disadvantages of their home country. The region is responsible for pioneering the Citizenship by Investment Programme  an initiative that encourages foreign investors to contribute to the economy of a nation in exchange for citizenship and the associated benefits.

Dominica's Citizenship by Investment Programme is one such option. Established in 1993, the Programme has been ranked the world's best offering for second citizenship for the last four consecutive years by an independent study. To qualify for citizenship, applicants must either make an investment into a government fund or buy into selected real estate options. Only once passing a multi-tiered vetting process are applicants granted citizenship. Benefits include visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to over 140 countries and territories, the right to live, work and study in the nation and the ability to pass citizenship down for generations to come.

Not only does the nation boast strong governance that facilitates an environment ripe with economic opportunity, but it is one of the few countries in the world to successfully manage the coronavirus outbreak. Dominica's vaccination programme is also now fully underway, proving that its government is proactive and committed to the prosperity of its citizens.

+44-7867942505

pr@csglobalpartners.com

www.csglobalpartners.com

SOURCE CS Global Partners
The Yankees were dropping one bombshell after another before Tuesday nights 5-1 win in Baltimore.

After manager Aaron Boone announced Kyle Higashioka would be getting more starts at catcher over chronic slumper Gary Sanchez, the Yankees announced a surprising trade:

Reserve outfielder Mike Tauchman was dealt to the San Francisco Giants for left-hander reliever Wandy Peralta.

Here are nine things to know about the Yankees new bullpen piece.

Introducing Yankees Insider: Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text message directly with beat writers

-- Peralta is a 29-year-old Dominican with a career 4.72 ERA in six seasons with the Cincinnati Reds (2016-19) and Giants (2019-21).

-- Peralta had a 5.40 ERA over six outings this season and has been trending downward. He worked four shutout innings over his first four outings, then was touched for five runs on 10 hits over 4 1/3 innings in his next six.

-- Heres a fresh scouting report on Peralta from an American League scout who spoke to NJ Advance Media: Everybodys seen his arm. Hes can throw. I saw him in spring training and on TV this year. Good arm. If youre not going to use Tauchman  The Yankees can use another veteran arm in their bullpen, so theyre obviously hoping he can be consistent. I like Tauchman, but the Yankees didnt have a spot for him.

-- Peralta is a hard thrower who mixes in breaking balls and a changeup. Before Peraltas last outing, Giants TV broadcaster Mike Krukow said on air, Hes got good stuff. Youre going to see high-to-mid 90s with the fastball. Recently its been more highs than mid.

-- Peralta had his best season in 2020 pitching to a 3.29 ERA over 25 relief outings with the Giants, and he was even better than his stats indicate. If you wipe out his worst outing  five runs in no innings on Aug. 16 against Oakland  he pitched to a 1.64 ERA in his other 24 games.

-- Peralta is scheduled to travel from San Francisco to Baltimore on Wednesday and be activated for Thursdays series finale.

-- Peralta has a minor-league option, so he can be farmed out.

Buy Yankees tickets: StubHub, TicketSmarter

-- Peralta struggled throughout the 2018 and 2019 seasons, but finished 19 strong after being claimed off waivers by the Giants in September.

-- Peralta is making $925,000 this season and is under team control through the 2023 season.

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.

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Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
Digitally augmented surgeons are to become a reality in the USA

Focus on total knee arthroplasty in ambulatory surgery centers

Pixee Medical, a pioneer in digitally augmented surgery technology, announces that its Knee AR computer assisted orthopedic solution has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005803/en/

(Photo: Pixee Medical)

Kneeis a patented platform designed to assist orthopedic surgeons to perform surgeries better and faster by providing real-time positioning of instruments, right in their field of view. Knee is intuitive and requires minimal training since it does not change the overall technique for 90% of surgeons who use a conventional technique but have never utilized navigation or robots. Kneeconsists in a proprietary software using unique computer vision and artificial intelligence algorithms and running on connected smartglasses, with no bulky capital equipment or disposables required.

Video Link: https://bit.ly/3dPKfcf

The first Knee surgery was performed in June 2020 in Lariboisiere Hospital in Paris. Pixee Medical began commercialization in Europe and Australia in January 2021 and was surprised by just how quickly its product was adopted, with more than 60 systems sold in Q1. The company proved that the market was ready for this innovation and is now expanding rapidly by partnering with leading orthopedic implant companies.

"The FDA's clearance of Knee is an important step forward as the USA represents 50% of the worldwide market. We plan to quickly expand our platform to perform hip and shoulder replacements" states Sebastien Henry, Founder and CEO of Pixee Medical. "In addition, our platform is designed to become the cornerstone of data acquisition and exchange during surgery as well as a plug-and-play hub for accessories like connected instruments, robotic arms and wireless tools."

"Today, Knee is well positioned to help ambulatory surgical centers face the significant backlog and increase in knee surgery. These centers need intuitive, effective, attractive and affordable solutions to meet their patients' needs, now."

About Pixee Medical

Pixee Medical's ambition is to empower all orthopedic surgeons with the latest breakthrough in precision surgery, to become digitally augmented surgeons. Learning from the success, as well as the challenges of adopting navigation and robotized approaches, Pixee Medical developed its surgeon-centric platform with the belief that all surgeons deserve intuitive tools to augment their knee, hip and shoulder replacement surgeries, without facing hurdles in terms of capital equipment, changing techniques, training, additional staff or longer procedure times. Pixee Medical's augmented surgery platform is commercially available in Europe, Australia, and the USA for total knee arthroplasty with Knee

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005803/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact information:

Charlotte Beck

Email: contact@pixee-medical.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixee-medical

Website: www.pixee-medical.com
Lack of a potent opposition force, the mendicancy of the mainstream media, and the judiciarys thinly veiled favors to the government have been aiding Modis singular usurpation of power.





by Sayandeb Chowdhury and Rajendran Narayanan

How can this inequality be maintained if not through jolts of electric shock.  Eduardo Galeano, Days and Nights of Love and War

In The Shock Doctrine, renowned journalist Naomi Klein presents a searing account of how disasters were used as cover to steamroll market fundamentalism by authoritarian regimes in Chile and Argentina, among others. The title alludes to the practice of psychiatric shock therapy used in the early twentieth century. She calls this disaster capitalism, defined as orchestrated raids on the public sphere in the wake of catastrophic events, combined with the treatment of disasters as exciting market opportunities. For instance, Klein talks about how the U.S. government saw wrecked post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans as an opportunity to use moments of collective trauma to engage in radical social and economic engineering. In short, there are several examples of how neoliberal deep states are eked out by gaslighting an economic crisis at an exigent moment to pawn civil liberties and natural resources.

We might ask: What is the context? It is to understand the shiftingand slidingterrains of constitutional politics in present-day India. And to do so, we need to look at illiberal or undemocratic regimes as examples. In this context, several polemical comparisons have been made between the Indian prime minister Narendra Modis autocratic tendencies and those of Adolf Hitler. This comparison has enjoyed durability given the allegiance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mothership Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to the German National Socialist (Nazi) Party. Recently, political theorist Partha Chatterjee has offered a characteristically brilliant study of popular sovereignty and its competing models in Europe and Asia in the last two centuries. Some of what RSS brings to the Nazi project and why Modi represents a new kind of capitalism in India is evident in this work. However, how the violent Hindutva precepts of the current BJP regime are being foregrounded as part of a larger neoliberal apparatus remains an open question, which has assumed special weight in light of the pandemic.

[ A woman is consoled after her husband died due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outside the mortuary of a COVID-19 hospital in Ahmedabad, India, April 20, 2021. [Photo/Agencies]. From India logs record jump in virus cases, China Daily, April 23, 2021.]

Here, we present some parallels and variants of Kleins work. While an assertive Hindutva deep state was already a work in progress under Modi, what is striking is how the contingency of the pandemic has been used to mask it with a no-holds-barred steamrolling of market reforms. Monopolized decision-making and subversion of democratic deliberations have further aided in the manufacture of a shock automata with which the government-corporate nexus is repeatedly stinging the public. It is in this context that Modis pitch for privatization, at the cost of social spending, has strong resonances with Augusto Pinochet of Chile and the military junta that ruled Argentina in the 1970s and 80s. This comparison, similar in many aspects, will bring to relief some of the malignant policy parameters of the current regime in India, which otherwise militate against both common sense and democratic principles.

In a military coup in Chile on September 11, 1973, Pinochet overthrew the socialist government of Salvador Allende, assassinated the duly elected president, and went on to rule Chile for the next seventeen years. Soon after Pinochets insurrection, the new-fangled National Intelligence Directorate, trusted with the safeguarding of national interest, was involved in large-scale human rights violations, including murder, detentions, disappearances, and torture of civilians and dissenters. While the National Intelligence Directorate was disbanded in 1977, the Pinochet regime continued to crush civil liberties and muzzle dissent. The report of the Chilean National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation presents a sobering account of these human rights violations. These were supplemented by prescriptions on economics by the Chicago School of free market economists under the guidance of Milton Friedman. Orlando Letelier, Chilean ambassador to the United States and minister of foreign affairs under Allende, presents a scathing critique of the free market model, the consequences of which were disastrous. The external payable debt increased by 20 percent in just one year, food production and consumption decreased, unemployment increased, and peoples overall well-being drastically plummeted. Chile is hence a pointed example of what happens when dictatorship is wedded to crony capitalism.

Pinochet presents an anchor for us to look at India under the BJP. Let us first look at the economic front. According to Oxfam India, the top 10 percent of Indias population holds 77 percent of the countrys wealth.6 The growing inequality coincides with a steady decline in the corporate tax to GDP ratio from over 3 percent in 201011 to a meagre 0.9 percent in November 2020. In contrast, in 2019, the consumption and unemployment was at its worst in four decades. Early data of the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey suggest that nutrition parameters for women and children have either worsened or stagnated between 201415 and 201920. Moreover, infant mortality rates in some states increased in 201718. Writing about the slump in human development in Chile during Pinochets regime, Letelier notes: The inhuman conditions under which a high percentage of the Chilean population lives is reflected most dramatically by substantial increases in malnutrition, infant mortality. It is, in short, slow starvation.

India has historically paid scant attention to public health. COVID made matters worse.

No wonder the country was found teetering when it was confronted by a pandemic of that scale mounted on the rickety foundation of national well-being. The anxiety and discontent were further aggravated as Modi summoned a unilateral lockdown, bringing Indias large informal workforce (approximately 500 million people) and their families to the fulcrum of life and death. The sight of thousands of helpless and resilient migrant workers making epic journeys across the nation is now part of the nations miserable archive of calamities. Millions were left hungry and foraging for survival and over a thousand people have died due to starvation, exhaustion, or accidents. The governments much touted relief measures stood at a mere 3 percent of the GDP, contrary to its misleading claims of 10 percent. Worse still, in the governments own admission, there was no data on workers lockdown-induced deaths and distress. The shock of the shutdown in April and May 2020 without adequate social protection measures continued well into the months of October and November. As per the Hunger Watch Survey by the Right to Food Campaign, 27 percent of respondents continued to have no income in October 2020 and only 3 percent went back to pre-lockdown income levels. As on January 1, 2021, the Food Corporation of India had four times the buffer stock norms of 21.4 million tons of rice and wheat. But despite overflowing food stocks in government warehouses, the public distribution system for food supplies was not universalized. On the contrary, the government prescribed cutting food subsidies for the poor. The closure of public schools partitioned children along digital lines, further widening the existing socioeconomic gaps. While the poor have been forced to plough new depths of hunger and alienation, the government seems to be celebrating inequality as a virtue, as evidenced by its deeply fallacious statistical reasoning in the Economic Survey. Alluding to government austerity in times of a humanitarian crisis, Klein refers to Business Weeks description of mid-1970s Chile as a Dr. Strangelove world of deliberately induced depression.

The annual Union Budget for 202122 was an opportunity to set straight the massive imbalance between the poor and elite. However, the budgetary allocations for welfare and the social sector have only been reduced. There was an overall decrease in public spending on health, education, food, and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Actthe pillars of social security in India. Several public sector units have also been arbitrarily privatized.

All along, the substrate of the entire operation has been a reification of majoritarianism and a concomitant deification of Modi. This program did not emerge in a day. After the BJP won the 2019 central elections with a thumping majority, the government of India amended the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which gave it wide-ranging and discretionary powers to declare any person a terrorist without trial. Numerous human rights activists at odds with the government have been arrested since with unsubstantiated charges. The amendment to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act was followed by the amendment of the Right to Information Act, making it easier for the government to withhold information, thereby further reducing its commitment to transparency and accountability. Thereafter, overnight, with a macabre sleight of hand, the government of India unconstitutionally revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. It then passed the xenophobic Citizenship Amendment Act, drawing Indias Muslims into the most severe threat to their life and livelihood since Indias Partition in 1947. The Citizenship Amendment Act poses a severe threat to Muslims lacking official documents as they are likely to be rendered stateless and forced to be in detention camps. The experience of its implementation in the Indian state of Assam bears testimony to this horror. Foregrounding the treatment of civilians and dissidents by the Pinochet regime on the plank of privatization merits comparison. As Letelier wrote:

The violation of human rights, the system of institutionalized brutality, the drastic control and suppression of every form of meaningful dissent is discussed (and often condemned) as a phenomenon only indirectly linked, or indeed entirely, unrelated, to the classical unrestrained free market policies that have been enforced by the military junta. This failure to connect has been particularly characteristic of private and public financial institutions, which have publicly praised and supported the economic policies adopted by the Pinochet government, while regretting the bad international image the junta has gained from its incomprehensible persistence in torturing, jailing and persecuting all its critics. This particularly convenient concept of a social system in which economic freedom and political terror coexist without touching each other, allows these financial spokesmen to support their concept of freedom while exercising their verbal muscles in defense of human rights.

This mirrors the Modi regime to an astonishing degree. Like the Pinochet regime, the BJP regime has centralized its mechanism of arrests and detentions invoking the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and using the National Investigation Agency. There is, however, one subtle difference between the two regimes. Unlike Pinochet, the BJP regime has decentralized its acts of vandalism and violence. Consequently, one does not often see a civil war-like situation, but instead, splintered acts of violence, local riots, lynching of atomized Muslims, and disparate abject violence against women and Dalits.

All through the pandemic, Modis unilateral acts of populism were advertised as examples of quick and bold decision-making. He appeared repeatedly on television and, with premeditated theatrics, asked the country to come together for inanities such as banging plates and lighting lamps, effectively converting a public health emergency into a faith-based jamboree. The government even tried to fabricate the onus of this national calamity to a small congregation at a Delhi mosque. Moreover, the fundamental policy paralysis notwithstanding, the Modi government undertook several initiatives in the first months of the lockdown. The PM CARES Fund was announced, in contravention to not only the established relief funds but also shielding it from the Right to Information Act and public scrutiny. Second, the government launched a controversial surveillance app (Arogyasetu) in the name of corona-inventory, which cyber experts deemed invasive. Third, the government inked a $63 million deal to buy big-ticket weaponry from the United States, while also giving a final go-ahead to the 200 billion remake of the parliament area in the national capital. All this has meant that at the other end of a suffering nation, it was business as usual for the government. But more business was in the pipeline. Soon after, the government drafted a pernicious Environment Impact Assessment 2020 and gave away mining and airport leases to big corporations. All this was done without the Indian Parliament having been convened even once, and without any public deliberations or debates. A New Education Policy was also clumsily launched.

Writing about the Latin American experience of market fundamentalism at odds with democratic idioms, Klein notes: All these incarnations share a commitment to the policy trinitythe elimination of the public sphere, total liberation for corporations and skeletal social spending.

In short, authoritarianism, witch hunting, and using every armature of the state as a vehicle of propaganda were already thriving in India. The COVID-19 induced crisis provided the opportunity to further upend constitutional provisions and federal principles. When, after a gap of five months, the Parliament reconvened on September 14, 2020, within a week, with unprecedented haste and by overruling procedures, the Indian government was found hurriedly passing several contentious legislations with little or no consultations: the three farm laws (which have since become a major crisis in the making) being the most blatant. In addition, there was the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act and three codes concerning the working class. In the case of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, the new amendments make it virtually impossible for nonprofit organizations to operate without toeing the official line. As a consequence, the revered global watchdog, Amnesty International, has pulled out of India. Concerning labor, twenty-nine labor laws were slashed down to three contentious labor codes. Each of these codes weaken the social protection of the working class and widen the already expanding net of precarity. Not only are these laws morally dubious and constitutionally questionable, but the claims that the codes would make labor markets more flexible and hence would improve the so-called ease of doing business, is also misleading. Moreover, the working class is inextricably linked to the historically disenfranchised communities such as Dalits, Muslims, and Adivasis who will be further pushed to the margins. Such dilutions of labor laws are eerily similar to the decisions made by Martinez de Hoz, a landed gentry who became the finance minister in military-ruled Argentina in the 1970s. Alluding to his actions, Klein notes de Hozs first act as minister of the economy was to ban strikes and allow employers to fire workers at will. In a thirty-one-page advertisement in Business Week, the then Argentinian government declared that few governments in history have been as encouraging to private investment. We are in a true social revolution, and we seek partners. We are unburdening ourselves of statism, and believe firmly in the all-important role of the private sector. As noted in the book True Crimes by Michael McCaughan, within a year of this, wages declined by 40 percent and underemployment soared.

It is at such times that the judiciary is meant to check state excesses and uphold individual freedoms. On the contrary, the Indian judiciarys genuflection to the government has become rampant, the apex court having failed to protect the lives of the poor and the hungry. In fact, in response to a petition on wage compensation for migrant workers during lockdown, the Supreme Court demonstrated Olympian apathy when it asked, if they are being provided food then why do they need money for meals? As Gautam Bhatia argues, while the Supreme Court has shown uncharacteristic urgency in hearing the bail plea of a brazenly right-leaning journalist, it has been visibly and determinately lackadaisical in other pressing matters: unlawful incarceration in Kashmir, electoral bonds, illegal incarceration of social activists, and so on.27 Most have been languishing in prisons without trial for two years. As per an analysis of the archaic sedition laws (Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code), 65% of nearly 11,000 individuals in 816 sedition cases since 2010 were implicated after 2014 when Modi took office.28 The political scientist Jan-Werner Muller refers to such actions by populist governments as discriminatory legalism, which, put simply, amounts to: for my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law.

To conclude, lack of a potent opposition force, the mendicancy of the mainstream media, and the judiciarys thinly veiled favors to the government have been aiding Modis singular usurpation of power. The pandemic created the additional advantage of a nation without inquisitorial collectivesbe it the spaces of the university, congresses of civil society, or in arts and cultural practice. Clearly, the viral phobia was used as a game of distraction, so that the utter failure of the government could be obscured from public scrutiny while several policies that would embolden the small clique of private enterprises could be put into force. It has also been a game of control; of forcing consent and bypassing rules and procedures. The parallels with The Shock Doctrine are hence obvious. What Modi administeredand with spectacular obstinacyis a diabolic mix of whataboutery, falsity, and hatred. All while a nation, under total internment, was numbed into a state of consenting paralysis. At the other end of the pandemic, what has been irreparably damaged is the very edifice of democratic engagement and institutional structures, thereby setting a slippery precedent for future governments.

The authors would like to thank Sakina Dhorajiwala and C. Rammanohar Reddy for suggestions on an earlier draft. The authors also thank Jayati Ghosh for her comments on a later draft.
By Juliet Nalwooga

Police have preferred charges of embezzlement against a former Church of Uganda hospital finance manager, Ronnie Okello Ameri.

According to a charge sheet, between January 2019 and March, while still the Finance manager at Church of Uganda Kisiizi hospital in Rukingiri District, Ameri reportedly stole over shs1b, the property of his former employer.

Charles Twiine the CID spokesperson says the case dates back to 2018 when the suspect allegedly used his office to swindle the said monies through fake invoices to ghost drug companies he had allegedly created.

Twine says the initial complaint of stolen money by the hospital administration was Shs3.5b, but police investigations have managed to prove theft of just over Shs1bn.

He says in the meantime, the case file has been sanctioned by the Director of Public Prosecutions Jane Francis Abodo pending hearing at the Anti-Corruption Court.
A Hovis baker is suing his former bosses for 280,000 after claiming a fall at work left him with brain damage.

Yacob Adan, 45, is demanding compensation from Premier Foods Plc, the former owner of the iconic bread brand, over the accident in March 2014.

He claims he was left unconscious and brain damaged after tripping while pulling a trolley of baking tins at Hovis' factory in Erith, Kent.

Mr Adan, who broke his collar bone in the fall, says he has pain-related psychiatric issues, and has been left 'disabled' and unable to work in the seven years since.

Lawyers for Premier Foods admitted he was injured but claim Mr Adan has hugely exaggerated his symptoms in a 'fraudulent' bid to inflate his payout.

Yacob Adan, 45, is demanding compensation from Premier Foods Plc, the former owner of the iconic bread brand, over the accident in March 2014

Central London County Court heard Mr Adan was working at the bread factory in March 2014 when he suffered his fall.

He was pulling a large trolley down a narrow corridor when he tripped over a bolt in the floor.

He crashed to the ground, breaking his collar bone, and had to be taken to hospital.

Mr Adan claims he was left unconscious for three minutes, suffering 'mild' brain damage and ongoing psychiatric injuries.

He has since suffered with depression which was contributed to by the persistent pain in his back and arm after the fall at work.

Lawyers for his former employers accept that he was hurt in the accident. But they claim he has been 'fundamentally dishonest,' lying to the court in a bid to inflate his compensation payout.

Mr Adan claims he was left unconscious and brain damaged after tripping while pulling a trolley of baking tins at Hovis' factory in Erith, Kent

Although he did fracture his collar bone, the ongoing symptoms which Mr Adan complains of cannot be explained, said the company's barrister Simon McCann.

'The reason the level of symptoms complained of has no medical explanation is because there could not be one,' he told Judge Heather Baucher.

'The claimant is simply trying to mislead the court and the defendant for the purposes of gain.'

Mr McCann pointed to surveillance footage taken during the time Mr Adan claimed he was unfit to work, showing him out for the day with his children, carrying a bag and using his right arm to balance himself on a bus.

He had been able to be the 'primary carer' for his young children, despite claiming that during the same period he had to spend over 40,000 out of his own pocket on carers because he was unable to look after himself.

'The claimant's allegations of ongoing disability and significant financial losses are dishonest assertions,' he claimed.

'The defendant does not accept that the care claimed was ever in fact provided - and certainly not to the level claimed.

'Moreover, it is submitted that there is no medical opinion upon which the claimant can rely to support the need for care.

'It is disputed that the claimant has been unable to work since the accident. All of the medical evidence and the surveillance evidence points to the fact that the claimant is fit for work.

'If he is not working - as he may not be - he is doing it out of choice.'

Cross-examining Mr Adan in the witness box, he suggested that he had never in fact been unconscious following the accident, accusing him of telling 'lies time and time again.'

But Mr Adan, speaking through a Somali interpreter, told the judge he had been knocked out. The first thing he remembered was coming round with people around him on the floor, he said.

Denying Mr Adan had lied to the court, his barrister Robert Parkin said the medical evidence in the case 'falls far short of a finding of exaggeration.'

Psychiatrists who had examined Mr Adan agreed that he has suffered with depression, which may have been contributed to by 'persistent pain,' he told the judge.

'What is clear is that the claimant suffered a fractured right clavicle and a mild brain injury which would have had relatively short term physical consequences, probably with recovery after around one year,' he said.

'However he may, as a result, have been more vulnerable to pain symptoms and a depressive episode as a result.'

The surveillance evidence also did not prove he was exaggerating, as it showed him favouring his non-dominant left hand and moving 'relatively sluggishly.'

'This is consistent with the claimant having some significant ongoing degree of disability at a time he did not know that he was under observation,' he said.

Premier Foods initially owned all of Hovis after purchasing the 134-year old bakery brand in 2007, but has since sold off its entire stake.

The hearing continues.
Programme MENA-OCDE pour l'investissement : Declaration ministerielle et documents connexes

Programme MENA-OCDE pour l'investissement : Declaration ministerielle et documents connexes

Arabic version

The first year of activities of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme was brought to a successful conclusion in the Ministerial Meeting held at the Dead Sea, Jordon, on 13-14 February 2006. The Ministerial Meeting entitled Investment for Development  Making Reforms Work was convened by the Government of Jordan, then acting as a regional Chair of the Programme, to review progress in implementing policy measures to improve the investment climate and to provide further direction and guidance on future activities of the Investment Programme.

The Ministerial meeting concluded with a Declaration on Attracting Investment to MENA Countries  Common Principles and Good Practice. Ministers present also endorsed an ambitious programme for regional dialogue and capacity-building developed by the Working Groups, as well as the country specific efforts outlined in the National Investment Reform Agendas.

The Ministerial Meeting was preceded by a Business Day, where over 300 private sector representatives and organisations, such as the Arab Business Council and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, were gathered to discuss key issues related to the economic reform process and private sector investment in the region. The MENA-OECD Business Network has outlined its experience in a Business Statement which was presented to the Ministerial Meeting, calling on MENA Ministers to enhance investment policy reforms.

The Ministerial Declaration and Business Statement are jointly intended to serve as a foundation for ongoing projects of the Programme, guiding its activities throughout 2006 and 2007. They demonstrate the results of the rst regional effort to adopt a set of guiding principles for investment policy reform in the Middle East and North Africa. They are complemented by the Recommendations developed by the five Working Groups of the Programme to provide guidance for the Programme's regional activities as well as for the selection of priorities in the National Investment Reform Agendas of MENA countries.

Documents connexes
The helicopters flew to Vung Tau, 70 km from Saigon, where a U.S. fleet, including aircraft carriers, is standing 64km offshore. Elsewhere in the country, small groups of Americans were reported making their way to the coast in barges and buses. The evacuation ends two decades of American involvement in Vietnam. AAP-Reuter correspondent Neil Davis, who was evacuated from Phnom Penh by the Americans shortly before it fell, said todays evacuation was basically the same, but on a bigger scale. The American consul general from Can Tho in the Mekong Delta, with six marines, 16 other Americans and about 100 Vietnamese, was reported to be with two ships under attack by South Vietnamese helicopters on the Mekong River.

Loading Military radio could he heard promising U.S. naval air support for the ships, but it gave no details. Convoys of buses, guarded by U.S. marines wearing flak jackets, carried more than 2500 Americans and Vietnamese from the city to Tan Son Nhut. Shots were fired at one of the buses as it reached the airport. Near the airport, South Vietnamese soldiers stopped a French correspondent and asked his nationality. When he said French, they told him: Thats OK. If you had been American, we would have killed you. The evacuation was ordered only hours after President Minh of South Vietnam ordered all Americans employed by the U.S. Defence Attaches office to leave within 24 hours.

As the last Americans left Vice-President Nguyen Van Huyen made vet another appeal for an end to the fighting, and pledged that the south would do everything to achieve peace. But in Hanoi North Vietnamese officials said that the return to power of President Minh comes too late. The revolutionary forces are determined to finish the job, the officials said. Communist forces around Saigon today maintained a heavy artillery attack on Tan Son Nhut Airport, and ground attacks were launched on several areas on the outskirts of the capital. The attacks began only hours after communist leaders last night turned down an earlier Government appeal for a ceasefire.

Loading Several people, including two U.S. marines on guard duty at the airport, were killed In the rocket attacks, and an American cargo plane being used to ferry refugees to Guam was destroyed. Despite the heavy bombardment of the airport, more U.S. planes were reported on their way from the Philippines to pick up Vietnamese. Tens of thousands fleeing Vietnamese today were crowding Vung Tau in an attempt to get out of the country. Hundreds of craft of all sizes packed with refugees were reported to be clogging the harbor.

One American vessel said it had taken 4100 refugees on hoard and was standing by at Vung Tau to take on another 500. Other ships were reported to be carrying between 8000 and 9000. Vung Tau was under heavy communist attack as the refugees fought for places on the evacuation craft. Vietnamese staff at the telecommunications office in the town, through which most of the countrys links with the outside world pass, said they were under mortar and artillery attack. The only port in the Government-controlled part of the country now regarded as safe is Rath Gla, 160km south of Saigon.
By Damali Mukhaye

The Ministry of Education has spoken out on the fire that gutted a girls dormitory at Kings College Buddo yesterday, asking police to hasten the investigation into its cause.

The state minister of higher education John Chrysostom Muyingo says the government put in place guidelines requiring each school to have fire extinguishers and committees but this has largely not been adhered to due to budget constraints.

He challenges school heads to ensure they invest more in mitigating rampant fires to avoid loss of property and learners lives.

Speaking to journalists at parliament before setting off to Buddo to assess the situation this afternoon, Muyingo said the government would reconstruct the razed dormitory for learners, adding that a comprehensive police report on the causes of such school fires will help government adjust some of its policies.

Read also: https://www.kfm.co.ug/news/no-student-hurt-after-kings-college-budo-fire.html
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.
Prioritising pregnant women for Covid-19 vaccines allows them to make the best choice for their pregnancy, leading obstetricians have said.

Pregnant women at 14 to 36 weeks gestation will be offered an mRNA vaccine  Pfizer or Moderna  if suitable, under new recommendations from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac).

The recommendation has been hailed by health professionals, who said it brings Ireland in line with international counterparts.

In the US, about 94,000 pregnant vaccinated women are being tracked by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

No vaccine-related unexpected pregnancy or infant outcomes have been observed.

Professor Keelin O Donoghue, an obstetrician at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) said: Women will make different decisions and that is fine, but we want them to have the choice.

Women can now discuss vaccination with their obstetrician and midwife and make the best decision for their pregnancy.

In Ireland, there were 10 incidences of a rare condition called Covid Placentitis this year; resulting in seven fetal deaths and three other emergency births. This is where the placenta is injured by direct effect of the virus on its cells.

Prof ODonoghue said numbers affected by such devastating outcomes are very small but the consequences are terrible.

The risk of stillbirth, she said, for pregnant women with Covid-19 is currently estimated at somewhere between 1:100 and 1:200.

New data has shown specific links between the B.117 variant of the virus and these fetal deaths.

Just one case of Covid placentitis was reported in Ireland last year, from CUH/CUMH.

The recent stillbirths with the same pathology led perinatal pathologists and coroners to inform public health experts which may have influenced vaccine policy.

Covid-19 maternity guidelines are being updated and Prof O'Donoghue expects publication this week.

Professor Shane Higgins, master at the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin also welcomed the changes.

The cut-off at 14 to 36 weeks gestation fits with international practice, he said.

The hospital gives Covid-19 tests to women at all stages of pregnancy. He said women with an asymptomatic infection can test positive when arriving to give birth. And he urged patients to share Covid-19 test results with hospitals so their care can be adjusted.

Not all [Covid-19] diagnoses for pregnant women are made in maternity hospitals. So it is important they inform their healthcare providers, he said.

This change and others recommended by Niac will be used by the HSE to re-adjust the roll-out in the coming days.

Separately, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly addressed the health committee.

He said significant work is being done preparing for the EU Digital Green Certificate. This will allow vaccinated people to travel freely.

But he warned original estimates of 7m costs for mandatory hotel quarantine will inevitably increase as more hotels are added.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt is keeping his promise to sign pro-life laws by signing a bill that strips abortion doctors of their licenses should they violate current laws on it.

"I'm keeping my promise to sign all pro-life legislation. We now have three more laws protecting the lives of the unborn! HB 2441, HB 1904, and HB 1102," Stitt tweeted on Monday with a picture of himself holding the printout of the signed law.

(3/4) I'm keeping my promise to sign all pro-life legislation. We now have three more laws protecting the lives of the unborn! HB 2441, HB 1904, and HB 1102. pic.twitter.com/PVdRBELNZg  Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) April 26, 2021

"I will continue to keep my promise and sign every piece of pro-life legislation that hits my desk. Today, that's SB 918. I am proud to be called the most pro-life governor!" He announced in another tweet posted the next day, April 27.

Of the three bills he signed into law on Monday, House Bill 1102 punishes any doctor for performing an abortion that is not meant to prevent the death of the mother or prevent a significant impairment of the mother. The punishment entails the removal of the medical license of the aborting doctor for a minimum of one year.

HB1102, according to the legislation's literature, amends the "unprofessional conduct" indicated in physician licensure to include "procuring, aiding, or abetting a criminal operation" and "the commission of any act which is a violation of the criminal laws of any state when such act is connected with the physician's practice of medicine," among others that included abortion.

"Performance of an abortion as defined by Section 1-730 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, except for an abortion necessary to prevent the death of the mother or to prevent substantial or irreversible physical impairment of the mother that substantially increases the risk of death," HB1102 specified.

"The performance of an abortion on the basis of the mental or emotional health of the mother shall be a violation of this paragraph, notwithstanding a claim or diagnosis that the woman may engage in conduct which she intends to result in her death. The Board shall impose a penalty as provided in Section 509.1 of this title on a licensee who violates this paragraph. The penalty shall include, but not be limited to, suspension of the license for a period of not less than one (1) year."

The Christian Headlines reported that House Bill 2441 passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives with a 80-19 vote and the Senate with a 37-10 vote. The said bill mandates the detection of whether the "unborn child has a heartbeat" by the medical personnel prior to conducting the abortion, which should only be done if the pregnancy would create a "serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function." Otherwise, the medical personnel will be charged "guilty of homicide."

House Bill 1904, the Christian Headlines said, requires the obstetrics and gynecology board certification of medical personnel prior to conducting the abortion.

While Senate Bill 918 restores to the "State of Oklahoma the authority to prohibit abortion" through "an amendment to the United States Constitution."

All the said laws will take effect in November. However, pro-choice groups have already signified that they will legally contest the said laws. The Christian Headlines cited Planned Parenthood's interview with Oklahoma News where they condemned the law as a means to punish abortion providers, "shame women," and prohibit access to safe abortion.

Oklahoma News interviewed Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes Regional Manager of Public Policy and Organizing for Arkansas and Oklahoma Gloria Pedro who stressed that politicians should not meddle with the "medical decisions" of a patient in so far as her pregnancy is concerned since it is a private matter between her doctor.
ROME, APR 28 - An Italian woman on Wednesday told police to give up the search for her son, kidnapped on the Salento peninsula in Puglia in 1977 at the age of six, after an Arab sheikh she said bore two scars he had refused to have a DNA test. "I had vainly hoped we could have got a breakthrough", said Bianca Colaianni. The woman told Corriere della Sera earlier this month she had recognised her son Mauro Romano as Sheikh Mohammed Al Habtoor, 52, son of the UAE magnate Khalaf Al Habtoor, by "a couple of scars on his body: one on his eyebrow, and the other on his right hand, which he got with an iron". "I hope it's him," Colaianni told ANSA two weeks ago, "because it would mean that he's still alive and no one ever killed him". Mauro's relatives had been planning to go to the Dubai to force the sheikh to take the test with the help of the Italian consulate there. "But it would be no use," his mother said Wednesday. His parents never stopped looking for Mauro since he went missing from Racale near Lecce on June 21, 1977. Thanks to their tenacity, investigations have continued and recently found that the alleged kidnapper was a 79-year-old former barber who abducted the boy and allegedly passed him on to two individuals who have not yet been identified. (ANSA).
President Joe Bidens proposed $1.8 trillion education and child care spending bill wont adjust the $10,000 cap on deducting state and local taxes, senior administration officials said Wednesday.

The president focused on ways to raise revenue to fund his plan, and repealing the cap on the deduction, known as SALT, would cost money, according to the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in advance of Bidens address Wednesday evening before a joint session of Congress.

The elements of the plan the president will lay out reflects his approach on where we need to invest in children and families and then what are fair ways and smart ways to pay for that, one official said. The SALT deduction obviously is something that costs money and so we recognize and have heard from others who are prioritizing that, and that will be pert of the conversation going forward.

That conversation has been going on among lawmakers from New Jersey and other high-tax states disproportionately affected by the Republican tax laws deduction cap. That includes formation of a bipartisan caucus to push for repeal.

The last time I checked the Constitution, tax legislation must originate in the House and specifically on the tax-writing panel on which I sit, said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. I expect certain elements of the proposal to shift as it moves through Congress. I will be banging my fists onto the table to make New Jerseys voice heard and do everything in my power to put SALT repeal on the books.

Some House Democrats have threatened to oppose Bidens spending plan unless the cap is either eliminated or increased.

One of the ways Biden will propose raising money will be to increase the top income tax rate to the 39.6% it was prior to the Republican tax law that imposed the $10,000 cap. Thats also how the U.S. House proposed paying for eliminating the cap in legislation passed in 2019.

Bidens plan also will call for taxing capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income for anyone making at least $1 million a year. Then-President Ronald Reagans 1986 tax overhaul taxed both investments and wages at the same rate.

And the president planned to increase Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of wealthy taxpayers to make sure they were paying the taxes they owed.

Those steps would help raise the revenue needed to fund two years of preschool for children ages 3 and 4 before they enter kindergarten at age 5, and for two years of free community college. It also would be spent to subsidize health care premiums under the Affordable Care Act, provide paid family and medical leave, and enhance the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.

But the proposal extends the expanded Child Tax Credit only though 2025. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and other congressional Democrats had urged Biden on Tuesday to support a permanent extension.

Almost two-thirds of Americans in Monmouth University Poll released Monday, 64%, said they supported Bidens plan, with just 34% in opposition. And by 65% to 33%, they backed raising taxes on those earning more than $400,000 to pay for it.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant.

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I am secretary of my local pigeon racing club and our account has been closed by HSBC without reason.

The bank asked for additional information for 'know your customer' compliance, which I supplied at our local branch.

It has now sent a cheque for the 1,473.10 we had in our account. But the cheque is made out to the same account so we cannot cash it, and I am unable to open a new one under that title.

Bird brained: HSBC closed the bank account of a pigeon racing club for no apparent reason then sent a cheque for the balance made out to the same account

This leaves us unable to pay our fees to the Royal Pigeon Racing Association. I wrote to HSBC but have not had a reply.

A. D., Waterlooville, Hants.

Tony Hazell replies: I received a response from HSBC in which it mentioned the need for 'know your customer' checks to prevent financial crime.

But it didn't explain why a pigeon racing club with 1,400 assets should have its account closed, especially after you visited a branch twice.

It says an initial letter regarding the 'know your customer' checks was sent to you on November 28, 2019, plus reminders and an extension to keep the account open until September 20 last year.

The good news is that your cheque has now been reissued and HSBC has arranged for the account to be reopened. The bank is paying you 200 in compensation, too.

You have YOUR say Every week Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories. Here are some regarding our article on the energy firms sitting on billions of pounds of customers' cash: The energy firm switching system is broken and, after many years, I have given up. I run two accounts  one for my elderly mother and one for myself. Both providers went bust in December, which caused a lot of stress. G. F., Portsmouth, Hants. One firm refused to refund us, even though we were in credit when we switched away. It sent us an unrealistic and huge bill, before threatening us with debt collectors if we questioned it. T. J., Bolton, Gtr. Manchester. There should be a law that forbids firms from taking more than what they charge you for the energy used that month. It would prevent large credits accumulating in accounts. D. C., Torquay, Devon. It really hacks me off when firms hike and lower monthly direct debit payments. Some of us would rather have a healthy amount of credit building up over the summer  rather than have our payments cut and then increased by 50 later on. G. T., Lincolnshire. Paying in is easy, but when it comes to getting your money back the whole process seems to be designed to frustrate you. Never give up if a firm owes you money  it's how they win. C. S., Kent. I pay 105 a month but my energy firm wants me to increase this. I appreciate that it's been cold lately, but surely it should be able to forecast for summer and lower your payments. G. D., via email. I went to Ofgem to get my refund. It took a while, but the provider was forced to pay me the money it owed as well as compensation. It seemed to run its business by sitting on customers' cash. M. G., London.

Speaking clock talked grandmother out of 107

My 87-year-old grandmother has advanced Alzheimer's and I am her only next of kin. I visit her almost daily, do her shopping and deal with all of her finances.

She has taken to ringing the 123 number (the speaking clock) many times each day.

Last year, she rang it 330 times, even though her telephone is no more than 12 in away from a normal clock. Last month alone she rang the number more than 100 times.

I have asked Virgin Media, her landline provider, to block these calls or release her from the contract.

Last year they cost her 107 nearly equivalent to a week of her pension.

R. W., Caterham, Surrey.

Tony Hazell replies: What a wonderful granddaughter you are. Those who have relatives with Alzheimer's will understand the extreme pain of watching someone you love fading, while having to cope with their obsessive behaviours.

Virgin Media at first appeared to respond well when I highlighted your plight, and refunded the 192.77 your grandmother had spent on the calls.

The firm also added a premium-rate call-barring service free of charge, and applied a month's worth of services at no extra cost. But then you told me that your grandmother was still able to call 123, and the company said it could not block this number.

When you requested that the contract be cancelled, Virgin Media initially demanded a 200 disconnection fee, but a more senior person agreed to you giving a month's notice instead.

Meanwhile, your grandmother could still make these 123 calls. So I went back to Virgin, which agreed to refund any 123 call charges your grandmother incurs until the account is closed.

Now for the good news. I asked BT if it could help. You told me a 'charming lady from customer service' called you to arrange a transfer to BT, which will block the 123 number.

She also provided you with her direct line and email address in case of problems. Now that's what I call service.

BT can come in for a lot of criticism, but on this occasion it wins all the accolades.

Straight to the point Every time I try to pay for a Just Eat takeaway order with a debit or credit card, my payment fails. My Barclaycard was compromised in March 2020, but I have not used it on the app since. Why won't Just Eat let me order a pizza with another card? J. M., Hackney, London. Just Eat blocked your card payments, but now says this was a mistake and has corrected it. It's also given you 25 credit on the app. *** My mother passed away in August last year. I sent the electricity meter reading to her provider, Bulb, and was told I would be paid more than 100 which was owed in credit. But I have yet to receive anything other than two emails asking how well I think the firm did when it came to handling my request. R. T., via email. Bulb has apologised and admitted it didn't handle this well. It says it owed 131 in credit on your late mother's account, but has doubled this by way of an apology. It has also paid back an extra 60 because of the delay. *** I ordered a Samsung fitness watch through a student website. It was meant to come with a free gift of Galaxy Buds Live wireless earphones, but these failed to arrive and I've been chasing Samsung since February. L. O., via email. Samsung says the buds were not correctly added to your basket, voiding the promotion, but admits you did not receive the best customer service. It has now given you a replacement code so you can get the buds. *** My husband bought me a 70 mobile phone from Carphone Warehouse in March last year, but the charging cradle didn't work and I wasn't happy with it. The store he visited closed permanently a week later, so I wrote to the retailer to request a refund. It has ignored all of my letters. L. H., Salisbury, Wilts. Carphone Warehouse apologised for the delay in resolving this. It has refunded you and given you 20 as a goodwill gesture.

Son's missing 250 Child Trust Fund cheque

My son was born in 2002 and received a Child Trust Fund cheque for 250.

We are an Army family and were posted to Germany, so I never had the opportunity to cash the cheque. I recall receiving a letter which said the money was automatically put in an account with RBS.

Last week, a friend dropped off old mail from nearly 15 years ago, which had been left in the post room at the camp in Germany. This included some information about the Child Trust Fund money.

Could you find out what became of his cash and bank account?

A. R., Co. Waterford.

Tony Hazell replies: I received your letter in November last year. As you know, this has involved quite a bit of detective work, but diligent RBS staff have finally found your son's account. So well done to them.

Now we come to the next hurdle. Although the account matches your son's date of birth and is linked to the barracks address in Germany, RBS requires his National Insurance number.

However, your son left the UK with you when he was 12 so did not receive his NI number ahead of his 16th birthday.

RBS has supplied a number for him to call so he can discuss how to gain access to his money.
People walk along a street in Montreal on Feb. 21, 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. (The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes)

Balancing Interests When Governing Amid COVID

News Analysis

Throughout the pandemic, health professionals and advisers have provided crucial service and advice to help manage the pandemic and minimize health risks.

But there have also been criticism of elected politicianswho are expected to have a broader view and enact balanced policies to ensure overall societal well-beingacquiescing political decision-making to experts, who have narrower areas of focus.

For example, for some experts dealing with hospital patients and over-capacity ICUs, a zero-sum approach of removing all social contact may make most sense. But for others seeing an increase in suicides, a worsening opioid crisis, and devastating financial ruin, a different approach that considers other criteria may be more appropriate.

Marco Navarro-Genie, a political scientist and president of the Haultain Research Institute, says elected officials often give in to political calculations at the expense of setting the right policies, thinking they will lose political scores if they dont listen to vocal advocates.

On the one hand, theyre saying that the doctors are giving them advice, and that they will follow the advice of the doctors. And the doctors are saying that all theyre doing is providing advice, and the politicians make the decision, Navarro-Genie said in an interview, adding that politicians shouldnt be denying responsibility by pointing at doctors.

According to a 2018 article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada supports advocacy as a core competency of medicine, and Ontario and Albertas regulatory colleges encourage advocacy as an important component of the doctor-patient relationship.

Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, says its important to remember that an expert in medicine is not necessarily an authority on politics.

Medical colleges may make activism a core competency of medicine, but that doesnt mean that those trained in the colleges have political competency or authority, Wiseman said in an interview.

Public health units, medical associations, and the provinces COVID-19 Science Advisory Table have been among the most vocal groups asking for a provincial paid sick-day program in Ontario, which the premier had earlier resisted but on April 22 reversed course on.

Increased calls for decriminalization of hard drugs for personal use have also come from some in the medical community, including some public health officials. Chief public health officers of several jurisdictions, such as Quebec, Toronto, and Montreal, have called for decriminalization. Canadas Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam has also said that all approaches to dealing with the opioid crisis should be considered, including moving toward a societal discussion on decriminalization.

Drug decriminalization is a complex issue with broad implications, crossing into multiple realms of public policy besides just health, such as the judiciary. It also involves deeper cultural and moral questions. The debate has partisan figures on both sides, with different parties taking different positions on the issue. So a health official publicly voicing a view thats on one side of the debate could be at odds with the position of an elected government that represents the will of the electorate.

William Gairdner, an academic, author, and Epoch Times contributor, says human beings have a tendency to believe that because they are experts in one area, they can also be experts in others, even if they lack the experience.

They begin to feel that because they have prestige in one field, they have prestige in every field.  Its a failing of human beings in general to assume that expertise in the one thing implies expertise in another, Gairdner said in an interview. Advocacy is everywhere now, and its a real fight to get people to stop.

Wiseman says a balance is found when politicians and officials assume their proper roles.

Politicians are elected and responsible to their electorates. Scientists and health experts, if appointed, [are] responsible to politicians, he said.
Gov. Ned Lamont is proposing about $1,000 in combat pay' bonuses for thousands of employees on the front lines in the ongoing battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lamonts request, which requires approval by the state legislature, calls for $12.5 million for premium pay' for direct care nursing home workers, who are not state employees, plus another $10 million for premium pay for front-line state employees.

The precise number of employees who will be eligible is still being determined, but the workers would receive bonuses of about $1,000 each.

The bonuses would be paid with federal money that has been approved by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden  and already allocated to Connecticut.

The governors budget office says those eligible are essential employees who must physically report to work outside of their home to perform job duties.'

Out of about 50,000 full-time state employees, as many as 14,000 will qualify for the bonus. About 80% of those essential employees work in agencies that operate around-the-clock, such as prisons, or direct care/direct service agencies.'

The allocation of the bonuses is subject to collective bargaining as officials decide the exact individuals who will be eligible, officials said.

We had a lot of front-line state employees  they couldnt telecommute, they couldnt Zoom,' Lamont said outside West Hartford town hall on Wednesday. They showed up every day. They were in corrections. They were in the social services. They were taking care of folks with disabilities. They couldnt dial that in. So, we want to say thanks for the incredible work that you did on behalf of the people of Connecticut when we needed it.'

The federal government is giving us resources so we can make investments in people who deserve that combat pay,' he said.

Budget officials said that some nursing home employees already received $500 from previous federal stimulus packages before the latest bill that was signed by Biden. The additional $12.5 million will fund a second round of incentive payments for direct care staff in recognition of their tireless efforts to support our most vulnerable residents over the course of the pandemic,' Lamonts budget office said. Payments are to be made in lump sum form to permit direct care staff to utilize these funds as a means of immediate on-hand cash for themselves and their families.'

In Massachusetts last year, some front-line health care workers received hazard pay' bonuses of $500 after Gov. Charlie Baker issued a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
Xi stresses advancing high-quality development in border ethnic regions

Xinhua) 08:17, April 28, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to people of different ethnic groups who are participating in festive activities outside the Anthropology Museum of Guangxi in the city of Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 27, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

NANNING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for more efforts to break new ground in promoting high-quality development in ethnic border regions.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during his inspection trip to south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from Sunday to Tuesday.

Xi called on these regions to better serve and integrate into the country's new development pattern, make new progress in advancing green development, and be more committed to consolidating and developing ethnic unity, social stability and border security.

During his inspection tour, Xi went to Guilin, Liuzhou and Nanning, visiting a local revolutionary memorial, an ethnic museum, villages and enterprises to inspect the localities' work in implementing the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).

On Sunday morning, Xi visited a memorial park dedicated to the Battle of the Xiangjiang River during the Long March in the 1930s in the city of Guilin. He presented a flower basket in memory of the martyrs in the battle.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a memorial park dedicated to the Battle of the Xiangjiang River during the Long March in the 1930s, and lays a flower basket in homage to Red Army soldiers who died in the battle, in Caiwan, a town in Quanzhou County in the city of Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

Noting that the battle was a life-or-death event in China's revolution history, Xi stressed the importance of CPC members staying true to their ideals and convictions.

Xi then visited Maozhushan village in Guilin to inspect the local grape growing industry. He called for efforts to pursue rural vitalization based on local specialty industries and make better use of science and technology in promoting the agricultural sector.

He also stressed measures that can ensure farmers benefit more from the development of rural industries.

Xi walked through the village, dropping by the home of villager Wang Deli and chatting with the family.

He said that as the CPC is about to celebrate its centenary, the country has scored a complete victory in its fight against poverty. However, he said promoting rural vitalization on all fronts will be no easier than the anti-poverty battle, allowing no letup or sluggishness.

On Sunday afternoon, Xi went to a dock on the Lijiang River in the city of Guilin. He called for more efforts in ecological restoration and pollution prevention and control to improve the environment, the ecosystem, and the overall function of the river basin.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a section of the Lijiang River and learns about local efforts in the ecological conservation of the river in Yangshuo, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

On Monday, Xi visited a scenic park in Guilin. He lauded the city as a treasure bestowed on the Chinese nation by nature and called for efforts to improve its protection.

In the afternoon, Xi went to the city of Liuzhou. Inspecting machinery manufacturer Guangxi Liugong Group Co., Ltd., Xi said the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry is the top priority in promoting China's high-quality economic growth.

He urged efforts to keep a firm hold on the initiative in pursuing innovation-driven development and uphold the overall leadership of the Party in state-owned enterprises.

Xi then went to a food-processing zone for local specialty Luosifen rice noodles. He praised the role of local signature industries in developing the real economy and called for more support for private enterprises to help them grow and tackle challenges.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a food-processing zone for local specialty Luosifen rice noodles in the city of Liuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

On Tuesday morning, Xi visited the Anthropology Museum of Guangxi in the regional capital city of Nanning.

As the country's demonstration zone of ethnic unity and progress, Guangxi should continue to play its exemplary and leading role, Xi said.

In the morning, Xi also heard the regional Party committee and government of Guangxi report their work.

Xi urged efforts to promote the high-end, intelligent and green transformation of traditional industries, optimize and upgrade their entire industrial chains, and actively cultivate emerging industries.

Calling for joint efforts to build the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, Xi stressed the importance of strengthening China-ASEAN cooperation and carrying out solid work on pilot free trade zones.

Amid the fight against pollution, authorities should incorporate the goal of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality into the overall plan for economic and social development and building an ecological civilization, Xi said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits machinery manufacturer Guangxi Liugong Group Co., Ltd. in the city of Liuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

Xi also underscored the introduction of job policies targeting key groups including college graduates and migrant workers, and the protection of the legitimate interests of truck drivers, couriers and food delivery riders.

He also called for maintaining COVID-19 control measures and highlighted the importance of raising public awareness of ethnic unity and progress.

Urging Guangxi to utilize its abundant revolutionary resources in boosting Party history learning and education, Xi asked Party members to appreciate the power of belief from CPC's centenary endeavor to maintain firm resolve and the courage to prevail over major difficulties and challenges.

All Party members and cadres must realize that socialism with Chinese characteristics is the only path to the development of China, and have complete trust in the CPC in rallying the Chinese people and leading them in following the path to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Xi noted.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
Regulatory News:

Eurofins(Paris:ERF):

Q1 2021 revenues increased 41.3% year-on-year to EUR 1,614m from EUR 1,142m in Q1 2020, despite a foreign exchange headwind of -3.7% (Q1 2021 vs. Q1 2020 average FX rates). Very strong organic revenue growth 1 of 44.3% in Q1 2021 reflecting the significant contribution from COVID-19 related activities and the rapidly accelerating growth of the Group's Core Business (excluding COVID-19 related clinical testing and reagent revenues) Despite ongoing lockdown restrictions in many key markets, the Group's Core Business delivered close to 10% organic revenue growth in Q1 2021 (over 11% adjusted for public working days' impact) against a robust comparable trading period in Q1 2020 (Q1 2020 organic growth was 4.1%) COVID-19 related clinical testing and reagents activities contributed revenues of close to EUR 400m in Q1 2021

Eurofins remains very active in fighting the pandemic and continued its innovation and product launches throughout Q1. Eurofins upgraded its PCR testing kits with enhanced capabilities to detect COVID-19 Variants of Concern and to help track the spread of these mutations. In the U.S., Eurofins launched its direct-to-consumer COVID-19 Home Collection PCR Kit on Amazon supporting testing at home without a prescription. Eurofins is also partnering with Uber in more than two dozen U.S. cities to deliver its COVID-19 Home Collection PCR Kits (click here to see Uber press release). Eurofins also launched Home Collection PCR Kits using gargling samples in Germany and Spain. In the UK, the Group is providing low cost at-home PCR testing kits, facilitating greater access to affordable and accurate PCR testing to support a return to travel. Eurofins launched a quantitative antibody ELISA kit to measure immune response to COVID-19 and vaccines Eurofins set up very high throughput SARS-CoV-2 Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) capacity and won large contracts to support several countries and institutions in their programmes to monitor and identify the emergence and spread of new Variants of Interest or of Concern

The Group continues to expand its SAFER@WORK offering, initiating partnerships with a broad range of companies and organisations including the Radisson Hotel Group, to provide their guests with access to convenient and affordable PCR testing; Aena, to set up testing facilities at several airports; Luxaviation to provide COVID-19 testing to offer an exceptional level of safety to private flights passengers; and with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to provide access to Eurofins' testing facilities globally through their new IATA digital Travel Pass (click here to see IATA press release).

The Group now has more than 3,200 SAFER@WORK contracts with potential revenues of up to EUR 550m, signed or in final stage, across 36 countries. As previously indicated the revenues from these contracts are likely to fall in H2 2021, as they are dependent on employees coming back to work and travel and leisure activities recommencing.

The strong financial performance recorded in 2020 and continued in Q1, has further reduced the Group's net indebtedness and increased its liquidity. As a consequence, in January the Group repaid EUR 112m short-term borrowings (Schuldschein and commercial paper) and in April exercised the make-whole call of its 2022 senior notes. In agreement with the terms of the 2022 senior notes, the make-whole redemption amount per note is set at EUR 102,545.57 (including accrued interest on the notes until, but excluding, the make-whole redemption date, 3 May) and will result in a reduction in gross indebtedness of EUR 279.2m and a cash outflow of EUR 286.3m.



Eurofins has also continued to strengthen its Board of Directors with the appointment of two new experienced independent directors, Evie Roos and Ivo Rauh, at its recent Annual General Meeting. Evie Roos will chair the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and Ivo Rauh will join both the Corporate Governance Committee and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Outlook: Whilst the duration and magnitude of the COVID-19 related contribution remains uncertain, it appears increasingly likely that 2021 objectives will be materially exceeded and significant levels of testing for COVID-19 may continue well beyond Q1 2021. The exact impact and timing of vaccination, new variants of concern and public health policy decisions is however impossible to estimate. As a result, the financial objectives set for 2021, 2022 and 2023 announced with our 2020 results remain unchanged at this time. However, the outlook for 2021 and beyond becomes even stronger than was apparent when publishing 2020 results. Eurofins Core Business may be enhanced sustainably by a large number of factors and COVID-19 testing may continue at some level well beyond 2021.

Comments from the CEO, Dr. Gilles Martin:

"Following on from the strong financial results of 2020, the first quarter of 2021 has further demonstrated the ongoing strength of Eurofins and its end markets. They validate our long-term strategy of investing significantly to build the best teams and laboratory infrastructure to realise our vision to be the world leader in Testing for Life, and of focusing on providing high-quality and innovative laboratory testing services that contribute to improving global health, safety and protecting the environment."

"Whilst the overall impact of COVID-19 remains uncertain, the Group continues to rapidly develop a broad portfolio of new products and services to fight the pandemic, alongside investing in its laboratory network and IT systems. This investment should support improving margins, cash flow generation and return on capital for future periods. The year has started well and the accelerating growth of our Core Business underpins our confidence for 2021 and the years ahead."

Conference Call

Eurofins will hold a conference call with analysts and investors today at 15:00 CET to discuss the results and the performance of Eurofins, as well as its outlook, and will be followed by a questions and answers (Q&A) session.

Click here to Join Call >

No need to dial in. From any device, click the link above to join the conference call. Alternatively, you may dial-in to the conference call via telephone using one of the numbers below:

UK: 44 2030 595 869

US: 1 760 294 16 74

FR: 33 1 70 91 87 01

BE: 32 2 401 0591

DE: 49 69 56 60 36 000

DK: 45 32 71 49 88

Table 1: Q1 2021 Organic Growth Calculation and Revenue Reconciliation EUR m (unless otherwise stated) Q1 2020 reported revenues 1,142 2020 acquisitions revenue part not consolidated in Q1 2020 at Q1 2020 FX rates 23 Q1 2020 revenues of discontinued activities disposals5 5 Q1 2020 pro-forma revenues (at Q1 2020 FX rates) 1,161 Q1 2021 FX impact on Q1 2020 pro-forma revenues (43) = Q1 2020 pro-forma revenues (at Q1 2021 FX rates) (a) 1,117 Q1 2021 organic scope* revenues (at Q1 2021 FX rates) (b) 1,613 Q1 2021 organic growth rate (b/a-1) 44.3% Q1 2021 acquisitions revenue part consolidated in Q1 2021 at Q1 2021 FX rates 1 Q1 2021 revenues of discontinued activities disposals5 0 Q1 2021 reported revenues 1,614 * Organic scope consists of all companies that were part of the Group as at 01/01/2021. This corresponds to the 2020 pro-forma scope.

Table 2: Geographical Revenue Breakdown

(EUR m) Q1 2021 As of total Q1 2020 As of total Growth % Europe 1,000 62.0% 624 54.6% 60.3% North America 490 30.4% 423 37.1% 15.8% Rest of the World 123 7.6% 95 8.3% 29.8% Total 1,614 100.0% 1,142 100.0% 41.3%

Selection of operational highlights:

Eurofins experienced strong activity across its diverse Drug Discovery portfolio, with a strong pickup in activity around discovery programmes in Q1. The BioPharma Product Testing market remains very robust. Eurofins customers increasingly look to secure dedicated resources as overall Biologics testing demand continues to outpace capacity within the analytical testing market. Very strong demand for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) testing services as contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) continue to ramp up manufacturing capacity. Eurofins continued to invest in its CDMO campus in Toronto in order to provide full service in the field of small molecule drug substance and drug product development and manufacturing services.

The Group also continued to reinforce its capabilities in Food Testing across Europe in Q1, with a start-up laboratory in Lodz, Poland, and a new laboratory in Croatia close to Zagreb. Eurofins also launched itsnew Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) offer for bacterial flora identification, which enables the rapid identification of all bacterial species that are dominant in a sample, without any enrichment, isolation or purification steps. In the U.S., Food and Agriproducts testing continued to see strong volume growth across the entire portfolio. R&D projects for both large and start-up food manufacturers have come back strongly following delayed spending during 2020.

The Environment Testing business in Australia and New Zealand recovered well in Q1 2021. The North American business was briefly interrupted by winter storms in February before a very strong rebound in late March. Environment Testing in Brazil remains under pressure, largely due to the unabated local COVID-19 situation. Major laboratory infrastructure projects in California (U.S.) and Sydney (Australia) remain on track.

Eurofins' business lines continued to work together to share knowledge and enhance cross selling efforts. As an example, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) testing is becoming of increasing interest not only for environmental customers, but also for the food industry. In our Core Business, we have used some of our biopharma capacity for priority COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccine work. We anticipate this to continue for some time before it will be replaced with other work as demand from increasingly well-funded biotech and biopharma companies is growing fast. Furthermore, several of our Food and Environment Testing laboratories continued to provide strong support to our Clinical Testing laboratories with ongoing COVID-19 testing activities.

Consistent with 2020, M&A has remained deprioritised in Q1 2021, as the Group focuses on responding to COVID-19 and investing in the existing business. Nevertheless Eurofins has acquired 10 companies since the beginning of 2021, with annualised 2020 revenues of these companies totalling more than EUR 30m. Most notable acquisitions were Beacon Discovery (BioPharma in the U.S.) and Medlab Pathology (Clinical Diagnostics in Ireland).

Organic growth for a given period (Q1, Q2, Q3, Half Year, Nine Months or Full Year) non-IFRS measure calculating the growth in revenues during that period between 2 successive years for the same scope of businesses using the same exchange rates (of year Y) but excluding discontinued operations.

For the purpose of organic growth calculation for year Y, the relevant scope used is the scope of businesses that have been consolidated in the Group's income statement of the previous financial year (Y-1). Revenue contribution from companies acquired in the course of Y-1 but not consolidated for the full year are adjusted as if they had been consolidated as of 1st January Y-1. All revenues from businesses acquired since 1st January Y are excluded from the calculation. Adjusted results reflect the ongoing performance of the mature4 and recurring activities excluding "separately disclosed items3 Separately disclosed items include one-off costs from integration, reorganisation, discontinued operations5 and other non-recurring income and costs, temporary losses and other costs related to network expansion, start-ups and new acquisitions undergoing significant restructuring, share-based payment charge6, impairment of goodwill, amortisation of acquired intangible assets, negative goodwill, loss/gain on disposal and transaction costs related to acquisitions as well as income from reversal of such costs and from unused amounts due for business acquisitions, net finance costs related to borrowing and investing excess cash and one-off financial effects (net of finance income) and the related tax effects. Mature scope excludes start-ups and acquisitions in significant restructuring. A business will generally be considered mature when: i) The Group's systems, structure and processes have been deployed; ii) It has been audited, accredited and qualified and used by the relevant regulatory bodies and the targeted client base; iii) It no longer requires above-average annual capital expenditures, exceptional restructuring or abnormally large costs with respect to current revenues for deploying new Group IT systems. The list of entities classified as mature is reviewed at the beginning of each year and is relevant for the whole year. Discontinued activities disposals discontinued operations are a component of the Group's Core Business or product lines that have been disposed of, or liquidated; or a specific business unit or a branch of a business unit that has been shut down or terminated, and is reported separately from continued operations. Disposals correspond to the sale by Eurofins of business assets to a third party. For more information, please refer to Note 3.20 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2020. Share-based payment charge and acquisition-related expenses, net Share-based payment charge, impairment of goodwill, amortisation of acquired intangible assets, loss/gain on disposal, negative goodwill and transaction costs related to acquisitions as well as income from reversal of such costs and from unused amounts due for business acquisitions.

Notes to Editors:

For more information, please visit www.eurofins.com

About Eurofins the global leader in bio-analysis

Eurofins is Testing for Life. Eurofins is the global leader in food, environment, pharmaceutical and cosmetic product testing and in agroscience Contract Research Organisation services. Eurofins is one of the market leaders in certain testing and laboratory services for genomics, discovery pharmacology, forensics, advanced material sciences and in the support of clinical studies, as well as having an emerging global presence in Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisations. The Group also has a rapidly developing presence in highly specialised and molecular clinical diagnostic testing and in-vitro diagnostic products.

With over 50,000 staff across a decentralised and entrepreneurial network of more than 800 laboratories in over 50 countries, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 200,000 analytical methods to evaluate the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin, traceability and purity of a wide range of products, as well as providing innovative clinical diagnostic testing services and in-vitro diagnostic products.

The Group's objective is to provide its customers with high-quality services, innovative solutions and accurate results on time. Eurofins is ideally positioned to support its clients' increasingly stringent quality and safety standards and the increasing demands of regulatory authorities as well as the requirements of healthcare practitioners around the world.

In 2020, Eurofins reacted quickly to meet the global challenge of COVID-19, by creating the capacity to help over 20 million patients monthly who may have been impacted by the pandemic with our testing products and our services and directly supporting healthcare professionals working on the front line to fight the virus. The Group has established widespread PCR testing capabilities and has carried out over 15 million tests in its own laboratories, is supporting the development of a number of vaccines and has established its SAFER@WORK testing, monitoring and consulting programmes to help ensure safer environments during COVID-19.

Eurofins has grown very strongly since its inception and its strategy is to continue expanding its technology portfolio and its geographic reach. Through R&D and acquisitions, the Group draws on the latest developments in the field of biotechnology and analytical chemistry to offer its clients unique analytical solutions.

Shares in Eurofins Scientific are listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN FR0014000MR3, Reuters EUFI.PA, Bloomberg ERF FP).

Until it has been lawfully made public widely by Eurofins through approved distribution channels, this document contains inside information for the purpose of Regulation (EU) 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse, as amended.

Important disclaimer:

This press release contains forward-looking statements and estimates that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements and estimates contained herein represent the judgment of Eurofins Scientific's management as of the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees for future performance, and the forward-looking events discussed in this release may not occur. Eurofins Scientific disclaims any intent or obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements and estimates. All statements and estimates are made based on the information available to the Company's management as of the date of publication, but no guarantees can be made as to their completeness or validity.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210427006199/en/

Contacts:

Investor Relations

Eurofins Scientific SE

Phone: +32 2 766 1620

E-mail: ir@eurofins.com
Its time to think about whether Twitter should continue to make exceptions for controversial posts by world leaders. This was announced by Katie Minshall, Head of Twitter Policy in the UK, addressing the House of Lords Communications and Digital Technology Committee, AP reported.

Twitter is currently reviewing its policy towards politicians and government officials, allowing certain content that violates the rules to remain on the platform with cautionary notes.

The company claims that such an approach is in the public interest, allowing people to carefully study what world leaders say, but public consultations began in March to decide whether such exceptions should be made in the future.

The question arises as to why former US President Donald Trump was banned from entering the platform forever after the riots at the Capitol in January, and the accounts of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remained after numerous threats against Israel. In particular, in January last year, Khamenei wrote on Twitter: The Zionist regime is a cancerous tumor and a scourge for this region. It will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed. 

We admit that sometimes a world leader can tweet something that breaks our rules, but there is a public interest in knowing that this world leader said just that.

In 2019, we announced that in these cases we would label such tweets.

As for Ayatollah Khameneis tweets, we have stated that when it comes to tweets that can be seen as a threat to weapons aimed at other governments that may focus on military or geopolitical issues, we have decided to retain those tweets. There are two reasons for this. First, given the public interest in what this leader said, and second, to enable people to hold this leader accountable for his words.

Two years have passed and now it is time to check whether this is the right approach. We are responsible for ensuring that Twitter does not set rules of conduct on such a fundamental issue, so we hold public consultations, invite government officials, human rights activists, and security experts from around the world to tell us how In their opinion, how should we moderate the content of world leaders?
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 19:51:25|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers from China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh held a meeting on coping with COVID-19 on Tuesday via video link.

During the meeting, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi brought forward several proposals on such issues as consolidating consensus on cooperating in the fight against COVID-19, promoting vaccine cooperation, and boosting post-pandemic economic recovery, which were supported by the other foreign ministers. A joint statement on cooperation in fighting the epidemic was also issued after the meeting.

The international community has spoken highly of the proposals, and lauded China for its contributions to the global and regional battle against the pandemic.

NEIGHBORS IN NEED

The resurgence of COVID-19 infections in Nepal started from early April.

The country's health ministry said Sunday that the total tally crossed the 300,000-mark with 3,122 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours. It also reported 28 new deaths from the disease on Sunday, a record high in nearly five months.

Hemanta Chandra Ojha, an official at the health ministry, told Xinhua that due to the high number of hospitalized patients, hospital beds, particularly those in the 15 worst affected districts, are mostly occupied.

In Sri Lanka, the number of the infected reached 102,376 on Tuesday after 997 new cases were reported a day earlier, according to official data.

With the patient count rising in recent days, there was reportedly a shortage of intensive care unit (ICU) beds for the COVID-19 patients in islandwide hospitals.

Sri Lanka has made it mandatory to wear face masks and maintain social distance, and health experts urged the public to stay home.

Besides, the total confirmed cases in Bangladesh have reached 748,628, with 11,150 deaths, while Pakistan has reported 804,939 cases so far with 17,329 deaths and 5,075 critical cases.

ASSISTANCE IN TIME

On Sunday, China handed over a batch of emergency food assistance to Afghanistan.

At the ceremony in Kabul, Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu said China has provided more than 13,000 tons of food aid to Afghanistan in recent years, as well as several batches of medical supplies to fight COVID-19, and will donate vaccine doses soon.

In Pakistan, as the country is facing a serious third wave of COVID-19, the third batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government was handed over to the Pakistani side on Monday.

The newly-arrived vaccines will help the country build immunity among its society to save lives, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub Khan said at the handover ceremony.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong said during the ceremony that Pakistan is not only the first country in the world that the Chinese government provided COVID-19 vaccine aid to, but also the country that has received the largest number of China-donated COVID-19 vaccines so far.

Nepal started administering the COVID-19 vaccines amid resurging cases earlier this month, with a batch of COVID-19 vaccines developed by China's Sinopharm having been delivered to Nepal in late March.

Sri Lanka's president's office has also said that plans are already on to distribute the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by China to Sri Lanka in the next few weeks following the World Health Organization (WHO) 's approval.

"THANK YOU" IN CHORUS

At the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in Pakistan, the country had little expertise and few medical relief items, which made it struggle, said Saeed Chaudhry, director of the Islamabad Council for International Affairs.

"China sent medics, experts and relief goods in time, which helped Pakistan streamline and systemize its fight against the pandemic backed by a comprehensive policy," he said.

Muzaherul Huq, a former advisor at the WHO, told Xinhua on Tuesday after the foreign ministers' meeting that Bangladesh is "hopeful" of China's proposals to control the COVID-19 pandemic and stabilize the economy.

Afghan expert and political analyst Shamsul Haq Arianfar welcomed China's decision to offer vaccines to his country, saying he and all Afghans would be grateful to China's contributions.

Ajith Dharmawardena, vice president of the Sri Lanka-China Buddhist Friendship Association, told Xinhua that the Chinese government, enterprises and people have provided a large number of medical materials to Sri Lanka to fight the pandemic, and people from all walks of life in Sri Lanka have also supported China in various ways.

In the past, whenever Sri Lanka encountered difficulties, the Chinese government and many ordinary Chinese have expressed their support to Sri Lanka in various ways, he said, adding the cooperation and mutual support during the COVID-19 pandemic have once again fully demonstrated that Sri Lanka and China are long-tested good friends that have shared weal and woe.

Hiranya Lal Shrestha, Nepal's former ambassador to Russia, told Xinhua that during this pandemic, Nepal has benefited from China's contributions in the following two aspects.

"First, it can learn from China's exemplary strategy to contain the infections, and second, it can seek the support of the vaccines and other equipment as China is exporting them to the rest of the world," he said. Enditem
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Leucrotta Exploration Inc. (TSXV: LXE) ("Leucrotta" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its financial and operating results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2020. All dollar figures are Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

FINANCIAL RESULTS Three Months Ended December 31 Year Ended December 31 ($000s, except per share amounts) 2020 2019 % Change 2020 2019 % Change Oil and natural gas sales 6,515 6,870 (5) 23,586 27,645 (15) Cash flow from operating activities 212 2,098 (90) 1,187 10,465 (89) Per share - basic and diluted - 0.01 (100) 0.01 0.05 (80) Adjusted funds flow (1) 807 2,316 (65) 1,355 10,266 (87) Per share - basic and diluted - 0.01 (100) 0.01 0.05 (80) Net loss 16,697 6,140 172 110,855 5,529 1,905 Per share - basic and diluted 0.08 0.03 167 0.55 0.03 1,733 Capital expenditures and acquisitions 395 4,160 (91) 13,716 14,997 (9) Proceeds on sale of properties and equipment (2) - - - 8,206 4,767 72 Adjusted working capital (deficiency) (1) (5,807) 125 (4,746) Common shares outstanding (000s) Weighted average - basic and diluted 200,525 200,525 - 200,525 200,525 - End of period - basic 200,525 200,525 - End of period - fully diluted 214,132 226,646 (6)

(1) See "Non-GAAP Measures" section.

(2) The sale of equipment for proceeds of $4.8 million in 2019 is exclusive of $2.7 million deposit received in Q4 2018.

OPERATING RESULTS (1) Three Months Ended December 31 Year Ended December 31 2020 2019 % Change 2020 2019 % Change Daily production Oil and NGLs (bbls/d) 645 765 (16) 856 820 4 Natural gas (mcf/d) 13,508 12,392 9 13,903 13,347 4 Oil equivalent (boe/d) 2,897 2,830 2 3,173 3,044 4 Revenue Oil and NGLs ($/bbl) 43.06 51.26 (16) 33.94 51.80 (34) Natural gas ($/mcf) 3.18 2.86 11 2.55 2.49 2 Oil equivalent ($/boe) 24.44 26.39 (7) 20.31 24.88 (18) Royalties Oil and NGLs ($/bbl) 3.09 - 100 1.79 - 100 Natural gas ($/mcf) 0.10 - 100 0.06 - 100 Oil equivalent ($/boe) 1.14 - 100 0.75 - 100 Net operating expenses (2) Oil and NGLs ($/bbl) 10.46 8.43 24 9.98 8.34 20 Natural gas ($/mcf) 1.06 0.80 33 1.01 0.85 19 Oil equivalent ($/boe) 7.29 5.77 26 7.10 5.95 19 Net transportation and marketing expenses (2) Oil and NGLs ($/bbl) 0.37 1.35 (73) 0.75 1.34 (44) Natural gas ($/mcf) 1.37 1.46 (6 1.51 1.11 36 Oil equivalent ($/boe) 6.45 6.74 (4) 6.83 5.25 30 Operating netback (2) Oil and NGLs ($/bbl) 29.14 41.48 (30) 21.42 42.12 (49 Natural gas ($/mcf) 0.65 0.60 8 (0.03) 0.53 (106 Oil equivalent ($/boe) 9.56 13.88 (31) 5.63 13.68 (59 Depletion and depreciation ($/boe) (7.41) (9.65 (23) (8.50) (9.56) (11) Asset impairment ($/boe) (50.66) (22.41) 126 (87.31) (5.25) 1,563 General and administrative expenses ($/boe) (4.36) (4.76) (8) (3.90) (4.30) (9 Share based compensation ($/boe) (1.33) (0.20) 565 (0.54) (0.51) 6 Gain on sale of assets ($/boe) - - - 1.30 1.30 - Loss on onerous contract ($/boe) (7.88 - 100 (1.81) - 100 Finance expense ($/boe) (1.14) (0.47) 143 (0.46) (0.36) 28 Finance income ($/boe) - 0.04 (100) - 0.03 (100) Unrealized gain on risk management

contracts ($/boe) 0.55 - 100 0.13 - 100 Net loss ($/boe) (62.67) (23.57) 166 (95.46) (4.97) 1,821

(1) See "Frequently Recurring Terms" section.

(2) See "Non-GAAP Measures" section.

Selected financial and operational information outlined in this news release should be read in conjunction with Leucrotta's audited financial statements and related Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the year ended December 31, 2020, which are available for review under the Company's profile on The System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") at www.sedar.com.

UPDATE

Property sale

Subsequent to December 31, 2020, the Company disposed of natural gas assets located in Doe, BC for gross proceeds of $30.0 million. The disposed assets were comprised of 10.25 sections of non-strategic land with three wells producing approximately 375 boe/d and one shut-in well. The disposition closed April 1, 2021.

In conjunction with the disposition, the Company's demand loan facility of $8.0 million was reduced to $2.0 million and the covenant to enter into and maintain forward commodity price contracts was removed from the credit facility. The demand letter of credit facility was unchanged and remains at $4.0 million.

Financing

On March 31, 2021, the Company closed a bought-deal public financing through a syndicate of underwriters. The Company issued 45.2 million units of the Company ("Units") at a price of $0.73 per Unit for gross proceeds of $33.0 million. A Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company and 0.5 common share purchase warrants. Each whole common share purchase warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share at an exercise price of $1.00 per common share expiring on March 31, 2023.

The Company has received an extension from the TSX Venture Exchange to complete it's previously announced non-brokered private placement of up to 2.0 million flow-through units of the Company (the "Private Placement"). The Private Placement closing date has been extended from April 29, 2021 to May 28, 2021. Full details of the Private Placement can be found in the Company's news release dated March 15, 2021, available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .

President's Comment

We are very pleased with the recent events of 2021 that have allowed us to initiate the Mica Project. (1) After years of hard work to capture and delineate the large resource base at Mica, we are finally in a position to develop the resource for the benefit of all shareholders. With the Mica Project expected to ramp up to over 30,000 boe/d (1) within a 5-year timeframe, Leucrotta anticipates having very high production growth rates for several years.

(1) Full details of the Mica Project are more fully described in the Company's news release dated March 15, 2021 and the (final) short form prospectus of the Company dated March 26, 2021, both available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .

FREQUENTLY RECURRING TERMS

The Company uses the following frequently recurring industry terms in this news release: "bbls" refers to barrels, "mcf" refers to thousand cubic feet, and "boe" refers to barrel of oil equivalent. Disclosure provided herein in respect of a boe may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion rate of six thousand cubic feet of natural gas to one barrel of oil equivalent has been used for the calculation of boe amounts in this news release. This boe conversion rate is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.

NON-GAAP MEASURES

This news release refers to certain financial measures that are not determined in accordance with IFRS (or "GAAP"). This news release contains the terms "adjusted funds flow", "adjusted funds flow per share", "adjusted working capital (deficiency)", "operating netback", "net operating expenses", and "net transportation and marketing expenses" which do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. The Company uses these measures to help evaluate its performance.

Management uses adjusted funds flow to analyze performance and considers it a key measure as it demonstrates the Company's ability to generate the cash necessary to fund future capital investments and abandonment obligations and to repay debt, if any. Adjusted funds flow is a non-GAAP measure and has been defined by the Company as cash flow from operating activities excluding the change in non-cash working capital related to operating activities and expenditures on decommissioning obligations. The Company also presents adjusted funds flow per share whereby amounts per share are calculated using weighted average shares outstanding, consistent with the calculation of net loss per share. Adjusted funds flow is reconciled from cash flow from operating activities under the heading "Cash Flow from Operating Activities and Adjusted Funds Flow" in the Company's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2020, which is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .

Management uses adjusted working capital (deficiency) as a measure to assess the Company's financial position. Working capital (deficiency) includes current assets less current liabilities excluding the effects of any current portion of risk management contracts.

Management considers operating netback an important measure as it demonstrates its profitability relative to current commodity prices. Operating netback, which is calculated as average unit sales price less royalties, net operating expenses, and net transportation and marketing expenses, represents the cash margin for every barrel of oil equivalent sold. Operating netback per boe is reconciled to net loss per boe under the heading "Operating Netback".

Net operating expenses is calculated as operating expenses less processing revenues. Management uses net operating expenses to determine the current periods' cash cost of operating expenses less processing revenue and net operating expenses per boe is used to measure operating efficiency on a comparative basis. The measure approximates the Company's operating expenses relative to its produced volumes by excluding third party operating costs.

Net transportation and marketing expenses is calculated as transportation expenses less marketing revenues. Management uses net transportation and marketing expenses to determine the current periods' cash cost of transportation expenses less marketing revenue and net transportation and marketing expenses per boe is used to measure transportation efficiency on a comparative basis as well as the Company's ability to mitigate the cost of excess committed capacity.

MICA PROJECT

The "Mica Project" referenced in this news release is a conceptual development study of Leucrotta's resources (Prospective and Contingent Resources) of tight oil and shale gas in the Lower Montney formations on 30 net sections (30 gross) of land in the Mica Area. Leucrotta's average working interest in the lands is 100%. The evaluation is an unrisked full development of the resource with multi-stage frac'ed horizontal wells using best-estimate type curves scheduled over a 5-year time period, effective January 2021. A total of $543 million of capital (undiscounted) is required for the project with an initial cash outlay of $112 million before payout is anticipated (5.5 years). The assumed commodity price is a flat WTI USD$50.00/bbl; AECO CAD$2.25/GJ; FX 1.28 CAD/USD forecast. There is no assurance that the forecast price and cost assumptions used in the evaluation will be attained and variances could be material. The actual scope of the project will be dependent upon the availability of funding, regulatory approvals, seasonal restrictions, oil and natural gas prices, costs, actual drilling results, additional reservoir information that is obtained, and other factors. There is uncertainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the resources. For the prospective resources there is no certainty that any portion of the resources will be discovered and if discovered, there is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any of those resources. The evaluation is an internal estimate prepared in accordance with the COGE handbook by a qualified reserves evaluator.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "may", "will", "should", "believe", "intends", "forecast", "plans", "guidance" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements or information.

More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to the Company's risk management program, oil, NGLs, and natural gas production, capital programs, and debt. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company, including expectations and assumptions relating to prevailing commodity prices and exchange rates, applicable royalty rates and tax laws, future well production rates, the performance of existing wells, the success of drilling new wells, the availability of capital to undertake planned activities, and the availability and cost of labour and services.

Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and information are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations 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 may differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general such as operational risks in development, exploration and production, delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures, the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production rates, costs, and expenses, commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations, marketing and transportation, environmental risks, competition, the ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources and changes in tax, royalty, and environmental legislation. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this document are made as of the date hereof for the purpose of providing the readers with the Company's expectations for the coming year. The forward-looking statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

Leucrotta is an oil and natural gas company, actively engaged in the acquisition, development, exploration, and production of oil and natural gas reserves in northeastern British Columbia, Canada.

Further Information



For additional information, please contact:



Leucrotta Exploration Inc.

Suite 700, 639 - 5th Avenue SW

Calgary, Alberta T2P 0M9

Phone: (403) 705-4525

www.leucrotta.ca

Mr. Robert J. Zakresky

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Nolan Chicoine

Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81916
WILMINGTON, Del., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HOTEL DU PONT , the award-winning independent luxury hotel and beloved Delaware destination, is excited to announce additions to its executive leadership team. As the hotel and the Greater MidAtlantic region readies for increased travel demand, the hotel has restructured its Sales and Marketing department. These senior roles will be an integral part of the leadership team as the hotel prepares to thrive during the recovery.

Anthony Stagliano Jr | HOTEL DU PONT

Anthony Stagliano Jr.| Director of Sales

The industry veteran and Philadelphia native has over 25 years of progressive sales experience across all chain scales including luxury, branded, full and select service. He joins the HOTEL DU PONT from the Ritz Carlton Philadelphia where he was most recently Director of Group, Catering & Transient Sales. His prior experience includes roles with Interstate Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International.

"We are thrilled to have Anthony join our team at this critical time. His ability to leverage strong relationships and drive top-line revenue together with his passion and proven track record for sales success will help us maximize opportunities and optimize results as we look ahead," says Managing Director, Greg Kavanagh.

Merella Merulla | Director of Group Sales

Merella is an accomplished and forward-thinking sales leader with over two decades of experience at the hotel. Throughout her tenure she has been instrumental to the property's success and has developed longstanding relationships and expertise across sales disciplines including Wilmington's extensive legal business. Merella will be leading the hotel's group sales efforts and will be responsible for developing and executing a strategic sales plan to leverage the built-up demand as the Delaware courts reopen and recovery ensues. Her portfolio will extend beyond the property, working to package and promote the services and offerings of the hotel as well as the greater Wilmington, Delaware, region and our exclusive partners to group audiences.

Elaine Leies | Business Development Manager

An experienced corporate sales manager with a demonstrated passion for hospitality and event sales, Elaine joined the HOTEL DU PONT in February. In her role as Business Development Manager her focus is advancing relationships and identifying new business opportunities from outside the Greater Wilmington market, leveraging her expertise in corporate and association meetings, retreats, and incentive experiences.

HOTEL DU PONT evokes the spirit of today's traveler set against the architectural grandeur and storied history of its past.

ABOUT HOTEL DU PONT

Opened in 1913, the iconic HOTEL DU PONT is dedicated to delivering timeless luxury with a modern and sophisticated sensibility. Located in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, in the heart of the picturesque Brandywine Valley, the 12-story Italian Renaissance landmark building boasts 217 guest rooms and spacious suites. Named the #1 hotel in Delaware by both Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure, the hotel is also home to Le Cavalier, a new brasserie from Chef Tyler Akin.

Owned by The Buccini/Pollin Group and managed by PM Hotel Group, the HOTEL DU PONT is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and the Historic Hotels of America. For more information, visit www.hoteldupont.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

ABOUT PM HOTEL GROUP

A Top-15 hotel management company, PM Hotel Group has over two decades of experience building relationships with brands, partners, and third-party hotel owners. We have participated in the development and acquisition of more than $3 billion in premium-branded and independent hotel properties across the United States. As an operator, PM Hotel Group is committed to its core values of respect- for one another, our guests, and the planet. We manage with a dedication to sustainability, a tradition of teamwork and a passion for innovation and entrepreneurship. At PM Hotel Group we know that our people are our greatest resource. By focusing on our associates and the communities in which we work, we deliver strong performance for our owners. Learn more at pmhotelgroup.com.

Media Contact

Foxglove Communications

Bailey King - Senior Account Executive

[email protected]

717-579-2267

SOURCE HOTEL DU PONT
When they again spotted Alvarez the night of the shooting, they tried to stop him again, Grace said, and eventually chased him on foot. On some of the video footage, Alvarez can be seen stumbling, but according to Grace, Solano did not see that and was expecting Alvarez to be much farther ahead of him when he turned the corner at the end of the alley.
One of the best lessons that cities should carry forward from the past year is the fact that small steps often are better than Big Plans.

Instead of spending years amassing information so that an ever-changing cast of characters can bicker over details and demand eye-glazing studies, just try something out. If it works, find ways to keep it going.

Like the infinitely malleable notion of flex streets that originated last summer in Oakland and, with luck, will prod other cities to be more inventive as well.

Id like to think that something can be permanent in its impermanence, said Warren Logan, Mayor Libby Schaafs policy director of mobility and interagency operations.

The flex street program that launched last June involves everything from dining parklets and sidewalk seating to clearing the way for community groups to revive empty city-owned lots. But the most intriguing facet is how restaurants and retailers have been allowed in several areas to spill past parking spaces into what before were traffic lanes  closing blocks entirely, or rerouting traffic on stretches that never were very busy to begin with.

Two blocks along Broadway give a sense of the programs range.

One is on Third Street, on the edge of the produce district near Jack London Square, where traffic lanes were re-striped to allow entrepreneurs on one side of the block to create open-air clearings that are 26 feet deep.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Federation Brewing maps out a convivial space framed by two red shipping containers that allow sheltered seating for customers (but with side panels removed to allow for natural ventilation). Next door at Minimo, a wine shop with tastings and light food, the mood is wholly different  metal tubs hold olive trees and succulents within a custom wood fence braced by wine barrels. The asphalt is now the canvas for a street mural  literally  by Alicia McCarthy, one of the leading figures of the Mission School art movement that emerged in San Francisco in the 1990s.

Her artwork is about weaves, connections, comings and goings, Minimo owner Erin Coburn said of McCarthy, a longtime customer whose studio is a few blocks away. What were trying to do really resonated with that.

Neighborhood wineries donated the barrels, while Coburns parents bought the metal tubs at a farming store in the Central Valley where they live. McCarthys augmented roadway was paid for with bottles of wine selected by Coburn.

The vibe is utterly different downtown on 15th Street, where asphalt the length of three storefronts holds a deep rudimentary clearing for the Hatch, a popular neighborhood hangout. Graffiti-type lettering proclaims Ancestors walk with me on the plywood walls facing into one portion of the deep space. The lone clear traffic lane is closed off on Fridays for vendor fairs enlivened by DJs.

Erin Coburn

All this invention is born of necessity, as businesses work to return to life after being closed for months,and in the process, spark something a bit larger.

We went from having a completely dead block for a year to one thats really active some days, said Louwenda Pancho Kachingwe, who opened the Hatch in 2014. Hes now in the process of installing more planters, upgrading the plastic picnic tables, bringing in artists to add to the ebullient wall murals.

Im looking for more of a unified vision, rather than a hodgepodge, Kachingwe said. Initially, he confessed, I didnt want to invest in a parklet if it was going to be short-term.

Though the program is set to end when Oakland calls off its state of emergency related to the coronavirus, Logan expects to go before the City Council later this spring and ask for a yearlong extension.

Some version of this program absolutely should be made permanent, Logan said. The more flexible we are with space, the more willing that the community is to discussing new ideas.

Oaklands not the only city that has closed streets to help out pandemic-strained business or commercial districts  San Francisco closes several blocks in commercial districts on weekends, for instance, or Thursday and Friday nights. Then there are the slow streets that restrict all but local traffic on long stretches, an idea launched in Oakland last April that has been embraced by San Francisco and other cities throughout the region.

Whats distinctive about the flex streets movement is that it creates possibilities as wide-ranging as the city itself.

Those expansive spaces outside Minimo and the Hatch succeed because theyre in relatively quiet settings. The wine stores block of Third Street mostly serves trucks doing early-morning business at produce wholesalers. The Hatch is downtown, but on the block where 15th Street dead-ends at Broadway.

On a busy stretch of Telegraph Avenue in the Temescal area, by contrast, parklets jump out beyond newly installed bicycle lanes. The overlapped activities add to the sense that theres something distinct going on.

All these innovations are balancing acts that work better in some locations than others, absolutely. They raise questions about physical and social accessibility that need to be addressed. But theyre a prod to look at our streets and surroundings in fresh ways  even after the pandemic ends.

John King is The San Francisco Chronicles urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron
Mumbai, April 28 : Actor Sonu Sood took to Instagram on Wednesday to urge more people to come forward and help those who are suffering due to Covid.

He posted a screen recording of his phone that shows the actor has been getting messages from people asking for help continuously. He says he is trying to help as many people as possible.

"The speed at which we get requests across the country. Trying my best to reach out to everyone. Everyone...Please come forward. We need more helping hands. Do your best to the best of your capabilities," he wrote.

The actor tested Covid positive a while back, but was back to helping people as soon as he recovered from the virus.

Sonu was appointed brand ambassador of Punjab's Covid vaccination programme by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh earlier this month. Last year, during lockdown, he helped thousands of migrants reach home safely. He also provided e-rickshaws to the unemployed.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
CARMIEL, Israel, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American: PLX) (TASE:PLX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, production and commercialization of recombinant therapeutic proteins produced by its proprietary ProCellEx plant cell-based protein expression system, today provided an update regarding the Complete Response Letter (CRL) received from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the Biologics License Application (BLA) seeking accelerated approval of pegunigalsidase alfa (PRX102) for the proposed treatment of adult patients with Fabry disease. Receipt of the CRL was announced earlier today.

The CRL did not report any concerns relating to the potential safety or efficacy of PRX102 in the submitted data package.

In the CRL, the FDA noted that an inspection of Protalix's manufacturing facility in Carmiel, Israel, including the FDA's subsequent assessment of any related findings, is required before the FDA can approve the BLA. Due to travel restrictions, the FDA was unable to conduct the required inspection during the review cycle. The FDA explained that it will continue to monitor the public health situation as well as travel restrictions, and is actively working to define an approach for scheduling outstanding inspections. With respect to the third-party facility in Europe at which fill and finish processes are performed for PRX-102, due to COVID19, the FDA reviewed records under Section 704(a)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in lieu of a pre-licensing inspection. In the CRL, the FDA stated that it will communicate remaining issues to the facility in order to seek prompt resolution of any pending items.

In addition to the foregoing, the FDA noted that Fabrazyme was recently converted to full approval which must be addressed in the context of any potential resubmission seeking accelerated approval of PRX102. Protalix intends to work collaboratively with the agency to identify the most expeditious pathway to approval, including accelerated approval. Protalix remains confident that it will be able to work with the FDA to resolve these issues and provide a new, alternative drug to Fabry patients. Protalix intends to request a Type-A meeting with the FDA, and will provide further updates on next steps after the meeting.

About Pegunigalsidase Alfa (PRX102)

Pegunigalsidase alfa (PRX102) is an investigational, plant cell culture-expressed, and chemically modified stabilized version of the recombinant -Galactosidase-A enzyme. Protein sub-units are covalently bound via chemical cross-linking using short PEG moieties, resulting in a molecule with unique pharmacokinetic parameters. In clinical studies, PRX102 has been observed to have a circulatory half-life of approximately 80 hours. Protalix designed PRX102 to potentially address the continued unmet clinical need in Fabry patients.

About Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc.

Protalix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of recombinant therapeutic proteins expressed through its proprietary plant cell-based expression system, ProCellEx. Protalix was the first company to gain FDA approval of a protein produced through plant cell-based in suspension expression system. Protalix's unique expression system represents a new method for developing recombinant proteins in an industrial-scale manner.

Protalix's first product manufactured by ProCellEx, taliglucerase alfa, was approved by the FDA in May 2012 and, subsequently, by the regulatory authorities of other countries. Protalix has licensed to Pfizer Inc. the worldwide development and commercialization rights for taliglucerase alfa, excluding Brazil, where Protalix retains full rights.

Protalix's development pipeline consists of proprietary versions of recombinant therapeutic proteins that target established pharmaceutical markets, including the following product candidates: pegunigalsidase alfa, a modified stabilized version of the recombinant human GalactosidaseA protein for the treatment of Fabry disease; alidornase alfa or PRX-110, for the treatment of various human respiratory diseases or conditions; PRX115, a plant cell-expressed recombinant PEGylated uricase for the treatment of refractory gout; PRX119, a plant cell-expressed long action DNase I for the treatment of NETs-related diseases; and others. Protalix has partnered with Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., both in the United States and outside the United States, for the development and commercialization of pegunigalsidase alfa, and with SarcoMed USA, Inc. for the worldwide development and commercialization of PRX110 for use in the treatment of any human respiratory disease or condition including, but not limited to, sarcoidosis, pulmonary fibrosis, and other related diseases via inhaled delivery.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, all such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The terms "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "project," "may," "plan," "will," "would," "should" and "intend," and other words or phrases of similar import are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual future experience and results to differ materially from the statements made. These statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations as to such future outcomes. Drug discovery and development involve a high degree of risk and the final results of a clinical trial may be different than the preliminary findings for the clinical trial. Factors that might cause material differences include, among others: Risks related to the timing and progress of the preparation of an updated BLA addressing the complete response letter; Risks related to the timing, progress and likelihood of final approval by the FDA of a resubmitted BLA for PRX102 and, if approved, whether the use of PRX-102 will be commercially successful; failure or delay in the commencement or completion of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, which may be caused by several factors, including: slower than expected rates of patient recruitment; unforeseen safety issues; determination of dosing issues; lack of effectiveness during clinical trials; inability or unwillingness of medical investigators and institutional review boards to follow our clinical protocols; and inability to monitor patients adequately during or after treatment; risks associated with the novel coronavirus disease, or COVID-19, outbreak, which may adversely impact our business, preclinical studies and clinical trials; risks related to any transactions we may effect in the public or private equity markets to raise capital to finance future research and development activities, general and administrative expenses and working capital; the risk that the results of the clinical trials of our product candidates will not support the applicable claims of safety or efficacy, or that our product candidates will not have the desired effects or will be associated with undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics; risks related to our ability to maintain and manage our relationship with our collaborators, distributors or partners; risks related to the amount and sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents; risks relating to our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal of, to pay interest on or to refinance our outstanding notes or any other indebtedness; our dependence on performance by third party providers of services and supplies, including without limitation, clinical trial services; delays in our preparation and filing of applications for regulatory approval; delays in the approval or potential rejection of any applications we file with the FDA, EMA or other health regulatory authorities, and other risks relating to the review process; the inherent risks and uncertainties in developing drug platforms and products of the type we are developing; the impact of development of competing therapies and/or technologies by other companies and institutions; potential product liability risks, and risks of securing adequate levels of product liability and other necessary insurance coverage; and other factors described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements in this press release are valid only as of the date hereof and we disclaim any obligation to update this information, except as may be required by law.

Media Contact

Chuck Padala, Managing Director

LifeSci Advisors

+1-646-627-8390

[email protected]

SOURCE Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc.
Help India!



The Summit is being organized by a group of institutions led by the Foundation London Story, India Solidarity Finland, Liberal Indian Paris, in partnership with the Indian diaspora. The Peoples summit is being organised against the backdrop of the massive Covid-crisis that India is facing.

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Starting from May 1 till May 8, a virtual India-EU Peoples summit will bring together leading intellectuals, parliamentarians, thinkers and activists from both India and the European Union to discuss issues of shared humanity and build the future roadmap of the EU-India engagement.

The line-up of keynote speakers and panellists include Members of the European Parliament, Members of EU-India Delegation, Members of Parliament from Netherlands and Germany, former National Security Adviser and climate expert Ambassador Shyam Saran, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy Dr Joseph Cannataci, prominent social scientists and economists including Jayati Ghosh, Christophe Jaffrelot, Mukulika Banarjee, and Marie-Caroline Saglio-Yatzimirsky.

The prominent human rights defenders and activists who will address the summit include Aakar Patel, Karuna Nundy, Prof. Apoorvanand, Nodeep Kaur, Kamayani Swami, Gautam Mody.

Other speakers include Nikita Sud, Amir Ullah Khan, Pratik Sinha and N. Ram.

The Summit is being organized by a group of institutions led by the Foundation London Story, India Solidarity Finland, Liberal Indian Paris, in partnership with the Indian diaspora.

The summit has over 60+ speakers and will convene thirty events in English and French, including panel discussions, documentary screenings, workshops and fireside conversations.

Explaining the objectives of the summit, Dr Ritumbra Manuvie from the London Story Foundation said, The eight days of ideation and brainstorming seek to answer a few of the most pressing questions that humanity is faced with. Challenges around social security nets, health infrastructure, social inclusion, personal freedoms, civic space, urban cultures, digital futures will be discussed through open and candid conversations.

Alena Kahle, co-organizer of the Summit from Germany, elaborated, At the end of the Summit, we begin the work of rebuilding India and Europe as multicultural, plural, democratic societies with stronger commitments towards human rights and human security. The Summit will provide a peoples blueprint of a world that is cosmopolitan, cooperative and not divided into narrow walls of toxic nationalism.

The Peoples Summit comes in the run-up to the EU-India Diplomatic Summit on May 8, 2021, which was intended to take place in Porto, Portugal, but will now be held virtually due to the global surge in Covid cases.

The Peoples summit is being organised against the backdrop of the massive Covid-crisis that India is facing.

Since last years EU-India Strategic Partnership Document in which India and the EU affirmed their commitment to jointly create a safer, cleaner and more stable world, both have collapsed under the weight of the pandemic and witnessed regressive trends in core areas of collaboration, such as internet freedom and democracy.

The Peoples Summit will be free of cost and accessible to all.
New York state has lost 1 million jobs as a result of COVID-19. And the pandemics fallout still has a lot of unknowns for the states workforce.

City & State interviewed Henry Garrido, the executive director of District Council 37, New York Citys largest public employee union representing 150,000 members, on how the union has weathered the pandemic. Garrido speaks about the labor movement and how he rose up the ranks to become a top official. Plus, Garrido discusses how the union has responded to Gov. Andrew Cuomos bullying style and allegations of sexual harassment as well as its endorsement of Eric Adams for New York City mayor. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What does District Council 37 have to say about Gov. Andrew Cuomos recent problems?

We have not publicly called for his removal or come to his aid. I think that the Legislature has a role to play. The governor also has insisted that we have to wait for this investigation to take place by the Attorney Generals office. The Legislature seems to have accepted that for now. So I think thats where we are. But we havent weighed in, one way or another on this.

Why is that?

On a personal Ievel, I can tell you why I care. I see the things that hes being accused of, if proven to be true, as reprehensible. And I think, if they are proven to be true, he needs to face the consequences. We obviously would never condone the kind of environment where the things that have been described took place. As a union leader, I believe in the fundamental principles of due process. Until theres such a conclusion, were not rendering judgment.

Why did your union endorse Eric Adams for New York City mayor?

We wanted a candidate whose values are most aligned with what our members believe and stand for. I think he was the candidate that personified that. We have a real, upcoming battle in this election for the soul of New York, for the direction New York City will take after the de Blasio administration and after what weve experienced in the pandemic. Are we going to see a mayor who will be beholden to private industries and to the billionaires and millionaires of this city for the sake of a crisis? Or are we going to see a mayor whos going to understand the plight of the essential workers who kept the city working, many of whom sacrificed their lives and gave their lives to keep the city going and who understands the real struggles of working people here. Thats where we are. We think that while there were many good qualified candidates, Eric personified the qualities that we sought.

What was it like for you to succeed Lillian Roberts, District Council 37s longtime executive director?

Oh my God, it was a challenge of a lifetime. Its something I had known that I wanted to do for quite some time. I had been working for DC 37 at that time for 20 years, and in every single capacity. I started as a shop steward and went through almost every position you can think of in the union. And I had been mentored and brought in by Roberts, who had been a legend in our union. It was an honor of a lifetime. It gave me an opportunity to put in place a lot of the things that I had in mind. So this was a tremendously rewarding opportunity and experience for me.

What has been one of your most successful accomplishments while leading the union?

Doing an analysis of the union, I saw that it was made up of primarily administrative and clerical employees in the 1970s and 1980s. And we lost more than 50% of our membership in those areas as a result of automation, outsourcing and back office consolidation. One of the initiatives that I wanted to do is to make sure that we make that shift, that we begin to in-source thousands of consulting jobs, particularly in the area of information technology. That was the first biggest thing. I covered in a white paper how inefficient it was for the city to outsource so much of the work and more importantly how much institutional knowledge you lose by not only outsourcing the brains of your operation, but also outsourcing the maintenance.

One of the biggest and most important things that I began to do at the beginning was to make the argument for in-sourcing of those jobs and to show that it was more cost-effective to hire city workers, and that you were adding value to the government.

So within a matter of six months or so, under my administration, we signed an agreement with City Hall and began the process of in-sourcing. That required us to change our mentality. It required us to change civil service rules. It required us to make sure the salaries were commiserate with those people who were coming on board because the private sector was paying them much more. It required us to create new titles that didnt exist before in government. Like the titles of cybersecurity workers who protect tech against hackers that were coming from Russia and other parts of Europe. We created seven new titles on that. So that has been one of the huge success stories that has not been quite covered in city government.

How did the union perform when COVID-19 hit?

I like to sing praises for some of the work thats been done as a result of this pandemic in order to keep the city remotely working. Its because we have built the capacity internally through the city and union to make sure that those people I spoke about in response to your earlier question were hired. Previously, we were supposed to rely on consultants, many of whom are not even from the city, nor did they work from the city. They worked from Florida. The work we did brought new members and it increased the size of the citys workforce. It also saved the city about $100 million in implementation.

We had to change the way we thought about how we deliver services, as opposed to just protecting the status quo. Regulations require us to make a massive investment of the union resources into education. I think by building capacity training certification  certificates with Microsoft and Cisco and cybersecurity  and by going to the state and making the state Civil Service Commission to make amendments, we were better equipped in the capacity to deal with broadband and remote work to continue the continuity of government, as opposed to have to come up with hundreds of millions to hire outside consultants, who at that time would be charging us premium pay to establish remote access to many of those systems that we had. We own the systems. We kept the maintenance. We have the institutional knowledge in-house. We have the knowledge transferred for even when we have to use outside products that were proprietary in nature. So all of that has permitted us to continue to work and continue to function, even as a lot of us workers are working remotely and a lot of people are not going into those offices.

Why did DC 37 and other New York City unions lobby for temporary early retirement incentive legislation?

What we want is an early retirement incentive to allow for those workers who want to leave early without penalty. This gives us yet another opportunity to rethink government. You know for many of us, information technologies have become a way of life, right? Zoom and other mediums of communications are so easily accessible and almost part of our DNA right now. But for many other people who got hired in the city government 30, 40 years ago, that wasnt a requirement. So if you started in city government early and young enough, and you were doing a job because you want to work with your hands, and you want to interact with the public, thats something you wanted to do. And many times you gave up salary increases to the private sector to continue to do that. And after work has changed, many of those people want to have an opportunity to retire with some dignity, an opportunity to retire with some perspective.

For me, its a priority for us in this budget. But I would also say that combined with that, we want to see a revenue stream to come up to New York. Although were happy to see that the federal government stepped up and did its job in providing resources directly to the city, most of those resources are a one shot deal, something that helps us now. Were concerned about the viability of New York and the sustainability of essential services in the future. So we would like to see Albany adopt a revenue package that is sensible in nature and that provides an opportunity for millionaires to pay their fair share.

Jobs have been eliminated because of COVID-19. Has that resulted in a rise in the number of workers seeking to organize?

I think that it was already on the rise, the need to organize. The popularity among workers who are not organized into a union, I think its at an all-time high. We saw the general public perception of unions in a positive way, where more than 62% of Americans were in approval of unions. Weve seen, at least in the public sector, massive amounts of workers are organizing across the United States. Right here in New York, that surprisingly after the decision of the Janus case by the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of a lot of pro-business, anti-union, right-wing organizations, we saw an increase of 29,000 workers joining the union more than the year before. And that is a testament to that case was what the workers saw it for what it was: a veiled attempt to take the last defending force, in the form of a union to protect the workers. I think that  in our union, weve seen a massive increase in unionization efforts.

Weve had a couple of successful campaigns of organizing in the last year or so since the COVID pandemic that I would have told you three years ago, it would have never happened. To do it in a time when you cant physically go and touch the workers, where a lot of this is being done electronically, its amazing. The last three campaigns we filed for, we won with an overwhelming majority of workers in the 90th percentile. Thats why its significant, both nationally, at the state level and right here locally. We see a very positive improvement on the perception of unions by workers that could be organized. And this year, its likely to be more, were pushing more into that. Just as an example, when I became (executive director) five years ago, we had about 119,000 workers through affiliation, consolidation, in-sourcing as I mentioned, were up to 150,000 workers now. Right here, were growing at DC 37.
[April 28, 2021] INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces Investigation of Churchill Capital Corporation IV (CCIV) on Behalf of Investors

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces an investigation on behalf of Churchill Capital Corporation IV ("Churchill" or the "Company") (NYSE: CCIV) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of federal securities laws. On January 11, 2021, Bloomberg (News - Alert) News reported that Lucid Motors Inc. ("Lucid"), an American automotive company specializing in electric cars, is in talks to go public via merger with one of Michael Klein's special purpose acquisition companies, including Churchill. Over the next several weeks, Lucid's Chief Executive Officer Peter Rawlinson made media appearances during which he stated that Lucid was aiming for a spring delivery for its first vehicles. On February 22, 2021, the merger between Churchill and Lucid ws announced with transaction equity value estimated at $11.75 billion. Churchill's share price closed at $57.37.



The same day, after the market closed, Bloomberg News reported that production of Lucid's debut car would be delayed until at least the second half of 2021 with no definite date for the actual delivery of vehicles. Details of the merger also disclosed that Lucid was projecting the production of only 557 vehicles in 2021, instead of the 6,000 it had been touting in the run-up to the merger announcement. On February 23, 2021, Churchill's stock fell $22.16, or 38%, to close at $35.21 per share on February 23, 2021.

If you purchased Churchill securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com, or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005949/en/

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The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has recently issued guidelines on protocols for diagnosis and treatment of rare brain/abdomen blood clots in the setting of low levels of blood platelets occurring after COVID-19 vaccinations.

Medical staff at Soc Trang General Hospital in the southern province of Soc Trang receive COVID-19 vaccines

It stressed that these incidents are serious, but a very rare and unusual complication that seems to occur more among women younger than 60 years old.

The incidents that take place after administering COVID-19 vaccines by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson were documented by drug authorities and vaccine safety monitoring agencies in many countries, the ministry noted.

The clinical symptoms  including lasting serious headaches, seizures, breathing difficulties and chest pains, abdominal pains, pain and oedema of the lower extremities, but rarely bleeding or skin haemorrhage or internal bleeding  show within four to 28 days after being administered the vaccine.

Imaging diagnostics  such as ultrasound and pulse doppler  of sites with clinical manifestations such as abdomen or the limbs can show thrombosis. X-raying and computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at suspected sites such as in the brain, lung, or painful areas etc. can show signs of thrombosis or bleeding.

The Ministry of Health said that commune- and ward-level health stations and district-level medical centres must monitor people who have received the COVID-19 vaccines, and if the injected person shows any of clinical symptoms, medical staff must perform emergency measures and transfer the patient to the higher-level health facilities.

Health centres are also told to conduct a platelet count, imaging and X-rays on suspected patients to diagnose the underlying conditions, and contact experts for those with abnormal symptoms.

Vaccinated persons who suffer from severe headaches, localised neurological symptoms, seizures, difficulty breathing, chest pain, life-threatening bleeding should also be transferred to higher level.

Provincial- and municipal-level health facilities need to conduct tests and treatment of probable conditions that may be encountered in line with diagnosis and treatment guidelines of the Ministry of Health. If the patients condition progresses beyond the capacity of their diagnosis and treatment, it is necessary to consult a specialist or to refer to the higher-level medical facilities.

Central-level hospitals are supposed to receive the patients with severe reactions to vaccinations, and consult experts for treatment if necessary.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long issued Decision No. 1888/Q-BYT on April 15 to establish a steering committee for safe COVID-19 vaccination, which comprises of senior officials from the ministry and leaders of the ministrys related departments along with Vietnams leading experts and scientists in diverse fields from immunisation, infection, emergency resuscitation, intensive care, to haematology, cardiology and neurology.

The steering committee is tasked with guiding medical establishments in performing screening, monitoring and handling of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccinations and promptly assist localities in handling all situations safely.

Dao Xuan Co, Chairman of the Vietnam National Association of Emergency, Intensive Care Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, and Deputy Director of Bach Mai Hospital, the largest first-tier public hospital in the northern region, said that post-vaccination blood clot incidents could be handled just like any other commonly occurred blood clot.

Co reassured that the public could have peace of mind for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine given the very small risk, and even if such an incident does happen, the expertise of leading scientists would be available to intervene in a timely manner.

However, given the nature of the COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use, Vietnam has been quite cautious in its vaccination drive.

We do screening and counselling before the administration of the vaccine," Co said.

"The injected person is monitored at the vaccination site for at least 30 minutes, then continues to be monitored at home for at least 24 hours and follow-up observations for another three weeks after injection. Hospitals are always ready to prevent severe reactions after injection.

According to a report of the National Expanded Programme on Immunisation released on April 27, a record of 50,104 people were inoculated on April 26.

Nearly 260,000 people  mostly frontline workers and medical staff  in 42 provinces and cities have been inoculated using AstraZeneca vaccines since the national vaccination drive began on March 8.

No rare blood clot incidents have been recorded so far, while the typical reactions (tiredness, mild fever, muscle pains, etc.) were reported in about 30 percent of the vaccinated, even lower than the advisory from the manufacturer or European authorities reports.

The country currently has nearly 1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine (combined deliveries from the manufacturer and supplied via the COVAX Facility), along with 1,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine as gift from Russia./. VNS
An Australian nurse has blamed former US president Donald Trump for a road-rage incident where he rammed into a car a 'dozen times' in a McDonald's drive-through.

The driver, 63, became impatient in the Albury, New South Wales, McDonald's drive-thru and began to bump the car in front at 1.30pm on January 7.

The nurse pleaded guilty to three charges on Monday, including negligent driving, and driving under the influence in Albury Local Court.

A nurse pleaded guilty to all three charges after he bumped into the car ahead of him at Albury McDonald's (pictured)

During the court proceedings it was revealed that the nurse had consumed three glasses of wine at the Commercial Club in Albury before he arrived at the nearby McDonald's.

His defence solicitor Piers Blomfield argued that he had become angered after listening to Donald Trump during the US election before entering the McDonald's.

While waiting in the line at the drive-through he became impatient and started revving the engine and yelling, 'f***en hurry up, hurry up, hurry up,' the Herald Sun reported.

He then proceeded to bump into the car ahead of him 'at least a dozen times.'

The passengers of the car in front had become frightened and left the drive-through as soon as possible, according to court documents.

He attended the Albury Local Court (pictured) where he received an 18-month conditional release order without conviction

The car ahead then called police after recording his number plate.

Police then visited his Thurgoona home where he told them he 'didn't recall' nudging the car in front of him.

They reported that the driver appeared to be affected by alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and was unsteady on his feet.

However, he believed the car in front was 'actually causing a problem' by driving too slowly, court documents revealed.

It was revealed that the driver had drunk three glasses of wine at the Commercial Club, Albury (pictured) before arriving at the McDonald's

The nurse wiped his eyes as his solicitor argued that there were a number of contributing factors that lead to his outburst.

He said the driver had suffered PTSD from the decades working as a nurse and that he had gone to the Commercial Club after a disagreement with his work management.

The lawyer also noted that he was listening to the US election and was triggered by Donald Trump.

Magistrate Richard Funston said the nature of his offending was 'very odd' - but conceded many people took issue to the former president.

'We all have issues at work and we all had problems with (former) President Trump, but you can't go nudging someone a dozen times,' he said.

The drunk driver's defence solicitor said that he was listening to the US election and became angered by Donald Trump

'Whatever combination of things that were happening that day, you snapped.'

He acknowledged the man's lack of criminal history and the trauma from working as a nurse.

'I'm taking a very unusual course today because you entered pleas of guilty and you've never been to court for anything like this before, and in nursing you must see some terrible things.'

He received an 18-month conditional release order without conviction.
Three private colleges in the Portland area have announced that they will require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before school starts in the fall.

Lewis & Clark College, University of Portland and Willamette University in Salem all will ask students to show proof of vaccination before classes begin.

The schools will allow medical and religious exemptions from the vaccine.

We think if everyone is vaccinated thats going to keep our students healthiest and safest, John Hancock, Associate Dean of Students for Health and Wellness at Lewis & Clark, told KGW.

Lewis & Clark will ask all students to provide proof of vaccination by Oct. 15.

Willamette is dedicated to the health and safety of the community, that school said in a statement.

The COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States are highly effective at preventing COVID-19, as well as at preventing serious illness even in those who do get COVID-19, the school said. For this reason, along with federal and regional guidelines, Willamette is requiring all students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to attend or be employed by Willamette beginning Fall 2021.

University of Portland announced their vaccination requirement Tuesday.

As we have stated from the start of the pandemic, the health and well-being of UP community members must be our collective priority, UP President Rev. Mark L. Poorman said in a statement. The vaccination requirement we announce today is just the latest step we must take on our journey to keep one another safe and return to the cherished in-person campus community that is so essential to our mission.

Staff at UP have until Aug. 1 to show proof of vaccination and students have until Sept. 1.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
Portfolio Company Investment Announced  led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 Frontier IP Group today announced that portfolio company Exscientia Limited ("Exscientia") has successfully completed a US$225 million Series D funding round. Exscientia, is a UK based clinical stage pharmatech company pioneering the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to design new drugs.

VSA Morning Technology Comment, 28/04/21

Frontier IP Group ( )



Portfolio Company Investment Announced  led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2

Frontier IP Group today announced that portfolio company Exscientia Limited ("Exscientia") has successfully completed a US$225 million Series D funding round. Exscientia, is a UK based clinical stage pharmatech company pioneering the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to design new drugs.



SoftBank Vision Fund 2i led the Series D and was joined by previous round lead investors, Novo Holdings and funds managed by Blackrock. Other investors included Mubadala Investment Company, Farallon Capital, Casdin Capital, GT Healthcare Capital, Marshall Wace, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, Laurion Capital, Hongkou and Bristol-Myers Squibb.



In addition, SoftBank is providing an additional US$300 million equity commitment that can be drawn at the Company's discretion.



On March 4th 2021, Exscientia previously announced Series C investment round of US$100 million. The valuation of that round and the Series D round have not been disclosed. Following the Series C round, Frontier IP held a 2.1 per cent equity stake in Exscientia.



Exscientia uses AI across its platform from target identification through drug design and patient selection in order to precision engineer new medicines. According to todays announcement, Exscientia has advanced the first two fully AI-designed drugs into clinical trials and now has over 20 active programs in its pipeline. The new capital from the Series D round will be used to advance Exscientia's proprietary pipeline through clinical testing as well as to continue expanding the technology platform toward autonomous drug design.



The scale of the funding round announced today, and the overall quality of the investor base reflects on progress that Exscientia is making - Exscientia was named the fastest growing private biotech or pharmaceutical company in the UK in the 2021 Alantra Pharma Fast 50.



Frontier IP Trading Update  Materially Ahead of Management Expectations



Of the 19 portfolio companies that Frontier IP has stakes in, a number are at a point of acceleration in commercial development, paving the way for a step up in valuation or a potential exit. The Groups equity holdings are in four high growth technology clusters comprising: artificial intelligence, robotics and big and sparse data; pathogens and cell imaging; food and agritech; and engineered particles and materials. Frontier IP has a proven record in commercialising University IP to grow its own EPS and NAV by growing portfolio company valuations. That success is seeing the Group invest in its own expansion for growth.



At Interims, announced in March 2021, the Group noted it had seen progress in the second half of the Group's financial year with further fundraising and commercialisation activity across its portfolio. In addition to this progress it has just announced the Series D funding for Exscientia. In the trading update today, the Group notes that, This is expected to result in an uplift in Frontier IP's book value for its holding which will be reflected in the Group's results to 30 June 2021.

Frontier IP also announced today that, As a result of overall trading across the portfolio in the year to date, the Group anticipates that the outcome for the year ending 30 June 2021 will be materially ahead of management expectations with a significant contribution to the outcome being the increase in the book value of the Group's interest in Exscientia.



We believe that Frontier IP represents an excellent opportunity for investors to gain exposure to early-stage technology companies, based on leading edge IP, which meets the needs and demands of international markets. Although Frontier IP has yet to have an exit to crystallise cash value, and the timing and value of potential exits is hard to assess, given the number of companies in the Frontier IP portfolio now at inflection points, this is becoming a real possibility over the next twelve months.



As a result, we believe the shares offer distinct valuation upside potential. Buy

#Indicates VSA house stock.

All disclosures and supporting charts can be found in the PDF version.

Phil Smith, Equity Analyst, Technology | T: +44 (0)20 3617 5187 | E: psmith@vsacapital.com

Research | T: +44 (0)20 3005 5000 | E: research@vsacapital.com

VSA Capital Limited, New Liverpool House, 15-17 Eldon Street, London EC2M 7LD | www.vsacapital.com

This email is intended solely for the named recipient. It may contain privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not one of the intended recipients, please notify the sender immediately, and destroy this email: any disclosure, copying to any person or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on this e-mail, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where specifically stated to be the view of VSA Capital Limited, its subsidiaries or associates. Whilst all efforts are made to safeguard inbound and outbound emails, VSA Capital Limited and its subsidiaries or associates cannot guarantee that attachments are virus-free or compatible with your systems and do not accept any liability in respect of viruses or computer problems experienced.



VSA Capital Limited will use your personal information to administer your account in order to provide any products and services you have requested from us. Your personal information will be kept secure and will not be shared with any other party unless you provide consent to that effect.



VSA Capital Limited is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

The Company is registered in England with company number 2405923 at New Liverpool House, 15-17 Eldon Street, London EC2M 7LD.

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[April 28, 2021] The Change Company Acquires Connect Escrow

The Change Company, America's Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), announced today it has acquired the woman-owned and operated real estate escrow services company Connect Escrow, Inc. ("Connect Escrow"). Leanne Alva, Connect Escrow's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are excited to join The Change Company and become part of America's CDFI. Connect Escrow is founded on principles of strong, sustainable, and inclusive relationships to ensure all Americans have an equal ability to buy and sell real estate. Our technology platform is highly scalable and enables us to serve clients in communities that for too long have been underserved by credible and reliable service providers. Our digital platform will accelerate Change's ability to meet its mission to bank the unbanked, fairly and responsibly." Connect Escrow is a green company headquartered in Los Angeles and operating throughout California. Connect will continue to be managed by its existing team. Jeff Seabold, co-founder of The Change Company, said, "We are thrilled to welcome Leanne Alva and her team at Connect Escrow to The Change Company. As we expand access to homeownership, it is critical that The Change Company is able to provide fair and responsible escrow services to its clients. Connect Escrow is known for its deep community roots and its commitment to ensuring all its cliets are treated fairly and respectfully. The Change Company is excited to empower Leanne and her team at Connect Escrow."



The Change Company maintains an investment grade credit rating and is a CDFI certified by the United States Department of the Treasury. In 2020, The Change Company and its affiliates originated over $7 billion in loans to approximately 30,000 borrowers. The Change Company and its affiliates provide lending, banking, appraisal management, escrow, and insurance services to the underbanked. The Change Company was represented by the law firms Gaynor Law Group, P.C. and Michelman & Robinson, LLP on the transaction and Connect Escrow was represented by Relaw, APC (News - Alert) .

About The Change Company The Change Company empowers homeowners, small businesses, and consumers to pursue their American dreams by bringing social and racial equity to banking and lending. The Change Company team has built businesses that have lent American consumers and businesses over $50 billion dollars, served 250,000+ borrowers, and provided financial services, directly or through partnerships, to over 2 million Americans. For more information: http://www.ChangeLLC.com/ About Connect Escrow Connect Escrow is a woman-founded and operated company licensed by the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation to provide escrow settlement services for real estate transactions. Connect Escrow is a green company that operates through its proprietary digital platform to serve the entire state of California from its headquarters in Los Angeles. For more information: http://www.ConnectEscrow.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005390/en/

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Sanghvi will be responsible for sharing and expanding the fast-growing footprint of the company's platform into new retail and e-commerce partnerships

After his 3 years' association with Integral Ad Science, Kushal Sanghvi has joined CitrusAd as Head of Business Operations, earlier this month.

In his new role at CitrusAd, Sanghvi will be responsible for sharing and expanding the fast-growing footprint of the CitrusAd platform into new retail and e-commerce partnerships, putting control of monetization programs into the hands of retailers, creating opportunities through various channels/ types for e-commerce media for advertisers/ brands and their agency partners also looking for ease of deployment, ease of operation and analytics, and creating the most relevant experience for customers in the process.

An advertising and marketing company, CitrusAd streamlines media sales and ad-serving for more than half of the top 20 retailers in the world. Their platform makes it easy for brands and retailers to work together to increase sales where it matters the most - online. In fact, CitrusAd ranks 39 on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, and APAC Winner 2020 lists.

Sanghvi started his career with the Indian Express Group in 1997. He is an MBA in Marketing from NMIMS.

Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
The Chandler Institute of Governance (CIG), a global non-profit organisation, has ranked Nigeria as the third-worst country in its inaugur...

The Chandler Institute of Governance (CIG), a global non-profit organisation, has ranked Nigeria as the third-worst country in its inaugural good government index.

The inaugural Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) was launched on Monday in Singapore.

The report taps from over 50 open data sources from global organisations.

The organisation said the index measured the effectiveness of governments in 104 countries globally, made up of 34 indicators, which are organised into seven pillars: leadership and foresight; robust laws and policies; strong institutions; financial stewardship; attractive marketplace; global influence and reputation; and helping people rise.

Nigeria, however, scored 0.319 points and emerged 102 out of 104 countries on the index, followed by Zimbabwe and Venezuela coming 103 and 104, respectively, on the list.

Finland comes first with 0.848 points followed by Switzerland, Singapore, Netherlands, Denmark and Norway.

Mauritius, with an index score of 0.567 is ranked 38 on the list to become Africas best performer, followed by Rwanda and Botswana at number 53 and 57, respectively.

The governance competition is the most important contest in the world today; it is the deciding factor in whether nations prosper, Richard Chandler, founder of the organisation, said.

Well-governed countries attract capital and talent, which enable marketplace innovation, leading to strong companies and vibrant economies. This, in turn, enables greater investment in public services, creating a virtuous cycle.

Launching the inaugural Index in the middle of a global pandemic has reinforced the positive impact of good governance, as well as the dangerous consequences of weak government. Lessons must be learned, and urgently, as governments tackle the critical challenges to the sustainability of our planet and well-being of our communities, while building strong and prosperous nations. 

The organisation noted that the report is the worlds most comprehensive index of governance quality and outcomes.

The development comes weeks after StatiSense, a data technology company, ranked Nigeria third on a list of countries with the highest unemployment rate globally.
UW Trustees to Hold Special Meeting Thursday

The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting via teleconference at 7 a.m. Thursday, April 29.

The meeting will begin in executive session to consider the purchase of real estate, possibly followed by action in open session.

The public session will be livestreamed via UWs WyoCast system and YouTube at https://wyolinks.uwyo.edu/trusteesapril/.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Limiting internet searches for investors increases stock market crash risk by 19%, a new study has found.

The research by RMIT University looked at the ramifications on the stock market following Google's withdrawal from mainland China in 2010.

It found access to unbiased information about companies' performanceaided by unrestricted internet search resultsled to investors making more informed decisions.

On the flip side, search results manipulated to show overly positive information led to stocks for those companies being overvalued temporarily, increasing the stock market crash risk by 19%.

The study has been published in the Journal of Financial Economics.

Lead researcher Dr. Gaoping Zheng, a lecturer in finance at RMIT, said the study showed search results influenced decisions, a challenge to previous thinking that they merely justified people's existing ideas.

"Until now it's been widely thought that unrestrictive internet searches result in bias and an overvaluation of stocks but that would mean restricting search would decrease stock market crash risk. Instead, we saw a significant jump," Zheng said.

"This suggests internet searching does not exacerbate investors' biasesinstead, it facilitates their ability to access and analyze information."

The research has implications for Australia following Google's recent attempt to withdraw from the country.

"While China has alternative search engines, their results are concentrated and an identical search on Google would show vastly different results." Zheng said.

"Our research emphasizes the importance of access to diverse results and if Google did decide to withdraw, it could have a destabilizing impact on the economy."

Comparing China during and after Google

In 2010, Google unexpectedly withdrew its searching business from China, reducing investors' ability to find information online.

To measure the impact, researchers divided a list of Chinese firms into two groups: firms that had a high search volume on Google prior to 2010 and firms that were not regularly searched for on Google prior to 2010.

By averaging the stock price cash risk of both groups after Google withdrew and comparing their standard deviation, the researchers found firms that were regularly searched for on Google were 19% more unstable.

Zheng said while Chinese investors could still look for information about stocks using other search engines, they were more likely to be shown positively-biased information from websites hosted in China.

"Google was more likely to show content from international websites such as Bloomberg, Reuters or The New York Times, which are free from political constraints to talk about what is happening," she said.

"Investors were more likely to overvalue stocks due to biased information found through Chinese-owned search engines."

Zheng said restricted searches gave firms opportunities to hide adverse news from the public, preventing potential investors from discovering accurate information online.

"If managers withhold negative news, investors are less likely to mitigate their misconceptions and biases surrounding a certain stock," she said.

"Let's say I believed that eating carrots could cure cancer and searched the internet to confirm this. An unrestricted search would correct my bias because I would find that carrots are not actually a cure for cancer."

Explore further Google bombards Australian search users as PR campaign intensifies

More information: Yongxin Xu et al. Internet searching and stock price crash risk: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment, Journal of Financial Economics (2021). Journal information: Journal of Financial Economics Yongxin Xu et al. Internet searching and stock price crash risk: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2021.03.003
New Delhi, April 28: The radical Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI), after dissolving the 249 member central committee on Sunday, announced setting up of a five-member convening team. Muhibullah Babunagri - uncle of Ameer Junayed Babunagri, who has been at the helm of the organisation - has been named the chief adviser of the convening committee.

The reorganisation of the outfit's top committee will pose fresh challenges to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been fighting the hydra-headed radical elements in the country.

The new five-member committee also comprises Junayed Babunagri, Secretary General Nurul Islam and Salauddin Nanupuri and Prof Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury. Nurul Islam has said that the full convening committee will be put in place soon.

What has come as a surprise to many is that Junayed, in a Facebook video message, on Sunday said that central committee of HeI was being dissolved keeping in mind the overall situation in the country.

In the last few weeks, the Hasina government has come down heavily on the HeI leaders.

About 19 of its important leaders including those in the top rung like Mamunul Haque, Rafiqul Islam Madani --known as "shishu bokta" -- and Junaid Al Habib have been arrested for their active role in carrying out violence in the country.

Besides, over 75 cases have been filed against the HeI leaders. The group has been accused of carrying large scale violence in the country last month, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Dhaka.

The extremist outfit had also vehemently opposed the construction of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's statue saying it was anti-Islam. In fact, in a shocking incident a few miscreants had even vandalised an unfinished sculpture of the country's founding father.

What is HeI? HeI, in 2019 demanded that the Bangladeshi government declare Ahmadi Muslims as non-Muslims. HeI members have also been putting pressure on Hasina for policy changes. Most notable among their demands was seeking a change in the curriculum in the country's educational curricula and "ensuring that religious minorities are edited out of Ministry of Education-approved textbooks," United States Commission on International Religious said.

The radical Islamist outfit, with Madrassa trained members, was formed just 10 years ago but it sprung into prominence in 2013 when it staged mass demonstrations demanding that Bangladesh adhere to a strict Islamic doctrine. "The Islamist organisation has a track record of training Imams, who are then funded to propagate their ideals in the Middle-east, the UK, US and other parts of the world," a study by Grid91, an organisation dealing with security consultancy, providing solutions to businesses in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka noted.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
A Chinese national flag flutters near the surveillance cameras mounted on a lamp post in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, on March 15, 2019. (Andy Wong/AP Photo)

Chinese Restaurant Branch in Taiwan Denies Sending Surveillance Footage to China

After Vancouver Location Admits to Sending Footage

A popular Chinese restaurant chain in Taiwan is denying its sending surveillance footage of its customers to China, coming after a Vancouver branch admitted it sent surveillance footage of its customers to China.

The Haidilao Hot Pot restaurant in Taiwan, in an April 22 statement on Facebook, admitted it recorded footage of their customers, but said it was done mainly to better protect consumers dining rights and safety, avoid poor service, and improve service quality.

The branch also denied ever using the footage to conduct facial recognition and analysis, adding that the recording was done in compliance with Taiwans laws and regulations.

It added that the recorded videos are only temporarily stored in its branch, will not be preserved, and has never been and will not be in the future backup outside of Taiwan.

The restaurant branchs statement comes after a The Sunday Guardian Live reported on April 17 that a manager in Haidilaos Vancouver, Canada, branch confirmed that over 60 surveillance cameras have been installed in the restaurant at the request of the Haidilao corporation, as part of the social credit system in China.

The manager, Ryan Pan, told investigative journalist Ina Mitchell and intelligence expert Scott McGregor that each table in its Vancouver location, a total of 30, has two cameras assigned to it in order to monitor and punish staff if they dont adhere to Haidilaos corporate standards and to people track the customers. Pan added that footage captured on those cameras were sent to China, but declined to elaborate further, only saying that its a secret.

The article prompted backlash and the statement from the Taiwanese location.

Some people said that the cameras are beneficial if its for safety reasons and that its up to the customer whether or not to eat there again.

Others questioned whether the Taiwanese management can refuse to send the surveillance footage if the Chinese headquarters requests to see it. Others expressed doubt that footage will not only be temporarily stored in the branch, while some noted that the restaurant cameras are manufactured by a Chinese surveillance company controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

A Chinese woman waits for customers in a nearly empty restaurant at a shopping mall in Beijing, China, on March 26, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Founded in Sichuan province in China in 1994, Haidilao is one of the largest restaurant chains in China with more than 900 locations globally, including in the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Taiwan, among other countries.

In Vancouver, it operates at two locations: one in Richmond, and the other in the Kitsilano district, which is within walking distance to the house that Huawei provides for staff who are temporarily relocated to the province to assist Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of the telecommunications giant. It also takes no more than 10 minutes to reach Mengs mansion and the Chinese consulates visa office, reported The Sunday Guardian Live.

Mitchell said she believes Beijing chose Pans restaurant in Vancouver for intensive collection of information.

Vancouver is a gateway for the Chinese Communist Party into North America where they engage in pervasive foreign interference activity, mobilizing overseas United Front units to strategically lure political and business leaders using financial inducements and other incentives to promote the Partys agenda, she told U.S. think tank Gatestone Institute.

Charles Burton, senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute who specializes in China affairs, also believes the CCP planned using restaurants such as Haidilao to eavesdrop on important conversations that will further its interests.

Its not so much watching about table manners, but more about whos saying what to whom in the restaurants and who is brought to that restaurant where there are two cameras per table, Burton said on The John Batchelor Show on April 21.

Gordon Chang, distinguished senior fellow at Gatestone Institute, explained how Chinas social credit system works.

China takes all the information that it obtainssecurity cameras, and everything else. And they feed them into this social credit system, which is supposed to be nationwide, Chang said on The John Batchelor Show alongside Burton.

But what happens is, every Chinese citizen is given a score. And that score is constantly updated up or down depending on observed behaviors. So if youre seen jaywalking, your score will go down. If for instance, you say nice things about Xi Jinping, your score will go up, he added.

In 2014, Chinas State Council officially rolled out the social credit system nationwide with the purpose of allowing the trustworthy to roam everywhere under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step, reported Foreign Policy.

Chang said low-score individuals in China face negative consequences.

People with low scores have been denied social services, mortgages, and even the right to board trains and planes, he wrote in an article titled China Is Extending Its Totalitarian Controls to the Rest of the World.

There are also interconnecting repercussions for family, friends, associates, and businesses both in and outside China, Mitchell told Chang.

Mitchell and McGregor wrote that Haidilaos over-the-top volume of surveillance cameras could actually be a penetration test set up by the Chinese authorities to measure vulnerability, as well as the reactions Canadian law enforcement and general public display.

Passive responses by Canadas elected officials, law enforcement, and security intelligence agencies only serve to embolden influence operations, which have historically been the standard by which the Chinese base their tactics. The potential for further technology-based exploitation inside Canada will most assuredly increase, they wrote.

On Feb. 9, David Vigneault, director of Canadian Security Intelligence Service warned about the threats the CCP poses to Canadas national security.

To be clear, the threat does not come from the Chinese people, but rather the Government of China that is pursuing a strategy for geopolitical advantage on all frontseconomic, technological, political, and militaryand using all elements of state power to carry out activities that are a direct threat to our national security and sovereignty. We all must strengthen our defences, he said.
Arwady gave few details about the initiative, but said it will be dubbed Vax Pass and roll out in May as a means to encourage vaccination particularly in younger people in exchange for attendance at concerts or other events as the second pandemic summer begins.
Last week, an old video of Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams made during his time in the state Senate began making the rounds on social media.

In the short clip, Adams walks the viewer through how to search for drugs and weapons in their childs bedroom. Pulling a crack pipe out of a popular knapsack and revealing bullets hidden behind a picture frame on a bookshelf, just to name a few pieces of contraband unearthed in the video.

Anyone familiar with Adams knows that hes an eyebrow-raising pro, who has developed a penchant for unleashing surprising, and at times disturbing, new ideas or plans at press briefings. High on the list of shocking moments is when Adams unveiled the cutting-edge Ekomille rat trap, to tackle the citys rodent problem in 2019. And then there was his BolaWrap 100 press conference in 2018, when he unveiled a new high powered lasso gun obtained by the NYPD, which is intended to subdue individuals experiencing mental health issues. And in a somewhat beguiling move, Adams also launched a campaign to encourage men to pull up their pants in 2010. Adams paid to have several billboards in Brooklyn, targeting Black men in particular, to raise their pants up, suggesting that they were indicators of delinquency and a lack of self respect.

However, as one commentator on Twitter noted, that while Adams contraband video may seem goofy and unnecessary on the surface, it may actually be of value to families who have real concerns when it comes to fighting crime in their neighborhoods and homes. And if you ask Adams about any one of his most controversial incidents hell tell you that there was more to what he was trying to accomplish than what was initially reported on. Or at least that was the case when City & State spoke to the Democratic mayoral candidate about some of the more contentious aspects of his political record.

Perhaps theres more than meets the eye, when it comes to Adams outlandish statements and proposals, especially when it comes to neighborhoods still grappling with issues such as pest infestation and crime that often go unrecognized by the media when covering Adams. Or maybe hes just a skilled politician who has the ability to put a positive spin on every strange or ill-advised issue hes discussed in the past. Well leave it up to you to decide.This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Over the years you've made some controversial comments and proposals that people have kind of given you a hard time about like, the rat trap reveal, the campaign to get young men to pull up their pants, saying that you would carry your own firearm if you were elected mayor. I'm just wondering how you feel about people having shocked reactions to those things? And if New Yorkers should expect similar kinds of comments and proposals from you if you become mayor?

Who was more shocking than Ed Koch? Look at Mayor Bloomberg's greatest news and read his comments. Things are controversial until other people acknowledge it and understand it. Let's take the rat trap, for a moment, okay? I had, around Brooklyn Hall for eight years, a rat infestation problem. I started receiving calls from New Yorkers, particularly in Brooklyn. A mother came to see me that had rat bites, a group of mothers came to see me that had rat bites on their children.

I put out a call, saying, Let's think differently about dealing with these rodents. One response was the rat trap. We put 96 traps around Brooklyn Borough Hall. They (the rats) used to be in your cars and going across your feet when you were coming out of the building. In the last two years, we have not seen another rat around or inside Borough Hall. We have mounted the project to Prospect Park and took it off to other locations to try out the apparatus so that we can see, do we have something here that we can finally give people relief that are living with this type of rat infestation.

So you have those individuals, whose babies are not being bitten by rats saying, "Oh, look at him, he's killing these poor rats." Are you kidding me? I believe in animal rights but let me tell you about another animal: human beings. It's a luxury to sit back, not waking up and seeing rats hop out of your stove or opening your cabinets and seeing rats. It's a luxury to say, How dare we kill those poor rats? I had a real crisis and put it out into the universe, in the city and state, and we found a solution. And we had been successful with a solution  and it was the same with Stop the Sag.

A group of young girls, college students, came to me. They were on the train and this young man was standing in front of her, almost showing some of his body parts from sagging. You know, this was an epidemic. I don't know your age, so you probably don't even realize how bad it was. It went from just showing the top of your nylon to just about everything.

Oh no, I'm old enough to know.

Do you see sagging in the city? Do you see people dressing that way again? If you start eroding the basic principles of who you are, it continues to go further and further and further. I am an adult. Many of us as adults just ignored the problem. That's not the role of an adult. I don't want my son to say, Dad, I think you're the coolest. I want my son to look back later and say, Dad, now I know what you were talking about. I was not trying to be the cool state Senator, I was saying we have a problem here, that these young people have come to me and I'm a problem solver if there is something that is brought to my attention. And that is what those young girls did. And you look at our city now, we don't see that crisis anymore, that we saw at one time during the early 2000s. Everyone hated it but no one was bold enough to be controversial. I am bold enough to be controversial to solve problems.

And its the same with that, "Eric said he's going to carry his gun as mayor. I'm licensed to carry a gun 24-hours. I rarely carry but as a retired officer its a nice thing to do. People who are authorized to carry guns and are licensed to, should be able to.

People need to feel as though their leaders are going to lead them, generals lead people into battle, they don't tell them to go in and ask How was the war? If I'm the mayor of the City of New York  imagine this for a moment  and I'm saying the city is safe, don't worry about it, oh and by the way, ignore the four cops that are walking around with me right now. The greatest symbol I can show as the mayor of the City of New York, is to walk the streets, as (Mayor John) Lindsay used to do alone, saying I believe in the safety of this city.

I'm not going to walk around like John Wayne, you know. I don't carry a gun now, although I have the right to do so. It was a light-hearted way of saying in that interview, that I'm going to be moving through the city from time to time by myself to send a signal to New Yorkers that this is a safe city. And you know what that is? It's controversial.

How do you feel about people who are shocked by you, or who call you controversial? Do you feel it's because they don't understand you? Or do you think it's because they don't want to understand you?

Eric Adams resonates with New York, New Yorkers, we have an edge. I dont know if people realize that. I am a New Yorker. I come from the spirit of New York. We have an edge to us and sometimes that edge doesn't fit with the profile of what some people like  but it fits with the profile of New Yorkers. That blue collar image that comes from (Mayor Fiorello) La Guardia, that's who I am. I'm efficient. I'm hard working. I get things done.

Look at my Bellevue project, a first of its kind in America. After becoming diabetic, losing my sight, I was told I would go blind in a year and have permanent nerve damage. They said I was going to lose some fingers and toes. I went and reversed my diabetes without medicine and started the first of its kind of an American program at Bellevue that reverses the disease. I got our city to stop purchasing processed meats, which is a Group 1 carcinogen, which people said was impossible (to do). I started the movement to decrease the speed limit in the city to save lives in the state Senate. When you start digging into my record, you may say, you know what, maybe the guy isn't controversial. Maybe it's possible he's seeing things that we have not seen. And that's what controversy is, the ability to see what's going to come, not what is.

I know you've gained some heat for accepting real estate donations and some people have called attention to the fact that youve made free trips to different countries that have been known for human rights violations. Whats your take on this?

I have the largest population of people from Azerbaijan than anywhere else in the city, if not the country. There was some strife between the Jewish leaders and the Muslims leaders. My Baku residents asked me to go there and go to a synagogue, coordinate meetings and send the right message back here to the city. I have the largest Turkish population anywhere in the country outside of a place in New Jersey. They requested me to go and create a sister city agreement (in Turkey). And my Sephardic community asked me to go to the border where refugee camps were located and visit the refugee camps, and I felt honored to be able to do so. I have the largest Chinese population in the country, so I was going back and forth to China to sign sister city agreements. When the city was unable to get PPE, my sister cities in China reached out to me and I received over 600,000 pieces of PPE that I gave out to NYCHA and poorer communities because I established those relationships. But people often ignore those facts. They also ignore the fact that I went to Africa and started the first sister city agreement with Goree Island  where the slaves would leave, that was the last place they would leave from Africa to come to America. I've been to Israel twice, in spite of all of the calls to boycott Israel. That was never included in the articles.

I am blown away when candidates that have built their entire career on real estate dollars all of a sudden wake up and, wink wink, say, I'm not taking real estate dollars. Yet, you're not giving it back either. If you're saying real estate dollars are dirty, then they're also dirty in your bank account. So the real test is to give it back.

I was on a forum and everyone said I'm not taking money from landlords. But (Im thinking) some of you are landlords. I'm a landlord. I have a four story, three-family house. And instead of people asking, Hey, Eric, what do you think about landlords? How about asking my tenants and letting them tell you that when they moved in, they signed the lease that I had put together that says I can never raise your rent as long as you stay in my building.

And the people on my block who are small property owners who own three family, two family homes. They want to donate to me. So should I say, No you can't, because you're a landlord? Because all of a sudden the new progressives have defined you as enemies of the state. Come on, this is silly.

We've covered a lot of your different controversies, but I really want to know if there is something that you think or feel that New Yorkers really get wrong about you.

I think New Yorkers get things right about me. If you follow me through this city sometime, youll see, the response in Brownsville is no different than in Breezy Point, or Bay Ridge or Bayside. People know I authentically care. And I cannot tell you the number of times that people have stopped me to say, You know, I don't agree with you all the time, but I just love your real commitment to what you believe in. Those are New Yorkers.

You know, I love people. I love the city. I love a good merlot. I love a good beer. And I love a good single malt scotch with a cigar. I am just an everyday New Yorker, not only someone that can bear the weight of the city, but I'm someone that people don't mind having a beer with.
SOUTHBURY  When Mark Gasso failed to show up to work April 19, a co-worker who hes known for years went over to Gassos Berkshire Road residence to check on him. Gasso was nowhere to be found, but his truck was in the driveway, the shower was on and his cell phone and wallet were also there, the man told police accordng to an investigation report.

Police have since been investigating the whereabouts of Gasso, 63. The co-worker who has known Gasso since they were about 17, said he last exchanged text messages with Gasso on April 16 and that Gasso did not respond to a text sent April 18, the investigation report states.

Gassos co-worker called police after arriving on April 19, able to enter the residence through an unlocked door.

At the residence, police said they found a small, dried red-colored stain on the mattress  but no trails of similar substance on the floor, wall or surround area  and there were no apparent signs of a struggle inside the dwelling.

Police said local hospitals were called to see if anyone matching Gassos description had come in, but none had a Mark Gasso or anyone matching his description admitted at the time.

According to the police investigation report, Gasso had also called 911 April 16. Police said he claimed a woman was inside his house, but responding officers only found him at the residence. At the time, Gassso was found to be oriented, but stated he takes both Xanax and muscle relaxers and had been drinking, the report stated

A state police K-9 was brought in to search the residence after Gasso went missing and surrounding wooded area outside, but the track yielded no results, police said.

In a sworn statement to police, the man who reported Gasso missing said he was worried and that Gasso has never done anything like this before.

Although he still took prescription Xanax and a couple other medications, the co-worker said Gasso had been seeing a specialist to manage pain, and he did not believe he was abusing opioids. The co-worker also told police Gasso did not get around very easily due to broken bones from past injuries.

Police also contacted a woman Gasso was known to spend time with. She told police she last spoke with Gasso April 15 when they went out to dinner, the report stated. After unsuccessfully trying to reach Gasso by phone two days later, she said she went by his house but he wasnt there, the report continued.

A silver alert was issued shortly after 8 p.m. April 19. State police searched Gassos residence and surrounding area again the following day, but did not find anything, according to police.

Gassos disappearance is being investigated by the Southbury Police Department and Connecticut State Polices Western District Major Crimes Unit, and anyone with information is urged to call 203-264-5912. Police say all calls will be kept confidential.
Petty Officer Second Class Danny Seanez, a native of Brawley, recently participated in seizing more than 1,500 kilograms of cocaine while operating in the Pacific Ocean on April 7. According to a Navy news release, USS Freedom, with embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 107, conducted the seizure off the coast of Mexico in support of Joint Interagency Task Force Souths counter-illicit drug trafficking mission. After the illicit drug transport boat was identified by Freedom and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted the boarding, search and seizure. Im honored to be a part of this operation and serve in the U.S. Navy, Seanez said. We have shown continuously that we are making positive change and difference around the world. COURTESY PHOTO U.S. NAVY OFFICE OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH
New Delhi:

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday replied to Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys question whether P Chidambarams statement on autonomy should be given to J&K is an official stand of Congress party.

Surjewala issued a press release stating that Congress believes that the solution for lasting peace and prosperity in J&K lies solely within the framework of Indian Constitution. He maintained that Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh is an integral part of Indian Union and will always remain so unquestionably.

Congress spokesperson defended its position by saying that 10 years of UPA government proved to be a watershed in restoring normalcy in Kashmir. He wrote that the UPA government fought terrorism decisively.

Surjewala targeted NDA government by stating that the situation in Kashmir has deteriorated rapidly under its leadership. He said that terrorism, ceasefire violations, Pak-sponsored terrorism have grown rapidly.

Surjewala informed that INC has framed a policy group under the chairmanship of Dr Manmohan Singh to restore normalcy in Kashmir.

Earlier in the day, Arun Jaitley on Saturday criticised the Congress leader P Chidambarams statement that autonomy should be given to Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the position Congress has taken goes directly contrary to Indias national interest.

Jaitley blamed Congress for Kashmir problem by saying that it happened due to flawed policy of the party since 1947.

"It was a flawed policy of Congress right since 1947 which is responsible for the Kashmir problem. Kashmir problem is a Congress legacy. Instead of learning from its past mistakes, Cong wants to precipitate a crisis further for this country," said Jaitley.

Jaitley also blamed previous UPA governments for its inaction in addressing Kashmir problem.

"10 years of the UPA Government was a wasted opportunity on J&K, not a single initiative worked; you had terrorism on top," said Jaitley.

Jaitley praised the initiatives of NDA government by saying that they have succeeded in squeezing the funds of the terrorists and mass protests of stone throwers are by and large over.

"Congress is deceiving the country, itself and encouraging separatism in J&K. It is hurting India's national interest. Serious issue whether statement that has come from a prominent Cong leader is Congress' official stand or not? Should clarify immediately," said Jaitley.

Minister of Information & Broadcasting Smriti Irani also hit back at Congress leader P Chidambarams statement.

Irani said that it is quite shocking and disgusting that P Chidambaram today spoke about breaking the Union of India into pieces and supports those who actually murdered our security forces just so that they can play havoc with law & order situation in J&K.

Irani said that Chidambarams statement reflects the Congress mentality. She added that Rahul Gandhi is known to have supported those people who had given the statement 'Bharat Tere Tukde honge' in JNU crisis.

For them to talk about Azadi on a land that gave us Sardar Patel, he gave entire life to make sure India stood united under one constitution. What is the message Congress is trying to give, that at their doorstep of political gain they are willing to sacrifice nationhood? said Irani.

Chidambaram said that his interaction with people in the state led him to the conclusion that when they ask for azadi, most of them want autonomy.

Chidambaram suggested that giving autonomy to J&K must be considered. He said that J&K will remain part of India but will have larger powers as promised under Article 370.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has paid tribute to an Irish citizen killed in Burkina Faso on Tuesday, and "condemned in the strongest possible terms" the attack on his group.

Conservationist Rory Young was among a group of foreigners abducted when a special wildlife unit was ambushed in the African country on Monday morning.

The deaths of Mr Young and two Spanish citizens were confirmed on Tuesday.

Mr Young, who was born in Zambia, was the President of Chengeta Wildlife, an organization established to support anti-poaching efforts on the ground in Africa.

He "dedicated his life to wildlife protection," the website stated.

It is understood Spanish journalist David Beriain, 44, and cameraman Roberto Fraile, 47, were working with Mr Young on a documentary about poachers when they came under attack.

A voice recording which purports to be from a jihadist organisation known as JNIM, which has links to al-Qaida, has claimed responsibility for the attack, The Associated Press has reported.

In a statement issued this morning, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, expressed his "sincere condolences to Rory Youngs family, and to the families of the two Spanish nationals who also lost their lives in this tragic incident."

Rory Young dedicated his life to wildlife protection. Picture: Twitter

Mr Coveney said the Department of Foreign Affairs is in contact with the family of Mr. Young and continues to provide all possible consular assistance.

He condemned 'in the strongest possible terms' the actions of those who are responsible for this attack.

"We will continue to liaise with the authorities and partners on the ground on the matter," the Minister added.

A statement from the Burkina Faso Government stated that the bodies of the dead have not yet been recovered, but videos confirm the deaths.

The Chengeta Wildlife website described Rory Young as a pro guide, ranger, anti-poaching strategist/trainer and author.

According to his bio, he was "an expert tracker with amazing knowledge, skills and highly developed intuition to become one of the best in his field."

Mr Young dedicated his life to wildlife protection and he co-authored, A Field Manual For Anti-Poaching Activities, a guide that provides "workable solutions to poaching.

"It is with deepest sorrow and regret that Chengeta Wildlife confirms the death of Rory Young, our co-founder and CEO," said Chengeta Wildlife in a statement.

"Rory was leading a wildlife protection patrol in Arly National Park, Burkina Faso on 26th April 2021 when they were attacked by terrorists which resulted in his death and that of two Spanish journalists who were capturing his efforts to protect precious wildlife.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased right now. We respectfully request your patience, time and understanding as we deal with the loss of our inspirational leader."

In his own Twitter bio, Mr Young described himself as "Doing what I can before it is too late."

"Do what you can too."

- Additional Reporting: PA
In this April 24, 2021, file photo, multiple funeral pyres of those who died of COVID-19 burn at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for the mass cremation of coronavirus victims, in New Delhi, India. India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday, April 28, 2021 of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse.

The health ministry reported a single-day record 3,293 COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing India's total fatalities to 201,187, as the world's second most populous country endures its darkest chapter of the pandemic yet.

The country also reported 362,757 new infections, a new global record, which raised the overall total past 17.9 million. The previous high of 350,000 on Monday had capped a five-day streak of recording the largest single-day increases in any country throughout the pandemic.

India, a country of nearly 1.4 billion people, is the fourth to cross 200,000 deaths, behind the United States, Brazil and Mexico. And as in many nations, experts believe the coronavirus infections and fatalities in India are severe undercounts.

The first known COVID-19 death in India happened on March 12, 2020, in southern Karnataka state. It took five months to reach the first 50,000 dead. The toll hit 100,000 deaths in the next two months in October 2020 and 150,000 three months later in January this year. Deaths slowed until mid-March, only to sharply rise again.

In this April 21, 2021, file photo, multiple funeral pyres of victims of COVID-19 burn in a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for mass cremation, in New Delhi, India. India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday, April 28, 2021 of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse. (AP Photo, File)

For the past week, more than 2,000 Indians have died every day.

India thought it had weathered the worst of the pandemic last year, but the virus is now racing through its population and systems are beginning to collapse.

Hospitalizations and deaths have reached record highs, overwhelming health care workers. Patients are suffocating because hospitals' oxygen supplies have run out. Desperate family members are sending SOS messages on social media, hoping someone would help them find oxygen cylinders, empty hospital beds and critical drugs for their loved ones. Crematoriums have spilled over into parking lots, lighting up night skies in some cities.

With its health care system sinking fast, India is now looking at other nations to pull it out of the record surge that is barreling through one state and then another.

In this April 25, 2021, file photo, a man in protective suit digs earth to bury the body of a person who died of COVID-19 in Gauhati, India. India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday, April 28, 2021 of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

Many countries have offered assistance, including the U.S., which has promised to help with personal protective equipment, tests and oxygen supplies. The U.S. will also send raw materials for vaccine production, strengthening India's capacity to manufacture more AstraZeneca doses.

Health experts say huge gatherings during Hindu festivals and mammoth election rallies in some states have accelerated the unprecedented surge India is seeing now.

They also say the government's mixed messaging and its premature declarations of victory over the virus encouraged people to relax when they should have continued strict adherence to physical distancing, wearing masks and avoiding large crowds.

The national capital New Delhi is in lockdown, as are the southern states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Some other states, too, have enforced restrictions in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.

In this April 26, 2021, file photo, health workers and relatives carry the body of a COVID-19 victim for cremation in Jammu, India. India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday, April 28, 2021 of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)

India has also called on its armed forces to help fight the devastating crisis. India's chief of Defense Staff, General Bipin Rawat, said late Monday that oxygen supplies would be released from armed forces reserves and its retired medical personnel would join health facilities to ease the pressure on doctors.

Meanwhile, India's vaccination program appears to be struggling. So far nearly 10% of the country's population have received one jab, but just over 1.5% have received both vaccines.

Indians 18 and older will be eligible for a vaccine from Saturday.

Meanwhile, the loss of lives is accelerating.

Radha Gobindo Pramanik is among the countless Indians who lost a family member to the virus. His daughter, Navanita Paramanik Rajput, died on April 18.

At first, Rajput complained of colds and fever. But when the 37-year-old's oxygen levels started to drop, her father and husband decided to take her to a government hospital.

In this April 20, 2021, file photo, notices informing about the shortage of COVID-19 vaccine is displayed on the gate of a vaccination centre in Mumbai, India. India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday, April 28, 2021 of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

In this April 24, 2021, file photo, a COVID-19 patient sits inside a car and breathes with the help of oxygen provided by a Gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship, in New Delhi, India. India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday, April 28, 2021 of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

In this April 19, 2021, file photo, health workers prepare to take out from an ambulance bodies of six people who died of COVID-19 for cremation, in New Delhi, India. India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday, April 28, 2021 of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

In this April 25, 2021, file photo, municipal workers prepare to bury the body of a person who died of COVID-19 in Gauhati, India. India crossed a grim milestone Wednesday, April 28, 2021 of 200,000 people lost to the coronavirus as a devastating surge of new infections tears through dense cities and rural areas alike and overwhelms health care systems on the brink of collapse. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

Pramanik said she came out of the ambulance smiling but by the time her husband finished filling the hospital registration form, her daughter was gasping for breath.

"Before I could understand anything, she collapsed in the arms of her husband," Pramanik said, sobbing.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

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"I want to express my great appreciation to Suburban Propane for making such a generous contribution to the kids of Santa Fe," said Mayor Alan Webber. "Suburban Propane recognizes the big difference that Spanish-language books and toys that nurture development can make in the life of a young person. It means a lot for the company to give that kind of support to our families and we're enormously grateful."

"Thank You Mayor Webber, we are tremendously honored to serve the state of New Mexico and by your proclamation of declaring April 28, 2021 as Suburban Propane Day. Giving back to our local communities is the cornerstone of our SuburbanCares commitment," said Nandini Sankara, Spokesperson for Suburban Propane. "It's gratifying to join forces with Growing Up New Mexico to make a difference and donating books and toys to young children in the underserved communities of Santa Fe."

This initiative is part of Suburban Propane's SuburbanCares platform which is dedicated to supporting community efforts across their footprint in the United States. This year, Suburban Propane is undertaking initiatives to help children in underserved communities, including in Philadelphia, PA; Santa Rosa, CA; Charleston, SC; Detroit, MI; Worcester, MA; and New Brunswick, NJ. In addition, the SuburbanCares corporate pillar has focused on giving back to the frontline healthcare professionals by providing meals in some of the most COVID-19 affected regions in the nation; including Florida, California, Texas, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Washington, DC.

"We thank Suburban Propane for their generosity. At Growing Up New Mexico, we have programs for families and childcare providers with children under 5 years old. Our commitment is to provide developmental toys that demonstrate the creativity and resourcefulness of children. We also mail children's books in Spanish to over 500 families quarterly to encourage communication and learning for our bilingual and Spanish language home environments," said Abby Bordner, Vice President of Development, Growing Up New Mexico: The Early Childhood Partnership. "SuburbanCares has helped us provide the essential tools to help families support early learning and we thank them for their support."

About Suburban Propane:

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH), a nationwide distributor of propane, renewable propane, fuel oil and related products and services, as well as a marketer of natural gas and electricity and investor in low carbon fuel alternatives, servicing over 1 million customers through its 700 locations across 41 states. The company proudly celebrated 90 years of innovation, growth and quality service in 2018. The brand is currently focused on three core elements including Suburban Commitment - showcasing the company's 90+ year legacy of flexibility, reliability and dependability, Suburban Cares - highlighting dedication to serving local communities across the nation and Go Green with Suburban Propane - promoting the affordable, clean burning and versatile nature of propane as a bridge to a green energy future. Suburban Propane is a New York Stock Exchange listed limited partnership headquartered in Whippany, NJ.

For additional information on Suburban Propane, please visit https://www.suburbanpropane.com/.

About Growing up New Mexico: The Early Childhood Partnership

Growing up New Mexico's mission is to engage the whole community, bringing together people and resources to create increased opportunities for children and families to achieve their dreams and aspirations. They envision a community where all children succeed in school and life. Their strategy is to employ a multi-generation approach, supporting both children and their families in a series of high-quality early childhood programs designed to prepare children to enter kindergarten ready to succeed. Growing Up New Mexico also influences statewide policy that prioritizes children, prenatal through age five, and the adults in their lives.

In partnership with the Santa Fe Public Schools, Growing Up New Mexico has purchased the former Kaune Elementary School in the Casa Linda neighborhood. This site is the home of the newly opened Early Learning Center at Kaune which provides high-quality, full-day, dual-language Early PreK and PreK to three and four-year-olds.

For additional information, visit https://growingupnm.org.

SOURCE Suburban Propane Partners, L.P.

Related Links

http://suburbanpropane.com


Richard Barnett became well known after a photo of him putting his feet on House Speaker Nancy Pelosis desk during U.S. Capitol Building insurrection surfaced. But a judge this week determined he is not dangerous enough to stay in jail as he awaits trial.

Instead, Barnett will be released and will be under a GPS monitor in Arkansas, CNN reported.

The chief judge of the D.C. District Court said Barnett needed to stay in jail shortly after the riot, the news station reported. However, defendants who were not accused of assault or planning an attack have mostly been released while the wait for trail, according to CNN.

Mr. Barnett is a funny man. Hes a jokester, he doesnt have a real clear sense of boundaries. If he could take it back, he likely would. But we cant unring the bell at this point, Barnetts attorney, Joseph D. McBride, told CNN when asked if Barnett was a fan of Pelosi or if he would describe her in disparaging terms.

The FBI said it has arrested more than 300 people who took part in the Capitol riots, including Troy Sargent of Pittsfield; Brian McCreary of North Adams; Suzanne Ianni, a Natick Town Meeting member; Mark Sahady from Malden; and Anne Lorenz from Milford.

The FBI has also released 10 videos hoping to identify some of the most violent offenders.

More than 65 were arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers, the FBI said in a statement. However, some of the most violent offenders have yet to be identified, including the 10 seen assaulting officers.

Related Content:
In the aftermath of President Joe Bidens announcement to formally recognize Armenian genocide from 1915, two pieces of media went viral. The first was an Independent article from 2019 about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatening to recognize Native American genocide perpetrated by European settlers. The second was a clip of former Republican Senator for Pennsylvania and CNN commentator Rick Santorum saying,  We birthed a nation from nothing. Each sparked conversations on the legitimacy of the US issuing statements about genocide across the pond when it has not yet reckoned with its own history of Native American genocide.

Pamunkey descendant Kiros Auld tweeted the Independent article from 2019  which was titled Erdogan threatens to recognise killings of Native Americans as genocide in response to Armenia resolution  and added, 2019. We remembered. His move now. It has currently been quote-tweeted 1,138 times, mostly by users urging Erdogan to make good on his threat. Because, while many argue that America has indeed recognized its genocide of Native Americans, thats just not true. We are given watered-down lessons in school touching on displacement or an emphasis on how Natives engaged in warfare against settlers in self-defense to justify wholesale genocide. All too often, US policy is absolved by blaming disease and other factors for the decline in Indigenous populations.

War, slavery and displacement also contributed to the decline of indigenous populations, wrote Vincent Wood in his article. Theres another word to describe all of that: Genocide. Without recognizing it, the US governments credibility on international policy will be subject to disingenuous whataboutism and Native genocide will be exploited against the US. Struggles are often co-opted in bad faith, but cant be argued against because theyre legitimate issues.

Media Matters researcher Jason Campbell posted that video clip of CNN commentator Rick Santorum making the aforementioned remarks at a conservative conference. In it, the GOP political commentator says, We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here. I mean, yes we have Native Americans but candidly there isnt much Native American culture in American culture. Aside from being completely false, Santorum was glorifying a dangerous ideology.

Manifest Destiny was the belief that European settlers were ordained by God to set up their empire across the North American continent. It was a religious, white supremacist movement that encouraged expansion. Several atrocities were committed against Indigenous people as a result. This included boarding schools where Natives were forced to attend in order to kill the Indian, and save the man, an infamous quote from the founder of Carlisle Indian Industrial School, General Richard H. Pratt. Native children were forced to cut their hair and convert to Christianity. They were given Christian names and forced to speak only English.

Santorum was speaking at a function for Catholic high school and college students titled Standing Up For Faith & Freedom. Ironically enough, his comments were part of an agenda being taught to young people under the topic The Fight For Religious Freedom. To be clear, perpetuating the lie that nothing existed before settlers colonized what is now America is genocide denial.

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School was located in Rick Santorums home state of Pennsylvania. The barracks still exist today as part of the US Army War College. This willful ignorance from someone who served in the Senate doesnt stop at one former politician: Natives are often given the footnote treatment in the rewriting of American history. The genocidal legacy of US policy was passed down through generations and the effects are ongoing.

The United States formally recognizing Armenian genocide is a good thing. It demonstrates that the government is capable of evolving on issues. But in order for America to maintain credibility on issues of human rights or past atrocities, it must also recognize its own history and work towards rectifying it.
New Delhi:

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday claimed that one of the two arrested ISIS terrorists was working in a hospital that Congress MP Ahmed Patel was associated with.

Gujarat CM at a press conference demanded Congress clarification and sought the resignation of Ahmed Patel from Rajya Sabha.

One of the arrested terrorists was working in the multi-speciality hospital in Bharuch districts Ankleshwar being run by Ahmed Patel. He should resign from the Rajya Sabha, the CM said.

"If Ahmed Patel was a patron of the hospital from where 2 suspected ISIS terrorists were arrested then should he be not held responsible," he added.

Two ISIS sympathisers, Mohammad Kasis Stimberwala and Ubed Ahmed Mirza, were arrested on Wednesday and booked for criminal conspiracy, against the government of India.

The Congress has played down the claims of Rupani and said "such baseless statements are being made by BJP and Gujarat CM to hide their incompetence."

BJP & Gujarat CM Rupani trying to hide their incompetence by making such baseless statements: Randeep Surjewala, Congress pic.twitter.com/rn3r28t6Nv  ANI (@ANI) October 27, 2017

Reacting to Rupani's claims, Ahmed Patel said, We request that matters of national security not be politicised keeping elections in mind. Lets not divide peace loving Gujaratis while fighting terrorism.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
On aSafari there is a variety of learning journeys (from project management to dance classes, etc.) and we will be hosting virtual events such as DJs livestreams, fundraising events, and so on.

aSafari offers the opportunity to our Guides (Teachers) to start giving classes online to a worldwide audience with no starting costs.

And our Travellers (Students) to have access to affordable learning journeys that they would not have access to elsewhere (because of the price or the non-availability of the content).

aSafari is the only EdTech platform that has a livestream feature integrated and that offers live support to its community of students and teachers.

'Representation matters! I have the career I have today because I was able to be inspired and identify myself into somebody else who looked like me and who have a similar life experience to mine'. Kelly David Nzeyimana - Cofounder & Director of Operations.

aSafari is currently open to onboard more Guides (Teachers) on their platform to contribute to their mission and vision.

'Our mission is to create wealth and knowledge within afro-descendants communities and to do so we aim to be a world reference in online learning journeys and virtual events'. Kelly David Nzeyimana - Cofounder & Director of Operations.

SOURCE Asafari Inc.

For further information: The team can be reached at [email protected]
Residents of a Cornelius neighborhood have been asked to stay inside while police investigate a possible explosive device found in a stolen car that was driving through the area.

Around 7:30 p.m., Washington County sheriffs deputies stopped a car on South Beech Street between 20th and 21st Street, on suspicion that the car was stolen. While stopping the driver, police found a suspicious device.

Sgt. Danny DiPietro said around 9:20 p.m. that members of the Portland Police bomb squad were on their way to investigate the device, and that for the time being, residents did not need to evacuate the area but should stay indoors.

Just after 10 p.m., the sheriffs office reported that 34-year-old Robert Larson was arrested on charges related to the stolen car and possession of a destructive device.

The device was secured by a bomb unit from the Portland Police Bureau. No injuries were reported.

The material inside the device was later determined to be explosive powder.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR
Arabian Centres Company, a leading owner, developer and operator of lifestyle shopping centres in Saudi Arabia, has awarded a SR257.3 million ($68.5 million) contract to Lynx Contracting Company for the construction of a new shopping centre in Madinah.

The project, Madina Walk, will be the second addition to ACC's portfolio of shopping centres in the city, and is set to add about 57,000 sq m to its gross leasable areas (GLA), said ACC in its filing to the Saudi bourse Tadawul.

The retail pioneer said in addition to the construction and development of the commercial centre, Lynx Contracting will be responsible for site preparation, excavation, backfilling and land leveling works.

Work on the project will start soon and is likely to be completed in 14 months, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Ottawa, April 28 : The Canadian government has announced to provide help of 10 million Canadian dollars (About Rs 60 crore) to India to fight the situation that emerged following the outbreak of the worst Covid-19 wave.

Canadian minister Karina Gould tweeted on Tuesday night: "Announced today: We are providing $10 million through the @redcrosscanada to the @IndianRedCross to support people in India as they combat #COVID19." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday retweeted the tweet with the caption: "Right now, the people of India are facing a tragic situation. To help with everything from ambulance services to buying personal protective equipment, we're contributing $10 million to @IndianRedCross through @RedCrossCanada. We stand ready to donate extra medical supplies, too." India on Wednesday reported over three lakh fresh Covid-19 cases for the seventh consecutive day. According to the health ministry data, a total of 3,60,960 new cases and 3,293 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
[April 28, 2021] Jeff Le Joins Rhino as VP of Public Policy and External Affairs

Today, Rhino announces that Jeff Le will join their senior leadership team as its VP of Public Policy and External Affairs. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005150/en/ Jeff Le (Photo: Business Wire) Jeff Le joins Rhino as the Renter's Choice movement gains momentum nationwide, passing in Cincinnati, Atlanta, and, most recently, Baltimore, and city and state legislators recognize the need for security deposit alternatives during COVID-19 recovery. As the former Deputy Cabinet Secretary to former California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., Jeff garnered bipartisan support for $4.4 billion in supplemental wildfire funding for California's historic climate disasters and helped secure a $1 billion veterans housing bond for the state's 1.6 million veterans. He also negotiated between parties fo the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 to protect consumer data and hardened the state's cybersecurity footprint.



Jeff comes to Rhino from VMware, a computer software company, where he oversaw the company's state level work across 50 states as the U.S. State and Local Public Policy Lead. On behalf of VMware, he successfully defeated anti-LGBTI and anti-inclusionary legislation in seven states, and led the company's coalition building for the passage of Georgia's first hate crime law. He also spearheaded bipartisan cybersecurity and privacy legislative language across multiple states and helped establish VMware as a technology thought leader in the state of California as a leading voice on the California Blockchain Working Group. "All I can think about is working-class families who are asking themselves what their housing situation is going to look like when eviction moratoriums are lifted after the pandemic. American families in this time of hardship are looking for common-sense solutions that work for them," said Mr. Le. "What Rhino offers is an understandable alternative at a time where our most economically disrupted and vulnerable communities need freedom of choice more than ever."

"As the Renter's Choice movement grows, it's crucial that we have Jeff's expertise," said Paraag Sarva, CEO of Rhino. "With his guidance, Rhino can continue to effectively advocate for win-win solutions to increase the access and affordability of housing for the 110 million renters nationwide, and make security deposit alternatives more available to those who need it most." About Rhino Rhino was founded to give renters everywhere greater financial freedom to plan and enjoy their lives. We eliminate the need for traditional security deposits by replacing them with smart, affordable insurance so renters can maintain control of their cash. Instead of a large upfront cash security deposit, renters pay Rhino a small monthly fee, and Rhino insures the property owner for damages that might occur and lost rent. To date, we are offered in over 1 million homes, and we have saved renters over $300 million in cash. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005150/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
European Funds Minister Cristian Ghinea said on Wednesday that he presented to the European Commission the position agreed by the Romanian Government on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and made it clear that of the investments for transport, the 4.5 billion euros that go to the railway infrastructure remains unchanged.

"I haven't heard anyone have any concerns about the way we negotiated in Brussels, where we presented, as I told President Iohannis, Romania's position, the one agreed in the Government. There are several ministers who are unhappy that the Commission's feedback brings some aspects that make us, when we prioritise, cut more. (...) When you have 41 billion, everyone loves you in government. When you have to bring in 29 billion, nobody loves you anymore. We proposed, even today in the Government, we had a discussion, a method by which to reach 29 billion. Everything that means green, everything that means digital remains. (...) We take those recommendations, where the Commission says that we do not have country recommendations, that we do not have enough reforms. Ministries must propose reforms," said Cristian Ghinea, in the Senate, where he participates in the governing coalition's meeting.

As for the road side, he explained that the financing of road transport in the PNRR is not approved by the European Commission.

"From the transport side, of 9 billion, 4.5 billion are for railways. The Commission has nothing against it. On the contrary, everyone salutes. The Commission says 'this financial mechanism has not been made for road infrastructure'. We understand, but we have this national priority. We also have projects and we need funding in the next 10 years on this subject," Ghinea added.

The minister pointed out that the motorway to Moldavia has 2 billion euros allocated from the Operational Transport Programme.
Its much more fashionable these days to talk about abolishing the police, but there are nefarious actors on the finance front who are still doing harm to the welfare of ordinary citizens. One is the Office of the Controller of the Currency, or the OCC, which regulates nation banks and Federal savings associations. It has the weird half-pregnant status of being an independent branch of the Treasury. The OCC has become not just hopelessly captured, but also so impregnable to reform that as well see below, Georgetown law professor Adam Levitin, who was special counsel to the Congressional Oversight Panel and later a significant force in fighting foreclosure and servicing abuses, is calling for its abolition.

Admittedly, Levitin is amplifying an article in March by Carter Dougherty at Washington Monthly, Abolish the Comptroller of the Currency. The trigger for Levitins post is a new offense by the OCC. Levitin walks through how the OCC is lobbying to defend its Orwellianly-named True Lender rule, by defending sham transactions that allow banks to evade state usury laws.even though the Supreme Court and many state supreme courts have held that substance, and not form, is what dictates the application of usury laws.

For a Beltway insider like Levitin to join the calls to shutter the OCC says that the stench of corruption at the OCC has become too noisome to perfume away.

Well give a bit of sorry history via our introduction to a 2014 cross post from Bill Black, OCC as Case Study of How Regulators Decide to Fail:

The OCC, despite being less visible to the general public than the Fed, Treasury, and the FDIC, played an important role in deregulation, specifically, the notion of pre-emption, which allowed OCC regulated national banks to ignore state banking rules. The OCC was also the evil genius behind the get-out-of-jail-almost-free card of the 2011 servicing consent orders. The consent orders mandated what was meant to be an exercise in compliance theater, the Independent Foreclosure Reviews. Unfortunately, it was badly enough thought out that it served as a ginormous fee-generating exercise for not-really-that-independent consultants while failing both to understand how bad the borrower abuses were and providing capricious, inadequate compensation to wronged homeowners. A new Comptroller, Tom Curry, took the helm when the Independent Foreclosure Review embarrassment, which he inherited, was major news. Curry gets high marks from insiders as being serious about wanting to reform the OCC. He took some decisive steps early on, forcing out its dreadful, long-standing bank stooge Chief Counsel, Julie Williams, and was widely believed to have demoted another bank-friendly senior staffer (it was dressed up as a voluntary reassignment). But Currys big challenge was reforming the banks badly captured examination staff. As readers will see, Bill Black gives Curry a failing grade for the approach hes choosing to implement. Black pins the badly-conceived plan on the choice of a failed regulator as designer of the new program. I havent sussed out why Curry made this choice, as in whether he was pressured or this was bad judgment on this part. Im highlighting this post for a basic reason: theres a lot of cynicism about regulation. Many Americans have bought the right-wing line that regulations cant work. But here, whether by accident or design, a reform plan is going off the rails due to bad strategic choices. By all accounts, Curry at least at one point was deadly serious about taking on the badly captured OCC examination staff. Id be curious to get informed intelligence as to why events have taken this turn.

Back to the present post. I hate to shamelessly toot the Naked Capitalism horn, but it was this humble site that blew open the cover-ups and falsifications in an extensive series based on detailed whistleblower accounts and documents. See Bank of America Foreclosure Reviews: Whistleblowers Reveal Extensive Borrower Harm and Orchestrated Coverup (Part I  Executive Summary) and for your further delectation, Bank of America Foreclosure Reviews: Why the OCC Overlooked Independent Reviewer Promontorys Keystone Cops Act (Part VB).

Bill Black patiently and brutally took apart the report by Jonathan Fiechter. This vignette alone speaks volumes:

Fiechters report describes a disaster waiting to happen  and prescribes responses that will make it worse. While the article describes Fiechter as a former OCC official, his claim to infamy is as acting director (from late 1992- mid-1996) that did so much to ruin the OTS and set the stage for the most recent crisis. (Think about the implications of that for a moment: President Clinton left an acting director that he inherited from President Bush in charge of a federal agency for four years  and then replaced him with a part-time director.) Fiechter was an avid supporter of the Reinventing Government crusade during the Clinton-Gore administration that gutted the FDIC and the OTS. The FDIC lost over three-quarters of its staff and the OTS over half its staff. The gravest damage, however, was Fiechters elimination of the vital loan underwriting rule that we had used to drive liars loans out of the S&L industry in 1990-1991 and his embrace of the regulatory race to the bottom in which OTS attempted to have weaker rules than the banking regulators. The Fiechter study made only the barest pretense of being a study. For example, the on-site work of the team  took place from October 28 to November 5, 2013. The nature of the exercise did not permit an in-depth analysis of any particular areas. Yes, an entire week and not a single area considered in-depth. OK, but they could have used their time when they were not on-site at the OCC to read the key OCC documents. Except, they didnt do that: The team did not review the extensive set of OCC supervisory handbooks and supervisory guidance. Oh, and their on-site visit consisted largely of reading documents selected by the OCC for their review. There was no pretense that Fiechter was conducting an independent review.

While Black describes many failings at the OCC, one stands out: they heavy use of resident examiners who live at the banks they nominally supervise. These examiners rapidly develop much closer personal relationships with the bank employees they see every day than their bosses and colleagues at the OCC. Black argued that an obvious reform would be to greatly reduce the number of resident examiners and increase the number of visiting examiners with expertise in various supervisory issues.

Seven years later, and Levitin is calling for the abolition of the OCC because he sees the regulators front line staff as so deeply captured by banks as to be immune to reform. Youd have to get rid of most of the rank and file and start over. Levitin also describes how the OCC is not an essential regulator and its continued existence appears solely to preserve various types of regulatory arbitrage, some of which are remarkably blatant.

From Levitin at Credit Slips:

Carter Dougherty published a carefully researched article calling for the abolition of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He argued that the OCC was too friendly with the industry it regulated and as a result it was frequently failing to do its job. Abolishing a federal agency is an extreme step, but I think in this case it really needs to be given serious consideration. For starters, the dual banking system is a chimerapart lion, part goat, part snakethat no one would ever design from scratch. Obviously, a first step is putting in place a good Senate-confirmed Comptroller. But Im increasingly skeptical that such reform can be achieved simply with the right person heading the agency. The real problem with the agency isnt about who is its head, but the fundamental outlook of many of the civil servants in the front-office. Its not a partisan issue, but a capture problem: too many of the OCCs front office career employees truly believe that the OCC is supposed to advocate for banks rather than regulate them in the publics interest. The proof of this is Tom Currys tenure as Comptroller. Curry was on the right side of policy issues, but he did not have the ability to fight the staff regarding a repeal of the OCCs patently illegal 2011 preemption regulations.Im skeptical that it will be possible to overcome the intellectual capture of the career front office employees. Thats why I think Carter Doughertys right and abolishing the OCCand ending the dual banking systemshould start to get serious policy consideration. If this seems drastic, consider what an anomaly the OCC is. It exists because there is federal chartering of banks. The federal government is not generally in the business of giving out corporate charters The federal government got into the bank chartering business as a way of financing the Civil War: national banks were given the privilege of issuing national bank notes, which were legal tender currency accepted by the federal government for taxes (and used for paying government obligations), but they could only issue those notes in proportion to their holdings of government debt. In other words, the national banking system was created to monetize the federal debt. In that sense, the national banking system was very much a federal instrumentality and fell squarely within Congresss necessary and proper power under MCulloch v. Maryland. National banks, however, havent issued notes since 1935. They are no longer tools for monetizing the federal debt. Today it is hard to see how national banking charters fall within necessary and proper. National banks no longer serve any federal purpose. They are not federal instrumentalities in any sense, and its been decades since the Supreme Court has referred to them as such. All of which is to say that besides the policy desirability of having a separate national bank charter, I think it is of dubious constitutionality.

Lets hope this campaign gets more steam. It would be nice to see at least one bad actor removed from the stage.
AcctTwo_Understanding Church Finances Im overwhelmed by the amount of engagement we saw, how people were helping each other, and the eagerness to grow and learn.

AcctTwo, the cloud accounting and finance experts, warmly welcomed a record number of church and nonprofit finance leaders to their recent church conference. Now in its sixth year, the 2021 AcctTwo Faith-Based Finance Conference hosted more than 200 virtual attendees on March 24-25, 2021. The conference provided customers, prospects, partners, and employees educational and informational content focused on understanding church finances, the tools available to help them manage their churches, and how to best support their growing organizations in 2021 and beyond.

Typically held in person in the greater Dallas, TX area, the AcctTwo team overcame obstacles to provide 15 online sessions over two half days covering topics such as advanced ERP functions, legal outlooks for 2021, challenges in the hybrid work world, and more. Customer panels and thought leadership sessions with experts in the industry were also offered to attendees. Opportunities to network and collaborate with peers took place during Fireside Chats, virtual breakout sessions designed to foster discussion and sharing.

Our team is so passionate about being a resource to our community. Im overwhelmed by the amount of engagement we saw, how people were helping each other, and the eagerness to grow and learn. Its absolute proof our mission is on the right track and I am incredibly proud of our team for going so far beyond the extra mile to host a virtual event for the first time as well, said Allison Webb, AcctTwos Head of Nonprofit Vertical.

Leaders from nonprofit, faith-based, and aid organizations across the country logged in to inform their financial outlook for the coming year and gain a sense of community and support from their peers and the AcctTwo experts. The virtual aspect of the event provided wider access to industry-specific information and general knowledge. For example, in one session entitled Simplifying Your Church Budget Challenges, attendees were educated on common budgeting challenges, five common mistakes, and how to address them.

Topics included:



New Functionality for Church Finances

Nonprofit Dashboards

Legal Outlook for 2021

Challenges in the New Hybrid Work World

Customer Panels

Sponsors for the event included Altec, APS, AvidXchange, BetterSpaces, Bill.com, FloQast, Martus, MortarStone, Emburse Nexonia, Pushpay, Sage Intacct, TouchPoint, Venn Technology, and Vision2.

About AcctTwo

AcctTwo is focused on delivering the future of finance and accounting to its customers. AcctTwo has three main solutions  Cloud Accounting Software, Finance-as-a-Service outsourced accounting services, and Software Development, powered by the only accounting software that is AICPA endorsed. Our dedicated team of more than 100 people has helped nearly 1,000 organizations through their digital transformation with software implementations, accounting outsourcing, and consulting. AcctTwo is seven-time Sage Intacct Partner of the Year and was named four times to the Inc. 5000 and was recently named on the Inc. 5000 Regional: Texas list. AcctTwo has been recognized by our customers as a leader in overall satisfaction and popularity through their reviews on G2.

AcctTwo is headquartered in Houston, Texas. For more information about accounting software and solutions, please visit https://www.accttwo.com or call 713-744-8400.
Syracuse, NY -- An Alabama man decided not to show up for his own attempted kidnapping trial in Syracuse this week, but a jury acquitted him anyway.

Darnell Williams, 31, was accused of trying to forcibly abduct a 9-year-old girl waiting for the school bus on a South Side street the morning of March 2, 2020.

The stranger told the girl to come with him. When she refused, he promised her something if she came with him. When she refused again, he pulled a knife and threatened that something was going to happen if she didnt do what he wanted.

When she refused yet again, he grabbed her by her hood and started dragging her down the street. The girl fought off the attack and managed to call her mother, scaring the stranger enough that he fled, prosecutor Megan Peter told the jury in closing arguments Wednesday.

But the jury found that Williams -- whose mug shot was displayed before the jury in his absence -- was not proven to be the culprit. The panel deliberated for only two hours or so -- including lunch -- before finding Williams not guilty.

The girl, who testified during trial, didnt get a clear look at the attacker, who was wearing a red jacket, blue jeans and sneakers. The attack happened at West Borden and Landon avenues.

There was no DNA linking anyone to the attack, and the girl could not pick out her assailant during a photo police lineup. In fact, she first picked a picture of a man who was not a suspect in the case, then said she didnt recognize anyone in a second series of six photos that included Williams face.

Defense lawyer Matthew Dotzler also pointed out that Williams was the third suspect police tried to build a case against. The first suspect was a white man with a beard; Williams was described as a light-skinned man of color with a mustache.

There was also another man wearing a red jacket in the area around the same time as the attack, based on security footage. Dotzler didnt accuse that man of being the suspect -- he was wearing khakis, not jeans -- but pointed out how many people walk around wearing red jackets.

Peter, the prosecutor, argued that Williams was the only man in the area who fit the entire description of the attacker. She also noted that Williams was seen on security cameras near the girls residence and bus stop around the time of the attack. And when questioned by police, Williams claimed that he walked to a corner store and then back to his sisters house, when security cameras show him wandering around the neighborhood.

Perhaps the biggest dispute -- which spilled over into closing arguments -- was whether the young victim had identified a knife found at the house where Williams was staying as the weapon used in the attack.

Peter approached the girl in court with the seized knife and asked the girl if that was the weapon, which the girl said it was. But Dotzler objected, arguing that wasnt proof that the girl was sure that was the actual weapon.

Dotzler pointed out that the girl had previously told authorities that she couldnt exactly see what the weapon was.

County Court Judge Stephen Dougherty let Peters commentary on the knife stand, but noted that the jurys recollection of the evidence is what mattered.

Williams whereabouts during his trial was not explained to the jury. His primary residence is in Alabama.

He had faced more than a decade in prison if convicted of attempted kidnapping and related charges. Now, he wont ever have to set foot in Syracuse again.

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.
Health workers and relatives carry the body of a COVID-19 victim for cremation in Jammu, India, on April 26, 2021. (Channi Anand/AP Photo)

India Tops 200,000 CCP Virus Deaths as Surge Strains Health System

Indias CCP virus surge has claimed more than 200,000 lives, a grim milestone in a pandemic-ravaged country whose health system is strained to the breaking point.

The health ministry on April 28 reported a single-day record of 3,293 COVID-19 deaths in the previous 24 hours, bringing Indias total fatalities to 201,187, as the worlds second-most populous country endures its darkest chapter of the outbreak yet. Indian authorities also reported 362,757 new infections, a new global record.

Hospitalizations have also hit record highs, overwhelming health care workers. Unavailability of beds, shortage of oxygen, and hours of waiting at crematoriums have combined with the staggering death and infection numbers, fueling an atmosphere of fear.

Whole system is messed up at hospitals, there is no oxygen at hospitals and no beds, people are dying in ambulances before reaching hospitals, what else will we feel [if not afraid]? said Delhi resident Amit Sharma, in an interview with Reuters.

Desperate family members are pleading for assistance on social media, asking for assistance finding oxygen cylinders, empty hospital beds, and critical drugs for their loved ones.

People are afraid that if I am talking to a person, maybe I wont get to talk to them tomorrow or soon. This [death toll] is 200,000 today, it can go up to 400,000 or even a million, Delhi resident Manoj Garg told Reuters.

Crematoriums have spilled over into parking lots, lighting up night skies in some cities.

With its health care system overwhelmed, India is now looking to other nations for help. Many countries have offered assistance, including the United States, which has promised to help with personal protective equipment, tests, and oxygen supplies.

India is facing a huge surge right now, and theres a lot of support that were currently exploring and what were providing that will be helpful on the ground immediately, White House senior administration officials said on a call with reporters on April 26.

At Indias request, were exploring options to provide oxygen and related supplies. These are resources that India has specifically requested and are very high on their priority list.

On the same day as the press call, President Joe Biden spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the leaders agreed to work closely together to fight the pandemic. The United Kingdom and the European Union have also reached out to India to provide urgent assistance.

Chinas communist regime has also pledged support, although Chinese state-run Sichuan Airlines suspended all cargo flights to India on April 26 for 15 days, seriously affecting the ability of locals to obtain oxygen concentrators and other urgently needed medical equipment. Chinese manufacturers of medical supplies have also raised prices of medical supplies by 35 to 40 percent, and freight charges have increased by more than 20 percent.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Senate Democrats Pressure Biden to Raise Refugee Admission Limit

A group of Senate Democrats is again pressuring President Joe Biden to raise the number of refugees being admitted into the United States in hopes that he would eventually increase the cap on refugees to 125,000 for the 2022 fiscal year, which begins in October.

Thirty-four Senate Democrats, led by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), made their request in a letter on Tuesday while also urging him to set a 62,500 refugee cap for this fiscal year by May 15, 2021.

Refugees are the most thoroughly vetted travelers to our country and can wait for years before they are resettled here. As of March 31, 2021, only 2,050 refugees had been resettled in the United States this fiscal year, the lawmakers wrote.

More than 35,000 refugees have reportedly been screened and preliminarily approved by the Department of Homeland Security for resettlement in the United States. We urge you to expeditiously and safely admit all qualified refugees who are waiting to be resettled.

The letter comes after the Biden administration issued mixed signals on refugee admission limits. The administration earlier this month issued a directive to keep the Trump administrations cap on refugee limits of 15,000 but hours later, following backlash from Democratic lawmakers, the White House issued a statement saying Biden would set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15.

Although the White House had initially denied allegations that the decision to keep the Trump-era limits was due to the surge of illegal immigrants at the U.S. southern border, Biden subsequently acknowledged the issue on April 17.

The problem was that the refugee part was working on the crisis that ended up on the border with young people. We couldnt do two things at once. But now we are going to increase the number, he said, referring to his intention to raise the cap in May.

The White House has also continued to pin blame on the previous administration for the challenge it faces in its ability to accept more refugees.

In terms of our considerations over time, we inherited an incredibly broken system. It left us with someand the President and others with some skepticism about what the system would bear. Hence, our announcement a couple of weeks ago was meant to be a first step, focused on announcing the resumption of flights and also the overturning of the xenophobic policies of the last administration that prevented refugees from applying from Africa and the Middle East, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.

She also did not dispute reports that stated the administration was considering raising the refugee cap to 62,500.

I would say that whatever the cap isif the cap is close to that or at thatit will continue to be challenging. But there are considerations, including the message were sending to the world and also the need to get the muscles working in the system, in the federal government, but also with all of the important partners out there in the United States and around the world that play an important role in refugees traveling to the United Stateshelp enable them to raise money, help enable them to hire staff, and get their systems ready so we can meet that 125 cap next year, she said.

The White Houses anticipated decision on the refugee cap comes against a backdrop of a significant surge of illegal immigration, which saw CBP agents apprehending over 172,000 illegal immigrants in March, 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 18,890 unaccompanied minors, which is double the number of minors who illegally arrived in the United States in February at 9,431 encounters. This is compared to 5,852 unaccompanied minors in January, and 4,993 unaccompanied minors in December 2020.

Republican lawmakers have long argued that the burgeoning crisis is a result of Bidens move to overturn several Trump-era immigration policies that helped curbed the flow of illegal border crossings. This includes his predecessors cornerstone Migrant Protection Protocol, which effectively ended the problematic catch and release policy, significantly stemming the surge of illegal immigrants that was seen 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. The lawmakers argue that Bidens act has been interpreted as a signal to prospective migrants to travel to the United States.

The Biden administration, on the other hand, has sought to shift the blame onto former President Donald Trumps administration, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas saying 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.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/27/2021



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

alum Rachel Lindsay has announced she's leaving the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast that she co-hosts with Becca Kufrin for her mental and emotional health and well-being.Rachel made her big announcement in the last four minutes of Bachelor Happy Hour podcast's 99th episode."I'm going to make this short and sweet: All good things must come to an end and I feel like certain things run their course and for me I have run my course when it comes to the podcast," Rachel began "You know we started off this podcast talking about how much fun it is, and it is, and the community that we've started and we're already here with 100 episodes and I'm proud of it and what it's become."The podcast started out with Rachel and former star Ali Fedotowsky serving as co-hosts. Rachel admitted she hasn't given the "fantastic" Ali "enough praise" since her departure.Rachel bragged about how Becca "didn't miss a beat" once she took over for Ali on the podcast and has been a "joy" to work with."It's been a lot of fun to see our friendship grow through the podcast, just to have fun with all the new blood that's coming in from the show to work through hard moments, to come here and vent when we're going through something -- like, that's what the podcast gives you, that community," Rachel continued."But for me, I've been struggling, that's no secret. And it's been really, really hard for me lately, and a lot of the things that we talk about on this podcast are also about taking care of yourself and finding your peace and protecting that peace and protecting your mental health."Rachel has been at the center of The Bachelor franchise's racism controversy.In February, Rachel, reporting for Extra, conducted an interview with longtime host Chris Harrison in which he defended The Bachelor Season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell 's racially-ignorant and racially-insensitive actions in the last several years.Chris came under fire for asking for "grace" and "compassion" for Rachael -- who posed for photos at an antebellum-themed "Old South" fraternity party at her Georgia college in 2018, for example -- and criticizing the "woke police" and "unbelievably alarming" response to Matt James ' eventual winner's history of racist behavior.Chris apologized multiple times for his interview comments amid backlash, and he ultimately chose to step aside from his The Bachelor hosting duties to educate himself on racism in society on a "profound" level.Members of Bachelor Nation rallied and petitioned for Chris to be fired from his position permanently, and Rachel said Chris had made "the right decision." Many fans who remained loyal and supportive of Chris blamed Rachel for Chris' leave of absence, and online bullying and harassment resulted in Rachel deleting her Instagram account and taking a break from the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast."And so for me, I just feel like I've come to the end of doing the podcast and I'm glad that I'm leaving on a high note where it's the 100th episode, it's such a big milestone," Rachel noted."This is the first podcast I've ever done and for me, it's just stepping away. You should never say 'never.' I'm definitely closing the door but I'm not locking it and throwing away the key. It's just I have to, for me, walk away."Rachel said she believes leaving the podcast with Becca means it's "in amazing hands.""For you [Becca], I just feel like this is at a place where I can walk away and I know it's all good and I know it's going to be great, and you've allowed me to have the space to step away when I needed to," Rachel shared."And I would listen to the podcast on the side and I'm like, 'Oh, she's got this,' and like, for me it's like, 'You can walk away now.' I can walk away; I'm doing some other things. I'm sure I'll pop in from time to time to say hello... or to pop off and vent."Rachel reiterated how it's "just time" for her to go and "move on" and she'll be supporting Becca and the Bachelor Happy Hour listeners and community "from a distance.""I just want to say thank you guys for riding with me for such a long time. Continue to ride with Becca -- support her and uplift her, and this podcast as well," Rachel concluded.The milestone 100th episode of Bachelor Happy Hour will mark Rachel's last appearance on the podcast and, according to People, a new co-host will be announced at a later date.Becca told Rachel, "I'm going to save a lot of my sentiments for next week because you're not done with me yet. I've still got you for one more episode, but I absolutely love you. I'm in awe of you. I'm inspired by you -- your loyalty, your friendship, your charisma, all of the things.""You've brought so much to this, not only to the podcast, but to our friendship. And so I know you say you're not going to lock the door and I hope you don't.""I always will welcome you back with open arms," Becca continued."It's not going to be the same without you and you know, selfishly, I don't want you to leave, but I totally understand for your mental health, for your sanity... and your head and your heart."Becca promised to always be Rachel's "biggest supporter" and someone she can depend on going forward."I'm going to miss you too," Rachel replied. "I'm not going to throw away the key, but I'm sure as hell going to lose it for a while. I need a change of scenery!"Ever since Chris' racism scandal made headlines, Rachel suggested on multiple occasions she's "had enough" with the franchise and its lack of diversity over the years and lack of change."I can't take it anymore," Rachel recently said on her other podcast, Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay , according to People."I'm contractually bound in some ways, but when it's up, I am, too. I can't. I can't do it anymore."When co-host Lathan asked where the current controversy puts her within the franchise, Lindsay acknowledged that while her experience with the show benefited her in ways a notably, it introduced her to now-husband Bryan Abasolo a she has "had enough."While Rachel met her husband Bryan Abasolo on 's thirteenth season and is thankful for that, she reportedly told Van Lathan that she's "f-cking tired" and "exhausted.""I have truly had enough. My entire reason for doing -- and I was lucky it worked out for me in the most beautiful way, in finding Bryan -- is that I wanted to be a representative as a Black woman to this audience," Rachel said."And I wanted to pave the way for more people to have this opportunity. In some ways, that has happened. I wanted the franchise to be better. I have a love-hate relationship with it. I'm connected to it."But Rachel has questioned whether she should remain affiliated with The Bachelor franchise during these challenging times.Rachel was the first Black star in 13 seasons, and Matt just starred as the first Black Bachelor in 25 seasons.'s upcoming seventeenth season, which just reportedly wrapped production on Monday, will be co-hosted by Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams when it premieres Monday, June 7 on ABC.It's unclear when or if Chris will resume his position and lead the show again, but he revealed on a March episode of Good Morning America he plans to be back Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
Now that the celestial bodies closer to our homeworld are the object of study for both government organizations and private companies, some groups feel free to really begin exploring more distant destinations. Some that are at least 600 million km (373 million miles) away.

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President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday unveiled Ardhisasa, a digital land information management system(NLIMS), marking the end of manual land transactions in Nairobi.

The new system was developed by a team of Kenyan techies over a three-year period and is designed to enhance the security of land records, speed up land transactions and curb fraud.

Speaking when he unveiled the new system at the National Geospatial Data Centre in Nairobi, President Kenyatta told Kenyans that the digital platform will protect them from exploitation by cartels, middlemen and fraudsters.

With the advent of ArdhiSasa, missing files, perennial fraud, corruption and illegal land transactions will be a matter of the past.

The full rollout of the programme will facilitate the resolution of historical land disputes and guarantee the security and sanctity of your land title deed, true to the clarion Shamba Lako, Hati Safi,  President Kenyatta said.

With todays unveiling of Ardhisasa, the manual lands information management system in Nairobi has been vacated. However, land owners who might not be able to access their records are advised to be patient as the Ministry of Lands continues to populate the digital platform.

As we transition fully into the National Land Information Management System and to safeguard public interest in this national endeavour, I call on all Kenyans to co-operate when called upon by the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning to provide any information required to conclude the validation of any land records, the President urged Kenyans.

President Kenyatta welcomed the full digitization of the Nairobi lands registry saying the exercise will be extended to the rest of the country in a phased and gradual manner.

Another 20 counties will be onboarded into the digital system by the end of the year. We project that all the counties will be covered by the end of 2022, President Kenyatta said.

The Head of State further pointed out that the new digital platform will benefit all landowners and potential landowners by providing accurate information required to support the commercialisation of land in a convenient and timely manner.

Ardhisasa project also saw the production of Kenyas first digital topographical map and those of the nations 47 counties, as well as a cadastral map for Nairobi City County.

The cadastral map enables the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning to start the process of migration to a unitary regime for land registration in order to curb fraud and cut transaction time.

It is also notable that public land has been separated from private land; and all public land in Nairobi has now been indexed, documented and safeguarded for public use, the President said.

President Kenyatta commended the team of young Kenyans who for the last three years worked to build and deploy a world-class system at a fraction of the cost previously used to finance unsuccessful attempts at digitization.

Your place of honour in the annals of our history is guaranteed and your contribution to moving the nation forward is immortalized through the work of your hands.

You have demonstrated once again that we can rely on home-grown solutions to develop our country; and underscored the cost-effectiveness of working together as one indivisible Government of Kenya, President Kenyatta praised the young Kenyans.

Lands CS Faridah Karoney said the digital platform will offer a one-stop-shop for all Government services and information on land.

On his part, Lands PS Dr Nicholas Muraguri said Ardhisasa platform will enable Kenyans to initiate and track land transactions from the comfort of their homes or offices using mobile phones or computers.
Apple will now offer an extra year of warranty on iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices sold in Spain. The Council of Ministers in Spain has approved a regulation that will force companies like Apple and Samsung to offer three years of warranty on their smartphones and other devices sold there, as opposed to two years of warranty they currently offer.

As reported by the Spanish blog iPadizate, the Government of Spain has passed a regulation, which will soon become a law, and will make it mandatory for Apple to offer an extra year of warranty in the country. In addition to the extra warranty, Apple and other OEMs have been ordered to keep spare parts for products for a minimum of 10 years.

This new standard is included in a Royal Decree-law and according to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, it takes a further step in the circular economy strategy and also includes new rights and guarantees for consumers or users.

Theres no information on when the regulation will become a law, and come into effect, but when it does, customers in Spain will be able to enjoy three years of warranty on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac, free of cost. Apple currently offers only one year of warranty on its products in countries like the USA, India, and the United Kingdom.

This isnt the first time Apple has changed its rule to adhere to the government rules. iPhone 12 series doesnt come with Earpods, (Apples wired earphones) bundled in the box. But Apple had to include the Earpods in its packaging for iPhones sold in France to comply with France Governments regulations.

In addition to this regulation, Spains government has also taken some actions against some services, like social networks and email clients, that collect the personal data of the user and use it for their benefit. More clarity on this will soon be available once the law comes into effect.

Have you bought an iPhone from Spain? What are your thoughts on the story? Let us know in the comments section below!

[Via iPadizate
Community News Editor / Librarian

Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. She can be reached at jmaschino@berkshireeagle.com.
[April 28, 2021] CTA Announces Return to Las Vegas for CES 2022

ARLINGTON, Va., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) today announced CES 2022, the world's most influential technology event, will return to Las Vegas next year. Following a successful all-digital CES 2021, CTA will convene the tech industry in-person and digitally, giving a global audience access to major brands and startups, as well as the world's most-influential leaders and industry advocates. CES heads back to Las Vegas Jan. 5-8, 2022, with Media Days taking place Jan. 3-4, 2022. Some 1000 companies have committed to showcasing their most innovative technologies in Las Vegas and companies are continuing to sign up. Attendees can expect to see global brandsincluding Amazon, AMD, AT&T, Daimler AG, Dell, Google, Hyundai, IBM, Intel, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics and Sony. Companies including Caterpillar, Indy Autonomous Challenge and Sierra Space are planning to make a Las Vegas debut in 2022. Eureka Park will return with startups representing countries around the world, including large delegations from France, Italy, the Netherlands and South Korea.



"We're thrilled to return to Las Vegas  home to CES for more than 40 years  and look forward to seeing many new and returning faces," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. "Hundreds of executives have told us how much they need CES to meet new and existing customers, find partners, reach media and discover innovation." Digital audiences will also experience the spirit of the live event in Las Vegas. The CES anchor desk, which debuted at CES 2021, will travel to Las Vegas and connect the digital audience with exhibitors, conference sessions, keynotes and product announcements from the live event. New content will also be added once CES departs Las Vegas, enabling attendees and exhibitors to continue connecting and exploring.

"Our customers are enthusiastic about returning to a live event in Las Vegas," said Karen Chupka, EVP, CES, CTA. "Global brands and startups have shared that plans are already well underway and are committed to sharing the magic of an in-person CES with even more people from around the world." CTA will be reviewing guidelines for coronavirus safety measures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in addition to state and local guidelines. CTA will be following applicable federal, state and local laws, adapting CES plans accordingly and sharing updates with its audiences. About CES

CES is the most influential tech event in the world  the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators. This is where the world's biggest brands do business and meet new partners, and the sharpest innovators hit the stage. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), CES features every aspect of the tech sector. CES 2022 will take place in person in Las Vegas, and digitally, Jan. 5-8, 2022. Learn more at CES.tech and follow CES on social . About Consumer Technology Association

As North America's largest technology trade association, CTA is the tech sector. Our members are the world's leading innovators  from startups to global brands  helping support more than 18 million American jobs. CTA owns and produces CES  the most influential tech event in the world. Find us at CTA.tech . Follow us @CTAtech . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cta-announces-return-to-las-vegas-for-ces-2022-301278583.html SOURCE Consumer Technology Association

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In what is perhaps the cutest drag race to have ever happened, here are two Microlino electric cars going against each other. The winner is, predictably, the newer version, the Microlino 2.0, which should start deliveries later this year, if everything goes according to plan.Microlino is the brainchild of Micro Mobility Systems, first announced back in 2018. That was Microlino 1.0, an Isetta-inspired microcar that never made it into production. But the Swiss company didnt give up on the idea, even though, to be fair, microcars have long gone out of fashion. So last year, Microlino 2.0 emerged on the radar with the introduction of the first working prototype.That would be the same tiny EV thats now shown racing its older and much less capable sibling, the 1.0. The race ends predictably, with the newer model crossing the finish line first, thanks to greater acceleration, due to a more powerful and efficient motor and new software. The 2.0 model also has a wider rear axle and independent suspension, which makes it more stable and easier to handle than the 1.0, Micro Mobility Systems says on social media.Aside from racing the first prototype, the company is also working on the second prototype of the five it plans to build before mass production. Theres a September 2021 delivery date for the Microlino 2.0, but its highly dependent on further developments and delays brought about by the international health crisis as with everything else these days.That said, when it does reach customers, the Microlino 2.0 will come with either 125 km (78 miles) or 200 km (125 miles) of range on a single charge and a 15-(20-hp) rear-mounted motor with 110 Nm (81 lb-ft) of torque enabling a top speed of 90 kph (56 mph). Access inside is done by a hatch-like door that swings to the side, and despite the diminutive size, the Microlino can squeeze in two adults and some luggage.Classified as an L7e vehicle (heavy quadricycle) in Europe, the Microlino 2.0 will start at 12,000 (approximately $14,500 at the current exchange rates).
Valentina Cerka had never felt such cold and isolation as on a frigid February day in 1993, when she first landed in Winnipeg.

Valentina Cerka had never felt such cold and isolation as on a frigid February day in 1993, when she first landed in Winnipeg.

Shed just fled Albania and spent two years in a refugee camp. She spoke no English, knew nothing of Canadian law and culture, and carried her seven-month-old son wherever she went.

Cerka managed to start a life in Canada, she said, with the help of a settlement worker  a job shed get six years later to launch a 22-year career at Welcome Place, a temporary residence and service provider for refugees and other newcomers.

She worked there until Tuesday morning, when the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, which runs the centre, locked her and her co-workers out over a collective-bargaining dispute.

"I am angry. How can I not be angry? I devoted most of my life to this agency," said Cerka, her words sharp and fervent.

The organization lost a major funding contract about two years ago, said a press release from the council. As a result, it said, it cut more than half of its staff, reducing the number of employees from over 55 to just 23. It also reorganized the organizations structure which, employees report, resulted in significant pay cuts.

Cerka said she made $10,000 a year less after the restructuring, which included a nominal demotion, as well. Another employee, Fetheya Abdela, said her wages dropped $3 per hour.

Pay decreases averaged 12.5 per cent and went as high as 27.5 per cent, said Scott Clark of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, who represents the locked-out Welcome Place staff.

However, Clark said he believes the main sticking points are not funding problems.

"For example, they were trying to reduce vacation benefits," he said. "These people are not replaced on vacation, so its not a pure cost issue."

Similarly, the council is pushing to remove "wellness days," said Clark. For people working with refugees coming from often horrific circumstances, he said, the days off support employees good mental health.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Welcome Place employees, Valentina Cerka (left) and Flora Aruna (right) walk along Isabel Street with flags and placards after being locked out of work at Welcome Place Tuesday morning. Valentina has been working at Welcome Place for the last 22 years, while Flora has been at Welcome Place for 19 years. Employee's of Welcome Place came to work Tuesday morning to find the doors were locked. Their union representative, Scott Clark, was on hand to start a picket line as soon as the lockout started. 210427 - Tuesday, April 27, 2021.

Cerka said morale among staff is low.

"We dont feel like our work is valued. We dont feel like, as human beings, were worth anything. Weve been seen now as work machines, like robots," she said.

With Welcome Place closed, some refugees may find themselves unsure where to go for services, said Cerka.

Abdela echoed that, adding that clients usually stay at the residence for about a year but continue to return for services  help with child tax credits applications, job searches, banking, education and various other things.

"I feel very bad actually," said the 19-year employee. "Especially with this COVID-19, when the people need more."

The council said in its release the situation predates the pandemic, but COVID-19 has exacerbated things. It said international travel bans have reduced the number of refugees Welcome Place serves, which makes "service delivery" going forward "more uncertain." It said clients will continue to be provided with services but did not say who would be providing them.

It also said because the union and the council have been without a contract for more than a year, funding has been more difficult to secure.

Clark said theres more at play than just dollars and cents.

"Ideology," he said. "We feel the employers taking an unreasonable position here, and we feel its really motivated by anti-union, political sentiments and ideology."

The council has also refused to extend the "recall list," which would give employees who were laid off the right to any positions that open up, said Clark.

"Theyve just said absolutely not. Theyre not willing to entertain it," he said.

The Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council did not respond to emails or calls and stated in the release it will not speak to anyone not directly involved in negotiations.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca
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According to a new report published by Polaris Market Research the worldwide Automated Fare Collection (AFC) market is anticipated to reach around USD 13,594 million by 2026. In 2017, the smart cards segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. In 2017, North America accounted for the majority share in the global automated fare collection market.

The increasing need to automate ticketing systems for public and private transportation majorly drives the market growth. Organizations are gradually adopting automated fare collection systems to increase efficiency, and easy management of high volume of commuters. The growing need to reduce frauds in public transportation further accelerates the adoption of the AFC systems. Other factors driving the market growth include growing need to reduce operational costs, increase profitability, and enhance traveler experience. New emerging markets, increasing acceptance of cashless payments, and growing need to reduce environmental pollution are factors expected to influence the market in the coming years.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/automated-fare-collection-market/request-for-sample

The increasing investments in R&D and rapid development of public infrastructure in developing countries of Asia-Pacific and Latin America support the growth of automated fare collection systems. Governments across the world are collaborating with leading market players for installation of AFC systems in airports, and railways. Technological advancements in electronic payment, Near-Field Communication (NFC), and contactless payment technologies provide numerous growth opportunities in the global market. Market players are introducing affordable and highly efficient automated fare collection systems in the market to cater to the growing market demands.

North America is expected to lead the global AFC market during the forecast period. Significant investment by governments to improve the public transport infrastructure coupled with stringent regulations regarding transportation drive the growth of automated fare collection in this region. Technological advancement and introduction of advanced systems by the market players has increased their acceptance in the region. Asia-pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This is due to economic growth in countries such as China and India, and increasing investments in public infrastructure. Expansion of global players into these countries to tap market potential boosts the market growth.

The various types of technologies used in automated fare collection system include Near-Field Communication (NFC), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), smart cards, and magnetic strips. The smart cards segment is expected to lead the market during the forecast period owing to increasing popularity of cashless transactions. NFC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Complete Summary with TOC Available @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/automated-fare-collection-market

The well-known companies profiled in the report include Thales Group, Longbow Technologies S/B, Cubic Corporation, Advanced Card Systems Holdings Limited, Atos SE, Indra Sistemas SA, UL Transaction Security, Siemens AG, Samsung SDS Co. Ltd., GMV Innovating Solutions, Masabi Ltd., and Omron Corporation among others. These companies introduced new technologies and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of the consumers.

 Automated Fare Collection Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Component

Hardware

Software

Services System Integration Consulting Managed Services Training, Support & Maintenance

Automated Fare Collection Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Technology Near-Field Communication (NFC) Smart Cards Magnetic Strips Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Others

Automated Fare Collection Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by End-User Public Transport Authority Private Transport Authority Others

Automated Fare Collection Market Size and Forecast, 2017-2026 by Region North America U.S. 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/automated-fare-collection-market/request-for-discount-pricing

About Polaris Market Research

Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world. We strive to provide our customers with updated information on innovative technologies, high growth markets, emerging business environments and latest business-centric applications, thereby helping them always to make informed decisions and leverage new opportunities.

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The pharmaceutical industry is pumping eye-popping amounts of money into lobbying Oregon lawmakers in an effort to kill a drug pricing proposal that would be the most aggressive in the nation.

Industry trade group PhRMA reported spending more than $790,000 on lobbying in Oregon during the first quarter of the year, more than four times as much as any other entity. The group has seven registered lobbyists working in the state, including former state representative Jodi Hack.

Two years ago, PhRMA spent $106,697 lobbying Oregon lawmakers in the same three-month period. Oregons legislative session continues through June.

The prospect that Oregon could create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board empowered to set upper limits on how much individual and insurance group buyers could pay for the most expensive drugs has attracted national political spending for and against the proposal, The Oregonian/OregonianLive reported earlier this month. Lobby spending disclosures provide a better picture of the scale of the spending.

Senate Bill 844, sponsored by three Democratic lawmakers and one Republican, is currently in the Ways and Means committee awaiting a hearing.

A coalition of health insurance and health care companies, public employee unions, AARP Oregon and OSPIRG that supports Senate Bill 844 reported spending just $7,247 on that effort in the first quarter, according to state data.

In an emailed statement, PhRMA public affairs director Jasmine Gossett said most of the trade groups reported spending was on advertising, which includes ads urging people to contact lawmakers and express opposition to the bill.

The majority of the figure in our lobbying report includes advertisement expenditures related to SB 844, Gossett wrote. To make fair and balanced policy decisions, legislators need to hear from all sides of an issue. That is even more important when it comes to protecting patients access to medicines and future treatments and cures. As the industry is committed to fighting COVID-19, this harmful policy would threaten the very research and investment needed to get us out of this and future pandemics.

Supporters of drug price limits dispute PhRMAs claim that potential caps would undermine industry research and development of medicines.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley told reporters last week that the high prices of prescription drugs are a top complaint he hears from Oregon constituents no matter their party or where they live. Its an issue that no matter whether if Im in a blue county or a purple county or a red county, citizens want us to address it, he said.

The teachers union Oregon Education Association reported spending the second highest amount on lobbying Oregon lawmakers in the first quarter at $172,007.

Trent Lutz, the unions assistant executive director for the Center for Public Affairs and one of its five registered lobbyists, could not immediately be reached for comment on which policy and budget proposals the team is lobbying for or against this session. The union described its legislative interests in a state filing as education, labor, funding, revenue.

In a statement emailed to The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon Education Association president John Larson said the union is spending this session fighting to ensure that every Oregon student has every opportunity to success by ensuring adequate budgets for K-12 (SB5514) and Community College (SB5528); fighting to respect our workers during a pandemic by providing health care for part time faculty members at our community colleges (SB 551), and fighting to make sure that class sizes and caseloads are discussed when employers bargain with employees (SB 580).

Unlike some other states, Oregon does not require lobbyists or their employers to disclose the bills or executive actions they are lobbying to influence. The House passed a lobbying disclosure plan in 2017 but Senate Democrats killed it.

The statewide teachers union was also the second highest spender on lobbying in the first quarter of 2019, when it reported shelling out $157,519. That session, lawmakers passed a new business tax projected to raise $1 billion a year to increase investments in early childhood and K-12 education. The biggest spending that year was the environmental group Renew Oregon, who championed a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade bill. Renew Oregon spent $164,330 in the first three months of 2019.

This year, industry groups, unions, individual companies and other parties reported spending a total of $12.7 million on lobbying in Oregon during the first quarter, according to state data. Thats up from $11.9 million in the first quarter of 2019.

The third highest spender on lobbying during the first three months of 2021 was an insurance industry group called the Coalition for Fair Insurance. According to the groups Facebook page and website, it opposed House Bill 2043 and Senate Bill 173, both of which would have prohibited insurers from considering drivers credit histories to determine eligibility, rates or premiums charged for motor vehicle liability insurance. The lobbying appears to have paid off: both bills already died in committee, even though Gov. Kate Brown personally requested the introduction of the House bill. A similar proposal stalled in the Washington Legislature this year, but the state insurance commissioner issued a temporary order banning insurers from using credit history, the Seattle Times reported.

-- Hillary Borrud

hborrud@oregonian.com
NSU alum Kastigar finishes 11th place in the 400IM at Olympic trials

Kastigar finished 11th overall and swam her fourth fastest time in her career as she clocked in at 4:51.28.
In March, President Joe Biden announced he would nominate Zahid Quraishi, a magistrate judge in New Jersey since 2019, to join the United States District Court for New Jersey, a post that would make him the first Muslim federal judge in America. Presented as part of an effort to make the federal judiciary reflect the full diversity of the American people, Quraishis nomination has earned some plaudits and the endorsement of several state legal groups, including the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey and the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey.

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But privately, some Muslim Americansincluding lawyers, elected officials, and political operativesare arguing among themselves about the choice. Many are hostile to it. They say the Biden administration sidestepped many Muslim American civil rights organizations to nominate Quraishi, and that many of his legal positions are unknown. Most troublingly to them, they point to his resume, specifically his past work as a lawyer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and, while serving in the military during the Iraq war, as a detention advisor while deployed.

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I believe its the wrong guy, said one Muslim former elected official in New Jersey, who asked not to be named because of the political sensitivity of the nomination. Ask any African American how happy they are about Clarence Thomas. Its a very similar perspective at a bunch of different levels, he said.

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The official said the arguments and anger about Quraishis nomination are happening in private because many involved are elected officials or part of larger organizations that do not want to publicly oppose the Biden administration. Several of them told me they plan to closely watch Quraishis Senate confirmation hearing, set for Wednesday, for more answers about his legal record.

We dont know what his stances are on civil rights because you cant find one article or anything that hes written publicly about the Muslim struggle in the last 20 years post-9/11, the former elected official told me. If Im supposed to be happy for somebody, then he should have an affinity for the same things that I believe in.

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Reached by Slate, Quraishi referred all questions about his legal history to the White House. A White House spokesperson said that President Biden is deeply proud to have nominated Judge Quraishi, adding, This is a historic nominee whom we hope will be confirmed quickly.

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Quraishi, born in New York in 1975, graduated from Rutgers Law SchoolNewark in 2000. He joined the Army in 2003, where he became a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Generals Corps. He has since worked in various public and private sector roles, but a few line items on his resume have drawn the most scrutiny: Among several positions in the military, he lists Detention Operations Legal Advisor to Brigade Commander, a role that has raised alarm among Muslim lawyers and advocates. He also listed his work for the Department of Homeland Security, and ICE specifically, as assistant chief counsel from 2007 to 2008.

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Zahra Billoo, a civil rights lawyer and the executive director for Council on American-Islamic Relations San Francisco, said too much was unknown about Quraishi. Just because somebody is a Muslim doesnt mean that they automatically get our endorsement. We need answers, she said. I think our community needs to be asking those questions, and theyre not getting answered.

Billoo said that when Quraishis resume began making the rounds among Muslim lawyers and advocates, she began to ask the questions herself. He joined the military after 9/11, after that Iraq war began, she told me. This was at a time when Abu Ghraib was open. The government was suggesting the law didnt matter, that they were above the law. So was he advising them on how to skirt the law? What was he doing? Its just a gaping hole. We dont know.

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A Muslim former Biden staffer and lawyer, who spoke on the condition he not be named because of professional concerns, raised similar objections. He was a JAG attorney who oversaw detention policy in Iraq during the time of Abu Ghraib in the Iraq war, he said. We dont know what he said. He could have given good legal opinions or bad ones. The problem is that we dont know. If Quraishi did defend the extralegal detention practices of the time, he said, that is grounds to reject him: Thats who were going to put up as the first Muslim Article 3 judge? Thats a really big deal.

A source close to the White Houses confirmation process who would not speak for attribution said that Quraishi had nothing to do with Abu Ghraib or enhanced interrogation. The source did not say what his military legal role did entail. As for ICE, the source said Quraishi represented the U.S. in immigration court for political asylum cases, a role that involves arguing the governments position in various immigration cases.

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The former Biden staffer said the problem goes deeper than specific questions about Quraishis resume. Where did this guy come from? And what was the decision-making process? he said. In Muslim legal circles right now, this is a really big deal because we can list 20 to 50 Muslims who have been in the fight who probably would be better nominees than this one.

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Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey reportedly recommended Quraishi to the Biden administration. Zahid Quraishi is a smart, experienced, and thoughtful attorney who will bring an exceptional commitment to fairness and impartiality to the bench, Booker said in an email in response to questions about the nomination. His skills, experience, and unique perspective is needed on the federal bench now more than ever.

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Other prominent Muslim lawyers in New Jersey vouched for the nomination. Not only is Judge Quraishi a skilled litigator who will bring expertise to the bench, he will also bring much needed diversity of background and perspective to the federal judiciary. We are proud to support his nomination, wrote Faudia A. Hameed Clemenza, chair of the New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee.

But several lawyers and advocates I spoke to said the nomination process excluded Muslim organizations committed to civil rights and instead relied on select Muslim groups that are major Democratic donors and have no track record in human rights and no experience in picking judges, as the former Biden staffer put it. He provided a list of other advocacy organizations that werent consulted in the process, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the countrys largest Muslim civil rights group. He said many felt blindsided by the nomination and the circumstances around it, which have fueled discontent among many in the Muslim legal world.

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Others said the silence on the specifics of Quraishis legal record and official lines about the historic nature of the nomination amounted to tokenization. I would much rather have a white Christian judge with progressive values, Billoo said. Its not enough that he is Muslim. In fact, its insulting.

We need to be careful to not let tokenization drive our perspective here, Billoo added. There are some grave human rights violations that have happened on Americas watch over and over again for many, many years. The extent that its possible he participated in some of them, or gave legal advice to some of them, we want to know.

Correction, April 28, 2021: This article originally misattributed a quote from Faudia A. Hameed Clemenza to Dalya Youssef.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 14:45:57|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen Taliban militants were killed and 12 militants wounded when government forces attacked their positions in Afghanistan's eastern Ghazni province, the country's Defense Ministry confirmed on Wednesday.

The ministry said in a statement that the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) supported by the Afghan Air Force targeted the Taliban from ground and air in Arezo, a locality on the outskirts of provincial capital Ghazni city on Tuesday.

The statement said two Taliban's control and command centers and some weapons and ammunition were destroyed.

The mountainous province has been the scene of heavy clashes in recent years.

Meantime, Zabihullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, claimed that the insurgents killed 10 government troops in Arezo of Ghazni on Tuesday. Enditem
Authorities in Mauritius have made public a proposal to legalise eavesdropping on social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.

The move has sparked a public outcry in the country, and is seen by many citizens as the latest attempt by authorities to stifle freedom of expression.

Should the proposal progress to parliament and be amended into law, authorities could get access to sensitive data including usernames, passwords, credit card information as well as direct messages on Twitter and Instagram.
Professor Ransford Gyampo, an associate professor at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana has dismissed claims suggesting the country has returned to the culture of silence. He was reacting to comments made by business mogul Sir Sam Jonah that the country has gradually slipped back to the era where citizens could not speak truth to power.



It appears to me that the culture of silence has returned. This time not to be enforced by legal and military power but through convenience, parochialism, hypocrisy and lack of conviction. Where are our Adu Boahens and PAV Ansahs? Sir Jonah asked.



His comment has sparked mixed reaction in the media.



Reacting to the claims, Prof Gyampo said Sir Jonah did not paint the right picture.



On the issue of culture of silence, we must present a holistic and accurate picture. The few daring Ghanaians who speak their minds havent been gagged. They receive threatening texts and insults by some cowards and faceless people. But they are still talking, with some, even insulting freely and irresponsibly. Actually, I know of a few very critical minds, who still enjoy police protection 24/7. I do not know of any vociferous political critic who has suddenly shut up because of the culture of silence, he posted on Facebook.



Below is the full post



First 100 Days in Government and Culture of Silence

1.In the first 100 days of the first term of President Akufo Addos government, there was zeal. There were palpable initiatives that could tangibly be reported and determination to govern. However, the same cannot be said about the current first 100 days. Apart from the zeal of the Greater Accra Regional Minister to make Accra work again and the recent stakeholder event to discuss the menace of illegal mining, it appears that government has hit the ground not running but sleeping.



2. Deputy ministers who were only recently appointed are yet to be vetted. MMDCEs are yet to be appointed and dissolved governing boards and councils are yet to be reconstituted. But in his previous term, the President constituted his government in a record time and indicated that he was in a hurry to deliver.



3. Is the NPP Government no longer interested in the 2024 elections? The sense of urgency that characterized President Akufo Addos first 100 days in his first term, appears lacking in his second term. Unfortunately, typical of this particular NPP government, there is no attempt to communicate the reasons for such slow pace and delay in hitting the ground running. To improve the quality of governance, we must ensure that there is no difference between first term zeal and second term zeal.



4. There is a growing perception by some Ghanaians and some top echelons within the ruling party that suggests that the present slow pace of government is largely as a result of the fact that the President isnt eligible to contest the next election. This position may not be accurate.. But suffice it to say that governance of a developing country like Ghana, must be shaped more by the plight of the people, and less by the eligibility of Presidents to contest future elections.



5.On the issue of culture of silence, we must present a holistic and accurate picture. The few daring Ghanaians who speak their minds havent been gagged. They receive threatening texts and insults by some cowards and faceless people. But they are still talking, with some, even insulting freely and irresponsibly. Actually, I know of a few very critical minds, who still enjoy police protection 24/7. I do not know of any vociferous political critic who has suddenly shut up because of the culture of silence.



6. But it is also true that apart from the political sector, our educational, health and other social sectors continue to be plagued with some vestiges of culture of silence. Many medical practitioners refuse to talk about the plight confronting medical care in Ghana. I met a Medical Superintendent at a hospital who narrated very harrowing challenges of his hospital to me. I asked a media guy to put a camera on him so we could record what he had told me off-camera. Once the camera was turned on, he turned around to rather shower praises on the Ministry of Health in a manner than forced me to cut the recording. When I asked why he did what he did, he retorted Do you want me to be transferred?. Similar things happen in almost all the educational institutions, particularly at the SHS level, where teachers and head teachers keep complaining about challenges of the free SHS system and yet plead anonymity for the fear of being transferred to some remote villages. These are clear cases of manifestation of the culture of silence, which never existed.



7. But it must also be pointed out that many Ghanaians, long before the NPP government came into existence had practiced the culture of y3 p3 as3m nso y3 suro as3m. We like to talk and grumble, but only behind the scene. This is so typical of us. We complain privately and when given the chance to ventilate our grievances for redress, we tend to give the matter to God. We cannot blame this on the NPP government. It is who we are. We hide under the facelessness of social media to critique and insult. Yet when we meet those we are criticizing and insulting face to face, we sing their praises. This is what we do. It is who we are. We cannot gossip about others and refuse to tell them in their face and yet blame government for introducing a culture of silence.



8. This isnt also to say that the NPP government has been very tolerant of dissenting views to the core. Theres been open and more surreptitious show of intolerance and vindictiveness by SOME (not all) party and government functionaries, in a manner that has sometimes scared brave critics and made those who want to join in keeping the regime on its toes think twice. But this hasnt stopped those who really want to talk from talking. Besides, moves to silence critics may not necessarily be officially sanctioned by any political party. Hence any argument that talks about our return to the dark days of the culture of silence, must be properly nuanced to consider all angles, so we can know where the real challenges are.



Yaw Gyampo



A31, Prabiw



PAV Ansah Street



Saltpond



&



Suro Nipa House



Kubease



Larteh-Akuapim









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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2021-04-28

Maeci

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the conduct of the elections in Albania on Sunday, 25 April. Italy praises the excellent organisation of the electoral process, as indicated by the OSCE/ODIHR in its preliminary report. In particular, the professionalism and transparency demonstrated by the Central Electoral Commission and its Commissioner Ilirjan Celibashi. Complaints of alleged fraud and irregularities will have to be assessed scrupulously and in full compliance with the procedures laid down in the electoral code.

The elections of Sunday 25 April contribute positively to the consolidation of democratic processes in Albania and represent a significant step forward on its path towards Europe. After the electoral confrontation, it is now essential that all political actors are fully committed to the country's good and contribute to the consolidation of democratic institutions that find their crucial point of reference in an entirely legitimate and functioning Parliament.

Italy hopes that all political forces will work cohesively to support the strategic objective represented by Albania's entry into the European Union through a constructive and respectful dialogue between the majority and the opposition. Such dialogue will allow the country to face future challenges successfully. Italy will continue to support with firm conviction the Albanian institutions and the legitimate aspirations of the Albanian people to be part of the European family.
Net Income of $342 Million Including $260 Million of Net Operating Income

14% Growth in Gross Written Premium with

Continued Attritional Underwriting Margin Improvement

Everest Re Group, Ltd. ("Everest" or the "Company") today reported its 2021 first quarter results.

First Quarter 2021 Highlights

Net income of $342 million equal to $8.52 per share

Net operating income of $260 million, equal to $6.49 per share

Gross written premium growth of 14% and net written premium growth of 16%

Attritional combined ratio of 87.3%, a 2.5-point improvement year over year

Underwriting income of $45 million inclusive of pre-tax net catastrophe losses of $270 million ($260 million net of reinstatement premiums)

No change to the Covid-19 Pandemic ("Pandemic") loss provision

Combined ratio of 98.1%

Operating cashflow of $904 million for the quarter

The following table summarizes the Company's net income and related financial metrics.

Net income and operating income Q1 Year to Date Q1 Year to Date All values in USD millions except for per share amounts and percentages 2021 2021 2020 2020 Everest Re Group Net income 341.9 341.9 16.6 16.6 Net operating income (loss) 260.2 260.2 164.4 164.4 Net income per diluted common share 8.52 8.52 0.41 0.41 Net operating income per diluted common share 6.49 6.49 4.03 4.03 Net income annualized return on average equity 15.0% 15.0% 0.8% 0.8% Net operating income annualized return on average equity 11.4% 11.4% 7.6% 7.6%

Everest Re Group President CEO Juan C. Andrade commented on the Company's results:

"Firstly, our thoughts are with those impacted by the U.S. winter storms and the flooding in Australia. I am very proud of the work our claims team is doing on the ground to help those affected rebuild their lives.

Everest had a strong start to 2021 with robust growth, strong overall profitability, continued improvement in attritional underwriting margins, and excellent investment performance. Our first quarter results further illustrate the earnings power of Everest and our success in implementing our strategy to build a broadly diversified company with a relentless focus on strong operational performance and disciplined underwriting."

The following information summarizes the Company's underwriting results, on a consolidated basis and also by segment Reinsurance and Insurance, with selected commentary on results by segment.

Underwriting information Everest Re Group Q1 Year to Date Q1 Year to Date Year on Year Change All values in USD millions except for percentages 2021 2021 2020 2020 Q1 Year to Date Gross written premium 2,931.4 2,931.4 2,570.9 2,570.9 14.0% 14.0% Net written premium 2,553.9 2,553.9 2,201.5 2,201.5 16.0% 16.0% Combined ratio 98.1% 98.1% 98.6% 98.6% -0.5 pts -0.5 pts Attritional combined ratio 87.3% 87.3% 89.8% 89.8% -2.5 pts -2.5 pts Pre-tax net catastrophe losses 260.0 260.0 30.0 30.0 Pre-tax net covid losses 150.0 150.0 Pre-tax net prior year reserve development (2.6) (2.6) Notes 1/ Attritional ratios exclude prior year reserve development, Covid-19 pandemic impact, catastrophe losses, and reinstatement premiums 2/Pre-tax net catastrophe losses are net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums

Reinsurance segment

The Reinsurance segment achieved strong growth with gross written premiums up 16% for the quarter, driven by a successful January 1 renewal season. The targeted and disciplined growth was driven by rate, increased shares on profitable deals, and new opportunities in property, casualty, specialty lines, and facultative business.

The improved attritional combined ratio for the quarter included proactive underwriting actions to improve risk adjusted returns and achieve a lower loss ratio, while the acquisition expense ratio declined primarily due to changes in business mix. We continue to write a stronger, more diversified, and more profitable book.

The April renewal season was successfully completed with the Reinsurance segment capturing rate increases on Japanese and retrocessional business and pro-rata business benefitting from primary rate improvement.

Underwriting information Reinsurance segment Q1 Year to Date Q1 Year to Date Year on Year Change All values in USD millions except for percentages 2021 2021 2020 2020 Q1 Year to Date Gross written premium 2,059.0 2,059.0 1,777.8 1,777.8 15.8% 15.8% Net written premium 1,912.9 1,912.9 1,613.1 1,613.1 18.6% 18.6% Combined ratio 97.5% 97.5% 96.6% 96.6% 0.9 pts 0.9 pts Attritional combined ratio 85.5% 85.5% 87.8% 87.8% -2.3 pts -2.3 pts Pre-tax net catastrophe losses 212.5 212.5 24.5 24.5 Pre-tax net covid losses 110.0 110.0 Pre-tax net prior year reserve development (1.8) (1.8) (2.6) (2.6) Notes 1/ Attritional ratios exclude prior year reserve development, Covid-19 pandemic impact, catastrophe losses, and reinstatement premiums 2/Pre-tax net catastrophe losses are net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums

Insurance segment

The Company's Insurance segment achieved strong growth with gross written premiums, up 10% for the quarter (20% excluding worker's compensation) with notable growth in specialty casualty, property/short-tail and professional liability classes of business, offset by reductions in workers' compensation as we purposely sought growth in lines with more attractive pricing.

The improved attritional combined ratio for the quarter reflected a more profitable mix of business resulting from continued disciplined cycle management, with reductions in both the loss and expense ratios.

Continued strong rate growth in excess of trend with renewal rate increases of 16% in the quarter excluding workers compensation, and up 10% including workers compensation.

Underwriting information Insurance segment Q1 Year to Date Q1 Year to Date Year on Year Change All values in USD millions except for percentages 2021 2021 2020 2020 Q1 Year to Date Gross written premium 872.4 872.4 793.1 793.1 10.0% 10.0% Net written premium 641.0 641.0 588.4 588.4 8.9% 8.9% Combined ratio 99.9% 99.9% 103.9% 103.9% -4.0 pts -4.0 pts Attritional combined ratio 92.2% 92.2% 94.9% 94.9% -2.7 pts -2.7 pts Pre-tax net catastrophe losses 47.5 47.5 5.5 5.5 Pre-tax net covid losses 40.0 40.0 Pre-tax net prior year reserve development Notes 1/ Attritional ratios exclude prior year reserve development, Covid-19 pandemic impact, catastrophe losses, and reinstatement premiums 2/Pre-tax net catastrophe losses are net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums

Investments and Shareholders' Equity

Net investment income of $260.4 million for the quarter including alternative investment gains of $120.3 million for the quarter

Total invested assets and cash of $25.9 billion at March 31, 2021, 1.9% growth versus year end 2020

Shareholders' equity remained flat at $9.7 billion as of March 31, 2021, versus year end 2020

Book value per diluted share of $241.57 at March 31, 2021

Common share dividends declared and paid in the quarter of $1.55 per share, equal to $62.2 million

Common share repurchases of $23.5 million during the quarter, representing 97,462 shares at an average price of $241.58 per share

Equity and Book Value per Share Q1 Q1 All values in USD millions except per share amounts 2021 2020 Beginning shareholders' equity 9,726.2 9,132.9 Net income 341.9 16.6 Change in investment unrealized gains (URAD) (292.3 (248.0 Dividends to shareholders (62.2 (63.3 Purchase of treasury shares (23.5 (200.0 Other (7.2 (57.3 Ending shareholders' equity 9,682.9 8,580.9 Diluted common shares outstanding 40.1 40.0 Book value per diluted common share 241.57 214.59 Common share dividends paid last 12 months 6.20 5.90 Dividend adjusted growth in BVPS last 12 months 15.5 7.2

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in the U.S. Federal securities laws. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements made on behalf of the Company. These risks and uncertainties include the impact of general economic conditions and conditions affecting the insurance and reinsurance industry, the adequacy of our reserves, our ability to assess underwriting risk, trends in rates for property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, competition, investment market and investment income fluctuations, trends in insured and paid losses, catastrophes, pandemic, regulatory and legal uncertainties and other factors described in our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Everest Re Group, Ltd.

Everest Re Group, Ltd. ("Everest") is a leading global provider of reinsurance and insurance, operating for close to 50 years through subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe, Singapore, Canada, Bermuda, and other territories.

Everest offers property, casualty, and specialty products through its various operating affiliates located in key markets around the world.

Everest common stock (NYSE:RE) is a component of the S&P 500 index.

Additional information about Everest, our people, and our products can be found on our website at www.everestre.comAll issuing companies may not do business in all jurisdictions.

A conference call discussing the second quarter results will be held at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on April 29, 2021. The call will be available on the Internet through the Company's web site at everestre.com/investors.

Recipients are encouraged to visit the Company's web site to view supplemental financial information on the Company's results. The supplemental information is located at www.everestre.com in the "Investors/Financial Reports/Quarterly Reports" section of the website. The supplemental financial information may also be obtained by contacting the Company directly.

_______________________________________________

The Company generally uses after-tax operating income (loss), a non-GAAP financial measure, to evaluate its performance. After-tax operating income (loss) consists of net income (loss) excluding after-tax net realized capital gains (losses) and after-tax net foreign exchange income (expense) as the following reconciliation displays:

Three Months Ended March 31, (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) 2021 2020 (unaudited) Per Diluted Per Diluted Common Common Amount Share Amount Share Net income (loss) 341,862 8.52 16,612 0.41 After-tax net realized capital gains (losses) 30,035 0.75 (172,364 (4.22 After-tax net foreign exchange income (expense) 51,618 1.29 24,604 0.60 After-tax operating income (loss) 260,209 6.49 164,372 4.03 (Some amounts may not reconcile due to rounding.)

Although net realized capital gains (losses) and net foreign exchange income (expense) are an integral part of the Company's insurance operations, the determination of net realized capital gains (losses) and foreign exchange income (expense) is independent of the insurance underwriting process. The Company believes that the level of net realized capital gains (losses) and net foreign exchange income (expense) for any particular period is not indicative of the performance of the underlying business in that particular period. Providing only a GAAP presentation of net income (loss) makes it more difficult for users of the financial information to evaluate the Company's success or failure in its basic business and may lead to incorrect or misleading assumptions and conclusions. The Company understands that the equity analysts who follow the Company focus on after-tax operating income (loss) in their analyses for the reasons discussed above. The Company provides after-tax operating income (loss) to investors so that they have what management believes to be a useful supplement to GAAP information concerning the Company's performance.

--Financial Details Follow--

EVEREST RE GROUP, LTD. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) Three Months Ended March 31, (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) 2021 2020 (unaudited) REVENUES: Premiums earned 2,387,865 2,036,814 Net investment income 260,413 147,800 Net realized capital gains (losses): Credit allowances on fixed maturity securities (6,977 (21,774 Other-than-temporary impairments on fixed maturity securities Other net realized capital gains (losses) 45,879 (188,814 Total net realized capital gains (losses) 38,902 (210,588 Other income (expense) 56,593 7,990 Total revenues 2,743,773 1,982,016 CLAIMS AND EXPENSES: Incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses 1,711,419 1,430,840 Commission, brokerage, taxes and fees 489,011 448,522 Other underwriting expenses 142,231 128,860 Corporate expenses 12,378 9,833 Interest, fees and bond issue cost amortization expense 15,639 7,583 Total claims and expenses 2,370,678 2,025,638 INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE TAXES 373,095 (43,622 Income tax expense (benefit) 31,233 (60,234 NET INCOME (LOSS) 341,862 16,612 Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax: Unrealized appreciation (depreciation) ("URA(D)") on securities arising during the period (288,615 (279,398 Reclassification adjustment for realized losses (gains) included in net income (loss) (3,666 31,399 Total URA(D) on securities arising during the period (292,281 (247,999 Foreign currency translation adjustments (9,582 (50,824 Reclassification adjustment for amortization of net (gain) loss included in net income (loss) 2,043 920 Total benefit plan net gain (loss) for the period 2,043 920 Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax (299,820 (297,903 COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) 42,042 (281,291 EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE: Basic 8.53 0.41 Diluted 8.52 0.41

EVEREST RE GROUP, LTD. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS March 31, December 31, (Dollars and share amounts in thousands, except par value per share) 2021 2020 (unaudited) ASSETS: Fixed maturities available for sale, at market value 20,407,480 20,040,173 (amortized cost: 2021, $19,932,190; 2020, $19,225,067, credit allowances: 2021, ($8,723); 2020, ($1,745)) Equity securities, at fair value 1,400,674 1,472,236 Short-term investments (cost: 2021, $826,777; 2020, $1,135,088) 826,769 1,134,950 Other invested assets (cost: 2021, $2,173,221; 2020, $2,012,581) 2,173,221 2,012,581 Cash 1,132,660 801,651 Total investments and cash 25,940,804 25,461,591 Accrued investment income 156,330 141,304 Premiums receivable 2,789,602 2,680,562 Reinsurance receivables 2,029,734 1,994,555 Funds held by reinsureds 740,554 716,655 Deferred acquisition costs 663,560 622,053 Prepaid reinsurance premiums 441,606 412,015 Income taxes 31,738 17,253 Other assets 801,424 742,369 TOTAL ASSETS 33,595,352 32,788,357 LIABILITIES: Reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses 17,090,644 16,398,997 Future policy benefit reserve 37,561 37,723 Unearned premium reserve 3,704,189 3,501,359 Funds held under reinsurance treaties 13,875 15,807 Other net payable to reinsurers 402,379 294,347 Losses in course of payment 139,382 127,971 Senior notes due 6/1/2044 397,224 397,194 Senior notes due 10/1/2050 979,654 979,524 Long term notes due 5/1/2067 223,699 223,674 Borrowings from FHLB 310,000 310,000 Accrued interest on debt and borrowings 24,035 10,460 Unsettled securities payable 151,174 206,693 Other liabilities 438,654 558,432 Total liabilities 23,912,470 23,062,181 SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY: Preferred shares, par value: $0.01; 50,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding Common shares, par value: $0.01; 200,000 shares authorized; (2021) 69,816 and (2020) 69,620 outstanding before treasury shares 698 696 Additional paid-in capital 2,245,737 2,245,301 Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of deferred income tax expense (benefit) of $41,161 at 2021 and $80,451 at 2020 235,079 534,899 Treasury shares, at cost; 29,734 shares (2021) and 29,636 shares (2020) (3,645,717 (3,622,172 Retained earnings 10,847,085 10,567,452 Total shareholders' equity 9,682,882 9,726,176 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY 33,595,352 32,788,357

EVEREST RE GROUP, LTD. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS Three Months Ended March 31, (Dollars in thousands) 2021 2020 (unaudited) CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES: Net income (loss) 341,862 16,612 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Decrease (increase) in premiums receivable (105,460 (119,548 Decrease (increase) in funds held by reinsureds, net (25,584 (28,973 Decrease (increase) in reinsurance receivables (14,518 (130,593 Decrease (increase) in income taxes 24,908 (65,114 Decrease (increase) in prepaid reinsurance premiums (27,071 (10,572 Increase (decrease) in reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses 655,054 406,257 Increase (decrease) in future policy benefit reserve (162 (915 Increase (decrease) in unearned premiums 196,631 158,744 Increase (decrease) in other net payable to reinsurers 105,390 95,555 Increase (decrease) in losses in course of payment 11,980 (1,422 Change in equity adjustments in limited partnerships (116,767 (8,512 Distribution of limited partnership income 18,125 11,108 Change in other assets and liabilities, net (149,464 (45,259 Non-cash compensation expense 11,021 9,393 Amortization of bond premium (accrual of bond discount) 17,323 8,640 Net realized capital (gains) losses (38,902 210,588 Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 904,366 505,989 CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: Proceeds from fixed maturities matured/called available for sale, at market value 818,352 656,070 Proceeds from fixed maturities sold available for sale, at market value 228,278 501,953 Proceeds from fixed maturities sold available for sale, at fair value Proceeds from equity securities sold, at fair value 281,313 112,841 Distributions from other invested assets 52,211 104,085 Cost of fixed maturities acquired available for sale, at market value (1,776,730 (1,359,281 Cost of equity securities acquired, at fair value (174,981 (76,513 Cost of other invested assets acquired (98,939 (152,269 Net change in short-term investments 308,585 (27,882 Net change in unsettled securities transactions (93,610 (17,185 Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (455,521 (258,181 CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: Common shares issued during the period for share-based compensation, net of expense (10,583 (12,573 Purchase of treasury shares (23,545 (200,020 Dividends paid to shareholders (62,229 (63,277 Proceeds from revolving credit borrowings 50,000 Cost of debt repurchase (1,198 Cost of shares withheld on settlements of share-based compensation awards (12,507 (13,982 Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (108,864 (241,050 EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE CHANGES ON CASH (8,972 2,832 Net increase (decrease) in cash 331,009 9,590 Cash, beginning of period 801,651 808,036 Cash, end of period 1,132,660 817,626 SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION: Income taxes paid (recovered) 6,417 4,920 Interest paid 1,880 2,817

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428006040/en/

Contacts:

Media: Dane Lopes

Chief Communications Officer

Everest Global Services, Inc.

203.388.3977

Investors: Jon Levenson

Head of Investor Relations

Everest Global Services, Inc.

908.604.3169
Job Title: Monitoring and Reporting Analyst

Organization: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN)

Duty Station: Gulu, Uganda

Reports to: UN Women Representative

About UN WOMEN:

The UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing womens rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system-wide efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action. It provides strong and coherent leadership and technical advice in support of Member States priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Job Summary: The Monitoring and Reporting Analyst will have dual reporting: administratively to the Head of Sub-Office  Gulu and technically to the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist. The Monitoring and Reporting Analyst will provide support to the Country Office (CO) colleagues in incorporating monitoring and reporting into programme formulation as well tracking against the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan targets and reporting of results to internal and external audiences. She/ he will work with Country Office staff to support systematic monitoring of the Uganda Annual Work Plan and related project plans, including as part of joint UN programmes and in contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework in Uganda for 2021-2025. This includes support to: develop and oversee baselines against agreed programme indicators; regular monitoring and reporting on all EVAWG UN Women supported activities in line with existing project monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and annual monitoring plans; contribute to quality reports, quantitative and qualitative data, photos, charts, maps, and presentations; capacity development of CO Staff and partners on Results-Based Monitoring, as well as development and implementation of the COs Knowledge Management strategy. The Monitoring & Reporting Analyst will contribute to case studies and other qualitative evaluation documentations, policy recommendations and capacity development support. The Monitoring & Reporting Analyst will be responsible for the establishment and operation of a robust program monitoring, evaluation & reporting system, including through the use of systematic knowledge management practices for learning and innovation. The position holder will be expected to have 60% of time in the field to support monitoring, evaluation and reporting related roles.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide technical inputs to programme formulation to ensure monitoring and reporting is incorporated

Provide inputs to the development of monitoring indicators, monitoring calendars, and field monitoring plans and quality assurance processes;

Include relevant inputs from evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations into programme formulation;

Contribute to annual work plan development, monitoring, reviews and reporting;

Provide technical support to partners in developing Performance Monitoring Frameworks (PMFs), systems and plans, and Baseline Surveys;

Facilitate the clearance of donor agreements and Programme Cooperation Agreements;

Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and tracking of results against country/ regional level targets and UN Women Strategic Plan

Coordinate with Programme Team to ensure data collection and analysis from field visits are coordinated and standardized across programmes;

Monitor data from partners/countries on a quarterly basis including undertaking data quality assessments, portfolio reviews and provide inputs to regular management briefs to inform decision making;

Visit partners, along with the Programme Team, to support monitoring of results and planning processes, as required;

Monitor and analyze spending of donor funds and other programme expenditures and disbursements; Contribute to the development and monitoring of the EVAWG Programme and the Uganda Country Office Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research Plan.

Facilitate the reporting of results to internal (Senior Management) and external (Executive Board, Donors) audiences

Facilitate the process of the CO meeting internal and external reporting requirements and deadlines, including annual reporting process;

Support Programme Teams in drafting and coordinate quality assurance processes for donor and programme reports (both narrative and financial) and reporting for the UNSDCF;

Identify relevant evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations and input them into programme reporting;

Review progress reports submitted by partners and provide capacity development sessions and feedback to improve quality and timeliness of reporting;

Collect and maintain data for country, regional and global corporate reports, mid-term reviews, and final evaluations, including as part of joint UN initiatives.

Provide technical support to the Uganda Country Office in the implementation the UN Women Evaluation Policy

Coordinate UN Womens work on Normative Frameworks and support tracking of progress on key gender equality indicators, in line with national and international commitments

Coordinate the implementation of UN Womens Evaluation plan in the CO;

Provide guidance and develop capacities of programme staff and partners on evaluations;

Ensure communication between the CO and RO regarding Evaluations and serve as UN Women Focal Point for Monitoring and Evaluation as part of the UNSDCF M&E Group;

Coordinate the completion of managements response to the UN Women Global Accountability and Tracking of Evaluation Use (GATE) and contribute to UN Womens completion of development assistance portals.

Contribute to knowledge building and capacity building

Identify and disseminate good practices, lessons, and knowledge, as identified through programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation activities;

Contribute to the development of capacity development tools, including training materials and packages;

Promote the awareness and understanding of the shared responsibility of Monitoring and Evaluation among all staff members through communication, training, learning and development activities.

Promote the awareness and understanding of the shared responsibility of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) among all staff members through communication, training, learning and development activities.





Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

The ideal candidate for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women Monitoring and Reporting Analyst job placement should hold a Masters degree (or equivalent) in Monitoring & Evaluation, Economics, Economics, International Development Studies, Gender/Womens Studies is required.

A first-level university degree (Bachelor degree) in combination with five additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

A project/programme management certification (such as PMP, PRINCE2, or MSP) would be an added advantage.

A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in monitoring and reporting of development projects/ programmes;

Experience in the United Nations systems in an asset;

Field experience is an asset

Language: Fluency in English is required; Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset; Knowledge of one or more of the following local languages; Ngakarimojong, Luganda and Acholi is an asset.

Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity

Integrity

Professionalism

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues

Accountability

Creative Problem Solving

Effective Communication

Inclusive Collaboration

Stakeholder Engagement

Leading by Example

Functional Competencies

Good knowledge of programme formulation, implementation, and Results Based Management

Good knowledge of monitoring and evaluation, evaluation design, data collection and analysis, and reporting

Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports

Good analytical and report writing skills

Knowledge of UN programme management systems

How to Apply:

All candidates who wish to join the United Nations should apply online at the link below.

Click Here

Deadline: 8th May 2021

For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline
The benchmark Sensex posted its biggest single-day jump in nearly a month on Wednesday, as strong earnings reported by the helped revive sentiment earlier dampened by the surging number of cases.

While the infection tally continued to climb and Maharashtra extended restrictions on movement by another 15 days, investors chose to look beyond the short-term pain, said analysts.

The Nifty50 ended the session at 14,864, with a gain of 211 points or 1.4 per cent. The benchmark Sensex finished the session at 49,733, with a gain of 790 points, or 1.61 per cent  the most since March 30. In the past three sessions, the index has rallied nearly 4 per cent. However, it is still down 5 per cent from its all-time high logged in mid-February.

Bajaj Finance rose 8.3 per cent, the most among Sensex components, after it posting a 30 per cent year-on-year growth in net profits for Q4.

Shares of ICICI Bank added another 4 per cent after the lender posted strong earnings over the weekend. IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the other top Sensex gainers.

Earnings have been good, which has kept the sentiment positive, and the narrative coming out of those companies has also been positive. The problem we have is more towards vaccination, which will be key now. Global remain positive; all PMI numbers coming out of the US, the UK, and rest of Europe have been powerful. Global indices could be a bit hot in the summer thanks to reopening trades, said Andrew Holland, CEO of Avendus Capital Alternate Strategies.

Global indices traded mixed on Wednesday as the US bond yield rose ahead of the Fed policy meeting.

The US consumer confidence index jumped to a 14-month high in April on increased vaccinations against Covid.

Additional fiscal stimulus allowed more businesses to reopen, boosting demand and recruitment by companies. The consumer confidence index is at its highest level since February 2020, just before the onset of the pandemic.

Investors were also enthused by the US governments decision to offer help to India, including a range of emergency assistance, including oxygen-related supplies, vaccine materials, and therapeutics.

The declining Covid cases in Maharashtra and financial capital Mumbai also boosted sentiment.

Last week, the indices logged their third consecutive weekly loss on Friday as the second wave of infections raised concerns over business recovery because of lockdown-like curbs imposed across many states.

India, at present, has close to 2.9 million active cases, according to the ministry of health and family welfare.

Market players said India, which has been underperforming most global indices since two months, is now playing catch-up.

Barring any other widespread impact of Covid infections and resultant lockdowns in tier-II and tier-III cities, the Nifty can be expected to trade towards its lifetime high in May, said S Hariharan, head (sales trading), Emkay Global Financial Services.

While 239 stocks hit their 52-week highs on Wednesday, 310 stocks hit their upper circuit.

Market breadth was also positive, with 1,792 stocks advancing and 1,173 stocks declining.
Schematic of the optical microcavity with 2D semiconductor. The nonlinear optical response arises from the larger Bohr radii Rydberg excitons allowing to push the limit to few photon nonlinear limit. Image credit: Rezlind Bushati.

The ability to turn on and off a physical process with just one photon is a fundamental building block for quantum photonic technologies. Realizing this in a chip-scale architecture is important for scalability, which amplifies a breakthrough by City College of New York researchers led by physicist Vinod Menon. They've demonstrated for the first time the use of "Rydberg states" in solid state materials (previously shown in cold atom gases) to enhance nonlinear optical interactions to unprecedented levels in solid state systems. This feat is a first step towards realizing chip-scale scalable single photon switches.

In solid state systems, exciton-polaritons, half-light half-matter quasiparticles, which result from the hybridization of electronic excitations (excitons) and photons, are an attractive candidate to realize nonlinearities at the quantum limit. "Here we realize these quasiparticles with Rydberg excitons (excited states of excitons) in atomically thin semiconductors (2D materials)," said Menon, chair of physics in City College's Division of Science. "Excited states of excitons owing to their larger size, show enhanced interactions and therefore hold promise for accessing the quantum domain of single-photon nonlinearities, as demonstrated previously with Rydberg states in atomic systems."

According to Menon, the demonstration of Rydberg exciton-polaritons in two-dimensional semiconductors and their enhanced nonlinear response presents the first step towards the generation of strong photon interactions in solid state systems, a necessary building block for quantum photonic technologies.

Jie Gu, a graduate student working under Menon's supervision, was the first author of the study entitled "Enhanced nonlinear interaction of polaritons via excitonic Rydberg states in monolayer WSe2," which appears in Nature Communications. The team also included scientists from Stanford, Columbia, Aarhus and Montreal Polytechnic universities.

"The research of Professor Menon and his co-workers could have a tremendous impact on Army goals for ultra-low energy information processing and computing for mobile Army platforms such as unmanned systems," said Dr. Michael Gerhold, program manager at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory. "Optical switching and nonlinearities used in future computing paradigms that use photonics would benefit from this advancement. Such strong coupling effects would reduce energy consumption and possibly aid computing performance."

Explore further Enhanced interactions through strong light-matter coupling

More information: Jie Gu et al. Enhanced nonlinear interaction of polaritons via excitonic Rydberg states in monolayer WSe2, Nature Communications (2021). Journal information: Nature Communications Jie Gu et al. Enhanced nonlinear interaction of polaritons via excitonic Rydberg states in monolayer WSe2,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22537-x
AN election candidate for the role of general secretary of one of Irelands largest unions has strong Limerick connections.

Sharon Graham is bidding to replace the firebrand leader of the Unite trade union Len McCluskey as its general secretary.

Her mother hails from Abbeyfeale, and she used to spend summers on Shannonside.

If elected, Ms Graham says she will re-open Unites office at Pery Square in the city centre, and build its movement across Ireland, where it is second only to the Siptu trade union.

At present, she heads the organising and leverage department which is, in effect, the industrial action wing of the union.

She says that she is determined to invest in the unions infrastructure so that workers can be organised, and supported at local level across Ireland.

She says: My pledge for Unite is that we need to get back to the workplace and build Unite at the grass roots. If we want to take on bad bosses then the union has to have strength at the workplace to do that. We have to build at the workplace as never before. Opening the Limerick office fits that plan.

If elected, Ms Graham would be the first woman general secretary of Unite and the first woman leader of a general workers union in Ireland if she wins the vote.

As well as spending her childhood summers in the West Limerick town, she would also head back to Ireland for family visits when Covid-19 conditions allow.

Nominations for Unites general secretary will take place in June and the vote takes place in July.

The result will be announced on August 26.

It comes with Mr McCluskey retiring after 11 years in the role.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 23:31:01|Editor: huaxia

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MANILA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Metro Manila and its four adjacent areas will remain under strict lockdown for another two weeks starting May 1 while the government continues to curb the COVID-19 infections and decongest hospitals, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday.

"I'm sorry that I have to impose longer (quarantine restrictions) because it is needed due to a spike of infections, and hospitals are full," Duterte said in a public address, urging the people to cooperate and strictly follow the health protocol to avoid virus transmission.

Duterte said he was not surprised when the Philippines' confirmed COVID-19 cases breached the 1 million mark on Monday, adding that people keep on violating the lockdown laws.

"There will always be a rise, and maybe exponential of COVID-19 in the Philippines if you continue to violate the laws. There are a lot of you out there violating and violating and repeatedly violating the laws," he warned.

Duterte directed local government officials to enforce the laws.

The government placed Metro Manila and four adjacent provinces, home to over 28 million people, under strict lockdown since March 29 as COVID-19 cases soar.

The Philippines has been in varying lockdown levels over the past year when the government imposed a lockdown in mid-March last year. Despite the strict measures, the Southeast Asian country still grapples with surging infections, totaling 1,020,495 as of Wednesday. Enditem
During just one week last month, March 15th through March 21st, our FBIs National Instant Criminal Background Check System had 1,218,002 requests for clearance to sell individuals firearms. Yes, you read it right: 1.2 mm in just seven days. But to better understand Americas fears, our keen yearning for safety, and a frightening chasm between conservatives and liberals fueled by thoughtless politicians and sightless progressives, look at our nations first quarter.

In January we have evidence to believe that about 4 million guns were bought legally in the United States. In February, with just 28 days, there were 3.4 mm, and the months total in March -- according to the FBI system  was 4.7 mm.

Wow! That's 12.1 million in new gun sales in the first three months of 2021, or  might I also say  over 1 million guns each week this year.

The why is easy.

In New York City, over 5,300 uniformed officers have retired or flat-out quit, a 75 percent uptake from last year. And in Portland, 115 officers are so fed up with toothless riot control every night that they have surrendered their shields. The defund the police City Council is now shocked that reaction time on 911 calls is so deplorable. As one former official succinctly put it during an exit interview: The community shows zero support."

The City Council are raging idiots! he yelped the fact they are stupid a given, and oh, does it show. The Mayor and the council ignore actual facts on crime and policing in favor of radical leftist and anarchists fantasy! And, God bless him, in every large city in our nation underpaid, over-worked, and publicly ridiculed police officers are making an exodus from the rough-and-tumble daily grind.

Chattanooga is no different. This week I was gifted an emailed from a respected and admired member of the Chatttanooga Police Department who informed me was hoping to work a few more years but that because of what he sees and reads and hears, this seems to be a pretty good time to end a thankless career, and to find better ways to devote the rest of his life. I am not about to reveal his name, lest The Legion of the Miserable will clutter his way.

But he shared some out takes with me that revealed his heart, and that of most other city officers I really admire. Mark my words, when 9-1-1 calls fail to be answered in the city, this after modern-day riffraff has driven our officers away, God forbid the lessons 12.1 million firearms bought in just the last three months will help explain your folly.

* * *

A RETIRING POLICE OFFICER'S THOUGHTS AS HE JOINS THE EXODUS OF THE FED UP

* -- On not letting officers use union dues to support their legal defense in civil or criminal proceedings: I though most people in journalism were pro union. I guess not.

* -- On suspending traffic stops for minor offenses such as an expired tag: Maybe this is a good thing; I will never have to pay my annual registration fee again and this will be a welcome relief as I retire and will be on a fixed income. I will be able to drive as fast as I wish, and traffic signal adherence will be optional. If I want to throw my empty McDonalds bag out the window it will not be an issue so my truck will not stay cluttered.

* -- On the introduction of social workers performing police officer jobs: This is actually a welcome reform. I never did like going on some of the mental health crisis calls with violent people and would prefer to cruise neighborhoods and wave to people.

* -- On no more Stop & Frisk: Another welcome reform -- it is a lot safer to stay out of communities and respond only after the shooting is over and pick up the pieces.

* -- On doing away with qualified immunity: I guess this is really not an issue after some of the good reforms because we will no longer be doing traffic stops anyway and the social workers will handle all the violent calls involving lawfully-challenged people. [NOTE: Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that shields public officials from civil liability in lawsuits brought by victims of civil rights violations. Until recently, qualified immunity wasn't a well-known concept outside the legal profession.]

* -- On the handling of peaceful protests: This should not be an issue either because if something goes wrong, the social workers can handle the mob and keep them from burning down the social services office with their eloquent verbal skills.

The Chattanooga City Council flirted with defunding the police last year and, while those with walking around sense stilted the conversation, a proposed police "control committee" that almost got on the ballot is blatantly insulting. This, mind you is in a city where every week a black shooter pops a cap into a black victim and the black community  the overwhelming majority fine people  lives in fear of gunshots every night.

A haughty crowd of ministers loves to ruffle the communitys feathers on all issues they can uncover, but mention the name of Jamichael Jones, 29, who died after being shot Monday night on Chamberlain Avenue  Or how about D'Avonte Wofford, who was 18 when he was caught with two AK assault pistols and a bundle of marijuana before he was sentenced to 18 months is prison yesterday. Those are police issues! They do not concern us. Right.

The Chattanooga police officer offered in closing: It is too bad all these reforms cannot be enacted sooner, or I would stay, but I feel in this transition time it is best to retire."

* * *



ONE REASON SOME PEOPLE DONT LIKE POLICE

There was a law enforcement term I needed to have clarified  qualified immunity  so I called the Chattanooga Police Department to speak to an officer (refuse to call them cops). After a lengthy recording instead of a live person, I finally got a very professional type on the line, gave my name, and the reason for my call, and asked if an officer was available. They are all in the field.

I then asked if I could leave my number in hopes of a return call. It doesnt work that way, said the expert, admitting she was not an officer. What is your address?

We dont have an address, Chattanoogan.com is an Internet website.

The professional really balks, Without your address, I am unable to determine the sector.

What!  Maam, never mind, but now I know why some people dislike the police.

Haughty and arrogance dont play in my ballpark when I try to be nice as possible to people, most especially professionals.

And all government telephones should require a human answer to those who pay taxes  any salaries.

But know your sector 

* * *

royexum@aol.com
By Yang Moo-jin





Amid the U.S.-China conflict, the Moon Jae-in administration's diplomatic strategy appears to constitute "balancing diplomacy" and "strategic ambiguity." The United States and China are by no means subjects of choice for us. The United States is an ally, which forms the basis for all cooperation, and China is a strategic partner. As we have to live together with China as a neighboring country, balancing diplomacy is based on reality.



Some critics of balancing diplomacy insist that we choose either the U.S. or China. Admittedly, if abandoning one country greatly benefits our national interest, choosing one between the two would be acceptable. The U.S., along with its forces stationed in South Korea, is the core of our national interest; while China is an important partner for our economic development. Last year, the trade volume between South Korea and China was $240 billion, which is larger than the combined trade volume with the U.S. and Japan. Therefore, balancing diplomacy is seen as a very realistic strategy from the perspective of the national interest.



The current situation of the U.S.-China conflict is worrisome. The United States seems to be dividing countries into two teams or making countries take sides in order to hold China in check. China is working on a joint action plan together with North Korea and Russia in order to counter the checks by the U.S. The international order affected by the U.S.-China conflict seems to be entering the threshold of a new cold war. The competition in semiconductors between the U.S. and China is also in the same context. The response by the U.S. to the rise of China in terms of semiconductors comes from the concern that it could be defeated in their hegemonic competition, especially if Washington loses its lead in the strategic constituents of all electronic devices and equipment including military equipment, to Beijing.



There is a term the "Thucydides Trap" from the ancient Greek philosopher Thucydides. He argued that there was no choice but to compete for hegemony between Athens, the then hegemonic state, and Sparta, the emerging city-state. It is appropriate to predict that the United States, the dominant state today will eventually collide with China, the emerging power. As Washington has established the Quad system to check Beijing, and the latter works with North Korea and Russia to respond to this, the confrontation between the camps will inevitably intensify. It feels like we have already entered the threshold of a new cold war.



Strategic ambiguity is part of a strategy and tactics commonly used in diplomacy, regardless of age or region. It should be made clear that the ROK-U.S. alliance comes first. However, if a wise diplomatic strategy that does not confront China is "strategic ambiguity," such a strategy is essential. The Korean government says that there is no reason not to participate in the Quad if the three conditions of capacity, openness, and transparency regarding its issues are satisfied. The government has made its position clear; it will not join a cooperative body designed to keep a specific nation in check or excluding it. If the Korean government declares its participation in the expanded Quad, or Quad+, the Chinese administration may react to such an announcement. Or, if Seoul declares it will not join the Quad+, the U.S. government may register its opposition to this. Upon firm principles of capacity, openness, and transparency, it will be better for Seoul's diplomacy and security to maintain ambiguity on the one hand and manage the U.S.-China conflict so as not to go to extremes, on the other.



South Korea and the U.S. will hold a summit near the end of May. To a larger extent, pending issues between the two sides to expand the bilateral alliance, regional issues for keeping China in check, global issues such as COVID-19 and the climatic environment are supposed to be at the top of the agenda. President Moon is expected to concentrate on North Korea policy and cooperation with regard to COVID-19 vaccines. Regarding North Korea policy, Moon seems to want to earnestly request the U.S. to enter into dialogue with the North in the near future based on the Singapore Declaration. Regarding the "anti-China" alliance, it appears that Moon is explaining our particular stance by underlining that South Korea-U.S. vs. North Korea-China in new cold war is not at all helpful to the two Koreas, the U.S. and China.



Given that it has refrained from criticism and has carefully controlled levels of provocation, North Korea is thought to be anticipating the new U.S. policy. Of course, if the new policy focuses on North Korea's human rights issues and states nothing about possible sanctions relief after denuclearization, North Korea will announce a tough statement and gradually increase its level of provocative actions from testing short range missiles to launching SLBMs and ICBMs.



It seems that next month will be a turning point for Korean Peninsula issues, whether there will be a continuation of confrontation or a transition to conversation. The Korean government should not neglect pursuit of a Korean Peninsula peace process. North Korea needs to be made aware of the greater benefits found through conversation rather than provocation. The U.S. must also keep an open mind to understand the uniqueness of the Korean Peninsula. It should not overlook the fact that it is possible to activate inter-Korean exchanges, improve the human rights of the North Korean people and get clues on the denuclearization of the North if Pyongyang is allowed to access the outside world.





Yang Moo-jin (yangmj@kyungnam.ac.k) is a professor at the University of North Korean Studies).


Romania's National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT) says it is "incomprehensible" the extent to which Romania has included on the COVID-19 yellow list most European destinations, "based on irrelevant statistics that report only the number of new cases in the total population and does not take into account the fact that they test more and, implicitly, better control the epidemiological developments", report agerpres.

"Under memo 12 of March 4, 2021, ANAT called on the government for support by endorsing the memoranda regarding the protocols with Israel and Greece regarding the reciprocal access of tourists, in order to unblock the sale of Romania as a tourist destination on those markets, as well as the access of Romanian tourists to those destinations. Unfortunately, that has not materialised yet and the summer season is nearing in. As such, ANAT sent yesterday [April 27] a new open letter to the attention of Mr Florin Citu, prime minister and chairman of the National Committee for Emergency Situations (CNSU), and Mr Claudiu Nasui, minister of the economy, entrepreneurship and tourism, expressing its concern with the introduction on the yellow list of some countries where tourists coming to Romania originate and where Romanian tourists travel. The measure has again led to a wave of holiday cancellations and refunds, given that the business state of travel agencies is at least delicate. At the same time, the countries of the European Union officially agreed last week to introduce the so-called digital green certificates as a step towards reopening tourism this summer," ANAT officials said in a statement released on Wednesday.

According to ANAT, Israel - the country that in the past years was the main pillar of incoming tourism in Romania and which is also a destination requested by thousands of Romanian tourists - submitted to Romanian officials a proposal to sign a bilateral agreement recognising Romanian vaccination certificates, so that serological tests may no longer be necessary, but it has not received any answer.Also, almost a month ago, Greece proposed a similar memorandum to Romania and announced the opening of tourist traffic in mid-April for the citizens of the other member states of the European Union, under concrete circumstances.Currently, the yellow list includes about 60 countries, such as Cyprus, Turkey, France, Italy, Maldives, Croatia, Belgium and Bulgaria.At the same time, CNSU Decision Article 2(5) mentions that international transport operators are forbidden to board for travel to Romania persons not yet vaccinated, without proof of antibodies or who do not present a negative test.ANAT Chairman Dumitru Luca points out that all tourism employers support the vaccination campaign and the need to accelerate it.ANAT requests the government to provide support with the necessary steps in order to adopt a set of clear and relaxed guidelines for tourist movement by revising the criteria for introducing various states and territories on the yellow list and by signing co-operation protocols with countries that are target markets for Romanian tourism.
A 26-year-old suspect has been charged with capital murder in the slaying of a Georgia woman and two children whose bodies were found in Lake Eufaula.

ALEAs State Bureau of Investigation announced the charges against Demetrius McGhee, of Clayton. He is charged in the deaths of Ramona Hudson and two children believed to be ages 16 and 12.

The bodies of Hudson and the children were discovered at 7:18 a.m. Monday in a vehicle that was partially submerged in the water near Creek Town Park. Barbour County Coroner Chip Chapman said the victims were dead before their vehicle was pushed into the water.

A surviving male was taken by helicopter ambulance to Southeast Health in Dothan, according to the police chief there, Will Benny. The chief said officers were at the hospital awaiting state investigators. Benny described the survivor as a person of interest.

ALEA Corporal Jeremy J. Burkett, in announcing McGhees arrest, said law enforcement officers made contact with McGhee, who was released from the hospital on April 26.

He declined to say whether McGhee was the same male taken by ambulance to the Dothan hospital or to identify McGhees relationship to victims. SBI has not yet released the victims names or ages, even though some of that information was released by the county coroner.

McGhee is being held without bond in the Barbour County Jail. The jail declined to release his mugshot.

SBI has requested the assistance of the Houston County Sheriffs Office Dive Team to search the area where the vehicle was located for other evidence related to this crime. Multiple agencies are assisting in the investigation including the Eufaula Police Department, the FBIs Dothan Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Cuthbert (Ga.) Police Department, the Randolph County (Ga.) Sheriffs Office, Barbour County Sheriffs Office, Dothan Police Department and the Houston County Sheriffs Office.
As the name suggests, it was a more aerodynamic version of the Monte Carlo. Based on the SS, it featured a more deeply sloped rear window, a shorter trunk lid, and a redesigned rear spoiler. Overall, it looked much sleeker than the standard, boxy Monte Carlo.But the Aerocoupe wasn't born out of Chevy's concern for aerodynamics. This car had a solid link to NASCAR racing. In 1983, Ford introduced a sleeker version of the Thunderbird, called the Aerobird. Homologated for NASCAR, the Aerobird started winning races against the brick-shaped Monte Carlo, so Chevy started working on its own aero coupe.We're talking about the 1980s when stock car racing wasn't about pure stock cars, but they still had to look like production vehicles available in showrooms.The Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe debuted for the 1986 model year when Chevy built 200 units, the mininum production number NASCAR officials required for road-going features to be incorporated into race cars. The Aerocoupe was sold for 1987 too, this time around moving 6,052 units, about 15% of the total Monte Carlo SS production.With a little more than 6,200 examples produced over two years, the Aerocoupe is one of the rarest G-body cars out there. They're slowly but surely becoming collectors' items, but that didn't stop someone from altering a low-mileage, mint-condition Aerocoupe by putting it on much bigger, 24-inch wheels.Wheel swaps aren't a big deal under normal circumstances, but this Aerocoupe was notched too, having its frame altered so the Amani rims fit under the fenders. Reversing this mod is tricky, to say the least. Everything else is still stock, though, including the interior. Yes, the steering wheel matches the rim design, a specific feature for donks, but the rest of the cabin looks like it did when this Aerocoupe left the factory back in the 1980s. And it's super clean too because this G-body shows only 26,000 miles (41,842 km) on the odometer.The low production run and the low-mileage status make this Aerocoupe a rare gem, but is it still collectible now that the frame has been altered? I kind of like the way it looks on 24-inch wheels because it boasts that cool restomod look. What do you think? Yay or nay on the wheels? Should cars like these be kept stock so that they retain their value?
The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair in the United Arab Emirates is scheduled for May 23-29 as a hybrid event, with both virtual events and a live exhibition at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center. This is the 30th year of the event, which offers grant support for literary translations and features presentations from the winners of the Sheik Zayed Book Award, as well as the announcement of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

"After a challenging year for the whole publishing community, we are delighted to host the physical book fair next month and pleased with the large numbers of distinguished speakers who will be participating," said Dr Ali bin Tamim, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and secretary-general of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.

The in-person events will largely be limited to local publishers and exhibitors, with Germany serving as the guest of honor. The 2022 fair will feature a more extensive line-up of German authors, as well as international guests.

Among this year's speakers is author Mitch Albom, who is appearing on the program with English historian Bettany Hughes, German children's author Paul Maar. Publishing figures on the program include Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, president of the International Publishers Association, and Juergen Boos, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair.
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Obituary for Gerry Hughes

We have learnt with sadness of the recent death of our former colleague Gerry Hughes on 12th March.

Gerry was a Visiting Professor in Trinity Business School since 2006. Prior to this he was a Research Professor at the ESRI.

Gerrys particular interest was labour economics and pension policy. He was an expert in both. His publications in the area of labour economics were both numerous and widely cited. His research on pension policy, in particular the difficult issue of tax reliefs, earned him an international reputation.

Since he joined the School he continued to research and publish widely in the area of pension policy, co-editing five books, and publishing numerous articles. He gave papers on pension policy at conferences in Ireland, the U.S. Belgium, Germany, and other countries He also found the time to contribute to the section on Ireland of the European Social Protection Network.

One of Gerrys many attributes was that he was a natural collaborator on research and publications. He also enjoyed and sought out other forms of collaboration for example mentoring research students and staff.

Gerry was particularly known and highly regarded in the Institute for Social Law in the University of Leuven, Belgium and the Institute for Labour, Social and Business Law, University of Munster , Germany. He was also sought out by staff seeking advice on research in several Polish universities, for example the Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics, and the Department of Business Economics in Poznan University of Technology.

Gerry also contributed to lasting research on pension policy by active involvement in setting up institutions for pension research and collaboration such as the European Network for Research on Supplementary Pensions and the Pension Policy Research Group here in Ireland.

Gerry was full of energy, sociable, and had a keen sense of social justice.

He will be missed by all who benefitted from his knowledge and enjoyed his friendship.

Media Contact:

Ian Dunne, Marketing & Communications Officer | dunneia@tcd.ie | +353 1 896 2493
The security company at the centre of the Melbourne hotel quarantine leak that started an outbreak that killed 800 people is suing the Victorian Government.

Unified Security is taking legal action to demand about $11 million in unpaid invoices for its work on the disastrous scheme.

The Sydney company also stood down 530 guards working in NSW quarantine hotels after being told its services were no longer required.

NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal this week heard it was attempting to overturn a NSW Police decision to strip their master security license, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Unified Security oversaw security at 13 Melbourne quarantine hotels, including the Rydges on Swanston where the biggest coronavirus leak originated

Unified Security oversaw security at 13 Melbourne quarantine hotels, including the Rydges on Swanston where the biggest coronavirus leak originated.

Hotel and security staff caught the deadly virus from infected travellers and spread it among themselves, and then to family and friends.

The NSW Police Security Licensing and Enforcement Directorate last month revoked Unified's license due to 'undeclared changes in ownership' after it was transferred to the sister of majority shareholder David Millward.

Mr Millward in November denied the quarantine leak was his company's fault, rather it was lax government standards that left all staff vulnerable.

'The clear evidence from the hotel quarantine inquiry is that the primary cause of the outbreak was the appalling lack of infection-control protocols in the hotels and the confused and ineffective governance structure that meant no one knew who was in charge,' he said.

The company's chief executive, Matthew Conway, told NCAT the company wouldn't survive three weeks if the company lost its license.

But the board instead noted Unified's revenue growth since acquiring the hotel quarantine contract.

The NSW Police Security Licensing and Enforcement Directorate last month revoked Unified's license due to 'undeclared changes in ownership' after it was transferred to the sister of majority shareholder David Millward (left), Sandy Pratt (right)

Unified Security is taking legal action to demand about $11 million in unpaid invoices for its work on the disastrous Victorian hotel quarantine scheme

The tribunal heard the company's revenue skyrocketed from $16 million in 2018-19 to $68 million last year since providing security for the NSW and Victorian quarantine systems.

Unified's earnings exceeded $10million in 2019-20 and has accrued $6.6million in the first nine months of the current financial year.

It also provided loans of between $5 million and $15 million to USG Holdings, its parent company, paying a $5 million dividend.

NCAT placed an interim freeze on the removal of Unified's license.

The tribunal was told Millward Investments owned 100 per cent of USG Holdings, but the sole shareholder was not David Millward.

Rather his sister Sandy Pratt, who describes herself as working in 'executive support' for Unified.

Mr Conway said he was contacted by NSW Government's Public Works Advisory on April 20 and told the company was no longer required.

He gave 530 guards their notice the next day that they were stood down.

Unified's lawyer Mark Robinson asked his client if it wanted to sue the Victorian Government over the unpaid invoices, where he confirmed it was already taking measures.

'We are more than contemplating,' Mr Conway said. 'We are prepared and ready to file.'

The Public Works Advisory said it was no longer using Unified because it was using existing companies ACES, ISEC and Reddawn to fill the hotel quarantine quota.
The United States is sending "a whole series of help" that India needs in its battle against COVID-19, President said here, reiterating that New Delhi had done the same when his country was in need last year.

Biden had spoken at length with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and conveyed solidarity with India in its fight against the viral disease.

"We are sending immediately a whole series of help that he needs, including providing for those remdesivir and other drugs that are able to deal with this," Biden told reporters at a White House news conference on Tuesday.

"We are sending the actual mechanical parts that are needed for the machinery they have to build a vaccine, and that is being done as well," he said.

The president said he had discussed with Prime Minister Modi on when the US would be able to send actual vaccines to India.

"The problem is right now, we have to make sure we have other vaccines like Novavax and others coming on probably, and I think we will be in a position to be able to share vaccines as well as know-how with other countries who are in real need," he said.

"I might add when we were in a bind in the very beginning, India helped us," Biden added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Someone on Facebook complained about visitors to this country who dont speak English. There are 7,000 languages in the world. I dont know about the Facebook writer, but I speak just one.

Im sorry, Senor Perez. Lo siento. Ive forgotten most of the Spanish you taught me in grades 11 and 12, as you rolled your r sounds and hoped your students would do the same.

Most of us at Bessemer High School never learned how. We spoke a textbook Spanish, hesitant and rote, with Southern accents instead of Spanish ones. We stood in front of the class with practice partners, reciting dull conversations, hoping to get a passing grade.

When we made a mistake, youd give us a glare. It meant, Try harder.

Even when I took two semesters of Spanish at The University of Alabama, I was still a beginner. And then I forgot most of it until I met people who spoke it daily. And I thought of you, Senor Perez, and wished I had tried harder.

Nobody is traveling now, due to the pandemic, but when people did, they had to encounter other languages and other cultures, which is the purpose of travel anyway. Why go somewhere and eat American burgers and fries or sit with other Americans at a cafe just like you were back at home?

My husband and I are budget travelers. We dont stay in Travel and Leisure type hotels, but we have a room and a place to store our suitcase. Since we dont have a tour guide, we wander around, sometimes in circles.

On one trip we stayed with old college friends in northern Spain. The people there spoke Catalan. They helped us get by since we didnt. On another trip we rented a house near Granada with American friends. The house was spacious and comfortable but the road beside it was broken and looked like an angry giant stomped it and cracked it in two.

Some friends decided to walk off their jet lag and headed down a wooded path. They took the road less traveled and that made all the difference. They got lost. When they passed some locals, our friends asked directions In Alabama and New York accents. They pantomimed broken road to polite stares. They asked for help in loud voices, as though their volume would translate into Spanish.

The language barrier was as steep as the hills around the village of Viznar. The men tried to assist. They smiled. They nodded. But they had no idea what the Americans were asking.

Eventually, our friends followed a shepherd and his flock to the broken road. They made it in time for dinner.

Once on a bus in Paris, that city rumored to be unfriendly, my husband and I were going north instead of south. When the passengers heard our stumbling attempts at asking directions in guidebook French, three of them came forward to help  in English.

And in Italy, my husband bought a shirt at a village shop where nobody knew English. He pantomimed sleeves and collar and pointed to his own damp and dirty shirt. The shop owner took him to a row of shirts in his size. He spoke no Italian, so she tried harder. She practiced saying shirt back to him in his own language.

We speak different languages, sing different songs, and eat different foods. But each morning, somewhere on this planet, a family wakes up to sunshine or rain, drinks coffee or tea, and goes off to work in an office or farm or factory. People say good morning in their own native tongue. It wouldnt hurt us to learn to say it, too.

When people travel again, I hope well help visitors to this country navigate their way around. Its really a form of do unto others, and a rebuke to English only memes of a few years ago.

If youve ever been a stranger in a strange land, you can return the favor. Instead of being miffed that people dont speak your language, learn a few words of theirs. If you cant understand them, try harder. It can make all the difference.
Cebu Pacific, the Philippines largest national flag carrier, is offering a special month-end seat sale on its Dubai to Manila flights, with one-way base fare up for grabs for as low as AED79 ($21.5).

Flipinos and other residents in the UAE can book their flights to the Philippines from April 27 to 30, with travel dates between December 1, 2021 and February 28, 2022.

Travelling between these months is a great opportunity to visit the countrys finest tourist spots. While the UAE experiences the winter chill during this period, temperatures hit the right spot of warmth and comfort in the Philippines.

Cebu Pacific also offers daily flights from Dubai to Manila and return flight frequencies have been increased to five flights weekly.

In addition, the carrier recently announced its permanent removal of change fees, allowing passengers, including those travelling from Dubai to Manila, to rebook as many times as they need, free of charge. A minimal fare difference may still apply.

Passengers may also use their remaining balance in their Travel Fund to book their flights in this seat sale online through the Cebu Pacific website.

Meanwhile, all Filipinos flying home are advised to bring valid IDs, travel documents, and adhere to the latest travel regulations and quarantine measures outlined by the Philippine government. Passengers are required to fill out the Covid-19 Electronic Case Investigation Form (e-CIF) through the link: https://www.balikpinas.ph/ecif-registration.html.

CEB has been rated 7/7 stars by airlineratings.com for its Covid-19 compliance as it continues to implement a multi-layered approach to safety, in accordance with global aviation standards. These include daily extensive cleaning and disinfection protocols for all aircraft and facilities, antigen testing before duty for all frontliners and crew members, and contactless flight procedures. These are all in accordance with global best practises and the highest safety standards. Aircraft are equipped with hospital grade HEPA air filters, which make inflight transmission of Covid-19 low or virtually non-existent.

Flights may be booked through www.cebupacificair.com or the mobile app, available both in Google Play and App Store. Those who prefer to pay in cash may pay over the counter at any branch of Al-Ansari Exchange and Al Rais Travels located across the UAE, within eight hours of making a booking online. - TradeArabia News Service
New Delhi, April 28 : Amid the oxygen crisis that has hit the country including Delhi following the second wave of coronavirus, a camp has been set up in the national capital near the Jangpura-Bhogal area where Covid-infected patients are being provided oxygen. What's more heartening is 10 empty cylinders were brought from Patiala in Punjab to deal with the issue of shortage of cylinders.

On behalf of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, a group named "Hum Chakar Gobind Ke" has set up this camp. Previously, the group members were were transporting the oxygen cylinder to the houses but the increasing number of patients made the task a bit difficult for them.

Jasmeer Singh Khalsa, a member of this camp, told IANS: "Some of our colleagues have started this camp, we have a body named 'Hum Chakar Gobind Ke'. At least 10 to 15 boys are currently serving in the camp. We have installed an oxygen cylinder in every vehicle, and have kept the patient in the vehicle itself." "Initially, we tried to take the cylinders home but that was a bit difficult task. One of our companions, Bobby Bhatia, supported us and we have set up this camp right in front of his house," he said.

On behalf of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management, the camp is also providing food to homes .

Khalsa and his colleagues were also a part of the team that was involved in sanitizing houses last year.

This year, they began providing food, along with arranging oxgyen for the Covid patients.

This service is running smoothly since Monday.

Currently, all the patients reaching there in the vehicle are receiving oxygen. Also, cylinders are being filled from Manesar in Haryana.

Recently, the 'Oxygen Langar' service was also started in the Gurdwara in Ghaziabad, where serious patients can go and receive oxygen in the car.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The former top aide of President Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, filed a suit against the Biden administration. He cites the discrimination against White farmers for filing the case.

White farmers discrimination is a reality

According to a legal group headed by Stephen Miller, a former top aide to ex-president Donald Trump, filed a case that charged the Biden administration for not providing funds arguing for "socially marginalized farmers and ranchers" discriminate against white farmers, reported Newsmax.

Based on the case against the administration, the Department of Agriculture engages in racial discrimination, especially against Whites.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and others by America First Legal. President Joe Biden's America Rescue Plan includes the idea. According to AFL, Miller presents himself in the lawsuit as a private citizen instead of in his official capacity.

As quoted in the Hill, the group said, "The United States Department of Agriculture administers numerous statutes that provide government aid to 'socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers'."

In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Miller said, "America First Legal condemns prejudice in all kinds."

He also quoted Martin Luther King, Jr. with the words, "We affirm that Americans should not be judged by the color of skin, but by their character nothing else."

Newt Gingrich Slams Biden Administration, "Most Anti-American Presidency in History"

Miller said that MLK's vision is central to our democracy, in which all individuals are equal in the law and their Creator. As a result, the AFL is pursuing the Biden administration today to prevent discrimination against White farmers and implementing measures produced under the American Rescue Plan Act that prejudices against American farmers and ranchers based on race.

"The way to stop discrimination based on race is to stop discriminating based on race," said Chief Justice John Roberts in a 2007 decision.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) did not offer any comments to Newsmax on Tuesday evening.

Miller founded America First Legal earlier in the month with the aim of "resisting the radical left's agenda."

In the first 100 days of the Biden administration, the far left has been active as Democrats adopt racial and gender-based politics.

He stated that the conservative and traditionalist Americans have been under attack by the left, and radical progressive legal organizations were eating out the edges of conservative versus liberal or left-leaning elements.

Miller described it as a one-sided legal assault, without conservatives knowing it. Americans, especially White farmers, now feel this attack on the U.S. Constitution.

Miller said that the organization planned to file lawsuits in Texas, similar to how liberal groups were using the courts to challenge Trump's policies.

Trump praised the organization's efforts, saying that The Radical Left has been relentless in their court cases. He also urged Conservatives and supporters of America First Legal to wake up while noting his admiration for Stephen Miller and Mark Meadows for filling the vital gap.

Newt Gingrich on 2020 Elections: The Worst Since 1824, States Should Demand Recount







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New Delhi:

Congress President Sonia Gandhi who was admitted to Delhis Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Friday over stomach upset, has been discharged.

"Sonia Gandhi has recovered from upset stomach and has been discharged today at 4 pm. Her condition at the time of discharge was stable and she has been advised rest," said Dr D.S.Rana , Chairman (Board of Management), Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Congress Chief was in Shimla when she caught a stomach bug and was brought to Delhi's Ganga Ram Hospital for the treatment.

Earlier on Friday, Sonia Gandhis son and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi thanked people for their love and concern. He tweeted her well-being and said she was doing better.

Ma was in Shimla & caught a stomach bug so we got her back. Nothing to worry, she's much better. Thanks for the tremendous love and concern.  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 27, 2017

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Associated Press

I read Christine Benedict's letter, "Support for Zeldin's gubernatorial campaign," April 17, extolling the qualifications of Lee Zeldin, Congressman and Republican candidate for governor. What Benedict didnt explain was Zeldins support to overthrow the election results of President Joe Biden. He called for the votes in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to be thrown out.

Zeldin's congressional record ratings by advocacy organizations are: conservation, 14 percent; human rights, 7 percent; and Planned Parenthood, zero percent.
Household aerosols now release more harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than all vehicles in the UK, a new study reveals.

In 2017, the UK population emitted around 60,000 tonnes of VOCs from aerosols but only around 30,000 tonnes from UK cars running gasoline.

But even accounting for all forms of road transport in the country  not just cars, but motorbikes, vans, lorries and buses  aerosols still emit more VOCs, the experts say.

VOCs are a large group of odorous chemicals, many of which are released by cleaning and beauty products, burning fuel and cooking.

Exposure to some VOCs has been linked to term chronic health effects, including lung conditions, liver and kidney damage, nerve problems and cancer.

In the presence of sunlight, VOCs also combine with nitrogen oxides (NOx) to cause smog, which itself is harmful to human health and damages crops and plants.

The experts are urging the public, policy makers and manufacturers to make the switch away from aerosols to the widely-available alternatives.

A new study by the University of York and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science reveals that the picture is damaging globally with the world's population now using huge numbers of disposable aerosols

WHAT ARE VOCs? Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are up to ten times higher indoors than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Sources of VOCs in the home include aerosol sprays, cleansers and disinfectants, moth repellents, air fresheners and automotive products. Other sources include building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, permanent markers, correction fluids, carbonless copy paper and craft materials including glues and adhesives. Advertisement

'Virtually all aerosol based consumer products can be delivered in non-aerosol form, for example as dry or roll-on deodorants, bars of polish not spray,' said study author Professor Alastair Lewis from University of York's Department of Chemistry.

'Making just small changes in what we buy could have a major impact on both outdoor and indoor air quality, and have relatively little impact on our lives.'

The study provides global estimates of VOCs from aerosols, which are based on a wide range of different sources.

'In some countries, like the UK, we have reports from manufacturer associations that give sales figures, and then emissions data that go in to government and international environmental reporting,' Professor Lewis told MailOnline.

'We then combine that with lab data to turn sales into tonnes of emissions.'

In the UK, 6.1 per cent of human-made VOC emissions were from aerosols in 2017, up from two per cent in 1990, the study reveals.

VOCs that are currently being used in aerosols are less damaging than the ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) they replaced in the 1980s.

CFCs, which are classified as halocarbons, damage Earth's protective ozone layer that shields us from harmful ultraviolet rays generated from the Sun.

Recognising the danger of CFCs, the Montreal Protocol was agreed in 1987, which led to their phase-out and, recently, the first signs of recovery of the Antarctic ozone layer.

Graph from the research paper shows the contents of aerosols sold in the UK between the years 1965 and 2019 - predominantly deodorants and body sprays (pink)

VOCs AND SMOG VOCs are responsible for creating ozone (O3) at ground level, which is seen as a smoggy cloud and can damage the lungs when inhaled. Although almost no O3 is directly emitted by human activities, UV rays from the sun cause photochemical reactions between NOx and VOCs, creating O3. NOx emissions occur when cars or power plants burn fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline, while VOCs derive from cars, paints, insecticides, cleaners, industrial solvents and chemical manufacturing. 'The widespread switching of aerosol propellant with non-VOC alternatives would lead to potentially meaningful reductions in surface ozone,' said Professor Alastair Lewis. Advertisement

However, at the time, no-one foresaw such a large rise in global consumption of aerosol products, which have been a 'ubiquitous part of life' for decades, the experts say.

On average, in high-income countries, 10 cans of aerosol are used per person per year, with the largest contributor being personal care products.

The global amount emitted from aerosols every year is surging as lower and middle-income economies grow and people in these countries buy more.

The world's population now use huge numbers of disposable aerosols  more than 25 billion cans per year.

This is estimated to lead to the release of more than 1.3 million tonnes of VOC air pollution each year, and could rise to 2.2 million tonnes by 2050.

Currently, about 93 per cent of current aerosol emissions by mass are VOCs, with small contributions from compressed air (6.6 per cent) and fluorocarbons (0.4 per cent).

In the home, aerosols are mostly used to store deodorants and body sprays, but also hairsprays, air fresheners, wood polish, insecticides and oven cleaners.

In the 1990s and 2000s by far the largest source of VOC pollution in the UK was gasoline cars and fuel, the study authors say.

In the presence of sunlight, VOCs combine with a second pollutant, nitrogen oxides, to cause photochemical smog, which is harmful to human health and damages crops and plants. Pictured, smog over New York

But these emissions have reduced dramatically in recent years through controls such as catalytic converters on vehicles and fuel vapour recovery at filling stations.

'Only 17,000 tonnes of VOC is estimated to come out of the tailpipe of all UK vehicles,' Professor Lewis told MailOnline.

'Most people obviously imagine the tailpipe is the main source of vehicle pollution, but actually its a surprisingly small amount because exhaust treatments (catalytic convertors) are really very effective these days at removing VOCs.'

Vehicles may keep seeing falls in VOC emissions, because of the government's ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2030, in a bid to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and achieve the government's net zero emissions target by 2050.



The researchers believe a continued use of aerosols when non-aerosol alternatives exist is often down to 'the continuation of past consumer preferences and habits'.

Non-aerosol alternatives that can be easily be applied in liquid or solid forms include roll-on deodorant, hair gel, solid furniture polish, bronzing lotion and room fragrance.

More generally, the role played by aerosol VOC emissions in air pollution needs to be much more clearly articulated in messaging on air pollution and its management to the public, the team say in their paper.

'Labelling of consumer products as high VOC emitting  and clearly linking this to poor indoor and outdoor air quality  may drive change away from aerosols to their alternatives, as has been seen previously with the successful labelling of paints and varnishes,' said Professor Lewis.

The paper, 'Global emissions of VOCs from compressed aerosol products' has been published in Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene.
The Islamic State in Sinai recently executed another Christian on video. In a clip recorded before the execution, the slain Copt, Nabil H. Salama, 62, "confessed" to his crime: building the only church in Bir al-Abd in Sinai  a church that was supposedly "cooperating with the Egyptian army's and intelligence's war on the Islamic State."

Although Salama offered this "confession" only after being tortured  after his front teeth were busted out of his mouth  the charge that Coptic churches are actively and nefariously working to undermine the Islamic order is as widespread among Egypt's Islamists as it is constantly morphing in absurd directions.

Thus, in an unrestrained tirade back in 2010, Muhammad Salim al-Awwa, former secretary-general of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, appeared on Al-Jazeera and accused the Copts, not of "cooperating" with the Egyptian military, but of "stocking arms and ammunitions in their churches and monasteries"  imported from Israel no less, "the heart of the Coptic Cause"  and "preparing to wage war against Muslims." He warned that if nothing is done, the "country will burn" and incited Muslims to "counteract the strength of the [Coptic] Church."

In reality, all that ever "burns" are Coptic churches at the hands of Muslims  as when nearly 70 churches were attacked and many destroyed following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood's Muhammad Morsi. This is to say nothing of all the Coptic churches that have been bombed, leaving scores of Christian worshipers dead, by terrorists. To name just some of the more notable incidents: On Palm Sunday, 2017, two Coptic churches were bombed and 50 worshipers killed; on Sunday, December 11, 2016, a Coptic church was bombed and at least 27 worshipers killed; on New Year's Eve of 2011, another church was bombed and about 23 Christians killed; and on Christmas Eve of 2010, seven Christians were shot dead while leaving their church.

The fact is, Muslim terrorists are notorious for offering any number of pretexts  many of which border on the absurd  to justify their cowardly targeting and murdering of Christians, in and out of Egypt. The Islamic State cited "grievances" to justify its grisly slaughter of 21 Christians  20 Copts and one Ghanaian  on the shores of Libya in 2015. An article in Dabiq, the Islamic State's online magazine in English, titled "Revenge for the Muslimat [Muslim women] Persecuted by the Coptic Crusaders of Egypt," claimed that the 21 Christians were slaughtered in "revenge" for two Coptic women who, back in 2010 and according to Islamic propaganda, were compelled by Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church to recant their conversion to Islam and return to Christianity.

Indeed, the late Coptic pope Shenouda III, who was then nearly 90 years old and immobile, was portrayed as "a U.S. agent, an abductor and torturer of female Muslim converts from Christianity, who was stockpiling weapons in monasteries and churches with a view to waging war against the Muslims and dividing Egypt to create a Coptic State."

The Islamic State also cited the 2010 bombing of Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad as a product of "revenge" for those same supposedly forced-to-reconvert-back-to-Christianity women in Egypt. Then, armed jihadis had stormed the Iraqi church during worship service and opened fire indiscriminately before detonating their suicide vests, which were "filled with ball bearings to kill as many people as possible." Nearly 60 Christians  including women, children, and even babies (pictures of aftermath here)  were slaughtered.

Nor is this blame-the-victim strategy limited to Egypt. Speaking two days after a series of bombings rocked Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, 2017, killing 359 people, a junior defense minister said that the attack "was in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch," where a New Zealand man killed around 50 Muslims in two mosques.

Two points give the lie to all such claims of Islamic "retaliation" due to "grievances":

First, what did the Iraqi Christians of Our Lady Church, or the one decapitated Ghanaian, have to do with the imagined crimes of the Coptic Church? For that matter, what do Christians in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia have to do with the secular West? Whenever the latter somehow offends Muslims  whether by publishing cartoons or launching military operations in Afghanistan  Muslims "respond" by terrorizing the Christian minorities in their midst.

What exactly do brown Sri Lankan Christians celebrating Easter have to do with a white terrorist in New Zealand? Moreover, if the Easter attack was a form of retaliation, what explains the fact that Muslims bomb churches on virtually every Easter (most recently in Indonesia).

This leads to the second point: since when did Islamic terrorists who regularly preach hate for the other ever need a reason or excuse to make the lives of non-Muslims, chief among them Christians, miserable? For instance, since July 2011, I have been compiling monthly "Muslim Persecution of Christians" reports (published by Gatestone Institute). In virtually every one of these monthly reports, Muslims bomb, burn, or ban churches and generally terrorize Christians. Are we seriously to believe that this is all due to Muslim "grievances" against the disempowered Christian minorities in their midst?

Indeed, even in the most recent murder, that of Nabil Salama the Copt in Sinai, his murderers, perhaps inadvertently, let escape the truth behind their animus. In his execution video, Salama appears on his knees, with three men holding rifles standing behind him. The one in the middle launches into a typical jihadi diatribe: "All praise to Allah, who ordered his slaves [Muslims] to fight and who assigned humiliation onto the infidels"  this latter part is said while the terrorist contemptuously points at the bound and kneeling man before him  "until they pay the jizya while feeling utterly subdued."

This is a paraphrase of Koran 9:29, which commands Muslims to wage jihad against the "People of the Book  Christians and Jews  until they pay tribute and feel themselves utterly subdued." Note: The Koran does not cite any grievances against Christians and Jews  except for the fact that they are Christians and Jews, infidels, who reject the authority of Muhammad and are therefore the enemy.

In short, all "grievances" cited by those Muslims who terrorize already disenfranchised religious minorities in their midst are false and meant to "legitimize" their otherwise cowardly and atrocious deeds.

Raymond Ibrahim, author of Sword and Scimitar, is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.

Image via Max Pixel.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
THE Harare City Council (HCC) has been hit by a mass exodus of nurses, plunging its health department into distress and forcing the municipality to resort to locums to temporarily address the situation.

Speaking to the Daily News at the weekend, HCC spokesperson Michael Chideme, said that while they have managed to open all clinics, resignations had severely affected service delivery.

From the last quarter of 2021 up to March, we lost over 100 nurses who had resigned and this adversely affected us because at some point we could not open clinics.

Most of them were citing poor conditions of service and salaries which is what we are working to resolve. At the moment we are relying on locums and hope to get new nurses that fill up the vacant positions, Chideme said.

Zimbabwe Nurses Association president Enock Dongo on the other hand said resignations by nurses were a nationwide issue threatening to derail the fight against Covid-19, as the country braces for a third wave.

 the Harare issue is just but a reflection of a nationwide problem. Nurses are resigning everywhere across Zimbabwe and in the case of city councils, a holistic approach should be taken between them and the government to solve this crisis, Dongo said.

We have raised issues of remuneration and conditions of service for a long time now but no action has been taken. In Harare we even took the council to court after they failed to pay our members salaries and eventually most of them left for greener pastures.

Some of the nurses actually left their jobs to safeguard their lives when Covid-19 hit the country because there was no adequate personal protective clothing putting them at risk.

Last year, the Health ministry scrapped flexible working hours citing increased demand for nurses services in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ministry and nurses are currently entangled in legal battles pending before the courts over the issue.

Nurses have maintained that spending longer hours at health institutions in the absence of adequate personal protective equipment increased their risk of contracting Covid-19. Now, this is the consequence of nurses resigning. If you look at public health institutions you will see that numbers of resignations have trebled. If we are to compare January 2020 and January this year, for example, Parirenyatwa had about 13 resignations last year compared to the recent 53 and these are senior nurses and midwives, Dongo added. Daily News
Palomar Insurance Adds White in Alabama

Palomar Insurance has added Tammy White to its expanding marketing team as a transportation marketing representative.

A native of Birmingham, Ala., White has more than 20 years of experience working for a transportation insurance broker. She will be based in the companys Birmingham office.

Palomar Insurance offers insurance programs to U.S. and international companies. It is headquartered in Montgomery, Ala., with offices in Georgia and Tennessee.

BRP Group Forms Middle Market Business Strategy, Insurance Company Management Team

BRP Group, Inc., an independent insurance distribution firm based in Florida, has formed a Middle Market Business Strategy team and Insurance Company Management Team to support initiatives related to the its Middle Market Operating Group.

The companys Middle Market Operating Group, comprised of BKS Partners, Insgroup, AHT Insurance, and Burnham Benefits, provides commercial risk management, employee benefits, and private risk management services to clients nationwide.

The Middle Market Business Strategy Team will provide dedicated support and leadership to the growth, integration, and ongoing strategic evolution of the Middle Market Operating Group. The team is comprised of people from across the firms and business segments and is led by Ryan Shinkle, managing director of Middle Market Business Strategy. Shinkle joined BRP Group in 2020 through the partnership, BRP Groups nomenclature for a strategic acquisition, with Insgroup.

The Insurance Company Management team will lead the strategic alignment of insurance company partners to enhance and expand relationships with clients across the country. It is led by Kate Armfield, who serves as managing partner at AHT. Armfield joined BRP Group in 2020 through BRP Groups partnership with AHT.

BRP Group, Inc. is an independent insurance distribution firm offering insurance and risk management services. BRP, headquartered in Tampa, Fla., represents over 600,000 clients across the United States and internationally.

Florida-Based Vault Appoints Ross as Chief Information Officer

Vault, a high-net-worth personal insurance provider, has added Robert Ross to the company as chief information officer (CIO), effective immediately.

Ross will spearhead Vaults continued work on its proprietary technology. He will also work to expand Vaults technology team, using his digital insurance experience expand the Vault platform with more underwriting and decision-making capabilities. Ross will also expand the companys claims technology with no code technology and artificial intelligence (AI.

Ross has more than 20 years of experience as a financial services technology leader, building digital, cloud-based experiences and platforms for startups and growing companies. Previous roles include chief technology officer at Singapore Life, where he crafted the insurance providers digital experience.

Ross also has experience architecting and developing large scale applications, building and managing global teams and expanding the capabilities of technology operations at companies including Citi, Microsoft and Cloud Garage.

Topics Commercial Lines Business Insurance Alabama
With a series of solid steps under way, China is determined to tackle climate change and honor its pledge on carbon neutrality.



The country is planning to put in place a special law on climate change, Li Gao, head of the department of climate change at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, told a press conference Tuesday.

"It should be said that we think the timing for making the law is now good, with some foundation laid earlier," said Li.

The legislation will be of great significance as it can lay a legal foundation for China to meet its climate goal, Li said.

China has announced its goal to peak its carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2060.

Such commitments are built upon sound emission reduction achievements in recent years. China has included slashing carbon intensity as a binding target in its recent five-year plans. The country's carbon intensity decreased by 16.3 percent from 2011 to 2015 and dropped 18.8 percent from 2016 to 2020.

By the end of 2020, China has cut its carbon intensity by 48.4 percent, reaching its target set in 2009 to reduce carbon intensity by up to 45 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level ahead of schedule, according to Li.

With eyes firmly set on the climate goal, China vowed to ramp up efforts to accelerate its low-carbon transition during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period.

"These five years are a critical period for China to peak carbon emissions," Li noted, adding that the ministry is drawing up a special plan to tackle climate change, which will incorporate targets in line with the 14th Five-Year Plan.

During the period, the trading of carbon emissions, which has been piloted in seven provinces and cities and covers over 20 industries, is expected to see a wider range of participators, as more industries and trading entities will be encouraged to join the carbon market.

As a pivotal player in fighting climate change, technology has been given great importance. The country will work out plans to develop major technologies in the sector, while carrying out technological pilot and demonstration programs, Li said.
Chatham House Demands Europe Go to War Against Russia

April 27 , 2021 (EIRNS)In an April 23 article entitled Europe Must Admit Russia Is Waging War, Chatham House/Royal Institute for International Affairs, the major foreign policy institution of the British Crown, fiercely attacks Europe for its failure to go to war with Russia, whose alleged crimes include the slow-motion murder of Navalny, massing troops on the Ukrainian border, and most egregiously, according to authors Keir Giles and Toomas Hendrik Ilves, involvement in the 2014 massive explosion at a Czech ammunition depot. Alleging that the two Russians implicated in the Czech explosion were the same ones responsible for that years poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England, the two authors warn, ominously, that failure to respond to a direct attack by Russia on a NATO and EU member state would be inexcusable and highly dangerous.

This is an act of war, the Chatham House duo scream, and yet, Europe is balking on doing anything significant, making only weak statements about Russia massing troops on the border with Ukraine (urging restraint), even seeing Russian troop withdrawal (the maneuvers that Moscow informed NATO of having ended) announced last week as a positive development. The Russian actions were tantamount to an act of state terror on the territory of a NATO and EU member state, the authors ever more frantically charge; and the Russians may also be responsible for unexplained explosions in Bulgaria. Wheres the punishment? Sanctions and diplomatic expulsions are only part of a coordinated response to Russia, they complainnot good enough. Rather, there must be joint and public recognition that Europe is under attack, and that allies must stand together to confront it.

The authors are aggrieved that some Western capitals continue to inadvertently encourage, rather than discourage Russian aggression. Germany is still going ahead with Nord Stream 2; some governments think its a good sign that Russia withdrew troops from the Ukraine border. But, direct evidence of Russias culpability must not be played down. The authors state that there is a clear chain of command linking the two terrorists who allegedly were responsible for the Czech explosion, and, they add, the GRU Colonel who directed the Skripal poisoning was in direct contact with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The authors state, hopefully, that the most recent imposition of sanctions on Russia by the U.S. was an invitation to Russia to cease its escalation. But Russia rejected the offer, leaving the way open for the U.S. to bring in broader and deeper measures so far held in reserve. Always count on U.S. brawn.
An audiotape of Iran's top diplomat bemoaning the military's influence was leaked to sow "discord" during talks on reviving an international nuclear deal, President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday, after the recording stirred domestic controversy.

Media outside Iran published the audio of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, triggering a heated debate inside the country ahead of presidential elections.

Talks in Vienna aim to get the United States to return to the agreement it abandoned under former president Donald Trump and lift sanctions, and to bring Iran back to full compliance with nuclear obligations it retreated from in response.

Rouhani said the audio was leaked just as the Vienna talks were "at the height of their success, so that it creates discord inside" the Islamic republic.

"We can only lift sanctions through unity," the president said.

Zarif has been under fire since the audiotape emerged on Sunday, with comments he made about Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations arm who was killed in a US air strike last year, hitting a nerve.

"In the Islamic republic the military field rules," Zarif said in the recording, quoted by the New York Times. "I have sacrificed diplomacy for the military field rather than the field servicing diplomacy."

Without directly referring to the leak, the Guards' commander Major General Hossein Salami on Wednesday praised Soleimani for having possessed the "art of bringing diplomacy to the service of the field".

In comments reported by Guards' website Sepah News, Salami said he considered diplomacy without military power to be only "sounds and words".

The Guards and their foreign operations arm the Quds force were "building this power", he said.

Zarif, seen as the architect of the 2015 nuclear accord, has been mentioned as a possible contender in Iran's June 18 presidential election, although he has denied he plans to run.

Story continues

Another potential candidate, parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, also weighed in on the issue Wednesday, saying "we are sensitive" about Soleimani.

"We do not want there to be even a small scratch on the shining visage" of the slain commander, the conservative was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

- 'Domestic infighting' -

Known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, the landmark 2015 deal with six world powers promised Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.

But the accord started to unravel in 2018 when Trump pulled out of it and imposed wave after wave of sanctions on Iran, which retaliated a year later by ramping up its nuclear activities.

In his first public reaction to the audiotape, Zarif took to social media to downplay the recording while voicing regret that it had triggered "domestic infighting".

But despite the furious reaction from conservatives, Zarif stuck to much of what he said in the recording, saying he favours a "smart adjustment" between the military and diplomatic spheres.

In a post on Instagram, Zarif said an "honest and passionate" argument in a private setting had been misconstrued as "personal criticism".

The veteran diplomat said the "main point" of his remarks was to emphasise "the need for a smart adjustment of the relationship between" diplomacy and the military.

Zarif, who has been on a tour of neighbouring states this week, also said he saw a need for "setting priorities through legal structures and under the great purview of the supreme leader", Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

- 'Not government views' -

Rouhani, who has ordered a probe into who leaked the "stolen" recording, praised Zarif for his track record and achievements, but also set out his position on the relationship between Iran's military and diplomacy.

He said the "difficult path" of nuclear talks "was trodden with the sacrifice, selflessness and resistance of diplomats and today at the helm of this movement, is a knowledgeable person familiar with issues like Dr. Zarif."

But "the (military) field and diplomacy are not two fields against each other," Rouhani stressed.

Some of the views in the recording "are not the views of the government or the president. Any minister or official might have some views" of their own, the president said.

"If someone thinks that it is (a choice between) the (military) field or diplomacy, foreign policy or defence policy, or that the (military) field must succeed or the negotiations -- this is not an accurate thing to say," he said.

"Two hands ultimately come together and do one thing," he said, emphasising that there was a "system and a framework" of discussing issues in both fields in Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

"In a free country like Iran we freely express our opinions in our meetings," Rouhani said.

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The Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center has announced it will resume daily hours of operation in May.

The museum and visitor center are home to the Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War and the Gettysburg Cyclorama. The historical center reopened after the COVID-19 shutdown in June of 2020 with reduced hours, and again in January of this year following a second closure.

The new hours will begin on May 1, and the center will be open for visitors from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily through the summer. Visitors are encouraged to read the centers health and safety protocols before visitor, and to purchase tickets in advance by phone via 877-874-2478 or by visiting the Gettysburg Foundation website.
A baker has whipped up an unusual popcorn chicken cupcake with a savoury twist.

Morgan Hipworth, from Melbourne, made cornbread to replicate the cupcakes, topped with mashed potato to make it look identical to white frosting - all while ensuring the snack tasted delicious despite what it may look like.

To make the cupcakes, you'll need KFC's popcorn chicken, potato and gravy, cornmeal, plain flour, baking powder, canned creamed corn, eggs and milk.

A baker has whipped up an unusual popcorn chicken cupcake with a savoury twist

Poll Would you try popcorn chicken savoury cupcakes? Yes No Would you try popcorn chicken savoury cupcakes? Yes 16 votes

No 11 votes Now share your opinion





In a mixing bowl, he combined all the dry ingredients such as the flour, yellow cornmeal, baking powder and a pinch of sea salt.

The 20-year-old owner of the artisan bakehouse Bistro Morgan used a whisk to mix the ingredients together before he created a well in the centre.

Next, Morgan poured the melted butter in, followed by milk.

'Please use full cream milk. We don't want any of that almond milk because it makes so much difference,' he explained.

'Next up, add our cream corn. I know it looks a bit like baby food but I promise you it makes this cupcake so nice.'

Finally, he added two whisked eggs.

'Using a wooden spoon, give it all a good mix to combine. You can see how fluffy and moist this batter is. It'll make those cupcakes super moist when they come out of the oven,' Morgan said.

Popcorn Chicken savoury cupcake INGREDIENTS  1 serve of large Potato & Gravy  1 large KFC Popcorn Chicken For the cornbread cupcakes:  3/4 cup yellow cornmeal  1 1/2 cups plain flour  1 tablespoon baking powder  2 tablespoons caster sugar  1 teaspoon salt  1 cup canned creamed corn  125 grams melted butter  2 eggs  3/4 cup milk METHOD 1. Preheat the oven to 180C. 2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and make a well in the centre. Add the remaining ingredients and gradually mix to combine. 3. Divide between cupcake liners and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. 4. Pour the gravy from the potato and gravy into a bowl. Spoon the remaining potato into another bowl and stir to combine the potato and any remaining gravy. 5. Transfer the potato to a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. 6. Pipe the potato on the top to resemble frosting on a cupcake. Top with 4-5 pieces of popcorn chicken and then spoon on around 1/2 tablespoon of KFC gravy to garnish. Advertisement

Morgan Hipworth (pictured) made cornbread to replicate the cupcakes, topped with mashed potato to make it look identical to white frosting

To make the cupcakes, you'll need KFC's popcorn chicken, potato and gravy, cornmeal, plain flour, baking powder, canned creamed corn, eggs and milk

He divided the batter between the cupcake liners.

'Now using two spoons, you need to equally divide the cornbread mix into the patty pans,' he said.

Morgan then baked the cupcakes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they're golden brown.

While they're baking, he created the icing on top using mashed potato. He transferred the topping into a piping bag.

Once the cupcakes are baked, and cooled completely, he piped the potato on top.

'Pipe a nice dollop into the centre of each cupcake. Next up, we're going to top them with our popcorn chicken pieces. Top with three pieces but honestly, if you want to go overboard, I'm definitely not going to judge you,' Morgan said.

'The last step is to put a nice drizzle of gravy.'
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Random House announced that it will publish a new book from Bob Odenkirk, titled Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama: A Memoir, out January 18, 2022.

In the memoir, the Emmy-winning actor, comedian, writer, director and producer and star of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul will detail the highs and lows of showbiz and his early career as a comedian, as well as discuss what is was like reinventing his career after 50.

Featuring exclusive photos and hilarious stories, the book will be out in hardcover and digital formats, and an audiobook read by Odenkirk himself will be released simultaneously by Penguin Random House Audio.

Odenkirk got his start at Saturday Night Live and Chicagos Second City and became a breakout star in his sketch comedy series Mr. Show with David Cross. Later on, Odenkirk landed the role of Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and its spin-off series Better Call Saul, and this year, he starred in the action-thriller Nobody.

Also in todays TV news roundup:

DATES

HBO announced that Betty will return for Season 2 in June. In the skateboarding series second season, the five women protagonists navigate the pressures of adulthood during the the pandemic. This season stars Nina Moran, Dede Lovelace, Moonbear, Rachelle Vinberg and Ajani Russell. Recurring cast in Season 2 include Katerina Tannenbaum, Andrew Darnell, Lil Dre, Roble Ali, Rad Pereira, Isabel Palma, Danielle Melendez, Aya Aldamin, Florence Pedrosa Blake Mourad, Alexander Cooper, Raekwon Haynes, Moises Acevedo, Judah Lang, Joe Apollonio and Sage Cesar. Betty is directed by Crystal Moselle, who executive produces alongside Alliah Mourad, Igor Srubshchik, Jason Weinberg and Annie Schmidt.

Starz announced that the new six-part limited series Little Birds will premiere on June 6. Starring Juno Temple, Yumna Marwan and Hugh Skinner, the series follows a New York heiress exploring the surprising and degenerate world of Tangier in 1955 after her husband does not receive her the way she expects. With provocative characters and erotic storylines, Little Birds is about a woman finding her freedom. Based on Anais Nins short stories, the series is written by Sophia Al-Maria and directed by Stacie Passon, who executive produces alongside Ruth McCance, Peter Carlton, Mark Herbert, Kara Manley and Cameron Roach.

FIRST LOOKS

Netflix released a teaser for the upcoming action series Hit & Run, which will premiere in August. The show follows a happily married man in Tel Aviv whose life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a hit and run accident. With the help of an ex-lover, he seeks out his wifes killers, who have fled to the US, and discovers disturbing truths about his late wife and the secrets she kept from him. Lior Raz stars as Segev Azulai alongside Sanaa Lathan, who plays ex-lover and ambitious New York journalist Naomi Hicks. Kaelen Ohm plays Segevs wife Danielle Wexler, whose secrets are revealed upon her sudden death. Moran Rosenblatt stars as the tough-minded police detective Tali Shapira, and Gal Toren plays Ron Harel, a former special forces op and old army friend of Segev. Gregg Henry plays Martin Wexler, Danielles father who is unhappy with his daughters choice in husbands, and Lior Ashkenazi is Assaf Talmor, a man mysteriously connected to Danielle who may know more than he presents about her death. Hit & Run is created, written and executive produced by Raz and Avi Issacharoff, along with Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin, who also serve as showrunners. Mike Barker directs five episodes, including the pilot.

EVENTS

Tribeca Festival has partnered with Roku, Inc. for Tribeca X, which will bring together leading voices in advertising and entertainment on June 18 in New York. Tribeca X will be the first in-person event as part of Tribeca Festivals 20th anniversary and will feature Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Roku CEO Anthony Wood and P&G chief brand officer Marc Pritchard. The event will focus on reviving the industry and rebuilding with purpose and inclusion.

PARTNERSHIPS

SeriesFest has partnered with National Geographic Documentary Films on a new initiative called Spotlight Your Town, the non-profit announced exclusively to Variety. Sponsored by Visible, the initiative will elevate independent creators who focus on social justice in their hometowns through episodic storytelling. Out of the documentary submissions, SeriesFest and National Geographic Documentary Films will choose three finalists who will be invited to industry roundtables and paired with a producer or filmmaker to give feedback on their project. The winner(s) will receive a $20,000 grant to be applied to their production, an opportunity to pitch to National Geographic Documentary Films and a six-month mentorship with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Steve James. Visible will also award a $10,000 grant to a nonprofit organization that aligns with the cause highlighted in the artists work.

LATE NIGHT

Luke Bryan, Brian Regan and Rupi Kaur will appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, while Justin Theroux, Mike Lindell and Tom Jones will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Sen. Bernie Sanders and Julia Michaels will appear on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert; Elisabeth Moss, Ari Melber and Moon Vs Sun will be on Late Night With Seth Meyers; The Late Late Show With James Corden will feature Jason Schwartzman and Gabby Barrett, and Yvonne Strahovski will be on A Little Late With Lilly Singh.

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By the end of August 1935, Franklin Roosevelt was wrapping up a remarkable stretch of legislative victories, a follow-up chapter to his initial response to the Great Depression that historians would one day call the Second New Deal. Its centerpiece was the Social Security Act, which finally delivered on the presidents promises to create a national system of old-age pensions and unemployment insurance for workers, laying the foundation for what would become the modern American welfare state.

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It was also, in some ways, just an act of catch-up with the rest of the industrialized world. Germany had first adopted pensions for the elderly way back in 1889. Great Britain introduced its national unemployment insurance scheme in 1911, and many of its neighbors in Europe had already followed suit. Looking at the presidents achievements that summer, the progressive Kansas newspaper editor William Allen White judged that they were long past due and observed that they amounted to a belated attempt to bring the American people up to the modern standards of English-speaking countries and in Europe in the matter of social responsibility for the needy.

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Whites line came to mind this week while I was reading the details of President Joe Bidens new, roughly $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, his new stab at modernizing the countrys shabby, outdated welfare state.

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The proposal is largely aimed at helping parents while broadening the scope of public education. It aims to finally guarantee paid family and medical leave, cap the outrageous cost of child care for middle-income families, make prekindergarten universally available for 3 and 4 year olds, and make community colleges tuition-free. It would also lengthen the life of two major but temporary pieces of Bidens coronavirus relief bill: The expansion of Obamacares health insurance subsidies would be made permanent, while the supersized Child Tax Credit, which has the potential to cut youth poverty in half, would be extended until 2025 (and the new eligibility rules that allow Americas poorest families to claim it would become permanent).

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This is, without question, an ambitious and far-reaching to-do list. But the goals are also humble, in the sense that the plan is really just designed to turn the United States into a normal country for mothers and fathers by providing benefits that much of the developed world already takes for granted.

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We are, after all, the only wealthy country that doesnt ensure paid leave for new moms. Child care? Its already heavily subsidized in places like Japan, France, Korea, Germany, Australia, and the Nordics, but here the cost often rivals college tuition. We trail most of our peers in pre-K enrollment, likely becauseaccording to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developmentthey often spend a lot more public money on it. While the idea of just giving money to poor families, in the form of a child allowance, may seem novel here, countries like Canada started doing it a while ago. In fact, if you add up our total expenditures on cash benefits, tax breaks, and services for families as a share of the economy, were third to last among countries tracked by OECD, just ahead of Mexico and Turkey.

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And as for health care, do I even need to get started?

We should be allowed to have the same nice things as Australians and Canadians.

Our antiquarian family policies dont just make life more difficult and expensive for parents and their children. They are also, in all likelihood, acting as a drag on the economy by keeping women out of the workplace. The United States used to have one of the highest rates of female employment among developed nations, but we began to fall behind in the late 1990s and early 2000s as other countries promoted policies like paid leave, child care, and flexible scheduling that made it easier for women to work, while our government stood mostly pat. In 2019, the employment rate for American women between the ages of 25 and 54 was 73.7 percent, below the average for Europe or the G7. Iceland, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and others all topped 80 percent. On this score, weve fallen badly behind the times.

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To be clear, there is some debate among economists about just how much pro-family policies like subsidized child care ultimately help women stay in the workforcethe mainstream view is that they have a significant impact, though some studies suggest they have little to none at all. But theres no reason Americans shouldnt be able to enjoy a semblance of the support that other governments provide their parents and kids, even if the end result is partly just better quality of life. We should be allowed to have the same nice things as Australians and Canadians.

Not that Bidens proposals would entirely bring us up to date with the rest of the industrialized world. Consider paid leave. The president is proposing just 12 weeks of paid parental, family, and sick leave byI kid you notyear 10 of the program. Among our peer nations, its common for mothers to have six months or much longer to bond with their child. But then again, the original New Deal was only really meant to be a beginning as well. As the historian William Leuchtenburg recounts, Roosevelt was well-aware that the U.S. had essentially built a starter welfare state and only started the process of economic modernization. In five years, I think we have caught up twenty years, he told the New York Times Magazine in 1938. If liberal government continues over another ten years, we ought to be contemporary somewhere in the late 1940s. If Biden is successful, maybe well almost catch up again.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 28, 2021 - 21:40 | All, Japan, 3/11 Fukushima

In a significant move as Japan seeks to stick to nuclear power, three nuclear reactors on the Sea of Japan coast will become the first in the country to operate beyond the 40-year limit after a local governor Wednesday consented to their restarts.

The rebooting of the No. 3 unit at the Mihama plant and the Nos. 1-2 reactors at the Takahama plant, both in Fukui Prefecture and idle since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, will come as the country seeks to meet its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 with continued reliance on atomic power.

But concerns remain among local communities over the safety of restarting the aging reactors operated by Kansai Electric Power Co. and the effectiveness of evacuation plans in the event of an accident. How to dispose of the highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel to be produced from the plants is also an unresolved issue.

"I decided to agree to the restarts (of the reactors) after considering the matter fully," Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto told a press conference at the prefectural government office.

He noted that the central government has signaled its policy of continuing the use of nuclear power and offered up to 2.5 billion yen ($22 million) in subsidies to revitalize the local economy per nuclear plant that is more than 40 years old.

Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama welcomed Sugimoto's decision, calling the restarts "a big plus to our promotion of carbon neutrality."

Regarding the safety of the aging reactors, Kajiyama stressed the facilities have undergone "strict examinations" by the regulatory body before being given the go-ahead.

An antinuclear civic group criticized Sugimoto for giving consent for the restarts on Wednesday in front of the prefectural government office, holding a banner that read, "Don't start aging nuclear reactors."

Kansai Electric President Takashi Morimoto expressed gratitude for the governor's decision in a statement. The company will work to restart the three units "by giving top priority to ensuring safety" and under the "strong intention and resolution to endlessly enhance the safety of nuclear power generation," he said.

Due to stricter safety rules and pervasive public skepticism about nuclear power, only nine reactors have been rebooted in Japan since a total of 50 units were shut down following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

As a means to achieve net zero emissions in 2050, the government recently unveiled a new target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent by 2030 compared with fiscal 2013 levels, a significant increase from its previous commitment to a 26 percent cut.

To meet the goal, the focus is on how far the country will retain nuclear power while increasing the use of renewable energy.

Under the current energy plan set in 2018, which is being reviewed, the government aims for renewables to account for 22 to 24 percent, fossil fuels 56 percent, and nuclear power 20 to 22 percent of the country's electricity generation in fiscal 2030.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority gave approval in 2016 for the three units to operate beyond the 40-year limit, granting extensions of up to 20 years, after screening Kansai Electric's stricter safety steps taken for the units.

The 40-year maximum lifespan in principle was introduced after the Fukushima disaster, which was triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami, due to concerns that aging reactors were prone to accidents.

Kansai Electric is expected to soon unveil its plan for resumption of the three units and start preparations such as loading nuclear fuel.

Prior to the approval announced by Sugimoto, the mayors of both Mihama and Takahama, where the three units are located, gave their consent in February this year, followed by approval from the Fukui prefectural assembly on Friday.

Even if the three units are restarted, the Nos. 1-2 units at the Takahama plant will suspend operations in early June, and the No. 3 reactor at the Mihama plant will do so in late October as they need to complete the installation of infrastructure to prevent terrorist attacks.

Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tokai No. 2 power station in Ibaraki Prefecture has also cleared the nuclear regulator's safety screening for extension of operations by up to 20 years but the process to obtain local consent has yet to be completed.

As required by the Fukui governor, Kansai Electric has promised to decide on a temporary site to store spent nuclear fuel from the reactors outside the prefecture by the end of 2023.

After confirming safety measures taken at the three units, Sugimoto held an online meeting with Kajiyama on Tuesday and was briefed on the government's policies on nuclear generation and regional revitalization.

The Mihama No. 3 unit began commercial operation in 1976. The Takahama No. 1 reactor did so in 1974 and the No. 2 in 1975.

Related coverage:

Japanese nuclear plant vulnerable to unauthorized entry for 1 year

Q&A: 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and current status

Post-Fukushima reactor halt produces inexperienced nuclear plant workers in Japan
Doctors, the public and the media point to anecdotal evidence of infections even among the vaccinated. Scientists say the data is too thin and cite other reasons behind the countrys second wave.

NEW DELHI  At Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, a huge facility in the middle of Indias capital, 37 fully vaccinated doctors came down with Covid-19 earlier this month.

The infections left most with mild symptoms, but it added to their growing fears that the virus behind Indias catastrophic second wave is different. They wonder if a more contagious variant that dodges the immune system could be fueling the epidemic inside the worlds hardest-hit nation.

So far the evidence is inconclusive, and researchers caution that other factors could explain the viciousness of the outbreak, which has overwhelmed Indias capital so quickly that hospitals are entirely overrun and crematories burn nonstop. Still, the presence of the variant could complicate the taming of Indias Covid-19 disaster.
Medical Discovery News is hosted by professors Norbert Herzog at Quinnipiac University, and David Niesel of the University of Texas Medical Branch. Learn more at www.medicaldiscoverynews.com.
(Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted he has not broken any laws over the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat after the Electoral Commission launched a formal investigation.

The watchdog said there are "reasonable grounds" to suspect an offence may have occurred, dramatically deepening the prime minister's troubles over the renovations on Wednesday.

Downing Street said Johnson would be "happy" to assist the commission with its inquiries into who initially paid for the work carried out in his No 11 residence.

Questions have been mounting since former aide Dominic Cummings accused Johnson of wanting donors to "secretly pay" for the renovations to the apartment in a "possibly illegal" move.

Shortly after the commission's announcement, Johnson told Prime Minister's Questions he "personally" paid for the renovations, but refused to answer whether he received an initial loan from the Tory party.

Challenged by Labour leader Keir Starmer over the "incredibly serious" development, Johnson told MPs that "any further declaration that I have to make, if any" will be advised by his newly appointed independent adviser on ministers' interests.

Starmer pressed the prime minister on whether he believes any "rules or laws have been broken" over the refurbishment of the flat.

"No, I don't," Johnson replied, adding that he has "met the requirements that I have been obliged to meet in full".

During the angry exchange in the Commons, the prime minister was also forced to deny having said he would rather see "bodies pile high" than impose a third coronavirus lockdown.

The questioning came less than an hour after the Electoral Commission announced its investigation into whether any financial transaction related to the renovations was properly declared.

"We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred," a statement from the watchdog said, after it conducted an assessment of information provided by the Tories late last month.

"We will therefore continue this work as a formal investigation to establish whether this is the case."

Crucially, the watchdog said the investigation will "determine whether any transactions relating" to the renovations "fall within the regime regulated by the commission and whether such funding was reported as required".

The Conservative Party said it would "continue to work constructively" with the commission.

"We believe all reportable donations have been transparently and correctly declared and published by the Electoral Commission," a spokesman said.

The commission can issue fines of up to GBP20,000, with most offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 resulting in a civil sanction. But it can also refer investigations to the police or prosecutors.

Investigators can demand documents, information and explanations, and could potentially seek a statutory interview with the prime minister as part of the process.

Asked if Johnson is willing to be questioned in person, his press secretary said the commission's investigation was a matter for the Conservative Party and the prime minister "will of course be happy to assist if asked".

The announcement came as Christopher Geidt, former private secretary to the Queen, was appointed as the new independent adviser on ministers' interests and immediately launched his own investigation into the flat.

The post has been vacant since Alex Allan resigned in November in response to Johnson standing by Home Secretary Priti Patel despite an investigation finding her conduct "amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying".

The appointment of the new adviser paves the way for the publication of the latest register of ministerial interests, which could contain details of any donations to fund the flat.

However, the prime minister's official spokesman said Johnson will remain the "ultimate arbiter" of whether the ministerial code has been broken, even if the investigation centres on himself.

Labour has accused Johnson of having "lied" over the funding, and accused senior members of the government of a possible "cover-up" as ministers battled a series of "sleaze" allegations.

Prime ministers get a budget of up to GBP30,000 per year to renovate their Downing Street residency, but newspaper reports have suggested Johnson has spent up to GBP200,000.

Last week, the Daily Mail published details of an email from Tory peer David Brownlow in which he said he was making a GBP58,000 donation to the party "to cover the payments the party has already made on behalf of the soon-to-be-formed 'Downing Street Trust'".

Johnson was also facing pressure over allegedly saying in October he would rather see "bodies pile high" than impose a third coronavirus lockdown.

Starmer challenged the prime minister on the remarks, asking for a categoric "yes or no" as to whether he made comments to that effect.

"No," Johnson responded.

At a Downing Street press conference, Health Secretary Matt Hancock dodged questions about the Electoral Commission investigation.

"I know that the prime minister answered lots of questions about this in the House of Commons earlier," he said.

"And given that this is a coronavirus press conference, you won't be surprised that I'm not going to add to the answers the prime minister has given."

Asked by the PA news agency if he had ever heard Johnson saying he would rather let coronavirus "rip" or see bodies pile high than order another lockdown, Hancock said: "No I didn't."

source: PA

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Photo: The Canadian Press A person stands in the window in a room at a government-authorized COVID-19 quarantine hotel in Richmond, B.C. on Sunday, February 28, 2021.

More than 2,000 people returning to Canada since mandatory hotel quarantines began have tested positive for COVID-19 and more than a quarter of them were infected with a variant of concern.

The data supplied to The Canadian Press by the Public Health Agency of Canada comes as the federal government is being pressured to take even more steps to keep new variants from getting into the country.

Data shows between Feb. 22 and April 11, 2,018 returning travellers tested positive on a test taken when they arrived in the country.

The agency says that is about one per cent of arrivals.

Further data shows as of April 22, 557 people had tested positive for a variant of concern, including 518 of the strain first identified in the United Kingdom, 27 of the variant first detected in South Africa and 12 of the strain first found in Brazil.

Nazeem Muhajarine, a professor of community health and epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan, says border restrictions are necessary but will only work well if complemented with local rules and enough testing and tracing to keep cases from spreading.
Pfizer CEO said that we could see a potential pill to COVID-19 by the end of 2021. The pill is known to be a treatment for the virus during its early stage.

Moreover, the pill is taken for oral use, and it works as an antiviral medicine for the regular variant. as well as the other types of coronavirus. It hinders the virus to reproduce inside the human body.

What's This Game-Changing Pill That Can be Used to Combat Coronavirus?

9News reported that earlier in March, the drug had undergone a Phase one trial. Additionally, Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer informed CNBC that he hopes for the pill to be available at the end of the year.

The drug named PF-07321332 could be a game-changer to the war against COVID-19. Bourla said that there's no need anymore for a person to head to the hospital to seek coronavirus treatment.

Furthermore, Bourla stated that fighting different coronavirus variants, it could pose a much more effective result compared to the previous medications.

Currently, remdesivir remains as a lone drug that is confirmed to be an effective treatment for the virus. However, like many vaccines and other treatments, it has many side effects which could range from mild to severe.

For those patients who are staying at the hospital, remdesivir can only be given via intravenous injection.

Read Also: European Union Files Lawsuit to AstraZeneca Over Vaccine Delivery Delays--What Happened?

What the Phase One Tells About PF-07321332

Earlier, the Pfizer CEO said that a third COVID-19 shot could come this year. Now, the company has expanded what they can do to slow down the ever-growing disease.

What prevents the virus from duplicating in a person's cellular system is the special composition present in the PF-07321332. An enzyme bind also happens which is beneficial to hinder the spread of coronavirus.

On the initial trials, phase one has covered a study with healthy adults. This leads to the in-vitro studies which tackle the potential of the drug to be a "protease inhibitor."

"We have designed PF-07321332 as a potential oral therapy that could be prescribed at the first sign of infection, without requiring that patients are hospitalized or in critical care," Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten said.

Dolsten continued that at the time, this antiviral pill that is taken intravenously will be a possible option for the COVID-19 patients who want to seek a new type of treatment.

He also praised that the remdesivir and the PF-07321332 could hint a significant contribution to establish an end-to-end "treatment paradigm." However, the presence of Pfizer's pill might exhibit some redundancy since they have already developed a powerful vaccine to prevent COVID-19.

Currently, 89 countries are reported to be using the Pfizer vaccine. In the United States alone, over 121 million doses of the vaccine had already been distributed in the past months.

Now with the coming of a pill against COVID-19, the company has strengthened its campaign in combating the virus. Both the drug and the vaccine complement one another for a unified goal of gradually protecting the individuals globally.

Related Article: COVID-19 Patients who Took Remdesivir Recover Faster, but Combining It with Hydroxychloroquine Has Worse Results- New Data Shows

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
[April 28, 2021] Mayor de Blasio Joins Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, Nanotronics & New York State to Open High-Tech Manufacturing Center

Mayor de Blasio today joined the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC), Nanotronics, Empire State Development (ESD) and CUNY's Medgar Evers College for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the company's flagship manufacturing center located in the Navy Yard's historic Building 20, a 150-year-old former shipbuilding factory. The opening reinforces the Navy Yard's mission to anchor the rebirth of urban manufacturing, create sustainable urban manufacturing jobs and grow the modern industrial sector in New York City, and comes as the city is focused on reopening and getting New Yorkers back to work. The project was primarily funded through $3.25 million from the City of New York and a $2.25 million Regional Economic Development Council capital grant through ESD in exchange for a commitment of 190 jobs. Nanotronics, a science technology company that combines AI, automation and sophisticated imaging to manufacture hardware and software capable of working on a nanometer scale, will use the new 45,000-square-foot building as its headquarters. The new factory, designed by Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers, will house many aspects of the company's business, from research and development to production and design, while ensuring quality and safety through its proprietary platform, Intelligent Factory Control (IFC). Nanotronics' artificial intelligence researchers, computer scientists, chemists and physicists will be able to work directly with skilled machinists on the manufacturing floor, developing innovations that will lead partner industries to a smaller factory footprint, less waste and a faster route from R&D to production. The firm will also be able to recruit top talent locally through New York institutions including the Navy Yard's Employment Center and STEAM Center (the Yard's on-site vocational high school), the City University of New York (CUNY), Cornell Tech, New York University and Columbia University. Nanotronics has partnered with CUNY Medgar Evers College to host nearly 30 interns in the last three years as part of Empire State Development's STARTUP-NY program. "The Brooklyn Navy Yard has a history of serving New Yorkers in times of crisis, and it proved its worth once again at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, it has an important role to play in our city's recovery - by building a sustainable and high-tech manufacturing base in the heart of New York City," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "From creating hundreds of jobs to nurturing the next genration of STEM talent, Nanotronics and the Navy Yard are helping build a recovery for all of us, and I'm proud to support their extraordinary efforts."



"The Navy Yard is quickly becoming a national model for bringing sustainable manufacturing jobs back to cities, and companies like Nanotronics are leading that charge," said David Ehrenberg, President & CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. "Nanotronics is the perfect example of the type of innovative, vertically-integrated manufacturer that can grow and thrive at the Yard, exemplifying a new model of urban manufacturing and creating high-quality, middle class jobs." "We wanted to create a modern-day Edison Lab," said Matthew Putman, CEO and cofounder of Nanotronics. "That vision of building in a way that was never done before, with the same hope and possibilities of better jobs, local products, and leading the world in invention seemed like a real possibility in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. We are thrilled to advance manufacturing with the perspective of seeing our past, looking out of our windows at the city where so much of our present is on view, and build an intelligent factory where robotics, AI, and humans can work together to create a sustainable future."

Empire State Development Acting Commissioner and President & CEO-Designate Eric Gertler said, "This project not only honors the Brooklyn Navy Yard's manufacturing roots and history of innovation, but it also helps to grow New York's tech talent to drive our economy forward. From groundbreaking to ribbon-cutting, Empire State Development has been a proud partner of Nanotronics, and its success is yet another example of how New York State's smart investments ensure New York City is better positioned for the future." "Nanotronics has provided on-the-job training to our students, with internships resulting in full-time employment," said Jo-Ann Rolle, Dean of the School of Business at Medgar Evers College. "We hope to replicate this partnership and are excited to see current and future employees who are now at the forefront of innovation." "It's such a privilege to be involved with a project that combines historic infrastructure with innovative technology and pioneering practices; one poised to have an impact in the revival of New York City's urban manufacturing legacy," said Vincent Lee, Associate Partner at Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers. Nanotronics expanded its New York presence into the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 2016. As the first and largest tenant of New Lab, the company grew its Research and Development workforce three-fold. By 2018, the company needed to expand manufacturing operations both for redundant manufacturing and to rapidly scale new products. The foundational roots within the former manufacturing hub created an ideal location with waterfront access. The hub's location in the Navy Yard also provides space for partner firms in the life sciences, semiconductor, aerospace, automobile, additive manufacturing and quantum computing sectors to grow alongside Nanotronics. BNYDC played an integral role at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, serving as a central PPE production hub for the City as it faced shortages in face shields, medical gowns and ventilators, among other equipment. Ultimately BNYDC spearheaded the production of roughly a dozen products by Yard tenants, including nearly 10M units of PPE and more than 26,000 gallons of hand sanitizer. Nanotronics played a critical role in COVID-19 response efforts as well. BNYDC helped Nanotronics open half of Building 20 at the start of the pandemic to enable the implementation of Intelligent Factory Control (IFC) - a first step to building the tools that sequenced the virus' genome, necessary for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2, identifying variants, validating the first vaccines, and the production of the vaccine itself. In July 2020, ESD restructured the disbursement schedule for Nanotronics' $2.25 million capital grant to assist with COVID-19 response efforts and frontloaded the funding to help the company accelerate production of nHale, a BIPAP machine it created for patients suffering from COVID-19 that received an EAU from the FDA. In just 90 days, Nanotronics team conceived, designed, built, and received Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA for its non-invasive respiratory relief product, nHale, to treat COVID-19 in private hospitals, homes, and large converted spaces. nHale was one of the first and most cost-effective products to fill the much-needed gap in the NIH treatment guidelines for a phased respiratory approach to COVID treatment. Additionally, Nanotronics is partnering with CUNY's Medgar Evers College in the START-UP NY program, which fosters collaboration between innovative companies and universities across New York State. Through this program, Nanotronics' executives work with faculty and students at Medgar Evers to mentor students, collaborate on research projects, host career service workshops, place students in meaningful paid internships and job and develop teaching curriculums and programs in STEM and the humanities. Students receive real-world business and technical experience in an emerging high-tech industry - preparing them for a wide variety of future careers, including at Nanotronics. The opening of Building 20 comes as the Navy Yard is undergoing its largest expansion since World War II, which will increase the Yard's job total from 12,000 to 20,000 in the coming years. The expansion includes the $187 million renovation of Building 77 to provide space to vertically integrated design and manufacturing companies and the ground-floor Food Manufacturing Market; the Green Manufacturing Center, which houses New Lab, Crye Precision, and Bednark; and an expanded Steiner Studios, the largest film and television production studio outside Hollywood in the United States. BNYDC also recently announced a $2.5 billion master plan to create 10,000 additional jobs housed in vertical manufacturing buildings, which would bring the total number of jobs at the Yard to 30,000 in the coming decades. Building 20 was constructed in 1865 and housed the production for the Navy's first iron-plated wooden warships. Rogers Partners collaborated with Nanotronics to turn the warehouse into a vertically integrated advanced manufacturing headquarters for the company. Few advanced manufacturing facilities seamlessly integrate the entire process; bringing together R&D and manufacturing under one roof. Initially coined as New York City's first "smart factory," Rogers Partners designed the building to be cleaner and more efficient than traditional factories. The adaptive re-use on legacy infrastructure along with the design, greatly reduces carbon footprint. This work helped the project win an Architect's Newspaper Best of Design award in 2019. The new building is also a model for sustainable development. While the construction of the main shell for a similarly sized facility would result in approximately 1,971 metric tons of embodied CO2, the newly constructed portion of the project is estimated at approximately 425 metric tons. The building is one of the first Commercial Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) projects built in New York City - using CLT for the interior to act as a carbon sink. Altogether, the CLT stores an estimated value of 411.2 metric tons of CO2, effectively offsetting the new construction's emissions and resulting in a carbon neutral project. About Nanotronics Nanotronics is a science technology company that has redefined factory control through the invention of a platform that combines AI, automation and sophisticated imaging to assist human ingenuity in detecting flaws and anomalies in manufacturing. Industry agnostic but customer specific, we work with leading-edge companies across the globe from aerospace to electronics and healthcare, to drive up yield, reduce footprint and waste, lower costs, and speed up design iteration. Nanotronics is a key player in helping to solidify New York's role as a global center of the innovation economy. To learn more visit https://nanotronics.co/. Follow the company on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005917/en/

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Microsoft and Google have both reported surging profits as Americas biggest technology companies continued to capitalise on growing internet use during the pandemic.

Profits rose by 44 per cent at Microsoft to $US15.5 billion ($20 billion) and more than doubled at Googles parent company, Alphabet, climbing by 162 per cent to $US17.9 billion as it reported its strongest sales growth in eight years.

Over a year into the pandemic, digital adoption curves arent slowing down. Theyre accelerating, and its just the beginning,: Microsoft chief Satya Nadella. Credit:Bloomberg

Shares in Microsoft fell in after-hours trading, however, meaning the software giant missed out on becoming only the second US company to hit a $US2 trillion valuation.

The Seattle-based company said sales climbed 17 per cent to $US43 billion after a work-from-home induced boost to its giant cloud business.
The Hamilton County mask mandate will end at 11:59 p.m. today (Wednesday).

However, county officials noted that the Tennessee Supreme Court Order (ADM2020-00428) filed on Feb. 12, requiring the wearing of masks in all Hamilton County buildings where legal proceedings are conducted is still in effect.

Officials said, "This means if you are entering or walking throughout the hallways of the historic Hamilton County Courthouse, the Hamilton County-Chattanooga Courts Building, Hamilton County Juvenile Court or any municipal building where legal proceedings are conducted, a mask will be required.

"Therefore, to obtain entrance to any local courthouses you will need a mask.

"If you are an employee of an agency that is regulated by the TN Supreme Court (e.g., clerks offices, judges offices, etc.) you may be required to wear the mask at all times throughout the work day.

"If you are actively participating in the court system (attorneys, clients, court staff, judges, witnesses, jurors, spectators, etc.) you will be required to wear the mask at all times while participating.

"This order signed by all five members of the Tennessee Supreme Court will be observed until such time as a new order is issued by the Supreme Court."
The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Unreliable witness testimony has been the biggest cause of miscarriages of justice over the past half century, a major new study suggests.

The research also suggests that regulations governing the powers of police have been effective in reducing wrongful convictions caused by unreliable confessions.

Dr. Rebecca Helm, from the University of Exeter Law School, led the analysis of more than 250 miscarriages of justice that have occurred in England & Wales over the last fifty years. This research has led to a new publicly available database of over 350 convictions overturned due to factual error in England and Wales and elsewhere in the UK, from 1970 to 2016.

The study identified four key contributors to factual error miscarriages of justice in England and Walesunreliable witness testimony, false or unreliable confessions, inadequate disclosure, and false or misleading forensic science. One hundred and seven (41%) of the cases identified involved unreliable witness testimony

A total 69 (26%) of the cases involved a false or unreliable confession, 55 (21%) of the cases involved false or misleading forensic science and 47 (18%) of the cases involved inadequate disclosure.

42% of the cases involved a charge of murder.

11% involved manslaughter or assault

22% involved sex offenses

4% involved drugs offenses

19% involved robbery or burglary

13% involved another offense.

Of the cases involving a false or unreliable confession; 68% involved murder convictions; 14% involved a manslaughter or assault conviction; 6% involved a sexual offenses conviction; 17% involved a robbery or burglary conviction and 1% involved a drug offense conviction. Almost all of these cases happened prior to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and the disbandment of the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad, and almost all successful appeals based on unreliable confessions occurred after these two events.

Of cases involving false or misleading forensic science, 49% involved murder convictions, 16% involved a manslaughter or assault conviction, 11% involved a sexual offenses conviction and 6% involved a robbery or burglary conviction.

Of cases involving inadequate disclosure 64% involved murder convictions, 2% involved a manslaughter or assault conviction, 15% involved a sexual offenses conviction, 11% involved a robbery or burglary conviction, 8% involved a drug offense conviction, and 6% involved another type of conviction.

Dr. Helm said: "The data show that miscarriages of justice are persisting despite changes in legal regulation and are still a cause for concern in England and Wales. Studying the miscarriages of justice that have occurred provides us with the opportunity to learn from our mistakes, and see where the criminal justice system is going wrong in evaluating evidence."

Cases analyzed in the study were identified via media searches, communications with organizations involved in miscarriage of justice focused work, searches of legal databases, and searches of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) case library. Cases could only be included in the analysis where they were reported with sufficient information to allow inclusion, and so most cases involve relatively serious offenses which are more likely to be reported.

In the cases analyzed in the research there was on average approximately 10 years between the initial conviction in a case and the successful appeal and appellants had spent approximately seven years in prison prior to their conviction being quashed. As a group, successful appellants spent approximately 1,832 years in prison before their convictions were quashed.

Article available in the Criminal Law Review, 2021, Issue 5.

Explore further Handgun purchasers with a prior DUI have a greater risk for serious violence, study finds
Believe it or not but Aamir Khan does make mistakes in his films and costumes and is not exactly the perfectionist that we make him out to be.

 Twitter/AamirKFANs

Having said that, make no mistake about it, there is no other filmmaker like Aamir Khan. As far as Hindi cinema is concerned, he is without a doubt, one of the best we have ever had. All the aspects of his films, starting with the dialogues to the visuals, everything is usually spot on. That is why he has rightfully earned the moniker of Mr Perfectionist.

 Viacom18 Studios

However, when it comes to costumes, there have been a number of instances, where he was far from being perfect. Wondering what mistakes he made?



Well, here are a few costume-related errors that we have seen Aamir make over the years.

Not Altering His Suit

 Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

The most important aspect of a suit is its fitting. Get that wrong, and no matter how much you try to salvage it and make it look good, you simply cant. For Andaz Apna Apna, Salman & Aamir wore identical suits. While Salmans baggy suit was just perfect for him, and fit him well, it looked like Aamir wore a suit that was fitted according to Salman - it was extremely loose and ill-fitting.



A Bowler Hat & A Velvet Nehru Jacket

 Yash Raj Films

Bowler hats are extremely hard to pull off, and sorry, but Aamir Khan doesnt look that good in a Bowler hat, in Dhoom 3 especially because of his built. More than anything else, it looks like a very funny prop. Also, a Nehru Jacket that is made from a velvety fabric? No, thanks!



Mocking Body Hair

 UTV Motion Pictures

I agree that Delhi Belly released in the early 2010s and that most of us werent as woke and sensitive to body image issues back then, but seriously, mocking someones body hair for a spoof music video? Not cool.



A New York Thug-Aesthetic In Mumbai

 Vishesh Films

In Ghulam, Aamir plays the role of a Mumbaikar Tapori, and a boxer. Why, then, is he dressed like a thug from the sets of Rumble In The Bronx? The rings, the jeans, the leather boots, the leather gloves, the cap - all of these look like they were taken off a thug in New York. Compare this outfit with the one he wore in Rangeela, and youll get what were talking about.



Overdoing His D-Bag Aesthetic

 Zee Studios

We get that Aamir was going for a douche-bag and a very arrogant character in Secret Superstar, but he just went overboard with things. His T-shirts especially were tear-inducing. On top of that, his beard and hairstyle were just weird.



Stove Pipe Or Top Hats In 1790s India

 Yash Raj Films

Thugs Of Hindostan is a film that will haunt Aamir Khan forever. The film was poorly executed, and just badly made. Lets not even get started with the disguises, which were comically bad. Even the basic costumes, especially that of Aamir were poorly conceived. It genuinely looks like they were going for a Jack Sparrow inspired thing, and then abandoned it midway. The only good thing about his get-up is his handlebar moustache, and how he grew it. Also, stove-pipe hats were not popular in India, especially more so during the early years of British Rule.






According to Britannica, the term gun control refers to legal measures put in place with the intention of restricting or preventing the possession or use of guns, particularly firearms. Why is this term so controversial in the United States and how do gun ownership restrictions compare to the rest of the world?

Last month, I addressed the issue of Asian American racism that hit particularly home for me as an Asian American myself. The racist attacks have been rampant in the US and my article was published the same day a man in Atlanta visited three spas where he shot and killed eight people, six of whom were Asian. In closely following the news in the US, it's been emotionally draining to watch how many mass shootings have taken place just in the past 30 days: 45. Mass shooting is commonly referred to as an event in which four or more people are shot and/or killed and can include multiple locations within close proximity, although the FBI does not define mass shooting as a term of its own, but rather "mass murder".

The US Constitution's 2nd Amendment, ratified in December 1791, states, "having just used guns and other arms to ward off the English, the amendment was originally created to give citizens the opportunity to fight back against a tyrannical federal government." That means people are granted the right to bear arms in the event they would need to fight their own government. Although Mexico and Guatemala both have a constitutional right to bear arms, the US is in a league of its own because it is the only country without any restrictions on gun ownership written in the constitution.

The US is the only developed country that has repeated and regular mass shootings and the highest homicide rate by guns. Time Magazine reported on over 600 just in 2020. Yet, according to Gallup, almost 35 percent of Americans want gun laws to stay as they are and 9 percent wish for less strict gun laws.

Some argue that people shoot guns, guns don't shoot themselves. This is accurate. However, in a nation with mounting mental health problems, economic inequalities and political division, is it beneficial to the citizens that nearly anyone has the ability to own multiple guns? And with these issues, there is not enough funding to assist with mental health treatment or economic inequalities. Last week, a 19-year-old man opened fire and killed eight people in a FedEx facility. According to FBI reports and the man's family, the authorities were very aware of his struggles with mental health a few months before he legally purchased two assault rifles.

Should people's rights to own firearms be taken away? I can't help but question why it's necessary for anyone, anywhere, to own multiple semi-automatic weapons. What do people really think they are defending themselves from? How much does it infringe on your rights if required to take a psychological evaluation or for gun sellers to have limited access to mental health records and criminal history?

According to gov.uk, there are no concealed or open carry laws in the United Kingdom. You simply cannot "carry". Citizens do own rifles and shotguns, but their storage and transport is licensed and regulated; guns and ammunition cannot be stored in the same spot and would need justifying to the police if you were stopped while carrying a gun. Self-defense is not a justification in UK law for shooting someone. The only fully legal self-defense item that can be used at this time is a rape alarm.

An Australian friend informed me about the firearms buy-back program of 1996 after a series of killing sprees and gun-related homicides have dropped significantly over the years. Canadians are allowed to own firearms, however, civilians aren't allowed to possess automatic weapons, handguns with a barrel shorter than 10.5 cm or any modified handgun, rifle or shotgun. After the mass shooting in Nova Scotia in April 2020, the government has banned around 1,500 types of military-grade firearms.

In China, it is illegal for private citizens to own a firearm with the exception of some individual hunting permits. Law enforcement and security positions carry a gun only while on duty. Guns are checked into their departments when shifts are over. Generally, private citizens are not allowed to possess guns. Civilian ownership of guns is largely restricted to authorized, non-individual entities as written in the Firearm Administration Law of the People's Republic of China. I haven't heard of or read of anyone being shot in my more than seven years living here.

Yet Americans fight for the 2nd Amendment even though they aren't going to war or defending against a tyrannical government, just killing each other, including children. Funding is misappropriated to sectors that aren't addressing mental health or economic inequalities. Why can't we do better?
The Tennessee State Data Center, housed in the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research in the University of Tennessee, Knoxvilles Haslam College of Business, analyzed the US Census Bureau data released this week. Tennessee ranked as the 16th most populous state in the nation, up one position from 2010. It trails number 15, Massachusetts, by 119,077 people and leads number 17, Indiana, by 125,312.The new count of the states residents was released along with congressional apportionment results which, as expected, show that Tennessee retains its current allocation of nine seats in the US House of Representatives.That figure has held since 1980.The states population increase over the past 10 years is smaller than gains seen in the previous two decades. During the period from 1990 to 2000, the state added more than 812,000 people, an increase of 16.7 percent. Between 2000 and 2010, Tennessee added almost 657,000 people for an 11.5 percent increase.To some degree Tennessees population increase mirrored that of the country, which has slowed to a 7.4 percent increase since 2010the lowest rate since the 1930s and the second lowest in history.Although our growth rate was slightly lower last decade, the 2020 population counts did exceed the precensus estimate of an 8.3 percent increase, said Tim Kuhn, director of the Tennessee State Data Center. We have to wait to learn more, but we are very thankful to Tennesseans who completed the census and to the public and private leaders across the state who helped promote a complete count of our residents.Screen-Shot-2021-04-27-at-5.17.41-PM-copyOver the past 30 years, other studies have shown that much of the states population increase has been driven by net migration gainsmore people moving into the state than moving out. While that general trend continues, a decline in birth rates that began in 2007 dampened Tennessees overall growth between 2010 and 2020.The concentration of population growth in the Southern and Western parts of county is evident in the new data.The Southwhich includes Tennesseegrew by 10.2 percent in the past decade and gained more than 11.5 million people. Growth in Texas (15.9 percent) and Florida (14.6 percent) helped propel the increases over the past 10 years in this part of the country. Not all Southern states saw growth; West Virginia and Mississippi logged decreases.Western states came in a close second to the Southern states, with an overall population increase of 9.2 percent. Utahs 18.4 percent increase is the highest percentage gain among all US states. Midwestern and Northeast regions saw modest increases of 3.1 and 4.1 percent over the 10-year stretch.States, counties, and cities eager to learn about their 2020 census population will have to wait until August 16 to learn their totals. Thats when the US Census Bureaus Public Law 94-171 redistricting data is expected to become available.The bureaus current plan calls for data to be released to experienced data users by mid-August, followed by an October 1 release in more user-friendly formats and through Census Bureau websites.The redistricting release will kick off the process of redrawing political districts at congressional, state, and local levels to rebalance population numbers among districts.The redistricting data are very important numbers for cities and counties across the state, Mr. Kuhn said. Rebalancing population among political districts is the most oblivious use. But these data are also used to access a communitys growth and look at housing vacancy rates, and they are incorporated into funding formulas. These uses are all dependent on the more detailed census data that will come later this summer.The August totals will be also be used for future Tennessee state-shared revenue allocations.
Brett Brothers understand the importance of grassland productivity on overall farm profitability and their 2021 range of Gold Sward Grass mixtures include the top performing varieties from the Department of Agriculture Irish Recommend List and Teagasc Pasture Profit Index (PPI).

Bretts grass seed range is developed to optimise the yield and quality of pasture, for improved animal performance.

As well as an extensive grass seed range, Bretts offer a full complement of grassland agrochemicals and provide a comprehensive technical service led by Agronomist, James Irish.

In adding support to their Kilkenny customer base, Bretts have recently recruited Paul Colgan who is from Johnswell, Kilkenny. Paul joined the Bretts team in July 2020 to manage harvest and seed production.

Hailing from a dairy background, Paul has years of experience operating machinery and spraying crops while working for agricultural contractors. After a six-year spell on a tillage farm in Western Australia, Paul returned home to further his education and recently completed an honours degree in Agricultural Science in WIT.

Paul joins the agronomy team as assistant agronomist to follow his passion for cereal and grass crops. Paul is a qualified pesticide advisor and can guide farmers through the process of reseeding, weed control and fertiliser planning.

Paul can be contacted on mobile 087-4332528 or for more information go to www.brettbrothers.ie.
MIAMI, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Globant (NYSE: GLOB), a digitally native company, today announced the expansion of its footprint in Miami, Florida. Over the next three years, the company plans to recruit 150 employees, on top of the 90 professionals already based in South Florida.

In Miami, the company plans to build its Smart Venues Hub, a place to centralize its expertise in helping companies as they work to blend physical and digital experiences to deepen customer engagement. From the Hub they will partner with clients to create memorable journeys for their customers and fans. The Hub leverages Globant's approach accelerating the patron experience through the use of emerging technologies, including the IoT, AI, and hyper-connectivity. Tomorrow's venues will be central hubs of communities, where guests and fans drive their optimal personal engagement, and celebrate participation. This announcement follows Globant's recent opening of an Innovation Center in Malaga, Spain, reinforcing the company's commitment to driving innovation worldwide.

"We want to remove the barriers and limitations of physical space -- whether it be retail, hospitals, sporting arenas or other venues. The Smart Venues hub comes to address this vision" said Martin Nanni, head of the new hub and VP of Technology. "Through digitalization, Globant will revolutionize how companies interact with consumers, patrons, patients, and fans in physical locations and online to allow them to create new blended experiences."

"Miami is increasingly becoming an important hub to boost tech-enabled innovation in a host of sectors such as healthcare and life sciences, logistics and transportation, financial services, retail, as well as travel and leisure. We will partner with our clients to deliver profound digital transformation to consumers, bridging the digital and physical worlds," said Fernando Matzkin, Chief Business Officer for Globant North America. "As a cosmopolitan melting pot that is the meeting point of the Americas, Miami possesses a strong and diverse talent base that will propel forward the business of our clients, implementing solutions that digitize and enhance consumer experiences.

"Our Miami is on a journey to become the capitol of capital and businesses are choosing our city because of the diversity, talent and innovative spirit of our people." said Francis Suarez, Mayor of the City of Miami. "It is for this reason that our Miami is so excited to welcome a globally renowned digital native company like Globant in their decision to launch a regional hub for their operations in our city. The expanded presence of Globant in Miami is a further validation of the emergence of our Miami as a globally competitive tech ecosystem."

"Businesses have become more focused on the importance of transforming technology and realizing the needs to become an adaptive organization," said Nicolas Avila, Chief Technology Officer for North America at Globant. "Our growth in Miami will allow us to partner with companies across industries to completely reimagine the consumer experience and enhance their competitiveness in this new digital era."

As part of this expansion, the Globant office will be located at 5201 Blue Lagoon Drive, Miami, FL 33126, at the Waterford Blue Lagoon Office Park.

Visit Globant Career Opportunities in Miami

About Globant:

We are a digitally native company that helps organizations reinvent themselves to create a way forward and unleash their potential. We are the place where innovation, design and engineering meet scale.

We have more than 16,250 employees and we are present in 18 countries working for companies like Google, Rockwell Automation, Electronic Arts and Santander, among others.

We were named a Worldwide Leader in CX Improvement Services by IDC MarketScape report.

We were also featured as a business case study at Harvard , MIT , and Stanford.

, , and Stanford. We are a member of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord.

For more information, visit www.globant.com

Contact:

[email protected]

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People show support for the people living in Gaza during Solidarity Fridays at Pliny Park, in Brattleboro, Vt., on Friday, June 4, 2021.
Although it is a very rare occurrence to see Nigerian grades trade at levels stipulated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) every month, the issuance of its official selling prices generally reflects the markets current sentiment. Todays current feeling about Nigerian crudes (and Western African ones generally) is that of weakness. Attesting to the difficulty of placing West African cargoes recently it should be noted that up until mid-April roughly half of May 2021 loaders were still available, normally the overwhelming majority of them would be cleared by that point surely. In this article, we assess 3 main trends that have brought Nigerian crudes to the low point at which they are now  fierce competition from usual rivals and incrementally from US cargoes, the tepid recovery of European markets and the sudden collapse of India.

But lets first take a look at NNPCs official selling prices for May 2021. If one is to disregard the April-June 2020 period that saw every possible differential plummet to multi-year lows, the new Nigerian OSPs for May plummeted to their lowest in more than a decade. NNPC dropped its main export streams  Bonny Light, Brass River, Erha, Qua Iboe  by 61-62 cents per barrel from their April 2021 prices, with them amounting to -0.9, -0.8, -0.65, -0.97 USD per barrel against Dated Brent. As low as this might seem, these levels are some 40-50 cents per barrel better than the actual May spot market. It was inevitable that May OSPs decrease given that aggregate exports are inching back (to 1.68mbpd next month), however, the extent of the slump was aggravated by the below factors.

Related Video: Oil on Guard over Yemen as Saudi, Iran Meet in Secret

Graph 1. Official Selling Prices of Top Nigerian Grades in 2017-2021 (against Dated Brent, USD per barrel).

Source: NNPC.

Competition Heating Up

The OPEC+ years have brought about an unprecedented expansion of light sweet crudes available to buyers, refiners across continents can choose from a plethora of options. Most of oil-producing nations are gradually increasing their output, be it a consequence of easing OPEC+ quotas or simply due to their own volition to benefit from the reasonably profitable prices above 60 USD per barrel, meaning that refiners in Asia or Europe can create complex strategies on what to refine in the upcoming period. Now that the market has been backwardated for several months already, the shipping market no longer experiences any dearth of vessels, i.e. freight costs would be manageable for the buyers. Thus Nigeria, located mid-way between Europe and Asia (and having largely lost the US crude market), is compelled to fend off competitors from all sides.

April 2021 will witness a solid inflow of light sweet US grades to Asia, amassing a monthly total of 44MMbbls. That is some 10MMbbls higher month-on-month than in maintenance-heavy March. Concurrently, WTI delivered to Singapore fell to its lowest in a year, flirting the 0 line of Dated Brent in mid-April; WTI DES Rotterdam plunged into negative territory in the first days of April and has remained there ever since. Similarly, in Europe where both Azeri and CPC saw a massive depreciation  the former fell as low as 0.10 USD per barrel vs Dated (generally should garner a premium of 1-2 USD per barrel), whilst the Kazakhstani flagship grade nosedived to -3.25/-3.50 USD per barrel against Dated Brent. Thus, Nigerias rivals are pumping crudes onto the markets and accepting anaemic differentials as a necessary albeit painful element of the trading game.

Indias Buying Spree Cut Short

India has routinely been the top buyer of Nigerian grades, the not-too-light and not-too-heavy quality of Nigerias flagship crudes suits Indias plentiful refiners almost perfectly. Last year 17% of Nigerian crude exports went to India, equivalent to 300kbpd on an annual average basis. Nigerian oil producers will have an extremely tough time trying to maintain those levels of crude exports. First the ever-widening Brent/Dubai EFS has narrowed down arbitrage potential from Nigeria, which, at a time of increasing export quotas (went from 1.64mbpd in February 2021 to 1.68mbpd in April) was a rather unpleasant development. Related: The Ugly Truth About Renewable Power

Graph 2. Nigerias Crude Exports vs Asias Share in Nigerias Exports in 2017-2021 (million barrels per day, %).

Source: Thomson Reuters.

Indias current COVID travails foreshadow further difficulty for placing Nigerian cargoes in their prime market outlet. National demand for transportation fuels is bound to drop by at least 20% in April in India as regional governments introduced lockdowns once again, including the capital New Delhi. Although initially destined for several weeks, the lockdowns can be extended for a couple of months as the dangers of the new COVID strain discovered in India, labelled B.1.617, are still difficult to assess. One thing we can ascertain already: throughout December 2020  March 2021 oil producers from Nigeria loaded an average of 11-12 MMbbls. This April the total volume to be loaded in Nigerian terminals towars India will amount to 8.8 MMbbls and May 2021 is bound to decrease even further.

Spanish Demand Still Off the Table

Spanish refiners have routinely been to the lighter side of the Mediterranean spectrum, therefore it should not come as a surprise that Spain maintained its role as an important buyer of Nigerian crudes (0.23mbpd), trailing only to India. On the back of Europe still struggling to revive its economy at least to pre-COVID levels, Spain has been suffering from depressed demand. Coastal refiners have felt the pinch of the ongoing market slump more than landlocked ones did, unfortunately for Spain all but one of its refineries are located next to the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean, thus being subject to the intense regional competition. Most coastal refineries have been running at 60-70% nominal capacity for almost a year. Truth be told, even the only inland refinery in Puertollano has shut down all fuels production in April 2021.

Graph 3. Nigerian Exports to Spain in 2017-2021 (million barrels per day).

Source: Thomson Reuters.

At the same time, during the autumn months of 2020 when the 2nd wave of COVID was battering Spain again, Nigerian exports stayed within the statistical average all the while differentials were stronger than they are now. In March 2021, only one Escravos Suezmax cargo left the loading terminals of Nigeria for Spain; all this after a really robust February when a total of 9.2MMbbls was loaded. This harkens back to the above-mentioned competition with US, Caspian and North African grades  a joust that Nigeria is evidently losing. Weak demand and third-wave lockdowns notwithstanding, neither the American WTI nor the Caspian CPC has seen any ground-breaking changes in total volumes loaded en route to Spain.

By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Founder of Studio Diode, Denis Hayoun, has specialised in watch photography since the new millennium, with two studios (Geneva and La Chaux-de-Fonds) creating the high-quality photography weve come to recognise is his signature. His work featured on the first cover of GMT magazine in 2000, depicting a Roger Dubuis Much More, and the rest is history. Denis Hayoun is also a member of the jury of the Watch Photo Awards, the first international watch photography competition that is open to participation by private individuals.

Whether lifestyle or product-focused, his shoots are always very sophisticated, with an aesthetic rigour perfectly adapted to the requirements and the attention to detail of watch brands. When it comes to highlighting contrasting surface treatments, or mastering the way light interacts with different materials, nothing is beyond the skills of Denis or his ten-strong team. Depending on how much creative discretion is permitted in any given shoot, the art of suggestion can generate considerable emotional impact.

Suzannes Choice

In the words of our editor-in-chief, Suzanne Wong, who chose him for this shoot, Denis is a photographer whose talents are well known in our industry. Its a privilege to have his work featured on WorldTempus.

It was also Suzanne who decided on the green colour scheme for this series of original photos. Green is such a powerful colour. It is highly symbolic, with many different interpretations, but what it conveys above all is growth and renewal.

ShowCase  An Idea Whose Time Has come

Denis Hayoun, who is completely at ease with the latest technology, and close to the watch brands, recently created the ShowCase (in association with Fabrice Rabhi of the LeTruc agency). This small, portable video presentation studio is designed to enable retailers and manufacturers to present their watches when they are unable to meet clients in person. The product being displayed can be turned to show every angle by the sales assistants two hands from inside the ShowCase itself, which comes equipped with the optimum lighting to reproduce the conditions in a professional photography studio. Close-up shots are taken by a video camera designed to be positioned just a few centimetres away, making it easy to focus in on the details of a hand, a tourbillon or a diamond. For customers the process could not be easier, and interaction is seamless. They are simply given a meeting link that works in any browser, with no need to download an app.

The ShowCase  Denis Hayoun

In fact, WorldTempus has decided to invest in this technology itself. The ShowCase will be used to organise regular watch presentations for WorldTempus readers, at new events planned for the coming summer.




SAG Award nominee Zoe Kravitz modeled a tiny black vest and white skirt from Yves Saint Laurent's so-called 'winter 2021' collection, which was unveiled Wednesday at 2PM CEST.

The 32-year-old daughter of Lisa Bonet's scantily-clad attire designed by Anthony Vaccarello barely covered her pert posterior.

Zoe completed her rooftop fashion spread with boxer braids, massive rhinestone earrings, a matching choker, fishnet stockings, and black stilettos.

Taking the plunge! SAG Award nominee Zoe Kravitz modeled a tiny black vest and white skirt from Yves Saint Laurent's so-called 'winter 2021' collection, which was unveiled Wednesday

Both Kravitz and her famous father - four-time Grammy winner Lenny Kravitz - have fronted previous collections from the French fashion house.

The High Fidelity producer-star's Instagram post came the day after she teased an 'important' fashion project with two-time Oscar nominee Jonah Hill.

The 37-year-old actor-director tagged Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen's high-end label The Row and captioned his Instagram snap: 'Modeling is emotionally complex.'

The 34-year-old Full House alums famously founded their minimalist brand in their NYU college dorm way back in 2006.

Shirt or dress? The 32-year-old daughter of Lisa Bonet's scantily-clad attire designed by Anthony Vaccarello barely covered her pert posterior

Cornrows: Zoe completed her rooftop fashion spread with boxer braids, massive rhinestone earrings, a matching choker, fishnet stockings, and black stilettos

Runs in the family: Both Kravitz and her famous father - four-time Grammy winner Lenny Kravitz - have fronted previous collections from the French fashion house

Zoe and Jonah's posts received glowing comments from Lenny Kravitz, Natasha Lyonne, Bella Hadid, Michael B. Jordan, Andy Cohen, The Weeknd, Sophia Bush, and Justin Long.

On March 13, Kravitz wrapped her role as cat burglar Selina Kyle/Catwoman on the England set of Matt Reeves' The Batman, which hits US/UK theaters March 4.

The DC Comics reboot also stars Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, and Andy Serkis.

'#thisisimportant': The High Fidelity producer-star's Instagram post came the day after she teased an 'important' fashion project with two-time Oscar nominee Jonah Hill (L)

The 37-year-old actor-director tagged Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen's high-end label The Row and captioned his Instagram snap: 'Modeling is emotionally complex'

Twin tycoons: The 34-year-old Full House alums famously founded their minimalist brand in their NYU college dorm way back in 2006 (pictured in 2019)
There has long been an interest in reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey, US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy told RFE/RL.

According to her, this will benefit everyone in the region - Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia. This is a very important question. But some immediate problems need to be addressed in a post-conflict situation.

Answering, the recognition of the Genocide by President Joe Biden may have any legal consequences and the US policy towards Turkey or Armenia will change, the diplomat noted that the Biden administration has made it very clear that the differences between the United States and Turkey must be resolved effectively.

She also noted that some urgent problems need to be addressed in a post-conflict situation.

This is an issue in which the Minsk Group can play a very important role, she said adding that although the war was stopped by concrete action, there are many important issues.

Answering the question of whether the United States has lost interest in the region or Russia has become more powerful, given that it was Moscow that managed to stop the war, the diplomat recalled that there were several attempts to achieve a ceasefire, but they did not fail, and the first attempt was made by Russia. 

According to her, this situation cannot be resolved by any country, therefore there is a platform of the Minsk Group co-chairs.

Commenting on the fact that the United States provided military assistance to Baku for hundreds of millions of dollars, the ambassador noted that this is not military assistance, but assistance in the fight against terrorism, which is designed to help Azerbaijan secure its border with Iran, solve anti-terrorist problems that are of concern to the United States. and Azerbaijan.

As for the US military assistance to Armenia, the diplomat recalled that Armenia is a member of the CSTO, and Armenia's membership in this organization imposes very serious restrictions on the military assistance that they can provide. She assured that the United States does not provide Azerbaijan with high technologies within the framework of cooperation in the field of border security or the fight against terrorism.
       -    FuelEU Maritime
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases

By Chris Boyle Published: April 28 2021

This moving event served as a reminder that the faces of crime victims are those of our family, friends, neighbors, and community members.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and the Office of Crime Victim Advocate, in commemoration of National Crime Victims Rights Week, were joined by New York Attorney General Leticia James, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, and community members for a Crime Victims Rights Vigil and Dome Lighting to raise awareness about crime victims issues and rights and introduce the community to the important resources and services available. In addition to their remarks, a vigil ceremony was held with community stakeholders, including victims of crimes and their families.

County Executive Curran presented honorary citations for Life After Loss A.N.D.R.E founders Stephanie Draine and George Greydon, and Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Palma, champions in advocating for expanded support and services for communities affected by crime. After the citation presentation and musical performances, the five crime victim rights candles were lit by family members of crime victims: the right to be present, the right to assistance, right to information/notification, the right to be safe, and the right to be heard.

This moving event served as a reminder that the faces of crime victims are those of our family, friends, neighbors, and community members. Now is the time to redouble our efforts so that victimization continues to decline and fewer and fewer Nassau residents become victims of crime, said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.

Monday was a monumental milestone here in Nassau County, as our County came together for the first time to commemorate National Crime Victims Rights Week. National Crime Victims Rights Week is a time to remember those we have lost. recognize survivors of crime and raise awareness of victims rights and services. It is a time to stand with families, neighbors, friends, and colleagues whose lives have been forever altered by crime. Elected officials, law enforcement, county agencies, service providers, community partners and advocates stood with survivors in solidarity and made a collective commitment to reach out, listen, and support them as they journey on a path to justice and healing. As a county and a community, we committed to support victims and survivors by earning and building on their trust. We will continue to provide victims with the resources and assistance that is needed in the aftermath of a crime. Nassau County works to ensure that victims and witnesses are afforded all the legal rights, protections, and assistance they are entitled to under the law and that they treated with dignity fairness and respect. Our National Crime Victims Rights Week Vigil showed the victims and survivors of Nassau County that they are not alone, we hear them, and we stand with them, said Director of the Office of Crime Victim Advocate Jeanine Diehl-Paulson.

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) leads communities throughout the country in their annual observances of NCVRW by promoting victims rights and honoring crime victims and those who advocate on their behalf. This years theme Support Victims. Build Trust. Engage Communities. celebrates the contributions that we all can make toward building trust in our communitys capacity to support the healing journeys of crime victims. Trust is collective as well as individual, so we are honoring both the individual victims in our community and the groups engaged in building networks of understanding and support.

It is important that all victims have a platform to share their voice and our partnerships throughout Nassau County make sure that voice is heard. While some voices may no longer be here, those voices live through the families and through all who strive to make Nassau County a safer place for all. We are honored to work with such dedicated Law Enforcement and social service partners," said Director of Education at The Safe Center, Keith Scott.
The wood industry has to take into account developments in US-China trade as well as South Korean anti-dumping probes. Photo: Le Toan

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has received documents from the General Department of Taxation (GDT) on tax refunds for timber enterprises, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan told VIR, adding that the ministry will focus on controlling several companies showing signs of possible violations, including Junma Phu Tho Co., Ltd. and Dai Ngan Co., Ltd. in the northern port city of Haiphong.

As local authorities are tightly controlling both companies and their affiliates, Tuan remarked, It is not a big thing. We will give updates on the situation and state our opinion after more results have been gathered.

The fact that Junma has been accused of illegal invoicing to legalise purchased wood materials and refund VAT forced Su Zhuomin, general director of the company, to step back from his day-to-day work and serve the investigation by the police of Phu Tho province. Meanwhile, Phu Tho Tax Department has also issued a notice on the suspension of VAT refunds for Junma. These refunds, which have not yet been processed, date back to July 2019 and amount to over $5.9 million.

According to the deputy director of Phu Tho Tax Department Le Van Phuc, Junma has had a huge revenue and deductible input VAT so the unit fulfils its obligation to declare VAT monthly. Based on the law and monthly tax declaration dossiers, if an enterprise has withheld a tax amount over VND300 million ($13,000), it will be eligible for refunds for its export activities.

Data from the tax department also showed that many anomalies have emerged concerning Junma, such as the dramatic revenue increase in the Chinese-invested enterprise in 2018 and 2019 though the company had just been established in 2017.

In addition, some of the companys subsidiaries such as Junma Yen Bai and Junma Vinh Phuc have produced and transferred products to Junma Phu Tho for finishing and exporting, which will have contributed to the large export revenue.

Not yet enough

Phu Tho has an abundant source of timber. Yet, Junma Phu Tho does not buy from individuals and businesses in the area. Instead, raw materials are mainly sourced from businesses in Yen Bai, Lang Son, Nghe An, Bac Giang, and Quang Binh provinces. The results of an investigation of nine individual households by Phu Tho Tax Department has shown that none of these afforestation and business households has a relationship with Junma Phu Tho, including in its log procurement.

Pressure on the wood and timber industry continued to increase in the first quarter of 2021, as the GDT issued a written request to the tax departments of Tay Ninh, Long An, and Dong Nai provinces, and Ho Chi Minh City to implement a series of measures to tighten the management for VAT refunds.

The measures include reviewing the taxes of production and trading enterprises, as well as identifying the origin of wood, based on collected records on purchases, shipping costs, loading and unloading procedures, and others.

Vu Chi Hung, deputy director of the GDT under the Ministry of Finance, said that he had received reports from several local tax departments related to problems in tax refund settlements for businesses producing and exporting wood chips and other finished wood products.

Phu Tho Tax Department warned in Document No.2928/TCT-TTKT from last May that several enterprises trading in forest products had requested tax refunds but there were risky signals in their applications.

Firstly, some enterprises with a large volume of input raw materials bought very little from suppliers in the respective areas. Secondly, some enterprises with low equity capital, including newly established ones, have sold many peeled boards to those businesses requesting VAT refunds. Thirdly, some companies selling to one another are also linked to one another as chief accountants, and owners are sometimes spouses and siblings, or otherwise members of the same family.

In addition, some businesses do not operate at the address registered with the authorities or are established in remote areas. Most businesses also sell goods to others but leave their business addresses blank. Through bank verification, it became also known that some businesses may perform circular money transfers but withdraw these within the day.

Updating policies

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh from the Academy of Finance said that VAT refunds not only make sense for businesses but also for the economy as they promote the self-awareness of fully implemented tax regimes and encourage exports when a business can compete on the price. Moreover, such refunds encourage enterprises to invest in production and general operations and promote the attraction of foreign investment capital into Vietnam, while avoiding duplicate tax collection.

VAT is a modern and relatively clear tax model, explained Thinh. The current measures are necessary but not enough to minimise frauds related to VAT refunds.

According to Thinh, there are many regulatory gaps for import-export activities and domestic consumption. Meanwhile, the management of enterprises related to import-export activities has not been carried out well, as even customs officers have links with businesses in tax refunds. Regular monitoring and inspections can minimise this situation, he said.

Exports of timber and wood products of Vietnam in 2020 reached $12.5 billion, but this foundation may not help the country avoid the sectors risks for the rest of this year. Vietnams wood industry continues to be under pressure from tensions such as in US-China trade, as well as anti-dumping investigations in the United States and South Korea, specifically for plywood products involved in commercial fraud and tax evasion.

The risk that the US government may apply trade restrictions on these products remains large. Data from the Trade Remedies Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that, in 2020, Vietnam was under investigation for 37 cases, including in the US for tax evasion on plywood; and India for anti-dumping measures for medium-density fibreboards.

The Vietnamese government is changing its policies to control the legality of imported wood materials. A decree issued by the prime minister last September provides a legal system that establishes to control imported timber and stipulates that when such imports are risky and when not. Implementing this decree, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) issued a decision announcing a list of geographical areas and timber species that can be imported to Vietnam.

The tightened management of VAT refunds may harm domestic and foreign-invested enterprises in the sector. The frustrations are real in the timber industry, especially for woodchip-producing businesses, said Do Xuan Lap, chairman of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association.

Lap said that after several cases in Phu Tho and Haiphong, the GDT issued many documents, making it very difficult for businesses. He also hoped that the MARD would soon state its opinion to relieve some of the problems related to tax refunds for timber enterprises.
Philippine residents line up to claim financial aid in Tibaguin, a small village north of Manila, April 20, 2021.

Developing economies in Asia are forecast to rebound this year after contracting in 2020 amid the global COVID-19 outbreak, but the outlook depends on how fast governments can roll out vaccines, the Asian Development Bank said Wednesday.

ADBs projected growth of 7.3 percent for the entire region is higher than its 6.8 percent forecast last December, the Manila-based multilateral lending agency said in releasing its Asian Development Outlook report. The outlook for 2022 is expected to cool to 5.3 percent.

The biggest risk to recovery is still the pandemic, ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada told a virtual news briefing. New outbreaks continue, in part due to new variants. And many Asian economies face challenges in procuring and administering vaccines.

ADB forecast the Philippine economy would grow by 4.5 percent this year and 5.5 percent in 2022. While the 2021 growth falls below the regional forecast, it is a turnaround from 2020 when the economy contracted by 9.6 percent.

Elsewhere, ADB projected the economy to grow 4.5 percent this year and 5.0 percent in 2022 in Indonesia; 6.0 percent and 5.7 percent in Malaysia; and 3.0 percent and 4.5 percent in Thailand. Like the Philippines, all three nations saw their economies shrink in 2020.

The projected growths are in line with ADBs forecast for Southeast Asia.

In a separate document highlighting findings in the outlook report, ADB forecast growth in the region at 4.4 percent in 2021 and 5.1 percent in 2022.

Vaccination programs and expansionary monetary and fiscal policies are expected to underpin the revival of domestic demand. Both factors are becoming evident in Malaysia and Singapore, two closely intertwined economies that are benefiting from accommodative financial policies, and in Indonesia, the highlights statement said.

In the Philippines, fiscal stimulus from spending on infrastructure and social assistance will promote a bounce back, it said.

In South Asia, ADB projected Bangladeshs economy to grow 6.8 percent this year and 7.2 percent in 2022. Dhakas economy grew 5.2 percent in 2020.

COVID-19 outbreaks

In an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus within its territory and facing a shortfall from India, the government of Bangladesh approved a proposal to produce the Chinese Sinopharm and Russian Sputnik vaccines locally, Finance Minister A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal said on Wednesday.

Bangladesh has recorded more than 754,000 infections and more than 11,300 deaths since the pandemic began, according to disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Among those infected is opposition leader and three-time Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. The leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was diagnosed on April 10 and admitted to a private hospital for medical exams on Tuesday night, party Secretary Gen. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told BenarNews.

Madam underwent some necessary medical examinations and she has been in good health. The doctors will examine the reports and decide whether she would need to stay at the hospital or return to her house, he said.

Lawmakers themselves are not immune  more than 100 of the total 350 members of parliament have been infected, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury told BenarNews. Of that number, at least four have died  Abdul Matin Khasru, Mahmud Us Samad Chowdhury, Mohammad Nasim and Israfil Alam.

Other Bangladeshi politicians who have died of COVID-19 complications include State Minister for Religious Affairs Sheikh Abduallah, Attorney Gen. Mahbubey Alam and Defense Secretary Abdullah Al Mohsin Chowdhury.

Meanwhile in Manila, Sawada pointed to fresh spikes in coronavirus infections across Asia, noting the Philippines and India, where the nation has set daily global records in recent days and trails only the United States in the number of positive cases.

The Philippines COVID-19 infection rate has surpassed the 1 million mark, with daily cases often topping more than 8,000 since last month.

The department of health reported 6,895 new infections and 115 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the totals since the pandemic began to 1,020,495 and 17,031, respectively.

ADB reported that the Philippines showed signs of recovery beginning in the first quarter of 2021. The government appeared to be in control until late March when COVID-19 variants caused the number of daily infections to skyrocket.

The recovery in the Philippines is expected to be fragile, the Outlook report said. Uncertainties over the course of COVID-19 continue to weigh on household and business sentiment. Rising infections led to the reimposition of strict community quarantine in late March for two weeks in Metro Manila and some neighboring provinces.

Sawada said ADB was also concerned about what he called long-term scarring to individual economies, leading to prolonged unemployment and business closures.

Economies in the region are on diverging paths, Sawada said. Their trajectories are shaped by the extent of domestic outbreaks, the pace of their vaccine rollouts and how much they are benefiting from the global economy.

In its section on the Philippines, the Outlook issued a warning for the region.

The forecast comes with downside risks. The uncertain course of the COVID-19 pandemic and the possibility of more resilient coronavirus variants could hamper the recovery and weigh on confidence globally. Domestically, the vaccine rollout may suffer supply delays as wealthy nations have stockpiled vaccines and community quarantines could be prolonged to curb the spread of COVID-19, it said.

Kamran Reza Chowdhury in Dhaka contributed to this report.
Ms. Sorenson was out of touch with all of them, but I heard from Ms. Fabricant  Carrots  by email a couple of days after the article appeared.

She never had red hair, she said. The nickname originated with the oldest of four sisters she often played with when they were children. She mused about powerful people with nicknames that stuck, like I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former Bush administration aide who was known as Scooter, apparently because he scooted across his crib as a child.

But about Carrots. Carrots was actually a contraction of Carolyn rots, a phrase the oldest-sister playmate had gleefully repeated until the two words elided, Ms. Fabricant told me in the email after saying that her hair had always been brown. She and the sisters have remained in touch, and they called her Carrots until several years ago, when Ms. Fabricant asked them to stop. I was in my 70s then and just didnt feel like a Carrots anymore, she said.

She did feel like reconnecting with Ms. Sorenson, and we arranged a Zoom session.

They reminisced about the sisters who called Ms. Fabricant you-know-what. They laughed about a yearbook photo of the two of them that Ms. Sorenson had saved. The caption read Or just for fun. Someone had written five words in blue ink after that  all through life I hope!  and a signature: Carrots.
Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
A Texas legislator drew ire when he declared during a floor discussion in H.B. 4042 that there are six, not two sexes that are acceptable in "modern science."

Legislators were surprised during a committee hearing on Texas House Bill 4042 when state Representative James Talarico claimed that there are six sexes in what he called a "spectrum," not two. The discussion centered on H.B. 4042, a bill that aims to prevent transgender athletes from participating in girls' K-12 sports. Rep. Talarico argued that "the bill seems to think there are two."

"The one thing I want us to all be aware of is that modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes," Rep. Talarico said as he addressed Republican Rep. Cole Hefner, the New York Post reported. "The one thing I want us to all be aware of is that modern science obviously recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes."

The Ivy League-educated Democratic lawmaker went on to explain, "The point is that biologically speaking, scientifically speaking, sex is a spectrum, and oftentimes can be very ambiguous."

In an even more bizarre turn of events, Rep. Talarico, who has a bachelor Bachelor of Arts degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts degree in education policy from Harvard University, ended his statements on "six sexes" with, "I am not well-versed in this issue area. I'm not a scientist, I'm a politician, a lot worse than a scientist."

Beth Stelzer, the president of Save Women's Sports, later testified and quickly rebutted the Ivy League-educated Democratic lawmaker's confusing statements, The Blaze reported. Stelzer cited several scientific studies that proved "the male advantage is immutable and that there are in fact two sexes they're dimorphic, XX/XY."

Stelzer tried to clarify Rep. Talarico's statements, explaining that "The other quote 'sexes' mentioned are disorders of sexual development that are variants of XX or XY chromosome. They are still disorders of male or female."

According to the Washington Times, Talarico's declaration that there are "six sexes" according to "modern science" is false, but he may have read about the concept in the Harvard's Office of BGLTQ Student Life guide from 2017 that read, "There are more than two sexes" or from a 2013 story by Joshua Kennon's "personal blog intended for academic, educational, and social engagement," titled "The 6 Most Common Biological Sexes in Humans."

Those opposed to House Bill 4042, which prevents transgender girls from participating in girls' K-12 sports, believe that the bill is aiming to solve a nonexistent problem, the Austin American Statesman reported. Bishop Suffragan Kathryn Ryan of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas condemned the bill, saying it "invites further discrimination."

However, the bill's proponents believe it is vital maintaining fair competition and leveling the playing field for girls. More importantly, the bill will also protect girls from being forced to compete against biologically born male athletes. Republican Rep. Cole Hefner stressed that biological males have physical differences such as larger bodies, stronger muscles, and denser bones that will make a difference, especially in contact sports.
Fenway Park will host graduation ceremonies for 15 of the 38 graduating high school classes in the Boston Public Schools system this year, the Red Sox announced Wednesday.

The remaining graduating classes will have graduation ceremonies at other venues in the city, WHDH reported.

When we learned that so many of the Boston Public Schools were looking to find adequate outdoor spaces to hold their commencement ceremonies, we knew we could help, Red Sox President & CEO Sam Kennedy said in a statement, CBS Boston reports. Fenway Park is the perfect outdoor space in the heart of the city and large enough to host teachers, students, and their families in a safe manner. After such a challenging year, this important milestone is one that should be celebrated, and we are pleased to be able to offer our venue to help these seniors celebrate their achievements.

According to WHDH, up to four different ceremonies may take place simultaneously on any given day from June 7 through June 21.

Students and family members will be seated in the ballparks bleacher seats during the ceremonies, CBS Boston reported.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday that starting May 10, large venues  including indoor and outdoor stadiums  can increase their capacity from 12% to 25%. That includes Fenway Park, which will be able to hold roughly 9,400 fans for games beginning May 11.

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BRUXELLES, 28 APR - The meadow spittlebug can transmit the Xylella fastidiosa bacterium from diseased olive trees to healthy ones throughout its whole adult life, from spring to autumn, according to research. The results were presented at the final conference of the EU-funded XF-ACTORS project, which was entirely dedicated to Xylella fastidiosa. In early summer, the cicada seems to be less efficient in transmission but is present in large numbers on plants, while in autumn it is more efficient but less attracted to olive trees, the University of Turin and CNR researcher Domenico Bosco explained. This data, Bosco said, can help create models for predicting the spread of the bacterium. "The results also suggest the program of interventions for the control of the bacterium population should be reconsidered," commented XF-ACTORS Coordinator Maria Saponari. "This is currently limited to spring and summer. Monitoring the presence of the insect on the olive canopy should also be done in late summer-early autumn in order to evaluate the need for further interventions". XF-ACTORS scientists conducted in-depth studies on the role of insects in the spread of the bacterium. (ANSA).
ITHACA, N.Y. - Though more than 131 million Americans have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to date, public confusion and uncertainty about the importance of second doses and continued public health precautions threaten to delay a U.S. return to normalcy, according to Cornell-led research published April 28 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In a nationally representative survey of more than 1,000 American adults conducted in February, less than half of respondents said they believed the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines provided strong protection against COVID-19 a week or two after a second dose, consistent with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), the researchers found. One-fifth believed the vaccines provided strong protection after only one dose, and another 36% were unsure.

Among vaccinated survey respondents (19% of the sample), barely half reported being told about the timing of vaccine protection, and only slim majorities said they'd been advised to continue wearing masks, social distancing and avoiding crowds.

"Many Americans, including many of those who have already received a first vaccine dose, remain confused about the timing of protection and the necessity of a second dose," the researchers concluded. "Moreover, a large proportion of vaccinees report being uninformed about CDC guidance regarding the need to continue to take prophylactic measures."

The findings by an interdisciplinary, cross-college team were reported in "Beyond the First Shot - Covid-19 Vaccine Follow-through and Continued Protective Measures [LINK]." The co-authors are Jillian Goldfarb, assistant professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Sarah Kreps, the John L. Wetherill Professor in the Department of Government in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S); Douglas Kriner, the Clinton Rossiter Professor in American Institutions in the Department of Government (A&S); and John Brownstein, professor at Harvard Medical School and chief innovation officer of Boston Children's Hospital.

Recent CDC data validates the authors' concerns about vaccine follow-through, showing that nearly 8% of Americans - more than 5 million people - who received a first Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech shot last month had missed their scheduled second dose.

The research team warned that the problem could be more acute for minority racial and ethnic groups that historically have had higher attrition rates for multidose vaccines. The survey found Black and Latinx respondents were significantly less likely than whites to believe the vaccines provided strong protection after the second dose, and significantly more likely to be unsure.

"Failure to combat second-dose attrition among members of minority groups," the scholars wrote, "risks magnifying existing racial disparities in the virus's human toll."

Regarding the need to continue wearing masks after being vaccinated - just updated by the CDC - the researchers found broad support. More than 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed, with support highest among those age 60 or over, those already vaccinated, and Black people. Reflecting a national partisan divide, Republicans were significantly less supportive than Democrats of postvaccination mask wearing.

Less than a third of vaccinated respondents said they were told that their risk of transmitting the virus to others is unknown, one of the key reasons for continuing to wear masks in many settings.

"These findings suggest that there is a real need - and opportunity - for the medical community to provide fuller guidance and greater contextual explanations to vaccinees," the authors wrote, "about how life can change after vaccination as we gradually return to normalcy."

In particular, they said, enhanced education at the time of the first dose holds "considerable promise" for combatting second-dose attrition.

Goldfarb said she became concerned about a lack of information transfer when she received a first shot at a county-run site that was highly efficient, but provided no information about the importance of second shots or continued protective measures.

"It really sunk in that there could be a problem with vaccine attrition even more so than overcoming hesitancy," Goldfarb said. "We could end up prolonging the pandemic because people don't follow through."

Kriner said the survey results reflected the fragmented, public-private nature of the nation's vaccine administration involving states, counties and pharmacies, each providing different levels of information in different ways.

"This is an opportunity to take this fragmented system we have and think about how we can ensure people get the information they need to protect themselves and public health," Kriner said, "until viral circulation is much lower than it still is."

Kreps said the research illustrated the need to think about more than just vaccine safety and effectiveness, and to treat public behavior as a medical issue.

"You can't understand how this this virus will continue to progress," Kreps said, "unless you understand the behavior of the public that is receiving this vaccine."

###
Gayane Sahakian, the deputy director of the Armenian Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said they will be delivered by COVAX Facility, a global vaccine-sharing scheme supported by the World Health Organization.

Sahakian did not specify the volume of the upcoming deliveries. She said only that the Armenian government will import different types of vaccines, including the CoronaVac jab manufactured by the Chinese company Sinovac.

COVAX already airlifted 24,000 doses of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine to Yerevan on March 28. Armenia also received 43,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in the following weeks.

The Armenian Ministry of Health launched its vaccination campaign on April 13, initially targeting only frontline workers, seniors and people suffering from chronic diseases.

Sahakian said just over 2,000 Armenians making up less than 0.1 percent of the countrys population have been vaccinated so far. She seemed to downplay the slow pace of the vaccination, saying that the daily number of people getting AstraZeneca or Sputnik V shots is growing by around 5 percent.

No serious health problems have been registered among vaccinated people, the official told a news conference.

In an apparent effort to speed up the vaccination campaign, Health Minister Anahit Avanesian allowed medical workers late last week to administer AstraZeneca shots to all people willing to take them. Avanesian said earlier that the use-by date of the first batch of the vaccine supplied by COVAX is May 31.

The lack of public interest in the vaccination contrasts with a continuing high rate of coronavirus infections in the South Caucasus nation.

The Ministry of Health said on Wednesday morning that 808 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past day. It also reported 13 new deaths caused by the disease.
With the county possibly joining in bud sales, municipalities which took a pass allowing cannabis dens in their towns when legalization took place may take a second look at the financial possibilities of recreational marijuana. Or others, like Waukegan which approved pot spots, may move with more energy to locate at least one in the city.
Imperial Valley News Center

Togos National Day

Washington, DC - Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State: "On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I congratulate all Togolese on the occasion of your 61st National Day.

"The United States and Togo enjoy a strong partnership that promotes peace and stability, economic prosperity for all, and sound democratic principles. We commend the Government of Togo for their efforts to combat COVID-19 and protect public health and well-being.

"The United States and Togos neighbors in the region value Togos efforts and sacrifices to help ensure security in West Africa, especially through contributions to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission on Mali (MINUSMA).

"I send best wishes to the people of Togo as you celebrate your National Day. We look forward to working with you in the year ahead to make Togo and West Africa more secure, prosperous, and resilient."
(Alliance News) - Two US private equity giants have become major shareholders in the UK's Co-operative Bank, amid speculation that they could lead a consolidation of the UK's mid-sized banks.

JC Flowers and Bain Capital Credit have bought an approximately 10% stake in the bank from BlueMountain Capital, a hedge fund where current Barclays PLC boss Jes Staley was once a managing director.

The deal, whose value was not revealed, is another important change in the ownership of the Co-operative Bank, which has been transformed in the past decade.

Although never actually run as a co-op itself, the bank was long fully owned by the Co-operative Group, which was itself owned by customers and other co-operatives.

However, in the early 2010s, the bank found a gaping GBP1.5 billion hole in its finances, a revelation which eventually led to the Co-operative Group selling 80% of its stake to US hedge funds in 2014.

The Co-operative Bank is still the only UK high street bank to have an ethics code in its founding documents a however, its ties to the Co-operative movement were severed in 2017 when the Group sold its remaining shares.

This was highlighted by Fabio Longo at Bain on Wednesday: "The Co-operative Bank is truly unique in its ethical positioning, which is backed by a loyal customer base. We look forward to supporting this value proposition to existing and future customers."

Tim Hanford, head of Europe for JC Flowers said: "We now look forward to partnering with them to take advantage of some of the opportunities available in this post-Covid UK banking environment."

When Sky News first reported on the deal before it had been signed earlier this month, banking sources told the broadcaster that the deal suggests JC Flowers and Bain could push the Co-operative Bank to start buying some of its rivals.

Speculation is rife about a consolidation among the mid-sized UK banks, with Sainsbury's Bank up for sale and TSB potentially coming to market.

Separately on Wednesday, the Co-operative Bank announced it had swung to a GBP7.2 million pre-tax profit in the first three months of the year, from a GBP27 million loss a year earlier. It came on total income of GBP81.2 million, up 7%.

Chief executive Nick Slape said: "I am encouraged by the bank's financial performance in the first quarter, achieving a small underlying profit a an important first step towards sustainable profitability from 2021.

"We have delivered a resilient performance by maintaining our focus on income generation, simplification and by reducing our operating costs. Our retail business continues to grow, with net residential lending increasing by 6% in the quarter with a strong pipeline."

By August Graham, PA City Reporter

source: PA

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
The Israeli border wall with Lebanon is shown near the northern kibbutz of Misgav Am, Israel, on April 28, 2021. (Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli Military Says It Downed Hezbollah Drone on Lebanon Border

JERUSALEMIsraeli forces brought down a drone belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah group that crossed into northern Israel from Lebanon on Tuesday, the Israeli military said.

In a statement, the military said that earlier in the day troops had located another Hezbollah drone that also had been downed along the border with Lebanon several weeks ago.

The statement did not say what means were used to bring the two drones down.

We will continue to operate in order to prevent any attempt to violate Israeli sovereignty, the statement said.

Israel has acknowledged several incidents in recent years in which its own drones have been lost during missions along the Lebanese frontier, with Iranian-backed Hezbollah claiming to have shot them down.

Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel in 2006, is the dominant presence in Lebanons south near the border with Israel. The militant group has vowed to bring down Israeli drones breaching Lebanese airspace.

By Jeffrey Heller
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. The Diyarbakir Bar Association is under investigation after it released a statement on April 24, the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

Turkish prosecutors filed charges of insulting the Turkish nation, the Turkish Republic, the state's institutions and organs against the executives of the association, according to Duvar newspaper.

Diyarbakir Bar Association president Nahir Eren condemned the probe on his Twitter account, saying: While the Diyarbakr Bar Association is defending everyone's freedom of speech to the end, it will not limit its own freedom of speech due to the oppression and investigation," Duvar reported.

The bar association released its statement under the title of We share the pain of the Great Calamity,
Kaia Gerber stepped out with her family for dinner on Tuesday night to celebrate her father Rande Gerber's 59th birthday.

The model, 19, flashed her abs in a grey crop top as she left Gjelina restaurant in LA alongside her mother Cindy Crawford, 55, with the pair wearing matching mom jeans.

Also joining them was Kaia's brother Presley, 21, and his girlfriend Cameron Rorrison, who looked loved-up as they left the swanky eatery holding hands.

Celebrations: Kaia Gerber (centre) stepped out with her family for dinner on Tuesday night to celebrate her father Rande Gerber's 59th birthday

Family: Kaia showed off her abs in a grey crop top as she left the eatery on the arm of her stylish brother Presley

Cindy looked gorgeous in her flattering mom jeans which she teamed with a sparkly gold top and smart black blazer.

Meanwhile Kaia opted for a more casual ensemble pairing her jeans with a grey T-shirt and red Converse as she carried her leftovers home.

Presley stepped out in an all-black ensemble while his model girlfriend looked stylish in an oversized striped jacket an black boots.

Loved-up: Presley stepped out in an all-black ensemble while his model girlfriend looked stylish in an oversized striped jacket an black boots

Earlier this week Cindy was mourning the loss of her grandmother Ramona Crawford.

The supermodel took to Instagram with a beautiful series of photos from a few years ago and a heartfelt post honouring her grandma's life.

She noted that Ramona had a 'loving and meaningful life' before toasting to 'a life well lived' as she said goodbye to the matriarch on social media.

Heading home: The family all donned face masks as they left the restaurant after their meal out

Cindy shared a throwback when she proudly posed alongside her grandmother for a Mother's Day photo shoot from 2018.

'Saying goodbye to my beautiful grandmother Ramona Crawford today. She had a long and meaningful life,' she captioned a series of photos. 'She was one of eight sisters to popcorn farmers in Minnesota  my great grandparents Frank and Hazel Hemingway.

'She made the best grilled cheese sandwiches on her electric skittle and always had our favorite chocolate chip cookies in a Folgers coffee can in the freezer. She was a wonderful daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.

Somber: Earlier this week Cindy was mourning the loss of her grandmother Ramona Crawford

'On our last trip together, she came with me to Europe on my ancestor trip for "Who Do You Think You Are?" She and I made up a drink we called the Whisper vodka with just a "whisper" of cranberry juice.

'Ramona... I am raising a glass to you today on a life well lived. You are loved and will be missed. I love you!'

Later, Cindy's daughter Kaia Gerber shared an image with her great grandmother and a sweet note telling her to 'rest with the angels.'
A billion-year-old fossil unearthed in the Scottish Highlands is being hailed as a crucial 'missing link' in the evolution of life, according to new research.

The fossil was found at Loch Torridon and reveals an organism which is more complex than a single-celled creature, but is not truly multicellular.

It occupies an archaeological niche and sheds light on how the most primitive lifeforms evolved into the myriad fauna we see today.

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The fossil has been called Bicellum Brasieri and fills a gap between the emergence of single-celled life and the 'Cambrian Explosion' 600 million years ago which saw a huge diversification

The fossil is thought to be the earliest known example of an organism which contains two distinct cell types.

Single-celled life, called prokaryotes, first appeared on Earth almost four billion years ago, when the planet and Solar System were in their infancy.

The fossil has been called Bicellum Brasieri and fills a gap between the emergence of single-celled life and the 'Cambrian Explosion' 600 million years ago which saw a huge diversification.

At this time oxygen levels in the atmosphere soared which led to a huge proliferation in the numbers of species alive.

The time between these events is known as the Proterozoic era - and little is known about it.

Lead author of the study Professor Charles Wellman, of the University of Sheffield, said: 'The origins of complex multicellularity and the origin of animals are considered two of the most important events in the history of life on Earth.

'Our discovery sheds new light on both of these.

'We have found a primitive spherical organism made up of an arrangement of two distinct cell types, the first step towards a complex multicellular structure, something which has never been described before in the fossil record.

'The discovery of this new fossil suggests to us that the evolution of multicellular animals had occurred at least one billion years ago and that early events prior to the evolution of animals may have occurred in freshwater like lakes rather than the ocean.'

The fossil was found at Loch Torridon (pictured) and reveals an organism which is more complex than a single-celled creature, but is not truly multicellular

It marks a key moment when bacteria became capable of photosynthesis and sexual reproduction which laid the foundations for much of life today.

Bicellum was found in rocks around Loch Torridon, a hotspot for finding the preserved remains of a plethora of animals.

It's believed the extinct organisms that once lived at the bottom of lakes gave rise to green algae and land plants.

Co-lead author Professor Paul Strother, of Boston College in Massachusetts, said: 'Biologists have speculated the origin of animals included the incorporation and repurposing of prior genes that had evolved earlier in unicellular organisms.

'What we see in Bicellum is an example of such a genetic system, involving cell-cell adhesion and cell differentiation that may have been incorporated into the animal genome half a billion years later.'

The fossil is described in full in Current Biology.
If you own an NVIDIA graphics card, you need to read this: your Windows 10 PC might be very vulnerable to a cyber attack right now.

According to a report by The Express UK, five individual security issues were discovered in NVIDIA's recent GPU driver. These can make the computer a sitting duck for attacks like denial of service and arbitrary code execution. What it means is that you could lose valuable personal data (and be forced to pay to have them back), or have your computer be taken offline.

But the biggest threat of them all was the CVE-2021-1074 bug, which NVIDIA themselves considers a "high severity flaw." If left unchecked on a system, the bug can allow hackers to install malware. Provided they gain local system access, however.

Another bug, the CVE-2021-1075, involves a problem with the kernel mode layer, which computer security experts say can leak out system information and allow hackers to lock you out of your PC, reports Tom's Guide.

Read also: [WARNING]: This Ransomware Could Kill Your Windows 10 Apps And Disable Your Organization's Security Software

A Few More Details

ThreatPost, a cybersecurity-focused website, details all the discovered vulnerabilities in a post. And if you read the descriptions, they're frankly very concerning. Aside from the main threats, they also cite eight more which can cause data leaks/tampering, and denial of service at the very least. NVIDIA addresses this in a post on their website, saying that they're working continuously to iron out bugs like this in their drivers.

If you're someone who's been sticking to an older graphics driver for whatever reason (i.e. certain games or work applications perform better on an outdated driver), then you are the most vulnerable. The solution is simple: upgrade your graphics driver immediately. But don't do it the old-fashioned way (i.e. downloading via GeForce experience). You need to get the driver from the NVIDIA driver downloads page.

Just How Bad Can A Cyber-Attack Get?

The short answer: really, really bad. And what's even worse is that skilled-enough hackers can even use seemingly innocent features on your Windows 10 computer to hide a malware attack. Computer security is really finicky like that.

You've seen multi-billion-dollar companies and organizations lose so much money or business due to a single hack. Take, for example, the PSN Outage of 2011 which forced Sony to fork out a USD $15 million settlement to its 77 million users, whose personal data got stolen. It was one of the biggest cybersecurity fiascos in recent memory, which means one thing: if hackers can break their way into a big company's servers, they can easily get into your personal devices.

And once they do, it's like a feeding frenzy for vultures. With your computer security breached, criminals can take whatever they find on your computer and make money out of it in some. Say they take your credit card details and use that under your own name. Within mere days, they can rack up an insane bill that will put anyone under financially. And that's just one way for them to take advantage of your data.

So if your NVIDIA GPU driver is still outdated, just update it for the love of everything that's holy.

Related: How To Check If My Facebook Data Have Been Hacked [2021]: 533 Million Accounts Compromised

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A Tennessee man arrested over a social media post of two people urinating on the grave of a slain sheriff's officer is suing law enforcement officers for $1 million claiming they violated his First Amendment rights.

Joshua Andrew Garton, 28, was arrested in January after posting a faked photograph that depicted two people urinating on a gravestone with a photo of a Dickson County sheriff's officer Daniel Baker, who was fatally shot in 2018.

The post was captioned, 'Just showing my respect to deputy Daniel Baker from the #dicksoncountypolicedepartment.'

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) was called in at the request of District Attorney Ray Crouch.

Investigators determined the photo was taken from an album cover for The Rites' 2009 album Pissing On Your Grave with a copy of Bakers official work portrait 'crudely' edited onto the grave, court documents show.

Nonetheless, Garton was charged with harassment and jailed for nearly two weeks on a $76,000 bond until a Dickson County judge dismissed his charges February 4.

Joshua Garton, 28, left, posted a fake image of two people urinating on the grave of slain sheriff's officer Daniel Baker, right. The fake image was taken from an album cover of the The Rites' 2009 album Pissing On Your Grave

The fake image was taken from an album cover of the The Rites' 2009 album Pissing On Your Grave, with Baker's face photoshopped onto the gravestone

Documents released under a public records request filed by Garton's attorney, Daniel Horwitz, show investigators believed the post could be perceived as threatening or intimidating to Bakers surviving relatives - even though he did not send it to them.

'The trolls will do what trolls do. It appears they and the lawyers forget that there are surviving family members who have rights as well,' TBI Director David Rausch said in a text conversation included in the records.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Nashville on Tuesday argues Garton was the victim of 'false arrest and malicious prosecution' with authorities 'incarcerating him for weeks and broadcasting his mugshot and the fact of his arrest to news media and the public in retaliation for disrespecting police.'

Garton posted the photo to a private page but it then was shared by others.

According to the lawsuit, Garton is disabled and suffers from mental illness.

Garton is suing Crouch, Rausch, other TBI officials, a Dickson police officer, and the city of Dickson over his treatment.

The lawsuit argues the arrest was a malicious prosecution and violated his constitutional right to freedom of expression.

The TBI and Crouch's office declined to comment.

Baker was fatally shot in the line of duty while investigating a suspicious vehicle in May 2018.

His alleged killer Steven Wiggins has been charged with first degree murder and is expected to be tried in a federal death penalty case in October 2022. His trial has been delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[April 28, 2021] Affogata Raises $5.5M Seed Funding to Bring the Voice of Consumers to Customer-Obsessed Brands

TEL AVIV, Israel, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Affogata , the customer intelligence platform enabling brands to harness data to guarantee their consumers a perfect experience, announced today a $5.5M financing round of seed funding co-led by Mangrove Capital Partners and PICO Venture Partners. Wix Capital and Fiverr Founder and CEO, Micha Kaufman, also participated in the funding round. Affogata's funding comes as the power of the customer's voice is at an all-time high, and understanding the implications on a brand or business has become a strategic priority. The vital need of brands to gain visibility and take action regarding customer sentiment in real-time places Affogata on the fast track to pioneering a new category. Today, a brand's ability to implement customer feedback, effectively monitor, and proactively respond to online communities is an increasingly vital determinant in their success or failure. "Our ability to provide customer opinions and actionable insights for multiple stakeholders in real-time is a major differentiator for any brand, especially with the continued rise of online communities like Reddit," said Affogata Co-founder and CEO Sharel Omer. "This funding round is a big vote of confidence in our platform and will provide us with the ability to empower countless brands with a robust set of tools to improve their products, strengthen their online presence, and really stand apart when it comes to offering a superior customer experience while maintaining a strong reputation." Affoata's platform gathers information from an expansive array of open data sources, both about the brand and competitors, and combines this information with data from internal sources to provide actionable insights. The platform's vast array of data sources includes niche sites that have critical importance for specific segments such as gaming forums, fintech communities, and more.



Beyond gathering data, Affogata makes insights and actions accessible to multiple stakeholders in a company, allowing them to collaborate with the same speed as a startup. Marketers, product managers, data analysts, customer success teams, PR teams, and other relevant stakeholders gain access to relevant insights and collaborate on comprehensive solutions. This collaboration empowers proactive product development and marketing operations, adjusting to changing customer needs and market conditions. The Affogata platform replaces multiple tools that are typically only focused on listening or actions, enabling a high level of automation and proactive responses at the ideal moment, triggered by the data. These responses range from ensuring online communities are free of spammers and bots to detecting anomalies and responding in real-time. Moderators are saved countless hours in manual work, customer support issues are resolved quickly, and customer satisfaction soars.

This new funding will finance the company's future expansion plans, including R&D, customer solutions, and more. "Affogata is a truly unique company with potential and impact unlike almost any other we've encountered," said Roy Saar of Mangrove Capital Partners. "They've created their own category, customer intelligence, and proven the immense impact that it can have almost from day one with global brands such as Wix and Lemonade, which they've helped make known for their customer-centric approaches. That's a game-changer, and we're excited to invest in this solution to make more brands customer-obsessed." "Being able to make decisions to improve product development and the customer experience based on expansive, real-time data is now mission-critical and Affogata's product has become a customer intelligence solution for leading global brands," said Claudia De Antoni, Operating Partner at PICO Venture Partners "We're excited to join the Affogata team and look forward to seeing many more brands adopting the kind of customer-first approach their technology enables." About Affogata Affogata is the leading customer intelligence platform, enabling brands to harness data that guarantees consumers a perfect experience. The AI-driven technology provides brands with expansive data related to their brand and competitors from across the web, online forums, and internal data sources in real-time. Multiple stakeholders such as marketers, product managers, customer success teams, data analysts, and more enjoy insights based on that data, enabling proactive actions to ensure the perfect customer experience. Affogata was founded in 2019 by Sharel Omer, Ran Margaliot, and Itamar Rogel and works with customer-obsessed brands including Wix, Lemonade, MyHeritage, eToro, Playtika, and more. To learn more about Affogata, visit: https://www.affogata.com/ View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/affogata-raises-5-5m-seed-funding-to-bring-the-voice-of-consumers-to-customer-obsessed-brands-301278902.html SOURCE Affogata

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A handful of auctions this month testing the appetite for a type of investment known as NFTs seemed likely to prolong the nascent fad for ownership of works that exist only in the digital world. Missing from those transactions, however, were the blue-chip collectors who typically drive the art markets sales.

Industry experts have observed a growing wedge between a new generation of digital speculators and an older school of art collectors who say their concerns about the quality, ownership and authenticity of NFTs have gone unresolved, even as their fears of legal challenges grow.

More than a dozen collectors interviewed for this article said that NFTs raise copyright and other issues that sellers and buyers have not fully thought through. Absolutely none of my clients are buying NFTs, said Lisa Schiff, an art adviser in New York. I have people curious, but we are waiting to let the dust settle first.

NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, have taken off in music, art and sports, created and sold in marketplaces for crypto goods with names like Rarible and OpenSea, or in collaboration with auction houses. Sothebys made its initial push into the market earlier this month with a three-day auction of NFTs by the anonymous artist known as Pak. A flurry of blockchain bidding pushed the total price to around $17 million  paid through the digital platform Nifty Gateway with Ethereum cryptocurrency and credit cards  for 6,150 minted NFTs. One work, a single gray pixel, sold for more than $1.35 million after a prolonged bidding war.
[April 28, 2021] Nick Bassi Joins FrontWell Capital Partners as Vice President, Underwriting and Portfolio Management

FrontWell Capital Partners ("FrontWell"), a private credit fund that provides transitionary senior debt financing to middle-market companies in the United States and Canada, today announced that Nick Bassi has been appointed Vice President, Underwriting and Portfolio Management. Mr. Bassi, an industry veteran with more than two decades of asset-based lending experience in underwriting, origination and portfolio management, will be based in the firm's Toronto headquarters. "We are excited to welcome Nick to FrontWell," said Patrick Dalton, FrontWell's CEO. "Nick is a seasoned credit professional with deep relationships and experience managing underwriting activities and large portfolios across a range of sectors and through various market cycles. His skills in structuring, executing and overseeing investments in the asset-based lending space will be invaluable as we continue to scale our credit platform to provide more capital to middle-market businesses." Mr. Bassi said, "As FrontWell continues to expand its presence in the private debt market, I'm excited to help the firm capitalize on the significant opportunities ahead and enable companies in our portfolio to execute their strategic plans throug creative, value-added financing solutions."



Mr. Bassi joins FrontWell from Scotiabank Asset Finance, where he most recently served as Director of Business Development and previously was Director & Portfolio Manager. Mr. Bassi led a team of Senior Relationship Managers overseeing the nationwide ABL portfolio. Prior to joining Scotiabank, Mr. Bassi held progressively senior positions at leading financial institutions, where he supported a wide array of complex credit transactions across various industries, including BMO Financial Group, CIBC (previously CIT Business Credit) and Wells Fargo (News - Alert) (previously Wachovia Bank). Mr. Bassi holds an Honours Bachelor of Mathematics (Business Administration/Risk Management Option) from the University of Waterloo. About FrontWell Capital Partners

Headquartered in Toronto, FrontWell Capital Partners provides transitionary senior debt financing to middle-market companies in the United States and Canada. With committed seed capital of more than USD $350 million, FrontWell offers financing solutions, including asset-based (ABL) and cash flow loans, to maximize liquidity support for borrowers that are looking beyond traditional sources of capital. FrontWell's rigorous approach to origination, underwriting and risk management generates current income while prioritizing the preservation of principal over the chase for yield. FrontWell partners with private companies across several industries that display balance sheet capacity and that require liquidity to support a transition in their business, including turnarounds, restructurings, acquisitions and changes in ownership or control. For more information, please visit frontwellcapital.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005249/en/

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Forget about those claims that Big Tech has every right to censor political information on their platforms because they are private firms. Thats not true when these companies operate as state actors working in collusion with or at the command of government entities.

Judicial Watch once again has uncovered stunning proof of malfeasance through lawsuits based on freedom of information laws. (I donate to Judicial Watch because of the bang-for-the-buck they provide, and I urge readers to consider donating, too; click here to do so.)

Judicial Watch announced today that it received 540 pages and a supplemental four pages of documents from the office of the Secretary of State of California revealing how state officials pressured social media companies (Twitter, Facebook, Google (YouTube)) to censor posts about the 2020 election. Included in these documents were misinformation briefings emails that were compiled by communications firm SKDK, that lists Biden for President as their top client of 2020. The documents show how the state agency successfully pressured YouTube to censor a Judicial Watch video concerning the vote by mail and a Judicial Watch lawsuit settlement about California voter roll clean up. The records were obtained in response to Judicial Watchs California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests to the Office of the California Secretary of State for records related to the Office of Election Cybersecuritys database of social media posts; communications with social media companies; and other social media related records regarding the 2020 elections.

Judicial Watch was alerted to the abuse by a post late last year in CalMatters  that proved to be true, according to the uncovered documents:

The Office of Election Cybersecurity in the California Secretary of States office monitored and tracked social media posts, decided if they were misinformation, stored the posts in an internal database coded by threat level, and on 31 different occasions requested posts be removed. In 24 cases, the social media companies agreed and either took down the posts or flagged them as misinformation, according to Jenna Dresner, senior public information officer for the Office of Election Cybersecurity. We dont take down posts, that is not our role to play, Dresner said. We alert potential sources of misinformation to the social media companies and we let them make that call based on community standards they created.

This is certainly collusion (remember how much the media liked to throw around that term with regard to the utterly fictitious charge that the Trump 2016 campaign colluded with Russia?) if not outright conspiracy  as in conspiracy to violate the civil rights (the First Amendment) of citizens. I am no lawyer, but I have the impression that one can sue for conspiracies to violate civil rights.

The activities were so questionable that one California bureaucrat worried about it and about how to put a lid on discovery of the activities, as Sundance highlights:

One of the California government officials, Deputy Secretary of State and Chief Communications Officer Paula Valle, even begins to question the legality of their coordinated conduct after journalists and people who had their content removed started asking for specific answers why. [] the reporter at Cal Matters who PRAd us is doing a follow-up story. We asked him to send us his questions. I am not necessarily comfortable with his line of questions and the additional doors that this will open. I want to get your feedback I would simply like to give him a statement about what our goal is and leave it at that. Thoughts?

Sundance also cautions us that the feds are getting involved in similar efforts:

This is additionally important because it has been reported the Federal Department of Homeland Security is also working with Big Tech to monitor the social media posting of American citizens in order to identify domestic extremists. REMEMBER. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is now getting ready to hire public companies, individual contractors outside government, to scour public data and social media in order to provide information for the new domestic terror watch lists. From the description it appears DHS is going to pay big tech (Google, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, SnapChat, Twitter, etc.), via contracts, to hire and organize internal monitoring teams to assist the government by sending information on citizens they deem dangerous. NBC News Article

I am so old that I remember when liberals celebrated the free market of ideas, and thought censorship was bad. Now that the left is engaged in shoving election-rigging, race quotas and mob rule down our throats, they are behaving like all the other totalitarian [political regimes and suppressing all views but their own. Misinformation today means views that progressives dont like.

I hope that California and the tech companies get sued for billions and lose. Meanwhile, a state that is flourishing (while California drives away so many residents that for the first time in history it is losing a House seat) is on the way to passing legislation that could address this problem. WCJB TV reports:

The Florida Senate passed legislation requiring social media companies to publish standards for use and abide by them when it comes to de-platforming users Monday. The legislation carries heavy fines and the threat of lawsuits. Big Tech platforms face $100,000 a day fines if they de-platform a statewide candidates and $10,000 a day for other candidates. In 2018, Matt Caldwell, the losing candidate for Florida Agriculture Commissioner was de-platformed for his pro NRA ad which YouTube removed for almost a day. They were able to take a whole segment of free press away, saying we dont want to hear those words; we dont want top hear that speech. And were going to de-platform you. This bill fixes that, said Senator Kelli Stargel. The Senate version allows the state or individuals to sue.

Its a start.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
An Indian-American non-profit body has raised nearly USD 4.7 million through social media towards Covid-19 relief efforts in India as the country battles a severe second wave of the pandemic.

"This is a collective effort that can save lives, defeat hunger, assure distressed people, and help India in its decisive fight against Covid-19," Sewa International USA said.

Over 60,000 NRIs raised funds

On Tuesday, Sewa collected a shipment of 2,184 oxygen concentrators to be sent to India. In less than 100 hours of launching the fund-raising campaign, about 66,700 Indian-Americans came out to raise over USD 4.7 million for Covid-19 relief efforts in India, it said.



Thank you all for your donations so far. We just wire transferred money for 2000 additional oxygen concentrators.

Picture: Arun Kankani, President of Sewa International USA, and Yagnesh Patel, Compliance Manager of Sewa International USA, at the bank. pic.twitter.com/ikQHpUUwHm  Sewa International (@sewausa) April 27, 2021

Over the last few years, Sewa International USA has emerged as the top Indian-American charity organisation in the US.

Heroes we need

"Right now, our top priority is to quickly acquire oxygen concentrators and ship them to India as it can save lives. We are also providing support to hospitals run by Sewa's partner organizations to extend their capacity to treat more coronavirus-infected patients," the organisation said.

Sewa's volunteers are working on building a digital helpdesk to provide critical information such as ambulance service, hospital bed availability and blood and medicinal supplies to people, it added.



Twitter

Will distribute over 10,000 essential kits

"As the pandemic is causing economic hardships by forcing partial lockdowns, we are planning to distribute over 10,000 essential item kits to families and assist more than 1,000 orphanages and senior care centres," Sewa said.

"Working closely with our partner organisations, we are also distributing food and medicines to the needy in multiple places," it added.

Twitter/Vijay IAS

American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (APPI), the largest ethnic medical organisation in the country, on Tuesday announced a nationwide campaign for medical oxygen, tele-consult and educational webinars to help combat Covid-19 in India.

Cost of each unit is USD 500

"This is the time for immediate AAPI action. As doctors, we all share a visceral urge to do something about it," said Dr Sudhakar Jonnalgadda, AAPI president. "We have located a source manufacturer that supplies oxygen concentrators, each of which can save several lives in India. The cost of each unit is around USD500," he said.

"AAPI, with the collaboration of numerous members, has placed orders for securing and delivering 200 oxygen concentrators directly to hospitals in India with the help of SEWA International, a reliable non-profit organisation," Jonnalgadda said.

AFP

Another next 30 ventilators are scheduled to ship out in the next few days. Jagdip Ahluwalia from the Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston, who was coordinating efforts from the Houston area, said members of the organisation are coordinating with hospitals, NGOs, medical schools and government bodies in India to make sure the equipment is getting to trained professionals, who can put it to immediate use.


COLOMBO (PTI): China's Defence Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe arrived in Colombo on a two-day visit for bilateral talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.



Gen. Wei, who landed on a Chinese military aircraft, was received at the Colombo international airport by Sri Lanka Army's Commander Gen. Shavendra Silva.



The Chinese minister will hold bilateral talks with President Gotabaya and his brother and Prime Minister Mahinda.



Gen. Wei is the second high-ranking Chinese official to visit the island nation after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.



In October last year, Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs of the ruling Communist Party of China Yang Jiechi visited Colombo.



The Chinese Defence Minister's visit assumes significance in the backdrop of a public diplomacy campaign launched by the Chinese embassy on the Chinese-built Port City in Colombo.



Last week, Sri Lanka's Supreme Court heard petitions on the constitutionality of the administrative body of the Port City built on reclaimed sea.



The Port City commission bill was challenged by the Opposition parties and civil society groups over its constitutionality. They want the bill to be subject to a referendum and a special two thirds mandate in Parliament.



The five-member bench of the Supreme Court handed over its determination to Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena after a 5-day hearing. It will be announced in Parliament next week, officials said.



The US$ 1.4 billion project, which has been exempted from a series of local laws, has come under severe criticism from the Opposition parties, civil society groups and labour unions which allege that the project violated the country's sovereignty, the Constitution and labour rights.



The Colombo Port City project, expected to play a key role in China's ambitious 'Maritime Silk Road' project in India's backyard, is said to be the single largest private sector development ever in the island.



Sri Lanka in recent years carried out various development projects with an estimated US$ eight billion loans.



The huge Chinese loans sparked concerns globally after Sri Lanka handed over the Hambantota port to China in 2017 as debt swap amounting to US$ 1.2 billion for a 99 years' lease.


NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Hannan Metals Limited ("Hannan" or the "Company") (TSXV:HAN)(OTC PINK:HANNF) is pleased to announce that its joint venture partner in Peru, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC") has confirmed a US$2M budget from April 2021 through to March 2022 for the San Martin project. Additionally, during the current fiscal year, an aggregate of 4,877,233 common share purchase warrants (the "Warrants") have been exercised, for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of C$1.1M.

Highlights:

JOGMEC has confirmed a US$2M budget from April 2021 through to March 2022 for the 815 sq km San Martin ("Joint Venture") JV project as part of the Second Base Earn-in Period. Under the JV Agreement, JOGMEC has the option to earn up to a 75% beneficial interest in the project by spending up to US$35,000,000 to deliver to the joint venture a feasibility study;

Additional C$1.1M has been received from warrant exercises, which will fund general working capital and exploration within 1,339 sq km of mining concessions that Hannan has applied for in its own right in Peru, making it a top ten in-country landholder;

During 2021 work on the San Martin JV project will focus on three different scales from the large project scale, prospect definition to drill targeting, and include ground-breaking LiDAR airborne surveys over very large areas;

Multiple field teams continue to work actively in the field undertaking reconnaissance prospecting and soil sampling at both the Tabalosos project at the San Martin JV Project and at Hannan's 100% owned Previsto project.

Michael Hudson, CEO, states: "We are thankful for JOGMEC's continued support and involvement at the San Martin JV sediment-hosted copper-silver project. We aim to have an active and successful year of continued high-grade copper and silver discoveries over large areas combined with social and environmental permitting advances. Equally, I would like to thank our shareholders for their support in bringing additional funds to the Company, as we continue to advance our own exploration efforts to find large-scale mineral systems throughout Peru's frontier areas."

Hannan's holds 2,154 square kilometres of granted concessions and applications and is a top 10 concession holder in Peru. The top 10 is dominated by some of the world's largest exploration and mining companies and Hannan stands out as one of the very few juniors to acquire such a significant land position. Hannan is exploring 815 sq km at the San Martin JV area prospective for copper and silver. The Company is also exploring 277 sq km of mining concessions prospective for copper-silver and in its own right in the San Martin area for sediment-hosted copper and silver ("San Martin Hannan Project"), and 1,062 sq km of mining concessions prospective for copper-gold 100% owned by Hannan prospective for back-arc porphyry copper-gold systems (the "Previsto Project") in central-eastern Peru.

The San Martin JV Project is located in north-eastern Peru. Project access is excellent via a proximal paved highway, while the altitude ranges from 400 metres to 1,600 metres in a region of high rainfall and predominantly forest cover. Hannan has staked a total of 88 mineral concessions for a total of 815 sq kms, covering multiple trends within a 120 km of combined strike for sedimentary-hosted copper-silver mineralization. A total of 45 granted mining concessions for 349 sq km have been granted, while the remaining 43 are under application.

The US$2M annual JV budget will focus on three different scales:

At the project scale work will identify the most prospective zones within the large 815 sq km land position by completing the regional scale stream sediment sampling, combined with large-scale LiDAR airborne surveys to define geology, structure, outcrops and access in the densely forested terrain;

At the prospect scale, targeted prospecting will then be undertaken in areas of interest with regional mapping along creeks and extensive soil sampling, with real time portable XRF analysis. Trial electrical geophysics will be undertaken to determine if reduced copper-rich horizons can be identified in the subsurface;

At the drill scale the company plans to complete environmental permitting over three separate areas during the year to set the joint venture up with large scale and multiple drill targets for 2022.

The Company also announces that during the current fiscal year, an aggregate of 4,877,233 common share purchase warrants (the "Warrants") have been exercised to date, for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of C$1,098,339. No commission has been paid in connection with the exercise of the Warrants. Proceeds are being used for the Company's ongoing exploration programs and for general working capital purposes.

The Warrants were exercised pursuant to the terms of warrant certificates issued in connection with the closing of unit private placement financings undertaken by the Company in July 2018 (the "July Warrants"), April 2019 (the "April Warrants"), and February 2020 (the "February Warrants"). Each outstanding warrant is exercisable for one common share of the Company. The April Warrants originally comprised 2,500,000 Warrants at an exercise price of $0.15, and were exercised in full.

Following the exercise of the Warrants, the Company has 6,619,300 July Warrants, 12,752,629 February Warrants and 2,000,000 warrants at $0.35 expiring on July 13, 2022, outstanding. If the July Warrants are exercised in full by their expiry date of July 6, 2021, the Company will receive additional proceeds of $1,654,825 from such exercise. The Company has a total of 84,471,444 shares issued and outstanding, as at today's date.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration requirements.

About the San Martin JOGMEC JV Agreement (Copper-Silver, Peru, 87 mining concessions for 815 sq km)

On November 30, 2020 Hannan announced that it had signed a binding letter agreement for a significant Option and Joint Venture Agreement (the "Agreement") with JOGMEC. Under the Agreement, JOGMEC has the option to earn up to a 75% beneficial interest in the San Martin Project by spending up to US $35,000,000 to deliver to the joint venture ("JV") a feasibility study.

The Agreement grants JOGMEC the option to earn an initial 51% ownership interest by funding US $8,000,000 in project expenditures at San Martin over a four-year period, subject to acceleration at JOGMEC's discretion. JOGMEC, at its election, can then earn:

an additional 16% interest for a total 67% ownership interest by achieving either a prefeasibility study or funding a further US $12,000,000 in project expenditures in amounts of at least US $1,000,000 per annum (for a US $20,000,000 total expenditure); and,

subject to owning a 67% interest, a further 8% interest for a total 75% ownership interest by achieving either a feasibility study or funding a further US $15,000,000 in project expenditures in amounts of at least US $1,000,000 per annum (for a US $35,000,000 total expenditure).

Should JOGMEC not proceed to a prefeasibility study or spend US $20,000,000 in total, Hannan shall have the right to purchase from JOGMEC for the sum of US $1, a two percent (2%) Participating Interest, whereby Hannan's Participating Interest will be increased to fifty-one percent (51%) and JOGMEC's Participating Interest will be reduced to forty-nine percent (49%). At the completion of a feasibility study, JOGMEC has the right to either:

purchase up to an additional ten percent (10%) Participating Interest from Hannan Metals (for a total 85% maximum capped Participating Interest) at fair value as determined in accordance with internationally recognized professional standards by an agreed upon independent third-party valuator; or

receive up to an additional ten percent (10%) Participating Interest from Hannan (for a total 85% maximum capped Participating Interest) in consideration of JOGMEC's agreement to fund development of the project, by loan carrying Hannan until the San Martin Project generates positive cash flow.

After US $35,000,000 has been spent by JOGMEC and before a feasibility study has been achieved, both parties will fund expenditures pro rata or dilute via a standard industry dilution formula. If the Participating Interest in the Joint Venture of any party is diluted to less than 5% then that party's Participating Interest will be automatically converted to a 2.0% net smelter royalty ("NSR"), and the other party may at any time purchase 1.0% of the 2.0% NSR for a cash payment of US $1,000,000. Hannan will manage exploration at least until JOGMEC earns a 51% interest, after which the majority participant interest holder will be entitled to act as the operator of the joint venture. Initial exploration activities will focus on the collection of the geological, geophysical, and geochemical datasets in the JV project areas.

Sediment-hosted stratiform copper-silver deposits are among the two most important copper sources in the world, the other being copper porphyries. They are also a major producer of silver. According to the World Silver Survey 2020 KGHM Polska Miedz's ("KGHM") three copper-silver sediment-hosted mines in Poland are the leading silver producer in the world with 40.2Moz produced in 2019. This is almost twice the production of the second largest producing mine. The Polish mines are also the sixth largest global copper miner and in 2018, KGHM produced 30.3 Mt of ore at a grade of 1.49% copper and 48.6 g/t silver from a mineralized zone that averages 0.4 to 5.5 metres thickness.

About Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC)

JOGMEC is a Japanese government independent administrative agency which among other things seeks to secure stable resource supply for Japan. JOGMEC has a strong reputation as a long term, strategic partner in mineral projects globally. The mandated areas of responsibilities within JOGMEC relate to oil and natural gas, metals, coal and geothermal energy. JOGMEC facilitates opportunities with Japanese private companies to secure supply of natural resources for the benefit of the country's economic development.

About Hannan Metals Limited (TSXV:HAN) (OTCPK: HANNF)

Hannan Metals Limited is a natural resources and exploration company developing sustainable resources of metal needed to meet the transition to a low carbon economy. Over the last decade, the team behind Hannan has forged a long and successful record of discovering, financing, and advancing mineral projects in Europe and Peru. Hannan holds 1,864 square kilometers (186,400 hectares) of granted mineral concessions and applications in Peru making it a top ten in-country explorer by area.

Mr. Michael Hudson FAusIMM, Hannan's Chairman and CEO, a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.

On behalf of the Board, "Michael Hudson" Michael Hudson, Chairman & CEO Further Information www.hannanmetals.com 1305 - 1090 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3V7 Mariana Bermudez, Corporate Secretary,

+1 (604) 685 9316, info@hannanmetals.com

Forward Looking Statements

Certain disclosure contained in this news release, including the Company's expectations regarding the Agreement and the payments and earn-in upon the successful completion of certain milestones, the Company's future plans, the projected proceeds from the exercise of Warrants and the use of proceeds from any such exercises, may constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. These statements may relate to this news release and other matters identified in the Company's public filings. In making the forward-looking statements the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the potential impact of epidemics, pandemics or other public health crises, including the current coronavirus pandemic known as COVID-19 on the Company's business. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news.

SOURCE: Hannan Metals Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/642537/Hannan-Announces-US2M-JOGMEC-JV-Annual-Budget-at-San-Martin-Peru-and-Exercise-of-C11M-Warrants
A woman who says she was sexually assaulted as she walked down a major shopping strip in Melbournes inner-north to meet a friend has publicly appealed for information about the alleged offender in the hope it doesnt happen to anyone else.

Sarah, who did not want to use her real name, was walking south on Sydney Road between Albert Road and Glenlyon Road in Brunswick about 6.20am on February 7 when a man she didnt know began to follow her.

Anyone able to identify this man is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 Credit:Victoria Police

The 30-year-old woman noticed the man was walking close behind her as she crossed Sydney Road near the intersection of Glenlyon Road. He continued to follow her for several blocks.

I was on the way to meet a friend, we go walking or running every Sunday morning, we like to go quite early before it gets busy and theres too many people at the park and I dont drive, so I was walking there, she said on Thursday.
In a significant decision, the Maharashtra government has decided to give free Covid-19 vaccines to all in the 18-44 age group but deferred the vaccination drive from May 1 in view of shortage of supplies of the life-saver doses here on Wednesday.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced the move after a state cabinet meeting decided to earmark a sum of Rs 6,500 crore for the ambitious plan.

The cabinet also reviewed in detail the Covid-19 situation in the state, the ongoing vaccination drive, lockdown extension measures and related issues, he added.

However, the ongoing vaccination of those in the 45-plus age group will continue as usual, said Health Minister Rajesh Tope.

"We don't have sufficient stocks of the vaccine now. We want to avoid a demand-supply gap so we will not start the vaccination for 18-44 age group from May 1. We will launch it as soon as enough stocks are created," Tope added.

The government has set a target of six months to complete the vaccination of the 18-44 age group and a committee would be formed to look at micro-planning the entire process, he said.

Thackeray said the citizens will be informed of the mega vaccination drive to be undertaken from May 1, depending on the supply of doses available from various sources, including imports if necessary.

"Despite the financial crisis confronting the state, the health of the people is of utmost priority for us which is why the state government has decided to provide free vaccinations to all between 18-44 age group," Thackeray added.

Tope said currently the vaccines are available from the private Serum Institute of India (SII), Pune, and Bharat Biotech International Ltd. (BBIL), Hyderabad, and the state government is in touch with them for procuring more doses.

BBIL has informed that it can give nearly 10 lakh doses per month over the next couple of months, later it would be doubled while SII has verbally informed of giving one crore doses per month, a day after it said it can supply only after May 20.

While SII's Covishield will be sold to states at Rs 400 per dose, BBIL will sell it for Rs 600 per dose and the prices will be even higher for private hospitals, though the Centre on Monday appealed that both companies should consider slashing their rates.

Tope said the state has an estimated 5.71 crore people in the 18-44 age group and needs nearly 12 crore vaccines over the next six months.

To repeated queries, Tope said the vaccine would be administered free in government hospitals and will be chargeable in private hospitals.

The government has reiterated that prior registration on the Co-WIN app is a must to ensure that there are no crowds at the vaccination centres.

"We have already crossed the half million doses per day mark and can go up to 8 lakh doses daily, but for that we need vaccines of which there is a shortage," Tope said.

Besides the SII and BBIL, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is also looking at procuring Sputnik V vaccine for which the state would seek help from the Centre.

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.
Under the slogan Fight for Life, several hundred people protested Saturday in the capital city of Sarajevo against the Bosnian governments murderous pandemic policy. The demonstrators demanded the resignation of the government for its failure to procure vaccines and the lack of treatment options. According to official figures, 189,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 in a country of 3.2 million inhabitants, and 7,788 have died from the virus.

Motorists blocked the capitals train station square and demonstrators then marched in front of the Bosnian parliament. On placards and chanting they called for the resignation of the entire government and the separate administration, which rules the Bosnian Croat part of the country.

The situation in the small, impoverished country between Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro has been dramatic for months. More people have died of COVID-19 in Sarajevo every day than died each day during the Bosnian war, when the city was under constant siege and shelling. In March, an average of 18.5 people per day succumbed to the virus. Some of the deceased could not be buried immediately because undertakers were completely overwhelmed.

Protest in Sarajevo on 17 April (Screenshot RFE/RL video)

A vaccination programme is practically nonexistent. The few vaccine doses available come from international donations or from the COVAX vaccine programme. Most medical staff are not vaccinated, although the countrys few clinics in the main cities are bursting at the seams.

In March, several cities recorded a 14-day incidence of over 1,000, and at last count new infections were at 641 per 100,000 people. Between 80 and 100 deaths were recorded every day in March, and an average of 59 people are dying every day as of April 26. The actual numbers are certainly much higher. In many parts of the country, the authorities are completely overwhelmed with the collection and dissemination of data.

On April 6 more than 1,000 people demonstrated in Sarajevo for protective measures against the pandemic. Politico quoted one participant in the protests who, with her family, demanded her right to life be respected. A month ago, maybe a thousand more people would have participated in this protest. But now these people are dead because of COVID, she said.

This disaster has shown that our system of government is a farce, and people are left to fend for themselves, the magazine quotes another participant, Vedad Zulic.

Nihad Izmirlic, a health care worker, told Politico, None of us are complaining about working hours, conditions or overtime. We are angry at the system for not getting vaccines. I put my health and my familys health on the line to save the lives of as many citizens as possible, and we dont give up even when were tired.

While the entire population suffers from the criminal inaction of the authorities, the most vulnerable in society are particularly affected. Refugees holding out in inhumane conditions on Bosnias border with EU member Croatia are defenceless against the virus.

According to the Associated Press, 147 infections have been registered in just one camp within two weeks, but this probably underestimates the real levels of infection. More than 6,000 people are waiting along the border to enter Croatia. Only some of them are accommodated in the official camps. Many live in abandoned houses or self-constructed tent camps along the border where there are no sanitary facilities or access to medical care.

In addition to the health risk, the ongoing pandemic has massive economic consequences for the population. According to a UNICEF (United Nations Childrens Fund) report, 24 percent of households had to live on less income last year than before the pandemic. Thirteen percent can no longer afford essential health care, and the situation has worsened for 63 percent of those who were already considered poor before the pandemic. For 20 percent of the poor, their situation has worsened considerably.

Bosnia and Herzegovina can be best described as a failed state. The state entity that emerged from the Dayton Agreement in 1995 is split along ethnic lines into the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska. In order to contain the fierce ethnic conflicts, which were largely provoked by the Western powers, both regions were granted far-reaching autonomy rights.

Both parts of the country are governed by nationalist parties that have been repeatedly embroiled in fierce conflicts. The Serbian part of the country is ruled by Milorad Dodiks SNS. Dodik is notorious for denying Serbian war crimes and regularly stirs up nationalist sentiments. Corrupt, semicriminal and deeply discredited politicians from the nationalist parties rule at all levels of government. It was only after the death toll skyrocketed in March that the first utterly insufficient measures were taken against the spread of COVID-19.

Similar conditions prevail in several other countries in the Balkans. In Kosovo, for example, only about 10,000 of 1.7 million inhabitants have been vaccinated, almost exclusively doctors and people over 80. At last count, a seven-day average of 350 infections and eight deaths per day were reported. Doctors expect that triage will have to be used if the number of patients in critical condition continues to rise. Although shopping centres and restaurants have been closed, schools and businesses remain open.

Of the two million residents of North Macedonia, just 26,000 have received an initial vaccine dose. New records were set earlier this month with over 1,300 new infections daily. The public health system is in dire straits, and health care in public clinics is no longer guaranteed. Private clinics offer COVID-19 treatments for the countrys narrow wealthy upper class for the equivalent of 20,000 euros, but the clinics refused to lower their prices to allow more people to receive treatment.

The fact that vaccines were not provided for months in many countries is due to political factors. Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and other states such as Montenegro could have obtained vaccines from China or Russia long ago. For fear of negative reactions from the EU, however, those in power refused to agree to contracts.

Only when the pressure from the population became too great and supplies from the West were not available, did some states decide for assistance from Russia. For weeks, people from Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and other states have been travelling to Serbia in the hope of receiving a vaccination there. Serbia recently received large shipments of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V.

Apparently, political pressure from the Western powers is so intense that North Macedonias Prime Minister Zoran Zaev explicitly apologised to its strategic partners for ordering the Chinese vaccine and assured that the procurement was not a geopolitical issue.
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. The agreement of receiving 1 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine remains in force, ARMENPRESS reports acting Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Avinyan said in an interview with reporters following being vaccinated with AstraZeneca, answering the question if the agreement reached between Nikol Pashiyan and Vladimir Putin remains in force.

''Yes, that agreement is in force. And some process are taking place. We will use all possible windows to ensure a serious number of vaccines for this year's vaccinations'', Avinyan said.

Acting Healthcare Minister of Armenia Anahit Avanesyan reminded that two days ago the second batch of Sputnik V vaccine arrived in Armenia for 14 thousands citizens. Avanesyan noted that it's impossible to get all together and all countries receive it step by step.
Michael Jackson's estate walks free after a judge dismissed the molestation case filed by Wade Robson. A Los Angeles court has held that Wade Robson cannot sue Michael Jackson's estate over historic child sex abuse claims. Robson cannot accuse Michael Jackson's MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures firms for 'facilitating' the suspected abuse, a judge ruled on Monday.

Michael Jackson's estate wins against accuser Wade Robson

Robson, 38, has said that he will appeal the ruling. The choreographer first charged Jackson in 2013 over alleged historical sexual harassment that lasted over a decade. The estate successfully claimed that while they did not influence Jackson's conduct, they were entitled to a summary judgment.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, it also said that the firms owed Robson nothing under the rules. On Monday, County Superior Court Judge Mark A. Young tentatively agreed with the claims, adding that the estate was not technically obligated to protect Robson from suspected sexual assault.

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"There is no evidence to support Plaintiff's claim that Defendants exerted authority over Jackson," Young wrote. The testimony further showed that Defendants had no moral right to manipulate Jackson because he owned the corporate defendants fully and completely.

Judge Mitchell Beckloff initially dismissed the lawsuit in 2017 when it was discovered that Robson had filed the charges outside of the state's statute of limitations. However, the suit was revived in 2020 as a Californian bill expanded the term of limitations on cases of child sexual assault, as per Daily Mail.

"As of now, a summary judgement against Wade Robson has been awarded three times by two separate judges of the Superior Court," Michael Jackson's estate's counsel said in a statement. "Wade Robson has spent the last eight years making baseless accusations in different cases against Michael Jackson's estate and companies affiliated with it."

Who Is Kim Kardashian's Rumored Boyfriend

Wade Robson's allegations of abuse against Michael Jackson

According to the complaint, Robson's mother called Michael Jackson's assistant Norma Staikos to arrange a meeting with the pop star. They were invited to see him at his California Neverland Ranch. Robson appeared to have slept in Jackson's bed while his family was kept in separate rooms. According to Newsweek, that was when the abuse began.

In 2019, shortly after Leaving Neverland premiered on HBO, he told The Guardian, "It felt like I'd known him for years. His posters hung in my living room, and I could hear his songs. I'd seen him before, I thought."

Michael Jackson characterized the abuse as "how to express respect," but he insisted on never telling anybody. James Safechuck, who also appeared in the four-hour, two-part documentary, repeated this claim. Michel Jackson said in the documentary that God brought them together and that they were supposed to be together, according to Robson.

Robson filed the lawsuit against Jackson's estate because the pop star was already dead at the time, having died of a fatal drug overdose in 2009 at the age of 50. Robson said that the 'King of Pop' "brainwashed" him into testifying in his defense in 2005. He only realized the reality of what happened when he got older, became a father, and entered intensive therapy.

Robson's original lawsuit was denied by the probate court administering Jackson's estate because it was too late to cover the statute of limitations. Robson, a choreographer, and dancer, then revised his suit to include MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures as defendants.

The revised complaint was also dismissed initially as being too old, but Robson successfully appealed the decision and continued appealing his allegation. Michael Jackson's family and representatives refuted the accusations of molestation brought against the multi-platinum selling superstar, NY Daily News reported.

Kendall Jenner Wins Second Five-Year Restraining Order Against Alleged Stalkers

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[April 27, 2021] VERUS INTERNATIONAL ALERT: Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Announces That a Class Action Lawsuit Has Been Filed Against Verus International, Inc. and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of investors that purchased Verus International, Inc. (Other OTC: VRUS) securities between June 17, 2019 and October 8, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors have until June 22, 2021 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. Click here to participate in the action. Verus purports to be a multi-line consumer packaged goods company, which develops branded product lines in the U.S. and globally. Verus was purportedly the fourth fastest growing consumer products food company at the end of 2019, which included its acquisitions of the Big League Foods and a controlling interest in NutriBrands. In order to stem the Company's reeling stock price, which had dipped below $0.01 per share, defendants represented that Verus seized the opportunity presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 3, 2020, Verus announced the acquisition of a controlling 51% interest in ZC Top Apparel Manufacturing, Inc., ("ZTAM"), a purported Philippines-based manufacturer of reusable N95 fabric masks and biohazard suits. According to the press release, Verus was "providing the funding and other resources" to begin fulfilling pending governmental orders on an expedited basis and that "protective gear could eclipse all of [Verus's] existing revene sources."



On this news, the Company's stock price rose from $0.014 to a close of $0.018 on April 3, 2020 following the announcement. Over the next few days, the Company's stock price continued to climb, closing at $0.021 on April 6, 2020. However, in the weeks and months that followed, the Company's stock price declined as the truth was slowly revealed. First, Verus revealed that rollout of sample masks and other PPE were encountering "logistical issues." Second, the Company needed to secure a facility in Vietnam, seemingly unrelated to ZTAM, to produce sample masks months after the announcement. Third, ZTAM Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") Ronald Ian Bilang ("Bilang") cryptically tweeted about a potential escalation of regulatory investigations, involvement of the Office of International Affairs ("OIA") and continued deafening silence from Verus and defendants.

Finally, on October 8, 2020, Verus announced that the Company issued a "Repayment and Notice of Rescission of Transaction" to ZTAM, as a result of "failure of contractual performance and breach of contract." According to the press release, ZTAM did not register Verus's "controlling interest of 51%" as required under the term sheet dated April 3, 2020. At the time of this announcement, the Company's stock price closed at just $0.002 per share, a total decline 90.5% from when Verus announced its controlling interest in ZTAM. If you purchased Verus securities during the Class Period and suffered a loss, are a long term stockholder, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker, Melissa Fortunato, or Marion Passmore by email at investigations@bespc.com, telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you. About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.: Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210427006200/en/

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Shocking disparities between Australia and China's military power have been laid bare in a shocking graphic exposing how we would struggle in a war, amid fears that tensions between both nations are nearing tipping point.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a $747million funding boost on Wednesday to bolster Australia's combat readiness in the face of an increasingly aggressive Beijing, but denied the move was anything more than an effort to 'pursue peace'.

But even with the cash injection, Australia's military might still pales in comparison to the communist regime, as the infographic made by Daily Mail Australia shows.

China has a defence budget six times higher than Australia and boasts 42 times more soldiers, 55 times more tanks, 13 times more submarines and 16 times more fighter jets.

Across land, air and sea, China has Australia covered with 3.3 million troops in service compared to Australia's relatively feeble 80,000.

Shocking disparities between Australia and China's military power shows we would struggle in a war, amid fears that tensions both nations are nearing tipping point

Beijing will soon have the largest fleet of submarines in the world when it surpasses the US Navy in 2030.

America's naval force is projected to have about 66 submarines by the end of the decade, while China will have around 80 - most of them nuclear powered.

At the moment Australia only has six, but 12 additional attack-class submarines are being built in Adelaide and are due to be completed by 2023.

The People's Liberation Army also has us outgunned in the sky with 1,200 fighter jets compared to Australia's 75.

While Canberra has 72 next-generation American Joint Strike Fighters at cost of $17billion set to be delivered in the next few years, China has ordered about 500 'Mighty Dragon' J-20 jet fighters.

It's a similar story when it comes to hardware on the ground.

China has 3,205 battle tanks - including many 99A high-altitude tanks - compared to Australia's 59.

To make up ground Canberra has ordered $4.6billion worth of new M1 Abrams tanks but it remains unclear when they be delivered.

Communist forces remain well-equipped with 2,250 advanced long-range rocket projectors.

Australia is building 18 new truck-mounted rocket launchers - a far cry from what would be need in all out conflict.

The Defence Force in the Northern Territory has received a hefty $747million boost, a day after China demanded Australia back the annexing of Taiwan. But it still pales in comparison to Beijing's military might (pictured, troops training in Queensland)

Scott Morrison announced the funding boost on Wednesday, which will go towards ADF training facilities, weapons training simulation and firing ranges in the NT - but still brings Australia no closer to China's military might

Former Australian Defence Minister Chris Pyne sounded the alarm recently, saying a hot war with the authoritarian state may be inevitable as Beijing becomes more aggressive and belligerent with its neighbours.

'Not a cyber war, but a real one involving loss of life, destruction of military platforms, with aggressors and defenders on different sides,' he said.

'This isn't rhetoric. This is something that you and I may well have to confront in the next five to 10 years.'

AUSTRALIA VS CHINA - MILITARY FORCE BY NUMBERS Place on global Military Strength Ranking 2021: China - 3rd globally Australia - 19th globally Military personnel: China - 3.3 million people Australia - 80,000 people Fighter jets: China - 1,200 Australia - 75 Tanks: China - 3,205 Australia - 59 Rocket projectors: China - 2,250 Australia - 0 Submarines: China - 79 Australia - 6 Fit for service population: China - 617 million people Australia - 8.7 million people Defence budget: China - $233billion Australia - $42billion Labour force: China - 775 million people Australia - 12.5 million people Population: China - 1.4 billion Australia - 25 million Source: GlobalFirePower.com Advertisement

But one of the People's Liberation Army's top generals mocked the colossal mismatch on Tuesday amid heightened concerns Australia could be drawn into a military conflict with China over the disputed island territory of Taiwan.

'We don't need to take it seriously (Australia) is not that strong, it's not that powerful if it insists on intervening, it will only cause greater damage to Australia itself,' Major-General Jin Yinan told a Chinese military media outlet.

He also accused Australia of being 'white supremacists' and wanting to be the 'masters of the world'.

'They always feel that Anglo-Saxon whites and Christian whites should be the leaders of the world,' General Jin said.

'So, on the surface, these people seem to love peace very much and want to stop a war.

'In fact, it can be seen from their hypocritical words that their goal is that the white-dominated world should not be disturbed.

'The white man is the master of the world, and the others are nothing more than belongings of the world. This group of people in Australia are entrenched white supremacists.'

While Australia may be out-matched when it comes to a direct comparison with China, its close strategist partnership with the United States and other Five Eyes partners adds some much-need military muscle.

Prime Minister Morrison announced that the new funding aims to improve ADF training facilities, weapons training simulation, and firing ranges in the Northern Territory.

'Our focus is on pursuing peace, stability and a free and open Indo-Pacific, with a world order that favours freedom,' the prime minister said.

'Working with the US, our allies and Indo-Pacific neighbours, we will continue advance Australia's interests by investing in the Australian Defence Force, particularly across Northern Australia.'

It's believed the motive behind the huge funding efforts is to bolster the ADF's experience in reality-based war games and military training exercises.

The training areas to benefit from the upgrade are Robertson Barracks Close Training Area, Bradshaw Field Training Area, Kangaroo Flats Training Area and Mount Bundey Training Area.

Mr Morrison said the funding will not only protect Australians in the event of battle, but will also provide jobs and the local economy in the Top End.

'We continue to invest more than $270billion across Australia, ensuring we have a capable defence force to meet a changing global environment, while backing thousands of ADF men and women with the newest technology and training,' he said.

The cash injection comes a day after China warned Australia it must support its policy to 'reunify' with Taiwan if it wants the trade war to end.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin gave the chilling ultimatum at a media conference in Beijing one day after Anzac Day, continuing the increasingly belligerent tone adopted by the Communist Party regime.

He accused Canberra of 'meddling' in China's internal affairs and said there is 'no room for any form of Taiwan independence'.

Pictured: Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers assembling during military training at Pamir Mountains in Kashgar, northwestern China's Xinjiang region

'Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the Taiwan issue is purely China's internal affairs that involves China's core interests and allows no foreign interference,' Mr Wang said.

'China must and will be reunified. We are willing to do our utmost to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification, but will never leave any room for any forms of 'Taiwan independence' secessionist activities.

'We hope the Australian side can... avoid sending any wrong signal to Taiwan independence forces, and take more actions that is conducive to peace and stability across the strait and for China-Australia relations.'

The antagonistic comments come as Australian national security leaders acknowledge the 'drums of war' are beating louder for free nations in the region who seek to resist China's quest for dominance.

China has warned Australia it must fall in line with its policy to 'reunify' the disputed island of Taiwan if it wants to trade to return to normal. Pictured: Chinese Navy personal stand guard

A Chinese naval ship sails into Sydney Harbour in June 2019 during a secret reciprocal visit - there are now warnings of an impending war between the nations

China has waged a year-long campaign of economic coercion against Australia, targeting about $20billion worth of exports with arbitrary trade tariffs and bans in what some experts believe is retaliation for Mr Morrison's demand for an independent inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.

The ongoing turmoil surrounding Taiwan reached fever pitch in recent weeks after China repeatedly incurred on Taipei's airspace and maritime borders, sending 25 military aircraft into its defence 'identification zone'.

Beijing has become increasingly aggressive in disputed territories, stamping out pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong and cracking down on Muslim minorities in Xinjiang under its 'One China' policy.

The authoritarian state also continues to encroach on Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei in the South China Sea and even had a deadly border skirmish with India last year.

There are grave fears Beijing will militarily force Taiwan to reunify with mainland China under President-for-life Xi Jinping.

Pressure is mounting on Australia and fellow 'Quad' members - Japan, India and the US - to keep Beijing's forces (pictured) at bay as tensions continue to soar over the disputed territory

Former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne, who served under Malcolm Turnbull, said things may well get a whole lot worse as Beijing looks to poke and prod its Asia Pacific neighbours. Pictured: A US-made F-16 jet fighter lands on a runway in Taiwan

Pressure is now mounting on Australia and fellow 'Quad' members - Japan, India and the US - to keep Beijing's forces at bay as tensions escalate.

Australian Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo said in his Anzac Day message on Sunday that though Australia should always search for peace, it must also be prepared to 'send off our warriors to fight the nation's wars'.

He added free nations 'must remain armed, strong and ready for war, even as they lament the curse of war'.

'Today, as free nations again hear the beating drums and watch worryingly the militarisation of issues that we had, until recent years, thought unlikely to be catalysts for war, let us continue to search unceasingly for the chance for peace while bracing again, yet again, for the curse of war,' Mr Pezzullo said.

'By our resolve and our strength, by our preparedness of arms, and by our statecraft, let us get about reducing the likelihood of war  but not at the cost of our precious liberty.

'War might well be folly, but the greater folly is to wish away the curse by refusing to give it thought and attention, as if in so doing, war might leave us be, forgetting us perhaps.'

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured) has remained staunch in the face of Chinese aggression - with many nations now at loggerheads with the communist superpower
Cybersecurity

CISA experiments with cloud log aggregation to ID threats

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has pilot programs underway with multiple departments and agencies to experiment with aggregating cloud logs to a warehouse which in turn will feed the agency's data analysis efforts.

CISA wants to "see if it's possible to send their logs to our aggregation point and make sense of them as a community together," Brian Gattoni, CISA's chief technology officer, said on Wednesday at an event hosted by FCW. "We've run pilots through the [Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation] program team, through our capacity building team to look at end point visibility capabilities  to see if that closes the visibility gap for us."

So far what the agency has learned, Gattoni said, is that "technology is rarely the barrier. There's a lot of policy and legal and contractual and then just rote business process things to work out to make the best use of features in technology that are available to us."

Network visibility is a hot topic among government officials and lawmakers in the wake of the intrusions involving SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange servers. CISA officials in public settings have made clear the government's current programs were not designed to monitor the vectors that Russian intelligence agents exploited during their espionage campaign.

At the same time, top intelligence chiefs such as Gen. Paul Nakasone, the head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, have warned foreign operatives are exploiting the fact the U.S. intelligence community is unable to freely surveil domestic infrastructure without a warrant.

Nakasone has also signaled he will not make any request for new authorities to monitor domestic networks, despite several lawmakers inviting him to do so.

This has prompted CISA to begin seeking out new capabilities that give the cybersecurity watchdog a clearer picture on individual end points in agency networks.

"For this reason, CISA is urgently moving our detective capabilities from that perimeter layer into agency networks to focus on these end points, the servers and workstations where we're seeing adversary activity today," Eric Goldstein, a top CISA official told House lawmakers at a March hearing.

Gattoni said during his panel discussion that some cloud providers already have the infrastructure built into their service that would aid CISA in gathering the security information it wants to aggregate, but he also said the federal government can't depend on that always being the case.

"There's a lot of slips between the cup and the lip when it comes to data access rights for third party services, so we at CISA have got to explore the use of our programs like [CDM] as way to establish visibility  and also look at possibly building out our own capabilities to close any visibility gaps that may still persist," he said.
Ex-Golden Dawn leader refuses extradition to Greece Belgian court to decide

(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, APRIL 28 - The former leader of Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, the European lawmaker Ioannis Lagos, who was arrested yesterday in Brussels after the European Parliament revoked his immunity, has asked a Belgian judge not to be extradited to Greece.



Lagos has to serve a sentence of 13 years and eight months in jail in Greece as the leader of a criminal organization.



The Belgian chamber of council will need to rule on the execution of the European arrest warrant of Athens.(ANSAmed).




Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 23:20:04|Editor: huaxia

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GABORONE, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi went into self-quarantine Tuesday following the detection of a COVID-19 case among some of his staff members.

Batlhalefi Leagajang, press secretary to the Botswanan president, said in a statement on Tuesday that "the president's self-quarantine is out of abundance of caution while more information is being gathered to ascertain the level of risk which will guide additional precautions and investigations in relation to this exposure."

The president will not be joining other Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders for the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Extra Ordinary Summit to be held on April 29 in Maputo, Mozambique. Masisi will be represented by his vice, Slumber Tsogwane, at the summit. Enditem
The Rockwell B-1B Lancer bomber has been flying high since the 1980s and the United States Air Force has recently conducted tests to determine how the Cold War-era aircraft could carry hypersonic weapons. The bombers played a crucial role in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and while ten of the aircraft were lost between 1984 and 2001, none were shot down by enemy fire.

However, none of the Air Forces B-1B fleet will be taking to the skies for a while  and it isnt because of threats from an adversary, but due to problems related with an augmenter fuel pump filter housing, the Air Force Times reported. After an incident at Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB), South Dakota, where one of the bombers experienced a ground emergency, the entire fleet has been grounded.

Last week, Gen. Tim Ray, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, ordered an indefinite safety stand-down to conduct maintenance inspections on the fuel filter housing, according to a command statement. It is the third time in three years that the entire fleet of the aging Cold War bombers has been kept out of service.

During the inspection process following a B-1B ground emergency on April 8 at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, a discrepancy with an Augmenter Fuel Pump Filter Housing was discovered, Global Strike Command said in a statement on Friday.

The Ellsworth-based B-1B began to leak fuel on the ground while taxiing to its parking area after landing.

As a precautionary measure, the commander directed one-time inspections on all B-1B aircraft to resolve this issue, the statement added. After further analysis, the commander stood down the fleet because it was determined a more invasive inspection was needed to ensure the safety of aircrews.

While the command didnt provide a timeline, it was announced that each aircraft will be returned to flight status when it is deemed safe. It is unknown how many bombers might be affected by the fuel filter housing issue, or when all the bombers could return to normal operations.

The process to inspect the housing will involve a disassembly of the Augmenter Fuel Pump Filter Housing, followed by an inspection using the latest X-ray and blue light techniques. After it is determined that each unit is free of defects, the fuel pump housing will be reassembled, pressure checked and the bomber will be returned to service.

There is zero operational impact providing bomber task force support to combatant commands across the globe, the spokesperson added. Air Force Global Strike bombers will continue to support anytime, anywhere if called upon.

This latest stand-down of the B-1Bs comes as the Air Force continues to seek to retire the bombers from service. It has reduced the active fleet to just forty-five aircraft in order to better sustain the most functional bombers, which have also been continually updated. Lawmakers in Congress have authorized the service to divest seventeen of B-1Bs, which will be used for test purposes or sent to a museum. The entire fleet is set to be retired by 2036, depending on when its replacement, the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, enters service.

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He regularly writes about military small arms, and is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.
A married man at the centre of a nude photoshoot scandal in Dubai insists there was nothing lewd about the incident and it was just a group of friends living a certain lifestyle.

American-Ukrainian property tycoon Vitaliy Grechin, 41, remains in Dubai in an isolation centre after testing positive for Covid-19, after he and 12 Ukrainian women were arrested when their balcony shoot went viral.

Speaking to The Independent over a phone he had smuggled into the centre, Grechin said he is a humble man with a wife and 13-year-old son, and that the trip was no different to previous vacations he had taken with the same group in the Maldives, Turkey or Mexico. He was also a frequent visitor to Dubai.
Miami, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2021 ) :A private school in Florida is barring teachers who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 from coming into contact with students, arguing against all evidence that the educators pose a health risk.

Critics have held up the move by the Centner academy as a particularly glaring example of the dangers of misinformation as the US works to get its population inoculated.

In an email to parents on Monday, co-founder Leila Centner wrote that vaccinated people "may be transmitting something from their bodies" that could harm others, in particular the "reproductive systems, fertility, and normal growth and development in women and children." Centner acknowledged that the assertion, which is false, "is new and is yet to be researched." The school urged faculty and staff who have not yet been vaccinated to wait until the end of the school year to do so.

Faculty and staff, the letter said, should hold off on getting vaccinated "until there is further research available on whether this experimental drug is impacting unvaccinated individuals.

" US health regulators and the World Health Organization have said that the three vaccines being used in the US on an emergency basis are safe and effective.

The Centner Academy was founded in 2018, has about 300 students and charges some $30,000 a year in tuition for middle school, according to its website.

Centner founded the school with her husband David Centner, a former tech and electronic highway tolling entrepreneur.

He and his wife donated heavily to Donald Trump's re-election campaign and the Republican Party, while giving smaller amounts to local Democrats, said The New York Times, which first reported the school's email to parents.

Aileen Marty, a physician and infectious disease specialist at Florida International University, described the email as "sad.""It gives the illusion that she's basing it on facts," Marty told the Miami Herald.

"But there's not one citation, there's not one physician or scientist whose name is spelled out in there. There's no references. There's nothing. There is no scientific evidence provided."
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Japan Gold Corp. (TSXV: JG) (OTCQB: JGLDF) (the "Company") is pleased to provide a progress report on the Barrick Alliance regional explorations activities.

Highlights:

53 New Prospecting Rights Applications Accepted in Q1 2021

29 Barrick Alliance Projects Now Cover 1,882 Square Kilometres

On the 26 th of January, the Company announced acceptance by Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ("METI") of 18 new prospecting rights applications (collectively 4,895.5 hectares) covering prospective western extensions of the Mizobe and Onoyama-Yamagano Projects in Southern Kyushu.

of January, the Company announced acceptance by Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ("METI") of 18 new prospecting rights applications (collectively 4,895.5 hectares) covering prospective western extensions of the Mizobe and Onoyama-Yamagano Projects in Southern Kyushu. On the 9 th of February, the Company announced acceptance by METI of 35 prospecting rights applications (9,571.7 hectare) adjoining the western boundary of the Sanru Project - north Hokkaido. The new applications cover prospective extensions north and south of the Sanru Mine which produced 225,000 oz at an average grade of 6.4 g/t Au.

of February, the Company announced acceptance by METI of 35 prospecting rights applications (9,571.7 hectare) adjoining the western boundary of the Sanru Project - north Hokkaido. The new applications cover prospective extensions north and south of the Sanru Mine which produced 225,000 oz at an average grade of 6.4 g/t Au. The Barrick Alliance portfolio comprises 29 projects covering 188,264.8 hectares (1,882.6 square kilometres) of prospective ground across Japan's 5 major epithermal gold provinces within the three main islands of Kyushu, Honshu, and Hokkaido, (Figures 1-5)

Barrick Alliance 2021 USD $4 Million Budget Approved (solely funded by Barrick)

On February 23, a USD $4 million dollar budget solely funded by Barrick Gold Corporation was approved for the 2nd year of the Initial Evaluation Phase regional program.

Significant Q1 2021 Advances in Exploration Programs Evaluating 29 Barrick Alliance Projects

Since the last update on December 10 th , 2020, regional geochemical sampling has been completed on 13 of the 14 Barrick Alliance Southern Kyushu Projects, the remaining project, Kushikino-Iriki will be completed by the end of April, ( Figure 2 ).

, 2020, regional geochemical sampling has been completed on 13 of the 14 Barrick Alliance Southern Kyushu Projects, the remaining project, Kushikino-Iriki will be completed by the end of April, ( ). Regional geochemical sampling is complete over the Togi Project in west Honshu and is 80% complete over the 11 Hokkaido projects. In summary 87% of 188,265-hectare 29 project portfolio has now been covered by regional geochemical sampling, ( Figures 4 & 5)

Project-scale gravity surveying is now complete over 83% of the southern Kyushu Projects, with the remainder expected to be completed by the end of April. Gravity surveying has also been completed at the Togi Project in west Honshu and is planned to be completed on the 11 Hokkaido projects by late 2021.

Follow-up investigations are now underway on anomalies defined from 2020 work programs in southern Kyushu. Investigations are currently focussed on the Mizobe Project where a series of coincident of gravity, gold in bulk leach extractable gold (BLEG) and rock samples anomalies have been defined.

Barrick Alliance Work Program

Geochemical Sampling

The initial regional assessment program of the 29 Barrick Alliance Projects includes bulk leach extractable gold (BLEG) stream sediment sampling and rock float geochemical sampling.

Sediment samples are being collected systematically across all of the project areas to define gold and pathfinder element anomalies associated with gold bearing epithermal vein systems. Once anomalous catchments are identified, further investigation is carried out upstream along the anomalous drainages to identify source(s) of precious metals mineralization.

Geophysical Gravity Surveying

The Barrick Alliance regional assessment program also includes the collection of gravity data to assist in understanding structural controls favourable to gold mineralization at both regional and project scales. Additional processing of the gravity data will enhance fault detection and support targeting of more focussed geophysical surveys such as CSAMT and magnetics, along with subsequent drilling.

Exploration Update

Geochemical Sampling

Since January 2021, the Barrick Alliance regional exploration programs have focused largely on the gold fertile Hokusatsu Region of the Southern Kyushu Epithermal Gold Province. The Hokusatsu Region is Japans' largest gold producer with low-sulphidation epithermal deposits recording a combined production of over 11 million ounces1,2,3,4. Within the Hokusatsu Region the Company currently has applications and prospecting rights covering 96,733 hectares or approximately 81% of prospective, explorable ground.

Regional geochemical sampling is now complete over 97 % of the 96,733.2 hectare Hokusatsu Region Alliance projects. Since the last Alliance update on the 10th of December 2020, a total of 944 BLEG and 1,393 rock chip samples have been collected and submitted to ALS Laboratories for geochemical analysis. Regional geochemical sampling is complete over the Togi Project in west Honshu and is 80% complete over the 11 Hokkaido projects. In summary 87 % of 188,265-hectare 29 project portfolio has now been covered by regional geochemical sampling.

Geochemical assay results for work completed in 2020 have been received and are in the process of being evaluated. From the work completed in 2020 a significant number of geochemical anomalies have been defined for follow up investigation in the Hokusatsu Region, Noto Peninsula, and in Hokkaido, and more are expected to be generated from the 2021 sampling. The second phase of anomaly follow up has already commenced at the Mizobe Project where several gravity-high anomalies defined across the project coincide with at least four clusters of gold in BLEG and rock float and outcrop anomalies. For more information on the Mizobe Project refer to the Company's news release dated 30th September 2020.

Regional geochemical sampling in the Hokusatsu region will be completed by the end of April. Following this, field teams will move to middle Kyushu and expect to complete coverage of the Bajo and Usa Projects, by mid-May, (Figure 3). Field teams will then mobilise to northern Hokkaido to complete geochemical sampling over the southern portion of the Kanehana Project, and the newly accepted western extension of the Sanru Project. The initial phase of regional geochemical sampling is expected to be completed by July 2021.

Geophysical Gravity Surveying

Gravity surveying is now 84% complete across the Hokusatsu Region projects and will be complete by the end of the month. Gravity surveying is currently in progress at the three middle Kyushu projects. The Togi Project in west Honshu has now also been gravity-surveyed and gravity surveys are planned to be completed across the 11 Hokkaido projects before the end of the year.

Barrick Alliance Progress Snapshot





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/82042_c060ea04d4a0db90_001full.jpg

References

1 Feebrey et.al., (1998) Geophysical Expression of Low Sulphidation Epithermal Au-Ag Deposits and Exploration Implications- Examples from the Hokusatsu Region of SW Kyushu, Japan. Resource Geology, vol. 48, no. 2, pp 75-86, 1998.

2 Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., LTD. website, production as of end of March 2020.

3 Watanabe Y, 2005. Late Cenozoic evolution of epithermal gold metallogenic provinces in Kyushu, Japan. Mineralium Deposita (2005) 40: pp 307-323

4 Garwin, S.G. et al. 2005. Tectonic setting, Geology, and gold and copper mineralization in the Cenozoic magmatic arcs of Southeast Asia and the West Pacific. Economic Geology 100th Anniversary Vol. pp 891-930

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Japan Gold's Vice President of Exploration and Country Manager, Andrew Rowe, BAppSc, FAusIMM, FSEG, who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

On behalf of the Board of Japan Gold Corp.

"John Proust"

Chairman & CEO

About Japan Gold Corp.

Japan Gold Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused solely on gold exploration across the three largest islands of Japan: Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu. The Company has a country-wide alliance with Barrick Gold Corporation to jointly explore, develop and mine certain gold mineral properties and mining projects. The Company holds a portfolio of 31 gold projects which cover areas with known gold occurrences, a history of mining and are prospective for high-grade epithermal gold mineralization. Japan Gold's leadership team represent decades of resource industry and business experience, and the Company has recruited geologists, drillers and technical advisors with experience exploring and operating in Japan. More information is available at www.japangold.com or by email at info@japangold.com

For further information, please contact:

John Proust

Chairman & CEO

Phone: 778-725-1491

Email: info@japangold.com

Cautionary Note

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results related to future partnerships and the Company's 2020 gold exploration program. These statements are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that include, but are not limited to, general economic, market and business conditions; competition for qualified staff; the regulatory process and actions; technical issues; new legislation; potential delays or changes in plans; working in a new political jurisdiction; results of exploration; the timing and granting of prospecting rights; the Company's ability to execute and implement future plans, arrange or conclude a joint-venture or partnership; and the occurrence of unexpected events. Actual results achieved may differ from the information provided herein and, consequently, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein speaks only as of the date of this News Release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information or to explain any material difference between such and subsequent actual events, except as required by applicable laws.





Figure 1. The main islands of Japan with Barrick Alliance and Japan Gold projects.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

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Figure 2. Hokusatsu Region, Southern Kyushu Epithermal Gold Province, Barrick Alliance Projects and work completed to date.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/82042_c060ea04d4a0db90_003full.jpg





Figure 3. Middle Kyushu Epithermal Gold Province, Barrick Alliance Projects and work completed to date.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/82042_c060ea04d4a0db90_004full.jpg





Figure 4. Honshu simplified geology, Barrick Alliance Togi Project on the Noto Peninsula and historic Sado Mine on Sado Island.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/82042_c060ea04d4a0db90_005full.jpg





Figure 5. Hokkaido: Barrick Alliance and Japan Gold Projects, work completed to date

To view an enhanced version of Figure 5, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/82042_c060ea04d4a0db90_006full.jpg

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82042
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The article splashed across the cover of Saturdays New York Post seemed designed to enrage Republicans who railed against the Biden administrations immigration policies.

Under the tabloid-ready headline KAM ON IN, The Post, which is controlled by conservative media baron Rupert Murdoch, claimed that copies of a childrens book written by Vice President Kamala Harris were provided at taxpayer expense in a welcome kit for unaccompanied migrant children at a shelter in Long Beach, California.

The story whipped around conservative media and elicited denunciations from leading Republicans, including the party chairwoman. A reporter for the Murdoch-owned Fox News, which published its own online article about the claims, asked about it at a televised White House press briefing.

But the claims were untrue. And on Tuesday, the Post reporter who wrote the original article said she had resigned from the paper because of an incorrect story I was ordered to write, describing the episode as my breaking point.

In fact, no books by Harris were provided by government officials at the shelter, and the sole copy seen in the photograph that The Post published on its front page had been donated through a neighborhood toy and book drive for the migrant children, local officials told The Washington Post.

Despite these facts, The New York Post initially repeated the falsehoods in a follow-up article falsely claiming that thousands of copies of Harris book had been distributed at migrant shelters.

The rise and collapse of the tabloids false accusations about the vice president illustrated the speed at which political misinformation can be weaponized in the modern media environment. The Post later issued brief corrections, but only after its falsehoods had been amplified at face value by leading Republican lawmakers and cable news stars.

Now theyre forcing taxpayers to buy Kamala Harris book to give to those illegal immigrants? Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote on Twitter on Sunday, adding a link to the Post story; Cottons tweet was later deleted.

On Tuesday, the author of the original Post article, Laura Italiano, wrote on Twitter that she had resigned from the paper, describing the Harris article as an incorrect story I was ordered to write and which I failed to push back hard enough against. She added, Im sad to leave.

Italiano, a veteran Post journalist and longtime chronicler of the New York City courts, is a well-liked figure in the papers newsroom. She did not respond to inquiries about her resignation or how the Harris article came to be. Representatives for The Post did not respond to calls and emails Tuesday night.

Her abrupt exit underscored some of the tensions currently roiling The Post, a classic pugilistic city tabloid that was often a vessel for coverage favorable to former President Donald Trump during his term in office.

Murdoch, who spoke frequently with Trump, installed a new editor at the tabloid last month, Keith Poole, who formerly served in a top position at Murdochs London paper The Sun. At least eight journalists at The Post have departed the paper recently, including a White House correspondent, Ebony Bowden.

Fox News and The Post, given their shared Murdoch ownership, have long demonstrated a certain symbiosis. (Just last week, The Post ran a gossip item complaining that Glamour magazine was not writing features about female Fox News stars.)

Fox News hosts including Tucker Carlson, Greg Gutfeld and Martha MacCallum discussed the Post article on their programs Monday. Peter Doocy, Fox News White House correspondent, cited a report in the last couple days in The New York Post before asking Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, on Monday if Harris is making any money from her books supposedly being distributed in the shelters. Psaki said she would have to certainly check on that, which The Post described in a follow-up story as Psakis having offered no answers.

On Tuesdays Fox & Friends, co-host Ainsley Earhardt told viewers that the claims about the Harris book were not accurate, citing that mornings fact-checking column in The Washington Post. Also on Tuesday, Fox News updated its article about the Harris book to note that only a single copy had been seen at the shelter and that it had been delivered as part of a citywide book and toy drive.

Fox News has faced criticism in recent days for a different false claim broadcast on the network: that President Joe Biden was planning to restrict Americans red-meat consumption under his plan to address climate change. An on-air Fox News graphic declared, Bye-Bye Burgers Under Bidens Climate Plan, setting off a cycle of outrage from conservative commentators.

The claim about burgers and Biden was false. On Monday, Fox News anchor John Roberts told viewers that a graphic and the script incorrectly implied that it was part of Bidens plan for dealing with climate change. That is not the case.

On Tuesday, during an episode of The Five, moderate Fox News co-host Juan Williams appeared to acknowledge the recent erroneous reports on his network.

Last week we had the hamburger story: Oh, Biden is going to take your hamburger!  Williams said. Or, you know, its always  Kamala Harris book is being given to immigrants. These stories are false, but the right-wing echo chamber starts going crazy because you can go after a Democrat.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
People queue to vote during the West Bengal state legislature elections in Kolkata, India, April 17, 2021

West Bengal is set to vote Thursday in the last phase of state elections, amid skyrocketing coronavirus infections across India that many have blamed on mismanagement by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government.

West Bengal is one of two states where the BJP has been shut out for decades, but which the Hindu nationalist party hopes to control after a hard-fought campaign.

If the state legislature election here was crucial for the BJP before, its more so now because the party needs a win to affirm that the Indian public is still on its side, political analyst Subhamoy Maitra said.

Even if the BJP could have remained content as the primary opposition party in the state when the elections began, the situation has vastly changed in the past month, Maitra told BenarNews, referring to a horrific second wave of coronavirus infections that began at the end of March.

A win for the BJP in Bengal is 10 times more essential now, given the widespread public anger against the central government and Narendra Modi for mishandling the COVID-19 crisis. Because West Bengal has become a prestige issue, a loss for the BJP will mean a further loss of face at the national level.

COVID-19 cases in India began to decline after highs last autumn, and by January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was patting himself on the back about the swift action he claimed he had taken and about the country being a vaccine production hub.

India took quick, proactive decisions and thats why we were able to fight the virus, Modi said in January.

With Made in India solutions, we controlled the spread of the virus and improved our health infrastructure.

The Indian PM also ignored warnings about a second wave, after what is called the U.K. virus variant was detected in the country in October, critics said.

On Monday, India recorded 352,991 new cases and 2,812 virus-related deaths, shattering a global record for highest daily infections for a fifth straight day.

BJPs parrot

It isnt just the public that is angry at the situation.

On Monday, the Madras High Court in the southern part of the country said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) was singularly responsible for the raging second wave of COVID-19 in the country, and its officers should probably be booked on murder charges, reported LiveLaw, a legal news website.

You have been the most irresponsible institution in the last few months. You are the only institution singularly responsible for the situation we are facing today.

In late February, the commission had announced elections in West Bengal and three other states  Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu  and the Union Territory of Puducherry between March 27 and April 29.

Campaigning and political rallies, which drew thousands of people, began in earnest with television images and photographs clearly showing that health protocols, such as maintaining a six-foot distance and wearing masks, were largely not followed.

Were you on another planet when the election rallies were held? the Madras High Court bench asked the ECIs counsel on Monday, while making observations on a public interest litigation filed by a Tamil Nadu minister, who wanted the court to ensure health protocols were followed during the counting of votes on May 2.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the party that controls the state legislature, piled on to the courts observation.

The EIC is the BJPs parrot, Banerjee said in a virtual campaign speech on Monday that was broadcast live on social media. She was alleging that the election commission had called polls at the behest of the central government.

Elections were due in the four states and one Union Territory, but critics had said they could have been put off for a few months until it was certain the pandemic had subsided.

Analyst Maitra said the courts comments were a reaction to what appeared to be an insurmountable health crisis.

This is probably the outcome of cumulative anger against various government agencies in an unprecedented situation, where logic may not always operate. Already, various departments and agencies have begun blaming each other, Maitra said.

Kolkata physician Sharadwat Mukherjee, however, said Banerjees government was equally to blame for West Bengal being the eighth state hardest hit by COVID-19 infections.

The COVID-19 situation in Bengal is extremely critical, and the desperate situation should have meant a desperate government, Mukherjee told BenarNews.

But the state government is currently in the doldrums, with the administration focused only on the elections.

West Bengal reported 16,403 new infections and 73-virus-related deaths on Tuesday, according to data compiled by Covid19India.org. On March 27, the day the first phase of polls was held, the state had recorded only 812 new infections.

A health official checks a voters temperature as a COVID-19 precaution outside a polling both during state elections in Howrah, West Bengal, April 22, 2021. [BenarNews]

On April 22, the ECI officially banned roadshows and public rallies with more than 500 people because of the alarming COVID-19 numbers.

The move followed widely publicized criticism from the Congress party and the Left parties, which said they were halting their West Bengal campaigning.

At the time, two phases of the eight-phase elections remained.

The TMC stopped the rallies and took its campaigning online.

But BJP Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh posted pictures on his Twitter account showing that the BJP continued its public meetings. The photographs show large crowds with many people not wearing masks, though it is hard to tell whether there were more than 500 people in attendance.

One Kolkata voter  a COVID-19 survivor  chose not to vote on Monday, during the seventh phase of polling. He said he abstained for two reasons.

One, this is my tiny protest against both the central and state governments, which could easily have postponed elections considering the situation. When we are rushing to find beds and medicines and oxygen for friends and relatives, I dont think many of us were in a mood for politics, 45-year-old Subhadip Basu told BenarNews.

And two, I was afraid of a second infection in a crowded voting booth.

According to ECI statistics, the seventh phase of polling in West Bengal saw almost 75 percent voter turnout in a state where the voting percentage has traditionally been high. In the last state election in 2016, total voter turnout was 80 percent.

In India, a high voter turnout is seen by many analysts as a sign of what they call anti-incumbency  voting against the party in power.

But the humongous spike in COVID-19 infections would have changed any pre-existing patterns and certainly the endgame, analyst Maitra said.

A formidable opponent

As it is, the BJP was in for a tough fight against Banerjee, whose TMC in 2016 won a whopping 211 of 294 seats. The BJP won a paltry three. A party needs to win a simple majority to win power  that is, 148 seats.

The BJP needs to win Bengal and Kerala to establish a pan-India presence. The BJP also needs to defeat Banerjee, who is a thorn in its side.

Banerjee has twice attempted a secular coalition of regional parties across India to form a front against Modi and his belligerently Hindu-nationalist BJP.

The one major incident of violence during the earlier election phases took a communal turn, when four Muslims were killed in firing by Central Industrial Security Forces personnel in the Sitalkuchi state assembly segment in Cooch Behar district on April 10.

A senior district police official said the central police had fired in self-defense. The BJP said Banerjee instigated locals to attack the central force. But Banerjee said the incident was pre-planned murder in a Muslim-majority constituency, local media reported.

In West Bengal, the three principal contenders in these elections are the BJP, the TMC, and the Left-Congress alliance. The TMC and some analysts said that the Sitalkuchi incident would harm the BJP.

Analyst Maitra believes that whichever party wins, will ride to victory with a clear majority, although he and many other analysts do not think the Left-Congress alliance has a realistic chance.

The target for TMC should be 180 seats, so that their position cannot be threatened, Maitra said.

The BJP should be eyeing around 120, which means they can cobble a few more seats together to stake a claim, Mitra said.

In the run-up to the elections, a slew of TMC politicians defected to the BJP.

Among the TMC defections to the BJP were three of Banerjees trusted lieutenants, two of whom were implicated in a financial scam.

Banerjee had called these defectors greedy and corrupt. Others said the BJPs vast financial resources enabled it to attract top TMC politicians.

The BJP doesnt have a strong enough grassroots cadre or local leaders in West Bengal, and defections are one way to get known faces into the party before the elections, critics had said.

The BJP countered by saying that the TMC had been reduced to extortion, corruption and nepotism, which is why people were leaving the party.

Come Sunday, the results will tell whether the BJP gets swept away in West Bengal under a tsunami of soaring COVID-19 infections or whether the party will trump the pandemic.

Shailaja Neelakantan in Washington contributed to this report.
By Benson Tumusiime An investigation into the killing of a retired South Sudanese army General in Wakiso District on Tuesday last week has established that the deceased survived three attempts on his life before he was eventually killed by unidentified assailants.

Brig Abraham Wani Yoane Bondo, a former deputy governor of Yei River State in South Sudan, was stabbed at his rented home in Nsumbi Zone, Kyebando Division in Nansana Municipality, Wakiso District, and died in hospital two days later.

A source who preferred anonymity to speak freely, told Daily Monitor in an interview yesterday that a group of unidentified South Sudanese nationals had visited the deceaseds home three times but did not find him.

In 2019, when the assassins were sent to kill him, his daughter told them he had been sent to Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement camp, narrated the source.

Prior to his coming to Nsumbi, the deceased first rented a house in Kabulengwa Village in Nansana, where he was staying with his family.

Read more:
Ticks can cause conditions like Lyme disease, Borrelia miyamotoi infections, and human granulocytic anaplasmosis.

US-based researchers  at Colorado State University and the Northern Arizona University  have discovered that disease-causing ticks are finding their way onto beachfront properties, including infestations in woodlands and beaches around North California.

The study, published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, highlights the importance of understanding the local host ecology and prevalence of zoonotic diseases for public health. Tick-borne conditions that occur in California may cause severe infections.

Further, the study aims to identify other habitats of disease-causing ticks, not just those found in oak woodlands, which have been tied to Lyme disease cases.

Habitat-host system for ticks

In California, the archetypal habitat-host system for natural Lyme disease transmission dynamics is the oak woodland of the northwest region, mainly where western gray squirrels are the predominant host reservoirs for the disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi.

Another host reservoir of the western black-legged tick (Ixodes pacificus) is the western fence lizard. Lyme disease incidence is high in northwestern California, where the reported cases can reach about 50 cases per 100,000 person-years.

However, studies have noted that infestations with these disease-causing ticks surpass beyond the oak woodlands. This means that the risk of Lyme disease may increase as infestations occur in Californias diverse habitats.

Prevalence patterns of disease-causing ticks

The study aimed to examine the prevalence of disease-causing ticks, including the B. burgdorferi, B. americana, B. miyamotoi, B. bissettiae and A. phagocytophilum in coastal counties of central and northern California.

The team performed a survey of various sites and habitats in California to arrive at the study findings, including woodlands, grasslands, and the coastal chaparrals. This way, they can describe the spatial pattern of tick-borne pathogen prevalence in western black-legged ticks.

From 2015 to 2018, every winter and spring, the researchers examined areas in Northern California for Western black-legged ticks. Across all habitats, including areas near the beach, the team found similar levels of tick prevalence.

The ticks were also tested for the presence of five bacterial species that cause illness. The team found similar prevalence levels of B. burgdorferi in ticks found in both the woodland and chaparral.

The study findings showed that many Borrelia  B. burgdorferi, B. americana and B. bissettiae, were seen in habitats such as the coastal chaparral that does do not have reservoir host candidates.

Lyme disease bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted by Ixodes tick, 3D illustration. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon / Shutterstock

Specifically, Borrelia-positive ticks were observed in coastal chaparral and prairie habitats from Marin, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, and Monterey Counties. When the team compared tick-borne pathogen prevalence in woodland and coastal chaparral habitat in Marin and Sonoma countries, the team found no difference. This means that the two habitats contain ticks that harbor the pathogen.

Meanwhile, the B. miyamotoi prevalence was higher in woodland habitats, and the prevalence of A. phagocytophlum did not differ according to habitat.

Further, the team found a higher infection prevalence of B. miyamotoi in nymphal ticks, and higher B. burgdorferi infection prevalence in adult ticks.

Since the data was gathered at different times, the differences in prevalence may show trends in Borrelia infection patterns, which can help monitor potential Lyme disease outbreaks in the areas affected.

Nevertheless, multiple measures of tick-borne infection prevalence can help provide a better understanding of local and regional pathogen prevalence.

Considering multiple pathogen species in the same habitat allows a more cohesive interpretation of local pathogen occurrence, the team noted in the study.

What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and rarely, Borrelia mayonii. The pathogen is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black-legged ticks.

The signs and symptoms of the infection include fever, chills, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, inflamed lymph nodes, and a rash called Erythema migrans (EM). This rash appears in about 70 to 80 percent of infected patients, starting from the tick bite and expanding gradually over several days.

If the infection is left untreated, it can affect the joints and vital organs, such as the heart, brain, and spinal cord. Most Lyme disease cases can be treated effectively with a few weeks of antibiotics.
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Robert Malley, thinly disguised as an unnamed State Department official, informed the media this week that negotiations with Iran in Vienna have one goal to come back into compliance with the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), all of the JCPOA, and nothing but the JCPOA.

This is the same Iran deal that the same Robert Malley negotiated on behalf of President Obama. The result then was that 60 percent of Congress voted against the deal including virtually all Republicans and almost 30 Democrats. Indeed, the deal would have been rejected by the US Senate if it had been properly designated as a treaty.

While the Biden administration seems poised to rush back into the fatally flawed nuclear agreement, US officials should stop and take heed of Nelson Mandelas sage advice delivered to a joint session of Congress 30 years ago.

South Africa was faced with severe global economic sanctions as the international community took a firm stand with the South African people against the abhorrent policy of apartheid. Today, the Iranian people similarly look for hope from the US, as the countrys corrupt regime continues to oppress its people and fund terror campaigns across the Middle East in a bloody quest for regional expansion.

Mandela urged that sanction remain in place on South Africa, because the purpose for which they were imposed has not yet been achieved.

We plead that you cede the prerogative to the people of South Africa to determine the moment when it will be said that profound changes have occurred and an irreversible process achieved, enabling you and the rest of the international community to lift sanctions, Mandela said.

The Iranian regime is desperate for sanctions relief. Tehrans accessible cash reserves have plummeted to under $4 billion dollars from around $122 billion in 2018.

But it is the US that appears the desperate party, ready to offload the powerful leverage built up against the evil regime of the Ayatollah and his IRGC henchmen, for a photo op and meaningless, empty promises.

I have decided I must oppose the agreement, the 2021 Senate Majority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer wrote in 2015.

I believe Iran will not change, and under this agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power. Better to keep US sanctions in place, strengthen them, enforce secondary sanctions on other nations, and pursue the hard-trodden path of diplomacy once more, difficult as it may be.

If anything, given Irans history of lying and cheating on the nuclear deal, and its continuous upgrades to its missile technologies and non-stop support for global terrorism, Schumers advice is even more appropriate today. But thats not whats playing out. Dual working groups for Iran and the US have been set up by external parties, such as China, with the express purpose of determining which sanctions could be removed in order to restart the JCPOA.

The leaders of the anti-Apartheid movement understood that sanctions were the key to winning. Oliver Tambo cautioned Mandela during secret negotiations with South African President P.W. Botha, Dont maneuver yourself into a situation where we have to abandon sanctionswe should not get stripped of our weapons of struggle, and the most important of these is sanctions.

As early as 1962, when Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. appeared alongside the former President of the African National Congress, Albert Luthuli, their joint statement included a call to urge your government to support economic sanctions.

But today, far more relevant than Senator Schumer or even Nelson Mandela are the pleas coming from the long-suffering Iranian people begging that this time the US listen to them  not the Ayatollahs.

Ahmad Obali opened the lines of his weekly dial-in show on March 30, a favorite of thirty million Azerbaijanis living in Iran-one third of Irans entire population.

Forty-eight of the 50 who called in from Iran risked their lives to ask for America to keep the sanctions.

Here are some of their comments:

Even though we suffer, I support the sanctions

If the sanctions are kept intact, the regime will collapse

When the sanctions were lifted [with the JCPOA], $150 billion came to Iran, but not a single dollar went to the people. Maintain the sanctions.

When a terrorist regime gets money, we know how they spend it, what kind of problems they create in the Middle East and around the world.

The sanctions must stay. Whatever money you give, the mullahs will pocket it.

The sanctions should stay. The mullahs should go.

The Iranian people know what the Biden administration seems to ignore: Their rulers cannot be trusted. The good people of Iran know that any sanctions relief for Irans financial services, construction, energy, mining, automotive or petrochemical sectors will directly fund the terrorist activities of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Iranians know that lifting sanctions will allow the further suppression of Bahais, Christians and other religious communities. They know Iran will continue to crush the dissent of their own citizens, murder gays, and fund global terrorists all over the world including Houthi child soldiers in Yemen forced to shout, death to Israel and death to America.

The JCPOA did not result in a vaunted new era for Iran. A former State Department official documented 70 individual incidents committed by the Iranians while the JCPOA was in full effect. Then, of course, were the myriad violations of the nuclear agreement uncovered by Mossad in 2018 when they captured Irans nuclear archives. Iranians denied the files were real until just last week when a powerful Iranian official inadvertently confirmed the confiscated documents were authentic.

We urge President Biden not to reward Tehrans serial cheating and lying. Dont re-enter the nuclear agreement until massive loopholes are closed. Lifting sanctions should come only after proof a revamped, more expansive, and stronger agreement is fully adhered to. The silent cries of the long-suffering Iranian nation need to be listened to, and their grievances addressed.

Do we really want to prop up a fanatical regime that hates America, Americans, and our democratic values?
Multimedia Specialist

Anthony Zilis is a multimedia specialist at The News-Gazette. His email is azilis@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@adzilis).
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 23:45:47|Editor: huaxia

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MOGADISHU, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Somali President Mohamed Farmajo on Wednesday called for elections and dropped plans to extend his term in office by two years to help ease tensions sparked by political violence in the country.

"As we have repeatedly stated, we have always been ready to implement timely and peaceful elections in the country. But unfortunately, our efforts were hampered by individuals, and foreign entities who have no aim other than to destabilize the country and take it back to the era of division and destruction in order to create a constitutional vacuum," he said in a televised speech early Wednesday.

Farmajo said he will address the Lower House on Saturday to ask lawmakers to bring back the Sept. 17 agreement, an election model agreed on between his government and five leaders of the federal member states.

If the Lower House approves the president's request, it will reverse the two-year term extension for the executive and the legislative arms of government, which was passed by lawmakers on April 12.

The president lost most of his key allies on Tuesday in a bid to stay in power when the prime minister sided with Galmudug and Hirshabelle, two states formerly aligned with Farmajo, to reject the term extension and instead called for elections.

Farmajo said his government will never allow the Somali people to fall into further destruction and displacement.

"Therefore, I call upon the parties organizing unrest, including politicians who were recently holding prominent political positions and are now aiming to assume public positions through chaos, to refrain from such acts," Farmajo said.

He said the last few days have given people a clear indication of who harbors good or bad intentions, adding that political interests will end but Somalia will remain.

Farmajo called on the federal member state leaders to attend a new round of consultative talks on the electoral process, building on the work of the technical committee which met in Baidoa in the southwest region on Feb. 15-17.

Failure to resolve the electoral impasse has plunged Somalia into a political crisis since Farmajo's term officially ended on Feb. 8, while the four-year term of parliament ended on Dec. 27, 2020.

Fighting erupted in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday between government and pro-opposition forces over a mandate extension, allowing al-Shabab militants to take some regions.

Farmajo urged all security agencies to ensure the stability of the capital and the safety of innocent civilians. Enditem
The Celebrity Apprentice star Mark Bouris has offloaded his Double Bay apartment.

The Wizard Home Loans founder, 60, sold the two-bedroom property to socialite and former Vogue assistant Rey-Hanna Vakili, 29.

The sale price hasn't been disclosed, but the home had a $3.5million to $3.85million price guide, reports Realestate.com.au.

Sold! The Celebrity Apprentice star Mark Bouris (pictured in November 2014) has offloaded his Double Bay apartment for about $3.85million. He sold the two-bedroom property to socialite and former Vogue assistant Rey-Hanna Vakili

Mark had spent $3.7million on the apartment in 2017 in the name of his ex-wife Katherine Bouris' investment trust, of which he's the trustee.

The property features stunning interiors, high and elaborate ceilings and a marble and wooden kitchen.

Sydney-born Rey-Hanna, the daughter of a property developer, was an assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour in New York from 2013 to 2015.

Hey, big spender! The sale price hasn't been disclosed, but the home had a $3.5million to $3.85million price guide, reports Realestate.com.au. Pictured: the living room

Stunning: The property features stunning interiors, high and elaborate ceilings and a marble and wooden kitchen. Pictured: one of the bedrooms

She also previously dated model and TV presenter Jason Dundas.

The couple split in 2014 after dating on and off for five years.

The first met through a mutual friend, horse racing royalty Tom Waterhouse, whose wife, Hoda Vakili, is Rey's older sister.

Familiar face: Sydney-born Rey-Hanna Vakili (left), the daughter of a property developer, was previously an assistant for Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. She dated model and TV presenter Jason Dundas (right) from 2009 to 2014. Pictured in June 2013

Mark Bouris is the chairman of investment advice company Yellow Brick Road.

He is also known for being the 'boss' on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia, but was replaced by British electronics magnate Lord Alan Sugar for this year's season.

Mark previously spoke to Men's Health about how small business owners and budding entrepreneurs can effectively grow their businesses.

He advised people should shouldn't quit their day jobs until their side hustles have reached a significant level of success.

'The Elon Musks and the Mark Zuckerbergs - they're one in 10 million,' he said.

'So the odds are against you from the start. That's fine - still back yourself. But what those odds tell you is that in your risk-management process, try to avoid giving away your day job because you'll need that cash flow.'
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Trinidad and Tobago can see a reduction in the number of people dying from Covid-19 on a daily basis if the drugAzithromycinis immediately stopped, says Dr Ravi Ramjanak.

Ramjanak is a consultant in obstetrics gynaecology and pelvic reconstructive surgery.

It is my view based on the pharmacodynamics of Azithromycin that the death rate will fall if we stop using this drug in Covid-positive cases. Azithromycin has no effect on viruses, yeasts and fungi, said Ramjanak in an interview with the Sunday Express last week.
- NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES -

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Microbix Biosystems Inc. (TSX: MBX, OTCQB: MBXBF, Microbix), a life sciences innovator and exporter, is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement with iA Private Wealth Inc. and Bloom Burton Securities Inc. (the "Underwriters"), who will act as co-bookrunners and co-lead underwriters, pursuant to which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis, 8,333,334 units of the Company (the "Units"), at a price of $0.60 per Unit (the "Offering Price"), for aggregate gross proceeds to Microbix of approximately $5,000,000 (the "Offering").

Each Unit will be comprised of one common share (a "Common Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant being a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one common share (a "Warrant Share") for a period of 24 months following the closing date of the Offering at an exercise price of $0.80 per Warrant Share, subject to adjustment in certain events.

Microbix has also granted the Underwriter an option (the "Over-Allotment Option") to purchase up to 1,250,000 additional Units of the Company on the same terms as the Offering, for a period of up to 30 days after the closing of the Offering. If the Over-Allotment Option is exercised in full, the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering will be approximately $5,750,000.

The Offering is in the form of a bought deal public offering by way of short form prospectus (i) in each of the provinces of Canada, except Quebec, (ii) in the United States under Rule 144A or Regulation D of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act") and in each case in compliance with the securities laws of the applicable states of the United States, and (iii) outside Canada and the United States on a basis which does not require the qualification or registration of any of the Common Shares, Warrants, or Warrant Shares of the Issuer.

The Company has agreed to pay the Underwriter a cash commission equal to 7.0% of the gross proceeds of the Offering, including proceeds received from the exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. The Company has also agreed to issue that number of broker warrants (the "Broker Warrants") equal to 7% of the Units issued under the Offering, including Units issued pursuant to the exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. Each Broker Warrant is exercisable for one Common Share at the Offering Price for a period of 24 months following the closing of the Offering.

Net proceeds from the Offering will be used primarily towards expansion initiatives and general corporate purposes.

The Company is also undertaking a concurrent non-brokered private placement of Units for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000 (the "Concurrent Private Placement"). The Concurrent Private Placement shall have the same terms as the Offering.

Closing of the Offering and the Concurrent Private Placement is expected to occur on or about May 26, 2021 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory and stock exchange approvals, including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the applicable securities regulatory authorities. Closing of the Offering is not contingent on the closing of the Concurrent Private Placement.

The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the US Securities Act, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About Microbix BiosystemsMicrobix develops proprietary biological technology solutions for human health and well-being, with about 90 skilled employees and sales growing from a base of over $1 million per month. It makes a wide range of critical biological materials for the global diagnostics industry, notably antigens for immunoassays and its laboratory quality assessment products (QAPs) that support clinical lab proficiency testing, enable assay development and validation, or help ensure the quality of clinical diagnostic workflows. Microbix antigens enable the antibody tests of over 100 international diagnostics companies, while its QAPs are sold to clinical laboratory accreditation organizations, diagnostics companies, and clinical laboratories. Microbix QAPs are now available in over 30 countries, distributed by 1WA (Oneworld Accuracy Inc.), Alpha-Tec Systems, Inc., Diagnostic International Distribution SpA., Labquality Oy, The Medical Supply Company of Ireland, R-Biopharm AG, and Seegene Canada Inc. Microbix is ISO 9001 and 13485 accredited, U.S. FDA registered, Australian TGA registered, Health Canada establishment licensed, and provides CE marked products.

Microbix also applies its biological expertise and infrastructure to develop other proprietary products and technologies, most notably viral transport medium (DxTM) to stabilize patient samples for lab-based molecular diagnostic testing and Kinlytic urokinase, a biologic thrombolytic drug used to treat blood clots. Microbix is traded on the TSX and OTCQB, and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Forward-Looking InformationThis news release includes "forward-looking information," as such term is defined in applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, all discussion regarding the Offering and Concurrent Private Placement, use of proceeds of the Offering, Microbixs business and business results, goals or outlook, risks associated with financial results and stability, development projects such as those referenced in its corporate presentation, regulatory compliance and approvals, sales to domestic or foreign jurisdictions, engineering and construction, production (including control over costs, quality, quantity and timeliness of delivery), foreign currency and exchange rates, maintaining adequate working capital and raising further capital on acceptable terms or at all, and other similar statements concerning anticipated future events, conditions or results that are not historical facts. These statements reflect managements current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward looking information is inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Companys control. Accordingly, actual future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. All statements are made as of the date of this news release and represent the Companys judgement as of the date of this new release, and the Company is under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking information.

Please visit www.microbix.com or www.sedar.com for recent Microbix news and filings.

For further information, please contact Microbix at:

Cameron Groome, CEO(905) 361-8910 Jim Currie, CFO(905) 361-8910 Deborah Honig, Investor RelationsAdelaide Capital Markets(647) 203-8793, ir@microbix.com

Copyright  2021 Microbix Biosystems Inc. Microbix, DxTM, Kinlytic, PROCEEDx, QAPs, and REDx are trademarks of Microbix Biosystems Inc.

Source: Microbix Biosystems Inc.
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Boris Johnson clashed bitterly with Keir Starmer today as his crisis deepened after the elections watchdog launched a formal probe into whether 'offences' have been committed in the Downing Street flat row.

A clearly incensed PM insisted he 'paid for the refurbishment myself' and had abided by the ministerial code despite the Electoral Commission saying there were 'reasonable grounds to suspect' the law might have been broken over the controversial No11 refurbishment.

But as Sir Keir demanded he 'answer the question' he repeatedly dodged saying whether 58,000 of Tory funds had originally been used for the works, before he repaid the money.

'I paid for it,' he said. 'I have covered the costs.'

Trying to deflect the attack by saying it was 'bizarre' and 'irrelevant' of Sir Keir to keep pushing on the issue, Mr Johnson added that he has asked the new independent adviser on ministerial interests to look into whether he needs to make 'any further declaration'. 'I look forward to what the Electoral Commission has to say.'

But the Labour leader shot back: 'The Prime Minister hasn't answered the question, he knows he hasn't answered the question, he never answers the question.'

A red-faced Mr Johnson also flatly denied saying that he would rather see 'bodies pile high' than trigger another lockdown last Autumn - laying down the gauntlet to anyone who heard it to come forward and say so publicly. 'I didn't say those words,' he said. 'What I do believe is that a lockdown is a miserable, miserable thing.'

Labour sources trolled the PM over his angry showing, saying it was his 'Kevin Keegan moment' - in a reference to the then-Newcastle United manager's notorious 1996 rant at Manchester United just before his team imploded and lost the championship.

In a statement an hour earlier that heaped pressure on the PM, the Electoral Commission said: 'We have been in contact with the Conservative Party since late March and have conducted an assessment of the information they have provided to us.

'We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred. We will therefore continue this work as a formal investigation to establish whether this is the case.

'The investigation will determine whether any transactions relating to the works at 11 Downing Street fall within the regime regulated by the Commission and whether such funding was reported as required.

'We will provide an update once the investigation is complete. We will not be commenting further until that point.'

The commission looks at whether the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 has been broken, with most of the offences civil matters and punishable with fines of up to 20,000 - although it can refer more serious abuse to the police. It is not clear what part of the Act the watchdog believes might have been breached.

Investigators can demand documents, information and explanations, and could potentially seek a statutory interview with the Prime Minister as part of the process.

Downing Street insisted the probe is a 'specific matter for the Conservative Party as a political party' and the 'PM hasn't been asked for information'. But experts believe Mr Johnson personally could have fallen foul of the law.

Asked if Mr Johnson is willing to be questioned in person, his press secretary said: 'He and the Government will of course be happy to assist if asked.'

Ministers desperately tried to shore up Mr Johnson today as opposition MPs branded him a 'serial liar' over the 88,000 flat refurb - including a 30,000 taxpayer contribution - and 'bodies piling high' comment.

In another effort to weather the immediate storm, No10 confirmed that Lord Geidt has been new installed as the government's new independent adviser on ministerial interests. He is launching an inquiry into the flat situation.

Amid the fresh revelations as the problems threaten to snowball for the PM today:

John Lewis threw shade on the PM by tweeting that it has furniture to please 'almost everyone' - after reports that Carrie Symonds regarded the decor in No11 was a 'John Lewis nightmare';

Mr Johnson's new chief of staff is said to have warned it was 'crazy' to ask wealthy Tory donors to fund a lavish renovation of the Prime Minister's flat;

Downing Street apparently approached Labour former chancellor Alistair Darling to see if he would sit on a trust to oversee the refurbishment, but he said no;

I nsiders fear Dominic Cummings c ould publish WhatsApp messages that are at the heart of the government's who-said-what row over;

Mr Johnson is still under investigation over his declaration of a luxury holiday to Mustique after his huge election victory in December 2019.

Boris Johnson (left) today flatly denied that he had suggested he would rather 'let bodies pile up' than trigger another lockdown last Autumn during brutal PMQs clashes with Keir Starmer (right)

Scrutiny over the overhaul of the flat above No11 where Boris Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds and son Wilf live has refused to abate despite the government's efforts to draw a line under the issue

The upmarket interior eco designer Lulu Lytle (designs pictured)  whose Soane Britain company was commissioned by Ms Symonds  sells 'Yellow Gold' and 'Old Gold' wallpaper

John Lewis threw shade on the PM by tweeting that it has furniture to please 'almost everyone' - after reports that Carrie Symonds regarded the decor in No11 was a 'John Lewis nightmare'

PM dares ex-aides who overheard 'bodies' comment to come forward amid briefing war with Cummings A livid Boris Johnson today dared witnesses to come forward if they claim he made a crass comment about preferring 'bodies piling up' to another lockdown. The PM angrily insisted he had not made the remark in a fit of pique last Autumn - despite multiple sources telling the Mail, BBC and ITV that he did. Amid a bitter briefing war with former No10 chief Dominic Cummings, he laid down the gauntlet to those who had been anonymously accusing him of the comment. SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said he believed people were ready to come forward publicly. 'People are willing to go under oath confirming that the Prime Minister said these exact words Parliamentary rules stop me from saying that the Prime Minister has repeatedly lied to the public over the last week, but can I ask the question, are you a liar Prime Minister?' Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle seemed to surprise the PM by allowing the jibe - as it calling people a liar is usually ruled unparliamentary language. 'Can I just say unfortunately they're in order, but were not savoury and not what we would expect,' Sir Lindsay said. Mr Johnson replied: 'If he is going to relay that kind of quotation, it is up to him in a place like Parliament to produce the author, the person who claims to have heard it, because I can't find them, he's says that they're willing to go oath. Perhaps they're sitting somewhere in this building, I rather doubt it because I didn't say those words. 'What I do believe is that a lockdown is a miserable, miserable thing and I did everything I could to try to protect the British public throughout the pandemic, to protect them from lockdowns, but also to protect them from disease  We grieve, as I know the whole House grieves, for every family that has lost a loved one.' Advertisement

Scrutiny over the overhaul of the flat above No11 where Mr Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds and son Wilf live has refused to abate despite the government's efforts to draw a line under the issue.

Downing Street has declined to deny that Tory funds were used to cover 58,000 of the costs - on top of the 30,000 annual allowance given by the taxpayer.

But the gift last July has not been declared anywhere as yet, and Mr Johnson now insists he has paid the sum himself - with speculation he took out a loan.

No10 has come under fire for saying Conservative funds are not currently being used for a refurbishment, without addressing the issue of whether they were in the past.

In the Commons, Sir Keir pushed repeatedly on the flat refurbishment, offering the PM 'multiple choice'.

He said: 'Either the taxpayer paid the initial invoice, or it was the Conservative Party, or it was a private donor, or it was the Prime Minister.'

Mr Johnson replied by talking about former Labour governments' spending on the flat.

'I think people will think it absolutely bizarre that he is focusing on this issue when what people want to know is what plans a Labour government might have to improve the life of people in this country,' he said.

Sir Keir said the public 'scream at their televisions' for Mr Johnson to 'answer the question'.

'The Prime Minister hasn't answered the question, he knows he hasn't answered the question, he never answers the question,' he said.

The Labour leader reminded Mr Johnson he must declare any benefits that relate to his political activities, including loans or credit arrangements, within 28 days.

He added: 'He will also know any donation must be recorded in the register of ministers' interests and, under the law, any donation of over 500 to a political party must be registered and declared. So, the rules are very clear.

'The Electoral Commission now thinks there are reasonable grounds to suspect an offence or offences may have occurred. That's incredibly serious. Can the Prime Minister tell the House does he believe that any rules or laws have been broken in relation to the refurbishment of the Prime Minister's flat?'

Mr Johnson replied: 'No, I don't. What I believe has been strained to breaking point is the credulity of the public.'

The PM said Sir Keir had failed to put 'serious and sensible' questions to him about the pandemic or other issues, noting: 'He goes on and on about wallpaper when I've told him umpteen times now, I paid for it.'

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford raised 'bodies' remark, saying that people who heard it were ready to come forward publicly.

'People are willing to go under oath confirming that the Prime Minister said these exact words Parliamentary rules stop me from saying that the Prime Minister has repeatedly lied to the public over the last week, but can I ask the question, are you a liar Prime Minister?'

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle seemed to surprise the PM by allowing the jibe - as it calling people a liar is usually ruled unparliamentary language. 'Can I just say unfortunately they're in order, but were not savoury and not what we would expect,' Sir Lindsay said.

Mr Johnson replied: 'If he is going to relay that kind of quotation, it is up to him in a place like Parliament to produce the author, the person who claims to have heard it, because I can't find them, he's says that they're willing to go oath. Perhaps they're sitting somewhere in this building, I rather doubt it because I didn't say those words.

'What I do believe is that a lockdown is a miserable, miserable thing and I did everything I could to try to protect the British public throughout the pandemic, to protect them from lockdowns, but also to protect them from disease  We grieve, as I know the whole House grieves, for every family that has lost a loved one.'

John Lewis mocks PM over refurb woes John Lewis mocked Boris Johnson today's refurbishment woes today. The store chain swiped at the way the No11 overhaul was reportedly inspired by a desire to get rid of the 'John Lewis furniture nightmare' left by Theresa May. The description of the flat  attributed to a visitor  was included in a Tatler article on Mr Johnson's fiancee Carrie Symonds. On Twitter, John Lewis said: 'Time for an interiors refresh? We pride our Home Design Service on having something for *almost* everyone.' Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said 'unlike the Prime Minister he doesn't turn his nose up to John Lewis thinking it's too downmarket' and 'wouldn't spend 840 per roll on wallpaper'. Advertisement

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps tried to gloss over the row in a round of interviews this morning, claiming it is a 'story of the past' and declarations will be made.

But shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News that 'somebody is lying here'.

'We are focused on the pandemic but we also want to know that we have a Prime Minister in this country who puts the interests of the people in this country first,' she said.

'The problem with what has gone on over the flat is we still don't know who loaned the Prime Minister this money, he won't even confirm or deny whether it was loaned or not, we don't know why he didn't declare it and we don't know what he offered them in return.

'The reason those rules are there is so we know who powerful figures are beholden to, who they may owe favours to so we can properly scrutinise and check that they're not acting in the interests of a privileged few over and above the majority of people in this country.'

Green MP Caroline Lucas accused the PM of 'lying on an industrial scale'.

'Unfortunately I say he is a serial liar. This is a man who isn't just lying occasionally, he is routinely lying at the dispatch box and that makes it impossible for MPs to hold him to account,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Mr Johnson today drafted in the Queen's former private secretary as his new ministerial sleaze adviser - with his first job being to probe the funding of the No11 flat refurbishment.

Lord Geidt, a crossbencher who held the key role with the monarch for a decade before standing down in 2017, has been appointed as the PM's independent adviser on ministerial interests.

He has been tasked with 'ascertaining the facts' over the Downing Street works and telling Mr Johnson if he needs to make any declarations.

The post has been vacant since the departure of Sir Alex Allan, who left after Mr Johnson overruled the findings of his inquiry into alleged bullying of officials by Home Secretary Priti Patel.

There have been calls for the powers of the adviser to be beefed up, after criticism that they can only launch investigations with the premier's approval, who also has the final say on action against ministers.

But it emerged this afternoon that Lord Geidt must still 'raise the issue confidentially with the PM' if he believes there has been a breach.

And Downing Street stressed that Mr Johnson remains the 'ultimate arbiter of the code'.

Meanwhile, department store John Lewis mocked Mr Johnson, in a swipe about the way the No11 overhaul was reportedly inspired by a desire to get rid of the 'John Lewis furniture nightmare' left by Theresa May.

The description of the flat  attributed to a visitor  was included in a Tatler article on Mr Johnson's fiancee Carrie Symonds.

On Twitter, John Lewis said: 'Time for an interiors refresh? We pride our Home Design Service on having something for *almost* everyone.'

Ex-Palace chief is PM's new standards chief Boris Johnson today drafted in the Queen's former private secretary as his new ministerial sleaze adviser - with his first job being to probe the funding of the No11 flat refurbishment. Lord Geidt, a crossbencher who held the key role with the monarch for a decade before standing down in 2017, has been appointed as the PM's independent adviser on ministerial interests. He has been tasked with 'ascertaining the facts' over the Downing Street works and telling Mr Johnson if he needs to make any declarations. The post has been vacant since the departure of Sir Alex Allan, who left after Mr Johnson overruled the findings of his inquiry into alleged bullying of officials by Home Secretary Priti Patel. There have been calls for the powers of the adviser to be beefed up, after criticism that they can only launch investigations with the premier's approval, who also has the final say on action against ministers. But it emerged this afternoon that Lord Geidt must still 'raise the issue confidentially with the PM' if he believes there has been a breach. And Downing Street stressed that Mr Johnson remains the 'ultimate arbiter of the code'. Advertisement

Sir Keir's spokesman said 'unlike the Prime Minister he doesn't turn his nose up to John Lewis thinking it's too downmarket' and 'wouldn't spend 840 per roll on wallpaper'.

A No10 spokeswoman said renovation costs of Mr Johnson's living quarters, beyond those provided for by the 30,000 annual allowance, had been 'met by the Prime Minister personally', adding: 'Conservative Party funds are not being used for this.'

The Conservative Party leader has faced a flurry of questions regarding how the revamp was paid for following a fallout with former aide Dominic Cummings.

The former No10 chief, who quit his post last year, said Mr Johnson wanted donors to 'secretly pay' for the work in an 'unethical, foolish, possibly illegal' move.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, head of the Civil Service, has been tasked with reviewing the refurbishment of the flat in No11, while the Electoral Commission is also looking into the affair.

Mr Johnson is also likely to face a reckoning over whether the arrangement should have been declared on the Commons register of interests.

He has previously been forced to apologise to the House for failing to abide by transparency rules - with a warning two years ago that he will face 'serious sanction' if he strays again. That could potentially mean suspension, although it would need to be approved by all MPs.

The fresh claims about the flat come as Downing Street looked to sidestep allegations Mr Johnson told aides he would rather let coronavirus 'rip' than impose a lockdown last year.

His official spokesman said instead that the Prime Minister's actions were being distorted in words that did not amount to a denial, unlike No 10's strong rejection of the suggestion Mr Johnson said in October he would rather see 'bodies pile high' than announce a third lockdown.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps tried to gloss over the No11 flat row in a round of interviews this morning, claiming it is a 'story of the past' and declarations will be made

Sleaze probe into PM's Mustique holiday still going on A sleaze inquiry into Boris Johnson's trip to Mustique is still ongoing some 16 months after the Prime Minister's lavish Caribbean holiday. Downing Street yesterday said Mr Johnson had made all relevant declarations after the ten-day luxury villa break, which was worth 15,000. But senior Tories are braced for fresh criticism of Mr Johnson over how his and Carrie Symonds' trip was funded. The PM recorded the holiday in the register of MPs' interests last year, stating the break came courtesy of Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross, who owns a holiday villa on the island. A spokesman for Mr Ross, a long-time Tory donor, initially told the Mail that the tycoon had not paid for the trip, describing the claim as a 'mistake'. They later backtracked, saying Mr Ross had 'facilitated' the holiday in December 2019. Advertisement

Mr Shapps said the Prime Minister had 'paid 100 per cent for the refurbishments', seeking to portray the furore as an historical curiosity.

The minister said Cabinet Secretary Simon Case will answer whether Mr Johnson was given an initial loan to cover the costs of refurbishments.

Mr Shapps told Times Radio: 'I'll give you a completely straight answer, the Cabinet Secretary is actually conducting a review to look at the advice and the order in which everything happened with the maintenance of Downing Street.

'I just don't have the answer but the Cabinet Secretary will and it will be transparently produced in the annual report and the accounts of the Cabinet Office.'

Mr Johnson has also been under fire over claims he said he would rather 'let the bodies pile high' than trigger another lockdown last Autumn.

The premier has flatly denied making the remark, but the Mail, BBC and ITV have been told by multiple sources that he did.

Meanwhile, Sir James Dyson mounted a defence of his contact with Mr Johnson during the coronavirus pandemic after a text message he sent was made public by the BBC last week.

The British entrepreneur said it was a 'grotesque mischaracterisation' by the BBC to suggest he was a Tory backer, following his decision to message the Prime Minister about tax and other issues while designing extra ventilators at the height of the Covid-19 outbreak in spring 2020.

'The BBC's characterisation of me as a prominent Conservative donor, or supporter, leveraging a position of power to extract favours from the Prime Minister, is completely untrue,' he wrote in The Daily Telegraph.

'I have met Boris Johnson only three times - always with officials - the last time in 2016. I have not attended any Conservative social events.'

On a BBC corrections and clarifications web page, the publicly-funded broadcaster responded to Sir James' objections to the way he had been described.

'In our coverage of texts he had sent to the Prime Minister we referred in various outlets to Sir James Dyson as a prominent Conservative supporter or said he backed the Conservatives,' the website entry on Monday said.

'Sir James says this is factually incorrect. We are happy to set the record straight.'

PMQs: Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer's fiery exchanges in full ROUND ONE Sir Keir Starmer: 'Mr Speaker, it was reported this week including in the Daily Mail, the BBC and ITV, backed up by numerous sources that at the end of October the Prime Minister said he would rather have, and I quote, 'bodies pile high' than implement another lockdown. 'Can the Prime Minister tell the House categorically, yes or no, did he make those remarks or remarks to that effect?' Boris Johnson: 'No, Mr Speaker, and I think the right honourable gentleman is a lawyer I am given to understand and I think if he is going to repeat allegations like that he should come to this House and substantiate those allegations and say where he heard them and who exactly is supposed to have said those. 'Who exactly is supposed to have said those things Mr Speaker? Because what I certainly can tell him, he asks about the October decisions, they were very bitter, very difficult, decisions as they would be for any prime minister, Mr Speaker, because no one wants to put this country into lockdown with all the consequences that means for loss of education, for the damage to peoples' live chances to the huge medical backlog that it entails. 'But it was thanks to that lockdown, the tough decisions that we took, thanks to the heroic efforts of the British people that we have got through to this stage in the pandemic where we find ourselves rolling out our vaccine where we have done 50 per cent of the population, 25 per cent of the adult population have now had two doses, Mr Speaker. 'Lockdowns are miserable. Lockdowns are appalling things to have to do. But I have to say that I believe we had absolutely no choice.' ROUND TWO Sir Keir Starmer: 'Well, somebody here isn't telling the truth. The House will have heard the Prime Minister's answer and I remind him the ministerial code says and I quote 'ministers who knowingly mislead parliament will be expected to offer their resignation'. 'I will leave it there for now. Turning to another issue, there will be further on this, believe you me, who initially and Prime Minister, initially is the key word here, who initially paid for the redecoration of his Downing Street flat?' Boris Johnson: 'Mr Speaker, when it comes to misleading parliament you may recollect it was only a few weeks ago that he said he didn't oppose this Government, this country, leaving the European Medicines Agency, a fact that he was then forced to retract, and leaving the European medicines Agency was absolutely invaluable for our vaccine rollout. 'Actually it was just last week that he said that James Dyson was a personal friend of mine, a fact that James Dyson has corrected in the newspaper this morning. 'As for the latest stuff that he is bringing up he should know that I paid for Downing Street refurbishment personally, Mr Speaker, and any further declaration that I have to make, if any, I will be advised upon by Lord Geidt. 'But he talks about housing costs, Mr Speaker, the people of this country can make their own decision in just eight days' time because on average Labour councils charge you 93 more in Band D than Conservative councils and Liberal Democrat councils charge you 120 more. 'That I think is the issue upon which the British people would like him to focus.' ROUND THREE Sir Keir Starmer: 'Mr Speaker, normally when people don't want to incriminate themselves they go 'no comment'. 'Let me ask this. Let's explore this a bit further, Prime Minister. Let's ask it a different way. 'This is the initial invoice, Prime Minister, either the taxpayer paid the initial invoice or it was the Conservative Party or it was a private donor or it was the Prime Minister. 'So I am making it easy for the Prime Minister, it is now multiple choice. There are only four options. It should be easier than finding the 'chatty rat', Mr Speaker. 'So I ask the Prime Minister again, who paid the initial invoice for the redecoration of the Prime Minister's flat. The initial invoice.' Boris Johnson: 'I have given him the answer and the answer is I have covered the costs and I think most people will find it absolutely bizarre, and of course there is an Electoral Commission investigating this, and I can tell him that I conformed in full with the code of conduct, with the ministerial code, and officials have been advising me throughout this whole thing. 'But I think people would think it absolutely bizarre that he is focusing on this issue when what people want to know is what plans a Labour government might have to improve the life of people in this country. 'And let me tell you, he talks about housing again, we are helping people, I would rather not spend taxpayers' money by the way like the last Labour government which spent 500,000 of taxpayers' money on the Downing Street flat, yes, they did, I would much rather help people get on the property ladder and it is this Conservative government that has built 244,000 homes in the last year which is a record over 30 years. 'This is a government that gets on with delivering on the peoples' priorities while he continually raises I think issues that most people would find irrelevant to their concerns.' ROUND FOUR Sir Keir Starmer: 'Mr Speaker, he talks of priorities, what is he spending his time doing? This is a Prime Minister who during the pandemic was nipping out of meetings to choose wallpaper at 840 a roll. 'Last week, just last week, he spent his time phoning journalists to moan about his old friend Dominic Cummings and he is telling the civil service to find out who paid for the redecoration of his flat. 'The Cabinet Secretary has been asked to investigate who paid for the refurbishments in the flat. Why doesn't the Prime Minister just tell him? That would be the end of the investigation. 'Mr Speaker, it has been widely reported that Lord Brownlow who just happens to have been given a peerage by the Conservative Party was asked to donate 58,000 to help repay for the cost of this refurbishment. 'Can the Prime Minister, if he is so keen to answer, confirm, did Lord Brownlow make that payment for that purpose?' Boris Johnson: 'Mr Speaker, I think I have answered this question several times and the answer is that I have covered the costs, I have met the requirements that I have been advised to meet in full, and when it comes to the taxpayer and the cost of Number 10 Downing Street, it was the previous Labour government, I think Tony Blair racked up a bill of 350,000 and I think what the people of this country want to see if minimising taxpayer expense, they want to see a government that is focused on their needs and delivering more homes for the people of this country and cutting council tax which is what we are doing. 'It is on that basis that I think people are going to judge our parties on May 6.' ROUND FIVE Sir Keir Starmer: 'Answer the question. That is what the public scream at their televisions every PMQs. Answer the question. The Prime Minister hasn't answered the question. He knows he hasn't answered the question. He never answers the question. 'The Prime Minister will be aware that he is required to declare any benefits that relate to his political activities, including loans or credit arrangements, within 28 days. 'He will also know that any donation must be recorded in the register for ministers' interests and that under the law any donation of over 500 to a political party must be registered and declared. 'So the rules are very clear. The Electoral Commission now think that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred. 'That is incredibly serious. Can the Prime Minister tell the House, does he believe that any rules or laws have been broken in relation to the refurbishment of the Prime Minister's flat?' Boris Johnson: 'No, I don't, Mr Speaker. What I believe has been strained to breaking point is the credulity of the public and he has half an hour every week to put serious and sensible questions to me about the state of the pandemic, about the vaccine rollout, about what we are doing to support our NHS, about what we are doing to fight crime, about what we are doing to bounce back from this pandemic, about the economic recovery, about jobs for the people of this country, and he goes on and on, Mr Speaker, about wallpaper when as I have told him umpteen times now, I paid for it.' ROUND SIX Sir Keir Starmer: 'Mr Speaker, can I remind the Prime Minister of the Nolan Principles which are meant to govern the behaviour of those in public office. 'They are these: Selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. 'Instead, what do we get from this Prime Minister and this Conservative Government? Dodgy contracts, jobs for their mates and cash for access and who is at the heart of it? The Prime Minister. Major sleaze sitting there. 'Mr Speaker, meanwhile, he talks about priorities, crime is going up, NHS waiting lists are at record levels and millions of people are worried about their jobs including Liberty Steel. 'Mr Speaker, don't the British people deserve a prime minister they can trust and a government that isn't mired in sleaze, cronyism and scandal?' Boris Johnson: 'Mr Speaker, last week he came to this chamber and he attacked me for talking to James Dyson about ventilators when we are now sending ventilators to help the people of India and the following day, Mr Speaker, the Labour frontbench said that any prime minister in my position would have done exactly the same thing. 'Was it only a few months ago that they were actually attacking Kate Bingham, saying she was a crony, when she helped to set up the vaccine taskforce and delivered millions of vaccines for the people of this country, helping us to get out of the pandemic. 'This is a government that is getting on with delivering on the peoples' priorities. 'We are rolling out many more nurses, 10,000 more nurses in the NHS now than there were this time last year, 8,771 more police officers on our streets now than there were when I was elected, including tougher sentences, Mr Speaker, for serious sexual and violent criminals which he opposed, Mr Speaker. 'And by the way, I forgot to mention it, last night our friends in the European Union voted to approve our Brexit deal which he opposed and which enables us not just to take back control of our borders, Mr Speaker, but to deliver freedom, which it does, which he fervently opposed, enabling us amongst other things to deal with such threats as the European Super League, Mr Speaker, but it enabled us to deliver free ports in places like Teesside and above all taking back control of our country has allowed us to deliver the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, as he well knows, which would not have been possible if we had stayed in the European Medicines Agency which he voted for. 'Mr Speaker, week after week the people of this country can see the difference between a Labour Party that twists and turns with the wind, that thinks of nothing except playing political games, whereas this party gets on with delivering on the peoples' priorities and I hope that people will vote Conservative on May 6.' Advertisement

'She's buying gold wallpaper. It's costing tens and tens of thousands... I cannot afford it': Boris Johnson's despairing cry to Downing St aides about lavish new No 10 decor - as revealed in definitive account of THAT scandal

BY SIMON WALTERS FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Like many of the most explosive political bombshells, the Downing Street flat scandal had a long fuse.

It was fourteen months ago  back in February 2020  that officials first became alarmed by renovations to the No 11 flat.

They had good reason not to pay too much attention to decorators who had been at work there since the New Year. A dozen or so cases of Covid had been reported in Britain, and the possibility that it could endanger the UK was starting to be taken seriously by some Downing Street officials.

It was fourteen months ago  back in February 2020  that officials first became alarmed by renovations to the No 11 flat. Pictured: Lulu Lytle's collection

Mr Johnson was still on a high from his election triumph in December 2019 and had had a Christmas holiday in Mustique in the Caribbean with partner Carrie Symonds  they were still to become engaged.

The couple were overjoyed to learn she was pregnant, though they had not yet shared the news with the rest of the world.

As is now well known, at this stage life-long libertarian Mr Johnson was among those who were less alarmed about the risk of a pandemic.

But he was suddenly alarmed by signs of a political problem closer to home.

They had good reason not to pay too much attention to decorators who had been at work there since the New Year. Pictured: Lulu Lytle's collection

'The cost is totally out of control  she's buying gold wallpaper!' he is said to have raged to aides.

It is not clear if this was classic Johnson hyperbole  or whether the wallpaper really is gold. In fact, the upmarket interior eco designer Lulu Lytle  whose Soane Britain company was commissioned by Miss Symonds  sells 'Yellow Gold' and 'Old Gold' wallpaper.

When aides asked him how much it was costing, he said: 'Tens and tens of thousands  I can't afford it.'

The Cabinet Office, which is in charge of maintaining the Downing Street estate, told him there was a 30,000-a-year publicly funded allowance for refurbishing the flat.

Mr Johnson would have to pay the rest  58,000.

'The cost is totally out of control  she's buying gold wallpaper!' he is said to have raged to aides. Pictured: Lulu Lytle's collection

It led to friction between Miss Symonds and Helen MacNamara, Director General of Propriety and Ethics in the Cabinet Office.

Miss Symonds is said to have urged Mr Johnson to sack Miss MacNamara after she refused to sign off extra money for the flat.

Despite his 150,000-a-year salary as Prime Minister, he is said to struggle to make ends meet as a result of losing an estimated 250,000 a year from his journalistic career as well as an expensive divorce with ex-wife Marina.

By March, Mr Johnson was having to take time out from crisis meetings on the pandemic to deal the issue his advisers called 'Wallpaper-gate'  after the 1970s Watergate political scandal in the US that brought down President Richard Nixon.

They started discussing who was going to pay Miss Lytle's bill  and how.

Tory chairman Ben Elliot, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, is more noted for his political connections than his political achievements.

Like Mr Johnson he is an Old Etonian; he is best friends with another Old Etonian Lord (Zac) Goldsmith  more of whom later  and pals with Miss Symonds.

He is also a nephew of the Duchess of Cornwall.

Unlike famous Conservative chairmen of the past such as Norman Tebbit, Mr Elliot prefers to operate behind the scenes in No10 and Tory HQ.

Which is where he began to grapple with 'Wallpaper-gate'.

Mr Johnson's first idea was to ask Tory donor Lord Bamford, boss of the JCB construction giant, to pay off the 58,000.

Lord Bamford and his companies have given more than 10million to the Conservatives over the years  and wife Lady Bamford's Daylesford farm shops delivered healthy meals to No10 after Mr Johnson recovered from Covid.

The Bamford option was dropped, though it is unclear why.

By early June, it is believed the Cabinet Office had paid the entire bill, including the 'excess' 58,000.

But it had to be paid back.

Mr Johnson's team came up with another wheeze: a 'blind trust' modelled on the White House Trust used to maintain the US President's Office.

Earlier this month the Prime Minister visited Hartlepool FC where he was put through his paces by the youth team

Despite his 150,000-a-year salary as Prime Minister, he is said to struggle to make ends meet as a result of losing an estimated 250,000 a year from his journalistic career as well as an expensive divorce with ex-wife Marina

The official aim was to 'preserve Downing Street for posterity' including the State Rooms.

In fact, it seems the real aim was to recoup the 58,000.

The advantage of the 'blind trust' would be that the prime minister of the day would not know who had given money to the trust so there could be no conflict of interest.

The proposal was soon abandoned as impractical.

Undeterred, Mr Johnson resolved to set up a different, more open, form of Downing Street trust.

Another multi-millionaire Tory donor, Lord Brownlow, was asked by Mr Johnson to set up the new trust.

It emerged yesterday that former Labour Chancellor Lord (Alistair) Darling turned down an offer in July to lead the trust.

So Lord Brownlow took on the job.

It was around this time that Tory HQ paid 58,000 to the Cabinet Office to clear the debt.

But after being told it could fall foul of Electoral Commission rules which say party funds should be used for political campaigning, the party appears to have panicked.An extraordinary apparent attempt to disguise the payment was launched.

This newspaper has been told that in early October Mr Johnson also discussed his financial woes in No10 with Lord Goldsmith.

Miss Symonds's appointment in January as head of communications for the Aspinall Foundation, a wildlife charity, was a welcome boost to her and Mr Johnson's income. A leaked email obtained by the Daily Mail showed that on October 23, Lord Brownlow told Mr Elliot that he had made a 58,000 'donation' to Tory HQ.

He made it clear it was to cover the same sum paid by the party to the Cabinet Office.

He added the 58,000 was to be attributed to the 'soon-to-be-formed Downing Trust'  headed by Lord Brownlow himself. Six months later the trust is no nearer to being established.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said this week that it could not be used to pay to refurbish either of the two Downing Street flats at numbers 10 and 11  either now or in the future.

Bearing in mind that was its real, albeit unstated, purpose all along, insiders say the trust will now be 'quietly dumped.' Meanwhile, Downing Street now says the refurbishment costs 'have been met by the Prime Minister personally', but has not explained how Mr Johnson paid the 58,000.

It is not clear where he got the money from  nor who he has paid it to.

Miss Lytle? The Cabinet Office? Tory HQ? Lord Brownlow? The money trail is not just murky, it is dizzying. Opposition by Mr Johnson's former chief of staff Dominic Cummings to using donors to pay for the flat was one of the reasons for his acrimonious exit from Downing Street in December.

But this newspaper has been told that when his successor, ex-banker Dan Rosenfield joined No10 in January, he was similarly shocked.

'He couldn't believe anyone had allowed such a crazy arrangement to go ahead in the first place  or that so much time had been spent on trying and failing to sort out the mess,' said a source.

Former Cabinet Secretary Lord O'Donnell said yesterday: 'Prime ministers have to set an example and should abide by the rules which are there for a good reason. He needs to concentrate on issues like Covid and the way to do that is to abide by the rules.'

In his blistering attack last week Mr Cummings said he told Mr Johnson early last year that the funding of flat makeover was 'unethical, foolish and possibly illegal.'

Whether you think Cummings is a genius or the devil incarnate, it is hard to disagree that Mr Johnson is guilty on at least one of the three counts.
Teenagers can get the coronavirus shot, but we're learning they're not nearly as excited about getting it as older adults.

"We're seeing some but not enough that we'd like to vaccinate the community with. I'd like to see more," said Kisha Montgomery, Medical Assistant at Sand Mountain Family Practice.

The practice has vaccinated more than 6,000 patients since January. Montgomery says less than 10% of those have been teens. Her 19-year-old son was one of them.

"It was important to me to keep our families safe and our patients safe here," said Montgomery.

She says a lot of times, when teens are getting the shot, it's because their parents want them to.

The Alabama Department of Public Health says about 19% of people in the age range of 16 to 54 have gotten a coronavirus shot, compared to more than 68% of those 75 and up.

Montgomery says younger patients are important to help stop the spread.
Afghan security forces broke up an alleged Chinese espionage ring in December that was operating in Kabul and trying to infiltrate terrorist networks in the country.

The Afghan government said little about the issue besides acknowledging the arrests. Beijing publicly denied knowledge of the groups activities.

But Afghan officials later told journalists the spy cell had been operating for up to seven years in the country and had been seeking the help of the Haqqani network -- a Pakistan-backed Islamist group linked to the Taliban -- to hunt down Uyghur groups operating in Afghanistan.

Subscribe To Our New China Newsletter It has become impossible to tell the biggest stories shaping Eurasia without considering Chinas resurgent influence in local business, politics, security, and culture. China In Eurasia is the new biweekly newsletter by correspondent Reid Standish in which he builds on local reporting from RFE/RLs journalists across Eurasia to give you unique insights into Beijings ambitions. It's sent on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. To subscribe, click here.

The incident offers a glimpse into Beijings complicated political and economic interests in Afghanistan as it prepares for the fallout from U.S. President Joe Bidens decision to withdraw American troops from the country. Other NATO countries will follow Washington's lead and pull out by September 11.

China is afraid of potential instability in Afghanistan that could seriously damage Chinas security [at home], Najib Azad, a former spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani who currently leads the BAWAR Movement, told RFE/RL. But weve seen Chinas low-profile toward Afghanistan [take on] a more proactive stance.

Most of Beijings interests in Afghanistan are centered on creating political stability and lowering the violence that is rampant in the war-torn country, but the prospect of a U.S. withdrawal ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks puts both those pillars at stake.

China shares a 76-kilometer border with Afghanistan and has preferred a low-key approach toward its unstable neighbor, although that has slowly changed in recent years as Beijings footprint in the country has become more complex.

As evidenced by that spy ring, broken up late last year, China is worried about Afghanistan becoming a haven for Uyghur radicals and other fundamentalists angered by Beijings repressive policies toward ethnic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang to launch a cross-border insurgency.

In hopes of containing the countrys tenuous security situation, China has trained an Afghan brigade near its border and has also set up a military outpost in Tajikistan in order to monitor and gather intelligence on Uyghurs based in Afghanistan.

Beijing has also stepped up its diplomatic efforts by hosting formal meetings between the Taliban and Afghan government representatives and welcomed public visits by senior Taliban leaders.

Support for political reconciliation was reaffirmed on April 25 when Wang Yu, Chinas ambassador to Afghanistan, told journalists that the peace process was at a critical juncture and that Beijing is committed to playing a constructive role in stabilizing the country.

Chinas main area of concern is about security, specifically its own security, Ayesha Siddiqa, a research associate at London's School of Oriental and African Studies, told RFE/RL. Beijing doesn't want to replace the United States in Afghanistan, but its clear that a lot of chaos is about to emerge and that leaves it with some very unappealing options.

Evolving Interests

Afghanistan was not originally part of the plans for the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijings multibillion-dollar global infrastructure project, with Chinese policymakers viewing the security situation as too unstable.

But that soon changed as Beijing looked to tie Afghanistan into its wider plans for the region through the $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a bundle of investment projects based in Pakistan.

China also found itself lured by Afghanistans mineral riches, with Chinese companies announcing investments worth billions of dollars in copper mining and oil exploration.

Afghanistan has vast mineral deposits, but since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 the sector has been seen as the potential backbone of a postwar economy -- and still is by policymakers in Kabul. But few major mining companies will risk venturing into the war-ravaged country.

Chinas state-owned Metallurgical Group Corporation secured a $3 billion, 30-year concession in 2008 to mine Mes Aynak, a huge copper deposit south of Kabul, along with oil and gas blocks in the north.

But these projects are largely at a standstill due to security concerns, and the dormant mine is reportedly a source of tension between Beijing and Kabul.

[This] doesn't mean China has forgotten about Afghanistan's vast underground wealth, [Beijing] just knows it is not going anywhere soon, Torek Farhadi, an independent analyst and former adviser on Afghanistan to the IMF and the United Nations, told RFE/RL.

Faced with shoring up its investments and protecting its long-standing security concerns, China faces a difficult road ahead as it prepares for the departure of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

Raffaello Pantucci, a senior associate fellow at London's Royal United Services Institute, says Beijing will look to wield increased influence in the country, but remains extremely cautious about getting too intertwined in Afghanistans chaos, which Chinese policymakers view as a quagmire that wont improve anytime soon.

The broad view is that Afghanistan is probably more trouble than it's worth, Pantucci told RFE/RL. So, unless things calm down, Beijing will look to keep the countrys problems at arms length.

Still, Pantucci cautions that China may find itself increasingly enmeshed in Afghanistans future whether it wants to play a crucial role or not.

The problem is that China has a very different position in the world today than it did when the war in Afghanistan began, which means that it needs to be a significant actor in its backyard, he said. They may find themselves sucked into problems and issues and feel forced to step in.

Tiptoeing In The New Afghanistan

The withdrawal of U.S. forces also opens the door for other powers to exercise more influence in Afghanistan, specifically Pakistan and Iran.

Tehran has long welcomed the departure of foreign forces from Afghanistan, while Islamabad has long played a dominant role in shaping its neighbors affairs and its intelligence services enjoy strong ties to the Talibans leadership.

For China, this presents both opportunities and threats. Beijing enjoys strong relations with both Iran and Pakistan, but overlapping interests in Afghanistan complicate those ties.

Pakistan is believed to have an extensive network of spies and proxies in Afghanistan and despite a mostly warm relationship with China, Islamabad is conducting its own independent policy, both courting Taliban leaders and cooperating with the United States.

According to Siddiqa, Tehran may be more willing to work with their Chinese counterparts in Afghanistan than Islamabad. Pakistan remains suspicious of Chinese officials conducting their own outreach to insurgents and developing its own power base in the country, which will leave Beijing treading carefully in Afghanistan.

It means that China is not so confident in Pakistan, Siddiqa said. Depending on how links with [Iran and Pakistan] develop, China will be tiptoeing in Afghanistan.
U.S.-funded Uyghur separatists trained as gun-toting foot soldiers: media

Xinhua) 15:39, April 28, 2021

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Behind a carefully constructed image as a peaceful movement, a Washington D.C.-based anti-China Uyghur separatist group operated a militia-style gun club that trains with ex-U.S. special forces, an independent news website, The Grayzone, has reported.

An investigation by The Grayzone uncovered that the Uyghur American Association (UAA) operated the right-wing club and have its members drilled in advanced combat techniques with former members of U.S. special forces who also train private mercenaries and active-duty U.S. servicemen, said an article released by the website on March 31.

The UAA's gun-obsessed subculture was on full display when members of the group and its affiliates drove by a gathering against anti-Asian racism in downtown Washington D.C. on March 21, barking anti-China insults at the demonstrators, said The Grayzone.

It said that the UAA members helped inflame anti-Asian resentment by spreading far-right propaganda referring to COVID-19 as the "Chinese virus" during the pandemic, and groundlessly claimed that China was waging a "virus war" against the world.

The UAA is a U.S.-affiliate of international anti-China separation network which received millions of dollars of funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, a U.S. government-sponsored entity. The current UAA prescient, Kuzzat Altay, has organized several separatist events in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in recent years, said the website.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
KAWAGOE, Japan, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bushu Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (hereinafter "Bushu Pharma") has established the Bushu Pharma Kazo Packaging Center located within the Kazo Pharmaceuticals Joint Distribution Center of Chuo Unyu Company ("Chuo Unyu") to carry out inspection, labeling, packaging and storage of pharmaceutical products.

Photo: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106205/202104264194/_prw_PI1fl_N0oK3ni5.jpg

The establishment of the facility follows the agreement between Bushu Pharma and Chuo Unyu in January 2021 to set up a storage area and a refrigerated room at the distribution center. At the same time, Bushu Pharma obtained a GMP-classified permit for storage of pharmaceutical products from Saitama Prefecture.

Bushu Pharma plans to set up a packaging suite at the center to carry out inspection, labeling and packaging operations in order to expand the clinical and commercial drug product packaging business. The center is scheduled to start operations in the summer of 2021.

Chuo Unyu is a wholly owned subsidiary of Suzuken Co., Ltd., a major pharmaceutical wholesaler, and its main business is the transportation of pharmaceuticals, medical machines/equipment, and other pharmaceutical-related items. The company has a wealth of know-how, experience, and advanced transportation technology as it relates to the distribution and storage of pharmaceuticals. With the setup of the inspection/labeling/packaging area for Bushu Pharma within the distribution center of Chuo Unyu and the integration of Bushu Pharma's technical capabilities with the know-how and experience of Chuo Unyu, Bushu Pharma will be able to increasingly provide prompt and reliable contract manufacturing services -- from production to delivery -- to pharmaceutical manufacturers.

- Location

37-3 Kitatsuji, Kazo City, Saitama Prefecture

- Capacity

Refrigerated warehouse (2-8 C): 634 pallets

Room temperature warehouse (1-30 C): 648 pallets

Room temperature packaging area (green zone): approx. 1,500 m2

Refrigerated packaging area (green zone): approx. 334 m2

About Bushu Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Drawing on its experience and knowledge as a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) it has cultivated over 20 years, Bushu Pharma manufactures solid preparations, solid preparation primary packaging, injection manufacturing, and injection packaging not only for domestic pharmaceuticals but also for global pharmaceutical manufacturers. Bushu Pharma is capable of providing a wide range of products and services -- from clinical trial supplies to commercial product development support to commercialization -- and has numerous manufacturing facilities and technologies.

From project start to approval, Bushu Pharma is a leading domestic contract manufacturing company that can provide optimal solutions such as technology transfer, production, packaging, and logistics in Japan.

Please refer to Bushu Pharma's homepage for details:

https://www.bushu-pharma.com/en

Gateway to Asia Service details:

https://www.bushu-pharma.com/en/services/scm/gateway-to-asia/

SOURCE Bushu Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Related Links

https://www.bushu-pharma.com/en


A clash between students of the Enyan Denkyira Secondary Technical School in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam District of the Central region, and some youth in the town over a girl has left about eight students injured.



Seven male students and a girl who required medical attention after the incident have since been treated and discharged from the Ajumako Government Hospital.



Several others, mainly made up of the youth in the town reportedly also sustained injuries during the clash, which happened last Friday, April 23, 2021.



Intrusion



According to the District Director of Education, Sabina Otoo, the incident happened on Friday night when a male believed to be from the town went to the school campus and entered a classroom during prep hours.



The said male is said to have requested to sit near one of the female students for a conversation.



She said after sometime one of the male students who was also learning in the classroom asked the "intruder" to leave as he was disturbing the class.



She said angered by that, the "intruder" went into a nearby bush and brought several others and wielding offensive objects attacked the male student who had asked him to leave.



She said in solidarity with the student the other students joined in the fight.



Free-for all



She said in the ensuing "free-for all fight" the students managed to overpower two of intruders and handed them over to the school's security.



However, one managed to escape but the other was handed over to the police.



Another account



A different account of the incident picked by Graphic Online also indicated that one of the male students who is in form three and on vacation had come to the school to pick up his supposed girlfriend for a date. The girl is a boarding student.



This, according to an eye witness did not go down well with some of the male boarding students in school who made efforts to prevent the two from leaving the campus.



The two however managed to leave.



Upon their return to the campus in the evening the source said some of the male boarding students confronted the day student, ceased his mobile phone and some of his belongings.



Brutality



He was reportedly beaten by some of the students.



The form three student was said to have gone home and gathered about 15 youth from the town for a reprisal attack in the evening.



The headmaster of the school, Mr Daniel Asante confirmed that there had been an incident but said he was not able to speak to the press per Ghana Education Service (GES) policy.



The school does not have a fence wall.



The GES district directorate has since met with the community to ensure the safety of the students.







Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Mississauga, Ontario and Sacramento, California--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (CSE: BEE) (OTCQB: BEVVF) (CVE: BEE) (the "Company" or "BVT") today announced a new R&D trial with Rutgers University's Agricultural Research and Extension Center for the 2021 growing season. The Company has also secured its first sales commitments in New Jersey, with two berry growers joining the growing ranks of BVT customers.

The Rutgers trial is being conducted on blueberry crops in four New Jersey locations, and will evaluate the efficacy of BVT's proprietary Vectorite with CR-7 (Clonostachys rosea CR-7) (CR-7) applied with bee vectoring technology against disease (primarily Anthracnose) under local conditions. Commercially-managed bumblebees and honeybees will be used with BVT's natural precision agriculture system.

"The land-grant universities across the US play a very important enabling role in our markets, but their level of influence varies in each state and crop. Rutgers plays a very important role for blueberries in New Jersey," said Ian Collinson, Sales Manager at Bee Vectoring Technologies. "The Rutgers trial and the grower commitments align with our 2021 commercialization objectives. We have already accelerated penetration in the US Southeast, Midwest, and now Northwest berry markets, with revenues secured, and have also started initial trials in California. We have real momentum going in the US, and anticipate it will keep building in coming seasons."

"When it comes to industry influence, Rutgers is the absolute leader for agriculture in New Jersey. Growers look to and trust them, so this trial with such an authoritative body is a strong first step in our expansion in this important market," said Everett Hendrixon, Midwest and Eastern US Territory Manager at Bee Vectoring Technologies. "We've had some growers in other states use our system for a season and not use it for the next, then return after seeing high disease pressure and reduced yield. Compelling research from experts like Rutgers will help mitigate this uneven cycle."

The Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Upper Deerfield (Cumberland County) focuses on work that can be applied to high-quality small fruits, vegetable crops, field crops, trees and ornamentals, with emphasis on crop protection and integrated pest management.





One of four Rutgers locations in New Jersey for the trial



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3903/82032_82fb05e3d4503a7c_002full.jpg







BVT VectorHive honeybee dispensers on hives at the start of the trial



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3903/82032_82fb05e3d4503a7c_003full.jpg

With 9,000 acres(1) of blueberries, the crop is big business in New Jersey, producing 44 million pounds every year, and amounting to US$62.4 million(2) in annual revenue.

The blueberry blooming period started in mid-April, and the New Jersey growers are already using BVT's natural precision agriculture system on about 20 of 550 acres under production. Based on common practice and the actions of previous growers trialing the system, the Company expects these growers will add BVT on progressively more acreage in the coming two to three seasons based on positive results and the outcome of the trials with Rutgers.

(1) Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

(2) Source: New Jersey Department of Agriculture, 2019 Annual Report & Agricultural Statistics

About Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc.

BVT, an agriculture technology company, is a market disruptor with a significant global market opportunity in the $240 billion crop protection and fertilizer market. BVT has pioneered a natural precision agriculture system that replaces chemical pesticides and wasteful plant protection product spray applications by delivering biological pesticide alternatives to crops using commercially grown bees. BVT's award-winning technology, precision vectoring, is completely harmless to bees and allows minute amounts of naturally-derived pesticides (called biologicals) to be delivered directly to blooms, providing improved crop protection and yield results than traditional chemical pesticides - and improving the health of the soil, the microbiome and the environment. Currently, BVT has over 65 granted patents, over 35 patents pending in all major agricultural countries worldwide, and has US EPA registration of its Vectorite" with CR-7 (EPA Registration No. 90641-2) for sale as a registered biological fungicide for use on the labeled crops.

Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.beevt.com. To receive regular news updates from the Company, subscribe at www.beevt.com/newsletter.

Company Contact:

Ashish Malik, President & CEO

info@beevt.com

Investor Contact:

Babak Pedram, Investor Relations

Virtus Advisory Group

Tel: 416-995-8651

bpedram@virtusadvisory.com

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. The words "may", "would", "could", "should", "potential", "will", "seek", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company, "annual revenue potential", are intended to identify forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Such statements reflect the Company's current views and intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including: planted acres, selling price of competitive chemical pesticides and the US to Canadian dollar exchange rate. Material factors or assumptions were applied in providing forward-looking information. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking information to vary from those described herein should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize. These factors include changes in law, competition, litigation, the ability to implement business strategies and pursue business opportunities, state of the capital markets, the availability of funds and resources to pursue operations, new technologies, the ability to protect intellectual property rights, the ability to obtain patent protection for products, third-party intellectual property infringement claims, regulatory changes affecting products, failing research and development activities, the ability to reach and sustain profitability, dependence on business and technical experts, the ability to effectively manage business operations and growth, issuance of debt, dilution of existing securities, volatility of publicly traded securities, potential conflicts of interest, unlikelihood of dividend payments, the potential costs stemming from defending third-party intellectual property infringement claims, the ability to secure relationships with manufacturers and purchasers, as well as general economic, market and business conditions, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's Filing Statement dated August 14,2020, filed with the CSE and securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com. Should any factor affect the Company in an unexpected manner, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, the actual results or events may differ materially from the results or events predicted. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, the Company does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law. All figures are in Canadian dollars.

###

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82032
A New Jersey woman who worked for the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) in Philadelphia was accused of stealing over $2.6 million from her former employer over the course of seven years, authorities said.

Angela DiPietro-Sabatine, 57, of Pennsauken, was charged with ten counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, and aiding and abetting, according to a statement from the United States Attorneys Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

DRWC is a non-profit, quasi-governmental entity whose mission is to design, develop, and manage the central Delaware River waterfront from Oregon to Allegheny avenues for the benefit of Philadelphia residents, the office said.

DiPietro-Sabatine worked as the accounting administrator and was responsible for managing the accounts payable and receivable, bank reconciliations, and general ledger work, according to the statement.

She is accused of using the non-profits computerized accounting software to create false expense items for legitimate vendors of DRWC to invoice services that never happened, federal prosecutors said. She would then generate DRWC checks for the fake expenses and change the payee of the check from the vendor to herself, and forged the signatures of the companys president and vice president, authorities alleged.

DiPietro-Sabatine spent the stolen proceeds on personal expenses, including gambling and luxury vacations, the office said.

The alleged conduct in this case shows a pattern of deception and dishonesty that went on for the better part of a decade, Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said in a statement.

Organizations must be able to rely on the honesty of employees who handle money, and this is especially important when the entity has a mission meant to benefit the public. As alleged, DiPietro-Sabatine went to great lengths to hide her criminal conduct from her employer; our Office thanks DRWC for coming forward and cooperating fully with the investigation so we can hold this defendant responsible for her actions.

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.
President Moon Jae-in takes off his mask to speak at a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. Yonhap



By Jung Da-min



President Moon Jae-in has come under fire for having a dinner with four of his former aides at Cheong Wa Dae, which critics claim was in violation of the nationwide ban on gatherings of five or more people as a measure to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.



Two days after the Moon administration's latest Cabinet reshuffle, announced April 17, Moon had drinks and dinner with the four former aides to show his appreciation for their work, at his residence within the presidential office compound. The aides were former senior secretary for social policy Yoon Chang-yul, former senior secretary for political affairs Choi Jae-sung, former spokesman Kang Min-seok and former secretary for legal affairs Kim Young-sik.



However, a person later filed a civil complaint on the website run by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, saying Moon's gathering with the former aides was against the ban on gatherings of five or more people. They said it was highly inappropriate as the President ought to lead the country's management of the COVID-19 situation by example.



Rep. Jo Myung-hee of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), a member of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, sent an inquiry to the Central Disaster Management Headquarters under the Ministry of Health and Welfare to clarify whether the President's gathering with his former aides was in violation of the gathering ban.



The headquarters responded that Moon did not break the rule as the gathering was an official meeting related to state affairs, not a private meeting subject to the ban.



But Jo maintained her position on the President's double standards.



"I wonder if the public will understand that the President, who emphasized observance of the quarantine rules to the public with the principle of zero tolerance, has a drinking party for five people as a public meeting," Jo said. "The health authorities and the Seoul Metropolitan Government should not be lenient with any violator even when that person is someone in power."



Many others also voiced criticism on the internet, saying if the President's gathering with his aides was a public affair and not a private one, office workers' gatherings of more than four people over a meal should also be allowed because they were public gatherings, not a meeting among friends.



Regarding this, a health ministry official said meetings over a meal at businesses or public organizations, which are held for purposes of diplomacy, contact or negotiations are not categorized as private gatherings.



The general public showed a mixed response over the effectiveness of the gathering ban.



"The ban prevents private meetings taking place in public spaces such as cafes and restaurants, but private meetings are still being held at private places like home  When seeing recent cases of COVID-19 outbreaks, those infected at private spaces go to public spaces and spread the virus there, and then return to private spaces," said Lee Seok-hee, 30, from Hanam, Gyeonggi Province.



"With such a cycle being repeated, the ban on gatherings of five or more people seems meaningless unless it is effectively imposed everywhere all of the time."



Lee Soo-bin, 29, from Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, said the President's dinner with the former aides was inappropriate as they could meet without eating and drinking.


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Clifford Chance advises CMI Energia on US$700 million green bond and US$300 million syndicated loan facility

New York: Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised CMI Energia, the renewable energy business unit of agro-industrial conglomerate Corporacion Multi Inversiones (CMI), on the refinancing of approximately US$1 billion in existing project finance debt owed by its subsidiaries in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.

The transaction involved a combination of (i) US$700 million 6.25% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 (the Notes) issued by Investment Energy Resources Limited (IERL), and (ii) a US$300 million loan (the Loan Facility) provided to IERL by a syndicate of Central American banks. Both the Notes and the Loan Facility are guaranteed by operating subsidiaries of IERL (the Guarantors) and are secured by a pledge of CMI's common stock in the Guarantors. The transaction closed on April 26, 2021.

CMI Energia is one of the largest renewable energy businesses in Latin America, focusing on wind, solar and hydro technologies. The proceeds of the bond will be used to finance green projects in the categories of renewable energy, energy efficiency, green buildings and clean transportation. CMI Energia anticipates that this bond will help execute its sustainability priorities and support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Partner Hugo Triaca led the transaction, with support from associates Andres Berry, Mariana Estevez and Luis Fortuno, and law clerk Maria Kim. Partner Avrohom Gelber and associate Sean Smestad advised on tax, with partner Paul Koppel and associate Thomas Koh advising on the ERISA aspects of the transaction. Partner Jefferey LeMaster and associate Matthew Press provided assistance with the '40 Act elements of the transaction.

Commenting on the matter Triaca said, "We are thrilled to have represented CMI Energia on this iconic transaction, the first one in the international capital markets for the CMI group in the context of its 100th anniversary. Green bonds are at the forefront of sustainable finance, and we are proud to join forces with CMI Energia to further our shared commitment to sustainability and the environment."

Clifford Chance has long been recognized for its track record of advising on the most innovative and cutting-edge sustainability bond transactions. The firm was recently named Law Firm of the Year and advised on two award winning transactions at the Environmental Finance Bond Awards 2021, including the US$1.2 billion sovereign bond issuance by the Republic of Guatemala.
CLEVELAND, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Herman Miller Incorporated, one of the leading furniture manufacturers in the US, announced last week that it planned to purchase Knoll Incorporated, another key producer of home and office furniture. The transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, will create a firm with over $3.5 billion in annual sales, nearly 20 North American manufacturing facilities, and a global network of more than 100 showrooms and retail centers.

According to Freedonia Group industry analyst Matt Zielenski, "The US furniture market is in a state of flux due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While workers are expected to return to the office, it is generally believed that there will be fewer workers in offices and companies are expected to reduce their office footprints. This is expected to exert negative pressures on the office furniture market. However, there will be opportunities for the rapidly growing home office segment as employees re-create work stations in their residences. Furthermore, many Americans will continue to refurnish their homes, such as by buying new furniture."

Thus, stated Zielenski, "The union of two of the largest US home and office furniture manufacturers will create a company that is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the ongoing evolution in the US furniture market. Herman Miller will be able to expand its manufacturing and distribution footprint, boost its design capabilities by integrating Knoll's development staff into its own team, and expand its collection of brand names. Also, the combined company will able to achieve efficiencies in sourcing raw materials  a key consideration when shortages of lumber and polyurethane foam are causing disruptions in production and rapid price increases."

Freedonia Focus Reports analyst Owen Stuart adds "Prior to the pandemic, most of the big office furniture manufacturers had only tentatively invested in direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce as a selling channel  they relied on distributors instead. However, Knoll has been an early adopter of DTC e-commerce sales of office furniture, which placed the company in position to benefit from the sudden shift to e-commerce office furniture purchasing by employees working from home. Herman Miller's acquisition enables them to remove a competitor from the market while acquiring a strong e-commerce office furniture business."

For more information on the outlook for furniture  see the following Focus Reports from The Freedonia Group:

Furniture: United States

Household Furniture: United States

Office Furniture: United States

About the Freedonia Group - The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com, is the premier international industrial research company, providing our clients with product analyses, market forecasts, industry trends, and market share information. From one-person consulting firms to global conglomerates, our analysts provide companies with unbiased, reliable industry market research and analysis to help them make important business decisions. With over 100 studies published annually, we support over 90% of the industrial Fortune 500 companies. Find off-the-shelf studies at https://www.freedoniagroup.com/ or contact us for custom research: +1 440.842.2400.

Press Contact:

Corinne Gangloff

+1 440.842.2400

[email protected]

SOURCE The Freedonia Group
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Victory Resources Corporation (CSE:VR)(FWB:VR61)(OTC PINK:VRCFF) ("Victory" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it is undertaking a non-brokered private placement of up to $2,000,000 by the issuance of units at $0.07, each unit consisting of one common share and one warrant entitling the holder to subscribe for one additional common share at $0.10 for 2 years from the date of closing. The Company reserves the right to accelerate expiry date upon 30 days notice in the event the Common Shares trade at or above $0.25 for 10 trading days, including days where no trades occur.

The Company intends to use the proceeds for general working capital, acquisitions and work programs on the Company's existing exploration properties in Nevada and British Columbia, and any additional properties the Company may acquire.

For further information, please contact:

Mark Ireton, President

Telephone: +1 (236) 317 2822 or TOLL FREE 1 (855) 665-GOLD (4653)

E-mail: IR@victoryresourcescorp.com

About Victory Resources Corporation

VICTORY RESOURCES CORPORATION (CSE: VR) is a publicly traded diversified investment corporation with mineral interests in North America. The company is also actively seeking other exploration opportunities.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. 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", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.

SOURCE: Victory Resources Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/643198/Victory-Announces-Non-Brokered-Private-Placement
Graduate students Arezoo Etesamirad (seated) and Rodolfo Rodriguez (right) are seen here with their advisor, Igor Barsukov. Credit: Barsukov lab, UC Riverside.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have used a nanoscale synthetic antiferromagnet to control the interaction between magnonsresearch that could lead to faster and more energy-efficient computers.

In ferromagnets, electron spins point in the same direction. To make future computer technologies faster and more energy-efficient, spintronics research employs spin dynamicsfluctuations of the electron spinsto process information. Magnons, the quantum-mechanical units of spin fluctuations, interact with each other, leading to nonlinear features of the spin dynamics. Such nonlinearities play a central role in magnetic memory, spin torque oscillators, and many other spintronic applications.

For example, in the emergent field of magnetic neuromorphic networksa technology that mimics the brainnonlinearities are essential for tuning the response of magnetic neurons. Also, in another frontier area of research, nonlinear spin dynamics may become instrumental.

"We anticipate the concepts of quantum information and spintronics to consolidate in hybrid quantum systems," said Igor Barsukov, an assistant professor at the Department of Physics & Astronomy who led the study that appears in Applied Materials & Interfaces. "We will have to control nonlinear spin dynamics at the quantum level to achieve their functionality."

Barsukov explained that in nanomagnets, which serve as building blocks for many spintronic technologies, magnons show quantized energy levels. Interaction between the magnons follows certain symmetry rules. The research team learned to engineer the magnon interaction and identified two approaches to achieve nonlinearity: breaking the symmetry of the nanomagnet's spin configuration; and modifying the symmetry of the magnons. They chose the second approach.

"Modifying magnon symmetry is the more challenging but also more application-friendly approach," said Arezoo Etesamirad, the first author of the research paper and a graduate student in Barsukov's lab.

In their approach, the researchers subjected a nanomagnet to a magnetic field that showed nonuniformity at characteristic nanometer length scales. This nanoscale nonuniform magnetic field itself had to originate from another nanoscale object.

For a source of such a magnetic field, the researchers used a nanoscale synthetic antiferromagnet, or SAF, consisting of two ferromagnetic layers with antiparallel spin orientation. In its normal state, SAF generates nearly no stray fieldthe magnetic field surrounding the SAF, which is very small. Once it undergoes the so-called spin-flop transition, the spins become canted and the SAF generates a stray field with nonuniformity at nanoscale, as needed. The researchers switched the SAF between the normal state and the spin-flop state in a controlled manner to toggle the symmetry-breaking field on and off.

"We were able to manipulate the magnon interaction coefficient by at least one order of magnitude," Etesamirad said. "This is a very promising result, which could be used to engineer coherent magnon coupling in quantum information systems, create distinct dissipative states in magnetic neuromorphic networks, and control large excitation regimes in spin-torque devices."

Explore further Small magnets reveal big secrets

More information: Arezoo Etesamirad et al, Controlling Magnon Interaction by a Nanoscale Switch, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2021). Journal information: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces Arezoo Etesamirad et al, Controlling Magnon Interaction by a Nanoscale Switch,(2021). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c01562
RTHK: Australia to upgrade military bases

Australia will unveil a A$747 million (US$580 million) defence package on Wednesday to upgrade four military bases in its north and expand war games with the United States, The Australian newspaper reported.

An airstrip in the Northern Territory will be lengthened to support larger aircraft, firing ranges overhauled and new training facilities set up for defence personnel and US marines, The Australian newspaper reported.

"Working with the United States, our allies and Indo-Pacific neighbours, we will continue to advance Australia's interests by investing in the Australian Defence Force," Prime Minister Scott Morrison was quoted as saying in the report.

The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

One of Australia's most senior security officials earlier this week said that liberal democracies must brace for war.

Home Affairs Department Secretary Mike Pezzullo did not specify the catalyst for his warning but it follows a sharp deterioration in Australia's relationship with China and a rise in regional tensions over Taiwan.

Diplomatic relations between Australia and China have worsened since Canberra called for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, prompting trade reprisals from Beijing.

Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton on Sunday said a conflict involving China over Taiwan "should not be discounted". (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-04-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chennai: Days ahead of May 1st, when vaccination against Covid-19 is meant to be open for all adults aged between 18 and 44 in India, the Tamil Nadu Government said it has issued orders to procure 1.5 crore vaccinations via the Tamil Nadu medical Services Corporation.

Thus far, about 55.51 lakh persons in the above 45 age group have taken the jabs, the government stated.

Via a statement, the State Government assured the people regarding free Covid-19 vaccines being made available to those in the eligible age group, as was promised by Chief Minister K Palaniswami late last year.

Regarding the rising demand for drug Remdesivir, Dr. T.S Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine said that there was an unnecessary panic and artificial demand for the drug.

Remdesivir is not a life-saving drug. Not recommended as mandatory drug for Covid-19 treatment by WHO. Not all patients who are need remdesivir, it is not going to prevent mortality, at the most it will only prevent the duration of your stay, he said.

He also added that the State government had procured enough drugs via the TNMSC and that those who needed the drugs must provide their personal, medical details, test positivity and clinical details at the TNMSC counter.

Meanwhile, amid rising cases in Chennai city, the Chennai Corporation Commissioner has sanctioned permissions for hotels and private hospitals to start private Covid Care centers, by just intimating the civic body.

As on Tuesday, there are 1.08 lakh active cases in Tamil Nadu, of which 35,000 are in Chennai.

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Elevated remote-based Customer Care for iconic brands

In an environment where every client conversation can substantially impact the health and profitability of any brand, frontline Customer Service Representatives are playing an increasingly critical role. VIPdesk has long been an advocate for aligning compensation with responsibility and maximizing the compensation for its Brand Ambassadors  VIPdesks Customer Representatives. With a focus on meeting living wage requirements in all team-member states, VIPdesk has conducted its own research for all U.S. states and as a result has identified markets where the cost of living is lower, improving the living wage value. VIPdesk is committed to delivering on its promise of creating an elevated, authentic customer experience. In parallel, VIPdesk is closely tracking the correlation between Brand Ambassador compensation to employee retention and quality of customer support delivered. Increasing hourly rates will allow VIPdesk to provide fair compensation to its existing team and open the door for team members with wonderful qualifications and education.

"I am extremely grateful to partner with clients who see the correlation between great service and people, said Sally Hurley, CEO of VIPdesk. Today we are making a big step towards what we believe is right and necessary for our team. While it is a big first step, I believe that this is just the beginning of a broader trend which will ultimately show that the benefit of appropriate compensation really matters when it comes to delivering great customer experiences.

Remote BPO services are more relevant today than at any other point in our history. VIPdesk is confident that it is leading the customer experience industry with its ability to offer an elevated and authentic customer service solution with an inclusive team of culturally aligned Brand Ambassadors.

Jen Vinciguerra, VP of People & Culture at VIPdesk, added I am thrilled that we have the opportunity to invest further into our amazing team members. We have always believed that the more we do to support our team the more they will do to deliver elevated customer experiences every day for every client! This is something weve been working towards for a long time and Im excited about our fantastic team and cant wait to see what we accomplish next.

As a certified B-Corp, VIPdesk enthusiastically embraces the philosophies of this purpose-driven community which works toward reducing inequality, lowering the levels of poverty, contributing to a healthier environment, building stronger communities, and creating more high-quality jobs with dignity and purpose. VIPdesk together with its partners and clients believes that never in our history customer service has played a more central role in the success of each business than today.

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About VIPdesk

VIPdesk, a premium provider of outsourced customer experience solutions, utilizes a select team of remote work Brand Ambassadors (customer service professionals), located throughout the U.S., to provide elevated customer experience for iconic brands and those that aspire to become one. As a certified B-Corp, Women-Owned-Corporation, and Top Workplace winner, VIPdesk is on a mission to elevate the human experience with its team-members and partners. Talented team-members of VIPdesk not only excel in delivering superior customer service but are passionate ambassadors of the brands they serve. VIPdesk's suite of services includes Omni-Channel Customer service handling on all traditional and digital contact channels, full AI and assisted AI solutions, CX Insights, social media management, back-office support, and customer experience consulting. Visit http://www.vipdesk.com for more information or @VIPdesk on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

CONTACT:

Othmar Mueller von Blumencron

703-348-2236
The survey of 1,486 students and 1,286 faculty and administrators across 856 institutions was conducted by Bay View Analytics on behalf of the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), WCET (the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies), University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), Canadian Digital Learning Research Association (CDLRA) and primary partner and underwriter Cengage, a global education technology company.

"Digital learning was already growing, and the pandemic greatly accelerated that. It also increased everyone's comfort level and capability with online learning and digital tools," said Fernando Bleichmar, Executive Vice President and General Manager for U.S. Higher Education at Cengage. "Students continue to face pressures and are questioning the value of higher education, but they clearly see the benefits and flexibility that digital learning can offer. Now colleges and universities need to find an affordable way to meet students where they are in their journey."

Key takeaways from the survey include:

Students, faculty and administrators are aligned on key student challenges, differ on institutional support : Students, faculty and administrators all agreed that "stress," "level of motivation," and "having time to do coursework" were students' top challenges this spring, though students saw institutional support (or lack thereof) as a bigger problem than faculty or administrators.

: Students, faculty and administrators all agreed that "stress," "level of motivation," and "having time to do coursework" were students' top challenges this spring, though students saw institutional support (or lack thereof) as a bigger problem than faculty or administrators. More students give pandemic learning an "A" grade compared to faculty or administrators : Students, faculty and administrators graded how well their courses met education needs during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, with more students giving As, and more faculty and admins giving Bs:

: Students, faculty and administrators graded how well their courses met education needs during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, with more students giving As, and more faculty and admins giving Bs: Fall 2020:



"A" Grade  43 percent of Students; 36 percent of Faculty; 18 percent of Admins





"B" Grade  30 percent of Students; 45 percent of Faculty; 56 percent of Admins





"C" Grade  16 percent of Students; 18 percent of Faculty; 23 percent of Admins



Spring 2021:



"A" Grade  47 percent of Students; 43 percent of Faculty; 25 percent of Admins





"B" Grade  29 percent of Students; 46 percent of Faculty; 56 percent of Admins





"C" Grade  13 percent of Students; 10 percent of Faculty; 16 percent of Admins

Students more positive about online learning : The majority of students are more optimistic today than pre-pandemic about online learning (57 percent) and digital materials (52 percent). Nearly half of students (48 percent) are more optimistic about hybrid courses.

: The majority of students are more optimistic today than pre-pandemic about online learning (57 percent) and digital materials (52 percent). Nearly half of students (48 percent) are more optimistic about hybrid courses. Students more likely to want some courses delivered fully-online post-pandemic, and preferences differ across format and respondent group.

and preferences differ across format and respondent group. Preference for some courses to be fully-online:



46 percent of students strongly agree; 27 percent somewhat agree





32 percent of faculty strongly agree; 21 percent somewhat agree





15 percent of admins strongly agree; 25 percent somewhat agree



Preference for some courses in hybrid format:



33 percent of students strongly agree; 35 percent somewhat agree





30 percent of faculty strong agree; 27 percent somewhat agree





25 percent of admins strongly agree; 37 percent somewhat agree

"These results will be reassuring for faculty and administrators," said Dr. Jeff Seaman, lead researcher and Director of Bay View Analytics. "Their concern for student well-being and the quality of their education was very evident in our previous surveys, and it's clear from the students' responses that they valued this effort, and thought it was largely successful."

"Student perspectives regarding their preferences and perceptions of quality are critical as we plan strategically for helping faculty leverage the professional development they've received in the past year," said Angela Gunder, Chief Academic Officer of OLC. "Blended learning pedagogical practices are well poised to help bridge the gap between student access and success, and we're re-imagining programming and resources that position faculty and staff to thrive in this space."

"Some have worried that the remote learning experiences offered during the pandemic would negatively reflect on courses that are online by design. These results seem to contradict our assumptions based on anecdotal information. When  of students and more than half of faculty want to experience at least some courses fully online, the key takeaway is that the pandemic did not threaten but in fact accelerated the long-term growth, acceptance, and desirability of online learning, and those numbers will only improve, as emergency remote offerings are rebuilt as modern online courses and programs," said Robert Hansen, Chief Executive Officer of UPCEA.

"The students surveyed understand and appreciate the value of their online learning experience," said Russ Poulin, Executive Director of WCET. "This is encouraging considering that many of them were actually involved in an emergency 'remote' experience in a class not designed to be offered in that format. In the future, those students will greatly appreciate taking online courses from faculty prepared to teach in the modality with curriculum designed to maximize learning at a distance."

Survey findings will be presented in a free webinar "One Year Later  Higher Education Students, Faculty, and Institutions Reflect on Digital Learning" today, Wednesday, April 28 at 2:00 pm ET. The webinar will feature a discussion with lead researcher Jeff Seaman of Bay View Analytics; Jennifer Mathes of OLC; Dr. Bernard Polnariev, Union County College Associate VP for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Scotch Plains Campus; and Nia Williams, an Ivy Tech Community College student. Click here to register for the webinar or to receive the recording.

For complete survey results and to download the infographic visit: www.cengage.com/digital-learning-pulse-survey.

Methodology

The survey of higher education students, faculty and administrators to understand institutions' use of digital materials and views on online learning was conducted between March 30  April 12 by Bay View Analytics in partnership with four leading online learning organizations and underwritten by Cengage.

About Bay View Analytics

Bay View Analytics is a statistical research firm with a focus on survey design, implementation, and analysis. Formerly known as the Babson Survey Research Group, the scope of Bay View Analytics' consulting engagements includes scientific statistical analyses, clinical trial statistics, and survey designs for a range of topics, with a particular focus on online education. Bay View Analytics has been conducting research and publishing annual reports on the state of online education in U.S. higher education for thirteen years. Visit https://bayviewanalytics.com for more information.

About Cengage

Cengage, a global education technology company serving millions of learners, provides quality digital products and services, equipping students with the skills and competencies needed to advance their careers and improve their lives. We serve the K-12, higher education, professional, library, English language teaching and workforce training markets worldwide. Our industry-leading products and services make education more accessible and affordable, including Cengage Unlimited, the first-of-its-kind all-access digital subscription service. Visit us at www.cengage.com or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

About WCET

WCET  the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies, is the leader in the practice, policy, & advocacy of digital learning in higher education. WCET is a member-driven non-profit which brings together colleges, universities, higher education organizations, and companies to collectively improve the quality and reach of technology-enhanced learning programs. Learn more at https://wcet.wiche.edu/.

About UPCEA

UPCEA is the association for professional, continuing, and online education. Founded in 1915, the association serves its members with innovative conferences and specialty seminars, research and benchmarking information, professional networking opportunities and timely publications. Based in Washington, D.C., UPCEA builds greater awareness of the vital link between adult learners and non-traditional learners and public policy issues. Visit www.upcea.edu.

About CDLRA

The mission of the Canadian Digital Learning Research Association (CDLRA) is to measure the evolution of digital learning at publicly funded post-secondary institutions in Canada and to assess its impact on employment, skills development and digital competencies across the country. Learn more at http://www.cdlra-acrfl.ca/.

About Online Learning Consortium

The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) is a collaborative community of education leaders and innovators, dedicated to advancing quality digital teaching and learning experiences designed to reach and engage the modern learner  anyone, anywhere, anytime. OLC inspires innovation and quality through an extensive set of resources, including, best-practice publications, quality benchmarking, leading-edge instruction, community-driven conferences, practitioner-based and empirical research and expert guidance. The growing OLC community includes faculty members, administrators, trainers, instructional designers, and other learning professionals, as well as educational institutions, professional societies and corporate enterprises. Visit http://onlinelearningconsortium.org for more information.

Media Contact:

Kristina Massari, Cengage

(203) 965-8694; [email protected]

SOURCE Cengage

Related Links

http://www.cengage.com


New research shows that physical activity equivalent to 100 PAI a week can counteract excessive weight gain.

PAI stands for Personal Activity Intelligence and tracks how physically active you are throughout the week. You can measure PAI with just about any device that can measure heart rate.

The activity metric has been developed by the Cardiac Exercise Research Group (CERG) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) under the leadership of NTNU Professor Ulrik Wislff.

"Previously, we found that 100 PAI a week can give us a longer and healthier life without cardiovascular disease. Our new study shows that PAI can also help people maintain a healthy body weight," says researcher Javaid Nauman at NTNU's Department of Circulation and Imaging and the UAE University College of Medicine and Health Sciences in the United Arab Emirates.

Nauman is one of the researchers behind a recent article in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe. The study includes more than 85 000 healthy Norwegians who have been followed for more than 20 years.

Personal Activity Intelligence

PAI measures all physical activity that causes the heart rate to increase above a certain level. The higher the heart rate, the faster you earn PAI points.

The PAI algorithm calculates a weekly score based on your personal profile and variations in heart rate over the period. The PAI score can easily be measured with the free PAI Health app that is available for both iPhone and Android, for example.

Less weight gain by maintaining 100 PAI

The new study has obtained its data from the HUNT Study - a large-scale, longitudinal population health study in Norway. This study is one of the largest and lengthiest health surveys in the world. Trndelag county residents number 240 000 in the research centre database, with even more participants since the start in 1984.

Of the total participants, 85 000 were weighed and asked about their level of physical activity as many as three times through 2008.

On average, participants' body weight increased by about eight kilos between 1984 and 2008 for both women and men who participated at each follow-up. Important to note is that the weight gain was significantly lower among individuals who were physically active enough to achieve at least 100 weekly PAIs during the period.

But there is still hope for those of us who haven't been as active all our lives. The study shows that even people who weren't physically active in the 1980s, but who increased their activity levels in the 1990s and in the 2000s, managed to avoid excessive weight gain.

Effective strategy

Overweight and obesity are a major health problem that contributes to nearly five million deaths worldwide each year.

"We already know that physical activity is an effective strategy to minimize or prevent weight gain in adults. The new study, and previous PAI studies, indicate that PAI can guide people so that they get enough physical activity each week to avoid the health hazards of excessive weight gain," says researcher Nauman.

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BRIDGEPORT  Former Police Chief Armando AJ Perez and former personnel director David Dunn are heading for federal prison for cheating on the police chiefs exam but first they may have to make a stop in state court.

Both men are to be the star witnesses in a civil trial beginning Thursday challenging the selection of Rebeca Garcia as the Police Departments assistant chief. Garcia was made acting police chief following Perezs arrest.

Dunns lawyer, Frederick Paoletti Jr., declined comment. Perezs lawyer did not return calls for comment.

The suit was filed in December by captains Brian Fitzgerald, Steven Lougal and Roderick Porter. They claim that the appointment of Garcia to assistant chief is unlawful and invalid.

Thomas Bucci, who represents the three captains in the lawsuit, declined comment.

Earlier this month Perez was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and Dunn to four months in prison after they pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to rig the examination process that made Perez chief and lying to the FBI about it. Both are scheduled to surrender to federal prison officials next month.

But before that both men are expected to serve as witnesses in the civil trial before Superior Court Judge Barry Stevens. There is no jury and the trial is being held remotely.

Mayor Joseph Ganim was also scheduled to be a witness in the trial but in court papers Bucci indicates that instead he will submit the transcript of a deposition, a questioning session under oath, he did with the mayor.

Deputy City Attorney John Bohannon Jr. declined comment.

The lawsuit states that under the city charter the position of assistant chief is considered a classified service and must follow the competitive hiring provisions of the charter starting with a list of people eligible for the position and the scheduling of a competitive test for the job.

Garcia was instead appointed assistant chief.

The plaintiffs possess qualifications, in the least, equal to those of Captain Rebecca (sic) Garcia, and, under the City Charter must be allowed to compete for the position of assistant police chief, unless legitimately disqualified, the suit states.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Wednesday that it has made it mandatory for candidates and their agents to produce negative RT-PCR test reports or complete vaccination reports before entering ballot counting centres. Vote counting for the ongoing legislative assembly elections in five states and Puducherry is slated to begin on May 2.

"No candidates/agents will be allowed inside the counting hall without undergoing RT-PCR/RAT test or without having 2 doses of vaccination against Covid-19 and will have to produce negative RT-PCR report or RAT report or vaccination reports within 48 hours of start of counting," read an Election Commission notification.

The District Election Officer (DEO) will make arrangement for the RT-PCR tests of candidates as well as counting agents before the day of the final counting, according to the ECI notification. It also stated that no public gathering outside counting centres will be allowed during the process.

Earlier, ECI had banned victory processions by political parties after poll results on May 2 in view of the rising COVID-19 cases across the country. According to a communique issued by the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday, no more than two people will be allowed to accompany the candidate or their representatives to receive the certificate of election from the Returning Officer concerned.

ECI has made these announcements after the Madras High Court had observed that the Election Commission was responsible for the ragging second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The Madras High Court had stated, "Your institution is singularly responsible for the second wave of COVID-19. Election Commission officers should be booked on murder charges probably." It had warned ECI that it will stop counting of votes on May 2 if a proper plan to ensure strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols is not put in place.(Edited by Mohammad Haaris Beg)

Also Read: COVID-19 surge: EC bans victory processions after counting of votes on May 2

Also read: COVID-19 surge: 'Were you on another planet when election rallies were being held?' Madras HC to EC
Although the COVID pandemic temporarily has reduced its ability to engage the public, Charleston Countys Criminal Justice Coordinating Council is relying in part on community representatives to guide its actions.

The council consists of numerous criminal justice system leaders as well as local advocates of reform who represent various interests. During a virtual meeting April 27 meant to introduce current community representatives, the council welcomed the notion of enlarging the group.

The mission of the CJCC is to assist in making sustainable, data-driven improvements to Charleston Countys criminal justice system and thereby improve public safety and community well-being, said convener Magistrate Ellen Steinberg.

Founded in 2015, CJCC already has plucked some low-hanging fruit, prioritizing alternatives to jail for those enduring homelessness, mental illness, substance abuse and other problems.

CJCC members call it diverting and deflecting  providing assistance to certain people in need, and issuing warnings or tickets rather than arresting them. The initial goal was to reduce the jail population.

From 2014 to 2020, local bookings decreased 62 percent; the number of individuals processed in the criminal justice system fell 63 percent; and the local jail population declined 38 percent.

CJCC is off to a good start.

Administrator Kristy Danford said the goals are expanding now to include reforms to bookings, bond and reentry, case processing, recidivism and racial disparities.

Much of this agenda was set with help from community representatives.

It puts a personal face on a large collaboration, Danford said in an earlier interview.

Public meetings will be held quarterly. But CJCC members meet more often in workgroups focused on particular issues.

Current community representatives are:

Anthony Bishara, a psychology professor at the College of Charleston.

Michael Bowman, president of Father to Father Inc.

Adrian Cain, senior vice president of leadership and programs at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Lydia Cotton, Hispanic community advocate.

Areyonna Keels, an attorney and bilingual victim advocate.

Marcus Tyler McDonald, lead organizer of Charleston Black Lives Matter.

Otha Meadows, president and CEO of the Charleston Urban League.

Alexandra E. Menegakis, criminal defense attorney with Adams & Bischoff.

Keith Smalls, founder and director of My Communitys Keeper Mentor Group.

Adrian C. Swinton, project planner for the MUSC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan.

The Rev. David Truluck, executive director of SHIELD Ministries.

Lauren Williams, a criminal defense attorney with Williams & Walsh.

Organizers want members of the public to attend the quarterly meetings, interact with community representatives, and consider joining the effort.

Williams said she hopes the cash bond industry needs profound scrutiny. Cash bonds should become rare, she said.

She also advocated for alternative courts, such as a mental health court, drug addiction court, or homelessness court where people can find help and structure rather than imprisonment.

A day in jail can flip somebodys life upside down, she said.

Truluck said successful reform depends on addressing many issues together, and on recognizing that the criminal justice system impacts many people directly and indirectly.

Bishara said young people today are sensitized to social injustice, even when it doesnt impact them directly, and many of them are ready to act.

More information For more on the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and to learn how to get involved, visit its website at cjcc.charlestoncounty.org. To read CJCC's Strategic Plan, go to https://cjcc.charlestoncounty.org/files/2020-Strategic-Plan-FINAL.pdf.

Cotton said that effective change depends on grassroots efforts and an empowered community able to influence how things are done.

You need to let the community lead, she said.

In an earlier interview, Meadows said criminal justice reform ultimately requires change to policing policies and practices.

Police determine who gets arrested, and thats the start of journey through criminal justice system, he said. Interventions are needed before people get in trouble, and that requires an enormous coordinated effort that addresses poverty and unemployment, education, access to affordable health care and housing, transportation, child care and more.

It really requires us to look at it in a very holistic way, he said. Its all connected in some way or another to criminal justice.
He is the worlds doctor, and for months he tirelessly has led the global response to the coronavirus pandemic while privately nursing a piercing anguish.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, has largely kept his pain secret, maintaining a stoic public front. But when I probed, he wept.

Tedros is from Tigray, a part of Ethiopia that since November has endured crimes against humanity by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken properly has described atrocities in western Tigray as ethnic cleansing, but the world largely has been indifferent.

Tigrayan children are starving to death, men have been clubbed to death, and women and girls have been subjected to mass rape. Ethiopian opposition parties claim that more than 50,000 people have been killed, and the scale of torture, starvation, murder and destruction may have been the worst in the world.

Hunger is weaponized, rape is weaponized, there is indiscriminate killing, Tedros said. The whole region is hungry.

Its so painful, he added. I dont have words.

His cousin, a 68-year-old woman, was killed while trying to shelter in a church, he said. Another relative, a 16-year-old high school student, was shot in the street. Internet and telephone links have been cut off, so Tedros cant reach family members in Tigray to get more information about who has been tortured or murdered.

My New York Times colleague Declan Walsh has reported on atrocities such as a 26-year-old man being beaten to death with beer bottles and girls as young as 8 being sexually assaulted. The United Nations humanitarian chief, Mark Lowcock, described a woman whose husband was killed, who lost her unborn baby and who then was gang-raped in front of her children.

Even though Tedros is one of the worlds most recognized public servants, he may have become a refugee. He is now based at WHO headquarters in Geneva, but he probably would not be safe if he tried to return to Tigray. Ethiopias military chief has denounced him as a criminal.

Ive known and admired Tedros for 15 years, but periodically we have tangled over his deference to dictators. I asked Tedros about that, but he didnt want to discuss politics of any kind  including whether countries should pressure Ethiopia to stop the slaughter of Tigrayans. He seems deeply conflicted, torn between what he sees as a professional duty to his organization to be impartial, and the horror of an ethnic cleansing of his own people.

Presiding over these crimes against humanity in Tigray is Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, who came to power in 2018 and initially was hailed as a great reformer; he even won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. Abiy is a pro-Western figure over whom the United States has considerable influence  if only we will use it.

The Tigray crisis is rooted in ethnic tensions and a power struggle. For almost three decades, people from Tigray dominated Ethiopias central government; Tedros became Ethiopias highly regarded health minister in that period, then foreign minister. This Tigrayan-led government ruled effectively, greatly raising living standards, but it was also repressive, torturing critics, imprisoning journalists and stirring deep resentments among other Ethiopians.

After taking power, Abiy reined in Tigrayans and dispatched troops in November to crush what he said was a mutiny in the region. That triggered a civil war with Tigray fighters, and Eritreas army entered to back up Ethiopias forces. There is also a risk of a wider war involving Sudan.

All sides have committed atrocities, but the most credible allegations are against the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies.

As WHO chief, Tedros has tried to get vaccines distributed more equitably around the world, while dealing with President Donald Trumps appalling decision to pull the United States out of the WHO (overturned by President Joe Biden on his first day in office). In public, Tedros is focused on COVID-19 and has mostly kept quiet about atrocities in Tigray.

The public sees Tedros devoting every day to managing the pandemic, but privately he is also managing his pain about Tigray, said Dr. Annie Sparrow, an assistant professor at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine who was an adviser to Tedros.

Tedros was reluctant to give this interview, but when he did his torment was unmistakable. We have COVID and are doing our best. On top of that, to have this pain, he began, and then the stoic broke down. For more than a minute, he couldnt speak and sobbed.

I respect a man who loses it when contemplating war crimes. I wish more would. And I hope President Biden and other world leaders will hear that agony, on behalf of so many in Tigray who are being starved, raped and murdered, and will use their influence to end this catastrophe.

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF writes for The New York Times.
For Abene Clayton, who covers gun violence for the Guardian, theres been no way to avoid shooting after shooting: shootings at the hands of police, shootings at those Atlanta spas, at a grocery, at a FedEx facility. But its especially overwhelming because Clayton has committed herself to keeping track of all kinds of gun deathsnot just the ones that make national headlines. When I first spoke with her, she casually mentioned four people who were killed in an office building in Orange County at the end of March. Then she told the story of an 18-year-old named Demetrius Fleming-Davis who was killed by a stray bullet a couple of weeks back. Clayton wants you to know that behind all of the victims you know are so many victims you dont. She worries about that, about the way it warps our understanding of how to prevent the next shooting and the one after that. On Wednesdays episode of What Next, I spoke with Clayton about what she believes to be better way and more accurate way to have a national conversation about gun violence. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Abene Clayton: Its tough. Its been really difficult to keep track. I have a running tally in my mind, but in the past few weeks, its all become, frankly, a bit muddled and overwhelming.

We do not know most of the names of people who are killed unless youre plugged in. Im on a group on Facebook called Who Murdered My Child. People will post the names of their loved ones who are on a breaking news story thats just described as Man Shot on X Block. Sometimes well go back and identify a victim, but its so rare.

There are so many lies that we tell ourselves about shootings. There are still a lot of people who work under the assumption that gun violence just happens in certain places, that its happenstance, a byproduct of choosing to live in a bad neighborhood.

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Mary Harris: Do you feel like Americans are being lied to?

I dont think that theyre getting the full picture. I think if you want to call it a lie by omission, that would be perhaps fair.

The vast majority of gun deaths are going unreported on a national level. The reason many people felt like 2020 was a kind of cooling off period was that the shootings that did happen were the kind that dont get a lot of attentionthe result of community violence. These are the kinds of shootings that get covered by local news, and no one else.

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You wrote an op-ed that pointed out that 2020 had more gun deaths than 20194,000 more. But there wasnt a major news cycle about mass shootings because a lot of these shootings were at the community level, local, reported in this anonymous way where its impossible to say someones name if you dont know their name.

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Exactly. Rarely do we get enough information to do anything meaningful. I keep reiterating that thats why it takes being plugged in with folks. Im grateful to now have people who send me names and phone numbers and sometimes send them without me having to ask, because they know I do good and responsible work. But that is rare.

Is it a trust issue? What do you think about why these incidents dont get the kind of attention that they may merit?

I dont think so, because people want their loved ones names out there. There is this propensity for some reporters to ask about any possible criminal background of someone who is deceased, which in most situations I dont see as being necessary but is a fair question to ask, and I have to do it sometimes as well. But sometimes there are reporters who season on sensationalism or will only tie these deaths to the increase in gun violence without actually just doing a story about the person. It might have been a shootout and someone loses their life in retaliatory gunfire, which makes people nervous. That person still lost their life and they can be written about and you can write about the complications that come with their death. You can ask those questions.

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I wonder if you think about community violence and wonder whether it would be a double-edged sword these incidents got more attention, because you saw how Donald Trump referred to violence in Chicago, talking about gang warfare. Thats not the reality of whats happening on the ground. Its a racist perception of reality.

I think the racist perception is the key. If you want to talk about community violencethere are gangs, there are groups, and there are people who have beef with one another and deal with those beefs with gunstalk to the community about what kind of trauma that is. Talk to the schools, which have to deal with children coming in and being traumatized. Dig into what it is like and how it affects young people to hear gun violence, to hear about people being killed, to see on the news folks their age who look exactly like them being gunned down in places that they frequent. There are so many stories of resilience, of people taking this issue on their shoulders, using their dollars solely to make it right. If you start to dig in, in a way where you want to learn and not play into any negative stereotypes, I think it could be helpful. But saturating coverage with more of gang warfare, Democratic-run cities burned to the ground with gun violence, we dont need any more of that. It is not helpful.

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You talk about how suicides are a major driver of gun violence, but they often dont get reported as such. Youve also alluded to the fact that some places just wouldnt report on suicides. Can you talk about why you think this obfuscation happens?

From my understanding, theres a worry that talking about someone dying from suicide can spark something in someone who perhaps already suicidal ideation and push them over the edge. With that worry, there is also an acknowledgment that a lot of people in news are not equipped to talk about this in a productive way that were comfortable with. It just adds to a negative stigma that already exists. I think the numbers in certain places may have changed a bit, but mostly its middle-age or boomer-age white men in rural places who are dying by suicide. So few people know that. Its out of that caution that people stay silent.

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If we were able to reduce suicides and community violence, if we focused in on those issues in particular, do we have any idea of the scope of what we could do? Like, what would it change about gun violence as a whole?

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Well, it would drop it dramatically. Two-thirds of gun violence is suicides. And after that is incidents of community violence. So, if we were to address these two main drivers, the drop would just be so dramatic. It wouldnt completely eliminate gun violence, but I think we would start to see such a steep decline that people would ask, what is going on? Because these are the two biggest ways gun violence manifests itself.

"If we were to address these two main drivers, the drop in gun violence would just be so dramatic."  Abene Clayton

This makes painfully clear that our current approach to gun control is not designed to stop these kinds of incidents. Youve said community violence requires community intervention, and that thinking about gun violence as a physical and a mental health problem would go a long way.

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Lets say someone was shot. You may come to school and not know why you cant pay attention. You may come to school and be irritated. In grad school, there was a shooting that happened right by my house, and I came to school the next day. If Id been in elementary school, they would have probably sent me to the principals office because I was angry that day. I did not want to talk to anybody. In so many schools with young Black and brown kids, administrators see that as being defiant or disrespectful. So, theres a lot of education that can happen for both teachers and young people: about the realities of gun violence and how it affects them when a young person is like, I cant sleep, I cant do this, I cant do that, and they think theres something wrong with them. If they already had that knowledge that gun violence affects you physically and mentally, then maybe theyll be able to talk about it a little better. Theyll be able to express themselves more. But I dont think thats going to happen if we dont have these clear conversations in schools.

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You come to school, youve got your hood on, youre mad. You dont want to talk. You dont want to do your work because youre stressed. Youre sad, youre angry, youre confused. That is how a lot of young people have their first brushes with police. Sometimes the police are like, Weve got to keep an eye on this kid. Maybe we need to talk to juvenile probation about them. And then that just pushes them more and more into the margins. It makes it easier for those influences that are in the streets to kind of grab them.

I saw that start to happen as soon as I was 12, in middle school. I saw it happen to kids who were my age, my peers. They start to get arrested because they come to school in that state, and now all of a sudden, theyre getting referrals and getting kicked out and getting arrested, and then they get sent to a continuation school and it just goes downhill from there. I see it happen all the time, and it continues to happen.

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Lets talk a little bit about who the violence interrupters are. You reported on one antigun violence program that seems to be working well in Stockton, California. Can you tell me what you saw there?

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They reach out and target the people who are deemed the most dangerous, the most likely to be shooters, who may have done some shooting in their pastthey offer them resources, they are very clear and tell them they cannot continue to live their life this way, and they try to teach them to value themselves. Its not going in there with the scared-straight, youre-going-to-end up-in-prison stuff. Its teaching them that they have options, they have value, they can contribute to their community. They can live a full life. They dont have to solve their conflicts with guns. The program gives them job placement opportunities, resources for mental health car and education, food in the refrigerator, perhaps transportation to and from their job, like a bus stipend. And the program targets the very small population in a city thats responsible for the most violence.

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It sounds like theyre just taking care of people. You have reported that once this group really got going, Stockton saw a 20 percent drop in gun homicides and the city calculated that it saved $42 million from not having to respond to reports about gunshots and people harming one another.

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I think a lot of people may have heard of the violence interrupters in Chicago, but it seems like these programs have been going on for a really long time. And I cant tell how effective theyve been because, for instance, I look at Chicago and the gun violence has gone up. I guess Im not sure what to make of it, and Im wondering what youd say.

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I would say that the pandemic created some incredibly difficult circumstances for folks. I actually did a story about the rise in gun violence specifically in the Bay Area. What I heard from so many violence interrupters and people who are dedicated to youth development in was that the loss of in-person interaction just took such a huge toll. A main tenet of violence prevention work is showing up consistently for young people who have been failed by every system theyve come in contact with.

So if you disappear, its a problem.

Yeah. Even if you slightly disappear, because everything has to be through text and Zoom, or because one violence interrupter is out with COVID  these programs are so small as is.

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Are they scalable? They seem so based on individual relationships and individual communities. So I look at that and think, is that hard to replicate?

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No, I think that the Stockton story that I did really shows that it is scalable. This is something that started in Richmond, California, has started also in Sacramento, where they saw similar returns. The Stockton one is showing a lot of promise. Theyre opening another branch in a city called Woodland thats very small but is dealing with a lot of issues of gun violence in a very small pocket of the community. If its funded correctly and if people have the right training, it can be replicated. Every city can have one that operates outside of law enforcement and that may not even be housed within a municipality but exists and is sustainably funded. Its so possible. Thats something I would love to see. I think we have a growing body of evidence that proves when you get the people who were the problem at one point and, once they transform, put them right back into the community so they can see their younger selves in the young folks they work with and give them what the interrupters themselves needed when they were kidsits so possible.

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I noticed that $5 billion in the infrastructure package is earmarked for programs like this. You mentioned how funding has been a challenge for these groups. Does this make you hopeful?

I think I am. Its really easy to become cynical in this job because Ive seen so many nonprofits that say, X amount of grant money is supposed to go toward this, and then the majority goes toward administrative costs. Theres so much red tape for these small groups that no one actually gets much of the money in a meaningful way.

But I will say, its unprecedented for me to even see a president talk about the fact that the burden of gun violence in communities of color is something that needs to be addressed at the federal level. I think that even starting that conversation has made people want to talk to me about it. Ive been talking about this for the past couple of years. Now that its being discussed on this national and federal scale, people are interested. They want to know whats going on. I think that presents a really excellent opportunity to do some of the myth-busting and debunking that I try to do in my work. And I think that the $5 billion, if it is passed, would be incredible.

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Hyderabad, April 28 : The Telangana State Election Commission said it has made elaborate arrangements for the elections to be held in two municipal corporations and five municipalities on Friday.

Polling will also be held for the by-elections to four wards in four municipalities and one ward in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) State Election Commissioner C. Parthasarathi on Wednesday held a review on the elections to the Greater Warangal and Khammam Municipal Corporations and Siddipet, Jadcherla, Atchampet Kothur, and Nakrekal municipalities He instructed all the concerned to monitor the elections closely following the guidelines issued by the SEC in view of the Covid-19 and to conduct elections in safe and peaceful manner.

A total of 11,59,112 voters including 5,84,963 women are eligible to cast their votes in these elections.

As many as 1,307 candidates including 480 independents are in the fray in two corporations and five municipalities. Fourteen candidates are testing their political fortunes in four wards, while five candidates are in fray in Lingojiguda ward in GHMC.

The poll authorities have set up 1,539 polling stations and will deploy 9,809 polling personnel for smooth conduct of elections.

To ensure compliance of Covid-19 protocol, the authorities have procured 28,810 masks (two masks per person), 14,505 face shields, 22,910 hand gloves (two pairs per person, 18,455 bottles of hand sanitizer and 22,230 rings marked for queues of voters at polling stations indicating social distancing.

The SEC has also issued certain guidelines to be followed during conduct of elections. Every person shall wear mask during election related activity. The guidelines include sanitisers to be made available at the entry of polling station, social distancing to be maintained as per Covid-19 guidelines, use of ArogyaSetu App by all persons involved in elections, mandatory sanitisation of polling stations, marking to demonstrate social distancing for queue lines near polling stations, kit containing one mask, sanitizer and face shield to be given to every polling personnel, postal ballot for voters who tested Covid positive after April 15 and PPE kits to the staff carrying ballot boxes.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Nikki Haley defends picture with Caitlyn Jenner, appreciates 'her conservative views'

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Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has defended her decision to pose for a picture with trans-identified celebrity Caitlyn Jenner after the two became the subject of a Twitter thread discussing the downfall of the Republican Party.

In a tweet Saturday, Twitter user @rightwingsavag2 asked: If you could summarize the downfall of the @gop in one photo what would it look like? And why is it this photo?

The tweet was accompanied by a photo of Haley, who later served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under former President Donald Trump, standing beside former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner, who for the last several years has identified as Caitlyn.

We BeCaMe TrAnS To OwN ThE LiBs. ChEcKmAtE BiGoTs.



-2021 Republicans pic.twitter.com/5lz2AXrTxw  rightwingsavages (@rightwingsavag2) April 25, 2021

The user answered his or her own question as to why that picture captured the downfall of the Republican Party, declaring: We became trans to own the libs. Checkmate bigots. -Republicans 2021.

Actor Dean Cain, a prominent Hollywood conservative, retweeted the post, accompanied by the caption Dang it. I laughed.

In response to Cains tweet, Haley responded by tweeting, I dont find it funny.

Caitlin came to see me at the UN and I appreciated her conservative views," Haley wrote. "I will continue to think that the Republican Party is one of conservative views by all people regardless of the demographics. To me, thats not funny, its America.

Cain replied:

The humor, and what I found funny  was the way the tweet was worded. Had nothing to do with conservative views, or you, or Caitlin, or the UN, or America. Caitlin and I have been friends for decades.

The humor, and what I found funny - was the way the tweet was worded. Had nothing to do with conservative views or you, or Caitlin, or the UN, or America. Caitlin and I have been friend for decades. ??????????  Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) April 26, 2021

The post citing Haley and Jenner standing together as a summary of the downfall of the Republican Party came just one day after Jenner became the latest declared candidate in the yet-to-be-announced California recall election.

Im in! California is worth fighting for, Jenner proclaimed in a Friday tweet accompanied by a statement announcing the launch of the Caitlyn for California campaign.

For the past decade, we have seen the glimmer of the Golden State reduced by one-party rule that places politics over progress and special interests over people, Jenner argued. This isnt the California we know. This is Gavin Newsoms California, where he orders us to stay home but goes out to dinner with his lobbyist friends.

The aforementioned private dinner between Newsom and lobbyists at an upscale California restaurant that took place as residents of the state were instructed to stay home and not travel for Thanksgiving is seen as the event that accelerated the push to recall Newsom.

Supporters of the recall effort have gathered the required number of signatures to force a recall. But a date for the election has not been finalized.

Other Republicans seeking to unseat Newsom include Kevin Faulconer, the former mayor of San Diego, Californias second-largest city; 2018 Republican gubernatorial nominee John Cox; and former Congressman Doug Ose.

In the 2018 gubernatorial election, Cox lost to Newsom by nearly 24 percentage points.

While members of the LGBT community generally favor the Democratic Party, Jenner has expressed support for conservatism and the Republican Party going back to 2015, when Jenner, who still identified as Bruce at the time, sat down for an interview with ABC Newss Diane Sawyer.

Although his declaration that Im a woman was the main headline from the interview, Jenner also said, Ive just never been a big fan of then-President Barack Obama because Im kind of more on the conservative side.

The athlete turned reality TV star answered in the affirmative when Sawyer asked, Are you a Republican?

In addition to Jenner, Haley is also seen as a Republican who aspires to run for a higher office. Haley is frequently mentioned as a possible candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.

Haley has been met with criticism from some in the Republican Party and the conservative movement for her views on foreign policy and insufficient loyalty to Trump, still an enormously popular figure among the GOP base.

Skepticism of Haley among conservatives dates back to January 2016, when Haley provided the response to then-President Obamas State of the Union Speech and used her platform to take veiled swipes at then-candidate Trump.

In a straw poll taken at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual gathering of grassroots conservative activists, Haley received 3% support in a hypothetical Republican presidential primary that included Trump, making her the fourth-most popular hypothetical candidate of those listed.

In a hypothetical field without Trump as a candidate, Haleys support was also measured at 3%, making her tied for sixth place.
The Ministry of Finance has asked the public to disregard a "fake letter" that claims that the government has placed a hold on recruitment in the State Security Institutions.



The Ministry in a press release said the letter is an attempt by some unscrupulous persons to create mischief.



"The attention of the Ministry of Finance has been drawn to a letter circulating in the media space and purportedly signed by the Minister for Finance, which seeks to indicate that the President of the Republic has through the Ministry of Finance placed a hold on recruitment in the State Security Institutions," the release states.



"The Ministry hereby informs stakeholders and the general public that, the said letter is fake and should be disregarded".



More to follow...



PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



GOVERNMENT HAS NOT SUSPENDED RECRUITMENT INTO STATE SECURITY AGENCIES



1. The attention of the Ministry of Finance has been drawn to a letter circulating in the media space and purportedly signed by the Minister for Finance, which seeks to indicate that the President of the Republic has through the Ministry of Finance placed a hold on recruitment in the State Security Institutions.



2. The Ministry hereby informs stakeholders and the general public that, the said letter is fake and should be disregarded.



3. We wish to assure all stakeholders that the Ministry is focused on delivering on its mandate through the 2021 Budget and the Ghana CARES programme to ensure quick economic recovery and structural economic transformation.



4. We entreat all Ghanaians to disregard the letter in its entirety as it smacks of an attempt by unscrupulous persons to create mischief.



ISSUED BY THE PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT

MINISTRY OF FINANCE



THE NEWS EDITOR











Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Beijing  The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) China and China Centre for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE) have released the report entitled Paving the way for low- carbon development globally and along the Belt and Road , in a launch event sponsored by Huzhou City and Changxing county, guiding governments on how to achieve a low-carbon future.

The report discusses key challenges and opportunities in green development, along with practical policy recommendations with the aim of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, to end poverty and protect our planet.

Shifting to a low carbon path will require developing, deploying and transferring clean energy technologies at scale through broad international and interregional energy cooperation, said Beate Trankmann, UNDP Resident Representative in China.

The report provides three key pathways to facilitate low-carbon development within China and globally: firstly, boosting innovation, development and transfer of clean energy; secondly, channeling investment and funding towards low-carbon projects; and thirdly, strengthening human resource and institutional capacities.

Key bottlenecks to sustainable development this report seeks to overcome include the irregular availability of renewable energy sources and the often-great distances between their generation and consumption. As a solution, it recommends improving energy flexibility, including through grid-scale battery storage and integrating networks.

The report also suggests evaluating investment proposals using aligned and harmonized sustainability standards forged through collaboration, so development cooperation projects can better support green growth and the SDGs. It also calls for new financing tools to boost renewables, while expanding policy incentives to facilitate green projects.

The report sets out why it is in Chinas interest to help advance low-carbon development globally including along the Belt and Road. It also offers concrete steps for how China can achieve its new pledge to peak emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

In particular, it points to the tipping point reached in 2020, when the cost of new electricity generation capacity from renewables over the assets lifetimes fell below that of fossil fuels, in China and most countries. It also analyses the competitive advantage Chinese renewable technology suppliers often have due to the scale of production they have already reached. Further, it assesses the possible emergence of stranded fossil fuel assets and the role carbon pricing could play.

Decisive, international climate action is vital to contain the global rise in average temperatures within the Paris Goal of a maximum of 1.5 degree Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels. Currently, the world is on track for a catastrophic 3-degree Celsius rise, which would leave hundreds of cities under water by the middle of this century, including Shanghais Bund and Pudong area.

To achieve green and low-carbon development is one of the most critical international consensuses, said Xiaoqiang Zhang, CCIEE Executive Vice Chariman and Director of the CCIEE Executive Board. The Chinese government attaches great importance to environmental protection and low-carbon development and adheres to an ecology-first, green and low-carbon path of development, with comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development as the lead, and green and low-carbon development of energy as the key.

Ms. Trankmann emphasized that China is not only affected by climate change, but also plays a pivotal role in fighting it due to the size of its population, economy, manufacturing capacity and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the scale of financing and investments to other countries.

China has the potential to be a critical channel for advancing low-carbon development both domestically and in its international cooperation, she said.

The launch applies the reports evidence and analysis in a discussion by eminent experts of specific ways in which the findings can support sustainable development in China and globally.

About UNDP

UNDP has been working with the Government of China on energy efficiency projects for more than 20 years. It also assists China in implementing the SDGs, promoting the transition to a low-carbon economy, protecting biodiversity and helping China to grow further into its role as a development partner for the world.
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden is putting the finishing touches on his first address to a joint session of Congress, a prime-time speech on Wednesday night on the eve of his 100th day in office.

Biden will use the speech before lawmakers and a broader viewing audience to talk about what hes accomplished in the opening months of his presidency and to lay out his other domestic and foreign policy priorities.

WHEN AND WHERE CAN I WATCH OR LISTEN?

The speech is set for 9 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast by the major networks and cable news TV channels. The White House plans to stream it at WH.gov/live, as well as on its YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages. Live coverage will also be provided by C-SPAN, C-SPAN Radio and C-SPAN.org. NPR is streaming the speech on its website, npr.org, and on its app, in addition to offering live coverage to its member radio stations.

Vice President Kamala Harris (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, file)

HOW WILL THE SETTING BE DIFFERENT?

Attendance is limited to allow for social distancing, meaning there wont be any visuals of lawmakers and others sitting shoulder to shoulder during the address. Just about 200 of the 535 members of Congress received tickets to attend, and they arent allowed to bring guests.

With the House out of session, many Republicans from that chamber are expected to skip the event, making it more likely that Biden will end up addressing a mostly friendly Democratic audience. Senators are in town, but some Republicans from that chamber are expected to skip the speech, too.

Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the GOP leadership from Texas, said he plans to watch from his couch. Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, a member of House GOP leadership, said he was giving his ticket to a freshman lawmaker.

The majority of Bidens Cabinet members will listen from home. Just Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be on hand to represent the executive branch of government. Chief Justice John Roberts will represent the judicial branch, with other Supreme Court justices similarly staying away.

With guests banned this year, some lawmakers  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi among them  have invited virtual guests.

Everyone will wear a mask, a current requirement for the House chamber. Biden will wear one for the presidents traditional walk down the center aisle to the rostrum, but hell take it off to deliver the speech, the White House said.

WHAT WILL WE LEARN ABOUT BIDENS PRIORITIES?

Biden is expected to outline details of his American Families Plan, another big piece of legislation he wants Congress to pass.

The plan is expected to focus on so-called human infrastructure  child care, health care, education and other ways to support households. Biden wants to pay for it by hiking taxes on very high-income households.

The president is also expected to discuss his ideas for getting the pandemic under control and putting people back to work. Hell also talk about changes to policing in America, immigration and gun safety, among other topics, in addition to his foreign policy vision. Legislators are waiting to hear how Biden prioritizes his goals.

First Lady Jill Biden lands at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport for a visit to Birmingham. (Joe Songer for AL.com, file).Joe Songer for AL.com

WHAT ABOUT THE FIRST LADY?

First lady Jill Biden will attend, but dont expect the president to look toward her box in the gallery and give shout-outs to special guests seated with her to help humanize particular policies. That tradition has been set aside due to limits on the number of people who can be in the House chamber.

Instead, Jill Bidens guests  all with personal ties to her husbands policies or plans  will be watching remotely after being honored in the afternoon with a virtual reception. The White House will livestream that event at 4 p.m.

Doug Emhoff, the spouse of Vice President Kamala Harris, will also attend Bidens speech.

WILL THERE BE ANY ANTICS?

Partisan tensions have deepened at the Capitol since the Jan. 6 insurrection, but its impossible to know who might throw decorum to the wind and misbehave.

Who expected Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina to shout you lie! at Democratic President Barack Obama during a 2009 speech to a joint session of Congress? Or Pelosi to tear up her copy of President Donald Trumps State of the Union speech after he finished last year and she stood behind him on the rostrum?

SPEAKING OF THE ROSTRUM ...

History will be made there when, for the first time, two women will form the backdrop for a presidential address to Congress.

Pelosi will return to her seat on the rostrum. Joining her will be another California Democrat  Harris in her role as president of the Senate. Harris is the first woman, Black person and Indian American to be vice president.

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2020, file photo, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., arrives at the Senate at the Capitol in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite | AP Photo)J. Scott Applewhite | AP Photo

WHICH REPUBLICAN DELIVERS A REBUTTAL TO BIDEN?

The task was assigned to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the Senates only Black Republican. Scott, 55, who joined the Senate in 2013, has become a leading GOP voice on race and criminal justice reform issues, two issues Biden is expected to discuss.

More:

Regulate social media more or risk democracys end, researchers tell senators

$15 minimum wage ordered for federal contract workers
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-27 15:48:05|Editor: huaxia

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Damaged buses are seen at the site of a road accident in Arghandi area on the outskirts of Afghan capital city Kabul, April 27, 2021. Seven commuters lost lives and 70 others sustained injury as two passenger buses collided outside Kabul on Monday night, Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said Tuesday. (Str/Xinhua)

KABUL, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Seven commuters lost lives and 70 others sustained injury as two passenger buses collided outside Kabul on Monday night, Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said Tuesday.

A Kabul-Kandahar bound bus heading towards the southern Kandahar city collided with a bus coming from opposite direction in Arghandi area outside Kabul city late Monday, Arian confirmed without providing more details.

This is the second deadly traffic accident in Afghanistan since Thursday.

On Thursday, a total of 15 travelers lost lives and eight others were injured as a mini-bus collided with a truck coming from opposite direction in the southern Zabul province.

Congested roads, security incidents and reckless driving, according to traffic police officials, often cause deadly road accidents in the insurgency-battered country. Enditem
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.  Body camera footage of sheriff's deputies fatally shooting a Black man won't immediately be released after a judge ruled Wednesday to allow at least a month for state authorities to complete an investigation into the shooting.

Andrew Brown Jr.'s family will be allowed to view additional footage of his death within 10 days, Judge Jeff Foster ruled. He also would reconsider whether to release the videos in 30 to 45 days after the State Bureau of Investigation completes its inquiry and a charging decision can be made.

The ruling comes after a week in which public outrage over a lack of information on the incident has been building and amid a chorus of demands for accountability and transparency in nightly peaceful protests.

Brown was shot five times, including once in the back of the head, by deputies serving warrants at his home in Elizabeth City last Wednesday, an independent autopsy commissioned by his family and released Tuesday showed.

Foster said he is not releasing the video out of concern that it could hamper the investigation and threaten the safety of those in the footage.

Foster also ruled that Brown's son, his immediate family and one attorney will be allowed to see five videos from body cameras and one from a dashboard camera but that the faces and identification badges of the deputies should be blurred and certain segments could still be redacted. Earlier this week, they were shown a short, edited clip of the shooting.

North Carolina law allows agencies to show the video to family members privately.

During the hearing, District Attorney Andrew Womble challenged a Brown family attorney's account of what occurs in the video, saying the footage shows Brown driving forward and his vehicle making contact with law enforcement officers twice before any shots are fired.

"It is then and only then that you hear shots, said Womble, adding that officers shouted commands and tried to open a car door before firing.

Story continues

Attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter had said the bodycam video the family saw Monday showed Brown with his hands on the steering wheel of his car and not a threat to deputies, who fired as he backed his vehicle out and tried to drive away. Womble said Lassiter's description was "patently false."

In response to Wombles remarks in court, she defended her description of the footage.

At no time have I given any misrepresentations. I still stand by what I saw in that clip, Cherry-Lassiter said, adding that she watched the clip over and over, taking notes.

Independent autopsy: Andrew Brown Jr. shot 5 times, once fatally in back of his head

The Pasquotank County Attorney on behalf of the sheriff's office and a coalition of media organizations, including Gannett, the parent company of USA TODAY, argued that the video should be released.

Womble, who oversees Pasquotank County, sought the delay, citing concerns about any potential defendants' right to a fair trial. If video were released and he brought criminal charges, Womble said, it could bias the jury.

Womble also argued releasing the video might affect what witnesses tell state authorities who are investigating the shooting. Womble said he wouldn't object to the video's release if his office does not bring charges.

Demonstrators gather in Elizabeth City, N.C., on Tuesday to demand accountability and justice after sheriff's deputies fatally shot Andrew Brown Jr. last week.

Arguing on behalf of the media organizations, attorney Mike Tadych said releasing the videos was in the public interest and could help dispel any rumors about what happened in Brown's death.

Tadych said he has worked on cases where video has been released and it has not led to a biased jury. He also cited public demands for police accountability nationwide as evidence of the public interest in the video.

Foster said the media does not have standing to have the video released to them, but the sheriff's office, seeking to release the video to Brown's adult son, does.

Brown's son, Khalil Ferebee, has said the clip the family saw showed his father being "executed."

In a statement, lawyers for Brown's family said they were disappointed by the decision not to release the footage and would keep up pressure in the case.

"In this modern civil rights crisis where we see Black people killed by the police everywhere we look, video evidence is the key to discerning the truth and getting well-deserved justice for victims of senseless murders," said the lawyers, including Cherry-Lassiter, Ben Crump, Bakari Sellers and Harry Daniels.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten also said he was disappointed by the decision but would respect the judge's ruling.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday called for a special prosecutor to handle the case and any decision on potential criminal charges. The FBI's Charlotte field office said it had opened a civil rights investigation into Brown's death.

Multiple sheriff's deputies serving arrest and search warrants at Brown's home fired shots last Wednesday, Wooten has said. Seven deputies are on leave while the State Bureau of Investigation looks into the case.

Brown's warrants were tied to alleged drug offenses, police say. On Tuesday, Crump tweeted a clip of what he called "the militarized police force rushing to kill Andrew Brown,'' showing a truck with the word "sheriff'' painted on the side and packed with armed personnel.

Crump also tweeted that the video was provided by the Elizabeth City Council, but USA TODAY could not verify whether the deputies portrayed in the video were the actual deputies on their way to serve Brown the warrant.

WAVY-TV reported the video was taken by a city-owned camera mounted on a utility pole on Browns street

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Pastors and evangelical leaders across the state on Wednesday converged on the spot where Brown was shot to condemn the killing and reassure the community.

"This is well-needed and overdue," said the Rev. Richard Robinson. "The faith-based community should take the lead on this."

Elizabeth City resident Jessica Kelly said she believes authorities are hiding behind the law to keep footage of Brown's shooting from the public.

But even if they release the tape to everyone, that doesnt remedy the situation, she said.

Brown's death came one day after a jury in Minneapolis found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd and a day before a funeral was held for Daunte Wright, a Black man in Minnesota shot by an officer during a traffic stop.

A funeral for Brown is scheduled for Monday, and civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton will delivery the eulogy. Sharpton also delivered the eulogy at Wright's funeral.

On Tuesday, another night of protests continued in Elizabeth City. The mayor had declared a state of emergency before any possible video release and a curfew was in effect.

It seems like every week we say no justice, no peace, but nothing gets better,'' Kirk Rivers, brother of Pasquotank County NAACP President Keith Rivers, said as he led a group of marchers. "We should all be tired of this so it doesn't become a weekly event. They have to improve the training. They have to improve community policing."

Family seeks answers: Why did police fatally shoot Andrew Brown Jr.?

Earlier Tuesday, Brown's family's attorneys released results from an autopsy the family commissioned. The independent exam showed Brown was shot four times in an arm and once in the back of the head.

"He left, tried to save his life and they continued to shoot and put a bullet in the back of his head," Daniels said.

Its obvious he was trying to get away. Its obvious. And theyre going to shoot him in the back of the head? Ferebee added.

The family's lawyers said they welcomed the FBI's involvement in the case to "overcome any local bias that may prevent justice from being served." The bureau said it would work closely with the Justice Department "to determine whether federal laws were violated."

Womble said in a statement that state law gives him the power to decide on prosecuting crimes in his district and he stands ready, willing and able to fulfill my statutory obligations.

Cooper, though, said a special prosecutor should handle the case. This would help assure the community and Mr. Browns family that a decision on pursuing criminal charges is conducted without bias, Cooper said in a statement.

State Attorney General Josh Stein said his office has offered assistance to the local prosecutor and cannot intervene unless asked.

Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Andrew Brown Jr. bodycam footage won't be released, judge rules
LONDON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Finastra has announced BANK OF AFRICA, a pan-African financial group, has selected Conpend's TRADE AI app from its open innovation platform, FusionFabric.cloud. The app extends the functionality of Finastra's Fusion Trade Innovation technology and enables users to reduce document and compliance checking time. It digitizes trade finance processes, using optical character recognition (OCR), natural language processing (NLP) and progressive machine learning to reduce the risk and cost of trade finance operations.

"The solution will improve our trade finance operations by speeding up the approval of trade finance documents. We expect it will digitize manual, paper-based processes, reduce processing time by 30 per cent, and reduce trade finance risk levels by up to 80 per cent. Having access to third-party apps was a clear differentiator when looking at trade finance solutions," said Leila Bahoum, Board member in charge of Trade Finance Operations from OGS Subsidiary of BANK OF AFRICA.

Conpend TRADE AI extracts unstructured data from scanned paper documents and can also process already digitized data. The data is then screened and analyzed, using rules and advanced analytics, to empower business users to make informed business decisions quickly and accurately. It is fully compliant with all major global regulations and automatically performs all necessary compliance checks for a trade transaction. This includes money laundering screening and handling alerts during the screening process, which dramatically reduces false positives and time spent on decision-making. The solution also enables vessel checking and voyage tracking to support goods in transit.

Marc Smith, Founder and Director, Conpend said, "We're so pleased that BANK OF AFRICA has chosen to plug our innovative technology into its systems. This is one of the big benefits of us making our app available on Finastra's FusionFabric.cloud. We've been able to build our solution out quickly on the platform and make it available to banks around the world in support of Finastra's vision of openness and collaboration."

Anastasia McAlpine, Principal Product Manager, Trade and Supply Chain Finance at Finastra said, "This is another great example of banks and fintechs collaborating to bring innovative technology to market fast. We are confident BANK OF AFRICA will realize great results with the Conpend Trade AI app and look forward to other banks tapping into this opportunity to further enhance the functionality of our Fusion Trade Innovation."

For more information about Conpend's TRADE AI app on FusionFabric.cloud visit: https://store.fusionfabric.cloud/details/tradeai/

For further information please contact:

Caroline Duff

Global Head of PR

T +44 (0)7917 613586

E [email protected]

finastra.com

About BANK OF AFRICA

BANK OF AFRICA is a multi-business universal banking group and one of Africa's leading financial institutions. Its wide range of business activities includes commercial banking, investment banking, bank-insurance and asset management. BANK OF AFRICA, established in 1959, is Morocco's most internationally-oriented banking group with operations in 31 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America, the Group employs more than 15 200 employees. Its 1,800 branches serve 6.6 million customers. BANK OF AFRICA is a leading player in environmental matters and corporate social responsibility. BANK OF AFRICA Foundation aims to promote education in rural areas for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and to contribute to environmental protection in Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa. Learn more at bankofafrica.ma

About Finastra

Finastra is building an open platform that accelerates collaboration and innovation in financial services, creating better experiences for people, businesses and communities. Supported by the broadest and deepest portfolio of financial services software, Finastra delivers this vitally important technology to financial institutions of all sizes across the globe, including 90 of the world's top 100 banks. Our open architecture approach brings together a number of partners and innovators. Together we are leading the way in which applications are written, deployed and consumed in financial services to evolve with the changing needs of customers. Learn more at finastra.com

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At the age of 45, I found myself living at home with my mother in the middle of the pandemic. It felt like being in prison.

My room was a 10ft by 10ft square. A box, with a single bed. There was nowhere to hang my clothes, so my suitcase remained full on the floor. I slept, I got up, I wrote, I took my anti-depressant medication and HRT.

I went for a walk around the block once a day, like daily exercise around the prison yard. I ate in the canteen with mum. And she might, or might not, have been bullying me. After three months, I started fearing for my mental health.

How did this happen? How did I end up there?

Four months ago, I returned to England after 11 years of living in Australia, where I was a freelance journalist. I moved there so my then eight-year-old daughter could see her dad when he moved for work, after we divorced. He got a job as a TV director and I wanted our daughter to have us both in her life, so we upped sticks, too.

Now 19 years old, she has gone to college, so I have returned home to the UK to find work and restart my life.

Living on the other side of the world, I had been worried that my mother would die and I wouldnt have seen her, which would leave me living with horrific regret and guilt.

Alice Smith, 45, said it was like 'being in prison' when she moved back in with her mother when she returned to the UK after 11 years in Australia (stock image)

The pandemic aggravated those feelings, so I came back to the UK and asked to stay with her in her two-bedroom terrace cottage in Suffolk for a few months, hoping we could reconnect. I wanted to make sure she felt loved by me.

It was evident, as soon as I arrived home in late December, that my mum, who has lived alone since my dad left 30 years ago, was scared, negative and strained.

She hadnt been outside in months. She was terrified of getting Covid and, even though I spent two weeks in quarantine in an Airbnb, she wouldnt come anywhere near me.

Neither would she make space for me. She didnt clear any drawers or cupboards, so I couldnt unpack my suitcase. She didnt want me working in the main living room, which meant I ended up in my 10ft square bedroom for nearly 24 hours a day.

I thought, to break the ice, we should cook together. But I found together is not an operative word, either. My mum instructed me on how to prepare every vegetable, rinse every plate, cook every item, to the point where her abject criticisms meant I ended up standing back and watching her do it.

This extended to my inability to wash and hang up clothes, keep to her time schedule for meals and turn off lights.

How is it possible for you to be so useless at your age? she said daily. And even though Ive been doing all this as a mother myself for 19 years, I became frozen in my inability to do anything right.

Then it started to get even more personal. My mother grew obsessed with my weight. She told me I was severely overweight. Obese. She feared my weight put me at increased risk of acute Covid.

At 5ft 9in and 11st, I know I am far from obese, but she started to withdraw my food. She banned cream in coffee, and avocados. She told me I ate for two people. She hid chocolate. She wouldnt pour me wine and watched everything I put in my mouth. I ended up eating self-consciously in front of her once a day, cutting out all other meals.

If I had a Zoom call for work with an editor or for a job interview, she told me to put on make-up and tie my hair up. My clothes were all too big for me, she said, and unattractive. I put on a warm coat and she commented: That looks cheap. That looks like someone has cut up two dressing gowns and sewn them together. It makes you look fat.

I was so surprised and shocked by her behaviour that I was in denial it was happening at all.

We have communicated well on the phone for 11 years. And she has voiced nothing but support and encouragement. So I brushed it off. Even the You should have a bath, you smell comments. Even listening to her talking loudly to her friends on the phone, repeating anything I told her, and then saying how hard it was to live with me.

I tried to see where she was coming from. She was scared. Shed been alone for years. Perhaps I had let myself go?

I was aware I had come home at a difficult time in my life. At 45, I was single; my daughter had just gone to college and I was missing her terribly. I had no regular job and was living off my savings.

I tried to talk to mum about this  share my anxieties, my midlife crisis  but she couldnt listen without judgment. The fact I was worried about money became: You eat too much. You waste food. You leave lights on.

The fact I was worried about work became: I dont know how you will get a job. I cant support you. Youre going to end up homeless and on the street.

And she told me I dont understand parenting either. That my daughter doesnt want or need me any more. Shes left home now. And I found myself standing with my head down, cowering, allowing her to eviscerate me.

After two months, we hit our low. She was so mean to me, I found myself in my bedroom shaking like a rabbit, and she came upstairs and told me not to be so dramatic.

Alice said her mother told her she was 'useless' and grew obsessed with her weight Mother started to withdraw her food and banned cream in coffee and avocados (stock image)

Then she shouted: You have never loved me. I have never felt love from you. I have never felt kindness from you.

And it felt tragic. She was crying and I didnt know what to do with her. I hated her. I felt confused. I felt sad. I knew I had to move out before our relationship became irreparably damaged.

I began looking online for somewhere to live and, desperate, I rented a small flat in North London without having seen it. Im now a month in  a month of living on my own in London  and I am still trying to understand what happened. Why did she treat me like that?

I find myself upset, crying here and now, trying to write about it.

If I can be honest with myself, I returned to the UK after 11 years with a fantasy of what I thought our relationship could be in my head.

I know that my mum has always been Jekyll and Hyde. My teen years were beset with arguments and I left home at 16 because of it. I moved in with my boyfriends family. It was they who got me through my A-levels and into university. Why would it be any different 30 years later?

If I can step back even further and take myself out of this equation, her behaviour towards me over those past three months is extreme in anyones book.

I start to wonder if perhaps she has always been bipolar? Or maybe she is suffering from early onset dementia? She cleaned herself obsessively. She repeatedly checked the doors and windows. That the gas was off. She talked and never listened, telling me the same stories over and over again.

Maybe her cruelty and lashing out at me was rooted in her fears for her own health and sanity?

Which means that the only way forward for our relationship, if I want it to continue, is for me to view her with compassion. I have to accept her and love her, and at the same time promise myself that I will never live with her again.

I will visit, and ultimately I have to thank her for what her cruelty has taught me  that my daughter needs unconditional love.

She needs a mother who never comments on her weight or what she wears. She needs her freedom, her mess, her terrible cooking and her own mistakes. She needs me to listen to her, not judge her. Always.

Those three months of hell have reminded me of how unhealthy my relationship with my mother has been. And that to break this pattern, I must be the opposite.

I will always be grateful to my cruel mother for showing me how important it is that Im always kind to my beloved daughter. If, in the future, history repeats itself, I give her permission to lock me up and throw away the key.
South Africans may soon have to ensure the weight of their fast food order exceeds 1kg if they want it to be delivered by Uber Eats or Mr D Food.

This could be one of the consequences of a court battle between the South African Post Office and private couriers regarding the delivery of parcels which weigh 1kg and less.

It comes after a 2019 ruling from ICASAs Complaints and Compliance Committee (CCC) against PostNet, which found that its courier services should not be allowed to deliver such parcels.

The Post Office had lodged a complaint with ICASA in which it maintained it was the only licensed provider of reserved postal services in South Africa and was therefore the one entity allowed to deliver packages which weighed 1kg and less.

This is set out in the Postal Services Act 124 of 1998, which stated that only a licenced postal services operator may render services defined as reserved postal services.

The reserved postal services include all letters, postcards, printed matter, small parcels, and other postal articles up to and including 1kg in weight.

The CCCs ruling came just before South Africa entered COVID-19 lockdown, a time during which many relied on couriers to get food and other items delivered to their homes.

Fortunately, PostNet secured an interdict which has allowed it and other courier companies to continue delivering sub-1kg packages until the full matter is heard by a full bench of the Gauteng High court.

The South African Express Parcel Application (SAEPA), which represents couriers including DHL, FedEx, UPS, CourierIT, DSV, Globeflight, and RAM, joined PostNet as co-applicant in the case.

SAEPA CEO Garry Marshall has told MyBroadband that the impact would be disastrous if the court ruled in the Post Offices favour.

The sales loss is bad enough  the impact will be huge, particularly on the international players, Marshall said.

It would not only be to the detriment of courier companies, but also to their customers and the booming ecommerce industry in general.

Its probably more dire because it disrupts your entire collection process, and its completely impractical, he added.

Marshall explained that from a practical perspective, customers would have to weigh each parcel to see if they would need to use the Post Office or a courier.

In addition, couriers would have to carry scales in their vehicles to see whether a package weighed less than 1kg and could be loaded for a delivery.

Ecommerce fulfilment operations would also have to adapt to separate packages by weight.

For the Post Office you are going to have to select the kind of services that you want  Is it a speed service, is it normal mail, and what is the address and how does it get delivered.

All around it is impractical, it will have a dramatic impact on courier companies  both their revenues as well as their processes, Marshall said.

Marshall provided an example of how the car servicing industry would be impacted if it had to use the Post Office instead of couriers.

Typically, when a customer booked a service, the dealer would order a spare package which might be made up of all sorts of components including spark plugs, wiper blades, and the like.

The mechanic doing the service might realise there is a problem and he needs to order a part that wasnt anticipated in the spare package, Marshall explained.

In such a situation, he would then have to request the part from Toyota, which would have to go the Post Office to send the parcel.

Fast food courier services like UberEats and Mr D Food and their customers would also be impacted as the regulation made no exemption for food.

You better make sure that you order a pizza over 1kg, Marshall stated. Dont order your KFC for home delivery, because if its under a kilogram, it cant be done.

For reference, a single McDonalds Big Mac burger weighs 215g.

These are the completely ridiculous scenarios people are going to be faced with, he added.

Marshall said that since the legislation did not mention couriers by name, but referred to anyone that conveyed items, large transport companies could also be affected.

A transporter carrying tonnes of cargo made up of individual packages weighing less than 1kg each would not be allowed to do so.

For example, a shipment of shoe boxes with a weight of less than 1kg each would have to go through the Post Office.

The Post Office has claimed that courier companies have stolen their business, an allegation which Marshall refuted.

We believe we are complementary to them, we dont believe we compete with them as we are not in the business of carrying traditional mail, Marshall said.

He brushed off the Post Offices claims that its Speed Services couriers could carry out all sub-1kg deliveries in the country.

He emphasised that courier companies were not working against the Post Office.

There is definitely a place in our society for a reliable post office, and particularly for people that cant afford courier services,

While Marshall acknowledged that the Post Offices traditional postal service had become redundant, this had nothing to do with couriers taking its business.

The fact that email has climbed in and destroyed the document business is not a courier issue, he said.

They never changed anything, they never did anything differently to match the change of space.

By contrast, other national postal services  like Germanys  had evolved to provide world-class courier services.

DHL  one of the biggest players in the world  is owned by the German Post Office.

They recognised that courier services and mail services are not the same. You need completely different infrastructure, Marshall said.

We need a Post Office that works, and we can work hand in hand with them.

Marshall said no date has yet been set for the case to be heard by the High Court.

The SA Post Office told MyBroadband that the law which reserved parcels below 1kg to it postal services was promulgated for it to make good on its its Universal Service Obligation.

Unlike private couriers, the Post Office is not allowed to charge according to the distance that items are transported, which means that private carriers can deliver items over profitable short-distance routes.

This compels the Post Office to service the non-profitable routes. A ruling in favour of the Post Office would lead to less skewed competition, the company said.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Grants police have searched high and low  in lava tubes outside the city and across a closed oil refinery  looking for the bodies of 11 drug dealers Sean Lannon told authorities he killed and disposed of in the area.

Grants police Lt. David Chavez said officers have turned up nothing.

Chavez didnt speculate on why Lannon would make such claims but said no evidence has been found to support them.

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Our big thing is not why he did it; its just to substantiate whether it is true or not, he said.

The 47-year-old has already been charged in the deaths of his ex-wife, Jennifer Lannon, 39; Matthew Miller, 21; and Jesten Mata, 40; in New Mexico as well as the death of a childhood mentor in his home state of New Jersey.

Albuquerque police have also said they plan to file homicide charges against Lannon in the death of Randall Apostalon, 60.

The bodies of Jennifer Lannon, Mata, Miller and Apostalon were found March 5 in Apostalons truck on the top level of a parking garage at the Albuquerque International Sunport.

Lannon is jailed in New Jersey in the March 9 beating death of Michael Dabkowski, 66, in East Greenwich. After U.S. marshals caught Lannon in Missouri, he told detectives he had killed all five victims and, furthermore, had also killed 11 drug dealers in Grants.

Chavez, with the Grants Police Department, said Lannon told detectives he had hidden the bodies at the Gallup Refinery in Jamestown, where Lannon did contract work, and in the lava tubes in Grants.

Chavez said they have searched everywhere Lannon pointed them to and not found anything to substantiate the claims.

Lannon told police that over a two-week period, he shot his ex-wife, Mata and Miller at his home in Grants before putting their bodies in plastic bins. He said he killed Apostalon after a quarrel broke out as Apostalon was helping him move those plastic bins.

Police say Lannon left Apostalons truck with the bodies inside at the Sunport before he hopped a plane to the East Coast with his three children. Lannon told police he dropped the children off with his ex-wifes family and killed Dabkowski  whom Lannon accused of molesting him as a child  during a fight at the mans home.
She's back filming a fourth season of her hit Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

And on Tuesday, Rachel Brosnahan was all business on the streets of New York City as she shot scenes with a bunch of extras.

She was seen in character as the 50s housewife turned standup comedienne crossing a busy intersection and heading to a fake subway station.

Action: Rachel Brosnahan was all business on the streets of New York City as she shot scenes with a bunch of extras for her Amazon Prime series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The actress, 30, was dressed in a monochrome patterned coat with Peter Pan collar and a matching hat.

She had on blue capri pants and navy ballet flats and carried a black purse.

Her shoulder-length brunette hair was styled in curls and she was made up with red lip color and scarlet nail polish.

1950s style: The actress, 30, was dressed in a monochrome patterned coat with Peter Pan collar and a matching hat

Vintage fashion: She had on blue capri pants and navy ballet flats and carried a black purse

City set: Her shoulder-length brunette hair was styled in curls and she was made up with red lip color and scarlet nail polish

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel first premiered on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service in March of 2017 and was an instant hit.

The series follows a New York City housewife who discovers that she is a talented standup comic and begins a career in the burgeoning comedy scene of the late 1950s.

Brosnahan's supporting cast includes Tony Shalhoub as her character's father and Alex Borstein as her best friend.

In addition to having a devoted fan base, the show has also won the show 20 Emmys and three Golden Globes.

Popular: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel first premiered on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service in March of 2017 and was an instant hit. It's now in its fourth season

Leading lady: The series follows a New York City housewife who discovers that she is a talented standup comic and begins a career in the burgeoning comedy scene of the late 1950s
Four New Jersey residents admitted they stole checks out of mailboxes in North Jersey and then used at least one ATM in Paterson to deposit them into bank accounts they controlled.

Paterson resident Miguel Ortiz, 22, Victor Emilio Mejia Adames, 21, and Tiffany Diaz Fermin, 24, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, the U.S. Attorneys Office for New Jersey said Tuesday. Former Paterson resident Brando Mancebo, 21, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen mail and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

The four were part of a scheme the swiped the checks from blue collection boxes in Bergen, Hudson and Morris counties from May 2018 to March 2019, officials said. Though none were the payees on the checks, the quartet deposited them at one or more ATMS in Paterson and later withdrew the money.

In an example described in court documents, Mejia Adames used an ATM in Paterson to deposit a $6,231.29 check into his account on March 24, 2019.

On May 14, 2018 Ortiz deposited a $495.00 check. Fifteen days later, he fraudulently deposited a $1,764.62 check into his account, court papers state.

Diaz Fermin, meanwhile, used an ATM in Paterson to deposit a $541.77 check on Dec. 26, 2018. Five days later she did the same thing with a $200 check.

Federal prosecutors said others were involved in the conspiracy, but didnt name them.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 19:12:10|Editor: huaxia

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DHAKA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh has extended the ongoing lockdown to May 5.

Bangladesh's Cabinet Division announced the decision in a circular Wednesday.

To combat COVID-19, Bangladesh had earlier declared an eight-day lockdown effective from April 14 to April 21. Later, the government extended it to April 28.

Despite the lockdown, according to the circular, shops and malls will be allowed to open their doors while factories and banks to operate as before.

The latest order said returnees from the Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia and China without COVID-19 infection and with vaccination certificates can be quarantined for 14-day at their homes.

But it said passengers from other countries will be quarantined for 14 days at a government-designated hotel at their own expense.

Amid its second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh imposed a ban on the entry of travellers from India via land ports from Monday.

On Wednesday, the country's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 2,955 new cases of COVID-19 and 77 new deaths, bringing the number of total cases to 754,614 and the total death toll to 11,305. Enditem
Amid a battle over a $2.9 billion contract to build a lunar lander for NASA, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on April 27 took a jab at rival billionaire Jeff Bezos space startup, Blue Origin. While taking to Twitter, Musk trolled Bezos and joked that the Amazon CEO cant get it up to the orbit. While he did not elaborate on the tweet, he, however, shared a screenshot of a 2019 report about Bezos unveiling Blue Origins moon lander on the same Twitter thread.

Cant get it up (to orbit) lol  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2021

Blue Origin challenges NASA over Moon lander deal

The same day, Blue Origin lodged a 50-page protest against the decision with deferral auditors at the Government Accountability Office. Bezos company argued that NASA misjudged Blue Origins proposal in the three-way competition to build the new Moon lander, which also involved a bid from the Alabama-based defence firm Dynetics. It also called on the US Government Accountability Office to stay NASAs deal with Musks aerospace company and rectify the errors in the entire procurement process that prohibited Bezos aerospace companys proposal to be selected by NASA.

Blue Origin said in a statement on April 26 accompanying the challenge to NASAs decision that the US space agency has executed a flawed acquisition for the Human Landing System program and moved the goalposts at the last minute. Their decision eliminates opportunities for competition, significantly narrows the supply base, and not only delays but also endangers Americas return to the moon."

Meanwhile, the feud between Musk and Bezos began more than 15 years ago when a conversation about reusable rockets reportedly went south. Since then, the two have sparred frequently over their rival plans for colonising space and occasionally their other businesses, Tesla and Amazon. Their space plans, however, have been criticised for their perceived elitism and for directing massive amounts of resources to space travel that could be put to funding other efforts on Earth.

(Image: AP)


Despite the ongoing pandemic, many states have seen a surge in new business applications, says David Franklin, CEO Expertise.com. Our in-depth study was developed to help entrepreneurs identify the pros and cons of starting a business in a place like South Dakota.

Expertise.com, a top resource for online reviews and the best local experts, has published findings from a recent study on the best and worst states for Americans to start a small business in 2021. Researched applied a comprehensive methodology using 24 business-focused metrics. The report offers total scores for each state and rankings based on new business environment, available resources, and business costs.

South Dakota earned the top spot for business costs as it's the least expensive state to start and run a business. The state has one of the lowest median hourly wages and monthly rental rates and has the second-best State Business Tax Climate Index.

However, the state ranked 50th in the available resources category for having the least available resources for new small businesses. The state earned low scores for loan availability, number of higher education institutions, and working-age population.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, many states have seen a surge in new business applications, says David Franklin, CEO Expertise.com. Our in-depth study was developed to help entrepreneurs identify the pros and cons of starting a business in a place like South Dakota.

Expertise.com evaluated all 50 states and calculated an overall score using a 10-point scale for each metric. The report highlights three subcategories with corresponding metrics, such as job growth, available loans, median hourly wage, and corporate taxes. To view the complete list of best and worst states for starting a small business in 2021, visit: https://www.expertise.com/research/best-and-worst-states-for-starting-a-small-business-in-2021

ABOUT EXPERTISE.COM

Expertise.com identifies leading service professionals in over 200 industries across the top cities in the United States. The company provides authentic online reviews of service providers via a selection process that includes in-depth research, detailed comparisons, customer feedback, and mystery shopping. Expertise.com is based in Los Angeles, California, and backed by a team of marketing, research, and content development experts. To learn more, visit https://www.expertise.com/

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-29 02:36:44|Editor: huaxia

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People walk on the street in Marrakech, Morocco, April 29, 2021. Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 510,465 on Wednesday as 493 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours. The death toll rose to 9,015 with 10 new fatalities during the last 24 hours, while 360 people are in intensive care units, according to a statement by the Ministry of Health. (Photo by Chadi/Xinhua)

RABAT, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 510,465 on Wednesday as 493 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours.

The death toll rose to 9,015 with 10 new fatalities during the last 24 hours, while 360 people are in intensive care units, according to a statement by the Ministry of Health.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 496,583 after 552 new ones were added, the statement said.

The COVID-19 fatality rate in Morocco stands at 1.8 percent while the recovery rate is 97.3 percent.

Meanwhile, 4,914,145 people have received so far the first vaccine shot against COVID-19 in the country, and 4,245,154 people have received the second dose.

The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm vaccines. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 17:50:32|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 12, 2021 shows people walking with shopping bags on Oxford Street in London, Britain. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

Experts warn a too hasty exit strategy might risk another spike of the virus and that coordination among European countries is also needed.



FRANKFURT, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Europeans are longing for outdoor gatherings and sunshine as the weather turns warm. This week, in some parts of Europe, people once again crowded streets and parks as governments started to gradually lift coronavirus restrictions.

As the number of new infections is still running high and problems surrounding travel certificate and other issues remain unresolved, experts warned a too hasty exit strategy might risk another spike of the virus and that coordination among European countries is also needed.

People dine at an outdoor restaurant in Soho in London, Britain, April 12, 2021. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

LOCKDOWN EXIT

England became one of the first regions in Europe to end restrictions on non-essential retail. In England, all shops reopened from April 12, along with hairdressers, beauty salons and other close-contact services. Meanwhile, gyms, spas, zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centers can all open.

According to the British government's four-step plan, restaurants and pubs are expected to be allowed to resume indoor service and see most rules on gathering outdoors lifted on May 17. All legal restrictions in England are expected to be removed by mid-June.

Starting from last week, restaurants and bars in Switzerland have been allowed to reopen their outdoor seating areas and restrictions on sporting and leisure activities of adults have also been partially lifted. But the government said additional relaxation of pandemic measures is unlikely before May 26.

Two women sit on a bench by a street in Berlin, capital of Germany, April 24, 2021. (Photo by Stefan Zeitz/Xinhua)

Some countries opt for an approach that differentiates between regions with different risks of infection. In Germany, a nationwide "emergency brake" mechanism stipulates that areas with a seven-day infection rate above a certain threshold for three consecutive days will have contact restrictions and a night curfew in place.

Similarly, Italy has adopted a color code to evaluate the risk of contagion on the base of local coronavirus data. The country took a first decisive step towards a post-pandemic phase on Monday. Restaurants, bars, outdoor sporting facilities and museums were among the activities allowed to restart in the 14 "yellow" regions, which show a low risk of contagion.

France, on the other hand, is about to take smaller steps. It decided to end restrictions confining people to a 10-km radius of their homes from May 3. But the nationwide 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew will remain in place until the epidemic is under control.

Pupils arrive at a school in Antibes, southern France, on April 26, 2021. (Photo by Serge Haouzi/Xinhua)

ECONOMIC PRESSURE, HOPES ON VACCINES

At a press conference last week, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte explained what change has led to the decision to relax restrictions: "The answer is: not much, but just enough."

More and more people are vaccinated, which means that fewer people will soon become ill, and the number of new hospital admissions is expected to decrease, Rutte said. "Opening up society step by step is not without risks. But the cabinet is also looking at the social and economic importance."

Rutte's remarks are representative of many European countries' rationale behind exit strategies. While Europe's manufacturing sector gradually recovers thanks to a strong global demand, the service sector has been repeatedly hit by the on-again, off-again closures.

People visit the Ancient Agora in Athens, Greece, on April 18, 2021. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

In southern European countries where the tourism industry plays a key role, calls for reopening are loud. Greece last week lifted the self-quarantine requirement for travelers arriving in the country from the European Union (EU), Britain, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Israel. Its government had announced earlier this spring that it was preparing to reopen the country to tourism on May 14.

The ongoing vaccination campaign also lends support to the governments' moves to reopen. After a sluggish start at the beginning of the year, the EU's vaccination rollout recently sped up.

On Saturday, Italy's health authorities announced that 5 million Italian residents had been fully vaccinated, making Italy the third EU member state to reach that milestone, following Germany and France.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Friday that the goal to vaccinate 70 percent of EU's adult population could be achieved by the end of July instead of late September as had been previously predicted.

A woman walks past a vaccination center in Rome, Italy, April 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting)

CAUTION FROM EXPERTS

As of April 21, more than 33 million people in Britain had been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, official figures showed. But experts have warned that Britain is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants, particularly those first detected in South Africa, Brazil and India, and the third wave of pandemic on the European continent.

"Fully opening up society is best done when more than 85 percent of the population are vaccinated ... To achieve this, all age groups should benefit from the vaccines," said Martin Hibberd, professor of emerging infectious disease at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

In Portugal, most of the country has proceeded to the third stage of de-confinement, except for a few municipalities and counties reporting high infections.

People go shopping at the reopened Colombo shopping center in Lisbon, Portugal on April 19, 2021. (Photo by Pedro Fiuza/Xinhua)

"As long as there is no vaccination coverage for groups at risk of 90 percent to 100 percent," there is always a danger that may lead to hospitalizations and deaths, warned virologist Pedro Simas.

Meanwhile, Europe is mulling a Digital Green Certificate that could hopefully enable travel by summer, although technical details and issues concerning data protection and privacy remain to be discussed.

Depending on the infection curve and national developments, steps of reopening will be taken at different speeds and scopes in Europe, researchers from Deutsche Bank pointed out in a paper earlier this month. Therefore, European coordination of exit strategies is important.

A musician wearing a face mask performs in Berlin, capital of Germany, on April 12, 2021. (Photo by Stefan Zeitz/Xinhua)

The European Commission called for early notification and coordination of national steps in a document titled Joint European Roadmap towards lifting COVID-19 containment measures, which was published in mid-April.

"The current situation in Europe against the pandemic is generally moving in a favorable direction," said Lu Mengji, professor of virology at the Institute of Virology, University Hospital of Essen in Germany.

The challenge ahead is "to convince the population to continue taking necessary precautions during this transition period and to avoid an excessive number of patients requiring hospitalization," Lu said. 
GOLD & SILVER PRICE FORECAST BULLISH AS PRECIOUS METALS REACT TO DOVISH FED, SOFTER REAL YIELDS, WEAK US DOLLAR

Gold and silver prices turned sharply higher off session lows on Wednesday to close out on positive notes. XAU/USD gained ground with XAG/USD as precious metals popped on the back of a broadly weaker US Dollar. This came in response to the latest Fed update, which echoed how the central bank plans to leave its policy path unchanged for the foreseeable future.

GOLD PRICE CHART WITH SILVER & TEN-YEAR TREASURY YIELD OVERLAID: 5-MINUTE TIME FRAME (28 APRIL 2021 INTRADAY)

Chart by @RichDvorakFX created using TradingView

Dovish Fed policy guidance stands to keep exerting downward pressure on real yields and the US Dollar. In turn, these typically bullish fundamental drivers for precious metals look to help guide gold and silver prices higher. Other anti-fiat assets, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, might piggyback on this theme as well. Check out this gold price forecast for key breakout levels to watch with FOMC in the rearview mirror.

-- Written by Rich Dvorak, Analyst for DailyFX.com

Connect with @RichDvorakFX on Twitter for real-time market insight
India is reeling under the second wave of COVID, with hospitals running out of oxygen and families scrambling for space in cremation grounds amid piling dead bodies.

People in Uttar Pradesh, which is witnessing an increase in caseload of COVID, are struggling to manage oxygen cylinders for COVID patients. The ground situation is grim and far different from what the state government is trying to portray.

Amid this, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asserted that there is no shortage of oxygen in any private or public COVID hospital in Uttar Pradesh.

He said that the state government will conduct an audit of the life-saving gas in collaboration with various institutes.

AP

"There is no shortage of oxygen in any COVID hospital, be it private or government. The problem is black marketing and hoarding, which will be tackled with a heavy hand. We are going to conduct an oxygen audit in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, IIM Lucknow and IIT BHU for proper monitoring of oxygen. The system of live tracking of oxygen demand, supply and distribution will be implemented," the chief minister said.

Adityanath also said that oxygen is not in short supply provided only the needy use it.

Confiscate property of those "spreading rumours"

While hundreds of people are inundating social media with requests for oxygen cylinders, COVID beds in hospitals and life-saving drugs, Adityanath has directed officials to take action under the National Security Act and the Gangsters Act against anti-social elements involved in black-marketeering of medicines.

File Photo

He has also asked them to "seize the property" of those spreading rumours and trying to "spoil the atmosphere".

FIR against man who sought help on Twitter

A man in Uttar Pradesh was booked by authorities who used Twitter to appeal for an oxygen cylinder for his grandfather.

Shashank Yadav from Amethi had not mentioned if his grandfather had COVID. However, the police booked him for allegedly circulating a rumour with the intent to cause fear or alarm.

According to official data, there are 3,04,199 active cases of COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh.
Dubai's residential sector witnessed increased activity in the first quarter with a total of 2,231 ready villas/townhouses having been sold during the period compared to 673 last year, acording to UAE real estate portal Property Finder.

The pandemic brought forth a lot of new trends into the real estate sector, not only in Dubai but across the world. One of the most significant trends was a clear increase in demand for villa/townhouses which have transpired into sales transactions, stated Property Finder in its report.

In Q1, the transaction numbers were higher than ever and registered record breaking month-on-month sales for ready properties, with the villa/townhouse segment leading the way, said the report.

In fact, as of Q1 2021, one in every three residential secondary properties sold was a villa/townhouse, it added.

Lynnette Abad Sacchetto, Director of Research & Data, said: "Over the last year, we at Property Finder have seen a significant demand in the data and trends of the villa/townhouse sector. We have seen the search trends increase on the website which transpired into sales transactions over the months in 2020."

"This trend has continued into 2021 and we dont anticipate it to stop anytime soon. Developers are also jumping onto the bandwagon and adding new villa/townhouses phases into existing projects, which are selling out within hours after hitting the market," he added.

According to the portal, the total number of secondary sales comparing Q1 year-on-year increased by 72%. Ready apartment sales increased by 40% and the ready villa/townhouse sales increased by a huge 231.5 per cent.

"When comparing the top communities from Q1 2020 to Q1 2021, we see all of them showing a remarkable increase in sales numbers. Dubai Hills Estate, Arabian Ranches, The Springs and Naad Al Sheba account for 30% of all Secondary Villa/Townhouses sold in Q1 2021," explained Sacchetto.

Nad Al Sheba, a ready villa/townhouse community, has risen significantly and is the area for the most number of ready houses sold in Q1 2021.

In Nad Al Sheba, there were no ready villas sold in Q1 and since the properties handed over during the past 12 months, we see its sales climb from zero in Q1 2020 to 248 properties sold in Q1 2020.

Almost all major communities have had an increase in sales numbers by more than 100% but the most notable are Town Square with an 800% increase, Green Community with a 592% increase, Meydan with a 411% increase and Palm Jumeirah with a 364% increase.
[April 28, 2021] Ragan Communications Acquires Communications Week

Ragan Communications announced today that it has acquired Communications Week, the preeminent event and thought leadership brand for communicators and marketers worldwide. The acquisition fortifies Ragan's position serving public relations, internal communications and marketing professionals with best-in-class content and experiences. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005756/en/ Diane Schwartz, CEO of Ragan Communications and new CEO of Communications Week (Photo: Business Wire) Ragan Communications, a media and training company educating and supporting more than 200,000 communicators and marketers worldwide, acquired the trademark name, intellectual property and other assets of Communications Week from Kite Hill PR. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Designed to give voice to this vibrant, diverse and essential industry, Communications Week 2021, slated for November 15-19, will feature thought-provoking and real-world educational sessions on topics including crisis management, social media, employee engagement, media relations, diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I), environmental, social & governance (ESG), comms technology and digital marketing. As hundreds of thousands of professionals will mark their calendars for mid-November, Communications Week will also provide a year-round online platform to shine a spotlight on the role of communicators through commsweek.com and sister sites PRDaily.com and Ragan.com.



"Communications is the heart and soul of an organization and Communications Week embodies that viewpoint," says Diane Schwartz, CEO of Ragan Communications. "With Communications Week, we plan to help our community gain more meaningful traction within their organizations by giving them unique access to the industry's leading minds and ideas." Ragan Communications produces more than 60 conferences, webinars and workshops a year, runs three membership groups including the Communications Leadership Council, and its Ragan Training is the industry's leading online learning portal. Ragan's Future of Communications Conference will headline Communications Week.

Communications Week, founded in 2014 by Tiffany Guarnaccia, CEO of Kite Hill PR, has built a reputation for industry-leading conferences, webinars and networking events. The 2021 event will include a wide array of industry partners hosting events plus those presented by Ragan. Communications Week has a global reach, with in-person events previously held in New York, Toronto, London and Hamburg. "When I founded Communications Week, I set out to create a community for PR, marketing and media professionals to discuss and debate the most pressing issues the communicators face," says Guarnaccia. "We are thrilled to have Communications Week join the Ragan Communications family as we continue to connect, inspire and inform the industry." Guarnaccia will continue to focus on the growth of Kite Hill PR, where she remains founder and CEO. The Kite Hill PR team, which has shepherded Communications Week from its inception, will continue its involvement as a supporting partner. The theme and agenda of Communications Week 2021 will be unveiled in May, with Schwartz and Guarnaccia serving as co-chairs of the event. Industry partners and sponsors participating in Communications Week will be announced soon. About Communications Week Communications Week was founded in 2014 to bring together the greatest minds in PR and media. The biggest industry organizations and media outlets have been supporters of the week since the event's inception. As the conference continues to grow, it attracts professionals from various levels of the marketing, media, and communications industries. In 2018, Communications Week expanded globally with events in New York, Toronto, London and Hamburg. Communications Week was founded by Tiffany Guarnaccia, founder and CEO of Kite Hill PR, a specialty communications agency. Ragan Communications is the owner and organizer of Communications Week worldwide. For more information visit www.commsweek.com. About Ragan Communications For more than 50 years, Ragan Communications, based in Chicago, has been delivering trusted news, training and intelligence for internal and external communicators, HR professionals and business executives via its conferences, webinars, training, awards, subscriptions and membership divisions. Its daily news sites-PRDaily.com and Ragan.com-are read by more than 600,000 internal and external communicators monthly. Its Communications Leadership Council is one of the fastest-growing membership groups for communications executives. Ragan's Workplace Wellness Insider, launched in October 2020, serves HR, wellness and comms professionals. Ragan acquired Communications Week in April 2021. Visit www.ragan.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005756/en/

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Sky announced today casting news for Sky Original drama The Midwich Cuckoos, a dark, disturbing modern-day reimagining of John Wyndhams classic science fiction novel of the same name. BAFTA-nominated Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, Its A Sin), and Max Beesley (The Outsider, Suits) are set to lead the line-up alongside Aisling Loftus (A Discovery of Witches), Ukweli Roach (Blindspot), Synnve Karlsen (Last Night In Soho, Clique), Lara Rossi (Robin Hood), Lewis Reeves (I May Destroy You), Rebekah Staton (Raised by Wolves) and Anneika Rose (Line of Duty).The Midwich Cuckoos is set to begin production in London in May and has been adapted for the screen by Emmy award-nominated writer David Farr (The Night Manager, Hanna). The eight-part series is produced by Route 24 (backed by ITV Studios) and Snowed-In Productions, in association with Sky Studios. The modern-day adaptation is set to air on Sky and streaming service NOW in 2022.Midwich, a small English commuter town, is liberal and aspirational, populated by nuclear families and affluent high streets. A place where nothing much happens  and for a very good reason.That is until the twilight hours of a summers day when a sleepy corner of Midwich is plunged into panic. People pass out on their feet without warning, without reason. Anyone who tries to enter meets the same fate. And nobody can understand why. When the mysterious blackout is lifted, life for those affected returns to apparent normality - except every woman of child-bearing age inside the zone has suddenly and inexplicably fallen pregnant.As news spreads and tensions simmer, it is up to gifted psychotherapist Dr Susannah Zellaby (Hawes) to help support those affected through the emotional wilderness. Susannahs own daughter, Cassie (Karlsen), has fallen pregnant and harbours deep concerns about who, or what, is behind this phenomenon.Local officer DCI Paul Kirby (Beesley) is tasked with maintaining order but unbeknownst to them all, a terrifying force is building in the comfortable streets of Midwich. These children  potential parasites - flourish under the very love and care that their families give them. Who are these children? And what do they want?The Midwich Cuckoos is an unnerving fable for our turbulent times, a thrilling, strange and at times horrifying journey into parenthood, which lays bare any parents worst fear: that the thing most precious to us  a child  might desire our destruction.Gabriel Silver, Director of Commissioning for Drama said, From A Discovery of Witches to Patrick Melrose, weve had huge success taking modern classics from page to screen and giving them a fresh, modern, edge that is distinctly Sky. When the opportunity arose to create a modern-day adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel that is The Midwich Cuckoos, we jumped at the chance.David Farr, writer and creator of The Midwich Cuckoos said, "I first read The Midwich Cuckoos when I was twelve. I was living in a small town in 1980s Britain. Everything about the book rang true to me and terrified me. An invasion of a small community by a hostile and ruthless force. Apparently innocent children as a force of huge malevolent power. It got under my skin.As I've grown older, the story has never ceased to exert a grip. The idea that we may birth our own destruction is so simple and frightening. That as a mother or a father, the being we love most in the world may turn on us. It's the stuff of nightmares."Keeley Hawes, lead actor in The Midwich Cuckoos said Im absolutely delighted to be working with Sky and the brilliant Ruth Kenley-Letts on David Farrs superb adaptation of The Midwich Cuckoos. Im very much looking forward to working with the hugely talented Max Beesley and the amazing cast and I cant wait to enter the strange and unsettling world of Midwich!The Midwich Cuckoos was commissioned for Sky by Zai Bennett, Sky UKs Managing Director of Content. Manpreet Dosanjh is the Commissioning Editor for Sky Studios. The series is written by David Farr, Sasha Hails, Namsi Khan and Laura Lomas. Alice Troughton (Baghdad Central, Cucumber, A Discovery of Witches) is the lead director, with Jennifer Perrott (Gentleman Jack, Doctor Who) serving as director. The series is produced by Route 24 and Snowed-In Productions in association with Sky Studios. The executive producers are Marc Samuelson and Robert Cheek for Route 24 and Ruth Kenley-Letts and Neil Blair for Snowed-In Productions. Series producer is Eliza Mellor (Poldark, Behind Her Eyes).The Midwich Cuckoos will transmit on Sky One and NOW in the UK and Ireland and will be available in all Sky markets. NBCUniversal Global Distribution will handle international sales of the series on behalf of Sky Studios.
NASA reports that Michael Collins, one of three astronauts on the historic Apollo 11 moon mission, has died. He was 90 years old.

NASA released this statement on its website about the death of Collins earlier today.

Today the nation lost a true pioneer and lifelong advocate for exploration in astronaut Michael Collins, said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk. As pilot of the Apollo 11 command module  some called him the loneliest man in history  while his colleagues walked on the Moon for the first time, he helped our nation achieve a defining milestone. He also distinguished himself in the Gemini Program and as an Air Force pilot.

Michael remained a tireless promoter of space. Exploration is not a choice, really, its an imperative, he said. Intensely thoughtful about his experience in orbit, he added, What would be worth recording is what kind of civilization we Earthlings created and whether or not we ventured out into other parts of the galaxy. "

Collins family also released a statement on Twitter saying he died after a valiant battle with cancer.

Collins crewmates on that historic Apollo 11 mission were astronauts Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, and Buzz Aldrin. Armstrong died in 2012.

The following is from his NASA biography:

During the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, Collins remained in lunar orbit while fellow crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the moons surface in the lunar module. On July 20, they became the first men to step onto the surface of another planetary body. Collins, orbiting 65 miles above them, was momentarily almost forgotten as the worlds attention focused on his two crewmates below. But after the crews safe return, their 16 days in quarantine and the tours afterwards that brought millions to welcome them home, it became clear to even the most uncaring observer that this was very much a three-man crew.

The plaque left on the moon that said, We came in peace for all mankind, was signed by Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins and President Richard M. Nixon.

Collins was born Oct. 31, 1930 in Rome, Italy. He graduated from Saint Albans School in Washington, D.C., and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1952. He chose an Air Force career. He was a fighter pilot and from 1959 to 1963 served as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He logged more than 4,200 hours of flying time.

Collins was a member of the third group of NASA astronauts, selected in October 1963. His first flight was as pilot of Gemini 10, a three-day mission launched July 18, 1966. The flight, commanded by John Young, set an altitude record. The rocket of an Agena target-docking vehicle with which they had docked boosted them into an altitude of 476 miles.Later they rendezvoused with a second Agena. Collins became the third U.S. spacewalker when he retrieved a micrometeorite detection device from that Agena.

Including the Apollo 11 mission, Collins logged 266 hours in space. He also served as CAPCOM (capsule communicator) for Apollo 8, relaying information between mission control and the crew. Collins retired from the Air Force as a major general and left NASA in 1970 and became assistant secretary of state for public affairs. In 1971 he joined the Smithsonian Institution as director of the National Air and Space Museum. His responsibilities included planning and construction of a new museum building. It was completed on time and under budget. It opened to the public in 1976.

He became vice president of LTV Aerospace and Defense Co. in 1980. He left that post in 1985 to start his own company. He is an independent consultant writing and lecturing about space.

Collins wrote several books: Carrying the Fire in 1974, Flying to the Moon and Other Strange Places in 1976, Liftoff: The Story of Americas Adventure in Space in 1988 and Mission to Mars in 1990.Collins was awarded honorary degrees form six universities. Decorations and awards he received included the Presidential Medal for Freedom, the Robert J. Collier Trophy, the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy and the Harmon International Trophy.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
125.0m of 0.63 g/t Au, 0.54% Cu, and 55.7 g/t Ag (1.43% Cu-eq); Including 15.0m of 2.29 g/t Au, 1.27% Cu, and 248.6 g/t Ag (4.89% Cu-eq) at Huancarama

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Chakana Copper Corp. (TSXV: PERU) (OTCQB: CHKKF) (FSE: 1ZX) (the "Company" or "Chakana"), is pleased to provide recently received drill results from eight exploration holes from Huancarama totaling 1,522.1m (Table 1) and five resource drill holes from Paloma East totaling 1,455.15m (Table 2). Drilling continues as part of a fully-funded 26,000m exploration and resource drilling program (Fig. 1).

David Kelley, President and CEO, commented, "It is great to see these strong results from both new exploration drilling and definition drilling. At Huancarama East, we are clearly defining a sizeable zone of copper-gold-silver mineralization that should feature prominently in our resource estimation plans. At Huancarama West, the exploration drilling continues to define shapes and continuity, while Paloma East has impressive significant near-surface mineralization and long runs of mineralization, including 163.9m of 0.42 g/t Au, 0.33% Cu, and 11.7 g/t Ag from surface in tourmaline breccia that is open at depth. The drill program continues to run smoothly with effective COVID protocols in place."

Huancarama Exploration Drilling

Table 1. Mineralized intervals from Huancarama include:

DDH # From - To (m) Core Length (m) Au

g/t Ag

g/t Cu % Cu-eq

%* Au-eq g/t* SDH21-176 1.50 5.55 4.05 1.85 9.4 0.07

1.97 and 67.00 80.00 13.00 0.77 42.2 0.12

1.51 and 153.30 157.00 3.70 2.87 99.8 1.87 4.60 7.04 and 199.00 324.00 125.00 0.63 55.7 0.54 1.43 2.18 including 207.00 214.00 7.00 1.43 169.6 2.78 5.16 7.90 including 278.00 293.00 15.00 2.29 248.6 1.27 4.89 7.48 SDH21-177 21.10 29.00 7.90 1.36 8.4 0.17

1.73 and 41.70 44.60 2.90 1.55 4.6 0.02

1.61 and 118.70 122.00 3.30 0.19 67.4 0.32 1.02 1.56 SDH21-180 No Significant Results SDH21-182 80.00 104.00 24.00 0.20 219.5 0.45 2.46 3.76 SDH21-183 96.00 113.00 17.00 0.63 143.5 1.94 3.58 5.47 SDH21-185 No Significant Results SDH21-186 No Significant Results SDH21-187 167.20 217.00 49.80 0.92 53.3 0.80 1.86 2.84 including 197.00 216.00 19.00 1.89 108.1 1.61 3.77 5.77 and 268.00 312.85 44.85 0.62 22.5 1.00 1.60 2.44

* Cu_eq and Au_eq values were calculated using copper, gold, and silver. Metal prices utilized for the calculations are Cu - US$2.90/lb, Au - US$1,300/oz, and Ag - US$17/oz. No adjustments were made for recovery as the project is an early-stage exploration project and metallurgical data to allow for estimation of recoveries are not yet available. The formulas utilized to calculate equivalent values are Cu-eq (%) = Cu% + (Au g/t * 0.6556) + (Ag g/t * 0.00857) and Au-eq (g/t) = Au g/t + (Cu% * 1.5296) + (Ag g/t * 0.01307).

Eight holes were drilled in the Huancarama Breccia Complex - seven holes were collared on the western side of the complex, and one hole was collared on the far eastern side (Figs. 2 and 3). Hole SDH21-176 started on the western side of the complex intercepting two breccias, then continued across to the east-southeast of the complex with continuous breccia encountered from 199.0 to 324.0m depth. Hole SDG21-187 was drilled to the southwest and intersected two continuous zones from 167.2m to 217.0m, and 268.0m to 312.85m depth. Given the grade and continuity of mineralization in the Huancarama East breccia pipe, resource drilling has been focused in this area. Examples of mineralized drill core from these holes are shown in Figure 6.

Paloma East Resource Drilling

Table 2. Mineralized intervals from resource drilling at Paloma East include:

DDH # From - To (m) Core Length (m) Au

g/t Ag

g/t Cu % Cu-eq

%* Au-eq g/t* SDH21-178 0.30 7.00 6.70 1.88 10.4 0.21 1.53 2.34 and 47.00 162.00 115.00 0.13 27.0 0.22 0.54 0.82 including 126.00 144.00 18.00 0.07 108.1 0.19 1.16

SDH21-179 53.00 144.00 91.00 0.13 16.5 0.50 0.73 1.11 and 213.00 217.40 4.40 0.65 85.9 0.29 1.45 2.22 SDH21-181 49.00 140.00 91.00 0.19 19.5 0.68 0.97 1.49 SDH21-184 3.25 132.00 128.75 0.38 11.4 0.21 0.56 0.85 and 161.30 173.00 11.70 0.17 14.9 0.38 0.62 0.95 SDH21-188 0.10 164.00 163.90 0.42 11.7 0.33 0.70 1.08 including 20.00 35.00 15.00 2.17 18.0 0.02

2.41 including 69.00 83.00 14.00 0.24 31.7 1.40 1.83 2.80

* Cu_eq and Au_eq values were calculated using copper, gold, and silver. Metal prices utilized for the calculations are Cu - US$2.90/lb, Au - US$1,300/oz, and Ag - US$17/oz. No adjustments were made for recovery as the project is an early-stage exploration project and metallurgical data to allow for estimation of recoveries are not yet available. The formulas utilized to calculate equivalent values are Cu-eq (%) = Cu% + (Au g/t * 0.6556) + (Ag g/t * 0.00857) and Au-eq (g/t) = Au g/t + (Cu% * 1.5296) + (Ag g/t * 0.01307).

At Paloma East, five holes were drilled as part of the resource drilling program (Figs. 4 and 5). Three holes were set up on the west side of the breccia pipe and drilled to the east, and two holes were set up on the northeast side and drilled to the southwest. Shallow mineralization was encountered in all five holes. Hole SDH21-188 intersected 163.9m of mineralized breccia starting at surface, then continued to the southwest where strongly pyritic breccia was encountered at depth. Examples of mineralized drill core from these holes are shown in Figure 7. Additional infill drilling is being planned for the shallow mineralized zone at Paloma East.

2021 Resource and Exploration Drill Program

Results reported here are part of the fully funded 2021 drill program of 26,000m. Combined with the drilling in the second half of 2020 approximately 32,000m is anticipated through 2021. Of this, 11,062.5m have been reported in 56 drill holes for the Paloma and Huancarama areas. For the 26,000m of drilling planned in 2021, the Company will complete approximately 16,000m of resource definition drilling. This drill program will be integral to the publication of a maiden resource in 2021.

Additionally, 10,000m of exploration drilling is planned for 2021. This will focus on new targets located in the northern portion of the project that have not been drilled previously but are strategic to any eventual development at Soledad. A strategic review of exploration targets is underway and plans are currently being finalized with an update to shareholders to follow.

About Chakana Copper

Chakana Copper Corp is a Canadian-based minerals exploration company that is currently advancing the Soledad Project located in the Ancash region of Peru, a highly favorable mining jurisdiction with supportive communities. The Soledad Project consists of high-grade gold-copper-silver mineralization hosted in tourmaline breccia pipes. A total of 45,061 metres of drilling has been completed to date, testing ten (10) of twenty-three (23) confirmed breccia pipes. The exploration team has identified 110 targets in total on the project, confirming that Soledad is a large, well-endowed mineral system with strong exploration upside. Chakana's investors are uniquely positioned as the Soledad Project provides exposure to several metals including copper, gold, and silver. For more information on the Soledad project, please visit the website at www.chakanacopper.com.

Sampling and Analytical Procedures

Chakana follows rigorous sampling and analytical protocols that meet or exceed industry standards. Core samples are stored in a secured area until transport in batches to the ALS facility in Callao, Lima, Peru. Sample batches include certified reference materials, blank, and duplicate samples that are then processed under the control of ALS. All samples are analyzed using the ME-MS41 (ICP technique that provides a comprehensive multi-element overview of the rock geochemistry), while gold is analyzed by AA24 and GRA22 when values exceed 10 g/t by AA24. Over limit silver, copper, lead and zinc are analyzed using the OG-46 procedure. Soil samples are analyzed by 4-acid (ME-MS61) and for gold by Fire Assay on a 30g sample (Au-ICP21).

Results of previous drilling and additional information concerning the Project, including a technical report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, are made available on Chakana's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Qualified Person

David Kelley, an officer and a director of Chakana, and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

(signed) "David Kelley"

David Kelley

President and CEO

For further information contact:

Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations Officer

Phone: 647 964 0292

Email: jjobin@chakanacopper.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking Statement Advisory: This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Chakana to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements or information relates to, among other things, the interpretation of the nature of the mineralization at the Soledad copper-gold-silver project (the "Project"), the potential to expand the mineralization, and to develop and grow a resource within the Project, the planning for further exploration work, the ability to de-risk the potential exploration targets, and our belief in the potential for mineralization within unexplored parts of the Project. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs but given the uncertainties, assumptions and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward- looking statements or information. The Company disclaims any obligation to update, or to publicly announce, any such statements, events or developments except as required by law.







Figure 1 - View looking north showing breccia pipes and occurrences within the northern Soledad cluster. Pipes that have been drilled in previous campaigns are shown in red. Outcropping breccia pipes shown in green are the focus of the current drill campaign. Other pipes and occurrences remain to be tested by drilling. Additional breccia pipes occur on the south half of the property and are not shown here.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

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Figure 2 - Map of the Huancarama Breccia Complex and drill hole lithology in holes completed to date. Red shapes projected to surface represents tourmaline breccia pipes based on all holes drilled to date and lithology mapped in the underground tunnel. Black dotted outlines show surface expression of mapped breccias (H1-H5); white dashed line shows collapse zone. Location of section line for Figure 3 indicated.

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Figure 3 - Section looking north highlighting the drill holes at Huancarama reported in this release. Light red 3D shapes show preliminary shape of breccias based on all drill holes.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

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Figure 4 - Map of Paloma and drill hole lithology in holes completed to date. Location of section line for Figure 5 indicated.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit:

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Figure 5 - Section looking northwest highlighting the drill holes at Paloma East reported in this release. Light red 3D shapes show preliminary shape of breccias based on all drill holes.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 5, please visit:

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Figure 6 - Huancarama core photos from drill holes reported in this release: SDH21-176 (154.0m) Tourmaline breccia replaced by chalcopyrite-pyrite; SDH21-176 (212.9m) Tourmaline breccia with selective clast replacement by chalcopyrite; SDH21-187 (197.7m) Tourmaline breccia with coarse chalcopyrite cement (open space filling); SDH21-187 (279.25m) and SDH21-187 (279.95m) Tourmaline-replace mosaic breccia with chalcopyrite-cemented matrix (note euhedral quartz crystals). Core diameter is 6.35cm (HQ) in all instances.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 6, please visit:

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Figure 7 - Paloma East core photos from drill holes reported in this release: SDH21-181 (116.3m) Mosaic breccia clasts replaced by chalcopyrite-pyrite; SDH21-181 (187.0m) Tourmaline breccia with clasts of banded siderite; SDH21-188 (78.3m) Tourmaline mosaic breccia with coarse chalcopyrite cement (left) and pyrite clast replacement (right); SDH21-187 (279.25m) Pyrite-replaced tourmaline breccia typical of the deeper parts of Paloma East (note euhedral pyrite crystals). Core diameter is 6.35cm (HQ) in all instances.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 7, please visit:

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To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82011
Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Wednesday that he has spoken with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, about Transylvania's economic development programme, included, a context in which he stressed the need for transparency, non-discrimination and monitoring mechanisms for the Romanian authorities.

"We have also talked about the conclusion of the agreement on the so-called economic development programme of Transylvania (Ardeal) and we confirmed together what we discussed on other occasions (...), what the parameters around which we will build this agreement are. It is about transparency, it is about non-discrimination, including with regard to the application of this programme throughout Romania, effective monitoring and audit mechanisms in which, obviously, the Romanian authorities are involved, so as to ensure that the law of each country and the European competition law in other areas are fully observed," said the Romanian chief diplomat in a joint conference with his Hungarian counterpart.

Minister Aurescu is on a working visit to Gyula, Hungary on Wednesday, where he had political consultations with Peter Szijjarto and signed a series of documents to develop the bilateral relationship.

The meeting of the ministers Bogdan Aurescu and Peter Szijjarto takes place against the background of the completion of important projects for the bilateral relationship, agreed during the visit to Bucharest of the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs on 18 February 2021.

The two officials inked the Protocol of the eighth session of the Romanian-Hungarian Select Committee on Collaboration on National Minorities.

Aurescu said that this protocol shows "mutual efforts to ensure the identity rights of ethnic Romanians in Hungary, on the one hand, and ethnic Hungarians in Romania, on the other hand".

"(...) I would like to point out that this protocol shows the mutual efforts made to ensure the identity rights of ethnic Romanians, on the one hand, and ethnic Hungarians in Romania. It is a breakthrough, without a doubt, that marks the return to the bilateral approach, which is also the one recommended by the Venice Commission, for example in its report on the preferential treatment of national minorities (...) in 2001," Aurescu said.

The Minister has also signed in Hungary two agreements amending the bilateral legal framework with a view to setting up two border crossing points on cross-border connections, Variasu Mic/Dombegyhaza and Graniceri/Elek [i.e. the Agreement between the Romanian Government and the Hungarian Government on the amendment of the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of Hungary, signed in Bucharest on 21 December 2006 for the implementation of the Convention between Romania and Hungary on Road and Rail Traffic Control, signed in Bucharest on 27 April 2004, as well as the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of Hungary on the amendment of the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of Hungary on road links across the Romanian-Hungarian state border, signed in Bucharest on 24 July 2014].

"We are further stimulating the connections between these countries," he said, referring to the new border crossing points, thanking the Hungarian side for supporting Romania's accession to the Schengen Area.
In this March 27, 2021 file photo a laboratory worker simulates the workflow in a cleanroom of the BioNTech Corona vaccine production in Marburg, Germany, during a media day. Ugur Sahin, BioNTech's chief executive, which developed the first widely approved COVID-19 vaccine with U.S. partner Pfizer, said Europe can achieve 'herd immunity' against the coronavirus within the next four months. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)

More than half of Europe's population should have received the coronavirus vaccine in the next two months, allowing governments to consider easing lockdown rules for those who've been immunized, the head of German pharmaceutical company BioNTech said Wednesday.

The European Union has lagged behind Britain and the United States in the race to get shots into arms, but in recent weeks the pace of vaccinations has picked up significantly.

Ugur Sahin, whose company developed the first widely approved shot against COVID-19 with U.S. partner Pfizer, predicted that "50-60% of the population will have received the vaccine" by the end of June, at which point any easing of pandemic restrictions would affect a broad swath of the population.

He cited studies from Israel, which shares medical data on its vaccination campaign with Pfizer, showing that people who have been immunized rarely fall seriously ill and are significantly less likely to transmit the virus to others.

Sahin suggested Europe could reach herd immunity "in July, latest by August," but cautioned that children would still be among those at risk as the vaccine has so far only been approved for people over 16. A small number of children who fall ill with COVID-19 suffer serious illness or long-term effects.

While the exact threshold required to reach that critical level of immunization remains a matter of debate, experts say a level above 70% would significantly disrupt transmission of the coronavirus within a population.

BioNTech's vaccine makes up a large share of the doses administered in North America, where it is more commonly known as the Pfizer shot, and the EU, which is poised to place a massive, multi-year order of 1.8 billion doses in the coming days.

Sahin said data from people who have received the vaccine show that the immune response gets weaker over time, and a third shot will likely be required.

In this Thursday, March 18, 2021 file photo, Ugur Sahin, co-founder of the Mainz-based coronavirus vaccine developer BioNTech, listens during an Axel Springer Award ceremony. Europe can achieve 'herd immunity' against the coronavirus within the next four months, the head of German pharmaceutical company BioNTech, which developed the first widely approved COVID-19 vaccine with U.S. partner Pfizer, said Wednesday. (Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa via AP, Pool, file)

Studies show the efficacy of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine declines from 95% to about 91% after six months, he said.

"Accordingly, we need a third shot to get the vaccine protection back up to almost 100% again" Sahin told reporters during a video call.

Vaccine recipients currently receive a second dose three weeks after their first shot, although some countries have longer intervals. Sahin suggested the third should be administered nine to 12 months after the first shot.

"And then I expect it will probably be necessary to get another booster every year or perhaps every 18 months," he said.

Concerns have been raised that existing vaccines might be less effective against new variants of the virus now emerging in different parts of the world.

Sahin said BioNTech has tested its vaccine against more than 30 variants, including the now-dominant one first detected in Britain, and found the shot triggers a good immune response against almost all of them in the lab. In cases where the immune response was weaker, it remained sufficient, he said, without providing exact figures.

Asked about the new variant first detected in India, Sahin said the vaccine's effectiveness against it was still being investigated.

"But the Indian variant has mutations that we have previously investigated and against which our vaccine also works, so I am confident there, too," he said.

In this Dec. 22, 2020 file photo, Ugur Sahin, CEO of Biontech, stands at the companies headquarters in Mainz, Germany. Ugur Sahin, BioNTech's chief executive, which developed the first widely approved COVID-19 vaccine with U.S. partner Pfizer, said Europe can achieve 'herd immunity' against the coronavirus within the next four months. (Andreas Arnold/dpa via AP, File)

"The vaccine is quite cleverly constructed, and the bulwark will hold. I'm convinced of that," Sahin said. "If the bulwark needs to be strengthened again, we'll do so. I'm not worried."

The company is investigating reports of heart inflammation cases in people who received the vaccine in Israel, but so far hasn't seen any data that would indicate a heightened risk, Sahin said. Some 5 million people in Israel have been vaccinated, primarily with the BioNTech/Pfizer shot, giving it one of the highest coverages in the world.

"We take everything we hear very seriously," Sahin said. "The most important principle in drug development is to do no harm."

BioNTech expects to receive approval in July for its vaccine to be used in China, where it cooperates with local firm Fosun Pharma, he said.

Meanwhile, BioNTech and Pfizer are working with other manufacturers to ramp up production of the mRNA shot as worldwide demand still far outstrips supply.

"When we started 2021, our goal was to produce 1.3 billion doses, and now we've increased that to 3 billion doses," said Sahin, praising pharmaceutical giants such as Novartis, Sanofi and Baxter for joining in the effort.

His company is in talks to create production facilities in Asia, South America and Africa, and may also issue special licenses to other "really competent" manufacturers to boost global supply of the vaccine, Sahin said.

"We don't want to have a low-quality vaccine in Africa," he added, dismissing suggestions that the recipe for it could simply be made freely available.

In this Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021 file photo shows the logo on the BioNTech biotechnology building where production of the COVID-19 vaccine has started, in Marburg, Germany. Ugur Sahin, BioNTech's chief executive, which developed the first widely approved COVID-19 vaccine with U.S. partner Pfizer, said Europe can achieve 'herd immunity' against the coronavirus within the next four months. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)

Countering fierce criticism that the European Union had bungled its vaccine procurement process, Sahin said the 27-nation bloc deserved praise for managing to coordinate the simultaneous delivery of the first batches to all member states at the end of December.

"Europeans can be proud that they found a fair solution," he said, adding that the bloc also exported large numbers of doses elsewhere.

"It doesn't help if Europeans are safe and other countries, where the virus is still raging, keep churning out new variants," he said.

Sahin founded BioNTech in 2008 with his wife, the scientist Ozlem Tureci. Together they decided to pivot from cancer research to developing a coronavirus vaccine in early 2020 and reached out to Pfizer, which had the necessary expertise to conduct large-scale clinical trials.

The 55-year-old, whose family emigrated from Turkey to Germany when he was 4, told members of Germany's foreign press association VAP that it was "a very nice feeling" to be hearing of more and more people who are able to finally see loved ones again after getting vaccinated with his company's shot.

Sahin said he expects a "new normal" soon, where "one can move about freely and most people have a very good immune protection" against the virus.

Even so, some would either not want to get vaccinated or have a weak immune system "and we have to consider these people too," he said.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The Federal Council

Bern, 28.04.2021 - Bern, 28 April 2021  The Federal Council is committed to ensuring equitable access to vaccines, tests and medicines worldwide in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic sustainably. Accordingly, it decided at its meeting today to support the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator initiative with CHF 300 million. This initiative aims to improve access to immunization, testing and medication in developing countries and bolster local healthcare systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have far-reaching health, economic and social effects worldwide. Combating the virus is particularly challenging for developing countries. While great progress has been made in the development of tests, treatments and vaccines, broad and equitable worldwide access to these resources is lacking. The emerging, highly contagious mutations of the virus are worrying and further complicate global diagnosis, treatment and vaccination efforts. A quick, efficient end to the pandemic is very much in Switzerland's interest. The virus can only be successfully contained once its spread is curbed worldwide and its global impact, both in terms of health and the economy, is reduced. The Federal Council therefore intends to join an international appeal and support the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) initiative with a sum of CHF 300 million to aid developing countries. Parliament will discuss a supplementary credit to this end in the summer session.

Supporting the goals of the ACT-A initiative

ACT-A was launched in 2020 by the G20 countries and the European Commission. The initiative aims to develop vaccines, medicines and tests and strengthen healthcare systems worldwide to effectively combat COVID-19. ACT-A includes various health-related actors, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. Switzerland considers it important to coordinate with international partners and work together to ensure that the virus is contained around the world. Switzerland therefore already supported ACT-A last year, with CHF 75 million.



Specific use of the funds

More than one third of the CHF 300 million earmarked for ACT-A is to go to Geneva-based GAVI, whose goal is to improve access to vaccines in developing countries. GAVI buys COVID-19 vaccines inexpensively and distributes them to developing countries that have submitted their distribution and vaccination plan for these vaccines. Another part of the amount is reserved for promoting research, development and access to tests and medicines. The remaining funds will be used to strengthen local healthcare systems in developing countries. One particular focus here is on logistical efforts on the ground to ensure that medicines, test material and vaccines also reach and protect people in crisis zones and remote regions.

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Wunderite, a Boston, MA-based provider of a customer-facing platform for independent insurance agencies, raised $3m in seed funding.

The round was led by Spark Capital with participation from Boston Seed, John Wepler from MarshBerry, Scott Addis from Beyond Insurance, Brian Hetherington from The ABD Team, Ty Harris from Openly, Andrew Krantz from York International, Heffernan Insurance Brokers, Trustco Inc, and BrokerTech Ventures. In conjunction with the funding, Spark Capitals General Partner Alex Finkelstein joined its Board of Directors.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate product development and increase distribution to agencies across the country.

Led by Peter MacDonald, founder and CEO, Wunderite provides an annual subscription-based platform that delivers workflow for independent agents, enabling them to serve customers purchasing or renewing Property & Casualty insurance. The software captures and centralizes customer data to streamline the process of filling out insurance applications. Wunderite, available on mobile devices, works alongside industry software such as Verafore and Applied.

The company partners with a number of insurance broker trade groups and industry associations, including InCite Performance Group and Beyond Insurance.

FinSMEs

28/04/2021
By Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan

Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies, Yerevan, Armenia

The end of the cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union have ushered in hopes of humanity's happy and harmonious future. The ideas such as "End of history" became very popular both within academic circles and policymakers. There was a widespread belief that the entire planet would live under liberal democracy, and interstate conflicts will become bad memories from history. The last decade of the XX century seemed to confirm those hopes. The EU and NATO enlargement, market reforms in former socialist states, cooperative relations between Russia and the West, and the growing US-China economic cooperation have seemingly justified hopes for establishing the world united under the banner of liberal democracy. The US enjoyed its absolute hegemony defined as a "Unipolar moment" with no apparent candidate to challenge its supremacy. Washington embraced the grand strategy of liberal hegemony, which was in one way or another implemented during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations.





However, the beginning of the XXI century crushed these hopes. Russia - West relations started to deteriorate after the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, while the 2014 Crimean crisis brought bilateral relations to the lowest point since the end of the Cold War. Meanwhile, astonishing Chinese economic growth and the emergence of the multi-million middle class did not bring about political changes in China.





The turning point was the 2008 world financial crisis. It started in the US and shook the Western-dominated international financial system. It coincided with the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, which proved the ascent of China. The old mechanisms such as G-7 and later G-8 were unable to implement effective global governance, and the first summit of the G-20 in November 2008 was the harbinger of an upcoming tectonic shift in the world order. The establishment of new multilateral organizations such as BRICS and India and Brazil's rapid growth were clear signs that the world was drifting away from the "Unipolar Moment" towards a more complex multi-polar world.





The election of President Trump in November 2016 brought about new impetus in the US-China rivalry, while despite the perceived pro-Russia policy of President Trump, there were no significant improvements in the US - Russia relations. The 2017 US National Security Strategy explicitly put the great power rivalry at the center of the current international relations accusing Russia and China of their revisionist efforts.





Despite all its criticism of President Trump, President Biden most probably will continue tough policy towards China seeking to encircle Beijing with the US-friendly states. A recent effort to transform Quad grouping into an alliance is a clear sign of US intentions, while the policy towards Russia is more nuanced. Biden called President Putin "a killer" and imposed new sanctions on Kremlin. Meanwhile, the US offered Russia to organize a bilateral Presidential summit in 2021, stating its intention "to have predictable relations with Moscow." President Biden reiterated his desire to reinvigorate the US alliances, strengthen transatlantic ties and protect democracy. It may seem that the Biden administration seeks to restore the US absolute hegemony and bring back the world to 1991. However, this is an unrealistic goal, and most probably, the Biden administration understands well that the world in the XXI century will be the "multi-polar" one. The recent publication in one of the most influential American think tanks argued for establishing the "New concert of powers resembling the XIX century Concert of Europe and warned against efforts to restore the grand strategy of the liberal hegemony. It is a clear sign that at least part of the American establishment understands that a multi-polar world is a reality and the best course for the US is to adapt to these new conditions.





The emergence of the "Multi-polar world order" will inevitably trigger regional instability and the rivalry for regional hegemony. The absence of the world hegemon or the "world policeman" means that the second-tier states will be more inclined to use coercion as the primary tool to push forward their national interests. These states now enjoy much more flexibility in choosing their alliances and playing one great power off another. One of the best examples of this situation in Turkey. Being fully anchored in the US sphere of influence during the Cold war, Turkey now effectively balances between the US and Russia, opposing Washington in Syria and Kremlin in the Black Sea region. The Greater Middle East is a good example depicting the rivalry for regional hegemony between Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, while external players such as Russia, the US, and China seek to push forward their national interests.





If an emerging multi-polar world creates new possibilities for the second-tier states, the small states face growing challenges and threats. The rivalry for regional hegemony, growing instability, the erosion of accepted rules and norms, and the emphasis on coercion in interstate relations create complex problems for small states. It is especially valid for small states which are located on the fault lines of great powers. They may quickly become the "gray zones" or "areas of hybrid operations" with possible proxy wars and permanent instability.





The South Caucasus is one of such areas contested by Russia, Iran, Turkey, the US, the EU, and recently China. The harbinger of the more volatile and insecure world for the region was the 2020 Karabakh war, which resulted in the defeat of Armenia. It was an example of cooperative/competitive relations of powers vying for regional hegemony  in this case, Russia and Turkey  and the growing role of military power in the conflict settlement process. Meanwhile, despite significant gains by Azerbaijan, Baku failed to take Nagorno Karabakh fully and was forced to accept the Russian peacekeepers' deployment. President Aliyev reiterates that conflict has been solved, but anyone with basic knowledge about the region understands that this is not the case. Azerbaijan either has to accept the independent status of Nagorno Karabakh or wage another war if Russian peacekeepers leave the region.





Meanwhile, the 2020 Karabakh war was a harsh lesson for Armenia. Yerevan should reconsider its foreign policy if it does not want to lose what remained from Karabakh. The key here is not to ruin the strategic alliance with Russia. If Russian soldiers leave Karabakh, no state or organization globally  the US, France, Germany, China, India, NATO, or EU, will prevent Armenians' massacre or forced deportation. The alliance with Russia is an absolute necessity but not sufficient to secure the future of Armenia and Karabakh. Armenia should develop relations with all powers that are not happy with assertive Turkish foreign policy in the South Caucasus and beyond. It does not mean that no trade or economic relations can exist between Armenia and Turkey. There are many examples of adversary states having diplomatic and economic relations, such as India and Pakistan. However, Armenia should significantly restrict the access for Turkish capital and investments to enter the Armenian market.





Armenia should pay significant attention to fostering cooperation with China in its efforts to develop relations with other powers concerned with growing Turkish influence and assertive foreign policy in the Caucasus and Central Asia. As for now, China is not an active player in the South Caucasus, but the situation may change. The recent China  Iran multibillion investment deal brought China closer to Armenia. China and Turkey enjoy strong economic cooperation, and Turkey is a significant actor in the Chinese Belt and Road initiative. However, the growing pressure of the United States on China concerning the Uyghur issue, and the support which Uyghurs enjoy in Turkey, create complications in the bilateral relations.





Meanwhile, Armenia should not sit and wait until China approaches Yerevan with suggestions. Armenia is too small for China to put Armenia into its strategic calculus. Yerevan needs to develop a solid strategy towards China, and as the first step, Armenia needs to send clear messages underlying Armenia's friendly attitude towards Beijing. These steps may include starting negotiations to invite Chinese telecom companies to explore the possibility of launching a 5G network in Armenia and an Armenian decision to cancel its membership in the International Religious Freedom Alliance, an irritant for Beijing.





About the Author:





Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan is Founder and Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies and also, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia since 2011. He was Vice President for Research  Head of the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense Research University in Armenia in August 2016  February 2019. He joined Institute for National Strategic Studies (predecessor of NDRU) in March 2009 as a Research Fellow and was appointed as INSS Deputy Director for research in November 2010. Before this, he was the Foreign Policy Adviser of the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia. Dr. Poghosyan has also served as a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences and was an adjunct professor at Yerevan State University and in the European Regional Educational Academy.





His primary research areas are the geopolitics of the South Caucasus and the Middle East, US  Russian relations, and their implications for the region. He is the author of more than 70 Academic papers and OP-EDs in different leading Armenian and international journals. In 2013, Dr. Poghosyan was appointed as a "Distinguished Research Fellow" at the US National Defense University - College of International Security Affairs and also, he is a graduate of the US State Department's Study of the US Institutes for Scholars 2012 Program on US National Security policymaking. He holds a Ph.D. in History and is a graduate from the 2006 Tavitian Program on International Relations at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
WEST COLUMBIA  The parent company of firearms maker Palmetto State Armory inked a tax deal for a new facility in a former Midlands brake plant.

Lexington County Council voted unanimously April 27 to provide property tax incentives for the company, described by Council Chairman Todd Cullum, as a "veteran-owned small-arms manufacturer," in exchange for its $61.7 million investment into the former Akebono Brake plant in West Columbia near the Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

The deal also comes with the promise of 150 new jobs.

The company did not respond to requests for comment on the deal, which was completed under the code name "Project Bronco." The agreement was signed by the chief financial officer of JJE Capital Holdings, the private equity firm behind Palmetto State Armory helmed by co-owners Jamin McCallum, Edward Laroque and Julian Wilson, the son of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-Springdale, and brother of S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson. Wilson and McCallum were S.C. National Guard officers.

Under the agreement, Palmetto State Armory will receive a reduced property tax rate of 6 percent rather than the typical 10 percent corporate rate charged to South Carolina manufacturers, for the next 20 years.

The company is also asking for tax credits to further buy down its property tax bill  equivalent to 20 percent of the investments it makes for the first five years and 10 percent for the five years after.

It is unknown what the company's plans are for its current manufacturing site at 2121 Old Dunbar Road. Palmetto State Armory last expanded that facility in 2014, investing $4.2 million and providing 300 jobs.

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The new location, at 201 Metropolitan Drive, became available after Japanese automotive supplier Akebono Brake Corp. shuttered in September 2020. The Midlands factory, which was opened at a cost of $104 million in 1999, made disc brake calipers for passenger vehicles.

The West Columbia brake plant and several others around the country were closed when General Motors started pulling back on purchases of Akebono products as part of the struggling U.S. automaker's own restructuring.

In addition to the existing building, the new tax deal also includes Palmetto State Armory's investment in another 30 acres at the corner of Metropolitan Drive and Enterprise Parkway.

Palmetto State Armory's expansion follows a year of record gun sales across the United States. The rush for firearms began in the spring as states began locking down due to COVID-19 pandemic and continued throughout the summer as protests erupted following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

By the end of 2020, 23 million guns were sold, up from about 12.4 million in 2019, the Washington Post reported, and the trend has yet to slow.

Palmetto State Armory, which in addition to manufacturing has five retail stores around the state, also has grown its offerings in the past year with the purchase of several brands from bankrupt Remington Outdoor Co. Inc.

The gunmaker's parent company, JJE Capital, agreed to pay $1.9 million for Remingtons DPMS, H&R and AAC branded firearms, as well as Storm Lake gun barrels, according to Oct. 23 filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Why do we need a shared Pan-Arctic fisheries governance complex?

by Ekaterina Uryupova

April 28,2021 | Source: The Arctic Institute

By the end of 2020, nine of the ten countries-signatories ratified the 2018 Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement. But is that reason to celebrate? Not really. In the Arctic, abundant fisheries provide the primary source of food for the region. However, their productivity, as well as their impact on species diversity and importance for industrial and traditional fisheries, varies greatly. This specifies the fisheries governance framework in the entire region.



Unlike Antarctica, where the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) focuses on the conservative and precautionary use of the fish stocks, the ice-free Arctic area is covered by regional fisheries management organizations. Commercial fishing in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas is not evenly distributed, and it is very much locally concentrated  so far. But the ocean is a dynamic natural system that changes rapidly, and this has been especially true in recent decades.



The high seas contain commercially important species, such as cod, crabs, halibut, pollock, shrimps, capelin, squid, scallops, etc.. Some of the species are defined as circumpolar, while others are characterized by wider distribution. But how do we manage fish stocks in the region in response to environmental changes? And what is the nearest future of a Pan-Arctic fisheries legal regime? Does the existing mechanism work fast enough when it comes to current climate change issues?



The Central Arctic Ocean



According to the Arctic Council, nine of the ten signatories have completed the ratification process for the 2018 Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement (CAOFA) recently. The agreement is expected to enter into force 30 days after receipt of the final instrument of ratification (the tenth signatory) and it will remain in effect for 16 years. There is an option of an automatic extension of the agreement for additional five-year periods if all the Parties agree). If any of the ten Parties fails to provide the relevant instrument to the depository, the agreement will not enter into force at all.



The prerequisite to the agreement was a declaration signed by Arctic coastal states in 2015, which prohibited commercial fishing by the Arctic nations vessels in the international waters of the Central Arctic Ocean). However, the underpinnings of this agreement were put forth several years prior: a joint resolution directing the United States to initiate international discussions on management of fish stocks in the Arctic Ocean was declared in 2007). The resolution was signed into law in 2008, and the United States established a catch quota of zero for US waters in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas until it obtained sufficient information to support the establishment of an economically and environmentally sustainable fishery). The CAOFA is based on a similar idea, as there is a lack of scientific information about fish stocks and ecosystem dynamics in the region.



The current multilateral moratorium aims to prevent Arctic Ocean fishing, setting aside some degree of sovereignty disputes while scientific research exploration continues.) This moratorium on commercial fishing applies to the central Arctic Ocean, which currently remains ice-covered for most of the year. In other words, the ice-free parts of the Arctic Ocean are open for fisheries and research, as they were before.



The CAOFA provides great opportunities for cooperative governance of the Arctic, including Arctic and non-Arctic states. It establishes a precautionary framework for the regulation of fisheries in the high seas of the central Arctic Ocean (CAO), including a temporary moratorium on unregulated commercial fishing. The agreements precautionary nature seems to be an advantage in planning of fishing activities in adjacent areas, as well as to prevent any negative impacts to commercially significant fish species in the Central Arctic and adjacent seas.



Various factors may have a negative impact on ecosystems in the Central Arctic Ocean in the future. If the distribution and productivity of fish stocks in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in the Arctic were altered due to climate change, it would be logical to assume that the high latitudes with ice-free ocean areas might be considered future fishing grounds. If in the future the multilateral moratorium on the Arctic high seas fisheries could not be extended for a variety of reasons, we might expect increased competition for marine living resources of the Arctic).



The Role of Regional Fisheries Governance



It is worth mentioning that northern nations possess 200 nautical miles of offshore EEZ, or exclusive sea zones prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), over which these countries have special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources. The current allocation of catches in the region is therefore dominated by the Arctic states  Norway, Canada, Russia, Iceland, and the USA. Greenland and the Faroe Islands, autonomous self-governing entities within the Kingdom of Denmark, are considered special cases and are therefore not included under the European Unions Common Fisheries Policy. Their special status is a direct result of their histories, as marine living resources are integral to traditional and Indigenous cultures there. According to the assessment on Arctic biodiversity, a total of 633 fish species are found in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas.) Among them, 80 (12.6 percent) are freshwater species, 44 (6.9 percent) inhabit both marine and fresh waters, and 16 species (2.5 percent) are mainly restricted to Arctic waters. Less than 10 percent of the total fish biodiversity is used for commercial purposes in the Arctic Ocean, sub-Arctic and boreal areas.)



Commercial fishing activity does occur in the high seas areas of the North Atlantic and North Pacific. Specifically, large-scale commercial fisheries activities are taking place in the Barents and the Bering Seas, but other fisheries in the Arctic Ocean are essentially limited to small-scale subsistence fisheries in Arctic coastal states maritime zones.



The regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), as well as sub-regional and bilateral instruments, play an active role in preventing unregulated commercial fishing in the high seas part of the Arctic Ocean. Some of them manage all the fish stocks found in a specific area, while others focus on particular highly-migratory species. The organizations are open both to countries in the region and countries with interests in the fisheries concerned. For instance, the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) has a mandate over the North-East Atlantic sector, and the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC) has a mandate over the North Pacific area. Among others are organizations with quite limited competence in the Arctic, including the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) and the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO).



How might potential disagreement on fisheries management in the Arctic be used in effective negotiation on a local level? For example, there is a controversial issue between Iceland and the European Union. Iceland provides EU member states with access to its EEZ, while the EU requires that Iceland end the whaling activities.) There is still room for improvement in the effectiveness of the legal framework governing Arctic waters, and every particular case is essential to ensure future sustainable fisheries. In general, fisheries management in the different parts of the Arctic Ocean is a mixture of coastal state regulation and a multilateral approach. In this framework, bilateral agreements between countries help to regulate and manage access to fish stocks within adjacent EEZ. For example, the Joint Commission established by the bilateral framework Agreement between Russia and Norway works relatively effective for both states.). Recently, the close relations between the United Kingdom and Norway have been recalled too,) as well as with the Faroe Islands. However, a post-Brexit agreement between the EU and the UK has taken a long time to be finalised for UK catches in Arctic waters. These small points matter when it comes to the work of the entire mechanism, especially in a rapidly changing Arctic region.



Present and Future of Arctic Fisheries Management



Some specifics may be identified regarding the especially high vulnerability of the Arctic to the general impacts of a rapidly changing environment. Climate change could force the migration of boreal species towards the northern seas, which would result in a complete shift in ecosystem composition and undermine existing food webs. This scenario, however, does not diminish the role of intensified competition between fisheries companies that may cause stress for the environment. The absence of a shared legal regime that may respond to climate changes in a fast and effective way hampers international cooperation on environmental security and impacts regional ecosystems in the Arctic. Climate change will most likely lead to new fisheries conflicts, and create more challenges for existing fisheries management institutions. Moreover, the speed of climatic disruption adds a new level of complexity and challenge to the current legal systems as soon as these systems were not designed to address. To increase dynamism in the law and the flexibility of decision making, the Arctic needs an updated shared legal regime that shows adaptive resource management  for example, through the complex of the existing agreements used as an universal international legally binding instrument.



The current governance frameworks response to climate change from multiple organizations leaving less efficient adaptation. Uncertainties regarding climate change impacts may also lead to wrong or superfluous decisions. Counterproductive responses may be easily achieved as a result of a wrong choice by a level of government that is best suited to an adaptive reaction. One can argue that there is a variety of habitats and ecosystems in the Arctic Ocean, and it requires an ecosystem-based management approach only. Notably, this approach has already been adopted by the Arctic Council Ministers in 2004 as a principle for work in the region.) However, when it comes to the nature of marine living resources, it should be taken into account that the geographic boundaries can be easily crossed by migratory species, especially in a rapidly changing Arctic ocean.



What are the consequences of these migrations? With the rising temperatures, species that inhabit the climatic zone south of the Arctic will likely continue to migrate northward and replace local cold-water species. Scientists predict the natural marine ecosystems will undergo a dramatic transformation that may lead to a significant change in the distributions of fish stocks in the Arctic high seas. In the Barents Sea, warm-water fish species from the Atlantic and central Barents Sea have already pushed cold-water fish species out of the shelf area. Cod, a major commercial species, as well as long rough dab and beaked redfish (which can be considered generalist fish species) travel towards the north in search of suitable habitats.) Also, recent observations have shown that the spawning sites of Northeast Arctic cod will be shifted further north eastwards over the next 50 years.) In high latitudes, Atlantic mackerel has been found west of Svalbard,) and Atlantic cod, capelin, Greenland halibut, haddock, redfish  as far north as the shelf break north of Svalbard.) In the Pacific sector, pink salmon is inhabiting the warming northern Bering Sea: due to its short, two-year life cycle, the species is well known to respond rapidly to ecosystem change.) These global processes lead to dramatic changes not only in expanded nursery areas but also in growing availability of sufficient food for fish in the northern waters.



The increased accessibility of the Arctic, with new fishing opportunities, is both enabling and propelling Arctic states to develop national regulation for areas characterized by shrinking ice in order to discharge their obligations under international law. In 2009, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) approved a comprehensive Arctic fishery management plan that lead to commercial fishery development in the U.S. Arctic Exclusive Economic Zone (off Alaska north of the Bering Strait). The High Seas are a particular international component of the marine environment of the Arctic Ocean. Resources and ecosystems extend across political boundaries, highlighting the need for governance and planning to be developed and coordinated at the higher than the national level. And the Arctic is warming faster than any other area on Earth, so this complex region requires a special legal regime.



In the Arctic, highly migratory fish stocks and boreal invaders are subject to the different governance regimes of the high seas and the EEZ. However, the international legal framework on fisheries in the High Seas does not allow absolute open-access schemes, so ecological alterations may potentially destabilize existing management regimes. Changes to fishery stock compositions and distributions can result in conflicts between Arctic nations due to overlapping jurisdictional claims, unregulated fishing, and a lack of multi-regional agreements. The current model of Arctic fisheries management is not flexible enough to effectively address future fishery challenges caused by climate change. The comprehensive regime of law and order in the high seas is required to protect vulnerable Indigenous peoples from the impacts of climate change.



Transnational negotiations over fisheries and quotas are obstacles that hinder current regional fisheries governance in the Arctic. Often, countries argue over holes located between the exclusive economic zones. Such a high seas pocket between Norway and Russia in the Barents Sea was targeted for cod by vessels from different states throughout most of the 1990s. Also, this scheme does not look easy for non-Arctic states: recently the UK has been blocked from catches in the Arctic waters due to delays in a post-Brexit agreement to be signed.



A short while ago, an intergovernmental dispute emerged in relation to fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic: a conflict between Iceland, Norway, the EU, and Denmark (representing the Faroe Islands and Greenland) that unfolded after the abrupt and rapid change in distribution of the northeast Atlantic mackerel stock after 2007.) Originally, Norway, the EU and Faroe Islands shared the mackerel quotas, but shifts in migratory behaviour of the fish resulted in Iceland being involved in fishing activities in its EEZ. After many rounds of negotiations between Iceland and Norway and the EU, the dispute remains unresolved. As a result of the mackerel dispute, sanctions have been implemented against Iceland, but the country continues to set its own quotas each fishing year. The dispute demonstrates the limitations of high seas fisheries management mechanisms, and the challenges involved in ensuring compliance. In other words, a changing climate has been challenging the effectiveness of existing international resource management structures in Arctic waters. The matter of quota allocation and access to the exclusive economic zones tend to be a highly controversial aspect of fisheries management anytime, thus this problem might be solved by a broader and more powerful set of compliance mechanisms. Nowadays, the basis for a legal framework in the region are the UNCLOS of 1982 and the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) of 1995, they provide principles of international cooperation in conservation and fisheries management but do not formalize the way states use them.



Talking about the Arctic regions with local regimes, such as the Svalbard Fisheries Protection Zone in the Barents Sea or a nearshore area around the Franz Josef Land Archipelago, the exclusive fishing rights (full or limited) in the zones are given to nations as compared to full exclusive economic zones. Those countries manage to provide access to their waters to other interested parties. However, if a fisheries conflict appears, the broader system of laws may be very helpful. For instance, a discord on the use of the Svalbard Fisheries Protection Zone established by the Norwegian Government in 1977 still needs to be resolved, as soon as it has been an issue of international dispute ever since.



Fisheries galore in the Arctic requires the precautionary approach which is always a part of a broader set of principles of responsible harvesting that includes biodiversity protection, science-based decisions, and ecosystem awareness. The changes occurring in the Arctic due to shrinking of sea ice may create unfavourable conditions for species that are economic resources at present. All kinds of human activities that were not possible because of severe climate characteristics, may result in risk of environmental degradation and consequently to decrease in fish stocks. The absence of a single effective governance complex on enforcing power that coordinates fishing in the Arctic region might also lead to the situation that the international cooperation in the fisheries sector is affected. The exploration and exploitation of living resources in the marine Arctic will require the adoption of new regulatory measures in order to effectively mitigate and adapt to climate change.



Turning Weakness into Strengths



The existing framework for fisheries management, with global, regional and national components is applicable to the Arctic. Despite a large number of bodies where cooperation in research and management occurs, a comprehensive, Arctic-specific legal regime is still lacking. The Arctic Council remains the only organization working at the global Arctic level, with a focus on regional monitoring and conservation management. Nevertheless, there are no legally binding obligations, structural funding, or a permanent and independent secretariat at the Arctic Council.) The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth, so it requires a solution-focused approach. It may require preparation of additional measures applicable to the CAO and potentially to other parts of the Arctic Ocean in order to provide options for more stringent ecological/fisheries regulation on a regional basis by coastal and other interested states. In general, the CAOFA only aims to prevent rather than resolve the issues, so there is a long way to go to build a solid governance complex in the entire Arctic. Alternatively, it would be possible to fold the Arctic Ocean governance complex, including the CAOFA, into more comprehensive arrangements designed to use marine living resources sustainably. Admittedly, environmental security and shared fisheries interests should prevail on geopolitical agreements and conflicts in the Arctic region. The reinforcement of the existing system is possible through better cooperation and scientific coordination in the Arctic, effective inter-organizational networking, and quick response to the field.

Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade, Others, Landing Centres, Freshwater ecosystems and threats, Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods, Fisheries Resources, Fisheries Development and Aquaculture, Communities and Organisations, Coastal Ecosystems and Threats.
BOGOTA, Colombia, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Avianca Holdings S.A. (OTCMKTS: AVHOQ, BVC:PFAVH) (the "Company" or "Avianca") today announced Adrian Neuhauser has been named the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Neuhauser succeeds Anko van der Werff who has resigned from his role at the Company, effective today, to take on a new CEO role at a company in Europe. Mr. Van der Werff will join the Company's Board of Directors and, to help ensure a smooth transition, he will also serve as an advisor through the middle of June.

Mr. Neuhauser joined Avianca in 2019 as Chief Financial Officer and most recently served as President, with direct reports including the Chief Operating Officer, the Legal Vice Presidency and General Counsel, the VP of Purchasing and the Architecture Department. During Mr. Neuhauser's tenure, he has also overseen the Company's corporate restructuring process. He has more than 20 years of experience in the financial sector with a focus on investment banking as well as extensive experience working with transportation companies, including airlines, railroad, and trucking companies. Prior to joining Avianca, Mr. Neuhauser was Managing Director at Credit Suisse covering airlines throughout the Americas. Previously, he held senior positions at Deutsche Bank, Bank of America as well as Merrill Lynch where he was responsible for M&A and capital markets transactions in Chile and the Andean Region. Mr. Neuhauser holds an Economics Degree from Pontificia Universidad Catolica.

"Adrian has intimate knowledge of Avianca, a proven track record in overseeing the Company's corporate restructuring and more than two decades of experience in the finance industry and working with transportation companies  all of which make him uniquely qualified to lead Avianca at this critical time stated Mr. Roberto Kriete, Chairman of Avianca's Board of Directors. On behalf of the Board and major stakeholders, we are confident in Avianca's path forward with Adrian at the helm, and we look forward to seeing the Company reach new levels of success under his leadership."

Mr. Neuhauser said, "I am honored to lead this incredible company and am energized to work alongside the rest of the Avianca team as we continue to meet the travel needs of our valued customers. I have every confidence that Avianca is well positioned to emerge from our corporate restructuring process and continue to be a highly competitive and successful carrier in the Americas. Anko has been a strong leader and partner and I wish him all the best. At the same time, I look forward to working closely with the Board and management team as we build on the Company's 100-year legacy and execute our new vision  'Cambiando Juntos', to position Avianca for the future."

Mr. Van der Werff stated, "It has been a great privilege to lead Avianca over the past two years. With global air travel resuming as COVID vaccines are rolled out and significant progress having been made in our corporate restructuring, we are at logical juncture to transition to a new leader who will guide Avianca into its next chapter. I am truly grateful for how everyone at Avianca came together as one team to navigate the effects of the global pandemic, which was the most difficult time in our industry's history. I am proud of the long-term labor agreements and strengthened relationships with our pilots and other employee groups as well as the work completed to ensure Avianca has the right aircraft fleet to meet the future needs of the business. I will miss working alongside our team every day, but I have made a personal decision to return with my family to Europe. Adrian has made a tremendous impact since joining Avianca and his insights and experience will be instrumental in taking the Company forward. I look forward to continuing to support Avianca as a member of the Board."

Mr. Kriete added, "Anko has made many invaluable contributions to Avianca throughout his tenure, including helping to steer the Company through a crucial period as Avianca was faced with the complete grounding of its passenger fleet and other unprecedented effects of a global pandemic. We thank Anko for his service and wish him and his family well on the next leg of their journey. We are pleased he will join the Board, allowing us to continue to benefit from his expertise as Director."

About Avianca Holdings S.A. (OTCMKTS: AVHOQ) (BVC: PFAVH)

Avianca is the trademark for the group of passenger airlines and cargo airlines under the holding company Avianca Holdings S.A. Avianca has been flying continuously for 100 years.

Forward-Looking Statements

Avianca has included statements in this press release that constitute "forward-looking statements". As a general matter, forward-looking statements are those focused on future or anticipated events or trends, expectations, and beliefs including, among other things, the Company's expectations with respect to its Chapter 11 proceedings, the airline industry and the further impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such statements are intended to be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "will," "project," "plan" and similar expressions in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Any forward-looking statements are and will be based upon the Company's then-current expectations, estimates and assumptions regarding future events and are applicable only as of the dates of such statements. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements in this press release are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, including with respect to the Chapter 11 process, related negotiations and hearings before the Bankruptcy Court, as well as the COVID-19 crisis. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in this press release for numerous reasons, including factors outside of the Company's control. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise this press release, including any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts

Investor Contact

Avianca:

Luca Pfeifer, Head of Investor Relations

[email protected]

Media Contact



Avianca:

Maria Carolina Cortes. Vice President Corporate Communications

[email protected]

U.S. and Europe Media Contact

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher:

Leigh Parrish

[email protected]

SOURCE Avianca Holdings S.A.
HOLYOKE  The Planning Board reviewed Winn Developments plans for Appleton Mill Apartments, 88 mixed-income rental units at the former Farr-Alpaca Mill. The board held a virtual session Tuesday night.

The 150,000 square-foot complex resides between the Holyoke Police Department and the Upper-Level Canal, with the Massachusetts Green-High Performance Computing Center as a neighbor.

If approved, Winn plans to split the project into two phases or 88 rental units built in each stage. The project calls for 76 one-bedrooms and 12 two-bedrooms apartments with 75 units reserved for income-qualified applicants.

Amenities include a community room, fitness center and outdoor recreation areas. A city-owned parcel at 191 Appleton St. would provide 91 parking spaces for tenants.

Winn specializes in rehabbing former historic mills and sites, including Residences at Mill 10 in Ludlow, a 55-plus community.

In a recent Holyoke Redevelopment Authority meeting, Planning Director Aaron Vega said Winn is eligible for $2.9 million in state tax credits and funding introduced by the Baker-Polito Administration.

Vega, who spoke at Tuesdays meeting, said the department has worked with Winn for six years. The new state funding propels the project forward, allowing for an earlier construction start date. Its a full-court press for the whole office, he said.

Lauren Canepari, a senior project director with Winn, said the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development released new funding. A June 11 applications deadline looms for shovel ready projects, including Appleton Mills.

Winn must obtain local approval for the project before applying. They (the state) want the project to start as soon as possible, and so do we, Canepari said.

Once funding is secured, construction would begin in the first quarter of 2022. The Appleton Mill project already accrued state and federal tax credits, upon which both phases are reliant.

John Furman, director of Land Development with Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., presented plans for the overall project, including access for emergency vehicles, utilities, traffic mitigation, pedestrian crossings, parking and landscaping.

Holyoke Gas and Electrics residential and commercial natural gas moratorium prevents full service to the building. While propane was mentioned as an alternative fuel source, Furman nixed the idea.

Board Chair John Kelley said the project would be a huge catalyst and a home run for downtown revitalization.

The Planning Board continued the hearing to May 11 at 5:30 p.m. The board could cast a vote on the project after the hearing. Winn seeks approval for Appleton Mill and the parking area.
STUDY EXAMINES WHY SKIN LACERATIONS MAY BE SLOW TO HEAL, EVEN WITH TOPICAL ANTIBIOTICS

https:/ / www. hopkinsmedicine. org/ news/ newsroom/ news-releases/ research-story-tip-study-examines-why-skin-lacerations-may-be-slow-to-heal-even-with-topical-antibiotics

Media Contact: Sheree-Monet Wisdom, swisdom1@jhmi.edu

When you get a cut, scrape or other minor skin laceration, doctors recommend that you take measures to ensure that the wound doesn't get infected and heals properly. Many people opt to use over-the-counter medications, such as topical antibiotic ointments and liquids, to aid the repair process -- and as commonly believed, promote healthy skin healing.

Aiming to put this theory to the test, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers recently examined whether or not skin regeneration is affected when topical ointments are introduced to a wound site.

In their study -- which appeared April 1, 2021, in the journal Cell Host & Microbe -- the researchers suggest that such over-the-counter medications may not be the healers we believe them to be.

The natural environmental factors that enhance skin regeneration are largely unknown. Although our immune systems and the nonpathogenic microorganisms living within our bodies play critical roles in repairing and regenerating our skin's structure, the precise interaction between the two has been unclear.

In a small trial following six adults over a 10-month period, the researchers wanted to see if bacteria made a difference in wound healing. The participants either applied or didn't apply a topical broad-spectrum antibiotic following every skin wound they received. To the surprise of the researchers, the majority of the antibiotic users experienced slower healing. Furthermore, in a concurrent study in mice, the antibiotics prevented the regeneration of hair follicles after wounding.

"We tested many conditions where there were fewer or more bacteria present during wound healing, for example after antibiotic use. We found that generally speaking, normal levels of bacteria -- and even bacterial infections that the body could fight off -- would actually improve healing," says study senior author Luis Garza, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of dermatology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

"If further research confirms the finding of this study -- that common over-the-counter antibiotic treatments are slowing the healing process -- then perhaps people may need to reconsider their use of these products," Garza says.

Garza is available for interviews.

FOR DEPRESCRIBING MEDICATIONS, WHAT THE DOCTOR SAYS IS KEY

https:/ / www. hopkinsmedicine. org/ news/ newsroom/ news-releases/ research-story-tip-for-deprescribing-medications-what-the-doctor-says-is-key

Media Contact: Waun'Shae Blount, wblount1@jhmi.edu

When an older patient no longer needs a medication or requires less dosage, doctors may consider "deprescribing" the medicine. Deprescribing enables clinicians to stop or reduce medications that are no longer beneficial or may even be harmful for a patient.

However, getting people to change their habits -- especially the regimens for taking medications -- may require doctors and other health care providers to think carefully about how they communicate deprescribing.

In a recent study, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers examined the ways older patients prefer to get this communication, finding that "how it's said" can determine the success or failure of the process.

A report on the findings was published April 5, 2021, in JAMA Network Open.

"We tested targeted language that providers could use when suggesting patients stop potentially harmful medications," says study lead author and geriatrician Ariel Green M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., assistant professor of geriatric medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Green and the research team say medicines that were helpful at one stage of life may be harmful or unnecessary at another stage of life. The language used by providers when reducing or stopping medications can help patients and their loved ones make better-informed decisions.

In the study, the researchers shared two scenarios with 835 adults age 65 and older related to medication regimens. One scenario involved a patient taking a statin or a cholesterol-lowering medication to prevent problems such as heart attacks or strokes, and the other scenario involved a sleeping pill being taken for the bothersome, but not life-threatening, symptom of insomnia.

The findings showed that patients were more likely to agree to stop taking the statin medication and the sleeping pill when doctors mentioned that the risk of side effects increased as a result of aging and co-existing health problems. In contrast, patients were less likely to agree to stop taking the statin when doctors used a phrase such as, "I think we should focus on how you feel now rather than thinking about things that might happen years down the road." They also were more hesitant to stopping the sleeping pill when told, "This medicine is unlikely to help you function better."

The study was conducted between March and April 2020. The average age of survey participants was 73 years old; 50% of participants were women; and 80% identified as white. Of the participants surveyed, 59% had personally taken a statin and 15% had taken a sleeping pill. Study participants were asked to choose from seven different phrases that a clinician could use to explain a recommendation for deprescribing.

The research team is currently developing and testing several interventions to improve prescribing -- and deprescribing -- medications for older adults in primary care, especially people living with memory problems or dementia. The current study shows that these interventions incorporate key language and rationales that improve the effectiveness of communication about medication use and deprescribing among older adults, their families and doctors.

Green is available for interviews.

WELL-CARE VISITS PROMOTE BETTER HEALTH DURING TRANSITION FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADOLESCENCE

https:/ / www. hopkinsmedicine. org/ news/ newsroom/ news-releases/ research-story-tip-well-care-visits-promote-better-health-during-transition-from-childhood-to-adolescence

Media Contact: Waun'Shae Blount, wblount1@jhmi.edu

During well-care visits, children are seen by their primary care physician to address health needs. Maintaining these visits can have a positive impact on a child's current and future health. To determine how adolescents use well-care services over time, a research team at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Kennedy Krieger Institute recently reviewed use patterns for nearly 7,000 adolescents based on their age and sex.

In their study -- one of the first to look at individual well-care use patterns throughout the transition from childhood to adolescence rather than just the cumulative number of visits over time -- the researchers discovered that well-care visits often declined during the transition, especially among boys, who were more likely to become disengaged after age 5 well-care visits.

A report on the team's findings was published in the May 2021 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (first posted online Feb. 27, 2021).

"We concluded how it is important to use a life course approach to understand which adolescents are getting or not getting well-care visits over time, since these type of visits are so important to promote positive health outcomes for children of all ages, including boys," says Arik Marcell, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a physician at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

The study assessed data from a survey of 6,872 children who were born between 1980 and 1997 and had at least one well-care visit between the ages of 5 (age reached during 1986-2000) and 17 (age reached during 1998-2015). The children were selected from the Child/Young Adult component of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Among the data factors for the children were race, ethnicity, mother's education and health insurance. Well-care use data were collected every two years from all study participants to assess the last time they were seen for a health checkup.

The study population was 50% female, 49% white, 30% Black and 21% Hispanic. More than three-quarters (78%) lived in an urban setting, 76% had a mother with at least a high school education and 89% had health insurance.

Participants were assessed on how engaged they were with their well-care visits over time -- specifically, from age 5 through age 17. Among girls, 37% were engaged in well care over the studied time frame, 39% were moderately engaged, 14% became gradually reengaged after initially dropping off after the age 5 visit (with visits resumed after age 7), and 10% became disengaged after the age 5 visit (with visits resumed after age 13).

For boys, 48% showed they were persistently disengaged from well care after their age 5 visit, 34% were engaged over the studied time frame, and 18% became gradually reengaged after initially dropping off at the age 5 visit (with visits resumed after age 7).

Well-care use for boys and girls decreased when the child transitioned into adolescence, with significantly greater drop-off for boys than girls. The researchers say this suggests health care providers should implement sex-specific measures to encourage more frequent well-care visits for both sexes during the middle childhood and adolescent years.

To continue their research, the Johns Hopkins Medicine and Kennedy Krieger investigators plan to examine the impact that regular well-care use has on establishing positive health promotion behavior and practices in children and adolescents over time.

Marcell is available for interviews.

GRANT FOCUSES ON PHYSICIAN USE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICING TOOLS DURING PATIENT CARE

https:/ / www. hopkinsmedicine. org/ news/ newsroom/ news-releases/ research-story-tip-grant-focuses-on-physician-use-of-prescription-drug-pricing-tools-during-patient-car

Media Contact: Rachel Butch, rbutch1@jhmi.edu

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have received $400,000 from the Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation to analyze the use of real-time prescription pricing tools that automatically calculate the out-of-pocket cost of medications and appropriate alternatives for doctors to review with their patients during their visit.

"Our long-term goal is to facilitate the adoption of and measure the effectiveness of these real-time health benefit tools nationwide," says Fasika Woreta, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers will use the grant to study how physicians use the real-time prescription benefit tools in their ambulatory clinic visits over a two-year period. The tools -- including the Surescripts Real-Time Prescription Benefit -- were integrated into electronic health records in 2019. They will now be evaluated at the Johns Hopkins Health System, Yale School of Medicine and the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin health network.

The United States ranks higher in spending on prescription drugs than any other country in the world, with half of patients reporting that they have not taken a medication because it was too expensive. This year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has mandated that providers seeing patients with Medicare Advantage and stand-alone Part D plans use real-time prescription benefit tools in electronic health records during every visit in which the provider orders a prescription in an effort to bring down these costs.

Because these pricing tools are so new, data are lacking on how they are used by health care providers. To help remedy this, the research team plans to study:

How and when providers are using the electronic system.

Whether this use is associated with prescribers choosing a different drug type or brand for their patients.

How the prescribing tool impacts patient spending at the pharmacy and decreases unused prescriptions.

How to identify barriers or facilitating factors that enable use of the tools among providers.

Preliminary work by Johns Hopkins investigators has confirmed that the real-time prescription benefit tools provide accurate drug pricing information.

"Our hope is that these tools will enable physicians and patients to engage in conversations regarding medication cost based on their individual prescription benefits at the point of prescribing," says Woreta. "We believe this will lead to selection of more affordable medications, and thus, increased medication adherence by patients."

The researchers will focus their analysis on some of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S., including eye drops, statins and diabetes medications.

Woreta is available for interviews.

###
The State Security Service (SSS) on Wednesday interrogated Usman Bugaje, an ardent critic of President Muhammadu Buhari administration, over a recent interview he granted African Television (AIT).

Sources close to Mr. Bugaje said he reported at the SSS headquarters in Abuja at about 10 a.m. on Wednesday, based on invitation.

Mr Bugaje, who in 2016 turned down the Buhari administrations ambassadorial appointment offer, was interrogated in custody for eight hours, the sources said.

PREMIUM TIMES was told that Mr Bugaje, the convener of Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP), left the SSS premises at about 7p.m. after he was granted bail by the secret police on Wednesday.

Invitation

An associate of Mr Bugaje told our correspondent that the secret service had invited him two weeks ago after he featured twice on the AIT programmes in Abuja.

Dr Bugaje had featured twice on an interview programme of the AIT two weeks ago. After his appearances on the television, he received an invitation from the SSS, asking him to report at its office to provide further clarifications on the comments he made on the programmes.

Today (Wednesday) at 10a.m, he (Mr Bugaje) reported at the SSS in Abuja and he was detained, the source said.

Background

Mr Bugaje, a notable Northern politician who had served in former President Olusegun Obasanjos government, had in 2016 turned down Mr Buharis ambassadorial nomination offer.

He had premised his rejection of the plum job on desire to nurture a development blueprint for Northern Nigeria called, Arewa Research and Development Project.

Mr Bugaje had said on his Facebook page: Regarding the published nomination for an ambassadorial posting, I have not spoken to the press and may not do so anytime soon.

I thank those who think me fit for the job, but I have so much in my hands already, especially the Arewa Research and Development Project, which is the only broad platform in the north driving development.

I have weighed the options and have decided to remain home and continue the struggle for development and good governance.

Mr Bugaje has consistently criticised the Buhari administrations handling of the economy and security.

In a Channels TV interview in January, Mr Bugaje said the government was giving tactical support for kidnapping by failing to act to address the security menace.

We have seen how kidnappers have been collecting money and are enjoying it, and the government is in a way legitimsing the industry, Mr Bugaje said.

He said government cant do what it needs to do, and what it should do, and what it can do, adding that the situation had worsened to the extent that government and security institutions are paying money for the release of their own people.

That means you are supporting growing criminal industry, he said.

The SSS and other security agencies have been criticised by many Nigerians for being always quick to arrest critics of the government and while taking no action to bring perpetrators of the worsening insecurity in the country to justice.

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Insurgency in the North-east and banditry, mass kidnapping and herders attacks in the North-west and the North-central have gone on unchecked, while attacks on security formations and kidnap-for-ransom have escalated in the southern states of the country in the last few weeks.

The incidents have claimed many lives with security agencies, including the SSS, helpless or ineffective in stemming the ugly trend.

No responses

When our correspondent put a call through to Mr Bugajes line as of 7:40 pm on Wednesday to ascertain his release from detention, his line was switched off.

SSS spokesperson, Peter Afunaya, would also not answer this newspapers call or text message enquiry sent to him about Mr Bugajes detention.
Japanese scientists have classified the fossilized bones of a dinosaur found on an island in western Japan as a new species.

The remains were discovered by an amateur fossil collector Kishimoto Shingo on the island of Awaji in Hyogo Prefecture in 2004. They were found in a layer of soil dating to the Late Cretaceous era, or about 72 million years ago.

A group led by Professor Kobayashi Yoshitsugu of the Hokkaido University Museum conducted an analysis and determined that the fossil belongs to Hadrosauridae, a duck-billed herbivorous dinosaur. It is the first of its particular kind to be discovered.

The dinosaur is estimated to have measured up to eight meters long and weighed between four and six tons.

The dinosaur was given the scientific name of "Yamatosaurus izanagii." Izanagi is a deity that appears in a Japanese myth closely connected to the island.

Kishimoto said he is grateful that the dinosaur has a name that lets people know it belongs to Awaji.

Professor Kobayashi said he will study further to find out details of the environment's impact on the evolution of dinosaurs.

The initial findings have been published in the British science journal, Scientific Reports.

The fossil is expected to be on exhibit at a museum in the prefecture from mid-May.
The US Department of Homeland Security announced another extension for citizens to get their Real ID. The delay will be for another 19 months, from Oct. 21, 2021 to May 3, 2023. This marks the second time the federal government has moved the deadline to give citizens more time to get the identification card due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Real ID Deadline Moved to May 2023

According to Cnet, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has moved the deadline for US citizens to process their Real ID due to the ongoing pandemic. Mayorkas stated that extending the deadline will ensure a safe reopening of driver's licensing operations and for citizens to process their Real ID.

Per the US Travel Association, the Real ID extension will undoubtedly be useful so people can show up at any airport in the country now. The non-profit organization noted that many people cannot travel domestically without the Identification Card, and its airports will lose many passengers more than it already has since the COVID-19 restrictions have been implemented.

Read Also: How Much Is My Stimulus Check? Calculate If Your Payment Is Correct

MSN added that it is doubtful that all US states will meet the previous deadline, which was October of this year. DHS Secretary Chad Wolf stated that there was a slight chance that other states could issue their citizens their Real IDs in that time and that the extension will give more time for all state agencies to bounce back and return to its usual operations.

How to Renew Real ID Online?

If US citizens want to renew their Driver's license for a Real ID, they can head to the their respective state's DMV website (example for california is REALID.dmv.ca.gov) and upload their requirements there. At the website, residents will be guided on which documents to upload and pass into the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The DMV also encourages residents to complete the online application for a Real ID before coming to their office, prepared with the appropriate documents like proof of identity (Passport or Birth Certificate), Social Security number, and two Proofs of Residency.

What Is a Real ID?

With that said, getting a Real ID will be needed if a US citizen is frequently boarding domestic flights or entering federal government buildings. The Real ID Act was passed in the wake of the 9/11 incident in 2005.

This act is to set standards for the issuance of sources of identification such as driver's license. It aims to eliminate airline terrorism by adding requirements to obtain documents granting access to domestic planes, per Upgraded Points.

What Does a Real ID Look Like and What Does it Mean?

A Real ID has a Gold or Black Star at the top-left corner of the Driver's license card in several US states. States like New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, and Washington State issued enhanced Driver's licenses or EDLs to their Real IDs.

A Real ID is useful for citizens if they plan to drive a car or travel on a boat to other states like Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. A Real ID is also helpful in getting US citizens a pass on Airports since it is a federal building.

Related Article: [Fact Check] Man Whose Legal Name is ABDCE AEIOU Shows Proof on Facebook That He is Not Fake or a Scammer
PITTSBURGH, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnegie Mellon University and The Heinz Endowments today announced a sweeping initiative to leverage the university's internationally recognized strengths in applied research to address longstanding barriers to equity and foster economic empowerment in the greater Pittsburgh region. The Center for Shared Prosperity aims to create a sustainable and replicable model for community-university collaboration, with a focus on deploying solutions for socio-economic inequities and making measurable progress toward greater economic prosperity and overall well-being of residents.

The Heinz Endowments has committed $30 million over six years to the initiative, which will fund the creation and launch of the center as well as initial real-world projects that are identified by community partners and that are grounded in community. The grant, the largest in The Endowments' history, includes funding to develop, pilot and scale region-wide interventions to identify and address structural barriers to access and opportunity. A portion of the grant will be used to establish an endowment to support the center's work in perpetuity.

"As a university- and community-wide effort, The Center for Shared Prosperity will apply a comprehensive methodology to CMU's engagement across Western Pennsylvania and will leverage our unique expertise to help residents benefit from the innovation economy," said Farnam Jahanian, CMU president. "The Heinz Endowments and CMU have worked together for decades on projects that support Pittsburghers, and this new initiative will expand our community collaborations at a particularly critical moment. With both the pandemic and the rapid pace of technological change contributing to a widening opportunity gap, the solutions proposed through The Center for Shared Prosperity will help our region address societal barriers and will also serve as a model that can be replicated in communities across the country. We are grateful to The Heinz Endowments and its board for their generous support and partnership."

At the heart of the initiative is a new model of collaboration that unites the expertise of both the community and the university. The recently formed Center Community Committee will be charged with identifying specific equity, economic and social justice challenges facing the Pittsburgh region that will be the focus of the center's work, including in areas such as housing, education, transportation, healthcare, technology fluency and access to capital. It will include representation from Western Pennsylvania community organizations and residents; CMU faculty, staff and students; and Heinz Endowments staff.

In turn, solution-oriented working groups composed of community members and CMU participants across multiple disciplines will partner to study these issues, identify structural barriers to access and opportunity, and develop and implement social and technical innovations that address them. These working groups will harness community members' lived experiences and skills, alongside CMU experts in areas where the university leads, including data science, public policy, technology, humanities and the social sciences.

The Center for Shared Prosperity stems partly from discussions between Carnegie Mellon and The Heinz Endowments that began three years ago. Convinced that the Pittsburgh region's path to a sustainable economic future depends heavily on the people, discoveries and enterprises connected with its major research universities, The Endowments was considering major support for CMU  but only if the work would intentionally include the local community and its social, environmental and economic challenges.

"Around the world, a relative handful of major research institutions, Carnegie Mellon among them, are literally inventing the future, with significant global benefits and impacts," said Grant Oliphant, president of The Endowments. "But too rarely are local communities and complex social needs the real beneficiary or even the focus of the knowledge, creativity and wealth-creation flowing from these extraordinary engines of innovation. We wanted to see if Pittsburgh could reinvent that paradigm, and Carnegie Mellon  with its long history of tackling real-world problems  has risen to the challenge."

He added: "This center will put the innovation talents of one of the world's best universities in service to community, and at the same time harness the insights of community on behalf of better innovation. We also hope it will send a signal to peer institutions nationally and globally that they too have a role to play in making sure the prosperity they help create is shared more broadly and equitably. Worsening inequality and social inequity are not inevitable byproducts of innovation, only failures of intention and imagination."

The initiative is ambitious in scope, speed and transparency. Multiple working groups tackling critical issues will be launched within its first year, with interventions developed and piloted in the community within months of the groups' founding. Publicly available stories that illustrate the projects' progress, using multimedia, CMU's EarthTime data visualization tool and voices from the community will be regularly published on the web. The center plans to rely on, and engage, expertise from across all of CMU's schools and colleges, as well as interested alumni.

"Through its unique model of collaboration in which community members and university faculty and staff work together as peers, and the development and distribution of social and technological innovations with real-world applications, the center will help to dismantle barriers to shared prosperity and equity," said CMU Professor Illah Nourbakhsh, who will serve as the center's inaugural executive director. "The Center for Shared Prosperity will be laser-focused on creating direct, sustainable impact on Pittsburgh by bringing research into practice."

For example, recently Nourbakhsh's Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment Lab (CREATE Lab) and its community partners used EarthTime to demonstrate how high rates of mortgage application denials and sharply increasing rental prices are impacting the ability of vulnerable populations to live and prosper in Pittsburgh. In partnership with The Heinz Endowments and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, the team is now working on innovations to make mortgage programs more equitable, such as ensuring debt from education does not disqualify individuals from accessing home financing.

The Center for Shared Prosperity represents a significant step forward on the university's commitment to deeper engagement with, and economic empowerment of, the broader Pittsburgh community. It also builds on a foundation of community engagement developed over the years by countless faculty, staff, students and alumni working with, and for, CMU's neighbors.

"What most excites me about the Center for Shared Prosperity is the tangible commitment from one of Pittsburgh's anchor institutions to be part of the solutions," said Jamil Bey, president and CEO of the UrbanKind Institute, an organization that has worked with Nourbakhsh and that is leading the collaboration behind the Equitable and Just Greater Pittsburgh platform, which is helping to guide the center's work. "By investing in community-driven goals and priorities, and providing funding to test and scale these solutions, it can create momentum that could begin to create needed structural change."

"Through the Center for Shared Prosperity, I hope we can come together and show other communities that we did it," said Terri Shields, executive director of JADA House International and member of the Center Community Committee. "We may not always agree, but we'll respect each other's opinions, get done what we need to do for Pittsburgh, and set an example for other cities."

While it will focus on issues of local importance, the Center for Shared Prosperity aims to become a national model for university-community engagement and the translation of research into practical actions for impact.

"The issues facing Pittsburgh are perhaps unique, yet our work to find solutions can provide an opportunity to share our approach and outcomes with regions across the country facing their own challenges," Nourbakhsh said. "We hope that the center's approach and continuing evolution will help catalyze other university-community collaborations as they work to advance a more equitable future."

SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University

Related Links

www.cmu.edu


Last week, former Pennsylvania Republican senator and current CNN political commentator Rick Santorum told an audience of young conservative Americans that there isnt much Native American culture in American culture.

Last week, former Pennsylvania Republican senator and current CNN political commentator Rick Santorum told an audience of young conservative Americans that "there isnt much Native American culture in American culture."

Speaking of the "birth" of America by immigrants, Santorum said: "We came here and created a blank slate. We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here. I mean, yes we have Native Americans but candidly there isn't much Native American culture in American culture."

There is so much factually wrong, racist and lacking in this statement one doesnt know where to begin.

The United States is built on Indigenous lands and resources, a fact even the Supreme Court acknowledges.

The American economy is built off Indigenous-cultivated products such as chocolate, corn, cotton, rubber, tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco.

RICHARD W. RODRIGUEZ / FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM FILES Former Pennsylvania Republican senator and current CNN political commentator Rick Santorum.

States, towns, highways and parks have Indigenous names. American cities are built on former Indigenous settlements. And so on.

The best criticism from these parts surrounding Santorums comments came in a tweet from former Manitoba Treaty Relations Commissioner Jamie Wilson, who reminded everyone that the United States is "a country that based their constitution on the Iroquois Confederacy Great Law of Peace."

So, no, Mr. Santorum, the United States was not a "blank slate" with "nothing here."

Without Indigenous peoples there is no American land, economy or identity.

In fact, virtually everything "American" is Indigenous at its core, like a branch off a tree  even if elected officials dont read, check "facts" or even understand the spaces they govern.

Which brings me to this place.

Tories called out for naming areas after men Click to Expand A portion of the Little Saskatchewan River will be named after Roy Greer. (Tim Smith / The Brandon Sun files) Posted: 5:27 PM Apr. 27, 2021 The Manitoba NDP has questioned a government decision to name or rename eight provincial wildlife management areas after men. To call the decision an "oversight" in 2021 would be kind, New Democrat MLA Nahanni Fontaine said.. Read Full Story

On Monday, the province announced it will be naming eight wildlife management areas after "prominent Manitobans who have been instrumental to enhancing Manitoba's wildlife resources." Funds for this renaming will come from $225,000 of taxpayers' money in Budget 2021.

It was Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen who made the announcement, but if there is anything we know about the provincial government, its a one-man show that begins and ends with Premier Brian Pallister.

So, with little surprise, the list of eight Manitobans being honoured is made up of Conservative-supporting rural outdoorsmen and bureaucrats from Pallisters political base.

Theyre people such as former Filmon cabinet minister Don Orchard, farmer Roy Greer and former deputy minister for Northern and Native Affairs, Energy and Mines and Rural Development David Tomasson.

Virtually everything American is Indigenous at its core, like a branch off a tree  even if elected officials dont read, check facts or even understand the spaces they govern.

Governments honouring their buddies and supporters isnt new, of course, but while these individuals have done interesting things to support conservation, the selections raise a few questions.

Orchard banned medicare coverage for abortions while he served as health minister. And the numerous allegations of sexism and bullying against him uncovered in a 2018 Free Press investigation should raise at least an eyebrow, for example.

The biggest question of all though, is how a government representing a province where women are the majority, 15 per cent of the population is made up of minorities and more than 20 per cent are Indigenous peoples can do anything that honours Caucasian men exclusively.

Reading this list of conservationists, one gets the impression white men did it all. Isnt this renaming initiative about who honours the land? And, if so, how can you exclude Indigenous peoples?

JOHN WOODS / CANADIAN PRESS FILES Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister, left, and Blaine Pedersen.

Indigenous peoples literally taught settlers how to live here. Indigenous contributions are the basis for absolutely everything Manitoba is. The very names Manitoba and Winnipeg refer to the teachings found in the land and water of this place and how we must protect them.

If were being precise, treaty and Indigenous rights are the only things that actually conserve the lands and waters of Manitoba, not some white men volunteering on a board or sitting in an office.

Section 35 of the Constitution forces Canada to consult with Indigenous communities to obtain "free, prior, and informed consent" before land and resource projects take place.

If environmental laws get in the way of governments, they just cancel them  but you cant cancel treaty and Indigenous rights.

Also, when was the last time you saw a climate march, land-protection demonstration or pollution petition involving just white men? In fact, the last 50 or so marches I have attended in this province have had the participation of far more Indigenous peoples than their provincial population percentage.

If were being precise, treaty and Indigenous rights are the only things that actually conserve the lands and waters of Manitoba, not some white men volunteering on a board or sitting in an office.

Still, the Manitoba government  claiming to represent the highest proportional Indigenous population in North America, a place built off Indigenous lands and resources, and where Indigenous peoples are at the front lines of fighting for the land and water  can "honour" conservationists and rename places without using one Indigenous name.

At least the Pallister government and Rick Santorum can agree on one point: "We came here and created a blank slate. We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here."

The problem is theyre wrong, and the rest of us have to deal with the erasures they make and the facts they refuse to see.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
Senate Democrats will begin using a special procedure to undo parts of Donald Trumps regulatory agenda Wednesday, starting by rescinding a measure that made it harder for the Environmental Protection Agency to limit leaks of the powerful greenhouse gas methane from oil and gas wells.

The vote on the methane rule is the first of several that Democrats plan to use under the Congressional Review Act. That 1996 law allows lawmakers to rescind federal regulations passed in the waning days of a presidential administration as long as they act within a few months of a new Congress.

It had been used only once before 2017 when Republicans, led by then-President Donald Trump, used it to repeal 14 Obama-era rules including one that limited the ability of the mentally ill to buy firearms to another forcing oil companies to disclose their payments to foreign governments.

The Congressional Review Act was seen as this very extreme thing. It was almost like an atomic bomb. It wasnt something you just casually trotted out, said James Goodwin, a senior policy analyst the Center for Progressive Reform, a Washington-based non-profit. The Trump administration and the 115th Congress normalized it in this way it hadnt been previously.

It only takes a majority vote, meaning Democrats, who control the Senate, can do it without Republican votes.

Democrats have introduced six resolutions targeting regulations promulgated during the final months of the Trump administration, according to the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards, which tracks the Congressional Review Act. Among the targets is one by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that critics say allows predatory lending and another one by the Securities and Exchange Commission that makes it more difficult for small groups of corporate shareholders to introduce resolutions on sustainability and other issues.

Other rules Democrats are targeting include a Department of Health and Human Services measure that requires the agency to review thousands of regulations to prevent them from expiring, and a Social Security Administration rule that allows agency attorneys to substitute for independent administrative law judges in deciding disability determinations, according to the coalition, which is made up of labor, environmental and consumer protection groups.

In addition to the methane vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said the Senate will take up a resolution to repeal an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rule that critics say makes it harder for workers to prevail against employers in workplace discrimination claims.

Under the CRA, Congress can pass a resolution striking down a federal rule within 60 legislative days of it being finalized and published in the Federal Register from the end of the last congressional session. That doesnt leave Democrats much time. This year the cutoff date is May 21 in the Senate, according to Amit Narang, a regulatory policy advocate with watchdog group Public Citizen.

The measure to repeal Trumps methane rule has the support of Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine as well as some oil and gas producers, such as Royal Dutch Shell, Equinor, Cheniere Energy and Pioneer Natural Resources.

Trumps methane rule, finalized in 2020, ended methane-specific emission limits at new oil and gas wells, while removing additional curbs on leaks of smog-causing volatile organic compounds from gas transmission and storage equipment.

Methane, the chief component of natural gas, is a valuable energy source and commodity in its own right. Yet its also a powerful heat-trapping pollutant that can exacerbate climate change when it escapes from oil wells or gas pipelines. It represents about a 10th of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and is estimated to be at least 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere over a 20-year period.

If we can pass this tomorrow it would be the most significant climate change bill that we have passed in a number of years, said Senator Angus King, a Maine Independent who is a sponsor of the resolution. This is an enormous opportunity for this country.

Until Trump was elected, the Congressional Review Act had only been used successfully once before. In 2001 Congress voted to overturn a Labor Department ergonomics rule issued by the Clinton administration.

Its good to see the Democrats using it when it makes sense, said Public Citizens Narang. Its good to see Congress getting involved in helping the Biden administration roll back some of the Trump de-regulatory agenda.

2021 Bloomberg L.P.
DERBY  The Danbury states attorney on Wednesday identified the veteran city police officer who shot a man accused of opening fire for an unknown reason near the Ansonia line Monday morning.

Officer Patrick Foley was identified as the officer sitting in his police cruiser near the intersection of Division Street and Atwater Avenue at the Derby city line around 7:15 a.m. when a juvenile approached his vehicle, according to Danbury States Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky.

Sedensky is tasked with overseeing the state police investigation into the police shooting.

Preliminary information collected by state police investigators indicated that after an initial interaction, an armed man  identified by Sedensky as Cornelius McCullough  fired his handgun. Sedensky said Foley then fired his handgun, injuring McCullough.

Sedensky described Foley as a 35-year-old white man with 13 years of service in Derby. He described McCullough as a 29-year-old Black man. Chief Gerald Narowski said Monday that race had no bearing on the matter.

After the shooting, McCullough was taken to Bridgeport Hospital. Sedensky said McCullough is recovering from his injury.

An apparently unrelated passing car was struck by Mr. McCulloughs gunfire, Sedensky said. The occupant of that car was not injured.

He said a revolver, that did not belong to Foley, was recovered by investigators at the scene.

McCullough was charged with carrying a pistol without a permit and criminal possession of a firearm by state police.

At his arraignment in Milford on Wednesday, Judge Maureen Dennis raised McCulloughs bond from $300,000 to $500,000 after a bail commissioner and prosecutor detailed his criminal record.

Senior Assistant States Attorney Mary Sanangelo said that McCullough was convicted in 2010 of first-degree assault, escape from custody and assaulting a corrections department employee. He received a 14-year prison sentence suspended after five years and five years probation.

He was sentenced to serve 36 months for violating that probation in 2017, the prosecutor said, and the same year was convicted of criminal weapons possession in Bridgeport, for which he received a 10-year prison sentence suspended after three years, with five years of conditional discharge.

So as of today, judge, he does owe seven years on that conditional discharge. The state certainly would be looking to have that violated, Sanangelo said. This case is certainly serious.

The prosecutor also noted that additional charges could be filed by warranted during ongoing investigations by state police and Sedensky.

Public Defender Mary Jessica Simon said McCullough is a lifelong Connecticut resident who is currently living with his mother and could not afford a high bond.

The judge said that the information about McCulloughs past, and the fact that he is in very real jeopardy of being violated on a conditional discharge with an additional seven years in addition to any other incarceration that he faces if convicted, gives the court grave concern.

McCullough is scheduled to return to court on May 4.

His public defender declined to comment after his arraignment.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Chief Gerald Narowski.
MANAGEMENT at Currys PC World, which has a Limerick operation at the Dublin Road, have repaid the support the government gave during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Staff at the electrical retailer benefited from the government wage subsidy, which saw up to 70% of their wages covered by the exchequer during the pandemic with the stores open all bar the first six weeks of lockdown.

Given the strong position of the store's parent company Dixons Carphone, the group has announced its reimbursed all government support paid to its staff in Ireland and Britain.

This includes 3.5m to the Irish government.

Jim OHagan, its managing director for Ireland, said: The performance of Currys PC World in Ireland is a testament to the hard work of all our colleagues whove pivoted, innovated fast and delivered for customers, however theyve chosen to shop. Given our strong financial position, we have decided to reimburse the government wage subsidy. We thank the Irish government for the support given.

The repayment includes wage subsidy support given to Carphone Warehouse Ireland which announced it would close last week.

The company says it continues to be in consultation with the affected colleagues and is committed to redeploying as many as possible into the Currys PC World business and will pay enhanced redundancy to those impacted.
DOHA, Qatar, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As stargazers across the world settled in to observe the rare Pink Supermoon (April 26th & 27th), Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) marked the epic event with the announcement of its new and bespoke range of astro-tourism experiences. Inspired by the starry skies of the Qatari desert, the astronomer themed vacations have been curated for visitors to enjoy when the borders re-open.

Photo credit: Vinay Swaroop Balla & Qatar National Tourism Council Photo credit: Vinay Swaroop Balla & Qatar National Tourism Council Photo credit: Vinay Swaroop Balla & Qatar National Tourism Council

The unique 'Arabian Nights' packages, available to book through Gulf Adventures and redeemable until April 2022, offer unmissable activities such as a moon-lit camel safari and stargazing with an astronomer. Also included are BBQ dinner banquets by the campfire and a stay at the Regency Sealine Camp, where modern luxury meets authentic Arabian style, overlooking Khor al Adaid, also known as the Inland Sea which is a recognised UNESCO - where the sea meets the desert.

Several of the new itineraries also offer a tour of the Souq Waqif and a dinner at the spectacular Torch 360 restaurant, which offers panoramic views of the Doha skyline.

The exclusive new tours are a once in a lifetime experience, available to be enjoyed when Qatar re-open its borders until April 2022.

To invite travellers to enjoy the Arabian Nights packages, QNTC in partnership with local astro-photographer, Vinay Swaroop Balla, captured incredible photos of the moon rising above the country's most iconic locations, Torch Tower and Al Aamriya Desert. Qatar is an ideal destination for star and moon gazers, as the darkness of the desert makes for breath-taking views of the night sky.

Chief Operating Officer of Qatar National Tourism Council, Berthold Trenkel, said: "Qatar's desert is a perfect spot for astronomy enthusiasts to observe the dark and starry skies; the packages we've put together will provide unforgettable experiences that travel-lovers can look forward to when we welcome them back to the country. As a diverse and cosmopolitan country, this new offer is a dazzling addition to a multitude of activities tourists can enjoy in Qatar".

All packages will be in line with the Qatar Clean programme and measures will be in place to adhere to government guidelines.

For those wanting to experience the distinctive beauty of the desert skies and familiarise themselves with the country's rich culture, the Arabian Nights packages are the perfect treat. To find out more information about activities in Qatar, please visit https://www.visitqatar.qa.

Related Images

supermoon-over-torch-tower-in-doha.jpg

Supermoon over Torch Tower in Doha

Photo credit: Vinay Swaroop Balla & Qatar National Tourism Council

supermoon-over-torch-tower-doha.jpg

Supermoon over Torch Tower Doha

Photo credit: Vinay Swaroop Balla & Qatar National Tourism Council

supermoon-in-al-aamriya-desert.jpg

Supermoon in Al Aamriya Desert, Qatar

Photo credit: Vinay Swaroop Balla & Qatar National Tourism Council

SOURCE Qatar National Tourism Council
Widow of killed St. Petersburg rapper to stay detained until late June

 The Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg

16:39 28/04/2021

ST. PETERSBURG, April 28 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov)  The Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg on Wednesday prolonged detention of Marina Kokhal, who stands charged with killing her husband, rapper Alexander Yushko, for another two months, the United press service of St. Petersburg courts told RAPSI.

The woman thus will stay detained until June 30 despite her defenses request to release her and impose any noncustodial restrictive measure.

According to the investigation, on July 29, 2020, the woman had a conflict with Yushko and then killed him and dismembered his body in order to further wean it off. Kokhal pleaded not guilty. During the questioning, she said that her husband died from drug overdose. However, the analysis of the victims hair and human tissues showed no drugs.

The St. Petersburg investigators believe the murder of the musician was planned by his wife. They earlier said they found out that shortly before the crime Kokhal got medical drugs at a pharmacy which later used to kill her husband. Moreover, it was revealed that the womans mother was at the scene of the crime, according to the probe.

Yushko known as Andy Cartwright took part in rap battles and released his sole tracks on the Internet.




Routine genetic screening for all children with cardiomyopathy could make a powerful difference in outcomes and even survival

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A national, University at Buffalo-led study on genes in pediatric cardiomyopathy demonstrates strong evidence for routine genetic screening in children with the disease. The study, published April 28 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, revealed wide variation in screening, with some centers conducting routine genetic testing and others conducting none.

Conducted at 14 centers, the National Institutes of Health-funded study of 152 children with cardiomyopathy found that only half had undergone genetic screening. Of those who hadn't undergone screening, 21% were found to have a genetic cause for the disease after undergoing genetic testing as part of the research study.

"Even in families without a family history of cardiomyopathy, we found that many children with cardiomyopathy have a genetic cause that we can establish," said Steven E. Lipshultz, MD, the study's senior author and principal investigator and A. Conger Goodyear Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.

First author on the paper is Stephanie M. Ware, MD, PhD, of the Indiana University School of Medicine.

The study's findings are of critical significance for treating and potentially curing this rare, sometimes fatal, pediatric disease. "We had assumed that many of the life-threatening cardiomyopathies in children resulted from genetic mutations," explained Lipshultz. "This research confirms that assumption. When we know the cause, we can more effectively treat, and in some cases even cure, these children with therapies targeted to the specific mutation causing their disease."

Screening can save lives

Genetic screening could provide critical, lifesaving information to families, Lipshultz said.

"Since some mutations are associated with rapidly progressive fatal outcomes, genetic screening could allow children with these mutations to be identified and prioritized for a lifesaving cardiac transplant," he said.

Information about which mutation may be involved in a patient's disease can also make a significant difference in the type of treatment prescribed, and the outcome. Lipshultz noted that he and his colleagues have published research demonstrating that children whose cardiomyopathy results from certain mutations that cause heart failure will deteriorate and even die if treated with therapies commonly prescribed for heart failure.

"This is because those therapies push the child's genetically impaired mitochondria to work harder," said Lipshultz. "This, tragically, can hasten the demise of these children. But by knowing that these types of mutations are present, alternative therapies that preserve and protect mitochondrial function can be employed. This is one of many examples where knowing the genetic cause of cardiomyopathy could make the difference between the life or death of a child."

The study also identified novel gene mutations associated with cardiomyopathy.

Genetic screening varies widely

Although the study was conducted at major children's hospitals with well-established cardiomyopathy programs, only some of them used genetic screening as a routine part of clinical care. Nationally, a minority of children and their families with cardiomyopathy have the opportunity to undergo genetic screening, a fact that Lipshultz and his co-authors hope this study will begin to change.

UB, for example, is one of only 40 cardiomyopathy centers in the world that have been critically and rigorously reviewed and certified as a recognized Cardiomyopathy Center of Care by the Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation for providing high-quality cardiac care and specialized disease management to children with cardiomyopathy. (This study also received funding from the Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation.) At UB and the John R. Oishei Children's Hospital, resources from federal and private sources are providing additional funding for more research and clinical care in pediatric cardiac clinical genetics, as well as genetic counseling.

Lipshultz added that, unfortunately, most children with the disease are not cared for in these specialized centers.

"One hurdle is having cardiologists and geneticists interested in ordering these genetic tests and then counseling the families about the results," he said. "The testing for the most common gene mutations associated with cardiomyopathy can be done pretty much anywhere, since laboratory companies provide the kits for collected patient samples."

The study supports existing clinical guidelines for pediatric cardiomyopathy, but, Lipshultz pointed out, these are not widely followed. "Our results show that with routine clinical judgment, a high percentage of children with genetic causes for their cardiomyopathy are missed," he said, adding, "If you don't look, you don't know."

The results also provide additional evidence for cardiac surveillance, where all immediate family members of a child with cardiomyopathy and an associated gene mutation are screened to find out if they, too, have the same mutation and cardiomyopathy.

At a time when gene-specific targeted therapies are increasingly possible, which can optimize care and planning, the failure to genetically screen these patients is no longer defensible, Lipshultz said.

Exome sequencing

In the study, the researchers performed whole exome sequencing on a large number of children with cardiomyopathy. Whole exome sequencing is a much more comprehensive way to identify gene mutations than simply searching for the six or eight most common mutations known to be associated with cardiomyopathy, Lipshultz explained.

"With whole exome sequencing, a much broader range of pathologic mutations are able to be identified, and novel new mutations that may be associated with cardiomyopathy can be identified," he said.

###

Lipshultz is an international leader whose research has led to major evidence-based improvements in the treatment of patients with pediatric cardiomyopathy and related diseases. In addition to his role with the Jacobs School at UB, Lipshultz serves as pediatric chief-of-service at Kaleida Health, medical director of pediatric services business development at John R. Oishei Children's Hospital, and president of UBMD Pediatrics.

Ware is a professor of pediatrics and medical and molecular genetics at Indiana University, where she is also vice chair of clinical affairs in medical and molecular genetics, and program leader in cardiovascular genetics at the Herman B. Wells Center for Pediatric Research.

In addition to Ware and Lipshultz, other co-authors from the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry Study Group are from UB; Vanderbilt University; University of Tabuk; Harvard University; New England Research Institutes; Washington University, St. Louis; Einstein College of Medicine; University of Colorado; University of Southern California; Columbia University; University of Tennessee; University of Pennsylvania; Northwestern University; University of Miami; University of Utah; University of Cincinnati; and Wayne State University.
Advertisement

Feast your eyes on Aston Martin's latest roofless car. It's called the V12 Speedster DBR1, taking the brand's latest bonkers supercar and adding a little bit of 1950s flair.

It shares its name and paint job with the DBR1, Aston Martin's famed fifties racer that was driven by some of the biggest legends of motorsport.

This special edition model pays particular homage to the motor that took victories at the Goodwood Tourist Trophy and the 24 Hours of Le Man in the hands of British racing royalty, Sir Stirling Moss, and American driver-turned-car-designer, Carroll Shelby.

Like the period DBR1, there is no roof. And the 21st Century version of the racer even does away with the tiny windscreen that protected the faces of drivers some 60 years ago. Just 88 V12 Speedsters will be produced in total, each with a starting price tag of 765,000.

Nod to an icon: This is Aston Martin's new DB1 pack that's available for buyers of the ultra-exclusive V12 Speedster supercar. It harks back to the brand's most successful racer to date

If enthusiasts with deep enough pockets want it, the DBR1 option is a new styling pack available for the ultra-exclusive V12 Speedster, with features designed to mimic the company's most famous competition vehicle.

It shares the same Aston Martin Racing Green paint that adorned its ancestor, with like-for-like Clubsport White accents for the roundels (the circular number boards on the doors and bonnet) and pinstripes.

The pack for the 2021 car - which is due to be delivered to its first customers this summer - also has a Satin Silver anodised grille with Clubsport lipstick graphic.

Aston Martin says each of the 88 V12 Speedsters will spend 'more than 50 hours' in the paint shop at the brands advanced facility - called Q Division - in Gaydon, Warwickshire.

The gorgeous supercar design includes a cockpit design that divides the driver and passenger with a fin that runs through the cabin to the tail, similar to that of a fighter jet

Just 88 V12 Speedsters will be produced by Aston Martin's Q Division in Gaydon, with buyers having the option of this DBR1 commemorative pack

The V12 Speedster DBR1 shares the same Aston Martin Racing Green paint that adorned its ancestor, with like-for-like Clubsport White accents for the roundels (the circular number boards on the doors and bonnet) and pinstripes

'All these features hint at the period attributes that made DBR1 the undisputed icon it remains today,' says Aston Martin

Inside, there's Conker saddle leather on the seats and Viridian Green technical textile and Caithness leather elsewhere in the cabin.

Other tweaks include solid silver badges and diamond-turned 21-inch alloy wheels.

'All these features hint at the period attributes that made DBR1 the undisputed icon it remains today,' says Aston Martin.

The cabin also gets carbon fibre trim and brushed stainless steel switchgear as part of a 'tasteful homage' to the iconic race winner.

Aston Martin V12 Speedster DBR1: Will it fit in my garage? Built: Gaydon, Warwickshire, England Price: From 765,000 Limited run: 88 Seats: 2 Length: 4494mm Height: 1189mm Width: 2,200mm Wheelbase: 2704mm Roof and windscreen: No Engine: 5.2-litre Twin Turbo V12 Power: 690bhp Gears: 8-speed automatic 0-62mph: 3.4 seconds Top speed: 198mph MPG: circa 18mpg (estimate) CO2 emissions: circa 317g/km (estimate)

Mechanically, the car stays pretty much true to form to the model first unveiled by Aston Martin in March 2020 - though the addition of the DBR1 pack is likely to see the 765,000 asking price increase.

Under the bonnet is a thunderous twin-turbocharged 5.2-litre V12, which is also shared with the current DB11 GT car.

It develops a whopping 690bhp, which is delivered to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

The V12 Speedster DBR1 is said to be able to accelerate from rest to 62mph in 3.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 198mph - which will feel even faster without a roof or windscreen.

The gorgeous design includes a cockpit design that divides the driver and passenger with a fin that runs through the cabin to the tail, similar to that of a fighter jet.

The original DBR1 famously won both the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans and 1,000km Nurburgring endurance races in that same year. It was an incredible achievement, given the poor reliability of race cars of that era

Carroll Shelby (right), the legendary racer-turned-car-designer, and Roy Salvadori (second right) compare notes during the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, which the duo won

Produced as a pure racing model  not directly derived from a road car  just five examples of DBR1 were built to take on the might of Ferrari and its then dominant 250 GT

It's a worthy tribute to the original DBR1 which is, to date, the most successful racing machine constructed by Aston Martin.

It famously won both the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans and 1,000km Nurburgring endurance races in that same year.

It was an achievement that was almost unheard of in the fifties due to the poor reliability of racing cars from the period.

For instance, just 13 of the 54 cars to start the Le Mans 24 Hours in '59 saw the chequered flag, with most pulling out with either engine or gearbox failures.

It also won the Nurburgring endurance event in 1957 and 1958 - further proof that it was a dependable steed.

Some of motorsport's most famous drivers piloted the DBR1, including British racing royalty, Sir Stirling Moss

Moss drove for Aston Martin at Le Mans three times, making his debut with the team in a DB3S for the 1956 race, before competing with a DBR1 in 1958 and 1959

Also in the DBR1, Moss claimed wins at the 1958 and 1959 Goodwood Tourist Trophy, as well as at the Nurburgring 1,000 kilometres in Germany

Produced as a pure racing model  not directly derived from a road car  just five examples of DBR1 were built to take on the might of Ferrari and its then dominant 250 GT.

Four of the DBR1s were used to commanding effect by the Aston Martin Works team, and a single car was retained for private use.

In 2017, RM Sotheby's sold the 1956 Le Mans winning motor for a stunning $22.5million (around 17.5million), making it the most expensive British motor ever to sell at auction and the eighth priciest car to go under the hammer.

In 2017, RM Sotheby's sold the 1956 DBR1 that took victory at Le Mans in 1959 at an auction event in Monterey, California, USA

The car, which is steeped in racing heritage, sold for a whopping $22.5million (around 17.5million at the time)

This car remains the most expensive British motor ever to sell at auction and the eighth priciest car to go under the hammer

'With such a rich and important history its no surprise, then, that the brand should choose to create a dedicated optional DBR1 specification for its new V12 Speedster,' the brand says.

Of course, if you have almost 1million to spend on a supercar that has no roof and the DBR1 livery isn't to your taste, buyers can choose the alternative 'Skyfall Silver' scheme previewed earlier this year.

Either way, with just 88 being made, well-heeled Aston Martin fanatics will need to move quickly to secure one.

The special-edition Aston Martin V12 Speedster was first unveiled in March last year in the other colour choice, which is 'Skyfall Silver'

Buyers can specify a cover for when the car is static and parked, but when driving they are completely open to the elements, rain or shine
Schools should teach children how to spot disinformation on social media to curb bogus anti-vaxx claims, MPs were told today.

Sir David Spiegelhalter, one of the UK's top statisticians, said youngsters need to be aware of propaganda techniques used to 'manipulate opinion'.

The Cambridge University professor called for it to be on the national curriculum, in the same way as sex education and

Despite the success of Britain's mammoth vaccination drive, hesitancy has been an issue  with myths about the safety of jabs rife on social media.

Facebook, Twitter and Google pledged to tackle vaccine disinformation  including taking down content more quickly  after pressure from the Government last year.

But the tech giants were accused of failing to meet their own bold goals of clamping down on anti-vaxx messages, with many accounts peddling lies yet to be closed.

Asked how to tackle disinformation on social media, Sir David said children need to be taught to spot the techniques used to 'manipulate opinion'.

Children should be taught how to spot disinformation on social media while at school to prevent anti-vaxx messages taking hold, Sir David Spiegelhalter, Winton professor of public understanding of human risk at the University of Cambridge says

WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS OF VACCINES? One reason some people are fearful of having a vaccine is the risk of side effects. Side effects are normal because the vaccines trigger the immune system, which is how they work, and the immune system is usually what causes symptoms of illness. Things like fever, aches, headache and tiredness are all normal signs that the immune system is reacting to something and are often caused jabs but are not serious. They tend to clear up by themselves within days, and can be controlled with drugs like paracetamol and ibuprofen. A tiny proportion of people suffer more severe side effects, such as going into shock or having a severe allergic reaction, but this is extremely rare and usually only happens in people with a history of bad reactions. Everybody who receives a jab on the NHS is monitored for at least 15 minutes to make sure they don't have a bad reaction, and vaccination teams have treatments on hand to help if this happens. Advertisement

He told the House of Lords' Risk Assessment and Risk Planning Committee: 'It's enormously important that any information out there should not be misinformation.

'You need education in schools to understand the techniques that are used on social media to manipulate opinion and spread misinformation.

'So not just correcting one fact at a time but understanding the process by which misinformation spreads.

'I just think that should be part of the national curriculum just like other [elements of] personal safety.'

But he added that it is important not to dismiss people's concerns when it comes to the risks of vaccines.

Professor Spiegelhalter said: 'There's an assumption that "if only we could tell people the facts, suddenly they would approach risk rationally".

'I think it's kind of a bit of an old-fashioned point of view that it's due to people's deficit of understanding that they have problems with appropriate prioritisation.

'We have to acknowledge that there's risk as feeling and risk as analysis. And risk as feeling is hugely important and we shouldn't dismiss it as purely an emotional reaction.'

Ministers launched a media campaign in February to address vaccine hesitancy after experts raised concerns about low uptake in ethnic minorities.

Language barriers and a mistrust of Number 10 are thought to make minorities more susceptible to misinformation about the jabs.

The Department of Health worked with more than 50 ethnic minority TV channels and radio stations that broadcast in 13 different languages to tackle misinformation.

And earlier this month Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed ministers will push for vaccines to become mandatory for care home staff in England.

Officials have tried hard to debunk conspiracy theories and myths spreading about the jabs online  including that they change people's DNA, contain microchips, make people infertile or aren't real vaccines  none of which are true.
Donald Trump is keeping busy.

Writing from The Office of the Former President, Mr Trump mocked the Academy Awards ratings, complained it is boring and politically correct, and said the TV people spent all their time promoting a political party destroying our country.

The 129-word statement direct from Mar-a-Lago came after the 93rd annual award ceremony reportedly recorded its lowest ratings on record, dropping 58.3 per cent from 14 million last year to 9.85 million viewers on Sunday night.

What used to be called The Academy Awards, and now is called the Oscars  a far less important and elegant name  had the lowest Television Ratings in recorded history, even much lower than last year, which set another record low, Mr Trump began.

If they keep with the current ridiculous formula, it will only get worse  if thats possible.

The statement was quickly mocked online.

Mr Trumps Oscar's scorn predates the 2021 event. Last year he took offence at South Korean film Parasite taking the top award, asking a Maga rally What the hell was that all about?

Weve got enough problems with South Korea with trade. On top of that, they give them best movie of the year. Was it good? I dont know, he said.

In 2019, Mr Trump said the awards were on hard times because audiences got tied of people making fools of themselves on stage by disrespecting the people who won the 2016 election.

In 2018, he tweeted out"Lowest rated Oscars in HISTORY.

His statement on Tuesday followed the same playbook, saying the decline in ratings was a result of the Hollywood elite silencing Republicans.

These television people spend all their time thinking about how to promote the Democrat Party, which is destroying our Country, and cancel Conservatives and Republicans. That formula certainly hasnt worked very well for The Academy! he said.

The former reality TV star and bit player in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York also had some notes on how to improve the broadcast.

First, change the name back to the more elegant Academy Awards. Second, go back 15 years and look at the winning formula they used. That would be 2006, when the 78th Academy Awards were hosted by Jon Stewart. That year, Crash won best picture and Ang Lee won best director for Brokeback Mountain. Ratings were just shy of 40 million.

Dont be so politically correct and boring, and do it right. ALSO, BRING BACK A GREAT HOST, Mr Trump said.

This was the third year the ceremony was held without a dedicated host. Oscars producer Steven Soderberg told Vanity Fair in April they didnt use the H-word because it didnt apply to their ensemble of stars.

Theres so much wattage here, sunglasses may be required, he said.
In a few days, China's airports, train stations and tourist sites will be filled with buzzing travelers and tourists while regular COVID-19 containment measures remain in place.



A travel bonanza is fast approaching as tickets during the upcoming five-day Labor Day holiday starting on May 1 have been in high demand.

"The holiday gives me a chance to escape from the stress of work," said Zhang Chuanshi, 35, who works for an internet company. He decided to go to Yunnan after Beijing scrapped mandatory nucleic acid tests for arrivals from areas with low COVID-19 infection risks.

Zhang said his family had to drop their overseas travel plans due to concerns over the epidemic situation.

SPEEDY RECOVERY

Leading indicators such as search volumes for travel destinations, flights and hotels suggest the tourism industry will embrace a welcome boom during the holiday.

On online travel booking platform Ctrip, orders for flight tickets, accommodation, admission tickets, and car rentals rose 23 percent, 43 percent, 114 percent and 126 percent from the same period of 2019 as of mid-April.

The number of travelers over the period is expected to reach 200 million and surpass the pre-pandemic level, according to Ctrip's projections.

"Many people will take advantage of the long holiday to go somewhere relatively far from their homes, such as Xinjiang and Tibet," said Zhao Chenyan, an operator at Beijing Zhuyuan International Travel Service Co., Ltd.

The surge in demand has been met with a similar surge in prices. For instance, the price for joining a tour to Sanya in south China's island province Hainan is three times higher than a year ago, as island resorts in Thailand, Bali and the Philippines are still not fully open to foreign tourists, she said.

"Thanks to the effective epidemic containment measures adopted by China, the five-day holiday is expected to unleash the pent-up demand for air transport," said Shang Kejia, vice director of the Department of Transport of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) at a press conference on April 16.

"Both the volume and prices of flight tickets showed rapid growth, and are likely to rise above the level from 2019, boosted by the sharp growth in the number of mid- and long-distance travelers in the extended holiday," said Shang.

Cultural sites, including science halls, archaeological sites and museums, are among the most popular destinations, partly because public holidays represent the best opportunity for families with children to travel in the middle of a semester.

This year marks the centenary of the Communist Party of China, which has fueled people's enthusiasm for "red tourism," a term referring to visiting historical sites with a revolutionary legacy.

"We have rolled out a two-week tour to retrace the Long March route of the Red Army in the 1930s, which has attracted many retired people who have the money and time as well as the desire to pay their respects to the heroes," said Zhao.

Recent discoveries at the Sanxingdui Ruins in southwest China's Chengdu City, which unveiled the mysteries of the Shu Kingdom dating back thousands of years, could be partially responsible for the Beijing-Chengdu flight route enjoying the largest rise in popularity among all routes on online travel service provider Qunar.com.

EPIDEMIC PRECAUTIONS

As China's COVID-19 vaccination program is expanding and domestic travelers coming from areas with low infection risks are no longer required to undergo nucleic acid tests, people are now more comfortable going on a trip, said Zhao.

"However, we still require our clients to wear face masks throughout their journey and our staff to sterilize the buses twice a day," she said.

The CAAC has advised passengers to maintain anti-epidemic measures, use self-service check-in facilities to reduce direct contact with other people and notify staff if they develop symptoms include fever, dry cough or fatigue.

Passengers are urged to pay close attention to the epidemic situation and related regulations of their destination, and avoid traveling to places with a medium or high risk of infection, the CAAC noted.

In the first quarter of 2021, China recorded 136 percent and 150 percent increases in tourist trips and tourism revenue from a year earlier, respectively, data from the China Tourism Academy (CTA) showed.

A survey by the academy suggested that over 83 percent of the respondents said they are willing to travel in the second quarter of 2021, up 1.02 percentage points and 4.93 percentage points compared with the last quarter and the second quarter of 2020, respectively.

"China's tourism consumption is enjoying a speedy recovery. It will see a consumption boom in the third quarter of this year, especially during the weeklong National Day holiday," said Dai Bin, director of the academy.

According to the CTA, 4.1 billion domestic tourist trips are expected to be made in China in 2021, up 42 percent from 2020, and domestic tourism revenue is expected to surge 48 percent to reach 3.3 trillion yuan (about 508 billion U.S. dollars).
SAN FRANCISCO, April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Linux Foundation , the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, announced today that Open Source Summit + Embedded Linux Conference 2021 , along with Linux Security Summit and OSPOCon , will take place in Seattle, Washington, USA, from September 27 - October 1.

Earlier in the year, it was announced that instead of separate North America and Europe editions of Open Source Summit + Embedded Linux Conference (OS Summit + ELC), only one would be held in 2021, located in Dublin, Ireland. The decision to move these events from Dublin, Ireland to Seattle, Washington, USA, has been made due to the current state of vaccination rates in Europe and upon review of past attendee survey results regarding where and when they would feel comfortable traveling this year.

OS Summit + ELC will be held in a hybrid format, with both in-person and virtual offerings, to ensure that everyone who wants to participate is able to do so.

KVM Forum , which was also scheduled to take place in Dublin, will now be a virtual event taking place September 15 -16. New details on Linux Plumbers Conference and Linux Kernel Maintainer Summit , also previously scheduled in Dublin, will be announced shortly. A second OSPOCon - OSPOCon Europe, will be held in London on October 6, 2021, with more details coming soon.

Registration for all events will open in June, after more details on local regulations and venue safety plans are available.

Calls for Speaking Proposals

The Call for Speaking Proposals for OS Summit + ELC and OSPOCon are open through Sunday, June 13 at 11:59pm PDT. Interested community members are encouraged to apply here . Speakers will be able to speak in person or remotely.

Linux Security Summit's Call for Proposals is open through Sunday, June 27 at 11:59pm PDT. Applications are being accepted here .



Sponsorships

Sponsorships are available for all events. Benefits include speaking opportunities, prominent branding, opportunities to support diversity and inclusion, lead generation activities, event passes, and more. View the sponsorship prospectus here or email us to learn more.

Open Source Summit + Embedded Linux Conference 2021 is made possible thanks to Diamond Sponsors IBM and Red Hat, Platinum Sponsor Huawei and Gold Sponsor Soda Foundation, among others. For information on becoming an event sponsor, click here .

OSPOCon is presented by The Linux Foundation and the TODO Group and is made possible by Host Sponsors Eclipse Foundation and Huawei, and Supporter Sponsor Sauce Labs. For information on becoming an event sponsor, click here .

Linux Security Summit is made possible by General Sponsor Technology Innovation Institute, and Supporter Sponsors IBM and Indeed. For information on becoming a sponsor, click here .

Members of the press who would like to request a media pass should contact Kristin O'Connell at [email protected] .

About The Linux Foundation

Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world's leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation projects are critical to the world's infrastructure, including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, and more. The Linux Foundation's methodology focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users, and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.

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The Linux Foundation Events are where the world's leading technologists meet, collaborate, learn and network in order to advance innovations that support the world's largest shared technologies.

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When Sachin Sharmas entire family in India was diagnosed with COVID-19 about a week ago, he was desperate to jump on a plane and be there for them.

His mother, 62, and father, 71, are in critical need of hospital care. His sister, 35, and niece, 5, also have the virus and are unable to leave their home.

Shachin Sharma is unable to travel to India to care for his critically ill family. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Mr Sharma, 40 from Hornsby, applied to the federal government for permission to go to India, but was knocked back.

The tighter travel rules announced on Tuesday have left him with little hope for any future requests.




Haiti - Justice : National moot competition, call for candidates





The Human Rights Office in Haiti (BDHH) is informing the general public and law students in particular of the launch of the 6th edition 2021 of the Human Rights Moot Competition.



Since 2015, the Competition has provided a platform for future lawyers to practice public speaking. At the very foundation of justice and democracy, the Competition honors the principle of the adversarial, and thus allows to tackle major societal issues in all their complexity. Far from soft consensualism, the Competition is thus an opportunity to actively engage in debates for the defense of human rights and the strengthening of the rule of law.



Over the years, the BDHH legal team has hosted dozens of interns who have actively contributed to legal aid services delivered to the most vulnerable. The Competition is thus an integral part of the program for the supervision of the next generation of legal professionals and contributes to the training of a network of professionals aware of human rights.



The Competition is open to law students who have completed at least three years of study or who have graduated within less than one year. The Competition is national in scope; students enrolled in provincial universities are strongly encouraged to participate.



The theme of the written preselection this year is "The place of the victim in the criminal process". It echoes the concerns of the BDHH legal team faced with countless difficulties in providing legal support to victims, from recent massacres committed in poor neighborhoods to too many cases of gender-based violence. What can or should we seek through justice ? What role for the "civil party" ?



Form to submit your application online : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuOJ0JAh0etdgv3IzkorkcBg65qVBJimzdY8oqw1JUXVKq8A/viewform



Competition rules, eligibility criteria and required documents : https://bdhhaiti.org/archives/846



Registration deadline : May 18, 2021



Oratorical games are scheduled for summer 2021 in Port-au-Prince. Developed as part of the Legal Assistance and Human Rights Program (ALEDH), the Competition notably benefits from the support of the Embassies of Switzerland, France and Germany in Haiti, FOKAL and the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF).



HL/ HaitiLibre


















A British barmaid working in the Spanish party resort of Magaluf took her own life after she wrote a heartbreaking suicide note detailing how she was too 'exhausted' to carry on living, an inquest heard.

Danielle Finlay Brookes, 23, had called herself a 'Queen building her own empire' on social media and to friends appeared to be enjoying a contented, dream lifestyle.

But on May 18 last year after arranging a spa-type treat with her mother to celebrate her 24th birthday, Danielle hanged herself in her room near Magaluf's Punta Ballena strip.

Her body was found by a friend who had access to a key. It emerged she had a long history of anxiety and had previously taken an overdose.

A note from Danielle telling of her torment was found inside the flat. It read: ' 'I wanted to believe that I could fix this but I cannot.

'I feel alone all the time and I am exhausted. I am not strong enough to do this on my own. I love you all, do not ever forget that.'

Danielle Finlay Brookes, a British expat who had been living and working in Magaluf for a number of years, was found dead at her apartment in the Spanish party resort last year

Pictured: Danielle Brookes with her father Michael who said she will always be his 'baby girl'

Danielle, from Crewe, had worked as a seasonal barmaid in Magaluf for several years and it is thought she worked at the Three Lions Karaoke bar.

She aspired to be an actress while still in the UK, and appeared as an extra in BBC's Citizen Khan in 2014.

Her mother Mandy Brookes told the Warrington hearing: 'She had a diagnosis of anxiety and had attempted an overdose seven years ago and suffered with low moods.

'However in the immediate period prior to her death, she presented as being content and happy.

'There was no indication of suffering from low moods and in fact she was making future plans for her birthday.

'On Sunday, May 17, she was sending pictures to her stepmum Lisa via WhatsApp whilst out drinking with her friends.

Danielle (pictured) left a suicide note which read 'I feel alone all the time and I am exhausted'

'She sent Lisa a video of her in a bar with her friends and at 11pm I sent her a WhatsApp saying "I cannot wait for our girly hot tub date". She sent a message back saying "me too" with kisses.'

The hearing was told there an argument between Danielle and her friends later that evening but no other details were given.

An inquiry report about her death which was compiled by the Spanish authorities said: 'At 9.30pm on May 19, 2020, we were made aware from the Civil Guardia that a body had been found and death could be as a result of suicide - the method used being hanging.

'Agents attended the scene and reported that a woman was found hanging inside her home.

'No crime appears to have been committed. The premises were in perfect condition. There were no signs of violence or foul play.'

The hearing was told Danielle had 117 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in her system.

The alcohol limit in blood for driving is 80mg. No traces of drugs were found in her blood.

Coroner's officer Steven Richardson of Cheshire Police said: 'From the way she was found, it appears she wanted to end her own life.

'Her family do not think her death was suspicious. It was clear she wanted to end her life. They said they wish she would have reached out for help.'

British tourists enjoy nightlife at Punta Ballena street in Magaluf near where Danielle lived

Recording a conclusion of suicide, coroner Claire Welch said: 'The background given to me about the period before her death shows there were no signs she was planning to do what she did.

'There had been plans for her birthday and a hot tub, there were no signs of low mood.

'Danielle had attempted an overdose seven years ago, and the family were made aware of her suicidal thoughts.

'Sadly it seems to me she was making her intentions clear, as she was apologising for what she did in her note.

'It suggests to me an element of forward planning and unfortunately, it is likely it was her intention to end her life.'

She told the family: 'These are impossible circumstances for all of you. Any suicide is tragic, but she was on foreign soil, which must have made it even harder for you.

'I am sure this whole process has been incredibly traumatic for all of you.. I give you all my condolences.

'I hope the fact that this process has now concluded means you can move forward with the grief you are going through. I wish you all the very best for the future.'

Well-wishers donated 5,000 towards a GoFundMe appeal set up to raise money towards repatriation and funeral costs.

At the time one of the two UK expats who set up the fundraising site, Meghan Tattersall, said in a Facebook tribute: 'Your are my best friend and my angel high in the sky. I'm truly heartbroken.

'I'm so proud to be able to spend everyday with you. Fly high my princess. RIP to my girl I'm so proud of. I love you.'

Another friend, Jay Burton said: 'You were the life of the party everywhere you were. Hope you rest in peace. Magaluf won't be the same without you.

'Sending all my love to everyone else who is struggling through this tough time. Being stuck indoors, with your mind doing somersaults, thinking you're not good enough, with the biggest challenge of the day being putting a smile on your face.

'Thinking no-one would care if you just didn't wake up the next day. Today seeing all the support from the Maga family after losing an amazing girl who cared for everyone, makes me realise how life is too short and many people actually do care.

'To all my friends and family, please check on those you haven't heard from in a while.'

Danielle's father Michael said: 'I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone that helped Danielle enjoy her last few years.

'She loved Maga and everyone who drank in her bar. Thank you. Absolutely heartbroken. She will always be my baby girl.'
A man in HCMC is given a face mask for free by a member of a patrol team. Photo by VnExpress/Ha An.

Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday fined 12 people VND24 million ($1,040) for not wearing masks in public.

At a restaurant on Huynh Van Banh Street of Phu Nhuan District, three employees and one customer were found not wearing masks and fined VND2 million each.

Six people at the September 23 Park near the Ben Thanh Market of District 1 were also fined for the same reason.

That same morning, a patrol team called on local residents to wear masks, keep their distances and medically declare themselves, adding those who refuse could be fined up to VND3 million. Those without masks would be provided ones for free by ward authorities.

"Authorities patrol the streets daily reminding people to wear masks," said Ta Hoang Su, deputy chairman of Ben Nghe Peoples Committee, adding the ward had fined five people on Nguyen Hue pedestrian street earlier this year for a total VND10 million.

At a meeting with the HCMC Steering Committee on Covid-19 Prevention and Control on April 26, chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong requested authorities to ramp up patrols to prevent Covid-19 infection. Those who suffer respiratory symptoms are not allowed in public, he added.

This is not the first time HCMC has fined people without masks in public. In October last year, the southern metropolis fined over 4,000 for failing to do so, for a total VND316 million.

Despite having not recorded any Covid-19 community transmission in over a month, Vietnam is facing a heightened risk of new coronavirus outbreaks due to surges in the number of infections in its neighbors Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

Cambodia has been in the grip of a new wave since late February. Its caseload has crossed 11,000, after recording only around 400 cases in the whole of last year.

The Laos government last Friday closed the countrys borders and announced a two-week lockdown of capital Vientiane. On Monday, there were 113 new cases, the highest single-day tally. There were another 75 on Tuesday, which took the total number so far to 511.

Thailand reported 2,179 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, the fifth straight day it recorded more than 2,000 daily cases, bringing the total to 59,687 since the pandemic started. The country had less than 7,000 cases detected throughout 2020.
When state legislative leaders announced on Tuesday that it would vote to end some of Cuomo's orders, the governor's office downplayed the significance of the action.

Rich Azzopardi, a senior adviser to Cuomo, said they planned to lift the food-with-drinks order "in the coming days."

"We are pleased that the legislature agrees that we have made enough progress on COVID that New York is in a position to repeal this provision," he added.

Before the state Legislature voted to repeal the orders, Cuomo announced that the midnight curfew in effect for bars and restaurants would end next month  on May 17 for outdoor dining areas and May 31 for indoor dining rooms.

State lawmakers aren't done reviewing the orders and determining whether to end more directives. It's possible that more orders could be repealed during the legislative session  unless Cuomo beats them to it.
The Biden administration announced on Tuesday two new initiatives through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS): limiting migrant arrests in courthouses and launching "Operation Sentinel." Both movements by the administration are geared towards the safety and rights of migrants in the United States.

The first initiative will involve the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as they are no longer authorized to arrest migrants in courthouses, Associated Press reported. Meanwhile, the second directive called Operation Sentinel is geared to curb the illegal entries of migrants with smugglers backing them.

READ NEXT: Ecuador Children Dropped by Smugglers in the U.S. Mexico Border Reunite With Parents

Biden Directs Limiting Migrant Arrests in Courthouses

Biden administration's announcement of limiting the migrant arrest was carried out by ICE's Acting Director Tae Johnson and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Troy Miller, Mail Online reported.

ICE and CBP will not be allowed to function near the courthouses so that migrants may testify in cases without the fear of being arrested due to their immigration status. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas noted that this initiative will establish and balance the "fair administration of justice."

"The expansion of civil immigration arrests at courthouses during the prior administration had a chilling effect on individuals' willingness to come to court," said Mayorkas. He added that the migrants' fear of being arrested while testifying inhibits them from working "cooperatively" with the authorities.

Despite being banned in courthouses, ICE and CBP agents may still carry out their jobs in courthouses in case a migrant is involved in matters that will threaten the national security or the safety of the public. Moreover, they can also apprehend migrants who authorities suspect may have destroyed evidence in a criminal case.

Operation Sentinel

The second initiative is Operation Sentinel, a multi-agency effort in collaboration with Central America and Mexico, NBC Montana reported. The said operation will rattle the "financial and logistical networks of smugglers" utilized in endangering the lives of migrants.

The movement of the Biden administration comes as incidents of smuggler-backed migrants trying to cross the U.S. illegally were reported. Smugglers were said to bring undocumented migrants by using dangerous and life-threatening methods.

Meanwhile, Mail Online noted that March records the highest number of illegal crossers with more than 22,000 unaccompanied migrant children under federal custody.

"We know all too well that these [smugglers] organizations put profit over human life with devastating consequences," said Secretary Mayorkas. The DHS secretary also noted that they are aiming to cut off the access of smugglers to profit by denying these criminal organizations the "ability to engage in travel, trade, and finance in the United States.

Other U.S. agencies that will work together in Operation Sentinel are DHS through the State Department, FBI, Justice Department, and Drug Enforcement Administration. Meanwhile, Mayorkas also emphasized that the new directive about the migrant arrests will grant immigrants equal protection under the law and promote safety for crime victims.

READ MORE: Border Chief Says Smugglers Just Drop Migrants Off the Border, With Bracelets to Track Them

WATCH: Biden administration reportedly preparing new rules limiting ICE arrests and deportations - from CBS News
For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here.

Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Australia is among a group of rich countries accused of standing in the way of some of the worlds poorest, which are seeking to free up the manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines at a meeting of World Trade Organisation member states on Friday. Backed by more than 115 other countries, India and South Africa will appeal for patents to be temporarily waived on COVID vaccines and technology until global herd immunity is achieved. The fight for patent waivers is an uncomfortable collision of commercial and trade interests with human rights concerns as the world races to get the pandemic under control before new strains of COVID-19 emerge that are resistant to the current suite of vaccines. Proponents of the temporary waiver of the intellectual property rights of vaccine manufacturers say vaccine recipes should also be shared, helping spread life-saving medicines to poor countries currently struggling to secure supplies. Elderly people struggle in a queue at an entry gate of a Covid-19 vaccination centre in Mumbai. Credit:Bloomberg But the proposal, which was first put last October and is now co-sponsored by 58 countries and supported by 60 more, has been opposed outright or delayed by some of the worlds largest economies including the European Union and the United States. The Australian government has denied it is blocking the proposed pause on intellectual property rules, and Labor has not opposed the Commonwealths position.

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Pharmaceutical companies and some governments say a patent waiver would deter them from investing in vaccine development for future pandemics, and have raised concerns it would allow Russia and China to gain access to new Western technology. Russias position on the proposal is unclear. China told the WTO in November that it supported a temporary waiver on patent rules but was concerned about the impact on its own pharmaceutical companies, which have developed five different vaccines. Access to vaccines has been uneven globally. High-income countries, including Australia, have bought 4.7 billion doses compared with 770 million doses purchased by low-income countries. Africa, whose 1.3 billion people represent 16 per cent of the worlds population, has received less than 2 per cent of the COVID-19 vaccine doses administered around the world, according to the World Health Organisation, which supports the push for a patent waiver. An Oxfam survey of 77 epidemiologists from 28 countries showed two-thirds believed the world had less than a year before mutations rendered the majority of first-generation vaccines ineffective. A relative of a patient who died of COVID-19 mourns outside a hospital in Ahmedabad in India on Tuesday. Credit:AP At the current rate of vaccination, its estimated it would take until 2023 or 2024 for the worlds eight billion people to be vaccinated.

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Indias Deputy High Commissioner to Australia, Palaniswamy Subramanyan Karthigeyan, told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald his country  which recorded 360,960 new cases on Wednesday  had no time to waste. Given the situation we find ourselves in, time is of the greatest essence and an effective response to the pandemic requires other countries to make these products accessible, to make it equitable, to make it affordable. More than 700 Australian medical officials and academics have now signed a letter  supported by Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Public Health Association of Australia  calling on the federal government to throw its support and influence behind the intellectual property waiver. They argue that AstraZenecas licensing and technology transfer to Australia has enabled local production. Other countries, they say, dont have the same negotiating power and have been prohibited from manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines and medical tools even when they have the capacity. Associate Professor Deborah Gleeson, from the Public Health Association of Australia, said scarcity of vaccines could only be resolved by diversifying supply. Health professionals across the country are urging the Australian government, which is one of a small group of governments opposing the patent waiver, to stand on the right side of history, she said.

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said fair vaccine supply was critical. To end the pandemic everywhere, we need a global vaccination plan that includes increasing manufacturing capacity, he said on Wednesday. Aurelie Godard is an intensive care doctor with Medecins Sans Frontieres, working in a 53-bed COVID-19 unit in Baghdad. In a gruelling statement, she described how she is forced to choose who will live and who will die. There are always at least six people waiting who need a bed and I have nowhere else to send them, and so you are forced to choose. Its not a nice word, but thats what we are doing, Dr Godard said. She described the situation facing countries with limited access to vaccines as revolting. Intensive care doctor Aurelie Godard has been forced to choose which of her patients have the best chance to survive at her overwhelmed hospital. It is really dramatic and the people dying now are those who we could have prevented from dying with vaccination. So, it is even more revolting to see young people dying of something that should have been at least partially controlled by vaccination.

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A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said Australia had worked with its regional partners to enhance the global supply of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, including by directing $61 million to the World Health Organisations COVAX facility, a global alliance that pays for and distributes vaccines to poor nations. So far COVAX has delivered about 40 million doses to 100 countries, two-thirds of them in low-income countries eligible for donor-funded doses. Australia has also supplied vaccines to Papua New Guinea and East Timor. [Trade Minister Dan Tehan] has met with World Trade Organisation Director-General Okonjo-Iweala and discussed ensuring international trade rules, including on intellectual property, promote timely, widespread and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Australia has not sought to block the proposed waiver of international IP rules, the spokeswoman said. Australia argued in informal talks at the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights council last week that the common law implications raised by an international patent waiver should be explored before it could enter into negotiations in support of the waiver. MSFs Australian program director, Simon Eccleshall, told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald this amounted to Australia delaying the push for waivers. They are actively seeking to identify barriers and obstacles, bureaucratic obstacles, to slow the process so they could say, Were not blocking this, but its very evident that theyre doing everything within their power to slow the decision-making, he said. They dont want this to come to a decision point, and they keep raising questions upon questions upon questions, and weeks  months, now  are passing. Its obviously a deliberate tactic to avoid getting this to a decision, anytime soon.

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Search For Fugitive Leads to Drug Arrests

By West Kentucky Star Staff

GRAVES COUNTY - A search for a wanted fugitive on Monday led to the arrest of two Mayfield men on drug charges.Detectives with the Graves County Sheriff's Office conducted an investigation with Probation at Parole at a residence on Jimtown Road regarding drug activity and a possible fugitive staying at the residence.At the home, detectives made contact with the resident, 63-year-old Monty Burch as well as two other individuals. Fifty-one-year-old Shane Chapman and Teresa Reed reportedly consented to a search of the room they had stayed in for the night where detectives found four grams of methamphetamine, ecstasy pills, and drug parpahernalia.Detectives also say they found methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and a loaded 9mm handgun in Burch's bedroom.Both Burch and Chapman are currently on parole and were arrested.Burch is charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.Chapman is charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
[April 28, 2021] Stanley R. Frankel, MD FACP joins Cytovia Therapeutics as Chief Medical Officer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and AVENTURA, Fla., April 28, 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 Stanley R. Frankel, MD FACP has been appointed as Chief Medical Officer, effective immediately.

I am delighted to join Cytovia to build the future of biotherapeutics harnessing the innate immune system. Cytovia is uniquely positioned to advance allogeneic off-the-shelf iPSC-derived NK cell therapies along with a unique set of bispecific NK engager antibodies to the clinic with the goal to offer better therapeutic options for patients with either solid tumors or hematologic malignancies, said Dr. Frankel. These technologies individually or in concert will be investigated in at least two disease groups with actionable cancer targets: Glypican-3 (GPC3) will be targeted for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and CD38 for patients with multiple myeloma. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Frankel to the Cytovia leadership team. Stans unique and deep expertise in the clinical development of immuno-oncology products, including bispecific antibodies and cell therapy, will be a major asset to drive Cytovia forward with its differentiated pipeline, added Dr. Daniel Teper, CEO of Cytovia Therapeutics. Cytovia is at a major inflection point as it brings its first-in-class NK Engagers and gene-edited, iPSC-derived NK Cells to clinical stage with a focus on the GPC3 solid tumor and CD38 hematology franchises towards clinical development. Stans unique breadth and depth of both academic and industry drug development experience and track record of successfully developing multiple cellular therapies will be essential to rapidly and effectively guide the Cytovia pipeline of therapeutic candidates through clinical development. Dr. Frankel is a hematologist-oncologist with extensive academic and industry experience in the research, clinical development, and commercialization of immuno-oncology and cellular therapies He has led clinical development programs for multiple FDA-approved drugs to treat hematologic malignancies including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma.



Dr. Frankel was most recently the Senior Vice President, Cellular Therapy Development at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) where he was responsible for late development portfolio of cellular therapy assets including Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel) and Abecma (idecabtagene vicleucel). Prior to the BMS acquisition of Celgene, he was Corporate Vice President, Head, Immuno-Oncology & Cellular Therapy, Clinical Research and Development Head, Cell Therapy Clinical Center of Excellence at Celgene. While at Celgene he co-chaired the Hematology-Oncology Development Committee and served on the Hematology-Oncology Franchise Leadership Team. He served on Joint Steering and/or Joint Development Committees for alliances with JW Therapeutics, Jounce Therapeutics, Astra-Zeneca/Medimmune, Juno Therapeutics, and BeiGene. He is an independent member of the Board of Directors of Precision BioSciences. Dr. Frankel has overseen bispecific antibody preclinical and clinical development in his prior roles as Vice President, Clinical Development at Micromet, and following the Amgen acquisition of Micromet and the bispecific T cell engager platform including Blincyto, as Executive Director, Medical Sciences and Early Development Oncology Therapeutic Area Head. He had previously served in clinical development roles at Roche, Merck, and Genta.

Dr. Frankel received a B.A. in Applied Sciences, Biomechanics from Harvard College and an M.D. from Northwestern University, and has been a board-certified licensed physician since 1986. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital and his fellowship in hematology-oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where he was Chief Fellow. He has prior academic and clinical appointments at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Georgetown University, and the University of Maryland prior to joining Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons as Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. 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





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Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk / Courtesy of Archdiocese of Seoul



Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, former Catholic archbishop of Seoul, died Tuesday, Catholic officials said. He was 89.



Cheong passed away of old age at 10:15 p.m. at a Seoul hospital for treatment, according to officials. He had been hospitalized since February due to an unspecified ailment.



For years, he expressed his intention not to receive life support treatment, although he managed to overcome critical, life-threatening maladies in the past.



He agreed to donate his organs, including his corneas, upon death. Catholic officials said surgeons has removed some of his organs in accordance with his will.



A Requiem Mass was held in a solemn mood after midnight at Myeongdong Cathedral, the seat of the Catholic archdiocese of Seoul, presided over by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, the incumbent archbishop. It was attended by a limited number of bishops, priests and reporters.



The body of the late cardinal was laid in a glass coffin before the altar.



"Cardinal Cheong gave out everything he had to churches and the poor. He donated his organs to devote himself to helping the weak," Yeom said during the mass. "He was always free from material things and he was unconstrained."



He said Cheong was like a mother who is warm-hearted, considerate and caring, while the late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan was like a father.



Cheong's funeral will be held at the cathedral Saturday. He will be buried in a Catholic cemetery in Yongin, on the southern outskirts of Seoul, where many celebrated priests, including Cardinal Kim, are entombed.



Born in 1931 to a devout Catholic family in Seoul, he entered the Catholic University of Korea in 1954 and obtained his bachelor's degree in theology.



After he was ordained in 1961, he served in the pastorate for seven years in Seoul. He also taught students in a Catholic high school in Seoul.



In 1968, he went Italy to study. In the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, he majored in canon law and acquired a master's degree.



Two years after he returned to South Korea, Cheong was appointed as the youngest Catholic bishop in Korea at age 39.



He also held a number of educational and religious roles for decades.



In particular, he led the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea, the highest decision-making body in the Korean Catholic Church, for three years from 1996.



Cheong was later promoted to archbishop of Seoul in 1998 after Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan stepped down. He served in the post for 14 years and retired in 2012.



In 2006, Cheong was appointed cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI, becoming the second Catholic cardinal in Korea after Kim.



He was widely known as an expert in canon law.



He led the project to translate the 1983 Code of Canon Law into the Korean language, and the Korean edition was approved by the Roman Curia in 1989.



He also published 15 volumes of commentary on the Code of Canon Law, along with 50 publications throughout his life. (Yonhap)


The scenes around Nepalgunj Medical College Teaching Hospital in Kohalpur are depressing. A body covered in white clothes lies in front of the hospital building as doctors, nurses and other hospital staff are seen working tirelessly to ensure that no other patient at the hospital faces a similar fate.

The emergency department of the hospital is full of Covid-19 patients as additional people, including those on oxygen support, are suffering. The ICU is almost full as the numbers of people wanting to be admitted due to the coronavirus infection continues to rise. It is safe to say that the situation is most likely to get worse with time.

The lack of beds

Most patients at the hospitals ICU are critically ill. Photo: Chandra Bahadur Ale

Were still awaiting PCR reports of the people who have been admitted here. But, we are almost sure that all of them have contracted Covid-19, says Dr Devendra Acharya.

Dr Acharyas phone rings constantly all day as people enquire about the availability of beds in the ICU. There are no beds available, he is heard speaking on the phone. But if the person needs oxygen, please bring him/her. We will manage space.

The emergency department of the hospital is in a sorry state as the number of patients continues to go up. Not wanting to let them die due to the unavailability of beds, the doctors are still taking admission and putting them on oxygen support.

If the number continues to rise, we cant expect to keep admitting people. The hospital can only do so much, says Dr Acharaya.

A man on oxygen supports waits for a bed. Photo: Chandra Bahadur Ale

Nepalgunj Medical College, in order to cater to Covid-19 patients, had set aside 60 beds in a high-dependency unit (HDU). These beds have been full since April 14. This is not the only hospital that lacks beds; Bheri Hospital, which has the capacity to cater to 142 Covid-19 patients, currently has over 200.

The struggle to breathe

With the beds occupied, new patients suffering from Covid-19 are having a tough time. Most are seen outside the hospital struggling to breathe.

No one had imaging that wed be seeing such a situation, says Dr Acharya. Most of us want to give up because we dont have the resources to handle this.

A body of a person who died due to Covid-19 lays at the entrance of the hospital. Photo: Chandra Bahadur Ale

As one moves from the emergency ward to the ICU, the situation is even frightening. The ICU is full as almost everyone is critical. The sound of the monitors reverberates around the room. A Covid-19 patient walks to the nursing station and sits beside a nurse. As the nurse asks him to go sit in his bed, he refuses to do so.

A person has just died beside me. I cant go there, he replies.

Out of control

Outside the ICU, things make it clear that the situation is getting out of control. An ambulance arrives with a Covid-19 patient who is critical and on oxygen support. The person who just died has been brought out to make room for the critical patient. In 40 minutes, the people from the hospitals mortuary take the body out from the ICU as another group disinfects the bed.

Members from Nepal Army offer a salute to the deceased before taking the body away for the final rites. Photo: Chandra Bahadur Ale

In another 40 minutes, a team from the Nepal Army arrives and takes the body away from the hospital.

The colleges assistant professor Dr Shyam BK says that doctors, nurses and other health workers in the hospital feel hopeless and helpless.

Every day, we see people dying due to the virus and we cant do anything, says BK. Listening to the cry of people in the ICU, everyone in the hospital has become traumatised. How long can this go?

Dr Acharya says that thinking about what will happen in the future scares him and his fellow colleagues. He fears that if this carries on, a lot more people will die due to the virus.

We wont be able to save people, says Dr Acharya.

Visitors of patients admitted at the hospital sleeping outside the hospital. Photo: Chandra Bahadur Ale

The number of cases in Nepalgunj has risen significantly since April 16, says Bheri Hospital focal person Dr Dinesh Shrestha. The cases started to rise so fast, we just couldnt cope. We had no infrastructure or human resources to cope with the rise in the number of cases.

Shrestha says that as the Bheri Hospital has patients from the Safe Motherhood Programme, there is no way it can increase capacity for Covid-19 patients. He says the hospital can cater to 500 patients if the service is provided by any other hospital. But for that, he says, it needs support from the Ministry of Health and Population.

Without government support, things will only get worse. They need to act and act fast, says Dr Shrestha.
Namaste said its net cash used in operating activities fell by $7.5 million to $2.5 million, which it attributed to improved management of its short-term assets

Namaste recorded the second highest percentage for cannabis revenue out of total net revenue achieved in the last four quarters

( ) ( ) (FRA:M5BQ) reported a year-over-year increase in its 1Q 2021 net revenue to C$5.5 million as cannabis sales climbed 113% from the same period last year.

Namaste also said its net cash used in operating activities fell by $7.5 million to $2.5 million during the quarter, which the company attributed to improved management of its short-term assets.

We continue to transform CannMart.com, which saw sales increase in 1Q 2021 compared to the prior year as we see an increased number of vendors looking to sell their cannabis and accessories with us, Namaste Technologies CEO Meni Morim said in a statement.

We believe the marketplace and the company remain well-positioned to experience a robust increase in our top-line as the market improves, Morim added.

Going forward, we are excited about the strategic opportunities for growth as we launch Roilty, our in-house branded cannabis consumer products, in Canada, and launch the first nutraceutical products in fiscal 2021 in North America and anticipate a launch in the UK and Europe thereafter.

The company noted it had recorded the second-highest percentage for cannabis revenue out of total net revenue achieved in the last four quarters.

As well, Namaste said it ended the quarter with $31 million in working capital as of February 28.

The company also saw a 33% year-over-year decrease in its inventories to $5.9 million, which it said reflected improved inventory management practices.

In addition, Namaste announced it has launched a new French-language website for CannMart.com that will offer medical products to customers in Quebec, Canadas second-largest province, as well as to all francophone Canadians.

It noted the initiative marks an important step in CannMart.coms commercial expansion, following months of building its portfolio and taking the necessary strategic measures to ensure proper supply of inventory.

The company said total Quebec recreational cannabis sales exceeded $170 million for the three-month period ending January 2.

Namaste Technologies is a cannabis-focused, e-commerce technology company with the goal of becoming the one-stop shop for everything a cannabis user needs.

The Toronto-based company, which has been described as the Amazon of cannabis, operates the largest global cannabis e-commerce platform with over 30 websites in more than 20 countries under a variety of brands.

In addition to its product offerings of vaporizers, glassware, accessories, and CBD products, the company's CannMart Inc, is a key part of its operations that sells online medical and recreational cannabis.

Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com
Chris Pratt is seen in newly released images for his upcoming action film, The Tomorrow War.

The Minnesota native, 41, who is married to Katherine Schwarzenegger, 31, is seen in a number of high-pressure instances including aiming a rifle and peering out of a helicopter.

The leading man, who plays Peter Quill/Star-Lord in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, plays the role of high school teacher Dan Forester in the forthcoming film.

The latest: Chris Pratt, 41, is seen in newly released images for his upcoming action film, The Tomorrow War

Forester in the film works with a band of soldiers to time travel 30 years forward to 2051 with a key message to deliver in the battle against aliens invading the earth.

Pratt is joined in the cast of the time-traveling film by Yvonne Strahovski, who plays a scientist; J.K. Simmons, who plays Forester's estranged dad; and Betty Gilpin.

The film was slated to debut late last year, but was sidelined amid the coronavirus pandemic that shut down theaters. It was subsequently sold to Amazon in a deal estimated around $200 million earlier this year, Variety reported.

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke called the film 'a global event that will surprise and delight our customers around the world.'

Leading the charge: Pratt is seen aiming a rifle while flanked by soldiers in the film

Blockbuster: The motion picture is set 30 years in the future in the year 2051

Eyes on the prize: Pratt is seen focusing out of a helicopter in this promotional shot

She continued: 'Director Chris McKay has brilliantly crafted this unique, action-packed sci-fi escape that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats and tug on their heart strings with its father-daughter storyline.

'We couldn't be happier to continue our relationship with Chris Pratt - who brings such dynamic star power to the film  along with David Ellison and the Skydance team, as we share this exciting film with fans.'

In an Instagram post earlier this month, Pratt opened up about his experience as an executive producer on the blockbuster.

Joining the fight: Yvonne Strahovski plays a scientist in the movie

He said: 'This was the first feature film I ever executive produced. And honestly, its just so fantastic. I honestly cant believe how good it is (humbly-we crushed it). Its emotional, action packed, funny, scary, moves well and leaves you floored! Its just really, really good!

'Its testing through the roof!!! For real. You cant fake that stuff. Every day people watched this movie and gave it an A+!!'

The movie, which is directed by Chris McKay, is set to come out on Amazon Prime Video July 2.
Pune, India, April 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global infectious disease POC diagnostics market size is projected to reach USD 3,371.1 million by the end of 2027. The presence of several large-scale companies in this sector will emerge in favor of market growth. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, titled Infectious Disease Point-of-care (POC) Diagnostics Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Technique (Lateral Flow Immunoassay, Agglutination Test, Flow-through Test, Molecular Diagnostics, and Others), By Disease (HIV, Hepatitis B Virus, Pneumonia/Streptococcus Associated Infections, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Influenza, Clostridium Difficile Infections (CDI), Hepatitis C Virus, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), Tuberculosis, and Others), By End User (Hospital Bedside, Physicians Office Lab, Urgent Care & Retail Clinics, Home & Self-Testing, Nursing Homes, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027 the market was worth USD 1246.5 million and will exhibit a CAGR of 17.4% during the forecast period, 2020-2027.

Point of care (PoC) testing allows faster diagnosis of diseases at the patient site itself. The drawbacks of conventional diagnostic methods including time to test, inefficiency, and non-portability can be overcome through infectious disease PoC diagnosis. Recent technological advances have opened up a massive potential for the growth of the market in the past few years. The increasing popularity of this concept is consequential to the rapid technological advances. The increasing product demand has encouraged companies to invest higher upfront capital. The sector holds a huge potential for entry-level as well as mid-sized companies across the world. Additionally, increasing research activities will also emerge in favor of market growth in the forthcoming years.





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List of companies profiled in the report:

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Basel, Switzerland)

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (Massachusetts, U.S.)

Abbott Laboratories (Illinois, U.S)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (New Jersey, United States)

BD (Franklin Lakes, U.S)

bioMerieux SA (Marcy l'Etoile, France)

Cardinal Health, Inc. (Ohio, U.S)

Mesa Biotech (California, U.S)

Cepheid (California, U.S)

Trinity Biotech (Bray, Ireland)

Quidel Corporation (San Diego, U.S.)

Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (California, U.S)

Other Players





Infectious Disease Point of Care Diagnostics Highlights of the Report:

Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on the product portfolios of the top players in the market. Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on the upcoming technologies, RandD activities, and product launches in the market Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of the market strategies, geographic and business segments of the leading players in the market Market Development: Comprehensive information about emerging markets. This report analyzes the market for various segments across geographies Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the market





Industry Developments:

June 2020 - Cepheid announced launch of Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV a four in one combination test used for the detection of detection of SARS-CoV-2, Flu A, Flu B and RSV from a sample of single patient.

An Overview of the Impact of COVID-19 on this Market :

The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this too shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. There are some industries that are struggling and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic.

We are taking continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of corona virus outbreak across industries to help you prepare for the future.





For more information visit : https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/infectious-disease-point-of-care-poc-diagnostics-market-104307





Covid-19 Pandemic to Create Massive Opportunities for Rapid Market Growth

The recent coronavirus outbreak has created a sense of panic and urgency across the world. The pandemic has had a drastic impact on several economies across the globe, with SMEs being affected the most. With only large-scale companies being able to sustain the drawbacks of the pandemic in a seamless manner, it is evident that these companies will look to adopt newer strategies to recover the losses in the past few months. The use of several PoC diagnostic test kits has risen dramatically in the past few months, given the ability of the product to generate results in a time span that is lesser than 30 mins. Having said that, major attention has been given to the SARS-Cov-2 infection and other diagnostic products have been kept on hold. As a result, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought mixed fortunes for companies in the infectious disease PoC diagnostics market.

Increasing Product Use during Covid-19 Pandemic will Emerge in Favor of Market Growth

The report encompasses several factors that have contributed to the growth of the overall market in recent years. The massive investments in infectious disease PoC diagnostics have yielded a few exceptional products, enabling applications across diverse treatment procedures. The product has also been put to use in detecting symptoms of Covid-19 in the ongoing pandemic. Several large-scale companies are looking to maximize the use of the product during the pandemic and as a result, the investments in PoC diagnostics has gone up considerably in the past few months.

In May 2020, Quest Diagnostics announced that it has received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its self-collection antibody test kits. The product is used for test kit for Covid-19 for patients looking to get tested from home. Increasing number of product innovations will have a huge impact on the growth of the overall market in the coming years.





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https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/104307





North America to Emerge Dominant; Growing Penetration of Advanced PoC Diagnostics will Emerge in Favor of Market Growth

The report analyzes the ongoing market trends across North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Among all regions, the market in North America is projected to emerge dominant in the coming years. The increasing adoption of advanced PoC diagnostics, especially in the United States, has contributed to the growth of the regional market.

The increasing Covid-19 cases has also given the platform for companies in the infectious disease PoC diagnostics sector. As of 2019, the market in North America was worth USD 457.2 million and this value is projected to rise at a considerable pace in the coming years. The market in Europe held the second largest share, following North America in the global market.





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Global Infectious Disease POC Diagnostics Market Segmentation :

By Technique

Lateral Flow Immunoassay (LFIA)

Agglutination Test

Flow-through test/Immunoconcentration Assay

Molecular Diagnostics

Others

By Disease

HIV

Hepatitis B Virus

Pneumonia/Streptococcus Associated Infections

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)

Influenza

Clostridium Difficile Infections (CDI)

Hepatitis C Virus

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)

Tuberculosis (TB)

Others

By End User

Hospital Bedside

Physician's Office Lab

Urgent Care & Retail Clinics

Home & Self-testing

Nursing Home

Others

By Geography

North America (U.S. and Canada)

Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, and Rest of Europe)

Asia Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, Southeast Asia, and Rest of Asia Pacific)

Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America)

Middle East & Africa (South Africa, GCC and Rest of the Middle East & Africa)





Table Of Content :

Introduction Market Scope Market Segmentation Market Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Prevalence of Key Infectious Diseases, By Key Countries New Product Launches Key Industrial Developments (Mergers, Acquisitions, Partnerships, etc.) Technological Advancements in Infectious Disease Point of Care (POC) Diagnostics Impact of COVID-19 on Infectious Disease Point of Care (POC) Diagnostics Market Overview of Initiatives for Infectious Disease Point of Care (POC) Diagnostics in Emerging Countries Pricing Analysis of Various Infectious Disease Point of Care (POC) Diagnostics, By Key Companies Analysis of Product Features of Key Infectious Disease Point of Care (POC) Diagnostics, By Key Companies

Global Infectious Disease Point-of-care (POC) Diagnostics Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2016-2027 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Technique Lateral Flow Immunoassay (LFIA) Agglutination Tests



Flow-through Tests / Immunoconcentration Assays Molecular Diagnostics Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Disease Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Pneumonia / Streptococcus Associated Infections Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Influenza Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Tuberculosis (TB) Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By End User Hospital Bedside Physician's Office Lab Urgent Care & Retail Clinics Home & Self-Testing Nursing Homes Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Geography North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa



Toc Continue





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SECONDARY RESEARCH IS CONDUCTED TO DERIVE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

Details such as revenues, market share, strategies, growth rate, product & their pricing by region/country for all major companies

Details in relation to prevalence, incidence, patient numbers, distribution of patients, average price of treatment, etc.

Number of end user facilities by region/country and average annual spending or procurement of devices by type of end user facility

Number of procedures and average price of procedures

Replacement rate and pricing of capital equipment

Market dynamics in relation to the market under focus  Drivers, restraints, trends, and opportunities

Market & technological trends, new product developments, product pipeline.





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Arthroscopy Fluid Management Disposables Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Product (Pump Management Disposables and Gravity Management Disposables), By Application (Hospitals, Medical Centers, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027

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Medical X-ray Market Size, Share & Covid-19 Impact Analysis, By Product Type (Static and Dynamic), By Technology Type (Analog and Digital), By Application (Dental, Veterinary, Cardiovascular Oncology, and Others), By End-User (Hospitals & Clinics, Diagnostic Centers, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028





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Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data.

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Julia Brim-Edwards, a Nike executive who is wrapping up a second non-consecutive term on the board of Portland Public Schools, the only one of the three board members whose term ends this year running for re-election.

She faces challenges from reading tutor Max Margolis and caterer Libby Glynn.

The 2021 campaign comes at a time when families and employees in Portland Public Schools are charting courses for post-pandemic education. The states largest district was among the areas last to open for in-person instruction.

Portland Public Schools will offer among the fewest classroom hours to students of the 14 largest Portland-area districts, an Oregonian/OregonLive analysis found.

District officials have pledged to prioritize Black, Indigenous and other students of color in their budget proposals and programming on the tail of the pandemic, just as they promised to do in previous years.

The school board has the final say in Superintendent Guadalupe Guerreros spending plans.

The Oregonian/OregonLive sent a survey to every candidate who will be on Mays ballot. Here are Brim-Edwardss answers, edited for length.

Name: Julia Brim-Edwards

Occupation: School volunteer; senior director, Nike

Education: PPS alum, attended Glencoe K-8, graduated from Washington-Monroe High School; Oregon State University, bachelors of arts

Do you have children who attend or attended Portland Public Schools? If so, please provide details.

Yes, I was a PPS parent for 18 years; our three children attended these PPS schools: Ainsworth Spanish Immersion, Hosford Middle School, Mt. Tabor Middle School, West Sylvan Middle School, Cleveland High School and Lincoln High School.

What inspired you to run for the board?

Our community and students depend on strong, vibrant public schools.

COVID created unprecedented challenges for our students and staff. As a PPS graduate and parent, I am inspired to run because I remain optimistic about our students and schools, and as a parent, I know that public schools are the cornerstone of our community and our kids future.

I am an experienced, trusted and accountable leader who works with families, teachers, and staff to create better outcomes for our students and schools. Ive led Portland schools through tough times before, and am ready to do so again.

Did you have any previous involvement in PPS, either as a volunteer or member of an advisory council or committee? If so, what were your duties?

Yes! For two decades, I actively worked in my childrens schools and citywide to improve our schools, including as a classroom volunteer, PTA member, PPS board chair/board member; a leader for PPS teacher levies and capital bond campaigns, including chairing the 2020 bond campaign to improve and modernize our schools.

Ive been both a critic of the district and a champion for students. Ive advocated for additional supports for our students in this challenging year; recruited our superintendent; adopted budgets supporting smaller classes, more electives, college prep, career technical classes; funded strategies for equitable student outcomes; demanded more accountability, re-instituted performance auditing.

How much time do you envision yourself setting aside for board duties every week?

I will devote the necessary time to do the work and provide the leadership to help our students successfully transition back to a full in-person school year, and to provide critical policy and budget direction and oversight.

I will continue visit and spend time in schools and classrooms in every neighborhood, especially now as they are reopening, to better understand the challenges our students and staff face, to celebrate the brilliance and achievements of our students, and to listen to concerns of all students, staff and families.

Generally, 10-30 hours a week, depending on the week.

What are the two most pressing issues facing Portland Public Schools and why?

My first priority is to support students as schools reopen for in-person learning by providing social and emotional supports and assessing losses and gains. PPS needs to fund accelerated academic strategies, including additional social and emotional supports, before- or after-school learning opportunities, tutoring, and summer school and enrichment programs.

Second, it is essential that Portland schools better serve and support Black, Indigenous, students of color, and special education students to accelerate academic gains.

PPS needs to double down on investments in effective instructional and academic supports, in collaboration with culturally specific community partners, for these students.

How will you hold the superintendent accountable?

There are multiple ways  big and small  that the full board and I hold the superintendent and central administration accountable.

With the board: Set annual performance goals for the superintendent, with a focus on student growth and performance; conduct the superintendents annual review, providing performance feedback.

I rigorously examine budget expenditures, pressure-test staff recommendations and expenditures, insist on transparency, and set high standards for district materials, ensuring they are student-focused, data-based, and easy for parents and the public to understand.

As the PPS Audit Committee chair, I review all district audits to confirm audit recommendations are implemented.

How would you rate the performance of the Portland Public Schools boards response to and handling of COVID-19-related developments so far? What would you have done differently?

School district staff have provided direct services to students, while the PPS board identified, advocated for and approved funds for Covid recovery school supports.

Keeping students and staff healthy and safe: Good.

Essential supports: Nutrition services and school staffs have been nimble, responsive, and student-focused. 3 million meals served; 10,000+ computers and internet access provided; learning materials delivered directly to students.

Instruction and supports: PPS staff demonstrated flexibility and innovation through the unprecedented challenge of delivering distance learning and the shift to hybrid in-person. Strong summer and fall full-time, in-person school plans.

Done differently: More in-person instruction this spring.

How will you engage with the community?

Frequently, authentically and transparently.

Portlanders want to support their neighborhood schools and they expect board members, as community representatives, to provide them with timely and complete information. Thats what I do.

I will continue to visit schools, work with community partners, and engage parents and students so that I understand concerns, needs and aspirations of our students and school communities.

I will celebrate the positive achievements of our students, and make sure my actions and decisions as a board member are informed by others expertise and different perspectives, especially those who have had less of a voice in district decision-making.

How will you engage historically underserved families?

Often the loudest, most organized voices and those who have time and resources to attend school board meetings have the most opportunity to make their views and perspectives known.

To better support our most vulnerable students, we need to hear from historically underserved families; we must meet them in the places and at the times that work best for them: Attending their meetings (versus ours), seeking out their opinions in different community-based forums, meeting in-person (non-pandemic times), attending school-based events, and working with community-based partners they already know and trust.

How will you balance the interests of students and teachers as represented by their union, should those interests be at odds?

Student needs and learning always come first and at the same time I recognize that highly-effective teachers are the most important assets Portland has to ensure student success.

Thankfully, the interests of our students and teachers are generally aligned.

Teacher contract negotiations offer an opportunity for the union to push key issues, including pay, working conditions, etc., while the school board has the opportunity to advocate for changes it believes will benefit students learning and improve equitable outcomes and shared accountability for student success.

Our teachers clearly play a huge part in supporting student success; I view them as partners.

How will you handle disagreements with fellow board members?

I expect to have positive working relationships with fellow board members, focused on common student-focused goals.

Board members have different lived experiences and expertise, so naturally we will have disagreements on policy issues or approaches.

I vote my values and as a representative of different community perspectives, even if its at odds with other board members. Unanimity shouldnt be a goal; healthy disagreement indicates were fully engaged and we care.

We need to keep student-focused goals front and center so that we work together for the good of our schools.

Portland Public Schools, like other districts, has largely discontinued interim and year-end standardized testing to measure students reading, writing and math skills. Do you agree with that decision? When would you want such testing to resume?

I voted to not administer the states year-end standardized test, as it will have limited value to parents, and teachers, and will take away valuable instructional time from students.

Teacher assessment of student learning is the best tool for measuring student skills and mastery, and it will be important for schools to continue with interim fall assessments so parents, teachers, and district leaders have another tool to understand -- especially following this disruptive pandemic year -- where students are.

This will allow parent and teachers to provide extra supports and district leaders to target resources to students most in need.

What metrics will you be watching as a board member?

Metrics I will watch include those the School Board has set collectively third-grade reading, fifth-grade math, eighth-grade language and ready for high school, graduation, and readiness for college and career. Other metrics I watch include:

Number of high school students taking and earning credit in college prep, career technical, or dual credit classes

Disaggregated achievement data for difference between white students and students of color

Disproportionate discipline of special education or students of color

Recruitment/retention of teachers and principals of color

Spending and construction schedules of health and safety bond improvements and school rebuilds

Financial stability/operational effectiveness

What strengths would you bring to the board? Why, essentially, is it crucial the voters choose you?

The stakes are high for students as we recover from the pandemic, deal with racial injustices and inequities, and manage the large district budget and capital bond.

Im the only candidate who has worked for all schools, focusing on more equitable outcomes, consistently delivering funding and support for students most in need, and managing and auditing billion-dollar budgets.

Ive been there when our schools faced their toughest challenges. Im a leader who is student-focused, independent, effective, and accountable to the community, and the only candidate experienced with large budgets, auditing, performance management and a track record of holding administrators accountable.
Sheriff officers look down from the rooftop as people gather near a press conference being held about the death of Andrew Brown Jr., on April 27, 2021 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Joe Raedle / Getty Images

A judge delayed the release of police body camera footage from the fatal shooting of Andrew Brown.

The judge said it would be released after the investigation into the shooting is complete.

Brown was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, last week.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A judge in North Carolina ruled the release body camera footage showing a sheriff's deputy fatally shooting Andrew Brown Jr. will be delayed, NPR reports.

Judge Jeffrey Foster ordered the footage from five body cameras to be released to Brown's family within 10 days, but not released to the public until an investigation into Brown's death is completed.

Foster said that the it could take 30 to 45 days to release the video footage to the public, NPR correspondent Sarah McCammon reported.

North Carolina requires a judge to approve the release of body camera footage and to whom it goes to.

A group of media organizations had also requested access to the video, but Foster said the media don't have standing to request the video under the state law and denied the request.

Brown was fatally shot last week while Pasquotank County Sheriff's deputies were carrying out an arrest warrant on felony drug charges.

Seven sheriff's deputies have been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is being investigated, and three others from the department have resigned. None have been criminally charged as of Wednesday.

Viewing of the footage was previously delayed because officials said they were blurring faces to "protect an active internal investigation."

Read the original article on Insider
Incredible. Amazing. Awesome.

The four-part Disney+ series Secrets of the Whales, directed with award-level skill by Brian Armstrong and Andy Mitchell, is among the finest nature documentaries Ive ever experienced. This is an astonishingly well-photographed deep dive into the worlds of orcas, belugas, sperm whales, narwhals and humpbacks  essentially disparate species with their own communities and friend groups, their own unique languages and culture, their own unique family dynamics and their own special histories. The Disney+/National Geographic crews take us to the far ends of the waters of the Earth to capture these beautiful and intelligent creatures, with visuals so stunning and locales so exotic, its almost as if were on another planet  or weve traveled back in time.

Whales have culture, says narrator Sigourney Weaver (a perfect choice) at the outset of the series. Each family speaks a unique language. They love deeply, play with joy and mourn their dead. Whales are just like us. That sounds like a dash of the ol Disney anthropomorphic hyperbole, but by the time the journey reaches its conclusion, were all-in on that statement.

Filmed over three years in two dozen locations ranging from the coasts of New Zealand and Australia to Antarctica to the Azores and Sri Lanka, Secrets of the Whales devotes each episode to a particular species.

Episode 1, titled Orca Dynasty, follows a pod of orcas as they navigate the waters of Antarctica, the harshest place on Earth, and another family of orcas as they root out stingrays with clever hunting methods in New Zealand. In the second episode we follow humpback whales as they embark on the longest migrations of any mammal on Earth and communicate through intricate and complex sounds and songs.

Its off to Greenland for Episode 3, where we meet beluga whales and the narwhal, a species that resembles the offshoot of a strange union between a whale and a unicorn. (At one point the belugas in effect adopt a narwhal to save its life.) In the finale, Ocean Giants, were reminded that Moby Dick was a sperm whale, portrayed as a monster. ... They may be more than 50 tons, but sperm whales are gentle giants. They have deep family connections. Generations of females learn from each other, and groups of families share a common language.

The sights and sounds in Secrets of the Whales are dazzling throughout, thanks in large part to the epic camerawork by Brian Skerry, who captures the whales with such intimate detail, there are times when it appears as if theyre looking right at us. From time to time, we pull back from the world of the whales to check in with Skerry and with the scientists who are studying their languages, and at the end of each episode, executive producer James Cameron does a mini-recap of highlights. For all of Camerons experiences with underwater photography, he sounds genuinely amazed at this next-level work, and justifiably so. All great respect to the humans who bring us this story, but theyd be the first to tell you the whales are the real stars of the show.

Richard Roeper reviews movies for The Chicago Sun-Times. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.
CLOUD

Judge rules Amazon's JEDI lawsuit to go forward

Amazons argument that political involvement from the Trump administration swung the Defense Departments award of the JEDI cloud infrastructure contract to Microsoft in October 2019 can go ahead in the judicial forum.

In a sealed ruling, Court of Federal Claims Judge Patricia E. Campbell-Smith denied a joint motion of Microsoft and DOD to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Amazon Web Services to contest that award.

The ruling was described in a notification from the court Wednesday that said all parties must begin working on a plan for future proceedings.

That decision also means AWS can press forward on seeking depositions from former president Donald Trump, former Defense Secretary James Mattis and other officials as part of the companys case.

DOD reaffirmed the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract award to Microsoft in September 2020 after both companies revised their bids, after which AWS then filed its amended complaint about the Pentagons initial source selection process and the partial redo.

AWS longstanding crux is that Trumps animus toward Amazon founder Jeff Bezos worked its way down into the decision to award Microsoft the contract. AWS also wants depositions from former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, former DOD Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy and three members of the JEDI source selection panel.

"The record of improper influence by former President Trump is disturbing, and we are pleased the Court will review the remarkable impact it had on the JEDI contract award," an AWS spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "AWS continues to be the superior technical choice, the less expensive choice, and would provide the best value to the DOD and the American taxpayer."

This procedural ruling changes little. Not once, but twice, professional procurement staff at the DoD chose Microsoft after a thorough review. Many other large and sophisticated customers make the same choice every week, Frank Shaw, Microsofts corporate vice president of communications, said in a separate statement. Weve continued for more than a year to do the internal work necessary to move forward on JEDI quickly, and we continue to work with DoD, as we have for more than 40 years, on mission critical initiatives like supporting its rapid shift to remote work and the Armys IVAS.

IVAS is the $22 billion augmented reality headset contract Microsoft is moving from pilot to production on.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP)  Chinese vaccine makers are looking at mixing their jabs and whether a booster shot could help better protect against COVID-19.

Sinovac and Sinopharm, the two Chinese manufacturers that combined have exported hundreds of millions of doses all over the world, say theyre are considering combining their vaccines with those from other companies.

Earlier this month, the head of Chinas Center for Disease Control, Gao Fu, said that current vaccines offer low protection against the coronavirus and mixing them is among strategies being considered to boost their effectiveness.

Gao later tried to walk back his comments, saying he was talking in general about improving vaccine efficacy.

China National Biotech Group has a plan for future sequential use of their vaccines, Li Meng, the head of international cooperation for the company, said Wednesday at an international conference.

The company, a subsidiary of state-owned Sinopharm, made two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines and a third in clinical trials.

Sinovac, a private company based in Beijing, also said they were in preliminary discussions with investigators, including Chinas Center for Disease Control, about combining the doses of their vaccine, CoronaVac, with others.

Sequential immunization means mixing different vaccines and it is a strategy that could boost efficacy rates, said Ashley St. John, an immunologist at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.

They are trying to tweak the schedule to really find the best point to give peoples vaccines, St. John said. Whats the best combination and time point?

Sinopharms vaccines, from its Beijing Institute of Biological Products and the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, are 79% and 72% effective, respectively, the company said. It has not publicly revealed more data from the final stage of its clinical trials.

The practice is being considered in other countries as well. British scientists are studying a combo of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer shots. The study is also looking to test different intervals between doses, four weeks and 12 weeks apart.

The results of such investigations may have public health implications worldwide as governments around the world face delays in getting their vaccines in a timely manner and logistical hurdles in rolling out the shots.

Researchers in Brazil who conducted Sinovacs clinical trials in the country released new data this month that reconfirmed the companys previously announced 50% efficacy rate. The paper, which has not yet been peer reviewed but was published on a website for scientists, showed that the Sinovac vaccine was 50.7% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 cases and much stronger against severe disease.

CanSino, another Chinese company that has created an adenovirus-vector vaccine, said they were looking at the effects of a booster shot of their own vaccine six months after the first dose. The shot, which uses the same technology as the AstraZeneca shot, is 65.3% effective.

By HUIZHONG WU

Associated Press
FOREST CITY, Iowa  A man accused of dealing a variety of drugs is pleading not guilty.

Draven Ray Monson, 20 of Forest City, is charged with possession with intent to distribute LSD, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute MDMA (molly), manufacture of psilocybin mushrooms, possession with intent to deliver psilocybin mushrooms, possession with intent to manufacture marijuana, and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Law enforcement says it searched Monsons home on March 30 and found several different kind of illegal drugs, a large tote being used to grow mushrooms, and an AR-15 style rifle.

Monson is now scheduled to stand trial beginning July 21.
[April 28, 2021] Epiq Expands its Technology-Enabled Services to Latin America

NEW YORK, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to corporate legal departments and law firms, announced today that it has expanded its services to Latin America through an Azure, cloud-based data center in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

With over 7000 people in 18 countries, as well as 17 data centers in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and now, Latin America, Epiq has streamlined transformed the business of law for its clients globally for nearly two decades. Today, Epiq supports 90% of the top global law firms and half of Fortune 100 organizations in driving better data- and technology-driven legal and business decisions. With its ability to isolate data and meet privacy standards in Brazil, and a team of native Portuguese and Spanish speakers, Epiq is set to offer advanced technologies and proven processes with experienced, service-led experts to provide the following solutions throughout Latin America: Litigation, arbitration, and investigation support

Class action and claims administration services

Cyber, privacy, and data breach response

Competition and antitrust reviews

Information governance

Law department transformation, including legal spend analytics

Legal operations support, including contract management solutions

Epiq Counsel: experienced lawyers offered on a flexible basis to corporate law departments

Global Business Transformation Solutions

With the growth of international arbitrations, the introduction of Brazils new privacy legislation Lei Geral de Protecao de Dados, the rise in class action cases, and the evolving antitrust regimes in the region, the time is right for Epiq to invest in and support our clients across Latin America, said Carla Swansburg, managing director of Canada and Latin America, Epiq. We also seek to serve corporate law departments and law firms headquartered in Latin America with our world-class services and technology.



Said Eric Gonzales, senior vice president, Legal Solutions, Our expansion into Latin America is an important part of our global strategy. The vast majority of our clients have operations in multiple jurisdictions, and we can now serve them on five continents. We need to be where they are to best meet their needs. For more information on how Epiq can help you in Latin America, visit us here.





About Epiq

Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to the legal industry and corporations, takes on large-scale, increasingly complex tasks for corporate counsel, law firms, and business professionals with efficiency, clarity, and confidence. Clients rely on Epiq to streamline the administration of business operations, class action and mass tort, court reporting, eDiscovery, regulatory, compliance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. Epiq subject-matter experts and technologies create efficiency through expertise and deliver confidence to high-performing clients around the world. Learn more at https://www.epiqglobal.com. Press Contacts



Epiq

Catherine Ostheimer

COstheimer@epiqglobal.com

+ 1 203 921 9700



LLYC

Luisa Renaux

lrenaux@llorenteycuenca.com

+55 11 3060 3390

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/14d41eec-1720-48dd-9eaa-2dbbc817c0a3 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1b2fe1c1-2504-4cc8-9edc-5bf61c20f631



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After the opposition called on the province to spend more than a fraction of the $22 million it has promised for child care, the government said to stay tuned.

After the opposition called on the province to spend more than a fraction of the $22 million it has promised for child care, the government said to stay tuned.

"We are working, specifically with the Winnipeg chamber, on some very exciting projects that I will be looking forward to announcing very soon," Families Minister Rochelle Squires told reporters Tuesday.

She said the chamber has been working with the province to create new, "culturally appropriate" child-care spaces.

Last August, the province announced it would invest $22 million in "new and reallocated funds" to create 1,400 spaces. It said it was teaming up with the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, and using $8.5 million to create new, diverse child care options in workplaces and homes.

On Tuesday, NDP Leader Wab Kinew said a freedom of information request showed that just $1.7 million had been dispersed to child-care programs through the chambers of commerce a as of March 19.

"It's clear that they're only spending a fraction of the money that's been earmarked," Kinew told reporters.

"Given the urgency around child care, the government should really be using all of the funds they have earmarked," he said. That money should go to chronically underfunded non-profit, child-care centres "that are actually serving communities," and struggling to keep their doors open, Kinew said.

"Let's get those funds out to the community to help those centres delivering child care," he said.

Manitobas online child-care registry had more than 16,000 children on the waiting list in June 2018, the last time it was updated before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020.

Squires said when the pandemic arrived, there was a lot of uncertainty in the child care system. All child-care centres, except licensed family homes, closed. When they initially reopened, it was with lower enrolments and involved the children of essential workers.

The province introduced the Manitoba Child Care Search Tool to help essential service workers identify which facilities were open and where there were vacancies.

The wait list at one point showed 5,000 child-care vacancies  an anomaly, as parents worked from home or couldn't work because of the pandemic. As of last week, there were just 4,600 vacancies, but that will change, said Squires.

In the meantime, the province used much of the promised child-care funding to create an $11.5 million trust to fund programs every year.

Squires said the chambers of commerce still had $4.72 million, and that pot of money is funding the "culturally appropriate" child-care programming the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce is rolling out. She wouldn't specify if the new spaces include for-profit and non-profit spaces.

When asked about the chamber's new spaces, executive director Jodie Kehl of the Manitoba Child Care Association, which represents 4,000 licensed child-care members, said the association "has not been consulted on anything of this nature."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
California Episcopal Bishop suspended for trying to sell church's property dies at 74

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Former Episcopal Church Bishop J. Jon Bruno, who garnered controversy and a suspension when he unsuccessfully tried to sell a church property still being used by a congregation, has died at age 74.

Bruno, who served as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles from 2002 to 2017, died on April 23 of natural causes at his home in La Quinta, California, according to his wife, Mary.

Our family and the many others who knew and loved Jon have been blessed with his magnificent life, said Mary Bruno, as reported by the L.A. Diocese.

We are gladdened to know that he has been greeted by St. Peter and is in the loving hands of God. We ask that our family is included in your prayers and our privacy respected in this time of grief.

LA Diocese Bishop John Harvey Taylor also gave his condolences in a statement published by the diocese, saying that Bruno was a positive influence over the lives of many.

I know I speak for hundreds of lay and ordained folk all over our diocese when I say that the sudden loss of our friend, mentor, counselor, teacher, and advocate triggers a grief too deep for words, Taylor said.

Most of all, I remember Jons encouragement, his love, his smile, his twinkle, and his everlasting yes. His legacy will continue to light us along the way. These early days and weeks, I know well pray hardest for Mary and their family, who feel this loss most of all.

Raised in a Roman Catholic family, Bruno was born on Nov. 17, 1946, in Los Angeles and grew up in the area, eventually becoming an Episcopalian and being ordained in the Church in 1978.

He was elected the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles in 2002, and was known for his support of immigration reform, LGBT activism, international ministries, and interfaith dialogue.

In 2003, when the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire garnered controversy for electing the denominations first openly gay bishop, Bruno released a statement stressing unity.

I will proactively live into the Gospel  and its really simple when you think about the fact that the summary of the Law tells us to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves, Bruno said at the time.

It doesnt say anything about agreeing with my brothers and sisters about the presence of Jesus in their lives, or the way they interpret the scriptures, but I will uphold their right to be who they are, and I will continue to be the person God intends me to be.

When St. James Anglican of Newport Beach tried to leave the Episcopal Church over theological disagreements, the diocese under Bruno successfully sued to keep the disputed property.

In May 2015, Bruno announced that he was selling the property to Legacy Partners Residential, which planned to build 22 townhouses on the land, even though a new Episcopal congregation had begun meeting there.

Known as St. James the Great, the congregation found themselves locked out of the property in July 2015, per Bruno's orders as he tried to finalize the property sale.

"We were blindsided," explained one St. James member to the Orange County Register in 2015. "I am stunned the leadership of the diocese is so eager for condos instead of this congregation."

The congregation protested and Bruno was brought before a hearing panel for the Disciplinary Board for Bishops, which recommended in 2017 that he be suspended for three years.

During the period of his suspension Bishop Bruno shall refrain from the exercise of the gifts of the ministry conferred by ordination ... and not exercise any authority over the real or personal property or temporal affairs of the Church," concluded the board in a 4-1 decision.

After thorough and detailed consideration of facts, positions, contentions, testimony and documents, the Hearing Panel has concluded that the scope and severity of Bishop Bruno's misconduct, as described above, have unjustly and unnecessarily disturbed the ministry of a mission of the Church.

In December 2017, Bruno resigned as bishop and in April 2018, St. James the Great Episcopal Church of Newport Beach returned to worshiping at the property.

In addition to his wife of 35 years, Bruno is survived by a daughter, a son, a step-son, and nine grandchildren; he is predeceased in death by his sister, Toni Rae Bruno Taix.
The Dobrobut medical network begins expansion in the regions, Ihor Mazepa, the founder and CEO of Concorde Capital, has said.

"The goal is to build a medical ATB. We are going beyond Kyiv and starting regional expansion," he told Forbs.

Mazepa also said that capex for Dobrobut for the next five years will amount to $200-230 million.

He predicted that Dobrobut will earn $20 million of EBITDA in 2022 and the company's value during this time "should grow to $200 million."

"Dobrobut annually grows in sales by 40-45%. Our bet, which we placed on medicine five years ago, is beginning to be seriously paid off. I hope that after some time this business will cost more than $500 million," he said.

In general, Mazepa estimates the Ukrainian medical market at $8 billion.

"The state still dominates in medicine. But the future belongs to private companies, and in five years they will come to the fore," Mazepa said.
A fashion designer who didn't recognise her own mother for five months as she lay in a hospital bed with brain damage after being hit by a police car has opened up about her painful rehabilitation.

Caroline Breure was holidaying in Barcelona with her ex partner Johan when she was struck at a pedestrian crossing by a cop car with flashing lights but no siren on September 9, 2019.

The 35-year-old, who was born in Brazil but had been living in Sydney's eastern suburbs, suffered debilitating head injuries when she was propelled 13 metres over the bitumen.

Despite spending four months in a coma and two years learning to walk and talk again, Ms Breure travelled to the Gold Coast by herself this week and has almost made a full recovery.

Scroll down for video

Pictured: Caroline Breure, who was hit by a police car while holidaying in Barcelona, Spain, in 2019

Pictured: Ms Breure in hospital with her mother Juceli, who flew to Spain to be by her side

'I used to travel around every year,' she wrote on Instagram.

'Although I can't travel on the world due to Covid, it was amazing to see my friends - especially the ones I havent seen for so long and who knew about my recovery.'

Ms Breure was in a Spanish hospital for seven months and was relocated to Brazil for five months, before she was finally moved to an Australian hospital in September 2020 - one year after the accident.

Her mother Juceli immediately flew from Brazil to be by her daughter's side and did not leave throughout the intensive recovery process.

In a series of emotional Instagram posts, Juceli told Ms Breure: 'You opened one eye after one month, then you started making signs with your right hand. You moved your legs a lot but you didn't shake our hand when we asked.'

Ms Breure didn't recognise her mother for five months following the accident, and couldn't communicate

Pictured: Ms Breure during her recovery. She could only open one eye and had to learn to walk again

'I dont believe that you only started to recognize me as your mum at the end of January or February. I knew this because you treated me like a stranger you didn't know.'

Doctors also gave Juceli the heartbreaking news that her daughter may be blind, wheelchair-bound, lose the ability to use her right arm, and that she might have a completely different personality.

'I cried a lot,' the mother-of-one wrote on social media. I was desperate without a floor.'

She told health experts, 'you don't know my Caroline. I'm sure Caroline will fight until she gets 100 per cent better'.

Doctors also gave Juceli the heartbreaking news that her daughter (pictured) may be blind

Ms Breure grew up in Brazil and moved to Australia five years ago. She launched No Saints with her ex partner Johan in 2018

Pictured: Ms Breure trying to speak during her recovery in 2020. She would babble and make up words

After undergoing several surgeries, including having part of her skull removed to help reduce the swelling of her brain, Ms Breure was left with aphasia - which means she was unable to speak, read, write, and understand what others are saying.

When she did speak, she babbled like a baby and could not properly communicate with anyone.

The designer shared a series of photos on social media that show her smiling with family members throughout her recovery, but in the captions she explained she was unable to understand what anyone was saying during those times.

'When I was still in Brazil with my mum and dads apartment, there was not much to do because I couldnt understand anything on TV or in books - it didn't matter if it was Portuguese or English,' she wrote.

'I thought: Why are all my friends in Australia and I'm in Brazil?'

Ms Breure (pictured wit her mother) was unable to walk after her accident and was in intensive care for 35 days

Ms Breure shared series of photos on social media that show her smiling throughout her recovery (pictured), but she explained she was unable to understand what anyone was saying during those times

It took her more than a year to comprehend her accident, and she didn't know Covid-19 had swept across the world until late 2020.

The condition improved over time and she can now read, write and understand almost everything, but she still sometimes struggles to find the right words sometimes.

Ms Breure said her old speech therapist in Brazil follows her on Instagram and is impressed with her progress.

Following the accident, friends set up a Go Fund Me campaign to help pay for her recovery.

In April this year, Ms Breure and her former boyfriend Johan climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge together

Pictured: The police car that hit Ms Breure and changed her life. She spent two years in recovery

'All donations will help give Caroline a fighting chance to recover and lead a normal life, as well as provide her mother the financial support that she needs to provide care on a full time basis for her only child.'

Ms Breure grew up in Brazil, and moved to Australia seven years ago.

She met Johan in 2017, and quit her job a year later to launch her shoe company No Saints with him.

No Saints prides itself on ethically produced shoes, using faux leather products and workers in Portugal, where the company say their workers are paid fair wages.

While Ms Breure and Johan's romantic relationship crumbled in the years following the accident, the pair are still good friends.

In April this year, they climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge together.
In Their Opinion: The fact is, it was a genocide
Bill introduced to designate April 18, 2022, as National Amateur Radio Operators Day

Arizona Congresswoman Debbie Lesko has reintroduced a resolution with bipartisan support to designate April 18, 2022, as National Amateur Radio Operators Day.

Introduced on April 19, the measure recognizes the important contributions amateur radio operators have made. She introduced a similar bill in the last Congress.

Throughout history, amateur radio operators have provided invaluable services to our communities, Lesko said in a news release. I am proud to reintroduce this resolution to honor the important contributions amateur radio operators have made in Arizona and across our nation. Amateur radio has brought people together and has provided critical emergency communications during natural disasters. Amateur radio is a vital part of our nations communications infrastructure.

Lesko said she was initially approached to introduce the resolution during the last Congress by then-12-year-old Raymond Anderson, N7KCB, of Peoria, Arizona.

Read the full ARRL article

http://www.arrl.org/news/view/bill-introduced-to-designate-april-18-2022-as-national-amateur-radio-operators-day
04/28/2021

Photo (c) Steve Proehl - Getty Images In a filing with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Tesla defended itself against accusations of violating environmental regulations.

Regulators in the U.S. have accused the electric automaker of failing to prove that its complying with the federal emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants. The EPA has specifically requested more information about how the company handles the surface coating process for vehicles at its paint facility in Fremont, California.

In 2019, Tesla employees told CNBC that the Fremont plant had sometimes conducted paint retouching in an open-air tent without full automation. Employees said they were exposed to extreme cold and smoke-filled air in 2018, a time when wildfires were an issue.

Meanwhile, German officials have accused the company of failing to take back and properly dispose of old customer batteries. In Germany, theres a law requiring automakers selling electric cars to take back batteries and dispose of them in an environmentally sustainable way.

In the Wednesday filing, Tesla said it has responded to all information requests from the EPA and refutes the allegations. The company said it does not expect any material adverse impact on its business to stem from its talks with the EPA on this matter.

In response to the accusations from German officials, Tesla said it has continued to take back battery packs. It added that the issue was primarily relating to administrative requirements.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a review meeting with Indian Air Force (IAF) Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria and was briefed about the round-the-clock readiness of the entire heavy-lift fleet and substantial numbers of its medium-lift fleets to meet COVID-19 related tasks both within the country and overseas.

The Prime Minister's Office in a statement said: "Bhadauria told the prime minister about a dedicated 'Covid Air Support Cell' set up by the IAF to ensure faster coordination with different ministries and agencies on COVID-19 related operations."

Also, the PM Modi was told that the Air Force is deploying big as well as medium-sized aircraft to cover all terrains. An aircrew for all fleets have been augmented to ensure round-the-clock operations.

"Hospitals under the IAF have increased COVID-19 facilities and are also allowing civilians wherever possible" the air chief said in the statement.

During the meeting, PM Modi stressed the need to increase the speed, scale and safety of operations in transporting oxygen tankers and other essential material.

Further, PM Modi enquired about the health of IAF personnel and their families to which it was emntioned that a near saturation vaccination coverage has been achieved in the IAF.

Meanwhile, the IAF airlifted nine cryogenic oxygen containers from Dubai and Singapore and has brought them to the Panagarh air base in West Bengal on Tuesday, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday.
Imperial Valley News Center

Sierra Leone National Day

Washington, DC - Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State: "On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I congratulate the people of Sierra Leone as you commemorate the 60th anniversary of your independence.

"The United States strong and enduring partnership with Sierra Leone is defined by shared values and mutual respect. We will continue to work together to create a future shaped by strengthened democracy, regional peace and stability, improved public health security, and economic growth and prosperity for the benefit of all of our citizens.

"We are glad to stand with Sierra Leoneans as you celebrate your Independence Day."
[April 28, 2021] HG Holdings, Inc. Announces Agreement to Acquire National Consumer Title Insurance Company From Southern Fidelity Insurance Company and Affiliates

HG Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: STLY) announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the equity of National Consumer Title Insurance Company ("NCTIC") and 100% of the interest in National Consumer Title Group, LLC, which indirectly owns 50% of the membership interest in Omega National Title Agency ("Omega"). As a closing condition, all necessary regulatory approvals and governmental consents must be obtained, including those from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, and the parties currently expect to close the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement upon receipt of such approvals and consents. Further, the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement is subject to certain specified closing conditions, including the receipt of certain third-party consents or approvals, the absence of a "material adverse effect" with respect to the NCTIC, NCTG, Omega and TAV (taken as a whole), and other customary closing conditions, including the accuracy of each party's representations and warranties and each party's compliance with its obligations and covenants under the Purchase Agreement. Steve Hale, HG Holdings, Inc.'s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented: "Working with the owners and management of Southern Fidelity to complete this transaction was delightful, and we hope to find future ways to partner with them. We are excited about the prospects of entering the insurance industry via this title insurance platform." About the Company HG Holdings, Inc. (the "Company", through its interest in HC Government Realty Trust, Inc. ("HC Realty"), owns and operates real estate properties in the United States. HC Realty owns and operates a portfolio of 24 single-tenant properties leased for the occupancy by federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Transportation. The company was formerly known as Stanley Furniture Company, Inc. and changed its name to HG Holdings, Inc. in March 2018. HG Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.



Forward-Looking Statements These statements reflect our reasonable judgment with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance. Certain statements made in this news release are not based on historical facts, but are forward-looking statements. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "estimates," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "could," or "anticipates," or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology that could give rise to the termination of the equity purchase agreement, an inability to complete the proposed transaction due to a failure to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals, as well as the other risks and uncertainties identified in filings by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC (News - Alert) "), including its periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this news release and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new developments or otherwise.

Additional Information and Where to Find It Stockholders of the Company may obtain relevant documents filed with the SEC (once they are available) free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to HG Holdings, Inc. at investor@hgholdingsinc.net or 2115 E. 7th Street, Suite 101, Charlotte, NC 28204, Attn: Brad Garner. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005747/en/

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NEW YORK, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kindbody , a high-growth health and technology company, today announced Meredith Whitney as its Chief Financial Officer and newest addition to its female-led executive team. Whitney joins Kindbody as a seasoned leader with a long and illustrious career in finance, having shattered the glass ceiling during her time on Wall Street.

Meredith Whitney, CFO of Kindbody

Whitney has been one of the most visible female analysts on Wall Street, earning recognition from Fortune Magazine as one of the "50 Most Powerful Women" (2008 - 2013) and from Time Magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" (2009). She is revered for predicting Citibank's need to raise capital in October 2007, a forecast which ultimately proved to be correct and was widely recognized as an opening event for the global financial crisis.

Kindbody, a fertility and family-building provider and benefit solution, welcomes Whitney at an exciting time in its growth trajectory. Having raised $64 million in funding to date and in market for its Series C, the Company expects to own and operate 42 Kindbody locations by the end of 2023, with a robust telehealth platform, mobile pop-ups, and 300+ partner clinics nationwide.

Whitney's decision to join Kindbody is motivated by her belief in the Company's mission and vision. "It is not every day you get a chance to join a company like Kindbody," said Whitney. "This is a deeply personal issue for me and many of my female colleagues. I imagine many of us would have stayed on Wall Street if Kindbody's services had been readily available. Kindbody is positioned to elevate women across industries and meaningfully impact retention and diversity in the workplace."

Whitney most recently served as CFO of Zume, a SoftBank-backed technology company, where she built the accounting and financial reporting platform, spearheaded M&A, and was instrumental in the Company's fundraising. Prior to Zume, she served as SVP at Arch Insurance Group, the world's largest mortgage insurer. Whitney's experience as a dynamic, data-driven, and highly quantitative CFO will enable Kindbody to accelerate its already rapid growth.

"Meredith is a rare leader who has the right skill set and experience to propel Kindbody's exciting path forward," said Gina Bartasi, Founder and CEO of Kindbody. "The fact that Meredith achieved such success on Wall Street as a woman is all the more impressive. Empowered women empower women, and we are making a conscious effort to advance that thinking as we deliver best-in-class women's health and fertility care."

Kindbody combines full-service care with accessible pricing and welcoming spaces for women, couples, and the LGBTQ+ community, offering fertility services (including IVF, egg freezing, and third-party reproduction), as well as gynecology, nutrition, mental health, and pre and postpartum care. In addition to its own brick-and-mortar locations and comprehensive virtual suite of services, Kindbody utilizes a robust network of partner clinics, to ensure no gaps in coverage for the patients and employers it serves.

In addition to its executive team, Kindbody has a female-led board of directors, including Ellen Hukkelhoven, Managing Director at Perceptive Advisors, Kindbody's largest institutional shareholder. "This is an amazing group of strong, humble, hard-working, and committed women who are capable of rapidly scaling a highly successful and valuable company," said Hukkelhoven.

Kindbody's current investors include Perceptive Advisors, GV (formerly Google Ventures), RRE Capital, Rock Springs Capital, Claritas Capital and TQ Ventures. That list is expected to grow as the Company raises its Series C round. Whitney's deep relationships on Wall Street will benefit the Company as it completes its fundraise and in preparation for a potential public listing, which could come sooner rather than later given the Company's rapid pace of growth.

Whitney joins a team of other industry veterans at Kindbody, including Founder and CEO Gina Bartasi, a seasoned entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in healthtech and the founder of Progyny, President Annbeth Eschbach, previously the Founder and CEO of Exhale Spa, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Lynn Westphal, previously at Stanford Fertility, Chief Commercial Officer Cindy Gentry, an industry veteran from Mercer, and Founding OB/GYN, Dr. Fahimeh Sasan, previously of Mount Sinai Health System in New York.

About Kindbody

Kindbody provides fertility, gynecology, and family-building services at signature Kindbody clinics and a network of 300+ partner clinics. With a mission to deliver a more welcoming, inclusive experience for all, Kindbody leverages proprietary technology to enable high-touch care and superior outcomes at lower prices. Founded in 2018 by CEO Gina Bartasi, Kindbody has raised a total of $64 million in funding from leading investors including Perceptive Advisors, GV (formerly Google Ventures), RRE Capital, Rock Springs Capital, Claritas Capital and TQ Ventures. Learn more at www.kindbody.com and follow us on Instagram , LinkedIn Twitter , Facebook and YouTube .

MEDIA INQUIRIES:

Amandalyn Jones

[email protected]

1-855-KND-BODY

SOURCE Kindbody
Wednesday, April 28, 2021

You can read more about Michael Lesser here . Relevant paragraph to the Jim Garrison investigation:

"While at Syracuse he helped form a local chapter of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and actively fought housing segregation in the school dorms and surrounding community. In 1963, just before taking his oral exams for his PhD, he dropped out and went to work for CORE In Louisiana. Michael stayed with CORE for four years, eventually becoming the Mid-West Regional Field Secretary. He was jailed 11 times, the last time for three weeks under a charge of criminal anarchy, a capital offense. He left CORE when the white staff were asked to leave and moved to San Francisco during the summer of love."

Lesser was arrested in Clinton, Louisiana in early August 1963:

An August 14, 1963 FBI teletype has an interesting paragraph :

The treatment meted out to Lesser was far different than the treatment that Oswald supposedly received in Clinton. And when we think about what really happened in Clinton, we must always remember that the core of the story [no pun intended] was civil rights, the right to vote, and the influence of the KKK.

Here is a description of Clinton, Louisiana by Adam Fairclough from his book, Race & Democracy: The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana, 1915-1972: (page 301-302)

Here is an FBI report about the Clinton witnesses at the Clay Shaw trial. Note that Henry Palmer was an Exalted Cyclops in the KKK and John Manchester was also in the KKK.

Here is an excerpt from Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America By Ari Berman, describing the situation in 1965: (pages 44-45)

For a little more flavor about what was going on. Here is an excerpt from a letter that Hugh Aynesworth sent to James Kirkwood about Clinton. Aynesworth had been to Clinton right before the Clay Shaw trial:

October 9, 1969

Gurvich and I drove to Clinton in his car following a visit with a top Louisiana State Police official in Baton Rouge. We learned enough from the state police official to let us know that the whole thing was a hoax, but we decided to visit several of the witnesses anyway - in the belief that if we could talk with them, and tape record the conversation we would probably find flaws in their stories. "It's for sure they'll never be able to tell the same wacky story twice," said Gurvich. This turned out to be true.

John Manchester, the town marshall, was the first witness we encountered. He was shocked that we knew what he was to testify. Manchester, a foul-talking, dirty and scruffy man who looked like the only way he could whip a man was to kick him in the groin, wouldn't comment on his testimony at first, but he kept saying', "Ain't no way that son-of-a-bitch (oswald) coulda fired all them shots. Ain't no way."

We visited with Manchester - in the Clinton Jail - for a couple of hours, until he was called away by somebody. Then we sat talking with a deputy and some of his gin buddies. From them we got the rundown on practically all the witnesses in town and in nearby Jackson. One was a hard drinker, another "couldn't find the truth, it was writ on the front of his head." Still another, was dead, having committed suicide in the Clinton jail a few months before.

Mrs. Maxine Kemp lived in a nicely arranged trailer with her teenaged son. She seemed pleased to have someone to talk. Then she told her story - not noticing the tape recorder Gurvich placed on the floor in his case. Has she really seen an application file for LHO at the Jackson State Hospital? No, she related to the tape and to us, all she knew was that she and a co-worker, Mrs. Aline Woodside, had located a folder with the name "Harvey Oswald" on it.

She went on to say that applications were not kept for several years (this would have been 3 1/2 years) and that the folder she described was not in a place where applications would have been or where past records would have been filed.

We never found Corrie [Collins], but it was simple to see how he had to testify to what Manchester and the other scrub-nuts wanted him. His father was simply terrified by three white men [Aynesworth, Gurvich and Kent Biffle] barging into his house after dark. In short, being a Negro in Clinton - a hot bed of redneck and the Klan, is not much fun.

First, I think John Manchester, and a State policeman Lt. Francis Fruge, put it all together. Fruge, fired by the state police, turned in bills for 75 head lights inside of a year.

You can see more of Aynesworth's account in Kirkwood's book, American Grotesque, pages 220-222.

And, here is an article from the Shreveport Journal of July 5, 1965:

Interesting that nothing was mentioned about Oswald being in Clinton, Louisiana. John Rarick and Ned Touchstone (Editor of The Councilor) were at the rally, and they had connections to Clinton. Note their interest in tying Oswald to assistants in Louisiana - and the fact that they asked that there be a reward for information.

And, here is an excerpt from The Councilor, a racist newspaper out of Shreveport (and house organ of the segregationist Louisiana Citizens' Council) dated July 1975.

The column on the far right reads:

"Time after time, Ned Touchstone and The Councilor named Ferrie as a prime suspect in the JFK murder, We goaded him,. We challenged him to sue us or to take public issue with the accusation.

He never did.

Then we noted something else very strange. Ferrie was known to be involved in interstate transportation of young boys for..."

The Councilor never reported that Lee Harvey Oswald or David Ferrie were ever in Clinton. We don't know the full story on Clinton. The Garrison story of the friendly treatment given to Oswald, Ferrie & Shaw in Clinton - when you consider that they were outsiders - and we know how they treat outsiders who weren't wanted - just doesn't make sense. Something else was going on.

Prior Blog Posts on Clinton

Was Jim Garrison Interesting in the Truth About Clinton?

Was Thomas Beckham in Clinton with Shaw and Oswald?

Was Jack Ruby in Clinton with Clay Shaw and David Ferrie?
Editor's take: Samsung as part of its latest Galaxy Unpacked event has unveiled the worlds first gaming laptop packing Nvidias new RTX 3050 series graphics cards. Curiously enough, Samsung spent very little time discussing the Galaxy Book Odyssey during its Unpacked event, despite it seeming to be one of its more interesting new products.

The Galaxy Book Odyssey ships with a 15.6-inch TFT LCD display operating at resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 thats driven by an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, up to 32GB of DDR4X memory and up to 2TB of NVMe SSD storage.

The real star of the show, however, is the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti Max-Q graphics cards. Aside from a single infographic, however, thats really all the company has said about it thus far. Nvidia hasnt even formally announced the 3050 as of this writing.

Other Galaxy Book Odyssey features gleaned from the infographic include Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, a 720p HD webcam, Dolby Atmos audio support and an 83Wh battery. Buyers also get two USB-Type C ports, three USB 3.2 ports, an HDMI connection, a 3.5mm headphone / mic jack, a microSD card slot and an Ethernet jack.

Samsung said the Galaxy Book Odyssey will be available in select markets this August starting at $1,399. No word yet on whether or not it'll be available in the US.
Lipshultz is senior author on the study on genetic screening for pediatric cardiomyopathy. It demonstrates strong evidence for routine genetic screening in children with the disease and reveals that there is wide variation in the amount of screening that is done at different centers. Credit: Douglas Levere/University at Buffalo

A national, University at Buffalo-led study on genes in pediatric cardiomyopathy demonstrates strong evidence for routine genetic screening in children with the disease. The study, published April 28 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, revealed wide variation in screening, with some centers conducting routine genetic testing and others conducting none.

Conducted at 14 centers, the National Institutes of Health-funded study of 152 children with cardiomyopathy found that only half had undergone genetic screening. Of those who hadn't undergone screening, 21% were found to have a genetic cause for the disease after undergoing genetic testing as part of the research study.

"Even in families without a family history of cardiomyopathy, we found that many children with cardiomyopathy have a genetic cause that we can establish," said Steven E. Lipshultz, MD, the study's senior author and principal investigator and A. Conger Goodyear Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.

First author on the paper is Stephanie M. Ware, MD, Ph.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine.

The study's findings are of critical significance for treating and potentially curing this rare, sometimes fatal, pediatric disease. "We had assumed that many of the life-threatening cardiomyopathies in children resulted from genetic mutations," explained Lipshultz. "This research confirms that assumption. When we know the cause, we can more effectively treat, and in some cases even cure, these children with therapies targeted to the specific mutation causing their disease."

Screening can save lives

Genetic screening could provide critical, lifesaving information to families, Lipshultz said.

"Since some mutations are associated with rapidly progressive fatal outcomes, genetic screening could allow children with these mutations to be identified and prioritized for a lifesaving cardiac transplant," he said.

Information about which mutation may be involved in a patient's disease can also make a significant difference in the type of treatment prescribed, and the outcome. Lipshultz noted that he and his colleagues have published research demonstrating that children whose cardiomyopathy results from certain mutations that cause heart failure will deteriorate and even die if treated with therapies commonly prescribed for heart failure.

"This is because those therapies push the child's genetically impaired mitochondria to work harder," said Lipshultz. "This, tragically, can hasten the demise of these children. But by knowing that these types of mutations are present, alternative therapies that preserve and protect mitochondrial function can be employed. This is one of many examples where knowing the genetic cause of cardiomyopathy could make the difference between the life or death of a child."

The study also identified novel gene mutations associated with cardiomyopathy.

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Genetic screening varies widely

Although the study was conducted at major children's hospitals with well-established cardiomyopathy programs, only some of them used genetic screening as a routine part of clinical care. Nationally, a minority of children and their families with cardiomyopathy have the opportunity to undergo genetic screening, a fact that Lipshultz and his co-authors hope this study will begin to change.

UB, for example, is one of only 40 cardiomyopathy centers in the world that have been critically and rigorously reviewed and certified as a recognized Cardiomyopathy Center of Care by the Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation for providing high-quality cardiac care and specialized disease management to children with cardiomyopathy. (This study also received funding from the Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation.) At UB and the John R. Oishei Children's Hospital, resources from federal and private sources are providing additional funding for more research and clinical care in pediatric cardiac clinical genetics, as well as genetic counseling.

Lipshultz added that, unfortunately, most children with the disease are not cared for in these specialized centers.

"One hurdle is having cardiologists and geneticists interested in ordering these genetic tests and then counseling the families about the results," he said. "The testing for the most common gene mutations associated with cardiomyopathy can be done pretty much anywhere, since laboratory companies provide the kits for collected patient samples."

The study supports existing clinical guidelines for pediatric cardiomyopathy, but, Lipshultz pointed out, these are not widely followed. "Our results show that with routine clinical judgment, a high percentage of children with genetic causes for their cardiomyopathy are missed," he said, adding, "If you don't look, you don't know."

The results also provide additional evidence for cardiac surveillance, where all immediate family members of a child with cardiomyopathy and an associated gene mutation are screened to find out if they, too, have the same mutation and cardiomyopathy.

At a time when gene-specific targeted therapies are increasingly possible, which can optimize care and planning, the failure to genetically screen these patients is no longer defensible, Lipshultz said.

Exome sequencing

In the study, the researchers performed whole exome sequencing on a large number of children with cardiomyopathy. Whole exome sequencing is a much more comprehensive way to identify gene mutations than simply searching for the six or eight most common mutations known to be associated with cardiomyopathy, Lipshultz explained.

"With whole exome sequencing, a much broader range of pathologic mutations are able to be identified, and novel new mutations that may be associated with cardiomyopathy can be identified," he said.
LOS ANGELES (PRWEB) April 28, 2021

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reported 24,149 new COVID-19 cases and 381 deaths on Tuesday, the highest single-day toll for the national capital since the outbreak of the pandemic.

This is the sixth consecutive day the metropolis has seen daily fatalities of over 300.

A Health Department bulletin said the total cases count in the city has gone up to 10,72,065 and the death toll has gone up to 15,009. The positivity rate in is 32.72 per cent and the case fatality rate is 1.40 per cent.

The city now has 98,264 active cases, which is also the highest.

A total of 17,862 patients also recovered from the disease taking the total number of recoveries to 9,58,792.

The bulletin said that 73,811 tests including 46,581 RTPCR and 27,230 rapid antigen tests were done in the last 24 hours.

India reported 3,23,144 new cases on Tuesday, taking the active cases in the country to 28,82,204. As per the Union Ministry of Health, the total tally in the country has reached 1,76,36,307.

(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.)
GREENWICH  As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosens its guidelines on wearing masks outdoors, the town is looking ahead to enjoying upcoming major events, such as next months Memorial Day parade in Old Greenwich.

But First Selectman Fred Camillo also warned residents to be cautious with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Were taking this one step at a time, Camillo said at Wednesdays town update on the pandemic. Were confident that the easing of restrictions will continue, but you cant throw caution to the wind.

The Memorial Day Parade and the Fourth of July fireworks are scheduled to go on, and Camillo said more information will be issued on public health guidelines closer to the events.

The CDC says fully vaccinated residents dont need masks outdoors  unless they are in a big crowd of strangers, which could include gatherings at parades.

Being outside is obviously safer, and with people getting vaccinated more, its certainly going in the right direction. But have the mask with you  just take it with you, Camillo said. You still cant not have one when you go into a place that requires a mask. You dont want to be shown the door so take the mask with you.

Residents should pay attention to any changes in public health restrictions, he said.

We are very confident in going ahead with events and festivities later in the spring and the summer, Camillo said. Were doing it carefully still. You cant go wrong being careful, but you can go wrong if you let your guard down.

Walk-in vaccines

Now that nearly 2 million residents of Connecticut have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, demand has slackened for appointments.

Starting this weekend, Greenwich Hospital said it will allow walk-ins to its vaccination clinic at Brunswick Schools King Street campus. Anyone arriving from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday will not need appointments, Greenwich Hospital President Diane Kelly said people. Also, the hospital is no longer requiring a proof of Connecticut residency to get a vaccine at the site.

Some of our neighbors here in Westchester should be able to be vaccinated if they still need to do that, Kelly said.

Walk-in appointments began Tuesday at Family Centers clinic at the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center. Heather Dawson, vaccine coordinator for the nonprofit, said walk-in clients are welcome from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Anyone seeking a vaccine must bring an ID and an insurance card, if they have one.

The walk-in clinic could get help get those vaccinated who have been waiting for the demand to slow down and who could not previously find appointments, Dawson said.

We wanted to be able to open it up to people who still need appointments or maybe have had a difficult time accessing them through the online system, she said. Now we can just do it for them.

Community outreach

Family Centers is doing more outreach in the community, including at its clinic in Wilbur Peck Court, to get the vaccine to residents, Dawson said.

We want to get the people that may be hesitant or who were having trouble with access, she said. Were hopeful (having walk-ins) will help. At the least it will give people another avenue.

This week, the state Department of Public Health reminded health care providers to make sure residents are getting their second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

But Kelly said that does not appear to be a problem in Greenwich.

People definitely are coming in for their second dose as its scheduled, she said. We are seeing no-shows with the first dose, but ... sometimes people make many appointments to see which one they can get first. They may not be showing up because they got one closer to their home or got one earlier and just didnt cancel with us. People are definitely coming in for their second dose.

On Wednesday, Family Centers also resumed using the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Use of the J&J vaccine had been paused on the CDCs recommendation after a small number of cases of serious blood clots were detected in women who had received the one-dose vaccine. But last week, the federal government ended that pause.

Dawson said residents have not been hesitant to receive the J&J vaccine despite the pause.

There were people who were really interested in just Johnson & Johnson and I dont think its really changed, Dawson said. I think they had their heart set on it and were waiting for it to be reinstituted. People coming in (Wednesday) seem pretty comfortable with it.

New cases reported

As of Wednesday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in town since the pandemic began last year is at 5,031, an increase of 95 from last Wednesday, Camillo reported. The number of active cases is down for the second week in a row, he said, with the town Department of Health monitoring 87 active cases, a decrease of 29 from last week.

And while the number of COVID patients at Greenwich Hospital has remained somewhat steady, with 18 patients as of Wednesday, down from 21 last week, there has been a decrease in the Yale New Haven Health System, of which GH is a part.

Overall, the five-hospital system was at 167 COVID patients on Wednesday, down from 210 last week, Greenwich Hospital President Diane Kelly said.

I think thats really important, Kelly said. Looking at it across the system feels a little bit more optimistic to me.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
2020 results:

Highly resilient EBITDA and negative net debt [1]

against the backdrop of the administrative closure of the retail

network for 3.5 months

Turnover: 223.5 million

EBITDA: 36.9 million

Free cash-flow: 55.1 million (x2.2 vs 2019)

2020 was marked by an unprecedented crisis resulting in several closures of store networks in Europe and a severely impacted market. Against this troubled backdrop, the Company focused on its vertical integration model and on its profitability by cutting costs and rigorously managing its cash flows. Bogart Group's EBITDA was down just 15.2%, despite a 26.3% decline in turnover. The Group closed the year in a very sound financial position, with strong growth in operating flows.

Revenues in m 2019

published 2019

restated[2] 2020 Change % Chg. %

restated Turnover 303.3 303.3 223.5 -26.3% -26.3% Fragrance/Cosmetic brands 50.4 50.4 36.0 -28.6% -28.6% Own-brand boutiques 252.9 252.9 187.5 -25.9% -25.9% EBITDA[3] 43.5 43.5 36.9 -15.2% -15.2% Operating income 17.6 18.1 9.1 -48.3% -50.0% Financial income (expense) (4.8) (4.8) (4.8) - - Income tax (2.7) (2.7) (1.9) - - Net profit (loss) Group share 10.1 10.6 2.3 -77.2% -78.3%

The 2020 consolidated financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting of 28 April 2021. The Statutory Auditors conducted a limited review on the financial statements.

Business performance

Bogart Group posted 2020 turnover of 223.5 million, compared with 303.3 million in 2019, down 26.3% at current exchange rates. At constant consolidation scope (inclusion of Pascal, Milady, Gottman fragrance boutique chains) and exchange rates (like-for-like), turnover was down 27.6%. This trend is attributable to the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on the Company's commercial activity (repeated closure of its own-brand boutique networks) and a highly unfavourable situation in the Group's markets (Latin America, Middle East, Western Europe).

In response to this exceptional situation, the Group took measures to limit the impact of the drop in turnover on its profitability.

Staff costs were down a significant 23.5% at 51.1 million in the 12 months to 31 December 2020, compared with 66.8 million in 2019, thanks to furlough arrangements established at head office, in the manufacturing plants and in the boutique networks.

External expenses were down 32.4% from 49.7 million in 2019 to 33.6 million in 2020, thanks to cost-cutting measures (reduction in temporary staffing; lower advertising costs; less travel; renegotiation of rents and fees, etc.). The company also carried out an in-depth review of the structural profitability of its boutique network, closing 14 outlets and opening 7 with lower rents.

Ultimately, these measures made it possible to preserve EBITDA to a large extent. It totalled 36.9 million in 2020, down 15.2% from 2019 (43.5 million).

Operating income totalled 9.1 million in 2020, compared with 17.6 million in 2019.[4] It includes a provision reversal of 1.2 million (vs 7 million in 2019) linked to the residual badwill on Distriplus and proceeds of 7 million from the sale of a building.

After a net financial expense of 4.8 million and a tax expense of 1.9 million, the Group posted net profit Group share of 2.3 million.

The financial situation remains very sound - Substantial increase in cash flows from operating activities

At 31 December 2020, Bogart Group's equity amounted to 99.2 million, compared with 100.9 million at 31 December 2019, after share buybacks (2.0 million) and dividend payments (3.5 million).

Cash flow remained very robust at 34.7 million in 2020, compared with 40.4 million in 2019.

The Company kept its WCR under tight control, reducing it by 23.5 million, compared with an increase of 9.2 million in 2019 (for the record, 2019 marked the Company's consolidation of Distriplus).

Net cash flows from operating activities accordingly amounted to 58.1 million in the year ended 31 December 2020, compared with 31.2 million in 2019, an 86.2% increase.

Capital expenditure was stable at 3.0 million in 2020, compared with 3.2 million in 2019.

Bogart Group also obtained a 14.5 million government-guaranteed loan and repaid 34.7 million in borrowings (of which 3.2 million in bank loans, the remainder being lease liabilities under IFRS 16).

Free cash flow[5] totalled 55.1 million in 2020, compared with 25.1 million in 2019.

Ultimately, the Group posted an increase in gross cash and cash equivalents to 88.3 million at 31 December 2020 (including the 14.5 million government-guaranteed loan), up from 57.7 million at 31 December 2019.

Gross borrowings totalled 193.0 million at 31 December 2020 (including 82.3 million in loans and bank overdrafts), compared with 205.9 million at 31 December 2019.

The Company ended the year with negative net debt[6] (from 19 million in 2019 to (6.0) million in 2020).

2021 outlook

After a year marked by a downturn in business in 2020, 2021 is set to be more favourable.

The gradual easing of the global crisis should result in the steady reopening of the Group's key markets, while the various launches planned this year in the network and with partners will support business. At the same time, Bogart Group will continue working to improve the profitability of Distriplus.

The Company is also working on building a European department in order to extract the full value from the size of its network and to pursue its optimization actions (pooling of costs and purchases).

At the brand level, Bogart Group plans to continue its active launch phase in 2021. New products from Carven (Dans ma Bulle de Fleurs), Method Jeanne Piaubert and Ted Lapidus (Stories) planned for several markets will be launched as soon as the markets in question reopen.

The Group is also ready to roll out 800 new products this year in its network and among its partners in France and internationally thanks to major R&D work carried out in 2020.

As regards own-brand boutiques, stores in France are currently closed while those in Belgium and Germany have partially reopened. In Israel, the network is open and the early

figures are encouraging, pointing to a rebound in the Israeli market; however, the trend will need to be confirmed in the coming months.

The April network also plans to step up its rollout in the United Arab Emirates. Since the announcement of the opening of the first April boutique in the Dubai Mall a few months ago, the company has made plans to open another six boutiques in Dubai.

Lastly, Bogart Group plans to launch its e-retail site in Germany this year, as well as a new omnichannel version of the Group's websites in September.

Additionally, thanks to a high level of cash, Bogart Group continues to look for opportunities to further expand its market share.

Next publication

Bogart Group will report its first quarter turnover on 17 May 2021

Group website www.groupe-bogart.com

CONTACTS

BOGART GROUP ACTUS finance & communication contact@jbogart.com

Tel: +33 (0)1 53 77 55 55 Anne-Pauline Petureaux

Analyst/Investor Relations

Tel: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 72

apetureaux@actus.fr Manon Clairet

Press Relations

Tel: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 73

mclairet@actus.fr

EBITDA/OPERATING INCOME RECONCILIATION

m - IFRS 2019 2019 restated 2020 EBITDA 43.5 43.5 36.9 CVAE (0.3) (0.3) (0.1) Destruction of stocks (0.7) (0.7) (0.6) Depreciation and impairment charges net of write-backs (24.6) (24.1) (30.2) Other non-operating income (expense) (0.3) (0.3) 3.1 Operating income 17.6 18.1 9.1

[1] Net debt = Loans from credit institutions + assets acquired under finance leases + bank overdrafts and accrued interest - available cash

[2] 2019 restated to reflect the harmonization of the Distriplus subsidiary amortization period

[3] EBITDA = operating income + CVAE (French business value added tax) + depreciation, amortization and provisions + destruction of stock + other non-recurring operating income and expenses

[4] A transition table from EBITDA to operating income is provided in the Appendix to this press release.

[5] Free cash flow = Cash flows from operating activities - cash flows from investing activities

[6] Net debt = Loans from credit institutions + assets acquired under finance leases + bank overdrafts and accrued interest - available cash

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Endeit Capital, an Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Hamburg, Germany-based growth capital firm, closed its third fund, at 250m.

Endeit Capital III is supported by a comprehensive mix of entrepreneurs, family offices, institutional investors and the partners of Endeit themselves.

The fund is focused on backing European digital companies that develop products and services leading to an accelerated digital transformation of the European society and economy and indeed the digital maturity of Europe.

Led by and Martijn Hamann and Hubert Deitmers, who have been closely involved in growing Endemol out of a single European country to a publicly listed firm active in 23 countries across the globe in a short time, the firm had raised and invested over 250m euro in thirty-five companies, in the Benelux, DACH-region and the Nordics since 2006.

These 35 companies combined added another 35 acquisitions. Many of them have been acquired by publicly quoted buyers across three continents, such as Time Warner, Xerox, Newscorp, Protolabs, Lightspeed, Macromill, TMG and Cimpress.

Current and previous Dutch portfolio companies include Bux, 3D Hubs, Roamler, Albelli, MetrixLab, Unamic and Eyeworks. Gastrofix, Comtravo, Contorion, Chronext, Tourradar and Smartclip are investments of Endeit in the DACH region. In the UK the company invested in Nordics Blis, Unruly and Leadfeeder.

FinSMEs

28/04/2021
Good evening. Im Senator Tim Scott from the great state of South Carolina. We just heard President Bidens first address to Congress. Our president seems like a good man. His speech was full of good words. But President Biden promised you a specific kind of leadership. You promise to unite a nation, to lower the temperature, to govern for all Americans, no matter how we voted. This was the pitch. You just heard it again. But our nation is starving for more than empty platitudes. We need policies and progress that brings us closer together. But three months in, the actions of the president and his party are pulling us further and further apart. I wont waste your time with finger pointing or partisan bickering. You can get that on TV any time you want. I want to have an honest conversation about common sense, and common ground. About this feeling that our nation is sliding off its shared foundation and how we move forward together. Growing up, I never dreamed I would be standing here tonight. When I was a kid my parents divorced. My mother, my brother and I moved in with my grandparents. Three of us sharing one bedroom. I was disillusioned and angry. And I nearly failed out of school. But I was blessed. First with a praying mom. And let me say this to the single mothers out there who are working their tails off, working hard, trying to make the ends meet wondering if its worth it. You can bet it is. God bless your amazing effort on the part of your kids. I was also blessed by a Chick-fil-A operator, John Moniz. And finally, with a string of opportunities that are only possible here in America. This past year, Ive watched Covid attack every rung of the ladder that helped me up. So many families have lost parents and grandparents too early. So many small businesses have gone under. Becoming a Christian transformed my life. But for months, too many churches were shut down. Most of all Im saddened that millions of kids have lost a year of learning when they could not afford to lose a single day. Locking vulnerable kids out of the classroom is locking adults out of their future. Our public schools should have reopened months ago, other countries did. Private and religious schools did. Science has shown for months that schools are safe. But too often powerful, grown ups set science aside and kids like me were left behind. The clearest case Ive seen for school choice in our lifetimes, because we know that education is the closest thing to magic in America. Last year, under Republican leadership, we passed five bipartisan Covid packages. Congress supported our schools, our hospitals, saved our economy and funded Operation Warp Speed, delivering vaccines in record time. All five bills got 90, 90 votes in the senate. Common sense found common ground. In February, Republicans told President Biden we wanted to keep working together to finish this fight. But Democrats wanted to go it alone. They spent almost $2 trillion on a partisan bill that the White House bragged was the most liberal bill in American history. Only 1% went to vaccinations, no requirement to reopen schools promptly. Covid brought Congress together 5 times. This administration pushed us apart. Another issue that should unite us is infrastructure. Republican support everything you think of when you think of infrastructure. Roads, bridges, ports, airports, waterways, high speed broadband, were in for all of that. But again, Democrats want a partisan wish list, they wont even build bridges to build bridges. Less than six percent, the presidents plan goes to roads and bridges. Its a liberal wish list of big government waste. Plus the biggest job killing tax hikes in a generation. Experts say when all is said and done, it would lower wages of the average American worker and shrink our economy. Tonight, we also heard about a so-called family plan. Even more taxing, even more spending to put Washington even more in the middle of your life from the cradle to college. The beauty of the American dream is that families get to define it for themselves. We should be expanding opportunities and options for all families, not throwing money at certain issues because Democrats think they know best. Infrastructure spending that shrinks our economy is not common sense. Weakening our southern borders and creating a crisis is not compassionate. The president is also abandoning principles hes held for decades. Now he says your tax dollars should fund abortions. Hes laying groundwork to pack the Supreme Court. This is not common ground. Nowhere do we need common ground more desperately than in our discussions of race. I have experienced the pain of discrimination. I know what it feels like to be pulled over for no reason. To be followed around a store while Im shopping. I remember every morning at the kitchen table, my grandfather would open the newspaper and read it, I thought. But later I realized he had never learned to read it. He just wanted to set the right example. Ive also experienced a different kind of intolerance. I get called Uncle Tom and the n-word by progressives, by liberals. Just last week, a national newspaper suggested my familys poverty was actually privilege. Because a relative owned land generations before my time. Believe me, I know firsthand our healing is not finished. In 2015 after the shooting of Walter Scott, I wrote a bill to fund body cameras. Last year after the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, I built an even bigger police reform proposal. But my Democratic colleagues blocked it. I extended an olive branch. I offered amendments. But Democrats used the filibuster to block the debate from even happening. My friends across the aisle seemed to want the issue more than they wanted a solution. But Im still working. Im hopeful that this will be different. When America comes together, weve made tremendous progress, but powerful forces want to pull us apart. 100 years ago, kids in classrooms were taught the color of their skin was their most important characteristic. And if they looked a certain way, they were inferior. Today kids are being taught that the color of their skin defines them again. And if you look a certain way, theyre an oppressor. From colleges to corporations to our culture, people are making money and gaining power by pretending we havent made any progress at all. By doubling down on the divisions weve worked so hard to heal. You know this stuff is wrong. Hear me clearly. America is not a racist country. Its backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination, and its wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present. Im an African-American whos voted in the South my entire life. I take voting rights personally. Republicans support making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. And so do the voters. Big majorities of Americans support early voting, and big majorities support voter I.D. including African-Americans and Hispanics. Common sense makes common ground. But today, this conversation has collapsed. The state of Georgia passed a law that expands early voting, preserves no excuse mail in voting, and despite what the president claimed, did not reduce election day hours. If you actually read this law, its mainstream. It will be easier to vote early in Georgia than in Democrat-run New York. But the left doesnt want you to know that. that they want people virtue signaling by yelling about a law they havent even read. Fact checkers have called out the White House for misstatements. The president absurdly claims that this is worse than Jim Crow. What is going on here? Ill tell you. A Washington power grab. This misplaced outrage is supposed to justify democrats new sweeping bill that would take over elections for all 50 states. It would send public funds to political campaigns you disagree with and make the bi-partisan Federal Elections Commission partisan. This is not about civil rights or our racial past. Its about rigging elections in the future. And no, the same filibuster that President Obama and President Biden praised when they were senators, the same filibuster that the Democrats used to kill my police reform bill last year has not suddenly become a racist relic just because the shoe is now on the other foot. Race is not a political weapon to settle every issue the way one side wants. Its far too important. This should be a joyful springtime for our nation. This administration inherited a tide that had already turned. The coronavirus is on the run. Thanks to Operation Warp Speed and the Trump administration, our country is flooded with safe and effective vaccines. Thanks to our bipartisan work last year, job openings are rebounding. So why do we feel so divided? Anxious. A nation with so much cause for hope should not feel so heavy laden. A president who promised to bring us together should not be pushing agendas that tear us apart. The American Family deserves better. And we know what better looks like. Just before Covid, we had the most inclusive economy in my lifetime. The lowest unemployment rates ever recorded for African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. And a 70 year low nearly, for women. Wages for, hear me, wages were growing faster at the bottom than at the top. The bottom 25% saw their wages go up faster than the top 25%. That happened because Republicans focused on expanding opportunity for all Americans. In addition to that, we passed opportunity zones, criminal justice reform, and permanent funding for historically Black colleges and universities for the first time ever. We fought the drug epidemic, rebuilt our military, and cut taxes for working families and single moms like the one that raised me. Our best future will not come from Washington schemes or socialist dreams. It will come from you, the American people. Black, Hispanic, white and Asian. Republican and Democrat. Brave police officers in Black neighborhoods. We are not adversaries. We are family. We are all in this together. And we get to live in the greatest country on Earth. The country, where my grandfather in his 94 years saw his family go from cotton to Congress in one lifetime. So I am more than hopeful. I am confident that our finest hour has yet to come. Original sin is never the end of the story. Not in our souls and not for our nation. The real story is always redemption. I am standing here because my mom has prayed me through some really tough times. I believe our nation has succeeded the same way. Because generations of Americans in their own ways have asked for grace and God has supplied it. So I will close with a word from a worship song that really helped me through this past year of Covid. The music is new, but the words draw from scripture. May the Lord bless you and keep you. Make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May his presence go before you and behind you and beside you. In your weeping and your rejoicing. He is for you. May his favor be upon our nation for thousand generations. And your family and your children and their children. Good night. And God bless the United States of America.
OR, nobody wants to work the pandemic comeback . . . There have been a couple of stories on this topic over the past week but this one is the most desperate . . . Read more whilst the rest of us wait on another round of stimmy.

KCMO restaurants face staffing crisis as they prepare to open at full capacity KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- Come this weekend, Kansas City bars and restaurants will be allowed to operate at full capacity for the first time in over a year. It's a welcome sign for an industry that has really struggled through the pandemic, but now they're facing yet another crisis.
PRESS RELEASE

Paris, April 28, 2021

Good resistance of the 2020/2021 revenues: -1%

Confirmation of profitability objectives for fiscal year 2020/2021 and a return to double-digit growth in the current fiscal year

Generix Group, Industrial, Logistics and Retail Ecosystems provider with leading Collaborative SaaS Solutions, issued today its revenues for its 2020/2021 fiscal year.

2020/2021 revenues: Good resistance and record-breaking last quarter

Quarter ended

March 31 Change 12 months ended March 31 Change Unaudited (K) 2021 2020 2021 2020 SaaS 8 180 7 986 2% 32 252 32 402 0% Maintenance 4 562 4 683 -3% 18 051 19 199 -6% Licenses 1 412 915 54% 4 246 3 715 14% Software revenues 14 154 13 584 4% 54 549 55 316 -1% Consulting Services 7 265 6 834 6% 25 707 25 779 0% Revenues 21 419 20 418 5% 80 256 81 095 -1%



Reclassification of 193K over the quarter and 885K over the fiscal year, as Consulting and Services revenue, concerning services previously accounted for as Maintenance revenue. After reprocessing this reclassification, Maintenance revenue showed a slight growth in Q4 (+2%) and a slight drop in YTD (-1%), primarily as a result of the temporary suspension of contracts during the lockdown period. Consulting and Services revenue, which is by nature more vulnerable in the current context, showed a +3,5% growth over Q4 and a -4% drop in YTD.

For the 2020/2021 fiscal year, the Group's revenues came to 80.3m (-1%) at current exchange rates, and 81.9m, up 1% at constant exchange rates, driven in particular by a 34% organic increase in revenues generated in North America.

Over the last quarter of the year, in a still difficult global health climate, Generix Group set a new quarterly revenue record at 21.4 million, up 5% on the same period of the previous year (7.1% at constant exchange rates).

Growth over the quarter was mainly driven by:

sustained license sales activity (+54%), particularly in North America (x3) and France (+40%);

growth in consulting and services activities, particularly in North America (+36%).

Q4 New SaaS contract signing:  2,2M (+86%)

Quarter ended March 31 Var. Q4 2021 vs Q4 2020 12 months ended March 31 Var. 2021 vs 2020 Unaudited (K) 2021 2020 2021 2020 New SaaS contract signing (ACV*) 2 217 1 191 86% 4 746 3 552 34%

*New contracts signed expressed in ACV (Annual Contract Value), emphasize the average annual complementary revenue to be generated after implementing the contracts in question.

In addition to the good momentum of license sales, the past quarter was also marked by the confirmation of a return to a sustained rate of new SaaS contract signatures (+86%). This trend more than offsets the decline in signatures in the first half of the year. Over 12 months, signing of SaaS contracts increased by 34%.

Among the new SaaS signatures on the Generix Supply Chain Hub platform, the following should be noted:

a contract in Russia for five new WMS sites for a world leader in the food industry, which Generix Group is supporting in its international deployment;

a contract in Spain concerning four new warehouses for a leading DIY retailer.

Over the year, the Group signed 4.7 million (+34%) in new contracts, enabling it to generate 6% growth in CMRR*.

Confirmation of profitability objectives for fiscal year 2020/2021

Return to double-digit growth in the current fiscal year

The level of revenues recorded over the past quarter enables the Group to confirm the expected trend in profitability for the 2020/2021 financial year, which should be in line with that observed in the first half of the year, with a controlled decline in the EBITDA margin, excluding the impact of the effort made in research and development.

Generix Group expects to maintain a sustained rate of new SaaS contract signatures over the coming quarters, which should enable it to return to double-digit revenue growth as early as in 2021/2022.

The rapid recovery seen in the last quarter of the year demonstrates that Generix Group's solutions are well suited to the customer needs revealed by the crisis. As announced, the Group intends to pursue its strategic investments in R&D in order to benefit from the full potential of the supply chain and digitalization markets.

*Monthly recurring revenue after taking into account contracts that are signed but which have not started yet and cancel-lations that have not yet taken effect.

Supplemental and non-IFRS Financial Information

Supplemental non-IFRS information (above-mentioned as EBITDA) presented in this press release is subject to inherent limitations. It is not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles and should not be considered as a substitute for IFRS measurements. Also, the Company's supplemental non-IFRS financial information may not be comparable to similarly titled non-IFRS measures used by other companies.

Next financial press release: June 2, 2021 after the market closes

Publication of results for the 2020/2021 fiscal year

About Generix Group

Generix Group is a Collaborative Supply Chain expert present in 60 countries, thanks to its subsidiaries and network of partners. More than 6,000 companies around the world use its SaaS solutions. The group's 750 employees provide daily support for such customers as Carrefour, Danone, FM Logistic, Fnac-Darty, Essilor, Ferrero and Geodis in the digital transformation of their Supply Chain.

Its collaborative platform, Generix Supply Chain Hub, helps companies to keep the promises they make to their customers. It combines the capabilities to execute physical flows, digitalize information flows, manage collaborative processes and connect companies to all their partners, in real time.

Generix Supply Chain Hub is aimed at all players in the Supply Chain: manufacturers, third- and fourth-party logistics providers (3PL/4PL) and retailers.

www.generixgroup.com

Founded in France in 1990, the company is listed on the Eurolist market of Euronext Paris, compartment C

Attachment
The ECOWAS Court of Justice has fixed June 29, 2021 for judgment in a suit challenging the unlawful arrest and prosecution of a Nigerian journalist and publisher, Agba Jalingo, under the cybercrime, terrorism and criminal code laws

The suit was instituted by a civil society group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), against the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Cross River State.

The applicant alleged that Nigerian government is fond of using the various laws to harass and intimidate critics, and to suppress freedom of expression as well as press freedom.

It wants the regional court to order the government to drop the treason and terrorism charges instituted against Mr Jalingo and pay him compensation.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Mr Jalingo was arrested on August 22, 2019, and remained incarcerated till the court in Cross River granted his third request for bail after he had been detained for 179 days.

He was charged with terrorism and treason following a report published by his Cross River Watch alleging that Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, diverted N500 million belonging to the state.

SERAP in its suit marked ECW/CCJ/APP/10/20, sued the Nigerian government at the ECOWAS Court for the use of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015, Terrorism (Prevention Amendment), 2013 and the Criminal Code Act to unlawfully charge Mr Jalingo before the Federal High Court, Calabar Judicial Division.

The applicant alleged that the alleged harassments, intimidation, arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, unfair prosecution and imprisonment of Mr Jalingo and other journalists exercising their rights to freedom of expression and information and media freedom violated all the international and regional treaties on human rights to which Nigeria is a State Party.

A statement by the information unit of the court stated a three-man panel of the court had during a virtual court session held on April 6, 2021 heard Mr Jalingos oral testimony and adjourned till June 29 for judgment.

Mr Jalingos testimony

Mr Jalingo, who was led in evidence by SERAPs counsel, Kolawale Oluwadare, recounted how security officials broke into his house and arrested him after he wrote an editorial article in which he alleged that a N500 million expenditure by the State for the establishment of a microfinance bank was diverted.

He further told the three-man panel of the court led by Edward Amoako Asante that he was taken by the security personnel on a 26-hour journey.

He said he was not allowed to dismount from the vehicle, and on arrival was detained at a detention facility run by the anti-cult and anti-kidnapping police for 34 days before his arraignment on August 31, 2019.

Suit

SERAP in its suit accused the Nigerian government of wrongful use of Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015, Terrorism (Prevention Amendment), 2013 and the Criminal Code Act to unlawfully charge Mr Jalingo before the Federal High Court, Calabar Judicial Division.

The applicant averred that Mr Jalingo, a publisher of the online Cross River Watch who also reports for another online newspaper, Sahara Reporters, was charged with treason for allegedly inciting the people to protest for a change of government, through the publication in his Cross River Watch, an offence punishable under section 41 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C39, LFN, 2004.

He was also charged with allegedly causing alarm, hatred and disturbance of public peace through his publication contrary to section 59 of the Criminal Code.

Under counts 3 and 4, Mr Jalingo was charged for allegedly conspiring with the journalist and human rights activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, to cause terrorism and for allegedly meeting with cultists to instigate violence and acts of terrorism against Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, offences punishable with life imprisonment under sections 17 & 1 (2)(a) & (b) of the Terrorism (Prevention Amendment) Act, 2013.

Mr Jalingo, who is on bail, after 179 days in detention, was also charged with terrorism, an offence that attracts life imprisonment and death penalty.

The applicant contends that the defendants and their agents have consistently and frequently used the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Amendment) Act, Cybercrime Act and other repressive laws to harass, intimidate, arbitrarily arrest and detain and unfairly prosecute journalists, users of social media and activists and other Nigerians who express views perceived to be critical of government, at the Federal and State levels.

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On Friday, October 4, 2019 a national court in the State had dismissed the bail application of Mr Jalingo after a judge of the Federal High Court in Calabar, Simon Amobeda, held that the offences for which he was charged were not bailable as one of the counts carried death sentence.

The applicant argued that the alleged harassments, intimidation, arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, unfair prosecution and imprisonment of Mr Jalingo and other journalists who were exercising their rights to freedom of expression and information and media freedom violate all the international and regional treaties on human rights to which Nigeria is a State Party.

The applicant further argued that criticising the actions of government, government officials and expressing ones opinion on issues of national, political, social or economic interest is the bedrock of a vibrant and transparent democracy and that persons in government such as the Defendant and its agents must exercise high tolerance to criticism.

Prayer

Among other prayers sought by the applicant is an order directing the defendants to immediately drop all charges against Mr Jalingo and unconditionally set him free from prison and an order directing the defendants and/or their agents in Nigeria to provide effective remedies and reparation, including adequate compensation, restitution, satisfaction or guarantees of non-repetition that the Honourable Court may deem fit to grant to Mr. Jalingo for being unfairly prosecuted by the Respondent.

The ECOWAS Court had, at an earlier date, struck out the second defendant, Cross River State Government, from the suit, not being a proper defendant before the court, and a signatory of the Revised Treaty of ECOWAS.

Nigerian governments defence

However, the 1st defendant, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is a Member State of ECOWAS and a signatory to the ECOWAS Revised Treaty, through its counsel, Chijioke Amadi, filed and adopted his preliminary objection arguing that the person on whose behalf/interest the applicant instituted this suit has been granted bail and is currently being prosecuted at a competent municipal/domestic court on criminal allegations bordering on treason and terrorism.

The defendant further argued that the applicant failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action to be entitled to the prayers sought nor discharge the evidential burden placed on him in proof of his case and therefore asked the Court to dismiss the suit.

Also on the panel of the Court are Dupe Atoki and Januaria Tavares Silva Moreira Costa.
Secunderabad, April 28 : The first empty Oxygen Express from the South Central Railway (SCR) started from Secunderabad on Wednesday.

SCR officials said the Oxygen Express containing five tankers set off from the Secunderabad Cantonment Military Siding for Angul in Odisha, where the empty tankers will be filled with liquid oxygen. Thereafter, the Oxygen Express will return to Telangana with its cargo of medical grade oxygen, to be used for Covid patients.

This is also the first Oxygen Express (empty) train to embark from the state of Telangana.

The Indian Railways has started operating Oxygen Express trains on a mission mode to meet the growing oxygen requirement in different parts of the country.

Under this initiative, tankers filled with liquid medical oxygen are being transported by Railways through the Ro-Ro (Roll on - Roll Off) service. In this way, the transportation of these tankers can be achieved with minimum enroute detention.

As part of this initiative, SCR has moved the empty Oxygen Express at the request of the government of Telangana. The zone identified the station capable of handling the Oxygen Express in the twin cities area.

Immediately on receipt of the request from the state government, the originating station as well the green corridor to move the Oxygen Express was mapped till the destination station.

The green corridor is mapped so as to ensure faster movement of these tankers. As height is one of the important aspect of moving the tankers by trains, the green corridor is mapped taking into consideration various constraints like curves, road over bridges, platform canopies, over head equipment etc., along the route. Further, considering its importance, the movement of these trains is being monitored continuously at the apex level.

Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, SCR, advised the officials to continue taking proactive steps in case of any request for further Oxygen Express movement over the zone.

He also instructed all the divisions to give utmost priority to run these trains and continuously monitor their movements over the zone.
[April 28, 2021] Connecteam Raises $37 Million to Accelerate Growth & Expansion of its all-in-one App for Deskless Employees

TEL-AVIV, Israel, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Connecteam , an all-in-one employee app that empowers organizations with non-desk employees to communicate, engage, and operate their teams, has announced the closing of a $37M funding round led by Insight Partners, OG tech, and Wix's leadership team. Founded in 2016, Connecteam's 10,000-plus global customers span 60 countries and include leading brands such as Nike, Sodexo, SodaStream, ISS, and Plasson. "We have built the platform from the ground up to meet the needs of organizations with frontline employees. Most people don't realize it, but deskless employees comprise 80% of the global workforce - 2.7B employees around the world ," said Amir Nehemia, Co-Founder and CEO of Connecteam. "So many organizations still rely on bulletin boards, phone calls, printed spreadsheets, and face-to-face training to run their businesses. We have plans to change that and help organizations and their employees improve communication, work processes, and collaboration." During 2020, the company saw massive customer growth of more than 400%, and now has over 150,000 active users. The company grew its team by 300% to meet the rising demand, to better connect teams and improve operational efficiency. Avishai Abrahami, Wix's CEO and an early stage investor at Connecteam said, "Like Wix, Connecteam is a great product-led company that doesn't just focus on the problem it solves, but also on the people behind it. I am not surprisd to see its accelerated growth: it has the right mindset, an outstanding product, and a vast market that is pro-actively looking to do things differently as they are tired of the old ways. I believe we are going to hear much about Connecteam in the future."



Connecteam's focus remains on providing a top tier product for deskless employees globally. The company is constantly enhancing its platform capabilities and is expected to grow its team by over 300% again in 2021. Key milestones for the company have placed an emphasis on growing its R&D team, improving the end-user experience, and scaling its localization and language offerings. "Running a business with non-desk employees is difficult, and when it comes to technological solutions, so many deskless industries are overlooked and underserved," said Jeff Horing, Insight Partners Co-Founder and Managing Director. "Connecteam changes the way its customers run their business. In just a few minutes, companies can communicate digitally with their team and better manage their workforce, allowing them to operate more efficiently. We are excited to partner with Connecteam to scale up and bring their solution to even more companies globally."

About Connecteam Connecteam is a deskless workforce management app providing an all-in-one experience for communication, engagement operations and training. Connecteam serves over 10,000 customers around the world in over 60 countries from over 200 deskless industries. Providing its product under a SAAS model, the company offers a two weeks free trial and a free version for all companies. About Insight Partners Insight Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight Partners has invested in more than 400 companies worldwide and has raised through a series of funds more than $30 billion in capital commitments. Insight's mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on software expertise to foster long-term success. Across its people and its portfolio, Insight encourages a culture around a belief that ScaleUp companies and growth create opportunity for all. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners. About O.G. Tech O.G. Tech is a founder-friendly VC primarily focused on fast growing Early Growth investment opportunities, typically in their B and C rounds. O.G. Tech teams up with passionate founders and ambitious teams seeking to disrupt existing industries and create new markets. O.G. Tech is a single LP fund founded and backed by Eyal Ofer's, Ofer Global. O.G. Tech's unique structure allows it to be fully flexible and enables its portfolio companies to benefit from fast decision-making, long term commitment, and a broad global network. Eyal Ofer and the private portfolio of international businesses within Ofer Global use their vast experience, insight, and global network to help O.G. Tech's portfolio companies and founders grow and succeed. For more information on O.G. Tech and all its investments, please visit og-tech.vc View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/connecteam-raises-37-million-to-accelerate-growth--expansion-of-its-all-in-one-app-for-deskless-employees-301276854.html SOURCE Connecteam

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Experiencing bullying and forms of aggression in late adolescence and early adulthood is linked to a marked increase in the likelihood of having daydreams or fantasies about hurting or killing people, according to a new study.

While research has shown that significant numbers of people fantasise about inflicting harm*, little is known about the processes behind such "violent ideations".

A team led by a University of Cambridge professor tracked the self-reported thoughts and experiences of 1,465 young people from schools across the Swiss city of Zurich at the ages of 15, 17 and 20.

Researchers gathered data on whether violent thoughts had occurred in the last 30 days, and the types of bullying or aggression experienced over the last 12 months.

They used questionnaires to probe the levels of aggression (humiliation, beatings, murder) and imagined targets (strangers, friends) within young people's darkest fantasies.

The team also asked about experiences of 23 forms of "victimisation", such as taunts, physical attacks and sexual harassment by peers, aggressive parenting - yelling, slapping and so on - and dating violence e.g. being pressured into sex.

While the majority of teenagers had been victimised in at least one way, experiencing a range of mistreatment was "closely associated" with a higher likelihood of thinking about killing, attacking or humiliating others.

Boys were more prone to violent thinking in general, but the effect of multiple victimisations on violent fantasies was very similar in both sexes.

Among 17-year-old boys who had not been victimised in the preceding year, the probability of violent fantasies in the last month was 56%.

With every additional type of mistreatment, the probability of violent fantasies increased by up to 8%. Those who listed five forms of victimisation had an 85% probability of having had violent fantasies; for those who listed ten it was 97%.

Among girls the same age, no victimisation experience had a violent fantasy probability of 23%, which increased to 59% in those who listed five types of mistreatment, and 73% in those who said they had suffered ten.

"One way to think about fantasies is as our brain rehearsing future scenarios," said Prof Manuel Eisner, Director of the Violence Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, and lead author of the study published in the journal Aggressive Behavior.

"The increased violent fantasies among those who experience bullying or mistreatment may be a psychological mechanism to help prepare them for violence to come," he said.

"These fantasies of hitting back at others may have roots deep in human history, from a time when societies were much more violent, and retribution - or the threat of it - was an important form of protection."

According to Eisner, the research hints at the extent of violent ideation in societies as seemingly peaceful as Switzerland - with murderous thoughts surprisingly commonplace.

"About 25% of all 17-year-old boys and 13% of girls reported having at least one fantasy of killing a person they know during the past thirty days. Close to one in five of all the study participants at that age. These thoughts may be deeply troubling to those who experience them," he said.

The team - including researchers from the University of Zurich, University of Edinburgh, University of Utrecht, University of Leiden, and Universidad de la Republica - collected and analysed a wealth of data.

As such, they were able to filter out and 'control' for other possible triggers for violent thinking in the teenagers. For example, they found that socio-economic status played little role in violent fantasy rates.

The study also shows that "adverse life events" such as financial troubles or parental separation had no significant impact. "Thoughts of killing others are triggered by experiences of interpersonal harm-doing, attacks on our personal identity, rather than noxious stimuli more generally," said Eisner.

"It's the difference between conditions that make people angry and upset, and those that make people vengeful."

By following most of the teenagers to the cusp of adulthood, researchers could track patterns over several years. Overall rates of the most extreme thoughts decreased by the age of twenty: only 14% of young men and 5.5% of women had thought about killing someone they know in the past month.

However, the effects of victimisation on violent fantasies did not lessen as they grew up, suggesting the intensity of this psychological mechanism may not fade.

"This study did not examine whether violent ideations caused by victimisation actually lead to violent behaviour. However, a consistent finding across criminology is that victims often become offenders, and vice versa," said Eisner.

"Fantasies are unrestrained, and the vengeance taken in our minds is often wildly disproportionate to the real-world event which triggered it.

"Studying the mechanisms behind violent fantasies, particularly at a young age, may help with targeted interventions that can stop obsessive rumination turning horribly real."

###

NOTES:

* Examples of previous research on levels of "homicidal ideation" among adults cited by the study include:

- Between 50-80% of university students report at least one fantasy of killing another person in their life;

- 14% of a community sample of adults had experienced daydreams or thoughts about physically hurting other people in the two months prior to the study.

* The research team also found a minor correlation between consumption of violent media and violent thoughts, but the effects were small. A more significant predictor was simply having reported violent fantasies at an earlier age, as well as a belief that violence can be justified, which contribute to what researchers call "trait aggressiveness".

* The study was conducted with the Zurich Project on Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood, which is mainly funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Jacobs Foundation. It is hosted by the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development at the University of Zurich.
Bothell police have arrested a 25-year-old man for the fatal stabbing of an Asian American man who was visiting an apartment complex in the city.



The incident: The stabbing occurred at around 8 p.m. on Sunday, April 25, near the entrance of The Villas at Beardslee off 112th Avenue, described as a "fairly busy" area according to KOMO News.



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The 29-year-old victim and another Asian American man were leaving a meeting at the apartment complex when a Caucasian man, 25, confronted them and gave the victim the finger, KIRO7 reported.

After asking the suspect, Whats the matter with you? he reportedly lunged at the victim and stabbed him in the chest. He also tried to attack the other person, but the latter managed to escape.

Bothell police and paramedics attempted to save the mans life and tried a field blood transfusion on the scene of the crime.

One unnamed witness who reported the incident to police told KIRO7, It sure seemed like they were targeted because they were Asian, while other witnesses said the attack appeared unprovoked.



The arrest: The suspect, a resident of the building, was later arrested and charged with murder.



He was found in his third floor apartment minutes after the incident, with witnesses suggesting he showed no remorse and was silent.

The suspect, who reportedly does not seem to have a criminal record, was scheduled to appear in King County Superior Court on Tuesday.



The investigation: Bothell police are unable to say as of yet that they are investigating the case as a hate crime, as witnesses on the scene have told officers different accounts.



In a statement from Monday, they announced that they are "continuing to investigate all possible motives."

"To date, we have identified 10 witnesses and anticipate many others could be identified in the coming days. It is very important that our investigators take this time to locate and listen to all people with information, and examine all evidence."



Bothell police urged anyone with information to contact their business line at (425) 486-1254.



Featured Image via KOMO News

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Uncasville resident John Prokop has been a fan of Jeopardy! for as long as he can remember. In fact, before he was a regular viewer of the Alex Trebek-hosted game show, he recalls catching a few episodes in the 1970s hosted by Art Flemming.

For Prokop, the chance to appear on the show has been a long time coming. Auditioning for the show since 1995, Prokop's most recent attempt in September 2020 via Zoom  which could have been his eight or ninth try, though hes lost count  is the one that earned him a spot on the show.

I was just a real fervent watcher, he said. I just thought, I have to get on that show.

Now, the longtime fan will be competing on Americas Favorite Quiz Show on Tuesday nights episode with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper as the guest host.

The legal assistant and native of East Lyme will be competing against two others to some win prize money  and the bragging rights that go with winning a round of the show and becoming a return competitor.

At the time of his audition, Prokop, his wife and two cats were living in California but moved back to Connecticut shortly after; so he had to make another trip across the country to make his taping back in California.

The day I left, it was a Tuesday morning in February, and it was frosty. I got on I-395 heading towards Logan in Boston and there was just black ice all the way through and its 4 a.m. It was just like Please dont let me crash!

Prokop made it and filmed his episode the following day as one of a weeks worth of shows. Filming with Cooper was also memorable, Prokop said.

He was just a real gentleman and a hell of a nice guy, he said. Hes just very urbane and very kind, lovely gentleman.

In its 37th season, Jeopardy has had a series of guest hosts following the death of longtime host Alex Trebek in November 2020. Cooper is currently serving as a guest host through the end of April. Each guest host makes a charitable contribution for their appearance on the show that will match the cumulative winnings of all contestants who compete during the guest hosts tenure, according to the Jeopardy! website.

As for Prokop, the experience was worth the wait.

It was a blast, he said. It was just so much fun to the see the inner workings and how things are really put together. It was just marvelous.

You can catch Prokop on tonights episode airing on WTNH-TV (ABC), and local listing information is available at Jeopardy.com.
Devon Sampson, a 34-year-old man diagnosed with schizophrenia, hanged himself at Stony Mountain Institution in 2013. He spent 187 consecutive days in solitary confinement prior to his death; during a previous incarceration, he spent 294 consecutive days in solitary.

Devon Sampson, a 34-year-old man diagnosed with schizophrenia, hanged himself at Stony Mountain Institution in 2013. He spent 187 consecutive days in solitary confinement prior to his death; during a previous incarceration, he spent 294 consecutive days in solitary.

For decades, isolating inmates  often those with serious psychiatric conditions  in solitary confinement was a common practice in Canadian prisons. Officially, it was called "administrative segregation," a sanitized, bureaucratic label for something far more troubling: state-endorsed torture.

CSC RESPONDS SIUs are about helping inmates and providing them with the continued opportunity to engage in interventions and programs to support their safe return to a mainstream inmate population as soon as possible. SIUs are not about punishment or causing harm. They are meant as a temporary measure to help inmates adopt more positive behaviours that keep the institution as a whole, safe and secure. click to read more SIUs are about helping inmates and providing them with the continued opportunity to engage in interventions and programs to support their safe return to a mainstream inmate population as soon as possible. SIUs are not about punishment or causing harm. They are meant as a temporary measure to help inmates adopt more positive behaviours that keep the institution as a whole, safe and secure. The law is clear. While in an SIU, inmates have access to the same types of programs, services and activities as inmates in a mainstream inmate population. They are visited daily by staff, including their parole officer, health care professionals, correctional officers, primary workers, Elders and Chaplains as well as other inmates and visitors. Inmates must be provided with the opportunity to spend a minimum of four hours a day outside their cell, including two hours a day for meaningful human contact. The legislation guiding SIUs recognizes that there are situations when an inmate may be held in their cell for longer, for example, if they refuse to leave. This is their right. We continue to make active offers for time out of cell, including access to programs and meaningful contact with others. We encourage inmates not only to take these opportunities but also to engage in them. Close

The prolonged use of solitary  defined as 15 days and up  was classified as torture under international law in 2015. Four years later, the federal government mandated Correctional Services Canada to put an end to the practice.

Instead, it continues to this day  including at Stony Mountain north of Winnipeg  but under a different name.

"This is a very serious issue. Our concern is that this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of people being subjected to functional solitary confinement. Its bad. Its just really bad," said Catherine Latimer, the national executive director of the John Howard Society.

"Youve got to stop torturing them and subjecting them to these long solitary confinements."

The psychological impact of solitary on inmates is well established, something Ryan Beardy, a former gang member and current freelance journalist, mentor and justice advocate, knows all too well.

Beginning as a youth and continuing into adulthood, he repeatedly spent time in solitary confinement during stints at various correctional facilities, including Stony Mountain. Now, he works with the John Howard Society to raise awareness about prison conditions in Canada, and organizes a weekly support group for men in Winnipeg.

JOHN WOODS / CANADIAN PRESS FILES Ryan Beardy now works with the John Howard Society to raise awareness about prison conditions in Canada, and organizes a weekly support group for men in Winnipeg.

"I dont know how many times I was looking through a crack in the wall just wishing that a nurse would walk by, or a guard would walk by, just so that I could ask them the time. Human interaction is huge. When we dont have human interaction, we actually forget how to interact," Beardy said.

Beardy points to a growing body of research that suggests not only does solitary confinement have a psychological impact on inmates, but a physiological impact as well. Studies have shown that extreme isolation can inhibit the development of neurons in the brain.

"If in any country, someone was sent to prison and they chopped off their limb, that would be barbaric. It would be a huge violation of human rights. So why is it all right in Canada to send someone to solitary confinement where theyre losing neurons?" Beardy asks.

"We shouldnt have it in Canada at all."

Craig Haney, an American psychologist who has studied the impact of solitary confinement on prisoners, has said the endless monotony and lack of human contact can trigger a "descent into madness." Symptoms can include suicidal ideation, depression, paranoia, panic attacks and hallucinations.

"Youve got to stop torturing them and subjecting them to these long solitary confinements."  National executive director of the John Howard Society Catherine Latimer

For years, the Office of the Correctional Investigator  the federal prison ombudsman  has sounded the alarm about the use of solitary, pointing to the high number of cases where inmates killed themselves during long periods of isolation.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted an amendment to the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the "Nelson Mandela Rules," which classified the prolonged use of solitary as torture, and cruel and unusual punishment.

Stony Mountain Institution is Canada's oldest federal penitentiary, but also the country's deadliest Click to Expand JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Stony Mountain Penitentiary photographed Monday, April 19, 2021. The federal jail in rural Manitoba is rated as one of the most dangerous in the country. Posted: 7:00 PM Apr. 23, 2021 IT HAS BEEN 59 years since the Canadian state last slipped a noose around the neck of a prisoner, and more than four decades since the gallows were formally abolished in this country, yet death continues to lurk behind the bars of Stony Mountain Institution north of Winnipeg. (factBox)Stony Mountain is not just the oldest active federal prison in Canada  it is also the deadliest. Read Full Story

And yet, solitary confinement continued in Canadian prisons until 2019, when the federal government passed a law ostensibly banning it. Instead, the feds said, solitary would be replaced with new "structured intervention units."

Solitary is the term used internationally to refer to the practice of confining a prisoner in a cell for more than 22 hours per day without meaningful human contact. With structured intervention units, inmates are supposed to have four hours outside of their cell each day, with two hours of meaningful human contact.

To implement the change, CSC was given $300 million. The agency's annual budget is $2.6 billion.

The federal government also set up a committee of independent experts tasked with reviewing progress in phasing out the use of solitary. One of the committee members was Anthony Doob, a criminologist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto.

The only problem, according to Doob, was that CSC stonewalled the committees work.

The committee had accomplished "absolutely nothing" by the time its one-year term was up because CSC refused to turn over the requested data on the use of solitary and the implementation of structured invention units, Doob said.

JUSTIN TANG / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS "This is a very serious issue. Our concern is that this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of people being subjected to functional solitary confinement. Its bad. Its just really bad," said Catherine Latimer, the national executive director of the John Howard Society.

"The people who were on (the task force) were people Correctional Services of Canada didnt want on it. There were several people who they were not going to be able to push around But they succeeded anyways by saying, Well, were just going to close the door in your face," Doob said.

"In effect, they control things by having the key to the door."

After Doob went public with the way CSC stifled their efforts, the federal government forced the agency to hand over the data.

Even though the committee had been dissolved, Doob was still interested in what the data had to say. He and Jane Sprott of Ryerson University have produced three reports showing the practice of solitary confinement continues in Canadian prisons  just as structured intervention units.

According to their research, an estimated 28 per cent of all stays in the new units amount to solitary confinement, with an additional 10 per cent constituting torture under the Nelson Mandela Rules.

"There is no question that there is oversight. But the question is: What does that oversight consist of?"  Anthony Doob, a criminologist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto

In a written statement sent to the Free Press, CSC said that an external review kicks in if an inmate does not spend the required four hours per day outside of their cell, or receive the necessary two hours of meaningful human contact, for five consecutive days, or 15 out of 30 calendar days. The importance of this review process, CSC says, "cannot be understated."

But according to Doob, like with many other facets of CSC operations, there is a lack of transparency when it comes to these reviews.

"There is no question that there is oversight. But the question is: What does that oversight consist of? We dont know that to a large extent. There are these independent people who are supposed to be looking at why people arent getting out of cells. But we dont have any idea of what information theyre getting," Doob said.

While CSC has criticized aspects of Doobs and Sprotts findings, the agency has refused to release any research of its own. Meanwhile, Doob and Sprotts work was accepted by Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair, and Correctional Investigator Ivan Zinger said it "speaks for itself," adding that CSC was in "flagrant non-compliance" with the law.

James Bloomfield, the president of the Prairies region for the Union of Canadian Correction Officers, says CSC made a mistake when it changed the policy for solitary confinement overnight, rather than phasing it out more gradually. He believes front-line staff have not been given sufficient direction on how to manage inmates without solitary.

JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The committee, tasked with reviewing progress in phasing out the use of solitary confinement, had accomplished "absolutely nothing" by the time its one-year term was up because CSC refused to turn over the requested data on the use of solitary and the implementation of structured invention units, Anthony Doob said.

"They didnt phase it out. The service just decided it was done, period Weve been dealing with that decision ever since. We have very concerning, very problematic inmate behaviours and we have no place to isolate them and put them away from the general population," Bloomfield said.

"We just do our best to work with what we have."

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic complicated matters further. Stony Mountain saw one the worst outbreaks of any federal prison in Canada, with roughly 370 inmates  about half of the incarcerated population  testing positive, including one who died.

Because of the inability to transfer inmates to different facilities during the pandemic, the stays in structured invention units at Stony Mountain have been consistently longer than the 15-day cap, Bloomfield said.

"Were talking an average, right now, that is quite a bit over what were supposed to be. The 15day mark is what they like to see Right now, were sitting over 100 days."  James Bloomfield, the president of the Prairies region for the Union of Canadian Correction Officers

"These structured intervention units, as they call it, for that, we now have people staying in there for over 100 days, because we cant move them around," he said.

"We end up with a lot more individuals sitting in an SIU for multiple, multiple days. Were talking an average, right now, that is quite a bit over what were supposed to be. The 15-day mark is what they like to see Right now, were sitting over 100 days."

Last month, Minister Blair went back to parliament to ask for an additional $135 million he said was needed to put an end to solitary confinement in Canadian federal prisons once and for all.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Civil unrest and military exercises pose heightened risk to more than 200 threatened species, including elephant populations and the critically-endangered Eastern gorilla, conservationists warned Wednesday.

A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature examined the close interplay between the environment and armed conflict, warning that human violence and unrest were taking a devastating toll on nature.

Highlighting how nature degradation spurs strife, the report also stressed that the sustainable management of natural resources should be seen as a tool to help preserve peace.

Degradation of nature increases the likelihood of conflict, while wars devastate not only lives, but also the natural environment, IUCN director general Bruno Oberle said in a statement.

The report, the first in a series looking at nature in a globalised world, found that armed conflicts were particularly prevalent in some of the worlds more bio-diverse regions.

IUCN said that 219 endangered species were facing threats from war, civil unrest and military exercises, including the direct killing of wildlife, degradation of ecosystems and the disruption of conservation efforts.

While this is only a fraction of the over 30,000 animal and plant species listed as threatened on IUCNs Red List, the report stressed it included iconic species like the critically-endangered Eastern gorilla, found in conflict-prone Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.

 Nature degradation hikes conflict risk 

The report pointed to the dramatic impact on a range of species from conflicts.

During the 1994 war in Rwanda for instance, 90 percent of the large mammals in the Akagara National Park were killed for food or trade, it said, with the genocide sending thousands of people fleeing through protected areas, killing animals for food and clearing trees along the way.

It also highlighted the drawn-out conflict in Sudan, pointing out that Sudanese militia were responsible for the deaths of 2,000 elephants in 2007 alone.

At the same time, the report found that degradation of nature was associated with increased risk of conflict.

Looking at more than 85,000 armed conflict events over the past 30 years, which have been responsible for the deaths of more than two million people, the report determined they more likely to erupt where there is less productive agricultural land available and when droughts are frequent.

These findings suggest that conservation, restoration and sustainable management of natural resources can help reduce the pressures that drive conflict by improving the condition and productivity of the landscape, IUCN chief economist Juha Siikamaki said in the statement.

The report pointed to research showing that armed conflict events, defined as incidents where organised actors use armed force resulting in death, have increased significantly in recent decades.

 Environmental war crimes 

Today, there are more than 7,000 such events each year, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and in West and South Asia.

As environmental degradation and climate change intensify, it is becoming increasingly important to factor in the links between conflict and nature when formulating security, development and environmental policy, Siikamaki said.

The report meanwhile found that conflicts were less frequent within the boundaries of natural reserves and other protected areas.

Such areas cover an estimated 15 percent of land, but overlap with only three percent of the armed conflict events analysed by the report.

Conservation, sustainable and equitable management of nature plays an important role in preventing conflict and in rebuilding peace, said Kristen Walker, who chairs the IUCN commission on environmental, economic and social policy.

Among other things, she pointed out, it supports livelihoods and wellbeing of indigenous and local communities in times of peace and helps reduce the risk of conflicts breaking out.

The report listed policy recommendations to mitigate and prevent armed conflict, including establishing safeguards for staff in protected areas, environmental defenders and other conservationists.

It also called for sanctions against those who commit environmental war crimes.
SPRINGFIELD  Illinois Senate Republicans on Wednesday harshly criticized Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, accusing him of breaking a campaign pledge to support an independent commission to redraw congressional and legislative district maps.

What I want to say is, the gerrymandering train is on the tracks, Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie, of Hawthorn Woods, said during a news conference. It is moving ahead and Gov. Pritzker has considerable power as the chief executive to make his candidate promise a reality.

If the governor abandons that promise, he abandons the best chance that we have to actually have changed the nature of our politics for not only the next 10 years, but for generations to come, he said.

Their comments came a day after Pritzker appeared to back away from his 2018 campaign pledge to veto any redistricting maps drawn by legislators, party leaders or their staffs.

I will pledge to veto, then-candidate Pritzker was quoted as saying. 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.

When asked by a reporter Tuesday whether he intends to honor that pledge, Pritzker appeared to backpedal.

As Ive said, I will veto an unfair map, Pritzker said Tuesday. Ive also said that in order for us to have an independent commission, we needed to have a constitutional amendment, something that would actually change the way the process operates today in the constitution. That did not happen.

Among Pritzkers harshest critics this week has been U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville.

Governor Pritzker lied to people of Illinois, plain and simple, Davis said.

When he was a candidate for governor in 2018, Pritzker made an ironclad promise to voters that he would veto any redistricting proposal that was drawn by legislators, Davis said. That turned out to be a lie.

Now that hes in power and the Democrats have maintained their supermajority control of the General Assembly, Pritzker is enabling a partisan redistricting process that will be used to tighten his partys grip on power for another decade, Davis said. Thats wrong, and its not what the people of Illinois want. Governor Pritzker has turned out to be the latest failed, self-serving, Illinois politician who lied his way into office by saying one thing to voters and doing another once in office.

Both the U.S. and Illinois constitutions require state lawmakers to redraw congressional and legislative district maps every 10 years following the decennial census to account for population shifts and to ensure equal representation in Congress and the General Assembly.

The process is often highly political because the majority party has the ability to use demographic data and voting histories to draw maps that favor their candidates and work to the disadvantage of minority party candidates.

The idea of handing over that authority to an independent, nonpartisan commission has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past, and public opinion surveys have shown it also has broad popular support.

But legislative Democrats, who hold super majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, have been moving ahead with the process this year in an effort to meet the state constitutions June 30 deadline, after which they would lose their partisan advantage in the process.

Republicans have been pushing Senate Bill 1325 that would establish a 16-member bipartisan commission to redraw maps. Democrats say the bill is most likely unconstitutional because the current state constitution spells out a specific process for redistricting once the June 30 deadline is missed.

The process is even more complicated this year because of unprecedented delays with the census and its data.

On Monday, the Census Bureau released statewide population figures for all states and territories, showing Illinois with a total population of just over 12.8 million people, or about 18,000 fewer than it had in the 2010 census, a much smaller decline than many had expected.

But the detailed, block-level data showing exactly where all those people live  the kind of data needed to draw equal-size legislative districts  will not be available until mid-August at the earliest, several weeks past the June 30 deadline for Illinois redistricting.

In lieu of that detailed data, Democrats have suggested using alternative data sources such as population estimates compiled in the Census Bureaus American Community Survey, which Republicans argue is both inaccurate and beyond the scope of that surveys purpose.

I think we saw (Monday) how important it is for the state to use the real data, said Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, the ranking Republican on the Senate Redistricting Committee. There was lots of discussion about the estimates that were put out by the ACS data. And (Monday) was the census actual data. Those two were in direct conflict.

Pritzker on Tuesday declined to say whether he supports the use of data alternative to the census.

Look, I dont think the legislature has yet said what estimates or what numbers theyre going to take from. It could be one or more data sets that they might use, Pritzker said before pivoting away from the question to talk about the 2020 census numbers generally.

Later Wednesday, Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee, and Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, vice chair of the committee, released a statement in response to the Republican news conference.

Try as they might, Republicans cant hide their true intentions: they want to cut the public out of the redistricting process entirely, the statement read. By calling on mapmaking to be put off until August or possibly September, they are advocating for control of this process to be turned over to a panel of political appointees who answer to powerbrokers, not the people of Illinois. Thats not reform, thats failure.

The Telegraph contributed to this story.
Nobel Laureate James P. Allison, PhD, Carl H. June, MD and Pulitzer-prize winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD will be the keynote speakers at the virtual Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy Summit 20 Its so rare to have the opportunity to hear from the worlds top cancer researchers, biotechs, investors and patients all in the same room. Were excited to have Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy be a catalyst for these important conversations that could potentially saving lives.

WHO: April 29 marks a pivotal moment in cancer research when the worlds brightest minds come together to discuss how to translate the success of CAR T-cell therapies for blood cancers into successful cell and gene therapies for the most complex and deadly solid tumor cancers. The scientists and companies driving the latest advances in cancer cell and gene therapy will gather online for a virtual Summit hosted by Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, who envision a cancer free future and want to change the C-word from Cancer to Cure. The Summit is open to the public, to medical professionals, scientists and companies interested in cell and gene therapy to fight cancer. To register for the Summit, visit acgtfoundation.org.

Summit 2021 is being held online on Thursday, April 29, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m (ET), and features eight (8) panel discussions with leading researchers developing the next generation cancer cell and gene therapies, biotech companies who are bringing new treatments through the clinic, and investors who are funding this burgeoning pipeline of solid tumor breakthroughs.

The keynote features a conversation with Nobel Laureate James P. Allison, PhD, executive director of the Immunotherapy Platform at MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Carl H. June, MD, director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. The conversation will be moderated by Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, founder, Myeloid Therapeutics, Pulitzer-prize winning author of "The Emperor of All Maladies.

WHAT: Barbara Lavery, chief program officer with Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy notes, Its so rare to have the opportunity to hear from the worlds top cancer researchers, biotechs, investors and patients all in the same room. Were excited to have Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy be a catalyst for these important conversations that will help not only other scientists working on new cell and gene therapy approaches, but companies seeking investments to advance their clinical pipelines, and patients and their families looking for potentially life changing therapeutic options in their fight against cancer.

WHEN: THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021 (ALL TIMES ARE IN ET)

10 AM: Opening Remarks & Evolving Regulatory and Manufacturing Processes to Match the Speed of Innovation -- Panelists: Asthika Goonewardene, MBA, Amy DuRoss, MBA, Rafael Amado, PhD, Andre Choulika, PhD, Ke Liu, MD, PhD, Bruce Levine, PhD

11 AM: Innovating Science - from the Lab to the Clinic -- Panelists: Clodagh O'Shea, PhD, Jenna Foger, PhD, Yvonne Chen, PhD, Brian Brown, PhD, Franco Marincola, MD

12 PM: Tackling the Toughest Challenges - Pancreatic Cancer -- Panelists: Joseph Fraietta, PhD, Andrew Rakeman, PhD, Michael T. Lotze, MD, Sidi Chen, PhD, Mark O'Hara, MD

1 PM: Tackling the Toughest Challenges - Glioblastoma -- Panelists: Nduka Amankulor, MD, Crystal Mackall, MD, Noriyuki Kasahara, MD, PhD, Klaus Veitinger, MD, PhD, Samantha Bucktrout, PhD

2 PM: New Approaches to Solid Tumor Breakthroughs -- Panelists: Daniel Getts, PhD, Luke Timmerman, Garry E. Menzel, PhD, MBA, Ken Drazan, MD

3 PM: Patients, Caregivers, Doctors, Advocates, Researchers, you, Me - We All Have Cancer in Common -- Panelists: Gregory C. Simon, Tom Whitehead, Robert Levis, Caroline Corner, PhD, Callum Miller

4 PM: Innovating Finance - Non-Traditional Funding Sources -- Panelists: Ken Schaner, Marc Hurlbert, PhD, Luke Evnin, PhD, Anna Turetsky, PhD, Jay Campbell

5 PM: Keynote: Does Cancer Have a Future? Whats Next? Where Will We Be in 2025? -- Panelists: Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, Carl H. June, MD, James P. Allison, PhD

WHERE: The Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy Summit 2021 is VIRTUAL. To register visit Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy Summit 2021 visit https://web.cvent.com/event/66b028f2-2d12-4ebf-86c9-bd2fca898e11/summary or acgtfoundation.org.

WHY: For 20 years, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy has funded research that is bringing innovative treatment options to people living with deadly cancers  treatments that save lives and offer new hope to all cancer patients. Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy funds researchers who are pioneering the potential of cancer cell and gene therapy  talented visionaries whose scientific advancements are driving the development of groundbreaking treatments for ovarian, prostate, sarcoma, glioblastoma, melanoma and pancreatic cancers. 100% of all public funds raised by Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy directly support research and programs. For more information, visit http://www.acgtfoundation.org, call 203-358-5055, or join the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy community on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube @acgtfoundation.

NOTE: Members of the media who are interested in attending the event should contact summit@acgtfoundation.org.
Under consideration is widening the road in certain areas to two lanes in each direction or leave it one lane in each direction. In either alternative, a continuous turn lane would be built down the center of the road.
By Mark Gokavi

The University of Daytons Hanley Sustainability Institute has named the first four HSI graduate fellowship recipients.

The new program, which will start next academic year, was launched to attract high-quality students with an interest in sustainability to work on research projects mentored by a faculty member and other complementary programmatic efforts within HSI.

The 2021-22 fellows are:

Theresah Adu Ansere, a 2016 graduate of University of Education in Winneba, Ghana, has been teaching English at a high school in Ghana. Before that, she taught English at a Montessori school. As a professional teacher, my successes have stemmed from essential skills, including my ability to write creatively and communicate effectively, Ansere wrote in her application. I have enhanced my collaboration abilities and cultivated a reputation as a major contributor through communication and critical thinking. Ansere will work with HSI curriculum director and sustainability program director Rebecca Potter on a book project about core competencies in sustainability education.

Grace Attea, a December 2019 graduate of UD with a degree in environmental biology, who worked on various projects for Five Rivers MetroParks and as a post-baccalaureate scientist with biology professor Ryan McEwan. I quickly realized the importance that the land plays in preserving native biodiversity and in aiding the health of surrounding man-made communities, Attea wrote in her application. I am certain that the knowledge and expertise that I have developed will be valuable to this position and to the long-term project goal of using science-based approaches for regional land management. Attea will continue working with McEwan on a project that will use tree-ring analysis to study the link between forest dynamics and a complex of ecosystem drivers in forests of southwestern Ohio.

Chelcie Barnett, who is finishing her first year at UDs School of Law. She has a 2014 undergraduate degree in biology and a 2017 masters degree in environmental health from Colorado State University. After that, she did consulting work before starting law school. Though my educational background includes biology, epidemiology, and environmental health, I chose to pursue my degree in law because I recognize a vast divide between scientific research and the implementation of effective policies to incorporate research findings into improving the lives of others, Barnett said in her application. By gaining understanding of legal and legislative processes, I hope to integrate my legal and scientific backgrounds to bridge the gap and effect true change capable of protecting people from the adverse effects of climate change and environmental injustices. Barnett will work with Felix Fernando, an assistant professor of sustainability and the coordinator of UDs graduate certificate program. Fernandos project will examine the feasibility and practicality of integrative sustainable strategies in the City of Dayton, thereby identifying potential practical action.

Tia Turner, a 2019 Miami University graduate from Beavercreek with a degree in psychology, who is getting her masters degree at UD in clinical psychology. She currently assists psychology professor Roger Reebs behavioral activation project in homeless shelters affiliated with St. Vincent de Paul. As an advocate for the United Nations call to action for sustainable development, I am elated for an opportunity to apply my unique skill set working at the therapeutic shelter farm to grow nutritious food for people suffering from homelessness in a food desert and create a much-needed therapeutic outdoor space for residents during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, Turner wrote in her application. Turner will continue to work on Reebs project of behavioral activation at a homeless shelter in Dayton providing residents at the homeless shelter with opportunities to engage in productive activities that yield response-contingent reinforcement, which increases their productive behavior, sense of mastery, quality of life, mood and cognition.

For more sustainability news and information, visit HSIs news blog, the Hanley Sustainability Institute website and the sustainability program website. To sign up for HSIs Sustainability Spotlight newsletter, register here.
The man charged with murdering Kristin Smart nearly 25 years ago was accused of sexually assault in three separate cases, including one in which his DNA matched a rape kit sample, in the years after the California college student vanished.

Paul Flores, now 44, has never been arrested or charged in relation to the three separate alleged sexual assaults that authorities say occurred between 2007 and 2017 in Los Angeles.

Flores, who has long been a suspect in Smart's 1996 disappearance but was only arrested on April 13, has pleaded not guilty to killing her during an attempted rape in his California Polytechnic State University dorm room.

His father Ruben Flores, 80, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of accessory after the murder for allegedly hiding Smart's body.

It has since emerged that Flores has been investigated for the three alleged sexual assaults in the years after he is accused of killing Smart, including two in Los Angeles and one in Redondo Beach, according to court documents and police memos obtained by the LA Times.

Paul Flores, now 44, has long been a suspect in Kristin Smart's 1996 disappearance but was only arrested on April 13. He has pleaded not guilty to killing her during an attempted rape in his California Polytechnic State University dorm room

In the Redondo Beach case, police were called to a hospital in January 2007 after a woman underwent a rape kit examination because she believed she had been assaulted.

The woman told police she had been drinking at a bar with friends earlier that night but later woke up naked in a man's bed with no memory of what had happened.

The woman, who told police she believed she may have been drugged, said she left the man's home still feeling intoxicated.

Kristin Smart was last seen on May 25, 1996, with Paul Flores while returning to her dorm at Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo after an off-campus party

The rape kit determined she had sex but there were no 'obvious indication of force or assaultive behavior'.

It also did not show any traces of a date rape drug.

A DNA sample collected as part of the examination was entered into a police database and four years later matched with Flores.

Redondo Beach Police launched a rape investigation and interviewed Flores, who told them he had no 'particular recollection' of the woman.

'He stated it was possible he had sex with her since he has had sex with many girls,' a police memo related to the case showed.

The alleged victim was unable to identify Flores from a police line up.

Prosecutors ultimately decided they couldn't prove Flores raped the woman and did not bring charges against him.

'The DNA hit only proves that there was some type of sexual contact but not what the nature of that contact was,' Los Angeles County deputy district attorney Christi Frey wrote in a memo at the time.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Police say Flores is suspected of sexually assaulting two women between 2013 and 2017.

The details of those alleged assaults are not known and prosecutors have not decided whether to file charges against Flores.

Ruben Flores, 80, (right) has pleaded not guilty to a charge of accessory after the murder for hiding Kristin Smart's body after his son Paul Flores (left) allegedly killed her in 1996 during an attempted rape in his California Polytechnic State University dorm room

Smart's family have since filed a lawsuit in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court claiming her body was buried in Ruben's yard but he moved it 'under the cover of darkness'. They searched the home again last week following the arrests and could be seen dismantling the deck that leads underneath the house

Separate from the sex assault allegations, Flores has at least five convictions for drunk driving in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

He also has a conviction for being drunk in public.

Flores was arrested back in 1998 in Huntington Beach for assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm but was not prosecuted due to lack of evidence.

In one of his probation reports that was unintentionally made public from a prior conviction, he was once described by a deputy district attorney as a 'serial rapist' based on allegations from dozens of women.

The report did not include specifics on those alleged assaults or if they had all been reported and investigated by police.

Flores, who has long been a suspect in Smart's 1996 disappearance (pictured in a mugshot related to her investigation), was a former classmate and the last known person to see Smart the night she vanished. He has never been charged over her disappearance

When Flores was arrested this month in Smart's murder, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow revealed for the first time that investigators believed he killed the young woman during an attempted rape.

Dow said prosecutors intended to use Flores' history of alleged sex attacks in the murder case.

He specifically mentioned two cases in Los Angeles.

Prosecutors may use the alleged assaults to try and prove Flores has a history of predatory behavior if his murder case goes to trial.

Much of the details surrounding Smart's case has been closely guarded by authorities throughout the investigation.

There is currently a gag order in the criminal case against Flores and his father, which prevents lawyers, investigators, witnesses and others from speaking about the case or releasing any court documents.

According to a court filing that was inadvertently made public and obtained by The Tribune of San Luis Obispo earlier this month, investigators had found 'biological evidence' that Smart's body had been buried at Ruben Flores' home but had recently been moved.

Investigators searched Ruben's property in February 2020 and then again last month using ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs.

They searched the home again following the arrests and could be seen dismantling the deck that leads underneath the house. Authorities have not disclosed what was found during that search.

Smart's remains still haven't been found but authorities had recently disclosed they believe they know where she was buried.

She was officially declared dead back in 2002.

Smart was officially declared dead in 2002 but her body has never been found

Smart's family last week filed a lawsuit against Ruben Flores following the allegations he buried her body in his backyard but he moved it 'under the cover of darkness' to another location a few days after investigators searched his property in February 2020.

The lawsuit says Smart's remains were moved to ensure they 'would not be found should another search warrant be executed'.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Ruben for intentionally causing emotional distress by helping his son cover up the crime.

'Had Kristin's remains not been hidden, re-hidden and then moved yet again, it is reasonably likely (her parents) could have been reunited with the remains of their daughter and would have been permitted the opportunity to conduct a burial service at which their daughter could be laid to rest in a place of honor and dignity, as opposed to the present circumstances where their daughters body was discarded like human garbage,' the lawsuit said.

The Smart family's attorney James Murphy Jr. did not say how he learned about the the body being moved.

Ruben was released on Wednesday on $50,000 bail. His son remains in custody without bail.

The arrests last week followed significant developments in the case in recent years as new witnesses came forward, investigators monitored Paul's cellphone and text messages, and searches were conducted at separate homes where Flores, his father, mother and sister live.

Smart's family last week filed a lawsuit against Ruben Flores following the allegations he buried her body in his backyard but he moved it 'under the cover of darkness' to another location a few days after investigators searched his property in February 2020

The case dates back to May 25, 1996 when Smart was last seen returning to her dorm at the Cal Poly University campus at about 2am after an off-campus party.

A then-19-year-old Flores, who was a fellow freshman at the school, had offered to walk her home from the party.

Smart was not reported missing to the Cal Poly Police Department until three days after she was last seen.

Her dorm mate at the time said police were initially reluctant to take a missing persons report because it was Memorial Day weekend and she might have left the campus.

As the last person to see Smart alive, Flores was under suspicion from the start.

During the investigation, four different search dogs trained to pick up the smell of human remains led police to Flores' dorm room. No evidence was ever found in Flores' room.

Various search efforts have been carried out over the years, including the excavation of three different hillside locations near the campus in 2016.

Investigators served over 40 search warrants at 16 locations over the years, collected nearly 200 new items of evidence and used modern DNA techniques to test more than three dozen older pieces of evidence.

Flores has remained silent over the decades-long investigation.

He has previously invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not answer questions before a grand jury and in a deposition for a lawsuit that was brought against him in relation to the investigation.
Woman Finds a Message From 21 Years Ago in a Bottle on the Shore of Shetland Islands

While walking on the beach, a woman from the Shetland Islands in Scotland discovered a bottle with a note from 21 years ago. The message was written in the Faroese language.

Megan Keppie was on a walk with her friend, Lisa, on Feb. 28, when she stumbled upon the plastic bottle with a green cap.

I never look for messages in bottleswhenever I see bottles on beaches, I just feel sad that there is so much rubbish about, Megan told The Epoch Times via Facebook Messenger. A minute before I found the bottle [Lisa] said wouldnt it be funny if we found a message in a bottle, then she actually stepped over it because she got distracted by the buoy on the beach.

The Lerwick resident lingered to examine the bottle when she realized there was, indeed, something inside.

I looked down and saw it but thought it would just be a receipt or something, she said. But when I picked it up I could make out it was foreign and that it had an address on it!

The paper inside the bottle had a note written in Faroese and was dated Jan. 17, 2000. Unable to read what was written, Megan turned to Facebook for assistance.

I found a message in a bottle which appears to have been sent [from] Klaksvik, Faroe on 17/01/2000! she wrote, sharing a picture of the bottle and note. Does anyone know anyone who speaks Faroese?

Not long after, someone answered and translated the message of the note.

Hello you that finds this message in a bottle, translated Petur Hjgaard, a Facebook user from Denmark. We are the older young scouts at KFUM & KFUK scouts in Klaksvik. We have many things planned and tonight we are outside learning about traffic and reflection clothing 

The translation revealed that the scouts had released a message into the ocean in the hopes that someone would find it one day.

We wish you all the best, the note read, and thank you if you contact us.

Alongside the address at the bottom of the letter, the name of the scouts leader, Finn Johannesen, was also given.

Social media users were amazed by Megans cool discovery.

Thats epic! wrote one user.Amazing! commented another. Keep us updated if you hear back from them.

Megan told The Epoch Times that Finn did, indeed, get in touch with her.

After word got around that someone had found a message in a bottle sent by a group of scouts from Faroe at the turn of the century, Finn reached out to Megan, curious to find out whether it was the message he thought it was.

He contacted me after people messaged him to ask if he was the person mentioned in the news article from Shetland News, Megan explained.

Megan said that Finn informed her that his scouts had sent out the message for fun, but none of them had truly expected it to be found, especially because so much time had passed.

He said he was very shocked that it had been found, especially 21 years later! she said.It is interesting that when it was sent social media didnt really exist, but now that it has been found I was able to communicate with him within 24 hours of finding it!

It is certainly an incredible turn of events for Finn and the scouts that their note has finally been discovered.

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
Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft logos displayed on a mobile phone in London, England on Dec. 18, 2020. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Australian Regulator Eyes Apple, Google Marketplace for Harmful Market Practices

An Australian regulator has raised concerns over Googles Play Store and Apples App Store, saying that the tech giants have disadvantaged competing app developers.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released an interim report that identified several issues raised by app developers about the Google and Apple marketplace duopoly.

Apple and Googles stores are the gateways between consumers and app developers, and its true that they provide considerable benefits to both groups, ACCC Chair Rod Sims said. But there are significant issues with how this market is operating.

If Google and Apple fail to take the appropriate steps in addressing these issues, the ACCC warned that regulation may be required.

The report found that Apple and Google harmed app developers by favouring their own apps at the expense of other businesses that shared the same marketplace, as well as utilising a limiting system of in-app purchases.

Apple and Google dont only run the app marketplaces, they also compete within them with their own apps. They have the ability and incentive to promote their own apps over others, Sims said.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman Rod Sims speaks during an interview with Reuters in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 31, 2016. (Reuters/Jason Reed)

One of the primary forms of Google and Apples self-preferencing was a result of first-party apps reportedly benefiting from greater discoverability and promotion on the marketplaces.

Another form included Googles and Apples own apps being pre-installed by default on Android and iOS operating systems.

The information builds on a previous investigation by the ACCC, which found Googles browser, Google Chrome, was pre-installed on nearly all Android devices, with Google Search being the default search engine for over 95 percent of all mobile devices.

This is despite a multitude of available alternatives, including search engines like DuckDuck Go, Ecosia, and Qwant; and browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Opera.

The ACCC has suggested that Google and Apple should be more clear in how apps are promoted and made visible, as well as allowing users to remove the many pre-installed apps that ship with the phone.

We believe app developers should have more information about how their apps are made discoverable to consumers and that consumers should have the ability to change or remove any pre-installed or default apps, Sims said.

The ACCC has also considered requiring choice screens, which appear when a user starts up their device for the first time and shows a list of alternative browsers or search engines to choose from, rather than just the one already preselected by the manufacturer.

A choice screen offering consumers a selection of alternative web browsers to use (Screenshot).

The other major concern raised by app developers was the duopolys system of in-app purchases, with a 30 percent commission imposed on payments processed through many of the apps, in some circumstances lowered to 15 percent.

The report stated that app developers should be less restricted in providing alternative payment options to users, something that would potentially lower prices to consumers, as well as allowing app developers greater scope to innovate.

The issue of the two tech giants taxing app developers through their marketplace has most notably been challenged by Epic Games and its mobile app, Fortnite.

Epic Games attempted to bypass the commission system, encouraging users to purchase apps through Fortnites own in-app payment processor.

The company claimed this allowed consumers to save money because Epic Games did not need to inflate the price to accommodate the commissionin response, Google removed Fortnite from its store, affecting over 470,000 players in Australia.

According to the report, Android and iOS account for close to 100 percent of the global market (excluding China), and in Australia, both Google and Apple hold around 50 percent of this market.

The investigation is the latest in a five-year inquiry into the digital platforms and services in Australia, with reports to be provided every six months.

Daniel Teng contributed to this report.
MBABANE - The Government of Ireland and COMESA Secretariat are said to have begun engagements to identify potential areas of future cooperation to boost their mutual relations.

The Common Market for Easter and Southern Africa is made up of 21 African countries including Eswatini. Last week , the Head of Mission of the Irish Embassy in Zambia Pronch Murray and the Secretary General of COMESA, Chileshe Kapwepwe held a virtual meeting during which they discussed potential areas of partnership.

Further

Ireland has supported the COMESA Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA) particularly in the development of seed certification systems and had the potential of further up-scaling, COMESA said. Other potential areas of collaboration are in mitigating the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on member States and the promotion of digital technology and innovation to facilitate intra-COMESA trade.

Key in this priority would be the development of COMESA Digital Free Trade Area to promote trade through ICT platforms and tools to replace paperwork and need for physical contacts. Another potential area of support is womens participation in regional trade particularly on improving their access to information and collection of gender disaggregated data.



Murray observed that the Irish mission in Zambia is accredited to COMESA hence enabling more robust interactions on potential cooperation. He said the Irish embassys 2022  2026 strategy, which is expected to be finalised before the end of this year, also provides an opportunity to chart the way forward for the embassy programmes in Zambia and COMESA.
ADELAIDE, AUS, Apr 29, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Agilex Biolabs, Australia's largest and most technologically advanced specialist bioanalytical laboratory for clinical trials, and B2S Life Sciences, a biotherapeutic enablement company advancing improved analytical methods and outcomes for developers of biotherapeutic drugs and diagnostics, shared key ways to navigate the immunogenicity and biomarker requirements for clinical trials via webinar.Watch the webinar here (no registration required): https://bit.ly/3sZp8IA / https://youtu.be/x0H9a8oCb98"Hot Topics in Immunoassay Bioanalysis - Key points in navigating the immunogenicity and biomarker requirements for clinical trials" was presented by Endpoints Webinars on April 6. Hosted by Endpoints Editor Arsalan Arif, the webinar featured Dr Kurt J. Sales, Agilex Biolabs' Director of Immunoassay, Ronald R. Bowsher PhD, Partner and Chief Scientific Officer at B2S Life Sciences, and Amy Rosen, Associate Director of Statistics at B2S.The panel shared insights from many years working in immunoassay bioanalysis for clinical trials. Ronald R. Bowsher said B2S has been working with Agilex Biolabs for more than four years, "Our relationship has evolved very well, and we understand each other's needs. And despite the geographic differences, I think we've had a very productive collaboration serving Agilex Biolabs' customers," he said.Dr Kurt J. Sales said, "Our world-class laboratories feature state-of-the-art equipment including Gyrolab Xplore, MSD Quickplex 120, Luminex Magpix, BD FACSymphony A3 flow cytometer and soon to be released, digital droplet quantitative real-time RT-PCR, while our scientists have experience in solving the most complex immunogenicity and drug tolerance issues, often encountered in immuno-oncology studies in both an early phase and later phase setting."Agilex Biolabs specialises in bioanalysis of small molecules and biologics for PK, immunogenicity, biomarkers and immunological pharmacodynamics assessments utilising LC-MS/MS, immunoassay (Mesoscale, Gyrolab, Luminex) and flow cytometry (BD FACSymphony A3, 20 colour cell analyser), and has leading certifications including OECD GLP Recognition with NATA (Australian Government OECD GLP Compliance monitoring authority) and ISO 17025 Accreditation for global recognition.Australian clinical trials have remained open for business. Agilex Biolabs, a designated essential service so clients can be assured of study continuity, can assist international clients with a rebate of up to 43.5% on clinical trial bioanalytical services spend as part of the Australian Government clinical trial attraction program. The company has recently expanded its labs by more than 30% to accommodate biotech demand from APAC and the USA. Watch the new lab video walkthrough here: https://youtu.be/WNdPGkdr9FA.Book a briefing with Agilex Biolabs before starting your next clinical trial: https://calendly.com/agilexbiolabs/15minAbout Agilex Biolabs -- https://www.agilexbiolabs.comAgilex Biolabs, Australia's leading bioanalytical laboratory, has more than 20 years' experience in performing regulated bioanalysis, including quality method development, method validation and sample analysis services. We have successfully supported hundreds of preclinical and clinical trials around the world where customers choose Australia for the streamlined regulatory process and access to the world's most attractive R&D rebate of more than 40% on clinical trial work conducted in Australia. We offer services for both small molecules and biologics for PK, immunogenicity (PD) and biomarker bioanalysis utilising the two platforms of LC-MS/MS and Immunoassay.Agilex Biolabs media contact:Kate NewtonMedia@AgilexBiolabs.comSource: Agilex BiolabsCopyright 2021 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
China is set to report its first population decline in decades and could see India overtake it to become the world's most populated country.

Beijing has failed to tackle a falling birth rate despite relaxing its strict family planning policy five years ago to allow everyone to have at least two children.

The latest Chinese census, which was completed in December, is being kept closely guarded by the Communist Party but is expected to show a decline in growth in 2020, sources told the Financial Times.

A dip which allows China's industrial rival India to surpass its colossal population of 1.4 billion will heap pressure on Beijing to boost the birth rate before the country falls into an irreversible decline.

India and China's projected population growth according to the United Nations - World Population Prospects. It shows a steady decline for China over the next few decades, while India will continue to increase until at least 2060

Chinese students queuing for their vaccines at the university in Wuhan on Tuesday. The Communist Party will be keen to impose measures to boost the population before falling into an irreversible decline with an ageing populace

Delhi poses a threat to China's status as the world's main producer of goods and has put its foot forward to forge trade deals with newly-liberated Brexit Britain.

India, with a vibrant democracy based on the British tradition, is increasingly attractive to investors who are concerned by China's shady human rights record.

The United Nations projects India's population will continue to grow well into the 2050s as people are much younger on average than in China.

China's National Bureau of Statistics was due to release its census in early April.

The population figure is very sensitive and will not be published until government departments have a consensus on the data and its implications, sources told the FT.

'If China confirms such a decline, it would be a big deal,' said Zhiwei Zhang, the Shenzhen-based chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.

'The consensus expects China's population to peak at 2027, based on the projection made by the United Nations. This would be much earlier than the market and policy makers expected.'

No explanation has been given for the delay in announcing the result, though the bureau said this month that more preparatory work was needed.

In recent months, China's state media have been increasingly bleak, saying the population may start to shrink in the next few years.

In 2016, China scrapped a decades-long one-child policy in the hope of boosting the number of babies, replacing the measure with a two-child policy.

At the time, it also set a target to boost its population to about 1.42 billion by 2020, from 1.34 billion in 2010.

But the birth rate has continued to decline.

That is partly because urban couples, particularly those born after 1990, value their independence and careers more than raising a family, despite parental pressure to have children.

Smoke billows from a chimney in northern India. The nuclear-armed industrial powerhouse wants to challenge China to strike trade deals with the developed world

Rising living costs in major cities, where large populations lead to the birth of a huge number of babies, have also deterred couples.

'China would likely have to relax the birth control policy completely and put off the retirement age faster,' Zhang said.

Falling birth rates and a fast greying society will add pressure on the working-age population and hit productivity.

'Our projections using the pre-census figures already suggested that the workforce would be declining by 0.5% each year by 2030, with a similar impact on GDP,' Capital Economics wrote in a note on Wednesday.

'Slower growth would make catching the United States economically harder. And there may be an intangible impact on China's global standing too.'
The Senate has passed a bill that empowers the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to seize the assets of loan defualters that were not included as collateral when the loan was approved.

The Bill, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Act, (Amendment Bill, 2021), was read for the third time and passed amid protest by some lawmakers, who pointed out a major controversial part of the legislation.

The bill seeks to empower AMCON to, amongst others, take possession, manage or sell all properties traced to debtors, whether or not such assets or property are used as security/collateral for obtaining the loan.

It also empowers the corporation to access the Special Tribunal established by a law, BOFIA 2020, for dealing with financial related matters.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Uba Sani (APC, Kaduna Central), had just presented the panels report for consideration when some lawmakers noted that some of the clauses will empower AMCON to go beyond its mandate.

In his presentation, Mr Sani said stakeholders, in their submissions, pushed for AMCON to be empowered to take possession, manage, foreclose or sell, transfer or assign such properties adding that this will provide for a quicker, easier and legitimate process of assets disposal.

Consideration/discord

The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, was the first to make the observation during the clause-by-clause consideration noting that if passed, some causes will empower the corporation to go beyond their mandate.

He sought to know the rationale behind the recommendation of the committee in clause two, which empowers AMCON to take possession of assets outside of those used as collateral in obtaining a loan request.

The clauses read: Section 34 of the principal Act is amended by substituting for the existing subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b) with new subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b) as follow;

(1)(a) subject to paragraphs (c),(I) and (d), become vested with and acquire legal title to the eligibility bank assets and all assets or property tangible or intangible belonging to, traced to and in which the debtor has interest in, whether or not such assets, and corporation shall be vested with power, to the exclusion of all other creditors, to take possession of, manage, foreclose or sell, transfer, assign or otherwise dispose of the eligible bank asset and any tangible or intangible asset or property is used as security for the eligible bank asset, in full or partial satisfaction of the debt owed to the corporation by reason of the acquisition of the eligible bank asset notwithstanding that the interest of the debtor in such asset or property is equitable only.

(1)(b) Any certification of sale or certificate of transfer of title executed by the Corporation in exercise of its powers under subsection (1)(a) above shall constitute a valid registration instrument under all applicable land registration laws applicable in the Federation and in all Land and Corporate Registries in the Federation.

The essence of collateral, is that in the even of default, you lose that asset. What I am reading here is that in addition to seizing that asset, they (AMCON) want to go beyond that to every other asset or property that is traceable to the debtor. I think I need some clarifications to that, Mr Omo-Agege said.

Other lawmakers noted that if AMCON goes beyond its mandate, it would degenerate into legal issues, as the corporation could go beyond what the customer tendered as of the time of taking the loan.

Albert Bassey (PDP, Akwa-Ibom North East) argued that you cannot go outside the asset presented for the facility.

But the Senate President who seemed uninterested in the observations raised by colleagues, said that was not the time to make corrections to the bill as it has already passed second reading  where the lawmakers would have made their observations and corrections.

Ignoring the complaints, he ruled in favour of the clause even when the voices against the clause overwhelmed those supporting it.

More arguments

After the ruling, Mr Bassey who noted that AMCON is not the primary lender, raised Point of Order (73) to challenge the decision of Mr Lawan.

Order 73 permits a senator to challenge the opinion of the senate president.

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Are you challenging the ruling that the aye had it?that was your opinion, but in my judgment and understanding and the only one that has the gavel, I will view that. we should be very magnanimous when we do the exercise, Mr Lawan interjected.

This is something majority of our colleagues have voted for, lets allow this thing to be implemented, if theres any difficulty then come back, it can be challenged, he continued.

But a defiant Mr Bassey said this is subject to a challenge in a court of law because if Im a debtor, and tendered a commercial I have signed everything, you cannot go beyond the context of that clause, you cant, it will be challenged.

Thank you very much Bassey, when its time to legislate, we all come here with a very clear mind, that we are doing this for our country. We dont have any interest but national interest, when majority of our colleagues here in their judgement feel this is the right thing to do, was Mr Lawans response.

Let me say that even if its the wrong view, its still the majority. Unless we have any cause to reverse ourselves. But if majority of the senators thinks this is what should be done to remedy a situation that requires our attention, I think we should allow it.

Let the people go to court to test it, but our hope and desire is for AMCON to be able to recover huge sums of money  trillions that people have taken and now is on the head of Nigerians. And, it is criminal, really. People will consciously take money. I will advise that we stick to our decision, he added.

Bala Ibn NaAllah (APC, Kebbi South) and Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) advocated for the inclusion of a proviso in the AMCON amendment bill, to give it precedence over any other law that it conflicts with.

We have to put a clause to say, notwithstanding the provisions obtained in any other law to enable the law take effect, Mr NaAllah suggested.

Chukwuka Utazi kicked against the clause empowering AMCON to take possession of assets traced to debtors, explaining that, most of the banks that have those bad debts colluded with the customers in doing that in the first place.

Citing Senate rules, George Sekibo (PDP, Rivers East) observed that it will be out of order to reconsider any specific question, upon which the Senate has come to a conclusion during the current session, except upon a substantive motion or decision.

All the discussion we are making on it now is of no value, they are not supposed to be recorded because we have come to a decision on it. It may be wrongly or rightly, but we have ended it, he added.

The Senate President, thereafter, ruled against Mr Akpan, based on the provision of the Senate rule cited by Mr Sekibo.

Defence

Addressing journalists shortly after plenary, Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos), said, the issue has to do with AMCON going beyond the collateral by extending its ability to recover debt.

The collateral presented during the loan contract shouldnt be the only source of payment available from the borrower. Tax payers money was used in 2009 to clear some of the debts by the federal government, which was not supposed to be.

He said some loan defaulters still move freely without being prosecuted.

According to him, AMCOM will go the extra mile to recover loans. They will trace you and your other monies hidden elsewhere till you pay your debts.
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Vu Anh Minh, chairman of Vietnam Railways

There are different ideas in Vietnam about how much state funding should be allocated for railway maintenance this year, which is causing difficulties for the industry as a whole. Has the government announced any solutions yet?

As expected, the deputy prime minister of Vietnam will host a meeting in early May to deal with this problem. We are pinning high hopes on this.

Each unit and organ has different ideas stemming from their own aspects of management. Former Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has thus assigned the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to appraise the proposals of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and Vietnam Railways (VNR).

The MoJ is a government agency, which is responsible for legal development and enforcement, and check legal performance so we totally believe and respect for appraisal.

After working with the relevant ministries and agencies, the MoJ then reported back to the former DPM that based on the prevailing rules, especially the Law on Railway Transport 2017, and to ensure efficiency and transparency in the management, operation, and use of national railway infrastructure, the allocation of railway maintenance funding to VNR is reasonable.

The DPM then asked the MoT to take into account the opinions of the MoJ. The MoT has then sent the report to him. We are currently waiting for the next direction of the prime minister.

While waiting for sturdy solutions on the matter, what have VNR and its member companies been doing in order to ease the hardship for labourers?

As we have not received the allocated state funding for maintenance since the beginning of this year, our labourers are facing extreme difficulties.

In recent months, many units in the railway industry here mortgaged some of the companys and even their own assets to take out bank loans so they can advance a small amount of money for their workers.

However, by the end of April, most of them were unable to keep up payments due to their small charter capital. There are about 20 companies in the railway industry focusing on maintenance, traffic safety, and railway signals, with charter capital of about VND20 billion ($870,000) and 500-1,000 employees each.

What I am most concerned about however is railway safety. Currently, safety in the industry in Vietnam depends mostly on the individuals. When labourers lives are not ensured, the safety risks increase.

The railway industry now consists of a huge number of partners and customers. How will the stagnation of train operations impact them?

The apatite, cement, and petroleum industries as well as post are our biggest partners. Chemical businesses will be among the worst hit because they have some products which cannot be transported as effectively by other means. If the trains stop, they will simply have to choose other means of transport.

Railway also transports special items for the military, ensuring national security and defence. At the same time, Vietnam Railways is an important link for the Asia-Europe railway chain, and any stagnation will influence businesses operating along this line.

For the passenger transport segment, the industry now serves 36 cities and provinces.

State funding for railway maintenance only meets 30-40 per cent of the industrys total demand, leading to many items waiting for their due upgrade for years, posing significant hazards.
Hunter Biden, once again, seems to back at it, living off old dad's name.

He's been invited to "guest lecture" a "fake news" 10-week media course at Tulane University in New Orleans. He'll be one of a panel of very well-known left-wing names, plus #NeverTrump New York Times columnist Bret Stephens.

According to the Daily Mail:

Hunter Biden is helping teach a class on fake news at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana this fall. The course titled 'Media Polarization and Public Policy Impacts' will include several guest speakers throughout its 10 weeks, including the president's son. The course description, according to a copy of the syllabus obtained by DailyMail.com, says: 'America's rapidly advancing partisan divide is fueled substantially by the growing political polarization increasingly evident in our news media.'

The university didn't say whether he would be paid, but it would be surprising if he wasn't offered at least an honorarium. Getting big names such as former White House COVID response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, Fox News's Juan Williams, Susan Glasser of the New Yorker, Kylie Atwood of CNN, Margaret Brennan of CBS, Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post and a couple of others, plus Stephens, all together at once is no small thing, and doesn't sound like a free gig courtesy of the speakers. At many universities, these honorariums and guest-salaries can get pretty big. Angela Davis, for one, was paid $43,000 for a one-day a week, few-weeks' course at UCLA in 2014. How much was Hunter paid? If it was little or nothing for Hunter, it's likely the university would have said in its statement to the Daily Mail.

Nice work if you can get it.

In the three main news accounts noted -- from the Daily Mail, which broke the story, to the New York Post, to Breitbart News, all noted that he wasn't exactly a guy with media experience. He had no experience writing articles or columns for newspapers, nor any broadcast experience. What he has a knack for is glomming off the fame of his dear old dad, whether as an 'artist' getting a fancy gallery gig, a writer, getting a big-dollar book gig, a Navy man, somehow getting into the Navy as an officer despite his drug use and advanced age, or a money-man, with gigs on the boards of skeezy foreign firms, in China and Ukraine, and possibly some other places. Somehow, Hunter always manages to enter fields with instant paydays on subjects he knows nothing about. Doesn't matter what.

Which rather contradicts Old Joe's promise that none of his family members would be profiting off his presidential name. Well, well, well.

The question that remains is why Tulane, a university that spends about a billion a year on its operation, good reputation, would want to do this. Would it be another personal-political favor to impress Old Joe?

Research grants and federal funding might be one place to look, for that. Tulane, it turns out, gets a lot of federal funding, based on some outdated but likely indicative documents I found from Tulane's own brochures.

As of 2008, Tulane got $89 million from the National Institutes for Health, and $39 million from other federal sources, see page 40. The numbers have creeped up bigger, based on individual grants examined since, but I don't have a full total for now. The university's endowment, though, is big -- at $1.445 billion, based on its latest 2020 annual report. Big and getting bigger every year, as the dramatic charts show.

So yes, they've got a lot of federal money, lots of cash for salaries and honorariums, and an interest in pleasing old Joe.

The professors doing the course (Daily Mail seems to have erred in calling Hunter a professor, he's a guest speaker) are well worth noting, too.

Who are they? One is Dr. Mitchel Sellers, who is listed as a visiting assistant professor, which is about as low as the status goes in professor world, and he looks very young, based on his picture. He is, however, an expert in wokester studies. His bio says this:

Dr. Sellers research interests fall broadly into the field of state politics and policies, in addition to civil rights policy broadly defined (race, gender and LGBTQ concerns). He specializes in American politics, research design, statistics, and public policy. His research on policy diffusion, executive orders and transgender rights has appeared in several scholarly outlets, including Political Research Quarterly, Journal of Public Policy, Administration & Society, and was a with author for The Remarkable Rise of Transgender Rights (University of Michigan Press, 2018).

Not exactly a media expert, any more than Hunter is, but certainly in tune with the wokesterism of the Biden administration. He'd fit in. He'd also benefit from a job with them if he wanted one. Doing a favor with Hunter? The possibility exists.

The second professor is more interesting: He's not a "Dr." with a Ph.D but he's got a lot of political connections. His day job is working as the chief of communications for the very large Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, after a decent career in broadcast journalism. And politics, lots of Washington politics. He knows the politicians and the press as only a swamp creature could. His bio reads:

As a print journalist, Schwartz has written for the Washington Post, OffBeat, the definitive guide to New Orleans music, and various national newspapers and magazines. Early in his career, he served as a research assistant to former Carter domestic policy adviser Stuart E. Eizenstat at Powell, Goldstein, Frazer, and Murphy and as a legislative fellow in the offices of Senator J. Bennett Johnston (D-LA) and Representative Lindy Boggs (D-LA).

As a P.R. man, his job is making political and media connections. And he's knee deep in establishment politics, it would not be surprising if he knew all of those guest speakers and invited them on. Would he, with his leftwing politics, have an interest in pleasing Old Joe by giving Hunter a speaker gig, probably with big money? It's hard not to ask that question.

As for Hunter himself, why would he be interested in doing this? Reliving all the true reports about his debauchery, supposedly left behind now? He was never a victim of fake news as President Trump was. He was actually the beneficiary of social media censorship of real news about him, as the New York Post, noted. They are the ones who know about fake news -- they got censored by Big Tech for its genuinely accurate reporting.

The usual reason for Hunter's branching out into fields he knows nothing about is money, so it's possible it was that.

It may also be a bid to shill his books, which seems to have quite weak sales based on Amazon rankings, despite his hefty book advance. I wrote about that here.

Lastly, it may be a bid to respectable-ize himself, clean up his drugs-and-hookers reputation, by suddenly reinventing himself as a respected professor, same as domestic terrorist Bill Ayers once did.

According to Breitbart News:

Hunter also made a failed attempt to get a law professor gig at the University of California Los Angeles, touting his family name and political connections, emails reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation revealed. In 2019, Hunter reportedly offered to teach a class on drug policy and identified a list of possible guest speakers with close ties to his father.

That gig never panned out.

One thing in common with all these things is that they appear to involve influence-peddling off dear old dad. Were he just a basic crack addict, would the university have chosen him to be its guest speaker? He hasn't even come clean on his abandoned computer full of crack-smoking pictures, which was obviously his, while some watchers of addicts, such as New York Post columnist Maureen Callahan, don't think he's acting like someone who has really kicked drugs and become a changed man.

He's just same old Hunter, living off dad's name, and spreading potential corruption with everyone he comes in contact with.

Photo illustration by Monica Showalter with use of cropped images by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0, Acaben, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0, PxFuel public domain, ABC News YouTube screen shot, and Voice of America // public domain

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An American warship fired warning shots when vessels of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard came too close to a patrol in the Persian Gulf, the said Wednesday.

The Navy released black-and-white footage of the encounter Monday night in international waters of the northern reaches of the Persian Gulf. In it, lights can be seen in the distance and what appears to be a single gunshot can be heard, with a tracer round racing across the top of the water.

did not immediately acknowledge the incident.

The Navy said the USS Firebolt fired the warning shots after three fast-attack Guard vessels came within 68 yards (62 meters) of it and the U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat USCGC Baranoff.

The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loud-hailer devices, but the (Guard) vessels continued their close range maneuvers, said Cmdr Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the Mideast-based 5th Fleet.

The crew of Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the (Guard) vessels moved away to a safe distance from the U.S. vessels.

She called on the Guard to operate with due regard for the safety of all vessels as required by international law.

US naval forces continue to remain vigilant and are trained to act in a professional manner, while our commanding officers retain the inherent right to act in self-defence, she said.

The incident Monday marked the second time the Navy accused the Guard of operating in an unsafe and unprofessional manner this month alone after tense encounters between the forces had dropped in recent years.

Footage released Tuesday by the Navy showed a ship commanded by the Guard cut in front of the USCGC Monomoy, causing the Coast Guard vessel to come to an abrupt stop with its engine smoking on April 2.

The Guard also did the same with another Coast Guard vessel, the USCGC Wrangell, Rebarich said. Such close passes risk collisions.

The interaction marked the first unsafe and unprofessional incident involving the Iranians since April 15, 2020, Rebarich said. However, had largely stopped such incidents in 2018 and nearly in the entirety of 2019, she said.

In 2017, the Navy recorded 14 instances of what it describes as unsafe and or unprofessional interactions with Iranians forces. It recorded 35 in 2016, and 23 in 2015.

The incidents at sea almost always involve the Revolutionary Guard, which reports only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Typically, they involve Iranian speedboats armed with deck-mounted machine guns and rocket launchers test-firing weapons or shadowing American aircraft carriers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 per cent of all oil passes.

Some analysts believe the incidents are meant in part to squeeze President Hassan Rouhani's administration after the 2015 nuclear deal. They include a 2016 incident in which Iranian forces captured and held overnight 10 US sailors who strayed into the Islamic Republic's territorial waters.

The incident comes as negotiates with world powers in Vienna over Tehran and Washington returning to the 2015 nuclear deal.

It also follows a series of incidents across the Mideast attributed to a shadow war between Iran and Israel, which includes attacks on regional shipping and sabotage at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On Thursday 6 May Londoners are heading to the polls to elect their mayor, as incumbent Sadiq Khan hopes to win a second term.

This election was originally due to have taken place in May last year, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

His main rival, ConservativeShaun Bailey has been languishing in the polls, with a recent poll putting him 13 points behind Labours Mr Khan.

A total of 20 candidates are standing for mayor this year, with those from mainstream parties such as the Liberal Democrats and Greens going up against everyone from former actor Lawrence Fox  running on an anti-lockdown agenda  to Count Binface.

Who are the candidates?

Sadiq Khan  Labour

Formerly MP for Tooting from 2005, Sadiq Khan was elected mayor in 2016, comfortably beating the Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith. Before entering politics, he worked as a human rights lawyer and chaired the Liberty advocacy group. Considered to be on Labours soft left, he was brought into the cabinet by Gordon Brown as a junior minister in both the communities and then transport departments. His major policies as mayor have included a freeze on transport fares, introducing the Hopper bus fare with unlimited journeys in one hour and expanding charges on polluting vehicles.

Shaun Bailey  Conservative

Born and raised on a housing estate in North Kensington, Shaun Bailey later founded a youth work charity called MyGeneration and in the late noughties was seen as a rising star in the revitalised Cameron-era Big Society Tory party. He was selected to run for the Hammersmith parliamentary seat in 2010 but lost to Labour. In 2012 his charity was wound up due to financial problems, but he was appointed as special advisor to David Cameron on youth and crime issues. In 2016 he was elected to the London Assembly, but a year later he failed in a second bid to become an MP in the Lewisham West constituency. His main policies include hiring 8,000 more police officers, cutting council tax, and building 100,000 new homes.

Luisa Porritt  Liberal Democrat

A journalist, communications consultant and political advisor, Luisa Porritt joined the Liberal Democrats days after the Brexit referendum in 2016 and in 2018 was elected a councillor in Camden, where she grew up. A year later she was elected to the European Parliament for the London constituency and became the Liberal Democrats deputy leader in Brussels briefly before the UK left the EU in 2020. She won the partys nomination after their initial candidate for London mayor  Geeta Sidhu-Robb  was suspended following allegations of antisemitism. She describes her priorities as more homes, cleaner air and better jobs for Londoners.

Sian Berry is also co-leader of the Green Party (PA)

Sian Berry  Green

Making her third bid for London mayor after failed runs in 2008 and 2016, Sian Berry has been the co-leader of the Green Party since 2018. After a childhood in Cheltenham, she moved to London following university and has been an active campaigner for the Greens for 20 years. She has been a local councillor in Camden since 2014, and is also a member of the London Assembly. Her pledges include reversing cuts to youth services, declaring a climate emergency in London, and strengthening protections for renters.

Peter Gammons  UKIP

The UK Independence Party candidate Peter Gammons says his party is not just about Brexit but restoring power to the people. He grew up on a council estate and claims to be a political centrist who can represent all Londoners. An evangelical preacher, motivational speaker and entrepreneur, Mr Gammons also claims he has spoken at events around the world to crowds numbering in the millions and has advised prime ministers and presidents, as well as acting as a faith healer. His policies include increasing police numbers, opening more local police stations, stopping bike lanes and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, and more affordable housing.

Laurence Fox  The Reclaim Party

Laurence Fox was born into the Fox acting dynasty and after graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2001 started a career in film and television. His most famous role was as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway inLewis, the ITV spinoff from Inspector Morse. He was married to fellow actor Billie Pipe from 2007 to 2016, but in recent years has become famous as a campaigner against wokeness and political correctness. He has hit the headlines attacking the presence of Sikh soldiers in a World War One drama, boycotting Sainsburys over their response to Black Lives Matter and more recently encouraging people to not wear masks or abide by lockdown rules. His manifesto promises to unlock London, stop plans to remove controversial statues, tackle knife crime with tougher policing, and stand up for freedom of speech.

Piers Corbyn is facing charges after breaching the Covid lockdown last year during a protest (PA)

Piers Corbyn  Let London Live

The older brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is running as the candidate for Let London Live, another anti-lockdown movement. After time spent as a housing rights activist and Marxist campaigner in London in the 1970s, he then he ran his own weather forecasting company which denied the scientific consensus on climate change and claimed to be able to predict earthquakes based on solar activity. He quit the Labour Party over the Iraq War, and as well as frequently peddling climate change denial, he has more recently also promoted untrue conspiracy theories about Covid and vaccines. He is currently facing charges over breaching lockdowns to hold protests in London. His policies include ending all lockdowns, opposing vaccine passports and stopping the extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone.

Mandu Reid  Womens Equality Party

Mandu Reid is the leader of the Womens Equality Party and the first black person and bisexual to lead a political party in the UK. She grew up in what was then known as Swaziland in southern Africa during the apartheid era with a black mother and white father. She moved to the UK to attend sixth form, before working as a civil servant in the Treasury, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and finally the Greater London Authority under previous mayors. She is also the founder of a charity providing menstrual products to those suffering period poverty in the UK and East Africa. Her priorities are to end violence against women, ensure affordable childcare for all, and invest in a care-led recovery.

Count Binface  Independent

The satirical candidate is back, fresh from standing against Boris Johnson at the 2019 general election. Played by 41-year-old comedian Jon Harvey, Count Binface is a self-proclaimed interplanetary space warrior from Sigma Quadrant, who has crowdfunded his run for City Hall online. Among his manifesto pledges are the renaming of London Bridge as Phoebe Waller Bridge, London rejoining the EU, and ensuring no croissant is sold in the capital for more than 1.

Count Binface waits for the result at Boris Johnsons Uxbridge & Ruislip South constituency in the 2019 General Election (PA)

Vanessa Hudson  Animal Welfare Party

The leader of the Animal Welfare Party since 2010, Vanessa Hudson is running for mayor for the first time. She grew up in Nottinghamshire and has lived in Hong Kong and Sydney, before arriving in London. She works as a producer in the media industry, has been a vegan for 26 years, and was a founding member of Vegan Runners UK. Her policies include aiming for London to be carbon net zero by 2045, promoting plant-based diets, and expanding Londons biodiversity.

Nims Obunge  Independent

Nims Obunge is the senior pastor at the Tottenham-based church Freedoms Ark and is also a financial adviser, governor of a further education college, and chief executive of the Peace Alliance, a charity tackling violent crime. He is a regular on London boards and committees, especially those addressing knife crime and youth services, and also started the London Week of Peace. His manifeso includes recruiting more community police officers, building more homes, creating a Covid business recovery fund, and pushing for a greener city with electric transport.

Kam Balayev  Renew

Renew is a centrist political party founded in 2017 in opposition to Brexit and announced Kam Balayev as its candidate for London mayor in 2020. He has crowdfunded donations to run his campaign, which revolves around building a new tech economy in London. Born in Azerbaijan, he worked as a lawyer for the countrys Ministry of Justice before moving to London to study. He has worked around the world on security, diplomacy and justice issues. His policies include rebranding the capital as e-London to attract new jobs, reclaim money made from Londoners by Big Tech firms overseas, and to freeze TfL fares.

Max Fosh  Independent

Max Fosh is a YouTuber with 419,000 subscribers on the video sharing website, and former private school pupil, now 26. He is running largely as a prank, claiming in his announcement video there should always be at least one posh bloke on the ballot paper and that his main aim was to get more votes than Laurence Fox. Mr Foshs YouTube videos often revolve around pranks, most famously when he parked a car outside BBC Radio 1 HQ with his CV emblazoned in huge type on the roof in an effort to get a job at the station. His manifesto, which is published on a website using the URL laurencefox.org, includes carpeting the M25, making every carriage on the DLR the front carriage, and filling the Thames with sparkling water.

Steven Kelleher  Social Democrat Party

Standing on behalf of the rump party which refused to merge with the Liberals in the late 1980s, Steven Kelleher is a native Londoner who grew up in Elephant and Castle. He works in recruitment in the City, is a volunteer cricket coach and father of five. His policies include building 50,000 new council houses, boosting police numbers by 10,000 officers, and making public transport free to the under-25s.

Valerie Brown campaigning on Primrose Hill last month (PA)

Valerie Brown  Burning Pink

Valerie Brown is running to be the last mayor of London, pledging to abolish the post in favour of legally binding citizens assemblies if she is elected. She is standing for the Burning Pink party, whose goal is to launch a revolution to tackle the climate crisis by superseding traditional politics. Ms Brown is closely linked with Extinction Rebellion and last week was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after she was involved in a protest against HSBCs investment in fossil fuels which smashed the banks windows. Burning Pink have regularly doused other partys headquarters and council buildings in pink paint to protest their inaction in tackling climate change.

Richard Hewison  Rejoin EU

Richard Hewison is standing under a simple banner of re-joining the European Union. He has lived in London since 1993, works in the financial services industry and is an LGBT rights campaigners. He is open about his belief that Sadiq Khan will comfortably win re-election as mayor, but is urging Londoners to vote for him with their first preference as a protest against Brexit, while then using their second preference to choose a more credible candidate.

Farah London  Independent

Born and raised in Croydon, Farah London has spent most of her career working in the insurance industry. She is also the founder and chief executive of several small businesses, and has volunteered with charities working in mental health, social justice and homelessness. She said she decided to stand as a non-political independent candidate as a result of Covid, and her pledges include championing London as a tech hub, cutting the Congestion Charge, and prioritising animal welfare.

David Kurten  Heritage Party

A former chemistry teacher, David Kurten has been a member of the London Assembly since 2016. He was elected as a UKIP candidate (and has run to be national leader of the party several times) but last year he left the party and founded his own Heritage Party, which focused on socially conservative policies. He has campaigned against the Covid lockdowns and has spread false conspiracy theories about coronavirus vaccines. His policies include reopening all London businesses as normal, taking out cycle lanes, and defending free speech.

David Kurten, during his time as a senior UKIP politician and Assembly Member (PA)

Niko Omilana  Independent

A YouTuber with nearly 3.5million subscribers, Niko Omilana is a 23-year-old whose channel is normally focused on pranks and challenges. The influencer announced he was running for mayor earlier this month, describing himself as the founding father and supreme leader of the Niko Defence League. His main policy would be to tell Boris Johnson to shush but in a recent poll five per cent of Londoners said they would vote for him, placing him narrowly behind the Green and Liberal Democrat candidates.

Brian Rose  London Real Party

After a career in banking and a time battling heroin addiction, American-born Brian Rose has run the London Real YouTube and podcast channel since 2011. London Real hosts interviews with a wide range of people, but attracted condemnation last year when broadcasting an interview with the notorious conspiracy theorist David Icke who falsely claimed the pandemic did not exist and 5G phone masts could harm people. YouTube eventually removed the video. The Camden resident says he had spent more than 1m of his own money funding his campaign, and his promises include abolishing the Congestion Charge, 250 new community centres, a 31-day festival to get London working again, and ending the war on the commuter.
Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu and Assam top the list of 10 states or UTs with maximum wastage of Covid-19 vaccines so far, the health ministry data suggests. The data reflects wastage in terms of the number of doses received by states and UTs. While Lakshadweep has wasted maximum 9.76 per cent of the total vaccines dispatched to the island, the southern state of Tamil Nadu and Assam follow with 8.83 per cent and 7.7 per cent wastage, respectively.

Manipur is on fourth place with wastage at 7.44 per cent; Haryana 5.72 per cent; Dadra and Nagar 4.99 per cent; Punjab 4.98 per cent; Bihar 4.95 per cent; Rajasthan 4.24 per cent; and Nagaland 4.13 per cent.

So far, the Centre has dispatched 16 crore vaccine doses (15,95,96,140) to states/UTs for free, of which 14.8 crore doses have been used and around 1 crore doses (1,06,19,892) are still available with the states/UTs.

Also read: COVID-19 treatment: 5 Indian drugmakers ink pacts with Merck for molnupiravir

As per the government, over 57 lakh (57,70,000) vaccine doses will be received in addition by them in the next three days. The state of Maharashtra, which is the most affected state due to Covid-19, has received 1,58,62,470 doses so far. Of this, the total consumption including wastage (0.22 per cent) is 1,53,56,151.

This means the state still has 5,06,319 vaccine doses that are yet to be administered. "Furthermore, 5,00,000 doses of COVID vaccine are in the pipeline for delivery in the next three days," the health ministry statement said.

The government is gearing up for Phase 3 of the Covid-19 vaccination programme from May 1. Registration for the new eligible population groups will commence today from 4 pm. Potential beneficiaries can either register directly on CoWIN portal (cowin.gov.in) or through the Aarogya Setu app.

India reported the biggest ever spike of 3,60,960 new COVID-19 cases, 3,293 deaths and 2,61,162 discharges in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry data suggested. With the current rise in cases, India's case positivity rate has reached 21 per cent. As of now, the total cases stand at 1,79,97,267. As many as 1,48,17,371 people have recovered. The death toll in India has also crossed the 2-lakh mark at 2,01,187.

Also read: Maharashtra likely to see Covid-19 peak in May, India in June: CLSA report
"When we were given this diagnosis, it felt like a repeated gut punch," said Ilissa. "To learn that your child won't have any quality of life is at once frightening, overwhelming, and crushing. We were told that no treatment exists and that the situation was hopeless."

The Reich's converted their grief into action and founded Believe in a Cure to fund research and drug development. They have projects and collaborations underway at leading academic institutions around the world.

It turns out, the situation is not hopeless. Research already funded by Believe in a Cure has indicated that a treatment for FOXG1 Syndrome is attainable due to recent scientific advances like gene therapy, gene editing, and drug repurposing.

"Our preliminary data is showing that reversibility of the condition is possible, which is truly incredible and gives us real hope," said Scott. "We are catalyzing global collaboration with leading experts as we race against time."

Most rare diseases do not attract the attention of pharmaceutical companies for commercial reasons, so Believe in a Cure is building a grassroots community network to raise funds and awareness.

"No one is more motivated than a parent seeking to save their child," said Ilissa. "We've basically had to become scientists overnight while caring for our kids and managing Eli's countless therapies and medical appointments."

FOXG1 Syndrome is caused by a mutation in the FOXG1 gene, which is critical for cognition. Patients with this condition do not have the right amount of the FOXG1 protein that the gene creates, which is what causes such severe deficits.

"The FOXG1 gene has scientific links to more common diseases like Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, and brain tumors, and it's on the Autism Spectrum," noted Scott. "So advances in our work can potentially have broader application."

Believe in a Cure has a renowned Scientific Advisory Board of leading academics and industry experts, as well as a notable Advisory Council composed of former members of Congress, business leaders, philanthropists and more. A brief video of their story can be seen here.

"It takes millions to develop a new drug, which is why we've turned to our community for help, and time is of the essence. We have an opportunity to save lives, and our work will help push the field forward in ways that can benefit generations to come," added Ilissa.

For more information, visit www.webelieveinacure.org.

Media Contact

Scott Reich

[email protected]

SOURCE Believe in a Cure, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.webelieveinacure.org


VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Pampa Metals Corp. ("Pampa Metals" or the "Company") (CSE:PM)(FSE:FIRA)(OTC PINK:PMMCF) is pleased to provide a technical update on progress at its Cerro Buenos Aires project in northern Chile, having completed a comprehensive geological mapping exercise with the identification of two porphyry-related targets, and the potential to host yet more.

Summary

The geological context of the Cerro Buenos Aires project is dominated by its location on the western edge of the Paleocene-Eocene magmatic and mineral arc of northern Chile, along the important, regional, Dominador Fault Zone. The Dominador Fault Zone continues to the north and links up with the Sierra del Cobre and Sierra del Buitre faults, where the Lomas Bayas porphyry copper mine is located. The western margins of the magmatic arc represent a favorable corridor for magmatic emplacement with associated mineral deposits.

Geological mapping has shown that three hills with rocky outcrops, aligned north-south over approximately 12 km of strike, and separated by post-mineral, gravel filled "pampas", reveal intense hydrothermal alteration ranging from advanced argillic through to phyllic, including the presence of possibly porphyry-related quartz veinlets in discrete areas, and with the presence of tourmaline breccias in the north. Historic geophysical and geochemical data show a variety of resistive and magnetic features, combined with base metals and trace-pathfinder geochemical anomalies, suggesting the presence of at least two, and possibly more, porphyry copper centres. The large, post-mineral covered areas require further electrical geophysical coverage to help refine additional targets. Currently, two clear target areas with porphyry Cu-Au (or porphyry Au-Cu) potential have been identified at Cerro Buenos Aires hill and Cerro Chiquitin.

Julian Bavin, CEO of Pampa Metals, commented: "The Company is pleased with its technical progress to date, and is encouraged by the confirmation of good potential for porphyry related systems at its Cerro Buenos Aires project. The two target areas outlined by the geological mapping might be connected given the large expanses of post-mineral cover between geological outcrops, and the presence of a series of potentially prospective magnetic and resistive features from geophysical data. Further work is required, but Pampa Metals is moving close to implementing its first drill program, subject to Covid-related restrictions, with a selection of targets from its Cerro Buenos Aires and Redondo-Veronica projects."

Technical Report - Cerro Buenos Aires

Geological mapping at 1:5,000 scale of the 7,600-hectare Cerro Buenos Aires (CBA) project located along the Paleocene Belt of northern Chile has been completed generating a series of technical layers of information including lithology, hydrothermal alteration, structure, and mineralisation.

The project is situated approximately 130 km in a straight line southeast of the coastal port city of Antofagasta, and alongside the Pan-American Highway, with excellent infrastructural attributes. The El Penon gold-silver (Yamana) and Lomas Bayas copper (Glencore) mines are located along trend some 35 km to the northeast and 135 km to the north-northeast, respectively.

CBA lies along the Dominador Fault Zone, which is one of a series of important fault systems that exert structural controls on the locations of a series of mineral deposits along the Paleocene magmatic arc, and particularly the productive western margins of the arc.

The geology of CBA has been mapped on three topographic highs aligned north-south over approximately 12 km of strike, the largest of which is situated in the southern portion of the project and corresponds to Cerro Buenos Aires hill itself with a maximum altitude of 2,188m. Cerro Intermedio is located about 5 km to the north, and Cerro Chiquitin a further 3 km to the north, at progressively lower elevations. The three principal outcrops are surrounded by post-mineral, gravel-filled "pampas", particularly between the outcrops and in the central-western and north-western portions of the project area.

The mapped geology on CBA hill is dominated by a column of porphyritic basalts and andesites at the base and porphyritic dacites and andesite tuffs in the upper part, with rhyolite tuffs at the top. A rhyolite-dacite porphyry or dome complex outcrops on the eastern flank of CBA hill. A monzo-dioritic porphyry, which may be an early intrusive phase, outcrops to the southwest. Geologic age dating information shows that the volcanic host rocks and intrusive rocks, as well as the hydrothermal alteration assemblages, correspond to the productive porphyry stage of the Paleocene magmatic arc of northern Chile.

Outcropping rocks at CBA are typically affected by advanced argillic hydrothermal alteration assemblages, for the most part intense, ranging from quartz-alunite to pyrophyllite and dickite, and with a variety of breccias occurring, including magmatic-hydrothermal, phreatic, crackle and explosive components. Vuggy quartz structures are common. Evidence from limited historic drilling also shows a transition to sericitic (phyllic) alteration at shallow depths.

Importantly, close to the summit of CBA hill, a discrete outcrop of thin, sinuous, and banded gray quartz veinlets occurs together with some D-type veinlets, which seem to confirm that CBA corresponds to a hydrothermal system at the transition from the epithermal to porphyry environments.

Historic geophysical data, including heli-borne magnetics and resistivity (HoisTEM) data, reveal magnetic and resistive features consistent with possible magmatic centers prospective for porphyry Au-Cu or porphyry Cu-Au systems. Historic surface geochemistry also reveals modest Cu-Mo anomalies, together with Pb, and intense As-Sb-Bi pathfinder anomalies, also suggesting the transition from epithermal to porphyry environments.

At Cerro Intermedio, rhyolite and andesite tuffs with intermediate argillic alteration outcrop on the east flank, and are separated by a north-south fault from rhyolite tuffs spatially associated with a rhyolite dome to the west. The western outcrops have been affected by advanced argillic alteration, including north-south oriented vuggy quartz ledges and other replacement structures. The hydrothermal system appears slightly deeper than that at CBA hill, which can be explained by the difference in elevation of about 340 m between the two outcrops.

Cerro Chiquitin to the north stands out for a tourmaline matrix magmatic-hydrothermal breccia in contact with andesitic tuffs and a diorite porphyry, which in turn are in contact with a fine-grained diorite on the east flank of the outcropping area. The tourmaline breccia shows weak phyllic alteration, with some D veinlets and subparallel A-type quartz veins on the east flank in the fine-grained diorite. The volcanics and diorite porphyry are affected by contact metasomatism with intermediate argillic alteration superimposed on biotite-magnetite alteration. Thin north-south and northeast trending quartz ledges with dumortierite halos cut the tourmaline breccia, suggesting Cerro Chiquitin is part of an uplifted block that reveals the roots of a CBA-type hydrothermal system, and is consequently more deeply eroded.

Tourmaline breccias are common in Paleocene porphyry copper systems of northern Chile and have been described at Lomas Bayas, Sierra Gorda, Pampa Lina, and Spence, so the tourmaline breccia encountered at Cerro Chiquitin, together with the D- and A-type quartz veinlets, is considered important evidence for a porphyry system in the vicinity.

Historic drill testing at CBA is restricted to 9 RC holes for which results are available to the Company, particularly limited given the size of the hydrothermal alteration system(s) and the extent of post-mineral cover, and these holes are supportive of the interpretations made. Historic drilling includes 3 approximately 300m RC holes drilled by Teck in 2018 directed towards a small magnetic high under post-mineral cover to the immediate east of CBA hill. These holes cut approximately 80m of gravel cover, followed by supergene argillic alteration in a leached capping for a further 50 to 150m, and then sericitic alteration to the end of the holes, none of which cut the source of the magnetic feature. Drill hole CBA036 on the southwest flanks of CBA hill cut anomalous copper and arsenic values throughout the drill hole (420m @ 84 ppm Cu and 43.5 ppm As respectively), including 40m @ 304 ppm Cu (258 - 298m) and 2m @ 0.1% Cu (272 -274m). Drill hole CBA042 (188m) at Cerro Chiquitin cut several intervals with anomalous gold (up to 0.35 ppm), silver (up to 2.9 ppm), antimony (up to 152 ppm), lead (up to 2240 ppm) and zinc (up to 2870 ppm) associated with zones of dense quartz veining associated with argillic alteration.

CBA hill and Cerro Chiquitin are currently regarded as priority drill target areas, but data integration is continuing, and some electrical geophysical surveying is required to help refine targets and is currently being planned.

Technical information in this news release has been approved by Mario Orrego G., geologist and a registered member of the Chilean Mining Commission and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Orrego is a consultant to the company.

Reference to existing or historic mines and projects, and the overall mineral potential of Chile, is for reference purposes only. The reader is cautioned that there is no evidence to date that comparable resources could be found on Pampa Metals' properties.

ABOUT PAMPA METALS

Pampa Metals is a Canadian company listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE: PM). Pampa Metals owns a 100% interest in an outstanding 59,000-hectare portfolio of eight projects prospective for copper and gold located along proven mineral belts in Chile, one of the world's top mining jurisdictions. The Company has a vision to create value for shareholders and all other stakeholders by making a major copper discovery along the prime mineral belts of Chile, using the best geological and technological methods. For more information, please visit Pampa Metals' website here www.pampametals.com.
Chinese company launches prototype space mining spacecraft

Xinhua) 10:27, April 28, 2021

GUANGZHOU, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A prototype space mining spacecraft was sent into its planned orbit on Tuesday from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province.

The spacecraft NEO-01, developed by Chinese commercial aerospace company Origin Space Co., Ltd., was among a total of nine satellites sent into space by a Long March-6 rocket on Tuesday.

Su Meng, founder of Origin Space, said experiments will be carried out to test the spacecraft's capabilities in asteroid mining and space debris removal.

Su added that NEO-01 will serve as a prototype of future space mining robots, which can use rich mineral resources on asteroids to support the development of the space industry.

Founded in 2019 and based in the southern Chinese tech hub Shenzhen, Origin Space has been dedicated to exploring and utilizing space resources, according to the company.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Announced back in January, fans who have been awaiting updates for "One Ordinary Day" can now know where and when to watch it. It seems that it might not be as easily accessible as other Korean thrillers out there.

If it is good enough, however, it will not even matter, as people will certainly flock to whatever platform it is showing.

"One Ordinary Day" Series: Where and When to Watch

The show is Coupang Play's first-ever exclusive content offering. Therefore, those who will become interested in the thriller, or who are always on the lookout for one, can watch it only on this platform. Coupang Play is a local streamer that is yet to gain traction compared to other platforms, so its first exclusive content should truly be something.

"As our first exclusive content offering, we will present a high-quality series to paid membership users," a Coupang Play official said in a statement. The show is set to premiere in November.

What is Coupang Play?

Coupang Play is the video streaming service of the e-commerce film Coupang. While Coupang is already known in South Korea, it is only just now that it has delved into the world of video streaming.

It has ambitious goals, as it plans to compete with both global and local streamers, which include the likes of Netflix and HBO. It will also compete with Wavve and Watcha Play, two popular local streaming services.

"One Ordinary Day" Cast and Plot

The new thriller will feature Kim Soo-Hyun and Cha Seung-won.

Kim will be playing a college student named Hyun-Soo. This character's life will be turned upside down when he is accused of committing a crime he has zero memory of. On the other hand, Cha will play the lawyer, Joong-Han, who will do everything he can to hel[Hyun Soo fight a complicated legal battle and secure justice for him.

Why is "One Ordinary Day" Worth Watching?

One Ordinary Day" may be original and exclusive content of Coupang Play, but it has a storyline that might be familiar to many, even those outside of Korea, particularly those living in Britain.

This is because "One Ordinary Day" is a remake of BBC's British series, "Criminal Justice." It will have a total of eight episodes, so it is not that long. It will revolve around a young man falsely accused of murder. The problem is, the man himself cannot remember anything, which makes defending himself complicated.

The original British series only had 5 episodes on the first season, so "One Ordinary Day" has three more extra episodes to probably fit in elements that are more suited for a Korean audience. The BBC show also has a second season. It remains to be seen if "One Ordinary Day" will get to have a second season, which probably depends on whether the first season will do well first.

The show is to be directed by Lee Myung-woo. The director already has a solid portfolio, including fine shows such as SBS's "The Fiery Priest," which was shown in 2019, as well as "Backstreet Rookie," which showed in 2020. These are fairly recent works that have showcased his directing skills.

"One Ordinary Day" is written by Kwon Soon-gyu, who also has an impressive script portfolio. His writing can be appreciated in SBS's "Warrior Baek Dong-soo" (2011) and "Jackpot" (2016).

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars.

Kdramastars owns this article.

Written by Annie Dee.
ALLENDALE, MI  A Michigan couple seeking to change lives through higher education has donated millions to universities in the Midwest, including a $19 million donation to Grand Valley State University to fund scholarships for students from working families.

Bob and Ellen Thompsons latest financial gift, totaling $52 million, will support more than 5,200 students at GVSU, Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan Technological University and Bowling Green State University through the Thompson Working Families Scholarships, according to a Grand Valley news release.

RELATED: Saginaw Valley State University gets its largest gift ever, $6M for scholarships

The Detroit-area couple previously donated a total of $11.5 million to Grand Valley prior to this most recent donation. Since 2008, more than 1,150 GVSU students have received scholarship funding from the Thompsons.

Another 325 new students are expected to benefit from the Thompson Working Families scholarship next year, according to GVSU financial aid officials.

The Thompsons program is the largest private scholarship program at GVSU, according to the college.

The couples scholarship program began in 2011, when Ellen Thompson recognized a gap in financial support for students from working families, the release said.

The Thompsons, who built their wealth through their asphalt company, were inspired to create the scholarship program because they understood the grit and determination of working-class families, according to a news release.

I see how long and hard some people work, and the dreams they have for their children, Ellen Thompson said in a prepared statement. Weve been fortunate and want to help students realize those dreams.

Students who receive the Thompson Working Families Scholarships must maintain a specified grade point average and commit to community service hours, according to the news release. The universities agree to provide necessary resources, including counseling and tutoring, to maintain high cohort graduation rates.

The scholarship program provides $5,000 per student from the Thompsons, which is matched with an additional $5,000 from the university.

Bob Thompson said he hopes the scholarship funds will encourage recipients to someday pay it forward.

You can do things to help others, one-on-one, and make it happen, he said in a prepared statement. Youre almost obligated by me to do that. Do what you can and someday I hope youll look back and say, This changed my life.

President Philomena Mantella called the scholarship program a game changer.

At Grand Valley, we have many students who are the first in their families to attend college, and we know education is a game changer, well, so is the incredible generosity of Bob and Ellen Thompson, Mantella said in the news release.

Because of their focus on hard working families and students, more young people are receiving the support they need to prepare for their future.

Mallory Bosma, a Zeeland native majoring in social work at GVSU, said receiving this scholarship allows her to make progress toward a debt-free degree.

Receiving this scholarship helps allow me to continue my degree without having to take any breaks due to not being able to pay tuition, Bosma said in a prepared statement. I want to pursue my masters degree immediately and having the opportunity to prevent debt makes that goal attainable.

More on MLive:

Thousands of Michigan students will get free WiFi hotspots and internet for remote learning

$500K donation brings sports complex one step closer to reality in Flint

GRCC receives largest single donation ever of nearly $10 million
Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) today held its Annual General Meeting of shareholders ("AGM") at Trafalgar Court, Les Banques, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3QL. At the AGM, shareholders passed resolutions to: receive the annual report and the financial statements, renew PSH's share buyback authority, re-appoint PSH's auditor, authorize the Directors to determine the remuneration of the auditor, permit the disapplication of shareholders' pre-emption rights for any share issuance of 10% or less, re-elect PSH's current directors with the exception of Richard Battey and Richard Wohanka, and elect Tope Lawani, Rupert Morley and Tracy Palandjian as directors of the Company. All resolutions were passed on a poll. In accordance with the tenure policy of the Board, Mr. Battey, who has served as a Director for nine years, retired at the AGM and did not offer himself up for re-election. Mr. Wohanka, who has served as a Director for three years, retired at the AGM and did not offer himself up for re-election due to other commitments.

The specifics of those resolutions can be can be found in the Notice of Annual General Meeting available on the Company's website: https://pershingsquareholdings.com/company-reports/notices-shareholders/.

The results of the proxy voting of PSH's Public Share are noted in the chart below. A vote withheld is not a vote in law and has not been counted in the votes for or against a resolution. PS Independent Voting Company Limited ("VoteCo") voted its Special Voting Share in favour of the resolutions. The percentages in the chart aggregate the results of voting by the Public Shares and VoteCo. VoteCo is not permitted to vote on resolutions 4 and 11 which are Specified Matters for purposes of the UK Listing Rules.

Resolution For Against Votes Withheld Resolution 1: Receive the annual report and the financial statements Ordinary Resolution of all Voting Shares 108,872,656

100.00% 0

0.00% 735 Resolution 2: To re-appoint the Company's auditor Ordinary Resolution of all Voting Shares 108,796,402

99.98% 75,104

0.02% 1,885 Resolution 3: To authorise the directors to determine the remuneration of the auditor Ordinary Resolution of all Voting Shares 108,803,918

99.98% 68,248

0.02% 1,225 Resolution 4: To re-elect Nicholas Botta as a Director Ordinary Resolution of the holders of Public Shares 105,960,416

97.33% 2,909,177

2.67% 3,798 Resolution 5: To re-elect Anne Farlow as a Director Ordinary Resolution of all Voting Shares 106,011,961

99.07% 2,857,632

0.93% 3,798 Resolution 6: To re-elect Bronwyn Curtis as a Director Ordinary Resolution of all Voting Shares 108,598,769

99.91% 270,824

0.09% 3,798 Resolution 7: To re-elect Andrew Henton as a Director Ordinary Resolution of all Voting Shares 108,869,208

100.00% 385

0.00% 3,798 Resolution 8: To elect Tope Lawani as a Director Ordinary Resolution of all Voting Shares 101,742,083 97.69% 7,126,756

2.31% 4,552 Resolution 9: To elect Rupert Morley as a Director Ordinary Resolution of all Voting Shares 108,868,329 100.00% 510

0.00% 4,552 Resolution 10: To elect Tracy Palandjian as a Director Ordinary Resolution of all Voting Shares 108,868,413

100.00% 426

0.00% 4,552 Resolution 11: Authorising the Company to buy back shares Special Resolution of the holders of Public Shares 108,855,129

99.98% 17,527

0.02% 735 Resolution 12: Permitting the disapplication of pre-emption rights Special Resolution of all Voting Shares 108,857,660

100.00% 14,996

0.00% 735

A copy of the resolutions passed at the AGM has been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.

PSH also confirmed today that the next quarterly dividend of $0.10 per Public Share, as previously announced, is payable as follows:

Record Date Payment Date USD Dividend

Per Share DRIP Enrollment

Deadline Currency Election

Deadline 21/5/2021 18/6/2021 $0.10 28/5/2021 21/5/2021

A proportionate quarterly dividend will be paid to the Special Voting Share, based on its net asset value.

Shareholders may automatically reinvest cash dividends into PSH Public Shares through a Dividend Reinvestment Programme ("DRIP"). Details about the DRIP are available at https://pershingsquareholdings.com/psh-dividend-information/ and through shareholders' brokers.

Dividends will be paid in US dollars unless a shareholder elects to be paid in GBP. Interested shareholders must elect GBP no later than the Currency Election Deadline. Further details about the currency election, including how to select GBP, are available at Pershing Square Holdings' website https://pershingsquareholdings.com/psh-dividend-information/.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American domiciled companies.

Category: (PSH:CorporateActions)

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428006179/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact

Camarco

Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson +44 020 3757 4989, Media-PershingSquareHoldings@camarco.co.uk
This article is part of the Free Speech Project, a collaboration between Future Tense and the Tech, Law, & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law that examines the ways technology is influencing how we think about speech.

Every Friday night for the past five weeks, hundreds of young Cubans have stayed up into the early morning to start their weekend off with a taste of something illicit: uncensored information.

They are slipping past one of the worlds strictest censorship regimes to tune into This Week in Cuba, a Twitter-based live audio chatroom where prominent activists and social media influencers lead an open discussion of Cuban politics and current events.

While the Cuban government does not forbid Twitter use on the island, Cubans who use the platform to tweet against the regime risk harassment, intimidation, and arrest. Yet the intimate and ephemeral nature of the live audio discussions is encouraging Cubans to speak up about the problems plaguing their countryor simply to listen to their peers.

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The purpose of these spaces is to show people that there is more out there than what the government shows you, said Daniel Gonzalez, who organized and hosts the chats, at the opening of last Fridays edition of This Week in Cuba. The goal is simply to talk: to talk about what happened in Cuba this week, to say what you think, and to learn how to be respectful to those who disagree with you.

With roughly 200 users attending the latest get-together, This Week in Cuba has thus far built a modest following. Nonetheless, the free-flowing discussionswhich touch regularly on sensitive issues like political reform, anti-surveillance measures, and the conditions of hunger, misery and privation in Cuba, as one participant described it two weeks agohave already attracted some of Cubas most high-profile dissidents and journalists. And they are poised to grow further.

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The majority of mobile internet users in Cuba use Android, meaning they have never accessed Clubhouse, the iOS-based live audio application that caught fire last fall. This Week in Cuba is hosted on Twitters new live-audio platform, Spaces, which launched in March. The weekly chats therefore offer many Cubans their first taste of the live audio format that has already caused such a stir elsewhere in the world.

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This is a much more participatory and interactive medium, said Rafael Santos, a 35-year-old based in Havana who participated in the second This Week in Cuba.* It is a better platform for debate and exchange than what is available on YouTube or Facebook.

Santos said he decided to participate in the chats because it became impossible to ignore what is happening in Cuba. Due to the pandemic and the foibles of state-run economic planning, Cubas economy has cratered over the past year, sparking some of the largest protests against Cubas Communist Party in decades.

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While it is difficult to know for sure the demographics of the audience members who have attended each event, Gonzalezs promotional strategy has thus far catered to the youngand not necessarily to those who are politically active. To attract a broad audience to the events, Gonzalez, who left Cuba four years ago and now lives in Miami, enlisted the support of Cuban social media influencers, many of them in their early 20s. While some frequently posted about politics, many built their followings by dint of memes about sports, video games, and pop culture.

This  would be unthinkable in Cuba five years ago, said 21-year-old Ariel Falcon, one such social media influencer who has participated in the chats and helped promote them to his 17,000 Twitter followers. People live in different realities here in Cuba. Just to communicate and see what we have in commontheres no culture of doing that in Cuba.

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Enthusiasm for the live audio medium and savvy marketing are hardly the only reasons that the chats exhibit a high potential for growth.

Cubas sky-high mobile data prices and its stagnant economy can constrain Cuban internet users browsing habits. But This Week in Cuba, which so far has run for three to six hours at a time, has mitigated those challenges by exploiting a quirk of Cubas internet economy.

By starting late on Friday nights, This Week in Cuba coincides with a half-price discount in mobile data that Cubas sole telecommunications provider, ETECSA, offers daily between 1 and 6 a.m. The audio-only chats cost far less for Cubans than other media common among activists, such as streaming via Facebook or YouTube.

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In some ways, the excitement surrounding This Week in Cuba echoes what happened earlier this year in China, where internet users flocked to Clubhouse and spoke freely about issues censored on the countrys other social media platforms. But whereas China quickly stanched access to Clubhouse through the Great Firewall, Cuban authorities face few simple alternatives for suppressing This Week in Cuba.

Through ETECSA, the Cuban Communist Party routinely throttles internet access to outspoken dissidents and activists. Control over internet traffic down to the IP, HTTP, and DNS levels also enables it to block access to foreign news publications. But audio chats supported by multiple users on social media platforms lack an equivalent point of failure. Technically feasible solutions, like a wholesale ban on Twitter, would be costly politically.

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Still, it would be naive to ignore the possibility that politics might limit the growth of This Week in Cuba.

The open nature of Twitter Spaces, which any Twitter user can join, renders government surveillance trivial. And with internet censorship at the top of the Cuban Communist Partys agenda during its recent party congress, many fear the government is readying to tighten the reins over online speech. Even if it cannot block the discussions directly, the government could throttle individual users internet access, monitor what the participants say, or intimidate and coerce the attendees offline.

One participant in a recent This Week in Cuba event, a woman, declined to speak on the record about her experience. Asked why she felt comfortable talking within the chats but not to the press, she explained that she did not feel safe in the chats either. In reality, I dont think we feel safe. But for a little you forget that you live in a dictatorship and you express yourself freely, without worrying about the consequences.

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Several participants of This Week in Cuba, including Gonzalez, the organizer, said they operate under the assumption that the government is already monitoring the discussions. While some insisted that the chats did not cross any line or that the ephemeral nature of live audio insulated them against punishment, it is clear that the future of the chats is precarious.

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Twenty-two-year-old activist Ruhama Fernandez has participated in each edition of This Week in Cuba. A recipient of multiple death threats, constant surveillance, and two interrogations for her outspoken criticism of Cubas Communist Party, Fernandez said she now lives alone to protect her family members from being swept up in the governments efforts to silence her.

While she is skeptical that the chats can last much longer in their current form or that serious political reform is imminent within Cuba, Fernandez said it brings her joy to see how the chats, and social media more broadly, are changing the way Cubas youth see the world.

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Whats happening with the young is incredible, said Fernandez, who maintains a YouTube channel with more than 15,000 followers. They dont believe anymore in the lies of the revolution. They are starting to study beyond what they are taught in school.

Falcon, the 21-year-old social media influencer, also strikes a bittersweet tone when talking about the importance of participating in open forums like This Week in Cuba.

When you live in Cuba, you lose this sentiment of being optimistic, he said. I know the odds are a million to one that we can make a lasting change. But if we can make 10 people think in a better way, I can be happy with our accomplishments.

Correction, April 28, 2021: This article originally misstated Rafael Santos age. He is 35, not 25.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Dame Joan Collins, 87, looked typically glamorous on Tuesday in a pink blazer as she arrived for dinner at Craig's restaurant with her husband Percy Gibson, 56.

The British screen icon teamed her 89.99 jacket from high street store Zara with a satin pink shirt and straight-leg trousers for an evening at one of her favourite LA eateries.

She boosted her height with pointed suede heels while adding a touch of sparkle with ornate jewellery including a pearl necklace.

Elegant: Dame Joan Collins, 87, looked typically glamorous on Tuesday in a pink blazer from Zara as she arrived for dinner at Craig's restaurant in Los Angeles with her husband Percy Gibson, 56

Joan made safety fashionable as she clutched a velvet face mask, complete with a holding stick and glitzy beading.

The superstar swept her brunette locks back in a sleek ponytail while rocking a slick of red lipstick.

Her doting husband of 19 years held her hand and guided her past onlookers and into the restaurant.

Percy wore a complementing pink shirt and grey blazer which he paired with smart black jeans.

Night out: The British screen icon teamed her structured jacket with a satin pink shirt and straight-leg trousers for an evening at one of her favourite restaurants

He also made sure to prioritise safety amid the coronavirus pandemic with a surgical face mask.

Joan - whose marriage to Peru born Percy is her longest - recently told the Mail On Sunday's You magazine that she once turned down a pass from Robert F. Kennedy.

'Ethel, his widow, is still alive so I really dont want to go into it too much because I wouldnt want to hurt her,' she added diplomatically.

That was one of the things I said to him: "Im married, youre married." But he was so charismatic.'

Wow: She boosted her height with pointed suede heels while adding a touch of sparkle with ornate jewellery including a pearl necklace and a velvet face mask lined with glitzy beading

Sweet: The superstar swept her brunette locks back in a sleek ponytail while rocking a slick of red lipstick as her doting husband of 19 years guided her past onlookers and into the restaurant

Joan, who once starred in a movie called The B**** adapted by late sister Jackie from one of her own novels, has had a long and successful side-career as a raconteuse.

She has performed one-woman shows about her life with help from Percy and is also the author of multiple saucy books.

Her memoir Past Imperfect delivered a raft of stories about her career and love life, which included a turbulent engagement to Warren Beatty.

The London-born daughter of a theatrical agent, she enjoyed several affairs in between - and sometimes overlapping with - her various marriages.

Joan was married at 18 to her actor first husband Maxwell Reed, who spiked her drink and raped her on their first date and whom she eventually left after he attempted to sell her for an night to an Arab sheikh for 10,000.

Her later ex-husbands were Anthony Newley, with whom she had her daughter Tara and son Sacha, erstwhile Beatles manager Ron Kass, who sired her daughter Katie, and ex-pop act Peter Holm, whom she dismissively referred to post-divorce as 'the Swede
(Newser)  Though it's been widely reported that India's COVID-19 death toll is likely an undercount, the count it is putting forth passed the 200,000 mark on Wednesday. CNBC reports the 3,293 deaths logged brings the country's number of coronavirus fatalities to 201,187. New infections numbered 360,960 and were the seventh straight day above the 300,000 mark. The BBC makes the case that this surge is concerning not just for India but for the planet. It gives two reasons:

First, variants: With every infection comes the opportunity for the virus to evolve. More infections equal more opportunity, and the ultimate fear is that a mutation could arise that our current vaccines wouldn't work against.

Indeed, CNN reports that the recent surge synced with the appearance of a new Indian variant called B.1.617 and known as the "double mutant"meaning it features two mutationsthat scientists are still performing genomic sequencing on.

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People living in Hanoi are to be subject to compulsory medical declaration when returning to the capital city after the two public holidays of Reunification Day (April 30) and International Workers Day (May 1).

The compulsory medical declaration was among COVID-19 prevention and control measures that Hanoi chairman Chu Ngoc Anh requested leaders of department, agencies, and grassroots authorities to strengthen on Tuesday afternoon.

The Peoples Committee of Hanoi evaluated that the risk of resurgence remains, especially from people who make illegal entry into Vietnam, even though previous COVID-19 outbreaks were put under control quickly.

In addition, the negligence and complacency of the community have reached an alarming level.

Meanwhile, large numbers of people will travel to other localities during the two aforementioned public holidays, which will last for four days for the majority of workers in Vietnam, posing higher risks of carrying and spreading the pathogen.

Therefore, chairman Anh asked the municipal police to actively coordinate with relevant units to beef up the inspection of immigrants.

Anh requested cases of illegal entry, organizations, and individuals that help people to cross borders, accommodation establishments and hotels that accept illegal immigrants, and enterprises employing workers who have entered Vietnam illegally be strictly handled.

The Hanoi leader also assigned the municipal police to direct their lower units to strengthen the implementation and review of medical declarations.

People who return to Hanoi after the holidays will be subject to making a compulsory medical declaration.

Punishments will be stringently enforced on those who dodge the medical declaration or make false reports.

At the same time, local medical authorities must help people perform health declaration using quick response (QR) codes and require them to comply with the 5K recommendations, namely 'Khau trang' (face mask donning) - 'Khu khuan' (disinfection) - 'Khoang cach' (distancing) - 'Khong tu tap' (no gathering) - 'Khai bao y te' (health declaration), by the Ministry of Health.

Events and activities with large attendance shall also be restricted or strictly apply COVID-19 prevention and control measures if organized.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
South Carolina reported 403 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 28 new deaths April 28.

Here's the latest on the pandemic in South Carolina.

+2 Charleston County schools give out 200 COVID-19 vaccines to students in 2 days The district announced last week that it would begin offering Pfizer vaccines to students age 16 and older. Around 7,000 students fall within that age range, said Ellen Nitz, director of nursing services at the district.

1:30 p.m.  Two days into its partnership with a local hospital to vaccinate its student population, the Charleston County School District has vaccinated around 200 of its teenage students. Five hundred more are signed up for appointments. Read more.

Thousands more Greenville students return to 5 days in class, with COVID rate still 'high' A General Assembly resolution requires districts to open schools five days a week to any students wanting in-person instruction. On April 27, school board members in a special called meeting heard what that looks like in the state's largest school system.

Tuesday, 9:02 p.m.  Coronavirus is more widespread within Greenville Countys public schools than in the community as a whole and has been for most of the past 40 days, school leaders reported April 27.

They also warned that the number of students in quarantine could spike in days ahead under a new state mandate to allow anyone to return to in-person school five days a week. Read more.
An Army infantry officer out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, has designed a smartphone training app that nearly doubled his battalion's success rate at earning the coveted Expert Infantryman Badge, or EIB, last year.

First Lt. Egor Krasnonosenkikh, a platoon leader with 7th Infantry Division's 4th Battalion, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, created the EIB Pro by teaching himself how to program through YouTube videos and other online resources while cooped up at home during the early months of the pandemic, according to an Army news release.

"I was at home and on my computer anyway, so I figured I'd do something that's useful," said Krasnonosenkikh, who earned his EIB in 2019 despite his dissatisfaction with the Army's traditional paper study guide.

Read Next: The Marine Corps Is Known as a Force of Young Warriors. That's About to Change

"I really disliked that little book that we got, which always got destroyed easily," he said.

Each year, infantry soldiers who have not earned the distinctive badge, which consists of a silver musket mounted on a blue field, must go through EIB testing -- a series of 30 infantry tasks, ranging from land navigation, small arms and first aid to completing a 12-mile road march in under three hours.

In 2018, Army officials at Fort Benning, Georgia, ran a pilot to update EIB standards for the modern battlefield that led to changes in tasks such as indirect fire, soldier movement under fire, hand grenades, CPR and casualty care under fire.

Krasnonosenkikh's EIB Pro app, which is free on the Android and Apple stores, features videos, written instructions and a step-by-step guide on the EIB's tasks, conditions and standards, according to the release. There's also a progress tracker that measures a user's task confidence and repetitions per task lane.

Since its creation, EIB Pro has been downloaded more than 11,000 times and in 65 different countries, according to the release.

The new app seemed to make a difference for the soldiers in Krasnonosenkikh's battalion, which had a success rate of 28.5% -- almost double the brigade's average, the release states.

"There were soldiers that told me without my app, they don't think they would have gotten it; I've even heard that from captains and majors," said Krasnonosenkikh, who will soon start a new job writing apps for Army Futures Command.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: Grunts Will Soon See Changes to Expert Infantryman Badge Testing
The tax code classifies people as "rich" by looking at their income and their wealth, and subjects them to higher taxes. The tax code does not distinguish between those who don't spend on anything that would identify them to the outside world as "rich": mansions, art, fashion, jewelry or yachts, say a Warren Buffet, and those indulging themselves in such conspicuous consumption.

The former are workaholics, entrepreneurs, who pour back most of their income into their business, start-ups, venture capital and keep a fraction in savings. Outsiders will not perceive much conspicuous consumption - except, perhaps, having an apartment in Manhattan or Silicon Valley close to workplaces. Is this person "rich'? Yes. Does he behave as "rich," becoming an eyesore for the envious and those who covet? No.

What happens if you tax away a large fraction of such peoples income? They will have less to invest and save, matching talents they select with their capital.Instead the government will do the matching  drawing on politicians and bureaucracies far more limited experience in carrying out such matching in an accountable manner.

If a rich person according to the tax code classification spends money on mansions, vacation homes, cars, private planes, jewellery, art, high-fashion and fancy vacations, society would be better off taxing such consumption, rather than taxing too high the savings and investments of workaholic entrepreneurs and innovators. This argument suggests that a significant part of the tax burden should thus take the shape and form of sales taxes. Yet that's not quite the practical implication of the above arguments, because I left out two main points.

One is that when sales taxes are high, people can avoid paying them by not declaring transactions. This is one reason that even France realized that it better tax home repair at 5.5% rather than at the roughly 18% tax rate it once imposed (still imposed on most consumption items).At 18% percent, much home repair and construction were done under the table. Italy, Spain, Greece have not yet come to such realization that high and complex taxes lead to much evasion and avoidance, though their governments and central banks do occasionally admit that their official statistics are unreliable because of their large and fluctuating black markets.

As long as neighbouring countries or states have significantly lower sales taxes, a large underground economy would result - as happened for years with cigarettes both within the US and on the US-Canadian border too as sales taxes in the US are much lower on cigarettes than in Canada, and they also vary among US states. The differences in taxes (and prohibitions too, of course) bring about spending more on police, prisons and border patrols, and a weakening respect for laws. In Europe now, people also avoid high taxes by moving to a lower tax jurisdiction within the European community, evading the exit tax  a move Gerard Depardieu, the great French actors popularized when moving from high taxed France to neighbouring lower taxed Belgium (as such move is not subject to exit tax, whereas move to outside of the EU is). Janet Yellens chances of agreeing on similar taxes across some countries are slim to non-existent.

Briefly, just as too high taxes on income and capital have severe detrimental effects, so do "too high" sales taxes or VATs have their own significant negative impacts. There are no absolutes in domestic taxation: When people consider taxes too high for what governments deliver, they would evade and avoid it domestically, and also avoid it by voting with their feet and move to friendlier jurisdictions  see the migration to Florida and Texas from California and New York.

In addition to such moves to avoid and evade taxes, taxes should take into account the impact of that incalculable element called "luck."

There are the genetic accidents of spectacular good looks, eye-hand-feet coordination, memorable voices. Fortunes can be built on them in sports, fashion and the media, often with relatively little effort and at young age. Taxing some of the rents received on these "natural resources" - genetic accidents - would not deter its owners from changing careers and stop doing the catwalks, do their best in sports, movies, performing in stadiums or on the Net. Their second best career alternatives are so inferior in terms of incomes (become a sport trainer? A secretary?), that perhaps it is not so surprising that Hollywood and very successful artists and sportsmen are often prominent favouring higher taxes on incomes of the "rich."

They extrapolate superficially from their own experience justly believing that even if paid $2 million for a movie, rather than $20 million, would not affect their performance  so wouldnt that be the case for people in the $100-$200K range too (never mind if these people may be already in their 50s)?

Similar arguments apply to successful innovators and entrepreneurs. Google founders solved search algorithms doing their PhDs at Stanford. Mark Zuckerberg was at Harvard, and solved the problem of rating young women. Mike Bloomberg was in his 40s, when was fired and started his company, and Henry Kravis often mentioned that if Bear Stearns agreed to compromise about compensations, he would not have started his company, and would have become much less wealthy.

These and many other founders often admit that they neither anticipated the riches, nor did the riches come as consequence of the initial problems they solved. Google founders did not think about advertising, and neither did Zuckerberg, suggesting that parts of their wealth could be taxed  without impacting their own behaviour. Same about innovators and entrepreneurs during earlier times: Charles Goodyear accidentally spilled some rubber with sulphur on a work stove - and stumbled on "vulcanization." Percy Spence at Raytheon, the military contractor, walked by a magnetron, the chocolate bar melts in his pocket - and there came the microwave oven. And when communism suddenly went up in a puff, the "peace dividends" came in variety of unanticipated ways and forms.

At first sight the above suggests that if you tax away part of the effect of luck - no investment pattern in the society would change. Inventors and entrepreneurs would not make less efforts. But now recall the old adage that luck favours the prepared mind," implying that by taxing away the chances to be lucky (even from genetic accidents)  you may lose the prepared minds  the talents whom these successful entrepreneurs spot, groom, matching them with their capital. The more these entrepreneurs and innovators wealth was taxed the lesser would be their ability to match prepared minds with capital, and grooming the starts ups and ventures.

What about inheritance? Do the above arguments apply there too? The answers here are more complex. Rich parents know that unless they educate their children to be disciplined they risk the kids leading a dissolute lifestyle. Religious education may prevent that  though the three-generation-shirtsleeves-to-shirtsleeves pattern across countries and time suggests that parents have not always successful to prevent such generational declines in family businesses. Few such businesses survive over generations in open societies  that is, societies with deeper financial markets.

If parents do not give their offspring such education  there will be downward social mobility for them, and upward social mobility to whoever gets paid from such inherited money. However, if the parents and their offspring are prudent, not pursuing conspicuous consumption (not provoking envy and coveting and wrath of Gods), taxing inheritance (family businesses in principle, if not by name) "too high has similar impact to taxing entrepreneurs too high. The high taxes transfer the solutions from matching talent and capital from private hands to politicians and bureaucracies with more questionable accountability, resulting thus in more mismatching, and thus reduced prosperity.

Briefly: if "too much" is taxed away, there would not be enough money left to bring "vulcanization," "microwaves," and plenty of innovations and entrepreneurship to fruition, matching more prepared minds with private capital, whatever its source. In order to sustain a society where "luck needs the prepared mind" - better err on the side of having enough savings and capital in the hands of those financing the options of such minds more accountably. By doing the opposite, there are more chances of creating a "luckless," hopeless society  a recipe for instability or tragic stagnation.

So what's the solution concerning taxes for a society that wants to stumble into a stable society whose members and offspring have hopes of pursuing their luck?

Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis IV's finance minister said that "The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers with the least possible amount of hissing." This statement is incomplete: Pay too much attention to the hissing of the increased number of people who get benefits from the government, but hardly pay taxes, and you'll quickly get a "luckless," unhappy society by mismatching people and capital.

Though I started this piece with discussion about the form of taxes - and these are important - the conclusion suggests to first have a debate about the total taxes that society can pay without killing the geese that lay the golden eggs. This is the inflection point societies find themselves at from time to time. Myopia and political rhetoric can gradually bring democracies to kill the geese for the simple factual observation made above: Every society must match its people with capital. Very few managed to have the institutions to hold people, capital and matchmakers reasonably accountable. Except in one country, democracy does not solve this problem.

Only Switzerland managed to find a solution how with the expansion of government it could hold bureaucracies and politicians accountable. Their unique direct democracy achieves such accountability. Politicians have little power passing stimulus bills, baskets of spending, and there isnt much distinction between the major parties since each and every major spending idea is subject to referenda and initiative, and all spending the government plans, can be voted down.

About a century ago, the US was trending toward such a system of governance. A range of crises  the Great Depression, WWII, the Cold War, then the 1973, 2000, 9/11, 2008 and now Covid  prevented a discussion on how the US can emulate features of this unique and successful Swiss experiment, and restore accountability at all levels of governments. Who, knows, perhaps this Covid crisis  and risk of if not default, then falling significantly behind other countries - would lead the US to re-examine the fundamentals of accountability in government, of which taxes are just one component.
One hundred years ago today, Fred Absolon was convicted in the robbery-homicide of Robert Lee Kirby at the Blue Ridge State Bank, southwest of Houston. A jury sentenced him to life in prison even though prosecutors had sought the death penalty.

"When the verdict was read, Mrs. Kirby, wife of the slain bank cashier, who has been following the trial closely, fainted and dropped to the floor," reporter C.C. Mayes wrote.

The bank had only been open for a few days when the robbery occurred. Kirby originally lived in the Heights, on 22nd St. just off Yale.

Press reports indicate he put up a valiant struggle when Absolon attacked him inside the bank.

"If that sneaking ------- hadn't run into the vault I wouldn't have killed him," Absolon reportedly told investigators after his arrest on Feb. 19, 1921. "I tried to open the vault door to let him out. I wanted to keep him from smothering. He came out at me with the safe crank and made a pass at me. We fought back in the vault -- tussled for the gun -- and Kirby shot me in the leg. I got the gun away and let him have it."

Absolon's story came to an end in Huntsville nearly a year later when he succumbed to injuries received in an explosion in the machine shop at the penitentiary there.

* The other story big story that day was about the search for Santos Rapolle of Dickinson, wanted in the death of his wife, Rosa. Her decomposed body was found in a wooded area a few days earlier just outside the Heights.

Rapolle killed himself in a Kansas City church on May 1, 1921. A cryptic note found on him gave some clue as to a motive for the killing: The Chronicle reported "that an operation had been performed on his wife and that he did not want her to live in that condition."

Click on the image below to enlarge.

(Click to enlarge)
As the U.S. and Iran discuss a way back to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that Donald Trump abandoned three years ago, I recall a meeting in 2016 with an American official who helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal in which I raised my concerns about it.

That was a year after Id left the Israeli team that worked on the deal with our counterparts in the U.S. and Europe. I wasnt surprised by the outcome, but I was very frustrated. During our deliberations the Americans showed much appreciation for our advice about how to guarantee their goals would be achieved, but they yielded to most of the Iranians demands.

In that 2016 meeting, I emphasised that, among other faults, the JCPOA provided Iran with a safe path to a large nuclear arsenal after 15 years, when, before the deal, it would have had to cross a dangerous threshold on its way to a first bomb under painful economic sanctions.

My interlocutor agreed, but said, Look, during the first five to seven years of the deal, we get more than what we givereferring to Irans commitments to reduce the amount of enriched uranium it possessed and the level of enrichment and to halt the plutonium path in return for the lifting of sanctions. From there on, he said, you are right and the situation becomes more dangerous in every passing year. Therefore, the U.S. president at that time is going to have to reassess, and if it seems that our expectations that Iran would change its behaviour do not come true, the president will have to leave the agreement. This is why we insisted on the snapback mechanism through which we can reimpose all the sanctions unilaterally.

Five years have elapsed and Iran did not meet the Obama administrations expectations.

It seems Iran lied from the beginning about the military dimensions of its nuclear program. Just recently, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that it had found anthropogenic uranium particles in at least two sites that Iran never declared to the agency. Three years ago, Israel revealed that Iran kept an archive of its nuclear program that included a well-documented record of its persistent lies to the IAEA.

Under the JCPOAs terms, such deception should have caused the IAEA to stop the deal from coming into effect in the first place.

On top of that record of deception, Iran revealed recently that it did not fill the calandria of its heavy-water reactor at Arak with cement as required under the agreement.

Over the past two years, Iran has violated its commitments under the JCPOA in such an irreversible manner that, even according to IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, it is now all but impossible to return to the original deal.

For example, under the deal, Iran could start enrichment with advanced centrifuges such as the IR-6 only after 10 years, in 2025. Yet it has already begun doing so.

Iran also never ceased its support for terrorism and its subversive activities around the Middle East and kept developing ballistic missiles that can be used as delivery systems for nuclear weapons. Furthermore, the regime has kept up its human rights abusesas evidenced by the case of Kylie Moore Gilbert and the executions of hundreds of people for dissent, including wrestling champion Navid Afkari.

Irans original intention, according to the seized nuclear archives, was to have five nuclear bombs by 2003, but under the JCPOA the goal has become much bigger. That arsenal is intended to enable Iran not only to deter foreign threats but to become a regional and global superpower, spread its version of Islam in the Middle East and beyond, and help erase Israel from the map.

Its path to that nuclear arsenal is again facing dangerous hurdles. Given Trumps decision to leave the JCPOA and adopt a maximum pressure policy towards Iran based on renewed American sanctions, any Iranian attempt to break out and build the bomb may lead to American or Israeli military reaction while Iran is still unprepared to overcome it.

Iran is now engaged in brinksmanship to force a return to the JCPOA on its terms and is taking escalating steps that bring it closer to having nuclear weapon capabilities. Building on Western fears of a confrontation with Iran, Tehran has been emboldened to make considerable progress in its nuclear program, launch attacks on Saudi oil facilities and Israeli interests, and test the Wests patience in the hope that these steps will lead the U.S. to accept its terms for re-entering the agreement. However, aware of their own vulnerabilities, the Iranians are careful not to cross any red lines that, in their estimation, may trigger a harsh reaction.

Iran prefers a return to the JCPOA because its the only safe path to having the capability to produce a large nuclear arsenal, even if it may take a little longer. In the meanwhile, the deals economic terms afford Iran the resources it needs to stabilise the situation at home and in the four countries it is trying to control (Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen) while expanding its aggressive activities against its adversaries, including Israel and Saudi Arabia.

For Iran, the alternatives to the JCPOA are much less appealing. The economy is in a shambles, domestic stability is threatened and completing the nuclear project would be perilous.

So, why does the Biden administration insist on returning to the JCPOA? Factors include a belief in diplomacy, a reluctance to use pressure as a tool, a commitment to the legacy of the Obama administration (most of those who worked on the JCPOA then hold key positions in the new administration), a determination to overturn almost anything Trump did, and a fear of confrontation.

President Joe Biden and his team realise that there are many deficiencies in the JCPOA, but their main goal is to avoid escalation and to keep kicking the Iran nuclear can down the road. They certainly know that after they return to the deal and lift the sanctions on Iran, theyll have no leverage to convince Tehran to change the deal, except the snapback option, which effectively ends the JCPOA. So, their announced policy of negotiating to improve the deal after the U.S. rejoins the JCPOA is simply empty words.

The only way to fix the problem is to use the sanctions to convince Iran to accept a deal that doesnt have sunset clauses anywhere nearly as short term as those in the JCPOA; that guarantees real monitoring anytime and anywhere (including access to Iranian scientists); that dismantles military components of the program such as the Fordow underground uranium enrichment facility; that limits considerably the number and types of centrifuges Iran is allowed to have; and that prevents Iran from developing delivery systems, namely long- and medium-range ballistic missiles.

The deal should also address Irans other malign activities, such as supporting terrorism and insurgencies throughout the Middle East and elsewhere, and human rights violations within Iran.

The Biden administration justifies its policy by claiming that the maximum-pressure policy failed because Iran didnt succumb and instead escalated violations of the deal.

The truth is the exact opposite. The pressure was so effective that Irans main goal has been to rid itself of the sanctions, and everything it has done has been focused on achieving that. This pressure gives the U.S. a formidable starting point for negotiating a new and much better deal.

Unlike Trump, Biden has a much better chance of forming a coalition to maintain that pressure with Europe and other Western players such as Japan and Australia. Middle East allies like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will help too. The recent sabotage at the Natanz enrichment facility, which clarifies again that there are alternative or complementary ways to halt Irans nuclear program, may be exploited by the U.S. administration as additional pressure on Iran.

What is the point of wasting this strong leverage by bringing Iran back into the JCPOAwhich is where it wants to go anyhowand only trying to negotiate a better deal once that leverage is gone?
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.

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AMHERST  A nationwide University of Massachusetts Amherst/WCVB poll released today finds that Americans support a variety of election reforms, including both those that make voting easier, but also enacting voter ID requirements.

Their preferences showed a leaning to neither the Democratic or Republican parties, but support for aspects of voter reform favored by each.

From automatic registration to making the option to vote by mail a permanent fixture of American elections, clear majorities of Americans favor making voting easier in the United States, said poll director Tatishe Nteta, a UMass associate professor of political science.

There is something for both Republicans and Democrats to like  or hate  from what Americans think about electoral reform, said UMass political science professor Raymond La Raja, associate director of the poll.

To the chagrin of Democratic officials, the most popular reform is to require all voters to show ID to vote, with 67% of voters supporting this, and roughly a majority saying they strongly support it. It is most popular with Republicans, with an overwhelming 94% supporting it, compared to 71% of independents and 45% of Democrats.

On the other hand, voters love a basket of reforms pushed by Democrats, La Raja said. Overall, 57% favor making it a permanent option to vote by mail, 61% want Election Day to be a national holiday and 60% favor allowing former felons to vote after serving time.

Requiring photo ID in order to vote is quite popular with the public, enjoying majority support across age, education, income and racial groups, UMass political science professor and poll associate director Jesse Rhodes said.

The poll of 1,000 respondents conducted April 21-23 found that a bare majority of Americans (51%) think it is more important to prevent fraud in elections, even if it makes it harder to vote. One-third of respondents (32%) oppose this approach, while 17% are unsure.

Many Americans are worried about voter fraud, though these concerns are felt most acutely among Republicans, conservatives and Trump voters, Rhodes said.

Party elites have staked out very clear contrasting positions on election reform, with Democrats seeking to make voting as easy as possible and Republicans pushing for measures ostensibly designed to reduce fraud, said Alexander Theodoridis, associate professor of political science at UMass Amherst and another associate director of the poll.

La Raja noted that the poll found one election reform issue Americans could agree upon.

Voters across both parties appear to think it is ridiculous not to be allowed to offer food or water while they are waiting in line to vote, he said of the recent law passed in Georgia. Sixty-seven percent oppose any bans on doing this, with a majority of 53% saying they strongly oppose this policy. I dont think Americans feel voters will change their ballot after getting a bottle of water and bag of potato chips.

The margin of error within this poll was 3.4%, according to the pollsters.

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When Joe Biden won the presidency, Floridas congressional Democrats thought they might finally get a chance to serve up his picks for federal judges.

But they had a significant hurdle: Floridas two Republican senators still dominated the commission that scrutinizes judicial candidates to be nominated by the Democratic president.

So, in an unprecedented move, longtime Democratic U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings and Debbie Wasserman Schultz created their own Florida judicial nominating commission earlier this year to compete with the GOP-controlled Senate panel  even though the House of Representatives has no authority to confirm federal judges for lifetime appointments. The Senate has that power.

The shifting political landscape has caused confusion for judicial candidates seeking to fill two openings for federal judges in the Southern District of Florida and a new vacancy for the U.S. attorneys job in the same region. Some said it is not clear who will have the last word in recommending finalists for each of the coveted positions.

The judicial openings in South Florida have been created by two U.S. District Court judges assuming senior status, Federico Moreno and Ursula Ungaro. The U.S. attorneys post became vacant with the recent resignation of Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan.

Among the several candidates who have expressed interest in applying for the judges two seats: U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra, Federal Public Defender Michael Caruso, Miami-Dade Circuit Judges Lisa S. Walsh, Tanya Brinkley and Miguel de la O, as well as Miami-Dade County Judge Ayana Harris.

The U.S. attorneys post has drawn the interest of former South Florida federal prosecutors Jacqueline Arango, Andres Rivero, David Buckner and Markenzy Lapointe, along with Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg.

In the end, President Biden has the sole authority to nominate whomever he wants to be a federal judge or U.S. attorney. But as senators, Floridas two Republicans, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, have the unique power to block anyone from being confirmed by the Senate. During the Obama administration, Rubio refused to issue a blue slip for two of the Democratic presidents nominees for federal judges in South Florida, Miami-Dade Circuit Judges William Thomas and Mary Barzee, preventing them from going through Senate confirmation hearings. As a result, their nominations stalled.

Story continues

Rubio, Floridas senior GOP senator who has played an influential role in picking judicial finalists over the past decade, declined to comment on the dueling Senate and House nominating commissions. But a spokesman for his office said Rubio has no intention of giving up any power over the selection of federal judges and U.S. attorneys in Florida, even though Biden is president.

As he has done his entire time in the Senate, Sen. Rubio will continue to rely on his own bipartisan commission to assist in fulfilling his role in the Senates constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on judicial nominees, spokesman Dan Holler told the Miami Herald.

A spokesman for Wasserman Schultz, who had been collaborating with the late Congressman Hastings before his death earlier this month, did not respond to a request for comment on the emerging power struggle between the House and Senate judicial advisory panels. In an email, the spokesman sent a statement by Wasserman Schultz saying the House panels goal is to produce a strong slate of candidates for federal judges in Florida.

I am confident that the diverse leadership of the regional Florida JNCs ... will take into account that diverse communities have too often been left out of these vital considerations on who should lead our system of justice, Wasserman Schultz said in the statement provided to the Herald. We are working to build a process that the public can trust to do this vital work and that will recommend diverse talent from the deep bench in our state, Wasserman Schultz said.

In a message to federal judicial applicants, Hastings said the new congressional nominating commission is not meant to compete with Rubios Senate judicial panel.

The establishment of these regional [judicial nominating commissions] is not intended to usurp the constitutional directive that the Senate provides advice and consent in the federal nominations process, Hastings message read. These conferences are simply designed to assist with the selection of suitable candidates to be considered by Floridas senators and the White House.

But in March, Rubio pushed back. He issued a statement saying he was not a participant in the congressional nominating commission, though he provided the names of Republicans as possible panel members at Wasserman Schultzs request because of their longtime working relationship in Congress.

Both Democratic and Republican legal observers said whoever wants to apply for the two federal judge openings and U.S. attorneys job in South Florida would be wise to submit their applications to both the Senate and House panels, which largely consist of lawyers, former judges and others with political connections.

I wouldnt advise any candidate to blow off the House panel, as President Biden may rely on it as a sounding board, said Miami attorney John Byrne, a former federal prosecutor who has been following the creation of the two Florida nominating commissions in recent months. But, at the end of the day, our federal judges are appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate, not the House.

As the only senator-approved commission right now, Sen. Rubios judicial advisory commission will play an essential role in the process, Byrne said.

A past member of two federal judicial nominating commissions  one picked by Rubio, the other selected by Rubio and former Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson  said he doesnt envision a competition between the two new Senate and House panels in Florida.

I would advise all candidates to apply to both the House panel and Sen. Rubios panel, said Jon Sale, a prominent white-collar defense attorney in South Florida. I do not see them as competing.

It was always my experience that the sole objective was to give advice to the senators regarding the selection of the most qualified candidates for one of the busiest and best benches in the United States, Sale said. I am sure that is the objective of both the House and Rubio panels now.

The seven-member House nominating commission in South Florida, which accepted applications for the two federal judge openings and U.S. attorneys post through last week, is headed by retired Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes. Retired Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Patiente also serves on the House panel. The panel, which includes five Democrats and two Republicans recommended by Rubio, plans to start interviewing judicial applicants in May.

Rubios 15-member judicial advisory panel is headed by two high-profile Florida Republicans, former Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and attorney Manny Kadre. But the panel also consists of a couple of well-known Democrats, including Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, who is a lawyer. Rubios panel is also accepting applications for the two federal judicial openings and the U.S. attorneys job.

Rubio has already indicated his support for former federal prosecutor Markenzy Lapointe, who, if nominated, would be the first Haitian-American U.S. attorney in South Florida.

The Biden administration has also shown a keen interest in Lapointe as the top federal prosecutor, according to sources familiar with the selection process.
North Carolina Judge Delays Public Release of Footage of Police-Involved Shooting

A North Carolina judge ruled on April 28 against the immediate public release of body camera footage in the officer-involved shooting death of Andrew Brown Jr.

Browns family attorneys, Black Lives Matter activists, and a coalition of media outlets have demanded the release of five body camera videos that purport to show deputies fatally shooting Brown while he was behind the wheel of his vehicle last week.

Judge Jeffrey Foster said that after hearing lawyers arguments from county officials and media outlets that sought the release of the footage, the videos contain material of a highly sensitive and personal nature and the release would create a serious threat to the fair, impartial, and orderly administration of justice.

Foster ruled that Browns family will be allowed to see all of the videos, but they wont be released to the public for at least 30 days, and no longer than 45 days. Browns son Khalil Ferebee, his immediate family, and a licensed North Carolina lawyer will be allowed to see all the videosbut the judge said they need to be redacted to hide officers identities.

While the bodycam footage only shows one perspective for a limited period of time, it might give the public some ability to understand what happened that day, Mike Cox, attorney for Pasquotank County, told the judge. Cox said he favors the release of the video to the media and Browns family, adding that it wont impede investigations by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble argued against releasing the footage, saying that the release would hinder a fair trial, risk deputies safety, and affect investigations. The video, he said, should be released as evidence if and when there is a trial.

H.P. Williams, an attorney on behalf of unnamed clients, said the footage shouldnt be released but said he wouldnt oppose releasing the video to the family as long as officers faces are redacted so they cant be identified.

The officers are very distraught over what happened. They feel for the family of Andrew Brown, Williams told the judge. But, as Mr. Womble described to you, we believe that the shooting was justified.

The family of Brown and their attorneys said they viewed the footage earlier this week. In a statement to The Epoch Times on April 27, attorney Ben Crump said that the video leaked earlier today shows what we already suspected: Andrew Brown Jr. was brought down by an inflamed modern-day lynch mob.

The footage shows an eerie resemblance to what we saw in Ahmaud Arberys modern-day lynching, except these were no vigilantesthese murderers were on the clock as law enforcement. We believe that once the long-awaited body camera footage is released, we will be able to fill in the gaps to this story and hold the officers responsible for Andrew Browns death accountable, he said.

Crump didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment about the judges ruling.

Earlier on April 28, Womble said that he disagreed with Browns family attorneys characterization of the mans death, saying that Brown struck the deputies twice with his vehicle.

As it backs up, it does make contact with law enforcement officers, he said, noting that in the video, the car stops again. The next movement of the car is forward. It is in the direction of law enforcement and makes contact with law enforcement. It is then and only then that you hear shots.

The deadly encounter unfolded on April 21 when Pasquotank County sheriffs deputies were serving a warrant on Brown and opened fire as he allegedly attempted to evade capture. Reports, citing arrest records, have said that Brown had a lengthy rap sheet stretching back to 1988, namely involving the dealing of crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine.
Endeavor Schools has achieved another milestone by acquiring its 60th school.

Endeavor Schools has achieved another milestone by acquiring its 60th school. The newest addition to the Endeavor Schools family is the Loudoun School for Advanced Studies (LSAS), a private middle and high school in Ashburn, Virginia, that seeks to engage and challenge young minds with real-world problems in a learning environment that promotes curiosity, self-reliance and citizenship.

With 60 schools in 13 states, Endeavor Schools is further cementing its status as one of the fastest-growing education companies in the country. The acquisition of LSAS comes just weeks after the company announced new acquisitions in Colorado and Georgia. So far in 2021, Endeavor Schools has added six new schools to its network. During that time, Inc. Magazine ranked Miami-based Endeavor Schools as the fastest-growing early childhood and private school company in Florida.

Endeavor Schools diverse 60-school portfolio includes high schools for advanced students, IB programs, Montessori schools, early childhood education, STEM-focused elementary schools and more. The company is embracing the idea that there are many ways to provide a superior education for young learners.

When our company was founded in 2012, our goal was to provide children with the best education possible so that they have the tools to thrive, said Ricardo Campo, the CEO of Endeavor Schools. With our incredible teachers across the country, we are accomplishing that goal every day. Reaching this new milestone is a testament to their skill and professionalism.

LSAS was founded in 2008 in Ashburn, Virginia, located about 35 miles west of Washington, D.C. The school focuses on developing students strength and confidence by creating an open and welcoming environment that promotes intellectual curiosity. With its stellar faculty and innovative curriculum, the school has achieved great success. In 2018, 100 percent of its students passed Advanced Placement exams, and in 2019, 18 percent of students were recognized as National Merit Scholars.

The faculty at Loudoun School for Advanced Studies have an impressive track record of bringing out the best in students, said Danielle Millman, the Chief Growth and Experience Officer for Endeavor Schools. Their credentials, dedication, and passion for teaching are extraordinary and we look forward to supporting them as they continue to provide students with an outstanding education.

About Endeavor Schools

Endeavor Schools is a leading education management company with a family of unique, well-established private schools that serve as pillars to their respective communities in a growing number of markets across the US. Each of the companys schools subscribe to proven, research-based curricula that is delivered by seasoned educators and are encouraged to embrace their own uniqueness and traditions. Endeavor Schools supports academic excellence by providing robust tools and resources to help each school thrive.

Founded in 2012, Endeavor Schools is headquartered in Miami, Florida. For more information, visit http://www.endeavorschools.com and follow the company on LinkedIn.


As the 2nd wave of coronavirus wreaked havoc in the nation, political rallies and gatherings continued in full swing, contributing to a rapid surge in coronavirus infections, leading to the collision of healthcare systems across the nation and loss of lives.

Ahead of election results on May 2, it is necessary to acknowledge the ongoing pandemic and how political gatherings have turned out to be super spreader events in the past weeks. As the 2nd wave of coronavirus wreaked havoc in the nation, political rallies and gatherings continued in full swing, contributing to a rapid surge in coronavirus infections, leading to the collision of healthcare systems across the nation and loss of lives.

Taking a lesson from the damage done due to these political events, all victory processions have been banned by the Election Commission of India on the day, or, after the day of counting. Elections were carried out in 5 states in 8 phases amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, however, no alarm was sounded by any prediction reports or experts of the upcoming crisis when these polling dates were announced by the EC. The spike in the number of Coronavirus was sudden and completely unpredicted.

The impact of increasing coronavirus infections was quite visible in the 7th phase of polls in Bengal as 34 constituencies recorded the lowest voter turnout. Only 59.91 per cent of voter turnout was recorded in South Kolkata while Murshidabad reported the highest turnout, 80.30 per cent. The total number of active Covid-19 infections in Bengal stands at 1,00,615 currently.

Also read: #MissionO2: Oxygen plants set up across India but availability of oxygen beds still a problem

Also read: France, US and other countries to send medical aid to India, UKs first shipment reaches Delhi

Assembly elections were held in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry. A notification released by the EC said that not more than two persons should be allowed to accompany the winning candidate or his/her authorised representative receive the certificate of election from the Returning Officer concerned.

Also read: Healthcare systems of metro cities collapse; Time we prepare non-metro cities for 2nd wave of Covid-19?
A blue plaque commemorating womens rights campaigner Caroline Norton has been unveiled by English Heritage.

The plaque has been placed on the outside of her former home in Mayfair, central London.

Ms Norton, who died in 1877, was a social reformer who successfully campaigned for legal rights for married women.

3 Chesterfield Street, Mayfair, London (English Heritage/PA)

Her separation from husband George Chapple Norton was one of the most highly publicised cases in 19th century Britain which resulted in important changes in the legal status of women, a statement from English Heritage said.

The conservation organisations curatorial director Anna Eavis said: Caroline Norton is an unsung hero in the fight for womens rights and, in remembering her with an English Heritage London blue plaque, we hope to bring her story to the attention of many more people.

Through her battles with the legal system in the mid 19th-century, she was directly responsible for safeguarding women from an abuse of power by their husbands.

She secured landmark victories for married women, changing the legal system by establishing their existence in the eyes of the law so as to protect their children, property, earnings and bequests.

Women owe her a great deal.

Lady Antonia Fraser (English Heritage/PA)

Lady Antonia Fraser, a biographer of Ms Norton, said: Im delighted that English Heritage is commemorating Caroline Norton.

In 1836, her husband George Norton unsuccessfully sued the Prime Minister Lord Melbourne for adultery with his wife.

Despite the court verdict of innocence, since a married woman had no legal rights, he was then able to exclude Caroline Norton from their home, prevent access to her three young children and benefit himself from her earnings as a writer.

What I admire about Caroline Norton was that instead of suffering in silence, as was expected of a woman at that time, she proceeded to campaign bravely for a change in the law and played an important part in 19th century legislation to bring justice to all women.
In this image from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, center, is taken into custody as his attorney, Eric Nelson, left, looks on, after the verdicts were read at Chauvin's trial for the 2020 death of George Floyd, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 20, 2021. (Court TV via AP, Pool)

Chauvin Sentencing in Floyd Death Pushed Back to June 25

MINNEAPOLISSentencing for former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in George Floyds death has been pushed back to June 25, according to online court records.

Chauvins June 16 hearing was reset by Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill. A brief entry Tuesday in the online court docket gave no reason, but court spokesman Spenser Bickett said it was moved due a scheduling conflict.

The hearing time remains 1:30 p.m. CDT.

Chauvin, 45, was convicted April 20 of all three counts against him: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Under Minnesota statutes hell only be sentenced on the most serious one second-degree murder.

While that count carries a maximum sentence of 40 years, experts say he wont get that much. They say that for all practical purposes, the maximum he would face is 30 years, and he could get less.

The convictions came after a jury deliberated for parts of two days following three weeks of testimony from bystanders, medical experts, and police use-of-force trainers.
TOKYO (TR)  A court here has overturned a previous ruling and found a male Dutch national innocent of smuggling stimulant drugs, reports TBS News

There remains reasonable doubt that the defendant willingly smuggled stimulant drugs, the Tokyo High Court said in handing down the acquittal on Monday.

In May 2019, the defendant, 46, was arrested for attempting to smuggle 1 kilogram of kakuseizai, or stimulant drugs, inside a suitcase as he passed through Haneda Airport.

A Dutch national was accused of smuggling stimulant drugs through Haneda Airport in 2019

Last year, the Tokyo District Court handed him a 7-year prison term and a fine of 3 million yen.

During that trial, the man said that he received the suitcase from a person he met on a dating site. I didnt think the bag I brought to Japan contained illegal drugs, he said.

The defense then appealed the ruling.

A lawyer expressed relief upon hearing that ruling had been overturned. We were able to show [people] overseas that a trial in Japan was fair, the lawyer said.
Luck of the Seahawk: UNCW a Winner in Tourism Irelands Global Greening Initiative

Though teal is its trademark, UNCW joined landmarks and buildings across the world in Tourism Irelands Global Greening initiative on March 17 in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

The Office of International Programs partnered with other campus units to pose Sammy Seahawk with Study Abroad Ambassadors in Ireland scarves, holding an Irish flag in front of the Burney Center fountain, which glowed green in honor of the occasion.

For its efforts, one UNCW student will receive a waived program fee to study abroad at Maynooth University next summer. The pot of gold includes tuition, housing, free round-trip airfare to the Emerald Isle and other associated costs for their education abroad experience.

UNCW is committed to making international learning experiences accessible for all students and is one of three recent recipients of NAFSAs prestigious 2021 Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award for Internationalization.

-- Caroline Cropp

#OIP

#GLOBAL
Photo: The Canadian Press Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux waits to appear before the Commons Finance committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 10, 2020.

A new report by the parliamentary budget officer says a federal infrastructure financing agency may not meet its near-term plan to more quickly fund projects to aid in an economic recovery.

As it stands, the budget office estimates that the Canada Infrastructure Bank will spend $3.8 billion of the $10 billion it has been asked to invest over three years.

Budget officer Yves Giroux's report says the only way for the agency to meet the goals the government has set for it would be through a rapid increase in spending.

The agency's chief executive said the more important figure to look at is the number of funding commitments the bank makes because it means financing is in place for a project to proceed, even if bank funding doesn't happen all at once.

"In our world, if I have signed a loan agreement with you to lend you money over the following four years as construction rolls out, that's a firm investment commitment and our goal is to rapidly increase the pace of those," Ehren Cory said in an interview.

"The moment we sign an investment commitment, the moment we finally reach financial close on a deal, the project is now happening. The private and institutional capital is now committed as well and the impact, we start to see it and the funds follow."

Cory added that short-term plans remain on track, pointing to six agreements over the last six months in projects that won't take years of development. One of those, for a large irrigation project in Alberta, will see its first payment from the bank next week, he said.

The Liberals created the Canada Infrastructure Bank in 2017, seeing it as a vehicle to use public dollars to leverage private investment and finance new, revenue-producing projects like transit and water systems. Investors could earn a return, and federal dollars could be freed up for a greater number of projects.

The agency was given $20 billion to hand out in repayable loans, and a further $15 billion in financing that wouldn't be repaid.

It made an early splash, financing Montreal's electric-rail system, known by the acronym REM, alongside the province's public pension plan.

Even though the agency has increased project payments annually by an average of 49 per cent, it would need to have year-over-year spending increases of 109 per cent to meet the three-year goal, or 61 per cent for the $35-billion mandate, based on Giroux's calculations.

His report estimated the infrastructure agency will spend less than half of the $35 billion given to it, or about $19 billion short of the 11-year funding goal.

"CIB has been spending much slower than planned, but funding delays are common for public-private infrastructure investment projects," Giroux said in a release.

The PBO's analysis suggests part of the problem is that nearly half of the projects reviewed by agency officials didn't meet the marching orders given to it by the government, such as not being big enough, or not having a private or institutional backer.

The other issue is the size of the projects being reviewed. In straight dollars, the value of projects reviewed by the CIB was 13 times larger than the federal agency it replaced, known as PPP Canada.

Larger projects take more time to review and get shovels in the ground, which is why the Liberals in October shuffled the bank's funding deck and asked it to focus on smaller, short-term funding plan.

"The recognition for us was we needed to be working at both speeds, especially given the pandemic (and) the need to make sure that what we did was contributing to economic recovery," Cory said.

The PBO's report said the COVID-19 pandemic could cause some delays in spending as construction timelines get pushed back or organizations rethink spending plans. That could spill over post-pandemic into the timing of bank payments as projects see an impact in their value or revenue projections, the report said.

Cory said he thought the pandemic has strengthened the pipeline of projects the agency is reviewing. He also said the pandemic hasn't had an impact on the overall outlook of potential investments.
Firm expands presence into US market and strengthens leadership position adding five trillion b2c interactions per year

Deal sees some of America's biggest brands join MessageBird's customer portfolio, including Disney, Zillow, PayPal, TheNew York Times, Adobe, LinkedIn, Pinterest, JP Morgan and others

Combined company will serve more than 25,000 customers, with 700 employees and have a run-rate of over $500 million

Deal becomes Europe's largest ever Series C round, and the second largest on either side of the Atlantic

MessageBird, the world's leading global omnichannel communication platform, today announces it has entered into definitive documentation to acquire US based SparkPost, the world's largest, first and only predictive email intelligence platform. The deal values SparkPost at $600 million, and the transaction is expected to close in Q2 following receipt of customary regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005600/en/

MessageBird Founder and CEO Robert Vis (Photo: Business Wire)

The acquisition represents another important step for MessageBird in building a global omnichannel platform to make communicating with a business as easy and natural as talking to your friends.

"The future of communications isn't siloed it's omnichannel," said Robert Vis, CEO of MessageBird. "Our acquisition of SparkPost will further strengthen our ability to serve customers through email as a powerful value channel, and with the most contextual, relevant information. We're also enthusiastic to expand our global business into the US market and leverage the acquisition as a logical and exciting next step in our mission to be the leading platform of choice for businesses to communicate with their customers on any channel, globally."

"By joining forces with MessageBird, we will be able to bring broader, deeper value to all of our customers through any digital communications channel," said Rich Harris, CEO of SparkPost. "Our companies are a great cultural fit, having both built teams that pride themselves on serving the enterprise and helping customers craft compelling, flexible solutions to challenging business problems."

"Eurazeo is proud to back Robert and the team," said Nathalie Kornhoff-Bruls, Managing Director at Eurazeo Growth. "MessageBird continues to revolutionise communication between businesses and their customers with an uncompromising focus on quality. With the success of the new Inbox and workflow automation tools and now the acquisition of SparkPost, we see MessageBird at an inflection point, further strengthening its position as the world's leading omnichannel platform-as-a-service."

MessageBird's market-leading platform allows businesses to communicate seamlessly with customers on the channels they use every day. Options for customers include out-of-the-box "lego blocks" solutions such as customer service-focussed Inbox, marcomms tool Campaign Builder, and Video for physical to digital as well as a full API suite for developer teams.

Channels that customers can access via the platform already include Live-chat, Video, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google Business Messages, Apple Business Chat, Voice, Messenger, WeChat, RCS, Line, and Telegram. Globally, email remains the largest business communication channel by volume, and this acquisition will bring the industry's most trusted email sending and deliverability platform into this already-extensive suite.

MessageBird's extended $1bn Series C now becomes the largest Series C round in Europe to date and second largest on either side of the Atlantic. The transaction was financed by Eurazeo, Tiger Global, Owl Rock, and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, with participation from all existing investors. Nathalie Kornhoff-Bruls from Eurazeo will also join the MessageBird board.

end -

About MessageBird

MessageBird powers communication between businesses and their customers across any channel, always with the right context, and on every corner of the planet. Its products and solutions are the foundational building blocks to business communications across preferred channels, like live-chat, Video, E-mail, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google Business Messages, Apple Business Chat, Voice, Messenger, WeChat, RCS, Line, and Telegram. Founded in Amsterdam in 2011, MessageBird connects to billions of devices and is trusted by nearly 20,000 customers. It operates across nine worldwide hubs and is proud to be a "Work Anywhere" company. www.messagebird.com

About SparkPost

SparkPost is the industry's most trusted email optimization platform. SparkPost helps senders reliably reach the inbox with powerful solutions to help them plan, execute and optimize their email programs. The SparkPost platform is powered by the industry's largest data network, a team of email experts to help brands elevate every aspect of their email program, and a security and compliance posture to support even the most regulated industries. SparkPost is the world's largest sender sending 4-5 trillion sends annually and also boasts the world's largest data footprint to help enterprise-level brands make data-driven decisions to improve their email performance. The world's most sophisticated senders, including The New York Times, Zillow, Adobe and Booking.com trust SparkPost to elevate their email. Learn more at www.sparkpost.com or connect via Twitter, LinkedIn or the SparkPost blog.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005600/en/

Contacts:

Media Enquiries

Tom Edwards

messagebird@archetype.co
United States to act firmly in response to Russia's actions that harm them or their allies, partners  diplomat

Russia started the conflict in the east of Ukraine, and it bears full responsibility for its end, and the United States has showed its determination to hold Russia accountable for its reckless actions, Acting Deputy Chief of the U.S. Mission to Ukraine Joseph Pennington said.

Pennington said in a video statement to participants in an online panel discussion hosted by the Yalta European Strategy on Wednesday, that the United States will act firmly in response to Russia's actions that harm them or their allies and partners. The United States continues to call on Russia to fully implement its Minsk commitments, withdraw its weapons and troops led by it from Ukraine and return Ukraine full control over its internationally recognized borders.

He said there has recently been the largest concentration of Russian troops on Ukraine's borders since 2014. According to him, these destabilizing actions by Russia undermine the intentions to de-escalate in eastern Ukraine, reached on July 27, 2020.

Pennington said the United States will continue to monitor the situation very closely.

He said the United States firmly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

The Deputy Chief of the U.S. Mission to Ukraine said President Joe Biden also emphasized this when he spoke with President Vladimir Putin on April 13, when he drew attention to our concern about the sudden buildup of troops by Russia in the occupied Crimea and on the borders of Ukraine, and called on Russia to reduce tensions.

He assured that the United States will remain committed to strengthening its strategic partnership with Ukraine.

The diplomat said the U.S. European Command will continue bilateral and multinational military exercises to demonstrate their common readiness and determination.

Pennington said that, in addition to security assistance, another critical component to ensuring Ukraine's security is building a strong, stable, sovereign state that is resolutely engaged in combating widespread corruption.

He also said the United States has invested significant resources and efforts to tackle corruption in partnership with Ukrainians and their government. President Volodymyr Zelensky and his team have taken some important steps recently, but much more needs to be done, including the necessary steps to return the IMF program for Ukraine to work.

The Yalta European Strategy (YES) is the leading forum for discussing Ukraine's European future in a global context.
ROME, APR 28 - The Senate on Wednesday rejected three no-confidence motions in Health Minister Roberto Speranza for his handling of the COVID emergency. The first motion, filed by the opposition nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, was defeated by 221 votes to 29 with three abstentions. Speranza faced another two individual no-confidence motions filed by Senators Gianluigi Paragone and Mattia Crucioli, respectively of the mixed caucus and the 'There Is An Alternative group. Paragone's motion was defeated by 206 votes to 29 with two abstentions, while the other motion failed by 204 votes to 28 with two abstentions. Ahead of the votes Speranza defended his policies saying Italy's pandemic plan had been updated after seven governments had failed to do so and stressing that "in a great country you don't play politics over a great epidemic". He said Italy had been "unprepared for COVID because the health service was neglected for years, considered just as a cost". (ANSA).
Spains southern region of Andalusia will restore mobility between its eight provinces on Thursday, April 29. The decision comes over four months after regional authorities introduced travel restrictions in a bid to curb a new surge of the coronavirus.

Although the 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants is now 237, which is higher than what it was on March 19 (118), the Andalusian government has decided to ease restrictions due to the faster pace of the vaccination drive, the low Covid-19 hospitalization rates during this fourth wave and the advice of its expert health committee.

The sealed perimeters have forced many establishments to remain closed at a time of the year when they are almost all open Stefan Declerck, president of the Cadiz hotel industry association

The decision comes amid the countdown to the end of the national state of alarm on May 9. This emergency measure was introduced by the central government to give the regions  which are in charge of controlling the pandemic as well as the vaccination drive in the territories  the legal backing to introduce coronavirus restrictions on fundamental rights, such as the curfew. After the state of alarm expires, travel restrictions are expected to be eased across Spain, although regional governments may retain the power to maintain some measures in place.

During these months, and in order to deal with the fourth wave [of the virus], we decided to close the provinces, to give as much oxygen as possible to the hospitality sector and to vaccinate at the highest possible speed, said Andalusian premier Juan Manuel Moreno, of the Popular Party (PP). Starting on Thursday, he added, Andalusians are getting their freedom back.

However, Andalusias regional perimeter will remain closed to inbound and outbound travel save for essential trips, and a 11pm-to-6am curfew will remain in place until Spains state of alarm is lifted. Businesses may remain open until 10.30pm, an improvement on the 8pm closing time imposed in several major cities on April 18. Municipalities with an incidence rate of over 500 cases per 100,000 will be confined although retail stores may open for business.

La Cartuja Stadium in Seville is being used as a mass vaccination site. Europa Press

Andalusia sealed off its provinces on January 17 due to the explosive growth of the third wave of the coronavirus following the Christmas season. At that time, the incidence rate was nearly 464. Andalusia was also the only region of Spain to forbid inter-provincial travel during the Easter holidays.

The eased travel conditions will provide some relief to Andalusias struggling hotel sector. The sealed perimeters have forced many establishments to remain closed at a time of the year when they are almost all open, said Stefan Declerck, president of the Cadiz hotel industry association and vice-president of the Andalusian Federation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation.

The reopening of provincial travel and the end of the national state of alarm have raised the sectors expectations, although industry leaders remain cautious. We are starting to see a rise in bookings, but not at the normal rate for this time of the year, so it is still too early to make forecasts, said Declerck.

The sector is expecting mostly domestic tourism this coming summer, and a spike in international visitors in September or October. We are counting on 80% occupancy rates at coastline hotels in June, July and August, added Declerck.

Spain introduces 10-day quarantine on travelers from India As of May 1, all travelers coming from India to Spain must go into quarantine for 10 days. The measure is aimed at controlling the spread of the new coronavirus strain detected in that country, which has seen a dramatic rise in cases. The new rules were published in the Official State Gazette on Wednesday and will be in place for 14 days.



English version by Susana Urra.
The Pulumi IaC (infrastructure-as-code) platform takes an interesting route to delivering cloud infrastructures. Instead of using a domain-specific language like Bicep or declarative configurations like Azures ARM templates, it offers a way to use familiar, general-purpose computing languages to describe and programmatically construct infrastructures, using an open source platform.

You write code in your choice of editors, using standard language tools to handle code formatting and linting, and its run against the Pulumi engine, which delivers virtual infrastructures and configures service endpoints ready for your code. As Pulumi files are just standard C# or Python or JavaScript, or even Go, they can be managed alongside your application code and included as part of any IDE project.

Build infrastructure in your code editor

Its a powerful approach; you dont need to learn any new languages and you can take advantage of control flows in a way that a declarative, domain-specific language cant support. As a result, a single piece of Pulumi code can define all the resources that are used by any project from your organization. Its how you call the code that matters, using flow control elements to deploy groups of servers and set up software-defined networking.

The same unit test tools you use for your code can be used for infrastructure, running code to see what would be deployed if you were in a live environment. By testing infrastructure definitions and code before going live, youre able to avoid misconfigurations and errors. Deploying a small application on a large Azure server could be a costly mistake, one that would be easy to overlook without hands-on operations support.

Pulumi offers tools for architects and operations teams to apply architectural and policy standards to infrastructure. You can set limits on the servers being provisioned or the levels of service being used, as well as define different characteristics for development, test, and production. Using architectural standards like this puts guardrails around your Azure deployments in the same way Visual Studio can enforce coding standards.

Native support for Azure

The initial release of Pulumi was a cross-cloud tool. Code written in Pulumi could deliver infrastructure on any cloud providers platform. But that limited you to using only the services that could run on all clouds; you couldnt use it to build Azure-specific applications that relied on Azure services and APIs.

Over the past few releases, Pulumi has started introducing support for what its calling native providers, with Azure the first to go into general availability as part of the recently released Pulumi 3.0. Microsoft has been investing heavily in documenting and adding metadata to its APIs, with Azure providing data for its REST APIs. This allows Pulumi to generate a new version of its Azure native provider nightly to keep up with new features and updates.

This doesnt mean that the APIs and calls you use need to change at the same rate. Pulumis tools support all versions of an Azure API, so your code and infrastructure dont need to change until Azure deprecates the version youre currently using. If a new service arrives that you want to use in your applications, it will be available as soon as Azure publishes the API. The same API automatically generates documentation, with new versions for each supported language.

Its a useful tool, and Pulumi clearly is proud of what it can do. As the company notes, its made 279 different builds of the native provider, adding 166 new Azure infrastructure APIs.

Infrastructure budgets as code

Those APIs include governance and billing APIs, so you can wrap controls around your infrastructure to manage spend and security. Infrastructure code can include consumption budgets to help you track costs and tie resources to specific accounts. Budgets can be measured per month, per quarter, and per year. Budgets can also be usage based, with notifications automatically sent to email addresses when quotas or thresholds are exceeded.

Managing costs on Azure can be complex, and this approach should help you set appropriate safeguards for infrastructure and service usage. Not everything will be covered by this tool, but you should be able to get an idea of what your services are costing you and how you can spend more effectively, perhaps by reprovisioning on lower-specification servers.

Automating infrastructure with code

One of the more interesting features in Pulumi 3.0 is its Automation API. This allows you to embed Pulumi functions inside your own applications as a tool for managing cloud infrastructures. Its a fascinating approach thats flexible enough to be used in many different ways.

One obvious option is building it into an internal portal for self-service infrastructure deployments. Instead of giving all your engineers access to the Azure portal, an internal service can be populated with approved server images and other infrastructure elements. Engineers needing a temporary test or development environment can pick and choose the tools they want and automatically deploy them without requiring operations support. The service can recover resources when a test is complete, keeping billing to a minimum.

Alternatively, a set of Pulumi scripts for an application-specific infrastructure can be kept in your choice of repositories. An application build in Azure Devops would not only compile, build, and package code, but a pipeline action could be used to trigger the Pulumi Automation API and deploy an Azure infrastructure ready for the code.

Having an API for infrastructure management allows you to start writing your own management code, consuming data from Azures management APIs to use in conjunction with tools such as the Cognitive Service prediction APIs to proactively deploy additional application infrastructure elements in response to changes in load or signs of failure in a currently running instance. By deploying infrastructure only when its needed, you can keep costs to a minimum while ensuring your applications remain responsive and stable.

The idea of building code that can manage itself is attractive, especially in organizations where operations resources are hard to come by. Self-managing applications will need to be tested carefully before being deployed, and youll need to have a good devops culture to use these techniques successfully, with applications operations staff able to monitor an entire suite of applications and tools.

This is a major release of a tool that keeps getting more and more useful. Building dynamically on top of Azures ARM APIs ensures your infrastructure can always use the latest services. Your applications can build on them as soon as they are released, while still taking advantage of a hands-off, automated infrastructure using your choice of languages. Pulumi is working on adding new languages to its toolbox, too, with Ruby and Java currently under development.
The buyer who snapped up the famous 'Disaster Girl' meme as an NFT for $473,000 has been named as a prominent collector in the digital art movement.

Dubai-based music studio @3FMusic is said to be behind the bid for the image which shows a then four-year-old Zoe Roth smirking in front of a burning building.

An Instagram page for 3FMusic, which boasts 311,000 followers, names Farzin Fardin Fard as the Music Production Studio CEO & Founder.

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital token encrypted with an artist's signature and which verifies its ownership and authenticity and is permanently attached to the piece.

It allows 'original' versions of popular online content - like viral memes and tweets - to be sold as if they were physical pieces of art.

It is unclear if Fard is behind the company's decision to buy a number of high profile NFTs or whether 3FMusic acts for a number of different people or groups.

Dubai-based music studio @3FMusic is said to be behind the bid for the 'Disaster Girl' meme NFT. An Instagram page for 3FMusic, which boasts 311,000 followers, names Farzin Fardin Fard, pictured, as Music Production Studio CEO & Founder

The woman in the famous 'Disaster Girl' meme has sold the original photograph as an NFT for $473,000. Zoe Roth, 21, became an internet sensation at the age of four when she was pictured standing in front of a burning building with a devilish smirk on her face

After buying a New York Times column for $560,000 a spokesman for 3Fmusic told the paper: 'We are already involved in art and media for a long time now.

'Our management team is always in cooperation with some highly knowledgeable and experienced art advisers who believe that we must grow with technological movements that help us to not only promote our business but also to support artists and the art market.

'Thus, we have proudly decided to dedicate sufficient funds and resources to invest in NFT as pioneers of this industry.'

They did not comment on who specifically is behind the purchases.

It is unclear if Fard is behind the company's decision to buy a number of high profile NFTs or whether 3FMusic acts for a number of different people or groups

Following the purchase of the overly attached girlfriend NFT Laina Morris - the girl in the image - tweeted: 'Thank you to everyone who bid and special thanks to @3fmusic'

3FMusic retweeted @PRguitarman who wrote: 'Incredible! The powerhouse @3fmusic has a good eye for memes. Congratulations @ZoeRoth8 for this historic auction!'

Other pieces purchased under the company name include The result of 2020, Mushy's Midafternoon Nap and the Overly Attached Girlfriend meme.

They are also said to have spent $14,000 on a Billie Eilish emoji portrait and $8,000 on jumping spider enjoying coffee in the morning.

On their Twitter page, where the company boasts more than 7,000 followers, they last month tweeted: 'Social experiment or otherwise, the publicity around this piece only adds value to it. So, I'd still call it a wise move.'

They also retweeted @PRguitarman who wrote: 'Incredible! The powerhouse @3fmusic has a good eye for memes. Congratulations @ZoeRoth8 for this historic auction!'

The company are said to have spent $14,000 on a Billie Eilish emoji portrait

They are also said to have spent $8,000 on jumping spider enjoying coffee in the morning

Other pieces purchased under the company name include The result of 2020, Mushy's Midafternoon Nap, pictured, and the Overly Attached Girlfriend meme

As for Roth herself she is now a university student and waitress, and says she and her father Dave - who captured the photo - were approached by an anonymous person via email in February who encouraged them to sell the image as an NFT.

Each NFT has its own blockchain-based digital signature, which serves as a public ledger, allowing anyone to verify the asset's authenticity and ownership.

The NFT was coded in a way that will allow Zoe and Dave - who have said they will split the profit between them - to acquire 10 per cent of profits whenever the NFT is sold in the future.

3fMusic describes itself online as 'one of the best and well equipped music studios in Middle East' They say they are 'pioneers in providing top of the class services for anything related to sound'.

It is unclear if Fard is behind the company's decision to buy a number of high profile NFTs or whether 3FMusic acts for a number of different people or groups. The studio is pictured

Following the purchase of the overly attached girlfriend NFT Laina Morris - the girl in the image - tweeted: 'You guys are INSANE. Thank you to everyone who bid and special thanks to @3fmusic.

'Truly, you have no idea how this is going to change my life. I mean it. I am so incredibly thankful and also still just BLOWN AWAY.

'So weird. So cool. Wtf. Thank you, internet.'

DailyMail.com has contacted 3FMusic for comment.
This post is part of Outward, Slates home for coverage of LGBTQ life, thought, and culture. Read more here.

An overwhelming deluge of legislation targeting the transgender community has continued into its fourth month in 2021, with more than 100 anti-trans bills introduced across 34 states. These include one Arkansas bill, now passed into law, that makes it a felony for doctors in that state to treat trans youth with the latest evidence-based, age-appropriate medical care.

The Arkansas Legislature is the first to seek jail time for doctors who treat transgender youth, but it wont be the last. Anti-trans activists are pushing these types of laws everywhere, even though their legislative agenda is opposed by a majority of Americans, including those who support the GOP. These activists are unshakable in their conviction that transition is invalid and trans people must not be allowed to pursue it, regardless of the many benefits research has shown it to have. However, the savvy among them will disguise this coercive goal in the more palatable rhetoric of protecting normal or healthy bodiesparticularly female-assigned ones, and particularly with regard to those bodies potential to have children. No matter that such protection comes at the expense of the actual health and safety of the trans people who inhabit those bodies: Transition must be stopped, and fertility fearmongering is how many anti-trans activists hope to do it.

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You can recognize this rhetoric by its strange focus on the damage transition can do to specific body parts, such as breasts, uteri, and ovaries. It can be seen in action, for example, in the work of Irreversible Damage author Abigail Shrier (who testified against trans rights before Congress last month) when she worries over healthy breasts and casts trans male bodies as maimed and sterile in a November op-ed for Quillette. Many conservative anti-trans campaigners use language that echoes or copies Shriers, describing surgeries they deplore and anatomy they wish to save in detailed and troublingly lascivious tones focused on the bodies of teens. While its not unheard of for activists to bring up damage to trans womens bodies, with a special focus on trans womens genitalia, the vast majority of concern trolling about fertility and fitness for child raising is aimed at trans men, whom activists infantilize by referring to them as daughters or young girls.

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The insincerity of fertility fearmongering is clear when you consider, first, that the risks of standard treatments like hormone replacement to trans mens fertility have likely been overstated, and in any case, that transgender people are well-aware that some treatments may affect fertility. Informed consent protocols require doctors to talk the risks through with trans patients even in the least restrictive model of transition care. As a result of this process, some trans men opt for chest surgery but delay testosterone therapy several years in order to be sure they wont harm their own ability to carry a child to term. Those who have the means to do so may access methods of preserving their eggs before commencing treatment that may reduce their fertility. Some of us have no interest in raising our own children but satisfy the urge to pass something on to the next generation through foster care or adoption. In other words, we weigh the options and make careful decisions that reflect our individual, adult needs.

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We need more research on how different transition treatments shape reproductive health; more informationsuch as the recent evidence suggesting trans men retain their eggs and are able to become pregnant at similar rates to cis women after stopping testosterone therapywill enable even more informed choices. However, the fact that some treatments will have an impact on trans peoples fertility does not mean these treatments should be banned, any more than the same procedures are banned for cisgender people who need them. All medical care is based on a careful weighing of risks vs. rewards. Evidence-based care describes the process of formally weighing these and determining the best available course of action to help patients at the current time. Transgender medicine is evidence-based care. Thats why every mainstream medical organization supports transition for patients who suffer from gender dysphoria.

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By contrast, fertility fearmongering is the opposite of evidence-based. It stems from sexist ideas about the proper role of women and the purpose of female bodies: to bear children and to raise those children in the home. This reductive view of women as incubators, milk machines, and day care providers is now being visited upon trans men just as its been visited on cis women since time immemorial. It makes no difference if a trans man doesnt want to bear childrenconservatives believe hell thank them someday, when hes realized that all he wants in life is to be a mother after all.

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Of course, many trans men do choose to undertake pregnancy as men, and there are many steps that could be taken to make the process easier, kinder, and less expensive for them. However, the only people who should have any say about trans mens fertility are trans men ourselves. The fertility fearmongers may claim they want to protect people, but by making the focus of that protection specific body parts and capacities, rather than a trans person as a whole, they betray their true goal: imposing heteronormativity and conformity, rather than allowing for healthy flourishing across a range of life experiences.
Legal experts see Derek Chauvin making an appeal on his murder case. However, they say it is unlikely to overturn the former police officer's murder conviction.

Somil Trivedi, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that from what he saw in the trial, he does not see anything there, according to an Insider report

Associate professor at the University of New Haven, Mike Lawlor, said that Chauvin's conviction will likely be held unless something unlikely happens.

For instance, a juror coming forward in an interview and expressing bias.

Meanwhile, a Daily Mail report states that Chauvin could appeal on stated grounds.

READ MORE: Derek Chauvin Trial Witness Compared His Kneel to Martial Arts 'Kill Choke'





Appeal Grounds

The trial took place too close to home where crowds greeted Chauvin's verdict with approving uproars and tears of joy.

Chauvin's legal team argued that there was no way that their client could get a fair trial in Hennepin County.

However, District Judge Peter Cahill had refused to move it to another city.

The judge said that the chaos and anger would follow Chauvin wherever he went.

"I don't think there's any place in the state of Minnesota that has not been subjected to an extreme amount of publicity in this case," Cahill was quoted in a report.

Meanwhile, California Rep. Maxine Waters flew into Minneapolis a day before jury deliberations to rally protestors and demand justice.

Waters noted that they are looking for a guilty verdict, and they will not go away if they don't get that.

Cahill described Waters' statement as "abhorrent."

"I grant you congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned," Cahill told Chauvin's attorney.

Meanwhile, Chauvin's sentencing date for his murder charged has been moved from June 16-25.

The jury had found the former Minneapolis police officer guilty in the killing of George Floyd in 2020, according to an ABC Columbia report.

Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder.

He was also convicted on charges of third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

The former police officer could be facing a maximum total of more than 70 years in prison for all three charges.

George Floyd's Killing

Floyd was arrested on May 25 after a convenience store called 911 and told the police that Floyd had bought cigarettes with a reportedly counterfeit $20 bill.

Floyd fell unconscious while pinned to the ground, showing no signs of life, according to The New York Times report.

The Police Department had fired all four officers involved in the episode after Floyd's death.

Mike Freeman announced on May 29 the charges against Chauvin.

Freeman was the Hennepin County attorney.

Chauvin kept his knee of Floyd's neck for at least eight minutes and 15 seconds, according to NY Times analysis.

Bystanders begged the police to relieve pressure on Floyd. Floyd reportedly at one point called out "Mama" despite his mother being dead for years.

Three other former officers involved are Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao.

READ NEXT: Derek Chauvin Trial Moves Forward, Video of George Floyd's Final Moments to Be Played

WATCH: Derek Chauvin likely to appeal murder conviction, experts say - from WCNC






She got engaged to Paul Bernon in February 2021 after dating since fall 2018.

And Bethenny Frankel revealed the duo initially met on a dating app, with their first meet up at a restaurant.

The 50-year-old reality star and entrepreneur said: 'We met on a dating app. I was pretty lucky when I walked in and saw him,' in an interview with People.

She also revealed that he popped the question while they were 'on an island off of Florida' with just the two of them alone.

Speaking out: She got engaged to Paul Bernon in February 2021 after dating since fall 2018. And Bethenny Frankel revealed the duo initially met on a dating app, with their first meet up at a restaurant

She said of the engagement: 'It was intimate. Just the two of us, on an island off of Florida. No makeup, no manicure, no ring photos. It was very simple and beautiful.

For their first meet up, Bethenny said when she walked over to him 'he had a twinkle. He came as advertised - better than advertised. He overshot the mark.'

Paul, 43, is dad to two children from his previous marriage.

They began dating in the fall of 2018, after the death of her on/off boyfriend Dennis Shields. He was found dead of a suspected overdose on August 10, 2018 in his Trump Tower apartment at age 51.

Soon to be Mr. and Mrs.: The 50-year-old reality star and entrepreneur said: 'We met on a dating app. I was pretty lucky when I walked in and saw him,' in an interview with People . She also revealed that he popped the question while they were 'on an island off of Florida' with just the two of them alone

The star has been adamant about keeping her romance with Paul under wraps.

Over a month after her engagement, Bethenny confirmed the news after rumors of a proposal began in late March.

'It felt like a strange thing to announce that just felt counterintuitive,' Bethenny added.

On why she's been more private with her relationship with Paul then with previous relationships: 'In the past I've been in a fishbowl, but that hasn't always worked out so great.'

So happy: She said of the engagement: 'It was intimate. Just the two of us, on an island off of Florida. No makeup, no manicure, no ring photos. It was very simple and beautiful

Bethenny hasn't focused too much time on wedding plans: 'I'm not going to be the old lady about to hit menopause going to the newsstand to buy bridal magazine. I'm like, "What are you doing?"'

She has one daughter Bryn Hoppy, 10, with her ex-husband Jason Hoppy.

The former Real Housewives of New York City star described her daughter as 'a bohemian, free spirit.'

Their divorce was drawn out - they split in 2012 after two years of marriage, but it wasn't finalized until January 2021.

Bethenny called it 'the hardest experience of my life.'

Prior to Jason, she was previously married to Peter Sussman from 1996-1997.

So in love: Bethenny hasn't focused too much time on wedding plans: 'I'm not going to be the old lady about to hit menopause going to the newsstand to buy bridal magazine. I'm like, "What are you doing?"'

The star's new eight episode series on HBO, called The Big Shot with Bethenny Frankel, is set to debut on HBO Max.

The show is about contestants competing for a spot on her Skinnygirl lifestyle company executive team.

She also has her podcast Just B as well as her disaster relief initiative BStrong in partnership with Global Empowerment Mission.

Bethenny previously appeared on The Real Housewives of New York City from 1008 until 2010, then 2015 to 2019.
We all have learned a lot since the start of the pandemic. One of the lessons that has resonated with me is the importance of community  of our relationships and responsibility to one another.

Its easy to think that, as individuals, we cant have a meaningful impact in solving a public health crisis. But as COVID has taught us, we can. I have been heartened by the commitment of Pennsylvanians to be part of the solutions  wearing a mask, social distancing and washing hands. Its those simple, individual decisions that are essential to saving lives.

Im asking all Pennsylvanians to take that lesson and apply to it another health crisis: the critical need for registered organ donors. April is National Donate Life Month, a time to raise awareness that the need for organ and tissue donation is more critical than ever. Nearly 7,000 Pennsylvanians are waiting for an organ transplant. Almost half of all eligible Pennsylvanians are registered as donors, but everyone is needed.

Most Pennsylvanians register to be organ and tissue donors when they renew their drivers licenses. With the pandemic decreasing visits to PennDOT centers, we have missed the opportunity to register nearly 1 million Pennsylvanians. Fewer people registered means fewer lives will be saved.

Fortunately, anyone can register online at any time at donatelifepa.org/register/.

Im reminded of a proud Pennsylvanian whose legacy continues to help save lives. Former Gov. Robert P. Casey created the Trust Fund in Pennsylvania. Through the generous contributions of Pennsylvanians, the Trust Fund informs and encourages residents to register as donors, provides grief counseling to families of donors, and raises awareness about the benevolence that enables organ and tissue donation. We recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Trust Fund. Let us pay tribute to all the lives that have been saved because of Caseys leadership and the generosity he inspired.

Pennsylvanians also should be proud that our commonwealth is home to two of the nations leading organ procurement organizations  the Center for Organ Recovery & Education in Pittsburgh and the Gift of Life Donor Program in Philadelphia. Together, they coordinated life-saving gifts from 943 organ donors, resulting in 2,411 organs transplanted in 2020.

We need all Pennsylvanians to be part of the solution. If you are not registered as an organ donor, please take a minute to join the nearly 5 million Pennsylvanians who have said Yes! to saving lives by registering at donatelifepa.org/register/. If you are registered, please urge your family, friends, and neighbors to register too.
MINSK -- An associate of jailed Belarusian vlogger Syarhey Tsikhanouski has been sentenced to six years in prison on charges he and his supporters have rejected as politically motivated.

The Lenin district court in the western city of Hrodna late on April 27 found 38-year-old Alyaksandr Aranovich guilty of plotting mass disorder and organizing activities that violate public order.

Judge Alena Pyatrova sentenced Aranovich the same day.

"The case is fabricated. No evidence was presented. I was not allowed to defend myself. Everything is being done to put me behind bars," Aranovich said in his final statement at the trial.

Aranovich was arrested in late May last year along with Tsikhanouski and several opposition politicians and activists after they campaigned across the country, demanding election officials allow independent candidates, including Tsikhanouski, to officially register to run in an August 9 presidential election.

The trials of Tsikhanouski and the others in the case are pending. Tsikhanouski has been charged with organizing mass disorder, incitement of social hatred, impeding the Central Election Commission's activities, and organizing activities that disrupt social order.

If convicted, Tsikhanouski may face up to 15 years in prison.

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.

Tsikhanouski was the owner of a popular YouTube channel called "The Country For Life," which challenges Belarusian authorities, when he announced his willingness to run against authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka early last year.

During the campaign, Tsikhanouski and his associates moved between towns and cities in a camper with a large inscription "The Country For Life" that was driven by Aranovich.

Before his arrest, Tsikhanouski's candidacy was rejected by election officials.

His wife Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya took over during the campaign and ran as a candidate in the presidential poll, rising to become the main challenger to Lukashenka, who has run the country since 1994.

The European Union and the United States have refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate president of Belarus after he claimed a landslide victory in the election that has been widely criticized as rigged.

The results have sparked months of mass protests and have been contested by Tsikhanouskaya, whose supporters claim she won the vote, as well as opposition figures across the country.

Lukashenka has overseen a violent crackdown on the protesters which has seen thousands -- including media members -- detained and scores injured.

Overall, more than 1,800 criminal cases have been launched over the protests against the official results of the presidential election.

Tsikhanouskaya left Belarus immediately after the vote fearing for her family's security. She currently lives in Lithuania with her children. Most leading opposition figures have been forced from the country, while many of those still in Belarus have been detained by law enforcement.
The pandemic is just the spark on an already dry haystack.

There is a nursing shortage in South Florida that is undeniably of crisis proportions. Health care providers, who are on the front lines of this life-endangering problem, said today that they are determined to reverse the staffing shortage.

The South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association are teaming up with LifeWings Peak Performance and holding an urgently needed two-day virtual discussion on May 12-13. Florida's leaders in the profession will, in a quick-hit format, address why nursing vacancies in this region of the state are quickly rising and putting the quality of care in jeopardy.

For further details, including how to register, visit the webinar link: End Staffing Stress and Burnout (sfhha.com).

To begin with, the stress of working in healthcare for the past 15 or 20 years has become quite untenable," said presenter; Dr. Andrew Grose, Orthopedic Surgeon/Hospital for Special Surgery. The pandemic is just the spark on an already dry haystack.

The combination of on-the-job stress and the added burden of the COVID-19 pandemic at times overwhelming critical care providers are pushing nurses either out of Florida and a better work environment, more lucrative opportunities or out of the profession entirely.

Some healthcare systems have lost 300 to 500 nurses, longtime trained staff to other states, said Senior Vice President Richard Doss of LifeWings, which is putting on the two 30-minute sessions aimed at reviewing what can be done in the short-term and more systemically to reverse the talent drain.

There are massive incentives for these healthcare professionals to leave, Doss said. Other states are preying on South Florida and getting nurses, lab workers, and respiratory therapists to relocate for three months to work for triple pay and take the rest of the year off.

Doss said the crisis is significantly affecting what he calls "the casual and part-time nursing workforce who is in their 50s and 60s."

Unlike their younger colleagues, who are more willing to relocate, the more veteran nurses who have scaled back late in their careers, "they are finding that their mom or dad has COVID and don't want to work anymore. Or they contracted COVID and don't want to work anymore. It's a hassle and stressful."

Doss said the intensive care and critical care units are being impacted more than other medical services.

These are high-intensity areas where you are admitting many COVID patients, he said. It's not easy to replace these kinds of nurses with a brand new one out of school.

Dr. Grose acknowledges that the stress of the job and non-competitive pay only explain a few reasons why markets across the country are losing nurses.

Anytime people are leaving to go somewhere else, they are feeling they will be more appreciated in any sense of that word, financially or in terms of support at work or serving a community that they feel cares about them, Grose said.

Most hospitals acknowledge theirs a communication disconnect, especially during a crisis, he said. The frontline workers know a lot about the work and need to be listened to. And the leaders know about the organizational stuff and budgeting, but they have to listen to their workers.

A Nurse Grid survey reports the percentage of nurses reporting burnout exploding to 61 percent from April to December 2020. 40 percent are concerned about their mental health and 22 percent stated they plan to leave bedside care or the nursing field entirely in 2021.

SFHHA Webinars At-A-Glance

What: Floridas Healthcare Workers Crisis

Who: The South Florida Hospital Association & Life Wings Peak Performance Team

When: May 12 & 13th, 2021 / Times both Days: 930am to 1030am ET

Why: Top, Florida Healthcare Leaders, address Staffing Stress and Burnout Issues

The two-day webinar is built around an open-ended conversation to share what's been working where nurses are retained and not working at particular hospitals and healthcare systems. Several experts, one a former healthcare chief operating officer and another a top human factors expert, will participate.

There will also be a question-and-answer period, including a Chief Nursing Officer from South Florida on hand to share her insight.

We have a crisis throughout American healthcare, Dr. Grose said. Add in the pandemic, and its like turning on the light and seeing all the cockroaches. They were always there. Attention reporters & editors  All newsmakers involved in this educational initiative are available to be scheduled for interviews. To make coordinating easy and hassle-free  contact Robb Leer publicist Robbl@leercommunication.com or call 612.701.0608

About LifeWings Peak Performance:

LifeWings Peak Performance LLC, based in Minneapolis with additional offices in Miami, comprises an exceptional team of physicians, nurses, pilots, engineers, and healthcare executives. It relies on methodologies used in commercial and military aviation, nuclear power, and cutting-edge manufacturing to assist healthcare organizations in creating safe, efficient, and high-performing hospitals and clinics. Our team has more than 400 years of combined experience designing and implementing high-reliability communication, operations, and payer systems for hospitals, clinics, and insurance carriers. For more information, visit https://www.LifeWingsPP.com/.

About South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association:

South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association membership accurately reflects the diversity in South Florida and focuses on issues unique to our community. As a not-for-profit organization, its mission is to improve the efficient delivery of quality healthcare services to our communities by championing collaboration and communication among leaders across the healthcare continuum. For more information, visit https://www.sfhha.com/about-us/ .

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Bedford/St. Martins, a Macmillan Learning imprint, announced the members of its 2021 Bedford New Scholars Advisory Board today. The Advisory Board was established in 2008 as a way for Bedford/St. Martins to hear from promising graduate students about the teaching challenges they face and the research that excites them. This year, the scholars will focus primarily on three critical topics: student engagement, online learning, and creating more inclusive classrooms.

The board of 10 graduate students will meet with the companys editorial team to network, share ideas, and provide feedback on Bedford/St. Martins course materials. In previous years, Scholars would meet in-person at the companys offices, at conferences and in focus groups. This year, a fully virtual conference was planned. The Scholars offer insights into how course materials are being used and the trends that will influence how composition courses are taught.

Each year the scholars provide invaluable feedback to us about whats going on in college campuses and gain insight into the future of composition course materials and how we can best support our students. From remote learning to protests for racial justice, this was a year unlike any other, so were intentionally focusing on topics that are critical to success for students, including how to get students more engaged in their learning, how to best support their online learning, and how to better embed DEI in the classroom. We cant wait to hear the insightful feedback our Scholars have for us, said Leasa Burton, Vice President of Humanities, Macmillan Learning.

Throughout the duration of the program, the Scholars gain insight into the publishing process and are granted the opportunity to review the first editions of new learning materials and projects (both in print and in Macmillan Learnings new learning platform, Achieve). In the process, they also foster lasting professional connections with other graduate students and teachers who share the same passion for writing studies. Many past scholars have gone on to take leadership roles in writing programs in colleges and universities across the country.

Bedford/St. Martins has long been connected to the Composition community with its widely used A Writer's Reference, The Bedford Reader, The St. Martins Guide to Writing, and Everythings an Argument, as well as with its newest digital learning platform, Achieve, which was released last fall.

This years Bedford New Scholars:

Gina Atkins is pursuing her M.A. in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition at North Carolina State University. She teaches English 101: Academic Writing and Research and serves on the First-Year Writing Program Council as the MA Representative. Ginas research interests relate to developing antiracist pedagogy, antiracist praxis, accessibility in the writing classroom, and linguistic justice.

Eric D. Brown is pursuing his Ph.D. in Arizona State Universitys Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies Ph.D. program. He has taught First-Year Composition, Persuasive Writing and Public Issues, Writing for the Professions, and Business Writing. Eric currently serves as the Assistant Director of Writing Programs, where he aids the director in growing the scope of Writing Programs and creating professional development for faculty.

Emily Gresbrink is pursuing her Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Scientific and Technical Communication at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. She teaches University Writing, which is housed in the First-Year Writing program. Emilys research interests include technical communication, the rhetoric of health and medicine, pandemics, rhetorical analysis, archives, bioethics, and mentoring.

Brendan Hawkins is pursuing his Ph.D. in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition. His research, teaching, and faculty development interests and experiences span rhetorical genre studies, histories of rhetoric, online writing instruction and general education composition classes.

Hyoung Min Lee is pursuing her Ph.D. in English at Texas A&M University, where she teaches Writing About Literature as a graduate teaching assistant. She has also taught Rhetoric and Composition and worked as a grader for Technical and Business Writing. Hyoungs research interests include theories of race and biopolitics and 20th-and 21st-century American literature, especially African American literature.

Courtney A. Mauck is a Ph.D. candidate in Rhetoric and Composition at Ohio University, where she serves as Assistant Director of Composition and primarily teaches first-year writing courses. She also teaches junior composition courses themed around feminist game studies and has co-taught two graduate courses, Teaching College English and Learning Transfer. Courtneys research interests include digital rhetorics, multimodal composition, social media, game studies, learning transfer and first-year writing pedagogy.

Michael A. Reyes is pursuing his MA in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition at Cal State LA. He teaches in the First-Year Writing Program and leads creative writing workshops in LA public schools and organizations. Michaels research interests are critical affect theory, decolonial rhetorics and pedagogy, contemporary poetry and poetics, creative writing pedagogy, and antiracist and formative assessments.

Jacob Richter is the Assistant Director of First-Year Composition and a Ph.D. candidate in the Rhetorics, Communication and Information Design program at Clemson University. He teaches First-Year Composition, technical communication and business communication courses, and is the Assistant Communications Editor for Xchanges. Jacobs research examines rhetorical theory, composition pedagogy and writing in digitally networked environments.

Rhiannon Scharnhorst is pursuing her hybrid Ph.D. in Writing Studies and Victorian Literature at the University of Cincinnati. She teaches a variety of courses in writing, from first-year composition to advanced topics classes, including Writing with Style and Food in Literature. Rhiannons research draws on feminist rhetorics to make sense of objects in writing studies, including typewriters, cookbooks and other tools.

Leah Washburn is pursuing her Ph.D. in English Literature at The University of California, Riverside. She graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2018 with an MFA in Creative Writing, where she taught Intro to Creative Writing. Leahs research interests include digital media, ludology, narratology, contemporary speculative fiction, and postmodern fiction.

About Macmillan Learning

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Ensure strong password security in the company

Neustadt an der Aisch, Germany, April 28, 2021 ? The HWS Group, a medium-sized provider of software development and IT services, offers companies with DoubleClue a holistic software solution for identity management. The integrated DoubleClue PasswordSafe builds on KeePass. Centralized password storage and additional multifactor authentication protect against password and identity theft.

DoubleClue PasswordSafe is based on the encryption algorithm of KeePass, a globally popular open-source password manager. This compatibility allows easy import and export of existing data from KeePass using the DoubleClue KeePass plugin. At the same time, multifactor authentication, as well as centralized storage in the cloud, increase the application?s security. Since passwords are not stored on the end device, DoubleClue PasswordSafe enables secure usage on multiple devices.

Identity protection requirements in the company environment have increased

?The BKA has observed an increasing number of cyberattacks on companies for years. This brings the question of effective technical protection as well as a sustainable password policy to the forefront at management levels,? says Emanuel Galea, Senior Director Software Development at HWS. ?Our experience has shown that many companies rely on KeePass. However, KeePass lacks key collaboration and security features by default in the company environment.?

KeePass gets a comprehensive security upgrade with the DoubleClue KeePass plugin. Multifactor authentication and centralized encrypted storage meet current security and mobility requirements in the company environment.

DoubleClue PasswordSafe eliminates password theft by insiders

Along with organized crime, insiders are primarily responsible for enterprise data incidents. A Bitkom study published in 2019 suggests that insiders were responsible for data espionage and sabotage in more than half of the companies surveyed.

HWS Group has responded to this finding. DoubleClue relies on a two-part key for encryption in the cloud. The important part of the key is known only to the user. This rules out unauthorized access by internal resources despite central storage. Multifactor authentication also protects against account theft, such as phishing or brute force attacks.

DoubleClue PasswordSafe at a glance

 Encryption with a two-part key prevents internal and external access by third parties

 Integrated multifactor authentication protects against account theft

 DoubleClue KeePass plugin allows the import and export of KeePass (kdbx) files into DoubleClue PasswordSafe

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 Centralized encrypted storage of passwords ensures device-independent access and sharing of credentials and passwords with internal and external contacts

 Use on-premises or in the HWS high-security cloud on German servers

With DoubleClue, the HWS Group offers companies of all sizes a comprehensive solution in the area of identity security. A deep Identity and Access Management (IAM) with integrated highly secure PasswordSafe as well as cloud storage and modern Multifactor Authentication (MFA).
(Natural News) A defense official from Taiwan confirmed on April 19 that it is looking to acquire long-range, air-launched cruise missiles from the United States. The confirmation comes amid the islands efforts to bolster its defenses in the face of increasing pressure from Beijing.

Taiwan is already developing its own long-range missiles as it seeks to gain the ability to strike back deep into China in the event of war. That said, it has also looked to the United States to help provide it with more advanced weaponry.

Talking to parliament about which weapons systems Taiwan wants to buy, Lee Shih-chiang, head of Taiwans defense ministrys strategic planning department, named Lockheed Martins AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) as the missile Taiwan is looking to procure.

But whether it can purchase the missiles is up to the United States.

We are still in the process of seeking it, Lee said. Communication channels are very smooth and normal.

Taiwan seeking long-range missile that can hit far inside China

Taiwans armed forces are in the midst of a modernization program. The program is meant to turn it into a more effective deterrent against Chinese aggression. As part of this, the country is looking to gain the ability to hit back at bases far from Chinas coast in the event that war breaks out. This is where the JASSM comes in.

The JASSM can have a range of up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), depending on the model. It can be deployed on various aircraft, including the Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon, which Taiwan operates.

According to Lockheed Martin, the missile is designed to destroy high-value, well-defended targets while having the range and accuracy to be launched far from enemy air defense systems.

The missiles air-launched nature also falls within Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wens desire to develop an asymmetrical deterrent. This involves using mobile equipment thats not only capable of hitting targets far away from Taiwan, but is also hard to find and destroy.

The sale of the missiles still requires approval from the United States. That said, the latter has been eager to create a military counterbalance to Chinese forces. It has been building on an effort known within the Pentagon as Fortress Taiwan. (Related: U.S. Admiral expresses worry about communist Chinas future invasion of Taiwan.)

China continues to view Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under control. It has, as of late, stepped up military activity near the island in an effort to force the Taiwanese government to accept Beijings claims of sovereignty.

Taiwan also developing its own missiles

Even as it seeks to purchase the JASSM, Taiwan has also been hard at work developing missiles of its own. Last March, a senior official confirmed that it had begun mass production of its own missile.

Taking questions from Parliament, Leng Chin-hsu, deputy director of the state-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology confirmed that one long-range, land-based missile has already entered into production while three other long-range missiles are in development. Leng refused to give details of the missiles range.

In recent months, the institute, which leads Taiwans weapons development efforts, has carried out a series of missile tests off its southeastern coast. Taiwanese media have published images of missiles launching and aircraft have been given instructions to stay clear of the test area. But details of the tests themselves remain undisclosed.

Follow MilitaryTech.news for the latest news on efforts to shore up Taiwans defenses against Chinese aggression.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

Reuters.com

Aljazeera.com
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A suspected drunk driver who streamed herself on Facebook Live saying 'f**k the police' while downing shots hours before she killed a veteran cop in a hit-and-run in New York City boasted about carrying a knife 'everywhere I go', it has been revealed.

Jessica Beauvais, 32, posted a 1 hour and 51 minute livestream on her Facebook page Monday evening as part of her Face the Reality radio show where she addressed the trial of white ex-cop Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, slammed police officers and the justice system and played N.W.A song 'F**k Tha Police'.

In the rambling post, she told her social media followers she likes guns because 'they're pretty' and ranted about being pro capital punishment, while she said 'potential death' is just 'part of the job' for cops.

Throughout the video, Beauvais is seen vaping and drinking an unknown dark liquid from a plastic cup and, at one point, washes down the contents of a red shot glass with a bottle of Snapple. Police sources claim she later confessed to guzzling vodka, wine and smoking weed before the deadly incident.

Hours later, Beauvais allegedly got behind the wheel of her Volkswagen and plowed into NYPD Highway Officer Anastasios Tsakos, 43, on the Long Island Expressway around 2am Tuesday morning.

Tsakos was redirecting traffic following a separate fatal car accident in Queens when Beauvais' car allegedly veered and struck officer Tsakos head on. Tsakos, 43 year-old married father to a three year-old son and six year-old daughter, was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Beauvais, who was allegedly intoxicated and driving with a suspended license at the time, allegedly sped away from the scene with a 'completely shattered' windshield before being stopped by police.

Sources told New York Daily News she was almost double the legal alcohol limit for driving - registering a 0.15 on a Breathalyzer test - and was slurring her words and unsteady on her feet when cops arrested her.

She allegedly fumed at the arresting officers, telling them: 'F**k you. I don't have to listen to you.'

Beauvais, who says she has a 13-year-old son in the video, later offered a tearful apology for Tsakos' death as she was led out of the NYPD's 107th Precinct in handcuffs on Tuesday afternoon. 'I'm sorry that I hit him and that he's dead,' she sobbed.

She now faces 13 charges including manslaughter in the second degree, aggravated manslaughter in the second degree, vehicular manslaughter in the second degree and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting/death. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Suspected drunk driver Jessica Beauvais, 32, streamed herself on Facebook Live saying 'f**k the police' and downing shots hours before she allegedly struck and killed a veteran cop in a hit-and-run in New York City

Beauvais posted a 1 hour and 51 minute livestream on her Facebook page Monday evening. At one point, she washes down the contents of a red shot glass (above)

Jessica Beauvais, 32, (left) of Hempstead is walked out of the 107th Precinct in Queens after allegedly striking and killing NYPD officer Anastasios Tsakos (right) on the Long Island Expressway

Just hours before the fatal encounter, Beauvais streamed the Facebook Live video at 6.37 pm on her social media account under another name.

Beauvais begins the 1 hour 51 minute Facebook Live video, speaking about Chauvin's trial.

'This week we are going to talk about the ignorance that was the Derek Chauvin trial - or the ignorance that is essentially just is this f**ing justice system,' she says.

'Police say an oath and in that oath they say an oath that they are not supposed to be afraid of that position and that is literally in the rules.'

Chauvin was found guilty on all charges for the Memorial Day murder of George Floyd last year after he knelt on the black man's neck for more than nine minutes until he died.

Beauvais reads out part of an oath taken by members of law enforcement that they will 'enforce the law courteously, appropriately, without fear, malice or ill will' and questions how this had led to officers 'shooting and killing people on the streets.'

The 32-year-old then went on to say that police officers are 'signing up for potential death like in the army' and that it is 'part of the job' that people 'might try to f**king kill you.'

'If you said that you were signing up for this dangerous job and part of that dangerous job is that you are not supposed to be afraid - as part of that job is that people might try to f**king kill you,' she says.

'That's what you're signing up for - potential death like in the army. That's what you signed up for.'

Beauvais also claimed that if she ever had a fatal encounter with police, she would make sure she wasn't the only victim.

She told listeners: 'Like (hip hop group) NWA say about the police - if you're going to kill me, at least I get to take someone with me.

'I'm one of those people. If I'm going to go, someone is coming.'

Beauvais is seen vaping (above) in the video where she addressed the trial of white ex-cop Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd and slammed police officers and the justice system in the video just hours before she allegedly struck and killed a cop

Beauvais downs the contents of a red shot glass chasing it with a bottle of Snapple. Police said she was intoxicated while driving when she allegedly struck and killed Tsakos

Beauvais is wearing the same clothes in the footage (left) as she was seen in both at the time of the crash (center her arrest) and when she was being led out of the NYPD's 107th Precinct (right)

In the footage, she also spoke about her love of 'weapons' comparing herself to the fictional DC character Harley Quinn and saying she always carries a knife.

'I'm for guns. I like guns. I like them - they're pretty,' she says at one point where she is having a discussion with a male off camera.

'Maybe I'm a little Harley Quinn on the brain. I like weapons. I carry a knife with me everywhere I go. That shit is normally on my hip but I got this thing here so I can't do that.

'I like weapons, because you're not going to try me. I got tried once in my life when I was very young and I didn't know no better. B**ch you're not going to try me again in my life as I fight n***as too.

'We can fight the police too. If you're going to shoot me, get it over with. What I'm saying is you're not going to try me while I'm still breathing.'

She went on to say a 'taser' is 'not cute like a gun' as she questions how a cop can confuse the two devices - in reference to the police killing of Daunte Wright by a white cop who allegedly mistook the two.

32-year-old Jessica Beauvais, of Hempstead, pictured in mug

'I know 13-year-olds from the hood that know a taser from a gun,' she says.

Beauvais says she is 'terrified' for her 13-year-old son 'don't f**king play with me.'

Beauvais goes on to say she doesn't 'believe in prisons' but believes in capital punishment saying 'hang that b**ch.'

'I don't even believe in prisons. I literally believe in the eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. If you guilty, blow his head off,' she says.

'F**k is you here for. Why I gotta feed you? For what? Y'all killing us for less, on the streets, and in jails blow his head off... you got certain states that want to hang people, hang that bitch.'

Speaking of her love of physical fighting, Beauvais continues: 'What happened to fighting, I grew up on fighting. I like to fight. My hands and my feet and teeth.

'It does something for me - what does it do for you? F**king people up never stopped being a thing. Shooting 'people is still wack. It means you can't fight. It means you're a cop.'

She signs off the footage saying: 'F**k the police. F**k them.'

Beauvais is wearing the same clothes in the footage - a pale blue crop top, navy pencil skirt and matching boots - as she was seen in both at the time of the crash and when she was being led out of the NYPD's 107th Precinct.

As she was led out of the precinct in handcuffs Tuesday afternoon for her arraignment, the 32-year-old struck a far more contrite tone when asked about the deadly crash.

Beauvais sobbed as she apologized for Tsakos' death saying: 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hit him and now he's dead.'

It was a marked difference from her comments on her arrest when she told cops 'f**k you, I don't have to listen to you' and claimed she had only had one beer, an insider told Daily News.

She later told officers she had two glasses of wine before taking her son to Hempstead, then smoked a joint, downed two shots of 1800 Patron Tequila and drank a bottle of wine during her podcast, the criminal complaint states.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a joint press conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio Tuesday that Beauvais was driving while intoxicated and with a suspended license.

Hours after filming the footage, Beauvais (pictured in Facebook photos) allegedly got behind the wheel of her Volkswagen and plowed into Tsakos, 43, on the Long Island Expressway around 2am Tuesday morning

Investigators survey the vehicle that struck and killed New York City Police Department Officer Anastasios Tsakos

Jessica Beauvais, 32, faces 13 charges after allegedly striking NYPD police officer with her car on the Long island Expressway on Tuesday morning

Police say 32-year-old Jessica Beauvais was driving with a suspended license while intoxicated when she struck NYPD officer Anastasios Tsakos as he redirected traffic on the Long Island Expressway on Tuesday morning

Beauvais is seen arriving at Queens Central booking on Tuesday afternoon wearing the same clothes seen in the Facebook video

She was arraigned Tuesday night at Queens criminal court. Her family members were seen leaving the court without her as she was ordered to be held without bail

President of the Police Benevolent Association Patrick Lynch holds a press briefing outside of Queens Criminal court after her arraignment

According to the criminal complaint, Beauvais was speeding along the Long Island Expressway in her 2013 Volkswagen.

She allegedly ignored the traffic cones and the flashing lights of police cars set up to direct traffic away from another fatal crash scene.

Her vehicle swerved around other cars and struck Tsakos head on, throwing the officer 150 feet up into the air, reported the New York Post.

He landed on the grass by the side of the road while Beauvais sped off in her car, prosecutors say.

She passed several exits before coming off the expressway where she mounted a curb with her car, the complaint states.

As police officers surrounded her vehicle, the alleged drunk driver reversed into a police car behind her in an effort to flee again, prosecutors say.

Beauvais claimed not to have known she had hit a person, the complaint states.

'What did I do? I heard a thump, I knew I hit something, but I didn't know what it was,' she allegedly told the arresting officers.

In video capturing her arrest, Beauvais looked distraught as she was handcuffed by police officers in front of a patrol car.

She was arraigned Tuesday night at Queens criminal court.

Her family members were seen leaving the court without her as she was ordered to be held without bail. She will next appear in court on April 30.

President of the Police Benevolent Association Patrick Lynch held a press briefing outside of the court after her arraignment where he hit out at her apology saying: 'She's sorry not for the deed but that she got caught.'

Photos of her car show the front windshield smashed and the bonnet caved in from where the car struck the officer.

It is not clear what speed she was driving at at the time but Shea said he believes the damage done to her car shows 'there was no way she didn't know that she had struck an individual.'

The police chief and mayor visited Tsako's home in East Northport, Long Island, to meet his grieving wife Irene, six-year-old daughter, and three-year-old son.

'The pain she is going through, there is no words for,' de Blasio said.

'A few hours ago she was looking forward to seeing her husband again and now she won't. (His children) will never see their father again because someone did the wrong thing. Here is a good man who won't be home.'

Police are seen arresting Jessica Beauvais, 32, after she allegedly mowed down Tsakos and then tried to flee the scene just after 2am Tuesday

Officer Tsakos, 43, was redirecting traffic away from another fatal car crash (pictured) when he was hit. He was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead

Tsakos (pictured) was a 14-year veteran of the NYPD and leaves behind a wife, a six-year-old daughter, and a three-year-old son

Described as a 'highly regarded officer', Tsakos was a 14-year veteran of the NYPD.

'We stand here this morning reminded once again, in law enforcement, there is no such thing as a routine job,' Shea said.

'We stand here devastated and trying to pick up the pieces of what is a shattered home and a shattered NYPD family.'

The commissioner called the accident a 'senseless and completely avoidable chain of events'.

Tsakos and other officers were on the scene on the Long Island Expressway redirecting traffic from a car that crashed into a utility pole, killing one passenger.

That was when Beauvais' car swerved to avoid hitting other vehicles, striking Tsakos who was standing in the roadway next to his patrol car head-on.

Police said Beauvais was driving despite having her license suspended in August 2019 for failing to pay for DMV fees.

She had previously been arrested on the same charge in 2015 and had her license suspended at least two more times.

She has also been charged with speeding and using a cellphone while driving in the past, reported Daily News.

Mayor de Blasio said the fatal crash that Tsakos was called to also involved a driver with a suspended license.

Jonathan Espinal, 24, was driving a blue 2012 Infiniti G37X sedan along the expressway when it plowed into a utility pole on an exit ramp around 12:30 am.

Espinal and two passengers were both pulled from the burning vehicle. One passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Espinal was charged with driving with a suspended New York driver's license and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

'We see here a horrible pattern, people doing the wrong thing and other people dead because of it, and one of them a hero officer,' de Blasio said, after holding a minute's silence in honor of the officer killed in the line of duty.

'[Tsakos] did everything right in his life for us and he is dead because of other people's negligence.'

He described the incident as 'a very, very painful moment'.

'He did everything right in his life for us and he is dead because of other people's negligence,' Mayor Bill de Blasio said of Officer Tsakos at a press conference on Tuesday morning

Police said Beauvais was driving while intoxicated and with a suspended license. After striking Tsakos she allegedly fled from the scene before being apprehended by police

Tsakos had been called to the scene of another crash in which one passenger was killed after the car struck a utility pole (pictured)
With the high charges common in the U.S. for treatment, accident victims can easily exhaust the policy limits of even generous personal injury coverage, leaving some vulnerable to huge bills.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has admitted that a civil war or Taliban takeover in Afghanistan is 'certainly a possible scenario' when the US withdraws all its troops from the country by September 11.

Blinken told CNN's Jake Tapper Tuesday the Biden administration is 'planning for every scenario' that could arise from the move.

But he insisted the US is 'not disengaging from Afghanistan' and will continue to be 'deeply engaged' in supporting the country long after troops have left.

Joe Biden announced earlier this month that the US will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September 11 2021 - the 20 year anniversary of Al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks, which prompted then-President George W Bush to invade the Central Asian country shortly afterwards.

Bush ordered the invasion - named Operation Enduring Freedom - in a bid to flush out 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden and other key Al Qaeda terrorists believed to have plotted the outrage, which murdered 2,977 Americans.

After coming to office, President Biden vowed that it was 'time to end America's longest war' and the State Department started ordering home most remaining staff at the US embassy in Kabul this week.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has admitted that a civil war or Taliban takeover in Afghanistan is 'certainly a possible scenario' when the US withdraws all its troops from the country by September 11

But the decision has divided opinion with some officials and lawmakers voicing concerns that pulling troops too quickly could lead to retaliation from the Taliban.

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who is on the Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN 'it's difficult to see a scenario that doesn't end in civil war or a Taliban takeover.'

Blinken addressed these concerns Tuesday, admitting that unrest is a possible consequence.

'That is certainly a possible scenario,' he said.

'Now no one has an interest in renewed civil war in Afghanistan, certainly the Afghan people don't.'

He urged what he described as 'free riders' in the region to start using their 'influence' to help keep the country stable.

'I don't think ultimately either the Afghan government or the Taliban do, none of Afghanistan's neighbors do, neighbors and other countries in the region that have basically been free riders for the last 20 years, as we've been engaged there with our NATO allies and partners who are now going to have to decide, given their interests in a relatively stable Afghanistan, given the influence that they have, whether they're going to try to use that influence in a way that keeps things within the 40-yard line,' he said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the US withdrawing military from Afghanistan: "We are not disengaging from Afghanistan. We're remaining deeply engaged in the diplomacy... development, economic assistance, humanitarian assistance, support for the security forces." pic.twitter.com/9PaCoEwMFg  CNN (@CNN) April 27, 2021

Blinken told CNN 's Jake Tapper Tuesday the Biden administration is 'planning for every scenario' that could arise from the move but insisted the US is 'not disengaging from Afghanistan' and will continue to be 'deeply engaged' in supporting the country long after troops have left

Blinken denied that the withdrawal of troops was the US 'disengaging' from the country, saying the nation continues to be committed to 'its people, development, economic assistance humanitarian assistance, support for the security forces.'

'So a lot of people are having their minds concentrated by the president's decision and besides that - even as we are withdrawing our forces, we are not disengaging from Afghanistan.

'We're remaining deeply engaged in the diplomacy, in support for the Afghan government and its people, development, economic assistance humanitarian assistance, support for the security forces,' he said.

'We have trained over the years more than 300,000 of them so all to that remains and there are different actors are work now who I hope will keep moving this in a more positive than negative direction.'

He added: 'But we have to plan we are planning for every scenario.'

Blinken also insisted that the Biden administration is working to ensure Afghan locals who 'put their lives on the line' working with US forces and diplomats in the country over the last two decades can apply to be expedited to the US.

Thousands of people worked alongside the US on the ground in the country and have been left fearful for their lives once the US withdraws.

US troops including Marine General Kenneth McKenzie at the Forward Operating Base Fenty in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in 2019

Taliban supporters in 2011 holding an image of 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden. There are concerns that pulling troops too quickly could lead to Taliban retaliation

'We have had this program in Iraq and also in Afghanistan and we want to make sure that people who put their lives on the line, working with American folks in uniform, working with our diplomats who put, not just themselves in jeopardy, potentially their families as well, can get expedited consideration if they decide that they want to try to come to the United States,' he said.

'We have got about 18,000 people already in the pipeline, 9,000 of whom are relatively far along, another 9,000 are just at the beginning of the process, and you know, clearly more are likely to sign up, so we are working very hard to make sure that we've got in place the resources to work that program - to work it quickly, expeditiously.'

Blinken called on the lawmakers in the House and the Senate to 'work together and make sure that the program has the resources it needs.'

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said on Tuesday he hoped many Afghans will want to stay to 'contribute to the nation's future' but said it was crucial the US protects those who feel they need to leave the nation.

'Failing to do so 'sends a global message - 'Don't fight with the Americans, because when they're finished they leave you behind.' That's not something we can tolerate,' he said.

Joe Biden announced earlier this month that the US will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September 11 2021 - the 20 year anniversary of Al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks

Khalilzad met with lawmakers Tuesday for a Foreign Relations Committee hearing discussing the withdrawal.

Many cited concerns that the Taliban will take over the county again after troops are pulled out.

The same day, the State Department ordered employees at the US embassy in Kabul to leave Afghanistan unless their jobs require them to be physically located there or 'whose functions can be performed elsewhere.'

Guidance from State also says American citizens should not travel to Afghanistan and those already there 'should leave as soon as possible on available commercial flights.'

The order comes just two days after America's top general in Afghanistan, Austin Miller said they already began closing down operations there.

He asserted Afghanistan's security forces had to be ready to take over after a full withdrawal.

The State Department ordered most remaining staff at the U.S. embassy in Kabul leave Afghanistan after threats from the Taliban ramped up

Biden announced earlier this month that troops would begin pulling out by May 1 and be fully out by the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Around 2,500 US troops are still in the country.

The decision seemed to fly against the advice of the Pentagon's top brass and some of the president's closest advisers.

And politicians on both sides of the Atlantic have also warned that Biden's plan to withdraw risks creating a power vacuum which the Taliban is already seeking to fill.

However the timeline is later than the May 1 deadline Donald Trump agreed upon.

The Taliban has threatened the US and NATO with consequences if the military withdrawal is not completed by this earlier date.
The communication regulator in Kenya has suspended a television station and fined it for airing a pornographic scene during a children's programme.



Mt Kenya television has been fined 500,000 Kenyan shillings ($4,600:3,300).



The station will also be off air for four weeks for the offence.



During the same programme, the station aired content that exposed minors to drug abuse and robbery with violence.



Screenshots of the explicit sex scene have been shared online.



The communication authority has also ordered that all staff be retrained and get accredited by the media council.

Source: BBC









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The Chicago metropolitan area is a better place to live because of Mr. Walker, said Bishop Larry D. Trotter of the Sweet Holy Church of Chicago, quoted in a news release. His steadfast concern for people of color and poverty is second to none. There has never been a time that community leaders reached out to Early, and he did not respond.


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On the Occasion of Koningsdag in the Netherlands

Washington, DC - Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State: "On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I send warm wishes to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and to the people of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as you celebrate Koningsdag (Kings Day).

"This year we will celebrate together the reopening of the Netherlands Carillon, an important monument to the strength and longevity of our close partnership. Given in gratitude for U.S. assistance in the liberation and economic revitalization of the Netherlands after World War II, the Carillon is an enduring symbol of what we can achieve when we work together to overcome shared challenges.

"Through a difficult year, our friendship, based on our joint commitment to democratic values, has remained strong. I look forward to working with the Netherlands in the coming year to further strengthen our partnership and work toward solutions to global challenges including climate change, pandemic prevention and recovery, and transnational threats.

"Best wishes to the people of the Netherlands for a safe and joyous Koningsdag, and a promising year ahead."
After serving Reliance Industries in various positions, Prakash Shah decided to follow the Jain ritual of renunciation. Last week, Prakash and his wife Naina Shah took 'diksha' on the auspicious occasion of Mahavir Jayanti.

After graduating in Chemical Engineering more than 40 years ago, Prakash post-graduated from IIT Bombay. He had a long career at Reliance before retiring last year as a vice president.

Prakash was playing a key role in Reliance's Jamnagar petcoke gasification project before his retirement. Earlier, he had also managed petcoke marketing for the company. Naina, on the other hand, is a graduate in commerce.

Immediately after his retirement, Prakash had expressed his desire to renounce the world and take diksha. However, his plan got delayed almost by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After taking diksha, Jain monks give up all worldly pleasures. They walk barefoot and eat only what they have received in alms.

However, Prakash and Naina are not the first ones in the family to renounce the world. The couple have two sons, one of whom took diksha almost seven years ago. He was also an engineering graduate from IIT Bombay. The other son is married with one child.

Also read: COVID-19: Reliance Industries to set up 1,000-bed hospital in Jamnagar

Also read: Serum Institute reduces Covishield price for govt hospitals to Rs 300
A shellshocked father has recalled how he and his family were forced to duck for cover as a brazen gunman sprayed their home with bullets.

Bob Nikolic, 50, had just finished eating dinner with his wife Slavica, 49, and daughter, 23, about 7pm on Tuesday when they heard the sound of gunshots outside their home in Hunters Hill, Sydney.

They watched in horror as a bullet smashed through a front window of their Gaza Avenue home and ricocheted from the wall where his daughter's friend was sitting just a few minutes earlier.

Mr Nikolic, who has lived at the home with his family in the leafy lower north shore suburb for almost two decades, believes the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.

Bob Nikolic, 50, had just finished eating dinner with his wife Slavica, 49, and daughter, 23, (pictured) in their home when the shooting started

'I have no idea what happened. I'm an electrician, my daughter studies and my wife is a housewife I don't have any problems and don't mix with those kinds of people,' Mr Nikolic told reporters outside his home on Wednesday.

'It's very strange to me.'

'When I heard the first gun, I didn't understand but the second I realised, because I saw it went through the roller blind.'

'I realised straight away what happened, I ducked down and told my family to duck down, we went to the bathroom and turned off the lights. Then I called police and came out.'

The gunman remained at large on Wednesday afternoon as Mr Nikolic recalled how he and his family narrowly escaped injury.

'I still don't believe it happened. My family was in the room and one of the bullets ricocheted around the wall near where I was standing,' he recalled

'I'm definitely lucky [to be alive]. Five minutes beforehand my daughter's friend was facing the back of the window where the bullet came through.'

Mr Nikolic (pictured) and his family ducked for cover as shots were fired at their Hunters Hill home shortly after dinner on Tuesday night

'I'm definitely lucky [to be alive]. Five minutes beforehand my daughter's friend was facing the back of the window where the bullet came through,' Mr Nikolic (pictured with his daughter) said

The shooting was caught on CCTV, which Mr Nikolic was given to investigators to help track down the shooter.

He says the footage shows a man pulling out a handgun and firing three bullets at a car in the driveway before he opens fire on the house and walks away.

Shell casings and holes were found in the front of their home and a white BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe parked in the driveway.

The front windows and an internal wall inside the home were also damaged.

Specialist forensic police spent Tuesday night examining the crimes scene as detectives began an investigation.

The Gaza Avenue home was peppered with bullets. Pictured is a damaged front window

Bob Nikolic recalled how he and his family narrowly escaped injury. Pictured is a damaged front window

A search of the surrounding area was conducted with assistance from the helicopter and the dog units.

Residents in the exclusive suburbs reported hearing 10 shots at the time of the incident.

Police insist the Nikolic family aren't known to police.

'To happen in Hunters Hill, which is quite an affluent area, is certainly very unusual,' Detective Sergeant Sean Hampstead said.

'It's quite shocking someone would go outside a house and shoot in when people are inside. They could've been seriously injured.'

Initial inquiries suggest a man was seen fleeing from the scene on foot before getting into a car intersection of Gaza Avenue and High Street.

Anyone with CCTV, dashcam or any information that could assist detectives is urged to contact Ryde Police.
In human subjects, the relative density of VGLUT-carrying dopamine neurons (shown by the yellow arrows) is greater in females (right panel) than in males (left panel). Credit: Zachary Freyberg

It is not every day that scientists come across a phenomenon so fundamental that it is observed across fruit flies, rodents and humans.

In a paper published today in Aging Cell, neuroscientists from the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences discovered that a single proteina glutamate transporter on the membrane of vesicles that carry dopamine in neuronsis key to regulating sex differences in the brain's vulnerability to age-related neuron loss.

The proteinnamed VGLUTwas more abundant in dopamine neurons of female fruit flies, rodents and human beings than in males, correlating with females' greater resilience to age-related neuron loss and mobility deficiencies, the researchers found. Excitingly, genetically reducing VGLUT levels in female flies diminished their protection from neurodegeneration associated with aging, suggesting that VGLUT could be a new target for prolonging dopamine neuron resilience and delaying the onset of symptoms of aging in the brain.

"From flies to rodents to human beings, we found that VGLUT levels distinguish males from females during healthy aging," said senior author Zachary Freyberg, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and cell biology at Pitt. "The fact that this marker of dopamine neuron survival is conserved across the animal kingdom suggests that we are looking at a fundamental piece of biology. Understanding how this mechanism works can help prolong dopamine neuron resilience and delay aging."

Neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease are more likely to develop as we age. Parkinson's diseasea slow but relentless loss of dopamine neurons in the brain that impairs one's ability to move or talkis known to predominantly affect men. But while biological sex differences, which arise from a combination of hormonal, genetic and environmental influences, seem to explain why females are protected from early stages of Parkinson's, the driver and regulator of these protections was, until now, unknown.

Using a combination of biochemical and genetic techniques, as well as behavioral studies where flies' locomotion was monitored for a 24-hour period, researchers found that age-related benefits afforded to females disappeared when the levels of VGLUT gene expression were significantly reduced in dopamine neurons.

"We found that VGLUT expression increases with age, and that flies become more vulnerable to dopamine neuron degeneration when we knock down VGLUT," said lead author Silas Buck, a Ph.D. candidate at the Pitt Center for Neuroscience. "We also found that VGLUT expression is higher in females than males, suggesting that VGLUT may play a role in regulating sex differences in vulnerability to neurodegeneration in Parkinson's and other neurological disorders where females are more resilient than males."

As the rates of Parkinson's disease are rapidly risingthe number of people affected by the illness worldwide is projected to reach 20 million by 2040Pitt scientists hope to further probe the role of VGLUT in neuroprotection in humans.

"We are entering an epidemic of Parkinson's disease, and we need to understand how to make our neurons more resilient," said Freyberg. "VGLUT is a tantalizing new target that is key to not only understanding the fundamental biology at the core of dopamine neurons' survival, but ultimately for developing new therapeutics."

More information: Silas A. Buck et al. Vesicular glutamate transporter modulates sex differences in dopamine neuron vulnerability to agerelated neurodegeneration. Aging Cell First published: 28 April 2021 Journal information: Aging Cell Silas A. Buck et al. Vesicular glutamate transporter modulates sex differences in dopamine neuron vulnerability to agerelated neurodegeneration.First published: 28 April 2021 doi.org/10.1111/acel.13365
Sovereign AEI, a leading specialist in foreign direct investment and leaders of commercial success in Saudi Arabia, has reported a 50% increase in the Kingdoms commercial activity.



Since the establishment of a strategic partnership between two corporate service provider powerhousesin 2019, Sovereign AEI has reported solid performances in its operations, enabling over 600 business visits to Saudi Arabia in 2019 alone. Of these, 50% were first time visitors and over 70% went on to achieve success in the Kingdom. AEI alone has enabled over 1,500 foreign businesses to enter, establish or expand in Saudi Arabia since the company commenced operations in 2012.



Sovereign AEI registered a 300% increase in corporate services in Saudi throughout 2020. The outlook for the coming year remains promising, with an expected uptick of 50% in MISA registrations, compared to pre-pandemic levels. In addition to this, the team are forecasting a 50% increase in HR and immigration services.



Sovereign AEI operate to the highest international standards of regulatory compliance and service clients with the integrity and professional standards expected.



The strong performance and promising outlook also come in the context of positive market forecasts for the Saudi economy, which is set to return to positive growth in 2021. As per the latest report from global rating agency S&P, higher oil prices caused by rising demand and a wider availability of vaccines worldwide will support the Kingdoms real GDP growth, which is forecast at around 2.3 per cent between 2021 and 2024.



Paul Arnold, Managing Director of Sovereign Saudi Arabia said:As a global business, we were receiving an increasing number of enquiries from new and existing clients about how to successfully establish and operate a business in Saudi Arabia. Thanks to AEIs capability and strong local knowledge, we are now able to complement Sovereigns expertise in handling cross-border corporate and commercial matters.



The Saudi market presents tremendous opportunities. Most companies are now aware of the potential of the market, the main pillars of Vision 2030 and the significant number of economic reforms carried out over the past 18 months.



However, plotting a road map to success can be a challenge. Our principles are to educate, de-risk and enable the clients ability to enter, establish or expand in the Kingdom. Our robust performance in Q1 is a testament to the attractive nature of the Saudi market and we continue to see a growing interest and increasing shift of client focus towards KSA, as the country continues to unveil new strategic initiatives, he added.



Stuart DSouza, Co-Founder and CEO of Arabian Enterprise Incubators (AEI) said: The Sovereign AEI partnership is perfectly aligned with Vision 2030, representing a unique combination of local and international expertise to enable clients to capitalise on the unparalleled opportunities in the Kingdom.



It is easy to spot the many opportunities in Saudi. But the market remains challenging, often opaque, and always shifting from a regulatory, compliance and process perspective. Seeking informed and credible local knowledge with transparent advice is crucial to achieving success. As the world begins to emerge from the pandemic, the future looks bright and together with Sovereign, we will continue to fly the flag for the Saudi market place internationally and connect the Kingdom to the world.  TradeArabia News Service
Lyle Goldstein: Yes, War with China Could Go Nuclear and End Life on Earth

April 27 , 2021 (EIRNS)Lyle Goldstein wrote an article under the above title, published on March 20 in the National Interest. Goldstein, an Associate Professor in the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, is fluent in both Chinese and Russian, and is a frequent critic of the imperial U.S. thinking and policies.

In this case, Goldstein is sending a wake-up call to the war hawks in the United States who are acting as though the U.S. were still the only superpower and could dictate policies at will under the misconception that no country can withstand U.S. military force. Goldstein reviews the recent developments of Chinas nuclear arsenal. He starts with a 2015 graphic from Naval & Merchant Ships, a Chinese journal, which shows the impact of a Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) strike by 20 nuclear-armed rockets against the United States, destroying most of the major U.S. cities. Beyond that, Goldstein observes, the missile used in the graphic was the DF-5 first generation ICBM. In other words, the illustration is perhaps a decade or more out of date. As China has deployed first the road-mobile DF-31, then DF-31A and now JL-2 (a submarine-launched nuclear weapon), Chinas nuclear strategy has moved from assured retaliation to what one may term completely assured retaliation.  This brings to mind Tulsi Gabbards recent tweet: Are we prepared to see our loved ones burn alive in a nuclear holocaust in a war with Russia over Ukraine? If not, cut out the macho saber rattling and deescalate before its too late.

Goldstein reports on the appearance of several articles in Chinese press calling on the government to carry out a nuclear weapon buildup to match Chinas role as a major power, but others insisting that the country must retain only small, elite and effective nuclear forces as a deterrence.

Goldsteins conclusion is most important:
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], April 28 (ANI/SRV Media): Symbiosis School of International Studies (SSIS) is organizing the 7th edition of the International Relations Conference titled: Competition, Convergence and Multi alignment: Shaping India's Foreign Policy for the Next Decade. It will take place in the virtual mode on 29th and 30th April 2021.

The five sessions will provide a platform for deliberation of issues that will impact India's Foreign Policy in the years to come.

The inaugural ceremony will take place on 29th April 2021 at 11:00 am. The chief guest for the ceremony will be Shri. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary, Government of India. Dr S.B. Mujumdar, Chancellor, Symbiosis International University will preside over the function.

International Relations Conference is an annual event organized by the Symbiosis School of International Studies (SSIS) under the aegis of Symbiosis International (Deemed University).

This prestigious event provides students the opportunity to listen to diverse scholarly and diplomatic perspectives and develop a more nuanced understanding of the International Studies discourse.

Dr Vidya Yeravdekar, Pro Chancellor, SIU, Dr Rajani Gupte, Vice Chancellor, SIU and Prof. Shivali Lawale, Director SSIS will be the other distinguished dignitaries for the function.

The event will hold a total of five sessions. The first session will talk about "The post-pandemic emerging world order". The second session will fix attention to the topic "The United States in the coming decades: opportunities and challenges for India". The third session will focus on the topic "China and Russia in the emerging world order". The fourth session will light emphasis on "France and Japan shape new roles in world affairs: enhancing strategic ties in India". Final and the fifth session will address ''Pursuing Multi-Alignment: Indian foreign policy amidst contestation and opportunities".

The International conference will bring together ministers, diplomats, corporate leaders, academics, members of civil society organizations, NGOs, and media professionals from the field of international relations both from India as well as globally. It will be a pioneering platform for an in-depth discussion on the given themes, with speakers contributing both to the general framework of strategic culture and policy approaches in specific areas of interest to India.

The upcoming International conference is an extremely engaging, educating and inspiring event. The school has invited well known chief guests and speakers for this event who will enlighten students with the ultimate knowledge on "Competition, Convergence and Multi alignment: Shaping India's Foreign Policy for the Next Decade".

The two day event will also allow students to share their opinions on various interesting topics relevant to international studies. The constructive engagement of young inquisitive minds with prominent experienced personalities will turn the event into an extremely interesting yet productive experience.

The end goal of the event is to provide students a great platform with visionary speakers and guests who will help them in broadening their perspectives on international studies and growing towards success.

To Register-

(https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsf-ypqT4tHNKmb_SKSIjuFs8cif36O_iW)

YouTube URL for live streaming of the session:

Day I: International Relations Conference 2021 29/4/2021, 11:00 AM:(https://youtu.be/ux7XdoCKtGg)

Day II: International Relations Conference 2021 30/04/2021 10:00 AM: (https://youtu.be/xUzWna39A_E)

Attached is the schedule of the conference for your reference.

For media queries contact: Mr. Prafulla N. Kulkarni

prafulla.kulkarni@symbiosis.ac.in 88888 47946.

This story is provided by SRV Media. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV Media)

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The final episode of Line Of Duty is set to take place on Sunday evening and dedicated viewers are hoping to uncover the identify of 'H' - the fourth man.

And Martin Compston teased that fans will get some 'big answers' during the finale, as he admitted he believes it could be the 'perfect ending' to the police drama.

The actor, who plays DI Steve Arnott in the show, spoke to the Shrine Of Duty podcast ahead of the last episode this weekend.

Teaser: Martin Compston teased that fans will get some 'big answers' during the finale, as he admitted he believes it could be the 'perfect ending' to the police drama

Martin, 36, confessed that while he thinks Sunday's episode could be the best way to wrap up the 'story arch' - he also refused to rule out another series.

When quizzed on whether viewers will learn who the illusive 'H' is, Martin said: 'I wouldn't quite go the Jo Davidson no comment route - but what I will tell you is I think there's a lot of pay offs coming this Sunday.

'There's a lot of big answers and it's deserved, people have stuck with us for a long time, so there comes a point where the story arch comes to an end.'

Martin also touched on whether series seven is likely, after show bosses previously claimed they believed the current season would be the last.

Inside man: The actor, who plays DI Steve Arnott in the show, spoke to the Shrine Of Duty podcast ahead of the last episode this weekend

He said: 'We don't know [if there will be another] - that's nothing new. Jed always takes time after a series, like a couple of months.

'There's a lot of stuff above my pay grade like analytics and audience scores. He takes the emotion out of it and looks at all that.'

Admitting it could be the 'perfect ending', he said: 'It's different this year, because we have to look it in terms of, do people want us back? 10 years in you start to think of legacy, and if it goes down that well it might be the perfect ending.'

'But then we might go another couple of months and... what I will say is we won't do one just for the sake of doing it. Jed will only do it if there's a story to be told.'

Omg! Martin, 36, confessed that while he thinks Sunday's episode could be the best way to wrap up the 'story arch' - he also refused to rule out another series

Elsewhere, during the chat, Martin also discussed filming the 30 minute-long interrogation scene after Jo Davidson [Kelly MacDonald] was arrested last week.

Martin said that there can be high levels of tension during these types of scenes, which he admitted can often descend into fits of laughter.

He said: 'These big interview scenes, the tension in them is unreal, not just cos of the scene, but thinking 'can we do this?' - it's 30 minutes long - can we get through it?'

He added: 'Usually day two, after lunch, your mind has gone and you're on autopilot. The giggles are ready to go as the finish line is in sight, it just takes something to go.

'Adrian had a bit of a brain freeze - but animal themed - and when he was on a rant at Kelly, he says a bunch of racist thugs, but it comes out as a slugs.'

'There was a mountain of evidence, but he said there's a mountain of elephants coming at you. And we were just like, what is going on?

'One of them happened and everyone's averting their eyes and pinching their own legs under the table, trying not to laugh. The slugs one, everyone just lost it.'

Coming back: Line Of Duty will be back on Sunday night and fans are eager to find out whether AC-12 will finally crack the case on the elusive H

'That's the horrible thing about the giggles, once you start, there's no way back.'

Martin's character, who is known for his love of waistcoats, also touched on whose idea it was to dress Steve in the signature garment.

He said: 'It was me who decided it, in the first series Jed wanted Steve wearing a lot of layers so he looked a bit different.

'But in the second series I thought about it and Steve does see himself as Sherlock Holmes, but also - he's the overdressed w****er at work.

Trailer: In a teaser released on Monday, viewers can be certain of an action-packed finale episode with a police standoff, the return of balaclava men and that 'definately' misspelling

'He's the guy in the call centre with the headset and waistcoat having all the office affairs, but nobody can understand why he's pulling all these birds.

'There's that wee arrogance to him, that he thinks he's a bit better, I love him and playing him, and he is a wee arrogant so and so, but he really cares about his job.'

The chat comes days after a new trailer for Line Of Duty's finale was released, only serving to heighten speculation around the identity of 'H'.

AC-12: The trailer starts off with Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), state: 'All of these suspicious deaths were orchestrated by one officer in particular, H. The fourth man'

Fall from grace: The trailer then shows acting Superintendent Jo Davidson (Kelly MacDonald) leaving the high-security prison in handcuffs

Scary: She ends up alone in a van with a corrupt prison officer who previously injured Lindsay Denton in series three

Clue: A handwritten note is also teased in the trailer, with the word definite misspelt to mirror what viewers have seen previously- will this be the clue AC-12 needs?

Viewers can be certain of an action-packed finale episode complete with a police standoff, the return of balaclava men and the discovery of a written note with THAT 'definately' misspelling.

The trailer starts off with Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar), who is facing imminent retirement, state: 'All of these suspicious deaths were orchestrated by one officer in particular, H. The fourth man.'

Hastings' powerful words went alongside flashbacks of the deaths of solicitor Jimmy Lakewell, police officer Lisa Patel, journalist Gail Vella and former Detective Inspector Marcus Thurwell- whom fans believe is still alive.

Drama: It certainly seems Hastings and his team are on to something as police cars speed down the road, while armed officers close in on a residential area and Hastings briefs his team

Shootout: And it only gets more dramatic as balaclava men jump out of vehicles armed with guns themselves

Crime: The police board shows AC-12's work so far; with DI Dot Cottan, Chief Superintendent Derek Hilton, Gill Biggeloe and OCG members including Lisa McQueen and Tommy Hunter

The trailer then shows acting Superintendent Jo Davidson (Kelly MacDonald) leaving the high-security prison in handcuffs, only to end up alone in a van with a corrupt prison officer who previously injured Lindsay Denton in series three.

Jo says: 'What's going on?', before the camera flashes a sinister look from the prison officer.

A handwritten note is also teased in the trailer, with the word definite misspelt to mirror what viewers have seen previously.

A huge clue of the identity of H began to emerge in series five, when the OCG communicated with 'H' through a computer.

Eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice H spelling definitely as 'definately', and this misspelling has been repeated in subsequent episodes.

Corrupt? Partricia Carmichael will also return after her suspicious behaviour during the interview on the last episode

Will this handwritten report be the breakthrough AC-12 need to close in on 'the fourth man'?

It certainly seems Hastings and his team are on to something as police cars sped down the road, with armed officers closing in on a residential area during the trailer.

The Superintendent briefs DI Kate Fleming, DI Steve Arnott and DC Chloe Bishop as they arrive at the scene.

Hastings says: 'AFO's will secure the suspect down', while the words 'Every investigation has led to this... H'.

And it only gets more dramatic as balaclava men jump out of vehicles armed with guns themselves.

Kate opens the police van, brandishes her gun and shouts: 'armed police' before the screen fades to black.

Action: The snaps, which are thought to be depicting the seventh episode of the series, show a stoney-faced Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) getting out his police car

Intriguing: Another snap shows Hastings pointedly walking out of the front gates of Decker Avenue Police Station, where Jimmy Lakewell was taken before withdrawing his cooperation with AC-12

The newly-released trailer for the finale showed Kate wearing the same grey turtleneck jumper as she is seen wearing in the on-set snaps, while it teases at the return of the balaclava men and shows DCI Jo Davidson handcuffed in prison.

Viewers were stunned on Sunday night when it appeared James Nesbitt's character was killed off before he even appeared on screen - but some are convinced it was a cover-up.

Towards the end of the nail-biting penultimate episode, Guardia Civil police officers stormed Marcus Thurwell's Spanish home, while the AC-12 team watched via video link.

When the law enforcement officers entered the home, they were met by two bodies, and a Spanish captain turned to the camera and identified one as 'Senor Thurwell'.

While many viewers expressed surprise an actor of Nesbitt's calibre was denied even a scene, some were left convinced Thurwell was in fact the Spanish AFO leading the raid on his home.

Showdown? Other images show Kate (centre) and Steve (right) speak to Hastings, leaving fans asking if the duo confront the AC-12 boss about the 50,000 given to John Corbett's widow Steph

Under pressure: Hastings, who has already become exasperated as time is running out before he's forced into retirement and AC-12 is disbanded, is seen looking concerned in the images

One tweeted: 'Is it just me or was one of those Spanish "police officers" Thurwell? Im sure it was him.'

Another wrote: 'Exactly what I was thinking? Nice job if James Nesbitt only got paid for a few photos so I suspect that Marcus Thurwell is 100% alive.'

And one commented: 'Is this Marcus Thurwell or have they just found the Spanish Jimmy Nesbitt to play the part?' - sharing a series of screenshots to illustrate the likeness.

AC-12 were looking into the retired former detective chief inspector after SI Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) learned that Gail Vella - the journalist who was murdered - had been looking into the death of Lawrence Christopher while in police custody - a case Thurwell was in charge of.

Ready to go: Hastings, who is up against the clock before AC-12 is disbanded, is also seen getting out of a police car as things heat up during the series

Link: A dramatic trailer for the BBC drama's finale showed Kate wearing the same grey turtleneck jumper as she is seen wearing in the on-set snaps (pictured)

Thurwell also has links to Darren Hunter, the son of former organised crime group boss Tommy Hunter.

The OCG also murdered Oliver Stephens-Lloyd before he had an opportunity to give evidence about sexual abuse at Sands View Boys' Home, with Superintendent Ted Hastings convinced Thurwell is connected to the killing and the abuse cover-up.

When Thurwell was found 'dead', Hastings was visibly exasperated - with time running out for him to solve the mystery before his impending retirement.

Elsewhere in the episode, viewers learned PC Ryan Pilkington met a grizzly end, after working as an inside man in the Murder Investigation Team (MIT) for the Organised Crime Group (OCG).

Trouble ahead? The images have left people questioning whether Kate and Steve are going to confront Hastings about the mysterious wad of cash given to Steph, and wondering what the trio are doing at Decker Avenue Police Station

Determined: In snaps taken on set, Hastings appeared to be hard at work ahead of his forced retirement as he was seen getting out of a police car looking determined

After being lured to a lonely car park by DCI Jo Davidson during the previous episode, Kate was met by armed officer Ryan who said he planned to kill her as he held up his gun and aimed it at her.

The episode ended as two gun shots sounded, before the new episode revealed that Ryan had been shot twice in the chest, with Kate and Jo fleeing the scene in a Thelma and Louise-inspired fashion.

When DI Steve Arnott arrived with the AC-12 unit they discovered that Kate and Jo had gone on the run and Ryan was dead.

DCS Patricia Carmichael could be heard telling officers that the duo were considered to be 'armed and dangerous' and sent out an order for their address.

Theory: Fans were stunned on Sunday night when it appeared James Nesbitt's character was killed off before he even appeared on screen - but some are convinced it was a cover-up

Towards the end of the penultimate episode, Guardia Civil police officers stormed Marcus Thurwell's Spanish home, while the AC-12 team watched via video link. They found Thurwell's body (right) - but some fans believe the Spanish captain was Thurwell in disguise (left)

Despite the gripping hunt for Jo and Kate which commenced, fans were overjoyed that one of their favourite characters had survived.

Elsewhere during the new episode, fans were left convinced that Detective Chief Superintendent Patricia Carmichael is the fourth man after Sunday's episode.

The officer, played by Anna Maxwell Martin, placed herself at the centre of the action as she ordered Kate Fleming to be arrested following the shootout and then tried to shut down Ted Hastings' questions during a very intense interview of Jo.

Some viewers even theorised that Carmichael was trying to send a message during the 'puzzling' interview - which also saw Jo discover her paternity despite offering more 'no comments' than answers - based on how often she tapped her pen.

This Morse code theory popped up during Arnott's questioning of Davidson, specifically when he tried to get information about Gail Vella's laptop and computer.

Although Davidson remained tight-lipped, Carmichael did seem to start sweating a little as she tapped her pen four times and took a sip of water.

Interesting: While many viewers expressed surprise that an actor of Nesbitt's calibre was denied even a scene, some were left convinced that Thurwell was in fact the Spanish AFO

She's alive! Line Of Duty ended on a tense cliffhanger last week after gunshots were fired as DI Kate Fleming and bent copper Ryan Pilkington held up their weapons

Cliffhanger: After being lured to a lonely car park by DCI Jo Davidson (pictured) [Kelly MacDonald] during the previous episode, Kate [Vicky McClure] was met by armed officer Ryan

Man down: The episode ended as two gun shots sounded, before the new episode revealed that Ryan had been shot twice in the chest

Morse Code is an alphabet that spells out words or messages using a series of short and long sounds, with the officer appearing to make four taps and spell out H.

Carmichael again set alarm bells ringing when she cut off Hastings at the end of the interview following his knockout question about Osborne being H.

Cutting off the AC-12 head's question, she declared that Davidson was being charged with 'perverting course of justice and misfeasance in public office'.

The Line Of Duty series six finale airs on BBC One on Sunday at 9pm.
Seven Italians convicted of left-wing domestic terror crimes, including several former members of the Red Brigades. were arrested in France on Wednesday.

French police made the arrests on warrants seeking the suspects in Italy for "acts of terrorism," the French presidency said in a statement.

The arrested individuals had fled Italy and sought refuge abroad before they could be imprisoned to serve their sentences.

Police in France were searching for three others who were not at home.

Crimes for which some of those arrested were convicted in Italy include the 1980 killing of a Carabinieri paramilitary general and the 1980 kidnapping of a judge.

Five of those arrested in what Italian police said was code-named Operation Red Shadows were former members of the Red Brigades, a group active during the 1970s and 1980s that carried out killings, kidnappings and so-called "kneecappings, in which targets were shot in the legs by attackers who fled. The group later fell dormant.

Also among those detained in France was Giorgio Pietrostefani, 77, a militant from the far-left group Lotta Continua (Struggle Continues).

Pietrostefani was convicted of the 1972 slaying of Milan Police Chief Luigi Calabresi and sentenced to 22 years in prison.

The other person arrested had belonged to Armed Cells Against Territorial Power, which Italian police described as a subversive group.

Narciso Manenti was convicted of the 1979 killing of a Carabinieri police officer.

Italian police said he married a French citizen in 1985.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Microdose Psychedelic Insights ("Microdose"), the leader in B2B psychedelic intelligence, in partnership with The Conscious Fund, the most active VC fund in the psychedelic space, is pleased to present the next edition of Psychedelic Capital.

The next edition of the psychedelic investment series will be on Thursday, April 29, 2021, at 1:30 PM EST. The PsyCap April edition will feature engaging presentations from NanoPsy, BETTERLIFE PHARMA INC. (CSE: BETR), PharmAla Biotech, as well as panel discussions on the topic of Clinical Trials & RWE and Going Mainstream: Mass Adoption.

Details and schedule of the April PsyCap are as follows:

1:30 PM: Intro

Featuring Henri Sant-Cassia & Richard Skaife.

1:45 PM: BETTERLIFE PHARMA INC. (CSE: BETR)



Featuring Patrick Kroupa, Ahmad Doroudian, Justin Kirkland

2:15 PM: Clinical Trials & RWE

Featuring Henri Sant-Cassia, Malcolm Barratt-Johnson, Matthew W. Johnson

2:45 PM: NanoPsy

Featuring Bojan Krasic & Max Arella

3:15 PM: Going Mainstream: Mass Adoption

Featuring Richard Skaife, Ronan Levy, Kathryn Tucker, Dustin Robinson

3:45 PM PharmAla Biotech

Featuring Nicholas Kadysh & Justin Ling

"While PharmAla Biotech has a great team behind it, we're a relatively new company. I'm excited to bring our story to the PsyCap audience, and to talk with Justin Ling about what I see as the future of the industry." - Nicholas Kadysh, President, PharmAla Biotech

Date:

April 29th 2021 at 1:30pm Eastern

Registration site:

https://microdose.buzz/pressrelease

Concept:

Presentations are 30 minutes in length, with 10 minutes always allocated to a one-on-one Q&A session with the audience. Psychedelic Capital features the top companies, latest IPOs, newest opportunities and deepest insights into the emerging psychedelic space. Live networking with all the attendees is available prior and during the event.

- ENDS -

Notes to Editors

To request media accreditation, or to arrange interviews with key personnel please contact:

Kristina Spionjak

kristina@microdose.buzz

About Microdose Psychedelic Insights

Microdose Psychedelic Insights aims to unlock the potential of psychedelics through Industry events, market intelligence, original, evidence-based content, strategy and community. We enable and empower society at large to make better, more mindful decisions about psychedelics and its intersection with healthcare, medicine and personal growth. We work with the industry's most influential stakeholders, some of the world's best-known brands and an unrivalled network of scientists, researchers, analysts, innovators, investors and advisors.

About PsyCap

This online event programming is dedicated to providing investment grade information for the nascent psychedelic sector and presents a curated group of CEOs, financial experts, thought leaders and investment luminaries from around the globe. Presentations are 30 minutes in length, with 10 minutes always allocated to a one-on-one Q&A session with the audience. Psychedelic Capital features the top companies, latest IPOs, newest opportunities and deepest insights into the emerging psychedelic space.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81928
JOHANNESBURG, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Woolpert has been selected to collect, process and deliver topographic mapping across more than one-quarter of Nigeria, or roughly 258,000 square kilometers, under a $4.4 million contract with the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD). The project is part of the Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification Project, also known as MinDiver, and is funded by the World Bank.

Woolpert will supply the labor, materials and equipment needed to develop 340 complete topographic mapping sheets and corresponding Multinational Geospatial Co-production Program (MGCP) data. The firm will provide 1.5-meter processed satellite imagery, digital elevation models, ground truthing, feature extraction and topographic map data. Woolpert also will implement a streamlined MGCP mapping and cartographic finishing workflow through Esri ArcGIS Pro with Defense Mapping and Production Manager. Additionally, Woolpert has deployed a full-fledged, cloud-based enterprise geospatial data hosting platform coupled with multi-user virtual desktops through Microsoft Azure and Woolpert's raster service, STREAM:RASTER, to allow for easily managed, cross-continental geospatial production.

MGCP is governed by the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and provides a standardized, worldwide geospatial database and mapping products to address national and international needs for its 32 member nations. Woolpert Southern Mapping/Africa Market Director Tim Leary said, per MGCP standards, each mapping sheet will provide standardized imagery interpretation for 100% land coverage, identifying hydrology features, transportation routes and cross sections of population, which will support the accessibility, settlement and workforce needs for the mining of minerals.

"Nigeria is leveraging high-resolution mapping data and the valuable information infrastructure of MGCP to diversify from its purely oil-based economy and strengthen its mineral mining capabilities," Leary said. "Each mapping sheet for this project will be 15 minutes of latitude by 15 minutes of longitude, collected in three main regions targeted by MMSD to best support efficient and effective mining. If an area is identified that requires higher-resolution imagery for this objective, we can provide that as well."

Woolpert is coordinating this project through its Johannesburg office and has hired over 15 additional GIS positions at that site in support. The cloud-based infrastructure allows for a swift ramp up as new team members join. This contract is underway and slated to be complete in April 2022.

About Woolpert

Woolpert is the premier architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG) and strategic consulting firm, with a vision to become one of the best companies in the world. We innovate within and across markets to effectively serve public, private and government clients worldwide. Woolpert is an ENR Top 150 Global Design Firm, recently earned its fifth-straight Great Place to Work certification and actively nurtures a culture of growth, inclusion, diversity and respect. Founded in 1911 in Dayton, Ohio, Woolpert has been America's fastest-growing AEG firm since 2015. The firm has over 1,100 employees and 42 offices in three countries. For more, visit woolpert.com.

Media contact:

Woolpert PR Manager

Jill Kelley

937-531-1258

[email protected]



SOURCE Woolpert

Related Links

http://www.woolpert.com


Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Coming off a uniquely challenging year, Albuquerques hotel and lodging industry is pushing to add a small fee to room rates that help the city better take advantage of a potential influx of tourists.

I believe we do a fantastic job marketing the city, but every dollar counts, said Adrian Montoya, board president of the Greater Albuquerque Hotel and Lodging Association, which includes around 40 hoteliers.

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Visit Albuquerque, with support from several large hoteliers around the city, is spearheading the effort to establish a tourism marketing district, which would add a 2% assessment to room rates within the city limits.

Visit Albuquerque president and CEO Tania Armenta said that money would then go toward expanded marketing efforts that help Albuquerque compete for leisure travelers looking to travel again after a wave of restrictions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its very much a game-changer for us, Armenta said. It will allow us to compete in a highly competitive environment.

Tourism has been among the industries hit hardest by the pandemic. But even before the pandemic began, Armenta said the citys budget for tourism promotion was smaller than that in many peer cities.

Similarly-sized cities in the region, like Tucson, Arizona, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, each had at least $4 million more to spend on tourism marketing, according to data provided by the organization. Even Santa Fe, with a population less than 20% of Albuquerques, had a larger tourism budget, Armenta said.

Armenta added that as lodgers tax receipts have increased over the past decade, Visit Albuquerques budget hasnt kept pace.

Visit Albuquerque has been under-funded in comparison to our competition for a number of years, she said.

The organization sees the development of a tourism marketing district as a way to offset that imbalance.

Around 184 cities and other communities have established similar tourism marketing districts. Also known as tourism improvement districts, they allow all the hotels and other lodging facilities to agree to add an assessment to fund other programs.

In Albuquerque, the program would cover more than 150 hotels, motels and other lodging facilities within city limits, but wouldnt extend to short-term rentals initially. Armenta said shes hopeful AirBNBs and other short-term rentals will eventually be included in the district.

Visit Albuquerque projected that the district would raise $4.8 million based on pre-pandemic visitation figures, but Armenta acknowledged that the number of visitors may not return to that level immediately.

Theres still some uncertainty around overall travel behavior, Armenta said.

More than three-quarters of the funding would be allocated to sales, marketing and communications, according to Visit Albuquerques budget. Armenta said the funds may be used to expand existing digital marketing and television advertising efforts, with a focus on leisure travelers in particular.

Thats the area that we have a significant opportunity for growth, Armenta said.

The assessment would mean an increase to room rates, but Armenta said rates in the city would still have fewer fees than many of Albuquerques competitors. Data from Visit Albuquerque shows that Albuquerque has the second-lowest fee rate among 12 cities it competes with, above only Phoenix. Adding a 2% assessment pushes Albuquerque into the middle of the pack, according to the data.

Its still a great value for the money, said Jim Long, founder and CEO of Heritage Hotels & Resorts and a supporter of the district.

Long added that he believes the time is right to pursue this.

Youve got to be aggressive right now, he said. New Mexico is an attractive destination, but we need to let the world know that it is an attractive destination.

Montoya said GAHLA is in full support of the district, citing the need to regain the citys pre-pandemic momentum and let visitors know about Albuquerques cultural offerings.

If youre not able to tell that story, people arent going to come, Montoya said. We have to continue to tell that story, and to tell that story costs a little bit of money.

Armenta said Visit Albuquerque is trying to get hoteliers to sign a petition supporting creation of the district. If at least 51% agree, the petition will be presented to City Council to appoint a planning group and adopt an ordinance to create the district.

We could start collecting dollars late this summer, Armenta said.
Scientists characterized how these states depend on local chemical composition, narrowing the search for where to look compositionally to enable quantum computing

UPTON, NY--Scientists characterized how the electronic states in a compound containing iron, tellurium, and selenium depend on local chemical concentrations. They discovered that superconductivity (conducting electricity without resistance), along with distinct magnetic correlations, appears when the local concentration of iron is sufficiently low; a coexisting electronic state existing only at the surface (topological surface state) arises when the concentration of tellurium is sufficiently high. Reported in Nature Materials, their findings point to the composition range necessary for topological superconductivity. Topological superconductivity could enable more robust quantum computing, which promises to deliver exponential increases in processing power.

"Quantum computing is still in its infancy, and one of the key challenges is reducing the error rate of the computations," said first author Yangmu Li, a postdoc in the Neutron Scattering Group of the Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science (CMPMS) Division at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory. "Errors arise as qubits, or quantum information bits, interact with their environment. However, unlike trapped ions or solid-state qubits such as point defects in diamond, topological superconducting qubits are intrinsically protected from part of the noise. Therefore, they could support computation less prone to errors. The question is, where can we find topological superconductivity?

In this study, the scientists narrowed the search in one compound known to host topological surface states and part of the family of iron-based superconductors. In this compound, topological and superconducting states are not distributed uniformly across the surface. Understanding what's behind these variations in electronic states and how to control them is key to enabling practical applications like topologically protected quantum computing.

From previous research, the team knew modifying the amount of iron could switch the material from a superconducting to nonsuperconducting state. For this study, physicist Gendu Gu of the CMPMS Division grew two types of large single crystals, one with slightly more iron relative to the other. The sample with the higher iron content is nonsuperconducting; the other sample is superconducting.

To understand whether the arrangement of electrons in the bulk of the material varied between the superconducting and nonsuperconducting samples, the team turned to spin-polarized neutron scattering. The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), located at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is home to a one-of-a-kind instrument for performing this technique.

"Neutron scattering can tell us the magnetic moments, or spins, of electrons and the atomic structure of a material," explained corresponding author, Igor Zaliznyak, a physicist in the CMPMS Division Neutron Scattering Group who led the Brookhaven team that helped design and install the instrument with collaborators at Oak Ridge. "In order to single out the magnetic properties of electrons, we polarize the neutrons using a mirror that reflects only one specific spin direction."

To their surprise, the scientists observed drastically different patterns of electron magnetic moments in the two samples. Therefore, the slight alteration in the amount of iron caused a change in electronic state.

"After seeing this dramatic change, we figured we should look at the distribution of electronic states as a function of local chemical composition," said Zaliznyak.

At Brookhaven's Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), Li, with support from CFN staff members Fernando Camino and Gwen Wright, determined the chemical composition across representative smaller pieces of both sample types through energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. In this technique, a sample is bombarded with electrons, and the emitted x-rays characteristic of different elements are detected. They also measured the local electrical resistance--which indicates how coherently electrons can transport charge--with microscale electrical probes. For each crystal, Li defined a small square grid (100 by 100 microns). In total, the team mapped the local composition and resistance at more than 2,000 different locations.

"Through the experiments at the CFN, we characterized the chemistry and overall conduction properties of the electrons," said Zaliznyak. "But we also need to characterize the microscopic electronic properties, or how electrons propagate in the material, whether in the bulk or on the surface. Superconductivity induced in electrons propagating on the surface can host topological objects called Majorana modes, which are in theory one of the best ways to perform quantum computations. Information on bulk and surface electronic properties can be obtained through photoemission spectroscopy."

For the photoemission spectroscopy experiments, Zaliznyak and Li reached out to Peter Johnson, leader of the CMPMS Division Electron Spectroscopy Group, and Nader Zaki, a scientific associate in Johnson's group. By measuring the energy and momentum of electrons ejected from the samples (using the same spatial grid) in response to light, they quantified the strengths of the electronic states propagating on the surface, in the bulk, and forming the superconducting state. They quantitatively fit the photoemission spectra to a model that characterizes the strengths of these states.

Then, the team mapped the electronic state strengths as a function of local composition, essentially building a phase diagram.

"This phase diagram includes the superconducting and topological phase transitions and points to where we could find a useful chemical composition for quantum computation materials," said Li. "For certain compositions, no coherent electronic states exist to develop topological superconductivity. In previous studies, people thought instrument failure or measurement error were why they weren't seeing features of topological superconductivity. Here we show that it's due to the electronic states themselves."

"When the material is close to the transition between the topological and nontopological state, you can expect fluctuations," added Zaliznyak. "For topology to arise, the electronic states need to be well-developed and coherent. So, from a technological perspective, we need to synthesize materials away from the transition line."

Next, the scientists will expand the phase diagram to explore the compositional range in the topological direction, focusing on samples with less selenium and more tellurium. They are also considering applying neutron scattering to understand an unexpected energy gap (an energy range where no electrons are allowed) opening in the topological surface state of the same compound. Johnson's group recently discovered this gap and hypothesized it was caused by surface magnetism.

###

This work was supported by the DOE Office of Science. The CFN and SNS are both DOE Office of Science User Facilities.

Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https:/ / energy. gov/ science .

Follow @BrookhavenLab on Twitter or find us on Facebook.
First lady Jill Biden introduced her 'virtual' guests for President Joe Biden's first Congressional address Wednesday afternoon, when past guests would have been heading to the White House for a reception.

The five individuals included a Dreamer, the first transgender teen to testify before Congress, a BLM activist who advocates for gun control, a local educator and a tribal leader.

The guests are usually there to prove a point in the president's speech - and they played a similar role this year, but presented Dr. Biden with remarks beforehand.

First lady Jill Biden hosted five virtual guests at an online event before President Joe Biden's speech before Congress Wednesday night to make up for the nixed tradition of having a first lady's box. Dr. Biden won't have in-person guests due to COVID-19 protocols

Dr. Jill Biden speaks to her guests in advance of President Joe Biden's first joint address before Congress. Generally the guests would be used to make a point in the president's speech. This year they played a similar role, but spoke to the first lady beforehand

Javier Quiroz Castro, a 'Dreamer' who benefited from the Obama-era DACA program, talked about being a COVID-19 nurse for the past year, contracting COVID and then returning to the hospital to work with more COVID patients

The First Lady is pictured waving at her husband after attending his first address to Congress after her Zoom address on Wednesday afternoon

The First Lady waved while stood next to Vice President Kamala Harris's husband Doug Emhoff, right, on Wednesday night

Emhoff, pictured with the first lady, is America's first ever 'second gentleman,' and was seen blowing kisses to his wife as she appeared onstage

Javier Quiroz Castro is a so-called 'Dreamer,' coming to the U.S. from Mexico as a three-year-old and growing up undocumented.

Castro said he benefited from President Barack Obama's DACA - Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals - policy, which allowed him to get licensed as a nurse after his nursing school graduation.

The policy was put in jeopardy during President Donald Trump's four years in office, but Biden is moving to safeguard the Dreamers, while also pushing Congress to pass the Dream Act.

Castro said for the past year he's been treating COVID-19 patients at a top-tier facility in Houston, Texas.

He grew slightly emotional when the first lady asked how he'd been doing.

'How are you doing, mentally, How are you doing, are you OK?' she asked.

Castro first said it had been fine, but then admitted it's been tough.

'They asked us to step up and take care of COVID patients and we stepped up, we had to serve the community,' he said. 'I ended up catching COVID last year unfortunately. And I was out for like a month.'

'But as soon as I felt good I came back to take care of COVID patients again and now I am, fast-forward to today, I'm fully vaccinated and I'm literally working right now,' he continued.

'I'm talking to you guys on my lunch break because there was no way I was going to miss this opportunity to speak with you,' Castro said.

Stella Keating, a 16-year-old transgender activist from Tacoma, Washington, told Dr. Biden about her efforts to humanize transgender and non-binary people. Keating became the first transgender teenager to testify before the Senate, which she did last month

Stella Keating, a 16-year-old transgender activist from Tacoma, Washington, highlighted the Biden administration's more LGBTQ-friendly stance.

'I'm so inspired by the president's commitment to all LGBTQ+ Americans, including his support of the Equality Act,' she told Dr. Biden. 'I just can't stop smiling.'

'To hear President Biden say all human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love told me that I am valued, that I matter and that I belong,' she told the first lady. 'This gives me hope and, more importantly, it gets me excited about my future.'

Keating talked about her work with the GenderCool project, which aims to humanize to other Americans transgender and non-binary people.

'We know that when people have the chance to meet us, their opinions change,' Keating said. 'I wanted our senators to know me as a person and I had no idea that I would be making history as the youngest transgender person to ever testify before the U.S. Senate.'

Keating testified about the Equality Act - which has passed in the House but not the Senate - before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.

When it was Biden's turn to speak again, she encouraged the teenager to run for office.

'I love that you're interested in politics and I hope you decide to run for office, because you know, politics is an honorable business and I think we have to lift up that whole idea,' Biden said. 'Because look at you, look at the change that you're making.'

The first lady asked Keating for her parents to pop into the screen so she could deliver them a message too.

After a quick delay, Keating's mother Lisa was visable in the frame.

'You must be such a proud parent, congratulations,' Biden told the mom. 'You have an amazing daughter.'

20-year-old Tatiana Washington talked about losing her aunt to gun violence in a murder-suicide at the hands of her uncle, a Milwaukee police officer. Washington talked about why $5 billion needed to stay in the American Jobs to go toward violence intervention programs

Virtual guest Tatiana Washington made the case for stricter gun control laws.

'March 11, 2017 is a day I will never forget,' she told the first lady. 'It is the day I lost my aunt Sharda in a murder-suicide at the hands of her husband, a Milwaukee police officer.'

It is also the day my little cousins lost their parents, not to mention witnessed this horiffic act,' Washington added.

Washington, a 20-year-old from Milwaukee who's been involved in Wisconsin's Black Lives Matter movement, told Biden that 'gun violence, domestic violence and police violence are all interconnected and tied back to our nation's history and culture of violence and marginalization.'

'We have to reimagine what public safety looks like and work as a collective to transform our communities,' she encouraged.

More specifically Washington pointed to $5 billion the Biden administration wants as part of the American Jobs Plan infrastructure bill that's supposed to go toward community violence intervention programs.

Washington said she's been lobbying Congress so that this money stays in the final package.

Educator Maria-Isabel Ballivian, whose Northern Virginia early child development center is near the community college where Biden teaches, talked about the importance of early child education and how her facility made it through the pandemic

Maria-Isabel Ballivian is the executive director of Annandale, Virginia's Christian Community For Action Development Center - located just down the street from Northern Virginia Community College, where Biden teaches.

She made a pitch for early childhood education and talked about how her center stayed afloat during the pandemic.

Ballivian said one thing they did was get a Paycheck Protection Program loan - which was launched during the last administration - and benefited from the help of hundreds of volunteers, as those who needed childcare included first responders and frontline workers.

'In short, we took a all hands on deck approach thinking outside of the box an dit worked,' she said. 'None of these would be achieved without the administration's efforts.'

Theron Rutyna of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior's Chippewa talked about the challenges of dealing with the pandemic when Native American reservations aren't equipped with broadband internet

Biden's final guest, Theron Rutyna, heralds from the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and has been leading an effort to get better broadband brought to reservations locally in Wisconsin and also across the U.S.

'When the pandemic hit, there was no broadband here on the reservation that could support Zoom meetings or tele-health or anything to do with a child's education,' Rutyna told the first lady.

He spoke about the importance of the broadband components in Biden's proposed American Jobs Plan, which lawmakers are currently hashing out on Capitol Hill.

'Being able to bury fiber is a luxury,' he said of the process of bringing high-speed internet to the community.

'We need to bring htis broadband foward to not only the Native American reservations in Indian Country, but to all the rural people, so that when you sit down in Northern Kentucky, Northern California or Northern Wisconsin you can get on a Zoom meeting, you can get on with your family, you can see your friends and you can be safe during the pandemic,' Rutyna said.
[April 28, 2021] The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz Announces Investigation of Pinterest, Inc. (PINS) on Behalf of Investors

The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz announces an investigation of Pinterest, Inc. ("Pinterest" or the "Company") (NYSE: PINS) on behalf of investors concerning the Company's possible violations of federal securities laws. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate. On April 27, 2021, after th market closed, Pinterest announced its first quarter 2021 financial results and reported that global monthly active users grew only 30% year-over-year to 478 million, a decline from the prior quarter's 37% year-over-year growth. During the conference call held the same day, Pinterest's Chief Executive Officer stated that "[a]s pandemic lockdowns were eased in some parts of the world during mid-March, we began to see signs of less engagement and user growth on Pinterest."



On this news, the Company's stock price fell as much as 14% during intraday trading on April 28, 2021, thereby injuring investors. Follow us for updates on Twitter (News - Alert) : twitter.com/FRC_LAW.

If you purchased Pinterest securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Frank R. Cruz, of The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-914-5007, by email to info@frankcruzlaw.com, or visit our website at www.frankcruzlaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005930/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Five men are on trial for allegedly robbing a wealthy wine magnate and his wife in France.

A sixth suspect faces charges of complicity.

Bernard Magrez, 85, was allegedly held at gunpoint at his mansion in Bordeaux by robbers who had broken through a window in the night of January 11, 2018.

Bernard Magrez, 85, (pictured above) was allegedly held at gunpoint at his mansion in Bordeaux by robbers who had broken through a window

The masked intruders allegedly proceeded to take cash and luxury watches from the property, according to a report in The Telegraph.

Mr Magrez, who is also referred to as the 'Pope of Bordeaux', is a multi-millionaire who owns more than 40 wine chateaux across the country.

During the alleged robbery, Mr Magrez and his wife were taken around the house by the intruders in search of cash and other valuable items.

Lawyer for Mr Magrez, Pierre Blazy told media outlet France Bleu: 'It was terrifying. His wife was threatened.

'They said they would cut off her hands and take her to Spain. It was horrible. A pistol to her head.'

The thieves tied the couple up before stealing a collection of watches worth 87,000 (100,000), cash and other items.

The couple were physically unharmed during the incident, but are now demanding answers.

Speaking during an appearance in Bordeaux Criminal Court, Mr Magrez said: 'I want to know who betrayed me, gave them all the information to get into my house, and find the keys to my car and everything else.

'They were perfectly informed.'

The trial continues.
Sharon Redhead 56, receives an X-ray after complaining of chronic coughing, chest pain, and difficulty breathing at University Hospital on May - Lynsey Addario/Getty Images Europe

Cancer services are "no longer safe" as there are too few medics to cope with a backlog of patients waiting for scans and X-rays since the pandemic, medics have warned.

The Royal College of Radiologists said a third more consultants  almost 2,000 doctors  were needed to cope with demand, even before the crisis hit.

Its census of more than 1,000 specialists found that nearly half are now planning to cut their hours, and a fifth are considering leaving the NHS.

The number of patients facing long waits for tests such as MRI scans, ultrasounds and gastroscopies has risen 10-fold in the past year, with 327,663 patients waiting at least six weeks, up from 29,832 a year ago.

One medic told the census: We cannot deliver adequate services for our patients while another said we can no longer provide cancer and acute care safely.

Professor Mark Callaway, radiology workforce lead at the RCR, said: "Our new report has found the NHS needs thousands more radiologists to ensure patients get the safe and effective treatment they deserve, amplified by the first-hand experience of frontline doctors who witness the impact of consultant shortages on patient care on a daily basis.

"The staffing forecast for 2025 makes grim reading but, even more worryingly, swathes of demoralised radiologists are imminently looking to work less or leave the NHS."

The RCR said the UK has reached a "tipping point" when it comes to radiology staffing, with shortages posing a serious threat to NHS recovery.

As a result, it said patients are facing "long, anxious and inevitable" waits for diagnosis and surgery.

Prof Callaway said: "The coronavirus pandemic has bluntly contrasted the everyday heroism of NHS teams with the chronic underfunding of services, and the cracks in radiology, as elsewhere, are becoming undeniable.

"Unless hospital imaging capacity is massively improved, the UK will continue to lag behind other countries on cancer survival rates and patients will face worse outcomes for trauma care and all kinds of conditions.

Story continues

"The need for investment is urgent."

The report found that the UK has 4,277 radiology consultants, equating to 3,902 doctors working full-time, an increase of 170 full-time consultants compared with 2019.

But they said the rise was not enough to keep up with patient demand, even before the pandemic fuelled a backlog in numbers waiting.

Polling of 1,089 UK radiology consultants found 48 per cent are planning to work less after the past year  22 per cent said they were now considering leaving the NHS.

Breast Cancer Now said a quarter of breast radiologists are due to retire in the next five years.

Its chief executive, Baroness Delyth Morgan, said: "Today's census paints a bleak picture of vast shortages in breast radiologists across the UK at a time when a fully resourced imaging and diagnostic workforce is needed more than ever.

"The already over-stretched NHS is facing unparalleled pressures due to the pandemic, and a frightening consequence is that some women with breast cancer may not receive an early diagnosis which is critical to their chances of survival."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: The NHS has faced huge challenges during the pandemic and we have continued to support our incredible health and care staff who are working tirelessly to keep vital services open for thousands of patients.

There are record numbers of NHS doctors and nurses in England and the number of doctors in clinical radiology has risen by over 25 per cent in the past five years alone.

We are investing an additional 260 million to increase staff numbers further and ensuring that cancer patients benefit from the extra 1 billion of funding we have provided to tackle the elective backlog.
Erik Alvarado, 40, was arrested and charged in connection with the suspected domestic violence of his girlfriend

A New Mexico man has been arrested on domestic violence charges after his alleged victim's children alerted their school bus driver their mother was in danger.

After a night-long domestic altercation that allegedly began around 8pm last Thursday, according to the police, a Las Cruces woman secretly wrote a note on Friday morning and gave it to her children to hand to a bus driver, which stated that she was in danger.

She allegedly had her cell phone stolen by the perpetrator, so could not call for help.

Once the children handed the bus driver the note on Friday morning, the driver called 911 to the children's home around 8am.

There, police discovered a victim with multiple cuts, in addition to bruises and abrasions 'consistent with her claims of physical abuse.'

Erik Alvarado, 40, has been charged with both felony and misdemeanor counts of battery against a household member, along with other charges.

He has been charged with three third-degree felony counts of aggravated battery against a household member.

Two of those counts are for the alleged suffocation of the victim, while one is for strangulation.

Alvarado has also been charged with misdemeanor counts of battery against a household member, as well as deprivation of property.

The Las Cruces Police Department released a statement about the incident

The victim was allegedly battered, strangled, and suffocated at least twice with a pillow and a shirt, according to a Facebook statement from the Las Cruces Police Department.

At some point during the evening, Alvarado also allegedly threatened to kill the victim.

Alvarado, who is the victim's boyfriend, was detained for questioning on Friday by the Las Cruces Police Department.

Pictured: The Las Cruces Police Department, who responded to the 911 call of a bus driver after they were handed a note stating a woman was in danger (stock)

Alvarado is now being held at the Dona Ana County Detention Center without bond

The abuse allegedly occurred in front of the victim's three children, including a toddler. The two older children were the ones who passed the note to the bus driver the next morning.

Alvarado allegedly took away the victim's phone during the abuse, which prevented her from calling for help and necessitating the note the next morning.

The contents of the note have not been publicly revealed, nor has the identity of the bus driver.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Las Cruces Police Department for comment.

Alvarado is currently being held at the Dona Ana County Detention Center without bond.
Serbian president receives 2nd dose of Sinopharm vaccine

Xinhua) 08:50, April 28, 2021

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic checks blood pressure before receiving the second dose of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine in Doljevac, Serbia, April 27, 2021. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday received the second dose of the Chinese Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine here in southeastern Serbia and expressed gratitude to China and the Chinese people for "enormous support and help." (Photo by Wang Wei/Xinhua)

DOLJEVAC, Serbia, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday received the second dose of the Chinese Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine here in southeastern Serbia and expressed gratitude to China and the Chinese people for "enormous support and help."

After taking the jab at the health station at the village of Pukovac, Vucic invited all people to follow his example and further speed up the immunization campaign.

After the vaccination, the president, on behalf of the Serbian people and in his own name, sent his message of gratitude to the Chinese people and leadership.

"We are very grateful to China and the Chinese people for enormous support and help, for the vast quantity of vaccines that we received," Vucic said. "We hope that we will also improve cooperation on vaccine manufacturing, as well as in genetic sequencing, in cooperation with the BGI."

He said the vaccination did not hurt at all, and appealed for the public to receive it because in this way "you protect your own life and the lives of many other people."

When receiving the fifth batch of the vaccines from China on Monday, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said it would help the country inoculate 37 percent of its population by the end of April, and hopefully put a full stop to the epidemic during May and June.

One month after a serious peak in the daily number of new infections, Serbia on Monday once again reported under 2,000 new cases. Schools and shopping malls opened here in mid-April. Restaurants and cafes can serve outdoors.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
LANSING, MI - In 2013, Erica Hammell received a call from her ex-husband about their 1-year-old son Wyatt.

The St. Clair Shores mother heard over the phone that her son was transported to Childrens Hospital of Michigan in Detroit for treatment of a massive brain hemorrhage, according to the hospital. The fathers girlfriend at the time, Rachel Edwards, was later charged with abusing Wyatt, who survived the ordeal.

She pleaded no contest to second-degree child abuse and is now serving two years and 10 months to 10 years in prison, according to state corrections records. Before that, Edwards served two probation sentences for previous child abuse offenses, according to Macomb County Court records.

State lawmakers have since worked with Hammell to create Wyatts Law. The legislation would create a registry of child abuse offenders maintained by the Michigan State Police, allowing parents to search for red flags in the background of anyone involved with caring for their children.

On Wednesday, Wyatts Law took a big step towards enactment.

The Michigan Senate approved Senate Bill 371 by a wide bipartisan vote of 33-2 on April 28. Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, is the main bill sponsor. Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, and Democrats such as Sen. Adam Hollier, D-Detroit, also co-sponsored.

Sometimes great things happen from great tragedy, Hertel said on the Senate floor. Anybody that has met Wyatt would know that.

The bill would create a computerized registry of people convicted of child abuse in Michigan maintained by MSP. Other provisions include:

The database would include each individuals legal name and aliases, their date of birth, what municipality they list in their residential address and a brief summary of convictions.

A requirement that the state police maintain a website for public use with basic information on offenders. Information such as the name of the victim, an individuals social security number, any arrests not resulting in a conviction, email addresses used by the offender and ID numbers would still be private.

A requirement that the registry is shared with regional state police posts, local law enforcement agencies and sheriffs departments.

Use of nonpublic, private information by someone other than the individual registered in the database would be a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to a year in prison or a $1,000 fine.

The implementation of the child abuse offender registry would cost approximately $5 million to start and $2.5 million annually to maintain, according to Senate Fiscal Agency analysis. This is based on costs to run Michigans sex offender registry, which is also run by state police.

Hertel praised the bravery of Hammell to push forward with the legislation, knowing that it could bring back the trauma Wyatt and she suffered eight years ago.

Instead, they took that moment in their lives, that tragedy in their lives and are using it to invest in all children in Michigan, he said.

There were 27,894 confirmed victims of child abuse in 2020, according to statistics from the Annie E. Casey Foundations Kid Count Data Center. A year earlier, that number was 35,636 victims.

Wyatts Law would be a tool for parents, law enforcement and social workers to make informed decisions on the wellbeing of children, Hertel said.

Legislation like this is why I - and Im certain many of you - got into public service in the first place, he told his fellow state senators. This bill identified a problem in our system, and if it is solved, it will make Michigan a better and safer place to live and raise a family.

The bill now heads to the House for further deliberation. If approved there with no amendments or revisions, it would head to Gov. Gretchen Whitmers desk for potential enactment.

Read more from MLive:

Michigan House votes to move primary elections to June

Former Michigan health director who resigned abruptly to testify in Thursday House hearing

Sexual harassment, ethics reforms and pandemic relief: The week in Michigan politics
Mark Read

WPP chief Mark Read reported a 1.8 percent spurt in Q1 revenue to $4B as the firm returned to growth in all business lines and most major markets.

Like-for-like revenue was up 6.3 percent.

Read said WPPs strengths in ecommerce, digital media, technology and investment in creative talent are resonating with clients as their markets recover and they seek to transform their offer for future growth.

WPPs BCW, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Ogilvy and Finsbury Glover Hering PR operations posted a 3.0 percent drop in reported revenues to $286M.

They grew 2.0 percent on a like-for-like basis.

Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, was WPPs fastest growing Top Five market as L-F-L revenues surged 18.4 percent. The region rebounded from a 12.1 percent decline during 2020s final quarter.

UK grew 3.9 percent in Q1. Germany advanced 2.5 percent. US scratched out a 0.7 percent gain. India tanked 0.5 percent.

Reed said the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines is improving visibility in many markets, although there is inevitably uncertainty over the pace of recovery.
Prince Andrew's former patronage of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has been reallocated to his brother Charles in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

The Duke of York was relinquished of the post by the RPO Board in November 2019 following the controversy around his friendship with the convicted sex offender.

He stepped down from public duties following his disastrous Newsnight interview in which he was accused of lacking empathy for Epstein's victims.

Heir to the throne Charles stressed the importance of protecting the arts during the pandemic.

Prince Andrew's former patronage of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has been reallocated to his brother Charles (both pictured attending the Most Noble Order of the Garter Ceremony at Windsor Castle in June 2015)

RPO managing director James Williams said he was honoured to have Charles as patron. Andrew was involved in supporting the RPO for 15 years

The orchestra, which has welcomed a new music director, Vasily Petrenko, has pledged to help communities recover from the Covid-19 crisis as it prepares to mark its 75th anniversary.

In a statement, the RPO said: 'The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is delighted to announce that The Prince of Wales has accepted an invitation to become the Orchestras Patron.

'The Prince of Wales has a life-long association with the Arts. During the pandemic His Royal Highness spoke about the importance of protecting the Arts, stressing their enormous importance to life in the UK and to the economy.'

RPO managing director James Williams said he was honoured to have Charles as patron, adding: 'The era of Covid-19 has presented a seismic challenge for the Arts community but, as lockdown slowly eases, it is time to look forward.

'At the RPO, we have been hard at work for some months, shaping a bold strategy for our concert, community engagement, inclusion and education programmes to enrich communities when it matters most; we aim to help people and businesses to rebuild after the long, dark months of lockdown.

'With the announcement of The Prince of Wales as our Patron and the appointment of Vasily Petrenko as our new Music Director, the RPO is well placed to lead the resurgence and spread the joy of orchestral music in a post-Covid world.'

Heir to the throne Prince Charles stressed the importance of protecting the arts during the Covid-19 pandemic (file photo)

Andrew was involved in supporting the RPO for 15 years.

The funeral of his father the Duke of Edinburgh, on April 17, was his first appearance at an official royal event since he ended his time carrying out public duties.

Andrew has faced calls to speak to US prosecutors and the FBI, which intensified after his friend Ghislaine Maxwell was charged with recruiting girls for Epstein to sexually abuse.

Virginia Giuffre, who says she was trafficked by Epstein as a teenager, said in an interview with BBC Panorama that she was left 'horrified and ashamed' after an alleged sexual encounter with the duke in London in 2001.

Andrew categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre.
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Chinagozi Adindu, the executive secretary, Abia State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (ASPHDA), has warned that malaria could lead to mental health complications if left untreated.

Mr Adindu, a medical doctor, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia, on Tuesday.

He advised people to always eliminate mosquitoes in their environment, saying that malaria was caused by plasmodium, while the female anopheles mosquitoes happened to be the known vectors.

Mr Adindu said that when left untreated, the disease could lead to complications such as cerebral malaria, which causes swelling of the blood vessels in the brain that could result in brain damage or mental problems.

He described malaria as the leading cause of death, among the communicable diseases in the country, and in sub-Saharan Africa, without any discrimination against its victims.

He said there have been so many cases of the disease in the state, adding that the ASPHDA have come up with ideas and strategies to fight the scourge.

Some of the measures, he explained, included health education and engagement of the environment health officers, to ensure a healthier and better environment.

According to him, the agency was also distributing mosquito nets to people, as well as promoting the use of rapid diagnostic kits to check if one has malaria or not.

We also have anti-malaria drugs and there are so many of them in circulation now. We can prevent malaria by observing simple environmental health rules, such as keeping our environments clean and making sure that we do not have stagnant water around, he said.

Mr Adindu expressed hope over the newly developed malaria vaccine, which, he said, had been proven to be highly effective, stressing that it would help to fight the scourge, when made available.

The ASPHDA boss urged the people to prevent malaria and other communicable diseases, by keeping their environments clean, as well as maintaining basic hygiene.

The World Health Organisation had set aside April 25 as World Malaria Day, with this years theme as: Reaching the zero malaria target.

(NAN)
The funds will go towards research conducted in conjunction with the Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy at the Colorado School of Mines, to identify efficient and environmentally friendly methods to process cobalt ore from pyrite

More than 200kg of drill core material has been shipped to the Colorado School of Mines, which will work to further characterize the physical properties of cobalt ore

Corp ( ) ( ) (FRA:18P) announced that it has been awarded funding from the US Department of Energy's Critical Materials Institute (CMI) to research innovative mineral processing techniques for its Iron Creek copper-cobalt project in Idaho.

The funding will go towards an interdisciplinary, collaborative research effort conducted in conjunction with the Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy (KIEM) at the Colorado School of Mines over a two-year period, the company said, with the objective of identifying more efficient and environmentally friendly methods to process cobalt ore from pyrite material.

will receive US$600,000 from CMI, plus an in-kind match from the company itself, for a total US$1.2 million program. Ultimately, the company said the research effort is a step in its strategic plan to become the world's most sustainable producer of battery materials.

"Our vision in Idaho is to build a modern underground mining operation and mineral processing facility centered on the Iron Creek cobalt-copper deposit." CEO Trent Mell said in a statement. "We can take advantage of new and emerging technologies that reduce waste material coming out of the mine and reduce the amount of energy required to process the ore. To have the support of the United States Government to further a national strategy of developing a domestic supply of cobalt further reinforces the First Cobalt value proposition as North America's only integrated supplier of battery materials for the electric vehicle industry."

First Cobalt personnel will guide the work at the project based on preliminary mineralogical and metallurgical tests that were previously completed. The project is being led by KIEM Professors Corby Anderson and Erik Spiller, currently supervising a team of four graduate and undergraduate students, the company said.

More than 200 kilograms of drill core material has been shipped to the Colorado School of Mines, which will work to further characterize the physical properties of cobalt ore to determine the range of methods that are effective for processing. An underground bulk sample of more than 2000kg will be shipped during the summer to test ore sorting methods that potentially separate cobalt and copper ore from waste host rocks.

Results from the optimized methods will be compared to a conventional processing system First Cobalt has demonstrated to be effective for cobalt recovery, the company said. The improved process could reduce costs, energy consumption and generated waste material, thereby minimizing the environmental impact of mining and mineral processing.

Iron Creek is a high grade underground primary cobalt deposit with an indicated resource of 2.2 million tonnes at 0.32% cobalt equivalent (0.26% cobalt and 0.61% copper) for 12.3 million pounds of contained cobalt and an inferred resource of 2.7 million tonnes at 0.28% cobalt equivalent (0.22% cobalt and 0.68% copper) for an additional 12.7 million pounds of contained cobalt. The resource estimate used a 0.18% cobalt equivalent cut-off grade.

Drilling has outlined the strike extent of mineralization to over 900 metres (m) and down-dip to over 650m, the company said. Mineralization remains open along strike and down-dip, suggesting strong potential for significant future resource growth. Thick mineralized zones of up to 30m of true thickness reflect broad stratabound lithological controls.

Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.comollow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 18:16:02|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday voiced resolute opposition to separatist attempts in Taiwan including those through the so-called "constitutional amendments."

"We will take all necessary countermeasures against such moves. This warning should be heeded before it is too late," said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, in response to a query on remarks by sources from Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authority on amending the island's so-called "constitution."

In complete disregard of Taiwan compatriots' interests and well-being, a handful of separatist forces advocating "Taiwan independence" have been carrying out provocative and dangerous actions driven by selfish purposes, said Ma.

"This will only aggravate the tension across the Taiwan Strait, pushing the island into a precarious situation, and bringing suffering to Taiwan compatriots," said Ma.

Noting the legal foundation and reality that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China, Ma said political differences between the two sides can well be resolved through equal negotiations based on the one-China principle.

"We are willing to use our maximum sincerity and do our very utmost to promote the peaceful reunification of China," said Ma. "However, we will never tolerate any 'Taiwan independence' separatist moves, or allow the historical tragedy of national division to repeat itself." Enditem
Local News, Crime, Press Releases

By Chris Boyle Published: April 28 2021

District Attorney Sini: "This was a takedown of major drug traffickers selling cocaine while terrorizing the community."

Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and members of the District Attorneys Offices East End Drug Task Force (EEDTF) have announced the indictment of 12 individuals, several of whom are members of the 18th Street gang, in connection with an alleged drug distribution operation.

This was a multi-agency effort that resulted in the takedown of major drug traffickers selling crack cocaine and powder cocaine, and doing so in a way that was terrorizing the community, District Attorney Sini said. They were selling in front of retail establishments and in public areas, and the people selling those drugs were dangerous gang members. This dealt a major blow to drug dealing going on in the Riverhead area and throughout the East End of Long Island. We will continue to utilize innovative investigative techniques and work with all of our law enforcement partners to take drug dealers and gang members off our streets.

The fight against transnational criminal organizations such as the infamous 18th Street Gang begins with partnerships on the home front and is exemplified by the combined efforts of the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the East End Drug Task Force, said Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations. As alleged in the criminal indictment, members and associates of the 18th Street Gang were responsible for and financially benefited from the distribution of narcotics throughout the east end of Long Island. By leveraging our combined resources, we illuminated their narcotics network and brought this investigation to a swift conclusion with the arrests of key individuals from this transnational criminal organization.

These are some of the most dangerous gangs in Suffolk County and in the nation, and the excellent cooperation between law enforcement agencies in rooting criminal drug activity and bringing these people to justice will make Suffolk County safer for all, said Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr.

This case, once again, underscores the persistence of dangerous drug traffickers in our area and the need for coordinated law enforcement action to stop them, Southampton Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki said. These defendants put our residents at high risk through the deadly products they peddle and the methods of their operations. The Southampton Town Police Department is committed to working with the East End Drug Task Force to prevent these dangerous operations in our communities.

The Suffolk County District Attorneys Office, HSI and EEDTF began an investigation in July 2020 into alleged drug dealing by several members of the 18th Street gang and other associated individuals in the Riverhead area. The investigation involved the use of undercover officers, roving surveillance, electronic surveillance, and court-authorized eavesdropping.

The investigation revealed that the defendants were allegedly selling powder cocaine and crack cocaine to hundreds of buyers primarily in the Riverhead area, as well as in the Hamptons and various locations in the Town of Brookhaven. The investigation revealed evidence that the alleged drug operation was making approximately $75,000 each month through the illicit sales.

Pursuant to the investigation, search warrants were executed yesterday at seven locations in connection with the alleged drug operation, during which law enforcement seized approximately 300 grams of cocaine, approximately 50 ecstasy (MDMA) pills, seven grams of methamphetamine, a .38 revolver handgun, and approximately $70,000 in cash. Law enforcement also seized half a kilogram of powder cocaine during the course of the investigation.

Deris Denilo Matamoros Alvarado a/k/a Derry, 35, of Riverhead, is charged with two counts of Operating as a Major Trafficker, a class A-I felony; Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, a class A-I felony; two counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a class A-II felony; Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a class A-II felony; two counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony; six counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony; Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony; and two counts of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony.

Marvin Javier Ruiz Paz a/k/a Pulga, 39, of Centereach, is charged with three counts of Operating as a Major Trafficker, a class A-I felony; Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, a class A-I felony; Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony; and two counts of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony.

Kennedi Octavio Gonzalez Paiz a/k/a Kenni, 37, of Riverhead, is charged with two counts of Operating as a Major Trafficker, a class A-I felony; Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony; and two counts of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony.

Elvin Naun Bonilla Morales a/k/a Elvito, 39, of Southampton, is charged with two counts of Operating as a Major Trafficker, a class A-I felony; Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony; and two counts of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony.

Marvin Javier Bonilla Morales, 33, of Southampton, is charged with two counts of Operating as a Major Trafficker, a class A-I felony; Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony; and two counts of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony.

Christopher Emmanuel Millan Marin a/k/a Cuervo, 35, of Riverhead, is charged with Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony, and two counts of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony.

Brian Jefferson Toro Maldonado a/k/a Torro, 27, of Mastic, is charged with Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony, and two counts of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony.

Wilmer Wilfredo Godoy Chacon, 34, of Westhampton, is charged with Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony, and two counts of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony.

Jose Roberto Alvarado Romero a/k/a Robertito, 40, of Riverhead, is charged with Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony; two counts of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony; and Criminal Facilitation in the Second Degree, a class C felony.

Three additional alleged co-conspirators will be arraigned at a later date.

Matamoros Alvarado and Gonzalez Paiz have been identified by law enforcement as members of the 18th Street gang. Marin has been identified by law enforcement as a member of the Surenos gang.

If convicted of the top count, Matamoros Alvarado, Ruiz Paz, Gonzalez Paiz, Elvin Morales and Marvin Morales each face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. If convicted of the top count, Millan Marin, Toro Maldonado, Godoy Chacon and Alvarado Romero each face a maximum sentence of eight and one-third to 25 years in prison.

The Suffolk County District Attorneys Offices East End Drug Task Force includes law enforcement officers and detectives from the New York State Police, Suffolk County Sheriffs Office, Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County Department of Probation, East Hampton Town Police Department, Riverhead Town Police Department, and Southampton Village Police Department.
Associated Press

Patrick Cantlay delivered a clutch birdie late in the round and a 12-foot par putt in a playoff to win the Memorial on a Sunday filled with drama, a little rain and no Jon Rahm. Cantlay closed with a 1-under 71 and won the Memorial for the second time in three years, and he said he felt the same range of emotions in the final hour at Muirfield Village in his duel with Collin Morikawa. Only a day earlier, Cantlay walked off the 18th green six shots behind Rahm, whose 64 ranked as one of the great rounds at the course Jack Nicklaus built and tied two Memorial records, including largest 54-hole lead.
Alliance Enables Startup Community to Accelerate International Expansion

LONDON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Globalization Partners, which enables companies to hire anyone, anywhere, quickly and easily, via its AI-driven, automated and compliant global Employer of Record (EOR) platform, has announced a partnership with Tech London Advocates (TLA) to support the international expansion of London-based tech businesses.

Tech London Advocates is a network of 10,000 tech leaders, experts and investors who champion London as a global tech hub and campaign to address the challenges facing tech companies in the UK. With no government backing, Advocates volunteer their time to support the grassroots tech community and give the private sector a voice to ensure the growth of the local tech ecosystem.

As a not-for-profit organisation, TLA relies on the support of strategic partners, and the relationship with Globalization Partners will give Tech London Advocates access to a hugely successful company with deep expertise in enabling businesses to realise their potential by going global.

"This partnership with Tech London Advocates opens up the opportunity for ambitious organisations to expand into new and exciting markets by providing the services and support they need," said Nick Adams, Vice President of EMEA, Globalization Partners. "We aim to support the London tech ecosystem and help its growing network of exciting and innovative businesses to deliver on their global expansion goals."

Russ Shaw, Founder of Tech London Advocates, said "The race for talent is a challenge facing tech companies around the world. To realise their full potential and scale, tech companies need to attract and retain world-class talent at pace. Whilst countries like the UK need to develop home-grown talent to meet this demand, it's also important for tech companies to access international tech talent to fuel their growth. By working closely with Globalization Partners we can help London's tech businesses draw on their local knowledge and expertise to access talent around the world."

As an EOR, Globalization Partners allows companies to hire anywhere in the world by serving as the legal employer, ensuring compliance with local employment laws and regulations, freeing up companies to manage and direct the daily work of their team members. To see a demonstration, please watch this video .

About Tech London Advocates

Tech London Advocates (TLA) is a private sector led coalition of over 10,000 expert individuals from the tech sector and broader community who have committed to championing London's potential as a world-class hub for tech and digital businesses. It strives to support London's tech start-ups and high-growth businesses in finding new investment, new talent and continued success.

TLA is supported by a range of commercial partners, including Shoosmiths, Lakestar, Hiscox, Penningtons Manches Cooper, CENTI, Interxion, Credit Suisse, KPMG, Russell Reynolds, Globalization Partners and Here East.

The organisation is part of Global Tech Advocates, which has 18 networks around the world of over 20,000 tech professionals, spanning six continents and 50 countries. The group works together to drive collaboration, innovation and trade between international tech hubs. HP is a global partner for Global Tech Advocates.

About Globalization Partners

Hire anyone, anywhere, quickly and easily. Use our AI-driven, automated, fully compliant global Employer of Record platform powered by our in-house worldwide HR experts. Leave the complexities of global employment to the named industry leader that consistently attains 97% customer satisfaction ratings. With Globalization Partners, you can succeed faster.

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Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs Mike Pezzullo speaks during a Senate inquiry at Parliament House in Canberra on September 24, 2020. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

The Drums of War Are Beating, Australian Security Chief Warns

Australias leading domestic security chief has issued a stern warning for the country to be strong and prepared, saying the drums of war are beating in the region.

Australian Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo made the comments in a message to department staff on Anzac Day, April 25. He recounted speeches delivered by U.S. Gens. Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Throughout his presidency, Eisenhower instilled in the free nations the conviction that, as long as there persisted tyrannys threat to freedom, they must remain armed, strong and ready for war, even as they lamented the curse of war, Pezzullo wrote.

Today, free nations continue still to face this sorrowful challenge. In a world of perpetual tension and dread, the drums of war beatsometimes faintly and distantly, and at other times more loudly and ever closer.

War may well be folly, but the greater folly is to wish away the curse by refusing to give it thought and attention as if in so doing war may leave us be, forgetting us perhaps.

Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews, Pezzullos senior, said the overarching message from the government was to be alert, but not alarmed.

Were obviously very conscious as a government of what is happening in the Pacific region, in particular, and we will always put Australia first, second, and third, she told Nine News on April 27.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said the governments focus was the avoidance of conflict.

Our objective is to ensure that we are pursuing a stable and secure and a prosperous and open Indo-Pacific, she told reporter Jim Wilson of 2GB Drive on April 27.

Labor member of Parliament Bill Shorten said Pezzullos language was inflammatory.

By all means, we need to stand up for our trade, stand up for human rights, but language like drums of war, I think that is pretty hyper-excited language, he told Nine News.

I am not sure our senior public servants should be using that language because I am not sure what that actually helps, except cause more anxiety.

Pezzullos comments come just days after Defence Minister Peter Dutton said a conflict around Taiwan couldnt be ruled out.

People need to be realistic about the activity, Dutton told the ABC on April 25. There is militarisation of bases across the region. Obviously, there is a significant amount of activity, and there is an animosity between Taiwan and China.

Talk of conflict has increased in recent months as Chinese military jets have made near-daily incursions into Taiwanese airspace.

U.S. Adm. Philip Davidson, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said Beijings increasing military build-up could see the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempt to invade Taiwan in the next six years, while some analysts believe the timeframe could be shorter.

Beijing sees Taiwan as its own territory, even though the island state has been governed as a distinct territory for more than seven decades. The communist regime has vowed to bring it into the foldby force if necessary.

The Taiwanese government has ramped up its own weapons acquisition and production programs, including long-range missile production that will allow Taiwan to strike deep into Chinese territory in the event of a conflict.
[April 28, 2021] U.S. Leaders Summit on Climate in April followed by 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, to be hosted by the Republic of Korea, in May

"Resuming Global Cooperation to Counter Climate Change!"

- 40 world leaders participate in virtual climate summit hosted by U.S. on April 23

- 2021 P4G Seoul Summit will be held in May to spur action for green recovery, carbon neutrality SEOUL, South Korea, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With the COVID-19 pandemic drawing more attention than ever to the importance of global solidarity and cooperation on climate change, crucial international summits are being held this and next month to discuss efforts to take on the challenge. 2021 is the first year of the implementation of the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the leadership of then U.S. President Barack Obama. From April 22 to 23, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the Leaders Summit on Climate to mark Earth Day. The virtual summit is the first international conference hosted by President Biden since the U.S. returned to the Paris Agreement. 40 leaders joined the summit including Korean President Moon Jae-in, Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The summit is an occasion to proclaim the United States' return to the global fight against climate change after the Trump administration withdrew from the Paris Agreement and eliminated domestic environmental regulations. The event also drew attention because it set the stage for the first official meeting between President Biden and President Xi. "The U.S. will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by half the current level by 2030," President Biden said in his speech at the Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22. He expressed his resolve to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and announced that the U.S. will reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 compared with 2005 levels. Environmental groups and companies have urged Biden to target at east a 50 percent cut in emissions by 2030, which marks double the previous commitment by the U.S. and is widely expected to buttress global efforts to limit Earth's average temperature increase to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.



Following the Leaders Summit, the Republic of Korea will host the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit from May 30 to 31 under the theme of "Inclusive Green Recovery Towards Carbon Neutrality." The summit aims to strengthen momentum and solidarity in the international community to respond to climate change, promote inclusive growth and reach the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the post-pandemic era. The summit also seeks to help expand support for developing countries through cooperation with existing environmental initiatives including the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). In addition to P4G's five major SDG areas (Food & Agriculture, Clean Water, Clean Energy, Sustainable Cities, and Circular Economy), the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit is planning to hold special sessions devoted to new areas of interest, including the participation of future generations. The special sessions will be carried out in a format that will allow stakeholders, such as public institutions, private companies, NGOs and academia, to participate.

Whereas President Biden presented a broad blueprint at the Leaders Summit on Climate, the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit will aim to find more practical and concrete solutions through the participation of the leaders of 12 member countries and companies, civil societies, international organizations, and corporations around the world, especially focusing on offering practical support for developing countries for their climate change response and sustainable development. The U.S.-hosted Leaders Summit and the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit are expected to create mutual synergy and provide momentum for the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) to be held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, from Nov. 1 to 12, to achieve concrete results in responding to climate change. 2021 P4G Seoul Summit (https://2021p4g-seoulsummit.kr/) The P4G Summit was launched in September 2017, led by Denmark, as a global initiative to accelerate the response to climate change and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) based on public-private partnerships. Of the 17 SDGs, set out by the United Nations and the global community in 2015 with an aim of achievement by 2030, P4G specifically targets five objectives related to climate change responses (Food and Agriculture, Clean Water, Clean Energy, Sustainable Cities, Circular Economy). Twelve member countries  Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, and Vietnam  and international organizations (including the World Economic Forum and the Global Green Growth Institute) and private companies participate in the summit. P4G: A consultative body participated in by governments, companies, and civil societies

Puts an emphasis on action-oriented public-private cooperation

Composed of countries playing the role of a bridge between developing and developed countries

Seeks to build a sustainable business model (a bridge between development and investment) View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-leaders-summit-on-climate-in-april-followed-by-2021-p4g-seoul-summit-to-be-hosted-by-the-republic-of-korea-in-may-301278609.html SOURCE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea

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Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott listens as Ontario Premier Doug Ford gives an update regarding the Ontario COVID-19 vaccine in Toronto on Tuesday, January 5, 2021. Ontario says hospitals will be able to transfer patients waiting for a long-term care bed to any nursing home without their consent in an effort to free up space. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
NORTHWOOD, Iowa - Our dogs are our unailing best friend. That goes double for K-9 officers and their handlers.

Titan is a Dutch Shepherd, and has been with the Worth County Sheriff's Office for a little over a year. Thanks to a donation from Jeremy and Christopher Hanson of Garner, and the non-profit Vested Interest in K9's, the department received a zip-up and button bullet and stab protective vest for Titan to wear while on duty. In addition, the vest is embroidered with the sentiment "In memory of Dozer, Buddy and Lucky."

His handler, Chief Deputy Jesse Luther, says the 3-5 lb. vest doesn't diminish Titan's laser-like focus on the task at hand.

"I would guess it doesn't really seem like he notices. You can tell he knows it's on, but you don't see any different reaction out of him."

He's seen the interest in the vest program grow, as well as public support for law enforcement agencies to add a K-9 unit.

"The general public likes to see the animals too, so you get a lot more donations from the general public. That helps small agencies that can afford purchasing the dog, because they are very expensive."

The vest program is open to dogs at least 20 months old, and are actively employed and certified with law enforcement. Since its inception in 2009, Vested Interest in K9's has provided over 4,200 vests to K-9 units in all 50 states. The
By Dan Whitcomb

(Reuters) - Idaho lawmakers have approved a bill authorizing the state to kill up to 90% of its wolf population, a measure championed by farmers and cattle ranchers that will become law if signed by the governor in the coming days.

Governor Brad Little has not indicated whether or not he supports the legislation and a spokeswoman said the office did not comment on bills awaiting his signature. The first-term Republican has six days to sign or veto the measure, which becomes law if he takes no action in that time.

The Idaho House of Representatives this week voted 58-11 to approve the fast-tracked legislation, which passed the state senate last week with backing from the agricultural sector, who say the wolves are killing or scaring off sheep, cattle and other farm animals.

"They're destroying ranchers; they're destroying wildlife," Idaho State Senator Mark Harris told his colleagues in support of the bill last week, according to the New York Times.

Idaho Fish and Wildlife in 2002 established a Wolf Conservation and Management plan that calls for the state to maintain a population of at least 150 wolves. Harris said that number had grown to ten times that number, or more than 1,500, at last count.

Wildlife conservation groups have called on Little to veto the legislation.

"The bill will waste millions of dollars of public funds on killing wolves, and threatens to ultimately return the species to the endangered species list and federal management," the Western Watersheds Project said in a statement on behalf of three conservation groups.

Gray wolves were delisted from the Endangered Species Act last year by the U.S. Department of the Interior, which said the population had sufficiently recovered to no longer warrant protection.

If Little signs the legislation, the state would be permitted to hire contractors to kill the wolves and hunters would have no limits on the number they could target.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
A bipartisan group of over 65 U.S. House members joined in the Congressional Armenian Caucus request for the House Appropriations to allocate over $100 million in U.S. aid to Armenia and Artsakh following Turkey and Azerbaijans devastating attacks last year, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

U.S. Representatives sent a letter to House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Ranking Member Hal Rogers (R-KY), as the panel begins crafting the FY2022 Foreign Aid Bill.

The United States is uniquely positioned to help Armenia that has been shaken by last years war in Artsakh and the resulting uncertainty. Providing significant economic assistance to Armenia will help make its people more secure, bolster its democracy, help sustain economic development, stabilize its civil society, and aid its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and, most urgently, alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, said Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who along with Co-Chair Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Vice-Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA), led the effort. This investment will strengthen the U.S.-Armenia relationship, help Armenia rebuild, and solidify democracy in the region.

In a letter to their Congressional colleagues, Reps. Pallone, Speier, and Schiff wrote: The below requests for Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh in the Fiscal Year 2022 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs appropriations bill are critical for assisting the country in helping to make its people more secure, bolster its democracy and sustainable economic development, stabilize its civil society, aid its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and, most urgently, alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, which included the following budgetary requests:

 Robust funding to directly aid the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) to recover and rebuild, including urgently needed housing, food security, water and sanitation, medical and refugee assistance, rehabilitation, and infrastructure needs.

 $2 million for Conventional Weapons Destruction programs in Nagorno-Karabakh.

 $100 million for economic, governance, rule of law, and security assistance to Armenia through State Department and USAID accounts.

 The suspension of all U.S. security assistance for Azerbaijan until it has been verified to have ceased all attacks against Armenia and Artsakh.
These days, service members need to be wary of the multitude of online for-profit schools out to get a piece of their coveted Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. Depending on which academic institution is looking to sign them up, the term Results May Vary doesnt come close to describing some of the schools out there.

But there are better choices for service members with non-traditional schedules who are looking for a good distance education to prepare them for life after the military. National University was founded by a veteran with similar issues and is today the second-largest nonprofit online school in America.

David Chigos transition to civilian life had been rough. As a retiring naval officer in 1967, he tried to enroll in night classes at San Diego State University. The only problem, he said, was that San Diego State didnt offer night classes, so he was faced with the choice of going to school or working during the day. He knew there were veterans and civilians like him trying to balance both tasks.

In 1971, Chigos was working as a management development specialist for the General Dynamics corporation. The academic system in the U.S. kept many executives from pursuing higher education. So he did what any veteran might consider doing: fixing the problem by creating a college for the real world at a fraction of the cost.

From the trunk of my car, he founded National University, completely upending the idea of how academic programs were formed, he said. Chigos created academic programs with a no-frills look at the world. National University would offer classes that would lead to education and employment. His first class numbered 27 students.

Instructors were hired based on the number of students who wanted to take their classes. He did away with the idea of tenure, allowing students to rate their professors. National University set a schedule that worked for the student body, not for the employment aspirations of academics.

Then, as now, students studied one subject for four weeks at a time. For military students, it provided the opportunity to take regular classes without being interrupted by the requirements of their service.

An article in the New York Times about National University in 1981.

When the time came, National University blazed the trail of integrating computers into learning. It allowed students to register for every class needed to obtain a degree without registering every semester. He even began to create satellite campuses to make it easier for students to attend classes.

In 1996, National University launched its online degree programs. It wasnt the first online program, but unlike other early online schools, it maintained its nonprofit status and focus on real-world results.

National University had a rocky start in its early years, plagued with accusations of making the classes too easy, loss of accreditation and a host of other complaints. These days, however, those problems are long gone. National University is accredited by WASC Senior College and University Commission, along with 16 other regional and national accreditations, making students eligible for financial aid and other benefits available to any other recognized university.

The school maintains its yearlong, continuous schedule, meaning students can enroll in programs and classes at any time. Despite its considerable expansion over the last few decades, its focus is still on market-relevant degrees, meaning it offers everything from healthcare programs to data analytics to upskilling programs for corporate partners.

True to its military-oriented roots, National University still caters to military members and their unique needs. On top of the class length and schedule, it offers tuition discounts and accepts the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Service members who are , it says, will pay almost no out-of-pocket costs.

While not all for-profit distance learning schools are predatory, the cases of Corinthian College, Education Corporation of America and other distance learning scandals should give veterans pause when deciding where to spend their hard-earned benefits. Schools like National University show there are better choices out there.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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Arlene Foster resigns as DUP leader and Northern Ireland First Minister - Phil Noble/Reuters

Arlene Foster will step down Northern Irelands First Minister following an internal party revolt, prompting fears in Whitehall that a hardline successor could lead to heightened tensions over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

The DUP leader on Wednesday confirmed that she would resign as figurehead of the party by the end of next month and as head of the Northern Ireland Executive in June.

Her resignation came just 24 hours after the vast majority of the partys 27 representatives at Stormont and four of its Westminster MPs were reported to have signed a letter of no confidence in her.

The putsch follows mounting criticism over her handling of Brexit, with more religious elements in the party also angered by her decision to abstain last week on a vote to ban gay conversion therapy.

Mrs Fosters departure, after a turbulent five years in charge, now threatens to usher in further political upheaval in the province, which is already reeling from recent rioting in loyalist areas and mounting anger over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Telegraph understands that she spoke to Boris Johnson on Wednesday morning before announcing her resignation, with UK Government sources on Wednesday evening privately expressing their frustration at the move to oust her.

There are fears that her successor will be drawn from the more conservative, religious wing of the party, leading to collisions with ministers on issues such as abortion and LGBT rights, as well as the implementation of post-Brexit checks and infrastructure.

A more hardline figure is also likely to pose challenges for maintaining the power sharing agreement, which was only restored in 2020, three years after Stormont collapsed.

One Conservative source expressed concern that a shift away from Mrs Fosters pragmatic unionism towards a more fundamentalist position could make it significantly harder for ministers to work with the party.

Were not thrilled, said another.

In her resignation statement, Mrs Foster said: It has been the privilege of my life to serve the people of Northern Ireland as their first minister and to represent my home constituency of Fermanagh/South Tyrone.

Story continues

I have sought to lead the Party and Northern Ireland away from division and towards a better path. There are people in Northern Ireland with a British identity, others are Irish, others are Northern Irish, others are a mixture of all three and some are new and emerging. We must all learn to be generous to each other, live together and share this wonderful country.

However, in an apparent warning shot to those behind her departure, Mrs Foster added: The future of unionism and Northern Ireland will not be found in division, it will only be found in sharing this place we all are privileged to call home.

In a statement posted on social media, Mr Johnson praised Mrs Foster for her dedication to the people of Northern Ireland, while Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said: Arlene is a truly dedicated public servant. There are many young people, particularly young women, who will be inspired by her example to follow a path into politics.

While Mrs Foster has been a vocal opponent of the protocol, which has caused significant disruption for traders moving goods across the Irish Sea, hardliners in the party have grown increasingly critical of the leaderships handling of Brexit in recent years.

Some critics believe that the party squandered its considerable influence as confidence and supply partners to Theresa Mays minority government.

The leadership was also seen as having helped Boris Johnson secure power on the back of promises to resolve the fundamental challenges that Brexit posed for Northern Irelands place in the United Kingdom.

Fearing a backlash from loyalist voters in next years assembly elections, the rebels behind Mrs Fosters departure hope to reframe the narrative and prevent supporters defecting to other unionist parties.

However, a more hardline successor could alienate non-aligned voters.

Her successor will now be chosen by just a few dozen MPs, peers and assembly members, with a number of senior figures already being touted as potential runners.

They include Ian Paisley Jnr, the son of the late Ian Paisley, the former first minister and founder of the DUP, the partys Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson, and Edwin Poots, Northern Irelands agriculture minister.

All three are staunch critics of the protocol and are likely to be far more combative in their dealings with the UK Government and in their approach to implementing it.

More moderate figures tipped to stand include Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the partys Westminster leader, and backbencher Gavin Robinson.

Arlene Foster's statement in full

"A short time ago I called the Party Chairman to inform him that I intend to step down as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party on the twenty-eighth of May and as First Minister of Northern Ireland at the end of June.

"It is important to give space over the next few weeks for the Party Officers to make arrangements for the election of a new leader. When elected I will work with the new leader on transition arrangements.

"As First Minister it is important that I complete work on a number of important issues for Northern Ireland alongside other Executive colleagues. Northern Ireland and its people have been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and there remains more work to be done to steer us thorough the pandemic and to lessen its impact on the lives of everyone.

"It has been the privilege of my life to serve the people of Northern Ireland as their First Minister and to represent my home constituency of Fermanagh/South Tyrone. I first entered the Assembly in 2003 and undoubtedly the journey of the last eighteen years has been memorable. There are many people who have helped and supported me throughout that period and I will always been grateful for the kindness and support shown to me by them.

"Whilst there have been many difficult and testing times for the Executive it remains my firm view that Northern Ireland has been better served having local Ministers at this time. It is unthinkable that we could have faced into the Coronavirus pandemic without our own devolved Ministers in place and no Ministerial direction for Departments.

"As I prepare to depart the political stage it is my view that if Northern Ireland is to prosper then it will only do so built on the foundations of successful and durable devolution. That will require continued hard work and real determination and courage on all sides.

"Whilst the focus is on me today I recognise that will pass. For me my decision to enter politics was never about party or person, it was about speaking up for the voiceless and building a Northern Ireland which could prosper and be at peace within the United Kingdom.

"I am the first to recognise there have been ups and downs over the last five and a half years.

"The 2016 Assembly election result and our Party's best ever Westminster result in 2017 stand out amongst the high points when the electorate sent a clear message that they wanted to keep Northern Ireland moving forward.

"The Confidence and Supply Agreement was able to bring one billion pounds of extra spending for everyone in Northern Ireland. Our priorities were not narrow but based on more investment in mental health and hospitals, bringing broadband to rural communities, improving our roads and ensuring funding to encourage more shared housing and education.

"For our innocent victims, I am proud we battled together and whilst too late for some, we finally secured a truly deserved pension for you.

"For our armed forces, the Veterans' Commissioner is in place. You have an advocate to stand up for you and ensure your voice is heard at the heart of government.

"Of course as with highs there were lows along the way.

"The three years without devolution caused untold harm to our public services and the RHI Inquiry was a difficult period. The Protocol being foisted upon Northern Ireland against the will of unionists has served to destabilise Northern Ireland in more recent times.

"Whilst there is still a job of work to do, I am proud that there is a young generation of Democratic Unionists getting involved in politics and trying to shape Northern Ireland for the better.

"Over the last twelve months, I have been holding online meetings every week with young people mainly from working class communities and encouraging them especially the young women to get involved.

"I echo that encouragement today. Politics and debate is the only path to effect change in society. You will and can be the MPs, MLAs and Councillors of tomorrow.

"My election as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party broke a glass ceiling and I am glad inspired other women to enter politics and spurred them on to take up elected office.

"I understand the misogynistic criticisms that female public figures have to take and sadly it's the same for all women in public life.

"I want to encourage you to keep going and don't let the online lynch mobs get you down.

"To the hundreds of Party supporters who have been in touch over the last few days, I say a sincere thank you for the opportunities to serve you and the support you have given me. For almost five and a half years I have been incredibly humbled to have the opportunity to lead the Democratic Unionist Party.

"I have sought to lead the Party and Northern Ireland away from division and towards a better path.

"There are people in Northern Ireland with a British identity, others are Irish, others are Northern Irish, others are a mixture of all three and some are new and emerging. We must all learn to be generous to each other, live together and share this wonderful country.

"The future of unionism and Northern Ireland will not be found in division, it will only be found in sharing this place we all are privileged to call home."

Reaction to Foster quitting as leader

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis led the tributes to Arlene Foster on Wednesday afternoon.

He said: "Arlene is a truly dedicated public servant, devoting her political career to her constituents for over 18 years and the people of Northern Ireland as First Minister for several years.

"There are many young people, particularly young women, who will be inspired by her example to follow a path into politics.

"I wish her all the best and look forward to continuing to work with her in the days and weeks ahead, delivering for all the people of Northern Ireland."

DUP MP Gavin Robinson tweeted: "There will be more to say about what lies ahead in the days to come, but for now, I want to thank Arlene personally for her dedicated service to Northern Ireland.

"She has been a constant source of encouragement to me and my colleagues throughout the province. Facing difficulties with courage and determination; and sacrificing so much over all of us over her 18 years in elected politics, I pay tribute to her, her leadership and her commitment to our Country."

DUP MP Nigel Dodds tweeted: "Arlene has dedicated her life to defending the Union and moving Northern Ireland forward. She has demonstrated great courage and is an example for women in public life.

"Thank you Arlene. It's been a privilege to work alongside you."
Nevertheless it was a signal to the world that Singapore was already prepared to open our borders in a safe way and a considered way. We were not throwing up high walls. We had a risk minimisation approach and a risk management approach rather than a risk elimination approach which is what many other countries, including possibly Australia, have done. Australians entering Singapore only need to quarantine until negative COVID tests come through. Credit:iStock After the opening of the travel bubble with New Zealand, Singapore has been suggested as next cab off the rank for Australia.

But with the vaccine rollout going at snails pace in Australia, Singapore is not holding its breath. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wearing a mask, which is mandatory in the island nation, shows his ID before voting last year. Credit:AP [To say] how confident we are ... it all depends on the Australian government because weve opened up to Australia, Tan said. Weve likened it to a dance. In order to dance, you need two people to dance together. Singapores outbreak peaked at more than 1000 new COVID-19 cases a day last April, centred around its large migrant-worker community. Since then, it has been one of the few countries in south-east Asia not engulfed by a new wave that has swept through the region.

While its poorer neighbours are also struggling with insufficient vaccine supply on top of crippling surges of COVID-19, Singapore has inoculated 23 per cent of its population of 5.8 million with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots. Jeremy Lim, an associate professor at the National University of Singapores school of public health, said the countrys response can be split in four parts. The first stage was when the pandemic broke out in Wuhan and Singapore recorded some cases in travellers from China - those patients were put into quarantine and contact-tracing implemented. I think at that stage they did very well, Lim said.

The outbreak at the migrant dormitory which prompted the circuit-breaker lockdown created the second stage, Lim said. Loading The governments response to that outbreak onto which it threw everything including the kitchen sink to bring the outbreak under control, was the third stage. And were now in the fourth part, where life is pretty much back to normal. In the midst of the success story, though, the country has been criticised for treating more than 300,000 migrant workers, most of south-Asian origin, as less than human during the pandemic.

The majority of the 60,000-plus COVID cases here have been among foreign workers, who have remained confined to dormitories and workplaces aside from three visits a week to recreation centres set up for them by the government. There was a fresh scare last week. A cluster of positive tests in a dormitory in the north of the island triggered fears about the virus spreading via newly arrived workers from hard-hit India. Loading Human Rights Watch is scathing of Singapores treatment of migrant workers as second class at every step of the pandemic, saying many have suffered psychologically as a result. First, Singapore shockingly forgot to recognise migrant workers in their national COVID-19 plan, said Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director for the New York-headquartered non-governmental organisation.

Then in the face of outbreaks among migrant workers, they sealed off the areas around the dormitories, sent in food and tests, but essentially let the virus spread through the ranks to achieve herd immunity. The Ministry of Manpower, which oversees the labour force, says it is improving housing standards, providing 24-hour medical care and has in place a seven-point mental health strategy for supporting migrant workers. We are also currently drawing up plans to allow eligible workers to visit the community once a month, said new Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng in a speech last month. We understand and we empathise with the need for social interaction. At the same time, we are also concerned about the livelihoods of workers should a second wave or cluster emerge in the dormitories.

We have no intention whatsoever for restrictions to be stricter than necessary or to be in place for a longer time than is necessary. In line with its abundance of caution approach the government has a mandatory mask policy, limitations on gatherings and a meticulous and carefully policed contact-tracing system. And while the small population and land mass have helped the island-country advance its vaccine rollout, there is also another factor. I think the more important thing is money, Lim said. The Singapore government is reported to have spent $S1 billion [$970 million] to procure vaccines. If you just do the maths, we have 5.5 million people [...] $1 billion means weve spent a pretty penny.
As the hazardous tree-removal program overseen by the Oregon Department of Transportation goes into high gear after last falls devastating wildfires, many of Oregons most scenic and beloved areas are being transformed into post-apocalyptic stretches of roadside clearcuts, gargantuan log piles and slash.

A person really has to come and look at it to get a sense, said Ron Carmickle, mayor of Gates, which was ravaged in the Labor Day fires that raged through the Santiam Canyon and is now seeing heavy post-fire cutting on both public and private property.

The scale of it  " he said. Its absolutely insane. You have to see it.

State officials estimate there are 142,000 hazard trees along roadways, rivers and on private properties burned in the fires. The tree removal program, being carried out by several contractors monitored by the Florida-based disaster recovery firm CDR Maguire, has already removed some 29,000.

But a growing number of arborists, landowners and environmental advocates are concerned that CDR Maguire is mismanaging the tree-removal program. They also say the state is failing to oversee the firm, which was hired under a $70 million contract to monitor the logging and debris removal and ensure the state is reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Between CDR Maguire and its contractors, hundreds of millions of dollars will ultimately be spent on removing hazard trees and fire debris, a massive, lucrative project for a small set of disaster recovery firms that regularly swoop in and profit off the cleanup of natural disasters around the country. The work is ultimately funded largely by the federal government, with 75% of it eligible for reimbursement by FEMA.

Critics claim CDR Maguire has little to no experience with projects of this size and nature, and that many of the arborists and foresters working on the project  the key players in deciding which trees stay or go  lack the certifications and experience required by the state in its original proposal. They say the firms standards for hazard trees keep changing, with far too many trees, some of them green and posing no immediate hazard, being tagged for removal. Critics also say that raises the prospect that FEMA, if it audits the work, could deny reimbursement for tens of millions of dollars worth of work by the contractors, sticking the state with the bill.

Some of those concerns, first reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting, will be aired at a hearing this afternoon of the Senate Natural Resources and Wildfire Recovery Committee, and at a hearing Friday in the House Special Committee on Wildfire Recovery. Todays hearing will see two 30-minute panels, one with officials from ODOT and CDR Maguire, and the second with arborists and others who have expressed reservations about the program.

The Oregonian/OregonLive spoke with eight contractors who worked on the recent tree-removal projects, providing new details and alleging widespread problems at sites across the state. They described chaotic work environments with limited oversight, one where tree-removal guidance changed regularly, trees were overmarked, and the overwhelming focus seemed to be on billable hours rather than a surgical harvest of truly risky trees.

Both CDR Maguire and ODOT say those concerns are unfounded. Carlos Duart, chief executive of CDR Maguire, says in the last three years alone, his company has managed about $1 billion in disaster recovery  with hurricanes, stumps, hazardous trees, hazardous materials  and has a 99% reimbursement rate from FEMA. He also insisted that CDR Maguire followed all contractual obligations, including the use of certified arborists and foresters inspecting trees.

Mason Bruce & Girard, a Portland-based subcontractor to CDR Maguire performing quality control for the arborist work, echoed those comments.

MB&G was very careful to hire locally qualified candidates who had the requisite years of experience performing relevant work, Erin VanDehey, the companys project manager, said in a statement. We only sourced candidates who meet the criteria specified by the state.

Tony Andersen, a spokesman for ODOT, said agency officials are aware of the ongoing trauma to people in fire-ravaged communities and empathize with the range of reactions that arise from a dramatically changed post-fire landscape. He said any reports received that contractors were over-tagging trees for removal have been dealt with and two staff have been removed from the project. But he said it was difficult to speak to general claims being made.

Like any emergency response situation, urgency was key to protect people who live and travel in the fire corridors, Andersen said. The state may also feel some urgency, observers say, because trees that arent hazardous today could become so over the next three to five years, when federal reimbursement for their removal will no longer be available.

Andersen suggested that the claims of over-cutting are part of a misinformation campaign being coordinated by Cascadia Wildlands, one of more than 20 conservation groups that have organized protests against the post-fire logging. He also questioned the motivation and credibility of employees who have left the job and now claim there are problems.

Dylan Plummer, an organizer for Cascadia Wildlands, said his organization supports selectively removing standing dead trees that pose a direct hazard to motorists, but that indiscriminate logging authorized by ODOT has been rushed and completely lacking in transparency.

He added that Andersens claim was a pretty wild allegation considering the number of organizations objecting to it and the number of internal whistleblowers.

One of those whistleblowers is Chris Vaughan, a certified arborist from Bend who has submitted written testimony to the Senate committee. Vaughan told The Oregonian/OregonLive hed been involved in fire response work in California and said he was eager to get involved in recovery efforts at home.

He was hired as an arborist on Feb. 10 and worked for a month on tree removal for the Riverside, Beachie Creek and Holiday Farm fires. From day one, he said, it was evident how disorganized CDR Maguire was, and how its overall emphasis was on billable hours and getting bodies in the field.

Vaughan said there was no evident management structure. The lead arborist on the project, Tom Ford, had already left by the time he arrived. A second lead arborist has since left the project.

Vaughan said safety culture was nonexistent. Tree marking was often extremely aggressive, and changes to the scope, or guidelines on what constituted a hazard tree, were erratic and frequent, sometimes reversed in a day, he said. As time went on, he said, the assessment of which trees were actually hazardous became more subjective and less scientific.

Vaughan acknowledges that he didnt have the five years of post-fire experience in the Pacific Northwest required by the state, and said hed be surprised if more than one or two arborists on the entire project did. He says many of the out-of-state employees he worked with had never been to the region, never worked in the mountains, were provided with minimal training, and couldnt differentiate between various species of trees and how they react to fire.

CDR Maguires chief executive, however, insisted that all our arborists have the five years or are foresters with the necessary qualifications. Duart said the companys processes, procedures and quality assurance will make sure the state is reimbursed by FEMA. He said safety is always the top priority, particularly where there is heavy equipment and natural hazards. He said the company provides safety equipment and training to all employees and said it had an extremely low ratio of workers compensation claims over the years, with no accidents in Oregon .

Vaughan says he resigned in March, worried that he was walking the line on his professional code of ethics. He said he came forward reluctantly, aware he might be blackballed from future job opportunities for speaking out. The last straw, he alleged, was that drug use was rampant and not being addressed.

A lot of people were hoping CDR would get kicked off the project, he said.

Duart said the company had a zero drug use policy. If we found out about that it would be dealt with immediately, he said.

In this composite picture, Ron Carmickle, mayor of Gates, is standing in front of a scorched stand of trees on the Santiam Highway that are marked for cutting in the state's post-fire hazard tree removal program. The upper picture shows the intact canopy of those trees from above.

Brian Eubanks tells a similar story to Vaughan. An arborist from Nevada, he said he and his partner signed on early and were two of the first CDR arborists, working on tree removal efforts near Lincoln City, along the McKenzie and the North Umpqua River in southern Oregon. Eubanks said hes worked fires for years in California, but that his partner had only received his arborist certification a month before they started work.

It was a (expletive) show, bro. Anything these guys say, its probably too kind, he said, referring to others concerned about CDR Maguires management of the project. It was enough for us to leave, and we were clearing $13,000 a month. That was our take home. It was so bad that the money they were giving us wasnt enough.

Eubanks claims that when they first arrived on Archie Creek, there were non-arborists marking trees, and they started pulling tags from trees that had been improperly marked. The work environment was chaotic, he said, with no continuity to the crews and little understanding among field staff of basic concepts guiding the tree marking.

Eubanks said access to the data-collection system that documents each tree being marked as hazardous, for later reimbursement by FEMA, was wide open. Other employees, he claims, were inputting trees to be cut under his name and arborist certification on days he wasnt working.

The people of Oregon deserve better. This was mismanaged from the beginning, he said.

Duart acknowledges that this is the largest wildfire project his company has ever worked on, but insists it has done similar wildfire work in the past. He declined, however, to provide specific examples.

As for reports of project improprieties you bring up, I have checked with our senior team staff, HR and legal departments and we are not aware of any of these instances, he said. Employees can report suspected violations anonymously to our HR and legal department if they dont want to approach project personnel. If those were to occur, they would be addressed immediately by upper management.

Meanwhile, a state committee that initially evaluated CDR Maguires experience before handing out a contract to the company noted its lack of experience with debris removal. Two of five evaluators called attention to that shortcoming in its bid.

CDR Maguires experience was later raised in a bid protest by Tetra Tech, the second-place finisher in ODOTs original request for proposals for tree and debris removal. The California company, with some $3 billion in annual revenues, has been involved in post-fire recovery projects in California, including the 2018 Camp fire, which destroyed 19,000 structures and killed 85 people.

The basis of the protest was largely CDR Maguires apparent lack of experience with debris removal, a specialized environmental-remediation process involving repeated site assessments, soil testing and air monitoring for hazardous materials with the potential for liability claims against ODOT and the contractor. But it also noted that CDR has managed very few, and limited, post-fire tree removal projects and its experience was typically limited to an auditing capacity, reviewing and verifying documentation for FEMA reimbursement.

The work here requires a very different skill set from that which comprises the great majority of CDRs experience  white collar in-office auditing of FEMA and FHWA claims, Tetra Tech wrote in its appeal. CDRs focus is on monitoring the monitor  the firm has done little, if any, field monitoring, much less has it conducted environmental assessments or remediation in the post-fire context.

The protest was not sustained.

Sarah Lee, an arborist from Crescent City, California, said she was briefly employed by CDR Maguire in December but left when she couldnt come to terms over holiday vacation. She has since been hired by AshBritt, a disaster-recovery firm that was awarded two debris removal contracts in Lane and Jackson counties that also involve removing hazard trees marked by CDR Maguire and its contractors.

Florida-based AshBritt, like other contractors, faces a potential penalty of $2,000 a tree if it is found to have cut down trees that dont meet the definition of a hazard tree, and potential lawsuits from property owners. The company hired Lee to evaluate trees marked for removal on dozens of private properties to see if they posed a real threat.

Lee said her analysis found that more than 90 percent of the trees initially tagged for removal by CDR Maguire contractors on the properties she examined in Lane County posed no imminent threat.

My recommendation to AshBritt is that they remove no further trees until further evaluation to determine if theyre consistent with the scope, she said. On some of these properties, every tree was marked, 90 percent of trees were marked, and 10 percent werent. The percentages should have been reversed.

Matt Allen, a Portland-based arborist hired by Mason Bruce & Girard, said he was hired because hes a master arborist, with an additional qualification in risk assessment from the International Society of Arborists. He says there were no daily work orders on the Archie Creek fire, no recognizable scope to the work.

There was (a message delivered), you just need to be out there tagging trees, the more trees you tag, the more they can start cutting and the more you can bill, he said. It seemed to be a very rushed process where the aim was to harvest as much as possible, before anyone found out.

 Ted Sickinger; tsickinger@oregonian.com; 503-221-8505; @tedsickinger
SANDUSKY, OH  Cedar Point will not require guests to wear face masks on rides during the 2021 season.

Face coverings will still be required while guests are indoors, unless actively eating or drinking, per the parks website.

Park spokesman Tony Clark told Cleveland.com that although face masks are no longer required on rides, they are still recommended.

In addition to continued guidance from health professionals, none of our rides are long enough to meet the criteria thats been established by the CDC as consistent exposure, he told the publication.

There will also be no limitations to ride capacity, but social distancing remains in place while waiting in line, according to the park website. Temperature checks for guests have also been discontinued.

The decision to remove face covering requirements on rides comes shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that fully vaccinated Americans dont need to wear masks outdoors anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers, something that could occur at a place like Cedar Point.

For most of the past year, the CDC had been advising Americans to wear masks outdoors if they are within 6 feet of each other, but increased vaccine distribution across the country has led to a loosening of the recommendations.

Its the return of freedom, Dr. Mike Saag, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told the Associated Press. Its the return of us being able to do normal activities again. Were not there yet, but were on the exit ramp. And thats a beautiful thing.

Cedar Point, which last week announced the return Fast Lane passes, continues to inch back toward normalcy ahead of its 2021 season beginning on May 14.

The 2021 season will include several special events as Cedar Point celebrates its 150th anniversary originally scheduled for 2020.

The anniversary celebration is set for the heart of summer while a nighttime parade and party, a new family river adventure ride and chances to win tickets of a lifetime.
Now that Youn Yuh Jung is recognized globally, the "Minari" actress revealed her thoughts about Hollywood.

In her recent interview with NBC News, the veteran South Korean actress shared that she admired some of Tinseltown's brightest stars, including Brad Pitt and fellow Oscar 2021 nominee Glenn Close.

To recall, the 73-year-old actress had the sweetest reaction when she met the "Moneyball" actor.

Upon calling her name as the winner for Best Supporting Actress at the 93rd Academy Awards, Youn Yuh Jung's speech starts by shooting her luck with the A-lister.

"Mr. Brad Pitt ... finally. Nice to meet you," she said, adding, "Let me pull myself together" before thanking her "Minari" director, Lee Isaac Chung, and fellow co-stars.

Youn Yuh Jung Not Into the Glitz and Glam of Hollywood

During the interview, the Oscar winner shared that she can relate to her role in "Minari" since both of her sons, who are Korean American, live in the United States.

Moreover, the veteran actress set the record straight regarding her thoughts about entering Hollywood.

"When some project comes from America, people in Korea think I admire Hollywood. No, I don't admire Hollywood," she explained.

In addition, she revealed why she kept on coming back to the U.S, and it's not because of the career opportunity but due to her family.

"The reason I keep coming is because if I come to the States and work, maybe I'm able to see my son one more time. That's from the bottom of my heart."

Youn Yuh Jung Spoke About Her Oscar Win

The whole of South Korea lauded Youn Yuh Jung's Oscar moment for being the first Korean to ever win at the prestigious award-winning body.

Moreover, she is the second Asian actress to take home the award following a six-decade gap with Japanese-born Miyoshi Umeki, who scored a trophy for the 1957 film "Sayonara."

In a previous chat with Forbes, the 73-year-old says that she's not interested in competition "especially between actors."

She explained that they portray "different roles for different movies," and it's hard to compare which is the best among them.

For her, all five of them are considered winners and believe that everyone "did a brilliant job."

Youn Yuh Jung's Oscar win surpassed some of the biggest names in the industry.

Her fellow Best Supporting Actress nominees are the three-time Golden Globe winner Glenn Close for her role in Hillbilly Elegy, followed by British actress Olivia Coleman for "The Father," Amanda Seyfried for "Mank" and lastly, Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova in "Borat Subsequent Movie Film."

List of Youn Yuh Jung's Awards for her Astounding Performance in "Minari"

Aside from bagging a major category in the 93rd Academy Awards, the "Minari" actress also took home several prestigious awards.

Youn Yuh Jung's awards include the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor and the recently concluded BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

IN CASE YOU MISSED: Minari' Star Yoon Yeo Jung Goes Viral with Her Entertaining Acceptance Speech after Winning at BAFTA 2021





KDramastars owns this article.

Written by Geca Wills
Supreme Judicial Court Justice Serge Georges Jr. sat inside the John Adams Courthouse and pressed an attorney, Joshua Garick, to explain the alleged discrepancies in payout rules for blackjack. A gambler claimed a Massachusetts casino ripped off its customers by paying out less than it should for blackjack winnings by a factor of 6 to 5 instead of 2 to 3.

Garick, who would normally be standing in court to address the judge, stood in front of a white wall in his home as he made his rebuttal, with pictures framed on a wall behind him.

This virtual setup is a familiar scene for attorneys, judges and citizens in Massachusetts waiting out the COVID-19 pandemic. Masked judges and video proceedings are one facet of the seismic shift the SJC made in its 329-year history, a transition the latest SJC justices are navigating.

Both newcomers to the states highest court, Georges and Justice Dalila Wendlandt came in at the height of a global public health crisis that put the nation at a standstill  a first for any SJC justice, archival records show.

The last time Massachusetts faced such major disruptions was in 1918 when influenza spread worldwide. In Boston, city officials closed schools for nearly a month, according to news archives compiled by the University of Michigan Library. Health Commissioner William C. Woodward issued an order closing the citys places of amusement, including theaters, movie theaters and dance halls. The city recommended that religious institutions close for 10 days, leaving the decision up to the clergy.

But no archival records suggest the SJC closed or suspended operations. News archives from the Boston Globe show trials were rescheduled in Maine and Vermont due to flu cases, but no changes were publicized for Massachusetts courthouses, much less the states highest court.

The SJC also had no vacancies in 1918 when the flu pandemic began. The last vacancy happened in 1915 when Justice Henry Sheldon resigned, according to the Social Law Library. The next came in 1919 when Justice William C. Loring resigned after two decades on the bench, citing ill health. SJC records did not state what illness Loring suffered.

When asked by a reporter, the Social Law Library said it found no administrative orders or records pertaining to SJC operations related to the flu pandemic. Archives of decisions for 1918 suggest the high court issued roughly as many decisions as they had in years prior.

The disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, first declared on March 13, 2020, are well documented in a series of standing orders from state court officials, as well as dozens of executive orders from the Baker administration.

This time a year ago, the state court system was sending out computers to court administrators, connecting judges to their courthouse servers through a virtual private network (VPN) and postponing cases that werent emergency matters to buy time to set up a system to conduct virtual proceedings, according to an annual report of the Massachusetts Court System.

Some courts launched video hearings. Others struggled with proceedings by phone where attorneys say they struggled to unmute and be heard during a hearing.

The trial court has been faced with incredible challenges during this pandemic, and there is a lot that we can do better and we will do better, Georges said MassLive in an interview shortly after his swearing-in. His family had just helped me move boxes into his new chamber, christening his workspace with stacks of books and a statue of Mo from the Three Stooges that he found at a yard sale in 1991.

He added: Despite a lot of the criticism that folks may have of what weve done and how weve done it, there are incredibly dedicated people across the Trial Court who have been trying every day during this pandemic to deliver ... It really matters to the personnel of the Trial Court that we deliver to the citizens.

Fast-forward four months, neither the Massachusetts Trial Court nor any other facet of state government is poised to return fully in-person business. Massachusetts surpassed recently 17,000 deaths related to COVID-19  a grim reminder that the pandemic isnt over. If that isnt enough of a sign, perhaps the face masks and partially remote court proceedings are.

The SJC plans to allow 12-person jury trials to resume for Superior Court cases involving criminal and sexually dangerous suspects, according to an order issued Thursday by SJC Chief Justice Kimberly Budd. The order takes effect on May 1, but courthouse staff are still enforcing occupancy restrictions.

On a Wednesday morning in April, Georges and Wendlandt sat with Budd, spaced out several feet apart and wearing masks due to COVID-19 safety regulations. The blackjack case involving Encore Boston Harbor was one of several cases where they heard oral arguments virtually that week.

Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt swore her oaths and affirmations of office to join the bench of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Gov. Charlie Baker administered the oath in the State Library reading room on Beacon Hill, joined by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.Sam Doran/State House News Service

Wendlandt and Georges confirmations made history in the oldest court in the United States. Wendlandt was the first Latina justice on the high court. Georges was the first Haitian-American justice on the bench. Chief Justice Kimberly Budd, who took the helm after Chief Justice Ralph Gants death, became the first Black woman to hold that position.

But they also brought a variety of perspectives to the SJC. Georges, a Boston Municipal Court judge who oversaw the Dorchester Drug Court between 2014 and 2018, is the first district court judge in recent memory to be elevated to the SJC. He also has civil law experience, including in real estate law, from his days in private practice.

Wendlandt, an appellate judge, authored more than 30 decisions between 2017 and her swearing-in to the SJC in December, including orders related to juvenile cases and prisoner release petitions. She also has a background in engineering and expertise in intellectual property law as a former partner at Ropes & Gray in Boston.

Now they share the distinction of joining a court that continues to navigate the fallout of COVID-19, but they arent entirely new to virtual proceedings either.

Like others in Boston Municipal Court, Georges had to pivot to virtual hearings. With that came tradeoffs. The judge couldnt study the mannerisms of criminal defendants or witnesses like he used to. Some people in the courts struggled to follow hearings because of shoddy internet connections or because of language or technology barriers.

The Massachusetts community court system is a real resource for the citizens of the commonwealth. Not being able to access the court and its services the way that theyre supposed to and the way they would like to and the way we would like them to has been really hard, Georges said.

The shift was less disruptive to the Appeals Court, at least for Wendlandt. She and the other 24 appellate judges were able to connect to court servers through a VPN work from home, working through a smaller volume of cases than those at the District Court level.

But the types of cases she reviewed changed. When Wendlandts turn as single justice came in October, she found more petitions and motions related to the pandemic, from requests for extensions because parties struggled to access legal resources to appeals related to prisoners who feared they might contract COVID-19 behind bars.

When I was a single justice, Im not sure that the volume was higher other than the prisoner appeals, but certainly the character of what people were requesting was different, largely pandemic-related delays, she said.

Before their confirmations, the SJC had already faced questions about eviction restrictions, the governors ability to shut down businesses, the preservation of gun rights during a public health emergency and other new debates born out of the pandemic.

The fallout of COVID-19 could spur more legal debates. Governors Councilor Marilyn Devaney raised concerns that the courts will likely see more cases involving pandemic-related foreclosures and child abuse, which can be difficult to detect when children are learning at home.

The John Adams Courthouse in Boston, which houses the Supreme Judicial Court and Suffolk Superior Court. (Shira Schoenberg / The Republican)

Learning the courts

When she applied for the Appeals Court in 2017, Wendlandt sat in on hearings at some of the states family and probate courts. The bulk of her experience came in business litigation and civil law, not in family matters. She spent nearly three days in hearings, absorbing what she could. She also visited the states housing courts.

It was an eye-opening experience was to see the number of pro se litigants in the probate and family court, who were asking clerks, anybody who would listen for advice, and also the common language barriers that exist, especially I think for litigants in that court, said Wendlandt, who became a family and probate court liaison in internal judicial committees.

Observing court proceedings on the ground wasnt an option when she applied to the SJC, at least not the way it was before the pandemic.

Wendlandt encountered another pandemic-related hurdle when she was confirmed: she wouldnt be able to work with her staff in person. So, she started checking in with her staff over video multiple times a week.

Were limited in that I cant just pop over and ask how their weekend was, but we can have a Zoom session, and we work remotely together by Zoom, drafting opinions or discussing cases, she said. It requires that additional thoughtfulness.

After his swearing-in, Georges dove into the growing pile of petitions, affidavits and amicus briefs that had amassed leading up to his first sitting week in January.

Theres a lot to read for the hearings so that doesnt leave a heck of a whole lot of time to say, Hey, Id like to become [expert] at zoning so Im going to read the Crockers notes [on common forms] or zoning treatises, Georges said, speaking of legal reference books.

Instead, he said he can draw on his background having to learn on his feet, from defending arcane real estate cases as a private attorney to examining the role encrypted messaging apps could play in a criminal case as a judge.

I do come from a broad range of civil and criminal backgrounds, which I think gives me a little bit of a hit-the-ground-running kind of view, he said, but I think its going to be a whole lot of work.
[April 28, 2021] Logixboard Raises $13M Series A from Redpoint Ventures to Power the Future of Modern Freight Forwarding

SEATTLE, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Logixboard , the modern customer experience platform for freight forwarders, closed a $13M investment led by Redpoint Ventures, with continued participation from Social Leverage, F-Prime Capital, Founders Co-op, Techstars Ventures, and others. Freight forwarders that handle the logistics of shipping trillions of dollars worth of the most high-cost, stakes, and volume goods such as vaccines, medical supplies, and machinery parts, have long lacked a modern digital platform for managing their customer's experience. Logixboard's platform allows freight forwarders to offer the same digital experience and level of shipment transparency to their customers that they have become accustomed to from consumer shipment trackers offered by the likes of Amazon, Wayfair, and Chewy. Without the help of solutions like Logixboard freight forwarding customers are forced to hunt down updates via text, email, or phone calls. Additionally, freight forwarders are experiencing an uptick in request for proposals (RFP) that specify the need for a digital platform for managing their shipments. Over 80% of commercial shippers expect online shipping visibility to be a primary function offered by their freight forwarder so they can more accurately make supply chain decisions and streamline stakeholder communications. "Logixboard has been an amazing partner in helping us transform our internal digitization into a world-class customer experience. It is creating modern, effortless experiences for both our internal services teams and external customers," said Jason Steinke, EVP, of Rim logisics. "Since officially launching in March, the Logixboard team and product have been an integral part of helping us continue our year-on-year growth trend, while allowing us to reach a broader and larger customer base. RIM is beyond excited to continue our partnership with Logixboard. The future path together is only going to allow for greater growth and innovation."



"We're thrilled about this most recent raise because it means we can continue innovating our platform to the benefit of our customers, who oftentimes see an increase in millions of dollars worth of revenue just a couple of months after implementing our platform," said Julian Alvarez, CEO and co-founder of Logixboard. "Over the past 12 months we've seen a 14 times growth increase in users and we're hoping for that number to grow as we expand our product offerings." Furthering its commitment to becoming the industry standard for an all-in-one customer experience management platform for freight forwarders, Logixboard just recently launched its ETA feature to help offer more transparency into estimated time of arrival variances. The company also plans to use the new funding to continue building additional integrations and products that will offer increased stakeholder communication and real-time visibility, as well as new functions such as in-platform quoting and bookings.

"In the past year following the initial COVID-19 lockdown US freight imports soared to record highs, which has caused strain on many facets of the logistics and supply chain industry and an increase in competition among freight forwarders," said Annie Kadavy, Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures. "These forwarding agents are feeling the pressure to offer more transparent, tech-based customer experiences, so we're excited about the opportunity for Logixboard to help solve this global problem." About Logixboard

Logixboard is a leading technology company providing logistics service providers (LSPs) with the ability to give their customers a world-class digital experience. Companies globally leverage our white-labeled platform to provide shippers with real-time visibility into their shipments, share critical documents, send messages, view analytics, and more. Logixboard helps LSPs streamline operations and differentiate themselves in the market to win new business and delight customers. About Redpoint Ventures

Redpoint has partnered with visionary founders to create new markets and redefine existing ones since 1999. Redpoint invests in startups across the seed, early and growth phases, and is proud to have backed over 538 companiesincluding Snowflake, Looker, Kustomer, Twilio, 2U, DraftKings, Duo Security, HashiCorp, Stripe, Root Insurance, HomeAway, Heroku, Netflix, and Sonoswith 167 IPOs and M+A exits. Redpoint manages $5.8 billion across multiple funds. For more information visit: http://www.redpoint.com/ Contact: press@logixboard.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/logixboard-raises-13m-series-a-from-redpoint-ventures-to-power-the-future-of-modern-freight-forwarding-301278587.html SOURCE Logixboard

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Brightview Senior Living Every day, we are grateful for our dedicated associates who care for our residents like family, said Doug Dollenberg, President of Brightview Senior Living. "For Brightview associates to have provided such extraordinary feedback during the challenge of a pandemic is truly humbling.

Brightview Senior Living, a leader in senior living that builds, owns and operates 45 senior living communities along the east coast, is honored to announce it has ranked on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For 2021 list for its exceptional company culture. As the only senior living company to make the list, this prestigious award is based on analysis of survey responses from more than half a million current employees across the U.S.

The Fortunes 100 Best Companies to Work For list is largely based on direct survey feedback from employees, benchmarked versus all other organizations. Some of the survey feedback from Brightview associates include:



94% believe You are made to feel welcome when you join the company

93% believe I feel good about the ways we contribute to the community

92% believe I feel a sense of pride when I look at what we accomplish

91% believe I feel I make a difference here

91% believe My work has special meaning: this is not just a job

Every day, we are grateful for our dedicated associates who care for our residents like family, said Doug Dollenberg, President of Brightview Senior Living. We have always said our associates are what make Brightview a vibrant community. We know that if were a great place to work, in turn, our communities will be a great place to live. For Brightview associates to have provided such extraordinary feedback during the challenge of a pandemic is truly humbling.

Brightview was assessed on how associates experiences varied depending on their job role, gender, race/ethnicity, payroll status, and other characteristics to ensure that they are creating a great workplace for all.

The 2021 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list honors the most heroic companies supporting their people and communities in the U.S. during this historically challenging year. 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 companys broader community impact.

Sixty percent of each companys score is based on confidential employee feedback. The remaining 40 percent is based on the programs each company said they created to support their people and communities in response to the pandemic. Companies need to employ at least 1,000 US employees to be considered for the 100 Best Companies list, and at least 100,000 employees globally to be considered for the Best Big Companies to Work For list.

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.

To date, Brightview has been honored with various accolades, including:



#1 on Fortunes Best Workplaces for Aging Services in 2020

#1 on Fortunes Best Workplaces for Aging Services in 2019

Fortune Best Workplaces for Women 2019

Fortune Best Place to Work, 2019

Great Place to Work in 2019

Certification by Great Place to Work

For more information about Brightview Senior Living visit their website.

About Brightview Senior Living: Brightview Senior Living builds, owns, and operates award-winning vibrant senior living communities in eight states along the East Coast: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia. We offer senior Independent Living, Assisted Living, Enhanced Care, and Wellspring Village, a specialized neighborhood for memory care.

Each of our Brightview Senior Living communities focuses on five elements of wellness which we call SPICE. Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Cultural, and Emotional. Our amenities and programs encourage active senior living communities and development in these areas, keeping residents active and healthy.

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.

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.
AMHERST  Amherst College students protested the recent killing of Daunte Wright, a 20-year old black Minnesota man, with some calling for the school to abolish the campus police force.

Students who took part in a three-hour rally organized by the Black Student Union earlier this month spoke of frightening encounters with law enforcement, experiences with racism and bigotry at home and on campus and feelings of survivors guilt when thinking of Black people killed by police in this country.

Biddy Martin, president of the private, 200-year-old liberal arts college, may decide next month on potentially permanent changes to the full-time 15-member Amherst College Police Department.

The news of yet another police killing of a young, unarmed Black man, Daunte Wright, adds yet more stress, anxiety and fatigue to what our students, faculty, and staff of color already feel in the wake of too many such incidents, said President Biddy Martin to The Amherst Student newspaper. Black students acted on their need to pause, to take stock, and rest from the barrage. They challenged the community to place a higher priority on mental health and well being and they gathered in solidarity with one another. Many of those who spoke called on their peers, on the college as a whole, and, at times, on one another, to confront racism and other forms of prejudice and discrimination in order to create more change.

She added: The college will continue to work hard on the commitments outlined in the anti-racism plan and in two quarterly updates, placing particular emphasis on mental health and well being and changes to the ACPD. Both of these critical pieces of work require more study and more dialogue before final decisions can be made.

Section 14 of Amherst Colleges anti-racism plan, titled Reimagine Policing, says For some time, the College administration has been discussing a shift in the over-reliance on the Amherst College Police Department in student life.

Without a robust after-hours residential program, the campus police have served as the primary interface with students after hours and on weekends. This has created anxiety among Black students, in particular, but also others. We will shift some resources from ACPD, including student staff and funds for mental health services, it states.
Burma US Senators Call for Sanctions on Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise

Yadana gas field offshore facility in the Andaman Sea. / Total Myanmar

U.S senators have urged the Biden administration to impose sanctions on Myanmars state-owned oil and gas enterprise the largest source of foreign revenue for the military regime  in the aftermath of the Feb. 1 coup and the juntas ongoing human rights abuses against Myanmars people.

On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of U.S senators including Jeff Merkley, Marco Rubio and four others, sent a letter calling on Washington to target or freeze all foreign currency revenues and foreign exchange reserves held in state accounts outside of Myanmar. The senators said that the administrations first step should be imposing sanctions on the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), now under the control of the juntas leaders.

Revenue from natural gas joint ventures involving companies such as Frances Total, the USs Chevron, South Koreas POSCO, Thailands PTT, Malaysias Petronas and Chinas CNPC are currently the most significant source of foreign exchange revenue for Myanmar. Oil and gas revenues earned Myanmar US$1.5 billion in annual income, with around 80% of that income derived from the offshore natural gas sector, according to figures from the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

MOGE collects income through its joint ventures and revenue sharing agreements with international corporations, including Chevron.

The U.S senators said that history shows that when the previous junta was in place in the 1990s, gas revenues from Total and Chevron helped them to withstand international sanctions as their [financial] reserves dwindled.

This time, we believe that the Tatmadaw [Myanmar military] must be entirely prevented from accessing a steady stream of international resources, said the senators.

U.S giant Chevron has a long partnership with MOGE. The two companies are joint investors in the Yadana offshore gas project, located off the southwest coast of Myanmar, which accounts for 42% of all oil and gas production from Myanmars offshore projects. Chevron paid around US$50 million to Myanmar between 2014 and 2018, according to the Myanmar Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative report (MEITI).

Total reported that it paid US$257 million in taxes and other payments to Myanmar in 2019.

Petronass Yetagun gas project paid US$208 million to the government in 2018, while the Shwe project, run by South Koreas POSCO, paid US$194 million, according to MEITI.

The Zawtika gas project, run by Thailands PTT, paid US$41 million in 2018. The government also earned another US$300 million in 2018 from fees paid by companies to use gas export pipelines.

The U.S senators said that instead of paying MOGE, we propose that the joint ventures involving multinational oil and gas companies pay revenue into a trust or protected account either to be held until such time as Myanmar has a legitimate and democratically-elected government or to be used for humanitarian purposes.

As well as cutting off revenue to MOGE, the senators also suggested that the US Treasury Department maximizes and focuses its investigative capacity to identify and block any flow of resources to the Myanmar military and its network of cronies, while minimizing unintended harm to ordinary citizens.

A New York Times report revealed that Chevron has intensively lobbied the State Department and key congressional offices against sanctions, warning that they might disrupt its joint ventures in Myanmar. Chevron warned that sanctions would endanger the long-term viability of the Myanmar gas field and worsen the humanitarian crisis for those people who rely on the joint venture for power.

Human rights groups have repeatedly pressured foreign oil and gas companies to cut ties with the Myanmar military since their coup, saying that their revenues would enable the regime to continue their serious human rights abuses in the country. As of Tuesday, at least 755 civilians have been killed and 3,448 people arrested by the military regime, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Earth Rights International said it welcomed bipartisan Senate efforts to place sanctions on MOGE. Executive director Ka Hsaw Wa said that, oil and gas revenues are keeping this murderous regime alive, even as it continues to kill its own people.

That money must be cut off now. We are happy to see bipartisan support for this action and urge the U.S. Treasury and State Department to act immediately to put sanctions on MOGE, said Ka Hsaw Wa.

In late March, elected lawmakers from the ousted National League for Democracy government sent a final notice calling on the largest foreign-owned oil and gas companies operating in Myanmar to suspend business ties with the military regime.

U Tin Tun Naing, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) acting minister for Planning, Finance and Industry, said in the statement that if companies continued to make payments it would seriously undermine the efforts of the Myanmar people to return the country to democracy, while the military regime will be able to utilize those resources to continue their human rights violations.
Contacted Wednesday, Solomon said it was news to him that the Justice Department was interested in any communications he had with Giuliani, though he said it was not entirely surprising given the issues raised in the impeachment trial.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Whether or not the Constitutional Court deems the ordinances regulating the cuts to employment benefits as unconstitutional, the initiative by the Ombudsman to submit the ordinances for review once again echoes what Ive stressed from day one; it is not just about salary, but all income and deprives people of the standard of living that they are due.

So says MP Christophe Emmanuel in reaction to the news that the Ombudsman of St. Maarten, Gwendolien Mossel, after careful consideration, submitted the three national ordinances, in connection with cuts to the employment benefits of all (semi) public sector workers, to the Constitutional Court for review. Emmanuel said he is pleased with the move by the Ombudsman.

He reminded that the government has stated on numerous occasions that they informed State Secretary Knops that the austerity measures could not be enforced if they are against the laws, constitution, and rights of the people of St. Maarten.

MP Emmanuel is the only MP who voted against two of the laws on February 3, 2021. He voted against the National Ordinance to reduce the employment conditions for civil servants by adjusting the terms of employment by 12.5% per July 1, 2020. This entailed the reduction of vacation allowance and the right to vacation hours, the non-granting of increases in the remuneration, and the reduction of the remuneration for overtime for government employees. He also voted against the National Ordinance to standardize the top incomes and reduce the employment benefits by 12.5% per July 1, 2020, within the (semi) public sector entities.

To stand in solidarity with the people of St. Maarten, Emmanuel voted for the National Ordinance to amend the employment conditions of political authorities. As such, this law reduced the employment conditions of political authorities by 25% per July 1, 2020.

Emmanuel vehemently chastised the government for not fighting for its people by accepting the laws in order to meet the conditions set by the Government of the Netherlands for receiving the second tranche of liquidity support. Government instead proudly claimed on more than one occasion that they are not touching salaries. And they celebrated this as a great accomplishment while denouncing my warnings as fear-mongering. I wonder if the Ombudsman is also fear-mongering? MP Emmanuel asked.

From day one, I have said that while the direct salary is not being touched, for now, everything else is still income. Not income that is given now and then, but income that people have earned, have become accustomed to and structure their lives around. Removal of this income in terms of vacation pay, bonuses, etc, affects the standard of living of our people which is morally and constitutionally wrong. The governments responsibility is to identify measures that do not touch the people,  Emmanuel said.

MP Emmanuel said he is pleased that the Ombudsman, the guardian of the Constitution of St. Maarten, has taken it upon herself to have the Constitutional Court review the laws. Whether or not the court deems the laws unconstitutional, there is one fact that this government cannot escape: that they made the lives of the people of St. Maarten harder, the MP said.

In the next few months, people will start feeling the loss of income when school fees and uniforms are due when a house and car insurance are due when hurricane preparations are due and maybe even when medical costs are due since the government now has an issue with pharmacies accepting medical cards. So on top of all of that, the people might have to pay for their medical costs if a solution is not found. I said then and I will continue saying, the cuts to income were wrong, unfair, unconstitutional, and immoral, Emmanuel concluded.
Albany, N.Y.  New Yorks curfew on bars and restaurant will end next month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today.

The current mandatory closing time of midnight for bars and restaurants will end for outdoor dining areas May 17 and for indoor dining areas May 31, according to Cuomos office.

In addition, the current 1 a.m. curfew for catered events will be lifted starting May 17 for events where attendees provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a recent negative Covid test. The curfew will end for all catered events May 31.

Cuomo also announced that seating at bars in New York City will be allowed starting May 3.

Everything weve been doing is working  all the arrows are pointing in the right direction and now were able to increase economic activity even more, Cuomo said in a press release. Lifting these restrictions for restaurants, bars and catering companies will allow these businesses that have been devastated by the pandemic to begin to recover as we return to a new normal in a post-pandemic world.

Bar and restaurant owners across the state, including those in Central New York, have been criticizing the curfew since Cuomo first implemented it months ago. Businesses that depend on late night customer traffic say they have been suffering.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon has also been calling for the state to loosen the rules in recent months.

Less than two weeks ago, Cuomo extended the curfew to midnight.

The governor is facing pushback on other pandemic rules from the state Legislature. Lawmakers are set to repeal the requirement that food be served with all drink orders in the state.

A Cuomo adviser told The New York Times the governor was already planning to end that rule this week.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Cuomo says NYS Fair will happen in 2021: The Fair must go on

2021 NY State Fair: All tickets $3 and Midway returns. But will masks be required?

NY raising capacity limits for gyms, stadiums, casinos, offices

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
The YMCA that most likely housed him? It was on Emerson Street, and it offered rest and respite to Evanstons Black residents and students when many of the citys institutions were turning their backs on them. Heres the story behind it, from columnist Heidi Stevens.
Black students at the King School, a private school in Connecticut, have called out their teachers for perpetuating a culture of systemic racism - taking to Instagram to air their frustrations. Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Students at a private school in Connecticut called out their teachers on Instagram for racism.

The account detailed instances of racism, including how a Black student was forced to role-play a "slave" escaping from "slave catchers."

The school apologized this week, and announced a list of "cultural inclusiveness" initiatives.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Black students at a private school in Connecticut have taken to Instagram to call their administrators, teachers, and fellow students out for racist remarks.

The account "Blackatking" began posting in June 2020 and has detailed dozens of student accounts of what they allege to be anti-Black racism at the King School, a prestigious private school in Connecticut.

A student identifying as a Black male said that as a 6th grader, he was forced to run in the woods at night, pretending to be on the "underground railroad" with other students and teachers posing as "slave catchers."

"We were led by another white counselor to a 'safe house' and made to hide in the bathroom. The 'slave catchers' then found some of us in the bathroom and captured us, splitting us from the group," he wrote.

The account lists over 100 instances of racist remarks and comments from teachers and fellow students "fetishizing" and "sexualizing" Black students.

"I heard a teacher talk to a mother about my hair and how 'different' it was. She complained about how (the) other girls' hair was neat and straight while mine was curly," said one post from a female student at the King School.

The account lists several claims about specific school faculty in which students said teachers were "completely obsessed with policing Black women's bodies" and "sexualizing" the students they worked with.

The account also alleged that racism at the school ran much deeper than questionable school activities and inappropriate behavior.

Story continues

A post claiming to be from a former teacher at the school said white faculty members would often comment to other white teachers that the school's director of equity and inclusion were "pushing that agenda again." Another post also accused the school's administrative team of making it "impossible for Black employees to build inclusive environments" by being "hostile" to them.

This week, the King School released a statement apologizing for the "pain suffered by anyone within our walls."

"Since last summer, King School embarked on an intentional journey to examine every area of the school through a lens of equity and inclusion, with an overarching goal of becoming a more inclusive and anti-racist school," the statement wrote, acknowledging that the incidents highlighted in the Instagram account were "not isolated events."

The school also said it was making efforts to increase "cross-cultural competencies," along with changes to the curriculum and its administrative policies to be more "inclusive."

Students at other schools have similarly used Instagram to air frustrations about racism in schools. The account "BlackAtPingry," contained posts from students at The Pingry School, a preparatory school in New Jersey, which said other students named the end-of-year fundraiser "Senior Slave Day" and regularly called COVID the "China Virus."

The King School did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Read the original article on Insider
MONTPELIER  A committee of the Vermont House has approved a bill that bars police from identifying anyone under the age of 20 who has been charged with a crime, including fatal motor vehicle crashes, unless and until they are formally charged with a major felony .

The bill, S.107, adds a public records exemption barring the release of information about the initial arrest or charge of a person under the age of 20 that would reveal the identity of the person.

However, a public agency may disclose identifying information relating to the arrest of a person under the age of 20 years of age in order to protect the health and safety of any person, the bill says.

However, upon a finding that a child is a delinquent child by reason of commission of a delinquent act which that would have been a felony if committed by an adult, the court, upon request of the victim, shall make the childs name available to the victim of the delinquent act, the bill said. If the victim is incompetent or deceased, the childs name shall be released, upon request, to the victims guardian or next of kin, the bill reads.

The committee vote was 10-1 with Reps. John Gannon, D-Windham 6, and Michael Mrowicki, D-Windham 4, voting yes. Rep. Samantha Lefebvre, R-Orange 1, was the lone no vote. The bill has already passed the Senate.

The vote by the Government Operations Committee came days after Jada Spaulding Doyle, a 16-year-old sophomore at Bellows Falls Union High School, died following a one-car crash on Route 5 in Putney.

The juvenile motorist at the wheel in the one-car crash, whom Vermont State Police have not identified, now faces drunken driving charges, death resulting, in Windham Family Court on Wednesday.

Putney crash results in death, DUI for juveniles PUTNEY  A juvenile passenger died in a car crash on Route 5 in which the juvenile driver wa

The fatal accident and law enforcements refusal to name the victim or the motorist in the case were brought up in the committee hearing.

Michael Donoghue, executive director of the Vermont Press Association, said state police were not identifying the victim or the driver in the crash. He said the bill would create different standards for teen motorists whose actions lead to deaths on the states highways. (Donoghue writes for New England Newspapers Inc. as a freelance reporter.)

Mrowicki, whose district includes Putney, where the fatal accident took place, said the human toll of the accident needs to be kept in mind.

I want to hold up that this is not just a news story, Mrowicki said. This is a teenager  this is two young lives affected. Their families have to deal with this.

Later, he said accountability in cases involving young motorists should come in the judicial system, if and when they are judged to have committed a felony.

This bill has nothing to do with whats happened here [in Putney, he said.

Mrowicki said the increase in age to 20 reflects the desire to not place those persons in the adult criminal justice system.

Earlier in the day, Gov. Phil Scott said that the state had ceased identifying juveniles as a result of confusion about what is or isnt allowed in terms of releasing names.

The law says we cant. We dont believe that we can release that information, Scott said.

We want to provide some more transparency but were going to need help from the legislature. In the meantime we have to follow the law, Scott said.

Neither Mrowicki nor Gannon responded to emails seeking comment by press time Tuesday.
Mumbai, April 28 : New-age music composer Manan Bhardwaj, who is credited with creating the soundtrack of the upcoming Prabhas-starrer "Radhe Shyam" along with Mithoon, has made his mark in the music industry in a short while. His resume as a composer includes hits such as Armaan Malik's "Veham", Sachet Tandon's "Kandhe ka woh til", and Jubin Nautiyal and Tulsi Kumar's "Pehle pyar ka pehla gham".

However, Manan says there was a phase of struggle that he can never forget. The musician, who is from Haryana, lost his father as a teenager and was soon found himself directionless in terms of a career.

"I lost my father when I was 17, I lost him at the very initial stage of learning music. He was completely aware of my dream and was supporting me. I was used to that. Suddenly, I was left with just a dream and no support system. To top that, I was the only male member in my family and that meant responsibility," he told IANS.

However, his family supported him. "My family supported my dream and I took the charge. I was short of money and applied for loans for my studies in Mumbai, where I persuaded audio engineering. I got rejected many times but finally my loan got approved and I came to Mumbai," he recalls.

"In Mumbai, everything was different. I stayed in a room for a week which was so small that I literally had no space to move my legs or arms. I did my work with honesty and passion, and, importantly, I was patient," he says.

Ask him if it was tough for him to make the transition from independent music to Bollywood, he says: "Talking about tough, if you call doing hard work tough then, for sure, it would look tough. But if you consider hard work part of your life then it's easy for everyone. If you are good at your work and if you are giving 100 per cent to what you are doing, then it's really easy. You just have to do your work with passion, dedication and honesty." However, working on your own music and working in Bollywood is different, says Manan.

"When you work solo, you will go where your thoughts are taking you and you will do something in your comfort zone. When you work for others, especially for the best in the field, you have different and new edges to touch, it's a whole new story. It's all new. I am working in a new space right now and am enjoying this new side of my life completely," he says.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 16:09:27|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The European Parliament on Wednesday ratified the agreement on trade and cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) in a 660-5 vote.

After hours of parliament debate, 660 lawmakers voted for the free trade agreement and five against, with 32 abstentions.

The UK joined the EU bloc in 1973 but announced to withdraw in 2016 after a referendum. The two sides failed to reach a deal before the Brexit transition period ended on Dec. 31, 2020.

The EU-UK trade in goods has been deeply affected by Brexit, according to latest figures published by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.

In the first two months of 2021, exports from the bloc to the UK fell 20.2 percent compared to last year, while the EU's imports from the UK recorded an even sharper decrease of 47 percent. Enditem
New Jersey residents are regularly encouraged to remove invasive plants and species they come into contact.

One local artist is joining in the effort to mitigate invasive species in an unprecedented way that benefits both her and the community she lives in.
Hyderabad, April 28 : Next three to four weeks will be crucial in containing the spread of Covid-19, a senior Telangana official said on Wednesday.

Director, Public Health, Dr G. Srinivas Rao told reporters if people continue to take all precautions at least till May, the state will pull out of the present situation. He claimed that the situation in the state is showing some signs of improvement for last one week.

He said the spike in number of cases appears to have stabilised. However, it may take 3-4 weeks for the situation to come under control. Since marriage and festival season is approaching, people need to be more alert in coming days, he stressed.

He claimed that Telangana is in better position compared to many other states in terms of tests, beds and oxygen supply, attributing this to various measures taken by the government over last one year.

He pointed out that when the pandemic broke out the state had only 1,000 beds with oxygen supply but the number has now gone up to 10,000.

He said 50,000 beds are available for Covid patients. These include 18,000 ICU beds and 10,000 oxygen.

Rao clarified that 85 per cent of people infected by Covid don't need hospital admissions and they can be treated at home. He said due to panic, some people were running around hospitals for admission though they can be treated at home.

The director said testing facility is also only for those who have symptoms of Covid. People who don't have symptoms are thronging the testing centres and thus putting themselves at risk of contracting the virus. "People out of fear are going to testing centres though they are not having any symptoms but there they are getting the infection," he said.

He said so far 45 lakh people have been vaccinated in the state and none of them had any serious side effects. He said those who have taken the vaccine may not need hospitalisation even if they are infected by the virus. According to him, 80 per cent of those vaccinated have not been affected by Covid.

He said all those above 18 years should register themselves for vaccination. The Centre has announced that those above 18 years will be vaccinated from May 1. Vaccination for people above 45 years is continuing.

He claimed that night curfew helping in containing the spread of Covid-19.

He also said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, despite being infected by Covid, is monitoring the situation in the state every hour with the Health Minister and the Chief Secretary.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The government of India has increased the supply of medical of to overcome it's shortage, an official said on Wednesday.

The quota has been increased from 162 to 232 metric tonnes per day by the government of India, the official spokesperson told the media here.

The official communication in this regard was received on Tuesday.

--IANS

vg/in

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Natural News) A new study published in the journal Astrobiology suggests that the subsurface of Mars may be habitable. In the study, researchers explain that the same chemical reactions supporting microbial life deep beneath the Earths surface can occur in the Martian underground. An important component for those reactions is water, and past studies suggest that Mars may be hosting groundwater.

The big implication here for subsurface exploration science is that wherever you have groundwater on Mars, theres a good chance that you have enough chemical energy to support subsurface microbial life, said Jesse Tarnas, a postdoctoral researcher at the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who led the study as a doctoral student at Brown University.

We dont know whether life ever got started beneath the surface of Mars, but if it did, we think there would be ample energy there to sustain it right up to today, Tarnas went on.

Searching for habitable environments on Mars

Over the past few decades, scientists have discovered that Earths subsurface is home to hardy microbes known as extremophiles. In Canadas Kidd Creek Mine, for instance, extremophiles have been found more than a mile beneath the surface, in water that hasnt seen the light of day in over a billion years.

As to how these tough creatures manage to survive without sunlight, they subsist on the byproducts of chemical reactions that occur when rocks come into contact with water.

One such reaction is radiolysis, which occurs when radioactive elements in rocks react with water trapped in pore and fracture space. The reaction breaks down water into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The liberated hydrogen is then dissolved in the remaining water, while minerals soak up free oxygen to form sulfate minerals. Microbes can then use the dissolved hydrogen as fuel and the oxygen preserved in the sulfates to burn that fuel.

For their study, Tarnas and his colleagues were curious about whether Mars is capable of supporting radiolysis-driven habitats. To that end, they analyzed data from NASAs Curiosity rover and other orbiting Mars spacecraft, as well as compositional data on different Martian meteorites, to look for the ingredients for radiolysis on Mars.

They found radioactive elements, sulfide minerals that could be converted into sulfate and rock units with adequate pore space to trap water in different types of Martian meteorites. These ingredients were present in the rocks in adequate abundance to support Earth-like habitats. Regolith breccias, in particular, had the highest potential for supporting life. These are meteorites that originated from crustal rocks that date back to more than 3.6 billion years ago.

Exploring the subsurface of Mars

The researchers said that the findings made a compelling case for an exploration program that would look for signs of alien life in the Martian subsurface. They explained that past research confirmed the presence of a groundwater system on young Mars, which suggests that groundwater exists to this day. In fact, a study published last year detected evidence for existing subsurface lakes beneath the Martian south pole.

While NASAs Perseverance rover is already on the hunt for signs of Martian life, its instruments can only map layers of rock that are up to 33 feet deep. By comparison, those subsurface lakes are hidden below a mile from the surface. (Related: Scientists say the best place for life on Mars is underground.)

The subsurface is one of the frontiers in Mars exploration, said Jack Mustard, a professor of earth, environment and planetary science at Brown and one of the studys researchers. If we want to think about the possibility of present-day life, the subsurface is absolutely going to be where the action is.

Follow Space.news for more stories about the Red Planet.

Sources include:

TheSun.co.uk

SciTechDaily.com

Space.com 1

Space.com 2
New Delhi: The country's top carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Wednesday said it has decided to advance maintenance shutdown at its two Haryana-based manufacturing plants by a month amid a surge in the COVID-19 cases across the country.

The auto major was supposed to take the shutdown at its two plants in Gurugram and Manesar in June, but due to the tsunami of COVID-19 cases, it decided to take it one month earlier to save oxygen for medical needs.

MSI noted that as part of the car manufacturing process, it uses a small amount of oxygen in its factories, while relatively much larger quantities are used by the manufacturers of components.

"In the current situation, we believe that all available oxygen should be used to save lives. Accordingly, Maruti Suzuki has decided to advance its maintenance shutdown, originally scheduled for June to 1st to 9th May," it said in a regulatory filing.

Production in all factories will be closed for maintenance during this period, MSI said.

"The company has been informed that Suzuki Motor Gujarat has taken the same decision for its factory," it added.

With the rise in COVID-19 cases, the demand for oxygen for treatment purposes has gone up manifold, leading to shortages across the hospitals.

Already, the government has barred the use of liquid oxygen for any non-medical purpose and asked manufacturing units to maximise its production and make it available to the government for medical use.

MSI usually shuts its two plants at Gurugram and Manesar in Haryana twice a year, in June and December.

The two plants have a production capacity of over 15 lakh units per annum.

Besides, Suzuki's Gujarat-based plant, which manufactures cars on a contract basis for MSI, has an annual production capacity of 7.5 lakh units.

With the second wave of COVID-19 hitting hard, automakers have been trying hard to carry on with the production activities.?

On Tuesday, MSI had said there were 1,280 active cases of the virus among its 30,000 strong workforce and therefore it wasn't facing much of a manpower shortage.

Already, MG Motor India has announced to shut its manufacturing unit at Halol in Gujarat for seven days to curb the spread of COVID-19.

It followed two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp, which had last week announced temporarily stopping of operations at all of its six manufacturing facilities located at Dharuhera and Gurugram, Haryana; Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh; Haridwar in Uttarakhand; Neemrana in Rajasthan, and Halol in Gujarat along with its Global Parts Center (GPC) at Neemrana as COVID-19 cases surged in India.

Similarly, Toyota Kirloskar Motor has also announced that its two plants at Bidadi in Karnataka will undergo annual maintenance from April 26 to May 14.

On Wednesday, India saw a record single-day rise of 3,60,960 coronavirus cases, which pushed the total tally to 1,79,97,267, while the death toll crossed two lakh following 3,293 fresh fatalities.

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The number of people who have recuperated from the disease is 1,48,17,371, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.12 per cent.

Registering a steady increase, the active cases have risen to 29,78,709, comprising 16.55 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has further dropped to 82.33 per cent.
Tesla has recently pledged to change its sources and switch to a 100 percent renewable energy source for its Supercharger locations to replenish batteries of electric vehicles stopping by to use the service. The statement was posted by Tesla Supercharger Marketing Lead, Justin Lange, that said it was the company's pledge towards Earth Day 2021.

Earth Day has certainly ended and several companies have already divulged what actions they were going to take for the preservation and care of the planet, to combat the different threats against its presence. Apple has released a carbon-neutral campaign for its devices that would be available by 2030, with the company already claiming that they practice it as early as now.

On the other hand, Google has also pledged its services for Earth Day 2021, saying that it would be "carbon-free" by 2030, as it would observe this via five of its data centers worldwide. While Tesla has been inclined to clean energy and protecting the environment since its establishment, the company furthers this by revealing its plans with its Superchargers.

Read Also: Tesla Solar Requires a Powerwall When Buying One to Fully Utilize Energy Storage and Cycle Says Elon Musk

Tesla Superchargers: 100% Renewable Energy Source for Earth Day

The clean energy company and electric vehicle manufacturer has not released a lot of press releases for Earth Day 2021, and in fact, this announcement did not come from its CEO Elon Musk. Rather, it came from Justin Lange via LinkedIn, which was revealed more than five days ago, after the festivities of the April 20's Earth Day 2021.

In the post (via Electrek), Lange's private profile has divulged the steps of Tesla's Supercharger to rely on fully renewable energy sources to charge the different electric vehicles that would use its services. This means that Tesla would stop relying on power grids that use non-environmental friendly energy sources and rely on Earth-friendly ones.

Tesla is known to debut one of the most popular renewable energy sources for homes and buildings with Tesla's Solar Roof, paired with the Powerwall, to ensure proper energy regulation without threats to the environment. Lange also divulged the different advantages brought by the company's electric vehicle and Superchargers.

What Are These Renewable Energy Sources?

While Tesla and Lange did not specify the different renewable energy sources that they would use, three known natural resources are used regarding the environment-friendly choices. These three are Solar Power, Hydro Power, and Wind Power, all of which are from three of the basic elements present in the environment.

Tesla is known to utilize the Sun's power with its Solar Roofing options, and most of its Superchargers have it installed in its shades so that it also generates power to and from the grid. These renewable energy sources can be used to generate power and lessen the need to rely on traditional ones, which use fossil fuel and others that present harm to the Earth.

Related Article: Tesla Q1 2021 Earnings: $10.39b in Revenue, Overcame Chip Shortage-Model S Coming in May

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Isaiah Richard

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Journey Through Time Masterplan, a roadmap to protect 200,000 years of natural and human history across the 20km-long core historical area of AlUla, is anchored by the regeneration of five heritage districts. It aims to set the benchmark for responsible and impactful investment in destination development by building social, economic and environmental sustainability into its blueprint. The masterplan aims to create a robust investment opportunity in AlUla, contributing to the diversification of the Saudi economy and creation of jobs as well as wider opportunities for the local community  all key goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

"With an estimated total development value of over USD 15 billion, The Journey Through Time Masterplan is an important opportunity to showcase AlUla's full potential. By de-risking investment opportunities through our USD 2 billion (SAR 7.5 billion) seed funding and creating a robust governance framework, we have created a platform for responsible and sustainable development to regenerate a unique location featuring a UNESCO World Heritage Site," stated Amr AlMadani, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Commission for AlUla. "With USD 3.2 billion reserved for priority primary infrastructure, the development of AlUla will be anchored in building strong foundations as well as safeguarding AlUla's cultural and heritage assets."

An estimated USD 3.2 billion will be injected into developing AlUla's priority infrastructure, A key component to unlocking AlUla's future as a sustainable development destination, this will include a 46km low-carbon tramway (22km for the first phase); increasing clean power capacity, with at least 50% of demand supplied through renewable energies by 2035; increasing potable water capacity, with a centralised and upgraded water supply system including a new water supply of desalinated water and a tailor-made water conservation programme; and increasing wastewater capacity with an upgrade of the wastewater treatment plant in Mughayra.

The RCU is committed to de-risking future investments for partners and will support the development of heritage assets and primary infrastructure. It has already invested in USD 2 billion in development projects including the expansion of AlUla International Airport, bolstering the county's security infrastructure and developing key tourism assets including Ashar estate and the iconic Maraya multi-purpose venue.

In parallel, the wider development strategy for AlUla  encompassing multiple masterplans  will lay the foundations for a strong tourism industry with a total of 9,400 hotel keys by 2035, of which 5,000 keys will sit within the Journey Through Time Masterplan.

The tourism potential of AlUla is evident in the interest it has generated amongst hoteliers and designers, including global luxury brands Aman, Accor/Banyan Tree and Habitas. AlUla will also play host to a one-of-its-kind property designed by leading architecture firm Atelier Jean Nouvel that will revive the 2,000-year-old architectural legacy of the ancient Nabataeans.

AlUla's development strategy is guided by the AlUla Sustainability Charter, which sets the ground for adherence to a carbon-neutral strategy and circular economy principles, robust resiliency policies around development in heritage and environmentally sensitive areas, as well as flood and improved water management and vegetation planting. The masterplan will also contribute to the Saudi Green Initiative by expanding AlUla's green and open spaces up to 10 million square meters.

With investment opportunities meeting robust environmental, social and corporate governance criteria, AlUla is creating investment opportunities in new and vibrant sectors of the Kingdom's economy. As part of the masterplan, AlUla offers a rich portfolio of investment opportunities across multiple asset classes: landmark cultural projects; social infrastructure, utilities and mobility, hospitality, commercial and residential projects. The masterplan will be delivered over three phases, to be completed in 2023, 2030 and 2035 respectively.

Amr AlMadani added: "Responsible investment can deliver strong business opportunities and investment returns, whilst also helping to address urgent social and environmental concerns. For our partners around the globe, this is an opportunity to be at a new frontier of environmental, social and economic growth."

The Journey Through Time Masterplan is the first in a series of plans for AlUla and focuses on rehabilitating AlUla's natural and cultural heritage in responsible manner. Upon full completion, the wider development strategy for AlUla in 2035 aims to deliver 38,000 new jobs amid a population grown to 130,000, contributing USD 32 billion (SAR 120 billion) to the Kingdom's GDP. Unique opportunities will further encourage and accelerate business and investment from partners who share RCU's values of sustainability, responsible development and community inclusivity.

For more information on The Journey Through Time Masterplan, visit: https://ucl.rcu.gov.sa.

To find out more about investing in AlUla, visit: https://ucl.rcu.gov.sa/en/investment or contact us at [email protected].

About AlUla

Located 1,100km from Riyadh in north-west Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km, includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years.

The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. A 52-hectare ancient city, Hegra was the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and is comprised of nearly 100 well-preserved tombs with elaborate facades cut into sandstone outcrops. Current research suggests Hegra was the most southern outpost of the Romans after conquering the Nabataeans in 106 CE.

In addition to Hegra, AlUla is home to a series of fascinating historical and archaeological sites such as: an Old Town surrounded by an ancient oasis; Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms, which is considered one of the most developed 1st-millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula; thousands of ancient rock art sites and inscriptions in Jabal Ikmah; and Hijaz Railway stations.

Note to editors:

It is always AlUla / not Al-Ula.

About the Royal Commission for AlUla

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) was established by royal decree in July 2017 to preserve and develop AlUla, a region of outstanding natural and cultural significance in north-west Saudi Arabia. RCU's long-term plan outlines a responsible, sustainable, and sensitive approach to urban and economic development, that preserves the area's natural and historic heritage, while establishing AlUla as a desirable location to live, work, and visit. This encompasses a broad range of initiatives across archaeology, tourism, culture, education and the arts, reflecting a commitment to meeting the economic diversification, local community empowerment, and heritage preservation priorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 programme.

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SOURCE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
NARA (TR)  Nara Prefectural Police have arrested a 37-year-old woman for allegedly stalking a police officer stationed at the Nara Police Station in Nara City.

According to Kyodo News (April 26), Kanako Onishi, a part-time civic employee for Nara City, met the victim after he arrested her last year for stalking.

On around April 22, Onishi allegedly violated a previous warning by sending a letter to the officer, an assistant inspector in his 40s.

I want to enter to your family register, she wrote in using the word koseki. I dont want to live apart. I think Im in love.

On Monday, police accused Onishi of violating the Stalker Control Law. She admits to the allegations, police said.

Onishi lives in Kyoto Prefecture. Last October, Nara police arrested her in another stalking case. The assistant inspector was in charge of the investigation.

Onishi then sent the assistant inspector three letters. Marry me, she wrote.

She was later arrested again for violating the same law and handed an order stay away from the assistant inspector.

The assistant inspector is married and never engaged in a relationship with Onishi, police said.

I couldnt rely on [the other police officers], so I relied on [the assistant inspector, Onishi said.
[April 28, 2021] Climate Action: China to honor its commitment

BEIJING, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on China's climate action: Recently, the global problems of climate change and environmental pollution have hit the headlines again, with China and the United States having been pressing ahead with their cooperation on climate change, and the world leaders addressing the climate crisis in a virtual summit last week. Some Western media still have reservations about China's emissions-cutting efforts. After flipping through their reports, it's easy to find out that they can be roughly categorized into two types: One, as the world's largest CO2 emitter, China is still not aspirational enough; and two, China is more aspirational than actual. In September 2020, China, for the first time, announced that it aims to hit peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The promise was made when China, with a population of 1.4 billion, was still on course to eradicate poverty, and its industrialization process had only begun a few decades ago. According to the data shared by relevant economists, when EU peaked carbon emissions in 2006, its GDP per capita was 38,822 international dollars (in PPP of 2017); and when the US peaked emissions in 2007, its GDP per capita was 55,917 international dollars (in PPP of 2017). By comparison, China's GDP per capita is projected to reach 25,270 international dollars (in PPP of 2017) by 2030. In other words, Cina has to peak carbon emissions at a development stage completely different from that of developed countries. It has to fulfill this goal before it basically achieves modernization, and then proceed to achieve carbon neutrality in just 30 years. That said, China still made the commitment, outlining higher and clearer targets than those in its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) submitted in 2015. China ambitions speak for themselves.



In China's energy consumption structure, coal accounts for a relatively large proportion, which is due to its natural resource endowment. Through increased investment and technological upgrades, however, China now uses ultra-low emissions technology at 86% of its total coal-fired capacity. It is also working to phase out the loose coal. At the climate summit, President Xi Jinping further pledged to strictly control coal-fired power generation projects, and strictly limit the increase in coal consumption over the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Now China leads the world in installed solar and wind capacity as well as in solar and wind power generation, raising the non-fossil energy installed capacity to account for 44.8% of the total installed energy capacity. This scale will continue to grow rapidly in the coming five years. At present, many regions in China are speeding up their efforts to peak emissions ahead of schedule. The steel industry has also announced preliminary goals for capping carbon emissions by 2025. Sichuan Province has gone even further by releasing its plan for achieving carbon neutrality, encouraging individuals and institutions to take actions like planting trees and purchasing carbon credits. Next, China will formulate an action plan for peaking carbon emissions by 2030. More specific measures can be expected to come in the future.

Chinese people value "staying true to the word." The world has seen how China met its 2020 carbon target ahead of schedule. As cutting emissions matters to the national development and involves the people's well-being, it's a challenge China must tackle and overcome, even at great cost. Currently, China-US cooperation on climate change is gathering momentum, which is helpful for China to realize its targets of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. It is also of great significance to global climate governance. China Mosaic

http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm Climate Action: China to honor its commitment

http://www.china.org.cn/video/2021-04/28/content_77449060.htm View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/climate-action-china-to-honor-its-commitment-301278922.html SOURCE China.org.cn

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Editor's Note: This note was originally published in 2016.

When I saw Arnoldo de La Rocha, the creator of the El Pollo Feliz chain, take the stage to share his lecture The Mexican Dream during the Inspiring Leadership Forum organized by Smart Speakers , I could see a tall man with a kind, peaceful face , of iron character, firm voice but above all humble.

You never imagine that this international entrepreneur emerged from one of the most remote parts of the country: the heart of the Sierra Tarahumara in Chihuahua. In his childhood he wore cowhide sandals and patched trousers. He is the oldest of 12 siblings and today he is a true example for every Mexican.

Image: ArnoldoDeLaRocha.com

Coming from a country family. In his community some principles of nomadic life are still practiced, such as bartering: they exchange corn for beans, horses for cows with young. He met automobiles at the age of 11 and attended school for the first time at that age, with many economic deficiencies, but with a great teaching of values from his parents and love of work.

"I never knew I was poor until I met the rich, we lived happily," he says.

Arnoldo remembers his first footwear. They were blue boots, with a short tube. When he measured them, he realized that they were not his size, but if he said so, they would be given to another of his brothers. That's why, when her parents asked her if she had any left, without hesitation, she swore yes. "And in my land the one who swears something is to death" Otherwise he could not attend his uncle's wedding, because at that time he who did not wear shoes did not enter the party.

The challenges appeared when he was 17 years old when he finished elementary school and decided to leave his place of origin to arrive in the city of Chihuahua with the idea of working hard as in the field. He says that he had "his hard drive formatted to work as a farmer." This is how he begins working as a doorman, bricklayer, watchman, among others. Shortly after, out of need and hunger, with a group of friends and $ 18,000 pesos, in 1975 he began to sell roast chicken with a marinade recipe made by his family. He opens a small restaurant becoming a success in the city of Los Mochis, Sinaloa.

Thus in 1980 his business grew in such a way that El Pollo Feliz was born; By the nineties, it succeeded in getting Mexican families to recognize its brand, reaching a total of 167 cities in the country. In 2000 it reached more than 800 branches throughout the Mexican territory and in 2001 it crossed the border, settling in Tucson, Arizona.

Image: Pollo Feliz USA via Instagram

Before all this, de La Rocha was a dreamer who thought of being a state commander, horseman or rancher. Now he works from his trenches to achieve a change in the country through his testimony. It promotes the fight for the land with the absolute conviction that the most direct way to make a better Mexico is by training better Mexicans. That is why the founder of Pollo Feliz has the following recommendations to be a better entrepreneur, committed to the country:

Leading your people with love and communication: Change is born from the interest to communicate better. Dialogue effectively is decisive in the business world , affirms the businessman. Believe in what you do: If you really want what you do, you will end up doing what you want. For me, selling chickens is a bridge to get to the forums and share what I have experienced . Have an open mind to learn from each person : Transformation begins in our way of thinking. Giving every word and action credibility is the hardest part. You have to be congruent between what you say and what you do . Exercising temperance because it generates wealth: on the other hand, wealth destroys temperance. This old saying from the Middle Ages teaches us that your company has a responsibility to society so that it exists for many years. So the founders must seek to coincide with the children to preserve the company . Be convinced that it can be done !: There is no better place for Mexicans to live than their own country. If you think that in Mexico it is possible, so it will be. If you think otherwise, it is not achieved. But it is more interesting to think that everything is possible .

This leads us to hope, because everything is moved by faith and love. We are going to be purposeful and take actions that will make a difference! .

This is how the chicken businessman closes his talks, who dares to dream of a different Mexico.

Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Burma After Deadly Clashes, Myanmar Junta Frees Detained Anti-Regime Protesters

The arrest of the seven sparked clashes between regime troops and resistance fighters in Chin States Mindat, where at least 20 Tatmadaw soldiers have been killed.
According to the Everlytic 2020 Email Marketing Benchmarks report, email subscribers who have been opening their messages have been more engaged with the content than ever. The Everlytic Email Marketing Benchmarks report is the largest email engagement study in South Africa providing a unique categorised analysis of the billions of emails sent in the country.

*The above table notes the Mean Open Percentages by Industry

*The graph above shows a comparison of email open rates on desktop applications, mobile devices, and web-based platforms such as Gmail, Yahoo, etc.

Even though fewer people have been reading their emails, (likely due to the economic uncertainty created by the pandemic and reduced inclination to spend on non-essential products and services) the report has highlighted the importance of providing subscribers with more value-added content than purely sales-driven information. Subscribers are looking for a richer journey than what traditional marketing campaigns can provide.The only industries that showed an increase in open rates last year were education (6% increase) and logistics (20%) which may be attributed to increased homeschooling and home deliveries via online shopping platforms.Surprisingly, even though hospitality, travel, and tourism were impacted substantially by the pandemic, their email engagement increased by 21%. This is likely due to how the lockdown left people unable to travel, but may have boosted their aspiration to do so. Additionally, the recipients may have kept engaging with those emails in the hopes that there were updates to travel regulations or on trips they had booked prior to the lockdown.The report further highlighted that the pandemic impacted which devices people use to view their emails. Desktop use dropped substantially, with mobile and web picking up in response. With many offices closing during lockdown and introducing a more flexible working environment, this was to be expected. In fact, every industrys mobile views went up, while desktop views decreased.Marketers know that the success of email campaigns comes down to the total number of engaged contacts. The ultimate return any organisation can hope for is to multiply the volume of its email distribution list by the engagement rate. But to build engagement, the recipient must first open the message. It is therefore important to improve subject lines and start building brand affinity. In doing so, companies can improve open rates to improve the return on investment they are getting from their email. Once opened, the relevance and compellingness of the call-to-action will lead to further engagement.A smaller, engaged list could yield the same volume of engagement as a large, unengaged one. The findings of the report have shown the importance of practising email list hygiene.Amid changes in the digital marketing landscape, email will evolve in functionality and should remain the go-to platform as it provides the most cost-effective way of engaging with customers on their terms.Based on this comprehensive study, it is clear that delivering quality content to email subscribers will be the cornerstone of any successful campaign. Subscribers have moved away from expecting a pure sales pitch to emails that deliver meaning to their lives. Generating this relevant content will significantly help to improve engagement rates.To find out more about the statistics from your industry, click here to read the Everlytic Email Marketing 2020 Benchmarks report.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court will hear the case of Newburgh Heights and East Cleveland, which are suing the state over a law restricting how they use traffic cameras.

Were talking about the money grab of traffic cameras on This Week in the CLE.

Listen online here.

Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Seth Richardson, Jane Kahoun and me.

Youve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom text 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:

Whats the latest act of desperation by two Northeast Ohio cities to restore their right to be speed traps, paying for their budgets on the backs of unsuspecting motorists?

How did Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine change the rules for people who are exposed to the coronavirus, and what did the CDC announce about mask-wearing outdoors?

What is Nina Turners television strategy as she runs for the Congressional seat vacated by Marcia Fudges move to the administration of President Joe Biden?

Getting a vaccine at the much acclaimed Wolstein Center clinic in Cleveland just became a lot more easy and convenient. How?

How is a study commissioned by Cleveland Heights elected leaders about how police treat residents unsettling residents of the city that prides itself on diversity?

How much money to Congressman Steve Chabots campaign treasurer steal from his election account, according to charged filed Tuesday?

How does the account of a 20-year-old man who was shot by an undercover DEA agent differ from the versions offered by the DEA and Cleveland police?

How has Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine made life easier for people in need of psychiatric care?

Whats the new childrens book by Greater Clevelands favorite son, LeBron James?

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.

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And on PlayerFM, we are here.
SLINGERLANDS  Joel Spiro, a prominent area dermatologist who for decades was better known for his million-dollar wine cellar and taste for exquisite food and exotic cars, died Tuesday of cancer. He was 83.

A bon vivant who practiced medicine until he was 81, retired from the Air Forces Reserves as a major, drove a Bentley and wore a beaver-fur coat, Spiros largesse with his wine was legendary, as was his generosity with his connections, and he pushed local sommeliers, chefs and restaurateurs to expand their education and ambition.

If Joel was coming in, you knew there were going to be some unbelievable wines, said veteran area restaurateur Angelo Mazzone, whose Clifton Park-based Mazzone Hospitality is the areas largest caterer and who opened multiple high-end restaurants over the decades. Mazzone estimated he served Spiro two dozen times a year for meals with family and friends, catered events or extravagant dinner parties for the local chapter of the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs, a French dining society with its roots in the 13th century. Spiro was a co-founder and, for 18 years, leader of the Capital Region Chaine. He was also a member of another half-dozen food and wine societies.

Restaurateurs long relished serving Spiro for celebratory family dinners or with groups of associates from the wine and food worlds, including the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, where Spiro was a benefactor, trustee and co-founder of the CIAs Society of Fellows, who serve as ambassadors and auxiliary fundraisers.

His inspirational leadership as chairman of the  Society of Fellows helped propel that program to what it is today  a critical source of financial support for CIA students education, raising more than $1 million annually, said Tim Ryan, the CIA's president. Via email, Ryan called Spiro a champion of the Culinary Institute of America in every way for more than two decades.

When dining at a restaurant, Spiro would always buy a few quality bottles from its list, local owners said, but he also brought multiple prime selections from his cellar, plus an additional magnum-sized bottle  just in case, hed say. All of it usually was gone by the end of the meal. Some were epic in length, including a 1988 surprise party for Spiros 50th birthday, held at the former Ogdens Restaurant in Albany. It lasted from 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

For Dominick Purnomo, wine director and co-owner of Yonos and dp: An American Brasserie in Albany, wine introductions made possible by Spiro include a 1961 Chateau Palmer, a storied vintage of Bordeaux wine that currently sells for about $4,000 a bottle.

The most memorable was a 1978 Chateau dYquem, Purnomo said, referring to a famed French dessert wine, the taste of which remains vivid in memory even after two decades. Purnomo, whose parents, the restaurateurs Donna and Yono Purnomo, first met Spiro in the late 1970s, credits Spiro with strongly encouraging him to pursue wine education and accreditation. Purnomo achieved sommelier certification at age 21 and won an invitation the following year to a Chaine-sponsored national sommelier competition.

Spiros collection was stored in a temperature- and humidity-controlled cellar he had built in the basement of his Slingerlands home in 1990.

"Many wine cellars are designed for show. This one is for storage," Spiro told the Times Union in 2006. The reported size of the collection varied; Spiro was quoted in news stories as describing it as a 5,000-bottle cellar, but friends were told it was far larger. His (medical) office had 6,000 or 7,000 bottles, and that was just the overflow, Dominick Purnomo said.

Spiro filled the cellar during regular trips to France, his preferred country of origin for wine. A 2006 photo of his cellar shows bottles with tags bearing vintages including 1957, 1959, 1961, 1967, 1970 and 1982, and Purnomo recalled seeing, during one visit to the cellar, a bottle of Chateau Petrus from 1853. It was not immediately clear what the family plans to do with the collection.

Besides wine, Spiro loved cars, especially British marques including Bentley, Triumph, MG and Morgan. In a snapshot that combined his twin passions, Spiro participated in a drive for the 2014 Saratoga Wine & Food Festival that featured dozens of exotics. Strapped to the luggage rack of Spiros retro-looking Morgan Plus 8 was a wooden case from Louis Latour, an elite winemaker in Burgundy. (Fret not, oenophiles: It was just the case. The actual bottles stayed in Spiros cellar, where the temperature was 55 to 60 degrees and the humidity 70 to 80 percent.)

Despite being a world-class gourmand and wine collector, He was just this down-to-earth guy. He wasnt pretentious at all, said Josh Turo, dining-room manager and sommelier for Yonos/dp. After only a few days of working at the restaurants, Turo served a Spiro party and was treated to a glass of 1947 Chateau Latour.

It was my first big wine to try as I was coming into the industry, Turo, now 25, said. To this day its still one of the best wines Ive ever had.

A generation earlier, the chef Dale Miller began a friendship with Spiro that lasted almost four decades after Spiros initial visit to Stone Ends, a Glenmont restaurant that Miller took over in the mid-1980s and turned into one of the regions top destinations for fine dining.

With the urging of Yono and Donna Purnomo, Spiro commissioned Miller to host a Chaine dinner at Stone Ends. It was a hit with members.

The rest is history. He had a huge influence on my career, said Miller, who went on to earn the designation of Certified Master Chef, one of only 69 in the country. Miller cooked for many Chaine dinners and dined often with Spiro in restaurants over the ensuing years. Spiro also brought his friend Gael Greene, who was known as the insatiable critic for New York magazine for more than 30 years, to dinner at Stone Ends and Yonos, Miller and Donna Purnomo said.

Even when Spiro wasnt present, he exerted influence. Knowing that Miller and the Purnomos were going to the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center in Manhattan for a cabaret performance by Kathie Lee Gifford, Spiro called the restaurants head chef, who happened to be a friend, to make sure the Albany contingent would be taken care of. They sat at the edge of the stage, Miller and Donna Purnomo recalled. Giffords husband, the sportscaster Frank Gifford, was several rows behind them.

He was the greatest mensch that every lived, said Michael Cocca, who said Spiro helped launch his career as a caterer. In 1984, while Cocca was still operating out of a Green Island deli, Spiro hired him for a party at the Spiro home, where the guest list was a whos-who of local business, cultural and dining circles. Multiple bookings followed.

People were like, If Joel is using this kid from Green Island, thats good enough for me. In this business, if you do one event right, you should get three more, said Cocca. His catering company has been headquartered at Franklin Plaza, a former bank building in downtown Troy, since 1993; he also owns the Best Western hotel across the street and, since 2005, has operated a satellite catering location on Campbell Avenue in Troy.

He made me do my first Chaine dinner, said Cocca, who was intimidated by the societys exacting standards for its black-tie affairs. I said I couldnt, that I wouldnt know where to start," said Cocca, who has since hosted five more Chaine events. Added Cocca, "He said, You can do it, and youre going to be fine.'"

Spiro, born Jan. 25, 1938, in New York City, attended medical school in St. Louis and moved to Albany in 1967 to become chief dermatology resident at Albany Medical College. He went into private practice, was chief of dermatology for St. Peter's Hospital in Albany for 19 years, clinical professor for Albany Med and award-winning member of more than a dozen medical societies. He was also an avid supporter and board member of Albany Center Gallery, which honored him with a lifetime achievement award.

Spiro is survived by his wife, Kira; two sons, Scott Spiro and Jason Spiro; daughter-in-law Helen Spiro; stepson Boris Kaplunovsky; and granddaughters Sarah Spiro and Abigail Kaplunovsky.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at Temple Israel Cemetery in Guilderland, with burial to follow. In-person attendance is for family only; the link to view the funeral online is bit.ly/2Qvukad.
CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Poetry Foundation is pleased to announce Michelle T. Boone will join the Poetry Foundation as president beginning May 4. The appointment concludes a robust, diverse national search led by Korn Ferry in partnership with a committee of Poetry Foundation trustees and staff members.

Boone brings more than 20 years of professional community, civic, and cultural experience in dynamic leadership positions, both at Navy Pier and with the Joyce Foundation, as well as during her tenure as commissioner for Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). In her most recent role at Navy Pier as chief program and civic engagement officer, Boone served on the Executive Leadership Team; her responsibilities included the development and presentation of arts and cultural public programs, festivals and special events; managing the PR/Communications team; and supporting Navy Pier's diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies and staff engagement.

"We are excited to welcome Michelle Boone as the next president of the Poetry Foundation," said Caren Yanis, board chair, "We're confident in Michelle's organizational and strategic planning skills to strengthen and sustain audiences for the art of poetry. Our goal is to become an equitable organization that fosters dignity and integrity, builds trust with partners and community members, and sustains and grows resources including Poetry magazine and PoetryFoundation.org. Michelle brings deep experience in organizational management and community engagement. We're delighted to welcome her to the Poetry Foundation."

"I am beyond thrilled and deeply honored to be invited to join the team at the Poetry Foundation," said Michelle Boone, incoming president of the Poetry Foundation. "Poetry magazine and the work of the Foundation play an important role in serving the poetry community and the broader literary scene at large. I am looking forward to deepening relationships, expanding partnerships, and connecting with bold new, diverse voices in the field in dynamic new ways."

Boone served as Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) under Mayor Rahm Emanuel. During her tenure, she led a team of more than 80 full-time employees to produce and present more than 2,000 public programs, large-scale festivals, and special events annually; supervised the management of the historic Chicago Cultural Center; led the process for a new Chicago Cultural Plan (released in 2012); and launched the Chicago Architecture Biennial in 2015, the city's first international exhibition of contemporary architecture and design. Prior to that, Boone was a senior program officer at the Joyce Foundation, managing the culture portfolio and distributing more than $2 million annually in grants supporting artists and nonprofit arts organizations in the Midwest.

Her professional career includes work in television, film, and the recording industries, and she served as a United States Peace Corps volunteer in Chad, Africa. Boone holds a bachelor's degree in Telecommunications and a master's degree in Public Affairs (Nonprofit Management) from Indiana University, Bloomington. The Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs honored her with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015.

Boone is the recipient of multiple honors including being named a "Cultural Champion" by the Chicago Cultural Alliance; named "Design Leader of the Moment" by Newcity magazine; and "Chicagoan of the Year" (architecture) by the Chicago Tribune. She currently serves on the boards of Americans for the Arts, Arts Alliance Illinois, The Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago Architecture Biennial, the Graham Foundation, and Timeline Theater, and is on the Board of Governors for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is also a member of The Chicago Network and serves on the Women's Board of the University of Chicago. Michelle is a longtime resident of Chicago's south side and volunteers with South Shore Works, an independent collective of residents working to revitalize the community.

About the Poetry Foundation

The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in American culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs.

Follow the Poetry Foundation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

SOURCE Poetry Foundation

Related Links

www.poetryfoundation.org


Mother-of-two Rossana Delgado (pictured) had been missing for four days when her body was found on April 20 in Gilmer County

A husband tracking his missing wife's final movements from her cell phone unknowingly ended up face-to-face with a suspect in her murder, her friend said.

Yhony Castro began searching for his wife Rossana Delgado, a 37-year-old taxi driver, after she told him she was finishing up her shift and then never returned to their home in Bethlehem, Georgia, on the night of April 16.

In an interview on Wednesday, Delgados friend Jennifer Nunez said Castro tracked his wifes phone and found it had been at two locations 44 miles away in Decatur: a storage unit and a home he didnt recognize.

Castro first visited the Public Storage unit on Covington Highway, where he found a bloody face mask with blood police later confirmed was Delgado's.

Nunez said Castro then went to the home where he spoke to 30-year-old Megan Alyssa Colone, who would later be named as one of the five suspects in Delgado's murder by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

When Castro rang the doorbell and asked Colone about his wife, she acted bizarrely and panicked, Nunez said.

'She pretended like she didn't know what was happening,' Nunez told 11Alive in a Spanish interview.

Police said Delgado's body was discovered at a cabin in Cherry Log believed to be owned by Colone four days later on April 20.

Authorities launched a manhunt for Colone, who allegedly fled from Decatur after being confronted by Castro, on April 24. They are also searching for four other male suspects in connection with Delgado's murder.

Yhony Castro began searching for his wife Delgado (pictured together) on the night of April 16 after she told him she was finishing up her shift and then never returned to their home in Bethlehem, Georgia

Police named Megan Alyssa Colone, 30, (pictured) as a suspect in Delgado's murder. A manhunt was launched for Delgado and four other suspects on April 24

'She left running,' Nunez said of Colone. 'The family told me she was so fearful that she even left a little girl who was about one-year-old out there with them.'

Nunez said she believes Delgado may have been inside Colone's Decatur home when her husband was at the doorstep - possibly alive.

'I would say there's a close to 100 percent chance that Rossana was inside that home at that time, and could've been alive,' Nunez told 11Alive. 'If the cops had acted quickly and listened to Yhony, things could've been different.'

Police have not confirmed if Delgado was ever at Colone's Decatur home.

Last week, Castro tearfully told Univision 34 Atlanta that he was hopeful his wife would be found.

'I'm looking for her, using all the resources possible to find her. I feel like we will find her,' he said in Spanish.

Delgado's best friend Jennifer Nunez says she believes Delgado was inside Colone's home when her husband was at the doorstep after tracking her last-known locations through her cellphone

Police have not confirmed if Delgado (pictured) was ever at Colone's Decatur home

Castro is pictured in an interview with Univision 34 Atlanta last week where he pleaded for his wife's safe return before her body was found

Castro and Delgado are pictured together in an undated Facbook photo

In a separate interview, Nunez told Univision 34 Atlanta police did show up to Colone's Decatur home, not because of Castro's suspicions he presented to authorities due to his wife's cellphone activity, but because Colone herself called the police to complain about Castro and others who were confronting her at the home.

Police told Castro to 'withdraw or they would put him in prison,' Univision 34 Atlanta reported.

Nunez said authorities' failure to act in a timely matter might of made the difference between finding Delgado alive.

'They did not act, but followed a protocol that seems absurd to me, because they were the most crucial moments and hours to have been able to find Rossana,' she said.

Just days later, on April 20, Delgado's body was found in a log cabin belonging to Colone in Gilmer County, 11Alive reported.

The GBI is searching for Colone, who goes by the alias Grace Beda, along with four men in connection to Delgado's murder.

GBI also issued murder warrants for Juan Ayala-Rodriguez, 35, (left), Oscar Manuel Garcia, 26, (center) and Mario Alberto Barbosa-Juarez, 29, (right)

Police released images of a fourth unnamed man wanted in connection to Delgado's murder (left) and asked for help in identifying a woman who was last seen with Delgado (right)

Footage released by her family in what they believe is the last time she was seen alive, shows Delgado in a Ross Store in the Mall Plaza Fiesta in Atlanta. In the clip, Delgado is seen checking out at a register

Timeline: Rossana Delgado disappearance and murder April 16: Rossana Delgado was seen shopping at a Ross Store in Atlanta with an unidentified woman April 16: Delgado last speaks with her husband at 7pm before going to pick up a passenger for her job as a taxi driver April 17: Her husband reports her missing around 3am in Barrow County, Georgia April 20: Delgado's body is found at a home in Cherry Log, Georgia April 24: GBI issues warrants for four suspects believe to be connected to Delgado's murder April 25: GBI request publics assistance identifying the fifth suspect connected to Delgado's murder April 27: GBI request publics assistance identifying woman who was one the last known people to interact with Delgado Advertisement

GBI has also issued murder warrants for Juan Ayala-Rodriguez, 35, of Gainesville; Oscar Manuel Garcia, 26, of Austell; Mario Alberto Barbosa-Juarez, 29, of Oklahoma City.

It is believed that the suspects may already have left the country and that Colone is traveling with her minor children.

'Authorities nationwide have been alerted about these individuals,' the GBI said.

Investigators also released a still of a fifth unidentified suspect they believe was involved in Delgado's murder.

The man in the photos appears to be wearing jeans, a dark hoodie, and a blue cap with a white logo on it.

On Tuesday, GBI asked for help identifying a woman caught on surveillance footage interacting with Delgado at a Ross store in the Chamblee mall called Plaza Fiesta on April 16.

The footage shows the last moments Delgado was seen before her disappearance.

Her husband says she called him at 7pm on April 16 before picking up a passenger as a taxi driver and that was her last known communication.

The next day Castro reported her missing and began tracking her movements through her cellphone.

Investigators haven't specified how the suspects were connected to the death. A motive has not been determined.

A cause of death has not been released but an autopsy will be conducted.

Police said anyone who spots the suspects should not approach them but call authorities immediately.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Colone, Ayala-Rodriguez, Garcia or Barbosa-Juarez are asked to call the GBI Tipline at 1-800-597-TIPS(8477).

The 37-year-old mother of two was found dead three days after being reported missing by her husband. Police have not determined a motive for her murder

Castro tracked his wife's (pictured together) movements the night she disappeared through her cellphone and unknowingly ended up at the home of one of the five suspects in Delgado's murder
PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European Commission said it has fined Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Agricole, and Credit Suisse a total of 28.49 million euros for taking part in a bond cartel. But, Deutsche Bank was not fined as it revealed the existence of the cartel to the Commission. The Commission noted that the four banks took part in a cartel in the secondary trading market within the European Economic Area of Supra-sovereign, Sovereign and Agency (SSA) bonds denominated in US Dollars. The Commission alleged that traders at the four banks colluded on trading strategies, exchanged sensitive pricing information and coordinated on prices. The EU competition watchdog stated that behavior of the banks restricted competition in a market in which investment and pension funds regularly buy and sell bonds on behalf of their investors and pensioners. The cartel harmed the financial markets. 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.
An independent TV channel in Siberia is one of the few Russian media outlets that has covered jailed opposition figure Aleksei Navalny. The Krasnoyarsk Independent Regional Channel (TVK) has reported on Navalny's anti-corruption investigations and on protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government. But the channel has paid a price for its independence: It's facing pressure from the authorities and has been removed from cable TV services.
Since the U.S. Supreme Courts 2012 ruling that mandatory sentences of life without parole for juvenile defendants dont jibe with the Eighth Amendments ban on cruel and unusual punishment and should be imposed on the rare juvenile who is permanently incorrigible, Louisiana has acted as if incorrigibility isnt rare at all. It has acted as if young defendants deserve every bit of the cruelty that older defendants do.

Louisiana  just like we see on the adult side  per capita has sentenced more children to life without parole than any other state, Victor Jones, a New Orleans-based attorney for children, said last week.

Hours before that interview the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 opinion written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, ruled that a court doesnt have to make an on-the-record finding that a juvenile defendant is permanently incorrigible before imposing life without parole. Hearings to determine incorrigibility have been used to predict if the convicted juvenile is one of the worst of the worst that should get life without parole. In a case involving a Mississippi defendant convicted in the murder of his grandfather when he was 15, the defendants attorney argued that there was no way to know if the judge considered the boys youth when he sentenced him. The majority ruled that it would be all but impossible for a sentencer to not have considered his youth.

Since 2012, Jones said, Louisiana has largely been ignoring Miller v. Alabama, which prohibited mandatory life without parole for defendants younger than 18. Henry Montgomery, a Louisiana man who was 17 when he killed a Baton Rouge police officer in 1963, asked the Supreme Court to make its Miller ruling retroactive, and even though the court did, Louisianas response was to grant Montgomery parole hearings and then deny the model prisoners request for release. Hes now 74.

Now, Jones said, Louisiana judges will be further emboldened to condemn juveniles to prison for the rest of their lives.

The ruling broke my heart for specifically Black children and children with disability, Jones said. Because those are the two groups that we know are more likely to be faced with these charges. The idea that a child is incapable of redemption is contrary to morals, but its also contrary to scientific evidence that shows that juvenile brains are not the equivalent of adults, and therefore there is room to grow. Think about being held accountable for the rest of your life for something you did as a child.

Brett Jones, the Mississippian who lost at the Supreme Court Thursday, is White, but Jones is right that the ruling is especially scary for Black children. In a separate interview, Gina Womack, the executive director of Families and Friends of Louisianas Incarcerated Children, said of the Kavanaugh opinion, its disheartening to see us moving backwards. She said the ruling essentially permits a racist and inequitable system to sentence more Black youth of color to die in prison.

Undergirding such decisions, she said, is the belief that children who do wrong are throwaway children, that anything can be done to them because nobody loves them.

Kevin Griffin-Clark, who was sentenced to the now-shuttered Tallulah Detention Center when he was 10, said Thursday that he begged his mother to stop traveling the 3 hours from New Orleans every weekend because he knew she was putting herself out by either renting a car every time or arranging someone to drive her. He said one man who often drove his mother said shed cry all the way to Tallulah, get herself together, come in there and visit you, and then she would come out and cry the whole time home.

Griffin-Clark said some boys attacked him with sticks, and a shard of glass from a broken bottle he threw at them struck one of them in the face, causing him to lose his eye. When Griffin-Clark got to Tallulah, he said, he was so tiny he couldnt fit any of the clothes.

The 36-year-old husband and father of three is now a multimedia specialist and youth pastor who has no tolerance for adults who are unforgiving of children. If were honest, we all have a story (where) we did something that could have changed the trajectory of our lives for the worse in an instant, and God gave us grace and it didnt go that way, he said.

I have an 11-year-old son now, Griffin-Clark said. I remember when he made 10 I cried like crazy. It hit me so hard. Man, a judge would lock him up right now.

Jarvis DeBerry is editor of the Louisiana Illuminator, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization based in Baton Rouge.
West's allegations over human rights in China's Xinjiang hypocritical: Brazilian scholar

Xinhua) 15:37, April 28, 2021

Children have fun on Dove Lane in Hotan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, May 27, 2020. (Xinhua/Sadat)

While the accusers use hypocrisy as a foreign policy tool to discredit a country with rapid development, they themselves have a long record of human rights violations against Muslims and other peoples in various parts of the world.

RIO DE JANEIRO, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The West's well-orchestrated allegations of "forced labor" and "genocide" in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are glaringly hypocritical and clearly aim to obscure an ulterior motive, a Brazilian scholar has said.

In a recent op-ed headlined "Hypocrisy and geopolitics: A brief look at Uygurs in China," which was published by regional daily Estado de Minas, Sueli Vasconcelos, a professor of Geography and Socio-Environmental Geopolitics at Santa Marcelina College in Belo Horizonte, capital of Brazil's Minas Gerais state, uncovers the use of hypocrisy as a foreign policy tool to discredit a country with rapid development.

One of the most popular stories in the Western media is "the violation of human rights that is allegedly committed by China against the Uygur people in Xinjiang," Vasconcelos said.

Locals dance to welcome tourists in Awat Township of Korla City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge)

"The accusers have a long record of human rights violations against Muslims and other peoples in various parts of the world," she noted, wondering why "the Western world was practically silent" in the face of the torture and prisoner abuse scandal committed by the U.S. armed forces in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in 2004.

The United States used "torture and humiliation" against men, women and even children, many of them innocent, after its invasion of the Middle East country, yet "the fact did not provoke so much condemnation," said Vasconcelos.

Currently, the Western world also keeps silent over what is happening on the U.S. southern border with Mexico, where immigrant children are forced to be separated with their parents, and are even arrested, the scholar added.

File photo taken on March 30, 2021 shows migrants attempting to cross the Rio Bravo river on the border between Mexico and the United States, from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. (Photo by David Peinado/Xinhua)

This type of selective defense of human rights makes a mockery of real humanitarian concerns, she noted.

The professor said that a country's foreign policies and strategies should be based on respect for all expressions of different cultures, religions, languages and traditions, noting that double standards over human rights issues should be stopped as they are hypocritical.

At the end of the article, Vasconcelos said the smear campaign on Xinjiang is a reflection of Western hawks' anxiety about China's growth.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
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New data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection revealed a 60 percent rise in unlawful migrant crossings on freight trains via the United States-Mexico border since October.

According to stats released Monday, CBP officers have detained 292 undocumented migrants in El Paso, Texas, since the beginning of fiscal year 2021 (October 2020). In comparison, the agency reported 181 apprehensions during the same time period for the previous fiscal year.

CBP's report showed that only 50 migrants were intercepted on trains in all of fiscal year 2019 but a total of 555 people were detained in fiscal year 2020.

A CBP spokesperson was unable to confirm to DailyMail.com if any undocumented children were among the migrants who have been detained.

A migrant is found lying on top of a freight car after crossing from Mexico to Texas. According to U.S. Custom and Border Protection's monthly report released Monday, CBP officers have detained 292 undocumented migrants in El Paso, Texas, since the beginning of fiscal year 2021 (October 2020). In comparison, the agency reported 181 apprehensions during the same time period for the previous fiscal year

A CBP agent spots a migrant hiding under a freight train car in Texas near the United States-Mexico border. Approximately 6,000 train cars cross from Mexico to El Paso each month. In order not to congest street traffic in downtown Juarez, the international railroad exchanges typically take place from midnight to 6am

During a recent illegal border crossing, a migrant was discovered lying under a new vehicle that was being shipped from Mexico to the United States on a freight train car. Since October 2020, CBP agents have detained 292 undocumented migrants aboard the rail cars

A CBP agent climbs up a freight train as part of an inspection at the United States-Mexico border

'We cannot stress how dangerous of a practice this is and we encourage any considering this to not proceed with their plans,' said CBP Director of Field Operations Hector Mancha.

'People are climbing on rail cars and hiding in places not designed to accommodate human beings. Fortunately we have yet to encounter anyone who has been maimed while attempting this but I am afraid that at some point we will.'

The new numbers were released a day before the administration of President Joe Biden announced a plan aimed at combating human smugglers who play a key role in helping ferry migrants across the southwestern border.

Vice President Kamala Harris met Monday with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and discussed the migrant crisis. The U.S. reached an agreement with Guatemala to train a task force that is set in place to combat illegal migration at its borders.

Approximately 6,000 train cars cross from Mexico to El Paso each month. In order not to congest street traffic in downtown Juarez, the international railroad exchanges typically take place from midnight to 6am.

A monthly report released Monday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that CBP officers have detained 292 undocumented migrants in El Paso, Texas, for unlawfully crossing the United States-Mexico border on freight trains since the beginning of fiscal year 2021 (October 2020). In comparison, the agency reported 181 apprehensions during the same time period for the previous fiscal year. Only 50 migrants were intercepted on the trains in all of fiscal year 2019 after a total of 555 people were detained in fiscal year 2020

A CBP officer escorts a migrant child from a freight train near the United States-Mexico border. A spokesperson for the agency could not confirm if any unaccompanied children have been encountered on the rail cars

Trains are searched at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific crossings on either side of the Paso Del Norte international bridge south of downtown El Paso.

CBP agents utilize x-ray equipment to inspect each arriving train wagon as they slowly cross from Mexico to the United States and are also aided by sniffer dogs.

Images provided by CBP detail the great lengths that migrants are going to while trying to avoid being detected by the federal agents.

During one incident, a migrant was found holding on to a bar beneath the train car. In a separate crossing, a male was caught lying on top of a freight car. CBP agents have also discovered migrants hiding inside vehicles that are transported across the international border or throughout other areas in the cargo train.

While migrants tend to either cross the United States-Mexico border via the Rio Grande, through open areas along the land border, by climbing over the border wall, or by being smuggled in vehicles, the train crossing method is of great concern for CBP.

A male migrant is found hiding in an area of a freight train car that crossed the United States-Mexico border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says migrants expose themselves to 'cold winter temperatures and extreme summer heat' when they attempt to unlawfully cross the United States-Mexico border on freight trains

A migrant is detected lying on top of a metal bar underneath a freight train car in Texas after crossing the United States-Mexico border

'The potential for a misstep is greater when it is dark and visibility is limited,' Mancha said. 'In addition they are also unprotected from the elements including cold winter temperatures and extreme summer heat.'

Macha said that CBP is constantly in talks with rail companies and Mexican authorities, seeking a way 'to stop this practice.'

'Despite our best efforts it does not appear to be slowing down at all,' Macha said. 'We hope that through publicity people will realize that they are risking their lives and in turn will not consider this as an option.'

A CBP monthly report released April 8 showed Border Patrol agents apprehended 172,331 migrants during March after stopping 101,028 people in February.
Its clear that the nation is trying every option to find an arbiter to let them withhold money that every other decision-maker who has heard this case has said was owed to the state, some of which would be distributed to the localities that are sorely needing resources, the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to the Gazette. We have every confidence this will only lead to the same result.

The compacts renewal period began in December 2016, without objection from either the state or the Senecas.

When it went into effect, on Dec. 9, 2002, The compact called for the Senecas to have exclusive rights to operate certain types of slot machines in Western New York. In return, the state was to receive a percentage share (from 18% to 25%) of the revenue generated by those slot machines.

The state then shared a percentage of those casino revenues with the local host municipalities where the gaming operations took place. Specifically, in the Falls, Buffalo and Salamanca.

In March 2017, then Seneca Nation President Todd Gates told Cuomo that the the revenue-sharing payments would stop because they were not required under the compact after the first 14 years. In that initial 14 years, the state had received $1.4 billion in payments.
A man authorities are calling a serial rapist was sentenced Monday to 45 years in prison after being convicted of raping a woman at an Ashley Furniture parking lot in Spring.

Jorge Arturo Mar Jr., 26, was found guilty Friday of two counts of aggravated sexual assault. a first-degree felony, by a Montgomery County jury in presiding Judge Kathleen Hamiltons 359th District Court. Jurors handed down the sentencing after hearing witness testimony, according to the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office.

Mar will not be eligible for parole until 2041, the District Attorneys Office noted.

During the innocence or guilt phase of the trial, Houston Police Department Det. William Cooke said Mar was a serial rapist, according to the DAs Office.

In Harris County, Mar is facing multiple aggravated sexual assault charges, in addition to aggravated sexual assault of a child charges, court records show. A total of five women accusing Mar of rape testified in his trial, according to Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Mike Holley.

When a man commits a series of violent crimes against women in multiple counties, hes telling you exactly what he thinks about others, Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon said in a statement. On Monday, a Montgomery County jury told Mar exactly what we think about him.

Mar was convicted for the rape of a woman he met Aug. 1, 2018 on the dating app MeetMe, according to the cases probable cause affidavit filed by a Montgomery County Sheriffs detective.

I have beaten and stabbed women before, Mar told the woman, court documents show. I have left bleeding on the side of the road and nobody noticed.

Mar then drove the woman to the Ashley Furniture parking lot on 25415 Interstate 45 where he raped her in the backseat. He then ordered her to clean herself up to remove his DNA off of her before taking her cell phone and letting her go, according to court records.

On Oct. 11, 2018, an HPD sergeant notified the sheriffs detective about arresting Mar on an aggravated sexual assault charge. The sergeant described a tattoo of Mars and the car he drove, both of which matched descriptions the victim in Spring had given in a 911 call. The police sergeant told the sheriffs detective Mar was suspected in multiple rapes, according to court documents.

Those cases involved the rapist meeting a woman through the MeetMe app and then usually using a knife during the assault, followed by the victims cell phone being stolen. The rapists vehicle in each of the incidents matched the description given by the Spring rape victim. Mar was identified by the victim in a photo lineup, according to court documents.

Harris County criminal court records show Mar is being charged with five counts of aggravated sexual assault, two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and four counts of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Records further show Mar had been indicted on 12 of those charges. The indicted charges were filed in October and November 2018. The 13th charge, filed this past October, was for alleged aggravated sexual assault of a child.

During trial, prosecutors presented evidence of four rapes where a knife was used, according to the DAs Office.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Joel Daniels and Michael Ghutzman, who in a statement extended thanks for their work on the case to the Montgomery and Harris counties sheriffs offices, HPD and the Harris County District Attorneys Office.

We also want to thank these brave women for coming forward and facing Mar in court. Without their courage, Mar would be free to continue his life of violent crime, Ghutzman said in a statement.

jose.gonzalez@chron.com

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Almost immediately following Apple's announcement of a paid podcast subscription platform last week, reports began to circulate that Spotify would soon announce details on a service of its own. The company said it would test paid subscriptions back in February, but today it made things official. Spotify has announced a paid subscription platform that allows podcasters to charge extra for exclusive content. The big difference this and what Apple has proposed is that Spotify won't take a cut for the first two years except for transaction fees. And when it does ask for its share, it will only demand five percent of the revenue.

Spotify's program will be accessible through Anchor, the all-inclusive podcast production platform it bought in 2019. Creators can designate specific episodes as subscriber-only before publishing them to Spotify and other platforms. For creators who host podcasts elsewhere, the company says it's working on technology that would allow existing listeners to use that log-in information to stream subscriber-exclusive items on Spotify. The company isn't offering much info there, but it says more details on partners and features are coming soon.

In the Spotify app, paid content will be "searchable and discoverable" like any regular episode. Those episodes that require a subscription will still appear in a show's feed, but they'll be labeled with a lock icon on the play button. If you choose to support a show, you can do so on its Anchor profile page or via link in the show notes on Spotify. Listeners won't be able to subscribe directly in the Spotify app, which means Spotify won't have to pay Apple a cut of in-app purchases.

Spotify Podcast Subscriptions

As you might expect, Spotify is pitching paid subscriptions as a good thing for both creators and listeners. "Listeners will be able to tune in knowing that their subscription is going directly to the podcasters they love, giving independent creators a revenue stream on their own terms," the company explained in blog post. And for anyone producing a show, the company says paid content will allow them to "maximize their subscription audience and grow it from their existing listener base." Most podcasters rely on ad money for revenue, unless they publish exclusive content for listeners who support them directly through sites like Patreon. Spotify is now offering its own alternative, so long as you don't mind publishing through Anchor. The company also has its own ad platform it has spent years building  another piece of the podcast revenue puzzle it can offer.

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Of course, Spotify is also giving podcast creators an alternative to the subscription platform Apple just announced. Apple requires a $19.99 annual fee for its Apple Podcasters Program. It will also take a 30 percent cut of subscriptions for the first year and 15 percent afterwards. While Apple's version isn't a one-stop shop like Anchor is already set up to be, the company will offer analytics, episode management tools and other features that will help creators stay organized.

Spotify Podcast Subscriptions

Spotify is already working with 12 independent podcasters to leverage the subscription option. Spotify says it selected these shows based on how "uniquely positioned" they were to leverage the platform's potential. The company is also accepting applications for a waitlist and it plans to open up access to more podcasters "in the coming months."

One of those producers is NPR, and the public radio broadcaster will offer some of its shows ad-free for paid subscribers. Starting May 4th, How I Built This with Guy Raz, Short Wave, It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, Code Switch and Planet Money will be available as part of the initial launch. Versions of the shows that are available without sponsors will have "Plus" added to the end of their titles (Code Switch Plus, for example).

Apple's version of paid podcast subscriptions is going live in May and it didn't mention any waitlist or application process. What's more, Apple's podcast subscriptions will be available in 170 regions and countries at launch. Spotify's podcast subscriptions are rolling out in the US today. The company plans to expand the program internationally "in the coming months."
A council cleaner who alleges he was sacked for being gay said the horrific incident left him feeling suicidal, after colleagues even refused to be in the same room as him because of his sexuality.

James Fuller, 29, first started working for Ipswich City Council, south-west of Brisbane, in November and said the problems started from day one.

After claiming to be on the receiving end of homophobic slurs such as 'dirty f*g', and other bullying, Mr Fuller was eventually told he'd be losing his job on April 9 because he didn't 'meet the standards' of a causal cleaner.

With little contact from his employers since his termination, the former cleaner is now taking the council to the Fair Work Commission.

'I was a very confident and caring person before this. This has just destroyed my soul,' Mr Fuller told Daily Mail Australia.

James Fuller started working for Ipswich City Council in November last year but was sacked just a couple of weeks ago

'Since day one at the council it's been hell for me.'

Mr Fuller said problems arose as soon as he started, claiming a colleague had told other staff about his sexuality - which resulted in one refusing to train him.

'They rang up and asked if somebody else could do it,' he said.

'I'm not ashamed of being gay, I'm not flamboyant or over the top. I'm the same as anybody else.'

In another alarming encounter with a staff member, Mr Fuller claims that once when he walked into a room, a colleague said 'look the dirty f*g's here'.

Despite making constant complaints, he claims he was told there was no evidence to substantiate them.

Mr Fuller claims he made several complaints to the Ipswich City Council (pictured) but was told there was no evidence to substantiate them

Mr Fuller, a former nurse, claims that on another occasion a staff member told him a colleague had been moved away from his area on a shift because they would have 'made his day hell'.

He said that upon induction new staff are shown anti-bullying videos but when a case actually arose, the council 'ignored it'.

When he learnt he was being sacked, Mr Fuller said the reasons given were because a dirty fingerprint and a muddy footprint had been left behind in the art gallery he had been cleaning.

However, he claims that when he asked for proof of this the council was unable to give any and he suggested this was because other people had been in and out of the gallery since it was cleaned.

The 29-year-old also said that in his role, staff needed to be given three warnings before being sacked - something he says he did not receive.

He went to the trouble of getting references from his former employers and other colleagues which praised him on his work but all to no avail.

Mr Fuller received a letter after he was sacked, telling him his termination had been 'managed appropriately'.

Mr Fuller claimed some colleagues refused to work with him while one labelled him a 'dirty f*g'

The 29-year-old said the fallout from losing his job has been so devastating, he considered taking his own life.

'I gave up nursing to start a career just to be victimised, bullied and sacked for something I haven't done,' he said.

'It broke my heart. I haven't been able to sleep for two-and-a-half weeks.'

His case was accepted by the Fair Work Commission last week, with Mr Fuller hopeful he will have some compensation for his sudden termination.

'It's an absolute joke and I want to make sure nobody else is put through this,' he said.

A spokesperson for the Ipswich City Council said: 'While council always seeks to be transparent, this is an ongoing legal matter and it would not be appropriate for council to make comment at this stage.'

For 24/7 confidential advice, call LIFELINE on 13 11 14
A self-proclaimed member of the anti-government extremist group Boogaloo Boys from San Antonio pleaded guilty Tuesday in a local court to federal weapons charges, according to the Department of Justice.

Cameron Emerson Casey Rankin, 22, was charged with illegally possessing a firearm after he was arrested on Oct. 28. According to the DOJ, FBI agents found a semi-automatic rifle, loaded magazines and a ballistic plate tactical vest inside while executing a search warrant on his Northwest Side apartment.

Rankin had not been allowed be in possession of a gun after he was admitted to a mental institution in 2009.

READ ALSO: A Boogaloo Boy from San Antonio was indicted Wednesday. Here's what you need to know about the case.

Federal documents said Rankin possessed "the capability and means to affect violence in furtherance of his beliefs and has expressed a desire to overthrow the government."

Individuals had reported to officials that Rankin was posting photos on social media with AK-type firearms and making threats against various government agencies such as the FBI and the IRS. Authorities also said he was involved with the group that said it was protecting the Alamo during June's downtown protests in response to the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed while in Minneapolis police custody.

READ ALSO: Boogaloo Boy from San Antonio reacts to being jailed without bail

In August 2020, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stopped Rankin in a New Hampshire airport and served him with a written notice telling him he was prohibited from carrying a firearm. Officials said they seized a handgun and ammunition from Rankin's luggage, but that Rankin threw the federal documents in the trash before leaving the airport.

Rankin could face up to 10 years in federal prison. Sentencing is scheduled for July.

He has been in federal custody since his arrest in October.

taylor.pettaway@express-news.net
Phuket health chief assures enough hospital beds for COVID patients

PHUKET: The Chief of the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO), Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon, has assured that the island will not run out of hospital beds to treat and monitor people confirmed as infected with COVID-19.

COVID-19Coronavirushealthimmigrationcrimetourism

By The Phuket News

Wednesday 28 April 2021, 04:36PM

The national update on the number of vaccination doses administered. Image: MoPH

The national update on the number of vaccination doses administered. Image: MoPH

The national update on the number of vaccination doses administered. Image: MoPH

More than 50,000 people in Phuket have received their second vaccination injection, reports the Ministry of Public Health. Image: MoPH

65 prvinces are now fining their residents for not wearing a face mask. Image: PR PPhuket

The Phuket warning that not wearing a face mask in public may result in a B20,000 fine. Image: PR Phuket

Five other provinces are now asking their residents to stay at home throughout the night. Image: PR Phuket

The latest map showing the location of infections across the island. Image: PPHO

Dr Kusak at the meeting of the Phuket Communicable Disease COmmittee at Provincial Hall. Photo: PR Phuket

Officals observe a patient at the Field Hospital 1 at the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket campus in Kathu. Photo: PR Phuket

So far Phuket has had more than 300 cases, but some of them are now discharged from the hospitals, Dr Kusak said.

The Phuket government and relevant officials have checked the readiness of beds for COVID-19 treatment, and we have enough beds for infected cases for sure, he added.

In total, including local quarantine (LQ) and alternative local quarantine (ALQ) hotels, Phuket has in total 1,408 beds available for COVID patients, Dr Kusak explained.

Among those, 752 beds are now being used, and 656 are still available, he noted.

Explaining how many beds are available at each type of medical facility on the island Dr Kusak continued, The government hospitals in Phuket have 139 beds, of which 91 beds are now being used and 48 bed are available. At private hospitals, there are 157 beds, with 98 beds occupied and 59 beds available.

The two field hospitals together have 435 beds. The first field hospital located at Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket Campus now has 170 beds in total and 82 beds are used.

The second field hospital at Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) has 265 beds in total, of which none are currently being used, he said.

For LQ and ALQ hotels, there are 677 beds, of which 481 are being used and 196 are still available. LQ hotels have 510 beds, with 475 being used and 35 available, while ALQ hotels have 167 rooms of which only six rooms are being used, he said.

INFECTIONS UPDATE

The PPHO today confirmed that Phuket recorded 13 new cases of infection yesterday (Apr 27), bringing to 361 the total number of people in Phuket officially recognised as infected with COVID-19 since Apr 3.

The PPHO also today released an updated map showing the location of infections across the island. The map, showing 361 cases of infection and marked as accurate as of 6pm last night (Apr 27), reported the locations of infections as follows:

Patong  42 infections

Kathu  33

Kamala  31

Cherng Talay  18

Thepkrasattri  8

Srisoonthorn  18

Pa Khlok  10

Koh Kaew  10

Rassada  29

Talad Yai Phuket Town  25

Talad Neua Phuket Town  15

Wichit  37

Chalong  28

Rawai  21

Karon  4

Mai Khao  7

Sakhu  7

The PPHO today also released an updated report of the number of COVID patients receiving treatment at each hospital.

The report, dated as accurate as of 6pm last night (Apr 27), noted that 90 people were receiving medical care at Field Hospital 1 at the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket campus in Kathu.

A further 46 people were receiving treatment at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town, along with 21 at Patong Hospital and 10 at Thalang Hospital.

Of the privately operated hospitals on the island, 42 people are currently receiving COVID treatment at Bangkok Hospital Phuket, along with zero COVID patients at Dibuk Hospital and 27 at Bangkok Hospital Siriroj. All three hospitals are operated by Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BDMS) Company Limited.

Ten people with COVID are receiving treatment at Mission Hospital Phuket and two are receiving treatment at Phuket Provincial Hospital in Rassada.

The report also notes that 112 people have been discharged from COVID medical care, with one person referred to another facility, which has previously been reported as transferred to Bangkok.

MASS VACCINATIONS

The Phuket Provincial Office today shared a national report by the Ministry of Public Health Immunization Centre showing that so far 94,939 people in Phuket had received their first vaccination injection.

Of those, a total of 50,772 had now received their second injection, noted the report, marked accurate as of yesterday (Apr 27).

Phuket officials have previously, and repeatedly, said that about 10,000 a day was the target being achieved in administering vaccination doses in Phuket.

However, Phuket officials themselves have yet to confirm an updated number of completed vaccinations.

So far all state administered vaccination injections in Phuket have been of the Chinese-made Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine.

COVID ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Phuket Official COVID Information Centre, operated by the Phuket office of the Ministry of Interior, has posted a slew of announcements concerning COVID-19 for the general public.

Among them is the notice from Phuket Immigration warning foreigners:

If the Investigation by Phuket Provincial Public Health Office finds that you are a High Risk Contact. Or if the COVID-19 test shows a positive result.

- You must follow the Practical Guidelines by the center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) and Phuket Governor during the pandemic

This disease control is standard applicable to tourists and people living in Phuket regardless of their nationality. Offenders will be subject to legal punishment, including consideration of permission to stay in the Kingdom.

Another notice shared by Phuket officials announced that five other provinces are now asking residents to stay at home at nighttime.

The provincial governments of Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan are asking their residents to stay indoors between 9pm to 4am, and Surat Thani is asking people to stay home from 10pm to 4am, while and Samut Sakhon, the epicentre of an outbreak earlier this year, is asking its residents to stay at home from 11pm to 4am.

The Phuket Official COVID Information Centre also shared a national announcement detailing that 65 provinces are now issuing fines for not wearing a face mask while in public.

Of note, the post was in English.

65 provinces in Thailand are now issuing fines for anyone who fails to wear a face mask when leaving their home. The list of provinces enforcing the rules has just been updated today by the Ministry of Interior (Thailand), the announcement read.

The fine for not wearing a mask when out in public is up to 20,000 THB, it added.

The mandatory wearing of face masks applies to both indoor and outdoor public spaces, the notice confirmed.

Please note that this is a living document, which the PR Thai Government will update as new information becomes available, it concluded.

Meanwhile, the national Thai Red Cross is asking for all people to self-screen before donating blood.
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The second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the country can delay government's disinvestment plan for national carrier Air India, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Wednesday.

The government is selling its entire 100 per cent stake in Air India, which has been in losses ever since its merger with domestic operator Indian Airlines in 2007. The successful bidder would also get 100 per cent stake in low-cost arm Air India Express and 50 per cent in AISATS, which provides cargo and ground handling services at major Indian airports.

The due diligence process is currently on and "there could be a little bit of slippage in terms of time", Mint quoted Pandey as saying. The government was targeting to complete disinvestment of the airline by September this year.

Also read: Choice 'between disinvestment and closing down': Hardeep Singh Puri on Air India sale

"There is also the element of physical inspection that may be involved, in terms of assets. Some international facilitatory movement in terms of travel may also be needed. While the process (due diligence) is on, there could be other technical inspection processes which would have to be organised within this current scenario. So, it is a very dynamic scenario," the publication quoted Pandey as saying.

As per media reports, Tata Group and SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh are the bidders who have been shortlisted for Air India's divestment.

Pandey said only the bidders who have qualified will move forward for the rest of the transaction. The government plans to complete the airline's disinvestment in fiscal year 2021-22. However, if the ongoing COVID-19 wave continues for a long time, it can cause hurdles in government's path, Pandey said.

Also read: COVID-19 vaccination: Over 80 lakh registrations on CoWin portal in 3 hours
A sizable cohort of moderate to liberal Republicans like Jacob Javits, Clifford Case and Mark Hatfield provided the votes to pass progressive legislation. Similarly, during periods of conservative activism, Republicans could reach across the aisle to find conservative Democrats (like boll weevils) to help pass their priorities.

But those circumstances no longer exist, and as a result, bipartisanship has become the Sasquatch of American politics: rarely seen but fervently sought. The opportunities for finding cross-party support for significant legislation, except in response to a national calamity, like the Troubled Asset Relief Program for the financial crisis, have evaporated. The parties have fundamentally changed  there are now very few liberal Republicans or conservative Democrats  and that transformation has hollowed out the middle ground of American politics. Continuing to demand bipartisanship as the validator of sound policy is not only fanciful but also self-defeating.

The idea that more ideologically distinct parties have value is not new. After the 1940 elections, Franklin Roosevelt and the man he had just defeated, Wendell Willkie, discussed reformulating the parties along more ideological lines. The deaths of both men put an end to the project, but the idea was embraced by others in midcentury. In 1951 the Republican Party created a Committee to Explore Political Realignment; it explored whether the party should merge with the Dixiecrats to form a North-South conservative alliance that might dominate American politics.

Several years later, William Rusher, a publisher of the conservative National Review, called for a new and more highly ideologized political party, free of the moderate Republicans who collaborated with the dominant Democratic majority. Similarly, in 1962 the leftist Students for a Democratic Societys manifesto, the Port Huron Statement, called for, as the political scientist Sam Rosenfeld put it, breaking down the transactional elements of parties and remaking them as ideological institutions.

In the past half-century, the parties have become far more ideologically unified and distinct. In a 2014 report, Pew Research found that a persuadable middle  moderate to liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats  in Congress shrank from 240 representatives and 29 senators in the 1970s to nine and three, respectively, 20 years later to none in 2014. Members of Congress voted with their party leadership 60 percent of the time just a few decades ago but now vote well over 90 percent along party lines, and even more so when voting on major policy issues.
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Bank holiday staycationers would be wise to pack an umbrella as the country is set for a damp weekend with mild 55F highs before downpours from Monday.

Heavy bursts of rain are expected in the far southeast, northern and northeastern parts of the UK tomorrow as temperatures plummet below 50F this week.

It comes as Matt Fox, CEO and Founder of UK holiday rental marketplaces Snaptrip, Big Cottages and Dog Friendly Cottages, said Britons would be swarming to the coast for the May bank holiday weekend.

Of the weather from Friday to Sunday, a Met Office spokesman added: 'Sunny spells and scattered showers, which could be heavy with hail in a few places. Mainly light winds. Rather cold by day; chilly nights and occasional air frost.'

Today most Britons will be 'feeling chilly', according to the Met Office, with areas of rain in parts of central, south and southwest UK. The rain will be 'heavy at times particularly in the south,' they added.

But by next Monday the entire country will be faced with a deluge of heavy rainfall, according to Met Office spokesman Oli Clayton.

Heavy bursts of rain are expected in the far southeast, northern and northeastern parts of the UK tomorrow as temperatures plummet below 50F for the rest of the week. Pictured, cherry blossom at Saltwell Park in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, today

A canal boat travels in the rain along the River Kennet near Theale, Berkshire today

Mr Clayton told MailOnline: The pattern of weather remains consistent for the weekend. The bigger change is happening on Monday. The next few days are in a pattern of sunshine and showers. There will be sunshine but pretty much everywhere will be affected by showers at times.

'Temperatures are slowly increasing to closer to average for the time of year. Temperatures will be in the mid teens by Sunday. Overnight temperatures are cool with a chance of frost in rural areas. Everywhere will be cool overnight.

'From Monday an area of low pressure is approaching from the west. Its bringing unsettled conditions with a period of wind and rain for many. Thatll be welcome for farmers whove had a dry spell.

Its the first meaningful rain in several weeks. There have been showers around in southeast wales but this will be the first widespread rainfall that impacts people.

Tomorrow rain in the south will focus on the far southeast 'where some heavy bursts' will continue. Those in northern and northeastern parts will also face showers. But it will be 'dry elsewhere and chilly, particularly in the west,' the forecaster added.

It comes as it was revealed this April has been Britain's frostiest in at least 60 years.

There have been 13 days of air frost in the past month, making it the frostiest April since records began in 1960, provisional Met Office data shows. The previous record holder was April 1970, with 11.

Despite the cold nights, the sunny weather means this month is also on course to be among the driest on record. So far there has been only seven per cent of the average rainfall for the time of year.

Mark McCarthy, of the National Climate Information Centre, said: 'We've been seeing a high frequency of frosts overnight throughout April thanks largely to persistent clear skies.'

Across the four nations, England has reported 12 days of air frost and Wales 11 days.

Scotland has reported 16 days, making it the frostiest April since records began in 1960.

Northern Ireland has currently seen eight days of frost, not yet exceeding its current record of 11 days set in April 1983.

It comes after several days of clear skies and sunshine across the UK, with double-digit daytime temperatures felt across large parts of the country.

The peak daytime temperature was felt last week in Porthmadog, Wales, where the mercury reached a maximum of 20.8C on Friday.

But clear skies mean that chillier nights and more frosts are expected to continue as the month comes to a close.

Annie Shuttleworth, meteorologist at the Met Office, said: 'We've seen high pressure dominating for the last few weeks which is why we've had the drier weather and less cloud.

People walking their dog are caught in a heavy snow shower on Wimbledon Common on a cold morning with freezing temperatures on April 12

The A90 near Longhaven, Aberdeenshire, covered in snow earlier this month

'Clearer skies mean temperatures can cool off more readily overnight when there's no sun but in the day clearer skies can act to warm up the daytime temperatures.'

Average overnight temperatures have been hovering around freezing at 0.4C (32.7F), which is three degrees lower than the UK average for April at 3.4C (38.1F).

The maximum daytime temperature has also been slightly lower than average at 11.4C (52.3F), compared with 12C (53.6F) which is normal for April.

Ms Shuttleworth said that sunny spells would still feature in the coming days, but parts of the country would also see showers, and overnight temperatures would stay low.

The weekend weather was set to maintain the trend of what has been one of the driest Aprils on record, with the UK seeing less than a fifth of the average rainfall for the month so far.

Up to April 22, there had been an average of 12.8mm of rain across the UK, much lower than the April average of 72.53mm, according to Met Office figures.

A typical April in the UK would have had 70 per cent of its rainfall by now, but it instead has just had 18 per cent.

But Ms Shuttleworth said rain in the coming days could drive up averages. 'You could get some rain over the next couple of days that will bring the totals up,' she said.

'It has been a very dry April, with quite a few areas of the UK seeing quite a small margin of their average April rainfall. Some counties may see their lowest April rainfall but it won't be a UK-wide thing.'
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a challenging year marred by the impact of the pandemic, today's business owners are optimistic about the next six months and are reexamining their business and financial strategies as they seek opportunities to invest for growth, rebuild reserves and access capital, according to data released today as part of Truist's business pulse surveys of small businesses (annual revenue between $100,000 to less than $2 million), commercial and middle-market companies (annual revenue between $2 million to $499.9 million) and large corporations (annual revenue of $500 million to $1 billion).

Here's what survey respondents said about the outlook for the near term:

Despite the challenges of 2020, 60% of small-business leaders feel their company's financial well-being is better than last year, and 77% of lower revenue small businesses and 87% of upper revenue small businesses expect their business will improve over the next six months.

Among commercial and middle-market companies, over the next six months, 84% of business leaders expect business conditions to improve somewhat or significantly, and 67% believe the U.S. economy will be "much better" or "somewhat better."

For large corporations, the overall economic outlook has remained optimistic over the past year: 68% say their current economic outlook is somewhat or extremely strong for the U.S. economy. The vast majority of businesses (86%) in this market segment anticipate improving business financials over the next six months, and fully 90% of respondents expect to see growth in their business over the next five years.

Still, many businesses are concerned about potential headwinds:

While most small businesses are somewhat or extremely stressed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, lower-revenue small businesses are expressing additional, noticeable concerns regarding economic uncertainty (42%) and weak revenue generation (26%), whereas their upper-revenue counterparts have expressed additional stress regarding the costs of and need to invest in technology (21%).

Among commercial and middle-market companies, 53% say changes in the U.S. economy will have the biggest impact on their business in the coming year, while 34% believe changes in the global economy will take the biggest toll. Twenty-nine percent say continued pandemic-related government restrictions are their chief concern, just slightly higher than the 28% who worry about a potential recession.

For large corporations, changes to U.S. and global economy are expected to have the biggest impact over the next year (46% and 34%, respectively), the labor impact of the immigration debate (34%), the potential for a 2021 recession (28%) and continuing government-mandated COVID-19 restrictions (30%) are all continuing as 2021 concerns.

"Coming out of a very challenging year where many businesses weathered profound challenges  from cash flow to remote workforces to having to quickly create click-and-mortar business models  adjusting financial and business strategies for the post-pandemic era has become top priority," said David Weaver, head of Commercial Community Banking at Truist. "The pandemic has spurred more businesses to plan ahead with goal-setting as a greater priority than in previous years, and it's in those conversations that a trusted partner, providing valuable advice and expertise, can help provide additional perspective and build confidence around the plans."

According to Truist survey data:

Small businesses are feeling the pressure to reexamine their goals, with 49% reporting they aren't, or need to do a better job of, developing initial business plans, goals and competitive strategies.

Nearly 9-in-10 (88%) businesses in the commercial and middle-market segment now participate in goal setting and 68% develop five-year plans.

Among large corporations, 96% engage in short-term financial goal setting and 80% develop a written, five-year financial plan.

"Businesses, including small-business owners, have shown resiliency and a willingness to make 'adaptation' the watchword of their business and financial operations," said David Hiller, Small Business Product and Segment director at Truist. "They're now poised to take the lessons learned from the pandemic and creatively expand their businesses or adjust operations to take advantage of emerging opportunities and consumer trends in the market."

Small business' implementation plans for 2021

While 41% of small-business respondents indicated they just want to focus on helping their business recover to where it was pre-pandemic, small-business decision makers believe their business growth will be achieved by directing investments into new product development (20%), marketing to their most profitable market niche (20%) and leveraging digital technologies and online channels to adapt and innovate (17%). The survey also showed small-business decision makers are also relying on experts. The survey showed 44% are working with CPAs in 2021 (versus 33% in 2020), 43% with business consultants (versus 21% in 2020), 41% with primary bankers (versus 23% in 2020) and 39% with attorneys (versus 25% a year ago).

How commercial and middle-market businesses plan to achieve growth this year

Strategies commercial and middle-market businesses have for achieving growth include introducing new product and services (42%) and identifying new customer segments (27%). They also anticipate growth to come from capital investment (35%) and domestic and international expansion (31% and 26%, respectively).

Additional strategies for adapting to a post COVID-19 world include: transitioning to do more online business (33%), increasing cash reserves (33%), reducing operating costs (32%), resetting business and financial goals (25%) and researching new markets for potential expansion (25%).

How large corporations are looking to 2021 and beyond

"Large corporations remain optimistic about the economy and their business," said Beau Cummins, head of Truist's Corporate and Institutional Group. "These large companies are focused on executing against their plans and making investments to strategically expand their markets and client segments in the post-COVID environment."

The primary strategies large corporations will employ to flex their growth muscles include introducing new products and services (23%), entering or expanding reach in international markets (13%) and exploring new consumer businesses and segments (11%). Thirty percent of respondents also stated major capital investments will be a top priority for their five-year growth plans.

Funding for these initiatives is expected to come from equity financing from investors (47%), bank loans (43%), cash on hand and reinvested corporate earnings (both 40%). The biggest barriers to achieving their goals are the ongoing effects of the pandemic (46%) and increased operating costs (34%), an unstable economy (28%) and reliance on a remote workforce (24%) Finally, 90% of large corporations rank their technology investments as extremely sufficient or sufficient. In the next year, top technology investments include upgrades (72%), software integration (68%), information security (62%) and cloud computing (54%).

Decision-makers representing 526 small U.S. businesses, 611 mid-size U.S. businesses, and 50 U.S. Large Corporate firms participated in Truist Pulse surveys fielded February 2  March 2, 2021. Survey results have a maximum margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

About Truist

Truist Financial Corporation is a purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspiring and building better lives and communities. Formed by the historic merger of equals of BB&T and SunTrust, Truist has leading market share in many high-growth markets in the country. The company offers a wide range of services including retail, small business and commercial banking; asset management; capital markets; commercial real estate; corporate and institutional banking; insurance; mortgage; payments; specialized lending; and wealth management. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist is the sixth-largest commercial bank in the U.S. with total assets of $518 billion as of March 31, 2021. Truist Bank, Member FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com.

SOURCE Truist Financial Corporation

Related Links

https://www.truist.com/


[April 28, 2021] Siemens acquires TimeSeries to help customers speed digital transformation through increased adoption of low-code

PLANO, Texas, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Siemens Digital Industries Software today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire TimeSeries, a leading Independent Software Vendor (ISV) and Mendix partner. TimeSeries has significant expertise in the development of vertical apps built on the Mendix low-code platform, which will help Siemens accelerate digital transformation by increasing adoption of low-code and offering new apps including smart warehousing, predictive maintenance, energy management, remote inspections and more. The industry-leading Mendix low-code platform is the cloud foundation for Siemens' Xcelerator portfolio of integrated software and services. "The addition of TimeSeries to Siemens will help our customers and partners get to value with low-code even faster," said Derek Roos, CEO & co-founder, Mendix. "We're equipping enterprises with cutting-edge digital capabilities to help them elevate how they conduct business and deliver rich, engaging experiences. The TimeSeries team brings deep expertise in developing SaaS solutions for a range of verticals, and I'm excited to welcome them to Siemens." TimeSeries will expand capabilities that can help enterprises and ISVs everywhere accelerate their digitalization efforts using the Mendix platform. Through bespoke industry apps and best practices, templates and re-useable components that leverage advanced technologies  including AI, intelligent process automation, multiexperience, state-of-the-art UI design, multi-cloud, and more  Siemens will be able to deliver better experiences to customers, employees, and suppliers. "Since our acquisition of Mendix in 2018, we have continued to see how this powerful low-code platform is a game changer for companies across every industry," said Tony Hemmelgarn, President and CEO, Siemens Digital Industries Software. "The addition of TimeSeries to Siemens will enable us to significantly expand the development of new apps, increase adoption of our low code platform and grow the Xcelerator ecosystem." Since 2012, TimeSeries has been developing industry-specific applications for industries including manufacturing, healthcare and life sciences, energy and banking and financial services. Their configurable app templates capture industry best practices and solve repeatable problems, and can be quickly and easily customized to the needs of individual enterprises. These apps, combined with Siemens' industrial expertise nd go-to-market reach, can enable customers across the full spectrum of industries to utilize the power of low-code and the Mendix platform even faster.



"From the start, TimeSeries has been focused on solving our customers' challenges by bringing together the best people and latest technologies and pushing that to the limit. Now, as part of Siemens, we're excited to bring the power of pre-built and customizable low-code solutions to more industries," said Erik Gouka, CEO, TimeSeries. "Joining Siemens Digital Industries Software will unlock huge new opportunities for us, and we're looking forward to help even more companies digitally transform." TimeSeries has offices in the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, and Canada.

Siemens Digital Industries Software is driving transformation to enable a digital enterprise where engineering, manufacturing and electronics design meet tomorrow. The Xcelerator portfolio helps companies of all sizes create and leverage digital twins that provide organizations with new insights, opportunities and levels of automation to drive innovation. For more information on Siemens Digital Industries Software products and services, visit www.sw.siemens.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Siemens Digital Industries Software  Where today meets tomorrow. Siemens Digital Industries (DI) is an innovation leader in automation and digitalization. Closely collaborating with partners and customers, DI drives the digital transformation in the process and discrete industries. With its Digital Enterprise portfolio, DI provides companies of all sizes with an end-to-end set of products, solutions and services to integrate and digitalize the entire value chain. Optimized for the specific needs of each industry, DI's unique portfolio supports customers to achieve greater productivity and flexibility. DI is constantly adding innovations to its portfolio to integrate cutting-edge future technologies. Siemens Digital Industries has its global headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and has around 76,000 employees internationally. Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. Active around the world, the company focuses on intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems and on automation and digitalization in the process and manufacturing industries. Siemens brings together the digital and physical worlds to benefit customers and society. Through Mobility, a leading supplier of intelligent mobility solutions for rail and road transport, Siemens is helping to shape the world market for passenger and freight services. Via its majority stake in the publicly listed company Siemens Healthineers, Siemens is also a world-leading supplier of medical technology and digital health services. In addition, Siemens holds a minority stake in Siemens Energy, a global leader in the transmission and generation of electrical power that has been listed on the stock exchange since September 28, 2020. In fiscal 2020, which ended on September 30, 2020, the Siemens Group generated revenue of 57.1 billion and net income of 4.2 billion. As of September 30, 2020, the company had around 293,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com. Note: A list of relevant Siemens trademarks can be found here. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/siemens-acquires-timeseries-to-help-customers-speed-digital-transformation-through-increased-adoption-of-low-code-301278611.html SOURCE Siemens Digital Industries Software

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Researchers at the University of Bonn and the research center caesar have succeeded in ultra-fast freezing proteins after a precisely defined period of time. They were able to follow structural changes on the microsecond time scale and with sub-nanometer precision. Owing to its high spatial and temporal resolution, the method allows tracking rapid structural changes in enzymes and nucleic acids. The results are published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

If you want to know what the spatial structure of a biomolecule looks like, you have a formidable arsenal of tools at your disposal. The most popular ones are electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, which can reveal even the smallest details of a protein. However, a significant limitation of those methods is that they usually deliver static images, which are often insufficient to understand biomolecular processes in precise mechanistic terms. Therefore, a long-term goal of many research groups worldwide has been to track the movements within a macromolecule such as a protein over time while it carries out its work, just like in a movie. The research groups led by Prof. Dr. Olav Schiemann from the Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Bonn and Prof. Dr. Benjamin Kaupp from the research center caesar of the Max Planck Society have now come a step closer to achieving this goal.

They chose an ion channel for their investigation. This is a protein that forms miniscule pores in the cell membrane that are permeable to charged particles called ions. "This channel is normally closed," Schiemann explains. "It only opens when a cellular messenger, called cAMP, binds to it. We wanted to know how exactly this process works."

Mini magnets to measure distances

To do so, the researchers first mixed the channel protein and cAMP and then rapidly froze the solution. In the frozen state, the protein structure can now be analyzed. For their method to work, they had attached molecular electromagnets at two points in the channel. The distance between these magnets can be determined with a precision of a few Angstrom (ten billionths of a millimeter) using a sophisticated method called PELDOR, which works like a molecular ruler. In recent years, the method was significantly refined and improved in Schiemann's group.

"However, this only gives us a static image of cAMP binding to the ion channel," Schiemann says. "We therefore repeated the freezing process at different times after mixing the two molecules. This allowed reconstructing the movements in the protein after cAMP binding - just like a movie, which is also made up of a sequence of images."

At the center of this procedure is a sophisticated method that allows samples to be mixed and frozen very quickly at a precise point in time. The technique, called "microsecond freeze hyperquenching" (abbreviated MHQ), was originally developed at Delft University, but later fell into disuse. It was rediscovered and decisively refined by Kaupp's group.

"In the MHQ device, the cAMP molecule and the ion channel are mixed at ultrafast speed," Kaupp explains. "Then the mixture is shot as a hair-thin stream onto a very cold metal cylinder at -190 C, which rotates 7,000 times per minute. It was particularly challenging to transfer the frozen samples for the PELDOR measurement from the metal plate into thin glass tubes, and to keep them frozen meanwhile. We had to design and build special tools for that."

Deep-freezing in 82 millionths of a second

The entire mixing and freezing process takes only 82 microseconds (one microsecond equals a millionth of a second). "This allows us to visualize very rapid changes in the spatial structure of proteins," explains Tobias Hett, one of the two doctoral students who contributed significantly to the success. The advantage of the method is its combination of high spatial and temporal resolution. "This represents a major step forward in studying dynamic processes in biomolecules," Kaupp emphasizes.

The researchers now plan to use their method to take a closer look at other biomolecules. They hope to gain new insights, for example into the functioning of enzymes and nucleic acids. The importance of such insights is best illustrated by the recent worldwide surge of structural research on the SARS coronavirus-2: The so-called spike protein of the virus also undergoes a structural change when human cells are infected. Clarifying this mechanism will provide valuable information how to target the infection mechanism with new drugs.

The preparation of the samples, the experimental execution, and the analysis of the data is very complex. The results of the study therefore also reflect a successful scientific cooperation with researchers led by Prof. Dr. Helmut Grubmuller of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Gottingen and Prof. Dr. Heinz-Jurgen Steinhoff of the University of Osnabruck.

###

Participating institutions and funding:

In addition to the research center caesar and the University of Bonn, the University of Osnabruck and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Gottingen were involved in the study. The work is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the framework of the Reinhart Koselleck Program and supported by funds from the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Building Blocks of Matter and Fundamental Interactions" at the University of Bonn, of which Prof. Schiemann is a member.

Publication: Tobias Hett et al.: Spatio-Temporal Resolution of Conformational Changes in Biomolecules by Combining Pulsed Electron-Electron Double Resonance Spectroscopy with Microsecond Freeze-Hyperquenching; Journal of the American Chemical Society; DOI: https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1021/ jacs. 1c01081

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Benjamin Kaupp

Emeritus Direktor, Forschungszentrum caesar

Tel. +49-228-9656100

E-Mail: U.B.Kaupp@caesar.de

Prof. Dr. Olav Schiemann

Institut fur Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie

Universitat Bonn

Tel. +49-228-732989

E-Mail: schiemann@pc.uni-bonn.de
By Benjamin Jumbe

Opposition leaders in Uganda could soon have an opportunity to receive training from the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi.

This follows the adoption of a resolution on the matter by the NRM newly elected Members of Parliament at the closure of their 3-week retreat this afternoon.

In the resolutions read by Ngora District Woman MP Juliet Acayo, the members argued that this would enable opposition leaders at the national level to appreciate government programs and not sabotage them.

The NRM MPs also resolved to support free education by enforcing the elimination of all fees.

They also want the government to provide simple meals for school-going children.
Travelers who visited a strip club where an Army major was allegedly drugged and robbed in September have revealed their terrifying experiences at the establishment.

Google reviews for Club Obsession in Gdansk, Poland, where Maj. Matthew Conner claimed to be drugged and had his money stolen before going AWOL, claim to reveal what happens behind closed doors.

Reviews on Google from recent years suggest the danger the major faced at the Club Obsession strip club could have been predicted.

'Very dangerous place,' Canker DiAlike wrote in a review a year ago. 'They drugged my GF and sprayed me with gas pepper because I recorded how they tried to steal us. Ambulance had to come for my GF because she lost consciousness. Dont go this place.'

Another review from a year ago written by Karen Smart reads: 'Drink spiked and purse completely emptied of cards and cash. Still suffering from the effects of the drug and the frightening experience. Please avoid and warn fellow travellers and any tourists you see out and about in the city. Police aren't bothered. Consulate isn't bothered.'

Ronald Stehr, a local guide, also gave a one-star review a year ago, writing: 'I didn't know there was anything like this any more! Highest warning! It's possible that you will be cheated there and possibly drugged. As soon as the stuff works, you are presented with phantastic [sic] bills to py [sic] with you credit card. Fortunately, it didn't work fully for me so I was able to get out. I have no idea why such a club is still open...'

A year ago, Josef Lisshagen wrote that the staff was 'unpleasant' and 'tried to trick me for money.'

Meanwhile, eight months ago, Tomasz Wnuk wrote that Club Obsession is a 'very dangerous place.'

In 91 Google Reviews, Club Obsession has a rating of just two stars, with dozens of reviews telling similar stories to the one that would eventually wrap one Army major in scandal.

Club Obsession has since been closed.

An Army investigation has uncovered a shocking incident involving an Apache helicopter unit and a major being drugged during a trip to Poland.

The 101st Combat Aviation Brigades 'No Mercy' battalion, based out of Kentucky, was deployed to the country in September to visit sites linked to World War II.

While in Poland, however, a celebration turned problematic after one major, Matthew Conner, claimed to have been drugged at a strip club before going missing overnight, forcing a search party to come find him.

The major was also scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars during his strip club visit, reminiscent of some of the other reviews of the club.

An Army investigation is now threatening the careers of that major, along with a commanding officer and other members of the battalion.

Maj. Matthew Conner (left), who described himself as being 'drugged' and Lt. Col. Matthew Fix (right), who has retired following a reprimand from the incident

The 101st Combat Aviation Brigade (pictured) was in the midst of a nine-month Europe rotation

The 101st's nine-month European rotation, which didn't end until this month, involved providing airpower for NATO.

The trip was supposed to improve morale and cohesion within the battalion, but only caused problems after rumors began to spread of what took place.

Approximately 40 members of the 1st Battalion traveled to the city of Gdansk for a two-day excursion in September, according to Stars and Stripes.

According to the Army investigation, the team went to The Legendary White Rabbit Saloon at the end of the first day in Gdansk to celebrate the 40th birthday of their sergeant major, in addition to hitting up other local establishments.

Some of the officers returned to their hotel, the IBB Hotel Dlugi Targ, around midnight and were said to be 'heavily intoxicated.'

The first of two nights in Gdansk began at the Legendary White Rabbit Saloon (pictured)

Then, some officers went to Club Obsession, where the alleged drugging took place

Other members of the battalion, however, continued their night at a strip club deemed to be off-limits called Club Obsession, including executive officer Maj. Matthew Conner.

A warrant officer told the Army's investigation that Conner claimed to receive multiple lap dances while at the club at the end of the two-day trip.

At one point, a stripper also 'bit his nipples to keep him awake,' Conner claimed during a car ride at the end of the trip, for which Lt. Col. Matthew Fix was the driver. Additionally, Conner shared his credit card was allegedly swiped multiple times.

Conner, a pilot, ended the night with receipts that showed 50,000 of a currency being spent, although it was unclear if that was US Dollars or Polish zloty, which would come to around $13,000.

The investigation also said that Conner 'expressed a belief that the champagne he had been given at the club had been laced/drugged.'

Fix, who led the trip to Gdansk, did not report the potential drugging of Conner to headquarters after learning of the incident.

The next morning, nobody within the battalion could locate or contact Conner. He was not in his hotel room.

Fix and Sgt. Maj. Ronnie Winberry formed a search party with everyone involved from the previous night to retrace their steps through the city center to find Conner.

Fix and Winberry were ultimately able to find Conner at another hotel and the battalion finished a shortened version of the World War II tour.

The 101st Combat Aviation Brigade (pictured) was providing airpower to NATO

Rumors about what happened with the battalion spread on social media after the incident

Conner, meanwhile, remained sick through the next day and was 'so severely impaired by the incident that he cancelled all of his flights for the next week because he 'just did not feel right' and it took days for him to feel normal again,' the Army report said.

Rumors persisted over social media following the trip, including a rumor that the unit visited an 'alleged sex dungeon.'

The Army launched a 15-6 investigation into the trip, which can sometimes lead to administrative punishment or even a court-martial.

'The command took immediate and appropriate adverse action against the leaders involved,' said Col. Joseph Buccino, spokesman for the 18th Airborne Corps.

'Some officers are facing further administrative actions to determine whether they will continue to serve in the Army.'

The investigation also criticized the poor leadership demonstrated on the trip.

'Not only is it questionable whether the purpose and intent of a [battalion staff ride] was met, but during the trip, multiple individuals exhibited lapses in judgment and leadership that are not expected of senior leaders in the Army,' the investigation said.

The 15-6 investigation recommended disciplinary action for Conner, Fix, a first sergeant, and several junior officers.

Fix received a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand and chose to retire in the aftermath of that reprimand.

Conner is still set to face a separation review board. Conner and Fox both have not commented on the investigation.

The 15-6 investigation recommended disciplinary action for Conner, Fix, and other officers

This is not the first troubling incident involving the Army and a trip to Europe in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, the Army fired Col. Michael Schoenfeldt after he was accused of bullying and providing toxic leadership the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division's trip to Europe.

The spokesman for U.S. Army Europe and Africa referred to the incidents as 'isolated cases' in a statement.

'The same standards of conduct and leadership apply here in Europe as they do in the United States,' Col. Joe Scrocca said, according to Stars and Stripes.

'Our permanently stationed and rotational forces are expected to live by the same Army Values.'
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.
Washington, Apr 28 (PTI) In an outpour of support during India's moment of crisis, American lawmakers applauded President Joe Biden for all help he was extending to save lives of people suffering from COVID-19, and urged him to do more.

'The US maintains a moral obligation to assist our ally India as they face severe challenges posed by COVID-19. We must take every necessary step to ensure the Indian people receive the aid and assistance they need in order to emerge from this crisis,' Congressman Brad Sherman, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Tuesday.

'My heart goes out to the people of India and neighbouring nations as they fight an uphill battle with COVID. I'm glad that the White House is providing these life-saving vaccines, but we will need a strong, coordinated global response in the days ahead,' Congresswoman Carolyn Boudreaux said.

Congressman Michael Waltz Press said India is an essential ally in America's global competition with China. 'Its strength is important to stability in Asia and the United States. We must do what we can to help them curb their new wave of COVID cases,' he added.

Congressman Bill Foster said while America continues to make progress in battling this pandemic, the critical situation in India can't be ignored.

Several other American lawmakers have also come out in support of India as its people battle one of the gravest challenges to its public health system.

'I am glad to see President Biden taking action to aid the people of India as they experience a devastating surge of COVID19. This will save lives and bring relief to millions of Indian-Americans who are worried about the health and safety of their loved ones in India,' Congressman Steven Horsford said.

The United States and India have both suffered tremendously from COVID-19, and the countries will crush this virus together, he added.

Congressman Joe Morell said the US has a moral obligation to help its global partners fight back against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Story continues

'I stand alongside President Biden, the Congressional India Caucus, and our local Indian American community to support increased aid to India during their time of need, he said.

Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, too came out in support of India.

'Pursuing vaccine equity doesn't just advance our economic & health security  it's a moral imperative. As a bastion of innovation & champion for marginalized people everywhere, the U.S. must lead efforts to guarantee immunization access to EVERYONE at home & abroad, Menendez tweeted.

Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said he was pleased the US will be sending its AstraZeneca supply to India and other countries in need of it as he had urged earlier.

'This is the compassionate choice and the smart one because it only takes one of India's many variants of COVID-19 to derail the US progress,' he said.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Chair of the House Appropriations subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, praised Biden's plan to distribute 60 million AstraZeneca doses to countries in need in the coming months.

The White House on Tuesday welcomed the decision of Gilead to expand the availability of remdesivir, a key therapeutic medicine used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, in India.

'We welcome generosity from the private sector to support the people of India. Ending the pandemic will require the partnerships with governments, industry, private citizens, non-governmental organizations and multilateral institutions,' tweeted National Security Council of the White House. PTI LKJ IJT
Baby manatee Lativa was so sick that her caregivers had to put a flotation device on her to allow her to come to the surface to breathe.

Others have not been so lucky: the gentle marine mammals are dying at an unprecedented rate in Florida, and there are not enough animal hospital "beds" to handle the crisis.

When two-year-old Lativa was rescued earlier this month, she was suffering from severe exposure to brevetoxins, potent neurotoxins produced by red tides or algae blooms that have contaminated some bodies of water in the US state.

"She was found beached and they never beach themselves... she was completely unresponsive," recounts Molly Lippincott, animal care manager for ZooTampa at Lowry Park.

Lippincott shows a video of Lativa, her head resting on a pool noodle.

Today, the manatee is breathing on her own, but is still being closely monitored in an intensive care tank next to Bellisima, who was found malnourished and seriously injured after being hit by a boat.

The red tides caused by human use of fertilizers, the loss of food sources in their natural habitat and the shocks caused by collisions with boats are among the leading causes of manatee deaths in Florida.

And this year, the death toll is skyrocketing.

From January 1 to mid-April, 674 manatees have been found dead in Florida waters, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

That is nearly triple the number of manatee deaths recorded in the same period in each of the previous five years.

"We're just having a lot more issues environmentally, because there's such a large number of people that live here now," said Lippincott.

When the conditions of Lativa and Bellisima improve, they will be moved to recovery pools, where about 20 manatees are fed lettuce and cared for until they can return to their natural surroundings.

There are five manatee hospitals in the Sunshine State. The one in Tampa is one of the biggest and has three intensive care tanks. The tank bottoms can be raised to care for the animals.

Story continues

But the shocking mortality rate this year has stretched these facilities to their limit.

Veterinarians are "trying to just figure out how to shuffle manatees so that you can free up the critical care facilities," says Cynthia Stringfield, the senior vice president of animal health, conservation and education at ZooTampa.

"But right now, it's a juggling act to try to have space for everybody."

- Scars from boat collisions -

Manatees, distant cousins of elephants, are playful warm-water giants who graze on seagrasses and live in shallow waters because they need to surface frequently to breathe.

Normally, an increase in the number of manatee deaths can be attributed to collisions with boats and jet skis that speed through the manatees' habitat.

"When a manatee is coming up for a breath, that's when they're usually vulnerable and get hit by a boat," Lippincott explains.

In zoo recovery pools, many of the animals have scars -- a jagged line when the manatee hit a boat keel, or parallel stripes when it was hit by an outboard motor.

"They really move very slowly. They cruise at about five miles an hour, so they don't have time to get away from boats. We need people to slow down when they're in shallow water," Lippincott says.

Florida does not require boat operators to have licenses. Users just need to complete a course that does not include a lot of information about local wildlife.

And tourists who rent boats often are unaware that manatees even exist, even though there are 7,000 of them in the state.

- 'Unusual Mortality Event' -

The high number of manatee deaths so far this year on Florida's eastern shores seems to be due in part to the disappearance of seagrass, which is not getting enough sunlight due to algae blooms flourishing from both fertilizer use and excess sewage.

Last month, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission classified the dire situation as an "unusual mortality event," a rare move that unblocks federal funds for an investigation.

Many of these manatees, sometimes called "sea cows," have been found suffering from malnutrition along Florida's central and southern Atlantic coastline.

Complicating the already fraught situation, a breach at a wastewater reservoir on the site of a former fertilizer plant on Florida's Gulf coast sent thousands of gallons of polluted water into Tampa Bay.

"We're not seeing the effects of that yet, but we're concerned that that could be an up and coming problem," Stringfield says.

In May 2017, a few months after Donald Trump assumed the US presidency, federal authorities reclassified manatees, downgrading them from endangered to threatened -- thereby reducing the protections afforded to them.

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Photo: CTV News

A notorious COVID-19 violater has been handed a stiff sentence for his transgressions.

Mohammad Movassaghi who hosted a party at his downtown Vancouver condo in violation of COVID-19 restrictions now has a criminal record after being sentenced to one day in jail and 18 months' probation on two counts of violating public health orders.

CTV News Vancouver is reporting that Movassaghi pleaded guilty earlier this month in B.C. provincial court on counts of violating a public health order and unlawfully purchasing grain alcohol.

In addition to one day behind bars for the first count, he's also been sentenced to 18 months probation and a further $5,000 fine for the second count.

Movassaghi was accused of throwing parties that included liquor sales, point-of-sale machines and exotic dancers back in January. When he was arrested at 3:30 a.m. on New Year's Eve there were 78 people in his condo, including a topless woman and a stripper pole.

-with files from CTV News Vancouver
A Division Bench of the on Tuesday stayed all investigations by the Palghar police regarding a first information report against Housing Finance (IBHL) for allegedly siphoning off funds and for accounting irregularities.

In its order, the court cast serious doubts on the bonafides of the complainant  Ashutosh Kamble, a shareholder of the company.

IBHL had approached the court and the petition was taken up for urgent hearing. The court noted that the Supreme Court has laid down that interference at the stage of investigation can be justified only in exceptional cases 

Noting the malafide intent of the complainant, the court said it is prima facie of the opinion that the complaint appears to be malafide and deficient.

It is needless to observe that since we have stayed the investigation, the question of taking further action on the basis of the said FIR would not arise, the court said.

The FIR was filed by police after Palghars judicial magistrate passed such an order under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The companys counsel told the court that the FIR was nothing but part of a long-running extortion and blackmail saga. Only this time, since blackmailers who had been running this racket from Delhi have been arrested, they chose to rope in a Maharashtra-based accomplice, and this complaint is only a copy-and-paste of earlier patently false and malicious complaints that the blackmailers have been circulating.

The counsel said Kamble had approached the company a few months back and tried to extort money, but IBHL has not succumbed to the threats and extortion attempts of the blackmailers for the last three years, and has chosen to take them on through appropriate legal proceedings. Members of the gang were arrested and have had their bail applications repeatedly rejected by courts, noting their conduct as extortionists and blackmailers in the court orders.

In this case, Kamble, the counsel said, has falsified his residential address to claim favourable jurisdiction of Wada police station in Palghar, where the company has no office or business. He purchased 500 shares of the company just 10 days before lodging the FIR, to create the subterfuge of being an aggrieved shareholder.

In its order, the court acknowledged this and said prima facie it appears that respondent no. 2 (Kamble) has been set up to initiate criminal proceedings in the matter.

The court was also informed that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has already examined the books of IBHL and the loans mentioned in the allegations, and has filed a court affidavit saying the loans have either been fully repaid or are standard.
New Delhi: A POCSO court in Shimla on Wednesday (April 28) convicted accused one Anil Kumar in a case related to the rape and murder of a minor girl from Kotkhai in Himachal Pradesh.

The Special Judge, POCSO, convicted accused Anil Kumar @ Nilu @ Kamlesh under section 302, 376-A, 376(2) (I) of IPC and Section 4 of POCSO Act in a case related to rape and murder of a minor girl at Kotkhai, Himachal Pradesh, said an official statement.

CBI had registered the case on July 22, 2017, on the orders dated July 19, 2017, passed in CWPIL No. 88 of 2017 of Himachal Pradesh High Court and took over the investigation of the case, which was earlier registered (FIR NO 97/2017), u/sections 302, 376 of IPC & section 4 of POSCO Act at Police Station Kotkhai, district Shimla (Himachal Pradesh).

The case was registered following the allegations of rape and murder of a 16 years old minor girl in the forest of Halaila, Kotkhai, under Shimla district. The local police have arrested six persons in the case.

After a thorough investigation, the CBI filed a chargesheet in the court of Special Judge (POCSO), Shimla against the accused, Anil Kumar @ Nilu @ Kamlesh. The role of the six accused arrested by the police was not allegedly found.

After considering all the oral, documentary scientific, medical, and circumstantial evidence, etc on record, the trial court found the said accused guilty and convicted him. The arguments on the quantum of the sentence are scheduled on May 11 by the court.

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Popular stock trading platform Robinhood faces dozens of customer lawsuits and complaints over lengthy delays resolving account issues, leaving some users unable to access their money for months, according to a new report.

Desperate Robinhood customers have taken to social media to share their anger at the company, which recently filed plans to go public and is reportedly seeking a $30 billion valuation.

Alex Mesa, the company's head of customer experience, admitted that the company has struggled to keep pace with its surging user base, but said that Robinhood is investing significantly in customer service.

'If you, overnight, have an increase of 350 percent of volume, there's just not enough humans to throw at the issue to be able to deliver effective support,' he told the Wall Street Journal.

The company's CEO has also claimed the platform is expanding customer service 'as fast as we can.'

Robinhood manages an estimated $20 billion of customer assets, and individual accounts are insured up to $2 million cash and $10 million in stock, meaning that customers are not at risk of losing their deposits if the company struggles or fails.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the company is expanding phone support 'as fast as we can' but most users still cannot get account help over the phone, leading to frustration

Online, many disgruntled Robinhood customer have shared their horror stories, accusing the company of 'ghosting' them on complaints and describing a lengthy ordeal to access their funds.

Brenton Place, a resident of Michigan, said it took five weeks and more than a dozen emails to get his Robinhood account unlocked after confusion over bank transfers that went awry.

Place told the Journal that he watched helplessly as the value of his portfolio plunged. Though he could have sold his shares, the funds would have remained stuck in his account.

The mental health therapist began tweeting criticism of the company under the hashtag #RobinhoodHostage on March 5, and his account was unfrozen on March 12.

A Robinhood spokeswoman referred a DailyMail.com inquiry to a February blog post, which read in part: 'We're investing heavily in customer support and remain committed to improving to serve you.'

Robinhood was one of the free online trading apps that fueled the meteoric rise of GameStop shares in January, during the 'meme stock' rally.

The company drew furious backlash after it temporarily halted the ability to buy GameStop and other shares at the height of the frenzy, saying it was unable to meet deposit requirements at the main clearinghouse.

Despite the backlash, Robinhood has continued to enjoy popularity, gaining an additional 4.5 million downloads through Sunday, according to Apptopia.

The company has faced tough questions over its customer service practices since the suicide last year of 20-year-old Alex Kearns, a college student who believed he had suffered ruinous losses on options trades.

Robinhood long offered customer service only via email, and Kearns' family said in a suit that he had sent three desperate emails to the company but received only an automated reply.

In February, members of Congress excoriated Robinhood over its lack of phone support for customers, and CEO Vlad Tenev said the company is seeking to expand phone support 'as fast as we can.'

Robinhood drew furious backlash after it temporarily halted the ability to buy GameStop and other shares at the height of the 'meme stock' frenzy (stock image)

Some options trading customers can now seek customer support by phone, and last month Robinhood said it is spending $11.7 million and hiring nearly 400 people for a new customer-support center in North Carolina.

Robinhood customer Amy Vickers also shared her frustration with the company, telling the Journal that she attempted to transfer her stocks to Fidelity Investments when Robinhood halted purchases of GameStop shares in February.

When she realized that the transfer would lock up her positions for a time, she attempted to reverse the transfer, but was unable to cancel it after contacting Robinhood via email and the company website.

Furthering her frustration, Robinhood told her that it would take a week to complete the transfer, but her last stock arrived at Fidelity 18 days later, by which time her GameStop shares has plunged in value.

'I had a lot of days laying in bed feeling depressed,' Vickers told the Journal. 'Robinhood is the most unprofessional company I've ever dealt with managing my money.'

'Over the past year, we've accelerated our investments in customer support,' Robinhood said in the February blog post. 'We believe great customer service incorporates a combination of real people and the best technology, and we continue to invest in both.'

Founded in 2013, Robinhood has been credited with helping usher commission-free trading throughout the retail brokerage industry.

Many young customers quickly took to its app, which now counts more than 13 million users.

The company is preparing for an initial public offering later this year, and reportedly plans to sell off a chunk of its shares directly to its users, making the customer service issues a pressing concern.
Wells Fargo is donating $13 million to six Bay Area nonprofits helping small businesses that have struggled during the coronavirus pandemic with free advising and loans.

The donations are part of the banks national Open for Business Fund, one of its largest philanthropic programs, which totals around $420 million. The donations are funded by the banks processing fees from the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal aid program that helped businesses pay workers during the pandemic.

Wells Fargo chose San Franciscos Community Vision Capital & Consulting, Feed the Hunger Fund, Low Income Investment Fund; Oaklands ICA and Pacific Community Ventures; and San Joses Accion Opportunity Fund for the grants.

The organizations are all nonprofit Community Development Financial Institutions, which focus on aiding minority-owned and woman-owned companies in low-income areas.

It was a very competitive process. These organizations really stood out as leaders, Erica Trejo, Wells Fargo senior vice president of social impact and sustainability, told The Chronicle.

Were really excited that were able to support small businesses right now, she said. The struggle to keep doors open has been very real.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Well Fargos biggest competitors, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citibank, have also pledged to donate their PPP fees and not make a profit from the program.

Wells Fargo said it made the decision to support small businesses before the Federal Reserve mandated that the San Francisco bank either donate its PPP fees to a nonprofit or return them to the government. The requirement was imposed in exchange for temporarily exempting Wells Fargo from the governments cap limiting it to $1.95 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo said the asset cap relief program ultimately wasnt utilized and the donations werent required.

Our donations are and remain fully voluntary as part of our focus on creating an inclusive economic recovery, the bank said.

The 2018 cap, an unprecedented move by regulators, came in response to the banks fake accounts scandal, which also resulted in a $3 billion settlement payment.

Pacific Community Ventures is receiving $2 million from Wells Fargo and hopes to issue around 30 low-interest loans using the funds.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Weve had 20x demand since the COVID shutdown began last year for loans, said Bulbul Gupta, CEO of Pacific Community Ventures. Businesses need working capital, affordable capital.

Last year, the nonprofit issued $4.5 million in loans, more than half of the overall portfolio of $8 million. Gupta hopes to double last years amount in 2021.

Pacific Community Ventures clients include CupCakin Bake Shop in Berkeley and Nzilani Glass Conservation in Oakland, which has worked on monumental projects such as restoring over 300 stained glass pieces at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

The goal is for small business owners to not only receive funding to survive the crisis, but also to receive consulting and technical assistance to build a sustainable business that will thrive, said Trejo of Wells Fargo.

Ariana Makau, president of Nzilani Glass Conservation, said it was laudable that the bank was working with local nonprofits to bolster both loans and help with business strategy.

Throwing money at a problem is sometimes a great quick fix, Makau said. But if youre not dealing with long-term systemic hurdles, youre just buying a couple more months of runway. Youre not building something sustainable.

Interactive Vaccine Tracker: Latest developments Detailed information about the coronavirus vaccines as it becomes available.

Makau began working with Pacific Community Ventures in 2016 and has received up to five hours of free business advice a month. That has helped the glass company restructure its finances, its bidding system for projects, hiring processes and ordering materials. Its like having an outside chief financial officer and human resources department at no cost, she said.

Before the pandemic, a project was delayed and it received a five-year bridge loan from Pacific Community Ventures that it paid back early. Makau, whose family is from Kenya, said it would have been harder to get a loan from a traditional bank as a woman of color.

The pandemic has been a major challenge for Nzilani, which was founded in 2003, and is named after Makaus grandmother, who recently passed away at the age of 103.

Construction to install 83 stained glass panels at St. Vincent de Paul in San Francisco was paused for about four months because of public health orders.

After construction was declared an essential business and work could continue, Makau faced another problem: The danger of lead exposure and other hazards meant her employees needed the same personal protective equipment that health care workers were using, including a Tyvek suit with hood, face mask and gloves. The cost of equipment had soared by 300%.

She ultimately secured a $10,000 State Fund Insurance grant for the equipment, and thanks to two PPP loans to cover three months of payroll, none of Nzilanis 12-person staff was laid off. Work at St. Vincent de Paul is now under way.

Correction: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized Wells Fargo's donations as being mandatory.

Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf
Offaly County Council will explore recommendations relating to the options for the provision of free, safe and suitable sanitary products in public buildings.

Proposing a motion calling the local authority to provide free products in public buildings on a trial basis, Cllr Claffey explained that it would make a huge difference to the lives of women and would give everyone a chance of period dignity and will allow people to be treated with dignity and equality.

Periods are normal. 50 per cent of the population are women and most of us have periods and having access to sanitary towels and tampons is as essential as hand soap and toilet roll. We go into public toilets and we expect toilet roll and the same should be said for sanitary towels and tampons.

According to the Banagher based councillor, most local authorities in Europe are leading the way in this.

In Ireland, Dublin and Kildare councils are also doing the same thing. Some people can't afford to buy period productions. I think that up to 85,000 women in Ireland are at risk of period poverty. Women can also get caught out. I note Lidl announcing free products in-store and they are donating products to Simon Community so people can access productions. This fantastic to see I would love to see the council do the same. I would ask if this could be done on a trial and budget with a long term goal to provide them free of charge."

Responding to the motion, Sharon Kennedy, Director of Services said the council was going to explore recommendations of the Report on Period Poverty, which was published by two Government departments in February last and in particular the recommendations, which were most relevant to local authorities.

This refers to investigating the options for the provision of products across public buildings and sites. This requires a level of resources with regard to the cost implications and this will assist in estimating budgetary requirements in advance of the 2022 budget process.

The Director of Services understood that Dublin Council were leading the way on this issue and Offaly County Council would try and garner some information from this process.

However, there is no budget provision in 2021 for a trial but we will investigate if this is possible and what alternative funding streams are available to fund this, Ms Kennedy added.
Stacks of $50 and $100 notes totalling about $1.2 million, drugs worth $12 million  including blocks of cocaine stamped with the word Dior  and gold-coloured firearms were seized in police raids in Sydney on Wednesday.

Six men were charged with more than 130 offences between them after police investigating an alleged drug supply syndicate and its links to the Sydney-based Bandidos bikie group swooped on multiple properties across the city.

One of the men arrested in Rose Bay. Credit:NSW Police

In September 2019, the Southern Region Enforcement Squad established Strike Force Kniepp to investigate the supply of prohibited drugs and alleged criminal activities in the states south.

Their inquiries revealed a criminal syndicate was supplying cocaine, MDMA and methylamphetamine (ice) across Sydneys south-west and eastern beaches, as well as the South Coast.
19-04-2021

Remembering is an integral part of Jewish life

Cluster of Excellences new research podcast Belonging or Excluded? sheds light on 1,700 years of Jewish life  Researchers from Jewish Studies, History and Theology use pictures, manuscripts and photos to report on the everyday and religious life of Jews, as well as on their exclusion and persecution  Podcast as part of the year of celebration 2021: Jewish Life in Germany"

Press release from 19 April 2021



 exc

According to Jewish scholars, remembering ones own history, as is the case in the nationwide year of celebration 1,700 years of Jewish life in Germany, has always been an integral part of Jewish life. Jewish culture has always had a close relationship with its own history, and not only since the Shoah, and is strongly defined by its collective memory, say Jewish scholars Regina Grundmann and Katrin Kogman-Appel from the University of Munsters Cluster of Excellence Religion and Politics. They were speaking at the start of the Cluster podcast series Belonging or Excluded? 1,700 years of Jewish life in Germany. Together with other colleagues from Jewish Studies, as well as with historians and theologians, they will use selected case studies from the first mention of Jews in late antiquity to the present day to recount Jewish life in Germany. In doing so, they will draw on their research and on a variety of visual sources: from Emperor Constantines edict of 321 to richly decorated books of Jewish liturgy in the Middle Ages; from holiday photos showing Jewish bathing culture on Norderney in the early 20th century and the Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith (Centralverein deutscher Staatsburger judischen Glaubens) in the first few years of the Nazi dictatorship to the commemoration of the Shoah today.

The podcast reports on Jewish life in Germany in all its fullness, without ignoring anti-Judaism, anti-Semitism and persecution over the centuries, or constructing false continuities over time, say Grundmann and Kogman-Appel. A more nuanced picture only emerges in recent research, says Humboldt Professor Kogman-Appel, when, beyond a lacrimose historiography that describes Jewish life primarily as exclusion, affiliations with the majority society are also revealed. This is the focus of the Cluster of Excellences annual theme Belonging and Demarcation  and also of our podcast series, which is part of the year of celebration 1,700 years of Jewish life in Germany. The podcast throws light both on flourishing Jewish life in different periods and on recurring tensions with the majority society, which includes exclusion and persecution.

Weekly podcast episodes from antiquity to the present day

As Kogman-Appel explains, the lives of Jews in the Middle Ages, for example, did not take place in isolation, as some still believe today: In everything that distinguished Jews from their environment, they also lived quite closely together with Christians. This also applied to politics and trade. There was also a lot of closeness in clothing and language, Yiddish. Demarcations also originated from Jews: One aim of Jewish community rituals was to demarcate themselves from the Christian environment, to define their own identity, and to ensure the groups cohesion over the centuries. (sca/vvm)
Tucker Carlson has mocked Joe Biden for wearing a face mask on a Zoom call with other world leaders, joking that the U.S. president was concerned about catching 'digital COVID'.

Carlson further noted that Biden, earlier on Tuesday, had announced that fully-vaccinated Americans like him could remove their face masks outdoors, in uncrowded spaces.

But the president - who has had both doses of his Pfizer COVID vaccine, then walked out alone from the White House wearing his face mask.

Carlson said that the White House had a 'mask fetish', and ridiculed Biden for what his supporters see as his commitment to public health.

'The meeting itself turned out to be only marginally interesting,' said Carlson, of Friday's climate change summit.

Joe Biden (top right) was one of the only world leaders to be wearing a face mask on Zoom

Biden is pictured on Friday, at the virtual climate change summit he convened

The White House on Friday said that Biden was surrounded by other people on Friday's Zoom

'What got your attention was Joe Biden. Of the 16 heads of state who were present, only Joe Biden wore a face mask. He sat there silently, nose and mouth covered in black cloth like a wrestler from an old western as Vladimir Putin held forth on international affairs - but here's the weirdest part: that meeting took place over Zoom.'

Other world leaders were at times wearing face masks, with Italy's representative in a mask on camera.

Yet Carlson said that the United States was blindly accepting the recommendations, without questioning their rationale.

'All precautions against COVID are considered legitimate by the American news media, no matter how self-evidently lunatic they may be,' he said.

'Covering your face during a Zoom call, drive to work alone with a mask on, it's all normal, says The New York Times.'

Jen Psaki, the White House spokeswoman, said that Biden was wearing a face mask both 'to send a message', and also because there were other people in the room so that was their protocol.

Yet Carlson did not accept her explanation, and further ridiculed the 78-year-old, who was elected on a promise to get the pandemic under control.

Tucker Carlson on Tuesday night laughed at Joe Biden's strict adherence to COVID protocols

Biden on Tuesday walked out of the White House, alone, still wearing his face mask out of habit

The 78-year-old took his mask off to say masks were not necessary outdoors with small groups

Thirty two million Americans have been infected by the virus - almost double the second hardest-hit country, India - and the country has the world's worst death toll, with 573,000 having died.

'The message is that Joe Biden is putting in place precautions, those would be sensible precautions, precautions against Zoom because it turns out COVID is digitally transmissible,' joked Carlson.

'It travels through the fibers, the virus embeds itself among the one and zero and springs unsuspected, teeth bared and ready to strike, from any available hot spot - whether it's at Starbucks, down in your basement rec room, even the Oval Office.

'Digital COVID could be anywhere - where there's an internet connection, there's a pandemic.'

Biden was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before he took the oath of office on Inauguration Day in January.

Psaki said the president will follow the new guidelines but conceded it will take some time to adapt the new habit.

'He'll be following public health guidelines so I think you saw him outside today - he took the mask off, he didn't put the mask back on,' she said at her press briefing.

'It will take some time to adjust and adapt for all of us.'

The president spoke for a little than five minutes about the pandemic, where he encouraged people to get vaccinated as the inoculation rate in the United States has started to drop off. He pointed out getting vaccinated means getting back to normal life.

'Vaccines are about saving your life, but also the lives of the people around you, but they're also about helping to get us get back to closer to living our normal lives, getting together with friends, going through the park for a picnic without needing a basket or back to that place now as long as you get vaccinated,' Biden said.

'So go get the shot. It's never been easier.'

He also pointed out the new CDC guidelines: 'Starting today, if youre fully vaccinated and youre outdoors and not in a big crowd, you no longer need to wear a mask.'

After his remarks, he left the podium, set up next to the driveway outside the White House, with his face mask in hand.

It comes amid mounting evidence - finally acknowledged by the CDC on Tuesday - that outdoor transmission of coronavirus is exceedingly rare, accounting for less than 10 percent of cases. Those risks are mainly linked to crowded events that can turn into super-spreader events, or people who were in close range of one another.

U.S. health officials unveiled a list of outdoor activities that it now considers safe for fully vaccinated Americans to do without masks, including exercising, going to small gatherings and eating outside. However, vaccinated people should still wear masks in crowds

However, in crowded places like concerts, parades or sporting events, even vaccinated people should still wear masks, the CDC's new guidance says.

The guidance is merely that - advice about what the health agency has deemed safe - and is not enforceable. It's up to states, counties and cities to issue mask mandates and other restrictions.

Several states, including Massachusetts and Kentucky rolled back their guidelines on mask-wearing outdoors on Tuesday morning, in anticipation of the update to the guidelines.

Unvaccinated people can shed their masks too, if they are outside exercising or at small outdoor gatherings with vaccinated friends and families.




Haiti - USA : A pressure group calls Joe Biden to redesignate Haiti within the framework of the TPS





Nearly 100 immigration advocates, media figures, human rights activists and representatives of international non-governmental organizations on Tuesday in a letter to President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, called for re-designating Haiti under the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) program.



Recall that under the TPS, foreign nationals in the United States receive a work permit and an authorization to remain in the United States if the American authorities determine that the conditions in the person's country of origin are too dangerous for them for a return.



Haiti was initially designated for the TPS following the January 2010 sesime.



Like many designations that must be renewed at least every 18 months, the Obama administration issued more or less summary TPS renewals until the Trump administration in 2017 announced it would end the TPS for Haiti. in mid-2019.



Court injunctions blocked the termination leaving some 55,000 beneficiaries in doubt until a new designation is issued or the terms of the TPS are changed by Congress or the judiciary.



Note that a new TPS designation for Haiti would protect not only current beneficiaries, but also all Haitian nationals who have arrived in the United States since the last designation in 2017. According to most estimates, the number of Haitians protected would more or less double under a new designation.



During his campaign in South Florida in 2020, the Joe Biden had promised to review the TPS designation for Haiti and to stop the evictions.



However, Biden did not keep his promise with Haiti while issuing designations for Venezuela, Myanmar (Burma) and Syria and the expulsions of Haitians continue... https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33352-haiti-flash-joe-biden-expels-more-haitians-than-donald-trump.html



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33352-haiti-flash-joe-biden-expels-more-haitians-than-donald-trump.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33062-haiti-usa-congresswoman-clarke-urges-ice-to-immediately-stop-deportations-of-haitians.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33039-haiti-usa-500-haitians-repatriated-to-haiti-trump-or-biden-nothing-changes.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33011-haiti-usa-congresswoman-wilson-urges-biden-to-suspend-deportations-to-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32984-haiti-usa-ice-defies-jo-biden-and-deports-72-haitians-to-haiti-including-22-children.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32961-haiti-flash-the-united-states-suspends-deportation-flights-of-haitians.html



SL/ HaitiLibre


















Thanks in large measure to the unpopularity of Donald Trump, Democrats in New Jersey turned what had been an evenly divided 6-6 congressional delegation into a 10-2 advantage in just two elections.

So can the Democrats could go even further  perhaps getting a clean sweep to make every seat blue  now that 2020 census population figures are out and the process of redrawing congressional districts will begin?

For New Jersey, the census figures released Monday brought good news. Even though other Northeastern states lost House seats  and political power  New Jerseys bump in population means it keeps all 12 seats. That saves the state from having to redraw 12 congressional districts into 11  and trying to figure which House member will be squeezed out of a job.

But experts say its unlikely House Democrats can go 12 and zero. They say the best Democrats can hope for when the new congressional district lines are redrawn is to cement their current advantage against Republicans.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., isnt going anywhere, and 2018s blue wave bypassed him entirely. While a strong opponent of abortion rights, Smiths record otherwise is a throwback to moderate Northeast Republicanism: pro-union, pro-environment, pro-gun control.

In a district that Trump carried by more than 10 percentage points, its not clear that mapmakers can find enough Democrats to weaken Smith without also weakening his Democratic neighbors.

Democrats actually held an 11-1 advantage, but that was short lived after 2nd District Rep. Jeff Van Drew switched to the GOP after voting against impeaching Trump the first time. He then easily won a second term in Washington over a well-financed challenger, Amy Kennedy.

The Van Drew brand is so strong that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which along with its allied super political action committee spent $6.6 million against him in 2020, is so far taking a pass on 2022.

Rather than go after Van Drews district in redrawing the lines, Democrats might be willing to cut a deal to protect both him and one of their own, Rep. Andy Kim, D-3rd Dist., said David Wasserman, House editor for the Cook Political Report.

Thats something that will be decided by an independent bipartisan commission entrusted with drawing the new district lines.

The 13-member reapportionment commission consists of six Democrats, six Republicans and an independent chair elected by the rest of the members. Seven votes are needed to pass a map, meaning the chair casts the deciding vote.

That chair sided with the GOP members a decade ago, drawing lines that reduced the size of the delegation by one and put Democratic Rep. Steve Rothman in a congressional district that favored another incumbent, Republican Scott Garrett. Rothman instead took on Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. in a nasty Democratic primary and lost.

This time around, however, New Jersey isnt losing a congressional seat as its population rose 6% to 9,288,994.

Not only did we gain nearly half a million residents, but we also ensured that our representation in Washington would be unchanged, Gov. Phil Murphy said.

It also means New Jersey still will cast 14 electoral votes for president, even as some other blue states lose political power. Overall, states that supported Joe Biden for president in 2020 will have three fewer electoral votes in 2024, while states that backed Donald Trump will gain three electoral votes.

Even without having to cut the size of the congressional delegation, theres still plenty to divide New Jerseys redistricting commission along party lines, Wasserman said.

He suggested that the Democrats on the panel will work on shoring up their 10 incumbents, while the Republicans will try to form more competitive districts in order to try to wrest back some of the seats they lost during the last decade.

Its unlikely the two sides will be able to come to agreement, particularly in North Jersey where Democrats now control every seat, Wasserman said.

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:





Last fall, the House Republicans political arm targeted only one Democrat: Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-7th Dist., who narrowly won re-election.

Expected strong challenges to three others  Kim, Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., and Mikie Sherrill, D-11th Dist.  never developed. The National Republican Congressional Committee said it would try again in 2022 to defeat all four.

Malinowski, with cash-on-hand of more than $800,000, is the only one of the four Democrats without already banking more than $1 million for 2022. And Joe Biden carried nine of the 10 Democratic districts, losing only to Donald Trump in Kims 3rd District by 49.4% to 49.2%.

Wasserman said a Republican-drawn map could give Gottheimer and Malinowski tougher races.

Including New Jersey, commissions will draw 121 of the 435 congressional districts, up from 88 after the 2010 census, according to Cook.

Republicans will be able to draw 187 districts on their own, down from 219 a decade ago, while Democrats have sole control over the district lines in 75 districts, up from 44. Another 46 districts are in states where both the Democrats and Republicans have a say in redistricting.

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.

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Millions of vaccinated Americans on Tuesday were freed from government recommendations on outdoor mask-wearing. New guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, do not need to wear a mask outside unless they are in a crowded setting.

Shortly after the announcement, U.S. President Joe Biden strolled to a lectern on the White House North Lawn to tout the new advisory. "The CDC is able to make this announcement because our scientists are convinced by the data that the odds of getting or giving the virus to others is very, very low," said Biden. "If you've been both fully vaccinated and out in the open air, the CDC also has clarified which outdoor activities are safer or less safe, depending on whether you've been vaccinated."

Biden used the occasion to renew a plea to the unvaccinated, saying the relaxed mask guidance "is another great reason to go get vaccinated."

As of Tuesday, according to the CDC, nearly 30 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated with 42 percent having received at least one shot. "As we gather more and more data on the real-world efficacy of vaccines, we know that masked fully vaccinated people can safely attend worship services inside, go to an indoor restaurant or bar, and even participate in an indoor exercise class," CDC Director Dr. Rachel Walensky told reporters prior to the president's remarks.

Americans, however, need to remain more vigilant with others when indoors. "There's increasing data that suggests that most of transmission is happening indoors rather than outdoors -- less than 10 percent of documented transmission in many studies has occurred outdoors," explained Walensky. "We also know that there's almost a 20-fold increased risk of transmission in the indoor setting than in the outdoor setting."


WINNIPEG, MB, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Medicure Inc. ("Medicure" or the "Company") (TSXV: MPH) (OTC: MCUJF), a company focused on the development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products for patients and prescribers in the United States market, today reported that after nearly 10 years with Medicure, Chief Financial Officer James Kinley (CPA, CA) is resigning, effective May 15, 2021, to pursue another business opportunity. The Company thanks James for his significant contributions and leadership.

The Company has initiated a search for a new Chief Financial Officer with the capabilities and qualifications to accelerate Medicure's growth and business strategy. Dr. Neil Owens, Chief Operating Officer of the Company, will assume the role of interim Chief Financial Officer upon Mr. Kinley's resignation.

Albert D. Friesen, PhD, CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors, stated, "Personally and on behalf of everyone at Medicure and our Board of Directors, a big and heartfelt thanks to James for his significant contributions to our Company over the last ten years, and we wish him well in his future endeavors."

About Medicure Inc.

Medicure is a pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for the U.S. cardiovascular market. The present focus of the Company is the marketing and distribution of AGGRASTAT (tirofiban hydrochloride) injection and ZYPITAMAG (pitavastatin) tablets in the United States, where they are sold through the Company's U.S. subsidiary, Medicure Pharma Inc. Medicure also operates Marley Drug, Inc. ("Marley"), a pharmacy located in North Carolina that offers an Extended Supply mail order drug program serving 49 of 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Marley is committed to improving the health status of its patients and the communities they serve while reducing overall health care costs for employers and other health care consumers. For more information visit www.marleydrug.com. To learn more about The Extended Supply Generic Drug Program call 800.286.6781 or email [email protected]. For more information on Medicure please visit www.medicure.com. For additional information about AGGRASTAT, refer to the full Prescribing Information. For additional information about ZYPITAMAG, refer to the full Prescribing Information.

To be added to Medicure's e-mail list, please visit:

http://medicure.mediaroom.com/alerts

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Information: Statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believes", "may", "plans", "will", "estimates", "continues", "anticipates", "intends", "expects" and similar expressions, may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. federal securities laws (such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are hereinafter collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements, include estimates, analysis and opinions of management of the Company made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors which the Company believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances. Inherent in forward-looking statements are known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors beyond the Company's ability to predict or control that may cause the actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, and as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, among others, the Company's future product revenues, expected results, including future revenue from P5P, the likelihood of receiving a PRV, expected future growth in revenues, stage of development, additional capital requirements, risks associated with the completion and timing of clinical trials and obtaining regulatory approval to market the Company's products, the ability to protect its intellectual property, dependence upon collaborative partners, changes in government regulation or regulatory approval processes, and rapid technological change in the industry. Such statements are based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to, assumptions about: general business and economic conditions; the impact of changes in Canadian-US dollar and other foreign exchange rates on the Company's revenues, costs and results; the timing of the receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals for the Company's research and development projects; the availability of financing for the Company's commercial operations and/or research and development projects, or the availability of financing on reasonable terms; results of current and future clinical trials; the uncertainties associated with the acceptance and demand for new products and market competition. The foregoing list of important factors and assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements or the foregoing list of factors, other than as may be required by applicable legislation. Additional discussion regarding the risks and uncertainties relating to the Company and its business can be found in the Company's other filings with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities or the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and in the "Risk Factors" section of its Form 20F for the year ended December 31, 2020.

SOURCE Medicure Inc.

Related Links

www.medicure.com


A $302 million slate of restoration projects approved Wednesday by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council includes well over $20 million in work intended to improve water quality and sustain ecosystems in coastal Alabama.

Alabama-centric projects approved for funding Wednesday include efforts to measure, protect and improve water quality in Mobile Bay, the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and the Perdido River Watershed.

The money comes through conduits established by the 2012 Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act, aka the RESTORE Act, which was passed to determine how money from fines and damages paid by the companies involved in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster would be spent. The first major wave of infrastructure, environmental restoration and economic development projects approved for RESTORE funding, including $315 million for Mobile and Baldwin counties, was announced in 2018.

The process of evaluating proposals for funding has continued, and on Wednesday the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, also known as the RESTORE Council, voted on a slate named Funded Priorities List 3b, or FPL 3b. The overall list includes projects in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Wednesdays approval included $140.4 million for ecosystem restoration activities that will be implemented in the near term. The RESTORE Council also budgeted more than $161.5 million for priority activities that will be evaluated in the future.

Project funding approved Wednesday that directly affects Alabama:

Coastal Alabama Regional Water Quality Program: $16,130,750 for a program sponsored by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) to address environmental stressors in the Mobile Bay and Mobile-Tensaw Delta, and Perdido Bay, Alabama. Work will include planning, construction or upgrades of stormwater and wastewater management systems and septic-to-sewer conversions. An additional $19 million is envisioned for future approval.

Enhancing Hydrologic Connectivity in Justins Bay: $1 million for planning of work to quantify and correct long-term consequences of the construction of the Causeway across upper Mobile Bay in 1927, which destroyed marshlands and restricted saltwater-freshwater exchange between Mobile Bay and the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. Sponsored by ADCNR.

Perdido River Water Quality Improvements and Restoration Assessment Program: $1.5 million in planning funds to coordinate the location and sequencing of selected restoration projects in the Perdido Watershed that could be expected to improve water quality and habitats. Sponsored by ADCNR.

Enhancing Gulf Waters Through Forested Watershed Restoration: $23 million for planning and implementation of activities to restore private and public forests by providing technical and financial assistance to private landowners and communities in watershed where forest resources are instrumental to the health of the Gulf of Mexico. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this program will involve state forestry agencies in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Gulf Coast Conservation Reserve Program: $3.1 million to support work in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida for the purpose of protecting and restoring critical wildlife habitat and improving water quality through the development of wildlife habitat, conservation, and forest management plans. Sponsored by the USDA through the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Gulf of Mexico Coast Conservation Corps (GulfCorps) Program: $11,971,250 to continue the GulfCorps Program for an additional four years. GulfCorps organizations in each Gulf state will recruit, train, employ and help to inspire hundreds of young adults to produce habitat restoration benefits and become the Gulf of Mexicos future restoration workforce. Program documents estimate the program will provide 500,000 hours of labor for priority conservation projects in all five Gulf States. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, administered by The Nature Conservancy.

Tribal Youth Coastal Restoration Program: $927,000 for tribal projects protect natural resources, maintain healthy ecosystems and learn cultural values. Involved tribes include Alabamas Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Develop Ecological Flow Decision-Support for Mobile River and Perdido River Basins: $3.4 million includes new gaging stations to measure freshwater flow into these basins as well as new work to simulate routing of water through the watersheds. The project addresses a critical need for data on inflows and models to understand how the timing and delivery of flow affects downstream ecological resources. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior through the U.S. Geological Survey.

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, chair of the RESTORE Council, said the funding approval would have far-reaching effects.

Approval of the Funded Priorities List (FPL) 3b will catapult existing restoration efforts and will yield large-scale programs critical to sustained ecosystem protection, said Regan. This $302 million investment is the culmination of robust collaborative efforts and sound science.

Full details of the programs funded Wednesday, as well as previous rounds of funding, can be found at www.restorethegulf.com.
Apr. 28If anyone forgot what a sectional atmosphere was like after a year without one, then the Washington Sports Complex was the place to be on Tuesday.

With major league scouts in attendance, four home runs, several lead changes, five Division 1 players and plenty of strike outs in a PAC battle, visiting Southridge (8-3) ended up winning, 9-8 over the Hatchets (10-6).

"These one-run games have been heartbreaking for us. They are no fun. We could have gone out 1-2-3 at the end, but we made it interesting. I really wish we got the win for (Nick) Sandullo because he deserved it.

"The positive was we showed a lot of fight," said WHS coach Steve Reed. "We had a chance to get the win, and we almost did it with two outs. One of these days one of these games are going to go our way."

Southridge opened with a pair of hits from Cam Gasser and Carter Whitehead, allowing Gasser to score, but Sandullo immediately settled down retired the next five in a row, including two Ks.

Washington's Seth Holtsclaw led off the second with a hard single to left, Sandullo walked, and Miguel Cruz bunted to load the bases. Joah Horrall then tied the game with a single to right. WHS took the lead on Isaac Barnard's RBI fielder's choice making it 2-1.

Southridge did put two runners on in the third, but Sandullo was able to use a strikeout, a caught-stealing base runner and ground ball to extinguish the threat.

WHS added a run in the third as Caleb Armstrong reached (and was replaced by Damian Garcia on the base paths) with Holtsclaw driving him in with his second hit of the day and made it 3-1.

However, in the top of the fourth, Major League prospect Colson Montgomery made it 3-2 with a home run over the centerfield fence. U of E signee Ethan Bell added a two-run shot three batters later and Southridge had a 4-3 lead, however, Sandullo did strike out three batters during the frame.

WHS answered with a long ball, as Armstrong added a 3-run homer scoring Horrall and Logan Riester and pushing the Hatchets back to a 6-4 lead.

Story continues

Southridge got a run back in the top of the fifth cutting it to 6-5. Raider Mick Uebelhor then replaced Carsen Niehaus on the hill in the bottom of the fifth and retired the Hatchets in order, keeping the Raiders within one run. Sandullo matched him on the mound in the top of the sixth with two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning. Uebelhor also retired the side in the sixth as well.

Hatchet Miguel Cruz came on in the top of the seventh, and with the bases loaded gave up a grand slam to U of E signee Chase Taylor to overtake the lead, 9-6 and WHS brought in Ashton Ostby to finish the inning.

But WHS was not done, as Gasser came in to pitch for Southridge in the bottom of the seventh and WHS was able to put Jack Fry and Holtsclaw on third and second and both would score on a Sandullo double to make it 9-8. Cruz reached on an error, putting the tying run on third and winning run on second, but Gasser was able to get the final out and secure the 9-8 win.

Ubelehor got the win and Cruz picked up the loss, while Sandullo struckout 10 and gave up just three earned runs and four hits in six innings.

The Hatchets travel to Forest Park on Thursday.
It's one of the most audacious projects in biology today - reading the entire genome of every bird, mammal, lizard, fish, and all other creatures with backbones.

And now comes the first major payoff from the Vertebrate Genome Project (VGP): near complete, high-quality genomes of 25 species, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator Erich Jarvis with scores of coauthors report April 28, 2021, in the journal Nature. These species include the greater horseshoe bat, the Canada lynx, the platypus, and the kakap? parrot - one of the first high-quality genomes of an endangered vertebrate species.

The paper also lays out the technical advances that let scientists achieve a new level of accuracy and completeness and paves the way for decoding the genomes of the roughly 70,000 vertebrate species living today, says HHMI Investigator and study coauthor David Haussler, a computational geneticist at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). "We will get a spectacular picture of how nature actually filled out all the ecosystems with this unbelievably diverse array of animals."

Together with a slew of accompanying papers, the work is beginning to deliver on that promise. The project team has discovered previously unknown chromosomes in the zebra finch genome, for example, and a surprise finding about genetic differences between marmoset and human brains. The new research also offers hope for saving the kakap? and the endangered vaquita dolphin from extinction.

"These 25 genomes represent a key milestone," explains Jarvis, VGP chair and a neurogeneticist at The Rockefeller University. "We are learning a lot more than we expected," he says. "The work is a proof of principle for what's to come."

From 10K to 70K

The VGP milestone has been years in the making. The project's origins date back to the late-2000s, when Haussler, geneticist Stephen O'Brien, and Oliver Ryder, director of conservation genetics at the San Diego Zoo, figured it was time to think big.

Instead of sequencing just a few species, such as humans and model organisms like fruit flies, why not read the complete genomes of ten thousand animals in a bold "Genome 10K" effort? At the time, though, the price tag was hundreds of millions of dollars, and the plan never really got off the ground. "Everyone knew it was a great idea, but nobody wanted to pay for it," recalls HHMI Investigator and HHMI Professor Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary biologist at UCSC and a coauthor of the Nature paper.

Plus, scientists' early efforts at spelling out, or "sequencing," all the DNA letters in an animal's genome were riddled with errors. In the original approach used to complete the first rough human genome in 2003, scientists chopped up DNA into short pieces a few hundred letters long and read those letters. Then came the fiendishly difficult job of assembling the fragments in the right order. The methods weren't up to task, resulting in misassemblies, major gaps, and other mistakes. Often it wasn't even possible to map genes to individual chromosomes.

The introduction of new sequencing technologies with shorter reads helped make the idea of reading thousands of genomes possible. These rapidly developing technologies slashed costs but also reduced quality in genome assembly structure. Then in 2015, Haussler and colleagues brought in Jarvis, a pioneer in deciphering the intricate neural circuits that let birds trill new tunes after listening to others' songs. Jarvis had already shown a knack for managing big, complex efforts. In 2014, he and more than a hundred colleagues sequenced the genomes of 48 bird species, which turned up new genes involved in vocal learning. "David and others asked me to take on leadership of the Genome 10K project," Jarvis recalls. "They felt I had the personality for it." Or, as Shapiro puts it: "Erich is a very pushy leader, in a nice way. What he wants to happen, he will make happen."

Jarvis expanded and rebranded the Genome 10K idea to include all vertebrate genomes. He also helped launch a new sequencing center at Rockefeller that, together with one at the Max Planck Institute in Germany led by former HHMI Janelia Research Campus Group Leader Gene Myers, and another at the Sanger Institute in the UK led by Richard Durbin and Mark Blaxter, is currently producing most of the VGP genome data. He asked Adam Phillippy, a leading genome expert at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), to Chair the VGP assembly team. Then, he found about 60 top scientists willing to use their own grant money to pay for the sequencing costs at the centers to tackle the genomes they were most interested in. The team also negotiated with the Maori in New Zealand and officials in Mexico to get kakapo and vaquita samples in "a beautiful example of international collaboration," says Sadye Paez, program director of the VGP at Rockefeller.

Opening doors

The massive team of researchers pulled off a series of technological advances. The new sequencing machines let them read DNA chunks 10,000 or more letters long, instead of just a few hundred. The researchers also devised clever methods for assembling those segments into individual chromosomes. They have been able to tease out which genes were inherited from the mother and the father. This solves a particularly thorny problem known as "false duplication," where scientists mistakenly label maternal and paternal copies of the same gene as two separate genes.

"I think this work opens a set of really important doors, since the technical aspects of assembly have been the bottleneck for sequencing genomes in the past," says Jenny Tung, a geneticist at Duke University, who was not directly involved with the research. Having high-quality sequencing data "will transform the types of question that people can ask," she says.

The team's improved accuracy shows that previous genome sequences are seriously incomplete. In the zebra finch, for example, the team found eight new chromosomes and about 900 genes that had been thought to be missing. Previously unknown chromosomes popped up in the platypus as well, as members of the team reported online in Nature earlier this year. The researchers also plowed through, and correctly assembled, long stretches of repetitive DNA, much of which contain just two of the four genetic letters. Some scientists considered these stretches to be non-functional "junk" or "dark matter." Wrong. Many of the repeats occur in regions of the genome that code for proteins, says Jarvis, suggesting that the DNA plays a surprisingly crucial role in turning genes on or off.

That's just the start of what the Nature paper envisions as "a new era of discovery across the life sciences." With every new genome sequence, Jarvis and his collaborators uncover new - and often unexpected - findings. Jarvis's lab, for example, has finally nabbed the regulatory region of a key gene parrots and songbirds need to learn tunes; next, his team will try to figure out how it works. The marmoset genome yielded several surprises. While marmoset and human brain genes are largely conserved, the marmoset has several genes for human pathogenic amino acids. That highlights the need to consider genomic context when developing animal models, the team reports in a companion paper in Nature. And in findings also published last year in Nature, a group led by Professor Emma Teeling at University College Dublin in Ireland discovered that some bats have lost immunity-related genes, which could help explain their ability to tolerate viruses like SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

The new information also may boost efforts to save rare species. "It is a critically important moral duty to help species that are going extinct," Jarvis says. That's why the team collected samples from a kakapo named Jane, part of a captive breeding program that has brought the parrot back from the brink of extinction. In a paper published in the new journal Cell Genomics, of the Cell family of journals, Nicolas Dussex at the University of Otago and colleagues described their studies of Jane's genes along with other individuals. The work revealed that the last surviving kakapo population, isolated on an island off New Zealand for the last 10,000 years, has somehow purged deleterious mutations, despite the species' low genetic diversity. A similar finding was seen for the vaquita, with an estimated 10-20 individuals left on the planet, in a study published in Molecular Ecology Resources, led by Phil Morin at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries in La Jolla, California. "That means there is hope for conserving the species," Jarvis concludes.

A clear path

VGP is now focused on sequencing even more species. The project team's next goal is finishing 260 genomes, representing all vertebrate orders, and then snaring enough funding to tackle thousands more, representing all families. That work won't be easy, and it will inevitably bring new technical and logistical challenges, Tung says. Once hundreds or even thousands of animals readily found in zoos or labs have been sequenced, scientists may face ethical hurdles obtaining samples from other species, especially when the animals are rare or endangered.

But with the new paper, the path ahead looks clearer than it has in years. The VGP model is even inspiring other large sequencing efforts, including the Earth Biogenome Project, which aims to decode the genomes of all eukaryotic species within 10 years. Perhaps for the first time, it seems possible to realize the dream that Haussler and many others share of reading every letter of every organism's genome. Darwin saw the enormous diversity of life on Earth as "endless forms most beautiful," Haussler observes. "Now, we have an incredible opportunity to see how those forms came about."

###

Citation

Arang Rhie et al. "Towards complete and error-free genome assemblies of all vertebrate species." Nature. Published online April 28, 2021. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03451-0
Former British prime minister David Cameron. Photo: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images

Former prime minister David Cameroon came under scathing attack for lobbying for Greensill Capital from MPs hearing evidence into the collapse of the financial company.

Cameron and current UK chancellor Rishi Sunak have both been dragged into probes over ethics and possible impropriety following revelations that Greensill had access to Downing Street, allowing it to bid for lucrative public sector work, including in the NHS.

On Wednesday, the first witnesses appeared in front of the Treasury Select Committee as MPs kicked off their inquiry into the lessons from the demise of the financial firm.

Former City minister Lord Paul Myners who said said Lex Greensill "offered him a directorship" accused the company of being a "Ponzi scheme."

"I concluded it would be a good idea to keep talking because I left that meetingtravelling down in the lift, thinking to myself, this has many of the elements of a Ponzi scheme," he said.

He also said Lex Greensill and other members of Greensill's board knew the state of the company, and that former prime minister David Cameron "should have known" Greensill was facing trouble.

Myners, who was a Treasury minister in Gordon Browns government, had consistently raised concerns about the firm before it went bust, accusing the government of failing to heed warnings about Greensill posing a "potential systemic risk."

He told the committee that "one should have been highly suspect about Greensill."

While Myners admitted that he could not know if Cameron knew the exact details as an "adviser and salesman" who was there to "oil the wheels" to get Greensill into government business, which would have been very beneficial for Greensill as options were limited.

READ MORE: The Greensill scandal: how finance firm's collapse rocked Westminster

In recent weeks, Greensill Capital has captured the headlines, exposing a lobbying scandal involving top government officials, in one of the biggest political crises at Westminister in recent years.

Story continues

There was little known about the lender before it entered administration in March, but it has since prompted fresh questions about Britain's regulatory regime for commercial and private organisations.

Explaining his scepticism, Myners listed a few reasons, including: "High risk concentration both in assets and liabilities, concentration of power in the hands of a single man in the form of Lex Greensill, the fact businesses were not subject to any regulation, the fact it was growing very rapidly..."

"I don't know how many of those points the former PM identified, or the degree to which he was much bothered about what was in the product as opposed to selling the product," Myners said.

He said the Treasury spent too much time courting Greensill, despite knowing that it did not qualify for the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) scheme. Myners added senior officials would not have spent that much time if not for "pressure" from chancellor Rishi Sunak and Cameron's "inappropriate" targeting.

He also told the committee that he was "targeted by those involved in the global financial crisis." The former minister said he received daily calls from Barclays (BARC.L) and Lloyds Bank (LLOY.L).

"Barely a day went by when I didn't get a phone call from either the chairman or chief executive of Barclays and Lloyds," Myners said.

"An important part of the process is recording what went on... because we are dealing with public money here."

Greensill, which specialised in supply-chain finance, was founded in 2011 by Lex Greensill. Photo: Oli Scarff/ AFP via Getty Images

The demise of the company, which was once worth around $30bn (26bn) put 440 jobs at risk. It has also left a number of pension funds facing big losses after banks put their money into the firm.

The committee also heard testimony from Lord Nick Macpherson who is an ex-chief secretary to the Treasury.

Macpherson said while Cameron's decision to work for Greensill was questionable, there is "nothing wrong" with "people getting in touch" with the Treasury and officials engaging with Cameron "providing there is clear record" of what was said and ensuring that there is no "special treatment."

When asked whether Cameron's lobbying to enter Greensill into the CCFFscheme was behind the Treasury's "rapid responses", and if there was "special treatment" and whether it would have engaged in a similar fashion with others, he said: "In times of crisis you have to listen to people" adding "Greensill was not systemic."

He said that the Treasury is "doing its job in being transparent" before acknowledging officials spent longer time than expected in entertaining Cameron's various approaches.

"At the heart of this problem was a degree of ambiguity.... going back in time..about Greensill", which is less of a Treasury issue but one for the "civil service as a whole," he concluded.

Greensill, which specialised in supply-chain finance, was founded in 2011 by Lex Greensill.

After being hired as an unpaid adviser by Cameron, Greensill developed a scheme that would help small firms get paid quicker by government departments  a scheme that his company later benefited from.

However, this week it emerged that Greensill was given access without a contract, in an apparent major breach of protocol. He carried a business card embossed with the Downing Street insigne.

According to reports by the Financial Times, the scheme was effectively planned as a lever to secure other more lucrative work with the NHS, with people familiar with the matter saying the firm had allegedly gone through NHS trusts in attempts to parlay the scheme.

WATCH: Cameron/Greensill row: The seven inquiries looking into government lobbying

While, Cameron denied any wrongdoing, there was also a financial conflict of interest.

It was alleged Cameron, who was employed by Greensill following his term as PM, stood to gain financially as he was poised to make millions if the company floated on the stock market.

The former PM also lobbied the government on behalf of Greensill in an attempt to get access to government-backed COVID loan schemes. He contacted Sunak, Treasury ministers Jesse Norman and John Glen, and health secretary Matt Hancock, among others.

The Bank of England (BoE) said earlier this month the firm and Cameron contacted the central bank and the Treasury several times to lobby for 20bn ($28bn) in taxpayer money, which the BoE and Treasury declined.

WATCH: Government lobbying scandal explained
Ben Roberts-Smith's ex-wife Emma has 'flipped' and will testify on behalf of Nine at his defamation trial, the Federal Court heard last month

Australia's most decorated soldier is preparing for battle, this time in court - with his professional reputation on the line in the defamation 'trial of the century'.

But Ben Roberts-Smith faces an ugly twist in his bid to clear his name of what he calls false war crimes allegations leveled by Nine newspapers.

The former Special Air Service corporal's ex-wife and mother of their two daughters, Emma, has 'flipped', as the Financial Review reported, and is expected to give evidence for Nine at the trial.

The Federal Court heard last month that Emma may testify that her husband asked her to lie about matters related to the defamation suit.

Mr Roberts-Smith, 42, is suing The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times over a series of articles published in 2018 which he said wrongly alleged he disgraced the Army.

The media outlets are relying on a truth defence in the defamation action. The court is expected to hear argument on Thursday on whether the media outlets can include evidence from Emma and other witnesses at trial.

Since finalising his split from Emma, Mr Roberts-Smith has started a new relationship with marketing executive Sarah Matulin, 28, who he met after she joined Channel Seven in mid-2020. She has since left that role to work at a Brisbane PR firm.

Channel Seven announced on Monday that the ex-soldier was stepping aside from his senior executive role at the network to focus on the forthcoming trial until at least September.

Mr Roberts-Smith's defamation action is openly being bankrolled by the station's billionaire chairman Kerry Stokes and network sources confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that, in another gesture of support, the ex-soldier is on paid leave, presumably on his executive salary.

Emma Roberts-Smith is just one of a string of surprising names expected to testify as witnesses when the trial kicks off in just weeks.

Emma Roberts-Smith has spoken previously of how she went to bed many nights not knowing if her war hero husband was still alive while on deployment

Surprise witness: Australia's first female Governor-General Quentin Bryce will give evidence as a reputation witness to Mr Roberts-Smith at trial

Australia's first female governor-general, Dame Quentin Bryce, will be a reputation witness for Mr Roberts-Smith, his barrister told the Federal Court last week.

Dame Quentin pinned Mr Roberts-Smith's Victoria Cross - the nation's highest honour - to his chest in 2011.

Giving evidence for the defence via video link from a law firm office in Kabul, Afghanistan, will be four Afghan villagers, a judgment by Justice Anthony Besanko said last week.

According to the judgment, one villager specifically claims he saw 'the applicant' - Mr Roberts-Smith - kick a farmer named Ali Jan off a small cliff in Uruzgan Province in September 2012.

Another witness alleges 'he saw a big soldier kick Ali Jan off a cliff. He claims that a short time later he heard gun shots'.

Mr Roberts-Smith has strenuously denied what he said are 'false allegations' made about him which are 'completely without any foundation in truth'.

Mr Roberts-Smith himself wants to get into the witness box 'and give his side of the story', his lawyer has told the court.

The case will go to trial on June 7 and is expected to run for eight weeks.

Mr Roberts-Smith this year debuted his new girlfriend Sarah Matulin - who quit her job at Channel Seven when their relationship became serious

Mr Roberts-Smith left the army in 2013 and began studying business at the University of Queensland

Seven CEO James Warburton announced Mr Roberts-Smith was on leave, effective immediately, in an all-staff email on Monday.

'Ben and I believe this mutual decision is best for both him and our company,' Mr Warburton wrote.

'We expect Ben to return to his role upon the completion of his defamation proceedings.

'As the trial is currently set down for eight weeks, it's likely that won't be until after August.'

Seven sources stressed that his leave was pre-arranged and had been a long time in the works.

Mr Roberts-Smith landed in strife a few weeks ago after he was recorded in leaked audio praising Kerry Stokes but disparaging other Seven West Media staff.

Ben Roberts-Smith has taken leave from Channel Seven amid his upcoming legal battle with rival Nine

Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine newspapers for defamation over articles accusing him of committing war crimes in Afghanistan

In audio recordings obtained for an expose by 60 Minutes, Mr Roberts-Smith was openly dismissive of the claims against him and pointed 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.'

Roberts-Smith admitted 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.'

Mr Roberts-Smith landed in strife a few weeks ago after he was recorded in leaked audio praising boss Kerry Stokes but disparaging other Seven West Media staff

Queen Elizabeth II shakes hands with Mr Ben Roberts-Smith at Buckingham Palace in 2018

Roberts-Smith hit back at the bombshell report, claiming the expose, which also focused on separate claims surrounding alleged secret tapes, was 'not supported by any evidence' and part of a plan to 'intimidate' him to abandon his defamation suit.

'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.

Mr Roberts-Smith left the army in 2013 and began studying a masters of business administration (MBA) 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.
This is right and just. Paddington 2 is a masterpiece.

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honestly my favorite movie of all time is probably terminator 2 lmao

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There is nothing better than a great action movie, i think mine is Mad Max: Fury Road !



Edited at 2021-04-28 02:08 pm (UTC)

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i need to rewatch that one! i only saw it once at the theatre, and got some distressing news just before walking in so i was distracted the whole time. the negative association has kept me from rewatching it since but i think enough time has passed that i can shake it lmao.

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My favourite has to be The Iron Giant, an untouchable gem of a film. But Fury Road is v close.

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T2 was amazing, and Linda Hamilton looked amazing. She was my idol as a kid, I was so amazed by her back and arm muscles during her first scene when she was doing the pullups.



Her nightmare scared the shit out of me, though. I didn't sleep properly for a week!

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same here, it's just a masterpiece.

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My favorite is Cloverfield. It gives me such an adrenaline rush EVERYTIME.

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I saw it in the theater when it came out. None of us were ready for that cgi lol

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Mine is the Korean version of Little Forest. A literal masterpiece.

Or The Fountain.

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Oh my god, I never thought I'd find someone else. It's mine too!

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Bear king

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Ok but do I have to see the first one???

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The first one is also really great! It has like 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. But you could just watch the second, they're pretty standalone.

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Ooh ok. I'll have to make it a double feature 

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Get on it!!!

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They're both really charming and sweet movies. I don't think you have to watch the first one, but I recommend it.

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i mean i recommend watching the 1st one bc it's also v good and tbh it helped me in understanding the ~~paddington cinematic universe~~~~

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The better question is... why would you choose to deprive yourself of such joy in your life by not watching it?

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honestly they are so wholesome and lovely

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AS IT SHOULD BE!!!



i know james gunn is a trashbucket but he was on twitter last night replying to annoyed critics letting them know it is a masterpiece lmao. also i learned he has or used a rat in the suicide squad called crisp ratt 

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Wasn't James Gunn one of the people on Twitter defending Chris's honor?? What's he doing using Crisp Rat as a joke

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i actually cant remember him saying anything but then again it was most the main mcu cast at the time, but im pretty sure he helped get james his job back at disney lol

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Its good to see that James Gunn isnt using his Twitter to make jokes about rape and pedophilia anymore. Its too bad cancel culture isnt real.

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Paddington supremacy!

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[ Spoiler ] the Brown family don't make it to visitor day in prison to see Paddington was DEVASTATING, she just had the biggest gasp when it happened.



My friend's fave line from the first movie is "You're a bin, you're a bin, just an ordinary bin going for a walk" and she quotes it all the time looool. Paddington 2 is a masterpiece. I saw it in a very posh cinema in London where the woman next to me drank an entire bottle of wine and had the funniest reactions to every moment. The bit where. I miss the cinema!My friend's fave line from the first movie is "You're a bin, you're a bin, just an ordinary bin going for a walk" and she quotes it all the time looool.

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Paddington bear goes to prison? Lmfao

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yes! it's a key part of the film where he befriends all the other prisoners and teaches them how to love marmalade sandwiches lol

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Prison Industrial Complex -> Paddington Industrial Complex

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For selling drugs but he ends up dismantling the British prison industrial complex its v inspiring

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We all know that Paddington in prison isn't the best prison part of Paddington 2 though, don't we?!

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that movie really is about prison reform

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omg I thought you were joking, the plot is WILD

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where the fuck can i watch it?

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I thought there'd at least be like a bundle of paddington 1 and 2 on itunes for like $20, and you can still only buy them each for $15 hell no



they know they've got gold

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fuck that. someone help me commit a crime, my DMs are open

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https://www.upcitemdb.com/upc/013132640211



https://www.upcitemdb.com/upc/883929632350



and if you link your vudu and itunes accounts via moviesanywhere.com the 2nd one will transfer to itunes. the first one is unfortunately not from an eligible studio. You can buy them on Vudu for $2 each if you scan the blu-ray upc codes.and if you link your vudu and itunes accounts via moviesanywhere.com the 2nd one will transfer to itunes. the first one is unfortunately not from an eligible studio.

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jfc. What a time to be alive.

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this fuckin rules. good for you paddington, you cheeky bastard

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I do hope Mr Kane won't be too upset when he hears I've overtaken him with rotten tomatoes.  Paddington (@paddingtonbear) April 28, 2021

humble king 



Edited at 2021-04-28 01:52 pm (UTC) humble king 

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awwww

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Paddingtons Twitter is so precious  it really makes me happy

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same! i read all of them in bens voice 

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Lol I just commented with this same tweet!

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Paws up mofo

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ONTD what is your favourite film of all time?



Deliver Us from Eva



C/P this from a comment I made in february:







Gabrielle Union stars as Eva Dandrige, a tough as nails health inspector who had to give up her post college life/plans in order to finish raising her younger sisters after graduating high school. Now in adulthood all 3 of her sisters are in relationships of varied seriousness - one married, two dating - and their spouses are hoping to find someone to date Eva so they can continue progressing in their relationships without Eva's opinion practically being law. Enter Ray Adams, a friend of one of the men who they pay to take Eva out and, by extension, get her out of their hair but things don't quite go as planned for anyone involved as Ray starts to fall for Eva for real.



The official trailer doesn't do a great job of conveying the tone of the movie so here's my favorite scene from it (that's on youtube). By this point the guys have already asked Ray to take her out but he wasn't interested beforehand. This scene is the moment he decides he actually likes Eva and wants to take her out.

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This, Two Can Play That Game, The Brothers >>>>>>> black romcoms are incredible.

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truly it's nice to see black people just get to live/be regular and have goofy fun like this.



With this movie in particular I don't think we've ever seen a darker skinned black woman get to have a tempermant like this without her being a villain. She gets to be layered and you sincerely cheer for her happiness

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I wish Ben Whishaw made good movies (besides these)

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dont insult bright star like this!

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Ugh, Bright Star... I sobbed through the entirety of 'Ode to a Nightingale'/the credits...I loved it so much. <3

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Does the person who dug up the 80 year old review work for Paddington?

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Marmalade Mafia strikes again.

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This is my jam.

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ONTD what is your favourite film of all time?

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paddington 2



eta: this is not a post joke lol its my ultimate fave alongside alien and scream



Edited at 2021-04-28 02:08 pm (UTC)

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So when people make comments like that, usually the "comment" is the icon. Basically I was saying "Spiderverse is my favorite movie."

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Is that "Howl's moving castle" on your icon?

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Lol my favorite movie is probably the one in your icon

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the princess bride!

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Fellowship of the Ring 5ever

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All eyes are on Southeast Michigan after the U.S. Census Bureau determined the state will shed one seat in Congress, but a new redistricting process leaves experts wondering how exactly district lines will change.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced Michigan will drop from 14 congressional seats to 13 due to sluggish population growth since the last count in 2010. Census data will be used by a new citizen redistricting commission to draw Michigans political boundaries later this year, which will have major implications for the makeup of the congressional delegation in the next decade.

Political parties have a lot riding on the upcoming redistricting process. A voter-approved ballot initiative shifted the responsibility of creating district boundaries away from the state Legislature in an effort to break up gerrymandered districts that were once solidly in control of one party.

The delegation is evenly split between seven Republicans and seven Democrats, but that will change with elections in 2022. One fewer seat is up for grabs, and new districts could become more competitive.

We probably end up with 6-7 split, and the question is: Who are the six and who are the seven? said Jonathan Hanson, a professor in statistics for public policy at the University of Michigan.

Hanson said theres a lot of unknowns with the redistricting process. He described Michigans current political maps, which were drawn by Republicans in control of the state government in 2010 as a crazy patchwork, but Hanson doesnt expect the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans will change too much.

If you look at the big picture, basically the upper half of the thumb, with the exception of the Flint area, is pretty solidly Republican, Hanson said. Then you have southwest Michigan and central western Michigan, which are pretty similar. The Detroit area districts are going to be pretty solidly Democratic, regardless of how theyre drawn.

Michigans redistricting commission will rely on 2020 census data for specific communities and geographic areas, set for release at the end of September.

The commission is on a tight timeline; The Michigan Constitution sets a Nov. 1 deadline to adopt a redistricting plan. The public must have 45 days to comment on the final set of plans.

Researchers were hesitant to draw too many conclusions without the release of detailed census data that will show trends in population and demographics. The commission will develop potential maps from public testimony, census data and redistricting criteria outlined by law.

Researchers say the general trend in recent years has shown people are moving from rural to urban and suburban communities and from the east side to the west side of Michigan.

Census Bureau estimates from 2019 show Detroits population dropped 6% since 2010. The estimates found communities in neighboring Oakland and Macomb counties were growing, suggesting people are moving from the city into the suburbs.

Seven congressional districts represent residents in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties; all but one of the seats are filled by a Democrat. The tri-county area contains roughly 39% of the states population, according to 2019 Census Bureau estimates.

I would think its in the Detroit area that one district will disappear, said Ren Farley, a research scientist at the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan.

A key question for researchers and partisans watching the redistricting process is how residents of the metro Detroit area will be divided among congressional districts.

Its the ring around southeast and suburban Detroit area, and exactly how those districts are reconfigured, thats going to make all the impact, Hanson said.

Farley is also keeping his eye on northern Michigan. Population losses in the Upper Penninsula and northeast parts of the Lower Penninsula could cause the 1st District lines to move further south. The 1st District already covers a massive part of the state.

The state Constitution requires districts to reflect the states diverse population and communities of interest. Of particular interest to researchers is how the commission will interpret those guidelines. Its also being closely watched by civil rights groups.

Theres a lot of unknowns; exactly how the redistricting commission will conceive of communities of interest, and what theyre going to do, is really just a guessing game, Hanson said.

On a call with reporters, NAACP Vice President of Campaigns Dominik Whitehead said losing a seat will shift the representation of minority communities in metro Detroit.

For communities of color, thats a huge loss, in our opinion, Whitehead said.

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, said in a statement that the news reinforced her concern that politics and the COVID-19 pandemic caused an undercount in Michigan. Census Bureau officials vouched for the accuracy of the count during a Monday press conference.

Ensuring we have a full and accurate count is essential to not only democratic representation, but also the distribution of critical resources in our communities, Tlaib said.

Kathay Feng, national redistricting director with Common Cause, expressed faith in Michigans independent redistricting commission.

Rather than thinking about the city of Detroit losing a seat, it may simply be that lines are reconfigured to better represent where those communities are at, Feng said. For that reason, Michigan, at least in this instance, will not be a state where there will be a loser in terms of somebody coming from the minority party, or a loser in terms of an incumbent that is forced out, but more reconfiguration.

Michigans population steadily increased each decade, except for a 0.6% decline in 2010, growing to 10,077,331 residents in 2020. Congressional seats are distributed proportionally by population.

Other states are growing faster, causing Michigan to slowly lose political power. Michigan bled six seats in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1970.

It does reduce the states influence and ability to get things done; not by a lot, but a little bit, Hanson said. Michigan carries a little less weight in Congress than it did before. We do know thats a real impact, regardless of what happens in terms of the partisanship of the delegation.

Midwest states were the big losers when the Census Bureau released apportionment figures on Monday. Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois each lost one seat.

Meanwhile, southern and western states are rapidly growing. Texas and Florida, two large Republican states, each added congressional seats, along with Montana and Oregon.

Each congressional seat also counts for an Electoral College vote in presidential elections. Losing seats means losing electoral power, though Michigan remains a battleground state after changing hands in the last few races. Only nine states have more electoral college votes than Michigan.

When political campaigns are organized in 2024 and later, Michigan gets a little bit less priority, Farley said. Its really the Midwestern states that lost -- Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois -- those industrial states once hired lots of people; they hire fewer people now and the population is very slow growing.

Farley said traditionally Republican states that are growing in electoral power are also becoming more democratic and more competitive.

Those southern and western states that are growing, its partially because people are moving in from the Midwestern states, so its unclear if thats going to be a real benefit to the Republicans, Farley said. In other words, some of the folks moving to Texas and Georgia are traditionally Democrats.

The same may be happening in Michigan as people move from urban areas. Traditionally red Kent County, home to Grand Rapids, is one of the fastest-growing areas in the state. It flipped blue in the 2018 gubernatorial election and 2020 presidential election.

The loss of a congressional seat also means slightly more people will be crammed into the remaining districts. The Census Bureau reported each district will contain 775,226 residents. Each district represented just 282,186 people a century ago.

Members of Congress are rooted in communities, and when those communities get large, it does reduce the connectivity between the constituents and members of Congress just a little bit, Hanson said.

One fewer representative in Washington, D.C. could also reduce the ability of the congressional delegation to advocate for policies that benefit Michigan. This could prevent Michigan from competing for federal resources and economic incentives to promote business growth.

In the long run, there are a lot of questions about slow population growth in Michigan, Farley said. Economic growth is intertwined with population growth. If you have a stagnant population, that has a depressing effect on economic growth. On the other hand, youre not going to have lots of people flocking to Michigan unless we have economic growth.

READ MORE ON MLIVE:

Michigan House supports eliminating twice-a-year time changes pending Congressional action

Michigan House votes to move primary elections to June

Providers are required to report vaccinations into Michigans registry, but you can check to be sure

Michigan announces lowest infant mortality rate in state history, decrease in racial disparities

Pics or it didnt happen: Indoctrinated on Facebook, Capitol rioters turn to social media to rehash their exploits
After a Year of Unknowns, Get Your Life Back with an Online Bible Study by John Eldredge Hosted at BibleGateway.com

Recover Your Soul Using Biblical Practices Starting May 10







NEWS PROVIDED BY

Bible Gateway

April 28, 2021



GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 28, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- The madness of technology's increasing speed and the media's deluge of information is taking our lives hostage, according to New York Times bestselling author John Eldredge. "My premise is simple," he says. "The world is nuts. It's gone off the rails and is trying to take our hearts and souls with it."



Bible Gateway, the most visited Christian website in the world, is hosting the Get Your Life Back Online Bible Study, presented by John Eldredge, from May 10June 25, 2021. Free registration for the event is at BibleGateway.com/yourlife.



Watch the video introducing this Online Bible Study.



Based on the lessons of the book, Get Your Life Back: Everyday Practices for a World Gone Mad (Thomas Nelson, 2020), this six-session online video study will teach participants such principles as:

how One-Minute Pauses will strengthen their souls.



the rich benefits of benevolent detachment.



ways to intentionally appreciate common beauty in everyday life as salve for the soul.

"Most people live their daily lives along a spectrum from slightly rattled to completely fried as their normal state of being," says Eldredge. "God wants to come to us and restore our lives. What we need to do is put ourselves in places that allow us to receive his help. This six-week study shows how."



Participants of this Online Bible Study will receive the following free downloads and online access to enhance their experience:

chapters 13 from the book, Get Your Life Back.



session one of the Get Your Life Back Study Guide.



the One-Minute Pause personal guide.



One-Minute Pause Scripture Cards.



access to six video lessons with John Eldredge. These videos will release week-by-week, no additional registration required.

Participants are also encouraged to download the free One-Minute Pause App, (www.pauseapp.com), which invites users into the practice of releasing everything to God and restoring their union with him.



Bible Gateway ranks number one on global search engines, is part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., and is home to more than 200 Bible versions in more than 70 languagesa trusted resource for people in more than 200 countries who rely on it every day for all their desktop and mobile device Bible reading, listening, studying, searching, comparing, and sharing needs.



SOURCE Bible Gateway



CONTACT: Jonathan Petersen, 616-656-7159, jonathan.petersen@biblegateway.com


The interior of much of Bussans vehicle, his source of income, is badly damaged. Blood soaked the seat cushions, headrests and carpeting, and filled the switches on the doors, all of which will have to be replaced as it represents a biohazard. Between the cost of the repairs and the lost income while the car is in the shop, Bussan estimates his actions will cost him thousands. He was looking into filing a claim with his insurance company, but was told they would seek reimbursement from the driver of the Malibu.
Over the past three weeks, the U.S. rate of vaccination against the coronavirus has slowed. Thats because many people who wanted to get their shots have gotten them, and many people who remain unvaccinated are reluctant. To stop the virus from spreading, we need to deprive it of carriers, and that means persuading the holdouts to roll up their sleeves. Who are they? And how can we change their minds? Researchers have interviewed thousands of these people. Heres what theyve found.

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To begin with, the pool of reluctant people is shrinking. Not a lot, and the decline is slow and sometimes choppy, but it shows up in multiple surveys. But theres a catch: When polls sort the holdouts by degrees of resistancetypically, by separating those who say theyll wait and see from those who say they wont get vaccinatedthe shift toward acquiescence is largely confined to the wait-and-see group. Those who say they wont get vaccinated have held firm. Lets call these two groups, respectively, the hesitaters and the refusers.

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The good news is that the pool of refusers is small. On average, across polls, hesitaters represent about 20 percent of the population. Refusers represent about 15 percent. Together, theyre a major problem, because to reach herd immunitythe point at which the virus has trouble finding susceptible hosts to sustain itselfwe probably need to inoculate about 70 to 85 percent of the public. We can get to 85 percent vaccination, or close to it, without the refusers. But we need the hesitaters.

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Polls shed some light on the demographics of these groups. Together, compared with the rest of the population, theyre more likely to be conservative and young. In a Washington Post/ABC News poll taken last week, only 7 percent of people ages 65 and over were refusers. That number doubled among people ages 40 to 64 (16 percent) and tripled among people ages 18 to 39 (22 percent). Refusers are less likely to be college educated or earn high incomes, and theyre more likely to watch Fox News. Across multiple surveys, Republicans are about twice as likely as other respondents to be refusers. In a Harris poll taken last month, 37 percent of refusers, compared with 21 percent of respondents as a whole, said they were very likely to register as a user for a potential social media website created by Former President Trump.

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Some refusers say they dont need a vaccine, since theyre immune due to prior infection. (That immunity isnt as reliable as a vaccine.) But surveys indicate that refusers, compared with the general population, are less likely to have been infected. In a Harris poll taken two months ago, only 9 percent of refusers, compared with 12 percent of all respondents and 16 percent of people who were already vaccinated, said theyd had COVID. In other surveys, when refusers and hesitaters are asked why they dont want to get vaccinated, only about 5 percent to 10 percent say their main reason is that theyve already had the virus.

Research suggests several promising avenues for winning over the hesitaters. When theyre asked why theyre reluctant, their most common answers focus on doubts about the vaccines safety and efficacy. Last month, a Kaiser poll addressed that by giving them relevant informationfor example, that although the vaccines are new, the science behind them has been developed for 20 years. That information didnt placate refusers, but it prompted many hesitaters to say they were more likely to get vaccinated. As more and more people get their shots, dont get COVID, and dont drop dead, polls confirm that some of the wait and see holdouts, having waited and seen, are coming around.

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Some people have held back due to logistical problems. But as administrators address those issues by making the vaccination process easier and more accessible, those concerns have subsided. In Kaiser polls, the percentage of holdouts who cited difficulty in reaching a vaccination site or inability to get the vaccine from a place you trust fell 10 points between February and March. The poll found that roughly a third of hesitaters were more likely to get vaccinated if their employer arranged for it at their workplace or if their regular medical provider offered it during a routine visit. Bribeswhich West Virginia is now trying, in the form of $100 savings bondsalso work. The Kaiser survey found that 30 percent of hesitaters would be more likely to get vaccinated if their employer offered them $50. Raising the reward to $200 increased that number, but only to 38 percent.

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Its comforting to think that those who cant be bribed might be susceptible to penalties, such as not being allowed to board a flight without a certificate of vaccination. In polls, such rules do persuade a segment of the hesitatersabout 7 percent of the total populationwho say theyll get vaccinated only if its required. But the refusers dont budge. In fact, by substantial margins, refusers are more likely to say that vaccine requirements harden their resistance than to say the requirements make them more likely to give in.

What distinguishes the refusers is their deep distrust. In this weeks Harris poll, 20 percent of them said they never get vaccinations, and 40 percent said they wouldnt accept a COVID shot because I dont trust the government. These numbers match a CBS News poll taken last month, in which 28 percent of refusers and hesitaters, combined, also said they didnt trust the scientists and companies that make the vaccines. When the Harris poll pressed the government-distrusting refusers to explain themselvesabout 6 percent of the entire samplemost affirmed that the government is filled with people with ulterior motives of manipulation and control. One in three affirmed that the vaccine was developed to control the general population by injecting us with a microchip or tracking device.

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Well probably never persuade the microchip crowd. But to make headway among the other refusers, well have to navigate around their suspicions. In a Harris poll taken two weeks ago, most respondents, including most hesitaters, said they trusted the COVID vaccine opinions of doctors and health care workers. But fewer than a third of refusers agreed. Many refusers are more likely to heed someone like Donald Trump, who shares their antipathy to COVID experts. In the Kaiser poll, 20 percent of Republican hesitaters and refusers, when asked about a hypothetical message from Trump promoting vaccination, said it would make them more likely to comply.

The idea of entrusting this message to Trump, whose lies and sabotage have led to more than half a million deaths in this country, is galling to many Americans. But well just have to suck it up. Its better to get over our disgust, and get these people vaccinated, than to take our chances with COVID.
Last week he was escorted off the set of After Life by security from a pub when he failed to realise filming was taking place.

And Richard Madeley was seen enjoying an outing with wife Judy Finnigan, who joined him after enjoying a shopping spree in Hampstead, London, on Monday.

The TV presenter, 72, walked over to her husband, 64, as he waited for her in their convertible Volkswagen beetle following a visit to a sunglasses shop David Clulow Opticians.

Outing: Judy Finnigan joined husband Richard Madeley in their convertible following a shopping spree in London on Monday, after he accidentally crashed the set of After Life

Judy wrapped up against the cool weather by wearing a bright blue coat that had a faux-fur trim and a simple white shirt.

She put on a casual chic display by wearing a pair of black trousers that she teamed with a pair of trainers, and accessorised with a large brown handbag.

Judy's golden locks were styled into sleek curls that cascaded over her shoulders, and she shielded her eyes with a pair of chic shades.

Richard, meanwhile, kept things casual by wearing a simple white shirt as he waited for Judy in their vehicle.

Casual chic: Judy wrapped up against the cool weather by wearing a bright blue coat that had a faux-fur trim and a simple white shirt

Ride: Richard waited for her in their convertible Volkswagen beetle, and then they headed home after her shopping spree

Stylish: Judy put on a casual chic display by wearing a pair of black trousers that she teamed with a pair of trainers

Last week, Richard was left red-faced when he interrupted the After Life set and was led away by security.

The broadcaster was seen turning up at a venue being used to film scenes for the next season of the hit show in his white VW car and trying to get a table.

Back in 2006, the host made a cameo in one of Ricky's other hit shows when he appeared on the sitcom Extras which followed out-of-work actor Andy struggling to land jobs.

Richard played himself alongside other well-known TV hosts including his wife Judy Finnigan, Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield.

Comfy: Richard, meanwhile, kept things casual by wearing a simple white shirt as he waited for Judy in their vehicle

Glam: Judy's locks were styled into sleek curls that cascaded over her shoulders, and she shielded her eyes with a pair of chic shades

Safe: Judy made sure to keep her mask on and also kept her distance while queuing to get inside the shop

Ricky, who stars in and writes After Life, confirmed filming for season three had started earlier this month.

Last year, the funnyman discussed the difficulties he faced in writing the show amid the roaring success of its second series.

Speaking to Radio Times, the TV and film star admitted that following his iconic comedies The Office and Extras, he struggled to bring After Life to life due to the complexities of the story, which follows a widower's grief.

Relaxed: Judy was seen waiting patiently to go inside the shop

Shopping spree: Judy was seen carrying a bag of goodies from the designer store David Clulow Opticians

Oops: Last week, Richard was left red-faced when he interrupted the After Life set at a pub and was led away by security

Since its release, After Life fans have been gushing over the second season, which continues to follow the story of grieving Tony - played by Ricky - as he begins to have his spirits lifted by his adoring support network.

While local newspaper journalist Tony is still seen yearning for his late wife Lisa, he begins to perk up and vows to help his loved ones to improve their lives.

As well as Ricky, the cast includes Penelope Wilton, Ashley Jensen, Bill Ward, Tom Basden, Joe Wilkinson, Kerry Godliman, Roisin Conaty and Diane Morgan.

Exciting times ahead! Ricky Gervais, who stars in and writes After Life, confirmed filming for season three had started earlier this month
Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union

Vaccines against COVID-19 are so new that no one knows their long-term effects or even the effects after six months. Despite the enormous uncertainty of these vaccines' effects on health, some colleges now require that students be vaccinated. However, they're excused from vaccination for religious or medical reasons.

Those whose ideas are supported by their religion are given more respect than those whose ideas do not spring from religion. If using your own human intelligence, you conclude that you definitely don't want to be vaccinated, your feelings are not considered valid. However, if you come to this conclusion because you believe that a deity forbids vaccination, then your wishes are respected.
A business that recently set up shop in the Spur 93 Business Park in Port Arthur is already planning an expansion after securing more land from the Port Arthur Economic Development Corp.

The Port Arthur City Council on Tuesday authorized the PAEDC to sell four acres of land at the northeastern edge of the business park to Rustin Penland for $230,000.

In documents provided to the council, the PAEDC said that Penland was planning on using the additional acreage for an expansion of operations for his business, Texan Tool and Industrial, which was located there in 2019.

Penland could not be reached for comment.

Penland purchased an acre in the business park in 2019 that is now valued at $52,000, according to the latest appraisal from the Jefferson County Appraisal District.

The new facility for Texan Tool and Industrial is next to the site of Flowserve along the parks Kerry Twin Thomas Drive. The section of land was previously part of a plot of more than 38 acres of available property adjacent to West Port Arthur Road.

Texan Tool and Industrial is a supply company offering industrial grade equipment and tools to the areas wide range of heavy industrial customers.

The PAEDC purchased more than 300 acres to form the park in 2009 for $1.2 million, and was given approval by the Port Arthur City Council the following year for a $5 million bond with a 20-year deadline for infrastructure improvements.

So far, the PAEDC estimates the park has generated at least $80 million in new capital investments since its creation.

The Texan Tool expansion is just the latest development in the park, which is currently seeing the construction of an 80,000-square-foot building for Standard Alloys. It is a welcome sign for PAEDC administration.

As with most developments during the pandemic, PAEDC Director Floyd Batiste said the last 12 months have been slower than usual in terms of inquiries from businesses, but that could be changing sooner than later.

Southeast Texas, and especially the Port Arthur area, had billions in proposed industrial projects at the end of 2019, and most of those are still on the table, which Batiste said will likely bring attention back to the citys available commercial property.

Even though several of the projects coming to this area paused (during the pandemic), they didnt go away, he said. The economy could make a turn, hopefully by the first or third quarter of next year. We have already been receiving quite a few calls about this park.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jd_journalism
In the past few years, credit unions have faced increasing litigation risk from plaintiffs attorneys filing class action lawsuits, particularly in the area of various fees that may be assessed to both members and nonmembers. Some risks are ongoing such as overdraft and insufficient funds fees lawsuits. NAFCU is aware of some recent class action litigation trends that are worth keeping an eye on. Overall, these lawsuits seem to fit in more with a general trend, where claims focus on account agreements. This includes whether the contractual language was clear enough for consumers to understand how and when fees would be imposed, and if the agreement created a contractual right to assess the fees.

First, there are banks and credit unions that have been targeted by plaintiffs attorneys regarding foreign transaction fees. Regulation Z requires disclosure of these fees on the credit card side. For debit cards, Regulation E has a broad requirement to disclose any fee imposed to make an electronic fund transfer (EFT). These suits claim that consumers are incurring a foreign transaction fee on either credit card or debit card transaction for purchases made while physically in the United States, but to a merchant located overseas. These kinds of lawsuits claim that account agreements do not clearly allow for these fees to be assessed when the member conducts the transaction from within the United States.

For example, Citibank was hit with a lawsuit on this topic in 2019. The banks agreement said [w]henever you use your Citibank Banking Card outside of the U.S. and Puerto Rico to get cash at an ATM or to purchase goods or services (Emphasis added.) The argument is that most consumers would probably not think that buying things online from overseas vendors would lead to such fees. Some account agreements are clearer that these kinds of fees do not require being physically overseas to be assessed. Some credit unions choose not to assess these kinds of fees. Recently, NAFCU members discussed this issue on our Compliance, Risk & BSA Network, join the conversation here.
Bouchers Tire Event, a Boucher exclusive event, is taking place now at the Greenfield dealership

Gordie Boucher Nissan of Greenfield is hosting their Boucher exclusive Tire Event now through the end of June 2021. Drivers in the Milwaukee area can visit the dealership to find special offers for a variety of tires. Gordie Boucher Nissan of Greenfield offers a full-service center and parts department, and their service team can help drivers find new tires that match their vehicles specifications. Plus, they can install new tires after purchase.

The Tire Event offers $1 Over Cost Tires for all brands and models of tires sold at Gordie Boucher Nissan. This includes Goodyear, Uniroyal, Michelin, General Tire, Falken, Pirelli, Dunlop, Yokohama, Continental, Kumho and more. This two-month event takes place during May and June, so drivers are encouraged to switch their vehicles to summer tires that hold up well in hot weather and provide traction in rainy weather.

In order to participate in the Tire Event, drivers should visit the dealerships website, bouchernissangreenfield.com, and print off the coupon there for $1 Over Cost Tires. The offer cannot be combined with other offers and the coupon must be presented at the time of the write-up for the tires. Any other questions or concerns about this special offer that drivers have can be directed to the dealerships team via phone, email or in person.

To find the coupon, drivers should navigate to the website, locate the Specials drop-down menu and choose the option for service coupons. On that page, the $1 Over Cost Tires coupon is available to be printed, along with several other coupons that are currently available for discounted vehicle service.
PLANO, Texas, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Navy selected Martin UAV's V-BAT for a VTOL UAS prototyping and development effort in order to fulfill new technological requirements driven by the changing nature of threats in austere operating environments.

Martin UAV was one of thirteen respondents to the Navy's Mi2 Challenge and was later down selected with L3Harris Technologies to compete in a technology demonstration at the Yuma Proving Grounds in Yuma, Arizona.

V-Bat stationary

The merit-based competition that included technology questionnaires, performance summaries, and in-depth supporting artifacts in accordance with established criteria, sought maximum portability, self-sufficiency and modularity in UAS hardware and payload capabilities without the need for ancillary support equipment.

The V-BAT was selected to meet these requirements as a result of its minimal logistic support requirements and maximum versatility. The system offers vertical takeoff with a single-engine ducted fan, automatic transition to straight and level flight, easily commanded hovers and stares, interchangeable payloads, and an open architecture.

Since its founding in 2015, Martin UAV has always maintained a focus on the true needs of the warfighter and worked to develop the V-BAT to meet those exact needs. Now, as a result of winning the Mi2 Challenge, Martin UAV has a clear path to continuing those development efforts and deliver a leading edge ISR technology with operator input included.

"Martin UAV's V-BAT was designed to address the needs of the warfighter in an ever-changing landscape and is now an integral part of reshaping mission requirements and capability offerings to better equip the Navy in future operations," said Heath Niemi, Martin UAV's Chief Development Officer and retired U.S. Army colonel.

"Without Martin UAV CEO Ruben Martin's commitment to innovation, the team's relentless dedication to superior product development, and the support and expertise of our partner Broadhead Consulting throughout the entire process; offering this unique UAS solution would not have been possible," Niemi added.

"The awarding of this opportunity does not just benefit Martin and its partners, it truly benefits the warfighter and everyone involved in support of defense mission sets, and we couldn't be more appreciative of the opportunity," said Niemi.

About the V-BAT and Martin UAV:

The V-BAT is currently deployed in various areas of operation around the world in support of the U.S. Department of Defense, such as the U.S. Army's Future Tactical UAS program, SOUTHCOM/JIATF-S, the U.S. Marine Corps with an expeditionary unit, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Martin UAV is a private, advanced technology company based in Plano, TX. The company specializes in building wholly-unique, unmanned aircraft systems and associated flight control software. The company's systems are commercially developed to fill critical operational needs in tactical & confined operational environments. Its V-BAT series aircraft is the only single-engine ducted fan VTOL that has the ability to launch & recover from a hover, fly up to eleven hours in horizontal flight, and make mid-flight transitions to "hover & stare" at any time throughout a given mission set. For more information visit: martinuav.com.

Contact:

Amy Kauffman I Newswire

Phone: 214.235.6043

Email: [email protected]

Ester Peres I Martin UAV

Phone: +1 214.240.6659

Email: [email protected]

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V-Bat

V-Bat stationary

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Martin UAV Logo

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SOURCE Martin UAV

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Israel: Netanyahu reconsiders Gantz as Justice minister Premier's previous choice sparked political storm

(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, APRIL 28 - Premier Benyamin Netanyahu has decided to appoint Benny Gantz, the current defense minister, as the minister of justice in the transition government and will take the proposal on Wednesday to the council of ministers.



The prime minister revised its initial choice to appoint to that position Ofir Akunis of Likud. The move sparked a political storm launched by the opposition. It was slammed as "illegal" by the attorney general Avichai Mandelblit and the Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on the matter soon. The same court froze the appointment of Akunis. Based on the agreements that led to the birth months ago of the current government with the distribution of ministries among the coalition's parties, the justice ministry was supposed to go to a member of the Blue and White, led by Benny Gantz, after the resignation of the previous minister, a member of the same party. But the issue was postponed for months while waiting for the premier to decide according to the agreements.



On Tuesday Netanyahu - who is on trial in Jerusalem on charges of corruption, fraud and abuse of power - made the surprise appointment as minister of Akunis, a close ally within the Likud - a decision slammed by critics as a "real blitz".



(ANSAmed).




Egytrans, one Egypts leading transport and logistic company, has inked a deal with two partners to launch the countrys first and unique logistics incubation program in Egypt, Arab Finance reports.

The listed company has signed a deal with PMaestro, a company focus on innovation, and Cash Cows, company supporting startups in the Arab country.

To be built by Egytrans, the program, Arab Finance notes citing an email by the logistics company, is based on an open-innovation model and aims at redefining logistics as currently conceived, working hand in hand with startups that will generate innovative technological solutions for the logistics sector.

Startups according to the email get to improve their credibility and brand awareness as well as gain access to the program partners know-how. Egytrans, in turn, benefits from the opportunity to incorporate some solutions into its own operating model and potentially invest in the most promising startups graduated from the program.

Egytrans operates in water, air and land transportation industries and offers a range of services include Sea Freight, which comprises all types of cargo, including general, break bulk, containerized or Ro/Ro, as well as a chartering service for cargo vessels.

The company posted a 59% Year on Year decline in its profit in 2020 to reach EGP 13.06 million.
This story has been updated.

WASHINGTON  The Justice Department brought federal hate crimes charges Wednesday in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, charging a father and son who armed themselves, chased and fatally shot the 25-year-old Black man after spotting him running in their Georgia neighborhood.

Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory, were charged along with a third man, William Roddie Bryan, with one count of interference with civil rights and attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels are also charged with using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

The case is the most significant civil rights prosecution undertaken to date by the Biden administration Justice Department and comes as federal officials have moved quickly to open sweeping investigations into troubled police departments as civil rights takes center stage among the departments priorities.

The indictment charges that the McMichaels armed themselves with firearms, got into a truck and chased Arbery through the public streets of the neighborhood while yelling at Arbery, using their truck to cut off his route and threatening him with firearms. It also alleges that Bryan got into a truck and then chased Arbery, using the vehicle to block his path.

Arbery, 25, was killed on Feb. 23, 2020, by three close-range shotgun blasts after the McMichaels pursued him in a pickup truck as he was running through their neighborhood. Arbery had been dead for more than two months when a cellphone video of the shooting was leaked online and a national outcry erupted.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case the next day and swiftly arrested Travis McMichael, who fired the shots, his father, and Bryan, a neighbor who joined the pursuit and took the video. The three men remain jailed on state murder charges and are due back in court in May.

In this May 17, 2020, photo, a painted mural of Ahmaud Arbery is on display in Brunswick, Ga., where the 25-year-old man was shot and killed in February. It was painted by Miami artist Marvin Weeks. (AP Photo/Sarah Blake Morgan, file)AP

The McMichaels lawyers have said they pursued Arbery, suspecting he was a burglar, after security cameras had previously recorded him entering a home under construction. They say Travis McMichael shot Arbery while fearing for his life as they grappled over a shotgun.

Local prosecutors have said Arbery stole nothing and was merely out jogging when the McMichaels and Bryan chased him.

The Justice Department alleges that the men used force and threats of force to intimidate and interfere with Arberys right to use a public street because of his race.

In pretrial court hearings in Georgia, prosecutors have presented evidence that racism may have played a role in the mans death.

Last June, an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation testified Bryan told investigators that Travis McMichael uttered a racist slur right after the shooting as he stood over Arbery, who was bleeding on the ground.

Mr. Bryan said that after the shooting took place before police arrival, while Mr. Arbery was on the ground, that he heard Travis McMichael make the statement, f-ing n-er, GBI agent Richard Dial testified.

Travis McMichaels attorneys have denied that he made the remark.

During a bond hearing in November, prosecutors introduced evidence that Travis McMichael had used racist slurs in a text message and on social media.

At the time Arbery was killed, Georgia was one of just four U.S. states without a hate crimes law. Amid the outcry over his death, Georgia lawmakers quickly passed a law allowing for an additional penalty for certain crimes found to be motivated by a victims race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, or mental or physical disability.

The men charged with murdering Arbery wont face hate crime penalties at the state level because the law was changed after the killing.

FILE - This combo of booking photos provided by the Glynn County, Ga., Detention Center, shows from left, Travis McMichael, his father Gregory McMichael, and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. The Justice Department announced federal hate crime charges against the three men Wednesday, April 28,2021, in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a Georgia man who was killed while out for a run last year. All three are charged with one count of interference with civil rights and attempted kidnapping. The McMichaels are also charged with using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. (Glynn County Detention Center via AP)AP

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said the state case remained a priority, and he commended this positive development and the continued push to get answers for Ahmauds family, community and our state.

Attorneys for Travis McMichael said they were disappointed that the Justice Department bought the false narrative that the media and state prosecutors have promulgated.

There is absolutely nothing in the indictment that identifies how this is a federal hate crime and it ignores without apology that Georgia law allows a citizen to detain a person who was committing burglaries until police arrive, attorneys Bob Rubin and Jason Sheffield said.

Gregory McMichaels attorneys, Frank and Laura Hogue, did not immediately respond Wednesday to an email seeking comment and Bryans attorney, Kevin Gough, said he had no immediate comment because he had not read the federal indictment.

Cobb County District Attorney Flynn Broady, whose office is prosecuting the state case against the McMichaels and Bryan, had no comment on the federal charges.

___

Michael Balsamo and Russ Bynum of The Associated Press wrote this story. Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
The materiality analysis involved over 740 stakeholders, a group comprised of those inside and outside the bank, in determining the topics that are material for illimity. Five pillars in line with international trends were identified, ranging from the G20's priorities to the new Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics:



Principles of Governance: illimity's Corporate Governance sees a Board of Directors, led by the Chairperson Rosalba Casiraghi, that is well-balanced in terms of gender.

illimity's Corporate Governance sees a Board of Directors, led by the Chairperson Rosalba Casiraghi, that is well-balanced in terms of gender. People: illimity was recognised as a Great Place to Work for the second consecutive year, with 85% of employees noting overall satisfaction and the gender pay-gap effectively closed.

illimity was recognised as a Great Place to Work for the second consecutive year, with 85% of employees noting overall satisfaction and the gender pay-gap effectively closed. Prosperity : the Bank has introduced an ESG rating into its credit assessment and in 2020 has allocated financing of EUR 247 million to the relaunching of SMEs in difficulty.

the Bank has introduced an ESG rating into its credit assessment and in 2020 has allocated financing of EUR 247 million to the relaunching of SMEs in difficulty. Planet and Society: the Bank has offset the emissions of 489 tCO2eq arising from its business activities (Scope 1 and Scope 2), representing the Group's 2020 Carbon Footprint, by purchasing carbon credit certificates.

the Bank has offset the emissions of 489 tCO2eq arising from its business activities (Scope 1 and Scope 2), representing the Group's 2020 Carbon Footprint, by purchasing carbon credit certificates. Innovation: a focus on technology and the digital approach are distinctive features of the Bank, with 100% of its proprietary systems on cloud computing.



MILAN, Italy, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via InvestorWire-- illimity Bank S.p.A. ("illimity" or the "Bank") presents its first Voluntary Consolidated Non-Financial Statement (NFS) pursuant to the Italian Legislative Decree no. 254/2016 and announces that it already achieved carbon neutrality at a Group level in 2020.

Since starting activities in 2019, the Bank has always placed specific emphasis on environmental, social and governance ("ESG") issues. Taking a native approach, illimity has embarked on a path of building these into the Group's strategies, processes and governance. This commitment is also reflected in the Group's decision to prepare its first voluntary NFS, continuing the reporting and transparency process started last year with the publication of its Sustainability Profile.

With its first Non-Financial Statement, illimity provides a wide range of information on its ESG performance to all its stakeholders. The report - based on the figures as of December 31, 2020 - has been prepared in compliance with the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards ("GRI Standards") - "Core" option, to which voluntary qualitative and quantitative indicators have been added. The preparation of this report, in the name of the digital innovation that has always set the Bank apart, involved all the main corporate functions and divisions using an ESG Digital Governance collaborative platform.

"The illimity Group's first Sustainability Report represents an important moment for sharing the responsibilities that guide us in helping people, families and businesses to unleash and enhance their potential with all of our stakeholders," stated illimity Chairperson Rosalba Casiraghi. "I am especially proud of also chairing the Sustainability Committee-a testament to our strong commitment to ESG issues-an involvement that unites us all, from the Bank's top management to its single functions and areas."

"We are continuing our commitment to ensuring solid profits for people who have invested in illimity. This innovative project aims to be useful to society as a whole while advancing sustainability and sustainable growth in our country," said illimity CEO Corrado Passera. "Italy can and must reactivate its economic and social potential this year. And we in illimity intend to play our part in that process."

The Non-Financial Statement is structured on the basis of five strategic pillars - Principles of Governance, People, Prosperity, Planet and Society and Innovation - in line with international trends, which range from the priorities of the G20 under the Italian Presidency to the new Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics.

The following paragraphs set out the results achieved and the initiatives begun in 2020 for each of the five pillars:

1.Principles of Governance

A rule-based culture and integrity in business conduct act as the basis for the way in which corporate governance operates and staff work. In addition, diversity and expertise are central values, and in practice these are reflected in the Group's corporate governance system: In this respect, illimity's Board of Directors is one of the few in Italy with a Chairperson, Rosalba Casiraghi, in office since 2018 and re-appointed as head of the new Board of Directors on April 22, 2021. Since February 2021, illimity's Board of Directors is well-balanced in terms of gender, with 56% of directors being men and 44% women. A Sustainability Committee looks after sustainability issues, providing proposals and advice to the Board of Directors. The Communication & Stakeholder Engagement Function coordinates the process for monitoring and reporting non-financial matters, in constant collaboration with the Group's various functions and divisions.

2.People

Diversity and inclusion are crucial factors in a Group consisting of over 600 illimiters having 20 nationalities and coming from more than 200 organisations operating in 17 different industries. From the beginning, illimity has always set its sights on closing thegender pay-gap, which, owing to grade and work experience, is at a physiological level of 3.6%. Specific emphasis is given to reconciling work with family life. Parental leave for new fathers allows for an extension to 20 days compared to the seven days envisaged in the new contract for the banking sector, and since the start of the health emergency, employees who have to look after children or relatives have been granted two hours of paid leave a day. For the second consecutive year, the Bank has been recognised as a Great Place to Work, with an especially positive perception by employees of the working environment: 85% of them consider it excellent. In addition, the year saw the launch of the "illimitHER" programme, created to enhance the potential of young women promoting under-35 role models who have followed STEM paths. The programme involved over 10 speakers, 20 partners and inspired 6,000 young people in its first eight months of activity.

3.Prosperity

The illimity Group's aim is to generate long-term value for its stakeholders. Its business divisions are committed in this sense, having as their objective the unleashing and enhancement of the potential of people, families and businesses.



The SME Division of illimity supports small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in development, restructuring and relaunch processes, with the resulting positive repercussions on society, such as jobs and entrepreneurship. Financing totalling EUR 247 million was directed towards relaunching businesses in difficulty in 2020. In addition, at an environmental level, EUR 29 million was disbursed in operations dedicated to sectors involved in the circular economy, green transportation and renewable energy. An ESG rating has been gradually introduced to integrate sustainability and related risks in the credit assessment process.

The Distressed Credit Investment & Servicing Division is one of Italy's leading operators specialising in corporate non-performing loans (NPL) and unlikely-to-pay (UTP). The division focuses on purchasing distressed loans, financing third-party investors that purchase bad loans and, through its neprix servicing platform, managing and enhancing the value of distressed loans. As part of its servicing activity, the Division provides professional support for its customers, seeking to conclude out-of-court agreements that speed up settlement periods and contribute to recover the exposure. The Collaborative Agreement Index, the ratio between the number of positions closed through out-of-court proceedings and the total number of positions, ended the year at 80.8%.

In addition, the Division identified the energysector as an area of further specialisation, also given the contribution the segment provides to green-style energy conversion. A dedicated desk has therefore been set up having not only financial expertise but also technical and legal skills in energy-based and environmental matters.

The Bank's Digital Direct Division , i llimitybank.com, was set up with the aim of providing value-added services and contents and in 2020 initiated projects for the dissemination of financial culture. Appreciation for the Bank's initiatives and services was reflected in its Net Promoter Score - an index that measures customer satisfaction and loyalty - for which it achieved 48 points compared to an industry average of 9.

4.Planet and Society

Measuring, mitigating and offsetting emissions

illimity's business model, with its fully digital and cloud-based infrastructure, minimises direct environmental impacts and makes the responsible use of resources more efficient. The Bank's process for measuring environmental impacts was originally set up from the beginning of its activity and further extended to include all Group companies in 2020.

illimity introduced mitigation activities as a means of making consumption more efficient and reducing usage by way of initiatives designed to discourage the use of lifts, printers and (FSC certified) paper, encouraging the exchange of digital documents. The Milan offices are equipped with a system of timers that enable lighting and air-conditioning systems to be automatically switched off. In addition, from 2021 the electricity used in the two main offices in Milan and Modena is produced from 100% "GO" (Guarantee of Origin)certified renewable sources.

Despite the limited environmental impact, right from the start the Bank decided to offset the emissions arising from its business activities (Scope 1 and Scope 2); these emissions, amounting to 489 tCO2eq. in 2020, represent the Group's Carbon Footprint. Carbon Neutralityis achieved by purchasing "Gold Standards" carbon credit certificates linked to the "Clean Cookstoves Mozambique" project in Maputo, Mozambique, which has led to the replacement of high-usage coal burners with more efficient systems designed to reduce CO2 emissions and the resulting benefits on the savings and health of the local populations.

Initiatives to combat the Covid-19 emergency

illimity's smart native, innovative and technological nature enabled the Bank to be one of the first businesses to introduce continuous smart working as the standard way of working right from the beginning of the emergency. In addition, a continuous screening process has been introduced for all employees and collaborators, who have the possibility of undertaking a free-of-charge swab test in their offices once a week, and a specific Covid-19 insurance policy has been taken out.

In terms of business support, illimity took prompt action to implement the measures introduced by the legislator, setting up a lean, streamlined process for obtaining the suspensions contemplated in the "Cura Italia" Decree Law and ABI moratoria. In 2020 suspensions and moratoria were concluded in almost 200 cases for a total of approximately EUR 86.5 million (now reduced to approximately EUR 48 million). illimity further acted on a timely basis by donating medical equipment worth EUR 270 thousand that was needed to deal with the health emergency at the disposal of hospital facilities.

5.Innovation

In illimity, innovation is the driver capable of generating value for the whole business, the strategic lever that pervades the entire organisation and provides a real contribution to achieving the Group's business objectives and responding to stakeholders' needs. A focus on technology and the digital approach is one of the distinctive features of the Bank, the first Italian institution to be set with 100% of its systems using cloud computing. Aware that innovation and a digital approach represent a fundamental approach to a country's growth, illimity consistently proposes services that respond to the new needs of the customer by combining cutting edge technologies with the human dimension.



From a fully Open Platform perspective, the Bank has extended its range of services to include functions that support a greener lifestyle, particularly by fostering sustainable mobility and physical well-being. Noteworthy among the services launched last year is illimity connect, a program enabling customers to make payments from a single digital touchpoint. This innovation is an example of how Open Banking technology can be used to help people to improve the relationship with their finances, giving them greater control and awareness. illimity's growth in Open Banking has seen a very strong acceleration in the last part of the year since the creation of the joint venture in HYPE, the leading Italian fintech platform with over 1.3 million customers.

To obtain further information and download the 2020 NFS, consult the website https://www.illimity.com/en/who-we-are/sustainability.

For further information :

Investor Relations

Silvia Benzi: +39.349.7846537 - +44.7741.464948 - silvia.benzi@illimity.com

Press & Communication illimity Isabella Falautano, Francesca D'Amico Sara Balzarotti, Ad Hoc Communication Advisors +39.340.1989762 press@illimity.com (mailto:press@illimity.com) +39.335.1415584 sara.balzarotti@ahca.it (mailto:sara.balzarotti@ahca.it)

Wire Service Contact:

InvestorWire

212.418.1217 Office

Editor@InvestorWire.com
The joint art show presented the artwork from Mrs. Lindsay's Pre-K4 Class and the original artwork created by residents at Watercrest Newnan. The preschool students read the book Little Cloud by Eric Carle and followed with their own interpretations of images in cloud painting. The lesson fostered language development, and incorporated literacy, as well as science and art. The children's paintings were on display with the resident's artwork as residents, staff and preschool families enjoyed the community art show on the 51 st anniversary of Earth Day, April 24 th , 2021.

At Watercrest Newnan, residents are exploring their creativity through Watercrest's signature program, Artful Expressions. Designed with evidence-based research, the program invites residents to celebrate their originality and imagination through a series of interesting and unique classes and workshops, from photography and poetry, to art history and performing arts.

"Our spring art show was a great success and fantastic opportunity to partner with Saint Mary Magdalene Catholic Church to encourage creativity and engagement for both our residents and the youth in our community," says Noel Fortner, Community Programming Director of Watercrest Newnan.

Artful Expressions is a critical element of Watercrest's Live Exhilarated program, which was created to focus on the active pursuit of 'personal wholeness' for each resident. The program includes thoughtfully planned, multi-part programs inspired by individual resident's passions and interests which align with the seven facets of wholeness: Get Active, Be Curious, Get Connected, Be Uplifted, Get Creative, Be Social, Be Adventurous.

Watercrest Newnan is a 92,000 square-foot, signature Watercrest product offering 75 assisted living and 32 memory care apartments with premium accommodations, resort-style amenities, and world-class care. Watercrest Newnan is ideally situated on nine picturesque acres at 285 Summerlin Boulevard in Newnan, Georgia, southwest of Atlanta. For more information, contact the community at 770-637-2207.

About Watercrest Senior Living Group

Watercrest Senior Living Group was founded to honor our mothers and fathers, aspiring to become a beacon for quality in senior living by surpassing standards of care, service and associate training. Watercrest senior living communities are recognized for their luxury aesthetic, exceptional amenities and world-class care, including unparalleled service to seniors living with Alzheimer's and dementia. A certified Great Place to Work, Watercrest specializes in the development and operations of senior living communities and the growth of servant leaders. Visit www.watercrestseniorliving.com.

SOURCE Watercrest Senior Living Group
A County Derry Irish medium secondary school has been granted planning permission for the building of new facilities on its current premises.

Gaelcholaiste Dhoire, which is situated on the grounds of Dungiven Castle, can now press on with their development.

The project is set to include 12 general classrooms, a technology department and art studio, alongside associated works and landscaping.

Benbradagh councillor Kathleen McGurk, who is a member of the Causeway Coast and Glens Planning Committee, said she was 'delighted' permission had been granted.

"These facilities have been long awaited by the school which has continued to go from strength to strength over the past few years," she said.
Rachel Bilson and Rami Malek have cleared the air after some dramatic back-and-forth over an old snap lit the internet alight.

The O.C. actress, 39, explained that the stars are 'good' after revealing that the Oscar winner, also 39, asked her to take down a throwback pic of them from her Instagram account.

'Rami and I have actually talked. Since that came out, he connected with me and we're all good,' she said during an appearance on the LadyGang podcast on Tuesday.

Made up: Rachel Bilson and Rami Malek, both 39, are 'good' after revealing that the Oscar winner asked The O.C. actress to take down a throwback pic of them from her Instagram account

Reconnected: 'Rami and I have actually talked. Since that came out, he connected with me and we're all good,' she said during an appearance on the LadyGang podcast on Tuesday (seen here in 2019)

'He was so sweet and we're totally fine now, and we talked about it and we're good,' she said in the episode.

'He was so gracious, and I totally understood where he was coming form and he understood me. And I was just so happy we were able to squash it and, like, move on,' the Hart of Dixie star added.

Last month, she explained that they both attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, and were in the 'same crew'.

However despite being friends at high school, Rachel revealed that Rami DM'd her to request she remove a picture of them on Instagram because he's a 'private person'.

High school days: Last month, she explained that they both attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, and were in the 'same crew', but that Rami DM'd her to request she remove a picture of them on Instagram because he's a 'private person'

She made the admission on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert in March, as she revealed she shared a throwback snap just before he won the Oscar for Bohemian Rhapsody in 2019.

'I had posted a throwback of us from our senior trip to New York. We're super nerdyjust the dorkiest picture of the both of us. But I throw it up, 'cause it's funny and I think it's so important to be able to make fun of yourself,' she explained at the time.

She admitted that she doesn't check her Instagram DM's too often, but a week later she saw a message from Malek.

'It wasn't like, 'Hey! How are you?!' It was straight to: 'I would really appreciate if you take that down. I'm a really private person,'' she explained.

Moving on: 'He was so sweet and we're totally fine now, and we talked about it and we're good,' she said in the episode. 'I was just so happy we were able to squash it and, like, move on,' the Hart of Dixie star added (pictured in 2020)

'I was like, I guess I should've found something more flattering. But I removed it and I even wrote to him a really nice message: 'I'm so sorry. Go get the Oscar! You're doing amazing.'

'And I never heard anything back, which is fine. But I was super bummed because he was always so nice and we were good friends,' she added.

The story quickly took off, with social media discussing the exchange ad nauseum, much to the embarrassment of Bilson: 'My friend sent me a CNN link to it. I was like, "Are you kidding me?!"'

'I was so mortified though. I was having a panic attack, I had to go to therapy that day and I was like, "I'm having anxiety. I did not want this to resurface in this way. I feel so bad. Oh my god, Rami is going to think I'm doing this again and everything,"' she now explained, adding that she's happy they have been able to 'move on.'

No ill intent: 'It actually turned out to be a good thing for reasons. We were able to reconnect and make it better and everything's great,' Bilson said. 'I get it and I totally understood. And he knew I wasn't doing it with any ill intentions' (Rami is seen in 2019)

'It actually turned out to be a good thing for reasons. We were able to reconnect and make it better and everything's great,' she said. 'I get it and I totally understood. And he knew I wasn't doing it with any ill intentions.'

She previously explained that Rami was, 'a good friend of mine' in high school, explaining that they were the leads in The Crucible during their senior year.

She added that, throughout the years they had 'kind of kept in contact' before he got 'super famous,' adding he was always 'super talented' and a 'really amazing actor, even in high school.'

Rachel had her big break just a few years out of high school, starring in Fox's The O.C, while Malek hit Hollywood in 2015 with Mr. Robot, before winning his Oscar for playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Rachel is currently promoting her new podcast, Welcome to the OC, B*tches!, which premiered this week and finds her chatting all things The O.C. with former co-star Melinda Clarke.
For many people, the work of test pilots holds the same fascination as that of BASE jumpers and free soloists. We want to make up stories in our heads about the kind of person who embraces the drive, risk and even recklessness that the activity entails, and we want to know, too, if we're like them -- even a little bit. New Yorker writer Nicholas Schmidle, who spent four years embedded as a reporter in Richard Branson's spaceflight venture Virgin Galactic, satisfies all these curiosities in "Test Gods: Virgin Galactic and the Making of a Modern Astronaut." He follows, among others, Mark "Forger" Stucky, who comes to Virgin Galactic after stints at the Marines, NASA and the Air Force; and works to redraw the boundaries of possibility while struggling to maintain ties with grown children quickly pulling away. In the center of this narrative, Schmidle revisits his relationship with his own father, retired Lt. Gen. Robert "Rooster" Schmidle, once head of aviation for the Marine Corps. His intimate and empathetic journey with Stucky, Nicholas Schmidle indicates, has changed his understanding of the hard edges and extremes that come with "life lived at the edge of the envelope."

-- Hope Hodge Seck

The following is an excerpt from "Test Gods."

A split second into the mission, Mark Stucky knew something was horribly wrong. Pushing the stick forward, he had expected to enter an aggressive dive, like a kamikaze bomber racing at its target -- in this case the bleak California desert. But now the tail of his spaceship was stalled and beginning to drift, contorting his carefully calibrated dive into an unintended back flop.

The computer on board the spaceship was going berserk -- alerts beeping, yellow and red lights flashing. Grunting, Stucky pulled on the stick to try to level out. Nothing happened. He was now upside down and floating out of his seat, 40,000 feet in the air. The straps of his harness dug into his shoulders. The ship was falling fast.

Think.

An average human brain weighs about three pounds and contains nearly a hundred billion neurons; an almond-shaped cluster near the brain stem handles our response to fear. Most people panic when they're afraid. Their palms sweat, their hearts pound, and their minds freeze -- at the exact moment acuity is needed most.

Stucky was not most people.

He thumbed the pitch trim switch, hoping the pair of horizontal stabilizers on the tail booms would bite the air. No response. He reached up and switched to the emergency trim system. No response.

Already upside down, now the spaceship was beginning to spin. Stucky counted each rotation as the plunging craft spun past the sun.

One  two ...

Stucky remained almost mysteriously calm. Clinical. He found an odd sort of comfort in such moments. His job was dangerous enough without letting panic get in the way. He was a test pilot, determined to navigate unexplored aerodynamic realms so that his engineering colleagues could define the spaceship's capabilities and limits; as Arthur C. Clarke said, "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible."

Each test flight offered some new adventure. But "expanding the envelope," as test pilots described their work, was not adventurism for its own sake. It was a methodical process that drew as much on the discipline and rigor of the scientist as on the artful improvisation of the daredevil.

Fly, test, notate, adjust; fly, test, notate, adjust.

Stucky rummaged through a mental catalog of personal experiences and training manuals and anything he'd ever read or heard from any other pilot in search of something useful, some way to save his ship -- and his life.

He deployed the speed brakes. Nothing. Stepped on the opposite rudder pedal. Nothing. The spaceship continued to tumble and corkscrew at an alarming rate, losing 1,000 feet of altitude every two seconds. The sun kept flashing in the cockpit windows.

Three ... four ...

"We're in a left spin," his copilot, Clint Nichols, announced over the radio, his voice flat as a clerk requesting a cleanup on aisle four.

Stucky had practiced entering and recovering from inverted spins like this plenty of times in other crafts. They were nonetheless unpleasant and dangerous maneuvers. In 1953, Chuck Yeager was flying an X-1 -- the same type of rocket ship he used to break the sound barrier -- when he entered an inverted spin at 80,000 feet and spent nearly a minute "fighting to try to recover the airplane and stay conscious from the high rotational rates." He eventually regained control, at 25,000 feet. Thirty-two years later, the stunt pilot who filmed Yeager's scenes in The Right Stuff was doing stunts for the movie Top Gun when he got into an inverted spin, crashed, and died.

Stucky was confused: he couldn't understand why the tail had stalled. Stumped, he felt sickened that the last option to avoid an almost certain death was going to require him to unbuckle, crawl down, open the hatch, jump out, throw his parachute, and watch as Richard Branson's multimillion-dollar spaceship smashed into pieces on the desert floor, and, perhaps with it, Branson's dream of making his space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, a reality.

Stucky was chasing his own dream. He'd spent almost forty years trying to become an astronaut. He'd done stints in the Marines, the Air Force, and NASA, and he now worked for an experimental aviation firm, Scaled Composites, which Branson, a showboating British mogul, had hired to build and test a spaceship for commercial use. It was beyond zany, Branson's dream of sending passengers into space aboard this handmade craft they called SpaceShipTwo. But the zany ones were often the ones who made history. When Norman Mailer first embarked on his book about the Apollo program, he couldn't make up his mind whether Apollo was "the noblest expression of the Twentieth Century or the quintessential statement of our fundamental insanity."

Branson was not the only one with such ambitions. He had rivals, like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, with his space company Blue Origin, and Tesla founder Elon Musk, with his company SpaceX. They were all building rockets to take people into space, and Branson was clear that he wanted to be "the first of the three entrepreneurs fighting to put people into space to get there."

Each had distinct visions for the journey. Virgin had pioneered a unique air-launch system -- a mothership, WhiteKnightTwo, had been designed to carry SpaceShipTwo to roughly 45,000 feet so the rocket ship would not waste its energy slogging through the dense, lower atmosphere -- while others used a more traditional ground-launch system.

Virgin planned to take half a dozen passengers on a "suborbital" flight, cresting about 50 miles above the Earth. By comparison, what is called "low Earth orbit" starts at 100 miles above sea level; the International Space Station orbits at an average of 150 miles above that; GPS satellites, which operate in "medium" Earth orbit, are about 13,000 miles away.

Blue Origin shared Virgin's suborbital altitude goal for its initial crewed flights but was intent on exploring deep space, too. SpaceX was arguably the most ambitious: Musk wanted to colonize Mars, a minimum of thirty-four million miles away.

But perhaps the most striking distinction boiled down to their belief in the human mind. Blue Origin and SpaceX were run by tech wizards, algorithmic geniuses who trusted in mathematical power to eliminate human error, to one day render fallibility obsolete. Virgin was analog, and despite the futurism of SpaceShipTwo's mission, the vehicle was relatively simple -- cables and rods, no autopilot, no automation.

The fate of the ship was in Stucky's hands.

Nichols was sure they were going to die: that was the hazard of crewed spaceflight. "If you want to build confidence in space, don't try sending people there," David Cowan, a venture capitalist who has invested in several commercial satellite companies, said. "Any failure will be a catastrophe."

The day was shaping up to be just that. Down on the runway, the lime colored fire trucks were ready to go. Doug Shane, the president of Scaled, uttered the words that company insiders would recognize as code for a looming disaster. When he said "Blue Zebra," his colleagues knew to plan for the worst.

But Stucky wasn't ready to give up just yet. As the spaceship spun and fell calamitously toward the Earth, he remembered one last thing he wanted to try: he hoped to God it worked.

***

Four years later, Stucky and I were sitting around the firepit in his backyard with tumblers of whiskey when he asked whether I wanted to watch the cockpit video from that flight. Coyotes howled in the distance. His wife, Cheryl Agin, drank prosecco and whispered to the two Chihuahuas at her feet.

Of course, I said.

Stucky led me through the house. He was fifty-seven, with a loose legged stroll, tousled salt- and- pepper hair, and sunken suntanned cheeks. In other settings he could pass for a retired beachcomber. He wore the smirk of someone certain he was having more fun than everybody else.

Plaques and inscribed photos hung from the walls of his home office -- "to the best pilot I know," flight instructor of the year, "blue skies and yippee kaye." Cartoon stars decorated the ceiling fan. Stucky sat down behind his computer and pulled up the file. It filled the screen.

The video was hard to watch -- Stucky straining to avoid passing out; hazard alerts beeping; red lights flashing on the cockpit console; the horizon whipping past.

Agin, his second wife, had slipped into the room and stood over his shoulder, swallowing tears. She had never seen the video.

He hit pause. "Is this emotional for you?" he asked, sounding sharper than he intended.

"It's okay," she replied.

They didn't discuss the dangers of his job much. Death was one of those things test pilots didn't like to ponder. It was "an unpleasant thing to think about," Neil Armstrong said before he went to the moon.

But Stucky didn't sugarcoat it: he was a test pilot for an experimental rocket ship program, a tremendously risky endeavor. Four men had already died for the cause, including Stucky's best friend. "A Marine Corps colonel once told me, 'If you want to be safe, go be a shoe salesman at Sears,'" said Stucky.

Stucky hit Play, and we were back in the middle of the flight, watching him yank and pull on the controls and hearing him strain from the negative g's while the spaceship continued to spin and fall from the sky.

"Test Gods," published by Henry Holt and Company, will be released May 4, 2021.

-- If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.
Indian actress, Kareena Kapoor Khan, recently shared an Instagram post requesting fans to follow safety norms amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kareena Kapoor Khan's Instagram photo talks about how people are still failing to take the pandemic seriously by "flouting" safety norms and rules set as per WHO guidelines like not wearing masks properly or not wearing them at all, when in public. The post also requests people to keep in mind that doctors and medical staff are constantly being pushed to their limits because of the actions of people.

The COVID-19 crisis has brought global change ensuing in country-wide lockdowns, as WHO guidelines advised all people to stay indoors in order to avoid spreading the disease further. A lot of celebrities and social media influencers have been taking to their social media handles to spread awareness, requesting fans to follow Covid safety norms, and it looks like Kareena Kapoor Khan is the latest to join in. Kareena's Instagram post comes at a time of great crisis, as people are struggling with the disease, due to the much bigger and worse "second wave" of the pandemic.

The post received a number of reactions from fans who criticized the actress as her cousin Ranbir Kapoor recently received flak online for travelling to the Maldives. However, the actress also received support from fans who believed that the message shared by the actress was important and right. Kareena shared the post with a praying hands emoji. Take a look at Kareena Kapoor Khan's Instagram post below.

Kareena Kapoor Khan's latest

Kareena Kapoor Khan is all set to appear in the upcoming comedy-drama film Laal Singh Chaddha, along with Aamir Khan. The film will be an adaptation of the American film Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks, which itself is based on Winston Groom's novel of the same name. Initially scheduled to release on December 25, 2020, Laal Singh Chaddha's production was halted owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The release of the film has since been postponed to December 24, 2021.

Kareena Kapoor has been married to actor Saif Ali Khan, since 2012. Her first child, Taimur Ali Khan, was born on December 20, 2016. Kareena Kapoor Khan's second baby boy was born on February 21, 2021. Unlike the first time, the couple has consciously not shared any information about their second child due to unwanted attention. However, Kapoor still often features her firstborn, Taimur on her Instagram handle. Take a look below.

Image source - Kareena Kapoor Khan'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.
LEBANON, Ind. (WLFI)  State police and transportation agencies are urging caution among drivers in work zones as construction season ramps up.

Indiana State Police and the Indiana Department of Transportation, along with two industry experts, held a news conference Wednesday as part of Indiana Work Zone Awareness Week.

"Speed kills. Speeding is the No. 1 factor that leads to fatalities in work zones," says Richard Hedgecock, president of Indiana Constructors Inc. "Take all the other contributing factors -- alcohol, drugs, distracted, phones -- add them all up, still they do not reach the level of impact that speeding has on fatalities."

Last year, 824 people were injured and 26 people died in Indiana work zone accidents.

Sgt. John Perrine says Indiana State Police are rolling out work zone patrols and getting creative with enforcement. That includes high visibility, unmarked, aircraft and motorcycle patrols.

"We have the tragedies in the work zones year after year that we respond to and that we see the wreckage and the aftermath," he says.

"I would say it's time to write new history. I'd say it's time to make these zones as safe as we can."

The Indiana Department of Transportation has 1,300 road projects planned this year. That includes 750 bridge projects and 2,000 miles of resurfacing.

"This means construction is coming to a road or bridge near you ... we ask you to understand and be patient while we improve our state's highways," says Rick Smith, a spokesperson for Road Safe Traffic Systems.
What we learned when Joy Behar called Caitlyn Jenner he

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In response to Bruce Caitlyn Jenner announcing his bid to oust Californias governor Gavin Newsom, Joy Behar said on The View, Hes got this guy Brad Parscale running his campaign. Later, Behar added, I think that he should  she, rather, should take a seat and let somebody with the credentials take over a major state like California.

Behar subsequently apologized for the pronoun mixup, explaining, but, whatever, it just came out so Im sorry if anybody was upset by that.

But the damage had been on. Joy Behar had misgendered Jenner, something that I seriously doubt would have happened if Jenner had been running as a liberal Democrat rather than as a Republican. As Jenner explained in 2016, he gets more flak for being a Republican than he does for being trans.

Thats why it was not surprising that LGBTQ activists in California made clear that they would not be supporting Jenners gubernatorial bid. As expressed by Equality California, Make no mistake: we cant wait to elect a #trans governor of California.

But @Caitlyn_Jenner spent years telling the #LGBTQ+ community to trust Donald Trump. We saw how that turned out. Now she wants us to trust her?

Hard pass.

@StopRepRecall.

More specifically, they tweeted, After Trump banned transgender troops from serving in the military, attacked transgender students and even tried to allow homeless shelters to turn away trans women, @Caitlyn_Jenner STILL hired his former inner circle to run her campaign.

But that was not enough.

Jenners character and motivation were now subject to judgment and criticism. As Equality California tweeted, Californians  and #trans Californians, in particular  understand all too well the risk of electing another reality TV star who cares more about fame and money than civil rights, healthcare and the safety of our communities.

Can you imagine the outrage from the left had Jenner been both trans and Democrat? How dare you call her another reality TV star who cares more about fame and money than civil rights, healthcare and the safety of our communities! How dare you be so judgmental! How dare you be so transphobic!

But, since Jenner was a Trump supporter who is running as a Republican, the worlds best-known transperson is now the enemy.

This reveals something about the value system of the left, which, roughly speaking, can be explained as follows.

The worst enemy (and therefore entitled to the least favored status in the eyes of the left) is a white, heterosexual, conservative male, the very archetype of oppression, bigotry, and privilege.

Not far behind would be a white, heterosexual, conservative female, followed by people of color who are both heterosexual and conversative.

Next after this would be heterosexual people of color who are liberal, with females being preferred over males (again, the oppressive patriarchy must always be overthrown).

But even more favored status would go to a liberal gay person, whose rights would certainly trump those of a straight, conservative, person of color while likely even trumping the rights of a straight, liberal, person of color.

In other words, the gay community makes up an even more protected minority community than do people of color.

Yet even gay rights can be trumped by trans rights, as more and more lesbian feminists are discovering.

There is even a derogatory acronym for such feminists today (both lesbian and straight), namely TERF, which stands for, trans-exclusionary radical feminist: an advocate of radical feminism who believes that a trans womans gender identity is not legitimate and who is hostile to the inclusion of trans people and gender-diverse people in the feminist movement.

As the December 25, 2020 headline on the UK Telegraphannounced, Lesbians Facing Extinction as Transgenderism Becomes Pervasive, Campaigners Warn.

So, trans trumps gay, which in turn trumps skin color.

Put another way, Trans Is the New Black displaced Gay Is the New Black. Thus, the trans Civil Rights movement hijacked the gay Civil Rights movement which hijacked the original (and real) Civil Rights movement.

Accordingly, a white, transgender, female-to-male (thus, putting this person in the hated class of white male) is entitled to more favored status than either a black gay man or a black straight woman, thus tipping the scale of intersectionality.

Unless, of course, that trans individual happens to identify as conservative politically. In that case, trans status  the ultimate, favored status  means nothing, and all attacks on that individual are no longer transphobic. Even misgendering that person is hardly a punishable offense, since they have defiled their favored trans status by betraying the left.

Thus, the ultimate favored status of the left is not based on being female rather than male. Or being black rather than white. Or gay or even trans rather than straight. No, the ultimate favored status on the left is reserved for those who are on the left.

That is the prevailing value, which is why Trumps sexual accusers were believed in the name of #MeToo (Believe the women!) but why Bidens (or, Bill Clintons) sexual accusers were summarily dismissed.

In short, the highest value of the left is being leftist. All other statuses pale in comparison.
This year our dine and drink business locations throughout the Gorge have suffered with closures. You can help support your favorites by purchasing take out and gift cards. Many of these business will offer curb-side delivery and some will deliver to your home. Lets keep the Gorge going strong!
Malaysian police arrested 12 senior law enforcement officers on suspicion of working with an alleged crime lord linked to a Chinese criminal syndicate, the police chief of Johor state said on Tuesday.

Two officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) were among those arrested, Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said.

The Johor Commercial Crimes [unit] had launched an operation from April 21 to 27 and arrested 12 law enforcement officers aged between 36 and 49, the Johor police chief said. The officers were rounded up  in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan.

The arrests came as Malaysian police intensified the crackdown against law enforcement officers suspected of working with fugitive criminal Nicky Liow Soon Hee  the alleged leader of the Nicky Gang.

In an exclusive interview with BenarNews earlier this month, Ayob issued a stern warning against anyone, including officers, about working with the underworld criminal gang leader who is at large after giving the police a slip. Investigators believe he was tipped to an impending raid.

Among the highlights of the latest nationwide crackdown was the arrest of the MACC officers in Putrajaya.

The two are an assistant commissioner and an officer attached with the MACC Putrajaya, he said.

MACC Chief Commissioner Azam Baki confirmed the arrests in a press release on Tuesday.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission acknowledges the arrest of two officers with the commission who are allegedly linked to the Nicky Gang, the statement said. MACC has extended our cooperation to the police force by handing over the two officers to facilitate the investigation.

I view this matter seriously and will not compromise. In fact, we will hand over more officers [to the police] if they are involved, Azam added.



The pair and the 10 other law enforcement officers are being held under the Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act 2012 that allows investigators to detain suspects for 28 days without filing charges.

The 12 are being investigated under two sections of the penal code over their alleged involvement in organized crime and could face up to 20 years in prison, if charged and convicted.

Ayob said with the arrests, police have taken 64 suspects into custody.

Among those are 14 people including Liows brothers, Liow Wei Kin and Liow Wei Loon, who were charged with involvement in an organized criminal group earlier this month.

Not all suspects have been charged, according to investigators.

Asked on Tuesday whether there would be more arrests in the near future, Ayob replied: If there are new names, we will conduct a follow-up investigation. Let us conduct a detailed interrogation and complete the investigation. I cannot give the details. I did not mention the names because they have yet to be charged.

The Johor chief said police continue efforts to track down Liow but were not sure if he had fled or remained in Malaysia. Police officials have reached out to Interpol earlier this month to seek international assistance in tracking the fugitive.

Leak warning

Ayob warned people to not spread leaked information about the 12 officers detained in the latest raids, adding stern action would be taken against those who do.

Johor State Police have identified classified information containing the list of 12 individuals from law enforcement agencies who have been arrested in connection with ongoing probes of the Nicky Gang which has been shared and circulated via Whatsapp application by certain quarters, Ayob said in the statement.

Johor State Police will identify those responsible and action could be taken under Section 203A(1) of the Penal Code which carries fine not more than 1 million ringgit (U.S. $244,000) or imprisonment up to one year or both, upon conviction.

On March 30, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Abdul Hamid Bador revealed that authorities were investigating 34 public sector personnel, including police who were believed to have protected the Nicky Gang and allowed Liow to escape.

Abdul Hamid said the 33-year-old businessman was believed to have been tipped off on the impending raid by police and government agency officers, including a deputy public prosecutor.

US sanctions

A series of sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department on a Macau underworld kingpin allowed the Royal Malaysia Police to establish links to the Nicky Gang headed by Liow, Ayob told BenarNews in an April 21 interview.

The investigation revealed that Liow was close to Wan Kuok Koi (commonly known as Broken Tooth), the leader of 14K Triad  one of the largest Chinese organized crime gangs in the world that has tentacles in many countries. Media reports claim the gang has more than 20,000 members.

Ayob had said Liow, who is believed to be worth more than 1 billion ringgit ($244 million), amassed his fortune after striking a partnership with a China-based get-rich-quick operator, Zhang Jiang, who is jailed in his own country because of the scheme.

Liows Nicky Gang also operates a telecommunication scam where it tricks victims, mostly in China, into handing over large sums of money, allowing the gang to allegedly amass millions of ringgit.

During a series of raids last month to take down the Nicky Gang, police arrested more than 50 people and seized 773,000 ringgit ($187,500) along with 35 vehicles valued at 8.86 million ringgit ($2.14 million) under provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act of 2001.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 23:14:24|Editor: huaxia

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BAGHDAD, April 28 (Xinhua) -- An unanswered question has haunted Yasir Mutlaq, a 42-year-old civil engineer in Iraq. "What did I do wrong to be arrested for a year, to be away from my family, and to lose my job?" he would ask.

After waging a war against Iraq in 2003, the U.S. army has repeatedly violated the human rights of Iraqi citizens. Nonetheless, Mutlaq, who had spent a year working in the United Arab Emirates, had never thought such violence would befall him when he came in 2007 to visit his family in Dhuluiya town in Salahudin province.

At midnight on an April day when Mutlaq was asleep after an evening with his children and wife, tragedy unfolded. A U.S. airborne force launched an airdrop operation on a house at the town to arrest a wanted suspect. They searched surrounding houses and made arrests, including Mutlaq, though his house was more than 250 meters away.

"At the beginning of the arrest, they (the U.S. troops) threw a stun grenade, and I don't know how the wooden door was opened by the blast," he recalled in an interview with Xinhua. "They came in a terrifying way. We have children who started to cry, and there was no electricity. All of them were armed with machine guns and had torches."

The troops arrested him at around 1:00 a.m., confined him in a cold cell for three to four hours, squeezed him for preliminary information, and took him back to the cell.

A horrific experience Mutlaq cannot forget came when the troops put him into a freezing solitary cell for about eight days and only offered clothes that barely kept him warm.

"I think it was 10 degrees below zero, and I didn't have enough clothes; they just gave me a light yellow suit, allocated for detainees," he said. "I told them I needed a blanket, but they told me they were not authorized to give any."

When Mutlaq exited the solitary confinement, the U.S. forces took him into detention and treated him, among others, in a humiliating way, leaving him sitting in the sun blindfolded and with his hands cuffed to his back for over an hour.

"I remember a scene at night when they took us to a place with big loudspeakers, and they turned on music and forced us to sit near the loudspeakers for about an hour," he said. "I felt like my head would explode."

For a whole year the U.S. forces detained Mutlaq. He never got an apology or compensation for the tragedy.

"Dozens of people or hundreds were caught for no reason. Where are the human rights?" he said. "There are no human rights, and the evidence is that I lost a year of my life without wrongdoing, and others lost years, and there were some who were killed without reason."

For Mutlaq, the Americans "are promoting these slogans, namely human rights and such concepts like democracy, to the world countries that they have interests in, but when it comes to reality, such slogans are intangible, and the biggest evidence is what happened in Iraq."

When the United States invaded Iraq, Mutlaq thought the Americans would rebuild Iraq, but things became clear later when the forces were creating chaos and stealing the country's wealth instead.

"I was among the people who thought that the Americans were serious about transforming Iraq to be one of the developed countries," Mutlaq said, "but it became clear to us later that they came to Iraq with no plan, only their plan." Enditem
More than 230 cops have either retired or resigned from the Louisville Metro Police Department in the last 16 months as a spokesperson for its union says that staffing shortages have left the agency in dire straits while violent crime rises.

The Kentucky citys police department has been in turmoil since the March 2020 police-involved shooting of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old black EMT who was fatally shot in her home by officers executing a no-knock search warrant.

According to statistics provided by the LMPD on Tuesday, the department has seen about 190 officers leave last year and 43 depart so far this year.

Thus far, LMPD has hired just 26 new members in 2021, according to Fox News.

As of Sunday, there has been an increase of 84 per cent in the number of non-fatal shootings so far this year.

During the same period last year, there were 109 non-fatal shootings.

More than 230 cops have either retired or resigned from the Louisville Metro Police Department in the last 16 months as a spokesperson for its union says that staffing shortages have left the agency in dire straits while violent crime rises

Meanwhile, there have been 56 murders so far this year up to April 26 - a 75 per cent increase from the 32 murders reported by this time last year.

The LMPDs authorized strength number - or number of officers it is authorized to deploy - is 1,324. In reality, however, the department is staffed by 1,069 people - or 255 below the target number.

Our manpower is critically low, Dave Mutchler, the spokesperson for the Louisville Metro Officer Union, told Fox News.

One thing we have to consider when we're talking about recruiting is that in the climate that we currently find ourselves, the pool of people wanting to become officers is shrinking every day.

He added: 'We're obviously losing a lot more officers than we are gaining. And if that continues, at what point can we not operate appropriately?'

Of the 188 people who left LMPD last year, around 70 retired while the others resigned.

We cant emphasize enough how critically and dangerously low our manpower is, and interestingly enough, those who would break the law are paying attention to that, Mutchler said.

Our homicide rates and our violent crime rates are through the roof.

The Kentucky citys police department has been in turmoil since the March 2020 police-involved shooting of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old black EMT who was fatally shot in her own by officers executing a no-knock search warrant

The Justice Department is opening a sweeping probe into policing in Louisville, Kentucky, over the death of Taylor, who was shot to death by police during a raid at her home, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Monday.

It's the second such probe into a law enforcement agency by the Biden administration in a week; Garland also announced an investigation into the tactics of the police in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd.

The attorney general has said there is not yet equal justice under the law and promised to bring a critical eye to racism and legal issues when he took the job.

Few such investigations were opened during the Trump administration.

Taylor, a 26 year-old emergency medical technician who had been studying to become a nurse, was roused from her bed by police who came through the door using a battering ram.

Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired once. A no-knock warrant was approved as part of a narcotics investigation.

No drugs were found at her home.

The investigation announced Monday is into the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government and the LMPD.

It is known as a 'pattern or practice' - examining whether there is a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing - and will be a more sweeping review of the entire police department.

'I can't wait for the world to see Louisville Police Department for what it really is,' Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, tweeted after the announcement.

Sam Aguiar, an attorney for Taylor's family, also posted a celebratory message on social media shortly after the announcement.

Aguiar and other attorneys negotiated a $12million settlement in September with the city of Louisville over Taylor's death.

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC on Monday. The Justice Department is opening a sweeping probe into policing in Louisville after the March 2020 death of Taylor

Louisville city leaders said they supported the broad probe and the city's mayor called it a 'really exciting, positive thing.'

'I think it's a good thing,' said Louisville Chief Erika Shields.

'I think that it's necessary because police reform quite honestly is needed in near every agency across the country.'

The investigation will specifically focus on whether the Louisville Metro Police Department engages in a pattern of unreasonable force, including against people engaging in peaceful activities.

It will also examine whether the police department conducts unconstitutional stops, searches and seizures and whether the department illegally executes search warrants, Garland said.

The probe will also look at the training that officers receive, the system in place to hold officers accountable and 'assess whether LMPD engages in discriminatory conduct on the basis of race,' among other things, he said.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted last week of murder in Floyds death.

No one has been charged in Taylor's, though three of the officers involved, including the one who took out the warrant, were fired for their actions. Her case, too, fueled protests against police brutality and systemic racism.

Taylor's death prompted a national debate about the use of so-called 'no knock' search warrants, which allow officers to enter a home without waiting and announcing their presence.

The warrants are generally used in drug cases and other sensitive investigations where police believe a suspect might be likely to destroy evidence.

But there's been growing criticism in recent years that the warrants are overused and abused.

Prosecutors will speak with community leaders, residents and police officials as part of the Louisville probe and will release a public report, if a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct is discovered, Garland said.

He noted that the department has implemented some changes after a settlement with Taylor's family and said the Justice Department's investigation would take those into account.

A protester holds up a painting of Breonna Taylor during a rally on the one-year anniversary of her death at Jefferson Square Park in Louisville on March 13, 2021

'It is clear that the public officials in Minneapolis and Louisville, including those in law enforcement, recognize the importance and urgency of our efforts,' Garland said.

Louisville hired Shields - Atlantas former police chief - in January.

She became the fourth person to lead the department since Taylor's death on March 13, 2020.

Longtime chief Steve Conrad was forced out in the summer after officers responding to a shooting during a protest failed to turn on their body cameras.

Two interim appointments followed before Shields was given the job.

Shields stepped down from the top Atlanta post in June after the death of Rayshard Brooks, a black man who was shot in the back by police in a restaurant parking lot.

Shields remained with the Atlanta department in a lesser role.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said the Justice Department's investigation would be another step in reforming the department after an audit recently by a private firm that found low morale and a lack of diversity in leadership in the department.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, pledged that the state will fully cooperate with the review.

'Having an in-depth look, and that's what's going to happen here, can only be helpful,' he said.

'Helpful that we build the best police and law enforcement units across the commonwealth that are possible.'

And the US Senate's top Republican, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said there had been significant changes in Louisville since Taylor's death but 'it's certainly not inappropriate for the Justice Department to take a look at it.'

Kentucky's lawmakers passed a partial ban on no-knock warrants last month.

The measure would only allow no-knock warrants to be issued if there was 'clear and convincing evidence' that the 'crime alleged is a crime that would qualify a person, if convicted, as a violent offender.'

Warrants also would have to be executed between 6am and 10pm.
Two London police officers were suspended from duty and charged with misconduct in a public office. georgeclerk/Getty Images

Two London police officers have been charged with misconduct.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the officers took photos of dead bodies at a murder scene.

According to The Guardian, the officers are also accused of sharing the selfies on WhatsApp.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Two London police officers were suspended from duty and charged with misconduct in a public office after authorities say they took photos of dead bodies at a murder scene last year.

The charges were authorized by the Crown Prosecution Service following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Authorities said the officers Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis took the photos at a park in Wembley where two women, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, were found stabbed to death on June 5. An 18-year-old has been charged with two counts of murder in the case.

According to The Guardian, the officers are also accused of sharing the photos on the messaging app WhatsApp. They are scheduled to appear for their first court hearing on May 27.

Read the original article on Insider
For years, environmental advocates and neighborhoods close to Louisiana industrial plants have sought more monitoring of air pollution. But a state Senate committee on Tuesday rejected a bill that would have required 473 plants to install real-time air monitoring systems and pay for it.

Sponsored by Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, Senate Bill 2 sprouted from conversations with his constituents after last year's fire at the ExxonMobil refinery. Thousands of pounds of carcinogenic chemicals were released, but state officials said concentrations weren't high enough to harm the public.

At the end of the day, the people have a right to know what's in the air, and I think we should benefit from the technology thats available, Fields said.

+3 Louisiana should better identify air pollution violations, speed enforcement, auditor says The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality needs to do a better job of identifying industrial polluters that don't properly report emis

Oil, gas and chemical companies are an important part of the Louisiana economy. They also make the state second in the U.S., behind Texas, in total releases of what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies as "core chemicals," which don't include mining wastes.

The day before the committee hearing, the Department of Environmental Quality placed a $4.6 million price tag on the bill, saying it would need to hire 48 more employees to process the data sent by the plants. Currently, it has seven staffers dedicated to looking at the data provided by 42 state-managed monitors.

"We do believe that our estimate of staff is reasonable," said Teresa Delafosse, the agency's financial services administrator. "I know it sounds like a lot, but we dont have the capacity to review all of this data now. Its incredibly voluminous."

Opposition from oil, gas and chemical industry advocates, combined with the financial hurdle facing the government, seemed to kill the bill. Attempts to narrow the bill to reduce costs to the state were also blocked.

"We already feel like air monitoring systems are adequate," Robert Schromm, the Louisiana Chemical Association's manager of governmental affairs, told the Environmental Quality Committee. "Its unnecessary. The system in place works."

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Here's how the committee voted on SB 2:

Against - Sens. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell; Eddie Lambert, R-Gonzales; Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville

Sens. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell; Eddie Lambert, R-Gonzales; Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville For - Sens. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans; Ed Price, D-Gonzales; Patrick Connick, R-Marrero

Sens. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans; Ed Price, D-Gonzales; Patrick Connick, R-Marrero Absent - Sens. J. Rogers Pope, R-Denham Springs; Stewart Cathey Jr., R-Monroe.

A second bill aimed at creating a public notification system for neighborhoods near plants, known as fenceline communities, advanced from committee with a 4-2 vote. Sponsored by Peterson, that bill requires companies to notify nearby residents and first responders of emergencies within 30 minutes with a state-managed system. Currently, they have an hour. The bill wouldn't increase penalties for violations.

"It's pretty frustrating, I would think, that we are here in 2021 and legislation like this needs to be filed to protect the public and our environment," Peterson said. "If we can get a tornado warning on our cell phone ... we can surely be able to get a warning when there's an explosion at a nearby plant."

The notification bill was backed by Russel Honores environmental group, the Green Army, and opposed by oil, gas and chemical interests. President Tyler Gray of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association said companies already notify the public when hazardous releases occur, and that they wanted a more specific definition for an "emergency condition."

Lambert, Peterson, Price and Connick voted for the bill; Hewitt and Hensgens opposed it.
You probably missed the news that New York City Mayor Andrew Yang has suddenly pulled close to Vice President Kamala Harris in polls for several early primaries. Yang is actually a few points ahead of Harris in New Hampshire, according to a Marist poll, and tied with her in South Carolina, according to Quinnipiac.

The reason you missed this news is because you do not take the Yale undergraduate political science course I am currently teaching, where it is currently January of 2024.

President Joe Biden has abruptly announced (on Halloween, 2023) that he will not seek a second term after a series of transient ischemia attacks. Harris seemed to have a commanding lead. The only other big names in the field are AOC and Jeopardy! host Aaron Rodgers.

Over on the Republican side, the two clear leaders are former UN ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former First Daughter Ivanka Trump. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been actively campaigning for three years and has amassed three points in the polls because it turns out nobody likes him.

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Former Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had to drop out after his botched response to a series of hurricanes, especially the ferocious Hurricane Wanda which shut down Miami for months. Former Vice President Mike Pence had undiagnosed PTSD from the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection which led to clinical depression.

U.S. Sen Josh Hawley is hanging on to the Trump voters who just arent buying Ivanka. What happened to U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton? Im genuinely asking because I forgot to write a scenario for him. If you have any ideas about what happens to Tom Cotton in between now and early 2024, email me immediately.

The economy has never fully recovered, especially on the jobs front, where employers shifted to AI models during the pandemic and never shifted back. The hurricanes and wildfires have made climate change more of a mainstream issue and fueled a new environmentalist strain among young Republican voters.

Oh, the Republicans took over the House in 2022 but went even deeper in the hole in the Senate. The Democrats grabbed the open seats in Pennsylvania and South Carolina, lost the Georgia seat (with Herschel Walker beating Raphael Warnock) and picked up a surprise win in Wisconsin, where Ron Johnson decided not to retire and then lost to state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, who is now considered a rising national star, thanks largely to a dazzling 2023 performance on The View, arranged by her canny communications director Nick Famularo, who was one of my students back in 2021.

The Plain People of Connecticut: Who decided all this?

I did.

The Plain People of Connecticut: Seems like somebody likes playing God.

It is not accurate to say that I like playing God. It is accurate to say that I love playing God.

The Plain People of Connecticut: And what manner of class exercise is this? A lot of hooey made up by you! No wonder them kids isnt learning.

You may be right.

The students have been divided into two teams. One of them is crafting a message and communication strategy for Haley. The other is doing the same for Ivanka Trump.

The students have also been given access to political professionals and veteran campaigners. I cant say who any of them are because they were promised total anonymity and off the record status. Most of them are Republicans.

Ive done this kind of thing before with other classes. I try, when possible, to force students to work for candidates of the opposite political persuasion. One year I had a group of liberal students working on a Chris Christie campaign, and they kind of turned into Chris Christie, which is to say they were pugnacious and borderline rude during their presentation on his behalf.

If anyone in this years class leans Republican, that person has been artful in concealing it. So I decided to make everybody work on a Republican primary.

As one of the pros who agreed to help them said, I look forward to showing them we dont have horns.

Well, exactly.

Were all too siloed, right? Everybody knows that, and everybody agrees that the only things silos are good for are missiles and food for ungulates. And if youve watched the movie Witness, you know how dangerous it can be to stand inside them.

I like the idea that my students, who would rather be working for Harris or Yang, are instead thinking hard right now about, for example, how can Ivanka hold on to the Trump ethos in a way that makes her credible and dangerous during the primaries but also leave herself room to track toward the center during the general election?

Or how can Haley make the case that she is the best Republican to run against Harris  Two Desi-American women contending for the White House in the same year? Could that happen?  or Yang.

Theyll figure it out. Quite a few of them are smarter than I.

But, as God, I outrank them. Which reminds me. I havent thrown them a curveball in the last 12 hours. Maybe Ill tell them Caitlyn Jenner just jumped into the race as a third party candidate.

Colin McEnroes column appears every Sunday, his newsletter comes out every Thursday and you can hear his radio show every weekday on WNPR 90.5. Email him at colin@ctpublic.org. Sign up for his newsletter at http://bit.ly/colinmcenroe.
This coming weekend, local organizations are inviting Lower East Side residents to a section of Pier 42, just north of Montgomery Street, for a community day. As you may have heard, the Parks Department is moving ahead with plans to turn the old pier into a green space, an extension of East River Park. This summer there will be a series of art, educational and design installations at the pier, beginning with the event on Saturday.

Visitors will be able to build model depicting their visions for the space, meet the artists who will be involved in the installations, learn about river ecology and tour the pier. The community day is hosted by the LES waterfront Alliance, including CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, Good Old Lower East Side, Hester Street Collaborative, Lower East Side Ecology Center, 267/275 Cherry Street Tenants Association, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and State Sen. Daniel Squadron.

The event takes place from noon-4 p.m. Click on the Paths to Pier 42 web site for more information.

On Thursday, May 9, Community Board 3s Waterfront subcommittee will meet to have a first look at preliminary master plan schemes from Mathews Nielsen, the architectural firm hired by the city for the planning phase of the project. The firm has been conducting visioning sessions with community groups in recent months. The city has around $13 million to get started on the park, perhaps one-fourth of what will eventually be required to finish the job.
Appointment

28 April 2021

McKibbon Hospitality, an award-winning leader in hotel management is pleased to announce the recent appointment of Weejen Lynch as Vice President of Engineering.

Weejen Lynch brings more than 25 years of engineering, maintenance and operations experience to McKibbon in his new role. In his most recent position as Owner and CEO of Lynchpin Consulting Group, he lent his leadership, engineering maintenance, and process improvement expertise to hotels, resorts, timeshare units, and facilities. This venture was preceded by his time as Vice President of Engineering a nd Process Improvement for Bluegreen Vacations in Orlando, where he supported the engineering needs of 49 resorts nationwide. Over his tenured career, Lynch has held various high-level leadership positions with companies including Walt Disney World and Lockheed Martin. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from West Virginia University and a Masters in Operations Research from the University of Central Florida.
The revived plan to replace the aging Interstate Bridge between Oregon and Washington didnt receive $1 billion in funding from lawmakers in Olympia this year, but the projects top official said that doesnt mean the project deal is stuck in neutral.

Washington legislators floated plans this year to dedicate upwards of $1 billion to fund that states share of the newly reborn joint effort to building a new bridge on Interstate 5 spanning the Columbia River. But they ultimately declined to act.

The previous plan to replace the vital bridge, a multi-billion-dollar effort that wouldve included light rail, officially died in 2014. Both states have since agreed to restart the process.

Washington state lawmakers wrapped up their legislative session in Olympia on Sunday without setting aside money for the states share of the revived bridge-building plan.

After years of fits and starts, Washingtons proposed funding wouldve represented the most concrete sign yet that real money  and political will  exists to replace the bridge. The states have funded a new project office in recent years and kickstarted bi-state legislative meetings, but thus far theres been no clear indication that hundreds of millions in construction funding was on the table, not until the Washington legislative session raised the possibility.

Greg Johnson, the Interstate Bridge Replacement project administrator, said in a statement that hes not concerned. The fact that a transportation package with construction funding for the Interstate Bridge Replacement program did not pass this session does not represent a setback for the program overall or affect the current timeline, he said in an email.

Washington lawmakers did vote to continue funding the joint state office going forward.

Oregons Legislature, which is currently meeting, has not debated funding the project during its session.

Johnson said his office still has several years of work on the revived project, and the fact it was discussed in Olympia demonstrates a clear message of support for the program.

President Bidens proposed American Jobs Plan is expected to include billions for 10 bridge projects that are of national importance. U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield, chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and has said he believes the Interstate Bridge project is one of the nations most important.

-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen
Businesses in Vietnam need to go beyond the bare minimum laid out in regulations. Photo: Shutterstock

At last weeks launch of a study on corporate awareness and implementation of responsible business practices (RBP) in Vietnam by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Embassy of Sweden in Vietnam, research team leader Vu Van Tuan said that the concept of corporate social responsibility is trending towards RBP.

RBP means actively assessing business impact on environment and society, and taking measures to prevent and address adverse impacts, and providing effective remedies when negative impacts occur, Tuan said. This includes going beyond compliance with national laws where necessary to align with international standards such as those of the International Labour Organization and others.

UNDP deputy resident representative Sitara Syed highlighted the timeliness of the study. The study is critical at this moment. Though Vietnams rapid, yet relatively inclusive economic growth and an influx of investment have brought opportunities, they have also contributed significantly to environmental degradation and corporate-related human rights breaches, she said.

Under the study, in which over 2,000 samples were sent out from August to December 2020, understanding of RBP varies among business enterprises. Specifically, 81 per cent of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) had the highest rate of full understanding about RBP, and 47 per cent of local private enterprises have the lowest rate of full understanding. The rate among foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) sits at 69 per cent.

The study  the first in Vietnam  focuses on labour, environmental, and governance issues, with the data being collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a survey with 279 respondents. Enterprises involved were from the agro-forestry-fishery, manufacturing and construction, and trade and services economic sectors.

In regard to RBP in labour issues, local private enterprises have the lowest level of implementation, while small enterprises have the lowest. In an environmental aspect, the compliance rate (55-64 per cent) of activities with direct impacts on the environment, such as waste treatment and hazard prevention, is the highest among studied practices.

Meanwhile, the highest level of RBP implementation overall is in wastewater treatment, with the lowest level in climate change response. SOEs have the highest level of RBP implementation, and local private enterprises and FIEs have a relatively similar level of implementation.

In terms of governance issues, large enterprises have a much higher rate of application of international practice than small- and medium-sized enterprises (19 per cent compared to 3 and 5 per cent, respectively). The rate for applying international standards among FIEs almost doubles that of SOEs and local private enterprises (14 per cent compared to 8 per cent each).

Responsible business is a global trend with increasing implications for Vietnam. As a result, the two recent progressive free trade agreements of the EU-Vietnam deal and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership have provisions on trade and sustainable development, as well as labour and the environment.

While the Vietnamese regulatory framework on RBP is deemed quite strong, there are still gaps where alignment with international standards is needed. But good signal of RBP implementation for the future have merged. Some 60 per cent of enterprises have a plan for RBP adoption, and over two-thirds of large enterprises, SOEs, and groups in agro-forestry-fishery said that they would adopt it in the future.

Syed told VIR, Globally from what we know, the movement for responsible business is gaining strength in Asia and the Pacific and this is a very good signal. She added, Other countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are ahead in RBP compared to Vietnam, but Vietnam can catch up. I think there is a lot of willingness among consumers and many businesses to apply RBP, as indicated by 60 per cent of the responded businesses, and there is strong commitment from the government.

According to the research team, the leading role of the government in driving responsible business is recognised, with the National Action Plan ranked highest, and it was stressed that to ensure higher implementation, greater external and internal pressure is needed.
While evolution is normally thought of as occurring over millions of years, researchers at the University of California, Irvine have discovered that bacteria can evolve in response to climate change in 18 months. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, biologists from UCI found that evolution is one way that soil microbes might deal with global warming.

Soil microbiomes - the collection of bacteria and other microbes in soil - are a critical engine of the global carbon cycle; microbes decompose the dead plant material to recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem and release carbon back into the atmosphere. Multiple environmental factors influence the composition and functioning of soil microbiomes, but these responses are usually studied from an ecological perspective, asking which microbial species increase or decrease in abundance as environmental conditions change. In the current study, the UCI team investigated if bacterial species in the soil also evolve when their environment changes.

"We know that evolution can occur very fast in bacteria, as in response to antibiotics, but we do not know how important evolution might be for bacteria in the environment with ongoing climate change," said Dr. Alex Chase, the lead author of the study and a former graduate student at UCI.

Several inherent characteristics should enable soil microbes to adapt rapidly to new climate conditions. Microbes are abundant and can reproduce in only hours, so a rare genetic mutation that allows for adaptation to new climate conditions might occur by chance over a short time frame. However, most of what is known about bacterial evolution is from controlled laboratory experiments, where bacteria are grown in flasks with artificial food. It was unclear whether evolution happens fast enough in soils to be relevant to the effects of current rates of climate change.

"Current predictions about how climate change will affect microbiomes make the assumption that microbial species are static. We therefore wanted to test whether bacteria can evolve rapidly in natural settings such as soil," explained Dr. Chase.

To measure evolution in a natural environment, the researchers deployed a first-ever bacterial evolution experiment in the field, using a soil bacterium called Curtobacterium. The researchers used 125 "microbial cages" filled with microbial food made up of dead plant material. (The cages allow the transport of water, but not other microbes.) The cages then exposed the bacteria to a range of climate conditions across an elevation gradient in Southern California. The team conducted two parallel experiments over 18 months measuring both the ecological and evolutionary responses in the bacteria.

"The microbial cages allowed us to control the types of bacteria that were present, while exposing them to different environmental conditions in different sites. We could then test, for instance, how the warm and arid conditions of the desert site affected the genetic diversity of a single Curtobacterium species," said Dr. Chase.

After 18 months, the scientists sequenced bacterial DNA from the microbial cages of the experiments. In the first experiment containing a diverse soil microbiome, different Curtobacterium species changed in abundance, an expected ecological response. In the second experiment over the same time frame, the genetic diversity of a single Curtobacterium bacterium changed, revealing an evolutionary response to the same environmental conditions. The authors conclude that both ecological and evolutionary processes have the potential to contribute to how a soil microbiome responds to changing climate conditions.

"The study shows that we can observe rapid evolution in soil microbes, and this is an exciting achievement. Our next goal is to understand the importance of evolutionary adaptation for soil ecosystems under future climate change," said co-author Jennifer Martiny, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who co-directs the UCI Microbiome Initiative.

###

Researchers who contributed to this work were: Alexander Chase, Claudia Weihe, and Jennifer Martiny.

The study was supported by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowship, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation's top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It's located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UCI, visit http://www. uci. edu .

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.
As India faces a deadly outbreak of COVID-19, Bangladesh has restricted the movement of citizens by shutting down borders for two weeks. Md Jobayed Hosen, Bangladesh's Assistant High Commissioner in Agartala, Tripura, informed that they are considering giving permission to stranded Bangladeshis, particular patients and their attendants. The action came after Bangladesh decided to shut borders on Sunday. The trade between the two countries is still on.

Several Bangladeshi nationals had protested after the announcement of sealing the borders was made. The protestors had complained about the sudden announcement and demanded at least 24 hrs of time. On Monday nearly 1000 Bangladeshi people were restricted from travelling between the two countries despite having medical visas. Earlier it was decided that people having medical visas will be allowed to travel.

Countries put restrictions on Indian travellers

Many countries earlier announced a ban on travellers from India by discontinuing air facilities. UK, EU, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, UAE, Hong Kong, and Singapore has banned flights from India. The US, on the other hand, has advised citizens to not travel to India even after getting fully vaccinated. The action from these countries came after India witnessed an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases. Several passengers in foreign country airports had also tested positive for the virus making it a matter of concern for international authorities. The current virus mutant that India is battling with is spreading faster compared to last year.

India COVID-19

India is continuously reporting the highest number of COVID-19 cases as the second wave of the virus has hit. With a higher number of fresh COVID-19 cases, the fatality rate has also increased in the country. The virus has killed more than 2 lakh people with 3,286 deaths in the last 24 hours. India, on Tuesday, reported 3,62,770 fresh cases, another record-breaking spike in new cases. States that crossed previous records on Tuesday included Kerala with 32,819, poll-bound state West Bengal with 16,403, Tamil Nadu reported 15,830, followed by Gujarat (14,352), Haryana (11,931), Telangana (10,122), Uttarakhand (5,703). Maharashtra continues to be the top contributor with 66,358 fresh COVID-19 cases and it is followed by UP, Kerala, and Karnataka.

(inputs from ANI)
In a 6-3 decision on Thursday, the US Supreme Court ruled that sentencing judges no longer have to make a special determination that convicted minors are beyond rehabilitation in order to sentence them to life in prison.

According to previous court cases limiting judges ability to sentence juvenile offenders to life without possibility of parole, a judge would have to demonstrate that the convicted youth would not be rehabilitated in prison, and therefore should spend the rest of their lives locked up with no chance of release.

United States Supreme Court Building at Dusk (Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Joe Ravi)

The ruling in this case, Jones v. Mississippi, concerning Brett Jones, a 15-year-old boy who killed his grandfather, handed judges more discretion in sentencing minors, reversing several years of precedent limiting the ability of judges to hand down harsh sentences to underage offenders.

Conservative Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, wrote the majority decision ruling that sentencing can be brought down without making a separate finding of permanent incorrigibility before issuing life without possibility of parole sentences.

Courts have ruled over the last several decades that harsh sentences for juvenile offenders, such as the death penalty, constitute a violation of the US Constitutions prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, with numerous scientific studies concluding that the brains of youth are not fully developed and as such lack certain adult qualities such as impulse control, effective reasoning and understanding of consequences.

These studies have historically informed sentencing decisions in handing out punishment to those young people convicted of crimes. Being less capable of understanding their decision and actions, juveniles are less culpable for crimes and therefore should not receive the harshest of punishments for them, according to recent judicial precedent.

The Supreme Courts latest barbaric decision, however, reverses years of limitations on punishment for juveniles, essentially making it easier for them to be sentenced to die in prison for crimes committed while under legal age.

A 2012 Supreme Court ruling which stated that mandatory life without parole sentences for juvenile offenders were unconstitutional has been used as precedent in limiting judges abilities to hand down such sentences.

In response to that 2012 ruling, lower courts found that in order to hand down such sentences the judge must make a case for the offenders incorrigibility. The latest high court ruling strikes down the need for this assessment.

Jones was given an automatic life without parole sentence in 2004, and needed to be resentenced after it was determined that such sentences violate constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishments in the 2012 ruling. By that time, Jones had been in prison for a decade. He was considered a model prisoner, having graduated high school in prison and exemplified good behavior throughout.

At his resentencing the judge upheld Joness life sentence without parole and did not make a special case for his incorrigibility in doing so despite, as his lawyers argued, evidence that Jones was indeed capable of rehabilitation. The case was ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court.

The argument that the sentencer must make a finding of permanent incorrigibility is inconsistent with the courts precedents, Kavanaughs majority opinion argues. In a case involving an individual who was under 18 when he or she committed a homicide, a States discretionary sentencing system is both constitutionally necessary and constitutionally sufficient.

In other words, harsh sentences are constitutional as long as they are at the discretion of the judge and not mandated by law. The ultimate legality in such sentencing policies is up to individual states. Currently there are 25 states which ban in their entirety the sentencing of juveniles to life in prison without parole.

For the 19 states that do currently allow such sentences to be imposed, Thursdays decision makes such sentences easier, and according to associate justice Sonia Sotomayor, an Obama appointee, this will lead to increasing number of minor offenders dying in prison.

Time and again, this court has recognized that children are constitutionally different from adults for the purposes of sentencing, Sotomayor wrote in her dissent. If a sentencing discretion is all that is required, far too many juvenile offenders will be sentenced to die in prison and that the sentences will not fall equally.

Kathryn Miller, a clinical professor of law at Cardozo Law School, argues that the latest decision will undermine the relevance of the idea of rehabilitation entirely. A lot of times these judges really want to still focus on the facts of the crime even though it is years or decades later, Miller told National Public Radio. Theyre not interested in the rehabilitation narrative.

The high courts decision will undoubtedly lead to harsher, more severe punishments across the board for juvenile offenders, giving judges discretionary power to hand down the most severe of punishments for crimes committed while offenders are incapable of understanding the consequences. The ramifications of this will be felt most by the working class and poor, who make up the majority of those incarcerated in the sprawling US network of overcrowded and poorly maintained prisons.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 02:46:55|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari urged on Tuesday the United States to consider relocating the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) from Germany to Africa, so as to strengthen ongoing efforts to check the security situation in the continent.

A statement from the presidency said Buhari made the suggestion in a virtual meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Tuesday.

"Considering the growing security challenges in West and Central Africa, Gulf of Guinea, Lake Chad region and the Sahel, weighing heavily on Africa, it underscores the need for the United States to consider relocating AFRICOM Headquarters from Stuttgart, Germany to Africa and near the theatre of operation," he said.

Regions mentioned by the Nigerian president have long been haunted by security threats including rebels, extremists, kidnappers and armed bandits.

Buhari said the support of important and strategic partners cannot be overstated as the consequences of insecurity will affect all nations hence the imperative for concerted cooperation and collaboration of all nations to overcome these challenges.

The president said Nigeria will enhance collaborations in all forms, with friends and strategic partners, to work together for greater security for all.

According to the statement, Blinken said he was pleased to make Nigeria part of his "first virtual visit to Africa," noting that Nigeria and the United States share a lot in bilateral issues.

He said areas of discussion with Nigeria would include "how to build our economies back after the COVID-19 pandemic, security for vulnerable communities, and climate issues." Enditem
Hunter Biden has been tapped as a guest speaker for a new class offered to students this fall at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Biden, the second eldest son of President Joe Biden, is among a slew of high profile figures invited as guest speakers for a new course on media polarization in the U.S., a spokesperson for the university told McClatchy News.

The 10-week Media Polarization and Policy Impacts class will be co-taught by Andrew Schwartz, communications director for Washington, D.C.-based think tank The Center for Strategic and International Studies. According to a course description, lessons will focus on the current state of the media landscape in the United States and how media polarization, fake news and the economics of the new business impact public policymaking in Washington, D.C, Fox News reports.

Other guest speakers include Dr. Deborah Birx, former White House COVID-19 response coordinator under President Donald Trump; Juan Williams, political analyst for Fox News; and Dr. Michael Fauntroy, a political science professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

None of the speakers will be paid.

Hunter Biden has faced criticism from conservative media in recent months, namely over a laptop alleged to have evidence of unethical foreign transactions with a Ukranian businessman, according to a New York Post expose published toward the end of the 2020 presidential race.

Certainly, there could be a laptop out there that was stolen from me, he said April 4 during an appearance on CBS Sunday Morning. It could be that I was hacked, it could be that it was Russian intelligence. It could be that it was stolen from me.

In early April, Biden released a memoir detailing his struggle with substance abuse.
Just back from a vacation, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell on Tuesday publicly supported the Chauvin verdict, said the bureau still hasnt selected officers to fill a new uniformed police team to address gun violence and said he would cooperate if an independent prosecutor is appointed to investigate the fatal shooting of a man by an officer in Lents Park earlier this month.

Lovell said he isnt sure where the bureau will draw officers for what will be called the Focused Intervention Team -- a group of 12 officers and two sergeants who will work on the street to proactively try to curb a surge in shootings and homicides in Portland.

Were in the process of figuring out where were going to get the resources for that team, he said, providing an answer similar to one he gave on April 7 after the City Council gave the bureau approval for the team but withheld money to do it.

We realize the urgency and having it up and running as soon as possible, but we want to be really mindful about how we do the selection, who well include in that process and giving those officers who are going to be doing that important work all the tools and things they need to be successful.

He didnt provide a time frame, other than saying the reconstituted team should be in place by this summer. A key component of the team -- a community oversight committee -- hasnt been selected yet, he noted. Plus, Lovell said, he wants community involvement in selecting the officers.

So far this year, 28 people have died in homicides in Portland, which include a police fatal shooting. Of those killings, 21 involved guns.

Police also have recorded 337 shootings, with 110 people wounded by gunfire this year. There were four shootings overnight into Tuesday in the city, including one that left a 13-year-old boy wounded with a bullet graze injury to his leg, police said.

Lovell was out of state from April 15 through April 25. He was gone during the announcement of the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd and the April 16 fatal shooting of Robert Douglas Delgado by Officer Zachary DeLong in Lents Park.

On the verdict, Lovell said: I personally feel that the jury got it right. The jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

I said from the outset how troubling it was to watch that video of George Floyd being killed, and I think, you know, we come to this work with a servants heart, and it should be done with compassion and that was not what was displayed there, Lovell said.

The best we can hope for out of the Floyd killing and Chauvins trial is some positive change will come out of this and keep that from happening to someone else, he said.

With regard to the fatal police shooting of Delgado, Lovell said his death was a tragic thing that affects Delgados loved ones, Portland residents and people in the Police Bureau. Delgado, 46, was reported quick-drawing a gun in the park before officers arrived, police said.

DeLong fired an AR-15 rifle at Delgado from about 90 feet away. Delgado was shot once and died at the scene. Police said they found a replica gun with an orange tip and a magazine near him.

While the chief said he supports police responding with mental health workers to scenes involving people in crisis, he said the Lents Park report involved a gun and wasnt the type of call meant for the citys new Portland Street Response team. Street Response pairs a firefighter with a mental health crisis worker.

Lovell said the Street Response team is geared to lower threat calls that dont include a weapon.

I do think there is a room for co-responder models but I think we just have to implement it in a safe manner ... that doesnt put people in unnecessary harm, he said.

Police last week released a brief timeline of events and audio of radio transmission calls from the police shooting but not the 911 calls. He said the bureau tries to balance the publics need for information while also working to maintain the integrity of the criminal and internal investigations into police-involved shooting.

The family of Delgado last week called for a special prosecutor -- separate from the Multnomah County District Attorneys Office - to investigate the police shooting.

Asked if hed support that, Lovell said the decision would be made above him.

As a leader of an organization, I would never stand in the way of an independent look at an incident or the organization, he said. We would cooperate and participate in that investigation as appropriate.

Lovell also missed a spate of civil unrest while he was out of the state and said hes frustrated by the continued direct action events in the city that often devolve into window-smashing, graffiti-scrawling or clashes with officers. People recently smashed windows at a church downtown and the Blazers Boys & Girls Club in Northeast Portland.

He said police will continue to work with the district attorney to make key arrests for those causing violence or destroying property and said that will remain true for the upcoming May Day events.

We fully support peoples right to go out and exercise their free speech, but we just ask that they do it in a manner that doesnt include destruction and violence or any criminal acts, he said.

Police didnt disclose what preparations theyre making for May Day.

We have been in the planning process for how to respond to any criminal behavior, and well make arrests where appropriate, said Sgt. Kevin Allen, bureau spokesman. Were not sharing any details about our tactical planning right now.'

The chief also said an internal investigation continues into Officer Brian Hunzeker, who resigned from his position as president of the Portland Police Association over what the union called his serious, isolated mistake related to a hit-and-run callers report that erroneously identified Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty as the suspect. Hunzeker remains on patrol at North Precinct, police said.

The chief said hes comfortable allowing Hunzeker to remain on the street as the internal inquiry continues, though he said he doesnt know exactly what Hunzeker did beyond his statement for leaving the union position.

So Im confident well find out exactly what happened as our investigation progresses, and then well make the decisions necessary once we have the information, Lovell said.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
April 22, 2021

Leading provider of industrial automation equipment, Rockwell Automation, has gifted multiple programmable logic controllers and associated I/O modules to Idaho State Universitys Energy Systems Technology and Education Center (ESTEC).

Programmable logic controllers are the brains of modern industrial facilities said Vince Bowen, Executive Director of ESTEC. While students in all of our programs are exposed to core industrial automation concepts, this donation will especially help our Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) students stay up to date with the latest technology. Thank you, Rockwell.

Established in 2007 with the help of the Idaho National Laboratory ESTEC, has the unique mission of preparing students to help design, build, operate and maintain industrial facilities ranging from water treatment plants to nuclear power stations.

The donation was arranged by Ahmik Hindman and Tad Gropp who serve as members of ESTECs technical advisory committee.

We are excited by the breadth and depth we see at ESTEC explained Hindman, an industrial cybersecurity specialist working out of Rockwells Seattle office, Industry needs well-prepared technicians to take US manufacturing into a bright future.

ESTEC produces about 55 of graduates per year, with strong salaries in high-demand engineering technology fields including electrical, mechanical, instrumentation, nuclear operations, and industrial cybersecurity.

It is so fantastic to participate in an intense hands-on program like Electrical Engineering Technology at ISU, and to know we count on the support of leading industrial firms like Rockwell said student Ezekiel Whitecar, who plans on entering a licensed electrician journeyman apprenticeship after graduating.

Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. They connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable.
Murderer Ron Medich and his family have reaped almost $500million from the sale of a block of land next to the new Western Sydney International Airport.

Ron and Roy Medich paid just $3.5million for the 344 hectares of farmland in 1996 and the single-storey brick home that stands on it was last rented for $280 a week.

The Badgerys Creek block on Elizabeth Drive - one of the largest bordering the airport - sold for $499,950,000 to a consortium with links to a Chinese billionaire.

Sales records show the vendors were Roy Medich Properties Pty Ltd and CSPA Properties Pty Ltd, of which 73-year-old jailed killer Ron Medich is shareholder.

Murderer Ron Medich and his family have reaped almost $500million from the sale of a block of land next to the new Western Sydney International Airport. Medich is pictured ahead of being jailed for a minimum 30 years for ordering the killing of business rival Michael McGurk

Ron and Roy Medich paid just $3.5million for the 344 hectares of farmland (pictured) on Elizabeth Drive at Badgerys Creek in 1996. The brothers bought the land from the CSIRO

The Badgerys Creek block on Elizabeth Drive - one of the largest bordering the airport - was sold by the Medich brothers for $499,950,000 to a consortium with links to a Chinese billionaire. An artist's impression of the new airport is pictured

The buyer was Roberts Jones Funds Management, directed by two low-profile Chinese-Australians, and the deal was settled on February 19.

The sale, 25 years after the Mediches bought the land from the CSIRO, represents a windfall for both brothers but particularly for his older sibling Ron.

Ron Medich is in the maximum security Lithgow Correctional Centre serving a minimum 30-year sentence for ordering the contract killing of business rival Michael McGurk.

Mr McGurk, a Scottish-born father-of-four, was shot once in the head outside his home at Cremorne on Sydney's lower north shore on September 3, 2009.

Medich had paid $500,000 for 51-year-old Mr McGurk to be killed after fighting with him over millions of dollars in and out of court for years.

During his murder trial Medich complained he had only $1,000 in his bank account and his estranged wife Odetta would not give him 'one red cent'.

After his imprisonment in June 2018 the assets of Ron Medich Properties were transferred into CSPA Properties, with his son Peter as director.

During his murder trial Medich (pictured) complained he had only $1,000 in his bank account and his estranged wife Odetta would not give him 'one red cent'

Michael McGurk, a Scottish-born father-of-four, was shot once in the head outside his home at Cremorne on Sydney's lower north shore on September 3, 2009. Ron Medich paid $500,000 for Mr McGurk (pictured) to be killed after fighting with him over millions of dollars for years

In 2017 it was reported the Medich brothers were in talks for a $500million sale of their Elizabeth Drive landholding to companies associated with Chinese property magnate Tim Ching Shum.

Mr Shum, also known as Shen Yuxing, is the majority shareholder of Boyuan Holdings, a development company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

When the original deal did not go through a new consortium was formed under the Roberts Jones name which a spokesman told The Australian newspaper was a 'local' company.

Ron Medich's brother Roy (pictured) is a prominent businessman and philanthropist

Roberts Jones was a 'consortium comprised of major institutional financiers [who] supported and helped debt fund this landmark acquisition,' the spokesman said.

The site in the airport's Northern Gateway precinct would be developed into a major employment, logistics and mixed-use precinct to service the new airport and 'aerotropolis'.

Boyuan Holdings has been appointed by Roberts Jones as development agents for the project, the spokesman said.

Roberts Jones is directed by Chinese-born Bo (Bob) Gong, who lives at Bellevue Hill in Sydney's eastern suburbs, and Cheng Jia (Jonathan) Pan, who lives on the lower north shore at Mosman.

The Guardian reported the purchase of the Badgerys Creek property would not need Foreign Investment Review Board approval because Mr Gong and Mr Pan were Australian citizens.

Mr Pan told The Guardian: 'There are many investors in the consortium, but given confidentiality agreements in place, we cannot disclose further details.'

In December, the Medich brothers sold 73 hectares on nearby The Northern Road at Bringelly to Roberts Jones Bringelly Pty Ltd for $77.2 million.

The and the single-storey, three-bedroom, one-bathroom brick home (pictured) that stands on the site the Medich brothers have sold for $499,950,000 was last rented for $280 a week

The Medich brothers made fortunes developing property in western Sydney but split their interests after their last major project together, Norton Plaza Shopping Centre at Leichhardt, opened in 1999.

Roy Medich has since bought and sold landmark pubs including the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, Hotel Centennial at Woollahra, The Buena at Mosman and the Woolwich Pier Hotel.

He and wife Patricia have three children who are all involved in the philanthropic Medich Foundation which funds community organisations, the arts and medical research.

Last year the federal auditor-general found taxpayers had paid almost $30million in July 2018 to buy land at Badgerys Creek that about 11 months later was valued at $3million.

Western Sydney International Airport is set to open in 2026. Ron Medich, who last month lost an appeal against his murder conviction, will be eligible for release in February 2048.
The Supreme Court has extended the period of limitation for filing appeals from courts or tribunals by litigants until further orders in view of the steep rise in COVID-19 cases across the country.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said the extraordinary situation caused by the sudden, second outburst of coronavirus requires extraordinary measures to minimise the hardship of litigant-public in all the states.

"We, therefore, restore the order dated March 23, 2020 and in continuation of the order dated March 8, 2021 direct that the period(s) of limitation, as prescribed under any general or special laws in respect of all judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings, whether condonable or not, shall stand extended till further orders," the top court said.

The apex court said the period from March 14, 2021 till further orders shall also stand excluded in computing the periods prescribed under Sections 23 (4) and 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and provisos (b) and (c) of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and any other laws, which prescribe period(s) of limitation for instituting proceedings, outer limits (within which the court or tribunal can condone delay) and termination of proceedings.

"We have passed this order in exercise of our powers under Article 142 read with Article 141 of the Constitution of India.

"Hence it shall be a binding order within the meaning of Article 141 on all Courts/Tribunals and Authorities. This order may be brought to the notice of all High Courts for being communicated to all subordinate courts/Tribunals within their respective jurisdiction," the bench said.

The bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and A S Bopanna, issued notice to all the Registrars General of the High Courts, returnable in six weeks.

The matter is posted the matters for hearing on July 19, 2021.

The top court on March 8 had noted that country was "returning to normalcy" and decided to end the extension of limitation period which was granted for filing appeals in March, 2020 to litigants due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The apex court had on March 23 last year invoked its plenary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to extend the limitation period of appeals from courts or tribunals on account of the pandemic with effect from March 15, 2020.

The top court had been extending the limitation period by interim orders and finally decided to put an end to this keeping in mind the improved situation in the country and the fact that courts have started functioning.

The apex court had said its order would be applicable in cases including those under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, the Commercial Courts Act and the cheque bounce cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act.

Due to the onset of pandemic, the top court had taken a suo motu cognizance of the situation arising from difficulties that might be faced by the litigants across the country in filing cases within the limitation period and had passed the order.

Also Read: SC extends limitation period to file cases in view of COVID-19

Also Read: Air India to phase out Boeing 747s marking end of an era
PHILADELPHIA, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Please see below for links to each of the Aberdeen Standard Investments U.S. closed-end monthly factsheets including performance and portfolio composition as of March 31, 2021.

Equity Funds

Aberdeen Australia Equity Fund, Inc. ("IAF") Factsheet

Aberdeen Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund, Inc. ("AEF") Factsheet

Aberdeen Global Dynamic Dividend Fund ("AGD") Factsheet

Aberdeen Japan Equity Fund, Inc. ("JEQ") Factsheet

Aberdeen Standard Global Infrastructure Income Fund ("ASGI") Factsheet

Aberdeen Total Dynamic Dividend Fund ("AOD") Factsheet

The India Fund, Inc. ("IFN") Factsheet

Fixed Income Funds

Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. ("FAX") Factsheet

Aberdeen Global Income Fund, Inc. ("FCO") Factsheet

Aberdeen Income Credit Strategies Fund ("ACP") Factsheet

Property Funds

Aberdeen Global Premier Properties Fund ("AWP") Factsheet

Important Information

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]

SOURCE Aberdeen Standard Investments Inc.
Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University (Russia) and New Zealand University IPU New Zealand signed an agreement on cooperation in the framework of the international educational program of the Master's degree program International Business Development. According to the new agreement, Russian and international students will be able to obtain two degrees at once. The first one - after a year of study in New Zealand (Postgraduate Diploma, Level 8), the second one - after studying at Polytechnic University (Master's degree from SPbPU). The degrees of higher education of two different systems - Bologna and British - will significantly increase the competitiveness of future graduates on the international labor market. The duration of education will not change.

The International Business Development program is implemented by the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics, and Trade (IIMET) of SPbPU. "Despite the coronavirus pandemic, IIMET has made significant progress in establishing a partner network in New Zealand. We have formed a pool of partners with whom we continue to negotiate - particularly in the area of development international educational programs," noted IIMET Director Vladimir SHCHEPININ. "We understand the values of New Zealand universities, the peculiarities of the education system, and the main points of prospective cooperation. And I must say that the interest is mutual. In the near future, our main task is to expand the cooperation on other international programs and to intensify the joint publication activity."

An important step in the development of the new program will be obtaining accreditation by NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority). According to IIMET Deputy Director for International Activities Nikita LUKASHEVICH, this accreditation will allow the New Zealand partners to recognize the results of the SPbPU program and enable the graduates to get a Master's Degree, Level 9, in New Zealand.

According to Kiwi Education, Polytechnic University has become the first Russian university, which in 2020 has signed a cooperation agreement with a New Zealand university. In addition, New Zealand was the first region where SPbPU went online. "We are glad that it was Polytechnic University that turned out to be the first university in history to sign a cooperation agreement with a university in New Zealand. This is not an accident, but the result of hard, patient collaboration, an understanding of the current changes in the world of higher education, and the highest professionalism on both sides," stressed Serge NAIRI, Platinum Standard Education President and Kiwi Education Development Director.

"We are very grateful to our colleagues at Kiwi Education for the support and fruitful collaboration that began at the annual Asia Pacific Association for International Education APAIE in 2019. Kiwi Education is the leading accredited operator of the New Zealand education market. For more than two years, New Zealand colleagues, international services, and SPbPU institutes have been actively involved in negotiations, which, as you can see, have been confirmed by successful cases. I am sure that there will be new excellent results in our cooperation," commented Olga EMELYANOVA, Head of the Department of International Educational Programs and Academic Mobility.

###
Apr. 28After raising concerns about an alleged rodent infestation at Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants, a former employee says she was made to feel unsafe and was retaliated against, forcing her to resign.

Now, with the help of the New Mexico Prison and Jail Project, social worker Nicole Ramirez has filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe against the New Mexico Corrections Department.

"This is a textbook violation of our Whistleblower Protection Act," Steven Robert Allen, director of the New Mexico Prison and Jail Project, said in a news release. "We're grateful that people like Nicole have the courage to come forward and report on problems they see in our prisons and jails. She should have been commended for her actions. Instead, leadership at the women's prison retaliated against her."

Since taking her on as a client, the group says it discovered that the Corrections Department withheld Ramirez's complaints about the rodents in a public records request, prompting the Prison and Jail Project to file a lawsuit alleging violation of the state's the Inspection of Public Records Act.

A Corrections Department spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Ramirez was employed by Centurion Health, which was contracted to assess and maintain health care services at the women's prison. She worked there from December 2019 to about May 2020, according to the lawsuit, and during that time inmates told her about the rodent infestation in the prison's kitchen. She filed a complaint with the department's Office of Professional Standards. The complaint states that when inmates told correctional officers about the problem, they were told the rodent feces "sounds like extra protein" and were told to "file a grievance."

After Ramirez filed her complaint with the Corrections Department, the prison's warden, Vincent Vigil, called her into his office, according to the lawsuit. He wanted to know why Ramirez made the complaint and told her boss, Laura Sedillo, that she would need to be disciplined for filing the complaints.

Story continues

Sedillo did write up Ramirez, telling her she needs to "not work in ways that are detrimental" to the department, according to the lawsuit.

Soon after she met with Warden Vigil, Ramirez was told by inmates that Vigil instructed correctional officers to keep an eye on her. At about the same time, Ramirez's security card to the prison stopped working, court documents say. She soon felt unsafe working at the prison due to staff's hostility toward her, and resigned.

When Ramirez went to pick up her belongings at the prison, she was told by Sedillo that the prison's administration decided to pull her security clearance due to "untruthful statements" she made in an Office of Professional Standards investigation.
Soon after the lights dim from the Run for the Roses, the harness racing stakes season will begin to turn full tilt starting with the opening round of the Graduate Series at The Meadowlands on Saturday (May 1).

A pair of divisions scheduled on the 13-race card drew 16 pacing four-year-olds to spar, the first split carded as Race 8 and the second as Race 10.

Division one features the return of O'Brien Award winner Tattoo Artist, the 2019 freshman Ontario Sires Stakes champ now making his first start for trainer Chris Ryder. The stallion by Hes Watching ships north from Southern Oaks Training Center off two qualifiers against Doc Moore trainees Lady Arthur and Century Farroh. From his three-year-old year, Tattoo Artist won eight races from 17 starts to add to his total bankroll of $694,663 for owners Let It Ride Stables & Frank Cannon, Diamond Creek Racing and J&T Silva Stables. Todd McCarthy is listed to drive the Ontario phenom from post 8.

Little Brown Jug winner Captain Barbossa draws inside of Tattoo Artist, scoring from post 5. The Captaintreacherous gelding enters off a 1:49.1 victory with a :25.3 final quarter in an overnight race at The Meadowlands and will have Dexter Dunn handling the driving assignment for trainer Tony Alagna. Poseidon Seelster, a Canadian import from trainer Don Lindsey, also enters off sharp efforts at The Meadowlands, winning his last two races in sub-1:50 miles. That Sunshine Beach gelding will have George Brennan in the bike for trainer Nik Drennan.

Warrawee Vital makes his 2021 debut in the second Graduate division. Now racing in the Ron Coyne Jr. barn with regular conditioner Rob Fellows stationed at Harrahs Hoosier Park, Warrawee Vital comes in off a 1:51.1 qualifier to finish second to Ruthless Hanover, who starts from post 6. N. Yolanda Fellows and M&S Racing Stable Inc. lease the Captaintreacherous stallion while Tim Tetrick is listed to drive from post 1.

Sandbetweenmytoes, who handed Tall Dark Stranger one of his only losses as a three-year-old when winning the Breeders Crown at 203-1, also competes in the second division. Scott Zeron drives the Somebeachsomewhere gelding for trainer Jim Campbell from post 8 off an eighth-place finish to Sintra in The Meadowlands top-level pace last week.

Ontario Sires Stakes star Beaumond Hanover makes his second start for new connections Pollack Racing LLC and Jeff Cullipher from post 7. The Sportswriter stallion debuted with a fifth-place finish as the 6-5 favourite in the $20,000 Open Pace at Harrahs Hoosier Park last week. Tim Tetrick is also listed to drive.

Also returning to the track in the second division are freshman world champion Elver Hanover, who starts from post 2 for trainer Ron Burke and driver Yannick Gingras; and Allywag Hanover, the persistent Brett Pelling-trained Captaintreacherous stallion with David Miller listed to drive.

Starting Friday (April 30), the Canadian pool of talent at The Meadowlands will feature new competitors. Trainer Benoit Baillargeon will send five horses to the track over the course of the weekendtwo on Friday and three on Saturdaywhile Sara Baillargeon will send three on Saturday. Driver James MacDonald is currently listed to drive four horsestwo each nightat The Meadowlands. MacDonald will also cut his time at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, where he has six drives between Saturday and Sunday (May 2).
Xi shines light on CPC's commitments, spirit through Party history stories

Xinhua) 15:28, April 28, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a memorial hall in a memorial park dedicated to the Battle of the Xiangjiang River during the Long March in the 1930s, in Caiwan, a town in Quanzhou County in the city of Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- In his recent remarks during an inspection trip, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated strengthening belief via the learning of the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

As the CPC marks its centenary in 2021, the Party looks back at its history and recounts the shining moments in it.

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has on multiple occasions shared stories about the CPC and the spirit manifested within.

TRANSLATOR WHO TOOK INK FOR SUGAR

When speaking of the first Chinese version of the Communist Manifesto, Xi often shares the quote "the taste of truth is so sweet," which originates from the deeds of translator Chen Wangdao.

In 1920, young Chen Wangdao started translating the manifesto in his home village in east China's Zhejiang Province. One day, Chen's mother made him sticky rice dumplings and suggested he dip them in brown sugar water.

"I did, and they were very sweet," he responded. However, he was so absorbed in his work, and did not realize his mouth was stained black as he had dipped the dumplings in ink instead. It was with such dedication that Chen finished the translation and introduced the principles of Marxism into China.

Chen's work paved the way for the birth of the CPC. Over the years, the CPC has inherited the ideas and combined the fundamental principles of Marxism with China's reality during the country's revolution, construction and reform.

To this day, Chinese leaders have attached great importance to studying the Communist Manifesto. In the new era, the principles and spirit of Marxism continue to lead the way for the CPC.

SOLDIERS WHO CUT UP THEIR QUILT

Members of the CPC always bear in mind the interests and needs of the people. In September 2020, when visiting the city of Chenzhou, central China's Hunan Province, Xi cited a revolutionary story that took place there in 1934.

In the middle of the arduous Long March, Xu Jiexiu, an impoverished mother living in the local village of Shazhou, received three female Red Army soldiers at her home.

Shocked that Xu had only hay for mattresses and some torn-up cotton wool for quilts, the soldiers shared their only quilt with her and her son during their stay. As they were leaving, they insisted that she keep it for the winter, which Xu refused.

To settle the dispute, a soldier cut the quilt and left Xu half of it. Deeply touched, Xu never forgot about the soldiers or their acts of kindness for the rest of her life.

Lacking food and clothing, even facing life-or-death situations, the Red Army still kept the people's well-being in mind, Xi said, noting that the story shows the CPC's original aspiration and character.

Today, nearly a century from when Xu sheltered the three soldiers, the spirit manifested in the story of "half a quilt" still shines on.

As China embarks on a Long March of the new era, Xi has reassured the public of the CPC's people-oriented attribute, stressing that the Party remains committed to serving the people, which is not only a slogan, but also an action of persistence.

Achieving a complete victory in China's fight against poverty, which saw the final 98.99 million impoverished rural residents lifted out of poverty over the past eight years, the Party is moving on toward its goal of building a modern socialist China and common prosperity for all.

"BEGGAR" WITH GOLD BARS ON HIS BACK

It is the CPC's uncompromising requirement for its members to remain incorruptible. When inspecting east China's Jiangxi Province in 2019, Xi spoke of the deeds of Liu Qiyao, a faithful and uncorrupted Party member.

As the leader of the Communist authority in Jiangxi, Liu was once trusted with the activity funds of the local Party organization, including 13 gold bars.

In the 1930s, after losing connection with his comrades in a battle, Liu packed up the hidden funds, embarked on a journey to find them during which he once even lived a beggar's life.

After finally getting in touch with other Party members, Liu submitted the funds. To everyone's surprise, none of the valuables were missing. Even in his most desperate days, Liu did not use any of the funds for himself.

"Only if we remain clean and upright in governance can we win public trust," Xi noted.

Despite historic achievements made over the past years on fighting corruption, it remains the biggest risk to the Party's governance, as Xi has pointed out.

The self-improvement of the CPC, a ruling political party with more than 91 million members, has a major bearing on the future of a country of over 1.4 billion people.

Just as Xi once put it, "The governance over the Party must always be strict, so that the CPC can lead and ensure the smooth sailing of the great ship of socialism with Chinese characteristics."

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
The North Atlantic Alliance welcomes the recent easing of tensions on Ukraine's borders, but it continues to demand that Russia halt its military build-up and engage in the political process to settle the conflict, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

He said this at a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday, April 27, following talks with Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"We have seen that there has been a reduction in the tensions and, of course, we welcome that. At the same time, we will now monitor the situation and the developments very closely, and we expect Russia to end all their military build-up in and around Ukraine. And we also expect Russia to engage in good faith in the political process because it is only through negotiations and through a political process that we can find a political, lasting solution," Stoltenberg said.

"I spoke with President [Volodymyr] Zelensky recently. [We] also had Foreign Minister [Dmytro] Kuleba coming here to NATO and [he] briefed the North Atlantic Council. And NATO allies reiterated their strong political support, their strong practical support to Ukraine, and NATO allies will continue to help Ukraine with implementing reforms, modernizing their defense and security institutions, and also NATO allies provide all the types of practical support and training support for Ukraine," he added.

Stoltenberg noted that NATO allies were very concerned about what has been happening around Ukraine over the past few weeks. These events, he said, are "a pattern of Russian behavior which we have seen over many years." Russia also continues to violate Ukraine's sovereignty and attempts to restrict access to parts of the Black Sea and Kerch Strait, Stoltenberg said.

According to him, NATO stands in solidarity with Ukraine. Allies are deeply concerned by Russia's destabilizing actions across the Euro-Atlantic area, including on NATO territory, Stoltenberg said.

"We stand in full solidarity with the Czech Republic following the fatal explosion at an ammunition storage depot," he added.

op
Adams, a Chicago Public Schools student in first grade, was shot six times while she waited at the McDonalds in the 3200 block of West Roosevelt Road in the Homan Square neighborhood on the West Side, police said. Her father, 29, was seriously injured with a gunshot wound to the lower back.
The HUD faced backlash when the Biden administration decided to roll back another Trump-era policy that forbids transgender persons from being housed in homeless shelters according to gender identity.

Conservative Christian rights group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) on Friday publicly criticized the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under President Joe Biden for reversing a Trump measure that empowered faith-based groups that operate homeless shelters to assign transgenders to homes according to their sex at birth.

HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge on Thursday undid the Trump-era policies that mandated to provide shelter access to transgenders as long as they were placed in shelters specifically for their birth-assigned sex.

"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Biden administration has abandoned women and girls under the guise of being 'inclusive,'" ADF's senior counsel Kate Anderson declared. "But it's not 'inclusive' to force shelters to violate their faith or impose a blanket federal policy that forces vulnerable women to share space with men who claim a female identity."

Per the Washington Times, the Trump policy, which was proposed in July 2020, would let faith-based shelters decide where to house biological men and women, no matter what their gender identity was. HUD Secretary Fudge withdrew the Trump administration's ruling, which already had been in the process of implementation when former President Trump's presidency ended.

Fudge argued that the Trump-era policy, if fully implemented, would violate an Obama administration measure that is currently in effect, which requires federally funded shelters to accept individuals according to their gender identity.

Fudge added that by allowing faith-based shelters to segregate the homeless based on their biological sex is tantamount to discrimination. She stressed "HUD's commitment that no person be denied access to housing or other critical services because of their gender identity."

According to Politico, an HUD offical expressed how transgender individuals "already face disproportionately high rates of homelessness and extreme risk in unsheltered homelessness." HUD statistics also found that there was a higher rate of transgender wome reporting to be excluded from homeless shelters. In addition, almost 7% of unsheltered homeless youth identify as transgender or gender non-conforming.

Just last month, Sherrie Laurie, the executive director of a faith-based women's shelter in Anchorage, Alaska Downtown Hope Center wrote an op-ed for the Anchorage Daily News where she defended the women's shelter's rights to accommodate biological females with respect to their safety.

Laurie argued that faith-based shelters like hers house women who are often victims and survivors of domestic or other types of abuse and that housing biologically born men who identify as women does not bode well for the women who seek safety at the shelter.

Two years ago, the very same faith-based shelter filed a lawsuit against Alaska for forcing them to accept transgender women and later won the case, NBC News reported. ADF attorney Ryan Tucker said at the time, "Faith-based nonprofits should be free to serve consistently with their beliefs and mission. The end of this case means the center can continue its critically needed work to help the vulnerable women it serves and fulfill its duty to do everything it can to protect them."
News Around the Republic of Mexico



Mexico Looking to Bottle Russian COVID-19 Vaccine



Mexico's state-run vaccine manufacturer, Birmex, is working with Russia on a plan to bottle Sputnik V in Mexico, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said last week. Mexico City, Mexico - Mexico's top diplomat traveled to Moscow last Sunday for a visit with Russian officials, his office said, amid talks to hammer out plans for Mexico to bottle Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine domestically after delays in shipments.



The government is aiming to quicken its pace of vaccinations, with just more than 4% of its population of 126 million people fully inoculated.



As of Sunday, Mexico had registered 214,947 deaths, the fourth most worldwide, and 2,328,391 infections from the pandemic. The government has said the real number of cases is likely significantly higher.



Mexico's state-run vaccine manufacturer, Birmex, is working with Russia on a plan to bottle Sputnik V in Mexico, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said last week, just as Argentina produced test batches of the two-shot vaccine.



"Birmex is working jointly with Russian institutions so that Mexico can bottle the vaccine," Ebrard told Russian media outlets on Friday. "There is already significant progress."



Health ministry official Ruy Lopez told reporters on Sunday that the government's aim is to ramp up distribution of Sputnik V not only in Mexico, but also other parts of Latin America.



Russia has shipped 1.1 million Sputnik V doses to Mexico to date, far fewer doses than those originally slated to have arrived by now.



Mexico's Health Ministry said in late February it expected to receive 7.4 million doses of Sputnik V by April and an additional 16.6 million shots in May. Mexico has signed an agreement to acquire a total of 24 million doses.



Mexico is increasingly aiming to bottle vaccines domestically following delays from providers, and has already bottled 2.6 million shots of China's CanSino vaccine.



It also plans to bottle AstraZeneca shots using vaccine material produced in Argentina. But the first doses are not expected until May due to delays at the Mexican production lab.



Ebrard's visit to Moscow will last through Wednesday and include a meeting with his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.



The minister will also visit China, India and the United States as part of his government's efforts to make sure that its supply agreements for vaccines against COVID-19 are honored.



Source: Reuters (Reporting: Daina Beth Solomon & Adriana Barrera; Editing: Peter Cooney) - Mexico's top diplomat traveled to Moscow last Sunday for a visit with Russian officials, his office said, amid talks to hammer out plans for Mexico to bottle Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine domestically after delays in shipments.The government is aiming to quicken its pace of vaccinations, with just more than 4% of its population of 126 million people fully inoculated.As of Sunday, Mexico had registered 214,947 deaths, the fourth most worldwide, and 2,328,391 infections from the pandemic. The government has said the real number of cases is likely significantly higher.Mexico's state-run vaccine manufacturer, Birmex, is working with Russia on a plan to bottle Sputnik V in Mexico, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said last week, just as Argentina produced test batches of the two-shot vaccine."Birmex is working jointly with Russian institutions so that Mexico can bottle the vaccine," Ebrard told Russian media outlets on Friday. "There is already significant progress."Health ministry official Ruy Lopez told reporters on Sunday that the government's aim is to ramp up distribution of Sputnik V not only in Mexico, but also other parts of Latin America.Russia has shipped 1.1 million Sputnik V doses to Mexico to date, far fewer doses than those originally slated to have arrived by now.Mexico's Health Ministry said in late February it expected to receive 7.4 million doses of Sputnik V by April and an additional 16.6 million shots in May. Mexico has signed an agreement to acquire a total of 24 million doses.Mexico is increasingly aiming to bottle vaccines domestically following delays from providers, and has already bottled 2.6 million shots of China's CanSino vaccine.It also plans to bottle AstraZeneca shots using vaccine material produced in Argentina. But the first doses are not expected until May due to delays at the Mexican production lab.Ebrard's visit to Moscow will last through Wednesday and include a meeting with his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.The minister will also visit China, India and the United States as part of his government's efforts to make sure that its supply agreements for vaccines against COVID-19 are honored.



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An Atlanta-area sheriff with a history of legal troubles faces federal civil rights charges for ordering several detainees to be strapped to restraint chairs for hours at a time even though they posed no danger to deputies, prosecutors said.

In an indictment that was unsealed on Monday, the sheriff, Clayton Countys Victor Hill, is charged with four criminal counts alleging that he used unreasonable force against four people who had been taken into custody last year by his office and violated their rights to due process.

One of them was restrained for so long without being allowed to use a restroom that he urinated on himself, according to prosecutors, who said that Sheriff Hill repeatedly made menacing comments toward several of the individuals.

Federal authorities said that the use of restraint chairs in each of the cases had violated the policies of the sheriffs office, which stipulate that they should be used only when an inmate exhibits violent or uncontrollable behavior and other control techniques are not effective.
Dear Tripped Up,

My husband and I are both fully vaccinated, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that were good to travel  with some modifications, of course.

But I am faced with a dilemma. Alaska, where we live, has been on the forefront of vaccinations. But until everyone we might encounter on a trip has been vaccinated, I am struggling with the idea of getting on a plane unless its absolutely necessary. On the other hand, I realize that tourism-reliant destinations badly need help right now.

How can I think reasonably about the following questions: Can I travel  and should I travel  if I know theres some chance, however small, that it could endanger others? And if I do travel, how can I ensure Im keeping other people as safe as possible? Jackie

Dear Jackie,

With the news that vaccinated Americans may be able to travel to Europe this summer, the question of We can, but should we? is certain to be top of mind. And the decision fatigue is real, especially when youre trying to weigh the public health and ethical elements of traveling.
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The NHS app will double as a covid passport for tourists with the details of millions of vaccinations already uploaded, it was revealed today, as Portugal said it hopes to welcome British holidaymakers without jabs from mid-May.

Thousands have rushed to download the app this morning and were shocked to discover details of their vaccinations - including how many they've had and the type of vaccine administered - were already waiting for them.

But the Department of Health has denied claims on social media it has secretly rolled out covid passports, insisting that all vaccines are automatically added to the app when it connects to the user's medical records.

Sources said the app's covid passport update is still in development but is being rushed through before May 17, when foreign holidays become legal. Ministers hope an updated version of the app will allow people to display their vaccine and test status on their phones, with a personal scannable QR code for use at passport control.

Grant Shapps revealed today that the NHS app is being worked on to become a health certificate for international travel ahead of the G7 in Cornwall in early June - but refused to be drawn on the finer details of how it would work - leaving huge unanswered questions about how people would get record of a negative non-NHS test uploaded, and what happens to un-vaccinated people when they return from their holidays.

He told Sky News: 'In terms of vaccine certification, I can confirm we are working on an NHS application, actually it will be the NHS app that is used for people when they book appointments with the NHS and so on, to be able to show you've had a vaccine or you've had testing.

'I'm working internationally with partners across the world to make sure that system can be internationally recognised, as that's the way forward. Actually, I'm chairing a meeting of the G7 secretaries of state for transport, my equivalents from America and Canada and all the G7 countries, next week on exactly this subject'.

Mr Shapps' announcement led to a rush of people trying to download the app, including former footballer Stan Collymore, who shared details of his Oxford/AstraZeneca jab with his 895,000 followers. It led to a flurry of replies from others who had discovered the same thing.

Manuel Lobo Antunes, Portugal's ambassador to the UK, said UK holidaymakers could be able to visit the country next month. He told Sky News the country is 'hopeful' that 'from the middle of May, regular mobility between the UK and Portugal and vice versa can be established'.

Asked if Britons who have not been vaccinated can travel to Portugal, he added: 'Yes, that's the idea, that's what we wanted, to as much as possible go back to the regime that existed before the pandemic. It's in that direction we are working and that is possible.'

More details about Britain's covid passport emerged as:

Portugal demanded to be on the UK's 'green list' of destinations immediately and says it will open up from mid-May in largely the same way as before the pandemic;

Spain says it will open up in June, but Grant Shapps has said the public will have to 'wait and see' about whether the UK will free permit travel there;

Around 70% of adults in England now have coronavirus antibodies because of huge vaccine roll-out and 40million people live in Covid-free zones as experts say hugs could be back by June 21;

Fears of Indian Covid variant outbreak in Leicester as officials launch testing blitz at a school after three travellers are struck down with mutant strain;

Stan Collymore is among those who discovered today their Covid jab is already on the NHS app as the Government revealed it would be used to house vaccine passports from May. The NHS has denied this means the passports are live, insisting the jabs are automatically added to medical records

Millions could go to pubs with no social distancing under plans to let drinkers use mobile phones to prove they are free of Covid. This graphic shows how the app would have worked

It was Transport Secretary Grant Shapps who today revealed the NHS app is being worked on to become a health certificate for international travel - but explained it will be housed on the app used to book appointments and repeat prescriptions, not the Covid-19 one currently used to check into pubs, cafes and other venues or 'ping' when somebody came close to a positive case.

But people using smartphones such as the Apple iPhone 6, launched in 2014, claim they were unable to download it because the NHS app says their smartphone is too old.

Domestic coronavirus statistics 'look good' enough to enable the resumption of foreign holidays from May 17, Mr Shapps also revealed.

Spain's tourism minister, Fernando Valdes Verelst, has told an international summit held by the World Travel & Tourism Council in Mexico that the country will welcome back tourists - including those from the UK - in June.

Mr Shapps said the NHS app is being worked on to become a health certificate for international travel. It only has three stars on the iPhone app store

He said: 'Spain is going to be ready in June to use this digital certificate. We are doing a pilot programme in May, in all our 46 airports.

'We are going to give all these travellers that certainty. Spain is going to be ready in June to tell all travellers worldwide that you can visit us.'

Overseas leisure travel could resume for people in England on May 17 under Boris Johnson's road map for easing restrictions.

Mr Shapps told Sky News: 'I have to say that so far the data does continue to look good from a UK perspective, notwithstanding those concerns about where people might be travelling to and making sure we're protected from the disease being reimported.'

He added he will set out which countries fall into the 'green', 'amber' and 'red' categories under the new risk-based traffic light system 'towards the beginning of May'.

That will determine what testing and quarantine requirements travellers will face when they return from various destinations.

Revealing Spain was throwing open its beaches, tourism minister Fernando Valdes Verelst said: 'June will be the start of the recovery of tourism in Spain. By then, we will have a digital vaccination certificate in place and we will be able to reopen our borders.'

He said Spain was pushing for the UK's digital vaccine passport to be 'mutually recognised' and that he welcomed Boris Johnson's plans to restart international travel.

Mr Verelst said he expected Spain to be on the UK's travel green list when international travel resumes thanks to the country's successful vaccine rollout which has seen 22 per cent of the population receive a first dose.

This would mean Britons returning to the UK from Spain would not have to quarantine.

But Mr Shapps said the public will have to 'wait and see' about whether the UK will permit travel to Spain.

He told Times Radio: 'Spain specifically, I'm afraid I just don't have the answer to that because the Joint Biosecurity Centre will need to come up with their assessment and we can't do that until a bit nearer the time.

'So we will need to wait and see.'

Speaking at the World Travel and Tourism Council in Mexico, he added: 'Because of the progress in our vaccine rollout with 22 per cent of our population having had their first dose already, we expect by June to be at the green light.

'We are having close conversations with UK authorities and we are exchanging information on Spain's digital system and the trial happening at our airports in May.'

Spain is the UK's most popular overseas destination with 18.1million people visiting the country from the UK in 2019.

The port city of Malaga in Spain's Costa del Sol was easyJet's top beach destination for British tourists in 2019.

The UK has earmarked May 17 as being the earliest date when international travel would be allowed for non-essential reasons following a winter lockdown, with a 'traffic light system' based on individual countries' COVID risk levels.

Spain is the UK's most popular overseas destination with 18.1 million people heading to the country in 2019 with Malaga (pictured) being easyJet's most popular beach destination

ITALY: UK pushing for Brits with Covid passports to be able to holiday freely by the end of June

GREECE: The islands including Rhodes (pictured) are ready to welcome tourists in mid-May and plan random testing at airports to deal with tourists

Greece insists the paper handwritten NHS card handed out with a jab will suffice as proof until the EU catches up

Shapps said he would set out into which categories countries would be placed early next month.

Turkey and Bulgaria lift travel bans for Britons and confirm tourists WON'T need a vaccine while bookings for villas in Greece and Portugal soar Turkey has announced that British tourists will be welcome in the country this summer without having to show a vaccination certificate. Visitors from the UK will not need to produce a Covid vaccine passport, but will need to show proof of a negative PCR test. The country also promises to provide testing for tourists before they return to the UK, with tests at hotels or airports costing around 25. Until now PCR tests for a family of four can cost as much as 500. Tui, the world's largest tour operator, said it had seen a surge in bookings to popular Turkish coastal resorts even before today's announcement. Rental company The Luxury Travel Book told MailOnline it had seen a spike in bookings for luxury villas in Greece, Portugal and Mallorca after the Greek Tourism Minister announced the plan to welcome British tourists from mid-May. People are booking up for month-long trips and asking for WiFi and a desk and are taking the whole family so that they can get paid to work from home while on holiday. The firm has also seen double the amount of requests for Greek villas compared to previous years, with demand for fully serviced villas with a chef, butler and housekeeper so tourists can stay away from busy restaurants. Popular islands Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu and Crete are already getting booked up, with most bookings from 2020 rolled over into this year. Brits are also looking for properties on smaller islands including Hydra, Paxos and Syros, which are off the beaten track and away from the crowds. Advertisement

'The data does continue to look good from a UK perspective notwithstanding those concerns about where people might be travelling to and making sure that we're protected from the disease being re-imported,' he said.

Talks between the UK and the EU are set to resume in days in a bid to sort out Covid passports for summer holidays in the hope they could be in place by June, officials have suggested.

Vaccinated Brits with Covid passports could holiday in the US, France, Italy and Germany by June 28, it was revealed, though Greece insists the handwritten paper NHS card handed out with a jab will suffice.

The EU is closing in on a deal with the US on Covid passports, with officials also saying they are open to a similar policy with the UK.

In response, a UK government spokesman said Britain was also ready to open talks with the EU shortly.

The spokesman said: 'Ensuring free and open travel with our European partners is vitally important which is why we will be engaging the European commission on reopening travel routes from the UK shortly.'

Meanwhile, it was revealed UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will hold talks with G7 counterparts at the Cornwall summit between June 11 and 13 with a view to securing a free travel agreement to popular destinations.

Mr Shapps will argue that they should agree international standards for vaccinated travellers heading to 'green list' nations who show digital proof of vaccination, a negative test or proof of immunity at passport control.

There would also be talks on bilateral 'travel corridors' to the US, France, Italy, Germany and other nations for passengers with a covid passport, according to the Daily Telegraph.

But Greece, which will open its borders on May 15 - two days before the UK allows holidays - is planning to go it alone, for now.

Harry Theoharis, the Greek tourism minister, told The Times their resorts will be open to any vaccinated Britons as long as they present their NHS vaccination card, signed by a nurse of doctor after getting the jab.

He said 'Until the UK has a digital passport, we have seen the paper cards that are provided with the two vaccine appointment dates and we are recognising them. They can be used on the ground and at the borders.'

Mr Theoharis said that testing would take place on arrivals, but only at random, with a review if positive cases jump upwards in the UK.

He added that once the EU sets up a digital scheme then they will sign up, but they are not willing to wait.

The European Union will throw open its borders to America this summer as it uses 'the same jabs' as the bloc, its top Eurocrat said yesterday.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was in advanced talks with Washington about kick-starting holidays by using 'vaccine passports' to re-open transatlantic routes.

But yesterday a Commission spokesman said there were 'no such contacts yet' between the UK and EU over recognition of health certificates for getting Britons back on European beaches.

In an interview with the New York Times Mrs von der Leyen said: 'The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines. This will enable free movement and the travel to the European Union.'

She added: 'Because one thing is clear: All 27 member states will accept, unconditionally, all those who vaccinated with vaccines that are approved by the EMA.'

Lavishing further praise on the Biden administration she added that the US was 'on track' and making 'huge progress' with its campaign to reach so-called herd immunity, or the vaccination of 70 percent of adults, by mid-June.

America is currently rolling out the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccine jabs, which are also approved for use across the EU by the European Medicines Agency.

'Longest summer ever' as Britons plan to take holidays throughout autumn to beat global Covid crackdowns Britons are preparing for the 'longest summer ever' as lockdown-weary holidaymakers rush to go abroad as late as November to beat global Covid crackdowns. Autumn bookings for international trips have seen an 80 per cent surge in interest compared to 2019 - as tour operators, hotels and airlines all report increased queries about later holidays. It comes amid warnings that summer trips could be under threat if the Foreign Office advises against travel to green list countries. The Government is preparing to lift the ban on international travel on May 17 and is finalising plans for a 'traffic light' system to determine which countries will be authorised destinations. However, experts have warned of confusion because the Foreign Office is expected to publish its own advice which could differ from the colour-coded scheme. Advertisement

Asked whether Mrs von der Leyen was in similar talks with the UK, a Commission spokesman said: 'So far there are no contacts to this end with the UK.'

The majority of Britons want the UK's foreign travel ban to last until next year - and most have no intention of going on holiday anywhere this summer, an exclusive poll for MailOnline revealed today, as Ministers rush through covid passports in time to start foreign breaks on May 17.

As Spain said it was 'desperate' for Brits to return this summer, some 55 per cent back extending the Covid restrictions on non-essential trips abroad into 2022 - while just 21 per cent would oppose the idea.

Meanwhile, 43 per cent say they are not planning to go anywhere at all on holiday this summer, with only a quarter harbouring hopes of a break in another country.

The findings, in an exclusive poll for MailOnline by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, underline the level of nervousness among the population after a year of brutal lockdowns.

It comes as ministers try to rush through 'Covid passports' in time for the scheduled easing of the non-essential travel ban on May 17 - but will only reveal the UK's 'green list' of countries on May 7 - as Spain talked up a quarantine-free travel corridor.

Greece says it is ready to welcome vaccinated British tourists immediately when its resorts open up on May 15, while Spain and Portugal say they will throw open their borders from June along with much of the EU.

Spanish Tourism Secretary, Fernando Valdes, said he wants UK holidaymakers to 'restart holidays' in six weeks, adding: 'We are desperate to welcome you this summer.

'We've been having constant conversations with UK authorities'. Mr Valdes said a travel corridor between the two countries, allowing quarantine-free breaks, is firmly on the table but only with covid passports 'easing' the return of 'safe' travel.

The European Union's ban on visitors in 2021 is not expected to apply to the UK because of its world-leading jab programme that has seen more than 33million get one dose and 10million of those receive both doses already.

A Government source told MailOnline that the Covid passport scheme would be in place next month to help people who want to travel to countries that are requiring proof of vaccination - but the source insisted that the key factor for Britons will be the rules on quarantine when returning to the UK.

'You've got countries saying we will welcome you. But it depends what the precautions on return are. We will have that green, amber, red system. It is about what you face when you come back to the UK. Can you isolate for 10 days?', the insider said.

And they suggested that holidaymakers will not know what countries fall into what 'traffic light' category until around a week before May 17, probably May 7. The criteria for assessing countries are set to include whether there are variants of concern, how good their genomic scanning system is, vaccination levels, and overall infection levels.

'That will all become clear much nearer the time,' one source said. 'India has just gone off... You're going to book a holiday in Spain in June? Well, good luck, but just make sure you are insured.'

Britons are preparing for the 'longest summer ever' as lockdown-weary holidaymakers rush to go abroad as late as November to beat global Covid crackdowns.

Autumn bookings for international trips have seen an 80 per cent surge in interest compared to 2019 - as tour operators, hotels and airlines all report increased queries about later holidays.

It comes amid warnings that summer trips could be under threat if the Foreign Office advises against travel to green list countries.

The Government is preparing to lift the ban on international travel on May 17 and is finalising plans for a 'traffic light' system to determine which countries will be authorised destinations.

However, experts have warned of confusion because the Foreign Office is expected to publish its own advice which could differ from the colour-coded scheme.

This means if the FO advises against travel to a certain country - even if it is permitted by the traffic light system - holidaymakers could see their plans disrupted.

Most holiday companies will not operate services in countries the Foreign Office has advised against visiting.

Meanwhile, going to a country against government guidelines will invalidate travel insurance.

Britons keen to avoid potential holiday issues - and those concerned about a much-slower vaccine rollout in several European nations - are looking at going abroad much later in the year.

Online flight booking website Skyscanner told The Times that more sunseekers are looking at holidays in September, October and November now than they were in 2019.

Some 43 per cent of all bookings at Co-op Travel fell into the late-summer category.

It was earlier revealed that even destinations on the green or amber list - where travel is permitted - could be off-limits if the Foreign Office advises against travelling to them.

Their advice is based on factors such as the risk of individuals getting stuck by Covid restrictions or the capacity and quality of the country's health services.
Parents slam Texas churches for exposing children to explicit sex education

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Some parents in Childress, Texas, are publicly voicing outrage at two local churches after their children were exposed to explicit sexual education materials without their consent. Church officials argue that they were simply responding to questions asked by the children.

One parent, Kayla Evans, revealed on Facebook that she was upset when she learned about the discussions and terminology her 13-year-old daughter was exposed to after being dropped off at Childress First United Methodist Church last Wednesday.

Im seriously at a loss for words and just completely confused what our daughter was taught at church tonight. Im outraged, Evans wrote.

Its been a while since Ive been at church but is this really whats being taught to youth now? I had to ask my 8 year old just to be sure he hasnt had some kind of talk without my permission. I didnt get this kind of sex talk. Hell I just learned some of it in my adult life, what is this world coming to? Ive been protecting them as much as possible from freaking YouTube I had no idea Id get this from church!!!!!!!!

The controversy first highlighted in a report by KCBD 11, surrounded a handout that was given to students as part of a sex and relationship lesson in the youth program (for kids ages of 12 to 18) of Church of Christ in Childress.

The lesson spanned a conversation on pornography, including a list of sexual terms like cunnilingus and fellatio.

I went back in forth on sharing but what **** said about [how] they want to reframe the definition of sex has me mind blown and concerned its being taught in other churches so I think other parents need to be aware!! Evans wrote.

A representative of Childress First United Methodist Church who said he was not authorized to speak publicly, told The Christian Post Tuesday that they partnered with Church of Christ in Childress for the sex education lesson and the church was well-intended.

We joined with another church, and it is a curriculum that theyve developed over the last 15 years, the representative said. The actual specific handout that was given out was compiled from questions that youth had over the last several weeks. It was answering questions that the kids brought up.

When asked why parents werent consulted before the church provided answers to the questions asked by the children, the representative said, I cant answer that. I dont know.

The parents were not aware of the handout, but the very few calls we have received have been asking questions of clarification. The majority of people have not called this church and my understanding is they have not called the other church. They have taken to social media to air grievance without finding out what actually happened, he said.

Mike Henderson, a representative for the United Church of Christ in Childress, did not immediately respond to calls from CP Tuesday. But he confirmed to KCBD 11 that the sex education lesson is part of a curriculum theyve been offering to their youth program for 15 years without issue because participants are usually aware of what will be covered.

I dont want to throw anybody under the bus, and I dont want to be critical or defensive at all. At the last minute, like maybe even 5:00 Wednesday afternoon, the youth minister from the other church involved called Drew Denman, our youth minister, asking if they can attend, Henderson said.

And he said, With parental consent, but when someone shows up, you cant tell them not to come in because they knew what it was about.

He further noted that this was the first time they allowed another church to join the series weeks after they started, which may have contributed to the reaction some parents had.

This was a seven week series, and they set the stage for all this. The person who was disappointed in this wasnt at the first three sessions to prepare them for what was going to happen, he said.

According to KCBD, the Church of Christ in Childress will implement changes to be more strict in getting parental authorization.
Laredo police said they rescued nine migrants who were held against their will inside a stash house, according to court documents.

The case unfolded at about 12:33 a.m. April 23 when officers responded to a report of nine migrants who had been kidnapped by a man identified as Martin Cabrera-Perez, 29, in the 300 block of Hidalgo Street. Officers arrived at the location and announced themselves as Police several times. Then, they noticed a rear home that had the door partially open.

As officers walked toward the door, they heard a man talking loudly on the phone. Officers announced themselves again. Cabrera-Perez opened the door. While officers interacted with Cabrera-Perez, officers noticed several people attempting to hide by getting as close as possible to the wall, court documents state.

Asked if he lived there, Cabrera-Perez stated that a friend lived there. Officers then asked Cabrera-Perez and the people inside the home to exit and sit on the ground. Everyone complied except for Cabrera-Perez. He was told several times to sit down until he complied, according to the affidavit. Police called for backup and requested assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol.

Immigration inspections revealed that Cabrera-Perez and the nine individuals inside the home were in the country illegally. A male in the group of eight men and one woman voiced out that they were being held against their will, according to police. One migrant identified as Luis Gomboa-Rios, 23, of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico claimed to have been beaten with a metal rod.

The migrants told police that Cabrera-Perez picked them up from the riverbanks in the black Kia Soul parked in the driveway of the 300 block of Hidalgo.

All subjects also stated that the suspect Martin Cabrera-Perez demanded $100 to $300 to release them to their families. Cabrera-Perez repeated multiple times that if they did not pay, they were not going to get released, states a police affidavit.

Cabrera-Perez allegedly asked the group so he could call their families to request the money. Then, the migrants stated they witnessed Cabrera-Perez hit Gomboa-Rios multiple times because Gomboa-Rios tried to defend them from Cabrera-Perezs verbal abuse. Gomboa-Rios stated he confronted Cabrera-Perez and told him not to mistreat the migrants.

Police arrested Cabrera-Perez on the charges of one count of operation of a stash house, one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and nine counts of smuggling of persons, criminal conspiracy.

Homeland Security Investigation special agents responded to take over the case. Cabrera-Perez declined to provide a post-arrest statement without an attorney present. Further investigation revealed that Gomboa-Rios was not only the victim but a suspect.

He allegedly agreed to provide a post-arrest statement. Gomboa-Rios stated he works as a foot guide for a human smuggling organization. He added he is paid $50 per person smuggled into the United States. Gomboa-Rios stated Cabrera-Perez arrived at the location and transported the migrants and himself to the stash house.

Gomboa-Rios stated Cabrera-Perez demanded payment from the smuggled persons to secure their release. Gomboa-Rios stated when he expressed his disagreement with the demands, he was assaulted by Cabrera-Perez with a metal rod, states a federal affidavit.

Federal authorities charged Cabrera-Perez and Gomboa-Rios with transport, attempt to transport and conspire to transport migrants who had crossed the border illegally.
Through the initiative, the entrepreneurs are importing oxygen concentrators (OC), which concentrate oxygen from the ambient air and supply it to the patient

Gurugram-based start-up entrepreneurs have launched Mission Oxygen to support Delhi and National Capital Region hospitals with oxygen in light of scarce supply. Through the initiative, the entrepreneurs are importing oxygen concentrators (OC), which concentrate oxygen from the ambient air and supply it to the patient.

While the programme initially started with a target of raising Rs 2.5 crore to procure 500 OCs, an overwhelming response from more than 10,000 global donors has allowed it to raise more than Rs 10 crore nearly four times the initial target - for 800 additional OCs. With the target funding now set at Rs 20 crore, the programme aims to procure at least 3000 OCs.

To further streamline procurement, the community has brought on board logistics partners, such as Spicejet, DHL, Flexiport and Delhivery, who are scheduled to deliver the first shipment of 500 OCs by this week and remaining 800 by next week.

Varun Aggarwal, Founder, Designhill said, As a motivated community of founders, who are concerned and want to do something for our nation, we took a decision on Friday, April 23 to start a donation programme Mission Oxygen via Ketto, a crowdsourcing fundraiser platform to raise Rs 2.5 crore and source 500 oxygen concentrators from China.

The fundraiser has seen support coming from Bollywood celebrities including actor Alia Bhatt, Taapsee Pannu, Abhishek Bachchan, and Kunal Kapoor along with public figures, such as Devraj Sanyal.

Rahul Aggarwal, Co-Founder, Designhill said, The community has also donated an oxygen generation plant, which will be setup at Deen Dayal Upadhaya Hospital. This will be the first oxygen generation plant to be setup by the Delhi Government during this time.

The initiative has been started by Democracy People Foundation and is being driven by Snehil Khanor of TrulyMadly, Mansha Kaur of Heart On My Sleeve, Hubhopper founder Gautam Raj Anand, Rahul Agarwal and Varun Agarwal of Designhill, Rahul Hari of Satvacart, Uday Anand of Mycrushfit, Gautam Ghai of Sourcefuse, Cuttlfish founder Shikher Gupta among others.
Xbox Insiders Can Try Out Dolby Vision For Games on Xbox Series X|S This Week
MARCY, N.Y.  The Utica Fire Department was called to Marcy Correctional Facility twice on Monday, after two people in the building became sick.

The first was a civilian employee who felt ill after opening a letter sent to an inmate containing a white powder, which contained traces of fentanyl. Narcan had to be administered to that employee, who was then taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

Later that same day, a correction officer began to feel sick while searching an inmates cell. First responders were called to the scene and the officer was sent to the hospital for further evaluation.

The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association is asking state leaders to give them tools to prevent contraband from making its way into the facilities.

"We need some safeguards here. We need a secure vendor program; we need mail scanners. There's no reason. If they don't want to give us mail scanners, there's no reason to have the original copies given to the inmate; they should photo copy it and give the inmate the photo copy of the mail and that will drastically end the drugs out back, said Bryan Hluska, NYSCOPBA regional vice president.

Just last week, an officer at Mid-State Correctional Facility was also sent to the hospital after being exposed to drugs that were saturated on the pages of a letter sent to an inmate.
The head of the Afghanistan National Directorate of Security (NDS) says there are 408 members of the Islamic State (IS) from 14 countries in Afghan government prisons.

Ahmad Zia Saraj made the announcement on April 27, saying talks are under way with the 14 countries to find a solution without specifying what that meant.

He urged the international community not to abandon Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism.

Saraj said the overwhelming majority of the IS members -- 299 of the 408 -- are from Pakistan, explaining that as Daesh was formed 60 percent were Pakistani nationals.

That's why their number is large, he said.

The second-highest number of prisoners held in Afghanistan who are members of IS are from Uzbekistan. There are 37 from that country, 13 from Tajikistan, and 12 from Kyrgyzstan.

Saraj said the number of Russian nationals among the prisoners identified as members of IS is five. The number from China is 16.

The other IS members in Afghan jails are from Jordan, Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Algeria, and the Maldives. Each of those countries has fewer than 10 nationals in Afghan jails who belong to IS.

Based on reporting by Radio Free Afghanistan
A family friend of a woman who was allegedly burned to death at her home by her ex-husband has revealed their shattering visit to her young children.

Kelly Wilkinson, 27, was found dead in the backyard of her home in Arundel on the Gold Coast about 6.40am on April 20, having suffered severe burns.

Her ex-husband Brian Earl Johnston, a former corporal in the US military, has been charged with her murder - accused of setting Ms Wilkinson alight - and breaching a domestic violence order.

Ms Wilkinson's three children, who are all aged under nine, were in the home at the time she was allegedly attacked.

The youngsters are currently staying at the home of Ms Wilkinson's sister Danielle Carroll, where the living room has been converted into a sleeping space.

A family friend of Kelly Wilkinson, who was allegedly burned to death by her husband, is campaigning to build a new home for her three young children

Brian Johnston, 34, has been charged with the murder of Ms Wilkinson on April 20. They are pictured on their wedding day

Ms Carroll's husband is the stepbrother of businesswoman Tamika Smith, who has launched a campaign to build a home on the Gold Coast for the three children.

Ms Smith said she was motivated to organise construction of the home after a heartbreaking visit to see the children this week.

'Walking in last night, I was there for probably five minutes and this little two-year-old grabbed my hand and called me "mummy" and she's just so confused,' Ms Smith told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

'You've got a two-year-old looking for her mum. We don't have the answers as to why she's not here, which is why I go "How do we give these children any faith in humanity, how do we show them that there are good people when they've experienced so much heartache at the age of two?"'

'As a nation I feel like we walked away from their mum, so what are we doing to support the kids so we don't walk away from them?'.

Assistant Queensland Police Commissioner Brian Codd last Thursday confirmed Ms Wilkinson had approached police over 'domestic and family violence issues'.

Ms Wilkinson was found dead in the backyard of her home in Arundel on the Gold Coast about 6.40am on April 20

Ms Wilkinson's three young children are now staying at her sister Danielle's home

Mr Codd's remarks came amid community anger over claims Ms Wilkinson and her family had gone to police on several occasions.

Asked if there were systematic issues in the police service, Mr Codd said her death was 'ultimately a failure' and that the matter was being reviewed.

'A woman has died. She has been killed, we will allege, in horrific circumstances. We're certainly going to make sure we look to improve... and correct any parts of the system that we control,' he said.

Johnston was taken to hospital, where he was held under police guard, and remains in an induced coma. He was charged and his case made a brief appearance in court last week.

He was formally refused bail with his case to return to court at a later date.

Ms Wilkinson's father, Reg (centre), and family attended an evening vigil for Ms Wilkinson on Monday evening

More than 1000 locals turned out to pay tribute to Ms Wilkinson, many wearing green, her favourite colour

On Monday evening, about 1,000 people, many wearing Ms Wilkinson's favourite colour green, gathered at the Gold Coast Titans training ground to pay a silent tribute to Ms Wilkinson.

Some people brought inflatable green balloons which were released at the end of the vigil, while others carried sunflowers - Ms Wilkinson's favourite flower.

As a guitarist played acoustic versions of Ed Sheeran's 'Perfect' and Coldplay's 'Fix You', Ms Wilkinson's family arrived and made their way to a row of white chairs at the front, her father Reg in tears as he trailed his daughters Natalie and Emma, his arm around daughter Danielle.

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The Central Vista project is not essential now, but a central government with a vision is, Congress leader said on Wednesday as the country saw a record single-day rise of over 3.60 lakh cases.

India's death toll also crossed two lakh following 3,293 fresh fatalities, according to Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday.

"Central Vista- not essential. Central Government with a vision- essential," he said in a tweet.

The Central Vista revamp project, which was announced in September last year, envisages a new triangular Parliament building, with seating capacity for 900 to 1,200 MPs, and it is targeted to be constructed by August, 2022 when the country will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day.

The common Central Secretariat, a part of the project, is likely to be built by 2024.

In another tweet, Gandhi lauded the common people for helping each other.

"By helping each other, the common people show that to touch someone's heart one need not touch one's hands. Keep helping," he said in a tweet in Hindi, using the hashtag "#TogetherStronger".

Gandhi asked people to continue helping each other and expose the reality of the "blind system".

The second wave of the infection has put huge pressure on the public health system, with hospitals in several states reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen, beds, medicines and equipment.

Gandhi and the Congress have been critical of the government's response to the COVID-19 crisis.

(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.)
Agra: In an unpleasant incident, a private hospital in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh was ransacked and a female health staffer was reportedly assaulted by the family members of a patient suffering from Septicemia after rumours of his death spread on Tuesday.

According to reports, the kin of the patient named Irfan even damaged hospital property. A video of the incident went viral on social media in which family members of the patient can be seen roughing up the staff and nurses.

The unfortunate incident took place at the Lotus Hospital under the Hari Parvat police station limits in Agra. In the viral video, the angry relatives of the patient can be seen vandalising the hospital premises and brutally attacking a female nurse.

The female staff who tried to intervene was mercilessly attacked with a pedestal fan, a helmet and rods by the angry relatives.

The nurse, who was severely injured, fell on the floor unconscious and was rescued later by the hospital staff. A case has been registered in this regard and 4 accused have been arrested by the Agra Police.

It said that further investigation is underway.

Sharing more details, Superintendent of Police (City) Rohan P Botre said, Someone created a rumour about the death of the patient but that was not true. Thereafter, some miscreants damaged the hospital property and also beat up hospital staff, including staff nurses. One of the staff was also attacked with a rod.

Live TV


Hannah Dunns top look could be had for just $19. Caoimhe Lane, right, looks great after spending only $11.

As we head into winter with tighter budgets in a continuing global pandemic, two University of Auckland students, home for the holidays, test the local op-shopping scene. Can they get a winter outfit with a budget of only $20? Massey communications student Alisha McLennan finds out 

Hannah Dunn and Caoimhe Lane are both in their fourth year of their respective conjoint degrees, so they have been running on a student budget for quite some time. Confident that their op-shopping skills were up to the challenge, they spent a few hours last week exploring op-shops throughout Warkworth and Wellsford.

Hannah started her outfit at the Warkworth Hospice Shop on Queen Street with some $1 maroon rolled up jeans and $5 grey ankle boots.

They were kind of weird, but they were really cheap, she says.

These items set her colour scheme. From there she focussed on pieces that would suit the outfit, and other clothing scenarios, and purchased a black belt and a thick button-up shirt that she doubles as a jacket. She then added a $3 silver necklace. She finalised the outfit with a $7 black blouse from Wellsford Hospice Shop.

After only two op-shops Hannah had a complete six-piece outfit for only $19.

I feel like its something I will wear, and the individual items can easily work with clothes I already have, she says.

Caoimhe also started with pants  some $1 orange shorts  before remembering she should be shopping for winter things.

Then I found the green pants. They were really soft and comfortable, she says about her $7 find from

Wellsford Hospice. She followed up this up with a $1 maroon shirt from the Anglican Opportunity Shop.

The shirt is pretty eccentric and not something Ive worn in the past, but I thought it would be fun to try a new style, she says.

Then upon her return to Warkworth Hospice, she purchased a $3 brown belt.

Caoimhes final 3-piece outfit came to $11.

The pair says that having op-shop clothes is really in at university, in what Hannah describes as an anti-label clout.

Hannah says she prefers to op-shop in her hometown of Warkworth.

I havent op-shopped in the city. Sometimes you walk into a vintage store, which looks like an op-shop, except everything is, like, $60.

The slower shopping speed was not an issue for them. Hannah says it allows them to spend more time creating combinations.

You try styles that you wouldnt normally try, she says.

In a mall it might take a bit less time, but you save so much money at the op-shops. Its kind of worth it, Caoimhe says.
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Market Research Future has published a Cooked Research Report on the Diphenylamine Industry Trends Research Report - Global Forecast till 2025

Market Definition and Growth Factors:

Also, the increasing application of DPA in nitrocellulose-based explosives pertaining to its antioxidizing property is also expected to fuel the growth of the global market. Lubricants are produced with the help of advanced additives that enhance the efficiency of the engine and exhibit properties such as high durability, cleanliness, and strength. The moving components are always in contact with air (oxygen), which results in degradation of the lubricants. Oxidation is a common process and arises when the lubricating oil chemically reacts with oxygen to form oxidized products, which result in sludge and deposit formation, corrosion of engine parts, and wear and tear of moving parts. To ensure easy functioning of vehicles and inhibit oxidation of lubrication oils, a class of chemicals known as antioxidants are used. Antioxidants control oxidation by preventing oil breakdown and thickening, which helps the engine to run smoothly for a long period. The most commonly used antioxidant is diphenylamine (DPA), which reacts with the free radicals generated by oxidation and prevents oxidative decomposition of the lubricating oil. Diphenylamine falls under a class of radical scavengers that stop chain propagation by blocking or reacting with free radicals created in the initiation step of oxidation. Diphenylamine is a viscous, lightweight hydrocarbon that is soluble in oil. Diphenylamine antioxidants are produced by reacting DPA with an olefin of the desired functional group. These antioxidants have low vapor pressure and water solubility, which are essential in protecting engines. Due to the superior antioxidant synergism of the antioxidants in the oil system, DPA and alkylated DPAs are considered as ideal solutions to enhance the durability and performance of engines. Also, they enhance the antioxidant efficiency and offer the required alkalinity.

Diphenylamine Industry Trends is estimated to be valued at USD 527.7 Million by 2025 and record a CAGR of over 4.06% during the forecast period. The growing demand for DPA as an antioxidant in lubricants is expected to be the primary factor driving the growth of the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends.

Furthermore, the antioxidant properties help to increase the shelf life of engine oils and provide maximum oil compatibility. Thus, the increasing demand for DPA in the lubricants used in automobiles owing its excellent antioxidant property is expected to boost the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Furthermore, single-base nitrocellulose propellants are hygroscopic in nature and are most susceptible to degradation. To avoid the accumulation of degradation products, stabilizers such as DPA are most commonly used in nitrocellulose-containing propellant powders and explosives. Due to the excellent antioxidizing property of DPA, it is used as a stabilizing compound in mono-, di-, and tri-base propellants of missiles and explosives. It has the potential to bind with the degradation products, which develop during long-term storage such as NO, NO2, and HNO3 to extend the storage time. Thus, due to the antioxidizing property of DPA and highly unstable nature of nitrocellulose-based materials, the demand for DPA to inhibit the degradation of explosives is increasing, which is projected to boost the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Watch Video @https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/videos

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However, diphenylamine is a chemical compound from the third European Union (EU) list of priority pollutants. In studies carried out on laboratory animals, DPA has proved to be slightly toxic by the dermal, oral, and inhalation routes and has been registered under the Toxicity Category III (second lowest of four categories). It can cause severe irritation to the eyes and affect the liver and kidneys on long exposure. It targets the red blood cells and can result in abnormal erythropoiesis in the spleen, and thus congestion of the spleen and hemosiderosis. It is not likely carcinogenic based on the evidence. However, an impurity of technical grade DPA, diphenyl nitrosamine is regarded as a probable human carcinogen. Diphenyl nitrosamine is produced when DPA comes in contact with high temperature. Moreover, there is a tolerance level set by the US EPA10 ppm for apples and 0 ppm for milk and meat. The DPA residue levels obtained were far below 10 ppm, and thus in 1997, the EPA approved the reregistration of DPA and determined that the assessed tolerances met the safety standards under the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). However, in 2012, the European Food Safety Authority concluded that the study has not provided authentic information to ensure safe consumption of DPA in apples and pears. Thus, the European Commission restricted the usage of DPA in the European Union. In March 2014, the European Commission reduced the allowable tolerance level of DPA on imports to 0.1 ppm. Thus, the health risks and stringent EPA regulations pertaining to DPA are likely to hamper the global market growth during the assessment period.

Kay Players:

Market Research Future (MRFR) recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends:

BASF SE (Germany),

Huntsman International LLC (US),

LANXESS (Germany),

The Lubrizol Corporation (US),

Merck KGaA (Germany),

Seiko Chemical Co. Ltd (Tokyo),

Eastman Chemical Company (US),

Duslo a.s. (Slovakia),

SONGWON (South Korea),

Nantong Xinbang Chemical Technology Chemical Co, Ltd (China),

Jiangsu Feiya Chemical Industry Co. Ltd (Austria).

Key Findings of the Study:

The Global Diphenylamine Industry Trends was valued at USD 397.6 million in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of 4.06% to reach around USD 527.7 Million by the end of 2025 .

was valued at and is expected to register a to reach around . Based on application, the antioxidant segment held the largest share of 2% by value in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of over 4.5% during the forecast period.

and is expected to register a during the forecast period. By end use, the automotive segment is estimated to be the largest segment of the global aluminum oxide market, which accounted for 7% value share in 2018.

value share in 2018. The Asia Pacific market accounted for the largest share of 2% by value in 2018.

Segmental Analysis:

According to MRFR analysis, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been segmented based on application, end use, and region.

Study Infographics @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/infographics

By application, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been categorized into antioxidants, fungicide, and chemical intermediates, and others. Among these, the antioxidant segment accounted for the largest share of over 59.2% by value in 2018, predominantly due to the large-scale adoption in nitrocellulose-based propellants, explosives, and gun powders, which are essentially unstable materials that decompose on aging with the evolution of oxides of nitrogen. The decomposition is autocatalytic and can lead to failure of the ammunition or untimed explosions. Antioxidants control the oxidation of lubricants and ensure smooth functioning of engines for a long period. The antioxidant property of DPA increases the operational life of engine oil by reducing breakdown that can result from the formation of sludge. The chemical intermediate segment is expected to register a CAGR of over 3.5% during the forecast period.

On the basis of end use, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been classified into automotive, agriculture, cosmetics & personal care, general industry, plastics and rubber, and others. The automotive segment accounted for the largest share by value in 2018 due to the use of DPA as an antioxidant in lubricants, and other functional fluids such as engine oil, hydraulic fluids, metalworking fluids, compressor oil, gear oil, refrigeration oil, transmission fluids, and turbine oil, among others. The growing production of automobiles is propelling the demand for lubricants for the efficient functioning of engines, which consequently is expected to drive the demand for DPA as an antioxidant.

Regional Analysis:

Geographically, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been segmented into Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. As per MRFR analysis, Asia-Pacific was the dominant regional market, accounting for the largest share of over 55% in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of over 4.5% during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific is followed by North America, which accounted for the second-largest share of the global foundry coke market in 2018. The North American market is expected to exhibit a share of around 20% in 2018. The Latin America and the Middle East & Africa markets are also likely to witness moderate growth during the forecast period, 20192025.

Browse key industry insights spread across 449 pages with 177 market data tables & 24 figures & charts from the report, Diphenylamine Industry Trends: Information by Application (Antioxidants, Chemical Intermediate, Fungicide and Others), End-Use (Automotive, General Industry, Agriculture, Plastics & Rubber, Cosmetics & Personal Care and others) and Region - Forecast till 2025 in detail along with the table of contents @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/diphenylamine-market-4550
Jenna Bush Hager has celebrated getting her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday, just hours after revealing the portrait her father George W. Bush had painted of her on the Today show.

The 39-year-old took to Instagram in the afternoon to share photos of herself getting her final shot after receiving her first vaccination live on-air with her co-stars earlier this month.

'Filled with such awe and a grateful heart to get my second shot! Vaccinated!' Jenna captioned the images, which show her getting the injection and then flexing her arm to show off her Band-Aid after.

Scroll down for video

Ready to go! Jenna Bush Hager, 39, received her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday after receiving her first vaccination live on-air earlier this month

Happy: The Today host wrote in the caption that she is 'filled with such awe and a grateful heart' to get her second shot

There's Jenna! Earlier in the day, she revealed the portrait her father George W. Bush had painted of her on the Today show

She had on the same patterned dress she wore on the Today show, suggesting she likely ran to get her second vaccination right after work.

Earlier in the day, Jenna had a laugh with her co-star Hoda Kotb while giving an honest review of her dad's painting of her.

The former president and his artwork are featured in the new issue of People magazine following the release of his new book, Out of Many, One, a collection of his 43 portraits of immigrants.

Jenna let out a little shriek when Today producers flashed her father's painting of her on the screen. She noted that her dad said in the interview that he has a fear of painting the women in his family  and for good reason.

Dad's toughest critic! The former first daughter made a face when producers put the portrait up on the screen during the segment

Not a fan: 'Is that what I look like?' she asked. 'Is that what my face looks like?'

Honest review: Jenna admitted that her dad tried to give the painting to Hoda because he thinks she 'hates' it, but she insisted that she doesn't

'He painted my mom and he said that that was a bust and that painting was destroyed, and then he painted me,' she explained.

Jenna was once again caught off guard when the portrait appeared on the screen.

'Is that what I look like?' Jenna asked, frowning. 'Is that what my face looks like? I'm just wondering.'

The mother of three said her dad even brought up her displeasure with the painting when he appeared on the Today show last week.

'He told Hoda that I hate the painting, and I don't hate it,' she insisted.

'But he did ask me if I wanted it because you didn't like it,' Hoda interjected.

She's not the only one! Jenna noted that her mom Laura Bush had the former president destroy his painting of her

Stopping by: George W. Bush appeared on the Today show with his daughter last week

Jenna confirmed that her father did offer to send the painting to Hoda, pointing out that her co-star 'then would have to hang a portrait of me on her wall.'

'I also think it's like, who's going to hang a portrait of themselves in their house? Not me,' she added.

Jenna has far more love for the portraits her father painted of her one-year-old son Hal, which he gave her for Christmas last year.

She shared photos of the paintings on Instagram, writing: 'My favorite Christmas gift. My Hal painted by his Jefe. @georgewbush Love how you see our precious boy. These bring me joy.'

Jenna opened up about the special gift on the Today show earlier this year, admitting there was some confusion about the paintings.

Precious: Earlier this year, Jenna shared the portraits her father painted of her one-year-old son Hal

Resemblance: The former president perfectly captured his only grandson's likeness in the paintings, which he signed 43

Thoughtful: While the first painting shows Hal giving a toothy grin, the second is more serious

'Some people on social media thought Hal had done the portraits,' she told Hoda while laughing. 'I think they're really beautiful, and they totally get him.'

'By the way, it's not that easy to paint a baby, I can just say that,' she added. 'I sent him pictures, and he painted those. You can't have a baby sit for a portrait.'

Bush, who signs his artwork 43, has become a dedicated portrait painter since leaving the White House in 2009, but Jenna admitted that she is still a bit surprised by her father's artistic pursuits.

She explained that it was her mother, Laura Bush, not her father, who was interested in art and took her and her twin sister Barbara to museums when they were kids.

'He painted me, actually,' she added, making a face. 'There was a lot of texture on the face, which made me worried about something, like I need more sunscreen.'
After taking a nosedive when restaurants and bars shut down last year, the Massachusetts Lottery said Keno sales have stabilized and are contributing to a strong year for the agency.

Keno, which is often played by people seated inside bars and restaurants and usually accounts for about 20 percent of the Lotterys overall sales, is just one of two Lottery products that have seen a year-over-year decline in sales in fiscal 2021, a 6.8 percent drop. But Keno sales have topped their fiscal year 2019 levels for at least the last eight weeks. We have been able to stabilize our Keno sales. Theyre not at the same level, I dont believe, that they would have been absent the pandemic and the impact that thats had on small businesses across the commonwealth, as well as general economic conditions and activity for consumers, Executive Director Michael Sweeney told the Lottery Commission. But, however, you see that weve been able to stabilize this number. Sweeney told the commission that $92.8 million in Keno sales in March -- about $20 million more than was sold in March 2020 -- helped the Lottery record $471.2 million in sales last month, an increase of $81.8 million from the early days of the pandemic last March. The Lottery kept $81.2 million as profit last month, compared to $89.9 million in March 2020. Though nine months of fiscal 2021, the Lottery has generated an estimated profit of $836.3 million, Sweeney said, which is $77.8 million more than what the Lottery had counted as profit at this point last fiscal year. The agency has paid out a slightly smaller share of its revenue as prizes to this point in the budget year, 73.18 percent compared to 73.78 percent at this time last year. We continue to have a very strong year, Sweeney said Tuesday. In March, the Lottery upgraded its fiscal year 2021 profit projection by $45 million. It now expects it will provide the Legislature with $985 million to distribute to cities and towns as local aid. - Colin A. Young/SHNS
Hyderabad, April 28 : BJP's Telangana unit president Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Wednesday slammed the state government for its 'poor' handling of the Covid situation and termed the deaths caused by Covid as 'murders' by the government.

Addressing a news conference, he said the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government has completely failed in controlling the pandemic. He wondered why Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is holding no review meeting when people are dying like sitting ducks.

Kumar wanted to know why the gP MP wanted to know if the Chief Minister has taken the Covid vaccine. "Why is he not appealing to people to take vaccine," he asked.

The BJP leader alleged that the government is under-reporting the number of Covid deaths and positive cases in state. He said because of the false figures being issued by the government, people became careless about coronavirus. He also alleged that there is no clarity about the state's requirement of oxygen and vaccines.

Claiming that all the details have been made public about the PM-CARES Fund, he demanded that the state government must release a white paper on CM Cares Fund.

Kumar said that during a calamity, saving lives becomes everyone's responsibility. He also demanded that the Chief Minister should take BJP's suggestions on handling the situation.

He said that if the state government gives report to the Centre providing details of Covid deaths and positive cases in a transparent manner, the Centre will extend its help to the state.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Here's what you need to know: Wednesday April 28
A 50-year-old man accused of threatening to put a bomb in Linn Park, and also threatening Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, has been federally indicted.

The Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorneys Office on Wednesday announced the indictment against Brian Stephen Vest. He is charged in a one-count indictment issued Tuesday charging the Warrior man with engaging in conduct with the intent to convey false and misleading information regarding the use of a weapon of mass destruction, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr.

According to the indictment, Vest falsely reported that he had placed a bomb by a statue in Birminghams Linn Park on June 1, 2020.

Vest was arrested on state charges of making a terrorist threat in June after authorities say he threated the mayor and threatened to set off a bomb in Birminghams Link Park. His case in state court is awaiting grand jury action.

Vests arrest at his Warrior home took place during the week of unrest in Birmingham following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Authorities contend Vest is the man who called in a threat to 911, a call that began with these words: Hey man if you take down that statue in Linn Park Im going to come down there with my AK-47 and start blowing the damn pigs away, and the protesters, everybody. Im going to assassinate n***** Randall Woodfin.

He continued, You think Im playing? Youll find out, youll be all over the news, punk ass. You hear me? Im coming down there right now with my automatic weapon and Ill blow your f****** heads off, assholes. You hear me?

F*** off asshole, Ill hang you from a tree, n*****, when the 911 operator asks what car he will be driving.

That Mayor Randall Woodfin will be dead before light, before morning. Im going to start blowing peoples f****** heads off down there.

I got a bomb set right by that statue, its about to go off, you hear me? You hear me punk ass?

You better lay off that statue right now. You better back the f*** up, you hear me? Say something coward. Im going to blow that damn n***** mayors head off, you hear me?

Its none of your f****** business what my name is, asshole, when the operator asks his name. Go f*** yourself moron people going to die tonight.

Im going down with my AK-47. Im on the way right now, punk.

You can all kiss my ass and go to hell. Go f*** yourself, asshole.

Following the threatening call to 911  which lasted one minute and 40 seconds  City Hall was put on lockdown and Birmingham police showed up en masse. The lockdown was in effect by about 5:15 p.m. and Vest was in custody within less than two hours.

If convicted federally, Vest faces a maximum of five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. The FBI, the Birmingham Police Department, and the Jefferson County District Attorneys Office worked jointly investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Cornelius is prosecuting the case.

Vest has remained in the Jefferson County Jail on $100,000 bond since his June 3, 2020 arrest.
(Photo : Screenshot From Pexels Official Website) Russia Hits Apple with $12 Million Fine for Antitrust Violation Allegedly 'Worsened Conditions for Competitors'

While Apple has been fined again and again in other countries, one country that not many people hear about is now fining the company as well. Russian antitrust authorities have just recently fined Apple a whopping $12M for antitrust violations.

FAS Fines Apple

As reported by The Moscow Times, the massively popular tech giant has recently been sued by Kaspersky, another large cybersecurity company, due to the unfair treatment and an antitrust violation. The reason behind these fines is something that Apple has been getting as of late with different countries.

The FAS noted that Apple was found to have actually abused its dominant position when it came to the distribution of mobile applications on its popular iOS operating system through a number of its actions that resulted in a particular competitive advantage for its own products in comparison to other products. At the same time, this even worsened the whole distribution conditions for a number of other competing products against Apple.

Kaspersky VS Apple

The information was reportedly released originally from the official Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service, otherwise known as FAS. It also turns out that all the way back in 2018, Kaspersky was actually updating its offering, a Safe Kids parental control app, but was then reportedly met with unjustly blockings coming from Apple.

At the same time, Apple then reportedly released its very own competing feature, which the company reportedly called Screen Time as part of its iOS 12. Kaspersky has reportedly won the lawsuit, and the Russian court is now giving orders to the Cupertino giant to actually do more than just shell out the demanded fine, which is twelve million dollars.

Read Also: Google Antitrust: Apple Receives $8-12B Annually To Be the Default Search Engine on iOS Devices

Apple Claims Kaspersky is Putting User Privacy and Security at Risk

According to the story by PhoneArena, in addition to this, Apple will also reportedly be forced to change their very own terms and conditions to allow them to be able to "reject third-party applications" coming from the App Store for just about any reason, even if these apps would meet all of Apple's many requirements.

The court has currently ordered that Apple should make sure that its in-house apps will not take total precedence over the other third-party apps. Apple is now appealing the given fine and arguing that the company's reason behind blocking Kaspersky's Safe Kids had nothing to do with other competing services.

The company then claimed that the Kaspersky app was actually putting its "user's privacy" as well as security at risk through the use of "highly invasive technology." For those that aren't too familiar with Kaspersky, the company offers more than just Safe Kids but the whole anti-virus anti-hacker range of services. The company even offers VPNs and password managers for its users in order to provide an extra layer of security.

Related Article: Spotify, Match Accuse Apple at App Store Antitrust Hearing: 'Nothing More Than an Abusive Power Grab'

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian B.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Lima, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lima, PERU, April 28, 2021 - Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE: BAP) has filed its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31st, 2020 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 2020 Form 20-F includes audited consolidated financial statements of Credicorp and its subsidiaries as of December 31st, 2019 and 2020 and for the years ended December 31st, 2018, 2019 and 2020 under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).



The 2020 Form 20-F can be downloaded from Credicorps website (www.grupocredicorp.com). Holders of Credicorps securities and any other interested parties may request a hard copy of our complete audited consolidated financial statements, free of charge, by filling out the form located on the link mail request at Credicorps web page (www.grupocredicorp.com).





About Credicorp

Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE: BAP) is the leading financial services holding company in Peru with presence in Chile, Colombia and Bolivia. Credicorp has a diversified business portfolio organized into four lines of business: Universal Banking, through Banco de Credito del Peru  BCP and Banco de Credito de Bolivia; Microfinance, through Mibanco in Peru and Colombia; Insurance & Pension Funds, through Grupo Pacifico and Prima AFP; and Investment Banking & Wealth Management, through Credicorp Capital, Wealth Management at BCP and Atlantic Security Bank.

For further information please contact the IR team:

investorrelations@credicorpperu.com.pe





Investor Relations

Credicorp Ltd.




Ending biomass funding programme could set back net zero

Luke Worrall* explains why the Governments planned end to the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (NDRHI) could harm the UKs efforts to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 unless policy gaps are addressed.

The Governments planned end to the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (NDRHI) could leave manufacturers without a financially viable green alternative to generate heat for many crucial industrial processes. This could force businesses to seek out cheaper, non-renewable sources of energy.

On 11 March, 2020, in his budget speech, the Chancellor announced that the Government would be extending the Domestic RHI scheme into 2022, and that it would introduce a third allocation of Tariff Guarantees for the Non-Domestic RHI scheme  with the latter scheme ultimately coming to an end on 31 March 2021.

The subsequent closure consultation by the Government was met with mixed views from environmental groups. The Association for Renewable Energy & Clean Technology (REA) said that while the move to enable biomethane projects to claim payments from both the RHI and Department for Transports Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme was welcome news, there were also concerns: This consultation also brings into sharp relief that the Non-Domestic RHI will close in March with no comparable scheme or ambition in place to continue its success. As it stands, there will now be a very limited route to market for commercial heat decarbonisation projects and the pipeline for such developments is dramatically slowing. This is a policy gap that needs urgent attention if the UK is to achieve its 2050 net zero decarbonisation targets, which require the almost total decarbonisation of heat in all buildings.

While the Chancellors most recent budget in March 2021 announced a 4m biomass feedstock innovation programme, even this will not cater for the immediate need for industrial businesses to meet their heating needs. According to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Emissions from heat are the single biggest contributor to UK emissions. In 2016, they accounted for 37% of UK emissions. The decarbonisation success seen in the power sector must now be replicated in heating if we are to meet our climate change commitments.

The issue is that many industrial businesses rely on high-temperature heat for use in industrial processes, be it hot water, steam or thermal oil. Ground or air source heat pumps arent capable of delivering these temperatures, leaving biomass as the only viable renewable technology to support businesses in meeting this energy demand. This is essential for cooking, sterilising and processing many of the foods and products consumers use every day.

On average, biomass wood chips deliver over 92% carbon saving compared to high-temperature alternatives such as natural gas and gas-oil boilers. However, without the funding support provided by the NDRHI, many manufacturers will opt for cheaper, fossil-fuel powered alternatives. According to Ofgem, As of November 2020, the NDRHI has helped to produce a total of 54,701 GWh of renewable heat.

My company helps its customers identify the most economical ways to meet their energy demands, reduce their carbon footprint and, where possible, qualify for government funding initiatives. This includes offering technologies such as combined heat and power (CHP) systems which can run on hydrogen. However, hydrogen is still a long way off and without Government incentives that help to justify the initial capital expenditure of a biomass system, many manufacturers will continue with traditional fossil-fuel powered gas or oil boilers.

This will set back the progress of heat decarbonisation and may delay the UKs ability to achieve Net Zero by 2050. While business leaders and plant managers should begin preparing for life without the NDRHI, ultimately government needs to address this policy gap for industry, in addition to meeting domestic needs.

* Luke Worrall, business development manager at biomass installation specialist NerG

For more information:

https://nerg.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/nerg_ltd

https://www.linkedin.com/company/nerg-limited/

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[April 28, 2021] IoT Startup Hologram Hires Mike Georgoff as Chief Product Officer

CHICAGO and AUSTIN, Texas, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hologram , a global cellular platform for IoT, announced it hired Mike Georgoff this month as its first Chief Product Officer as the organization continues its growth . Georgoff has more than 15 years of experience as a growth-stage executive focused on strategy, product and design. Georgoff's scorecard with growth-stage startups speaks for itself  three companies he previously worked for had successful exits including two acquisitions and one IPO. Previously, Georgoff worked at Redbox, RetailMeNot, Main Street Hub, and H-E-B Digital. Most recently, Georgoff was the Chief roduct Officer at Main Street Hub, which was acquired by GoDaddy, and at H-E-B, the 12th largest privately-held company in the United States. Georgoff also held senior positions during critical growth periods for both Redbox and RetailMeNot, where he helped drive increased revenue growth through his leadership roles in strategy, marketing, and product. Georgoff's has extensive experience and expertise with developing and launching software as a service (SaaS) products and scaling a variety of business models.



"We're thrilled to welcome Mike to our team. His emphasis on a customer-centric approach to product was a natural fit for us," said Ben Forgan, co-founder and CEO of Hologram. "He easily understood some of the critical elements that we pride ourselves on, such as our dashboard that serves as a sophisticated offering for IoT monitoring and optimizing the entire device fleet upon deployment." Hologram recently announced it has grown in four main areas - revenue, device usage, lead generation and team members.

"I'm excited to join Hologram because they're on the front end of an exploding IoT industry and Hologram is seeing increased demand and usage across every industry from healthcare to retail to agriculture," said Georgoff. "Additionally, I immediately recognized during the interview process that the modern workplace culture was the right fit along with their very talented team readily positioned to grow and scale. I'm excited to be part of it." More About Hologram Hologram's mission to connect any device to any network, instantaneously, anywhere. With Hologram, SIM cards automatically switch networks access to the best coverage across more than 550 carriers in more than 200 countries. To learn more about Hologram, please visit www.hologram.io . Join Hologram on social media at Twitter here , Facebook here , and LinkedIn here . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iot-startup-hologram-hires-mike-georgoff-as-chief-product-officer-301278851.html SOURCE Hologram

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The Advisor to PM on accountability has demanded compensation of Rs 500 million from ex-DG FIA Bashir Memon for startling allegation against him regarding the matter of SC judge Jusice Qazi Faez Isa.

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-April 28th, 2021) Advisor to Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Federal Minister Mirza Shahzad Akbar served a legal notice on ex-Director General (DG) Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Bashir Memon for accusations.

Shahzad Akbar said that demanded Rs 500 million as compensation for the causing irreparable damage to his reputation.

 I have asked my lawyers to take legal action against Bashir Memon, Shahzad Akbar was quoted by TVs as saying.

The Advisor to PM asked him to pay Rs2 million in terms of the legal fee. According to the legal notification, That, in light of these facts, the undersigned calls upon you, within fourteen (14) days from the date of issuance of this notice, to do the following: i. Retract your defamatory statements and issue an unconditional public apology of equal prominence, in writing to our client via newspaper and through electronic means, and: ii. Pay a sum of Rs. 50,00,00,000- as compensation for causing irreparable damage to the Client's reputation; and Rs. 20,00,0001- as legal fee, failing which, the undersigned have been instructed to initiate legal proceedings against you at your own risk and cost. We, the undersigned are writing on behalf of Mr. Mirza Shahzad Akbar, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior, who has instructed us, to serve upon you, the instant legal notice with regards to your interview on program titled, "Aaj Shahzeb Khanzaada Kay Sath" dated 27.04.2021, aired on Geo news, wherein, you passed defamatory statements and raised false, politically motivated and absurd imputations against our Client without any evidence or factual basis, the legal notice reads. See Also: Maryam demands judicial commission on Justice Isas reference Our client has been a target of hateful and defamatory media campaigns from some members of the opposition. The motive of this defamatory campaign is to discourage him from the pro-active role he is playing in curbing corruption and ensuring accountability across Pakistan, the legal notice reads. you passed completely untrue, defamatory and libelous statements that our client along with the Hon'ble Prime Minister, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister and Law Minister had pressurized you to file a case against a Judge of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. You made a false, libelous and slanderous allegation that our Client wanted to use Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to initiate an investigation against the I hon'ble Judge. You without any evidence or any factual basis blamed, the tv channel reported quoting the legal notice. Shahzad Akbar through his lawyer maintained, Our client pressurized you in an alleged meeting held at our client's office and painted a false narrative as if our client holds some malicious agenda against the said honorable Judge. Your libelous statements arc completely untrue and have damaged the reputation of our client and brought him in disrepute. Your sinister intent and design which is evident from the false statements you made tends to harm the reputation of the honorable Prime Minister who has all along been a vocal and vociferous supporter of an independent judiciary.

 The legal notice also reminded the DG FIA that he being a former police officer ought to have known that raising imputations without any evidence or factual basis, and fabricating and twisting facts to narrate a completely untrue and misleading account is a criminal offence. The legal notice reads, Your defamatory statements are only a continuation of a hateful media campaign which has been launched at the behest of those criminal and corrupt elements which the current government is trying to investigate and prosecute in a completely transparent, fair and neutral manner, through a judicial forum.

Shehbaz That, contrary to your false and vexatious assertions, our client, being a responsible, upright and honest citizen had never asked you to file any case against the said judge of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. You were never called for any meeting by our client with the Honorable Prime Minister or the Law Minister and neither any case against a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court was referred to you. Your allegations are utter lies and have no basis whatsoever, the lawyer of Mirza Shahzad Akbar said in the legal notice sent to the former DG of FIA.

It further maintained, Contrary to the false narrative you have painted, our client never pressurized you to use FIA to harass or victimize him or any other individual. Our client, being a responsible citizen and above all a lawyer who has practiced before the courts in Pakistan, holds the superior judiciary in high esteem. Your malafide intention and sympathetic attitude towards corrupt elements within the opposition parties is evident from your own admission made in the interview that after your refusal to investigate and inquire complaints against corruption, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) took cognizance of the same and filed references. The fact that you did not proceed against indisputable corruption matters which were later investigated and prosecuted by NAB, proves that you failed in your job to nab corrupt elements. That, your false defamatory statements fail to portray a true picture to the public, which not only harms our Client's reputation but more importantly, amounts to misrepresentation and deceits the public, the legal notice reads. Your defamatory statements are nothing other than a bundle of unverified material and presenting untrue statements as an established statement of fact. That, all allegations and insinuations made and adverse inferences drawn by you are strongly denied as they are completely fabricated, libelous and scandalous. You are liable to make good all losses caused to the Client and the office of Advisor to the Prime Minister in case you do not retract your false defamatory statements and issue an official apology, Mirza Shahzad Akbars lawyer legal notice reads.
(Newser)  A man apparently jumped to his death from a San Diego parking garage over the weekend, but tragically, he wasn't the only fatality. People reports that Taylor Kahle, 29, was walking past the nine-story structure downtown on Sunday evening with a companion when a man who'd been spotted "hanging from the outside railing" on the top floor suddenly plummeted from his perch to the sidewalk below, landing on top of Kahle. Per a release from the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office, local police who were in the area rushed to assist, with paramedics arriving soon after. Despite their efforts, Kahle died at the scene, while the man who'd fallen, said to be in his 20s or 30s, died at the hospital. His death was ruled a suicide.

story continues below

Kahle's boss, Laurel McFarlane, who owns an event planning company, tells KFMB that Kahle had been on a date with a man she'd met online, and that they were walking after a day at the zoo and dinner when she was killed. Police say her date wasn't injured. McFarlane tells KSWB that Kahle, a graduate of San Diego State University, had worked for her for nearly a decade, starting out as an intern and eventually working her way up to senior event manager. McFarlane noted that during the pandemic, Kahle had been living with her dad, with whom she was very close: He was soon set to chauffeur her and her friends around for a wine-tasting extravaganza to celebrate her 30th birthday this Sunday, per NBC San Diego. "She was fiercely loyal to people who were loyal to her," McFarlane says. "Every friend should have a Taylor." (Read more freak accident stories.)
The annual general meeting of Hexagon Composites ASA was held today, Wednesday 28 April 2021 in Aalesund, Norway.

All proposals on the agenda were adopted, cf. the notice of the annual general meeting that was sent to the Oslo Stock Exchange and shareholders on 7 April 2021.

The complete minutes of the annual general meeting are attached to this release and are also available on www.hexagongroup.com.





For more information:

Hiva Ghiri, VP IR, Hexagon Composites ASA

Telephone: +47 958 66 790 | hiva.ghiri@hexagongroup.com





About Hexagon Composites ASA

Hexagon delivers safe and innovative solutions for a cleaner energy future. Our solutions enable storage, transportation and conversion to clean energy in a wide range of mobility, industrial and consumer applications. Learn more at www.hexagongroup.com and follow @HexagonASA on Twitter and LinkedIn.



This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act



Attachment
Two men shot dead by a gunman during five separate drive-by shootings in Los Angeles have been identified as an Uber driver father-of-two and a 24-year-old newlywed.

Mingzhi Zhu, 42, and Alexis Carbajal, 24, were killed by the suspect, described as a man in his late 40s or early 50s, during the 'random' shooting spree in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday morning.

The suspect then led police on a three-hour car chase that ended in a shootout on a freeway overpass, where he was fatally shot.

Police said they are now probing whether the shootings were hate crimes as two of the shooting victims were Asian men, with one dying of his injuries.

It comes amid a surge in anti-Asian violence across America as well as a string of recent mass shootings.

Mingzhi Zhu, 42, was a father-of-two Uber driver who worked to support his family

Alexis Carbajal was only 24 years old and left behind his mother, sisters, and wife

Pictured: The suspect's white jeep jammed between two SWAT vehicles after it was forced to come to a stop. The suspect is believed to have killed two people and injured another, before being shot dead himself after opening fire on officers through his windshield

Timeline of the LA shooting on April 27 12:55 a.m. LAPD officers respond to shooting at Figueroa/ Exposition in downtown Los Angeles, near the University of Southern California. Officers find an adult male victim who had been shot at and suffered a graze-wound to the head. The suspect was described as a male in a White Jeep, and with the help of the vicim's dash cam, officers were able to send out a description and send information out to patrol units. 01:05 a.m. Shooting occurs near 28th St & Figueroa at a Starbucks drive-tru. An adult male named 24-year-old Alexis Carbaja was shot in his car which he was in with his wife. The man was pronounced dead, but his wife survived with minor injuries. 01:25 a.m. A male motorist is shot at 7th & Figueroa. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim is believed to be 42-year-old Mingzhi Zhu of South Pasadena, an Uber driver with two children. 03:25 a.m. After a three-hour chase, the car is disabled after spike strips are used by officers on the WB 91 Freeway at the Raymond overpass in Fullerton. SWAT officers attempt to negotiate with the suspect, but return fire when he shot through his windshield at them - killing the man. Advertisement

The drive-by shootings began around 12:55 am near the University of Southern California when the suspect, who was driving a white Jeep Cherokee, pulled up alongside a victim's vehicle at Figueroa Street and Exposition Boulevard, police said.

The suspect allegedly fired multiple rounds at the victim, a Korean speaker, who suffered a bullet graze wound to his head. The victim is expected to survive.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore said a dashboard camera inside the victim's vehicle captured part of the shooting and the Jeep's license plate, which helped officers circulate a description of the car.

About 10 minutes later, another shooting occurred less than a mile away in a Starbucks drive-thru, at 28th St & Figueroa.

The suspect drove alongside another another vehicle in-line for the Starbucks and backed into it, causing a slight crash, police said.

The suspect then fired into the vehicle - a Ford Mustang - killing newlywed Carbajal who was driving with his wife, Moore said.

Police believe there was a 'verbal exchange' between the couple and the gunman, but Moore did not know what was said.

Surveillance footage shows Carbajal's wife running for help when he was shot. She was also injured but it is unclear at this time if she was shot or injured by shrapnel.

The second deadly shooting occurred around 1:25 am, about 3 miles away from the second scene.

An Asian man was driving when the gunman pulled up next to him and began firing through the window.

The coroner identified that victim as Zhu of South Pasadena.

Zhu was an Uber driver and was on his way to pick up a rider, the company said in a statement that called the shootings senseless and heartbreaking.

He leaves behind a wife and two children - an 8-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.

Pictured: LAPD investigates scene of shooting at 7th and Figueroa Streets where an Uber driver was shot and killed on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 in downtown Los Angeles, CA

A suspected gunman has been shot dead by police after going on a rampage killing two and injuring two others in five separate drive-by shootings across LA. LAPD and LA County coroner investigators on the scene of one of the shootings at 28th and Figueroa Streets

The gunman then continued on the rampage, opening fire on a vehicle in an intersection.

Officers spotted the suspect's Jeep at around 1:45 a.m. and began a long pursuit, which included the suspect firing at a white Tesla while driving.

The driver - Seth Jones - was not injured, and captured the shooting on camera.

He says the bullet fired by the suspect came dangerously close to his head rest.

'I just thought this was it, I don't know,' Jones told Eyewitness News. 'He shot and my back window exploded. And I just drove away. I drove as fast as I could. I called 911 and they told me to take the nearest exit. I'm just so grateful to be alive.'

The subsequent chase covered the 60 and 57 freeways freeways in Los Angeles and Orange counties, before coming to an end on the westbound 91 Freeway near Raymond Avenue at about 3:25 a.m.

Police used spike strips to disable the Jeep on an overpass in Fullerton, when a standoff with LAPD SWAT officers began.

The Starbucks where one of the shootings occurred. The suspect led police on a three-hour car chase that ended in a shootout on a freeway overpass, where the suspect was fatally shot

One person was killed at a Starbucks drive-thru above. The suspect, only described as a man in his late 40s or early 50s, killed a newly married man at the site before killing an Uber driver father-of-two during what police described as a 'random' shooting spree

SWAT pinned the Jeep in and attempted negotiations aimed at having the suspect surrender, Moore said. At around 4.45 a.m., officers were reported to e deploying teargas into the suspect's car.

But the suspect began firing at the officers through the vehicle's front windshield, and an officer returned fire, he said.

The man allegedly shot at police a second time, prompting the officer to return fire again.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, and a handgun believed to be linked to the earlier shootings was found at the scene, Moore said.

Police Lt. Raul Jovel told reporters the attacks appeared to be random, with the motive behind the attacks unclear.

'These appear to be random acts of violence ... we have no idea what precipitated this,'' Jovel told reporters at a news conference near where the pursuit came to an end. 'We'll be going back to the suspect's home, talking to family members, trying to figure out what led to these acts of violence.''

The shootings come amid a surge in anti-Asian violence across America as well as a string of recent mass shootings

Police said they are now probing whether the shootings were hate crimes as two of the shooting victims were Asian men. People walk past the crime scene

The shooting comes amid a surge in anti-Asian violence across America as well as a string of recent mass shootings

However, authorities are pursuing a possible line of inquiry that the shootings were anti-Asian hate crimes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The victims included two Asian men and a Latino man. Hate crimes, particularly against Asians, have risen dramatically nationwide.

'We are very mindful of the potentiality for that, and leaning into that very actively,' Moore said.

Police are also investigating if the man is connected to any other crimes.

'We'll be going back to the suspects home, talking to family members, trying to figure out what led to these acts of violence,' Jovel said.

Mia Vaca, sister of victim Alexis Carbajal's, told ABC7: 'For this to happen, it's hard. I feel like it's a dream, and he's just going to walk in to the door any minute.'

A GoFundMe page has been set up to cover the costs of Mr Carbajal's funeral. The page confirmed he was one of the victims of the Tuesday shooting.

'We the family of Alexis Carbajal, are asking for support during this tough time. He was one of the victims of the shootings that occurred on April 27, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA,' the page said.

Biden Executive Actions on Guns Crackdown on 'ghost guns,' which are built from kits

Tighten requirements on pistol braces that allow for more accurate shooting

Department of Justice will publish 'red flag' legislation for the states

Investment in evidence-based community violence interventions

DoJ will issue an annual report on gun trafficking Advertisement

'He was only 24 years old and left behind his Mother, sisters, and wife. He didn't deserve this, he was a gentle soul who always put others before himself, he could light up any room and was such a caring person.'

Yuki Cutcheon, president of the South Pasadena Chinese American Club, said on behalf of Mingzhi Zhu's family: 'Hes a hardworking, intelligent, kind, gentle and deeply loving husband, deeply loving father and very dedicated husband. The family is lost without him.

Cutcheon said Zhu's family moved from China in 2016.

The shooting rampage comes amid a surge in violent crime in LA.

The number of people shot in the city has increased 73 percent this year, compared with the same time period in 2020.

The police killing Tuesday also marks the second time LAPD officers have fatally shot a person in the last four days.

On Saturday, 34-year-old Richard Solitro was shot and killed following a car crash with police.

Solitro got out of his vehicle and, holding his hand behind his back, began counting down '3... 2... 1' as he started to bring his hand out, police said.

At least one officer fired, fatally striking him.

Police said they did not find a weapon on the scene. Solitro was previously shot by police in Rhode Island in 2018.

The shooting spree in LA also marks the latest in a string of mass shootings across America in recent weeks which have prompted Joe Biden to clamp down on gun laws.

Back on March 16, Robert Aaron Long, 21, is accused of killing eight people - six of them Asian women - in a series of attacks at three Atlanta spas.

The following week, gunman Ahmad Alissa then allegedly shot dead ten people including a police officer, in a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.

The next day, a shooting at a Southern California office building left four people dead, including a child.

Eight people were shot and killed at the FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis earlier this month.

The president has unveiled a series of executive actions designed to curb gun violence following the string of shootings.

The six actions include: a crackdown on the proliferation of 'ghost guns,' which are built from kits; tighten requirements on pistol braces that allow for more accurate shooting; the Department of Justice will publish 'red flag' legislation for the states; invest in evidence-based community violence interventions; and DoJ will issue an annual report on gun trafficking.

Biden said mass shootings are a 'public health crisis' and argued he was not trying to impinge on the Second Amendment - a claim gun rights groups and Republicans have made against the introduction gun control laws.
Big business and the super-rich have seen their fortunes reach stratospheric levels in recent years. Last years Sunday Times Rich List revealed the richest 1,000 people in Britain had amassed nearly 750 billion in known income and assets. Throughout the pandemic multi-billion-pound bailout schemes shovelled more wealth to those at the top.

But as the pandemic began, record numbers of children were living in poverty. A survey of households earning less than 60 percent of average income in March 2020 found the number of children living in poverty had risen to 4.3 million, up from 4.1 million the year before.

This means nearly a third of UK children were living in poverty even before the pandemic hit.

Footprints in the Community food bank in northern England receives donations (Image credit: Twitter/Footprints_UK)

Analysis of the governments figures by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) charity showed:

51 percent of all children in poverty are in families with a youngest child aged under five

75 percent of poor children lived in working families in 2019-20, up from 72 percent in 2018-19, and 12 percent of poor children had a self-employed parent

Poor families have fallen deeper into poverty: 2.9 million children were in deep poverty (i.e., with a household income below 50 percent of AHC [After housing costs]), 600,000 more than in 2010/11

1.7 million children went hungry because their family could not afford enough food

49 percent of lone parents are now in poverty (up from 44 percent in 2018-19)

47 percent of children in families with three or more children were in poverty, up from 43 percent the year before and 36 precent a decade earlier

Commenting on the figures, CPAG chief executive Alison Garnham said, Todays poverty figures show what was clear all along, that low-income families with children entered the pandemic financially vulnerable and with child poverty having risen by 700,000 since 2012 when benefit cuts began...

We have now seen a decade of cuts to our social safety net and entered the pandemic expecting to spend 36 billion a year less on social security, so it is no surprise that child poverty has risen.

While the national average figures alone are dire, granular analysis of the survey data has revealed pockets of devastating impoverishment across Britain.

The Daily Mirror reported April 3, In several neighbourhoods in Glasgow and one in Milton Keynes, shockingly every single child is thought to be living in poverty. In fact, there are 649 neighbourhoods across the country where at least half of children are estimated to be living below the breadline.

The newspaper quoted End Child Poverty coalition chairperson Anna Feuchtwangs response, we are asking children to live in shame, without somewhere decent to live, without adequate food and clothing, and denying them the secure and healthy childhood we all agree children are entitled to.

In February, a BMJ (formerly, British Medical Journal) editorial spelled out the link between poverty, health and the pandemic, Even before COVID-19, extremely disturbing trends in health were emerging in England. Growing child poverty, homelessness, and food poverty led to an unprecedented rise in infant mortality, mental health problems, and stalling life expectancy, especially for women in the poorest areas and cities.

These were the same areas where 10 years of austerity measures had hit the poorest groups the hardest. Larger cuts in government funding to local authorities with higher proportions of children in poverty meant a reduction in spending on vital preventive services in areas where they were needed most. The pandemic arrived in the middle of this worrying scene and amplified existing inequalities

Food poverty increased, with free school mealsan essential nutritional boost for many low-income familieshaving to be replaced by emergency measures to prevent children going hungry during school closures. Government support for this scheme has been precarious, and at times the measures have been inadequate to maintain the health of growing children.

Applications for Universal Credit welfare payments have doubled during the pandemic to six million people. Under pressure, the Johnson government granted a 20 a week increase in Universal Credit payments, but only until September. The governments pandemic furlough scheme, covering 80 percent of wages, is also due to end that month. Autumn is expected to bring a surge in unemployment, fuelling an immense social crisis.

Dependence on food banks has risen markedly. The Trussell Trust, the UKs biggest food bank charity, reported on April 22, In the last year, a record 2.5 million emergency food parcels were distributed to people in crisis by food banks in the Trussell Trust network. A 33 percent increase on the previous year and a devastating 128 percent increase on the same period five years ago (2015/16). Without the hard work and dedication of thousands of food bank volunteers and staff, at over a thousand locations across the UK, the impact of the pandemic on hundreds of thousands of people would have been even more severe.

The Trust reported that 94 percent of people referred to food banks are destitute.

Although the Trussell Trust is the biggest food bank provider, it is by no means the only one. Around a thousand independent food bank providers were operating in the UK last year. A study by Kelloggs published in February, Filling the poverty gap: the increasing role of schools in supporting families noted, Shocking new research reveals families impacted by poverty during the pandemic are turning to their local school for food. A fifth (18 percent) of schools say theyve started a foodbank to provide families in their community with access to emergency food parcels.

The numbers of school children registered for free school meals increased by around 200,000 during the first year of the pandemic to over 1.6 million. This represents around a fifth of the 8.2 million children in state schooling.
The northern parts of Canadas province of Alberta have seen rising coronavirus cases in recent weeks with several oil sands sites becoming hot spots of outbreaks as workers are flying in and out for maintenance at the crude upgraders.

The high active COVID cases have not impacted production in the Canadian oil patch, but some maintenance work has been stretched because of the outbreaks, industry officials told Bloomberg.

According to data from Alberta Health at the start of this week, cited by CBC News, there were as many as 12 outbreaks at sites across the

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in northern Alberta, with a total of 2,054 workers tested positive.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo declared a state of local emergency on Monday after having reported on Sunday the highest active COVID-19 case ratio (per 100,000 population) in Alberta. The municipality had the third-highest number of total active cases, after Calgary and Edmonton.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, without blaming any group, suggested that the increased numbers of COVID-19 active cases may be the result of a surge of current worksite numbers associated with turnarounds, and the complexity with the mobility of the oil sands production workforce, among several other factors, the municipality said.

Of the active Fort McMurray cases reported by Alberta Health Services, 24.05 percent originated in the Oil Sands through contact tracing, it added.

Slower vaccine rollout in Canada than in the United States and other parts of the world such as the UK, as well as the mobility of the oil sands workforce, have played a role in the recent outbreaks.

Some companies have had to stretch maintenance work to control the outbreaks. For example, Syncrude Canada, majority-owned by Suncor, started in March maintenance on a 350,000-bpd upgrader in which 2,000 workers were involved. But the company had to stretch the work longer than usual to try to contain the outbreak, company spokesman Will Gibson told Bloomberg. Nevertheless, 221 active COVID cases were linked to those maintenance operations.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Chandigarh: Section 144 of the CrPC, which was already imposed in Gurugram, Faridabad Hisar, Panchkula and Sonipat districts, will now be imposed throughout the state to curb COVID spread, Haryana government announced on Tuesday (April 27).

Amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, the state government on Tuesday said that prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, which prohibits assembly of four or more people, will be imposed throughout the state.

"Section 144 to be imposed throughout Haryana," said a state government release quoting Home and Health Minister Anil Vij.

Home and Health Minister Anil Vij also directed all Deputy Commissioners of the state to provide a blueprint for oxygen beds, oxygen storage capacity and other requirements, including ventilators in all private and government hospitals of their districts by 10 a.m. on Thursday (April 29).

"For this, every necessary arrangement will be made," he said according to the release.

The stringent restrictions in the state, like curtailed timings for closure of shops, excluding those involved in essential services, will also remain in place until further orders.

The Health Minister also directed the DCs to ensure that the arrangements for funerals for those who lose their lives to COVID-19 to be conducted on the same day, while observing all COVID-related protocol.

As per the new orders, the deputy commissioners are going to set up district-level COVID monitoring committees with secretaries of various departments, including District Legal Services Authority, as their members.

The Health Minister added that numbers and names of doctors should be published so that patients in home isolation can regularly consult them.

Additionally, while addressing a state-level COVID review meeting, Anil Vij said that every coronavirus patient in the state has to be saved.

On Tuesday (April 27), the state recorded the biggest single-day jump in deaths and cases as 84 fatalities took the cumulative toll in the state to 3,926, while 11,931 fresh infections pushed the total count to 4,47,754.

Meanwhile, India reported 3,23,144 fresh coronavirus infections, taking the cumulative caseload to 1,76,36,307 on Tuesday (April 27), as per data by the health ministry.

The country's total COVID-19 caseload has now increased to 1.76 crore (1,76,36,307), of which, 28.82 lakh (28,82,204) are active cases. India has also witnessed 1.97 lakh (1,97,894 ) coronavirus-related deaths.

Live TV
New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman speaks at a press conference announcing new guidelines and testing standards that GNC will adhere to for their herbal supplements and extracts in New York City, N.Y., on March 30, 2015. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Former NY Attorney General Schneidermans Law License Suspended

Former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will have his law license suspended for a year beginning on May 28 after admitting to physical and emotional abuse of three women, according to a court filing (pdf).

Schneiderman resigned from the post in May 2018 after The New Yorker published an article detailing allegations made against him by multiple women. The Nassau County District Attorneys Office declined to prosecute him six months later, citing statutes of limitations and other matters.

The one-year suspension was agreed upon by Schneiderman as part of disciplinary proceedings before the Attorney Grievance Committee for the First Judicial Department. As part of the deal, Schneiderman admitted to the physical abuse. The punishment against him was softened due to lack of prior offenses and his having committed to mental health and alcoholism treatment.

Respondents admitted misconduct involves verbal and emotional abuse, and unwanted physical contact with three women. However, respondent does not have any criminal or disciplinary history, he has a significant record of public service, and he has taken steps to address his alcohol abuse and past abusive behavior via his participation in AA and therapy, the court order states.

Schneidermans attorney, Michael Ross, didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

As part of the settlement, Schneiderman admitted that during a consensual relationship with a woman between July 2013 and December 2014, he slapped her on multiple occasions and placed his hands on her neck and applied pressure without consent. He admitted to abuse of another woman between August 2016 and September 2017.

Respondent conditionally admits that, by virtue of his unwanted physical contact with the three women described above, he engaged in professional misconduct; that is, conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness as a lawyer, the court order states.

The New Yorker article featured the accounts of four women, two of whom came forward on the record. Schneiderman resigned from office three hours after the article was published.

His admission in court papers features the initials of two of the women, which match names from the New Yorker story: Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam.

They allege that he repeatedly hit them, often after drinking, frequently in bed and never with their consent, the article had stated. Manning Barish and Selvaratnam categorize the abuse he inflicted on them as assault.'

Shortly after the ruling, Manning Barish wrote on Twitter: My life was torn apart and truth telling cost me everything. It was worth it. I did it for every woman and for our daughters. Keep speaking up, and keep supporting your sisters. I am grateful for this ruling. No one is above the law.
BATON ROUGE, La., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Retailers Casualty Insurance Company board of directors has declared a $2,246,000 distribution payable for the 2019 policy year, and distributions to qualifying policyholders have been issued, either by a mailed check or a credit to their account.

Each distribution is in proportion to qualifying policyholder premium and loss ratiothe better their record, the higher the return. The maximum amount of distribution paid to qualifying policyholders with zero losses will be 17.5 percent of their normal premium. Policyholders must meet minimum eligibility requirements, and future distributions are at the board's discretion and not guaranteed.

"Retailers Casualty Insurance Company continues to provide stable workers' comp coverage for our policyholders and rewards those who keep their losses low," states Carl Carstens, chairman of the Retailers Casualty board of directors.

"Summit continues to offer support through loss prevention and claims cost containment services to help make these distributions possible," says Hank Chiles, senior vice president responsible for Summit's Southwest Region. "The potential for distributionscombined with exceptional servicecontinue to make Retailers Casualty Insurance Company one of the best workers' compensation programs in the market."

Retailers Casualty is managed by Summit Consulting LLC, DBA Summit, the people who know workers' comp LLC. Summit has more than 40 years of experience in workers' compensation and provides underwriting, policy administration, claims management and loss prevention services to Retailers Casualty Insurance Company policyholders.

About Summit

Based in Lakeland, Florida, Summit is a leading provider of workers' compensation insurance coverage in the southeastern United States and is a member of Great American Insurance Group. Summit manages the day-to-day operations of five workers' compensation insurance companies that include its two affiliates, Bridgefield Employers Insurance Company and Bridgefield Casualty Insurance Company, and three non-affiliates, BusinessFirst Insurance Company, RetailFirst Insurance Company and Retailers Casualty Insurance Company. Summit provides its comprehensive workers' compensation insurance services to businesses in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Summit has offices in Lakeland, Florida, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Gainesville, Georgia. For more information, visit www.summitholdings.com.

Website:

www.summitholdings.com

SOURCE Retailers Casualty Insurance Company
ALBANY  On Jan. 5, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore listened to arguments in four mortgage foreclosure cases at the Court of Appeals, including the words of two attorneys from the law firm of Greenberg Traurig.

Six weeks later, DiFiore authored rulings in favor of Greenberg Traurigs clients, Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, in unanimous 7-0 decisions that reversed lower court rulings.

On Tuesday, lawyers for the losing clients said they were unaware of a fact the states top judge never divulged: That in her official capacity, DiFiore was a Greenberg Traurig client.

Judges are required to disclose conflicts in cases in which they hold a personal stake. Judges, for instance, are expected to recuse themselves from cases in which their private attorney would appear before them. The standards become murkier when the potential conflict is because an attorney is representing the judge in an official capacity.

No one from the Court of Appeals advised us of this potential conflict, Katherine Sherman, an attorney representing homeowner Donna Ferrato, told the Times Union. Brian Pantaleo, an attorney at Greenberg Traurig, represented Wells Fargo.

We learned about the representation much later after the decision came down adverse to our client, Sherman said.

Attorney Justin Pane argued on Jan. 5 on behalf of homeowner Juan Vargas. Patrick Broderick, an attorney at Greenberg Traurig, represented Deutsche Bank.

Simply put, at the time I made my oral arguments before the Court of Appeals on behalf of Mr. Vargas  I was not informed and was unaware of the fact that Chief Judge DiFiore was being represented, in her official capacity, by Greenberg Traurig  i.e., the firm representing my adversary on the appeal, Pane told the Times Union.

In an email, Court of Appeals spokesman Gary Spencer said: The Court of Appeals does not address these matters through disclosures. If judges find they have a conflict of interest in a particular case, they exercise a personal recusal and step off of the case. When they are not recused, they do not discuss whether any potential conflicts were considered.

The potential conflict of interest, first reported Monday by the New York Law Journal, is related to Greenberg Traurigs representation of DiFiore in an unrelated case in which four appellate justices in Brooklyn and Manhattan sued DiFiore over pandemic-related cuts to the judiciary budget.

The cuts eliminated a program that allowed justices to work for up to six years beyond the state's mandatory retirement age of 70. The 46 judges impacted statewide sued DiFiore; Lawrence Marks, the states chief administrative judge; and the administrative board of the Unified Court System, which includes DiFiore and the four presiding justices of the states Appellate Division.

The case was initially before Long Island-based state Supreme Court Justice Paul J. Baisley Jr., who ruled against DiFiore last year. The chief judge and co-defendants appealed to the Appellate Division's Third Department in Albany in February. On March 9, the appellate court reversed Baisley's ruling and sided with the DiFiore, who had been represented by Greenberg Traurig shareholder Henry Greenberg,

Greenberg, a former State Bar Association president, is counsel to the states Commission on Judicial Nomination, which screens Court of Appeals finalists. And DiFiore appointed him to chair the Commission to Reimagine the Future of New Yorks Courts. In addition, Greenberg chairs the Third Department's judicial screening committee.

Third Department Presiding Justice Elizabeth Garry, who sits on the administrative board, was not part of the panel that heard DiFiore's appeal. Two appellate justices from western New York were part of the panel.

Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, told the Times Union that when a private law firm represents a judge in the judge's official capacity because the state attorney general's office declined to do so, "there is no obligation for the judge to recuse from hearing an unrelated case in which such private law firm appears on behalf of another client."

Chalfen said the Appellate Division's four presiding justices, all represented by Greenberg Traurig in the matter of the judicial cuts, have participated in and decided cases in which the firm's lawyers appeared for another client.

A spokesperson for Greenberg Traurig declined to comment.
United Nations, April 28 : The president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, on Tuesday called for international aid to India in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, said his spokesman.

Bozkir was worried about the Covid-19 situation in India, a country that has done so much to ensure the distribution of vaccines to vulnerable countries, said Brenden Varma, the spokesman, Xinhua news agency reported.

Now it is time for the world to extend aid and support to India. No one is safe until everyone is safe, said Bozkir.

The General Assembly president said his thoughts are with the Indian government and people at this time.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
What just happened? Following its first-ever quarterly revenue decline in Q4 2020, Huawei has seen its sales figures fall for the second quarter in a row due to US sanctions. The Chinese giant said revenue declined following the sale of its Honor phone brand in November, but there was a bit of good news: profitability was up 3.8 percentage points to 11.1%.

Its been two years since Donald Trump added Huawei and 70 affiliates to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Entity List, meaning US companies could no longer do business with these firms without a license. The result is that Googles apps and services no longer appear on the Chinese giants new products, making them less appealing to western consumers.

Huawei has long been incredibly popular in China and other markets, which helped mitigate the sanctions effects on its bottom lineat least initially. But the final quarter of last year saw Huaweis revenue declineby 11%for the first time in the companys history.

The situation didnt improve during the first quarter of this year. Huaweis sales fell 17% compared to the same period last year to $23 billion, though its profit margin increased 11% for a net income of $2.61 billion, the result of a $600 million patent license fee and cost-cutting exercises.

2021 remains a challenging year for Huawei, but it also marks the start of a clear strategy for the companys future, said rotating Chairman Eric Xu. Huawei will continue to focus on technological innovation and investing in R&D to ensure supply continuity under sanctions.

Huaweis founder Ren Zhengfei has suggested to employees that one of its business units could join a stock exchange for the first time. He warned workers that faking accounts may become a legal problem in the future if one of Huaweis businesses enters the capital market, reports the South China Morning Post.

Last year was one of the most challenging Huawei has ever faced. With the Biden administration showing no signs of easing the restrictions put in place by Trump, its fortunes are unlikely to improve anytime soon. As such, the company is expanding its revenue sources, including creating tech for healthcare, coal mining, and even pig farming. There are rumors that it may also enter the self-driving vehicle industry.
Prince Charles may someday slim down the British royal family. The Prince of Wales, who is first in the line of succession, might even remove his son, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and daughter-in-law, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, according to a royal biographer.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry havent been senior royals since early 2020

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Daniel Leal-Olivas  WPA Pool/Getty Images

RELATED: How Has Prince Harry Relationships With Prince William and Prince Charles Changed Since Prince Philips Funeral?

The Sussexes announced theyd be stepping down as senior members of the royal family in January 2020. They officially ended their time as working royals in spring 2020.

The couple later bought a multi-million dollar mansion in Montecito, California. They currently live there with their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, and have another child (a baby girl) on the way.

Since stepping down, Meghan and Harry have inked lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify. Harry has a new job with a mental health startup company called BetterUp. Meanwhile, the couples bombshell Oprah interview in March 2021 made it clear they have no intention of returning to life as senior royals.

Prince Charles has reportedly wanted to slim down the monarchy for some time

(L-R): Prince Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth ll, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton | Anwar Hussein/WireImage

RELATED: Buckingham Palace Is a Lot Calmer Without Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Royal Source Says

The death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in April 2021 has left many people wondering about the future of the monarchy. Will Prince Charles step aside to let his oldest son, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge be king? What will happen when Queen Elizabeth II dies?

Royal biographer Angela Levin told talkRADIO, according to The Irish Sun, that Charles has plans to cut the monarchy down to save money.

Prince Charles has wanted for a very long time to cut the monarchy down to save costs and to make people be worth the money that they got from the taxpayer, she said. I imagine that might be when Harry and Meghan are ditched from being members of the royal family.

If and when the Sussexes are no longer members of the royal family their lives wouldnt be too different from how they are now. Meghan and Harry would likely continue with their charity work and raising their family. They may show up at a few royal events every year but for the most part, theyd likely live out of the spotlight.

The royal family probably wont get downsized until after Queen Elizabeth IIs reign

Queen Elizabeth II | Samir Hussein/WireImage

RELATED: Royal Author Not 100% Sure Prince Charles Will Become King

When would this possible downsizing of the royal family take place? Not until the queens death. According to Levin, the 95-year-olds the one keeping the family how it is.

I think the outer edge, which the Queen has wanted to keep together for a very long time for sentimental reasons, which at her age she didnt really particularly want change which I think is understandable, she said.

Whereas Charles wants to change and I think he will do that.

What will the future of the British royal family look like? Dont expect to see a group of royals waving to crowds at Trooping the Colour.

Youre not going to get a situation on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, where people are pushing and shoving for a place, Andrew Morton, a royal author, told The New York Times in April 2021. Its going to be down to just a handful of people.
HYDERABAD: Telangana government is taking every possible step to control Covid-19, including ensuring adequate supplies of medical oxygen to hospitals. Steps have been also been initiated to add more beds, equipped with oxygen, at various hospitals, health minister Etela Rajendar said on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference, the minister maintained that there is no oxygen shortage in Hyderabad city. Supplies are also being made to hospitals in the districts. We need around 270 tonnes of oxygen a day. Arrangements have been made to ensure arrival of around 400 tonnes of oxygen, he said; referring to empty tankers airlifted to Odisha returning to the state by road with their oxygen loads.

Rajendar said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Raos advice well in advance in terms of augmenting oxygen supplies, ensuring additional beds and other facilities have helped the state in dealing with Covid-19. He disclosed that the state will get five oxygen concentrators from PM Cares funds, even as Covid-19 services will begin at the ESI Hospital in Nacharam from Wednesday.

The health minister said in all, Telangana has 10,000 oxygen beds currently. The state is all set to add 400 more such beds at Gandhi Hospital, the only hospital in the country with 600 ICU beds.

He took serious objections to private hospitals not handing over bodies of dead till families pay all the bills. Calling them as inhuman acts, he asked private hospitals to exhibit a sense of humanity. At the same time, he warned that the government will crack down on any private hospital overcharging patients and putting patients into difficult situations.

Oxygen beds to be added:

TIMS, Gachibowli  300

MGM, Warangal  300

NIMS, Hyderabad  200

MCH, Suryapet  200

Government Hospital, Nalgonda - 200
Laos' eerie 'Plain of Jars' may be thousands of years older than previously suspected, and in use for a much longer period of time.

Limestone vessels dotting the landscape in northern Laos were place there up to 3,300 years ago, according to analysis of quartz crystals in the sediment underneath them.

But most of the remains found in the area were only interred between 700 and 1,200 years ago.

That suggests the jars had 'enduring ritual significance,' researchers say. 'They were important for a very long time.'

They believe the containers were used to expose dead bodies to the elements until only the bones remained, which were then buried nearby.

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Mysterious stone jars spread across northern Laos' Xiangkhouang plateau have given the region the nickname 'Plain of Jars.' New analysis of the jars suggest they are centuries older than previously believed

Mysterious stone jars are spread across thousands of square miles of northern Laos' Xiangkhouang plateau, commonly known as the 'Plain of Jars.'

The massive vessels are made of sandstone and limestone and vary in size, reaching up to 10 feet tall and weighing two tons.

While local legends claim they were goblets used by a horde of drunken giants, the scientific consensus is that the region was a sprawling cemetery and the containers were 'burial urns' used for storing human remains.

In the 1930s, French geologists excavated a cave near one cluster, determining it had served as a crematorium.

An example of a full skeleton buried at Site 1 in the Plain of Jars. Most remains found near the stone jars date from between 700 and 1,200 years ago

In 2019, archaeologist Louise Shewan uncovered 1,000-year-old remains of nearly a dozen dead babies near jars in a location near Ban Nahoung, dubbed Site 1.

While some places only have a handful of jars, Site 1 contains around 400 vessels, scattered across more than 60 acres.

For the past five years, Shewan, a researcher at the University of Melbourne, has studied Site 1 and other jar locations with Dougald O'Reilly of the Australian National University and Thonglith Luangkoth of the Laos Department of Heritage.

They've uncovered three basic types of burials: One where a full skeleton was laid out; another where just bundles of bones were buried, and a third variety where remains were placed inside smaller ceramic jars.

Using optically stimulated luminescence, a technique that dates the last time quartz sediment was exposed to sunlight, researchers determined some of the limestone vessels were placed on the site up to 3,300 years ago, far earlier than the skeletons interred nearby. This suggests the jars were used over long periods by various groups

Previous radiocarbon dating of the remains suggest most they've found were buried between 700 and 1,200 years ago.

Now Shewan and her colleagues have examined the sediment under the jars to estimate their age.

They used optically stimulated luminescence, a technique that dates the last time quartz sediment was exposed to sunlight.

A map of Laos, with Xiangkhouang province, home to thousands of limestone jars scientists believed were involved in prehistoric funereal rites

While some burials involved full skeletons, others just held bundles of bones

'Directly under one jar, we had a date range of 1350 to 730 B.C., and under another we had 860 to 350 B.C.,' Shewan told Live Science. 'I think we're going to find a range of dates as we continue the analysis.'

That means the larger stone vessels are centuries older than many of the bodies buried nearby.

WHAT IS THE 'PLAIN OF JARS?' Carved from huge blocks of sandstone and limestone, the jars on the Xiangkhouang plateau date from 500 BC to 500 AD. They appear to have been quarried from several areas in the Xiangkhouang foothills before being spread over more than 90 sites, numbering from just a handful in some areas to hundreds in others. Each has a cylindrical shape with the bottom wider than the top and most have lip rims, raising suspicions that the jars originally had lids. However, few stone lids have ever been found at the sites. Little is known about how the jars were created but some archaeologists speculate that the people who made them used iron chisels to carve them. Just one jar has been found to have been decorated with a human 'frogman' relief carved on the exterior. Advertisement

'What we surmise from that is the enduring ritual significance of these sites,' Shewan said. 'They were important for a very long time.'

Earlier research had dated the jars more recently, between 500 BC to 500 AD.

The team believes bodies were placed in the large jars until they decomposed, then the bones were buried nearby.

It's not clear if different societies used the jar sites at various times or if descendants of the people who made them continued the tradition.

'Whether they were culturally related to the people who made the jars is a question that we can't define yet,' O'Reilly told Live Science.

Some jars were found with decorated stone discs and smaller clay jars and a variety of other artifacts, including beads and jewelry.

Images on the discs, which were buried with their decorated sides face-down, include animals, human figures and patterns of concentric circles.

Each has a cylindrical shape with the bottom wider than the top and most have lip rims, leading to speculation they all had lids.

Little is known about how they were made but some archaeologists speculate they were carved with iron chisels.

The jars appear to have been quarried from several areas in the Xiangkhouang foothills before being spread over more than 90 sites, some housing just a handful and others hundreds.

In their new report, published in the journal PLOS One, the researchers also analyzed lead and uranium isotopes in a jar at Site 1 and found it had been mined at a sandstone quarry some five miles away.

How it was brought to the site is still unknown, they said.
Human rights watchdog Freedom House is warning of an "antidemocratic turn" in Europe and Eurasia, saying that elected leaders in many countries are undermining democratic institutions in order to stay in power while they promote alternative authoritarian governance.

Nations In Transit 2021, the annual report on the state of democracy by the Washington-based group, singles out Hungary and Poland as the worst offenders in the European Union.

Subscribe To RFE/RL's Watchdog Report Watchdog is our curated digest of human rights, media freedom, and democracy developments from RFE/RL's vast broadcast region. In your in-box every Thursday. Subscribe here.

It says both countries have seen unparalleled democratic deterioration over the past decade.

But the report also warns that the majority of countries Freedom House evaluated are currently worse off than they were 10 years ago.

Russia and Belarus are categorized as consolidated authoritarian regimes with intensifying repression during the past year.

Freedom House says: The violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Belarus, the Kremlins attempted murder of anti-corruption activist and opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, and the Russian militarys recent show of force along the borders of Ukraine demonstrate the lengths to which these regimes are willing to go to stay in power.

Armenias democratic rating regressed during the past year, marking the first time its democracy has lost ground since the 2018 Velvet Revolution in Yerevan, the report says.

Low Point

Georgias score returned to where it had been in 2011, the last year before the current ruling party replaced an unpopular and increasingly repressive government, it says.

The report says Kyrgyzstan had a jarring return to strongman rule under President Sadyr Japarov after previously making progress toward democratic governance -- leaving its score slightly lower than in 2010, the year of its last revolution.

In Ukraine, the governments reform efforts continued to meet with strong resistance from entrenched interests during 2020, it says.

Freedom House said that signs of hope included Uzbekistan and North Macedonia, which experienced the greatest democratic progress in 2020.

It also noted that Bosnia-Herzegovinas democracy score improved for the first time since 2006 as a result of a major step forward for local democratic governance -- the first municipal elections in the city of Mostar since 2008.

Nevertheless, Freedom House concludes that the overall strength of democracy across Europe and Eurasia has declined for 17 consecutive years.

The number of countries classified as democracies has sunk to its lowest point since the report was first launched in 1995, the report says.

Zselyke Csaky, Freedom Houses research director for Europe and Eurasia, says the regions decline is especially troubling in the context of 15 consecutive years of democratic deterioration at the global level.

Authoritarianism is not a purely national problem, but one that can spread to infect entire regions and even continents, Csaky says. European democracies and civil society groups must coordinate in support of pro-democracy movements in countries where authoritarianism in gaining ground.
After more than a decade as the New Orleans Police Departments independent monitor, Susan Hutson wants to make the switch from watchdog to top dog. Hutson said Wednesday she will run for Orleans Parish sheriff, setting up a clash with 17-year incumbent Marlin Gusman.

The first-time candidate will face stiff resistance in the October election from Gusman, a skilled political operator who has maintained an iron grip on the office despite corruption scandals and federal intervention. He said last month that he intends to run for a fifth full term.

But Hutson is betting that the same voters who recently made Jason Williams district attorney also want a new breed of sheriff. She says she's running to increase transparency and accountability at the Sheriff's Office, improve conditions at the jail and reduce the number of people held there.

"This last year has changed the world. COVID and George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and on and on," she said. "Now is the time. If were going to do this, we're going to do it now."

In order to run, Hutson is taking a leave of absence starting Monday from the Office of the Independent Police Monitor. She will also put on hold her application for another four-year stint as monitor, she said. Her current term expires Dec. 31.

If elected, Hutson would become the first woman sheriff in New Orleans history, although not the first in Louisiana. A victory would also reflect the growing power of progressives to claim law enforcement roles traditionally held by tough-on-crime politicians.

Meanwhile, the 54-year-old attorney is also banking on changing attitudes toward transplants running for elective office in the city. A native of Philadelphia, Hutson grew up in Houston before returning east to attend the University of Pennsylvania. She was recruited by a dean to attend Tulane University law school.

After graduation in 1992, she worked in a small law firm, as a municipal prosecutor in Corpus Christi, Texas, as an assistant and acting police monitor in Austin, Texas, and finally as an assistant inspector general monitoring the Los Angeles Police Department from 2007 to 2010.

Her oversight role at the LAPD, which was in the midst of a long-running consent decree, gave her a leg up when she applied for the monitor job in New Orleans. Voters created the position via city charter amendment amid growing outrage over post-Hurricane Katrina incidents like the Danziger Bridge and Henry Glover shootings, and the NOPDs failure to hold officers involved to account.

Her first five years were marked by clashes with former Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux over their respective powers, which were only settled when voters formally split their offices by charter vote in 2016.

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The monitor does not have power to conduct its own investigations. But Hutson says her small office has monitored the NOPDs internal investigations of police shootings, has pushed for the release of body-worn camera videos and has pressed to make department data public. She portrays the switch from overseeing to executing power as a natural one.

Changing guards at the Sheriffs Office will accelerate the citys shift toward less punitive approaches to criminal justice, Hutson says. While Gusman has often portrayed himself as a mere jailer with no control over his inmate population size, Hutson says she wants to take active part in trimming the number of people in custody.

Reached Wednesday, the sheriff declined comment.

Our community has shown widespread support for reimagining public safety, Hutson said. We want to reduce the size and scope of whos in jail. We want to keep people who are there safe, and when they leave we want them to leave better than when they came there.

Hutson declined to go into further detail, promising to release a detailed campaign platform at a later date.

Aside from policies, the election is likely to serve as a referendum on the long tenure of Gusman, who Hutson did not criticize directly. He has weathered a federal probe of corruption among his top deputies, numerous inmate suicides and deaths and a brush with federal receivership in 2016. Gusman regained control of the jail from an independent director in November, but he's still under court oversight as part of reform process that continues after eight years.

Gusman supports the controversial plan to build an 89-bed jail expansion on Perdido Street for inmates with mental and medical health problems. Hutson said she's mindful of community opposition to the new building, but also of pressure from federal judges to finish its construction. She promised "to sit down and see what can be worked out."

Gusman was a City Councilman in 2004 when he was elected to replace Charles Foti. Since then hes faced little opposition at the polls: he trounced Foti when the latter tried to make a comeback in 2014, and he knocked his sole opponent off the ballot in 2017. Before the campaign even begins, Gusman can also count on a considerable war chest. He had $189,000 in campaign funds on hand at the end of 2020.

Hutson sees inspiration in Williams, a career criminal defense attorney elected as district attorney despite the headwind of a federal tax fraud indictment. But she lacks the name recognition and political experience he had as president of the New Orleans City Council.

However, Hutson may be able to count on outside help. Jon Wool, the former Vera Institute in New Orleans director involved in last years flip the bench campaign to elect progressive judges to Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, confirmed that he and others are exploring a similar effort to run an independent campaign targeting the Sheriffs Office race.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 22:06:43|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- A 10-year action plan to combat human trafficking, aiming to better protect people's rights, maintain social harmony and stability, and safeguard national security, has been released by the General Office of China's State Council.

The action plan calls for improving community-based network for preventing human trafficking, and establishing a working system featuring inter-department coordination and extensive participation by the public.

Stressing a severe crackdown on human trafficking using the internet, the action plan urges carrying out a sustained national campaign targeting such crime.

It also requires investigation methods to be modernized and upgraded, calling for improving the information release system and the national DNA database for missing children.

Efforts to help trafficked persons who have been rescued to adapt to new living environment and get employed are also highlighted in the action plan, which also calls for the formulation and revision of relevant laws, regulations and policies, education through the internet and new media, and international cooperation to combat human trafficking. Enditem
Former Disney Advertising Sales EVP and Time Inc. president Brendan Ripp has joined SaaS push notification platform Pushly as its new CEO. Brendan is an innovative leader who has been at the forefront of delivering targeted, highly-relevant and engaging content for modern audiences.

Pushly, a v2 Ventures company, today announced that longtime media and publishing industry executive Brendan Ripp has joined the growing push notification platform as its new chief executive officer.

Pushly gives media and content publishers the ability to grow, retain and engage audiences through their own customized web push notification channel, resulting in more first-party data and predictable revenue growth.

Brendan is an innovative leader who has been at the forefront of delivering targeted, highly-relevant and engaging content for modern audiences, said Marco Ilardi, managing partner of v2 Ventures. Hes exactly the kind of executive Pushly needs because he understands the challenges digital media and content publishers face during this pivotal time of change.

Most recently, Ripp was operating partner at Attention Capital, the investment firm founded by Joe Marchese to address inefficiencies in how peoples attention is being extracted and traded in todays market. In his new role, Ripp will be responsible for expanding Pushlys reputation as the industry leader in powering web push notifications for online media and content companies.

What excites me most about joining Pushly is how well my publishing experience lends itself to being an advocate for an innovative solution content producers need now more than ever, said Ripp. Our position at the intersection of content distribution, audience engagement and first-party data is welcomed by publishers facing audience and revenue growth challenges in a post-cookie world.

Prior to Attention Capital, Ripp was EVP, Disney Advertising Sales overseeing the National Geographic portfolio across all channels and leading its Global Consumer Products and Licensing. Prior to Disney, Brendan spent 16 years at Time Inc. in various leadership roles at brands, leaving as president of the technology and finance verticals. He is a board member of several media and nonprofit organizations, including the American Advertising Federation, Concern Worldwide and a voting member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Push notifications are entirely permission-based and politely delivered to a users desktop, making them popular among consumers who want to stay connected to the media brands they know and trust.

Pushly gives publishers the ability to segment notifications according to user interests and those that have embraced web push have found it a consistent and highly effective way to engage new site visitors and nurture loyal subscribers while capturing first-party data and generating more repeat visitors and page views for audience monetization. The relationship is mutually beneficial, as more consumers are requesting to receive contextually relevant updates directly to their desktop after they leave a publishers site.

About Pushly

Trusted by many of the worlds largest digital media and content platforms, Pushlys sophisticated use of push notifications turns one-time visitors into loyal subscribers, increasing page views, repeat visitors and revenue.

Pushly has created the most powerful push notification platform on the market today, and its dedicated team of push experts works with media and content creators to generate custom features, creative content strategies and execute highly-targeted brand initiatives. The result is an easy-to-use, scalable solution that helps media and content companies better engage audiences, increase subscriber retention and drive revenue growth, making Pushly the premier push notification platform. For more information visit http://pushly.com.

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have visited a farm near Darlington to learn first-hand how farmers are producing high-quality food while caring for the environment.

Prince William and Kate Middleton visited County Durham farmers Clare Wise and Stewart Chapman on their family farm on Tuesday (27 April).

The fifth-generation family run a mixed cattle, sheep and arable farm near Darlington, supplying retailer Morrisons.

The farmers showed the Royals how they protect the welfare of their livestock, as well as how they use techniques such as grass monitoring and feed sampling to increase sustainability.

The family has modernised the farm over the past 10 years, investing heavily in new buildings and technology.

Sustainable farm tour ??????

Located in Darlington, these two amazing owners of a fifth-generational family-run farm, were able to take us through the ins and outs of how theyre working toward the UKs 2050 net-zero target.

Even the tractors got a test run! pic.twitter.com/S7kAGJsMfb  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) April 27, 2021

Clare Wise said she was 'absolutely delighted' to host the Duke and Duchess on her farm.

"Were thrilled that they wanted to shine a light on the importance of a mixed farming system and a family farm, as we believe were the backbone of the industry.

"We showed them how were using affordable technology on farm to push our business forward, to hopefully be able to meet our net zero goals and have a really bright and optimistic future.

The visit concluded with a discussion with other local farmers, including Rachel Hallos and Richard Bramley, who are both NFU officials.

The group shared how farmers are delivering for the environment and the work they are carrying out to help support the UKs commitment to net zero carbon emissions.

They also discussed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on farming, including on mental health.

Fantastic to welcome The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to one of our members farms today to show them the high welfare standards on British farms and the role that ???? farmers play in looking after the environment. #BackBritishFarming [1/2] pic.twitter.com/2PhOlsYg3E  National Farmers' Union (@NFUtweets) April 27, 2021

NFU North East regional director Adam Bedford, who also joined the discussion, said it was an 'incredibly proud day' for the regions farmers.

We were all delighted to experience the genuine interest showed by the Duke and Duchess about the farm, the challenges of the pandemic and the contribution that farming can make to the nation," he said.

"British farmers not only provide a fantastic menu of delicious, nutritious, sustainable food, but also a superb farmed environment that has contributed so much to peoples mental health and welfare over the past year.
NEW YORK, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dorilton, the private investment firm that acquired Formula 1 team Williams Racing in 2020, is pleased to announce the launch of Dorilton Ventures to lead significant minority investments in early to mid-stage technology companies focused on data-centric segments such as enterprise IT infrastructure, data science, and cyber security.

Matthew Savage, Dorilton's co-founder and Chairman, commented, "Dorilton Ventures brings the strength of our team and our approach  investing capital, time and expertise in long-term partnership with management  into the venture market."

The Dorilton Ventures team includes investment professionals, data scientists, and IT infrastructure specialists. Dorilton Ventures will focus on delivering Dorilton's capital, resources, and long-term partnership 'DNA' to support early-stage companies and their founders, operating alongside other successful investors to be a force multiplier for exceptional management teams.

Dorilton Ventures will initially target investments of $5-10m but may over-allocate to meet the needs of the most transformative businesses in its role as a funding partner throughout a company's lifecycle.

Matthew Savage added:

"Our investments are not time-limited, nor are we subject to the concentration limits faced by many VC funds. We will follow our money so long as the company can deliver attractive returns."

Dorilton has made multiple venture investments to date, including multi-lingual, geo-enabled social media and web-monitoring platform Babel Street; space-based radio frequency analytics specialist Hawkeye360; healthcare analytics platform Post Acute Analytics; and personalized tissue therapeutics company XenoTherapeutics.

The launch coincides with the group's move to a single overarching brand, Dorilton, which will preside over standalone strategies, including Dorilton Ventures and the core private equity operation Dorilton Capital, while standing ready to accommodate further initiatives and sector specializations.

Matthew Savage said:

"As Dorilton expands its investment strategies beyond our traditional focus on middle-market private equity, we recognized that the Dorilton brand needs to reflect our ambitious future vision. As we launch new initiatives, our shared values of driving results by building relationships and staying humble remain at the core of all of our investment activities."

The new Dorilton branding will make its first major outing with the appearance of the Dorilton Ventures logo on the Williams FW43B car at the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix, to be held at the Algarve International Circuit April 30th  May 2nd.

About Dorilton

Dorilton is a private investment firm that invests in businesses across a range of industry sectors, working in partnership with management to grow value over the long-term. By providing funding and expertise to drive growth, Dorilton helps its companies and its people achieve their full potential.

Enquiries









Stephen Benzikie Hydra Strategy +44 (0)20 3393 1185



+44 (0)774 0038929

SOURCE Dorilton
The granting of intellectual property waivers is not the right way to increase output of COVID-19 vaccines, the founder of German vaccine maker BioNTech said on Wednesday, advocating instead the award of production licenses.

Such waivers are among the options being considered by the Biden administration for maximizing the production and supply of vaccines, though no decision has been made, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.

This is not a solution, BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said.

Biden Administration Considering Intellectual Property Rights Waiver for COVID Vaccines U.S. is also studying ways to boost existing manufacturing of the vaccines in the United States.

BioNTech, which makes and markets its messenger RNA-based shot in partnership with U.S. drugmaker Pfizer, considers close cooperation with selected production partners to be the right approach because its vaccine is hard to make.

We are considering ways to issue special licenses to competent producers, Sahin told an online briefing hosted by the German foreign correspondents association.

This would ensure that the quality of vaccines delivered to different regions of the world is consistent, Sahin said, adding that production by licensees could make a contribution towards the end of this year at the earliest.

The BioNTech/Pfizer shot has been widely administered in countries including Israel, the United States and Britain, and is also the lead vaccine in the European Unions inoculation campaign.

Sahin said it was important that shots produced in the EU could be exported to other parts of the world. The region could expect to achieve herd immunity by late summer, but it would be of little use if Europe were safe but the virus continued to rampage elsewhere, he added.

BioNTech expects Chinese health authorities to approve its vaccine by July at the latest, Sahin told the briefing, adding it should be possible to start distributing it there that month.

I am optimistic that we can help the people of China, said Sahin, describing its local partner, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd, as a great company.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine Editing by Madeline Chambers and Gareth Jones)

Topics Germany
COVID crisis has created a havoc in India. The second wave has disturbed India at every level. India is once again getting support from another country i.e. Bhutan. Yes, Bhutan in such tough situation is ready to supply 40 metric tonnes of liquid Oxygen to Assam.

The Oxygen supply will be exported using cryogenic tankers. The Oxygen will come from a new plant from Motanga Industrial Estate in Eastern Bhutans Samdrup Jongkhar district. The Indian mission in Bhutan has released a statement saying that The provision of oxygen by Bhutan will augment Indias efforts to win the fight against COVID-19 and save precious lives and this is a practical manifestation of the uniquely close and friendly ties between India and Bhutan. The plant has been set up by a Bhutanese company S.D. Cryogenics Gases Pvt Ltd. Meanwhile, a strong move of Bhutan to support people of India amid the COVID crisis has been shown. Many Bhutanese took to Twitter showing solidarity with Indian situation. Dechen Namgyal, a Bhutanese medical student tweeted, This is what Bhutan can do as a friend, Bhutan sending Oxygen to India. Namgay, a multimedia journalist in Bhutan tweeted, My thoughts & prayers are with India, every day. Another user, Tenzing Lamsang, Editor of The Bhutanese Newspaper recalling his student days in Delhi tweeted said,I am so so sorry for what is happening to some of the warmest & most generous people on earth.

The nation has reported over 3 lakh COVID cases consecutively for the last few days. The surge of infection is leading ahead then of falling amid New Delhi, via its mission, has been trying to get Oxygen globally and has got the first consignment from Saudi Arabia. The country so far has also been able to bring Oxygen containers from Singapore, UAE, and Thailand.

Also Read

Indian Embassy alerts citizens to avoid trip to Nepal for onward journey to third countries

Video of Hindu girl crying for help goes viral, forced to convert into Islam

Covid-19: Ethiopia reports 841 new cases, taking the nationwide tally mark to 253,120
FAIRFAX, Va., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CGI (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) today announced its intent to acquire Sense Corp, a professional services firm focused on digital systems integration and consulting for state and local government and commercial clients. This merger further expands CGI's footprint in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and St. Louis and grows CGI's digital and cloud solution capabilities. The two companies signed an agreement to proceed with the transaction, which is expected to close in early May.

Sense Corp brings approximately 300 highly skilled consultants to CGI, and enhances and accelerates CGI's position as a leading provider of comprehensive, scalable and sustainable IT and business consulting services to meet growing demand in both the state and local government and commercial sectors.

"This transaction is consistent with CGI's well-articulated build and buy strategy to invest in both transformational and niche acquisitions that will spur future growth and expand coverage in targeted metro markets," said Tim Hurlebaus, CGI President of U.S. Commercial and State Government Operations. "By merging forces with Sense Corp, it will have a significant positive impact on our U.S. Texas and Midwest operations while acting as a catalyst for future organic growth for the overall U.S. business."

"One of the most closely scrutinized aspects of any merger is the alignment of culture. CGI and Sense Corp share a commitment to help clients by providing valuable insights and working together to deliver positive outcomes," said Jody Beasley, CGI Senior Vice-President, Consulting Services and U.S. Texas Business Unit Leader. "Sense Corp brings both unique local relationships and deep industry experience to the CGI global platform."

In the U.S., CGI has nearly 13,000 consultants and professionals across 80 offices that are organized through a client proximity model, supported by the depth of its international presence, range of services, and insights to deliver value locally.

About CGI

Founded in 1976, CGI is among the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world. With 77,000 consultants and other professionals across the globe, CGI delivers an end-to-end portfolio of capabilities, from strategic IT and business consulting to systems integration, managed IT and business process services and intellectual property solutions. CGI works with clients through a local relationship model complemented by a global delivery network that helps clients digitally transform their organizations and accelerate results. CGI Fiscal 2020 reported revenue is C$12.16 billion and CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Learn more at cgi.com.

Forward-looking information and statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable United States safe harbours. All such forward-looking information and statements are made and disclosed in reliance upon the safe harbour provisions of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. Forward-looking information and statements include all information and statements regarding CGI's intentions, plans, expectations, beliefs, objectives, future performance, and strategy, as well as any other information or statements that relate to future events or circumstances and which do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts. Forward-looking information and statements often but not always use words such as "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "foresee", "plan", "predict", "project", "aim", "seek", "strive", "potential", "continue", "target", "may", "might", "could", "should", and similar expressions and variations thereof. These information and statements are based on our perception of historic trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other assumptions, both general and specific, that we believe are appropriate in the circumstances. Such information and statements are, however, by their very nature, subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, of which many are beyond the control of CGI, and which give rise to the possibility that actual results could differ materially from our expectations expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not restricted to: risks related to the market such as the level of business activity of our clients, which is affected by economic and political conditions, external risks (such as pandemics) and our ability to negotiate new contracts; risks related to our industry such as competition and our ability to attract and retain qualified employees, to develop and expand our services, to penetrate new markets, and to protect our intellectual property rights; risks related to our business such as risks associated with our growth strategy, including the integration of new operations, financial and operational risks inherent in worldwide operations, foreign exchange risks, income tax laws, our ability to negotiate favourable contractual terms, to deliver our services and to collect receivables, and the reputational and financial risks attendant to cybersecurity breaches and other incidents; as well as other risks identified or incorporated by reference in this press release, in CGI's annual and quarterly MD&A and in other documents that we make public, including our filings with the Canadian Securities Administrators (on SEDAR at www.sedar.com) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (on EDGAR at www.sec.gov). For a discussion of risks in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, see Pandemic Risks in section 8.1.1. of our Q2 2021 quarterly MD&A. Unless otherwise stated, the forward-looking information and statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and CGI disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. While we believe that our assumptions on which these forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are based were reasonable as at the date of this press release, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking information or statements. Furthermore, readers are reminded that forward-looking information and statements are presented for the sole purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding our objectives, strategic priorities and business outlook as well as our anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Further information on the risks that could cause our actual results to differ significantly from our current expectations may be found in the section titled "Risk Environment" of CGI's annual and quarterly MD&A, which is incorporated by reference in this cautionary statement. We also caution readers that the above-mentioned risks and the risks disclosed in CGI's annual and quarterly MD&A and other documents and filings are not the only ones that could affect us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial could also have a material adverse effect on our financial position, financial performance, cash flows, business or reputation.

SOURCE CGI Technologies and Solutions, Inc.

Related Links

www.cgi.com


Drivers should choose wisely between sticking to liability only coverage or going full coverage. Check our website for more info and free quotes, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

When it comes to car insurance, drivers have to choose between liability only or full coverage. In some cases, their decision does not depend solely on them. Full coverage is optional only if the policyholder owns the car. The holder of the car loan will require full coverage to the extent the policyholder owes on the car.

Liability provides coverage to other people for their injuries and property damaged sustained during an accident caused by the policyholder. Basically, it covers the victims of the policyholders wrongdoings. This policy is also referred to as third-party coverage. Without liability coverage, the policyholder will have to pay for everything from his own finances. Most insurance companies split liability coverage into two main components:



Bodily Injury. It includes medical bills, lost wages, and other costs related to treating physical and psychological traumas. Bodily Injury is represented in contracts with 2 different numbers ($50.000/$100.000), which represent the maximum amount the insurer will pay out per person and the maximum amount paid for the entire accident.

Property damage. It includes the costs for repairing a car that has been damaged by the policyholder. It is usually the third number from the liability coverage limits (($50.000/$100.000/$50.000)

Full coverage extends the basic protection offered by liability only. Unlike liability coverage, full coverage will also cover the costs of repairing the policyholders car, no matter who caused the accident. Full coverage provides the following policies:



Comprehensive coverage. It covers damaged caused by other factors than a collision. If the car is damaged by extreme weather, objects or debris falling from the sky, animal attacks, riots, comprehensive will cover it. Furthermore, comprehensive car insurance also covers car theft.

Collision coverage. If the car is damaged during a collision with another vehicle or structure, this portion of the auto insurance will reimburse the driver. It also covers cases when the owner flips over his car and damages it.

Additionally, clients can access:



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Rental coverage. Covers the cost of renting a new car while the covered one is in service.

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.

For more information, please visit http://compare-autoinsurance.org.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Dr. Michael Cackovic has treated his share of pregnant women. So when Republican lawmakers across the U.S. began passing bans on abortion at what they term the first detectable fetal heartbeat, he was exasperated.

That's because at the point where advanced technology can detect that first flutter, as early as six weeks, the embryo isnt yet a fetus and it doesnt have a heart. An embryo is termed a fetus beginning in the 11th week of pregnancy, medical experts say.

You cannot hear this flutter, it is only seen on ultrasound, said Cackovic, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Ohio State Universitys Wexner Medical Center, where some 5,300 babies are born each year.

Yet bans pegged to the fetal heartbeat concept have been signed into law in 13 states, including Cackovics home state of Ohio. None has taken effect, with all but the most recently enacted being struck down or temporarily blocked by the courts. Now, one of the most restrictive, signed by Tennessees Republican Gov. Bill Lee last year, goes before the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday.

Proponents of these so-called heartbeat bills are hoping for a legal challenge to eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court, where they look for the conservative coalition assembled under President Donald Trump to end the constitutional right to abortion protected under the high courts landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

The notion that abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy stops a beating heart helped propel the measures to rise above persistent constitutional concerns in the states that have backed them.

The concept's originator, Ohio anti-abortion activist Janet Folger Porter, spoke openly about her strategy in an email to supporters last year  deftly side-stepping whether the packaging of the bill was medically true.

The slogan, Abortion stops a beating heart, has long been an effective way to highlight the injustice and inhumanity of abortion, Porter wrote of the state's law, the Ohio Heartbeat Protection Act.

And, she found, hearts were easy to market.

During the decade-long battle to pass Ohios law, Porter punctuated her lobbying efforts with heart-shaped balloons and teddy bears. She urged supporters to take heart when faced with obstacles  and beseeched lawmakers to have a heart and vote yes" despite their constitutional concerns.

Then Republican Gov. John Kasich twice vetoed the Ohio heartbeat bill, citing constitutional issues. His GOP successor, Gov. Mike DeWine, signed it in 2019 amid a flurry of similar bills that year.

For now, abortion remains legal in all 50 states, though 43 have some form of restriction on the procedure after a fetus becomes viable outside the womb, generally between 24 and 28 weeks.

John Culhane, a law professor at Widener University who co-directs its Family Health Law and Policy Institute, said the anti-abortion lobby's marketing of heartbeat bill" legislation is all an attempt to make a fetus into a person.

The heartbeat, it literally tugs at the heartstrings, it makes you feel like, Why would you do this?' Never mind that theres not a heart yet in the embryo, he said.

However, attorneys are quick to point out that medical inaccuracy is not a legal argument.

Legislatures are free to define things any way they want and give it the force of law, said Andrew Koppelman, a law professor at Northwestern University. The reality of medical science is not a constraint on what a legislature can do. What is a constraint on what a legislature can do are the constitutional rights of women.

In the war of words over abortion, however, battles have erupted before over politically charged, inaccurate or vague terminology used in abortion laws.

Dismemberment abortion is a term abortion opponents use to describe dilation and evacuation, a common second trimester abortion method. They use partial-birth abortion to describe what is medically called intact dilation and extraction.

Abortion rights groups dub heartbeat laws six-week abortion bans, though the bills don't mention such a duration.

It is very common to use non-medical language to publicly talk about a medical procedure, said David Cohen, professor of law at Drexel Universitys Kline School of Law.

The law needs precision in order to know exactly what is being regulated, Cohen said. So in medicine it would be by using medical terminology.

Cackovic, the fetal medicine specialist, said the current heartbeat laws," are based only on our amazing technological advances" that allow detection of the earliest signs of embryonic cardiac activity, and nothing else.

A pioneering 2013 University of Leeds study, for example, found that while four clearly defined chambers appear in the human heart from the eighth week of pregnancy, they remain a disorganized jumble of tissue until around the 20th week, much later than previously expected.

Abortion opponents dont see it that way, viewing the use of antiseptic medical terms to describe what happens in pregnancy as a political tactic of its own.

The hosts of CareCast, a podcast sponsored by the anti-abortion nonprofit Care Net, called out news outlets last year for using terms such as pulsing or fetal cardiac activity rather than heartbeat, accusing them of employing euphemisms and verbal gymnastics in order to dehumanize the unborn.

They are literally inventing new ways of talking about a heartbeat so that they can try to avoid giving any sort of human attributes to the fetus, said Vincent DiCaro, the groups chief outreach officer. President and CEO Roland Warren said such dehumanization provides an opportunity to maximize the atrocity against human life. He equated it to Nazis treatment of the Jews.

Culhane said vague or imprecise language could be a powerful argument against heartbeat laws" in the courts  should the battle ever advance beyond the laws impacts on a womans constitutional right to abortion.

These days, courts are really vigilant about looking at statutes to make sure that they provide notice about what conduct exactly is prohibited, the Widener University law professor said.

Because we dont want people to have to guess and then find that theyre on the wrong side of the law.

___

Smyth reported from Columbus, Ohio.
Statehouse Reporter

Danny Jin is the Eagle's Statehouse reporter. A graduate of Williams College, he previously interned at the Eagle and The Christian Science Monitor. Danny can be reached at djin@berkshireeagle.com or on Twitter at @djinreports.
Mike Pompeo has said John Kerry 'has an awful lot of explaining to do' after The New York Times on Sunday published leaked conversations with Iran's foreign minister, in which he claimed Kerry informed him of Israeli military strikes.

Pompeo, who served as Donald Trump's Secretary of State between 2018 and 2021, told Sean Hannity's Fox News on Tuesday that he was deeply concerned by the report.

'John Kerry needs to come forward and speak to the American people and explain to them why he was meeting with him,' said Pompeo.

'We know he did that - he has admitted as much - we believe he was absolutely telling the Iranians hang on, this pressure campaign, the power that is being exerted by America against you - you can hang in there, don't for a minute negotiate with the Trump team,' said Pompeo.

Mike Pompeo, Trump's Secretary of State, said Kerry had questions to answer over Iran

'So he has an awful lot of explaining to do.'

Pompeo, who also served as CIA director between 2017 and 2018, pointed out that Zarif made the remarks in an off-the-record conversation, that was never intended for publication.

Pompeo said there was 'no reason to think that these remarks that he made in private, there's no reason reason to think that he wasn't telling us he was truly surprised that he did not know about the Israeli operations, until Secretary Kerry told him about them.'

And Pompeo, strongly believed to be considering a 2024 run for the White House, depending on Donald Trump's plan, said that he was dismayed that Biden was attempting to renegotiate his old boss Barack Obama's Iran nuclear deal and bring Tehran back in from the cold.

'We isolated the Iranians like they never been isolated before,' said Pompeo.

John Kerry, Obama's Secretary of State, is pictured with Mohammad Javad Zarif in April 2016

He said the Iran nuclear deal was a bad idea.

'If it reduces American security as well, I do not for the life of me understand why they would give the Iranians something in exchange for almost nothing - just for this thing that appears to be an article of faith. For them to go back and do this deal, and say they did this, this crown jewel of the Kerry secretary of state time.

'It would be a big mistake, and it puts Americans at risk.'

Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian official, spoke for several hours to an interviewer producing an oral history of the current Iranian administration.

'Kerry has to tell me that Israel has attacked you 200 times in Syria?' says Zarif, complaining that Iran's military does not inform him about crucial matters.

'You did not know?' the interviewer asks twice.

Both times, Zarif replies: 'No, no.'

Zarif does not specify when Kerry, Barack Obama's Secretary of State from 2013-17, was supposed to have made the comment.

Republicans are calling for Kerry to resign as Joe Biden's climate envoy, or Biden to revoke his security clearance.

Kerry on Monday insisted he never discussed covert Israeli airstrikes in Syria with Zarif, and pointed out that the Israelis openly claimed many of their strikes.

Mike Pompeo, who was CIA director before Secretary of State, is believed to be considering a 2024 run for the White House, if Donald Trump does not aim to retake the presidency

Andy Biggs, representative for Arizona, on Tuesday wrote to Biden asking for revocation of Kerry's security clearance - an extraordinary measure for a former secretary of state.

'If Mr Kerry provided sensitive information to Iran about Israel's activities in Syria, he undermined a friend and bolstered an enemy.

'At best, such behavior would be despicable; at worst, it would verge on treason,' wrote Biggs, according to The Hill.

Earlier on Tuesday, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley accused Kerry of 'tipping off' the Iranians.

'This is disgusting on many levels. Biden and Kerry have to answer for why Kerry would be tipping off Iran, the number one sponsor of terror, while stabbing one of our greatest partners, Israel, in the back,' she said.

John Kerry is pictured with Barack Obama in Beijing in November 2014

Ted Cruz, Republican senator for Texas, said: 'If this tape is verified, it would signal catastrophic and disqualifying recklessness by Envoy Kerry to Foreign Minister Zarif that endangered the safety of Americans and our allies.'

Republican Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska used the word 'treason' during a Senate floor speech, and called on Kerry to resign from his climate post.

Representative Jim Banks of Indiana, head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, added: 'People are talking about treason  and I don't throw that word around a lot.

'John Kerry does all kinds of things that I can't stand. But this is the one that broke the camel's back.'

The White House declined to comment when asked about Zarif's comments.

'We're not going to comment on leaked tapes,' White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at Monday's press briefing.

State Department spokesman Ned Price referenced substantial reporting on Israeli strikes at Syria - without naming the U.S. ally.

'I would just make the broad point that if you go back and look at press reporting from the time, this certainly was not secret,' he said Monday.

'And governments that were involved were speaking to this publicly, on the record.'

Mohammad Javad Zarif said he had 'zero' influence over Iran's foreign policy in the leaked tape

Gabriel Noronha, a former special Iran advisor for the State Department, said he thought Zarif was being set up by regime insiders, reported by Fox News.

Israeli attacks on Syria since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war There have been numerous rocket attacks and air raids between Israel and Syria since the Syrian civil war began in 2011. Israel has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of them, but usually does not confirm specific operations. Below are a small sample: June 23, 2014  Israel attacks nine targets in Syria after 15-year old boy is killed in the occupied Golan Heights November 20, 2019  Israeli strike hits Irans Quds Force headquarters at Damascus airport December 2019  Israel takes out Iranian arms depot in Syria, following four strikes in November Jan. 9, 2020  Israel attacks forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad near Damascus Jan 13, 2021  Deadly Israeli airstrikes in Syria kill 57, according to observers April 21, 2021  Syria launches missile near top-secret nuclear reactor in Israel; Israel responds with attacks on missile battery Advertisement

'The main reason Zarif has survived as Foreign Minister for eight years in Iran's cutthroat political environment is that he serves as the "reasonable" storefront to the world, protecting the more empowered radical elements of the regime from Western and press scrutiny,' Noronha wrote in a statement.

'I think the leak was likely instigated by regime insiders who have long hated Zarif and tried to oust him  they oppose current efforts to rejoin the [Iran nuclear deal and also want to bolster domestic opposition to President Rouhani and his allies running for office in June.'

Noronha was fired from his State Department political post in the Trump administration after tweeting on January 6 that Trump 'fomented an insurrectionist mob that attacked the Capitol today. He continues to take every opportunity to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power.'

Israel under the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has balked at the Iran nuclear deal hammered out during the Obama administration, in part by Kerry and Zarif.

Israel is believed to be behind attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, although it did not comment on the latest explosion at Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility.

Zarif complained in the leaked recording that the late Revolutionary Guards commander, Qassim Soleimani, forced Tehran to send troops to Syria at Russian President Vladimir Putin's insistence.

Zarif said he had 'zero' influence over Iran's foreign policy while Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq last year, exerted his power to fulfil his military demands at the expense of diplomacy.

'I have never been able to tell a military commander to do something in order to aid diplomacy,' Zarif said in the tape, aired by the London-based Iran International Persian-language satellite news channel late on Sunday.

Russia had wanted the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on the ground to help Moscow's air campaign in support of the Syrian government.

An Israeli soldier runs past a mobile artillery cannon at a position near Moshav Sha'al in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on April 22, 2021

'He (Soleimani) asked me to make this or that concession or point almost every time I went to negotiate (with world powers),' Zarif said in the recording.

Zarif also hinted that Soleimani tried to spoil Iran's 2015 nuclear deal by colluding with Russia.

He claimed that the Revolutionary Guards had written 'Israel should be wiped off the Earth' in Hebrew in an effort to ruin the deal.

Zarif added that Iran gave up much of what it 'could have achieved from the nuclear deal' for the sake of advancement on the battlefield.

His comments come as talks are underway in Vienna aimed at finding a way for Tehran to return to the nuclear deal with the U.S. and other Western powers.
The ongoing liquidation of the iconic Texas restaurant chain Lubys Inc. will yield an increased payout for investors, according to a Monday filing with the Securities Exchange Commission.

The Houston company said the estimated liquidation proceeds increased by 16 cents to $3.98 a share after it began shedding assets, according to the filing. Liquidation is projected to be completed by June 30, 2022.

The value of the assets being liquidated increased by $5 million during the quarter ended March 10, stemming largely from a $4.5 million increase in the value of Lubys real estate holdings.

The company recently sold nine Fuddruckers restaurants and converted them to franchises, it said in the filing. John Garilli, the companys interim president and chief executive confirmed in an interview the purchases were part of a previously disclosed deal with Black Titan Holdings, a North Carolina foodservice business.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Former Lubys CEO Chris Pappas scoops up Memorial Fuddruckers

The restaurant chain struggled to keep up with changing tastes in recent years, and the pandemic further devastated its ability to draw in customers. Lubys shareholders approved a liquidation plan in November.

The company recently sold two Texas properties that once held Lubys restaurants, Garilli said, but hasnt yet sold any operational Lubys restaurants. He said that is still the goal.

Were still pursing a sale of the operating unit, he said.

Between its Lubys and Fuddruckers brands, the company was operating 81 restaurants as of March 10, down from the 118 it operated at the onset of the pandemic, it said; Fuddruckers franchisees were operating 72 locations, down from 90 before the pandemic.

Chris Pappas, former CEO of Lubys Inc., resigned in January but remains on the board while the chains liquidation ramps up. In February, he acquired a company-owned Fuddruckers that occupies a property near Memorial City Mall.

amanda.drane@chron.com

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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Given the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is no longer recommended for under-50s following news of very rare blood clots, Australia is looking to other vaccines to plug the gap.

Pfizer's mRNA vaccine will become the mainstay of the rollout, with 40 million doses expected to arrive before year's end.

But Australia isn't the only country eager to get its hand on this vaccine.

Skyrocketing demand coupled with shortages of vital components is leading to bottlenecks in the supply chain of this and other mRNA vaccines, delaying vaccine supplies.

The Victorian government also announced last week it would provide A$50 million to set up local manufacturing of mRNA vaccines in Australia. It's feasible supply chain issues could also impact local manufacturing of mRNA vaccines.

So what are the missing supplies for making mRNA vaccines?

The shortages slowing mRNA vaccine production

1. mRNA manufacturing and capping

Manufacturing mRNA vaccines is kind of like making a car, with an assembly line and many steps. Each step needs to lead to the next and flow smoothly to make the final product.

COVID mRNA vaccine manufacturing starts with making the "messenger RNA," the instructions that tell our cells to make the coronavirus' spike proteins. The mRNA is produced in reactor vessels, where protein enzymes track along a DNA template and copy that DNA sequence into RNA form.

The first shortage is in sterile, single-use plastic bags which sit inside the metal reactor vessels used for making the mRNA, almost like a bin liner. Several suppliers of these plastic liners are ramping up production so it's anticipated this shortage won't last too long.

The second main shortage relates to "capping" the mRNA at one end. Capping involves adding a chemical molecule to the mRNA which stops the mRNA breaking down too quickly and helps our cells use the mRNA to make protein. Early on during the worldwide upscaling of mRNA manufacturing, rumors abounded that the enzymes and raw materials to make the mRNA cap were running short, given related enzymes used for COVID tests were also in short supply.

However, while only a few players dominate the field, this doesn't seem to be a bottleneck now. But it does still remain one of the most costly parts of the mRNA production process.

2. Lipids in nanoparticles

The main bottleneck right now is the supply of some of the lipids making the nanoparticles that protect the mRNA and deliver it into our cells.

One lipid in particular, a so-called "cationic lipid," wraps around the mRNA and then releases it inside the cell. Several chemical synthesis steps are required to make these cationic lipids, and prior to COVID only a handful of manufacturers worldwide were making these, and only on a fairly small scale.

Upscaling this production of cationic lipids has been even harder than setting up the mRNA production. Currently, four companiesCroda/Avanti, CordenPharma, Evonik and Merckare the main manufacturers of these lipids.

As an indication of how serious this shortfall in lipids is, in December 2020 former US President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to assist Pfizer in accessing more lipids.

Why do we have these shortages?

The reasons for these shortages are complex. In most cases, demand has outstripped supply. In some cases, some countries or companies have been stockpiling some of these components. "Operation Warp Speed," initiated by the Trump administration to speed up COVID vaccine development, used its financial clout throughout 2020 to buy up and secure many vaccine components including vials and lipids. This has put the vaccine manufacturers based in the United States in a good position, including Moderna and several Pfizer sites.

For some materials, the reason for the shortfall is simply that they're hard to make. The bespoke cationic lipids are chemically synthesized in ten steps that all have to performed under strict quality control. Even if the equipment is ready, setting up such a manufacturing process takes months.

"Scaling up production of formerly niche substances such as #lipid #nanoparticles for a global #vaccine drive has been among the most complex challenges facing the Biden administration as it aims to ramp up the... provision of shots across the country..." #COVID19 #supplychain https://t.co/0UQ9aPHAuQ  Mark Warner (@MAAWLAW) February 19, 2021

How could these shortages impact future mRNA manufacturing in Australia?

When Victoria's new mRNA manufacturing facility comes online, hopefully in the next 12-24 months, some of these global shortages may still be plaguing the worldwide supply chains. This shouldn't stop our efforts on that front as raw material supplies are rapidly increasing.

Australia should also do more manufacturing of small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients, that is, the biologically active component in each drug, including lipids and other building blocks of mRNA. Australia imports over 90% of its drugs from overseas. Making active pharmaceutical ingredients is important, not just for COVID vaccines but more generally.

Victoria has announced a $50 million investment for an Australian-made vaccine using the same mRNA technology as the Pfizer and Moderna. https://t.co/76ZoZG86oj  The New Daily (@TheNewDailyAu) April 21, 2021

Australia nearly ran out of some essential drugs, like ventolin, in the early days of the COVID-19 crisis. This was due to both Australians' panic buying, as well as COVID-hit Chinese factories slowing down their manufacturing, leading to a lack of access to these ingredients for our most commonly used drugs. The added benefits of locally based manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients is we'd be part of the solution when components are in short supply in future.

Australia also has a very strong research community in mRNA and nanomedicine. There are several world-leading groups working on creating better lipid nanoparticles for the delivery of mRNA and other medical products.

Having access to local manufacturing capability of active pharmaceutical ingredients would therefore transform the ability of Australian researchers to lead the way in developing the next blockbuster medical technology based on mRNA or nanoparticle delivery.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Two former Birmingham Chick-fil-A employees have been indicted on federal fraud and wire fraud charges.

The federal grand jury on Tuesday issued a 16-count indictment against Larry James Black Jr., 37, of Center Point, and Joshua Daniel Powell, 40, of Moody. Black was the former director of hospitality at Chick-fil-A Five Points South and Powell was the former manager at the same restaurant.

A joint statement by Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick M. Davis says they are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. Additionally, Black was also charged with bank fraud and misuse of a social security number.

According to the indictment, Black and Powell devised and implemented a scheme to divert hundreds of thousands of dollars in customer payments between April 2018 and January 2020. Black and Powell used fraudulent email and digital payment accounts to trick customers and divert payments for catering orders and other restaurant sales to bank accounts under their personal control.

Before and during that time period, Black is also alleged to have made a series of fraudulent representations to financial institutions. In January 2020, for example, Black applied for a mortgage loan. In connection with his loan application, Black forged payroll records and made misrepresentations regarding his income from the Chick-fil-A franchise.

The indictment states Black also provided a fictitious social security number to banks and credit unions where he held accounts. Ultimately, proceeds from the scheme to defraud Chick-fil-A Five Points were deposited into accounts at these same financial institutions.

If convicted, Black and Powell face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and a maximum of 20 years in prison for wire fraud. Black also faces a maximum of 30 years in prison for bank fraud, and a maximum of five years in prison for misuse of a social security number.

The U.S. Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Force investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Canter is prosecuting
Rachel Cusk, whose latest novel is "Second Place." (Siemon Scamell-Katz)

In a 2019 profile of the long-neglected artist Celia Paul, Rachel Cusk mentions a scene from a film about the painter Alberto Giacometti in which he jams dozens of his sketches into a firepit and watches them burn. The consummate swigging, stomping, scolding male virtuoso, Giacometti is performing a role hell never be asked to step out of. The male artist, Cusk writes, in our image of him, does everything we are told not to do: He is violent and selfish. He neglects or betrays his friends and family. He smokes, drinks, scandalizes, indulges his lusts and in every way bites the hand that feeds him, all to be unmasked at the end as a peerless genius.

Artist and male artist are not distinct terms. As Cusk writes in the profile, which finally situated Paul, at 60, as more than Lucien Freud's nubile muse, female artists have to work through or around or beside their gender. Of any woman creator, an explanation is required of whether, or how, she dispensed with her femininity and its limitations, with her female biological destiny; of where  so to speak  she buried the body.

Second Place, Cusks first novel after the conclusion of her radical, brilliant "Outline" trilogy (Outline, Transit and Kudos), scratches at that variance, popping it open like a fat-domed pimple. Structured as a letter from the narrator, M, to her friend Jeffers, it claims to be an attempt at a portrait of an artist called L  a painter whose work violently rattled M on a long-ago visit to Paris. Alone in the city, without her husband and young child, M was drawn to a gallery where one of Ls self-portraits stared back at her. Looking at it, she explains, I felt myself falling out of the frame I had lived in for years, the frame of human implication in a particular set of circumstances. From that moment, I ceased to be immersed in the story of my own life and became distinct from it. It so shakes her that after she returns home to England she leaves her husband.

Story continues

Fifteen years later, remarried and living on the coastal marshes of Norfolk, M invites L, whom shes never met, to stay at the second place behind their house, a cottage of warm wood and lime-washed walls. Other artists have stayed in the past, she explains in a letter, and found the great but subtle beauty conducive to working. L comes the following spring.

The visit disappoints M in almost every way. L is an expert in the art of passive cruelty. He wont paint her because he cant really see her; he avoids her presence and befriends her college-aged daughter in a kind of silent sucker punch; most gallingly, he brings along a bubbly young woman called Brett, a ravishing creature somewhere in her late twenties. M recoils. I had summoned L across the continents intuitively believing that he could perform that transformative function for me, could release me into creative action. But he wont. Or cant.

Cusk is influenced here by a 1922 visit from D.H. Lawrence (whom Cusk has called her mentor) to Mabel Dodge Luhan, an arts patroness who coaxed the novelist to New Mexico with promises of inspiring magic coursing through the landscape. Just as M does for L, Mabel laid fires in wait for Lawrence, spruced up the sunny dwelling that backed onto the sacred Taos Mountain and plotted his trip as a chance to absorb some of Lawrences potency by osmosis. Mabel considered Lawrence the man who could understand things for me  artist as talisman.

(Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

Though Lawrence is the inspiration, it isnt his energy that dominates Second Place. Instead I sensed the residue of Anita Brookners weary protagonists: bright, cultured women who know what theyre missing out on and resent those who keep it from them. M wonders if reproducing herself  in Ls painting or in her writing (little books  my own work  if it can be called that)  will firm her up somehow, smooth out some internal defect. She wants art to save her. In the meantime, she fumes. As Cusk hits all the high notes of indignant rage, this book snaps and steams.

Cusk is still banging up against the same concerns that have animated her work for decades  the compromises of motherhood, the catharsis of travel, how we demarcate our private space. (Sometimes I want to yank her out of that mire, probably because it consumes my work as well.) But the mere existence of "Second Place makes me wonder if she found the "Outline" trilogy as cleansing as so many of us did.

I also wonder if readers will find Second Place less palatable than the trilogy because its protagonist is so much more forceful than Faye. She practically bleats out her complaints, and slashes nearly 130 exclamation points (by my count) into 192 lean pages. Readers love to hate female characters  and Cusk  for causing momentary discomfort, as if reading should be a salve. But in this book more than ever, Cusk is astringent, unsugared. Straight vinegar. Its delicious and good for the gut.

The trilogy was a gargantuan space, an airy, three-dimensional cathedral. Second Place feels like a sketched landscape, a rough draft of ideas old and new that Cusk is gently trying out in narrative form. Rather than feed her efforts to the flames like Giacometti, she packages them. I can imagine this one in a museum, its title card explaining that Second Place is how Cusk got from Faye to _____. Thats a compliment, even if it doesnt seem one; Cusks open experimentation is refreshing, as is her belief that a writer must keep moving forward, forging a rough chain.

Cusk has made her reputation by self-consciously interrogating her own bold endeavors, including the "Outline" trilogy, which was partly about the gut renovation of a flat but really (as Judith Thurman put it) a gut renovation of the novel. Here she is figuring out what comes next in a novel that serves as a reality check on the promises of art, including her own.

In 1982 the Atlantic published a poem by Williams Carlos Williams wife Flossie, a response to his raid on her plums in his famous work This Is Just to Say  It begins, Dear Bill: I've made a couple of sandwiches for you./ In the ice-box you'll find/ blue-berries--a cup of grapefruit/ a glass of cold coffee. Ive always loved the zest of Flossies reply, how ably she mimics his meter and steals back her image from his work.

Ms letter-as-novel is such a reply. L invades her home, adulterates it with his grimace, and then turns his canvas in another direction. But his dismissal does ignite something in M after all. He doesnt paint her, but she writes him.

Kellys work has been published in New York Magazine, Vogue, the New York Times Book Review and elsewhere.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
New Delhi, April 28 : Indian Premier League (IPL) team Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant on Wednesday appealed to Covid-19 survivors to come forward and donate their blood plasma so that the lives of the critically ill patients could be saved.

In a video message posted on the franchise's website, the wicketkeeper-batsman said, "In the last few months, the number of Covid-19 cases in India has gone up. If you have recovered from Covid, please go and donate your plasma." Pant also requested people not to spread misinformation about the disease.

"I request everyone to not take this lightly and strictly follow the guidelines issued by the government and experts. It is important that you verify any information related to Covid relief and only then share it further," the DC skipper added.

Plasma therapy is one of several treatments given to critically ill patients where the plasma from a fully recovered Covid survivor is extracted and injected into the bloodstream of an infected patient.

Research has shown that the antibodies in the plasma of recovered patients when injected into the bloodstream of critically ill patients, helps them recover from the diseases faster.

DC opener Shikhar Dhawan had, in a video posted on his Instagram on Tuesday, said, "So many people are running around in blood banks and hospitals to save their loved ones. If you are a Covid survivor, you have a superpower to save a life. Do not let it go waste. Connect with Fever FM and join the Project Plasma if you wish to donate and earn blessings." "In these tough times, we all need them the most. With your help, we can defeat the virus and save lives. Donate plasma," Dhawan added.

DC, in a joint initiative with Fever FM, are connecting survivors who reach out to them with patients in need of plasma at various hospitals in Delhi.

"The most valuable thing right now is your plasma. If you have defeated the virus, you have the superpower to save lives. Please contact FeverFM team and donate your plasma," urged DC pace bowler Ishant Sharma.

Latest updates on IPL 2021

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New York: The article splashed across the cover of Saturdays New York Post seemed designed to enrage Republicans who railed against the Biden administrations immigration policies.

Under the tabloid-ready headline KAM ON IN, The Post, which is controlled by conservative media baron Rupert Murdoch, claimed that copies of a childrens book written by Vice-President Kamala Harris were provided at taxpayer expense in a welcome kit for unaccompanied migrant children at a shelter in Long Beach, California.

US Vice-President Kamala Harris. Credit:AP

The story whipped around conservative media and elicited denunciations from leading Republicans, including the party chairwoman. A reporter for the Murdoch-owned Fox News, which published its own online article about the claims, asked about it at a televised White House press briefing.

But the claims were untrue. And on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), the Post reporter who wrote the original article said she had resigned from the paper because of an incorrect story I was ordered to write, describing the episode as my breaking point.


Croatia Airlines has said it is drafting plans for its business in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, which has devastated the aviation industry. In a statement, the Croatian carrier said, Croatia Airlines would like to inform the corporate public that it has begun work on a Post Covid Strategy. We are exploring the market for potential expert advisors who can work alongside in the drafting and implementation of the Post Covid Strategy. We will inform the public in due course of all future steps that will be undertaken. Last year, Croatia Airlines registered its biggest financial loss in eight years, while carrying the fewest passengers in over 25 years as the aviation industry was obliterated by the pandemic. The company also received 11.7 million euros in direct state aid and 33.2 million euros as an equity loan by the government. It was also recapitalised by the state with a 46.2 million euro cash injection. Croatia Airlines has said it is drafting plans for its business in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, which has devastated the aviation industry. In a statement, the Croatian carrier said, Croatia Airlines would like to inform the corporate public that it has begun work on a Post Covid Strategy. We are exploring the market for potential expert advisors who can work alongside in the drafting and implementation of the Post Covid Strategy. We will inform the public in due course of all future steps that will be undertaken. Last year, Croatia Airlines registered its biggest financial loss in eight years, while carrying the fewest passengers in over 25 years as the aviation industry was obliterated by the pandemic. The company also received 11.7 million euros in direct state aid and 33.2 million euros as an equity loan by the government. It was also recapitalised by the state with a 46.2 million euro cash injection.





Croatia Airlines is expected to remain state-owned for at least another two years. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic the Croatian government set a deadline to privatise the carrier by June 2020. Last month, the company noted, The privatisation process was halted at the onset of the Covid-19 crisis. This has been done due to unfavourable circumstances and force majeure. Given IATA projections for the aviation industry and the uncertainty surrounding the duration of the corona crisis, it is unlikely this process will be resumed before 2023. Croatia Airlines, as Croatias national carrier, represents a strategic part of Croatias transport infrastructure, and its importance has been amplified during the ongoing crisis because the company has contributed in maintaining the countrys connectivity.





Croatia Airlines is rebuilding its network and will restore several routes next month. The carrier will increase frequencies out of Zagreb to key cities in Western Europe from mid-May with Frankfurt and Amsterdam to have the most weekly rotations with at least one flight per day. The airline will restore seasonal operations from Split to London, Vienna and Zurich towards the end of next month, as well as services from Dubrovnik to Frankfurt. Based on its existing schedule for May, which is subject to change, the carrier plans to operate a total of 1.095 commercial flight operations and offer 96.842 seats on sale. This represents a 24% increase in frequencies compared to April and a 28% increase in capacity.












Citigroup first established its consumer bank in this country in 2009. Photo: Le Toan

As part of the global financial services behemoth Citigroup, Citibank has exploited the substantial growth opportunities in Asia and built greater connectivity with its focused market strategy for decades.

However, Citibank earlier this month confirmed retreat from Asias retail banking landscape in 13 markets. Citigroup established the consumer bank in Vietnam in 2009 and has been developing its momentum with a growing market share in key businesses of credit cards, personal loans, cash advance, and insurance.

The withdrawal comes on the heels of Citigroup reporting record quarterly profits, boosted by a flurry of blank-check companies that it helped to become public during the period, according to Bloomberg.

Citigroup said it had released $3.9 billion in loan-loss reserves in the quarter, which resulted in a $2.06 billion gain after $1.75 billion in credit losses in the period. Analysts had expected a $393.4 million provision in the quarter. Citigroup would close retail banking operations in Asia and parts of Europe, including India, China, Australia, Bahrain, Indonesia, South Korea, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and more.

As a result of the ongoing refresh of our strategy, we have decided that we are going to double down on wealth, said the newly-minted CEO Jane Fraser. While these 13 markets have excellent businesses, we dont have the scale we need to compete. We believe our capital and other resources are better deployed against higher returning opportunities in wealth management and our institutional businesses in Asia.

In Vietnam, Citigroup states that Citibank remains at the top position as the first choice of many institutional investors and issuers in Vietnam, [and is] the market leader in introducing new and innovative products and solutions, and the pioneer in driving market developments. However, at this moment, it could be too early to tell whether Citigroup would sell its retail unit to another lender.

Lai Minh Thuy, interim country officer at Citibank Vietnam said, Citigroup has been operating in Vietnam for decades and its recent move in the retail banking sector will not affect our long-term commitments to Vietnam or Asia-Pacific. Thuy also said that there will not be any immediate changes in its retail operations domestically as the exit process could take months or even years. We will continue to serve our retail customers throughout this transition. There will not be any changes to Citis products or services, she added.

According to Malaysian newswire The Star, costs were increasing 3-5 per cent yearly on a general basis while product and servicing charges remained flat or even declined. With the onslaught of fintech startups and new digital banks, big existing lenders need to consider restructuring their operations as the consumer business will come under severe margin pressures in the coming years.

The case of Citibank seems to be cut from the same cloth as ANZs strategy in 2017, when the Australian bank exited its retail banking in Vietnam and other Asian nations to concentrate on institutional business. ANZ said its retail business served 125,000 customers in Vietnam and included $240 million in lending assets and A$800 million (nearly $619 million) in deposits, but did not disclose the terms of the deal, stating that premium to book value for the sale of the retail business in Vietnam is not material to the ANZ Group.

ANZ then transferred all eight branches, including its retail staff from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, to Shinhan Bank Vietnam under Seoul-based Shinhan Financial Group. ANZ said at the time that the sale of the retail business was in line with its strategy to simplify the bank and improve capital efficiencies.

Besides Citibank and ANZ, there are several cases that could epitomise the fierce competition in the industry, as some foreign banks are offload their stakes in locally-invested lenders. A few years ago, BNP Paribas SA sold its 18.68 per cent stake in Vietnam-based OCB for an undisclosed sum. Commonwealth Bank from Australia also sold its Ho Chi Minh City Branch to VIB. Likewise, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank have also reduced their ownership in Techcombank and ACB in recent times.
Two more episodes, and it is totally a wrap. Vincenzo Cassano (Song Joong Ki) will never let someone hurt his girl. That's why he'll do everything to protect Hong Cha Young (Jeon Yeo Bin) even though he makes lame excuses in front of the lady lawyer.

Hong Cha Young Bids Farewell to Vincenzo Cassano

Who would have thought that from being an enemy, Hong Cha Young would find Vincenzo as her new partner in crime?

Originally, Vincenzo was about to leave for Italy to fix the chaos happening in the Cassano clan. His great friend, Luca alongside the lady lawyer escorted him all the way to the airport. Hong Cha Young was feeling hesitant to just leave without saying a word to the mafia consigliere.

When Vincenzo and Luca were already inside the airport, Hong Cha Young immediately followed them and said her last word to the man whom she considered special to him and finally exchanged their farewells.

You Might Also Like:'Vincenzo' Star Kwak Dong Yeon Is Your New K-Drama Hero

Vincenzo is Ready to Protect Hong Cha Young at All Cost

Before "Vincenzo"Episode 18 ends, the Italian lawyer appears inside the Geumga Plaza to protect Hong Cha Young and Seo Mi Ri (Kim Yoon Hye) from the group of men pestering the residents because of the gold.

Vincenzo was quick to grab the hand of the man who was about to hurt Hong Cha Young and twist it until he almost cried of pain. The harasser was about to attack again, but little did he know that the person he is trying to hurt is someone that Vincenzo cherishes the most.

And without hesitation, Vincenzo swiftly threw the man out of the window. When the lady lawyer asked him why he didn't go with Luca in Italy. Vincenzo comically confessed that he forgot to feed Inzaghi well.

Hong Cha Young's knight and shining armor didn't let her face the battle alone, Vincenzo returned because he still had a mission to do with the lady lawyer. And to know what will happen next, let us all enjoy the last two "Vincenzo" episodes on May 1 and 2.

In Case You Missed It:'Vincenzo' Achieves New Best Viewership Ratings + Song Joong Ki Drops New Behind-the-Scenes Photos on Instagram

It seems like Darling had something to say to Sweetie and so he came back but ended up saving her.

Vincenzo's charm in the last scene of Episode 18 gave the viewers a satisfying and cliff-hanging ending that they can't help but to love it even more!

Watch again the heroic return of Song Joong Ki to save Jeon Yeon Bin in "Vincenzo"!

What are you most excited about in the forthcoming last two "Vincenzo" episodes? Don't forget to 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.
Every business starts with an idea. A realized hole in the market, a product that hasn't been created yet, a solution to a problem. The belief in an idea can be the driving force behind many entrepreneurs as they dedicate countless hours of time and energy to growing their business from the ground up. What is not often talked about is the reality that sometimes the original vision you have for your company is not the way in which it will viably succeed. In fact, few businesses have become successful exactly as they were first envisioned by their founders. There are too many variables that are too hard to predict, all of which could render your otherwise brilliant idea inert. Sometimes they pivot because of crowding markets such as with Twitter, which actually began as a network where people could find and subscribe to podcasts. When they realized that iTunes was quickly encroaching on the podcast niche, they came up with the idea of status-updating micro-blogging, thus building one of the most successful social networking platforms of all time. A pivot may occur to enter a larger market, as with YouTube. Originally conceived as a video-based dating service, the company soon realized that demand existed for a source that would host wider and more efficient video content, becoming the company that Google would eventually acquire for $65 billion.

One exemplary case of accomplishing multiple pivots lies in the work of Richard Liu and his company JD.com. Starting the business as a tiny booth selling magneto-optical drives in a tech bazaar, Liu's keen ability to recognize global trends has seen the business take on many iterations, from a successful chain of brick-and-mortar electronics stores to an e-commerce company with a scale that rivaled that of Amazon to its foray into fintech and healthcare. Below, we take an in-depth look at the journey Liu's JD.com has taken in a case study of perfecting the pivot.

A Zhongguancun bazaar stall

Although Liu pursued a sociology degree with the intention of getting into politics, by the time he graduated he already had a taste of entrepreneurship that left him hungry for more. Having taught himself computer programming in his spare time, he was able to turn that hobby into a lucrative side business thanks to an increasing demand for the service in China. Seeking for another way to flex his entrepreneurial muscles, he opened a small diner located just outside of his university's campus but quickly found that he lacked the managerial experience needed to operate a business. His employees took advantage of this, providing him with faulty reimbursement receipts and even simply stealing money from the till until he was forced to close the business after less than a year. Although disappointing, it ultimately comes with the territory of being an entrepreneur that is trying as hard as you might, sometimes business ventures fail. The key is to learn from them as Liu would soon show to do and keep moving forward.

After graduating from university, Liu took a position at an herbal supplement company to gain management experience, eventually becoming director of computers and service and gaining some much needed experience in managing a team. He also earned his executive master of business administration degree, and after two years was ready to start his next venture: a tiny stall selling magneto-optical drives called "Jingdong," the humble beginnings of what would eventually become JD.com. Opting this time to focus on his interests in technology, he chose to open a booth in Zhongguancun. Known as the city's "electronics avenue" at the time, the area had become a technological hub where one could spend hours perusing the stalls, although many were filled with counterfeit and poor quality products. Because one couldn't be guaranteed of the quality of the item you were purchasing, haggling was also the norm but Liu knew from the beginning that he wanted to separate his store from the rest by focusing on quality and customer satisfaction. He made the novel decision to put price tags on all of his items, telling his shoppers that while the prices were as marked and he was not willing to accept anything less, he could guarantee the authenticity and quality of each item available in his 4-square-meter stall.

An electronics store chain

Thanks to Liu's business model he was able to quickly gain the trust of the initially wary Chinese consumer, and within five years had turned his tiny stall into a chain of retail electronic stores. With twelve locations across three cities his business had experienced the explosive growth that many entrepreneurs can only dream of, but in 2003 the SARS epidemic aided him in realizing the potential onlines sales held. As consumers sought to remain in their homes in order to avoid catching and spreading the virus Liu was forced to temporarily close all of his locations, a major blow to any business owner's source of revenue. In order to continue moving products and generating revenue he was forced to get creative, and he personally began posting his electronics for sale in online bulletin boards. He found that although people were staying inside, they still had needs and were increasingly turning online to have them met. He was able to keep his business afloat through sales made online, and even after he was able to reopen all of his brick-and-mortar locations he brought on one employee to continue selling his products online.

Liu continued to operate his business in this manner for a year, but in that time realized that the e-commerce world was in no way slowing down just because the epidemic had ended. Although it would mean a complete overhaul of his business model, he knew the best way forward for his business was to pivot and take the company entirely online. To save money on rent he started sleeping in his office rather than renting an apartment, and wrote the initial code for the website himself, launching JD.com in early 2004. Although he shifted from retail locations to an online presence he didn't want to lose the connection to his customers, and so for a good amount of time he was the sole customer service representative, answering any and every question people had in order to gain a better understanding of his base. He set an alarm clock that would go off every two hours during the night, during which he would wake up and check to see if there were any new questions that had been asked. Liu even personally handled most of the deliveries, and to this day spends one day a year as a JD.com delivery driver.

An e-commerce giant

From a tiny booth selling a niche product, to a successful chain of retail electronics stores, to now operating as an e-commerce website whose breadth was expanding to new markets, Liu's ability to anticipate market trends while remaining dedicated to providing the ultimate customer experience saw his website grow just as its previous iterations had. After operating the business for three years he decided to move the entire logistical network for the website in-house, a move that would require intensive planning, massive infrastructure and capital in order to hire the delivery drivers, purchase warehouses, and train hundreds of customer service representatives. Although many considered him crazy at the time, this strategy has proven to be a key factor in the company's success, allowing complete control over customer experience while also opening up previously untapped markets such as third and fourth-tier cities whose consumers previously had to travel miles in order to purchase the goods they needed.

Officially taking on the name JD.com in 2013, it soon became China's largest retailer carrying everything from home appliances to luxury clothing. Thanks to the logistical network Liu invested in, the company was able to achieve same or next day deliveries for 90 percent of its orders, and began dipping its toes into other areas of services outside of consumer goods. From groceries on demand to an online pharmacy, Liu sought to expand who JD.com was as a company while remaining true to the company's core tenants of innovation and customer satisfaction. He also began to invest heavily in drone and information technology such as artificial intelligence, finding new ways for the technology to be implemented into their ecommerce business from customer service to automated warehouses and drone deliveries.

A supply chain-based technology and service enterprise

By 2020, it became clear to Liu that while he had built an incredibly successful ecommerce business, their value extended beyond that of consumer goods. In an open letter to his employees he announced their most recent pivot, from a business based solely in retail to that of a supply chain-based technology and service enterprise. Within the retail space JD.com has begun offering their logistical services to third parties, helping merchants maximize efficiency by utilizing big data to make accurate inventory predictions and optimize warehouse layouts. But their digitized and intelligent technology has applications well beyond the retail space, for example in the field of agriculture they have worked with farmers on utilizing artificial intelligence, internet of things, robots, and edge computing to digitize traditional agriculture practices in order to help reduce costs and improve efficiency in the agricultural sector. Within their JD Health subsidiary, JD has reconstructed the medical supply chain to better support daily needs, and introduced an app that has helped millions of people have access to healthcare during the coronavirus pandemic and is the largest online healthcare platform in China. As Liu continues to expand JD.com beyond retail, the company has restructured in anticipation. JD Health made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and rumors have been swirling that JD Logistics will also soon be listed. It has transferred its cloud computing and artificial intelligence operations as well as other assets from JD.com to the subsidiary JD Technology, indicating an increased focus on broad applications for their technological developments.

In order for a business to remain relevant, its leaders must always be one step ahead of the game, anticipating the needs of consumers sometimes even before they know it themselves. If Richard Liu had refused to pivot his business, he may not have been able to have grown it to the third-largest internet company in the world in terms of revenue, with over 300 million active users and more than 150,000 employees. Pivoting your business model does not mean giving up on your original dream or idea. Rather, it is about letting the business you created take on a life of its own and knowing when a change in direction could mean the difference between achieving success and becoming irrelevant.
Australian actress Penny McNamee married her high school sweetheart back in 2009, after years together.

And on Tuesday, the Home and Away star gave fans a glimpse into her private life with husband Matt Tooker.

Penny, 38, shared on Instagram a series of throwback images of the pair from when they lived in New York together, and revealed the one vow they made to each other to get through life.

Inside Penny McNamee's private life with husband Matt Tooker: Home and Away star shared a sweet throwback photo of the pair this week as she revealed the one vow they made to each other. Pictured recently

Penny said Matt would always tell her that it was 'them two against the world' when things got tough.

She explained in her post that she was reminded of when he told her this in New York, after she filmed a scene and had to say it on Home and Away.

'Yesterday in a scene, I had to say the words: ''It's you and me against the world," Penny said.

Penny, 38, shared on Instagram a series of throwback images of the pair from when they lived in New York together (pictured), and revealed Matt would always tell her that it was 'them two against the world' when things got tough

'I was suddenly transported back to New York in 2011, when Matt and I moved to Brooklyn with no jobs, no visas and no friends.'

'It was exhilarating but terrifying, and one night when I was crying, thinking we'd made a huge mistake, Matt said to me: ''Hey babe, it's you and me against the world.''

Penny explained that the pair eventually sorted their lives out in New York by getting jobs, visas, friends and an apartment and eventually 'had the time of our lives' in the Big Apple.

'It was exhilarating but terrifying, and one night when I was crying, thinking we'd made a huge mistake, Matt said to me: ''Hey babe, it's you and me against the world,'' she explained

She finished: 'I miss New York, I miss travel, I miss my friends... but I'm so glad it's still Matt and I against the world.'

In September 2018, Penny told New Idea about how she and Matt met, saying they met in school music camp back in 1999.

'I'd just moved to the school, Matt was in the orchestra playing the French horn  if it can get any nerdier!  and I was in the choir,' she said.

'I adored him off the bat.'

She added: 'I was a ridiculous 16-year-old girl who totally thought he was dreamy.'

Penny shares Neve, now two, and Jack, five, with her high school sweetheart.
Amplyx, which develops therapies for debilitating and life-threatening diseases that affect people with compromised immune systems, will be acquired by Pfizer following an initial investment from the pharma giant in 2019

( ) said one of its portfolio companies, Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, is to be acquired by US pharma giant Inc ( ) in a deal it said will result in a small increase to its holding in the firm.

Amplyx, which develops therapies for debilitating and life-threatening diseases that affect people with compromised immune systems. The companys lead drug compound, Fosmanogepix (APX001), is under development for the treatment of invasive fungal infections.

In its own announcement, Pfizer said Amplyx will be acquired following an initial investment by the corporation in December 2019 as part of a funding round. However, the financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

"The [coronavirus] pandemic has been a stark reminder of the devastating impact of infectious diseases, highlighting the continuous need for new anti-infective therapies to treat both emerging and difficult to treat bacterial, viral and fungal infections", said Angela Lukin, global president of Pfizers hospital business.

"We are deeply committed to helping patients suffering from infectious diseases, continuously seeking opportunities to build our portfolio of anti-infective therapies. We've already invested in assets that, if approved, could help address drug-resistant bacterial infections and critical viral infections; with this acquisition, we look forward to progressing the development of a novel anti-fungal as well", she added

In addition to Fosmanogepix, which is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials, Pfizer said it has also secured ownership of Amplyx's early-stage pipeline that includes potential antiviral (MAU868) and antifungal (APX2039) therapies.

Shares in Arix were up 0.2% at 190.4p in late afternoon trading in London on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Pfizer shares rose 0.7% to US$38.72 in early morning trading in New York.
The Turkish parliament on Tuesday decried U.S. President Joe Biden's remarks on the Armenian claims about the events of 1915.

"As the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, we regretfully and strongly condemn US President Joe Biden's remarks with a statement dated on April 24, 2021 to adopt the Armenian lobbies claims on the events of 1915," said a joint declaration by political parties.

"We strongly reject these baseless slanders, which have no meaning other than the distortion of history with political motives," it said.

The parliament called on Biden to correct his mistake by changing his remarks on the events of 1915.

"(We call on Biden) to support Turkish and Armenian peoples to live in peace, stability and security," Anadolu Agency cited the statement as saying.

On Saturday, Biden called the events of 1915 "genocide," breaking with a long-held tradition by American presidents of refraining from using the term.
CORVALLIS, Ore.  The conversation surrounding the requirement of a COVID-19 vaccination continues at colleges and universities.

Oregon State University leaders said in an email to families on Monday that a vaccination requirement could be a possibility in the future as they move to resume on-campus activities.

OSU spokesperson Steve Clark said that at the moment, vaccinations are not required upon return for the fall academic year.

"We anticipate, however, that over the next several months as the Food and Drug Administration provides licensing approval for vaccines -- we anticipate at that moment we will receive directions by the state of Oregon, the Oregon Health Authority, the governor's office to make vaccines a requirement," Clark said. "We believe we're headed in that direction."

Noah Vaughan, a graduate student at OSU and a leader within the Coalition of Graduate Employees, said its an obligation for the university to protect the entire community and reach out to the unions on campus.

Its kind of interesting to see that OSU has considerable influence and power in making this a possibility, and they refuse to exercise that power and influence, Vaughan said. Thats something that I would really hope to see change.

OSU sophomore Jonathan Mather shared his thoughts.

I don't think that it should be required, Mather said. I think there should be a certain amount of freedom in what you personally choose to do  especially with your own body. In medical terms, we have a lot of laws protecting people's rights to medical information and what they want to do in terms of those kind of things. So I just don't think that it's something that should be mandated in any sense.

OSU sophomore Patrick Otis agreed.

I don't think it should be required at all, Otis said. I would advise people to get it to protect themselves, people around them and get back to normal  but I don't think it should be required at all.

If a requirement is made, there would be legally-required exemptions.

I think everyone should get the vaccine," OSU junior Destin Takenaka-Amodo said. Its better for everyone in the community to be safe."

Clark said that 49,000 people within the OSU and Corvallis community have been vaccinated at Reser Stadium since the mass vaccination clinics began in January.

"I think by being vaccinated -- we will make ourselves more healthy," Clark said. "We will make our community stronger and more vital and will contribute to wellness. While that sounds really noble and altruistic, the best benefit is that we can gather in the future together in ways that we haven't been able to since last year. It is so very important. It's up to us as a community."
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Captivated by the seemingly many personas of late actor Omar Sharif, Egyptian filmmaker Mark Lotfy and Swedish director Axel Petersen delved into the legendary stars eventful career, tracing how the politics of 1950s Egypt formed the international stars complex character.

Their new documentary, The Life and Times of Omar Sharif, shows in particular how the policies of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and the political climate of the time led him to change his name and convert to Islam, and later to become a cosmopolitan individual who was equally at home in Cairo, Paris or Los Angeles.

Sharifs life and career are described as a dramatic balancing act, set on an East-West axis, illustrated by the hundreds of characters he played, on and off screen, in the changing political landscapes of Hollywood and the Middle East.

Produced by Sigrid Helledays Stockholm-based Fedra in co-production with Lotfys Alexandria-based Fig Leaf Studios and Corniche Media in London, the project is among this years selections at Danish doc fest CPH:DOXs financing and co-production event, CPH:Forum, which runs April 26-30.

The Life and Times of Omar Sharif reunites Petersen with Helleday, who produced his 2018 Berlin competition screener The Real Estate, co-directed with Mans Mansson.

For both Petersen and Lotfy, longtime collaborators who have worked on numerous projects together, Sharif has long been a subject of great interest.

Omar Sharif was a conversation piece that we could always come back to, Petersen says. Quite early on in our relationship we realized that we had two very, very different perceptions of Omar Sharif. Me, representing the West, I saw him as some Hollywood superstar, playboy, glamour man, while Mark, representing the East and Egypt, had a completely different perception. He knew him as a persona non grata, like an Egyptian Judas.  We couldnt figure it out. How could our views be so different?

Their discrepant notions of Sharif sparked the idea for a film project to investigate why this was, Petersen adds. The more they dug into the actors life and career, the more the various personas became apparent. Was it a way to better conform to the different countries in which he lived?

Petersen notes that the changes in Sharifs life were often connected to major political developments which he seemed to be navigating around, although at times he was directly in the middle of them.

Sharif reportedly played an instrumental role in bringing together Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin together ahead of Sadats historic 1977 visit to Israel, which led to the Camp David Accords and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.

The actor had left Egypt, due in part to the pressure he felt under Nassers rule, according to Lotfy. It was the pressure to conform in Nassers nationalist Egypt of the 1950s that led Sharif, born Michel Demitri Shalhoub in Alexandria to a wealthy Melkite Catholic family of Lebanese descent, to change his name, he adds. Sharif later converted to Islam when he married Egyptian actress Faten Hamama in 1955.

Unable to cope with the increasing pressure to serve as propagandists for the government, Sharif left Egypt, Lotfy explains. Leaving the country for the West hurt his image in Egypt, however. His efforts to help Sadat some 15 years later is the turning point of the film, Petersen says. It was his chance to return home, but Sadats assassination in 1980 dashed those hopes.

The film will seek to tell the story of how political agendas shaped his life and how he dealt with that, Lofty says. We see him as a vessel of ideology. A reflecting surface to understand Eastern-Western conflict in the last century. Its going beyond biography. The political backdrop of the time is a natural part of Sharifs story, he adds. His personal story symbolizes the politics of his days.

The documentary will also showcase Sharifs film career, including his most memorable works, among them Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Funny Girl and Monsieur Ibrahim.

The filmmakers are close to completing the film and have a finished rough cut. Comprised mostly of archival material, it will also include a number of interviews shot in Egypt, Stockholm and Berlin, among them scenes with Sharifs son Tarek Sharif. The team was about to interview grandson Omar Sharif Jr. last year just as the pandemic struck, says Helleday. The filmmakers hope to meet with the younger Sharif this year, either in Los Angeles or somewhere in Europe. Thats still to be done, but thats more or less the final footage we need, Helleday adds. And then were finalizing the cut and going into post production.

Petersen points out that the film is not a straight talking-head documentary. Our ambition has been from the beginning to make this a cinematic experience.

The project has so far secured financing and support from the Swedish Film Institute, Swedish pubcaster SVT and Film Stockholm as well as from Corniche Media and Leyth Productions in Tunisia. The producers are mainly looking to attach another broadcaster and find a sales agent for the film, says Helleday.

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There is a crisis at the Southern border, with hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants crushing the capacities of our immigration system. Why is this happening now? Obviously, because the Biden administration sent signals to Central America that, after four years of the Trump administration, Washington again welcomes and encourages illegals to flood across the border.

Of course, that is not the story that the administration wants to tell. Thus, Kamala Harris asserts that climate change is the cause of the migrant disaster:

Vice President Kamala Harris used a meeting Thursday to argue climate change is a root cause of migration from Central American countries. We are looking at extensive storm damage because of extreme climate, were looking at drought, Harris said. Harris met with foundation leaders on the ongoing migrant crisis as people from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala flood the Southern border through Mexico. Because of the changing climate, Harris argued, people in the region faced a struggling agriculture industry, food scarcity, food insecurity, and extreme poverty.

Ah yes, climate change! Is there anything it cant do? Too much rain, drought, take your pick. Whatever ails Honduras, it must be our fault and that of the developed world generally.

Of course, the idea that the climate suddenly changed on January 20, 2021, so as to unleash the current crisis, is ridiculous. But is there any evidence to support Harriss claim that, more broadly, the cause of the current misery in Central America is climate change, however that might be defined?

No, there isnt. Contrary to wholly unsupported claims by leftists, extreme weather events have not increased in recent years. If anything, they have moderated. To be sure, hurricanes have damaged Hondurass economy, but not recently:

Farmers also have to contend with tropical storms. In 1998 Hurricane Mitch destroyed over two-thirds of staple food crops and 80 per cent of export crops. The damage was so great that, then President Carlos Roberto Flores said the storm had set back 50 years of progress in the country. Another storm, in October 2008, caused severe flooding, wiping out 18,000 hectares of food crops.

But there is no correlation between these events and illegal immigration.

Is it true, as Harris said, that a struggling agriculture industry, food scarcity [and] food insecurity are responsible for the current border crisis? While Honduras is indisputably a poor country, there is no recent agricultural decline that would account for the Biden administrations border crisis. This report is from March 2020:

Agricultural exports from Honduras to the United States continue to increase, with tropical fruits playing a large role. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) specialist, Ana Gomez, told Hondudiario, a Honduran news agency, that agricultural exports have increased in recent years from $600 million to $900 million and noted that Honduras exports more agricultural products to the U.S. than the U.S. exports to Honduras. According to data published by The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), in 2017 Honduras exported $9 billion worth of goods with the U.S. importing $4.86 billion worth of that. In 2017 bananas were their top exported fruit with a value of $293 million followed by melons at $191 million, among other commodities. The U.S. was the main importer of both of these commodities, taking in $256 million in bananas (88%) and $128 million in melons (67%).

There is no sign of either sudden or medium-term agricultural decline, due to global warming or anything else, that could account for Hondurans desire to move to the United States.

Actually, of course, there is no mystery as to why Central Americans or residents of most other places want to come here, notwithstanding our alleged white supremacist society. (It is noteworthy how few illegal immigrants credit such nonsense. In that regard, they are much smarter than, say, New York Times reporters and editors.) Median income in Honduras was reported to be around $4,000 per year earlier this month. That contrasts with the $30,000 per person in poverty, per year, that my state, Minnesota, spends on means-tested welfare programs. That would be $90,000 for a mother and two children. Sure, most of that goes to health care providers, social workers and so on. Poverty programs do not exist primarily to benefit the poor. But still, it is easy to see why, if you live in Honduras, you view America as the Promised Land. I only wish that Democrats had the same perspective.

In short, Kamala Harriss claim that climate change is the root cause of illegal immigration from Honduras and other Central American countries is ridiculous. The crisis at the border is the responsibility of the Biden administration. Period.
Download the highlights English Finnish View the main findings

High-Level Launch 19 May 2021 - Virtual Event

To what extent does Finlands regulatory landscape facilitate or discourage foreign investment? Which policy considerations can contribute to attracting new international investments to Finland and retaining existing ones?



The launch of a comparative assessment of Finland's domestic regulation and business environment presented the main findings and recommendations in this report. High-level opening remarks were followed by a panel discussion with policy makers and representatives of the business community. The launch was organised in collaboration with the European Commission, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and Business Finland. Download the agenda News release: Finland lags behind in foreign investments - More policy measures needed
The Ministry of Health recorded eight new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, against a backdrop of almost 320,000 people having been inoculated in Vietnam.

All eight infections were imported from Japan, six registered in Khanh Hoa Province, one in Nam Dinh Province, and one in Da Nang, the health ministry said.

The patients had been quarantined since their arrival by plane in the country earlier this month, it noted.

Vietnam has logged 2,865 COVID-19 patients, including 1,571 locally-transmitted cases, since the pathogen first struck it on January 23, 2020, according to the health ministrys data.

The Southeast Asian country has gone 33 days without detecting any community transmission.

Recoveries have reached 2,516 while 35 patients have died, most having suffered critical pre-existing conditions.

Almost 60,000 people were administered the first shot of AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday, taking the total to nearly 320,000 since Vietnam started mass vaccination on March 8, the health ministry said.

Those immunized were medical staff and other frontline workers.

Health authorities have warned of a possible fourth wave of infections in Vietnam as the virus is taking a toll on its neighbors Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.

The third outbreak started blindsiding Vietnam in January this year, with nearly 1,000 local cases confirmed.

The remainder hit the nation last year.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Cambodia has surged to over 11,000, with daily spikes recorded in the hundreds, while its deaths have risen to 82, according to statistics.

Thailands tally has mounted to almost 60,000, with more than 160 deaths, whereas Laos has locked down its capital to prevent transmission.

Border jumpers have been discovered sneaking into Vietnam from Cambodia to dodge obligatory quarantine over the past few weeks.

Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Quang Ninh Province, and other places have already announced the cancelation of fireworks displays originally meant to celebrate Reunification Day (April 30).

The Vietnamese capital has also shuttered crowded festivals and unnecessary gatherings for fear of a virus re-emergence.

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[April 28, 2021] UnitedHealthcare Enhances Integration of Medical and Specialty Benefits, Helping Improve Health Outcomes and Affordability

UnitedHealthcare has introduced various enhancements to its integrated approach to medical and specialty benefits, providing members with a more simplified experience and enabling employers to help improve employee health outcomes, increase productivity and lower costs.1 Through an approach that bundles medical and specialty plans such as vision, dental and disability, employers may save up to 4%* on medical premiums and employees can experience improved health outcomes, due to improved identification and management of chronic conditions, increased engagement in clinical care programs and the use of data to create a simpler member experience.1 This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005233/en/ UnitedHealthcare uses an integrated approach to medical and specialty benefits, which may result in improved health outcomes, increased productivity and lower costs for employers. Source (News - Alert) : UnitedHealthcare Recent enhancements and updates to this integrated approach include: Potential Premium Savings and Net Cost Guarantee. A study of UnitedHealthcare commercial customers with integrated medical and specialty benefits revealed that they achieved an average reduction of up to 4% in annual medical costs. 1 For employers with self-funded health plans (more than 300 employees) that integrate medical and specialty benefits, UnitedHealthcare offers a Net Cost Guarantee. The savings are the result of improved health outcomes and the operational simplicity from bundling medical and specialty benefits, with employers receiving an administrative fee credit if actual health care costs exceed projections. Separately, a premium savings program known as uBundle enables certain employers with fully insured plans to save up to 4% per year on medical premiums when combining a UnitedHealthcare medical plan with specialty benefits such as dental, vision, life, disability and supplemental health coverage (accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity plans).*

A study of UnitedHealthcare commercial customers with integrated medical and specialty benefits revealed that they achieved an average reduction of up to 4% in annual medical costs. For employers with self-funded health plans (more than 300 employees) that integrate medical and specialty benefits, UnitedHealthcare offers a Net Cost Guarantee. The savings are the result of improved health outcomes and the operational simplicity from bundling medical and specialty benefits, with employers receiving an administrative fee credit if actual health care costs exceed projections. Separately, a premium savings program known as uBundle enables certain employers with fully insured plans to save up to 4% per year on medical premiums when combining a UnitedHealthcare medical plan with specialty benefits such as dental, vision, life, disability and supplemental health coverage (accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity plans).* Launch of UnitedHealthcare Benefit Ally. Benefit Ally is designed to simplify, automate and expedite payouts for employees whose employers combine three supplemental health plans with medical benefits. Following a qualified accident, critical illness diagnosis or hospital stay, Benefit Ally automatically triggers a payout to the member - all without the plan participant having to submit a claim or additional paperwork. The industry-leading program means members may get benefit payouts faster and easier, while enabling them to focus on getting well. Benefit Ally is available to select employers in 11 staes with medical and supplemental health plans, including accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity coverage.** Benefit Ally is expected to be expanded to more employers and states later this year, and builds on the success of a similar capability known as Benefit Assist. Benefit Assist helps make the claims process easier for members, with 77% of supplemental health claims being initiated by Benefit Assistants (rather than the member). 2

Benefit Ally is designed to simplify, automate and expedite payouts for employees whose employers combine three supplemental health plans with medical benefits. Following a qualified accident, critical illness diagnosis or hospital stay, Benefit Ally automatically triggers a payout to the member - all without the plan participant having to submit a claim or additional paperwork. The industry-leading program means members may get benefit payouts faster and easier, while enabling them to focus on getting well. Benefit Ally is available to select employers in 11 staes with medical and supplemental health plans, including accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity coverage.** Benefit Ally is expected to be expanded to more employers and states later this year, and builds on the success of a similar capability known as Benefit Assist. Benefit Assist helps make the claims process easier for members, with 77% of supplemental health claims being initiated by Benefit Assistants (rather than the member). Expanded Resources for Employers. Later this year, vision, dental and financial protection aggregate claims information will be added to Health Plan Manager, an interactive online tool that enables employers to analyze and understand health data, providing an analytics-driven roadmap to help improve health outcomes, mitigate expenses and empower employees to take charge of their health. By adding information related to vision, dental and financial protection plans such as disability, Health Plan Manager helps employers implement more holistic clinical management and employee-engagement programs based on comprehensive analytics applied to various data sources, including aggregate medical and prescription claims, demographics and clinical and well-being information. Employers with integrated medical and specialty plans with UnitedHealthcare already may benefit from a simplified administrative process, including a single invoice for payment and a single website and app login for employees.



UnitedHealthcare's integrated approach enables new insights to get a better picture of employees' health, facilitating clinical interventions, encouraging access to care and supporting them along their journeys toward a healthier lifestyle. For instance, to help support people with diabetes and periodontal disease, the integrated approach cross-checks dental and medical health claim data to determine if members have missed recommended periodontal treatments or cleanings. UnitedHealthcare then follows up with the member with diabetes to help schedule dental treatments or cleanings, which have been shown to reduce inflammation and improve diabetes management.3

Similar proactive interventions may be possible for employers that combine medical benefits with accident, disability, critical illness, hearing and vision plans. The value of integration extends beyond specialty benefits too, including applications related to prescription medications and behavioral health. In fact, employers may realize an average savings of $16 to $25 per member per month by adopting an integrated approach to medical and pharmacy, while lowering emergency room costs by 11% and inpatient medical costs by 15%.4 *Potential savings include the impact from an integrated approach and uBundle, which applies only to first-year medical premiums for employers with 51-100 employees; savings through uBundle continue as long as the program is in effect for employers with 101 to 2,999 employees, as long as the qualifying benefits remain in force. uBundle is not available in all states. **Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin. About UnitedHealthcare UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.3 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter (News - Alert) . UnitedHealthcare Benefit Ally offers Accident Protection, Critical Illness and Hospital Indemnity products provided by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company. Each product provides separate limited benefits. Accident Protection, Critical Illness and Hospital Indemnity coverages are NOT considered "minimum essential coverage" under the Affordable Care Act and therefore none of the products satisfy the mandate to have health insurance coverage. Failure to have other health insurance coverage may be subject to a tax penalty. Please consult a tax adviser. The policies have exclusions, limitations, reductions of benefits, and terms under which the policy may be continued in force or discontinued. For costs and complete details of the coverage, call or write your insurance agent or the company. These products are not available in all states. UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company is located in Hartford, CT. 1 Review of the impact of the UnitedHealthcare integrated approach on Key and National Account customers, 2018

2 UnitedHealthcare book of business, 1/1/2020-11/23/2020.

3 British Dental Journal, 2019, Periodontitis and diabetes | British Dental Journal (nature.com)

4 UnitedHealthcare claims data, 2020 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005233/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday (April 28) issued orders to provide 'Y' category security on an all-India basis to Serum Institute of India's CEO Adar Poonawalla. The CRPF will provide security to him.

The Union government's decision came after the Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), Prakash Kumar Singh had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 16 requesting security for Adar Poonawalla, said a PTI report.

In this letter, Singh had reportedly stated that Poonawalla has been getting threats from various groups regarding the COVID-19 vaccine supplies, adding "we are working shoulder to shoulder to fight against COVID-19 pandemic with the Government of India under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji."

Notably, the SII on Wednesday announced that it is reducing the price of Covishield vaccines for sale to states from Rs 400 per dose to Rs 300.

Making the announcement on Twitter, SII Chief Adar Poonawalla wrote, "As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives."

As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs.400 to Rs.300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives.  Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) April 28, 2021

He also shared the pics of the first shipments of Covishield leaving for multiple locations across India, through a tweet.

"An emotional moment for the team at @SerumInstIndia as the first shipments of #Covishield finally leave for multiple locations across India.

An emotional moment for the team at @SerumInstIndia as the first shipments of #Covishield finally leave for multiple locations across India. pic.twitter.com/AmrZLesmj5  Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) January 12, 2021

Covishield, one of the two COVID-19 vaccines used in India's COVID-19 vaccination programme, is being manufactured by SII.

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Thomas Vinterberg says he's 'full of hope and curiosity about' an English language adaptation of his Oscar-winning film Another Round that Leonardo DiCaprio and his company Appian Way are working on.

'Ive seen various interpretations of my work before,' the Danish film director, 51, told Indiewire Monday. 'Its an interesting artistic thing to see something grow into different versions.'

Vinterberg said he was optimistic about how the Oscar-winning actor would handle the material, complimenting DiCaprio, 46, about how he's curated his career, after the A-lister's company acquired the rights to the remake.

The latest: Thomas Vinterberg, 51, says he's 'full of hope and curiosity about' an English language adaptation of his film Another Round that Leonardo DiCaprio, 46, and his company Appian Way are working on

'Now its in the hands of the finest actor you can get and besides being a brilliant actor, hes made very intelligent choices throughout his career,' said Vinterberg, who delivered an emotional speech in memory of his late daughter Ida in accepting an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film Sunday. 'I feel theres a lot of integrity in the choices hes made.'

Vinterberg told the outlet he was slated to meet with Appian Way this week about the project, but would not be writing or directing.

He said, 'This is all new to me. So Ill discuss this with them, and well see.'

Vinterberg said he wasn't sure if Mads Mikkelsen would reprise his role as Martin in the remake.

Details: Vinterberg said he wasn't sure if Mads Mikkelsen would reprise his role in the remake

Vinterberg delivered an emotional speech in memory of his late daughter Ida in accepting an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film Sunday

'Ill leave those kind of decisions to Appian Way and the dialogue Ill have with them,' Vinterberg said. 'I dont know if Mads would do such a thing.

'My first thought would be to make a different interpretation. Asking the same actor to do a different interpretation could be a little bit confusing. But I wont be the main creative force in this. That would have to be up to the people who end up doing it.'

On Twitter, a number of fans expressed strong reactions about an American remake of the lauded Danish motion picture, saying it was redundant, and reflective of Hollywood's dearth of original content.

DiCaprio's production company Appian Way will be working on the adaptation

Feedback: On Twitter, a number of fans expressed strong reactions about an American remake of the lauded Danish motion picture, saying it was redundant, and reflective of Hollywood's dearth of original content

'Im American and this seriously pi***s me off,' one user wrote. 'Hollywood doesnt have any originality anymore so they like to take from other countries and cultures and try to make it their own. Theyre going to mess it up too since American culture regarding drinking is whack.'

Another user said: 'Man, Hollywood thinks removing the subtitles is enough of a concept that merits an adaptation. I wanna pitch Amelie, but sans subtitles. GIVE ME MY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PLEASE.

One person pointed out the contradiction in the remake, saying, 'Another round is literally a movie that celebrates the *Danish* culture ... Why would it need an *American* remake???'
(@FahadShabbir)

The EU's foreign policy chief warned Wednesday the bloc should brace for worsening relations with Russia after tensions soared with the Kremlin over Ukraine and jailed critic Alexei Navalny

Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2021 ) :The EU's foreign policy chief warned Wednesday the bloc should brace for worsening relations with Russia after tensions soared with the Kremlin over Ukraine and jailed critic Alexei Navalny.

"We cannot discard that this negative trend continues and that we reach even more dangerous levels of deterioration," Josep Borrell told the European Parliament.

"We don't want to feed a dynamic of escalation, let it be clear. But we nevertheless are showing that we will not accept intimidatory tactics and that we have to respond to them if they happen." Borrell's comments come after a spike in Western criticism against Moscow massing troops on the border with Ukraine, the deteriorating health of Navalny and a diplomatic row with the Czech Republic.

Borrell -- who saw offers to cooperate rebuffed during a chastening trip to Moscow in February -- said the overall trajectory of ties with the Kremlin was heading downhill.

"I see a worrying trend from Russian authorities that seems to be choosing to deliberately deepen the confrontation with the West, with us," he told lawmakers.

"We must therefore define a modus vivendi that will avoid permanent confrontation with a neighbour who seems to have decided to act as an adversary.

"I think that we have to be prepared for a long, hard period in our relationship with Russia," he warned.

Tensions have appeared to ease slightly on two fronts after Russia said it was drawing down forces deployed near the Ukrainian frontier for drills and transferred Navalny to hospital.

But a spat sparked by Prague's accusation that Russian intelligence was behind a deadly 2014 blast on Czech territory rumbled on Wednesday with Moscow kicking out seven diplomats from EU member states.

That move followed the coordinated turfing out of Russian embassy staff by some European capitals after tit-for-tat expulsions between Prague and Moscow.
Citing the financial hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Holyoke Community College Board of Trustees unanimously voted Tuesday to freeze student fees for the 2021-2022 academic year.

This demonstrates our concern for the success of our students. They depend on us, and freezing costs when theyre facing grave economic uncertainty is the right thing to do, board chair Robert Gilbert said.

Were trying to do everything we can to make it easier for students to come here, stay here, and succeed here.

The vote locks HCCs Educational Service Fee at $188 per credit and the Student Service Fee at $145 per semester for fiscal year 2022, which begins July 1. The trustees vote was 8-0.

Over the past five years HCC has raised fees by about 5% annually. Tuition for all community colleges in Massachusetts is set by the state.

Tuition at Holyoke Community College is $24 per credit, a number that has not changed in more than 10 years.

Holyoke Community College is fortunate to have a Board of Trustees that recognizes the financial hardships brought on by this pandemic, and understands that many of our students have been disproportionately impacted, HCC president Christina Royal said.

The decision to freeze fees, as well as greater investments in student supports that address food insecurity, mental health, and digital equity, mean that students will have more resources and financial support to attend HCC now and in the future.

The Tuesday vote came at the recommendation of Narayan Sampath, vice president of Administration and Finance, and the college Audit and Finance committees.
Vietnamese living abroad should refrain from returning home amid the looming threat of a new Covid-19 outbreak in Vietnam, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said.

Those with an unavoidable need to return to Vietnam must do so through legal means, he said while speaking at a meeting with the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control Tuesday.

The committee said it would urge the government to make Covid testing and quarantining free for those entering through the land border since most of them are poor.

People should not have to resort to illegal ways to enter the country fearing the high testing and quarantining costs, it explained.

The risk of a new coronavirus outbreak is high in Vietnam as it allows in foreign experts and citizens returning home, Dam said, citing the instance of a hotel employee in Yen Bai Province who contracted Covid from a group of Indian experts quarantining there.

The committee has recommended that the Ministry of Health speed up testing and reduce the fee by utilizing technologies imported from abroad or developed indigenously.

Vietnamese officials are warning about an imminent Covid wave since the countrys neighbors like Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are recording a surge in infections.

Cambodia has been in the grip of a new wave since late February. Its caseload has crossed 11,000, after recording only around 400 cases in the whole of last year.

The Laos government last Friday closed the countrys borders and announced a two-week lockdown of the capital Vientiane. On Monday there were 113 new cases, the highest single day tally. There were another 75 on Tuesday, which took the total number so far to 511.

In Vietnam, authorities have stepped up border patrolling to ensure illegal entrants do not bring the virus in. Field hospitals have been set up at and extra Covid-19 vaccine doses provided to some border localities as a precautionary measure.
Gipsy Creek Project contains a major conductivity anomaly defined by a magneto-tellurics survey completed in 2017 by the Queensland Government.

Drilling is expected to take about three weeks to complete.

( ) is trading higher as it welcomes the start of drilling by Red Pty Ltd at the Gipsy Creek Copper-Gold Project in the Cloncurry district of northwest Queensland.

Shares have jumped more than 26% to 2.4 cents on the news from Gipsy Creek, which is 100%-owned by Red Fox with Chase holding 40% of that private company.

In July 2020 Red Fox was awarded a Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI) grant from the Queensland Government to fund drilling at Gipsy Creek.

The grant provides one-off funding of $190,000 for the drilling of three diamond drill holes, with no co-contribution required.

Drilling is expected to take about three weeks to complete.

Conductive pipes revealed in MT survey

Gipsy Creek contains a major conductivity anomaly defined by a magneto-tellurics (MT) survey completed in 2017 by the Queensland Government.

This survey identified a series of conductive 'pipes' that showed very clear correlation with the known copper-gold deposits at the Ernest Henry and E1 mines, operated by Glencore.

A third major conductivity pipe was indicated by the MT survey, along the Cloncurry lineament (an interpreted major structural zone) within Red Foxs Gipsy Creek EPM 26872.

Drilling aims to test an interpreted Eloise-style target, ie a non-magnetic, sulphide dominant, mineralised shear zone.

Eloise is an underground mine, 40 kilometres southeast of Cloncurry with high-grade chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite mineralisation and an initial resource of 3.2 million tonnes at 5.5% copper, 1.4 g/t gold and 16 g/t silver.

Additional mineralisation has recently been discovered in the area by ( ).
Oregonians would no longer need a prescription to purchase cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine under a bill set for a vote Wednesday in the Oregon House.

Under House Bill 2648, the medication wouldnt be found in the aisles of grocery stories or pharmacies. People who wanted to purchase it would need to ask a pharmacist, who would enter information about the transaction into a database used by more than three dozen states.

Purchasers would be limited to nine grams of pseudoephedrine in a 30-day period, regardless of in which state the transaction takes place.

In 2005, Oregon became the first state to require a prescription to purchase products containing pseudoephedrine. The goal was to make it more difficult for people to buy large amounts of it with the intent to use it to make meth.

Only one stateMississippijoined Oregon in enacting that requirement. Lawmakers in that state voted in March to waive that requirement. That means that starting in January, Oregon would be the only state to require a prescription.

If the proposal to end Oregons stance sounds familiar, its because lawmakers considered a similar proposal in 2017 and 2019. Rep. Bill Post, R-Keizer, has been the chief proponent each time.

My wife and I both have allergies, he said. Every time we go out of state, we buy Sudafed.

Post said he understood the rationale behind requiring a prescription when the law was enacted. But he thinks the availability of the multi-state system to track purchases, combined with a decrease in the number of meth labs in Oregon, diminish the arguments against removing the prescription requirement.

While law enforcement groups have opposed the proposal in the past, none testified against the bill during a hearing earlier this month. But Rob Bovett, a lobbyist for the Association of Oregon Counties, said in written testimony that if the federal government is able to stem the flow of imported meth, domestic meth production would soar, leading to potential misuse of pseudoephedrine products once again.

Supporters of the proposal say it has enough safeguards to prevent that from happening.

If you buy two packages in Kansas, then came to Oregon two days later and tried to buy two packages, you would be stopped, said Post. Thats the key.

Chris Lehman clehman@oregonian.com
Press Release

28 April 2021

Asia's Leading Travel Trade Show will be happening as scheduled in Singapore from 27  29 October, implementing the current COVID-19 hygiene and safety protocols

Over 600 international exhibitors have already registered for the annual three-day B2B trade show and convention, signalling their confidence in the industry

international exhibitors have already registered for the annual three-day B2B trade show and convention, signalling their confidence in the industry ITB Asia team to facilitate entry of short- term international MICE travelers into Singapore

MICE Show Asia and Travel Tech Asia will be co-located

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Singapore, 28 April 2021  ITB Asia is back and on track for a physical event from 27  29 October 2021 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, in Singapore. The annual three-day B2B trade show and convention is designed to connect the key travel industry leaders in the region from the MICE, Leisure, Corporate Travel and Travel Technology segments. The in-person event will bring travel industry professionals back for meaningful business, networking and learning through face-to-face interactions. The organiser will ensure a trade show with robust safe management measures in place to provide a safe environment for all ITB Asia attendees.

With six months to go before it opens its doors, the show is attracting unprecedented demand from a total of over 600 international exhibitors from Tourism Organisations, Hospitality and Travel Technology companies.

Confirmation from over 600 international exhibitors till date

Celebrating its return to an in-person event, the trade show already records high demand for exhibition space from industry Tourism Organisation heavyweights. Participants can look forward to seeing key industry players including Azerbaijan Tourism Board, Inspired by Iceland, Korea Tourism Organization, Malta Tourism Authority, Moscow Project Office for Tourism and Hospitality Development, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, Penang Global Tourism, Saudi

Tourism Authority, Shizuoka Prefectural Government, Singapore Tourism Board, Visit Finland, Visit Maldives,Visit Monaco, Zagreb Tourist Board andmore.

ITB Asia 2021 will also welcome a number of leading companies form the Hospitality and Travel Technology sectors, including Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited, BWH Hotel Group, Juniper, Melia Hotels International, Oakwood Worldwide Asia, Open Destinations, PKFare, Qtech Software, Traveloka Services, Trip.com Group, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and more.

MICE Show Asia 2021 and Travel Tech Asia 2021 will take place in parallel to the show.

"It has been a difficult year, but the travel industry is best known for its resilience. More and more signs of the industry's return are emerging. With the worldwide vaccination roll-outs, the industry is right to be optimistic. After ITB Asia went completely virtual for the first-time last year, I am more than pleased that we are returning to an in-person event this October. Drawing from the lessons and past experiences, the ITB Asia Team will ensure a trade show with robust safe management measures in place to provide a safe environment for all ITB Asia attendees.", said Katrina Leung, Managing Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia.

Prioritising safety without compromising on the event experience

ITB Asia 2021 is set to be among the various business events with an international audience to help pave the way for the gradual resumption of larger-scale trade shows and leisure travel in Singapore. The ITB Asia Team will work with the Singapore Tourism Board to facilitate the entry of short-term international MICE travelers to attend ITB Asia 2021 in Singapore. Health and safety measures will be put in place for all attendees.

Under the Ministry of Health's current guidelines, selected groups of travellers are allowed to enter for essential business, official or work purposes and will not be required to serve a Stay Home Notice (SHN). However, they are required to undergo COVID-19 tests during their stay, including before departure and upon arrival, and to follow a strict, controlled itinerary, limiting interactions with the wider community for the first 14 days.

Key Safe Management Measures (SMM)* in place at ITB Asia 2021:

Dedicated transport provided for overseas attendees upon arrival and departure at Changi Airport and between locations within the event itinerary

All attendees are required to download the TraceTogether Mobile App for contact tracing and Safe Entry purposes

All attendees are required to practice 1 metre safe distancing between individuals at all times

Temperature screenings will be conducted at venue and event entrances.

All attendees are required to wear a face mask at all times, except when eating and drinking

*The above guidelines are subject to changes as the COVID-19 situation develops globally.

Registration for ITB Asia 2021 is available through this link. For more information on ITB Asia 2021, download the sales brochure here: https://bit.ly/ITBA2021Flyer.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The pandemic increased mental health problems among vulnerable children, with financial strain on parents a major factor, a study by Cardiff University has found.

During the pandemic, researchers interviewed 142 five to 10-year-olds who had been identified by schools as "at risk" for mental health problems, and they then compared this to pre-pandemic data.

Mental health problems, particularly anxiety, increased "significantly," the study found.

There was a strong link between financial stress and mental health problems in parents, which was in turn associated with worsening mental health issues among children, the researchers discovered.

Families whose financial circumstances have been seriously impacted by lockdown need monetary support and extra mental health support, they concluded.

The findings are published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry Advances.

Lead author Professor Stephanie Van Goozen, from Cardiff University's School of Psychology, said: "To our knowledge this is the first study to highlight the severe impact of COVID-19 on already vulnerable children and families.

"Our analysis shows how the financial stress caused by the pandemic is associated withand possibly responsible forincreased mental health problems in children through its impact on parental mental health.

"The findings make for distressing reading, especially when seen in the context of continuing economic uncertainty. It is vital that these families get the extra support they needboth financially and emotionally."

The children, along with one parent, were interviewed via videocall between July and September 2020. The researchers compared this to data collected prior to the pandemic as part an ongoing study.

The parents and children took part in validated interviews and questionnaires to assess various aspects of child and parent mental health and to understand financial strain and their living circumstances.

Of the families who took part, 57% were living in poverty or reported to have experienced loss of employment, loss of income, struggled to pay bills, were at risk of eviction or loss of accommodation, unable to afford sufficient food, or had to use emergency loans or foodbanks during lockdown.

The key findings were:

Increasing levels of mental health problems in already vulnerable children during lockdown (69% compared to pre-pandemic 61%);

57% of parents reported high levels of anxiety and 44% reported high levels of depression during lockdown;

There was an increase in anxiety and panic symptoms in children, as well as school anxiety, but no changes in problematic behavior.

Professor van Goozen said: "Many children and families have seen a huge change in their lives, in education, employment, physical activity and social contact. Parents have had to balance work commitmentsor losing their workwith managing their children at home and this has no doubt caused significant stress.

"Plans that are currently being developed to supportchildren in general will not be sufficient for those who are more vulnerable, who live in poverty and who have parents with mental health problems. Vulnerable children will need a sustained and multi-faceted approach to support their recovery."

Professor Stephan Collishaw, co-director of Cardiff University's Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health, which focuses on research to help reduce anxiety and depression in young people, said: "The study shows the disproportionate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on already vulnerable families.

"There is an urgent need to provide support to families most impacted by COVID-19, and as we move out of the pandemic to focus on children's longer-term educational and mental health outcomes."

More information: Dolapo Adegboye et al. Understanding why the COVID19 pandemicrelated lockdown increases mental health difficulties in vulnerable young children, JCPP Advances (2021). Dolapo Adegboye et al. Understanding why the COVID19 pandemicrelated lockdown increases mental health difficulties in vulnerable young children,(2021). DOI: 10.1111/jcv2.12005
"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
Mercedes-Benz Korea announced the expansion and relocation of its Jungrang Showroom, as well as opening a service center at the showroom to provide improved accessibility and convenience for customers in the northeastern part of Seoul.





The new Mercedes-Benz exhibition and service center in Jungrang district, northeastern Seoul. Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Korea
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A female police officer was shot dead on Tuesday by some gunmen in Ika Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigerias South-south.

The police spokesperson in the state, Odiko MacDon, confirmed the killing which appeared to be a continuation of the attack against security agents in the countrys South-east and South-south regions.

Mr MacDon identified the slain police officer as Esther Akpan, a police corporal.

She was killed alongside a police special constabulary, Isonuyo Paul.

On 27/4/2021, at about 7:00 p.m., some armed men on motorcycles heading towards Ika Divisional Headquarters vicinity, armed with AK-47 and other dangerous weapons with the intent to attack the Division and set it ablaze met stiff resistance as the Divisional Police Officer and other officers on ground fought gallantly and repelled the attackers who took to their heels with possible bullet wounds, Mr MacDon, a superintendent of police, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, before heading towards the Station to attack it, they ambushed and killed a Woman Police Corporal, Esther Akpan who had just closed from duty and was on her way home in company of a Police Special Constabulary, Isonuyo Effiong Paul, he added.

A patrol vehicle belonging to the local police station was set ablaze by the gunmen, the police spokesperson said.

The police said they had launched an investigation into the attack.

Apart from Ika, there have been incidents of such attacks on police and soldiers in Essien Udim Local Government Area of the state recently.

The attacks on security agencies in the South-east and South-south have complicated the security challenges in the two regions.
A Georgia sheriff is facing federal civil rights charges after prosecutors say he punished people in his custody  including a 17-year-old boy accused of vandalism  by strapping them in a restraint chair for hours.

Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill was indicted this month after prosecutors alleged he used unreasonable force when ordering pretrial detainees to be restrained for hours even while they posed no threat and complied with police. The indictment was filed April 19 and unsealed by a federal judge Monday.

In one instance, two detainees were strapped side-by-side in restraint chairs for hours last February, according to the indictment. The two were not allowed to use the bathroom, and one urinated on himself, prosecutors say.

"Im a sit your (expletive) in that chair for 16 hours straight," Hill allegedly told the detainees. "Do you understand me? I need to hear from both of yall that yall not gonna show yalls (expletive) in my county no more."

Hill received training that force may not be used as punishment and he approved a policy emphasizing the restraint chair will never be authorized as a form of punishment" but only used with a violent or uncontrollable person to prevent injury or property damage if other techniques are ineffective, according to the indictment.

Christopher Macrae, a special agent with the FBI in Atlanta, said Hill "abused his privileges and abandoned his responsibilities," according to a statement.

Badges and guns don't come with the authority to ignore the Constitution," he said.

Clayton County (Ga.) Sheriff Victor Hill is facing federal charges for allegedly abusing four pretrial detainees in his custody.

Hill was released on bond Tuesday, one of his lawyers said. In a statement, Hill said he is in "the process of fighting a political motivated federal legal case."

I will continue to focus on the mission of fighting crime in Clayton County for continued success, Hill said in the statement.

Drew Findling, an attorney for Hill, described him as a beloved sheriff who is overwhelmingly supported by his community and called the case against him nonsensical.

Story continues

Clayton County deputies arrested a man, referred to as J.A. in the indictment, last year in connection to an assault of two women at a grocery store. When J.A. asked whether he was entitled to a fair trial, Hill allegedly stated, You entitled to sit in this chair, and youre entitled to get the hell out of my county and dont come back" before J.A. was put in a restraint chair.

'Ready for the pop?': Colorado police officer joked about excessive force used in arrest of 73-year-old woman, video shows

Months later, a 17-year-old boy identified as C.H. was accused of vandalizing his family home during an argument with his mother. When a deputy texted a picture of C.H. to Hill, he responded by texting, "How old is he?" according to court documents. When Hill learned the teen's age, he responded: "Chair."

The next morning, a man identified as J.H. was arrested following a domestic disturbance. He was soon strapped into a restraint chair for several hours before urinating in the chair, court documents say.

The fourth detainee, identified as G.H., had a payment dispute over landscaping work with a deputy. In April, Hill called G.H. to warn him to "stop harassing his deputy" before G.H. responded by telling Hill to "go (expletive) (him)self" and that his deputy should pay his bill.

Prosecutors say Hill sent "an armed fugitive squad" to find him. After hiring a lawyer, G.H. turned himself in. Surveillance footage showed G.H. cooperating with law enforcement, the indictment says, but Hill allegedly ordered that G.H. be strapped in the chair.

After George Floyd: Derek Chauvin's conviction is progress, but it 'will do nothing to change' urban policing on its own

Our constitution prohibits law enforcement officers from using unreasonable force," Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine said in a statement. "Without justification, Sheriff Hill allegedly ordered four detainees to be strapped into restraint chairs for hours. In so doing, he caused pain and injury to the detainees in his care."

"Such abuses of power not only harm the victims," he added. "They also erode the communitys trust in law enforcement."

Hill is no stranger to controversy. On his first day of office in 2005, he fired 27 deputies. The New York Times reported he ordered snipers to stand guard as the deputies were escorted out. As part of a tough-on-crime stance, Hill used tanks and military equipment during drug raids.

Hill was also acquitted of more than two dozen corruption charges in 2013 and pleaded no contest to a reckless conduct charge in 2016 after shooting and injuring a woman in May 2015. Hill and the woman said it was an accident that happened while they were practicing police tactics.

A lawsuit from civil rights groups is still pending after accusing Hill of failing to protect people held in the Clayton County jail from the coronavirus.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Contact News NOW Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Victor Hill, Georgia sheriff, faces federal civil rights violations
President Moon Jae-in has expressed hope for closer ties between Korean vaccine producer SK Bioscience and U.S. company Novavax, whose vaccine is now in the approval process.

Moon made the remarks when he met with Novavax CEO Stanley Erck at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. Novavax has contracted SK Bioscience to produce 40 million doses of the vaccine.

"Koreans have high hopes for the Novavax vaccine. I have heard that the vaccine is also effective against the U.K. and South Africa variants based on clinical tests carried out after the new strains emerged," Moon said. "The government will support cooperation between the two companies."


UPDATE April 28, 2021, 8:30 a.m. - We have new details regarding a Los Molinos wreck that caused Highway 99 to close for nearly 3 hours Wednesday morning.

CHP Sergeant Crouch tells Action News Now shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday, the driver of a Toyota Tacoma pickup was going north on the highway (just north of Second Avenue) when he apparently ran off the road and slammed into a pole.

That pole was on the northbound shoulder. Shortly after the impact a power line got pulled down and went across the highway striking a semi that was going south.

The power line peeled and damaged the top of the semi, causing the vehicle to disable.

Both drivers were not hurt. Officers closed the highway from Second Avenue to Third Avenue from 4 a.m. to roughly 6:40 a.m.

PG&E was on scene to fix the pole while Cal Trans assisted in one-way traffic control.

Action News Now is working to find out the circumstances leading to the wreck.

---

LOS MOLINOS, Calif. - Highway 99 at 3rd. Avenue north of Los Molinos is closed Wednesday morning, following a big-rig-involved crash. CHP dispatchers say the crash knocked over some power poles onto the highway.

This is a developing story. Action News Now will keep you updated with new information on-air and online.
Said the incident was of 'professional embarrassment' gave him some 'regret'

He was delayed by having to retrieve his police radio and had to travel by taxi

ntendent took three hours to arrive at scene

He was made bronze commander for the attack and told to arrive at 11.12pm

He was made bronze commander for the attack and told to arrive at 11.12pm

A former senior British Transport Police (BTP) officer has expressed regret and 'professional embarrassment' after he arrived at Manchester Arena in a taxi nearly three hours after the bombing.

Kyle Gordon, who was a superintendent of BTP and is now a commander with the Metropolitan Police, was off-duty and not on-call on the night of the terrorist attack which killed 22 people on May 22 2017.

He was appointed bronze commander on the night and tasked with co-ordinating events at ground level.

An inquiry into the terror attack heard Commander Gordon was tasked to attend the venue at 11.12pm from his temporary accommodation in Blackpool, and was recorded as being on-scene at 1.23am.

Kyle Gordon, who was a superintendent of BTP and is now a commander with the Metropolitan Police, was off-duty and not on-call on the night of the terrorist attack which killed 22 people on May 22 2017

The bomb detonated by Salman Abedi exploded just after 10.30pm.

Commander Gordon did not have his day book, police radio or access to a police vehicle that night, and his personal car was in Northern Ireland, where he had travelled from that morning.

Giving evidence to the inquiry today, Commander Gordon said he booked a taxi to drive him to Manchester, which he believed would arrive 'imminently' within five to 10 minutes of calling.

The taxi arrived at around 11.30pm, he said, adding that he thought he had told BTP's Chief Superintendent Allan Gregory, who was the silver commander on the night, that he was getting a taxi, but the inquiry is told he disputed that in his evidence.

Commander Gordon said he believed bronze command is transferable, and he did not know or ask who was at the scene in command at the time.

Giving evidence to the inquiry, Commander Gordon said he booked a taxi to drive him to Manchester, which he believed would arrive 'imminently' within five to 10 minutes of calling. He finally arrived at 1.23am

'It would not have crossed my mind that there was any sort of command vacuum at the scene,' he said.

'There are decisions we make in policing that with retrospect are easier to justify than others.

'I do not know why I didn't update him (Chief Supt Gregory) or make other arrangements.

'It is a matter of some personal regret and actual professional embarrassment that on the night in question I didn't find another way to get to the scene.'

The inquiry heard his work BlackBerry phone had 'depleted of power' during the journey to Manchester, and he had lost access to emails.

A CCTV still image of Salman Abedi at Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017, moments before he detonated his bomb which killed 22 people

When asked whether this would have impeded his ability to carry out his duties, he responded: 'Yes, potentially it would have.

'In the absence of a radio, a fully charged work BlackBerry would have been much better.'

Commander Gordon said he spoke to BTP Chief Inspector Andrea Graham, who was Sector Commander for the Manchester area and was the most senior officer on scene, at 00.28am while he was en-route.

He said Chief Insp Graham was acting as bronze commander at the time and so he diverted the taxi journey to his Manchester office to put on his uniform and pick up his radio.

The inquiry heard he was recorded as on-scene at the arena at 1.23am, and exchanged briefings with Chief Insp Graham at 1.27am and took over as bronze commander.

The inquiry heard a report by policing experts found Commander Gordon did not have any knowledge of Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) contingency plan for the arena.

The officer accepted the policing experts' comments that 'there is little evidence that (he) was able to influence BTP actions or operational decisions during your journey'.

Duncan Atkinson QC, representing the bereaved families, asked Commander Gordon about his involvement with a BBC interview which aired in June 2018.

Sir John Saunders, the inquiry's chairman, said there were 'concerns among the families, because of the effect on them of that broadcast taking place and what was said'.

Commander Gordon, who said he wanted to answer the question as an individual 'Kyle Gordon', said: 'With hindsight, I should never have been involved.

'You talk about learning going forward, and it was an error of judgment on my part regardless of how it came about that I took part.

'And I would not do so again.'

Looking visibly upset and holding back tears, he said: 'I didn't mean to cause any harm.'

The inquiry is looking at events before, during and after the explosion on the evening of May 22 which killed 22 people and injured hundreds at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 18:40:29|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sent a message of condolences to the head of Chad's transitional military council (CMT) Mahamat Idriss Deby, over the death of Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno.

In his message, Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in his own name, expressed deep grief and extended sincere condolences to the Chadian government, people and the relatives of late President Deby.

Xi pointed out that President Deby had led the Chadian people to safeguard the national sovereign security and territorial integrity, promote national economic and social development, and strive to maintain regional peace and stability.

During his lifetime, President Deby had attached great importance to developing relations with China, actively promoted exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields, and made important contributions to promoting the development of friendly and cooperative relations between China and Chad, Xi noted.

Xi said that he attaches great importance to the friendship between the peoples of China and Chad, and that China is willing to work with Chad to push forward their bilateral relations for the benefit of the two countries and their peoples. Enditem
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - General Gold Resources Inc. (CSE: GGLD) (formerly, CellStop Systems Inc.) (the "Company") announces the appointment of Jamie Newall to its board of directors effective immediately.

Mr. Newall is an experienced senior executive director, having served as a director or executive officer of numerous publicly listed companies. He was Investment Director of Intrepid Financial, an incubator of natural resource companies for eight years. More recently he has been interim CEO of Conversis, one of the UK's leading language service providers and is Voluntary CEO of Oracle Cancer Trust, the UK's largest head and neck cancer research charity. Mr. Newall is a graduate of Cambridge University and holds a Masters Degree in Law.

In connection with Mr. Newall's appointment, the Company has granted 500,000 incentive stock options under the Company's stock option plan, subject to regulatory approval. The stock options will be exercisable at $0.35 for a period of five years from the date of grant.

The Company also announces the resignation of Brian Tingle from the Board of Directors. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Tingle for his contributions to the Company and wishes him well in his future endeavors.

About General Gold Resources Inc.

General Gold Resources Inc. is an independent mineral exploration company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that is engaged in the business of exploring for and evaluating mineral properties. General Gold is currently exploring the 770 hectare Clark's Brook Property in central Newfoundland. The property has been the subject to previous exploration which resulted in gold samples of up to 19.25 g/t with a gold average of 4.08 g/t.

For further information, please contact:

General Gold Resources Inc.

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E: mgahagan@intrepidfinancial.co.uk

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For quite some time Mayor Q displayed relatively thick skin via social media and was eager to engage in conversation with even his most fiercest detractors.

Heck, he even gave out his personal phone number to followers.

Recently a KICK-ASS TKC READERS WAS BLOCKED by Mayor Q seemingly for nothing more than agreeing with one of our dumb-ass an infrequent tweets.



To be fair, we can't blame the top politico at 12th & Oak for becoming a bit more sensitive amid the pandemic. Public health leaders have advised us to prioritize our mental health and even the most skilled elected official can only take so much abuse.



Remember that Prez Trump confronted Supreme Court push back when he blocked some of his Twitter critics.



The case law is still being written on elected officials banning followers BUT, interestingly, Missouri is at the forefront of the debate over mandated public discourse via mobile phone.



One reference out of many . . .

EFF: Can Government Officials Block You on Social Media? A New Decision Makes the Law Murkier, But Users Still Have Substantial Rights

Luckily, Mayor Q has yet to block this humble blog and he remains one of the most accessible politicos in Kansas City via Facebook & Twitter despite the fact that he has become increasingly inundated with culture war critics as his administration champions progressive crusades over local issues.



Developing . . .


Prime Minister Florin Citu declared on Wednesday, regarding the national consensus requested by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), that nobody is stopping the social-democrats from supporting PNRR and pointed out that this program should not be politicized.

"PNRR, we must all understand, is a Government program, but a program of the Government which is addressed to all Romanians. There are investments there for all the communities inhabited by the Romanians, regardless of their political color. We should not politicize this program," Citu said, at the Government Palace.

PSD made an appeal to all parliamentary political formations to exit from the logic of "party egos" and to collaborate for establishing a "viable" PNRR, which is to be approved in Brussels and to ensure the absorption of European funds available through this mechanism.

The social-democrats propose that as soon as the Easter holidays are over an "ample" debate be organised in the Parliament regarding this topic, where all Government representatives will take part, senators, deputies and experts form all parliamentary parties, local administration associations, representatives of employers and unions, NGOs, but also specialists from the academic and economic environment.

Furthermore, PSD requests the Government to give up the "arrogant" and "self-sufficient" attitude that it has manifested regarding PNRR until now and to accept dialogue and collaboration with all forces which can positively contribute to carrying out this national project.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A comprehensive study from Uppsala University demonstrates that socioeconomic deprivation modifies genetic effects on higher education and abstract reasoning. The paper illustrates how genes play a greater role in educational attainment in more socioeconomically deprived regions of the United Kingdom. The study was recently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Education is an important factor in an individual's life and strongly linked to economic outcomes and quality of life. The likelihood of completing higher education is partly determined by genetic factors. Common genetic variants have previously been estimated to contribute 1113% of the variance in whether an individual completes higher education. This heritability is an estimate of how much a trait is influenced by genes.

In the current study, scientists at Uppsala University assessed the heritability of higher educational attainment and performance on a verbal and numerical reasoning test. Heritability was compared across the socioeconomic spectrum in more than 350,000 participants in the UK Biobank cohort.

The researchers found that common genetic variants contributed 13% of the variance in the least socioeconomically deprived, but almost 26% in the most deprived. "We were surprised to find that the heritability was higher in participants from more socioeconomically deprived regions of the UK. This is the opposite of what previous twin studies have found," says the lead author of the study, Dr. Mathias Rask-Andersen. This type of difference in heritability across the socioeconomic spectrum is likely to represent an interaction between genes and the environment, where socioeconomic deprivation modifies genetic effects.

Previous studies in the field have mainly been performed in small twin cohorts from the United States. According to Dr. Rask-Andersen, the contrasting results of the current study indicate that national differences may influence genetic effects. For instance, differences in access to and quality of education across the socioeconomic spectrum may play an important role, as well as welfare support systems and healthcare.

The current study illustrates how the environment determines how an individual's genetic makeup is propagated. "More and more studies demonstrate that environmental factors influence genetic effects," explains Dr. Asa Johansson, group leader at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology at Uppsala University. "We have previously seen similar gene-environment interactions for other traits, such as body mass index, and it is likely that interactions also exist for many human diseases."

In the long run, gene-environment interactions offer an additional layer of information on the contribution of genetics to human traits and diseases. Identifying these interactions can potentially lead to more precise forms of interventions, not only for preventing and treating disease, but also for increasing the likelihood of successful educational outcomes.

The results from this study also have implications for notions of equality of outcome and opportunity. "The larger influence of genetic factors in more socioeconomically deprived regions could reflect greater challenges for higher education in these regions," says Dr. Rask-Andersen. "Someone who is more vulnerable due to genetic factors would then face even greater challenges in a more socioeconomically deprived region."

How the study was conducted:

UK Biobank is a cross-sectional cohort of almost half a million UK residents aged 4070 years old who were recruited in 20062010. Participants answered extensive questionnaires and were tested for abstract verbal and numerical reasoning. Educational attainment was determined from the self-reported professional qualifications of each participant. The level of socioeconomic deprivation for each participant was assessed from census data. Each participant was thus assigned a score for socioeconomic deprivation based on their place of residence. Each participant was genotyped and the effects of genetic variants on educational attainment and abstract reasoning were determined by association tests, providing an estimate of the effect of each genetic variant on educational attainment and abstract reasoning. The researchers divided the cohort into five quintiles based on socioeconomic deprivation and performed association tests in each quintile. The heritability in each quintile was then estimated by examining how much the genetic effects contributed to the outcomes. The researchers then compared heritabilities between quintiles.

Explore further Dementia death risk is higher among the socioeconomically deprived

More information: Mathias Rask-Andersen et al. Modification of Heritability for Educational Attainment and Fluid Intelligence by Socioeconomic Deprivation in the UK Biobank, American Journal of Psychiatry (2021). Journal information: American Journal of Psychiatry Mathias Rask-Andersen et al. Modification of Heritability for Educational Attainment and Fluid Intelligence by Socioeconomic Deprivation in the UK Biobank,(2021). DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20040462
Montana 67th Legislative Session

Mobile home parks are one of the last strongholds of reliable affordable housing in Montana, helping people of a wide range of income levels become homeowners, even as prices for most other residence types in across the state continue to spike.

But as investment firms snap up properties across the state, there are signs that even mobile homes may soon become out of reach for many Montanans.

Its certainly a worry for Cindy Newman, who owns a mobile home in the Highwoods Mobile Home Park in Great Falls, which Utah-based investment firm Havenpark Capital bought in late 2019.

For the entire winter, I sat here and thought Im going to lose my home, Newman said in an interview.

Newman said she saw moving into the Highwoods park 21 years ago as an affordable option to live with and care for her ailing mother, who has since passed away. Back then, Newman said it cost about $166 per month to rent the ground beneath her home. Over the next 20 years, the 68-year-old said rent gradually increased to $283 per month. After Havenpark bought the park, she said her monthly bill jumped $80 in a single year, with evidence prices could increase even more.

Three bills introduced in the Montana Legislature this year sought to protect mobile home owners like Newman from the rising tide of housing prices, but only one is still alive -- the others stalling in committee during a session that has seen many affordable housing bills struggle to gain traction.

The House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 269 on April 21, sending the bill to Gov. Greg Gianfortes desk for a signature. In its final form, the bill seeks to increase incentives for mobile home park owners to sell their park to their residents by completely exempting those sales from capital gains tax. It also requires the Board of Housing to send annual notices to mobile home park owners explaining the capital gains tax exemption and other potential benefits from selling their park to residents, as opposed to other potential buyers.

Sen. Brian Hoven, R-Great Falls, sponsored the bill after Newman contacted him about her situation in the Highwoods. Newman says she had been looking into Havenparks practices in other states and discovered the events in the Highwoods were part of a widely-reported trend in mobile home parks across the country that saw large, for-profit firms purchasing the facilities in droves and quickly jacking up rents. Hoven, who represents the district Highwoods is located in, says he was struck by Newmans determination and search for solutions. When he looked into Havenpark himself, he said he saw a predatory company seeking to take advantage of a cash cow.

These people are retired, elderly, low-income, people with disabilities, and these private equity firms are coming in and taking advantage, Hoven said in an interview. To me, its wrong as wrong can be.

Hoven and Newman developed SB 269 alongside NeighborWorks Montana, a statewide affordable housing organization. Executive Director Kaia Peterson said the organization has been around for 20 years, and for the last decade, has been helping residents of mobile home parks in the state come together and finance the purchase of their parks, forming resident-owned communities. Peterson said the organization started the program as a way for residents to take the future of their communities into their own hands after a Whitefish mobile home park closed for redevelopment 10 years ago, leaving more than a hundred residents without a place to keep their homes.

That was just a real call to find an alternative, just recognizing that was such a large source of stable and affordable housing and was really destructive, Peterson said in an interview.

Now, Peterson said their work is even more important as more parks are sold to investor firms like Havenpark. Peterson said mobile home lot prices are historically about 50% cheaper than apartment rates, as residents arent paying for their homes, but for a space to put them and for other amenities like sewer and garbage. She said often, companies like Havenpark see prices as below market value and increase rates to match other types of housing.

For their part, Havenpark denies any wrongdoing or nefarious intent behind their actions at the Great Falls mobile home park. In an email, Josh Weiss, a public relations representative from the company, said the previous owner of Highwoods had been deliberately subsidizing rent in the park. The representative said the $283 price of rent was the lowest of any mobile home park in the area, and said Havenpark made $460,000 in improvements. He added that Havenpark increased rent by $47 in January 2020, but did not implement further increases. However, Havenpark did unbundle water and garbage services from rent, increasing monthly expenses by an additional $28-$33.

Given that The Highwoods is the highest quality mobile home park with the most amenities in Great Falls, and is still significantly less expensive than nearly every other park in the area, we feel like our approach to increasing rents was fair and equitable, Weiss said.

Havenpark owns communities in several states across the country and seven parks in Montana, as reported by the Flathead Beacon. The company has an average rating of one out of five stars on the Better Business Bureau, with dozens of reviews and complaints listed from residents referencing rent spikes, poor management practices and unfair evictions.

No Free Market

Montana does not have laws protecting mobile home park residents from unfair rent increases. Another bill sponsored by Sen. Hoven, Senate Bill 362, would have changed that, with provisions protecting homeowners from retaliatory actions by landlords and providing for an appeal process for residents if a landlord increases rent by more than 3% at once. However, the bill died in the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee in February after park owners slammed it as a continuation of an all-out assault on the mobile home park industry, saying it would unfairly hamper small mom and pop owners.

The committee also voted down Hovens second bill on the subject, Senate Bill 268, which would have directly helped residents of parks in similar situations to the Highwoods by allowing residents to petition a local governing body to condemn their park if rent increased significantly above the consumer price index. The homeowners would then have been allowed to form a resident-owned community and purchase the park from the city or county. That bill also met with vehement opposition from park owners and a lobbyist representing Havenpark who criticized it as an improper use of eminent domain.

Even Hovens surviving measure, SB 269, was heavily amended to appease Republicans who saw it as interfering with the free market. The bill wouldve originally required park owners to notify their residents 90 days before the date of sale, giving residents an opportunity to organize and buy the park themselves.

Hoven and Newman both said theyre frustrated at the failure of their bills to gain any ground, with Hoven adding that Republicans should pay more mind to the market mobile home owners find themselves in -- with few open lots in the states aging parks, most are unable to flee increasing lot rents.

There is no free market here. These people can't move -- they dont have any choice, Hoven said. When business takes advantage of people, regulation occurs. Businesses bring regulation on themselves by being greedy.

Peterson said its important to preserve the lower rent rates found in mobile home parks, as theyre one of the last bastions of affordable housing in a state where the average price of a single-family home is $329,000, according to real-estate site Zillow -- up 11% in a single year. But the Legislature has had little appetite this session to take up the issue of affordable housing at all.

House Bill 21 would have doubled available loans for the development of low-income housing and apartments from $15 million to $30 million from the coal tax trust fund and passed the House in January. However, the bill languished in the Senate Finance and Claims Committee for three months before members tabled the bill. Committee Chair Ryan Osmundson, R-Buffalo, said there wasnt enough flexible money in the account this session to fund the increase.

Meanwhile, Gov. Gianforte signed House Bill 259 on April 19, a controversial law backed by Republicans that ends the practice of inclusionary zoning in the state. The law prohibits local governments from requiring developers to set aside a percentage of their housing units for sale at a reduced price. Democrats decried the measure, saying cities and towns ought to be able to try different solutions for affordable housing without interference from the Legislature.

GOP leadership has pointed to House Bill 632, which divvies up billions in federal COVID-19 relief funds, as a favored route to boosting affordable housing, as well as several bills cutting regulations for housing developers that Republicans say will increase the housing supply and drive down prices. But while HB 632 contains $11.5 million to boost a state affordable housing loan program and $152 million for emergency rental assistance, the funds are not ongoing, and will expire after theyre used.

Not even Hovens remaining mobile home parks bill can offer any reprieve to Cindy Newman. Havenparks public relations representative said new lots in the Highwoods are advertised at $450 per month for rent -- an indication of where the company may be aiming to eventually raise rents for current residents. And with the next Legislative Session two years away and Hoven leaving the Senate due to term limits, Newman isnt sure whether shell make another run at passing protections for mobile home owners like herself.

I don't really have an answer to that, Newman said. I don't really think a lot of us are going to make it two years.

Austin Amestoy is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation. He can be reached at austin.amestoy@umontana.edu.
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday (April 28) announced that all vaccination sessions in the state will remain suspended on April 29 and 30.

The decision was taken in order to conduct a dry run for phase 3 of the vaccination drive which starts from May 1, in which people from 18 to 44 years would be eligible to get inoculated.

All vaccination sessions will remain suspended in Madhya Pradesh on April 29 & April 30 so that planning, training and dry run can be conducted for the inoculation drive for people between 18 years and 44 years of age, Vaccination in-charge of Madhya Pradesh was quoted as saying by ANI.

All vaccination sessions will remain suspended in Madhya Pradesh on April 29 & April 30 so that planning, training & dry run can be conducted for the inoculation drive for people between 18 years & 44 years of age: Vaccination in-charge, Madhya Pradesh  ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2021

Online registration for vaccination started today at 4 pm on CoWIN portal and Aarogya Setu app. Eligible people can schedule an appointment to get vaccinated through the app.

During the day, MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra appealed to people to treat vaccination as a national duty. He said that the vaccine is the only permanent solution against coronavirus.

"Lockdown, mask, sanitizer, corona curfew are all temporary arrangements, the vaccine is the permanent solution and I urge people especially youth to consider it as their national duty," Mishra said.

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Jennifer Lopez was spotted out in Beverly Hills on Tuesday afternoon, days after her rumored 'meet up' with ex fiance Alex Rodriguez.

The 51-year-old megastar was accompanied by her 75-year-old mother Guadalupe Rodriguez during her midday errand run.

Lopez put her toned midriff on display in a cropped tie-dye hoodie and a pair of matching sweatpants from Alamour the Label.

Running errands: Jennifer Lopez was spotted out in Beverly Hills on Tuesday afternoon, days after her rumored 'meet up' with ex fiance Alex Rodriguez

Her golden blonde hair was tied back into a ponytail and she kept the majority of her face concealed behind a pair of Max Mara sunglasses and a face mask.

Lopez completed her ensemble with a pair of bright white sneakers.

The On The Floor songstress carried her iPhone in one hand and a hot cup of coffee in the other.

Jennifer and Guadalupe, further ensuring their safety, were surrounded by. security personnel as they navigated the celeb-friendly terrain.

Fit: Lopez put her toned midriff on display in a cropped tie-dye hoodie and a pair of matching sweatpants from Alamour the Label

In good company: The 51-year-old megastar was accompanied by her 75-year-old mother Guadalupe Rodriguez during her midday errand run

On April 15, Jennifer and her former fiance Alex Rodgriquez confirmed their split, following weeks of rumors regarding the fate of their years-long relationship.

'We have realized we are better as friends  We will continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and projects,' they said in a joint statement.

But the pair reportedly met up for a meal at the five-star Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles on Friday night, according to Page Six

The hotel's ritzy Wolfgang Puck restaurant - where entrees range from a $36 stuffed acorn squash to a $155 Wagyu steak - holds special significance from the pair as the site of their first date four years ago.

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez were spotted having dinner on Friday at the same restaurant where they enjoyed their first date in 2017 a week after officially confirming their split. The couple are pictured together on the red carpet in January 2020

The former couple met up for a meal at the five-star Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles (pictured)

'There still seemed to be love and respect there,' a source who witnessed the dinner told Page Six.

The newspaper said Lopez, who just finished filming her latest movie Shotgun Wedding in the Dominican Republic, owns a $28million mansion near the Hotel Bel-Air.

The starlet gushed about the first time she met Rodriguez at the Hollywood hot-spot in a 2017 cover story for Vanity Fair.

'I don't know if he thought it was a date. I thought it was a date,' she said.

'Then I knew he was nervous because he asked me if I wanted a drink. I said: "No, I don't drink," and he asked if I minded if he had one. He was nervous, and it was really cute.'

Rodriguez chimed in: 'I didn't know if it was a date  Maybe we were seeing each other at night because of her work schedule.'

At one point in the evening Rodriguez stepped away from the table and texted Lopez: 'You look sexy AF,' the couple told Vanity Fair.

Lopez and Rodriguez are pictured together in New York City early in their relationship in 2017

The interior of the Wolfgang Puck restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air is pictured above

The night took an unexpected turn when 'the fire alarm went off, and we had to evacuate,' Lopez recounted.

After their less eventful dinner on Friday, Rodriguez flew back to Miami to celebrate his daughter Ella's 13th birthday, according to his Instagram account.

The former MLB star posted several photos of himself with Ella, writing in the caption: 'My little baby girl is 13 Where does the time go?'

He also shared a photo of a mirror with the words: 'Today I'm choosing to accept the things I cannot change.'

Rodriguez is said to be in the middle of a deal to become co-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He's reportedly continuing to work on undisclosed projects with Lopez despite their split.

Lopez and Rodriguez's split has also been difficult for their children, who had been living together at various points with the couple

Last week sources close to Lopez said she is 'leaning' on her ex-husband Marc Anthony - with whom she co-parents 13-year-old twins Max and Emme - in the wake of the break-up with Rodriguez.

'Jennifer and Marc have a great relationship,' a source told People of her close bond with her husband from 2004 to 2014. 'Having him around while she has had to work abroad has been very comforting.'

Lopez took to Instagram on Saturday to share a throwback video of herself on the red carpet at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, where she took home the Video Vanguard Award.

'Energy for the weekend,' she wrote in the caption in an apparent nod to the Oscars on Sunday.

Last week sources close to Lopez said she is 'leaning' on her ex-husband Marc Anthony (pictured together in 2005) in the wake of the break-up with Rodriguez

Lopez recently finished filming her latest movie Shotgun Wedding in the Dominican Republic with Josh Duhamel and Lenny Kravitz (pictured)

Lopez was reportedly wracked by trust issues with Rodriguez before she decided to end their relationship for good.

The 51-year-old actress was 'miserable' in the final days of their relationship and 'didn't think it was in her best interests to stay with Alex,' People quoted a friend of hers on Wednesday.

Now the star wants to find a man she can trust, according to a Thursday report from UsWeekly.

'J.Lo was always aware of the rumors of him cheating or him messaging other girls. You can say that for sure [that] played a part in why the engagement ended,' the source said, referring to his alleged exchange with Southern Charm star Madison LeCroy, 30.

'She wants someone who's fully invested in her and someone she can trust when her partner is not around.'
Earth's glaciers have shrunk by 267billion tonnes per year since 2000  accounting for up to 21 per cent of rising global sea levels, a new study has warned.

Researchers in France have analysed high resolution maps of over 200,000 glaciers from the past two decades to understand how they have changed.

Worryingly, their analysis suggests that glacier mass loss has been accelerating at 48 billion tonnes per year each decade since 2000.

In the study, the researchers, led by Romain Hugonnet, said: 'By uncovering the patterns of mass change in many regions, we find contrasting glacier fluctuations that agree with the decadal variability in precipitation and temperature.'

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 Slide me  Earth's glaciers have shrunk by 267billion tonnes per year since 2000  accounting for up to 21 per cent of rising global sea levels, a new study has warned. Pictured: Iceland's Hoffellsjokull glacier in 1989 and in 2020

Worst affected areas In particular, the researchers identified seven regions that accounted for 83 per cent of the glacier mass loss: - Alaska (25 per cent) - The Greenland Periphery (13 per cent) - Arctic Canada North (10 per cent) - Arctic Canada South (10 per cent) - Antarctic and Subantarctic (eight per cent) - High Mountain Asia (eight per cent) - The Southern Andes (eight per cent) Advertisement

In the study, the team from the University of Toulouse analysed high resolution maps of 217,175 glaciers  nearly all the glaciers in the world.

This included satellite and aerial imagery, which revealed mass changes of individual glaciers.

The team then estimated the change in surface elevation of the 217,175 glaciers from 2000 to 2019, excluding ice sheets.

By cross-referencing their estimates with available high-precision measurements, the researchers were then able to calculate the volume and mass change of the glaciers.

Worryingly, their calculations indicate that between 2000 and 2019, glaciers lost a total of 267 gigatonnes of ice per year, accounting for 21 per cent of sea-level rise.

In a statement, the researchers said: 'Glacier mass loss has been accelerating at 48 gigatonnes per year each decade since 2000, which could explain 619 per cent of the observed acceleration of sea-level rise.'

In particular, the researchers identified seven regions that accounted for 83 per cent of the glacier mass loss.

Earth's glaciers have shrunk by a whopping 267billion tonnes in the past 20 years, accounting for up to 21 per cent of rising sea levels, a new study has warned. Pictured: Klinaklini Glacier, the largest glacier of Western Canada

In the study, the team from the University of Toulouse analysed high resolution maps of 217,175 glaciers  nearly all the glaciers in the world. This included satellite and aerial imagery, which revealed mass changes of individual glaciers

These were Alaska (25 per cent), the Greenland Periphery (13 per cent), Arctic Canada North and South (10 per cent each), Antarctic and Subantarctic, High Mountain Asia (composed of Central Asia, South Asia West and South Asia East) and the Southern Andes (eight per cent each).

In contrast, only two regions were found to experience a slowdown of glacier thinning over the past 20 years.

'The record thinning rates of Icelandic glaciers during 20002004 were nearly halved during 20152019, which coincides with the decelerated thinning of Scandinavian glaciers,' the team explained.

Meltwater pools are seen on top of the Helheim glacier near Tasiilaq, Greenland on June 19, 2018

Rising sea levels could have important implications for people living in coastal towns, as well as wildlife who rely on sea ice.

According to the study, about 200 million people live on land that is predicted to fall below the high-tide lines of rising sea levels by the end of the century.

Meanwhile, one billion people could face water shortage and food insecurity within the next three decades.

The team wrote: 'Understanding present-day and future glacier mass change is crucial to avoid water-scarcity-induced sociopolitical instability, to predict the alteration of coastal areas due to sea-level rise, and to assess the impacts on ecosystems and cryosphere-related hazards.'

The researchers hope the findings could help to inform climate change policies going forwards.

'Understanding how glaciers melt over time, and how this modifies regional hydrology and contributes to rising sea levels, can help to improve models that predict future changes and could inform strategies to manage water resources and mitigate sea-level rises,' they added.

Commenting on the findings, Andrew Shepherd, professor of Earth observation at the University of Leeds, who was not involved in the study, said: 'Glacier melting accounts for a quarter of Earth's ice loss over the satellite era, and the changes taking place are disrupting water supplies for billions of people downstream, especially in years of drought when meltwater becomes a critical source.

'Although the rate of glacier melting has increased steadily, the pace has been dwarfed by the accelerating ice losses from the Antarctica and Greenland, and they remain our primary concern for future sea level rise.'
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Dramatic video footage captured the moment a 'militarized' sheriff's vehicle carrying armed deputies rushed to Andrew Brown's home shortly before the black dad-of-10 was shot dead by police as he sat in a car.

The video, which appeared to be caught by surveillance cameras installed in the neighborhood, shows heavily armored Pasquotank County Sheriffs deputies driving down a street leading to 42 year-old Browns home in a modified Ford F150 truck. It was shot in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, shortly before Brown's April 21 death.

In the video, the deputies, who are wearing tactical gear while standing in the bed of the truck, pull into a driveway. The clip then pauses for a few seconds before continuing again.

The deputies are then seen getting out of the vehicle. Moments later, screaming and shouting is heard.

Video released by Elizabeth City, North Carolina shows a militarized sheriffs vehicle carrying armed deputies moments before Andrew Brown, a 42-year-old black man, was shot five times as he sat in a parked car in his driveway last week

The video, which appeared to be caught by surveillance cameras installed in the neighborhood, shows heavily armored Pasquotank County Sheriffs deputies driving down a street leading to Browns home on April 21. In the video, the deputies, who are wearing tactical gear, pull into a driveway. The clip then pauses for a few seconds before continuing again

Andrew Brown, pictured, a 42-year-old father of 10, was shot in his car on April 21 by sheriffs

As the video progresses, sirens become audible and there is an increasingly heavy presence of law enforcement officials in the area.

A short clip, which was first obtained by WAVY-TV, was posted on social media by Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney.

Just-released footage of the militarized police force rushing to kill Andrew Brown, civil rights attorney Ben Crump tweeted on Tuesday

Just-released footage of the militarized police force rushing to kill Andrew Brown, Crump tweeted on Tuesday.

This has become a constant sight across America, the evolution of policing thats now terrorizing communities of color!

Brown was killed by a bullet to the back of the neck that lodged in his brain and caused him to crash his car, according to an independent autopsy report released on Tuesday.

Brown was shot and killed by police in North Carolina at 8:30am on Wednesday while at the wheel of his car in his driveway.

Police have yet to release bodycam footage of the incident. Brown's family, who have called the fatal shooting an 'execution,' viewed a 20-second clip of the body cam footage on Monday.

Earlier this week, footage emerged of the moment a large group of cops surrounded Brown's car.

The clip - taken by a neighbor in the moments after officers opened fire and obtained by CNN - shows the seconds after Brown's BMW had crashed into a tree.

Police said they were carrying out an arrest warrant for drugs offenses and claim Brown was a drug dealer with a rap sheet dating back to 1988.

Brown had a 180 page criminal record and had been filmed selling narcotics in the weeks leading up to his death, Fox News reported on Monday.

Autopsy results of gunshot locations on the body of Andrew Brown Jr. in a fatal shooting are shown following a press conference held to release the results of an independent autopsy in front of the Pasquotank County Sheriff's office in Elizabeth City, North Carolina on Tuesday

Protesters gather on Elizabeth Street near the Pasquotank River Bridge in Elizabeth City, North Carolina on Tuesday

Protesters block the U.S. Highway 158 bridge over Pasqoutank River in Elizabeth City, North Carolina on Tuesday

Demonstrators protesting the police shooting death of Brown block US Highway 17 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina on Tuesday

'We stand with our black brothers and sisters,' reads a sign held up by a protester in Elizabeth City, North Carolina on Tuesday

Protesters walk away from police vehicles as a few demonstrators ignore the dawn to dusk curfew late on Tuesday night in Elizabeth City, North Carolina

One eyewitness said: 'They crowded around his car, they were shooting the front window of his car.'

The results of an independent autopsy released by attorneys for Brown's family Tuesday shows he was shot five times; four times in his right arm and once in the head.

Brown's son Khalil Ferebee questioned why deputies had to shoot so many times at a man who, he said, posed no threat.

'Yesterday I said he was executed. This autopsy report shows me that was correct,' he said at the news conference.

'It's obvious he was trying to get away. It's obvious. And they're going to shoot him in the back of the head?'

The FBI confirmed on Tuesday that it has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting.

Brown's family say he had complied with police and had his hands on his steering wheel when deputies shot him in the arm.

They say he then drove away in an attempt to save his life when he was shot in the back of the head.

That came after they were finally allowed to see police body cam from the incident Monday.

The footage has not been released publicly and just 20 seconds was shown to the victim's loved ones and attorneys.

New footage has emerged of the moment a large group of cops surrounded Andrew Brown's car after his son called the North Carolina police shooting 'an execution'. The clip - taken by a neighbor in the moments after officers opened fire and obtained by CNN - shows after Brown's car had crashed into a tree

Police said they were carrying out an arrest warrant for drugs offenses and claim Brown was a drug dealer with a rap sheet dating back to 1988, but his family said he was 'executed'. One eyewitness said: 'They crowded around his car, they were shooting the front window of his car'

The results of an independent autopsy released by attorneys for Brown's family Tuesday shows he was shot five times; four times in his right arm and once in the head

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, center Tuesday, said: 'If they thought Andrew Brown Jr did something inappropriately and criminal you all would have seen that video by now. There was no need for them to be the judge, the jury and the executioner'

Brown's son Khalil told CBS: 'It was just a horrific scene, a horrific video. They were shooting from the very start of the video. My dad, his hands were on the steering wheel and they were still shooting. I still don't have closure...the answers.' In a separate interview with GMA he called the shooting an 'execution'

Andrew Brown's son says 20-second bodycam video shows his father being executed. @VictorOquendo reports. https://t.co/5fnHr8uRUi pic.twitter.com/NRYLYZoTDF  Good Morning America (@GMA) April 27, 2021

Brown's son Khalil told earlier told CBS: 'It was just a horrific scene, a horrific video. They were shooting from the very start of the video. My dad, his hands were on the steering wheel and they were still shooting. I still don't have closure...the answers.' In a separate interview with GMA he called the shooting an 'execution'.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said: 'If they thought Andrew Brown Jr did something inappropriately and criminal you all would have seen that video by now. There was no need for them to be the judge, the jury and the executioner that morning.'

Protesters took to the streets of Elizabeth City on Monday night for the fifth night in a row as anger mounted at the failure to release the full footage showing the killing of Brown.

The deputies continued to shoot after Brown drove his vehicle away from them, according to Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who said he never presented a threat to the team of officers at the scene.

On Monday night more than 200 people marched through downtown to 'disrupt commerce' as a state of emergency was declared, carrying signs and shouting: 'Release the tape! The real tape!'

Some reports suggested rocks were thrown, Fox News said, while others said it was eggs that were hurled.

Twice, The Raleigh News & Observer reported, they stopped to confront police officers who blocked traffic for them to pass, yelling: 'Say his name! Say his name!' before moving on.

Under North Carolina law, body camera footage can only be released with a court order, but critics are accusing the authorities of a cover up - suspicions that increased after the family were allowed to watch just 20 seconds of a redacted video of the fatal shooting.

Benjamin Crump, one of the lawyers representing the family of Andrew Brown Jr., points to an autopsy chart that his team conducted showing where Mr. Brown was shot

Khalil Ferebee, the son of Andrew Brown Jr., is hugged after speaking during a press conference about the killing of his father

Khalil Ferebee, the son of Black suspect Andrew Brown Jr. who was killed by sheriffs last week, reacts after speaking at a press conference announcing findings from an independent autopsy in Elizabeth City

Andrew Brown's grieving relatives are seen outside Pasquotank County Public Safety building as protesters took to the streets after his killing

Demonstrators gathered for a fifth night of protests in Elizabeth City on Monday night calling for answers over the shooting of the 42-year-old

Protesters occupy an intersection while marching in the evening after family members were shown body camera footage of the shooting

Activists held placards aloft saying 'Andrew Brown, say his name' in the wake of the killing which has caused unrest in Elzabeth City

Protesters lean on each other in a moment of reflection amid the demonstrations which saw more than 200 people take to the streets

A demonstrator yells in the air from her car on Monday night during Elizabeth City protests

Protesters in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on Monday night demanded the release of footage

Activists were on the streets of Elizabeth City for the fifth night in a row on Monday

A driver wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt steps out of her car to join other protesters in raising a fist in solidarity with each other

Two young protesters ride atop the rear of vehicle at the end of a march held in support of the late Andrew Brown who was shot on Wednesday

Hundreds of demonstrators, including Rev. Raymond Johnson, protested on Monday night

Two men fist bump amid smiles as they peacefully protest against Brown's shooting

Protesters were demanding police to 'release the video' to 'show us the truth' as they marched on the county sheriff's building

Pasquotank County officers watch the protests unfold from the roof of the county sheriff's building on Monday

Crump, the high-profile civil rights attorney who now represents the family, said outside the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office: 'They are trying to hide something. They don't want us to see.'

Attorneys for the family said he was shot in the back of his head and had his hands on the car steering wheel as up to eight officers fired at him.

Andrew Brown, 42, was shot and killed by sheriffs in North Carolina on Wednesday morning

They said the clip they saw began as shots were already being fired, adding that Brown complied with officer commands throughout.

After watching the footage, Brown's son Khalil told reporters: 'My dad got executed just trying to save his life. It is messed up how this happened. He got executed.'

Court documents released on Monday show deputies obtained the search warrant that brought them to Brown after investigators recorded him selling small amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine to an informant.

Seven deputies have been placed on leave amid indications, including emergency scanner traffic and an eyewitness account, that Brown was shot in the back as he tried to drive away.

The city's mayor earlier had declared a state of emergency over the shooting.

County officials indicated that showing family the clip had been delayed because they were working on blurring some faces in the recording.

Andrew Brown's youngest daughter (left) listens to attorney Benjamin Crump on Monday. Harry Daniels (right), who is representing the family of Andrew Brown, speaks outside the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office in Elizabeth City Monday

Brown, 42, father of 10 children, was shot and killed in his car at around 8.30am in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, while police were executing search-and-arrest warrants for drug offenses, officials said

Describing the footage in more detail on Monday afternoon, attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter said Brown had been in his driveway when he was blocked in by officers who were in a marked police vehicle.

She said they 'lost count' on how many shots were fired. She also said deputies 'rode up to his car while shooting'.

When Brown 'finally tries to get away to get out of danger' he backs out, away from officers who were allegedly shouting obscenities at him.

The attorney added: 'At no time was he threatening officers.'

When his car runs into a tree, Cherry-Lassiter said the officers continued shooting at him, leaving his vehicle 'riddled with bullets'.

The family noted that despite multiple officers being at the scene they were allowed to see just one clip - from an officer who was farthest from the scene.

Gunfire already had started in the clip they were shown, they said, and it was unclear what had happened in the moments before the shooting.

Cherry-Lassiter, who watched the video multiple times and took notes, said some deputies were wearing tactical uniforms and some in plainclothes.

'They're shooting and saying let me see your hands at the same time,' she said.

Crump confirmed that he would hold a press conference on Tuesday at 11am to discuss autopsy results.

'It's clear to us there is something bad on that bodycam video,' he said.

'Transparency is essential.'

Witnesses said Brown got into his car (pictured) and was driving away when the deputy opened fire

Crump had said Monday: 'Now, you all may have noticed that they released a warrant saying all kinds of things about Andrew Brown, but they want to redact the face of the ... officers that killed Andrew Brown.'

He added that law officials blurring deputies' faces are 'going to protect them and not show their face and not say their names ... because what they want to do is assassinate the character' of Brown.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II has said that multiple deputies fired shots. Elizabeth City police were not involved in the shooting.

Wooten has said 'only a judge can release the video', adding: 'That's why I've asked the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to confirm for me that the releasing of the video will not undermine their investigation.'

He said he hopes to file a motion for its release Monday.

Brown's death spurred an outcry from community members who demanded law enforcement accountability and the immediate release of deputies' body camera footage.

Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools said they are operating remotely until at least Friday 'due to the continuously evolving state of civil unrest'.

Chief Deputy Daniel Fogg (left) and Sheriff Tommy S. Wooten issued a video on Monday night

Protestors block an intersection after an emergency city council meeting on Friday evening

The arrest warrant released on Monday was obtained by the Pasquotank County sheriff's office and signed by a local judge, to allow the search of Brown's Elizabeth City home.

It said that an investigator in nearby Dare County was told by the informant that the person had been purchasing crack cocaine and other drugs for over a year from Brown.

The informant described purchasing drugs at the house that was the target of the search.

The warrant said that, in March, local narcotics officers used the informant to conduct controlled purchases of methamphetamine and cocaine from Brown on two separate occasions.

It says both drug transactions were recorded using audio and video equipment.

The search warrant said investigators believed Brown was storing drugs in the home or two vehicles.

The document, which indicated the search wasn't completed, did not list anything found.

The arrest warrants, which were released last week, charged him with possession with intent to sell and deliver three grams of each of the drugs.

Racial justice advocates had joined Brown's relatives on Saturday demanding the footage

On Saturday, Brown's family was joined by the local clergy and civil rights leaders including the Rev. William Barber II in Elizabeth City as they put further pressure on officials to make the videos public.

Barber said at the news conference attended by several of Brown's children and other family members: 'America, here is the issue: A warrant is not a license to kill, even if a suspect supposedly drives away.

'A warrant is not permission to shoot someone. We're sick and tired of all these deaths happening that don't have to happen. Release the tapes!'

Keith Rivers, president of the Pasquotank County branch of the NAACP, also spoke at the conference to call for Wooten's resignation.

On Friday, the state's governor, Roy Cooper, a Democrat, issued a statement calling for the swift release of the footage.

'Initial reports of the shooting in Elizabeth City and death of Andrew Brown, Jr. this week are tragic and extremely concerning,' Cooper tweeted.

'The body camera footage should be made public as quickly as possible and the SBI should investigate thoroughly to ensure accountability.'

Police described Brown as someone who was well known to police, with a criminal history dating back to the 1990s, including past drug convictions.

Neighbor Demetria Williams, who witnessed part of the shooting, said she never saw Brown carry a gun, and that deputies fired into his car as he was trying to get away from them.

He crashed his car moments later, with Williams saying she saw Brown 'slumped' in his vehicle as he died of his gunshot wounds.

REVEALED: North Carolina police shooting victim Andrew Brown 'was drug dealer with 180 page criminal record dating back to 1988 and had been filmed selling narcotics weeks before his death'

A black man shot multiple times in an apparent 'execution' by cops last week was described by law enforcement as a drug dealer with a long rap sheet dating back to 1988, according to a report.

Andrew Brown Jr., 42, had a 180 page criminal record and had been filmed selling narcotics in the weeks leading up to his death last Wednesday, Fox News reported Monday.

Brown was shot and killed by Pasquotank County sheriff's deputies Wednesday morning. He was inside his car in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, when the officers were serving him an arrest warrant.

Brown's family have described his death as an 'execution', saying he had his hands on the steering wheel of the car and was shot in the back of the head as up to eight deputies opened fire.

Calls are mounting for authorities to release the bodycam footage of the incident with his family finally granted their request to watch video of the incident Monday - only for them to reveal they were allowed to watch just 20 seconds of footage from just one of at least eight officers on the scene.

Seven deputies have been placed on administrative leave following the shooting, two others have resigned and one deputy has retired, but none of their identities have been released.

While law enforcement have released few details of the fatal shooting and questions continue to mount over the lack of transparency around their part in Brown's death six days on from the shooting, the force instead released court documents Monday about the search warrant that brought them to Brown that day.

It's a move that has sparked more outrage with the family's attorney Ben Crump accusing authorities of protecting the officers while they 'assassinate the character' of Brown.

Brown's death came just one day after white cop Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of black man George Floyd in a moment that many had hoped was a step forward in the fight against police brutality and systemic racism across America.

According to the search warrant released Monday, investigators had recorded Brown selling small amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine to an informant.

The informant had told Agent R.D. Johnson of the Dare County Narcotics Task Force they had bought drugs including cocaine, 'crack' cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine from Brown several times over the course of more than a year, reads the warrant, seen by Fox.

The unidentified individual described Brown as a 'drug dealer' in the Elizabeth City/Pasquotank County area, the warrant reads.

Protesters march in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Monday night as officers are still to release bodycam of the footage six days after Brown's death

Police in riot gear force people off a street as they protest the killing of Andrew Brown Jr. last week in Elizabeth City, North Carolina

A protester faces a phalanx of police vehicles as a few demonstrators ignore the dawn to dusk curfew following the killing of Andrew Brown Jr. by sheriffs last week

It was requested by Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office Investigator D. Ryan Meads and was signed off by North Carolina Superior Court Senior Resident Judge Jerry R. Tillett on April 20 to allow the search of Brown's home on Perry Street in Elizabeth County.

It said that an investigator in nearby Dare County was told by the informant that the person had been purchasing crack cocaine and other drugs from Brown for over a year.

The informant described purchasing drugs at the house that was the target of the search and claimed to have seen crack cocaine in the property in the 14 days leading up to Wednesday's shooting.

They also claimed to have met Brown at other locations including hotels and motels and locations in Dare County to complete the exchange.

In one incident on March 17, narcotics officers used the informant to conduct a controlled purchases of cocaine from Brown that was recorded on camera and audio devices, according to the warrant.

Later that month, on March 29, the informant was used to carry out a purchase of methamphetamine from Brown, the warrant says.

Calls are mounting for authorities to release the bodycam footage of the incident with his family finally granted their request to watch video of the incident Monday - only for them to reveal they were allowed to watch just 20 seconds of footage

Brown's death spurred an outcry from community members who demanded law enforcement accountability and the immediate release of deputies' body camera footage. Pictured: A protester and riot police on Tuesday

A protester holds a sign saying: 'Good cops... Your silence is consent!' as people gather at a demonstration against the police killing of Andrew Brown Jr.

The search warrant says investigators believed Brown was storing, packaging and distributing drugs out of his home and two BMWs.

They believed Brown was using the home as a 'secure location' to store drugs, money and records of sales, it states.

Investigator Meads and other members of the drug task force were 'familiar with Brown and know him to be a source of supply of 'crack' cocaine, cocaine, heroin/fentanyl and methamphetamine to the Elizabeth City/ Pasquotank County area,' the warrant says.

Two arrest warrants released last week charged Brown with possession with intent to sell and deliver 3 grams of each of the drugs.

The court document, which indicated the search was not completed, did not list that anything had been found.

And Brown's aunt Betty Banks said cops had told the family they did not find any drugs or weapons in neither his cars or home, reported CNN.

Crump has argued that authorities have released the warrant information to 'assassinate' Brown's character while they are refusing to release bodycam or the details of the officer-involved shooting.

'Now, you all may have noticed that they released a warrant saying all kinds of things about Andrew Brown, but they want to redact the face of the... officers that killed Andrew Brown,' he said.

He added that law officials blurring deputies' faces are 'going to protect them and not show their face and not say their names... because what they want to do is assassinate the character' of Brown.

Pasquotank County Attorney Michael Cox showed Brown's family and attorneys a 20-second clip from one deputy's body camera Monday.

Attorney Chantel Cherry-Lassiter said it showed an 'execution'.

She said it shows deputies shot Brown as he sat with his hands on the steering wheel of his BMW.

The black man was shot in the back of the head, according to his death certificate.

'They are trying to hide something,' Crump said. 'They don't want us to see everything.'
[April 28, 2021] First BanCorp. Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend on Common Stock

First BanCorp. (the "Corporation") (NYSE: FBP), the bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico, announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.07 per share on its outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable on June 11, 2021 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 26, 2021. About First BanCorp. First BanCorp. is the parent corporation of FirstBank Puerto Rico, a state-chartered commercial bank with operations in Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Florida, and of FirstBank Insurance Agency, LLC. Among the subsidiaries of FirstBank Puerto Rico are First Federal Finance Limited Liability Company and First Express, Inc., both small loan companies. First BanCorp's shares of common stock trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FBP." Safe Harbor This press release may conain "forward-looking statements" concerning the Corporation. The words or phrases "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "look forward," "should," "would," "believes" and similar expressions are meant to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbor created by such sections. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Corporation's ability to declare dividends on the Corporation's Common and Preferred Stock in any future periods. Such statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations, intentions, beliefs, plans, estimates or predictions of the future expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include, but are not limited to the factors described in the Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K, in its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in other filings with the SEC (News - Alert) . The Corporation does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to update any "forward-looking statements" to reflect occurrences or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements, except as required by the federal securities laws.



View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428006125/en/



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President Biden adopted a decision of historic magnitude, of historic importance by recognizing the Genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Empire. This is what Armenia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States Varuzhan Nersesyan said in an interview with BBC.

Becky Anderson:Well, Varuzhan Nersesyan is the Armenian Ambassador to United States. He joins this live from Boston. Could we please have your opinions. By recognizing the mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War One as a genocide Joe Biden of course is breaking with his predecessors and decades of US foreign policy. I just wanted you to explain the significance of this and the impact it will have on Armenia and Armenians around the world.

Ambassador Nersesyan: Well, thank you very much Becky. Of course on April 24th President Biden adopted a decision of historic magnitude, of historic importance by recognizing the Genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Empire. This comes in addition to the 2019 Congressional recognition by the US House of Representatives and U.S. Senate of the Armenian Genocide by which now the United states officially recognizes the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians in their historic Homeland and this is as such as an act of historic importance. Of course this is not only about the past atrocities and past genocides. This is also very much a message to our contemporary times and to the future. Armenian Genocide was the first genocide in the 20th century and as such because it was not at the time of the genocide in the middle of the First World War condemned and recognized, it set a very tragic precedence for other genocides in the history of humankind. And then we saw the other crimes against humanity such as the Holocaust of the Jewish people, the genocide in the Rwanda, in Darfur and elsewhere and up until now. That's why the recognition is very important and also on the precedence of the Armenian Genocide the very term genocide was coined by Rafael Lemkin. So in this sense of course it has a lot to do with our also current times.

Bucky Anderson: So this announcement effectively equating the anti-Armenian violence in the First World War with the atrocities on the scale of those committed in Nazi Germany and in Rwanda as you as you rightly pointed out. Turkey and it was the Ottoman Empire that Joe Biden blamed for these mass killings and chose to describe it as genocide not Turkey. But Turkey says claims of genocide are outrageous and it has told the USA that this announcement has, let me quote him here, I quote Ankara here ''opened a wound in relations between the two'' and that will not surprise you at all. I wonder what you believe the broader geopolitical implications are of America making this declaration after all you have been lobbying Washington or your predecessors certainly have for years to ensure that the Americans would finally make this declaration.

Varuzhan Nersesyan: Thank you, Becky. Of course this declaration is an opportunity for Turkey itself to reconcile itself with its past and to recognize. Because if Turkey wants to heal the wounds, not to open the wounds. But this declaration is there an opportunity to heal the wounds and to open an opportunity for Turkey itself to recognize the Armenian Genocide and normalize afterwards the relations with his neighbor - with Armenia. But Turkey not only has not recognized the genocide but has been in complete denial and this denialism is what causes these waves of recognitions. And we are deeply grateful to President Biden for this historic recognition. So this recognition comes to bring a more security to our region and looks towards the future. But Turkey..

Bucky Anderson: Yeah I wonder if it does or not. So that they completely just put this point to you because I know what you wanted to achieve but I wonder whether that is what it will achieve because Ankara with President Erdogan in charge is absolutely furious about this. Look, Armenia's Prime Minister resigned yesterday in order to trigger an early election in June and he's been facing sustained criticism over his decision to call a cease fire last year with the conflict with Armenia's neighbor Azerbaijan backed significantly by Turkey in that. There is also lot of political unrest in the region around Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. There's been an awful lot of protest. I just wonder whether firstly you think these elections are going to solve any of these tensions in your country and whether you genuinely believe that by the US making this declaration which is fantastic for Armenians around the world, but whether you genuinely think that's going to actually plaster over the cracks in this region or actually could make them worse.

Varuzhan Nersesyan: Thank you, Becky. I genuinely believe this declaration is going to contribute to the peace and security in our region. But as I wanted to say that Turkey not only did not recognize the Armenian genocide and was in complete denial. Turkey in our days continues to threaten and destabilized and to threaten Armenia. Just like last September Azerbaijan conducted a full aggression with Turkish participation and support against the people of Nagorno Karabakh or Artsakh, Turkey became a full part of that war dispatching foreign terrorist fighters, jihadist terrorists there and dispatching is deadly drones there and its commandos. So, Turkey continues its policy. That's why the recognition of Armenian Genocide is acute and extremely important because up until now Turkey continues the same genocidal intentions and genocidal policies towards the modern Republic of Armenia. That's why the declaration is not only about the crime that took place 106 years ago but also about our modern times trying to bring all those who tends to, you know, implement policies of aggression and policies of attacks to back to order. This is not a time global disorder, this is a time of order and International Security. As to the elections in Armenia all I can say of course there are there is now internal domestic political debates in Armenia, but Armenia is firm on his path towards democracy as different from Azerbaijan and Turkey - two authoritarian states in our region. Armenia will overcome these difficulties and the people of Armenia who are the survivors of you know, who are Genocide survivors, they have the resilience and political will to construct modern Democratic, vibrant Democratic society. And as Armenia heads towards elections on June 20 the people will have a choice to decide and then to continue the path forward.

Bucky Anderson: Let's just close this conversation with the sense of what this all means for Armenians, the Diaspora around the world many of whom of course, certainly those of a certain generation live with the ghosts of this genocide and it has been a huge part of your nation's identity. I know you'll also admit that there will be younger generations who simply wanted to move on from the ghosts of what had happened in the past. I just wonder just what sort of closure does this announcement by the White House bring to the Armenian community.

Varuzhan Nersesyan: This announcement Becky brings to Armenian- American community and Armenians worldwide a great degree of hope for the future that this will contribute to the regional peace and security in our region, because by calling the things by their own name, which is genocide, by recognizing the truth, we set the grounds, firm foundations for secure future in our region. And I hope, as I said in the beginning, Turkey will come into terms after this declaration and would recognize and reconcile itself with its own history to set a foundations for better future in our region. After all the people of Armenia, all they want - to live in peace and harmony with their neighbors but addressing looking to the truth, addressing the realities and setting up better foundations for regional peace and security.

Bucky Anderrson: With that Ambassador, we will leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us. A truly historic declaration by the US administration in Washington over the weekend.
Meridian LMS is designed to meet the unique learning needs of people who sell, service and use the products our clients provide. This further strengthens the business impact training has on an organizations bottom line. - Sean Osborne, Sr. VP of Product, Meridian

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Meridian has also completely updated its integrated test management tool for easy drag-and-drop question management, additional test, and group-level settings to facilitate more complex test workflows, and an updated question bank with easy tagging. A revised test preview lets the creator run through different variations of the test before it is published.

Organizations are often challenged to provide effective training for learners who are not employees, said Sean Osborne, Senior Vice President of Product for Meridian. Meridian LMS is designed to meet the unique learning needs of people who sell, service and use the products our clients provide. This further strengthens the business impact training has on an organizations bottom line.

Discover the award-winning capabilities of Meridian LMS first-hand by scheduling a personalized product discussion.

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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The public's preference for the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine has declined since last month, and belief that it causes blood clots has increasedbut despite this, vaccine confidence is higher than it was towards the end of 2020, and there has been a big rise in the proportion of people who say they want to be vaccinated as soon as possible, according to a new study.

The research, by the University of Bristol, King's College London and the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response, is based on a survey of 4,896 UK adults aged 18 to 75 conducted between 1 and 16 April 2021. This follows up a study in November and December 2020 and tracks some of the same individuals to see how their views have changed and why.

The AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots

Seventeen percent of the public now say they'd prefer to have the AZ vaccine, if they had a choice of anydown from 24% towards the end of March.

And 23% of people now believe the AZ vaccine causes blood clotsup from 13% last month. But the public are still most likely to say this claim is false (39%) or that they don't know whether it's true (38%).

And within this latest survey wave, there is a big difference in beliefs before and after the MHRA announced there was a possible link between the vaccine and extremely rare blood clots on 7 April: 17% of those interviewed in the first week of that month thought this claim was true, compared with 31% interviewed after.

There are also big differences in views on this issue among different groups:

Vaccine-hesitant people (57%) are more than twice as likely as both the public overall (23%) and the vaccine-confident (23%) to believe the AZ vaccine causes blood clots.

Those who have received an invitation to get vaccinated but not taken it up are also much more likely to believe the vaccine causes clots: 54% think this claim is true, compared with 30% of those who have received their invitation and plan on attending soon.

Vaccine confidence is still strong

A growing belief that the UK's main COVID-19 vaccine is linked to blood clots has not dented overall levels of confidence in vaccines in general.

Eighty-one percent now say vaccines are safe, compared with 73% who said the same towards the end of 2020. This include 39% who strongly agree that this is the caseup from 30%.

There has been a similar change in views of how well vaccines work: 86% say they are effective, an increase from 79% in Nov/Dec 2020. And the proportion who strongly feel this way has risen from 38% to 47%.

There has been an increase in eagerness to get a COVID vaccinethough a minority have become more definitely against vaccination

46% of those who are currently unvaccinated say they're certain to accept a vaccine when offered it. This compares with 36% of the public overall who said they were certain to in Nov/Dec 2020 and 30% in July of that year, when asked how likely they would be to get a vaccine once it became available.

In total, 73% say they're at least fairly likely to get the vaccine now, which is the same proportion as in both Nov/Dec and July 2020.

But at the other end of the spectrum, there has been an increase in those saying they are not at all likely or definitely won't get the vaccine, from 7% in July 2020 to 13% in this latest study.

63% of those who say they might get a COVID vaccine would now prefer to have it as soon as they're offered itdouble the 29% who said they'd like to have a vaccine immediately after it became available in Nov/Dec last year.

And in November and December 2020, people from ethnic minorities were particularly unlikely to say they wanted to get the vaccine straight awaybut there has been a big change in views since. Among those from minority ethnic groups who say they might get a COVID vaccine, 45% would now prefer to be vaccinated immediately after being invitedthree times the 15% who said they'd like to get the vaccine as soon as it became available last year, before the rollout had begun.

The reasons for increased willingness to be vaccinated are to go on holiday and protect families and the wider community

This study included a longitudinal sample, following the same individuals that were interviewed in November and December 2020. This allowed the researchers to compare responses on vaccine intention from that previous study with the current study, and ask those who changed their minds what had caused that change.

The clear top reason for switching from not wanting to get the vaccine to wanting to be vaccinated was the wish to go on holiday, including the possibility of vaccine passports, mentioned by 18% of switchers.

The top two reasons given by those who were uncertain and are now sure they want the vaccine is that it is the 'right thing to do' (19%) and to protect their own family or others in general (12%).

Dr. Siobhan McAndrew, senior lecturer in quantitative social science at the University of Bristol, said: "These findings shed light on different aspects of coronavirus vaccination hesitancy: concern regarding long-term side effects, vaccine effectiveness, vaccine ingredients, effectiveness and speed of regulatory clearance stand out. Such concerns continue for a hard core of the vaccine-opposed.

"The public health challenge remains complex: to respond to the concerns and information needs of a diverse population, to support the pro-vaccine social norm, and to offer meaningful reasons to take up the vaccine to those who remain unconvinced."

Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King's College London, said: "The blood clot scare has affected how some of the public view the Astra Zeneca vaccinebut has not reduced confidence in vaccines overall. In fact, the trend has been towards increased commitment to get vaccinatedand quicklyas the rollout has progressed so well, with no sign of serious widespread problems. People have had more time and real-world experience to help them make up their minds.

"However, this also means that the naturally skeptical have also affirmed their views, with a near doubling since July last yearfrom 7% to 13%  of those who say they are not at all likely to or definitely won't get vaccinated. This shows there is still no room for complacency in clearly communicating the vital benefits of vaccination, given the need to cover a very large proportion of the population in order to truly contain the virus."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
By Libby George

LAGOS (Reuters) -When Kehinde Osakede's university closed due to COVID-19 last year, the visual arts student returned home to Lagos. A visit to a family friend nearby turned into a horrific ordeal.

The friend began touching her, she said, and became violent when she asked him to stop. He then raped her, she said.

"The guy was hitting me, beating me," said Osakede, now 21, "The last notion I had was to commit suicide."

Reuters was not able to confirm her account independently. Osakede did not share the name of her alleged assailant and said she did not want to get involved in the legal case.

Osakede is one of hundreds of women across Nigeria who have reported being raped or sexually assaulted in a surge since the pandemic began, according to police and officials. Some experts say this represents only a fraction of cases.

The president's office referred Reuters' questions to the Ministry of Women Affairs.

The ministry said it had helped coordinate the nation's response to rape and gender-based violence, including by setting up a national response team and meeting different ministries and non-governmental organizations.

Around the world, police and prosecutors, victim support teams and women's movements, as well as the United Nations, have reported rising domestic violence during coronavirus-related lockdowns.

Lagos state, where Osakede lives, saw a nearly 40% increase in rape and domestic and sexual violence in 2020, official data showed.

After a string of high-profile attacks, including the gang rape of a 12-year-old girl in northern Jigawa state, President Muhammadu Buhari declared a nationwide state of emergency in June last year to tackle the crisis.

Police did not respond to requests for comment for this article, but in June last year they said reports of rape had risen during the pandemic and introduced measures to improve police response to gender-based violence.

Some Nigerian women are now acting to address the problem of sexual violence, saying that cases have ended in few prosecutions, widespread stigmatization and a tendency to blame victims.

Story continues

The National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and the police did respond when asked how many prosecutions of rape cases in Nigeria there had been.

Activists have launched centres to support women, an app to report attacks and a push to protect girl victims from being traumatized again in the legal system.

DIFFICULT PATH

They face a difficult path. Polling group NOIPolls found that 47% of Nigerians blamed rape on indecent dressing, and fewer than half thought offenders should be punished.

The 2018 official Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey found that 30% of girls and women aged between 15 and 49 reported suffering sexual abuse.

The government has declared a state of national emergency over rape and gender-based violence and says it has directed the police and the states to do everything they can to tackle it.

Some activists and lawyers have described child rape cases settled for just 10,000 naira ($26), and courts where cases languish for years.

"This is such a systemic problem - such a magnitude, that you're very quickly overwhelmed," said Kemi DaSilva-Ibru, a gynaecologist who founded the Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), a donor-funded non-profit organization that treats rape victims and helps police gather physical evidence.

DaSilva-Ibru launched WARIF, which helped Osakede with counselling and group therapy, after years of treating rape victims as young as two.

In Lagos, senior lawyer Boma Alabi is rallying others in her profession to protect underaged victims when cases go to trial.

"Children being cross-examined like adults, children who have been traumatized by defilement ... it shouldn't be happening," she said.

The attorney general did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how the children were treated in court.

In northern Kano state, tech entrepreneur Sa'adat Aliyu in August launched an app, Helpio, for women to report assaults. She said it matched users with organizations who help them approach the police.

"These victims don't know there are actually organizations that fight for their rights and give them legal support, also medical or financial support," she said.

Osakede says she has stopped blaming herself with the help of counselling at WARIF, and wants others to take courage from her story.

"I came to this place, and I started feeling okay," she said.

(Additional reporting by Mohammed Alamin in Kano and Camillus Eboh in Abuja; Editing by Alexis Akwagyiram, and Giles Elgood and Mike Collett-White)
Alleged Cooperation Between Chinese Military and Wuhan Lab(April 27)

Documents from a state-funded project seemingly reveal evidence of collaboration between Wuhans virology lab and the Chinese military.

A new plagiarism scandal strikes in China. An automaker there is found to have copied car designs from Western vehicles.

Another big company finds itself in Beijings crosshairs. The communist regime is launching a new antitrust investigation into an online food delivery giant after targeting e-commerce giant Alibaba.

A wind farm project near a U.S. Air Force base at the southern border is in the spotlight. Its owned by a former officer from Chinas military. But a new bill in Texas is putting a stop to foreign nationals getting so close to American military centers.

A Hong Kong immigrant tells her story of harassment from communist China. Since fleeing to Canada, shes faced continuous phishing calls and email scams, all working to track her down.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China.

For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter.
Uncapped, idle oil wells could be leaking millions of kilograms of methane each year into the atmosphere and surface water, according to a study by the University of Cincinnati.

Amy Townsend-Small, an associate professor of geology and geography in UC's College of Arts and Sciences, studied 37 wells on private property in the Permian Basin of Texas, the largest oil production region on Earth. She found that seven had methane emissions of as much as 132 grams per hour. The average rate was 6.2 grams per hour.

"Some of them were leaking a lot. Most of them were leaking a little or not at all, which is a pattern that we have seen across the oil and gas supply chain," Townsend-Small said. "A few sources are responsible for most of the leaks."

The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, is the first of its kind on methane emissions from inactive oil wells in Texas.

"Nobody has ever gotten access to these wells in Texas," Townsend-Small said. "In my previous studies, the wells were all on public land."

A 2016 study by Townsend-Small found a similar issue in inactive wells she tested in Colorado, Wyoming, Ohio and Utah. Spread across the estimated 3.1 million abandoned wells, the leaking methane is equivalent to burning more than 16 million barrels of oil, according to government estimates.

Five of the inactive wells Townsend-Small studied in Texas were leaking a brine solution onto the ground, in some cases creating large ponds.

"I was horrified by that. I've never seen anything like that here in Ohio," Townsend-Small said. "One was gushing out so much water that people who lived there called it a lake, but it's toxic. It has dead trees all around it and smells like hydrogen sulfide."

Most of the wells had been inactive for three to five years, possibly because of fluctuations in market demand. Inactive wells could be a substantial source of methane emissions if they are not subject to leak detection and repair regulations, the UC study concluded.

The study was funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Previous studies have found the basin generates 2.7 billion kilograms of methane per year or nearly 4% of the total gas extracted. That's 60% higher than the average methane emissions in oil and gas production regions nationally. This was attributed to high rates of venting and flaring due to a lack of natural gas pipelines and other gas production infrastructure.

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that scientists have linked to climate change. If the rate of methane leaks UC observed were consistent across all 102,000 idled wells in Texas, the 5.5 million kilograms of methane released would be equivalent to burning 150 million pounds of coal each year, according to an estimate by the magazine Grist and nonprofit news organization the Texas Observer.

Townsend-Small and her UC undergraduate research assistant Jacob Hoschouer, a study co-author, came to Texas at the suggestion of the media organizations, which wanted to explore the environmental impact of oil wells, particularly those that are inactive or abandoned. An expert on methane emissions, Townsend-Small has studied releases from oil and natural gas wells across the country.

The journalists arranged with the property owners for Townsend-Small to examine the wells.

President Joe Biden's administration has pledged $16 billion in its infrastructure plan to cap abandoned oil and gas wells and mitigate abandoned mines. Hoschouer said it would be gratifying if their research could help regulators prioritize wells for capping.

In the meantime, regular inspections of inactive wells using infrared cameras to identify leaks could address the problem, the UC study suggested.

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Lehigh Countys district attorney revealed several people were accosted by the armed gunman who fatally shot a man at a Wawa, then later shot himself.

A news release Wednesday from District Attorney James Martin says Za Uk Lian, 45, of South Whitehall Township pointed the gun at a crowd of people, then confronted two people to try to take their vehicles after he allegedly shot and killed 31-year-old Ramon Ramirez.

The release says Lian arrived at the Wawa on Route 100 in Upper Macungie at 4:48 a.m. on Wednesday, April 21. Lian allegedly drove up next to a parked Jeep and shot the driver. There was no interaction between them before the shooting, the release says. The victims condition has been upgraded to critical, it says.

Lian then shot and killed Ramirez as he was pumping gas into a truck tractor, the release says. There was no interaction between them before the shooting, it says. Ramirez, 31, of Allentown, left behind a wife and three children.

Surveillance video allegedly shows that after the shootings, Lian pointed the gun at a group of people who were standing outside of a parked vehicle; the identities of those people are unknown at this time.

He then allegedly confronted the driver of a parked F150 pickup truck and demanded the keys. The driver, who has been interviewed by police, told Lian the keys were inside, but as officers arrived nearly simultaneously, Lian ran away, the release says.

A third individual, who has been interviewed by police, was also accosted by Lian at gunpoint and a demand was made for his vehicle, the release says.

However, more police were arriving and Lian ran toward a shed near a fence, crawled under the fence and proceeded about a quarter mile to a daycare center and in a wooded area, where he shot himself, the release says.

The motive for Lians actions remains unclear. Police dont know where he was prior to the incident. Lians cellphone was left behind at his home and neither it nor another electronic device recovered has revealed any evidence about these crimes, or a motive, the release says. Prior to the Wawa shooting, Lian was driving on Route 22 alongside a car driven by a woman. She said she heard a loud noise, then Lian allegedly pulled ahead of her.

She coincidentally went to the Wawa and noticed a bullet hole in her car at that point and called police. She left the store just prior to Lians arrival, the news release says.

The release says Lian arrived in the U.S. in 2013 and settled in the state of Washington before arriving in the Lehigh Valley about two years ago. He was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2019. The gun used by Lian had been purchased legally and Lian had applied for and received a concealed carry permit in Lehigh County.

Lian was employed at a Home Depot warehouse near the Wawa. He last worked there on April 9. He was reportedly positive for COVID-19 as of April 12. There is nothing known to be related to his employment history which is in any way connected to this incident, the release says.

Martin credits the prompt response of various law enforcement agencies to this incident with likely saving lives. The responding agencies included: The Upper Macungie Township Police, Pennsylvania State Police, Lehigh County Homicide Task Force and Municipal Emergency Response Team, Salisbury Township Police, Emmaus Police and South Whitehall Township Police.

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Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com.
A landscaping business that earned viral fame in the fall for being the site of a Rudy Giuliani press conference set the internet ablaze again Wednesday when it trolled the former New York City mayor.

Soon after news broke Wednesday that federal agents had raided Giuliani's Upper East Side apartment, Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Philadelphia tweeted a photoshopped image of FBI agents leaving their yard with the caption: 'Wrong apartment. We kicked him out months ago.'

The tweet quickly gained 7000 retweets and 31,000 'likes', and hundreds of complimentary comments.

'It's obvious Four Seasons Total Landscaping is great at providing shade from more than just trees,' a user called @bookworm474 posted.

Ray McKigney said: 'Four Seasons Total Landscaping - the hero we never saw coming'.

'Rumor has it Rudy Giuliani still haunts the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping to this day, yelling at the sky,' @outofcontroljb wrote.

'Todays winner of the internet', Someone called @PappyUnhappy wrote.

Conservative lawyer George Conway, a prominent critic of Trump's who is also married to his former counselor Kellyanne Conway, joined in the fun, tweeting: 'I sense a great deal of schadenfrudy on this site.'

The Department of Justice executed a search warrant Wednesday on Giuliani's New York City apartment and office, stepping up their investigation of his dealings in the Ukraine.

The probe centers on whether Giuliani acted as an unregistered federal agent and lobbied the Trump administration in 2019 on behalf of Ukrainian officials and oligarchs.

Four Seasons Total Landscaping, the site of a bizarre Rudy Giuliani press conference in the fall, posted a tweet Wednesday that mocked the raid of his home and office

Rudy Giuliani and the Trump campaign staged their event about the alleged voter fraud outside the company in November

Police exit Rudy Giuliani's home on 66th Street in Manhattan on Wednesday

Four Seasons Total Landscaping was unexpectedly thrust into the nation's consciousness last year.

Days after the 2020 presidential election, and with the result hanging in the balance, Trump announced there would be a 'big press conference' at the 'Four Seasons' on Saturday morning.

However, this was soon corrected, with the hotel itself tweeting: 'To clarify, President Trump's press conference will NOT be held at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia.

'It will be held at Four Seasons Total Landscaping  no relation with the hotel.'

Four Seasons Total Landscaping is situated in an industrial part of Philadelphia next to Delaware Valley Cremation Center and Fantasy Island Adult Books, where owners host 'Dildo Madness' sales throughout the year.

Giuliani turned up, along with a large contingent of media, and the location was pointed out for being an unlikely place to fight an election result.

Since last year's press conference, Four Seasons Total Landscaping has capitalized on its sudden internet fame, regularly trolling politicians on Twitter.

After posting the tweet making fun of Giuliani, Twitter users praised Total Landscaping's sense of humor.

'It's obvious Four Seasons Total Landscaping is great at providing shade from more than just trees,' a user called @bookworm474 posted

'Rumor has it Rudy Giuliani still haunts the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping to this day, yelling at the sky,' @outofcontroljb wrote

Ray McKigney said: 'Four Seasons Total Landscaping - the hero we never saw coming'

'Todays winner of the internet', Someone called @PappyUnhappy wrote

Trump's former personal attorney also got in on the action, tweeting: 'Here we go folks'

The company has also sold merchandise, including a 'Lawn & Order' mask that plays on the president's frequently used phrase 'law and order' for $10.

It is also selling 'Make America Rake Again' stickers for $5.

The raid on Wednesday indicates the investigation of the former New York City mayor has entered an aggressive new phase. It is unusual for prosecutors to execute a search warrant on a lawyer, particularly one who has privileged conversations with his client, the former president of the United States.

To obtain the search warrant, investigators would have needed to convince a judge they had sufficient reason to believe that a crime was committed and the search would turn up evidence of that. It does not indicate guilt.

Investigators executed warrants at Giuliani's home on Madison Avenue and his office on Park Avenue and seized electronic devices, a person familiar with the investigation told the AP.

Giuliani's lawyer, Robert Costello, called the searches unnecessary and said Giuliani had offered to answer questions from prosecutors, except those regarding his privileged communications with Trump.

'What they did today was legal thuggery,' Costello told The New York Times . 'Why would you do this to anyone, let alone someone who was the associate attorney general, United States attorney, the mayor of New York City and the personal lawyer to the 45th president of the United States.'

The Philadelphia company announced on its Facebook Sunday that they were selling the masks and other store paraphernalia

Media gathers outside Giuliani's apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side on Wednesday after federal agents raided it

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani addresses the media outside Four Seasons Total Landscaping last year

The United States Attorney's office in Manhattan and the FBI had wanted to execute the warrant on Giuliani's Upper East Side pad for months but had been stymied by the political leadership put in place at the Justice Department by President Trump.

The warrant was originally sought last summer but top officials at DOJ raised concerns about issuing a warrant so close to an election.

DOJ rules prevent actions close to an election that might be seen as interference  a matter that came up both in 2016 during the probe of Hillary Clinton's emails and in 2020 during the investigation, not publicly revealed, into Hunter Biden over potential tax issues.

But after Merrick Garland was confirmed as President Biden's attorney general, the Justice Department lifted its objection to the search.

Biden vowed to have an independent Justice Department and said he would not interfere in its work.

'Here we go folks,' tweeted Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney who was also subject of a federal raid and would eventually plead guilty to eight federal counts, including violating campaign finance law.

The Giuliani investigation grew out of a federal investigation of his associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who worked on gathering information about the Bidens during the election.
Enghouse solution to consolidate Norway's fire service technology infrastructure

MARKHAM, ON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Enghouse Systems Limited (TSX: ENGH) today announced it has signed a contract with the Norwegian government to deliver state-of-the-art technology solutions for all of the country's regional Emergency Fire Control Rooms.

The $29 million, eight-year agreement was signed between Locus Solutions AS, the Norwegian subsidiary of Enghouse, and the authority representing the 13 regional fire agencies. The solution being implemented is for an integrated National Fire Control Room. This includes emergency call handling, dispatch and coordination of fire vehicles and other first-response resources, in cooperation with other emergency services such as police and ambulance.

The Enghouse solution provides emergency services with clear communications and accurate real-time information. Enghouse Locus has extensive experience with the development, delivery and maintenance of robust and future-oriented platform solutions for emergency services. The contract announced today builds on the $55 million, 12-year agreement with Norwegian Health Care announced in October 2020.

The system will optimize the handling of inquiries, manage resources and provide operators with time-sensitive guidance and recommendations for corrective action. This guidance will be based on real-time critical information about building type, hazards, location and estimated time of arrival.

The procurement includes software, services, development, testing and implementation over the term of the agreement. Following the rollout, Enghouse Locus will continue to provide maintenance support and ongoing product enhancements.

"The need for a comprehensive Fire Room solution has been growing as Norway's fire services have advanced, and we are very pleased that we now have this agreement in place," said Trond Brenden, Project Manager.

"After an extensive review process, we selected the Locus Emergency Platform solution with the functionality, reliability and flexibility to fulfil the demanding requirements for this project," added Trond Brenden. "The new system will give the Norwegian regional emergency fire service authorities a robust and future-oriented platform that can expand and adapt in response to changing first-response technologies."

"Enghouse Locus is honoured to be selected as the trusted partner for this project," said Per Edvard Heyerdahl, Managing Director, Enghouse Transportation and Public Safety (Nordic region). "We have been working with the Norwegian Fire Regions for decades and have a very clear understanding of their vision and requirements. We have extensive experience dealing with all emergency services and made significant investments into our Locus Emergency Platform to deliver a next generation system."

About Enghouse Systems Limited ("Enghouse")

Enghouse is a Canadian publicly traded company (TSX:ENGH) that provides enterprise software solutions focusing on remote work, visual computing, communications for next generation software defined networks and public safety. The Company's two-pronged growth strategy focuses on internal growth and acquisitions, which, to date, have been funded through operating cash flows. The Company is well capitalized, has nominal long-term debt and is organized around two business segments: the Interactive Management Group and the Asset Management Group. Further information about Enghouse may be obtained from the Company's website at www.enghouse.com.

About Enghouse Locus

Enghouse Locus, a subsidiary of Enghouse Systems Limited, has developed and delivered high-quality business-critical IT solutions to emergency services, security companies and the transport industry since 1991. Enghouse Locus is located in Sandefjord, Norway and focuses on Public Safety and Transportation.

CONTACT: Sam Anidjar, Vice President, Corporate Development, Enghouse Systems Limited, investor@enghouse.com
Over recent decades, community-based environmental monitoring (often called "citizen science") has exploded in popularity, aided both by smartphones and rapid gains in computing power that make the analysis of large data sets far easier.

Publishing in BioScience, handling editors Rick Bonney, of Cornell University, Finn Danielsen, of the Nordic Foundation for Development and Ecology, and colleagues share a special section that highlights numerous community-based monitoring programs currently underway. They also describe the potential for such efforts to advance the scientific enterprise well into the future and make recommendations for best practices and future directions.

In an article on locally based monitoring, Danielsen and colleagues describe the potential for monitoring by local community members--who may have little scientific training--to deliver "credible data at local scale independent of external experts and can be used to inform local and national decision making within a short timeframe." The authors argue that this important source of data can prove particularly valuable in areas in which scientist-led monitoring is sparse or too costly to administer.

Community-based monitoring efforts also have the potential to empower Indigenous rightsholders and stakeholders through their broader inclusion in the scientific process, writes Bonney in an introductory Viewpoint. Likewise, he explains, "Indigenous and local peoples' in situ knowledge practices have the potential to make significant contributions to meeting contemporary sustainability challenges both locally and around the globe." This topic is explored in depth in an Overview article by Maria Tengo and colleagues.

A contribution from Noor Johnson and colleagues discusses the role of digital platforms in enabling community-based monitoring, including among Indigenous communities. While digital platforms, such as those that use smartphones, have the potential to improve data management in community-based monitoring, the authors caution that care must be taken with sensitive data and that such platforms may "increase inequities across communities because being able to use digital tools requires technical capacity that may or may not exist at the community level."

Key to realizing the potential of community-based monitoring will be linking large-scale, top-down monitoring programs with bottom-up approaches managed or initiated at the community level, write Hajo Eicken and colleagues a short video about the article can be found here. This effort will rely on a number of factors, including an ability to match program aims and scales while also fostering compatibility in methodology and data management--and ensuring that Indigenous intellectual property rights are respected. Only by linking monitoring programs, argue the authors, will it be possible to fully realize the value of community-based monitoring and effectively respond to the rapidly changing global environment.

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The Special Section on Community-Based Monitoring will be published in BioScience's June issue.

BioScience, published monthly by Oxford Journals, is the journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). BioScience is a forum for integrating the life sciences that publishes commentary and peer-reviewed articles. The journal has been published since 1964. AIBS is an organization for professional scientific societies and organizations, and individuals, involved with biology. AIBS provides decision-makers with high-quality, vetted information for the advancement of biology and society. Follow BioScience on Twitter @AIBSbiology.

Oxford Journals is a division of Oxford University Press. Oxford Journals publishes well over 300 academic and research journals covering a broad range of subject areas, two-thirds of which are published in collaboration with learned societies and other international organizations. The division has been publishing journals for more than a century, and as part of the world's oldest and largest university press, has more than 500 years of publishing expertise behind it. Follow Oxford Journals on Twitter @OxfordJournals.
A gun battle between rival Mexican drug cartels has once again left eight people dead near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Residents of Tamaulipas on Monday said that the gun battles, which also left a string of burned-out armored trucks on a roadway, happened on Saturday and went on until Sunday in Santa Rosalia, located at the border of Camargo in Mexico.

The residents were not named as they fear retaliation, according to Associated Press. They said the charred bodies were found lying in or near the burned-out trucks, with at least three of which had welded steel plates that served as improvised armor.

The residents added that law enforcers only managed to get into the area during the daytime over the weekend. However, the gunmen of the Mexican drug cartels reappeared at night to continue their battle.

According to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the gun battle was between two rival Mexican drug cartels. The president added that many people had been killed in the gun battle.

The area has long been caught in the middle of a turf war between the Northeast cartel, an old Zetas gang remnant, and the Gulf cartel, according to an Associated Press report.

READ NEXT: Mexico Suggests U.S. Citizenship For Planting Trees

Mexican Drug Cartels

Mexican drug cartels engaged in a deadly turf war have claimed thousands of lives every year as they continue to fight over territory and influence.

The Sinaloa Cartel is considered one of Mexico's most influential drug cartels, with much of the northwest areas as their territory.

The group was founded in the late 1980s and headed by the notorious drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. According to BBC, "El Chapo" or "Short" was once ranked as one of the world's richest men.

Under El Chapo's leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel earned its reputation through violence and outfought several rival groups. Officials said that the Sinaloa Cartel became the biggest supplier of illegal drugs to the U.S. during El Chapo's reign.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is considered to be one of the most aggressive and strongest competitors of the Sinaloa cartel.

The Jalisco cartel has set its foothold in the west, mainly the Tierra Caliente region. The group was formed in 2010 and has rapidly expanded its reach across Mexico.

One of the oldest criminal groups in Mexico was the Gulf Cartel. Its history could be traced back to the 1980s.

The group is known for trafficking cocaine and marijuana into the U.S. The Gulf Cartel was also reported to have worked closely with other drug cartels in Colombia.

On the other hand, the Los Zetas Cartel was founded by corrupt members of an elite unit of Mexico's special forces. In the 1990s, the leader of the Gulf Cartel hired more than 30 former soldiers, but they broke away from the cartel and formed their own operation in 2010.

Mexican Drug War

Efforts to address the issue of drugs in the country can be traced back to the presidency of Felipe Calderon.

Calderon declared war on drugs against drug cartels shortly after taking office. He then deployed tens of thousands of military personnel to aid and replace local police officers who were viewed as corrupt, according to a Council On Foreign Relations report.

The Mexican authorities managed to capture and kill 25 of the top 37 drug kingpins in Mexico. The militarized crackdown was among the legacies of Calderon's presidency.

Former Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto focused more on reducing violence against civilians and businesses during his tenure. Calderon's successor relied on the military to fight cartels with the help of the federal police.

For his part, Lopez Obrador announced that his government would move away from attempts to capture leaders of the Mexican drug cartels.

The current Mexican president said that he would focus more on improving security and improving the homicide rates.

READ MORE: Video Shows Jalisco Cartel Parading 'Narco-Tank' in Mexico's Street

WATCH: Mexican Drug Wars: Town Cut Off by Cartel Fighting - From Al Jazeera English






Several local parish governments lifted their requirements for wearing masks after Gov. John Bel Edwards eased rules statewide Tuesday afternoon.

East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome lifted the parishwide mask mandate she put in place in July to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Broome is still requiring masks be worn inside city-parish buildings. But she's allowing local businesses to shape their own policies around face coverings.

"Now is not the time to let down our guard," Broome said in a statement. "We must continue to work together to end this pandemic."

Livingston Parish President Layton Ricks said he would not implement a mask mandate.

"This should help our local businesses that have struggled financially under the statewide mask mandate," Ricks said.

Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment said the parish would no longer require masks to be worn, including in parish-operated buildings.

Now that vaccines are more widely available, I am lifting the facemask requirement in all buildings operated by Ascension Parish Government, he said. The pandemic is still with us, so I urge everyone to keep vigilant and to continue to follow safe practices.

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Ricks and Cointment both said local businesses still have a right to require masks and asked residents to respect those decisions.

In Iberville Parish, masks will be required in the courthouse and government buildings, but will not be required elsewhere, according to a parish statement on Facebook.

The local leaders' decisions followed Gov. John Bel Edwards' announcement that he was ending Louisiana's statewide mask mandate, instead giving local businesses and governments the power to set their own guidelines when it comes to face covering during the ongoing pandemic.

Masks will still be required at K-12 schools, early childhood education centers, colleges and universities, hospitals and nursing homes, according to an order issued Tuesday by the Louisiana Department of Health.

The Centers for Disease Control on Tuesday also said mask wearing was no longer required outdoors for people whether they were vaccinated or not as long as they're walking, biking or congregating in small groups. Mask wearing is still encouraged for large outdoor gatherings.

Staff writer David Mitchell contributed to this report.
MINNEAPOLIS - Stroke survivors who live in neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status--areas with lower household income, education levels and occupational status--may have worse recovery three months after a stroke than people who live in neighborhoods with higher socioeconomic status, according to a study published in the April 28, 2021, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The findings applied to people with moderate to severe strokes, not people with mild strokes.

"People in less advantaged neighborhoods were more likely to have more disability, lower quality of life and more symptoms of depression than people in more advantaged neighborhoods," said study author Lynda D. Lisabeth, PhD, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. "Reasons for this could include less access to public spaces in the neighborhood, more noise pollution, less access to support services and lower levels of perceived safety. More research is needed to identify which factors are driving this association, as well as initiatives aimed at improving health and quality of life for people who have the dual burden of experiencing a moderate to severe stroke and living in a socioeconomically deprived neighborhood."

The study involved 776 people who had a stroke in Nueces County, Texas. Socioeconomic level of neighborhoods, which was based on census information, was determined. Three months after the stroke, people were interviewed about how well they were able to complete their daily living activities such as bathing, dressing and cooking. They were also asked about quality of life and symptoms of depression.

The people living in higher socioeconomic neighborhoods had better outcomes than people living in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods.

For the assessment for how well people could complete their daily activities, scores ranged from zero to four, with lower scores indicating better functioning. People in neighborhoods with the highest socioeconomic level had average scores of 1.7 points, while people in neighborhoods with the lowest socioeconomic level had average scores of 2.1 points, indicating less independence. After adjusting for factors that could affect the scores, such as age, number of other medical conditions and how well people were functioning before they had a stroke, living in higher compared to lower socioeconomic neighborhoods was associated with 0.27 higher scores among those with moderate to severe strokes.

For the assessment of symptoms of depression, scores ranged from zero to 24, with lower scores meaning fewer symptoms. People in neighborhoods with the highest socioeconomic level had average scores of 13.9, compared to 16.2 for people in neighborhoods with the lowest socioeconomic level. After adjusting for age, other medical conditions and pre-stroke functioning, living in higher compared to lower socioeconomic neighborhoods was associated with 1.77 lower scores among those with moderate to severe strokes. People in the higher socioeconomic neighborhoods also had better scores on the quality-of-life assessment.

Lisabeth said, "It is interesting to note that when we adjusted for the severity of the stroke, the results were largely not impacted, suggesting that lower socioeconomic status does not lead to worse strokes, which then leads to worse outcomes. Another mechanism or mechanisms is involved."

Limitations of the study were that it did not account for whether people moved in the time after their stroke and did not account for what type of post-acute care they received after the stroke.

###

The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Utah Stimulating Access to Research In Residency Transition Scholars and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development.

Learn more about stroke at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology's free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the hashtags #Neurology and #AANscience.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 36,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Media Contacts:

Renee Tessman, rtessman@aan.com, (612) 928-6137

M.A. Rosko, mrosko@aan.com, (612) 928-6169
The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 2) Bill, which proposes a raft of amendments to the Constitution, went through its Second Reading and Committee stage in the Senate yesterday without any further amendment and will go to the Third Reading, the final stage, on Tuesday next week.

Since the amendment has already gone through the National Assembly with the required two-thirds majority, should it receive that same level of approval or better in the Senate at the Third Reading, it can then become part of the Constitution.

The only clause that caused a division, a vote where a split is recorded, was the clause on allowing judges of the High and Supreme Courts to be promoted to a higher court without having to go through another public hearing, as they would have gone through that process in their original appointment to the bench and it being felt undignified for judges to publicly compete for promotion.

But 45 senators voted in favour of retaining the new provision, while only 19 voted against. If, and this is not considered likely since the 19 joined the majority in approving the other 26 clauses, the same group votes against the Bill on the Third Reading it will still pass as the 19 are not a large enough group to be a blocking third.

In the Second Reading, where the principles of the Bill are debated, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi outlined for senators the main provisions of the Bill and the reasons why the proposed amendments were desired.

A major proposal is to retain the present system whereby the President appoints the vice-presidents. In the Constitution, this was supposed to change in 2023 to have the President, First Vice-President and Second Vice-President stand for election as a team.

The present feeling is that the interim system should be made permanent to allow the President to make the choice.

A second major proposal, which has seen near universal support, was to retain for another 10 years a special provision to have an additional block of women MPs in the National Assembly, elected by party lists using proportional representation in each province.

It had been hoped that in the first decade of the present Constitution that societies would change sufficiently swiftly to make gender balance automatic. This has not been the case, hence the desire for another 10 years of an interim measure.

The National Assembly went further, and agreed that a similar provision, with an additional block of women councillors equal to a third of the council membership, should be chosen by party lists. The Senate agreed in the Committee Stage.

For judges, it was felt that sitting judges should not have to compete with each other in public interviews when being considered for promotion, this tending to be undignified.

This is the single point where there was a vote later on in the committee stage. Judges will also be able to serve until they are 75 if they are fit and willing once the amendment becomes law.

The Prosecutor General will still be appointed in way to guarantee independence, the President having to follow the advice of the Judicial Service Commission and with a tribunal appointed to recommend any dismissal. But the two processes will not be identical to those used for judges, as it was felt that a judge should retain a higher status.

The last major amendment was to sort out the provincial councils, with the MPs and senators from each province no longer able to sit on these councils since Parliament is supposed to oversee the provincial councils and legislators cannot be judges on themselves. This will also enhance devolution. Herald
People covered by Blue Cross plans between February 2008 and October 2020 could be eligible for part of a historic $2.7 billion settlement approved in Alabama last year as part of a long-running antitrust case.

Attorneys could receive about $700 million from the settlement, which leaves about $1.9 billion for people covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield plans during that time. Subscribers have until November 5, 2021 to make a claim online or by mail. Some of those eligible to file a claim may have received postcards notifying them of filing deadlines.

Claims can be filed online at the Blue Cross settlement website, which also offers additional information about who qualifies.

U.S. District Judge David Proctor in Birmingham approved the settlement late last year. Its one of the largest health care settlements in U.S. history. In addition to the monetary amount, the agreement could change the way Blue Cross plans operate in the future.

Plaintiffs in the case claimed that Blue Cross plans divvied up territories to reduce competition in violation of antitrust laws. The lack of competition allowed some plans to charge higher rates for insurance coverage. Blue Cross plans involved in the case deny all allegations of wrongdoing.

Members of the class covered in the lawsuit have four options. They can file a claim as part of the settlement, opt out of the settlement and maintain the ability to file a separate lawsuit, object to the settlement in a letter to the court or do nothing and receive no payment. Those who wish to object must postmark their letters by July 28, 2021.

Proctor will hold a fairness hearing on October 20, 2021 where some affected members will be allowed to speak. The settlement could be finalized later this year.
Microsoft has released an urgent update that fixes current problems in Windows, Bleeping Computer reported.

Microsoft drew attention to the issues with games among users after the release of a series of updates. The company has acknowledged the occurrence of critical errors and has already offered patches that fix the problem. The update can be obtained through Windows Update or by restarting the computer.

Also, Microsoft engineers explained the nature of the problem that gamers had previously encountered. Crashes occur when users run games in full screen or borderless windowed mode and use two or more monitors, they said. The message notes that the issue was identified in a small number of owners of licensed copies of Windows.

Visitors to the Microsft forum also noticed that issues can be fixed by uninstalling the problematic update.
A man wears a "Free Kyle" shirt to protest for shooter Kyle Rittenhouse to be released. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

A Christian site has come out in support of a cop fired for donating to Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse.

The fundraiser - which has a $50,000 goal - collected over $47,000 for former officer William Kelly.

Rittenhouse is facing homicide charges for fatally shooting two Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A Christian fundraiser has collected over $47,000 in funds for the Virginia cop fired for donating to Kyle Rittenhouse's legal defense fund.

The donation drive was hosted on the Christian fundraising site "GiveSendGo" for former police officer William Kelly and has raised over $47,000 - 95% of the total goal of $50,000.

The fund said all donations would go to correcting "an injustice we see happening right before our eyes" and to support Kelly and his family.

Kelly was fired on April 20 when it was revealed that he had contributed to a legal defense fund for Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse is an 18-year-old currently facing homicide and firearms charges for fatally shooting two Black Lives Matter demonstrators and injuring another at a protest for Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August last year.

A report by the Guardian said Kelly donated $25 anonymously to Rittenhouse's legal defense fund but was later identified because he used his official email address.

Kelly wrote a comment on Rittenhouse's crowdfunding site along with his donation, which read: "God bless. Thank you for your coverage. Keep your head up. You've done nothing wrong. Every rank and file police officer supports you. Don't be discouraged by actions of the political class of law enforcement leadership."

Norfolk City manager Chip Filer later said in a press release that Kelly had been investigated and his employment terminated, as his "egregious comments" and actions were "in violation of City and departmental policies."

The Virginian Pilot reported that the fundraiser for Kelly was created by the site's co-founders, Jacob Wells and Heather Wilson, a brother-and-sister team.

Story continues

"Regardless of how you feel regarding Kyle Rittenhouse, the fact is that Mr. Kelly's individual rights have been grossly violated. He made an anonymous donation of a mere $25 with his own money," Wilson wrote in a statement to the Virginian Pilot.

An update on the fundraiser posted on April 25 seen by Insider read: "We were able to get in touch with Lt. Kelly and he is so thankful for all your support."

"It is going to be a long road in front of him and his family but they are going to be able to make it with all your support. Keep sharing the campaign far and wide! Let freedom ring!"

GiveSendGo says on its website it's "meant to give Christians the opportunity to be supported by the body of Christ."

Read the original article on Insider
{Note: The following email was sent to PressOffice@labor.ny.gov. I wish the governments and mainstream media would hunt hard (not hardly) down the systematic fraudsters while delivering hard the Economic Impact Payments to the families. Where have been the whole set of EIP-2 and the majority of EIP-3 for my family's no-application-needed share? Why the Workers' Compensation System is run like a systematicly fraudulent, corrupt, and murderous system in New York?}

Limin Wang

136-09 59th Ave, Ground Floor

Flushing, NY 11355

April 27, 2021

Re: FRAUD AGAINST MY FAMILY'S RENT RESIDENCE ADDRESS

***Please forward the report to the right offices, since this is the only easily spotted email address on the NYS DOL website.***

NYS Department of Labor,

Since around April 10th, 2021, the following residence address MY FAMILY has been renting and living at for consecutive multiple years has received multiple days of postal letters seemingly from New York State Department of Labor by one of the following two Sender Info:

Department of Labor

PO Box 15130

Albany NY 12212-5130

www.labor.ny.gov

or

NYS Department of Labor

Keybank Card OPS

PO Box 6419

Cleveland, OH 44101-1419

TO this physical address:

13609 59th Ave Apt 1

Flushing NY 11355-0000

But to ABSOLUTELY UNRECOGNIZED NAMES such as

Gregory Robinson;

Rose Suarez;

Donald Reksc;

John Albert;

Dana Augi;

Kristin Albers;

Andrew Carubia

Occasionally, some of these mails arrived WITHOUT ITS FLAP SEALED AT ALL, and for one time curiosity, I had a glimpse at the UNSEALED letter, and catched the phrases of "unemployment benefits" or "pandemic benefits" or its like.

THIS RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS and MY FAMILY both have met A LOT OF ADVERSITIES, to mention ONLY a few here for the sake of your time, I being a VICTIM OF ATTEMPTED-MURDERS at the formal workplace and then at the Workers' Compensation Board authorized medical clinics and then being tortured BY THE SYSTEM, my family facing current EVICTION threat from the landlord again, and mail-reception problems.

The Chinese-looking young male mailman has been notified by my written note on some envelopes about the questionable mails and some of them found stolen or missing from this building's mailboxes, and the mailman has taken back some of such mails. But, in the late afternoon, around 6:15 pm, of April 27, 2021, Tuesday, a young man, Hispano-like, medium build, late 20's or early 30's like, without a mask, facial mustache shaved, heavy and curly headtop hair, in white shorts, green T-shirt-like with printed big letters in front, and a long, black, unbottoned sweater over it. He came over to the building's front with a small box, put down the box on the ground as if delivering something, checked about the questionable mails briefly, left the building for a short moment, and came back again to check all the questionable mails and all the mailboxes, and even looked inside into the hallway. If the second floor had left the gate UNLOCKED OR UNCLOSED again, such a dude might have come inside for something or somebody! This SUSPECT MAN then took away the three mails (from NYS DOL to Rose Suarez, Dana Augi, John Albert, respectively) stuck on the gate, and of course, away together with his TOOL (a small box).

NONE of my family has ever applied for the unemployment or pandemic benefits, and this physical address absolutely has NO such persons named above living here. I sincerely hope 1) THE SYSTEM is NOT the one in the back doing such things against me or my family; and then 2) Such questionable mails are stopped by NYS DOL; and 3) The fraudsters such as the man seen taking away these three questionable mails on April 27, 2021, afternoon are contacted by THE SYSTEM. The police should have their resources and capability, so they do not need to contact me about this. I have been asking the LEGAL SYSTEM for several other things, but I have not got what they are supposed to function on.

Very truly yours,

Limin Wang

Addendum: The PressOffice of NYS DOL gave me such a reply by telling me that they would not even forward my email within their same department of labor, and I then answered it by pointing out the oddness. See the screenshot.
Dr. Drew Pinsky has shared some insights into the death of late WWE legend Joanie 'Chyna' Laurer ahead of an upcoming documentary about the wrestling superstar.

Drew, who briefly treated Joanie on the VH1 reality series Celebrity Rehab in 2008, says he tried to help the 45-year-old before her death from an accidental overdose in 2016.

'I loved Joanie, Joanie was a dear woman,' the famed physician told the Unpopular podcast this week.

'She was a dear woman': Dr. Drew Pinsky has shared some insights into the death of late WWE legend Joanie 'Chyna' Laurer ahead of an upcoming documentary about the wrestling icon

'In the documentary you'll see some of the stuff that was happening at the end, she spent months in a locked unit in Japan,' he said.

'She was literally in a locked psychiatric unit for three months... because she was found very psychotic.

'Then she came back here [to America] and somebody started wanting to do some sort of reality stuff with her. I was trying desperately to get her to a psychiatrist,' he continued.

'I believe she went to this psychiatrist I was telling her to go see, and then somebody gave her opiates and benzodiazepine, which is the deadly combination.'

He added: 'Then all of a sudden Joanie was gone.'

Support: Drew, who briefly treated Joanie on the VH1 reality series Celebrity Rehab in 2008, says he tried to help the 45-year-old before her death from an accidental overdose in 2016

Sharing further insights into the late wrestler, Drew said she was tough to work with because she often had her walls up and was resistant to treatment.

'Joanie was very difficult to work with... she was a very tender, dear person, but very rigid and very difficult to get to engage in any kind of meaningful whatever,' he said.

'I had a bunch of encounters with her out in the world where I'd just sort of run across her, and I would have these thoughts, like, "God, she is so different in this context." I wonder if she had a multiple personality disorder?'

Flashback: Joanie is pictured on the first season of Celebrity Rehab in 2008

Drew explained his suspicions were further fuelled after speaking to Joanie's mother, who agreed with his assessment.

'I had the opportunity to talk to her mother recently and she thought the same thing, because the changes from one thing to the next...' he said.

'She was all kinds of different things in all kinds of different contexts. Her mother was like, "Oh my god, that makes so much sense." She may have had a dissociative disorder of some type.'

'Joanie was very difficult to work with... she was a very tender, dear person, but very rigid and very difficult to get to engage in any kind of meaningful whatever,' Drew said of the late star

Chyna's career as pro-wrestling's first female superstar took off several years after she graduated college in 1992.

The 5-foot-10-inch beauty was famed for taking on both men and women in the ring and later went on to pose for the cover of Playboy.

But her career as a wrestler came crashing down in 2001 and she struggled to remain in the spotlight.

Days before her body was found in her apartment in April, 2016, Joanie appeared disjointed as she filmed herself walking around her apartment in a 13-minute video she posted online.

Iconic: The 5-foot-10-inch beauty was famed for taking on both men and women in the ring and later went on to pose for the cover of Playboy

She drank a breakfast smoothie and sang to the camera.

Police found her body several days later in her apartment. They were responding to a 911 call from a concerned friend who said she had failed to answer her phone in recent days.

A documentary about her groundbreaking career and tragic death is currently in the works.
SALT LAKE CITY, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ballet West and Skyscape Studios announced today the world premiere of a nine-episode documentary series featuring the iconic ballet company, In The Balance: Ballet for a Lost Year. The first episode debuts on Ballet West's social media channels May 7 and episodes will be released every week through the spring and early summer. Award-winning filmmakers Diana Whitten and Tyler Measom direct the series. Measom most recently co-directed the acclaimed documentary, Murder Among the Mormons on Netflix.

For one month, Skyscape Studios gained unfettered access to Ballet West's studios and theater as the Company mounted its first public performances in the Covid-19 era. "We followed the dancers, the choreographers, the crew, and the staff as they navigate colossal logistical and emotional challenges in anticipation of opening night, wondering if the curtain will rise," said Measom and Whitten. "Gently set against the backdrop of a volatile world, the series explores how art can be essential in a time of crisis, how passion can displace fear, and how collective grief can be alchemized into beauty."

[DOWNLOAD trailer and stills: https://we.tl/t-RRlb3FvoXk]

In The Balance also follows four dancers throughout the series for an intimate and soulful examination of the art form. Principal Artists Katlyn Addison, Beckanne Sisk, Chase O'Connell, and Corps Artist Vinicius Lima provide a textured study of ballet and ancillary issues of race, masculinity, and gender.



Executive producers are Skyscape Studio's Steven Labrum and Ballet West's Executive Director Michael Scolamiero, Artistic Director Adam Sklute, and Chief Development Officer Sarah West. The series is produced by Cristin Carlin, JJ Neward, and Joshua Jones. The series is made possible, in part, by the Utah Office of Tourism, Create in Utah, and BMW of Murray.

In a joint statement, Scolamiero and Sklute said, "Ballet West was thrilled to connect with Skyscape Studios. With their accomplished resume, discerning storytelling, and passion for our art form, they elegantly narrate a moment in our history that is both honest and compelling. This series is an authentic love story to ballet and the performing artists and crewmembers who suffered in the past year. At the same time, it is a behind-the-scenes gift to our patrons and anyone who enjoys the art form."



For more information, visit www.balletwest.org/balance

ABOUT SKYSCAPE STUDIOS

Skyscape Studios is a boutique film production company focusing on creative non-fiction storytelling for wide audiences. Our team has created a portfolio of non-fiction long-form productions featuring story-driven content and colorful characters that reflect and challenge the issues of our time. Our work has played at hundreds of festivals around the world and achieved wide distribution.

ABOUT BALLET WEST

BALLET WEST, one of America's leading and largest ballet companies, led by Artistic Director Adam Sklute, has earned an international reputation for artistic innovation and excellence since its founding in 1963. For more than 50 years, the Salt Lake City-based Company has entertained and excited audiences in Utah and worldwide by presenting great classical ballets, historical masterpieces, and new cutting-edge creations with only the highest artistic and professional standards. The Company continues to build future ballet artists and audiences by providing classical ballet training through the Frederick Q. Lawson Ballet West Academy and its four campuses and more than 1,000 students. Ballet West also operates one of the largest outreach and education programs in the country which reaches hundreds of thousands of children and adults throughout Utah every year.

SOURCE Ballet West

Related Links

www.balletwest.org


This occasion should be used to remind us that there are more guns in Australia now than at the time of Port Arthur. Lets be clear: the argument that exploring the life of the killer is journalistically relevant and important in order to provide clues as to motivation is simply not backed up by the evidence. In fact, the evidence that this style of coverage provides the direct link to motive is far more comprehensive and compelling. Put simply: the journalism and public interest argument strongly supports less of this type of coverage, not more. I have written about the difference between the coverage of Dunblane vs the coverage of Port Arthur, in Tasmanias main daily newspaper, The Mercury, before. Fear of contempt charges prevented The Mercury to write about the killer. Credit:The Mercury

If discussions about the value of applying evidence-based restrictions in mass shooting coverage seem purely conceptual, Port Arthur provides us a valuable and tangible case study. After The Mercury published a front-page photograph of the alleged killer, alongside the headline The is the man, the public backlash locally was immediate and vocal. The then Director of Public Prosecutions in Hobart contacted the paper, and warned them the case could soon be sub judice, therefore coverage of this nature could leave the paper facing a contempt of court charge. As a result, the paper dramatically changed the direction of its coverage, and it provides an insight into the type of reporting that can be applied when the traditional killer-focused narrative is disrupted. They told the stories of the dead. The stories of those who had lost, and those who continued to suffer. Those who tried to help. They told the story of an island wracked with grief, and determined to do something with their heartache and anger. They told the story of gun control, and how political decisions can help the healing and move a society forward. It was reporting that served its community.

And the killer wasnt part of it. He wasnt then, and he shouldnt be now. We know these killers seek to be seen as dangerous, as demonic, as glorious. Simply, they wish to be seen. We took that away from the Port Arthur killer, in a way that mattered, and continues to matter. He is pathetic, reviled, and ignored. And he should stay that way. This occasion should be used to mark those who were lost, and those who have never been allowed to forget that day.

It should be used to mark the courage of a Prime Minister who stared down his own constituency to make changes that had to be made. An act so far from the craven politicking of the modern ilk as to seem exaggerated or allegorical. It should be used to remind us that there are more guns in Australia now than at the time of Port Arthur. They are predominantly legally owned and monitored and in the hands of responsible people. But there are more of them. Which should serve as a salutary reminder that there is more to our success in disrupting this crime than gun control alone. Its an area weve been taking for granted for too long, and I worry our luck will run out. Members of the Margaret River community leaving flowers at the community resource centre. Credit:James Brickwood When another Australian committed a mass shooting in 2019, the coverage in this country bore no resemblance to 1996. It was treated as another foreign massacre  one filled with horror and spectacle and imagery and manifestos and tears and outrage and sirens and fear  rather than a story that profoundly impacted our community, because we exported a mass murderer to our neighbours.

We denied the Port Arthur killer the infamy he sought. We gave it to the Christchurch killer. We shouldnt. The evidence tells us there is more to our success in keeping mass shootings from these shores than gun numbers alone. We must not lose the lessons we have learned these last 25 years. Port Arthur was a day that changed this country, and still should. Any focus on killers is not backed up by public interest, evidence around motivation, or audience demands. There should be no movie, no retrospective, no rationale, nothing that involves him.

This day is not about the coward who killed. Loading Let him rot. There are so many incredible, tragic, heroic, unfathomable human stories in any mass shooting. We miss them when we focus on the killer. We miss stories that matter. Stories of us. Those stories never age.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of a deal between India and the United Kingdom on information sharing and preventing offences.

The agreement is also expected to facilitate trade and ensure clearance of goods traded between the countries, an official statement said.

The deal will be signed on behalf of the governments of the two countries after it is approved by the respective governments. This Agreement shall enter into force from the first day of the month following signature by duly authorised representatives of both parties, it said.

The agreement will provide a legal framework for sharing of information and intelligence between the authorities of India and the UK and help in the proper application of laws, prevention and investigation of Customs offences and the facilitation of legitimate trade.

The draft text of the proposed agreement has been finalised with the concurrence of the two Customs administrations.

The Agreement takes care of Indian Customs concerns and requirements, particularly in the area of exchange of information on the correctness of the Customs value, tariff classification and origin of the goods traded between the two countries, the statement said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 13:39:57|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- China's development achievements under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are worthy of long-term study, said Adham Sayed, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lebanon.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Sayed called China's development "a kind of miracle."

Having been living in China's central city of Wuhan since 2015, he said he has witnessed the daily development of the city firsthand and described it as a microcosm of the development of China everywhere.

He also expressed his admiration for China's achievements in scientific research and infrastructure, particularly in high-speed trains.

The elimination of extreme poverty in such a populous country is also unprecedented in the world, he added.

Sayed is also impressed by China's coping of the COVID-19 pandemic under the CPC.

When the pandemic broke out last year, Sayed was studying for his Ph.D. at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan and decided to stay on.

The almost three months living in lockdown was very tough, but the Chinese government offered great support not only to local residents in Wuhan, but also those from other countries, he recalled.

During that period, Sayed introduced through social media the effective measures taken by China under the CPC to combat the pandemic.

He later published a book, titled "Confidence Comes from Effectiveness: A Foreigner's Wuhan Diary," in China and its Arabic version back in Lebanon.

"The secret behind China's ability to control the pandemic lies in putting people's health first," he added, highlighting the CPC's dedication to the well-being of the Chinese people during the pandemic's darkest hours and beyond.

The CPC's achievements in China offers inspirations for political parties elsewhere.

"If a party wants to survive, it must put the interests of the people first, which is what the CPC has done throughout its march," Sayed said.

"The CPC has been able to mobilize the power that lies within the Chinese people," Sayed said, "and able to invest in this power for the benefit of China and the Chinese people." Enditem
New Delhi: Axis bank customers may need to brace themselves, as the private lender has revised its various charges that will come into effect from May 1, 2021. From average balance requirement to SMS charges to increased cash withdrawal, heres everything that Axis Bank has revised for its customers.

Average balance requirement increased

Axis Bank customers will now have to maintain a monthly average balance of Rs 15000, up from Rs 10,000. Meanwhile, Prime and Liberty branded savings account holders will now have to maintain a monthly balance of Rs 25,000, up from Rs 15,000 earlier.

If you fail to maintain the limits set by the bank then get ready to pay Rs 10 per Rs 100 of the shortfall. However, Axis Bank has decreased the minimum charges that it can charge as a fine to Rs 50, while it has increased the maximum penalty to Rs 800 from Rs 600.

Withdrawal charges increased

Axis Bank currently charges Rs 5 per Rs 1,000 per withdrawal after the free four transitions or cash withdrawals of up to Rs 2 lakh in a month. Customer will now have to pay Rs 10 for cash withdrawals after exhausting their free limit from May 1 onwards.

HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank havent revised their charges yet and their fees still stand at Rs 5 per withdrawal after a customer exhausts the monthly free limit.

Change in SMS charges

Axis Bank customers will now have to pay more as SMS charges. The bank will charge 25 paise per SMS alert, up to a maximum of Rs 25 per month, instead of the current Rs 5 every month. The rule will be effective from July 1. However, the bank wont charge for one-time passwords and transactional OTPs.

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E-invoicing benefits both buyers and sellers: its faster and more affordable to process, facilitates automation, and reduces potential errors. These efficiencies can make a huge difference and be a boon for small and medium-sized businesses.

E-invoicing is gaining prominence worldwide, especially in Australia and New Zealand. Now, businesses are implementing it because of the benefits and the financial incentives it offers. Entrepreneurs also prefer to improve their reporting and analytics by using e-invoicing, according to software company MessageXchange.

John Delaney, Managing Director, MessageXchange, says: Many organisations have been promoting discounts or faster payments for e-invoices. A prime example is the Australian federal government announcing five-day payments to suppliers who send e-invoices for contracts less than $1 million.

For businesses with poor cash flow, particularly small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), this can make a huge difference, Delaney explains.

Even if SMEs arent able to secure guaranteed discounts or shorter payment terms, the average e-invoice is still processed in five days compared to 23 days for a regular invoice, MessageXchange says.

SMEs turn to e-invoicing because it makes it easier to get financial data for more accurate decision making. According to MessageXchange, e-invoicing significantly improves the accuracy of data because of automation and reduced manual inputting.

It can also help "SMEs generate reports and analytics instantly. E-invoicing captures data and value such as the number of invoices sent and received, and the number of invoices rejected and accepted. This can all be monitored in one platform and accessed from anywhere."

MessageXchange says e-invoicing is efficient for buyers and sellers. These include:

Cost savings. Studies found it costs $30.87 to process a paper invoice, $27.67 a PDF invoice, and only $9.18 to process an e-invoice.

Easier invoice processing. E-invoicing removes the need for unnecessary data entry as the invoice appears in the software.

Fewer errors. Errors are reduced because manual data entry is removed.

Exchange of invoices directly to and from software. This reduces the risk of invoices going astray, the time to receive them, and data entry errors.

Security. Security measures, such as encryption at rest and in transit, are implemented throughout the e-invoicing network so data remains secure along the way.

Delaney concludes: Preparation is key when implementing e-invoicing. Its key to consider how it works, whether new hardware or software will be purchased, whether additional resources will be needed, and whether the e-invoicing service provider or Access Point adheres to the businesss security policies. Addressing these questions up-front will ensure that SMEs can leverage the benefits of e-invoicing sooner.
Alan Bailey constantly rubs a small tattoo on his hand of a bee and the words 'My Guru' as he talks about his beloved daughter Teri, who took her own life last December.

Most of his sentences finish in tears, trying to make sense of how 'my beautiful girl went into the Navy full of life and came out a wreck'.

Teri Bailey after her initial training at Melbourne's HMAS Cerberus, one of Australia's main training establishments for Royal Australian Navy personnel

Teri wanted to enter into service with the Navy after a recruitment drive at her high school

Alan (father) and Alexandra (sister) Bailey show the bee tattoos they got in Teri's honour after her death in December 2020

'Bees were Teri's favourite... and we called her 'the Guru', so she was my guru,' he said, explaining the tattoo with a cracking voice.

Teri Bailey died on her 25th birthday. She had gone missing on December 7, 2020, sparking a police and community search. Her body was found on the Gold Coast a day later.

Discovering what caused her tragic descent in the five years after she'd left the Royal Australian Navy has become a personal mission for Alan, his daughter Alexandra and son Jack.

The recent announcement of a Royal Commission into veteran suicides was welcomed by many families of veterans who have taken their own lives, but the Baileys are not among them.

'I don't think it's going to help get what I want, which is justice for my Teri,' Alan said.

'I don't think it will help in any way whatsoever.'

The Baileys allege Teri was sexually assaulted by a fellow female patient in the mental health ward of a Sydney hospital while she was recovering from knee surgery to repair injuries sustained while on board a Navy ship.

Her family claims that Teri's subsequent complaint about the assault was ridiculed and ignored.

Teri had dislocated her knee three times while on board, the first time going down a bunk ladder. The chronic injury resulted in some naval colleagues taunting her that she was a 'sea dodger' attempting to get out of training exercises.

Her father said that Teri's reporting of one such bullying episode resulted in a petty officer telling her: 'Get out of my office or I'll break your other leg and throw you overboard.'

'She was on that boat month after month being called a sea dodger because her leg was busted,' he said.

'Called a dobber, a grass, a traitor, spat on I couldn't handle that for a week before I'd go berserk.'

Alan Bailey said Teri's time in the navy began to go wrong once she was based at HMAS Cairns

'People assume Teri was weak, because this has happened,' her sister, Alex, said.

'But she went in there so determined and strong-minded. She was aware of what she was signing up for, she trained hard, she got everything done, she was strong. But she didn't sign up to be abused by her peers.'

After a period of convalescence at home, Teri was eventually sent back to naval duties but fear and anxiety about the earlier abuse meant she ended up in a military mental health facility. She left the facility of her own accord and was discharged in October 2015 due to 'extended absence', or AWOL, in other words.

In recent months, the Bailey family have become regular attendees at ADF recruitment events in south-east Queensland, attempting to warn young women about the danger to their mental health once they've eventually left the forces.

'The Navy did a recruitment drive at our high school and after that, Teri was really keen,' said Alex, explaining why her sister joined the Navy.

'She dedicated all of Year 12 to getting fit because as soon as she turned 18 she wanted to join.'

'But her dream became a nightmare,' Alan said.

Teri's family don't believe the Royal Commission announced into veteran suicides will bring them justice for their daughter and sister

Alan and Alex claim would-be recruits are 'coerced and lied to', in particular about the rates of depression, suicide and other mental health problems among those who leave the ADF.

'I call them "grooming drives", said Alan.

'They called the police on us the last time we went.

'We want the recruitment drive temporarily stopped. They want the ADF to be 25 per cent female but these girls will be abused and are being abused as we speak. That's what breaks our hearts.

'Girls will get groped or raped and they just laugh it off, and if she reports it she is bullied within an inch of her life.

'They don't realise that once that person gets out of the ADF, the 'black dog' is with them all the time. The abuse they go through in there breaks that person's spirit and the end up going through what our daughter went through.'

The campaign by the Baileys had prompted hundreds of other former ADF personnel both male and female to contact them with stories, Alan said.

'It's not just schoolyard bullying,' he said.

'I had a letter from a guy who had all his pubic hair pulled out and was beaten with bed slats in a bullying incident. He ran to get away, fell down some stairs and now has a permanent disability.'

Teri battled post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the five years after she left the Navy

Teri went missing on December 7, 2020 and was found dead a day later on the Gold Coast

RSL Advocate Scott Harris is compiling a compensation claim on the Baileys' behalf to be filed to the Department of Veteran's Affairs (DVA). He said Teri's case is one of the more severe examples of bullying leading to suicide he had seen.

Mr Harris keeps a register of civilian deaths by suicide which stretches back to 1887. He confirmed to Daily Mail that using his criteria, there had already been 24 suicides by current or former ADF personnel this year and 68 last year (including Teri Bailey).

That was the highest figure since 86 ADF-related suicides in 2017.

'This is about looking after Teris legacy in name so that her death is attributed to a systemic defence-related injury due to bullying, harassment and various other things,' Mr Harris said.

'I personally believe the family needs to be compensated and things need to be changed. It's one of the things the Royal Commission needs to look into  the bastardisation, bullying and sexual impropriety that goes on.'

The details of the Royal Commission have yet to be announced but Alan Bailey already believes it will lack independence because the DVA is handling complaints by veterans for possible hearing at the Commission.

'We're just civilians,' Alan said.

'I think they're going to try and mediate with us, buy us off and give us a gag order.

'It ain't going to work. We don't want that. You can stick that so far up your bum. I want the abusers arrested.

'It does my brain in that no-one is going to be arrested for what they did to my daughter, or to other people's sons and daughters.'

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After more than a year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario government has announced a temporary paid sick leave program that would allow workers to receive three paid sick days.

Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, will introduce legislation that would require employers to pay up to $200 a day for up to three days for employees who have to miss work due to COVID-19, including testing, isolating or receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. This will be retroactive to April 19, effective until Sept. 25, and will be administered by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).

Back in 2018, the Ford government eliminated the province's guaranteed two paid sick days.

People in Ontario, including medical professionals, took to social media to comment on Wednesday's announcement. Many believe more paid sick days are required for essential workers.

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Others expressed their disappointment that it took the provincial government this long to actually bring forward a paid sick leave program, particularly when the isolation period for any possible COVID-19 exposure or risk is either 10 or 14 days.

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When McNaughton was asked about why the program only includes three paid sick days, he said there shouldn't be a significant burden on small businesses.

"Weve seen, especially in the last couple of weeks, pieces of legislation coming forward at Queen's Park for 10 days of paid sick days, 14 days of paid sick days, but those pieces of legislation squarely put the burden on the backs of small businesses," he said.

"We have to give small businesses a fighting chance to survive COVID-19, to grow and prosper when we come through this, and more importantly we need workers to have jobs to go back to when we get through this wave."

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Following the announcement, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath told reporters that three days "will not cut it" and workers still will not have the financial security to stay home.

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"They will be left making pretty much the same kind of calculation that theyre being forced to make now," Horwath said.

The Ontario government has also offered to fund a doubling of the federal Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB), increasing payment from $500 to $1,000 per week, for up to four weeks.

In Wednesday's press conference, McNaughton continued to say that Ontario is "leading" Canada when it comes to the introduction of a paid sick leave program.

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Quebec and Prince Edward Island are currently the only other provinces that have mandated paid sick days. P.E.I. provides one paid sick day if employees have worked with the same company for five years and Quebec provides two paid sick days after three continuous months of work.
BEIJING -- Foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Tuesday agreed to deepen cooperation as South Asian countries are facing a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted a video conference with his five counterparts, discussing efforts to consolidate anti-coronavirus cooperation including vaccine supply, to boost post-epidemic economic recovery, and to maintain sound international environment for the development of all countries.

China expresses deep sympathy for the raging pandemic in India and extends its sincere condolences to the Indian people, Wang said.

"China is ready to provide support and assistance to the Indian people at any time according to the needs of India," Wang said.

He expressed the hope that Tuesday's meeting, to which India was also invited, will act as the assistance to India's fight against the pandemic.

"China will uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity, stand firmly with the people of South Asian countries, and join hands and unite until all countries in the region eventually prevail over the pandemic," Wang said.

Calling on the six countries to consolidate consensus on cooperating in the fight against COVID-19, Wang said the countries should continue to oppose attempts of labeling the virus and politicizing the epidemic, in order to prevent interference in international anti-epidemic cooperation.

China is willing to promote vaccine cooperation with other countries through flexible methods such as free aid, commercial procurement, and filling and production of vaccines, under the framework of the six-nation cooperation mechanism, so that people in South Asia can obtain more diversified and stable vaccine supplies, according to Wang.

He said China is also willing to establish a China-South Asia emergency supplies reserve following friendly consultations with all parties.

On boosting the post-epidemic recovery, Wang said China proposes to establish a China-South Asia poverty reduction and development cooperation center to exchange experiences in poverty reduction with other countries.

In the third quarter of this year, a forum on rural e-commerce and poverty reduction in South Asian countries and China will be held to build a new platform for poverty reduction, he said.

Calling on all parties to maintain an international and regional environment that is conducive to the development of all countries, Wang said China will work with countries in the region to defend the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international laws, and to resist illegal acts of interfering in other countries' internal affairs and coercing other countries to choose sides.

Wang's proposals were supported by the other foreign ministers, who said that vaccines should be distributed under the principle of fairness and equality, instead of being monopolized by a few countries.

They spoke highly of China's efforts in achieving availability and affordability of vaccines in developing countries.

The foreign ministers said their countries are willing to work with China to continue to deepen the joint construction of the Belt and Road, maintain the stability and security of the industrial and supply chains, strengthen cooperation in non-traditional security areas such as poverty reduction and food, and discuss measures to facilitate personnel exchange and commodity circulation based on the regular epidemic prevention and control.

The six foreign ministers issued a joint statement on cooperation in fighting the epidemic after the meeting.
The Guardian, April 14, 2021

By Akhtar Mohammad Makoii in Herat and Michael Safi

Outside a college from which their mothers were banned, the women waited for friends finishing exams they fear will be some of the last they can take. The Americans are leaving, said Basireh Heydari, a Herat University student. We have terrible days ahead with the Taliban. Im worried they wont let me leave the house, let alone what Im doing now.

The Biden administrations decision to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by 11 September will bring an end to the USs longest war. With Nato allies such as Germany already announcing on Wednesday that they will follow Washingtons lead and exit the country, Afghans fear an intensification of fighting between the national government and the Taliban, who were ousted by the US-led intervention two decades ago.Violence against civilians, especially women and children, has surged over the past year, according to UN statistics released on Wednesday, and Taliban control of the country is greater than at any point in the past two decades. The benefits of an ongoing foreign military presence in the country are unclear.

But a return to hardline Islamist rule could mean the rollback of one of the interventions least disputed achievements  the lifting of a Taliban prohibition of female education.

On Wednesday, Heydari and her friends were trying to absorb the news as they sat in a rickshaw by the university gates. I have only one wish, and thats to finish my studies and of course work, but with the Taliban coming, I dont think Ill reach it, she said.

There is no guarantee the Islamist group will take power, and they have signalled  perhaps opportunistically  that their future rule would be more flexible on the question of female schooling. If not a total change of heart on the part of the fundamentalists, Heydari hoped at least for a compromise. If they have problems with co-education, Im ready to study in girl-only classes, she said.

Beside her, Salma Ehrari, an economics student, was more sceptical. I want the world to know that the Taliban are fooling them, they are not changed, she said. They are using technology and are on Twitter, but they have the same thoughts as they had 20 years ago. Ill lose my education and of course Americans are responsible for that, not the Taliban  this is just the Talibans nature.

Some in the province, where the Taliban controls some districts, said deteriorating security was already leading to a curtailment of their liberties. My outlet restricted my colleagues movements because of security concerns, and my father recently asked me to stop working for a while, said Atifa Alizadeh, a reporter and part of a generation of Afghan women who have gone to school and found work since the downfall of the Taliban in 2001.

At least eight journalists have been killed in the country over the past six months, as part of a wave of attacks against media workers, activists and other civil society figures.

Basireh Safa Theri, a social activist, started a girls school in the aftermath of the US-led invasion, and said she was closely monitoring halting negotiations between the national government and the Taliban about what will come after international forces depart.

They are negotiating each day but unfortunately no word on girls education, they only talk about power, she said.

In the meantime, the girls at her school have started to study harder. They feel that they are in the very last days of their schooling, she said. Many students and families are coming and telling me they will only be able to go to school for a few more weeks or months, and want to learn as much as they can.

Students are coming to my office and asking, Are the Taliban coming? Will we be able to keep coming to school or not? We want to use the very last seconds.
On Tuesday, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced that 15 counties, including much of the Portland metro area minus Washington County, will move to the states extreme risk category for COVID-19 restrictions on Friday, meaning a new ban on indoor dining and strict capacity limits on gyms, movie theaters and other businesses.

But what precisely does the shutdown mean for restaurants in the affected counties? Has anything changed since the last shutdown? And just how long will these latest restrictions last? You can read the full list of restrictions for yourself here, or read on for answers to some of those questions and more.

Why is this happening?

Earlier this month, the governor actually made it easier for counties with rising COVID-19 cases to remain in the high risk category, tying the jump to extreme risk to state-wide hospitalizations of 300 or more patients. On Tuesday, those hospitalizations grew to 328. As of Tuesday, Oregon cases are accelerating faster than in any other state, accelerating faster than any other state, a spike fuled by human behavior, officials said, as well as the more contagious B.1.1.7 variant, which is now the dominant strain in Oregon.

According to Brown, the elevated restrictions are necessary to keep health care providers from being stretched to their limits while dealing with the pandemics latest spike.

Which counties are affected?

Baker, Clackamas, Columbia, Crook, Deschutes, Grant, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk and Wasco.

Wait, didnt we just have a dining shutdown?

For the 15 affected counties, Friday will mark the third indoor dining ban since COVID-19 cases first began to rise last year. For counties in the Portland metro area, both the initial shutdown and last winters dining pause lasted about three months. Dining rooms in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties were most recently allowed to reopen on Feb. 12.

So how long will this one last?

Well, we dont have a crystal ball, but modeling by Oregon Health & Science University does indicate that cases could peak around May 4, with hospitalizations starting to fall two weeks later. According to a press release from Browns office, counties will be in extreme risk for a maximum of three weeks, though any loosening of restrictions will be dependent on falling cases, hospitalizations and positivity rates.

How does this shutdown compare to the last two?

The restrictions announced Tuesday remain largely the same as previous indoor dining bans, though Brown has raised a 50-person outdoor limit to 100 people, with physical distancing, in recognition that the virus is much less likely to spread outdoors.

How are restaurants responding to the latest shutdown?

Its mixed. In attempts to protect customers and staff, many Portland restaurants never reopened their dining rooms at all, preferring to stick to takeout and outdoor service, and will be largely unaffected by the new restrictions. Others remain in hibernation, with owners choosing to stay closed until theres more consistent weather, lower COVID-19 case counts, a widely distributed vaccine or some combination of the three.

But business groups were quick to criticize the new restrictions, with the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association writing that Brown was punishing local restaurants and bars, while arguing that Oregonians would continue to gather together at home, where there are fewer safety precautions in place.

What can businesses do with their extra food?

Community kitchens and other nonprofits including Blanchet House have offered to accept donations from restaurants and bars forced to close due to the latest restrictions.

Is there any help on the way?

Some. Brown says she plans to work with legislators on a $20 million emergency relief package to help affected businesses with commercial rent.

And on Tuesday, the Small Business Administration announced that the $28.6 billion restaurant relief grant program will begin accepting applications at 9 a.m. May 3, with registration for the portal opening at 6 a.m. Friday, April 30. The first 21 days of the program will prioritize businesses run by women, veterans, or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, though New York Sen. Chuck Schumer has said those funds will be replenished in the likelihood they run out. Anyone seeking detailed guidance on the program and its application process can find it here.

How will this impact restaurants?

Its too early to tell, though dozens of restaurants have closed since the start of the pandemic in Portland alone. Mothers Bistro in downtown Portland, which had hoped to reopen on Thursday, April 29, 10 days before Mothers Day, announced on Facebook it would put those plans on hold until indoor dining could return to 50% capacity.

What can you do to help restaurants right now?

A few ideas, courtesy of the last time we went through this: Order takeout and pick it up yourself. Buy merch and gift cards. Be patient and tip well. And consider making a list of restaurants that would leave you feeling the saddest should they close.

-- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell

Aimee Green of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report
Staff and management at the Sacred Heart School are delighted to have been asked by Microsoft Europe to exhibit their teaching and learning standards at the Microsoft Showcase Schools Programme on May 2nd.

The Microsoft Schools Showcase Schools Programme involves schools that are considered part of an exclusive community from around the world, schools that have been particularly innovative (and successful) in teaching, learning and assessment. The showcase schools programme brings together like-minded educational leaders who are committed to driving excellence in education and who seek the highest student outcomes possible.

Principal, Pauline Mc Kenna stated that the school is particularly thrilled to be invited to showcase their school and staff and student practice at this event.

"Staff and students have worked so hard over the last six years to merge their excellent practice with the digital technology available and that has delivered immensely in terms of the student experience in the classroom and their success in assessments. It is not lost on us that the Sacred Heart School has moved upwards considerable in the Top 400 Schools in Ireland and in 2020 ranked at the 70th best school in Ireland."

It is also important to remember that it is not just about third level either but really about the students experience of learning. Sacred Heart students have had a very engaged Lockdown in terms of classes continuing as normal and providing a routine for students during a very challenging time. It also means that all students are engaged, all are monitored and students are supported to achieve their absolute best  this is really what is best about the SHS

For Assistant Principal, Sean Mc Fadden, this invitation to appear and deliver at the European Summit has moved the Sacred Heart School to a different place educationally. For us, the personalised learning experience of the student is essential to their development as learners. In our school, we want to create students who appreciate the process of learning and who recognise that this is a skill for life, not just for the Leaving Certificate.

He also added For us as a staff, we too have moved to a different place. We have been able to continue to run our school as we would if we were onsite. During Lockdown we continued our timetables as normal, we provided extra devices to our 6th years to ensure that they had access and staff meetings were held once a week on Fridays to review our weekly practice.

It also means that we could continue with our Parent Teacher meetings and feedback from parents has suggested that this is a really important feature of communication. Sean said As a parent myself, I understand that connections with schools and knowing how well your child is getting on, is really important to parents now, because life is just so busy for people and we all need to know how our children are progressing.

Sean works with another staff member Ms Niamh Mc Enhill to set up Parent Teacher meetings and both feel that this has revolutionised how schools and parents communicate. They set up 5 minute appointments on Teams and parents book the teachers at the time that suits them best. This means that parents can access their daughters Parent Teacher meeting from anywhere, and again, this recognises how busy parents lives are now.

The school team were asked to make a video, an overview from the Principal, and a video capturing teaching and learning excellence in the classroom. This involved teacher and student clips and interviews from students.

Deputy Principal, Ms Orla Healy, noted that while the school was delighted to be recognised for excellence at a European level, she was also aware that this is not the final point of the school.

We recognise that we are a very advanced school for our students but we also know that there is a lot of space for future development. For us, virtual reality will play a key role in the learning experience of our students. We would also hope to continue to advance in Robotics both nationally and internationally. We also recognise that Coding is a very popular subject in 1st year and the introduction of Computer Science is something we would hope to introduce for Leaving Certificate pupils. Already we have seen the popularity of PE as a Leaving Certificate subject and again we couldnt have adapted so quickly to this syllabus if we had not had our digital experience."

Principal, Pauline Mc Kenna concludes, the world of education had changed immensely over the last 5 years anyways, but the changes that have occurred over the last year have mean that its not just practices that are changing but also the very way we think about students and learning. The right to quality teaching and learning is fundamental to how we prioritise opportunities for our children. In prioritising those high standards, we are really prioritising their futures and telling them that they are worthy of the best possible experiences.

Assistant Principal, Sean Mc Fadden, reminded all that the video for display is available on the SHS website at www.shstullamore.ie
While your complex personality disorder may go some way to explaining your behaviour, it is nonetheless behaviour correctly identified as conduct that outrages public decency and in my view represents a serious example. He added the conduct was heartless, cruel and disgraceful. Family members gather outside court ahead of the sentencing. Credit:Wayne Taylor Pusey watched the sentencing, expressionless, via a video link from prison. Mr Schulze said if victim impact statements had been accepted by the court from the public, there would probably be hundreds of thousands to read from outraged members of the community.

He became emotional as he described how difficult it was every time he heard a reference made to how his wife had been filmed as she lay dying. Loading Every time that commentary is made, it tears at my heart and soul. The pain is almost unbearable. I find it to be outraging public decency that a more appropriate sentence is not imposed by this court. It has now set such a bar that this type of offending is almost impossible to reach that level. Constable Josh Prestneys father, Andrew, with his wife Belinda by his side, said they were relieved another legal process was finished. He said they had a lot to process following the sentencing. No matter what has happened in these buildings around us, that is not a reflection on who we are as Victorians. The overwhelming majority of Victorians are decent people, have the utmost respect for police, for the law, and this was evident last week in the one-year anniversary, he said.

Asked whether they accepted the apology from Pusey, communicated to the court by his lawyers, Mr Schulze scoffed. Andrew Prestney said: We acknowledge it, but I dont think thats going to change that person. I think theres obviously going to be some issues, ongoing. Constable Josh Prestneys parents Belinda and Andrew, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylors husband Stuart Schulze, and Senior Constable Kevin Kings partner Sharron Mackenzie outside court after the hearing. Credit:Wayne Taylor The families hugged one another and the police officers in attendance. Police union secretary Wayne Gatt said he stood by comments he made last year that four upstanding heroes died and one coward lived on the day of the crash.

In sentencing, the judge, his honour, made some remarks from Mr Pusey himself where he reflected on his own self-worth. Its perhaps the only thing Ill ever agree with Mr Pusey on, and that is I share his view about his self-worth, he is a worthless individual that lacks any human traits that would be and should be and is a feature of the Victorian community at large, he said. Judgment for people like this, it doesnt happen at court. But it will happen. And each and every one of us will face a mortality one day. When his day comes, I hope that he faces the same coldness and the same callousness with which he provided my members when they faced this. Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King and constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney were hit and killed when a truck driven by Mohinder Singh, addled by drug use and fatigue, veered into the emergency lane at 5.36pm. The officers had pulled Pusey over minutes earlier for speeding at 149km/h and were discussing impounding his Porsche. Pusey, who had traces of MDMA and cannabis in his system, was urinating on the side of the road when Singhs truck hit the officers and stationary cars.

Pusey is seen on Leading Senior Constable Taylors body camera saying: There you go. In the two videos Pusey recorded, which ran to three minutes and eight seconds, he zoomed in on the officers injuries and damaged cars. While filming a police car he says: That is f---ing justice. Absolutely amazing, that is f---ing amazing. Then, when filming the truck, he says: Look at that, man, you f---ing c---s. You c---s, I guess Ill be getting a f---ing Uber home, huh. While filming an electronic device he says: Look at that, oh look there, theres your little computer.

Filming another police car he says: Look at that, thats f---ing beautiful. Loading Pusey later pleaded guilty to the charge of outraging public decency as well as speeding, possessing a drug of dependence and reckless conduct endangering serious injury, related to him speeding on the freeway a month before the crash. Judge Wraight on Wednesday ruled Puseys guilty plea carried significant weight because it avoided a trial on the unusual charge, which would have meant the case was before the courts well into 2022. The judge also acknowledged Puseys remorse, family support and the enormous amount of antipathy directed at him by the public. He imposed a three-month jail term on the outraging public decency charge and eight months on the reckless conduct charge. He put Pusey on a two-year good behaviour bond for drug possession and fined him $1000 for speeding.
(HealthDay)When gender-diverse or transgender people have surgeries to affirm their gender, they experience a variety of positive mental health outcomes, new research shows.

The study found an association between the surgeries, which participants had at least two years prior to a survey, and significantly lower rates of past-month psychological distress, past-year suicidal ideation and past-year smoking, compared to transgender and gender diverse people who had not had gender-affirming surgery but wanted it.

The findings come at a particularly critical time, as some states move to ban certain gender-affirming treatments and surgeries for transgender minors.

"Going into this study, we certainly did believe that the gender-affirming surgeries would be protective against adverse mental health outcomes," said lead author Anthony Almazan, an MD/MPH candidate at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

"I think we were pleasantly surprised by the strength of the magnitudes of these associations, which really are very impressive and, in our opinion, speaks to the importance of gender-affirming surgery as medically necessary treatment for transgender and gender diverse people who are seeking out this kind of affirmation," he said.

The study, published April 28 in the journal JAMA Surgery, provides scientific evidence to add to existing clinical information where existing data was limited, and that can have real implications on policy-based access challenges, Almazan said.

"We've seen, for example, that it's still quite common for health insurers to routinely deny coverage for certain types of gender-affirming surgery, and that's partly due to limited evidence for their health benefits," Almazan said. "We conducted this study to fill these really crucial evidence gaps in hopes that it will help us both improve clinical care and work toward policies that ensure more expansive, equitable and affirming care for transgender and gender diverse populations."

The study was a secondary analysis of data from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Of the nearly 20,000 participants who endorsed undergoing one or more types of gender-affirming surgery, 12.8% had undergone surgery at least two years prior and 59.2% wanted to undergo surgery but had not.

About 38.8% of participants identified as transgender women, 32.5% as transgender men and 26.6% as nonbinary. The study found that gender-affirming surgery was associated with a 42% reduction in psychological distress, a 44% reduction in suicidal ideation and a 35% reduction in tobacco smoking, Almazan said.

Reduction in stress, improvement in confidence

"If we align people's bodies and gender expression with their gender identity, that is a way in which they can most authentically live their true lives and be their true selves, and also navigate society in a way where they are presenting as the gender they identify with. We think that that reduces distress significantly," said senior study author Dr. Alex Keuroghlian, director of the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center at The Fenway Institute and director of the Psychiatry Gender Identity Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Gender-affirming surgery can improve confidence, romantic relationships and other interpersonal relationships, such as in the workplace, said Keuroghlian.

Other studies have shown there has been a fivefold increase in gender-affirming surgeries in recent years, Almazan said. Access to care is one of the reasons, including the rapid expansion of dedicated gender-affirming care practices in the United States. Still, many areas do not have programs to provide this care.

Meanwhile, some states are working to criminalize certain transgender care. Arkansas, for example, has become the first state to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors, NBC News reported earlier this month.

"We're very concerned about these laws that would prohibit or criminalize access to gender-affirming medical care for minors. These aren't based on any clinical expertise or research evidence," said Keuroghlian, who hopes that studies like this one will help shift the tide toward expanding, rather than restricting, access to gender-affirming services.

AMA: 'Dangerous governmental intrusion'

In a statement released on Monday, the American Medical Association urged state governors to oppose legislation that prohibits providing medically necessary gender transition-related care to minor patients.

"We believe this legislation represents a dangerous governmental intrusion into the practice of medicine and will be detrimental to the health of transgender children across the country," read the letter signed by Dr. James Madara, CEO and executive vice president of the AMA.

Every major medical association in the United States recognizes the medical necessity of transition-related care for improving the physical and mental health of transgender people, the letter said. Forgoing gender-affirming care can have tragic consequence, the statement added.

"Empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and nonbinary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression," the AMA said.

Sadly, transgender individuals are three times more likely than the general population to have a mental health disorder, and this is widely thought to be a consequence of the stress of being a minority, chronic stress from coping with societal stigma and discrimination because of their gender identity and expression, the association said.

Dr. Devin Coon, who cowrote a commentary accompanying the study, has seen firsthand positive outcomes for his patients.

"There isn't really any doubt from the people who do this that gender-affirming surgery quote-unquote works in the sense of making people happier and improving quality of life," said Coon, who is the chief medical director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health in Baltimore.

Though some people don't support that conclusion, Coon said, it's time to start looking at next-level questions. He said there needs to be more consistent study measurements, as well as more funding and collaboration to research more of these questions.

"Once you know something works in medicine, you start to have to answer what parts of it, what specific things does it help? What subgroups are helped more or less? What things can we do to make it work even better?" Coon said. "That's kind of where things have moved on to, and to do that we need better tools and studies for measuring this."

Copyright  2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
A person stands in the window in a room at a government-authorized COVID-19 quarantine hotel in Richmond, B.C. on Sunday, February 28, 2021. More than 2,000 people returning to Canada since mandatory hotel quarantines began have tested positive for COVID-19 and more than a quarter of them were infected with one of the variants of concern. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A growing number of state universities are following their private counterparts in requiring all students returning to classes and campuses this fall to be vaccinated against coronavirus.

In a bid to return to normality after months of online learning, at least 80 universities have said that all students must get a jab before they return to class.

Among those making the requirements are Ivy League schools Brown, Cornell and Stanford, California's two state university systems, as well as several universities in New York, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Jersey.

Thursday's joint announcement from the 10-campus University of California and the 23-campus California State University represented the largest of its kind in American higher education.

Several state university systems will require all students returning to classes and campuses this fall to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Pictured: A man is given a vaccine at the Miami Dade College North Campus on March 10, 2021

Thursday's joint announcement from the 10-campus University of California and the 23-campus California State University represented the largest of its kind in American higher education. Pictured: Students walk past a hall at (UCLA) which will require the vaccine

In New York, Barnard College, Columbia University, Fordham University, Syracuse University and the University of Rochester have all announced the measure, while in Massachusetts, nine schools in its State University will require vaccines.

These include Bridgewater, Fitchburg, Framingham, Salem, Westfield and Worcester State Universities, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Massachusetts Maritime Academy and Massachusetts Amherst.

In Maryland, the public University of Maryland will require students returning to all 11 of its campuses this fall to be vaccinated, officials announced on Friday.

Rutgers University, which has five campuses across the state of New Jersey, announced as early as March that it would require students to be vaccinated.

Including private universities, at least 80 have announced their intention to make vaccines mandatory to their students in order for them to return to campus, according to a count by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

But others have said out-right that they will not require their students to be vaccinated. Republican governors in Utah, Texas, Florida and Montana have signed orders banning institutions from requiring vaccines.

Speaking to ABC News, Dorit Reiss, a law professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law and a vaccine mandate expert, said there was a disturbing mixture of politics when it comes to the pandemic.

'Some red states where universities want to mandate vaccines - and are debating the issue now - they are going to be very aware that they're acting at risk of retribution,' Reiss said about schools that find themselves restricted by state lawmakers in enforcing vaccine mandates.

Some private universities - including Brown, Cornell and Stanford - have announced similar requirements, and will be joined by California's two state university systems, as well as several universities in New York, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Jersey. Pictured: New York's Columbia University is one the schools to require proof of vaccination from students this fall

The CSU system is the nation's biggest four-year college system, with about 485,000 students and tens of thousands of staff, while the UC system has more than 280,000 students. Pictured: The Walter Pyramid at California State University Long Beach

The CSU system is the nation's biggest four-year college system, with about 485,000 students and tens of thousands of staff, while the UC system has more than 280,000 students.

'Together, the CSU and UC enroll and employ more than one million students and employees across 33 major university campuses, so this is the most comprehensive and consequential university plan for COVID-19 vaccines in the country,' CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro said in the statement.

Stanford University also announced a mandate last Thursday for all of its 19,000 students to be vaccinated when classes start in the fall.

At the private school, students who have an approved vaccination exemption for medical or religious reasons will be required to undergo regular COVID-19 testing.

The two California public university systems would allow for similar exemptions.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has allowed emergency use of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, with health experts expecting formal approval of at least one of the shots by the fall. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is on pause due to concerns about blood clots.

CSU spokeswoman Toni Molle said the timing of a formal mandate will depend on when the FDA gives full authorization to one or more of the vaccines and also on discussions with labor unions. It could come before or after classes start.

'We are announcing now so that students and employees have time to receive a vaccination' by fall, when the proposed policy would take effect, she said.

The two systems have said they expect the majority of instruction and activities in fall 2021 to be in-person.

'The planned COVID-19 vaccine requirement will further enable the campuses to be repopulated,' the statement said.

In Maryland, the public University of Maryland will require students returning to all 11 of its campuses this fall to be vaccinated, officials announced on Friday. Pictured: Library and campus of the University of Maryland located in College Park

Which public universities have said they require their students to be vaccinated in fall? California: University of California system (10 campuses)

California State University system (23 campuses) Colorado: Fort Lewis College Michigan (only residential students): Oakland University

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor Maryland: University of Maryland system (11 campuses)

Morgan State University Massachusetts: Bridgewater, Fitchburg, Framingham, Salem, Westfield and Worcester State Universities

MA College of Art & Design

MA College of Liberal Arts

MA Maritime Academy

MA Amherst New Jersey: Rutgers University (five campuses)

Montclair State University Ohio (only residential students): Cleveland State University (3 campuses) Advertisement

The University of California said in a separate statement that it will be requiring students planning to be on its campuses in the fall to update their immunization documentation to show they received a COVID-19 vaccination or have a medical exemption.

Students or staff who fail to comply with the mandate 'will be barred from in-person access' to campus programs and facilities, including campus housing, the system said.

Across the country, colleges are weighing how far they should go to ensure students get vaccinated.

Universities including Rutgers, Brown, Cornell and Northeastern recently told students they must get vaccinated before returning to campus next fall. They hope to achieve herd immunity on campus, which they say would allow them to loosen spacing restrictions in classrooms and dorms.

But some colleges are leaving the decision to students, and others believe they can't legally require vaccinations. At Virginia Tech, officials determined that they can't because the FDA has only allowed the emergency use of the vaccines.

Many schools have launched vaccination blitzes to get students immunized before they leave for the summer.

Northeastern and other colleges requiring shots believe they're on solid legal ground. It's not unusual for colleges to require students to be vaccinated for other types of diseases, and a California court last year upheld a flu shot requirement at the University of California system.

At some schools, the added requirement is meant to encourage holdouts and to build confidence that students and faculty will be safe on campus.

'It takes away any ambiguity about whether individuals should be vaccinated,' said Kenneth Henderson, the chancellor of Northeastern University in Boston.

'It also provides a level of confidence for the entire community that we are taking all appropriate measures.'
OTTAWA, ON, April 28, 2021 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the National Day of Mourning:

"Today marks the 30th anniversary of the National Day of Mourning. On this day, we remember and honour every worker in Canada who has died, been injured, or suffered illness because of workplace hazards, accidents, or harassment. It is also a day to renew our commitment to preventing future workplace tragedies, which requires ongoing, shared effort from workers, employers, and the organizations that support them.

"More than a year into the pandemic, it is vital that we continue to acknowledge the great risks and challenges Canada's front-line and essential workers are facing, and the sacrifices they have made, to keep us safe and healthy. Some have become ill, and some have died, making sure that others are cared for and protected.

"One of the best ways we can thank and honour these everyday heroes is by continuing to take public health guidelines seriously. That means continuing to wear a mask, keeping two metres apart, downloading and using the COVID Alert app, working from home if you can, and getting the vaccine when it's your turn.

"The Government of Canada recognizes the toll this past year has taken on front-line and essential workers, and will continue to do everything we can to support them. That is why we have worked tirelessly to make sure they have access to the supplies they need to stay safe and healthy. That's also why we created the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, to give income support to people who are unable to work because they are sick or need to self-isolate due to COVID-19. We collaborated with provinces and territories to boost wages for low-income essential workers, so they can receive the compensation they deserve. We will continue to do whatever it takes to protect their health, help them do their job, and make sure they know Canada has their backs as much as they have ours.

"Today, I encourage all Canadians to pause and remember workers who have lost their lives, been injured, or become sick while on the job. We all have a role to play, especially in this challenging time, to build safer, healthier, and more dignified workplaces for everyone."

This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca/

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office

For further information: PMO Media Relations: [email protected]

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Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, as Chair of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for April, presided over an in-person and online ministerial open debate of the council

on the theme Protection of Objects Indispensable to the Survival of the Civilian Population on April 27.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son speaks at the debate

The event was attended by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock, former Australian Prime Minister and Chair of the International Peace Institute (IPI) Board Kevin Rudd, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer and representatives of 15 member countries of the UNSC.

Delegates spoke highly of Vietnams initiative, highlighting the deep humanitarian significance of the debate's theme, especially when civilians in many conflicts across the globe are bearing the brunt of essential infrastructure destroyed and affected by environmental pollution, climate change and COVID-19.

They affirmed the significance of compliance with international humanitarian laws and underlined the increasing need for international cooperation, as well as the role of the UN, in protecting civilians and essential infrastructure amid conflicts.



In his remarks, Son said as a war-torn country, Vietnam called on relevant parties to abide by international law, including the International Humanitarian Law, and promote international and regional cooperation as well as the role of the UN in supporting the recovery and reconstruction of essential infrastructure, and improving peoples resilience to cope with challenges during and after conflicts.

Protecting objects indispensable to the survival of civilians is the foundation for sustainable peace, he said, noting that preventing conflicts is the best way to protect the civilian population.

The minister called attention to the need to deal with the root cause of conflicts such as poverty, inequality and power abuse, while promoting efforts for sustainable development at both national and global levels.

At the debate, the UNSC passed a resolution on protection of objects indispensable for the survival of the civilian population, which emphasises the significance of observing the International Humanitarian Law and ensuring humanitarian aid, especially in the context of COVID-19.

This is the first resolution proposed by Vietnam at the UNSC during its tenure as a UNSC non-permanent member for 2020-2021.

This is also the first time the council has held a comprehensive debate and adopted a resolution on his issue./.VNA
A proposal by a company owned by billionaire businessman Clive Palmer to build a coal mine in central Queensland is in doubt after the state government found it had unacceptable environmental risks.

The Department of Environment and Science published its 192-page report on the central Queensland project on Wednesday.

Clive Palmer pictured in November 2020. Credit:Attila Csaszar

In the report, DES technical and assessment services director Christopher Loveday concluded the project is not suitable to proceed.

I consider the project would significantly contribute to the regional and Queensland economy, provide social and economic benefits, opportunities for direct and indirect employment and export trade to Queensland and Australia, Mr Loveday said.
The detective pointed to a faint wisp of a smoking gun at the corner of the TV screen  indicating the moment when 54-year-old Roger Lewis was shot and killed, he said.

Grieving relatives crammed around the Houston police investigator Wednesday to see, for the first time, surveillance footage of the April 18 shooting. Lewis, married and a father of a 10-year-old girl, was gunned down on an Independence Heights street after sideswiping a womans vehicle mirror with his pickup truck, according to police.

Now Playing: Video: Houston Police Department

Lewis stepfather, Daniel Jackson, leaned closer to the monitor, alongside Lewis wife, and pointed out two men standing outside a nearby home. Police already spoke to the duo, investigator Sgt. Eric Wohlgemuth told him, adding that the men did not see the vehicle that the suspect fled in because they dashed inside at the sound of gunfire.

Jackson expressed certainty that someone, somewhere, knows something.

Theyre out there, he said. They know who did it.

Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

The shooting unfolded around 6:30 p.m. in the 900 block of E. 35th Street, two blocks from where Lewis hit the other drivers mirror minutes earlier, the sergeant said. The second driver followed Lewis to the intersection, where the two exchanged vehicle information.

Everything looked fine, Wohlgemuth said, until more vehicles descended on the street. A person in one of those cars opened fire apparently for no reason, he continued.

Police found Lewis dead of multiple gunshot wounds in the drivers seat of his truck. Surveillance footage from a nearby home showed at least three vehicles driving away  a silver Buick, a white Dodge and a Nissan Altima that Wohlgemuth believes is the suspects vehicle. The other two are believed to be witnesses, he said.

The woman whom Lewis had hit remained at the scene but was emotional following the shooting, Wohlgemuth said. Investigators have not dismissed the possibility that she may have known Lewis assailant. She had been at the nearby Independence Heights Park earlier that evening for a family barbecue, the investigator said. Some of the cars seen in the surveillance footage may have been the womans family members.

She has spoken with investigators on numerous occasions, Wohlgemuth said.

Its starting to lead us in a direction, he continued.

Courtesy of Family, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Lewis wife, Dolaris Lewis, and their daughter joined Wohlgemuth at a news conference at HPD headquarters downtown to plead for tips that could lead to who killed her husband of 11 years. A $5,000 reward, meanwhile, is being offered for information leading to the suspects arrest and conviction.

We have a daughter that we were raising, the wife said. We did not deserve to be going through this right now, so, were asking if you know anything  please come forward.

Lewis worked for his stepfather at a pest control company.

He was a good guy who never bothered anybody. Never been in trouble, his stepfather said.

Ahead of the news conference, the family  nearly a dozen members  huddled around Executive Assistant Chief Jim Jones amid the police departments museum.

Were going to do everything we can to figure out what happened, Jones assured them.

The funeral for Lewis is slated for Saturday, relatives said.

More Information Anyone with information in Lewis' case is urged to contact the Houston Police Department's Homicide Division at (713) 308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS. See More Collapse

The shooting comes amid a stark increase in citywide killings since the start of the pandemic, which coincided with one of the deadliest years on record. That trend, seen nationwide, continued through the first quarter of 2021 with police in Houston investigating 137 murder cases as of Wednesday  a 25 percent increase from the same time last year, according to preliminary police records.

Violent crime, which has been declining in recent years, increased in Houston during the pandemic months, with aggravated assaults driving that uptick, according to those records.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A new Republican proposal to change Ohios redistricting deadlines received a blow on Wednesday after a key group of Democrats came out in opposition.

The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, which represents Black members in the Ohio House and Senate, issued a statement on Wednesday saying they are deeply concerned that Republican Senate President Matt Huffmans proposal would reduce chances for public input on the process of redrawing the states political maps later this year.

Using the guise of the delay in Census data does not justify giving the General Assembly free rein to reconfigure the redistricting schedule that was approved by voters in 2015 and 2018, the statement read. The Census delay should be addressed by extending all of the deadlines by the same amount of time, so that the overall process begins later but the schedule otherwise remains fixed.

Huffman has proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow lawmakers to change the deadlines for redrawing state legislative and congressional lines later this year. Huffman said his proposal is a response to the months-long delay in the completion of the U.S. Census, which lawmakers use as the foundation while designing their districts. State officials said they arent expecting the census data until mid-August or September.

Meanwhile, the first deadlines for drawing state legislative districts in Ohios new redistricting system fall on Sept. 1 and Sept. 15. After those deadlines, Republicans on the seven-member commission will no longer have to get support from the commissions two Democrats, but could only pass maps that last for four years, instead of 10-year maps under the earlier deadlines. The four year maps would have more stringent rules though, meant to discourage gerrymandering.

The first deadline in the process for drawing congressional lines falls on Sept. 30. That process starts with the state legislature, which must get at least half of Democrats support to pass 10-year maps, before responsibility goes to the state commission, which then has until Oct. 31 to pass 10-year maps with bipartisan support. If they cant get Democrats to sign on before Nov. 30, Republicans could pass four-year maps with stricter rules.

Ohios new redistricting process, approved by voters for statehouse districts in 2015 and congressional districts in 2018, is meant to fight partisan gerrymandering by requiring greater minority party support and limiting how lawmakers can split cities and counties. The changes could give Democrats more representation in the General Assembly, despite Ohios drift to the political right, by making it harder for Republicans to recreate their current maps, which have awarded them a disproportionately large share of legislative and congressional seats since they went into effect in 2012.

Because Huffmans amendment would require approval from voters, Huffman has said he thinks Democratic opposition would cause the proposal to be defeated, and that he doesnt want to move forward with the plan if it doesnt have bipartisan support.

Voter-rights groups have said they wont sue to to enforce the deadlines if the delays are reasonable, while Democrats, including House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, who is a member of the OLBC, has said the state should ask the Ohio Supreme Court for an extension.

Huffman said Wednesday he hopes he can persuade Black Democrats to support his plan. The deadline for placing it on the August ballot is next Wednesday. Doing so would require approval from three-fifths of Ohios House and Senate, which Republicans could do without Democratic votes.

If we dont change the constitution, the minority party cannot participate in the way the constitution contemplates in drawing the map, Huffman said. So it doesnt make sense to me that the Black Legislative Caucus would be opposed to a change that would allow them to influence what the map looks like.
PASADENA, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Christianne Kerns, Hahn & Hahn's Managing Partner and a member in the firm's Business practice, and Rita Diaz, who leads the firm's Litigation practice, are selected as honorees in today's Los Angeles Business Journal special supplement recognizing the city's most influential women attorneys. The Journal's Publisher and CEO Josh Schimmels writes "Los Angeles is truly a national leader when it comes to influential women  and the field of law is no exception." The women named in the special issue "have been recognized for exceptional legal skill and achievement across the full spectrum of responsibility, exemplary leadership as evidenced by the highest professional and ethical standards, and for contributions to the Los Angeles community at large."

Kerns, honored with the recognition for the fourth year in a row, "is the first female managing partner of the prestigious 121-year-old Pasadena-based law firm, which has transitioned from an historic 'old-line firm' into a majority women and minority owned firm," reports the special feature. "As managing partner, Kerns is responsible for managing day-to-day business operations, developing, implementing and driving organizational goals, procedures and policies, managing firm lawyers and the director of administration, collaborating with other partners, and maintaining positive client relationships. She and her team handle sophisticated financing transactions and restructures; manage complex commercial business relationships and contracts; and lead multifaceted real estate deals and projects."

Diaz has significant experience handling contentious trust and estates litigation, as well as advising trustees and beneficiaries through trust and probate administration issues. Recent matters have included preparing estate plans (both new and updated) for numerous families; assisting trustees with administration of trusts, including those with difficult beneficiaries and complex assets such as business interests, valuable artwork, firearms, and high-end vehicles; assisting executors with probate administrations; preparing and successfully prosecuting objections to an overreaching trustee's accounting; compelling trustees to account; and many other challenging processes on behalf of clients. The report states she is also "skilled at advising companies on employment matters, including discrimination, leaves of absence, and wage and hour issues, and reviewing and drafting employee handbooks." This knowledges has also been useful when wage and hour issues pop up in trust and estate administrations (most commonly, caregiver employment situations).

Hahn & Hahn LLP has been an active member of the Southern California business and legal communities since 1899. The firm represents entrepreneurs, innovators, business owners, family offices and charitable organizations in their corporate, real estate, employment, estate planning and family law issues and in litigation. For more information visit HahnLawyers.com.

SOURCE Hahn & Hahn LLP

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Wanted: A reopening consultant who can help get San Francisco public school students back to full-time, in-person learning in the fall.

San Francisco schools are looking for outside experts to help guide the process to reopen schools in August, which will include navigating changing health guidelines, parent feedback and labor negotiations.

If the job description sounds familiar, it is.

The school district tried to hire a reopening consultant nearly a year ago, but the school board rejected the idea because the firm recommended by Superintendent Vince Matthews had worked with charter schools in the past. Many members of the board oppose charter schools.

Matthews, before the board rejected his plea in June, said a denial would be a body blow and could disrupt a smooth reopening in the fall for the districts more than 52,000 students. The district had $90,000 in donations to cover the consultants cost.

The call for the consultant comes as fewer than half the districts students are back in classrooms. The district has pledged to reopen full time for all students in the fall, but labor and facilities issues could prevent that. The districts enrollment has dropped, with frustrated families moving outside the city or to private schools and officials worried about losing more families  which would further hurt the budget  without a robust fall plan.

Despite authorization by health officials to reopen classrooms in September and a state law that required public schools to offer in-person learning to the greatest extent possible, San Francisco schools remained fully online until earlier this month.

Knowing the work of reopening schools was going to be a massive undertaking given all of the uncertainties and all of the complexities ... we wanted a partner who would help support a comprehensive plan for returning to in-person schooling, said Daniel Menezes, district human resources director, at the June meeting.

The district didnt have a comprehensive plan in place by August.

Now, almost a year later, Matthews is again looking to hire a consultant to develop three scenarios for the fall: one that assumes widespread vaccination of adolescents and adults, one that anticipates current health guidelines remaining in place, and one that anticipates less-restrictive guidelines for reopening schools.

Its unclear how much it will cost or whether the money would come from the same grant or a similar one.

The selected organization would also ensure the district has a robust plan to mitigate learning loss and learning change as a result of prolonged school closures while also mapping out lead times required for hiring, purchasing of equipment and supplies, and setting up of school sites.

Board Vice President Faauuga Moliga said he wasnt confident the previous consultant would have been able to implement an effective community engagement plan.

In regard to the current search, I believe the communication between the board and Superintendent Matthews has improved, and well agree on a consultant to help us through the next school year, he said.

Last year, board member Alison Collins called the consulting firm, the Planning Partnership Group, like a crime syndicate or something because it worked with groups tied to charter schools.

She and now board President Gabriela Lopez questioned why the district couldnt manage reopening without outside help.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

Collins said she had been an educational consultant for Oakland Unified and that the practice was ineffective and a waste of money.

Matthews reminded the board that it had recently supported a $22 million cut in central office expenditures to help balance the budget and the district did not have the capacity to navigate a smooth reopening amid a pandemic.

District officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Board member Mark Sanchez and then-board member Rachel Norton were the only two to support the hiring of a reopening consultant last June.

Current board members Jenny Lam, Collins, Lopez and Moliga voted against it. Then board member Stevon Cook was absent.

Norton noted it had already been an unprecedented year and that the conversation over ties to charter schools was losing sight of the real important underlying issue  having the best reopening possible.

Why are we making this so much more difficult on the staff when were in unprecedented times, she said, encouraging her colleagues to support the superintendents request. I want our families to arrive on the first day of school and have a year reopening plan ready for them.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
Francesca Paris is The Eagle's data and public records reporter. She was previously the North Adams reporter. A California native and Williams College alumna, she has worked at NPR in Washington, D.C. and WBUR in Boston. Find her on Twitter at @fparises.
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The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Akwa Ibom Command, has arrested two suspects with over 3,000 litres of suspected adulterated automotive gas oil (diesel) concealed in a truck laden with yoghurt drink.

The Commandant of NSCDC in the state, Samuel Fadeyi, disclosed this while briefing reporters at the commands exhibit yard in Uyo on Wednesday.

Mr Fadeyi said the suspects, who claimed they were coming from Ahoada, Rivers, were arrested on Friday by an NSCDCs patrol team on surveillance in Itu Local Government Area.

He noted that criminals were devising new techniques to beat security checkpoints, saying that there was a need for security personnel to improve in intelligence gathering to tackle crimes.

This vehicle was intercepted by our men around Itu. Ordinarily, it is conveying yoghurt, but it is used to conceal AGO (diesel) taken from an illegal refinery at Ahoada in Rivers State.

They have (had) successfully deceived security operatives on the way until they got to Itu Local Government Area.

Kudos to our men, they were able to discover that the yoghurt was used to conceal illegal diesel.

Apart from the fact that it is illegal in itself to illegally refine petroleum products which is dangerous, look at the yoghurt that is for consumption, it is already contaminated and will be exposed to the public for consumption.

Two suspects were arrested on Friday concerning this, you have seen the AGO, you have seen how they concealed it, Mr Fadeyi said.

Mr Fadeyi advised Nigerians to be vigilant about the activities around them.

He said the yoghurt would be destroyed since it would not be safe for consumption.

The suspects would be charged to court at the conclusion of investigations, the commandant said.

He called on security personnel, especially those at border posts, to be more vigilant and to contend with the antics of criminals.

He also called on members of the public to volunteer information to security agencies concerning crimes within their areas.

(NAN)
First president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev announced that he decided to hand over the People's Assembly leadership to current head of state Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

"I have the right to chair the People's Assembly for life. At the same time, a number of powers are assigned to the president of the country. All affairs need to be in the hands of a single person. I decided to transfer my right to chair the People's Assembly to President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev," Nazarbayev said during the 29th th session of the Assembly, TASS reports.



However, this does not mean that the first president is retiring - Tokayev offered him to become the honorary chairman of the Assembly, stressing that this status rightfully belongs to Nursultan Nazarbayev due to his historical services to the people and the state.
Kaushambhi : , April 28 (IANS) Seven Remdesivir injections have been stolen from the central surgical store of the district hospital in Kaushambhi district.

The theft came to light on Tuesday.

Store in-charge and pharmacist B. Singh has lodged an FIR with Manjhanpur Kotwali police station regarding the incident.

Deputy SP, Dr Krishna Gopal Singh, told reporters that hospital authorities had lodged a case under appropriate sections of IPC with Manjhanpur Kotwali police against unidentified persons for stealing seven Remdesivir injections.

Hospital authorities said that seven Remdesivir injections along with other medicines, were kept in deep freezer inside the central surgical store of the district hospital.

The unidentified miscreants broke open the door of the store and stole the injections.

Two police teams were formed to nab the offenders.

This is the first case in the state where Remdesivir, a crucial medicine in treatment of Covid, has been stolen.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Rossville AME Zion Church, a historic landmark that is part of Sandy Ground with well over a century of rich history, was struck by vandalism Tuesday that left its front door fractured and a side window broken.

The bottom portion of the glass front door to the church appeared to have impact damage. Inside the kitchen of the building, shards of glass were strewn across the floor where a separate window was shattered and a brick was found nearby.

Rev. Jacqueline Nolton, the pastor of the church who arrived to the location at 584 Bloomingdale Road Wednesday afternoon to inspect the damage, said the act, represents the evil that is permeating this nation.

Vandals shattered the church's front door. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

Expressing disdain that other religious buildings on Staten Island have also faced acts of vandalism in recent years, Rev. Nolton said there seems to be no boundaries, including to houses of worship.

Police said the department was investigating the incident as an act of misdemeanor criminal mischief, adding that it was immediately unclear who or what exactly caused the damage.

Still, Rev. Nolton said that her concern is not centered on the front door of the church, but the person that conducted the act.

My concern is not just about the shattered glass but the shattered person who thought that they had the right to do that to such as sacred building, said Rev. Nolton.

A brick was found in the vicinity of the shattered kitchen window. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

The churchs congregation has been gathering virtually since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic last spring, and the destruction was discovered when one of its trustees went to the building Tuesday night to work.

Debra Santulli-Barone, who has been a parishioner at the church for 23 years, said she learned of the vandalism on Facebook and was upset that the act took place at a site where she has enjoyed safety and camaraderie within the neighborhood.

We used to keep the doors unlocked when we were doing stuff downstairs in the rectory, and you know, these days, I always tell the reverend if youre going to be there alone, lock the door, said Santulli-Barone.

Its scary, she added. I am very concerned.

A RICH HISTORY

Once a flourishing community of over 150 Black families, Sandy Ground now has multiple structures which are designated as New York City landmarks, including AME Zion Church.

Sandy Ground is the oldest continuously free African-American settlement in the United States.

Shards of glass can be seen near the broken kitchen window. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

Sandy Ground was founded in 1827 as a farming village, originally called Harrisville, by people who were freed from enslavement. It later served as a haven for oystermen from Chesapeake Bay fleeing the restrictive industry laws of Maryland.

The church was known as an important stop on the Underground Railroad, and Capt. John Jackson, the first person of African descent to own property on Staten Island, ferried slaves to Staten Island and New Jersey aboard the ferry boat he owned and operated.

Just years ago, more than 500 unmarked graves were discovered at the Rossville churchs cemetery  a stunning find that deepened the already-profound depths of history tied to the area.

In light of the vandalism, Yvette Jordan, a parishioner and historian at Rossville AME Zion Church, said, a concern we have, obviously, is the safety of our building.

In its letter designating AME Zion Church as a landmark, the Landmarks Preservation Commission said the establishment is a rare and important surviving building from the period when Sandy Ground was a prosperous African American community on Staten Island.

Sylvia DAlessandro, executive director and founding member of the Sandy Ground Historical Society, said she was shocked to learn of the vandalism.

AME Zion Church is a part of the history of the area, said DAlessandro, who is also a member of the congregation. That church has been there since 1850.

I couldnt believe it, she said, before vowing the society would do anything it could to help the church.

No arrests have been made in the case, said an NYPD spokeswoman, and the investigation remains ongoing.
MOSCOW -- A Moscow court has increased from one minute to two hours per day the amount of time that can be spent outside by an editor of a student magazine, who along with three colleagues is accused of endangering minors over a video related to rallies against opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's incarceration.

Doxa magazine said on Telegram on April 28 that the Moscow City Court upheld a lower court decision to impose pretrial restrictions for Alla Gutnikova for two months, but mitigated the restrictions, ruling that she is allowed outside for two hours daily, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The court also allowed Gutnikova to move from her parents' apartment and stay at another address.

Two days earlier, the same court made similar rulings for Gutnikova's colleagues, Armen Aramyan, Vladimir Metyolkin, and Natalya Tyshkevich.

On April 14, a court in the Russian capital ordered the four editors not to leave their homes between midnight and 11:59 p.m. for two months, giving them only one minute to be outside each day.

The four were detained for questioning at the Investigative Committee after their homes and the magazine's offices were searched over the video, which the magazine posted online in January.

The video questioned teachers warning students about possible repercussions they could face for participating in unsanctioned rallies on January 23 and January 31 in protest of Navalny's arrest.

Doxa editors say the video was deleted from the magazine's website following a demand from Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor to remove it.

More than 10,000 Navalny supporters were detained across Russia during and after the January rallies.

Many of the detained men and women were either fined or handed several-day jail terms. At least 90 were charged with criminal offenses and several have been fired by their employers.

Human rights groups have called on Moscow repeatedly to stop targeting journalists because they are covering the protests or express solidarity with protesters, since both are protected under the right to freedom of expression.

"Instead of targeting journalists, the authorities should hold accountable police who attack journalists and interfere with their work," Human Rights Watch said in a statement on February 3.

Navalny was detained at a Moscow airport on January 17 upon his arrival from Germany, where he was recovering from a poisoning in Siberia in August 2020 that several European laboratories concluded was from a military-grade chemical nerve agent.

Navalny has insisted that his poisoning was ordered directly by President Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin has denied.

In February, a Moscow court ruled that while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an old embezzlement case that is widely considered politically motivated.

His 3 1/2-year suspended sentence from the case was converted to a jail term, though the court said he will serve 2 1/2 years in prison given the amount of time he had been held in detention.
Official City Proclamation is Part of Psychables Mission to Expand Education of and Access to the Transformative Healing Power of Psychedelics



SANTA CRUZ, Calif., April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Psychable , the trusted, comprehensive online community for people who are interested in legally exploring or offering psychedelic-assisted therapy, today announced that the month of April is officially Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Awareness Month in Santa Cruz, Calif.

Secured in partnership with the Santa Cruz City Council and Councilman Dr. Justin Cummings, the proclamations goal is to raise awareness - both in Santa Cruz and beyond - to alternative, holistic healing methods that are rapidly gaining support in the U.S. medical community.



"We're proud to proclaim April as Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Awareness Month in the City of Santa Cruz. As Western research continues to advance what generations of healers across the world know, our hope is that our citizens who are struggling with mental health or treatment-resistant ailments can find transformative healing with the supervised use of psychedelics," said Cummings. "Santa Cruz is at the forefront of this movement and we're passionate about expanding access to the medicinal uses of psychedelics openly and legally, and clinical research to help us understand how to maximize the benefits of their use and mitigate any negative consequences. We made the right decision in decriminalizing psychedelics in the city of Santa Cruz last year. It's significant progress for Californians and we look forward to continuing to advocate for legalization and responsible use of psychedelics to improve the health of our city, county, state and country. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Psychable to advocate for legislation and applaud their leadership in this space."

Psychedelic-assisted therapy is the use of psychedelics for healing purposes, often taking the form of a psychedelic being administered under the supervision of a therapist. Recent studies have shown that when administered under the supervision of, or with the aftercare of a therapist, psychedelic-assisted therapy can have impactful results when it comes to treating those suffering with migraines, addiction, PTSD, depression, mental health issues, emotional trauma, and other ailments, as well as those looking for alternative, holistic options in taking care of their mental health.

The proclamation is especially significant in Santa Cruz, where in January 2020 the Santa Cruz City Council voted to decriminalize "magic mushrooms" and other natural psychedelics, including ayahuasca and peyote. With the legislation, Santa Cruz became the third city in the U.S. to decriminalize psychedelic substances, joining Denver, Colo., and Oakland, Calif.

We couldnt be more excited to celebrate the inaugural Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Awareness Month in Santa Cruz, said Jemie Sae Koo, CEO, Psychable. Our mission at Psychable is to expand education of and access to these incredible psychedelic substances as medicines, and this proclamation is an important step in advancing the conversation around the use of psychedelics as medicine.

In addition to securing the proclamation, Psychable is partnering with psychedelic education, nonprofits, and advocacy groups to foster discussion via #NatureHeals, a social media movement dedicated to increasing education around natural entheogens through first-person testimonials with an emphasis on rallying donations from supporters to positively and significantly impact current and future legislation around decriminalizing psychedelics, which means enhanced access to psychedelic-assisted therapy.

All month long, #NatureHeals encourages you to join the conversation, share your own personal transformative experience with psychedelics using #NatureHeals or donate to continue the important work of nonprofits, education institutions, and advocacy groups.

Psychable is the holistic solution for connecting psychedelic-assisted therapy practitioners with those seeking services. The platform streamlines the research period for candidates by offering filters for search including geolocation, treatment type, training or credentials, and other preferences to match with practitioners of their choosing. A true one-stop community for discovering and booking psychedelic-assisted treatments, Psychables network that allows practitioners and patients to communicate directly with one another to discuss the best possible treatment plans and allows users to share recommendations and reviews of practitioners. Psychable also hosts an extensive library of proprietary, medically reviewed articles on all aspects of psychedelics as part of its mission to continue to inform and educate the world about the power of psychedelics as part of holistic health.

Psychable was founded by serial entrepreneurs Jemie Sae Koo and Matt Zemon, a pair united in a belief that psychedelics can provide meaningful and transformative treatments for not only those struggling with a myriad of ailments, but also those looking to transform their lives for the better. With both having transformative experiences with psychedelic medicine that led them to pursuing a Master of Science Degree in Psychology with a focus on Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy, theyve curated a team of experts with deep experience to lead the Psychable community to support all phases of the journey from information to aftercare.

You can participate and follow the conversation on Instagram , Twitter , or Facebook , or visit www.psychable.com/NatureHeals . For press inquiries, please contact media@psychable.com.

About Psychable

Psychable is the comprehensive online community connecting those who would like to legally explore the healing power of psychedelics with medically and peer-reviewed practitioners. The community offers support for those seeking information, current patients and practitioners wherever they are in their journey with psychedelic-assisted therapy. Our mission is to transform the lives of millions of people suffering with conditions such as depression, PTSD and addiction by connecting them to psychedelic-based treatments, including integration, psychedelic-assisted therapy and retreats. Psychable was launched in 2021 by Jemie Sae Koo and Matt Zemon, successful entrepreneurs whose transformative experiences with psychedelic medicine led them to each pursue a Master of Science Degree in Psychology with a focus on Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy. The platform is supported by a passionate team of experts in psychology, business, medicine, and law. For more information on our mission and community, visit https://psychable.com/ , or follow us on Linkedin , Instagram , Twitter , and Facebook .



A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/53f9eddd-2b9f-4654-96c5-b240dd4af388

Psychable, Inc.

Media@Psychable.com
[April 28, 2021] COVID Cyber Crime: 74% of Financial Institutions Experience Significant Spike in Threats Linked To COVID-19

Financial institutions (FIs), such as banks and insurance providers, are reporting significantly increased threat levels from COVID-related cyber crime according to new research by BAE Systems (News - Alert) Applied Intelligence, the cyber and intelligence arm of BAE Systems. A huge jump in new pandemic-related threats, alongside a rise in challenges caused by enforced work from home guidance, is leaving open and insecure gaps in FIs' networks. The findings released today within The COVID Crime Index 2021 analyses the changing nature and impact of fraud, risk and cyber threats on UK and US FIs and consumers over the last 12 months*. According to the index, which surveyed 902 organisations in the financial services sector, three-quarters (74 per cent) have experienced a rise in cyber crime since the pandemic began, with 42 percent of banks and insurers revealing the remote working model has made them less secure. Just under half (44 per cent) were also concerned that this has led to less visibility of potential holes in their network or infrastructure and a further 37 per cent of FIs believe their customers are now at greater risk of cyber crime or fraud. Adrian Nish, Head of Cyber at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, comments: "We're noticing a clear collaboration emerging between different groups of criminals across the wider landscape of serious and organised crime. Fraudsters and cyber criminals seek to exploit fear, uncertainty and change, and the pandemic has offered them new opportunities to probe for weaknesses they can monetise and new ways to disguise their activity." He continues, "Attackers are building increasingly advanced capabilities to target core banking systems and becoming more aggressive, harming victims' ability to respond to attacks. Online criminals have reacted fast, adapting their approach to hunt out remote working security gaps and prey on the vulnerable." FINANCIAL LOSSES AND BUDGET CUTS MAKING IT HARDER FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO PROTECT CUSTOMERS The monetary impact of online criminal activity since the start of the pandemic has also been significant. The index found that 56 per cent of US and UK banks and insurers saw an upsurge in financial losses over the last 12 months - the average cost reaching $720,000 USD and rising. Despite this growing problem, IT security teams are feeling further pressure from decreased budgets and team redundancies. On average, budgets within IT security, cyber crime, fraud and risk departments have been slashed by a quarter (26 per cent) and 40 per cent have had to cut back on critical IT security technology spend. Alongside this, more than a third (36 per cent) have had to reduce the number of people in IT security teams over the past 12 months. CUSTOMERS EXPOSED TO A SPIKE IN PANDEMIC-RELATED THREATS AND IT'S COSTING THEM A secondary study as part of the index surveyed consumers to explore the personal impact of these increased attacks and found a fifth of consumers have been targeted at least once in the past year. More than a quarter (28 per cent) said they had been sent an email hoax relating to COVID-19, with 22 per cent also being targeted by text or SMS. Even when refunded, the average amount of money stolen by cyber criminals was $1,174 USD. For those who didn't see their money again, the average money lost was a significant $743 USD. A spike in online shopping due to the pandemic has also driven increasing cyber crime. More than a quarter (26 per cent) said they had bought something from a fraudulent site in the past 12 months and never received their goods. This has led to concerns over sharing data, with 84 percent of consumers worried about their digital identity and personal information online. More than half (53 per cent) of those surveyed believe it is the job of the banks to protect them, compared with 40 per cent that believed it was their own responsibility. The same amount (53 per cent) said banks or credit card providers could provide more guidance to consumers on how to behave online to be better protected from cyber crime. You can read the full report here. Notes to editors *Report Methodology: The report findings are based on two recent surveys conducted with 902 organisations within the Financial Services sector, predominantly banks and insurers, as well as consumers among 2,003 respondents aged 18+. The research fieldwork took place on 3rd March - 10th March, 2021. These were carried out in both the US and UK markets by Atomik Research, an independent creative market research agency that employs MRS-certified researchers and abides to MRS code. A BREAKDOWN OF KEY STATS (News - Alert)







FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS KEY FINDINGS 74% of Financial Institutions (FIs) have experienced a rise in cyber crime in last 12 months Percentage of FIs that have experienced a rise in threats: Increase in botnet attacks 35% Increase in ransomware 35% Increase in phishing attacks 35% Mobile malware 32% COVID-related malware 30% Insider threats 29% 56% of FIs have seen a rise in financial losses associated to fraud or cyber crime in last 12 months 74% of FIs have stated that this is linked to COVID-19 42% of FIs said that the remote working model due to COVID-19 makes them less secure Budgets across IT security, cyber crime, fraud or risk departments have been cut by 26% 40% of FIs have had to cut back on critical IT security technology spend 37% of FIs believe that their customers are at greater risk of cyber crime or fraud 77% of FIs remain concerned about the ongoing growth of pandemic-related cyber crime in coming 12 months CONSUMER KEY FINDINGS 38% of consumers have been a victim of cyber crime or online fraud in the past 12 months at least once, with 24% twice, 15% three times 28%, the highest proportion, said they had received an email hoax relating to COVID-19 and 22% received a text / SMS hoax The average amount of money stolen was 852 (refunded to them) and 539 (not refunded to them) 84% of consumers are concerned about sharing their digital identity and personal information 26% of respondents attempted to buy from a fraudulent site and didn't receive items 59% of respondents said they reported cyber crime or fraud to the bank 53% said banks or credit card providers could provide more guidance on how to protect themselves online 56% of consumers want bank to be more honest and transparent about how much cyber crime they experience 84% said they would consider how the best cyber crime protection when changing or choosing a FI provider

About BAE Systems Applied Intelligence At BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, we help nations, governments and businesses around the world defend themselves against cyber crime, reduce their risk in the connected world, comply with regulation, and transform their operations. For further information about BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, please visit www.baesystems.com/ai. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005365/en/

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) (FSE: TH8) ("TransCanna" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the State of California has awarded its Daly Facility a coveted Processor License.

The License is rare - only 152 of its kind were issued last year, compared to 6,083 Cultivation and Nursery Licenses.

"The Processor License opens up a massive new revenue stream - allowing us to trim, dry, cure, grade, package and label cannabis for third-party growers state-wide," said Bob Blink, CEO for TransCanna. The vast majority of growers only hold Cultivation Licenses, which allow processing activities solely for cannabis they produce on-site.

"This License is significant because it opens us up to serve 3rd party growers at the earliest stage of the supply chain - raw cannabis flower. Following processing services we can offer them additional services like white labelling, packaging, storage, and wholesaling and distribution to retailers," said Mr. Blink.

"Coupled with our Distribution License, this Processor License enables us to realize our vision of becoming the largest scale processing and distribution operation in the region," he said.

The Daly Facility is strategically positioned as a hub between the largest cannabis producing regions in the state to the north and the largest consumer population in the world in the Greater Los Angeles Area to the south.

The new License follows the Company's recent announcement of the receipt of a $2M construction loan that is funding the construction of 40,000 square feet of cultivation space, a 16,000 square foot distribution and inventory storage, area and a 12,000 square foot processing and packaging facility.

About TransCanna

TransCanna Holdings Inc. is a California-based, Canadian-listed company building cannabis-focused brands for the California lifestyle, through its wholly-owned California subsidiaries.

TransCanna's wholly owned subsidiary Lyfted Farms is California's authentic cannabis brand whose pioneering spirit has been continuously providing the finest cannabis flower genetics and cultivation methods since 1984. The Lyfted Farms brand of exclusive cannabis flower is sold at premium retailers throughout the state. With its new cultivation facility in Daly, California, the company is now poised to become one of the largest and most efficient vertically integrated cannabis companies in the California market.

For updated information with respect to our company, please see our filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the CSE at www.thecse.com , visit the Company's website at www.transcanna.com or email the Company at info@transcanna.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Bob Blink, CEO

Corporate Communications:

investor@transcanna.com

604.200.8853

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:

Certain information in this release may contain forward-looking statements, such as statements regarding future expansions and cost savings and plans regarding production increases and financings. This information is based on current expectations and assumptions, including assumptions concerning the completion of the expansion of the Daly Facility, government approval of pro-cannabis policies, greater access to financial services and increased cultivation capacity, that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. Risks that could cause results to differ from those stated in the forward-looking statements in this release include unexpected increases in operating costs, a continued strain on farmers due to fires and the Coronavirus pandemic and competition from other retailers. All forward-looking statements, including any financial outlook or future-oriented financial information, contained in this release are made as of the date of this release and are included for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Company. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82019
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Apparently frustrated by the National Assemblys inability to halt the worsening security situation across Nigeria, two senators Tuesday asked that the National Assembly be shut down.

They made the call during a lengthy debate on a motion on the activities of Boko Haram insurgents in three local governments in Niger State.

Deliberation on the motion  which was sponsored by Niger senator Sani Musa  lasted for over an hour with over 15 senators making their contributions.

Among the contributors were former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and Kogi West senator, Smart Adeyemi. And one thing they said in common was that the legislative complex be shut down and that Nigeria should seek foreign aide.

Mr Ekweremadu warned that any government that cannot protect its citizens has lost legitimacy and Nigeria should not be ashamed to seek international support.

Time has come for us to, if possible, shut down this Senate and find a lasting solution to this, he said.

Mr Adeyemi, in an emotional tone, complained that the government has been slow to tackle insecurity.

Let nobody deceive us. A lot of billions of naira have been voted for security services. Nothing is coming out of it. We wouldnt wait until our nation get burned. Let us shout and call for foreign support.

I am a full APC man and I have been supporting my party but the president should get to know that it has gotten to a point that we who are supporters and members of the APC, we can no longer keep quiet.

Mr President, the nation is on fire. The president must rise to the occasion. It costs us nothing to get foreign support to save this country unless we will be consumed, he said.

He then suggested the shut down of the National Assembly if needed.

The president must know that this is a bad time for our nation. We must look for foreign support to save this nation. They are killing people in the East, West, North and South. We should shut down the National Assembly.

READ ALSO:

Lets shut down the National Assembly; if we cannot save this country, we stay in our homes. Our country is bleeding. People are in poverty; theres no food. People are hungry. Insecurity is threatening us.

We cannot pretend. Its better we are not here than to waste time when people are dying. Every day, Nigerians are dying. We must rise to the occasion.

PREMIUM TIMES has been reporting the various cases of insecurity across Nigeria which got worse last week. Over 200 people were killed last week and 44 others kidnapped in separate incidents. Apart from the Boko Haram insurgency which continues to cause the death of dozens of people weekly, bandits and armed persons kidnap and kill at will in some states while armed dissidents attack security officials routinely in some parts of the country
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Aurwest Resources Corporation (CSE: AWR) ("Aurwest" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Dahrouge Geological Consulting ("Dalrouge") has prepared, in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"), a technical report titled "Technical Report on the Stellar Property, British Columbia, Canada" with an effective date of April 6, 2021. Mr. T. Sandberg, P.Geo., and Mr. M. Carter, P.Geo. prepared the report as Qualified Persons. The Technical report will be filed on SEDAR today concurrent with this news release. Aurwest's Stellar porphyry copper project (22,342 ha) is located 25 km southwest of Houston, British Columbia. Highlights are:

The project is an early exploration stage, polymetallic porphyry copper project underlain by mafic volcanics of the Hazelton Group intruded by stocks and plugs of dioritic composition and felsic dikes that suggests a multi-phase intrusion at depth.

Historical exploration has outlined large areas of anomalous copper-gold-molybdenum concentrations in stream and soil surveys with rock samples from within these areas returning greater than 1.0% copper along with significant concentrations of gold and molybdenum.

Mineralized (chalcopyrite-bornite) skarn and hornfels occur in proximity to Bulkley intrusives, typically the causative intrusions for porphyry copper deposits in this area of BC.

High-grade gold values of up to 37.6 g/t (1.2 oz/t) with associated pathfinder elements and silicification occur over a 1.2 km strike length within an open-ended controlling structure. The mineralization is suggested to be analogous to the Dome Mountain gold deposit (medium grade 10.0-15 g/t gold) located 50 km northeast of the Stellar Property.

A $584,000, two phase budget to continue exploration of the Property has been recommended.

Mr. Colin Christensen stated, "The recently completed Technical report has independently confirmed our assessment of the porphyry copper potential of the Steller property. The historical exploration indicated widespread copper-molybdenum-gold-silver mineralization that was never incorporated into a working exploration model. With the field season to commence in late June, we are looking forward to getting on the ground to evaluate the targets generated to date and complete the first comprehensive assessment of the porphyry and precious metal potential of the property".





Figure 1: Stellar Project Location Map and Mineral Tenures



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7275/82094_picture1.jpg





Figure 2: Stellar Project Location Map and Mineral Tenures



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7275/82094_picture2.jpg

Porphyry Copper Targets:

Historical sampling has outlined two distinct areas of coincident copper-molybdenum mineralization associated with a strong positive, magnetic signature in the northeast portion of the property. The mineralized targets occur over a strike length of approximately 4-5 kms with an intervening 1.5 km long area between the targets for which no historical results are available. The largest mineralized area measures approximately 1.5kms by 1.0 kms hosted in skarnified and hornfelsed andesitic volcanics of the Hazelton Group intruded by stocks and plugs of Late Cretaceous age (probably related to the Bulkley Intrusions) and late-stage aplite dikes. The primary and secondary copper minerology and styles of mineralization are typical of porphyry copper systems. Statistical treatment of the historical rock analytical data from the two areas are set out below.

In the southwest corner of the property, the magnetic data shows the positive magnetic feature hosting the M3 copper discovery continues onto the Steller project, represented by a strong positive, elliptical magnetic feature surrounding a magnetic low. This magnetic signature is like that which hosts the Huckleberry porphyry copper deposit and the M3 copper discovery.

Target #1:

Target #2:

Note:

a)ppm=parts per million, ppb=parts per billion, detection limits; gold=5ppb, molybdenum 1 ppm, silver 0.1 ppm and 1 ppm copper,

b)statistical values are heavily influenced by several samples that returned high copper-molybdenum, gold, and silver values.

Gold Target

In addition to advancing the porphyry copper potential of the property, the program will sample and characterize the controls, styles of mineralization and alteration associated with the previously identified 1.2 km long mineralized structure. The magnetic signature suggests the structure controlling the gold mineralization extends a significant distance beyond the 1.2 kms identified to date. The historical description of the gold mineralization suggests the presence of a high sulphidization gold system.

2021 Exploration Program

The technical report recommends a $584,000 budget to test the copper and gold targets identified to date and to complete a preliminary assessment of the balance of the property. The 2021 program will be managed by Mr. T. Sandberg and is expected to commence on or about mid-June. Logistical preparation for the 2021 program is well advanced.

Phase I of the program will consist of "ground truthing" the historical copper and gold results, describing the style and control on the mineralization and associated alteration. Soil and stream sediment sampling will be completed in areas of widespread anomalous concentrations of copper-molybdenum in soil and stream sediments (showing 51). Soil and stream sediment sampling will be completed in other prospective areas of the property like the area immediately north of the M3 copper discovery in the vicinity of the circular positive magnetic signature.

Phase II of the program is a 28.6 km deep penetrating DCIP geophysical survey covering the two high priority copper targets located in the northeast portion of the property. Quantec has been retained to complete the DCIP geophysical survey.

Cautionary Note:

The historical exploration data and analytical results reported in this news release except for the airborne geophysical survey completed in 2019, (see News Release dated February 25, 2019) were taken from the numerous assessment reports filed with the department of Mines and Energy for British Columbia over the past 50 years and on BC MINFILES. Neither Aurwest nor a qualified person has verified the historical sampling, analytical, and test data contained in this news release. The historical analytical results are from grab sampling on the property reported in this news release are selected samples and are not necessarily indicative of the mineralization hosted on the property.

Qualified Person:

Elmer B. Stewart, MSc. P. Geol., a director is the Company's non-independent, nominated Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101, Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and has reviewed and approves the scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release.

On Behalf Of Aurwest resources Corporation

"Colin Christensen"

President and Chief Executive Officer

For additional information please contact:



Colin Christensen

Telephone: (403) 483-8363

Email: cchristensen@aurwestresources.com

Website: aurwestresources.com

https://sedar.com/DisplayCompanyDocuments.do?lang=EN&issuerNo=00030246

About Aurwest Resources Corporation

Aurwest is a Canadian-based junior mining/exploration company focused on the procurement, exploration and development of gold, silver, and other precious and base metal properties in North America. The Company currently holds Options to earn a 100% interest in the Paradise Lake and Stony Caldera gold properties in Central Newfoundland covering 47,800 hectares, and the 22,342 hectare Stellar copper/gold Project, located approximately 25 kilometers southwest of Houston British Columbia.

Forward-Looking Information

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. The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company's future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, except in accordance with the applicable laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82094
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2021) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that he had paid for the revamp of his Downing Street residence from his own pocket amid an investigation into the transactions related to the refurbishment.

Earlier in the day, the country's Electoral Commission announced that it would investigate whether the transactions were properly reported and if there were any offenses committed.

"I've paid for the Downing Street refurbishment personally," Johnson said in parliament.

Labour leader Keir Starmer, whose party has requested a full investigation into the way the prime minister paid for the refurbishment of his official apartment, pressured Johnson to reveal who paid the initial invoice for the revamp.

"I've given him [Starmer] the answer, and the answer is I have covered the costs ... but I think people will think it is absolutely bizarre that he is focusing on this issue," Johnson said.

The prime minister added that he had acted in full compliance with the country's ministerial code of conduct.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday that it is a positive step for the United States to ease COVID-19 restrictions on Chinese students and other international students into the United States this fall.

China hoped the United States can make proper arrangements for Chinese people to go to the country, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a news briefing in Beijing.

The Biden administration on Tuesday said it was easing travel restrictions on Chinese and other international students into the United States this fall, a change that could provide financial help to some colleges whose enrollments declined during the coronavirus pandemic.

(Reporting By Yew Lun Tian; Writing by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Louise Heavens)
The 7 Cs for CISOs to Communicate to their Board

CISOs are met with a problem  61% of board directors dont believe that cybersecurity should get in the way of business operations. As these same CISOs experience firsthand, this mindset has 2 fundamental problems:

It does not level up the need for strategic cybersecurity investment It suggests a failure of regarding cybersecurity as an inherent aspect of business strategy and growth

What can be done to show directors that cybersecurity is essential for growth?

Download this e-book to hear from venture capitalists, cybersecurity leaders and military experts as they give 7 Cs on building a stronger business case for cybersecurity.
Specialty industries boost rural vitalization in Guangxi

Xinhua) 08:54, April 28, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a food-processing zone for local specialty Luosifen rice noodles in the city of Liuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

NANNING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Last year, Huang Jihua, a 36-year-old bamboo grower in Baile village in the Chinese city of Liuzhou, saw surging sales in bamboo sprouts, an essential ingredient for Luosifen, a local specialty rice noodle.

"The price of bamboo sprouts soared as Luosifen also became popular elsewhere in the country," said Huang, adding that bamboo sprouts brought his family revenue of over 200,000 yuan (about 30,850 U.S. dollars) in 2020.

President Xi Jinping on Monday visited a food-processing zone for Luosifen rice noodles during his inspection of Liuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

It is not an easy task to develop a small rice noodle business into such a large industry, said Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

As a local signature dish, the magic of Luosifen lies in its broth, which is made by stewing river snails for hours with several seasonings and spices. The noodle is usually served with pickled bamboo, dried turnip, fresh vegetables, and peanuts.

Food booths selling Luosifen are everywhere in Liuzhou. Now the inexpensive street food has become a national delicacy.

Instant Luosifen noodles are even exported to over 20 overseas markets and had an output value of over 10 billion yuan last year.

The rise of Luosifen has triggered an "industrial revolution" in the local rice noodle industry. It boosts local rural vitalization as over 200,000 Liuzhou farmers plant and cultivate raw materials for Luosifen like rice, beans, snails, bamboo shoots, and fungi.

Farmers in Guangxi also rely on other industries to strive for a prosperous life.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a food-processing zone for local specialty Luosifen rice noodles in the city of Liuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

On Sunday, Xi visited Maozhushan village in Guilin to inspect the local grape-growing industry. He called for efforts to pursue rural vitalization based on local specialty industries and make better use of science and technology in promoting the agricultural sector.

As the grape blossom season approaches, Wang Shirui dives into his busy days tending the family's vineyards in Maozhushan village.

Wang told Xinhua that agricultural technicians invited by the local government would come now and then, providing technical support to grape growers.

The 63-year-old farmer has kept his routine for over 20 years. Like most fellow villagers, Wang lives a relatively affluent life with his grape plantation. Last year, his family earned over 100,000 yuan from the 13 mu (about 0.87 hectares) grapes his family planted.

"In August and September each year, merchants from Guangxi and the neighboring provinces of Hunan and Guangdong swarm into the village to buy our grapes," said Wang.

Wang Junrong, Party chief of Nanyi village, which administers Maozhushan, said the village churns out a great variety of high-quality grapes with over 21 hectares of vineyards.

Grape planting has vastly increased the locals' income, and their per capita disposable income reached 30,000 yuan last year, said the village official.

"Inspired by our success, other villages nearby gradually joined the industry and have plowed over 1,300 hectares of vineyards," he said.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
A 14-year-old youth accused of murdering a schoolboy with a sword concealed inside a cane has appeared at the Old Bailey today.

Fares Maatou, 14, died in his blood soaked school uniform after he was stabbed to death and struck over the head by a fellow teenager in east London last Friday.

One 14-year-old suspect, who cannot be named, allegedly beat aspiring engineer Fares with a black metal cane used to conceal a sword, while another suspect inflicted the fatal wound.

Fares attackers are said to have made off with his electric scooter as he lay dying outside Zzetta Soul Fired Pizza in Barking Road with an 11cm stab wound.

Aspiring engineer Fares Maatou, 14, (pictured) died while still in his school uniform after being stabbed and struck over the head repeatedly in Canning Town on Friday April 23

A nearby business owner who saw the stabbing said a FedEx delivery driver and one of Fares' friends frantically tried to resuscitate him.

The boy was pronounced dead at 4.30pm - becoming the 11th teenager to be stabbed to death in the nation's capital in 2021.

Touching floral tributes spelling out LLF - Long Live Fares - were left at the scene by friends and family.

Eyewitnesses later reported that his mother fainted when she first arrived at the gory Canning Town crime scene.

Friends and family left floral tributes and balloons outside the scene on Barking Road last week

Six more arrests were made at a property in Leyton yesterday in connection with Fares' death.

One suspect, 14, from Grays, Essex was charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon on Sunday, after the confrontation between two groups of young people turned deadly.

The boy spoke only to confirm his identity as he appeared in court via video link from Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre, Northamptonshire.

He was remanded in custody ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing at the Old Bailey on July 16.

The 14-year-old murder suspect, from Grays, Essex, spoke only to confirm his name when he appeared via video link at the Old Bailey (pictured) today

Louise Oakley, prosecuting, said: CCTV reveals what led up to the infliction of that injury.

There was a confrontation between a group involving the deceased and others and the group involving this defendant.

The mother of schoolboy Fares Maatou, 14, is said to have fainted when she first arrived at the blood soaked crime scene in east London

Others were present on both sides, ultimately the deceased received his injuries.

On the face of the case that I have seen there is no suggestion that he engaged in violence of any confrontation.

Notably, in this case an item described as a black cane, concealed within the item, a sheath, was a sword.

Fares, whose family is originally from Algeria, has an older sister Amira and a brother.

His father is in hospital critically ill with coronavirus and awoke from a coma six weeks ago.
Official word so far is:

In the village of Zarya Svoboda, Saraevsky District, on Monday, April 26, after lunch, the grass caught fire. Fire brigades left for the village at 15.13. In addition to them, fire trucks from the forestry, the Para fish farm came to extinguish them. In total, 6 pieces of equipment worked on the fire.

The fire spread very quickly over the area and soon covered a large area, and at the same time two houses, of which practically nothing remained. The burned-out area is 2 hectares.

The fire started with dry grass, says Alexei Nikanorov, senior inspector of the supervisory department.  It is too early to talk about its reasons, a check is being carried out, but it is possible that the human factor is to blame. If the involvement of people is confirmed, then the culprit will have to answer before the law to the fullest extent. The punishment will depend on the damage caused. If that amount is more than 250 thousand rubles, this is already Article 168 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Destruction or damage to property by negligence), which provides for a punishment of up to 2 years in prison. 

By the afternoon of Tuesday, April 27, the conflagrations were still smoking and in some places even tongues of flame were breaking through.

https://ryazpressa.ru/v-poselke-zarya-svobody-saraevskogo-rajona-iz-za-pala-travy-sgoreli-dva-doma/
New Delhi: The CoWIN portal for vaccine registration crashed on Wednesday (April 28) soon after it opened as people rushed to book an appointment for themselves.

Several people took to social media to complain of the site not working.

"CoWIN server is facing issues. Please try later," read the error message on the portal that some users shared on Twitter.

Earlier today, the National Health Authority said that they expected more than 10 million users to register on the portal and that the system will be able to take the load.

"On many days, we have had around 5 mn people registering in a day. We expect more than double that number today. We think our system will be able to take the load when registrations open today," said RS Sharma, CEO of, National Health Authority.

On many days, we have had around 5 mn people registering in a day. We expect more than double that number today.We think our system will be able to take the load when registrations open today:RS Sharma, CEO,National Health Authority on vaccination for those above 18yrs from May 1 pic.twitter.com/HMLBYKmpFR  ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2021

The registration window opened at 4 pm for all people above the age of 18 years. They will be able to book an appointment to get vaccinated against COVID-19 through the portal.

Meanwhile, the Aarogya Setu app, which also has the facility to register for vaccination also faced issues as many users were not able to book appointments.

Phase 3 of the COVID-19 vaccination drive is set to kick off from May 1. Individuals will be required to furnish a valid identity document such as Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, Voter Card etc. After getting vaccinated they will receive a certificate for the same.

Vaccination will continue to be provided free of cost to the eligible population as defined earlier which include Health Care Workers (HCWs), Front Line Workers (FLWs) and all people above 45 years of age at Government of India (GoI) vaccination centres.

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Libby Glynn, a caterer and co-president of the PTA at Bridger School, is seeking a seat on the Portland school board representing schools in the districts Southeast neighborhoods.

She is one of three candidates on the ballot for the Zone 6 seat held by Julia Brim-Edwards, the only incumbent seeking reelection. The winner of the race will take office along with two new board members come July.

The 2021 campaign comes at a time when families and employees in Portland Public Schools are charting courses for post-pandemic education. The states largest district was among the areas last to open for in-person instruction.

Portland Public Schools will offer among the fewest classroom hours to students of the 14 largest Portland-area districts, an Oregonian/OregonLive analysis found.

District officials have pledged to prioritize Black, Indigenous and other students of color in their budget proposals and programming on the tail of the pandemic, just as they promised to do in previous years. The school board has the final say in Superintendent Guadalupe Guerreros spending plans.

The Oregonian/OregonLive sent a survey to every candidate who will be on Mays ballot. Here are Glynns answers, edited for length.

Name: Libby Glynn

Occupation: Caterer and mother

Education: Diploma, Benson Polytechnic, 1999.

BA, history 2003 University of Dallas and masters in humanities 2008 University of Dallas

Do you have children who attend or attended Portland Public Schools? If so, please provide details.

Yes, my child is currently in fifth-grade Spanish immersion (since kindergarten) at our neighborhood Bridger School in Southeast Portland.

What inspired you to run for the board?

The school children of PPS who deserve to have a truly equitable education experience, no matter which schools they attend.

Did you have any previous involvement in PPS, either as a volunteer or member of an advisory council or committee? If so, what were your duties?

I attended PPS from third to 12th grades. I sit on the Bridger School site council and am co-president of Bridger PTA.

How much time do you envision yourself setting aside for board duties every week?

I imagine that it may be different from week to week but anticipating that besides board meetings one would probably be spending an additional 10 to 20 hours a week preparing.

This is an unpaid position of privilege and I barely have access to this privilege.

This says a lot about a system that does not give citizens equal access to an elected position. This aspect of being able to be a board member really needs to change. Again, making proper attempts of actual and true equity.

What are the two most pressing issues facing Portland Public Schools and why?

Number one issue that PPS faces is the very shocking student engagement gap between some students of color and white students.

This number has been hovering around 50% for way too long. This same issue existed when I was in high school in the late 1990s. This should be PPS and Portlands No. 1 embarrassment.

We need to keep teachers and administrators at higher-need schools and this could potentially be done with additional incentive pay as well as specialized training for staff.

The No. 2 most pressing issue is probably PPS overall construction costs and spending issues as it relates to its 2017 and 2020 bond measures that were passed by local voters.

How will you hold the superintendent accountable?

The board should be making more joint decisions instead of deferring decisions directly to the superintendent to decide alone.

An annual review done by the other sitting board members would assist in overall accountability of the superintendent. I am firmly against large severance packages for this public position. Instead there should be other types of incentives for the role of district superintendent.

How would you rate the performance of the Portland Public Schools boards response to and handling of COVID-19-related developments so far? What would you have done differently?

I would have liked to have seen possibly a different hybrid model that put students in the classroom for longer days.

I think the current hybrid instruction days were determined partially by the teachers union and the current contract. This special hybrid learning is not easy for all families. Different people have different types of jobs with different schedules.

Its a frustrating model for those who dont have sufficient access to child care and have to be at work when they are expected to pick up a student. This is not an equitable solution and we need to be back in school in the fall full time. If for any other reason than for the social emotional health of students and staff.

How will you engage with the community?

I want to have personal working relationships with all the schools in Zone 6. I would like to visit every school in the district over the four-year commitment to the board.

How will you engage historically underserved families?

I want to see new quarterly or monthly community forums with translation services provided in order to provide a productive platform for underserved voices from each zone.

This would be at least a start as well as sending out direct surveys in the mail to these historically underserved families once or twice a year.

How will you balance the interests of students and teachers as represented by their union, should those interests be at odds?

Sometimes this distinction does occur from time to time.

For the students to be actively engaged, their teachers need to feel secure in their work environments. Without teachers approval and overall happiness, there is no healthy learning environment.

Same is true for administrators and other supporting staff.

Parents and educators need to recognize that they are in this environment raising these humans together. Each component needs the other to have a successful send off of the students into the wider world. We are not divorcing each other nor are we here to bully one another.

How will you handle disagreements with fellow board members?

I will always choose kindness when dealing with disagreements. Tolerance of others opinions is sometimes necessary to achieve bigger goals together. First and foremost we are supposed to be the role models for the children of PPS so lead by example.

Portland Public Schools, like other districts, has largely discontinued interim and year-end standardized testing to measure students reading, writing and math skills. Do you agree with that decision? When would you want such testing to resume?

I think we have spent way too much of our teachers time and students time on standardized tests.

I strongly disagreed that PPS chose the MAP test while distance learning this past winter. I think priorities should have been focused elsewhere given the high stress involved during the current pandemic.

The state even put the SBAC on hold but I imagine that will continue in the next school year. The multiple adoption of different types of tests given by PPS and other districts is not necessary for education.

More Outdoor Education: Yes! More exams: No!

What metrics will you be watching as a board member?

No. 1 should be an increase in the overall graduation rate for students, a greater retention of all staff at need-based schools, higher rates of attendance for students and staff, improved scores on assessments in whatever form as well as lower rates of student discipline.

What strengths would you bring to the board? Why, essentially, is it crucial the voters choose you?

I have a keen ability to think outside the box and encourage others to look at new or better options for a well-functioning system.

I am optimistic that we can turn this recovering district situation into a success for the children and others invested in PPS.

This would be an achievement we all deserve. My heart embraces this specific type of volunteer duty for the sake of the public school children as well as for the sanity of all who navigate the current system.
'Religious Liberty in Crisis': Ken Starr says new challenges are undermining America's first freedom

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Prominent legal scholar Ken Starr, best known for serving as the independent counsel who investigated former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, has written a book warning that societys growing hostility to religion and the coronavirus pandemic have created new challenges to America's first freedom.

Starrs latest book,Religious Liberty in Crisis: Exercising Your Faith in an Age of Uncertainty, was released last week. It examines the history of religious liberty case law in the United States and looks ahead to the possible future threats to the First Amendment.

In an interview with The Christian Post, the 74-year-old said he was motivated to write the book in light of the pandemic restrictions on religious worship, which he discusses at the beginning of the book.

The pandemic and the onset of the pandemic brought a new set of challenges, and I was moved to write a book which has actually been on my heart for 40 years, he said.

We now see that government has enormous power, even at state and local levels, he added.

The government has power to do good, but it also has power to infringe upon our fundamental liberties. So, the pandemic provided the occasion to step back and reflect on our culture of liberty and to provide a tool for believers to understand their liberties and to speak out in favor of their liberties.

Starr, who formerly served as president of the Baptist higher education institution Baylor University in Texas, said the book is designed to give every American a grounding in [the] fundamental principles of religious liberty.

I hope that parents and grandparents will see fit to guide their children and their grandchildren to read and understand these great principles which need to be transmitted on to the rising generation, he said.

While Starr acknowledged that hostility to religious liberty has existed for many years, he explained that the culture has shifted quite significantly in recent years.

He warned that in many quarters, religion is viewed as a negative influence on society and accused in broad terms as serving as a mask from discrimination that inflicts harm on others.

We need to be able to understand that narrative and to counter that narrative with what I think [is] the truth about religious commitment, especially in the Christian community  that the Church is a source of enormous good as society measures good, he added.

Starr cited the Equality Act, a sweeping piece of legislation marketed by Democrats as a necessary measure to enshrine nondiscrimination protections for LGBT individuals into law, as one of the gravest threats to religious liberty.

It would be disastrous because, by its terms, it would prevent the invocation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Starr told CP.

The fundamental purpose of  the Religious Freedom Restoration Act [of 1993] was to protect individual conscience and freedom and conscience belief. The statute, by its terms, if enacted, would eradicate that.

Starr went on to say that the Equality Act raises profound First Amendment concerns as to its constitutionality.

But that will take many years to litigate, and so we need to preserve these historic mechanisms, such as the filibuster, to protect us against essentially a runaway majority  a very narrow majority  but a runaway majority, he argued.

The Equality Act passed the Democratic-led House of Representatives earlier this year on a largely party-line vote. But a vote has yet to take place in the Senate, where Democrats have a narrow 50-50 majority with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote in favor of Democrats.

The passage of the Equality Act would require the abolition of the filibuster rules, which require most Senate bills to receive 60 votes instead of a simple majority. As of right now, Democrats lack the votes necessary to abolish the filibuster or pass the Equality Act with a simple majority.

Regarding the Biden administrations position on religious liberty, Starr maintained that the signs are not promising thus far.

Starr expressed particular concern about the effort to eradicate freedom of conscience, to say to conscientious objectors, We dont care about your beliefs. We want to achieve our social ends and we will simply ignore your concerns based on faith.

In the book, Starr listed Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker who has repeatedly found himself in court because he refused to make cakes celebrating same-sex weddings and gender transitions due to his religious beliefs, as an example of a conscientious objector.

He told CP that the assault on religious belief and practice, which includes the adverse treatment of Phillips, represents a sea change in attitude in the culture.

Historically, Americans have understood and appreciated freedom of conscience and have stood by dissenters and the right to dissent, he assured. That is part of our constitutional heritage. But that heritage is being challenged now by those who have social goals and are very aggressive in their effort to pursue those goals.

Starr takes solace in the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has articulated six great principles in favor of religious liberty, and those principles have been articulated over the past half-century.

In particular, 40 years ago, the Supreme Court issued a breakthrough opinion in a case allowing Christian groups on college campuses to meet on the same footing as secular groups, he said, referring to the 1981 Supreme Court caseWidmar v. Vincent.

In that case, the nations higher court ruled the University of Missouri at Kansas Citys policy preventing religious groups from meeting on campus unconstitutional.

And over these four decades, the Supreme Court, as the culture has changed, has remained steadfast in support of these great principles, he stressed.

Most recently, in 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the presence of a cross honoring fallen soldiers on public land in Bladensburg, Maryland, did not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phillips, ruling that the state of Colorado was overly hostile to the baker when it penalized him for violating a state discrimination law by refusing to bake a same-sex wedding cake.
Saint-Gobain will bring Continuous Composites' CF3D production systems in-house to be located at Saint-Gobain's manufacturing centers of excellence in the U.S. or Europe

production systems in-house to be located at Saint-Gobain's manufacturing centers of excellence in the U.S. or Europe Strategic partnership focuses on bringing CF3D to aerospace applications, including aerostructures and high-temperature components

to aerospace applications, including aerostructures and high-temperature components Saint-Gobain will lead certification of CF3D process and materials for aerospace applications

Continuous Composites, a composites additive manufacturer, announces the execution of a Joint Development Agreement with Saint-Gobain (EPA: SGO), a French multinational manufacturer and distributor of high-performance solutions. The strategic collaboration was formed to advance and certify Continuous Composites' patented Continuous Fiber 3D Printing (CF3D) for commercial aerospace applications.

Saint-Gobain will bring Continuous Composites' CF3D production systems in-house to be located at Saint-Gobain's manufacturing centers of excellence in the U.S. or Europe, providing access to state-of-the-art facilities and testing equipment. Engineers from both companies will collaborate on the technology, focusing on a wide range of CF3D material solutions, including high-temperature components.

Through collaboration, Saint-Gobain will offer innovative solutions enabled by CF3D to new and existing applications for aerostructures, engine parts, and interiors. Saint-Gobain will lead the certification of the CF3D process and materials for commercial aerospace applications.

CF3D is an automated manufacturing solution for additively manufacturing strong, lightweight, aerospace-grade composite components applicable to many industries. By combining high-performance continuous fiber with rapid curing thermoset resins, CF3D increases the efficiency of the composite parts manufacturing process to deliver substantially lower cost and shorter lead times as compared to conventional methods. CF3D offers a wide range of materials for manufacturing both traditional and high temperature composites, as well as multi-functional structures enabled by printed sensors and wires.

"This innovative technology will help our customers solve weight and structural challenges that are inherent in aerospace applications," says Scott Huth, General Manager, Aerospace, Saint-Gobain Mobility. "Together, we are fast-tracking CF3D for aerospace and we are thrilled to be part of this technology."

"Saint-Gobain has a longstanding reputation for driving innovation, working with cutting edge technologies in a multitude of industries, and CF3Dis no exception," says Tyler Alvarado, CEO of Continuous Composites. "The demonstrated performance of CF3D meets the strict standards of the aerospace industry, and we are proud to be partners with Saint-Gobain through their equity investment and JDA."

About Continuous Composites

Continuous Composites, established in 2015 and headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, owns the world's earliest granted patents on Continuous Fiber 3D Printing (CF3D). Offering the most advanced composites and additive manufacturing solution, CF3D redefines mainstream manufacturing. The CF3D process leverages the power of composite materials with a 3D printing process to reduce the high cost, long lead times, and design constraints found in traditional manufacturing. CF3D elevates the use of composites by bringing tailorable, snap curing thermoset materials solutions to new applications. To learn more, visit www.continuouscomposites.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005271/en/

Contacts:

Allie Hambling

ahambling@cf3d.co

888-508-1085 x108
LONDON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Medipass Healthcare, a leading provider of Managed Equipment Services (MES) to the cancer care sector, is pleased to announce its acquisition of the MES and related contracts of Impregilo New Cross (INC) MES Division, a fully owned subsidiary of WeBuild S.p.A. Medipass's newest projects are located at the Churchill Hospital, which is part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and at the New Cross Hospital, part of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

The acquisition builds on Medipass's existing strengths in bringing advanced medical equipment to leading cancer care centres across the UK. Under contract to Ochre Solutions Limited, Medipass will deliver the Radiotherapy and Radiology MES at Churchill Hospital. The Churchill Hospital is a centre of excellence for cancer services and other specialties.

Additionally, under contract to Wolverhampton Radiology Limited (WRL), Medipass will provide a Radiology MES as well as Facility Management for a purpose-built diagnostic facility based at the New Cross Hospital. This facility provides comprehensive diagnostic and interventional radiological services for inpatient, outpatient, emergency, GP referrals and other referring hospitals.

Stew Watson, Head of Estates Development at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said, "Medipass join the Trust at an exciting time as we look to work with service providers to promote, enhance and improve patient experience."

Mr Watson further noted, "With further investment in replacement equipment planned, we value the expertise that Medipass bring to this contract and we look forward to developing this relationship."

INC's experienced management team will remain in place to continue to operate the MES/FM services at Oxford and Wolverhampton alongside Medipass's team of specialists. Medipass has operated long-term MES contracts at the Northern Ireland Cancer Centre in Belfast since 2006, and the MES at the Leeds Cancer Centre since 2007. In 2017, Medipass was awarded the MES project at the Colney Centre by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The acquisition means Medipass is responsible for the procurement, maintenance and lifecycle management of more than 30 linear accelerators, making Medipass one of the largest providers of radiotherapy equipment in the UK. John Muolo, CEO of Medipass Healthcare, said, "We are very excited to add these prestigious projects to our increasing portfolio of services. Medipass, as the premier radiotherapy MES in the UK, is poised for significant growth over the coming years in line with continuous improvements in the technologies required for best patient outcome and experience."

Mr. Muolo added, "The timing of this acquisition is excellent as our parent company Medipass S.p.A. was recently acquired by funds managed by DWS Infrastructure. Together, these two transactions strengthen our ability to provide excellent services for the NHS and its patients."

Chairman and CEO of Medipass S.p.A., Guglielmo Brayda, said, "The Oxford and Wolverhampton partnerships are an important part of our strategy of continued growth and expansion in the UK. We welcome this opportunity to work closely with our new partners to positively impact the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and, in particular, the enhancement of patient care."

About Medipass and DWS

Medipass is today among the leaders in the provision of services for oncological care and advanced diagnostic imaging in Italy and the United Kingdom where it operates in over 20 hospitals and manages numerous MES projects. Medipass focuses on clinical-led solutions that enhance the patient experience, reduce costs and increase efficiencies for its hospital partners.

DWS Infrastructure is a leading infrastructure investor and is part of DWS Group & GmbH Co KGaA, an independent listed asset manager with a presence in c. 40 countries and approximately EUR 759 billion of assets under management. DWS Infrastructure is one of the largest European infrastructure investors and has approximately EUR 19.0 billion of assets under management. DWS Infrastructure seeks to create and add value to its funds' investments through active asset management as well as through its network, experience and funding to achieve the company's growth potential.

Contact:

Robin Rezende, Operations Director

Medipass Healthcare Ltd.

67 Upper Berkeley Street

London W1H 7QX

T: + 44 (0) 113 360 8896

robin.rezende@medipasshealthcare.com

www.medipasshealthcare.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498138/Medipass.jpg
Curl up with a dark family drama, or keep things light with a judo-loving guinea pig

Fiction

1. The Therapist by BA Paris is published in hardback by HQ, priced 12.99 (ebook 7.99). Available now

When Alice and Leo move into an exclusive gated community called The Circle, the house initially seems perfect. But as Alice gets to know her neighbours, she discovers a gruesome secret about the houses past and becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what really happened two years ago. This dark family drama will have readers racing through the pages, and is the kind of book you devour in one sitting. There is a palpable sense of tension that builds to a devastating conclusion. A truly emotive read about a house that holds a shocking secret, and those who will go to extreme lengths to keep it hidden.9/10(Review by Megan Baynes)

2. Of Women And Salt by Gabriela Garcia is published in hardback by Picador, priced 14.99 (ebook 8.49). Available now

Gabriela Garcias debut is a multi-generational family story encompassing themes of survival, addiction and storytelling. The characters, featuring five generations of mothers and daughters, traverse time and culture from present-day Miami and 1860s Cuba, and are affected by the violence of war, revolution and abuse. The narrative explores the US immigration system, the unspoken conflicts between migrant communities and their efforts to hold on to their identities in a new country. Its strengths meanwhile lie in the untold stories from often silenced and overlooked groups, but the plot feels overly eventful at times, with chapters appearing episodic  arguably lessening the emotional impact.7/10(Review by Jessica Frank-Keyes)

3. This One Sky Day by Leone Ross is published in hardback by Faber & Faber, priced 16.99 (ebook 7.49). Available now

Set on the surreal and hugely imaginative fictional land of Popisho, This One Sky Day introduces the reader to an eccentric universe where butterflies are edible and each human is blessed with their own form of magic. With colour and eccentricity, the beauty of a Caribbean-like landscape unfolds and three characters come to the fore as their paths are followed over the span of a day. The world conjured by Leone Ross is in most ways unrecognisable from our own, but the humour, warmth and emotion of those characters is somehow completely familiar  and that is what makes this difficult to define and at times bizarre novel, so compelling.7/10(Review by Molly Hunter)

Non-fiction

4. I Am A Girl From Africa by Elizabeth Nyamayaro is published in hardback by Scribner, priced 20 (ebook 9.99). Available now

Rescued from starvation during a Zimbabwean drought, a young Elizabeth Nyamayaro becomes fixated on emulating her saviour: a United Nations (UN) aid worker. Her new memoir charts that extraordinary journey, from rural village to senior adviser at the UN. Battling seemingly insurmountable hardships  poverty, prejudice and educational barriers  Nyamayaros compassion and determination to change lives takes her from Harare to London, Geneva, New York and beyond. A central moving thread is the love and support given by family and friends, whose sacrifices and wisdom shape her humanitarian outlook. Throughout her honest and emotional account, Nyamayaro also makes space for the voices of the victims of health inequalities she works hard to help. While sharing examples of progress, such as launching the global HeForShe movement for gender equality, Nyamayaro also highlights persistent injustices. Her remarkable story of perseverance provides ample inspiration to join the fight for change.7/10(Review by Tom Pilgrim)

Childrens book of the week

5. Weirdo by Zadie Smith and Nick Laird, illustrated by Magenta Fox, is published in hardback by Puffin, priced 12.99 (ebook 8.99). Available now

Its tough being new  as Kits birthday present, a judo-loving guinea pig called Maud, discovers when Kits other pets call her a weirdo just because she doesnt look like them or know their routine. Will she try to change herself to fit in, or will a friendly neighbour in their block of flats show her its better just to be herself? This sweet first childrens book by adult novelists (and married couple) Zadie Smith and Nick Laird does not try to talk down to its young readers, and its uplifting storyline lets the beautiful pastel art of illustrator Magenta Fox do a lot of the work. Parents reading along can point out charming pictorial details to enrich the words  its a perfect introduction to comic-book style stories for three to seven-year-olds.8/10(Review by Natalie Bowen)

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING APRIL 24

HARDBACK (FICTION)1. Klara And The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro2. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman3. A Court Of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas4. Turn A Blind Eye by Jeffrey Archer5. The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex6. First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami7. The Dream Weavers by Barbara Erskine8. The Legacy Of War by Wilbur Smith & David Churchill9. Girl In The Walls by AJ Gnuse10. Blackout by Simon Scarrow(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)1. The Power Of Geography by Tim Marshall, Tim2. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse by Charlie Mackesy3. The Madness Of Grief by Reverend Richard Coles4. Working Hard, Hardly Working by Grace Beverley5. Pinch Of Nom Quick & Easy by Kay Featherstone & Kate Allinson6. Letters To Camondo by Edmund de Waal7. Women Dont Owe You Pretty by Florence Given8. Philip: The Final Portrait by Gyles Brandreth9. One: Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones10. Barbarossa: How Hitler Lost The War by Jonathan Dimbleby, Jonathan(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)1. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig3. If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane4. Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo5. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman6. Why We Eat (Too Much) by Dr Andrew Jenkinson7. Atomic Habits by James Clear8. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey9. The Beekeeper Of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri10. A Promised Land by Barack Obama(Compiled by Audible)
Apple has been granted permission to expand its footprint on the northside of Cork city.

New plans have been approved by Cork City Council which affords Apple Operations Europe Limited permission for modifications to an existing warehouse building at the former Banta site, Hollymount Industrial Estate, Hollyhill.

That plan includes the change-of-use of the warehouse to use it as a test and measurement facility, with associated offices. The works include installing new windows, changes to fans and ducts, the changing of generators, and the installation of a bicycle rack for staff.

The Banta site is located south of Apple's existing Hollyhill location. The tech giant has been located in Hollyhill since the 1980s.

Apple also has office space at Half Moon Lane in the city centre and employs approximately 6,000 people across the two locations. The Irish Examiner reported last month of the company's plans to take up further office space in the newly developed Horgans Quay/HQ development next to Kent rail station.

The HQ office development on Cork's Horgan's Quay. Picture: Larry Cummins.

The company has done a deal on over 36,000 sq ft of offices with enough space for 350-400 additional employees.

Apple had started 2020 with a discrete inquiry for up to 100,000 sq ft of new Cork offices, but its hunt was curtailed a year ago by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company reactivated its additional space requirement for further city offices in recent months but reduced its immediate demand by over 50%, to 40,000-50,000 sq ft.
ESSEN (dpa-AFX) - RWE AG (RWEOY.PK) said, for 2021, the company continues to expect adjusted EBITDA of between 2.65 billion euros and 3.05 billion euros. The target for 2021 adjusted net income is between 0.75 billion euros and 1.1 billion euros. 'Our excellent financial situation means we can continue investing heavily. And that's what we're doing - and it's almost exclusively in 'green energy,' said Rolf Martin Schmitz, CEO of RWE AG. For 2020, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board are proposing to increase dividend to 85 cents per share. For 2021, the Executive Board expects an increase in the planned dividend to 90 cents per share. 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.
An investor looks at stock prices on a laptop at a brokerage in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

Taiwans exchange-traded fund Fubon FTSE Vietnam has raised its investment in the country by $91 million in a month.

The fund, which tracks the FTSE Vietnam 30 Index comprising the 30 largest companies by market cap, has poured TWD7.8 billion into Vietnamese stocks as of Monday, up 48 percent from the end of March, according to data from Bloomberg.

Fubons top 10 constituents by the end of last month were VIC of biggest private conglomerate Vingroup, accounting for 11.11 percent of investment, followed by HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group and VHM of real estate giant Vinhomes.

Fubon investment director Yang Yining said Vietnams success in controlling the pandemic and positive signals in foreign investment were factors that would attract more money into its stock market.

Vietnam has seen increasing investment from foreign ETFs in recent years. In the first quarter, their net purchases on the HoSE were worth VND4.5 trillion ($195 million), although foreign investors were net sellers during this period to the tune of VND18.6 trillion.
As mentioned in their "Craft for a Cause" press release last fall, ShotGun founders, Lori and Brad Foster, were introduced to the Lone Survivor Foundation by its founder, Retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell. They were drawn to the organization's dedication and commitment to helping US veterans and their families. The Lone Survivor Foundation (LSF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to leading veterans and their families on a path to healing from combat trauma by providing no-cost therapeutic services.

This will be the second time that ShotGun has run a two-month donation effort for LSF. Last fall the company donated over $8,000 to the Lone Survivor Foundation.

"As Texans, and as Americans, we are honored to help bring more attention to Lone Survivor Foundation," stated co-founder Lori Foster. "At ShotGun, we are about being real, authentic and Texan  as a brand and as a company. Showing our support to LSF and to the people that fight for our state and country, is one way we can be true to that and make a positive impact."

A donation of 50 cents for every ShotGun Spiked Seltzer 12-pack Ranch Water, Variety Pack and Fiesta Pack sold in May and June will be donated to LSF. Look for our LSF displays at participating retailers throughout Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

About ShotGun Spiked Seltzer (shotgunseltzer.com)

Founded in Austin in 2019 by beverage veterans Brad and Lori Foster, ShotGun is the first independently owned and operated, craft Texas seltzer brand using only quality ingredients. Its assortment of flavors is inspired by genuine craft cocktails with a Texas twist.

About Lone Survivor Foundation (https://lonesurvivorfoundation.org/)

Lone Survivor Foundation provides no-cost programs for service members (both active duty and veterans) from all military branches and service eras, along with their families, who are experiencing symptoms of PTSD, mild Traumatic Brain Injury, and chronic pain as a result of combat. Lone Survivor Foundation is a Federal 501(c)3 non-profit.

For more information:

Lori Foster

513-544-8523

[email protected]

SOURCE Shotgun Seltzer LLC

Related Links

https://shotgunseltzer.com/


Columbia, MO (65201)

Today

Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to mostly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to mostly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
The late cardinal, who wanted the Church to be the light and salt of society, emphasized the values of life and family, said Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of Seoul.

By Robin Gomes

South Koreas Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, former Archbishop of Seoul, passed away on Tuesday. He was 89. A towering figure in the Korean Church and former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea (CBCK), died at St. Marys Hospital in Seoul on April 27. He had been receiving treatment for various old-age ailments, according to a press release from Seoul Archdiocese.

Cardinal Cheong was hospitalized in February and his condition improved by the first week of March. At his request, hospital staff removed most of the life-saving equipment from Cardinal Cheong, who could respond to people who prayed for his recovery. He marked the 60th anniversary of his priestly ordination in the hospital on March 18 when his relatives visited him.

Cardinal Cheong had committed his organs, including his corneas, for donation upon his death. In a condolence message, the current Archbishop of Seoul, recalled his predecessors dedication to mission, saying he wanted the Church to be the light and salt of society, and practiced a pastoral ministry that emphasized the values of life and family.

Cardinal Yeom celebrated a midnight requiem Mass for his predecessor on April 27 at Seouls Myeongdong Cathedral. "Cardinal Cheong gave out everything he had to churches and the poor. He donated his organs to devote himself to helping the weak," Cardinal Yeom said in his homily. "He was always free from material things and he was unconstrained." He said his predecessor was warm-hearted, considerate and caring like a mother.

Cardinal Cheong's funeral will be held at the cathedral on Saturday. He will be buried in the Yongin Park Catholic cemetery, on the southern outskirts of Seoul, where many a clergy are buried.

Biography

Cardinal Nicholas Chong Jin-suk was born on Dec. 7, 1931, in Seoul, in a devout Catholic family. He briefly studied chemical engineering before joining the seminary for priestly formation. Following his priestly ordination on March 18, 1961, these are the major events in his life:

1961 Parochial Vicar of Jungrim-dong Parish of Seoul

1961 - 1968 Taught at Song Shin High School (Minor Seminary)

1965 - 1967 Secretary to Archbishop of Seoul, Chancellor of the Seoul Archdiocese

1968 - 1970 Studied at Romes Pontifical Urban University for a licentiate in Canon Law

1970, Jun. 25 Appointed Bishop of Cheongju by Pope Paul VI

1970, Oct. 3 Consecrated Bishop. Motto: Omnibus Omnia" (All thing to all people)

1970 - 1998 Bishop of Cheongju

1983 - 2006 President of the Committee for Canonical Affairs of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea (CBCK)

1996 - 1999 President of the CBCK

1998, Apr. 3 Appointed Archbishop of Seoul by Pope John Paul II

1998, Jun. 29 Installed Archbishop of Seoul

1998 Participated in the Special Assembly for Asia of the Synod of Bishops

1998  2004 Headed the CBCKs Commission for the Reconciliation of Korean People

1998 - 2012 Archbishop of Seoul and Apostolic Administrator of Pyong-yang (N. Korea)

2006, Mar. 24 Created Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI

2007 - 2012 Member of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organizational and

Economic Affairs of the Holy See

2006-12 Member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

2012, May 10 Resigned as Archbishop of Seoul, Apostolic Administrator of Pyong-yang

2021, April 27 Passed away

Pastoral priorities

As a priest and bishop, Cardinal Cheong prioritized evangelization and increasing the number of Catholic faithful in the country. A passionate and enthusiastic reader and writer since his childhood, he authored and translated some 60 books, mostly related to canon law and catechism.

He was a pro-life advocate and strongly opposed abortion. He made the life issue a central theme of pastoral affairs as the head of Cheongju Diocese and later of Seoul Archdiocese. In 2005, under his leadership, Seoul Archdiocese launched the Committee for Life after a Korean scientist triggered a national and global storm with claims of having cloned human embryos from stem cells. Cardinal Cheong dedicated a Mass for Life in December 2005 that aimed at spreading the culture of respect for life, urging human beings that they should not mistake themselves for owners of the world. The following year, he led a Eucharistic Congress in parishes with the theme Christ in our Lives that emphasized the life movement.

The cardinal is remembered for being exceptionally supportive of disadvantaged people and communities. As bishop of Cheongju, he helped to establish Kkottongnae (Flower Village), the largest church-run social welfare facility in South Korea.

Another major pastoral priority was reconciliation, peace on the Korean Peninsula and its unification. From 1998 to 2004, he headed CBCKs Commission for the Reconciliation of Korean People. That led to the creation in 2014 of the National Reconciliation Center in Paju, near the border with North Korea. The centre aims to foster better relations with North Korea and promote peace, reconciliation and evangelization.

Following the death of Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, the number of cardinals worldwide now stands at 223 cardinals, of whom 126 are electors and 97 non-electors.
A warm change is expected to hit Australia's east coast this weekend with temperatures in Melbourne set to climb into the mid-20s.

The warm weekend will be a welcome change for most after both New South Wales and Victoria experienced an unusually cold start to autumn.

NSW recorded its coldest start to autumn since 2012 with the lowest maximum and minimum average temperatures.

This weekend Sydney can expect warmer temperatures with a top of 25C on Sunday with only some patchy showers expected throughout the weekend.

Melbourne will enjoy a sunny weekend with temperatures soaring into the 20s

Similarly, Victoria also recorded its coldest March daily average temperature since 2012.

Melbourne also will have a warm weekend as temperature rise into the 20s with a top of 24C on Saturday.

Further north, Brisbane should expect temperatures between 16C and 24C over the weekend with rainfalls of up to 10mm each day of the weekend.

In the Northern Territory, Darwin is forecast to have a sunny weekend with a top of 34C each day.

Adelaide will receive a top of 28C on Saturday with a top of 26C on Saturday and 22C on Sunday.

Sydney and Melbourne are expecting higher than usual temperatures this weekend

Sydney is forecast to have temperatures rise into the twenties this weekend (pictured, a sunny Dee Why Beach)

Sydney experienced its coldest start to autumn since 2012

It will be slightly colder in Tasmania with Hobart forecast to receive a top of 22C on Saturday and Sunday, there will be mild winds of 15-25km/h on Saturday and Sunday.

In Western Australia, Perth will receive up to 10mm of rainfall on Friday with temperatures of 21C the maximum for the weekend arriving on Sunday.
The Alabama Department of Corrections disputes the claims in a lawsuit filed by State Auditor Jim Zeigler and three others that Gov. Kay Iveys plan to lease and operate prisons built and owned by private developers violates state law.

In a statement, the ADOC said:

The Alabama Department of Corrections conducted extensive due diligence prior to, and in the process of, undertaking this project to ensure the Leases were entered into in accordance with applicable laws. This politically motivated litigation is clearly intended only to distract.

Frankly, it is disappointing that these individuals oppose progress and improvement within the States correctional system. The ADOC will swiftly respond to these baseless and unsupported allegations, and remains committed to building a more rehabilitative, therapeutic environment for our population of incarcerated people.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Montgomery County Circuit Court. The plaintiffs are Zeigler, state Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, Kenny Glasgow, a pastor and prisoner rights advocate from Houston County, and Leslie Ogburn, whose property adjoins the site of a proposed prison near Tallassee in Elmore County.

The lawsuit claims the leases violate restrictions in the state Constitution on putting the state of Alabama in debt without the consent of the Legislature. It claims the leases also violate a state law that prohibits the ADOC from leasing facilities without consent of the Legislature.

The plaintiffs asked the court to block the plan by the Ivey administration and the ADOC to lease and operate prisons that a development team led by CoreCivic would build in Elmore and Escambia counties.

The defendants in the case are Ivey, ADOC Commissioner Jeff Dunn, the ADOC, and two real estate companies owned by CoreCivic.

Ivey signed 30-year leases on the two prisons in February. But the deals are not final until CoreCivic obtained financing for the lease agreements, the Ivey administration said.

Last week, two investment banks, Barclays and Keybanc Capital Markets, pulled out of the deals.

Ivey said Friday she would work with lawmakers to come up with a way to fund new prisons.

Ivey and the ADOC have been working on the plan for more than two years. It includes a third prison planned for Bibb County. The three prisons would hold a total of about 10,000 inmates and replace as many as 11 of Alabamas 13 mens prisons.

The Department of Justice sued the Alabama prison system last year, alleging that the violent conditions in mens prisons violate the Constitution. The Ivey administration says new prisons are a key component in fixing the system. Zeigler and other critics of the plan say the leases would be a poor use of taxpayer money and would not directly address the DOJs claims that the prison system fails to provide safe conditions.

Some residents near the proposed sites in Elmore and Bibb county say the prisons are unwanted in their communities.

Some Alabama lawmakers have said a better approach would be for the Legislature to approve a bond issue to build prisons the state would own on existing state property. Proposed bond issues failed under former Gov. Robert Bentley.
Charleston leaders plan to redraw the districts for their 12 City Council seats, but delays in the census could hold up that effort until after November, when six of the current members are up for reelection. Brandon Lockett/Staff
 Flash

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday urged Australia to contribute more to enhancing mutual trust and promoting pragmatic cooperation.



Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks in response to a recent speech by Frances Adamson, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, regarding China-Australia relations.

"China has always been of the view that a stable and sound China-Australia relationship serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples," Wang told a daily press briefing.

He said that the severe difficulty now facing bilateral ties was, in essence, caused by Australia's gross interference in China's internal affairs, its undermining of China's interests and its discriminatory trade practices against China. "The responsibility for the situation does not lie with China at all."

It was Australia that first barred Chinese enterprises from participating in its 5G network construction on trumped-up charges, said Wang, adding that Australia had also frequently denied investment of Chinese companies in the country under the pretext of "national security," and arbitrarily raided Chinese journalists based in the country.

Australia has also blatantly torn up cooperation agreements between the two sides and wantonly damaged normal exchanges and cooperation, the spokesperson said.

He urged Australia to view China and China's development in an objective and rational manner, contribute more to enhancing mutual trust and promoting pragmatic cooperation, and go no farther down the wrong path.
A large solar farm in Offaly has been given the green light by Offaly County Council.

OBM Solar Ltd has been given the go ahead for the 132ha development at Srah, Greenhills and Wood in Rhode.

The solar panels will be on ground mounted frames with 27 electrical inverter units also included in the plans. There will also be a CCTV system with pole mounted cameras. A battery storage system is also planned and the maximum output of the generating panels would be 110MW.

The company says the solar farm will generate carbon savings of 52,800 tonnes per annum.

An ESB sub-station will have to be constructed on the site and it is proposed that it will in turn connect to the former Rhode power station site.

Offaly County Council granted the planning permission with 22 conditions attached.
Cabinet Secretaries Mutahi Kagwe (Health) and George Magoha (Education) have not completely ruled out postponing the reopening of schools.

Speaking in an interview on Citizen TV Monday, CS Kagwe said they are keenly observing the Covid-19 positivity rate and the trajectory of daily recorded cases. He said his Ministry is also tracking the double mutant variant in India.

Kagwe said they would make an informed decision on whether to postpone school reopening after they are assured of the safety of both parents and students.

If the positivity rate rises and parents and students are put at risk, then we will be forced to postpone (reopening). There is no way we are going to risk the lives of our children at one time.

Reopening of schools is particularly of concern and we are going to keep an eye on developments. In the meeting we had, we were briefed well by CS Magoha. We are confident that they (Ministry of Education) are taking sufficient steps at the moment and facing the pandemic in a better manner, Kagwe said.

At the same time, the Health CS assured parents that the vaccination of teachers would go along way in preventing the spread of the virus in learning institutions.

The main threat when it comes to schools is not the students. The challenge is the school workers and teachers. We have carried out vaccination on teachers and we are confident that we can still man the pandemic.

It is a fluid situation and decisions will be made as we watch them and evolve them, Kagwe said.

CS Magoha on his part asked all students and parents to prepare for the school reopening scheduled for Monday, May 10.

The timetable remains as we had decided earlier in the year and by the grace of God, children will come to school at the time we said they should come to school, he said.
The state will meet its goal of having 70% of residents fully vaccinated by the end of June, officials said at the coronavirus briefing on Monday, a threshold they said will help the state achieve herd immunity.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 2.8 million residents were fully vaccinated, or about 41%, with another 4.1 million having had at least one shot, officials said.

Its a goal the governor first announced at the start of the vaccine rollout months ago.

Gov. Murphy and his administration set the goal of at least 70% of New Jersey adults vaccinated as a significant benchmark toward reaching herd immunity, however the work  or the pandemic  does not end when that threshold is met, said Alexandra Altman, a spokeswoman for the governor. Governor Murphy remains committed to providing equitable vaccine access to increase levels of community protection and prevent COVID-19 hot spots from flaring up throughout the state, even after the 70 percent goal is reached.

There is no doubt the state will reach its goal, said Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

We have about a million more. Well find those millions. We will reach them. We will reach that 70%, I can guarantee it, she said.

But medical experts said 70% is not necessarily the level we need to reach to achieve herd immunity, the point at which enough of the population is immune either through vaccination or having had the virus to stop the spread.

The World Health Organization says herd immunity thresholds vary with each disease. For measles its about 95%, while its 80% for polio, it said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci told NPR in December that 75 to 85% would have to get vaccinated if you want to have that blanket of herd immunity for COVID.

Whatever percentage you use, its not a panacea, experts said.

As a colleague noted, the conversation seems to be treating herd immunity as if it is an on-off switch when it is really more analogous to a dimmer, said Stephanie Navarro Silvera, an epidemiologist and public health professor with Montclair State University.

She said the goal of herd immunity is to reduce the probability that a susceptible person will come in contact with an infected person. As more people are vaccinated, there should be a decrease in cases, she said.

But, Silvera said, if there are pockets of communities who refuse to be vaccinated, the possibility of smaller outbreaks remains.

She said while the governor is using vaccination rates among adults as the goal, Id argue that to get to herd immunity, we really want 70% of the total population vaccinated and given that roughly 20% of the population is under 18, that means we need a much larger share of the adult population to be willing to be vaccinated than we are currently seeing.

Silvera said life will start to look more normal as we move toward herd immunity, as evidenced by the CDCs updated guidance that fully vaccinated Americans dont need to wear masks outdoors unless they are in a big crowd of people.

The caveat is that if you are unvaccinated and in crowded spaces, indoors or out, masks are still an important tool in our toolbox, she said.

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Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.
SEBASTOPOL, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Guayaki, North America's leader in yerba mate beverages announced today that Stefan Kozak will be its new CEO, taking over for one of the company's founders Chris Mann, who will move to its board of directors. Kozak is the former CEO of Red Bull North America. Under his leadership, it grew to become the second-largest non-alcoholic beverage brand in the United States.

"I am thrilled to be joining Guayaki Yerba Mate, a product I love and a company that aligns with my experience, skills, and most importantly, values. Given the state of the planet and Guayaki's longstanding commitment to sustainability and social good, I can't imagine a better and more meaningful place to work," Kozak said. "I look forward to building on the great work the founders and their teams have established over the past 25 years, and lead Guayaki Yerba Mate  its business, ideas, and ideals - into the future. 'Come to Life' is not only Guayaki's mantra, it perfectly describes my feelings while embarking on this new journey."

For more than 25 years, Guayaki has been a leader in sustainable business practices, powered by its Market Driven Regeneration () model, which is centered around developing long-term partnerships with Indigenous communities and small farmers to harvest yerba mate from the rainforest and forested farmland at fair trade prices. Guayaki Yerba Mate purchases fund their economic sovereignty and land stewardship, which prevents further deforestation of critical forests under threat from political and economic forces.

"Stefan brings with him a tremendous amount of experience in growing beverage brands in addition to his steadfast commitment toward social good," Mann said. "His vision for the future of Guayaki is directly in line with our mission to create a positive global impact. His background speaks for itself as someone who is willing to put it all on the line to do the right thing and we couldn't be more excited to have that kind of spirit leading our path forward."

Kozak worked at Red Bull for 16 years where he drove tremendous growth in the company. Prior to working at Red Bull, he was the General Manager of a Coca-Cola bottling operation near Sao Paulo before being promoted to chief operating officer of Brazil's then largest bottler. Originally an engineer, prior to entering the beverage business he led a small hydropower project in Nepal to fight deforestation in the Himalayas. Together with a small team of Sherpas, he built a power network to bring electricity to this remote area. The operating company he set up, Khumbu Bijuli, is what keeps the lights on and the stoves hot for the locals as well as people trekking to the Mount Everest region to this day.

Guayaki is a proud, founding member of the B Corporation network, which requires the business to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. Guayaki takes pride in going beyond the highest standards of verifiable social and environmental impact.

Since its founding in 1996, Guayaki Yerba Mate has firmly established itself as the leader in the North American market in the fast-growing yerba mate category. The growth continues, with March 2021 being a record high sales month for the company.

"We are excited for what the future holds for Guayaki and we also understand the great responsibility that comes with growing a global business," Mann said. "Stefan is the right person at the right time to step in and give Guayaki the boost it needs to expand its reach into more markets. Stefan will work closely with the founders and other board members to ensure we continue to grow sales and market share while staying true to our mission and building upon the strong foundations we created 25 years ago."

About Guayaki

Based in Sebastopol, California, Guayaki [Gwy-uh-key] is a pioneer and leader in the yerba mate category dedicated to restoring the environment and driving social change. Guayaki's organic, fair-trade certified yerba mate beverages contain a wealth of nutrients and naturally stimulate the mind and body. Guayaki believes in Market Driven Regeneration (), through which people who purchase Guayaki Yerba Mate beverages drive the regeneration of the rainforest. Guayaki yerba mate has the strength of coffee, the health benefits of tea, and the euphoria of chocolate and its mantra is "Come To Life".

Products are available at nearly 10,000 retailers nationwide. More information about retail locations and products can be found online at www.Guayaki.com.

Media Contact: Robert Busweiler - [email protected] - 631.379.6454

SOURCE Guayaki
Automatic weather station near the Yangtze River in Nanjing, which flooded on 23 July 2020 Credit: Bing Zhou

The National Climate Center (NCC) of China has just completed a report that gives an authoritative assessment of China's climate in 2020. It provides a summary of China's climate as well as the major weather and climate events that took place throughout the year. This is the third consecutive year that the NCC has published an annual national climate statement in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters (AOSL).

"Against the background of global warming, extreme weather and climate events occur more frequently and have wide influence on society and economies. Last year, floods, droughts, typhoons, low-temperature freezing and snow disasters, and dust storms attacked China and caused severe losses," says Wei Li, Director of the Climate Services Division of the NCC.

According to the report, in 2020, China's climate was warm and wet on the whole, and disasters caused by rainstorms and flooding were more serious than those by drought. The mean air temperature in China was 0.7 above normal, and the annual rainfall was 694.8 mm, which was 10.3% above normal.

In summer, southern China experienced the most severe flooding with extreme heavy rainstorms since 1998. Drought brought slight impacts and losses in China. High temperatures occurred earlier than normal with extreme values, and lasted longer than normal in summer over the south of China. The number of landfalling typhoons was lower than normal, while three typhoons successively affected Northeast China from late August to early September, which was the first time since 1949. Cold-air processes had a wide influence and brought a substantial decrease in air temperature in local areas.

Compared with the average values of the past 10 years, the affected crop area and the numbers of deaths and missing persons in 2020 were significantly smaller, while direct economic losses were slightly larger.

Nonetheless, Li warns that the hazards of climate disasters are increasing: "The WMO announced in January 2021 that the global average air temperature in 2020 was 1.2C  0.1C above the pre-industrial level and one of the three warmest on record. China also experienced a serious heatwave in summer and the mean air temperature in China was warmer than normal. Disaster prevention and reduction remains the focus of society."

More information: Wei Li et al, State of China's Climate in 2020, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters (2021). Wei Li et al, State of China's Climate in 2020,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.aosl.2021.100048
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Rudy Giuliani's neighbor, the ex-wife of Pantone creator Larry Herbert, said she saw the FBI 'taking a lot of stuff' out of his Upper East Side apartment during their raid on Wednesday.

Socialite Michele Hebert, who divorced from Larry in 2017, spoke to the waiting press at the former Trump lawyer's Manhattan address after the Department of Justice carried out a search warrant connected to his business dealings with Ukraine.

'I probably saw FBI jackets. And I saw all you people (the media) and I said, "what is going on?"' the 72-year-old said Wednesday afternoon.

She added that her ex Larry called her and said 'look out the window' when he saw the news break. 'They were bringing out a lot of stuff,' she said when asked about what the federal agents were doing.

Larry Hebert, who is now in his 90s, invented the world-renowned Pantone [Color] Matching System. He was married to former dancer Michele for 30 years and the pair were regulars on the Manhattan and Palm Beach social scenes. In 2007, he sold his company for $180million.

Federal investigators stepped up their investigation into Giulian's dealings with Ukraine with the raids on his Manhattan apartment and office on Wednesday. Additionally, FBI agents raided the Washington-area home of Victoria Toensing, a lawyer close to Giuliani who also had dealings with Ukrainians, The New York Times reported.

Rudy Giuliani's neighbor Michele Hebert, the ex-wife of Pantone creator Larry Hevert, said she saw the FBI 'taking a lot of stuff' out of his Upper East Side apartment during their raid on Wednesday

Hebert, who divorced from Larry in 2017, spoke to the waiting press at the former Trump lawyer's Manhattan address after the Department of Justice carried out a search warrant connected to his business dealings with Ukraine

She added that her ex Larry called her and said 'look out the window' when he saw the news break. 'They were bringing out a lot of stuff,' she said when asked about what the federal agents were doing

Giuliani's son Andrew has accused the Department of Justice of raiding his father's New York apartment and office for political reasons - and claims agents didn't want to take allegedly incriminating evidence involving Hunter Biden.

'Any American, whether you are red or blue, should be extremely disturbed by what happened here today, by the continued politicization,' furious Andrew told reporters in the Upper East Side on Wednesday.

'The only piece of evidence that they did not take up there today was the only piece of incriminating evidence that is in there  and it does not belong to my father, it belongs to the current president's son,' he added.

It's not clear what he was referring to, but his father is believed to have visited Ukraine in order to dig up 'dirt' on the Biden family.

Giuliani's lawyer Robert Costello blamed the investigation on 'Trump derangement syndrome' and also a accused agents of ignoring Hunter's hard drives during their search.

'Keep in mind that the agents could not read the physical hard drives without plugging them in, but they took Mr. Giuliani's word that the hard drives were copies of Hunter Biden's hard drive and did not contain anything pertaining to Mr. Giuliani,' Costello said in a statement.

Andrew Giuliani blasted accused President Joe Biden's Justice Department for playing politics after agents raided his father's apartment and office

'Their reliance on Mr. Giuliani's credibility tells you everything you need to know about this case,' he added.

The federal investigation centers on whether Giuliani, who was Donald Trump's personal attorney, acted as an unregistered federal agent and lobbied the Trump administration in 2019 on behalf of Ukrainian officials and oligarchs.

Those were the same group of people who were helping Giuliani search for dirt on Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who sat on the board of Ukrainian gas company, during the 2020 election in an effort to help Trump politically.

Toensing represented Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch under indictment in the United States whose help Giuliani sought. She is married to attorney Joseph diGenova and the couple were on the legal team - led by Giuliani - that challenged the 2020 election results on Trump's behalf.

The raids indicate the investigation of the former New York City mayor has entered an aggressive new phase. It is unusual for prosecutors to execute a search warrant on a lawyer, particularly one who has privileged conversations with his client, the former president of the United States.

Investigators executed the warrants at Giuliani's home on Madison Avenue and his office on Park Avenue and seized electronic devices, a person familiar with the investigation told the AP.

Giuliani's lawyer, Robert Costello, called the searches unnecessary and said Giuliani had offered to answer questions from prosecutors, except those regarding his privileged communications with Trump.

'What they did today was legal thuggery,' Costello told The New York Times . 'Why would you do this to anyone, let alone someone who was the associate attorney general, United States attorney, the mayor of New York City and the personal lawyer to the 45th president of the United States.'

Federal investigators executed a search warrant Wednesday on Rudy Giuliani's New York City apartment and office, seizing electronic devices

FBI agents also raided Washington-area home of Victoria Toensing, a lawyer close to Rudy Giuliani; she is seen with Giuliani and her husband Joe diGenova at a November 2020 press conference at the Republican National Committee; Toensing and diGenova were on the legal team trying to overturn the results

Officers from the New York Police Department (NYPD) are seen exiting the apartment building of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani's apartment building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan

Media outside Rudy Giuliani's apartment after its raid by the feds

Rudy Giuliani's Park Avenue office was also raided by federal investigators

A crowd gathered outside of Rudy Giuliani's Upper East side apartment building

Who is Victoria Toensing Victoria Toensing and her husband Joseph diGenova are legal panelists on Newsmax, a right-wing media outlet. They used to be regulars on Fox News until DiGenova made wild claims that much of the State Department was under the control of a well-known Jewish financier George Soros. Trump wanted them on his legal team for his impeachment trial - he was said to be impressed with diGenova's defense of him on Fox News - but the two were unable to join due to conflicts of interest. They represent Ukrainian businessman Dmitri Firtash, who was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with bribery and racketeering. They also reportedly worked with Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two associates of Giulianis who were arrested on charges of campaign finance violations. A former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, diGenova pushed the theory that lawmakers tried to frame Trump when they investigated whether his campaign colluded with Russia four years ago. Toensing represented Scooter Libby, the assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney, when Trump pardoned him. Advertisement

The United States Attorney's office in Manhattan and the FBI had wanted to execute the warrant on Giuliani's Upper East Side home and office for months but had been stymied by the political leadership put in place at the Justice Department by President Trump.

To obtain the search warrant, investigators would have needed to convince a judge they had sufficient reason to believe that a crime was committed and the search would turn up evidence of that. It does not indicate guilt.

The warrant was originally sought last summer but top officials at DOJ raised concerns about issuing a warrant so close to an election.

DOJ rules prevent actions close to an election that might be seen as interference  a matter that came up both in 2016 during the probe of Hillary Clinton's emails and in 2020 during the investigation, not publicly revealed, into Hunter Biden over potential tax issues.

But after Merrick Garland was confirmed as President Biden's attorney general, the Justice Department lifted its objection to the search.

Biden vowed to have an independent Justice Department and said he would not interfere in its work.

'Here we go folks,' tweeted Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney who was also subject of a federal raid and would eventually plead guilty to eight federal counts, including violating campaign finance law.

The Giuliani investigation grew out of a federal investigation of his associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who worked on gathering information about the Bidens during the election.

The two Soviet-born men were charged with federal campaign finance violations.

The two, who pleaded not guilty, were arrested at an airport outside Washington carrying one-way tickets to Europe. That investigation is on-going and faced some delays due to the COVID pandemic.

Trump has said he doesn't know the two men or the work they did.

Investigators are also looking into Giuliani's role in the ousting of US Ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was a prominent witness in Trump's first impeachment trial. Current and former U.S. officials testified at that inquiry that Giuliani carried out a shadow foreign policy in Ukraine.

As Giuliani was pushing Ukrainian officials to announce an investigation of the Bidens, he pushed to have Yovanovitch removed, seeing her as an obstacle to his efforts to produce a probe that would benefit Trump politically.

At Giuliani's urging, Trump had her recalled.

Prosecutors are examining whether Giuliani was working not only for Trump, but also for Ukrainian officials or businesses who wanted Yovanovitch dismissed for their own reasons, The Times reported.

Giuliani later bragged about having her removed, saying he 'forced' her out as she was making his push for the Ukrainians to investigate the Bidens 'difficult.'

Trump was impeached on two counts in his first trial after reports of a July 25, 2019, phone call in which Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden and also a discredited conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 US election.

Trump was acquitted by the Senate.

Press and members of the public crowd the street in front of Giuliani's condo building

The Giuliani investigation grew out of a federal investigation of his associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who worked on gathering information about the Bidens during the election and were charged with violating the ban on political donations by foreign nationals in October 2019

Lev Parnas, center, and Igor Fruman with Rudy Giuliani at far right, Trump second right, and VP Mike Pence left

Investigators are also looking into Giuliani's role in the ousting of US Ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was a prominent witness in Trump's first impeachment trial. Prosecutors are also looking into Giuliani's dealings with Ukraine's then-top prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko, who was helping Giuliani in his dirt-digging mission

Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, it is a federal crime to try to influence or lobby the US government at the request or direction of a foreign official without disclosing it to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors are also looking into Giuliani's dealings with Ukraine's then-top prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko, who was crucial to Giuliani's efforts to produce damaging information on the Bidens.

No such information ever came to light, neither Biden has been charged with a crime and Hunter Biden stepped down from Burisma's board during the 2020 election. Hunter Biden is under tax investigation.

Investigators have examined conversations Giuliani had about taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars in apparently unrelated consulting business from Lutsenko, but that deal never happened.

Trump praised Lutsenko as a 'very good prosecutor' during that phone call with Zelensky.

Giuliani visited the Ukraine in December 2019 to film a documentary series to give Trump supporters an alternative narrative about what happened with the Zelensky phone call and Trump's first impeachment trial.

He denied anything ever came of his six-figure arrangements to do work for Ukrainian officials.

'I thought that would be too complicated,' he told the New York Times in 2019. 'I never received a penny.'

'Originally, I thought I would do it. And then when I thought it over,' Giuliani told the paper. 'I thought it would look bad.'
The number of Latinos serving on California corporate boards of directors trails far behind other groups despite a recent law mandating that publicly traded companies diversify their leadership, according to a new report.

Latinos, who represent the state's largest ethnic group, make up 2.3% of board room seats, according to an analysis of 678 public companies headquartered in California by the Latino Corporate Directors Association.

The report shows that whites continue to make up the majority of board seats, holding 81% of the positions. Asian Americans have 10.9% of the seats, and Blacks make up 4% of California corporate directors.

"It is unfortunate," said Kathy Jurado Munoz, vice president of advocacy and demand at the Latino Corporate Directors Association. "California is not showing us the numbers that we would have liked to have seen."

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

Gov. Gavin Newsom in September signed legislation that mandates the appointment of diverse leaders from under-represented communities to the boards of public corporations based in California. It defined the underrepresented as people of color and those who are gay, bisexual or transgender.
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Police in Enugu State have confirmed the killing of two yet-to-be identified men in an alleged clash between two rival cult groups on Ogui Road, Enugu metropolis.

The police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Enugu.

Mr Ndukwe, an assistant superintendent of police, said the incident happened at about 12 midnight on April 26.

The police spokesperson said the feuding rival cultists shot sporadically along the stretch of the ever busy Ogui Road.

He said police operatives evacuated the corpses of the two suspected cultists and deposited them at a morgue for autopsy.

Residents returned to their normal activities in the area shortly after the incident, he said.

Mr Ndukwe said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mohammed Aliyu, has ordered an investigation into the incident.

He said, The Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Aliyu, has ordered a full investigation into the incident and to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to book.

The commissioner appeals to residents of Ogui axis of Enugu to go about their legitimate business as police operatives are on top of the situation.

A resident of the area told NAN that the shooting lasted for about 20 minutes and created panic in the night.

The resident said, We were apprehensive since we could not understand what was going on. This is coupled with the already heightened security situation most of us are aware of in the country.

(NAN)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 23:41:39|Editor: huaxia

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LUSAKA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government said Wednesday that it was in support of views by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that patent rights for vaccines and medicines should be waived.

Minister of Health Jonas Chanda said this was important as it will allow countries to start manufacturing vaccines and medicines to make them affordable and readily available.

In remarks made during the ongoing virtual Eighth Edition of the Merck Foundation Africa-Asia Luminary being chaired by Zambia, Chanda said this should also be done so that countries bearing the burden of various infectious diseases start manufacturing the medicines locally.

"We, therefore, appeal that those countries holding the patent rights should do something very humanitarian by making sure that African countries can manufacture these vaccines for malaria, COVID-19, essential antibiotics and also chemotherapy drugs," he said.

According to the Zambian minister, there was a need for countries with companies that hold patent rights to allow African countries to manufacture vaccines and medicines in order to ease the disease burden that the continent faces.

"Vaccines are not manufactured in Africa although the disease burden is in Africa whether you talk about COVID-19, infectious diseases, we have malaria which has been with us for many years," he added.

The videoconference, which runs from April 27 to 29, is being attended by African First Ladies, Ministers of Health and other experts from about 70 countries. Enditem
A look at the major movers on the London market on Wednesday

PLC (LON:GFTU) expects full year profits to significantly beat forecasts after a bumper performance in March and April.

The building materials distributor and DIY firm - known for its Selco brand - said revenues between January and 18 April rose 32.9% to 846.8mln with growth in the latest two months ahead of forecasts.

It was helped by the fact that all its distribution, retail and manufacturing branches continued to trade as essential suppliers.

So it expects operating profit for the year to be 15% to 20% higher than concensus forecasts of 206mln, also helped by higher property profits. As it heads into the key trading periods of May and June, it cautioned that the outlook for the second half depended on consumer spending patterns returning to normal.

Chief executive Gavin Slark said: "We have made a very positive start to the year and are encouraged by the improving trends and momentum in trading in the period which we expect to continue through the remainder of the half year. Despite some ongoing uncertainty related to the pandemic, Grafton is well placed for continued progress in the current year supported by our market leading businesses and strong financial position."

Its shares have jumped 11.49% or 125p to 1213p.

2.58pm: Software group sees orders jump in first quarter

Group PLC ( ) has, like most businesses, been hit by the effects of the pandemic, but it has started to see signs of recovery.

Full year revenues at the software group - which specialises in services for the broadcasting and streaming industries - fell by 25% to 8.4mln with customers being slow to make investment decisions. Adjusted earnings fell from 3.8mln to 2.7mln.

On the bright side it said orders had jumped 86% in the first quarter of the new year, compared to the same period last year before COVID-19 hit business.

Chief executive Peter Mayhead said: "Our investment in technology is key to the future success of our growth strategy and we always look to our customers in the broadcast markets for validation of our approach. Engagement with those customers verifies that they are facing significant challenges as they look to balance many competing pressures; the advent of remote production, the reduction of barriers to entry as internet-based platforms enable new entrants into the market, and increasing content costs driven by hit shows from the major streaming services.

"When added to the growing competition for advertising spend from social media, the need for innovation is clear. To sustain their competitive edge, broadcasters must build on their historic ability to channelise and distribute content to an audience whose platform of choice is still overwhelmingly linear. They are doing this by investing in technology that enables them to leverage the benefits of digital-based workflows...

"2020 was a challenging year for all, yet our commitment to delivering on our annual plan in line with our company's values enabled us to weather the storm without the need for staff furlough, redundancies, or reduction in our technology investment. We look forward to 2021 with a high level of optimism as we continue to launch new applications to the market, broadening our suite of cutting-edge, fully integrated, and scalable capabilities."

The company's shares have added 13.89% or 1.25p to 10.25p.

2.15pm: Investment firm helps fund DiscovOre

Investment group ( ) has moved higher after unveiling an investment in a healthcare business.

It is paying 200,000 for 10mln shares in DiscovOre as part of a 3.5mln fundraising.

DiscovOre plans to invest in businesses involved in developing treatments for mental health issues.

It intends to invest in fully regulated and approved psychedelic medicines that its directors believe are fast becoming accepted as treatments not least in the area of mental health.

Gunsynd director Hamish Harris said: "The board of Gunsynd is pleased to be able to invest in this area as mental health is increasingly getting the attention it deserves. We have looked at many investments in life sciences as part of our investment policy and have until now not invested in this area. This investment, however, fits in with our policy of picking emerging trends in the market particularly where we consider there could be a first mover advantage combined with the possibility of helping to alleviate a significant societal issue."

Gunsynd shares are up 3.51% or 0.065p to 1.92p.

12.00pm: Cybersecurity specialist launches free protection test

BrandShield Systems PLC (LON:BRSD), a specialist in monitoring, detecting and removing online threats, is in demand.

It has unveiled a free platform, claimed to be the first of its kind, to help companies uncover cyber vulnerabilities.

The External Threat Protection Test is designed to help Chief Information Security Officers and any online company understand their risk exposure in seconds and how protected they are against phishing attacks, cybersquatting and the like.

The idea is that companies will then take a closer look to see if they need BrandShield's other services.

Chief executive Yoav Keren aid: "Even though damages from cyber threats including external threats such as phishing attacks, scams and online fraud are estimated to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, many chief security officers lack sufficient resources and insights to deal with the rising threats to their organizations.

"Our free service will help close their cyber defense gaps and help them take the necessary steps needed to minimize fraud exposure and protect companies and employees from malicious criminals trying to cause harm. The Threat Protection Test tool has the potential to act as a significant multiplier to our marketing and sales team efforts as we continue to drive top line growth in the coming period."

Martin O'Sullivan at house broker Shore Capital said: "We see this as a welcome initiative around sales and marketing that will help chief security officers better appreciate the value of BrandShields platform and help them take the necessary steps needed to minimize their cyber vulnerabilities. In other words, it should leverage the sales team efforts as the company continues to drive top line growth."

Its shares have been leveraged 5.17% or 1.19p higher to 24.19p.

10.47am: Telemetrics group sees losses edge up

Shares in fleet management and telematics group ( ) have gone into reverse

They have fallen 7.14% or 1.25p to 16.25p after it said the COVID-19 lockdowns had cut around 4mln off full year revenues to the end of March. In total, they dropped 18% to 16mln due to fewer shipments of its hardware to insurance and fleet customers.

It expects an increased loss of around 0.3mln, from 0.2m the previous year.

The company received 0.9mln from the Job Retention scheme support and deferred 1.8mln worth of VAT, PAYE & NI payments. It has reached agreement with the taxman to pay back this liability over the next two financial years.

On the outlook, it said: "Covid-19 has continued to have an impact during April and there remains some ongoing uncertainty for the coming months. The resumption of driving tests occurred only on 22nd April and so it is too early to know when there will be an increased take up of telematics insurance policies. Demand in the fleet sector is already improving.

"Subject to there not being any further Covid-19 related lockdowns or significant component supply issues that cannot be resolved quickly, the company is confident that the financial performance will significantly improve for the new financial year and expect revenues will revert to pre-COVID-19 levels, which with recently lower costs should lead to a profitable business for the year."

9.59am: Luxury group to beat expectations

Asia remains a crucial market for luxury brands, and the region has proved a bit of a lifesaver for business at PLC ( )

The handbag group said in November that it expected full year revenues for the year to March 2021 would be below the previous year, although losses would be reduced.

Now it has announced that in the light of continuing growth in Asia, strong sales from its digital platforms and improved margins due to lower mark-down sales, it would outperform expectations and turn in a small underlying profit for the year.

Its shares have jumped 14.96% or 38p to 292p.

8.30am: Retailer rises on outlook and bid hopes

French Connection PLC ( ) has revealed the damage done by the shutdowns caused by the pandemic, but the beleaguered fashion retailer could yet be the target of a takeover bit.

Full year revenues fell 40.4% to 71.5mln as it had to shut its stores, while there was also reduced demand from wholesale customers.

Its losses rose from 2.9mln last year to 11.7mln, thanks to the decline in sales and one-off stock provisions. Cost cutting helped mitigate some of the decline, with rents re-negotiated with landlords, use of the government's furlough scheme and reducing staff numbers.

Online sales improved in the second half, with strong performances from homeware and casual clothing (not surprising, given people were stuck at home during lockdown).

The company is more positive about the outlook.

Chief executive Stephen Marks said: "Our key focus for the year has been to navigate our way through the difficult challenges we have faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Initially we worked with our key stakeholders to stabilise the business and secure new financing. Trading had been broadly in line with our expectations at the time of the financing but we were then hit by the second and third national lockdowns in the UK. Given the new financing, together with the actions being taken to optimise sales, tightly manage costs and preserve cash, we are confident that the group is well positioned to navigate any further period of uncertain consumer demand..."

With stores having predominantly re-opened in the UK, we are seeing a much better sales performance than we experienced at the end of the first national lockdown although it will take time to see how quickly things develop over the coming months, in our own stores but also for our wholesale customers. Overall though I feel that we are definitely moving in the right direction once again."

There is also the prospect of a bid.

In February it received two early stage approaches from US funds Spotlight Brands and Go Global. Since then other interested parties have emerged so there are now a number of talks taking place. It said: "These discussions continue although at this point there can be no certainty that an offer will be made for the company."

The market has reacted well to this update, with the company's shares up 1.4p or 6.22% to 23.9p.

Also heading higher is ( ) after a positive update from its Amitsoq graphite project in southern Greenland.

It said purification test work on graphite from the site confirmed it was suitable for use in Lithium Ion batteries.

Executive chairman George Frangeskides said: ""Our test work programme at Pro Graphite in Germany, which has now concluded, has achieved our objectives. We can now move forward with our plans to define a large-tonnage deposit at Amitsoq in the knowledge that our graphite not only has exceptionally high average grades but is also battery grade material which can be sold into the electric vehicle sector, which is by far the largest growth market for graphite."

Alba has added 23.64% or 0.07p to 0.34p.




News Around the Republic of Mexico



Fake, but Harmless, Covid-19 Vaccines Seized in Mexico



Pfizer tested the fake doses and found they did not contain the two-shot Covid-19 vaccine it developed with BioNTech.



At a clinic in Mexico some 80 people received doses of the fake vaccine, which appeared to have been physically harmless, though offering no protection against the potentially deadly virus ravaging the country, a report in



The vials were found in beer coolers and were initially identified by fabricated lot numbers and expiration dates, Mexican officials said. Six people were detained.



The confiscated vials in Poland were filled with clear liquid, which was later found to contain a substance used for skin care products.



Pfizer confirmed the WSJ's report, saying it's "identified counterfeit versions of its COVID-19 vaccine in Mexico and Poland," in



"We are cognizant that in this type of environment - fueled by the ease and convenience of e-commerce and anonymity afforded by the internet - there will be an increase in the prevalence of fraud, counterfeit and other illicit activity as it relates to vaccines and treatments for Covid-19," a Pfizer spokesperson told



The company added that it's collaborating with BioNTech to "take meaningful steps to help reduce the risk of illicit COVID-19 Vaccine activity," adding that it is working with governments and law enforcement agencies to combat illegal trade of its vaccines.



In February, health authorities in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon warned about "clandestine" sales of "alleged Covid vaccines" and urged people not to take them.



In March, the World Health Organization also warned of "falsified" Pfizer vaccines found in Mexico and warned that the shots "may still be in circulation in the region."



Pfizer tested the bogus vials and found they did not contain the two-shot vaccine it developed with BioNTech.



Lev Kubiak, Pfizer's head of global security, said the desperate need and the shortfall in vaccines had led to the scams.



"We have a very limited supply, a supply that will increase as we ramp up and other companies enter the vaccine space. In the interim, there is a perfect opportunity for criminals," he told the Wall Street Journal.



Pfizer advises the general public to never buy a vaccine online, emphasizing that "no legitimate vaccine is sold online," adding that people should get vaccinated at "official vaccination centers or by certified healthcare providers." U.S. drugmaker Pfizer confirms that suspect doses of its coronavirus vaccine that were seized in Mexico and Poland were indeed fake, with doses going for as much as $1,000 a shot, according to US media.At a clinic in Mexico some 80 people received doses of the fake vaccine, which appeared to have been physically harmless, though offering no protection against the potentially deadly virus ravaging the country, a report in the Wall Street Journal said. The vials were found in beer coolers and were initially identified by fabricated lot numbers and expiration dates, Mexican officials said. Six people were detained.The confiscated vials in Poland were filled with clear liquid, which was later found to contain a substance used for skin care products.Pfizer confirmed the WSJ's report, saying it's "identified counterfeit versions of its COVID-19 vaccine in Mexico and Poland," in a statement to The Hill. "We are cognizant that in this type of environment - fueled by the ease and convenience of e-commerce and anonymity afforded by the internet - there will be an increase in the prevalence of fraud, counterfeit and other illicit activity as it relates to vaccines and treatments for Covid-19," a Pfizer spokesperson told ABC News on Wednesday.The company added that it's collaborating with BioNTech to "take meaningful steps to help reduce the risk of illicit COVID-19 Vaccine activity," adding that it is working with governments and law enforcement agencies to combat illegal trade of its vaccines.In February, health authorities in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon warned about "clandestine" sales of "alleged Covid vaccines" and urged people not to take them.In March, the World Health Organization also warned of "falsified" Pfizer vaccines found in Mexico and warned that the shots "may still be in circulation in the region."Pfizer tested the bogus vials and found they did not contain the two-shot vaccine it developed with BioNTech.Lev Kubiak, Pfizer's head of global security, said the desperate need and the shortfall in vaccines had led to the scams."We have a very limited supply, a supply that will increase as we ramp up and other companies enter the vaccine space. In the interim, there is a perfect opportunity for criminals," he told the Wall Street Journal.Pfizer advises the general public to never buy a vaccine online, emphasizing that "no legitimate vaccine is sold online," adding that people should get vaccinated at "official vaccination centers or by certified healthcare providers."



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A UK anti-corruption group, Global Witness, has declared support for a Nigerian activist, Olanrewaju Suraju, who was recently questioned by the police based on a petition by Nigerias former attorney-general, Mohammed Adoke.

Mr Surajus civil society organisation, HEDA, and other international anti-graft CSOs including Global Witness have been at the forefront of the demand for justice over the Malabu OPL 245 scandal involving Mr Adoke and many others including oil giants, Shell and Eni.

While the prosecution of the suspects is still ongoing in Nigeria, a court in Milan recently discharged the oil giants and their officials who were named in the scandal which involved the transfer of about $1 billion from the oil giants to private Nigerian accounts for the control of an oil block, OPL 245. Mr Adoke was involved in the negotiation as Nigerias attorney general during the Goodluck Jonathan administration but has denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Adoke recently sent a petition to the IGPs office demanding a probe of an email evidence presented against him by prosecutors in the Malabu trial in Milan, Italy.

The former attorney-general also later complained to the police that some people, one of whom he suspected to be Mr Suraju, circulated a fake tape purporting it to be that of an interview he had with an Italian journalist admitting that the Malabu transaction was a scam.

It was based on the petition that the anti-corruption activist was interrogated by the police.

Instead of investigating the facts, where evidence in the public domain would demonstrate the allegations in the complaint to be false, this has become a story of ongoing police harassment and intimidation, Global Witness said in its Tuesday statement.

Read the full statement below.

We stand with HEDA & Olanrewaju Suraju!

Shocking attempts to shut down our Nigerian colleagues with false claims

27th April 2021

This is a story of how false allegations about forgery contained in a complaint to the Nigeria police have been used to target a leading Nigerian anti-corruption champion, HEDA Resource Centre and its Chair, in what would appear to be a blatant attempt to silence him and his organisation. The complaint was made by the former Attorney General of Nigeria, Mohammed Bello Adoke.

Instead of investigating the facts, where evidence in the public domain would demonstrate the allegations in the complaint to be false, this has become a story of ongoing police harassment and intimidation. Despite the Herculean efforts of many gifted and committed Nigerians, sadly, it now seems necessary to question just how fragile Nigerias anti-corruption achievements might be.

Accordingly:

 We call on all our anti-corruption-fighting friends in Nigeria, and around the world, to stand together in solidarity with our colleagues and friends at HEDA and those fighting the scourge of corruption in Nigeria.

 We demand an end to the harassment of HEDA and its staff.

 We call on the Nigerian Police to investigate, whether or not, Mr Adoke and his representatives have attempted to orchestrate a malicious prosecution of Mr Suraju and HEDA, and if so, to prosecute them for any crimes they may have committed to the fullest extent of the law.

Former AG Adoke comes home, and the Peculiar case of his complaint:

At 3.45 pm on the 19th December 2019, Emirates flight 785 from Dubai carrying former Nigerian Attorney General Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN, together with his Interpol escort, touched down in Abuja. Nigerias Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) wanted to speak to Mr Adoke in connection with his involvement in brokering the deal ultimately struck by the oil companies Shell and Eni for Nigerias OPL 245 oil block. On landing, the EFCC arrested Adoke, and he is now facing trial on multiple charges related to his involvement in the deal. Adoke has stated he is innocent of any crimes, and that he was only acting in the national interest.

One year on, and with his trial underway, Mohammed Adoke appears to be in fighting form. On the 5th February 2021 a complaint purportedly written by another former Nigerian Attorney General Kanu Agabi SAN, in which the author claims to have been instructed by his client Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN, was filed with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Abuja. The four-page document is strange from the outset. At time of writing, the website url on its mast-head leads to a landing page that states: Site Under ConstructionWe are almost ready to launch!!! A call to the Nigerian contact number, 09-8725173, also on the mast-head, solicits the response: The number you entered is invalid. Trying again, by removing the zero from the customer number following the country access code  the usual practice when making an international call  this time made the line work, but instead of finding lawyers, the recorded message said we had reached the Airtel Smartphone Network. An email on the mast head bounces back, with the message, Requested mail action aborted, mailbox not found. On the face of it, the peculiarities of the complaint mast-head raise doubts about this document, and indeed, we wondered if Mr Agabi had in fact written the complaint at all?

We wanted to ask Mr Agabi whether he was aware of the complaint, and if he had authored it? And if so, what efforts he had made to discover the legitimacy of the claims he was making?

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We finally reached Mr Agabi via a different phone number at approximately 5pm Nigeria time, on the 23rd April 2021. On asking for confirmation that it was Mr Agabi on the phone, he said, Yes I can hear you. He was then asked if he was aware of the complaint issued on the 5th of February, purportedly on behalf of Mr Adoke and from his office? Mr Agabi said, I am afraid I cannot respond to this, not knowing whom Im talking to. Im very sorry about this!

We repeated the question, re-stating who was contacting him, and asked whether he would at least verify that the complaint did in fact originate from his office. This was met with silence. We were about to ask if there might be a serviceable email address that we could send written questions to, when he abruptly terminated the call. We then attempted reach Mr Agabi on multiple occasions, in order to seek further clarity about the complaint from Mr Agabi prior to publication. Unfortunately, Mr Agabi did not respond.

The complaint makes two main allegations, which we paraphrase in the next paragraph, by citing the key claims in shortened form:

The complaint states, individuals who initiated the petition [] at the court of Milan [] engaged in acts of forgery of [an] email document dated 21 June 2011 and [a] phoney telephone interview alleged to have occurred between Ms Carlamaria Rumor (RIA [sic] reporter in Italy) and Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN with the unlawful aim of [] subverting the wheel of justice at the [then] ongoing criminal trial of the parties connected with the OPL 245 settlement agreement in Italy and Nigeria. It continues, We have reason to believe that the persons or organizations behind these forgeries are the ones that authored the petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), demanding investigation of the OPL 245 Resolution Agreement.

The complaint does not specifically name anyone. But given that Global Witness and our partners, Re:Common in Italy, and The Corner House in the UK, are the organisations that filed the petitions related to the OPL 245 case in Milan, and that our organisations together with our colleagues HEDA Resource Centre in Nigeria filed a petition to the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), there can be no doubt that the complaint is referring to our organisations. If that were to be the case, each of our organisations utterly refute these claims which are wholly untrue. Given the status of our organisations as internationally renowned anti-corruption champions, these published claims are also highly defamatory.

In Reality

1. The claim of document forgery:

 The document referred to in the complaint only came into the public domain in late 2020, as part of the disclosures provided to a London court by JP Morgan. The bank is being sued in London by the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) (Case number: CL-2017-000730), for its involvement in the OPL 245 deal. The FRN subsequently included the document as part of its Re-Re-Amended Particulars of Claim.

 In its claim, the FRN stated that Adoke had sent an email from a Yahoo.com email account, agroupproperties@yahoo.com, to Bayo Osolake, an employee of JP Morgan. Copies of the OPL 245 Resolution Agreements were attached to the email. At the date the email was sent  21st June 2011  the Resolution Agreements, were highly confidential and would not come into the public domain for approximately another 5 months. Thus, whoever sent the email in question must have had privileged access to these documents which were confidential to those involved in the deal, not to mention access to the Yahoo email account used to send the email. They must also have known which, of the tens of thousands of JP Morgan employees they needed to send the email to.

 In court documents, the FRN stated that the email address  agroupproperties@yahoo.com  was associated with the A Group of Nigerian companies controlled by Mr Abubakar Aliyu. One of the A Group companies  A Group Construction  received some of the OPL 245 funds, after they had been transferred by JP Morgan to Malabu Oil & Gas, the company that until the deal was concluded, owned the OPL 245 oil block.

 When we became aware of the existence of the email, we believed it to be of relevance to the on-going prosecution of the OPL 245 trial in Milan. Thus, acting in the public interest, we together with our colleagues at Re:Common and The Corner House, formally notified the Milan Public Prosecutors Office about the FRNs claims in the High Court in London.

 The Milan Public Prosecutor then issued a European Investigation Order (Ref: 54772/13) to the UK, asking for the email from JP Morgan. The UK authorities obtained the email, sending it on to Milan through the formal MLA channels, where it was accepted as evidence by the Milan Tribunal.

2. The Rai Interview:

The RAI interview, purporting to be with a Mr Adoke was conducted by a RAI journalist. Thus, the question of who RAI in fact interviewed is a matter for RAI to clarify. That said, we note that the interview in question was accepted as evidence in a separate trial in Milan, and that it was indeed cited in the judgement as having been taken into account.

When a Complaint becomes a Weapon of Harassment, a threat to Civic space, and to Nigerias Anti-corruption fight:

On 1st March 2021, our colleagues at Re:Common wrote to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Abuja, pointing out the errors in the claims made in the complaint, purportedly filed on behalf of Mohamed Adoke. The letter suggested that verification of the facts could be obtained through a formal request to the Serious Fraud Office in London, and the Milan Public Prosecutors Office, because they were the ones who had handled the document.

In late March our colleague Olanrewaju Suraju, Chairman of HEDA Resource Centre, was invited to interview on 1st April at the IGP office in Abuja. HEDA is Lagos-based, and though we understand that the IGP should have held the interview at the IGPs offices in Lagos, instead this decision meant a costly and unnecessary trip. When Mr Suraju arrived at the IGP office in Abuja with his Lagos-based lawyer, he was told the officer conducting the investigation was out of town  and that he should come back again.

Moving goal-posts: If you cant get them for one thing, try something else!

The next appointment fell on the 14th April. As before, this required a costly trip to Abuja with Mr Suraju having to bring his lawyer with him, and this is when the circus began.

Sources inform us that Adoke himself had visited the offices of the IGP on numerous occasions to discuss his complaint, always meeting with senior officers. But on the day of Mr Surajus appointment, Mr Adoke was a no-show. A man who claimed to be a friend of Adoke, and that he was a lawyer  though not a lawyer instructed by Adoke  turned up in his stead.

Mr Suraju was subjected to interrogation from 10 in the morning to beyond 9pm that night. The police investigators pushed one allegation after another, working their way through Adokes complaint. Despite the fact that more than a month had passed since Re:Common had provided key information rebutting Adokes claims to the very same headquarters building of the IGP, it was made clear to Mr Suraju during his interrogation that none of this had filtered down to those conducting the investigation. Indeed, when a copy of Re:Commons letter was provided, the response was that this was precisely the kind of information that the police had wanted to obtain through an Interpol enquiry.

As each new claim was put forward, Mr Suraju batted it away by providing evidence already in the public domain  for example, he produced the entire MLA correspondence, now in the public domain, that explains the origin of the email claimed as forged by Adoke, and its subsequent provision to the Milan Tribunal. But each time, the goalposts simply moved. At one point, the claims reached ridiculous proportions when the police claimed that the voice on the RAI interview was not Mr Adoke, but that of Mr Suraju instead, only for that absurdity to become crystal clear when they actually listened to the tape.

But once finished, with the claims in Adokes complaint now exhausted (and sources suggest, at the behest of Mr Adokes friend elsewhere in the building), the interrogation really began to scrape the barrel, by shifting without justification its focus onto Mr Surajus organisation. The day finally ended in a negotiation over the basis for bail, the demand being for discussions to continue the following day.

The next day, what can only be described as harassment began all over again. Mr Suraju was interrogated for more than another five hours, though by now, with Adokes original forgery allegations seemingly forgotten, the focus had become even more sinister, with a demand to obtain access to HEDAs bank details and other company documents. Finally, the police insisted that the Directors of HEDA should themselves come to Abuja for interrogation, potentially during the final week of April. Given the shredding of Adokes claims, it is impossible to see any justifiable basis for this. HEDA insisted that any such demands should be accompanied by a credible justification and be submitted in writing to the organisation. We note that despite this matter being raised again in a telephone call with HEDA, just prior to our publishing, that no letter has been forthcoming from the police, let alone a credible basis set out for these demands.

Eni goes on the attack:

The 14th of April also saw publication of claims that Eni was threatening to sue HEDA. Eni would appear to be claiming, following the conclusion of the Milan tribunal to acquit all defendants in the OPL 245 proceedings that ended on March 17th 2021, that this should be the final word on the matter  everywhere in the world. In reality, however, all the defendants in Nigeria, apart from Dan Etete, are different than those who were on trial in Milan. They are on trial under Nigerian law  which under the circumstances, we feel the need to point out is different from Italian law. These are not new trials, as Eni seems to be trying to suggest in its public statements. Indeed, they commenced prior to the conclusion of the trial in Milan. In summary, as Eni well knows, they involve different characters, who face different charges, under different laws. Italy does not possess sovereign control over Nigeria, and thus Nigeria continuing to exercise its sovereign rights cannot be seen as a slight to Italys sovereignty. As such, and without the possibility of double jeopardy, it is self-evident that the cases in Nigeria should be permitted to continue to their natural conclusion.

This has to Stop! We stand in solidarity with HEDA

As a leading Global anti-corruption organisation, Global Witness must call out investigations when they lose their legitimacy. To be clear, we unreservedly support Mr Adokes right to make a complaint about matters where he considers that he has been wronged. We would also support the Police in the conduct of a fair and legitimate investigation. But when the facts alleged in a complaint do not stand up  even to the most basic form of analysis, as Mr Adoke himself, not to mention the police could have determined from material in the public domain  and yet when they continue to be used as the pretext to harass, we must call this out for the corrupt exercise, in the absence of a better explanation, that it would appear to be. The harassment of Mr Suraju and the continued targeting of HEDA, without any credible basis, must end now. We will make it our business to inform all in the global community who care about and support Nigerias fight against corruption about these events, and we will continue to monitor and report on them. We stand together with our colleagues at RE:Common and The Corner House in Solidarity with HEDA.

Editors Notes:

 Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN, was Attorney General of Nigeria during the Administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. He left office in 2015 with the end of Jonathan Administration.

 We accessed the web site http://agabilaw.com most recently on 27th April. It is strange, for such a high-profile legal firm, that even though nearly three months has passed since the filing of the Adoke complaint, the website address provided remains a site under construction  not to mention the lack of a functioning email and telephone number.

 The Adoke complaint mentions the court of Milan. Here it is referring to the trial in Milan of Shell, Eni and others for International Corruption, associated with the deal for OPL 245 which ended on the 17th March 2021, with all acquitted.

 In the discussion about the RAI interview, reference is made to a separate trial in Milan  see expedited trial of Obi and Di Nardo, case number 54772/13 R.G.N.R. N. 17804/17 R.G.GIP. N. 2232/18 at the Milan Tribunal.
Bindi Irwin welcomed her baby daughter Grace with husband Chandler Powell in March.

And on Wednesday, the 22-year-old shared a photo of herself cradling the newborn baby alongside her pet pooch Piggy.

The Wildlife Warrior was dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans, and she had a proud smile on her face.

Family first: Bindi Irwin cradled her newborn daughter Grace alongside her pet pooch Piggy in a sweet Instagram photo on Wednesday

Bindi is the proud daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin.

And earlier this week, she broke down in tears over her heartache that her father would never get to meet her daughter, in a preview for the family's new show Crikey! It's A Baby! on Animal Planet.

In the footage, Bindi - alongside her husband Chandler Powell, brother Robert and mother Terri - took baby Grace to visit Australia Zoo's 'Crocoseum', where Steve would love to 'feed the crocodiles and spend time as a family'.

Heartache: Bindi (pictured with her husband Chandler Powell) recently broke down in tears over her heartache that her father would never get to meet her baby Grace

Reflecting on the special moment, Bindi said: 'It's hard knowing she'll never get to actually meet him, and it's devastating as I'll never get to watch that connection.

'But I cannot wait to be able to tell beautiful Grace all of these stories about dad, and share with her what an amazing father he was.'

As Bindi began to get emotional, she added: 'It's going to be really special. It's going to be really special for her to know him, and tell her about what an amazing man he was.'

Tears: As Bindi began to get emotional, she said: 'It's going to be really special. It's going to be really special for her to know him, and tell her about what an amazing man he was'

Tribute: In a preview for the family's new show Crikey! It's A Baby!, Bindi - alongside husband Chandler, brother Robert and mum Terri - took baby Grace to visit Australia Zoo's 'Crocoseum', where Steve would spend time 'feeding the crocodiles and spending time as a family'

Through tears, she added that out of 'everyone in the world', Steve would have 'loved Grace the most'.

'But I think in a way he is still with us and his heart and soul live on in all of us. He's never really gone,' she added.

Steve died in September 2006 at the age of 44, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming a wildlife documentary in Queensland.

Devastating: Steve died in September 2006 at the age of 44, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming a wildlife documentary in Queensland

Bindi and Chandler welcomed daughter Grace Warrior Irwin Powell on March 25.

The baby was born on their first wedding anniversary, one year after they wed at Australia Zoo.

Grace's middle names are a tribute to Bindi's late father, who coined the term 'Wildlife Warrior' to promote his conservation efforts at the zoo.
Bengaluru: Karnataka on Wednesday reported the highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases with 39,047 infections in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally in the state to 14.39 lakh, as per a health department bulletin.

While, just the capital city of Bengaluru accounts for 22, 596 of the total caseload as the health infrastructure is being overburdened amid a surge in novel coronavirus cases.

Currently, Karnataka has over three lakh active cases of which two lakh are in Bengaluru alone.

Earlier, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa urged people to strictly follow by the COVID norms to successfully break the chain of infections.

"The 2 weeks strict rules to break the chain of Covid virus have begun. My appeal to everyone: follow the guidelines, cooperate with the govt, stay indoors, and step out only if it's an emergency. Together, we all can defeat the Covid-19 pandemic," he tweeted.

The 2 weeks strict rules to break the chain of Covid virus have begun. My appeal to everyone: follow the guidelines, cooperate with the govt, stay indoors, and step out only if it's an emergency. Together, we all can defeat the Covid-19 pandemic.  B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) April 28, 2021

Meanwihle, a 14-day lockdown came into effect in Karnataka on Tuesday night to contain the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown was imposed on the day the state reported over 30,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day.
A White County Circuit Court judge has again ruled Illinois Firearm Owner Identification Card is unconstitutional, setting the stage for the Illinois Supreme Court to reexamine the issue.

In 2017, Vivian Brown, a resident of White County, was charged with violating the Firearm Owner Identification card law for owning a rifle without possessing a FOID card.

In February 2018, the White Circuit Court sided with Brown and found the law unconstitutional when applied to her case. The state appealed directly to the Illinois Supreme Court a few months later.

In April 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court didnt make a decision on the case, calling into question the process the circuit court used.

Judge T. Scott Webb dismissed the charges against Brown on Tuesday and ruled the Firearm Owner Identification card law was unconstitutional, saying it makes the Second Amendment a facade turning a right into a privilege.

[T]he court finds that any fee associated with exercising the core fundamental constitutional right of armed self-defense within the confines of ones home violates the Second Amendment, Webb wrote.

[R]equiring a law-abiding citizen to obtain a FOID card and paying a $10 fee to exercise her Second Amendment right within the confines and privacy of her own home does little to protect the general public, Webb wrote. If the right to bear arms and self-defense are truly core rights, there should be no burden on the citizenry to enjoy those rights, especially within the confines and privacy of their own homes. A citizens Second Amendment rights should not be treated in the same manner as a drivers license.

Webb noted the state responded that the FOID Card Act does not ban possession of a gun in an individuals own home for self-defense. It merely requires that an individual obtain a license before to do so.

The court finds this assertion is a distinction without a difference, Webb said. Without the license, it is unlawful to possess such a firearm inside ones home. Thus, it has the same ultimate effect as an outright ban. It just gets to the same end by different means.  In the eyes of this court, the entire process is inverted. The burden should be on the state.

Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson applauded the ruling and said he was hopeful for a positive outcome when the Illinois Supreme Court takes up the case.

It is absolutely ridiculous that honest citizens should have to pay fees, fill out applications and wait on government to respond to their requests just to be able to exercise their rights, Pearson said. Illinois is one of only four states with the arcane FOID laws. We need to join the other 46 states that place a premium on our constitutional liberties.

The Illinois Attorney Generals Office did not immediately respond when asked if it plans to appeal the ruling.

I have spoken with the assistant attorney general and from my understanding, they will be filing an appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court, White County States Attorney Denton Aud said. This is an issue that needs to be appealed and I hope the Illinois Supreme Court will bring some resolution to the issue.

The state faces other lawsuits in state and federal courts over the persistent backlogs of Firearm Owner Identification card applications. Tens of thousands of residents have been waiting months beyond the timeline allotted by law to get their cards.
The Wall Street-headquartered alternative investment management giant Blackstone, which has over USD 20 billion in live-investments in the country, on Wednesday announced a USD 5-million (close to Rs 40 crore) aid to help India to fight the raging coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement by Stephen A Schwarzman, the founder and chairman of the fund, comes on the heels of close to 40 major American companies committing millions of dollars to help the country fight the pandemic which has been topping the infection list globally for a week with daily caseload remaining above 3.25 lakh mark for almost a week now.

In a show of solidarity on Tuesday, heads of around 40 top American companies came together to create a global task force to mobilise resources to help fight the battle against the pandemic under the initiative of the US-India Business Council of the US Chambers of Commerce, and the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum and Business Roundtable.

A day before this, chief of Google and its parent Alphabet Satya Nadella announced a Rs 135 crore assistance to the country, which was soon followed up by the Sundar Pichai headed Microsoft who did not quantify the funding.

Their commitments follow Sun Microsystems' co-founder Vinod Khosla on Saturday promising to help with a plane load of oxygen, and e-commerce major Amazon donating oxygen concentrators and other equipment to several hospitals.

American vaccine maker Gilead also announced a Rs 20-crore worth of 4.5 lakh Remdesivir vials to the country through its India clinical trials partner Klinera on Tuesday.

We are committing USD 5 million (around Rs 40 crore) to support India's coronavirus relief and vaccination efforts, Schwarzman told PTI from his New York headquarters this morning.

The assistance will be focused on providing and expanding healthcare services to the marginalised communities in rural and urban areas to tide over the impact of the pandemic, supporting frontline healthcare workers with PPEs and other essential supplies, he said.

The chief executive also said a part of the money will also be used to address the severe shortage of oxygen concentrators and ventilators; and to assist vaccine education programmes as there is lot of vaccination hesistancy here, apart from assuring equitable distribution of vaccines as they become available.

India is facing an alarming crisis from the pandemic and I am profoundly concerned about its human impact. has deep roots in India having entered the country way back in 2006.

We need to corral our resources to support India's relief and vaccination efforts at this critical time. The international community is grateful to the frontline workers who are putting in tremendous efforts on behalf of all Indians, Schwarzman added.

India is one of Blackstone's most successful investment destination with the market that has been giving it the highest returns. It has over USD 20 billion in live-investments in the country which is valued at over USD 40 billion now.

(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.)
EDWARDSVILLE  Madison County Clerk Debbie Ming-Mendoza on Wednesday announced that she will seek a third term in 2022.

Since taking over as clerk in 2012 it has been my goal to provide excellent services to the county while holding the line on the spending, she said. And my team and I have accomplished that while taking on even more responsibilities.

With the combination of the Madison County Recorders Office into the clerks office this year, Ming-Mendoza said she and her team have established a funding method less reliant on the countys general fund, resulting in a savings to taxpayers. Her office also has also worked to increase access to voters and address a declining number of people wishing to be election judges.

Im so very proud of our efforts to ensure access to voting for all residents that ensure fair and free elections, she said. It really is my passion.

It has been my great pleasure and privilege to serve the people of Madison County these last eight years as clerk, and I look forward to the opportunity serve four more years, said Ming-Mendoza.

State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, said Ming-Mendoza helped her craft House Bill 1871 that expanded voting access throughout Illinois. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill in early April.

Debbie was instrumental in offering advice on the legislation that we passed last year and is dedicated to ensuring free and fair elections, said Stuart. There is no better clerk in Illinois at running elections and Im proud to support Debbie in her re-election efforts.

State Sen. Rachelle Crowe, D-Glen Carbon, stated that under Ming-Mendoza Madison County now offers some of the best run elections in the state.

Ming-Mendoza and her husband, Mercie, live in Granite City. They have two grandchildren from her son, Richard, and daughter-in-law, Jeana, who also live in Granite City.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 23:40:07|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Arlene Foster announced Wednesday that she will step down as the leader of Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Northern Ireland's first minister.

"It is important to give space over the next few weeks for the Party Officers to make arrangements for the election of a new leader," Foster said in a statement.

The outgoing first minister said: "The future of unionism and Northern Ireland will not be found in division. It will only be found in sharing this place we are privileged to call home."

According to the BBC, Foster said she would step down as DUP leader on May 28 and as first minister at the end of June.

The latest development follows calls within the party for a leadership contest amid concerns over the leadership's handling of the Northern Ireland Protocol and other issues, according to Sky News.

About 75 percent of the DUP's Northern Ireland Assembly members signed a letter demanding a leadership contest, said the Sky News report.

Foster became the leader of DUP in December 2015.

Nearly 90 police officers were hurt in sporadic riots which started in loyalist areas and spread to interface flashpoints this month in Northern Ireland, according to the BBC.

The rioting was attributed in part to anger over the Irish Sea border, which is a new trade border between Northern Ireland and other parts of Britain as a result of Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Unionist parties and many loyalist communities object to the protocol as they believe it undermines Northern Ireland's status in Britain. Enditem
[April 28, 2021] Farmers Edge Announces First of its Kind Canola Heat Blast Yield Protection

Farmers Edge Inc. (TSX: FDGE), a Winnipeg-based pure-play digital agriculture company, is pleased to offer Canada's first Canola Heat Blast Yield Protection to its customers. This innovative digital product will help Canadian farmers protect the substantial investment in their canola crop while mitigating the financial damage that an extreme heatwave can have on yields. Farmers Edge digitizes the flow of insurance data from start to finish, and Munich Re, one of the global leaders in the insurance industry with A+ (Superior) Financial Strength Rating affirmed by AM Best, will underwrite the contract. Seamless connectivity with Munich Re ensures fluid information delivery providing unique user experience. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005379/en/ Affordable, easy-to-use insurance product reduces the risk of extreme weather for canola growers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. (Graphic: Business Wire) Heat blast occurs when temperatures rise above 28 C during the day and above 16 C at night. This heat level disruptsthe canola plant's growth cycle leading to a drop in yield at harvest. In 2020 alone, Canada's prairie provinces experienced numerous days where the temperature exceeded this threshold. High temperatures combined with dry conditions can lead to significant yield losses.



This parametric insurance solution is affordable, easy to use, and eliminates the paperwork and hassle of filing a claim for busy farmers. Farmers Edge customers simply choose which fields they wish to insure, and their digital platform FarmCommand does the rest. It will passively collect all the data (temperature, field conditions, planting date), trigger a guaranteed claim when the weather and cumulative growing degree day thresholds are met, and automatically send it to Munich Re. All of this is done in real-time, expediting the insurance settlement process and eliminating the need for a claim adjustment. Best of all, it is fully transparent and requires no supervision on the part of farmers. "We are thrilled to offer Canadian canola farmers this novel product that can help them deal with the catastrophic effects of climate change on their crops," said Wade Barnes, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Farmers Edge. "Growers have never had access to a product like this to protect themselves from excess heat that can be extremely damaging to the crop. With canola prices hitting record highs, this gives farmers peace of mind and allows them to focus on farming."

"Every year we hear reports of 'Heat Blast' in canola caused by heat and lack of rain," said Thom Weir PAg, Senior Agronomist at Farmers Edge. "A product that allows farmers to insure against losses caused by heat blast is one more risk management tool that will allow producers in susceptible areas to protect their financial inputs into their canola crops." About Farmers Edge Farmers Edge is leading the next agricultural revolution with the industry's broadest portfolio of proprietary technological innovations, spanning hardware, software, and services. Powered by a unique combination of connected field sensors, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and agronomic expertise, the Company's digital platform turns data into actions and intelligent insights, delivering value to all stakeholders of the agricultural ecosystem. Farmers Edge disruptive technologies accelerate digital transformation on the farm and beyond, protecting our global resources and ensuring sustainable food production for a rapidly growing population. For more information, please visit www.farmersedge.ca and SEDAR (www.sedar.com). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005379/en/

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A dispute between two men on the main street in Naas at 10.30am was recalled at a sitting of the District Court on April 21.

Terence O'Flaherty, 59, whose address was given as Ballyknockan, Valleymount, Blessington and David McCann, 59, whose address was given as Slievecoragh, Hollywood, face allegations of assault causing harm and assault respectively.

Sgt Brian Jacob claimed that an argument followed by pushing shoving took place on January 10, 2011 outside the Ulster Bank premises.

Read more County Kildare news

Mr McCann allegedly sustained a deviated septum, a nose injury.

Judge Desmond Zaidan directed that Mr OFlaherty (after a request by Mr OFlaherty) should receive CCTV images of the alleged incident from the Ulster Bank, if necessary from the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh.

He also said he should receive a recording of the 999 call made by Mr O'Flaherty, who alleged that words spoken by him as he made the call no longer form part of the recording.
A bloody gang war is feared to be on the brink of erupting after an 18-year-old stabbed to death in east London was revealed to be the brother of another knife victim killed four years earlier in the same neighbourhood.

Junior Jah died shortly before 2.45pm on Monday after being attacked in broad daylight just a few feet from his front door in Coolfin Road, Canning Town.

Back in 2017, his brother, Ahmed Jah, then 21, was also stabbed to death just 150 yards from the scene in Freemasons Road as he went to buy a soft drink from a convenience store.

It sparked revenge attacks that year that saw the murder of CJ Davis, 14, shot in the head beside a playground in north Newham. His killers have never been found.

He is believed to have been caught in the middle when the Woodgrange E7 gang and their rivals The Beckton E6 crew clashed following months of taunts.

The senseless killing, which also saw a 17-year-old boy caught in the cross-fire, was believed to be a revenge attack ordered by Beckton E6 following a hunting knife stabbing at Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford.

There were also a number of acid attacks by thugs who made their getaways on mopeds.

This map from 2018 shows the patchwork of gangs who control different streets in London

1. DBG 2. 9th Street 3. 22GZ (Wood Green) 4. OFB (Broadwater Farm) 5. Sin Squad/ NPK 6. #900 7. #AP / GMG 8. CHINGBLOCK 9. DRIVE 10. #LEYTONSTONE 11. 7th gang 12. 12th Manor Park 13. iLLMADE 14. 8910 15. Barking 16. 6th gang 17. Custom House Gang 18. 13th gang 19. 15th gang 20. #HOMERTON 21. London Fields 22. Holly Street 23. Lisson Green Mandem/ Edgeware Road Boys 24. ER 25. Harrow Road Boys 26. 1011 27. ICB (Ice City Boys) 28. SUSPECT GANG (USG) 29. 12World/12Anti 30. 3rd Set 31. N-GANG 32. Southall 33. Hayes 34. 37/OJB 35. 17/PriceyWorld/Wano Rd 36. KuKu/BP 37. Moscow17 38. AY gang 39. B-Town 40. Ghetto Boys 41. 10th (G-Town) 42. OCB/YCB (Cherry Boys) 43. Woolwich Boys 44. GS (Greenside) 45. AWB (Abbey Wood Boys) 46. Parkside 47. Splash Gang 48. BSIDE 785 49. 23 #GMASH 50. AR (ARMED RESPONSE) 51. Monson Bloodset 52. Queens Road NM/2 53. PR15/NBR 54. Zone 2 55. 198 BLOCK 5 56. 410 gang 57. Cassava 58. MBlock 59. Claptown 60. 67 Gang 61. 417 Tooting 62. #Mitcham 63. CRO 64. CR7 65. M20/SMG 66. Gipset 67. UpTop 68. LTH Advertisement

The victim of the Canning Town murder was named locally as Junior Jah, who had just turned 18. His brother Ahmed Jah (right) was stabbed to death four years earlier

Corey Junior Davis aged seven in school uniform. He was shot dead, 14, in Forest Gate in 2017

Ahmed is believed to have been known by the nickname 'Grinna', while Junior was known as 'Young Grinna'.

The younger sibling was yesterday remembered by relatives as 'a beautiful, quiet boy'.

Witnesses said emergency services rushed to the scene and fought hard to save him but he was pronounced dead on the street.

A young man was seen with his head in his hands, crying on a curb next to the crime scene where Junior was killed.

A neighbour described the horrific moment she walked out her front door to see Junior on the ground just yards away.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said this morning: 'My friend told me something had happened so I came out of my house and saw that poor boy lying there and I just came back inside.

'His brother was also stabbed. They are a nice family, it's so sad.

'I always said 'good morning' to them and they always said 'good morning' to me.

'It's awful and it frightens you when it happens right where you live.'

Junior Jah is the twelfth teenager to be stabbed to death in London already this year. Seventeen teenagers were murdered in the capital in the whole of 2020.

An 18-year-old was stabbed to death in Canning Town, east London, with police being called

Emergency services arrived at the site of the stabbing in Canning Town but could not save him

Flowers and heartbreaking tributes have been left in his memory at the scene which is just a mile from where 14-year-old Fares Maatou was fatally stabbed three days earlier.

One heart-rending message written on a card amongst flowers read: 'Still can't believe you've gone. Always in our hearts and never forgotten.'

A forensic tent has been set up just feet from the front door of an address registered to his father, Abubakarr.

The two storey terraced home sits behind police tape while officers stand guard.

At the scene of the attack, Junior's aunt Yvette Goodhew, from Stratford, said: 'We always knew him as Junior. He was a beautiful quiet boy. He had just turned 18.

'We didn't see the family often but I remembered he was a good boy.'

Ahmed, the eldest of four siblings, died after being knifed in the chest inside BJ Wines in nearby Freemasons Road on April 2, 2017.

His father Abubakarr, a rail construction worker, told the Evening Standard at the time: 'Young people need to put down their knives and stop the violence. It is destroying families and communities.

'He was a beautiful, kind boy. He wanted to do something with his life. Now we have lost him. He didn't deserve for this to happen.'

The tragedy came as boys of 17 and 18 were also injured in separate attacks less than an hour apart.

At around 3.30pm police were called to nearby Poplar after reports that a 17-year-old male had suffered stab injuries.

And at 3.40pm officers were called to Redbridge where an 18-year-old boy was found with leg injuries.

Police officers at the scene yesterday after two girls were stabbed in West Norwood, south London on Sunday

Police officers at the scene in West Norwood yesterday following the stabbing of two teenage girls on Sunday

Fares Maatou, 15, (pictured) died after being stabbed in Newham on Friday

No arrests have been made over any of the incidents, which police were not linking during initial investigations.

A section 60 order, which allows officers to search anyone without reasonable grounds amid a risk of serious violence, has been put in place for the entire borough of Newham.

Police are also calling on anyone with information to come forward.

A spokesperson said: 'Anyone with information that could assist the investigation at this early stage is asked to contact police on 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD 4050/26April. Alternatively, you can provide information anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111.'

Monday's carnage comes after a weekend that saw other unrelated incidents of knife crime across the capital

On Sunday, two teenage girls aged 16 and 17 were stabbed in broad daylight in West Norwood, south London.

Following the attack at around 4.30pm, the girls were taken to hospital where the 16-year-old remains in a critical but stable condition.

The older girl was taken to hospital by air ambulance which landed on the roof of a nearby B&Q. Her condition was initially life threatening but she is now serious but stable.

The younger girl did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

Both girls appeared to have been stabbed in the torso below the shoulder.

Scotland Yard said four boys, aged between 16 and 17, were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. One has since been released with no further action, while the other three remain in custody.

In another incident, Fares Maatou, 15, was killed in the borough of Newham on Friday.

A 14-year-old boy, who has appeared at youth court charged with his murder, has been remanded in custody at a youth detention centre and told to appear at the Old Bailey.
She's the busty Married At First Sight bride known for her outspoken personality and jaw-dropping physique.

And on Tuesday, Alana Lister confirmed she's had cosmetic surgery to enhance the size of her breasts.

During an Instagram Q&A, the 30-year-old school teacher revealed her ample assets were surgically enhanced.

Spilling her secrets: Outspoken Married At First Sight bride Alana Lister (pictured) answered a series of personal questions on Instagram Stories on Tuesday night

'My boobs are not natural. That question gets asked a lot,' she said.

The Brisbane native also revealed that she has no immediate plans to join monthly subscription website OnlyFans.

'Personally right now, I wouldn't really consider it, but I'm definitely supportive of the women who do it. I think it is empowering for women,' she said.

'My boobs are not natural': During a Q&A with fans, the 30-year-old school teacher revealed her ample assets were surgically enhanced

It comes after Alana hit back at her haters on Sunday, calling out 'keyboard Karens' who were criticising her for wearing racy outfits.

'Just jumping in here really quickly to say thanks to all my queens for your love. I so appreciate it,' she said in an Instagram video.

She continued: 'Just to respond to some of the real Karen-like comments that I've seen on some of my videos and photos in regards to what I'm wearing or what I'm not wearing and what a man's going to think of me because of that...'

'It's empowering': The Brisbane native also that she has no plans to join subscription-based adult website OnlyFans in the future

'That's a man's problem!' It comes after Alana hit back at her haters on Sunday, calling out 'keyboard Karens' who were criticising her for wearing racy outfits

'Firstly, that's a man's problem,' she snapped. 'And secondly, thank you for your concern, but I'm doing just fine.'

'I wish I had the time to educate you on world history and discrimination and sexism and politics and morals and ethics and socialisation,' she added.

'I feel like if I did, you would maybe understand that the reasons that you think the things you think are because you are just simply a product of a hugely corrupt, archaic system that forces women to hate women and shame them just because of their sexuality.'

Alana went on to say the shaming comments were 'outdated', 'oppressive' and don't have a place in society in 2021.

Thanks, but no thanks: Alana told her Instagram followers she doesn't care what men think of her outfit choices, so the unwelcome advice from other women isn't necessary
HARTFORD  Insurance multinational Chubb announced Wednesday that it would end its efforts to acquire The Hartford, after submitting three failed offers in the past two months for one of the cornerstone companies of Connecticuts insurance industry.

The chapter with The Hartford is closed, Chubb CEO and Chairman Evan Greenberg said in an earnings call Wednesday. We have moved along. Beyond that... Im not going to now engage in talk about past events.

Greenbergs comments apparently culminate a saga that started seven weeks ago.

Chubb, an S&P 500 constituent, launched its pursuit of The Hartford with a March 11 offer that valued The Hartford at $65 per share, or about $23 billion. After being rejected, Chubb then sent a March 30 letter in which Greenberg said his firm would be prepared to offer in excess of $67 per share. A follow-up letter from Greenberg, on April 14, outlined Chubbs willingness to increase its offer to $70 per share, comprising the top end of our range, which would value The Hartford at about $25 billion.

In response to an inquiry from Hearst Connecticut Media, a spokesman for The Hartford said that the company would not be making any new comments about Chubbs attempts to acquire the company. In previous communications, executives have outlined their reasons for turning down the bids.

The Hartfords board of directors, along with its financial and legal advisers, has fully and carefully evaluated the proposal set forth in Chubb Ltd.s most recent letter of April 14, 2021, Christopher Swift, The Hartfords CEO and chairman, said in an April 22 letter to Greenberg. The board unanimously determined to reject the proposal, confirming its prior determination that entering into discussions regarding a strategic transaction would not be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. The board also unanimously reaffirmed its conviction and confidence in The Hartfords strategic business plan.

Following Chubbs announcement, The Hartfords shares closed Wednesday at $67.60, down nearly 3 percent from Tuesday. They have hit a 52-week high of approximately $70 and a 52-week low of around $30.

The Hartford is a true Connecticut success story, and I wish the company and its employees well, state Sen. Matt Lesser, co-chairman of the state legislatures Real Estate and Insurance Committee, said in a statement. For over 200 years, it has been a major part of our economy. From the outset, I had concerns about whether this specific proposal was in the public interest. I will continue to perform my duty to perform oversight over the Connecticut Insurance Department and the industry it regulates.

Chubbs attempted acquisition caught the attention of Lesser and many other state legislators, who were worried about its potential impact on the Connecticut operations of the 1810-founded The Hartford. An S&P 500 constituent and No. 160 on last years Fortune 500 list, The Hartford employs about 6,100 in its home state.

In the April 14 letter, Chubb sought to allay concerns by pledging to make Hartford a major technology and operations center, relocate personnel to the city to minimize net job reductions and make significant new investment to revitalize Hartford and enhance attractiveness of Connecticut for skills-based jobs, including both tech and non-tech related.

Describes itself as the worlds largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company, Chubb already has a presence in Connecticut with locations in Cromwell, Ledyard, New Haven, Simsbury, Stamford and Windsor. It employs approximately 31,000 people across 54 countries and territories.

State Rep. Kerry Wood, D-Rocky Hill, co-chairwoman of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, said Wednesday that while Im happy that The Hartford has positioned itself in such a way to attract a buyer, Im relieved for our capitol city and for the fact that we can count on these jobs staying local.

State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, and state Rep. Cara Pavalock-DAmato, R-Bristol, the ranking members of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, were not immediately available to comment Wednesday.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin declined to comment on Chubbs announcement. The Hartfords main offices are located at One Hartford Plaza, near Union Station and a few blocks west of the downtown.

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott
In March, I wrote about the demand by Coca-Colas then-general counsel that law firms representing the company engage in racial discrimination. In a letter to these firms, Coke demanded, among other things, that on Coca-Cola matters they commit that at least 30% of each of billed associate and partner time will be from diverse attorneys, and of such amounts at least half will be from Black attorneys.

I argued that, if carried through, Cokes insistence that its law firms assign work based on a racial quota would be unlawful. Both the company and the officers responsible for the policy would be vulnerable, I submitted, to a successful lawsuit under Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Punitive damages can be awarded under this statute in appropriate cases.

Now, the Project for Fair Representation has written a letter to Cokes new general counsel advising her of the illegality of its quota program for outside counsel. The letter is from C. Boyden Gray, a distinguished attorney who served as White House Counsel under George H.W. Bush.

The letter states, in key part:

Coca Colas stated goal is that the legal teams it hires be representative of the population it serves, and the policys minimum racial quotas therefore roughly track the racial distribution of the American population at large, rather than the labor market for attorneys. Thus, for example, the letter requires that at least 15% of time be billed by black attorneys. Blacks make up approximately 13.4% of the U.S. population, but only 5.9% of attorneys. . . .

In adopting this new policy, Coke appears to be following the view of anti-racist activist Ibram X. Kendi that justice requires proportional representation in all spheres of life and that the only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. . . .And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently.

Such a policy of discrimination is illegal. Since the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (codified at 42 U.S.C. 1981), federal law has prohibited all forms of racial discrimination in private contracting. As the late Justice Ginsburg noted just last year, Section 1981 is a sweeping law designed to break down all discrimination between black men and white men regarding basic civil rights' Comcast Corp. v. Natl Assn of Afr. Am.-Owned Media, 140 S.Ct. 1009, 1020 (2020) (Ginsburg, J. concurring) (quoting Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., 392 U.S. 409, 432 (1968) (emphasis in original). And decades of case law have held that  no matter how well intentioned  policies that seek to impose permanent racial balancing are prohibited. See, e.g., United Steelworkers of America v. Weber, 443 U.S. 193, 208 (1979); Johnson v. Transp. Agency, U.S. 616, 621 & 632 (1987).

As the Reconstruction-era Congress understood, the legal tools of segregation are fundamentally corrupt; they poison all they touch. That these same tools may be used with the intent of achieving parity rather than exclusion is irrelevant. Racial quotas perpetuate the invidious racial classifications of Jim Crow, and they rely on the false, racist notion that blacks and other racial minorities are somehow unable to compete with members of other races. As Justice Thomas has written, there is a moral and constitutional equivalence between laws designed to subjugate a race and those that distribute benefits on the basis of race in order to foster some current notion of equality. Advanced Constructors Inc. v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200, 240 (Thomas, J., concurring).

The abrupt departure of Bradley Gayton after less than a year as General Counsel suggests that Coca-Cola is already aware that its racial quota requirements on outside firms are indefensible. Indeed, if press reports are accurate, Coca-Cola has already paused the policy, though with the intention of retaining at least some of its provisions. This pause is a welcome development, but more is needed. Racial discrimination should have no place in private contracting, and Coca-Cola should act swiftly to publicly undo this destructive legacy of Mr. Gaytons tenure.

In my post about Coca-Colas discriminatory policy, I wrote that Coke can take comfort from the fact that no law firm is likely to sue the company or its officers. I may have underestimated Project for Fair Representation and its head, Edward Blum.
ROME, APR 28 - Italian firms may help rebuild Benghazi airport, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told the House Wednesday in reporting on his recent meeting with the Libyan foreign minister. He added that Italy's project to extend a coastal motorway from the border with Tunisia to the one with Egypt would get under way in a few months. (ANSA).
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 23:51:27|Editor: huaxia

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OUAGADOUGOU, April 28 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 people were killed on Monday by gunmen in several villages in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, regional governor on Wednesday said.

The Sahel governor, colonel-major Salfo Kabore, said gunmen on Monday around 7 p.m. (local time) carried out incursions in villages in the commune of Seytenga, Seno province, and committed intimidations, lootings and murders on civilians.

"The initial toll was 18 dead and one injured currently under care in a hospital center in Ouagadougou", he said in an official release on Wednesday.

The announcement of the attack came after a government statement on Tuesday said three Europeans were found dead in another attack after they were missing on Monday.

Two Spanish reporters and one Irish citizen as well as a Burkina Faso citizen were missing after gunmen attacked an anti-poaching joint unit in the east of Burkina Faso.

Since 2015, terrorist attacks have been recurrent in Burkina Faso. As of March 31, 2021, the country has registered 1,147,699 displaced people nationwide due to the trouble. Enditem
04/28/2021

Photo (c) Peter Zelei Images - Getty Images Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 32,179,505 (32,130,876)

Total U.S. deaths: 573,452 (572,794)

Total global cases: 148,859,866 (148,018,784)

Total global deaths: 3,138,755 (3,123,782)

U.S. case count still falling

Health officials across the U.S. are reporting a continued decline in the overall number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases as millions of Americans each day get a vaccination. On Tuesday, researchers at The COVID-19 Tracking Project at Johns Hopkins University reported just over 50,000 new cases.

Unfortunately, deaths are still rising. There were 863 deaths on Tuesday, nearly double Mondays total. However, health experts point out that deaths tend to be a lagging indicator and are usually the result of infections that occurred during the previous four weeks.

As cases continue to trend lower, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued revised guidance for wearing masks outdoors. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his state would immediately adopt the CDCs recommendations.

Vaccination rate steady at 2.7 million shots a day

One reason for the decline in new COVID-19 cases may be the rate at which states are vaccinating their citizens. The CDCs latest data shows that most states have vaccinated half their populations, with the national vaccination rate holding steady at 2.7 million a day.

For the nation as a whole, 20.1% of the adult population is now fully vaccinated. Another 42.7% have received at least one dose.

The numbers are much higher for the most vulnerable population -- people 65 and older. Among that group, two-thirds have been fully vaccinated and nearly 82% have received at least one shot of a vaccine.

Oregon struggles to get cases under control

As many states report increasing vaccinations and declining cases of the coronavirus, Oregon is moving in the opposite direction. Gov. Kate Brown has added 15 Oregon counties to the extreme risk level. Nine more counties were classified as high risk.

Brown expressed concern about the rapid spread of the virus across the state. She noted that more than 300 people are currently being treated for COVID-19 in Oregon hospitals.

If we dont act now, doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other health care providers in Oregon will be stretched to their limits treating severe cases of COVID-19, Brown said. Todays announcement will save lives and help stop COVID-19 hospitalizations from spiking even higher. With new COVID-19 variants widespread in so many of our communities, it will take all of us working together to bring this back under control.

Researchers find new ways to treat COVID-19

While the emphasis since the beginning of the year has been on vaccinations, doctors say its also important to continue finding ways to treat patients if and when they get the virus. The latest breakthrough is a combination of commonly used hepatitis C drugs and the antiviral drug remdesivir.

A team of international researchers writing in Cell Reports found that, when combined with drugs currently used to treat hepatitis C, remdesivir is 10 times more effective in treating cells infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Remdesivir, which blocks viral replication by interfering with a viral polymerase, is administered intravenously; this limits its use to patients who are sick enough to be admitted to a hospital. But the researchers believe a drug combining the two medicines could be produced in pill form, meaning it could be taken at home.

Miami school orders teachers NOT to get vaccinated

Heres one that has a lot of people scratching their heads: While some employers are deciding whether to require employees to get vaccinated before returning to work, a private school in Miami has ordered teachers and employers NOT to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Press accounts say the schools administrators have cited erroneous claims circulating on the internet that people who are vaccinated can somehow adversely affect people they come in contact with. CBS News said it obtained an email the school sent to parents explaining the policy.

"We also recommended that all faculty and staff hold off on taking the injection until there is further research available on whether this experimental drug is impacting unvaccinated individuals," the email reads. "It is our policy, to the extent possible, not to employ anyone who has taken the experimental COVID-19 injection until further information is known."

Around the nation
American Idol returned to Walt Disney World last week to film for its upcoming Disney Night special episode.

The top nine contestants traveled to Central Florida for a one-on-one session with VIP mentor John Stamos in front of Cinderella Castle as well as to gain inspiration from all four WDW theme parks as well as Disney Springs.

A promotional video for the episode shows contestants (donning Disney ear headbands) riding Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disneys Hollywood Studios and enjoying a parade and taking photos with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse at Magic Kingdom.

Its the best night of the year, judge Katy Perry says in the video.

Disneys songbook is storied and beloved, ABC said in an email, noting that Disney Night brings the magic of Disney into viewers homes and aims to inspire and spread joy.

The Comeback winner will be announced during the episode  which features all 10 competitors performing Disney songs. Also, Disney Channel star Sofia Carson and musician Jon Batiste will each perform a Disney song.

The top seven finalists will be revealed at the end.

Catch the Disney Night episode 8-10 p.m. May 2 on ABC (WFTV-Channel 9 in Central Florida). New episodes can also be viewed the next day on-demand, on Hulu and at abc.com/shows/american-idol.

Want to reach out? Email me at kchristiansen@orlandosentinel.com. Find more fun things on Instagram @fun.things.orlando and Facebook @fun.things.orlando.
An Indonesian man loves his workplace so much that he has named his son after it. His 5-month-old boys name is Statistical Information Communication Office

Even before he got married, Samet Wahyudi knew that if he ever had a son, he wanted to name him after the department he worked in as a civil servant. He made that very clear to his fiance before they got married, and she accepted his condition. Their first child was a girl, so Samet agreed on a more conventional name for her, but when his wife, Linda, gave birth to their second child, a boy, in December of last year, he knew exactly what his name would be  Statistical Information Communication Office.

Indonesian media reported on the childs unusual name earlier this month, after checking the countrys name registration database. Samet Wahyudi told reporters that he got a job as a civil servant in the city of Brebes in 2003, and he has been working Statistical Information Communication Office ever since. This place has become like a second home for him, so he wanted it connected to his son somehow.

Born on December 23, 2020, Statistical Information Communication Office will probably have a tough time introducing himself with his full name, which is why his parents have already chosen a nickname for him, Dinko. Asked if he has given any thought to how his son will feel about his name when he grows up, the Indonesian civil servant said that he is sure the boy will get used to it eventually.

Samets wife, Linda, accepted the bizarre name right away, but her parents had some objections that they eventually dropped, after hearing about the deal the parents had even before they were married.

Hopefully, Statistical Information Communication Office doesnt end up taking his parents to court for ruining his childhood with this weird name.
Utica, N.Y.  The F.X. Matt (Saranac) Brewing Co. has been making beer in Utica for 133 years.

We hope to be here for another 100 years, company president Fred Matt said Wednesday while announcing the completion of a three-year, $35 million expansion project. We are a company thats fueled to grow.

But a lot of that growth may not be beer. The brewery founded in 1888 is poised to boost its existing production of products like hard seltzer, wine and spirits beverages in cans, soft drinks and more.

By the end of this year, those kind of products could comprise half the total output of the plant at Edward and Varick streets, Matt said.

The $35 million expansion gives the brewery dozens of giant new brew kettles and fermenting and storage tanks, along with a new digital/computer-operated control system. That will enable it to nearly double its total beverage production by the end of this year.

But Fred Matt had more news: The company is now investing another $11 million to improve and expand its packaging lines as it adds more variety to its beverage line-up.

We will be the worlds most flexible brewery, or one of the most flexible, he said. We were the first to do hard seltzer (with Spiked Seltzer) so we have the knowledge and the experience and now the facilities and the capability.

Matt Brewing also recently sold a 20% share of the family-owned company to Brooklyn Brewery of New York City, whose beers it has been making under contract for 35 years. Among other things, that allowed the brewery to undertake the expansion without adding debt, Matt said,

And its adding 25 to 30 new jobs to a payroll that already stands at about 130 full-time and 10 part-time positions. Those will include positions in production and packaging, along with supervisors, finance and more.

We have always prided ourselves on being a great place to work, Matt said. Were looking forward to having more people join our team.

Matt Brewing, once known as the West End Brewing Co., was founded by German immigrant F.X. Matt, Freds great-grandfather, in 1888. It is known for its traditional American lager, Utica Club, and, since the 1980s, for the line of Saranac craft beers. It also makes many different beverages under contract for other companies and brands.

It is the second oldest brewery in New York state (after Genesee in Rochester), and the oldest still owned by its founding family. In New York, only Genesee and the Anheuser-Busch InBev plant near Syracuse are bigger.

But the brewhouse hadnt been significantly updated since just after the end of World War II. Before the expansion, it featured two copper 500-barrel brew kettles and reached its capacity of about 320,000 barrels of beer/beverages per year. (A barrel is 31 gallons).

With two new and more efficient 450-barrel kettles, plus greatly enlarged fermenting and storage capacity, the brewery may produce 600,000 barrels this year and could go as high as 800,000 barrels in future years, Matt said.

All that expansion came as the beverage industry has experienced major disruptive changes in recent years (not to mention the Covid-19 pandemic), Matt said.

The changes came in both the types of products produced and the packaging, he said.

Three years ago, about 80% of the brewerys non-draft beverages were packaged in bottles, with 20% in cans. Thats now flipped to 75% in cans and 25% in bottles.

During the same time, the beverages themselves have changed. Three years ago the brewerys production was 85% traditional beers, Matt said. That fell to 60% last year and may drop to 50% this year, he said.

Part of that comes from Matts own line of soft drinks and its introduction of green tea-infused hard seltzers.

Other products made under contract at Matt Brewing include the Finnish Long Drink (a canned cocktail that is considered the national drink of Finland), and a line of canned cocktails called Ohza Mimosas.

But its also still in the beer business. In addition to producing many of Brooklyns most popular beers, it recently became home to a re-launch of the iconic New York City beer Schaefer.

The Matt brewery is also known for its in-depth tours, concert series and its sponsorship of the annual Boilermaker Road Race each summer. This years Boilermaker has been rescheduled to Oct. 10. Tours and concerts have not yet been rescheduled but could be pending changes in Covid and state restrictions.

Upstate New Yorks other big breweries have also been expanding.

The Genesee Brewery in Rochester unveiled its modernization and expansion project in 2019.

And the Anheuser-Busch plant just outside of Baldwinsville in Onondaga County is slated to receive a big chunk of a $1 billion investment by its parent company. Like the other expansions, that is driven heavily by the need to turn more production over to hard seltzer and other beverages.

Hard seltzer is here to stay, Fred Matt said. Its got an appeal that isnt going to go away soon.

Don Cazentre writes about craft beer, wine, spirits and beverages 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.
Governor Whitmer, Lt. Governor Gilchrist, Rep. Manoogian on Armenian Genocide

Governor Whitmer, Lt. Governor Gilchrist, Rep. Manoogian on Armenian Genocide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 24, 2021

Media Contact: Press@Michigan.gov

Governor Whitmer, Lt. Governor Gilchrist, Rep. Manoogian on Armenian Genocide

LANSING, Mich. -- Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Governor Gilchrist, and Rep. Mari Manoogian issued the following statements after President Biden formally recognized the Armenian Genocide at the federal level. Governor Whitmer also signed a proclamation declaring April 24, 2021 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in the state of Michigan.

"Today, President Biden is taking a long overdue step to formally recognize the slaughter of Armenians in the early 20th century by the government of Turkey as a genocide," said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "The state of Michigan, Lieutenant Governor, and I support this move, one that is line with proclamations issued by Michigan Governors of both parties and passed by the Legislature over the last 60 years. On April 22, the Michigan House passed HR 87, introduced by Rep. Mari Manoogian, an Armenian-American legislator descended from survivors of the Armenian genocide. I also want to echo the calls put forth by Michigan Governors for decades and proclaim April 24 as a Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide in Michigan. At the national level, the recognition of this atrocity is long overdue, and I am thankful for President Biden's decision and grateful for Rep. Manoogian's tireless advocacy on this issue throughout her time in the Legislature. We must ensure that generations of Americans and Michiganders to come honor the memory of those we lost during the Armenian Genocide."

"I am glad the United States will finally formally recognize the atrocities committed against the Armenian people by the Turkish government in the early 1900s as a genocide," said Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist. "This acknowledgment is essential and brings the federal government's position in line with the state of Michigan's. The governor and I are proud of the advocacy and activism of the extraordinary Armenian-American community over decades to make this happen. We are especially indebted to Representative Mari Manoogian, an Armenian-American descended from survivors of the Armenian genocide, who has spoken out on this issue passionately and persistently. Together, we will remember the memories of those we have lost and build a bright, inclusive future to honor their legacy."

"I am overwhelmed with gratitude toward President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and the rest of the White House foreign policy team for affirming the truth and recognizing the Armenian Genocide," said Rep. Manoogian. "Every Armenian alive today is a symbol of strength in the face of racial hatred and state-sanctioned atrocities committed against us. This decision is like a weight lifted off the shoulders of Armenian-Americans, allowing us to grieve and heal with the peace of knowing that our experiences are unequivocally true and real."

"By recognizing the Armenian Genocide, the United States affirms a foreign policy agenda centered upon human rights and truth, two key pillars to preventing future genocides," said Rep. Manoogian. I look forward to continuing to work with the Biden Administration and Armenian community leaders across the country to finally end the scourge of genocide denialism that continues to emanate from the highest echelons of Ankara and Baku."

To view the full proclamation, click the link below:

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ROME, APR 28 - The Senate on Wednesday rejected a no-confidence motion filed by the opposition nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI) party in Health Minister Roberto Speranza by 22 votes to 29 with three abstentions. Speranza faces another two no-confidence motions filed by Senators Gianluigi Paragone and Mattia Crucioli, respectively of the mixed caucus and the 'There IS An Alternative group. The motions have very little chance of succeeding. (ANSA).
A recently launched Naas catering business will donate all profits from May sales of their take-away picnics to Breast Cancer Ireland.

Lily & Wild operates from a funky vintage Citroen van based at Naas Racecourse, offering coffee, treats and portable picnics at the weekends.

A three-course feast starts at 25 pp, and vegans, vegetarians and children can also be catered for. Delivery is also available in the Naas area.

The picnics in aid of Breast Cancer Ireland will be available from May 1. They can be pre-ordered online at www.lilyandwild.ie or via Instagram, and orders should be placed by the preceeding Thursday.

The delicious menu includes goat's cheese mouillette, charcuterie, crudites, tomato and mozzarella, chicken caesar, pink merangue nests, potted vanilla cheesecake, popcorn and San Pellegrino, all presented in a reusable cooler bag, with wicker baskets available on request.

Lily & Wild is run by Kevin and Davina Walsh, who have extensive experience in the luxury hospitality and catering industry.

This new venture was a great way to keep motivation and spirits up for us, and while it is scary to start something new at such a precarious time, sometimes you just have to go for it, said Kevin.
He is the best politician we have in Illinois; he is rarely in front of cameras because he and his people work effectively behind the scenes. Secretary of state offices have improved their customer service and updated processes under his command. The people in the offices in Melrose Park and Lombard are friendly and efficient. When I worked in the Loop, I visited the downtown location and was in and out during my lunch hour. The wait time in the past was not ridiculous. I loved that I was able to get a replacement plate for my car when needed. The online vehicle sticker ordering process works well.
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday held a virtual meeting with community leaders in Guatemala as she seeks to address the root cause of undocumented migration to the United States.

"I want to hear about you. I want to hear about your work," she told a dozen community representatives who met at the US embassy in Guatemala City for the online event.

President Joe Biden has assigned Harris the task of dealing with the growing flow of undocumented migrants, mostly from Central America, reaching the southern US border.

She told the group that the US government's focus for aid would not be broad and sweeping but rather a "place-based approach" to assistance.

"We are building a comprehensive strategy that includes business leaders, community leaders" and others, she said.

She added that US officials recognize the "acute factors" causing people to "leave right now," including violence, corruption, poverty, lack of economic opportunity and climate change.

Harris said that she wanted to hear from the community leaders so that she can "know the people behind the statistics.

"I believe you can help me identify the communities who are most need of support," she said, including women, Afro-descendants, indigenous people, and LGBTQ people.

Harris said that she hopes to meet with them when she travels to Guatemala in June.

On Monday Harris told Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei in a virtual call that Washington will give $310 million in humanitarian relief to Central America.

Biden has asked Congress for $861 million to address the causes that drive irregular immigration from Central America, within the framework of his $4 billion plan for the region.

His proposal is included in the budget project for next year that has yet to be discussed and approved by legislators.

Most of the migrants come from the three countries of the Central American Northern Triangle. That area, vulnerable to natural disasters, was hit by two devastating hurricanes in November and is struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic and a prolonged drought.

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John Rockhold - Vice chairman, American Chamber of Commerce Hanoi Vietnam was successful in its dual efforts to contain the pandemic and maintain economic growth, emerging as one of the few countries in the world to record a reasonably high rate of positive economic growth in 2020. The Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) infrastructure index ranks the quality of infrastructure and connectivity in each province. This index is not included in the calculation of the PCI scores. However, it serves as a useful reference for businesses as well as policymakers. The PCI research team has determined it is unfair to include infrastructure in the overall ranking for three reasons: initial endowments were dramatically different across provinces, making it very difficult for some rural provinces to catch up; provinces are not solely responsible for infrastructure within their borders, as many investments are funded through central government initiatives; and the team strongly believes the improvement of infrastructure is best achieved through regional cooperation and does not want to encourage duplicative and damaging competition in construction, particularly for large projects such as ports and airports. Infrastructure in Vietnam has generally improved since 2014. However, in 2020, the median score of the infrastructure index dropped slightly to 67.41 points from the all-time high of 68.45 points, achieved in 2019. The findings show the correlation between the quality of governance and infrastructure in 2020. There remains a close correlation across all provinces. Consistent with previous surveys, the PCI 2020 finds that provinces performing well in governance indicators tend to have higher quality infrastructure. Provinces that outperform the median province in terms of infrastructure but do not perform as well in governance appear to be caught in a structural advantage trap. They have not vigorously pursued good governance because they were confident that investment would come regardless of their efforts. Finally, provinces that perform better than the median province in terms of their governance but face the obstacle of limited infrastructure have to conquer hardships through dedicated reforms to overcome their limited endowments. The 2020 report also dedicates another special chapter to explore factors that drive businesses to invest in green technologies and discover what motivates them to become more eco-friendly. The Vietnamese government has declared environmental protection as a key element in its foreign investment attraction and economic development policies. In emerging markets like Vietnam, where much of the worlds future demand for energy and infrastructure will be located, there is a clear recognition of the central role that businesses can play in promoting green growth and climate action. However, there is less clarity about how to motivate private players to invest in green technologies and environmentally friendly operations. In Chapter 4 of the 2020 PCI report, we use a survey experiment embedded in two nationally representative surveys in Vietnam to test which type of stakeholder pressure (governmental or societal) has the strongest impact on whether and how much domestic and foreign business leaders are willing to invest in green operations. Our main findings include: Foreign investors are more susceptible to intensive regulatory pressure; and around 74 per cent of foreign businesses that received the regulatory treatment expressed a willingness to expend greater resources on environmental upgrading, compared to 67 per cent of businesses that received the social pressure treatment. By contrast, we find no difference for domestic investors; 68 per cent expressed a willingness to invest in new environmental equipment and processes, regardless of treatment. We also do not find evidence for change with respect to the intensive margin (the increase in the share of operating costs that foreign and domestic businesses were willing to incur to increase the environmental cleanliness of their operations). The most effective policy varies by actor. Digging deeper, we disaggregated our analysis by whether businesses primary customers are citizens and businesses in Vietnam or customers outside the country, who are reached through export. Fascinatingly, the effects on the extensive margin (the business willingness to pay for environmental upgrading) are most pronounced for foreign investors seeking to access the domestic market, and domestic businesses pursuing exports. However, the type of stakeholder pressure that matters most varies between the two groups. Domestic-oriented foreign businesses, particularly because of their visibility and size, are more likely to respond to the regulatory pressure treatment. By contrast, export-oriented domestic players, as they are concerned about selling to consumers with Western values, are more likely to be influenced by the social pressure treatment. Businesses assessment of climate risk does not influence the effect of regulatory or social pressure on their decisions to upgrade. Businesses subjective and objective vulnerability to climate risk does not influence the effects of regulatory or social pressure. The higher the climate risk to a companys particular business, the more likely they are to upgrade, but this effect is not enhanced by additional social or governmental pressure. As businesses role in climate action becomes increasingly important, the question is whether more government regulation is needed to bring about change in businesses behaviour or whether there is room for self-regulation, when they respond most strongly to pressures from non-government actors, including non-governmental organisations and citizens demands. The bottom line is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to encouraging environmental upgrading. Enhanced regulation of domestic businesses will not pay the same dividends as it does for foreign ones and comes with more costs to inspect the numerous, diffuse, and small domestic companies. At the same time, ambitious domestic businesses hoping to reach international markets will find that social pressure is an extremely effective force in motivating green behavioural change.
The jacket containing the finches stuffed in hair rollers ((US Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York))

A man was arrested at JFK Airport in New York City and accused of attempting to smuggle 35 finches into the US that were stuffed inside hair curlers hidden in his clothes.

Kevin Andre McKenzie, 36, was arrested on Monday following airport agents discovering the birds concealed in his clothes after he deplaned from a JetBlue flight from Georgetown, in the South American country Guyana.

US Customs and Border Protection agents found the finches inside curlers that Mr McKenzie allegedly covered with a mesh cloth before hiding inside his trousers and jacket, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York.

Prosecutors claim in the court filing that Mr McKenzie told them that he had been offered $3,000 (2,156) to transport the 35 finches to the US.

Following his arrest at JFK on Monday, Mr McKenzie was charged with the illegal importation of wildlife, according to the complaint.

Mr McKenzie was released on a $25,000 (17,971) bond following his arrest and could spend up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

The investigators explained that the Guyanese variety of finches is desired in the US for its singing, as they are sought after so that they can be entered into competitions in Brooklyn and Queens.

In such contests, often conducted in public areas like parks, two finches sing and a judge selects the bird determined to have the best voice, the complaint explains.

A finch who wins these competitions becomes valuable and can sell for more than $10,000 (7,184), prosecutors added.

Mr McKenzie is not the first person from Guyana arrested at JFK this month for allegedly attempting to smuggle birds into the US.

A man was arrested in early April with prosecutors claiming that he was found with 29 live birds smuggled on his person stuffed inside pink and orange plastic rollers.

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New Delhi:

The Election Commission on Friday declared the dates and schedule for Uttar Pradesh local bodies election 2017. The elections will be conducted in three phases on November 22, 26 and 29 while the counting of votes will take place on December 1.

With the announcement of dates and schedule of UP Civic Polls, the model code of conduct has come into effect.

"As per the schedule, 24 districts will go to polls on November 22, 25 districts on November 26, and 26 districts on November 29," State Election Commissioner SK Agarwal told reporters in Lucknow.

A total 3.32 crore voters will be eligible to cast their votes at 36,269 polling booths and 11,389 polling stations.

The first phase of elections will cover 24 districts and over 1.9 crore voters will cast their votes to elect 230 local bodies spread over 4,095 wards.

The second phase will cover 25 districts having 189 local bodies covering 3,601 wards. The polls will be held at 13,776 polling booths to be set up for 1.29 crore voters.

In the third and last phases, 26 districts will go to polls in which there are 233 local bodies spread over 4,299 wards.

Tough test for UP CM Yogi Adityanath and his government:

The upcoming municipal polls in Uttar Pradesh will be a key test for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as they would indicate whether the priest-turned-politician has been able to ensure that the BJP continues to maintain its popularity level.

Earlier this year, riding on Hindutva wave the party had secured a three-fourths majority in the state assemble paving way for 45-year-old saffron-clad Adityanath to become the chief minister.

The civic polls is being seen as a major challenge for the Hindutva leader as the outcome would reveal the mood of the voters ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, suggests Political pundits.

(With PTI inputs)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
HERNDON, Va., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EdgeConneX, the pioneer in Hyperlocal to Hyperscale Data Center Solutions, announces a multi-market expansion strategy to provide critical capacity to support the demand for network, content and cloud solutions to several key North American markets. Initially, EdgeConneX will add nearly 20MWs of new capacity across its existing footprint in the Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Miami, Detroit, and Chicago markets. The expansions will allow major service providers around the world to scale their local cloud, content, network, and other offerings in these markets, empowering them to meet the growing need for distributed data center capacity that is highly proximate to their end users.

As more data is created and consumed, there is a growing need for more proximate data center capacity to locally support all the applications, workloads, and services being utilized and shared. EdgeConneX has capacity expansions planned for additional markets throughout the U.S., ensuring customers can leverage additional service ecosystems and network access offerings, similar to those EdgeConneX delivers throughout its 50+ facilities in 35+ global markets.

"We have always focused on building data centers where, when and how our customers want capacity to support their business," comments Phillip Marangella, Chief Marketing Officer at EdgeConneX. "Our strategy of listening to our customers to provide tailored solutions for them that span hyperlocal to hyperscale data centers is what makes us unique. These planned expansions, necessitated by the growing volume, variety and velocity of data our customers are driving, highlight the accelerating need for digital infrastructure and capacity to best support their customers."

Cloud Enablement at the Edge

As part of its mission to bring the Edge to the customer while serving as a vital resource for cloud adoption and deployment, EdgeConneX recently published an interactive eBook detailing the challenges faced by enterprises as they consider adopting a cloud strategy. This includes those brought about by a more distributed workforce.

The free downloadable resource details the benefits of a Hybrid Multi-Cloud strategy at the Edge for enterprises. DOWNLOAD NOW.

For more information about EdgeConneX, visit edgeconnex.com or email [email protected].

About EdgeConneX

EdgeConneX provides a full range of data center solutions worldwide, from Hyperlocal to Hyperscale, from purpose-built to build-to-order, working closely with our customers to offer choice in location, scale and type of facility. Delivering flexibility, connectivity, proximity and value, EdgeConneX is a global leader in anytime, anywhere and any scale data center services for a diverse portfolio of industries, including Content, Cloud, Networks, Gaming, Automotive, SaaS, IoT, HPC, Security and more.

Empower Your Edge with EdgeConneX. For more information, please visit edgeconnex.com.

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A new study is the first to examine the relationship between the supply of green spaces and reduced disparity in infectious disease rates.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A higher ratio of green spaces at the county level is associated with a lower racial disparity in coronavirus infection rates, according to a new study. It is the first study to report the significant relationship between the supply of green spaces and reduced disparity in infectious disease rates.

The research team included William Sullivan, a landscape architecture professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and was led by Bin Jiang, a landscape architecture professor at The University of Hong Kong who received his Ph.D. at Illinois, and Yi Lu, an architecture professor at City University of Hong Kong. They reported their findings in the journal Environment International.

Previous studies by Sullivan, Jiang and Lu have shown that green spaces have positive effects on health. Access to green spaces is associated with improved cognitive performance, reduced mental fatigue and stress, reduced impulsiveness and aggressiveness, increased sense of safety, reduced crime rate, increased physical activity and increased social cohesion.

Prior studies also provide strong evidence that green spaces may mitigate racial disparities in health outcomes. However, none have looked at the effect on disparities in infectious diseases. Most studies examining the racial disparity in coronavirus infections have focused on its association with socio-economic status or pre-existing chronic disease factors.

For this study, the researchers identified 135 of the most urbanized counties in the U.S., with a total population of 132,350,027, representing 40.3% of the U.S. population. They collected infection data from county health departments from late January to July 10, 2020, and used it to calculate the infection rates for Black and white residents of the counties, while controlling for differences in income, pre-existing chronic diseases and urban density.

The data showed that the average infection rate for Black residents was more than twice that of white residents - 497 per 100,000 people for white individuals versus 988 per 100,000 people for Black individuals.

The researchers compared the infection rates of each population within each county, rather than across all the counties studied. The county-level comparison Is critical because it can minimize the bias caused by differences of socioeconomic, transportation, climate and policy conditions among counties, they said.

Sullivan, Jiang and Lu said several factors could account for the findings. They proposed that a greater proportion of green spaces in a county makes it more likely that Black and white individuals have more equal access to the green spaces and the accompanying health benefits.

"In many, many counties, Black folks have less access to green space than white folks do. In counties with more green space, that disparity may be less, and it may help account for some of the positive benefits we're seeing," Sullivan said.

The coronavirus is spread through aerosol particles, and the spread is heightened in indoor settings without adequate ventilation. Having access to green spaces attracts people outdoors, where air movement and the ease of social distancing can reduce the spread of the virus.

More access to green spaces is likely to promote physical activity, which may enhance the immune system. Green spaces enhance mental health and reduce stress, which also promotes immune system health. They strengthen social ties, which is an important predictor of health and well-being, the researchers said. Green spaces also may decrease infection risk by improving air quality and decreasing exposure to air pollutants in dense urban areas.

"We did not measure these things, but we know from previous research that all these things are tied to green spaces and have implications for health and well-being," Sullivan said.

Jiang described green space as preventive medicine, encouraging outdoor physical activity and social ties with neighbors that will boost the immune system and promote social trust and cooperation to reduce risk of infections.

While the study looked at infection rates in the U.S., "we also think the racial disparity issue is not just an American issue. It's an international issue," Jiang said.

The research shows the importance for local and regional governments to invest in the development of green spaces, Sullivan said.

"One of the things the pandemic has helped us understand is that the built environment has real implications for the spread of disease and for our health. The design of landscape in cities, in neighborhoods, in communities also has really important ways it can contribute to or detract from health and well-being," he said. "There is a lot of competition for investment of public dollars. Lots of times, investments in parks and green spaces are prioritized lower. People think it makes a place look pretty and it's a place to go for walks. What we're finding is these kinds of investments have implications for health and well-being."

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Metso Outotec is introducing its wide range of reliable and efficient filtration solutions for the industrial segment.

In addition to the industrial segment, Metso Outotec has a dedicated filtration solutions portfolio for the mining industry.

We are excited to introduce our extended filtration solutions offering specifically for the industrial segment. Our filters have been designed to meet the challenging requirements in a variety of process industries. To date, we have delivered more than 2,300 filters for a wide range of demanding industrial solutions outside the mining industry. This has helped us accumulate a vast knowledge base of the special needs and solutions required in industrial filtration applications, says Mika Vuorikari, Director, Industrial Filters at Metso Outotec.

Metso Outotecs portfolio for the industrial segment includes a range of models for various capacities, all designed for easy maintenance and consistent results under varying process conditions. The well-known Larox brand, of which Metso Outotec is the sole owner, is used for selected filters and related services.

As a core feature, Metso Outotec filtration solutions feature a sustainable design to improve environmental performance through energy, emissions, and water-efficiency, and they are part of the recently launched Metso Outotec Planet Positive offering. In addition, they comply with the highest safety standards, are easy to operate and maintain, and are equipped with highly automated features to support advanced process optimisation and remote support.

Our certified service experts are well positioned to support our customers worldwide in filter-related aftermarket needs. Services and parts can be integrated to any of the dewatering solutions with a Life Cycle Services (LCS) contract, benefiting our customers with fixed KPIs, says Tomi Ravattinen, Vice President, Filtration, Services, at Metso Outotec.

Metso Outotecs filtration expertise is built on more than one hundred years of filtration, R&D, and process knowledge, and supported by the companys globally unique Dewatering Technology Center (DTC) in Lappeenranta, Finland. The DTC plays a crucial role in Metso Outotec's filtration solution innovations and acts as a hub for close university cooperation related to separation technology research. Metso Outotec has performed over 14,000 filtration tests and has delivered over 5,000 filters around the world. -- TradeArabia News Service
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan again deployed its troops to the direction of the Nor Ghazanchi village in Artsakh, the same position they had earlier pulled back from, according to the mayor of the village Ruslan Arustamyan.

The Azerbaijani [troops] again moved forward to the positions from where they had pulled back from on April 27. Our government and the [Russian] peacekeepers are taking measures, he told ARMENPRESS.

The Martakert regional governor Hayk Bakhshiyan also confirmed this report.

However, Artsakh presidential spokesperson Lusine Avanesyan declined to comment.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
A 2020 decision by the Supreme Court of Texas that limits workers compensation air ambulance payments to what is fair and reasonable, has been allowed to stand by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to workers compensation insurer Texas Mutual.

The company said there has been a drastic increase in air ambulance prices since 2012 when large private equity companies that had acquired air ambulance operations began increasing their billed charges dramatically. At the same time, these companies argued in courts in Texas and around the nation that a federal law requires state-regulated workers compensation insurers to pay any price they demand.

The insurer said in a statement that the average billed charge today exceeds $50,000 for a single transport.

Texas Mutual, along with other insurance companies, and the Texas Attorney Generals office have been fighting the price increases in years.

The insurers scored a win last year when, in an opinion released in July 2020, the Texas Supreme Court held in Texas Mutual Insurance Co., et al, v. PHI Air Medical Inc., that the Texas Workers Compensation Act (TWCA) and Division of Workers Compensation Rules, which require reasonable reimbursement to privately owned air ambulance services, are not preempted by federal law.

In the Texas Supreme Courts majority opinion, Justice Brett Busby, wrote that the case is about federalism.

He said the court looked at whether a federal law deregulating aviation services may override a states authority to require that private insurance companies reimburse the fair and reasonable medical expenses of injured workers and require Texas to mandate reimbursement of more than a fair and reasonable amount for air ambulance services.

The Texas justices said no in both cases.

PHI Air Medical petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for reversal of the Texas Supreme Courts decision. The U.S. Supreme Court declined, however, to review the case, Texas Mutual said.

The issue has now been fully and fairly litigated, Mary Nichols, senior vice president and general counsel for Texas Mutual, said in a media release. Without regulation, air ambulances would drain tens of millions of dollars from the workers comp system and ultimately from Texas employers and injured workers. These rulings affirm the role of the states in regulating their own workers compensation systems, as a matter of federalism and sound regulatory policy.

Topics Carriers USA Texas
New Delhi, April 28 : Maruti Suzuki India has announced the closure of its factories in Haryana to make oxygen available for medical requirements.

In a statement, the company said that as part of the car manufacturing process, Maruti Suzuki uses a small amount of oxygen in its factories while relatively much larger quantities are used by the manufacturers of components.

"In the current situation, we believe that all available oxygen should be used to save lives. Accordingly, Maruti Suzuki has decided to advance its maintenance shutdown, originally scheduled for June, to 1st to 9th May," it said.

It also said that Suzuki Motor Gujarat has also decided to shut its factory.

Several companies across sectors have risen to the occasion to help increase supply of medical oxygen as hospitals across the country are running out of oxygen supply for Covid patients.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 23:42:00|Editor: huaxia

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SOFIA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- "There Is Such A People," the second largest party in the newly elected Bulgarian parliament, on Wednesday refused the president's proposal to form a government, significantly increasing the likelihood of early parliamentary elections.

When Bulgarian President Rumen Radev handed the party's prime minister nominee Antoaneta Stefanova the exploratory mandate, she immediately returned it to him.

"It is not normal for us to make an unprincipled coalition," said Stefanova, a former world chess champion whose party holds 51 seats in the 240-member parliament.

"In a crisis like today's, Bulgaria needs a regular and effective government," Radev said. "However, I understand your reasons, because a sustainable and effective government cannot be created on the basis of unprincipled agreements and cannot be an obligation of only one party."

Following the explicit requirements of the Bulgarian Constitution, Radev first entrusted the task of forming a new government to the 75-seat GERB-UDF coalition on April 20, but it has found no support among the other parties in the parliament.

According to the Constitution, there is only one more chance to form a government within this parliament. The exploratory mandate should be given to one of the other parliamentary groups, including the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Democratic Bulgaria, or "Rise up! Thugs out!," which have 43, 30, 27 and 14 seats respectively.

Should no agreement on the formation of a government be reached, Radev must appoint a caretaker government, dissolve the parliament, and schedule new elections.

In the previous elections in 2017, GERB won 95 seats and formed a coalition government with the 27-seat group of the United Patriots. Their coalition was supported by the 12-seat Volya party, but the last two failed to pass the four-percent threshold this year.

Kolyo Kolev, director of the Mediana Polling Agency, predicted in an interview with Xinhua on the eve of this year's elections, which were held on April 4, that the ruling GERB party would not be able to retain power, but at the same time the opposition formations would not have the resources to obtain power.

Kolev said this would be a "somewhat paradoxical situation" and that the formation of a parliamentary majority and a government would be "very difficult, if possible at all." Enditem
DENVER, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Manufacturers are undergoing fast, disruptive changes in their operations as they automate their facilities with IoT, smart sensors, AI and robotics. According to survey data from IDC Research, sponsored by Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN), 74% of operational data will be acquired, analyzed, and acted on within the factory. Edge computing approaches put data processing and storage closer to the network edge where people, processes and items in motion reside.

Learn how to manufacturers can securely run applications within milliseconds utilizing the Lumen Edge computing platform. Discover more about Edge computing solutions for manufacturing. Edge computing is key to connecting operational data and assets for manufacturers. Edge computing can address the latency, reliability, and security requirements of industrial operations.

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/85243510-lumen-technologies-idc-edge-computing-manufacturing/

As manufacturers look to gain a competitive advantage, they must continually improve process efficiency and data plays a key part. Edge computing also plays a critical role in improving process efficiency as it is essential to connecting operational data and assets and complements both cloud computing and the IoT.

"In manufacturing, a company cannot have a cloud strategy without an edge strategy," said Jonathan Lang, Research Manager, Worldwide IT/OT Convergence Strategies, IDC. "Edge computing can address the latency, reliability, and security requirements of industrial operations while opening the world of possibilities that remote connectivity offers. Edge computing use cases can increase Industry 4.0 maturity and support the resilient decision-making necessary to thrive in today's markets."

See how Lumen can help manufacturers design automated factories, a resilient supply chain and use data to make rapid and effective decisions: https://discover.lumen.com/l/edge-for-manufacturing

With Edge computing, manufacturers can monitor overall equipment effectiveness across the factory floor through IoT and smart sensors and use predictive maintenance tools to detect and fix potential problems before they happen. Edge computing can also enable real-time asset tracking and increased visibility across the supply chain, analytics driven procurement, and real-time inventory management for an efficient and transparent value chain.

The industrial environment is changing faster than ever, and manufacturing resiliency relies on data for rapid and effective decisions. Edge computing will play an important role in any manufacturer's connectivity strategy in part to manage essential data.

Additional Resources:

Read the IDC InfoBrief Edge Computing: Services for Manufacturing, April 2021 | IDC Doc. #US47492521 here: https://discover.lumen.com/l/edge-for-manufacturing

| IDC Doc. #US47492521 here: https://discover.lumen.com/l/edge-for-manufacturing For more information on how Lumen is supporting edge computing, visit: https://lumen.com/edge

About Lumen Technologies:

Lumen is guided by our belief that humanity is at its best when technology advances the way we live and work. With approximately 450,000 route fiber miles and serving customers in more than 60 countries, we deliver the fastest, most secure platform for applications and data to help businesses, government and communities deliver amazing experiences. Learn more about the Lumen network, edge cloud, security, communication and collaboration solutions and our purpose to further human progress through technology at news.lumen.com/home, LinkedIn: /lumentechnologies, Twitter: @lumentechco, Facebook: /lumentechnologies, Instagram: @lumentechnologies and YouTube: /lumentechnologies. Lumen and Lumen Technologies are registered trademarks of Lumen Technologies LLC in the United States. Lumen Technologies LLC is a wholly owned affiliate of Lumen Technologies Inc.

SOURCE Lumen Technologies

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's ( ) ( ) Matt Gill tells Proactive's Andrew Scott they've started 2021 exploration activities at the newly identified Last Chance volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) camp and the adjacent Intrusion Related Gold System (IRGS)/orogenic gold target in Alaska. He says an airborne electromagnetic (SkyTEM) survey is underway over Last Chance, within the broader Red Mountain Project, totalling 1,900 line kilometres and covering some 400 square kilometres. Gill says following the companys successful capital raising, a fully funded 2021 exploration program is now in play.
I've developed a simple test for determining if an idea is woke. You simply ask the question "does this add to the joy of life or detract from it?" The wokerati have the immutable characteristic of sucking the pleasure out of everything they touch.

Want to celebrate the best movies of the year? Too bad. You get angry woke talk. Why listen to lectures on the evils of our country in an "acceptance" speech? The woke have perfected turning any celebration into a grim, macabre cult ritual. And that embarrassing junk that passes for men's fashion these days? Really? It's as bad as most of the P.C. drivel that passes for movies.

Want to watch a sport? No, thanks! Who needs fists raised, knees down, players taunting our patriotism? We came to escape all that! Not to be turned off by woke posturing. Our corporations have turned into yes men for the woke. Want a soda? Need to catch a flight? Better check your politics before you buy.

They've sucked the life, the joy, the goodness out of the things we once relied upon for a break from the daily grind. All this has happened right when our life was already irrationally grim for a year plus. I used to imagine how awful existence was in a totalitarian country. Hah!

The French and others in Europe have figured it out. Joy  contagious joy, spontaneous joy, singing and dancing, and playing music with joy  is their antidote to this crap. We need to find our antidotes and exercise those now atrophied muscles before we forget how.

If only we could walk safely down the street, without worrying about lurking dangers, and homeless beggars on every corner. We've ignored the needs of our own people for too long. We're all aware of how many new mouths there are to feed and house, with all the masses teeming over our border. Why invite them when we don't even help our own?

I'd like to shop in a store that has stocked actual merchandise (other than groceries, which seem to be OK). Too bad a bunch of angry, violent marchers and looters got there first. The only choice left is to order from Amazon or go without. Is that the intention?

For that matter, we know we can't call the cops in most places and get a response. The ones who are left don't want to work for fear that they will make one "wrong" move and go to prison for life.

I'm hoping, now that King Fauci has declared outdoor masks "unnecessary" in a 180 turn-around, that people will notice. They haven't yet, near me. I want to go to the farmers' market and breathe freely, unmasked. Remember the good old days, when you smiled at a toddler holding a fat red strawberry and (gasp!) eating it in public, no mask in sight?

Restaurateurs worry whether they'll be shut down yet again tomorrow, at the whim of a maniacal woke dictocrat abridging everyone's right to free assembly. Even fast food can't find workers, both because of irrational fear of COVID and because the government's unemployment largesse is so generous. Such an easy, illusionary dependence.

Remember when your kids could go to school full time, smile at their friends, play on the playground during recess and understand what they were saying to each other? When they didn't all walk and bike around like masked zombies for no reason whatsoever? Hopefully, the new Fauci decree will change that, at least. I predict it will take time for the kids to forget the trauma of masks, to trust the world again without one, but it will happen.

I wonder, however, whether all the immigrants with COVID being dispersed among us, enough to each town and city to infect more people, will cause a convenient third wave, letting Democrats justify another shutdown. Grim government control and a joyless life  no, thanks!

Here in California, the fire season looms, too. Our government has done little to mitigate that danger. We can't live joyous lives under totalitarian regimes. Yet the government doesn't care what happens to the people if it stays in power.

We really need to find our way back to living free lives. There are many obstacles. I remember when politics was civilized, when both sides could negotiate, when laws made sense and were applied uniformly. I also remember when we could have a conversation with our neighbors without acrimony, and when we could all get together and have a 4th of July block party after our town parade.

I remember when we, who are not racists, but merely white (or any other color, any religion), were judged by the content of our character, not by the color of our skin. Above all, I remember that there were many, many enjoyable aspects to life in these United States.

Can we have the joy back?

Image: Joy by Ben White on Unsplash.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Dhaka: Bangladesh to extend its ongoing lockdown for another week to contain the spread of coronavirus. The decision to extend lockdown was proposed on Monday.

The State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain said The decision was taken in line with suggestions by public health experts and considering the global COVID-19 situation. Amid the coronavirus spike in nation shops and malls will remain open from 10 am to 8 pm, the Dhaka Tribune reported, quoting public official Hossain. Officials from different ministries including health, home, foreign, public administration, and civil aviation were present at the inter-ministerial to discuss the COVID-19 situation. Bangladesh has also decided to close its border with India for the next 14 days.

The country has registered a total of 748,628 COVID-19 cases with 3,306 people tested positive for coronavirus and 97 deaths in the last 24 hours. India on April 27 reported 3,23,144 people testing positive for the coronavirus. Indias infection tally has climbed to 1,76,36,307, while the national recovery rate further dropped to 82.54 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday. The death toll mounted to 1,97,894 with 2,771 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

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PM Modi's aunt dies during Covid-19 treatment Supreme Court allows Vedanta's O2 Plant at Tuticorin to Operate in View of National Need
Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt has expressed his concern at the recent sacking of the Kimberley Land Councils chief executive, and eight members of the high-profile Aboriginal organisations board have complained about it to the West Australian Attorney-General.

Mr Wyatt said the sacking of Brian Wilkinson last Thursday was a matter for the board, but he added he was concerned about a lack of control and transparency to native title-holders around use of native title benefits.

Brian Wilkinson was stood down as CEO of the Kimberley Land Council.

Of particular worry to the minister was where complex structures using multiple entities and trusts to receive and distribute funds appear to have been designed to deliberately minimise scrutiny and accountability.

The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald reported at the weekend that Mr Wilkinson had been sacked after pushing for greater transparency in the operations of the land councils multimillion-dollar charitable organisations, the Kimberley Sustainable Development Trust and its trustee company the Kimberley Sustainable Development Company Pty Ltd.
A California doctor has spoken out after losing her eight-month-old puppy in a Venice Beach house fire that is now being investigated as arson amid a growing homeless crisis plaguing the area.

Dr. Courtney Gillenwater, a pediatrician and US Navy veteran, was not at her one-story bungalow last Wednesday, when it suddenly went up in flames, trapping and killing her Husky-mix, Togo.

Frantic neighbors desperately tried to rescue the helpless pup who was heard barking loudly as the blaze tore through the home just before 4am.

It took 26 firefighters to finally extinguish the flames, but sadly Togo could not be saved.

One week on, the cause of the fire is still unknown and remains under investigation by the The LA Fire Department's Arson Division and the LAPD's Major Crimes Division.

Residents, however, are now pointing to a nearby homeless encampment in the now 'lawless' beachside community.

Dr. Courtney Gillenwater lost her eight-month-old Husky-mix, Togo (pictured) after her Venice bungalow went up in flames last Wednesday

The Los Angeles Fire Department's Arson Division and the Los Angeles Police Department's Major Crimes Division are now investigating the cause of the deadly fire which broke out just before 4am and required 26 firefighters to put out its raging flames

Neighbors suspect the blaze could have been a retaliatory attack by drug addicts who had grown angry over the dog's barking.

'Words cannot describe what it's like to lose your dog in a fire,' Dr. Courtney told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview. 'Someone wanted to hurt my dog. And they did.'

Just a few days before the fire, Dr. Courtney recalled, there were drugs 'being exchanged out of an illegal dumpster' that had been placed behind her home in the back alley where Togo's room faced.

'There were windows back there and Togo would always bark at the creepy people who would be unlocking the illegal dumpster at weird hours of the night around 2.00-3.00am, and this is where the fire started from.'

Dr. Courtney, a Goodwill Ambassador who has traveled the world helping those in disaster areas, is convinced that these same 'peeping Toms creeping around her house' didn't like the fact that her dog's barking was somewhat of an alarm going off alerting neighbors of the drug deals happening right outside their homes.

'We complained about the dumpster and after a long ten days it was finally removed just days before the fire,' a good friend who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons told DailyMail.com.

'These drug addicts would sit by Dr. Courtney's back window and harass her. One guy even stood on the dumpster so he could get a better look into her window.'

While the cause of the fire remains unclear, neighbors have pointed to members of the growing homeless encampment nearby who they believe had grown angry over the dog's barking

Days before the fire, Dr. Courtney recalled how there were drugs 'being exchanged out of an illegal dumpster' behind her home in the back alley where Togo's room faced

The doctor however, emphasized that the local homeless vets in the area have always been very kind to her and her dog, and are now helping her find the culprits responsible.

It's the vagrants from other states that are on drugs and the mentally ill, neighbors claim, that pose the greatest threat, not just to the residents but to the local homeless as well.

'Venice Beach is lawless and homeless people know it,' longtime resident Carl Lieberman told DailyMail.com.

'That's why they come here. They are given tents and a spot near or on the beach to call home. The weather is warm, who wouldn't want to come here?'

Lieberman described how his son tried to save the young pup by attempting to smash open the door and windows, but couldn't get to the dog because of the scorching flames.

'There were clouds of dark smoke which made it really hard to see. We heard barking and whimpering, until no more sounds could be heard. It's absolutely devastating,' Lieberman said.

Lieberman, who along with many others, blames Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin for not doing anything to help protect the locals from the disastrous homeless crisis.

The doctor was not home at the time the fire tore to her home and trapped and killed her beloved dog

It took 26 firefighters to finally extinguish the flames, but Togo, unfortunately, could not be saved

'Venice has become like the Wild West. It's a life or death situation everyday with police guarding the ritzy Abbot Kinney shopping streets up the block, while ignoring the hard working residents who live here with their families and pets.'

'You just can't get that sound out of your head, you know. We just wish we could have done anything to help that poor baby,' a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons told DailyMail.com.

'There were people in the alley before this happened. I just happened to be awake because I was hearing sounds about 3:30 in the morning and then it escalated quickly and then you could hear the dog and we ran out and the neighbor came out and tried to rescue the dog.'

'It happened to such an amazing person and a great dog. I feel terrible for them,' the neighbor said.

'Thank God Courtney wasn't home. She's a frontline worker, a Navy vet, and has worked all over the world. It's sad that this poor baby had to go this way.'

'These homeless encampments are a breeding ground for drugs, violence and crime,' said another neighbor, who described the area 'like a scene out of The Walking Dead with meth addicts walking around like zombies and the mentally ill screaming to themselves.'

Dr. Courtney, a Goodwill Ambassador who has traveled the world helping those in disaster areas, suspects the drug addicts didn't like the fact that her dog's barking was somewhat of an alarm going off alerting neighbors of the drug deals

Dr. Courtney's running club Midnight Runners LA have launched a GoFundMe page to help the doctor after losing her home and beloved pet

To make matters worse the encampment next to the home that burned is directly across the street from an elementary school.

Francesca Padilla said the fire could have easily spread to her home and the surrounding neighbors had the winds been stronger.

The mother of two young children said they are traumatized after being rushed out of the house at 3am knowing their neighbor's dog was trapped in the burning house.'

'People are not doing their jobs, anyone can see the correlation between homeless encampments and the rise of fires. We have people cooking drugs out in the open right across the street. Is that not a recipe for disaster? First there was a fire on the boardwalk that's two blocks from us,' Padilla told DailyMail.com.

'I work from home and I have seen grown men urinating in front of the school, people half-naked passed out across the street from the school. I have video of a guy losing his mind and throwing furniture in front of the kids, and nobody can do anything about it.'

Even the police are frustrated because they are not allowed to interfere with the homeless because of Covid-19, which neighbors agree is an excuse.

'Every single cop I have spoken to has been told they can't do anything, that their hands are tied and it's up to higher city officials,' Padilla explained.

Padilla said she wrote a letter to Mike Bonin a week before the horrific fire warning him of the impending doom. No one replied to her concerns.

'The homeless crisis and encampments have quadrupled since Covid-19,' said Padilla.

'I am in constant shock of what I see in front of the school. I want them to take away this encampment and make the safety of the kids a priority.

'The homeless problem is not merely about putting people in homes. There are many layers that need to be dealt with, those being mental health and addiction.'

Meanwhile, investigators continue to search for evidence and video footage relating to the fire that took Dr. Courtney's beloved dog whom she rescued from an animal shelter a year ago.

The Operation Smile volunteer said she and Togo had recently competed in an international Reebok race together.

Togo helped her win the competition making her the first female to run 200 miles in less than two weeks with her team Midnight Runners LA.

'Yes Togo was running by my side. He was a good dog. A sweet dog.'

Dr. Courtney's running club Midnight Runners LA started a GoFundMe page for their friend.
New Delhi, April 28 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has come down heavily on the government and said that a government with a vision is essential.

He tweeted on Wednesday, "Central Vista- not essential, Central Govt with a vision essential." Stepping up the attack on the government on the issue of coronavirus management, the former Congress president had said on Tuesday that the fight is against Covid, not Congress.

Rahul Gandhi had tweeted, "The Modi government must realise that the battle is against Covid, it is not against the Congress or other political opponents." The Congress has alleged that the government has mishandled the whole issue, the patients are being denied treatment and there is shortage of oxygen beds and essential medicines.

The party said it has set up a control room to coordinate with PCC control rooms and provide assistance and relief to the people infected with coronavirus. Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi has appointed four persons to man the control room. They are Manish Chatrath, Ajoy Kumar, Pawan Khera and Gurdeep Singh Sappal.

The Congress statement said this group of four persons will coordinate the relief activities of various state control rooms.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Press Release

April 27, 2021 De Lima discharged from hospital, in stable condition Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima's personal physicians have confirmed that the Senator is now doing well and has been discharged from the Manila Doctor's Hospital earlier today, April 27, after completing several tests during her three-day medical furlough. Dr. Dante Morales and Dr. Errol Rhett Santelices said the result of De Lima's Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (BMRI) imaging and CT angiography showed no evidence of stroke (acute infarct or hemorrhage). The medical team who attended her case said De Lima experienced episodes of migraine headaches triggered by hot environment, poor ventilation and noise. This was associated with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and reactive hypertension. Vertigo is an existing, long-standing health condition of the senator. The other diagnostic tests conducted on the brain, eyes, ears, nerves, heart, kidneys, thyroid, among others, reveal no serious adverse findings. To ensure the non-recurrence of the above health condition, one of the recommendations of her medical team is to increase ventilation in her detention quarters which is poorly ventilated and absorbs the summer heat. It was also recommended that if the complaints recur, more tests should be done. There are tests that will be repeated after one week, after one month, after 6 months, and after one year. It may be recalled that De Lima was confined at the Manila Doctors Hospital for three days, from April 24-27, to undergo medical examination as recommended by her on-call personal physician, Dr. Meophilia G. Santos-Cao, to rule out "cerebrovascular accident." Though she has already been discharged from the hospital, the medical team stressed that De Lima's blood pressure and sugar level must be regularly monitored. She was also advised to avoid stress. "But how can I avoid stress, especially during these very trying times? Stress practically defines my adult life as a public servant," De Lima laughingly remarked. The lady Senator from Bicol expressed her gratitude for all the prayers and messages she has received while she was confined in the hospital. Maraming maraming salamat po sa lahat ng nagdasal, tumulong, umasikaso at nagpaabot ng kanilang mensahe ng pag-aalala. From the PNP authorities led by Brig. Gen. Arthur Bisnar, Director, PNP-Headquarters Support Service (HSS), for their professionalism and sincerity in complying with the court order on my immediate furlough; to my attending physicians, nurses and staffs of Manila Doctors Hospital; and to all those who offered prayers for my safety and recovery, taos-puso po akong nagpasasalamat sa inyong lahat," De Lima said.
Over 22 million passengers to be sent by Yangtze River Delta railways

By:Zheng Qian | From:english.eastday.com | 2021-04-28 09:32

More than 22 million passengers are expected to travel during the upcoming May Day holiday by the Yangtze River Delta railway corporations. As such, 145 passenger trains will be added, said the China National Railway Group Shanghai Bureau Corporation.

Being the first 5-day holiday after the Spring Festival, when most Chinese people were encouraged to stay put where they work so as to contain the virus spread, the May Day holiday may see the release of a pent up travel demand. Being two days longer than the 3-day Qingming Festival, it will allow for further travel and the visiting of distant relatives and thus greater daily average passenger flow.

Ticketing data shows that May 1 will see the peak passenger flow with the number of passengers setting a record in the post-pandemic period. As such, the transportation department has arranged 36 more long-distance through trains, mostly connecting the Delta region to Central China, South China, the Central Plains, Northwest and North China. For short-distance journeys within provincial borders, 109 trains will be added.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced alarm Wednesday at a deterioration of press freedom in Hungary and vowed to press Prime Minister Viktor Orban to respect pluralism.

Blinken, in a roundtable ahead of World Press Freedom Day, warned that Russia and China were seeking to "undermine the democratic and sovereign will" of Central and Eastern European nations, which he urged to hold firm to principles of openness.

"We have real concern that is shared by international press freedom advocates and many Hungarians over the decline of the pluralism and diversity and independent voices," Blinken said in response to a question from independent Hungarian news outlet Telex.

"That is the fabric of democracy, and so we would certainly urge the government of Hungary to promote an open environment," Blinken said.

The United States as well as the European Union "believe that our collective interests are best served by trying to cement democratic norms of rule of law and cooperation based on common values," Blinken said.

President Joe Biden took office vowing a new focus on democracy, including a summit of democracies, after his predecessor Donald Trump flirted with strongmen.

Orban allied himself with Trump's hardline anti-immigration views and Blinken's predecessor Mike Pompeo visited Hungary, saying it was better to work with the NATO ally than shun it.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders last year dropped Hungary 16 points in its annual World Press Freedom Index to 89th place citing a "sharp decline in media freedom."

In February, the Klubradio station, whose news and talk content is often critical of the Hungarian government, lost its appeal to keep its broadcasting license.

Despite ongoing legal challenges, Klubradio said its frequency was awarded this month to Spirit FM, whose owner is allied with Orban.

sct/bfm
Above all, the program is designed to connect local officials with mental health resources and intervention programs to help students before they harm themselves or others  a strategy underscored by data from other states using similar helpline programs that have noted the two most common tips are bullying and threats of suicide.
"...Sullivan students from both the Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry Arts programs will be... experiencing themselves what for many or all will be a once in a lifetime opportunity." ~ Chef Allen Akmon, Director of the Sullivan University Culinary Arts Program

For the 11th year in a row, students from Sullivan University's College of Hospitality Studies Culinary Arts Program will join the staff at Churchill Downs and Levy Restaurants to help prepare meals for this week's running of the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby.

Even though the size of the massive crowds will be reduced this year due to COVID restrictions, the Churchill staff and Sullivan students will still face plenty of challenges serving crowds of 50,000 instead of 120,000.

"From the main kitchen to the private dining rooms and action stations, Sullivan students from both the Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry Arts programs will be gaining not only real time experience, but also experiencing themselves what for many or all will be a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Chef Allen Akmon, Director of the Sullivan University Culinary Arts Program. "They will be preparing, presenting, and standing behind their work as representatives of the industry, our institution and, most importantly, themselves."

The smaller crowds at this week's Derby and Oaks will actually present some unique changes and challenges from a typical year.

Churchill Chef David Danielson  who serves on Sullivan's Culinary Program Advisory Board  told Chef Akmon that even though his team normally facilitates food for nearly 120,000 on a typical Derby Day, the current landscape makes serving 50,000 much more intensive than in the years past.

Right now, on the heels of the pandemic, is the most exciting and opportune time to become a chef that there ever has been in my lifetime," Chef Danielson told the Sullivan students as they recently visited Churchill Downs. "You 17 students have decided to take this opportunity to learn and grow your skills and are putting yourselves in the best position possible to seize this window of opportunity to take advantage of the current landscape. If you cant get excited about where you are with your education and what is in front of you then I dont know what you can get excited about.

Gone, at least this year, are the days of the buffets with large platters or bowls with multiple servings to feed the masses.

"This year everything must be served in individual portions with the clientele still expecting the variety and quality that is synonymous with such a world class event," Chef Akmon said. "Our students are going to be on the cutting edge of mass production and mass service aimed at safety first and individual customers rather than groups of customers all with very high expectations."

"If they have not already learned about the importance of a sense of urgency," he said, "they will be getting a crash course."

Regardless of the circumstances, the opportunity to work on Derby week events provides students invaluable experience.

"Most, if not all, will never experience this volume of production ever again and surely, they will all remember and draw from this experience as a unique tool in their own personal toolboxes," Chef Akmon said. "The most important aspect of the event is the fact that we are in the position to provide our students with this opportunity."

"While we have a long history of producing quality industry professionals, we realize that we are only as good as our most recent graduates," he said. "The passion of the faculty and the pride in their work over the years has never waned and it is because of this that we find these opportunities for our students."

Chef Danielson has directed food operations for five Olympics, 10 Kentucky Derbies, an Indy 500, and a couple of Super Bowls. But there is nothing like the Derby.

"The Kentucky Derby event is like no other globally because people gather as much to see old friends and make new friends as they do for the race itself," he said. "The social nature and the gathering around food and beverage make this event more than just a sporting event."

About Sullivan University

Sullivan University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award Associate, Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Sullivan University or visit them online at http://www.sacscoc.org.

The University offers numerous certificates, diplomas, and degrees in career-orientated programs, ranging from business, pharmacy, human resources, I.T. and cybersecurity, supply-chain management, culinary and baking and pastry arts, hospitality studies, conflict management, nursing, allied health sciences, HVAC-R, interior design, and legal studies. Sullivan University has campuses in Louisville and Lexington, an extension in Fort Knox on the U.S. Army Post and a Learning Center in Louisa. Sullivan University also has many programs available partially or wholly online. For more information, visit http://www.sullivan.edu.
DENVER, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fortis has appointed Josh Peters to their Executive Leadership Team as Chief Lending Officer. Mr. Peters joins the bank with 18+ years of experience, holding various positions at regional and national financial institutions, most recently as the Managing Director of Specialty Banking at NBH Bank. His background will attract additional talent to the Fortis team, while enhancing and expanding their Commercial and Specialty Banking business. This appointment is in continuation of the Bank's growth and will strengthen their provision of world-class client service and flexible banking solutions.

"We are pleased to welcome Josh Peters to our Executive Leadership Team to support the growth of our Commercial and Specialty Banking groups," stated Chris Luce, Fortis' Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder. "The expertise Josh brings, coupled with his highly respected and seasoned career, will prove invaluable in continuing the development of our people and strengthening the banking experience for our clients."

"I am honored to be joining Fortis with such a strong team in place. The team has created a competitive, unique brand, focused on serving clients in the lower middle market. We will focus on continuing to provide a world-class experience for our clients and for our people," stated Mr. Peters.

In addition to welcoming Mr. Peters, Fortis is proud to announce the following:

Patrick Brayton, former Managing Director, has been promoted to Executive Director of Commercial Real Estate Banking. Since joining Fortis in September 2013, Patrick has been instrumental in growing the Bank's assets.

"Patrick has been a highly valued member of our Fortis team and has demonstrated a true commitment to our clients since joining the bank," stated Mr. Luce. "His strategic vision for the development of our Commercial Real Estate group will be influential in accelerating the growth of our business."

Mark Nigon joins the Fortis Commercial and Specialty Banking team in Colorado, assuming responsibilities for Capital Finance.

David Rozsa joins the Fortis Commercial and Specialty Banking team in Utah, focused on banking and lending solutions for loans between $2MM - $15MM.

"I am pleased to welcome Mark and David to our Commercial and Specialty Banking team," continues Mr. Luce. "Their expertise and dedication to client service will deliver a strong, positive impact within their respective markets."

About Fortis

Fortis is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and is a state-chartered bank with offices in the Denver and Salt Lake City metropolitan areas. The bank provides business and personal clients with a full suite of loan and deposit products, with an emphasis on Commercial and Specialty clients with loan needs of $2MM - $15MM. To learn more about Fortis, visit www.fortisprivatebank.com.

Contact

Laura Hildreth

Head of Human Resources at Fortis

[email protected]

SOURCE Fortis

Related Links

https://www.fortisprivatebank.com


Black and Latino residents in Pennsylvania have been much more likely to require hospital care due to COVID-19, according to a new study released Wednesday.

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council study found Black residents were more than four times as likely to be hospitalized as white Pennsylvanians. Latino residents have been more than twice as likely to need hospital care than white residents.

The study mirrors other research nationwide that shows the pandemic having a disproportionate impact on those from minority groups and people with low incomes.

The councils study tracked hospitalization data across Pennsylvania from March through September 2020.

Combined, Blacks and Latinos accounted for more than 41% of all hospitalizations over that period, the study found. Together, Blacks and Latinos account for just under 20% of Pennsylvanias population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Meanwhile, about 49% of those hospitalized in that span were white, the study found (75% of the states population is white).

The study found the hospitalization rate for Black residents over that time period was 55.4 per 10,000 residents, the highest of any group. For Latino residents, the hospitalization rate was 28.8 per 10,000. For white residents, the rate was 12.8 per 10,000 people.

Joe Martin, the executive director of the health care cost containment council, said the study reflects other reports on COVID-19 nationally and correlates with disparities in other medical outcomes.

Outside Pennsylvania, Black and Latino residents have been more likely to have serious complications due to COVID-19. Nationwide, Black and Latino residents are three times more likely to require hospital care and twice as likely to die due to COVID-19, compared to white individuals, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Those in minority communities are more likely to develop more serious complications due to COVID-19 for several reasons, said Dr. John Goldman, UPMCs vice president for medical affairs.

Many in minority communities work in front-line jobs that cant be done remotely and are more likely to be exposed to the virus. Many in minority communities also rely on public transportation, which also increases the risk of exposure. And many dont have family physicians.

They have less access to medical care, Goldman said.

While some inequities in health care arent easily fixed, getting COVID-19 vaccines to members of minority groups can help reduce the high hospitalization rates for Blacks and Latinos, he said.

The best way to tackle that is get under-served populations vaccinated, Goldman said.

Gov. Tom Wolf and state officials have said they are concerned about the pandemics impact on residents of minority groups. Health care advocates have also voiced criticism earlier in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout due to the low rate of vaccinations among Black and Latino residents. The Wolf administration has pledged to get vaccines into underserved neighborhoods through vaccine clinics across the state.

Black residents with COVID-19 also had longer hospital stays in Pennsylvania, the health care cost council report found. On average, Black patients spent 9.3 days in the hospital, while white patients were in the hospital for 8.7 days and Hispanic residents were in the hospital for 8.2 days.

Asian Americans had a slightly higher hospitalization rate compared to white Pennsylvanians (13.3 per 10,000 people), the councils study found. The length of stay in the hospital for Asian Americans was 8.6 days.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Pennsylvania report showed white patients had the highest mortality rate in hospitals. The study found the in-hospital mortality rate for white patients was 16.7%, compared to 13.4% for Black residents and 8.2% for Latino patients.

The councils report also offered new perspective on the lethal combination of COVID-19 and sepsis, a life-threatening condition.

Sepsis is a medical emergency that occurs when an infection triggers other complications, such as tissue damage and organ failure, according to the CDC. Those with COVID-19 and sepsis were much more likely to die in the hospital, the report said.

The study found that 30% of those with COVID-19 and sepsis died in the hospital; the mortality rate in the hospital for those who had only the coronavirus was 7.6%.

Those living in communities with high poverty rates were more likely to go to the hospital if they were infected with COVID-19. The hospitalization rate was more than three times as high for those in areas where at least 25% of residents were living in poverty.

The hospitalization rate in areas where less than 10% of residents were in poverty was 14.6 per 10,000 residents. In areas where 25% or more were in poverty, the hospitalization rate was 48.3 for every 10,000 people.

Those hospitalized with COVID-19 were less likely to die after the first few months of the pandemic. From March through June 2020, the mortality rate for hospital patients with COVID-19 was 16%. The hospital mortality rate fell to 9% from July through September.

Hospitals gained more experience with COVID-19 and had more success in treating patients, said Rachel A. Moore, a spokeswoman for the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania.

During the beginning of the pandemic, the hospital community quickly learned about how to treat COVID-19, Moore said. Health care teams used the results of rapidly identifiable trends and available data to administer COVID-19 therapies and treatments that helped to save peoples lives.

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Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti says he will not attend a meeting meant to relaunch a dialogue with Serbia that was proposed by EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell during talks in Brussels with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

The meeting was supposed to take place next week in Brussels.

"I will not be here in Brussels on May 11," Kurti told reporters in Brussels on April 28 after talks with EU officials.

Vucic on April 26 held talks with Borrell and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Kurti said he will attend a meeting organized by Borrell with regional leaders in mid-May instead.

"The future dialogue with Serbia must be well-prepared in advance and based on clear principles," Kurti said.

"Belgrade needs to face its past. We should not be obsessed with history, but we also cannot ignore history," he said, mentioning the killing of ethnic Albanians by Serbian forces during the 1998-99 conflict.

"Belgrade should distance itself from [former Serbian leader Slobodan] Milosevic's regime and not continue the old goals with new means," he told reporters.



Serbia was forced to cede control over Kosovo in 1999 after a U.S.-led NATO campaign ended Belgrade's crackdown against Kosovo's ethnic Albanian separatists. More than 10,000 people died in the conflict.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Belgrade does not recognize it.

Most EU member states and the United States have recognized Kosovo's independence, but not Serbia's allies Russia and China.


Four Patients Dead In Fire At Hospital In Maharashtra's Thane At least four persons including a senior citizen, were killed when a massive fire engulfed the Prime Criticare Hospital at Kausa in Mumbra town, early on Wednesday morning, officials said. Another more than 20 patients in different wards were evacuated, according to Thane Police and Fire Brigade officials.



Housing Minister Dr Jitendra Awhad who rushed to the spot said: "The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained... The police and the local municipal corporation will give the details soon," he said.



At least 8 fire-tenders were engaged in battling the blaze which was noticed around 3 am and finally brought under control by dawn.



The deceased have been identified as: Yasmeen Z. Sayyed, 46, Nawab M Shaikh, 47, Halima B. Salmani, 70, and one Sonawane.










Britons living in Scotland each benefit from an extra 2,500 of public spending than the taxes they pay - while the English receive just 91.

This is compared to 4,412 in Wales and 5,118 in Northern Ireland between 2018 and 2019, a leading think-tank found.

However, in those years just 0.3 per cent of England's GDP was deficit - compared to Scotland's 7.7 per cent.

Wales and Northern Ireland's figures stood at 17.9 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.

The new report by the Institute for Government (IfG) said all four nations took a hit during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It said Scotland would face 'difficult policy choices' if it split from the UK because its financial position has worsened.

Britons living in Scotland (Nicola Sturgeon, pictured) each benefit from an extra 2,500 of public spending than the taxes they pay - while the English receive just 91

A bar chart breakdown of the public sector deficit per person across the UK in 2018/2019 at 2019/2020 prices

A line graph of the public sector deficit per person across the UK with 2018/2020 prices

The percentage difference in spending per person on public services in 2018/2019 - with 100 per cent being per capita spending in England

The IfG found that an independent Scotland's deficit will have grown from the 7.7 per cent of GDP reported in 2018/19 because of the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

The funding mechanism described as a 'terrible mistake' by the man who designed it: What is the Barnett Formula? Originally devised as a short-term solution to rows over devolution, the Barnett Formula is a mechanism used by the UK Treasury to automatically adjust the amounts of money allocated to the devolved nations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to reflect public spending changes. Essentially, when the UK Government decides to invest or cut back spending in a particular area, the formula is used to make sure the change is reflected in all four UK countries. The formula only applies to spending changes that the devolved powers have control of - education, health and social care and environmental issues being the main ones. The formula was devised by Joel Barnett, a Labour politician, in 1978 while he was Chief Secretary to the Treasury. It was meant to be a short-term solution to the row over devolution in the failed 1979 plans. But it was used by successive governments as devolution progressed throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It works by using the previous years budget as a starting point, and then adjusting it based on increases or decreases in comparable spending per person in England. For example, if spending on healthcare in England increases by 100m, the Scottish governments budget would increase by 9.7m since Scotlands population is 9.7% of Englands. In 2019/20, the Barnett block grant amounted to 32bn in Scotland, 16bn in Wales and 12bn in Northern Ireland. But it has proved controversial - because residents in England get significantly less funding per-person than those in the devolved nations. New research by the Institute for Government shows Scottish residents benefit from an extra 2,500 of public spending each with the Welsh getting 4,412  while the English receive just 91. This happens because the formula uses the previous years devolved budget as a starting point, and therefore preserves historic differences in spending between the nations. The formula is also slow at responding to changes in relative population size, which further disadvantage England where the population has grown most quickly. It is also controversial in the devolved regions, because it does not account for each nation's needs. This been a particular concern in Wales, which receives lower per person spending than Scotland through the Barnett formula than Scotland, despite having greater socio-economic needs. Scotland in particular benefit from the formula, and Barnett in 2014 said the system was a 'terrible mistake' and a 'national embarrassment'. And a House of Lords Select Committee in 2009 also recommended a change. But so far no viable alternative has emerged. The closest option so far has been calls for by the Scottish National Party (SNP) to give Scotland full fiscal autonomy - meaning the Scottish government would be responsible for collecting tax and would pay the UK government a grant to cover the Scottish share of reserved issue spending. But that option was voted down by the UK Parliament in 2015. Advertisement

It concluded that 'the larger the deficit that they have, the harder the case for breaking away from the Union becomes'.

It also warns that 'uncertainty and disruption' caused by breaking away from the UK 'could drag on growth'.

It is the latest dire warning on the economics of independence, after the Institute for Fiscal Studies said earlier this week that coronavirus has 'blown a hole' in public finances and a separate Scotland would now face even more austerity.

The IfG report, published today, found that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would all face 'sizeable fiscal deficits' if they opted to leave the UK.

It highlighted figures from 2018/19 which showed that the deficit was 0.3 per cent of GDP in England, compared to 7.7 per cent in Scotland, 17.9 per cent in Wales and 19 per cent in Northern Ireland.

It warned: 'All four nations' fiscal positions have deteriorated since then because of Covid and the effects of that on the public finances could be lasting.'

Although the report does not estimate the impact the pandemic has had on the deficit an independent Scotland would face, it highlights that the UK public sector deficit soared from 1.8 per cent in 2018/19 to 16.9 per cent in 2020/21 as public spending ballooned and the economy contracted.

Gemma Tetlow, the IfG's chief economist and author of the new report, said: 'Any advocates for breaking away from the UK must address the reality of the nations' current fiscal imbalances and the difficult policy choices these would necessitate after secession.

'The larger the deficit that they have, the harder the case for breaking away from the union becomes.'

Although it acknowledged that each country could pursue policies to boost economic growth, it says that this would not happen quickly enough to avoid 'difficult tax and spending choices'.

It also said an 'early burning question' for a separate Scotland would be how to maintain spending of 1,700 more per person on public services than England.

It says: 'Any longer-term changes to economic performance would take time to manifest and would not enable any of the nations to avoid difficult fiscal choices in the early years after secession.'

The report also says that analysis from the Office for Budget Responsibility implies that the underlying fiscal position of the four nations of the UK 'will be weaker in future than it was in 2018/19, even after planned UK-wide tax rises and spending cuts'.

It says efforts to reduce the fiscal deficit in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would need to include cutting spending to match revenues more closely, raising more tax - particularly on land and property - or growing the economy.

But it highlights this 'would require a reversal of recent patterns of sluggish growth'.

It concludes: 'The history of efforts by past UK governments and others around the world suggests that governments have only limited ability to boost growth and that it takes a long time for the benefits to materialise.

'In the short-term, the uncertainty and disruption caused by breaking away from an established fiscal, monetary and trading union could drag on growth.'

Scottish Conservative economy spokesman Maurice Golden said: 'This respected independent think tank lays bare the chilling economic reality of ripping Scotland out of the UK.

'The Nationalists are willing to inflict untold damage on families and business.

'The SNP would no longer be able to afford policies such as free prescriptions and free tuition as Scotland would face spending cuts and tax rises the likes of which we have never experienced.

'When all focus should be on recovery and rebuilding, this is reckless beyond belief.

'Deep down, Sturgeon must know the devastation this would cause but pro-UK voters can stop her by voting Scottish Conservative on the peach-coloured party list ballot paper.'

The new report by the Institute for Government (IfG) said all four nations took a hit during the Covid-19 pandemic. It said Scotland would face 'difficult policy choices' if it split from the UK because its financial position has worsened. Pictured: A rally marking the first anniversary of the Scottish Referendum in 2015

The difference in per person spending on different public services in 2018/2019 in devoloved nations compared with public spending in England

This is compared to the revenues as a percentage of GDP across the UK - pictured: A line graph showing each nation compared

Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: 'It's time for some honesty from Nicola Sturgeon.

'Today's IfG report is unequivocal; if Scotland leaves the UK we will be left with a huge deficit.

'She needs to be upfront with the people of Scotland and come clean about what public services she would cut in an independent Scotland.'

SNP Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said: 'Scotland is a wealthy country and with our abundant resources combined with the economic powers of independence, there is no reason whatsoever we cannot emulate the success of independent countries like Denmark and Norway which are richer per head than the UK.

'Every country in the world is dealing with exceptional public finance pressures as we recover from the pandemic.

'The UK last week saw its deficit rise to the highest level since 1946, while its national debt now stands at more than 2trillion.'
The A Symphony, a Suezmax tanker thats capable of carrying about 1 million barrels of crude, was struck by a bulk carrier just off Qingdao port

(Bloomberg)  A 900-foot crude tanker leaked oil into the ocean just outside Chinas biggest refining center, raising the specter of environmental damage and disruption of shipments.

The A Symphony, a Suezmax tanker thats capable of carrying about 1 million barrels of crude, was struck by a bulk carrier just off Qingdao port, causing it to spill oil into the sea, according to Goodwood Ship Management, the technical manager of the vessel. Nearby vessels are being instructed to stay at least 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometers) away from the area, the Chinese maritime safety agency said Tuesday in an alert.

All of the tankers crew members have been accounted for, and no injuries have been reported, the ship manager said in a statement. While local response experts have been deployed to contain the oil spill and begin cleanup operations, the efforts are being hampered as the port is closed due to poor visibility, it said.

The spill could threaten operations at Qingdao port in Shandong province, the biggest crude-receiving terminal for the worlds largest importer and a hub for private refiners that account for about a quarter of Chinas total processing capacity. Oil spills typically take weeks or months to clean up and could damage the areas ecosystem as well as livelihoods that depend on the sea.

The spill was at the emergency-response stage and hadnt yet reached the pollution-evaluation level, an official at the dangerous goods anti-pollution department of the Maritime Safety Administration said by phone. Calls to the Ministry of Transport went unanswered.

The vessel was most recently signaling Qingdao as its next destination, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. It had a draft of 17.1 meters, suggesting it was fully laden with oil.

Before heading to China, the ship visited the waters off Malaysias Sungai Linggi, a popular spot for so-called ship-to-ship transfers in which oil is moved from one vessel to another. Such activities are sometimes carried out to transfer cargoes between vessels or to obscure the origin of the oil on-board.

The cargo on board is a bitumen mix, according to MTI Network, an external company representing the vessels technical manager Goodwood. It remains too soon to evaluate the size of the spill.

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.
If you recently got fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in hopes that you would finally have clarity about when its safe to ditch your face mask, think again.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new masking guidelines Tuesday, but the suggestions only seemed to make things more confusing for New Jersey residents. Fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear a mask outside unless theyre in a crowded setting or venue, but theyre still being asked to have masks for most indoor activities, the CDC says.

Yet those guidelines also are at odds with rules from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who said Wednesday the state is not updating its masking mandates. Murphy said all residents still will be required to wear masks at all times indoors unless theyre eating, as well as outdoors, unless people can maintain social distance.

The only wrinkle between what weve been saying from Day One and as I understood the feds saying yesterday is theyve added that you need to be vaccinated to (go maskless outdoors), Murphy said during his latest coronavirus briefing in Trenton. Weve not had that as a requirement, and I dont expect that we will.

RELATED: No changes planned for N.J. mask rules after CDC guidance update, Murphy says

If it all seems confusing, its because it is.

The rollout of any new CDC guidelines often has caused initial confusion, said Stephanie Silvera, an infectious disease expert and professor at Montclair State University. The government needs to work on finding methods to translate this complicated information into ways that are more easily understood, she said.

These issues are complicated and nuanced, and most people just want to know, Can I take my mask off, yes or no? Silvera said. And the answer is sometimes yes. Its not an A or B situation.

The guidelines were met by frustration and confusion for some who were hoping that getting fully vaccinated meant they no longer needed to wear masks at all indoors. Yet still the CDC is asking fully vaccinated people to keep on face coverings inside, depending on where you live, health conditions you may have and if youre around unvaccinated people.

Others found the recommendation that vaccinated people dont need masks outdoors as confirmation of their own long-held beliefs that it was safe to go mask-less outside. Those folks were confused by federal guidance that already seemed obvious.

The CDC guidelines recommended fully vaccinated people still take precautions in indoor public settings by wearing a mask, wear masks when visiting indoors with unvaccinated people from multiple households and avoid indoor large-sized in-person gatherings altogether. They also allowed for people to participate in outdoor activities and recreation without a mask, except in certain crowded settings and venues.

The indoor masking recommendations remain in place even though the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations have been shown to be 95% effective in preventing infection of the disease.

Brian L. Strom, the chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, said the CDC masking guidelines are still in place because of the slim chance a fully vaccinated person is infected with the virus and transmits it to others.

If youre vaccinated and you get a very mild or an A-symptomatic case, you can still spread it to unvaccinated people around you, Strom said. When youre in a group setting, particularly a crowded setting where you dont know the vaccine status of the people around you, you risk giving it to them. So thats the needle that the CDC is threading.

Strom added that studies are underway to determine how likely it is for a fully vaccinated person to spread the virus, but that theres not yet enough data to fully inform new policy.

It is conservative, Strom said of the new guidelines. But on the other hand, the CDC isnt going to want to make recommendations and have people follow the recommendations and get sick anyway. Thats the balance theyre striking.

The mask guidelines aside, Silvera said the focus should be on vaccinations.

For me, the clear message is: If we want to move through this pandemic, we need to get at least 70% of the population vaccinated, Silvera said, referencing what it would take to reach herd immunity status through vaccinations. Then we dont have to worry about masks.

Strom agreed, saying the key message is that more people need to get vaccinated before we can put away our masks.

Once we have a large enough proportion of society vaccinated, this all goes away, he said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please consider subscribing to NJ.com.

Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale

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Guwahati (97.2 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : The duration was really long and it got intense with time. | 22 users found this interesting. Intensity felt was very high ,everything was shaking, / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s

Lumding, Assam (115.9 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : 5 to 10 secs. Moderate shakes. Woke me up | 12 users found this interesting.

Shillong (141.4 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : Lasted a minute or so. Felt a little bit like a 4 or 5.Aftershock after about 13 mins or so,very weak,probably a 1 or 2, lasted 6 seconds or so. | 8 users found this interesting.

East khasi hills Shillong Meghalaya / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s : It was quite intense and it was shaking really bad thought if it came for another second the whole thing might just collapse . | 9 users found this interesting. felt really hard . / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s

Dhaka, Mirpur-1 (389.2 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : It was very long but light shaking. Sofa, desktop computer, table, ceiling fan all was shaking sideways, I was awake using computer at that moment. | 7 users found this interesting.

Shillong (India) / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s : The first wave was a big one .... around 7 ,then continuous tremours for about 10 sec of magnitude 5 ,and now also maybe the aftershock is still going and coming..... | 7 users found this interesting.

PULIBOR, West Jorhat, Jorhat Assam (174.5 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : I was in deep sleep and woke up with shock thinking what is happening , upon realising that it's an earthquake, I ran out to open, while turning down the power supply of my house | 3 users found this interesting. / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Shillong / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : Yes it was a strong earthquake felt it | 8 users found this interesting.

Naharlagun (131.8 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Scared | 7 users found this interesting.

Kolkata (611.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Movement from side to side and weak shaking | 7 users found this interesting. I felt the shake / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Shillong / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : I was in bathroom and suddenly every thing starts shaking I am much afraid of it and opened my door and ran away | 6 users found this interesting.

Dhaka, Bangladesh (390 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : I felt a shake while I was using my pc, then I noticed the shake precisely and confirmed myself that it's an earthquake, my pc table was shaking clearly too. | 5 users found this interesting.

Guwahati / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : This was by far the most severe earthquake I have ever felt in my whole life. Very very scary. | 8 users found this interesting.

Bhutan, Thimphu (286.3 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : It was a quick and short but a very hard quick shake I had just woken up and my dressing mirror started shaking it was like something was shaking it even my bed. | 4 users found this interesting.

Tenga Valley, Arunachal Pradesh (50.5 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 30-60 s : The entire building started shaking , windows rumbling, pictures fell down, crockeries fell, hanging items started swinging, and went on for a long time... | 4 users found this interesting.

Guwahati / not felt / 5-10 s : High shaking | 6 users found this interesting.

Dhaka, bangladesh (386.6 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) : It felt too long. I was woken up by my bed moving slightly vertically and my body moving along with it. I am not sure for how long it lasted it felt long to my sleepy brain. No damage was caused except my state of mind. | 3 users found this interesting.

Dimapur / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : I think this was the longest earthquake I've witnessed my whole life;, I'm 17 now. I was worried about the centre of the earthquake because it took place for quite a while. | 3 users found this interesting.

JORHAT ,ASSAM (176.6 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : All of my glass objects started rattling.... I was taking out my physics books , and the windows started rattling .... I thought maybe a truck was passing , but it actually was an earthquake | 2 users found this interesting.

Barpeta, sudarudia , uttarhati / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) : Itvwas very shaking . i am from barpeta but it felt like i am in the epicebter i cabt explaib how terrible it was.obe of our neighbourgh felt on ground . i felt like i will die. Barpeta, subdaridia uttarhati / Very strong shaking (MMI VII)

Golaghat (155.9 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s : Scary | 3 users found this interesting.

Kokrajhar / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Felt twice second one was bit longer... the bed was shaking and I could see the trees shaking from the window | 2 users found this interesting.

Khetri / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 1-2 minutes : I have never seen before like this i think it will be high magnitude.. its shsking for more than a minute | 2 users found this interesting.

Itanagar (123.1 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : I was sleeping and suddenly I felt I woke up and sat for few seconds trying to figure it out after few seconds I heard people saying earthquake and I went out and saw everyone were outside I was the last one.it was more than 45 seconds and level will be more than 6.5 below 7 | One user found this interesting.

Biswanath Chariali (80.1 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Heavy earthquake / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Nayabasti, Baksa / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : Verry heavy shakeing | 3 users found this interesting.

Guwahati (90.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : Afraid | 2 users found this interesting.

38.4 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : In our area all the houses are shaking very badly | 2 users found this interesting.

91.7 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : One of the most frightening experience in an earthquake. | 2 users found this interesting.

Imohal, Manipur (263.4 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 1-2 minutes : Nothing much coz like I am used to earthquakes | 2 users found this interesting.

Rupa, Arunachal Pradesh (50.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / several minutes : It was the highest order earthquake ever experienced by me | 2 users found this interesting.

Balurghat (400.7 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : It was shaking duration was also long | 2 users found this interesting.

386.6 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 10-15 s : Everything was shaking slightly | 2 users found this interesting.

Guwahati / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 10-15 s : My building is a 4 story building This is the first time it ever shook my gates were shaking my bed,my windows,my cupboard. This is the biggest earthquake I have ever faced | One user found this interesting.

Gelephu, Bhutan / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : This was one of the longest earthquake I felt in Gelephu. It was quite stronger than any I experienced before. | One user found this interesting.

71.3 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : I was sleeping and the bed started to shake as if somebody was shaking me holding my arm. I woke up and ran downstairs outside. We were noticing a kans grass shaking. The another shaking hit strong, but milder than the first one. One of my companions went upstairs and a few minutes later a third wave hit, much milder.

Nagaon / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : Very horrible / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Chengmari Tea Estate (340.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : It suddenly started to shake, intensity reduced after 5 secs but then again regained its intensity and finally came to halt after few seconds. It had impacted my body though I was sitting.

147 km S of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Jolt was minimum at the beginning but all of sudden it was very strong for 3-5second and there after it was milf again, however the quake last for almost 40-45 second.

Pasighat (321.3 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake : I was in my bathroom. My sister and my mother told me that they had experienced an earthquake. It also happened in many parts of Assam as well.

Guwahati (95 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 30-60 s : It was shaking terribly like every light object got tossed in the air for a little and everything was like rumble, rumble, rumble...there were some cracks too...some were deep though

Guwahati (75.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : I felt like our apartment was going to collapse. There are some minor damages at the 2nd floor. No one suffered from any injury.

Guwahati (97.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : I was sleeping. Suddenly I felt the shaking of bed. It was very light at first so I got up then I looked at Durga maa's statue in our house. It was shaking horribly I heard people shouting and then the terrible shaking happened. Me my mother my grandmother my dad brother and all the residents of our building came out and everybody was shouting . Things were shaking and the sound of utensils falling down made us more shocked. I've seen this for the first time in my life. I thought it was the last

Guwahati,Assam. (96.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe : This was the most major earthquake i ever felt...... according to me ....i think ...assam has not experienced such an earthquake for a very long time ....and suddenly..it happenend today!!!..in one word ...i was really scared ....but thank god ....not much affect was caused in our area...

Chengmari Tea Estate (340.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : It suddenly started to shake, intensity reduced after 5 secs but then again regained its intensity and finally came to halt after few seconds. It had impacted my body though I was sitting.

Bibek path (94.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 1-2 minutes : Wasnt just a moderate shake. It was shaking for a while more then a minute or two. It was powerful. At 8:02am another jolt was felt.

288.6 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake : I felt like my bed will just break, but it didn't. I got awake by this sudden vibrations... Altogether it felt like it was very likely to be more then 5.0 in Magnitude.

Guwahati Assam, India (92.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / several minutes : For the first time in my life i felt like it was the day i die. I was sleeping when it started i never wake up during my sleep easily but the shakes were the biggest and longest shakes i ever felt. It felt like id puke my guts out and the fear of my mom and my pet being alright or not, the fear of whether i'd get to see them for the last time or not. I am still crying and my heart throbbing!! Guess from today I'll be fearing death more than i used to. Hope everyone is alright and no one was harm

Siliguri (403.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : I was sleeping and suddenly feel the movement like bed is shaking, I opened my eyes and saw my ceiling fan is swinging also.

288.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : I was sleeping in new Alipurdwar in hotel Bongo bhumi and my bed was complety shaking for almost 20-25 seconds.i was shocked first then i feel no one ia there and its was terrible experience.

Itanagar (125.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : First quake then a larger one. Difficult to run stand. A few minutes later a third small one followed

Beltola Guwahati (93.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Approximately 0756 hours earth quake was observed. Bed started swing we all tenat of this apartment came down

Siliguri (397.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : I was in my bed and about to wake up. Suddenly my bed started to shake and I jumped out o my sleep and took the door keys first. Then I rushed to the main door and unlocked it. Then I ran away to a safer place.

GUWAHATI / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : Never felt anything like this.... | 3 users found this interesting.

Samdrup Jongkhar / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : It was an uncertain massive shake. Hopefully, everyone is safe and keeping fine. It would be much better if the prediction for earthquake could be circulated in authentic News source so that people remain prepared. | 2 users found this interesting.

Guwahati (97.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : I feel very feared i cont tell my situation | 2 users found this interesting.

Rupahi nagaon (9.2 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s : Very very strong earthquake ever in my life. | 2 users found this interesting.

Dhubri, Kachakhana / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : IT'S WAS REALLY A fearable .. what a earthquake in assam , Dhubri districts .. all the Trees ,, Building were shaking | 2 users found this interesting.

Lala / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Felt gentle shaking | 2 users found this interesting.

Barengapara (277.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : The hanging flower pots were swinging | 2 users found this interesting.

Dhaka, Bangladesh / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : It was very scary.May Almighty Allah save us all | 2 users found this interesting.

Home / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : Shaking 2 different intervals of 45-50seconds | 2 users found this interesting.

Dhubri (247.3 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 30-60 s : Yes | 2 users found this interesting.

Nagaon (63.4 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Bed shaking n windows | 2 users found this interesting.

Jyotikuchi (96.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / several minutes : It was a very heavy intencity Quake. It went upto 7.55 magnitude | One user found this interesting.

Jorhat (178.5 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : I felt it. | One user found this interesting.

Begusarai (641.7 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : The chair and bed shaking. | One user found this interesting.

Dimapur (161.5 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : It was a weak quake and for around 30 sec | One user found this interesting.

112.6 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : It was heavy. | One user found this interesting.

112.6 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : It was heavy. | One user found this interesting.

337.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s : Little shaking | One user found this interesting.

Assam (139.1 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : . | One user found this interesting.

266.3 km WNW of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : It was light shaking | One user found this interesting.

84.1 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : It was for around 20 seconds | One user found this interesting.

GUWAHATI / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : The biggest and longest ever in my life time. Totally shocking. Still having after shocks.. Frightening...

North Lakhimpur / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : First very slow horizontal, then strong horizontal, stop for few second and again medium size but 15 to 20 sec. All r horizontal.

Itanagar, arunachal pradesh / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 15-20 s : It was dangerous. Me n my wife sleeping suddenly mom started shouting run down earthquake we ran down the building it was shaking bad .

Room / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Wasnt able to walk. Sanitizer bottles & glasses started falling off. Itanagar earthquake was quite different i never felt like that before in 20 years.

Guwahati / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 20-30 s : It was an extremely severe earthquake, visuals are available in news and media. Disappointed that you posted light shaking

Jalpaiguri / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : I was sleeping at that time and i suddenly recognize that it was an earth quake. Ut is the highest duration of earthquake in 2021.

Imphal West / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : I felt a tremble. I thought I was dizzy. And saw the water near me shaking and knew that was an earthquake.

Guwahati / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s : The strongest quake I have ever experienced. Scary to be honest. Felt like the end of the world! The house rattled like a babys toy. The windows didnt stop shaking for a good minute. I hope there are no aftershocks!

Guwahati / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : It was a terrible experience. I have never felt or heard of such an earthquake. This quake in litteral term left us shaking physically and also mentally with fear. There were in total 7 quakes including the after shocks.

Coochbehar,west bengal, India / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : I was sleeping deep, then @7:54 i woke up due to heavy shaking, it lasts around 25 sec. Then i sleep again

Guwahati / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : Never experienced such a massive earthquake before. Being a citizen of Guwahati, Assam, it is common to experience an earthquake however this time it was huge.

Dibrugarh / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : It was around 7.50 AM when suddenly i felt the tremor in my home temple.Door & window panels were shaking. Thankz

Shillong / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : It was a earthquake for sure. We ran outside to a clearing, carrying the kids along. Locals were not overly disturbed

Guwahati / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s : It was around 7:55 AM and my bed started shaking. This shaking didn't stop at once and earthquake continued for atleast 20 seconds. I was terrified because it was quite a big quake that I have experienced in a while. Two Aftershocks were followed after some time. Reports says the quake was measured upto 6.7 Richter Scale.

Jorhat Assam / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : It was morning time here at Jorhat,Assam.I was doing my regular morning stuffs and then suddenly felt a heavy quake making all the nearby objects move..I ran outside my room and saw the electric posts along with its wires in vibrating position..The tremor was for approximately 1-2 minutes followed by some minor aftershocks.

guwahati / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : We were in our ground floor apartment. The vibrations lasted for around 10-20 seconds. Ceiling fans were swinging and the water in the aquarium was sloshing.the plastic broom stick and the mopping rods in the bah room fell down. we took cover under the concrete beams and waited for the quake to subside. later we rushed out of the home.

hapoli ,lower subansiri dist ,arunachal pradesh / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : we r in bed n suddenly everything in bedroom shake including window ,so we we run outside of the house

Doimukh (Arunachal Pradesh) / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake : When I was in kitchen the things get started to fall down n some were broken at first I thought it was some cat or mouse doing that because at first the earthquake was not so hit but in second the shake was so strong n I hurried n fastly I moved out from the kitchen n I was outside it was so strong that even my body is trembling

Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : I was sleeping and it was literally shaking so much, it was the most intense earthquake I have ever felt and for a moment I thought maybe this is the end. I was so scared.

Siliguri / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating : It was quite strong the painting on the wall were dangling our whole building was shaking it was scary

Itanagar, arunachal pradesh / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 15-20 s : It was dangerous. Me n my wife sleeping suddenly mom started shouting run down earthquake we ran down the building it was shaking bad .

North Lakhimpur / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : I was lying on my bed, suddenly felt shaking,head spin & then an intense jolt & movement all around.Got up & noticed the walls of my room wobbling,a vibrating sound heard,tables,doors moved to & fro,ceiling fan swung & I stand staring my water bottle,the water & the bottle were shaking intensely.It feels like something greater than magnitude 5.5 or 6 ricther scale at around 07:55 am IST.

Guwahati south / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 30-60 s : At 7.51 hrs felt huge shaken of earth . My 3 storey building shaken tremendously for 50 seconds . Objects hanging in the wall and on table etc fall down.

Mangaldai / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : I was in my bed... Then I could felt a tremor it was like unbelievable experienced for the first time in my 26 years of life span.. I was like woahh... Shook was tremendous and more importantly it was for a longer time..

guwahati / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Water splashed out if big buckets. Things started falling from table, wardrobe got opened, photos placed on shelves fallen

RISHIKA GHOSH Guwahati Spanish garden / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : Everything was shaking and everyone was extremely scared i thought the building will be destroy after this earth quick In Guwahati i think it was the biggest earth quick thank you for reading

Zoo Road, Guwahati , Assam / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 1-2 minutes : It was a very strong earthquake and all furnitures and fixtures were heavily shaking..felt and immediate power outages soon after the quake

Itanagar / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : I was sitting on a chair when my phone which was placed horizontally on the table fell down and suddenly the windows started vibrating and while getting out of the building it was rather unsteady to walk down the stairs. The electrical wires were shaking and whole building made a rattling sound.

Tura / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : At first I heard d rattling sounds of utensils hanging n noticed it was shaking faster so cant stop myself to wake my child up.its very scary since its been a week of very hot days.

Guwahati / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : Longer duration then I have ever felt in 26 years of my life Cloth hangers shaking horizontally things fell off the table and the entire house moved like a pendulum for a good one minute

siliguri / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : I was sleeping in my bed (steel) . As the earthquake starts happening it shakes of the bed and I wake up immediately. The trembling is quite long for 20 39 secs.

Zoo Road, Guwahati , Assam / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 1-2 minutes : It was a very strong earthquake and all furnitures and fixtures were heavily shaking..felt and immediate power outages soon after the quake

Shillong / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 15-20 s : The earthquake woke me up from sleeping i can hear the sound of the earthquake shaking the wall and concrete roof of my house i went outside but i could not really notice so much shaking on the ground where i stood

Kokrajhar ,Assam / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 minutes : I was sleeping when I heard vibrating sound . I felt the earthquakeuake and thought that it would pass but it was still continuing to shake for 1-2 minutes. It was not too much in our place but I'm sure the place of epicenter may have experienced some damages.

Guwahati / Light shaking (MMI IV) : I was sleeping and the entire house started shaking. I have never experienced such an earthquake before.

Guwahati / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Very violent shaking that lasted for a long time. It was followed by a few aftershocks. It was the strongest in the last few years.

GUWAHATI gandhibasti / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s : It was high frequency sound and vibrating and slower after for initial 10 seconds but after that the sound and vibration was terrifying. And after it was over after 10min it was a 2 -5 second of again a sudden jerk and it disappeared

Alipurduar / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s : I was lying in my bed then felt the tremor .And it was earthquake people of neighborhood came out and i saw the wires of lightpost are still shaking.

Tezpur / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 15-20 s : Very strong shaking of Earth. The earthquake is very strong never felt this way before. And it's nearly 20 sec of shaking. Don't know about intensity it's about 6 in rector scale

Guwahati / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : The first one stayed for around a minute. Then it was followed up by 3-6 seconds earthquake, 3-4 times.

Pasighat / Weak shaking (MMI III) : I was sleeping in my bed but then my bed started shaking rapidly as i got up and told my family bout quake.

Bongaigaon / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : It started off quite mediumly strongly but lasted good for like more than 30 seconds. It was a good shake. Not a weak one

Silchar / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 2-5 s : A little shivering and continued for 4 more seconds and increased. As i m near to Bangladesh, it may be the reason

Shillong (140.2 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s : It was scary. Everything in the room doors windows almirah were rattling and vibrating. Woke me up and it lasted about 15 secs. | 2 users found this interesting. I felt a sound, it increased and then the shake inside the St. Edmund's College office (Assam type building). I ran out and saw the ladies sweepers standing still inside the veranda and shouted at them to come out to an open space. We remain outside and felt the mild after shock. I realised that alertness is important. / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s

Guwahati / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / several minutes : At first, I thought that Monkeys were running on the roof, it's common so I ignored it. Then suddenly it started vibrating so hard that, it felt like it's gonna collapse the building. I hid under a table, after a few minutes it stopped. I felt another vibration that was not so powerful, but it was an earthquake again! | 2 users found this interesting.

guwahati / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : It happened at like 7:51am. Woke me awake in panic. Everything in the house was shaking for almost a minute. More than 10 afterstorms occured in Assam (felt 2 of them). Some predictions are made that a stronger one upto 7.2 magnitude might come in this week. (I mean, I am 17, too soon to lose my life) | One user found this interesting.

Dhekiajuli, sonitpur / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / complex motion difficult to describe / 20-30 s : It was around 7:51 when the vibration started slowly and after 1-2 seconds it grew.Everything was shaking tremendously and I felt that everything was rolling too. But there is less damage to less populated areas than more populated ones. | One user found this interesting.

Bokakhat Assam (118.7 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Never felt anything like this, very severe earthquake.Whole Bunglow was rattling objects falling off.Scary | One user found this interesting.

Murara, Rangia, Kamrup, Assam (86.5 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : In 25 years of my life, havent felt such a tremor and seen such terror in peoples eyes like today. The biggest of all | One user found this interesting.

Guwahati Assam / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe : The most powerful I've ever experienced | One user found this interesting.

MAYAPUR, WEST BENGAL (548.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 30-60 s : As usual the monitor started to move and the office chair seemed to sway. | One user found this interesting.

GUWAHATI (95.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : It was very bizzare experience, never felt such a high ritcher scale earthquake. | One user found this interesting.

Dimapur / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : I think this was the longest earthquake I've witnessed my whole life;, I'm 17 now. I was worried about the centre of the earthquake because it took place for quite a while. | One user found this interesting.

Telegram golghat / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : First time horror experience I was in bathroom | One user found this interesting.

SHILLONG / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : It lasted for almost a minute long, with high magnitude. The longest earthquake I've felt in my life | One user found this interesting.

Dimapur / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : It shaked too much today | One user found this interesting.

Shillong / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : Scary | One user found this interesting.

Mokokchung / Weak shaking (MMI III) : I felt 2 waves of shake | One user found this interesting.

dimapur / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 1-2 s : I was standing, it felt like I had mild vertigo, the doors shook a little | One user found this interesting.

Tangla / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Sudden Jolt | One user found this interesting.

Jorhat Assam / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : Earthquake | One user found this interesting.

MARIGAON / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 30-60 s : My deo bottle fell down from the table and windows rattling | One user found this interesting.

Thimphu Bhutan : Earthquake | One user found this interesting.

Golaghat / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : The shaking took place at 0755 hrs and it was quite strong. | One user found this interesting.

DIBRUGARH / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Shaken | One user found this interesting.

287.7 km WNW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : This was a long one

210.5 km ESE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

513 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Shight movement was experienced

Nagaon (0.6 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

62.6 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) / 30-60 s

Home (91.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 30-60 s : It was the biggest quake for me ever

Guwahati (94.2 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s

151.1 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Tukrajhar (214.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Madhepura (548.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s

Home (93.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : It was a strong shake. I felt my building will break if it last for another few seconds.

Guwahati (90.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

DIBRUGARH EAST (258.8 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 30-60 s

Sivasagar (220.7 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Tezpur (35.6 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 1-2 minutes (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 1-2 minutes

Nagaon (47 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Nagaon, Assam (50.9 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 20-30 s

Siliguri (370.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

37.3 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 1-2 minutes

GUWAHATI (94.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 20-30 s

Tezpur (38.2 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / complex motion difficult to describe / 30-60 s

SHILLONG (0.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

90.5 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s

37.2 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Khliehriat (175.6 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : This morning

0.6 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : Never experienced such shake.was thinking its doomsday.pray for everyone Ok

Darjeeling (413.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

NAGAON (60.2 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s

Biratnagar (513.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / very short (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / very short

Guwahati (88.2 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s (reported through our app / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

261.4 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 30-60 s

Guwahati (92.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 20-30 s

Shillong (143.2 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes

111 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Dhekiajuli (8.8 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / complex motion difficult to describe / 30-60 s (reported through our app / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / complex motion difficult to describe / 30-60 s

Sualkuchi, Kamrup, Assam, India (106.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Dinjan (300.1 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Felt earthquake for few seconds

Dhekiajuli (7.8 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 20-30 s

GUWAHATI (99.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Nagaon (51.2 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 15-20 s

94.1 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

GUWAHATI (97.8 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 30-60 s

Sonitpur Assam (38.6 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

86.5 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / both vertical and horizontal swinging

7.7 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s (reported through our app / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

108.8 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s : First time I feel..what is called earthquake....don't come next time.God..

Kolkata (629.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Severe shaking (MMI VIII)

Guwahati (87.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s

118.7 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 20-30 s

Silchar, Cachar, South Assam (216.2 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 30-60 s : Light shaking but for about 1 minute.

Guwahati (96.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Its was damn scary

Guwahati (87.2 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Ahom gaon, Guwahati (40.1 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

Dimapur (168.1 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

ZIRO (164.2 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 20-30 s Moderate shaking for about 30s. Things on the table displaced. (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 20-30 s

Golaghat, Assam (156.6 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Laban shillong Meghalaya India (142.4 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s

Nagaland (221.8 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

513 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Shight movement was experienced

389.1 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Feel like a swing bed Move for couple of seconds and after that another one within seconds

Siliguri (395.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging

Mirza (114.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Guwahati (100.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

94.5 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 10-15 s

312 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

185.4 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

Coochbehar (299.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

707.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short

KOLKATA (627.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

1932.7 km WNW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt (reported through our app / not felt

Guwahati (1122 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

159.9 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s

Dhaka, Bangladesh (385 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging

370.5 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 minutes

Naharlagun (125.1 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 minutes : Felt after 2 month

Jaipur (1654.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : Nothing

1930.7 km WNW of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt No i didnt feel (reported through (reported through our app / not felt

141.9 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Medical (399.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

91 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Tezpur (39.5 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Nirjuli (137.5 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Earthquake duh

Guwahati (95.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Manipur (241.1 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Dhaka (382.9 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 20-30 s

Dinhata (303.9 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / complex motion difficult to describe / 10-15 s

88.8 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s

Tangla (51.7 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 1-2 minutes

98.8 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : A bit shaky

542.1 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s

Jorhat (179.6 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

Guwahati (90.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : Moderate shaking. Things displaced. Aftershocks felt after initial earthquake.

160.1 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 20-30 s

88.5 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

402.4 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s

Lekhi Village (135.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Lanka, Hojai, Assam (105.5 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Digaru (83.8 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Siliguri (396.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s

Hailakandi (232 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s

397.2 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Imphal (264.1 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 20-30 s

382.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 1-2 s

Beltola , guwahati (94.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Assam, District: Baksa (67.6 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

278.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s

512.9 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Jorhat, teok, haansora (204.4 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 1-2 minutes

Ampati (285.4 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 30-60 s : I felt it t slow and constant and again it went a bit high and it ended slowly

North Lakhimpur (176 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

silchar (215.8 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

365.8 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s

Guwahati (90.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Kolkata (607.8 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / complex motion difficult to describe / 1-2 s : Bed shaking

Guwahati (90.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : It was scary

Narangi, Guwahati, Assam (86.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Its heart shaking terrifying

Itanagar (289.7 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Duliajan city. Durlabh das (292 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Kamrup (Metro) (90.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 20-30 s

IIT Guwahati (95.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 10-15 s

220.6 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Guwahati (95.2 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s

Dhekuajuli (9.1 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Shillong (141.1 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

177.4 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Shocked for few moments

216.2 km S of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

KATIHAR (507.9 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Guwahati (97.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 30-60 s : Very dangerous

125.9 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : High shaking

Thakurganj (428.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 15-20 s

52 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Narayanpur panbari (151.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Uttara Dhaka (380.2 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

628.3 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

176.6 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 15-20 s

Golaghat, Assam (146.2 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Sumitra Apartment, Gandhi Path, Nehru Nagar, Patna (739.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

146.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 20-30 s

Guwahati (93.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 20-30 s

Darjeeling at 19 Meadow Bank (413.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

379.1 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s : Felt light earthquake at my place Changlang Arunachal Pradesh

pathsala (125.9 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

1.9 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : Things dropped and broke.

Guwahati (89.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging

Sivasagar (265.5 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s

Nagaon (53.5 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s

48 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 10-15 s

312 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

Guwahati odalbakra lalganesh (95.2 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 30-60 s : It was tremendous ly power ful and sudden earth quake

Dhubri (257.9 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 15-20 s

Thimphu (284.1 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s

Bomdila (55.4 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 30-60 s

304.3 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 2-5 s

IIT GUWAHATI (95.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Zoo road (90.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Guwahati, Assam (98.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single vertical bump / 10-15 s : First time feel the earthquake, it's very horrible. I thought it was my last date.

107.1 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s

Golaghat (157.6 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging

Siliguri (395.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 30-60 s

383.1 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

130.7 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : It was felt like going up and down not going side ways.

85.6 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Namdilong kanglatongbi (246.1 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake : Scary enough to make me run out of my room .

West Bengal (634.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

92.6 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 10-15 s

Itanagar in home (118.7 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating : It was a huge earthquake. At a moment I felt like i'm going to die. This was the experience.

Imphal East, Sabungkhok (266.4 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : But it's a weak shaking

393 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : A weak shaking felt, duration 5 seconds

287.7 km WNW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : This was a long one

Palta (602 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / several minutes

Purnea , Bihar (506.4 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Hailakandi (229.9 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Imphal (266.8 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : Shaking sideways for 2 seconds.

92.7 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 30-60 s

126.3 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : That was horrible

Papumpare (340.7 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 20-30 s : I was sleeping n suddenly everything around me started to shake

288.8 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Coochbehar (673.6 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

GUWAHATI (95.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Duliajan, Assam, India (295.9 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Duliajan, Assam, India (295.9 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

295.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Golaghat (155.2 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s

Hojai (91.5 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Prayagraj Uttar Pradesh (1064.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : I am standing near table it swing side ways. Fan is also swinging,table spoon is also swinging.

Purnea (504.7 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

276.4 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

95.4 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s

92.3 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

317.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Panjabari, Guwahati, Assam (90.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / complex motion difficult to describe / 30-60 s

Guwahati (95.8 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

283.6 km WNW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Silpukhri guwahati (91.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : It was severe earthquake, felt like today is last day

Guwahati (93.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / several minutes

95.6 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Rangia (90.1 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s

96.7 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 20-30 s

739.5 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

91.9 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Ulubari (91.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : Rattling and vibration for about 30 seconds.. 2 Aftershocks so far.

93.6 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 20-30 s

Nagaon (52.5 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Guwahati (90.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / several minutes

Sukhia Pokhari (422.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s

Kahilipara (93.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s

Guwahati (95.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s

Guwahati (96.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s

378.4 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

bashundhara, dhaka, bangladesh (381.9 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes

91.9 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : Felt strong shaking on 1st floor

Madhepura (573.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Guwahati (93.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s

Guwahati (95.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s

300.3 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Guwahati (90.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 30-60 s

388.2 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 5-10 s

397.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Guwahati (91.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Amingaon, Guwahati (94.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : Very very heavy shaking, lots of lateral movement

Sylhet (213.2 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

Dahalaara (161.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Its very Dangar

Bokakhat (125 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 10-15 s

Siliguri (400.3 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Jorhat Assam (180.9 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s : It was a strong one

Guwahati (45.5 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s

Thimphu (287.4 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s

Siliguri (400.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Nagaon (50.6 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Dhaka (385 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes

Itanagar (123.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 30-60 s

Milki (483.7 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 1-2 s

Jorhat (175.6 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 20-30 s

Dhaka (383.2 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Guwahati (92.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 20-30 s

Jorhat Assam (178.7 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : The first earthquake was moderate. after 10mins a little earthquake again come

Pillangkata (94.8 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 10-15 s

Nambol Laitonjam Manipur (267.4 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 s

104.2 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s

Guwahati (95.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s

123.2 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s : It was horrifying. Plates and books fell off of the shelf.

87.7 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Duliajan (294.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 30-60 s

130.3 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Moderate shaking. One big aftershock and one small. Overall three times.

Azara (106 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

126.3 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 1-2 s

93.5 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : Felt scared!

56.1 km S of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Tinsukia (347.2 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

95.4 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s

Guwahati (92.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Tukrajhar (214.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Umrangso (142.2 km SSE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : Shaking was too high

139.7 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s

Alipurduar (289.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 20-30 s

guwahati (118.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 20-30 s

mangaldai (51.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s : It was a very strong earthquake...

Siliguri (399.7 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Diphu (142 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s

Sleeping (87.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 1-2 minutes

Sivasagar (220.6 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 10-15 s

Urlabari (479.9 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 1-2 s

46.1 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

21.6 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : 6.7 rictor scale

15.1 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Nalbari (27.2 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

DIBRUGARH (261.8 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

241.4 km S of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Assam (127.1 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 30-60 s : Very dangerous Shook everything Glad no harm occured

123.7 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

Itanagar (138.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 1-2 s : I felt the quake

Shillong (139.7 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s

Guwahati (133.9 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 minutes

Basishta (94.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s

Tezpur (39.3 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

Nepal (519.8 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / very short : I felt only2.9-3.5 second

Guwahati (92.2 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

Dibrugarh (259.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : A constant vibration for 10seconds

90.5 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe

Guwahati (93.2 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s

336.8 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

237 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

631.3 km NW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : I feel fear it was long than the other please look into this

86.2 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s

94.6 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

bahona tinali (92.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

North Lakhimpur (175.4 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s

Guwahati (93 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 30-60 s : Its an heavy earthquake.

Dhemaji (224.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

Tura (262.1 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

214.3 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

Shillong (142.5 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 1-2 minutes

644.2 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s

89 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s

Bijaynagar (116.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 30-60 s

Noonmati Guwahati. (86.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling

SHILLONG (261.5 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

Guwahati (114.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

89.5 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

91.8 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : Scared me

Kahalgaon (547.2 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Bed was shaking and it was clearly felt.

Sivasagar (221.2 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

176.9 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Dibrugarh Assam (266.3 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s : It was a horizontal shake.. For about 15-20 seconds

KHAGARIA (609.8 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s

Guwahati (95.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

116.1 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Siliguri (395.4 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : There was a strong trembling for around 15-20 seconds

Cooch Behar (299.1 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 1-2 minutes

Sonapur ,Assam (84.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Guwahati (92.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

367.9 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)

41.7 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : Very terrible

141.7 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 minutes

Sirajganj (394.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s

Dhaka (392 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 1-2 minutes

164.2 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 5-10 s

Shillong (147.9 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating

54.8 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 20-30 s

Katihar (503 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 20-30 s

Sylhet (212.1 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s

Mohammadpur (392.4 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 30-60 s

Darjeeling (410.2 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Guwahati (91.2 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 30-60 s

Sivasagar (228.2 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / complex motion difficult to describe / 30-60 s

Kokrajhar (215.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 15-20 s

Silchar (231.4 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 30-60 s

Seppa (92 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : Afraid and shaky

Darjeeling (410 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 2-5 s

Tinsukia, Assam (301.5 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s

397.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Bed was swinging and vibrating sideways

New Eskaton, Dhaka (390.9 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes

Itanagar (273.5 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s

94 km SW of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes

Golaghat, Assam (146.2 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

165.3 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

187.2 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : It was scary and long

493.8 km S of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 10-15 s : It shook once then after few seconds it shoock again I live on 6th floor so I felt it instantly I felt it- Dhaka,Bangladesh / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 10-15 s

90.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Balurghat (401.2 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

203.5 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

366.3 km WSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s

Guwahati (95.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s

142.4 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

SHILLONG (140.6 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

382.8 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

445.5 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Nagaon (55.8 km SE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Noonmati (88.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Just felt the building being shaked by someone

Jorhat, Assam (172.9 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / complex motion difficult to describe / 15-20 s

141.6 km SSW of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Sylhet, Bangladesh (212.4 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s

North Lakhimpur (167.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

192.6 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI)

Tura,Meghalya (184.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Jorhat (174.7 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s

Malda (470.8 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s

55.1 km SSE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s

Kolkata (628.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Meghalaya (190 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV)
[April 28, 2021] Orbia Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Orbia Advance Corporation, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: ORBIA*) ("the Company" or "Orbia") today released unaudited results for the first quarter of 2021. Q1 2021 Financial Highlights

(All metrics are compared to Q1 2020 unless otherwise noted) Strong start to the year with double-digit growth in revenue and EBITDA, primarily from continued momentum in Polymer Solutions and Wavin, with solid performance from Netafim. Net revenues of $1.9 billion increased 18%, driven by a tight PVC environment for Polymer Solutions, as well as strong demand across markets for Wavin and Netafim;

EBITDA of $451 million increased 46%, with an EBITDA margin of 23.6%, an increase of 455 basis points;

Net majority income of $141 million increased 213%;

Negative free cash flow of $85 million, mainly driven by an increase in working capital with higher sales activity;

Leverage ratio (Net Debt to EBITDA) improved to 1.97x;

Increased 2021 EBITDA guidance. "Orbia continued to meet our customers' needs and saw strong quarterly financial performance despite the lingering impacts of the global pandemic, challenges resulting from extreme weather conditions in the United States' Gulf Coast region and raw material shortages," said Sameer Bharadwaj, CEO of Orbia. "We kept up our momentum in executing our growth strategy, focusing on offering value-added products, achieving operational efficiencies and pursuing geographic expansion to drive meaningful revenue and margin growth. We remain optimistic about the opportunities ahead and look forward to providing solutions that are essential to advancing life around the world. I would like to personally thank our over 21,500 associates who worked tirelessly to make these results possible," added Bharadwaj. Q1 2021 Consolidated Financial Information1

(All metrics are compared to Q1 2020 unless otherwise noted)







mm US$ First Quarter Consolidated Financial Highlights 2021 2020 %Var. Net revenue 1,914 1,626 18% SG&A 227 256 8% Operating income 305 172 77% EBITDA 451 309 46% EBITDA margin 23.6% 19.0% 455 bps Financial Costs 68 85 -20% EBT 237 87 172% Income tax 64 10 540% Consolidated net income (loss) 173 77 125% Net majority income 141 45 213% Cash generation (4) 189 N/A CapEx (53) (60) -12% Free cash flow (85) 105 N/A Net debt 2,870 2,916 -2%

1 Unless noted otherwise, all figures in this release are derived from the Interim Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company as of March 31, 2021 and are prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standards 34 "Interim Financial Reporting" of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which have been published in the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV). See Notes and Definitions at the end of this release for further explanation of terms used herein. Net revenues of $1,914 million increased 18%, driven by higher sales in the Polymer Solutions, Wavin and Netafim businesses. Polymer Solutions continues to experience a strong pricing environment for its products as extreme weather events in the U.S. Gulf Coast region have constrained PVC supply. Wavin met strong demand in LatAm and EMEA. Netafim reported solid growth in all key markets. SG&A of $277 million increased 8%, primarily due to an increase in deferred compensation provisioning. EBITDA of $451 million increased 46%, due to higher PVC margins in Polymer Solutions; a better product mix from Wavin and robust sales performance from Netafim. EBITDA margin was 23.6%, an expansion of 455 basis points. Financial costs were $68 million in the quarter, a decline of 20%. The decrease in financial costs was mainly driven by a lower LIBOR rate environment, a one-time cost associated with Orbia's revolving credit facility in the prior year and a reduction in FX devaluation in most of Orbia's main currencies, including the Mexican Peso and the Brazilian Real. Taxes were $64 million, up from $10 million in 2020 as a result of significantly higher profits in the quarter and lower impact of a tax shield from the severe devaluation of the Mexican Peso in Q1 2020 with the onset of COVID-19. Net income to majority shareholders was $141 million in the quarter, an increase of 213%, mainly driven by strong profitability in most of Orbia's segments. Negative free cash flow of $85 million despite the strong EBITDA. Given robust sequential growth in sales, Orbia increased working capital by $257 million, reflecting a higher level of accounts receivable with a strong concentration of sales in March, rising raw material costs and inventory build-up to support higher activity levels. Net debt of $2,870 million, comprising total debt of $3,583 million, less cash and cash equivalents of $713 million. Q1 2021 Revenues by Region

(All metrics are compared to Q1 2020 unless otherwise noted) First Quarter 2021 Region 2021 2020 % Var. Y/Y % Revenue Europe 668 561 19% 35% North America 580 536 8% 30% South America 433 295 47% 23% Asia 187 178 5% 10% Africa & others 46 56 -18% 2% Total 1,914 1,626 18% 100% Q1 2021 Financial Performance by Business Group

(All metrics are compared to Q1 2020 unless otherwise noted) Netafim (Precision Agriculture, 14% of Revenues) Netafim's leading-edge irrigation systems, services and digital farming technologies enable stakeholders to achieve significantly higher and better-quality yields while using less water, fertilizer, and other inputs. By helping farmers grow more with less, Netafim is contributing to feeding the planet more efficiently and sustainably. Netafim is the world leader in the production and sale of intelligent precision agriculture solutions. mm US$ First Quarter Netafim 2021 2020 %Var. Total revenue 275 232 19% Operating income 29 15 93% EBITDA 52 37 41% Revenue of $275 million increased 19%, attributable to strong sales performance in most regions, particularly the U.S., Europe, Israel, Turkey and China. Higher commodity crop prices also supported continued strong market demand. EBITDA of $52 million increased 41%. EBITDA margin was 19.1%, an improvement of 318 basis points, due to operational efficiencies and lower expenses, partially offset by rising raw material costs. Dura-Line (Data Communications, 9% of Revenues) Dura-Line believes that every organization, every community, and every person around the world deserves a chance to make the most of modern technology. The company annually produces more than 400 million meters of essential and innovative infrastructure-conduit, cable-in-conduit and accessories that create physical pathways for fiber and other network technologies that connect cities, homes, and people. Dura-Line is the leading global producer of conduits and a global leader in HDPE products for cable and fiber optics, as well as natural gas pressurized piping and solutions. mm US$ First Quarter Dura-Line 2021 2020 %Var. Total revenue 184 170 8% Operating income 21 21 0% EBITDA 29 29 0% Revenue of $184 million increased 8%, mainly driven by continued strong demand in North America and Europe. Results were impacted by unfavorable weather conditions in the U.S., particularly in the Midwest and Texas, that limited availability of resin as well as constrained regional fiber deployment projects. EBITDA of $29 million was essentially flat. EBITDA margin was 15.8%, a decrease of 126 basis points, due to a significant spike in raw material costs in North America and Europe. Wavin (Building & Infrastructure, 34% of Revenues) Wavin is redefining today's pipes and fittings industry by creating innovative solutions that last longer and require less labor to install. Serving customers in three continents, Wavin is also developing sustainable technologies around water management and indoor climate systems. Wavin is a leading producer of above- and below-ground solutions in LatAm and Europe. mm US$ First Quarter Wavin 2021 2020 %Var. Total revenue 679 512 33% Operating income 62 20 210% EBITDA 95 51 86% Revenue of $679 million increased 33% from continued strong demand in both EMEA and LatAm. Raw material scarcity and associated steep increases in prices triggered some inventory build-ups in March. However, Wavin was able to meet customer demand despite raw material shortages. EBITDA of $95 million increased 86% due to the continued transition to value-added products, effective execution of commercial strategy and operational efficiencies. Significant momentum in Germany and the UK in EMEA as well as Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia in LatAm contributed to EBITDA growth. EBITDA margin was 14.0%, an expansion of 418 basis points. In both EMEA and LatAm, Wavin achieved a more favorable product mix with sales growth in the value-added, above-ground solutions segment. Koura (Fluorinated Solutions, 9% of Revenues) Koura provides fluorine and downstream products that support modern living in a vast number of ways. Koura operates the world's largest fluorspar mine and produces intermediates, refrigerants and propellants used in automotive, infrastructure, semiconductor, health, medicine, climate control, food cold chain, energy storage, computing, and telecommunications applications. Koura is the leading global producer of fluorspar and the world's largest producer of integrated hydrofluoric acid. mm US$ First Quarter Koura 2021 2020 %Var. Total revenue 172 182 -5% Operating income 38 52 -27% EBITDA 56 68 -18% Revenue of $172 million decreased 5%, mainly due to COVID-19 related market challenges as well as raw material supply disruptions expected to be confined to the first quarter. Metspar sales remained resilient during the quarter, as they have throughout the pandemic, while refrigerants pricing improved in Europe, Japan and North America. Recovery in acidspar and aluminum fluoride markets is anticipated later this year and into 2022, as aluminum capacity in Europe and the Americas resumes production, which is expected to bolster demand for Koura's products. The illegal importation of refrigerants into Europe continues to have an impact on Koura's business. However, Koura is encouraged that in the most recent National Trade Estimate Report, the Office of the U. S. Trade Representative identified illegal refrigerant importation as a challenge to be addressed. EBITDA was $56 million, a decrease of 18%. EBITDA margin was 32.4%, a reduction of 476 basis points, due to market weakness. Polymer Solutions (Vestolit & Alphagary, 35% of Revenues) Polymer Solutions focuses on PVC general and specialty resins and zero-halogen specialty compounds with a wide variety of applications in solutions that undergird everyday life, including pipes, cables, flooring, auto parts, household appliances, clothing, packaging, and medical devices. The Polymer Solutions businesses are leading global vinyl players, with strong positions in the Americas and Europe. mm US$ First Quarter Polymer Solutions 2021 2020 %Var. Total revenue* 708 583 21% Operating income 161 62 160% EBITDA 224 121 85% *Intercompany sales were $79 million and $43 million in 1Q21 and 1Q20, respectively. Revenue of $708 million increased 21%, driven by a tight PVC market environment. Due to strong global building and construction demand as well as constrained PVC and ethylene supplies triggered by adverse weather conditions in the United States' Gulf Coast region during the first quarter, PVC pricing has reached historic highs in several key markets. Strong demand in compounds was constrained by raw material availability and supply chain disruptions, including those due to the recent temporary blockage of the Suez Canal. EBITDA of $224 million increased 85%. EBITDA margin was 31.6%, an expansion of 1,077 basis points due to higher PVC margins. The businesses achieved these strong results despite challenging conditions due to extreme weather. Balance Sheet, Liquidity and Capital Allocation Orbia generated a negative free cash flow of $85 million, despite the strong EBITDA growth in the quarter. Following robust sequential sales growth of $172 million, Orbia increased working capital by $257 million reflecting a higher level of accounts receivable with a strong concentration of sales in March, rising raw material costs and inventory build-up to support higher levels of activity. As of quarter end, net debt was $2,870 million, comprising total debt of $3,583 million less cash and cash equivalents of $713 million. The net debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 1.97x, while the interest coverage ratio was 6.99x. Capital expenditures of $53 million were down 12%; however, Orbia expects to reach its CapEx guidance for the full year. At the March 30, 2021 Annual General Ordinary Shareholders Meeting, Orbia shareholders approved an ordinary dividend of $0.10 per share to be paid in four installments in 2021, of which the first payment of $0.025 per share posted on April 14, 2021. The Orbia Board of Directors has resolved to place before its Shareholders a proposal to cancel substantially all the Company shares held in treasury during the second quarter of this year. 2021 Full Year Outlook As global economies continue to recover, we anticipate continued strong sales of our products and services as a result of consumer demand and significant government investments in infrastructure and societal needs. Accordingly, following Orbia's stronger than expected performance during the first quarter, the Company is increasing its prior 2021 guidance on EBITDA growth from 4%-7% to 15%, with potential further upside if strong market demand and pricing conditions continue in 2021. This revised outlook assumes no pandemic-related or other material disruptions to Orbia's businesses. Conference Call Details Orbia will host a conference call to discuss Q1 2021 results on April 29, 2021 at 10:00 am Central Time (CT; Mexico City)/11:00 am Eastern Time (ET; New York). To access the call, please dial 001-855-817-7630 (Mexico), 1-888-339-0721 (United States) or 1-412-317-5247 (International). Participants may pre-register for the conference call here. The live webcast can be accessed here. A recording of the webcast will be posted several hours after the call is completed on Orbia's website. For all company news, please visit Orbia's newsroom. Consolidated Income Statement2 USD in millions First Quarter Income Statement 2021 2020 % Total Revenue 1,914 1,626 18% Cost of sales 1,332 1,199 11% Gross profit 582 428 36% SG&A 277 256 8% Operating income (loss) 305 172 77% Financial Costs 68 85 -20% Equity in income of associated entity 0 0 0% Income (loss) from continuing operations before income tax 237 87 172% Income tax 64 10 540% Income (loss) from continuing operations 173 77 125% Discontinued operations (0) (0) 0% Consolidated net income (loss) 173 77 125% Minority stockholders 32 32 0% Majority Net income (loss) 141 45 213% EBITDA 451 309 46% 2 Note: During 2021 the Company performed a reclassification of criteria from SG&A to cost of goods sold for Q120 in relation to Direct Storage & Dispatch for approximately $20 million, in order to fully align criteria among all segments. Consolidated Balance Sheet USD in millions Balance sheet Mar 2021 Dec 2020 Mar 2020 Total assets 10,231 10,211 10,775 Current assets 3,316 3,156 3,694 Cash and temporary investments 713 875 1,452 Receivables 1,322 1,093 1,212 Inventories 937 861 819 Others current assets 343 326 212 Non current assets 6,916 7,055 7,081 Property, plant and equipment, Net 3,108 3,186 3,238 Right of use Fixed Assets, Net 311 323 332 Intangible assets and Goodwill 3,171 3,225 3,198 Long term assets 325 320 312 Total liabilities 7,180 7,032 7,781 Current liabilities 2,989 2,588 2,507 Current portion of long-term debt 635 495 294 Suppliers 1,348 1,326 1,306 Short-term leasings 80 82 75 Other current liabilities 925 684 831 Non current liabilities 4,192 4,444 5,274 Long-term debt 2,948 3,131 4,074 Long-term employee benefits 271 274 221 Long-Term deferred tax liabilities 307 314 326 Long-term leasings 251 263 262 Other long-term liabilities 415 463 390 Consolidated shareholders' equity 3,051 3,180 2,994 Minority shareholders' equity 686 687 710 Majority shareholders' equity 2,365 2,493 2,284 Total liabilities & shareholders' equity 10,231 10,211 10,775 Operating Cash Flow mm US$ First Quarter Cash flow 2021 2020 %Var. EBITDA 451 309 46% Taxes paid, net (77) (30) 157% Net interest / Bank commissions (80) (89) -10% Change in trade working capital (257) 45 N/A Others (Other assets - provisions, Net) (15) 10 N/A CTA and FX (27) (57) -53% Cash generation (4) 189 N/A CapEx (53) (60) -12% Leasing payments (28) (24) 17% Free cash flow (85) 105 N/A FCF conversion (%) -18.9% 33.9% N/A Dividends to Shareholders (0) (95) -100% Buy-back shares program (1) (34) -97% New debt (paid) (40) 929 N/A Minority interest payments (31) (39) -21% Others (6) - N/A Net change in cash (162) 866 N/A Initial cash balance 875 586 49% Cash balance 713 1,452 -51% Notes and Definitions The results contained in this release have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("NIIF" or "IFRS") with U.S. Dollars as the functional and reporting currency. Figures are presented in millions, unless specified otherwise. Since Q1 2019, Business Group level EBITDA figures include corporate charges; comparable prior year figures have been adjusted accordingly. Reflective of Orbia's continuous efforts to better inform the market and become a more customer-centric organization, beginning in Q1 2020, the Company is presenting the revenues, operating incomes and EBITDAs of each of its five businesses as such: Netafim (Precision Agriculture), Dura-Line (Data Communications), Wavin (Building & Infrastructure)-all of which previously were combined and presented as "Fluent" for reporting purposes only-Koura (Fluorinated Solutions) and Vestolit & Alphagary (Polymer Solutions). Figures and percentages have been rounded and may not add up. About Orbia Orbia is a community of companies united by a shared purpose: to advance life around the world. The Orbia companies have a collective focus on ensuring food security, reducing water scarcity, reinventing the future of cities and homes, connecting communities to data infrastructure, and expanding access to health and wellness with advanced materials. Orbia operates in the Precision Agriculture, Data Communications, Building and Infrastructure, Fluorinated Solutions and Polymer Solutions sectors. The Company has commercial activities in more than 110 countries and operations in over 50, with global headquarters in Mexico City, Boston, Amsterdam and Tel Aviv. To learn more, please visit orbia.com. Prospective Information In addition to historical information, this press release contains "forward-looking" statements that reflect management's expectations for the future. The words "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "hope," "have the intention of," "might," "plan," "should" and similar expressions generally indicate comments on expectations. The final results may be materially different from current expectations due to several factors, which include, but are not limited to, global and local changes in politics, economic factors, business, competition, market and regulatory factors, cyclical trends in relevant sectors as well as other factors that are highlighted under the title "Risk Factors" in the annual report submitted by Orbia to the Mexican National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) and available on our website at https://www.orbia.com/investor-relations/financial-reports/annual-reports-and-filings/. The forward-looking statements included herein represent Orbia's views as of the date of this press release. Orbia undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason unless required by law." Orbia has implemented a Code of Ethics that helps define our obligations to and relationships with our employees, clients, suppliers, and others. Orbia's Code of Ethics is available for consulting in the following link: http://www.Orbia.com/Codigo_de_etica.html. Additionally, according to the terms contained in the Mexican Securities Exchange Act No 42, the Orbia Audit Committee has established a "hotline" system permitting any person who is aware of a failure to adhere to applicable operational and accounting records guidelines, internal controls or the Code of Ethics, whether by the Company itself or any of its controlled subsidiaries, to file a complaint (including anonymously). This system is operated by an independent third-party service provider. The system may be accessed via telephone in Mexico, at http://www.ethic-line.com/Orbia or via e-mailing Orbia@ethic-line.com. Orbia's Audit Committee has oversight responsibility for ensuring that all such complaints are appropriately investigated and resolved. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428006185/en/

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An analysis of the prospective Fuwai PCI Registry, confirms long-term dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is an optimal treatment option for acute coronary syndrome patients (ACS) following a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The study shows long-term DAPT reduces ischemic events without increasing bleeding or other complications as compared to short-term DAPT treatments. The study was presented today as late-breaking clinical research at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography &Interventions (SCAI) 2021 Scientific Sessions.

Following ACS, patients have a high risk of ischemic events, which impacts chances of survival. Patients are predisposed for blood clots within an artery for years after an ischemic event, suggesting that the pathobiology of recurrent events post-ACS differs from that of stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who have not offered a previous ischemic event. Therefore, ACS patients may be more likely to benefit from long-term secondary prevention strategy, like extended-duration DAPT.

DAPT with aspirin and a P2Y12 inhibitor is the cornerstone of management after an ACS. Current practice guidelines recommend treatment of ACS patients include more aggressive risk factor modification and prolonged antiplatelet therapy, as well as DAPT for a minimum of 12 months following an ACS, regardless of whether or not PCI is performed. In addition to protecting against stent thrombosis in the culprit lesion, an important objective of long-term DAPT in patients with ACS is the prevention of future coronary ischemic events from nonculprit lesions, as demonstrated in earlier trials. With the improvement of stent device technology, studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of shortening DAPT to less than 12-months in patients with ACS undergoing PCI reported conflicting results .

The study included 4,875 high-risk "TWILIGHT-like" patients undergoing PCI. The high-risk patients were defined by at least one clinical and one angiographic feature based on TWILIGHT trial selection criteria, with ACS who were event free at 12 months after PCI from the Fuwai PCI Registry. The primary outcome was the composite of all-cause death, MI or stroke at 30 months while the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) type 2,3 or 5 bleeding was key secondary outcome.

Results showed that slightly more than two-third of ACS patients remained on DAPT beyond 12 months after PCI. Extended DAPT compared with shorter DAPT reduced the composite outcome of all-cause death, MI or stroke by 63%. BARC type 2, 3, or 5 bleeding rates did not differ significantly in patients treated with DAPT longer than 12-months versus those treated with DAPT less than 12-months. The effect of long-term DAPT on primary and key secondary outcome across the proportion of ACS patients with 1-3, 4-5, or 6-9 risk factors showed a consistent manner.

"Our findings suggested that prolonged DAPT in ACS patients who present with a particularly higher risk for thrombotic complications without excessive risk." said Haoyu Wang, M.D., Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, China. "Not only did we see long-term DAPT was associated with a lower risk of a major cardiovascular event without an increase in bleeding events, but it it could be considered an effective strategy to balance the risk for bleeding and ischemia in high-risk patients with ACS. Our results reinforce prolonged DAPT in patients with acute coronary syndrome without excessive risk of bleeding should remain the standard of care."

Authors call for further analysis on high bleeding risk and ischemia patients and work to publish in additional publications across Asia.

Explore further Results from the COBRA-REDUCE trial reported
The Coast Guard Academy's senior enlisted leader, Command Master Chief Brett VerHulst, resigned his duties at the Coast Guard Academy on Tuesday and is being investigated over alleged inappropriate conduct.

A spokesman said Wednesday that the Coast Guard Investigative Service is looking into the case but declined to say more about it, citing the investigation.

"The Coast Guard cannot provide details at this time in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation and to protect the Coast Guard's ability to take appropriate final action," said Cmdr. David Milne, an academy spokesman.

Read Next: The Marine Corps Is Known as a Force of Young Warriors. That is About to Change

Academy Superintendent Rear Adm. Bill Kelly sent an email to staff Tuesday afternoon announcing the resignation, Milne confirmed.

The news was first reported by Navy Times.

VerHulst remains in the service and has been assigned to the Coast Guard Research and Development Center in New London, Connecticut.

He had served as the academy's command master chief since 2017. According to his academy bio, his primary duty was to serve as an adviser to Kelly on "issues and initiatives pertaining to the entire Coast Guard Academy workforce."

"Further, he helps to carry out command intent and facilitates communications and the effective functioning of the organizational chain of command," the biography states.

Before his orders to New London, he served as command master chief for the 17th Coast Guard District in Juneau, Alaska. He has served on three Coast Guard cutters and held assignments in Massachusetts, Oregon, Louisiana, California and Virginia, in addition to Alaska and Connecticut.

Master Chief Anthony Schell will serve as interim command master chief; Master Chief Maria D'Angelo is expected to become the academy's next permanent command master chief this summer.

VerHulst did not respond to a request for comment.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: The Coast Guard Is Retiring Its Last Hamilton Class Cutter
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low around 55F. NW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low around 55F. NW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
The United States expanded its maritime smuggling and sanctions enforcement program in 2018, when a new multi-national ECC (Enforcement Coordination Cell) was created. Initial members were the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain, France, South Korea and Japan. The ECC is enforcing the UN sanctions approved at the end of 2017 to curb North Korean smuggling related to items needed for their nuclear and ballistic missile programs. In addition, the ECC allowed member nations to also enforce whatever other sanctions or naval missions their government put a priority on. The U.S. has since invited India, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines to join and assist with monitor growing Chinese violation of offshore water rights, especially in the South China Sea and other areas of the West Pacific.

The ECC concentrates on the 2,000-kilometer-long shipping lane from the Indian ocean, through the Malacca Strait, the South China Sea to North Korea. Along this route there are not only North Korean flagged ships participating in smuggling, but even more Chinese, Taiwanese, Liberian, Sri Lankan, and ships that are independents and fly whatever flag they believe will keep them from getting seized for smuggling. Earlier U.S. efforts had already identified many North Korean and Iranian owned tankers and cargo ships that were often engaged in smuggling. This led Iran and North Korea to use their own ships less and willing foreign ships instead. These third-party ships are the ones the ECC seeks to identify. These ships can be identified, along with their owners and the owners can have banking and other sanctions placed on them. Many nations not part of the ECC, but economic partners with ECC members will cooperate if a smuggler ships visits one of their ports. At that point the captain can be arrested and the ship impounded.

The ECC member warships do not depend on inspecting suspicious ships while at sea, but confirming who is where and when. This is especially useful spotting smugglers who often turn off their location beacons, and running dark. These location beacons transmit current ID and location to any nearby ships and often, via satellite, to their owner and international shipping organizations. The location data, past and current, can be found on several public websites. The beacons exist mainly as a safety measure for ships operating at night or in bad weather in heavily used shipping lanes. Smugglers have learned how to turn off their beacons near a port where, it is assumed, they have docked or anchored off the coast waiting for an available dock.

Some smugglers are using spoofing, a form of jamming that just modifies the beacon signal to present a false location. This is where warships and maritime aircraft come in as these can identify ships visually or using radar followed by visual inspection. This is more damaging to the smugglers because it provides more evidence that their ship was involved in smuggling and with enough evidence you can go after the ship owners and seize the ship whenever it enters coastal (within 22 kilometers of land) waters belong to a nation that will seize outlaw ships.

The ECC is based on the success of Task Force 150, which came to involve twenty nations contributing ships and aircraft to deal with the Somali piracy problem. By 2012 the problem was under control but the threat and a smaller Task Force remains. As the Somali piracy problem was fading under Task Force 150 pressure, the U.S. organized another ECC to monitor and disrupt North Korea and Iran smuggling operations. This was done with the aid of the Five Eyes, a post-World War II intel cooperation group consisting of the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Five Eyes intel agencies shared an unprecedented amount of intelligence on foreign threats during the Cold War and continued doing so after the Cold War ended in 1991. As international Islamic terrorism began to increase during the 1990s and especially after 2001, the Five Eyes continued to provide the member nations with much more useful intel than any of them could gather themselves. This became particularly useful as Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and adjacent seas escalated after 2012, as the size of the Chinese navy and threats it posed to most of the Five Eyes members as well other allies like Japan and South Korea. This encouraged many nations to join or consider joining the new ECC as well as earlier counter-terrorism efforts.

The ECC is allowed to detain, board and seize suspected smuggler ships that prove to be smuggling. There is no standard ROE (Rules of Engagement) for this and each ECC member can apply their own ROE. The U.S., for example, has an ROE that does not allow it to block the movement of North Korean ships or use force to board a ship whose crew opposes it.

Currently the U.S. provides most of the warships assigned to the ECC, as well as one of the U.S. Navy Command Ships; the USS Blue Ridge. These command ships are literally dedicated fleet command ships which carry a large array of communications gear as well accommodations and work space for nearly 300 command staff. The Blue Ridge now has about fifty officers and specialists from other ECC member nations on board. The main work of the Blue Ridge is to collect all the information ECC member nation warships and aircraft are collecting, and quickly analyze it, and report to ships of the ECC any important new findings as well as sending data to agencies ashore that handle further investigation and eventually sanctions or seizure of the ship. The American multinational command staff on the Blue Ridge also builds cooperation and improves coordination between the navies involved. This has turned out be extremely valuable, as was similar international participation in Task Force 150. While China is not participating in the ECC, it is encountering and communicating with ECC ships, as it did when Chinese ships served (and still serve) in Task Force 150.

The U.S. Command Ships are somewhat unique and have continued in use since the 1960s because have proved invaluable. Because of this the U.S. Navy decided in 2011 not to replace its two aging command ships, Mount Whitney and Blue Ridge, even though both are nearly 40 years old. Instead, both were refurbished, so they can last another two decades. The refurbishment was cheaper and there was a risk that money would not be approved for new command ships. The refurbished Blue Ridge returned to duty in early 2018 after a 19-month refit. It is unlikely there will be another life-extension in 2039 because, after 68 years, the two Blue Ridge class command ships will be too worn out for another refurbishment and will have to be retired. The U.S. had four of these ships until 2005-6, when two were scrapped and plans for new ones cancelled.

Command ships give the United States Navy the ability to position a major headquarters anywhere in the world. Each ship is equipped with powerful communications and computer capability, as well as working and living accommodations for hundreds of command personnel. During World War II, command ships were found to be invaluable for running large amphibious operations, and giving the ground commanders a place to work before they moved their headquarters ashore. Command ships were also invaluable for providing mobile headquarters for the huge American Pacific fleet that, during World War II, was constantly moving long distances and spend months at sea. The command ships had to coordinate the repositioning of huge quantities of supplies to support thousands of ships and aircraft that were constantly being moved around. After World War II, with no more large amphibious operations to handle, command ships evolved into their present form, as mobile headquarters ready to go anywhere they were needed.

Despite the availability of satellite communications today, the command ship is still valuable, and an insurance policy in case some of your satellites get shot down or jammed. Earlier command ships were converted amphibious or transport ships. The Blue Ridge and Mount Whitney, however, were built as command ships in the late 1960s. These are 18,900-ton vessels with a top speed of 42 kilometers per hour and has a crew of 325. Armament is light, consisting of two Phalanx anti-missile cannon, two 25mm autocannon and four 12.7mm machine guns. There are also missile and torpedo decoy systems. There is also a helicopter pad, and one SH-60 helicopter is carried.

The major equipment on board are computerized communications systems that can handle lots of encrypted (coded) message traffic with lots of different allies. One of these ships is based was Italy, the other in Japan. When not at sea, they serve as floating headquarters, usually for one of the navy's fleets, while tied up at pier side.
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins has died at the age of 90 after a battle with cancer, his family confirmed Wednesday morning.

Collins was part of the three-man crew that made history with the lunar landing in 1969, but unlike Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, he never walked on the moon.

Although he travelled 238,000 and came within 69 miles of the moon, Collins was tasked with piloting the command module that orbited above his comrades - and he took home a different and unique experience of the mission.

'The thing I remember most is the view of planet Earth from a great distance,' he said later. 'Tiny. Very shiny. Blue and white. Bright. Beautiful. Serene and fragile.'

The Collins family shared heartfelt message following his passing.

'We regret to share that our beloved father and grandfather passed away today, after a valiant battle with cancer, the statement reads.

'He spent his final days peacefully, with his family by his side. Mike always faced the challenges of life with grace and humility, and faced this, his final challenge, in the same way. We will miss him terribly.'

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Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins has died at the age of 90 after a battle with cancer, his family confirmed Wednesday morning

The astronauts family shared a heartfelt statement Wednesday. NASA also shared statements about Collins passing: 'Today the nation lost a true pioneer and lifelong advocate for exploration in astronaut Michael Collins'

The Collins family shared heartfelt message following the passing of their beloved astronaut. Pictured is his wife Patricia and their children Kate (left), Michael (middle) and Ann (right)

Acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk said: 'Today the nation lost a true pioneer and lifelong advocate for exploration in astronaut Michael Collins.

'As pilot of the Apollo 11 command module  some called him 'the loneliest man in history'  while his colleagues walked on the Moon for the first time, he helped our nation achieve a defining milestone.

'He also distinguished himself in the Gemini Program and as an Air Force pilot.'

Collins has been referred to as 'The Forgotten Man' during the Apollo 11 lunar landing, as he circled above while Armstrong and Aldrin made 'one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'

As a boy, Collins dreamed of going to space. In this June 19, 1969 file photo, Apollo 11 command module pilot astronaut Michael Collins takes a break during training for the moon mission, in Cape Kennedy.

Collins (center) was part of the Apollo 11 mission along with Neil Armstrong (left) and Buzz Aldrin (right). The trio made history in 1969 as the first humans to walk on the moon

Aldrin shared a tweet shortly after news surfaced of the American hero passing and included with the statement, the astronaut shared an image of the three Apollo 11 members smiling together

He remained alone for more than 21 hours until his two colleagues returned in the lunar module and lost contact with mission control in Houston each time the spacecraft circled the dark side of the moon.

'Not since Adam has any human known such solitude as Mike Collins,' the mission log said, referring to the biblical figure.

Collins wrote an account of his experiences in his 1974 autobiography, 'Carrying the Fire' - but largely shunned publicity after his return to Earth..

'I know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have,' Collins said in comments released by NASA in 2009.

When Eagle, the lunar modular, touched down on the moon on July 20, 1969, Collins lost communication with both his teammates and NASA on Earth.

Collins remained alone for more than 21 hours until his two colleagues returned in the lunar module and lost contact with mission control in Houston each time the spacecraft circled the dark side of the moon

The line was blocked when his command capsule passed over the 'dark side' of the moon.

'I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life,' he wrote in recreating his thoughts for his 1974 memoir.

Following 48 minutes of dead air, the capsule emerged from the far side of the moon.

'My windows suddenly flash full of sunlight as Columbia swings around into the dawn,' Collins wrote. 'The moon appears quickly, dark, gray and craggy.'

He immediately contacted NASA and learned that the lunar module landed on the surface, as Armstrong had radioed: 'Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.'

However, his mission was just as important - ensuring the team could dock with the Columbia command modular for the return trip home.

Had something gone wrong and Aldrin and Armstrong been stuck on the moon's surface - a real fear - Collins would have returned to Earth alone.

Though he was frequently asked if he regretted not landing on the moon, that was never an option for Collins, at least not on Apollo 11.

Collins' specialty was as a command module pilot, a job he compared to being the basecamp operator on a mountain climbing expedition.

As a result, it meant he was not considered to take part in the July 20, 1969, landing.

Aldrin shared a tweet shortly after news surfaced of Collins' death, and included an image of the three Apollo 11 members smiling together.

'Dear Mike, Wherever you have been or will be, you will always have the Fire to Carry us deftly to new heights and to the future. We will miss you. May you Rest In Peace,' wrote Aldrin, who is now the only living astronaut part of the first lunar landing.

Collins has been referred to as 'The Forgotten Man' during the Apollo 11 lunar landing, as he circled above while Armstrong and Aldrin. Here is Collins in a practice simulator at Kennedy Space Center as he prepared for the lunar mission

Collins (middle) was born in Rome, Italy on October 31, 1930 - the same year as both Neil Armstrong (left) and Buzz Aldrin (right)

Pictured is the Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket that took Collins, Armstrong and Aldrin to space on July 16, 1969

Collins was born in Rome, Italy on October 31, 1930 - the same year as both Armstrong and Aldrin.

As a boy, Collins dreamed of going to space. 'I used to joke that NASA sent me to the wrong place, to the moon,' he said, 'because I think Mars is a more interesting place. It's a place I always read about as a child.'

He was born into a military family, the son of Major General James Lawton Collins, who had been an aide to John J. Pershing, the general of the armies, in Mexico and World War I, was the military attache at the United States Embassy.

Collins was also the nephew of General J. Lawton Collins, who was a Word War II war hero and served as Army chief of staff during the Korean war.

And his older brother, Brigade General James Lawton Collins Jr., led an artillery battalion ashore at Utah Beach on D-Day.

However, unlike the other men in his family, Collins chose a career in the US Air Force where he became a jet fighter pilot.

Following a successful military career, the former pilot was chosen in 1962 to be in the group of astronauts for the Apollo mission to the moon.

Collins flew on Gemini 10 in 1966 and was supposed to be command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first manned flight to circle the moon, but was bumped because of a bone spur in his neck.

'Michael remained a tireless promoter of space. 'Exploration is not a choice, really, it's an imperative Intensely thoughtful about his experience in orbit,' NASA shared in Wednesday's statement

Surgery corrected the problem, and he wound up on Apollo 11, which some may see as a twist of fate.

Collins was astounded when reporters later asked him about being lonely as he circled the moon by himself, especially on the lunar far side, out of radio contact.

'I felt like I was Neil and Buzz's meal ticket home,' he said. 'I was in no way, shape or form lonely.'

Collins left NASA six months after Apollo 11.

He briefly served as assistant secretary of state for public affairs and was founding director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.

Collins (middle) was supposed to be command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first manned flight to circle the moon, but was bumped because of a bone spur in his neck. Surgery corrected the problem, and he wound up on Apollo 11 with Armstrong (left) and Aldrin (right)

'Michael remained a tireless promoter of space. 'Exploration is not a choice, really, it's an imperative,' he said. Intensely thoughtful about his experience in orbit,' Jurczyk shared in Wednesday's statement.

'What would be worth recording is what kind of civilization we Earthlings created and whether or not we ventured out into other parts of the galaxy.'

'His own signature accomplishments, his writings about his experiences, and his leadership of the National Air and Space Museum helped gain wide exposure for the work of all the men and women who have helped our nation push itself to greatness in aviation and space.

'There is no doubt he inspired a new generation of scientists, engineers, test pilots, and astronauts.'

'NASA mourns the loss of this accomplished pilot and astronaut, a friend of all who seek to push the envelope of human potential.

'Whether his work was behind the scenes or on full view, his legacy will always be as one of the leaders who took America's first steps into the cosmos. And his spirit will go with us as we venture toward farther horizons.'

Other than making history, Collins was also a family man. He wed Patricia Finnegan, who was from Florida, on April 28, 1957 and together they had three children: Kate, Michael and Ann

Patricia passed away on April 9, 2014 - the two were married for 57 years. 'My life has changed with the death of my wife, Patricia Mary Finnegan Collins, after fifty-seven years of marriage, Collins wrote in 'Carry the Fire

President Joe Biden shared a statement honoring Collins: Michael Collins lived a life of service to our country. From his time in the Air Force, to his career with NASA, to his service at the State Department, to his leadership of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; Michael Collins both wrote and helped tell the story of our nations remarkable accomplishments in space.'

Collins wanted to share his love for space and the beauty of the final frontier with the world and wrote a book to capture that wonder.

He wrote: 'I have been places and done things you simply would not believe. I feel like saying: I have dangled from a cord a hundred miles up; I have seen the earth eclipsed by the moon, and enjoyed it. I have seen the sun's true light, unfiltered by any planet's atmosphere. I have seen the ultimate black of infinity in a stillness undisturbed by any living thing.

'I do have this secret,' he added, 'this precious thing, that I will always carry with me.'

Along with his autobiography, Collins wrote a book on his experience for younger readers, 'Flying to the Moon: An Astronauts Story.'

In a 1994 preface to the book, Collins urged more spending on space exploration and on an astronaut mission to Mars.

'I am too old to fly to Mars, and I regret that. But I still think I have been very, very lucky,' he wrote. 'I was born in the days of biplanes and Buck Rogers, learned to fly in the early jets, and hit my peak when moon rockets came along. Thats hard to beat.'

Other than making history, Collins was also a family man.

He wed Patricia Finnegan, who was from Florida, on April 28, 1957 and together they had three children: Kate, Michael and Ann.

Patricia passed away on April 9, 2014 - the two were married for 57 years.

'My life has changed with the death of my wife, Patricia Mary Finnegan Collins, after fifty-seven years of marriage, Collins wrote in 'Carry the Fire.

'I miss her dearly and daily. My beautiful and competent daughters, Kate and Ann, help me fill the void. I still live and fish near Florida's Everglades.'
Experts Question Lockdown Logic, Call for New Approach

As Canadians head into the second year of pandemic restrictions and some provinces are increasing lockdown measures to try and minimize hospital overwhelm, some voices in health care and emergency measure administration are calling for a different approach.

Dr. Matt Strauss, a critical care physician in Ontario and assistant professor at Queens Universitys School of Medicine, says lockdowns are unethical and violate the Charter. Moreover, they only cut case numbers over the short term and their effectiveness in preventing mortality remains inconclusive, he told The Epoch Times.

Everyones risk is not the same, Dr. Strauss said. So if I cut down the case rates in healthy 18-year-olds, I probably havent saved any lives. But if I can cut them for 80-year-olds in nursing homes, Ive probably saved lots and lots of lives.

Informed by a growing body of real-world data on lockdowns and similar restrictions on schools and businessesdubbed non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs)Strauss penned an article published in UK newspaper The Spectator in October last year, stating his case against another lockdown.

He argued that mandatory government lockdowns amount to a medical recommendation of no proven benefit, of extraordinary potential harm, that do not take personal values and individual consent into account.

Now, nearly seven months later, Strauss hasnt changed his mind. Peer-reviewed literature has in fact stacked up against lockdown efficacy, like a December 2020 study published in Nature concluding that individual effectiveness of these NPIs cannot be reliably quantified.

Foreseeing Consequences

Strauss says Ontarios pandemic response is causing spikes in other negative social indicators like suicides and domestic violence.

Just because they are unintended [consequences] doesnt mean that they are unforeseeable. A lot of the terrible things we have been seeing could have been predicted, said Strauss.

On top of treating severe COVID-19 infections during the pandemic, he had cared for seniors suffering from neglect amid lockdown measures, including one who was starving to death after their meal deliveries were interrupted.

COVID is real, and it really can kill people. But that doesnt mean the government policy cant make it a hell of a lot worse. And I think that weve been witnessing that, unfortunately.

Strauss says the government now has no excuse for its continued violation of individual rights, done under the auspices of protecting a health-care system that it failed to properly manage.

To me, 14 months into this, and because we didnt appreciably increase ICU capacity  even though this has been predictable and modelled the whole time, yet we still need to cancel your dads funeral and cancel your daughters wedding and not let your child go to school and not let your business open, said Strauss.

For our health-care mismanagers to now say they need to be rewarded for their incompetence by getting the ability to restrict our civil liberties is completely reprehensible.

David Redman, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Canadian Forces and former head of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, has been repeating a similar refrain on lockdowns since April 2020. He has written to premiers across Canada to express his concerns that leaders had scrapped existing pandemic guidelines and decided to ignore all principles of emergency management.

Redman said Albertas response, in particular, was focused only on the first of four basic goals in the provinces existing emergency pandemic plancontrolling the spread of disease and reducing illness and deathwhile ignoring the other three goals. Those three are mitigating societal disruption by ensuring the continuity and recovery of critical services, minimizing adverse economic impact, and supporting an efficient and effective use of resources during response and recovery.

Vaccine Take-Up Key to Lifting Restrictions?

Based on modelling released on April 23, Canadas Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said restrictions could be lifted this summer if by then at least 75 percent of Canadian adults have had their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 20 percent have had their second shot. This is a statement both Redman and Strauss take issue with.

It is not properly within the realm of public health to say how long they will be locking us in our homes. That is not something that unelected public health officials should have the authority to do, said Strauss.

Individuals should be allowed to assess their own personal risk of getting COVID-19 when deciding whether to receive the vaccine, he said, adding, So I think it is rather out of her lane to be making pronouncements like that.

Redman has also been critical of authorities using the vaccine take-up as a criterion for lifting restrictions, as he told a recent panel studying COVID-19 management. While both he and Strauss have had the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, he takes a similar view as Strauss in terms of assessing personal risk and protecting individual consent around vaccines.

The government shouldnt be using [vaccines] as a club to open up the economy when we know we never shouldve closed our economy, Redman told the panel.
Police officers patrol in their car in Los Angeles, Calif., on Nov. 1, 2020. (Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images)

LA Human Trafficking Operation Leads to Recovery of 3 Girls and 11 Arrests

A Los Angeles-based human trafficking and child exploitation task force has rescued three teenagers and arrested nearly a dozen people during a multi-day operation in Pomona, authorities said.

Two females who appeared to be very young were observed as they engaged with vehicles occupied by lone males, the Pomona Police Department said in a news release. Both were contacted by members of the Task Force. One of the females was identified as a fourteen-year-old who had been reported missing; she is six months pregnant. The second female was identified as a sixteen-year-old.

The third victim, a 17-year-old girl, had also been reported as missing, investigators determined. One of the victims told investigators she had worked a prostitute since she was 12.

The victims were all reported as missing from areas outside of Pomona. They have since been turned over to the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

Kristi K. Johnson, the assistant director of the FBI in Los Angeles, said the task force also made 11 arrests in connection to commercial sex trafficking-related crimes, according to the release. The suspects were identified by police as seven females and four males.

Five of the seven females accepted services from victim advocates.

Members of the Los Angeles Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in the San Gabriel Valley conducted the operation last week along the East Holt Avenue corridor in Pomona.

Johnson explained Pomona, a city between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County, is a known tracka term commonly used to describe a location for commercial sex trafficking.

Investigators with the task force said they believe there may be additional victims related to the area officials conducted the operation. They are urging anyone with information to contact the Pomona Police Department at (909) 622-1241 or the FBI.

In Los Angeles County, the FBI can be reached 24 hours a day at 310 477-6565.

From NTD News
A happy car-owner has turned a $24,000 profit by selling his Toyota LandCruiser soon after buying it, indicating how much the market for second-hand cars has boomed.

Cashed-up Australians, instead of heading overseas during the travel ban, have been snapping up large 4WDs so they can explore dirt road tracks and get to remote beaches and mountain ranges.

Second-hand vehicles have been soaring in value due to Covid-related blockages in supply chain, which has delayed the release of many new models, and the LandCruiser has been particularly in demand.

Prices for the Toyota vehicle has surged by 18 per cent for a four-year-old model since the start of the Covid pandemic early last year, Datium Insights data showed.

The top-of-the range Sahara model is highly prized as a global shortage of new cars makes SUVs, large and small, hot property in Australia.

Buyers are willing to pay a $24,000 premium for a used Toyota LandCruiser (pictured) even though an all-new model is coming next year

Dennis Johnson bought his brand new, top of the line Toyota LandCruiser for $136,000, but sold it shortly after driving it out of the dealership for $160,000.

'I listed mine for $160,000 thinking I wouldn't get any bites,' he told News Corp Australia.

'The phone went silly with inquiries I've had people nearly crying on the phone with me, pleading to buy it.

'It's abnormal.'

Another motorist, who did not wish to be named, said he bought two LandCruisers from different dealerships before putting one up for sale well over the original asking price.

Ten interested buyers made competing offers.

Rev heads are seeking V8 LandCruisers amid speculation the next 300 Series model due out in 2022 will instead have a turbo V6.

Ross Booth, the managing director of vehicle valuation website Redbook.com.au, said the surge in demand for used LandCruisers defied the usual trend of buyers shunning a late model until a new model arrived.

'Normally cars go down in price... at the moment some cars are going up in price  some of them substantially,' he said.

'The LandCruiser is a really good example of that.'

But it's not just LandCruisers attracting buyers.

Ford Falcon XR8 models are soaring in value bringing in almost double than when they were brand new several years ago

Toyota's RAV4 Hybrid and GR Yaris continue to be popular.

In other makes and models, Suzuki's Jimny baby SUV and Porsche's limited edition 911 Speedster are also costing more to buy second-hand.

Likewise, the Australian-built Holden Commodore SS and Ford Falcon XR8 are now raking in about $150,000 - more than double the price in 2017 when Australia stopped making cars locally.

The coronavirus crisis has also had a major effect, slowing down production which has added to an increase in demand.

Holden Commodore SS models are raking big dollars as rev-heads look to snap up the dis-continued vehicle

Motorists can expect to pay more for a Suzuki Jimny baby SUV than when it was brand new

But the main factor is a global shortage in semiconductor microchips needed to make modern vehicles.

Taiwan is the world's largest producer of the technology but has struggled to manufacture enough to keep up with global demand.

Computer chip manufacturing requires a significant amount of water and Taiwan has recently been locked in 'critical' drought - the worst in over 50 years.

The shortfall has caused long waiting times for new-car buyers and led motorists to seek out used models.
Over the past day, April 27, the armed formations of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire in the Joint Forces Operation area in eastern Ukraine 11 times.

"In particular, the Russian occupation forces fired 120mm mortars prohibited by the Minsk agreements at Ukrainian positions near Vodiane (94km south of Donetsk); an antitank missile system  outside Opytne (12km north-west of Donetsk); hand-held antitank grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and small arms  near Mayorske (45km north of Donetsk)," the press center of the JFO Headquarters reports.

The invaders also opened fire from easel antitank grenade launchers in the suburbs of Talakivka (17km north-east of Mariupol); automatic easel grenade launchers  near Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk); automatic easel and easel antitank grenade launchers  outside Kamyanka (62km south of Donetsk) and Pavlopil (25km north-west of Mariupol); small arms  near Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol).

One member of the Joint Forces was wounded in the enemy shelling. He was promptly taken to a medical facility. His health condition is satisfactory.

Ukrainian soldiers returned fire in response to the enemy's shelling.

In addition, the JFO Headquarters reminded that on April 27, in the area of responsibility of the operational and tactical group North, a Joint Forces serviceman sustained fatal injuries after a military vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. Three more servicemen received combat injuries. The wounded soldiers were taken to a medical facility and were given medical care. Their condition is satisfactory.

The Ukrainian side of the Joint Control and Coordination Center (JCCC) informed the OSCE SMM about the violations committed by the armed formations of the Russian Federation.

As of 07:00 on April 28, no ceasefire violations were recorded.

ish
If youre looking for a compelling beach read this summer, I recommend the novel 2034, by James Stavridis, a retired admiral, and Elliot Ackerman, a former Marine and intelligence officer. The book is about how China and America go to war in 2034, beginning with a naval battle near Taiwan and with China acting in a tacit alliance with Iran and Russia.

Im not giving it all away to say China and the U.S. end up in a nuclear shootout and incinerate a few of each others cities, and the result is that neutral India becomes the dominant world power. (Hey, its a novel!)

What made the book unnerving, though, was that when Id put it down and pick up the days newspaper Id read much of what it was predicting for 13 years from now:

Iran and China just signed a 25-year cooperation agreement. Vladimir Putin just massed troops on the border of Ukraine while warning the U.S. that anyone who threatens Russia will regret their deeds more than they have regretted anything in a long time. As fleets of Chinese fighter jets, armed with electronic warfare technology, now regularly buzz Taiwan, Chinas top foreign affairs policymaker just declared that the U.S. does not have the qualification  to speak to China from a position of strength.

Yikes, thats life imitating art a little too closely for comfort. Why now?

The answer can be found, in part, in a book I have written about before: Michael Mandelbaums The Rise and Fall of Peace on Earth. It tracks how we went from a world defined by the Cold War between American democracy and Soviet communism  1945 to 1989  to a singularly peaceful quarter century without big power conflict, buttressed by spreading democracy and global economic interdependence  1989 to about 2015  to our current, much more dangerous era in which China, Iran and Russia are each deflecting the pressures of democracy and the need to deliver constant economic growth by offering their people aggressive hypernationalism instead.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28)  The modified enhanced community quarantine status of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal will remain in place for another two weeks, President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Wednesday.

The MECQ declaration in the greater Manila area, also known as NCR Plus, is extended until May 14. Santiago City in Isabela, and the provinces of Quirino and Abra will also remain under MECQ from May 1 to 31, Duterte added.

MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos said there will be some changes to the MECQ for May in terms of businesses allowed to reopen, but border controls in the NCR Plus bubble will remain strict. Metro Manila mayors have recommended a "flexible MECQ," which they believe is the middle ground between MECQ and general community quarantine so more businesses can operate.

RELATED: New curfew hours for Metro Manila to start May 1

The Department of Trade has yet to issue which industries can reopen starting May 1. But Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez earlier pushed for the resumption of personal care services, such as salons and spas, even with an initial 10% capacity.

During the start of MECQ in mid-April, travel was limited to accessing essential goods and for those working in permitted establishments. Businesses that allowed to operate at 50% capacity during ECQ were allowed to fully open, while other sectors such as media establishments, medical clinics, banks, and other specific establishments were allowed to reopen at half capacity.

RELATED: MECQ guidelines in April 2021: What we know so far

Meanwhile, general community quarantine will be imposed on the following areas starting May:

- CAR: Apayao, Baguio City, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province

- Region 2: Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya

- Region 4-A: Batangas, Quezon

- Region 8: Tacloban City

- Region 10: Iligan City

- Region 11: Davao City

- BARMM: Lanao del Sur

The rest of the country will be placed under the more relaxed modified general community quarantine for the entire month of May, but authorities will be giving special attention to high-risk areas in Luzon, Western Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula.

The MECQ status was supposed to end on April 30. NCR Plus eased to MECQ on April 12 after being placed under the strictest enhanced community quarantine for two weeks to ease the congestion in hospitals that stemmed from the fresh surge in COVID-19 cases.

The Department of Health earlier recommended that the MECQ be extended in NCR Plus for a week or two, arguing that while the number of new infections is declining, the COVID-19 bed occupancy rates remain high.

During the early stages of the surge in March, reports on social media showed families of COVID-19 patients from Metro Manila have reached outlying provinces in search of medical attention. Some, meanwhile, were not able to make it inside health facilities even hours after waiting in line to be accommodated.

The Philippines has recently marked grim milestones, including breaching one million cases on April 26 and seeing the deadliest day of the pandemic on April 9, with 401 COVID-19 deaths.

The DOH has so far logged 1,020,495 cases nationwide, of which 17,031 resulted in deaths. Meanwhile, 935,695 have been tagged as recovered.
The U.S. Air Force's principal hunter-killer drone, used for counterterrorism operations for more than a decade, is expanding its sea legs.

The service is finishing up another Agile Reaper exercise with the Navy and Marine Corps this week, during which it has tested how quickly airmen can launch, recover and rearm the MQ-9 Reaper for its next mission, according to officials from the 49th Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.

These exercises are readying crews to use fewer personnel and less equipment at forward-deployed locations as the MQ-9 takes on more maritime missions for the next dynamic conflict, officials said.

Read Next: The Marine Corps Is Known as a Force of Young Warriors. That's About to Change

During the second Agile Reaper exercise, a follow-on from the first held last fall, the Air Force has practiced enhanced maritime surveillance missions and moved toward close-air support strike to back up Marines going ashore, said Col. Ryan Keeney, commander of the 49th Wing. The exercise was conducted out of Naval Air Station Point Mugu and San Clemente Island in California.

Major Tiffany, 29th Attack Squadron assistant director of operations, recovers a MQ-9 Reaper during Exercise Agile Reaper April 21, 2021, on San Clemente Island, California. (U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Kristin Weathersby)

"This time, we also brought our weapons load crews, so both weapons and ammo airmen along with inert [Hellfire missiles], to see, essentially, if an aircraft landed, how quickly could we get it from there, fully rearmed and launch back off again.  So [we were testing], 'Can we have multiple launch and recovery sites that give us options for agility with turning aircraft and getting back airborne?'" he said last week in an interview with Military.com.

A slimmed-down personnel and equipment profile was used at San Clemente, which acted as a remote, forward operating location. C-17 Globemaster IIIs transported personnel and ground station and communications equipment, while pilots at Holloman operated three MQ-9s for the duration of the exercise, Keeney said.

He said he could not disclose the number of personnel involved for operational security reasons.

"[The Reaper] has a lot of game in a ton of other missions that you don't see a whole lot of ... because [it's] so highly requested and in [the Middle East]," Keeney said, adding that Marine Corps operators are also getting a taste of how the MQ-9 fits into their maritime littoral missions in the Pacific.

In October, the Marine Corps established a new military occupational specialty for Reaper operators, signaling a shift as the service takes on its own intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions using a larger drone. While contractors have operated MQ-9s for the service in the past, Marines are currently training alongside airmen at Holloman for the ISR mission.

A group of Marines assigned to the 6th Attack Squadron participated in Agile Reaper this month, said Col. William Donnelly, commander of Marine Aviation Training Support Group 22.

"As the Marine Corps continues to utilize MQ-9s in our mission sets, the training our pilots and sensor operators receive at Holloman is invaluable," he said.

Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger said via Twitter this month that his service will double the number of unmanned squadrons flying the Reaper. "Forward-deployed Marines flying MQ-9 will be the eyes and ears of the Joint Force," he said.

The exercise, which began April 7, comes as another Navy-led drill paired the MQ-9B Sea Guardian with a guided-missile cruiser to track targets well beyond line of sight, referring to relaying signals or communications beyond transmittable range. The exercise, known as Unmanned Integrated Battle Problem 21, was the Navy's first to test how unmanned and manned systems work together.

While the objectives of the two exercises are different, Keeney said they are a testament to being able to integrate the MQ-9 into the joint environment in missions "that we traditionally haven't done."

"This is a new area for us," he said. "But the comments I got back from the Navy were that they were impressed with what they saw, and they want more of it. And the Marines were like, 'This is why we bought [into] the MQ-9.'

"I'm supportive of when we can put the MQ-9 in these other missions and show off our stuff," he added.

-- Gina Harkins contributed to this report.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related: Air Force Tests Ability to Team Up Operators in Different Locations for Single Drone Sortie
[April 28, 2021] Go Beyond. Be Empowered. Wolters Kluwer announces its CCH Tagetik inTouch Online 2021

NEW YORK, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolters Kluwer, a global leader in professional information, software solutions and services, will inspire finance leaders at its landmark CCH Tagetik inTouch Online 2021 event to break the status quo and harness the power of their businesses through transformational automation. The theme 'Go Beyond. Be Empowered.' challenges participants to be active in changing the future by leveraging the innovative tools that will help accelerate their business. Last year's global conference drew more than 2000 global attendees. This year's virtual event will be held on May 19-20, 2021 and will spotlight CCH Tagetik Predictive Intelligence. Participants will experience this groundbreaking artificial intelligence and machine learning solution that extends the award-winning CCH Tagetik corporate performance management platform. With the unique ability to explain its predictions, CCH Tagetik Predictive Intelligence empowers finance leaders with data-driven insights improving the agility, accuracy and transparency of planning. The two-day event will be packed with programming that promises to inspire and educate: Day 1 presents keynote and guest speakers renowned in their field including world renowned economist, Dr. Nouriel Roubini , and digital pioneer and AI specialist, Inma Martinez . Customers and partners will share their own experiences of adopting technology innovations to automate financial processes and enhance decision-making.

, and digital pioneer and AI specialist, . Customers and partners will share their own experiences of adopting technology innovations to automate financial processes and enhance decision-making. Day 2 will focus on educational sessions designed to enhance users' expertise with the latest CCH Tagetik expert solutions. It will be filled with expert-led demonstrations of how to best leverage the latest platform functionality and how to be empowered to increase efficiencies and business value. p>"We are at a now-or-never moment for business to empower day-to-day processes with disruptive and actionable innovation," says Ralf Gartner, Senior Vice President and General Manager, TAA Corporate Performance Solutions, Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting. "The world is changing rapidly, and technology and finance are changing with it. CCH Tagetik Predictive Intelligence will open a new world of opportunities for the Office of Finance, equipping users with unprecedented insights into performance drivers, shining a light to reveal a better future."



This year's online conference is being offered to Wolters Kluwer's user community on a complimentary basis with the support of their partner sponsors including Advant, AKC Advanced Knowledge Consulting, cpm Vision, Delbridge Solutions Inc., EPMVenus, EY Consulting, Finext, Horsa Group, Huron, inlumi, Keyrus, Klee Performance, MeltOne, Nell'Armonia, PKF Munchen IT Solutions GmbH, PwC, RCGT, ReportWise, Satriun B.V., Sofia Consulting, Techedge. Open to CCH Tagetik customers and partners across the Americas, APAC and EMEA time zones, CCH Tagetik inTouch Online 2021 is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to go beyond the status quo, leave outdated legacy systems behind, and be empowered through rethinking financial process architecture. Register here.

About Wolters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare; tax and accounting; governance, risk and compliance; and legal and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technologies and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2020 annual revenues of 4.6 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,200 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY). For more information about our solutions and organization, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Media Contacts: Beatriz Santin

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Robert Erwin got a call from an EMT worker outside the temporary shelter for migrant girls around 11 a.m. April 17. Three buses had arrived.

He called his bosses at the National Association of Christian Churches, which had set up the emergency shelter in northwest Houston, asking if more children were expected. They said no.

With minutes, a chaotic scene unfolded, NACC officials said, with girls crying in panic as they were told to pack up and then moved to buses. On an audiotape supplied by NACC officials, young voices can be heard crying and asking in Spanish what is going on. Erwin, a staff member of NACC who was in charge that Saturday, called around and asked representatives of government agencies working at the facility for an explanation. He said that none was provided as new federal workers moved into the shelter.

It was a chaos for the children; they were scared and crying and screaming.

Jose Ortega, the president of NACC, was notified by a federal department of Health and Human Services email at 12:11 p.m. of the removal, which was already taking place, according to his lawyer Dean Hoover.

HHC officials reiterated an earlier statement that they moved expeditiously to reunite many of the children with family members and move others to other facilities. They refused to comment on questions about whether the transfer was spurred by a dispute with NACC over contract issues. Contractural matters are between the government and vendors, the HHS statement said.

At every step of the way, the entire Administration is working together to reduce the length of time children are in Federal custody by making unifications our top priority, the statement said.

The Houston shelter opened in early April to house around 500 unaccompanied girls ages 13 to 17, who had been transferred from Custom and Border Protection to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services, as required by law. Ortega said he agreed to set up the shelter at the urging of officials at HHS, including Xavier Becerra, head of the agency. Ortegas organization has worked on disaster relief, but did not have previous experience in shelters for children. He said in interviews that HHS officials took control of the shelter, insisting he should hire specific service providers and setting the rules of the shelter. This was just three days before the shelter was to open, he said, and hed already spent hundreds of thousands upfront to set up the facility.

Ortega said he signed a contract for $4 million for the initial costs of setting up the shelter. He said details of a six-month contract were a source of problems between NACC and HHS.

On April 16, he informed HHS that he had hired attorneys to address the financial issues.

The next day, officers arrived at the NACC facility unannounced, according to NACC officials and workers who were there at the time. The federal officials rushed the approximately 450 girls present at the time, by government count, to pack and prepare to move out without providing any explanation.

In the digital recording, young voices are heard crying.

What is happening? one person asks. Another voice responds: We are very afraid; nobody tells us anything Her words are then drowned out by crying.

At least they (could) tell us where we are going (but) nothing, nothing! That's not fair; thats not fair, another girl says.

Another girl is also heard in the background of the audiotape crying and saying, "I just want to be taken to my dad.

Angelica Ortega, one of the NACC directors and wife of Pastor Ortega, said that the organization and her husband were very negatively impacted by the situation. Jose Ortega was hospitalized the next day and put in an ICU unit for several days with health complications, she said.

Both Ortega and his lawyer said they don't blame Becerra or Biden for the situation.

But most of all, we were very concerned about the girls, said Angelica Ortega. They came here, not in the best situation, and we opened our hearts to them. They told us that they felt they were in a safe place with us.

Luis Zayas, dean of the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, said that children in these situations need stability. They need consistency; adults coming and saying, tomorrow we are doing this, to give them a chance to anticipate whats going to happen to them. They have gone through so much! What they need at this point is stability and the agencies must work together to provide that stability.

olivia.tallet@chron.com

Twitter: @oliviaptallet
On Thursday, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted for the second time in less than a year to admit the District of Columbiathe seat of the federal governmentas the 51st state in the United States. House Resolution 51 passed on a party-line vote of 216-208, with every Republican opposed. The bill will now go to the Senate, where Democrats hold narrowest of majorities, thanks to the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.

The District of Columbia, renamed the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, with a population of 700,000, would become the geographically smallest state in the United States, one-eighteenth the size of Rhode Island, although it would have a larger population than the states of Wyoming and Vermont.

House Democrats passed an identical bill of the same name in June of last year. That bill was promoted by the Democratic Party in the weeks following former President Donald Trumps initiation of a presidential coup detat. Following mass protests against the police killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd, Trump summoned the National Guard and threatened military action against the mostly peaceful protesters on the streets of Washington D.C.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Washington D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes-Norton on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The bill was promoted at the time as a means to restrict the presidents ability to deploy the National Guard on the streets of Washington D.C. Because the District is not a state, control of the National Guard rests with the president, not a state governor. The federal occupation of D.C. occurred solely because the president thought he could get away with it here, stated Democratic Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.s sole nonvoting member of Congress and the bills chief sponsor, at the time. The bill was subsequently buried in the Republican-controlled Senate.

This year the procedure, with a Democratic-controlled Senate, is different, but the outcome will be the same. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised a vote, which means in practice that there will be a vote to end a Republican filibuster, which will fail for lack of 60 votes. The Democrats and Republicans each have 50 seats, and 10 Republicans would have to break ranks and vote to create two new Democratic seats in the Senate.

The bills passage in the House, where 216 of the 218 Democratic representatives sponsored it, is thus an empty exercise in political demagogy. The Biden administration published a statement Tuesday declaring it strongly supports D.C. statehood. According to the Washington Post, the bills Senate sponsors are pushing to have a committee hearing on the bill as soon as this spring. But no change in the Districts status will actually take place.

The bills Democratic sponsors have presented the bill as a means of bestowing democracy upon the Districts residents. For more than two centuries, the people in Washington, D.C. have been denied their right to fully participate in our and their democracy, stated Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last Thursday.

She did not bother to note that for most of those two centuries, it was the Democratic Party that led the way in opposing any form of democratic governance in the District, with the House District Committee, under the leadership of a succession of Southern segregationists, operating as a virtual dictatorship over the population of the nations capital.

If adopted, the bill would shrink the District of Columbia to a roughly two-mile area comprising federal buildings and monuments, including the principal federal monuments, the White House, the Capitol Building, the U.S. Supreme Court Building, and the federal executive, legislative, and judicial office buildings located adjacent to the Mall and the Capitol Building. The legislation indicates that the office of the District of Columbias mayor shall issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of the commonwealth for the newly formed state.

Republican congressional leaders have denounced the D.C. statehood plan as a Democratic-led effort to expand their majority in the legislative branch. Pennsylvania Republican Guy Reschenthaler declared the House bill an unconstitutional power grab by Democrats to gain two ultra-progressive D.C Senate seats [and] enforce radical, far-left policies on the American people.

Other congressional Republicans have offered their own, equally cynical alternative to the Democrats posturing, by offering to retrocede nonfederal parts of the city to the neighboring state of Maryland, which originally donated the land to the federal district more than 200 years ago. Such a move would give residents a seat in the House of Representatives, while denying additional Senate seats.

Many Democratic Party representatives have sought to present D.C. statehood in purely racial terms, insisting that Republican hostility to the bill is a desperate effort to insulate the Senate from the citys plurality of African American residents. Several Republican senators have made derogatory statements about the District population that play into those arguments.

In fact, the Democratic Party campaign for statehood has nothing to do with genuinely advancing the democratic rights of the people of the District or defending the social interests of black workers. The Democratic-run city government of Washington D.C. has advanced anti-working class policies and legislation for years with the same zeal of its federal counterparts.

The Democratic Party has presided over a vicious assault on the living standards of the citys population. According to SmartAsset, the District has one of the highest costs of living in the country. Rent for apartments typically eats up nearly half of the citys median income of $87,000.

Homelessness in the District has steadily increased on a yearly basis since 2016. In statements last June, representatives of the citys Interagency Council on Homelessness declared, It would be hard to imagine a scenario that we wont see an increase in homelessness during the pandemic. In a particularly cruel move, the Bowser government announced plans to cut city grants to programs assisting the homeless population last year.

The city government has likewise deprived inmates in the Washington D.C. jail of their basic due process rights during the pandemic and has subjected the prison population to vast health and physical abuses.

As for the statehood proponents claims that a Douglass Commonwealth would defend the population against the deployment of militarized police forces, a lawsuit filed last year against the Metropolitan Police Department alleged the police force, under the control of the local Democratic administration of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, attacked peaceful demonstrators, including children, alongside federal military forces.

Last fall, Bowser and the Trump administration clashed after the mayor issued antidemocratic demands that the federal government jail protest ers on specious legal grounds. So naked were the authoritarian demands that the Trump administrations acting District Attorney for Washington D.C. Michael Sherwin admonished Bowsers office, stating, without some evidence to establish probable cause of a particular arrestees criminal conducte.g., a police officers observation or video footage of the alleged crimewe cannot bring federal charges.

In between their breathless proclamations of defending democracy and the sanctity of the vote, Democrats have likewise sought to bury the evidence of the Trump administration and congressional Republicans state and military plots to overturn the November election of Joe Biden through the assault on Congress during the January 6 Electoral College vote.
Supreme Court weighs if California can force nonprofits to disclose private donor information NAACP, conservative groups call for regulation to be stuck down

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Oral arguments were held before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday on whether Americans will remain free to give to nonprofit organizations privately and without the fear that nonprofits will be forced to disclose private donor information.

The decision will determine if charities in California will be forced to disclose the names of donors to state regulators, a regulation opposed by both liberal and conservative groups.

Since March 2012, Californias attorney general has harassed Thomas More Law Center, ordering the center to release confidential donor information, such as the names and addresses of major donors.

California is one of four states that require nonprofits to submit a copy of their Schedule B tax form, which provides names and addresses of those who donated more than $5,000 to their causes. Supporters of such measures contend that striking them down could lead to a proliferation of dark money in American politics.

According to the Thomas More Law Center, a Michigan-based conservative legal nonprofit that defends religious freedom, family values and sanctity of life, forcing organizations to reveal their donors threatens an individuals freedom of association.

Around 5% of Thomas Mores donors are California residents, and the center has operated cohesively with Californias attorney general for years until the attorney general began to demand the center turn over confidential donor information.

California demanded the names and addresses of the centers major donors, even though a trial showed the California Attorney Generals Office had no compelling need for confidential donor information and is known for leaking information.

John Bursch, senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy at Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, represented Thomas More Law Center before the Supreme Court on Monday.

Every American should be free to peacefully support causes they believe in without fear of harassment or intimidation, Bursch said in a statement. Public advocacy is for everyone, not just those able to weather abuse. Forced donor disclosure is a threat to everyone and discourages both charitable giving and participation in the marketplace of ideas.

The state, however, has argued that regulation to disclose donor information is necessary to enforce charitable fraud laws.

But Bursch stated in a piece published by The Hill that Californias Attorney Generals Office has a history of leaking confidential documents and has published private data online in the past, leaving confidential data easily exposed and vulnerable to internet hackers.

Given Californias careless handling of private information, its demand for donor data threatens to decrease charitable giving, particularly to charities that work on sensitive issues, Bursch wrote.

Thats why organizations  have filed briefs that agree with my employer [Alliance Defending Freedom]s merits brief on behalf of the Law Center, urging the court to strike down Californias dangerous regulation.

Twenty-two states and several organizations have submitted over 40 friend-of-the-court briefs to the Supreme Court to support ADFs argument that Americans should remain free to support nonprofit organizations and causes without fear, harassment or threats.

As sister states with virtually indistinguishable law-enforcement and anti-fraud interests, our collective experience is uniform and unequivocal: we dont need this sort of compelled collection of donor information for legitimate law enforcement purposes, and its stockpiling is unlikely to lead to any outcome other than mischief and chilling of speech, the brief filed by 22 states stated.

Those who submitted briefs in favor of ADFs position include groups across the ideological spectrum who all share the concern that the forced disclosure of private donors could threaten free speech.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Cato Institute and ChinaAid all filed friend-of-the-court briefs to support the ADF-represented case for Thomas Moore Law Center.

An ADF statement said Supreme Court justices were sympathetic to the law centers and Americans for Prosperity Foundations positions presented in oral arguments.

The justices carefully listened to the arguments, and we hope the court will decide in favor of the First Amendments promise of the freedom to associate with like-minded groups, which includes the right to citizen privacy, Bursch said.

Justice Clarence Thomas cited how the government used confidential census data to locate Japanese citizens during World War II for internment. He expressed concern that in todays culture, the disclosure of confidential information could be used to loosely label people as racist or white supremacist based on their once-private giving information.

Bursch also expressed concern that the forced disclosure of nonprofit donors could lead to cancel culture.

Potential givers to charities have good reason to fear being doxed  that is, having their public information spread for malicious purposes, Bursch said. Too many are quick to ostracize, lambast, and threaten people who they disagree with politically or morally. This tendency  often described as cancel culture  shouldnt be codified or aided by the force of law.

Justice Neil Gorsuch showed concern that ruling for California could lead to the government mandating the disclosure of even more personal information from citizens, such as Christmas card lists or dating history.

Justice Stephen Breyer raised a question about how a ruling against California might impact campaign finance rules.

If you win in this case, it will have been because the interest of the donors in maintaining privacy of their giving to a charity outweighs the interest of the state in having a law on the books that even if it never is actually enforced frightens people into behaving properly, Breyer argued.

But if we hold that, can we distinguish campaign finance laws where the interest is even stronger in people being able to give anonymously?

While the Trump administration filed a brief opposing the California policy last year, the federal governments position on the case has changed under the Biden administration, which is calling for the court to send the case back to a lower court.

Because the court of appeals analysis was incomplete, a remand is appropriate to allow the court to reassess the burden that Californias disclosure requirement places on the associational rights petitioners assert, a brief led by Acting Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar states. The court could then determine whether the disclosure requirement satisfies exacting scrutiny as applied to petitioners, in light of the principles set forth above.
Top trends include a value over price, the emergence of a new planning process and the rise of the 'second city' Tweet this

US travelers are spending less, with the average fare purchased coming in at 21% less than it did pre-pandemic.

US travelers are choosing to "upgrade" their travel, opting for fares on average 20% more expensive than the lowest shown to them for their route, suggesting they are selecting fares with added extras such as flexibility or higher green or covid safety credentials.

When asked which factors would make them pay for a more expensive flight over a cheaper one, 27% said they wanted to upgrade/splurge on their fare, and 28% said they'd pay more for flexible travel.

Mark Crossey, US Travel Expert at Skyscanner:

"There has been a real shift in the importance of price and value for US travelers. They are spending - on average - less per fare in 2021 than they did pre-pandemic, due to lower prices and a shift to domestic and short-haul travel. However, they are getting more out of each fare by generally 'upgrading' from the cheapest option, prioritizing a direct route, flexible fare, a preferred airline or airport of choice over the lowest price. In short, they are spending less and getting more for their money, and we expect this to continue into 2021 as travel providers compete for bookings."

INCREASING CONFIDENCE IN PLANNING TRAVEL

The average booking horizon for US travelers looking for travel in Summer 2021 is 64 days, much closer to pre-pandemic than 2020, suggesting increasing confidence.

The most popular summer months for US travelers are May and June in line with the booking horizon.

In fact, more travelers are looking at trips in May and June than in 2019, with keen vacationers reacting to positivity with the US vaccine rollout.

57% of survey participants said that they were planning a trip over 14 days in length and 56% said they were doing so because they wanted an extended vacation

29% of survey participants said they will use their next trip to go somewhere they are allowed to travel to (e.g. within the travel corridor).

Mark Crossey, US Travel Expert at Skyscanner:

"Where the pandemic drove people to wait and book their travel very close to their departure date due to uncertainty, we are now seeing this regulate and trend towards a more 'normal' timeframe. This is a great display of confidence that travel will return as people once again feel more comfortable enough to plan ahead. This confidence is being driven by a mixture of factors, including the massive efforts being made by carriers to make booking a flexible trip easier and assurances on protected fares."

Global Traveler Rights Expert, Martin Nolan commented:

"Travellers will remain engaged with the changing global travel regulations, as they have been since the start of the pandemic. We will see destinations rise and fall in popularity depending on how easy and affordable they are to reach via corridors, and when testing and quarantine is minimal. We expect that as we see more travel become possible, keen vacationers will embrace new protocols for travel as they have done in the past, such as carrying digital health information."

More than half of US survey participants (54%), surveyed by Skyscanner in conjunction with OnePoll stated they would be happy to carry digital health information if it allowed them to travel.

The most popular deterrent for survey participants when considering travel in 2021 was the need to quarantine in any way.

WHERE'S 'HOT'?

Mark Crossey, US Travel Expert at Skyscanner:

"Our data for 2021 shows that 'the rise of the second-city' is going to be a key theme of summer travel. The destinations that were popular before the pandemic because they had a solid infrastructure for tourism, but not so popular to be perceived as 'busy', are taking a larger portion of the searches and bookings. This trend has been noted by carriers and vacationers alike, with new airlines emerging to serve smaller routes in the domestic US, and airlines moving capacity to support increased travel to domestic hotspots like Martha's Vineyard, Jackson Hole and Nantucket."

30% of survey participants said for their next vacation they would be looking to avoid cities/crowds (e.g. the destination makes it easier to social distance).

Top family destinations in 2019 Vs 2021

2019 2021 1 Orlando Orlando 2 Manila Cairo 3 Istanbul Tampa 4 Tampa Chennai 5 Cairo Hyderabad 6 New Delhi Guadalajara 7 Guadalajara Myrtle Beach 8 Warsaw Fort Myers 9 Cebu Casablanca 10 Mumbai Tirana

Top destinations for couples in 2019 Vs 2021

2019 2021 1 Las Vegas Las Vegas 2 Kahului Kahului 3 Punta Cana San Jose Cabo 4 Venice Montego Bay 5 Montego Bay Anchorage 6 Edinburgh Kauai Island Lihue 7 Anchorage Key West 8 Santorini (Thira) Kona 9 Florence Maldives 10 Oranjestad Santorini (Thira)

Top group travel destinations in 2019 Vs 2021

2019 2021 1 Orlando Cancun 2 Manila Las Vegas 3 Istanbul Orlando 4 Tampa Kahului 5 Cairo Tampa 6 New Delhi Puerto Vallarta 7 Guadalajara Kona 8 Warsaw Myrtle Beach 9 Cebu Fort Myers 10 Mumbai Bozeman

Trending destinations for US travelers 1 Cairo 2 Istanbul 3 San Juan 4 Cancun 5 Lisbon 6 Frankfurt 7 Denver 8 Kahului 9 Seoul 10 Miami

Skyscanner advises travelers to follow safety protocols and government guidelines when traveling. Skyscanner offers dedicated advice pages to support travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic , flexible booking policy filters for flights and hotels for last minute changes, and airline hygiene safety and hotel cleanliness ratings , to help travelers stay up to date with the latest details and to ensure they have peace of mind when it's time to travel and safe to do so. Skyscanner also allows travelers to set up price alerts , so they're shown when there is a deal available on their chosen route.

Note to end on the work being done by Skyscanner to lead the return to modern sustainable travel.

Notes to editors

Analysis period is March 2021 compared to March 2019 for travel between June and October in the corresponding years, unless otherwise stated.

You can direct-download the global report via this link: https://www.partners.skyscanner.net/cs/c/?cta_guid=380b2526-0e8f-4281-95c0-c94b228a4d1b&si[]19537740205&__hsfp=4221149029&contentType=standard-page

About Skyscanner

Founded in 2003, Skyscanner is a leading travel marketplace dedicated to putting travellers first. Skyscanner helps millions of people in 52 countries and over 30 languages find the best travel options for flights, hotels and car hire every month. Skyscanner is available on desktop, mobile web and its highly rated app has 100 million downloads. Working with 1200 travel partners, Skyscanner's mission is to lead the global transformation to modern and sustainable travel.

SOURCE Skyscanner

Related Links

http://skyscanner.net


Shares in Google parent Alphabet leapt higher after the tech giant's profits more than doubled to 143million per day.

The company's internet advertising sales have rocketed as the pandemic drives more people towards online services.

That helped Google's revenues, mostly from advertising, to rise from 29.6billion to 39.7billion in the first three months of this year, with profits surging up from 4.9billion to 12.9billion.

Google's internet advertising sales have rocketed as the pandemic drives more people towards online services

It beat forecasts by Wall Street analysts, who had predicted revenues of 30.5billion. Google's shares surged as much as 6 per cent higher yesterday.

Technology rival Apple was also set to unveil massive earnings for the same period, boosted by strong demand for the company's gadgets.

The iPhone maker was expected to post second-quarter sales of 55.6billion, up by a third, and profits of 12billion, a rise of almost half.

Tech giants have emerged as the major winners from the pandemic, as lockdown restrictions have pushed families and businesses to rely more heavily on digital devices and services at home.

For Google, that translated into an extra 7.8billion worth of ad sales during the first quarter as businesses followed consumers online, including on its video streaming platform, Youtube.

Sales at its cloud computing division, which provides data storage and website hosting, rose by 913million.

The social networking giant Facebook, which also makes most of its money from ads, is thought to have increased sales by one-third.

Sundar Pichai, Google owner Alphabet's boss, said: 'Over the last year, people have turned to google search and many online services to stay informed, connected and entertained.

'We have continued our focus on delivering trusted services to help people around the world.'

He added: 'Our cloud services are helping businesses, big and small, accelerate their digital transformations.'

The results are also being seen as a sign that Google services such as search and Youtube may hold on to the gains that they have made during the pandemic.

Some 17 per cent of people in the US, which is the company's biggest market, had been given Covid-19 vaccines by the end of the first quarter, and in-person dining resumed in many cities last month.

Philipp Schindler, who is Google's chief business officer, said that consumers 'are spending more time online. They're buying more online.'

However, Alphabet finance chief Ruth Porat warned that it was still not certain that the acceleration of the shift to digital would last.

'It's too early to forecast the extent to which these changes in consumer behaviour and advertising spend will endure,' she told analysts.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

The foreign ministers of Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka have agreed upon distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in accordance with the "principle of equity and justice"

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2021 ) :The foreign ministers of Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka have agreed upon distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in accordance with the "principle of equity and justice".

Terming the vaccine as "key weapon to defeat COVID-19", the foreign ministers expressed that "vaccine nationalism" would hinder the global efforts to defeat the pandemic and underscored the need to avoid the "immunity gap".

In a joint statement issued on Wednesday by the Foreign Office, the foreign ministers held a video conference on joint response to COVID-19, and exchanged views on international and regional cooperation on pandemic response and post-COVID economic recovery.

Foreign Ministers noted with satisfaction the concerted and productive efforts made by their countries since the start of COVID-19 to combat the virus and promote economic recovery in the spirit of overcoming challenges through cooperation and mutual assistance.

Foreign Ministers pointed out that COVID-19 was a common enemy of humankind, and that countries should step up solidarity and cooperation to win the final victory over it.

China expressed its readiness to provide continued medical supplies and technical assistance to participating countries to the best of its ability. Chinese initiative was appreciated. Foreign Ministers reiterated their firm support to WHO's due role in the global cooperation against COVID-19 and acknowledged that tracing the origin of the virus is a matter of science and a global mission.

Foreign Ministers expressed opposition to politicizing the issue and vowed that the participating countries would strengthen cooperation to track COVID-19 mutation closely.

They appreciated China's efforts in addressing this challenge. China would act on President Xi Jinping's important statement on making the vaccines a global public good, and carry out continued vaccine cooperation with the participating countries in a flexible manner, including co-production of COVID-19 vaccines.

They also recognized the serious impact of COVID-19 on the global economy and its complex implications for the sustainable development of all countries.

Foreign Ministers agreed to deepen Belt and Road cooperation, open their borders under the premise of pandemic prevention and control for smooth trade, keep the industrial and supply chains stable and secure, and give a stronger boost to economic recovery and the improvement of people's lives.

China agreed to support the participating countries to overcome the impact of COVID-19 on their economies through enhanced level of economic cooperation and collaboration.

Foreign Ministers stressed the importance to strengthen cooperation in poverty reduction, food security and other non-traditional security fields to protect the livelihood of people with special attention to the most vulnerable groups.

To facilitate personnel exchanges against the backdrop of COVID-19, they agreed to discuss the possibility of mutual recognition of digital "health codes".

To push forward practical cooperation in relevant fields, China announced its decision to establish a China-South Asian Countries Emergency Supplies Reserve, set up a China-South Asian Countries Poverty Alleviation and Cooperative Development Center, and hold a China-South Asian Countries E-commerce Cooperation Forum on Poverty Alleviation in Rural Areas.

The other participating countries expressed support. The Foreign Ministers agreed to make these mechanisms inclusive, transparent, sustainable and demand-driven.

Foreign Ministers agreed to closely follow the development of COVID-19 situation in India, and expressed their willingness to provide needed support through respective channels in consultation with India.

They agreed to maintain the momentum of cooperation among the six countries, hold consultations at the Foreign Minister, Vice Foreign Minister/Secretary and Director General levels, expand cooperation areas and lend impetus to future cooperation.

In addition, in a spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, the six countries welcomed active participation of other countries in the region.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has established for the majority of enterprises with a state share the basic norm of dividend payment from profit based on the results of economic activity in 2020 at the level of 50%.

The corresponding resolution was adopted at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on April 28.

Thus, the government, in particular, increased the rate of payment for PrJSC Ukrhydroenergo - in the previous draft resolution, withdrawn from consideration at a meeting on April 21, at the request of Minister of Economy Ihor Petrashko, who referred to the need for its revision, it was envisaged to establish the rate for the generating company at the level of 30%.

At the same time, according to the explanatory note to the document, the amount of dividends for Oschadbank is set at 30%, PrivatBank - 80%, Naftogaz - 95%, as envisaged by the previous resolution.

At the same time, the draft resolution posted on the website of the Ministry of Economy in February proposed a dividend rate for PrivatBank at the level of 75%.

The explanatory note states that the receipt of dividends from public sector enterprises for 2020 is expected to reach UAH 23.2 billion excluding dividends from Naftogaz, based on the loss of UAH 11.8 billion provided for in the financial plan for 2020.

As reported, the consolidated net loss of Naftogaz Ukrainy for 2020 amounted to UAH 19.002 billion compared to a net profit of UAH 63.294 billion in 2019 under the influence of low demand and gas prices, as well as due to reserves of doubtful debts.

PrJSC Ukrhydroenergo in 2020 increased its net profit by 28.4% (by UAH 914.348 million) compared to 2019, to UAH 4.137 billion.
An enraged Boris Johnson traded blows with Keir Starmer today after the elections watchdog launched a formal probe into whether 'offences' have been committed in the Downing Street flat row.

They also clashed over the disputed claims that Mr Johnson said he would rather see 'bodies pile up' than trigger another lockdown last Autumn.

Here are the exchanges in full:

ROUND ONE

Sir Keir Starmer: Mr Speaker, it was reported this week including in the Daily Mail, the BBC and ITV, backed up by numerous sources that at the end of October the Prime Minister said he would rather have, and I quote, bodies pile high than implement another lockdown.

Can the Prime Minister tell the House categorically, yes or no, did he make those remarks or remarks to that effect?

Boris Johnson: No, Mr Speaker, and I think the right honourable gentleman is a lawyer I am given to understand and I think if he is going to repeat allegations like that he should come to this House and substantiate those allegations and say where he heard them and who exactly is supposed to have said those.

Boris Johnson traded blows with Keir Starmer today after the elections watchdog launched a formal probe into whether 'offences' have been committed in the Downing Street flat row

Who exactly is supposed to have said those things Mr Speaker? Because what I certainly can tell him, he asks about the October decisions, they were very bitter, very difficult, decisions as they would be for any prime minister, Mr Speaker, because no one wants to put this country into lockdown with all the consequences that means for loss of education, for the damage to peoples live chances to the huge medical backlog that it entails.

But it was thanks to that lockdown, the tough decisions that we took, thanks to the heroic efforts of the British people that we have got through to this stage in the pandemic where we find ourselves rolling out our vaccine where we have done 50 per cent of the population, 25 per cent of the adult population have now had two doses, Mr Speaker.

Lockdowns are miserable. Lockdowns are appalling things to have to do. But I have to say that I believe we had absolutely no choice.

ROUND TWO

Sir Keir Starmer: Well, somebody here isnt telling the truth. The House will have heard the Prime Ministers answer and I remind him the ministerial code says and I quote ministers who knowingly mislead parliament will be expected to offer their resignation.

I will leave it there for now. Turning to another issue, there will be further on this, believe you me, who initially and Prime Minister, initially is the key word here, who initially paid for the redecoration of his Downing Street flat?

Boris Johnson: Mr Speaker, when it comes to misleading parliament you may recollect it was only a few weeks ago that he said he didnt oppose this Government, this country, leaving the European Medicines Agency, a fact that he was then forced to retract, and leaving the European medicines Agency was absolutely invaluable for our vaccine rollout.

Actually it was just last week that he said that James Dyson was a personal friend of mine, a fact that James Dyson has corrected in the newspaper this morning.

As for the latest stuff that he is bringing up he should know that I paid for Downing Street refurbishment personally, Mr Speaker, and any further declaration that I have to make, if any, I will be advised upon by Lord Geidt.

But he talks about housing costs, Mr Speaker, the people of this country can make their own decision in just eight days time because on average Labour councils charge you 93 more in Band D than Conservative councils and Liberal Democrat councils charge you 120 more.

That I think is the issue upon which the British people would like him to focus.

ROUND THREE

Sir Keir Starmer: Mr Speaker, normally when people don't want to incriminate themselves they go no comment.

Let me ask this. Lets explore this a bit further, Prime Minister. Lets ask it a different way.

This is the initial invoice, Prime Minister, either the taxpayer paid the initial invoice or it was the Conservative Party or it was a private donor or it was the Prime Minister.

So I am making it easy for the Prime Minister, it is now multiple choice. There are only four options. It should be easier than finding the chatty rat, Mr Speaker.

So I ask the Prime Minister again, who paid the initial invoice for the redecoration of the Prime Ministers flat. The initial invoice.

Boris Johnson: I have given him the answer and the answer is I have covered the costs and I think most people will find it absolutely bizarre, and of course there is an Electoral Commission investigating this, and I can tell him that I conformed in full with the code of conduct, with the ministerial code, and officials have been advising me throughout this whole thing.

Sir Keir repeatedly demanded to know who originally paid for the No11 refurbishment

But I think people would think it absolutely bizarre that he is focusing on this issue when what people want to know is what plans a Labour government might have to improve the life of people in this country.

And let me tell you, he talks about housing again, we are helping people, I would rather not spend taxpayers money by the way like the last Labour government which spent 500,000 of taxpayers money on the Downing Street flat, yes, they did, I would much rather help people get on the property ladder and it is this Conservative government that has built 244,000 homes in the last year which is a record over 30 years.

This is a government that gets on with delivering on the peoples priorities while he continually raises I think issues that most people would find irrelevant to their concerns.

ROUND FOUR

Sir Keir Starmer: Mr Speaker, he talks of priorities, what is he spending his time doing? This is a Prime Minister who during the pandemic was nipping out of meetings to choose wallpaper at 840 a roll.

Last week, just last week, he spent his time phoning journalists to moan about his old friend Dominic Cummings and he is telling the civil service to find out who paid for the redecoration of his flat.

The Cabinet Secretary has been asked to investigate who paid for the refurbishments in the flat. Why doesnt the Prime Minister just tell him? That would be the end of the investigation.

Mr Speaker, it has been widely reported that Lord Brownlow who just happens to have been given a peerage by the Conservative Party was asked to donate 58,000 to help repay for the cost of this refurbishment.

Can the Prime Minister, if he is so keen to answer, confirm, did Lord Brownlow make that payment for that purpose?

Boris Johnson: Mr Speaker, I think I have answered this question several times and the answer is that I have covered the costs, I have met the requirements that I have been advised to meet in full, and when it comes to the taxpayer and the cost of Number 10 Downing Street, it was the previous Labour government, I think Tony Blair racked up a bill of 350,000 and I think what the people of this country want to see if minimising taxpayer expense, they want to see a government that is focused on their needs and delivering more homes for the people of this country and cutting council tax which is what we are doing.

It is on that basis that I think people are going to judge our parties on May 6.

ROUND FIVE

Sir Keir Starmer: Answer the question. That is what the public scream at their televisions every PMQs. Answer the question. The Prime Minister hasnt answered the question. He knows he hasnt answered the question. He never answers the question.

The Prime Minister will be aware that he is required to declare any benefits that relate to his political activities, including loans or credit arrangements, within 28 days.

He will also know that any donation must be recorded in the register for ministers interests and that under the law any donation of over 500 to a political party must be registered and declared.

So the rules are very clear. The Electoral Commission now think that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred.

That is incredibly serious. Can the Prime Minister tell the House, does he believe that any rules or laws have been broken in relation to the refurbishment of the Prime Ministers flat?

Boris Johnson: No, I dont, Mr Speaker. What I believe has been strained to breaking point is the credulity of the public and he has half an hour every week to put serious and sensible questions to me about the state of the pandemic, about the vaccine rollout, about what we are doing to support our NHS, about what we are doing to fight crime, about what we are doing to bounce back from this pandemic, about the economic recovery, about jobs for the people of this country, and he goes on and on, Mr Speaker, about wallpaper when as I have told him umpteen times now, I paid for it.

ROUND SIX

Sir Keir Starmer: Mr Speaker, can I remind the Prime Minister of the Nolan Principles which are meant to govern the behaviour of those in public office.

They are these: Selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

Instead, what do we get from this Prime Minister and this Conservative Government? Dodgy contracts, jobs for their mates and cash for access and who is at the heart of it? The Prime Minister. Major sleaze sitting there.

Mr Speaker, meanwhile, he talks about priorities, crime is going up, NHS waiting lists are at record levels and millions of people are worried about their jobs including Liberty Steel.

Boris Johnson (left) today flatly denied that he had suggested he would rather 'let bodies pile up' than trigger another lockdown last Autumn during brutal PMQs clashes with Keir Starmer (right)

Mr Speaker, dont the British people deserve a prime minister they can trust and a government that isnt mired in sleaze, cronyism and scandal?

Boris Johnson: Mr Speaker, last week he came to this chamber and he attacked me for talking to James Dyson about ventilators when we are now sending ventilators to help the people of India and the following day, Mr Speaker, the Labour frontbench said that any prime minister in my position would have done exactly the same thing.

Was it only a few months ago that they were actually attacking Kate Bingham, saying she was a crony, when she helped to set up the vaccine taskforce and delivered millions of vaccines for the people of this country, helping us to get out of the pandemic.

This is a government that is getting on with delivering on the peoples priorities.

We are rolling out many more nurses, 10,000 more nurses in the NHS now than there were this time last year, 8,771 more police officers on our streets now than there were when I was elected, including tougher sentences, Mr Speaker, for serious sexual and violent criminals which he opposed, Mr Speaker.

And by the way, I forgot to mention it, last night our friends in the European Union voted to approve our Brexit deal which he opposed and which enables us not just to take back control of our borders, Mr Speaker, but to deliver freedom, which it does, which he fervently opposed, enabling us amongst other things to deal with such threats as the European Super League, Mr Speaker, but it enabled us to deliver free ports in places like Teesside and above all taking back control of our country has allowed us to deliver the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, as he well knows, which would not have been possible if we had stayed in the European Medicines Agency which he voted for.

Mr Speaker, week after week the people of this country can see the difference between a Labour Party that twists and turns with the wind, that thinks of nothing except playing political games, whereas this party gets on with delivering on the peoples priorities and I hope that people will vote Conservative on May 6.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 28, 2021 - 11:15 | Japan, All

Japan's parliament approved Wednesday the world's largest free trade deal, signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries including China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, raising the possibility for the pact to enter into force later this year.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will create a free trade zone covering about 30 percent of the world's gross domestic product, trade and population. It will be Japan's first trade deal involving both China and South Korea -- its largest and third biggest trade partners.

The pact, signed by the 15 countries last November, will come into effect 60 days after it is ratified by six of the ASEAN members and three of the other countries. As of Wednesday, Singapore and China have completed procedures for ratification.

The deal will eliminate tariffs on 91 percent of goods and introduces common rules on investment and intellectual property to promote free trade.

The government expects the trade accord will boost Japan's GDP by 2.7 percent and create 570,000 jobs.

RCEP groups the 10 ASEAN members -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- plus Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

India was one of the founding members but skipped all negotiations from November 2019 due to concern that its trade deficit with China would grow.

Related coverage:

Singapore becomes 1st country to ratify RCEP deal

China OKs world's largest free trade deal including Japan, ASEAN

Asia-Pacific nations sign world's biggest trade deal
Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine discussed advocacy plan of the Crimean Platform with the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC), First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar said.

"Discussed Crimea Platform advocacy plan with UW Congress. I am confident that public organizations & leadership of Ukrainian Diaspora will play a significant role in this process. Thus, we will be extremely grateful for the support of our efforts by the Ukrainian World Congress," Dzheppar wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

As reported, on February 26, 2020, Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree on the creation of an organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the constituent summit of the Crimean Platform in Ukraine on August 23, 2021.

Later it became known that Ukraine was developing the Crimean Platform as a key foreign policy instrument for consolidating international efforts aimed at the de-occupation of Crimea, as well as protecting the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens.
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has launched a Parkland Restoration Fund (PRF) as part of ongoing efforts to ensure the Shea industry continues to play its integral part in the lives of the people in the Northern Savannah landscape of Ghana.



The PRF is expected to raise $65.5 million from public and private sources to implement the Action for Shea Parklands  an initiative to plant 10 million shea trees and protect 4 million hectares of shea parklands.



The Government of Ghana has already committed $15 million as part of the $54.5 million Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reduction Project, which is aimed at restoring degraded shea parklands and improving existing stock of economic and multi-purpose trees in the Northern Savannah landscape of Ghana.



The Project, to be implemented over a 7-year period by the Forestry Commission with the support of private sector actors from the Global Shea Alliance and UNDP, is receiving a $30.1 million grant from the Green Climate Fund with the Global Shea Alliance also providing $9.1 million in co-financing.



Performing the virtual launch as part of a keynote address at the 2021 International Shea Conference on Tuesday, April 27 Vice President Bawumia challenged the Forestry Commission to see this project as a strategic investment to stop shea parkland destruction and empower communities and their ecosystems to build climate and economic resilience.



Recalling the very important economic and cultural roles played by the shea tree in the lives of the people of Africa and the world, particularly in the Northern part of Ghana, Vice President Bawumia bemoaned the fact that Ghanas shea exports currently enter the global supply chain at the bottom with low market value and therefore low income for the primary producers, and outlined ongoing efforts to turn this around.



As part of efforts to transform Ghanas Agricultural Sector to one where value is added to the raw produce and the value chain is mined to the maximum, there have been several initiatives targeted specifically at the Shea industry.



I am happy to mention that one such important initiative was the launch of the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) in September last year, which is backed by an Act of Parliament (Act 1010). We count on the support of the Global Shea Alliance to serve as a strategic partner to Ghanas new Tree Crops Development Authority for deep stakeholder engagement that will increase knowledge sharing, research and development, and market access.



Dr Bawumia also expressed worry about the cutting down of Shea trees, which could have an impact on global warming.



I am informed by industry experts that Shea is a big sequester of carbon; saving the ecosystem in the environment where they grow. Despite this important role, it is sad to see trees cut down for various reasons such as charcoal for household fuel. Shea trees take at least 20 years to mature.



Cutting down one tree means many years lost. I am charging the Global Shea Alliance to continue to engage stakeholders including Tree Crops Development Authority, local chiefs, landowners, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Forestry Commission, and other international agencies to take actionable steps to stop this menace.



The Global Shea Alliance, a non-profit industry association, has 700 members across in 36 countries who contribute, since its establishment 10 years ago, to sustaining the shea industry.

Source: Office of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia









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Featured Video
Tina Fey doesn't want to go to Earth in a new teaser trailer for Disney and Pixar's upcoming animated short 22 vs. Earth.

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22 vs. Earth is set before the events of Soul, and is coming to Disney+ on Friday.

Fey's 22 assembles five other younger souls inside of a classroom and tries to convince them not to go to Earth, which she refers to as a dumb planet. She names the group The Apocalypse, a name that receives a stunned silence.

Richard Ayoade and Alice Braga also provide voices. Kevin Nolting directs with Lourdes Marquez Alba as producer.

"22 refuses to go to Earth, enlisting a gang of 5 other new souls in her attempt at rebellion. However, as her cohorts' activities lead to unexpected results, 22's subversive plot may actually lead to a surprising revelation about the meaning of life," reads the synopsis.
New Delhi, April 28 : The Delhi High Court has taken a strong view of the way the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president, Narinder Batra, tried to take a stay on a complaint filed by Karate Association of India (KAI) general secretary Ambedkar Gupta against the incumbent before the IOAs Ethics Commission.

The court also took strong exception to the way Batra appointed the chairman of the IOA's Ethics Commission -- a retired Chief Justice of a High Court -- party in the case in his personal capacity.

The High Court, in its order dated April 27, directed Batra to deposit Rs.50,000 with the Court's Legal Service Committee as "costs".

The issue dates back to June last year when Batra reportedly threatened to throw "karate out of India" after a difference of opinion surfaced between Gupta and KAI president Likha Tara.

Gupta had at the time said that Batra called him and "threatened to throw karate out of India". The KAI general secretary then filed a complaint with the IOA's Ethics Commission, against which Batra went to the Delhi High Court.

The High Court has fixed June 1 as the date for Gupta to file a petition in the trial court.

"In light of the conduct of respondent No. 1 [Batra and his advocates] in filing the suit in its present form, which has necessitated the present petition, this is a fit case for imposition of costs upon him. Respondent No. 1 is directed to deposit costs of Rs. 50,000 with the Delhi High Court Legal Service Committee," read the order.
[April 28, 2021] CAS launches new brand reflecting strategic evolution to empower smarter science

Expanding portfolio of solutions and capabilities addressing growing need for curated scientific data and expertise to accelerate discovery COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) that specializes in scientific information solutions, today launched a new brand reflecting the broadening scope of its solutions and capabilities critical to advancing scientific discovery. This new brand mirrors the organization's on-going evolution to enable new and smarter uses of scientific information as a partner to R&D leaders pursuing more efficient, collaborative, and customized innovation models. "Our brand evolution is a true reflection of who CAS is today; a dynamic organization focused on opportunities across the scientific innovation spectrum. The passion CAS employees share for science and their pride in our unique contribution to advancing discovery unite us with our customers and collaborators in a very meaningful way. I am thrilled to see it come to life so powerfully through this new brand," said Manuel Guzman, President, CAS. This launch is the culmination of global research and consultation with stakeholders across commercial, academic and government segments to distil the most impactful elements that CAS provides as an innovation partner. The new brand embodies the unique role CAS plays in creating connections between discoveries being made around the world to accelerate breakthroughs. The new logo evolves the molecular icon, whose three colors represent the hindsight, insight and foresight that are foundational to scientific discovery. Guzman further reflected, "The pandemic has given people around theworld a renewed appreciation for the importance of speed in scientific discovery and the power of collaboration to expedite solutions to challenging problems. We are extremely proud to have collaborated with research organizations around the globe tackling COVID-19 over the last year by providing information solutions, publishing insights from our scientists, and building open source datasets."



"We continue to advance our content, solutions, and capabilities to ensure we are contributing in every way possible to our customers' success in this dynamic innovation landscape. This includes delivering more customized services, expanding the breadth and depth of our content collection and solutions, and investing in emerging technology and talent in areas like analytics, big data, and predictive machine learning," highlighted Guzman. CAS's scientific legacy spans over a century. An early pioneer in digitalizing scientific information in the 1960s, CAS scientists and technologists developed the first algorithm to encode two-dimensional chemical structure information into a computer-readable and searchable format. CAS REGISTRY, the world's largest collection of curated information on chemical substances and biosequences, recently surpassed a major milestone adding its 250 millionth registered substance  a hybrid oligonucleotide with potential application in quality control for mRNA drugs and vaccines disclosed in a recent patent application from Moderna, Inc.

Gilles Georges, Chief Scientific Officer at CAS, elaborated on the organization's evolution, saying "CAS has become much more than a source of chemical information. Today, we collaborate with organizations working in all areas of science, from molecular biology to metallurgy. Data custom curated by our team of hundreds of scientists from publications in more than 50 languages is being used to train state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms with potential to drastically expand innovation capacity in segments such as pharmaceutical, specialty chemical, and material science and increase efficiency of global patent examination." Georges concluded, "With the volume of scientific data doubling approximately every two years, the desire to efficiently leverage learnings across these disciplines can quickly be overwhelmed. By curating, connecting and analyzing this ocean of data, CAS scientists uncover the insights that enable faster progress and our solutions put it at researchers' fingertips." Media contact:

Tina Tomeo

cas-pr@cas.org

+1 614-447-3600 ABOUT CAS: CAS is a leader in scientific information solutions, partnering with innovators around the world to accelerate scientific breakthroughs. CAS employs over 1,400 experts who curate, connect, and analyse scientific knowledge to reveal unseen connections. For over 100 years, scientists, patent professionals, and business leaders have relied on CAS solutions and expertise to provide the hindsight, insight, and foresight they need so they can build upon the learnings of the past to discover a better future. CAS is a division of the American Chemical Society. Connect with us at cas.org. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498821/CAS__hindsight_insight_foresight.jpg

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Expected Smuggling Conviction of Military Tech Exporter Indicates Need for Disentangling From China

Commentary

Chinese national Qin Shuren was placed under arrest in 2018 at his home in a Boston suburb. He will likely plead guilty to felony charges in federal court on April 28 for allegedly procuring over $100,000 worth of U.S. marine technology for export to a Chinese military research institute.

Mr. Qin is expected to plead guilty, according to the Wall Street Journal, of conspiring to commit export violations, lying to government agents, visa fraud, smuggling, and money laundering. He was caught, but there are thousands more who may have access to critical science and technology, and who could be pressured by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to send it back to China, including through legal means.

In 2020, there were 360,000 Chinese national students in the United States, many of whom are enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs. The Trump administration canceled the visas of 3,000 Chinese national students who were alleged to have links to Chinas military, which was painful, but the right thing to do.

At the same time, Chinese national students in the United States deserve our compassion, because they are between a rock and a hard place. They dont always feel trusted in the United States, and when they return to China, they can be suspected due to the time they spent in America. Thus their choice to attend school in the United States is more often than not an indicator of being open to America and its values.

U.S. officials claim that Mr. Qin was helping Beijing build an armada of undersea drones, including through the illegal export of advanced export-controlled technologies from the United States. The drones will be able to track U.S. and allied submarines, potentially leaving the United States vulnerable to a first strike as Chinas anti-submarine technology improves and its naval capacity expands.

A likely future capability to carry out such a strike increases the chance of war due to what international relations experts call the security dilemma, which in this case is the increased risk to the United States of military conflict due to Chinas military development, and vice versa, leading to spiraling risks on both sides that make military conflict more likely.

Experts also identified a likely power transition between the United States and China as early as five or ten years from now. A power transition will occur if China overtakes the U.S. militarily, at which point China could accelerate its strategy of brinkmanship to rapidly overcome any U.S. resistance. Chinas brinkmanship purposefully risks a war that neither side wants so that China makes strategic gains. As we know that this power transition is coming within about 30 years if China and the United States continue on their current economic and military trajectories, such continued development risks immediate military escalation.

Chinas acquisition of technology, including that with direct military applications, but also civilian applications and pure science, should thus be a much greater concern for the United States and its allies than we currently acknowledge. The same goes for other adversaries, like Russia and Iran, as well as Chinas territories, including Hong Kong and Macau. But Chinas massive economy, which is greater than the U.S. or EU economy if measured by purchasing power parity, makes it a special case. Chinas economy can and is powering an unprecedented arms buildup in Asia that already credibly threatens U.S. allies in the region.

A Chinese submarine launches a missile in an offshore blockade exercise during the third phase of the Sino-Russian Peace Mission 2005 joint military exercise, held on Aug. 23, 2005 near Chinas Shandong Peninsula. (China Photos/Getty Images)

Military technology should therefore not be the only concern. Chinas acquisition of civilian STEM improves its economy, which increases the countrys tax base and therefore funds the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinas checkbook diplomacy, with which it buys support for its territorial expansionism and genocide against the Uyghurs.

Chinas acquisition of pure science could lead to surprising changes in the balance of economic and military power. Had Nazi Germany invented the nuclear bomb first, World War II would have turned out very differently. We cannot and must not allow China to invent the next big thing.

Yet, the United States and its allies are open for business with China, allowing relatively easy transfer of STEM through legal and illegal channels of commerce, academia, and espionage. America is a huge technology sieve. Whatever we develop, including through government subsidies, can easily be lost to the worlds most dangerous authoritarian regimes. Chinese nationals can relatively easily set up technology businesses and attend STEM graduate programs in the United States and Europe to harvest technology.

American politicians are scared of limiting Chinese national access to STEM because first, U.S. businesses do about $600 billion per year in trade with China. That amounts to 600 billion little green hostages that the CCP can execute at any time. Second, China could obtain STEM anyway from disunited high-tech allies, including Europe, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and India. Third, prohibiting Chinese nationals from STEM would be met with charges of racism, even though Chinese Americans, for example, should and are seen as valuable partners in Americas STEM development.

While this latter charge is therefore specious, the other challenges require greater coordination and support to allies to make the control of technologies effective and deter China from its divide-and-conquer trade retaliation. And, new STEM policies should not be limited to China, but extended to all adversary nations, including Russia, Iran, and North Korea, while at the same time encouraging technology cooperation with allies such as Japan, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Israel.

While allied citizens of any creed or color should be welcomed as technology partners, those with significant ties to adversary nations should be subject to greater scrutiny. This approach is already taken when awarding security clearances to people that give them access to national secrets. Sensitive technologies are also national secrets. We should impose the same controls on them that we apply by granting security clearances to only those who do not have significant family or financial assets in adversary nations. The CCP can seek to leverage individuals of any race or nationality (including non-Chinese Americans) with significant business and family connections to China, so Chinese nationals are not the only issue. Anyone with family or financial assets in China that could be treated as hostages carries increased risk.

U.S. citizens of all colors, including politically-influential billionaires like Stephen Schwarzman, Michael Bloomberg, Larry Fink, Ray Dalio, Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Steve Wynn, and Ronnie Chan, should be expected to bring their business out of China and its regions. Those with sketchy dual-citizenships, like Mr. Chans U.S.-Hong Kong citizenship, and Mr. Wynns U.S.-Monaco citizenship, should be required by law to give them up. This is as much for their own good as for Americas.

We also need a compassionate approach to Chinese national STEM students in the United States. We should invite those who show a love of America and our values to become U.S. citizens if they fully commit to our country through moving their close family and financial assets here. America will benefit from these new citizens, as much as they will benefit from America.

Anders Corr has a bachelors/masters in political science from Yale University (2001) and a doctorate in government from Harvard University (2008). He is a principal at Corr Analytics Inc., publisher of the Journal of Political Risk, and has conducted extensive research in North America, Europe, and Asia. He authored The Concentration of Power (forthcoming in 2021) and No Trespassing, and edited Great Powers, Grand Strategies.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Associated Press file photo

Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday he would sign legislation allowing Texans to carry handguns in public without a license, breaking his silence on a proposal that has been building unprecedented momentum in the Texas Legislature.

"I support it, and I believe it should reach my desk, and we should have 'constitutional carry' in Texas," Abbott told North Texas radio host Rick Roberts.
Paul McCartney isnt primarily known for writing political songs, however, the BBC banned Wings song Give Ireland Back to the Irish for its politics. Interestingly, Paul initially thought John Lennon was crackers for writing political songs. Heres what Paul had to say about Give Ireland Back to the Irish  and how the world reacted to the song.

Paul McCartney | PA Images via Getty Images

Why Paul McCartney decided to go political with Wings Give Ireland Back to the Irish

For centuries, some Irish people have desired Ireland to be one republic free of British rule. This position is known as Irish republicanism. One of the most famous works of art to display Irish republican sentiment is Wings single Give Ireland Back to the Irish.

While Give Ireland Back to the Irish deals with a political issue specific to one region, it still found at least some listeners in the United States. The track reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed on the chart for eight weeks. However, Rolling Stones Paul Gambaccini told Paul that Wings Give Ireland Back to the Irish was his first single in some time that didnt sell well in the United States.

Afterward, Paul discussed writing a song as politically charged as Give Ireland Back to the Irish. Before I did that, I always used to think, God, Johns crackers, doing all these political songs, Paul said. I understand he really feels deeply, you know. So do I.

Give Ireland Back to the Irish

RELATED: How Paul McCartney Reacted to the Backlash to Live and Let Die

Paul then discussed why he hadnt really discussed social issues in his music before. I hate all that [Richard] Nixon bit, all that Ireland bit, and oppression anywhere, he said. I think our mob do, our generation do hate that and wish it could be changed, but up until the actual time when the paratroopers went in and killed a few people, a bit like Kent State, the moment when it is actually there on the doorstep, I always used to think its still cool to not say anything about it, because its not going to sell anyway and no ones gonna be interested.

Paul McCartney on the response to Wings Give Ireland Back to the Irish

Paul decided to get political like John with Give Ireland Back to the Irish. Afterward, Paul ruminated on the commercial performance of the song. It was No. 1 in Ireland and, funnily enough, it was No. 1 in Spain, of all places, he recalled. I dont think Franco could have understood. For context, Generalissimo Francisco Franco was the fascist dictator of Spain at the time of the songs release.

Generalissimo Francisco Franco | Hulton Archive/Getty Images

RELATED: Paul McCartney Said 1 Sgt. Pepper Review Offended The Beatles

While Give Ireland Back to the Irish was a hit in Ireland and Spain, The New York Times reported the BBC banned the song. The BBC felt the song was too controversial for airplay. Regardless, the BBC reports the song reached No. 16 in the United Kingdom, showing Pauls popularity transcended airplay.

RELATED: John Lennon Said Paul McCartney Didnt Respect Bob Dylan  I Think He Was Jealous
NSWs long-awaited mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic will open on May 10, although most newly eligible over-50s will need to wait another fortnight to receive their shots at the site.

The Sydney Olympic Park clinic will initially be used to complete the vaccinations for frontline healthcare and quarantine workers and their families, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Wednesday.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged people to use the GP network to receive their AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Credit:Kate Geraghty

From May 24, other NSW residents who do not have a GP will be able to use an online system to book a vaccine at the clinic, which will have capacity to administer 30,000 doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines within a week.

Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced anyone aged 50 to 69 will be eligible to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine from state-run clinics from Monday, May 3.
A Myanmar soldier removes a protest sign denouncing the military coup from an armored vehicle outside the Central Bank of Myanmar in Yangon, Feb. 15, 2021.

A small number of Myanmar military officers have made a risky decision to quit the armed forces and join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) of striking workers who abruptly left their jobs to protest against the coup that seized power from the elected government on Feb. 1, citing voting fraud in the November 2020 elections. Three military officers who recently left their posts at a defense equipment factory became the latest servicemen to join the CDM. One of the officers, a graduate of the Defense Services Technological Academy, fled to the Indian border after going AWOL. He spoke to reporter Soe San Aung of RFAs Myanmar Service about his views on the protests and his military experience. The officer asked that his name, rank, and personal information not be disclosed so as to ensure the safety of the two other officers and their families. The following Q&A has been edited for clarity.

RFA: Why did you defect?

Military officer: The main reason I defected is because the military is supposed to protect the country and the people. This is the reason the military exists. Now, the Burmese military is arresting, torturing, and killing the people for no reason. I defected because I dislike their actions.

RFA: So far, more than 700 people have been killed by security forces amid crackdowns. As a military officer, how do you view these killings?

Military officer: The military coup was not supposed to happen. As for the people of Myanmar, we only want democracy. They have taken power and gone backwards. The duty of the military is to protect the country and the people and to be loyal to the ruling government. They should not be examining the voter lists [from the November 2020 elections]. The military coup was not reasonable because there is no solid evidence of voting fraud or voter list errors.

RFA: Now that you are in India, what are you planning to do next?

Military officer: Im looking forward to seeing a federal army established by the National Unity Government [Myanmars parallel government]. I want to serve in the federal army if they want to use my expertise. I want to serve the federal army and the people.

RFA: How could you help the federal army?

Military officer: Im from one of the factories under the militarys Defense Products Industries, known as Ka Pa Sa. Im moderately skillful at defense technologies.

RFA: How many officers from Ka Pa Sa are now involved in the CDM?

Military officer: There are only three officers from the Ka Pa Sa, including myself, who are participating in the CDM.

RFA: From which countries does the military purchase raw materials for manufacturing its weapons?

Military officer: The raw materials for our factories mostly come from China, but these materials do not enter Myanmar through border trading routes such as [the northern Shan state border trading town] Muse. They come by shipment via Singapore. In the Chaw Dwin Gone neighborhood of Yangon, there are storage units called Ka Hta Pa. They house all the containers with the raw materials for the weapons factories, and they distribute them to the factories. Most of the raw materials come from Norinco, [a Chinese state-owned defense corporation that manufactures civil and military products]. There are 38 Ka Pa Sa factories [in Myanmar]. The German company Fritz Werner supplied the equipment for manufacturing bullets. As far as I know, there are no more sales of new equipment from that company, but it is still supplying spare parts.

RFA: What kinds of weapons are being used against anti-junta protestors during crackdowns?

Military officer: In February, when the protests were the heaviest, I saw [security forces] using rubber bullets and smoke bombs. After they shut down the internet, they used more violent means. They no longer use rubber bullets and smoke bombs. They have been using assault rifles like the MA-1, MA-3 and BA-63, which can kill a person instantly when they are hit.

RFA: In some areas, local people say that security forces have used rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) against protesters. Do you know if this is true?

Military officer: I cannot confirm this since I havent seen any photos, but Ive seen troops carrying RPGs, so its possible they have used them. They wouldnt have carried RPGs with them if they hadnt planned on using them.

RFA: As a young person and a graduate of the Defense Services Technological Academy, what advice can you give to young people who are leading the Spring Revolution, the local name for the protests, and the CDM?

Military officer: In my opinion, the military leaders cannot turn back at this juncture. The military cannot give up now. If they did, the leaders would have to face the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice, and they would be sent to the gallows to be hanged. They will continue the violence. They will keep firing guns and terrorizing the people. The people also know it. I see the people are very determined to keep fighting and win since they lost in 1988 [during protests and a general strike in the 8888 Revolution]. This time they dont want to lose again.

Reported by Soe San Aung for RFAs Myanmar Sevice. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung and Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
As many as over 1.27 million investors of PACL Ltd, with a claim of up to Rs10,000, have received more than Rs438 crore, says market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

The Justice Lodha committee is supervising the SC-ordered process of selling PACL's assets across the country and refunding Rs49,100 crore collected from over 55 million investors.

"As on 31 March 2021, the committee has successfully effected refunds in respect of 12,70,849 eligible applications (with claims up to Rs10,000) aggregating to Rs 438.34 crore," SEBI says.

SEBIs investigations had earlier revealed that PACL, which had raised money from the public in the name of agriculture and real estate businesses, collected more than Rs60,000 crore through illegal collective investment schemes (CISs) over 18 years. Moneylife had extensively reported on the PACL scam and you can read it here

In February 2019, a committee headed by retired justice Lodha had initiated the process of refunds in phases for investors, who had invested in PACL. PACL (or Pearls) is one of the largest Ponzi schemes in India which had been allowed to run for decades amassing over Rs60,000 crore. The committee had asked PACL investors to submit online applications for refund.

The Lodha committee has been processing applications received from investors in a phased manner, slab-wise and, currently, applications with claim amount up to Rs10,000 have been processed and payments have been made in respect of eligible claim applications.

The documents uploaded by the PACL investors are verified and then payment amount is calculated, applications processed and subsequently payments are processed.

The committee had also granted investors, having claims up to Rs10,000 and whose applications were found deficient, an opportunity to check status/ deficiencies in their applications and rectify the errors so that the applications could be processed till 31 March 2021.

Now, the opportunity to rectify errors in the claim applications is not available and investors may await further notification from the committee in this regard, SEBI says.

Further, SEBI says, "The applications where investors have indicated marked land allotted field as 'Yes' or where land has been allotted to the investor as per records provided by PACL, have been kept on hold and will be taken up for consideration at a later stage.

SEBI also clarified that the processing of cases where 'deferred/ endorsed' has been mentioned on the PACL certificate has been kept on hold.

The mobilisation of funds by PACL goes back prior to 1997. Upon receipt of a complaint, SEBI on 30 November 1999 and 10 December 1999 issued letters asking PACL to comply with the provisions of the collective investment scheme (CIS) regulations.

In September 2018, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a charge-sheet against PACL and its chief Nirmal Singh Bhangoo in connection with a Ponzi scam involving over Rs49,100 crore, which was collected allegedly by two companies from millions of investors. The ED, which started the probe after lodging an first information report (FIR) in 2015 based on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)'s case, had, in January 2018, attached Australia-based assets of the Pearls group and Mr Bhangoo worth Rs472 crore.

Mr Bhangoo, his companies PACL and Pearls Golden Forest Ltd (PGFL), as well as several thousands of his commission agents were accused of cheating 55 million investors on the pretext of sale and development of agriculture land.

The companies made false allotments of land to investors. However, the companies never owned any land in their own name.

Mr Bhangoo and his companies promised the investors that allotment would be done on their investment between 90 and 270 days and, if not, handsome returns would be paid.
A business graduate has received a fully suspended sentence for money-laundering after allowing his bank account to be used to handle over 21,000 stolen by scammers.

Jackson Sije (31) told gardai he thought he was helping a fellow student to receive money from home for college and living expenses in Dublin in June 2019.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the funds were, in fact, the proceeds of a phishing scam uncovered by staff at an Irish company.

Sije who is originally from Nigeria and has an address at Alderwood Green, Springfield, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to possession of the proceeds of criminal conduct at a location in Dublin on June 25, 2019.

Detective Garda Alan Carroll, of Swords Garda Station, told the court that a laptop and a Nigerian passport were found when officers searched Sijes rented accommodation.

The court heard Sije agreed to be interviewed voluntarily and told gardai he agreed to help a person he met in college whose father wanted to send money for tuition fees and living expenses.

Sije told gardai that after receiving the funds to his account, he travelled by car to locations in Dublin, including Tallaght and Mary Street, where withdrawals were made.

He also gave up online banking login details, and other transfers were made to an account in Germany.

The entire sum of 21,538.30 was dispersed out of Sijes bank account within a day. The court heard he is unable to pay anything back to the business which was defrauded.

Kieran Kelly BL, defending, said his client graduated from Dublin Business School last year and is the father of one child.

Counsel said his client is the youngest of five siblings and originally comes from Delta State in Nigeria, where his father is a businessman.

Mr Kelly said Sije had entered his plea at the earliest opportunity and has at all times stated he was never involved in the phishing scam or paid for processing the money.

He is very shocked to find himself before the courts, but accepts he has only himself to blame and expresses remorse, Mr Kelly said. He accepts that this was a very stupid thing to do.

The court heard that the DPP accepts Sije allowed his account to be used in this way out of a misplaced sense of patriotism -- but that doing so was reckless in the extreme.

It is very easy, in some ways, to commit, but a conviction for money-laundering is a very serious conviction to have for someone who wishes to travel or pursue a career in business, said Judge Pauline Codd.

Judge Codd sentenced Sije to two years imprisonment, but suspended the sentence in its entirety on condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian authorities rapidly painted over a large mural of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny on Wednesday after it appeared overnight on a building in central St Petersburg.

The mural in President Vladimir Putin's hometown showed a smiling Navalny, whose activist network is on the brink of being outlawed as "extremist", making a heart shape with his hands next to the slogan "A hero of a new time".

Police arrived at the scene at 9am local time and workers arrived to start painting over it with yellow paint within around 90 minutes. It was unclear who painted the mural.

Navalny, Putin's most outspoken domestic opponent, is serving a 2-1/2 year jail sentence for parole violations on an earlier conviction that he says was politically motivated.

A court is considering a request by Moscow's prosecutor to ban Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and his regional offices on the grounds they are extremist. The next hearing in that case is expected on Thursday.

Lyubov Sobol, a Navalny ally, mocked authorities for painting over the mural.

"That's how they transform everything 'alive' and beautiful into the impersonal and 'dead'. For us, Russia is for happiness, for them, it is for gloom and stagnation," she wrote on Twitter.

(Reporting by Anton Vaganov; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Alexandra Hudson)
BEIJING, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) is proud to announce that four of its professors have been named as "Highly Cited Chinese Researchers of 2020" by Elsevier, a globally leading academic publication group, according to a list recently released on April 22nd.

Professor of Finance Cao Huining, Professor of Accounting and Finance Liu Jing and Professor of Strategic Management Teng Bingsheng have been named on the list for seven consecutive years, while Professor of Organizational Behavior Zhang Xiaomeng was listed for the second time in a row. Professor Teng Bingsheng, Professor Liu Jing and Professor Zhang Xiaomeng are recognized for their contributions to "Business Administration" and Professor Cao Huining to "Applied Economics".

Elsevier has been releasing the "Highly Cited Chinese Researchers" annually since 2015, as a way to recognize and showcase scholars in China who facilitate insights and critical thinking across the global research arena. Based on the citations of their publication tracked by Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, 4032 Chinese scholars from 373 academic institutions were named on the 2020 list covering disciplines including philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, science, engineering, agriculture, medical sciences and management sciences.

Established in Beijing in November 2002 with support from the Li Ka Shing Foundation, CKGSB is China's first faculty-governed and independent business school. CKGSB has more than 40 full-time professors, many of whom held tenured positions at leading business schools, such as Wharton and Yale. Their research has provided the basis for over 500 case studies of both China-specific and global business. CKGSB's alumni network is also the most influential in China. More than half of CKGSB's 16,000 alumni are at the CEO or chairman level and, collectively lead one fifth of China's most valuable brands.

Headquartered in Beijing, CKGSB is also located in Shanghai, Shenzhen, New York, Hong Kong and London. The school offers the following innovative courses: Dual Degree MBA with Johns Hopkins Cary Business School, Finance MBA, Executive MBA, Business Scholars Program (DBA), and Executive Education programs. For more information, please visit http://english.ckgsb.edu.cn/.

SOURCE Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB)

Related Links

http://english.ckgsb.edu.cn/


BRATTLEBORO  State and local officials are mobilizing efforts to stave off the negative impact of Koffee Kups decision to shutter its Vermont operations, including the closure of its Brattleboro subsidiary, Vermont Bread Company, that eliminated more than 90 local jobs.

The closures were announced suddenly on Monday.

According to a Tuesday news release from Dorset Partners, which specializes in turnaround management and acquisitions, Koffee Kup had been struggling to make ends meet for the past four years.

For each of the last four years Koffee Kup has suffered substantial financial losses and was unable to find a way out of their troubles, states the news release, which came from Jeff Sands, a turnaround specialist at Dorset Partners and the senior advisor in North America for American Industrial Acquisition Corporation, which acquired a majority of the shares of Koffee Kup on April 1. Employees, lenders, suppliers and customers all went above and beyond to support Koffee Kup during that time.

The notice states that in the last six months, Koffee Kup was unsuccessful in finding new investors or a new operator for the business who were willing to commit the resources necessary to bring the company back to health.

On Monday, the state received a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice from Sands and AIAC stating that Koffee Kup was being shuttered and its 500 employees in Vermont would be out of jobs.

Vermont Bread Company abruptly closes; 91 employees out of a job BRATTLEBORO  More than 90 employees at Vermont Bread Company on Cotton Mill Hill are withou

Sands told the Reformer Tuesday the closure was not for the purpose of providing a financial benefit to anyone.

Four years of losses are the culprit, said Sands. Everyone wants a villain storyline, but theres just not one there. This one just wasnt salvageable.

Sands said he was not at liberty to discuss how much Koffee Kup lost over those four years or what was responsible for the losses.

The losses are not stopping at least one baker who wants to acquire Koffee Kup and restart the business.

Michael Pinkowski, who owns SatisPie, a wholesale baker in Rochester, N.Y., and Batter Up Foods in Fulton County, Georgia, said hes made multiple offers to Key Bank, the primary lien holder, and has been rebuffed each time.

They were looking for different terms, Pinkowski told Seven Days. Each time we made an offer, we thought we were meeting the terms they were requesting, but they were rejected.

But hes not giving up.

Im hoping I can still get a deal with Key Bank and restore the three plants to operating status, he told the Reformer Wednesday. The offer is for all plants and assets  Superior [Bakery in Connecticut], Vermont Bread Company and Koffee Kup. I made another offer this morning to Key Bank. Im waiting on a response on my Monday evening offer and now this mornings offer.

The sudden closure of Koffee Kup Bakery is truly an unfortunate situation for all concerned, wrote Karen Crane, senior communications manager for Key Bank in an email to the Reformer. We understand that the statements made [by Pinkowski] raise questions; however, please understand that KeyBank is not able to comment on client agreements or negotiations for privacy and legal reasons.

On April 26, AICA issued a required WARN notice, in which Sands wrote that he was unable to provide an earlier notice to the state as we were uncertain of the success of the efforts that we have been making to continue operating. Earlier notice of this unfortunate outcome would have been premature and would have jeopardized those very efforts.

During Gov. Phil Scotts regular Tuesday press conference, the governor and Michael Harrington, the deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Labor, said they were reviewing the abrupt closure of Koffee Kup and Vermont Bread Company. Harrington said the Department of Labors legal team is reviewing the way the Warn notice was provided and if it followed the letter of the law.

Vermonts Notice of Potential Layoff Act requires that employers notify the state 45-days prior to closure, and municipalities and affected employees 30-days prior to closure, he stated. In specific instances, employers may qualify for an exemption to the prior notice clause.

Well be having conversations with the company to better understand what activities were occurring prior to issuing the [WARN] notice ... said Harrington. I think we would agree, and I think the company would probably also agree, that they would have loved to have been able to give as much notice as possible. I also know that when companies are struggling and working on turnaround solutions, those are very protected pieces of information. And so youre also not wanting to provide either false hope or false awareness of a companys concerns or struggles.

On Wednesday, Harrington issued a news release, stating the departments Workforce Development and Unemployment Insurance divisions have begun the process of coordinating rapid response services.

Additionally, stated Harrington, a number of employers across the state have contacted the Department of Labor interested in hiring individuals who were impacted by this closure.

Koffee Kup employees who lost their jobs can contact the Department of Labors Workforce Development division directly at https://labor.vermont.gov/Jobs, or by calling 802-863-7676 for individuals in the Burlington-area or at 802-254-4555 for individuals in the Brattleboro-area.

Tim Wessel, a member of the Brattleboro Select Board, wrote on social media Tueday that Brattleboro has been blindsided by this abrupt closure at VBC and this callous move does seem to be driven by outside investors.

On Wednesday, Wessel posted again, stating Vermont and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation are collaborating on an effort to save the company from closure.

I think this is a long shot but the effort is being made, wrote Wessel, who said he was speaking for himself and not the other members of the board.

But, noted Wessel, while the town is here to help, events are largely our of our control.

Adam Grinold, the executive director of Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, told the Reformer he has been burning up the phones trying to find a solution but had no other information at this time.

A direct competitor of Vermont Bread Company said if nothing is done in the next day or two to save the Brattleboro bakery, it might be too late.

I was just on the phone with Hannaford today about replacing Vermont Bread on its shelves, said Daniel Leader, of Bread Alone in Kingston, N.Y., who had to tell the chain it was impossible at this time.

We cant meet the demand without more employees, Leader told the Reformer.

Bread Alone, which was founded in 1983, has 220 employees, said Leader, and has 15 openings, from entry level work to drivers to cleaners to bakers.

Bread Alone will need even more employees when it opens its new carbon-neutral bakery in Boiceville, N.Y., said Leader.

To that end, Leader is offering to help move any former employees of Vermont Bread Company from southern Vermont to the Hudson Valley.

Those who might be interested in moving can view a list of jobs at www.breadalone.com/open-positions or can send an email to jobs@breadalone.com.

Leader said its hard to find employees, not just because the job market is tight, but also because its hard to find affordable housing in the Hudson Valley. He said that though he is a baker, Bread Alone is actually looking to purchase an apartment building to help its employees who need a place to live.

And the Reformer also received an email from Eric Blom, the director of community relations and external communications for Hannaford Brothers Supermarket.

We have many open positions at Hannaford, more than 50 full-time jobs available statewide, in a wide variety of positions, he wrote.

Blom said those who might be interested in jobs at the supermarket can visit the store on Putney Road or log on to www.hannaford.com/about-us/careers.

Josephs Bakery in Lawrence, Mass., is also opening up its job applications to former Vermont Bread and Koffee Kup employees.

We were saddened to learn of the abrupt closure of the operations of our vendor partner, Vermont Bakery (Koffee Kup), this week who we have worked with as our distributor of pita and flatbread in Vermont and surrounding states for over 10 years, wrote Christina Ramirez, marketing manager, in an email to the Reformer. We are seeking to get word to all displaced employees about a range of operational openings available in our bread bakery in Lawrence.

Information about current openings can be found at https://www.josephsbakery.com/careers/. Resumes and applications can be sent directly to to humanresources@josephsbakery.com.

According to it website, AIAC is Spread over 24 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, AIAC companies serve a variety of industries. They manufacture precision materials, components and assemblies for the global aerospace, defense, automotive, truck, rail, appliance, power generation, mining, oil and gas, packaging, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, and medical equipment industries.

AIAC owns Arnprior Aerospace, with facilities in Canada, Mexico, New York, and Oregon. It also owns Avara Pharmaceutical Services with offices in South Carolina, Puerto Rico, and Oklahoma. In Vermont, AIAC owns Champlain Cable in Colchester, with offices in Texas. It also owns a number of alloy manufacturers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
April 28 : Ever since the country was hit by the coronavirus pandemic last year, Sonu Sood has been helping the people in need. He became a hero in the eyes of the needy by helping the migrants with transportation to reach their home states, arranging food, hospital beds, and medicines for the COVID-19 patients, and much more. He catapulted to the national spotlight for feeding thousands of underprivileged people amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the second wave of the pandemic, the actor is equally active in helping the needy. In the process, he also tested positive for the virus and was home quarantined.

Immediately after recovering, Sonu was back in action and started collaborating with like-minded organizations to provide help to people across the country. Amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sonu has launched free COVID-19 help.

Taking to Twitter, the Simmba actor announced that he has launched free COVID help, which includes free doctor consultations and testing for the virus. The actor has organized free COVID help under his foundation called Sood Foundation in collaboration with Heal Well 24 and Krsnaa Diagnostics Pvt Ltd.

Announcing the same, Sonu shared a poster and tweeted, You take REST. Let me handle the TEST. Launching FREE COVID HELP with @HealWell24 @Krsnaa_D @SoodFoundation. Sonus initiative also promised that help with reach home for the needy.

As soon as Sonu announced the free help, netizens from across the country poured in with requests to help them and their relatives with hospital beds and oxygen.

In a separate tweet, the actor wrote that saving lives during the second wave of COVID-19 crisis is better than being part of a 100 crore blockbuster film. He tweeted, In the middle of the night, after making numerous calls if u r able to get beds for needy, oxygen for some people n save few lives, I swear..it's million times more satisfying than being a part of any 100 cr film. We can't sleep when people are in front of hospitals waiting for a bed.

The actor has been roped in as the brand ambassador for his home state Punjab's anti-coronavirus vaccination programme.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Sonu was last seen in Rohit Shetty's cop drama Simmba in 2018, co-starring Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan. Later, he starred in several South films. He will soon guest judge the dance reality show Dance Deewane 3. Recently, the actor has also announced a new film.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
(CNN)  Quebec's top doctor says a 54-year-old woman has died of a rare blood clotting condition after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

"We just had our first patient who has died of a thrombosis, cerebral thrombosis, following vaccination from AstraZeneca," Dr. Horacio Arruda told a news conference Tuesday.

"This is an event that is rare. We knew that it might happen," added Arruda, who was speaking in French.

In a statement, the family of the woman identified her as Francine Boyer, who they say received one dose of AstraZeneca, along with her husband, Alain Serres on April 9. She died 2 weeks later.

"Ms. Boyer experienced extreme fatigue along with headaches. She went to the nearest hospital, then, as her condition deteriorated, she was transferred to the Montreal Neurological Hospital Institute. Francine died of cerebral thrombosis," according to the statement, released in French on Tuesday evening.

The statement went on to say that Ms. Boyer's husband did not experience any side effects and that the family "... would like to encourage people who receive a vaccine to stay alert for symptoms or unusual reaction."

Quebec officials said they believe it is the first reported death in Canada of someone who developed a rare blood clot after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Covid-19 vaccines have been linked with blood clots in Europe and the UK, although health authorities there have said the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. Similarly, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, which uses technology similar to that used by AstraZeneca's vaccine, has been linked to the same rare blood clotting syndrome in the US.

In a statement, Health Canada said it continues to investigate the details of the cases as part of its ongoing monitoring of the risk of rare blood clots with low platelets following immunization with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Quebec's health minister said the province's rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine would continue uninterrupted for Quebecers between the ages of 45 and 79. Christian Dube added that the province had distributed more than 400,000 doses so far and was investigating four cases of blood clots.

"We are sad about it but that's the price of vaccination," said Dube during a news conference Tuesday in Quebec City.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received his first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine at an Ottawa pharmacy last week, along with his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau.

Several members of Trudeau's Cabinet, including some opposition leaders, have also received the AstraZeneca vaccine in recent days.

While Health Canada regulates the use of vaccines in Canada, each province can make its own determination about eligibility, or choose not to distribute the vaccine.

Health Canada first approved AstraZeneca in February for all Canadians over the age of 18, including seniors.

"Based on Health Canada's review of available data from Europe and from the United Kingdom and AstraZeneca, no specific risk factors have been identified. Therefore, Health Canada is not restricting the use of the vaccine at this time," reads Health Canada's latest update on the vaccine, posted April 14.

However, Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has updated its guidance twice on the vaccine after reviewing European data about adverse reactions.

Last week, NACI updated its guidance AstraZeneca for a second time, saying it could be offered to all Canadians 30 or older. It had previously recommended it be administered only to those 55 or older although some provinces had already administered doses to those 40 and older.

But the independent, expert panel also indicated that a vaccine using different technology based on messenger RNA or mRNA, made by either Pfizer or Moderna, should be "preferentially offered" and that a complete series of the AstraZeneca vaccine should be used when an individual does not wish to wait for an mRNA vaccine.

Health Canada updated its labeling for the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 24 after "very rare reports of blood clots associated with low levels of blood platelets following immunization with the AstraZeneca vaccine" were observed in worldwide data.

All provinces and territories in Canada are currently receiving and distributing the AstraZeneca vaccine, including 1.5 million doses that were received from the US stockpile earlier this month.

Canada has so far received more than 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, as it continues to struggle with vaccine supplies and a devastating third wave of Covid-19 that is putting pressure on the health care system especially in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.
"The entire Oceania Cruises team is excited to now shift our focus to safely restarting operations and ultimately welcoming back our guests to begin exploring the world once again," stated Bob Binder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Oceania Cruises.

Phased restart dates for the balance of the Oceania Cruises fleet will be forthcoming and itineraries will be evaluated for port availability and adjusted as needed closer to the sailing dates.

Robust, New SailSAFE Protocols

Oceania Cruises is undertaking a phased restart with its science-backed plan for a healthy return to service that protects our guests, crew and communities visited. The robust SailSAFE Health and Safety Program creates multiple layers of protection against COVID-19 and was developed with guidance from our team of public health and scientific experts including the Healthy Sail Panel and the SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council.

"At Oceania Cruises, we value health, well-being and safety above all else. Our guests, our crew, and, of course, the many amazing, dedicated people who work with us in the destinations we travel to are the very lifeblood of our business and we'll do everything in our power to safeguard their health and safety," stated Binder.

Full details on our SailSAFE protocols can be found here. These protocols will be continuously evolved and refined using the best available science and technology.

Better Than Ever  New and Exciting OceaniaNEXT Enhancements

When the line's ships start sailing again, beginning with Marina in August 2021, guests will be delighted with an array of truly surprising enhancements to the brand's already acclaimed culinary experience and onboard service.

"Our guests have been waiting a long time for this moment. We know that when our guests return, we want to not just welcome them back to the Oceania Cruises they remember and cherish, but also to exceed their expectations by elevating the dining experiences and service levels. We'll be sharing more information about these exciting developments in the coming weeks," added Binder.

For additional information on Oceania Cruises' small ship luxury product, exquisitely crafted cuisine, and expertly curated travel experiences, visit OceaniaCruises.com, call 855-OCEANIA, or speak with a professional travel advisor.

About OceaniaNEXT

OceaniaNEXT is a sweeping array of dramatic enhancements so transformational, they are inspirational. This ambitious brand initiative will elevate every facet of the Oceania Cruises guest experience to new levels. From thoughtfully crafted new dining experiences and reimagined menus to the dramatic re-inspiration of the brand's six ships, guests will savor The Finest Cuisine at Sea, be pampered aboard small and luxurious ships, and be enriched through in-depth destination exploration.

About Oceania Cruises

Oceania Cruises is the world's leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line. The line's six small, luxurious ships carry only 684 or 1,250 guests and feature the finest cuisine at sea and destination-rich itineraries that span the globe. Expertly curated travel experiences aboard the designer-inspired, small ships call on more than 450 marquee and boutique ports across Europe, Alaska, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, New England-Canada, Bermuda, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, Tahiti and the South Pacific in addition to the epic 180-day Around the World Voyages. The brand has two 1,200-guest Allura class ships on order.

With headquarters in Miami, Oceania Cruises is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., a diversified cruise operator of leading global cruise brands which include Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) is a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. With a combined fleet of 28 ships with nearly 60,000 berths, these brands offer itineraries to more than 490 destinations worldwide. The Company has nine additional ships scheduled for delivery through 2027, comprising of approximately 24,000 berths.

About the Healthy Sail Panel

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. in collaboration with Royal Caribbean Group established the Healthy Sail Panel ("HSP"), a group of 11 leading experts to help inform the cruise industry in the development of new and enhanced cruise health and safety standards in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The HSP, co-chaired by Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Governor Mike Leavitt, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, consists of globally recognized experts from various disciplines, including public health, infectious disease, biosecurity, hospitality and maritime operations. The panel's work, including detailed recommendations across five key areas of focus, is informing the Company's health and safety protocols and has been widely shared with the cruise industry and open to any other industry that could benefit from the HSP's scientific and medical insights.

About the SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council

The SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council ("Council") was established by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. to provide expert advice on the implementation, compliance with and continuous improvement of the Company's SailSAFE health and safety program. The Council will complement the work of the Healthy Sail Panel and continuously evaluate and identify ways to improve health and safety standards after cruise voyages resume, utilizing the best technologies and information available. The Council is cross-functional, diverse and extensively experienced, comprised of six experts at the forefront of their fields and led by Chairman of the Council, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

SOURCE Oceania Cruises
South Africa plans to buy Russias Sputnik V vaccines and shots developed by Chinas Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd as it steps up efforts to tackle the coronavirus.

The government will order 10 million doses of each shot, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize told lawmakers in Cape Town on Wednesday. We are doing this now because we do expect the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority to approve those vaccines, he said.

South Africa, the nation thats been hardest hit by the pandemic on the continent, resumed its administration of Johnson & Johnson vaccines to health-care workers on Wednesday, after putting their use on hold for two weeks due to concerns that they could be linked to blood clots.

Almost 1.58 million Covid-19 cases have been detected in South Africa and more than 54,000 of those diagnosed with the disease have died.

The single-dose J&J shots were given to 292,623 health workers as part of a drug trial that enabled normal regulatory procedures to be bypassed prior to their use being paused.

The vaccine has since been approved for general usage.

Earlier this week, the Health Ministry said sufficient vaccines had been secured for 45 million adults, with a first batch of 1.1 million of J&J shots that were produced at an Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. plant in the Eastern Cape province due to be dispatched in coming days.

Shots developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech have also been secured.

The purchase of the J&J vaccines has been completed and we are just finalizing some audit issues, Mkhize said Wednesday.

Plans are in place to inoculate 16.5 million people from May to October with the aid of private health-care providers, which will buy shots from the national government, he said.
Campaigners behind a 3billion legal action against Google over claims it secretly tracked millions of iPhone users' today demanded 'justice' for victims who could each win up to 750 in compensation after a landmark Supreme Court data protection case.

Former Which? director Richard Lloyd, supported by campaign group Google You Owe Us, wants to bring a 'representative action' against the US-based tech giant on behalf of around 4.4million people in England and Wales.

Mr Lloyd, whose case is being heard at the UK's Supreme Court today and tomorrow, claims Google 'illegally misused the data of millions of iPhone users', through the 'clandestine tracking and collation' of information about internet usage on the devices' Safari browser, known as the 'Safari workaround'.

Mr Lloyd and Google You Owe Us hope to win between 1billion and 3billion in compensation for alleged breaches of the Data Protection Act.

Google, whose parent company Alphabet yesterday announced a record quarterly profit of $17.9billion in the three months to March, warned it would 'open the floodgates' to mass data protection claims if it is allowed to go forward.

The High Court initially ruled that Mr Lloyd could not serve the claim on Google outside the jurisdiction of England and Wales in October 2018, but that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal in October 2019. Google then appealed to the UK's highest court.

Hugh Tomlinson QC, representing Mr Lloyd, said in written submissions published today: 'The fundamental question in this case is whether the courts can provide access to justice and, potentially, a remedy in cases where a very large number of people are affected by breaches of their data protection rights.'

Mr Tomlinson added that the millions of proposed claimants 'will not have access to justice' if Mr Lloyd's claim was not allowed to go ahead.

Consumer champion Richard Lloyd wants to bring a claim against Google for millions of people over claims they used a 'Safari workaround' to grab internet data from iPhone users in 2011 and 2012

He said 'data is now central to the operation of the post-industrial economy', and that 'the foundation of (Google's) business is trading in the personal data of its users'.

4.5m Britons have signed up to Google You Owe Us legal claim worth up to 3billion Consumer champion Richard Lloyd has created a website for people who believe they may be eligible for compensation from Google. These are the criteria: 1. Were you in England and Wales at any time between June 1, 2011 and February 15, 2012? 2. Did you have an Apple ID? 3. Did you own or have lawful possession of an iPhone? 4. Did you use the Safari browser to access the internet? 5. Did you keep the default browser settings? 6. Did you not opt-out of tracking an collation via Google's 'Ads preference manager'? 7. Were you resident in England and Wales on May 31, 2017? According to Mr Lloyd, those who are eligible are automatically enrolled into the case. It is possible for people to opt out of the case, although if compensation is awarded at a later stage, people will have to prove they were iPhone users between June 1, 2011 and February 15, 2012. People can still sign up if they fit the eligibility criteria above. Advertisement

Mr Tomlinson also said personal data is 'a valuable asset' to Google, 'as demonstrated by the fact that the appellant in fact exploited the data for its own economic advantage'.

He argued that 'the existing state of society with the mass trade in personal data requires the court to adapt its practice and course of proceedings to allow the victims of large-scale data breaches access to remedies'.

Mr Tomlinson said doing so would provide the proposed claimants represented by Mr Lloyd 'with access to justice and a remedy which would otherwise be entirely absent'.

Google You Owe Us and Mr Lloyd claim Google bypassed privacy settings on Apple iPhone handsets between August 2011 and February 2012 and used the data gathered to divide people into categories for advertisers.

They say 'browser-generated information' collected by Google included racial or ethnic origin, physical and mental heath, political affiliations or opinions, sexual interests and social class.

Google's lawyers say there is no suggestion the so-called Safari workaround resulted in any information being disclosed to third parties.

Google's lawyers said that landmark ruling could 'open the floodgates' to vast claims brought on behalf of millions of people against companies responsible for handling people's data.

Antony White QC told the Supreme Court that 'a number of substantial representative actions have been commenced seeking compensation for breach of data protection rights' since the Court of Appeal's judgment.

Claims 'brought on behalf of hundreds of thousands, and, at least in one case, millions, of individuals' have recently been launched against Facebook, TikTok and Google-owned YouTube, the court heard.

Mr White said, in written submissions, that allowing such claims to be brought could have 'profound and far-reaching implications across all civil litigation'.

He argued that, under data protection laws, 'compensation is only available for 'damage' suffered as a consequence of the (data) breach, and not for the breach itself'.

Mr White added that 'the technical matters which gave rise to the 'Safari workaround' were rectified many years ago'.

Google told the Supreme Court (pictured) that the claim is not viable and should not be allowed to proceed

He told the court: 'In circumstances where the alleged breaches have long ago ceased and a remedy already exists for any financial loss or distress caused by those alleged breaches, there is no need to fashion any further remedy for individuals who have neither suffered any financial loss or distress nor experienced any ongoing infringement of their rights.'

Mr White also said that 'the true purpose' of Mr Lloyd's proposed claim was 'to pursue a high-profile public campaign for 'accountability' against Google, rather than to obtain redress' for any data breaches.

He added: 'The absence of any attempt on the part of any of the millions of class members to seek redress from Google is a telling reflection that the subject matter of the claim is not important to the individuals on whose behalf the claim is brought.'

The hearing, which is being livestreamed on the Supreme Court's website, is due to finish on Thursday afternoon and it is expected the court will give its ruling at a later date.
[April 28, 2021] Global Factory Additive Manufacturing Opportunities and Markets Report 2021: Supply Chain in Electronic Instruments, Medical Devices, Transportation, Industrial Machinery and Process Equipment

DUBLIN, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Additive Manufacturing in the Factory of the Future: Opportunities and Markets" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. "Automation, Additive Manufacturing and the Factory of the Future" provides the necessary raw data and analysis for marketers, product planners, general management, investors and users to take AM to the automated future. Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been considered an essential part of the factory of the future since the concept first appeared. Until now, no publication has discussed precisely the role that AM will play in the factory of the future. For now, AM represents about one percent of the overall manufacturing and production landscape. Despite the well-publicized advantages of AM, there remain significant obstacles to AM's adoption: slow processes involving multiple steps, high costs to scaling, shortage of skilled workforce, difficulty in controlling quality across the supply chain, and the immaturity of standards to facilitate regulatory conformity. All these challenges - and their resolution - are discussed in this new report. This report also examines the AM supply chain and its digitalization in a number of critical industries including electronic instruments, medical devices, transportation, industrial machinery and process equipment. In addition, the report takes a look at the critical issue of automation both of local AM processes and distributed AM networks. And while the report acknowledges the problems that arise in the context of bringing AM into the factory of the future, it also shows how AM will lead to lower fixed costs and smaller manufacturing footprints than traditional manufacturing. Two other areas tha the report examines are design automation and post processing.



Key Topics Covered: Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Plan and Methodology

Chapter Two: Automating the AM Workflow

2.1 Automation Trends in the Broad Manufacturing Ecosystem

2.2 Current Limitations of the 3D Printing Workflow are Limiting Growth

2.2.1 Design and File Processing

2.2.2 Part Selection and Management

2.2.3 Build Simulation

2.2.3.1 Process Optimization

2.2.3.2 Support Structures

2.2.4 Build Monitoring

2.2.5 Build Management

2.2.6 Post Processing and Inspection

2.3 Automating the Generation of Part Designs

2.4 Managing Digital Data will Become Increasingly Challenging

2.4.1 Stability of the AM Process and Technologies

2.4.2 Costs for Implementing End-to-End Solutions

2.4.3 Workforce that can Build, Interact, and Leverage the Digital Thread

2.5 Production and Post Processing Need New and Augmented Solutions

2.6 Long-term Implications for Additive Manufacturing Chapter Three: Acceleration of Factory of the Future

3.1 Overview

3.2 Current Supply Chain Structures

3.2.1 Complex Electronic Instruments and Medical Devices

3.2.2 Transportation Equipment and Industrial Machinery

3.2.3 Process Equipment

3.3 Factors Affecting Supply Chain Structure

3.4 Deployment of AM Across the Supply Chain and Its Digitization

3.5 Digitalization of AM Supply Chain

3.5.1 Advanced Planning and Scheduling Systems

3.5.2 Digital Procurement

3.5.3 Digital Twin - Virtual and Automated Verification and Validation Chapter Four: Effects of Digitalization on AM Market Growth

4.1 Overview

4.2 Approach and Frameworks

4.2.1 Economic Growth Model

4.2.2 AM Digitalization Adoption Model

4.3 Productivity Improvements of AM Digitalization

4.3.1 Improvements from AM Network Digitalization

4.3.2 Improvements from AM Process Digitalization

4.4 Market Trends Chapter Five: Automation in the Additive Manufacturing Sector - Company Overviews

5.1 Design and File Processing

5.1.1 Castor

5.1.2 nTopology

5.2 CAD Software Tools

5.2.1 Dassault Systemes (SolidWorks)

5.2.2 Onshape

5.2.3 PTC

5.2.4 Autodesk

5.2.5 Siemens NX

5.2.6 3YourMind

5.2.7 Authentise

5.2.8 Link3D

5.2.9 SAP

5.2.10 Materialise

5.2.11 Oqton

5.3 Build Simulation

5.3.1 ParaMatters

5.3.2 Ansys

5.4 Build Monitoring and Management

5.4.1 Additive Assurance

5.4.2 EOS

5.4.3 Renishaw

5.4.4 3D Systems

5.4.5 Addiguru

5.5 Quality Assurance

5.5.1 Senvol

5.5.2 Be Global Safety

5.5.3 Identify3D

5.5.4 Simba Chain

5.5.5 Granutools

5.6 Robotics and Post Processing

5.6.1 Aris Technology

5.6.2 PostProcess Technologies

5.6.3 DyeMansion

5.6.4 AMT

5.7 Equipment Manufacturers Using Automated Production

5.7.1 AREVO

5.7.2 Divergent 3D

5.7.3 EOS Shared Modules For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ozu5en Media Contact: Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



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Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-factory-additive-manufacturing-opportunities-and-markets-report-2021-supply-chain-in-electronic-instruments-medical-devices-transportation-industrial-machinery-and-process-equipment-301279117.html SOURCE Research and Markets

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Williamson, WV (25661)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.
[April 27, 2021] GMO Research to launch new service brand "MO Lite"

TOKYO, April 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GMO Research, Inc. (https://gmo-research.com/), a leading online research solution platform provider in the APAC region, has rolled out a new initiative to support companies in conducting online research projects with the fastest and most cost-effective turnaround in APAC.

There is an increasing demand for DIY market research tools that allow companies to conduct survey research remotely and at low costs. But when a company really starts to plan a research project, there are some common obstacles. Firstly, the targeted audience is limited to the companys own service and/or product line, so the company cannot collect a larger number of responses. Secondly, recruiting people for a survey is a time-consuming and costly process. And lastly, localizing questionnaires, ensuring they align with local law, and checking that the contents address the cultural and linguistic background correctly takes a great deal of effort. To address these issues, GMO Research has developed MO Lite, a new service that enables companies to link their own using DIY market research tools to recruit survey respondents directly from one of the largest pool of panelists in APAC, with a price less as USD 10 cent per question, that comes with full support from APAC local experts. * USD 300 minimum fee will be included. Takashi Ito, Chief Global Officer of GMO Research, Inc., comments: With the rising demand for quick and cost-efficient choices for conducting surveys, it just came naturally to us that we would connect the largest consumer panel network in APAC with the most commonly used free survey tool, to brin great value to the market. We are confident that MO Lite can serve as one of the most viable options for conducting surveys in APAC. It is obviously the fastest, most cost-effective, and most reliable solution.



For questions & inquiries: https://gmo-research.com/services/diy-survey-sampling MO Lite inquiries:

MO Lite Project Team

Email: info@gmo-research.jp

Advantages of using MO Lite: (1) Surveys can be conducted on people other than your own target audience (2) Surveys can be sent out as soon as one business day after application. (3) You can distribute to more than 200 pre-targeted attributes* at no additional cost. * Targeted attributes are the attributes of monitors that have been databased through a large-scale screening survey conducted in advance by the Asia Cloud Panel. About GMO Research: GMO Research offers an all-in-one online research solution platform that allows direct access to one of the largest consumer panel networks in APAC: Asia Cloud Panel. Asia Cloud Panel currently consists of over 40 million online panelists, ranging from consumers to CEOs, across 15 APAC markets. GMO Research is part of and backed by GMO Internet Group, one of the largest internet conglomerates in Japan, specializing in a number of internet-related technologies. GMO Internet Group has the number one Japanese market share in internet security, payment processing, e-commerce solutions, web hosting, domain, and FX trading. To find out more about GMO Research, visit https://gmo-research.com. GMO Internet Group GMO Internet Group is an Internet service industry leader, developing and operating Japans most widely used domain, hosting & cloud, ecommerce, security, and payment solutions. The Group also includes the worlds largest online FX trading platform, as well as online advertising, Internet media, and cryptoassets related services. GMO Internet, Inc. (TSE: 9449) is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. For more information, please visit https://www.gmo.jp/en/. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8aab8aba-6299-4d0f-b36e-16f836d0a5a0



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What to do if someone is at risk of dying by suicide
[April 28, 2021] RAD Marketing Launches Innovative New PropTech RADAR Platform Set to Revolutionize the Future of Pre-Construction Sales

Canada's leading pre-construction sales and marketing firm, RAD Marketing, today announced the launch of its new RADAR PropTech platform. Exclusive to RAD, this innovative new technology streamlines and optimizes the pre-construction selling space by offering increased efficiency and precision to developers. The real estate industry has been compelled to update many long-standing practices amidst COVID-19 limitations. Status-quo operations have fast become outdated and ineffective in the current climate. As technology continues to become more integrated into the design and real estate sector, it is crucial that the industry learn to adapt, leaving these old models behind in favour of more innovative, efficient, and effective approaches. A post-pandemic boom in automation and AI is predicted to drastically change office work in many industries, including residential real estate. Businesses have had to adapt their conventional strategies to be more digitally focused in order to keep up with this fast-changing current environment. PropTech, the advancement of technology, digital adoption and innovation in the real estate sector, aims to meet this increasing demand for new digital systems by creating new technologies and tools to replace the old models. "The Canadian real estate industry is far behind where it needs to be in terms of leveraging available, data-driven technology to optimize sales. As it stands, only five per cent of Canadian real estate companies have a well-established, company-wide digital strategy in place," said Riz Dhanji, Founder and President of RAD Marketing. Innovative PropTech tools like RADAR offer developers a competitive advantage in the market. By using AI, automation and advanced data aggregation, RAD is able to implement specific and targeted strategies based on its exclusive findings to generate better results for the developer. In collaboration with BLACKLINE APP, developers are able to reduce human error, lower administration costs and see real time breakdowns of broker performance. "The collaboration between RADAR and BLACKLINE APP is truly visioary. RAD is the first sales agency in the industry to closely work with a PropTech company to co-create solutions and integrate technology at the core of their business to power their strategies and decision making," said Tim Ng, Principal at BLACKLINE APP.



Through BLACKLINE APP, parking and locker allocation is automatically tracked, client deposits generate instant notifications to the sales team so they can quickly follow-up and detailed reports can be generated specific to the developer's needs. "There is so much data out there in terms of what purchasers are looking for, from unit size, to amenities, to buying behaviour in specific neighbourhoods that developers have not been able to make the most of until now. RADAR is an intelligent new model unique to RAD that provides data-driven, real time insights to maximize developer revenue by increasing the efficiency and productivity of the pre-construction process. No sales and marketing firm can provide the unique insights to clients offered by RADAR with its proprietary technology," added Dhanji.

RAD's exclusive Elite Club Portal, a first of its kind industry platform, works in conjunction with RADAR to maximize pre-construction sales targets through RAD's network of top performing agents. RAD's unique solution leans on key metric data including neighbourhood, unit type and sale price, allowing RAD to optimize sales and marketing strategy as well as the product for each of its developer clients. With the use of data and experience, RAD brings real value to developers through its proprietary data-driven technology. Through RADAR's exclusive, aggregated data-driven insights RAD is able to optimize the sales process in a revolutionary way. By using AI and automation to improve decision making and increase efficiency, RAD Marketing can maximize developer revenue through its propriety RADAR system unique to RAD alone. To learn more about RAD Marketing visit RadMarketing.ca. Developers interested in obtaining information about RADAR should call Riz Dhanji at 416-969-8686 or email info@radmarketing.ca. About RAD Marketing (RadMarketing.ca):

RAD Marketing is Canada's leading pre-construction sales and marketing firm. Founded in 2017 by Riz Dhanji, RAD's expertise is in bespoke pre-construction marketing and sales services assisting developers on all aspects of sales, marketing, design, administration, legal, and more. Since its inception, RAD has sold over $3 billion in pre-construction condo developments in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and abroad, totaling more than 10,000 condominium suites. Some of RAD's notable projects include: One Delisle, King Toronto, Shangrila Toronto, and the St. Regis Toronto. With the launch of RADAR, RAD is revolutionizing real estate technology and augmented reality within the industry to assist its developer clients like no other firm can do. About BLACKLINE APP (blacklineapp.com):

BLACKLINE APP is the leading sales and marketing software platform that is on a mission to streamline the real estate pre-construction sales process. BLACKLINE APP unifies all project information into one location, manages the entire sales process and elevates the entire buying experience. The team behind BLACKLINE APP has a deep understanding of the relationships between developers, sales teams, brokers, and buyers and have been at the forefront of real estate technology for over a decade. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005171/en/

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[April 28, 2021] SpotOn Partners with U.S. Small Business Administration to Help Restaurants Streamline Application for $28.6B Restaurant Revitalization Fund

SpotOn, a leader in fully-integrated restaurant management systems and small business technology, today announced a partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to assist clients in accessing funds from the $28.6B Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), part of the American Rescue Plan Act. The partnership is the company's latest in a series of efforts to help restaurants adapt to and rebound from the pandemic and is expected to help SpotOn (News - Alert) clients with a faster and simpler application process. Aiming to create a truly meaningful partnership, SpotOn has committed to using its resources to help facilitate clients' SBA applications free of charges and fees. In addition, SpotOn will make it even easier for clients to directly upload data from their SpotOn Restaurant point-of-sale system to the SBA's portal safely and securely. With these new capabilities, SpotOn will streamline the application process for clients applying to the RRF, a tax-free federal award equal to the amount of their pandemic-related revenue loss. The relief comes at a critical time for the restaurant industry, which finished 2020 with almost 2.5 million fewer jobs than pre-pandemic levels and saw more than 110,000 eating and drinking places close either temporarily or permanently, according to The National Restaurant Association.



"SpotOn was built to do whatever it takes to ensure restaurants succeed. After a year where restaurants were hit particularly hard by the pandemic, we are thrilled to be able to ease the application process for our clients and help them quickly get the relief they deserve," said Zach Hyman, Co-CEO of SpotOn. "As restaurants fully reopen, the loans will be essential to rehiring, restocking inventory, and making the modifications and investments in technology they need to operate at full capacity again." Since the start of the pandemic, SpotOn has worked alongside restaurants and small businesses to stay open, operating, and to prepare them for the future. From rolling out commission-free online ordering at breakneck speed to hiring additional staff and releasing 400+ product innovations in 2020, SpotOn has continued to invest in their clients' success. The company also waived $1.5M in software fees, assisted in PPP loan applications, and introduced low-cost private lending through SpotOn Capital. With the new SBA partnership, SpotOn clients will gain easier access to funding, including Federal aid via the Paycheck Protection Program and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

The RRF is an emergency assistance program designed to specifically help independent restaurants, bars, and other qualified food & beverage businesses with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss, up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. The program will soon begin accepting applications from priority groups, including businesses owned by women, veterans, or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, followed by a general application period three weeks later. To learn more about the RRF, including application criteria, visit the SBA website here. To learn more about how SpotOn is helping restaurants, head to the SpotOn blog. About SpotOn SpotOn powers small- and midsize businesses (SMBs) with the digital tools they need to run and grow their business. The software and payments platform, coupled with a hands-on service model, offers end-to-end solutions which include marketing, website development, appointment scheduling, digital loyalty, review management, and both retail and restaurant point-of-sale (POS) solutions. SpotOn has employees and offices around the world, including San Francisco, Chicago, Mexico City, Detroit, Denver, and Krakow. For more information, visit www.spoton.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005736/en/

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Moscow resident put in detention on terrorism funding allegations

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

12:31 28/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 28 (RAPSI)  A court has detained a Moscow resident charged with funding the Islamic State, the international terrorist organization banned in Russia, RAPSI has learnt in the press service of the Investigative Committees Main Investigations Directorate.

According to investigators, from July to November 2015, the man transferred 200,000 rubles ($2,700 at the current exchange rate) to the terrorists accounts through an Islamic charity foundation.

As part of the case law enforcement raided his place of residence, seized his banking card used for financing of terrorism and prohibited extremist literature.




In Rutherford Falls, the latest comedy offering from Mike Schur  creator of The Good Place, Brooklyn 99 and Parks and Recreation  a small-town patriot, played by Ed Helms, finds his whole world starting to crumble when a push begins to tear down the statue of the town founder and his ancestor. Given the heated arguments reverberating around the world in recent times about statues, and whether the sometimes-dubious characters they honour make them unfit for public display, one could assume that the show was ripped from the headlines, written and shot in quick order to respond to the political climate.

But according to Schur, the fact that Rutherford Falls came along at a historical moment that chimed perfectly with the shows themes was a happy coincidence. Ed and I started talking about the character and the idea of a statue in 2016  Charlottesville happened soon thereafter and we were like, well this changes everything and suddenly statues are everywhere. We actually had to go back into the pilot and add a line for the mayor of the town, saying, its not a great time for people who like statues. That was added later because we wrote it so long ago that that wasnt necessarily the deal.

As Nathan Rutherford, Ed Helms (pictured with Dana L. Wilson and Jana Schmieding) has a serious case of ancestor worship in the culture-class comedy Rutherford Falls. Credit:Colleen Hayes/Peacock

The true genesis of the show came not from the news, but from discussions between friends Schur and Helms  who had worked together on the US Office  about what sort of project theyd like to team up on. We started from a very organic place of, what interests us about the world, what are some things weve noticed, what are some human behavioural traits that are worthy of investigation? Schur recalls. Ed mentioned a podcast he had heard about something called the Backfire Effect, which is a psychological phenomenon that when people are confronted with things that run contrary to core beliefs that they hold, theyre much more likely to double down on the wrong take than they are to accept the new information and alter their behaviour.

From that idea was born Nathan Rutherford, a man whom Schur describes as a good person who means well and is kind and empathetic, and also he has a blind spot. And that blind spot comes from a deep, unwilling-to-change connection to this one story, of his family. Its that family story that the hapless Nathan finds suddenly clashing with opposing narratives  in particular, that of the local Native American nation, whose take on the exploits of Nathans ancestor is, unsurprisingly, a little different. At this point the tale broadens out and becomes about a lot more than one guy with a slightly unhealthy case of ancestor worship. Here is where the input of Schurs co-creator Sierra Teller Ornelas, who made Rutherford Falls the first-ever comedy with a Native American showrunner, became crucial to the final product. Schur and Helms, both white men, turned to Ornelas, a veteran writer on shows such as Superstore and Brooklyn 99 to tell the story they were looking for.
Oxygen concentrators will be delivered by the weekend. India is grappling with a dramatic surge in infections. Indian antidotes against the coronavirus for Paraguay, a Taiwan ally that China courts with "vaccine diplomacy". Beijing has also promised health support to Indians.

Taipei (AsiaNews) - Taiwan will send oxygen concentrators and other medical aid to India, which is struggling with a dramatic surge in coronavirus infections. Deputy Foreign Minister Miguel Tsao said today to the members of the national parliament.

The government exponent stressed that the first cargo will be delivered by air by the end of the week; others will follow, with Taipei expressing its willingness to make a long-term commitment to help Indians deal with the health emergency. India has exceeded 200 thousand victims; for days, it has recorded 350 thousand daily infections, making it the country with the most difficulty in containing the pandemic.

In his speech, Tsao emphasized the islands good relations with Delhi, considered an important partner that shares the same democratic ideals as Taipei. In recent days, Narendra Modi's government went to Taiwan's "rescue" by providing 100,000 doses of an Indian vaccine to Paraguay. The purchase will take place with Taiwanese financial support.

Taipei and Asuncion authorities say China has offered its vaccine to the South American country in exchange for diplomatic recognition: Paraguayans have formal relations with Taipei, but not with Beijing, which considers the island a "rebellious" province.

China has also offered aid to India. Yesterday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the government is working with domestic manufacturers toprovide health supplies to Delhi. Support was also promised by the USA, Pakistan, Israel, France and Germany.
A team of scientists from Estonia has recently characterized the anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody response induced by an mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in relation to age, sex, and side-effects.

The findings reveal that although the two-dose vaccine regimen initially induces robust antibody response in all age groups, older male individuals are particularly associated with a gradual decline in vaccine-induced immunity six weeks after the second vaccine dose. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

Background

After successful development and clinical validation, several COVID-19 vaccines are currently rolling out worldwide to curb the uprising trajectory of the pandemic. Among all vaccine types, so far, mRNA-based vaccines have shown the highest efficacy in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and reducing mortality. For instance, in the phase 3 clinical trial, the two-dose regimen of Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2) has shown an acceptable safety level and 95% efficacy against COVID-19.

However, studies investigating the impacts of age, sex, ethnicity, and other demographic factors on vaccine efficacy have shown that older individuals are particularly more likely to exhibit a weaker immunity in response to COVID-19 vaccination.

In the current study, the scientists have explored the dynamics of IgG-specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody response after the first and second doses of Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2. They have also investigated whether age, sex, and vaccine-related side-effects can influence the vaccine efficacy.

Study design

The study was conducted on 118 healthy volunteers (age range: 21  68 years) who received two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine. The immune responses of the volunteers were examined up to 6 weeks following the second vaccine dose. Specifically, the post-vaccination time points for monitoring immune response were three weeks after the first dose, just before the second dose, one week after the second dose, and six weeks after the second dose. The post-vaccination immune responses were compared with the baseline immune response (before the first vaccine dose).

The serum samples collected from the volunteers were analyzed for IgG-specific antibodies against the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2.

Important observations

By estimating serum antibody titers, the scientists observed that compared to the baseline values, the anti-spike RBD antibody levels increased three weeks after the first vaccine dose. The antibody levels peaked at one week after the second dose, followed by a gradual decline. Specifically, they observed a 45% reduction in antibody level between one and six weeks after the second dose. The majority of volunteers showed a similar trend of declining antibody levels. However, only 4% of volunteers exhibited increased antibody levels at six weeks after the second dose.

Interestingly, they observed that the IgG-specific anti-spike RBD antibody levels in COVID-19 recovered patients were significantly lower than observed in volunteers who received the second vaccine dose. However, volunteers immunized with only the first dose showed relatively lower antibody levels than COVID-19 recovered patients.

Factors influencing vaccine response

The scientists identified age as a major contributing factor for vaccine efficacy, which showed a negative correlation with antibody response at all time points tested. The volunteers aged less than 40 years showed significantly higher antibody levels at all tested time points compared to those above 40 years.

Furthermore, they observed that the negative correlation between age and vaccine-induced immune response was significantly more prominent in male volunteers than female volunteers.

Vaccine-related side-effects

About 93% of volunteers reported having mild to moderate side-effects, including swelling/pain at the injection site, fatigue, malaise, headache, chills, fever, or myalgia. However, about 22% of volunteers reported having long-lasting side-effects that resulted in workplace absenteeism and impaired daily life activities.

Interestingly, some of the side-effects, including fever, headache, fatigue, malaise, chills, and nausea, showed a strong positive correlation with vaccine-related immune responses. This correlation was significantly more prominent among male volunteers than female volunteers. Regarding age variation, older volunteers showed relatively fewer adverse side-effects than younger volunteers.

Study significance

The study findings reveal a robust antibody response among healthy volunteers immunized with Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. This observation further strengthens the effectiveness of mRNA-based vaccines in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, the study indicates that the vaccine is relatively less effective in older males than older females. However, older people are less susceptible to have vaccine-related side-effects than younger people.

*Important Notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
New Delhi, April 28 : Afghanistan has urged Pakistan to impose its will on Taliban so that it joins stalled peace talks.

On its part, Pakistan has apparently served Taliban an "enough is enough" ultimatum. In case they don't re-join the peace process, the Talban were told, Islamabad would retaliate.

What has been the tipping point that has forced Islamabad's hand? Apparently, Pakistan's patience ran out when the Taliban refused to join the US-backed Afghan Peace Conference in Islamabad, which was slated for April 24 in Istanbul. The seminal conclave was to be co-hosted by Turkey, Qatar and the United Nations.

The Pakistani delegation led by special envoy Mohammad Sadiq was subsequently in Kabul for two days. According to the Afghan media, the Pakistani heavyweight team was on a 'special' mission.

Last year, the Afghans had arrested Aslam Farooqi, also known as Abdullah. He was the chief of the arch-terrorist Islamic State "Khorasan Province' (KP) chapter. Since then, Pakistan has been trying to "extradite" Aslam Farooqi, because of his 'close ' connection with Pakistan's ISI. The Afghans have charged Farooqi with attacking in last March, in which 27 people were killed.

India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case to look into the terror attack in Kabul. One Indian was among 27 Sikh worshippers who were killed in the attack led by Aslam Farooqi.

Pakistan's ISI and the Pakistan army, the handlers of terror groups, has been concerned that Farooqi would share sensitive, credible and verifiable information with the National Directorate of Security (NDS) of Afghanistan, showing them in "poor light", in case the information became public.

It is because of these large-scale ramifications that Pakistan has been pressuring Afghanistan to hand over Farooqi to them. Pakistan is using the Taliban peace deal as a leverage to bring in the United States into the picture to pressurise Afghanistan to hand over Farooqi to them.

While Pakistani delegation was in Kabul last week, it is understood that Farooqi's extradition was also discussed.

When asked by the media, Ahmad Zia Saraj, the head of Afghanistan's intelligence agency-the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said: "We will think about it once Pakistan hands over some Taliban leaders to us who are in their jails." The ball in now in Pakistan's court to comply with the Afghan request, in case it wants to "recover" their intelligence asset.

According to the NDS, more than 408 foreigners Daesh terrorists have been arrested, out of which 299 are Pakistani including the Province chief Aslam Farooqi. Another 309 foreign prisoners that belong to Al Qaeda network and other militant groups are also in the Afghan government's custody.

The Afghanistan government has talked to the 13 countries including Pakistan whose nationals are in Afghan prisons.

NDS chief says Aslam Farooqi, a key Daesh leader and other few high ranking Pakistani terrorists will not be handed over to Pakistan immediately.

Farooqi, who belongs to Orakzai district, Kohat Division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, before moving to ISIS, was a part of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) in the late 1990s, an anti-Shia terror group, many members of which, later joined Al Qaeda and the Taliban. LeJ, too, traces its origin to Orakzai district and is known for carrying out sectarian attacks, including against the Shias and religious minorities, including Hindu nationals of Pakistan.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/
Two innocent people were killed, and one was wounded in a shooting spree in five different areas in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The suspect was killed after long hours of pursuit that ended on the 91 Freeway in Orange County, ABC 7 reported.

READ NEXT: 13-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Shooting Younger Sister to Death

The Los Angeles Shooting

Lt. Raul Jovel from the Los Angeles Police Department said their officers received a call at around 12:55 a.m., reporting that a man was shot on Figueroa Street and Exposition Boulevard.

The said victim sustained a graze wound on his head, and the vehicle he was riding was reported to receive a barrage of bullets, Fox 11 reported. Although wounded, Jovel noted that the victim was able to provide them descriptions about the suspect's vehicle. The victim was transported to a local hospital.

Apart from the first victim, two other victims were also fatally shot by the same suspect in different locations. Authorities identified the two killed victims as Alexis Carbajal, 25; and Mingzhi Zhu, 42.

Mingzhi Zhu, an Uber driver, was shot while he was on his way to pick up a rider. Zhu was reported to be shot dead near Figueroa and 7th streets. Authorities noted that Zhu's SUV was still running when the paramedic has arrived on the scene.

Carbajal was shot dead while waiting for food. The suspect was reported driving up to the side of the victim's vehicle. ABC 7 noted that a surveillance video showed that the suspect opened fire moments later, and the victim was shot in the head.

Carbajal was reported to be with his wife during the incident. But authorities said that the wife was not injured. Carbajal's wife can also be seen in the footage running for help after his husband was shot.

Carbajal was shot 25 minutes later after the officers responded to the first reported shooting. Jovel noted that Zhu was shot about "15, 20" minutes after Carbajal was shot.

The Suspect

Authorities identified the suspect in his early 50s or late 40s. They refrained from giving out the name pending notification of his relatives.

The pursuit with the suspect, which lasted for about three hours, stretched from 601 and 57 Freeways before ending on the westbound 91 Freeway near Raymond Avenue.

The suspect opened fire on police, prompting officers to return fire, NBC Los Angeles reported. The suspect was declared dead at the scene.

"These appear to be random acts of violence... we have no idea what precipitated this," said Jovel in a news conference.

The police shut off all the traffic lanes between State College Boulevard and Raymond Avenue during the standoff on the 91 Freeway.

Authorities recovered a handgun at the scene. Police said no officers were injured in the incident.

READ MORE: 1 Dead, 5 Injured in Alabama Park Shooting on Easter

WATCH: 2 Killed, 1 Hurt In Shooting Spree From Downtown LA To Fullerton - From CBS Los Angeles
Bangladesh: Coast guard seizes immature hilsas

April 28,2021 | Source: The New Age Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Coast Guard seized about 35 maunds of immature hilsas at Swarighat in Dhaka on Monday morning, said a press release. A team of Pagla coast guard station under the command of Luitenant Ashmadul Islam carried out a raid on the fish retail market at Swarighat and seized the immature hilsas.



Nobody was arrested in this regard as the owner of the fishes could not be found. The immature hilsas were distributed among poor people and local orphanages. Fishing and selling immature hilsas are prohibited under the laws of the country.

 2021 Media New Age Limited
Only 56% of nursing home and assisted living staff in New jersey have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, the states top health official said Wednesday at the states latest coronavirus briefing.

That compares to an 84% vaccination rate among residents, state Health Department Commissioner Judith Persichilli said

The vaccination of nursing home residents and staff is essential to reduce the risk of symptomatic COVID-19, she said. In New Jersey, we must increase out vaccination rates among our long-term care staff.

Were not happy with it, Gov. Phil Murphy said, noting hes extremely happy with the vaccination rate of residents.

When asked why there is hesitancy among staff, Persichilli said many of the workers are from communities of color, who have some longstanding concerns about vaccines.

Also, she said, many of the staff are young and take information from wrong or misleading social media posts, such as the debunked rumor that the vaccines can change your DNA and affect fertility.

Thirty-five out of 378 nursing homes in the state are now mandating the vaccine as a condition of employment, she said, and 80 others have told the state they are considering it.

Pershichilli encouraged people with family members in facilities to ask the facility what it is doing to increase vaccination rates.

Murphy agreed.

If you have a relative in a long-term care facility, ask that facility what are they doing to get their staff vaccinated. Whats the plan? he said. You deserve to know what the plan is to vaccinate the staff.

To illustrate the importance of staff being vaccinated, Persichilli shared the data behind an outbreak that happened in a Kentucky nursing home earlier this month.

More than 90% of residents were vaccinated but only 52% of staff was. An unvaccinated staffer brought the virus into the home, infecting 26 residents, 18 of whom were fully vaccinated, and 20 residents, four of whom were vaccinated, she said.

Three residents died. Two of them were not vaccinated.

The vaccine was 86.5% protective against symptomatic illness among the residents and 87.1% protective among vaccinated staff, she said.

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Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.
Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Wednesday said a part of compensation of key employees of asset management companies (AMCs) should be paid in the form of units of scheme in which they have a role.

In a circular, SEBI said it has taken the decision with a view to align the interest of key employees of AMCs with the unitholders of the mutual fund scheme.

"A minimum of 20 per cent of the salary/ perks/ bonus/ non-cash compensation (gross annual CTC) net of income tax and any statutory contributions (i.e. PF and NPS) of the key employees of the AMCs shall be paid in the form of units of mutual fund schemes in which they have a role/oversight," the regulator said.

The compensation paid in the form of units needs to be proportionate to the asset under management (AUM) of the schemes in which the key employee has a role or oversight, SEBI said, adding that exchange traded funds (ETFs), index funds, overnight funds and existing close ended schemes will be excluded for this purpose.

The compensation needs to be paid proportionately over 12 months on the date of payment of such salary/perks/bonus/non-cash compensation and such mutual fund units would be locked-in for a minimum period of three years or tenure of the scheme, whichever is less, Sebi said.

The circular will come into effect from July 1, 2021.

Also read: Zomato files for IPO, plans to raise Rs 8,250 crore

With a view to allowing the key employees to diversify their unit holdings, in case of dedicated fund managers managing only a single scheme or single category of schemes, SEBI said 50 per cent of such compensation will be by way of units of the scheme managed by the fund manager, while the remaining 50 per cent could be by way of units of those schemes whose risk value as per the risk-o-meter is equivalent or higher than the scheme managed by the fund manager.

The regulator also said units allotted to the key employees will be subject to clawback in the event of violation of code of conduct, fraud or gross negligence by them, as determined by SEBI. Upon clawback, the units will be redeemed and amount will be credited to the scheme. The compliance of the provisions of this new framework will be ensured by the AMCs and monitored by the trustees.

The provisions of this circular will not be applicable to key employees having oversight only over ETFs, index funds, overnight funds and existing close ended schemes.

Chief Executive Officer(CEO), Chief Investment Officer(CIO), Chief Risk Officer (CRO), Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Chief Operation Officer (COO), Fund Manager, Compliance Officer, Sales Head, Investor Relation Officer (IRO), heads of other departments, direct reportees to the CEO, fund management team and research team, among others, will be included as key employees, SEBI said.

The modalities with respect to contribution of key employees in close ended schemes and its applicability shall be provided in due course, the regulator added.

Also read: 'Organised loot': PIL filed in Bombay HC, seeks sale of COVID-19 vaccines at Rs 150 per dose
The hospitality industry and some state lawmakers have long criticized the curfew as arbitrary, pointing to a lack of evidence that late-night dining was contributing in any meaningful way to the viruss spread.

The state will also allow people in New York City to sit at bars starting on Monday, for the first time since Mr. Cuomo implemented a statewide shutdown last March. Even as establishments have been allowed to welcome customers indoors, patrons were required to be seated at tables.

The restaurant industry welcomed the news.

Its great news that the state will finally undo the bar stool ban and lift the arbitrary midnight curfew, said Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, an industry group. These outdated policies made it too difficult for too many small business owners and workers to support themselves and their families, and were a grave inconvenience to customers.

The state will also loosen restrictions on catered events at residences. Beginning on Monday, they can have more than 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors, provided events follow any necessary mask and social-distancing directives. Curfews on all catered events will also be lifted next month.
Former chief justice joins Senate race; Mandy Cohen recruitment is under way

RALEIGH  Former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley has formally announced shes running for U.S. Senate on the Democratic side in hopes of replacing three-term Republican incumbent Richard Burr, who is retiring.

The announcement was not unexpected, as Carolina Journal reported Beasleys plans in February.

In a video announcement, Beasley, the first African-American female to serve as chief justice on the state Supreme Court, focused on opportunity.

No door should ever be closed to you. With hard work and determination, you can accomplish anything, she said in the video.

There are times when people tell you that you cant do something. And really it has more to do with the confinement of their own ability to see it.

Beasley is the fifth Democrat to jump in the race, joining former state Sen. Erica Smith, current state Sen. Jeff Jackson, virologist Richard Watkins and Beaufort Mayor Rett Newton in the field.

With Smith, Watkins, and Beasley, three of the five announced candidates are African-American.

Beasley is not the only big name circulating. According to prominent Democrat consultant Brad Crone, An active effort to recruit Dr. Mandy Cohen into the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate is now underway.

Cohen is the current secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. She has been the public face of much of North Carolinas pandemic response for more than a year.

She would be a competitive force; she has instant name recognition, said Crone. She has been a top lieutenant to Gov. Cooper and could tap into his base of support  She would be considered more of a moderate candidate that could compete well in North Carolinas more rural areas.

Cohen is an internal medicine physician and has experience leading complex health organizations. Before coming to North Carolina, she was chief operating officer and chief of staff at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She served as a senior adviser to the Obama administration working to implement the Affordable Care Act.

Meanwhile, Beasleys video is light on policy or positions, but contains her background story. It is built on a theme of opening doors.

Whether its health care, education, or the ability to find work that supports a family and retire with dignity, too often Washington only responds to the well-connected. As we come out of this pandemic, now more than ever, that needs to end, Beasley said.

There is no doubt that Justice Beasley will be the frontrunner for the Democrats, said Crone. However, the field is still developing and could change dramatically if HHS Secretary Mandy Cohen enters the race. Jeff Jackson, Erica Smith, and Rett Newton will all be fighting for attention and support bases as the field sorts itself out.

Cheri Beasleys entry into the race adds an interesting dynamic for Democratic primary voters, said Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst. Shes new to campaigning for an openly political position, and she has no experience as a legislator that would help her adapt to the U.S. Senate. But she has won multiple statewide judicial elections and came within roughly 400 votes of winning another last fall. Having been a chief justice of the states highest court could give her a level of gravitas that other Democrats will have a hard time matching. She certainly offers a stark contrast to Jeff Jackson  whose status as a white man might put him out of step with the most enthusiastic Democratic activists.

Beasley for the Democrats and former Gov. Pat McCrory for the Republicans are the only two candidates in the Senate race who previously have won statewide contests. Beasley captured the N.C. Court of Appeals race in 2008 and state Supreme Court in 2014. McCrory won the 2012 governors race but lost his re-election bid in 2016 to Cooper.

Beasley and McCrory also have the unique distinction of being on the losing end of two of the closest statewide political contests in N.C. history. Beasley lost Novembers chief justice race to Republican Paul Newby by 400 votes out of nearly 5.4 million cast. McCrory lost to Cooper in 2016 by 11,000 votes out of 4.6 million cast, or 0.22 percent.
PUNE, India, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global demand for Medical Oxygen Gas Cylinder Market Size, in terms of revenue, was worth of USD 15.41 Billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 23.64 Billion in 2027, growing at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2020 to 2027. The global Medical Oxygen Gas Cylinder is expected to grow at a significant rate due to the number of driving factors.

Covid-19 has positively impacted the growth of global medical gas oxygen cylinder market. During Covid-19 pandemic, the rising number of COVID-19 cases has essentially accelerated the demand for medical oxygen gas cylinders for intensive care. The requirement for oxygen has expanded to 1.1 million cylinders in low to center pay countries alone due to increasing number of COVID-19 patients. Number of countries are embraced pre-emptive measures to guarantee a satisfactory supply of oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients. For example, in March 2020, Tenaris' Dalmine consistent plant in Italy announced that it requested 4,300 clinical evaluation oxygen gas cylinders as the Lombardy area of the nation was seriously influenced by the effect of COVID-19. These elements are positively impacting the development of the global medical oxygen gas cylinder market.

medical gas oxygen cylinder top Manufacturers:

Some major key players for global medical gas oxygen cylinder market report cover prominent players Nidek Medical Products, Inc., Catalina Cylinders, ResMed, Inogen, Inc., Airgas Inc, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Messe Dusseldorf GmbH, ROYAX, Cramer Decker Medical, AirGenics Inc, Bright Medi- Weld Appliances, Invacare Corporation, DeVilbiss Healthcare LLC, Allied Healthcare Products Inc, Messer Group GmbH, Praxair Inc., Air Products Inc, Luxfer Gas Cylinders, OrientMEd International, AirGenics Inc, TECNO-GAZ SpA, and others.

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Medical Oxygen Gas Cylinder Market: Global Size, Trends, Competitive, Historical & Forecast Analysis, 2021-2027. Increasing product offerings for medical oxygen system for homecare settings and hospitals, and growing prevalence of chronic diseases and rising Covid-19 cases are some of the major factors driving the growth of Global Medical Oxygen Gas Cylinder Market.

Medical oxygen gas cylinders are regularly needed by medical care staff for therapy and diagnostic purposes. Medical oxygen gas systems, for example, oxygen concentrators and compressed oxygen gas cylinders are significantly utilized in homecare settings, and are generally preferred by old patients who experience issues in mobility, and rely upon a reliable oxygen supply. Some basic chronic medical conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), emphysema, chronic bronchitis, a typical long term impact of smoking require oxygen treatment or supplemental oxygen to get the enough oxygen. Different kinds of oxygen systems are utilized to conveyed the controlled measure of oxygen to the patients. Medical oxygen gas is high purity oxygen that is utilized for clinical treatments and is produced for use in the human body. Medical oxygen gas cylinders contain a high purity of oxygen gas; no different sorts of gases are permitted in the cylinder to prevent infections.

Increasing Product Offerings for Medical Oxygen System for Homecare Settings and Hospitals, Rising Number of the FDA Approvals for Medical Gas Equipments, Growing Prevalence of Chronic Diseases and Increasing Covid-19 Cases are Some of the Major Factors Driving the Market Growth

The major factors driving the growth of global medical gas oxygen cylinder market are increasing product launches for medical oxygen system for homecare settings and hospitals. The huge number of the hospitals and healthcare organizations are introducing centralized oxygen systems in medical clinics, to guarantee the huge measure of supply to the patients. Also, homecare setting segments is likewise contributing significantly to development of the market, attributable to launch of portable oxygen systems in the market. For example; in October 2017, Invacare Corporation launched the Invacare Platinum Mobile Oxygen Concentrator with new availability. Additionally, in January 2016, GCE Healthcare launched Zen-O portable oxygen concentrator (POC). It is lightweight oxygen treatment device that weighs 4.66kg (10lbs) and simple to carry around. In addition, increasing number of FDA approvals for medical gas equipments is also fostering the market growth. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to change its current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) guidelines to incorporate new requirements for the color, label, design and dedication of medical oxygen gas compartments and closures. These necessities are proposed to make the substance of medical oxygen gas cylinders more promptly recognizable, reduce the probability that containers of industrial or different gases would be improperly associated with medical oxygen supply systems, and reduce the threat of pollution of medical gases.

Furthermore, rising prevalence of Covid-19 cases worldwide and growing cases of chronic diseases are also supplementing the market growth. Optimal medical infrastructure utilization became a high priority for Governments worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Special attention is drawn to both the import and local manufacture of medical oxygen gas to ensure its uninterrupted supply to designated COVID-hospitals identified by the local administration. For example; as per Worldometer; As of April 27th, 2021; there are 19,172,322 active cases of Covid-19 globally. Oxygen gas cylinders are required for the increasing demand from medical clinics, home care settings and many others. Medical oxygen gas cylinders are available in various sizes relying on the requirement. In Hospitals, oxygen gas treatment is executed on the patients for the therapy of chronic health issue to improve energy levels, rest and a superior quality life of patients. Oxygen is generally utilized in medical clinics for the therapy of various intense and chronic diseases. Theses clinical oxygen chambers are generally utilized in the ambulance to manage emergency circumstances. The medical oxygen gas cylinders have huge need for the patients facing different infections like asthma, disease, etc.

However, high cost of oxygen gas cylinders may hamper the market growth. In spite of that, rising investments in the healthcare and the increasing technological development in the medical oxygen gas cylinders market can offer more opportunities for the further growth in forecast period.

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Global medical gas oxygen cylinder market is segmented on the basis of product, technology, end-user, size, cylinder type, application and region & country level. Based upon product, medical gas oxygen cylinder market is classified into portable oxygen concentrator and cylinders, stationary oxygen concentrator and cylinders and oxygen concentrator and cylinders. Based on technology, the market is classified into continuous flow and pulse flow. Based on the end-user, the medical gas oxygen cylinder market is classified into home-care and non home-care. Based on size, the market is classified into 10L, 40L, 50L and 100L. Based upon cylinder type, medical gas oxygen cylinder market is classified into fixed and portable. Based upon application, the market is divided into operating room, emergency room, respiratory department and household.

News: Non-Limited Life Medical Cylinder Launched by Luxfer, as COVID-19 Increases Demand for Solutions to Help Millions with Respiratory Conditions

On October 16th, 2020; Luxfer Gas Cylinders launched its first Non-Limited Life (NLL) medical cylinders to support the healthcare industry. Coronavirus prompts the advancement of new innovations to assist in oxygen treatment for the large numbers with respiratory-related disease. The new cylinder from Luxfer used to help patients influenced by conditions that make breathing difficult, including COVID 19. Additionally Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which influences 65 million individuals universally and results in more than 3 million deaths worldwide every year. The new Luxfer 1.0 liter NLL carbon composite clinical cylinder is its first item offering with a life expectancy past the common 15-year and 20-year oxygen cylinder contributions accessible today. Currently, the product is bound for medical organizations and it will go under the control of medical services experts who can help patients who need oxygen treatment progressing.

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North America is Expected to Dominate the Global Medical Gas Oxygen Cylinder Market

North America is expected to dominate the global medical gas oxygen cylinder market owing to the increasing COVID-19 cases, rising prevalence of chronic diseases and shift of population with breathing issues in this region. For example; as per World Health Organization (WHO), about 251 million individuals created chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) in 2016. North America is required to observe worthwhile development in the worldwide clinical oxygen framework market, attributable to presence of key manufacturer's for medical oxygen gas systems and rising product launches in this region. For example; the manufacturers like Imogen, Invacare Corporation, CAIRE, Inc., and O2 Concepts, LLC, that offer creative oxygen concentrators, have high presence in the U.S. market.

In Asia Pacific, the medical oxygen gas cylinder market is expected to display the fastest growth during the forecast period. In India, medical oxygen gas market is projected to grow predominantly on account of rising cases of fatal and chronic diseases, government initiatives of raising funds, and spread of COVID-19 pandemic in this region.

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Nuns ask Supreme Court to stop New York's abortion healthcare mandate

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A group of nuns and other religious organizations in New York are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case against a 2017 state mandate requiring employers to cover abortions in their employee healthcare plans.

Led by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, a coalition of religious organizations filed an appeal Friday asking the nations high court to hear the case of Diocese of Albany v. Lacewell.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and the law firm Jones Day represent the plaintiffs, which include several Catholic dioceses, local branches of Catholic Charities, individual Catholic churches, Catholic and Anglican nuns and faith-based corporations.

The plaintiffs believe that New Yorks abortion mandate violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because it imposes severe burdens on their religious exercise, including a steadfast opposition to abortion.

In a 2017 regulation, the New York State Department of Financial Services mandated that employers fund abortions through their employee health insurance plans, the petition to the Supreme Court explained. This regulatory command exempts religious entities whose purpose is to inculcate religious values and who employ and serve primarily coreligionists. But religious organizations must cover abortions if they have a broader religious mission (such as service to the poor) or if they employ or serve people regardless of their faith.

For example, Catholic Charities, which serves the poor regardless of if they are Catholic, is required to fund abortions through its employee health insurance plan despite its connection to the Catholic Church, which is well-known for its opposition to abortion.

Even with the limited exemptions provided to certain religious employers, the regulation mandates that group and blanket insurance policies that provide hospital, surgical, or medical expense coverage  shall not exclude coverage for medically necessary abortions. Medically necessary abortions are not explicitly defined in the regulation, but the petition contends that the phrase refers to abortions in cases of rape, incest, or fetal malformation.

The petitioners initially sought relief from the abortion mandate in state court, but the state judicial system upheld the regulation. They are now seeking relief from the Supreme Court. The high court consists of six Republican-appointed justices and three justices appointed by Democratic presidents.

Our faith tells us that every life is precious from the moment of conception until natural death, said Mother Miriam, of the Sisterhood of Saint Mary, the oldest Anglican religious order in the U.S. New York has told us that if we want to hold our beliefs about the sanctity of life, we have to stop serving Non-Anglicans. We cannot compromise on our religious beliefs, or in our service to people of all faiths or no faith at all. Thats why we need relief from the Supreme Court.

According to Becket Senior Counsel Lori Windham, New York instituted its abortion mandate when nuns with the Little Sisters of the Poor were already two Supreme Court victories into their battle against the contraceptive mandate.

Now theyve won for a third time, sending the clear message that the government cant make nuns do its dirty work, Windham said. New Yorks failure to learn from the Little Sisters saga that you cant make nuns pay for abortions is beyond reason. The Court needs to step in and teach New York that lesson.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 last summer that a Trump administration rule broadening religious exemptions to the Obamacare mandate requiring employers to include contraceptive coverage in their employees healthcare plans did not violate the Constitution.

In 2016, the Supreme Court vacated lower court rulings against the Little Sisters of the Poor back to the lower courts, a decision that resulted in the case once again making its way up to the Supreme Court.

Attorneys for the petitioners argue that the Supreme Courts previous rulings in favor of the Little Sisters of the Poor have set a precedent that will require the justices to strike down New Yorks abortion mandate. They warned that failure to do so would have adverse impacts on their clients ability to do business in accordance with their faith.

The consequences could hardly be more severe, should this Court not intervene, the petition argued. New York churches and religious ministries will be forced to cooperate in what they consider to be grave evil  or stop operating. Before that happens, the Court should at least consider whether the Constitution allows it.

It is hard to imagine a more critical legal question for Petitioners than whether New York can force them to cover abortions in their employee health plans, the petition continues. And although the impact on religious adherents in New York alone would support review, the importance of this issue travels well beyond New Yorks borders  this case presents critical questions about a fundamental constitutional right.
Conservative Parent Groups Working to Reclaim Schools from Leftists

A group of American conservatives established a national grassroot organization, Parents Defending Education, to fight left-wing indoctrination in the classroom. Neily, a civil rights advocate, and Asra Nomani, a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal, were among the leader. The groups objective is to reclaim our schools from activists imposing harmful agendas.

In recent years activists have targeted public, private, and charter schools across the country with a campaign to impose toxic new curriculums and to force our kids into divisive identity groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, and gender. Many schools have already embraced this model, and many more are preparing to embrace it, the organization posted on its website.

The group explained that they do not tell parents what to do, because no one knows the school and community better than the parents themselves. Instead, it compiled numerous cases and resources that have emerged around the country for parents to use as a reference. It is time to join together and stop the madness in our schools, says the groups website.

According to the information compiled by the organization, it has seen a number of indoctrination examples in New York Citys public and private schools.

In February 2019, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) sponsored a panel discussion titled, How to Talk To Your Kids About Racism. The speaker identified whites as the most privileged race and African Americans as being at the bottom, while Asians benefit from proximity to white privilege.

According to the New York Post, the panel was steered by the Center for Racial Justice in Education. The Department of Education, headed by then Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza, paid the organization approximately $400,000 to conduct near-weekly training sessions throughout the city to address what it believes is rampant racism infecting schools.

In June 2020, Queens Chronicle, a local media outlet in the borough of Queens in New York City, revealed that the father of a 7-year-old at PS 144 in Forest Hills reported that the reading materials recommended by the school had racial wording that was extremely bigoted and unhelpful.

According to a Sept. 17 report by Fox News, public schools in Buffalo, New York, have incorporated Black Lives Matter propaganda into their elementary school childrens curriculum, and encourage the students to question the importance of the nuclear family.

In December 2020, dozens of faculty and staff at The Dalton School, an elite private school in New York City, put forward an 8-page manifesto and 24 radical requests for an anti-racism curriculum. If parents refused to cooperate, the school wouldnt open, which deeply angered the parents.

In February 2021, the principal of East Side Community High School in Manhattan, Mark Federman, sent materials to all parents, asking them to reflect on their whiteness.

Parents Unite Against Left-Wing Propaganda

In response to these issues, parents in New York City have established several organizations to fight back.

No Left Turn in Education has 116 members, and Moms for Liberty Facebook group in Nassau, Long Island, New York has 465.

The Chinese American Citizens Alliance Greater New York (CACAGNY), the oldest Chinese civil rights organization in the United States, is also among the grassroot organizations fighting against the CRT curriculum.

In an open letter released in February, CACAGNY said Critical Race Theory is a hateful, divisive, manipulative fraud. Hate groups, with allies in politics, the press, and education, pass CRT off as anti-racism and diversity, equity and inclusion, but CRT is exactly the opposite. From its very roots, CRT is racist, repressive, discriminatory, and divisive.

The organization also fights to defend the original admissions policy of the NYC Specialized High Schools, supports Gifted & Talented legislations, and was involved in the Harvard Admissions Lawsuit to stop racial discrimination in college admissions.

The Heterodox Academy (HxA) is a non-profit advocacy group of academics founded in 2015 to counteract what they see as a lack of viewpoint diversity on college campusesespecially political diversity. Its network includes more than 4,400 professors, K-12 educators, and students. The group has published insightful and thought-provoking works discussing topics such as splitting and identity politics.

On April 20, the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) posted a recorded conversation on Twitter, in which George Davison, the head of Grace Church School in Manhattan, admitted that the school is demonizing white people for being born.

In March 2021, Parents Defending Education requested Buffalo Public Schools, in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), to obtain all communications and documents related to destroying the Western nuclear family structure in the curriculum, as well as the implementation of courses related to the New York Times 1619 Project.

Schoolhouse Rights seeks to defend and support the individual rights of students, parents, and faculty members in public K-12 education, and defend the basic rights essential for liberty and a free society.

The first CRT lawsuit Schoolhouse Rights filed against CRT was the Clark v. State Public Charter School Authority, when William Clark, a mixed race high school senior, sued over the coercive, ideological indoctrination in a taxpayer-funded charter school in Nevada.

Williams mother, Gabrielle Clark, is black and his late father was white. William is regarded by his peers as white because of his blonde hair and green eyes. He was threatened with failing grades and non-graduation because he refused to acknowledge white supremacy.

William and his mother filed the lawsuit on Dec. 22, 2020 in federal court in Nevada against school authorities. According to the court filing, the charter school, Democracy Prep at the Agassi Campus, forced students to identify by race, sex, and sexual orientation and then labeled some of them as oppressors in classes. The critical race curriculum was launched without parental notification.

In early April, the school authorities not only retracted Williams failing grades, but also allowed him to opt out of the controversial course. William will graduate as planned this spring.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 13:50:11|Editor: huaxia

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VIENTIANE, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Some Lao people who have received COVID-19 vaccination have reassured about the safety of Chinese vaccines based on their personal experiences, according to a report by the Lao Vientiane Timesdaily Wednesday.

Chanthasouk Syvongsa, a resident of Lao capital Vientiane, just received two doses of Sinopharm vaccines. "I had my first injection on March 26 at the 103 Hospital and, like everyone else, was required to wait for 20-30 minutes to see if there were side effects or allergies," he said.

"Afterwards I felt sleepy for a little while but the next day I felt fine and was able to do everything I normally do, except that I wasn't supposed to drink alcohol for seven days."

He had the second injection on April 23.

"I felt a bit sore around the injection site but when I woke up the next morning I was back to normal, except that again I had to wait seven days before drinking any alcohol," Chanthasouk said.

"I'd like to put an end to the fears of people who are reluctant to be vaccinated because of a video clip that's been circulated on social media about serious side effects and people even dying from the vaccine. However, I'm still breathing after my second injection," he stressed.

Authorities are urging everyone in Laos to have COVID-19 vaccinations when they are made available, in order to prevent the spread of the virus. It is anticipated that about 20 percent of the Lao population, or about 1.6 million people, will be vaccinated this year.

The first vaccinations in Laos were given to volunteer medical staff at the end of last year. So far, most of the vaccines Laos has received are developed by Sinopharm (China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.).

Chanthasouk said, "If we are vaccinated, it protects not only ourselves but our families, especially those with several elderly people and children living together."

Souphatta Vongkhammany, another resident in Vientiane who have received two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, said she was confident the COVID-19 vaccine was not harmful.

Having found no signs of any side effects or allergies on herself, the lady urged everyone who had not yet been immunized to go to a vaccination center as soon as possible.

When receiving the second batch of China-donated vaccines on March 31, Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh expressed gratitude to China, and also said the inoculation of the first batch of China-donated vaccines has so far seen no report of severe side effects.

Meanwhile, the third batch of China-donated vaccines arrived at the Wattay International Airport in Vientiane on Monday.

As of Tuesday, Laos has reported 511 COVID-19 infected cases, and the country detected its first two COVID-19 cases on March 24 last year. Enditem
A sign for the Department of Justice hangs in the press briefing room at the Justice Department in Washington, on April 18, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

Chinese National Sentenced to 14 Years for Laundering Drug Money for Mexican Cartels

A federal judge in Illinois on Tuesday sentenced a Chinese national to 14 years behind bars for laundering the proceeds of illegal narcotics on behalf of Mexican drug traffickers, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin imposed the sentence on April 27 after a hearing in federal court in Chicago, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Illinois said in a press release.

Xianbing Gan, a 51-year-old Chinese national, arranged for over $500,000 in illicit drug proceeds to be picked up in Chicago in 2018, prosecutors said. The money was supposed to be transferred to drug traffickers in Mexico through various bank accounts in China.

Unbeknownst to Gan, a purported money courier who picked up the drug proceeds in Chicago was an undercover law enforcement agent, according to the release.

Gan, who prosecutors said facilitated the money transfers while living in Guadalajara, Mexico, was arrested in November 2018 at an airport in Los Angeles during a layover on a flight from Hong Kong to Mexico, and has remained in U.S. custody since his arrest.

The defendant was part of a recent phenomenon in which a relatively small network of Chinese money brokers based in Mexico have come to dominate international money laundering markets, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean J.B. Franzblau and Richard M. Rothblatt argued in a sentencing memorandum.

Many of these brokers are also engaged in legitimate business, and use that business as cover for and to further money laundering activity. It does not matter that defendant never personally distributed narcoticsdrug distribution and money laundering are two sides of the same malignant coin, they added.

Gan was convicted by a federal jury in Chicago last year on three counts of money laundering and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

The insidious Chinese presence in the drug trafficking arena has been growing for years and now dominates the global money-laundering business and chemical productionboth critical services to cartel operations in Mexico, Colombia, and beyond.

Clearly the Chinese are way more dangerous, way more sophisticated, way more complex, and way more of a national security threat to Americaits not even a comparison [with Mexican cartels], Derek Maltz, former head of the Drug Enforcement Administrations (DEA) special operations division, told The Epoch Times in an interview last summer.

Agreements between cartel leaders and the heads of Chinese money laundering operations based in Mexico have cemented the relationships and provided fertile ground for rapid expansion, according to the DEA.

Maltz said traditional money laundering organizations charged around 8 percent for laundering bulk cash, but Chinese networks overtook the industry by undercutting the competition and charging commissions as low as 1 percent, or even nothing.

Its a brilliant business idea, Maltz said. They set up very sophisticated, complex, trade-based money laundering schemes where hundreds of millions of dollars are picked up and used to buy consumer goods in China. And then the consumer goods are shipped into Central America, South America, all over the region in Latin America, to launder the proceeds for the drug traffickers in Mexico as well.

Charlotte Cuthbertson contributed to this report.
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How to Do It is Slates sex advice column. Have a question? Send it to Stoya and Rich here. Its anonymous!

Dear How to Do It,

My partner (36-year-old man) and I (34-year-old woman) have been together for more than 16 years and have a wonderful relationship and a beautiful 5-year-old daughter. He is the love of my life, and I feel as strongly about saying that now as I did when I first fell in love with him. I have never kept anything from him. Lies chew me up inside, and I really cant keep secretsexcept one. Its an awful, crushing secret. Please allow me to unpack this complicated situation, and if you can offer any kind of direction to help me move forward, I would be incredibly grateful for your insight and advice.

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A few years ago, when the #MeToo movement began, I had the horrific epiphany that I was sexually assaulted. This was a hard realization because I had always thought sexual assault was violent, and penetrative; I hadnt even realized what happened was an assault. The definition was never clear to me. I was sexually assaulted by someone I thought was my friend, someone I trusted and never in my wildest dreams thought would try to hurt me. He assaulted me in my best friends home one-and-a-half years after my partner and I started dating. We were having a small get-together with friends and family; my partner wasnt there with me that night. While I was getting ready for bed, this man came in and forced himself on me. I was alone in the room and pleaded with him to stop; I literally begged him. He wasnt violent. He didnt rip my clothes off or threaten mehe just ignored me and my attempts to push him off and get away. He had me pinned, groping and humping me through my clothes for some time. I was terrified he would continue and rape me. But I thought because he didnt rape me, it wasnt an assault. I dont understand why I didnt make more noise, why I was so worried someone other than him would hear me, why I didnt put up a fight, why I couldnt speak up; I had never felt so weak or so small. After he had grabbed my neck to force me to kiss him and I refused to participate, he finally stopped. I literally crawled to my bed on the pullout couch and curled into the cushions without a sound. I didnt want him to hear me cry. He slept on the floor next to my bed the entire night and I wouldnt allow myself to fall asleep.

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This is my secret. You are the only person who knows other than me. (Im sorry to put that on you, maybe the anonymity and your readers have given me a safe place. Ive never spoken these words out loud. Somehow writing them seems easier.) Since this realization, Im finding myself angry, and Im finding myself reliving that hour whenever I see large men with dark hair. I check ahead on movies to see if there are rape scenes because I find them disturbing, and it takes days or weeks to stop thinking about them. Before #MeToo, I was blissfully ignorant; in fact, I had completely pushed the memory out of my mind altogetherit was just forgotten to me, with the exception of some rare occasions (and I feel gutted saying this) that my partner reminds me of him. Not in personality or demeanor, but in stature, in skin tone, in hair color. Ive hid this from him for more than a decade, and its breaking my heart. I want to tell him, but honestly, I cant bring myself to even begin, let alone tell him what happened. We live in a small town; he knows my assaulter, though they are not friends directly. My partner is fiercely protective of my well-being (like any partner would be) and I know this would rip open his heart. The night it happened, he was partying with his own friends while I was with mine, and I know him well enough to understand how much this would hurt him, how he may blame himself for not being there (though that is not his fault or responsibility), so I have chosen to say nothing to protect him.

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Its eating me up inside. Keeping this from him makes me feel dishonest. Im afraid to hurt him. Im afraid he would be angry at me for not coming forward to him as if I cant trust him. Im afraid to disrupt our peace and our love. Some part of me for some reason is afraid he wont believe me, and Im unsure why. Is it worth disrupting 16 years of a wonderful, loving relationship to tell him this one thing? I feel like if I say it out loud there is no going back. I know I DO NOT want to tell him the name of the man who assaulted mehe would most certainly ask, and I dont want to tell him or live with another liewe run in the same circle of friends occasionally. I cant demand of him to not confront him. I cant ask him to just forget about it the way I had once done. He would feel utterly betrayed by this person, and I dont want to be the one to break his heart. I guess Im not really sure what to do.

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Brokenhearted

Dear Brokenhearted,

I admire not just your strength but your ability to convey in a relatively small amount of words the enormous burden abuse can produce on ones life. You see, it has a radiating effect. Theres the actual cruelty of the moment, and then there are the years of trauma that result. Even more unfairly taxing are these ethical questions of how to share your story after the fact, as a sensitive, lionhearted partners reaction may create complications on top of the undue complications youre already working through. It just isnt fair, and I really wish I could Im sorry the pain away, that somehow with my words alone alleviate the great weight you carry as a result of your assault. I know they wont.

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The way I see this is that you have no obligation to do anything beyond your comfort level here. This situation was foisted upon you; you get to control the rest to the best of your ability. I believe you can share a version of this story with your partner that is vague enough to convey your trauma without risking the further complications of identifying information. If he is as compassionate as you believe him to be, he will respect your right to only tell him as much as youre comfortable with. You dont have to name a time or place or your assaulter. It might make for an unsatisfying narrative, but that is not the point; its to get things off your chest and let your partner in.

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I realize this still may seem too daunting. In that case, you may want to consider some sort of counseling that could help you come to terms with your trauma. That may make sharing it with your partner easier. If in the telling of this story you find him asking for details that you arent willing to give, just tell him that youre not ready to talk about certain things. This process may not seem intuitive to someone who hasnt been through it, but hell need to trust that youre doing the best you can and that this is what your healing process looks like.

By the way, please dont be angry with yourself over your response to your assault. When faced with danger, people often shift into a sort of autopilot in which one of three natural responses occurs: fight, flight, or freeze. You froze. It was an automatic response that transcends rational thinking. The notion of should have is irrelevant regarding such a responseit is all was. Your body did the best it could do in reaction to a threat. Keep that in mind moving forward, and continue to just do your best.

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Dear How to Do It,

Im a woman in my mid-20s. I am generally attracted to older men but have been trying to move away from that. Last year (pre-pandemic), I was at a bar and met a cute guy who looked to be about my age. Both of us wanted a purely no-strings situation and ended up going back to my place and sleeping together. The sex was decent so we kept occasionally hooking up at my place when he had time. I eventually discovered, however, that he is a student in high school. He was actually 17 years old. Thankfully our relationship was legal so Im not in any sort of trouble, but I was so grossed out. I didnt even think I needed to worry about the age thing since I was in a very clearly 21+ bar. Well: Recently, I met another guy on a dating app who suggested we meet at a different bar. He looked younger than I expected in person. He was 17. I only noticed because I saw his school ID and real license when he pulled out his wallet to get the fake one. How can I make sure the people Im sleeping with are over 18? I thought for sure a bar would be safe. These guys made up fake jobs and fake roommate troubles and I was seriously swindled both times. It was so, so awkward asking to see the second guys real license. I dont want to have to do that every time, but I feel like some sort of creepy predator!

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Mrs. Robinson

Dear Mrs. Robinson,

Good for you: Youve spotted an issue and already have also solved it. The way that you determine whether young-looking guys are of age is by looking at officially issued identification. Its awkward, but the guilt you felt when you didnt do that was worse. And in fact, the awkwardness in the second instance paid off because it prevented you from having sex that you would have felt weird about.

You are not a creepy predator, but while I hate to tell you this, you will have to perform some sort of reconnaissance along these lines to keep your conscience clear. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that in casual settings, some people lie in order to get laid. A degree of suspicion and willingness to investigate in order to confirm or deny your intuition is healthy, no matter how much it sucks to put it into action.

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Dear How to Do It,

My wife and I have been married for almost two decades. In that time, we spent a great portion of our marriage in a loveless/intimacy-less dry spell. During that period, I had an affair, which ultimately came to light and nearly separated us, but we reconciled. For almost two years now, things have been much better between the two of us, except our sex life. Its still MIA. Ive broached the subject many times, but my wife now thinks Im a horndog just for trying to talk about it, or for thinking we could have a normal life. Its gotten to the point where I dont even try to initiate anymore because I know Ill get rejected. What should I do?

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Cold Shoulder

Dear Cold Shoulder,

I believe that by holding on to the standard absolute monogamy, we as a culture are setting ourselves up to fail. But whether by social conditioning or internal forces that are more mysterious, people feel how they feel, and your affair may have indelibly colored your entire relationship with your wife. You had troubles before, yes, but you could start here by accepting that behavior has consequences. Your wife now may not be able to unsee your betrayal, and is turned off for good.

Certainly, it didnt help whatever issues were existent at the time it happened. Many long-term couples find themselves in sexless (or something damn near close to that) relationships, and there are a variety of reasons for this that Esther Perel explores in Mating in Captivity. Unfortunately, sex doesnt always come natural to even the most connected long-term couples (in fact, that connection may ultimately obstruct the ability to eroticize ones partner). Work is necessary. What kind were you putting in prior to your cheating? Is seeing a counselor something you and your wife would be open to? If we imagine that things stay as sexless as they are, can you handle it? Is the relationship giving you enough in other areas that you can sacrifice sex for the sake of preserving the whole? Or is it time to think about separation so that you can pursue sexual fulfillment? There are no easy answers, so its time for you to start figuring them out.

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Dear How to Do It,

Im a 40-year-old divorced straight man. I have been dating since the divorce and have had a few sexual partners, but nothing serious. Once the pandemic set in, my sexual activity declined significantly since I didnt really have anyone in my bubble, but I did reconnect with a female friend in a similar situation, and we have had sex maybe once a month in the past year. This isnt really enough for me, so I have turned to online outlets including porn and sexting with online friends. Ive learned one of the biggest parts of sexting is sending sexy pics or videos or doing video chat. I have had challenges with this because I find myself unable to achieve a full erection that would create a photo or video Id be proud to send. I am above average in size and can easily get a full hard erection when physically present with a woman, but I cant seem to do so when by myself or interacting with a partner online, so I end up losing partners because I look small and not aroused. I have tried to research this issue but what I have found is that in general porn and online activities can cause erectile dysfunction with a partner, and I seem to have the opposite problem. Would appreciate any advice here.

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Online Softie

Dear Softie,

I dont mean to alarm you, but your situation is unusual. In fact, its very unusual, according to Tobias Kohler, professor of urology and the head of Mayo Clinic Mens Health in Rochester, Minnesota. As you acknowledge, situationalor episodic, as its also calledE.D. usually flows in the other direction. Its far more common for people to have difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection in the presence of a partner than when theyre alone. Kohler told me via phone this often has to do with performance anxiety or idiosyncratic masturbatory technique, when someone becomes so conditioned to their way of masturbating that partnered sex just cant push the same buttons.

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Kohler said that hed refer someone in your situation to a sex therapist. What is it about sex by him thats different from sex with a partner? he wondered. Maybe its some guilt or shame affiliated with masturbation because of a religious background or something. Theres almost always something to that when theres a true difference. I have to wonder what you relationship to masturbation is like and why. Plenty of guys with situational E.D. that is inverse to what you experience would love to trade with you, but still, youd probably benefit from an assisted investigation into your self-sex lifeor lack thereof.

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Kohler said you also have the option of a nighttime testing, in which the frequency and durations of nocturnal erections would be measured (to compare against an average), though he said when he performs these tests on guys reporting situational E.D., the results are almost always normal physiologically. Interestingly, though, Kohler told me that labeling erection issues as only psychological or physiological amounts to splitting hairs. Psychological underpinnings to E.D. still result in less blood flow to the penis, so ultimately, its the same result. Except for a few extreme cases, you dont have physiology without psychology, and both are interconnected. This is why E.D. drugs can actually work as anti-anxiety medications: Just knowing that the drug is in ones system can alleviate the performance anxiety that made the drug seemingly necessary in the first place.

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So talk to someone. You also could snap a pic of your boner next time youre in the presence of someone who has you aroused. Call a timeout and asks if she minds if you take a picture of yourself because you are proud of how hard your dick is. You risk judgment, of course, as this would be unorthodox (though not unheard of), and it might be awkward enough to kill the mood, but at least youd get your shot.

More How to Do It

Im having a wonderful affair with a man. Were both married, but were careful and responsibleits what we both need to survive in our marriages, and its whats best for both of us. The problem is COVID. Our spouses and kids are both home full time, and getting away to see each other has been impossible. Im miserable without the sex and companionship, and so is the man Im seeing. At one point, he suggested meeting in our cars by the grocery store. Then today, he called me and said to go to my window and waved to me from his car.
Crowds at airports, sporting matches and music concerts overseas could be screened for COVID-19 using a new rapid test developed by a Brisbane biotech company.

The test could form a key plank of the ongoing recovery from the pandemic after securing approvals in Europe and the UK but any Australian rollout may not come until next year at the earliest.

Tek Shen Ling (left) one of the head developers of AnteoTechs EuGeni rapid covid tests, with Deputy Premier Steven Miles. Credit:Stuart Layt

The EuGeni test, developed by local biotech company AnteoTech, is an antigen test that detects live viral proteins in a persons system and delivers results in 15 minutes.

In medical testing, the terms sensitivity and specificity refer to how accurately the test can identify positive and negative cases, respectively. The EuGeni test returned a reported overall sensitivity rate of 97.3 per cent and a specificity rate of 99.6 per cent.
Telrad Networks, a global provider of innovative LTE telecom solutions, and Redzone Wireless, LLC, a leading fixed wireless broadband provider headquartered in Rockland, ME, are pleased to announce the joint completion of a fast-paced, cutting-edge infrastructure rollout. The expanded network brings affordable, high-speed broadband access to thousands of additional Maine households and businesses.

This rollout project is noteworthy for two important reasons: its speed and engineering complexity.

Because the project was secured through COVID-19 emergency relief funding made available by the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Redzone was required to complete it within the short timeframe allotted by the terms of the legislation. That meant covering 18 new regional areas in a rural state in just 90 days during the fall and winter months.

In addition, the new infrastructure made use of cutting-edge cellular spectrum technologies, including the sophisticated Frequency-Reuse-1 technique, in combination with carrier aggregation. Frequency Reuse is typically implemented in line-of-sight and mobile applications. It is an exceptional accomplishment to successfully deploy these technical capabilities on such a large scale and under dense, non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions.

Frequency Reuse 1 is spectrum utilization capability which mitigates frequency interference within a geographic serving area (GSA) through optimized radio network planning and precision software enabled radio timing features, allowing the operator to use all available spectrum most efficiently and reliably across the GSA.

Carrier Aggregation is a radio spectrum management capability which allows the network to combine multiple frequency blocks in 2.5 GHz band 41 to create wider effective channels which increase data transmission capacity and increase connection speeds.

"This was a very ambitious project to push LTE fixed wireless broadband speeds to 50 Mbps. Redzone was one of the few U.S. fixed wireless ISPs that had the right FCC-licensed mid band spectrum and network engineering resources to capitalize on this federal emergency relief program," says Redzone Director of Customer Operations Andrew Weeks. "But in order for us to do it at all, we needed to execute the project extremely quickly. It required us to push the limits of the technology and deploy the most advanced, groundbreaking capabilities like carrier aggregation and frequency reuse."

Meeting those rigorous criteria took the dedication and combined expertise of both Redzone and Telrad. The two companies had developed a close professional partnership in previous years, and their collaboration intensified in order to meet the 90-day deployment timeline.

"Throughout this process, Telrad channeled all the guidance and all the experience of our previous deployments, including many with Redzone. That effort was assisted by all the network pre-planning that Redzone performed, which enabled us to deploy the very complex frequency reuse-1 features, in combination with carrier aggregation, while achieving their ambitious objectives in terms of speed and performance. It took incredible teamwork and rapid co-development of solutions that up until that point had not been tested beyond the lab," says Yishai Amsterdamer, General Manager at Telrad Networks BWA Division.

As a result of Redzone's expanded infrastructure, which was completed in the final days of 2020, an estimated 10,000 new households received upgraded high-speed Internet access. Maine teachers and students still engaged in distance learning are able to choose affordable broadband connections with speeds up to 50 Mbps.

"With a deployment of this scale, the sensitivity and the risk factors were extremely high. And considering the leading-edge radio frequency features required in this project, and how critical the deadlines were - effectively completing it was a huge accomplishment. A successful outcome required an extraordinary level of mutual trusttrust in Telrad to take us through this process and their trust in us to be there right alongside them," says Weeks.

About Telrad Networks

Telrad Networks is a global provider of innovative LTE telecom solutions, boasting over 300 4G deployments in 100 countries. Telrad stands at the forefront of the technology evolution with TD-LTE solutions and a path to 5G in the sub-6 GHz market. Since 1951, the company has been a recognized pioneer in the telecom industry, facilitating the connectivity needs of millions of end users through operators, ISPs and enterprises around the world. (telrad.com)

About Redzone Wireless, LLC

Redzone Wireless, LLC is headquartered in Rockland, Maine. It was established in 2014 with the goal of building a next-generation fixed wireless broadband network that covered 90% of the state. Since June of 2015, Redzone has greatly expanded its coverage to include over 200 Maine communities, providing affordable broadband access to more than 350,000 households. Redzone is the only dedicated fixed wireless Internet provider in the state of Maine to use 4G LTE Advanced on FCC licensed mid band spectrum. (redzonewireless.com)

Taryn Sipperly

Director of Marketing

Telrad

(844) TELRAD | Taryn.Sipperly@telrad.com

###


BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks rose on Wednesday as investors cheered a batch of strong earnings and awaited policy cues from a Federal Reserve meeting later in the day.



The pan European Stoxx 600 was little changed at 439.55, giving up early gains.



The German DAX, France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were up between 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent.



Deutsche Bank soared 7.6 percent as the lender reported its strongest quarterly profits in seven years despite headwinds from restructuring and the coronavirus pandemic.



Lloyds Banking Group surged 4.1 percent after reporting a better-than-expected profit and raising full-year profitability guidance.



Persimmon advanced 1.5 percent. The housebuilder said it was experiencing good demand for newly built homes across the U.K.



Grafton soared 8.3 percent. The builders merchant and DIY retailer said it expects adjusted operating profit for the current financial year to be between 15 and 20 percent ahead of consensus forecasts.



Advertising group WPP rallied 3.5 percent after it reported a surprise return to comparable net sales growth for the first quarter of 2021.



Lysol maker Reckitt Benckiser Group dropped 1.3 percent despite the company reporting a higher than expected jump in quarterly sales and backing its full-year outlook.



Drug maker Sanofi gained nearly 2 percent after confirming its 2021 targets.



Puma tumbled 3.3 percent. After reporting strong first-quarter sales, the sportswear company noted that 'recent political tensions in key markets' are leading to increased uncertainty in the industry.



Delivery Hero shares jumped 7.5 percent. The online food ordering company said it expects revenues to more than double in 2021.



Home appliances giant Electrolux rose about 1 percent after it posted a forecast-beating first-quarter net profit.



In economic releases, German consumer confidence is set to weaken in May as rising cases of infections and the tightening of the lockdown weigh on consumption, survey results from the market research group GfK showed.



The forward-looking consumer sentiment index fell to -8.8 in May from revised -6.1 in April. The score was forecast to rise to -3.5.



U.K. shop prices continued to decline in April, data from the British Retail Consortium showed.



The shop price index dropped 1.3 percent year-on-year in April, following a 2.4 percent decrease in March. Both food and non-food prices declined in April.



France's consumer confidence remained unchanged in April, defying expectations for an easing, preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed.



The consumer confidence index reading was 94.0, same as in March. Economists had expected 93.0. In February, the score was 91.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Photos reveal how Lake Oroville is at 42 percent of its 3,537,577 acre foot capacity while about 85% of California suffers 'exceptional' drought.

Lake Oroville, a reservoir formed by the Oroville Dam impounding the Feather River in northern California, has been seen with a dry and cracked riverbed - a sobering reminder of the massive drought that ran from 2012 to 2016.

Last month, Lake Oroville was at just 38% of its capacity - which was alarming for officials considering the reservoir was described as 'the poster child in that spate of drought images seven years ago,' SFist.com reported.

Water district boards in Marin County and Santa Clara Valley have met to discuss possible restrictions on water usage and encourage conservation, the outlet reported.

'We have no idea how long it will last or how bad it might get,' said Tony Estremera, chairman of the Santa Clara Valley Water District board, according to the Mercury News. 'Clearly we can't just sit back and wait for more rain.'

 Slide me  A view of Lake Oroville is seen in April 2021 and July 2011

 Slide me  A view of Lake Oroville is seen in April 2021 and July 2011

A truck drives on the Enterprise Bridge over a section of Lake Oroville on April 27, 2021 in Oroville, California

Houseboats are dwarfed by the steep banks of Lake Oroville on April 27, 2021 in Oroville, California four years after then California Gov. Jerry Brown signed an executive order to lift the California's drought emergency

Water lines are visible on the steep banks of Lake Oroville on April 27, 2021 in Oroville, California. The state has re-entered a drought emergency with water levels dropping in the state's reservoirs

Houseboats are dwarfed by the steep banks of Lake Oroville on April 27, 2021 in Oroville, California

Low water levels are visible at Lake Oroville on April 27, 2021 in Oroville, California with dry and cracked riverbeds

Low water levels are visible at Lake Oroville on April 27, 2021 in Oroville, California with dry and cracked riverbeds

A view of Lake Oroville, a reservoir above the city of Oroville created by the damming of the Feather River, is seen in an undated photo

The mood has been described as 'increasingly grim' by The Los Angeles Times while the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Lake Mead, the country's largest reservoir which provides much of the water for southwestern states, may face its first federally declared water shortage.

A new study from QuoteWizard.com, an insurance company, has examined data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as property risk evaluations while seeking to find out what states are facing the highest wildfire risk in 2021.

Nick VinZant, who works for QuoteWizard.com, told KABC-TV that '85% of California is in severe, extreme, or exceptional drought.'

'I just looked at the numbers and 85% of California is in severe, extreme, or exceptional drought. Compare that to last year only 12% of the state was at that same level,' VinZant said.

Paul Lowenthal, an assistant fire marshal for Santa Rosa, said his department anticipates 'a long dry summer' and that the agency may declare an early start to fire season early.

California farmers have started to question the future of farming as the San Joaquin Valley - which UC Davis claims is 'the most productive agricultural region in the world' - faces prolonged drought, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Some state legislatures have called on embattled Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a drought emergency while 'small, predominantly Latino communities' face having the possibility of their wells running dry.

In this before-and-after composite image from 2011 and 2014 show the Enterprise Bridge passes over full water levels at a section of Lake Oroville near the Bidwell Marina

Farmers told the outlet that they are frustrated about a 2014 state law that 'requires all groundwater taken from wells to match the amount of water returned to aquifers by 2040' which would remove about 1 million acres of farmland out of production, The Los Angeles Times reported.

John Guthrie, president of the Tulare County Farm Bureau, told the outlet that it is 'tough enough without having to deal with regulations that are becoming more onerous by the day.'

A large portion of the county sits on top of groundwater basins that help farmers when surface water is unavailable - but unlimited pumping during the droughts of 2007 to 2009 and again from 2012 to 2016 'proved disastrous,' the outlet reported.

Old wells dried out causing the land to sink up to two feet a year - even damaging infrastructure.

Rodolfo Romero, 95, told the outlet that the situation 'involves climate changes and political forces that are too big to stop.'

'The people making important decisions are elected officials and big farmers who have money and power,' he said.

'We have no power. So, the way I see it, there is no way to live off our wells anymore. Those days are over.'

Almond grower Dino Giacomazzi, 52, told the outlet that he took up almond farming after shuttering his family's 126-year-old dairy farm in 2014 during one of the worst droughts in state history.

'As it turned out ... California farmers planted too many almonds and oversupplied the market,' he said.

'Then came the coronavirus pandemic, which raised the price of getting almonds to market out of the country.'

Lake Mead marina is pictured, south of Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 23, 2020, amid the Coronavirus pandemic

An aerial view shows Lake Mead in Nevada on January 2, 2020 as the lake faces a federal shortage declaration

One of only a few times in history that water overflowed from Lake Mead into spillways at the Hoover Dam during the 1983 floods, July 5, 1983 near Boulder City, Nevada

A view from Lake View Point at Lake Mead in Arizona is seen in 1970 when the lake was more full

Last week, projections released by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation show that the elevation of the water in Lake Mead, which sits near Las Vegas at the Nevada-Arizona border, will be just 1,067 feet at the end of this year, the Review-Journal reported.

If the water hits that low of a level, there would be a federal shortage declaration for the first time since the lake was filled in the 1930s. The declaration would reduce the annual amount of water sent to Arizona and Nevada.

Patti Aaron, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Bureau of Reclamation, told that the projections 'are not cause for immediate concern' despite being in a drought for 22 years, the outlet reported.

Lake Mead's water level was at about 1,082 feet on Monday meaning the water is under 40 percent of the lake's 28,945,000 acre-feet capacity. Lake Mead loses about 800,000 acre-feet of water annually through evaporation, according to the Water Education Foundation.

The Arizona Republic noted that the water level of Lake Mead has dropped more than 130 feet since the beginning of 2000- the last time the surface of the lake 'lapped at the spillway gates on Hoover Dam.'
Credit: Shutterstock

Dating apps have been under increased scrutiny for their role in facilitating harassment and abuse.

Last year an ABC investigation into Tinder found most users who reported sexual assault offenses didn't receive a response from the platform. Since then, the app has reportedly implemented new features to mitigate abuse and help users feel safe.

In a recent development, New South Wales Police announced they are in conversation with Tinder's parent company Match Group (which also owns OKCupid, Plenty of Fish and Hinge) regarding a proposal to gain access to a portal of sexual assaults reported on Tinder. The police also suggested using artificial intelligence (AI) to scan users' conversations for "red flags."

Tinder already uses automation to monitor users' instant messages to identify harassment and verify personal photographs. However, increasing surveillance and automated systems doesn't necessarily make dating apps safer to use.

User safety on dating apps

Research has shown people have differing understandings of "safety" on apps. While many users prefer not to negotiate sexual consent on apps, some do. This can involve disclosure of sexual health (including HIV status) and explicit discussions about sexual tastes and preferences.

If the recent Grindr data breach is anything to go by, there are serious privacy risks whenever users' sensitive information is collated and archived. As such, some may actually feel less safe if they find out police could be monitoring their chats.

Adding to that, automated features in dating apps (which are supposed to enable identity verification and matching) can actually put certain groups at risk. Trans and non-binary users may be misidentified by automated image and voice recognition systems which are trained to "see" or "hear" gender in binary terms.

Trans people may also be accused of deception if they don't disclose their trans identity in their profile. And those who do disclose it risk being targeted by transphobic users.

Increasing police surveillance

There's no evidence to suggest that granting police access to sexual assault reports will increase users' safety on dating apps, or even help them feel safer. Research has demonstrated users often don't report harassment and abuse to dating apps or law enforcement.

Consider NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller's misguided "consent app" proposal last month; this is just one of many reasons sexual assault survivors may not want to contact police after an incident. And if police can access personal data, this may deter users from reporting sexual assault.

With high attrition rates, low conviction rates and the prospect of being retraumatised in court, the criminal legal system often fails to deliver justice to sexual assault survivors. Automated referrals to police will only further deny survivors their agency.

Moreover, the proposed partnership with law enforcement sits within a broader project of escalating police surveillance fuelled by platform-verification processes. Tech companies offer police forces a goldmine of data. The needs and experiences of users are rarely the focus of such partnerships.

Match Group and NSW Police have yet to release information about how such a partnership would work and how (or if) users would be notified. Data collected could potentially include usernames, gender, sexuality, identity documents, chat histories, geolocation and sexual health status.

The limits of AI

NSW Police also proposed using AI to scan users' conversations and identify "red flags" that could indicate potential sexual offenders. This would build on Match Group's current tools that detect sexual violence in users' private chats.

While an AI-based system may detect overt abuse, everyday and "ordinary" abuse (which is common in digital dating contexts) may fail to trigger an automated system. Without context, it's difficult for AI to detect behaviors and language that are harmful to users.

It may detect overt physical threats, but not seemingly innocuous behaviors which are only recognized as abusive by individual users. For instance, repetitive messaging may be welcomed by some, but experienced as harmful by others.

Also, even as automation becomes more sophisticated, users with malicious intent can develop ways to circumvent it.

If data are shared with police, there's also the risk flawed data on "potential" offenders may be used to train other predictive policing tools.

We know from past research that automated hate-speech detection systems can harbor inherent racial and gender biases (and perpetuate them). At the same time we've seen examples of AI trained on prejudicial data making important decisions about people's lives, such as by giving criminal risk assessment scores that negatively impact marginalized groups.

Dating apps must do a lot more to understand how their users think about safety and harm online. A potential partnership between Tinder and NSW Police takes for granted that the solution to sexual violence simply involves more law enforcement and technological surveillance.

And even so, tech initiatives must always sit alongside well-funded and comprehensive sex education, consent and relationship skill-building, and well-resourced crisis services.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The heirs to South Korea's Samsung group announced their plans to pay more than $10 billion in death duties Wednesday -- one of the world's biggest-ever inheritance tax settlements -- and donate an art trove including works by Monet and Picasso.

Lee Kun-hee, the late Samsung Electronics chairman, was the country's richest man when he died last October at age 78 after being hospitalised for years, leaving an estimated 22 trillion won ($19.6 billion) in assets.

South Korea has stringent inheritance tax laws and high rates, resulting in a hefty bill for the family, including Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is currently in jail for bribery, embezzlement and other offences.

Lee's family "expects to pay more than 12 trillion won in taxes related to inheritance, which is more than half of the value of the late Chairman's total estate," Samsung said in a statement.

"The inheritance tax payment is one of the largest ever in Korea and globally," it added, saying the Lee family will pay it off in six instalments starting this month.

The assets include shareholdings in Samsung Electronics, Samsung Life and Samsung C&T, as well as real estate, according to the statement.

The late chairman also left a trove of antiques and artworks reportedly worth 2 to 3 trillion won.

Around 23,000 pieces from Lee's collection will be donated, Samsung said, including 14 items classed as National Treasures that will be showcased at the National Museum of Korea.

Works by Western artists including a Claude Monet water lilies painting, Salvador Dali's Family of Marsupial Centaurs, and pieces by Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Joan Miro and others will be donated to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, it added.

Reports say the art donations will reduce the family's tax liability.

"Samsung has carried out a realistic calculation on donating the late Lee's artworks," said Kim Dae-jong, professor of business at Sejong University in Seoul.

Story continues

"If they had not decided to donate them but instead opted for the children to inherit them, it would have been subject to high inheritance tax. With their donation of such high value works, they don't have to pay that tax while doing general public service at the same time."

- Pardon call -

Another 1 trillion won will be donated to health causes, half of it to be spent on building South Korea's first specialist infectious diseases hospital.

Samsung -- whose flagship subsidiary is among the world's biggest smartphone and computer chip makers -- is by far the largest of the family-controlled empires known as chaebols that dominate business in South Korea, the world's 12th-largest economy.

The conglomerate is crucial to the country's economic health -- its overall turnover is equivalent to a fifth of the national gross domestic product.

The late chairman's eldest son and the group's de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, was jailed in January over a sprawling corruption scandal that brought down former president Park Geun-hye.

He is undergoing a separate trial over stock manipulation, which critics say was key to ensuring a smooth succession of power within the conglomerate.

Commentators online called for him to be freed Wednesday, with one posting on Naver, the South's largest portal: "Samsung is doing this much for the public, please release Lee Jae-yong now."

Earlier this week five major South Korean business groups appealed to the presidential Blue House for a pardon for him on national economic grounds.

But an official told reporters that it had "not considered a pardon for him so far and also have no plan, for now, to do so".

Lee apologised last May for some governance issues at the group, pledging to ensure "there will be no more controversy over the succession" and that he would not allow his children to take over from him at the firm.

sh-kjk/slb/axn
MINDEN, Nev. and BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, Ohio, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CHEMEON Surface Technology and COVENTYA Group have entered into a global distribution agreement regarding the CHEMEON portfolio of MIL-SPEC QPD/QPL hex-free/Trivalent Conversion Coating technology (TCP) that provides superior adhesion and corrosion protection for aluminum and alloys.

"Coventya supplies specialty chemicals for surface finishing in over 60 countries and CHEMEON welcomes the opportunity to have our unique products and customer solutions enhance their offerings," said Madylon Meiling, Ph.D., the CEO of CHEMEON.

Lon Thrasher, COVENTYA Group Chief Operating Officer, says the global distribution relationship is exciting for COVENTYA and represents a future-focused perspective for non-hex chrome conversion coatings.

"We are excited to be working with CHEMEON, a market leader with state of the art QPL listed trivalent conversion coating technology for Aluminum for providing our global teams not only the confidence of performance, but the backing of their support and expertise to help our customers realize the benefit especially for the new, and exciting eTCP technology platform," Thrasher says.

CHEMEON's revolutionary eTCP platform is QPL listed and the first trivalent conversion coating system with a distinct color of the applied layer. This patented technology is far-reaching across many industries and applications. In addition to improved corrosion performance over earlier generation TCP products, eTCP provides a conversion layer with visual verification that parts are coated and protected. Visual verification has always been a challenge from past TCP offerings, which can appear untreated after application, and establishes the CHEMEON eTCP technology a leadership position in this field.

CHEMEON QPL 81706 listed TCP products, which include TCP-HF (Hexavalent Free) and CHEMEON eTCP, are designed to replace the known carcinogen hexavalent chrome and meet requirements for MIL DTL 5541 applications, immersion, spray, brush and touch up pen. In addition, CHEMEON QPL listed chemistry may be used for TT-C-490 Type VI conversion coatings.

The two companies have already developed a strong working relationship with virtual training and product introduction, providing an in-depth working knowledge of CHEMEON technologies and technical support for the benefit of Coventya's wide array of global customers.

About CHEMEON

CHEMEON Surface Technology is a global leader in advanced, environmentally responsible, surface engineering solutions including patented MIL-SPEC chemistry CHEMEON eTCP (MIL-DTL-81706, MIL-DTL-5541, TT-C-490 Type VI) ) conversion coating and anodic seal that provides a distinct color for visual verification that your parts are coated and protected. CHEMEON is licensed by the US Navy to manufacture and provide MIL-SPEC (MIL-DTL-81706 and MIL-DTL-5541, TT-C-490 Type VI) Trivalent Chromium Pre-Treatment including; CHEMEON TCP-HF (Hex Free), CHEMEON TCP-HF EPA (Extended Protection Additive), CHEMEON TCP-HF SP (Spray), and CHEMEON TCP-HF Touch Up Pen. CHEMEON's licensed and patented chemistries include CHEMEON TCP-NP (No Prep) and zero chrome CHEMEON 0CP- 6800. CHEMEON also provides a full line of anodizing pre and post-treatments, additives, dyes, custom R&D, consulting, and university level training.

About Coventya

COVENTYA is a privately held, international company that develops, manufactures and distributes specialty chemicals for the surface finishing industry in over 5 continents and 60 countries. With a rich and diverse history that dates back to 1927, COVENTYA is considered a global market leader in both innovation and customer support.

Our customers include both captive surface treatment and job shop platers that capitalize on our innovative technology, responsive service and numerous OEM product approvals. With a full line of products that find use in many industries from automobiles and oil fields to computers and fashion it is clear that COVENTYA products touch lives each and every day. What makes COVENTYA stand out? The very nature of the electroplating industry requires a continuous blend of pure science and practical field experience. Our Research Chemists and Technical Engineers constantly communicate with our Customers to maximize the exchange of information. Wherever located, our teams enjoy sharing knowledge, a principle that is fundamental to our business model. Beyond the role of a specialty chemicals supplier, COVENTYA provides expertise in electroplating and water treatment with a 360 vision on the environment and the resources consumed. We constantly strive to enhance surface treatment with innovative, easy to use and environmentally friendly processes. We are a responsible supplier. As a steward of the environment our products are designed to be "green" and we support them with a full Watercare product line that ensures our customers can meet the same commitment.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498525/CHEMEON_Surface_Technology_and_Coventya.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/356536/CHEMEON_Surface_Technology_Logo.jpg
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-29 01:33:24|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang co-chairs the sixth China-Germany inter-governmental consultation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel via video link in Beijing, capital of China, April 28, 2021. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday that China stands ready to work with Germany to keep the overall direction of bilateral relations featuring dialogue and cooperation and promote Sino-German relationship to a higher level.

Li made the remarks when co-chairing the sixth China-Germany inter-governmental consultation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel via video link in Beijing.

He stressed that cooperation and win-win results is the main thrust of China-Germany all-round strategic partnership.

Li called on China and Germany to enhance anti-epidemic cooperation, promote fair and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, and reject vaccine nationalism.

He said the two countries should give full play to their fast track for essential travels and jointly safeguard the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains.

Noting that both sides are willing to embrace opening-up and uphold fair competition, the premier said China stands ready to work with EU to jointly promote the signing and entry into force of the China-EU investment agreement as soon as possible to facilitate the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.

For her part, Merkel said Germany advocates opening-up and cooperation and opposes to protectionism.

She underscored the importance of the investment agreement between EU and China and expressed hope that the two sides can jointly promote entry into force of the agreement at an early date.

After the consultation, Li and Merkel jointly witnessed the "cloud signing" of a series of bilateral cooperation documents including climate response, social security, health, food safety, transportation and sustainable development.

During the consultation, Li and Merkel also attended a bilateral forum on economic and technological cooperation and met with Chinese and German business leaders via video link.

Li said in the first quarter of this year, China-Germany trade went up by 41.5 percent year-on-year, which is a full demonstration of the high-level and huge potential of bilateral cooperation.

He said the more than 7,000 German enterprises in China and more than 2,000 Chinese companies in Germany have become an "active force" of bilateral cooperation. Enditem
State Bank of India (SBI) rose 2.72% to Rs 362.50 after the executive committee of the bank's central board approved long term fund raising of upto $2 billion.

The board has approved long term fund raising in single/multiple tranches upto $2 billion, through a public offer/private placement of senior unsecured notes in US Dollar or any other convertible currency during FY 2021-22.

SBI is an Indian multinational, public sector banking and financial services statutory body. As of 31 March 2021, the Government of India held 57.63% stake while Life Insurance Corporation of India held 9.25% stake in the bank.

The bank's net profit fell 6.9% to Rs 5,196.22 crore on 1.1% decrease in total income to Rs 75,980.65 crore in Q3 FY21 over Q3 FY20.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Federal Council

Bern, 28.04.2021 - Switzerland will participate in the 109th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC), to be held virtually on 20 May and 319 June 2021. On 28 April the Federal Council appointed the members of the tripartite delegation (employers, workers, government) which will represent Switzerland at the ILC.

President Guy Parmelin will open the conference, which is being held virtually this year by way of exception. Switzerland will commit to ensuring that the ILO can build on its normative framework, tripartite nature and social dialogue and reassert its leading role in the global labour market crisis.

Switzerland will participate in the recurrent discussion on the strategic objective of social protection. Efficient and appropriate social security systems are an important factor in achieving social justice and cohesion and make an essential contribution to maintaining social peace. Social safety nets have demonstrated their importance during the current crisis.

Insofar as the arrangements for participation allow, Switzerland will actively participate in the discussion on skills and lifelong learning. Switzerland believes that the ILO should develop a long-term strategy to help its members adapt to the changing world of work, skills development and lifelong learning. Switzerland will also participate in the working group on inequalities and the world of work.

In addition, Switzerland will support the adoption of an outcome document to ensure a global response for a human-centred recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. It will pursue the lines of its development cooperation policy and the direction of national measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government delegation will be led by Boris Zurcher, Head of Labour Affairs at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, who will receive the title of State Secretary for the duration of the conference. The employers' delegation will be led by Blaise Matthey, Director General, Federation des entreprises romandes (Geneva-based employers' organisation), and the workers' delegation by Luca Cirigliano, Central Secretary, Confederation of Swiss Trade Unions, Bern.

Address for enquiries

Communication Service EAER

Tel. 058 462 20 07

info@gs-wbf.admin.ch

Publisher

The Federal Council

https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html



Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research

http://www.wbf.admin.ch




With Memorial Day weekend fast approaching, and not to mention a whole bunch of folks tired of being cooped up during the past year due to the pandemic restrictions, the various Huron County ports on Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay will most likely be quite busy soon with a lot of boaters.

Without question, the Marine Division of the Huron County Sheriffs Office will be ready, waiting and ever watchful, especially in the event of any emergencies, for which it is well equipped and prepared.

Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson says this about his Marine Division: Our primary purpose is not to let anyone drown. He also believes in promoting boater-safety education over writing tickets and prioritizes making sure everyone in a boat has a proper life-vest.

Everything else on the checklist is considered secondary. Of course, if someone is really deserving of and itching for a ticket, the Huron County Marine law enforcement deputies will oblige, but it certainly isnt their priority.

When you compare the Lower Peninsula of Michigan to a mitten, Huron County is located at the tip of the Thumb, and when you talk about specific parts of that digit, it can also be described as the thumbnail.

The only terra firma border that Huron County has is its southern border, where the thumbnails cuticle is located. That means the remaining border jutting out into Lake Huron (hence the name Huron County) features nothing but water, and lots of it. This entails over 93 miles of shoreline (probably closer to 100 miles when you figure in the multitude of coves and crannies), and the jurisdiction also involves 1,300 square miles of open water.

Needless to say, the Huron County Sheriffs Office has more on its plate than what is typically found in inland Michigan counties. And Sheriff Hanson fully understands the importance of Marine Safety/Enforcement in the overall picture, because he began working for Huron County as a Marine Sheriffs Deputy in 1983 and actually cut his teeth, you might say, in this very unique and challenging environment.

A top priority for Sheriff Hanson is boat inspections and being sure folks are fully prepared when venturing out into Lake Huron, which can be a very unpredictable and unforgiving environment. This is done on a regular basis, and the marine deputies always appreciate being asked by boaters to review matters with them to be sure everything is correct. There is a distinct checklist that truthfully isnt all that complicated and associates with pure common sense.

This includes properly rated and labeled life-vests that are readily available to all the occupants of a boat -- not still wrapped in plastic and kept in a hard-to-access place on the boat in order to keep them clean. Personally, a dirty life-vest is fine by me on a sinking boat. Im none too picky in this regard as long as it works).

Fire extinguishers also need to be very accessible, as well as up to date and in working order. And if the fire extinguisher doesnt do the job in an emergency, there is a key reason for the life-vests to readily be on hand, besides a boat just plain sinking for a variety of reasons.

Then there is the sudden emergency search and rescue duty that must be ready to be conducted over a wide area and as quickly as is possible. To do this, the Huron County Sheriffs Office has specially equipped boats based at key ports along the countys extended shoreline.

The boats are designed to handle what Mother Nature can throw out there and get to places in a hurry with highly trained personnel. Some boats were formerly used and donated by the U.S. military, some were purchased used, and all are reconditioned by the sheriffs office to be good as new, including with state-of-the-art electronics.

Part of this is done through grants (such as from Homeland Security), donations, and fundraisers in order to keep Huron County taxpayers from having to support all the costs. Originally, the state paid for a majority of costs, but recent times has seen that funding all but dry up.

I had an opportunity to join Sheriff Hanson and his dive team for a training exercise in the waters near Port Austin. The rescue/dive team has a fully equipped trailer (containing anything and everything that will be needed) that is towed by an emergency vehicle.

The boat we used, County of Huron," is a 31-foot Grady White powered by twin 250-hp outboards, which can handle rough seas and which skims across the water at a high rate of speed. Part of this boats funding came from the sale of the Huron County airplane that was not seeing enough use to justify being kept.

Sheriff Hanson was at the controls for this training exercise, and it was clear he was well experienced in this environment. The weather was hazy and the water was glassy smooth, and we got to the training spot in no time at all.

Huron County has nine well-trained divers (including for under-the-ice wintertime operations, which isnt all that common in other jurisdictions). That includes a Dive Master onboard to assist and coordinate matters during the exerciset, which entailed three divers (all deputies) who were suited up in dry-suits due to the 60-degree water temperatures (during warmer water temperatures in July-August, they will wear wet-suits which wont cause overheating).

Everything used was top-of-the-line equipment and about as high-tech as you can be, including full facemasks with radios for talking to fellow divers as well as communicating with the Dive Master up top on the boat.

I was very impressed with the entire diving exercise, and it was quite evident everyone involved was into teamwork and very professional.

The least attractive part of these divers' duties is recovering the bodies of those who have drowned (while realizing this provides important closure for family and loved ones). It is the key reason Sheriff Hanson places an emphasis on boater safety and education, because it saves lives.

I also had an opportunity to accompany Huron County Marine Enforcement deputies during a (pre-pandemic) Cheeseburger Festival in Caseville. This began with boat inspections at the docks. There is a whole list of items to be covered on a boat inspection, including an up-to-date registration.

Once the boat has passed inspection, the owner is issued a decal that, when clearly displayed on the boat, lets Marine Enforcement deputies know in any future encounters that everything is hunky-dory in this regard.

This inspection covers all motorboats, including jet-skis, and anyone born after 1996 must also have a Boater Safety Certificate. A boater must also be at least 16 years old (and have a certificate) in order to operate a boat, including a jet-ski, by themselves (14- and 15-year-olds must be accompanied by an adult).

After the boat inspections at the docks, we soon found ourselves on the Marine Divisions 28-foot Boston Whaler powered by twin 250-hp outboards and patrolling on the water. A frequent matter encountered when festivities are ongoing, is having too many people on a boat. There must be an accessible life jacket for everyone on board, and children age six and younger must be wearing an approved life jacket at all times.

Boats also must not be over capacity or overloaded, because Lake Huron shows no mercy to boats without enough freeboard. Making sure boats are operating safely and are properly prepared is always a definite priority for the Marine Division.

In February 2016, a specially-designed and equipped airboat was acquired by the Huron County Sheriffs Office (and is shared with the Tuscola County Sheriffs Office). It has proven to be invaluable for rescue efforts on the ice as well as in shallow and weedy areas. The airboat can be easily and quickly transported over land by trailer to wherever it is needed, and it is an obviously important and very wise investment.

Sheriff Kelly Hanson certainly has a well-prepared and well-equipped program, and I believe that his primary purpose, and that of his Marine Division, of not letting anybody drown is a profound statement which says it all.

Email Tom Lounsbury at tlounsburyoutdoors@gmail.com
Trial designed to investigate the cardioprotective properties of CardiolRx in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who have a prior history of, or risk factors for, cardiovascular disease

Oakville, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Cardiol Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: CRDL) (OTCQX: CRTPF) (FSE: CT9) ("Cardiol" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative anti-inflammatory therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD), announced today that the first patient has been randomized in LANCER, a Phase II/III trial of CardiolRx, a pharmaceutically produced oral cannabidiol formulation being developed for the treatment of acute and chronic inflammation associated with heart disease. The LANCER trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, designed to assess the efficacy and safety of CardiolRx in preventing cardiovascular complications in 422 hospitalized patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, and who have pre-existing or significant risk factors for CVD.

"There is compelling evidence that inflammation plays a fundamental role in the development and progression of heart disease," said Dr. Andrew Hamer, Chief Medical Officer of Cardiol Therapeutics. "I am excited to see the initiation of the LANCER trial which will provide a unique opportunity to explore the anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective properties of CardiolRx in COVID-19 patients who are at high risk for major cardiovascular complications."

The LANCER trial is enrolling patients at major hospital centers in the United States under an Investigational New Drug (IND) application approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As previously announced, the composite primary efficacy endpoint of the trial will be the difference between the active and placebo groups in the percentage of patients who develop, during the first twenty-eight days following randomization and first dose of study medication, one or more of several common outcomes in this patient population. These include all-cause mortality, requirement for ICU admission and/or ventilatory support, as well as cardiovascular complications, including the development of heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, myocarditis, stroke, or new sustained or symptomatic arrhythmia.

Patients with COVID-19 primarily present with respiratory symptoms which can progress to bilateral pneumonia and serious pulmonary complications. It is now recognized that the impact of COVID-19 is not limited to the pulmonary system. Individuals with pre-existing CVD or who have risk factors for CVD (such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, abnormal serum lipids, or age greater than 64) are at significantly greater risk of developing serious disease from COVID-19 and experience greater morbidity. Moreover, such COVID-19 patients are at significant risk of developing cardiovascular complications (such as acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, myocarditis, stroke, and heart failure) during the course of their illness, which are frequently fatal. A therapeutic strategy to prevent or limit the number or severity of these cardiovascular complications is likely to considerably improve outcomes from this disease.

LANCER was designed and is being overseen by an independent Steering Committee, consisting of international thought leaders in inflammatory heart disease. The trial is expected to be completed during 2021 and, subject to results, to support an emergency use authorization for the treatment of COVID-19 patients who would have qualified for enrollment in LANCER. Depending on how the pandemic evolves or to the extent that COVID-19 becomes endemic, successful trial results may also be used to support a new drug application. The trial is also expected to generate invaluable clinical data with respect to the therapeutic potential of CardiolRx in the treatment of other cardiac inflammatory disorders, including acute myocarditis and heart failure.

About Cardiol Therapeutics

Cardiol Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: CRDL) (OTCQX: CRTPF) (FSE: CT9) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the research and clinical development of innovative anti-inflammatory therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular disease ("CVD"). The Company's lead product, CardiolRx, is a pharmaceutically produced oral cannabidiol formulation that is being investigated in a Phase II/III outcomes study in hospitalized patients testing positive for the COVID-19 virus. This potentially registrational trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CardiolRx as a cardioprotective therapy to reduce mortality and major cardiovascular events in COVID-19 patients who have a prior history of, or risk factors for, CVD, and to investigate the influence CardiolRx has on key markers of inflammatory heart disease.

Cardiol is also planning to file an investigational new drug ("IND") application for a Phase II international trial that will investigate the anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties of CardiolRx in patients with acute myocarditis, which remains the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in people under 35 years of age. In addition, Cardiol is developing a subcutaneous formulation of CardiolRx and other anti-inflammatory therapies for the treatment of chronic heart failure - a leading cause of death and hospitalization in North America, with associated annual healthcare costs in the U.S. alone exceeding $30 billion.

Cardiol recently commercialized Cortalex (cortalex.com), a pharmaceutically produced cannabidiol formulation developed to address underserved segments of the Canadian medicinal cannabidiol market.

For more information about Cardiol Therapeutics, please visit cardiolrx.com.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information:

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events, or developments that Cardiol Therapeutics Inc. ("Cardiol" or the "Company") believes, expects, or anticipates will, may, could or might occur in the future are "forward-looking information." Forward-looking information contained herein may include, statements relating to the Company's plans for clinical trials and its development of innovative anti-inflammatory therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Forward-looking information contained herein reflects the current expectations or beliefs of Cardiol based on information currently available to it and is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual events or results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, and are not (and should not be considered to be) guarantees of future performance. These risks and uncertainties and other factors include the risks and uncertainties referred to in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2021, including the risks and uncertainties associated with product commercialization and clinical studies. These risks, uncertainties and other factors should be considered carefully, and investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Cardiol disclaims any intent or obligation to update or revise such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.

For further information, please contact:

David Elsley, President & CEO +1-289-910-0850

david.elsley@cardiolrx.com

Trevor Burns, Investor Relations +1-289-910-0855

trevor.burns@cardiolrx.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82041
The next great financial crisis could come from a cyber attack.

At least, thats according to New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Linda Lacewell in a statement regarding DFS recent report outlining its investigation into the SolarWinds attack. The report summarizes the attack, the response by DFS-regulated companies and key measures to prevent future events of a similar nature.

Seeing hackers get access to thousands of organizations in one stroke underscores that cyber attacks threaten not just individual companies but also the stability of the financial industry as a whole, Lacewell said.

Supply chain attacks are dangerous because malware is embedded inside of a legitimate product, DFS said in its report. These attacks can allow a cyber criminal to access many organizations networks in a single stroke.

A supply chain attack on Texas-based information technology company, SolarWinds, was initially reported in December, leading to the compromise of nine federal agencies and about a hundred private sector companies.

The White House said in a statement earlier this month that Russias foreign intelligence service, known as the SVR, was responsible for the hack that was carried out through the breach of SolarWinds Orion software. Orion is a SolarWinds product that monitors and manages the performance of an organizations network, systems and applications.

DFS initially responded to the attack by publishing a Supply Chain Compromise Alert instructing regulated companies to notify the department under its Cybersecurity Regulation if they had used infected versions of Orion.

New Year, New Threats? Cyber Pros Say Attacks Will Continue to Increase in 2021 Cyber attacks are ranked as the fastest growing crime in the US, and globally, cyber crime damages are expected to reach six trillion dollars in 2021. Vince Morgan, a partner at law firm Bracewell who represents corporate policyholders in many coverage areas, including cyber, offers his best advice for policyholders and insurers among the increasing cyber risk landscape during this episode of the Insuring Cyber Podcast. Communication is so important in so many aspects of life, and this is a great example of it, he says. I think youre going to have to see management doing it. Youre going to have to see business partners doing it  whether its insured to insurer or insured to IT vendor. Its communicating about these things and how we can work together to solve a common problem. Karim Hijazi, founder and CEO of cyber intelligence company Prevailion, explains later in the episode that all of this points to the fact that no entity, even a cybersecurity company, is immune to an attack. Theres a general sense that a security company should be absolutely the most equipped to handle these kinds of issues, or at least preempt them  a little bit like the dentist should have the best teeth out there  which, in some part, is true, he says. However, this underscores the reality that no organization is effectively immune to these types of attacks, no matter who you are

The department found that regulated companies generally responded quickly, it said in the report. It discovered that 94% of reporting companies removed vulnerabilities from their IT systems within three days of news about the attack.

However, DFS also found that some companies were not applying patches as regularly as needed to ensure a quick response to high-risk cyber exposure. DFS urged regulated entities in its report to fully assess and address third party risk after it found that some companies using Orion were not classifying SolarWinds as a critical vendor, even though Orion had privileged access to the companys network.

DFS is also asking regulated entities to implement multiple layers of security, address vulnerabilities through patch deployment, testing and validation and develop incident response plans to address supply chain compromise in the future.

The SolarWinds attack confirms that cyber risks are a threat not just to consumers and individual companies, but also to the stability and soundness of our entire financial services industry, Lacewell said. This is an existential threat, and we urge the industry to treat it as such.

Karim Hijazi, founder and CEO of cyber intelligence company Prevailion, spoke with Insurance Journal on The Insuring Cyber Podcast about Prevailions own analysis of the SolarWinds attack victims.

A lot of these organizations that weve spoken with truly believed that they were secure, he said. They thought they had everything buttoned up. They believed they bought all the right tools and technologies to protect them.

However, he echoed Lacewells thoughts that this incident underscores the reality that no organization is effectively immune to these types of attacks, whether its a commercial organization, a cybersecurity entity or a government system, especially as attack venues and tactics are constantly changing.

Theres sort of a new breed [of cyber criminals] forming here that is aware of what we effectively understand to be their tactics, and theyre changing them, he said. And thats what makes this so insidious. Thats whats really concerning.

Related:

Topics New York
[April 28, 2021] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, a Leading Securities Fraud Law Firm, Announces Investigation of Churchill Capital Corporation IV (CCIV) on Behalf of Investors

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM"), a leading national shareholder rights law firm, today announced that it has commenced an investigation on behalf of Churchill Capital Corporation IV ("Churchill" or the "Company") (NYSE: CCIV) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of the federal securities laws. If you suffered a loss on your Churchill investments or would like to inquire about potentially pursuing claims to recover your loss under the federal securities laws, you can submit your contact information at https://www.glancylaw.com/cases/churchill-capital-corporation-iv/. You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at shareholders@glancylaw.com to learn more about your rights. On January 11, 2021, Bloomberg (News - Alert) News reported that Lucid Motors Inc. ("Lucid"), an American automotive company specializing in electric cars, is in talks to go public via merger with one of Michael Klein's special purpose acquisition companies, including Churchill. Over the next several weeks, Lucid's Chief Executive Officer Peter Rawlinson made media appearances during which he stated that Lucid was aiming for a pring delivery for its first vehicles.



On February 22, 2021, the merger between Churchill and Lucid was announced with transaction equity value estimated at $11.75 billion. Churchill's share price closed at $57.37. The same day, after the market closed, Bloomberg News reported that production of Lucid's debut car would be delayed until at least the second half of 2021 with no definite date for the actual delivery of vehicles. Details of the merger also disclosed that Lucid was projecting the production of only 557 vehicles in 2021, instead of the 6,000 it had been touting in the run-up to the merger announcement.

On February 23, 2021, Churchill's stock fell $22.16, or 38%, to close at $35.21 per share on February 23, 2021. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. Whistleblower Notice: Persons with non-public information regarding Churchill should consider their options to aid the investigation or take advantage of the SEC (News - Alert) Whistleblower Program. Under the program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Charles H. Linehan at 310-201-9150 or 888-773-9224 or email shareholders@glancylaw.com. About GPM Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP is a premier law firm representing investors and consumers in securities litigation and other complex class action litigation. ISS Securities Class Action Services has consistently ranked GPM in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report. In 2018, GPM was ranked a top five law firm in number of securities class action settlements, and a top six law firm for total dollar size of settlements. With four offices across the country, GPM's nearly 40 attorneys have won groundbreaking rulings and recovered billions of dollars for investors and consumers in securities, antitrust, consumer, and employment class actions. GPM's lawyers have handled cases covering a wide spectrum of corporate misconduct including cases involving financial restatements, internal control weaknesses, earnings management, fraudulent earnings guidance and forward looking statements, auditor misconduct, insider trading, violations of FDA regulations, actions resulting in FDA and DOJ investigations, and many other forms of corporate misconduct. GPM's attorneys have worked on securities cases relating to nearly all industries and sectors in the financial markets, including, energy, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, real estate and REITs, financial, insurance, information technology, health care, biotech, cryptocurrency, medical devices, and many more. GPM's past successes have been widely covered by leading news and industry publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Reuters (News - Alert), the Associated Press, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes, and Money. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005972/en/

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Whitney-DeLaMar is currently principal of Franklin School in Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 and has served in this role since 2019. In December, she announced her plans to resign in June due to personal reasons.
On 28 April 2021

The Board of Directors of Morepen Laboratories on 28 April 2021 approved the investment proposed by Corinth Group (Corinth), a global private investment Group (www.corinthinvest.com) headquartered in Switzerland, 'to the extent of USD 32.50 million in the parent company, Morepen Laboratories (Morepen) out of a total USD 100 million investment in the promoter group, subject to approval of the shareholders and other regulatory bodies.

Following shareholder and regulatory approval, Corinth would be allotted 58.50 million new Equity shares on preferential basis. This shareholding would equate to 9.41% equity stake in the Company on a fully expanded capital base. The balance USD 67.50 million would be in the promoter group companies.

The Board of Directors has also approved allotment of 50 million fresh Equity Shares to the promoter group, at a price determined by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) pricing formula for preferential issuances, in lieu of the 98.50 million unsubscribed warrants issued in the last financial year which lapsed due to technical reasons. While the new allotment would be at Rs 38 per share, which will be 52% higher than the earlier price of Rs 25 per for each warrant. After subscription of all the warrants, the promoter's stake in the company would go up to 44.28%, from 34.54%, on a fully diluted basis.

Accordingly, the Total Fund Infusion in Morepen Laboratories including investor funds and promoter's equity, will be Rs. 565 crore. The funds would be used in:

a) The expansion/scaling up of the company's R&D centre/facilities to meet the significantly enhanced Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) demand, a market size of US$40 billion, that Morepen has in the pipeline for the next 3 years.

b) Setting up new USFDA standard API plant to meet the significant ramp up in scale and pipeline the company is working on.

c) Establishing a world class facility for Finished Dosages as per USFDA standards at Morepen's pharma complex in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, to cater to highly sophisticated/regulated markets such as the USA and Japan

d) Investment into world class diagnostics facilities including the manufacture of critical inouts/components/enzymes to meet regulated market standards. India is seeing an exponential jump in household spend on Point of Care/Home Diagnostics and Oxygen Concentrators and other life support systems with demand currently outstripping supply.

e) Investment in new products and brands under the Dr Morepen umbrella, an existing household brand, to leverage its pan India distribution/supply chain and exponential growth in online sales.

f) Investment in new age Personal Care/Skin Care brands Gubb and Happier that are seeing exponential online sales, as well as to leverage our Pan India pharmacy/retail chain network to significantly scale up distribution.

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May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM)! It is a month to lean into and celebrate the accomplishments, achievements, and contributions of Asians and Pacific Islanders to the United States. For me, this AAPIHM feels a lot more urgent and significant due to the increase of anti-Asian rhetoric and increase of Asian hate crimes in 2020 and onward. My own experiences with blatant racism, and especially microaggressions, have bubbled up from the hidden depths that I previously shoved below, and then coupled with the feelings of increasing fear for the safety of my Asian family members and friends (and myself), it all has just felt literally and figuratively heavy. On the other hand, this time has also been filled with increased awareness and support from my allies, and a greater sense of purpose and hope for the future. This acknowledgement of duality is a common philosophy in many eastern civilizations and is a tool I often call upon for perspective or centering.

I feel fortunate to be a Filipino-American Credit Union professional. Our movement, values, and structure are the epitome of cooperation, a focus on community, and alleviating social and financial issues. Credit Unions could be (and should be) a leader of pursuing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and making positive change within our organizations and of course, in the communities of our memberships. It is a place where I have found some safety and the space to continue to move the equity needle forward.

A few years ago, I was sitting in a prominent credit union training. We were reviewing census data of a major American metropolitan city with the lens of racial equity and development issues. As we reviewed maps of segregation and gaps for financial access, the aggregated data only showcased the following groups: Whites, Blacks, Hispanic/Latinx, and Native Americans. I recall feeling so uncomfortable in my seat. It was then that I looked around the room and again felt just as invisible as the missing racial group on the slides. Immediately after that class, I mustered my courage and resolve and provided feedback to the facilitator. I consider this a defining moment of the start of my work in equity and inclusion.

For most Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs), my training experience above is probably a familiar experience: we arent included in statistics or lumped together in ways detrimental to understanding the full API experience. Two main drivers of these feelings are the Model Minority myth/stereotype, defined as a belief that all Asian Americans are successful, smart, wealthy, hard-working, self-reliant, docile and submissive, obedient and uncomplaining, and never in need of assistance; and the generalization that Asians are a monolithone large, homogeneous structure or group. These two prevailing thoughts shape and influence the unique racial and ethnic identities and experiences of API people in the United States.

There are more than 40 countries in Asiaall with very different histories, cultures, languages, and other characteristics. Just as diverse as the number of countries represented, the API socioeconomic experience is also one that has the largest range from poverty to wealth. According to the Pew Research Center, Asians near the top of their income distribution (the 90th percentile) had incomes 10.7 times greater than the incomes of Asians near the bottom of their income distribution (the 10th percentile). This 90/10 ratio is greater than blacks (9.8), whites (7.8), and Hispanics (7.8).

In data from the US Census Bureau and FDIC, Asians are shown to be higher than whites in median income and comparable in poverty rate, unbanked, and fully banked percentages. Without a disaggregated view of the different subgroups under Asians, these figures (and decisions made from them) do not consider the disparities faced for those subgroups (Center for Global Policy Solutions).

Economic Figures by Race

Median Income1 Poverty Rate1 Unbanked2 Fully Banked3 Blacks $45,438 22.7% 13.8% 45.8% Hispanic $56,113 15.7% 12.2% 49.7% Asian $98,174 7.3% 1.7% 69.2% White $72,204 9.9% 2.5% 77.1%

1 U.S. Census 2019 2 FDIC 2019 3 FDIC 2017

It is credit unions responsibility to include these insights and considerations to serve our members and communities well and inclusively. We have a direct role in minimizing obstacles of systemic and social barriers that limit economic mobility not only for APIs, but for all BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) people. Credit unions were made to provide financial services more compassionately and human-focused. Here are three steps that all credit unions can take to support the API community and counter the monolithic, model minority stereotypes:

Commit to continuous learning.

There are numerous resources and organizations that can help you on your API cultural competence journey. Also, check out local organizations and events in your own community.

See and include the Invisible.

As mentioned earlier, disaggregating the data to include subgroups in the Asian category would give organizations a better understanding of their membership and/or markets. While this isnt always possible and may take some new data collection strategies, an even better option would be to do the work and get to know your members and your communities more intimately. Making the invisible visible, may take work and resources up front, but the data and direct connection would be invaluable. Imagine the inclusive marketing opportunities or the creation/offering of more applicable and inclusive products and services for different groups.

Make Equity and Inclusion a priority.

In my personal DEI journey, Ive been discovering that Diversity isnt enough. Sure, representation is helpful, but not if it is just a placeholder. Other steps include promoting diverse API employees into leadership and influential roles or on your boards; creating safe, trusted spaces to share; and lastly, practicing selfless listening. Action must be taken to prioritize equity and continued inclusion. If you see us hurting, dont ignore or dismiss our pain.

So in this AAPIH month and onward, as you commit to moments of learning and awareness of notable Asian and Pacific Islander figures and historical events, please include the invisible ones in your communities, the ones in your field of membership, the ones with small business accounts, the ones in your employee directorywe are speaking and need everyone to listen.

Special thank you and acknowledgements:

To my BECU family: Thank you for being a space of growth and continuous learning.

My #CrasherFam, CUDE family: All my gratitude for keeping purpose constant.

Renee Sattiewhite and the AACUC: For believing in me, amplifying my voice, and creating an inclusive and supportive environment in allyship and solidarity.

And of course, the biggest appreciation to my wonderful family, especially to my mom, who was never a submissive or silent woman!
Washington: The US Department of Defence plans to spend almost $US18 billion ($23 billion) to develop, produce and support its new interceptor to stop incoming nuclear missiles from North Korea or Iran, the first major defence procurement award of the Biden administration.

Teams led by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman will receive between them as much as $US13.1 billion in the development phase of the Next Generation Interceptor, according to newly released figures. Their competition will culminate in a winner-take-all selection process following a critical design review  possibly by 2026  leading to the construction of as many as 31 new interceptors, including 10 for testing.

North Korean government shows the test launch of a Hwasong-12 intermediate range missile in Pyongyang in 2017. Credit:AP

The interceptors are designed to crash into and destroy incoming missiles from an adversary such as North Korea or Iran. They would be installed on missiles based in Alaska. Each of the 31 interceptors is estimated to cost about $US498 million.

The production phase is estimated to cost $US2.3 billion, with long-term support costs totalling another $US2.3 billion, according to estimates prepared by the Pentagons independent cost assessment unit.
(Alliance News) - Network International Holdings PLC's overall trading during the first quarter was in line with expectations, against a comparative prior-year period "significantly less impacted" by the pandemic, it said on Wednesday.

The London-based payments solutions provider said revenue for the quarter was up 1% compared to the same periods for 2020 and 2019. Revenue gains were driven by Network's Issuer Solutions business, which increased revenue by 5% from 2020.

Issuer Solutions, which provides services such as fraud protection and card processing, signed a number of new customers. Nigeria's Carbon Bank and Kuda Bank, Bank Windhoek in Namibia and Al Masraf in the UAE were some of the new contracts signed with banks from Africa and the Middle East. Network International said its signing of new customers had accelerated in the quarter.

"We are encouraged by trading and the momentum of customer wins, particularly our new partnerships which will help us to drive scale and innovation across the business," said Chief Executive Nandan Mer.

"Whilst lockdowns have eased and normal conditions have returned in several of our markets, the pandemic remains fluid and we are cognisant that our recovery from Covid-19 disruption may not always be straightforward. My focus is to execute against our strategy to drive long term profitable high growth.

"We continue to progress discussions around significant financial institution payment outsourcing mandates, and Saudi Arabia remains a key priority despite the challenges of temporary border closure. Our goal is unambiguous; to scale our presence across our markets, innovate to deliver market leading solutions for our customers, and accelerate our delivery. We have clear plans in place, and I firmly believe that Network is poised for greater growth."

Network International shares were trading 0.3% higher in London on Wednesday at 415.10 pence each, while the wider FTSE 250 was up 0.5%.

By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Thiruvananthapuram, April 28 : With the second wave of Covid pandemic striking hard at Kerala, pulse oximeter, one of the vital instruments required at all homes at this point of time, has gone out of stock.

Not only has it gone out of stock, a good quality one which was hitherto available in the open market for around Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 has gone above Rs 2,200, recently, after Covid spike started.

Across the state as on Tuesday, there were 2,47,181 active cases, which is by far the biggest numbers as it has increased by over 250 per cent, with Tuesday alone recording an all time high of 32,819 positive cases.

K. Praveen, a stockist of pulse oximeter said that for the past few days it has been frantic calls from retailers and friends demanding one piece.

"We get our stocks from Delhi, Mumbai and at times from Bengaluru and when we speak to them, they are asking if we have unsold items, to send it to them urgently," said Praveen.

"All along we have been selling it to our retailers in the price range from Rs 900 and upwards. But for the past two weeks all the stocks have vanished. What we are told is all cargo flights from China have been stopped in the past two weeks and hence this serious situation has risen," added Praveen.

The most crowded medical shops in the state are those in front of the Medical College hospital here and not a single piece of pulse oximeter is available as anxious people come in large numbers searching to buy one.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
PHOENIX, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Item 9 Labs Corp. (OTCQX: INLB) ("Item 9 Labs" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated cannabis dispensary franchisor and operator that produces premium award-winning products, today announced that the Company will participate in the A.G.P. Spring Consumer Cannabis Conference and the Benzinga Global Small Cap Conference in May 2021.

"The U.S. cannabis market is poised for substantial growth," said Item 9 Labs CEO Andrew Bowden. "Our Unity Rd. dispensary franchise model, combined with our premium Item 9 Labs products, positions us to benefit both financially and geographically. At these conferences, we will discuss how franchising is the most viable national expansion strategy for our Unity Rd. dispensary brand with greatly reduced capital expenditures, resulting in accelerated scale."

One-on-One Virtual Meetings at the A.G.P. Spring Consumer Cannabis Conference

- Date: Tuesday, May 4, 2021

- Interested Investors: Please contact your A.G.P. registered representative

Bowden, Chief Strategy Officer Jeffrey Rassas and Chief Franchise Officer Mike Weinberger will be meeting with investors in one-on-one sessions. The conference features up to 30 select companies in the cannabis industry and will be attended by approximately 200 qualified institutional investment funds from around the world.

Presentation at the Benzinga Global Small Cap Conference

- Date: Thursday, May 13, 2021

- Time: 10:10 a.m. EDT

- Registration Link: https://www.benzinga.com/events/small-cap/global/

Bowden and Weinberger will provide an overview of the Company, including its award-winning Item 9 Labs products, expansion of its cultivation site and other key initiatives. They will also speak in-depth on the value of the recently completed acquisition of ONE Cannabis Group (OCG Inc.) and its dispensary franchise brand Unity Rd., including how the combined offerings can fast-track the Company's growth in the current favorable regulatory climate.

Designed to bridge the gap between small-cap publicly traded companies, investors and traders, the Benzinga Global Small Cap Conference enables executive leadership of small-cap companies to network and communicate with a broad and diverse global investor base in a virtual setting.

About Item 9 Labs Corp.

Item 9 Labs Corp. (OTCQX: INLB) is a vertically integrated cannabis operator and dispensary franchisor delivering premium products from its large-scale cultivation and production facilities in the United States. The award-winning Item 9 Labs brand specializes in best-in-class products and user experience across several cannabis categories. The company also offers a unique dispensary franchise model through the national Unity Rd. retail brand. Easing barriers to entry, the franchise provides an opportunity for both new and existing dispensary owners to leverage the knowledge, resources, and ongoing support needed to thrive in their state compliantly and successfully. Item 9 Labs brings the best industry practices to markets nationwide through distinctive retail experience, cultivation capabilities, and product innovation. The veteran management team combines a diverse skill set with deep experience in the cannabis sector, franchising, and the capital markets to lead a new generation of public cannabis companies that provide transparency, consistency, and well-being. Headquartered in Arizona, the company is currently expanding its operations space by 650,000+ square feet on its 50-acre site, one of the largest properties in Arizona zoned to grow and cultivate flower. For additional information, visit item9labscorp.com.

Media Contact:

Item 9 Labs

Jayne Levy, Director of Communications

Phone: 480-542-9421

Email: [email protected]

Investor Contact:

Item 9 Labs

Phone: 800-403-1140

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Item 9 Labs Corp.

Related Links

https://www.item9labscorp.com


The Candyman is back at it with a new Willy Wonka-inspired treasure hunt.

Syracuse native David Klein, the original Mr. Jelly Belly who came up with the popular jelly bean candys name, has hidden a Gold Ticket Treasure worth $100,000 somewhere within the lower 48 U.S. states. The clues to find it are in a new book called The Candymans Treasure Hunt: The Orb Traveler.

This book will contain clues with a location where the Gold Ticket is hidden, a press release says. Its up to the searchers to try and decipher the story and locate it... We want to get everyone out of the house and having fun, this includes grandma and grandpa, kids and the whole family.

Klein previously made headlines with The Gold Ticket last year, a separate contest inspired by Roald Dahls famous book, Charlie and the Charlie Factory, which was adapted into a 1971 movie starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka and a 2005 remake starring Johnny Depp. The story centers on a poor boy named Charlie Bucket who finds a golden ticket in a chocolate bar and wins a trip to Wonkas factory, and eventually gets to own the factory himself.

Klein says hes given away $300,000 worth of prizes since last year, largely through golden tickets  gold necklaces with a tag that includes a code to verify its authenticity  hidden in every state and worth $5,000. Players are eligible for the ultimate prize, which is the key to a candy factory in Florida.

Klein, 74, was born in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1946. According to the 2010 documentary Candyman: The David Klein Story, he moved to California with his family at age 3, but noted that friends told him he had an East Coast accent even decades later.

Klein describes himself as the creator of Jelly Belly. He came up with the idea of infusing jelly beans with flavor on the inside and creating fun new flavors, like cotton candy, and contacted the Herman Goelitz Candy Company about developing the product to be sold at his California ice cream shop. In 1976, he invited a reporter from the Associated Press to the store and had fake customers line up out the door; the stunt made national news and put Jelly Belly on the map.

Klein also came up with the name Jelly Belly and appeared on television as its spokesperson, Mr. Jelly Belly. He even posed semi-nude in a bathtub full of Jelly Belly jelly beans for People magazine.

The Jelly Belly Candy Company has publicly distanced itself from Klein, who sold the Jelly Belly name to the Herman Goelitz Candy Company in 1980. The family-owned and operated company, which first started making candy in 1869 under Gustav Goelitz, changed its name to the Jelly Belly Candy Company in 2001.

Jelly Belly Candy Company has not had a relationship with Mr. Klein since 1980 when it acquired the trademark, the company said last year.

Kleins book, The Candymans Treasure Hunt: The Orb Traveler, is available through www.TheGoldTicket.com for $35.95. According to the fine print, the grand prize will be a $100,000 annuity paid out over 20 years; when 3,000 books are sold, the annuity will be changed to a single payout of $100,000.
The second wave of coronavirus is likely to peak in Maharashtra in May, while the peak across the country could be seen by June, the institutional brokerage and investment group CLSA, while drawing parallels to the second wave in 12 nations, has said.

By this analysis, some relaxations in lockdown rules are expected in Maharashtra by mid-May to mid-June, which may be seen as a playbook for the rest of India. This is likely to be seen by the market as a glimmer of hope for the rest of India where the situation may appear to be under control by June, it said.

"This, along with a pick-up in vaccinations and comforting management commentary during the ongoing results season, should allay the worst investor fears about the second wave over the coming weeks," the CLSA report said.

Also read: 39 vaccines to battle Covid-19 by December; 6 from India

Based on the current 7DMA (7-day moving average) of case additions, reported infections are expected to hit the median level of 2.5 per cent by mid-June in India, while Maharashtra has already crossed this mark, suggest the analysis.

At the same pace, India may take nearly two months to get to incremental infections equal to 2 per cent of its population, from 0.5 per cent currently, during the second wave, it said. Maharashtra is currently at 1.8 per cent and should get to this level in less than a week, but India, excluding Maharashtra, may see a peak only by the second week of July at the current pace of cases.

Also read: COVID-19 vaccine: Brazil rejects import of Russia's Sputnik V; cites inherent risks, serious defects

The report estimates that India will have 9 per cent of the population with antibodies by the end of May 2021. India has vaccinated 1.7 per cent of its population with both doses so far. "By the end of May 2021, total cases plus people vaccinated with both doses will cross 9 per cent of the population for overall India. Maharashtra will reach this level by mid-May," says the report, adding that the peak of the second wave in Maharashtra may be seen as a positive signal by the market.

Also read: India to get Sputnik V doses in May; 1st batch to be imported from Russia, says Dr Reddy's CEO
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market faltered after a positive start Wednesday morning, and after swinging between gains and losses till about an hour past noon, turned a bit steady and finally ended the day slightly above the flat line. Investors, digesting earnings announcements, were looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due later in the day. The benchmark SMI ended with a small gain of 11.38 points or 0.1% at 11,103.46, after moving in a narrow range between 11,070.72 and 11,126.69. Swatch Group moved up 2.2%, Credit Suisse advanced by about 2% and UBS Group gained 1.88%. Swiss Life Holding ended 1.3% up. Swiss Re, LafargeHolcim, Zurich Insurance Group, ABB and Richemont closed modestly higher. Roche Holding, Givaudan, Geberit and Swisscom ended lower by 0.3 to 1%. In the Mid Price Index, Dufry gained 3.6% and AMS advanced 1.4%. Cembra Money Bank gained 1%, while Helvetia, Julius Baer and SIG Combibloc closed higher by about 0.6%. Barry Callebaut tumbled 5.8%, Schindler Ps shed 3.4% and Schindler Holding declined 3.1%. Lindt & Spruengli, Vifor Pharma and Logitech also ended notably lower. A report from Credit Suisse & CFA Society Switzerland said the Swiss investor sentiment index rose by 1.6 points from the previous month to an all-time high of 68.3 in April, pointing to a strong recovery from the Covid-induced recession. The survey showed that the Swiss economy is expected bounce back over the next six months, boosted by an improvement in export prospects. 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.
Demi Jones has revealed she has finally had her 'potentially cancerous' neck lump removed.

The Love Island star, 22, took to Instagram on Friday to share a post-surgery selfie as she explained she was 'very sleepy' and that the procedure was 'painful'.

Demi looked tired in the picture as she sat in her hospital bed in a gown and told fans she would catch up with them soon.

Post-surgery: Demi Jones has revealed she has finally had her 'potentially cancerous' lump removed

She wrote: 'I did it - very sleepy and painful, catch up soon.'

Before the procedure the beauty shared another picture as she prepared to head to hospital, writing: 'Thank you for all your messages. Signing off now. I'll update you all after my surgery.'

Earlier this month Demi revealed she had found a lump in her neck and had to have it removed as doctors feared it could be cancerous.

Nervous: Before the procedure the beauty shared another picture as she prepared to head to hospital, writing: 'Thank you for all your messages. Signing off now. I'll update you all after my surgery'

After the revelation she thanked fans and said she was 'overwhelmed with support' and said she had received 'thousands of kind messages'.

Demi also said the emotional video she had posted hours earlier had encouraged social media users to 'chase appointments for their lumps'.

Posting a gorgeous snap of herself sporting a full face of glam and wearing an off-white sweatshirt, the reality star penned: 'I'm so overwhelmed with support.'

Kind: Earlier this month Demi thanked fans for their support after she revealed she had found a lump in her neck

'I had thousands of kind messages yesterday.'

She added: 'I'm so glad people have told me it's made them get/chase appointments for their lumps.'

Signing off her post on a happy note, Demi added: 'I feel positive today. Thank you.'

A day earlier, Demi emotionally shared the news with her followers on her Instagram Stories after receiving some test results.

Demi wiped away tears as she revealed she would have the lump removed in the next few weeks so that medics could determine whether it is cancerous.

Emotional: Demi emotionally revealed she had to have the lump removed which doctors fear could be cancerous

Sat in her car after receiving the results, Demi told fans: 'I went to get my results today for my lump. And they think it could be cancerous so I have to have it operated on and removed in the next couple of weeks.

'Nothing is for certain but I'm really worried. I'm sure it'll be fine. It's a shock because you don't think, I was sat there in this waiting room and it was full of old people and I was the only young one there. I thought I'm so young for god's sake.

'I know loads of women go through this,I'll be fine. It might not even be cancer but they've got to cut it out to find out. I'm shocked at the moment.

Love Island star: The reality personality shared the news with her followers on her Instagram Stories after receiving some test results

'I'll be ok, when I get it removed it'll be fine.'

Demi then shared a post which encouraged her followers to get any lumps checked if they are worried.

She wrote: 'Please don't put off getting lumps checked, if appointments keep getting cancelled then you need to chase it up. I was supposed to have this appointment six months ago.

Tearful: Demi wiped away tears as she revealed she would have the lump removed in the next few weeks so that medics can determine whether it is cancerous

News: Sat in her car after receiving the results, Demi told fans: 'I went to get my results today for my lump'

'At my scan they said 'everything looks fine' and went to send me on my way. I challenged it and asked if they could do more, in which they said 'oh well we can test the fluid if you want us to?'

'Thank god I asked as it was the fluid that can be potentially cancerous. Always push!'

In January 2020, the auburn beauty entered the Love Island villa as a bombshell, initially embarking on a romance with Nas Majeed.

But once the hopefuls were put to the test with a trip to Casa Amor, Demi was left heartbroken when she discovered her love interest returned with Eva Zapico.

Demi later enjoyed a romance with Luke Mabbott, 25, however their relationship was short lived once they left the Cape Town villa.

While Demi has remained publicly single since, Luke is now dating Love Island alum Lucie Donlan, who appeared in the previous series.
Panaji, April 28 : Dependents on Goa's beleaguered mining industry have raised concerns over the delay in the hearing of the pending cases in the Supreme Court of India, filed by the Goa government and a private mining company, which have sought resumption of mining in the coastal state.

The Goa Mining People's Front, a collective of now-unemployed mining industry workers and owners of businesses linked to the industry, also said in a statement on Wednesday, that resumption of mining in the state could help Goa's economy, which has witnessed a dip following the setback to the tourism industry in the wake of the second Covid wave, which has gripped the country.

"It will be smarter for the state government to concentrate on restarting Goa mining operations to address the battered economic and unemployment crisis of the state. Revenue through mining can be more practical than aimlessly only targeting to attract tourists to Goa amid the second wave of Covid because the mining sector is not directly affected by the pandemic like tourism," Puti Gaonkar, president of the front said in a statement.

"The Goa State and Central Government has to pray for early hearing (of the cases) to the apex court on impending Goa mining matter, before the Court breaks for a vacation on May 15 or has to consider legislative cure for the sake of common mining dependent people and state's revenue," Gaonkar also said.

Mining activity in Goa was banned by the apex court first in 2012, following the unearthing of Rs 35,000 crore scam by a judicial commission appointed by the central government. But was resumed in 2015 with restrictions, before it stopped again after the apex court found irregularities in renewal of 88 mining leases and stopped all ore extraction activity from March 2018.

Gaonkar also said that it is "disheartening" that the central government is not showing any willingness to consider Goa Government's request for amendments to The Goa Daman Diu Concession Abolition Act, 1987 in order to make it applicable prospectively to restart mining in Goa.

"Waiting aimlessly for the Supreme Court to decide on our livelihood is not what we expect from the government," Gaonkar also said.
Allu Arjun Tests Positive For COVID-19, Reveals He's Under Home Quarantine

Telugu actor Allu Arjun on Wednesday informed that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and will remain under home quarantine. The 38-year-old actor took to Instagram and posted a statement requesting his fans not to worry about his health as he is doing fine.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Allu Arjun (@alluarjunonline)

"Hello everyone! I have tested positive for Covid. I have isolated myself at home and have been following all the protocols. I request those who have come in contact with me to get tested. Stay home, stay safe and get vaccinated when you get the chance. I request all my well-wishers and fans not to worry about me as I am doing fine. Love, " read the statement by Arjun. See the post here:

Hello everyone!

I have tested positive for Covid. I have isolated myself.

I request those who have come in contact with me to get tested.

I request all my well wishers and fans not to worry as I am doing fine . Stay home, stay safe . pic.twitter.com/CAiKD6LzzP  Allu Arjun (@alluarjun) April 28, 2021

Scores of fans chimed into the comments section as they wish the 'Sarrainodu' star a speedy recovery. On the professional front, Arjun has completed the shoot for 'AA21', and also has got an action-thriller based on red sandal smuggling in India - titled 'Pushpa'-- in the pipeline. He had been shooting for the same film, directed by Sukumar.

India has been battling with the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and has been reporting more than three lakh new cases since the past few days. On Tuesday, the country registered over 3.6 lakh infections and close to 3300 related deaths, the biggest single-day spike since the start of the pandemic.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

An 18-year-old man, on pretrial release for shooting a pistol from a car in December, was charged with the Friday night shotgun killing of a friend he met at the Metropolitan Detention Center, and robbery of a convenience store in separate incidents over the weekend.

Devin Munford was initially arrested on charges of armed robbery of a 7-Eleven store on Kathryn SE on Sunday night and was charged Tuesday with the slaying Friday of Devon Heyborne, 22, and threatening a woman with a shotgun.

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Heyborne was hit twice by shotgun shells when he answered the door of his apartment around 5 p.m. Friday, according to a criminal complaint filed by Albuquerque police detectives.

Witnesses told detectives that Munford and a friend, whom they identified as Armando, had stolen a semi-automatic rifle from Heyborne but later returned it.

The District Attorneys Office Criminal Strategies Unit was able to identify Munford through a Snapchat video posted 30 minutes after the homicide in which he was observed rapping and showing off a shotgun.

An employee of the District Attorneys Office told detectives that Munford was on pretrial release and was ordered to wear a GPS monitor.

Detectives asked Pretrial Services for records showing Munfords location around the time of the slaying based on his GPS monitoring ankle bracelet.

Detectives filed a search warrant for the information Saturday, and they received the information Sunday morning.

It was unclear whether officers were required to file the search warrant. A court spokesman said they were looking into the matter Tuesday.

According to the criminal complaint, the GPS data placed Munford near Heybornes apartment, in the 800 block of Locust Place NE.

District Attorney Raul Torrez said he was surprised that Pretrial Services required a search warrant for the information.

Other jurisdictions give the GPS location data on the request of law enforcement, Torrez said. I dont think there is basis in the law that a person being monitored has an expectation of privacy.

The faster you get the information, the faster police can act on it.

While detectives were at the scene of the homicide, they received a report that shortly before the killing an elderly woman had asked Munford to move his car, which was blocking her car, parked in the 600 block of Chama SE.

According to court records, the woman said Munford pointed a shotgun at her, fired the weapon and then drove away in his car.

The woman was able to give police the last three digits of the license plate number of the car, and according to court records, they matched Munfords license plate.

Munford hasnt been charged in that incident, but Torrez said it was under investigation.

Torrez has been critical of the pretrial release system since he took office.

Jennifer Barela, Albuquerque district defender for the Public Defenders Office, called Munfords case an outlier.

His release followed his first felony arrest in which no one was hurt, Barela said. The alternative is to lock everyone up prior to trial.

Armed robbery

On Sunday night, police responded to an armed robbery call at a 7-Eleven store in the Southeast Heights.

They chased one of the suspects on foot, arresting Munford. They found two shotgun shells in his pocket and located a shotgun near the store.

According to the criminal complaint, two store employees identified Munford as the man who carried a shotgun into the store.

He told police that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that two other people robbed the store, according to court records.

After he was arrested for the armed robbery, homicide detectives interviewed Munford.

The criminal complaint said Munford blamed the shooting of Heyborne on Armando, who he said was from Mexico.

He also told detectives that Heyborne was selling drugs for him and that Heyborne owed him $3,000.

The criminal complaint said that Munford admitted that he got into a dispute with the older woman and that he fired his shotgun into the air.

December arrest

According to witnesses, Munford and Heyborne met at MDC in December when Munford, who gave an address in Atlanta, was arrested by Bernalillo County sheriffs deputies for firing a pistol out of a car on Second Street, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a controlled substance.

According to the criminal complaint, Munford possessed a bottle of Xanax pills manufactured in Mexico.

Heyborne was in MDC at the same time on charges stemming from two domestic violence cases. Both cases were dismissed by prosecutors before he was shot to death.

The Bernalillo County District Attorneys Office filed a motion in Munfords case to keep him locked up.

District Judge Clara Moran denied the prosecutors motion, noting that the state had shown Munford may be a danger to the public but failed to show that there were no conditions of release that could reasonably protect the public.

Public Defender Barela said, The court put him on more strict conditions of release than was recommended.

According to the Public Safety Assessment, Munford was eligible to be released on his own recognizance because of his minimal contact with the criminal justice system.

Munford was released but had to wear a GPS monitor tracked by the courts Pretrial Services Division and was prohibited from possessing firearms.

Barela said the District Attorneys Office is filing between 80 to 100 pretrial detention motions each month.

That makes it difficult on everyone to determine which defendants need to have limited resources directed at their cases, Barela said.

Torrez said, If this is the highest level of monitoring they do at the court, you have to ask how closely monitored other people released to lower-level monitoring are.
UC undergraduate research assistant Jacob Hoschouer takes samples from an inactive oil well. Credit: UC Geology

Uncapped, idle oil wells could be leaking millions of kilograms of methane each year into the atmosphere and surface water, according to a study by the University of Cincinnati.

Amy Townsend-Small, an associate professor of geology and geography in UC's College of Arts and Sciences, studied 37 wells on private property in the Permian Basin of Texas, the largest oil production region on Earth. She found that seven had methane emissions of as much as 132 grams per hour. The average rate was 6.2 grams per hour.

"Some of them were leaking a lot. Most of them were leaking a little or not at all, which is a pattern that we have seen across the oil and gas supply chain," Townsend-Small said. "A few sources are responsible for most of the leaks."

The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, is the first of its kind on methane emissions from inactive oil wells in Texas.

"Nobody has ever gotten access to these wells in Texas," Townsend-Small said. "In my previous studies, the wells were all on public land."

A 2016 study by Townsend-Small found a similar issue in inactive wells she tested in Colorado, Wyoming, Ohio and Utah. Spread across the estimated 3.1 million abandoned wells, the leaking methane is equivalent to burning more than 16 million barrels of oil, according to government estimates.

Five of the inactive wells Townsend-Small studied in Texas were leaking a brine solution onto the ground, in some cases creating large ponds.

"I was horrified by that. I've never seen anything like that here in Ohio," Townsend-Small said. "One was gushing out so much water that people who lived there called it a lake, but it's toxic. It has dead trees all around it and smells like hydrogen sulfide."

UC associate professor Amy Townsend-Small stands in front of ponding water from an inactive oil well. Credit: UC Geology

Most of the wells had been inactive for three to five years, possibly because of fluctuations in market demand. Inactive wells could be a substantial source of methane emissions if they are not subject to leak detection and repair regulations, the UC study concluded.

The study was funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Previous studies have found the basin generates 2.7 billion kilograms of methane per year or nearly 4% of the total gas extracted. That's 60% higher than the average methane emissions in oil and gas production regions nationally. This was attributed to high rates of venting and flaring due to a lack of natural gas pipelines and other gas production infrastructure.

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that scientists have linked to climate change. If the rate of methane leaks UC observed were consistent across all 102,000 idled wells in Texas, the 5.5 million kilograms of methane released would be equivalent to burning 150 million pounds of coal each year, according to an estimate by the magazine Grist and nonprofit news organization the Texas Observer.

Townsend-Small and her UC undergraduate research assistant Jacob Hoschouer, a study co-author, came to Texas at the suggestion of the media organizations, which wanted to explore the environmental impact of oil wells, particularly those that are inactive or abandoned. An expert on methane emissions, Townsend-Small has studied releases from oil and natural gas wells across the country.

The journalists arranged with the property owners for Townsend-Small to examine the wells.

President Joe Biden's administration has pledged $16 billion in its infrastructure plan to cap abandoned oil and gas wells and mitigate abandoned mines. Hoschouer said it would be gratifying if their research could help regulators prioritize wells for capping.

In the meantime, regular inspections of inactive wells using infrared cameras to identify leaks could address the problem, the UC study suggested.

Explore further Methane emissions from abandoned oil and gas wells underestimated

More information: Amy Townsend-Small et al, Direct measurements from shut-in and other abandoned wells in the Permian Basin of Texas indicate some wells are a major source of methane emissions and produced water, Environmental Research Letters (2021). Journal information: Environmental Research Letters Amy Townsend-Small et al, Direct measurements from shut-in and other abandoned wells in the Permian Basin of Texas indicate some wells are a major source of methane emissions and produced water,(2021). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/abf06f
The Biden administration will start to limit the arrest of immigrants around courthouses, curbing a practice that sparked a federal lawsuit by a pair of Massachusetts district attorneys and civil rights organizations.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas directed two federal agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, to limit when they can arrest people on civil immigration violations in or near courthouses.

The expansion of civil immigration arrests at courthouses during the prior administration had a chilling effect on individuals willingness to come to court or work cooperatively with law enforcement, Mayorkas said in a statement. Todays guidance is the latest step in our efforts to focus our civil immigration enforcement resources on threats to homeland security and public safety.

The guidance allows agents to make civil immigration arrests because of a national security matter, an imminent risk of death, violence or physical harm, an active pursuit of someone who poses a public safety threat or an imminent risk that criminal evidence will be destroyed.

The interim guidance also allows federal agents to detain immigrants against public safety threats who arent in an active pursuit where necessary and with prior approval, the Department of Homeland Security wrote in a news release Tuesday.

Arrests of immigrants on civil violations occurred before President Donald Trump took office in 2017, but they became far more common under the Trump administration. An ICE directive issued in early 2018 formalized the practice, recommending that ICE officers act discreetly to minimize the disruption to court proceedings.

The interim guidance comes two years after Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins and a group of civil rights lawyers in Greater Boston sued ICE over its practice of arresting immigrants around courthouses. Lawyers for Civil Rights, one of several plaintiffs, had counted more than 100 courthouse arrests across Massachusetts over the prior year.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani ruled in favor of the group in August 2019, barring ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston from arresting immigrants on civil violations around Massachusetts courthouses.

In September, the First Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the preliminary injunction granted by Talwani, more than a year later, sending the matter back to Talwani for review.

In a joint statement, the district attorneys, LCR and the Committee for Public Counsel Services said the DHS announcement addresses some of the concerns raised in their lawsuit. The group is still reviewing the policies before making any decisions about the lawsuit, which remains under review in court.

We are encouraged by todays interim guidance, which places some limitation on civil immigration enforcement within the criminal justice system, the group said. It is our hope that this change will begin reversing the culture of fear that has pervaded our courthouses in recent years.

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A Maryland teen, one of three people accused in the 2019 robbery of a Harrisburg Rite Aid, will spend seven years in federal prison, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

Gerard Gaffney, 19 at the time of the robbery, was sentenced on Monday for his role as the getaway driver in the robbery, according to the DOJ.

Gaffney, of Mount Ranier, Maryland, and at least two others were charged in the robbery of the Rite Aid on Union Deposit Road on March 28, 2019, the DOJ said.

Gaffney was waiting outside in the getaway car while three masked robbers entered the pharmacy, pointed weapons at the heads of staff and forced them to give them drugs from the pharmacy. The group then escaped with Gaffney, Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler said in a statement.

Officers responding to the robbery chased the getaway car until it eventually crashed, and three of the people inside were apprehended, Brandler said. Gaffney was among those arrested.

Police also recovered bottles of pharmaceuticals stolen from Rite Aid and a stolen gun from Gaffneys co-defendant David Marable, who was 18 at the time.

Marable has also pleaded guilty to the robbery and brandishing a firearm during the robbery and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

The third person arrested was a 17-year-old boy, who was not identified by authorities.

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Two women file the health declarations at Tu Du Hospital in HCMC, August 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Thu Anh.

Two women that broke into Vietnam from pandemic-hit Cambodia were discovered six days after first visiting Ho Chi Minh City's Tu Du Hospital.

The duo, a mother and daughter, visited Tu Du, the biggest obstetrics hospital in southern Vietnam, on April 20 as the daughter, 32-weeks pregnant, suffered implantation bleeding.

The daughter was subsequently hospitalized, in the care of her mother.

It was not until Tuesday that they were found to have returned from Cambodia, which has been in the grip of a Covid spread since late February.

The two later admitted they had traveled by boat across a river along the Vietnam-Cambodia border and broke into An Giang Province in the Mekong Delta.

"Both of them and 40 medics that have been in contact with them have been isolated and tested. All tests have returned negative once," Nguyen Tan Binh, director of the city's Health Department, said Wednesday.

Cambodia registered at least 650 new Covid-19 community cases Tuesday after reporting 508 on Monday and 580 on Sunday after the weekend had logged 1,196 cases.

As of Tuesday evening, Cambodia has recorded 11,063 cases, of which 10,513 are linked to the outrageous Feb. 20 community outbreak, Khmer Times reported.

HCMC has gone 75 days without a Covid-19 community transmission. Nationwide, it has been a month.

Given the complicated situation in Cambodia, more Vietnamese will try to get back home, even when they have to do it illegally, to escape the pandemic, said Binh.

Last week, three people illegally entered Vietnam from Cambodia, and traveled to various places around the country, but have been confirmed negative for the novel coronavirus. The trio had also visited HCMC before flying to the north.

City chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong said over the past month, authorities had detected 108 illegal entrants.

"But the actual figure could be much higher," said Phong.

Everyone entering Vietnam from abroad is quarantined for 14 days and tested at least twice.

Vietnam shares a 1,137-kilometer boundary with Cambodia in the Mekong Delta, near HCMC, and in the Central Highlands. The Kien Giang-Cambodia border stretches 56 kilometers (34.8 miles) in land and covers 62,000 square kilometers of sea area.

Major Nguyen Truong Phong, head of the Vinh Nguon border guard station in An Giang, said this week with many rivers and canals adjacent to localities in Cambodia, the province provides the perfect conditions for people to break into Vietnam.
Journal Register Co.

TORRINGTON - Mayor Elinor Carbone and the Veterans Memorial Committee are organizing a modified Memorial Day parade and ceremony. A small motor parade of veterans will start at the north end of Torrington, and continue down Main Street to Coe Memorial Park for a brief ceremony.

To maintain health and safety protocols no marching units or organizations will participate this year, according to the mayor.
Sri Lanka: Navy told to apprehend Indian fishing vessels -Douglas Devananda

by Ananth Palakidnar

April 28,2021 | Source: Sunday Observer

Minister of Fisheries and Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Douglas Devananda who is adamant to prevent the infiltration of Indian fishing vessels into Sri Lankas territorial waters in the North has directed the Navy to apprehend Indian fishing vessels which remain a constant threat to the livelihood of the local fisherfolk. Minister Devananda told the Sunday Observer that the livelihood of the Northern fisherfolk which was in dire straits for the past several years due to the battle against terrorism in the North will not be allowed to deteriorate further and all measures would be implemented to revive the fishing industry in the region and in the country, at large. Minister Devananda said that the festering issue regarding Indian poachers in the countrys territorial waters should be handled at diplomatic levels between the two countries and decisions should be taken in the best interest of safeguarding local fish workers. Adverse comments have been made against me over the Indian fishing vessels. Of course, I clearly understand the problems faced by the Northern fishermen due to the Indian poachers.



My Ministry is in contact with the Indian officials regarding this issue. I have even directed the Navy in the North to be vigilant over the Indian fishing vessels entering the Northern waters and apprehend them so that legal action could be instituted against them , Minister Devananda said. He added that measures have been taken to develop the fishing harbours in the North which had been neglected for past three decades.

 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd., 19952021.
Students sit next to The Quadrangle at The University of Sydney on May 8, 2013, in Sydney, Australia (AAP Image/Paul Miller)

Negative Forecast for Australian University Sector: S&P Report

As the international student cohort in Australian universities shrinks and border policy continues to turn prospective new students away, the sector may experience a heavier loss this year than last, a report says.

An analysis by S&P Global, which forecasts the future of the higher education sector, has said that the impact of the decreasing international enrolment numbers, political tensions, and more is causing a significant issue for the sector.

Our overall sector view remains negative, the report said, but also noted universities had responded swiftly to the unforeseen circumstances of 2020.

Universities Australia, the peak body for the higher education industry, revealed last year that the sector lost at least $1.8 billion (US$1.4 billion) in revenue compared to 2019 and estimated it would lose a further $2 billion this year.

Because tertiary degrees are usually at least two years in duration, a diminished cohort of commencements in one year will have a pipeline effect, depressing revenue in future years, too, the report said.

Australian universities have a higher reliance on international students, as they make up a considerable portion of the tertiary student population compared to university sectors in the United Kingdom (UK), the U.S., and Canada.

The Group of Eight universities, which are considered Australias most prestigious, have significant numbers of international students.

Strong reputations also mean that if student demand were to wane, they could tweak their fees or entry standards to cannibalise demand from lower-ranked peers, S&P reported.

The Australian National University (ANU) logo is seen on a building at the campus in Canberra, Australia, on Sept. 16, 2020. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

Former Australian Catholic University vice-chancellor Greg Craven told The Age that his fears on the issue had been vindicated.

Universities with big brands can predate on other universities, Craven said. The very universities that have caused this crisis will get out by victimising other universities.

The report also raised concerns that education could be next to suffer from Beijing-imposed restrictions in its ongoing economic coercion campaign against Australia.

We see the escalating Australia-China quarrel as a downside risk, with potential to severely amplify the fallout from the pandemic, the report wrote.

A survey by Navitas, a private education provider, confirmed earlier fears from the tertiary sector that Australia would lose their students to Canada and the UK if borders remained closed.

It found that interest in Australian and New Zealand universities had waned considerably compared to one year ago, where students considered both countries attractive study destinations due to the great handling of COVID-19.

While Australia and New Zealand continue to be perceived as safe and stable due to their elimination strategies and very low case numbers, this perception is increasingly irrelevant to a countrys reputation as a study destination, Navitas head of strategic insights and analytics Jonathan Chew said.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared that New Mexico is conquering COVID and on track to fully reopen in nine weeks  success made possible, she said, by the states high vaccination rate.

In the meantime, the Department of Health loosened the mask mandate for outdoor exercise and will relax public health restrictions for much of the state Friday.

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This is cause for incredible celebration, Lujan Grisham said Wednesday. Im extremely proud.

In an online briefing with public health officials, the Democratic governor said New Mexico expects to have 60% of its adults fully vaccinated by June 30  a standard that, if met, would allow the state to graduate out of its color-coded map of county-by-county restrictions.

Some regulations  such as an indoor mask requirement  are likely to remain, Lujan Grisham said, but the capacity limits and similar restrictions on businesses would be removed. In some counties, movie theaters have been closed for more than a year.

In nine weeks, New Mexico, we are open, Lujan Grisham said.

The briefing comes as New Mexico remains among the leading states in COVID-19 vaccinations. As it stands now, about 42% of the states adults are fully vaccinated, meaning they have completed two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

About 58% of adults are partially vaccinated.

We are conquering COVID, Lujan Grisham said. Everyone in this state should be incredibly proud.

She said she is incredibly confident the state will reach the 60% target for full vaccinations by the end of June.

I think this is clearly doable, Human Services Secretary David Scrase said, but its going to take extra work.

Health Secretary Tracie Collins said New Mexico plans to enlist the help of physicians and other primary care providers to encourage vaccination.

Vaccines, she said, are a critical step toward protecting yourself and your family. Anyone with concerns should discuss it with their primary care provider, she said, and doctors should reach out to their patients.

Collins and Scrase are doctors themselves.

As a primary care provider, Collins said, I know we are in a unique position to hold intimate, meaningful conversations with our patients about vaccination.

Mask changes

Relaxed health restrictions are already on the way.

New Mexico is loosening its outdoor mask mandate to match new guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fully vaccinated residents will no longer have to wear a mask outdoors, unless theyre in a large group. For most of the state, the mask requirement would kick in for gatherings of 20 or more people.

Whether vaccinated or not, people can also forgo masks while walking, biking or running alone or with household members.

Masks will remain required for youth sports. Group athletic activities involve higher risk, state officials said, because of the number of people involved and because vaccines arent approved for youngsters under 16.

The mask mandate also stays intact for indoor public settings, with exceptions for eating or drinking. Retail spaces cannot allow an unmasked individual to enter the premises.

New map

A new public health order taking effect Friday will make it easier for counties to advance in the states color-coded system of health restrictions.

The changes will have an enormous impact on New Mexicos map. Thirty of the states 33 counties will be either green or turquoise  rather than just 17 under the existing rules.

The number of red or yellow counties would likewise drop from 16 to three.

Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, for example, are set to move from yellow to green Friday under the new statistical criteria, allowing a variety of businesses to operate at a higher capacity.

Restaurants will be able to offer indoor dining at 50% capacity rather than 33%, among other changes. Movie theaters and large entertainment venues could also offer indoor seating at 25% capacity.

New Mexico has four levels of restrictions  red, yellow, green and turquoise. The restrictions within each color will remain the same, but it will be easier to advance to less restrictive levels.

The new statistical targets cover the per-capita rate of new COVID-19 cases, the test positivity rate and the share of residents who are fully vaccinated.

Meeting one of the three criteria puts a county in yellow, and reaching two of three puts a county in green. Turquoise requires staying in green for a month or meeting all three standards.

Scrase, who leads the Human Services Department, said it was time to change the statistical standards because of the increasing number of vaccinations and a plateau in the number of new COVID-19 cases detected each day.

The state is now reporting an average of 199 cases a day, just under the states new target of 210 or fewer. The previous goal was 168 cases.

The Department of Health tallied 248 new cases on Wednesday and 12 more deaths related to the disease.

The death toll now stands at 4,051 residents.

GOP criticism

Republicans in the state Senate said it was about time the governor revised the color-coded framework.

We have been shouting for months that the people in our communities are suffering because of these continued illogical and unscientific protocols, Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Belen, said in a written statement. While I am thankful that the Governor has finally taken action to remedy some of these issues, I hope it is not too little, too late.

Steve Pearce, chairman of the state Republican Party, said the governors policies have already damaged our great state, infringed on our freedoms and caused despair.

Masks indoors

Lujan Grishams news conference was streamed on her Facebook page.

Earlier in the day, she told Albuquerque business leaders that a state face mask mandate for indoor public settings would likely remain in place for some time, even in worksites where all employees have been vaccinated.

If youre indoors at all, you should keep wearing masks, Lujan Grisham said during a remote meeting of the Economic Forum.

The governor  who is up for reelection next year  also said New Mexico was close to reaching herd immunity, when a large portion of the population becomes immune to a disease, due to its high COVID-19 vaccination rates.

But its also likely, she said, that the virus will not fully disappear even if herd immunity is achieved. Instead, it might persist, like the common flu.

I think people are going to feel like a huge weight is lifted pretty soon this summer, Lujan Grisham said.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics suits Chinas national conditions the best: former Hungarian PM Peter Medgyessy

14:43, April 28, 2021 By Yu Yang, Feng Xuejun ( People's Daily

The leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the social system of socialism with Chinese characteristics suit China the best and are bound to help China continue with development and achieve greater progress in the future, former Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy said in an interview with Peoples Daily recently.

Every country is looking for a social system that best fits its history, culture and fundamental realities, Medgyessy said.

There are two main reasons why the CPC can always maintain its vitality and constantly make new achievements, Medgyessy said, explaining that the first reason is that the CPC has its highest ideal and ultimate goal that it can strive for in the long run, and the second one is that the Party keeps pace with the times and constantly makes innovations in practice.

Chinas achievements in development are attributed to the strong leadership of the CPC, and Chinas success represents the success of the CPC, Medgyessy said, noting that its not easy for a century-old political party of a major country to still maintain vitality.

Chinas development has not only benefited the Chinese people, but also created a huge market and many investment opportunities for the world, according to Medgyessy.

Since 1987, Medgyessy has visited China for multiple times at the invitation of departments and units including the International Department of the Central Committee of CPC, and has paid attention to Chinas development and changes for decades.

Many of Chinas achievements have impressed him a lot, Medgyessy said, referring to such accomplishments as economic take-off, lifting nearly 100 million impoverished rural residents living under the current poverty line out of poverty, as well as rapid development in high technologies in such fields as 5G communications network, artificial intelligence (AI), and aerospace.

Of all the achievements made by China, the most important one is the rapidly improving quality of peoples lives, Medgyessy pointed out.

Medgyessy has paid special attention to poverty reduction. Last December, he attended the International Forum on Sharing Poverty Reduction Experience host by China.

In his speech at the forum, Medgyessy pointed out that poverty exists in many countries in the world, and it takes political vision, long-term planning, and political, economic and social stability to realize economic development, improve peoples well-being, and eradicate poverty and backwardness.

Real statesmen can set long-term goals and implement plans with great consistency to achieve them, Medgyessy said.

China has been committed to implementing the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development all along and has achieved the poverty reduction target set in the 2030 Agenda ten years ahead of schedule, noted Medgyessy, adding that China has adopted far-sighted policies and measures and taken practical actions for eradicating poverty, which has won high praise from various parties in Hungary.

Since the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese people have united as one to battle against the pandemic and made a major strategic achievement in fighting the virus.

Against such a background, Medgyessy sent a letter to the Chinese Peoples Institute of Foreign Affairs. In the letter, he expressed his respect and admiration for the results Chinese people achieved in courageously fighting the pandemic under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He believed that China is capable of gradually eliminating the impacts of the pandemic on the economy and that Chinas achievements in fighting the COVID-19 would provide important experience for global efforts to combat infectious diseases in the coming decades, according to the letter.

The key to Chinas success in bringing the pandemic under control is that the CPC and the Chinese government are able to organize efforts properly and that the Chinese people have a strong sense of discipline, Medgyessy pointed out.

Noting that the COVID-19 is still spreading across the globe and posing severe challenges on the worlds poverty reduction cause, Medgyessy said that Chinas experience in alleviating poverty serves as reference for various countries around the world, and that the country is believed to share with the rest of the world its experience in development and fruits of development as always and continue to provide support for other developing countries.

During the interview, Medgyessy happily recalled the time when he met with Xi in 2009 during Xis visit to Hungary as the vice president of China. We had a meaningful conversation, and Im still proud of it now, Medgyessy said.

Xi has brought to the world a new way of thinking, Medgyessy noted, saying that Xi has clear ideas about Chinas development and the relationship between China and the world.

China has been actively taking part in international affairs, committed to safeguarding multilateralism, promoting world peace and development and the progress of human civilization, and pushing forward with the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, exerting a profound influence on the world, Medgyessy said.

The idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind proposed by Xi is very right and important, Medgyessy said, explaining that the world today is faced with various prominent global challenges that need to be tackled with joint efforts of all countries.

International cooperation and multilateralism is the effective approach to safeguarding peace and promoting development, Medgyessy added.

During his tenure as Hungarian Prime Minister between 2002 and 2004, Medgyessy actively advanced friendly exchanges between Hungary and China. The Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School in Budapest established at his suggestion is the only 12-year public school in Hungary and even Central and Eastern Europe that uses both the language of the host country and Chinese in teaching. The school has become an important platform through which Hungarian teenagers learn Chinese and acquire knowledge about Chinese culture.

Hungary is willing to build bridge for exchanges and cooperation between China and the European Union, according to Medgyessy, who believes that with the support of China and Hungary, the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School in Budapest will cultivate more constructors and successors of the friendly ties between the two countries.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Federal investigators have executed a search warrant at the Manhattan home of former President Donald Trumps attorney Rudy Giuliani, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The former New York City mayor has been under investigation for several years over his business dealings in Ukraine. Details of the search were not immediately available, but it comes as the Justice Department continues its investigation into the former New York City mayor and staunch Trump ally.

The official could not discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The federal probe into Giulianis overseas and business dealings stalled last year because of a dispute over investigative tactics as Trump unsuccessfully sought reelection, and amid Giulianis prominent role in subsequently disputing the results of the contest on Trumps behalf.

The full scope of the investigation is unclear, but it at least partly involves the Ukraine dealings, law enforcement officials have told the AP.

Giuliani was central to the then-presidents efforts to dig up dirt against Democratic rival Joe Biden and to press Ukraine for an investigation into Biden and his son, Hunter  who himself now faces a criminal tax probe by the Justice Department. Giuliani also sought to undermine former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was pushed out on Trumps orders, and met several times with a Ukrainian lawmaker who released edited recordings of Biden in an effort to smear him before the election.

A message left for Giulianis lawyer wasnt immediately returned. Giuliani had previously called the investigation is pure political persecution.

The U.S. Attorneys office in Manhattan declined to comment.
Idaho has become the second state this week to enact a so-called 'fetal heartbeat' law banning abortions after just six weeks - before many women know they are pregnant.

Republican Governor Brad Little on Tuesday signed into law the legislation that would outlaw nearly all abortions in the state by banning them once a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

Gov. Little signed the bill that contains a 'trigger provision,' meaning it won't go into effect unless a federal appeals court somewhere in the country upholds similar legislation from another state.

The move comes a day after Oklahoma signed a bill banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Republican Governor Brad Little on Tuesday signed into law the legislation that would outlaw nearly all abortions in the conservative state by banning them once a fetal heartbeat can be detected

This week governors in Arizona and Montana also signed anti-abortion laws and last month protesters gathered in Arkansas to demonstrate against a new ban on nearly all abortions in the state.

Gov. Little's bill makes providing an abortion to a woman whose embryo has detectable cardiac activity punishable by up to five years in prison. It would also allow the woman who receives the abortion to sue the provider.

Fetal cardiac activity can be detected as early as six weeks using an invasive vaginal ultrasound  before many women discover they are pregnant.

'Idaho is a state that values the most innocent of all lives  the lives of babies,' Gov. Little said in a statement. 'We should never relent in our efforts to protect the lives of the preborn.

'Hundreds and hundreds of babies lose their lives every year in Idaho due to abortion, an absolute tragedy.

'I appreciate Idaho lawmakers for continuing to protect lives by passing this important legislation, and I am proud to sign the bill into law today.'

This week governors in Arizona and Montana also signed anti-abortion laws and last month protesters gathered in Arkansas (pictured on March 7) to demonstrate against a new ban on nearly all abortions in the state

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reports there were 1,513 induced abortions in 2019. The agency says 1,049 of those occurred within the first nine weeks.

The bill has exceptions for rape, incest or medical emergency. The exception for rape and incest would likely be impossible for many women to meet, opponents said, because Idaho law prevents the release of police reports in active investigations.

Opponents also said many rape victims don't want to report the crimes to law enforcement right away, and even if they do, the reports are often sealed for three months or more.

They say forcing women to immediately report their rape and then fight to get a copy of the report quickly enough for any abortion would deeply compound the trauma they have already experienced.

The medical emergency provision, opponents said, is so vague as to likely be of little help to medical professionals.

Arizona on Tuesday signed a sweeping anti-abortion bill, prompting protests at the Arizona Capitol on April 26

Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii slammed Gov. Little for the bill, accusing him of only signing the bill to appease his 'radical followers'.

'Let's be clear: Abortion is still completely legal in Idaho, even after six weeks,' the group said in a statement. 'This legislation changes nothing.

'What it really does is simply set Idaho up for a lawsuit if a similar ban in another federal court upholds their unconstitutional legislation - and there is nothing that indicates that would ever happen. But even if it does, we will launch a lawsuit immediately to stop it.

'Good job accomplishing nothing but setting Idaho up to lose more tax dollars in order to appease your radical followers, Governor Brad Little.

'You have not stopped abortion, and you will not stop it. We will fight for Idaho's right to access reproductive health care, including abortion, no matter what.'

Supporters of the legislation say they would like it challenged in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and then decided at the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority after former President Donald Trump appointed three conservative justices.

Protesters gather on April 26 to protests against an Arizona anti-abortion bill

Ultimately, backers would like to see the proposed Idaho law play a role in overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide. A reversal of Roe would mean abortion policy would revert to the states.

Earlier this week, three U.S. states signed anti-abortion laws.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday signed a sweeping anti-abortion bill that bans the procedure if the woman is seeking it solely because a fetus has a genetic abnormality such as Down syndrome.

Doctors who perform an abortion solely because the child has a survivable genetic issue can face felony charges. The proposal also contains a raft of other provisions sought by abortion opponents.

A day earlier, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed three bills restricting abortion access in the state, celebrating it as a success after several attempts to pass similar measures in previous year were vetoed by former Democratic governors.

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signs a bill on Monday that bans abortions after 20 weeks

The bills ban abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, require health care providers to give pregnant women the opportunity to view an ultrasound before performing an abortion, and place several restrictions on abortion pills, including requiring that they be administered in-person rather than through telehealth.

Gianforte signed the measures in the presence of a jubilant crowd of Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion activists.

On the same day, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed three anti-abortion bills into law on Monday, including ones to criminalize the procedure in certain cases and cost providers their medical licenses for performing them.

The Republican-controlled Senate passed measures requiring physicians who perform abortions to be certified in obstetrics and gynecology, adding performing an abortion to the list of unprofessional conduct by doctors, and prohibiting abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

In the case of the fetal-heartbeat bill, any doctor who performs an abortion after detecting a heartbeat would be guilty of homicide.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed signed a law banning nearly all abortions in the state in March

Last month, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a law banning nearly all abortions in the state.

The law allows the procedure only to save the life of the mother and does not provide exceptions for women impregnated by rape or incest.

But opponents have vowed to challenge the law in court before it takes effect later this year.

The bans were promoted by Republicans seeking to force the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide.

Attorney Gloria Allred, left, poses with Norma McCorvey, who was known as 'Jane Roe' in the landmark Roe vs. Wade court case. The pair appeared at a pro-choice rally in Burbank, Calif., on July 4, 1989

Jane Roe was a fictional name used in documents to protect the identity of a lawsuit plaintiff, who was later identified as Norma McCorvey.

Court documents said Roe sued Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas, to challenge a state law outlawing abortion except with a doctor's permission to save a woman's life. Roe claimed the statute blocked the right to privacy that protected a woman's choice to have an abortion.

The justices delivered a 7-2 decision in Roe's favor, which has been at the heart of the American abortion debate ever since.

Conservatives believe the current Supreme Court could be open to striking down the decision following former President Donald Trump's three appointments to the court: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Nacogdoches, TX (75965)

Today

A few clouds with an isolated thunderstorm possible after midnight. Low 72F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A few clouds with an isolated thunderstorm possible after midnight. Low 72F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Dr. Paul Klotman missed good food.

Pre-pandemic, the president and CEO of Baylor College of Medicine would spend every night in a different restaurant sampling food and wine from around the world.

During the workweek, he would entertain friends, recruit potential employees, meet donors and board members  all in the comfort of fine-dining restaurants like BCN Houston, Xochi Downtown, Sorrento and Hugos.

A year ago, when COVID-19 shut down restaurants, bars and nightclubs or relegated them to curbside orders only, it felt like a door had slammed in Klotmans face.

COVID really crushed my daily dining habits, he said. It didnt quite hit me how hard it would affect me. I took a picture of my refrigerator for fun, and itd be empty  one bottle of wine and a Coke.

During the pandemic, Klotman has mostly stayed in Houston, but he also spends time in North Carolina, where his wife, Dr. Mary E. Klotman, is the dean of the Duke University School of Medicine.

Being in the hospital industry during a global health crisis meant he spent most of those early months in Baylors Incident Command Center scrounging around for sustenance. He often ate fast food, but he admits to living off crackers and snacks for a few weeks.

By summer, Klotman was ready to serve his luxurious, and well-trained, palate again. So like any aspiring Julia Child in 2020, he searched for recipes on YouTube.

I figured I should try to cook. I had already been into sous vide cooking for a few years  its a French style of cooking, Klotman said. A lot of it is like being in a lab, and Ive spent a lot of time in laboratories over the years.

Sous vide cooking is when food is sealed in an airtight container, like a vaccum-sealed bag, and then cooked in temperature-controlled water. Meat or another protein is marinated, put in a vacuum-sealed container and dropped in a large pot of water. Its a slow process.

Klotman brought his experience as a physician and scientist to the kitchen. Just like sous vide cooking, water baths are used in science, he said. It was a natural transition of his skill set.

Three months into the pandemic, his wife bought him virtual Master Classes with different chefs, including Thomas Keller, co-author of The French Laundry Cookbook. Klotman watched Gordon Ramsey videos and studied recipes by Italian chef Massimo Bottura. He cracked open the Joy of Cooking cookbook, as well.

Central Market was his preferred grocery store for ingredients, he said.

Sous vide is great for meats, so maybe a brisket or short ribs. But fish is what I really focus on, he said. We get good fish from Central Market, and occasionally, Ill have something flown in from Fulton Market in New York.

In his first year as an amateur chef, Klotman has surprised himself.

He has made Butter-Poached Lobster Mac and Cheese from the French Laundry cookbook. My hands were bleeding from the lobsters  that was quite an event, he said.

Hes also made braised short ribs that took three days to cook. Long recipes remind him of working in a lab, waiting for a bacteria to culture in a petri dish.

Dinner was always a big deal for the Klotmans, but now it requires a plan and a shopping list. It can be a daylong event, he said. His refrigerator is stocked with sauces, roux made with chicken stock, flour and vegetables, including onions, peas and lettuce.

And lots of unsalted butter.

Each thing builds upon itself, and it takes a while, he said. All of a sudden, I have containers that look like lab cultures. If you have that stuff, you can decide what sauce base you can do. It makes an entire meal.

A good wine pairing is important, too. Klotman has been into wine since he was 30, but typically just for drinking. He hasnt started cooking with it yet, and he doesnt know if hell ever venture into mixing drinks.

Now that hes fully vaccinated, Klotman expects to soon return full force to the restaurant scene in Houston and elsewhere. He misses the seafood at La Bernardin in New York and the pasta at Da Marco on Westheimer.

But for now, he has a test kitchen where he tries new recipes with his wife, and hes looking forward to dinner parties with friends and colleagues this summer.

Dont call him a chef, though.

Id say its an emerging, maturing love of cooking, Klotman said. Its helped me being locked in a house without restaurants for a year. It took on a new intensity this year.
Southern Californians Share Mixed Reactions to Recall

The campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to be a go, and while supporters of the initiative say theyre hopeful for a change, opponents are defending Californias political leader.

Hes trying to control our lives, Jennifer Harty, who signed the recall petition, told The Epoch Times on April 27. We just need a fresh start. Its time for a change.

The Tustin resident said she was upset with how the governor handled the pandemic, and how governmental overreach hurt the economy.

The way he handled the pandemic has been tragic, she said. The way that he runs the economy is anotherhe puts priorities in the wrong places.

Not everyone is critical of the governors performance.

Ventura County resident Tom McAdam, 80, said the recall was a waste of time, money and resources.

Hes done a good job, McAdam told The Epoch Times.

I dont recall an effective person whos doing an effective job. Hes done exactly what hes supposed to do. We shouldnt do it in California. You can pull any governor back after four years if you want. A recall just wastes our money.

He praised Newsoms efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, and said if voters want him out of office, they should wait until the 2022 election.

Anybody who says theyre frugal and [supports the] recall is insane, because he only has four years without an election, McAdam said. The recall effort is just a waste of time, a waste of money, and a big total disruption for the state at a crucial time.

By the Numbers

The recall campaign received more than 1.6 million verified signatures, surpassing the nearly 1.5 million needed to trigger a recall election, the Secretary of State announced April 26.

Of the 2.1 million recall petition signatures gathered, 80 percent are valid, California Republican Party data director Cole Patterson told The Epoch Times.

The petition signatures are still being verified by county registrars until the April 29 deadline.

Sacramento County  has about 22,000 left to count. San Bernardino County has about, 50,000 left to count, Patterson said, adding that the counties are over-performing where they usually would be at in terms of voter registration.

Orange County makes up about eight percent of the states total voter registration, he said. The county has garnered 13 percent of the recall signatures.

He said about 15 percent of Orange Countys registered voters signed the recall.

In or Out

Nicholas Andrew of Costa Mesa said the pandemic has split politics along two sides: the economy and public health.

Hes for the people as far as their health goes, even though it didnt look good  for businesses, Andrew told The Epoch Times.

The 37-year-old said the governor had to make a choice between putting public health first, or prioritizing the economy.

He was in a tough position. He did what he [did with] the knowledge he was getting from the scientists [and] doctorsand the science side outweighed the business aspect of it, Andrew said.

Andrew said those involved in the recall efforts value the economy more than public health.

They might be holding their business aspects higher than the health. Maybe they got hit hard, or their businesses, he said.

Whoever would have been in that position would have had a tough time deciding what to do. I dont know if a Republican would have done the same thing he did. Maybe they would have went more on the business sidebusiness ownersand less on the health.

Newsom responded to news of the recall on Twitter on April 26 by firing back at supporters of the initiative.

This Republican recall threatens our values and seeks to undo the important progress weve madefrom fighting COVID, to helping struggling families, protecting our environment, and passing commonsense gun violence solutions, Newsom wrote. Theres too much at stake.

James Chadwick of Santa Ana said Newsom is trying to attack the recall as a white supremacist movement. He said he doesnt buy the argument that far-right extremists are behind the initiative.

Now what hes saying is the far right and the white supremacists and all these people are the ones who recalled him, which doesnt make any sense to me, Chadwick told The Epoch Times.

You go down that list of 2 million names and think that every one of those people are white supremacists and Nazis?
Red states gain House seats at the expense of blue states in census reapportionment

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Following the 2020 U.S. Census, several states that voted Republican in the 2020 presidential election are set to gain seats in Congress, while several Democrat-leaning states will lose seats.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday that the results of the 2020 census were delivered to President Joe Biden. Data from the census is used in the decennial reapportionment process, where the 435 seats in the House of Representatives are distributed among the 50 states based on population.

Additionally, the Census Bureau announced how many seats each state would receive in the House based on the 2020 population figures. New congressional districts based on the population figures for each state will go into effect for the 118th U.S. Congress, scheduled to convene on Jan. 3, 2023.

Texas, which gained nearly 3 million residents since the 2010 census, will have two additional seats in Congress. The states of Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon will gain one seat apiece.

Among the states that will gain representation in Congress, four voted for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election while two voted for Biden. Five of the seven new seats created due to the 2020 census will go to states that voted for Trump.

Meanwhile, California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia will each lose one seat in Congress. Five of the seven states slated to lose representation in Congress voted for Biden while Ohio and West Virginia supported Trump.

The redistricting cycle comes as Republicans look to retake control of the House after coming up five seats short in 2020.

The addition of seats in states that favor Republicans could help the GOP reclaim the House majority.

Individual states have the responsibility to draw congressional districts based on the 2020 population figures, with the goal of ensuring that each district within a state has roughly equal populations.

As noted by Loyola Law School, the method for drawing districts varies from state to state, with some states giving that responsibility to the state legislature. In contrast, other states rely on independent, nonpartisan commissions to draw their districts.

Based on the makeup of state legislatures and governors offices following the 2020 election, Republicans will have complete control of the redistricting process in 19 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

While Nebraska has a nominally nonpartisan, unicameral legislature, a majority of its members are registered Republicans. The aforementioned states will have a combined 187 seats in the 118th Congress, accounting for approximately 43% of the total.

Meanwhile, Democrats will have complete control of the redistricting process in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island. Those states will have 75 seats in the 118th Congress.

Louisiana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin currently have divided state governments, with one party occupying the governors office and the other party controlling one or both houses of the state legislature. As a result, congressional maps in these states will require bipartisan support.

Independent commissions will draw congressional districts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Montana and Washington, states that will have 94 seats in the 118th Congress.

Hawaii, New Jersey and Virginia will rely on politician commissions, which will consist of legislators and community members, to draw their districts. These states will have a combined 27 seats in the 118th Congress.

While the responsibility of drawing districts in Connecticut belongs to the state legislature, maps must secure the support of two-thirds of its members to pass.

Although Democrats have complete control of the state government, they do not have the two-thirds majority required to pass a map without Republican support. A backup commission consisting of members appointed by leaders of both parties will draw the states five congressional districts if the legislature fails to produce a map.

Congressional maps in Maine must also secure the support of two-thirds of each state legislative chamber. Democrats control both chambers but fall short of a two-thirds majority. An advisory commission consisting of members appointed by leaders of both parties assists the legislature in drawing the states two congressional districts.

The remaining six seats will be distributed among the least populous states in the country, with one seat apiece.

In addition to affecting the composition in the House of Representatives, the reapportionment of congressional seats will also have an impact on the makeup of the Electoral College, where each state is assigned electoral votes based on its combined number of representatives and senators.

States slated to gain representation in Congress will also gain representation in the Electoral College in the 2024 presidential election. States that will lose seats in Congress will see their influence in the Electoral College diminish.

Overall, the 2020 census found that over 331 million people lived in the U.S. as of April 1, 2020, an increase of over 22 million people from the 2010 census.

Our work doesnt stop here, said Census Bureau Acting Director Ron Jarmin. Now that the apportionment counts are delivered, we will begin the additional activities needed to create and deliver the redistricting data that were previously delayed due to COVID-19.

The aforementioned redistricting data refers to the population counts for counties, cities and precincts that states need to create districts of equal population. According to the Census Bureau, States are expected to receive redistricting data by August 16, and the full redistricting data with toolkits for ease of use will be delivered by September 30.
(Natural News) I dont know if you readers of Health Impact News are getting tired of reading about all these sudden deaths of otherwise healthy people, many of them in the prime of their life, just after receiving one of the experimental COVID vaccines, but I know I am sure getting sick of constantly publishing these stories!!

(Article by Brian Shilhavy republished from HealthImpactNews.com)

These are MURDERS!

Lets call them what they truly are. All of these experimental COVID vaccines which have been given fast-track emergency use authorization are ILLEGAL!

COVID-19 is biggest medical scandal of our lifetime!

Nobody has to die from COVID-19 because THOUSANDS of doctors across the globe have documented how COVID patients can be 100% cured with either older drugs such as hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin, or prevented in the first place with proper nutrition and vitamin supplementation such as Vitamin C and Vitamin D.

The new COVID-19 vaccines are a financial windfall for the pharmaceutical industry, but they are unneeded and they are killing and maiming people, and are clearly a far more serious threat to life and death than any virus.

The COVID Blog has just highlighted the death of 28-year-old Haley Link Brinkmeyer, who just finished her PhD and got married in 2018 and is now DEAD two days after receiving one of the mRNA experimental COVID injections.

EVANSVILLE, INDIANA  Mrs. Haley Link Brinkmeyer received her Ph.D from the University of Evansville in 2018. She married her high school sweetheart, Evan, right around the same time. Haley is now dead because mainstream and social media convinced her that experimental mRNA shots are safe and necessary for the common good.

Mrs. Brinkmeyer received an mRNA shot on or around Tuesday, January 19. It is unclear whether it was the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna shot. She died two days later, according to her mother, Shauna ONeill Link. Mrs. Brinkmeyers sudden death shocked everyone in her family, and left her young husband with a void that is unlikely to ever be filled. A heartbroken Shauna did not mince words about her daughters death.

Mrs. Brinkmeyer was a physical therapist at North River Health Campus, a senior living community in Evansville. The facility posted photos and a message about COVID vaccines on January 20, around the same time Mrs. Brinkmeyer got the shot.

Another criminal pharmaceutical organization, Johnson & Johnson, which has a criminal rap sheet almost as long as Pfizers, is set to get FDA emergency use authorization to bring a 3rd experimental COVID vaccine into the market, with another 140 million doses expected to be distributed nationwide by March.

Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson execs say theyre working all the angles on increasing COVID-19 vaccine production and expect to amp up weekly deliveries by tens of millions by the end of March. Pfizer, which has been shipping 4 million to 5 million doses per week, plans to increase that to 13 million a week by mid-March, according to executive testimony planned for Tuesday mornings hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committees oversight arm. J&J, which reportedly had just 2 million doses in stock last week, should be able to ship 20 million by March 31provided it wins FDA authorization as expected, Richard Nettles, M.D., vice president of U.S. medical affairs at Janssens infectious diseases and vaccines unit, said in his testimony. The shot is up for an FDA panel review later this week. (Source.)

The pro-vaccine population is still lining up and begging to be injected with these poisons, but the big question now is how are they going to handle the vaccine hesitant people who want no part of these eugenic-population-management products?

Read more at: HealthImpactNews.com and VaccineDeaths.com
U.S. Patent 10,967,204 is directed toward the use of negative pressure in a small-capacity barrier protection device that actively removes airborne particulates emitted around a patient's upper torso. The Self-Contained Negative Pressure Environment (SCONE) prevents exposure to pathogenic airborne particulates during triage and transportation, and treatments, including aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) and end-of-life care. The SCONE system is a collapsible device with a flexible cover with arm access holes for medical professionals to reach in and treat patients by performing various procedures. The invention is further adaptable to patients and operating environments of various sizes.

This newly allowed patent is owned directly by Scone Medical Solutions Inc and represents a first-of-its-kind medical device that enables hospitals to maintain better airborne isolation precautions and safety standards, even during periods of high patient volume, and is designed to be used as an adjunct to airborne infection isolation rooms (AIIRs) and personal protective equipment (PPE). The SCONE device was Authorized for Emergency Use by the FDA on December 18, 2020 and is in the process of applying for full FDA approval.

"We are extremely pleased to receive a newly-issued Patent for our Self-Contained Negative Pressure Environment (SCONE) device. We commend our partners at NeoIP who assisted us in applying for a "fast track" accelerated examination COVID-19 application that resulted in this patent issuance in less than 7 months from our filing date. Their firm's expertise and guidance has been an invaluable asset to our company, and we look forward to continued partnership with them in expanding our patent portfolio in the near future," said Mike Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer of Scone Medical.

The highest risk of airborne infectious disease transmission is from actively infected patients to health care workers (HCWs) and other patients during Aerosol Generating Procedures (AGPs), particularly in the acute care/triage setting. The SCONE is a small capacity, disposable device that uses negative pressure to vacuum out aerosols emitted around a patient's head and neck, adding an extra layer of active barrier protection to keep hospitals safe for healthcare workers and other patients. The SCONE can be quickly deployed for use and quickly disposed of after treatment.

If you would like more information about SCONE, please visit https://www.sconemed.com, email [email protected] or call (855) 949-4997.

About SCONE Medical Solutions Inc.

SCONE reduces the spread of transmissible diseases through the use of Self-Contained Negative Pressure Environments. The company uses technology developed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic to help hospitals protect their healthcare workers and other patients. Their low cost, disposable device is currently FDA EUA approved and is being manufactured here in the United States.

SOURCE SCONE Medical Solutions Inc

Related Links

https://www.sconemed.com/home


A Christian pastor who was arrested after he preached from the Bible said yesterday he had been treated 'shamefully'.

John Sherwood, 71, was led away in handcuffs, questioned in a police station and held overnight after being accused of making homophobic comments outside Uxbridge Station in west London.

The grandfather claimed he was left bruised after police pulled him from a mini-stepladder he was using and cuffed his hands behind his back.

Police said they had received complaints the man had been making 'allegedly homophobic comments' and arrested him under the Public Order Act, which can be used under the vague proviso that someone is using 'abusive or insulting words' that cause 'harm' to someone else. He was later released without charge.

Mr Sherwood, a pastor for 35 years, said: 'I wasn't making any homophobic comments, I was just defining marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. I was only saying what the Bible says  I wasn't wanting to hurt anyone or cause offence.

'I was doing what my job description says, which is to preach the gospel in open air as well as in a church building.

'When the police approached me, I explained that I was exercising my religious liberty and my conscience. I was forcibly pulled down from the steps and suffered some injury to my wrist and to my elbow. I do believe I was treated shamefully. It should never have happened.'

Mr Sherwood, who preaches at an independent evangelical church in north London, was arrested under the Public Order Act for allegedly causing alarm or distress. He was released without charge but a file has now been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service for review.

The Metropolitan Police said a member of the public flagged down patrol officers and alleged Mr Sherwood had made homophobic comments.

Two women can be heard shouting 'this is a Christian country' as the policeman leads the 71-year-old man away when he refused to stop addressing the crowd outside Uxbridge Station in West London

Mobile phone footage of Friday's arrest shows Mr Sherwood standing on the stepladder with a Bible in his hand outside a Tube station in Uxbridge, west London. Officers can be heard telling him to get off his steps before they appear to grasp his hands and pull him down.

Onlookers can be heard shouting, 'He's an elderly man  take it easy with him', before officers put Mr Sherwood in handcuffs and take him to a police car.

Mr Sherwood said officers grilled him over his attitude to gay people. He was even asked what he would do if his children were gay. The married father-of-two said: 'The question was irrelevant to the allegation against me. I said I would seek to bring them to Christ, but of course I would love them no matter what, because they're my children.'

Andrea Williams, of campaign group Christian Concern, said police needed greater understanding of the law surrounding freedom of speech and religion.

She added: 'There is an idea that if people are offended you should arrest someone, but in this country we also have freedom of speech.'

A Met Police spokesman said its directorate of professional standards had assessed video footage of Mr Sherwood's arrest and had found no evidence of misconduct by officers.

A statement posted to a Christian Facebook his supporters read: 'Whilst he was preaching, he expounded the final verses of Genesis 1, declaring that God's purpose in creating mankind was to set human beings in families, headed by a father and a mother, not by two fathers, or by two mothers.

'The distinction within mankind of just two genders, male and female, made in the image of God, constitutes the essence of God's created order.'

Police said they had received complaints the man had been making 'allegedly homophobic comments' and arrested him under the Public Order Act (pictured is the preacher speaking prior to his arrest)

Earlier in the footage, filmed on Friday, two officers can be seen urging the man to step down from the footstool telling him: 'You're under arrest.'

The pastor repeatedly refuses, prompting both officers to take him by the hands and guide him down from the steps.

Bible passages preacher's supporters claim he referred to God 'created two genders' - 'So God created mankind in his own image... male and female he created them.' Genesis 1 Everyone 'has freedom to preach' - 'For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.' Acts 20:27 Advertisement

A struggle then ensues as the older man appears to free himself from the police officers' grip.

Several onlookers, including an older woman and a barking dog jumping into the fray.

The two police officers then struggle to cuff the man as one tells him: 'I don't want you getting hurt.'

He is then marched away from the crowd by one of the cops as several onlookers can be seen with their mobile phones out.

A woman behind the camera says: 'For a man preaching about Christianity, look at how he's ripping him.'

Pastor Peter Simpson, Minister of Penn Free Methodist Church in Buckinghamshire, who was preaching with Pastor Sherwood before the arrest, said: 'Everything he said was bible based. He was not saying anything abusive; he is a Christian minister. There did not seem to be any recognition from the police that Christian ministers and such views exist.

'If there was a Pride parade in Uxbridge, the police would support it even if Christians were offended.

'You don't have to be an evangelical Christian to be shocked by this. Anyone who cares about liberty should be concerned about what happened in Uxbridge.

'This is about defending our Christian civilisation, or what is left of it. The belief in Genesis 1:27 is fundamental to Christian belief.

'This arrest of a faithful minister for doing nothing other than declaring what the Bible teaches about one of the important moral issues of our time reveals a dangerous assault upon freedom of speech and, not least, upon the freedom of Christian pastors to declare in public all that the Bible teaches. The State has no right to designate that some parts of God's word are no-go areas.

'Whatever one's personal views on homosexuality might be, it is surely pertinent to ask what kind of nation have we become that the minister of a Christian church is arrested for upholding in the public square the very truths which Her Majesty the Queen promised to uphold in her Coronation Oath in 1953, with a Bible in her hand?'

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: 'Street preaching has a long and honoured history in the UK. In many ways it is symbolic of the kind of freedoms we have treasured in this nation. So to see a 75-year-old pastor arrested in such a manner for preaching the gospel in London is deeply concerning.

'The laws to protect the freedom to preach in public are very strong. Sadly what we are seeing all too often is police officers who are quick to arrest at the first suggestion that a member of the public is offended, because of the prevailing cancel culture. The Christian Legal Centre has defended dozens of Christian preachers for over a decade and have a 100% success rate on this issue.'

A Met Police spokesman said: 'At 1.35pm on Friday, April 23, officers on patrol were flagged down by a member of the public who made them aware of a man allegedly making homophobic comments close to Uxbridge Underground Station.

'A number of other people also approached the officers with concerns about the man's language.

'Officers spoke with the 71-year-old man and he was subsequently arrested on suspicion of an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

'He was taken to a west London police station and later released under investigation.

'A file has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service for review and consideration.

'The Met's Directorate of Professional Standards [DPS] have since assessed the footage and found no indication of misconduct. The arrest will not be subject to a full DPS review.'

The preacher was seen resisting arrest, prompting a minor scuffle with the two officers

The statement on the Christian page continued: 'Police officer also spoke to [a second pastor] about homophobic speech.

'The minister explained that to uphold God's moral law and speak about the dangers of sin in respect of LGBT issues implies absolutely no hatred or unpleasantness towards any individual or group of people.

'Nevertheless, the Bible's condemnation of homosexuality is plain.

'To this the policeman responded that some matters simply cannot be referred to in public places, implying that homosexuality is one of them.

'The officer also stated that there is no freedom to make statements in public which offend people.

'[The second pastor] responded that the Police would have no objection whatsoever to a Pride parade being held in Uxbridge, yet that is highly offensive to Bible-believing Christians.'

The statement concludes: 'This arrest of a faithful preacher for doing nothing other than declaring what the Bible teaches about one of the important moral issues of our time reveals a dangerous assault taking place in modern Britain upon freedom of speech, and not least, upon the freedom of Christian pastors to proclaim in public all that the Bible teaches (see Acts 20:27).'

The pastor has been contacted for comment.

Onlookers filmed the confrontation with some shouting at police during the arrest on Friday

It comes after police recorded a 'hate incident' against a retired teacher who wrote a 'polite' letter to a campaigner defending a mother's right to abort a baby with Down's syndrome.

Douglas Kedge, 85, penned a letter to a woman protesting about an episode of Emmerdale in which a couple decided to terminate a pregnancy after the baby was diagnosed with the genetic disorder.

He wrote that although he understood some may regard having a child with Down's syndrome as a 'great privilege and joy', there are other 'perfectly decent people' who may wish to avoid 'what could well be for them an appalling change in their lives'.

According to the Times, he added: 'You disgracefully suggest that the reason for the inclusion of this situation in the script is a deliberate attempt to perpetuate prejudice against Down's syndrome children.'

Former parish council chairman Mr Kedge later received a call from Thames Valley Police to inform him that a record had been made of his involvement in a 'non-crime hate incident'.

Despite this, officers accepted that the letter was 'very politely written'.

It followed a complaint by Rachel Mewes, from Northumberland, who had received Mr Kedge's letter in response to a comment she made in the Times last November.
Three cases of the Indian Covid variant have been spotted in Leicester, sparking a testing blitz at a school to snuff out any potential cases.

The strain, linked to an explosion in cases in India, has officially been detected 132 times in the UK but experts say there are likely hundreds more.

Leicester's public health director Professor Ivan Browne said the Indian variant cases were all being investigated, isolated and contact-traced.

Health chiefs have not yet ordered surge testing in the city because there is no evidence it is spreading in the community. Professor Browne said 'targeted testing' was being carried out at a local school 'as a precautionary measure'.

The school has not been named and it is not known whether the cases of the B.1.617 variant are among pupils or staff members.

Positive tests in a school may rattle health chiefs because it's likely the infected staff or pupils came into contact with other people.

City council bosses said the people had travelled before India was added to Britain's red list on Friday, but they didn't specify whether they went to India itself. Number 10 has been heavily criticised for being too slow to adopt tougher rules.

Leicester  which has repeatedly been a Covid hotspot  has the second biggest Indian community in England, with around 38,000 people making up 28 per cent of the city's population.

Britain's cases come as India is in the depth of crisis as a second wave of Covid has left hospitals and morgues overloaded, with infected patients queuing on stretchers in the street and officials burning bodies in public parks.

Another 360,000 positive tests were recorded in the past 24 hours along with 3,283 deaths  India's deadliest day of the pandemic so far.

Top doctors writing in the British Medical Journal today urged the country to halt its upcoming presidential election and go into lockdown immediately to stop the devastating outbreak.

And Prince Charles today described the scenes unfolding in India as 'tragic' and said the virus was taking a 'horrific toll' on the country.

Cases of the Indian Covid variant almost doubled in a week from 77 to 132, official figures showed on Friday

Leicester has repeatedly been one of England's Covid hotspots and spent most of the past year in some form of lockdown

India also recorded another 360,960 cases of Covid, also a one-day record, as Delhi's chief minister warned the wave is being driven by a 'supremely infectious' variant that causes more severe cases that last longer

India reported 3,293 new cases of Covid on Wednesday, a new one-day record, but amid warnings the true toll is likely far higher because the country only counts those who die in hospitals

'Public Health England notified us on Sunday that it had identified three cases of the variant in Leicester,' Professor Browne said.

'PHE has already been in touch with the people concerned and some of their contacts.

'Since then we have been working closely with PHE to ensure that all close contacts of those affected are identified and advised to self-isolate for 10 days.

'Targeted testing is also taking place in a city school as a precautionary measure.'

PHE first announced the Indian variant, officially named B.1.617, had been found in the UK earlier this month.

Since then, the number of cases discovered has risen to 132, doubling last week from 77 the week before.

Of the 55 new infections detected by the team looking for different strains around the UK, 39 are believed to have been caught within Britain rather than abroad.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE INDIA VARIANT? Real name: B.1.617 When and where was it discovered? The variant was first reported by the Indian government in late March. But the first cases appear to date back to October 2020. It has been detected in 21 countries as of April 19, Public Health England bosses say. It has been spotted 132 times in Britain, official figures show. What mutations does it have? It has 13 mutations that separate it from the original Covid virus that emerged in China  but the two main ones are named E484Q and L452R. Scientists suspect these two alterations can help it to transmit faster and to get past immune cells made in response to older variants. Is it more infectious and can it evade vaccines? The L452R mutation is also found on the Californian variant (B.1.429), even though the two evolved independently. It is thought to make the American strain 20 per cent more infectious. The E484Q mutation is very similar to the one found in the South African and Brazil variants known as E484K, which can help the virus evade antibodies. The South African variant is thought to make vaccines about 30 per cent less effective at stopping infections, but it's not clear what effect it has on severe illness. Professor Sharon Peacock, of PHE, claimed there was 'limited' evidence of E484Q's effect on immunity and vaccines. Lab studies have suggested it may be able to escape some antibodies, but to what degree remains uncertain. How deadly is it? Scientists still don't know for sure. But they are fairly certain it won't be more deadly than the current variants in circulation in Britain. This is because there is no evolutionary benefit to Covid becoming more deadly. The virus's sole goal is to spread as much as it can, so it needs people to be alive and mix with others for as long as possible to achieve this. And, if other variants are anything to go by, the Indian strain should not be more lethal. There is still no conclusive evidence to show dominant versions like the Kent and South African variants are more deadly than the original Covid strain - even though they are highly transmissible. Doctors in India claim there has been a sudden spike in Covid admissions among people under 45, who have traditionally been less vulnerable to the disease. There have been anecdotal reports from medics that young people make up two third of new patients in Delhi. In the southern IT hub of Bangalore, under-40s made up 58 percent of infections in early April, up from 46 percent last year. There is still no proof younger people are more badly affected by the new strain. Should we be worried? Scientists are unsure exactly how transmissible or vaccine-resistant the Indian variant is because it hasn't been studied thoroughly. The fact it appears to have increased infectivity should not pose an immediate threat to the UK's situation because the current dominant Kent version appears equally or more transmissible. It will take a variant far more infectious strain than that to knock it off the top spot. However, if the Indian version proves to be effective at slipping past vaccine-gained immunity, then its prevalence could rise in Britain as the immunisation programme squashes the Kent variant. The UK currently classes the Indian strain as a 'Variant Under Investigation', a tier below the Kent, South African and Brazilian variants. But there are calls to move it up to the highest category. Scientists tracking the constantly-evolving virus say it's still not clear if India's third wave has been caused by the variant, or if it emerged at the same time by coincidence. Advertisement

Most of the cases  119 in total  have been in England, and many of those in London. The exact locations have not been revealed except for the three in Leicester.

So far, India has accounted for the majority of cases of the variant, with others detected in the US, UK, Singapore and Australia.

It is not clear whether the variant is behind the surging outbreak in the country or whether its rise is coincidental with an outbreak that would have happened anyway.

Scientists say a 'perfect storm' of Covid complacency, a disregard for social distancing and lack of preparedness by the Government has fuelled the crisis.

Professor Browne added: 'There is currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe illness or increased risk of mortality. Our advice to everyone remains the same.

'The best way to stop the spread of the virus is to keep washing or sanitising your hands, wear a face covering in public places, stay apart from those you don't live with, and abide by the restrictions in place.

'Regardless of whether you have travelled recently, everyone is encouraged to take up the offer of twice weekly testing so that we can stop the spread of the virus.'

A UK doctor with family in India has said that the surge in coronavirus cases there will soon create a 'humanitarian crisis'.

Dr Meenal Viz, a Luton-based doctor, said that the next few weeks could see people 'dying at numbers we probably have never imagined'.

Dr Viz, 28, described Delhi, where several family members including her aunt, uncle and cousin have been infected with Covid, as one of the country's 'worst-hit places at the moment'.

'For a good part of the year, I've been trying to stay in touch with my family and especially my elderly grandmother, who hasn't left the house in a year because she's so terrified of what could potentially come her way.

'Last year we had lots of relatives who've been unwell with Covid; one of them had to actually get admitted into hospital, but luckily that was at a time where there wasn't so much of a shortage of oxygen or ICU beds.

'I knew a year ago that there was going to be a point, whether a variant would come along, or once everyone could travel, that this would actually be quite deadly to the population in terms of the number of ICU beds, number of respirators... it would be catastrophic.'

She added: 'One of my biggest worries is that it took some time for our leaders to put India on the red list for travel.

'I'm not sure why exactly that happened, but the worry is that if that comes here, all the hard work that we put in in the last year in lockdown and isolation and getting vaccinated might not be as fruitful as we'd hoped it would be.'

Dr Viz highlighted the need to deliver the vaccine to developing countries and work together to 'help communities and societies'.

The British Asian Trust has launched an Oxygen For India emergency appeal to raise funds for oxygen concentrators to send to hospitals and patients most in need.

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has said the first of nine plane-loads of life-saving kit, including ventilators and oxygen concentrators, would arrive in New Delhi early on Tuesday, with further consignments due to be dispatched later this week.

Prince Charles, who helped to found the trust, said today: 'I have been deeply saddened by the tragic images we have all seen as Covid-19 takes its horrific toll in India.

'Like many others, I have a great love for India and have enjoyed many wonderful visits to the country.

'Indian aid and ingenuity has been a support to other countries through this immensely difficult time.

'As India has helped others, so now must we help India.'

Along with several other healthcare workers, Dr Viz works for Team Halo, a UN-backed initiative that has seen doctors and scientists volunteer to make TikTok videos addressing vaccine hesitancy.

Dr Punam Krishan, a Glasgow GP who is also part of the initiative, said: 'My heart is breaking for what's happening in India. It feels frighteningly close to home that anything can change at any time.

'We are so fortunate to have vaccines available.

'The situation in India highlights just how critical the continued take-up is as the vaccine rollout starts to reach younger generations here.'

The surge in India's Covid-19 cases was described as 'beyond heartbreaking' by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Dr Maria van Kerkhove, of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, warned: 'This can happen in any country if we let our guard down... The situation can grow if we allow it to and that is why it is important that every single person on the planet knows they have a role to play.'
A man allegedly killed his mother and father in North Carolina before then shooting at least two deputies who conducted a welfare check at the home - killing one of them, according to a local politician.

The man and the names of his victims have not yet been identified but the news was announced in the North Carolina General Assembly by state representative Ray Pickett.

Pickett said at 4:30pm that specialist armed units were still trying to get the suspected killer out of the house, and that he was firing pot shots at them from the building.

Authorities later confirmed that Sgt. Chris Ward had died in an update around 9pm - nearly 10 hours after the standoff with police started, which remains ongoing into midnight.

Ward had been airlifted to Johnson City Medical Center in Tennessee where he died of his injuries. A second Watauga County Sheriff's Office deputy, Logan Fox, remains inside the home and his condition is unknown.

'I received some terrible news from Watauga County today. We've had a situation, at first we thought it was a teenager but through further reports, he was an older gentleman,' Pickett said this afternoon.

'He killed his mother and father today. Sheriff's deputies responded to a welfare check. He ambushed them, shot three of them  killed one. A second one is holding on by a thread.'

A police canine was also shot during the welfare check.

State representative Ray Pickett announced in the state's legislature that a man killed his elderly mother and father before shooting at deputies who responded to conduct a welfare check

A heavy police response was seen at the scene were a man had shot at least two deputies after killing his parents

Armored vehicles are seen stationed near the home of a man who killed his elderly mother and father on Wednesday

The Watauga County Sheriffs Office said the shooter remains barricaded in a portion of the home

Pickett, who addressed the state legislature around 4.30pm, said law enforcement was 'trying to get the man out of this house as we speak.'

He then asked to be excused from the rest of the day's legislative votes.

The Watauga County Sheriffs Office said the shooter remains barricaded in a portion of the home and has periodically fired at law enforcement officers at the scene.

Deputies were dispatched to a home in Boone at around 9.44am after the homeowner and his family did not report for work or answer telephone calls, the sheriff's office said in a news release earlier.

Deputies entered the home and were fired upon, the news release said. One deputy was shot, removed from the house and taken to a hospital in Johnson City, Tennessee. The second deputy is still at the scene of the standoff and their condition isnt known, according to the sheriff's office.

The sheriffs office says law enforcement has surrounded the home and residents in the vicinity of the standoff have been evacuated.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was filmed arriving at the scene.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Watauga County Sheriffs Office for more information and additional comment.

Clarence Wilson, 78, was on the porch of his home in Boone when sheriffs deputies pulled up in front of the house across the street. Gunfire erupted after the deputies arrived, Wilson said.

'Then they told me to get back in the house and stay,' he said.

Wilson said he saw deputies pull a man from the house.

'I dont know if it was a deputy or who it was,' he said. 'I was just worried about keeping myself safe.'

Wilson said he heard a second barrage of gunfire around noon. Police remained on the scene more than four hours later, he said.

He said its a 'real quiet neighborhood' with many retirees like himself.

'We aint used to all this,' he said.
Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday hell have more news on Monday about further lifting New Jerseys coronavirus restrictions after news that neighboring New York is taking big steps to get rid of some rules for dining at bars and restaurants.

Murphy reacted to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announcing people can get served at bars in New York City beginning Monday and that outdoor and indoor curfews for bars and restaurants in the city will both be lifted by the end of May.

Youre going to see us accelerating opening up of the state, Murphy said during his latest COVID-19 briefing in Trenton. Theres just no other way to put it. Well have more news on that on Monday.

Murphy cited the likelihood of people traveling to New York or Pennsylvania restaurants or bars if restrictions in those states differ greatly from New Jersey.

We dont want that and New York doesnt want that, he said.

Murphy noted the improving COVID-19 numbers in New Jersey. Hospitalizations are at a five-month low. The seven-day average for new confirmed positive tests dropped Wednesday to 2,053, down 31% from a week ago and 42% from a month ago, as the states third wave of the outbreak continues to recede.

It is now quite clear that this thing has turned and turned for the better, Murphy said. Thats really good news. Dont let that lull you into not getting vaccinated.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

NEW: Beginning May 17, the 12am outdoor dining area curfew for bars & restaurants will be lifted.



The 12am indoor area curfew will be lifted on May 31.  Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 28, 2021

Cuomo announced earlier in the day New York would end its statewide 12 a.m. curfew on food and drink service for outdoor seating at bars and restaurants on May 17. The midnight curfew will be nixed for indoor seating beginning on May 31, according to Cuomo.

Bar seating  which is still prohibited in New Jersey  will also be allowed to resume in New York City starting Monday.

Lifting these restrictions for restaurants, bars and catering companies will allow these businesses that have been devastated by the pandemic to begin to recover as we return to a new normal in a post-pandemic world, Cuomo said, according to a report by Channel 4 News in New York.

When the two governors first announced unprecedented closings of businesses more than a year ago when the region was first hit by the pandemic, Murphy and Cuomo, along with Connecticuts governor, decided to close bars in restaurants, among other businesses, because they said they didnt want people to traveling to neighboring states to take advantage of businesses operating as normal.

But more often than not in recent months, New Jersey hasnt acted jointly when deciding to loosen restrictions. Instead, governors from each state have taken their own timeline on when to reopen businesses or expand capacity limits.

New Jersey on Wednesday reported another 1,838 confirmed cases and an additional 35 confirmed deaths as the number of people hospitalized across the state dropped to the fewest patients since early November.

There were 1,768 people hospitalized crossed New Jerseys 71 hospitals. Thats the lowest number since Nov. 9.

The state has reported fewer than 2,000 new positive tests for the last four days.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
We are proud to have completed a SOC 2 Report for the benefit of our clients. It further shows our dedication to security and provides additional validation that we practice what we preach, said Mike Burgard, Chief Information Security Officer at Marco.

Marco announced today it has completed a SOC 2 Type 2 examination of the Managed IT and Managed Print Services based on the Trust Services Criteria relevant to security and availability set forth in the TSP Section 100, 2017 Trust Services Criteria. This demonstrates the companys ongoing commitment to security and clear assurances of system controls to protect and serve managed service clients.

SOC, short for System and Organization Controls, is a program established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to evaluate service providers based on key criteria. Completing a SOC 2 Type 2 is a significant goal for many managed service providers.

Obtaining a SOC 2 Report required an engagement by an independent public accounting firm to verify that Marcos management has implemented an internal control system that, in all material respects, achieves their security and availability commitments to protect client data.

Achieving a SOC 2 Type 2 Report was a major undertaking and required significant effort across all areas of Marco, said Mike Burgard, Chief Information Security Officer at Marco. We are proud to have completed a SOC 2 Report for the benefit of our clients. It further shows our dedication to security and provides additional validation that we practice what we preach.

There are two types of SOC 2 examinations, including a SOC 2 Type 1 Report and a SOC 2 Type 2 Report. While a Type 1 Report evaluates an organization on whether controls were designed to meet commitments and criteria at a point in time, a Type 2 Report evaluates an organization on whether controls were designed and operated effectively during a defined period.

Many Managed Service Providers achieve a SOC 2 Type 1 Report, Burgard said. Few attain the SOC 2 Type 2 report that assesses the operation of our controls over a period of time.

SOC 2 attestation is designed for businesses that manage customer data and systems.

This report establishes trust and confidence that our internal controls were designed and operated effectively to protect our clients, Burgard said. A growing number of organizations are requiring a SOC 2 report as a minimum standard when selecting a service provider, especially in regulated industries such as health care and finance.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants established the SOC internal control frameworks standards. Marcos SOC 2 Type 2 was conducted by RSM US, LLP, one of the Top 10 public accounting firms in the United States. Marcos SOC 2 Type 2 was based on the Trust Services Criteria for security and availability.

About RSM US LLP

RSM US LLP (RSM)s purpose is to deliver the power of being understood to our clients, colleagues and communities through world-class audit, tax and consulting services focused on middle market businesses. The clients we serve are the engine of global commerce and economic growth, and we are focused on developing leading professionals and services to meet their evolving needs in todays ever-changing business environment.

RSMs national practice is comprised of local and industry-focused SOC team members, providing the benefits of a boutique firm focus with the reach of an international firm. Our SOC practice covers operations in a host of countries around the world to provide accurate information about your control environment wherever you do business. Our team of SOC service providers hold a wide variety of professional certifications. These professionalswho are experienced in information systems, financial reporting processes and your specific industryhelp confirm that the proper focus is placed on relevant controls and processes. As the fifth largest national audit, tax and consulting provider with more than 80 offices nationwide, we have the breadth and depth of experience to address your SOC reporting needs. SOC reports are limited use reports that are designed to be restricted to user entities of the service organizations system, business partners subject to risks from interacting with the service organizations system, practitioners providing services to such user entities and business partners, prospective user entities and business partners, and regulators who have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the service organizations system. As such, users of the report should ensure that the applicable user entity controls have been designed and implemented in their control environment.

RSM US LLP is the U.S. member of RSM International, a global network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms with 48,000 people across 120 countries. For more information, visit rsmus.com.

About Marco

Marco is one of the top business technology providers in the country with offices in 12 states and serving customers nationally. Marco specializes in business IT services, copier/printer solutions and managed and cloud services. Their technology experts break down complex solutions into simple terms to position your business for success. Learn more at marconet.com.
Washington, April 28 : The made-in India Covaxin vaccine, developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, can neutralise the B1617 variant of coronavirus, said White House's chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci.

"Now, this is something we are still gaining data on, but most recent data looking at convalescent sera of Covid-19 cases in people who received Covaxin, it was found to neutralise the 617 variant," Fauci was quoted as saying during the White House press briefing.

Fauci, who is US President Joe Biden's chief adviser on the Covid pandemic, quoted the recent Phase 3 clinical trials of Covaxin by ICMR, which claimed that the vaccine neutralises multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively neutralises the double mutant strain (B1617) as well. He called "vaccination an important antidote".

"ICMR study shows Covaxin neutralises against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively neutralises the double mutant strain as well," the ICMR said in a tweet. The ICMR study also demonstrated the neutralisation potential of Covaxin against the UK variant and Brazil variant.

It has been also successful in isolating and culturing the double mutant strain B1617 SARS-CoV-2 identified in certain regions of India and several other countries. "Covaxin has been found to effectively neutralise the double mutant strain as well," the ICMR said.

The second-wave of coronavirus, which crippled India's healthcare system with lack of oxygen and others, highlighted global inequality, Fauci said, adding that countries have failed to unite to provide an adequate global response to prevent the "tragic" coronavirus outbreak from overwhelming India.

"The only way that you're going to adequately respond to a global pandemic is by having a global response, and a global response means equity throughout the world," the Guardian quoted Fauci as saying.

"And that's something that, unfortunately, has not been accomplished. Often when you have diseases in which there is a limited amount of intervention, be it therapeutic or prevention, this is something that all the countries that are relatively rich countries or countries that have a higher income have to pay more attention to," he added.

India recorded 360,960 new cases in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning according to Health Ministry data, another new daily global record. The ministry also said that India's total number of fatalities had passed 200,000 to stand at 201,187.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
GSmedia the next innovation of the GSB Gold Standard Group

HAMBURG, Germany, May 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- G999 Blockchain technology, a spam-hacker-free email service, a voice & chat system in compliance with environmental regulations and a current need to manage personal data in a completely secure and risk-free space, away from the mainstream web network through a decentralised data centre and to protect privacy, this innovation was developed by the GSB Blockchain Power Haus in Hamburg.



Against this background, Josip Heit, a proven business manager and blockchain pioneer as well as Chairman of the Board of the GSB Gold Standard Corporate, was interviewed on the topic of blockchain by Deutsche Tageszeitung - Ressort Technik.

Preview of the interview:

Q. Mr Heit, is blockchain or your G999 Blockchain technology https://g999main.net only something for business sectors or can private users also benefit from blockchain?

A. Josip Heit: "Well, at the moment, according to a Deloitte study I have (Deloitte is an international company in the business sector and provides services in the areas of auditing / editor's note), mostly large companies are taking a leading role in the implementation of blockchain technologies, but I am of the opinion that soon medium-sized companies will also be able to participate in the success of the technology and here, in particular, the private user will benefit from the blockchain. "

A PDF of the extended interview can be found here: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/a3dbe5ea-c5e9-411f-a4a3-4e7722098013

German:

https://www.DeutscheTageszeitung.de/wirtschaft/122111-josip-heit-gstelecom-g999-und-gsmedia-oder-die-fragen-nach-dem-potenzial-der-blockchain-f%C3%BCr-den-privatanwender.html

English:

https://www.DeutscheTageszeitung.de/wirtschaft/122112-josip-heit-gstelecom-g999-and-gsmedia-or-the-questions-about-the-potential-of-blockchain-for-private-users.html

The current products such as the GStelecom App for both Apple and Android can be downloaded here:

Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=block.chain.chat

Apple Store: https://apps.apple.com/tt/app/gstelecom-by-g999-blockchain/id1547577247



META KEYS:

Josip Heit, GStelecom, GSmedia, G999, Josip Heit Chairman, Deutsche Tageszeitung, Blockchain, GSB Gold Standard Corporate, GSB Group, Alexandru Cocindau, Bitco World, G999 Blockchain technology, Blockchain, GStelecom Android, GStelecom Apple, GStelecom App

Legally responsible for this press release:

GSB Gold Standard Banking Corporation AG

Grosse Bleichen 35

D-20354 Hamburg

Register of the Hamburg Local Court, No: HRB 161409

Federal Republic of Germany

Press Department:

Mrs. Berger

Phone: +49 40 376 69 19 - 0

Fax: +49 40 376 69 89 - 3

Mail: Media@GSB.gold

Webpape: https://www.gsb.gold

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9c52e298-5775-414c-af8a-a3ad760c4f33
Evan Miller, the Alabama prisoner whose plea before the U.S. Supreme Court gave hope to others across the nation of one day getting paroled for murders they committed as juveniles, wont get that chance himself.

Lawrence County Circuit Judge Mark Craig on Tuesday afternoon re-sentenced Miller to life without parole for his capital murder conviction in the 2003 brutal slaying of Cole Cannon. Miller was 14 years old at the time. The hearing was held via Zoom with Miller appearing remotely from prison due to COVID-19 restrictions.

In resentencing him to life without parole, the judge said he did consider Millers past exposure to violence; a history that he and two siblings were abused, beaten, and whipped; his use of drugs; and his mental health history, that included multiple suicide attempts - one attempt early as age of 5 or 6 years old.

But, the judge said: The crime is why we are here. Were not here because Mr. Miller suffered abuse at the hands of his father.

Miller has thrived in highly structured settings, Craig said, but that did not give him comfort that Miller would continue that outside a structured setting.

The judge said he found that Miller was the principal aggressor that brought about the death of Cannon. Had you not made the decisions that night, Mr. Cannon, in my view would still be alive, he said.

He said when Miller, according to testimony, told Cannon: Cole, I am God, Ive come to take your life are some of the most chilling words I have ever heard or seen spoken by a real life killer. They sound like something you would see in a fictional account, Craig said.

While hes not convinced Miller went to Cannons home with the intent to kill he did show cunning, not clumsy rash thinking when he tried to cover up his crime.

Craig said it was his reluctant but necessary conclusion that he be resentenced to life without parole because it was the only just sentence in this case.

Cannons daughter Candy Cheatham, who cried after the judge rendered his order, said she and her family feel relief. Im thankful to God. Im thankful for Judge Craigs decision  It feels like justice is preserved. It is a deserved sentence, she said.

I know in my heart it was the right decision, Cheatham said, who said she knows the eyes of the world were on Craig.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, whose office fought against life with parole, issued this statement Tuesday afternoon: When Evan Miller robbed and savagely beat his neighbor, setting fire to the mans trailer and leaving his incapacitated victim to die a horrible death, he earned a well-deserved sentence of life in prison without parole. It is a tragic fact that even juvenile defendants may commit crimes that are so depraved that justice demands they be answered with the sternest sentence available under the law. Today, the Court restored the punishment that is fitting for Evan Millers wicked actions.

Millers attorneys had not responded to email requests for comment from AL.com prior to publication of this story.

Miller has been serving a life without parole sentence at the St. Clair Correctional Facility but had hoped to be resentenced to life with a chance of parole one day. He has served 14 years, six months and six days since his conviction, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Hundreds of other prisoners serving life without parole sentences for murders committed when they were juveniles have been resentenced to get a chance at parole (some already released) thanks to Millers earlier appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court ruled in Millers case in 2012 that mandatory  or automatic - life without parole sentences for juveniles convicted of capital crimes was unconstitutional.

Judges in some states like Alabama had only one choice under state law  life without parole - in sentencing juveniles convicted in capital crimes. While judges are still allowed to consider life without parole Under the Miller ruling, judges had to have more than one option.

During the virtual hearing, members of Cannons family watched as well as one of Millers relatives.

According to trial testimony, Miller and another teen, Colby Smith, planned to rob Cannon, 52, who was a neighbor of Millers family at Country Living Trailer Park in the small Lawrence County community of Five Points near Moulton. Miller beat Cannon with his fists and a bat before he and Smith set fire to Cannons trailer. Cannon died of smoke inhalation. Smith, who admitted striking Cannon with the bat once, testified at trial that after the beating Miller wrapped Cannons head in a sheet and said to Cannon I am God, Ive come to take your life.

Miller was 14 at the time of Cannons death in 2003 and spent several year in jail awaiting trial. His attorneys have said he is the youngest child ever sentenced to life without parole in the state of Alabama. He is represented in his appeals by the Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative.

In 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that juvenile killers cant be sentenced to death. That left many states, including Alabama, with only one option for sentencing juveniles convicted of capital murder - life with no chance at parole.

Because that sentence was in essence automatic - or mandatory - for juveniles convicted of capital murder, there was no need for a sentencing hearing to reveal any mitigating factors, such as age and maturity of the defendant.

But the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 ordered Miller be re-sentenced and in separate case in 2016 ruled it retroactively applied to all inmates in similar circumstances - precedent-setting rulings affecting about 2,000 inmates nationwide who were juveniles when they killed.

Craig held a hearing in March 2017 to determine whether Miller should again be sentenced to life without parole or get a chance at one day of being paroled. But the judge did not issue a ruling at that time.

In Alabama, at least 73 inmates qualified for resentencing, according to a list compiled from prosecutors at district attorneys and the Alabama Attorney Generals Office. According to court records as of last month, 39 had been resentenced and granted an eventual shot at parole. Another 13 had been resentenced to life without parole, and 20 cases were pending or it was unclear about the status. Another inmate died while in prison.

Judges in Alabama have been following guidance laid out by the Alabama Supreme Court on the factors  such as age and maturity - on how to determine whether to resentence with the possibly of parole. Craig said he used those factors in considering the sentence.

Prosecutors have argued that Millers crime reveals he is incorrigible and deserving of a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Last week in a 6-3 decision the U.S. Supreme Court, in a Mississippi case, ruled that judges did not have to find that judges have to make a separate factual finding of permanent incorrigibility before re-sentencing the defendant to life without parole. Dissenting justices and others argued that it guts the Miller case ruling that also says life without parole for juveniles should be rare. But justices voting in the majority said the ruling still leaves determining sentencing factors to the states.

States may categorically prohibit life without parole for all offenders under 18. Or States may require sentencers (judges) to make extra factual findings before sentencing an offender under 18 to life without parole, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion. Or States may direct sentencers to formally explain on the record why a life-without-parole sentence is appropriate not-withstanding the defendants youth. States may also establish rigorous proportionality or other substantive appellate review of life-without-parole sentences. All of those options, and others, remain available to the States.

This story is being updated
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Paris prosecutors are taking on and combining into a involuntary manslaughter probe three separate investigations over deaths of three people who were given the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in France, they said Wednesday.

Prosecutors specialised in leading complex investigations into health products will take on the preliminary probes already opened after complaints were filed in Toulouse, Paris and Nantes.

The initial investigations had been carried out by regional prosecutors.

According to the Paris prosecutor's office, the plaintiffs are questioning if there was a causal role of the Astrazeneca vaccine in the deaths of their loved ones.

"We first went to local prosecutors for the sake of speed and to have autopsies and then asked them to transfer the file to Paris," Etienne Boittin, the lawyer behind the complaints told AFP.

In Nantes, a medical student aged 26 died suddenly of a blood clot on March 18 just a few days after getting vaccinated with the AstraZeneca jab. The case from Toulouse concerns a social worker aged 38 who also died of a blood clot after her health deteriorated sharply after getting the jab.

Boittin said he was handling fifteen cases of people who died in France after having been vaccinated with AstraZeneca, the vast majority of them aged "under 60 years".

France's national health authority HAS last month said the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to those aged 55 and over because of reports of potentially deadly blood clots in a very small number of younger people vaccinated.

The move is broadly similar to actions taken by several European countries although Denmark has banned the use of the vaccine outright.

The authorities have also said under 55s who received a first injection of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine should be given a second jab from a different producer.

However France has said it has full confidence in the AstraZeneca vaccine for the over 55s and emphasised it retains a key role in the vaccine rollout.

"You are 50 times more likely to get a vein blood clot crossing the Atlantic by plane than getting vaccinated with AstraZeneca. Vaccines protect us from COVID-19. Let's not give into mistrust!" Health Minister Olivier Veran said earlier this month.

Explore further French under-55s given AZ jab to get different second vaccine

 2021 AFP
Nearly 36 kilograms of drugs of various types have been found in such products as powdered milk, tea, and coffee that were recently imported into Vietnam by postal services.

The Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department confirmed on Tuesday it had coordinated with anti-smuggling officers under the municipal Department of Public Security to inspect 16 parcels with suspicious signs.

They found synthetic drugs in the form of MDMA pills, also known as ecstasy, cannabis, and ketamine hidden in boxes of moisturizing cream as well as cans of roasted peanuts, tea, and coffee.

The containers were made of tin, wrapped up with foil, vacuumed, and sealed to prevent the drugs from being detected by scanners and sniffing dogs.

MDMA pills were also discovered in other boxes of powdered milk.

These cans were designed with two layers, with the upper containing powdered milk and the lower containing the ecstasy.

The discovered narcotics weighed nearly 36 kilograms.

The parcels either had bogus addresses or lacked names of recipients, according to a representative from the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department.

They were imported from the United States, Canada, and Germany by postal services in the form of individual, non-commercial gifts, he added.

Further investigation is ongoing.

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Police in New York City are on the hunt for a suspect who sucker-punched a stranger in a CVS while going on a homophobic rant.

The incident comes as the city continues to struggle during a crime wave, with random attacks happening on a regular basis.

The NYPD released surveillance video of the recent incident in a CVS, which took place at 5 Pennsylvania Avenue in Manhattan around 7pm on Saturday.

The video shows a man in a white shirt suddenly unload a punch to the head of a man, 24, as he walks into the store while another person walks in alongside him.

Police are on the hunt for a suspect who sucker-punched another man in a CVS lobby

The suspect was making comments about the man's perceived sexual orientation as he punched him in the back of the head.

According to PIX11, the police did share that the unidentified victim identifies as being gay.

The New York Daily News reports the suspect yelled 'f*****g gays' at the man as the attack took place.

The other person turns around to face the suspect and appears to be stunned.

Surveillance video shows the unidentified victim walking into the CVS on Saturday night

Suddenly, the suspect unleashes a punch to the back of the victim's head

The suspect also made homophobic comments about the victim's perceived sexual orientation

The victim was not seriously injured in the assault and turned down medical attention at the scene.

The suspect then fled on foot on 34th Street heading towards 9th Avenue, police told NBC New York.

Further along, the video shows the suspect casually walking down the sidewalk, at one point turning around and appearing to yell in the direction of passersby.

He then gestures threatening at another person and turns around at least twice to look at something behind him.

The suspect, who has not been identified, is wanted for assault. The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is involved in the investigation.

The potential hate crime comes as New York City tries to cope with its current crime wave, which includes a large rise in shootings from a year ago.

On Monday afternoon, a detective in Queens was hit in the head by a man with a plastic baton as the officer was investigating the scene. A suspect was arrested in that case.

Additionally, a 20-year-old man was shot and killed in broad daylight near Park Avenue on Monday.

The suspect then fled the scene and began walking down the street towards 9th Avenue

While fleeing in the scene, the suspect also appeared ready to fight people on the sidewalk

It's believed that the shooting may be the result of a drug deal gone bad.

The victim and three others were sitting in a car when a man sitting next to the victim pulled out a gun, according to police.

The victim was shot once in the heart as the suspect fled uptown, while the panicked SUV driver in the car drove directly into a parked car.

'There is a considerable amount of marijuana in the car,' a police source told the Daily News.

Prior to that, Jason Rivera, 35, was shot and killed in the Bronx on Friday after helping a man who was sitting on a bench and asking if he was okay.

According to the New York Daily News, Rivera's wife was pregnant with twins when he was killed.

He and his wife were also parents to a seven-year-old girl, a three-year-old girl, and two-year-old boy.

'We met on the block where he was killed,' his wife, Shantay White, said to the Daily News. 'Thats the crazy part.'

The Sergeant's Benevolent Association (SBA) - which represents more than 11,000 current and past NYPD officers - tweeted on Monday morning in response to the weekend's shootings: 'Welcome to the city of violence.'

They also attacked Mayor Bill de Blasio for investing $30 million on boosting tourism, rather than focusing on tackling crime.

A record 66.6 million tourists visited the New York City in 2019, according to NYC & Company, the city's official tourism organization.

That figure dropped to 22.3 million in 2020, but NYC & Company projects it will increase to 36.4 million tourists in 2021 due to the $30 million investment.

There were 50 shootings in the city last week through Monday, a 257 percent spike from a year ago when many New Yorkers were isolated due to the coronavirus pandemic.

There has been a staggering rise in shootings from last year, including murders

Crime was up in most categories in March from a year ago, with April stats due out soon

Over the weekend, there were 28 shootings, which wounded 31 people and killed six more.

There have been a number of seemingly random attacks that have gripped New York City in recent weeks.

This month alone, a five-year-old was shot in Brooklyn, a tourist shot in crossfire in Manhattan, a 66-year-old Asian man sucker-punched in the Bronx, and a 51-year-old woman was shot dead by another woman in broad daylight on a Brooklyn street in the Park Slope district.

Earlier this month, a concerned mother from Brooklyn confronted de Blasio during a radio phone-in about shootings in New York, asking him, 'What's being done?'

The mayor placed blame on COVID-19 for the crime spike, saying: 'I think it comes back to this horrible combination of things we saw, you know, people didn't have jobs, almost a million people lost their jobs, schools were closed, houses of worship were closed. Things really were falling apart.'

The mayor then touted reopening measures, which he claimed will cut crime as people return to work, and also cited 'community based solutions to gun violence.'

He specifically mentioned two anti-gun crime initiatives, Cure Violence Movement and Crisis Management System.

In June, de Blasio also oversaw a $1 billion cut to New York Police Department's $6 billion budget, which came at the height of last summer's 'defund the police' protests.

The number of shootings so far in 2021 have increased drastically from a year ago.

As of Sunday, there have been 376 shootings in the city this year, with 416 victims from those shootings.

Those numbers are a rise of 76.5 percent and 71.9 percent, respectively, from 2020, the NYPD told Fox News.

There have also been nine additional murders from a year ago.

In March, index crime rose by 2.4 percent from a year ago, including a 36.0 percent increase in murders and 30.4 percent increase in rapes.

The only index crimes that declined from last March to this March were robberies and burglaries.

The crime statistics for the month of April will likely be released during the first week of May.
A rabbi in an ultra-orthodox Jewish group in Israel has been accused of being a "covert" Christian missionary, a report says.

According to Christian Headlines, the accusation was made by Beyneynu, an organization that aims to "be proactive in confronting missionary influence and movements in the Jewish homeland."

The charges have been leveled after one of the family's children allegedly mentioned Jesus at school.

Yoni Kayman, a member of the French Hill group who was made aware of the years-long investigation, said they didn't initially reveal the Rabbi and his family because they "did not want the father to move to another neighborhood [to continue his work], and we wanted to get his citizenship revoked," states a report in Church Leaders.

According to The Times of Israel (TOS), Beyneynu called the Rabbi and his family a "threat" and hoped Jewish leaders would quickly excommunicate him from the community despite failing to provide any evidence of their claims.

The Rabbi, according to the outlet, told channel 13, a local Israeli news channel, that "it's a lie" and that he had "repented" years ago of doing missionary work. The organization also alleged that he was born in America, but the Rabbi insisted that he was born a Jew.

Only identified as Michael, the Rabbi is reportedly from a Christian family in New Jersey. His late father was buried in a non-Jewish cemetery. Rumors said that he presided over Christian weddings and had ties to a Mennonite congregation.

The community was reportedly shocked upon learning that the man is not an ultra-Orthodox rabbi. TOS says that the people have raised tens of thousands of dollars to help the Rabbi's wife when she got ill and that they have even shouldered their groceries and other bills. They felt that the Rabbi's action was deceptive.

Michael served as a rabbi, priest, scribe, and even a mohel in that community, performing circumcisions. According to Beyneynu, his children attended Orthodox schools and were "co-conspirators" in the ruse. The organization made its investigation public only after a daughter recently slipped when she mentioned Jesus to a classmate.

Why It's Scandalous to the Jews

The scandal is exacerbated by Israel's anti-proselytizing laws, which prohibit other religions from conducting missionary work in the country. Most of these laws deal with giving or receiving money to encourage conversion, however.

There is no law that stops preachers from proselytizing, nor a law that forbids them from going about their work. However, the Israeli government strictly monitors missionaries, and the leaders of the local churches are said to generally dislike missionary work in their homeland.

Beyneynu, on the other hand, is opposed to missionary work. On its website, the party despises Christianity and it denounces Israeli organizations that collaborate with Christian missionaries, claiming that this is an issue for Israel. Additionally, the pace at which Jews are converting to Christianity, according to the group's "boundaries" page, is "alarming."

Christian missionaries, according to Beyneynu, are "targeting vulnerable Israeli populations."

"It is both naive and misleading to deny the serious consequences of Israel's unregulated relationship with impassioned evangelical Christians," the organization concludes on its boundaries website.
NEW YORK  A woman who once volunteered for City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer accused him Wednesday of groping her without consent two decades ago.

Stringer, a Democrat, denied it and said the two had a consensual relationship.

Speaking near Stringer's Manhattan office, Jean Kim said that in 2001, when Stringer was a member of the state Assembly, he "relentlessly" pursued a sexual relationship with her.

She said that as they traveled together by taxi to events, "Scott Stringer repeatedly groped me, put his hands on my thighs and between my legs, and demanded to know why I wouldn't have sex with him."

Kim, who is in her 40s, has worked as a publicist, lobbyist and political consultant. She said she was telling her story now because seeing Stringer campaign for mayor as a champion for women "sickens me when I know the truth."

The comptroller denied Kim's accusation, saying: "I didn't do this."

"This isn't me," he said at his own news conference later Wednesday, accompanied by his wife, Elyse Buxbaum. The two married in 2010.
Miao people celebrate traditional Sisters Festival in SW China's Guizhou province

People's Daily Online) 16:00, April 28, 2021

Photo shows people of the Miao ethnic group playing Lusheng, a reed-pipe wind instrument, in a parade to celebrate the Miao Sisters Festival in Taijiang County, southwest China's Guizhou province. (People's Daily Online/Wang Xiufang)

Dressed up in their traditional costumes, tens of thousands of people of the Miao ethnic group attended a parade on April 25 to celebrate the Miao Sisters Festival in Taijiang county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, in southwest China's Guizhou province.

Regarded today as the oldest "Valentine's Day" celebrated in China, the Miao Sisters Festival was recognized as a part of the countrys national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. The festival is celebrated annually on around the 15th day of the third lunar month.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Lucknow, April 28 : The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has now become the first state in the country to conduct more than 4 crore Covid tests.

In the past 24 hours, around 1,84,000 tests have been done in the state, out of which more than 94,000 were through the RT-PCR mode, a government spokesperson said.

The state government has placed an order for 40 new RT-PCR machines to intensify testing.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath intends that maximum testing should be done through RT-PCR in the state.

According to the spokesman, "The Chief Minister has always emphasised on the mantra of 'Test, Trace and Treat'. The strategy of conducting door-to-door survey by surveillance teams, intensifying vaccination and doubling the testing capacity in the state, is yielding good results. The government has reached out to around 21 crore people out of the total population of 24 crore in the state." To reduce the effects of Covid virus, the UP government has also intensified the vaccination drive in the state. So far, a total of 1,19,47,728 vaccine doses have been administered in the state. This includes the first dose of 98,83,945 vaccines and 20,63,783 second doses.

The vaccine will be now administered to those above 18 years of age in the state from May 1.

To ensure availability of adequate doses in the state, the state government has ordered to procure one crore doses of Covishield and Covaxine from the manufacturing companies.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Richard Barnett, a protester, sits inside the office of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi inside the US Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Man Who Put Feet on Desk in Pelosis Office During Capitol Breach Will Be Released From Jail: Judge

The man who placed his feet on a desk in an office belonging to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has been released from jail pending trial.

A judge on April 27 deemed Richard Barnett not dangerous enough to stay in jail as he awaits trial for participating in the breach. Barnett will be released to his home in Arkansas with a GPS monitor.

Judge Christopher Casey Cooper, in announcing him to home confinement, said, The notion that the events of Jan. 6 were a legitimate or excusable social protest against ruling elites or worse yet a reaction to some people in society feeling that they have been unfairly scapegoated for racism is, in a word, absurd, according to reporters who were at the hearing. Cooper, in releasing Barnett, said he should consider it a test.

Barnett has been charged with a felony count of entering the Capitol with a dangerous weapon and is accused of bringing a stun gun into the building. He also faces misdemeanor counts of unlawful entry to a restricted building, disorderly conduct, and theft.

Prosecutors have said he could face six years in prison if convicted on all the counts. Barnett has pleaded not guilty.

Barnetts attorney, Joseph D. McBride, told CNN on April 28 that discussions about a guilty plea havent taken place and Barnett has no interest in a preliminary offer from prosecutors for a plea deal.

As of now, we are awaiting further discovery from the government, and we are looking to proceed to trial. Should an acceptable offer materialize between now and then, then we will give it due and proper consideration, McBride said in the interview.

My client understands that his statements and that theaccepting the allegation as true, the note that, for the sake of argument, of course, the note that hes alleged to have left was all made in bad taste.

Mr. Barnett is a funny man. Hes a jokester, he doesnt have a real clear sense of boundaries. If he could take it back, he likely would. But we cant unring the bell at this point.

In recent days, the treatment of some of the participants in the Capitol breach has drawn scrutiny from two top Democrats.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) voiced concerns last week about several dozen or so Jan. 6 detainees who are being held in solitary confinement.

Solitary confinement is a form of punishment that is cruel and psychologically damaging, Warren said in an interview with Politico. And were talking about people who havent been convicted of anything yet.
She saw the delivery driver speed by one Sunday evening.

The 35-year-old Berkeley woman, whose identity was not released by local police, told officers on April 18 that she thought a Black delivery driver for a postal company was driving too fast in the neighborhood.

She and her boyfriend, who was also unidentified, then trailed the deliveryman in their own vehicle. That led the couple to the 1700 block of Delaware St. right by McGee Street, a fairly residential stretch of downtown Berkeley.

After police arrived on the scene, the woman then told the cops of her attempts to confront the driver about his speeding. She used force, according to a statement from Berkeley police shared Tuesday, to prevent the driver from escaping the confrontation and used hateful language disparaging of people of color. While she called 911  as did other bystanders at the scene, a Berkeley police spokesman told SFGATE  the victim of the altercation did not.

Shortly after, she was arrested by police on suspicion of battery, false imprisonment and hate crime charges, namely using offensive words and wilfully threatening a person based on their perceived characteristics.

Berkeley police did not identify what delivery service the man is employed for. The company, a spokesman said, "was not involved in the incident."
A message is being circulated widely on WhatsApp and other social media with a claim that the benefits under two of the prime minister's (PM's) schemesthe Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)can be claimed for COVID-related deaths.

The advisory post reads If someone in close relative/friends circle has died due to Covid-19 or for any reason, ask the bank for an account statement or passbook entry from 01-04 to 31-03 of the financial year. Seeing the entry of Rs. 12/- or Rs. 330/- , mark it, Go to the bank and Claim for Insurance Rs 200000."

We found out that the viral message is misleading and only partially true. It is distressing to note that fake news is being widely spread across all social media platforms at a time when the country is battling the current COVID crisis accompanying the second wave.

Let us fact-check the claims made in the now viral post. The message claims that the benefits under the PMJJBY and PMSBY schemes can be claimed for COVID-related deaths.

In 2015, the government had launched these two schemes under Jan Dhan - Jan Suraksha Yojana initiatives for providing social security at affordable premiums for citizens across the country having savings bank accounts.

While it is true that the PMJJBY scheme is applicable to COVID deaths (subject to eligibility and claims process), the PMSBY offers insurance cover of Rs2 lakh for accidental death or total permanent disability to people in the age group 18 to 70 years. Moneylife contacted the national-toll free helpline of PMSBY wherein the operator stressed that COVID-19 deaths are not considered accidental under the current guidelines. Thus the maximum benefit under the scheme (PMJJBY) is Rs2 lakh, not Rs 4 lakh as mentioned in the viral post.

However, this scheme ceases to function if the claimant does not have a bank account or does not belong to the 18-55 age group. COVID-19 deaths of people older than 55 are not eligible to benefit from this scheme. Nominees claiming for compensation under this scheme need to file their claims with their respective banks (same branch having the underlying bank account) within 30 days of the unfortunate death.

death due to any reason. The Life Insurance Corporation of India (the administrator for the policy) too On the Jan-Dhan Se Jan Suraksha portal , we checked the rules for PMJJBY scheme and found that the PMJJBY scheme offers life insurance cover for . The Life Insurance Corporation of India (the administrator for the policy) too issued a press release last year saying, the Death claims arising due to COVID-19 shall be treated at par with other causes of death and payments shall be made on an urgent basis. Already death claims due to COVID-19 under 16 policies have been settled without losing any time. The Life Insurance Council too stated , "the clause of Force Majeure will not apply in case of COVID-19 death claims. All life insurance companies will process COVID-19 death claims.

A fact check by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) too debunked the fake claims and stated that the the PMSBY does not cover covid related deaths, while PMJJBY covers covid deaths with certain conditions. In fact, the PIB handle even put out a tweet on Twitter last year clarifying the details and urging people not to fall a prey to such misleading posts.

Claim: Kins of those who died of COVID-19 can claim insurance under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)#PIBFactCheck: PMSBY doesn't cover COVID related deaths, while PMJJBY covers COVID deaths with certain conditions. pic.twitter.com/3g9AS4dVTe  PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) September 25, 2020

About PMJJBY

The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) is a one-year life insurance scheme, renewable every year, offering coverage for death due to any reason and is available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 years (life cover up to age 55) having a savings bank account who give their consent to join and enable auto-debit. Since the policy document says death due to any reason is covered, technically speaking covid is also covered.

Under PMJJBY scheme, life cover of Rs2 lakhs is available for a one year period stretching from 1st June to 31st May at a premium of Rs330 per annum per member and is renewable every year. It is offered through LIC and other private life insurance companies. For enrollment, banks have tied up with insurance companies. Participating bank is the master policy holder.

The assurance on the life of the member shall terminate on any of the following events and no benefit will become payable thereunder:

1) On attaining age 55 years (age near birthday) subject to annual renewal up to that date (but entry will not be possible beyond the age of 50 years).

2) Closure of account with the bank or insufficiency of balance to keep the insurance in force.

3) A person can join PMJJBY with one insurance company with one bank account only.

The PMJJBY is available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 years having a bank account who give their consent to join/enable auto-debit. Aadhaar is used as the primary know-your-customer (KYC) document for the bank account.

The PMJJY is essentially a group term assurance product. In any group insurance policy, premium is usually very low because a very large number of lives are available and there is very little chance of large-scale adverse selection. As on 11 September 2020, 74.6 million people were enrolled under this scheme.

The risk cover under PMJJBY may not be sufficient for better-off people of the urban areas. But, it is really something for the poor people. The money can help the family of a deceased policyholder to be back on its feet very quickly.

As PMJJBY has become a popular protection plan among the masses, it can give a lot of financial security to the poorer section of society. In fact, it can be bought by any person in the age group of 18 to 50, with a bank account.

It is understood that insurers are visibly shaken about the rising claims expenses on these products and want the prices to be revised. The governments term insurance scheme, with Rs330 as premium, and its accident insurance scheme, with Rs12 as premium, are the cheapest life insurance and accident insurance products available in the Indian market. Regular term plans of the same size (Rs2 lakh cover) would cost up to Rs900-Rs1,000 per year while accident insurance covers would cost up to Rs600-Rs700 per annum.

Amidst rising claims under these two schemes, insurance companies have asked the finance ministry for an increase of at least 25%-30% in the premium rates for the PMJJBY and PMSBY. They argue that it has been five years since these schemes were launched but there has been no increase at all in the premium rates. One private insurance company head has admitted that it is not sustainable for insurers to continue offering these policies at such low rates and many will be forced to exit these schemes if premiums are not allowed to be hiked this year.
This article is part of our new series on the Future of Health Care, which examines changes in the medical field.

Less than five years ago, Mary Albrecht was a professor of marketing at Maryville University in St. Louis. She gave lectures and led classroom discussions; she advised students; she interacted with her faculty colleagues. In 2017, Ms. Albrecht learned she had Alzheimers disease, and she retired that same year  losing a network of students, colleagues and friends that had nourished her for 31 years.

As her Alzheimers advanced, Ms. Albrecht found herself  despite the best efforts of her husband, Jack, and their children  increasingly isolated. Then in 2019 a social worker told Mr. Albrecht about a cognitive stimulation therapy group at Saint Louis Universitys Aging and Memory Clinic. The group follows a treatment protocol designed to help engage patients with moderate-to-severe levels of Alzheimers and Lewy Body dementia. Ms. Albrecht, 70, who lives with her husband in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Mo., has now been taking part in the weekly sessions with around eight other dementia patients for about a year and a half.

Ms. Albrecht is one of 144 participants in the clinics 12 groups, which are funded by a research grant so there is no cost to the patients. During the hourlong group sessions, at first in person but now remote during the pandemic, Ms. Albrecht and the other patients listen to music and participate in group discussions led by a moderator. These discussions vary depending on the level of impairment and include topics such as what animals patients like at the zoo and what movies theyve seen. The goal is to improve various aspects of cognition and memory in a stimulating, positive social environment where patients engage with one another.
A Southwest flight attendant said the airline is directly responsible for COVID-19 death of her husband of 35 years in a $3 million federal lawsuit against the airline.

Carol Madden, a 69-year-old cancer survivor who has worked with the airline since 2016, said she unknowingly contracted the coronavirus just days after a mandatory training session and spread it to her husband Bill, who died a month later.

She attended the training in Baltimore on July 13, 2020, where the same coronavirus-related safety protocols for its employees were 'in stark contract' to the precautions in place for passengers, according to the lawsuit.

'They were cleaning the seats. They were cleaning the air vents. They were cleaning the seat belts. Every touchpoint was cleaned,' Carol told the USA TODAY. 'They did not do that in my training last year.'

During the training session, there were no hand sanitizers, symptom or temperature checks, health screenings, gloves for hands-on training, education about the harms of touching eyes and face, and no social distancing, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit gives an example of a drill where flight attendants had to show they knew how to use a fire extinguisher.

The fire extinguisher was never wiped down or sanitized before the next attendant used it, according to the lawsuit.

Carol Madden, a Southwest flight attendant, was married to her husband Bill for 35 years before he died of COVID-19 that she said in a lawsuit is a direct result of the airline's lax safety protocols during a mandatory training session she attended a month earlier

Bill Madden was a veteran and retired railroad signal engineer, who drove her from her training site in Baltimore to their home in Pennsylvania.

Three days after the training session, Carol developed coronavirus symptoms, as did other attendants who attended the training, according to the lawsuit.

Her symptoms worsened and eventually spread to her husband Bill, 73, a veteran and retired railroad signal engineer, according to the USA TODAY.

Bill drove his wife from her training site in Baltimore to their home in Pennsylvania.

Their symptoms worsened, and they were ultimately tested on July 23, 2020.

The next day, Carol saw on a Facebook page frequented by Southwest Flight Attendant Trainees that another flight attendant who she shared a table with during training, tested positive on July 17, 2020, the lawsuit says.

Southwest was aware of the positive case but didn't tell any of the other attendants, the attendants' union or implement contact tracing, according to the lawsuit.

Carol told her supervisor on July 23, 2020 that she might have been exposed to COVID-19 and was experiencing symptoms, as was her husband, but she wasn't given paid time off unless she could prove she had COVID-19, the lawsuit says.

'They didn't are about us,' she told the USA TODAY. 'We were expendable.'

Carol and Bill quarantined while they waited for the results. Carol's prognosis improved, but Bill's worsened until he was hospitalized.

His health quickly deteriorated until he died on August 12, 2020, from COVID-19.

Bill Madden was a veteran and retired railroad signal engineer, who contracted the Coronavirus from his wife who unknowingly attended a Southwest Airline-mandated training session where someone tested positive for coronavirus

On Friday, Southwest Airlines filed a motion to dismiss the case. The airline expressed its sympathy to Carol and others who lost family during the pandemic, but said blaming the airline for Bill's death is 'misplaced'

Carol told USA TODAY that she 'firmly believes my husband would still be here' if Southwest had applied the same strict safety protocols for employees as it does for its passengers.

On Friday, Southwest Airlines filed a motion to dismiss the case. The airline expressed its sympathy to Carol and others who lost family during the pandemic, but said blaming the airline for Bill's death is 'misplaced.'

'The claims asserted in the complaint reflect an understandably emotional response to a devastating personal loss, but they are not actionable under the law,' the airline said.

Madden's attorney, Dan Mastromarco, told the USA TODAY that he was preparing a legal response.
Snapdocs, Inc., a leading digital closing solution for the mortgage industry, today announced a partnership with eOriginal, a part of Wolters Kluwer, as an additional eVault option within Snapdocs eVault integration suite. eOriginal serves a multitude of enterprise customers, enabling lenders and their partners to create, store and assign digital assets, including electronic promissory enotes (eNotes), through a purpose-built eVault.

Snapdocs eVault integration suite provides an elegant solution for lenders to implement eNotes as part of their closing process. The integration suite provides automatic connection to the eVault to generate, sign, and then register eNotes on the MERS eRegistry without additional integrations or modifications to loan origination systems or document preparation processes.

We believe lenders should have the freedom to work with the technologies that suit them best, said Aaron King, founder and CEO of Snapdocs. The ability for Snapdocs customers to use their choice of leading eVaults in their closing processes is an example of this philosophy in action.

With the addition of eOriginal to the Snapdocs eVault integration suite, lenders who use Snapdocs and eOriginal will now have a seamless process for secure storage and management of the eNote from beginning to end of the closing process. The Snapdocs eVault integration suite enables Snapdocs lenders to successfully implement eNotes on as much as 75 percent of their loan volume - improving the borrower experience, operational compliance, and capital efficiency.

Snapdocs is a leading provider of digital closing solutions and we are excited to partner with them, said Simon Moir, VP & Segment Leader at Wolters Kluwer. The Snapdocs platform provides seamless connectivity and workflow automation, which aligns extremely well with our areas of focus as a leading eVault provider to the mortgage industry.

Lenders have never had so much useful technology at hand to improve both process efficiency and borrower experience, King said. But the digital infrastructure to orchestrate and enhance it has been missing. Snapdocs is building the core platform that improves the closing experience for everyone involved.

About Snapdocs

Founded in 2013, Snapdocs is the mortgage industrys leading digital closing platform. With its patented AI technology and connected platform, Snapdocs is on a mission to perfect mortgage closings for all. Powering millions of closings a year, Snapdocs is leading the charge to modernize, streamline, and improve the mortgage process for lenders, borrowers, and settlement. Snapdocs is the only solution with a proven track record of creating a single, scalable process for every closing. Every day, over 130,000 mortgage professionals rely on Snapdocs to automate manual work and digitize paper processes that plague the industry. Snapdocs is a rapidly growing San Francisco based real estate technology company backed by Silicon Valley venture capital funds, like Sequoia, F-Prime Capital, Y Combinator, Founders Fund, SV Angel, Maverick, DocuSign and Lachy Groom. To learn more, please visit snapdocs.com.
Police responding to a report of a gunman at a Kenner home say they discovered a robbery plot involving a marijuana-by-mail scheme.

Investigators arrested three men and seized 40 pounds of marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms and more than $380,000, according to the Kenner Police Department.

5 of 6 youths in custody after escape from Bridge City correctional facility; staffer injured Five of the six juvenile offenders who escaped overnight from the Bridge City Center for Youth were back in custody as of late Wednesday after

Most of the action took place at the Indiana Avenue home of David Tran, 32, who is accused of accepting delivery of two parcels that contained the marijuana, said Lt. Michael Cunningham, a Kenner police spokesperson.

Police received a 911 call from a person who said that Tran was scuffling with an armed man inside his home on April 20. Tran ran out of the house when officers arrived and told them he'd been held at gunpoint by a man who was still inside, Cunningham said.

That man, Rondell Young, 32, of Houma, walked out a few minutes later, unarmed, and was taken into custody. Tran said Young had come to his home the day before and demanded money at gunpoint, according to authorities.

When Tran told Young he had no cash, Young allegedly forced Tran to drive to an apartment somewhere in Kenner where they spent the night before returning to Tran's home on April 20, Cunningham said.

400 pounds of marijuana seized after drugs mailed to Elmwood business, authorities say A Harvey man told authorities the four packages he received through the mail at an Elmwood business contained hemp and that he had the paperwo

Tran said when they returned to his house he tried to escape, leading to the struggle for the weapon. Tran was pistol-whipped during the fight, which occurred just before police arrived, according to authorities.

Tran permitted officers to search his house for the gun that Young had allegedly used. Police found the pistol in a toilet, Cunningham said.

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But officers also spotted just under a pound of hallucinogenic mushrooms and two suspicious parcels that had been delivered that day from California through the U.S. Postal Service, Cunningham said.

Detectives obtained a search warrant after Tran told he officers he didn't know who the packages belonged to or what was in them, even though they were mailed to his address, authorities said. Investigators found the marijuana in the packages and seized drug paraphernalia, including digital scales and a vacuum sealer in Tran's house, authorities said.

Young told police he'd come to Tran's house to borrow $5,000, according to Cunningham. The pair began fighting, Young told investigators, after Tran ingested drugs and became agitated.

Police don't believe Young's version, according to Cunningham. Police suspect Young and Tran know each other through drug-related activity, and that Young had planned to rob Tran.

"We believe the reason Young held Tran hostage overnight was to await the delivery of the 40 pounds of marijuana," Cunningham said.

Detectives also identified Thanh Nguyen, 37, of Kenner, who is believed to be in partnership with Tran, police said. Investigators served a search warrant at Nguyen's Williams Boulevard residence and recovered more than $380,000 in cash from the house, police said.

Young was arrested and booked with aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He was being held Wednesday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna in lieu of a $400,000 bond.

Tran was booked with possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, drug possession with the intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released April 21 on a $100,500 bond.

Nguyen was booked with conducting financial transaction with proceeds from illegal drug-related activity. He was released April 21 on a $25,000 bond.
The White House has said that states will be receiving nearly 30 million coronavirus vaccine doses this week.

This is a seven percent increase from the approximately 28 million doses allocated over the previous two weeks and a 248 percent rise from the 8.6 million doses being sent weekly when President Joe Biden took office.

'And we reminded governors that the federal government stands ready to help states put shots into arms as quickly as possible, and we continue to conduct one-on-one sessions with their teams each day throughout the week,' said Andy Slavitt, senior White House COVID-19 adviser, during a press conference on Tuesday.

However, as the Biden administration increases supply, demand has slowed significantly, despite even American adult now being eligible to receive a shot.

It comes as U.S. pharmacies giving out COVID-19 vaccines have also been directed to offer second doses of COVID-19 vaccines to people who received their first doses elsewhere so college students won't skip being vaccinated.

The Biden administration has promised that U.S. states will be receiving 30 million coronavirus vaccine doses per week

This is a 7% increase from the 28 million doses states were being allocated over the last two weeks as the U.S. seeks to vaccinate more adults

However, demand is falling with the average number of people being vaccinated dropping and many souther states inly using 60% of their supply

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Bloomberg, an average of 2.72 million people are being vaccinated every day.

That's a seven percent drop from the seven-day average of 2.95 million Americans reported just five days ago.

The last time there was such a large decline was in February, when winter storms across the country forced several vaccination sites to close and delayed shipments of doses.

What's more, many states in the South, where vaccine hesitancy is highest, have used the least of their supply.

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Mississippi have used the least amount of vaccine does, between 62.3 percent and 66.5 percent.

All four states have either seen an increase in cases, or cases are holding steady, data from johns Hopkins University show.

It comes as federal officials directed pharmacies to administer second doses of COVID-19 vaccines to anyone who got their first dose, even if it as elsewhere.

The goal of the directive, announced on Monday, is to allow college students who got their initial near campus to get their final shots in their home states.

'We will be ensuring that pharmacies in the federal pharmacy program do not have residency requirements in place, so that students who do return home can get their second dose in that home state,' said Slavitt.

'Now, in fact, most pharmacies administering shots will now offer anyone a second dose regardless of where they got their first.

'This seems like a good opportunity to remind you to get your second shot if it's your time and if you haven't.'

The issue of getting college students fully vaccinated was brought up during a weekly call between governors and White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients.

Andy Slavitt (pictured), White House senior COVID-19 adviser, announced on Tuesday that pharmacies will also no longer need residency requirements to administer COViD-19 vaccines

The new directive is to allow college students who got their first dose near campus to get their second dose at home over summer break. Pictured: Pharmacy student Jason Rodriguez (right) administers a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Nils Buecheler (left) at Jackson Memorial hospital, in Miami, April 15

Because the majority of states only recently opened eligibility to include college-aged students, many have only been given their first shot, and near campus at that.

By the time the date rolls around for them to receive their second dose, many will have gone back home for summer vacation.

Other students, including those who had originally been scheduled to get the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, my have had their appointments canceled due to the 11-day pause.

There is also a race to get students vaccinated before they become infected with the virus and potentially severely ill.

States have been struggling with how to deal with rising numbers of cases and hospitalizations among younger adults.

'In the kind of younger age group that haven't had as much access to the vaccine, we have seen an increase in hospitalizations, and we've seen that statewide as well,' Dr Steven Krager of Clark County Public Health told KATU 2.

Not only are highly contagious variants, such as B.1.1.7, still spreading, but college students have also been lax about restrictions.

'College students lead lives that make physical isolation somehow a little more challenging,' Slavitt said.

'I say this with the knowledge of having one - a college student, that is - as well as a recent graduate, now in his 20s. And a vaccine seems like the best way not to battle their impulse to socialize.'
Cereals, the UK's leading technical event for the arable industry, will be going ahead this summer as a real live face-to-face event, organisers confirm.

Contrary to the rumour mill, the show is happening in real life and farmers can be there in person, according to event organiser Alli McEntyre.

No online webinars, just real people meeting in the fields of Boothby Graffoe, Lincolnshire. Not a virtual link in sight, she explained.

You can walk across real grass, eye up actual machines, talk to people directly, attend seminars in person, examine the crop plots - and theres even a soil pit you can get into.

There will be 300 exhibitors to visit and the Syngenta Sprays & Sprayers Arena will showcase live demos that farmers can watch in person  from a safe distance.

The Isuzu Driving Course will let farmers drive real vehicles, and the full seminar programme will consist of 100% live speakers, travelling from all over the UK to the actual Cereals site in Lincolnshire. Its all in the flesh  and naturally Covid secure.

"So you may have forgotten what real events are like, but if you come to Cereals 2021, you will remember and have the best day off farm youve had in well over a year," Ms McEntyre said.

The Cereals Event will be held in Lincolnshire on 30 June  1 July 2021 and will comply with all required Covid-19 measures.
Chinese envoy underscores sequence of U.S., Iran returning to nuke deal

Xinhua) 09:08, April 28, 2021

Photo taken on April 20, 2021 shows a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria. (EU Delegation Vienna/Handout via Xinhua)

"China believes that the issue of the sequence in which the United States and Iran resume the implementation of the JCPOA is first and foremost a matter of sense of justice," said the Chinese envoy. "The cart shouldn't be put before the horse."

VIENNA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The sequence in which the United States and Iran return to compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is first and foremost a matter of "sense of justice," said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Tuesday.

Wang made the remarks after attending the latest meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission. The meeting was chaired by Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general and political director of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran.

The Joint Commission's negotiations on getting the United States and Iran to resume compliance with the JCPOA have entered the fourth week, said Wang, stressing that "it will be a very important week."

The negotiations have made some important progress, whereas some significant differences are yet to be ironed out, Wang noted.

"China believes that the issue of the sequence in which the United States and Iran resume the implementation of the JCPOA is first and foremost a matter of sense of justice," Wang said. "The cart shouldn't be put before the horse."

Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, receives interview after a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria, April 6, 2021. (Photo by Georges Schneider/Xinhua)

"The current Iranian nuclear crisis was caused by the former U.S. government, which unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and exerted extreme pressure on Iran," Wang said. "Therefore, the United States should first remove all illegal unilateral sanctions on Iran and third parties. This is the key to the success of the negotiations."

"All parties must continue to focus on and resolve this core issue first. At the same time, the Joint Commission should also consider how to verify the U.S. lifting of sanctions," Wang added.

"China hopes that all parties concerned will maintain the current momentum of negotiations, stick to the right direction and the existing consensus, and work tirelessly to achieve the overall goal of the negotiations," Wang said.

Before the talks, Wang, together with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (Vienna) Mikhail Ivanovich Ulyanov, held a trilateral meeting, fully exchanging views on key issues concerning the United States and Iran returning to compliance with the JCPOA.

Also on Tuesday, the Chinese envoy met with Mora from EEAS and exchanged views on pushing forward the current negotiations. Wang stressed that China supports the European Union in playing an active role as the coordinator in the negotiations.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
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A six-year-old boy is still in intensive care fighting for his life after a horrific accident on Anzac Day.

Deklan Babington-MacDonald from Nerang on Queensland's Gold Coast suffered a 'severe' injury while playing with a toy in his bedroom.

He was discovered by his mother Lauren Babington, who told the Gold Coast Bulletin she wanted details of the 'traumatic' accident kept private.

Ms Babington alerted Deklan's grandparents, who rushed from their home just across the road, to perform life-saving CPR on their grandson.

Deklan Babington-MacDonald, 6, (pictured) was playing with a toy in his bedroom on Sunday April 25, when he suffered a life-threatening injury

The six-year-old was transferred to Gold Coast University Hospital and later airlifted to Queensland Children's Hospital.

Deklan now remains in the hospital's intensive care unit in a critical condition, after his heart stopped for almost half an hour.

Cousin Lea Williams said Deklan is not expected to recover.

'The doctors arent hopeful of his survival at this point  the family is hoping for a miracle,' Ms Williams told the Courier Mail.

'It is a shocking accident that should never have happened.'

She said the family were still struggling to come to terms with how the incident unfolded.

'It was a toy that was bought four days earlier  it ended up being really dangerous and we are really angry but havent got our heads around it and cant focus on it.'

She described Deklan as the much-loved 'baby of the family' and said they want police to launch an investigation.

His grandparents performed life-saving CPR on the Queensland schoolboy, who was transferred to Gold Coast University Hospital

Deklan's Aunty Caity Macdonald broke the sad news to her friends and family on Tuesday afternoon.

'It is with a heavy heart that we share this news, but on Sunday my nephew Deklan was involved in a horrific accident that has left my sister (his mum) and my family absolutely devastated', she wrote in a post on Facebook.

'He is in ICU in a critical condition.'

Ms Macdonald posted a link to a fundraiser set-up by Ms Williams, and encouraged her audience to give what they could.

'Any donations to help Lauren be able to focus on bub and not on the cost of life would be much appreciated', she said.

Organiser Lea Williams also posted a link to the campaign on Facebook, telling friends and family her 'sweet cousin Deklan' had been in a horrific accident.

She has described her cousin as a 'gorgeous boy' who could light up a room.

'He's definitely mischievous but he's so so sweet. He's so loved, just doted on', she told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

The fundraiser hopes to raise money for transport and accommodation costs as well as cover Ms Babington to take time off work to be with Deklan.

The six-year-old Nerang boy remains in a critical condition at Queensland Children's Hospital

The family have already received over $3,000 to support the six-year-old's recovery, with aspirations to raise $5,000.

Ms Macdonald said her family was 'absolutely distraught' by the terrifying accident, and described Deklan as the 'light of our life and Lauren's best friend'.

The schoolboy was just about to start his second term of grade one at William Duncan State School and loves riding his scooter and going to the beach.

'Deklan isn't just a grandson or nephew you would see every now and then', Ms Macdonald said.

'He is embedded in our lives, with sleepovers at Nanna's every weekend and hangouts with the aunties all the time.'

She said Ms Babington has had to overcome the challenges of being a single mother ever since Deklan was born.

'What has happened is a horrible tragedy that no one could ever see coming.

'We are all broken and praying for our little man.'
 Flash

A U.S. Navy patrol ship fired warning shots at Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels in international waters of the northern Persian Gulf, the Navy said on Tuesday.

Three IRGCN armed speed boats Monday rapidly approached U.S. Navy patrol coastal ship USS Firebolt and a U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat to "unnecessarily close range with unknown intent, including a closest point of approach of 68 yards (62 meters) to both U.S. ships," the Navy said in a statement.

"The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loud-hailer devices, but the IRGCN vessels continued their close range maneuvers," the statement said. "The crew of Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the IRGCN vessels moved away to a safe distance from the U.S. vessels."

U.S. media reported that it was the first time the U.S. Navy had fired on Iranian vessels in nearly four years.

The incident also came amid indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments under the JCPOA in May 2019, one year after former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.
The father of children attending one of New York's most elite schools has revealed its anti-racism initiatives aimed at teaching 'allyship', that even his Soviet Union-raised wife found 'alarming'.

Bion Bartning, whose two young children attended Riverdale Country School - a school found in an idyllic setting in the Bronx that caters to students of pre-kindergarten age up to Grade 12 - has said he witnessed the initiatives first-hand.

When his children logged in to a Zoom meeting at home at the start of the new year at the $54,000-a-year school, rather than hearing them recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing 'America the Beautiful', he heard the head of the junior school.

Speaking to the children, the head said 'the theme for this school year is going to be allyship [...] in the way that some adults talk to kids, in a babyish sort of way,' Bartning told The Times in an interview published on Wednesday.

Looking up allyship online, Bartning found it was the idea that members of privileged groups should fight to advance the interests of people in oppressed groups, and to amplify those voices instead of their own.

After the introduction from Riverdale's head of junior school, a video - featuring the school's falcon mascot - told the children that they needed to 'check each other's words and actions,' Bartning told the newspaper.

His wife, he said, was born and raised in the Soviet Union where she was taught to report on her own parents. She found the introduction quite alarming, he noted.

But the introduction to the school year's 'theme' was all part of a new anti-racist initiative that has been adopted by a number of New York's top private schools after a summer of Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

Bion Bartning pulled his children out of an elite $54,000-a-year New York private school after learning of the new anti-racism initiatives they were being taught

Some of Manhattan's elite schools - including Brearley School and Dalton on the Upper East Side, as well as Riverdale that's a 20 minute bus-ride from the city - have made it part of their mission statements to build 'an anti-racist community'.

Brearley School - where Chelsea Clinton and Tina Fey are said to send their children - has said it would require both pupils and parents to take part in anti-racist training, and to assist in 'identifying and eliminating policies, practices and beliefs that uphold racial inequality.'

Dalton, where actress Claire Danes and US secretary of state Antony Blinken attended, has said it will 'adapt out policy to better live up to our stated values as a visibly, vocally, structurally anti-racist institution.'

Many of the top schools have turned to a non-profit group by the name of Pollyanna, which on its website boats connections with a number of the country's top private schools.

NYC's Dalton and Bearley Schools, as well as The Nightingale Bamford School - an all girls school on the Upper East Side, the nearby Horace Mann School, the Harvard Westlake school in California and The Fessenden School in outer-Boston, all feature on Pollyanna's website.

Workshops designed by Pollyanna, founded by a former Dalton pupil, tells parents about 'systemic racism' and informs them of the impact of 'concepts like microaggressions, implicit bias and ally vs accomplice and/or co-conspirator,' the organisation says on its website.

Riverdale Country School (pictured) is found in an idyllic setting in the Bronx that caters to students of pre-kindergarten age up to Grade 12

The children of some of New York's elite passed through the doors of Dalton School, a private college preparatory school on New York City's Upper East Side (pictured). Dalton is one of the schools to have introduced Pollyanna's anti-racism initiatives

Pollyanna: The New York-based non-profit promoting diversity and 'allyship' to the country's most prestigious schools Pollyanna is a New York-based nonprofit organisation founded in 2015 by Casper Caldarola, a former marketer and Dalton student. The non-profit was initially founded to 'promote inclusiveness within communities,' its website says, and has since expanded to offer other services, including Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) reports, as well as services relating to curriculum and programming. Polyanna describes itself as 'a national nonprofit helping academic and other institutions achieve their diversity, equity and inclusion goals. 'Our mission is to advance systemic change by developing stronger communities. We do this through programs that enhance cultural competency, racial literacy, and equity practices.' Under the group's FAQ's section, in answer to the question 'How do I know if my institution needs to address systemic racism?', it answers: 'Systemic racism is just that  'systemic.' It permeates every aspect of our society and transcends person-to person interactions. The question isn't whether our nation's schools are burdened by systemic racism; the question is how deliberately and purposefully we are working to dismantle it and counter the effects, creating the most equitable environment for our students.' Advertisement

Another workshop is called 'Making an Anti-racist Home', where the instructor asks: 'How can our homes mirror and promote anti-racist values and practices?'

Some parents appreciate the initiatives, with Brearley sending The Times a statement from an unnamed parent who was 'incredibly proud of the crucial and necessary work that Brealey is doing to create an environment where all students are welcomed,' adding that they support the anti-racism work the school is doing.

Other parents disagree, however, with Andrew Guttman, 45, telling The Times the initiative is 'inane' and 'superficial simplistic nonsense', suggesting that the parent body - made up of lawyers and doctors - doesn't need to be patronized.

Discontent appears to be growing among parents at Brearley, some of whom claim that the anti-racist training itself was racist for forcing students to look at everything in the context of race.

Guttman circulated a letter saying he 'cannot tolerate a school that not only judges my daughter by the color of her skin but encourages and instructs her to prejudge others by theirs'.

Bartning was so upset with the ideologies being taught at Riverdale that he pulled his children out of the $54,000-a-year school.

Bartning then went a step further, founding the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) to fight against what he calls a dangerous new 'orthodoxy'.

Bartning, who is Mexican and Yaqui on one side and Jewish on the other, said he was shocked to learn that schoolchildren are being forced to label themselves as privileged or oppressed by skin color.

'I don't fit into any of those race buckets,' Bartning told the New York Post. 'I think it is wrong to be teaching kids these socially constructed race categories.'

'It's a destructive ideology, teaching children to be pessimistic and full of grievance rather than being optimistic and full of gratitude. It goes against all the values I was raised with, and there are many out there who feel as I do,' he said.

Bartning said he had even encountered instances of children being given color palettes to match with their skin tone to assess their level of privilege.

NYC's Dalton and Bearley Schools, as well as The Nightingale Bamford School - an all girls school on the Upper East Side, the nearby Horace Mann School, the Harvard Westlake school in California and The Fessenden School in outer-Boston, all feature of Pollyanna's website

Email reveals Education Secretary Miguel Cardona worried about making sure teachers were behind new 'woke' curriculum US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wanted to make sure teachers supported a new 'woke' curriculum in his previous role in Connecticut, an email has revealed. In his previous role as Connecticut schools commissioner, Cardona wrote how he wanted to make sure his team was 'involved' and that the state's teachers supported the new 'woke' curriculum, according to a Fox News report. In an email sent November 1, 2019, obtained by Fox News through a Freedom of Information Act request, Cardona writes that he agrees with his then-chief-of-staff, Laura Stefon, that 'We need to be involved' in the group creating a critical race theory curriculum. He adds 'I want the new Teacher of the Year [2020] Meghan Hatch Geary on it also, for several reasons,' the then-commissioner wrote. In his November 1 email, Cardona also noted that Hatch-Geary would be a good candidate for the group because of her previous experience in subjects the curriculum tackles. When serving as Connecticut's education commissioner, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote a 2019 email saying he wanted to ensure teachers were supportive of the state's new 'woke' curriculum [File photo] He noted that she 'studied Black and Latino studies for her Master's Program... Has created programming incorporating social justice, for race and gender inequalities... Her application included more references to the importance of Black leaders in History than anything I have read before... She volunteered teaching in Ghana and Ecuador... Understands curriculum reduces invisibility for students of color and creates global preparedness for all students.' 'We need teachers behind this wave of our curriculum becoming more 'woke,'' he continued. 'Sends the right message that we are asking the ToY to help us do better,' Cardona said, using an abbreviation for Teacher of the Year. 'I want the new Teacher of the Year (2020) Meghan Hatch-Geary on it also, for several reasons,' Cardona wrote, elaborating: 'We need teachers behind this wave of our curriculum becoming more "woke".' The comments came as Connecticut's education department was tasked with putting together a new high school course called African-America, Black, Puerto Rican, and Latino Studies. The course will be optional for the upcoming school year but required from the fall of 2022, Fox News reported. The curriculum was fully approved by the state in December 2020. Connecticut's curriculum asks students to understand 'the construct of race and why and how it was developed' and spends three days assessing systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter Movement. The course also includes readings and discussions on other topics including slavery and 'What African American, Black, Latino(a), and Puerto Rican histories reveal about the United States, its foundation and how power is structured today?' Some teachers have complained that changing the curriculum to deal with controversial topics is disruptive and has led to backlash from some parents. Cardona said he wanted 2020 Teacher of the Year Meghan Hatch-Geary involved in the curriculum's advisory group partly because of her expertise teaching Cardona said in a press release at the time: 'Identities matter, especially when 27 percent of our students identify as Hispanic or Latino and 13 percent identify as Black or African-American'. 'This curriculum acknowledges that by connecting the story of people of color in the U.S. to the larger story of American history. The fact is that more inclusive, culturally relevant content in classrooms leads to greater student engagement and better outcomes for all.' A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson told Fox News: 'Under the leadership of Secretary Cardona, the Department of Education remains committed to advancing educational quality and ensuring that we prioritize, replicate, and invest in what works for all students, not just some.' Advertisement

The backlash against the teachings also came in the wake of a growing number of controversies at the elite NYC prep schools.

In one incident, math teacher Paul Rossi was 'relieved of his teaching duties' at the $57,000-a-year Grace Church School in Manhattan after he penned an essay accusing the school of indoctrinating students last week.

On April 20, Rossi released a recorded phone call in which the head of the school George Davison admitted to him that 'we're demonizing white people for being born.'

FAIR has publicly said it stands behind ousted teacher Rossi and was first to leak the phone call between him and the head teacher on its social media accounts Tuesday.

Former New York Times op-ed editor Weiss also published Rossi's initial blog post on her newsletter last week and then hosted a Zoom discussion Tuesday with Rossi and parent Andrew Gutmann - who had complained about efforts to 'brainwash' his daughter at another elite NYC school The Brearley School.

Last week, Dalton parents penned an anonymous open letter to the school.

'Every class this year has had an obsessive focus on race and identity, 'racist cop' reenactments in science, 'de-centering whiteness' in art class, learning about white supremacy and sexuality in health class.

'Wildly inappropriate, many of these classes feel more akin to a Zoom corporate sensitivity-training than to Dalton's intellectually engaging curriculum,' it read.


Poland plans to deliver 1.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Ukraine in May or June, the Polish government has said in response to an information query from an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The specific date for the delivery of the vaccine to Ukraine will largely depend on the dynamics of AstraZeneca supplies (as well as supplies of vaccines from other manufacturers) to Poland. Procurement also requires coordination of the legal and technical aspects on which the interested parties are working. Taking this into account, the possible date for the transfer of the vaccine to the Ukrainian side is May-June," the press service of the Council of Ministers of Poland said.

It said that given the "importance of this process in bilateral relations," the Polish side will try to ensure that this vaccine is delivered to Ukraine "within the next two months" despite the reduction of AstraZeneca supplies to Poland.

At the same time, the Polish government is not currently considering increasing the amount of the AstraZeneca vaccine or the vaccines of other manufacturers, which will be resold to Ukraine. According to the report, the amount of the AstraZeneca vaccine intended for Ukraine is fixed and it is the surplus amount for Poland.

However, Poland has not ruled out the possibility of helping Ukraine with the vaccination process in the future.

"It is not ruled out that later, depending on the course of the vaccine supply and the vaccination process in Poland, scenarios for further assistance to our neighbors will be considered," the Polish government said.

More than 10.7 million people in Poland have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, and over 2.7 million people have already received two doses of the vaccine.

op
New bodycam footage shows California cops kneeling on the back of a gasping 26 year-old father whose family say died in the same way as George Floyd.

Mario Gonzalez died on April 19 after Alameda police officers tried to restrain him while responding to multiple police calls.

His brother Gerardo Gonzalez called police actions 'unnecessary and unprofessional' at a press conference on Tuesday, after officials released nearly an hour of 911 calls and body camera footage that shows officers responding, KNTV reported.

'Everything we saw in that video was unnecessary and unprofessional. The police killed my brother in the same manner that they killed George Floyd,' he said.

A lawyer representing the Gonzalez family slammed an initial police report that said that 'at that time, the man had a medical emergency,' referring to Gonzalez.

Lawyer Julia Sherwin slammed the 'medical emergency' explanation from police as 'misinformation' and compared it to the police report after Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis last year, The New York Times reported.

Sherwin told the outlet that the Gonzalez's family was also concerned 'with why the police used force in the first place,' the outlet reported.

'His death was completely avoidable and unnecessary,' she said.

She added: 'Drunk guy in a park doesn't equal a capital sentence.'

Mario Gonzalez, 26, died on April 19 after Alameda police officers tried to restrain him while responding to multiple police calls

Cops said that they were called to the 800 block of Oak Street around 10.45am that morning when a scuffle ensued and 'Mario had a medical emergency,' the outlet reported.

Officers attempted lifesaving procedures and Gonzalez was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead after body camera footage showed that he had lost his pulse at the scene.

Cops said that they do not know what caused his alleged 'medical emergency' and that the cause of his death remains unknown pending an autopsy.

The Gonzalez family said he was healthy and 'suffered no medical conditions.'

Scroll down for video

Cops said that they were called to the 800 block of Oak Street around 10.45am that morning when a scuffle ensued and 'Mario had a medical emergency'

Officers were seen struggling with Gonzalez on the ground while placing the weight of their knees on his back

Gonzalez can be heard gasping for air while making retching sounds during the video

Officers later decided to flip him onto his side after realizing he had gone 'unresponsive'

Officers then tried lifesaving procedures including CPR before he was rushed to a local hospital after it was noted he had no pulse

Three officers have been put on paid leave while the sheriff's office and district attorney investigate the incident, officials said.

Gonzalez's mother Edith Gonzalez said that her son leaves behind his own 4-year-old son, KNTV reported.

'My grandson, right here, he asked me, 'Mami, mami, my papi passed away? My papi died? My papi died?'' Edith Gonzalez said at the press conference.

'How can I say that? Somebody kill him?'

In one of the 911 calls, a man who lives in the home near where Gonzalez died told dispatchers he had been 'talking to himself.'

'There's a man in my front yard kind to talking to himself, no mask. I went out there and the dog is barking at him and I went out there and he's not making any sense and I don't know what to do,' the caller said.

'It seems like he's tweaking but he's not doing anything wrong, he's just scaring my wife.'

In a second call, another caller reported: 'There's a man at the park with two Walgreens baskets with some alcohol bottles that it looks like he's breaking the security tags off of.'

The second caller said that the man had been 'loitering around.'

Body camera footage from an Officer McKinley shows him approaching Gonzalez, who had the two Walgreens baskets with him.

When asked by officers how he was feeling, Gonzalez said: 'Well, I'm feeling alright I guess.'

Gonzalez is seen incoherently telling officers that 'something happened,' while officers try to push for more information from him.

When cops ask him if he feels like hurting himself, he responds: 'It's not that.'

The officer calls dispatchers to have another officer investigate 'any walkouts' at the local Walgreens while Gonzalez continues to talk.

Gonzalez leaves behind a 4-year-old son after he died in police custody in Alameda, California

A GoFundMe has since been started for the Gonzalez family who wrote on the fundraiser that 'Our fight for justice remains re-affirmed after what we witnessed'

When Officer McKinley tells Gonzalez he is 'worried about this open container' of alcohol, Gonzalez tries screwing the cap back on to the bottle in the shopping basket. Another officer then shows up to the scene.

Eventually, McKinley appears to raise his voice telling Gonzalez he has to identify him and make sure he's 'not going to be drinking in any of our parks over here' so cops could be on their 'merry way.'

'Merry-go-round?' Gonzalez responds.

McKinley tells Gonzalez that if he cannot provide identification, officers would have to 'take' him.

Another officer then tries to convey to Gonzalez that they need his ID to include in their reports detailing who they spoke with while responding to the 911 calls.

When asked by that officer if Gonzalez lives in the city of Alameda, he responds: 'I haven't gotten a house yet.'

Officers then tell Gonzalez to keep his hands out of his pockets while he appears to stand on tree stumps.

The two officers then grab his arms as one of them tells him, 'Come over here, we don't want you to fall down.'

Cops then put his arms behind his back and tell him to 'just relax.'

'No, I didn't do nothing,' Gonzalez says, while officers tell him not to resist.

'Stop resisting us, don't fight us,' an officer says.

Gonzalez again responds: 'I didn't do nothing. Please stop.'

He is then taken to the ground as officers climb onto his back, putting pressure onto it with their knees, video shows.

Officers continue to struggle to get his arms behind his back while he lies facedown in the dirt. An officer continues to use his knee to keep Gonzalez down while cops try to arrest him.

Gonzalez gasps and wheezes several times throughout the video while one officer directs the other to 'keep him pinned down.'

'I didn't do it! I didn't do it!' Gonzales gasps.

It appears as if the officer finally removed his knee from Gonzalez' back after several minutes. Gonzalez makes retching sounds as one of the officers asks the other if they can roll him onto his back.

'I don't want to lose what I got,' the other officer responds.

One of the officers then says, 'We have no weight on his chest' after having struggled with him on the ground for nearly five minutes.

Officers finally push him onto his side as one of them tells dispatchers that 'he has gone unresponsive.'

More officers then appear to arrive as one of them orders to 'start CPR' and note that he has 'no pulse.'

A GoFundMe has since been started for the Gonzalez family who wrote on the fundraiser that 'Our fight for justice remains re-affirmed after what we witnessed.'

'On the morning of April 19th, Alameda Police killed our beloved Mario. Mario was only 26-year-old when they killed him. He leaves behind four-year-old little Mario who will now grow up without his father in his life,' the GoFundMe reads.

'Mario was also a caring big brother to Efrain and Jerry. Mario was the principal caretaker of his mom and Efrain who has autism. He had his whole life ahead of him and they robbed him from his family and community.'

The family is demanding that officials release the records and the names of the officers involved as as 'thorough and unbiased criminal investigation into the murder of Mario Gonzalez.'

'Mario was not a violent person. Mario was kind,' the family wrote. 'He helped my mom take care of our brother. He wouldn't hurt anyone. Our family needs answers.'
[April 28, 2021] BluJay's Latest Software Releases Offer New Capabilities and Tools to Increase Supply Chain and Global Trade Productivity

BluJay Solutions, a leading provider of global supply chain software and services, has released version 21.1 of its transportation, distribution, and global trade software applications. BluJay's latest releases provide new software and partner integrations, the most current compliance updates, and expanded capabilities that improve user experiences - all of which build resilience to help customers to better manage the growing number of supply chain disruptions. "Neither the pace of commerce nor the pace of change is slowing down for our customers," said David Landau, Chief Product Officer at BluJay Solutions. "As such, we can't slow down our pace of innovation. Whether it is improving productivity through user experience or expanding visibility and capacity by leveraging the strength of our networks, BluJay remains committed to enabling our customers' success with our technology investments." Key deployments in version 21.1 of BluJay's DNA - data, network, and applications - include: For Shippers: Optimized routing guides- BluJay's Transportation Management for Shippers now supports Dynamic Routing Guides for backup carriers. In addition to a predefined list of carriers, users can also include carriers with lower spot rates into their routing guides dynamically without user intervention. The benefit BluJay shippers will experience is routing to carriers with the most favorable rates whether they are spot or contract rates. Expanded carrier support - SpotFinder, BluJay's Transportation Management network carrier finder, has been expanded to include support for carriers outside of a shipper's network, to increase carrier availability. SpotFinder now considers all carriers in the BluJay network that are delivering a load or loads near a location from where a shipper is attempting to secure coverage. This includes carriers the shippers have existing relationships with and net-new carriers. This solution accounts for the delivery time, equipment, and distance from the original ship point to determine if the carrier would be "eligible" when seeking load coverage. Loads are then posted to the spot market from SpotFinder to provide carriers with the opportunity to bid on targeted available freight. For Freight Forwarders: Improved user experience - BluJay's Transportation Management for Forwarders now offers multi-screen capabilities with a recently accessed list, which provides a list of those screens currently active or idle. Users can easly toggle between the screens by highlighting and clicking on the preferred screen and a section that displays the user's most commonly used modules. Transportation Management for Forwarders also offers new drag-and-drop capabilities for eDocs throughout the application. New Customer Portal capabilities - The newly added "Request a Quote" feature allows a forwarder's customer to request a quote from BluJay's Transportation Management for Forwarders (TMFF) application directly through the BluJay Customer Portal. Quotes can be accepted and converted to a booking right from the Customer Portal, which in turn starts and streamlines the shipment process within TMFF.



For Global Trade Customers: Augmented Global Trade platform integration - BluJay's Customs Management-Global is fully available within the new Augmented Global Trade (AGT) platform. This enables customers to leverage new AGT-enabled products to easily create declarations. The new integration also offers increased support for customers facing Brexit challenges and opportunities, with expanded country coverage in version 21.1 for Import Control System (ICS) in France and UK ICS, which supports messages including Northern Ireland and Security and Safety. Enhanced U.S. Customs platform - In Customs Management-US, users can now send an imaged document to Customers and Border Protection (CBP) while they are in the shipment processing without having to go to a separate menu option. Various compliance features have also been implemented to support CBP and Partner Government Agencies (PGA) including Food and Drug Administration (FDA), US Dept. of Agriculture - Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS), Agriculture Marketing Service ( AMS (News - Alert) ), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). For Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) and Fleet Operators:

Automated invoicing for LSPs - BluJay's LSP Platform now enables the creation of invoices, as well as the printing and posting to financial systems, to be scheduled and executed automatically. This latest release also improves bulk edits in the shipment, planning, and process overview, making it easier and faster for multiple shipments or trips to be updated simultaneously. Increased Route Safety and Efficiency - BluJay's MobileSTAR features a number of route optimization improvements to help plan safer and more efficient routes for drivers. This release enables operators to "penalize" cross-traffic turns on major roads, includes vehicle profiles, and assigns new jobs to the best location within the current sequence. For more information, visit www.blujaysolutions.com. About BluJay Solutions BluJay Solutions helps companies around the world achieve excellence in logistics and trade compliance - it's in our DNA. Through a blend of Data, Networks, and Applications, delivered in the BluJay Way, our DNA platform powers the Frictionless Supply Chain for thousands of the world's leading manufacturers, retailers, distributors, freight forwarders, customs brokers, carriers, and logistics service providers. To learn more, visit: www.blujaysolutions.com, or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @myblujay and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005262/en/

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Barnardos has welcomed todays stark report Safety and Welfare of Children in Direct Provision published by the Ombudsman for Childrens Office, and welcomes that TUSLA and the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) have accepted in their entirety the recommendations in the report.

The report provides a detailed insight into how children living in Direct Provision accommodation in Ireland are not being afforded acceptable safety and protection services.

Speaking after the official launch of the report Suzanne Connolly, CEO Barnardos said: While we are very welcoming of the White Paper on Direct Provision that was published late last year, and look forward to its implementation, this report today highlights the need for immediate and effective monitoring and controlling of risks. These children, many of whom have already suffered trauma in their lives, cannot wait three years until recommendations in the White Paper are implemented.

Attention needs to be given to the particular vulnerability of the children and their families, the risks they experience in their environment and their ability to seek support and raise concerns. There is an inherent vulnerability to children and parents living in institutional care and a serious risk to child development and family well-being the longer they stay in accommodation that is unsuitable.

Barnardos supports many families in Direct Provision across Ireland and we understand the importance of families being offered a choice of services for support, and not just those from Government agencies. The lived experience of many of these families mean that they can be reluctant to trust state bodies at the outset. A culturally sensitive service response with a commitment to child protection and opportunity to feedback, must be considered in the short-term so that we can adequately protect and support all children currently living in Direct Provision.
The EU-Ukraine summit scheduled for August 2021 could be postponed until this autumn, Deputy Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva has said.

He said this at a meeting of the commission coordinating the implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The summit could be held later than August. We are now talking about autumn. But the work is still ongoing. Therefore, as soon as the dates are agreed upon, we will announce them," Zhovkva said.

According to him, the parties need to adjust the schedules of leaders, so the Ukrainian authorities are discussing specific dates with the EU leadership.

At the same time, Zhovkva drew attention to another very important event - EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and European Council President Charles Michel confirmed their participation in the first Crimean Platform summit to be held in Kyiv on August 23.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the commission meeting that at the EU-Ukraine summit it is planned to discuss Ukraine's European integration efforts at the political level and to determine further benchmarks for cooperation.

"Ukraine counts on the support of the EU and its member states, as well as other international partners," Shmyhal said.

He noted that the government, for its part, was doing a lot to realize Ukraine's European integration aspirations. In particular, he added, there are currently 41 bills submitted by the president, the government and people's deputies, which are related to the course for Ukraine's membership in the European Union.

Ukraine-EU summits are held on the basis of Article 5 of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, according to which "the Parties shall hold regular political dialogue meetings at Summit level."

Summit meetings are held with the participation of the president of Ukraine, the president of the European Council and the president of the European Commission. They are held every year alternately in Ukraine and in Brussels.EU-Ukraine summit could be moved to autumn - Zhovkva

He said this at a meeting of the commission coordinating the implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The summit could be held later than August. We are now talking about autumn. But the work is still ongoing. Therefore, as soon as the dates are agreed upon, we will announce them," Zhovkva said.

According to him, the parties need to adjust the schedules of leaders, so the Ukrainian authorities are discussing specific dates with the EU leadership.

At the same time, Zhovkva drew attention to another very important event - EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and European Council President Charles Michel confirmed their participation in the first Crimean Platform summit to be held in Kyiv on August 23.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the commission meeting that at the EU-Ukraine summit it is planned to discuss Ukraine's European integration efforts at the political level and to determine further benchmarks for cooperation.

"Ukraine counts on the support of the EU and its member states, as well as other international partners," Shmyhal said.

He noted that the government, for its part, was doing a lot to realize Ukraine's European integration aspirations. In particular, he added, there are currently 41 bills submitted by the president, the government and people's deputies, which are related to the course for Ukraine's membership in the European Union.

Ukraine-EU summits are held on the basis of Article 5 of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, according to which "the Parties shall hold regular political dialogue meetings at Summit level."

Summit meetings are held with the participation of the president of Ukraine, the president of the European Council and the president of the European Commission. They are held every year alternately in Ukraine and in Brussels.

op
BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday voiced resolute opposition to separatist attempts in Taiwan including those through the so-called "constitutional amendments."

"We will take all necessary countermeasures against such moves. This warning should be heeded before it is too late," said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, in response to a query on remarks by sources from Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authority on amending the island's so-called "constitution."

In complete disregard of Taiwan compatriots' interests and well-being, a handful of separatist forces advocating "Taiwan independence" have been carrying out provocative and dangerous actions driven by selfish purposes, said Ma.

"This will only aggravate the tension across the Taiwan Strait, pushing the island into a precarious situation, and bringing suffering to Taiwan compatriots," said Ma.

Noting the legal foundation and reality that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China, Ma said political differences between the two sides can well be resolved through equal negotiations based on the one-China principle.

"We are willing to use our maximum sincerity and do our very utmost to promote the peaceful reunification of China," said Ma. "However, we will never tolerate any 'Taiwan independence' separatist moves, or allow the historical tragedy of national division to repeat itself."
KYODO NEWS - Apr 28, 2021 - 21:23 | All, World, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan said Wednesday it will tighten border controls on travelers from the four U.S. states of Tennessee, Florida, Michigan and Minnesota, as well as India and Peru in response to the spread of new variants of the coronavirus detected there.

The new measure, to be effective from Saturday, requires people traveling from those areas to quarantine in a designated facility and take a COVID-19 test on the third day after their arrival.

If testing negative, they will be asked to leave the facility without using public transportation and self-quarantine at home or other locations for 14 days.

They also need to submit negative results from virus tests taken within 72 hours prior to their departure and take another test upon arrival.

At present, Japan bans all entry of nonresident foreigners except for those given approval under "special exceptional circumstances."

The latest additions join the 29 countries and areas that have been subject to stricter quarantine measures.

The 29 are Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, the Philippines, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Canadian province of Ontario.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's office allegedly spent at least five months trying to prevent the true COVID-19 nursing home death toll from being made public.

Top Cuomo aides were engaged in the months-long effort where they repeatedly overruled and prevented state health officials from releasing the number of nursing home deaths, the New York Times reports.

The efforts included stopping the publication of a scientific paper that included the true tally. Aides also stopped health officials from sending two letters to state legislators regarding the toll, according to the Times.

Among the health officials who were allegedly stopped from releasing the true numbers was state health commissioner Dr Howard Zucker.

It was happening at a time when Cuomo was writing his since-released book about his handling of his pandemic.

Top Cuomo aides were engaged in the months-long effort where they repeatedly overruled and prevented state health officials from releasing the number of nursing home deaths

The revelations are based on NYT interviews and newly unearthed documents, including drafts of the scientific paper and the letters that were never sent.

The report comes at the same time as Cuomo is facing multiple investigations, including by the state's attorney general, from women who alleged sexual harassment and misconduct. Cuomo has strongly denied the accusations.

Cuomo has come under intense scrutiny over his nursing home COVID-19 response after he barred nursing homes from rejecting recovering coronavirus patients being discharged from hospitals in March.

He eventually rescinded his nursing home order two months later and insisted on a negative COVID test instead before return to a nursing home. Some nursing homes complained at the time that residents were being put at risk because of his policy.

Some patients who contracted COVID but later died in hospital were not counted in the official death count being released by Cuomo's administration.

The administration refused for months to release more complete data and the true death toll was only released this year after a report by the New York state attorney general found deaths had been undercounted by about half.

The state now acknowledges that at least 15,000 long-term care residents died, compared to a figure of 8,700 it had publicized as of late January that didn't include residents who died after being transferred to hospitals.

Cuomo, at the time, admitted it was a mistake to delay releasing the figures but insisted they were not trying to obscure the death toll.

Sources now say, however, that state health officials started trying to work out how many nursing home residents had died as early as late April.

Cuomo has come under intense scrutiny over his nursing home COVID-19 response after he barred nursing homes from rejecting recovering coronavirus patients being discharged from hospitals in March

They gathered data on both nursing home deaths and residents who died in hospital after being transferred there.

When health officials started compiling a report on the issue, Cuomo's top aide Melissa DeRosa sent an email saying it needed to 'stand up to scrutiny and definitively tell the story'.

The report was published publicly in July and didn't include the hospital deaths. It said that about 21 percent of all deaths through May were nursing home fatalities.

A different version of the report, which was aimed at the scientific press and drafted at the same time, said 35 percent of deaths were nursing homes. That scientific version was never published.

A Cuomo aide, who was enlisted to go over the data, finished his audit of nursing home deaths in August - months before it became known publicly.

The audit did not change the death toll from about 9,000.

Around the time the audit was finished was when the Justice Department started asking states for the number of residents, staff and visitors who contracted COVID-19 or died of the virus and the number of people admitted to each nursing home after being treated for COVID-19 at a hospital.

Cuomo's office has been hit with allegations that health officials did include the full tally in a report but were pressured by top aides to remove the hospital deaths before it was made public.

It was happening at a time when Cuomo was writing his since-released book about his handling of his pandemic with his top aide, Melissa DeRosa (pictured above)

Among the health officials who were allegedly stopped from releasing the true numbers was state health commissioner Dr Howard Zucker (above)

His aides claim they did not want to make that number public because the governor was already under fire for his initial directive that ordered infected patients to be sent back to nursing homes.

Cuomo's top aide, Melissa DeRosa, previously said the administration delayed releasing data to the legislature about the deaths because officials 'froze' over fears the information was 'going to be used against us' by the DOJ.

While Cuomo had already been facing increasing pressure to release the full nursing home data, the controversy erupted in January following a critical report by state Attorney General Letitia James that said the official count was about 50 percent of what was reported.

Cuomo's office then conceded that thousands more nursing home residents had died of COVID-19 than the state had previously reported.

The governor has since said it was a mistake to take so long to release the statistics but he insisted the delay was not an attempt to obscure the death toll but instead was down to accuracy.

His administration said it didn't release a full tally sooner because it needed time to verify how many nursing home patients died after being transferred to hospitals.

The administration's handling of the data is now the subject of a federal investigation and an inquiry by the state Assembly, which is assessing whether there are grounds to impeach Cuomo.

Elkan Abramowitz, who is the attorney Cuomo hired to represent him in the federal investigation, insists the administration didn't release the data because they didn't believe it was accurate.

'The whole brouhaha here is overblown to the point where there are cynical suggestions offered for the plain and simple truth that the chamber wanted only to release accurate information that they believed was totally unassailable,' Abramowitz said.

'The chamber was never satisfied that the numbers that they were getting from (the department of health) were accurate.'
-- Though home to the world's most developed high-speed railway network, China still regularly operates 81 slow train services, covering 35 ethnic minority-populated regions, transporting some 12 million people annually at an average cost of no more than 0.06 yuan per km.

-- Slow train service has been operating in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, for over half a century, becoming a lifeline for generations of local people.

by Xinhua writers Cao Bin and Wu Guangyu

CHENGDU, April 27 (Xinhua) -- In an age of ever-extending high-speed rail networks and a race for efficiency, slow trains with an average speed of less than 40 km per hour are still running in the mountains and deserts in remote corners of China.

The slow trains, carrying the hope of local people, move forward steadily and surely with a unique rhythm that has not changed for more than 50 years.

OLD FRIENDS FOR HALF CENTURY

Layi Axia, 75, a Yi ethnic from Mianshan Township in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, remembered the day a train first rolled into Mianshan railway station. She and her husband took their one-year-old son and walked 7 km to see it.

"The train body was decorated with small red flags. We waved to the passengers, and they waved back," she said. "It was the most unforgettable day in my life."

She was still a newlywed when the Chengdu-Kunming Railway, a major transportation artery linking southwest China's Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, opened in 1970.

Her husband, a former soldier, took good care of her. They spent many hours toiling in the fields and keeping busy with farmwork in order to support their family. Later her husband died of illness, leaving her and three young sons behind. She struggled for years until, at 53, her children were married and she finally had a life of her own.

Layi Axia, a 75-year-old woman of Yi ethnic group, takes the 5634 train home with replenished shop stock bought from a wholesale market in Xichang in southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

She runs a small shop in Mianshan, selling hairpins, binding strings, hats, socks and the like. She takes the slow train to replenish her stock at a wholesale market in Xichang, the capital city of the prefecture, and goes to Sunday fairs. Business is slow, but she makes enough to cover household spending and beat loneliness.

Over the past half-century, trains running on the Chengdu-Kunming Railway have been speeding up with the development of national strength. The slow trains have also changed -- coal is no longer burned for power and the seats are much more comfortable.

However, the 5633/5634 train running between Puxiong Township and Panzhihua city still maintains its initial speed at an average of less than 40 km per hour. The whole journey is 376 km, with 26 stops along the way. The entire journey takes 11 hours and 4 minutes. The highest fare is 25.5 yuan (about 3.9 U.S. dollars), and the lowest fare is 2 yuan. The fares have remained unchanged for more than 30 years.

The wholesale price of potatoes, one of the most transported products on the train, has increased tenfold in the past 30 years.

TRAIN OF LIFE

Liu Wei, 46, has been working on the slow train for 28 years.

His father retired from the army and was dispatched to Tiexi Station along the Chengdu-Kunming Railway in 1968, becoming the only clinic doctor in the vast area.

Women of Yi ethnic group take the 5634 train in southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

"The time at the small station is too lonely. For the employees, families and children at the station, the most important thing every day was to go to the platform after dinner and wait for the slow train to arrive." Liu said only the sound of the train siren could cut through the loneliness and wake up the drowsy people.

The slow train is a cure for the tediousness of life, bringing stories from the outside as well as strange faces. Every time the slow train pulls into the station, workers, the old, children and dogs all stood together on the platform. The train only stayed for two minutes, but it was enough to wash away people's tiredness and loneliness.

Liu went to school by train every day. In the carriage, he listened to passengers discuss current affairs, watched peddlers bargain and observed train attendants. In his eyes, the attendant uniform was the most handsome outfit he could think of. His mother always carried potatoes and apples to sell. Several times, she almost was not able to make it on the train because she was carrying too much on her back.

He had looked forward to growing up so that he could help his mother carry heavy loads and put on the polished attendant uniform.

As soon as he graduated from middle school, he got his wish and became a train attendant."When I see children, I see what I used to be. When I see the old selling things, I see my mother," he said.

Liu recalled an old lady who used to get on at Puxiong Station every day, carrying potatoes collected from fellow villagers to Ganluo for sale, sometimes carrying more than 200 kg with the help of others.

Little passengers look out of the 5633 train in southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Xu Bingjie)

For seven to eight years, she always took the same carriage and sat in the same seat. Liu often chatted with her. It turned out that her husband died early in their marriage, and she had to bring up four children by herself. The children grew up and left the mountains. The old lady still carried potatoes day after day, even though she was in her 70s.

One day, she did not get on the train. Liu asked other passengers and was told that she had passed away. Though he did not know her name, Liu felt like he lost a relative.

There is life that leaves, and there is also life that comes.

Once a baby boy was abandoned in a toilet of the train as soon as he was born but was fortunately adopted by a lady on the same train. Five years later, the old lady found Liu on the train, pointing to the child next to her and said: This is the boy from the toilet.

"At that moment, I suddenly felt that I was working on the train of life," he said.

Over the years, at least seven or eight children were born on Liu's train, and some Yi villagers even named their children "manche," meaning "slow train" in Chinese.

TRAIN TO THE FUTURE

Asu Ershi, 45, is a vice principal at a high school in Xide County along the railway. He had grown up counting the carriages of slow trains, and his favorite game was to make a train out of pebbles.

Chief conductor Liu Wei (L) helps a passenger board the 5633 train at Puxiong station in southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

In 1987, he and his childhood friends were finally old enough to take the slow train to school, and on the train, they, for the first time, heard adults talk about Chengdu and Chongqing -- the big outside world.

At the boarding school where Asu Ershi works, every two weeks, more than 700 students take the 5633/5634 train home and back to school. In the days when he went to school, girls were rarely seen on the train. But today, girls make up two-thirds of students.

People are dressing more fashionably, fewer are drinking on trains and you rarely see teenage brides, who were commonly seen taking the train to their husband's hometown to get married.

Outside the carriage window, more changes have taken place: buildings and vegetable greenhouses have "grown" in the once barren land; preschoolers are sent to kindergartens; young people who left the mountains have returned with confidence and ambition.

Though home to the world's most developed high-speed railway network, China still regularly operates 81 slow train services, covering 35 ethnic minority-populated regions, transporting some 12 million people annually at an average cost of no more than 0.06 yuan per km.

In order to ensure that these slow trains come to the people rain or shine, the Chinese government gives big subsidies every year. Not only that, but it also makes huge investments in upgrading the stations and building roads along the railways.

"No matter how much the world changes and how fast the high-speed rail is, the slow train is still some people's lifeline," Liu said. "My mission is to do my job well, which has nothing to do with the speed of the train.

[ Editor: WXL ]
If you want to understand how the political geography of this country has changed over the past six decades, heres a simple way of looking at it.

In 1961, New York had 43 congressional seats. Texas had 22.

Based on Mondays 2020 Census Bureau report, Texas will soon have 38 congressional seats while New York will have 26.

On ExpressNews.com: What to know about the San Antonio native tapped to lead U.S. Census Bureau

Thats a net gain of 33 seats for Texas.

Sixty years ago, both Pennsylvania and Ohio had more congressional seats than Texas. Now, those two states combined have fewer than Texas.

The new census numbers continue the long-established trend of population loss or stagnation in the industrial Midwest and Northeast and population growth in the Sun Belt. But there are a few twists.

Texas and Florida will gain congressional seats (and with them Electoral College votes), but so will Oregon, Colorado and Montana. Two Sun Belt states, California and Arizona, experienced disappointing outcomes, with California losing a district and Arizona standing pat.

Even though Texas was the only state in the country to pick up two seats, census watchers in this state are unhappy. Recent population trends suggested that Texas would gain three seats.

In the best of times, census counting is a deeply flawed art.

Bob Owen, Staff-photographer / San Antonio Express-News

A decade ago, Hidalgo County officials were irate over a perceived undercount of their community and the exclusion of people in colonias from the national mailout of census forms.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic undermined the efforts of census workers, who rely on door knocking to fill in the holes in their population counts.

Even before the coronavirus, Donald Trumps administration tried to chill response rates in Democratic pockets by adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census form. The U.S. Supreme Court blocked that move, but the Census Bureau subsequently tried to cut short its door-knocking operations by a month. (Court actions ultimately bought two extra weeks for the process.)

The Texas House Redistricting Committee will redraw legislative and congressional districts based on the 2020 Census. State Rep. Ina Minjarez, the lone San Antonian on the committee, told me Tuesday she wasnt surprised by the states census outcome.

Because of the pandemic and how that affected people not responding to the census, I figured that there would be an undercount, she said. That was my concern. I think the pandemic played a really big role in that.

According to the census report, Texas accounted for 18 percent of this countrys population growth over the past 10 years. Texas gained 4 million people over the past decade and now has a population of slightly more than 29 million.

We wont know for a few months exactly how that population growth was distributed across the state, but its not hard to speculate.

The Census Bureaus American Community Survey in 2019 indicated that the states largest population growth had occurred in Houston (which added 225,000 people) and San Antonio (221,000).

All things considered, however, the most eye-popping growth might have occurred in Williamson County, a Central Texas hub north of Austin, which includes the suburban communities of Georgetown and Round Rock.

Based on the 2019 survey, Williamson County registered a population growth of nearly 40 percent.

I remember when we did some public hearings last year before the pandemic, there was talk about the boom of population in North Texas and also the Williamson County area, Minjarez said. Their growth is incredible.

When Texas gained four congressional seats in 2011, one each went to North Texas (covering Dallas and Tarrant counties), the Gulf Coast (from Brownsville to Corpus Christi), the San Antonio/Austin corridor and East Texas.

This time, the options are fewer, and the decisions will be tougher. Theres a general sense that the Houston and Dallas areas will be the most likely beneficiaries, but Minjarez isnt ruling out Bexar County for a possible new district.

I think were definitely in play, she said, but a lot is going to depend on what the census results are when we get that information.

If we look at the 2020 election map, states carried by Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, will gain a total of 3 electoral votes. States carried by Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, will lose 3 electoral votes.

When red states gain new districts in a census, its obviously helpful to the GOPs presidential prospects. Its not necessarily helpful to the partys hopes of gaining congressional seats, however.

After the last census, three of the four new Texas congressional seats were won by Democrats, including the San Antonio-based District 35, which is represented by liberal veteran Lloyd Doggett.

Even that result was complicated by the fact that Doggetts old political base, District 25, was redrawn into a Republican seat.

Now that the count is done, were only beginning the messy, exasperating process of sorting out how the electoral maps are drawn. Get ready for harsh rhetoric and lawsuits.

ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
Tony Barilla is an accomplished accordion player who wants to busk  that is, to perform in public for tips  on the streets of Houston.

Many of the worlds great cities like New York, Paris, London and New Orleans are known for their robust busking cultures. Street performers and their music make these cities vibrant places for residents and visitors alike.

In Houston, however, a city ordinance prohibits busking everywhere except for in the Theater District  a miniscule area covering only a few blocks. Moreover, busking musicians are required to go through the pain of getting permission from both the city and nearby property owners before they can play a note. Its time for Houston to end its narrow busking rules and allow musicians to express their First Amendment rights.

Busking is a long and honorable tradition among practicing musicians. After all, its tough to makes ends meet as an artist. Since money is tight, many musicians find busking a good way to get extra income while practicing their craft.

In fact, many famous musicians started out busking  from B.B. King to Janis Joplin to Ed Sheeran. Even Benjamin Franklin busked as young man, singing songs and reciting poetry in public.

Inspired by these great artists and the thriving cultural scenes of other cities, Barilla wants to busk around Houston. As a professional musician, hes written and recorded music for the nationally syndicated NPR podcast, This American Life, for over 20 years. In 2019, Barilla released an album, A Record of Deported Persons, featuring songs adapted from stories about people who have been deported from the United States. Given his extensive experience as an artist, Barillas music would be a great addition to the citys streets for Houstonians to enjoy.

Unfortunately, you wont hear buskers in most of Houston because of the citys ban. Considering Houstons enormous size  a total of 665 square miles  relegating all busking activities to a few blocks in the Theater District is absurd. There are plenty of places better suited to busking since they have more pedestrian traffic, like Montrose, the Heights, Main Street Square and the areas around NRG Stadium and Toyota Center. But theyre off limits.

And before musicians can busk in the Theater District, they must secure a permit from the city and permission from the owners of property near where they intend to perform. This law effectively grants nearby residents a Hecklers Veto over the free speech rights of others on the public streets.

The Hecklers Veto requirement has many practical problems. Its often difficult for artists to track down those whose permission they must obtain. And many people may forego applying because they feel uncomfortable asking for a strangers permission to perform.

Besides being bad policy, Houstons busking law also has constitutional problems. The law singles out speech based on its content: as soon as musicians ask for gratuities while performing, the law bans street performers from the vast majority of the citys public streets. This type of censorship violates the First Amendments free speech clause.

After his permit expired, Barilla decided not to renew it. The small area of the Theater District was simply not worthwhile to him. Barilla joined with Pacific Legal Foundation and filed a lawsuit to vindicate the constitutional rights of both his own and other musicians. In his complaint, Barilla asked the court to strike down the citys busking law as a violation of his right to free expression protected by the First Amendment. This week, the court will hear arguments on Barillas behalf.

To pass constitutional muster, Houstons law must be narrowly tailored to further a compelling government interest. Given Houstons limited foot traffic and low risk of pedestrian congestion on its sidewalks, its difficult to imagine what interest the city might have in imposing such a broad ban. There are certainly more narrow ways to ensure the free flow of traffic or to keep people from using amplifiers or other disruptive means of playing. The city is certainly free to enforce nuisance laws.

But the city has no compelling interest in giving nearby residents a veto power over whether musicians can exercise their right to freedom of expression on public property. Just like protesting and panhandling, busking is protected speech.

Riddle is a native Houstonian and an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation.
Joe Hildebrand has taken a swipe at Channel 10 over the lacklustre ratings for MasterChef Australia.

In a column for News Corp, the former Studio 10 host noted the reality TV cooking competition had been defeated by ABC's 7:30 and Australian Story.

'It seems Ten's mantra of "happy to be No. 3" will have to change to "happy to be behind the ABC",' he wrote.

'Who killed MasterChef?' Joe Hildebrand has taken a swipe at Channel 10 over the lacklustre ratings for MasterChef Australia

'The body might still be as warm as Nigella Lawson's freshly baked marshmallow and rhubarb cake but the time has come to ask: who killed MasterChef?' he added.

Joe was a panellist on Channel 10's morning program Studio 10 from 2013 to 2020.

He left the talk show for a new gig with 2GB and to continue writing for News Corp.

Employee: Joe was a panellist on Channel 10's morning show Studio 10 from 2013 to 2020

Meanwhile, former Channel 10 executive Rob McKnight has said the network's top brass should be worried amid plunging ratings for its flagship cooking show.

Rob, who is the editor of television industry bible TV Blackbox, said MasterChef had been 'out-niced' by the Nine Network's family-friendly Lego Masters.

'I really have sympathy for those in control at 10, because the show is up against stiff competition in Lego Masters and Big Brother,' he said.

Commentary: Meanwhile, former Channel 10 executive Rob McKnight has said the network's top brass should be worried amid plunging ratings for its flagship cooking show

'Lego Masters has essentially "out-niced" MasterChef and still feels fresh.'

He said that after 13 seasons the normal edition of the show 'doesn't cut it anymore', and last year's impressive ratings were mainly due to the cast of returning favourites, such as Poh Ling Yeow.

The former exec producer of Studio 10, who now hosts The Anj, Rob & Robbo Show, said he expects MasterChef to be revamped for 2022 given its importance in Channel 10's prime-time schedule.

Time to worry: 'I have sympathy for those in control at 10, because the show is up against stuff competition in Lego Masters and Big Brother,' he said. Pictured: MasterChef's Melissa Leong

'When a top performer bombs the way MasterChef has, you can expect changes are coming,' he said, adding that its struggle must be a 'real worry' for 10.

'Executives will have to think very carefully about where they go from here. Make no mistake, the show will be back next year - it's just too important to 10 not to be,' Mr McKnight observed.

'TV audiences are fractured and we have too many options now. It's important that every show served up brings something new.'

Beaten at its own game: Mr McKnight, who is the editor of industry bible TV Blackbox, said the show had been 'out-niced' by the Nine Network's family-friendly Lego Masters

He concluded by saying he believes the MasterChef brand still has 'plenty of life left' but it needs to evolve and deliver something new for viewers.

Mr McKnight's commentary comes after the culinary program pulled in a paltry 527,000 metro viewers on Sunday, according to Mediaweek.

This was no doubt a sour serving for the reality show which broke the 'magic million' mark in its first week last year - including nearly 1.1 million for its second episode.

Oh, no! The second outing with new judges Melissa Leong (centre), Andy Allen (right) and Jock Zonfrillo (left) has not been nearly as popular this time around, and the trio may well need immunity pins of their own as viewership continues to nosedive

The series had managed to reach more than a million viewers four nights in a row during its debut week in 2020.

But this year MasterChef is already being beaten by Nine's Lego Masters, which appears to have stolen its momentum - and viewers.

MasterChef season 13 launched to just 670,000 metro viewers on April 19.

This was a considerable drop from the 1.23 million who watched the premiere of MasterChef: Back to Win on April 13, 2020.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28)  The Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday that it has begun trials on a vaccine against the African Swine Fever that has crippled the country's hog industry.

The DA's Bureau of Animal Industry said it is working with a US vaccine company, as well as the global health group Zoetis. The trials started on April 23 and will be monitored for 84 days with 10 commercial farms joining, it added.

"Once proven effective, the ASF vaccine will serve as a potent tool, complementing our joint efforts with the [local government units], private sector, and hog raisers to effectively control, contain, and manage the spread of the ASF," said Agriculture Secretary William Dar in a statement.

Earlier this month, President Rodrigo Duterte issued an order lowering tariffs on imported pork meat a month after the DA sought for a national state of calamity declaration as pork prices soared amid limited local supply.

But the move did not sit well with lawmakers amid doubts that cheap duties could pull down the prices. On Tuesday, senators held its third hearing on the pork crisis but still struggled to find a middle ground with Duterte's economic team.
Kingstree, SC (29556)

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Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable..

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Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.
Dhaka, April 28 : Funds for militant outfit Hefazat-e-Islam, which was behind the widespread violence last month, was deposited into two bank accounts of its senior leader Mamunul Haque and the donors have been identified, Bangladesh Police said on Wednesday.

"We've so far identified 313 people who have financed Hefazat on different occasions. We have found evidence of 6.47 crore takas being transacted to and from Mamunul's two bank accounts," Additional Commissioner, Detective Branch, of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, A.K.M. Hafiz Akhter told IANS.

Police would seek another seven days to interrogate Mamunul, he added.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told IANS that agencies were identifying Hefazat's financers. "Detectives have identified 313 people who assisted Hefazat-e-Islam by funding it for several atrocities and massacres," he said.

Mamunul, who has confessed his involvement in getting huge funds from militant outfits of Pakistan, stayed in Pakistan on 2005 and is brother-in-law of fugitive Major (dismissed) Shariful Haque Dalim - convicted for assassinating Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Arrested on April 18 in connection with sabotage, the Hefazat leader is currently on remand for a week in two cases - one filed over the 2013 Shapla Chattar mayhem by the militant outfit and the other over the March 26 Baitul Mokarram clashes with the police.

Meanwhile, Mamunul also confessed the police that a meeting was held at the home of Hefazat Ameer Junayed Babunagari to remove Ahmed Shafi, the founder of the Qaumi Madarsa, seen as the breeding ground of militants.

"The meeting was held on the occasion of the wedding ceremony of Babunagari's son... where the Hefazat leader planned to replace Shafi with himself and become the party chief," the police official said.

Meanwhile, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Baki Billah passed an order on Wednesday on fresh six-day remand of Hefazat's former Assistant Secretary General, Ataullah Amini, and former Assistant Office Secretary of its Dhaka city unit, Ehteshamul Haque, in two cases lodged with capital's Motijheel and Paltan Police Stations over a 2013 violence case.

The court also sent Haque, who was arrested on April 22, on two-day remand in a case lodged with the capital's Paltan Police Station over the mayhem in Baitul Mukarram area on March 26.

The same court on April 22 had sent Amini on five-day remand in another case relating to the 2013 violence.

On April 23, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Nivana Khayer Jessy had sent Haque on four-day remand in a case lodged with Paltan Police Station in the 2013 case.
United Arab Emirates, UAE, Monday said it has begun its logistical flights to support the France-led international alliances efforts in combating terrorism along the African Sahel region.

The defense ministry of the Gulf country, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) noted, said the first flight departed Abu Dhabi in the presence of the ministrys Commander of Joint Operations at Saleh Mohammad Saleh Al-Ameri, and French Ambassador to the UAE, Xavier Chatel.

UAE, Al-Ameri reportedly indicated, was keen to help ensure security and stability in the Sahel region.

The UAE Armed Forces has several flights scheduled to transport humanitarian aid, given its extensive regional and international humanitarian experience, Al-Ameri added. France is leading international efforts to curb terrorism in the African Sahel region now gripped by terror groups sowing mayhem in countries such as Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mali.
Arlene Fosters future as DUP leader continues to hang in the balance after party colleagues mounted a heave against Stormonts First Minister.

It is understood a significant number of DUP politicians have signed a letter of no confidence in Mrs Foster that was circulated among party MLAs, MPs and peers.

If those numbers are confirmed and subsequently replicated in any future leadership contest  a vote confined to MPs and MLAs  her five-and-a-half year tenure as leader would be set to end.

It remains unclear whether Mrs Foster would contest a leadership vote if one is triggered.

On Tuesday afternoon, the First Minister attempted to downplay the scale of the internal revolt, which comes amid mounting discontent among party faithful over her leadership.

Stories on leadership come up from time to time, and its one of those times, she said.

However, in an apparent indication of the escalating situation, Mrs Foster cancelled a scheduled meeting with Secretary of State Brandon Lewis and deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill on Tuesday evening.

In a statement, the DUP insisted questions over Mrs Fosters future were an internal matter.

The party said its democratic electoral processes were for its members and declined to offer further comment.

There has been growing unease among DUP members about Mrs Foster and the wider party leadership in recent months.

The primary source of concern is the handling of the Brexit process. The DUP is facing anger from the wider loyalist and unionist community for the introduction of an Irish Sea border.

First Minister Arlene Foster has been accused of not being vociferous enough in opposition to the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol

Critics have accused Mrs Foster of failing to use the partys influence at Westminster  particularly during its confidence and supply deal with the Conservatives  to secure a Brexit deal that saw Northern Ireland leave the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK.

She has also been accused of not being vociferous enough in opposition to the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs the new Brexit trading barriers between NI and GB, ahead of its introduction at the start of 2021.

Poor recent polling numbers have exacerbated the discontent within the party faithful, who are mindful of next Mays looming Assembly election.

Mrs Fosters decision to abstain in a vote on gay conversion therapy last week appears to have further agitated sections of the partys fundamentalist grassroots.

On Tuesday morning, the Belfast News Letter reported that several DUP constituency associations had written letters expressing concern at Mrs Fosters abstention on a motion that called for a ban on gay conversion therapy but did not incorporate a specific mention of protections for religious practices.

The majority of her party Assembly colleagues voted against the motion, having failed to amend it to include reference to religious protections.

Mrs Foster was among only five party members, including fellow Stormont Executive ministers Peter Weir and Diane Dodds, who abstained.

That episode points to tensions between Mrs Foster, a member of the Church of Ireland and former Ulster Unionist, and the more traditional Free Presbyterian wing of the DUP, who perceive her as potentially too moderate on some social issues.

Speaking to BBC Radio Four today, former DUP special adviser Timothy Cairns said Ms Foster would be the greatest political survivor in the history of UK politics if she sees through a leadership contest.

I dont see how she sees this through. I think were now at 22 MLAs, were now at four MPs, whove signed this letter to the party chairman asking that a leadership election takes place, he said.

I think whatever happens, whether she tries to cling on, whether she resigns, there has to be a leadership contest sometime within the next seven to 10 days, he added.
LNG Bac Lieu project expected to start in late 2021

According to Pham Van Thieu, Chairman of Bac Lieu Peoples Committee, Delta Offshore Energy Pte., Ltd. (DOE), the investor of the LNG Bac Lieu project is facing difficulties in negotiating the power purchase agreement (PPA) as the parties have yet to reach a compromise over the selling price of power and the power purchase volume. It is currently unsure whether the entire 3,200 MW generated by the plant will be bought.

In April 2020, DOE and the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) had an official online working session for the first time to discuss works related to the project, with the target of signing the PPA before October 2020. In addition, the National Steering Committee for Electricity Development proposed the investor of Bac Lieu LNG-to-power project to keep the selling price of power at 7 US cent per kWh to save time. However, the two parties have yet to sign the contract due to a failure to agree on the above points.

In addition, the investor is also concerned that it invests in the project in USD but the power purchase party will use Vietnamese dong to pay for power, which poses exchange rate risks.

The parties are also negotiating unprecedented problems in attracting foreign investment wehre the existing regulations have no guidance, Thieu said.

The province will work with the government, ministries, and relevant authorities to deal with problems and complete the remaining procedures so that the investor can start the construction by the end of this year.

Recently, the province already worked with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Institute of Energy to accelerate the implementation of the project.

The Institute of Energy will accelerate procedures to propose the Province Peoples Council to change the land use purpose of the forest area located on the project land. The move aims to support relevant authorities in submitting the environmental impact report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Thieu added that the government approved the plan to develop a 500kV power line to ensure power transmission of the project.

According to the investors plans, the first phase of the project with the capacity of 800MW is expected to start operation in 2024 and the construction of the entire project is expected to be completed in December 2027. The complex of LNG port and warehouse will be located at the coastal area of Bac Lieu, 35km from the power plant.
Mayor Jim Coppinger on Tuesday reminded everyone that the mask mandate will end after Wednesday, and Health Department Administrator Becky Barnes said life returning to normal will only happen if younger people begin to be vaccinated.

She said younger groups have the highest rates of infection and are not vaccinated at high rates yet. Our 21- to 30-year-old age band had 20 percent of all COVID cases, and ages 31 to 40 had 16 percent of positive cases, so these were the two highest age groups for positive cases, she said.

She said these two groups are vaccinated only at 28 and 33 percent rates respectively. In many respects, being able to return to normal is in the hands of our younger generation, Ms. Barnes said.

Even if you dont worry about getting COVID or have already gotten it, an episode of COVID can cause you to miss graduation, a wedding or any special occasion. Theres also evidence you can have prolonged effects of COVID even if you had mild or no symptoms. So I would tell our younger population to worry about COVID infections.

She said no appointments are necessary, and said starting on May 4, hours will be extended until 6 p.m. She said Johnson and Johnson vaccines will begin to be used again, but anyone concerned with those vaccines can get a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine instead.

Another health official said case numbers in the county remain high, and said fully vaccinated people are still recommended to wear a mask in large indoor gatherings.

County Mayor Coppinger said mask recommendations will be updated as more people in the county become vaccinated. The more people who are vaccinated, the faster we can get back to what we were doing before COVID, he said.

Mayor Coppinger said that because of the shutdown last year, many small businesses needed to close and remained closed. He said the mask mandate announced on July 10 was never intended to be permanent.

Because of your participation, we were able to avoid something catastrophic, Mayor Coppinger said. We started to be able to open things up and the economy started to come back.

Unemployment dropped from double digits to about 4.7 percent today. He urged people to get vaccinated, as that is the best way to avoid COVID. He said that if someone is not vaccinated or is vulnerable, they should still avoid large crowds. He said it is now even more critical to be vaccinated. Get vaccinated as quickly as possible,

Mayor Coppinger said. I didnt just get it to protect me, but to also protect those Im around and I work with and my family members. Theres a lot of good information out there on the vaccine, and its safe to do. You can find a lot of bad or untrue information out there.

The Health Department administrator said Hamilton County has given out 233,000 vaccines, and 130,000 have been administered by Health Department staff. She thanked those workers for their efforts. She also said citizens aged 60 and older are being vaccinated, but are not at 100 percent yet.
Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

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US President Joe Biden invited leaders of 40 countries, including China, Japan, and Russia to attend the Leaders Summit on Climate held from April 22 to 23. Biden hoped to use the meeting as an opportunity to show the world how countries can contribute to achieving more significant climate change goals.



Zhou Weisheng, a professor with the Policy Science Department of Ritsumeikan University in Japan, said that the Biden administration has made tackling global warming one of its priorities, showing its willingness to lead international negotiations and regain its leadership in tackling climate change.

"China and the United States can establish a community on climate change through bilateral, multilateral, and third-party cooperation in green financing, technology transfer, capacity enhancement, and emissions trading," Zhou said.

US return to the climate framework marked by uncertainties and two sides

Zhou said that the change of the American government often affects the United States' commitment to the world.

When the Kyoto Protocol was passed in 1997, the United States was the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, both that year and in cumulative amount, and thus had the most responsibility in fulfilling the emission reduction obligations laid out by the protocol. However, after the Democratic administration signed the document, it was overturned by the Republican administration that later came to power. The Paris Agreement faced the same outcome. After Obama approved the agreement, Trump announced a U.S. withdrawal. Biden later announced return to the Paris Agreement on the day of his inauguration.

"Therefore, we must be alert to the uncertainty and duality of the United States' politics. This duality is also manifested in different policies between the federal government and local governments on climate change," Zhou said. "During the Trump administration, local U.S. governments were very active in taking action against climate change."

In June 2017, more than 250 U.S. mayors passed the campaign for clean energy popularization at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Florida, which included resolutions supporting electric vehicles, energy efficiency, and city-led climate change prevention programs. It claimed that in 2035, the U.S. would purchase 100 percent renewable energy, a major step forward for climate action.

Unfortunately, on May 3, 2019, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere measured by the Mauna Loa Observatory in the U.S. state of Hawaii exceeded 415 ppm (parts per million), which is considered one of the highest readings ever in the past 800,000 years.

To achieve its goal of carbon neutrality, cutting down on its reliance on fossil fuel as its primary energy source poses a real challenge for the U.S. As such, the Biden administration plans to allocate $2 trillion for investment in key areas such as infrastructure and clean energy. In order to contain China, the Biden administration also looks to set international rules that prohibit loans for coal-led thermal power generation.

Zhou said that Biden's target for pushing for carbon-free power generation and carbon neutrality will be difficult. The Republican Party, traditionally the representative of large business owners and energy tycoons, is likely to obstruct Biden's energy plans in Congress. That's because fossil energy remains crucial to ensuring industrial production, especially now that the U.S. is looking to bolster its manufacturing industry.

U.S. proposes the "3550" plan targeting the right to speak in carbon emission reduction

China pledged to reach peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality (net-zero emissions) by 2060, meaning that carbon dioxide emissions and removals (absorption) will balance out to zero.

Biden announced return to the Paris Agreement on the day of his inauguration. After China proposed the "3060" target, Biden proposed the "3550" target, that is, by 2035, the U.S. will achieve carbon-free power generation by using renewable energy and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Zhou said that the US carbon neutrality goal is 10 years ahead of China's, which not only shows its responsible attitude as a developed country but also that the Biden administration does not want the United States to lose the upper hand over China when it comes to talking about carbon emission reduction.

"In fact, the China-U.S. cooperation has contributed to the participation of all countries in the Paris Agreement, which can be said to be a 'successful case' of cooperation between the two countries," said Zhou. He added that even while they're both in the process of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, China and the United States should still look to protect the world's ecosystem and biodiversity and develop new energy and clean use of coal to achieve a green revival.

China and the U.S. still have cooperative space for development on technology, cities, and bilateral and multilateral fields

The two countries' investment in clean energy can boost the global economy and create new jobs. If the funds for economic recovery are properly allocated, it will help promote environmental technological progress and sustainable industrial development.

Zhou said that China and the United States can expand cooperation in three areas: the commercial promotion of hydrogen technology from coal, carbon sequestration technology, and regulation and storage technology for coal-fired power plants; the improvement of energy efficiency and strengthening the development and transfer of renewable energy technologies between the two countries; and, finally, cooperation on developing innovative green funding mechanisms.

China and the United States can also implement international inter-city cooperation projects, through different levels of government. This will strengthen the cooperation between cities of the two countries, helping them to solve common problems, share response measures, and promote further collaboration by promoting sustainable urban development.

"Although the impact of climate change is different from country to country, no country can retreat from it unscathed," Zhou said. "Despite political, military, economic, and trade conflicts, China and the United States should join hands to tackle climate change together based on shared interests, shared responsibilities, and shared risks."

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Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here or post it in the Slate Parenting Facebook group.

Dear Care and Feeding,

I am a happily child-free woman in my 30s, and I have a group of dear friends Ive been close with since college. Why am I writing to a parenting column? Because I suspect one of this group will soon be the first (only?) of us to have a child, and Im dismayed to say the least. I realize I have no right to feel that way, and I will try to hide it from my friend, but still, I feel the way I feel. So, my question is, how can I be a good, supportive friend, when this is something that is so not my cup of tea? I find the idea of pregnancy and birth horrifying, and I do not like children, particularly babies and toddlers. I dont want to cut off my friend, but I suspect she and this child will be a package deal for quite some time, so I need to learn how to coexist with this potential creature.

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Are there books on how to interact positively with small humans? Im very good with animals, but I dont think those skills translate. My usual tactic is to just ignore the kid and focus on the person Im interacting withis that OK, or is that rude? If I make plans, to what extent do I need to specifically include or make accommodations for a child, versus do things as usual and let her figure out a way to make it work? Are there particularly offensive things that I should not do or say, either to or about the kid? Do I need to moderate my own behavior? (Im not especially crass, but the occasional bad word or off-color remark will come out.) How do I keep my cool if theres a tantrum or other super annoying behavior? Assuming there is a pregnancy announcement soon, do I fake happiness and excitement like Im supposed to, or is there a way I can express ambivalence without being rude or dismissive?

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Trying Not to Be a Jerk

Dear Trying,

I dont think this has to present a huge problem for you as long as youre not, you know, actively mean to your friend or her maybe-future-kid. If and when she tells you that shes having a baby, all you have to say is congratulations! without making any sort of weird face (Im saying this as someone who just always generally has to watch to make sure Im not making a weird face thatll be misconstrued). You can express your ambivalence about it, yes, to other people.

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Im afraid I dont have a good What to Expect When Your Friend Is Expecting and Youre Horrified book to recommend, but in my experience, you interact with small humans much the same way you do with bigger ones: with basic kindness, honesty, and respect. (Oh, and less swearing, ideally, I grant youat least until theyre much older.) I think youll be fine as long as you dont, say, start a running feud with themwhich should be easy to avoid, since theyll be a baby when you meet. It would be rude to completely ignore/never acknowledge your friends child at all, especially once they are old enough to actually say hi to you. But its not like you need to split your attention 50-50 between your friend and her child either.

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I would try, as much as possible, to keep an open mind, as every kid is different. There are kids I personally like hanging out with and kids I really dont like hanging out with, and you might find that you like this particular child if you get to know them. That said, you never have to be their favorite babysitter or honorary aunt. As for accommodations and planning for social things, Id start by letting your friend tell you whats going to work for her. I think its OK to just reach out and kindly ask her whenever youre unsureyou should still be able to discuss when and where and how you hang out, just as you would if some other situation or life change had an impact on your needs and availability. Let your friend worry about pregnancy and childbirth, what she can and cannot do post-baby, how life will change with kids, her childs tantrums and annoying behavior, and any and all other parenting matters, because she will be the parent. And take heart: Youll still have all your other child-free friends to commiserate with.

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Dear Care and Feeding,

My husband and I adopted our oldest daughter when she was 9 months old. Weve had her since she was 3 days old. We adopted her through foster care. My daughter never had any grief or ever wondered about her biological family. She mentioned many times that my husband and I are her only and real parents. She had no desire to look for her biological family or have a relationship with them, and has said more than once that she doesnt care about them. Her birth mother is an addict, and her birth father is a convicted felon.

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My daughter is 22 years old now. Shes married and recently had her first child, my first grandchild. I cant help but feel upset that my daughter established a relationship with her biological mother. My daughter chose her birth mother to be her support person in the delivery room, so I couldnt watch my first grandchild be born. Our grandchilds middle name is her birth moms first name. When our daughter referred to her birth mom as Grandma and me as Nana, I sobbed and felt a knife going through my chest. My heart is broken. If I ever hear my daughter call her birth mom Mom, I dont think I could ever recover from the pain and trauma. I dont understand how a woman who lost her kids to the foster care system and chose drugs over her children gets to be a mom and grandma. My daughters birth mom didnt earn the title of mom or grandma. Giving birth doesnt make a woman a mother. I dont know what my daughter sees in her birth mom that she doesnt see in me. Her birth mom has never been involved. Now she gets things she didnt earn.

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My daughter is my world. It hurts to know she doesnt see us the same way. She made me a mom. My husband and I struggled to conceive. We gave her a good life and a good upbringing, and she herself said that she doesnt care about her birth mom, and we are her real parents. I dont know if that was a lie, or if she changed her mind, or if her birth mom is brainwashing her. Everything came crashing down on me. I never expected to feel betrayed by my own daughter. She chose her drug-addicted birth mom over me. I try to keep calm because of my grandchild but Im hurting inside. I dont know what to do. I hope my daughter can see how damaging this is to me and her grandchild. My grandchild might grow up confused and traumatized. How do I get my daughter to see her birth mom for who she is? How do I keep my daughters birth mom away from her and my grandchild? How do I get my daughter to cut off her birth mom so we can all be happy again?

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Hurting and Heartbroken

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Dear HH,

If you dont want to be called Nana, I think you could tell your daughter what youd like her child to call you instead, and see if she agrees. I understand why you were hurt not to be in the delivery room when her birth mother was. But your daughter likely had all kinds of reasons for asking her birth mother to be her labor support person, and in any case, it was her decision to make, as was her childs name.

Its not uncommon for adopted people to keep quiet about our adoption loss/grief, or to say that we dont have much interest in our birth families. Sometimes its true; sometimes we understand that its what many people (including, sometimes, our adoptive families) want to hear. According to Meshan Lehmann, a social worker at Adoptions Together, kids learn pretty quickly, if I express interest in my birth parents, my mom gets upset. They learn that the right answer is to say they dont care. Your daughter might not have cared, of course, until she didthats what it means to change your mind, which we are all allowed to do.

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Your identity as a parent is not and should never have felt dependent on your child having no relationship with her birth mom. Thats a really harmful, reductive way of thinking about thisas if theres only so much love your daughter is capable of, and the more she cares for anyone else, the less she can care for you. She didnt become any less your daughter when she got married or had a child, after all. Asking adopted people to choose between our biological and adoptive identities and families sets up a false dichotomy, and a cruel one. As Lehmann noted, parents are never expected to choose which child to love.

Youve written a great deal about your feelings, but you have not acknowledged the trauma or pain that adoptees and birth parents can and do experience. You repeatedly refer to your daughters birth mother as an addict, as if that is all she is or can ever be. Addiction is a disease that can be treated, and even if she is struggling with addiction or recovering from it, that alone doesnt make her undeserving of love or any sort of relationship with her child. It is definitively not your place to try to get your daughter to cut off her birth motherher birth parents are the only people in the world who can answer certain questions for her, share certain parts of her history and heritage. As Martha Crawford, a psychotherapist and adoptive parent, put it: There can be more than one real mother. You are real, and so is your childs biological mother. There is room for both of you to be essential in your childs lifeand the more people that love and support her, the better. The connection your daughter is building with her birth mom may be helpful and healing to her, to both of them, and right now it is something they both seem to want and feel is important. You shouldnt want to take that away.

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You talk about love and family relationships being earned or not, as if your child owes you gratitude or fealty that can only be demonstrated by cutting off the person who bore hersomeone who is a part of her. Your letter reads as though you expect her, an adult and a parent in her own right, to remain like a little child for your sake. Our children, adopted or not, are neither our possessions nor our puppets, forever wanting precisely what we want for them and nothing more. Nor do they exist to affirm us, to make us feel good as their parents. You are not supposed to be your daughters whole worldshe is a grown adult, with a family and an identity that is informed but not entirely defined by the fact that she was raised by you. She gets to make her own choices about whom she wants in her life, and her childs life, and what those relationships look like.

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If you truly want to feel more at peace with this, if you dont want to further harm your child or your relationship with her, Crawford, Lehmann, and I all think its very important for you to find a therapist who has extensive knowledge of adoption (heres an article you might find useful; here is a directory). Lehmann noted that you might also try talking with other adoptive parents whose children are in contact with their birth families, so you can better understand open adoptions and how those relationships can look. You are at a crossroads right now, and I think we should be very clear about your options: You can work on your own issues and try to reframe your thinking, unlearn the fear and entitlement you have regarding your daughter, let her know that you respect and support her and her choicesor you can continue pressuring her to swear off both her birth mother and her own biological roots, which, as Crawford said, risks sawing her in half. I urge you to seek the professional help you need to be able to offer your daughter the understanding she deserves before you hurt her further or drive her away completely.

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 If you missed Tuesdays Care and Feeding column, read it here.

 Discuss this column in the Slate Parenting Facebook group!

Dear Care and Feeding,

I live in Europe, where the vaccine rollout has been much slower than at home. I gave birth to my daughter literally just before the start of the pandemic after six years of IVF and multiple miscarriages. We were lucky that my parents were able to travel to meet her before everything locked down last March. However, we have not been able to see them in person since. We have weekly video calls, which are becoming a source of stress for me. My parents are disappointed that my 14-month-old does not play with them more. She will spend the first few minutes waving and smiling at the screen, but then gets bored and goes off to play with her toys. I try to keep the camera on her so they can see what shes doing, but she barely sits, still resulting in Paul Greengrassesque shaky cam. They keep saying to me that they have missed her babyhood. She is the only grandchild they are likely to have. While they have been vaccinated, my husband and I are unlikely to be before the end of the summer. Due to medical treatments they are receiving, they will not be able to travel here anytime soon, so they are pressuring us to travel to them. I am not comfortable traveling before all of us are vaccinated. I feel that if the video calls were more satisfying to them, they would stop pressing us. Do you have any suggestions as to how to get a young toddler to interact more with her grandparents over Zoom?

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Far From Home

Dear Far From Home,

I do think its slightly unrealistic to expect a 14-month-old to sit still and be interactive with faces on the other side of a screen. But there may be ways you could try to make the video calls more fun for your parents, and potentially less tedious for your kid. Have they tried reading a simple book to her, holding it up so she can see the pictures? Songs are another option, maybe with accompanying signs, even if shes too young to sing or sign alongI remember my kids grammy teaching and entertaining them with songs and rhymes on Skype long before they could have real conversations.

If you can keep the camera steady, I agree it would be nice for your parents to watch your child play, naturally, the way they would if they were visiting in person. In the weeks before my mom died, when we couldnt be with her due to the pandemic, Id often park my laptop or tablet on a table so she could watch my kids draw or paint or read books and comment on what they were doing, just as if she were sitting next to them.

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I do hope that your parents will try to remember a) what 14-month-olds are like! and b) that while of course its hard to miss so much of their grandchilds babyhood, it is also (hopefully) only a season. There is all the time still ahead of you, and I hope they can remember that and stop pressuring you to travel abroad before you feel safe doing so.

Dear Care and Feeding,

Last year, we moved into the same neighborhood as my friend Ruths daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. Ruth and I have been friends for 20 years, and when my husband and I moved into this neighborhood, we had her daughter and son-in-law over for dinner a few times. We are on friendly terms, but not truly close friends. Their daughter (Ruths granddaughter), Jen, is a senior in high school. Jen has taken a liking to me. At these dinners, she frequently confided in me about her anxieties/stressors in school, worries and goals for the future, and more. I listened nonjudgmentally and was a source of general encouragement.

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Fast-forward to now: Jen has grown more and more fond of me, often requesting we go for walks where I serve as a sort of mentor/sounding board. Two weeks ago, she showed up at my doorstep in tears after getting rejected from her dream school (she hadnt even told her parents about it yet). We went for a masked walk, I talked her down, and she thanked me and left.

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I feel uneasy. Im happy to help Jen, but it seems like she should have someone else in her lifewhether a parent, mentor, or therapistto help her with these issues. Shes attached herself to me in a way that feels over the line, considering how little we know each other. Two questions: First, is my continued mentorship of Jen appropriate? Second, could her neediness be a red flag that she doesnt have other folks in her life she can talk to about these issues? Should I bring it up with her parents or with Ruth? Please advise.

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Apparently a Mentor

Dear Mentor,

I dont think theres anything wrong with going for walks and talking with Jen, outdoors and masked. I also dont think theres necessarily anything wrong with her telling you about being rejected from her dream schoolI get why you were surprised, but sometimes sharing big news with others can function rather like an audition before we tell the people were closest to. A mentor need not be and often isnt a close friend, especially at first. As Jen is about to graduate, most of her mentor figures going forward will likely be people her family members dont know well, if at all. (Its been a long time since I was a teenager, but if I recall correctly, other adults close proximity to my parents did not exactly make me more eager to confide in them.)

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As for whether her attachment to you is a red flag indicating that Jen is lonely, unable to talk with her parents or other adults, in need or otherwise struggling in some deeper wayof course, all these things are possible. I think loneliness is especially likely; even if shes going to school in person, school in pandemic times doesnt seem like its always the most satisfying social experience, and she is probably spending a lot less time with her friends than she would in a typical year. I dont know if youve observed any other red flags that suggest she might really be struggling and/or not have anyone else to confide inreading between the lines, maybe you have, and thats the source of some of your discomfort?but if youre really concerned, you could try asking her whom else she talks to. If her answer worries you, you could talk more about that with her and/or think about having a confidential chat with her family if it seems warranted and appropriate (a note, though: such an intervention might draw you further into their lives).

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All that said, you dont seem to feel entirely comfortable with being in this role, and thats something to note. I dont think you necessarily have to proceed if it means overriding any doubts or discomfort you have. If you want, you can make yourself less available to Jen, tell her that youre too busy, and/or have a franker chat about how you think she should ideally be getting this kind of support from people she knows better. You can also let your conversations come to a more natural pause once she starts college. Youre under no obligation to continue in this relationship if youre too uneasy with it.

Nicole

More Advice From Slate

My children are 5 and 7. I want to develop a set of expectations around chores before we start the school year. Theyve been setting the table and cleaning it off, but not much else in the way of family chores. What are some chores that are doable for this age? Im thinking of sweeping for sure, plus cleaning their own stuff. Maybe adding folding laundry for the 7-year-old and maybe some dishwashing responsibilities? Thoughts?
Brussels/London, April 28 : EU and British leaders on Wednesday welcomed the European Parliament's vote in favour of ratifying the post-Brexit trade deal between the European Union and Britain, the last major hurdle that had to be cleared for its full implementation.

"[The] vote brings certainty and allows us to focus on the future. There will be much for us and the EU to work on together," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a written statement, the dpa news agency reported.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the agreement "marks the foundation of a strong and close partnership with the United Kingdom" but stressed that "faithful implementation is essential".

European Council President Charles Michel heralded the start of a "new era".

"The EU will continue to work constructively with the UK as an important friend and partner," he wrote on Twitter.

Since London's departure from the EU single market at the end of 2020, relations between Britain and the EU have further been strained by disagreements on the application of Brexit agreements and on Covid-19 vaccine supplies.

The EU accuses the British side of reneging on its agreements on special trade rules for Northern Ireland by unilaterally extending a grace period for their full application.

The European Commission has started legal action, and the two sides are in talks to resolve the dispute.

France has also been pushing for the full application of fisheries' agreements with Britain.

Despite the concerns, an overwhelming majority of the EU legislature backed ratification. Out of the 697 EU lawmakers who cast their vote on Tuesday evening, 660 were in favour, five were against and 32 abstained, the legislature's President David Sassoli announced.

The more than 1,000-page treaty covers not just commercial relations, but also competition rules, fishing arrangements, and the future terms for cooperation on policing and justice, transport and energy.

It is now expected to take force on May 1, after getting a final formal nod from the member states, which already gave their consent.

Major areas are not fully covered by the trade deal, including the services sector, a large part of the British economy.

Lobby group BusinessEurope said the ratification ends uncertainty for many companies on both sides.

"The UK is the third biggest trading partner of the EU, which makes this deal one of the most important trade agreements the EU has ever finalized," the group's President Pierre Gattaz said in a statement.

The trade deal - struck late December - has been provisionally applied since the beginning of 2021 to allow EU lawmakers time to scrutinize and ratify the deal. This grace period runs out on April 30, as per an agreement between the two sides.

The British parliament gave its green light back in December.

Its main goal is to avoid customs duties and keep trade flowing as freely as possible. However, checks and formalities are still necessary. Among other things, controls are carried out to see whether goods are really mainly manufactured in Britain and whether food products meet required standards.

In a debate ahead of the vote on Tuesday, most EU parliamentarians said they would back the deal with a heavy heart, and hoped for more constructive cooperation in the future.

A resolution signed off by the lawmakers described Britain's decision to leave the EU as a "historic mistake." EU lawmakers had previously threatened to further delay ratification because of the ongoing dispute with London over the deal's implementation.

Four-and-a-half years after a British referendum on membership of the EU, Britain officially left the bloc on January 31, 2020.

But it remained in a transitional phase for the following 11 months meaning that little changed in practice until the start of 2021.

Never before had an EU member state filed for divorce.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the UP government to shift Kerala journalist Siddiqque Kappan lodged in Mathura Jail to a government hospital in Delhi for medical treatment.

The bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, Justices S. Kant and A.S. Bopanna was hearing the habeas corpus petition filed by Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) seeking Kappan's release.

The Court said that he has to be given treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital or AIIMS or any other government hospital in Delhi and after recovery, he has to be sent back to Mathura jail, where he is under custody.

Kappan is charged with UAPA on the ground that he was trying to create communal unrest in UP after the Hathras gangrape-murder crime.

Earlier in the day, the CJI headed bench heard the arguments of Advocate Wills Mathew for KUWJ, who argued that Kappan was illegally arrested and that the allegations in the FIR and the chargesheet did not constitute any offence.

The UP Government in the morning filed an affidavit stating that Kappan's RT-PCR test showed a negative result, and that he has been discharged from Mathura hospital and sent back to jail.

Wills Mathew, counsel for the petitioner, submitted that Kappan was a small-time, low profile journalist doing part-time reporting for an online news portal. He was receiving a salary of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month. As a journalist, Kappan will have to come into contact with persons in all walks of life, and he cannot be painted as a culprit merely on the basis of his association, Mathew argued.

Mathew stressed that the UAPA case was slapped against Kappan solely on the basis of conjectures and wild allegations.

The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta doubted the journalistic credentials of Kappan, by saying that he was holding an expired press card of a newspaper called 'Thejus' which had shut down three years ago.

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.
Regulatory News:

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) will host a live audio webcast of its 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. ET. The meeting will be held in a virtual format only and can be accessed at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/PMI2021.

During the meeting, Andre Calantzopoulos, Executive Chairman of the Board, and Jacek Olczak, Chief Executive Officer*, will address shareholders and answer questions. Only shareholders of record with a valid 16-digit control number will be allowed to ask a question or make a comment.

The audio webcast may also be accessed on iOS or Android devices by downloading PMI's free Investor Relations Mobile Application at www.pmi.com/irapp.

An archived copy of the webcast will be available for approximately one year from the date of the meeting at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/PMI2021.

Presentation slides and script will also be available at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/PMI2021.

*As announced by the Board of Directors on December 10, 2020, Mr. Olczak will succeed Mr. Calantzopoulos as Chief Executive Officer immediately following the meeting.

Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company and its shareholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products, associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the U.S. In addition, PMI ships versions of its IQOS Platform 1 device and consumables to Altria Group, Inc. for sale under license in the U.S., where these products have received marketing authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway; the FDA has also authorized the marketing of a version of IQOS and its consumables as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP), finding that an exposure modification order for these products is appropriate to promote the public health. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMI's smoke-free product portfolio includes heat-not-burn and nicotine-containing vapor products. As of March 31, 2021, PMI's smoke-free products are available for sale in 66 markets in key cities or nationwide, and PMI estimates that approximately 14.0 million adults around the world have already switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005957/en/

Contacts:

Philip Morris International

Investor Relations:

New York: +1 (917) 663 2233

Lausanne: +41 (0)58 242 4666



Media:

Lausanne: +41 (0)58 242 4500

Email: Iro.Antoniadou@pmi.com
New York University's Sonali Shukla McDermid has been named an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, one of 26 selected to the 2021 class for a program that provides support for scholars in the social sciences and humanities, the Carnegie Corporation of New York announced today.

Fellows will each be supported by $200,000 "to fund significant research and writing in the social sciences and humanities that addresses important and enduring issues confronting our society," the philanthropic foundation said in making its announcement, adding that the criteria for selection "prioritize the originality and promise of the research, its potential impact on the field, and the scholar's plans for communicating the findings to a broad audience."

McDermid, an associate professor in NYU's Department of Environmental Studies, is also an NYU alumna, graduating with a bachelor's degree in physics in 2006.

McDermid's research aims to identify modes of food production that are both environmentally responsible and responsive. To do so, she explores the impact of climate change and variability on agriculture, as well as agriculture's impact on the environment and climate by considering the industry's land-management practices. Her scholarship deploys a variety of methodological tools and datasets, including global climate and earth system models as well as process-based crop models. She holds masters, m.phil., and doctoral degrees from Columbia University's Department of Earth and Environmental Science.

As a Carnegie Fellow, McDermid will evaluate how alternative methods can be used to improve rice production while also diminishing the crop's impact on the environment. The work will focus on key rice-producing regions in Asia and Latin America.

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EDITOR'S NOTE:
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.
The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority on Tuesday said it has issued regulations for the sale of an apartment or a building in any real estate project on carpet area basis regulations only.

The Gurugram-based regulator warned that penal proceedings would be initiated against the promoter or the real estate agent violating the instructions.

The sale on super area basis shall be treated as fraudulent and an unfair trade practice by the promoter, said a statement quoting Chairman K.K. Khandelwal.

The conveyance deed shall be executed only on carpet area basis. The sale of apartment or building is only on the carpet area basis. So the sale of super area or any other basis is illegal, it said.

Khandelwal said the "definition of super area as provided in various builder-buyer agreements is vague and there are wide variations in the definitions".

"The property in real estate projects is not properly described by way of mentioning super area without specifically giving details and breakup of the components included in the super area. The practice of sale of the real estate on super area basis is misleading, ambiguous, opaque, and gives rise to confusion and complexities and at times result into avoidable litigation," he said.

These regulations have been made by the authority to ensure sale of plot, apartment, or building, as the case may be, or sale of real estate project, in an efficient and transparent manner and to protect the interest of consumers in the real estate sector, he said.

Noting that before Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act of 2016 came into existence, there was lack of a legal description for the term 'carpet area', he said the Act has provided specific and concrete definition of carpet area which now has addressed the vagueness and uncertainty in this regard.

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.
Italian lawmakers give green light to government's massive stimulus package.

Italy's parliament has approved the government's 222 billion European Union-funded recovery plan by a huge majority after the package was presented to the chamber of deputies and the senate this week by Italian premier Mario Draghi.

The National Plan of Recovery and Resilience (PNRR), funded largely by the EU, will see most of the money go towards improving Italys infrastructure as well as boosting environmentally-sustainable development and digital innovation.

Describing it as "an investment in the future and in the new generations," Draghi said the five-year plan would decide the fate and credibility of the country, and pave the way for otherwise "impossible, unthinkable" investments.

Draghi said that 40 per cent of the funds would be devoted to southern Italy, with the aim of "accelerating growth in the south, which has been still for half a century."

The plan includes ambitious reforms targeting Italy's public administration, taxation and justice system, together with schemes to boost employment opportunities for women and young people.

Italy is the main recipient of the EU's 750 billion post-pandemic recovery plan and is set to receive 191.5 billion in loans and grants between 2021 and 2026.

The government will inject a further 30.6 billion, taking the total package up to 222.1 billion, whose funds will address the economic damage caused by covid-19 as well as longer-term issues.

The EU's 750 billion post-pandemic plan to make the economy greener and more digital has been hailed by the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as "an opportunity of the century" for the bloc.

Italy will submit its plan to Brussels "by the end of this week" said economy minister Daniele Franco, meeting the EU deadline of 30 April.

Photo ANSA
Residents of Mae Sam Lab village carry their belongings as they wait to board a truck to evacuate to safety about four miles away in Mae Hong Song, a province in northern Thailand near the Myanmar border, April 27, 2021.

Hundreds of Thai villagers who live along Thailands border with Myanmar were evacuated to safe areas after Karen rebels attacked a Burmese army outpost near the frontier on Tuesday, the governor of Mae Hong Song province said.

The borderland residents were moved to an area farther inside Thai territory where they could shelter, amid reports of fresh fighting between the Myanmar government forces and Karen rebels, who claimed they seized a military base early Tuesday.

About 450 villagers in Mae Sam Lab were evacuated to safe areas in Mae Kong Kard village, Gov. Sithichai Chindaluang told reporters.

A stray bullet from the other side of the border wounded a female evacuee in the knee, the governor said about Tuesdays fighting nearby in Myanmars Karen state.

Meanwhile in Bangkok, the Thai foreign ministry said that if any displaced ethnic Karen were to flee into Thailand, the country would give them sanctuary and humanitarian aid.

The flare-up in fighting along the border came three days after a consensus reached among leaders at a special meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called on all parties in Myanmar to cease violence immediately.

About 250 families, or 1,200 people, were still to be evacuated from the borderland because they lacked the means to leave on their own, Matcha Phorn-in, a human rights activist who monitors the situation along the frontier, told BenarNews.

Some residents who stayed behind in Mae Sam Lab village said they were terrified.

I heard distant sounds of gunfire since early in the morning and all of us were fearful, a woman in Mae Sam Lab who asked to be identified as Rawee, for privacy reasons, told BenarNews.

Some were evacuated to other areas because they feared more escalated fighting such as air strikes.

Fight military to military

At about 5 a.m. Tuesday, troops from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) rebel group attacked a Myanmar army outpost opposite Thailands Mae Sam Lab village, and then pursued fleeing Burmese troops, said Sithichai, Mae Hong Songs governor.

KNU, an armed ethnic insurgent movement, has been fighting for federalism in Myanmar for decades. KNLA is the military wing of the Karen National Union (KNU) that holds large swathes of territory in the borderlands with Thailand.

The rebels raided and took over the Burmese militarys Thaw Lae Hta base on the Thai-Burmese border, the KNU and local residents told the Myanmar Service of Radio Free Asia (RFA), a sister entity of BenarNews.

KNU/KNLA attacked and seized the military terrorists Thaw Lae Hta camp at around 4:30 a.m. early morning on April 27, 2021, the Karen National Unions information unit said in a statement.

Likewise, (the KNU) forces will attack and seize the military camps which are disturbing the peoples livelihoods and threatening their life in the future.

The KLNA attacked the military camp in response to Burmese soldiers from the Thaw Lae Hta base allegedly shooting last week at civilian boats on the Salween River, including boats carrying Thai border security forces, spokesman Col. Saw Kler Doh told KarenNews.

Fight military to military. We cant accept when they go after unarmed civilians. We will do what we can to stop them from harming civilians, Saw Kler Doh said.

The camps have been set on fire, a Thai villager said.

As I was speaking, I saw seven Burmese soldiers fleeing from the shore. They were still holding their guns, the eyewitness told the Karen Information Center (KIC), a local news group.

Local outlets reported casualties from the early morning attack but RFA could not confirm the number.

Hours after the rebels' attack, the Myanmar military retaliated with at least one air strike on villages in rebel-held territory, observers said.

At midday, a jet fighter came to the area and dropped two bombs in the Dah Gwe area but it was raining so we could not see clearly. We still have not heard of any casualties from the air raids yet, Saw Thu Bee, with the Karen Peace Support Network, told RFA.

The rebels attacked the army base because government forces had been disturbing, threatening and shooting at local residents who supported Myanmars pro-democracy movement in the wake of the Feb. 1 military coup, Saw Thu Bee said.

Burmas air force conducted air strikes against two areas in Bu Tho township, Hpapun District in Northern Karen State today. We dont know the casualties yet, David Eubank, of the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a Thai-based group that monitors activity on the border with Myanmar, told RFA.

And we do know they may bombing  the village area of Bu Tho township as well as the Dah Gwe area. These are both areas with villagers, farmers and IDPs there. And we are waiting for the news of the casualties, he said.

Myanmar junta moves to walk back ASEAN agreement

The fighting in Karen state occurred days after a summit of ASEAN leaders to discuss the turmoil in that country, which is one of the blocs 10 members.

Since the coup on Feb. 1, military and security forces in Myanmar have killed 755 mostly pro-democracy protesters, according to a Thai-based NGO, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

The ASEAN meeting in Jakarta on Saturday came out with a Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar. Among other things, it called for an immediate cessation of violence, with all parties exercising utmost restraint; a constructive dialogue among all parties; and the mediation of such talks by a special ASEAN envoy.

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing attended the special in-person meeting. But in a statement published late on Monday, Myanmars military regime indicated that it would consider ASEANs five points when there was stability in the country.

[M]yanmar informed the ASEAN meeting that it would give careful consideration to constructive suggestions made by ASEAN leaders when the situation returns to stability in the country since priorities at the moment were to maintain law and order and to restore community peace and tranquility, the State Administration Council  the official name for the junta  said in a statement that was tweeted by many political observers.

The suggestions would be positively considered if it ... serves the interests of the country and was based on purposes and principles enshrined in the ASEAN charter.

Political analysts said this indicated that the junta was going back on its word to ASEAN.

ASEAN cannot dither here, as the junta moves to walk back even the limited agreement reached Saturday, Scot Marciel, the former American ambassador to Myanmar, tweeted on Tuesday.

There should be urgent follow up, and costs imposed on the junta for [the] delay. There is a reason no one in Myanmar trusts the Tatmadaw, Marciel said, referring to the Burmese name of Myanmars armed forces.

Thailand will provide sanctuary

The Myanmar militarys crackdown on anti-coup protests has displaced almost 250,000 people, a United Nations human rights envoy said last week.

Also last month, Burmese military jets bombed villages controlled by KNU, following which 20,000 Karen people went into hiding in the jungles and thousands crossed into Thailand, Karen sources and Thai NGOs had said.

If Karen were to flee again, Thailand would take them in, Tanee Sangrat, the Thai foreign ministry spokesman, said in a statement.

Should there be displaced persons from Myanmar crossing into Thai soil, involved agencies will follow the planned procedure by harboring them at a temporary safe sanctuary under the military supervision and with COVID screening measures, Tanee said.

If the fighting escalates, we have a plan to move them to another place, one kilometer away from the borderline and provide humanitarian assistances [like] food, water and medicine, with the support of government agencies and private sectors.

Nontarat Phaicharoen in Bangkok and the Myanmar Service of Radio Free Asia contributed to this report.
[April 28, 2021] Brunswick Bancorp Shareholders Re-Elect James Atieh and Nicholas A. Frungillo, Jr. to Board of Directors at 2021 Annual Meeting

Brunswick Bancorp ("Brunswick" or the "Company") (OTC: BRBW), the holding company for Brunswick Bank and Trust ("the Bank"), yesterday announced that at its 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "2021 Annual Meeting") held on Tuesday April 27, 2021, and based on the preliminary vote count provided by the independent inspector of elections, shareholders voted to re-elect James Atieh and Nicholas A. Frungillo, Jr. to serve on the Company's Board of Directors for a term of three years. Frank Gumina, Jr., Chairman of Brunswick, said: "We are pleased that shareholders have re-elected James and Nick to the Board. On behalf of my fellow directors, I would like to thank our shareholders for their support at this yea's Annual Meeting."



Mr. Frungillo, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and the Bank, said: "Brunswick is committed to executing on the Company's strategy to drive top- and bottom-line performance and deliver value for all shareholders." Based on the preliminary results provided by the inspector of elections, the re-election of Mr. Atieh, whose election was opposed by the dissident nominee, was approved by approximately 68% of the votes cast, and Mr. Frungillo was approved by approximately 98% of the votes cast at the 2021 Annual Meeting. Brunswick will announce final tabulations of the voting results after they are certified by the Company's independent inspector of elections.

About Brunswick Bancorp Brunswick Bancorp is the holding company for Brunswick Bank & Trust, a New Jersey chartered commercial bank which serves central New Jersey through its New Brunswick main office and four additional branch offices. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005947/en/

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States in the western U.S. are seeing a rise in coronavirus cases as younger people get hospitalized and vaccination rates decline.

In Oregon, adults in their 20s make up the largest-share of case, about 21 percent, causing the seven-day rolling average in hospitalization to spike by 37 percent.

What's more, daily vaccinations have dropped by 54 percent over the course of just one week.

This has led Governor Kate Brown to announced that 15 counties in Oregon are moving in the 'extreme risk' for COVID-19 category, which imposes restrictions that include banning indoor restaurant dining.

Some of the Oregon's biggest cities, including Portland, Salem, Bend and Eugene, are in the counties that will be in the most dire category, effective Friday.

Similarly, in Nevada, one-fifth of all COVID-19 infections are now in residents ages 20 to 29, as more patients are hospitalized.

In addition, average daily COVID-19 vaccinations have plummeted 25 percent in the last two weeks.

Oregon and Nevada are following trends seen across the U.S. as the seven-day rolling average of vaccinations dropped below three million for the first time in about one month.

'Let me explain this graph to you in simple English. DANGER AHEAD,' Dr Ali Mokdad, a professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine, tweeted on Tuesday.

'Wear a mask, watch your distance, wash you hands and get the vaccine.'

Fifteen counties in Oregon are moving in the 'extreme risk' for COVID-19 category as the average number of cases in the state have risen from about 590 per day to 800 per day

In Nevada, average infections have increased from 315 per day to 350 and COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen by 26% in two weeks

Experts say both states have seen the number of daily vaccinations dropping, mimicking trends across the U.S. as the average number falls below three million

'If we don't act now, doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other health care providers in Oregon will be stretched to their limits treating severe cases of COVID-19,' Brown said in a statement.

'Today's announcement will save lives and help stop COVID-19 hospitalizations from spiking even higher. With new COVID-19 variants widespread in so many of our communities, it will take all of us working together to bring this back under control.'

For Oregon counties to move in to the extreme risk category, there have to be at least 300 people hospitalized in the state with COVID-19.

Additionally, there must be an increase of 15 percent or greater in the seven-day hospitalization average over the past week.

There are currently 328 Oregonians hospitalized with COVID-19 with the seven-day rolling average increasing by 37 percent.

The counties moving into the extreme risk category are: Baker, Clackamas, Columbia, Crook, Deschutes, Grant, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk and Wasco.

OREGON: Most people falling ill with COVID-19 in Oregon, about 21%, are between the ages of 20 and 29

OREGON: are currently 328 Oregonians hospitalized with COVID-19, with the seven-day rolling average increasing by 37% over two weeks (dark blue line)

OREGON: In Oregon, about 37,000 vaccine doses were administered last Tuesday compared to 16,900 this Tuesday, 54% drop

Extreme risk comes with bans of indoor dining at restaurants and severely cuts the capacity of the number of people that can be inside a gym.

Counties moving to the extreme risk category will remain at that level for a maximum of three weeks and can move to a lower risk category if their case rates improve.

The move comes, ironically, as the supply of vaccines is exceeding demand with about 37,000 doses administered last Tuesday compared to 16,900 this Tuesday - 54 percent drop

'There are appointments available right now all across the state,' Brown said.

For instance, the public health director for Umatilla County, which was moved Tuesday from the moderate to the high-risk category, told state officials it can send last week's vaccine allocation somewhere else and will likely do so again this week.

'Our demand level is dropping dramatically,' Public Health Director Joe Fiumara told the East Oregonian newspaper.

The county has about 6,000 doses, and last week administered fewer than 500 doses as health department staff sat idly, waiting for people to come.

The level of vaccinations in the mostly rural county is far short of what health experts say is needed.

According to Oregon Health Authority data, only about 19,000 people have been fully or partially vaccinated in the county where 78,000 people live.

Meanwhile, in nearby Nevada, both coronavirus cases and deaths continue to rise.

On Tuesday, the state recorded 405 new infections and 11 fatalities, according to the state's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), most from Clark County, which reported 295 of those cases.

Daily cases were well above the 14-day rolling average, which had fallen to 263, according to health officials.

NEVADA: One in every five coronavirus cases is Nevada is diagnosed in residents in their 20s

NEVADA: Hospitalizations over the last two weeks have rise by 26 percent, up from 260 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 to 330

NEVADA: The 14-day rolling average in the number of vaccine doses administered on a daily basis has dropped by more than 25% from a record-high of 25,331 on April 14 to 17,040 on Monday

In addition, new deaths were almost four times higher than the two-week average of just three deaths.

According to the state's DHHS, the number of hospitalized patients in Nevada was up by six in the past day to the current total of 330 confirmed and suspected cases.

Hospitalizations over the last two weeks have rise by 26 percent, up from 260 patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

The state is facing the same vaccination troubles as Oregon, as health officials try to reverse a decline in immunization rates statewide.

The 14-day rolling average in the number of vaccine doses administered on a daily basis in Nevada has dropped at least 25 percent.

It reached a record-high of 25,331 on April 14 and has since fallen 17,040 on Monday, the latest day for which data is available.

It's the lowest average rate of daily vaccinations since mid-March and marks the fifth-straight day the average has dropped below 20,000.

'I think we expected to see this gradual decline of daily immunizations administered,' Karissa Loper, chief of the state Bureau of Child, Family & Community Wellness, told the Associated Press.

'We need to work further with our communities in Nevada to ensure equity and inclusion and broad distribution for the vaccine.'

Nevada was averaging fewer than 2,000 daily doses in early January but topped 10,000 for the first time on Jan. 29 and cleared the 20,000 marks on March 22.

Since then, it had been on a steady rise until the downward trend began April 15.

Health experts say it's difficult to measure the extent to the 11-day pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine impacted turnout for shots

But Southern Nevada Health District Board Chairman Scott Black acknowledged the rare but serious reaction to Johnson - about one in one million - likely played some role.

'Understandably, that is concerning to some folks,' he told reporters.

'We're also reaching a point in our campaign that the people who were eager to get the vaccine have done so.'

Black said now, officials are reaching out to groups that might be reluctant or hesitant, as well as those who are concerned about side effects and getting appointments.
Some 3,000 grocery workers employed by Kroger in the state of Arkansas have gone for nearly a year without a new contract amid ongoing contract negotiations between Kroger and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).

Kroger Suoermarket (Creative Commons: Oleg Brovko)

Negotiations began in May of 2020 for a new contract covering workers at 29 stores. Kroger is the only unionized grocery chain in Arkansas. The company has offered to invest $27 million in wage increases and time-and-a-half pay after 8.5 hours a day. To offset that cost, the company is seeking to shift its workers from a joint company-union benefit fund to a company-run insurance plan.

UFCW Local 2008 President Steve Gelios says the new contract is a takeaway, claiming, Ive never seen a company act like this. We just want a fair contract. He continued, Theyre trying to gut that contract that these people have fought for, for 30, 40, 50 years. And were not going to let that happen. But he concluded, revealing more than he intended, Were not asking for the moon.

Corporate Affairs manager Teresa Dickerson said, We believe our offer is fair, and were willing to work with Local 2008 to make sure that our associates are well taken care of.

Kroger, the fifth largest retailer globally and fourth largest employer in the United States, employs more than 453,000 workers at its 3,000 stores nationwide, earning $121 billion annually. It can easily afford to pay decent wages and benefits to its workers in Arkansas, who average only $11.60 an hour.

Gelios said that under the proposed company plan, the qualification for benefits would require more hours worked per week. Currently, workers need only 20 hours per week to qualify, but under the company proposal, workers would be required to work 27 hours a week, and 36 hours a week for employees with family members on the plan, over a 52-week period. This would effectively disqualify any worker who misses 10 or more days that yearcoercing workers to not take vacations and work virtually nonstop for paltry wages and rock-bottom benefits.

When the most recent contract offer was put to a vote, more than 92 percent of workers rejected it. But the UFCW still refuses to call a strike, with Gelios claiming, Were prepared for it. Ive got strike authorization and strike sanction from our international. Weve got picket schedules ready to go.

Nonetheless, no action has been taken, with both Kroger and the UFCW agreeing that no one wins in a strike. Instead, the UFCW, for nearly a year, has been blocking a potential strike. Kroger, meanwhile, is preparing for potential strike action by hiring replacement workers, or scabs, at $14 an hour.

Gelios, who has a gross salary of $128,445, according to the Department of Labor, earns more than four times the annual income of the average Kroger worker. He is well paid for his attempts to avoid any and all strike action, despite having strike authorization, strike sanction from [UFCW] international and picket schedules ready to go.

The UFCW plays a critical role in suppressing opposition among meatpacking workers. After a wildcat strike broke out at the JBS meatprocessing facility in Greeley, Colorado last year, UFCW Local 7 demonstrated its disavowal by declaring the strike violated terms in the contract.

The union did nothing to fight the invocation of the Defense Production Act by Republican President Donald Trump last April, which forbade the meat industry from shutting down or slowing production in the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, effectively converting processing facilities into vectors for the disease. More than 334,000 cases of COVID-19 have been contact-traced back to meatprocessing facilities.

The UFCW has a presence in the meatpacking industryTyson Foods, JBS, Smithfield Foods, Hormel Foodsbut refused to call for a strike to save lives. The Democratic administration of Joe Biden is continuing the Defense Production Act order to keep open the meatpacking plants.

Among grocery workers, nearly 400 Kroger warehouse workers in Memphis, Tennessee walked off the job in March 2020 to protest grueling 96-hour-a-week work shifts and unsafe working conditions as COVID-19 tore through the state. Tennesses now has more than 829,000 cases and 12,055 deaths. However, the UFCW brought this protest to an end.

Last November, Kroger workers in West Virginia rejected a contract by a near-92 percent margin, similar to the vote in Arkansas, but the UFCW demonstrated its traitorous role by keeping workers on the job without a contract in the midst of a deadly pandemic, only to sign a deal the workers had previously, and overwhelmingly, rejected.

Kroger ended its hazard pay in May 2020, around the time the Arkansas contract ended. The company ended up spending $211 million in stock buybacks during the second quarter of 2020, then announced a further $1 billion in stock buybacks later that year in September.

Since March 1, 2021, the number of grocery-retail workers infected or exposed to COVID-19 has increased by 24 percent and deaths 30 percent, following outbreaks at Whole Foods Markets, Costco Wholesale, Trader Joes and other grocery retail chains across the country, according to a UFCW report published April 22.

According to SuperMarketNews.com, Among UFCW members nationwide, there have been a total of 456 deaths from COVID-19 and at least 91,400 infections or exposures to the virus among frontline workers. UFCW said its latest estimates include 178 deaths and at least 39,900 infections or exposures among grocery workers; 132 deaths and 22,200 infections or exposures among meatpacking workers; and 50 deaths and 11,700 infections or exposures among food processing workers.

Overall, UFCW represents 1.3 million workers in the grocery store, food processing, meatpacking, health care, and retail sectors, but has acted as a bulwark to block worker opposition from growing and spreading. Kroger workers must form rank-and-file committees independent of union oversight and link up with their striking brothers and sisters in the United Statesspanning all industriesand abroad, on the basis of a socialist program, opposed to the capitalist parties and their politics.
"Working parents are an important part of the workforce, and with the instability surrounding the pandemic, business owners should allow some flexibility for childcare when possible." - Express CEO Bill Stoller

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. hiring decision-makers say the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted their companys ability to retain working parents in the workplace.

This is according to a new survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.

Specifically, nearly 1 in 4 (23%) believe the pandemic has had a greater negative impact on working mothers, between two and three times higher than those who believe the pandemic has had a greater negative impact on working fathers (9%).

Regardless of gender, another half (53%) feel the pandemic has negatively impacted both working mothers and fathers equally.

The majority of U.S. hiring decision-makers say their company would like to offer more accommodations for working parents but do not have the resources to do so (70%) or believe federal laws supporting working parents such as extended paid leave or universal childcare would be beneficial in helping working parents remain in the workforce (76%).

The pandemic has had a persistent, negative impact on working parents due to the lack of reliable childcareboth affordable early childhood care and school-aged care, said Kay Meyer, Express franchise owner in San Antonio, Texas. Some school systems are now using varied schedules of home-based and classroom-based models, which creates a significant impact on the schedules of parents who do not have remote work opportunities.

As for whether conditions for the past year have disproportionally affected working mothers versus fathers, Meyer says the question assumes that the family is a two-parent household. In her office, she has an employee who shares custody of twins evenly with their mother. When it is his week with the children, he bears the impact of any disruption to their early childhood care plan as both mom and dad are working parents.

From a societal point of view, I believe that women are still asked to bear the brunt of child-rearing duties and therefore have been forced out of the workforce in increasing numbers, she added.

Terri Greeno, Express franchise owner in Crystal Lake, Illinois, believes most single parents are mothers and those who are married often take primary responsibility for childcare, despite their careers.

Many of our employees are in positions that do not accommodate working from home, particularly light industrial or skilled technical workers, she said. Often the responsibility of childcare falls to the mother if a choice must be made.

The Express franchisees agree companies could offer more to accommodate working parents, especially with state closures during the last 12 months.

Employers can see the visible strain that childcare puts on parents, children and families overall with public education shutting off access to school, Greeno said.

And despite their best intentions, new initiatives arent always feasible.

Purely from an engagement and retention point of view, Im sure many companies wish they could do more, and large corporations likely have the flexibility to offer extended maternity/paternity/adoption bonding leave or even on-site daycare and after-school care, Meyer said. Smaller companies have had to stretch to develop accommodation policies, such as more generous PTO/unpaid leave or sick leave.

Accommodations to retain working parents dont always have to be drastic, Express CEO Bill Stoller says.

Working parents are an important part of the workforce, and with the instability surrounding the pandemic, business owners should allow some flexibility for childcare when possible, he said. A diverse labor market benefits everyone and parents in the workforce are then able to pass on a quality work ethic to the next generation.

Survey Methodology

The survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between Nov. 16 and Dec. 7, 2020, among 1,002 U.S. hiring decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in the U.S. who are employed full-time or self-employed, work at companies with more than one employee, and have full/significant involvement in hiring decisions at their company). Data was weighted where necessary by company size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

***

If you would like to arrange for an interview with Bill Stoller to discuss this topic, please contact Sheena (Karami) Hollander, Director of Corporate Communications and PR, at (405) 717-5966.

About Bill Stoller

William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment Professionals. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the international staffing company has more than 830 franchises in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Since inception, Express has put more than 9 million people to work worldwide.

About Express Employment Professionals

At Express Employment Professionals, were in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, employing 526,000 people globally in 2020. For more information, visit http://www.ExpressPros.com.


ST. PAUL, Minn.  A new economic development in Austin is getting financial assistance from state government.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) says $175,000 is going to Nu-Tek BioSciences to open their first manufacturing facility in Austin. The funding will help the company, a manufacturer of ingredients used in the development and production of pharmaceuticals, create 19 high quality jobs over the next two years.

That money is part of $1.67 million in incentives going to six businesses around Minnesota. The other companies receiving funds are:

Bemidji Steel Company Inc., Hubbard County  $100,000

Johnson Powered Services LLC, Moorhead  $191,500

JunoPacific, Brooklyn Park  $840,000

Sportech, LLC, Elk River  $182,000

TUV SUD America Inc., New Brighton  $190,000

I congratulate these six businesses on their expansion, says DEED Commissioner Steve Grove. These public-private partnerships to expand jobs in Minnesota will continue to be a big part of our recovery.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 20:48:37|Editor: huaxia

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Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, visits the Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Branch in east China's Shanghai, April 26, 2021. Wang made a research tour to east China's Shanghai and Zhejiang Province from Monday to Wednesday. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang has urged efforts to build a high-quality education system and boost scientific and technological strength.

Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks during his research tour to east China's Shanghai and Zhejiang Province from Monday to Wednesday.

Wang urged solid implementation of the strategy for invigorating China through science and education, the strategy for developing a quality workforce, and the innovation-driven development strategy.

During the research tour, Wang visited universities, research institutions, laboratories, sci-tech platforms, high-tech companies and local communities in Shanghai and Zhejiang.

Wang called for properly handling the relations between government and market in allocating resources for innovation, and recognizing the leading role of enterprises in innovation.

Efforts should be made to cultivate more high-quality talents for basic research, and support the development of high-quality research universities, Wang said. Enditem
A man charged in the holdup of an east Birmingham bank is back behind bars on four new robbery charges.

Tellis Tremaine Porterfield, 40, was again booked into the Jefferson County Jail on April 22, jail and court records show. His charges are listed as two counts of robbery of a pharmacy and two counts of robbery of a business. Records did not reflect if the charges are for the same business or separate businesses.

Porterfield in March was arrested by Birmingham police in connection with the Feb. 23 robbery at PNC Bank off Parkway East. Police said he did not brandish a weapon but kept his hand in his pocket as if he had a gun. He fled with an undetermined amount of cash.

His arrest was announced in late March. He was booked into the county jail, and later released on $60,000.

According to court records made public Tuesday, the new crimes for which Porterfield is accused took place on Feb. 22, the day before the PNC holdup. Records state he robbed at least one undisclosed pharmacy at gunpoint of Clonazepam and/or Valium and /or Diazepam. He is also charged with robbing two individuals  a man and woman  of cash, also at gunpoint.

His bonds now total $240,000.
MALTA  If GlobalFoundries moves forward with a second computer chip factory at the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Saratoga County with a $1 billion incentive package from the federal government, it will also need some additional infrastructure.

CEO Tom Caulfield, who announced on Monday that GlobalFoundries had moved its official headquarters from Silicon Valley back to its Fab 8 complex in Malta, where the company originally was created, says he needs more power and water in order to build a second factory.

"There's always going to be a need  starting with electric power  and a little bit more on the water side," Caulfield told the Times Union in an exclusive interview on Monday. The interview followed the headquarters announcement with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in front of Fab 8. "The rest," Caulfield added, "is pretty much in good shape."

So what does that mean besides the roughly 3,000 new jobs at Fab 8?

It likely means tens of millions of dollars in upgrades to the water and electric lines that feed into Luther Forest, where GlobalFoundries has an option to buy additional land should it want to build a second "fab," industry shorthand for a fabrication plant.

But both National Grid, which provides natural gas and electricity to Luther Forest, and the Saratoga County Water Authority, which provides 4 million gallons of water a day to Fab 8, say they can meet GlobalFoundries' needs should the company decide to build what is expected to be known as Fab 8.2, a building that would likely cost $10 billion to $15 billion.

Jack Lawler, chairman of the Saratoga County Water Authority and supervisor of the town of Waterford, says the authority has been working with GlobalFoundries for two years now studying how to best meet its water needs for a second factory.

There will likely be two different options to double the amount of water that the authority pulls from the Hudson River in Moreau and get it to a Fab 8.2.

One plan would be to build a second water transmission line from Moreau to Luther Forest. The other option is to create a set of new pumps to increase the speed of the existing line so that the amount of water to the chip fab could be doubled. The authority has yet to make a decision on which method should be used although a study is under way.

But Lawler stressed that either way, GlobalFoundries will get its water.

"We're here to make that happen," Lawler said.

The price for supplying enough water to Fab 8.2 would likely be in the range of $25 million, although Lawler said none of that potential cost would be borne by Saratoga County taxpayers.

Potential funding sources could come from the company or President Joe Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure bill or the $50 billion he is proposing to fund Schumer's CHIPS Act legislation that would incentivize semiconductor manufacturers to build new domestic factories. Currently, chips are in short supply, while increasing competition from China threatens the U.S. military's ability to control the technology used in its weapons.

"I think both (Biden initiatives) are possibilities," Lawler said.

As for National Grid, it is promising that if Fab 8.2 becomes a reality, it will deliver the power that is needed.

"As GlobalFoundries plans progress, we will be there to work with them to find the best solutions to continue to grow the Capital Region economy by providing safe, reliable energy," National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella said.
In U.S., Virus Cases Have Recently Dropped in Over Half of States Scientists are trying to determine what role the coronavirus variants might be playing in driving transmission in India. A study finds that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are 94 percent effective at preventing the hospitalization of older adults.

Is a variant to blame for Indias deepening Covid-19 crisis? A patient receives oxygen inside a car in Delhi. Credit... Atul Loke for The New York Times As supplies run dangerously low and hospitals in India are forced to turn away the sick, scientists are trying to determine what role variants of the coronavirus might be playing. Doctors, the public and the media are citing anecdotal  but inconclusive  evidence to suggest that a homegrown variant called B.1.617 is driving the countrys worsening outbreak. But researchers outside of India say the limited data so far suggests instead that a better-known variant, B.1.1.7., that walloped Britain late last year may be a more considerable factor. Authorities in India reported nearly 3,300 daily deaths on Wednesday. That brings the official total to nearly 201,200 people lost, though experts believe the true figure is much higher. Daily new infections also surged to nearly 357,700, another record. The presence of the variant could complicate the taming of Indias Covid-19 disaster. A number of doctors point to anecdotal evidence that people who have been fully vaccinated are getting sick. The current wave of Covid has a different clinical behavior, said Dr. Sujay Shad, a senior cardiac surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where two of the doctors needed supplemental oxygen to recover. Its affecting young adults. Its affecting families. Its a new thing altogether. Two-month-old babies are getting infected. Scientists say that different variants seem to dominate specific parts of India. For instance, the B.1.617 variant has been detected in a large number of samples from the central state of Maharashtra while the B.1.1.7 variant is rising quickly in New Delhi. There are variants that are more transmissible than what we all coped with a year ago, said Dr. Jeffrey Barrett, director of the Covid-19 genomics initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Britain. Things can change really quickly, so if a country doesnt react quickly enough, things can go from bad to very bad very quickly. Beyond the variants, scientists believe there are other, possibly more obvious factors that could be powering Indias deadly second wave. India has just scraped the surface in terms of vaccinating its population, with less than 2 percent fully vaccinated. Experts also blame lax public behavior after last years first wave and missteps by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And they note that Indias schools had started reopening in recent months  a possible factor behind rising infections among young people. A broad lack of data plagues the scientific chase for variants and whether they are contributing to the severity of Indias crisis. Fast-moving mutations complicate the picture because it isnt immediately clear how quickly they spread or how they respond to vaccines. In India, the health care system wasnt on alert for the impact of variants at home, even as they began to spread globally, said Dr. Thekkekara Jacob John, a senior virologist in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. We were not looking for variants at all, he said. In other words, we missed the boat. Jeffrey Gettleman, Shalini Venugopal and

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Covid-19 deniers in Germany are placed under surveillance. Police officers carrying off a demonstrator who was protesting coronavirus restrictions at a rally in Berlin on April 21. Credit... Filip Singer/EPA, via Shutterstock Germanys domestic intelligence service said on Wednesday that it would surveil members of the increasingly aggressive coronavirus denier movement because they posed a risk of undermining the state. The movement  fueled in part by wild conspiracy theories  has grown from criticizing coronavirus lockdown measures and hygiene rules to targeting the state itself, its leaders, businesses, the press and globalism, to name a few. Our basic democratic order, as well as state institutions such as parliaments and governments, have faced multiple attacks since the beginning of the measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, the Interior Ministry said in a statement confirming that parts of the denier movement were under observation. The Interior Ministry oversees the intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. In announcing the decision to keep tabs on conspiracy theorists, intelligence officials noted the movements close ties to extremist groups like the Reichsburger, who refuse to accept the legitimacy of the modern German state. The news comes days after Germany instituted new virus rules that apply nationwide and allow the federal government to enforce lockdowns. (Such regulation had previously been in the hands of the countrys 16 states.) It also suggests that the authorities believe coronavirus denier groups could continue to flourish and pose a threat after the pandemic ends. The movement, called Querdenken, German for lateral thinking, communicates and recruits over social media and has a large presence on the encrypted chat service Telegram, where its main channel has 65,000 subscribers. A week ago, when Parliament passed the law giving the government powers to impose the latest lockdown, about 8,000 of the movements activists took to the streets in Berlin before being dispersed by the police for ignoring mask and distancing rules. Germany has seen a persistently high number of new daily cases recently, averaging about 19,000, up from about 8,000 two months ago. Pia Lamberty, a psychologist and expert in the German conspiracy scene, warned of connections between the deniers and far-right extremists. The danger of Querdenken, she said, has long been underestimated.

New Yorks second wave is ebbing, but worries remain. The seven-day citywide positive test rate has been falling since a peak in January and is now between 3 and 4 percent. Credit... Jeenah Moon for The New York Times After months of persistently high coronavirus caseloads, New York City appears to have finally reached a turning point. The citys second wave is ebbing, a half-year after it began, New York Citys health commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi, said. Throughout April, virus cases, hospitalizations and deaths have all been declining, which epidemiologists attribute to the climbing rate of vaccination as well as the arrival of warm weather, drawing people outdoors. From a second-wave peak of nearly 8,000 cases in a single day in January, New York City, as of last week, was averaging about 2,000 virus cases per day. The seven-day positive test rate has fallen, too, and is now between 3 and 4 percent, according to the citys data, the lowest it has been since the fall  but still a lot higher than its low of 1 percent last summer. Public health officials say that by July, if the city stays on its current trajectory, that number could drop to below 600 cases a day, perhaps lower. But epidemiologists and city officials warn that the epidemic is not close to over in New York, even though there are promising signs. Hospitalizations have dropped faster for people over 65  a group prioritized for vaccinations early on  than for other groups. Yet more than 1,500 Covid-19 patients remain hospitalized in New York City, and the death toll on some days is still around 40. While some neighborhoods now have positivity rates of under 1 percent, in others that rate is six or seven times higher. Officials also worry that uneven vaccination coverage could lead to a situation where the virus persists in some corners of the city, but not others. Manhattan, the borough with the highest median household income, is far more vaccinated than the Bronx, the poorest, reflecting vaccine hesitancy in some parts of the city and underscoring the longstanding inequalities in health care that the virus has laid bare. And there are signs that the pace of vaccinations is slowing. So far 52 percent of adults across the city have received at least one dose. I feel good that we are beginning to see a vaccine effect on transmission here, said Dr. Denis Nash, an epidemiologist at the City University of New Yorks School of Public Health. But we still have a long way to go, and there are so many New Yorkers and so many neighborhoods that are more affected by this pandemic that are being left behind. Sharon Otterman and

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U.S. Round up New York will end its curfew on bars and restaurants next month. Customers dined outdoors at Good Bar in Brooklyn earlier this month. Credit... Gabby Jones for The New York Times New York will end a longstanding curfew next month that forced bars and restaurants to close early in a bid to fight the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Wednesday. The announcement came as state lawmakers voted to suspend an unpopular directive that required customers to order food when purchasing alcohol at bars and restaurants. The curfew, which currently requires establishments to stop serving customers at midnight, will end statewide on May 17 for outdoor dining areas and May 31 for indoor dining. Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, first ordered the restriction last November as the state tried to stave off a second surge of the virus, saying at the time that indoor dining at restaurants was a likely cause of the spread. He loosened the curfew in recent months as cases have fallen, moving it from 10 p.m. to midnight. The hospitality industry and some state lawmakers have long criticized the curfew as arbitrary, pointing to a lack of evidence that late-night dining was contributing in any meaningful way to the viruss spread. The state will also allow people in New York City to sit at bars starting on Monday, for the first time since Mr. Cuomo implemented a statewide shutdown last March. Even as establishments have been allowed to welcome customers indoors, patrons were required to be seated at tables. The restaurant industry welcomed the news. Its great news that the state will finally undo the bar stool ban and lift the arbitrary midnight curfew, said Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, an industry group. These outdated policies made it too difficult for too many small business owners and workers to support themselves and their families, and were a grave inconvenience to customers. The state will also loosen restrictions on catered events at residences. Beginning on Monday, they can have more than 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors, provided events follow any necessary mask and social-distancing directives. Curfews on all catered events will also be lifted next month. Officials in the state have gradually taken steps to roll back virus-related restrictions as more New York residents were vaccinated and cases of the virus fell. The citys second wave is finally ebbing, a half-year after it began, with virus rates and hospitalizations plunging, though city officials warn that the epidemic is not close to being over in the city. On Monday, Mr. Cuomo said that next month the state would raise the capacity limits on offices statewide to 75 percent from 50 percent and on gyms outside New York City to 50 percent from 33 percent. Last month he raised the maximum capacity for indoor dining at restaurants in New York City to 50 percent, up from 35 percent. Restaurants in the remainder of the state are allowed to serve customers at 75 percent occupancy. Luis Ferre-Sadurni contributed reporting. In other news from around the United States: Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland announced Wednesday he would lift the state of Marylands outdoor mask mandate, effective immediately, citing recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Starting May 1, restrictions surrounding outdoor dining, including capacity limits and social distancing, will also be lifted. Coronavirus cases in Maryland have dropped 29 percent in the past two weeks, according to a New York Times database.

In Atlanta, certain sports venues are making a return to 100 percent capacity. On Wednesday, the home stadium of the Atlanta Braves, Truist Park, announced it would allow 100 percent capacity at games starting May 7. Capacity at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United, will also move up to 100 percent capacity, AMB Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns the two professional teams, said in a statement on Wednesday. The change in restrictions for the Mercedes-Benz Stadium will start May 15.

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The U.S. isnt testing migrants until long after they cross the border. Migrants were met by members of the Border Patrol after crossing from Mexico into the United States by inflatable raft at a short stretch of the Rio Grande. Credit... Peter van Agtmael for The New York Times As the United States vaccinates more people and several states begin to reopen, public health officials warn that the failure of U.S. authorities to test adult migrants for the coronavirus in jam-packed border processing centers is creating a potential for new transmissions  even among migrants who may have arrived healthy at Americas door. More than 170,000 migrants crossed the border in March, many coming from countries still grappling with high infection rates. The government says it has insufficient time and space to test them upon their arrival, so testing is being postponed until the newcomers are released to local community groups, cities and counties. But that is usually after they have spent days confined in tight spaces with scores of strangers, often sleeping shoulder-to-shoulder on mats on the floor. There have been no reported instances of mass spread at U.S. border facilities, and overall numbers of cases are relatively low, according to the Department of Homeland Security. But local officials and shelter operators say they fear the true number of cases could be much higher. Frances Robles and

With U.S. school districts making their own rules, children with special needs miss out. Reuben and Estafania Alarcons son Eric, who has autism, has been disadvantaged by virtual learning. Credit... Bryan Anselm for The New York Times Perhaps no one feels the strain of remote learning more acutely than the youngest, highest-need students, whose ability to access in-person early intervention classes, targeted behavior analysis and speech therapy is considered key to their academic success. In New Jersey, school districts in two towns five miles apart  with similar population sizes and similarly high rates of coronavirus cases  made radically different choices about whether and how to reopen schools during the pandemic. In Rutherford, where schools have been mostly open, young children with autism have spent more than 700 hours in class since September. In Secaucus, the number of hours is closer to just 100. Reuben Alarcon, part of a group of parents who have criticized the Secaucus Public School Districts reopening policies, said he was worried that the educational opportunities his son Eric, who will be 4 next month, lost during a crucial year of brain development would cause lifelong harm. He will sometimes use one or two words to ask for something. Sometimes he surprises us and he blurts out a sentence, Mr. Alarcon said. He would be so much more ahead had he had the full-time class.

The Olympics update the virus protocols for this summers games. A staff member distributes the second version of the Tokyo 2020 playbook before a press briefing earlier today. Credit... Pool photo by Franck Robichon Organizers of the rescheduled Summer Olympics released a second round of so-called playbooks on Wednesday, with updated protocols for those taking part in the worlds largest sporting event this July. Among the new rules: Athletes will be tested daily, but they will not need to quarantine. Visitors will be asked to stay off public transit. And members of the news media, along with other officials, will be urged to eat takeout meals alone. Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee president, said the revised protocols were based on the best scientific and medical expertise and the experience of hundreds of sports events over the last year, involving thousands of athletes. Organizers have not mandated that Olympians be vaccinated, and will not address whether domestic spectators will be allowed into Olympic stadiums and arena until June. Overseas spectators are barred from the Games, but tens of thousands of people will enter Japan this summer after nearly a year in which the countrys borders have been mostly closed to nonresidents. Many in Japan are jittery that the Games could turn into a Covid superspreader event. In several public polls, a majority said they would prefer the Olympics be postponed again or canceled altogether, and some public health experts have questioned whether the Games are safe to stage under current pandemic conditions.

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Casting has been announced for Jeff Wayne's musical version of H G Wells' The War of the Worlds, which will embark on a UK tour next year.

Wayne will conduct the piece, which features the Black Smoke Band as well as the 36-piece ULLAdubULLA strings ensemble. The experience will also feature a giant 30-foot tall martian robot, armed with dual fire cannons, alongside a giant 100-foot wide CGI wall. Liam Neeson will also play The Journalist as a 3D holograph.

Touted as "The Life Begins Again Tour", the piece will star Claire Richards making her debut as Beth, The Parson's Wife, alongside Kevin Clifton as The Artilleryman. Callum O'Neil will also appear as Wells himself.

The show toured the UK in 2014 before playing the Dominion Theatre in February 2016. It toured again in 2018.

Jeff said: "Why are we calling this The Life Begins Again Tour? It's certainly a name appropriate for the times we have been living through since the first lockdown in 2020, caused by the pandemic. But ironically, the title comes from a musical phrase in my original 1978 double-album just as Humanity learns that the Martians, with all their superior intelligence, incredible machines and weaponry, hadn't foreseen one particular thing - the common cold, and the bacteria that caused it.

"And in a sneeze, they were gone! Now from all over Britain, mankind began returning to their homes. Life was beginning again. By 2014 I decided that original musical phrase should be expanded into a full song, performed by all the characters we have met along the way, and it has appeared in every tour and production since."

The tour will open in Nottingham on 23 March 2022, before visiting Birmingham, Cardiff, Brighton, Bournemouth, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds, Hull, Liverpool, Newcastle and London.

An immersive production will also open later this summer in London.
 Flash

Photo taken on April 20, 2021 shows a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria. (EU Delegation Vienna/Handout via Xinhua)

The sequence in which the United States and Iran return to compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is first and foremost a matter of "sense of justice," said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Tuesday.

Wang made the remarks after attending the latest meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission. The meeting was chaired by Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general and political director of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran.

The Joint Commission's negotiations on getting the United States and Iran to resume compliance with the JCPOA have entered the fourth week, said Wang, stressing that "it will be a very important week."

The negotiations have made some important progress, whereas some significant differences are yet to be ironed out, Wang noted.

"China believes that the issue of the sequence in which the United States and Iran resume the implementation of the JCPOA is first and foremost a matter of sense of justice," Wang said. "The cart shouldn't be put before the horse."

Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, receives interview after a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria, April 6, 2021. (Photo by Georges Schneider/Xinhua)

"The current Iranian nuclear crisis was caused by the former U.S. government, which unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and exerted extreme pressure on Iran," Wang said. "Therefore, the United States should first remove all illegal unilateral sanctions on Iran and third parties. This is the key to the success of the negotiations."

"All parties must continue to focus on and resolve this core issue first. At the same time, the Joint Commission should also consider how to verify the U.S. lifting of sanctions," Wang added.

"China hopes that all parties concerned will maintain the current momentum of negotiations, stick to the right direction and the existing consensus, and work tirelessly to achieve the overall goal of the negotiations," Wang said.

Before the talks, Wang, together with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (Vienna) Mikhail Ivanovich Ulyanov, held a trilateral meeting, fully exchanging views on key issues concerning the United States and Iran returning to compliance with the JCPOA.

Also on Tuesday, the Chinese envoy met with Mora from EEAS and exchanged views on pushing forward the current negotiations. Wang stressed that China supports the European Union in playing an active role as the coordinator in the negotiations.
New Delhi:

Two women drowned in Nagabali river at Odishas Rayagada district while taking selfies, police said.

Police have identified the deceased as E Jyoti, 27 from Vishakapatnam and S Sridevi, 23, from Vizianagaram.

According to police the two drowned were accompanied by seven other tourists, who also hail from neighbouring state Andhra Pradesh.

The other tourists, who had accompanied the victims, told the police that first they took selfies from the suspension bridge built over River Nagabali on the outskirts of Rayagada town.

Later the duo killed went into the waters to take more photos, informed Rayagada police station officer-in-charge to the media.

Also read: Dangal girl Fatima Sana Shaikh trolled for her 'shameless selfie'



The two were posing on a rock in the river, when one of the victims accidentally slipped into the flowing water. The other in an attempt to save the woman who had slipped fell in water too. The bodies of the duo were fished out by local fishermen.

Also read: Bengaluru teenager drowns while friends were busy taking selfies

According to a research, India has had the highest number of selfie-related deaths. The study suggests that at least 60 percent of cases of people being killed while trying to take a picture of themselves have been reported in India.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Golden Globe nominee Armie Hammer's aunt Casey Hammer will reveal her notorious, wealthy family's secrets in a new limited documentary series.

The Home Depot Design Center kitchen designer signed an exclusive deal with Talos Films to develop the tell-all TV series, according to Deadline.

Casey is now 'shopping the project to broadcasters and streamers,' which will be partly based on her 288-page self-published 2015 tome, Surviving My Birthright.

The last thing he needs! Golden Globe nominee Armie Hammer's aunt Casey Hammer (pictured September 26) will reveal her notorious, wealthy family's secrets in a new limited documentary series

Excited? The Home Depot Design Center kitchen designer signed an exclusive deal with Talos Films to develop the tell-all TV series

Hammer - who has $100 in savings and is estranged from much of her family - told the site: 'As a survivor I want to help empower others to speak up and know that they are heard.'

Casey's father Julian - whom she accused of sexually abusing her and other family members - only inherited only $250K of the dynasty's reported $180M fortune.

It comes a month after Vanity Fair published an expose going back five generations, which revealed Julian killed a man in his LA home over a gambling debt in the 1950s.

The mag also detailed Armie's father Michael allegedly owning a BDSM 'sex throne' and his involvement in a $70M fraudulent ring selling counterfeit paintings.

Memoir: Casey is now 'shopping the project to broadcasters and streamers,' which will be partly based on her 288-page self-published 2015 tome, Surviving My Birthright

Hammer - who has $100 in savings and is estranged from much of her family - told the site: 'As a survivor I want to help empower others to speak up and know that they are heard' (pictured in 2019 at her grandparents' tomb)

Julian also killed a man in the 1950s: Casey's father Julian (L) - whom she accused of sexually abusing her and other family members - only inherited only $250K of the dynasty's reported $180M fortune

Like father, like son? It comes a month after Vanity Fair published an expose going back five generations, which revealed Armie's (L) father Michael (R) allegedly owned a BDSM 'sex throne' and his involvement in a $70M fraudulent ring selling counterfeit paintings

The disgraced 34-year-old's great-great grandfather Dr. Julius Hammer was convicted of first-degree manslaughter after the wife of a Russian diplomat he gave an abortion to died.

After being accused by multiple women of abuse, Armie - who confessed he's '100% a cannibal' - is now under investigation for sexual assault by the LAPD.

Hammer - who has two children with estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers - has since been dropped by his WME agent, publicist, and four film/Broadway projects.

The Crisis actor will next be seen as Simon Doyle in Kenneth Branagh's Death on the Nile - hitting US/UK theaters in February - alongside Gal Gadot, Annette Bening, and Russell Brand.

'No words': After being accused by multiple women of abuse, the disgraced 34-year-old - who confessed he's '100% a cannibal' - is now under investigation for sexual assault by the LAPD

Denies everything: Armie - who has two children with estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers (L) - has since been dropped by his WME agent, publicist, and four film/Broadway projects
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 18:52:38|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS -- The European Parliament on Wednesday ratified the agreement on trade and cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) in a 660-5 vote.

After hours of parliament debate, 660 lawmakers voted for the free trade agreement and five against, with 32 abstentions. (EU-UK-Brexit)

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RIGA -- Eight people were killed by a fire that broke out at a hostel in downtown Riga early on Wednesday, according to the fire and rescue service.

At around 4:40 a.m. (0130 GMT), firefighters were called emergently to tackle the blaze in a six-floor building where flames had engulfed rooms on the upper floor and the roof. The building houses the Japanese Style Centrum hostel. (Riga-Fire-Death)

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TIRANA -- Albania's ruling Socialist Party (SP) has won the parliamentary elections held on Sunday for a third term, according to the latest results published by the Central Elections Commission (CEC) early Wednesday.

With over 99 percent of the votes counted, the ruling SP led by Prime Minister Edi Rama has won 48.51 percent or over 750,000 votes at the national level, or 74 seats in the 140-seat parliament, according to the CEC results. (Albania-Election)

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SOFIA -- The number of COVID-19 cases in Bulgaria reached 401,109 after 1,850 new infections were reported in the past 24 hours, official data showed Wednesday.

The country's death toll from the epidemic rose to 16,182 after 81 patients died in the last day, while the number of recoveries grew by 3,375 to 332,418, according to the country's COVID-19 information portal. (Bulgaria-COVID-19) Enditem
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.L, GSK) reported first quarter adjusted operating profit of 1.88 billion pounds, down 23 percent at CER from a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share was 22.9 pence compared to 37.7 pence. First quarter profit attributable to shareholders declined to 1.07 billion pounds from 1.56 billion pounds, prior year. Earnings per share was 21.3 pence compared to 31.2 pence. First quarter turnover was 7.42 billion pounds, down 15 percent at CER from prior year. Excluding the impact of brands divested or under review in Consumer Healthcare, Group turnover was down 13% at CER. Pharmaceuticals turnover was 3.88 billion pounds, down 8% CER. The company reconfirmed guidance range for 2021 for a decline of mid to high-single digit percent adjusted EPS at CER. Emma Walmsley, CEO, GSK said: 'Our first quarter results are in line with our expectations and reflect the anticipated impacts of COVID-19. We continue to expect a significant improvement in performance over the remainder of the year and reconfirm our guidance for 2021 and 2022 outlook.' The company said it is on track to create new GSK and new Consumer Healthcare company in 2022. The Board has declared a first interim dividend for 2021 of 19 pence per share. The Board currently plans to maintain the dividend for 2021 at the current level of 80 pence per share. 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.
PERTH, Western Australia, April 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Perseus Mining Limited (Perseus or the Company) (TSX & ASX: PRU) is hosting an investor webinar and conference call to discuss its 2020 Sustainable Development Report, which will be released on Friday April 30, 2021.



Call Details

Australia: Tuesday May 4, 2021

(Perth  7:00am / Sydney & Melbourne  9:00am)

Canada: Monday May 3, 2021

(Toronto  7:00pm / Vancouver  4:00pm)

UK: Tuesday May 4, 2021

(London  12:00am)

Register for the investor webinar at the link below: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QOlvUW3pQNS9bDki2yvh4w

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

To join the webinar via telephone, please use one of the following numbers and enter the Webinar ID: 884 4232 8824

For higher quality, dial a number based on your location:

Australia

+61 8 7150 1149 or +61 3 7018 2005

Singapore

+65 3165 1065

Canada

+1 778 907 2071

USA

+1 669 900 9128

New Zealand

+64 9 884 6780

United Kingdom

+44 203 901 7895

International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference .

A recording of the conference call will be made available via Perseuss website at perseusmining.com.

This announcement was approved for release by Jeff Quartermaine, Managing Director and CEO.

To discuss any aspect of this announcement, please contact:

Media Relations: Nathan Ryan at telephone +61 4 20 582 887 or email nathan.ryan@nwrcommunications.com.au (Melbourne)
Today, Rhombus Energy Solutions is announcing that it is one of the recipients of a California Energy Commission (CEC) BESTFIT Innovative Charging Solutions award for the Clean Transportation Program GFO-20-605. The award is for the Light-Duty Vehicle Sector Focus Area 2 (Minimizing Operation, Purchase, and/or Installation Costs), for the El Bumeran Mobile Light-Duty EV Charging System. Joining Rhombus in this award are partners Smartville, Inc. and the City of Chula Vista, California.

According to studies done by the CEC and groups such as the Greenling Institute, low-income and disadvantaged communities have consistently been underserved by new clean energy technologies, and vehicle electrification is not an exception. Disadvantaged communities are also often the most impacted by the air quality issues that vehicle electrification can successfully address. One of the greatest hurdles to the use of electric vehicles (EVs) in low-income communities is the lack of charging infrastructure. Without enough EVs, private sector actors will not deploy charging stations in low-income and disadvantaged areas, and without charging resources, the residents of these areas will not buy EVs.

Rhombus Energy Solutions is pleased to support the CEC and the citizens of Chula Vista and the surrounding areas with the El Bumeran Mobile Charging Solution, said Rick Sander, CEO of Rhombus Energy Solutions. The proposed project will minimize the costs for stationary DC fast charging infrastructure by providing a low-cost, yet high-powered charging alternative. In addition, an on-board energy storage system (ESS) that re-charges from both solar and off-peak grid power will minimize the impact to the local grid and maximize solar power utilization, further reducing energy costs.

El Bumeran is an innovative EV charging solution that provides competitive and cost advantages over current mobile EV charging solutions. The solution combines an electrified van, silicon carbide (SiC) based charging infrastructure, and 240 kWh of low-cost, second-life vehicle batteries to provide 120 kW of high-powered charging across four charger ports (up to 30kW per port). The batteries can be partially recharged from a solar canopy mounted on the vans rooftop, and can be fully recharged at night during super-off-peak hours. El Bumerans mobile nature eliminates the need for permits or infrastructure during deployment and operation, and allows the solution to be quickly directed to where it is needed, providing the ability to service multiple locations in a single day.

Building innovative solutions for challenging problems has always been a part of Rhombus history, stated Joseph Gottlieb, CTO of Rhombus Energy Solutions. The opportunity to combine solar energy, battery energy storage and a silicon carbide-based state-of-the-art DC fast charger into a mobile solution is a unique opportunity to demonstrate our expertise. We look forward to working with our partners, Smartville and the City of Chula Vista, to provide this solution to the public.

Rhombus Energy Solutions and Smartville Inc. have successfully developed and demonstrated DC fast charging and energy storage systems (the two primary sub-components of the El Bumeran) in real-life commercial programs and existing CEC grants, thus significantly reducing project risk. The proposed program will accelerate the commercialization of a competitive charging solution to provide mobile charging for multiple customer segments, and bring significant benefit to California ratepayers by improving charging availability and EV penetration in public parking, workplaces, rural areas, emergency operations and especially low-income and disadvantaged communities.

About Rhombus Energy Solutions

Rhombus develops and manufactures next-generation bi-directional electric vehicle charging infrastructure, high-efficiency power conversion systems and energy management system (EMS) software for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capable electric vehicle fleet charging, energy storage and microgrid applications. The high reliability of our solutions is the result of decades of experience developing high-power systems for a variety of applications and deployment scenarios, including UL-1741-SA system-to-grid solutions. For more information, please visit http://www.RhombusEnergy.com.

Rhombus Press/Media/Analyst Contact:

Carolyn Paynton

Carolyn@RhombusEnergy.com

+1 888 978 6564

###
Key Highlights Offered in the Report:

Information on how to identify strategic and tactical negotiation levels that will help achieve the best prices.

Gain information on relevant pricing levels, detailed explanation on pros and cons of prevalent pricing models.

Methods to help engage with the right suppliers and discover KPI's to evaluate incumbent suppliers.

Request a free sample report for more information

Insights into buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers:

Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for the Acrylic Resins market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Acrylic Resins pricing levels, pros, and cons of prevalent pricing models such as volume-based pricing, spot pricing, and cost-plus pricing and category management strategies and best practices to fulfill their category objectives.

Insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers

Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth:

The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the low bargaining power of suppliers.

Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors. During the forecast period, the market expects a change of 12.00%-15.00%.

Identify favorable opportunities in Acrylic Resins TCO (total cost of ownership).

Expected changes in price forecast and factors driving the current and future price changes.

Identify pricing models that offer the most rewarding opportunities.

Some of the top Acrylic Resins suppliers listed in this report:

This Acrylic Resins procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

BASF SE

Dow Inc.

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp

LG Chem Ltd.

Koninklijke DSM NV

Arkema Group

Showa Denko Materials Co. Ltd.

Formosa Plastics Corp.

DIC Corp.

Nippon Shokubai Co. Ltd.

Evonik Industries AG

Related Report on Materials Include:

To get instant access to over 1000 market-ready procurement intelligence reports without any additional costs or commitment,

Subscribe Now for Free

Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

Appendix

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(Newser)  In January, Spotify removed podcast host Pete Evans for spreading misinformation, saying it bans the promotion of "misleading content about COVID-19 that may cause offline harm and/or pose a direct threat to public health." Now, onlookers are waiting to see if and how that policy will apply to its most popular podcast host. Joe Rogan claimed healthy young people don't need a COVID-19 vaccine on Friday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, a Spotify exclusive. "I think for the most part it's safe to get vaccinated," Rogan said. "But if you're like 21 years old, and you say to me, should I get vaccinated? I'll go no," Rogan continued, noting his two children had developed only minor symptoms after getting COVID-19, per CNN. "If you're a healthy person, and you're exercising all the time, and you're young, and you're eating well, like, I don't think you need to worry about this."

story continues below

Rogan said he was not "diminishing" the deaths of children due to COVID-19. "I'm very sorry that that happened" but "I'm saying the personal experience that my children had with COVID was nothing." Per Variety, he added COVID-19 is "not statistically dangerous for children  yet people still want you to get your child vaccinated, which is crazy to me." Media Matters flagged the comments before Dr. Anthony Fauci responded Wednesday, telling the Today show that Rogan's take would be fine "if you want to only worry about yourself and not society," as even without symptoms, a young person could infect someone else. He said young people should "absolutely" get vaccinated to prevent dire outcomes, per the Hill. There's been no comment from Spotify, which has quietly removed 42 episodes of Rogan's podcast since acquiring it last year, per Digital Music News. (Rogan previously apologized for spreading misinformation about Oregon wildfires.)
New Delhi: As India battles the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, US President Joe Biden has said that his "intention" is to send vaccines and all medical supplies to the country.

The development comes a day after the United States announced it will make available 60 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to other countries within two months. Before any AstraZeneca doses can be shipped from the United States, US FDA needs to give its nod.

Recalling his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, US President Joe Biden said, "I spoke at length with PM Modi, we are sending immediately a whole series of help that it (India) needs including providing for those Remsdevsisir & other drugs that are able to deal" with the disease & help recovery.

On vaccines, he said, "we are sending actual mechanical parts that are needed for the machinery they have to build a vaccine", adding, "I have also discussed with him (PM Modi) when we will be able to send actual vaccines to India which will be my intention to do".

The United States has allowed 3 vaccines so far, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. And while AstraZeneca is being used in many parts of the world, it has not been authorized for use in the US yet. But despite no authorization yet, the country still has stockpiled the vaccine doses as part of its strategy to be ready for a range of scenarios.

US President said, "I think we will be in a position to share vaccines as well as know-how with other countries who are in real need. That is the hope and expectations."

In the backdrop of the COVID crisis in India, the US over the weekend announced assistance including providing raw material for Indian manufactures to produce the COVISHIELD vaccine. Other than that, the US will send therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and Personal Protective Equipment.

The US President also lauded India's support to the country last year, saying, "when we were in a bind at the very beginning, India helped us." In 2020, India had sent HCQ to the US when it was battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Live TV
The debate over the best governance practices for board succession rages on. It is a routine topic in every single engagement and interview we conduct. The issues of diversity and term limits are especially prominent lately, and the daunting task of building the board of the future feels, as with many other responsibilities, like a full-time job for the credit unions volunteers, all of whom have limitations on their time.

The State of Credit Union Governance 2020 found that almost half of board members surveyed (45%) thought that their board was only adequate or less than adequate at attracting people who have the right skills. So, what does it take to marry talent with your board and governance culture?

Mina Worthington, CEO of $796 million Solarity Credit Union in Yakima, Washington, describes how her credit union answered the question.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal believes that it is critical for Ukraine to thoroughly prepare for the 23rd Ukraine-EU Summit and to gain the support of the European Union in future joint initiatives.

He said this during the third meeting of the Commission for Coordination of the Implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU on Wednesday, the Government portal reports.

During the meeting, the Commission approved a schedule of 44 draft laws in the field of European integration, which must be submitted to the Government during the second quarter, and an updated plan with a list of priority bills.

"An intensive dialogue and a rich agenda of Ukraine-EU relations pose ambitious and complex tasks for our country. We clearly understand that our European integration progress, first of all, depends on the conducted homework," the PM noted.

According to Shmyhal, Ukraine is systematically preparing for the upcoming 23rd Ukraine-EU Summit, during which it is planned to discuss the European integration efforts of the Ukrainian side and identify further benchmarks.

Following the meeting, the prime minister instructed the members of the Commission to report monthly on the results of work on the implementation of the determined European integration priorities, promptly submit to the government draft regulations aimed at fulfilling Ukraines European integration obligations, and ensure follow-up of priority European integration bills registered in the Verkhovna Rada.
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Teamsters are urging Congress to take up soon-to-be introduced legislation being discussed in a House subcommittee hearing today that would help fix the nation's broken immigration system by halting the separation of U.S. families that have both legal and undocumented members.

The union is coming out in favor of the American Families United Act in part to support 20-year member Jason Rochester, a Georgia UPS worker. Rochester and his wife Cecilia have been separated since 2017 when the family  relying on faulty legal advice  decided she should self-deport to her native Mexico rather than live in fear that she would be arrested by U.S. immigration officials.

Although the family thought she would be able to come back to this country in six months, she has been barred from returning to her adopted homeland. Not even when their young son Ashton underwent treatment for kidney cancer was she granted a reprieve.

"Jason and Cecelia sought to go through the proper immigration channels years ago to make things right," Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said. "But given the pathetic state of the nation's immigration laws, they were left with no good alternatives. Tearing families apart in un-American. But Capitol Hill lawmakers can change it."

In a letter sent to leaders of the House Judiciary's Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, Jason Rochester noted more than 1 million U.S. families have mixed citizenship status like his. He said he won't give up the fight until changes are made. "I don't believe that what has happened to my family is what Congress or the American people intend or want from our nation's immigration system," he wrote. "The system is broken and it's hurting families like mine."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Ted Gotsch, (703) 899-0869

[email protected]

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Related Links

http://www.teamster.org


Ola Jordan wishes she had tried for a baby earlier after undergoing IVF to welcome daughter Ella.

The former Strictly professional, 38, who shares Ella, 14 months, with husband James Jordan, said she would have prioritised starting a family earlier if she knew she would struggle to fall pregnant.

She told The Sun: 'You dont think youre going to have to go through IVF until it doesnt happen for a long time and you go "right theres a problem, we need to look into it".'

Candid: Ola Jordan wishes she had tried for a baby earlier after undergoing IVF to welcome daughter Ella.

'So I suppose I would try earlier. But then we had a career, we were doing things, we were busy. I suppose youre never ready but I definitely would (have tried earlier) if I knew I was going to struggle to get pregnant.'

Ola said her and James, who wed in 2003, were focused on their careers, saying: 'You have to pick between something like Strictly or having a family, unfortunately.'

The star said she would have been unable to do Strictly - which she starred on from 2006-2015- with a baby as the BBC show is a 'six or seven month' commitment and she did not have anyone to look after her child.

Ella was conceived after one round of IVF, with Ola and James being incredibly open about their battle to have a child.

Career: The former Strictly professional, 38, who shares Ella, 14 months, with husband James Jordan, said she would have prioritised starting a family earlier if she knew she would struggle to fall pregnant (pictured 2012)

Ola recently opened up about having a second child with her husband James and predicts her next pregnancy will be smoother.

Likening the process to 'an old car', she said: 'As soon as you get it going the first time, it keeps going.'

The blonde beauty also gushed about her and 43-year-old James' 'perfect' daughter Ella.

Speaking to the Sun about her daughter and the IVF process, Ola said: 'We are very lucky it happened for us on the first attempt, and we're extremely blessed to have Ella, she's such a little character.'

Fmamily: She told The Sun : 'You dont think youre going to have to go through IVF until it doesnt happen for a long time and you go "right theres a problem, we need to look into it"'

She added: 'There are so many people who go through IVF and it doesn't happen for them. And there are lots of people out there who want a baby and they can't afford it.'

Despite her joy, Ola joked that she's pining for a full night of undisturbed sleep, as Ella has taken to waking up at 3am.

Last month Ola revealed her daughter has still never met her parents or another child amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Glitz: The star said she would have been unable to do Strictly - which she starred on from 2006-2015- with a baby as the BBC show is a 'six or seven month' commitment and she did not have anyone to look after her child (pictured 2013)

Happy family: Ola recently gushed about her and James' daughter Ella, fourteen months, hailing the tot - who was conceived after one round of IVF - 'perfect'

Ola told how her parents, who live in Poland, have been forced to communicate with their granddaughter solely through FaceTime.

She said: 'It's unbelievable to think my mum and dad haven't met my baby girl. It was my hope that my mum would be there to help give me tips with my first baby.

'We talk on the phone - and thank God we have FaceTime - but not being able to have my parents around me when you have a little baby is really quite tough.'
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Coast Guard and the Port Security Agency on Wednesday rescued 108 illegal migrants aboard an inflatable boat, off Zaouia coast, about 50 km west of Tripoli, after receiving a distress call from the boat which heading to the European coast
At least 24 people people have died following the latest tragedy at sea.  UNHCR/Markel Redondo

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are warning today of the continued increase of refugee and migrant deaths at sea after the latest reports of at least 17 people* dying in the North Atlantic while attempting to reach the Canary Islands.

According to initial reports, the Spanish search-and-rescue teams came to the aid of a vessel in distress detected some 500 kilometres south of the Canary Island of El Hierro on 27 April afternoon. A Spanish Air Force helicopter found only three survivors on board the vessel, two men and a woman, and 17 bodies on the deck of the boat.

The helicopter crew lifted the three severely dehydrated survivors to safety and took them to hospitals of the island of Tenerife, where the ill-fated boat is also being towed for identification of the deceased.

Some 200 people are estimated to have lost their lives at sea this year along the route to the Canary Islands and the Western Mediterranean route to Spain. Of those, nearly 90 perished at sea en route to the Canary Islands, including at least eight children and six women.

Since January, more than 4,300 migrants and refugees, including unaccompanied children in need of protection, have arrived by sea to the Canary Islands. The rough seas at this time of year and the long distances travelled  from 400 to more than 1,500 kilometres depending on where along the coast of West Africa the journey began  make this route particularly dangerous. Boats may be adrift for days, running out of water and food.

UNHCR and IOM thank the Spanish authorities, Salvamento Maritimo and the State Security Forces and Corps for their life-saving work in search and rescue at sea. From Friday 23 to Sunday 25 April authorities rescued more than 200 people in the sea south of the Canary Islands.

Both UN organizations call on all states to strengthen legal and safe pathways to provide alternatives to dangerous sea crossings. The states, all international, regional and local actors should also enhance their cooperation in the fight against human smuggling and trafficking networks that continue to profit from the desperation and vulnerabilities of migrants and refugees.

*Update: After the boat was towed to Puerto de los Cristianos, Tenerife, on the night of 28 April, Spanish Authorities confirmed that the number of bodies now totals 24.

For more information on this topic, please contact:

At UNHCR:

In Spain, Maria Jesus Vega, [email protected] , +34 670 661263

, +34 670 661263 In Geneva, Shabia Mantoo, [email protected] , +41 (22) 739 7138

At IOM:
Added 18,864 hectares of mineral claims across 4 existing projects

Expands total land position to roughly 90,000 hectares in the Yukon

Cements cornerstone position in the metal-rich Selwyn Basin

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / SNOWLINE GOLD CORP. (CSE:SGD)(OTC PINK:SNWGF) (the "Company" or "Snowline") is pleased to announce it has staked additional claims, significantly expanding its land position around its 100% owned Rogue, Rainbow, Cynthia, and Ursa projects in the east central Yukon. In total, 782 new claims were staked for an additional 18,864 hectares. This brings Snowline's mineral tenure in the Yukon to 89,724 hectares across its 7 projects. The new claims were strategically staked to cover structures, trends, and gold anomalies that extended beyond the bounds of its original holdings. The enhanced land position cements Snowline's cornerstone position in an emerging gold district in the prospective Selwyn Basin.

"Snowline launched with seven high quality exploration projects throughout the Yukon and an extensive privately owned exploration database built over decades" said the Company's Chief Executive Office Nikolas Matysek. "A comprehensive geological review led by Dr. Quinton Hennigh and Dr. Craig Hart determined that the bulk of Snowline's properties may only cover the tip of the iceberg. This new staking has expanded Rogue, Rainbow, Cynthia, and Ursa's footprint to better cover high priority exploration targets and to cement Snowline's cornerstone position in the Selwyn Basin."

Rogue

Recent staking has expanded the Rogue Project by 4.6 times to 11,227 hectares covering high priority gold targets that Snowline is intending to further explore in the upcoming season.

Snowline's mineral tenure at Rogue was significantly increased with the staking of 321 new claims in three blocks-Arrowhead, Old Cabin and JP-targeting reduced intrusion related gold systems associated with members of the Cretaceous-aged Tombstone Plutonic Suite.

Holdings around the project's primary Valley and Gracie targets on the Arrowhead block were increased by 117 claims (2,422 ha) to better cover the existing target zones and to secure prospective areas in their vicinity. Historical geochemical sampling by previous operators included two drainages downstream of the newly-staked ground with reported gold-in-silt concentrations of 160 and 100 parts per billion gold. Elsewhere, a soil sample returned 1.32 grams per tonne gold where an inferred fault striking north northeast from the Gracie zone crosses a contour soil sampling line, some 3.5 km northeast of the central Gracie target area.

An additional large block, Old Cabin, comprising 176 new claims (3,569 ha) was staked to connect and expand claim holdings over a suspected buried intrusive stock inferred from a small (roughly 200 m) granodiorite plug within a 2 x 4 km magnetic anomaly. Historical grab samples within this zone include quartz vein material assaying 8.7 g/t Au, and sulphide-rich skarn assaying 5.3 g/t Au. Elsewhere on the block, historical grab samples of quartz vein material have assayed up to 10.0 g/t Au. Streams draining the claim block consistently returned values in the hundreds of parts per billion gold., One particular stream draining from the magnetic anomaly returned gold-in-sediment values ranging from 233 to 1150 ppb Au. It is thought that a buried intrusion at Old Cabin could have an intact carapace at its top, with increased potential to host a significant reduced-intrusion-related gold deposit.

The third block, JP, comprises 28 new claims (563 ha) above and around a 900 by 600 m exposure of an intrusive stock 7 km southwest of the Valley target. Historical sampling found subparallel gold-bearing quartz veins averaging 2 cm in width within and adjacent to the intrusion, commonly assaying between 1 and 4 g/t Au with samples up to 36.0 g/t Au.

Rainbow

Recent staking has expanded the Rainbow Project 10 times, now totalling 1,255 hectares.

Rainbow covers a gold and pathfinder element soil anomaly associated with surface alteration caused by a recently discovered intrusion. Staking expands the property to include parts of the historical soil anomaly previously outside its boundaries, including a northwest zone with anomalous gold in soils to 0.93 g/t Au, silver in soils exceeding a 100 g/t Ag assay limit, and anomalous bismuth, tungsten and antimony. The new land position also covers a 3 km magnetic signature extending eastward from the soil anomaly.

Cynthia

Recent staking has expanded the Cynthia Project 6 times, now totalling 1,399 hectares.

Cynthia covers an area of gold mineralization between two adjacent exposures of a Cretaceous Tombstone suite intrusion. Mineralization is controlled by district-scale fault zones and is especially intense in the central part of the project. Surface grab samples in these zones commonly assay from 200 ppb to 3 grams per tonne gold, with values up to 16 g/t Au in a central zone. Cynthia is along strike of the past producing Plata silver mine, and is within 8 km of an inactive heavy equipment winter access trail that connects to the North Canol Road.

This staking gives secures a wider margin around known mineralized zones, and covers additional prospective ground on the altered shoulders of two intrusive exposures.

Ursa

Recent staking has expanded the Ursa Project 54 times, now totalling 7,755 hectares.

Ursa cover a 9 km trend of anomalous gold in stream sediment and soil samples, thought to be associated with sulphide minerals hosted in tightly folded Cambrian and Ordovician shales and cherts. Ursa also hosts a separate, 14 km-long trend of elevated to highly anomalous zinc along with elevated silver, copper, molybdenum, nickel and vanadium, thought to be associated with Devonian age enriched black shales.

It should be noted that all exploration results discussed above are historical in nature. Most sampling has been performed within the past 10 years following standard industry practices, and while specific results have yet to be independently verified by Snowline, the Company has no reason to suspect the data are not reliable as general indicators of exploration potential.

Qualified Person

Information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Scott Berdahl, P. Geo., Chief Operating Officer of Snowline and a Qualified Person for the purpose of NI 43-101.

ABOUT SNOWLINE GOLD CORP.

Snowline Gold Corp. is a Yukon Territory focused gold exploration company with a 7-project portfolio covering over 90,000 ha. The Company is exploring its flagship 72,000 ha Einarson and Rogue gold projects in the prospective yet underexplored Selwyn Basin, with drilling expected to commence in mid-2021. Snowline's projects all lie in the prolific Tintina Gold Province that hosts multiple million-ounce-plus gold mines and deposits, from Kinross' Fort Knox mine to Newmont's Coffee deposit. Snowline's first mover claim position represents a unique opportunity to explore and expand a new greenfield, district-scale gold system.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Nikolas Matysek, B.Sc. (Geol)

CEO & Director

For further information, please contact:

Snowline Gold Corp.

+1-778-228-3020

info@snowlinegold.com

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements about the Company reviewing its newly acquired project portfolio to maximize value, reviewing options for its non-core assets, including targeted exploration and joint venture arrangements, conducting follow-up prospecting and mapping this summer and plans for exploring and expanding a new greenfield, district-scale gold system. Wherever possible, words such as "may", "will", "should", "could", "expect", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict" or "potential" or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management as at the date hereof.

Forward-looking statements involve significant risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things: risks related to uncertainties inherent in drill results and the estimation of mineral resources; and risks associated with executing the Company's plans and intentions. These factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

SOURCE: Snowline Gold Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/642571/Snowline-Gold-Significantly-Expands-Property-Holdings-In-Yukons-Selwyn-Basin
Blue Origin is pushing back on NASA's decision to hand a $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX to build the vehicle that will land the next astronauts on the moon. The move adds to a years-long battle between rocket companies owned by the world's two richest men: Jeff Bezos, who founded Blue Origin, and Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX.

The dispute centers on NASA's Human Landing System, or HLS, program, which originally aimed to have at least two private-sector companies compete to build the spacecraft that will ferry astronauts to the lunar surface for the space agency's Artemis moon landing missions. But earlier this month, NASA made the surprise announcement that it would move forward with SpaceX as the sole contractor for the project, citing costs as a primary reason for the decision.

The news was first reported by the New York Times.

Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith told The Times in an interview this week that NASA's decision was flawed because it misjudged advantages of Blue Origin's proposal and downplayed technical challenges in SpaceX's.

Musk responded on Twitter:

'Can't get it up (to orbit),' he wrote. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment, but Musk followed up his tweet with another referring to Blue Origin's proposed lunar lander design, which was called 'Blue Moon,' as 'Blue Balls.'

Along with Blue Origin, a third company that was competing for the HLS contracts, Alabama-based Dynetics, also protested NASA's decision.

Both Blue Origin and Dynetics argued in their complaints, filed with the Government Accountability Office this week, that NASA hadn't properly evaluated their bids, pressing the space agency to reconsider. The government has 100 days  or until August 4, 2021  to rule on whether the protests have merit.

Pushback against such contracting decisions is common, especially in the aerospace industry, where NASA and the US military are the primary customers for rocket builders and winning or losing awards can have a massive impact on a company's bottom line.

But Blue Origin and SpaceX's Musk have been particularly vocal about their rivalry.

'In NASA's own words, it has made a 'high risk' selection,' Blue Origin said in a statement. 'Their decision eliminates opportunities for competition, significantly narrows the supply base, and not only delays, but also endangers America's return to the Moon. Because of that, we've filed a protest with the GAO.'

Blue Origin had proposed working as a 'National Team' for the HLS program alongside frequent government contractors such as Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin to design a lunar lander specifically to service the space station, called Gateway, that NASA plans to put in orbit around the moon. Dynetics came in with a similar proposal.

SpaceX, however, proposed using its Starship, a gargantuan spaceship and rocket system that is currently in the early stages of development in South Texas. SpaceX's primary goal for Starship is to take humans to Mars, but the company proposed using a modified version to service NASA's Artemis moon program.

Though the vehicle will theoretically be capable of taking astronauts from Earth directly to the lunar surface, NASA plans to use the vehicle in tandem with its own rocket and spacecraft: The SLS, or Space Launch System, and Orion.

NASA officials said during a press call earlier this month that, under its current plan, SLS will carry astronauts to the moon's orbit, and then the crew will transfer to the Gateway space station, and from there, SpaceX's Starship will carry the astronauts to the moon's surface.
An out-of-control bushfire burning close to Gingin town has been downgraded to a watch and act.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has warned there is still a threat to lives and homes, as weather conditions are changing.

The fire, which started near the intersection of Jones and Roe streets on Wednesday afternoon and has razed through more than 25 hectares, is currently stationary but not contained.

Brookman, Haron, and Weld streets have been closed, with warnings homes on Weld Street are under threat as 100 firefighters on the scene work to bring the blaze under control.
Ukraine is studying the experience of Turkey, which has successfully popularized its tourism industry and continues to improve it. It can be implemented in Ukraine, but taking into account climatic features.

Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko said this in a comment to an Ukrinform correspondent during his visit to Turkey.

There are strong relations between Ukraine and Turkey now. We are interested in adopting the experience of how the tourism industry has developed since the 70s; it makes up a significant share of the budget and is constantly evolving. The conditions are improving; the algorithm of work is changing, which also increases the average bill of a tourist. Effective mechanisms are used, thanks to which, for example, tourists from Britain are reoriented from traditional Spain to Turkey, Tkachenko said.

According to the minister, since the climate of Ukraine differs from that of Turkey, attention in our country is paid to the development of tourism routes.

Tkachenko noted that prospects for further cooperation in the field of culture and history were outlined during his visit to Turkey.

In addition, the parties discussed the creation of conditions for attracting investors, and studying the experience of Turkey in this matter. In particular, the development of Khortytsia as a tourist and recreational facility was discussed.

As Ukrinform reported, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko paid a working visit to Turkey. Following the meeting with Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, a joint declaration was signed on strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism between the two countries.

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Author and Speaker Trevor Loudon from Christchurch, New Zealand asserts that a Marxist-like takeover of the U.S. is unfolding at such a rapid pace in the Biden administration.

Speaking of the 2021 election, Donald Trump Jr. was quoted saying that it's "about freedom versus tyranny, capitalism versus socialism and communism." This was during an interview with Sean Hannity in October 2020. Back then, he also accused the Democrats of being complicit in the transformation of America into a far-left Marxist society with little space for dissent.

New Zealander Trevor Loudon says Trump Jr.'s words were accurate and that it's the fact as he sees them.

"What we see in the Biden Cabinet, as he is stacking his Cabinet and positions in the defense establishment, that disarmament community-everywhere you look, with Marxist pro-Chinese Maoists, people who have worked in Chinese organizations, Chinese media groups, Chinese academic organizations, people who have basically worked to bring down America for a very long time," said Loudon. "The Biden administration is full of these people."

He singles out Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose father was "one of the world's leading Marxist intellectuals," and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh as individuals with strong communist roots.

"Everywhere you look, they're centralizing power at a dramatic rate, just like any communist revolution would do," Loudon observes.

Loudon also noted that the communist movement never disappeared.

"They had a major setback with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the '90s. But, you know, China has picked up that that slack and more, and China has a lot more money than the Soviet Union ever had," he said.

Senator Frank Church of Idaho, according to Loudon, "gutted the FBI and the CIA" when he was chairman of the Senate Church Committee in the 1970s.

"And so since that time, the FBI has basically left the Left alone. They don't monitor the communist movement; they don't even know that Black Lives Matter is a communist movement; they don't know it is directed to a large degree out of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco-they have ignored all of this," says Loudon.

He added that the communist movement has become stronger in the United States to the point that it today dominates not only the Democratic Party but also several other political and social institutions.

"But most Americans have no idea of this because the media is so much on the side of the Left," he says. "And the FBI is so negligent that we hear nothing about it. So, we're swimming in communism."

While this is a discussion about "politics" with Loudon having strong opinions- Stephen Strang of Charisma Podcast Network thinks that Christians must be mindful of what is really happening, even though it causes discomfort to some.

Learn more about the warning signs that America is headed to a Lenin-Style takeover as expounded by Loudon in CPN's podcast titled, "Are We Going Through a Marxist, Lenin-Style Takeover?

Despite the seemingly bleak future of the U.S., Loudon believes that it's possible to reverse the trend. Check out his suggested nine starter steps to save America from socialism at The Epoch Times.
Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) is a retrovirus similar to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and has mostly been thought to be transmitted vertically (mother-to-child), or horizontally (sexually or parenterally (e.g. via blood transfusion)).

The spread of this infection in metropolitan areas such as Tokyo is presumed to be due to horizontal transmission, especially sexual transmission. HTLV-1-associated diseases are thought to be caused mainly through vertical transmission.

In a new study, clinicians from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) describe that horizontal transmission route is responsible for HTLV-1 associated disease, i.e. HTLV-1 uveitis.

The clinicians saw a 57-year-old woman who presented with sudden blurred vision. An eye examination revealed profound pathologies in different anatomical locations of her eyes. Most prominent were cellular infiltrates and opacity in the vitreous body, a large gel-like substance between the lens and the back of the eye.

Because the pathologies were consistent with uveitis and an inflammation of the eyes, and given the patient's age, the clinicians tested her for the presence of several autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and sarcoidosis, because uveitis can be a result of those.

The tests didn't reveal anything, so the clinicians tested the patient for a number of infectious diseases, such as HTLV-1 and HIV, that can also cause uveitis. When the HTLV-1 test came back positive, the clinicians made their diagnosis of HTLV-1 uveitis.

HTLV-1 can cause adult T-cell lymphoma, myelopathy and uveitis, among other disorders. Although we started the patient on the proper treatment, an unanswered question was how did the patient get infected with the virus in the first place." Kyoko Ohno-Matsui, Study Senior Author, Tokyo Medical and Dental University

Because there's no targeted therapy for HTLV-1 infections, the clinicians had to weaken the patient's immune system with corticosteroids, because an over-reacting immune system is thought to cause harm to the patient. The clinicians started the patient on corticosteroid therapy systemically as well as with topical eye drops over 6 weeks.

Over the course of the next several months, the patient suffered from several recurrences, so the clinicians started her on a maintenance corticosteroid therapy, i.e. treatment over the course of 8 months. While no recurrences happened in this time period, 18 months after the start of the maintenance therapy, the patient presented with another recurrence, including a retinal detachment, which could lead to permanent blindness.

This detachment was managed by ophthalmic surgery and the patient was again started on corticosteroids, this time for 4 years. No recurrences have happened since then and the patients has remained symptom-free.

Interestingly, during follow-up the patient's mother underwent cataract surgery at the same clinic site. Testing for HTLV-1 revealed no infection of the mother, ruling out vertical transmission to the patient. Of note, HTLV-1 can become symptomatic even decades after initial infection.

"In the current environment of increasing HTLV-1 incidence, the existence of horizontal transmission causing HTLV-1 uveitis should be acknowledged as it can result in more severe inflammation than vertical transmission. Thus, physicians should take the route of infection into consideration when providing medical care to patients with HTLV-1-associated diseases." says first / corresponding author of the study Koju Kamoi.
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The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency on security, following the recent taking over of 42 communities in Niger State by Boko Haram.

This was one of the 12 resolutions by the lawmakers following over three hours of executive session.

Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House, read the resolutions after the session.

This latest legislative intervention is coming in the wake of the revelation by the Niger State governor, Abuabakar Bello, that Boko Haram terrorists are in control of territories in Kaure and Shiroro local governments of the state.

The lawmakers asked the federal government to recruit more personnel into the military and the police, saying the current capacity falls far short of the required number to effectively secure the country.

The lawmakers also resolved to summon the Service Chiefs, the National Security Adviser, and heads of paramilitary agencies.

Other resolutions reached include: a call on the judiciary to accelerate the prosecution of those awaiting trial due to banditry or terrorism, and a call on the federal government to as a matter of urgency provide relief materials to those affected by the recent attacks across the country.

The lawmakers also urged the president to as a matter of urgency, ensure financial autonomy for local governments to guarantee their functionality to the people.

In addition, the lower chamber mandated all security committees in the House to immediately commence a comprehensive audit of all military and paramilitary assets and arms in our armed services and revert back to the House in four weeks.

The lawmakers then urged the federal government to ensure the protection of national infrastructure and assets, particularly the Shiroro and Kanji dams in Niger State.

Mr Gbajabiamila said the resolutions cover all the affected communities in Nigeria. He added that the special ad-hoc committee will be inaugurated tomorrow.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported the formation of a special ad-hoc committee on security. The committee will be headed by Mr Gbajabiamila.
Leading up to the trial, Chauvin was considered one of the most contemptible people in the world. But for some, the anger wasnt only directed at him. The hostility was aimed perhaps more so at the policing system he represents, which allows officers to get away with treating Black people as though they are subhuman.
Srinagar, April 28 : The J&K Police have submitted a chargesheet against three terrorist associates, officials said on Wednesday.

The police said the case pertains to the incident dated October 6, 2020, when terrorists in the evening hours carried out an attack on a BJP district vice president at his native village in Nunner Ganderbal.

However, the PSOs quickly retaliated, resulting in on the spot death of one terrorist, Shabir Ahmad Shah, a resident of Jangalnar Awantipora.

During the brief exchange of fire, one PSO, Altaf Hussain, also got seriously injured and later succumbed to his injuries. Arms and ammunition were also recovered from the slain terrorist.

In this regard, an FIR under relevant sections of law was registered at the Ganderbal police station.

"During the course of investigation, three active terrorist associates of proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen were arrested in connection with the case. They were identified as Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh and Aasif Khazir Mir, both residents of Serch Ganderbal, and Hilal Ahmad Mir from Burnbugh Kangan," the police said.

"Investigation revealed that all the three were part of a criminal conspiracy and worked as associates with the proscribed terror outfit HM in carrying out the attack on the said BJP leader. Incriminating materials, including arms/ammunition, detonators and Pak flags were recovered on their disclosures," the police added.

The police said that after obtaining the sanction of prosecution from the government of J&K, a challan against the three accused persons was produced before the court for its judicial determination.


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The Lee University School of Musics Percussion Ensemble will perform on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Conn Center, directed by Dr. Andy Harnsberger.

The concert will feature pieces such as Din by Dr. Harnsberger, Opening Remarks by J.D. Smith, Strange Loops by Patrick Long, Transmigration by Phil Richardson, Donner by David Skidmore, and Mallet Quartet by Steve Reich.

The percussion ensemble looks forward to performing a variety of works that feature keyboard percussion as well as drums, said Dr .Harnsberger. The concert will last approximately one hour and will feature some standard works, ending with the famous Mallet Quartet.

Lees Percussion Ensemble explores repertoire from contemporary genres to world music and improvisation. It recognizes nationally known artists and clinicians from around the country who specialize in African, Afro-Cuban, Arabic, and Brazilian percussion, as well as drum set, jazz vibes, marching percussion, marimba, and symphonic percussion.

Dr. Harnsberger, an associate professor of music at Lee, is also a performing artist and clinician for Grover Pro Percussion, Malletech Instruments and Mallets, Remo Drum Heads, and Sabian Cymbals. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in performance and literature at the Eastman School of Music.

The concert is free and open to the public, but tickets will be required for the limited in-person seating and are available at https://www.showclix.com/event/percussion-ensemble-concert.

The performance will also be available to view by live stream at https://livestream.com/leeu.

For more information, contact the School of Music at 614-8240 or visit https://www.leeuniversity.edu/academics/music/.










Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an update to their coronavirus masking guidance. Fully vaccinated people can now go maskless outdoors, apart from in crowds, and even people who arent fully vaccinated can exercise maskless outdoors alone or with their household. Everyone should continue to mask in indoor settings. President Biden announced the changes at an outdoor press conference. He walked up to the lectern masked; when a reporter asked what message he was trying to send, Biden grinned and said he wanted people to watch him take his mask off and not put it back on til he got inside. The update was anticipated, but it was nonetheless a big story, and there was no shortage of takes (and jokes) among journalists. If even one of you tries to write a Why I Miss Masks essay for The Atlantic, the journalist Laura Bassett warned, Im going to launch myself into the sun.

The need (or not) to wear masks outdoors has been a subject of media coverageand impassioned debatefor a while now. Last weekend, Shannon Palus, science editor at Slate, made the case that its time to end the practice, because evidence shows that being outdoors is very, very safe. Numerous medical experts agreed, but some readers vehemently did not; one Twitter user commented that Palus has blood on her hands. The debate continued yesterday on either side of the announcement. This is a good thing, Joe Scarborough said on MSNBCs Morning Joe, of the anticipated update, before turning to his co-host (and wife), Mika Brzezinski, and asking, That makes sense, right? Brzezinski replied that it does, but then added a caveat: I just think that also a lot of adults wearing masks is a good model for society right now when a lot of people are still not vaccinated and we want to be as careful as we can. Online, some journalists wondered how theyre supposed to tell which maskless passersby have been fully vaccinated and which havent, and said they would continue to wear masks outdoors, for reasons of signaling, safety, and ease. Others were more bullish; some experts even said that the CDCs update didnt go far enough. On his CNN show, Chris Cuomo pressed Andy Slavitt, a senior COVID adviser to Biden; given the low risk of outdoor transmission and the effectiveness of vaccines, Cuomo asked, why not let the vaccinated live their lives?

ICYMI: Drew Arrietas Family Album

Meanwhile, on the right, agitators have joined the debate by jumping in at the deepest end possible. On Monday night, Tucker Carlson, of Fox News, referred to people who wear masks outdoors as aggressors, and said that its our job to brush them back and restore the society we were born in. The next time you see someone in a mask on the sidewalk or the bike path, dont hesitate. Ask politely but firmly: Would you please take off your mask? Science shows there is no reason to wear it. Your mask is making me uncomfortable. We should do that, and we should keep doing it, until wearing a mask outdoors is roughly as socially accepted as lighting a Marlboro in an elevator. He wasnt done: making your children mask up outdoors, he said, should be illegal, and anyone who observes masked kids playing should call the police immediately. Contact child protective services. Keep calling until someone arrives. What youre seeing is abuse. Its child abuse, and youre morally obligated to try to prevent it. These comments, predictably, pitched the broader debate at a lower level of nuance, as some conservatives backed him up, while liberal commentators condemned him as a lunatic. Last night, also predictably, Carlson doubled down. The CDC has produced a new round of guidelines that are as indecipherable as a Turkish train schedule, he said. Next stop, Istanbul. Or is it Ankara?

This was merely the latest iteration of a media dynamic that weve seenand that Ive written aboutthroughout the pandemic: right-wing talking heads hijacking the naturally slow-moving, contentious development of science by taking the most absurd position imaginable and forcing those of us who care about reality into a reflexive defense of oversimplified truths, all covered under the flattening lens of the culture war. We saw this a year or so ago, when officials started to advise widespread masking, and, more recently, in the debate around vaccine passports, which some conservatives cast as Satanic Nazism. The more nuanced the debate, it seems, the wilder the right-wing claims about it. As the center of gravity on COVID restrictions has shifted toward more of a risk-mitigation approach, FiveThirtyEights Nate Silver noted yesterday, its telling that the fringes have also shifted toward more extreme positions.

As Ive written repeatedly, its always been important for the press to respect the messiness of scientific discovery. Its more so nowwith vaccination ramping up, the pandemic in the US is entering a new phase where the appropriateness of reinforcing blunt universal rules is being superseded, as I wrote recently, by much finer interpretations of personal and collective risk, and coverage has had to keep pace. Risk calculations involve science, of course, but they also centrally involve social science; the same goes for vaccine passports, with their attendant privacy and equity concerns, and, now, for outdoor masking. These are subjectiveand, to an increasing degreecultural questions. Of course, masks have long been cultural symbols, both in the US and overseas; its true, too, that traditional scientific vigilance around the virus should not let up. (A glance at India will tell you thatand as I wrote yesterday, that story is not a distant tragedy but part of a single global story that concerns us all.) Still, its possible to conceptualize a subtle shift in framing hereone that is less concerned with litigating the culture part of the culture war (its not culture, its science!), and more concerned with the war part. On his MSNBC show last night, Chris Hayes noted that when it comes to outdoor masking, the right-wingers are not really off-base on the science (with some caveats, of course). Rather, they are taking aim at the form of social solidarity that masks have come to represent.

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Whether Carlson and his ilk believe their delusions or the whole thing is performance art doesnt really matter. (As Ive written before, obliterating the distinction between sincerity and trolling is a key, dangerous plank of present conservative discourse.) Either way, their continued mask hysteria underscores that the emphasis, for such people, has always been on the war partstaking out an extreme position, intellectual consistency be damned, and aggressively policing it to turn Americans against each other. The job, for the rest of us, is to create a less hostile climate where legitimately contentious cultural and scientific debates can thrive. The CDC changing its mask guidance isnt the final word on what public-health habits individuals and communities will choose to adopt going forwardthrough the end of pandemic, and, perhaps, beyond. If figuring it out involves Why I Miss Masks essays, then so be it.

Below, more on COVID and the right-wing culture wars:



Other notable stories:

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Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
PHILADELPHIA, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE: LCI) today announced that it will report financial results for its fiscal 2021 third quarter on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, after the market closes. Lannett management will host a conference call that same afternoon at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to review the company's performance and answer questions.

The conference call will be available to interested parties by dialing 888-895-5479 from the U.S. or Canada, or 847-619-6250 from international locations, passcode 50156994. The call will be broadcast via the Internet at www.Lannett.com. Listeners are encouraged to visit the website at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the scheduled presentation to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A playback of the call will be archived and accessible on the same website for at least three months.

About Lannett Company, Inc.

Lannett Company, founded in 1942, develops, manufactures, packages, markets and distributes generic pharmaceutical products for a wide range of medical indications. For more information, visit the company's website at www.lannett.com.

Contact:

Robert Jaffe

Robert Jaffe Co., LLC

(424) 288-4098

SOURCE Lannett Company, Inc.

Related Links

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New Delhi:

The National Archives will be delaying the publication of some sensitive files about the assassination of former president John F Kennedy, the administration officials said.

However, they are releasing around 2,800 records of JFK files.

At the request of the CIA, FBI and other agencies, President Donald Trump agreed to delay the release of some documents related to the November 22, 1963 assassination, the officials said on Thursday.

Earlier, Trump on Wednesday said that the classified government documents about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy will be released on Thursday.

"The long anticipated release of the #JFKFiles will take place tomorrow. So interesting!" Trump tweeted.

ALSO READ | John F. Kennedy assassination files: Donald Trump terms release so interesting

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Each of the coming years 40 recipients will receive $5,000 to cover tuition and will be eligible to reapply for the scholarship each year through undergraduate and graduate school, according to NVV spokesperson Teresa Wall.

NVV has committed $1 million to the scholarship fund, according to the press release, or $200,000 every year for the next five years. Asked if the fund might continue beyond the initial five-year pledge, Wall said the organizations intention is for the scholarship to be ongoing, but that it needed other partners to help ensure that happened. The initial $1 million pledge will come out of NVVs Healthy Community Fund, Wall confirmed, adding that no formal fundraising plans have yet been made.

Our first goal was to get this launched as quickly as we could, so we could start making an impact as soon as possible, Wall said.
New Delhi, April 28 : As limited stock of Tocilizumab is available in the country, the Centre has made interim allocation of injection to the states.

In letter dated April 27 to states, Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Navdeep Rinwa Aand Rajiv Wadhawan wrote, "The drug went out of stock in the country a few weeks ago due to a sudden surge in its demand because of a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in the country in this month." They further wrote that fresh limited stock of this drug has now been imported and is available with the lone marketer company Cipla Limited for marketing and distribution in the country.

"An interim allocation of this drug among states has been finalized jointly by the Union Health Ministry and Department of Pharmaceuticals in consultation with the company," the letter said.

It also mentioned that the allocated stocks have been sent or are being sent to the Cipla depots in the respective states and are placed at the disposal of the states for allocation to Government and Private hospitals in the state.

"No separate allocation is being sent to private hospitals. The states are advised to ensure that these limited stocks are used judiciously and strictly as per the standard treatment protocol issued by Joint Monitoring Group of Union Health Ministry," the letter said.

The company has been directed to issue allocated stocks strictly as per the guidance of concerned state governments. The allocation is interim and would be reviewed shortly.

Allocation of Tocilizumab are made to Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab and Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Central Institution.

The letter pointed out that Tocilizumab, an imported drug, manufactured by Roche, is being prescribed for treatment of some Covid-19 patients under certain conditions.
Appointment

28 April 2021

McKibbon Hospitality, an award-winning leader in hotel management is pleased to announce the recent appointment of Jihad Lotfi, MBA, CRME as Vice President of Revenue Management.

A strategic revenue management professional with more than a decade of experience, Jihad Lotfi, MBA, CRME, joins McKibbon most recently from Hotel Equities, where he served as Regional Director of Revenue Management, supporting the revenue management and marketing strategies of 30-plus hotels. Prior to his time with Hotel Equities, Lotfi held the position of Vice President of Revenue Generation preceded by a stint as Corporate Director of Revenue Management at The Witness Group. Lotfi also spent eight years working at Wh ite Lodging, where he received numerous awards and accolades including Regional Revenue Manager of the Year in 2013. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism

Management as well as a Master of Business Management from Purdue University. In addition to receiving his Certified Revenue Management Executive designation from HSMAI, Lotfi also holds a Master Certificate in Revenue Management, Hotel Revenue Management Certificate, and Advanced Hospitality Revenue Management Pricing and Demand Certificate from Cornell University.
It might be one of the more popular bills Alabama lawmakers consider this spring: Make daylight saving time permanent.

I hear more about this than any topic back at home from the people who want it, said state Rep. Corey Harbison, R-Good Hope.

Said Rep. Ritchie Whorton, R-Owens Cross Roads, It would not be dark (soon) after 4 oclock and it would give you extra time. A lot of my folks want that.

Legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent in Alabama might move out of the Legislature during the waning days of session. But even if it is signed into law by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, there are no guarantees the measure will see the light of day.

Congress has the final say on whether to end the biannual time shifts that occur each year from March to November. Daylight saving time begins each year on the second Sunday in March when clocks are set forward by one hour. They are then turned back to standard time on the first Sunday of November.

This is hoping that once Congress does pass it, well be a step ahead, said state Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham.

In the last four years, 15 states have enacted legislation or passed a resolution to provide for year-round daylight savings time if Congress allowed such a change, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Last year, seven states enacted similar legislation including Georgia and Louisiana.

The measure in Alabama was approved by the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee on Wednesday and advances to the full House for a vote. The Alabama Senate has already approved it.

Despite the committees support, there was some confusion among committee members over whether an endorsement for permanent daylight saving in one state could alter the current time zone alignment.

State Rep. Rhonda Hollis, D-Birmingham, said if there was a lack of uniformity of supporting the change, it could place Alabama and Georgia in the same time zone. Georgia is currently one hour ahead of Alabama because it falls on the western edges of the Eastern time zone, while Alabama is within the Central time zone.

If its done state by state, and one state does not (approve of the permanent change) then does it affect the time zone? Hollis asked.

Georgia lawmakers passed legislation last year that is similar to the current Alabama proposal.

Whorton, though, said nothing will change unless Congress acts. A resolution in the U.S. House called the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 would make daylight saving time permanent and would end a 103-year run of it occurring for only eight months.

Daylight saving time was first enacted in 1918, as a way to conserve coal. It was again officially recognized nationally in 1966.

Daylight savings time was expanded to its current form in 2007. From 1987-2006, it began on the first Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October.

Proponents for a permanent time change believe there are health effects that also come into play with switching sleep schedules.

At least one Alabama-based expert believes the shift should occur to standard time, not daylight saving time.

Dr. Karen Gamble, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said there is a lot of documented evidence that the week or days after the annual spring forward to daylight saving time is wrong with negative events that includes more traffic crashes, reduced work performance and an increase in health risks like heart attacks and shortened sleep.

She cited a research paper from Society for Research in Biological Rhythm that argues in support of a closer alignment between the social clock  set by people that includes work and school schedules  and the body clock which is set by the rising and setting sun.

When we have social/work/school requirements that are mismatched with a natural body clock, our health is at stake and accidents are more likely to happen, Gamble said.

Gamble said by staying on standard time all year, the sun would rise at 4:38 a.m. on June 21  the summer solstice, or the longest day of the year  and set around 7 p.m. (it running rises at 5:38 a.m. and sets at 8:01 p.m.).

With the longer day lengths in the summer, our bodies more easily shift with the natural seasonal cycles of the sunrise and sunset, said Gamble. The short days of winter are the most challenge for our body clocks to adjust to. So if given a choice of matching our clocks (social/work clocks) to the easiest versus most difficult time of the year, our health would benefit the most from staying on standard time in the winter and not shifting to daylight savings in the spring.

Gamble said that Alabama is a unique case because of its location just inside the Central Time Zone. She said in Chattanooga, Tennessee  the western edge of the Eastern Time Zone -- the sunrise occurs around 8 a.m. during the month of December.

In junior high, I distinctly remember waiting in the complete darkness every morning in the winter, waiting for my school bus to pick me up, said Gamble, who grew up in Chattanooga. It was not fun.

She added, The farther west you live within a time zone, the more likely you are to have health problems and have a shorter lifespan. As a parent, I definitely do not want my teenage son driving early in the morning in the dark to get to school, especially considering that the adolescent body clock naturally shifts with puberty, continuing this delay all the way into early adulthood.
The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation today launched the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize program, a multi-year initiative to focus global innovators and entrepreneurs on developing technological solutions that accelerate progress towards implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a spotlight on the African continent. This program will include multiple technology prize competitions in the areas of agriculture, energy, education, and health.

Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies have the power to solve complicated socio-economic and human problems. In the hands of entrepreneurs, these technologies can turn Africa into a global economic powerhouse and transform the world, said Dr. Patrice Motsepe, Founder and Chairman of the Motsepe Foundation. Precious and I are thrilled to partner with Mike Milken and the Milken Institute to launch this prize that encourages African and global entrepreneurs to innovate and use 4IR technologies to address some of Africa and the worlds most pressing challenges and improve the living conditions and standards of living of people globally.

Registration is now open for the first of these free-to-enter prizes. The Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech is a $2 million (USD) global competition for innovative solutions to increase economic value to farmers, from seed to sale.

My good friends Patrice and Precious Motsepe have long been valued partners of the Milken Institute, especially in addressing global health issues, said Milken Institute Chairman Mike Milken. The Motsepe Foundations leadership has been highly effective in Africa and inspiring to people around the world. Im delighted that we will again join forces to encourage long-term technological innovation and enhance the human capital of farmers so they can play a greater role in sustaining a more-dynamic regional economy.

Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, Co-founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation, added: This prize competition will tap into global entrepreneurial and technological potential, including among women and the growing youth population across the African continent and worldwide. Were confident that the competition will attract a diverse group of participants across the world who want to engage with a broad network of resources to action their innovative ideas.

The Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech was developed through rigorous and inclusive consultations with more than 50 experts from a variety of disciplines, representing academia, industry and government, to define the competition guidelines and evaluation metrics. Field testing will take place in Africa and solutions should have the potential to be applied globally.

Prize competitions encourage innovation, diversify the talent pool, and inspire new voices from budding entrepreneurs to seasoned engineers, said Dr. Emily Musil Church, senior director in the Milken Institutes Center for Global Market Development. We are pleased to introduce this approach to advancing the SDGs that will harness the power of technology to solve global challenges and create true systems of change.

How to Enter

Teams have until December 8, 2021 to register and submit designs and business models. An independent panel of expert judges will select up to 25 teams to each receive $10,000 to develop small-scale prototypes over the ensuing six months. In the final round, teams will demonstrate their entries in field tests which will be evaluated by their ability to:

Increase net economic value to the farmer

Increase productivity at harvest and/or decrease post-harvest loss

Reduce costs for farmers

Provide a viable and sustainable business model

Be implemented by small and medium-sized farms

Develop or integrate innovative technologies

The judges will award a $1 million Grand Prize, with additional prize money distributed among Second and Third Place winners, a prize for the most creative use of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and a Peoples Choice Prize.

Registration is free, and in addition to the prize money, teams will benefit from access to networking, training, and other resources. To register for the prize, or to learn more, visit www.milkenmotsepeprize.org.

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 www.milkeninstitute.org

About the Motsepe Foundation

The Motsepe Foundation was founded in 1999 by Dr Patrice Motsepe and his wife, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe. The goal of the Motsepe Foundation is to contribute towards eradicating poverty and to sustainably improve the living conditions and standards of living of poor, unemployed and marginalised people in South Africa, Africa and the world. In January 2013 Dr Patrice Motsepe and Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe joined the Giving Pledge which was started by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. The Motsepes committed to give half of their wealth to the poor and for philanthropic purposes during their lifetime and beyond.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005096/en/
Burma We Dont Accept the Military Council: Karen Guerrilla Spokesman

Lieutenant Colonel Saw Kler Doh of the Karen National Unions Brigade 5.

Brigade 5 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), seized a camp held by Myanmars junta forces near the Thai border on Tuesday. The ethnic Karen armed group also took control of the Thee Mu Hta military base on March 27.

Myanmars military regime responded by bombing the brigades territory with jet fighters, forcing villagers to flee their homes. Brigade 5 spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Saw Kler Doh talked to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday about the fighting and air strikes.

We heard that the KNU seized the Thaw Le Hta camp from Myanmars military on the morning of April 27. Can you tell us about the fighting?

Our troops attacked the camp at around 5 am on April 27 and took control of it after an hour. But I have not received reports from our commanders about the exact casualties and weapons and ammunition seized from the military.

Some villagers along the Thai border said some military troops fled towards the Salween River [marking the border with Thailand] during the fighting and the military suffered casualties. Can you tell us about that?

I can only tell you when I receive detailed reports from our troops.

Why did Brigade 5 attack the base?

They deployed into our territory. In compliance with the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, we asked them to hold talks and withdraw. But there were no talks.

We live in our territory and they dont recognize us. So the Karen National Liberation Army issued statements in December last year warning of consequences if they refused to withdraw. They ignored our demands. Then they seized power, detained the democratically elected leaders and imprisoned thousands. As people demand the release of their leaders, political activists and journalists and the restoration of democracy, they started shooting people. We are attacking the junta troops in solidarity with the people and to support the protesters.

We heard that the military bombed Brigade 5s territory with jet fighters in retaliation for the attack. What has happened?

The jet fighters came at around 10 am and we heard they bombed Lawkho village near the Salween but I dont know yet how many bombs were dropped.

What is Brigade 5s long-term strategy?

I cant say it for the time being. We support the civil disobedience movement and the National Unity Government [NUG]. We dont accept the military council. We are doing what we can to support the NUG and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw [the National Parliament]. Seizing power with force and shooting unarmed people is unacceptable. We have to do what we can to support the people.



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By Susan Meikle and Margo Kissell, university news and communications

Tammy Kernodle, professor of musicology, and David Berg, professor of biology and professor of biological sciences, have been awarded the title of University Distinguished Professor by Miami University's board of trustees, effective July 1.

Established by the trustees in 1981 to attract and retain eminent professors, the title includes an annual stipend for conducting research and other professional activities.

University Distinguished Professors have national and international stature with demonstrated recognition and projected high level of scholarly productivity in the future. They must be a teacher of demonstrated excellence and a contributor to the life and mission of Miami University.

The call for nominations for the University Distinguished Professor Award is issued every other year, alternating with the Distinguished Service Award.

Tammy Kernodle

Tammy Kernodle (image by Jeff Sabo)

Kernodle  a professor of musicology and affiliate faculty of American studies, black world studies and women, gender and sexuality studies  is one of the most respected scholars in her field, according to nominators from Miami as well as outside the university.

She has a stellar reputation in the field of musicology, a nominator wrote, but more than that, she is widely admired as a person of great integrity and caring who seeks to make higher education a more welcoming place for all.

Kernodle is well known for her pioneering studies of African American women musicians. A nominator called her monograph, Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams, a landmark study.

More than an engrossing chronicle of the pianist and composer, it is a model of scholarly biography and a significant contribution to gender studies, Black studies, and jazz studies.

For the past three years, Kernodle has served as president of the Society for American Music.

Her status as a preeminent figure in the realm of Black music is evident through her consulting work for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture from 2012-2016, a nominator wrote.

She was featured on-screen in the 2019 documentary film, "Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool," part of the American Masters series on PBS that was later streamed on Netflix. As of October 2020, its most-viewed documentary had garnered 52 million views, a nominator wrote.

These engagements prove that Tammys voice is sought after on a national level, and that her perspective on Black music and culture, which has been informed through decades of in-depth research and study, is highly valued, a nominator said.

Kernodle was honored with Miami's Benjamin Harrison Medallion in 2018 and the Effective Educator Award in 2014.

A nominator said modern musicology engages virtually every aspect of culture, and it embraces scholarly apparatus from a raft of fields: critical theory, gender studies, political theory, psychology  This is the environment in which Kernodle flourishes, to discover how a thing in one universe affects a thing in another universe

She was honored for her achievements and teaching with Miami Universitys Benjamin Harrison Medallion (the highest honor Miami bestows) in 2018 and the Miami University Alumni Associations Effective Educator Award in 2014.

Kernodle is a tireless advocate for student success and an active mentor to many, a nominator said. She spends a great number of hours in her office, in one-on-one meetings with students, not only going over material from class, but also providing general advice. In other words, her efforts in communicating with students do not end at the classroom door.

Kernodle, who received her doctorate in music history from Ohio State University, joined Miami in 1998. During her career, she has been a visiting scholar to such places as the College of Music at Florida State University. Most recently, she conducted two days of activities via Zoom, but the virtual interactions didnt diminish her impact.

David Berg

David Berg and a student measure mussel shells (photo by Scott Kissell).

Berg researches the evolution and conservation of biodiversity with a focus on freshwater mussels, which are among the most endangered animals in North America.

His expertise and stature in conservation genetics have been sought out frequently for species status assessments for endangered species decision making, a nominator said.

His research is highly impactful and includes describing five new species in the amphipod genus Gammarus and providing critical information for the listing of three native species (including one native freshwater mussel, the Texas Hornshell) on the Endangered Species List, a nominator said.

He has been awarded more than $4.07 million in extramural grants from agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and the World Wildlife Fund. He has also received more than $400,000 in internal grants.

What is especially impactful in Dr. Bergs scholarly work with freshwater mussels and other aquatic organisms is that he brought the science of population genetics to many government agency biologists who had little knowledge of how to pair measures of genetic diversity to population dynamics, a nominator said.

Berg has maintained a vibrant and well-respected research program with outstanding productivity despite his heavy teaching load at the Regionals, according to several nominators.

Berg and his Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation Laboratory group explore the genetic and community diversity of invertebrates that live in isolated streams throughout the South and the desert Southwest of New Mexico and Texas.

The conservation status of these species is often undetermined and the work that Dr. Berg and his students perform to determine the genetic structure of these populations is of great interest to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and many state fish and game agencies, a nominator said. His research team provides the data these agencies need to evaluate how close to extinction these species might be.

Berg collects a freshwater mussel in the field (right).

His work has resulted in more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, averaging four publications per year for the past four years (and about 20 of which are co-authored with undergraduate students). His papers appear in high impact journals, including Global Change Biology, Molecular Ecology, and Conservation Biology.

This productivity would be commendable for a faculty member at a university with far less of a teaching commitment than Dr. Bergs, a nominator said.

His academic and research mentoring has included three postdoctoral scholars, 12 doctoral students, and eight masters degree students. He has also mentored more than 125 undergraduate research students.

He serves as chief departmental advisor in the department of biological sciences at the Regionals, and has been a leader in curriculum development and implementation for the applied biology major which launched in 2018  the first science bachelors degree offered fully at the Regionals campuses.

The goal was to reach 30 majors after the first year of the degree program. After two years, there are now more than 100 applied biology majors.

Bergs signature contribution to undergraduate experiences is co-directing the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) focused on Ecology in Human-Dominated Landscapes that has been running since 2001. Known as Miami's "Eco REU," this competitively funded program brings a group of undergraduates from all over the country to Miamis Oxford campus in the summer.

The program, supported by $1.6 million over 20 years, has served 174 participants from 119 institutions, with 54% of participants from minority groups typically under-represented in the sciences.

Berg is a founding member of the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society executive committee. He serves as a co-editor for the societys journal Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation (2017-present) and is co-chair of the societys publications committee. He was associate editor of American Midland Naturalist from 2005 to 2017.

He has been recognized for his teaching and service with numerous awards, including the 2017 Miami University Distinguished Scholar Award, the 2017 Faculty Excellence Award for Research from the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education, the 2012 Faculty Excellence in Service Award on the Hamilton Campus, among others.

What I find particularly extraordinary when reviewing Dr. Bergs career, an external nominator said, is his ability to manage a first-class research program, mentor graduate and undergraduate students, and serve the university and the wider community, given his heavy teaching load at the Regionals.
04/28/2021

By Ed Brennen

Photo by Ed Brennen Senior business student Alec Itzaina holds up a panini from After Hours, a student-run business he helped create in his Internship for Entrepreneurship course.

Photo by Ed Brennen The first After Hours customers pose with their panini sandwiches outside of University Suites.

Photo by Ed Brennen After Hours employee Silvana Davaiga, right, collects food donations for the Navigators Food Pantry from customers Karedis Robles, left, and Joey Peluso.

Photo by Ed Brennen Alec Itzaina and Silvana Davaiga grab panini sandwiches from a cooler for After Hours customers.

Alec Itzaina and Madhav Makadia had to be there when the first panini was served.A year ago, they were among the 16 Manning School of Business students in the Internship for Entrepreneurship course preparing to open  After Hours , a student-run venture that would offer late-night fare on weekends at University Suites Hawks Nest Cafe.After months of planning, everything was coming together for the grand opening in late March. But then, of course, COVID-19 shut down the campus.We were expecting to come back from spring break and open the restaurant. Then we had to stop, says Itzaina, a senior finance student from Sao Paulo, Brazil.Thirteen months later, a revamped pop-up version of After Hours started serving up food to hungry River Hawks. On a recent Friday evening, at tables set up outside of University Suites on East Campus, business students offered five varieties of pre-made panini sandwiches  salame, parma, mortadella, caprese and green  to students, faculty and staff.The price? Free. In lieu of payment, customers were asked to make a donation to the Navigators Food Pantry , a student organization that supplies free food items for anyone in the university community who may be experiencing food insecurity.The food pantry is a great resource on campus, and we thought this would be a good way to help people learn about it while also serving them a bite to eat, says Silvana Davaiga, a senior business major from New Bedford, Massachusetts, with an international business concentration.Taught by adjunct faculty members David Vatalaro and Dan Parravano , Internship in Entrepreneurship is a three-credit course that gives students a chance to gain professional work experience, typically with outside organizations. By creating and running their own restaurant instead, students in the course can now learn about business concepts like supply chain, marketing, customer relations and human resources right on campus.We have been working on the development of a student-run business initiative for several years, and with the support and guidance of many university leaders, it finally became a reality, says Dean of Business Sandra Richtermeyer , who stopped by on opening night to support the students  and try a caprese panini.Financial support from the Manning School covers the business costs, which include the panini ingredients (like fresh ciabatta bread) and the use of commercial kitchen space at UTEC, a community organization in Lowell where students make the sandwiches in accordance with food safety standards.Jillian Pare, a junior marketing and management student from Oxford, Massachusetts, joined the class last fall, when students began modifying the original in-person restaurant idea for a more COVID-safe alternative. She enjoyed the course so much that she enrolled again this semester.Theres so much to marketing a restaurant that you dont think about, says Pare, who was busy posting photos from the opening to the After Hours Instagram page. She says reaching students during the pandemic has been extra challenging.You cant just put up a big sign that says Come see us, because theres not that many people on campus, she says. Were hoping next semester will be different.Among the first customers were business students Joey Peluso and Karedis Robles, who brought several bags of food donations (customers could also make a monetary donation by scanning a QR code).A friend posted an Instagram story about it and I wanted to take part, said Robles, a junior finance and management information systems student from Puerto Rico.I love what theyre doing, added Peluso, a senior management and entrepreneurship student from Burlington, Massachusetts. I know for me, personally, sometimes it was challenging to pay for my own food. So I can definitely sympathize with the fact that the food pantry is a very necessary program.In addition to making a Navigators Food Pantry donation, customers were asked to complete a brief online survey to help the students improve their offerings in the future. The goal is to open a sit-down version on weekends, as planned, if COVID protocols allow in the fall.A lot of students come back late when the dining hall is closed, so we really want to provide something thats affordable and easily accessible, says Davaiga, who took the course in the fall and remained involved this semester.She says working with various groups across campus such as Student Affairs, the food pantry and UMLs food services provider, Aramark, helped me understand how big connections are in business.Makadia, one of the students preparing to open the restaurant last spring, returned home to India when classes went remote because of the pandemic. He would get up at 3 a.m. for Zoom meetings with his classmates to figure out how to continue the business concept.Now that hes back in Lowell, Makadia wanted to help with the opening  especially since some of the students who are taking the class remotely this semester could not be on campus.Its nice to see something become of it, he says. I hope students enjoy what we tried doing for the past year.With 100 paninis wrapped and ready to give away, Itzaina shared in the satisfaction.It was fun to have to pivot and prepare for something totally different, he says. It was a true business lesson.After Hours will be open two more times this semester  Friday, April 30 and Thursday, May 6  from 5 to 9 p.m. in front of University Suites.
German police called to investigate a suspected hand grenade in a forest were surprised to find that the object was actually a rubber sex toy.

Officers were alerted to the object when a bag containing the device was reported by a jogger in a forest outside the city of Passau, near Germany's borders with Austria and the Czech Republic.

Bomb squad detectives determined that the object was a grenade replica after inspecting the contents of the bag.

Officers told the German news agency dpa that the discovery of condoms and lubricant in the bag led them to suspect that the object was intended for use in sex.

An internet search confirmed the suspicion, police said. There are actually sex toys in the form of hand grenades.

It is not unusual for forgotten or hidden munitions to be discovered in Germany more than 75 years after the end of World War II.

Last week, police in the city of Mannheim said construction workers had found a 500kg WWII-era bomb, forcing about 3,000 people in the area to temporarily leave their homes.

The explosive device was successfully defused later that day and local residents were told they could return to their homes.

In January, bomb disposal experts also detonated four WWII bombs, dropped by US military forces during the war, in the city of Gottingen after thousands of residents were evacuated from the area.

Although such incidents are generally handled as routine matters that are not seen as cause for serious alarm, they can occasionally lead to injuries and deaths, according to Deutsche Welle.

Additional reporting by AP
Hours before clouds of tear gas blanketed the courthouse square in downtown Huntsville on June 1, a city police officer reported seeing a group of 23 cars, all with Georgia license plates, traveling through the city.

Worried that out-of-towners and agitators might attend a racial justice protest downtown that night, Huntsville police Chief Mark McMurray sent officers to every hotel in Madison County. Police didnt find the cars.

Police also looked into rumors that busloads of people might come to town, another investigation that turned up no evidence.

Both are among the disclosures in hundreds of pages of recently released inquiry into how Huntsville police handled last summers racial justice protests, as protests swept the nation in response to the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.

In Huntsville, police from multiple agencies on June 1 and June 3 dispersed crowds with tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray and other riot gear. Helicopters flew overhead and snipers peered down from the courthouse roof. Police arrested about two dozen people, most of them on charges of disorderly conduct, and more than half of those cases were later dismissed. Two people were arrested on gun charges.

Huntsville police gas and scatter protesters On June 3, a rally sponsored by the Huntsville-Madison County chapter of the NAACP was held in Big Spring Park. The rally began at 5 p.m. and ended shortly before a scheduled 6:30 p.m. conclusion. The protesters marched on the streets after their permit expired at 6:30 p.m. Police ordered them all to leave about 7:10 p.m. Police did not act for more than an hour. Then came an influx of trooper cars and the first tear gas was deployed just after 8 p.m. Posted by al.com on Thursday, June 4, 2020

Local protesters, alleging that police used excessive force and violated their First Amendment rights, called for accountability and transparency. The City Council last June passed a resolution tasking the Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council, a group of 10 volunteers, with reviewing law enforcements response to the protests and making recommendations for improvement.

The City Council said the advisory committee would have all resources and cooperation by Huntsville police. And the city hired a law firm from Birmingham to help with the review.

The lawyers prepared a 248-page report and presented a summary to the Huntsville City Council last week.

Here are 10 takeaways:

1. The intelligence gathering by Huntsville police was questionable. In addition to deploying officers to all hotels in the county on a tip about out-of-state cars, Huntsville police also investigated rumors that hardware stores were selling out of some supplies, according to the report. Chief Mark McMurray told the advisory committee that he called every hardware store in Madison County to ask whether they sold out of bricks, stones and chemicals that could be used as weapons. He found nothing suspicious.

But in other instances, Huntsville police did not investigate people that Chief McMurray later said he believed to be a danger. During a presentation to the City Council last summer, McMurray cited social media posts by people he accused of being antifa sympathizers as part of his justification for using force at the protests. One man posted on Snapchat BYOW, an acronym that McMurray said might have been a reference to bring your own weapons to the protests. Despite knowing the posters identity and criminal history, police did not talk to the man to ask what he meant ahead of the protests, the report says. The report raised questions about McMurrays claim that BYOW referred to weapons. The post included a leaf, according to the report, and online searches for the acronym show that it most often is used to say, bring your own weed.

In other instances, the report says that police may have over-reacted to facetious social media posts. Police apparently spent a great deal of time gathering and reviewing social media, but HPD has not explained the extent to which specific posts, if any, were reliable, the report says. Additionally, the methodology for investigating tips and for identifying which tips to investigate is also an open question.

[Related: Huntsville police use questionable claims of antifa and looting to justify tear gassing protesters]

2. Huntsville police havent been fully transparent. In a resolution appointing the review committee to write a report on the protests, the City Council said the committee will have access to any resources at the Huntsville Police Department, including access to employees involved in the events to be investigated and documentary evidence, such as video footage from aerial surveillance and body cameras Yet the committees report lays out numerous concerns about the need for more transparency from Huntsville police. Chief Mark McMurray sat for an interview with the committee. But that was insufficient, the committees lawyers wrote, because none of the officers who worked on the streets that night sat for interviews. This lack of transparency was and remains troubling, the report says. The city said it didnt have the authority to require officers to sit for interviews, and that the officers statements could put them in legal jeopardy if sued.

3. Huntsville police drug their feet in working with the committee. The review committee came under public scrutiny from the minute it was authorized to conduct the review. Because the committee doesnt have subpoena power or authority over the police department, many in the public questioned whether this group of 10 volunteers would be able to produce a timely, detailed, accurate reflection of the protests. As months passed with the report still unfinished, both the public and city leaders questioned why it was taking so long.

According to the committees report, that delay may be, at least in part, due to the police department being slow to produce records. It took until late September for Huntsville police to hand over more than 300 hours of body camera footage. And even then, the videos were only provided on the agreement that they wouldnt be made public. The committee noted that police did not turn over all video from the protests (including footage that was used in court to prosecute people arrested on June 3.) The committee also expressed concerns about gaps in footage and said that some officers bodycams were covered or pointed toward the sky.

Huntsville police didnt hand over a list of the munitions officers fired at the protests until February, eight months after the review began.

[Related: Huntsville declines to release records about tear gas at protests]

4. Other police agencies refused to answer any questions. The Madison County Sheriffs Office and the Madison Police Department were involved in the response to the protests. Yet, they did not provide any documents requested by the committee.

The Madison Police Department, which sent nine officers to help the sheriffs office, asked to see a draft of the committees report to help decide whether to turn over documents.

Madison County Sheriff Kevin Turner said last June that he would give a report about what his office did during the protests, but he hasnt done so. The committees review found that the sheriffs office was responsible for the force that drew a large share of complaints from protesters: firing rubber bullets into the crowd and pointing sniper rifles at protesters from the courthouse roof.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which also helped with the protest response, gave the committee a copy of its policy and procedure manual. The agency told the committee that state troopers mostly helped with traffic enforcement and said that providing other requested records would be too burdensome.

5. Huntsville police officers violated policy and behaved unprofessionally in some instances documented by the committee. Body camera video showed one officer saying he had fired rubber bullets, which were not authorized by the city police chief, according to the report. Another officer pepper sprayed protesters in the face, even as they walked away in Big Spring Park. One officer turned off his body camera while talking about how hard he hit a protester who was trying to get into a car. Bodycam video showed an officer say that he shot someone in the face with a bean bag round, which is violation of Huntsville police policy.

The report also says Huntsville police had opportunities to help or aid protesters but did not do so. In Big Spring Park an officer did not offer or provide medical attention to a protester who was injured and limping. Instead, the officer told the person to keep walking. In another instance, a protester collapsed and fainted in front of officers, but they did not help the person. One officer laughed as the protesters friends tried to lift him from the ground, according to the report.

The report notes, though, that while the committee documented instances of misconduct, many Huntsville officers acted appropriately.

6. No officers were disciplined as a result of the protests. Public trust is critical if law enforcement agencies are to successfully perform their vital work and to honor their duty to serve and protect the public, the report says. The committee recommended that the Huntsville Police Department give a public accounting of whether any disciplinary actions were taken against officers for improperly firing beanbags at protesters. Elizabeth Huntley, the committees lawyer, said the committee was unaware of HPD disciplining any officers. McMurray, the police chief, confirmed to AL.com that no officers had been disciplined.

[Related: More transparency needed in police reform, Huntsville group says]

7. There were positive interactions between police and protesters, too. Body camera video showed a sergeant hug a citizen who was scared and asked how to de-escalate the situation. One member of the public told the committee about seeing an officer give aid to a protester; another reported that an officer helped a young child who was suffering from smoke police deployed in Big Spring Park. Another commenter said a lieutenant was friendly and took photos with protesters.

8. Many police officers thought it was a peaceful protest. From watching hundreds of hours of video footage, the committee heard the perspectives of many officers. Several officers said the protests were peaceful but that they did not want to leave the protesters in the streets after dark. One city police officer told a co-worker that Huntsville police had been using chemical spray like a mother f**ker. One sergeant, according to the report, said the June 1 event was not even all that rowdy for a protest and that he thought the situation would get bad if Huntsville police started pushing protesters out and showing force against a peaceful crowd. One officer complained to two co-workers that the protest would end if the police took a knee with the demonstrators. Another officer responded, Im not bowing, thats like bowing!

9. Some officers were eager to break up the protest. A captain told a group of officers, You cant allow lawlessness. Minneapolis let them take over their streets. You want to protest? Then its all good. I heard we did gas, and you dont allow lawlessness. You do not tolerate it, do not accept it, according to the report.

The report says that another video shows a Huntsville police officer ask another policeman whether he was part of the arrest team. The policeman, a member of the departments incident response team, responded, no, we f**k people up.

10. Huntsville police werent trained and ready to be the target of a protest. The committee reviewed video footage that showed officers discussing their lack of training and preparation for the large crowds that attended protests on June 1 and June 3. Huntley, one of the committees attorneys, said that while officers were trained in crowd control, they were not prepared for working at a protest where the police themselves were the target of demonstrators anger and frustration. Some demonstrators chanted f**k the police and no justice, no peace. At other times, protesters shouted the names of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, who were killed by police in other cities. And protesters also chanted the names of Dana Fletcher, a Black man shot and killed by Madison police, and Crystal Ragland, a Black veteran who was shot and killed by Huntsville police. HPD did not sufficiently appreciate the difficulties involved when law enforcement itself is the subject of the protest, the report says. Rather than being in a traditional neutral role of monitoring antagonists and keeping them separate and safe, the police during the Floyd protests wereaccurately or inaccuratelythe almost exclusive subject of the demonstrations.

Huntley said the committees review found a critical need for additional training for officers in how to best respond when they are the subject of a protest. Training is critical, she said. Thats probably the no. 1 recommendation from this report. This unrest associated with this issue is not going away tomorrow. It is here with us. It is another round in history where there is an issue that triggers such an amount of unrest that its going to be here for a while.

The Huntsville City Council will meet for a work session tonight at 5 p.m. to discuss the report and recommendations for changes to the police department moving forward.

Madison County Sheriff Kevin Turner released this statement:
When Sunnyvale's Toys R Us closed in 2018, it didn't just take baby strollers, action figures and coloring books with it. It ended a chapter of one of the Bay Area's most well-known and enduring ghost stories.

But life has come again to the vacant big box store: REI announced this week it will be moving its Mountain View location to the former Toys R Us at 130 East El Camino Real. It's expected to open in the fall.

"Our store team is incredibly excited about the relocation and eager to get more involved with the Sunnyvale community. The Sunnyvale location will provide more than 1.4 million lifetime REI members in Northern California with the gear and resources to enjoy the outdoors in the South Bay," said Kirk Peterson, REI regional director for Northern California, in a statement.

The store was originally built in 1970 as part of Toys R Us's expansion to California. Almost immediately, employees reported strange happenings. Toys would fly off shelves, people felt phantom touches, and faucets turned on and off by themselves. It became legendary among paranormal investigators in the late '70s, when it played host to several seances by psychic Sylvia Browne. One of those seances was shown on the popular program "That's Incredible," launching the store to international fame.

In the episode, which features a number of delightfully terrible reenactments, Browne tells the story of the so-called Toys R Us ghost. According to Browne, she was able to make contact with the ghost, a laborer on the farm that once stood on the spot of the new store.

"As he walked down the hall toward me, he kept saying, 'Have mercy on me, Beth,'" Browne related.

She also claimed she intuited the ghost's name, Jan "Johnny" Johnson, and his suitably cinematic backstory. Johnson, a traveling preacher from Sweden, sometimes worked on the Murphy farm in exchange for room and board. While working there in the 1880s, he fell in love with the Murphy's daughter, Elizabeth. But his love was unrequited. Elizabeth ran away with a lawyer from the East Coast, leaving Johnny broken hearted. One day, while chopping wood, Johnny's ax slipped, gouging him deep in the leg. He slowly bled to death, and his unsettled ghost has roamed the property ever since.

The story is now part of canonical ghost lore, but a look back at primary sources reveals scant evidence for any of it.

---

For starters, the dates are all wrong.

Elizabeth had been dead for years by the time the story takes place; she died at the age of 30 in 1875. She also didn't "run away" with an East Coast lawyer. She was married in grand fashion to William Taaffe, the son of a wealthy dry-goods merchant from San Francisco, in 1863. The society event joined two of the young state's most prominent families.

(We also gave the legend the benefit of the doubt, and looked into the lives of Elizabeth's children for a suitable substitute. She had twin girls, named Mollie and Mattie, but neither ever married.)

A look through California census data from 1860-90 turns up a number of farm laborers born in Sweden who were living in the Sunnyvale area, but none meet the right specs for Browne's Jan Johnson. Similarly, searches through California newspapers find no account of a grisly ax death on the Murphy property, despite many internet retellings of the tale claiming "old news clippings" mention Johnson.

Finally, there's that pesky "Beth" detail. According to family records and obituaries, Elizabeth went by Lizzie, not Beth.

Jan Johnson aside, the Murphys were one of early California's most fascinating families, and the subject of enough drama without invented ghost stories.

Martin and Mary Murphy, a married couple from Ireland, were in the first wagon train to cross the Sierra Nevadas, blazing the trail that would soon be known as Donner Pass. During the winter of 1844, Mary gave birth to Elizabeth, who was famous throughout her life as the first pioneer child born in California. Several weeks later, baby Lizzie fell into the Yuba River; luckily, her father was able to fish her out. Forever after, her middle name was "Yuba."

Once settled in the Bay Area, Murphy bought the Spanish land grant known as Rancho Pastoria de las Borregas in present-day Sunnyvale. There, they built the area's first wood-frame house, Bay View Ranch, and planted the first orchards. Before long, the Murphys were rich and influential, hosting political and social events at their ranch, and helping establish both Notre Dame College in San Jose and the University of Santa Clara.

When Elizabeth married, the Murphys gifted her and her new husband William Taaffe 3,000 acres  today all of Los Altos Hills  as a wedding present. Elizabeth Way and Taaffe Avenue in Sunnyvale and Elizabeth Avenue in Los Altos are named after them.

In 1881, the Murphys famously held their 50th wedding anniversary gala on the ranch. Six thousand guests allegedly showed up, making it the largest party in California history up until that point. The San Francisco Call said they were feted in "truly regal style."

---

Those who still believe in the haunting of the Sunnyvale Toys R Us have no shortage of ghostly candidates. Mary and Martin's eldest son, James, died of consumption in the house in 1851. Elizabeth died young, too, as did her husband, who passed away in 1869.

Then, there's the strange case of Fred Hoffman, the brother-in-law of Elizabeth and William's son Martin. Hoffman died on the property in 1894 when he was working on a pump in the farm well. Unfortunately for Hoffman, the well was next to a leaking gas tank. After he failed to show up for dinner, he was found dead at the bottom of the well, asphyxiated from gas fumes. When Martin went down to retrieve the body, he unwisely lit a candle to guide his way. The Call reported he was blown out of the well by the explosion. Martin was badly burned, but he survived.

After Sunnyvale Toys R Us shuttered, though, the building went back into action occasionally  and in the most fitting reincarnation possible. During the fall, it was sometimes home to a Spirit Halloween store.

But just because it isn't a Toys R Us anymore, that doesn't mean the ghost in the aisles will disappear. Most ghost hunters believe apparitions are tied to the soil, not the structure, so REI may get an unexpected tenant in the deal.

There's also a belief that construction can stir up ghostly activity. So perhaps REI employees should keep an eye out: The Toys R Us ghost (or publicity stunt, depending on how you view it) may be ready to make headlines again.
[April 28, 2021] Secuvant Announces Advisory Board of Cybersecurity and Technology Experts

Salt Lake City, UT, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Secuvant (Secuvant or the Company), a leader in strategic managed security and risk advisory services, today announced its Board of Advisors, which is composed of world-class cybersecurity and technology experts whose role is to help further the Companys continued success by providing high-level guidance and expertise on Secuvants strategy and offerings.

We are proud and honored to have such a prestigious group of professionals who bring valuable insight into the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity, said Ryan Layton, Secuvant Founder and CEO. From health care to transportation to agriculture and construction equipment, their expertise spans a multitude of industries, helping us further expand on our goal of providing widespread peace of mind when it comes to managing cyber risk. Secuvants Advisory Board includes: Don Ainslie, Secuvant EVP, Risk Services, Sales, Board Member Ainslie is currently the Executive Vice President, Risk Services, Sales for Secuvant. Previously, he served as a Senior Partner and Practice Leader of Deloitte & Touche Enterprise Risk and Security Services. Ainslie was Deloittes first Global Security Officer and the firms first Global Chief Information Security Officer, with accountability over a network of member firms and their affiliates in more than 150 countries and territories. Ainslie also served more than 15 years in the military, intelligence, and defense industries, providing innovative solutions to some of the U.S. governments most sensitive security programs. Chris Barker, Board Member Barker is a transportation technology consultant and founder for CBC, focused on helping cities, companies, universities, and governments around the world to advance new forms of mobility. He has more than 25 years of experience in helping deploy aerospace, autonomous transportation, cybersecurity, and smart city innovations for companies such as Boeing, Cisco, Honeywell, Lucent, Microsoft, Raytheon, Real Networks, and the Volvo Group. Previously, Barker was the Vice President of New Mobility at Keolis Group and helped launch the first open road autonomous shuttle service in North America. Bill Fisher, Board Member Fisher is a retired Deloitte Consulting Senior Partner with over 37 years of strategy and operations consulting experience worldwide for many of the firms foremost multinational clients, and led the conceptual design team for Deloitte University, the firms premier leadership development center. After Sept 11th, Fisher was appointed the leader of the firms Global Crisis Management Team, responsible for coordinating activities of the Assessment and Response Teams o Crisis and Functional Specialists within the Firm. He subsequently served as the global alliance leader for SAS Advanced Analytics.



Mark Ford, Board Member Ford recently retired from Deloitte as the US Industry Sector Leader for Higher Education in Deloittes Risk and Financial Advisory Services business. His experience in risk consulting services and the information protection consulting profession goes back more than 24 years and he brings a specialized focus in health care, including life sciences, health plans and health care providers.

Brian Kelly, Board Member Kelly is an experienced leader and enterprise security expert with over 40 years in the public and private sectors. As former Rackspace Chief Security Officer, he was responsible for the safety and security of Rackers, facilities, infrastructure, and data/information worldwide while also protecting over 300,000 customer organizations. Prior to Rackspace, Kelly worked in security, special operations and intelligence, and business operations with the U.S. government, Department of Defense (DoD), and private sector. Ryan Layton, Secuvant Founder and CEO, Board Member Layton is an accomplished business and technology professional with more than 20 years of experience working with C-Level executives within the Fortune 1000 space. As Founder and CEO of Secuvant, he oversees vision, strategy and execution efforts for the firm. Previously, Layton spent 14 years in Sales and Consulting at a Chicago-based Systems Integration firm, specializing in operational resiliency and data security. He built and managed a direct client portfolio producing revenues in excess of $40 Million annually. He has a proven track record utilizing his business and financial background to understand and leverage technology to meet business objectives. Kelly Liu, Board Member Liu is an accomplished demand marketing leader in the cybersecurity industry and has been working in various marketing roles in high tech for over 15 years. Currently, she works at Menlo Security as the Senior Director of Global Demand, generating marketing sourced pipelines, managing global integrated campaigns, lead generation programs, field marketing, and channel marketing. Jared Mabey, Chairman of the Board Mabey currently serves as President and CEO of Lighthouse Business Catalysts, a business consulting firm he founded. He has experience working with Fortune 500 as well as mid to lower middle-market companies across more than a dozen industries including tech, cybersecurity, private equity, software, banking, foreign investment consulting, and government. Mark Spangler, Board Member Spangler is a driven leader and educator with a strong business acumen and passion for resource management, customer outreach, and cybersecurity. Holding a TS/SCI clearance, he has extensive experience and expertise supporting national security programs at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the Intelligence Community (IC), and Department of Defense (DoD) in multiple leadership and operational roles within areas of cybersecurity and information technology. Jim Walker, Board Member Walker has 40 years of experience in the agriculture and heavy equipment industries, having recently retired from CASE IH as their Executive Vice President of North American Operations. His professional affiliations include serving as Vice Chair and Treasurer of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), an association of industry leaders throughout North America representing more than 1,000 agricultural and construction manufacturers and suppliers. He also served as President and Board Member of AEMs Agricultural Board. He brings expertise in business startup, expansion, consolidation, distribution development and specialty marketing achieved through the experience of facing unique and cyclical challenges and the creation of innovative solutions. Walkers strategic focus is helping Secuvant better service the agriculture and construction equipment industry. Secuvant is a global leader in integrated cyberthreat solutions offering customized cybersecurity and risk advisory services. With a mission to provide clients with a Clear Path Forward, they work to establish digital-security protocols, customized to each client, that not only protect companies from cyber threats but build the foundation for their entire digital infrastructure. To learn more about how Secuvant could help protect your business, please visit Secuvant.com, call 855.732.8826, or email sales@secuvant.com. About Secuvant Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, Secuvant is a global leader in integrated cyber threat analytics and risk advisory services, built on a value system of client focus, integrity, accountability, execution, and teamwork. Secuvants mission is to provide clients with a Clear Path Forward in their pursuit of establishing an acceptable security risk posture. Secuvants success is built upon strict adherence to its values, a functioning world-class advisory board, the unique combination of cybersecurity expertise and industry / vertical specialization, and a team of experts that repeatedly deliver best-in-class managed and advisory cybersecurity and risk services. Secuvant understands Cyber Risk is Business Risk and uses methodologies and metrics aimed at minimizing business risk. Services include, but are not limited to, Security Gap and Risk Assessments, Risk Program Management, Executive and Board Cyber Advisory, Penetration Testing, Cloud Security Reference Architecture, Security Monitoring, Managed Detection and Response and Incident Response services. To learn more visit www.secuvant.com. Secuvant Media Contact: Kyle Porter CMW Media 858.264.6600 Secuvant@cmwmedia.com



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The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey has disclosed that his cabinet is documenting an Accra Bible which will serve as a policy guide to his successors and people living in the capital.



The Ayawaso Central MP admonished that although his predecessors have done their best in solving issues, their failure to pass on their ideas to their successors is a challenge in making Accra work.



According to the Minister, the Accra Bible will help solve the institutional gap which does not aid in implementing policies to help develop the capital.



Im putting up a think-tank team that will come up with what I call the Accra Bible so that its not going to be like there used to be an ET Mensah or Adjiri Blankson, he did his best but he is gone, Henry Quartey stated in an interview sighted by Ghanaweb.



He added, We want a situation where Henry Quartey does it and he is gone and there is something to guide my successor who will know that in terms of security there is the bible.



Once we are able to get that document ready, we will launch it and every media house will get a copy, Henry Quartey told JoyNews.



The Greater Accra Regional Minister has been commended for his efforts in helping decongesting and improving sanitation in the capital





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.

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EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell believes that the EU should be ready to react if Russia crosses the "red lines" with regard to Ukraine.

He said this on Wednesday in Brussels, speaking in the European Parliament as part of the discussion of Russia's relations in the light of its recent actions, including with respect to Ukraine.

Borrell recalled the recent buildup of Russia's military presence near the borders with Ukraine and in Crimea. The EU high representative said that Russia must stop its provocations and cooperate to reduce tensions. According to him, what Russia is doing now is pretending to be a neutral mediator, they say, we have nothing to do with the conflict in Ukraine, but are only trying to act as mediators. This pretense must be debunked. For Russia, full implementation of the Minsk Agreements is not the key conditions, but for the EU they are. These are the key conditions for a significant improvement in the relations. The EU must also be ready for an additional reaction if Russia continues to escalate or crosses the red lines.

At the same time, he expressed confidence that Ukraine should continue its reforms, because there is nothing better in confronting Russia than to become a country with a democratic system, free from corruption, using our resources, which we are ready to provide in order to improve the quality of the country's governance. Borrell said the EU must continue to convey a coordinated message of its continued support to Ukraine. And the EU will take part in the summit of the Crimean platform in August.

He said that relations between the EU and Russia continue to deteriorate. Borrell also said that the EU relations with Russia are at a very low level. This negative trend continues and they have reached an even more dangerous level of deterioration. Without the fact that the EU does not want to fuel further dynamics of escalation, however, it must show that the EU does not accept what Russia is doing and must react to what is happening.
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A rare baby rhino has made her first appearance in front of excited onlookers at a western NSW zoo.

The seven-week-old black rhino calf named Sabi Star appeared on Wednesday alongside mum Bakhita at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.

Already weighing in at more than 111kg, Sabi Star has just begun trying to eat solid foods and has started mimicking her mum's feeding on branches.

The seven-week-old black rhino calf named Sabi Star appeared on Wednesday alongside mum Bakhita at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo

Her public debut is another exciting step, says keeper Hayley Brooks.

'Sabi Star has been very alert on the exhibit paddock and seemed to notice unfamiliar faces, sounds and people when she first went out,' she said.

'She listened and watched intently but took comfort and direction from her experienced mum.'

Sabi Star is the latest calf in the conservation breeding program run by the zoo, which also funds conservation efforts for wild rhinos in Africa, Indonesia and India.

Black rhinos are critically endangered, with less than 6,000 estimated to remain in the wild.
People wearing face masks walk down staircase heading to a subway station during the evening rush hour in Beijing, April 26. AP-Yonhap




MYSTIC, Conn., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- "Amazing," "absolutely incredible," "spot-on," and "you saved my life." These are just a few phrases used to describe the experience clients have had with Nancy Mello during their sessions. Nancy is a psychic medium, animal intuitive/animal communicator, and clairvoyant. She can help with services from connecting clients to people and pets that have passed, making decisions about the future, letting go of your past, or even finding a lost pet.

Nancy Mello works with people all over the world through virtual sessions. Nancy Mello is an animal communicator.

Mello grew up in Northern California on a farm where she garnered her love for animals and the ability to understand and connect with them. She has shared that her gift is genetic, going back to many generations. She loves working with animals of all types and believes each animal has a unique personality of their own.

Nancy has a mission to fund scientific research to understand how those with intuitive abilities use their brain differently. She believes that by understanding how clairvoyants use their brains in different ways, she can further help understand how the brain works and how she can help others. "I believe that both science and spirituality can coincide," stated Nancy.

As a psychic medium, clairvoyant, and animal communicator, Nancy connects with clients worldwide, with all sessions done virtually over phone or video service. Her reading sessions range from 15 minutes to 2 hours. During readings, Nancy takes notes, scans them as a PDF, and emails them to her clients. Once you share in the experience of a session, Mello states, "you become a friend for life."

Described as one of the best animal communicators and psychics in the industry by kevsbest.com, Nancy has been featured in the Washington Post, Cosmopolitan U.K., and podcasts such as "Adventures of a Frugal mom." The features highlight when she discovered her gift, the different services offered, along with her take on the Covid-19 pandemic and protesting against racism. Between 2020 and 2021, Nancy worked with over 400 animals and helped owners find over 35 animals. She has communicated with all kinds of animals- from a Beta Fish named Clark, a bearded dragon lizard named Beardy, and an unnamed groundhog tearing up a yard. "People ask me if I can communicate with this or that type of animal. Even if I am unsure, I am always willing to give it a try. It is incredible the amount of understanding animals seem to have, even just from an emotional level." Nancy remarks.

Apart from helping animals and people, Nancy is a military spouse of an Active Duty U.S. Service Member. She has two children and recently stepped down from an elected position in the local town government to focus more time helping locate lost pets. She shares her home with two rescue cats and two rescue dogs who enjoy having an animal communicator as a pet parent. "The cats especially take advantage of my gift when I am sleeping. I'll wake up and want to order them a cat scratcher or more cat grass." Mello jokes.

For more information or to book Nancy Mello, you can visit her website, www.nancymello.com.

Media contact:

Nancy Mello

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860-829-9444

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The Shikoku Shimbun - Apr 28, 2021 - 15:43 | All, Japan

A condominium management company in Kagawa Prefecture, western Japan, has built a plant to produce fuel ethanol from the waste liquid produced in the process of making the distilled Japanese spirit shochu.



Anabuki Housing Service Co. developed the plant in Miyazaki Prefecture, where shochu is widely produced at a time when the cost of treating waste liquid has been an issue for small and medium-sized breweries.



Small and medium-sized sake breweries produce dozens of tons of waste liquid per day, and many of them ask waste disposal companies to dump it, which costs about 10,000 yen ($92) per ton.

A subsidiary of the company started collaborating with the University of Miyazaki in 2014 to develop the technology to utilize the waste and it will be put into full-scale operation this May.



Ethanol is produced by mixing the waste liquid with starchy food waste such as from potatoes, fermenting it, and distilling it.



The plant can process 15 tons of waste liquid per day and produce 1.2 tons of ethanol. The disposal cost is about half that of the conventional method.



The ethanol produced is used as fuel to run the plant. In addition, the residue left after distilling the waste liquid can be recycled into pellet fuel.



The plant will also be used as a model plant, and the company hopes to introduce the technology to local breweries.



The factory has a site area of about 2,060 square meters and a total floor space of about 360 square meters.

The Shikoku Shimbun

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WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats are moving to reinstate regulations designed to limit climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas fields, as part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to tackle climate change.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, speaks during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Washington. (Sarah Silbiger/Pool via AP)

WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats are moving to reinstate regulations designed to limit climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas fields, as part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to tackle climate change.

The Senate approved a resolution Wednesday that would undo an environmental rollback by President Donald Trump that relaxed requirements of a 2016 Obama administration rule targeting methane emissions from oil and gas drilling.

The resolution was approved, 52-42. Three Republican senators  Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Rob Portman of Ohio  joined 49 Democrats to approve the measure, which only needed a simple majority under Senate rules. Five Republicans and one Democrat did not vote.

The legislation now goes to the Democratic-controlled House, where it is expected to win approval.

The Environmental Protection Agency approved the looser methane rule last year. The agency's former administrator, Andrew Wheeler, declared the change would strengthen and promote American energy'' while saving companies tens of millions of dollars a year in compliance requirements.

Democrats and environmentalists called it one of the Trump administration's most egregious actions to deregulate U.S. businesses. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, packing a stronger punch in the short term than even carbon dioxide.

Preventing methane leaks at oil and gas sites "is a huge part of how we prevent a 1.5 degree (Celsius) rise in global temperatures,'' a key aim of the climate movement, said Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.

Heinrich, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, co-sponsored the resolution under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn certain regulations that have been in place for a short time. The Trump rule was finalized last September.

Heinrich called the resolution a no-brainer, saying that preventing leaks of methane  a type of natural gas  will save companies money, put people to work and help prevent global warming.

"I'm surprised and a little disappointed this is not broadly bipartisan,'' Heinrich said, noting that many energy companies, including Shell Oil Co., Occidental Petroleum and Cheniere Energy Inc., support reinstatement of the Obama-era rule.

It's sort of inertia and dogma at this point for Republicans to oppose tighter restrictions on methane emissions, he said in an interview.

Collins, who joined with Democrats to block a GOP-led effort to overturn a similar Obama-era methane rule in 2017, said the move to undo the Trump-era rule would "protect public health and the environment by restoring the tougher standards at EPA that significantly decreased methane emissions.

Graham, who also voted with Democrats in 2017, called methane leaks unnecessary emissions,'' adding that if energy companies can do something about it, theyll need to do it.''

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said Democrats appear intent on demonizing natural gas even though increased natural gas production  spurred by the fracking boom  actually helped lead to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions'' over the past decade.

Capito, the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said President Joe Biden managed to kill thousands of jobs and paralyze Americas energy industry with executive orders soon after taking office, including withdrawal of a permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Another order, freezing new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters, "is an economic, energy and national security disaster rolled into one,'' she said.

The order moves America from energy independence back to relying on foreign adversaries for energy  countries that have much laxer environmental standards,'' Capito said. She called the leasing pause part of a looming war against natural gas, a fossil fuel that contributes to global warming, although at a lower rate than coal or oil.

The forces against natural gas are growing,'' she said, adding that many Democrats and environmentalists also oppose coal or any other energy source thats not blessed by the Green New Deal.''

Democrats disputed that notion. The Green New Deal  a sweeping but nonbinding proposal to shift the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels such as oil and coal and replace them with renewable sources such as wind and solar power  has not been approved in either the House or the Senate.

David Doniger, a climate and clean-energy expert at the Natural Resources Defence Council, said natural gas has significant leakage at every stage in the production process, from drilling to movement through pipelines.

Doniger called the Trump administrations rollback a free pass for Americas oil and gas companies to keep leaking,'' adding, If you are looking for fast relief from the worst effects of global warming, then methane control is high on your list.''

Repealing the Trump rule not only is beneficial in itself, Doniger said, but it also will send a strong signal that America is back on course in the fight against climate change, "and this Congress wants to get action done on climate.''

Heinrich and other Democrats said the methane vote is the first of many steps Congress will take to address climate change.

Under this Democratic majority, the Senate will be a place where we take decisive, ambitious and effective action against climate change,'' said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The U.S. needs to build credibility on the world stage on climate change following four years of inaction and hostility to climate policy under Trump, Heinrich said.

It's a great opportunity to build momentum as Congress considers Biden's $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, he said. The plan includes spending for 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles; significant expansion of solar and wind power; and development of technology to capture and store carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants.

Congressional approval of the methane rule will help Biden at a U.N. conference on climate change, scheduled for November in Glasgow, Scotland, Democrats said. The votes would tell other countries that, we're not just rejoining (the Paris climate accord) but we will lead the world on climate,'' Heinrich said.
(Reuters) -The space race between the world's two richest men went into hyperdrive on Tuesday after Tesla chief took a swipe at Jeff Bezos' attempt to challenge a major contract.

The two billionaires, who have been trying to launch long-range orbital rockets, were competing for a coveted contract from the government to build a spaceship to deliver astronauts to the moon as early as 2024.

Musk won. Bezos was not happy.

Bezos' Blue Origin on Monday filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), accusing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of moving the goalposts for contract bidders at the last minute.

Musk, who also leads SpaceX, fired back with a tweet that said: "Can't get it up (to orbit) lol." (https://bit.ly/3npEc0Z)

He did not elaborate on the tweet, but pasted a screenshot of a 2019 report about Bezos unveiling Blue Origin's moon lander on the same Twitter thread.

Blue Origin has fallen far behind SpaceX and United Launch Alliance (ULA) on orbital transportation, losing out on billions of dollars' worth of U.S. national security launch contracts that begin in 2022. ULA is a joint venture of Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp.

These rocket startups mainly aim to send satellites for clients into orbit at an affordable price and reuse parts of rockets to keep costs in check.

Earlier this month, awarded SpaceX the lunar contract over Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics. The sought-after project aims to put humans back on the moon for the first time since 1972.

" has executed a flawed acquisition for the Human Landing System program and moved the goalposts at the last minute," Blue Origin said in an emailed statement.

"Their decision eliminates opportunities for competition, significantly narrows the supply base, and not only delays, but also endangers America's return to the moon. Because of that, we've filed a protest with the GAO."

The GAO also confirmed that Dynetics had challenged the NASA contract award to SpaceX. Dynetics did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Musk's SpaceX bid alone while Amazon.com founder Bezos' Blue Origin partnered with Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp and Draper.

The filing of the 50-page protest by Blue Origin was reported earlier by the New York Times.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru and Eric Johnson in Seattle, additional reporting by Akanksha Rana; editing by Jane Wardell, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Bernard Orr)

(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.)
ISLAMABAD: Sikh diaspora has condemned Pakistans machination of defaming the Sikh community and trying to create a wedge between Pakistani and European Sikhs by projecting a Muslim man in the guise of a Sikh and inciting them to give a befitting reply to French people for allegedly publishing a caricature of Prophet Muhammad.

In a video message uploaded on social media, a sky blue turban-wearing person supporting a beard introduces himself as Sardar Ji while greeting both Aslamu alaikum and Sasriakar. The Sikh look-alike person who is identified as Sardar Qasam Dogar Singh in Pakistan raises a slogan of Gustakh e rasool ki eik hi saza , sar dar say juda (only punishment for blasphemy of Prophet is separating the head from the body).

He was referring to the publication of a caricature of Prophet Muhammad by a French publishing house while demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador from Pakistan.

Sources reveal that presumably after having failed to come up to their expectations and deliver the expected task from pro-Khalistan Sikh leader Gopal Singh Chawla, Pakistans intelligence agency is now trying to project a pseudo-Sikh figure to further their anti-India designs.

In the recent past, there had been violent protests in Pakistan led by Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan, an Islamist outfit, against France after the Pakistan government didnt heed to their demand and didnt expel the French ambassador for its president Emmanuel Macron defending the publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad and also vowed to fight the Islamist separatism

The man from Faisalabad Kasim Dogar whose given name is Kasim Dogar Singh is not only given a Sikhs looks but is also trained to give quotes from Gurbani and about the Sikh Gurus while addressing the gatherings especially of Sikhs in the Gurdwaras at Nankana Sahib, Lahore, Panja Sahib etc.

Sources also reveal that Dogar with his wife has met several Sikh Indian pilgrims who were recently in Pakistan to celebrate Vaisakhi.

Sources in Pakistan revealed that Gopal Singh Chawla has not only failed to make new recruitments to carry out disruptive activities in India but he has also failed to spark anti-India sentiments among the Indian jatha that recently arrived back from Pakistan after celebrating the festival of Vaisakhi.

The first reaction came from Germany. A Sikh politician from Amt Wachsenburg Gurdeep Singh Randhawa said told Zee News the Dogars utterings were highly objectionable and detrimental to the interests of Sikhs living in Europe. He said he had held meetings with the Sikh leadership of France and had decided to take up the issue with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to tame such persons.

Gurdeep Singh said that Sikhs in Europe were living peacefully and had no differences at all. We are using and will continue to use the French products since European Union has common interests, he said.

A French Sikh leader Raghubir Singh, President of International Sikh Council France Said it was highly condemnable to present a Muslim man in the guise of a Sikh and spew venom against France. He said Sikhs in France were law-abiding citizens and were being treated well by the French government so there was no question of boycotting French products. He opined that Pak government should take cognizance of the incident and nip such elements at the bud.

Sharply reacting on the statement of a Muslim man in the guise of a Sikh, spokesperson of Shiromani Akali Dal (Taksali) Karnail Singh Peermohammad It is unfortunate to defame European and specifically French citizens and their interests under the guise of a Sikh.

Karnail Singh who is also a former president of All India Sikh Students Federation has appealed to Imran Khan to take action against anyone who conspires to defame the French nationals and their traditions under the guise of a Sikh.

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GBP/CAD Exchange Rate Falls as Canadian Retail Sales Rise in February

The Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate fell by -0.3% today after Canadas latest retail sales report for February beat forecasts and rose by 4.8%. The pairing is currently fluctuating around CA$1.92.

As a result, the Canadian Dollar (CAD) has benefited from renewed optimism in Canadas retail sector.

Analysts at Reuters commented:

Canadian retail sales were up 4.8% in February from January at C$55.08 billion ($44.45 billion), on higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, as well as gasoline stations.

Sales increased in nine of 11 subsectors, representing 70.2% of retail trade. In volume terms, retail sales rose by 4.3%.

The oil-sensitive Loonie has also benefited from a modest increase in oil prices.

Oil prices have steadily risen this week as the global economic outlook continues to improve, despite rising concerns over Indias Covid-19 crisis.

Pound (GBP) Exchange Rates Dips Despite Growing Confidence in the UK Retail Sector

The Pound (GBP) failed to gain against the Canadian Dollar (CAD) despite rising confidence in the UK economy.

This week saw reports that the UK retail sector could fuel Britains economic rebound in the coming months.

Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte, commented:

The UK is primed for a sharp snap back in consumer activity. High levels of saving, the successful vaccination rollout and the easing of the lockdown set the stage for a surge in spending over the coming months.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) also reported that UK retail sales had soared at their fastest rate since 2018.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail at Kantar, expressed great confidence in the UKs retail sector, saying:

There is a growing sense that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, and people are becoming more comfortable with venturing out to the supermarket. The past four weeks have been the busiest in store for the grocers in more than a year.

GBP/CAD Nrear-Term Forecast: Could Growing UK Economic Confidence Boost Sterling?

Canadian Dollar (CAD) traders will be looking ahead to Fridays publication of the latest Canadian Gross Domestic Product figure for February.

Any improvement in the outlook for Canadas economy would boost the Canadian Dollar Pound exchange rate.

Oil prices will also continue to influence the oil-sensitive Loonie this week. If oil prices rise, then we would see the Canadian Dollar head higher against the Pound.

The Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate could quickly claw back its losses, however, if confidence in Britains economy continues to grow.
The president and chief executive of the Childrens Shelter defended the embattled San Antonio nonprofit and its affiliated organization, Family Tapestry, on Wednesday after a blistering report from two court-appointed monitors cited problems with their care of local foster children.

The report, submitted to a federal judge who has ordered Texas to reform its troubled foster care system, was made public this week as part of a decade-old lawsuit. The monitors reported insufficient care and supervision along with allegations of violence and sexual assault occurring among Bexar County foster children.

Last week, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services ordered the Childrens Shelter to remove all children from its emergency shelter, informally known as the cottage. Family Tapestry, which has a state contract for case management and placement of Bexar Countys foster children, could be put on probation, face monetary penalties and possibly lose the contract.

Annette Rodriguez, the top official at the Childrens Shelter and Family Tapestry, said the nonprofits have given the states child welfare commissioner a plan of action addressing each of the allegations. The organizations hope to reach an agreement with the state that will allow the emergency shelter to resume accepting and caring for children in the future, she said.

The nonprofits board also decided the emergency shelter will no longer accept any children older than 14 unless theyre part of a group of siblings, Rodriguez said. In such cases, the older youths will be evaluated to determine if they are a right fit for the emergency shelter and wont disrupt the environment there, she said.

Nearly 2,000 children remained under the care of the Childrens Shelter and Family Tapestry on Tuesday, Rodriguez said. She noted the nonprofit has successfully placed more than 10,000 children and cared for more than 5,000 youths in its two years of operation.

To say that this has been a most challenging time would be a huge understatement, Rodriguez told local child advocates, board members, donors and reporters Wednesday. Through it all, we stay focused on one true mission  and thats serving our vulnerable youth.

On ExpressNews.com: State puts temporary hold on San Antonio emergency childrens shelter

She acknowledged problems and times when the nonprofits or the overall state system failed children.

We hold ourselves accountable for the parts that we control, Rodriguez said, adding of the latest report, None of these things are ever OK.

And we do everything in our power to prevent them. When we cant prevent them, we deal with them. We self-report, we investigate, we take action against the personnel involved.

The report accused Family Tapestry of continuing to temporarily house children at the Whataburger Center for Children and Youth after that San Antonio group residential operation voluntarily surrendered its license in January. Rodriguez denied that.

We did not have children staying in there after it was closed under that facility or under that license, Rodriguez said. I think the confusion comes that we had one building that had shared space. ... We have the Family Tapestry Intake Center there, which was developed to provide a very short-term stay  usually just a couple of hours.

The report described the Whataburger Center as a chaotic environment, cited 239 times for minimum standards deficiencies between 2016 and 2020. It noted several substantiated findings there  one for physical abuse, one for sexual abuse, 10 for neglectful supervision and three for medical neglect  since 2016.

The court monitors filed their report to U.S. District Senior Judge Janis Jack in Corpus Christi after receiving a whistleblower complaint on March 22 alleging children were still being placed at the Whataburger center.

The monitors reported that the state knew about the problems, but didnt act promptly to protect the children.

Texas is responsible for enacting foster care reforms that the judge demanded in response to an ongoing class-action lawsuit filed in 2011 by a dozen children who were then receiving long-term services.

On ExpressNews.com: Texas foster care system hits crisis with 186 kids sleeping in offices; 25 stay at San Antonio intake center

Paul Yetter, a Houston attorney who represents foster children in the federal lawsuit, dismissed Rodriguezs denial as inaccurate.

The federal monitors and, based on site visits, state investigators all found that children were being housed overnight in Whataburger center, an unlicensed and unsafe facility, Yetter said in an email Wednesday.

Its the worst of all situations, he said. The children were completely unprotected by the state, even though the state was responsible for where they were placed.

The court monitors report claimed Family Tapestry has begun to reject children referred to them by the state because it can no longer use the Whataburger center to house children. That violates the terms of Family Tapestrys contract, they said.

Bexar County is one of four areas in Texas  and the largest  that has pivoted to a community-based foster care model, which seeks to reform the states system by using private contractors to manage and oversee networks of foster care providers and childrens services.

The Childrens Shelter and Family Tapestry face a particular challenge because Bexar County has the highest numbers of children removed from their homes among those four regions.

On ExpressNews.com: Appeals court drops some reforms of Texas broken foster care system, fast tracks others

In the first quarter of this year, Bexar County alone had a monthly average removal of 155 children from their homes, Rodriguez said. Thats well above the second-highest average in a seven-county region in North Texas of 92 per month, she said.

During Family Tapestrys two years of operation, it has also weathered the coronavirus pandemic, an unprecedented loss of beds for foster children  1,000 statewide, including 475 in the San Antonio region  and closer monitoring by the state, Rodriguez said.

Those loss of beds means fewer places for our children, she said.

The agencies have also been affected by an influx of youths with higher-acuity needs who have a difficult time finding foster homes, along with an increase in the number of older teens seeking foster care services. Youths as old as 19 are returning to the system to get support during the pandemic, Rodriguez said.

The court monitors report also cites a common refrain of staffing shortages, which became even more acute in the past year amid staff reluctance to work in group settings during the pandemic. Some employees left the child welfare industry out of fears of getting cited or disciplined by the state in a manner that would prohibit them from working with children again, Rodriguez said.

The Childrens Shelter and Family Tapestry collectively have around 290 employees.

Rodriguez said the nonprofits will ask state lawmakers to hold an emergency legislative session to address capacity problems and funding.

This is not something that Bexar County alone is facing, she said. And we dont see a quick fix ... We need to come together and come up with solutions because I dont see it getting any better. I actually am concerned that it will get worse.

pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: Peggy_OHare
The Senate dedicated Tuesdays plenary to discuss the rising insecurity in different parts of the country.

Many senators, over 15 of them, contributed to the motion on the activities of Boko Haram terrorists in three local governments of Niger State.

Kogi senator, Smart Adeyemi, was one of the contributors. A seemingly emotional Mr Adeyemi, who spoke for over five minutes, described the current state of insecurity in Nigeria as the worst so far.

But his colleague, Oluremi Tinubu, who belongs to the same political party, All Progressives Congress (APC) as Mr Adeyemi, seemed disgusted by his comments.

Mrs Tinubu who was sitting next to Mr Adeyemi during his contribution was heard chiding the latter.

This is the worst instability we are facing. In fact, this is worse than the civil war, Mr Adeyemi said.

Are you in PDP? Are you a wolf in sheeps clothing?, Mrs Tinubu said rebuking the lawmaker.

Ignoring his colleague, Mr Adeyemi said there are a lot of misgivings, a lot of misinterpretation of what is happening.

Some people believe that some people in government are supporting this move. We cannot pretend that we are capable of handling the situation in our hands. America, as powerful as they are, when the pandemic came, it came to a point China came to their rescue.

We shouldnt pretend that we need foreign support now. Billions of naira has been voted for security services and nothing is coming out of it.

Im a party man and Im supporting APC but it has gotten to a point that as supporters we cannot keep quiet, he said.

It is not exactly clear why Mrs Tinubu verbally attacked Mr Adeyemi or why she made reference to the idiomatic expression, wolf in sheeps clothing as he was not the only APC senator who spoke in that manner during Tuesdays debate.

But Mr Adeyemi, unlike Mrs Tinubu, was a member of the PDP before he joined the APC.

Earlier, Niger senator, Bima Enagi (APC), accused the government of tackling insecurity with kid gloves.

We cannot continue to allow Boko Haram to mount flags in Nigerian territories. What is our army doing? What are all security agencies doing? It has become so shameful that a great country like Nigeria will be in this type of terrible situation.

It seems the federal government is handling this insecurity situation with kid gloves. People are dying every day and nothing is being done. No serious, concrete situation on ground to confront these people, he said.

A few other APC senators who spoke on the issue said the government was being lackadaisical towards tackling insecurity in Nigeria.

Non-APC senators also spoke during the debate.

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Danjuma Laah who represents Kaduna South (one of the states worst hit by insecurity) was very critical in his contribution; blaming the Buhari administration for not doing enough.

Mr Laah, a member of the PDP, even inferred that the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, can take over control of the country as the number three citizen and people will support him.

The Senate President, youre number three in this country. If other people cannot fight forgo and take over, well support you.

If you call for impeachment now, theyll be looking for who made the call. Whether it is good or not, they dont want to know. But they dont know we are saying the minds of our people.

If you dont move forward, we wont follow you. If you move forward, well follow you Ill not open my mouth to say lets impeach but you know the rest, he said.

Resolution

The debate which lasted for over an hour had lawmakers complain about the insecurity in Nigeria as well as possible solutions.

Top among the resolutions was for the Senate leadership to meet with the president and brief him about the situation.
A dog has been reunited with its owner and her family after it was stabbed while trying to protect them from the woman's abusive husband in Brazil.

Brazilian online news portal G1 reported that Fofinho suffered four wounds as he tried to stop the man, 62, from beating the grandmother, 58, last Monday at the family's home in Coracao de Jesus, a municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais.

The man stabbed his 18-year-old grandson in the hand and then attacked the pooch with a knife. He fled the home before he was arrested the following day, police said.

Corporals Valmintas Souza and Diego Garcia, who are assigned to the city's military police, noticed Fofinho's injuries and sought the help of a local veterinarian who was away traveling.

Souza, who has a dog and three adopted cats, took to social media to see if there was a veterinarian available to save Fofinho's life and rushed him to an animal clinic 49 miles away in the city of Monte Carlos.

Officers Valmintas Souza (left) and Diego Garcia (right) pose with a woman (center) after reuniting her and her grandson (second from left) and her daughter (front right) with their pet dog Fofinho this week in Minas Gerais., Brazil. The pooch was stabbed four times while trying to defend them from the the woman's husband, who tried to attack them last Monday

Fofinho was stabbed in the abdomen and chest and underwent a laparotomy to clean and close his abdomen wounds

According to veterinarian Caio Santos, Fofinho was stabbed in the abdomen and chest, and could have died had the officer spent more time trying to locate a clinic to save him. Santos said the dog had feces droppings in his stomach area.

Santos performed a laparotomy on Fofinho to clean and close the abdomen wounds.

'It is very common for pet animals to take advantage of a situation, it is a natural behavior for them to try to act in this form of defense, so much so that many act with the function of guard dogs,' Santos said.

Souza hailed Fofinho's heroic reaction to his owner and the grandchildren being threatened by the knife-wielding suspect.

Fofinho pictured after he was attacked by his owner's husband last week in Brazil

Corporal Valmintas Souza, who is assigned to the military police in Coracao de Jesus, Minas Gerais, poses with Fofinho. He helped saved the pooch after it was stabbed four times during a domestic violence incident

Veterinarian Caio Santos with officers Diego Garcia (pictured with Fofinho) and Valmintas Souza

Police officer Valmintas Souza pictured with Fofinho at a local animal clinic in Monte Carlos, Brazil

'This dog's story touched society because of the protective instinct he had, in an impulse to protect the owner, he ended up seriously injured,' Souza said.

'But this mobilization of society shows that if each one contributes in his own way, everything can be much better immensely to the people who expressed the desire to help.'

Area pet owners expressed interest in reaching out to the grandmother and adopting Fofinho in the days following the horrific attack.

'We saw how attached the dog is to the owner and how she also has a passion for him,' Souza said. 'But the best place he can be for sure is next to her.'
Milwaukee, WI (53187)

Today

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Swedish furniture giant Ikea has removed an ad showing a model posing at the edge of notoriously deadly clifftop Beachy Head.

The firm said it was sorry for sharing a string of photos on social media using the clifftop in east Sussex to promote a 'staycation accessory'.

The photoshopped images, showing a man called Sven wearing the 'must-have' quilt come despite a campaign encouraging people to stay away from crumbling cliffs.

Ikea said it had not meant to cause offence and Instagram posts, which urged people to 'staycation like Sven,' have been removed.

In the past year there has been almost 50 cliff falls in east Sussex, as well as 13 incidents of people being stranded on the beach after being cut off by the tide.

The photoshopped images, showing a man called Sven wearing the 'must-have' quilt come despite a campaign encouraging people to stay away from crumbling cliffs

On Instagram the images were accompanied by a caption which read: 'Our must-have Faltmal is flying off the shelves, but this is your chance to win one.'

According to the Ikea website, the Faltmal is a cushion which folds out into a quilt 'that keeps your warm and comfy when travelling'.

The 25 piece has 'genius button fastening', that keeps it from sliding off when 'you reach for your coffee'.

In the images, a pair of walkers can be seen looking towards Sven, as if admiring his bizarre fashion choices.

The blunder comes amid a campaign to remind walkers of the dangers on the chalk cliffs, with many unseen overhangs and cracks.

Last month, a huge cliff fall at Seaford Head left an enormous mound of rock piled up at the foot of the cliffs.

Karl Taylor, head of operations at East Sussex County Council, recently said: 'We want people to come to East Sussex and enjoy its beautiful coastline, but to do so safely and be aware of the dangers that the chalk cliffs and the sea can present.

'Visitors should not underestimate the risks they are taking when they stand on top of the cliffs or at the cliff base, and should remember that it is very easy to be caught out by the incoming tide when walking on the beach.

'Our message to anyone visiting the area is enjoy the amazing views safely by keeping well away from the edge and base of the cliffs, and to be aware of the tide.'

Anyone who sees see someone in danger on a cliff is urged to call 999 immediately and ask for the coastguard.

In June 2017, a Korean student plunged 200ft to her death as she was having her picture taken at the top of the cliffs just east of Cuckmere Haven, not far from Birling Gap.

The 23-year-old had asked fellow visitors to the site to take her picture near the precipice and jumped upwards as she posed, hoping the camera would catch her in mid-air.

When she came back down to earth, only one of her feet landed on solid ground with the other going beyond the cliff's edge.

She lost her balance and stumbled backwards, falling over the edge.

In the past year there has been almost 50 cliff falls in east Sussex, as well as 13 incidents of people being stranded on the beach after being cut off by the tide

At her inquest, held four months later, coroner Alan Craze recorded her cause of death as misadventure.

A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: 'Cliff edges are very dangerous places to be, as they are subject to erosion and can give way without warning.

'We strongly advise everyone to keep well back from the edge.'

The cliffs are 530ft (162m) at their highest point.

More than 350,000 people visit the cliffs at Birling Gap and Seven Sisters each year.
By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. prosecutors charged three white men in Georgia on Wednesday with federal hate crimes and attempted kidnapping in last year's slaying of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was gunned down as he was out jogging through a suburban neighborhood.

The Justice Department said that former police officer Gregory McMichael, 65, his son Travis McMichael, 35, and William "Roddie" Bryan, 51, were each charged with one count of interference with rights and with one count of attempted kidnapping.

Travis and Gregory McMichael were also each charged with using firearms to carry out acts of violence in the fatal shooting of Arbery on Feb. 23, 2020, which lawyers for his family have condemned as vigilante murder tantamount to a lynching.

President Joe Biden's administration has since his inauguration three months ago stepped up enforcement of federal civil rights laws, which activists complained were neglected during his predecessor Donald Trump's presidency.

The McMichaels and Bryan already face state criminal charges of murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony, though no trial date has been set.

Still, civil rights advocates accused authorities of being slow to seek justice in the case, with no arrests made for 10 weeks after the incident, and then only after video footage of the shooting emerged on social media, stoking public outrage over the killing.

The McMichaels told police on the scene that they suspected Arbery was involved in a string of neighborhood burglaries when they spotted him running through the community and said they chased him down in their pickup truck to make a citizen's arrest.

The video showed Arbery jogging down a two-lane street, then being shot with a rifle as he was confronted by two armed men who had stopped their pickup in his path.

A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified in court last year that Bryan recounted under questioning that he overheard Travis McMichael utter a racial slur, "fucking nigger," as Arbery lay dead on the scene.

Story continues

Bryan had come forward as the man who recorded the slaying on his cellphone and turned the footage over to investigators before it went viral in May 2020.

Weeks later came notorious video of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man arrested in Minneapolis on suspicion of trying to pass a bogus $20 bill, dying as he lay handcuffed with his neck pinned to the street under the knee of a white policeman.

Arbery's case, together with the high-profile killings of Floyd and other African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement, helped fuel months of nationwide protests against racial injustice and police brutality in the United States.

A Minneapolis jury on April 20 convicted former officer Derek Chauvin of murder in Floyd's death.

Bryan's lawyer said his client was merely a bystander and witness to the Arbery shooting.

"Roddie Bryan has committed no crime. We look forward to a fair and speedy trial, and to the day Mr. Bryan is released and reunited with his family."

Attorneys for the McMichaels were not immediately available for comment on the federal charges.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Arbery's family, welcomed the filing of federal charges as "an important milestone in Americas uphill march toward racial justice, and we applaud the Justice Department for treating this heinous act for what it is - a purely evil, racially motivated hate crime."

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Howard Goller, Rosalba O'Brien and Grant McCool)
(Photo : Vivo official Facebook Page) The Vivo V21 boasts to have a competent camera spec, equipped with the latest 5G for faster processing and streaming.

Vivo has recently presented two new mid-range smartphones that will retail for only $ 410. This is relatively cheaper than any 5G mobile phones in the market.

Vivo, part of the conglomerate BBK Electronics with OnePlus and OPPO, has recently shown its two new mid-range terminals, namely vivo V21 and V21 5G that boasts for offering 5G and for having a 44 megapixel front camera with an optical stabilizer.

Read more: Vivo iQOO Neo 5 With Ultrafast 66W Charger to Launch Next Month? Possible Specs Revealed! [Leak] | Tech Times

What Features Does a V21 Have?

Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 800U MT6853V | 8 GB

Internal Storage: 128 GB

Display: 6.44 inches

Resolution and Refresh Rate: 90 Hz

Rear Camera: 64 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP / 64 MP

Selfie Camera: 44 MP

Battery: 4000 mAh

According to the company's official website, the Vivo V21 and V21 5G have a similar designs to the Vivo V20 2021 which was presented by the end of last year with a frameless front and a drop-type notch wherein the front camera is housed and a rear part is made of glass, with a rectangular camera module located in the upper left corner surface of the phone.

Both terminals are said to feature a 6.44-inch AMOLED screen with Full HD + resolution and a refresh rate of 90 Hz, and a MediaTek Dimensity 800U processor that they already featured in previous releases like its S9 model. It also has an eight-core chipset which comes with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage, as per Gadgets Now.

In its photography prowess, which is deemed to be one of the most sought-after features by the public, both devices are reportedly equipped with a triple rear camera module that is composed of a 64 MP main sensor with optical stabilizer, one sensor 8 MP ultra wide angle and a sensor 2 MP macro.

One of the highlights of both smartphones is their selfie camera, which is equipped with a camera sensor. 44 megapixels with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS).

On its Battery life, both devices mount a battery of 4,000 mAh with 33W fast charge, more than enough to get to the end of the day without having to carry them.

As you can see, the only difference we find between these two terminals is that the vivo V212 5G has 5G connectivity and the vivo V21 is only compatible with 4G networks.

V1 and V2 Smartphones' Availability and Prices

Both the Vivo V21 and the vivo V21 5G are available in three colors: Sunset Dazzle, Dusk Blue and Arctic White and the model without 5G can already be reserved starting today, albeit it is important to note that this will go on sale by May 5 with a price of $400 worth of change.

As for its V21 5G, the Smartphone manufacturer has not yet disclosed availability and price data, however it is one of the most anticipated releases there is for the Chinese Mobile Phone manufacturer.

Related article: Will MWC be Cancelled With More Tech Giants Backing Out Amid Coronavirus Scare? | Tech Times

This article is owned by Tech Times.

Written by Gabrielle N.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

In almost 10% of myocardial infarctions, no obvious cause in the coronary artery can be found. Some of the patients are diagnosed with broken-heart syndrome, while others are left without a diagnosis. A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden suggests that early magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the heart can greatly increase the rate of diagnosis. The study has been published in the journal JACC Cardiovascular Imaging.

Myocardial infarction is one of the most common diseases in the West, and is usually caused by a blood clot that blocks the coronary artery on the heart's surface. However, in up to 10% of all myocardial infarctions, no obvious cause in the coronary artery is found. Such patients are given the working diagnosis MINOCA (myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries), which can subsequently lead to one of several diagnoses.

The majority of the patients are women, many of whom are diagnosed with takotsubo cardiomyopathy (broken-heart syndrome). This is a condition characterized by reduced heart function that is probably related to stress and that presents the same symptoms as a regular heart attack.

Associated with mental stress

"Around 80 to 90% of broken-heart sufferers are women, and the disease is associated with mental stress," says principal investigator Per Tornvall, senior physician and professor at the Department of Clinical Science and Education, Sodersjukhuset (Stockholm South General Hospital), Karolinska Institutet. "There also seems to be a link to hypersensitivity towards stress caused by low estrogen levels. Unfortunately, research on the investigation and treatment of myocardial infarction is often done on men, while female heart disease is less studied."

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is often done when examining patients with MINOCA. CMR approximately ten days after onset can result in a diagnosis in under half the patients, normally takotsubo or myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle), according to an earlier study of 150 patients from Karolinska Institutet. The same researchers have now tested a new, more sensitive CMR technique two to four days after onset on a comparable group of 148 patients with a median age of 58. They found that a full 77% of the patients could be given a diagnosis (35% of takotsubo and 17% of myocardial inflammation, compared with 19 and 7%, respectively, in the first study.

The right treatment for more patients

"We don't know how much effect the improved CMR technique has, but the results suggest that with early examination more patients can get a correct diagnosis and therefore the right treatment," says Professor Tornvall. "The next step is for us to develop the CMR examination with pharmacological stress of the heart. This will enable us to study the smallest of the blood vessels and hopefully find a cause for the 23% who received no diagnosis."

The study was conducted in close collaboration with the heart-MR department, clinical physiology, at Karolinska University Hospital and was financed by the Swedish Research Council, Region Stockholm and the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation. Co-authors Peder Sorensson, Magnus Lundin and Martin Ugander are affiliated with Karolinska University Hospital, which has a research agreement with Siemens Healthineers regarding CMR. Jonas Spaak has received personal fees for the past three years from AstraZeneca, Vifor Pharma and Novo Nordisk, all unrelated to the present study.

Explore further Broken heart linked to other risk factors than heart attack

More information: Peder Sorensson et al. Early Comprehensive Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Myocardial Infarction With Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries, JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging (2021). Peder Sorensson et al. Early Comprehensive Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Myocardial Infarction With Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2021.02.021
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 12:45:11|Editor: huaxia

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MALE, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Parliament of Maldives has passed a bill which seeks to establish a modern national payment system to secure transactions in the country, local media reported here Wednesday.

The National Payments System Bill was passed by parliament with 56 votes on Tuesday. Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Ali Hashim was quoted by local media as saying that the new bill would strengthen competition between firms and help attract new investments.

Hashim told the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts that small and medium enterprises would have cheaper payment options, and that international transactions would become easier.

Hashim and a team of technical experts will spend three months conducting research and analysis on the country's financial sector to identify the country's payment system requirements.

The MMA signed an agreement to establish an instant payment system with European digital services company Tieto Latvia in 2020. Policymakers have aimed to make the system operational by October. Enditem
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A 24-year-old man was transported to the hospital after being shot Wednesday afternoon in Port Richmond, police say.

Police responded to a report of a shooting inside of a home on Palmer Avenue near Lexington Avenue, an NYPD spokesman said.

The man was shot in the chest and rushed to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, according to the spokesman.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.

NYPD helicopters were hovering over the neighborhood and a large number of police officers were in the area immediately after the shooting.

Further information will be posted as it becomes available.
NEW YORK, April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of XL Fleet Corp. (NYSE: XL) between October 2, 2020 and March 2, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important May 7, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased XL Fleet 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 XL Fleet class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2055.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 7, 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) XL Fleet's salespeople were pressured to inflate their sales pipelines to boost the Company's reported sales and backlog; (2) at least 18 of the 33 customers that XL Fleet featured were inactive and had not placed an order since 2019; (3) XL Fleet's technology had been materially overstated and offered only 5% to 10% of fleet savings; (4) XL Fleet lacks the supply chain and engineers to roll out new products on the announced timeline; and (5) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about XL Fleet's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the XL Fleet class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2055.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

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PHOENIX, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University is pleased to announce the addition of the McCarthy Institute and its Executive Director David Franklyn to the school's Intellectual Property Law Program.

The McCarthy Institute brings with it a growing community of professionals focused on scholarship and research in the areas of trademark law, branding and consumer perception. Franklyn, who is considered among the nation's leading IP and technology law experts, will direct the institute in addition to his newly appointed position as ASU Law distinguished professor of practice.

"David and the McCarthy Institute will transform and elevate our IP Law Program and add strength to our fantastic Center for Law, Science and Innovation," ASU Law Dean Douglas Sylvester said. "We are thrilled to welcome David and look forward to his leadership. Under David's leadership, the McCarthy Institute has engaged the best scholars in the world and, with the already substantial assets here at ASU Law in the field, we are confident ASU Law will quickly become one of the leading centers for thought and engagement in intellectual property in the country."

The McCarthy Institute at ASU Law will partner with other ASU units including the W. P. Carey School of Business and School for the Future of Innovation in Society to expand student engagement with IP across disciplines.

"The McCarthy Institute will offer ASU Law students the opportunity to participate in a fellowship program and collaborate with faculty in producing scholarship and research," Franklyn said. "Opportunities such as co-authoring articles with ASU professors and affiliate scholars, and gaining internships and externships with notable technology companies, will position ASU Law students to stand out with prospective employers. Whether they want to work in a big law firm, in-house counsel at a large corporation, or with a startup, the institute will work closely with students to help them become innovative lawyers."

The addition of the McCarthy Institute to ASU Law represents a significant milestone in the ongoing expansion of the school's Intellectual Property Law Program. The institute will offer innovative programs within and outside of the law school by bringing together practicing attorneys from firms, in-house counsel, regulators and scholars to inspire dialogue and research through events, conferences, academic round tables and more.

The McCarthy Institute has previously hosted events at Amazon and Microsoft in the Seattle area, Google in Silicon Valley, Fox in Los Angeles, Time Warner in New York, and at the European Union Intellectual Property Office in Alicante, Spain. The institute's ability to connect ASU Law students to this extensive network of leading tech companies across the world will not only bolster student career opportunities in IP but advance ASU Law's IP and technology initiatives as a whole.

"ASU Law is demonstrably one of the fastest-moving law schools in the U.S.," Franklyn said. "Its consistent rise in the rankings is indicative of the entrepreneurial spirit and planning of Dean Sylvester and the leadership team to grow its faculty expertise and increase the innovative programs it offers. My primary goal in joining ASU Law is to give students real opportunities to enhance their creativity and knowledge in IP by growing the McCarthy Institute to become No. 1 in trademarks, branding, marketing and the study of consumer perceptions, ultimately helping students launch meaningful careers."

Franklyn formerly led the McCarthy Institute at the University of San Francisco since 2000 and will begin teaching courses at ASU Law in fall 2021.

"Building the future of the McCarthy Institute on the foundation of ASU Law creates boundless potential for intellectual property law scholarship and academic research at ASU," added Tyson Winarski, ASU Law's Intellectual Property Law Program Director. "David is a truly outstanding addition to our faculty. He inspires and challenges students in the classroom and drives thinking on trademark issues through the institute's nationally renowned trademark conferences. ASU Law is deeply proud to carry on the legacy of Professor Tom McCarthy's trademark scholarship by welcoming David and the institute to the ASU team."

About the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University

The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University is one of the nation's preeminent law schools, focused on offering students a personalized legal education. Ranked No. 1 in Arizona since 2010 and No. 25 nationally by U.S. News & World Report, ASU Law offers students the opportunity to tailor their education, to match externships to their interests and career services resources to help land their ideal jobs. Additionally, ASU Law's LEED Gold certified building in downtown Phoenix is steps away from the legal, political and economic heart of Arizona. For more information, visit law.asu.edu.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Julie Tenney, Director of Communications

ASU Law

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Sandra Day OConnor College of Law at Arizona State University
Prime Minister Florin Citu declared on Wednesday that until June 1, pilot events will take place - theater performances, opera - mentioning that the situation will be discussed differently once there will be 5 million vaccinated people.

"In Bucharest there will be some pilot events and we will see performances at the National Theater. I think there is one at the Romanian Opera as well. These events will take place in the next period, after that we will see exactly the implications, a week or two later, but I just talked to the mayor of Cluj, who wants to hold a similar event, a pilot event in Cluj-Napoca. After we have this information, we can talk more, but, I repeat, when we reach June 1 and if by then we have 5 million vaccinated people - and this is why we have to get vaccinated, - we will be able to discuss the situation differently. If we do not get vaccinated, we will have a difficult task in moving forward with any scenario we put on the table," Citu said when asked about the relaxation proposals for June 1 and when the first events with spectators could take place in Bucharest.

"I would like for restaurants, for example, to no longer have this connection with the incidence rate and to remain open, with a capacity of 30, 40, 50 percent, but there is an important condition: to have all the staff vaccinated. It is difficult to eliminate the risk of infection if there are people in the staff who have not been vaccinated yet," he added.
The reactions to Kperogis are a telling hint of where we are headed from Pantami, and its an agenda already in play mode. The anti-Pantami outrage, which is a justified democratic exercise, is transmuting into a mockery of unrelated Islamic heritage.

When the spotlight on Dr. Isa Ali Pantami began, the direction of the conversation wasnt unpredictable. The first sign of trouble was the refusal of his critics to retract their mistranslation of his conversations with the Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf. A social media user, David Hundeyin, had presented that famous debate organised by the Northern clerical establishment as proof of the ministers endorsement of Yusufs terrorist ideology and cult. His refusal to acknowledge that misrepresentation of a well-documented period and venturing into excavating Pantamis past utterances, triggered a polarisation that has now underlined Nigerias sectional sentiments.

To defend the past, Dr. Pantami himself has described as a period of his limited understanding of Middle East politics in response to his scrutiny, is to misapply wisdom. But equally unwise it is to argue that the minister had not, years after sympathising with the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban-led Afghanistan, opposed the Boko Haram. The age of these positions; lionising Osama Bin Laden in the early 2000s and opposing similarly indoctrinated and dangerous Mohammed Yusuf a few years later, might be seen as a reflection of his intellectual maturation over the years. But the glaring danger in making this assumption is the absence of a publicised retraction prior to the storm, and so the trending outrage isnt misplaced.

The difficulty in this conversation around the implication of Pantami is the unsuccessfully masked anti-Muslim North bigotry that keeps jumping out. Even the critiques of Pantamis past by Muslim analysts are being interpreted as lacking an adequate measure of anger. The reactions to Professor Farooq Kperogis column, in which he admitted the minister is indefensible, left me confused. His sin was citing that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo too has been accused of being an intolerant, narrow-minded Christian extremist and reporting that Pantamis story was planted by executives of telecommunications companies.

The reactions to Kperogis are a telling hint of where we are headed from Pantami, and its an agenda already in play mode. The anti-Pantami outrage, which is a justified democratic exercise, is transmuting into a mockery of unrelated Islamic heritage. On April 21, a Twitter handle, @datmastermind80, tweeted Usman dan fodio threw the baton in the 1800s, Isa Pantami caught it in the 2000s. I jumped on that misguided thought. If you take this angle, I wrote, youve lost the plot in your campaign to get rid of Pantami. This clear-cut anti-Islam and anti-North bigotry, which your lots have denied, will only stir up regional and religious sentiments in favour of the Minister. The author, along with his enablers, missed the point.

Dispensing anti-Muslim North conspiracy theories has become a fad now that even seemingly sensible notable voices have become participants in. On April 22, a widely-followed Twitter account, @DrOlufunmilayo, revisited the death of Flying Officer Tolu Arotile, described as Nigerias first female combatant pilot. He shared that she had many successful raids against bandits in the North before She was killed by a friend who reversed a car trying to greet her. He signed off that tweet with: Thats what we were told. It was a dangerous insinuation, and he had to delete that failed propaganda when the names of the suspects were given as Nehemiah Adejoh, Igbekele Folorunsho and Festus Gbayegun.

These serially moronic views are dispensed with the caveat that their outrage isnt designed to demonise Islam or the North. Its akin to a domestic dog denying membership of the Canidae. But the North isnt without its shortcomings, even though often misrepresented.

If one found @DrOlufunmilayos theory absurd, then another by a certain @quinlateefa on Twitter shows the extent of this malicious caricaturing of the Northern Muslim establishment. She wrote about the National Identity Number (NIN) project, which has been noted as the genesis of Pantamis troubles, thus: NIN linking of Sim was not a mistake at all (sic), they needed the data of Christians and Muslims in every state in order to know how to manuever their people into the state. They want a Christian minority in every state thats why the nigerien president has been visiting of late (sic). Speechless!

These serially moronic views are dispensed with the caveat that their outrage isnt designed to demonise Islam or the North. Its akin to a domestic dog denying membership of the Canidae. But the North isnt without its shortcomings, even though often misrepresented. Mark Amaza sparked interest in this conversation on Twitter when, on April 20, he shared, Today is a good day to talk about the gaslighting thats always attempted anytime you criticize anything northern

For Amaza, a Northern Christian, the North & Islam arent the same, and that for all the name-calling Babachir David Lawal, a Northern Christian, has gotten on Twitter, it wasnt interpreted as an attack on the North and that so is the criticism of Tinubu, a Southern Muslim. He asked why the North is quick to interpret criticism of, say, Buhari and Pantami as an attack on Islam. The Muslim Norths response to Amazas question was from Zayyad, tweeting from the handle @zvyyvd. He acknowledged that Amaza raised some valid points re Northern Muslims and their posturing as custodians of Islam in Nigeria that should cause all of us to do some introspection, and then pointed out the flaws of such arguments.

The comparison of the responses to Babachir and Pantami, Zayyad observed, is misplaced. Babachir was not called names due to perceived incompetence simply because he happens to be of northern extraction. The name-calling was as a result of alleged corruption. He shared that the suitable comparison wouldve been the former Pension Reform Taskforce boss, Abdurrasheed Maina, and that Surely, youll be hard pressed to find any serious northerner calling an attack on Maina an attack on the north.

my fear isnt Pantamis stay in office, its the brewing hatred and propaganda warfare being sold as unaligned activism. On April 21, the Peoples Gazette published a document that sought to drag Jamaatu Nasril Islam into Pantamis case, profiling that umbrella body of the Muslim community in Nigeria as a murderous organisation

Zayyad took followers of the exchange down memory lane, underlining the cases of casually dispensed anti-Muslim North bigotry: the caricaturing of Buhari who rose to the rank of a General in the Army as an illiterate Aboki over his public service records, while Lawal was spared, thanks to his Christian middle name. (Much) like PMB, Zayyad wrote to contextualise the religious tone of the trending attack on the Minister of Communications: Pantami isnt under fire for alleged corruption like Babachir was, but for faith-based utterances he made decades ago, which he has since renounced.

Although Zayyad was neither defending nor justifying Pantamis past utterances, his thread contextualised the genesis of this mass disdain for Pantami based on his origin, and drew our attention to the condescending reaction of a particular social media influencer who, on learning that Pantami had been appointed to head NITDA in 2016, wrote, His PhD is from Saudi Arabia, and that The disdain Buhari shows for tech is unforgivable.

But my fear isnt Pantamis stay in office, its the brewing hatred and propaganda warfare being sold as unaligned activism. On April 21, the Peoples Gazette published a document that sought to drag Jamaatu Nasril Islam into Pantamis case, profiling that umbrella body of the Muslim community in Nigeria as a murderous organisation that plotted the assassination of Kaduna State governor, Patrick Yakowa. While a few sheets of A4 paper, which was published on Nairaland ten years earlier, can be produced by any poor-quality printer, this startling revelation shouldnt be played down by our leaders, even if untrue.

Kaduna is a volatile state and built on fragile ethnoreligious foundations, and its not gaslighting to ask us to tone down the volume of our sensationalisation and disinformation campaign. Although Jamaatu Nasril Islam and Christian Association of Nigeria Kaduna have cautioned against the story, calling the documents fake, Im still unable to wrap my head around something: Who takes minutes of a murder plot?
[April 28, 2021] Moelis & Company Reports Record First Quarter 2021 Financial Results; Declares Special Dividend of $2.00 per share in Addition to Regular Quarterly Dividend of $0.55 Per Share

Moelis & Company (NYSE: MC) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021. The Firm's first quarter revenues of $263.9 million increased 72% over the prior year period and represented our second largest quarter of revenues ever. The Firm reported first quarter 2021 GAAP net income of $75.8 million, or $1.00 per share (diluted). On an Adjusted basis, the Firm reported net income of $76.2 million or $1.02 per share (diluted) for the first quarter of 2021, which compares with $31.3 million of net income or $0.45 per share (diluted) in the prior year period. GAAP and Adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2021 include net tax benefits of $0.26 per share and $0.27 per share, respectively, related to the settlement of share based awards. "Our record first quarter revenues reflect growth across all of our business and regions. I believe that our franchise is stronger today than at any other point in our Firm's history," said Ken Moelis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our solid topline performance, ongoing expense discipline, and focus on profitable organic growth generates substantial shareholder returns, as evidenced by today's announcement of a $2.00 per share special dividend in addition to our regular quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share. Including today's announcement, we will have returned over $430 million in capital over the last two quarters through dividends and share repurchases." The Firm's revenues and net income can fluctuate materially depending on the number, size and timing of completed transactions as well as other factors. Accordingly, financial results in any particular quarter may not be representative of future results over a longer period of time. Currently 89% of the operating partnership (Moelis & Company Group LP) is owned by the corporate partner (Moelis & Company) and is subject to corporate U.S. federal and state income tax. The remaining 11% is owned by other partners of Moelis & Company Group LP and is primarily subject to U.S. federal tax at the partner level (certain state and local and foreign income taxes are incurred at the company level). The Adjusted results included herein apply certain adjustments from our GAAP results, including the assumption that 100% of the Firm's first quarter operating result was taxed at our corporate effective tax rate. We believe the Adjusted results, when presented together with comparable GAAP results, are useful to investors to compare our performance across periods and to better understand our operating results. A reconciliation between our GAAP results and our Adjusted results is presented in the Appendix to this press release. 1 Includes dividends declared but not yet paid







GAAP and Adjusted (non-GAAP) Selected Financial Data (Unaudited) GAAP Adjusted (non-GAAP)* Three Months Ended March 31, ($ in thousands except per share data) 2021 2020 2021 vs. 2020

Variance 2021 2020 2021 vs. 2020

Variance Revenues $ 263,866 $ 153,706 72 % $ 263,866 $ 153,706 72 % Income (loss) before income taxes 75,622 22,782 232 % 75,622 25,667 195 % Provision (benefit) for income taxes (176 ) (7,344 ) -98 % (537 ) (5,585 ) -90 % Net income (loss) 75,798 30,126 152 % 76,159 31,252 144 % Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 9,269 4,996 86 % - - N/M Net income (loss) attributable to Moelis & Company $ 66,529 $ 25,130 165 % $ 76,159 $ 31,252 144 % Diluted earnings (loss) per share $ 1.00 $ 0.44 127 % $ 1.02 $ 0.45 127 % N/M = not meaningful

* See Appendix for a reconciliation of GAAP to Adjusted (non-GAAP)

Revenues We earned revenues of $263.9 million in the first quarter of 2021, as compared with $153.7 million in the prior year period, representing an increase of 72% and our second largest quarter of revenues on record. This compares favorably with an 18% increase in the number of global completed M&A transactions in the same period2. We experienced growth across all products during the quarter, primarily driven by a significant increase in the number of transaction completions, as compared with the prior year period. We continued to execute on our strategy of organic growth. Since our last earnings release, we announced the hiring of a Managing Director in the United States to provide financial and strategic advice to companies in the retail, apparel, and consumer sectors. We have a robust pipeline of Managing Director hires for 2021 and we will continue to focus on finding the right talent who will excel on our platform. Expenses The following tables set forth information relating to the Firm's operating expenses. GAAP Adjusted (non-GAAP)* Three Months Ended March 31, ($ in thousands) 2021 2020 2021 vs. 2020

Variance 2021 2020 2021 vs. 2020

Variance Expenses: Compensation and benefits $ 156,499 $ 95,120 65 % $ 156,474 $ 95,025 65 % % of revenues 59.3 % 61.9 % 59.3 % 61.8 % Non-compensation expenses $ 34,924 $ 34,144 2 % $ 34,924 $ 34,144 2 % % of revenues 13.2 % 22.2 % 13.2 % 22.2 % Total operating expenses $ 191,423 $ 129,264 48 % $ 191,398 $ 129,169 48 % % of revenues 72.5 % 84.1 % 72.5 % 84.0 % * See Appendix for a reconciliation of GAAP to Adjusted (non-GAAP) Total operating expenses on a GAAP basis were $191.4 million for the first quarter of 2021. On an Adjusted basis, operating expenses were $191.4 million for the first quarter of 2021 as compared with $129.2 million in the prior year period. The increase in operating expenses for the first quarter of 2021 was driven by increased compensation and benefits expenses. Compensation and benefits expenses on a GAAP basis were $156.5 million in the first quarter of 2021. Adjusted compensation and benefits expenses were $156.5 million in the first quarter of 2021 as compared with $95.0 million in the prior year. The increase in Adjusted compensation and benefits expenses in the current year period is primarily attributable to a larger bonus expense accrual in 2021, associated with meaningfully higher revenues earned as compared with the prior year period. Non-compensation expenses on a GAAP and Adjusted basis were $34.9 million for the first quarter of 2021 as compared with $34.1 million for the prior year period. Our non-compensation expense ratio decreased from 22% in the prior year to 13% in the current year. 2 Source: Refinitiv F/K/A Thomson Financial as of April 5, 2021; includes all transactions greater than $100 million in value Provision for Income Taxes The corporate partner (Moelis & Company) currently owns 89% of the operating partnership (Moelis & Company Group LP) and is subject to corporate U.S. federal and state income tax. Income on the remaining 11% continues to be subject to New York City unincorporated business tax and certain foreign income taxes and is accounted for at the partner level through the non-controlling interests line item. For Adjusted purposes, we have assumed that 100% of the Firm's first quarter 2021 operating result was taxed at our corporate effective tax rate of 25.8%. Taking the corporate effective tax rate together with a tax benefit of approximately $20.0 million related to the delivery of equity-based compensation at a price above the grant price, resulted in a net tax benefit of $0.5 million. Capital Management and Balance Sheet Moelis & Company continues to maintain a strong financial position, and as of March 31, 2021, we held cash and liquid investments of $227.7 million and had no debt or goodwill on our balance sheet. We remain committed to returning 100% of our excess capital to shareholders. The Board of Directors of Moelis & Company declared a special dividend of $2.00 per share in addition to a regular quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share. The $2.55 per share will be paid on June 18, 2021 to common stockholders of record on May 10, 2021. In addition, during the quarter ended March 31, 2021, we repurchased 1.4 million shares of our common stock for a total cost of $74.2 million. Earnings Call We will host a conference call beginning at 5:00pm ET on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, accessible via telephone and the internet. Ken Moelis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Joe Simon, Chief Financial Officer, will review our first quarter 2021 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 @Moelis. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, which reflect the Firm's current views with respect to, among other things, its operations and financial performance. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "target," "approximately," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and estimates and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. We believe these factors include, but are not limited to, those described under "Risk Factors" discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, subsequent reports filed on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the SEC. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release including those statements herein with respect to the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scale, scope and duration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, revenues and operating results is unpredictable and depends on many factors outside of our control. Statements herein about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the firm's business, results, financial position and liquidity may constitute forward-looking statements and are subject to the risk that the actual impact may differ, possibly materially, from what is currently estimated. In addition, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. The Firm undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Non-GAAP Financial Measures Adjusted results are a non-GAAP measure which better reflect management's view of operating results. We believe that the disclosed Adjusted measures and any adjustments thereto, when presented in conjunction with comparable GAAP measures, are useful to investors to understand the Firm's operating results by adjusting the accounting impact of certain items and assuming all Class A partnership units have been exchanged into Class A common stock. These measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of GAAP results to Adjusted results is presented in the Appendix. Appendix GAAP Consolidated Statement of Operations (Unaudited) Reconciliation of GAAP to Adjusted (non-GAAP) Financial Information (Unaudited) Moelis & Company

GAAP Consolidated Statement of Operations

Unaudited

(dollars in thousands, except for share and per share data) Three Months Ended

March 31, 2021 2020 Revenues $ 263,866 $ 153,706 Expenses Compensation and benefits 156,499 95,120 Occupancy 7,695 7,231 Professional fees 5,999 4,236 Communication, technology and information services 8,659 8,392 Travel and related expenses 1,610 7,944 Depreciation and amortization 1,449 1,199 Other expenses 9,512 5,142 Total Expenses 191,423 129,264 Operating income (loss) 72,443 24,442 Other income (expenses) 3,179 (1,660 ) Income (loss) before income taxes 75,622 22,782 Provision (benefit) for income taxes (176 ) (7,344 ) Net income (loss) 75,798 30,126 Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 9,269 4,996 Net income (loss) attributable to Moelis & Company $ 66,529 $ 25,130 Weighted-average shares of Class A common stock outstanding Basic 60,932,966 52,666,457 Diluted 66,360,217 57,092,982 Net income (loss) attributable to holders of shares of Class A common stock per share Basic $ 1.09 $ 0.48 Diluted $ 1.00 $ 0.44 Moelis & Company

Reconciliation of GAAP to Adjusted (non-GAAP) Financial Information

Unaudited

(dollars in thousands, except share and per share data) Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 Adjusted items GAAP Adjustments Adjusted

(non-GAAP) Compensation and benefits $ 156,499 (25 ) (a) $ 156,474 Other income (expenses) 3,179 (25 ) (a) 3,154 Income (loss) before income taxes 75,622 - 75,622 Provision for income taxes (176 ) (361 ) (b) (537 ) Net income (loss) 75,798 361 76,159 Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 9,269 (9,269 ) (c) - Net income (loss) attributable to Moelis & Company $ 66,529 $ 9,630 $ 76,159 Weighted-average shares of Class A common stock outstanding Basic 60,932,966 8,265,067 (c) 69,198,033 Diluted 66,360,217 8,265,067 (c) 74,625,284 Net income (loss) attributable to holders of shares of Class A common stock per share Basic $ 1.09 $ 1.10 Diluted $ 1.00 $ 1.02 (a) Reflects a de minimis reclassification of other income to compensation and benefits expense associated with the forfeiture of fully-vested awards from the enforcement of non-compete provisions. (b) An adjustment has been made to illustrate the result as if 100% of the Firm's income is being taxed at our corporate effective tax rate for the period stated. Our tax provision includes a tax benefit related to the settlement of share-based awards of $20.0 million; excluding such discrete benefit, our effective tax rate for the period presented would have been 25.8%. (c) Assumes all outstanding Class A partnership units have been exchanged into Class A common stock. Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 Adjusted items GAAP Adjustments Adjusted (non-GAAP) Compensation and benefits $ 95,120 (95 ) (a) $ 95,025 Other income (expenses) (1,660 ) 2,790 (a)(b) 1,130 Income (loss) before income taxes 22,782 2,885 25,667 Provision for income taxes (7,344 ) 1,759 (b)(c) (5,585 ) Net income (loss) 30,126 1,126 31,252 Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 4,996 (4,996 ) (d) - Net income (loss) attributable to Moelis & Company $ 25,130 $ 6,122 $ 31,252 Weighted-average shares of Class A common stock outstanding Basic 52,666,457 12,958,022 (d) 65,624,479 Diluted 57,092,982 12,958,022 (d) 70,051,004 Net income (loss) attributable to holders of shares of Class A common stock per share Basic $ 0.48 $ 0.48 Diluted $ 0.44 $ 0.45 (a) Reflects a reclassification of $0.1 million of other income to compensation and benefits expense associated with the forfeiture of fully-vested awards from enforcement of non-compete provisions. (b) TRA liability adjustments are made to other income (expenses) for GAAP purposes. These adjustments are reclassified to provision for income taxes to reflect the net economic impact in the tax line. (c) An adjustment has been made to illustrate the result as if 100% of the Firm's income is being taxed at our corporate effective tax rate for the period stated. Our tax provision includes a tax benefit related to the settlement of share-based awards of $9.1 million and a $2.9 million benefit from the tax relief provisions under the CARES Act; excluding such discrete benefits, our effective tax rate for the period presented would have been 25.2%. (d) Assumes all outstanding Class A partnership units have been exchanged into Class A common stock. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428006110/en/

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Wunderman Thompson has had a triumphant start to 2021 and has ended the first quarter of the year on a winning spree. This year also marks the two-year anniversary for Wunderman Thompson, and the agency continues its growth momentum well into the year. The agencys expert capabilities across creative, strategic consultancy, commerce and data-driven experience design have been recognised through a slew of global awards and accreditation, coupled with winning over 150 new businesses such as the creative AOR duties for the Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce, Salesforce, J&J and Amazon, to name a few.

The agency won a total of 20 Clio awards at the 2021 festival that includes 2 Gold, 6 Silver, and 12 Bronze. At Asias most celebrated regional creative festival  AdFest 2021, Wunderman Thompson Bangkok was named Agency of the Year and Digital Agency of the Year for their work on Thai Airways Stay Home Miles Exchange. The work won a number of awards, including the Direct Lotus Grande, and Thai Airways was named Advertiser of the Year. At the Dubai Lynx awards, one of the worlds premier benchmarks for creativity, Wunderman Thompsons MENA team picked up three Grand Prix, six gold, six silver and 11 bronze awards. At Spikes Asia 2021, Wunderman Thompson APAC bagged 2 Grand Prix, 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 10 Bronze awards, with Wunderman Thompson Thailand named the Thailand Country Agency of the Year. Closer home, Wunderman Thompson India was awarded gold as the Digital Agency of the Year at the 11th edition of the Internet and Mobile Association of Indias (IAMAI) India Digital Awards.

For the third year in a row and every year since its founding as an agency brand in 2019, Wunderman Thompson has been named a Leader in Gartners Magic Quadrant for Global Marketing Agencies. Gartner highlighted the agencys creative capabilities and knowledge in strategic consulting, its advanced e-commerce capabilities for global clients and expertise in data-driven experience design, and the strength of the Wunderman Thompson client roster across B2B and B2C brands. Gartner also gave a special mention to the Wunderman Thompson INSPIRE study  the agencys proprietary global study that reveals why brands need to be inspirational, how inspiration drives tangible business growth and what brands can do to inspire their customers.

One of the strongest signals for marketing and technology leaders today continues to be The Forrester Wave and Forrester recently recognised WPP as a Leader in the Commerce Services Wave. Wunderman Thompson Commerce is WPPs largest commerce agency and has globally contributed towards the WPP submission to Forrester. With the pandemic driving an increase in e-commerce of almost 30%, this achievement is testament to Wunderman Thompsons industry-leading commerce capabilities, that make it a valued growth partner for clients.

In terms of launches, Wunderman Thompson developed Resolve, a marketing solutions tool to help brands adapt to the new reality of a cookie-less world. Resolve is Wunderman Thompsons privacy-first personalisation technology that uses AI to help brands recognise their customers so they can personalise CRM, media and ecommerce  without sharing customer data or using third-party tracking. At the end of last year, the agency also launched its Annual Future 100 Report revealing 100 trends that will shape 2021, from touchless travel to micropreneurs. The report is developed by Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, the agencys futures think tank and innovation unit.

Commenting on the agencys performance in South Asia, Tarun Rai, Chairman and Group CEO, Wunderman Thompson South Asia, said, We owe it to our people. Notwithstanding the changes and challenges that have come with the pandemic, they have displayed a remarkable sense of responsibility, commitment and resilience while working from home. Theyve collaborated extremely well across teams and geographies, and have been valued growth partners to our clients delivering stellar work. Work that helped us win the Digital agency of the year at the beginning of 2021, our global accolades, a fantastic new business record, and the highest-ever ratings from all our top clients to name a few. The accolades and wins are a testament to the synergistic capabilities that Wunderman Thompson offers, focused on tech, data and digital. While we will continue our growth momentum, our focus is on our people and their well-being, particularly as we navigate the second wave of COVID-19.
Bengaluru, April 28 : Karnataka on Wednesday placed an order to buy 1 crore doses of anti-Covid vaccines to inoculate adults in the 18-44 years age group free from next month.

As the third phase of anti-Covid vaccination drive will roll out from May 1 for the 18-44 years age group, the state government has placed an order to purchase 1 crore doses, according to an official statement here.

Though the order did not mention vaccine names, an official told IANS that the state would buy Covishield from the Pune-based Serum Institute of India and Covaxin from the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech.

"The vaccination drive for citizens in the 18-44 years age group will begin across the state when the doses are received from both manufacturers," said the official, without mentioning the commencing date.

Nationwide registration for citizens in the 18-44 years age group on the Union Health Ministry's Co-Win portal began on Wednesday evening despite glitches.

"Scheduling of slots for vaccination at state-run and private hospitals in the third phase will be posted on the portal on receiving the doses," said the statement.

According to the state Health Department, Karnataka has over 3.5 crore people in the 18-45 years age group and 1.7 crore people above 45 years of age, in its total population of over 6.5 crore.

Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said on April 22 the state government would buy 1 crore doses of the anti-viral drug at a cost of Rs 400 crore to inoculate adults in the 18-44 years age group.

Cumulatively, 92,40,078 people, including senior citizens above 60 years of age, those in the 45-59 years age group, healthcare workers and frontline warriors have been vaccinated till date in the state since the drive was launched across India on January 16.
An Egyptian archeological mission unearthed 110 tombs that date back to different ancient eras in the delta province of Daqahilia, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The discovery is an important addition to our knowledge about the history of ancient Egypt as it included pieces from three civilizations," said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Waziri referred to the three civilizations as Lower Egypt, Naqada III which is the last phase of the Naqada culture of ancient Egyptian prehistory, dating from approximately 3200 BC to 3000 BC, and the second intermediate period known as the Hyksos period when Egypt fell into disarray between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of New Kingdom.

He added that 68 tombs belonging to the civilization of Lower Egypt were found in oval shapes containing some crossed-leg mummies whose heads were directed to the west.

Meanwhile, many pots and makeup materials were found in 37 other tombs that belonged to the Hyksos period.

The mission also found several ovens and remains of muddy brick pillars, pottery vessels, earrings and scarabs.
More than 300 new cases of faster-spreading strains of COVID-19 had been detected in Manitoba as of Tuesday, raising the number to 1,641 cases.

More than 300 new cases of faster-spreading strains of COVID-19 had been detected in Manitoba as of Tuesday, raising the number to 1,641 cases.

The rise of variants means more Manitobans are being hospitalized

About one-third of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the province and 25 per cent of ICU admissions are because of a variant of concern. So far, the B.1.1.7 variant, first detected in the U.K., has become the most common, but patients with other highly infectious strains are starting to show up in Manitoba hospitals. As of April 23, there were 25 people hospitalized with more infectious strains of the virus, including one with the P.1. variant and three with a variant of concern that hasnt yet been categorized.

In other parts of the country, the appearance of variants of concern in hospitals brought about specific infection-control measures that required separating patients who have different strains. But that concern doesnt rank very high on the list of pandemic priorities, a Winnipeg infectious disease physician says.

The chances of a hospitalized COVID-19 patient, who has developed antibodies, getting reinfected with a different strain is "essentially zero," said Dr. Amila Heendeniya. But the science about COVID-19 is still evolving.

"This virus has surprised us multiple times," he says. "We never know what a new variant might become. Theres always a risk you might develop a big enough mutation, maybe you can get a second coronavirus infection while you are in hospital, but that shouldnt happen when you are actively fighting the current coronavirus infection."

In a statement, a Shared Health spokesperson said Manitoba doesnt separate patients based on the strain they have. COVID-19 patients are separated from patients who dont have the virus.

In Alberta, and in some Ontario hospitals, COVID-19 patients are being separated according to their strain as a precaution, based on the theoretical concern and based on early data about vaccine effectiveness, that antibodies from one type of COVID-19 infection may not be strong enough to fight off mutated forms of the virus.

Infectious disease physician Dr. Stephanie Smith is in charge of infection control at the University of Alberta hospital in Edmonton. She says for now, Albertas approach is to isolate patients with newer highly contagious variants  including the ones that caused serious illness in Brazil and South Africa, B.1351 and P.1  from patients with the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant or the previously dominant "wild" strains. Theres no data to show grouping patients together would create a mutated supervirus.

"Across the country, its a bit of an evolving science, and so province to province, we are seeing different approaches to managing variants in hospital," she said.

Smith said as hospitals fill up with patients, Alberta may not be able to keep separating patients. For now, its done as a precaution.

"Here in Alberta, were erring on the side of caution, but again, as our numbers rise, that practice is going to become more and more difficult."

Its much more important, she says, to keep non-COVID patients separated from those whove been infected  and keep checking non-COVID wards to catch any developing symptoms early.

In Winnipeg, a hopeful sign for Dr. Heendeniya is a noticeable lack of certain groups of hospital patients.

Over the past two weeks, he said he hasnt seen anyone admitted to hospital whos already been vaccinated, and there have been no health-care workers or long-term care residents.

"So we know the vaccines work," he said, suggesting light at the end of the tunnel as soon as enough Canadians are immunized.

"Right now its hard for people to see, because we have really strict restrictions, but once we get enough of the population vaccinated, as we saw in the federal models that came out last week, we should be able to start lifting restrictions and going back to normal."

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay
Hong Kong: Report on health measures refuted

The Food & Health Bureau today strongly refuted a media report that linked the relaxation of social distancing measures by the Government based on the vaccine bubble with the social credit system in the Mainland.

In a statement, the bureau said there is no correlation between the Governments measures and the social credit system, and it expressed deep regret over such misrepresentation of facts in the report.

The statement noted that the relaxation of social distancing measures announced by the Government on April 27 was based on the enhanced anti-epidemic capability in Hong Kong and the steady progress of the Government's vaccination programme.

In adjusting the measures, the Government has taken into account the relevant risks of infection, and the decision was supported with public health justifications in response to the aspirations of various trades and the public to resume normal daily lives as soon as possible, it added.

Hong Kong is also gradually building a protection and immunity barrier against the epidemic upon the increasing vaccination uptake.

The bureau said that the biased remarks in the report deliberately mislead members of the public and are unfavourable at a time when the city is joining hands in fighting the epidemic.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Update at 9:32 p.m.

A tornado warning for northwestern Guadalupe County, northeastern Bexar and southeastern Comal County is in effect until 10 p.m. The storm has a potential for quarter size hail.

A severe thunderstorm warning remains for southwestern Guadalupe, central Bexar and central Comal counties until 10:30 p.m.

Update at 7:55 p.m.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Southeastern Medina County in south central Texas, Northwestern Atascosa County in south central Texas and Southwestern Bexar County in south central Texas. The warning is in effect until 8:45 p.m.

Affected areas include San Antonio, Castroville, Stinson Municipal Airport, Leon Valley, Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, Lytle, Olmos Park, Somerset, Natalia, Lacoste, Noonan, Quihi, Dunlay, Pearson, Sea World, Bader, Lacklan AFB, Biry and Rio Medina.

Per the alert, motorists should not take shelter under highway overpasses. If you cannot safely drive away from the tornado, as a last resort, either

park your vehicle and stay put, or abandon your vehicle and lie down in a low lying area and protect yourself from flying debris.

The system could produce 2-inch hail.

Original story below:

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for areas west of San Antonio, including Boerne and the Hill Country until 11 p.m. Wednesday.



According to the NWS, the San Antonio area still has a shot of strong to severe storms tonight with large hail. They note the severe threat will transition to a heavy rainfall threat later Wednesday night through Thursday morning.

Parts of the area could see anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of rain. Some areas could see up to 6 inches of precipitation.

MONDAY

San Antonio is now under a slight risk for severe storms, according to the latest update from the National Weather Service.

The weather powerhouse announced Tuesday that the Alamo City faces a slight risk for excessive rainfall between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, particularly Wednesday around 9 or 10 p.m.

If so, San Antonio could face one to two inches of rain depending on the severity of the storm. Along with rainfall, the storms could also bring large hail and heavy winds as high as 60 mph. Experts from the National Weather service said a tornado in the area is possible.

READ MORE: Man pushing cannon in Texas gives new meaning to 'right to carry'

The update also indicated that isolated and scattered storms are possible Tuesday night across the Rio Grande, the southern portion of the Edwards Plateau, and portions of the Hill Country, although specific details were not provided.

Those areas are likely to get more dreary weather later in the week as well. The Rio Grande and Edwards Plateau could possibly see severe storms continue into late Wednesday afternoon, while the rains could affect the Hill Country well into Thursday morning.
Hong Kong's government amended the city's immigration laws on to enable security chiefs to ban passengers from taking any form of transport in or out of the city.



The amended law has sparked concerns that it will be used to prevent people from leaving amid an ever-widening crackdown on public dissent and peaceful political opposition.



The amendment to the Immigration Ordinance was passed in a Legislative Council (LegCo) devoid of opposition members, who resigned en masse in in protest over the expulsion of four of their colleagues.



Dozens of former members of the pro-democracy camp in LegCo have been arrested in recent months, either for public order offenses linked to peaceful protests during the 2019 anti-extradition and pro-democracy movement, or under a draconian national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from , 2020.



The amendment passed by 39 votes to two, journalism student Christina Chan said via her Twitter account.



The amended bill, which takes effect from Aug. 1, has been billed by the government as a crackdown on asylum-seekers and undocumented migrants.



But it also includes a clause enabling border guards to prevent a person from boarding a flight or any other form of transportation out of the city, paving the way for exit bans on any of Hong Kong's seven million residents or even on visiting foreign nationals.



The proposed amendment to Section 6A of the existing law will "empower the Director [of Immigration] to direct that a passenger or a member of the crew of a carrier may or may not be carried on board the carrier," according to copies of the draft amendments posted online by the government.



The authorities will also set up an advanced passenger information system that will funnel the data of people arriving in the city to the immigration department for vetting, making it easier for people to be denied entry or detained on arrival.



Residents already believe the city's airport is under routine surveillance by national security police, after Youtuber Bob's Your Uncle filmed a group of unidentified people with no luggage lingering in the departure hall and watching passengers board their flights in January.



'Anti-China politician'

The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) had called in February for the Bill to be amended to reflect that the Secretary of Security's powers (via the Director of Immigration) didn't include barring someone from boarding a flight or other form of transport leaving Hong Kong.



But the bill was eventually passed into law with no such amendment in place.



The HKBA's view had been that the law "could have the effect of barring Hong Kong residents from boarding an aircraft or any other means of transportation either coming to or departing from Hong Kong."

The HKBA was itself targeted for criticism by Beijing's Central Liaison Office in Hong Kong, calling its chairman Paul Harris an "anti-China politician" whose tenure made "a mockery" of the association.



Harris has also questioned the national security law, as well as the sentencing of 10 veteran pro-democracy activists for taking part in peaceful protests in 2019.



Chief executive Carrie Lam said there was no need to take action against Harris "for the time being."



"If there are instances or complaints about the bar not acting in accordance with Hong Kongs law, then of course the government will be called into action," she told journalists.



Meanwhile, the HKBA has said it will investigate members and veteran pro-democracy politicians Margaret Ng and Martin Lee after they were convicted of taking part in an "illegal assembly" on Aug. 18, 2019.



"The matter about the convictions of the two members have been drawn to the attention of the Bar Council which is in the course of an investigation into the matter," it said in a statement to the Hong Kong Free Press.



Reported by Chan Yun Nam for RFA's Cantonese and Mandarin Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
The superannuation industry is warning a raft of changes for the $3 trillion sector will hand politicians too much control over the funds spending decisions despite significant changes to investment performance tests.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Superannuation Minister Jane Hume released regulations for the new Your Future, Your Super reforms on Wednesday and revealed the performance benchmarks super funds must meet will now include administration fees and new categories to better measure unlisted assets.

Superannuation Minister Jane Hume released regulations for the new Your Future, Your Super reforms on Wednesday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

However, plans to give the government new powers granting the right to intervene on funds spending were not changed. This has been one of the most controversial aspects of the legislation, with funds requesting more details about how these rules will be used.

Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees chief executive Eva Scheerlinck said the regulations were silent on this issue. As long as there is uncertainty around this measure, there will be uncertainty as to how super funds invest for the long term, putting at risk investment by funds and dampening returns for members, Ms Scheerlinck said.
Pham Duy Khuong Managing director ASL LAW

Besides, it is also one of the countries that have been able to control the COVID-19 epidemic, creating a safer environment for foreign investors. This encourages foreign investors to look for projects in Vietnam, especially in the real estate sector, to invest through M&A deals. However, investment policies and legal corridors need to be improved to attract investment and make M&A a safe option in Vietnam.

Firstly, despite implementing amendments to laws and issuing more open policies to attract investment capital to improve M&A activities, there are still many shortcomings that make investors afraid to invest in Vietnam in this form. The provisions of the regulations on M&A are scattered and overlapping in legal documents such as the laws on Enterprises, Investment, and Competition, and there are no unified regulations for the implementation of M&A activities.

In order to move towards the development of M&A activities, Vietnam needs to build a unified legal corridor for this activity, thereby creating peace of mind for investors with clearly outlined regulations on the management as well as the responsibilities and interests of stakeholders.

Secondly, some unclear provisions of the Law on Competition are considered a barrier to the implementation of M&A deals in Vietnam, especially the fact that there is no unified and clear definition and guidance on the term related market. This makes the decisions of local authorities very subjective, posing investors many potential risks. Therefore, it is necessary to have a document clarifying the definition of relevant market.

Thirdly, to conduct M&A activities, it is very important to identify potential target companies that meet the requirements and desires of investors. In the Vietnamese market, information is very limited on businesses, especially in the real estate sector.

Meanwhile, target companies often hide unflattering business information, debts, or disputes or lawsuits, putting investors at risk. Therefore, it is necessary to promulgate a policy to create a transparent information disclosure system as well as reliable tools for investors to collect information to avoid disadvantages when participating in M&A activities.

Finally, the procedure for approving M&A transactions in Vietnam is also quite cumbersome, as most transactions need to be approved by the competent authority. The approval process can take up to months, and even longer if the deal is related to a conditional business line where approval has to be secured from many different authorities. Therefore, cumbersome procedures need to be removed and reduced to facilitate foreign investors in Vietnam.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges and also created many opportunities for the Vietnamese economy. If the above problems are solved, Vietnam is expected to have a breakthrough after its economy recovers.
Two months ago, President Bidens Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief announced the agency would end Trump-era sweeps of pizza guys and grandmas, and instead focus its precious resources on deporting serious criminals, as well as recent arrivals.

So why is New Jerseys field office still fighting in court to deport 22 Christians who fled religious persecution in Indonesia more than two decades ago, and pose no threat?

Senators Menendez, Booker, and other Democrats in our congressional delegation recently called for ICE to stay its hand against these people. But an anonymous ICE spokesperson is taking the position that the agency has the right to target them.

Neither the Washington office nor John Tsoukaris, head of the local field office, would comment on the record, which is just absurd. This is Joe Bidens ICE now. Why havent these guys gotten the memo?

When deciding which of the roughly 10 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. to deport, ICE offices must now weigh the extensiveness, seriousness and recency of any criminal activity, as well as mitigating factors like personal and family circumstances, health and medical factors, ties to the community, evidence of rehabilitation and whether the individual has potential immigration relief available, this memo from ICEs headquarters said.

By focusing our limited resources on cases that present threats to national security, border security, and public safety, our agency will more ably and effectively execute its law enforcement mission, acting ICE director Tae Johnson added.

Yet our local field office is still targeting a bunch of harmless immigrants who missed the original one-year deadline to apply for asylum, even as worsening anti-Christian violence in Indonesia presents compelling new evidence to support their case for remaining in the U.S. None pose a national security risk, have crossed the border recently or have any criminal convictions. Their kids are U.S. citizens enrolled in our public schools; some are now in college. They have raised families, bought homes and volunteered in their communities  like handyman Harry Pangemanan, who earned a humanitarian award for leading an effort to rebuild 200 houses after Hurricane Sandy.

Not only were they deprioritized for deportation under Obama; ICE specifically reached an agreement that allowed them to stay here. And thats what the agency needs to do again. This is exactly why we have prosecutorial discretion, exactly why, at the national level, Biden has put these priorities on the books, said their lawyer, Farrin Anello with the ACLU. Were hoping the field office will recognize that and allow people in this group to stay.

The bombing of a Catholic church in Indonesia on Palm Sunday shows the ongoing threat: If these people get deported before their cases can proceed in immigration court, their lives could be put in danger, and their kids forced to go back to a country theyre utterly unfamiliar with  or be forcibly separated from their families. And theyre not the only ones in limbo. A lot of people being detained by ICE in our state are now low priority and should be released with check-ins, based on this memo from Bidens Department of Homeland Security.

But an ICE official who would only speak to reporters on the condition of anonymity seemed to say that a local field office can still go after them. DHS does not prohibit ICE from apprehending or detaining individuals who are unlawfully in the United States and fall outside of these specific priorities.

Tsoukariss office refused to respond to any of our questions on Monday. Thats alarming. One would hope that his people would implement the Biden memo in good faith and prioritize the deportation of criminals. But this secrecy and defiance doesnt give us much confidence.

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Dax Shepard didn't want to talk about relapsing after 16 years of sobriety, but he broke the news anyway in a September episode of his podcast, Armchair Expert. The words of a close friend are what made all the difference.

"The tipping point that got me to be public about it was a really good friend of mine who happened to have the same sobriety date as myself, and were the exact same age.  Were very, very similar, and I told him, of course, immediately," Shepard said on Tuesday's episode of In Fact With Chelsea Clinton. "And I said, 'I don't really wanna do it on the podcast [Armchair Expert] and here's why.' And he goes, 'Look, if you're getting self-esteem from the number, that's silly. If you're getting self-esteem because you think that it's helpful to people, that's great, but if your goal then is actually to help people, it's so much more helpful that you relapsed than it is you being 16 years sober and married to Kristen Bell. That's not incredibly relatable to some dude who's struggling. But lying to the people you love just last month, that's pretty relatable."

The story was an extended version of what he told Ellen DeGeneres on her show in January.

At that time, Shepard explained that he'd even feared losing sponsors talking about how he'd started using opiates following two consecutive surgeries for injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident and an off-roading accident during quarantine. Eventually, he was sneaking Vicodin and Oxycontin "all day" and taking them whenever he wanted.

"The opiate thing was very misleading because I still was doing everything I'm supposed to do," Shepard said. "I was still interviewing people, and it was going well. I was still playing with my kids outside, putting them to bed and waking them up, and doing all the dad stuff."

But, as he told Clinton, he was starting to lie to people he loved, saying that he was taking pills for his arthritis. Lying was something he'd been able to do "like crazy" in the early days of his addiction, but he found that he couldn't do it anymore.

Story continues

"Weirdly, it was terrible leading up to it, because I had built this whole identity in my head around having 16 years," Shepard said. "I loved having 16 years. I loved talking about it on the podcast. I loved that people who had messaged me ... [would] say, 'I'm on three. I loved being inspirational to people for sobriety. And I was holding onto that so much, I was deriving so much of my self-esteem from that, that I was really scared of not having that, and so I avoided losing that for a while, for a couple months, and then eventually I just  yeah, I couldnt do it."

Shepard said he first told his wife, Kristen Bell, but he eventually had to deal with explaining himself to their daughters, 6-year-old Delta and Lincoln, 8.

"And they knew, they knew, like when I relapsed, we explained, 'Well, Daddy was on these pills for his surgery and then Daddy was a bad boy and he started getting his own pills," he said. "And, yeah, we tell them the whole thing."

Shepard told Clinton that he talks to his girls about addiction "just like Im talking to you."

He said they're aware of where he's going when he leaves for an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting every Tuesday and Thursday.

"One of the cuter moments was, I wanna say my oldest daughter was 3  back when my daughters really wanted to be with me 24 hours a day  and she said, 'Where are you going?' And I said, 'Well, I'm going to AA," Shepard recalled. "She said, 'Why do you have to go?' I go, 'Because I'm an alcoholic. If I don't go there then I'll drink and I'll be a terrible dad.' And she said, 'Can I go?' And I said, 'Well, no, you gotta be an alcoholic.' And she goes, 'I'm gonna be an alcoholic.' And I said, 'You know, you might become one. The odds are not in your favor. But you're not there yet.'

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:
The UK Carrier Strike Groups globe-spanning maiden deployment will feature visits to India, Japan, Republic of Korea and Singapore, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace will announce.

Mr Wallace will set out to Parliament the formidable size of the UK Carrier Strike Group, which will be led by new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

On a 28-week deployment spanning 26,000 nautical miles, the Carrier Strike Group will conduct engagements with Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Japan and India as part of the UKs tilt towards the Indo-Pacific region. Units from the Carrier Strike Group are expected to visit more than 40 countries and undertake over 70 engagements.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

When our Carrier Strike Group sets sail next month, it will be flying the flag for Global Britain  projecting our influence, signalling our power, engaging with our friends and reaffirming our commitment to addressing the security challenges of today and tomorrow.

The entire nation can be proud of the dedicated men and women who for more than six months will demonstrate to the world that the UK is not stepping back but sailing forth to play an active role in shaping the international system of the 21st Century.

HMS Queen Elizabeth, the most powerful surface vessel in the Royal Navys history, will next month set sail as the flagship of a Carrier Strike Group. Joining her will be a surface fleet of Type 45 destroyers, HMS Defender and HMS Diamond, Type 23 anti-submarine frigates HMS Kent and HMS Richmond, and the Royal Fleet Auxiliarys RFA Fort Victoria and RFA Tidespring.

Deep below the surface, a Royal Navy Astute-class submarine will be deployed in support, armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Providing a cutting edge on the carriers flight deck will be eight state-of-the-art RAF F-35B Lightning II fast jets. Alongside will be four Wildcat maritime attack helicopters, seven Merlin Mk2 anti-submarine helicopters and three Merlin Mk4 commando helicopters  the greatest quantity of helicopters assigned to a single UK Task Group in a decade.

And supporting below deck will be a company of Royal Marines Commandos.

A US Navy destroyer, a frigate from the Netherlands and a squadron of US Marine Corps F-35B jets are also fully integrated.

Indo-Pacific tilt

CSG21 will be a truly global deployment, from the North Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific. In Parliament, the Defence Secretary will explain how it will help achieve the UKs goal for deeper engagement in the Indo-Pacific region in support of shared prosperity and regional stability  a stated aim of the Governments recently published Integrated Review into foreign, defence, security and development policy.

The forthcoming deployment will bolster already deep defence partnerships in the region, where the UK is committed to a more enduring regional defence and security presence. Ships from the Carrier Strike Group will participate in Exercise Bersama Lima to mark the 50th anniversary of the Five Powers Defence Agreement between Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Engagements in Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Japan and India will provide the opportunity for strengthening our security relationships, tightening political ties and supporting our UK exports and International Trade agenda.

Sailing alongside Allies and partners

The Carrier deployment will take integration with NATO allies and other global Allies to a new level.

At the forefront will be the US and the Netherlands. Sailing as part of the Group and providing it with air defence and anti-submarine capabilities will be the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS THE SULLIVANS. Flying alongside their UK counterparts will be a squadron of 10 US Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft. Providing further air defence will be the Royal Netherlands Navys frigate HNLMS Evertsen.

On the Mediterranean leg of the deployment, another close NATO Ally will provide a period of dual carrier operations when French Aircraft Carrier Charles De Gaulle sails alongside HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Elsewhere air and maritime forces from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Israel, India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Oman, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and the UAE will operate alongside the Carrier Strike Group.

Units from the group visit more than 40 countries and undertake in excess of 70 engagements, visits, air exercises and operations.

Leading in NATO

The UK Carrier Strike Group will be NATOs first 5th generation Carrier Strike Group, underlining the UKs leading role in the Alliance.

CSG21 will participate in NATO exercises such as Exercise Steadfast Defender, and provide support to NATO Operation Sea Guardian and maritime security operations in the Black Sea.
ANGUILLA, BWI / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Kidoz Inc. (TSXV:KIDZ) (the "Company"), AdTech software developer and owner of the privacy focussed KIDOZ Safe Ad Network (www.kidoz.net), the KIDOZ Kid-Mode Operating System, the KIDOZ publisher SDK, and the Rooplay edu-games platform, announced today that the Company should benefit from the recent changes resulting from the release of iOS 14.5 by Apple and the new restrictions in the use of Apple device IDs (IDFA) in mobile advertising.

"The Kidoz mobile network does not use Device IDs (IDFA), Personal Identifiable Information (PII), or other unique identifiers to operate successfully," stated Jason Williams, Kidoz Co-CEO. "Therefore, Apple's iOS 14.5 feature, App Tracking Transparency, which requires users to grant access to ad networks to use their device ID, has no impact on our market leading Safe Ad Network. Kidoz uses a proprietary contextual targeting system that ensures complete privacy, safety, and compliance for every user, publisher, and advertiser using the Kidoz Safe Ad Network. As Kidoz does not use customer data as part of our advertising system, our operation is not affected by the inability to exploit user or device data. The Kidoz contextual network is growing rapidly on all platforms and is now reaching more than 300,000,000 users a month."

As a leading provider of advertising technology for companies looking to safely reach children and families on mobile platforms, Kidoz offers a huge inventory of video, display, and interactive advertising. The key differentiator of Kidoz from other mobile networks is that Kidoz advertising does not use data trackers such as location information, device identifiers, behavioural data, and other signals that track users across the Internet. Examples of these trackers include IDFA (Identifiers for Advertisers) from Apple and AAID (Google Advertising ID) from Google. Kidoz does not utilize these trackers and curates the ads to ensure appropriate advertising reaches kids.

"With iOS 14.5, cross-device tracking, retargeting and performance attribution are three measures that will be lost on iOS devices. However, as Kidoz is a network for brand advertisers who are interested in building brand awareness and engagement with customers, we believe our contextual targeting will be their preferred marketing strategy.

"Kidoz is a dedicated AdTech developer that is completely focussed on creating the largest safe, private, and high-performance mobile ad network." said Eldad Ben Tora, Kidoz Co-CEO. "We've listened to our advertisers who want mobile inventory with the greatest reach and widest variety combined with full-service transparency and brand safety. As a contextual network free of data targeting, we build value and trust with advertisers by facilitating pre-campaign contextual app list planning, live campaign optimisations, and detailed post-campaign reporting and analysis. Our strategy, continues to succeed in this dynamic digital advertising environment and we're excited to be expanding our team and launching many new exciting projects in 2021."

About Kidoz Inc.

KIDOZ Inc. (TSXV:KIDZ) (www.kidoz.net) owns the popular Kid-Safe mobile network. Engaging more than 300 million kids a month across our leading mobile KidTech network, KIDOZ provides an essential suite of services that unites kids' brands, content publishers and families. KIDOZ is certified safe by Google and Apple approved for use in the App Store. Trusted by Disney, Hasbro, Lego and more, the KIDOZ Safe Ad Network helps the world's largest brands to safely reach and engage kids across thousands of mobile apps and sites. The KIDOZ OS solution helps carriers and brands such as Lenovo, Acer, and PBS Kids bring a kid-focused experience to their family devices, in a fully GDPR and COPPA compliant way. KIDOZ's Rooplay (www.rooplay.com) offers an interactive learning experience worldwide with original content featuring Moomin, Mr. Men, Little Miss, Mr. Bean and hundreds more kid-focused learning games.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by the company) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to anticipated future success of the company. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the company. For a description of additional risks and uncertainties, please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Specifically, readers should read the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021 and the prospectus filed under Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act on March 9, 2005 and the SB2 filed July 17, 2007, and the TSX Venture Exchange Listing Application for Common Shares filed on June 29, 2015 on SEDAR, for a more thorough discussion of the Company's financial position and results of operations, together with a detailed discussion of the risk factors involved in an investment in Kidoz Inc.

For more information contact:

Henry Bromley

CFO

ir@kidoz.net

(888) 374-2163

SOURCE: Kidoz Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/643188/Kidoz-Safe-Ad-Network-Looks-to-Gain-from-iOS-145-and-IDFA-Changes
Mark Grenon, sons sold $1M worth of toxic Miracle Mineral Solution: DOJ

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A Florida father of eight and fake church leader who marketed toxic bleach as a Miracle Mineral Solution to cure ailments including COVID-19, cancer, Alzheimers, diabetes, autism and HIV/AIDS, sold more than $1 million worth of the product to desperate followers.

And for that, along with defying federal court orders, Mark Grenon, the 62-year-old father who serves as leader of the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing (not a Christian church), and his three sons  Jonathan Grenon, 34, Jordan Grenon, 26, and Joseph Grenon, 32  were all indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami the Department of Justice announced Friday.

While they marketed Miracle Mineral Solution as a godsend cure, the indictment described it as a toxic "chemical solution containing sodium chlorite and water which, when ingested orally, becomes chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleach typically used for industrial water treatment or bleaching textiles, pulp, and paper."

The Grenons, according to the indictment, claimed that ingesting MMS could treat COVID-19 despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration.

Even though the FDA had not approved MMS for any use, the Grenons allegedly sold tens of thousands of bottles of MMS nationwide, including to consumers throughout South Florida, under the guise of Genesis II Church of Health and Healing.

Genesis II, which is a non-religious entity, was allegedly used as a cover to avoid government regulation of MMS and shield the Grenons from prosecution, according to charging documents.

 ... Defendant Mark Grenon, the co-founder of Genesis, has repeatedly acknowledged that Genesis has nothing to do with religion, and that he founded Genesis to legalize the use of MMS and avoid going [ ] to jail, the release from the DOJ said.

Authorities also noted that donations to acquire MMS were effectively just sales prices because orders were set at specific dollar amounts. The Grenons are further charged with criminal contempt, according to the indictment, for violating a court order in a civil case to stop distributing MMS.

The Grenons also allegedly threatened the federal judge presiding over the civil case, and threatened that, should the government attempt to enforce the court orders halting their distribution of MMS, the Grenons would pick up guns and instigate a Waco, the DOJs release on Friday said.

Mark Grenon argued in an interview with Natural News in 2020 that his family has been fighting with federal authorities about their support for MMS for about 10 years, but admitted that things only escalated a year ago when they were sent a warning to stop distributing their MMS sacraments.

The FDA said we should stop giving our sacraments to the world and we just basically said No, we have the First Amendment, Grenon said. It says we have the free exercise of religious beliefs, despite being a non-religious church, as was noted on his website at the time.

Grenon explained that when he started Genesis in 2010 in the Dominican Republic, he was contacted by U.S. authorities within a week.

He said he believes in using MMS because it cured his Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus  also known as MRSA  infection he developed years ago while working as a missionary pilot. Other family members suffered from the infection and it cured them, too, he said.

That really motivated us to tell the world; we cannot stop telling people what happened to us, he added.
I came home one day and saw our domestic laying down, she recalled. I thought I was being a big boss and told her to get up and started to call her names. My mother came in and saw this and told her she deserved a rest. She took me out and hit me. She said, God lives in this house and everyone who lives in this house is one of Gods creatures who is loved equally. She said by treating the domestic badly I had also mistreated her and God and I should never do this again.
All three journalists - Ressa, Tice, and Gutierrez-Soto - are past recipients of the Club's John Aubuchon Award  the NPC's highest honor for press freedom. Each is still struggling for freedom.

Attendees will experience a virtual platform that looks and feels just like a visit to the National Press Club, The World's Leading Professional Organization for Journalists, and can navigate between three main events:

A major address by Maria Ressa , who will provide an update on her case in the Philippines , where she faces up to seven years in prison for a conviction on trumped-up charges of "cyber libel." After her remarks she will be in conversation with Jason Rezaian of The Washington Post .

, who will provide an update on her case in , where she faces up to seven years in prison for a conviction on trumped-up charges of "cyber libel." After her remarks she will be in conversation with of . A unique perspective on the case of Austin Tice , the Marine veteran and Polk Award-winning journalist that has been held in Syria for more than eight years. Austin's niece Maia who just turned 11 will discuss her memories of her uncle and her advocacy for him in school and her neighborhood. Maia will be interviewed by National Press Club President Lisa Matthews .

, the Marine veteran and Polk Award-winning journalist that has been held in for more than eight years. Austin's niece Maia who just turned 11 will discuss her memories of her uncle and her advocacy for him in school and her neighborhood. Maia will be interviewed by National Press Club President . An update on the case of Emilio Gutierrez-Soto , a Mexican journalist driven from his hometown by death threats from the military, which was acting on behalf of cartels. Gutierrez-Soto has been fighting for asylum ever since. He was almost deported in late 2017. Now, with a new administration, there is renewed hope for asylum in this case. Joining in the conversation will be Kathy Kiely of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and Lynette Clemetson of the Knight Wallace Program at the University of Michigan . John Donnelly , Chair of the Club's Press Freedom Team, will moderate the program.

Guests are welcome to experience one or all of these programs and may also visit the social lounge for conversation about these cases with NPC members and press freedom advocates from many of our other sponsoring organizations.

Registration is free, however donations are encouraged, and will support the National Press Club's ongoing press freedom efforts and activities  including offsetting costs of programs like this one.

PRESS CONTACT: Lindsay Underwood for the National Press Club; [email protected], (202) 662-7561

SOURCE National Press Club

Related Links

http://press.org


KYIV -- Ukraine's government has replaced the head of Naftogaz, the country's largest oil and gas company, after it posted a loss of nearly $700 million last year.

The government's press service said on April 28 that Andriy Kobolyev was dismissed from the post and acting Energy Minister Yuriy Vitrenko will take over the state-owned giant due to "unsatisfactory" results of the company's operations in 2020.

Deputy Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko will replace Vitrenko, the press service said.

Earlier in the day, a lawmaker representing the ruling Servant of the People party, Olha Vasylevska-Smahlyuk, wrote on Telegram that the government fired Kobolyev "at last."

Kobolyev, who led the energy giant for seven years, wrote on Facebook that he learned about his dismissal from the media and therefore could not comment on the situation.

Naftogaz, one of the country's largest companies by revenue, has long been the object of corrupt schemes by officials and oligarchs. The situation began to change after the 2014 upheaval that swept pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych from power.

Ukraine's Western backers tied financial aid to the country to concrete steps to clean up state companies such as Naftogaz, including calling for the creation of an independent supervisory board that would guard the company from political or oligarchic pressure.
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DALLAS  Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings of $1.75 billion.

The Dallas-based company said it had profit of $1.87 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.56 per share.

The chipmaker posted revenue of $4.29 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Nine analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.97 billion.

For the current quarter ending in July, Texas Instruments said it expects revenue in the range of $4.13 billion to $4.47 billion. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $4.15 billion.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Texas Instruments shares have climbed 16% since the beginning of the year, while the S&Ps 500 index has risen 11%. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $190.21, an increase of 64% in the last 12 months.

_____

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on TXN at https://www.zacks.com/ap/TXN
Disney are currently looking for local extras to star in 'Disenchanted', sequel to hit movie 'Enchanted', which will be filmed in County Wicklow/Dublin between May and August 2021.

Clocktower Productions released the details of their casting call via MovieExtras.ie, and their post contains all the relevant details for people interested in signing up.

Submissions for nondescript roles will be accepted for all performers, regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, disability, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Check out all the details and how to apply by clicking here.

The only catch if you're lucky enough to get selected is that you will need to be available for filming in Dublin between May and August. On the bright side, all work is paid and you might just get to star alongside Patrick Dempsey and Amy Adams!
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WASHINGTON, D.C, (April 28, 2021) - An analysis of the prospective Fuwai PCI Registry, confirms long-term dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is an optimal treatment option for acute coronary syndrome patients (ACS) following a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The study shows long-term DAPT reduces ischemic events without increasing bleeding or other complications as compared to short-term DAPT treatments. The study was presented today as late-breaking clinical research at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography &Interventions (SCAI) 2021 Scientific Sessions.

Following ACS, patients have a high risk of ischemic events, which impacts chances of survival. Patients are predisposed for blood clots within an artery for years after an ischemic event, suggesting that the pathobiology of recurrent events post-ACS differs from that of stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who have not offered a previous ischemic event. Therefore, ACS patients may be more likely to benefit from long-term secondary prevention strategy, like extended-duration DAPT.

DAPT with aspirin and a P2Y12 inhibitor is the cornerstone of management after an ACS. Current practice guidelines recommend treatment of ACS patients include more aggressive risk factor modi?cation and prolonged antiplatelet therapy, as well as DAPT for a minimum of 12 months following an ACS, regardless of whether or not PCI is performed. In addition to protecting against stent thrombosis in the culprit lesion, an important objective of long-term DAPT in patients with ACS is the prevention of future coronary ischemic events from nonculprit lesions, as demonstrated in earlier trials. With the improvement of stent device technology, studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of shortening DAPT to less than 12-months in patients with ACS undergoing PCI reported conflicting results .

The study included 4,875 high-risk "TWILIGHT-like" patients undergoing PCI. The high-risk patients were defined by at least one clinical and one angiographic feature based on TWILIGHT trial selection criteria, with ACS who were event free at 12 months after PCI from the Fuwai PCI Registry. The primary outcome was the composite of all-cause death, MI or stroke at 30 months while the Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) type 2,3 or 5 bleeding was key secondary outcome.

Results showed that slightly more than two-third of ACS patients remained on DAPT beyond 12 months after PCI. Extended DAPT compared with shorter DAPT reduced the composite outcome of all-cause death, MI or stroke by 63%. BARC type 2, 3, or 5 bleeding rates did not differ significantly in patients treated with DAPT longer than 12-months versus those treated with DAPT less than 12-months. The effect of long-term DAPT on primary and key secondary outcome across the proportion of ACS patients with 1-3, 4-5, or 6-9 risk factors showed a consistent manner.

"Our findings suggested that prolonged DAPT in ACS patients who present with a particularly higher risk for thrombotic complications without excessive risk." said Haoyu Wang, M.D., Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, China. "Not only did we see long-term DAPT was associated with a lower risk of a major cardiovascular event without an increase in bleeding events, but it it could be considered an effective strategy to balance the risk for bleeding and ischemia in high-risk patients with ACS. Our results reinforce prolonged DAPT in patients with acute coronary syndrome without excessive risk of bleeding should remain the standard of care."

Authors call for further analysis on high bleeding risk and ischemia patients and work to publish in additional publications across Asia.

###

About SCAI:

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions is a professional organization representing more than 4,000 invasive and interventional cardiology professionals in approximately 75 nations. SCAI's mission is to promote excellence in invasive/interventional cardiovascular medicine through physician education and representation, and advancement of quality standards to enhance patient care.
A restaurateur who owns pizza shops in Stamford and Greenwich was sentenced Tuesday to 30 days in federal prison for his part in a tax evasion scheme involving TV chef Bruno DiFabio

Steven Cioffi, who owned a stake in ReNapoli Pizza in Old Greenwich and Amore Cucina & Bar in Stamford, is also required to pay $122,177 plus an additional $100 in restitution to the government.

Cioffi, 35, pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return in the fall of 2018.

Dressed in a gray suit and dark tie, Cioffi expressed remorse for his actions in a brief statement at his sentencing hearing, held over Zoom. He said he wanted to complete whatever sentence the court imposed and move on and do better things with my life.

U.S. District Judge Victor Bolden also ordered one year of supervised release for Cioffi, a Trumbull resident who previously lived in Stamford.

In imposing the sentence, Bolden said he had weighed the impact a prison sentence on the 28 employees of Cioffis two small businesses, as well as his lack of a prior major criminal history.

You are someone who has worked hard, Bolden said. You have built up some business, the challenge obviously being here whether there were some shortcuts taken.

But Bolden said Cioffis offense was not victimless, and that by depriving the government of tax revenue he had in effect stolen from everyone.

Federal authorities accused Cioffi, who also owns half of Pinocchio Pizza in Pound Ridge, N.Y., of taking part in a scheme with DiFabio in which cash was removed from the restaurants cash registers, not deposited into its operating bank account.

The businesses outside bookkeeper and accountant used the bank records to determine business gross receipts, a statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office said. When cash was removed from the register and not deposited into the business bank account, the cash would not be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

Federal authorities said Cioffi was also aware some employees were paid off the books, allowing withholding taxes to go underpaid.

DiFabio, who federal authorities said has business interests in Cioffis three restaurants, was also charged in the scheme. In the fall of 2018, DiFabio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to file false income tax returns and payroll tax returns. Authorities say his involvement resulted in the loss of more than $816,000 to the IRS. He awaits sentencing.

Cioffis criminal defense attorney David Colgan painted his client as a young man led astray by the adults in his life, noting that Cioffi first met DiFabio when he was 17.

Colgan also said that while Cioffi has not made payments toward restitution  at one point citing financial difficulties brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic  he said Cioffi has saved about $10,000 he intends to pay once he knows how to make out the check.

Colgan asked for Cioffi to be incarcerated in a minimum security prison. Bolden said he would recommend Cioffi serve his sentence in a minimum security camp at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser said Cioffi was the primary person responsible for the restaurants he owned, and said he was the point person who met with a person whom investigators sent undercover to unravel the scheme. He was not blindly following Mr. DiFabio, Schmeisser said.

When Cioffi was debriefed by investigators, Schmeisser said he spent time minimizing his involvement. But there is a reason that there wasnt a cooperation agreement extended to this defendant.

He also noted Cioffis family had moved to Connecticut from Yonkers, N.Y., since his guilty plea, taking on a substantial mortgage rather than paying prior obligations to the IRS.

Its unclear whether the businesses Colgan referred to were the pizza restaurants involved in Cioffis arrest.

Two others involved in the scheme have also pleaded guilty to federal charges. Idalecia Lopes Santos, the businesses bookkeeper, pleaded guilty to tax evasion in June 2019. The businesses accountant, James Guerra, pleaded guilty to willful failure to collect and pay over withholding taxes earlier this year.

Lopes Santos was sentenced to three years of probation on March 30.

Cioffi is required to report to prison on Aug. 2.
A leading law firm where Sadiq Khan worked prior to entering politics sued the police a staggering 328 times and received 1.3million in legal aid during his time there, MailOnline can reveal.

During a 10-year career at Christian Khan solicitors, Mr Khan headed up its 'Head of Actions Against the Police' department which received the huge amounts of legal aid to represent a string of clients, some of whom were awarded hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation.

The astonishing figures were passed to MailOnline following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request which asked for a breakdown on the number of legal actions against the police conducted by Mr Khan's former firm when he worked there between 1994 and 2004.

They come as the race for the London mayor elections of May 6 hots up, with crime and policing issues emerging as key issues and details of the FOI prompting Mr Khan's opponents to question his support of the police.

Sadiq Khan (pictured) worked for a firm of solicitors that raked in 1.3m in legal aid to sue the police 328 times during his ten year legal career before he moved into politics as a Labour MP

Mr Khan joined the leading human rights law firm in 1994 when it was called Christian Fisher, becoming a partner in 1997. It was renamed to include his surname in 2002 as he established himself as one of its leading experts in taking legal action against the police.

The firm's website from when Khan was one of its big hitters listed him as running the 'Head of Actions Against the Police,' department while listing 'Actions against the police' as one of his areas of specialisation.

He left in 2004 to pursue a career in politics, becoming Labour MP for Tooting, South London a year later.

Amongst the controversial clients Mr Khan represented and won damages for includes former Scotland Yard commander Ali Dizaei who was awarded 80,000 in 2003 after being cleared of a string of corruption allegations. The disgraced officer was eventually jailed in 2012 for three years for misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice.

Mr Khan (pictured right as a lawyer) represented ex-Scotland Yard commander Ali Dizaei (left) who was jailed in 2012 for misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice

Another Met officer, Chief Inspector Leroy Logan was awarded 100,000 after being cleared of corruption allegations.

Mr Khan also successful represented a group of Kurdish actors in London who were awarded 55,000 in damages after being arrested and searched after police mistakenly thought they were carrying weapons. The Met insisted that it 'acted in good faith.'

Hairdresser Kenneth Hsu, another of Mr Khan's clients was initially awarded 220,000 by a jury in 2010 after he was arrested and assaulted by police officers. This was reduced to 35,000 following an appeal by the Metropolitan Police.

Mr Khan was criticised by his main opponent for his involvement in these and other high profile court actions against the police.

Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey said: 'While I was a youth worker helping to improve relations between officers and the communities they served, Sadiq Khan was a lawyer who specialised in suing the police.

'It's shocking but not surprising. After all, this is the mayor whose first action in office was to cut 38 million from police budgets  after his firm earned 1.3 million of public funds from suing the police.

'London needs safer streets and London's police need support. But that can't happen under a mayor who made a career out of suing the police.

'As mayor, I'll back our police by recruiting 8,000 more officers and reopening the 38 police stations closed by Sadiq Khan. This is the fresh start our city needs.'

Nigel Farage reacted with fury to today's investigation and tweeted: 'This is a shocking waste of public funds. Sadiq Khan has to go.'

Mr Khan has also faced criticism in the past for contributing to a 'how to' guide for people wanting to sue the police for damages.

Mr Khan is going head to head with Tory rival Shaun Bailey (pictured) for the keys to Town Hall at the election on May 6

He told readers that they could secure pay outs of up to 10,000 from forces by alleging racist behaviour or claim wrongful arrest as a contributor to the book: 'Challenging Racism: Using The Human Rights Act.' Which was published in 2003.

A London Labour spokesperson said: 'The Tories used exactly the same smear against Sadiq during Zac Goldsmith's racist campaign in 2016, which was widely denounced including by leading Conservatives, and now it seems that sadly they are willing to stoop to the same disgusting depths again.

'This just goes to show how desperate the Tory candidate is getting as Londoners see that he simply doesn't share their values.'
CINCINNATI, OH / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Schaeffer's Investment Research announced the release of a special report, 5 Rules for Trading Stock Trends, today. Written by Schaeffer's Investment Research Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bernie Schaeffer, this special report is packed with insights based on Mr. Schaeffer's 40+ years of experience specializing in equity trading. The content of the exclusive special report published by Schaeffer's Investment Research is included as follows:

5 Rules for Trading Stock Trends

Every once in a great while, you'll encounter that rare chart setup where you pinpoint the bottom of a stock's decline just so, and you jump into the trade just in time to catch the beginning of a major rally. The profits add up exactly as you predicted, and you bow out with a tidy profit while other investors are still recovering from the initial bout of whiplash.

Yes, those types of investing wins are definitely sweet -- but they're also relatively rare, as you may have noticed! Luckily, you can still pad your portfolio with some impressive trend-driven profits, even when you're not the first visionary on the bandwagon.

To learn our top tips for squeezing the biggest possible profits out of stock trends, keep reading.

Riding the Wave with Options

When you hear the phrase "options trading," you might immediately think of highly speculative, risky plays with the ability to deliver big-time profits -- or big-time losses -- on massive stock moves that play out over a matter of days, if not mere hours.

But after nearly four decades in the industry, we can assure you that there's worlds more to options trading than aggressive, heart-pounding, short-term bets. Some of the most memorable "grand slam" trades we've made -- in recent history and beyond -- have been generated by options trades that we left open for months at a time... which means these calls and puts were generating profits through all manner of broad-market mayhem.

And there's no real magic trick (we honestly wish it were a better story!). The powerful profit strategy at work here is simply buying at-the-money calls and puts on strongly trending stocks, with a time frame of three to six months per trade.

You've likely heard the phrase "don't fight the tape," and that concept neatly sums up what we're doing with this approach. Rather than looking for stocks on the cusp of a quick, volatile directional move -- the tactic favored by many novice options speculators -- we pinpoint situations where an equity's established price trend appears likely to continue over the months ahead. Then, we use options to leverage the greatest possible profits out of that price momentum.

Of course, it's not quite that deceptively simple; we don't recommend that you buy just any intermediate-term option on any trending stock. There's a very specific methodology involved that elevates this "basic" option-buying approach into next-level investing success.

#1: Trust that the trend is your friend (but do your homework!).

Market timing is a tough gig -- and momentum is a powerful force in the stock market. Rather than looking to nail those hard-to-find tops and bottoms, why not go with the flow?

Some due diligence on the technical analysis front will help you determine whether a stock's current trend is likely to continue. Before going long on an uptrending security, look for support levels in place to guide the shares higher -- think off-the-radar indicators like the 40-day and 80-day moving averages, as well as trendlines connecting lower highs (not to mention breakouts above trendline connecting lower highs).

Conversely, if you're going short, locate levels of technical resistance to help you determine a prime entry point for a bearish play. Descending trendlines and former support levels that have been broken to the downside can play an important role in perpetuating a stock's directional move over the long haul.

And be aware of potential hurdles that could put the brakes on your stock's trend. This frequently includes "milestone" price points like half-highs, double lows, and round numbers -- including round-number percentage returns from previous highs and lows. These potential pain points may not be deal-breakers in and of themselves, but you should be aware of where they lie before entering the trade so you can react quickly if the price action begins to fall apart.

#2: Confirm that there are still some skeptics on the sidelines.

From our contrarian perspective, this is a mandatory ingredient for any momentum play. A solid trend is certainly nice to look at, but an orderly chart alone doesn't guarantee a profitable trade. You must also ensure that there are still plenty of potential buyers on the sidelines to push the stock higher -- or, for a bearish bet, plenty of possible sellers left to send the shares lower.

Specifically, we look for situations where an uptrending stock is surrounded by skepticism in the form of low analyst "buy" ratings, high short interest, heavily put-skewed option activity, and/or negative media coverage. In our experience, continued strength in the shares will eventually force bears to reverse their stance, thereby unleashing fresh waves of buying pressure in the form of upgrades and short covering.

Conversely, if a downtrending stock is still sporting a glut of "buy" ratings, along with low short interest and a call tilt among options traders, we'd be willing to bet on more downside as these stubborn bulls are finally compelled to admit defeat and close out their losing bets.

In short, by looking for strongly trending stocks where the rest of Wall Street appears to be fighting the tape, we can avoid trying to find those tops and bottoms on the charts. Instead, we find an existing trend that everyone's missing and then wait for the investor sentiment bandwagon to catch up to the security's price action.

#3: Buy time on sale.

When you're playing stock trends, go ahead and spring for that longer-term option. It might cost a bit more than its weekly or front-month counterpart, but you'll be buying valuable time for the expected stock move to play out in full -- and circumventing the potential risk that you cut yourself off at the knees, profit-wise, due to a period of short-term volatile trading in the broader market.

When in doubt, we suggest that investors default to the old "Add 3" rule of options selection. So, instead of an option with three months to expiration -- a fairly typical time frame for many speculative players -- go ahead and add three more months to make it a six-month option.

As a general rule, the time component of an option's premium is always "on sale." Due to the statistical basis of the options pricing model, the cost to buy a six-month option is not double the cost to buy a three-month option. Instead, the mark-up for the extra time value will typically range from about 30%-45%.

And by purchasing that additional time at a "discount," you can comfortably ride out any choppy price action or minor adverse moves in the underlying stock. The projected price swing has more time to develop and play out as you expected -- which means you don't need to sweat over a minor bout of seesaw price action or panic as the stock undergoes a brief period of consolidation.

Plus -- even with the extra few months' worth of time value thrown in -- you're still paying a minimal upfront cost for the option relative to a comparable stock purchase. This means you'll be reaping the benefits of leverage, which allows you to collect percentage returns many times greater than your initial investment.

#4: Consider at-the-money option plays.

At-the-money options -- that is, puts or calls with a strike price roughly equal to the underlying stock's price -- are an appealing alternative to buying shares directly. One option contract affords you control of 100 shares of the underlying stock, but the cost to buy the option (the "premium") is only a fraction of what it would take to purchase an equivalent number of shares on the open market.

Since your cost of entry is dramatically reduced at the outset, you stand to reap much greater percentage rewards on a move in your favor than if you had traded the stock directly -- an options benefit known as "leverage." When your technical forecast calls for the continuation of an existing trend, it makes sense to maximize your profit potential by playing at-the-money options instead of shares.

But at-the-money options aren't just a savvy alternative to buying shares -- they're also our preferred trading tool for this particular approach to playing trends, even relative to their in-the-money and out-of-the-money option counterparts. Check out our quick explainer on at-the-money options and leverage below to find out more details.

#5: Don't sweat the small stuff.

Yes, this self-help cliche applies to intermediate-term trading, too. When you're playing trends, it's important to remember that stocks don't move in straight up-and-down lines. Within a broader uptrend, there will be modest dips and periods of sideways price action -- "backing and filling," essentially -- as the shares consolidate gains and prepare for their next move higher. The same is true of stocks in bear mode, which are often known to experience the occasional sharp relief rally or "dead cat bounce" on their way down the charts.

With this in mind, there's no need to panic over a minor adverse move so long as the overall trend remains in place. (After all, if you've heeded our prior tips, your longer-term option offers you the luxury of patience!) To ensure your forecast is still credible, simply verify that the technical support and contrarian-friendly sentiment backdrop remains intact for your focus stock, as described in our prior tips. As long as there's been no material change to your analysis, relax and let the trade continue to develop.

And -- as always, when trading options -- stick to your predetermined profit and loss targets to help you remain disciplined in the event of any hiccups in the share price. "Locating your exits" in advance, so to speak, can go a long way toward heading off emotional trading decisions in the heat of the moment.

To learn more, visit https://www.schaeffersresearch.com, call 800-448-2080, or email Customer Support here.

About Schaeffer's Investment Research:

Schaeffer's Investment Research is a privately held publisher of stock and options trading recommendations headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded by CEO Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, the company is celebrating 40 years at the forefront of the thriving options industry. From Schaeffer's flagship Option Advisor newsletter to their expertly curated array of real-time trading services, Schaeffer's has got options for every investor.

About the Author, Bernie Schaeffer:

Listed options began trading in America in 1973 when the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) rang its opening bell. Bernie Schaeffer launched The Option Advisor  in 1981, as the equity options market started to truly accelerate and grow at an exponential rate. Bernie recognized the opportunity immediately to join this exciting industry and to provide individual investors with assistance in navigating this new, fast-paced derivative market with the help of a successful trading professional like himself.

Bernie and his team of expert traders are highly regarded by major media outlets for a unique and well-known approach to the market. They have regular media appearances on CNBC, Fox Business, Bloomberg, and PBS' Nightly Business Report. They are also frequently quoted by The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Associated Press, Thomson Reuters, and Yahoo! Finance.

As founder and CEO of Schaeffer's Investment Research, Bernie has won numerous awards and accolades over the years, including:

Recipient of the Traders' Library "Trader's Hall of Fame" award

Recipient of the Market Technician's Association "Best of the Best" award

Consistently ranked among the top 10 marker times by Timer Digest

Three-time winner of the Wall Street Journal stock picking contest

Named "Guru of the Year" by TheStreet

Contact Schaeffer's Investment Research:

Organization: Schaeffer's Investment Research, Inc.

Address: 5151 Pfeiffer Road, Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242

Phone: +1-800-448-2080

Live Chat: https://www.schaeffersresearch.com

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Podcast: Schaeffer's Market Mashup on Spotify

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/schaeffer's-investment-research

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Email: service@sir-inc.com

SOURCE: Schaeffer's Investment Research, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/642768/Schaeffers-Investment-Research-Releases-Long-Awaited-Special-Report-on-How-to-Trade-Stock-Trends
Were excited to have @northropgrumman and @IntrepidMinds on board #TeamMOSQUITO supporting our development of a lightweight aircraft, capable of uncrewed, high-speed flight, for @DefenceHQ. pic.twitter.com/nsA9jBzU8Y  Spirit AeroSystems (@SpiritAero) April 27, 2021

Team MOSQUITOs task is to develop the Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft (LANCA), which will fly alongside fighter jets in the Royal Air Force. This will be the UKs first uncrewed system that is capable of both surveillance and attack, acting as a loyal wingman for fighter jets As the leader in the project, Spirit Belfast announced that they are advancing the LANCA concept by combining high-tech digital applications with the best manufacturing and design procedures. This includes using a modified version of their resin transfer infusion technology, in order to obtain an uncrewed vehicle that is light enough so that it can easily fly at high-speeds.Also, the future aircraft will be made of composite components, instead of the standard aluminum, for improved fuel efficiency and maintenance.Northrop Grumman will contribute with their DA/RC (Distributed Autonomy / Responsive Control) technologies that optimize the exchange between the uncrewed aircraft and the military personnel. Their expertise will also help build the flying demonstrator in the least amount of time possible.Everything else that is related to the avionics system will be covered by Intrepid Minds. Their Adrestia system is already being successfully used in defense and civil applications and will become an important part of the future LANCA.According to the governments initial estimate, the full-scale uncrewed combat aircraft is expected by the end of 2023, when the flight test will take place.Initiated back in 2015, in the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory of UKs Ministry of Defense, the LANCA project is designed to integrate innovative Combat Air solutions for the Royal Air Force.
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.
Hyderabad, April 28 : Senior journalist Sridhar Dharmasanam passed away due to Covid-19 at the TIMS hospital here on Wednesday. He was the Editor of Maa Hyderabad and a TV Producer and Director.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has mourned the death of Dharmasanam who participated actively in the Telangana movement through his Maa Hyderabad organisation. Rao conveyed his condolences to members of the bereaved family.

Sridhar earlier worked with three English newspapers and was associated with Jain TV and a few magazines.

The Telangana State Media Academy Chairman, Allam Narayana, has also mourned the death of Sridhar and conveyed his condolences to his family.

With Sridhar's death, Telangana has lost 16 journalists to Covid-19 during the last two weeks.

The Telangana State Media Academy on Monday decided to provide Rs 2 lakh each as financial assistance to the families of journalists who have died of Covid-19 in the state.

It also decided to provide financial assistance to 200 journalists infected by Covid-19.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The National Trust has been condemned online after using fake trees to promote its campaign urging Britons to celebrate the blossom season.

Britons took to Twitter to slam the heritage body after it emerged that the Trust's #BlossomWatch campaign was being promoted on fake trees made partly from plastic.

Posters which read 'Join a celebration of the blossom season' alongside its '#BlossomWatch' hashtag were seen fitted to the bottom of the fake cherry blossom trees on New Bond Street, in London's Mayfair.

The trees are being used despite the Trust telling Britons on its website about ways to 'join us in the fight against plastic'.

One Twitter user branded the decision to use the trees as an 'epic fail', while another said it was 'so disappointing' as they pointed out: 'We don't need more plastic pollution'.

However, whilst they admitted the trees are 'artificial', the Trust said in response to the flurry of tweets that they were supplied by a 'carbon neutral company.'

They added that they were 'pleased' to get the opportunity to raise money for their push to plant 20million trees in Britain by 2030.

The National Trust has been condemned online after using plastic trees to promote its campaign urging Britons to celebrate the blossom season

The flurry of criticism came after one Twitter user posted photos of the fake trees on Tuesday.

Others quickly piled in to join in the criticism.

One wrote: 'Epic fail! What were you thinking @nationaltrust ?!!

'It's all very well saying it's a way of promoting fundraising to plant real trees, but promoting a company that makes plastic trees in doing so? Am I missing something?'

Another said: 'We don't need more #plasticpollution @nationaltrust What an appalling example for other plastic polluters to follow. So disappointing... #ClimateEmergency #ecocide'

A third wrote: 'Why on earth is @nationaltrust celebrating #blossomwatch with PLASTIC blossom?????

'How hard to use a real tree which won't litter the environment for 100 years?'

Responding, the Trust said in their own tweets that, whilst the trees were artificial, they're 'as sustainable as possible'.

Britons took to Twitter to slam the heritage body after it emerged that the Trust's #BlossomWatch campaign was being promoted on faux trees on London's New Bond Street

They said the trees are supplied by firm Twilight Trees, who say on their website that they are 'experts in all things faux tree related'.

A spokesman for the New West End Company, which manages Bond Street, said: 'The National Trust haven't paid for any of this.

'It's all done by Bond Street to support what we think is a lovely and worthwhile cause.'

They added that they approached the Trust with the idea to use the trees, rather than the other way around.

They also claimed that the trees were 'not plastic'.

However, Twilight Trees told MailOnline that while the trunk of the trees are made from 'farmed eucalyptus', the branches are made up of 'spring wire and extruded plastic'.

The petals are also made from polyester nylon, which is a form of plastic.

The firm said they work to 'offset every facet' of their business.

They said they are involved in tree planting projects in the UK and the protection of rain forest in Kenya.

However, they said the trees cannot be bio-degradable because of their need to be used regularly outdoors.

They added: 'Wherever possible when the materials do reach their end of life we recycle.

Another critical Twitter user pointed out: 'The National Trust are completely missing the point with #BlossomWatch.

'Wheres the joy in a never changing plastic representation of a flower?

'The beauty is in the measure of time as buds become blossom and then into fruit, and all the life that that attracts.'

The Trust said in response to the criticism that the trees were supplied by a carbon neutral firm who will reuse them elsewhere once the New Bond Street display is dismantled

The message on another of the tree pots read: 'Text PLANT to text 5 and donate a real tree for future generations to enjoy'.

The Trust is using the trees even though it has a guide on its website which explains how Britons can use less plastic.

It reads: 'We all have a special connection to forests, rivers and beaches, but the places we love and the animals that live there are threatened by plastic pollution.'

The guide notes the Trust's previous measures to combat plastic waste, including its commitment to stop selling single-use plastics by 2022.

Whilst they admitted the trees are 'artificial', the Trust said in response to the flurry of tweets that they were supplied by a 'carbon neutral company'

They said they have also banned plastic bags in 275 of their shops.

They added on the page: 'Work with us to stop the tide of plastic waste from overwhelming precious landscapes and vulnerable wildlife.

'Every single piece of plastic ever created still exists in some form today, and a huge amount of it is choking oceans and washing up on shores.'

The message finished by admitting that 'kicking the plastic habit isn't always easy'.

A spokesman for the Trust told MailOnline: 'We were offered the opportunity to promote our #BlossomWatch campaign on Bond Street by New West End Company, the business improvement district for Oxford, Bond and Regent Street.

'It was planning its display for the street and invited the Trust to use some of its space help our plant-a-tree fundraising appeal.

'We don't wish to promote representations of manufactured trees over real trees. We are grateful for offers of free space to promote our fundraising.

'This is a one-off display and the wood, metal and plastic parts will be re-used and recycled by the company that supplied it to New West End Co, when it is dismantled in the coming days.'

The organisation launched its blossom campaign in March. Thousands of Britons have responded by sharing their own photos of blossom.

A National Trust spokeswoman said of the campaign: 'As restrictions ease and loved ones can finally start to meet outside, the conservation charity is urging people to use the easing of restrictions to share in one of nature's most magnificent natural spectacles.

'The recent topsy-turvy weather - with plunging temperatures of up to minus five at night and some areas experiencing snowfall - has given this year's blossom an uncertain start but it is expected to reach its peak in the coming days and weeks.'
Crime

By Ls Cohen Published: April 27 2021

NYPD Officer Anastasios Tsakos of East Northport, was struck and killed while responding to a fatal crash on the LIE on Tuesday, April 27.

The NYPD officer who was struck and killed while investigating another accident on the LIE in the early hours of Tuesday morning was an East Northport resident with a 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, according to reports.

Town of Huntington Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci directed all flags in the township to be flown at half staff in honor of Officer Anastasios Tsakos, the 43-year-old who lived in East Northport. The highway officer was a 14-year veteran of the NYPD, according to a New York Post story.

Officer Tsaskos was taken from his family and our community far too soon, making the ultimate sacrifice while answering the call of duty, said Lupinacci. May Officer Tsakos death serve to remind us of both the risk all law enforcement officers take to keep our communities safe and to never drink and drive.

The driver of the car that killed officer Lupinacci, a 32-year-old Hempstead woman, is alleged to have been driving under the influence and with a suspended license. She was arrested shortly afterward.

The suspect, Jessica Beauvais, was said to have been drinking vodka that night while recording a podcast.

We stand here this morning reminded once again in law enforcement, there is no such thing as a routine job, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea is quoted as saying by the New York Post.
[April 28, 2021] Deadline Reminder: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Reminds Investors of Looming Deadline in the Class Action Lawsuit Against Credit Suisse Group AG (CS)

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith reminds investors of the upcoming June 15, 2021 deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in the case filed on behalf of investors who purchased Credit Suisse Group AG ("Credit Suisse" or the "Company") (NYSE: CS) American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") between October 29, 2020 and March 31, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors suffering losses on their Credit Suisse investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 888-638-4847 or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com. On March 1, 2021, Credit Suisse froze $10 billion in funds that were invested in financial products from Greensill Capital ("Greensill") and held by its supply-chain investment funds. On March 8, 2021, Greensill filed for insolvency protection, and more than 1,000 investors in the Greensill funds marketed were unable to exit their positions. On March 10, 2021, media reports revealed that Greensill investors had retained counsel and intended to sue Credit Suisse for their losses because Credit Suisse continued to market the biggest of the funds as a fully insured, low-risk product despite a decision by insurers during the summer of 2020 not to renew coverage. On this news, the Company's American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") fell $1.85, or 12.5%, to close at $12.85 per ADR on March 12, 2021, thereby injuring investors. On Friday, March 26, 2021, several banks began liquidating billions of dollars' worth of shares that Archegos Capital Management ("Archegos") had swap positions on at fire sale prices after Archegos had failed to meet a margin call. B the time Credit Suisse tried to liquidate its own holdings of stocks underlying Archegos' swap contracts over the following weekend, prices had collapsed and Credit Suisse amassed billions of dollars in losses.



On March 29, 2021, Credit Suisse conceded that "the loss resulting from this exit . . . could be highly significant and material to our first quarter results." The Financial Times (News - Alert) then pegged Credit Suisse's estimated losses at between $3 billion and $5 billion, more than a year's worth of the Company's net profit. On this news, the market price of Credit Suisse ADRs fell another nearly 20%, from a close of $13.21 per ADR on March 25, 2021 to close at $10.60 per ADR on March 31, 2021.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that Credit Suisse's co-mingling of its lending, asset management, and private wealth management functions and imprudently aggressive pursuit of fees had materially diminished the Company's ability to properly assess and manage its own risk exposure to high-risk clients and potential liabilities from client losses; (2) that Credit Suisse had ignored numerous red flags in connection with the Greensill funds, such as suspicious shipment activities during an internal compliance check, and overrode the concerns of the Company's in-house credit-structuring team in packing and selling billions of dollars' worth of Greensill-linked securities to investors; (3) that Credit Suisse had conspired to allow Archegos to covertly take on billions of dollars in excessively concentrated and risky positions by utilizing highly leveraged total return swaps, placing the risk of loss associated with these positions on Credit Suisse and its investors; (4) that Credit Suisse was understating its exposure to risk and thus overstating its Tier 1 capital ratios in its public statements; and (5) that Credit Suisse's internal controls were inadequate to ensure that the Company's potential liability to customers and losses arising from its exposure to customer losses were properly accounted for, managed and disclosed to investors. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Credit Suisse ADRs during the Class Period, you may move the Court no later than June 15, 2021 to ask the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff if you meet certain legal requirements. To be a member of the class action you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action. If you wish to learn more about this class action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020, by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to howardsmith@howardsmithlaw.com, or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005282/en/

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Countries that tried to keep out Covid completely rather than controlling it survived the pandemic with fewer deaths, more money and more freedom, economists say.

In an article published in The Lancet medical journal, Oxford University researchers said countries with 'zero Covid' policies did best by their citizens.

Australia and New Zealand notoriously took a drastic stance to lock down tightly at the start of the pandemic and then shut their borders to stop coronavirus coming in while they stamped it out inside the country.

This worked well  the countries resumed normal life months ago and have recorded only around 32,000 cases and 936 deaths among some 30million people.

In comparison, countries that tried to control the virus but not get rid of it suffered much higher death rates.

In Britain alone there have been 4.4million confirmed cases and 127,000 deaths  138 times as many cases and 136 times more deaths among only twice as many people (67million).

Likewise Germany and France, which followed similar mitigation measures, have experienced around 8.8million Covid cases and 185,000 deaths.

'Countries which acted pre-emptively and took swift action against local outbreaks were able to control the virus, while others were always at least one step behind,' said Professor Bary Pradelski, an economist at Oxford.

Australia and New Zealand, which famously shut their borders and went into hard, early lockdowns at the start of the pandemic have had tiny numbers of cases and deaths compared to countries that tried to manage the virus at a low level, such as the UK, France and Germany

Far more people have died in countries where governments decided to allow Covid to spread

The researchers said hard and early  but shorter  were more forgiving on the economy, pointing out: 'GDP growth returned to pre-pandemic levels in early 2021 in the five countries that opted for elimination [red line], whereas growth is still negative for the other 32 OECD countries' [blue line]

The comment article studied the 37 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which is a group of the most developed countries in the world, mostly in Europe.

It split countries into those that pursued a strategy to eliminate Covid completely and those choosing to 'mitigate' it  to try and keep it at low levels.

Only five nations chose to eliminate: Australia, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

The remaining 32 went for mitigation and, the researchers argue, suffered terrible consequences.

WHICH COUNTRIES DID WHAT? Elimination strategy is based on driving down cases inside the country and tightening or closing borders to stop infections coming in. Mitigation was accepting that coronavirus was unstoppable but introducing measures to keep its spread under control and reduce the strain on hospitals. Australia Iceland Japan New Zealand South Korea Austria Belgium Canada Chile Colombia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Mexico Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey UK USA Elimination Elimination Elimination Elimination Elimination Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Mitigation Advertisement

In Europe those chasing mitigation were the UK, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

In the Americas it included the US, Canada, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

The paper was written by eight researchers led by Professor Pradelski and the high profile public health expert Professor Devi Sridhar.

It said: 'Covid deaths per one million population in OECD countries that opted for elimination (Australia, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea) have been about 25 times lower than in other OECD countries that favoured mitigation.'

And on the economy they added: 'Elimination is superior to mitigation for GDP [gross domestic product] growth on average and at almost all time periods.

'GDP growth returned to pre-pandemic levels in early 2021 in the five countries that opted for elimination, whereas growth is still negative for the other 32 OECD countries.

'Despite its health and economic advantages, an elimination strategy has been criticised for restricting civil liberties...

'[But] among OECD countries, liberties were most severely impacted in those that chose mitigation, whereas swift lockdown measures  in line with elimination  were less strict and of shorter duration.'

South Korea, Australia and New Zealand have been lauded as success stories for the way they kept coronavirus under wraps and kept cases and deaths low.

But scientists have been sceptical about whether the virus can be truly eliminated.

Most now expect that it will continue circulating in the future because countries are all adopting different policies, not everyone will get vaccinated, and vaccines won't work for all the people who do.

But vaccination in the countries that eliminated the virus should keep cases and especially deaths down even when their borders reopen in the future.

Arguments against the elimination strategy hinge on the fact that it requires lockdowns even when cases are extremely low, which critics say are unfair.

In Britain lockdown was only ever the last resort, imposed when cases were spiralling out of control.

The inevitable consequence was that the outbreak was already huge by the time the effects of the rules kicked in, leaving a long tail of hospital admissions and deaths.

The paper adds: 'Evidence suggests that countries that opt for rapid action to eliminate SARS-CoV-2  with the strong support of their inhabitants  also better protect their economies and minimise restrictions on civil liberties compared with those that strive for mitigation.

'Looking ahead, mass Covid-19 vaccination is key to returning to usual life, but relying solely on Covid -19 vaccines to control the pandemic is risky due to their uneven roll-out and uptake, time-limited immunity, and the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants...

'The consequences of varying government Covid-19 responses will be long-lasting and extend beyond the end of the pandemic.

'Early economic and political gains made by countries aiming to eliminate SARS-CoV-2 will probably pay off in the long run.'
PHOENIX, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Televerde, the preferred global revenue creation partner supporting marketing, sales and customer success for B2B businesses around the world, announced today that it has signed contracts with nine net-new clients and significantly expanded partnerships with 17 existing clients in the first quarter of this year.

Qumu and Xactly are just two of the new clients that have chosen to work with Televerde because of its uniquely evolved approach, business model, best practices, and integrated solution that helps drive target market engagement, pipeline, and revenue.

"Televerde firmly understands our business and supports our customer acquisition efforts, which is one of the most popular growth levers for SaaS businesses. Televerde's personalized, multi-lingual support is helping us to discover new opportunities for growth and customer acquisition across EMEA," said Jamie Anderson, chief revenue officer, Xactly. "Our C.A.R.E values continue to shape our company and inform who we choose to partner with. While Televerde is an integral part of our growth and evolution as a business, we also believe wholly in their business model that provides career opportunity to disempowered communities. It's these purpose-driven partnerships that allow us to deliver the best results for our clients, stay competitive in a fast-changing economy, and make the world work for everyone."

Throughout the first quarter of 2021, Televerde has maintained its focus on maximizing client success by ensuring its technology and applications are at the forefront of digital transformation. The Arizona CIO Leadership Association recently recognized the company's work in this area by naming Televerde CIO Mike Kirby a Finalist for its 2021 Arizona CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards. Kirby also authored a piece on Televerde's digital transformation journey in SMART Customer Service.

Televerde also continues to strike a balance between business success and social impact, amplifying the need for businesses to rethink who and how they hire. The company hosted in February a c-suite panel discussion with leading business leaders to raise awareness for the shortage of knowledge workers in the United States, the importance of second chances, and why companies must commit to bridge inclusion gaps to welcome all job candidates, including those with a criminal record. (Replay available here.)

"The pace of change and transformation in our world today is extraordinary, especially given our global health crisis. Every business is struggling to stay relevant, compete for customers, manage efficiencies, and increase revenue," said Morag Lucey, CEO of Televerde. "As a company that's continued to invest in our own transformation, we are able to help the many businesses with whom we partner gain the agility they need to withstand the pressures of today's challenging social and economic environment and accelerate customer and revenue growth. What's more, we've figured out how to marry profit and purpose, delivering both a return on investment and a return on purpose for our clients, which is even more meaningful."

About Televerde

Phoenix-based Televerde is the preferred global revenue creation partner supporting marketing, sales, and customer success for B2B businesses around the world. The company's uniquely evolved approach, business model, best practices and integrated solution has enabled it to deliver a cutting-edge, AI-enabled customer journey lifecycle platform and a highly personalized experience generating more than $65B in pipeline and close to $12B in revenue for the world's leading B2B companies including SAP, Adobe-Marketo, GE and Epson.

A purpose-built company, Televerde believes in second-chance employment and strives to help disempowered people find their voice and reach their human potential. Eight of Televerde's 11 engagement centers are staffed by, representing 70 percent of the company's 600+ global workforce. The success of Televerde's purpose-driven business model was documented in a recent study by the Arizona State University Seidman Research Institute. The results reveal that participants of Televerde's program go on to attain employment, earnings, and education at higher rates and reoffend at significantly lower rates than other formerly incarcerated females in the United States. The full study can be accessed here .

For more information on Televerde, visit http://www.televerde.com

Televerde is a registered trademark of Televerde, Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective companies.

Media Contact:

Kellie Walenciak

+1 908 377 9969

[email protected]

SOURCE Televerde

Related Links

www.televerde.com


The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) contributed on Wednesday to the launch of the annual report of the Council of Europe Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists. The report shows a very serious deterioration of media freedom in 2020 across Europe.

The Council of Europe Platform today published its annual report, Wanted! Real Action for Media Freedom in Europe. The report calls on the Council of Europe and its 47 member states to show political will to address deteriorating press freedom in the region, based on an overview of media freedom violations reported to the platform in 2020.

The EFJ and IFJ are partners to the platform, which is made up of 14 leading international journalism and media organizations, as well as freedom of expression advocacy groups.

During the launch event of the report, the EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutierrez insisted on the deterioration of journalists safety: Yesterday we were informed of the murder of two Spanish journalists in Burkina Faso. This kind of tragedy also happens in Europe. Since the platform was launched six years ago, we have recorded 31 cases of journalists killed on assignment. Physical violence against journalists is one of the most striking signs of the worsening state of press freedom in Europe.

Between 2015 and 2019, the Platform recorded an average of 30 cases per year. In 2020, 52 alerts for physical violence were submitted to the Platform. The figure has doubled in four years: 24 alerts in 2016; 52 in 2020, including two cases of journalists who lost their lives, Irina Slavina in Russia and Kastriot Reci in Albania. The countries most affected by physical violence are Russia, followed by Italy, Serbia and the United Kingdom.

The increase is even more impressive for harassment cases: from 18 cases in 2016 to 70 cases in 2020. That is four times as many. Countries most affected: France, ahead of Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine and Poland.

IFJ representative Ernest Sagaga highlighted the good practices initiated by some countries, notably the Netherlands, to better protect journalists in the field. He called on other member states to follow the example of these mechanisms set up in collaboration with journalists unions.

Ricardo Gutierrez also highlighted the chapter of the report on Belarus, which is not a Council of Europe member state: 11 journalists are currently in prison in Belarus, just for doing their job. In 2020, after the fraudulent presidential elections, there were 480 cases of illegal detentions of journalists. We recorded 62 cases of physical violence against Belarusian journalists in 2020. This is more than the total number of cases of violence recorded in all other Council of Europe member states. That is why we wanted to include this chapter on Belarus.

The EFJ and IFJ welcomed today the statement issued ahead of World Press Freedom Day by the Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric urging European governments to show stronger political will to protect journalists and independent journalism in order to put a stop to the deterioration of media freedom in the continent. () It is time to recall that states have an obligation to ensure that journalists can carry out their work free from violence and intimidation and fulfil their role as public watchdog, which includes holding public authorities accountable for their decisions and action.

The annual report of the Council of Europe Platform can be read here:
Ask a Chef: Shining a Spotlight on the Humble Egg

Eggs are a classic breakfast item, but theyre also a versatile ingredient that adds heft, flavor, and texture to many dishes. Here, chefs share recipes that feature eggs in both savory and sweet delights, sure to make for a lovely springtime meal.

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

(Courtesy of Nicole Johnson)

From Nicole Johnson

Food writer and founder, Or Whatever You Do

Olympic Peninsula, Washington

Nicole Johnson, the writer behind food and recipe blog OrWhateverYouDo.com, loves to share this recipe for eggs Benedict to make the dish more approachable for home cooks. Poaching eggs and making an emulsion sauce are core cooking techniques to learn. Johnson recommends the OXO Good Grips Silicone Egg Poachers for beginners. Johnson loves to fish with her family and smokes her own salmon, and she encourages others to try the same if they can. But store-bought smoked salmon is totally fine, too.

Serves 2

For the Hollandaise Sauce

1/2 cup salted butter

4 egg yolks

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 pinch cayenne

To Assemble

8 ounces smoked salmon

2 English muffins, split and toasted

4 eggs

Place a small-to-medium sized pot of water on the stove over medium-low heat, and bring to a low simmer. Melt the butter in the microwave.

In a metal or glass bowl, vigorously whisk together the egg yolks and lemon juice until they are doubled in size and thickened slightly.

Place the bowl over the top of the simmering pot of water. Continue whisking while you drizzle in the melted butter. Keep whisking until all of the butter is incorporated into the egg yolk mixture, and the sauce is thickened to a pourable, but slightly jammy consistency.

Take your smoked salmon out of the fridge. You want to serve it at least at room temperature. Toast the English muffins and liberally butter them. Place the room temperature salmon on top of the buttered English muffins.

Poach your eggs, 1 or 2 at a time, in the simmering water for 4 minutes. Drain well, and place on top of the smoked salmon. Repeat until all of the eggs are cooked, and then drizzle liberally with the hollandaise sauce. If it has thickened too much, you can drop a couple of drops of hot water in and whisk to loosen it up a bit.

Vanilla Custard

(Courtesy of Jessica Formicola)

From Jessica Formicola

Creator and owner, Savory Experiments

Baltimore, Maryland

Many people think of eggs as a savory breakfast classic, but they can also be used to make silky smooth desserts. Cookbook author and recipe developer Jessica Formicola, who runs the recipe site SavoryExperiments.com, enjoys making this refreshing vanilla custard in the spring and summer months. Its great on its own, but can also be used to top pancakes and waffles, or fill cakes and doughnuts. When chilling the custard, make sure to cover tightly with plastic wrap so a film doesnt develop on top.

Serves 8

2 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cornstarch

4 large egg yolks, room temperature

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced

Heat milk and vanilla extract in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan until it reaches a low simmer. Do not let it boil.

Meanwhile, place sugar, cornstarch, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a large mixing bowl with a whisk. Blend dry ingredients until mixed. Add egg yolks and blend until a pale yellow.

Slowly pour milk mixture into eggs while whisking at a low speed. Do not mix too fast or it will froth and foam. Blend until mixed.

Transfer back to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until thickened. Whisk continuously to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan. As soon as the mixture thickens, remove from heat and whisk in the butter.

Transfer to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Press plastic wrap into the custard mixture so there is no air caught in between. This prevents the filmy skin that can develop. To set faster, place in small ramekins or bowls.

Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours, but up to 2 days.

Egg Salad Sandwich

(Courtesy of Sara Dahmen)

From Sara Dahmen

Owner and founder, House Copper & Cookware

Port Washington, Wisconsin

My dad grew up in a Polish-speaking household, and like any decent Polish recipe, our family egg salad has to include something pickled, says Sara Dahmen. One secret ingredient that Dahmen uses is Beau Monde seasoning, a spice mix of celery, onion, salt, and other ingredients that can be found in some grocery stores. The egg salad can be made up to a day in advance and kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Do not keep longer than 3 days in the refrigerator.

Makes 8 half sandwiches

8 eggs

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon dried mustard or 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons Vidalia or green onion, minced

1/2 cup celery, minced

3 tablespoons dill pickle relish

1/2 teaspoon Beau Monde seasoning (more to taste)

1 1/2 teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

8 slices of bread

1 small English cucumber, thinly sliced

Butter lettuce for garnish

In a copper saucepan bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Carefully place eggs in the water using a wooden spoon and let them boil for 8 minutes. Drain the eggs with a colander.

Put 8 cups of cold water into the copper pot with lots of ice, and place eggs back into the pot with the ice and water. Wait for eggs to be cool enough to handle, at least 30 minutes.

Pour out water and ice and remove the eggs from the pot. Peel the eggs and remove the yolks, setting aside 4 and saving the other 4 yolks. Chop the egg whites and place them into the copper pot. Smash the 4 egg yolks and add them with the whites.

Add the mayonnaise, mustard, onion, and celery to the combined eggs and gently mix together. Fold in the pickle relish, Beau Monde, and the tarragon, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the bread slices in half and place the egg salad on one half of each. Top with cucumbers and lettuce and the other half of the bread slice. (Keep in mind, sandwiches made with one slice of bread are easier to eat.) Serve room temperature or cold.

Croque Madame-Milagro, Andaz-Style

From Omar Barquera

Chef de cuisine, Cocina Milagro at Andaz Mayakoba Resort

Riviera Maya, Mexico

Sometimes the egg is the crowning piece of a dish. Chef Omar Barquera was inspired to put a twist on the croque madame, traditionally a hot ham and Gruyere sandwich topped with bechamel and a fried egg. Bauquera instead tops a base of toasted brioche with turkey breast, lightly sauteed vegetables, and a light but flavorful cream sauce, followed by the fried egg, a bit of herb salad for freshness, and a drizzle of truffle oil to finish.

For the White Sauce

2 tablespoons butter

2 ounces chopped onions

Pinch each of rosemary and thyme

1/2 cup white wine

16 ounces full-fat milk

5 ounces Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Sauteed Mushrooms and Chard

Oil for cooking

1 clove garlic, chopped

7 ounces white mushrooms, chopped

9 ounces baby chard, chopped

To Assemble

3 tablespoons fresh parsley

3 tablespoons fresh basil

3 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil to taste

4 eggs

4 slices brioche, cut 1/2-inch thick

8 ounces smoked turkey breast

Truffle oil to taste

Make the Sauce

In a saucepan, melt the butter and saute the onion. Add the rosemary and thyme and cook lightly, then pour in the white wine and cook for a minute over low heat.

Add the milk and Parmesan cheese. Stir constantly until the cheese has melted and the mixture is homogenous, then season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

Saute the Mushrooms and Chard

In a pan, add a little oil and the chopped garlic, and saute a little until the garlic is lightly browned.

Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped chard and lightly saute for 1 minute. Season to taste, and remove from the heat.

To Assemble

Mix the fresh herbs with salt, pepper, and olive oil to taste and set aside. Fry the eggs to your liking. Lightly toast the bread.

Top each slice of bread with turkey breast and some of the mushroom and chard mixture. Cover with white sauce, and top with a fried egg and some of the herb salad. Finish with truffle oil.
Days after an addiction recovery center van overturned and burst into flames on I-85 in Gwinnett County, the families of six women who were killed in the fiery crash  and the witnesses who pulled the survivors from the wreckage  are trying to process the horrific tragedy.

Though police have not released the names of the victims, and the sober living community We Are Living Proof has been guarded with information regarding its members who survived the crash, family members, neighbors and friends have begun openly mourning the losses.

Donnie Richeson, who previously said he helped pull women from the burning van, expressed through his wife that he wishes to refrain from publicly discussing the incident while he and the survivors place their focus on healing. Beth Richeson said her husband has been in contact with a few of the survivors, who are forever changed by what they saw.

The couple live in Concord, North Carolina, and Donnie Richeson works in the racing industry. His wife said he was returning home from Talladega when he saw the wreck.

Those images are imprinted on Donnies brain, but being able to speak on the phone with one of the women he rescued has helped to combat the sorrowful thoughts, his wife said.

She sent pictures of the girls as they were (before the crash) to replace the images he has in his mind of that day, Beth Richeson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. Were just trying to give him new thoughts and new visions.

Calls began pouring in around 6:30 p.m. Saturday about a passenger van on its side engulfed in flames on the interstate near the split for I-985. Footage from Georgia Department of Transportation cameras showed the van in the middle of the road with thick flames consuming its entire body. Heavy smoke was towering over the vehicle as crews worked to put out the fire.

Several drivers who saw the burning vehicle tried to rescue the 16 passengers, investigators said.

Initially, it wasnt clear how many people were in the van. Some of the passengers were able to get out before the fire spread, and bystanders and first responders helped to rescue others.

Two of the witnesses ran to the vehicle and kicked through a windshield to help get people out, Channel 2 Action News reported.

The charred shell of the van was taken to Gwinnett police headquarters. Investigators are looking through the vehicle for any evidence that a collision occurred prior to the fire.

Based on statements at the scene, another vehicle may have been directly or indirectly involved in this incident, police said.

Family members identified one of the victims as Alishia Carroll, Channel 2 reported. Carroll a, mother of four, was battling a drug addiction and had just arrived at the rehabilitation facility the week before the crash, her family told the news station.

Police have not officially confirmed the identities of any of the six victims. Authorities said detectives are trying to speak with the surviving passengers, who were rushed to several different metro Atlanta hospitals after the crash.

Investigators are still trying to make contact with everyone, a spokesman for the police department said.

In a Facebook post, We Are Living Proof said it was deeply saddened by the lives lost in Saturday evenings tragic accident.

We ask that you join us in prayer for the families and loved ones of the ladies we lost as well as the survivors, the post read.

We Are Living Proof, which also bills itself as Sober Living Recovery, aims to provide long-term care to individuals suffering from addiction.

We believe in accepting individuals the day they are ready for help, and offer same-day admissions whenever possible, the organizations website said.

The cause of the wreck is still under investigation. Witnesses are asked to call the police departments Accident Investigation Unit tip line at 678-442-5653.

___

(c)2021 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.)

Visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.) at www.ajc.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Two social media influencers have been forced to apologise after being slammed by authorities over a face mask prank in Bali that has left them facing deportation.

Josh Paler Lin, a US-based Taiwanese man, painted a blue mask on the face of Russian national Leia Se in their car after she was initially denied entry into a supermarket.

The pair then returned to the store, where they both gained entry, before later posting a video of the stunt on their Instagram pages.

'Did you notice like no one's actually looking at you?' Lin says in the video.

Josh Paler Lin, a US-based Taiwanese man, and Russian national Leia Se (pictured) have landed themselves in hot water in Bali after painting on a face mask to gain entry into a supermarket

'Exactly, because it looks real,' the woman replied.

'No one noticed! Even the security. I can't believe this works,' Lin continued to boast.

The influencers have since deleted the footage from their social media accounts - but not before it went viral - sparking outrage from locals over their blatant disregard for health rules, which require face masks be worn in public in Indonesia.

The clip prompted Bali police chief Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi to threaten to have them deported, while local politician Niluh Djelantik said they have 'no empathy' for 'making Covid-19 a joke'.

'People are desperately fighting their way out of the pandemic storm,' she said.

Immigration authorities have reportedly seized the duo's passports.

After the backlash, Lin and Se posted an apology video online where they appeared alongside their legal team.

'The intention to make this video was not at all to disrespect or to invite everyone to not wear a mask,' Lin said.

Bali police chief Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi threatened to have the pair deported after footage of the stunt went viral online

'I made this video to entertain people because I'm a content creator and it is my job to entertain people.

'However, I did not realise that what I did could actually bring a lot of negative comments ... and that it raises a lot of concerns.'

'Once again, we want to apologise for what we did and we promise not to do it again.

'I would like to invite everyone in Indonesia and Bali to always wear [a] mask for our own safety and health, so we can help Bali to gain its tourism again.'

Lin regularly posts videos of 'funny pranks, social experiments, skits, DIY and challenge videos', according to his YouTube biography, with all of his social media accounts combined totaling four million followers.

Meanwhile, Se has more than 25,000 followers and travels the world, sharing photos of her adventures to nightclubs, the beach, and parties with friends.

Indonesia has been the hardest hit south-east Asian country, with 1.6 million cases of Covid and almost 45,000 coronavirus-related deaths.
NATO welcomes the reduction of tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border that followed the withdrawal of Russian troops from those areas, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Tuesday after talks with Prime Minister Eduard Heger of Slovakia in Brussels.

"We have seen that there have been a reduction of tensions. And, of course, we welcome that. At the same time, we will now monitor the situation and the developments very closely," he said, adding that NATO was concerned about developments it observed near Ukraines borders lately.

Earlier, Kiev and Western countries expressed their concerns over movement of Russian forces near the Ukrainian border. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time that the movement of Russian forces across Russian territory should not concern them because they do not threaten anyone.
Tom Hallberg covers a little bit of everything, from skiing to long-form feature stories. A Teton Valley, Idaho, transplant by way of Portland and Bend, Oregon, he spends his time outside work writing fiction, splitboarding and climbing.
Former WAAY 31 Chief Meteorologist Gary Dobbs had to stop his live report to take shelter when the April 27, 2011, tornadoes came to his neighborhood.

He survived with bruises and cracked ribs after being hit by debris as the EF5 tornado ripped apart his home.

In the 10 years since that day, the technology he used has advanced.

"You know, I had worked several severe weather events prior to that. And April 27th, it just felt different, said Jessica Chace, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Huntsville.

In 2011, she was working at the National Weather Service in Birmingham when the warning process was set into motion for a series of powerful supercells that created violent tornadoes.

We never want to be wrong, but we don't want to be right when it comes to severe weather outbreaks," said Chace.

In the last decade, technology advancements have made it easier to accurately track storms.

Dual polarization radars now give us the ability not only to see what's happening inside storms, but also to accurately determine whether or not a tornado is on the ground.

And thanks to smart phones, most of us receive emergency alerts instantly no matter where we are.

Technology isnt the only thing that has evolved.

Meteorologists now collaborate with social scientists to craft forecast messages and use social media to fine tune those messages in real time.

"Finding out how to message, finding out what words to use, what words are confusing, said Chace.

We're able to kind of have a little bit more real-time interaction with the public so that we can quickly change our messaging if it is confusing, or push out more messaging."

There will always be room for improvement, which is why Chace says the past helps prepare us for the future.

We want to make sure that we go back and look and see - Is there something that we can apply from that to future events to better message and better prepare.

Trust WAAY 31 for everything you need to know to stay safe during severe weather. Chief Meteorologist Kate McKenna, Meteorologist Rob Elvington, Meteorologist Carson Meredith and Ashley Carter will provide you with the most accurate information on storms by using our StormTracker Early Warning Radar Network.

Stationed in Muscle Shoals, Decatur and Guntersville, the radars provide the best data for all of North Alabama by scanning EVERY community in North Alabama.

See all the radars HERE

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(@FahadShabbir)

Mumbai, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2021 ) :As Poonam Sinha fought for her life, her distraught son found himself fending off black marketeers for coronavirus drugs after the Indian hospital treating her ran out of supplies.

Dire medicine and oxygen shortages as India battles a ferocious new Covid-19 wave mean boom times for profit gougers, although some young volunteers are doing their best to help people on Twitter and Instagram.

In the eastern city of Patna, Pranay Punj ran from one pharmacy to another in a frantic search for the antiviral medication remdesivir for his seriously ill mum.

He finally located a pharmacist who said the drug could only be found on the black market, and offered to source it for an eye-popping 100,000 rupees ($1,340), over 30 times its usual price and three times the average monthly salary for an Indian white-collar worker.

Punj instead got the medicine from a distant relative whose wife had just died from the virus.

But the nightmare was only beginning.

In the middle of the night, he got a call informing him that the hospital had now exhausted its stock of oxygen, making his mother's condition even more precarious.

"Several hours later, we managed to procure one bed at (a) very high price in a private hospital and moved her there," he told AFP.

- Oxygen supplies - Similar heart-rending scenes are unfolding across the country, with desperate people taking to social media to beg for beds, oxygen or medication.

Despite India's status as the "pharmacy of the world", the biggest producer of generic drugs has been unable to meet the demand for antiviral medication such as remdesivir and favipiravir.

In the northern city of Lucknow, Ahmed Abbas was charged 45,000 rupees for a 46-litre oxygen cylinder, nine times its normal price.

"They asked me to pay in advance and pick it (up) from them the next day," the 34-year-old told AFP.

The crisis has added to criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, already under fire for allowing huge religious gatherings and addressing crowded political rallies himself.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal last weekend hit out at "doctors giving patients unnecessary oxygen".

"Patients should only be given as much oxygen as they need," Goyal told reporters.

New Delhi is now planning to import 50,000 tonnes of oxygen and has set up a special train service called the "Oxygen Express" to transport cylinders to hard-hit states.

Modi said in an address to the nation on Tuesday night that "all efforts are being made" to boost supplies.

"One solution to this crisis was to create a stockpile of antiviral drugs when cases were low, but that did not happen," said Raman Gaikwad, an infectious diseases specialist at Sahyadri Hospital in the western city of Pune.

Instead, remdesivir manufacturers told the Indian Express this week that government officials had ordered them to cease production in January because of a fall in infections.

With requests for beds and supplies reaching fever pitch on social media platforms, a network of activists and influencers has sprung into action to help those in trouble.

Climate activist Disha Ravi and YouTuber Kusha Kapila are among the dozens of young Indians who have sourced, compiled and shared information detailing the real-time availability of hospital beds, local helplines, pharmacy numbers and even food delivery services.

Content creator Srishti Dixit, 28, told AFP she received a new request for help every 30 seconds, creating a huge backlog.

Unpaid, she works late into the night, editing and verifying details of where to get what and amplifying requests for help.

But the lists she shares with her 684,000 Instagram followers become obsolete almost immediately as beds fill up and pharmacies sell out.

"I am not always successful, I am sure there are lapses... but hopefully it is helping people at least on an individual level", she said.

With cases rising at a record pace, India's government is leaving its healthcare workers and anxious citizens to pick up the pieces.

"My friend is desperate... we have been trying for all the government helplines but none of them are responding (and) most of the oxygen suppliers have switched off their phones", said Zain Zaidi, sales manager at a Lucknow hotel.

"I just managed to find one supplier but he is charging 20,000 rupees. I have to buy it at any cost", the 34-year-old told AFP in a panicked voice, disconnecting the call.
(ANSA) - ROME, APR 28 - An Italian appeals court on Wednesday acquitted right-to-die activists Mina Welby and Marco Cappato for helping multiple-sclerosis sufferer Davide Trentini commit assisted suicide in Switzerland in April 2017, upholding the first-instance court's acquittal.

The prosecutor in the appeals case had requested their acquittal.

53-year-old Tuscan Trentini, who was accompanied to the Dignitas clinic in Zurich by Welby with Cappato's help, voiced the hope in a farewell letter that Italy would become a "civilised" country where euthanasia would be possible.

"I really hope that Italy becomes a more civilised country, finally passing a law that lets people end enormous suffering, without end, without remedy, in their own homes, close to their loved ones, without having to go abroad, with all the difficulties involved without excessive expenditure," wrote Trentini.

The scientific head of Exit Italia, of which Trentini was a member, Silvio Vitale, said: "I don't hesitate to express our satisfaction that Davide Trentini, one of our members, was able to legally die in Switzerland.

"There remains the anger that he could not do so in Italy among his friends".

Vitale said "I, like many other doctors, "am ready to do as my colleagues in Switzerland, Netherlands and Belgium do, and I hope that day is not far off.

Vitale added: "A thank you to Mina Welby who accompanied him, challenging the hypocrisy of Italian law".

Many Italians including the headline-grabbing blind and tetraplegic disc jockey DJ Fabo have been helped to commit euthanasia by the campaigning Luca Coscioni Association, and especially its treasurer Cappato.

Welby, the co-chair of the association, like Cappato reported herself to Carabinieri police for assisting a suicide, which is a crime in Italy. (ANSA).


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Rudy Giuliani's son Andrew has accused the Department of Justice of raiding his father's New York apartment and office for political reasons - and claims agents didn't want to take allegedly incriminating evidence involving Hunter Biden.

'Any American, whether you are red or blue, should be extremely disturbed by what happened here today, by the continued politicization,' furious Andrew, 35, told reporters in the Upper East Side on Wednesday.

'The only piece of evidence that they did not take up there today was the only piece of incriminating evidence that is in there  and it does not belong to my father, it belongs to the current president's son,' he added.

It's not clear what he was referring to, but his father is believed to have visited Ukraine in order to dig up 'dirt' on the Biden family.

Giuliani's lawyer Robert Costello blamed the investigation on 'Trump derangement syndrome' and also a accused agents of ignoring Hunter's hard drives during their search.

Giuliani's team went on the defensive after the raids on Wednesday morning, in a sign that they are stepping up their investigation of his dealings in the Ukraine in a major escalation of the case.

'Keep in mind that the agents could not read the physical hard drives without plugging them in, but they took Mr. Giuliani's word that the hard drives were copies of Hunter Biden's hard drive and did not contain anything pertaining to Mr. Giuliani,' Costello said in a statement.

'Their reliance on Mr. Giuliani's credibility tells you everything you need to know about this case,' he added.

Andrew Giuliani blasted accused President Joe Biden's Justice Department for playing politics after agents raided his father's apartment and office

Giuliani claimed he obtained the materials from the laptop of Hunter Biden during the 2020 election.

He also claimed Biden's son made millions of his work on the board of a gas company in the Ukraine and pushed Ukrainian officials to investigate the Bidens for corruption. The Bidens have not been charged with that crime. Hunter Biden is being investigated for his taxes.

Both Giuliani's lawyer and his son accused Biden's Justice Department of politicization, a charge made often against the department in President Donald Trump's administration when Trump would publicly pressure his attorneys general to follow his wishes on legal matters. Top DOJ officials would have had to approve the raid.

'It is outrageous that the Trump Derangement Syndrome has gone so far that hatred has driven this unjustified and unethical attack on the United States Attorney and Mayor who did more to reduce crime than virtually any other in American history,' Costello said.

Federal investigators executed a search warrant Wednesday on Rudy Giuliani's New York City apartment and office, seizing electronic devices

Giuliani's lawyer Robert Costello blamed the investigation on 'Trump derangement syndrome' and also a accused agents of ignoring Hunter's hard drives during their search

The Giuliani team took a page from the Trump playbook, fighting the accusations with charges of their own against a political rival.

Federal prosecutors have been looking at Giuliani for nearly 1-1/2 years. In November 2019, they sought records of payments to Giuliani as part of an active criminal investigation, according to a grand jury subpoena seen by Reuters.

Prosecutors were investigating money laundering, wire fraud, campaign finance violations, making false statements, obstruction of justice, and violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, according to the subpoena.

In addition to the Giuliani raid, FBI agents raided Washington-area home of Victoria Toensing, a lawyer close to Giuliani who also had dealings with Ukrainians, The New York Times reported.

The federal investigation centers on whether Giuliani, who was Donald Trump's personal attorney, acted as an unregistered federal agent and lobbied the Trump administration in 2019 on behalf of Ukrainian officials and oligarchs.

Those were the same group of people who were helping Giuliani search for dirt on Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who sat on the board of Ukrainian gas company, during the 2020 election in an effort to help Trump politically.

Toensing represented Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch under indictment in the United States whose help Giuliani sought. She is married to attorney Joseph diGenova and the couple were on the legal team - led by Giuliani - that challenged the 2020 election results on Trump's behalf.

The raids indicate the investigation of the former New York City mayor has entered an aggressive new phase. It is unusual for prosecutors to execute a search warrant on a lawyer, particularly one who has privileged conversations with his client, the former president of the United States.

Investigators executed the warrants at Giuliani's home on Madison Avenue and his office on Park Avenue and seized electronic devices, a person familiar with the investigation told the AP.

Michele Herbert, a tenant in Giuliani's building, told reporters on the scene of the raid: 'They were bringing out a lot of stuff.'

FBI agents also raided Washington-area home of Victoria Toensing, a lawyer close to Rudy Giuliani; she is seen with Giuliani and her husband Joe diGenova at a November 2020 press conference at the Republican National Committee; Toensing and diGenova were on the legal team trying to overturn the results

Officers from the New York Police Department (NYPD) are seen exiting the apartment building of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani's apartment building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan

Media outside Rudy Giuliani's apartment after its raid by the feds

Rudy Giuliani's Park Avenue office was also raided by federal investigators

A crowd gathered outside of Rudy Giuliani's Upper East side apartment building

Victoria Toensing, the lawyer whose attorney husband said the election security chief should be 'shot at dawn' Victoria Toensing and her husband Joseph diGenova are legal panelists on Newsmax, a right-wing media outlet. They used to be regulars on Fox News until DiGenova made wild claims that much of the State Department was under the control of a well-known Jewish financier George Soros. Trump wanted them on his legal team for his impeachment trial - he was said to be impressed with diGenova's defense of him on Fox News - but the two were unable to join due to conflicts of interest. They represent Ukrainian businessman Dmitri Firtash, who was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with bribery and racketeering. They also reportedly worked with Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two associates of Giuliani's who were arrested on charges of campaign finance violations. A former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, diGenova pushed the theory that lawmakers tried to frame Trump when they investigated whether his campaign colluded with Russia four years ago. Toensing represented Scooter Libby, the assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney, when Trump pardoned him. Advertisement

Costello also called the searches unnecessary and said Giuliani had offered to answer questions from prosecutors, except those regarding his privileged communications with Trump.

'What they did today was legal thuggery,' Costello told The New York Times . 'Why would you do this to anyone, let alone someone who was the associate attorney general, United States attorney, the mayor of New York City and the personal lawyer to the 45th president of the United States.'

He said the electronic devices seized by the feds covered by attorney-client privilege.

The United States Attorney's office in Manhattan and the FBI had wanted to execute the warrant on Giuliani's Upper East Side home and office for months but had been stymied by the political leadership put in place at the Justice Department by President Trump.

To obtain the search warrant, investigators would have needed to convince a judge they had sufficient reason to believe that a crime was committed and the search would turn up evidence of that. It does not indicate guilt.

The warrant was originally sought last summer but top officials at DOJ raised concerns about issuing a warrant so close to an election.

DOJ rules prevent actions close to an election that might be seen as interference  a matter that came up both in 2016 during the probe of Hillary Clinton's emails and in 2020 during the investigation, not publicly revealed, into Hunter Biden over potential tax issues.

But after Merrick Garland was confirmed as President Biden's attorney general, the Justice Department lifted its objection to the search.

Biden vowed to have an independent Justice Department and said he would not interfere in its work, including any investigation it may make of his son Hunter's business dealings.

After news of the raid broke, Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney who was also subject of a federal raid and would eventually plead guilty to eight federal counts, including violating campaign finance law, tweeted: 'Here we go folks.'

The Giuliani investigation grew out of a federal investigation of his associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who worked on gathering information about the Bidens during the election.

The two Soviet-born men were charged with federal campaign finance violations.

The two, who pleaded not guilty, were arrested at an airport outside Washington carrying one-way tickets to Europe. That investigation is on-going and faced some delays due to the COVID pandemic.

Trump has said he doesn't know the two men or the work they did.

Investigators are also looking into Giuliani's role in the ousting of US Ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was a prominent witness in Trump's first impeachment trial. Current and former U.S. officials testified at that inquiry that Giuliani carried out a shadow foreign policy in Ukraine.

As Giuliani was pushing Ukrainian officials to announce an investigation of the Bidens, he pushed to have Yovanovitch removed, seeing her as an obstacle to his efforts to produce a probe that would benefit Trump politically.

At Giuliani's urging, Trump had her recalled.

Giuliani's neighbor Michele Hebert, the ex-wife of Pantone creator Larry Hevert, said she saw the FBI 'taking a lot of stuff' out of his Upper East Side apartment during their raid on Wednesday

Hebert, who divorced from Larry in 2017, spoke to the waiting press at the former Trump lawyer's Manhattan address after the Department of Justice carried out a search warrant connected to his business dealings with Ukraine

She added that her ex Larry called her and said 'look out the window' when he saw the news break. 'They were bringing out a lot of stuff,' she said when asked about what the federal agents were doing

Press and members of the public crowd the street in front of Giuliani's condo building

Michele Herbert, a neighbor of Rudy Giuliani speaks to members of the press about what she saw of the Wednesday morning raid

The Giuliani investigation grew out of a federal investigation of his associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who worked on gathering information about the Bidens during the election and were charged with violating the ban on political donations by foreign nationals in October 2019

Lev Parnas, center, and Igor Fruman with Rudy Giuliani at far right, Trump second right, and VP Mike Pence left

Investigators are also looking into Giuliani's role in the ousting of US Ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was a prominent witness in Trump's first impeachment trial. Prosecutors are also looking into Giuliani's dealings with Ukraine's then-top prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko, who was helping Giuliani in his dirt-digging mission

Prosecutors are examining whether Giuliani was working not only for Trump, but also for Ukrainian officials or businesses who wanted Yovanovitch dismissed for their own reasons, The Times reported.

Giuliani later bragged about having her removed, saying he 'forced' her out as she was making his push for the Ukrainians to investigate the Bidens 'difficult.'

Trump was impeached on two counts in his first trial after reports of a July 25, 2019, phone call in which Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden and also a discredited conspiracy theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 US election.

Trump was acquitted by the Senate.

Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, it is a federal crime to try to influence or lobby the US government at the request or direction of a foreign official without disclosing it to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors are also looking into Giuliani's dealings with Ukraine's then-top prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko, who was crucial to Giuliani's efforts to produce damaging information on the Bidens.

No such information ever came to light, neither Biden has been charged with a crime and Hunter Biden stepped down from Burisma's board during the 2020 election. Hunter Biden is under tax investigation.

Investigators have examined conversations Giuliani had about taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars in apparently unrelated consulting business from Lutsenko, but that deal never happened.

Trump praised Lutsenko as a 'very good prosecutor' during that phone call with Zelensky.

Giuliani visited the Ukraine in December 2019 to film a documentary series to give Trump supporters an alternative narrative about what happened with the Zelensky phone call and Trump's first impeachment trial.

He denied anything ever came of his six-figure arrangements to do work for Ukrainian officials.

'I thought that would be too complicated,' he told the New York Times in 2019. 'I never received a penny.'

'Originally, I thought I would do it. And then when I thought it over,' Giuliani told the paper. 'I thought it would look bad.'
Teenager in Court Following Crawley College Armed Incident

A teenager appeared in court on Wednesday after being charged following an incident at Crawley College on Monday when shots were fired.

Sandijs Dreimanis, 18, of Barton Walk in Crawley, West Sussex, England, was named by police earlier in the day and charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and possession of a bladed article on a school premises.

Dreimanis did not enter pleas to the charges when he appeared at Crawley Magistrates Court.

Magistrate Paul Dalby told Dreimanis that the allegation involving a firearm can only be dealt with at the Crown Court, and as the other matters occurred at the same time they too will be dealt with at the Crown Court.

Until then you will be remanded in custody, he added.

Armed police were dispatched to Crawley College on Monday afternoon after multiple people called reported gunshots being fired.

By the time the police arrived, Dreimanis had already been detained by a teacher and a member of the support staff, both of whom sustained minor injuries, which were not gunshot wounds.

A blank firing handgun and a knife were seized. Sussex Police said they were liaising with counter-terror specialists on Monday evening but later announced that the incident is being treated as non-terror-related and isolated, and no one else is being sought in connection with the incident.

Crawley College said on Tuesday that the college would be closed until at least Thursday.

College principal Vicki Illingworth said on Tuesday that the college community was shaken by the incident.

I cannot praise the courage, resilience, and support shown by our staff enough, she said.

They have been incredible and the care and compassion they shared with our students and with each other continues [sic] to fill me with admiration, she added.

Their heroic actions, and the rapid response of emergency services, helped to protect our college community.

Police have also applauded the actions of the two heroic college staff.

Id personally like to thank everyone who helped to quickly bring this incident to a safe conclusion, especially the two members of college staff whose heroics have not gone unnoticed, Chief Inspector Shane Baker of the Crawley Neighbourhood Policing Team said on Tuesday.

They put themselves in harms way in order to protect their students, fellow employees, and the wider public, and I am hugely grateful for their quick-thinking actions.

PA contributed to this report.
What a difference a 100 days makes Since Joe Biden took office, Americas image overseas has improved by an average of nine points, according to a Morning Consult political tracking poll of 14 countries.

Germany showed the biggest gain in net favorability, 47 percent, which is defined as the percentage of people with favorable minus unfavorable views of the US from Bidens first day in office, Jan. 20, to April 25.

Japan (39 percent), France (37 percent), Canada (32 percent) and UK (30 percent) ranked next.

Morning Consult believes Bidens message of Were back on the diplomatic front that he made after two weeks on the job coupled with his decision to rejoin the Paris Agreement climate pact, bolstered America's image overseas.

On the other side of the ledger, US net favorability ratings fell in China (-13 percent), South Korea (-2 percent) and grew only 3 percent in India.

On the home front, 78 percent of us now have a favorable image of the US compared to 73 percent on Bidens first day on the job. The unfavorable score fell from 22 percent to 17 percent for a net favorability gain of 10 percent.

That means that most foreigners have a better image of our country than we do. What do they know that we don't?

Tom Nides, who did a very short stint as CEO of Burson-Marsteller, is under consideration for the US ambassador to Israel post.

He joined B-M in 2004 from Credit Suisse, where he was chief administrative officer, and fled to Morgan Stanley the next year for the COO post.

Nides left the investment banker for the State Dept. but returned to Morgan as managing director and vice chairman in 2013.

The Duluth native was Wall Street's biggest supporter of Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar's Democratic presidential primary run. He shifted to Joe Biden after she dropped out of the race.

In his Linkedin bio, Nides neglects to mention his B-M posting.

The New York Times is canceling the term "op-ed" because it no longer makes sense in the digital age, according to Kathleen Kingsbury, editor of the opinion section.

Launched Sept. 21, 1970 for articles penned by outside writers, op-eds were so named because they ran opposite the paper's editorial page.

Kingsbury notes that today's Times readers access the medium online so there is no "geographic ed" for the op-ed to be opposite of.

She may view the term op-ed as a relic of an older age but the term has a certain gravitas about it, compared to its replacement term, "guest essays."
Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) today released its regular weekly Net Asset Value ("NAV") and performance returns on its website, https://www.pershingsquareholdings.com/company-reports/weekly-navs/. The NAV and returns were computed as of the close of business on Tuesday, 27 April 2021.

PSH NAV per share as of close of business on 27 April 2021 was 50.41 USD 36.25 GBP and year-to-date performance was 11.1%.

Weekly net asset value ("NAV") is calculated as of the close of business on each Tuesday and posted on the following business day. In the event that Tuesday is not a business day, the Company will calculate the close-of-business NAV as of the business day immediately preceding that Tuesday. The end-of-month NAV is calculated as of the close of business on the last day of the month and posted on the following business day. For weeks that include a month-end NAV report, PSH will provide only the month-end NAV and not report the Tuesday NAV. Monthly NAVs are published in accordance with the Decree on Conduct of Business Supervision of Financial Undertakings under the Wft (Besluit Gedragstoezicht financiele ondernemingen Wft).

Performance is presented on a net-of-fees basis and reflects the deduction of, among other expenses: management fees, brokerage commissions, administrative fees and accrued performance fees, if any. The performance figure includes the reinvestment of all dividends, interest and capital gains. Depending on the timing of a specific investment, net performance for an individual investor may vary from the net performance as stated herein. Net performance is a geometrically linked time weighted calculation.

Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. All investments involve risk including the loss of principal.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American domiciled companies.

Category: (PSH:WeeklyNAV)

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428006140/en/

Contacts:

Camarco

Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson +44 020 3757 4989, media-pershingsquareholdings@camarco.co.uk
Every day, the sun ejects large amounts of a hot particle soup known as plasma toward Earth where it can disrupt telecommunications satellites and damage electrical grids. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Princeton University's Department of Astrophysical Sciences have made a discovery that could lead to better predictions of this space weather and help safeguard sensitive infrastructure.

The discovery comes from a new computer model that predicts the behavior of the plasma in the region above the surface of the sun known as the solar corona. The model was originally inspired by a similar model that describes the behavior of the plasma that fuels fusion reactions in doughnut-shaped fusion facilities known as tokamaks.

Fusion, the power that drives the sun and stars, combines light elements in the form of plasma -- the hot, charged state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei -- that generates massive amounts of energy. Scientists are seeking to replicate fusion on Earth for a virtually inexhaustible supply of power to generate electricity.

The Princeton scientists made their findings while studying roped-together magnetic fields that loop into and out of the sun. Under certain conditions, the loops can cause hot particles to erupt from the sun's surface in enormous burps known as coronal mass ejections. Those particles can eventually hit the magnetic field surrounding Earth and cause auroras, as well as interfere with electrical and communications systems.

"We need to understand the causes of these eruptions to predict space weather," said Andrew Alt, a graduate student in the Princeton Program in Plasma Physics at PPPL and lead author of the paper reporting the results in the Astrophysical Journal.

The model relies on a new mathematical method that incorporates a novel insight that Alt and collaborators discovered into what causes the instability. The scientists found that a type of jiggling known as the "torus instability" could cause roped magnetic fields to untether from the sun's surface, triggering a flood of plasma.

The torus instability loosens some of the forces keeping the ropes tied down. Once those forces weaken, another force causes the ropes to expand and lift further off the solar surface. "Our model's ability to accurately predict the behavior of magnetic ropes indicates that our method could ultimately be used to improve space weather prediction," Alt said.

The scientists have also developed a way to more accurately translate laboratory results to conditions on the sun. Past models have relied on assumptions that made calculations easier but did not always simulate plasma precisely. The new technique relies only on raw data. "The assumptions built into previous models remove important physical effects that we want to consider," Alt said. "Without these assumptions, we can make more accurate predictions."

To conduct their research, the scientists created magnetic flux ropes inside PPPL's Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX), a barrel-shaped machine designed to study the coming together and explosive breaking apart of the magnetic field lines in plasma. But flux ropes created in the lab behave differently than ropes on the sun, since, for example, the flux ropes in the lab have to be contained by a metal vessel.

The researchers made alterations to their mathematical tools to account for these differences, ensuring that results from MRX could be translated to the sun. "There are conditions on the sun that we cannot mimic in the laboratory," said PPPL physicist Hantao Ji, a Princeton University professor who advises Alt and contributed to the research. "So, we adjust our equations to account for the absence or presence of certain physical properties. We have to make sure our research compares apples to apples so our results will be accurate."

Discovery of the jiggling plasma behavior could also lead to more efficient generation of fusion-powered electricity. Magnetic reconnection and related plasma behavior occur in tokamaks as well as on the sun, so any insight into these processes could help scientists control them in the future.

Support for this research came from the DOE, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the German Research Foundation. Research partners include Princeton University, Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Potsdam, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

PPPL, on Princeton University's Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, N.J., is devoted to creating new knowledge about the physics of plasmas -- ultra-hot, charged gases -- and to developing practical solutions for the creation of fusion energy. The Laboratory is managed by the University for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, which is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https:/ / energy. gov/ science

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Members of the Michigan House Judiciary Committee heard testimony Wednesday, April 28 on a set of bills that would broaden state laws on criminal record expungement for human trafficking victims.

Rep. Mary Whiteford, R-South Haven, said in a March 2 presentation the bill package strengthens the states existing tools for prosecutors and judges to support victims of human trafficking by allowing adult and juvenile survivors to have any crime on their record expunged if it occurred while they were trafficked.

About a month ago, I gave an overall on where we have been as a country and state at addressing the very horrible crime of human trafficking. Through this month, we have been doing more research, Whiteford said.

Highlights of House Bills 4091, 4092, 4093, and 4214 include setting standards for expert testimony in such cases; giving immunity for any person compelled to testify; expanding rebuttable presumptions that could benefit minors charged with such crimes; easing penalties for the act of commercial sexual activity and allowing offenders placement in drug or mental health courts; boosting penalties for purchasers of commercial sexual activities; and replacing the terms prostitute and prostitution with commercial sexual activity.

The bills complement legislation enacted in 2016 that allows victims of human trafficking to petition a court to expunge one or more convictions under local ordinances corresponding to prostitution charges.

Whiteford said being exploited and trafficked can often lead to a victim committing other crimes, like theft or drugs possession.

Rep. David LaGrand, D-Grand Rapids, said current law allows for the petition of expunging up to three felonies and an infinite number of misdemeanors.

LaGrand shared his concern that the bill may create a coercive subculture where a person coerces victims to commit crimes with the assumption those crimes may be expunged.

What (this) bill is going to do is essentially broaden past the three felonies for people, LaGrand said. That said, the bill does not stop these people from having a substantial crime-free weight in their lives.

Under HB 4091, a person convicted of a crime can apply to have such a conviction set aside if that person committed an offense as a direct result of being a victim of human trafficking.

Rep. Bronna Kahle, R-Adrian, said HB 4093 broadens Michigans juvenile justice system by allowing children the opportunity to make better choices.

HB 4093 is simply about kids who are victims of human trafficking, Kahle said. This is about offering rehabilitation and not giving them a record. Victims of human trafficking have suffered enough, but especially when they are kids.

Rep. TC Clements, R-Temperance, expressed concern similar to LaGrands. He said the bill leaves a humongous hole for judiciary discretion. He said victimization is not defined in the bill, so there are no parameters in which judges and prosecutors can operate to determine the veracity of a claim.

I dont mean that at all to be disrespectful to someone who has been victimized by human trafficking, Clements said. But, sadly, we all know there are people in society who are opportunists.

The House Judiciary Committee will hear more testimony on the bills next week.

Read more on MLive:

Human trafficking task force launches in Upper Peninsula modeled after Genesee Countys GHOST

Genesee County officials honor victim advocates for National Crime Victims Rights Week

Two accused of commercial sex trafficking at Allegan County home, spots in Kent County
Lockheed Martin and Thales closed negotiations for the supply up to 55 ALFS anti-submarine warfare sonars to the U.S. Navy and foreign navies.

anti-submarine warfare sonars to the U.S. Navy and foreign navies. As a tier-one supplier to Lockheed Martin, Thales will deliver the ALFS systems for installation on the MH-60R helicopter platform.

systems for installation on the helicopter platform. The navies of India, Greece and Denmark will receive the helicopter dipping sonars through U.S. Foreign Military Sales of the MH-60R.

Thales has signed a contract with Lockheed Martin as a tier-one supplier for the delivery of up to 55 airborne anti-submarine warfare sonars. The ALFS (Airborne Low Frequency Sonar)* dipping sonars will be installed on the MH-60R platform for the U.S. Navy and three navies. Delivery of the first 42 systems will occur over the next five years with a delivery of 13 optional systems to occur in year six.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210427005026/en/

ALFS dipping sonar on MH-60R helicopter  Lockheed Martin

Thales has delivered more than 300 ALFS sonars to the U.S. Navy since the early 2000s and this new contract with Lockheed Martin will continue to support the Navys readiness strategy. The navies of India, Denmark and Greece will receive their first deliveries of the ALFS sonar system through direct U.S. Foreign Military Sales of the MH-60R platforms.

To maintain control over their maritime space and protect security interests around the world, naval forces need reliable, high-performing systems to operate with optimum effect on missions including anti-submarine warfare, maritime search and rescue, defence of maritime approaches and fleet protection for naval forces on deployment.

Offering unparalleled protection to maritime convoys, the ALFS anti-submarine warfare system is capable of detecting, classifying, prosecuting, harassing or attacking submarines, making Thales the benchmark for the worlds major navies. In addition to the U.S. Navy, the other navies that have chosen Thales dipping sonar solutions include the navies of Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Poland, South Korea and the Philippines.

As a low frequency active sonar, ALFS is designed for the initial detection and tracking of opposing submarines. It offers a long detection range with a wide coverage rate and a low false alarm level, both in deep and coastal waters. It can be used autonomously to clear a particular area or as a complementary anti-submarine warfare asset to sonars on board surface vessels for target relocation and attack.

Earning the trust of the U.S. Navy and its allies and partners around the globe is a source of pride for our team. This contract enhances our position as a strategic supplier to Lockheed Martin and further consolidates the Group's world leadership position in anti-submarine warfare systems. We will continue to improve the performance and competitiveness of our airborne sonars to meet the new anti-submarine warfare operational challenges of our customers. Alexis Morel, VP Underwater systems, Thales.

Note to Editors

* The Thales ALFS and FLASH systems are from the same product family of airborne anti-submarine dipping sonars but each product has variances due to system destinations and the local technological requirements to comply with including U.S. ITAR.

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies, investing in digital and deep tech innovations  connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing  to build a confident future crucial for the development of our societies. The Group provides its customers  businesses, organisations and governments  in the defense, aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security domains with solutions, services and products that help them fulfil their critical role, consideration for the individual being the driving force behind all decisions.

Thales has 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2020 the Group generated sales of 17 billion.

About Thales in the USA

In the United States, Thales has conducted significant research and development, manufacturing, and service capabilities for more than 100 years. Today, Thales is present in 22 states, operating 46 different facilities and employing nearly 5,000 people. Working closely with U.S. customers and local partners, Thales is able to meet the most complex requirements for every operating environment.

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CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Rotary Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Market by Power Rating (up to 1000 kVA, 1001-2000 kVA, 2001-2500 kVA, and Above 2500 kVA), Type (Diesel, Hybrid), Application, and Region(APAC, North America, Europe, MEA, South America ) - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Rotary UPS Market is projected to reach USD 0.8 billion by 2026 from an estimated USD 0.7 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 4.9% during the forecast period. The growing need for zero downtime power supply solutions for critical power applications is the major driver of the rotary or Rotary UPS Market. The advantages of rotary UPS such as high efficiency, fewer space requirements, and low lifetime costs are expected to further drive the demand. Increasing data center investments are expected to be the single biggest contributing factor to the growth of Rotary UPS Market during forecast period.

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Above 2500 kVA is expected to be the largest Rotary UPS Market segment by power rating

The market for rotary UPS of above 1800 rpm is expected to be the largest during the forecast period. Rotary UPS are inherently suitable for high power rating applications and are most economical at these power ratings. These large-rated power rotary UPS find applications in energy-intensive applications such as data centers, manufacturing industries, aerospace & defense, and healthcare & pharmaceuticals. With the increasing investments in large-scale data centers, especially in Asia Pacific and Europe, the demand for rotary UPS in this segment is expected to grow.

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Datacenter segment is expected to capture the major share of the Rotary UPS Market by application

Datacenter segment by application is expected to be the largest segment during forecast period. The demand for data centers is continuously increasing, and the amount of energy consumed by them has also surged. This is due to the increased load of IT devices that are installed in these data centers. The continuity of power supply is critical for the effective functioning of IT loads in data centers and power outages in them are costly. Investments in large hyperscale data centers have increased significantly to meet the increasing data demand. These drivers are expected to play a key role in the growth of the Rotary UPS Market for data center applications.

Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing segment of the global Rotary UPS Market

The Rotary UPS Market in Asia Pacific, led by China, is expected to grow. Increased investments in data centers, especially in China, Australia, Japan, and Singapore along with the thriving electronics & semiconductor sector in countries such as Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore are expected to drive the demand for rotary UPS.

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To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the Rotary UPS Market includes profiles of some of the leading players, such as Piller Power Systems (Germany), Hitec Holdings (Netherlands), Rolls Royce Holdings (UK), Hitzinger (Austria), and IEM Power Systems (US) along with other prominent manufacturers of rotary UPS.

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Modular Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Market by Component (Solutions (50kVA & below, 51-100 kVA, 101-250 kVA, 251-500 kVA) and Services (Consulting, Integration & Implementation)), Enterprise Size, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

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Data Center Power Market by Solution (Power Monitoring, Power Distribution, Power Backup, and Cabling Infrastructure), Service (System Integration, Training & Consulting, and Support & Maintenance), End-User Type, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/data-center-power-market-262148719.html

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When the Police Department acquired a robotic dog last year, officials heralded the four-legged device as a futuristic tool that could go places that were too dangerous to send officers.

This dog is going to save lives, Inspector Frank Digiacomo of the departments technical Assistance Response Unit said in a television interview in December. Its going to protect people. Its going to protect officers.

Instead, the machine, which the police named Digidog, became a source of heated debate. After it was seen being deployed as part of the response to a home invasion in the Bronx in February, critics likened it to a dystopian surveillance drone.

And when officers used it at a public housing building in Manhattan this month, a backlash erupted again, with some people describing the device as emblematic of how overly aggressive the police can be when dealing with poor communities.
The Best Little Floorhouse in Texas Your choice for flooring in Central Texas! Your flooring is more than just the surface you walk on  it's an integral part of your home. With over 35 years of flooring experience, The Best Little Floorhouse in Texas has the resources and knowled
The Manitoba NDP has questioned a government decision to name or rename eight provincial wildlife management areas after men.

The Manitoba NDP has questioned a government decision to name or rename eight provincial wildlife management areas after men.

To call the decision an "oversight" in 2021 would be kind, New Democrat MLA Nahanni Fontaine said..

The government announced its decision to name the wildlife management areas in a news release Monday.

The "prominent Manitobans" who received the honour were exclusively men and none was Indigenous.

"I would imagine that most folks in 2021 would recognize that there are phenomenal Manitoba women that these areas could have been named after. Or in an era of reconciliation, we could have had these areas renamed in the traditional language and territory and understanding of Indigenous peoples," Fontaine said Tuesday.

"Maybe it was an oversight, maybe it was strategic and methodical. I dont know."

The individuals honoured were people who have provided life-long dedication to the improvement of Manitoba wildlife and wildlife habitat, Agriculture Minister Blaine Pedersen said in the release.

The wildlife management areas play an important role in biodiversity conservation and provide a variety of wildlife-related forms of recreation including birding and wildlife watching, the news release said.

The announcement provides a glimpse into who the government thinks is prominent, "who they think should be recognized and acknowledged and who they think don't really matter," Fontaine said.

"They could have reached out to Indigenous communities who are in that area. They could have reached out to womens organizations. They could have reached out even to women in their own caucus to provide names of Manitoba women that could be considered (for the honour)," she said.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Argo Gold Inc. (CSE: ARQ) (OTCQB: ARBTF) ("Argo Gold") commenced surface exploration at the Uchi Gold Project in April 2021, and the bedrock stripping, trenching, washing, geological mapping and channel sampling will continue in phases at the Uchi Gold Project throughout the 2021 field season. Argo Gold also confirms that a 2500 metre drill program will commence at the Uchi Gold Project in late May 2021.

The 2020 field season identified high-grade gold mineralization at Northgate and Woco, located in the main mineralized trend; as well as at Raingold on the HST Zone, a parallel mineralized trend located west of the main Northgate-Woco trend. Argo Gold's December 1, 2020 news release summarized the results of this program that indicated pervasive gold mineralization on multiple mineralized trends.

Objectives of the bedrock stripping and trenching are; to expand and define known gold mineralization, identify additional gold mineralization along the mineralized trends, and to follow-up on the biogeochemical anomalies identified by the Summer 2019 biogeochemical survey that covered 5 kilometres of strike length on the main mineralized trend. Areas of interest include;

The north and south strike extensions at Raingold where this iron formation hosted zone returned visible gold from most of the 2020 channel samples including 2.3 metres of 31.2 g/t Au and identified high-grade gold mineralization over 15 metres of strike length. Raingold is located on the 600 metre HST zone located west of the main Woco-Northgate mineralized trend.

Gold element biogeochemical anomalies located northeast and east of the Woco Vein

A 500 metre strike length of copper-gold pathfinder elements located southeast of the Woco Vein

The west and east strike extensions at Northgate that has been stripped over a strike length of 65 metres and identified two 15 metre sections of high-grade gold mineralization where channel samples include 1.65 metres of 43.5 g/t Au and 1.65 metres of 40.1 g/t Au.

A number of other gold element biogeochemistry anomalies identified by the 2019 biogeochemical survey that covered 5 kilometres of strike length on the main mineralized trend that includes Woco and Northgate.

The exploration targets for the Uchi Gold Project area continues to be the narrow vein, high-grade gold mineralization; a common economic model in the Canadian Shield where a series of high-grade gold veins are mined using narrow vein mining methods.

William Kerr, P.Geo., consulting geologist of Argo Gold, is the Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, who has approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release.

About Argo Gold Inc.

Argo Gold is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company, focused on gold exploration at the Uchi Gold Project in the Red Lake District. Argo Gold recently added the Talbot Lake Gold Project to its portfolio; (Argo Gold news release June 11 2020). Information on Argo Gold can be obtained from SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Argo Gold's website at www.argogold.ca. Argo Gold is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (www.thecse.com) (CSE: ARQ), as well as (OTCQB: ARBTF) and (FSE:P3U).

For more information please contact:

Judy Baker, CEO

(416) 786-7860

jbaker@argogold.ca

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement

Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available.





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New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/28/2021 -- The global Specialty Oilfield Chemicals Market was valued at USD 10.98 Billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 14.95 Billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 3.90%. These chemicals have many dynamic applications and find extensive use in the oil and gas industry. The growth in oil drilling and extensive demand and production of crude oil are major reasons behind the flourishing state of specialty oilfield chemicals. Most chemicals under the specialty oilfield type are employed for specific purposes throughout the production lifecycle of an oilfield chemical. Those that can solve more than one purpose are usually preferred, like surfactant chemicals.



An increasing trend for supply centres shifting is observed due to the arrival of shale gas in the US as compared to the coals or olefins from China. The key raw materials for oilfield chemicals are getting scarce. The regulatory requirements are exponentially increasing as the environmental impact of the emissions and waste become more and more harmful. Another major factor that will hamper the growth of the market over the forecasted period is the shift of the consumers towards sustainable products which completely avoids the use of plastics as well as other specialty oilfield chemicals.



This industry faces hurdles and upheavals due to the unstable prices of crude oil and the ongoing geopolitical issues in some parts of the world. These form serious threats that can hamper the overall global market growth.



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Further key findings from the report suggest-



Increasing application of specialty oilfield chemicals in drilling fluid activities and production chemicals is increasing their demand in several world markets. The ultra-deep drilling activities are also providing several opportunities for these chemicals.

Oil recovery increases the oil production efficiency while exploiting infrastructure efficiently. The surging need for sufficient oil extraction is likely to push the demand of the market in future.

Most of the specialty oilfield chemicals in use today are of synthetic origin. Synthetic chemicals are preferred owing to lower prices, steady availability and customizability. This trend is expected to continue over the forecast period as the natural based chemicals are costlier and subject to seasonal availability.



Demulsifiers held the largest share under the product segmentation for Specialty Oilfield Chemicals. This share is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% during the period of forecast because of heavy application.

Drilling activities are expanding fast under the application segmentation of the global market are expected to register a CAGR of 4.7% during the forecast period.

Corrosion and scale inhibitors are a popular product category under specialty oilfield chemicals which is finding greater use in several product applications. Its share in the product market will grow at a CAGR of 4.4% during the forecast period.



The Middle East region is facing an increasing demand from petro-refineries and oil-based power plants. This in turn is driving demand for specialty oilfield chemicals in this region.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran are the main drivers of market growth in the Middle East. They are the major oil-producing nations and face an insane demand from their consumer base, thus requiring specialty oilfield chemicals for their operational purposes.

Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth over the forecast time frame on account of increasing government spending in China to meet energy demands. Countries like India and Malaysia are also important contributors to the market.

Latin American region is exploiting lower factor costs and lenient worker health and environment regulatory norms to increase its share in the specialty oilfield chemicals market.

Key market players include BASF SE, Solvay, Akzo Nobel NV, Huntsman International LLC, Thermax Global, Sadara, Global Drilling Fluids & Chemicals Limited, Roemex Limited, Schlumberger, Ashland Inc.



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For the purpose of this study, Reports and Data have segmented the Specialty Oilfield Chemicals market on the basis of product, application, and region:



Product (Revenue, USD Million; 20182028)



Demulsifier

Deoiler

Biocide

Fluid Loss Additive

Corrosion and Scale Inhibitors

Clay Stabilizer

Pour Point Depressant

Others



Application (Revenue, USD Million; 20182028)



Drilling

Cementing

Production

Enhanced Oil Recovery

Well Stimulation



Regional Outlook (Revenue in USD Billion; 20172028)



North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa



TOC -

Chapter 1. Market Synopsis



1.1. Market Definition



1.2. Research Scope & Premise



1.3. Methodology



1.4. Market Estimation Technique



Chapter 2. Executive Summary



2.1. Summary Snapshot, 2020  2028



Chapter 3. Indicative Metrics



3.1. High demand for energy production



3.2. Increasing demand in the oil and gas industry



Chapter 4. Specialty Oilfield Chemicals Segmentation & Impact Analysis



4.1. Specialty Oilfield Chemicals Segmentation Analysis



4.2. Specialty Oilfield Chemicals Market Value Chain Analysis, 2018  2028



.



Chapter 8. Competitive Landscape



8.1. Market Revenue Share by Manufacturers



8.2. Manufacturing Cost Breakdown Analysis



8.3. Mergers & Acquisitions



8.4. Strategy Benchmarking



8.5. Vendor Landscape



Chapter 9. Company Profiles



9.1. BASF SE



9.1.1. Company Overview



9.1.2. Financial Performance



9.1.3. Product Length Benchmarking



9.1.4. Strategic Initiatives



9.2. Solvay



9.2.1. Company Overview



9.2.2. Financial Performance



9.2.3. Product Length Benchmarking



9.2.4. Strategic Initiatives



9.3. Akzo Nobel NV



9.3.1. Company Overview



9.3.2. Financial Performance



9.3.3. Product Length Benchmarking



9.3.4. Strategic Initiatives



9.4. Huntsman International LLC



9.4.1. Company Overview



9.4.2. Financial Performance



9.4.3. Product Length Benchmarking



9.4.4. Strategic Initiatives



9.5. Thermax Global



9.5.1. Company Overview



9.5.2. Financial Performance



9.5.3. Product Length Benchmarking



9.5.4. Strategic Initiatives



Continued.



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The report is a qualitative and quantitative research study that offers key insights into the latest strategic steps and tactics undertaken by the industry players to gain a robust footing in the market. The report further offers strategic recommendations to the new and emerging players and established companies to help them overcome the barriers of the industry. The report also covers a comprehensive SWOT analysis and Porter's Five Forces analysis to offer a better understanding of the Specialty Oilfield Chemicals market and its competitive landscape.



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Border Patrol agents apprehend about two dozen illegal immigrants in Penitas, Texas, on March 11. 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Texas Lawmaker Urges Homeland Security to End Bidens Catch and Release Policy

Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) on Tuesday called on Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to abolish the Biden administrations catch and release immigration policy, saying that it threatens local communities.

The Republican lawmaker sent Mayorkas a letter after the Department of Homeland Security ordered the Franklin County Sheriffs Department to release illegal immigrants onto the streets of his district under the immigration policy.

I cannot sit idly by while people in the Department of Homeland Security jeopardize the safety of my constituents. I urge Secretary Mayorkas to immediately revise the policies of catch and release that are threatening our communities, Fallon said in the letter.

He added, If there is need for a legislative fix, I stand ready to work with anyone who is willing to close the floodgates and put the lives and safety of American citizens first.

Fallon in his letter made reference to an incident last week that saw the release of 15 individuals from Guatemala who had illegally crossed the southern border, including one who had previously been arrested in both Guatemala and Peru.

While this is alarming enough, it was then revealed by one of the women that they were apparent victims of sex trafficking and being transported through Franklin County for that purpose, he wrote.

They were ordered released by the DHS back into the community because they did not fit current guidelines for deportation, Fallon wrote.

The Biden administrations silence on these issues makes them culpable in human trafficking, drug smuggling, and the violence associated with such crimes.

Fallon added, I have no doubt that this situation will only get worse as the administration continues these policies. I urge you in the strongest way possible to end these practices immediately.

The apprehensions of people crossing the border illegally have substantially increased in recent months.

Border Patrol agents detained more than 150,000 illegal border crossers last month, former Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan said on March 30, citing internal data.

Fallon joins a growing number of Texas lawmakers who have called out President Joe Bidens immigration policies.

Separately, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this month called on 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.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference about unaccompanied minor detentions in Dallas, Texas, on March 17, 2021. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

This problem will continue to get worse because of the policies that have been adopted by the Biden administration, Abbott told Fox News.

Upon taking office, Biden signed executive orders to quickly overturn several Trump-era immigration policies that curbed the flow of illegal border crossings. This includes his predecessors cornerstone Migrant Protection Protocols, or Remain in Mexico program, which effectively ended the Obama administrations catch and release protocol given to U.S. border officers and significantly reduced the number of migrants arriving at the southern border in 2019.

In a return to the Obama-era policies, 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.

The Epoch Times reached out to the DHS for comment.

Charlotte Cuthbertson contributed to this report.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The European Union and AstraZeneca will begin their oral arguments on May 26 in the bloc's legal action against the pharmaceutical giant over coronavirus vaccine shortfalls, a Belgian court said Wednesday.

The EU is suing AstraZeneca for allegedly breaking their purchase agreement by massively under-delivering doses of the COVID-19 jab for its 27 member states.

The British-Swedish company has dismissed the case as "without merit" and insisted it will fight it fiercely in the Belgian courts, which have jurisdiction over the deal.

The legal actionwhich started Wednesday with a procedural session in a Brussels courtis being expedited to speed up a ruling.

The EU says the case is aimed at ramping up deliveries of the doses it is entitled to and pressing the firm to use plants in Britain mentioned in the contract to supply the bloc.

"The (European) Commission and the member states believe that AstraZeneca has violated many obligations under the pre-order contract, regarding the production as well as the delivery of vaccines," Rafael Jafferali, a lawyer for the EU, told AFP.

"We will explain this to the court."

AstraZeneca's legal counsel Hakim Boularbah said the firm "deeply regrets" the EU's decision to launch the action.

"We hope to resolve this dispute as soon as possible," he told journalists.

The row erupted between the European Commission and AstraZeneca after major delivery shortages hampered early efforts to roll out inoculations across the drive.

The EU executivewhich is responsible for ordering vaccines for the blocsays overall the firm is set to deliver only a third of the 300 million doses it has promised by the end of June.

AstraZeneca's boss has insisted the company only committed to a "best reasonable efforts" clause to meet supply targets, and it says it is on course to deliver almost 50 million doses by the end of this month.

The commission says the contract shows greater legal responsibility and officials have pointed out that the company has largely delivered promised doses to Britain, where it is headquartered.

The EU initially intended to use the AstraZeneca jab as the main workhorse to power the bloc's inoculation drivebut has now switched focus to the more expensive BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine as its mainstay.

The bloc is hoping an uptick in deliveries of vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and the single-shot Johnson & Johnson jabs can help it gain ground on inoculation pacesetters like the United States and Britain.

Explore further EU sues AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery shortfall

 2021 AFP
The former girlfriend of the Babes in the Wood killer sobbed and covered her ears as graphic letters from him were read out in court.

Jennifer Johnson, 55, was infatuated with double child murderer Russell Bishop, 55, when she lied under oath in court to protect him in 1987, a jury heard.

Extracts from graphic, sexually violent letters written by Bishop were read out at Lewes Crown Court, East Sussex, today.

Ms Johnson broke down as the jury heard Bishop describe his violent sexual fantasies. The prison letters were written as he waited on remand.

Her ex-boyfriend Bishop was first tried for the brutal murders of schoolgirls Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in 1987 but was acquitted.

New forensic techniques led to his conviction over the murders of the nine-year-olds in 2018 - and he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years.

Ms Johnson has admitted she lied under oath at his first trial in 1987, after which Bishop was acquitted and freed to try and kill another little girl.

Jennifer Johnson, 55, (left) was accused of telling 'lies that were important' in the tragic case, including about a crucial piece of evidence - a sweatshirt found near the scene. Her ex-boyfriend Russell Bishop (right) was first tried for the brutal murders of schoolgirls Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in 1987 but was acquitted

Jennifer Johnson was a teenager when she had her first child with Bishop.

Ms Johnson, who had three children with Bishop, denies perjury and perverting the course of justice.

She has described him as a monster and told police she was in fear for her life when she changed her story.

Ms Johnson told Bishop's trial in 1987 a sweatshirt which proved his link to the murder scene did not belong to him.

Bishop was given his second life sentence in 2018 for the brutal 1986 murders of nine-year-olds Karen and Nicola.

New forensic techniques led to Bishop's conviction over the murders of nine-year-olds Nicola Fellows (left) and Karen Hadaway (right) in 2018 - and he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years

Pictured: A blue Pinto sweatshirt, allegedly worn by Russell Bishop and said to contain vital DNA evidence, which was found beside a path behind Moulsecoomb railway station

The long road to justice October 10, 1986 - Victims found in woods in Wild Park, Brighton. December 3, 1986 - Bishop charged with the murders. December 10, 1987 - After a four week trial, Bishop is acquitted of both murders and released. February 4, 1990 - Bishop arrested for kidnap, indecent assault and attempted murder of a seven-year-old girl at Devil's Dyke, East Sussex. January 19, 1991 - Bishop convicted of kidnap, indecent assault and attempted murder and sentenced to life with a minimum of 14 years. July 2002 - Babes in the Wood case subject to review and DNA profiling, but was not a success. April 2005 - Double jeopardy laws - on people being able to be tried twice for same offence twice - are changed. January 2006 - Forensic tests link Bishop and the Pinto sweatshirt. Autumn 2006 - Families of both victims informed there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a fresh case against Bishop. 2011-2012 - Cold case review of the murders. November 3, 2013 - Full reinvestigation of forensics. May 10, 2016 - Russell Bishop rearrested. December 2017 - His acquittal was quashed. December 2018 - He is finally convicted of the murders. Advertisement

He was already serving a life sentence for the attempted murder of a third little girl in 1990.

The jury at Lewes Crown Court heard expert evidence from forensic psychiatrists who agreed Ms Johnson was infatuated with her violent partner.

Dr Ian Cumming said there was evidence to show Ms Johnson was infatuated with Bishop.

'Knowing what a relationship is like is as an outsider is problematic.

'There were certainly elements of infatuation,' Dr Cumming said.

'He was very important to her at the time for a lot of different reasons.'

The doctor agreed Ms Johnson was still concerned about Bishop coming after her more than 20 years after he was jailed.

Chris Henley QC for the defence as the psychiatrist if there was a profound traumatic legacy of her relationship with Bishop.

'She still lives in fear of him,' he said.

Dr Cumming replied: 'I think it's fair to say that.'

There was no independent reports which could confirm the elements of coercive control in their relationship, the psychiatrist said.

In transcripts of a 2019 police interview read out in court yesterday, Johnson called Bishop a 'monster' who used to 'batter' and 'control' her.

Johnson is charged with perjury and perverting the course of justice. She has denied the charges, and is set to claim she was under duress at the time.

Johnson claimed Bishop told her to lie about the blue Pinto sweatshirt which linked him to the Babes in the Wood murder scene at his trial in 1987.

Bishop being found not guilty of Karen and Nicola's murders 'caused devastation' for the girls' families but there was 'another terrible consequence', a jury was told: Bishop went on to attack another girl in 1990.

During the 2019 Sussex Police interview - after Bishop was locked away for life - Johnson said: 'It's a nightmare and I'm still living it,'

'He's a monster. I lived my life in fear.

Johnson (pictured under a coat outside Lewes Crown Court) - who had three children with Bishop - has admitted lying in court to protect him in 1987

The girls were found dead in this 'den' in undergrowth in Wild Park, Brighton after the going missing the previous night

Blunders that let the killer go free Bishop's first trial in 1987 saw a series of blunders which led to his acquittal. Bishop's sweatshirt, which was central to the case, was initially treated as lost property.

It was put in a brown paper bag as 'no one thought it was important' during the search for the girls.

Forensic science only allowed experts to say the jumper and the girls 'could' have been in contact with each other.

Human hairs and fibres found on Nicola's body were not tested.

The 'Pinto' jumper was widely available in shops across the country, so may not have been Bishops.

Bishop's partner Jennifer Johnson initially identified the jumper as his, but then denied it when she took the witness stand. Advertisement

'I'm still living my life in fear. I met a monster, I didn't even know but I was young.

'Young, naive and weak. This nightmare will never end, it will never end. They should've brought back hanging.'

Johnson told police Bishop blamed her for his arrest in 1986 and his conviction in 1990.

'I put him inside and he said he would come after me and kill me.

'I used to be petrified. I knew he was coming after me.

'The day I heard he was never coming out, I thought this is when my life starts.

'I know he used to batter me but I didn't and I still don't understand how he could do what he's done.

'He controlled me but you couldn't say it in those days.

'Police just said it was domestic.'

On the blue sweatshirt, Johnson said: 'He told me to say it wasn't his. I had no choice back then.

'That's all he said. I knew what the consequences would be.

'I put him in there, that's what he used to say, because I said it was his Pinto.

'He always said he would come out and get me. I had to survive to save my own children.

'No-one has lived my life. No-one has lived my hell.

'My life is a disaster because I met the wrong person when I was young.'

Jennifer Johnson denies perverting the course of justice and perjury.

The trial at Lewes Crown Court continues.
Schematic illustration of the interplay of magnetism and superconductivity in a graphene grain boundary, a potential building block for carbon-based topological qubits Credit: Jose Lado/Aalto University

In the quantum realm, electrons can group together to behave in interesting ways. Magnetism is one of these behaviors that we see in our day-to-day life, as is the rarer phenomena of superconductivity. Intriguingly, these two behaviors are often antagonists, meaning that the existence of one of them often destroys the other. However, if these two opposite quantum states are forced to coexist artificially, an elusive state called a topological superconductor appears, which is exciting for researchers trying to make topological qubits.

Topological qubits are exciting as one of the potential technologies for future quantum computers. In particular, topological qubits provide the basis for topological quantum computing, which is attractive because it is much less sensitive to interference from its surroundings from perturbing the measurements. However, designing and controlling topological qubits has remained a critically open problem, ultimately due to the difficulty of finding materials capable of hosting these states, such as topological superconductors.

To overcome the elusiveness of topological superconductors, which are remarkably hard to find in natural materials, physicists have developed methodologies to engineer these states by combining common materials. The basic ingredients to engineer topological superconductorsmagnetism and superconductivityoften require combining dramatically different materials. What's more, creating a topological superconducting material requires being able to finely tune the magnetism and superconductivity, so researchers have to prove that their material can be both magnetic and superconductive at the same time, and that they can control both properties. In their search for such a material, researchers have turned to graphene.

Graphenea single layer of carbon atomsrepresents a highly controllable and common material and has been raised as one of the critical materials for quantum technologies. However, the coexistence of magnetism and superconductivity has remained elusive in graphene, despite long-standing experimental efforts that demonstrated the existence of these two states independently. This fundamental limitation represents a critical obstacle towards the development of artificial topological superconductivity in graphene.

In a recent breakthrough experiment, researchers at the UAM in Spain, CNRS in France, and INL in Portugal, together with the theoretical support of Prof. Jose Lado at Aalto University, have demonstrated an initial step along a pathway towards topological qubits in graphene. The researchers demonstrated that single layers of graphene can host simultaneous magnetism and superconductivity, by measuring quantum excitations unique to this interplay. This breakthrough finding was accomplished by combining the magnetism of crystal domains in graphene, and the superconductivity of deposited metallic islands.

"This experiment shows that two key paradigmatic quantum orders, superconductivity, and magnetism, can simultaneously coexist in graphene," said Professor Jose Lado, "Ultimately, this experiment demonstrates that graphene can simultaneously host the necessary ingredients for topological superconductivity. While in the current experiment we have not yet observed topological superconductivity, building on top of this experiment we can potentially open a new pathway towards carbon-based topological qubits."

The researchers induced superconductivity in graphene by depositing an island of a conventional superconductor close to grain boundaries, naturally forming seams in the graphene which have a slightly different magnetic properties to the rest of the material. The superconductivity and grain boundary magnetism was demonstrated to give rise to Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states, which can only exists in a material when magnetism and superconductivity coexisting together. The phenomena the team observed in the experiment matched up with the theoretical model developed by Professor Lado, showing that the researchers can fully control the quantum phenomena in their designer hybrid system.

The demonstration of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states in graphene is the first step towards the ultimate development of graphene-based topological qubits. In particular, by carefully controlling Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states, topological superconductivity and Majorana states can be created. Topological qubits based on Majorana states can potentially drastically overcome the limitations of current qubits, protecting quantum information by exploiting the nature of these unconventional states. The emergence of these states requires meticulous control of the system parameters. The current experiment establishes the critical starting point towards this goal, which can be built upon to hopefully open a disruptive road to carbon-based topological quantum computers.

Explore further Discovery of a mechanism for making superconductors more resistant to magnetic fields

More information: Eva Cortesdel Rio et al, Observation of YuShibaRusinov States in Superconducting Graphene, Advanced Materials (2021). Journal information: Advanced Materials Eva Cortesdel Rio et al, Observation of YuShibaRusinov States in Superconducting Graphene,(2021). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202008113
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Shyanne Wipps mental health has suffered during the pandemic.

She lost her job and is unable to travel to Ontario to see her grandmother or travel to Norway House to visit her aunts, uncles and cousins.

Shyanne Wipp

"I really miss the winter and summer fairs. I miss the rodeos and going to church in Winkler, " she told The Sun in a telephone interview.

"Im on a scale of all right to depressed," she said.

"There are some days I feel like theres no hope of the virus being defeated. Every day I feel so sad and depressed ever since the pandemic. It has really affected me. Whats even harder is, I am 34 and single."

Wipp answered a Facebook question The Sun posted online asking readers to describe their encounter with grief during the pandemic.

Wipp is just one of many who has been affected by the emotional fallout of the pandemic.

She has lived in Brandon for her entire life and identifies as half Cree and holds a status card.

When the pandemic struck, she lost her job as a housekeeper at a hotel in town for which she was working close to full-time hours.

She has just started back to work as a casual employee a couple of weeks ago. In the meantime, she was also able to pick up a few shifts at a local food delivery service and delivering flyers to make ends meet.

The $200 dip in her monthly income has stressed her out.

"I wasnt sure how my finances would turn out," she said. "I was stressed out. ... Being alone has affected me a lot. In a way, Im feeling down. I have no kids, I have nobody. Thats really hard."

Marion Cooper is the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association for Winnipeg and Manitoba. She said in an interview with CTV on March 12 that due to the prolonged nature of the pandemic, "we saw early on, an impact on mental health."

"As things have continued, we see that impacting peoples psychological, emotional and social well-being."

At first, Wipp wasnt convinced the COVID-19 virus was cause for concern.

As she educated herself, she realized the urgency in staying safe.

"Its really upsetting over the anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers. I almost got into a fistfight with some of them."

She also recalled a church she visited during the early stages of the pandemic. She said the pastor told parishioners the vaccine was the mark of the beast and contained a microchip.

"I was being driven by fear," she said.

A friend tried to convince her of the same thing.

"I cant talk to those people anymore."

She stopped going to that church and separated herself from people who were conspiracy theorists, she said.

Wipps anxiety almost overtook her and she found herself in the hospital with panic attacks.

"The COVID numbers keep climbing up. When is the virus gonna end and when are we going to get back to normal?" she asked.

She reached out to the Brandon Friendship Centre for help and received counselling to control her anger.

Today, she said shes doing better.

She has learned to control her anger and distance herself from the people who trigger her. The stress isnt worth it, she said. Combined with taking a proactive role and educating herself on the pandemic, she said its helping calm the fear.

"What gets me down the most is when people dont want to wear a mask and think its a conspiracy theory," she said.

"Im not freaking out anymore now that Ive gotten all the facts from the government website, the Sun and talking to people."

She said she feels sorry for those people not listening.

"I feel like the reason why the restrictions are getting stricter is because they could spread it (the virus) a bit more. ... I tell myself not to get too caught up in peoples lies and beliefs. The vaccine is here. I see no problem with it."

Once she receives her COVID-19 vaccine, Wipp hopes shell be able to visit her 90-year-old grandmother in Cambridge, Ont., or see her extended family at Norway House.

"I sure miss the rodeos and the fairs. Last year, I couldnt accept it. This year I can. Because we are trying our best to get those numbers down so we can be together again."

 kkielley@brandonsun.com
The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers and The Rev. Jay Sidebotham serving as keynoters for its Christian formation event, Kanuga begins its transition from virtual to in-person events this summer. There will be time for worship, spiritual growth, reflection, imagining, dreaming and mapping our future with the hope of endless possibilities." Cookie Cantwell, conference coordinator

With The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers and The Rev. Jay Sidebotham serving as keynoters for its Christian formation event, Kanuga begins its transition from virtual to in-person events this summer.

The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers serves as Presiding Bishop Michael Currys Canon for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Creation Care. A well-known author, her latest book, The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline, and New Hope for Beloved Community, was released this month by Church Publishing. Curry says, "This book will make a profound difference for the church in this moment in history."

The Rev. Jay Sidebotham is director of RenewalWorks, a ministry of Forward Movement, and Associate Rector at St. James, Madison Avenue in New York. RenewalWorks seeks to build cultures of discipleship in Episcopal congregations, with a singular focus on spiritual growth among congregants. He has served parishes in Washington, DC, NYC, Illinois and North Carolina. A graduate of Trinity College and Union Theological Seminary, prior to seminary study, he worked in New York in animation, illustration and advertising. He appreciates the opportunity to produce cartoons for the wider church, describing the joys and challenges of parish ministry.

While some presenters will conduct sessions virtually, the majority, including both Spellers and Sidebotham, will be at Kanuga for the event. We want to show everyone what a safe, socially distanced, nourishing time in the spirit can look and feel like, says Spellers.

Kanuga Christian Formation, created in 1928, will be the first event held in-person since Kanuga suspended operations for several months in 2020.

Its been an incredibly hard year. We are enthusiastic and joyful to be able to begin anew, and to once again serve as a holy ground for the sacred connections between each other and Creation, says Executive VP for Mission Jimmy Haden.

The theme for the gathering, Light on the Path, reflects the difficulties of the past year as well as hope for the future. Cookie Cantwell, event coordinator, says that her team of volunteers is working hard to provide an experience that will help participants navigate the challenges and joys of life, formation, and ministry. There are lights in our lives that show us the way, and we need those lights so we can follow Christ and be the people of God that God wants us to be.

The gathering will allow time for conversations as we consider the path that we have traveled during the past twelve months. There will be time for worship, spiritual growth, reflection, imagining, dreaming and mapping our future with the hope of endless possibilities. The paths that we will travel together will share the light of hope, opportunities, awareness, laughter, joy, and friendships, Cantwell says.

Kanuga Christian Formation is open to all who want to learn and to gather with old friends and new, both lay and ordained.

For a full list of presenters, program snapshot, schedule, registration, rates, and lodging information, visit Kanuga.org/Conferences. Registration is open through May 24.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was produced in collaboration with The News & Reporter of Chester, an Uncovered partner.

COLUMBIA  The call could come at any time. It didnt matter if deputies were on patrol, completing training or keeping tabs on a known criminal.

The lieutenants instructions were always the same: Drop everything. Weve got to go to the sheriffs place.

Deputies at the Chester County Sheriffs Office knew what that meant. For weeks at a time, they were regularly called away from their professional duties for work days at the personal property of Sheriff Alex Big A Underwood.

On the sheriffs 11-acre tract in piney Chester, deputies in plain clothes cut firewood and hauled rocks from a stream. They landscaped and graded the land around a pond. They devoted dozens of hours to renovating an old horse stable into a party barn  decked out with wired lighting, a stage, sound system and fully-stocked bar.

MAN CAVE, a sign beside the bar read.

These work days  unwittingly funded by taxpayers  were just one of the many ways Underwood leveraged his powerful position to benefit himself, a pattern of behavior that would ultimately catch the attention of federal investigators and play out in a high-stakes criminal trial. The picture that emerged from testimony was that of a rogue lawman who bent the system to his will.

During Underwoods seven-year reign as Chester Countys top cop, he ordered deputies to spy on and ticket his political opponents. He and top deputies collected paychecks for work they didnt perform at a DUI checkpoint, skimming money from their own employees who did the work.

And when Underwood siphoned public money to fund first-class travel for himself and his wife, an employee was ordered to white out and falsify details of the spending so the county treasurer wouldnt catch on.

Underwood and his supporters defended his behavior, describing the sheriff as a good boss and dedicated public servant whose worst offenses were nothing more than minor policy infractions.

Federal prosecutors saw it another way. His conduct, much of which was first exposed by The Post and Courier in a string of 2019 investigative stories, prompted federal indictments alleging public corruption, abuse of power and obstruction.

On April 23, a jury of 12 deliberated less than 10 hours before returning a resounding verdict: Underwood  along with two of his top deputies  were guilty of breaking the same laws that, as career law enforcement officers, they swore to uphold.

Underwood and former deputies Johnny Neal and Robert Sprouse, who will each be sentenced this summer, were convicted on a combined 23 counts. The charges on which they were convicted carry sentences of three decades or more if stacked together, but prosecutors expect each man to face no more than 20 years behind bars.

Underwood is just the latest example of South Carolinas disturbing trend of crooked sheriffs. Over the past 11 years, 14 sheriffs among the states 46 counties were charged with crimes  more than one in four. Underwood is the 13th to be convicted.

His downfall comes amid The Post and Couriers Uncovered project. The newspaper is partnering with 16 local news outlets to expose how public officials across South Carolina abuse their power when they think no one is watching.

Underwoods nine-day federal trial offered a rare window into how that kind of corruption manifests when officials wield near-absolute power, and how employees and taxpayers fall victim along the way.

In example after example, deputies testified about being caught in the middle. They were bound by state law that requires them to serve at the pleasure of the sheriff. Even facing a corrupt agenda, they felt pressure to go along.

Asked later why they listened to their boss, they said they had no choice.

You werent allowed to have personal feelings about what you were directed to do, testified Brad Bowers, a former narcotics lieutenant. You just did what you were told, or you knew you didnt have a job.

Above the law

Underwood broke barriers with his election as Chester Countys first Black sheriff in 2012, promising to bring professionalism to the sheriffs office and put an end to the good ol boys" system.

But in the end, he proved to be more of the same. Its just the latest chapter in South Carolinas legacy of sheriffs intoxicated with the might of their positions, wielding immense powers with little oversight.

South Carolinas sheriffs have bullied employees and treated themselves to lavish perks on the public dime. They have ordered deputies to surveil and harass political opponents and stolen taxpayer dollars. They have been accused of sexual misconduct and lying to cover up their wrongdoing.

The cases, detailed in The Post and Couriers 2019 investigation Above the Law, date back as far as Darlington Sheriff Grover Bryants arrest during a federal moonshine sting in 1964. But the lawlessness picked up again in recent years.

In the past 16 months, sheriffs in Colleton, Florence and Chester counties have been convicted of crimes ranging from corruption, to theft, to domestic violence. Another sheriff, David Taylor of Union, was indicted last year on charges of misconduct in office and disseminating obscene material. Those charges are still pending.

Like those sheriffs, Underwood and his top deputies made a critical mistake, prosecutors argued: They thought the rules  the law  didnt apply to them.

Underwoods own attorneys at least partly agreed. They posited that as sheriff, Underwood could spend public money however he wanted.

Ordering deputies to monitor, cite and arrest the sheriffs political opponents was OK as long as those people were guilty of the wrongdoing that Underwood had suspected.

Building the party barn was nothing more than a team-building exercise, they suggested, since the sheriff hosted annual Christmas parties there. Besides, it wasnt as nice as prosecutors suggested, Underwood attorney Stanley Myers said.

Its a barn, Underwood attorney Stanley Myers told the jury. They want to make it sound as if its the Taj Mahal.

A personal issue

But testimony from Underwoods former deputies laid bare the myriad ways they were expected to do his bidding.

Like when deputies helped tear the walls out of Underwoods old stable. That was the piece of the sheriffs property he had converted into a party barn.

Bowers, a former narcotics lieutenant, and half a dozen other deputies testified they spent as many as 40 hours  during work days  completing that and other projects at Underwoods home. Neal, the lieutenant, instructed deputies to report the hours on their government timecards, Bowers said.

Then there was the day Bowers spent in Fairfield County  well outside the Chester sheriffs jurisdiction. There, he was ordered to tail the brother-in-law of Richard Smith, Chesters former sheriff with whom Underwood had quarreled.

Bowers followed the man for 30 minutes in an unmarked car, tailing him from a Fairfield boat landing to his home in Chester. Other agents were positioned along the route, watching for any wrongdoing.

Underwoods department did not alert Fairfield authorities to its investigation, even though that was customary. Underwood said he suspected the man was driving drunk. Bowers had other suspicions.

It was a personal issue, Bowers testified at trial.

In another May 2015 incident, orders came down for a team of deputies to spy on a group of Chester officials while they dined at a breakfast spot in Richburg, a small town just east of Chester. The word was that Underwood counted all of them among his political opponents.

The next month, Underwood instructed Deputy Matt Faile to tail state Sen. Creighton Coleman and pull him over for speeding. Underwood didnt give a reason. But Coleman and Underwood didnt get along. So, Faile stopped the senator and ticketed him.

At the time, Angel Underwood  the sheriffs wife and Chesters chief magistrate  was under investigation for failing to disqualify herself when handling the sheriffs cases in court. Meanwhile, Coleman expressed concerns about reappointing her.

Angel Underwood faced a suspension, but was later reinstated by the South Carolina Supreme Court. She remains the countys chief magistrate. Coleman lost reelection in 2016, and Faile eventually dismissed the ticket.

In the earlier incident, at the breakfast diner, deputies kept tabs on a former county supervisor, a local fire chief, a Chester schools superintendent and the county coroner. Underwoods department referred to them as The Breakfast Club.

John Hunter, then a narcotics deputy for Underwood, watched the group from an unmarked car that Underwoods department had seized. The deputy used a department long-lens camera to photograph each of the groups vehicle tags. Another deputy, undercover, sat at a booth inside the diner and eavesdropped.

Were you aware of any law enforcement purpose? Rebecca Schuman, a federal prosecutor, asked Hunter at trial.

No, maam, he responded.

Hunter turned in his photos and some notes to Sprouse, Underwoods chief deputy. But unlike other investigations, Hunter wrote no report. I was told it was off the record, he said.

An oversight

It wasnt the last time Sprouse sought to obscure Underwoods behavior on the sheriffs behalf.

In 2017, Underwood and Sprouse attended a law enforcement conference in Reno, Nev. The pair brought their wives, and Underwood booked first-class tickets to get there  spending more than $5,600 from a government account.

At the time, Sprouse approached Hope Bradley, an administrative assistant. She testified that Sprouse asked her to disguise the fact that he and Underwoods wives attended the trip. The county was unlikely to approve that spending, since it broke policy.

Bradley whited out their names on travel documents, and in the purchase order sent to the county treasurer, Underwoods department falsely wrote that two deputies attended the trip with Underwood and Sprouse.

Two years later, The Post and Courier obtained records showing that Underwood and Sprouses wives had actually accompanied them.

The day after the newspaper reached out to Underwood, Sprouse walked into the treasurers office with checks reimbursing the county for the trip. Sprouse suggested the matter had simply slipped the sheriffs mind, describing it as an oversight.

Bradley saw it another way. He knew he didnt pay it, she testified. I know he knew they didnt pay it."

When asked at the time why he flew first class, Underwood told the newspaper he is a very large man with prior knee surgeries and ongoing medical issues. He charged taxpayers to upgrade to a king-sized bed so his feet wouldnt hang off the mattress, he said.

Underwood is 6 feet, 4 inches.

The Post and Courier also first reported in 2019 that he had ordered deputies to renovate his barn. He strongly disputed this at the time, telling the newspaper, Why would I call off an ongoing investigation when I am the sheriff and responsible for public safety? he said.

Ridiculous question, he added.

A manhunt

Underwoods behavior during a November 2018 incident would be called into question for a different reason  for what prosecutors alleged was Underwood retaliating against a resident for simply having the audacity to question him.

A wreck at a DUI checkpoint prompted a large response from Underwoods department, including a helicopter that airlifted a badly injured victim and a manhunt for a driver who had fled the scene.

About 100 yards away, 26-year-old Kevin Simpson live-streamed the incident on Facebook. After Underwood asked the man to step back onto his porch, Simpson shouted out, Now manhunt!

Underwood, carrying a flashlight, reversed course. You got something to say? He grabbed Simpson, who tossed his phone under the house. Neal joined his boss, taking Simpson into custody and placing him under arrest.

Simpson cursed while Neal led him to a department vehicle. Thats when the deputy shoved the handcuffed man.

Allen Culp, a former local fire chief who observed the incident, testified Simpson hit the ground like a sack of taters, and lost his shoe.

The Post and Courier published the video in January 2019. When FBI agent Julie Yelk called Underwoods department to ask about the incident, Yelk learned no report had been written, even though Simpson and his mother spent several days in jail.

Sprouse eventually agreed to speak with Yelk, and produced a report.

Yelk reviewed the timestamp: It was written two months after the incident, and an hour after she called the department.

They covered up

For prosecutors, the Simpson arrest was emblematic of how Underwood and his top deputies ran their office, doing what they wanted to whoever they wanted.

They bullied, Schuman said. They lied. They covered up. And they lied some more.

Over the nine-day trial, jurors  six of them White, six Black  had to weigh competing portrayals of Underwood.

The prosecution portrayed the sheriff as a bully who felt entitled to taxpayer funds and allowed his ego to override his duty to protect and serve.

The jury never heard from Underwood or his top deputies, who chose not to testify. In fact, the defense only called two witnesses, insisting that prosecutors had failed to make their case.

Underwoods attorneys, tearfully at times, insisted the sheriff was a decent man and dedicated servant who only wanted the best for his hometown. They chalked the case up to another abuse of power  overzealous prosecutors who wanted to nail a law enforcement officer over minor infractions.

On the 10th day, after deliberating for more than nine hours, the jury returned to the courtroom. Underwood looked toward them. They mostly averted their eyes.

Underwoods wife, Angel, sat two rows behind him, wringing her hands.

The courtroom settled into silence. A clerk for U.S. Judge Michelle Childs began reading the verdicts, starting with the former sheriff. Guilty.
Forty years ago, the U.S. was a goat cheese wasteland. Outside of Europe, goat cheese  not to mention goat milk, goat kefir, and goat yogurt  simply didnt exist. But in 1978, a small farm in Sebastopol and its owner, Jennifer Bice, changed everything.

Theres no way youd know that Redwood Hill Farm-Capracopia is one of the most productive goat dairies in the country without talking to its humble proprietor. Tucked within the mosaic of farmland flanking Green Valley Road, the land is serene and lush, with an olive grove, hop yard, fruit orchard, flower field and vegetable garden. Several months of the year, baby goats bleat and bounce in the kid nursery while milk-producing nanny goats lounge in beds of fresh hay in the barn and paddocks below.

When Bices parents purchased the small abandoned apple orchard that would become Redwood Hill Farm, goats were never a part of the plan. In 1964, Jennifers dad, Kenneth, a post office worker, transferred from Los Angeles to Sebastopol in search of the quiet life of self-sufficiency promised by the eras back-to-the-land movement. He was joined by his wife, Cynthia, and a brood of children.

Courtesy of Redwood Hill Farm/Capracopia

In their new home, the kids, whod gone from city sidewalks to rural farmland overnight, joined a local 4-H chapter and began raising animals. Goats quickly became the favorite, especially for 10-year-old Jennifer, the oldest of Cynthia and Kenneths 10 children. In those early years, their growing goat herd produced so much milk that the family dumped what they couldnt use. There was nothing else to do with it  that is, until the health food stores came sniffing around.

In the late 1960s in progressive communities from California to New York, health food stores  markets selling local, organic, unprocessed foods  emerged as an alternative for Americans who rejected the Velveeta-and-Jello food culture that then dominated the U.S. Prized for its low levels of lactose and casein, the sugars and amino acids found in high concentrations in milk that sometimes result in dairy intolerance, goats milk had long been exchanged in a sort of underground wellness network. But with the rise of the health food store, those in search of goats milk no longer had to know a guy who knew a guy who had some goats. In 1968, the Bices built their first Grade A goat dairy and began bottling their excess raw milk in glass bottles for sale on the shelves of the new hippie stores.

Courtesy of Redwood Hill Farm/Capracopia

The work was intensive and paid little and, as the Bice children grew, they lost interest in their goats. They didnt see the novelty of farm life, Bice laughs. The family closed their dairy and by the late '70, they moved on to a new adventure in Hawaii. Jennifer, by then in her 20s and newlywed, stayed on the mainland and purchased the property with her goat-loving husband, Steven Schack.

Unlike her parents, when Bice and Schack first took over Redwood Hill Farm, the goats were the only thing on their mind. We loved our goats and showing them and breeding, says Bice, and its clear they still do. Its the goats, not the product they produce, that drive the whole operation.

I trail Bice's youngest brother, farm manager Scott Bice, as he points out the Saanens, an easygoing Swiss breed that are the Holsteins of the goat world, and the LaManchas, a short-legged, tiny-eared heritage breed first brought to California by Spanish missionaries. The Nubians are the beauty queens, he says, pointing at the long-eared ladies, one of Jennifer Bices favorites. Theyre not very smart, he confides. (Later, Scott Bice would let me attempt to snuggle one of the baby Nubians at the nursery. The kid summarily refused my advances.)

Courtesy of Redwood Hill Farm/Capracopia

Next to the barn is the gleaming, state-of-the-art milking dairy where 10 females at a time exchange their milk twice daily for a bucket of grain. Around 80 nannies are milked every season while the others rest and take the time off. Each one delivers about two gallons a day.

While Bice and Schack didnt initially intend to re-establish the dairy side of the operation when they took over Redwood Hill in 1978, they realized that selling the milk meant they could purchase more goats for breeding and showing. These days, Redwood Hill Farms goats are some of the most prized breeding stock in the country, with many national champions among their offspring. The couple returned to bottling, and later yogurt-making, and distributing their products directly to health-conscious markets.

By then, change was afoot in California, and the farm-to-table movement, spearheaded by Alice Waters, was underway. Goat cheese had come to America, not via the shelves of specialty grocery stores, but in the dishes of a new crop of high-end restaurants like Chez Panisse. With the help of a French book on making goat cheese that she translated word for word, Bice eventually mastered making her own chevre in the kitchen on the farm. By 1994, the Bices' shoestring operation had blossomed financially and they built their first creamery.

Courtesy of Redwood Hill Farm/Capracopia

Redwood Hill soon became known for its more complex, French-style rind-ripened goat cheeses  buttery bucheret, earthy crottin and fluffy terra.

Well after the turn of the 21st century, if you wanted American goat cheese west of the Mississippi, these, along with the cheeses produced by Sonomas Laura Chenel and Cypress Groves Mary Keehn in Arcata, were your only options. In 2011, all three were inducted into the American Cheese Societys Academy of Cheese as the countrys first goat cheese pioneers.

With the Bices having laid a foundation for American goat dairies, artisan goat cheese is now ubiquitous. Its nearly impossible to find a high-end California restaurant without some style of local goat cheese on their menu.

Bice remains one of the godmothers of American chevre, shepherding young cheesemakers into the big time through her role in the California Artisan Cheese Guild. But at Redwood Hill Farm, shes returned to her first love, the animals themselves. In 2015, Bice sold the commercial dairy and creamery operations to Emmi, a Swiss company which also now owns Cypress Grove, Cowgirl Creamery and Meyenberg.

Courtesy of Redwood Hill Farm/Capracopia

Selling the creamery allowed us to keep the farm, Bice explains. It was hard for me because Im a very local person, but when I sold to them they kept everybody on and didnt change things. She now lives in the original creamery space  her couch is where the pasteurizer once operated, the dining table where the feta cheese vat once sat. (Schack died of pancreatic cancer in 1999.) And twice a week, milk from her beloved goats is trucked to the original Redwood Hill Farm Creamery, where it is made into Redwood Hill Farm kefir, milk, butter and yogurt and sold across the nation through Whole Foods and other grocers.

Meanwhile, with the help of Scott and others among her nine siblings, along with two nieces and a nephew, Redwood Hill Farms artisan food and flower production continues. And the goats, as they have been since 1968, are still the stars of the show.

Redwood Hill Farm-Capracopia offers private and public farm tours throughout the spring guided by a member of the Bice family. 5480 Thomas Road, Sebastopol, redwoodhillfarm.org.

Shoshi Parks is an anthropologist and freelance writer specializing in history, travel and food.
The late Kieran Brennan

The death has occurred of Kieran Brennan, Dundrum, Dublin and Drumgoole, Castlecomer, Kilkenny. Peacefully at St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin surrounded by his family. Kieran is sadly missed by his wife Christine, children Eoin, Christina, Ciaran, Enda, Ciara and Siobhan, grandchildren, sisters Ann, Kathleen, Rita and brother Michael, daughters-in-law, sisters-in-law, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews, extended family and a large circle of friends.

Requiem Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, April 29 at 11am in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Castlecomer (for immediate family only) followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery.

Kieran's Requiem Mass can be viewed on the parish webcam : castlecomerparish.ie. House private please. Family flowers only please, donations if desired to The Royal Hospital, Donnybrook, Dublin. This will be greatly appreciated by the family who would like to thank you for your sympathy and support at this difficult time.

The late Josie Dolan (nee Phelan)

The death has occurred of Josie Dolan (nee Phelan), Polerone, Mooncoin, Kilkenny. Josie passed away peacefully at her home. Predeceased by her husband Joe, brothers Jimmy, Paddy, Tom and sister Mai. Sadly missed by her loving sisters Bridie, Kitty, Noreen and Dolly, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, extended family and many friends.

Josie's remains will arrive on Thursday at the Church of the Assumption, Mooncoin for Requiem Mass at 11.00am, followed by private cremation. Those wishing to leave a message of condolence for the Dolan and Phelan family please use the online service below. Josie's funeral mass will be live streamed on the following link: http://www.churchservices.tv/mooncoinparish. Funeral mass will be restricted to family and close friends with a maximum of 25 people in attendance.

The late Olivia Dungan (nee Crowley)

The death has occurred of Olivia Dungan (nee Crowley), late of Killandrew, Mullinavat, Kilkenny and formerly of Barrabehy, Moocoin, died April 25. Deeply regretted by her loving husband Paddy, sons Killian and Patrick. Loving daughter of Cissie, sisters Ann and Geraldine, father in law Paddy Snr, mother in law Mary, brothers in law, sisters in law, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

Arriving at St Beacon's Church, Mullinavat, on Thursday, April 29 for funeral Mass at noon, followed by burial afterwards in the Old St Beacon's Cemetery. Click here on Thursday to view live stream of the funeral

HOUSE STRICTLY PRIVATE ON TUESDAY, PLEASE. DUE TO HSE GUIDELINES, OLIVIA'S FUNERAL WILL TAKE PLACE FOR IMMEDIATE FAMILY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CO OPERATION AND CONSIDERATION AT THIS DIFFICULT TIME.

The late Mary Fortune (nee O'Connell)

The death has occurred of Mary Fortune (nee O'Connell), Ard Lachtain, Freshford, Kilkenny. At her residence. Wife of the late Joe. Predeceased by her brother Tommy. Deeply regretted by her loving sons Eddie, Thomas, daughters Mary, Noreen, grandchildren Sean, Molly, Finola, Conor, Ciaran, relatives and friends.

A private Funeral Mass (max.25 people) will take place on Thursday morning in St. Lachtains Church at 11am. Burial afterwards in St Lachtain's Cemetery. Please observe Government guidelines regarding hand shaking and face coverings in Church yard and Cemetery. You may view the Mass on the link https;//www.facebook.com/Tommybutlerlive/live/
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2021) Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Javelin have won a more than $175 million modification contract to provide the US Army with more Javelin Weapon System, including sales to Lithuania and Taiwan, the US Department of Defense announced in a press release.

"Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin [in] Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a $175,936,936 modification ...

contract for the Javelin Weapon System, the release said on Tuesday.

Work on the contract will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of November. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2010 Foreign Military Sales funds for Lithuania and Taiwan and 2021 missile procurement, Army funds in the amount of $175,936,936 were obligated for the deal, the release said.

The US Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal in the state of Alabama is the contracting activity, the release added.
Dong Nai province committed to offer the best conditions for Shire Oak International's rooftop solar projects

The information was shared at a meeting with provincial authorities. Chris Hooun, global strategy director of Shire Oak International Ltd., said that the group wants to invest in the province by cooperating with enterprises, schools, hospitals, agencies, and departments to implement the rooftop solar power project. The group will install all machinery, and once power is available, it will be sold entirely to enterprises and agencies leasing roofs of factories at lower electricity prices than Electricity of Vietnam.

According to Nguyen Thi Hoang, Deputy Chairman of Dong Nai People's Committee, renewable energy attracts and encourages enterprises to invest. As a result, the province would create favourable conditions for Shire Oak International to connect with enterprises in provincial industrial parks, allowing for exchanges and cooperation in rooftop voltage investment. However, the group should pay attention to the regulations on procedures for investing in rooftop voltage to make proper implementation.

Shire Oak International Ltd. was established in 2002, specialising in renewable energy including solar power and wind power. Up to now, the group has implemented over 720 projects in many countries and territories, including Vietnam. As of present, the group has so far completed rooftop solar projects with a total capacity of 12MW in Vietnam. The group aims to expand the capacity to 500MW this year.
Addiction: Tony Parente gambled 282,000 of defrauded funds

The owner of Paddy Power has been accused of plying a fraudster with cash bonuses and free hospitality tickets as he bet hundreds of thousands of pounds of stolen money.

Flutter, a FTSE 100 firm, is defending itself in the High Court against claims it allowed Tony Parente to bet 282,000 of defrauded funds. Paddy Power bookmakers accepted 127,000 in bank notes over the counter over an eight-week period, the court heard, but staff did not raise the alarm.

Parente was allowed to gamble and go to events even after staff labelled his betting as 'wild'. Parente admitted defrauding more than 20 people, including his own sister, to fuel his gambling habit, and he received a suspended jail sentence in 2017.

His ability to bet so much stolen money led to harsh criticism against the gambling industry. Bookmakers are required by law to keep crime out of gambling.

The high-profile case has forced Dan Taylor, chief executive of Flutter's international division, to admit in court that he was 'deeply embarrassed' by what happened.

The court heard how the bookmaker lavished Parente, an addicted gambler, with free tickets to Arsenal games worth 3,000, as well as hospitality days at the Grand National and Cheltenham horse race meetings.

He was allowed to gamble despite senior Paddy Power staff knowing he was based in Dubai, where it is illegal to bet.

Sweetener: Parente was also lavished with hospitality days at the Grand National and Cheltenham (pictured)

Flutter is being sued by a former business associate of Parente, who claims he is owed 282,000.

Amarjeet Singh Dhir alleges that Parente stole from him to feed his habit, and Flutter should have stopped him.

Flutter denies this and is defending the claim.

The court heard that Parente, 41, suffered from a severe gambling addiction, and lost 3.4million over three years with Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, Bet365 and William Hill.

He signed up to Paddy Power in 2015 after he was scouted by a professional introducer, called Tony Carroll.

He was known to be a big spender, and so was given a 20,000 sign-on bonus to encourage him to switch from Ladbrokes.

Embarrassed: Flutter chief Dan Taylor

But, according to the claim, there were immediate signs his gambling was out of control.

Staff labelled him a 'wild man' after he staked 548,000 in a day, but his account was not suspended and he continued to be given tickets to events.

A few months later Parente admitted he had gambled cash given to him by investors, and that he had a 'serious' gambling problem.

In an email, sent to Carroll, he said: 'I have been guilty of using my company funds and abusing the trust of investors by gambling their funds.

'Due to the nature of my business I had access to funds which are not all mine. 'I have been troubled for some time and trying to cope with what I now know is a serious problem.'

It was not until October 2016 that Parente banned himself from Paddy Power's website.

By then records show he had handed over huge sums of cash to a Paddy Power shop in north London.

On one day in September 2016, he handed over 21,900 in cash, followed by a 15,000 deposit a week later.

Kennedy Talbot QC, representing Dhir, told the court last week: 'Mr Parente had confessed that he was a problem gambler and, on that basis alone, he should never have been admitted to an account.

'Mr Carroll also certainly had the knowledge by January 2016 that Mr Parente was stealing to fund his habit.'

In its defence, Paddy Power said that it did not know that Parente was an addict, or betting stolen money, as Carroll was not an employee or 'agent' of the firm.

Flutter executive Dan Taylor added: 'Our approach to responsible gambling was not good enough. Mr Parente was able to spend more than was affordable and, for that, I'm deeply embarrassed.'

Parente was never punished for taking Dhir's money because the tycoon elected not to press charges. Parente was convicted for a separate fraud committed in the UK.

The case has revealed some of the tactics used by the major bookmakers to win over high-flying customers.

Tony Carroll, and his wife Ericka, were paid a quarter of their clients' losses, and were expected to bank around 130,000 for introducing big-spending gamblers to Paddy Power.

Flutter, which also owns Betfair and Sky Bet, cancelled outstanding personal introducer agreements last year in a victory for the Mail.

Campaigners believe the practice discouraged introducers from raising concerns over problem gambling or potential criminal activity.

The row came a month after former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson, who was one of the gambling industry's most vocal critics when he was an MP, joined Flutter's board as a paid adviser.

He had previously described Paddy Power as 'dirty and money-grabbing'.

In October 2018 Flutter was fined 2.2million for failing to protect vulnerable customers showing signs of addiction.

Tony and Ericka Carroll are not involved in the court proceedings, and have previously declined to comment on their role as professional introducers.

The case, before Mr Justice Griffiths, continues.
A 52-year-old Montgomery woman has been charged federally with COVID-19 loan fraud, accused of using CARES Act money to pay herself, her family and to buy luxury vehicles.

Zsa Zsa Bouvier Couch was arrested Monday, according to a Wednesday announcement by Middle District of Alabama Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. Couch made her first court appearance in federal court Tuesday in Montgomery.

The allegations against Couch relate to aid received through the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, which authorizes the disbursement of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses.

According to the indictment against Couch, she is alleged to have submitted at least six fraudulent applications for loans under the U.S. Small Business Administrations PPP program seeking over $1.6 million in funds. In each of the applications, authorities said, Couch falsely inflated the number of employees who worked for her purported businesses as well as the average monthly payroll for the businesses, which resulted in her ability to qualify for larger PPP loan amounts.

Couch reportedly also made other false statements in her application, such as failing to disclose that she had applied for multiple PPP loans for the same business and failed to disclose her common ownership of multiple businesses. In support of the inflated employee numbers and average monthly payroll claimed in the applications, Couch allegedly submitted falsified tax documents.

As a result, the indictment states, Couch received an inflated amount of funds from PPP loans to which she was not entitled. Ultimately, she received a total of $609,687.47 of PPP funds. She is accused of then using that money to pay herself, her husband, and other family members and to purchase luxury vehicles.

Couch is charged with multiple counts of bank fraud, making false statements to a federally insured bank, and money laundering. If convicted, she faces a maximum of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigations, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alice LaCour and Jonathan Ross are prosecuting the case.
STOCKHOLM, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bambuser experienced its best quarter since inception, with robust global demand lifting sales +844 percent. During the quarter, Bambuser strengthened enterprise partnerships and converted many short-term pilot and proof of concept agreements to long-term contractual relationships. As a result, the Company saw a significant increase in monthly recurring revenue (MRR), which grew 63 percent compared to Q4 2020 and 550 percent versus the first quarter of 2020. The interim report has now been published and can be found at bambuser.com/ir.

During Q1 2021, Bambuser enhanced its product offering, adding the One-to-Many Starter and One-to-Many Lite solutions. Bambuser expanded its market presence, opening an office in Tokyo to seize opportunities throughout the APAC region. Business development efforts also accelerated in Latin America, DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and the U.S.

First quarter of 2021 (January - March 2021)

Total contract value (TCV) of new agreements: 29.8 MSEK

Total income: 21.3 MSEK (2.7), +682% YoY

Net sales: 16.7 MSEK (1.8), +844% YoY

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): 3.9 MSEK (0.6), +550% YoY

Net income: -55.5 MSEK (-7.2)

EBIT: -55.6 MSEK (-7.2)

Earnings per share of -0.28 SEK (-0.07)

(-0.07) Cash at end of period: 744.2 MSEK (7.5)

For environmental and cost reasons, Bambuser AB has decided not to print the report. A printout may be distributed to shareholders upon request.

This disclosure contains information that Bambuser is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person, on April 28, 2021, 08:00 CEST.

Contact information

Sherry Smith, Corporate Communications, Bambuser AB | +46 8 400 160 00 | ir@bambuser.com

Certified Adviser

Erik Penser Bank AB | +46 8 463 83 00 | certifiedadviser@penser.se

About Bambuser AB

Bambuser is a software company specializing in interactive live video streaming. The Company's primary product, Live Video Shopping, is a cloud-based software solution that is used by customers such as global e-commerce and retail businesses to host live shopping experiences on websites, mobile apps and social media. Bambuser was founded in 2007 and has its headquarters in Stockholm.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/bambuser/r/bambuser-ab-publishes-interim-report-for-q1-2021,c3335046

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Two students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, kidnapped on Sunday, have been released by their abductors.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the students, Israel Kwaghnger and Salifu Solomon Odoma, were dropped off by the kidnappers on Tuesday night.

They later found their way to the school barefooted, tracing the rays from the solar-powered light in the school premises, Pius Adais, president of the Students Union body, told our correspondent.

Mr Adai said the two students were taken to the hospital and discharged after medical tests.

He said although the students said the kidnappers talked with their parents and demanded ransom, it was not clear if it was paid.

But, Solomon, the other one, has travelled to meet his parents in Kogi State earlier this morning, the President added.

The Dean of Students Affairs of the institution, Terhemen Aboiyar, also confirmed their release, restating that the students were unhurt and are in good condition.

They were released unhurt and they were certified medically okay by the hospital, Mr Aboiyar said on Wednesday.

The rate of kidnapping for ransom and violent killings spiked in the last seven days, having reported over 40 persons kidnapped and 200 killed last week.

Many Nigerians as well as lawmakers have called for an urgent action by the federal government to salvage the worsening security situation.
Imperial Valley News Center

South African Freedom Day

Washington, DC - Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State: "On behalf of the people of the United States, I congratulate all South Africans on the 27th anniversary of your countrys historic 1994 democratic elections.

"Freedom Day offers an opportunity to underscore the strong U.S.-South Africa relationship, which was founded on our two countries shared principles of democracy and human rights. The robust health partnership between our countries has also served as a pillar of our relationship, especially in our work together to overcome COVID-19.

"The United States reaffirms its commitment to partner with South Africa to improve the health of our peoples, boost our economic and commercial ties, and strengthen collaboration to ensure the safety and security of our citizens and people everywhere. I hope we may also expand our collaboration to address the threat of climate change and mitigate its impacts.

"Please accept my best wishes on this important anniversary and the year ahead."
Heartbeat abortion ban, 2 other pro-life bills signed into law in Oklahoma: 'Keeping my promise'

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Oklahoma has become the latest state to pass a law that prohibits abortions performed on an unborn baby with a detectable heartbeat in nearly all circumstances.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 2441 into law on Monday. The measure bans abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected, except for a life-threatening medical emergency for the mother.

The bill does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

No person shall perform or induce an abortion upon a pregnant woman without first detecting whether or not her unborn child has a heartbeat, reads the law.

No person shall perform or induce an abortion upon a pregnant woman after such time as her unborn child has been determined to have a detectable heartbeat except if, in reasonable medical judgment, she has a condition that so complicates her medical condition that it necessitates the abortion 

Stitt also signed House Bill 1904, which requires abortion providers to be board-certified in gynecology and obstetrics, and House Bill 1102, which labels abortion unprofessional conduct unless performed to save the life of a mother.

I'm keeping my promise to sign all pro-life legislation. We now have three more laws protecting the lives of the unborn, tweeted Stitt on Monday.

HB 2441, the heartbeat abortion ban, enjoyed strong support in the Oklahoma legislature, passing the House of Representatives by a vote of 80-19 and the Senate by a vote of 37-10.

According to The Oklahoman, the Republican vowed to sign all pro-life legislation that came across his desk when he campaigned for governor in 2018.

The governor's signing of the "heartbeat bill" drew opposition from Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider.

Gloria Pedro, regional manager of public policy for Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, told CNN in a statement that such a bill could potentially block abortions before women discover they are pregnant.

"Aside from being unconstitutional, it's incredibly unfair and patronizing to women," she contended. "We've seen bans like this fail time and time again, so it's a real waste of taxpayers' money and it just shows that the Legislature has their priorities wrong in the middle of a pandemic."

Recently, multiple states have passed laws that prohibit abortions when an unborn baby's heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

Although many states, including Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee, have passed similar laws in recent years, they have frequently been blocked or struck down in court.

In March, U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis issued a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of a heartbeat bill passed in South Carolina.

 it is nothing short of baffling when Defendants here make the fanciful, misbegotten, and misguided argument that the Act is constitutional, although surely, all the while knowing full well that it is not, wrote Lewis, an Obama appointee.

In the last few years, hundreds of abortion-related laws have been passed by states nationwide.

On the same day that Stitt signed the three pro-life laws for Oklahoma, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte also signed three pro-life laws for his state.

They included an act banning abortions when an unborn baby can feel pain at about five months of pregnancy.

Gianforte also signed a measure that increases restrictions on abortion pill access and a requirement that healthcare providers give a woman seeking an abortion the chance to undergo an ultrasound before having the procedure.

Today, we are taking action to protect the most vulnerable among us: the unborn, Gianforte said during a signing ceremony. We are celebrating life.
The battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen has really begun in 2021. Up until now this has always been fairly sporting and there has never been more than a little contact between the two during the races. David Coulthard thinks the two could still hit each other at some point this season.

The battle between Verstappen and Hamilton currently stands at one to one. This weekend the two will tussle further in the third race of this season. Coulthard says in conversation with the Daily Mail that this season has everything to become a 'classic season'.

Classic season in the making

"Weve seen two great races, hopefully we will have a third and at some point those guys are going to come to blows," Coulthard revealed. The Scot is referring to the first corner in Imola, where there was already slight contact between Verstappen and Hamilton.

"I'm not, of course, advocating contact between two race cars but God does it give us some memorable moments. I think it has got all the hallmarks of a classic season," said Coulthard. This weekend Verstappen and Hamilton will continue their battle at the Portuguese circuit of Portimao.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28)  At least five Chinese Coast Guard ships have remained in the West Philippine Sea, despite the Philippines' continued filing of diplomatic protests against their presence in waters under the country's jurisdiction.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported Wednesday the "continued illegal presence" of three Chinese Coast Guard vessels in Bajo de Masinloc or the Panatag Shoal off Zambales, one in the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan, and another one in Ayungin Shoal .

"These incursions 'are under review' for possible filing of diplomatic actions," the NTF-WPS said in its statement, where it reported on its monitoring activities during the period April 15 to 22.

It added that there were no direct incidents between the CCG and Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea during that period. An average of 20 Filipino fishing and service boats were also monitored fishing within Bajo de Masinloc.

In an interview with CNN Philippines' The Source, task force chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said nine Chinese vessels were last spotted in Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef) west of Palawan Island, but authorities are still determining how many of them are militias and fishing vessels.

"We are currently studying this. We know that some of them are Chinese maritime militias, we know that some are Chinese fishing vessels. But if you have 200 [that were previously] there, if they are fishing vessels, they could be getting so much fish. If they are Chinese maritime militia, then they are a force to be reckoned with," he said.

The NTF-WPS reminded "all stakeholders in the region of their respective commitments under the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," and underscored "the importance of diplomacy and sincere discussion in exploring areas of cooperation."

The Philippine Coast Guard, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the Philippine National Police Maritime Group are already working together to send out vessels for law enforcement and for the safety of Filipino fishermen, the task force noted.

Esperon said maritime patrols and capacity building exercises are ongoing in the municipality of Kalayaan, Bajo de Masinloc, and other areas amid continued CCG presence.

"We are deploying more Bureau of Fisheries assets and Coast Guard assets...some of the exercises are even done within our territorial seas, 12 nautical miles beyond our shorelines. But we can perfectly do it within our EEZ," he said.

Beijing continues to reject the 2016 landmark ruling of the arbitral tribunal in The Hague which recognized the Philippines' sovereign rights in areas within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelf that Beijing contests.

The Department of Foreign Affairs previously said at least 78 diplomatic protests have been filed against China under the Duterte administration.
[April 28, 2021] DE-CIX New York Wins Best of Manhattan Award

DE-CIX, the world's leading carrier and data center neutral Internet Exchange (IX) operator, announces that DE-CIX New York, the largest IX in the New York and New Jersey metro markets, received recognition by the Best of Manhattan Awards for the company's quality marketing efforts during the pandemic. The Best of Manhattan Awards selected DE-CIX (News - Alert) New York for "their ability to use various marketing methods to grow their business in spite of difficult economic times." The annual Best of Manhattan Award Program honors the best local businesses for their accomplishments and achievements, particularly measuring business growth. The program works with local business owners, professional associations, and marketing groups who contribute to the US Economy, recognizing their commitment to customer service and community involvement. The award is presented to companies that "implement programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value." "We are honored to be recognized for the ability to adapt during difficult times, as wefocused on celebrating our partner and community successes to bring the industry together, virtually," comments Stephan Rohloff, CMO for DE-CIX. "A key driver for these efforts was our North American Virtual Summit, a virtual, video-based program we hosted in December 2020. The summit was a holistic compilation of our North American services, partnerships and expanding capabilities, forming a foundational point to announce the addition of two new multi-service IX locations in the US - Chicago and Richmond."



DE-CIX North America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DE-CIX and operates four IXs including Chicago, Dallas, New York, and Richmond. The company's multi-service platform offers companies a world of interconnection solutions including peering (GlobePEER), cloud connectivity (DirectCLOUD), and the Microsoft (News - Alert) Azure Peering Service (MAPS) for one-hop access to Microsoft business services including 365. DE-CIX's global IXs in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia together form the world's largest neutral interconnection ecosystem, with more than 2,200 networks connected. With DE-CIX's expansion in North America, the company now also operates the largest carrier and data center neutral interconnection ecosystem in the US. To learn more about DE-CIX New York and the company's industry-leading multi-service interconnection platform, visit www.de-cix.net.

About the Manhattan Award Program The Manhattan Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community's contributions to the U.S. economy. About DE-CIX DE-CIX (German Commercial Internet Exchange) is one of the world's leading operators of Internet Exchanges. In total, in its 28 locations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America, DE-CIX provides over 2200 network operators, Internet service providers (ISPs) and content providers from more than 100 countries with peering and interconnection services. The connected customer capacity of all DE-CIX locations worldwide exceeds 70 Terabits. Taken into operation in 1995, DE-CIX in Frankfurt, Germany, with a data throughput of more than 10 Terabits per second (Tbps) and over 1000 connected networks, is one of the largest Internet Exchanges in the world. Further information at www.de-cix.net. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005155/en/

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New York: Federal investigators in Manhattan have executed a search warrant at the Upper East Side apartment of Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who became president Donald Trumps personal lawyer, stepping up a criminal investigation into Giulianis dealings in Ukraine, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

One of the people said the investigators had seized Giulianis electronic devices.

Electronic devices were seized from Rudy Giulianis New York apartment, sources said. Credit:AP

Executing a search warrant is an extraordinary move for prosecutors to take against a lawyer, let alone a lawyer for a former president, and it marks a major turning point in the long-running investigation into Giuliani.

The federal authorities have been largely focused on whether Giuliani illegally lobbied the Trump administration in 2019 on behalf of Ukrainian officials and oligarchs, who at the same time were helping Giuliani search for dirt on Trumps political rivals, including President Joe Biden, who was then a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Maybe youve met some recent transplants from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens in your neighborhoods, schools and coffee shops.

There has been anecdotal evidence of their migration from the New York City area to the Syracuse area during the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, U.S. Postal Service records show the extent of it.

In 2020, there was nearly a 70% bump in the number of New York City area residents who changed their addresses to the Syracuse metropolitan area, which includes Onondaga, Oswego and Madison counties, according to an analysis by the national commercial real estate firm CBRE.

In 2019, 822 people from the New York City area changed their addresses to the Syracuse region. In 2020, that number jumped to 1,389, records show.

There was also an 18% drop in the number of people who moved the other direction.

Eric Willett, research director at CBRE, said the increase is striking. And because it fits previous migration patterns, its a real trend Syracuse leaders should notice, he said.

The pandemic really underscored the attractive lifestyles and affordability that these secondary markets offer, he said.

The research confirms what Syracuse.com found last year in interviews and an analysis of home sales.

People were not just moving to the Syracuse area, but buying homes in a place they only knew through Instagram and word of mouth. Its unusual for Syracuse, where people more often move back to be near family or college connections.

The news is exciting to the staff at CenterState CEO. They have been marketing the region for decades. The numbers fit anecdotal evidence they glean from the back end of their recruiting website. During the pandemic, New York City residents, mostly in the 24 to 44 age group, were searching for job openings as well as real estate listings and reasons to move to CNY, said Ben Sio, chief of staff for CenterState.

Other hits came from Philadelphia, Boston, Washington and Detroit, he said.

Theres a demand for the product were selling, he said.

USPS change of address forms are the quickest way for researchers to look at migration, but those records are not perfect science. The firm limited its analysis to people who changed their addresses for more than six months to eliminate snow birds and college students. But the number of people coming and going from Florida shows plenty of winter residents were likely still counted in the data.

Better migration records will eventually be released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the IRS.

Researchers will look for more reliable information as they focus on the next wave. The pandemic has created an unexpected opportunity. Will the New Yorkers stay in Syracuse? Will they continue to work remotely for their old jobs in old cities? Will their spouses look for work in Syracuse?

The question for us is if we can maintain that movement nationally into smaller and mid-size areas and be able to make decisions based on quality of life and commuter times and not just make a decision on total pay and all that, Sio said.

Nearly all urban centers lost population during the pandemic, according to CBREs research.

Some fared better than others, but across the country, urban centers had 15% bigger losses over the year before. Most of the moves were short distances to nearby counties.

Sacramento benefited the most as people fled San Francisco for bigger homes.

Another positive sign for the Syracuse region was a drop in the net loss of people moving out of the region.

In 2019, the region had a net loss of 7,000 people.

In 2020, that slowed by about half, to 3,700.

Here are the 50 places that had the biggest increase in movement to the Syracuse area from 2019 to 2020:

If you cant see the list on your device, open the story in a web browser.

Read more:

In pandemic, NYC families discover homes in CNY: I couldnt imagine a more magical place to live

New York has a new property tax break. Are you one of the million who qualify?

Early assessments in some towns hint at increases in Syracuse suburbs

How hot was the housing market in 2020? 27% price bump in one town

Syracuse.com publishes home sale prices every week for Cayuga, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties.

If you made the Syracuse area your new home, will you tell us about it?

Contact Michelle Breidenbach | mbreidenbach@syracuse.com | 315-470-3186.
Minister Brophy announces over 21 million in Overseas Development Funding for Trocaire

Press release

The Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora, Colm Brophy, T.D., today announced over 21 million in Irish Aid funding to Trocaire for its development and humanitarian work overseas, as well as for public engagement and development education work in Ireland.



Announcing the funding, Minister Brophy said -

I am pleased to confirm this funding support for Trocaire, continuing its long-standing relationship with Irish Aid to support the delivery of development assistance and humanitarian aid around the world.



Trocaire and its partners operate in some of the most challenging environments in the world; in violent and insecure contexts. For example, the Irish Government is proud to support Trocaires work in the Northern Triangle of Central America, specifically in Guatemala and Honduras, as well as in Nicaragua, where it is tackling climate change and degradation of natural resources, which are driving insecurity and migration.

ENDS



PRESS OFFICE

28 APRIL 2021

Notes to Editors Irelands Overseas Development Assistance Programme is managed by the Development Cooperation and Africa Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs. For further information see www.irishaid.ie The funding will be provided through three complementary funding mechanisms: the multi-annual Programme Grant II scheme, the Departments largest civil society fund, supporting Irish-based civil society organisations (CSOs) engaged in development work overseas and in public engagement and development education in Ireland (66 million), Humanitarian Programme Plan which provides funding for chronic crises (15.8 million) and ERFS which will enable rapid responses to sudden onset acute crises (4.1 million). Irish Aid supports Trocaires work in 17 countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Lebanon, Malawi, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Occupied Palestinian Territories/Israel, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Case Study Angelas home is on ancestral tribal land, which is held in collective title by the Tolupane people. She receives support from Trocaires partner MADJ, a broad movement for dignity and justice that fights against corruption. Angela says, The problem we have here is the destruction of the forest. I saw that they were selling the wood (trees) and minerals and decided to intervene. Companies have come on to our land to exploit it. A logging company entered our land, Angela explains. We have a small stream that we use for water. We knew it was polluted when we started getting rashes, including the children. We used the water to wash clothes and dishes  it was not drinking water, thankfully. That is when I really got involved. The training I received from MADJ taught me about our rights. We were asleep and did not understand what was happening. Angela and her community set up a dignified encampment to protect the forest. Angela and the community, though protesting peacefully, were at risk of violence. They stopped a number of trucks by placing rocks in the road and the police came to intervene. The protestors refused to move and so the police shot twenty-five canisters of tear gas at them. There were children, elderly people and pregnant women in the crowd. Angela says, As a woman, as a mother of five children, I have learned a lot, to fight for the defence of our territory, of our goods. Because our life lies in this forest, it lies in the rivers, it is in all the nature.

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News about "Captain America 4" shocked the fans as it arrived quickly when "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" ended.

This week, Deadline reported that "Captain America 4" will center on Sam Wilson's life, debunking the rumors about Evans' inclusion in the film.

Still, the news outlet added that the original Cap's return would be in a different project. It claimed that Evans would show up like how Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man appeared in other hero movies following "Iron Man 3."

Despite the news update, it is worth noting that Marvel Studios has not confirmed it yet. The film itself has not gone underway, as well, so it may face some changes soon.

Meanwhile, 39-year-old previously posted a tweet about his alleged reappearance on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"News to me," he wrote with a shrug emoji. The original Captain America's stint ended when he chose to go back to the '40s to reunite with Peggy and begin to live a simpler life.

What Marvel Studios Previously Said About Chris Evans' Return

Regardless of the recent talks, Marvel Big Boss Kevin Feige once set the records straight.

In an interview with EW, Feige said that MCU fans would not see Evans as Captain America anymore - at least that's the definite plan for now.

"I rarely answer no to anything anymore because things are always surprising me with what happens, but that rumor, I think, was dispelled rather quickly by the man himself," he added.

Meanwhile, Mackie also said that he also does not know what "Captain America 4" will be all about.

READ ALSO: 'Jeopardy!' Fans Reject Ken Jennings To Become Permanent Host: Who's Their Bet Now?

On Tuesday, the actor said that he just found out the news while he was in a grocery store when a checkout guy named Dwayne asked him about it.

"I'm like, 'I haven't heard anything.' That's what I love about working for Marvel. They call you, they're like, 'Come to L.A. We wanna tell you what's going on.' So, I'm excited to see what happens, but I haven't heard anything," he confessed.

Still, the final episode of "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" hinted that Sam Wilson will continue Rogers' legacy from that moment forward.

Currently, Evans' fans must wait for an update about his return, just like how RDJ's fans have been eagerly doing.

READ MORE: Robert Downey Jr. Plans to Save Johnny Depp's Plummeting Career -- Here's How

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
Samsung is reportedly eyeing NXP Semiconductors, the world's second largest automotive chipmaker in the Netherlands, amid a global shortage in the sector.

Quoting a J.P. Morgan report, investment news magazine Barron's said the acquisition would be the right choice in the current circumstances.

Samsung is rumored to be offering W60 trillion to buy NXP, about W10 trillion more than rival Qualcomm offered in 2018 (US$1=W1,113).

Similar rumors surfaced in 2019, but at the time auto chip production accounted for less than one percent of Samsungs output. Now the climate has changed.

NXP has leading technology in auto and infotainment processors and so-called micro-programmed control units, the "nerve center" of a car. This is the area where Samsung, which is expanding its auto electronics business, can look forward to profitable synergy.

Samsung had W120 trillion in cashable assets as of last year so the purchase would be no massive stretch.
Its a scary idea, as the presence of the variant could make it more difficult to tame Indias disaster. A number of doctors are also saying that younger people and people who have been fully vaccinated are getting sick.

But researchers outside of India say the limited data so far suggests that the B.1.1.7 variant that walloped Britain late last year may be a more considerable factor. Scientists also say that different variants seem to dominate specific areas. For instance, the B.1.617 variant has been detected in a large number of samples from the central state of Maharashtra, while the B.1.1.7 variant is rising quickly in New Delhi. Ultimately, the data is too thin to parse because India is performing too little genomic sequencing.

Beyond the variants, scientists believe that other, possibly more obvious factors could be to blame: a low vaccination rate, lax public behavior, governmental missteps and a premature reopening of schools and businesses.

More on India:

Vaccine rollout
When the seniors at Bethlehem Catholic High School purchase their prom tickets this year, theyll receive a student-designed mask to go with it.

Required masking is just one COVID-era protocol in place for year-end celebrations, like the prom and graduation.

We want to give our students some sense of normalcy, said Christine Calantoni, English teacher and prom committee advisor for Bethlehem Catholic. I dont think we realize how much these kids are hurting and how much theyre struggling with everything thats going on. We want to provide a night to kind of escape.

Last year, proms were canceled, and if held, graduation ceremonies were heavily modified due to the surging cases of COVID-19.

But now, local high schools are trying to find ways to safely celebrate milestones with their seniors, who in many cases, have missed out on their entire senior experience.

The class of 2021 is missing even more than the class of 2020, said Kyle Geiger, principal at Easton Area High School. They missed things at the beginning of the year, like homecoming, the Thanksgiving rivalry game with Phillipsburg and the bonfire.

Lehigh Valley high schools, including Freedom, Liberty, Bethlehem Catholic and Easton, are working closely with their prom and graduation committees, local vendors and the health departments to create special experiences for the class of 2021 that are as safe as possible.

We dont want this to turn into an event we regret, Calantoni said.

No dancing allowed

For the first time ever, Freedom and Liberty will attend prom together. Students at both high schools were surveyed to gauge interest in attending the traditional high school dance, and due to decreased interest, administrators decided to merge the schools to make it affordable, said Michael LaPorta, principal at Freedom.

The students, who cannot bring dates from other school districts, will dress in their Sunday best and head to ArtsQuest for an outdoor, tented dance. Without dancing.

In an effort to keep students (physically distanced) dancing will be prohibited, LaPorta said. And masks are required.

There will also be no sit-down dinner, but prom-goers can take a boxed dessert for snacking.

The events group at the SteelStacks, which is also hosting the Easton prom, said it is following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Bethlehem Health Bureau (which, per an email from the bureau, follows the Pennsylvania Department of Health guidelines).

ArtsQuests hospitality team has been extremely nimble, flexible and creative when working with clients and event hosts, Susan Drexinger, vice president for hospitality and food service, said in an email. The venue has hosted events throughout the pandemic, once businesses were allowed to operate.

Easton students will be able to dance and eat, with eating times spaced out, Geiger said. There will also be limited ticketing to keep numbers down  per the Pennsylvania Department of Health, private gatherings like a prom must keep attendance to 50% of the venues maximum capacity.

And students will be able to take photos on the Hoover Mason Trestle, something that is not open to prom-goers under normal circumstances, LaPorta, of Freedom, said.

We just want to make sure the seniors have some type of normalcy in their prom and graduation, said Melissa Burkowitz, a junior class officer at Freedom who is assisting with end-of-year plans. We want to honor them in this tough year and make it as close to the real thing as possible.

When it comes to the prom, seniors at Bethlehem Catholic are going old school, Calantoni said. The outdoor dance will be held on school grounds without a sitdown meal, something that was the norm 30-plus years ago.

Were kickin it old school, she said, noting that depending on the events success, it could be the way of the future.

And because the private schools student numbers are low in general, seniors will be able to take an underclassman as a date.

The senior class recently had a meeting, and were saying that prom is a go and to make sure everyone is shopping for their dress, making their hair and nail appointments, and getting suits ready, Calantoni said. The excitement is starting to build.

Toss your caps, not your masks

Last year, Easton seniors formed a car parade, traveling from the middle school campus and passing through Forks Township, Easton and Palmer Township before ending at the high school campus, where students could exit the car for the spaced-out ceremony, Geiger said.

The car parade was such a hit that the school will do it again, with a much more normal outdoor ceremony, which will be live-streamed for those watching remotely, he said.

The seniors at Freedom and Liberty will have their ceremonies at Liberty High School Stadium on separate days, LaPorta said. The stadium holds 11,000 people, so even if each of Freedoms 494 seniors uses six tickets, thats only 2,800 guests.

Youre at just 20% of the stadiums seating capacity, LaPorta said. With distancing and required masks, were in good shape.

The goal of graduation season is to walk away knowing we tried to make the end of this year as normal as possible for seniors, LaPorta said. We werent able to do a graduation inside Stabler Arena (at Lehigh University) because of the number restriction, so the obvious answer was a live graduation in the (outdoor) stadium at Liberty.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education issued guidance on graduation ceremonies for 2020, and in an email, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Health said it will release updated guidelines as schools head into the 2021 graduation season.

We will continue to look at data to examine our mitigation efforts, said Maggi Barton, deputy press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Currently, we have gathering limitations and encourage frequent handwashing, social distancing to the extent possible, wearing a mask and getting the COVID-19 vaccine if and when you are eligible to best prevent the spread of COVID-19.

As of this writing the updated guidelines have not been released.

Nothing is zero-risk

School administrators know there is only so much they can control with regard to teenagers  regardless of the pandemic. And while the past year has shown incredible resilience from young students, Geiger said, events like the prom and graduation are only as safe and healthy as the students who participate.

We can control what we can control and we hope to provide a safe environment, he said. Theyre kids and we cant follow them 24/7.

Over the past 13 months, much of the responsibility to ensure kids are following COVID-19 protocols has fallen on the parents, and with events opening back up, the schools hope parents continue to make sure kids comply.

When the students are with us for the three hours for the prom, we can monitor them like during the school day, Calantoni said. But what theyre doing before 6:30, the start of prom, and what they do when they leave, that falls on the parents.

She knows all parents have different rules, and prom or not, on any given weekend, students might attend a party or a social gathering.

Im not sure if prom weekend makes any difference (on behavior), she said.

But because of the risk of spreading the virus, its not like what happens at a students house before the prom stays at the students house.

We want our seniors to be safe and use good judgment, LaPorta said, noting that the prom and graduation are intentionally spaced out by about a month. We wouldnt want to see a superspreader event compromise some of our seniors abilities to attend an event because theyre in quarantine or, worse, sick.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a subscription.
A project in Wales has detected resistance to one or more wormer groups on 98% of participating farms.

The initiative, funded by Welsh government, used a flock faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) to establish whether resistance exists to anthelmintic drenches.

Last year, 49 sheep farms used the service, with testing carried out between June and November.

Sampling packs were provided by parasite management firm Techion and faecal egg counts (FECs) were carried out on pooled dung samples.

Readings of around 500 eggs per gram (EPG) were needed to start the process.

FECs were taken from at least 90 lambs that had not been wormed for at least four weeks.

Once this baseline was set lambs were split into four treatment groups with 20 in each group.

They were dosed under strict protocols with either a white drench (benzimidazole), yellow drench (levamisole), clear drench (3ML) or moxidectin.

A sample was taken from each lamb by a trained technician  this was repeated at between 7 and 14 days later, depending on the type of drench used.

The samples were then sent to the Techion lab to assess the efficacy of that wormer group.

James Hadwin, who delivers the service for the Welsh government's Farming Connect scheme, said that at first sight, the results 'seem worrying'.

"But because the testing is relatively sensitive and accurate, it means that on many farms we are identifying resistance in the early stages," he added.

Thats great news for the farmers involved because it means if they are careful and take advice, they can maintain good levels of worm control."

Mr Hadwin, of JH Agri Consultancy (AgriPlan Cymru), also said the results were 'concerning'.

But he said if farmers took positive action to reduce their reliance on wormers on the back of their results, then they could achieve good worm control.

Actions include more attention to detail in flock management to reduce worm burden and also, should the stock need worming, in wormer choice.

The results in 2020 have shown that there is an issue with wormer resistance in the industry and that we need to act now," he explained.

Hopefully this project is helping farms to get a handle on their situation and is encouraging people to follow SCOPS principles."

He said he hoped it would be a prerequisite to farmers working more closely with their vets and animal health advisors in formulating a robust flock health plan.

Overuse of wormers in the past has not only led to resistance developing but had added to cost of production, Mr Hadwin said.

Time and labour are among the highest costs on sheep farms. If you dont need to be drenching lambs, why do it?

When time is limited, lambs are sometimes dosed simply because they had been gathered for another management task, he added.

There is an element of if the sheep are in for other things we might as well worm them," he said.

By planning ahead, and carrying out a FEC before handling, we know if the lambs actually needed worming."
Credit: Samot/Shutterstock

From packed train carriages to busy shopping centers, being crammed together in often poorly ventilated spaces had become so normal that it has taken us a long time to get used to social distancing. But our ancient ancestors were much more used to using airflow and space to guard against disease. Indeed, ancient Greek and Roman doctors got a surprising number of things right in this senseeven if the thinking behind their remedies was very far from what we know about how disease spreads today.

Ancient Mediterranean societies had a developed understanding of the importance of airflow for public health. Public buildings and entire cities were designed in a way that minimized stagnant air. In this sense, we could learn a thing or two from the ancients as the pandemic encourages people to rethink how we design towns and buildings to help limit the spread of infectious diseases.

These ancient designs were based on four qualities: hot, cold, wet and dry. These qualities were thought to correspond to four "humors": blood, phlegm, black and yellow bile, and to four elements: air, water, fire and earthall of which were believed to influence the body and its emotions.

The Roman author, architect and civil engineer, Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, commonly known as Vitruvius, described the importance of airflow in his work On Architecture. He advises building a city on an elevated point that is temperate and not near a swamp. He is wary that a morning breeze could displace damp air and mosquitoes from the swamp to a city, which could in turn cause, in modern terms, infectious disease.

Vitruvius goes on to say that the same principles apply to building theaters. He describes how a lack of airflow can be a problem in such enclosed spaces and how prolonged exposure to hot, stagnant air can cause disease: "When the sun shines full upon the rounded part of it, the air, being shut up in the curved enclosure and unable to circulate, stays there and becomes heated; and getting glowing hot it burns up, dries out, and impairs the fluids of the human body."

Epidaurus Theatre, Athens Greece. Credit: sarkiselie/Shutterstock

Today, the four humor concept has been superseded by modern medicinewe now know Vitruvius's above explanation for how fevers originate to be incorrect. But we still use some of the related terminology today, for example, when we talk about the common cold or describe someone as hot-tempered or humorous. And the four qualities of hot, cold, wet and dry are still relevant when thinking about our health and the environments we live in.

Perhaps the most famous and influential set of ancient medical ideas is to be found in a collection of Greek texts known as the Hippocratic Corpus, named after the fifth century "father" of western medicine, Hippocrates. The way the Hippocratic texts arrive at conclusions is not always correct from our modern point of view. But that doesn't mean they're always wrong.

One of the texts, called Airs Waters Places, presents a detailed analysis of airflow and humidity and its influence on seasonal peaks of infectious diseases. As the text explains, a fifth century BC doctor taking up a post in a new town would, first of all, familiarize themselves with the local geography and weather as well as with the typical endemic diseases.

"As time and the year passes he will be able to tell what epidemic diseases will attack the city either in summer or in winter, as well as those peculiar to the individual which are likely to occur through change in mode of life."

Today, modern medical theory has shown how climate can affect the spread of infections, potentially including COVID-19. This is particularly important information in an age of rapid climate change.

Space, light and air as seen in ancient Greek architecture. Credit: DocDJ/Shutterstock

It's also important for doctors to be aware of what diseases are prevalent in their areas. For instance, tick-borne encephalitis is rare in most of Europe, but quite common in some areas such as Sweden and also now parts of the UK. The disease is only prevalent in some climatic areas, but is spreading due to climate change.

Even more advanced for the time are the Hippocratic Epidemics, an ancient Greek medical manual that examines the consequences of climatic conditions on the spread of infectious diseases. Right at the start, the author describes a disease that resembles modern-day mumps that appeared in specific climatic circumstances. As we know today, a higher incidence of mumps is associated with weather conditions.

While it's evident that ancient medicine lacked a lot of theory on the nature of contagionafter all, bacteria and viruses were yet to be discoveredthe way that cities and public buildings were planned with public health in mind, and doctors saw their patient in a broader context, that took the climate into account, was surprisingly advanced.

Today, ventilation is often poor in public buildings and risk assessments on the potential of infectious disease are not routinely carried out. So while the underlying scientific theory may not be valid, perhaps some of these ancient measures could help us re-imagine public places for the post-pandemic world.

Explore further Ancient feces reveal parasites described in earliest Greek medical texts

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Some experts in the United States and China were able to achieve the first human-monkey embryos. These mixed embryos or chimeras are currently great innovations since they can be used by other scientists in the future, especially in the medical industry.

These embryos were put in test tubes for around 20 days, as explained by the involved scientists in a joint research team from China and the U.S.

"This is not a work of bad taste, but [one] of highly practical value," said the lead author of the new study, Tan Tao.

"A remarkable step has been taken scientifically that raises urgent issues of public concern. We need to figure out what the right pathway forward is to help guide responsible progress," added Nita Farahany, a bioethicist of Duke University.

Why These Human-Monkey embryos are alarming

According to The Wall Street Journal, various experts and researchers have already created part-human chimeras for the past few years. They used rats with human tumors to study cancer, mice with human immune systems to conduct AIDS research, and more.

Also Read: Man's Best Friend Could be Efficient When It Comes to Detecting COVID-19: Here's the New Dog Study

However, some experts explained that the new study is quite different from the previous animal researches since it injected human stem cells into an embryo of a closely related primate. They said that these could lead to any kind of tissue.

On the other hand, Professor Julian Savulescu, the Uehiro Chair of the University of Oxford's practical ethics, said that these chimeras could be mentally close to a human. He added that the current study could also open Pandora's box.

What happened during the new study

The new study, which was published by the Cell journal, injected human stem cells into the early-stage embryos of crab-eating macaques. However, these didn't work out properly since most of the human-monkey embryos died during the experiment.

However, around 4% or 7% of these chimeras were able to survive the process. Although this could be a small number to other people, researchers explained that this is a great improvement since previous chimera experiments only had a 1% survival rate.

If you want to know more about the study "Chimeric contribution of human extended pluripotent stem cells to monkey embryos," all you need to do is click this link.

For more news updates about other animal studies, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: 'Furry Animals' Cause Internet Outage: Canadians Blame Beavers for Chewing Fiber Cables

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by: Griffin Davis

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Its been ten years since the devastating 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquake and its subsequent 46 foot-tall tsunami killed more than 18,000 people, obliterated entire towns, and crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Japans eastern coast. As the incident unfolded in March, 2011, the stricken power plant released massive amounts of cesium-137 into the surrounding environment (roughly 80 percent of the material running into the Pacific ocean) and continued to pour out around 30 gigabecquerel of cesium-137 and strontium-90 for the next two years. And, as of 2018, around 2 gigabecquerel of radioactive pollution still manages to escape the site daily.

Now, as a decommissioning project that is expected to take a generation to complete enters its second decade, Japans government announced a controversial decision regarding the sites continued cleanup. The government reportedly has approved a plan to dump more than a million tons (~250 million gallons) of seawater treated with the Advanced Liquid Processing System which has been stored at the Fukushima site into surrounding Japanese waters. This water has been stored in a series of 1,000 submerged metal tanks holding the equivalent to 500 Olympic sized swimming pools, which have been built out of over the years as increased capacity has become necessary. Problem is, the site is running out of space so the plan is to slowly release the treated water, gradually diluting it into the surrounding seas over the course of 20 to 30 years. Really, what could go wrong with a plan to release radioactively contaminated liquids  despite being stringently purified  into the open ocean? Perhaps not as much as wed initially feared.

Disposing of the treated water is an unavoidable issue in decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters during a recent news conference. The proposed action would not take place for at least two more years, but it has already prompted outcries from both Japans domestic fisheries and its international neighbors.

SOPA Images via Getty Images

Seeing this decision being made is completely outrageous and it is something we absolutely cannot accept. We will strongly protest, Hiroshi Kishi, president of a nationwide federation of Japanese fishery co-ops, said in a response statement. A spokesperson for Chinas foreign ministry went even further after Japanese Deputy Prime Minister, Taro Aso, asserted the treated water was safe to consume. The ocean is not Japans trash can, spokesperson Lijian Zhao challenged. It should not expect the world to pay the bill for its treatment of wastewater. The Japanese official said the water is okay to drink, why doesn't he take a sip first?

The Japanese government has once again failed the people of Fukushima, Greenpeace campaigner Kazue Suzuki, said in a statement. The government has taken the wholly unjustified decision to deliberately contaminate the Pacific Ocean with radioactive wastes. It has discounted the radiation risks and turned its back on the clear evidence that sufficient storage capacity is available on the nuclear site as well as in surrounding districts. Rather than using the best available technology to minimize radiation hazards by storing and processing the water over the long term, they have opted for the cheapest option, dumping the water into the Pacific Ocean.

Takashi Aoyama via Getty Images

Given that the Fukushima nuclear power plant is on the ocean, and with leaks and runoff directly to the ocean, the impacts on the ocean will exceed those of Chernobyl, which was hundreds of miles from any sea, Ken Buesseler, senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said as the situation unfolded in 2011. My biggest concern is the lack of information. We still dont know the whole range of radioactive compounds that have been released into the ocean, nor do we know their distribution. We have a few data points from the Japanese  all close to the coast  but to understand the full impact, including for fisheries, we need broader surveys and scientific study of the area.

We haven't yet seen enough data to assess what's going on, so anything that can be done in terms of further monitoring would be very welcome, he continued.

During the initial months of the nuclear meltdown, monitoring agencies saw extensive releases of iodine-131 and cesium-137. In 2011, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) reported that seawater sampled near the site contained 5 million times the legal limit of iodine-131 and around 1 million times the legal level of cesium-137. While the iodine dissipated quickly thanks to a 8-day half life, the cesium (with a 30-year half life) has stubbornly persisted in the waters off of Fukushima Bay. However, its continued presence may not end up being the apocalyptic ecological event biologists and marine initially feared.

Besides the immediate concerns of a mass die-off caused by acute radiation poisoning (which thankfully did not come to pass) researchers feared the long-term impacts of chronic cesium-137 exposure once the radioactive materials entered the food chain. A marine survey conducted in June of 2011 and published in PNAS that December announced that it had detected found cesium through nearly all of the offshore marine waters out to 600 km and found evidence of of its uptake (as well as that of silver-110) into zooplankton as well as mesopelagic fish.

A 2013 study from the World Health Organization failed to find an observable increase in local cancer rates immediately following the meltdown. And, in 2016, Jordi Vives i Batlle of the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre published a study in the journal Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, found that radiation levels within the Fukushima fauna were actually lower following the incident than initially predicted. Exposures were too low for acute effects at the population level to be observed in marine organisms, the studys researchers wrote. Furthermore, a follow-on study from this past March found that, to date, local residents had suffered no adverse health effects due to the 2011 incidents fallout. The Chernobyl disaster, on the other hand, killed 31 people in the initial aftermath due to exposure to radiation and thermal burns and has been linked to nearly 20,000 documented cases of thyroid cancer among those exposed in a 2018 UNSCEAR report.

Kim Kyung Hoon / reuters

All life has existed  even before humans appeared on this planet  on a radioactive planet in a radioactive universe, Dr. Nicholas Fisher, Director of the Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Research at Stony Brook University, noted to Engadget. You were born radioactive, and you are radioactive right now. I am radioactive just as much as you are. I drank radioactive water this morning for breakfast, as did you. The radioactivity in your body is all natural.

Now, there are some bodies of water that have received very high levels of radioactivity from human activities, Fisher explained. Fukushima Bay, the Irish Sea, which has received radioactive wastes from the [now-closed] Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. Of course, the Fukushima incident is notable as it is currently the single largest accidental release of radioactivity into the oceans, Fisher points out.

Of all the radiation present in the oceans today, Fisher estimates that only between 1 and 2 percent of it originated from humans and, of that tiny amount, 99 percent of which was generated through nuclear weapons testing in the 40s - 60s  not accidents like Chernobyl, Three-Mile Island or Fukushima. The [health] effects are virtually negligible, Fisher said. This is true for, certainly, Three Mile Island where there was essentially no radioactivity released that ended up in the ocean.

Toru Hanai / reuters

Understand that humanity has been dumping radiation  often literally  into our oceans since we first split the atom. From the early 40s to 1962, the United States government made a series of remote atolls, part of the Marshall Islands archipelago, practically glow in its pursuit of atomic weapons. The Soviets were notorious throughout the Cold War for dropping radioactive waste into the Arctic and Barents Seas  including more than a dozen reactor cores salvaged from decommissioned submarines and icebreakers. The Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria, operated by British Nuclear Fuels, polluted the Irish Sea with radioactive waste for decades, while the La Hague power plant located along the Normandy coast has deposited similar wastes into the English Channel.

Incredibly, all of the radioactive material humans have plopped into our seas is literally a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of natural radiation found there. The ocean is quite radioactive, much more so than rivers, Dr. Henrietta Dulai, Associate Professor at the Department of Geology and Geophysics, UH Manoa, said in 2019. Sodium and chloride make it salty, but that is also caused by other major ions such as potassium. Potassium-40 makes the ocean very radioactive. There are 10,000 units of potassium for every unit of caesium in the ocean, even after Fukushima.

Dr Fisher further explains that more than 99 percent of the doses that marine organisms get from radioactive substances is from natural material, primarily a radioisotope called polonium-210. This element is ubiquitous in the ocean, forming from the decay of uranium-238 found in bedrock, though polonium is an alpha emitter and therefore can potentially raise ones risk of eventually developing cancer upon exposure.

The 250 million gallons that the Japanese government wants to disperse is a combination of water used to keep the damaged reactors and fuel ponds cool as well as ground and seawater that seeps into the site. TEPCO estimates that every day, approximately 1000 cubic meters of

groundwater flows into the area around the damaged reactors with another 400 cubic meters flowing into the facility buildings basements. This water becomes contaminated with oil pollutants as well as radioactive materials and therefore must be cleaned before being released back into the environment, through a process known as the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). After cesium and strontium concentrations in the contaminated water are reduced, the liquid is subjected to iron and carbonate pretreatment precipitation tanks before passing through a series of 16 absorption towers which leach out virtually all of the radioactive materials it contains, save for a bit of stubborn Tritium.

Tritium is about as harmless as you can get in terms of a radioactive substance, Fisher explained. Its a naturally forming hydrogen ion created when cosmic rays collide with air molecules in the atmosphere. As such, tritium exists in trace amounts throughout the Earths groundwater aquifers. Whats wild is that tritium can bond with oxygen in exactly the same way regular hydrogen does to produce tritiated water. Though technically radioactive, this is different stuff than heavy water and is chemically identical to regular water. As such, theres no way to filter titrated water out of a body of water without eliminating all of the water altogether. Whats more, tritium doesnt exhibit any toxicity when concentrated in the body, half of it is excreted roughly every ten days, and while it does emit radiation, its a beta emitter making it just slightly less dangerous to the publics health than its alpha-emitting cousin, polonium-210. Still, TEPCO isnt taking any chances and will dilute the tritium to 1500 becquerels per liter  1/40th of what Japanese environmental standards demand and 1/7th that required by the World Health Organizations drinking water guidelines.

As of 2018, the Fukushima cleanup effort was producing around 170 cubic meters of ALPS-treated water every day and storing the material in its expanding archive of protective steel containers, which is expected to reach capacity by the summer of 2022. The Japanese government unfortunately cannot simply load these canisters onto a barge and head for deeper international waters away from offshore fisheries because that would be a violation of the London Convention. The government does also have the option to conduct a vapor release (essentially allowing the treated water to slowly evaporate away) but argues that the oceanic release is the more efficient disposal method. It has has also asserted (slide 2) that even if the entire amount of the ALPS treated water stored in the tanks were to be disposed of in one year, the impact would be no more than 1/1,000 of the exposure impact of natural radiation (2.1 mSv/year) in Japan.

So while the long-term environmental impacts of the Fukushima incident will not be fully realized for years or potentially decades to come, the initial results of the event have biologists cautiously optimistic. Dr. Fisher does not foresee major health risks for pescatartians (especially since Japan has engaged in a voluntary ban on seafood exports in recent years). The biggest impact would be on the fishermen, on their livelihoods, Fisher stated. But I do not expect that there will be any public health impacts to people eating any of the seafood that they happen to harvest and sell.

I do think a systematic monitoring effort in coastal waters is relatively inexpensive to do and would provide factual information rather than on fear or suppositions, he continued. [We] are going to need actual hard numbers about just how much radioactivity is building up in our seafood and how much radioactivity human beings get from eating that seafood, and what the impact of that radioactivity would be on our bodies and compare that to the radioactivity we're exposed to in our daily lives.
The Boston Red Sox go for a two-game sweep of the New York Mets Wednesday at Citi Field.

Boston won the series opener Tuesday, 2-1.

But a Red Sox win wont be easy Wednesday with the Mets sending ace Jacob deGrom to the mound.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner set a career-high with 15 strikeouts in a 6-0 shutout of the Washington Nationals on Friday.

According to Mets PR, deGrom became the third pitcher in Major League history to strike out at least 14 batters in three consecutive games and the 14th pitcher in the modern era to throw a complete game shutout with at least 15 strikeouts and no walks.

(DeGrom) has 49 career double-digit strikeout games, good for second on the Mets all-time list ... Only Tom Seaver (60) has had more while wearing the blue and orange ... Only Nolan Ryan (54) has had more through 187 career games.

Introducing Yankees Insider: Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text message directly with beat writers

Heres what you need to know about Wednesdays showdown between the first-place teams:

- Boston Red Sox (15-9, first in the AL East) vs. New York Mets (9-9, first in the NL East)

- Flushing, Queens; Wednesday, 6:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES:

Red Sox: Nick Pivetta (2-0, 3.48 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 18 strikeouts)

Mets: Jacob deGrom (2-1, .31 ERA, .55 WHIP, 50 strikeouts)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE:

Mets -261, Red Sox +217; over/under is 7 runs

BOTTOM LINE:

The Mets are 6-3 in home games in 2020. New York ranks seventh in the league in hitting with a .242 batting average, Brandon Nimmo leads the team with an average of .364.

The Red Sox have gone 7-1 away from home. The Boston offense has compiled a .273 batting average as a team this season, good for first in the MLB. Xander Bogaerts leads the team with an average of .353.

The Red Sox won the last meeting 2-1. Garrett Richards earned his first victory and Bobby Dalbec went 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI for Boston. David Peterson took his third loss for New York.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Pete Alonso leads the Mets with 12 RBIs and is batting .250.

J.D. Martinez leads the Red Sox with 17 extra base hits and 21 RBIs.

LAST 10 GAMES:

Mets: 4-6, .233 batting average, 3.46 ERA, outscored by 15 runs

Red Sox: 5-5, .262 batting average, 4.35 ERA, outscored by five runs

INJURIES:

Mets: Noah Syndergaard: (elbow), Seth Lugo: (elbow), Carlos Carrasco: (hamstring), Dellin Betances: (right shoulder), Jose Martinez: (knee).

Red Sox: Chris Sale: (elbow), Ryan Brasier: (left calf), Alex Verdugo: (cramping).

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
Brand Licensing Innovation Summit and Brand Licensing Europe to Take Place In-Person this Fall, while the world's largest licensing event, Licensing Expo, will take place virtually Aug. 24-26, allowing more people to connect, learn, strike deals and discover new IP

Informa Markets' Global Licensing Group announces its 2021 calendar of events, kicking off with August's Licensing Expo, which will be now be a fully virtual experience, enabling the broadest and most robust cross-section of attendees from retail, manufacturers and brands from around the world to come together to make deals, network, learn and discover new IP.

At Licensing Expo Virtual, expect to find:

Curated matchmaking , enabling brands, manufacturers and retailers to connect.

, enabling brands, manufacturers and retailers to connect. Digital Brand Roadshows , which will bring brand discovery to the forefront, highlighting new, innovative and compelling IP by category.

, which will bring brand discovery to the forefront, highlighting new, innovative and compelling IP by category. The Licensing University program, which offers education on the foundations of licensing, the most up-to-date issues facing the business of licensing and much more

program, which offers education on the foundations of licensing, the most up-to-date issues facing the business of licensing and much more World renowned keynotes

Licensing International's highly anticipated Licensing Excellence Awards, which honor the best licensing programs, retailers and licensees in the business, set to stream live on day one of licensing's biggest week, Aug. 24.

"We've heard from our industry, and the best way to serve the international market in 2021 is to provide in-person experiences later this year, as well as a rich online experience that everyone can be a part of this summer," says Anna Knight, Vice President, Licensing, Informa Markets. "We've all felt the impact of not being able to gather in-person in 2020, and while the speed of recovery is promising, we serve a truly global market. Feedback from Licensing Expo customers and partners indicate that August is still too soon for the majority of the licensing community to properly plan and execute participation in an in-person event of this size and magnitude with continued restrictions on international and corporate travel. Our mission remains to create the most valuable platforms for our industry to connect and grow, and therefore we have decided to focus our efforts on our virtual experience in August, followed by in-person events in Q4 and beyond."

Licensing Expo Virtual, set to take place August 24-26, 2021, is a free-to-attend event supported by a robust online platform that allows exhibitors and visitors to schedule and host meetings, enjoy on-demand content and thought leadership and search and discover the widest range of properties available for license from anywhere in the world.

"Licensing International's mission is to serve the licensing industry, help advance our member's business and celebrate our successes as an industry," says Maura Regan, President, Licensing International. "Licensing Expo Virtual does all of that and we are proud to be the exclusive sponsor."

Following Licensing Expo Virtual will be the inaugural Brand Licensing Innovation Summit U.S. (Oct. 27-28, 2021), which will take place live and in-person in New York City at Convene Liberty Street. Following hot on the heels of the European launch this June and set to welcome 300-400 licensing and brand executives, B&LIS will provide trends and forecasts, retailer insights, spotlights on growth categories and deep-dives into digital and content innovation to help navigate the ever-changing retail, content and consumer landscape.

Then in November, Brand Licensing Europe will take place live and in-person at ExCeL London on Nov. 17-19, 2021, with an online event following two weeks later (Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 2021). To make online participation and navigation seamless, BLE will also use the same platform as Licensing Expo Virtual.

B&LIS and BLE in-person events will be organized in accordance with Informa's AllSecure health and safety standards designed to ensure all participants can attend safely and with confidence.

Licensing Expo will return to Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev., on May 24-26, 2022.

For more information about Licensing Expo, to exhibit or register to attend for free, visit www.licensingexpo.com.

Licensing Expo Virtual August 24-26, 2021

Brand Licensing Innovation Summit October 27-28, 2021, Convene 225 Liberty St., New York, NY

Brand Licensing Europe (in-person) November 17-19, 2021, ExCeL London (online) November 30-December 1, 2021

Licensing Expo 2022 May 24-26, 2022, Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev.

About Global Licensing Group

The Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets is the licensing industry's leading tradeshow organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together. The following events and information products are produced for the licensing industry by the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets: Licensing Expo, Brand Licensing Europe, Licensing Expo Japan, Licensing Expo Shanghai, Brand Licensing Innovation Summits, License Global magazine, License Global Daily E-News and The Licensing Mixtape podcast. Global Licensing Group events are sponsored by Licensing International.

About Licensing International

Licensing International is the leading trade organization for the $290+ billion global brand licensing industry. Licensing International's mission is to foster the growth and expansion of brand licensing around the world, raise the level of professionalism for licensing practitioners, and create greater awareness of the benefits of licensing to the business community at large. Founded in 1985, Licensing International members in over 40 countries enjoy access to an array of benefits including extensive educational programming and worldwide networking events. Visit www.LicensingInternational.org for more information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428006170/en/

Contacts:

Press Contact

Bill Burke

bburke@licensing.org

For U.S. media information:

Lauren Lloyd

LicensingPR@informa.com

+1 (310) 266-4792

For European media information:

Charlie Le Rougetel at BIGTOP

charlie@bigtop-pr.co.uk

+44 (0)7736 330676
[April 28, 2021] Essence Group Announces 'Peace of Mind' Strategy as Top Objective of All Future IoT Products and Services

Leading IoT and AI Cloud Services Provider's New Corporate Vision to Remain at Forefront of R&D and Commercial Endeavors HERZLIYA, Israel, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Essence Group, the major Israel-based R&D-focused designer and manufacturer of advanced safety, care and wellness products and services, today announced an updated corporate strategy with a commitment that all future company developments will prioritize creating 'peace of mind' for customers and end users of its technology. As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, it faces significant challenges, including fear and uncertainty, societal unrest and an aging population, compounded by the rising cost and uneven access to healthcare, and an increase of individuals suffering from chronic and mental health issues. Essence Group's decades-long commitment to safety, health and wellbeing through innovation and creative thinking, and by bringing to market innovative products, is no longer enough. Recognizing this, the company has determined to prioritize providing 'peace of mind' at an affordable price, ensuring that beneficiaries of its technology not only feel protected, healthy and safe, but can rest assured that all its offerings are designed to provide improved quality of life with value for money. "My passion has always een to harness the power of technology to help people live better lives. With this new strategy, we are committed to extending that power in order to help users feel better while simultaneously benefitting our strategic partners," said Dr. Haim Amir, CEO and Founder of Essence Group. "The time is ripe for this new focus and I am excited to lead my team towards this purpose."



As part of the new strategy, supported by a new tagline, 'Peace of Mind through Innovation,' Essence Group is currently forming new lines of business that extend beyond the existing security and care lines, to encompass healthcare and wellness offerings. "We are developing integrated, affordable and accessible technologies and services that will help people live better, safer, happier and longer lives," said Essence Group COO Hagai Enoch. "To enable this strategy, we have significantly increased investment in R&D to include new cloud-based AI and machine learning services, multi-dimensional product lines, and ground-breaking deep technology. These investments are bringing together, for the first time, the domains of safety, care and wellness, into a unified, connected and secure environment. One that can be augmented, extended and adapted as needs change over time to provide a superb customer experience."

"The COVID pandemic highlighted the importance of combining quality of life with the fundamental human needs of health and security," said Sharon Klainer Weizenbluth, Chief Strategy Officer at Essence Group. "Our cutting-edge technology allows us to meet these physical and emotional requirements with end-to-end solutions that enable a better quality of life and, ultimately, provide peace of mind." Over the coming months, Essence Group will release a comprehensive range of new products and services that relate directly to Dr. Amir's vision, all mapping into the 'Peace of Mind' concept. About Essence Group Essence Group is a global technology leader with a mission to develop and deploy innovative, cloud-based, end-to-end security and healthcare solutions, underpinned by supporting services, that provide peace of mind to users. For over a quarter of a century, Essence has challenged convention by making care and safety both accessible and affordable. With over 70 million connected devices deployed worldwide, Essence helps people to live safer and more independent lives. For more information: https://www.essence-grp.com/ Follow Essence Group on LinkedIn , Twitter and Facebook Media Contact: Finn Partners for Essence Group

Danny Sudwarts

Danny.sudwarts@finnpartners.com

(+1) 469-297-2515 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498868/Essence_Peace_of_Mind.jpg

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~ Says the lies being exposed daily ~

Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel on Tuesday said the governments recent personnel hiring spree and its ability to find funds to cover garbage collection, confirms its blatant lies to the people of St. Maarten of having to cut income and benefits as a cost-saving austerity measure. As the weeks pass by, the lies become more evident, the MP said.

Emmanuel said it is rather heartless of the government to be hiring additional personnel after telling already employed workers in the public and semi-public sector that their income will have to be cut. It was said there is no money. The door was even left open for more cuts and possibly even direct salary cuts in the future. But here we are today hiring more people, the MP said.

He pointed out that within the last week alone, the government has placed more than 10 vacancy ads in local media seeking personnel for various functions; everything from a photographer at the Tourist Office to head of a department. The beat goes on as normal for a government that cant even produce the 2021 budget, now going into May, the MP said.

He added that when passing the laws to cut income and benefits, Parliament also passed a motion for an evaluation after 6 months of these laws. However, the MP said any evaluation conducted now, after government is hiring Non-stop will not be credible. At this rate after 6 months we might have hired 60 people. What and how exactly will you evaluate? Based on those realities, the MP said.

The Parliament and people of St. Maarten have no clue about how government will pay for these additional positions as well as fund the reforms that they agreed to with the Dutch Government. But we do know that NAf 2 million extra was found to pay for expanded garbage collection contracts. They are hiring for everything, the MP said.

The MP also pointed to the added overall costs at government entities such as the Fire Department and the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC). It is all about cost. Workers were told to put their best foot forward and accept income cuts. But we see SMMC (not from the government budget but still a cost) bringing in someone from across the globe to be Head of the hospital when we have a qualified local in place already. We prefer to pay plane tickets for this person, housing, car, and other allowances rather than save money and appoint our own. The same goes for the Fire Department. We prefer to appoint a Dutchman, bring him in with all the costs associated, rather than appointing our own.

This failed government was never serious about cost-saving. They lied to you. Workers will suffer because this government has no vision and no creative solutions. So they cut the income of workers based on a lie. I want to remind everyone of a quote from the Prime Minister on the night that Parliament (except my person) voted to cut the income of workers: The words you say, the actions you do and your very thoughts come back three-fold. Even your thoughts, the words you speak in secret and the actions that you do in secret will come back to you. A liar has to remember a lie.
New Delhi:

A United Nations report has found that the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for a deadly sarin gas attack on a rebel-held town in April.

The panel is confident that the Syrian Arab Republic is responsible for the release of sarin at Khan Sheikhun on 4 April 2017, stated the report seen by AFP on Thursday.

Over 87 people were killed in the gas attack on the town at northwestern Idlib province in Syria.

Dreadful images from the aftermath of the attack drew outrage globally. It prompted the United States to fire cruise missiles at a Syrian air base from which the West said the assault was launched.

ALSO READ | IS attacks displaced Syrians, kills 18 people: Monitor

In September, the UN war crimes investigators said they had evidence that the Syrian air force was behind the attack, despite repeated denials from Damascus.

Syria ally Russia maintains that the sarin attack was most likely caused by a bomb set off directly on the ground, not by a Syrian air strike as alleged by the West.

(With PTI inputs)

ALSO READ | Syria: IS attacks Damascus police HQ with suicide bombers

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
9. Kareena Kapoor Khan Best Film - Veere Di Wedding (2018)

Director: Shashanka GhoshCast: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Swara Bhaskar, Shikha Talsaniais a rollicking romp designed to push across the idea that girls have more fun than the boys. At the same time, whats good is that it doesnt take itself too seriously and winks and nods at you to do the same., a somewhat commitment phobic girl who is having a hell of a good time with Rishabh Malhotra (Sumeet Vyas) in Australia and who kind of spoils her fun when he proposes. For the first time in her life, she bites the bait and the whole wedding shebang turns into something she has no control over whatsoever. Sonam plays Avni, a divorce lawyer who wants to get married to satisfy her nagging mom but who is actually the player of the group, somewhat mildly addicted to sex and loving it. Sakshi is a young mother married to a foreigner (Edward Sonnenblick) and has been boycotted by her family because of that. And Swara plays a super-rich girl on the verge of divorce. They have been friends since childhood and belong to Delhis upper-crust but apart from Sonam, who is Delhi based, are settled abroad and come to India solely for Kareenas wedding. How they face their own demons and help Kareena have the wedding of her dreams forms the crux of the film. Kareena was brilliant in the film as a woman who is honest about her commitment issues and tries to get around them as she has genuine feelings for the man she loves.
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But Rick Steves doesn't expect to offer his popular tours through Europe until at least late 2021.



By SAMUEL PETREQUIN

Associated Press

BRUSSELS  American tourists could soon be visiting continental Europe again, more than a year after the European Union restricted travel to the 27-nation bloc to a bare minimum to contain the coronavirus.

EU officials said Monday they are completing plans to allow Americans back this summer, depending on the course of the outbreak on both sides of the Atlantic.





. . .
A former Sinn Fein councillor has been charged at the Special Criminal Court with the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016.

Mr Byrne was shot dead at the hotel in Swords, Co Dublin, in February 2016 after five men, three disguised as armed gardai, stormed the building.

Mr Jonathan Dowdall (43), a former north inner city councillor, with an address at Navan Road, Cabra, Dublin 9, appeared at the brief hearing this morning when the registrar read the single charge to him.

Mr Dowdall is charged with the murder of David Byrne, contrary to common law, at the Regency Hotel in Whitehall, north Dublin, on February 5, 2016.

Mr Dowdall appeared in the court after meeting with detectives in the body of the court this morning where he was charged with the murder.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt remanded Mr Dowdall in custody to June 14 for service of the Book of Evidence.

His father, Patrick Dowdall, is already before the court alongside two co-accused charged with involvement in the murder.

Patrick Dowdall (64) with an address at Navan Road, Cabra, Dublin 7, is accused of participating in or contributing to activity intending to or being reckless as to whether such participation or contribution could facilitate the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation or any of its members, to wit the murder of David Byrne, by making a room available at the Regency Hotel, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 for that criminal organisation or its members, within the State on February 4, 2016.

Co-accused Paul Murphy (59) is charged with supplying logistical support to a six-man team suspected of carrying out the murder on February 15, 2016.

He is charged with participating in or contributing to activity intending to or being reckless as to whether such participation or contribution could facilitate the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation or any of its members, to wit the murder of David Byrne, by providing access to individual motor vehicles to that criminal organisation or its members, within the State on February 5, 2016.

Finally, Jason Bonney (50), of Drumnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Dublin 13, is charged with participating in or contributing to activity intending to or being reckless as to whether such participation or contribution could facilitate the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation or any of its members, to wit the murder of David Byrne, by providing access to individual motor vehicles to that criminal organisation or its members, within the State on February 5, 2016.
Phuket foreigners told to be COVID socially responsible or face expulsion

PHUKET: Foreigners in Phuket caught ignoring COVID prevention measures and acting in a manner deemed to be not socially responsible will face legal penalties and may even face being kicked out of the country.

COVID-19Coronavirushealthimmigration

By The Phuket News

Wednesday 28 April 2021, 10:13AM

From left: Matthew Barclay, Australian Consul-General to Phuket; Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew; Seven Smulders, Honorary Consul to Phuket for the Netherlands; and Phuket Vice Governor Piyapong Choowong. Photo: PR Phuket

That was the message delivered at a meeting of high-ranking Phuket officials and the majority of consuls and foreign government representatives on the island yesterday (Apr 27).

Leading the meeting, held at Phuket Provincial Hall, was Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew, joined by all three Phuket Vice Governors, Pichet Panapong, Piyapong Choowong and Vikrom Jakthee.

The meeting was tabled as being held to discuss ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 for foreign tourists living in Phuket.

Present to receive the message were Consul-Generals, Honorary Consuls and other representatives from 14 countries: Australia, United Kingdom, Russia, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Austria, South Korea, Switzerland, Chile, Mexico and Nepal.

According to a report by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket), the consuls were informed of the rules and regulations now in effect to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as well as the economic situation in Phuket in order for the consuls to acknowledge and use the information to share publicly.

At this meeting, the participants were given an opportunity to express their opinions and make recommendations in the prevention and control of the epidemic of COVID-19 as well, said the report.

The Phuket Immigration Office presented information for cooperation from the Consul-General and Honorary Consuls. Guidelines for the prevention and control of the epidemic of COVID-19 have been published, the report added.

However, if the investigation of the disease by the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office finds that you (foreigners) who are at high risk, or have tested positive for COVID-19, you (foreigners) must be socially responsible by preparing for treatment in strict accordance with the place set by the Public Health Office, which is this standard. The same standard as Thai citizens living in Phuket Province, the report noted.

If you (foreigners) do not comply, there will be legal penalties and affect your consideration for permission to stay in the Kingdom, the report stated.

The report did not include any statements by the consuls on the message.

After hearing the governments planned timeline for COVID vaccination, the Honorary Consul of the United Kingdom asked when foreigners would be included in the vaccination progamme timeline.

Matthew Barclay, Australian Consul-General to Phuket, requested that the Phuket Provincial Government quickly send information of the Phuket regulations to the Consulate so that the Consulate can manage its outreach information to its tourists and act accordingly.

The Honorary Consul of Norway asked provincial officials to prepare information published on a central website for the convenience and speed of extraction of information to be used in public relations.

And the Dutch honorary consul, Seven Smulders, asked the provincial authorities to update the progress of Phukets COVID situation in English-language media, specifically suggesting Richard Barrow and The Phuket News.

The meeting noted that there are currently approximately 11,000 foreigners living in Phuket.

As a result of this meeting, Phuket Province will use [the information learned] to improve working guidelines to provide care for foreign tourists in the Phuket area to be effective with the ultimate goal of expats to be taken care of and safe from COVID-19, the report concluded.

Of note, for the past week Phuket Immigration has been posting a notice telling foreigners in Phuket to strictly follow COVID prevention measures.

However, no explanation has been provided as to what inspired the Phuket Immigration Office to start heavily emphasising the need for people to follow COVID prevention measures.

Yesterday was the first time the Phuket Immigration Office delivered a warning to foreigners in Phuket that they may have their stay in the country annulled if they are caught not following the COVID prevention measures.
Asking that a well-intentioned, law-abiding gun owner knows how to handle a firearm and is licensed to do so is not a violation of Second Amendment rights.

Likewise, opposing legislation based on the premise that earning that license is too much to ask of potential gun owners isnt synonymous with taking away a persons guns.

This month, the Texas House of Representatives passed House Bill 1927, which would allow Texans 21 and older to carry handguns without a license or training. Texans already have the right to open carry, but they must have a license, which requires taking a training class, passing a written exam and shooting test, and being fingerprinted.

HB 1927, which is now in the Texas Senate, says that if youre 21, thats good enough.

Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, who authored the bill, said: This bill should be called common sense carry because this bill is about common, law-abiding citizens being able to carry commonly owned hand guns in common public places for the common reason of personal and family protection.

Wrong. Common sense is ensuring gun owners have proper training to ensure safety for all. Common sense is avoiding mass confusion with multiple people openly carrying weapons when police arrive on a scene. Think of the recent active shooter at San Antonio International Airport. Common sense recognizes that even the best-trained people lose accuracy under pressure.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 38,300 people were killed by guns in the United States in 2019; nearly 24,000 of those deaths were suicides. If today is like the average day, 105 people in our country will be shot to death, nearly a third by their own hands.

This daily carnage is so high and routine that, with numbing regularity, we succumb to the inevitability of fellow Americans succumbing to gun violence. Only the occasional mass shooting, depending on the number of those killed and the venue, captures the nations horrified attention before its locale is forever synonymous with heartbreak. Columbine. Sandy Hook Elementary. The Tree of Life Synagogue. Sutherland Springs. Parkland. El Paso.

The nonpartisan research group the Gun Violence Archive, or GVA, defines mass shootings as those in which four or more people are injured or killed, not including the shooter. In 2021, Atlanta, Boulder, Colo., and Indianapolis have become the most publicized mass shooting datelines, but according to the GVA, there have been 160 mass shootings this year.

After each mass shooting, a familiar scenario plays out: Gun safety advocates decry the easy availability of firearms as the National Rifle Association and Second Amendment defenders accuse them of politicizing a tragedy. Groups like the NRA offer a false choice between the government confiscating everyones guns and everyone being allowed to build an arsenal as big as they want.

Whats remarkable is staunch supporters of gun rights should welcome licensing and basic regulation because it would not affect their gun ownership  because they are responsible  and would help reduce gun violence, which would save lives and reduce political pressure to intervene.

We support the Second Amendment right of private ownership of guns, including its demand that the militia be well-regulated. In article 29 of the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton makes clear the regulating is to be done by the federal government. To paraphrase one of Hamiltons Federalist Papers co-writers, James Madison, if all gun owners were angels, there would be no need for any form of gun control or regulation.

To acknowledge that nearly all gun owners are law-abiding and responsible does not mean we should ignore that some are not, that mass shootings happen with depressing frequency. Some people shouldnt own guns, and some guns  assault weapons  should not be owned.

Some 400 million guns are owned by Americans. There must be space for a reasonable discussion of how best to keep them out of the hands of those who would harm others or themselves, continuing to make mass shootings a mournful ritual of American life and death.

But a bill calling for no training, no license, no problem eliminates that space. Where is the common sense?
The financial and operational information contained in this press release is based on unaudited consolidated condensed interim financial statements presented in U.S. dollars and prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standard Board and adopted by the European Union, or IFRS. Additionally, this press release includes non-IFRS alternative performance measures i.e., EBITDA, Net cash / debt and Free Cash Flow. See exhibit I for more details on these alternative performance measures.



LUXEMBOURG, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tenaris S.A. (NYSE and Mexico: TS and MTA Italy: TEN) ("Tenaris") today announced its results for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 in comparison with its results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Summary of 2021 First Quarter Results

(Comparison with fourth and first quarter of 2020)

1Q 2021 4Q 2020 1Q 2020 Net sales ($ million) 1,182 1,131 5% 1,762 (33%) Operating income (loss) ($ million) 52 7 598% (510) Net income (loss) ($ million) 101 110 8% (666) Shareholders' net income (loss) ($ million) 106 107 0% (660) Earnings (losses) per ADS ($) 0.18 0.18 0% (1.12) Earnings (losses) per share ($) 0.09 0.09 0% (0.56) EBITDA* ($ million) 196 192 2% 280 (30%) EBITDA margin (% of net sales) 16.6% 17.0% 15.9%

*EBITDA is defined as operating income (loss) plus depreciation, amortization and impairment charges / (reversals). EBITDA includes severance charges of $5 million in 1Q 2021, 37 million in 4Q 2020 and $23 million in 1Q 2020. If these charges were not included EBITDA would have been $201 million (17.0%) in 1Q 2021, $229 million (20.3%) in 4Q 2020 and $303 million (17.2%) in 1Q 2020.

Our sales in the first quarter increased 5% sequentially as a recovery in sales in North America was tempered by lower sales in the Eastern Hemisphere. EBITDA, which included $23 million of additional costs associated to the Winter Storm Uri, increased 2% sequentially reflecting continued improvements in our industrial performance. Net income benefited from a strong contribution from our investment in Ternium.

During the quarter, working capital increased by $83 million, mainly due to higher inventories which reflect the increased levels of activity. With operating cash flow of $70 million and capital expenditures of $45 million, our free cash flow amounted to $25 million (2% of revenues). Our positive financial position remained flat during the quarter and amounted to $1,084 million at March 31, 2021.

Market Background and Outlook

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is still deeply affecting many countries in the world, particularly in Latin America where we have a significant proportion of our operations, the global economic outlook is improving as vaccination programs progress and fiscal stimulus programs are implemented. Oil prices are stabilizing around $60/bbl and inventories are returning to more normal levels as global consumption is increasing along with industrial production and mobility, while OPEC+ countries continue to contain production levels.

Drilling activity in the U.S. has risen over the past months, and may continue to rise further through the year, while, in Canada, where it is subject to seasonal fluctuations, it is currently higher than in the corresponding month of last year. In Latin America, drilling activity has risen so far this year and the recovery should consolidate. In the Eastern Hemisphere, drilling activity has bottomed out and should increase later this year.

We anticipate a further recovery in sales and EBITDA, led by North America but also including other regions, over the following quarters. EBITDA margins should reach around 20% by the third quarter, as price increases compensate for higher raw material costs.

Our North American industrial facilities are preparing to meet higher demand. We expect to hire one thousand additional employees in the U.S. during the year as we ramp up our facilities in Bay City and McCarty (TX) to full production and open our facilities in Conroe (TX), Koppel (PA), Ambridge (PA) and Baytown (TX). Meanwhile, we are advancing with our investments to consolidate our Canadian industrial operations in Sault Ste Marie (ON) and to expand the size range of steel bars at Koppel to supply our Bay City mill.

Analysis of 2021 First Quarter Results

Tubes Sales volume (thousand metric tons) 1Q 2021 4Q 2020 1Q 2020 Seamless 496 423 17% 665 (25%) Welded 71 103 (31%) 170 (58%) Total 568 526 8% 835 (32%)

Tubes 1Q 2021 4Q 2020 1Q 2020 (Net sales - $ million) North America 514 391 31% 878 (41%) South America 166 160 4% 224 (26%) Europe 143 137 5% 134 7% Middle East & Africa 196 294 (33%) 331 (41%) Asia Pacific 60 68 (12%) 90 (33%) Total net sales ($ million) 1,080 1,050 3% 1,657 (35%) Operating income (loss) ($ million) 38 3 1,177% (478) Operating margin (% of sales) 3.5% 0.3% (28.8%)

Net sales of tubular products and services increased 3% sequentially but declined 35% year on year. Sequentially an 8% increase in volumes was partially offset by a 5% decrease in average selling prices. In North America sales increased 31% sequentially, reflecting higher sales across the region but particularly strong in the United States as activity ramps up. In South America sales increased 4% sequentially, reflecting higher sales in Argentina. In Europe sales increased 5% reflecting higher sales of mechanical products to the industrial sector. In the Middle East and Africa sales decreased 33% sequentially, reflecting lower sales of high-end OCTG in Qatar and Iraq, lower sales of line pipe in Saudi Arabia due to ongoing destocking and a reduction in coating services in West Africa. In Asia Pacific sales decreased 12% due to lower sales of high alloy products in China.

Operating result from tubular products and services amounted to a gain of $38 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared to a gain of $3 million in the previous quarter and a loss of $478 million in the first quarter of 2020, when we recorded an impairment of $582 million. During the quarter operating results for the Tubes segment include $23 million higher costs associated to the Winter Storm Uri and $5 million of leaving indemnities. Our operating income and margin during the quarter continued to improve reflecting a better industrial performance.

Others 1Q 2021 4Q 2020 1Q 2020 Net sales ($ million) 102 81 26% 105 (2%) Operating income (loss) ($ million) 13 4 229% (32) Operating margin (% of sales) 13.0% 5.0% (30.2%)

Net sales of other products and services increased 26% sequentially and decreased 2% year on year. The sequential increase in sales is mainly related to higher sales of excess raw materials and sucker rods.

Selling, general and administrative expenses, or SG&A, amounted to $255 million, or 21.6% of net sales, in the first quarter of 2021, compared to $242 million, 21.4% in the previous quarter and $357 million, 20.3% in the first quarter of 2020. SG&A expenses during the quarter included $3 million of leaving indemnities compared to $16 million in the previous quarter. Sequentially, our SG&A expenses increased mainly due to higher selling expenses associated with higher sales and because the previous quarter benefited from a $9 million gain from a provision reversal.

Other operating results amounted to a gain of $8 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared to $14 million in the previous quarter and $1 million in the first quarter of 2020. The gain of the quarter is mainly related to recoveries of duties in the U.S. and a recovery of fiscal credits in Brazil while in the previous quarter the gain was mainly related to a recovery of fiscal credits in Brazil.

Financial results amounted to a gain of $12 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared to a loss of $14 million in the previous quarter and a loss of $22 million in the first quarter of 2020. The gain of the quarter is mainly due to a 5% Euro depreciation on Euro denominated intercompany liabilities at subsidiaries whose functional currency is the U.S. dollar, a results which is to a large extent offset in equity.

Equity in earnings of non-consolidated companies generated a gain of $79 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared to a gain of $81 million in the previous quarter and a gain of $2 million in the first quarter of 2020. These results are mainly derived from our participation in Ternium (NYSE:TX) and reflect the good dynamics at the flat steel sector derived from record high steel prices.

Income tax charge amounted to $42 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared to a credit of $35 million in the previous quarter and a charge of $136 million in the first quarter of 2020. Taxes increased during the quarter due to the better results at several subsidiaries following the improvement in activity, and the effect on deferred taxes of the devaluation of the Mexican Peso and the Japanese Yen, on the tax base used to calculate deferred taxes at our subsidiaries in those countries, which have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency.

Cash Flow and Liquidity

Net cash provided by operations during the first quarter of 2021 was $70 million, compared with $139 million in the previous quarter and $516 million in the first quarter of 2020. Working capital increased by $83 million, reflecting higher inventories, partially offset by an increase in trade payables and a decrease in receivables.

Capital expenditures amounted to $45 million for the first quarter of 2021, compared to $38 million in the previous quarter and $68 million in the first quarter of 2020.

Free cash flow of the quarter amounted to $25 million (2% of revenues), compared to $101 million in the previous quarter and $448 million in the first quarter of 2020.

Our financial position remained flat during the quarter and amounted to $1,084 million at March 31, 2021.

Conference call

Tenaris will hold a conference call to discuss the above reported results, on April 29, 2021, at 10:00 a.m..

A replay of the conference call will be available on our webpage http://ir.tenaris.com/events-and-presentationsor by phone from 1.00 pm ET on April 29, through 1.00 pm on May 7, 2021. To access the replay by phone, please dial +1 855 859 2056 or +1 404 537 3406 and enter passcode "7043339" when prompted.

Some of the statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are based on management's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements. These risks include but are not limited to risks arising from uncertainties as to future oil and gas prices and their impact on investment programs by oil and gas companies.



Consolidated Condensed Interim Income Statement

(all amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) Three-month period ended March 31, 2021 2020 Continuing operations Unaudited Net sales 1,181,789 1,762,311 Cost of sales (882,999 ) (1,293,665 ) Gross profit 298,790 468,646 Selling, general and administrative expenses (255,026 ) (357,045 ) Impairment charge - (622,402 ) Other operating income (expense), net 7,827 1,256 Operating income (loss) 51,591 (509,545 ) Finance Income 5,698 1,877 Finance Cost (4,675 ) (8,442 ) Other financial results 10,754 (15,742 ) Income (loss) before equity in earnings of non-consolidated companies and income tax 63,368 (531,852 ) Equity in earnings of non-consolidated companies 79,141 1,889 Income (loss) before income tax 142,509 (529,963 ) Income tax (41,744 ) (135,769 ) Income (loss) for the period 100,765 (665,732 ) Attributable to: Owners of the parent 106,346 (660,068 ) Non-controlling interests (5,581 ) (5,664 ) 100,765 (665,732 )



Consolidated Condensed Interim Statement of Financial Position

(all amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) At March 31, 2021 At December 31, 2020 Unaudited ASSETS Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment, net 6,081,084 6,193,181 Intangible assets, net 1,411,761 1,429,056 Right-of-use assets, net 229,415 241,953 Investments in non-consolidated companies 1,024,127 957,352 Other investments 280,474 247,082 Deferred tax assets 208,788 205,590 Receivables, net 155,482 9,391,131 154,303 9,428,517 Current assets Inventories, net 1,910,293 1,636,673 Receivables and prepayments, net 80,029 77,849 Current tax assets 159,059 136,384 Trade receivables, net 907,738 968,148 Derivative financial instruments 9,006 11,449 Other investments 649,878 872,488 Cash and cash equivalents 695,245 4,411,248 584,681 4,287,672 Total assets 13,802,379 13,716,189 EQUITY Capital and reserves attributable to owners of the parent 11,288,012 11,262,888 Non-controlling interests 182,131 183,585 Total equity 11,470,143 11,446,473 LIABILITIES Non-current liabilities Borrowings 294,649 315,739 Lease liabilities 193,161 213,848 Deferred tax liabilities 277,848 254,801 Other liabilities 231,812 245,635 Provisions 80,602 1,078,072 73,218 1,103,241 Current liabilities Borrowings 246,440 303,268 Lease liabilities 39,437 43,495 Derivative financial instruments 4,047 3,217 Current tax liabilities 65,272 90,593 Other liabilities 202,820 202,826 Provisions 8,931 12,279 Customer advances 52,569 48,692 Trade payables 634,648 1,254,164 462,105 1,166,475 Total liabilities 2,332,236 2,269,716 Total equity and liabilities 13,802,379 13,716,189



Consolidated Condensed Interim Statement of Cash Flows

Three-month period ended March 31, (all amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) 2021 2020 Cash flows from operating activities Unaudited Income (loss) for the period 100,765 (665,732) Adjustments for: Depreciation and amortization 144,469 166,977 Impairment charge - 622,402 Income tax accruals less payments 12,091 86,258 Equity in earnings of non-consolidated companies (79,141) (1,889) Interest accruals less payments, net (46) 3,136 Changes in provisions 4,036 (11,490) Changes in working capital (83,326) 316,971 Currency translation adjustment and others (28,354) (555) Net cash provided by operating activities 70,494 516,078 Cash flows from investing activities Capital expenditures (45,291) (68,044) Changes in advance to suppliers of property, plant and equipment (3,104) (427) Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired - (1,063,848) Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets 4,923 518 Changes in investments in securities 176,932 31,294 Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities 133,460 (1,100,507) Cash flows from financing activities Changes in non-controlling interests - 1 Payments of lease liabilities (15,900) (14,961) Proceeds from borrowings 94,605 219,158 Repayments of borrowings (168,271) (314,494) Net cash (used in) financing activities (89,566) (110,296) Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 114,388 (694,725) Movement in cash and cash equivalents At the beginning of the period 584,583 1,554,275 Effect of exchange rate changes (3,844) (19,686) Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 114,388 (694,725) 695,127 839,864

Exhibit I - Alternative performance measures

EBITDA, Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

EBITDA provides an analysis of the operating results excluding depreciation and amortization and impairments, as they are non-cash variables which can vary substantially from company to company depending on accounting policies and the accounting value of the assets. EBITDA is an approximation to pre-tax operating cash flow and reflects cash generation before working capital variation. EBITDA is widely used by investors when evaluating businesses (multiples valuation), as well as by rating agencies and creditors to evaluate the level of debt, comparing EBITDA with net debt.

EBITDA is calculated in the following manner:

EBITDA= Operating results + Depreciation and amortization + Impairment charges/(reversals).

(all amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) Three-month period ended March 31, 2021 2020 Operating income 51,591 (509,545) Depreciation and amortization 144,469 166,977 Impairment - 622,402 EBITDA 196,060 279,834

Net Cash / (Debt)

This is the net balance of cash and cash equivalents, other current investments and non-current investments less total borrowings. It provides a summary of the financial solvency and liquidity of the company. Net cash / (debt) is widely used by investors and rating agencies and creditors to assess the company's leverage, financial strength, flexibility and risks.

Net cash/ debt is calculated in the following manner:

Net cash= Cash and cash equivalents + Other investments (Current and Non-Current) +/- Derivatives hedging borrowings and investments - Borrowings (Current and Non-Current)

(all amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) At March 31, 2021 2020 Cash and cash equivalents 695,245 841,722 Other current investments 649,878 174,387 Non-current investments 274,542 14,858 Derivatives hedging borrowings and investments 5,281 (61,477) Current borrowings (246,440) (523,203) Non-current borrowings (294,649) (175,195) Net cash / (debt) 1,083,857 271,092

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow is a measure of financial performance, calculated as operating cash flow less capital expenditures. FCF represents the cash that a company is able to generate after spending the money required to maintain or expand its asset base.

Free cash flow is calculated in the following manner:

Free cash flow = Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities - Capital expenditures.

(all amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) Three-month period ended March 31, 2021 2020 Net cash provided by operating activities 70,494 516,078 Capital expenditures (45,291) (68,044) Free cash flow 25,203 448,034

Giovanni Sardagna

Tenaris

1-888-300-5432

www.tenaris.com




New Delhi:

The Visnagar Session Court on Wednesday issued non-bailable warrant against Hardik and Lalji Patel over vandalism in BJP MLA Rishikesh Patel's Office.

The non-bailable warrant was issued in a case of attack on BJP MLA Rishikesh Patel's Office which happened in 2015. The court issued non-bailable warrant for Hardik's absence on last three dates.

The MLAs office in Visnagar was attacked in 2015 during the Patidar quota agitation.

In another incident, BJP MLA Rishikesh Patel's car was attacked with stones while he was passing through ITI circle in Mehsanas Visnagar city.

Visnagar was very important venue for Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti for agitation to demand reservations for Patel community.

AICC General Secretary Ashok Gehlot condemned the non-bailable warrant against Hardik Patel. He said that the action is BJP's undeclared emergency.

"Non-bailable warrant against youth leader Hardik Patel is symptomatic of BJP's undeclared emergency. As Gujarat Poll Dates were announced, BJP, fearing defeat, has taken this condemnable step. BJP should be ashamed of its dirty tactics. Non-bailable warrant against him is vindictive. Does BJP plan to contest elections by pressurising and threatening the young voices of Gujarat?" said Gehlot.

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Rite-Solutions was recently awarded a $23.5-million, five-year IT services contract by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC). The company will support NUWCs Activity Chief Information Officer (ACIO)/Information Technology (IT) Division, which is responsible for managing and maintaining the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newports (NUWCDIVNPTs) voice and data computer networks, including network backbone architecture for services such as email, web-based applications, database applications, file storage, and printing.

The NUWCDIVNPT data network, which includes 6,500 Research, Development, Test & Evaluation IT assets, provides the command with robust, secure, and fault-tolerant internal network services. It also supports external network connectivity to over 4,000 seats via multiple networks, including the Defense Research and Engineering Network (DREN) and Secure DREN.

The NUWCDIVNPT telephone network provides desktop telephone services to over 5,000 locations through the divisions internal Public Branch Exchange (PBX). The Information Technology Division is also responsible for operating media center (MC) services, such as the Integrated Display Center (IDC) and video teleconferencing (VTC) facilities, which provides state-of-the-art video, data, and worldwide telecommunication services over unclassified and classified IP networks, and/or ISDN.

We are thrilled that NUWC chose to renew the contract with us, says Dennis McLaughlin, CEO and President at Rite-Solutions. While we are rapidly expanding into new technologies that give the Navy an information advantage, IT services and security remain a critical component of what we offer.

Cybersecurity touches every part of this contract, adds Rocky Reeves, Rite-Solutions Sr. Vice President and Director of IT Services. Our network, telephone, and audio-visual engineers supporting this contract must meet strict DoD Cybersecurity Workforce (CSWF) requirements. Security certifications include Security+ce, CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP), and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). Operating system certifications include Cisco Certified Network Architects (CCNA), Cisco Certified Network Professionals (CCNP), and Red Hat LINUX.

In addition to NUWCDIVNPTs Enterprise Infrastructure located in Newport, RI, remote detachment support is also required for voice, video, and data networks located in West Palm Beach, FL; Andros Island, BS; Seneca Lake, NY; Fishers Island, NY; Dodge Pond, CT; Kings Bay, GA; Fort Story, VA; and Norfolk, VA.
Kantar has released its smartphone OS data for the first quarter of 2021, which follows last years iPhone 12 series launch, and shows it has delivered YoY growth for iOS across EU5 (+3.6% pts), USA (+4.9% pts.) and Australia (+3.5% pts.). Coupled with Huawei continuing to haemorrhage sales in all reported markets, Android struggles to keep up despite some strong sales share growth among individual brands.

Lets start with the Australian data, from Tamsin Timpson, Kantars Business Unit Director from the Worldpanel Division of ComTech Asia.

Timpson said: The latest 3 months to March 2021 shows strong YoY share growth for iOS from 41.1% in Mar 2020 to 44.6% in Mar 2021, with iPhones accounting for all top 5 models sold in the quarter (iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 8).

Although iPhone 12 devices take 3 of the top 5 spots in Q1 21, collectively, iPhones 12s account for almost 17% of sales (including the iPhone 12 Mini)  this compares with over 20% share held by the iPhone 11 series this time a year ago and, despite lower sales in the latest quarter for the iPhone 11 compared to previous periods, this model continues to be the top selling phone with a share of 6.8% (or 11.5% including the Pro and Pro Max variants).

Factors increasingly influencing purchase of the iPhone 11 are generally value-related, such as a good deal on the handset price, exclusive promotions, trade-in deals and cashback, in addition to in-store assistant recommendation doubling YoY, with 19% of buyers citing this as a key influence on their purchase decision."

Timpson continued: For the iPhone 12 series, the biggest influence on purchase is a previous good experience with the brand (90% previously owned another iPhone) and the 5G capability is the 6th largest purchase driver, with one third of buyers stating 5G as one of the main features driving purchase.

With such strong growth seen for iOS, Android share has declined sharply YoY from 58.8% in Mar 2020 to 55.1% in Mar 2021. However, similar to the global trends reported, some individual brands have enjoyed share increases.

Samsung share has grown from 32.5% to 33.4%, with a strong performance in the mid tier on the back of the A51 device (bought for its camera, storage capacity and features of the OS) and, whilst 70% of buyers previously owned another Samsung phone, 12% switched from Huawei, its biggest source of new customers.

Samsung also gained share in the premium and super premium price tiers, driven by the new S21 devices, which collectively account for almost 6% of sales, with 5G capability cited as a key purchase driver by 44% of buyers and exclusive promotions being the biggest influence on purchase.

Elsewhere in Android, Nokia device sales have been very strong in the low price tier with Huawei, again, a key source of acquisition and driving Nokia total share up from 2.6% to 3.1%, making it the 4th largest brand behind Oppo. In addition, Google share has grown from 1.8% to 2.5%, with growth in the mid and premium tiers, driven by the new Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 devices.

Whilst Oppo maintains its spot as the 3rd biggest brand, share has declined YoY from 5.2% to 4.3%, as the gains made in the premium end are outweighed by the losses suffered in the increasingly competitive mid price tier, where customers are generally switching to Samsung.

A final note on the uptake of 5G. Almost 9% of smartphone owners now have a 5G-enabled smartphone, equating to 1.6m owners, with a further 735,000 smartphone owners intending to upgrade to a 5G device over the next 6 months. Apple and Samsung are currently running neck and neck with relatively equal shares of the 5G market at around 45% each, Timpson concluded.

So, what about the global data?

Here we turn to Jennifer Chan, Insight Director at Kantar, who explains: Of reported markets, iOS has the greatest share growth in Germany; reaching 29.8% sales share, up 8.5% pts YoY, iPhone was 3 of the Top 5 selling models (iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro Max). An impressive outcome when compared to the same quarter last year, with just iPhone 11 making it into the Top 5 models sold.

iOS also demonstrates strong growth in USA at 45.6% sales share, up 4.9% pts YoY. All Top 5 models sold are iPhone; iPhone 12, iPhone 11, iPhone SE (2nd generation) and the two iPhone 12 Pro models. This demonstrates the breadth of iPhones portfolio across price bands to broaden consumer appeal.

Chan continues, despite challenges in Androids overall performance in Q1 2021, there is strong sales share growth among individual brands. Samsung YoY sales share is up in Great Britain (+4.7% pts), Italy (+3.6% pts), France (+2.3% pts), and Spain (+1.6% pts). Performance is supported by the launches of Galaxy S20 series in March 2020, followed by the prompt launch of Galaxy S21 series in January 2021. In Great Britain, Australia and USA there are more Samsung premium/super premium tier models in the Top 10 models sold than the same quarter in the previous year.

In Q1 2021, Chinese brands continue to perform well locally and in European markets; at least 1 in 4 smartphones sold in Italy are Xiaomi (up 4% pts YoY) and it is also 36.7% of smartphone sales in Spain, near flat performance YoY. Oppo continues to grow in China with 11% sales share (+2.7% pts. YoY) and demonstrates its expansion into more markets reaching 5% of sales share in Spain, Italy and Japan.

In Japan, 57.4% of smartphones sold are Android (+6.2% pts YoY), performance being driven by the launch of Sharps Aquos Sense 4 series. iPhone SE (2nd generation) still proves to be the most popular model; although having launched a year ago (April 2020) it will be interesting to see whether the position as number 1 model sold will continue to be held.

Chan asks, and answers: So what device specific features drive consumers to buy? Weve long been talking about screen size (although still the case in France and Japan) and quality of the camera (although still the case in Germany) being the highest-ranking driver. However, there have been some shifts in the rankings with Battery life being the highest-ranking feature for buying smartphones in Australia, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and the USA. More specifically, the growth of battery life as a driver across EU5 is the speed of charging and in China the length of battery life.

Kantar says: While camera quality hasnt grown as a reason YoY, it still ranks in the Top 3 across EU5 and Australia. More specifically, Dual/Multi lens camera, Quality of the rear camera and Quality of photos in low light. Unlike other markets, Selfie camera ranks higher in China than in other markets. In the USA, camera quality moves from ranking 3rd to 4th, overtaken by Features of OS (more specifically, the features of the OS that have grown YoY was in built voice assistant and organizing apps/folders.

It appears USA is not the only market to see an increase in the proportion of people buying for Features of OS with 5 other of the 9 reported markets and narrowing in on these OS features OS Cloud/Back up storage sees an uptick in most markets. The on-going buzz and rising availability of 5G enabled smartphones/tariff plans continues to translate across all reported markets with a higher proportion of smartphones being purchased for its 5G Capability vs. this time last year.

Chan continues: thinking about the future purchasing outlook for the rest of the year, over the next 6 months between 13% to 20% of smartphone owners intend to purchase a smartphone; the lower share being France and the higher share being Italy. iPhone is the number 1 preferred brand in USA, Australia, Japan and Great Britain. In the EU5 markets, with the exception of Great Britain, Samsung is the most preferred brand and its Huawei in China.

Manufacturers should be driving online as a means to build consumer touchpoints before they purchase. Consumers are researching online to prepare for their smartphone purchase. In all reported markets, except in France, consumers visit manufacturer websites to get information. The importance of cost is also demonstrated through the use of price comparison websites in 6 of the 9 reported markets.

Network carriers are still important in the USA, with purchasers using both website and in-store as a means to research. Finally, we cannot underestimate the influence of Earned touch points with asking friends/customer reviews appearing in the top 3 pre-purchase research methods in 7 of the 9 markets reported.
The cover of every GQ magazine is the culmination of a carefully considered vision, borne from a celebrated reputation of being at the cutting-edge of the latest styles and trends. In its May/June issue, under the expert direction of visionary editors, accomplished photographers and seasoned crews, GQ South Africa was inspired to create what few in the country considered before, a cover like no other. The highly respected publication used the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G to shoot and edit everything from the cover, the fashion pages, video clips and the behind-the-scenes video.

Galaxy S21 Ultra: The best of Samsung's best features make your everyday epic Packed with the best of Samsung's best features, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is finally here to deliver the ultimate smartphone experience...

Go behind the scenes of our May/June cover shoot with @PrinceKaybee_SA shot on the @SamsungMobileSA #GalaxyS21Ultra . The May/June issue is on shelves now and available for download digitally at the link in bio. #withGalaxy #GQxSamsungGalaxy pic.twitter.com/b5H8HzzCWx  GQ South Africa (@GQdotcoza) April 28, 2021

Renowned photographer Austin Malema was hired to shoots first cover shot on a smartphone. He was excited to see how the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G could deliver on a professional photo shoot, with a legion ofstylists, editors and crew behind him and the superstar Prince Kaybee in front of him.Even though I shoot with a smartphone all the time for personal use, it was the first time I had shot anything like a cover with a smartphone, said Malema. I was a little anxious, to be honest. I knew that the quality of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Smartphone was great, but I only started to find out details like that it could shoot raw images in 12-bit raw files when I started exploring it. I, however, soon realised that the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G would be more than capable of producing images that effortlessly measured up to DSLR quality. From that point, I started to feel very much at home with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Smartphone on set.Professional photographers, who want the utmost control and quality from their images to capture a more dynamic range, meaning more detail in the highlights and shadows, normally use raw files. However, it was the unexpected array of options offered by the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G that really captured the imagination of theteam.editor-in-chief Molife Kumona immediately noticed the sharpness of the images from the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Smartphone.What caught my attention was the quality, the vivid detail and colours. Our covers are carefully curated to feel original, compelling and larger than life. I was so impressed by the image quality from shooting with the device, I knew I had to use it to create a dual cover for this edition, said Molife.Samsungs greatest Galaxy smartphone yet took centre stage at the selected locations, armed with its ground-breaking camera technology. Beyond the dimensions of this special project with Samsung, the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G smartphone garnered a lot of praise from the Conde Nast team for the fastest processor in a Galaxy device, massive battery and the smartest and brightest screen in a Galaxy ever. The powerful quad camera, featuring a 108MP wide camera, two 10MP zoom lenses and a 40MP front camera almost stole the spotlight. On the shoot days, cover photographer Austin Malema used the combination of these incredible features, along with the acclaimed state-of-the-art prograde camera features to great effect.One of Molifes favourite features on site that he used to capture behind-the-scenes footage of the shoots was Directors View. I love how it lets you see, switch and select the best shot to tell your best story. Capturing video with the front and rear cameras at once for real-time reactions with Vlogger View, and preview or change the angle, zoom or go wide without losing any action with Live Thumbnails.The combination of Prince Kaybee and a team of visionaries with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Smartphone, which acts like its a photographers assistant, are what have made the dual cover forso epic. So make sure you look out fors May/June Issue on shelves from 23 April and see the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G dazzle ons dynamic dual covers.
Federal investigators have executed a search warrant on Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer, at his Upper East Side apartment in New York City over his alleged dealings with Ukraine, The New York Times reports.

According to the publication, investigators seized several electronic devices during the raid.

The Independent has contacted the Manhattan US Attorneys office for a comment.

Mr Giulianis lawyer Bob Costello called the raid totally unnecessary and said it was only for bad publicity to make him [Rudy] look like hes some sort of criminal. according to Fox News.

The search warrant suggests that federal authorities were further pursuing their investigation into whether Mr Giuliani, who previously served as New York Citys mayor, illegally lobbied the Trump administration on behalf of Ukranian officials and oligarchs in 2019 ahead of the 2020 election.

Those same officials were aiding Mr Giuliani in his search to find dirt against Mr Trumps political rivals, which included then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

This move by investigators was an extraordinary one, though, given Mr Giuliani previously served as a lawyer to a former president. But in recent years federal investigators also sought a search warrant against Michael Cohen, another former lawyer of Mr Trump.

The Manhattan US Attorneys office and FBI have sought for months to obtain a search warrant on Mr Giulianis phones, according to The New York Times.

Mr Giuliani has not been charged with any crimes and he denies all wrongdoings, but a probe into his alleged involvement was ongoing.

When Mr Trump was president, Justice Department officials reportedly attempted to block the Manhattan US Attorneys office from obtaining a search warrant for Mr Giulianis phones. Once Merrick B Garland was confirmed as Mr Bidens attorney general, the Justice Department lifted its objections to the search warrant.

In order for prosecutors to obtain a search warrant, they must first prove to a judge that a search warrant would likely provide evidence of a crime being committed.

Federal investigators have been looking into Mr Giulianis potential dealings with Ukraine for several years. In October 2019, The Wall Street Journal revealed that New York prosecutors were reviewing the lawyers bank records as part of their investigation into his dealings with the country.

Mr Giuliani has also been a key figure in the first impeachment probe that Mr Trump faced while president.

During the impeachment, Democrats claimed that there was overwhelming evidence that the former president abused his power by attempting to convince Ukraine officials to release dirt on Mr Biden and his son Hunter Biden through the withholding of $400m in aid.

In 2019, two associates to Mr Giuliani, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, were indicted on campaign finance charges that allegedly stemmed from a straw donor scheme  which involves someone illegally using another persons money to make a political contribution.

The two associates helped Mr Giuliani meet Ukraine officials involved in the current probe. Both men pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Explosive-Laden Drone Boat Targets Saudi Port of Yanbu

DUBAI, United Arab EmiratesA remotely piloted boat packed with explosives targeted the Saudi port of Yanbu in the Red Sea on Tuesday, the kingdom said, with the blast sending black smoke into the sky off the coast.

Saudi Arabia claimed to have intercepted and destroyed the attack boat. However, private security firms suggested commercial traffic near the port may have been hit in the assault.

Details remained scarce, but the incident comes after a series of attacks on shipping in the wider Mideast region amid a shadow war between Iran and Israel and against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations between Tehran and world powers over Irans tattered nuclear deal.

The incident also comes amid the kingdoms years-long war against Yemens Houthi rebels. The Houthis have in the past used bomb-laden drones and explosive-packed boats in attacks targeting the kingdom. However, the rebels did not immediately claim any assaults on Tuesday and did not respond to a request for comment.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency quoted Saudi military spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki saying the port was targeted by the drone boat.

The booby-trapped boat was dealt and destroyed according to the rules of engagement, the report quoted al-Maliki as saying, without providing evidence to support his claim.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, run by the British navy, simply said it was aware of reports of an incident and that investigations were ongoing. Private maritime security firm Dryad Global said it had reports that a ship had been attacked, without elaborating.

Maritime security firm Neptune P2P Group reported that black smoke was seen billowing near the south entrance of the Yanbu port.

British maritime security firm Ambrey reported an incident off western Saudi Arabia, between the ports of Yanbu and Rabigh. Earlier Tuesday morning, smoke was seen rising from a vessel off the Saudi oil-shipping port of Yanbu, the firm said. Multiple tankers remain anchored or drifting in the area.

Yanbu port control broadcast a message by marine VHF radio, warning vessels to increase their level of alertness and monitor for any suspicious activity, Ambrey said.

The U.S. Navys Mideast-based 5th Fleet declined to immediately comment on the incident.

Yanbu, 540 miles west of Riyadh, serves as the end point of the kingdoms crucial East-West Pipeline. It allows crude oil pumped in its eastern fields to be shipped directly via the Red Sea, avoiding the Persian Gulfs chokepoint at the Strait of Hormuz. Yanbu is also home to an oil refinery that can process 400,000 barrels of crude per day.

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessel cut in front of the U.S. Coast Guard ship USCGC Monomoy in the Persian Gulf, on April 2, 2021. (U.S. Navy via AP)

In May 2019, then-U.S. national security adviser John Bolton claimed that Yanbu had been targeted in an attack never acknowledged by the kingdom.

Meanwhile, American and Iranian warships had a tense encounter in the Persian Gulf earlier this month, the first such incident in about a year, the U.S. Navy said Tuesday.

Footage released by the Navy showed a ship commanded by Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard cut in front of the USCGC Monomoy, causing the Coast Guard vessel to come to an abrupt stop with its engine smoking on April 2.

The Guard also did the same with another Coast Guard vessel, the USCGC Wrangell, said Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a 5th Fleet spokeswoman. Such close passes risk the ships colliding at sea.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the incident in the southern reaches of the Persian Gulf, which resulted in no injuries or damage.

The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, five short blasts from the ships horns, and while the (Iranian) Harth 55 responded to the bridge-to-bridge radio queries, they continued the unsafe maneuvers, Rebarich said. After approximately three hours of the U.S. issuing warning and conducting defensive maneuvers, the (Iranian) vessels maneuvered away from the U.S. ships and opened the distance between them.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the incident, which involved the Iranian Harth support ship and three Iranian fast-attack craft. The Coast Guard units operate out of Bahrain as part of Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, its biggest unit overseas.

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessel cut in front of the U.S. Coast Guard ship USCGC Monomoy in the Persian Gulf, on April 2, 2021. (U.S. Navy via AP)

The interaction marked the first unsafe and unprofessional incident involving the Iranians since April 15, 2020, Rebarich said. However, Iran had largely stopped such incidents in 2018 and nearly in the entirety of 2019, she said.

In 2017, the Navy recorded 14 instances of what it describes as unsafe and or unprofessional interactions with Iranian forces. It recorded 35 in 2016, and 23 in 2015.

The incidents at sea almost always involve the Revolutionary Guard, which reports only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Typically, they involve Iranian speedboats armed with deck-mounted machine guns and rocket launchers test-firing weapons or shadowing American aircraft carriers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 percent of all oil passes.

Some analysts believe the incidents are meant in part to squeeze President Hassan Rouhanis administration after the 2015 nuclear deal. They include a 2016 incident in which Iranian forces captured and held overnight 10 U.S. sailors who strayed into the Irans territorial waters.

U.S. naval forces continue to remain vigilant and are trained to act in a professional manner, while our commanding officers retain the inherent right to act in self-defense, Rebarich said.

The incident comes as Iran negotiates with world powers in Vienna over Tehran and Washington returning to the 2015 nuclear deal, talks due to resume Tuesday. It also follows a series of incidents across the Mideast attributed to a shadow war between Iran and Israel, which includes attacks on regional shipping and sabotage at Irans Natanz nuclear facility.

By Jon Gambrell and Isabel Debre
Chennai, April 28 : With the second wave of Covid pandemic creating unprecedented surge in cases and fatalities, the premier educational institutions of Chennai, IIT Madras and Anna University have postponed their semester examinations and even online tests.

IIT Madras has sent a press release and a circular in this regard and the officials said that the next date of the examinations will be announced at a later date considering how the pandemic situation evolves out.

IIT Madras has postponed its end semester exams which were to be held on May 10 and Anna University has postponed its online retest scheduled for May 3. Madras University has also cancelled its examinations following the surge in Covid cases and the second wave of pandemic.

IIT Madras had planned to conduct written examinations from May 10 at the Kendriya Vidyalayas which were the January-May semester examinations of the premier institution.

Anna university in a press release said that the re-test which was scheduled from May 3 will not happen owing to the pandemic. The university had to plan a conduct retest for students of its four campuses who had faced glitches during exams conducted in February and March.

Madras University which had planned to conduct semester examinations from May 17 has also postponed its examinations.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 13:09:55|Editor: huaxia

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by Mao Pengfei, Nguon Sovan

PHNOM PENH, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic, Cambodia's economy in 2020 registered its slowest growth since 1994. However, the country's growth is projected to rebound 3.5 percent this year, thanks to its newly-signed bilateral free trade agreement with China and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

STIMULUS PACKAGE

A government report showed that the Southeast Asian nation's economy shrank 1.9 percent last year, to 27.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Despite the pandemic, Cambodia's total trade volume reached 35.8 billion dollars in 2020, up 2.5 percent from a year earlier. The GDP growth in 2021 is forecast to rebound 3.5 percent this year, said the government report.

Cambodia has been fighting a third wave of COVID-19 community transmission since Feb. 20. The kingdom logged 508 new cases on Tuesday, pushing the national count to 11,063, with 82 fatalities, said the Ministry of Health. Currently, there are 7,270 active cases in the country.

To mitigate the socio-economic impacts caused by COVID-19, the government has released an 800-million-dollar stimulus package for 2021, according to Economy and Finance Ministry spokesman Meas Soksensan.

"Global pandemic and global supply chain disruption have been causing difficulties for Cambodia's economic development," he told Xinhua recently. "To support the socio-economic development during the pandemic, the government has released a stimulus package of around 800 million dollars for this year."

Mey Kalyan, senior advisor to the Supreme National Economic Council, said the limited production capacity of not-so-high value added products, combined with the limited saving capacity of the majority of the population as well as the dependency on situation in foreign countries, all have made Cambodia's economy vulnerable to negative shocks like COVID-19.

"If COVID-19 continues further, the negative impact will worsen even more," he told Xinhua. "The impact is more acute on poor layers of the society."

Chheang Vannarith, president of the Phnom Penh-based Asian Vision Institute, said promoting a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient economic recovery is the most challenging journey for Cambodia.

"It requires strong political will and material resources to build social infrastructure, enhance social protection and justice, and improve public service delivery," he said. "Corruption remains the key issue that needs to be urgently addressed at all levels otherwise it is hard to attract foreign direct investment."

COOPERATION WITH CHINA

Cambodia's Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon on Tuesday expressed his profound gratitude to China for formally approving the export of Cambodian fresh mangoes to China.

"This is a new achievement that was born from the excellent cooperation between Cambodia and China," he said.

Seang Thay, spokesman for Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce, said the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA), signed on Oct. 12, 2020, would provide larger market access to Cambodian products.

"We're confident that through our close relations and good cooperation, China will continue supporting Cambodia in rebuilding its economy during and after the COVID-19 crisis," he said.

"When the Cambodia-China FTA enters into force, I hope that Cambodian products, especially agricultural ones and other potential products, will be exported more to China," he said.

Kalyan, who is also chairman of the Cambodia Development Resource Institute, said it's lucky that the Chinese economy is now largely free of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and thus "has good capacity" to boost regional economy, including that of Cambodia.

"What we expect from China is the Push and Pull Policy. For example, China will continue to be the market for our export goods, and at the same time, add more investment to increase local production capacity in Cambodia, so it can recover gradually over time," he said.

Vannarith said Cambodia and China must work together to strengthen not only the hard infrastructure and also the soft infrastructure in Cambodia.

"Skills development, institutional capacity building, and digital infrastructure development are the key policy intervention to enhance the resilience of Cambodian society and economy," he said.

RCEP MATTERS

Initiated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2012, RCEP is a mega free trade deal between its 10 member states and five FTA partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The 15 Asia-Pacific countries signed the pact on Nov. 15, 2020, forging the world's largest free trade agreement. Ratifications of six ASEAN member countries and three non-ASEAN member countries are needed for reaching the threshold of entry into force.

Thay said Cambodia has been expediting internal procedures towards the ratification of the agreement as soon as possible.

"Currently, Cambodia has finished the translation of the agreement from English to Khmer and will soon submit it to the Council of Ministers for a check before requesting ratification from the National Assembly and the Senate," he said.

"Cambodia expects that the agreement will be given ratification in the second half of 2021 if the COVID-19 situation is soon under control," he added.

Kalyan said that the RCEP is meaningful for Cambodia in the medium-to-long term and that the kingdom needs further improve its system and mechanism to facilitate the smoother flows of trade and investment.

"It is well-known in Cambodia that the scope and intensity for trade within RCEP have been broadened, but Cambodia is still facing the challenge to produce goods which are competitive enough in foreign markets," he said.

Vannarith said Cambodia needs to further deepen its reforms relating to regulatory regime and governance in order to better seize the opportunities deriving from the RCEP.

"Product and service innovation, quality production capacity, being part of regional production networks, and building a resilient regional supply chain are critical to Cambodia," he said. Enditem
Rather than a CEO-slamming sound bite free-for-all, Tuesday's big tech hearing on algorithms aimed for more of a listening session vibe  and in that sense it mostly succeeded.

The hearing centered on testimony from the policy leads at Facebook, YouTube and Twitter rather than the chief executives of those companies for a change. The resulting few hours didnt offer any massive revelations but was still probably more productive than squeezing some of the worlds most powerful men for their commitments to get back to you on that.

In the hearing, lawmakers bemoaned social media echo chambers and the ways that the algorithms pumping content through platforms are capable of completely reshaping human behavior.

... This advanced technology is harnessed into algorithms designed to attract our time and attention on social media, and the results can be harmful to our kids attention spans, to the quality of our public discourse, to our public health, and even to our democracy itself, said Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), chair of the Senate Judiciary's subcommittee on privacy and tech, which held the hearing.

Coons struck a cooperative note, observing that algorithms drive innovation but that their dark side comes with considerable costs

None of this is new, of course. But Congress is crawling closer to solutions, one repetitive tech hearing at a time. The Tuesday hearing highlighted some zones of bipartisan agreement that could determine the chances of a tech reform bill passing the Senate, which is narrowly controlled by Democrats. Coons expressed optimism that a broadly bipartisan solution could be reached.

What would that look like? Probably changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which weve written about extensively over the years. That law protects social media companies from liability for user-created content and its been a major nexus of tech regulation talk, both in the newly Democratic Senate under Biden and the previous Republican-led Senate that took its cues from Trump.

Story continues

Lauren Culbertson, head of U.S. public policy at Twitter

Lauren Culbertson, head of U.S. public policy at Twitter Inc., speaks remotely during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. Image Credits: Al Drago/Bloomberg / Getty Images

A broken business model

In the hearing, lawmakers pointed to flaws inherent to how major social media companies make money as the heart of the problem. Rather than criticizing companies for specific failings, they mostly focused on the core business model from which social medias many ills spring forth.

I think it's very important for us to push back on the idea that really complicated, qualitative problems have easy quantitative solutions, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) said. He argued that because social media companies make money by keeping users hooked to their products, any real solution would have to upend that business model altogether.

The business model of these companies is addiction," Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) echoed, calling social media an attention treadmill by design.

Ex-Googler and frequent tech critic Tristan Harris didnt mince words about how tech companies talk around that central design tenet in his own testimony. "It's almost like listening to a hostage in a hostage video," Harris said, likening the engagement-seeking business model to a gun just offstage.

Spotlight on Section 230

One big way lawmakers propose to disrupt those deeply entrenched incentives? Adding algorithm-focused exceptions to the Section 230 protections that social media companies enjoy. A few bills floating around take that approach.

One bill introduced in 2020 from Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) and Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) would require platforms with 10 million or more users to obtain consent before serving users content based on their behavior or demographic data if they want to keep Section 230 protections. The idea is to revoke 230 immunity from platforms that boost engagement by funneling information to users that polarizes their views unless a user specifically opts in.

In another bill, the Protecting Americans from Dangerous Algorithms Act, Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) propose suspending Section 230 protections and making companies liable if their algorithms amplify misinformation that leads to offline violence. That bill would amend Section 230 to reference existing civil rights laws.

Section 230s defenders argue that any insufficiently targeted changes to the law could disrupt the modern internet as we know it, resulting in cascading negative impacts well beyond the intended scope of reform efforts. An outright repeal of the law is almost certainly off the table, but even small tweaks could completely realign internet businesses, for better or worse.

During the hearing, Hawley made a broader suggestion for companies that use algorithms to chase profits. "Why shouldnt we just remove Section 230 protection from any platform that engages in behavioral advertising or algorithmic amplification?" he asked, adding that he wasnt opposed to an outright repeal of the law.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who leads the Senates antitrust subcommittee, connected the algorithmic concerns to anti-competitive behavior in the tech industry. If you have a company that buys out everyone from under them  were never going to know if they could have developed the bells and whistles to help us with misinformation because there is no competition, Klobuchar said.

Subcommittee members Klobuchar and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) have their own major Section 230 reform bill, the Safe Tech Act, but that legislation is less concerned with algorithms than ads and paid content.

At least one more major bill looking at Section 230 through the lens of algorithms is still on the way. Prominent Big Tech critic House Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) is due to propose a Section 230 bill soon that could suspend liability protections for companies that rely on algorithms to boost engagement and line their pockets.

That's a very complicated algorithm that is designed to maximize engagement to drive up advertising prices to produce greater profits for the company," Cicilline told Axios last month. "  That's a set of business decisions for which, it might be quite easy to argue, that a company should be liable for."
Ulrika Jonsson's daughter Bo - who has a congenital heart defect - was rushed to hospital this week.

Former Gladiators presenter Ulrika, 53, is now awaiting the latest test results for her ill daughter after she was admitted to hospital overnight, with Ulrika given hourly reports on her progress.

Bo has been in and out of hospital over the years as a result of her condition - she was born with double inlet left ventricle defect, a congenital defect that affects the valves and chambers of the heart.

Tough time: Ulrika Jonsson's daughter Bo - who has a congenital heart defect - was admitted to hospital this week

As a baby, she had to undergo life-saving surgery on her heart - but Ulrika did not reveal what had caused Bo to be hospitalised.

Ulrika told fans about her sleepless night on Tuesday as she awaited word from the doctors.

She said: 'When your plan for an early good night's sleep goes Pete Tong. Hourly, Daughterly updates from hospital.

'Finally discharged will update later. Thank you for your kind messages.'

Brave: Former Gladiators presenter Ulrika, 53, is now awaiting the latest test results for her ill daughter after she was admitted to hospital overnight, with Ulrika given hourly reports on her progress

She later told fans Bo who she refers to as 'oldest female ungrateful' was no longer in hospital and that 'nothing has been solved yet.'

She also shared a picture of Boo saying: 'Miss you stoopid.'

Mailonline has contacted a spokesman for Ulrika Jonsson for comment.

Last month Ulrika hailed Bo as a 'warrior' as she went to get a health check up.

The TV presenter shared a series of snaps to her Instagram Stories of Bo lying down at the doctor's office as she received a liver scan.

The former Celebrity Big Brother star posted a photo of the pair sat together in the waiting room as she called Bo her 'CHD Warrior'.

In another, Bo could be seen in the doctor's office sporting a face mask with Ulrika captioning the snap: 'Gonna be a loooong day'.

Hospital: She later told fans Bo who she refers to as 'oldest female ungrateful' was no longer in hospital and that 'nothing has been solved yet'

Ulrika and Bo had to sit apart for some of the day as the star snapped her daughter sporting a white bandage in the waiting room.

In another photo, Bo rested her head against her mother's shoulder.

The former Gladiators star captioned the post: 'Always her shoulder (and everything else) #ungratefuls'.

It comes after Ulrika shared her delight and relief after her eldest daughter received a Covid vaccine in February.

Ulrika penned: 'For all those with full hearts, functioning hearts, borrowed hearts, broken hearts and biologically faulty hearts, this has made my heart sing.

Family: Ulrika recently praised her Bo as she went to get a health check up last month

'Ungrateful [the playful name she gives her children] with congenital heart defect has been vaccinated. And breathe.....'

Ulrika has previously spoken about Bo's health condition and was delighted when they were reunited in December, weeks after Bo was admitted to A&E with medical issues.

Sharing a family picture, a smiling Ulrika posed a picture with Bo, who was casually flipping the bird in her pyjamas in the background.

Ulrika wrote: 'She's back home, full of the joys of spring.'

The doting mother-of-four revealed her heartache in November when Bo was hospitalised and she was unable to visit her amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Health: The TV presenter shared a series of snaps to her Instagram Stories of Bo lying down at the doctor's office as she received a liver scan

Apart: Ulrika and Bo had to sit apart for some of the day as the star snapped her daughter sporting a white bandage in the waiting room

Heartwarming: In another photo, Bo rested her head against her mother's shoulder

The former weather presenter wrote at the time: 'The face of no sleep.

'Fireworks, oldest Ungrateful [the playful name she gives her children] ends up in A&E miles away and I can't go to her. Dog vomits, twice. #happythursday.'

Ulrika is also mother to Cameron, 25, Martha, 14 and Malcolm, 11.

While Ulrika didn't specify what was wrong with her daughter at the time, in September Ulrika admitted Bo was 'terrified' before Britain went into lockdown and was taking risks by going to university.

The TV star's daughter has a compromised immune system and an underlying cardiac condition and began her second year of university amid the pandemic.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Ulrika said: 'At the beginning of Lockdown, Bo was terrified and went into lockdown a week before the nation went into lockdown.

Happy: It comes after Ulrika shared her delight and relief after her eldest daughter received a Covid vaccine in February

Reunited: Ulrika has previously spoken about Bo's health condition and was delighted when they were reunited in December, weeks after Bo was admitted to A&E with medical issues

'As time went by I became increasingly concerned about her mental health because she was basically locked up in her room.

'She had contact with her friends on FaceTime but that social thing they thrive on became a concern for me.'

She said: 'After three months, she decided when she was allowed, to bubble with another family and her present situation is that the college is doing a mix of lectures and virtual.

'She also does a lot of placements and those are constantly under review. I think Bos approach now is, strangely, a lot more relaxed than she was initially. She feels like shes had a taste of normal life and is having to take some risks.'
The heirs to South Korea's Samsung conglomerate have announced plans to pay a 7.8 billion inheritance tax bill, despite giving away a 1.3 billion art collection.

The settlement, one of the world's largest ever, comes after the death of the former chairman Lee Kun-hee, who was the country's richest man when he died last October aged 78, leaving an estimated 14.2 billion.

In a rare public statement on Wednesday, the family noted that the bill was 'equivalent to three to four times the [South Korean] government's total estate tax revenue last year.'

The announcement, and the donation of artworks to help reduce the tax bill, is designed to soothe public anger at a corruption scandal which has seen Kun-hee's only son Lee Jae-yong jailed for bribery and embezzlement.

Lee Kun-hee and wife Hong Ra-hee in 2012 (left) and leaving for a conference in Japan in 2011 (right). Kun-hee, who was the country's richest man when he died last October aged 78, leaving an estimated 14.2 billion.

Kun-hee's only son and eldest child Lee Jae-yong standing in front of his sisters Lee Boo-jin (centre) and Lee Seo-Hyun (left) at an event in Seoul in 2012. Jae-yong was jailed in January for bribery and embezzlement

Lee Kun-hee with daughters Lee Boo-jin (right) and Lee Seo-hyun (left), and wife Hong Ra-hee (rear) leaving the Las Vegas Convention Centre for the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show

The family also announced a raft of charitable donations, including 194 million to child cancer treatment and 647 million to support research into infectious diseases.

'The inheritance tax payment is one of the largest ever in Korea and globally,' the Lee family said in their statement, saying it will be paid off in six instalments starting this month.

'The donation is anticipated to contribute to preserving domestic cultural assets and enhance the public's rights to enjoy culture and research in the field of art history since [such] a massive donation to the country, which includes cultural assets, is unprecedented,' it added.

The late chairman's assets include shareholdings in Samsung Electronics, Samsung Life and Samsung C&T, as well as real estate, according to the statement.

Kun-hee also left a trove of antiques and artworks reportedly worth 2 billion.

Around 23,000 pieces from Lee's collection will be donated, Samsung said, including 14 items classed as National Treasures that will be showcased at the National Museum of Korea.

Works by Western artists including a Claude Monet water lilies painting, Salvador Dali's Family of Marsupial Centaurs, and pieces by Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Joan Miro and others will be donated to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, it added.

The art donations will reduce the family's tax liability.

'Samsung has carried out a realistic calculation on donating the late Lee's artworks,' said Kim Dae-jong, professor of business at Sejong University in Seoul.

'If they had not decided to donate them but instead opted for the children to inherit them, it would have been subject to high inheritance tax. With their donation of such high value works, they don't have to pay that tax while doing general public service at the same time.'

Another 1 trillion won will be donated to health causes, half of it to be spent on building South Korea's first specialist infectious diseases hospital.

Samsung - whose flagship subsidiary is among the world's biggest smartphone and computer chip makers - is by far the largest of the family-controlled empires known as chaebols that dominate business in South Korea, the world's 12th-largest economy.

The conglomerate is crucial to the country's economic health - its overall turnover is equivalent to a fifth of the national gross domestic product.

Lee Kun-hee with wife Hong Ra-hee at a Dinner to Mark the 20th Anniversary of His 'New Management Initiative' at a Hotel in Seoul South Korea in 2013

The announcement, and the donation of artworks to help reduce the tax bill, is designed to soothe public anger at a corruption scandal which has seen Kun-hee's only son Lee Jae-yong (pictured) jailed for bribery and embezzlement

The late chairman's eldest son and the group's de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, was jailed in January over a sprawling corruption scandal that brought down former president Park Geun-hye.

He is undergoing a separate trial over stock manipulation, which critics say was key to ensuring a smooth succession of power within the conglomerate.

Commentators online called for him to be freed Wednesday, with one posting on Naver, the South's largest portal: 'Samsung is doing this much for the public, please release Lee Jae-yong now.'

Earlier this week five major South Korean business groups appealed to the presidential Blue House for a pardon for him on national economic grounds.

But an official told reporters that it had 'not considered a pardon for him so far and also have no plan, for now, to do so'.

Lee apologised last May for some governance issues at the group, pledging to ensure 'there will be no more controversy over the succession' and that he would not allow his children to take over from him at the firm.
Unilabs, the leading European diagnostic group, has hit a key milestone in its fight against Covid-19, passing the 10 million Covid-19 test mark after hugely increasing both sampling and testing capacity.

Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, and with dedicated new labs in the UAE, Portugal, the Netherlands, and the UK, Unilabs current capacity exceeds 500,000 tests per week and rising.

Just recently, the Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC) has granted Unilabs UAE the ISO accreditation for Covid-19 PCR testing, becoming the UAEs first private laboratory institution to obtain this global accreditation.

Since December last year, we have doubled our Covid-19 test volumes  a remarkable achievement for our front-line teams across our seventeen countries, said Dr Christian Rebhan, Unilabs Chief Medical and Operations

Officer.

As the vaccines are rolled out and the world prepares to open up again, testing remains crucial to quickly identifying and containing the virus wherever it turns up.

Our teams have put their heart and soul into delivering this success, working tirelessly to ramp up capacity, secure supplies, take samples from our patients, and deliver accurate results as quickly as possible, said Timoteo Guimaraes, who runs Unilabs Covid-19 business unit.

For her part, Shimaa Sabri, Operations Director, Unilabs Middle East, stressed that Unilabs branch in the UAE has largely contributed to achieving this milestone

thanks to the sustained support of the local health authorities, which provided us with all necessary resources and capabilities to facilitate our work, adding We have always been keen to introduce innovative methods and technologies whilst following local regulations to enhance the process of the laboratory system in the UAE.

Unilabs takes pride in supporting the ongoing efforts being made by the local health authorities in the fight against Covid-19, thanks to which the UAE has become the worlds first country in terms of screening per capita, Sabri stated.

She made it clear that the growing mutual trust with the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi prompted Unilabs to open a new branch in the Emirate, with a production capacity of 80,000 PCR tests per day.

The bulk of the tests are PCR tests. Unilabs also offers rapid antigen tests, as well as serology tests, which provide insight into the level of antibodies in a patients

bloodstream, and thus the patients immune response to the virus. Demand for serology tests is rising as more people get vaccinated since these tests can evaluate the patients individual reaction to the vaccine.

Unilabs has also introduced innovative new techniques and technologies to improve, speed up, and broaden testing. This includes tests that specifically identify variants such as the UK or South African variant, as well as new kinds of tests such as saliva or gargling tests.

To minimise risks for patients and staff, Unilabs has also created innovative workflows, setting up more than two hundred drive- and walk-throughs. Unilabs also carries out some Covid-19 sampling at its roughly 1,000 regular collection centres. At the same time, it has introduced dedicated zones to allow vulnerable non-Covid patients  such as the elderly and the immuno-suppressed  to continue routine testing for other conditions. -- Tradearabia News Service
(Newser)  The charge was last used nearly 60 years ago, but it was resurrected by Australian prosecutors with success in the case of a man who filmed four dead and dying police officers a year ago. Richard Pusey, 42, pleaded guilty to a charge of outraging public decency and received a sentence of 10 months on Wednesday. Pusey was pulled over last April for driving nearly 30mph over the speed limit in his Porsche. A poultry truck then crashed into the groupwhich didn't include Pusey. The New York Times reports he had been off to the side urinating in some bushes and escaped uninjured. Instead of helping the four officers who had been hit, he approached them while recording on his phone and complaining about his damaged Porsche. "There you go. Amazing, absolutely amazing," he allegedly said. "All I wanted was to go home and have my sushi and now you've f---ed my f---ing car."

story continues below

When someone who came to help the officers asked Pusey to pitch in, he said, "They're dead" and kept videoing the scene. The AP reports Judge Trevor Wraight called Pusey's behavior "callous and reprehensible ... heartless, cruel and disgraceful." Pusey, who has a personality disorder and tested positive for pot and ecstasy, will see the 296 days already served applied to his sentence, meaning it's almost done. (Though the Times notes he's expected to stay in custody on unrelated charges.) The husband of one of the officers killed called the sentence "too lenient" and "totally inappropriate." The BBC notes Wraight last month suggested Pusey had become "probably the most hated man in Australia" due to negative media coverage of his case. The driver of the poultry truck, Mohinder Singh, was handed a 22-year sentence earlier this month; he had been on drugs and sleep-deprived when he hit the officers. (Read more Australia stories.)
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On April,15 2019 Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins came to the National Press Club in advance of the 50th Anniversary of that historic lunar mission to speak about his experience in 1969 and to talk about the importance of the press in our democratic society. For those in the Press Club Ballroom it was an unforgettable experience. For Collins it was a rare, long form interview with one of the legends of broadcasting  Marvin Kalb.

For journalists working on stories related to Collins, who passed away today at age 90, The Kalb Report program in its entirety is available here and may be used without restrictions in news applications.

Collins talked about the recent disrespect for the press coming from some in government including the then-President and focused on the label "Enemy of the People" that the former President had used in relation to the Press. "Enemy, my ass," Collins said. "The press is not our enemy. It is our salvation, and I thank you for it."

"Michel Collins and his family could not have been more gracious or giving in their participation in our program, said Michael Freedman, 2020 National Press Club president and executive producer of The Kalb Report series. "His candor, insights, humor, and reflections made for a memorable and deeply meaningful program. His family made it known to us that he accepted our invitation for three reasons: Marvin Kalb, his respect for CBS News and its space coverage (both Kalb and Freedman are CBS News alumni), and the platform provided by The National Press Club."

Through conversations with leaders who shape media, public policy and culture in America, The Kalb Report public broadcasting series explores the vital role of the press in our democracy and the transformation of journalism in the 21st century. Now in its 27th season (and 101 episodes), The Kalb Report is jointly produced by the National Press Club and the National Press Club Journalism Institute, University of Maryland Global Campus, Harvard's Shorenstein Center, The George Washington University and The Gaylord College of Journalism at the University of Oklahoma. It is underwritten by a grant from Inasmuch Foundation. Maryland Public Television serves as presenting station for the series, which is distributed nationally by American Public Television.

PRESS CONTACT: Lindsay Underwood for the National Press Club; [email protected], (202) 662-7561

SOURCE National Press Club

Related Links

http://press.org


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, said in an important announcement that fully vaccinated people in the United States no longer need to wear a mask if they are outdoors, and not in a big crowd. Releasing the agency's updated recommendations and guiding principles on Tuesday, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky clarified which outdoor activities are safer or less safe, depending on whether a person is vaccinated. 'If you are fully vaccinated and want to attend a small outdoor gathering with people who are vaccinated and unvaccinated or dine at an outdoor restaurant with friends from multiple households, the science shows, if you're vaccinated, you can do so safely unmasked.' However, CDC continues to recommend masking in crowded outdoor settings and venues, such as packed stadiums and concerts, where there is decreased ability to maintain physical distance and where many unvaccinated people may also be present. 'We will continue to recommend this until widespread vaccination is achieved,' Walensky told reporters. 'Although these vaccines are extremely effective, we know that the virus spreads very well indoors. Until more people are vaccinated and while we still have more than 50,000 cases a day, mask use indoors will provide extra protection,' she added. CDC has posted on its website examples of various outdoor activities that are safe to do without a mask for those who are fully vaccinated. The CDC defines 'fully vaccinated' as 14 days after taking second dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or 14 days after taking single dose of a J&J vaccine. Asked about the reason behind the guidance change at this moment, Walensky said, 'There's increasing data that suggests that most of transmission is happening indoors rather than outdoors; less than 10 percent of documented transmission, in many studies, have occurred outdoors. We also know that there's almost a 20-fold increased risk of transmission in the indoor setting than the outdoor setting'. However, the CDC chief admitted the inability to distinguish between vaccinated and unvaccinated people in large public outdoor venues such as concerts and stadiums. 'In those settings, when you have that density, we really do worry about protecting the unvaccinated people.' 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.
Each year, the Product of the Year awards recognize innovative products that help professional electrical installers, facility owners and occupants work safely and effectively. Hundreds of entries were evaluated by EC&M's panel of independent judges. The judges are electrical professionals from the engineering, contracting, and facility maintenance industries. After deliberations, the judges narrowed down the entries to a number of category winners announced in its special competition issue .

Peter Lau, president of Hubbell Electrical Solutions, commented, "We are honored to be recognized by EC&M's Product of the Year awards for 2021. Winning first place in five categories demonstrates Hubbell's commitment to product innovation and leadership in the commercial building industry."

With the category winners selected, EC&M magazine determines an overall Product of the Year winner by vote of the magazine's subscribers. Voting for this year's award winner will be available on the magazine's website between May 24 June 28.

Hubbell products receiving first-place category honors this year are:

Category Winner: Security Equipment & Systems

SpectraSAFE integrated surveillance lighting system from Hubbell Lighting provides users a scalable lighting-based video security solution. Cloud-enabled wireless camera modules seamlessly integrate in Columbia indoor luminaires to complement existing security systems in commercial applications, protecting people, property and assets.

Category Winner: Luminaires (Disinfection)

SpectraClean 254 luminaires from Hubbell Lighting provide fast and powerful UVC germicidal solutions for upper air disinfection. Available in discrete Columbia luminaires or integrated Litecontrol architectural luminaires, this effective solution operates wirelessly for both visual lighting and disinfection from a single Hubbell NX Distributed IntelligenceO digital control system.

Category Winner: Racks and Enclosures

The inREACH Plenum Rated Cord Reel Enclosure from Hubbell Wiring Device-Kellems allows secure mounting of cord reels in drop ceilings. The first of its kind, this steel enclosure isolates a reel from the open area above ceilings or below floors provided for air circulation, called the plenum space. It is designed for commercial and industrial applications such as schools, laboratories and industrial plants.

Category Winner: Boxes

The Dugout Transition Box from RACO offers the quickest way to transition from flexible armored (MC) cable to conduit before circuits enter a load center. It features 21 built-in STAB-iTO cable clamps, which are field proven to be three times faster than traditional cable connectors. The Dugout box provides more labor savings and installation flexibility than other transition boxes in commercial applications.

Category Winner: Tools (Power)

The BURNDY PATRIOT PAT750T3 battery crimper series offers all the features of its predecessor, plus a new ergonomic design and state-of-the-art technology. The product's T3 (TRACK TRACE TRANSMIT) intelligence can track crimp locations with onboard GPS  a BURNDY exclusive. It also can trace individual crimps with comments, photos, and output force validation, and transmit via Bluetooth technology to sync to the cloud. The tool is one of the most versatile on the market, making it a smart choice for electrical contractors.

Hubbell brands won four categories in 2020 and one in 2019.

ABOUT HUBBELL

Hubbell Incorporated is an international manufacturer of high-quality, reliable electrical and utility solutions for a broad range of customer and end-market applications. With 2020 revenues of $4.2 billion, Hubbell operates manufacturing facilities in the United States and around the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Shelton, Connecticut.

Media Inquiries Only (not for publication)

Nancy Talley

[email protected]

440-528-7287



SOURCE Hubbell Inc.
FBI Director Christopher Wray arrives to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington on March 2, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via Reuters)

FBI Abused Secretive Surveillance Program, Court Finds

The FBI has continued its abuses of the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act program, including searching for information on U.S. citizens who had gone to the bureau to report that they were victims of a crime, a newly declassified document shows.

One FBI information specialist between April 11, 2019, and July 8, 2019, conducted approximately 124 queries of email messages and other electronic communications obtained through secretive methods under the FISA program, which permits warrantless surveillance of foreigners outside of the United States.

The surveillance can and has been used to ultimately obtain information on Americans.

The searches included looking at information for people who had requested to participate in a bureau-run citizens academy, which is a program for local leaders designed to foster greater understanding of the role of federal law enforcement, and people who needed to enter the field office the FBI worker was based in to conduct work, such as a repair, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court reported in the newly released document.

In other cases, people who entered the field office, which wasnt identified, to report they were victims of a crime were subjected to the background search.

In another example that concerned the courts presiding judge, James Boasberg, an FBI task force officer conducted 69 queries that were not in line with the agencys internal rules on how to conduct the searches.

The Court continues to be concerned about FBI querying practices involving U.S.-person query terms, including (1) application of the substantive standard for conducting queries; (2) queries that are designed to retrieve evidence of crime that is not foreign-intelligence information; and (3) recordkeeping and documentation requirements, Boasberg wrote.

The government also self-reported numerous incidents where queries involving Americans were designed to return evidence of a crime completely unrelated to foreign intelligence without getting an order from the court. The same issues were found the previous year, which suggests that similar violations  likely have occurred across the Bureau.

Boasbergs overview of the FBIs use of FISA was written on Nov. 18, 2020, but just released to the public this week.

FBI workers have repeatedly abused the system that permits it to look at intelligence garnered under FISA, previous reports and analyses have shown.

The court found in 2018 that bureau personnel improperly searched an expansive foreign surveillance database for tens of thousands of phone numbers and email addresses that included those of Americans. Additionally, a watchdog review of warrant applications to spy on Carter Page, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, uncovered 17 significant errors or omissions.

FBI headquarters in Washington on Jan. 2, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Boasberg eventually ordered the FBI to revamp its FISA procedures, and the bureau has made changes, such as adding to warrant application forms whether the surveillance target was a government source, revamping training on how to use the system, and altering a checklist used to vet confidential sources.

Updated targeting procedures were submitted to the court last year.

In an emailed statement sent to The Epoch Times, a senior FBI official said the bureau implemented a number of changes by December 2019, including deploying updated training to all personnel who have access to unlimited information from FISA surveillance.

The majority of the non-compliance incidents referenced in the newly released report occurred prior to implementation of the FBIs changes, the official said. Boasberg said as much in the report.

Absent evidence to the contrary and under the unique circumstances stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, he continues to determine that the FBIs procedures meet lawful and Fourth Amendment requirements, the judge decided.

While the Court is concerned about the apparent widespread violations of the querying standard  it lacks sufficient information at this time to assess the adequacy of the FBI system changes and training, post-implementation, he wrote.

The bureau noted that Boasberg was overall supportive of the FBI and approved the bureaus submission for reauthorization to continue using the FISA system.

Boasberg, an Obama nominee, in January sentenced former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmithwho admitted to altering an email to obscure the fact that Page was a CIA assetto probation, with no jail time.

The top Democratic and Republican members on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees didnt immediately respond to requests by The Epoch Times for comment on the newly released report.

Jake Laperruque, senior counsel for the Project on Government Oversight, wrote on Twitter that the new documents show that the FBI has been conducting so-called backdoor searches on people for domestic policing without receiving the mandated approval from the court.

Essentially, this means the FBI was able to conduct warrantless domestic searches without the FISA Court approval they were supposed to get, at best because personnel were sloppy, at worst because using the default settings gave plausible deniability for abuse, he said.
NUMEROUS auctioneers have told the Leader about the numbers of people wishing to relocate to Limerick city and county over the last year.

Due to Covid, many can now work from wherever they like and perhaps commute to the office one day a week or fortnight. The fact they can sell their home in Dublin or abroad and buy a much nicer home in Limerick has made moving here very attractive.

Deputy Richard ODonoghue raised this in the Dail. He said house prices have risen by as much as 75,000 in parts of Limerick.

He told a Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: "At the moment, an issue in Limerick concerns people relocating to us from other counties, which is causing an issue with price increases for three and four-bed houses. Were talking about 50,000, to 75,000 in some areas, including Castleconnell."

Deputy O'Donoghue said people relocating from Dublin have sold their houses for big money so they can relocate and ease into the market in Limerick and "outbid the local buyer".

"How do we combat that in a time of crisis? We have not built enough houses, now we have a price increase and a shortage of houses. This is serious."

Infrastructural deficiency is at the root of the lack of house builds in Limerick, Deputy ODonoghue claimed.

"There have been promises from previous Governments for up to 30 years that they will upgrade sewerage systems. I have asked the local authority what they will do, and they said they will only upgrade existing sewerage plants, which does not increase capacity.

"They will only allow builds on the areas where there is capacity. That means they will build in West Limerick, mostly, and a little in East Limerick."

In reply, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh OBrien said: "On the issue of sewerage treatment capacity, wastewater capacity and freshwater capacity, it is a great frustration for many people. We have discussed this ourselves and we are doing a couple of things right now.

"I have asked Irish Water to work with local authorities in resetting priorities of delivery under the capital plan. We need money to do that, which is why I mentioned at the start about 1.3 billion being provided for Irish Water in 2021.

"About 105 million of that is provided to support water programmes delivered by the Department, including the rural water programme. As part of the National Development Plan review, to which the Department and I have made a submission, we need to be inventive about how we assist in moving projects along that have been there for quite some time."
BROOKFIELD, Wis., April 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CIB Marine Bancshares, Inc. (the Company or CIB Marine) (OTCQB: CIBH), today issued a letter to its shareholders announcing that it has reached an agreement in principle with Hildene Capital Management, LLC and Hildene Opportunities Master Fund I, Ltd. (collectively, Hildene) regarding a plan for the repurchase by CIB Marine of all of its preferred stock over the next four years (the Repurchase Plan) and that it has postponed its Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the Annual Meeting) for three weeks to allow it time to seek regulatory approvals, finalize negotiations, and document the Repurchase Plan and a related amendment to the Companys Articles of Incorporation.



The postponed meeting is currently scheduled to be held on May 19, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. (local time) at 19601 West Bluemound Road, Brookfield, Wisconsin; however, if CIB Marine receives all required regulatory approvals and a definitive agreement is executed by all parties, the Annual Meeting will be further rescheduled for a later date in order to accommodate the addition of a third proxy proposal to approve an amendment to the Companys Articles of Incorporation, which would be necessary to implement the Repurchase Plan and would require the approval of common and preferred shareholders. Additional details are provided in a letter to CIB Marine shareholders, which is available along with other Annual Meeting materials on CIB Marines website: www.cibmarine.com/2021AnnualMeeting.asp.

J. Brian Chaffin, CIB Marines President and CEO commented, Reaching an agreement on a preferred stock repurchase plan is an important step forward for the Company. We believe essential terms have been agreed to and look forward to documenting the definitive agreement and getting regulatory approvals for the 2021 repurchases. We appreciate the efforts of all parties that have worked toward a fair and reasonable resolution, which we believe will benefit CIB Marine and all of its shareholders.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

CIB Marine has made statements in this release that may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. CIB Marine intends these forward-looking statements to be subject to the safe harbor created thereby and is including this statement to avail itself of the safe harbor. Forward-looking statements are identified generally by statements containing words and phrases such as may, project, are confident, should be, intend, predict, believe, plan, expect, estimate, anticipate and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect CIB Marines current views with respect to future events and financial performance that are subject to many uncertainties and factors relating to CIB Marines operations and the business environment, which could change at any time.

There are inherent difficulties in predicting factors that may affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements.

Stockholders should note that many factors, some of which are discussed elsewhere in this Earnings Release and in the documents that are incorporated by reference, could affect the future financial results of CIB Marine and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements contained or incorporated by reference in this document. These factors, many of which are beyond CIB Marines control, include but are not limited to:

operating, legal, execution, credit, market, security (including cyber), and regulatory risks;

economic, political, and competitive forces affecting CIB Marines banking business;

the impact on net interest income and securities values from changes in monetary policy and general economic and political conditions; and

the risk that CIB Marines analyses of these risks and forces could be incorrect and/or that the strategies developed to address them could be unsuccessful.

These factors should be considered in evaluating the forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. CIB Marine undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and CIB Marines actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in forward-looking statements.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:

J. Brian Chaffin, President & CEO

(217) 355-0900

brian.chaffin@cibmbank.com
MAUMEE, Ohio, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Key Highlights

Sales of $2.3 billion , an increase of $337 million

, an increase of Net income attributable to Dana of $71 million , an increase of $13 million

, an increase of Diluted EPS of $0.48 , an increase of $0.08

, an increase of Adjusted net income attributable to Dana of $97 million , an increase of $29 million

, an increase of Adjusted EBITDA of $234 million , margin of 10.3 percent of sales

, margin of 10.3 percent of sales Diluted adjusted EPS of $0.66

Operating cash flow of $27 million

Acquisition of Pi Innovo LLC, further enhances e-Propulsion software, controls, and electronics capabilities

Dana Incorporated (NYSE: DAN) today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2021.

"Dana realized higher sales of $2.3 billion in the first quarter as a result of continued strength in the light-truck market, as well as growth in both the commercial-vehicle and off-highway markets," said James Kamsickas, Dana chairman and CEO.

"While our end-markets have recovered from last year's shutdowns, higher costs related to supply-chain disruptions and shipping constraints continue to challenge the mobility industry. Our established multi-end-market presence tempers these outside pressures as we continue to execute our enterprise strategy, launch our significant new business backlog, and focus on strengthening our vehicle electrification position."

First-quarter 2021 Financial Results

Sales for the first quarter of 2021 totaled $2.26 billion, compared with $1.93 billion in the same period of 2020, representing a $337 million improvement driven by strong customer demand and the conversion of sales backlog.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2021 was $234 million, compared with $205 million for the same period in 2020. Profit conversion on higher sales in the first quarter of 2021 was tempered by increased raw material and supply chain constraints.

Adjusted net income attributable to Dana and diluted adjusted earnings per share were $97 million and $0.66 for the first quarter of 2021, $29 million and $0.19 higher than the prior year due to the conversion of higher market demand in this year's first quarter.

Operating cash flow in the first quarter of 2021 was $27 million, compared with a use of $51 million in the same period of 2020.

Adjusted free cash flow was a use of $26 million, compared with a use of $114 million in the first quarter of 2020. Adjusted free cash flow in this year's first quarter benefited from higher earnings and lower working capital requirements.

"As markets continue to recover from the challenges of the global pandemic, strong first-quarter sales provide the conviction to increase our full-year guidance as we accelerate the achievement of our long-term growth targets," said Jonathan Collins, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Dana.

Revised 2021 Financial Targets 1

Sales of $8.50 to $9.00 billion ;

to ; Adjusted EBITDA of $920 million to $1.0 billion , an implied adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 11 percent at the midpoint of the range;

to , an implied adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 11 percent at the midpoint of the range; Diluted adjusted EPS of $2.10 to $2.60 ;

to ; Operating cash flow of approximately 7 to 8 percent of sales; and

Adjusted free cash flow of approximately 3 to 3.5 percent of sales.

1 Net income and diluted EPS guidance are not provided, as discussed below in Non-GAAP Financial Information.

Dana to Host Conference Call at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 28

Dana will discuss its first-quarter results in a conference call at 9 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 28. Participants may listen to the audio portion of the conference call either through audio streaming online or by telephone. Slide viewing is available online via a link provided on the Dana investor website: www.dana.com/investors. U.S. and Canadian locations should dial 1-888-311-4590 and international locations should call 1-706-758-0054. Please enter conference I.D. 8399308 and ask for "Dana Incorporated's Financial Webcast and Conference Call." Phone registration will be available beginning at 8:30 a.m. EDT.



An audio recording of the webcast will be available after 5 p.m. EDT on April 28 by dialing 1-855-859-2056 (U.S. or Canada) or 1-404-537-3406 (international) and entering conference I.D. 8399308. A webcast replay will also be available after 5 p.m. EDT and may be accessed via Dana's investor website.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure which we have defined as net income (loss) before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, equity grant expense, restructuring expense, non-service cost components of pension and other postretirement benefit costs and other adjustments not related to our core operations (gain/loss on debt extinguishment, pension settlements, divestitures, impairment, etc.). Adjusted EBITDA is a measure of our ability to maintain and continue to invest in our operations and provide shareholder returns. We use adjusted EBITDA in assessing the effectiveness of our business strategies, evaluating and pricing potential acquisitions and as a factor in making incentive compensation decisions. In addition to its use by management, we also believe adjusted EBITDA is a measure widely used by securities analysts, investors and others to evaluate financial performance of our company relative to other Tier 1 automotive suppliers. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered a substitute for earnings (loss) before income taxes, net income (loss) or other results reported in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to the parent company is a non-GAAP financial measure which we have defined as net income (loss) attributable to the parent company, excluding any discrete income tax items, restructuring charges, amortization expense and other adjustments not related to our core operations (as used in adjusted EBITDA), net of any associated income tax effects. This measure is considered useful for purposes of providing investors, analysts and other interested parties with an indicator of ongoing financial performance that provides enhanced comparability to net income attributable to the parent company reported by other companies. Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to the parent company is neither intended to represent nor be an alternative measure to net income (loss) attributable to the parent company reported in accordance with GAAP.

Diluted adjusted EPS is a non-GAAP financial measure which we have defined as adjusted net income (loss) attributable to the parent company divided by adjusted diluted shares. We define adjusted diluted shares as diluted shares as determined in accordance with GAAP based on adjusted net income (loss) attributable to the parent company. This measure is considered useful for purposes of providing investors, analysts and other interested parties with an indicator of ongoing financial performance that provides enhanced comparability to EPS reported by other companies. Diluted adjusted EPS is neither intended to represent nor be an alternative measure to diluted EPS reported in accordance with GAAP.

Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure which we have defined as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less purchases of property, plant and equipment. Adjusted free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure which we have defined as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities excluding discretionary pension contributions less purchases of property, plant and equipment. We believe these measures are useful to investors in evaluating the operational cash flow of the company inclusive of the spending required to maintain the operations. Free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow are not intended to represent nor be an alternative to the measure of net cash provided by (used in) operating activities reported in accordance with GAAP. Free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

We have not provided reconciliations of our adjusted EBITDA and diluted adjusted EPS outlook to the most comparable GAAP measures of net income and diluted EPS. Providing net income and diluted EPS guidance is potentially misleading and not practical given the difficulty of projecting event-driven transactional and other non-core operating items that are included in net income and diluted EPS, including restructuring actions, asset impairments, and income tax valuation adjustments. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures with the most comparable GAAP measures for historical periods are indicative of the reconciliations that will be prepared upon completion of the periods covered by the non-GAAP guidance. Please reference the "Non-GAAP Financial Information" accompanying our quarterly earnings conference call presentations on our website at www.dana.com/investors for our GAAP results and the reconciliations of these measures, were used, to the comparable GAAP measures.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements and projections contained in this news release are, by their nature, forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates, and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," and similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Dana's Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss important risk factors that could affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this news release speak only as of this date. Dana does not undertake any obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason.

About Dana Incorporated

Dana is a leader in the design and manufacture of highly efficient propulsion and energy-management solutions for all mobility markets across the globe. The company's conventional and clean-energy solutions support nearly every vehicle manufacturer with drive and motion systems; electrodynamic technologies, including software and controls; and thermal, sealing, and digital solutions.

Based in Maumee, Ohio, USA, the company reported sales of $7.1 billion in 2020 with 38,000 associates in 33 countries across six continents. Founded in 1904, Dana was named one of "America's Most Responsible Companies 2021" by Newsweek for its emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility. The company is driven by a high-performance culture that focuses on its people, which has earned it global recognition as a top employer, including "World's Best Employer' from Forbes magazine. Learn more at dana.com.

DANA INCORPORATED Consolidated Statement of Operations (Unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020

















Three Months Ended (In millions, except per share amounts)

March 31,





2021

2020 Net sales



$ 2,263

$ 1,926 Costs and expenses







Cost of sales

2,012

1,720 Selling, general and administrative expenses

119

106 Amortization of intangibles

4

3 Restructuring charges, net

1

3 Impairment of goodwill





(51) Other income (expense), net

(19)

4 Earnings before interest and income taxes

108

47 Interest income

2

2 Interest expense

34

29 Earnings before income taxes

76

20 Income tax expense (benefit)

22

(16) Equity in earnings of affiliates

14

2 Net income

68

38 Less: Noncontrolling interests net income

1

2 Less: Redeemable noncontrolling interests net loss

(4)

(22) Net income attributable to the parent company

$ 71

$ 58











Net income per share available to common stockholders







Basic



$ 0.49

$ 0.40 Diluted



$ 0.48

$ 0.40











Weighted-average shares outstanding - Basic

144.9

144.2 Weighted-average shares outstanding - Diluted

146.4

144.8

DANA INCORPORATED





Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income (Unaudited)





For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020































Three Months Ended (In millions)

March 31,









2021

2020 Net income

$ 68

$ 38 Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:









Currency translation adjustments

(5)

(154)

Hedging gains and losses

(17)

29

Defined benefit plans

3

3

Other comprehensive loss

(19)

(122) Total comprehensive income (loss)

49

(84)

Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests

1

17

Less: Comprehensive loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests

3

14 Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to the parent company

$ 53

$ (53)

DANA INCORPORATED Consolidated Balance Sheet (Unaudited) As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020









(In millions, except share and per share amounts)

March 31,

December 31,



2021

2020 Assets







Current assets







Cash and cash equivalents

$ 483

$ 559 Marketable securities

26

21 Accounts receivable







Trade, less allowance for doubtful accounts of $6 in 2021 and $7 in 2020

1,428

1,201 Other

237

231 Inventories

1,260

1,149 Other current assets

139

127 Total current assets

3,573

3,288 Goodwill

488

479 Intangibles

250

236 Deferred tax assets

613

611 Other noncurrent assets

153

169 Investments in affiliates

149

152 Operating lease assets

192

190 Property, plant and equipment, net

2,184

2,251 Total assets

$ 7,602

$ 7,376









Liabilities and equity







Current liabilities







Short-term debt

$ 26

$ 26 Current portion of long-term debt

8

8 Accounts payable

1,536

1,331 Accrued payroll and employee benefits

203

190 Taxes on income

44

35 Current portion of operating lease liabilities

42

43 Other accrued liabilities

311

308 Total current liabilities

2,170

1,941 Long-term debt, less debt issuance costs of $26 in 2021 and $27 in 2020

2,420

2,420 Noncurrent operating lease liabilities

157

154 Pension and postretirement obligations

463

479 Other noncurrent liabilities

340

368 Total liabilities

5,550

5,362 Commitments and contingencies







Redeemable noncontrolling interests

182

180 Parent company stockholders' equity







Preferred stock, 50,000,000 shares authorized, $0.01 par value, no shares outstanding

-

- Common stock, 450,000,000 shares authorized, $0.01 par value, 145,142,687 and 144,515,658 shares outstanding

2

2 Additional paid-in capital

2,415

2,408 Retained earnings

583

530 Treasury stock, at cost (10,657,998 and 10,442,582 shares)

(161)

(156) Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(1,044)

(1,026) Total parent company stockholders' equity

1,795

1,758 Noncontrolling interests

75

76 Total equity

1,870

1,834 Total liabilities and equity

$ 7,602

$ 7,376

DANA INCORPORATED Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows (Unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020





Three Months Ended (In millions)

March 31,



2021

2020 Operating activities







Net income

$ 68

$ 38 Depreciation

88

85 Amortization

7

4 Amortization of deferred financing charges

2

2 Earnings of affiliates, net of dividends received

(14)

(2) Stock compensation expense

5

4 Deferred income taxes

(6)

(35) Pension expense, net





1 Impairment of goodwill





51 Change in working capital

(133)

(183) Other, net

10

(16) Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

27

(51)









Investing activities







Purchases of property, plant and equipment

(53)

(63) Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired

(17)

(8) Purchases of marketable securities

(11)

(12) Proceeds from sales of marketable securities

6

6 Settlements of undesignated derivatives





(3) Other, net

2

(5) Net cash used in investing activities

(73)

(85)









Financing activities







Net change in short-term debt

(1)

298 Proceeds from long-term debt

2

4 Repayment of long-term debt

(1)

(1) Deferred financing payments

(2)



Dividends paid to common stockholders

(14)

(15) Distributions to noncontrolling interests





(1) Contributions from noncontrolling interests

1

2 Other, net

(1)

(4) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

(16)

283











Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

(62)

147 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash  beginning of period

567

518 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash balances

(12)

(29) Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash  end of period

$ 493

$ 636

DANA INCORPORATED Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided By (Used In) Operating Activities to Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow (Unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020





Three Months Ended (In millions)

March 31,



2021

2020 Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

$ 27

$ (51) Purchase of property, plant and equipment

(53)

(63) Free cash flow

(26)

(114) Discretionary pension contributions









Adjusted free cash flow

$ (26)

$ (114)

DANA INCORPORATED Segment Sales and Segment EBITDA (Unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020





Three Months Ended (In millions)

March 31,



2021

2020 Sales







Light Vehicle

$ 991

$ 808 Commercial Vehicle

352

333 Off-Highway

632

532 Power Technologies

288

253 Total Sales

$ 2,263

$ 1,926









Segment EBITDA







Light Vehicle

$ 100

$ 83 Commercial Vehicle

14

21 Off-Highway

80

72 Power Technologies

41

30 Total Segment EBITDA

235

206 Corporate expense and other items, net

(1)

(1) Adjusted EBITDA

$ 234

$ 205

DANA INCORPORATED Reconciliation of Segment and Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income (Unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020





Three Months Ended (In millions)

March 31,



2021

2020 Segment EBITDA

$ 235

$ 206 Corporate expense and other items, net

(1)

(1) Adjusted EBITDA

234

205 Depreciation

(88)

(85) Amortization

(7)

(4) Non-service cost components of pension and OPEB costs

(2)

(2) Restructuring charges, net

(1)

(3) Stock compensation expense

(5)

(4) Strategic transaction expenses

(3)

(6) Loss on investment in Hyliion

(17)



Loss on disposal group held for sale

(7)



Impairment of goodwill





(51) Other items

4

(3) Earnings before interest and income taxes

108

47 Interest income

2

2 Interest expense

34

29 Earnings before income taxes

76

20 Income tax expense (benefit)

22

(16) Equity in earnings of affiliates

14

2 Net income

$ 68

$ 38

DANA INCORPORATED Reconciliation of Net Income Attributable to the Parent Company to Adjusted Net Income Attributable to the Parent Company and Diluted Adjusted EPS (Unaudited) For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020



(In millions, except per share amounts)













Three Months Ended





March 31,





2021

2020 Net income attributable to parent company

$ 71

$ 58 Items impacting income before income taxes:









Amortization

5

4

Restructuring charges, net

1

3

Strategic transaction expenses

3

6

Loss on investment in Hyliion

17





Loss on disposal group held for sale

5





Impairment of goodwill





31 Items impacting income taxes:









Net income tax expense on items above

(6)

(3)

Tax (benefit) attributable to various discrete tax matters

1

(31) Adjusted net income attributable to the parent

$ 97

$ 68











Diluted shares - as reported

146.4

144.8 Adjusted diluted shares

146.4

144.8











Diluted adjusted EPS

$ 0.66

$ 0.47

SOURCE Dana Incorporated

Related Links

http://www.dana.com


With millions of lives at stake amid a rapid spread of COVID-19, Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said he hoped President would call the CEO to let India produce its vaccine at least for six months or a year.

Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley in the US House of Representatives, has been an ardent supporter of the move by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver of COVID-19 vaccines.

"Allow India to develop that vaccine, and this is good in your own long-term interests. It's good for the United States and our interests with the role with India and the rest of the world," Khanna told the media.

Major pharma companies like and Moderna and organisations like the US Chambers of Commerce are opposing such a move.

A day earlier, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai spoke with the CEOs of and AstraZeneca regarding the TRIPS waiver, which is slated to come up before the WTO on May 5.

"I do know there are very senior people in the administration who are supportive of it. We are making the case to the White House. And my hope is that the President would at least call the Pfizer CEO and say, look, your long-term strategy in India, a huge market, just in your economic interest, at least waive it for six months or a year," Khanna said.

Microsoft founder and eminent philanthropist Bill Gates in a media interview on Monday opposed the move.

Asked about it, Khanna said, "I rarely think Bill Gates is wrong, but this is a case I hope he will engage. The point that Bill Gates made about manufacturing capacity being restricted is absolutely correct. But what I said is why not have a global fund, USD25 billion, to help with manufacturing capacity and then allow the vaccine recipes to be shared."



"You're not going to have a lack of quality control. I think it is patronising to say that 100 other nations can't have a regulatory process to make sure that manufacturing is safe. They can and the World Health Organization can," he added.

"No one is asking Pfizer to manufacture these vaccines, no one is saying they need to do it for free. It's important to understand, they will get paid. They will be able to sell it. The reason they're not doing it would be pure greed," Khanna said.

The United States government gave a USD2 billion guarantee to Pfizer to purchase vaccines.

"If it weren't for that, Pfizer would have never been able to do what they did. Our NIH gave the IP that allowed Moderna to develop the vaccine," he argued.

"What we're now saying is that they should share the vaccine recipe with over 100 countries who want to do the manufacturing. They're willing to do the manufacturing themselves, they need to have contract manufacturing. Pfizer would still get paid. Moderna would still get paid. But it is just wrong, morally wrong, strategically wrong for them not to share the vaccine recipe, which was developed with US taxpayer support," Khanna further said.

He applauded Biden for committing to help India in its fight against the virus.

"But we also ultimately need to get vaccines to India. The president has said that he will release the AstraZeneca vaccine, which Americans are not going to use after it's deemed safe. But more important is Pfizer and Moderna need to license the vaccine recipe to allow India and other countries to manufacture it," he added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
COVID-19 vaccines are more readily available than ever, but there remains vaccine hesitancy in diverse communities across metropolitan Houston and beyond. Ezemenari Obasi, professor & associate dean of research in the College of Education Department of Psychological, Health, & Learning Sciences, is forming ethnically diverse focus groups to share stories and insights about this public health crisis.

With COVID-19 vaccines more readily available than ever, there remains vaccine hesitancy in diverse communities across metropolitan Houston and beyond. Why such vaccine hesitancy exists is now the business of the University of Houstons HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention in partnership with the Houston Health Department. With a grant of $711,773 from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the UH center seeks to discover whats driving these disparities and to develop a culturally responsive vaccine education program to increase the reach, access and uptake of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in underserved minority communities.

Black adults in Texas represent 13% of the population and more than 18% of the health care workforce, but only about 7% of vaccine recipients. These trends persist in metropolitan Houston, where minorities make up more than 70% of the population.

The proposed research recognizes that systemic racism is real, medical mistrust by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) communities is earned, and the best way to accelerate scientific breakthroughs regarding SARS-CoV-2 vaccine uptake in BIPOC communities is to include them in the research process, said Ezemenari Obasi, director of UHs HEALTH (Helping Everyone Achieve a Lifetime of Health) Research Institute (HRI).

The omission of some population segments as investigators and participants in research significantly contributes to the generation and maintenance of health disparities, because less is known about factors affecting health among underrepresented groups and how to address them in culturally-informed ways, he added.

Obasi is forming ethnically diverse focus groups on the Black and Latinx experience to include community members, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and health care providers who will share their stories and insights about this public health crisis. The results will inspire tailored messaging to address specific needs and concerns and the creation of a culturally responsive vaccine education program.

We really want to get under the hood and allow the community to voice why theyre hesitant rather than have a label slapped onto them, said Obasi, who thinks the reasons will not be as obvious as might currently be believed.

Historically theres been an oversimplification of why people might not want to be vaccinated and many point to historical medical mistreatment like the Tuskegee experiment. We want to uncover whether its more nuanced than that and understand the role that recent mixed messaging from politicians has contributed to hesitancy, said Obasi.

With a clear understanding of the issues, prevention and intervention methods will be created.

Obasi is collaborating with UH colleagues Dr. Brian Reed, College of Medicine; Tzuan Chen and Isabel Martinez Leal, both of HRI.
Jaipur, April 28 : As the desert state witnessed record 121 deaths and registered 16,089 cases in 24 hours taking the active caseload to 1,55,182, State health minister Raghu Sharma on Wednesday said that the oxygen demand in the state will touch 365 metric tonne by April 30, 541 metric tonne on May 9 and 900 metric tonne by May 30.

Also, the state government will be able to supply oxygen only if it has adequate numbers of tankers as the matter of oxygen supply is directly connected to transportation.

By May 9, there is a requirement of 65 oxygen tankers for smooth supply of oxygen, he added.

Sharma said that the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and other union ministers have been apprised of these facts and they have assured all necessary help.

On the directions of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, a 3-member team of ministers comprising Raghu Sharma, B.D. Kalla and Shanti Dhariwal went to Delhi on Tuesday where they met Speaker Om Birla and union minister of state Mansukh Mandviya.

Also they had a virtual meeting with Union minister Amit Shah, Rail minister Piyush Goyal, transport minister Nitin Gadkari and Union health minister Harsh Vardhan.

Chief secretary Niranjan Arya gave his presentation to the union ministers and apprised them of the rising pressure on medical infrastructure of the state in view of rising Covid cases. Sufficient supply of oxygen, increased numbers of tankers and increased supply of life saving drugs is a must for this hour of crisis, he informed the union ministers.

Sharma said that the best part of the meeting was that all ministers lent ears to our worries and concerns and have promised to allot Oxygen, Remsdesivir, tankers and other resources.

He said the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and other union ministers have been apprised of the current crisis and they have assured us all help, adding that the discussions are on with other countries for importing oxygen to Rajasthan.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
A Manhattan financer jumped to his death from a skyscraper yards from Trump Tower just weeks after his assets firm that was once worth $20 billion was liquidated.

Charles de Vaulx, 59, was the chairman and chief investment officer of International Value Advisers when he allegedly took his own life on Monday at the company's offices at at 717 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

The company confirmed the married father-of-two's death on its website and but the cause of his death was revealed by the research firm Morningstar. That publication reported the award-winning portfolio manager had apparently taken his own life.

The NYPD had said that a man had died in an apparent suicide but declined to identify him.

Scroll down for video

Charles de Vaulx, 59, was the chairman and chief investment officer of International Value Advisers when he allegedly took his own life on Monday

The company confirmed his death on its website

Emergency personnel are seen responding to the death of a man in midtown, reported to be de Vaulx

De Vaulx's death came seven weeks after the firm abruptly announced it would liquidate its funds and halt business. It said that it had completed the liquidation on April 19.

'It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our Chairman and CIO, Charles de Vaulx,' the website reads.

'The entire IVA community convey their deepest sympathy to his family at this difficult time.'

De Vaulx had founded the company 14 years ago and built it up to be worth more than $20 billion in assets at its peak before it was ultimately liquidated, the New York Post reported. IVA had $863 million in total net assets at the end of 2020.

A body believed to be that of DeVaulx is pictured covered with a sheet on the road after his suicide

Charles de Vaulx (center), founder of International Value Advisers, is seen in a July 27, 2018 photo visiting the offices of Commonwealth Capital Management in Kentucky

A source close to de Vaulx told the New York Post that the tale of de Vaulx is 'a Shakespearean tragedy.'

'This is a Shakespearean tragedy on a lot of levels  ironically many of the stocks he owned have appreciated significantly in the past few months,' the source said.

The source described the late financier as a 'complex man with a lot of hubris.'

'[He] felt he failed in his mission of value investing and lost his raison d'etre,' the source added.

De Vaulx's longtime business partner, Chuck de Lardemelle, left the company abruptly in July causing alarm for investors in the company which had been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic when investors withdrew their money.

A street view from the skyscraper which De Vaulx plunged from is seen above

According to the New York Post, sources close to de Vaulx said he was hurt when some investors no longer trusted him with their money despite being worth millions of dollars.

The firm's assets had shrunk to $3 billion shortly before it was abruptly closed last month.

'It was never about the money,' one person close to de Vaulx told the outlet. 'IVA was an embodiment of de Vaulx's personality and when it began to unwind, he took it personally.'

De Vaulx was a protege of legendary investor Jean-Marie Eveillard and had founded IVA after abruptly leaving the firm First Eagle.

Known as a value manager who favored undervalued and unloved stocks, de Vaulx was named Morningstars International Stock Manager of the Year in 2001 along with Eveillard - his long-time mentor. He was a runner-up for the same prize in 2006.

Call the toll-free 24-hour hotline of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255); TTY: 1-800-799-4TTY (4889)
In 2016, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Chicago, which represents Taiwan, hosted a seminar to review and discuss the implications of the return of the DPP to governing power. There was general agreement President Tsai had effectively endorsed the framework of cooperation initiated by Beijing and Taipei in 1992, without actually repeating the commitment to one country, two systems.
The renovated Enguri hydro power plant (HPP), the largest electricity producer in Georgia, has started producing electricity today, Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava said.

All five generators of the Enguri HPP were shut down on January 20, 2021 for urgent repairs in the HPPs drainage tunnel, which is used to allow the water from the reservoir to enter the turbines. Some sections of the tunnel were damaged and large volumes of water were leaking. In order to begin repairs on the tunnel, it was necessary to completely empty them first, which is why the HPP had to be shut down.

"As a result of the renovation of the HPP diversion tunnel, water losses will be reduced by 20-30%, which will generate an additional 90 million kWh of electricity per year," Agenda.ge cited Turnava as saying.

The total cost of the project was 45 million of which 7 million was a grant from the European Commission and the rest is a loan from the European Bank from Reconstruction and Development.

According to Turnava, 'such large-scale, complex works have not been carried out for 15 years'.
Ex-officer Amber Guyger wants murder conviction in death of worship leader Botham Jean overturned

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Former Dallas County police officer Amber Guyger, who fatally shot beloved worship leader Botham Jean in his apartment in 2018, is seeking to have her murder conviction for his death overturned in favor of a lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide because she believed she was in her own apartment.

A jury found Guyger guilty of murdering Jean and sentenced her to 10 years in prison in 2019. If she is successful in her appeal, and if found guilty of only criminally negligent homicide, she will likely be released as the punishment for that crime is six months to two years in prison.

Guyger submitted her request to the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas, Texas, Tuesday presided over by Chief Justice Robert D. Burns III, Justice Lana Myers and Justice Robbie Partida-Kipness.

Defense attorney Michael Mowla, who represented Guyger, argued that the trial court did not allow his client to use the Mistake of Fact defense.

Under Texas Penal Code 8.02 (a): It is a defense to prosecution that the actor through mistake formed a reasonable belief about a matter of fact if his mistaken belief negated the kind of culpability required for commission of the offense.

In a legal sufficiency case, as the court knows, the issue is whether a defendant is guilty under a hypothetically correct jury charge. And under a hypothetically correct jury charge, I believe my client was entitled to a mistake of fact instruction, Mowla argued.

Mowla cited Granger v. State, a 1999 criminal appeals court case which he said addresses his argument thoroughly. In that case, the defendant shot into a car he thought was empty but ended up killing a veteran who was sleeping inside and he was convicted of murder. An appeals court later found that he could not have "intentionally or knowingly" caused the death of the victim or "intend[ed] to cause serious bodily injury" to the victim if he did not know that the victim was in the car.

Now what Mr. Granger did was facially illegal. You cannot, under any circumstances, fire into a vehicle whether you believe someone is in there or not. However, although he couldnt justify shooting into the vehicle, he could not be guilty of murdering its occupant if he reasonably believed the car was empty, Mowla said, arguing that the same standard should apply to Guyger based on the evidence in the case.

If Ms. Guyger had walked into, knowingly or intentionally, shot and killed a person, in this case, it was Mr. Botham Jean, a horrific result, no doubt. If she had intentionally or knowingly killed someone by intentionally or knowingly walking into her apartment, she would be guilty of murder. But if there was a mistaken fact, a reasonable belief in a mistaken fact which I assert she had, as I think the evidence showed, she thought she was walking into her own apartment.

During Mowlas arguments, Justice Burns pointed out that Guyger had testified that she did intentionally shoot Jean and suggested that he was overlooking that admission.

"Mr. Mowla, you're overlooking the fact that Miss Guyger testified that she intentionally shot Mr. Jean," Burns said.

Mowla explained that even though Guyger admitted she intentionally shot Jean, her response to him was based on a reasonable mistaken belief that he was an intruder in her apartment.

"I'm not overlooking the fact, your honor. I agree," he said. "She did intentionally shoot Mr. Jean because that was her intent. That was the truth. Those were the facts of the case. If she had walked into her apartment, and there was an intruder inside her apartment ... she would have been entitled to use deadly force in self-defense."

Burns also noted that the jury rejected Guygers claim of self-defense in convicting her of murder. But Mowla said if the mistake of fact defense is applied, a reasonable apprehension of danger on Guygers part could be argued.

The evidence presented during the trial showed that many other people inadvertently walked to the wrong floor of the South Side Flats apartments.  They drove to the wrong level of the South Side Flats apartments. They walked to the wrong door. One witness was an attorney here in Dallas that works for a civil firm. He testified that one time he walked into the wrong apartment and didnt realize he was in the wrong apartment until he saw a lady sitting on the couch looking at him with amazement. So again, the issue is if the court believes her mistake in fact in going to apartment 1478, which is one floor above hers, the same side, the same part of the building was reasonable, then the mistake of fact instruction applies, he said.

Justice Lana Myers raised concern that Mowla was conflating self-defense with mistake of fact in his arguments.

Mr. Mowla, arent you erroneously mixing mistake of fact defense and self-defense justification? Those are under two different titles in our Texas Penal Code. Mistake of fact is a defense and self-defense is a justification. So doesnt the fact that she testified that she believed she was in her own apartment just go to whether or not she had a reasonable belief that she was in such immediate danger that she had to use deadly force? Myers asked.

Your honor, Im not mixing the two because I think the only way what happened would make sense if you apply Section 8.02A to what happened, Mowla replied.

Justice Robbie Partida-Kipness noted that Guygers mistaken belief about where she was doesnt negate her intent to kill.

Mowla argued that the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting show Guyger did not have evil intent and should not be held mentally culpable for murder.

There are many, many cases in the court of criminal appeals that say mental culpability has to be inferred from the circumstances under which an act based on a defendants words acts and conduct. I dont think you can reasonably state that when you consider all the facts of the case, when you consider what happened, that she had an evil intent when she walked into what she thought was her own apartment, he said.

He further noted: As I explained in my brief in detail, I believe that Ms. Guyger at most is guilty of criminally negligent homicide. Because the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt, if the court were inclined to go this route, that she shot Mr. Jean causing his death. Thats undisputed. That she should have been aware of the substantial risk of death from her conduct because she did not pay close enough attention to the cues that she was in the wrong apartment.

Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Douglas Gladden argued that mistaken belief and mistake of fact is not a justifiable defense.

"This is a murder case, not a criminal trespass case. When Amber Guyger shot Botham Jean, she didn't take someone else's property. She took the life of a human being," Gladden said.

He said the court has to decide what defensive issues were raised by the evidence in the first place and argued that the evidence in the case supports the murder conviction.

This court has to decide whether mistake of fact was raised by the evidence in this case. This court has the responsibility to apply the correct law and do so correctly. This is the states cross issue and were not asking for an advisery opinion on this. Whether mistake of fact was raised by the evidence in the case is a legal question, and the state would benefit from it here because the question on the appeal is whether the legal sufficiency analysis should look at the mistake of fact defense at all, Gladden said.

Responding to Guygers appeal, Jean's mother, Allison Jean, told CNN she was confident the appeals court would uphold the murder conviction.

"Amber Guyger needs to sit where she is in prison and accept responsibility for what she did to my son, my family, my country, my world," Allison Jean said.

She added that had roles been reversed, her son would be facing a much longer prison term.

"He was destined to lead this world. For his life to be taken away from us in such a careless manner, she needs to be given more time for what she did," Allison Jean continued. Our life has just been turned upside down as a result of Amber Guyger's action, and she needs to leave us alone right now. She's done enough harm."

Guyger had reportedly just ended a 15-hour shift when she parked on the wrong level of the South Side Flats garage where she lived on the third floor directly below Botham Jeans apartment. She got off on the fourth floor where Botham lived and went to his door, thinking it was hers.

The four floors of the South Side Flats look the same with concrete floors and tan doors but a light at each door displays the apartment number. Guyger reportedly didn't notice that Botham's door had a red doormat in front of it. Hers didn't have one.

She went on to put her key in the door but it was unlocked, and the door opened. The lights were off and she saw a figure in the darkness and thought her apartment was being robbed. She pulled her gun and fired twice, hitting Botham Jean once in the chest. She only realized she was in the wrong apartment after she turned on the lights.

The appeals court is expected to make a decision in the case at a later date.
Two aging New Jersey mobsters, who federal judges have denied to release from prison during the coronavirus pandemic, are now alleging their decades-old convictions for plotting to murder John Gotti and ordering the hit on a New York businessman should be overturned.

Attorneys for Louis Bobby Manna and Richard DeSciscio, who have both been incarcerated since 1989, said they filed motions in federal court this week outlining how cases that put the two members of the Genovese Crime Family behind bars was full of prosecutorial misconduct.

This was not a valid prosecution; this was a win-at-all-costs persecution by prosecutors who acted partially out of revenge and partially out of career ego, said Jeremy M. Iandolo, a Brooklyn attorney who represents Manna. They invented evidence, and withheld facts that would have resulted in a far different outcome at trial.

At the center of the case against Manna, who was the consigliere, or third-in-command of the crime family, and DeSciscio, who authorities say was an enforcer, was their plot to murder New York mob boss John Gotti and the actual murder of Irwin The Fat Man Schiff.

During the 1989 trial, which used an anonymous jury out of fear of retaliation for the jurors, prosecutors played recorded conversations from Casellas, an Italian restaurant in Hoboken the crime family used to conduct business, in which they said showed Manna ordering the murder of Schiff in 1987, as well as discussing the plot to take out Gotti and his brother, Gene.

Prosecutors claimed DeSciscio was present at the scene of the murder to assist in the hit on Schiff, which was carried out by an unidentified masked gunman at an Upper East Side restaurant.

While reportedly discussing the Schiff murder, authorities say Manna, DeSciscio and others discussed the big hit on Gotti, according to court documents.

Well we are stuck behind Gotti, Manna said, according to authorities. Lets hit the (expletive).

A subordinate of Mannas made it clear: The f-----' godfather aint getting home, he said, according to court documents.

But federal authorities quickly foiled the plot when they alerted Gotti to the hit, and soon charged Manna and his crew.

After a three-and-a-half month trial in federal court in Newark, Manna and DeSciscio were convicted of a number of crimes, including RICO conspiracy to murder Gotti and his brother, participating in the murder of Schiff, racketeering and conducting an illegal gambling business.

After securing their convictions, prosecutors described a it as tremendous blow to organized crime in New Jersey.

A breakdown of the Genovese crime family faction in New Jersey in the 1980s, according to the FBI. (Jersey Journal file photo)

Both men appealed their convictions and have challenged them in court, but the convictions have been affirmed each time.

Manna, who is 91, is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Minnesota and is not eligible to be released until 2054. DeSciscio, 78, is incarcerated in Pennsylvania, and has a release date in 2052.

In their latest attempt, the defense attorneys for the men claim prosecutors falsely interpreted intercepted voice recordings and called a questionable witness to the stand during the trial in order to buff up their resumes by convicting two alleged members of organized crime.

We are asking the court to rectify the injustice done to the defendants and allow them to go home to their families who they have not been with in over 30 years, said Marco Laracca, an Orange attorney representing DeSciscio.

The attorneys say while prosecutors claim Manna and DeSciscio could be heard discussing the murder of Schiff, the men were actually talking about weekend union shifts of two other men, who could have confirmed that but were never called to testify during the trial.

The attorneys also claim the audio tapes were not of high quality and identifying the speakers is difficult.

The government manufactured transcripts of the tape recording, with fabricated context of the conversation and published those lies to the jury, Iandolo said.

In addition, the attorneys argue that the woman who testified as to seeing DeSciscio in a hallway adjacent to the restaurant on the night Schiff was killed was an unreliable witness.

They said she gave varying descriptions of DeSciscio that called into question her truthfulness as a witness.

Knowing what we know now, I would like to have the entire prosecution and investigative teams appear at an evidentiary hearing and explain, under oath, their deceitful behavior and what motivated it, Iandolo said.

The attorneys allege both men were denied due process and that prosecutors actively concealed exculpatory evidence available to them at the time of trial in a successful effort to unjustly incarcerate Manna and DeSciscio.

The U.S. Attorneys office declined to comment on the matter. Michael Chertoff, the lead prosecutor in the case against Manna and DeSciscio, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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A Texas couple who planned a 'last-minute' wedding filled out their guest list with strangers  with the bride choosing five bridesmaids whom she'd never met before.

Alexis and Donovan Kiser, both 22, moved from Ohio to Texas in January of this year and made a spontaneous decision to have a wedding this month.

Because friends and family would be unable to travel with so little notice  particularly during a pandemic  the couple decided to simply invite a bunch of strangers they met online, including five bridesmaids whom Alexis connected with on Bumble BFF.

Something different! A Texas couple who planned a 'last-minute' wedding filled out their guest list with strangers  with the bride choosing five bridesmaids whom she'd never met before

They do! Alexis and Donovan Kiser, both 22, moved from Ohio to Texas in January of this year and made a spontaneous decision to have a wedding this month

Because friends and family would be unable to travel with so little notice  particularly during a pandemic  the couple decided to simply invite a bunch of strangers they met online

Newbies: Among the attendees were two of Donovan's coworkers, as well as neighbors the couple has known for just two months

Making it official: They tied the knot in a church ceremony on April 25

Alexis and Donovan did know some of their wedding guests in advance, though just barely.

Among the attendees were two of Donovan's coworkers, as well as neighbors the couple has known for just two months.

But the rest were new friends that the pair quickly made online.

Alexis joined Bumble BFF, Bumble's platform that connects people seeking friendships, and found a handful of strangers to celebrate with them on their special day.

She also asked five women  Ciara, Madeline, Elena and Danielle, and Haley  to be her bridesmaids.

One of the bridesmaids, Haley, was asked to join just two days prior to the event, which was held this past Sunday, April 25.

But despite the rushed meetings, Alexis and Donovan say the day was 'a blast'  and they may have even made friends for life.

New friends: Alexis joined Bumble BFF, Bumble's platform that connects people seeking friendships, and found a handful of strangers to celebrate with them on their special day

Hi there! She also asked five women  Ciara, Madeline, Elena and Danielle, and Haley  to be her bridesmaids

Just met! Despite the rushed meetings, Alexis and Donovan say the day was 'a blast'  and they may have even made friends for life

'We thought it would be a fun and unique experience to have a stranger wedding ceremony here,' Alexis said

'We figure you dont stay friends with everyone in your wedding for the rest of your life, they become strangers, so why not make them strangers from the beginning?' she said

'We thought it would be a fun and unique experience to have a stranger wedding ceremony here,' Alexis, who works as a nanny, told Jam Press.

'Most of our friends and family absolutely loved the idea and thought it was so fun.

'Unfortunately, as every family has, we did receive some selfish responses and backlash about our decision, but we didnt do this to make anyone else happy but ourselves.

'We figure you dont stay friends with everyone in your wedding for the rest of your life, they become strangers, so why not make them strangers from the beginning?' she continued.

'If anything, we got to make new friends and, if not, then theyre right back to strangers and thats OK too.'

Despite the unique guest list, in many ways the wedding was like any other, with last-minute cancellations and late arrivals  but overall the couple is over the moon with how the day went.

Ta-da! The couple and their stranger bridal party pictured on the big day

'We do not have any regrets and absolutely had a blast with our stranger wedding decision,' Alexis said

Sharing the joy! Alexis documented some of the fun on social media

New besties: One of the girls who served as a bridesmaid was invited just days before

Next up: Alexis and Donovan will be throwing a 'mock ceremony' back in Ohio at a later date with their friends and family

'We do not have any regrets and absolutely had a blast with our stranger wedding decision,' Alexis said.

'Everyone was so friendly and supportive and thats all we could have asked for. We are so thrilled to have new friends in the area.'

The newlyweds shared their unconventional story on TikTok after one of the bridesmaids went viral posting about the day.

In the video, Alexis says: 'This was a great, unique experience and a great way to have a wedding ceremony so far away from home.

'We do plan to keep in touch with all of the people that were in the wedding and cannot wait to see what comes next.'

Alexis and Donovan will be throwing a 'mock ceremony' back in Ohio at a later date with their friends and family.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, crude oil and natural gas have been playing a key role in the geopolitics of the Caspian region. Hydrocarbon revenues became an important source of economic growth for the Caspian Basin countries such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. Shortly after gaining independence in the early 1990s, the Caspian states implemented energy policies that protect their national interests, Modern Diplomacy writes.

According to the BP 2020Statistical Review of World Energy total proved energy reserves of the Caspian states are: Kazakhstan has30.00 billion barrels of oil and 2.7 trillion cubic meters of gas, Azerbaijan 7.00billion barrels of oil and 2.8 trillion cubic meters of gas, and Turkmenistan 0.6billion barrels of oil and 19.5 trillion cubic meters of gas.



Such rich hydrocodone reserves allowed the Caspian states to contribute significantly to the global energy markets. Today, the Caspian states are supplying oil and natural gas to various energy markets, and they are interested in increasing export volume and diversification of export routes. In comparison with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, which supply energy sources mainly to China and Russia, Azerbaijan established a backbone to export energy sources to Europe and Transatlantic space. As the Caspian Sea is landlocked, and its hydrocarbon resources located at a great distance from the worlds major energy consumers, building up energy infrastructure was very important to export oil and gas.



To this end, Azerbaijan created the milestone for delivery of the first Caspian oil and natural gas by implementing mega energy projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline and Southern Gas Corridor (SGC).Now, one can say that both energy projects resulted from successful energy policy implemented by Azerbaijan. Despite the COVID-19 recession, the supply of the Azerbaijani oil to the world energy markets continued. In general, the BTC pipeline carries mainly Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) crude oil and Shah Deniz condensate from Azerbaijan. Also, other volumes of crude oil and condensate continue to be transported via BTC, including volumes from Turkmenistan, Russia and Kazakhstan. As it is clear, the BTC pipeline linked directly the Caspian oil resources to the Western energy markets. The BTC pipeline exported over 27.8 million tons of crude oil loaded on 278 tankers at Ceyhan terminal in 2020. The European and the Asian countries became the major buyers of the Azerbaijani oil, and Italy (26.2%) and China (14%) became two major oil importers from Azerbaijan.



The successful completion of the SGC also strengthened Azerbaijani position in the Caspian region. The first Caspian natural gas to the European energy markets has been already supplied via Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in December 2020, which is the European segment of the SGC. According to TAP AG consortium,a total of one billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas from Azerbaijan has now entered Europe via the Greek interconnection point of Kipoi, where TAP connects to the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP). The TAP project contributes significantly to diversification of supply sources and routes in Europe.



Another historical event that affected the Caspian region was the rapprochement between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. The MoU on joint exploration of Dostluk/Friendship (previously called Kapaz in Azerbaijani and Sardar in Turkmen) offshore field between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan was an important event that will cause positive changes in the energy map of the Caspian Sea.



The Assembly of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan Parliament have already approved the agreed Memorandumon joint exploration, development, and deployment of hydrocarbon resources at the Dostluq field. It should be noted that for the first time two Caspian states agreed to cooperate in the energy sector, which opens a window for the future Trans-Caspian Pipeline (TCP) from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan. Such cooperation and the future transit of Turkmen oil and gas via the existing energy infrastructure of Azerbaijan will be a milestone for trans-regional cooperation.



After the signing of the Caspian Convention, the EU officials resumed talks with Turkmenistan regarding the TCP. The May 2019 visit of the Turkmen delegation headed by the Advisor of the President of Turkmenistan on oil and gas issues was aimed at holding technical consultations between Turkmenistan and the EU. Turkmen delegation met with the representatives of the General Directorate on Energy of the European Commission and with the representatives of British Petroleum, Shell and Total companies. TCP is a project which supports diversification of gas sources and routes for the EU, and the gas pipeline to the EU from Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan via Georgia and Turkey, known as the combination of Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline (TCP), South-Caucasus Pipeline Future Expansion (SCPFX) became the Project of Common Interest for the EU.



Conclusively, Azerbaijan is a key energy player in the region. Mega energy projects of the country play an important role to deliver Caspian oil and gas to global energy markets. However, the Second Karabakh War has revealed the importance of peace and security in the region. The BTC pipeline and the Southern Gas Corridor linking directly the Caspian energy to Western energy markets were under Armenian constant threat. As noted by Hikmat Hajiyev, the Foreign Policy Advisor to the President, Armenia fired cluster rocket to BTC pipeline in Yevlak region. Fortunately, during the Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan protected its strategic infrastructure, and there was no energy disruption. But attacks on critical energy infrastructure revealed that instability in the region would cause damages to the interests of many states.



In the end, Azerbaijan changed the energy map of the Caspian Sea by completing mega energy projects, as well as creating the milestone for energy cooperation in the Caspian region. After Azerbaijans victory in the Second Karabakh War, the country supports full regional economic integration by opening all transport and communication links. Now, the importance of the Caspian region became much more important, and Azerbaijan supports the idea of the exportation of natural gas from Turkmenistan and the Mediterranean via SGC. Such cooperation will further increase the geostrategic importance of the SGC, as well as Azerbaijans role as a transit country.
With permits for new housing up 150 per cent over last year, the substantial surge should focus attention on a contentious question coming before city council: where will new homes be built? The answer is key to the future of residential planning in Winnipeg.

With permits for new housing up 150 per cent over last year, the substantial surge should focus attention on a contentious question coming before city council: where will new homes be built? The answer is key to the future of residential planning in Winnipeg.

City planners hope the answer is infill. The citys long-term plan is to encourage densification within the city and discourage people from building in satellite subdivisions that will be costly for the city to service.

Proposed changes to infill rules will 'kill the city's plan for density,' developer says Click to Expand JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Nigel Furgus, president of Paragon Design Build, outside one of their recent infill projects on McMillan Avenue in Winnipeg. Posted: 4:00 AM Apr. 20, 2021 SOME developers are lashing out against last-minute additions to residential infill guidelines, alleging the proposed changes threaten their industry and Winnipegs growth. By contrast, a city councillor argues those very same rules reflect feedback from hundreds of Winnipeggers who live near infill projects. Read Full Story

But the path to increased infill housing detoured into a pothole of perplexity last week, with the introduction of proposed changes to residential infill guidelines. One proposed change would allow only two residential infill developments per block per year. A second proposal would seem to make the developers responsible for paving gravel lanes abutting some infill projects.

These proposals were unexpected additions to the updating of guidelines that began in September 2019, with the aim of governing the height and character of infill development to fit better with surrounding neighbourhoods.

Faced with the new proposals, the citys property and development committee postponed its vote to allow for feedback. Judging by past public discussions of infill, such feedback will be pointed and polarizing between housing developers and the residents of neighbourhoods targeted for infill.

Several developers have already reacted publicly, saying the new proposals would hike the cost of projects and lessen the financial incentive to build infill. Some predict the changes will freeze infill development. One even said, "This will effectively kill the citys plan for density." Lets hope hes wrong.

Its in the best interest of Winnipeg that the growth of the city be accommodated without expanding infrastructure and services to new subdivisions on the outskirts. Developers already pay initially for some services within new subdivisions, but taxes from residents of new developments arent enough to maintain and replace infrastructure. The added costs are left with the city, which is already unable to afford timely and complete maintenance of the current infrastructure within the city proper.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Infill housing is a key element of the citys urban densification strategy.

The city tried another way of paying for subdivisions in outlying areas in 2017, by implementing a so-called impact fee on such developments. But a court ruled last July the fees are not within the citys legal jurisdiction, which forced the city to return the money to developers.

A potentially game-changing wild card in residential housing is the provincial government, which is in the process of giving itself more power over the planning of Winnipeg and other municipalities. Bill 37, the controversial Planning Amendment and City of Winnipeg Charter Amendment Act, is set to become law, giving a board of political appointees the power to override planning decisions made by elected municipal councils  a move some municipal observers have called an attack on local democracy.

Meanwhile, as politicians debate jurisdiction, the advent of building season means its time to put shovels in the ground.

Its understandable that some councillors are fielding calls from concerned constituents who live near proposed infill developments, but its important council not be diverted from the main goal of getting more taxpaying homeowners to pay for the infrastructure that already exists. That means promoting inward growth.

An oft-repeated mantra of real-estate professionals is that the three most important factors deciding a houses value are location, location, location. Its advice councillors should follow as they craft the rules that will influence urban planning in Winnipeg: whether new homes are a boon or a blemish to city finances depends very much on location, location, location.
Supreme Court vacates Ninth Circuit ruling against church suing California over worship limits

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The U.S. Supreme Court has vacated an appellate court ruling against a Pentecostal church that was suing California over its worship restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

In an order Monday, the high court vacated a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that denied South Bay United Pentecostal Church injunctive relief from the pandemic restrictions on in-person worship instituted by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which have since been rescinded.

The order cited the Supreme Court case of Tandon v. Newsom, in which the justices issued a per curiam ruling in favor of multiple plaintiffs suing California over its ban on in-home worship attended by more than three households.

 government regulations are not neutral and generally applicable, and therefore trigger strict scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause, whenever they treat any comparable secular activity more favorably than religious exercise, stated the decision.

It is unsurprising that such litigants are entitled to relief. Californias Blueprint System contains myriad exceptions and accommodations for comparable activities, thus requiring the application of strict scrutiny.

The Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Ninth Circuit "for further

consideration in light of Tandon v. Newsom."

The Thomas More Society, which is helping to represent South Bay Pentecostal, emailed a statement Tuesday celebrating the Supreme Court order.

The most recent April 26 ruling vacating the Ninth Circuits prior judgment is another major victory for religious liberty, said Special Counsel Paul Jonna.

And it sends yet another clear message to hostile lower courts: if you deprive citizens of constitutional rights, particularly the cherished right to the Free Exercise of Religion, the U.S. Supreme Court will intervene.

Last year, South Bay Pentecostal filed legal action against California over in-person worship restrictions, arguing that their religious services should be considered an essential activity.

The church experienced multiple legal defeats, with a district court judge ruling against the church last December and a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruling against it in January.

Although South Bay has demonstrated irreparable harm, it has not demonstrated that the likelihood of success, the balance of equities or the public interest weigh in its favor, wrote U.S. Circuit Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw in the Ninth Circuit panel opinion.

Although there is no record evidence that attendance at South Bays services in particular has contributed to the spread of the virus, the record does evidence outbreaks tied to religious gatherings in San Diego County and in the Southern California region.

Earlier this month, Californias Department of Public Health changed the language on official capacity limits for worship services from mandatory to strongly recommended.

In response to recent judicial rulings, effective immediately, location and capacity limits on places of worship are not mandatory but are strongly recommended, explains Californias COVID-19 response website.

The linked guidance is in the process of being updated. All other restrictions in the guidance remain in place.

Last Friday, the Newsom administration lifted all restrictions on singing and chanting in church.

The state standards varied on a tier system based on the level of county infection rates.

For the strictest category, called purple, indoor worship was strongly discouraged and should be limited to 25% of capacity. For the lowest tier of concern, called yellow, indoor worship and other activities were recommended with a 50% capacity.
Linda Stoltzfoos, Amish teen who went missing after church, was strangled and stabbed: coroner

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Linda Stoltzfoos, an 18-year-old Amish girl from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who was recently found dead after she went missing while walking home from church last summer, was strangled and stabbed in the neck, a coroner ruled on Friday.

Lancaster County coroner, Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, said Stoltzfoos was positively identified through dental records and confirmed that her cause of death was asphyxia from strangulation, along with suffocation. A stab wound was a contributing factor in her death, The Associated Press reported.

The Lancaster County District Attorneys Office announced that the remains of Stoltzfoos, who disappeared on June 21, 2020, after being kidnapped on Beechdale Road in Bird-in-Hand, East Lampeter Township, was found last Wednesday.

Justo Smoker, 35, was previously charged with felony kidnapping and misdemeanor false imprisonment one month after Stoltzfoos disappearance. Smoker was later charged with homicide relating to the death of Stoltzfoos in December 2020 after prosecutors alleged that the passing of time, along with the complete cessation of all routine activities, led to the inevitable conclusion that he had caused the teenagers death.

Stoltzfoos remains were recovered on railroad property in a grave, wrapped in a tarp behind Smokers previous place of employment, located on Route 41 in eastern Lancaster County. She was still wearing the dress, bonnet and shoes she was dressed in on the day she disappeared.

Since charging this case we have maintained two goals: bringing Linda home to her family and securing a murder conviction against Smoker. While we charged the crime of homicide in December, I have no doubt that for Lindas family, her death only became a reality upon the news of her body being recovered, District Attorney Heather L. Adams said at a press conference last Thursday while asking for privacy for the teenagers family.

Mervin Fisher, an uncle to Stoltzfoos, told PennLive that finding his niece's remains gives them closure.

The not knowing is a long, dark tunnel without an end. And when you find the remains, you have the end in sight, he said. It brings closure, and when theres closure, the healing process can continue.

And even though prior to finding her remains, the family had been hoping his niece would be found alive, they were also preparing themselves for the worst.

From day one theres been hopes. Theres always a ray of hope that you cling to, even though its very diminished. But when theres a body or remains, then its reality, Fisher said. Weve been trying to be prepared.

The simple, family-centered Amish culture in Lancaster County keeps their devout faith community separate from their more secular countrymen. They believe in a literal interpretation and application of Scripture as the Word of God, including biblical commands to separate themselves from the things of the world. They believe worldliness can keep them from being close to God, and introduce influences that could be destructive to their communities and to their way of life.

Sparky Grace, who rents industrial space from Lindas grandfather for his woodshop, described the teenager as a beautiful human being in a tribute after her remains were found.

I never met a teenage, young woman like Linda. Never a complaint and always moving to lend a helping hand, her meek ways were beyond rare. We did not lose a cute Amish girl. We did not lose a young woman. We lost a beautiful human being resilient with the qualities many would hope to aspire in a lifetime. We lost Linda, he wrote in a Facebook post.
Iranian President Hassan Rohani has said that the leak of a recording of the countrys foreign minister making frank comments about the limits of his power sought to create divisions" during talks aimed at reviving a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

The Intelligence Ministry must to do its best to find out how this tape was stolen, Rohani said during a weekly cabinet meeting on April 28.

"We can only lift sanctions through unity," he added.

Ongoing talks in Vienna seek to return the United States to the 2015 agreement, and persuade Tehran to come back into compliance with the nuclear obligations set out in the accord.

The deal, hammered out during Rohani's first term following negotiations led by Zarif, lifted international sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on Irans nuclear program. But the accord started to unravel in 2018 when former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of it and reimposed sanctions, followed by Iran beginning to ramp up nuclear activities in response a year later.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarifs comments in the three-hour-long audio clip -- in which he said the Iranian army and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) were too influential in diplomacy -- have dominated the discussion in Iran since its publication by media outlets outside Iran on April 25, and sparked a furious reaction from conservative media and politicians.

Among other things, Zarif complained about the extent of influence that the late Major General Qasem Soleimani had over foreign policy, hinting that the top IRGC commander tried to spoil Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers by colluding with Russia. Solemani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020, greatly intensifying tensions between the United States and Iran.

In his first public comments on the controversy, Zarif said on April 28 that the "main point" of his remarks was "the need for a smart adjustment of the military and diplomatic spheres."

In a post on Instagram, which included video of him at a Soleimani memorial in Baghdad, the minister said he also saw a need for "setting priorities through legal structures and under the great purview of the supreme leader."

Zarif said he deplored the fact that a secret theoretical talk regarding the need for synergy between diplomacy and the [military] field...turns into domestic infighting."

"Honest and passionate" argument in a private setting had been misconstrued as "personal criticism," the minister wrote.

Rohani said the recording was part of a wider project of interviews with government officials for posterity as he steps down in June after two terms in office.

The previous day, a government spokesman called the leak a conspiracy against the government, the system, the integrity of effective domestic institutions, and also against our national interests."

The Foreign Ministry had described the recording as selectively edited, and said it represented just a portion of a seven-hour interview that included "personal opinions."

Meanwhile, the Tehran prosecutor's office said it had opened a criminal case into the matter, Fars reported.

According to another semiofficial news agency, ISNA, the parliaments National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has summoned Zarif.

With reporting by AFP and AP
The housing market in West Palm Beach increased 18.9% in median sale price at $440,000 in the month of March. That price was $370,000 in March 2020. The Home Design and Remodeling industry saw the benefit in home values, which impacts Palm Beach neighbors.

We are thrilled to bring the largest Home Design and Remodeling Show in Florida to Palm Beach County after 40 years of production in Miami and Fort Lauderdale!

We saw the exciting demand and knew we could be of service closer to home. The exposition brings affordable and curated home design and remodeling brands to Palm Beach. The community can spark inspiration for home improvement in a one-stop-shop show, seeing room vignettes showcased by 3 locally featured interior designers.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

WHERE: Palm Beach County Convention Center

WHEN: May 28-31, 2021

WHY: Talk with experts, influencers, and consultants to see why Palm Beach is a hot spot for prime real estate!

Covid-19 has shown us new ways to reimagine what event safety looks like. We are taking all of the proper steps to assure public safety such as contracting a specialist in electrostatic sanitizing applications, enforcing social distancing and masks at all times. Your safety is our top priority. In fact, we want you to feel right at home!

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A recent headline (Gun used in fatal Wawa shooting was purchased legally, DA says) stating that the recent local Wawa shooter legally purchased his semi-automatic handgun is no surprise. Despite incessant wailing from Second Amendment protection advocates, its estimated 80% of firearms used in mass killings were purchased legally, including the popular AR-15 rifle.

Recently the massacres at a Fedex distribution center, spa in Atlanta and Colorado grocery store happened with legally owned semi-automatic weapons. The Las Vegas concert massacre, which left 58 dead and over 500 wounded, happened when the shooter had semi-automatic rifles with legal bump stocks for rapid firepower.

The truth is that the current interpretation of the Second Amendment allows disturbed people, with no police record, to buy semi-automatic weapons one day and start mindlessly killing the next. So much for the right-wing ideology of only keeping guns out of the hands of the criminals.

For 10 years there was a ban on the sale of semi-automatic rifles, with no court challenge from the NRA because they knew theyd lose if the Supreme Court was forced to define arms under the Second Amendment. Until ownership of these weapons is outlawed, these massacres will continue unabated.

Perhaps the most insane argument is that a gun is an inanimate object, it just lies there and cant kill anyone itself. But that mentality doesnt seem to apply when it comes to abortion pills which pro-lifers wish to ban. These pills are inanimate objects that just lie there and cant kill anyone, right?

Ron Pizarie

East Allen Township
The estate of a Decatur man shot to death after police say his home was broken into has filed a lawsuit against a security alarm company, alleging the alarms failed.

The estate sued Vivint Inc. along with the two defendants charged with capital murder in the February 2019 shooting death of Michael Wayne Irvin Jr. at his home on Marion Street.

According to the lawsuit, Irvin had a Vivint alarm system that should have gone off when his door was broken down and when bullets caused his windows to break.

As a result of such malfunctioning or failure to perform as intended by the Vivint Home Security and Alarm System within the Irvin home, local law enforcement was not timely notified of the event and (Irvin) bled to death in his home, according to the complaint.

The other defendants named in the lawsuit were Zachary Bernard Williams and Ulysses KeAndre Wilkerson, who were each indicted on three counts of capital murder. They allegedly killed 30-year-old Irvin while his 4-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son were in the home. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Vivint representatives did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

According to search warrant affidavits, Irvins front door was kicked in at 2:05 a.m. Feb. 25 and he was shot multiple times. Morgan County 911 didnt receive a call on the incident until more than an hour later, when Irvins girlfriend entered the home.

At a preliminary hearing in April 2019, Decatur police Detective Sean Mukaddam described arriving at the scene Feb. 25, 2019, and following a trail of 12 spent shell casings from the front door and through the house before finding Irvins body.

He was laying on his back, Mukaddam said. It appeared he was trying to get out the back door and was hit by a projectile and was deceased there in the laundry room.

Mukaddam said a witness voluntarily came to police and told them Williams had confessed to the crime. The witness told Mukaddam that Irvin charged Williams after Williams broke in the front door, and Williams immediately shot him.

Irvin continued to fight like the bullets werent fazing him, Williams told the witness, Mukaddam said. Williams alleged confession was not recorded.

Mukaddam suggested the motive was robbery and said police found $15,000 in Irvins master bedroom after the shooting.

Mukaddam said there was evidence of a struggle in the foyer, including a blood streak on the wall. He testified that police found a roll of duct tape in the foyer, which Irvins live-in girlfriend said did not belong there. A forensic analysis revealed Wilkersons DNA on the tape, Mukaddam said.

Wilkerson denied involvement in the murder, but told police he might have touched the duct tape while it was in Williams car. Wilkerson also denied being in Decatur at the time of the shooting, but later changed his story, Mukaddam said.

According to the lawsuit, the alarm system might have deterred Williams and Wilkerson if it had gone off when the door was kicked in. Despite the systems sensors recording the breaking of glass, it failed to sound an alarm that might have deterred the intruders, according to the lawsuit, and the system also failed when it failed to send alerts or notify law enforcement of the breaking and entering event.

Mukaddam said at the preliminary hearing that Irvin had two separate video-based security systems at his home that police had hoped would identify the killers. One had stopped functioning years before when it became full of data, he said, and the other security system was also unhelpful in providing video.

They did not pay for cloud service, so the company didnt back it up. ... It was set not to record, Mukaddam said.

While Irvins security system failed to provide police with video, it did provide details on when the crime occurred. The system was activated when someone approached the front door at 2:04 a.m. on the day of the shooting, and again seconds later when the door was forced open.

Bullets breaking windows also activated the alarm, and gave a sense of the speed of the attack.

The system recorded breaking glass at 2:04:28, 2:04:36, 2:04:47, 2:04:51, 2:04:55 and 2:04:59, Mukaddam testified.

It also recorded the arrival of Irvins girlfriend about an hour later. She immediately called 911 after checking on the children, Mukaddam said.

The lawsuit was served on Vivint last month, but the company has not filed a response. In a handwritten response to the civil lawsuit Williams said, I am not guilty.

A trial date has not been set in the murder case, but a status conference is scheduled for May 17. Williams has filed a motion asking that he be allowed to serve as his own co-counsel, which has been set for a May 19 hearing.

Williams also filed a handwritten complaint against Mukaddam, the city and Detective Matt Young alleging he was locked in a police interview room during an interrogation and that his iPhone was taken from him without a search warrant. The case was dismissed in December after the court ruled the detectives had not been properly served and that Williams had failed to prosecute the case.

 eric@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2435. Twitter @DD_Fleischauer.

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Russia has announced plans to block foreign naval ships and state vessels in parts of the Black Sea for six months as it holds military maneuvers. The areas are around occupied Crimea, and effectively block passage through the Kerch Strait. The United States and its Allies in NATO and the European Union agree the Russian plan is provocative and destabilizing.

In a statement, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said the United States regards the Russian move with deep concern.

Russia has a history of taking aggressive actions against Ukrainian vessels and impeding access to Ukraines ports in the Sea of Azov, impacting Ukraines international commerce, he wrote.

In a separate statement, NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said, Russias ongoing militarization of Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov are further threats to Ukraines independence, and undermine the stability of the broader region. We call on Russia to ensure free access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov and allow freedom of navigation.

The European Union said the Russian plan was highly worrying and also called on Moscow to allow the free passage of ships in accordance with international law.

The Russian move to restrict navigation in parts of the Black Sea through October comes at the same time as the largest troop build-up near the Ukrainian border by Russia since the beginning of its conflict with Ukraine. That conflict, which began in 2014 with Russias occupation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine, has led to the deaths of more than 14,000 people. And it continues as the Ukrainian military defends its territory against Russia-led forces entrenched in parts of eastern Ukraine under Russias control since 2014.

State Department Spokesperson Price said, The United States reaffirms its unwavering support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters. T he United States does not, and will never, recognize Russias purported annexation of Crimea.

Mr. Price added, We commend Ukraine for its continued restraint in the face of Russian provocations, and call on Russia to cease its harassment of vessels in the region and reverse its build-up of forces along Ukraines border and in occupied Crimea.
LOreal USA has announced it will be opening a second company headquarters at 888 North Douglas in El Segundo, California, in early 2022.

Related: LOreal Names Asmita Dubey Chief Digital Officer

LOreal's second company headquarters will bring together the teams from its California-based brands such as NYX Professional Makeup, Urban Decay and Pulp Riot into one creative campus.

With more than 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor work-spaces, the headquarters is designed with sustainable standards on a 25-acre park-like campus transformed from an aerospace manufacturing site.

The workspace will offer amenities such as dedicated networking and collaboration spaces, an indoor-outdoor work concept with expansive outdoor patios, a wellness and exercise studio, a company store featuring products across its portfolio of brands, and natural light coming in from the buildings 45-foot ceilings.

The second headquarters will also serve as the home to the first-ever West Coast LOreal Professional Products Academy, offering education and connection to the professional beauty community in Los Angeles and across the country.

From advanced hair styling techniques and skills training to certification classes, the Academy experience aims to grow, inspire and develop salon partners and beauty artists.

The headquarters will complement the companys main headquarters located on the west side of Manhattan in the Hudson Yards neighborhood, which it opened in June 2016.

Stephane Rinderknech, president and CEO of LOreal USA, said, We are fortunate to be in a position to invest in the expansion and future of our business. California has become a global stage for creativity, innovation, trends, diversity and talent in the beauty industryand, as a result, it has become a driving force of our business. We are excited at the prospect of our brand teams coming together to build the future of beauty in the Los Angeles area.
Boeing Co. reported a wider than expected first-quarter loss on Wednesday and took another charge on its program to build two new Air Force One presidential planes after firing a contractor it hired to help perform the work.

A line of Boeing 777X jets are parked nose to tail on an unused runway at Paine Field, near Boeing's massive production facility, Friday, April 23, 2021, in Everett, Wash. Boeing Co. on Wednesday, April 28, reported a loss of $537 million in its first quarter. The Chicago-based company said it had a loss of 92 cents per share. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were $1.53 per share. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Boeing Co. reported a wider than expected first-quarter loss on Wednesday and took another charge on its program to build two new Air Force One presidential planes after firing a contractor it hired to help perform the work.

The company did not provide a timetable for fixing the latest problem with its 737 Max jet, an electrical issue that has forced airlines to park about 100 of the planes.

The combination of self-inflicted damage and a coronavirus pandemic that has depressed demand for new planes pushed Boeing to its sixth straight quarterly loss. However, CEO David Calhoun said the company is at an inflection point," with an increase in vaccinations against COVID-19 raising hopes for a rapid recovery in air travel that could translate to aircraft orders.

Boeing lost $561 million  $537 million attributable to shareholders. Revenue was roughly in line with Wall Street forecasts as the company generated cash by delivering more new airliners than it did a year ago.

After the quarter ended, Boeing suffered a new setback with its 737 Max jetliners, the grounding of dozens of the planes because of issues around electrical grounding of some parts. Boeing continues to say that the fix is simple and will take three or four days per plane once the Federal Aviation Administration approves Boeings repair method, but airlines including Southwest, American and United have now been without some of their Max jets for nearly a month with no certainty about when they will be able to use them again.

Boeing has halted Max deliveries while it works on a fix for the electrical issues, which Calhoun said will make April aircraft deliveries  a key source of cash  very light.

Boeing only recently resumed deliveries of its two-aisle 787 jets after discovering flaws in the fuselages. And the debut of its next plane, the 777X, is behind schedule because of design changes.

The company is also dealing with delays in its work to build replacements for the current Air Force One planes, which are specially modified 747 jumbo jets. The program is not crucial to Boeing's financial health but carries prestige, building the presidential planes that are recognizable around the world.

Boeing took a first-quarter charge of $318 million charge related to its $3.9 billion contract with the Air Force for new presidential planes. Boeing fired and sued subcontractor GDC Technics, which in turn laid off about 200 workers and filed for bankruptcy protection this week. GDC, hired for interior work on the planes, filed a countersuit against Boeing.

It is not clear whether Boeing will meet its December 2024 deadline for delivering the planes.

We continue to make steady progress on this program and are working closely with our customer to assess impact and mitigate risks to the delivery schedule, Boeing spokeswoman Deborah VanNierop said in an email.

Air Force spokesman Joshua Benedetti said Boeing recently recommended a new schedule for the work, which the Air Force is analyzing. He did not describe the change Boeing wants to make.

During a call with executives, a Bank of America analyst challenged Calhoun about issues affecting a half-dozen different Boeing models.

These programs are big and they are complicated, Calhoun said, adding that the company will get a whole lot better.

Jeff Windau, an analyst for Edward Jones, said he believes Boeing leaders are trying to change their culture and revitalize the engineering approach. Time will tell how things progress.

Calhoun said in a memo to employees that while the pandemic continues to challenge the airplane market, the company sees 2021 as a turning point as vaccines distributed more rapidly.

Excluding one-time items, Boeing's loss was $1.53 per share. Analysts expected a loss of 97 cents per share, according to a FactSet survey.

The loss was smaller than the $628 million loss Boeing reported a year earlier, when the pandemic was just starting to hit the airline industry. In the first quarter of pre-pandemic 2019, the company earned $2.15 billion on revenue of $22.92 billion.

Revenue fell 10% from a year earlier, to $15.22 billion, nearly matching the $15.23 billion that analysts expected. Boeing generated cash when regulators in the U.S. and other countries allowed the company to resume deliveries of 737 Max jets, which were grounded for nearly two years after two crashes that killed 346 people.

Boeing delivered 77 commercial planes in the quarter, up from 50 in the same period last year, although revenue from those sales dropped.

The company's defence and space business accounted for nearly half of Boeing revenue, and it earned a profit as revenue climbed 19%.

Last week, the company announced that the board raised Calhouns retirement age from 65 to 70, meaning he wont be forced to step down next April. At the same time, Boeing said Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith, 54, will retire in July, a move that caught Wall Street off guard. Analysts speculated that Smith saw his path to the top job closed off by Calhouns extended term.

The shares fell 3% in afternoon trading Wednesday.
A sign is seen during a promotional event for the U.S. Census in Times Square in New York City, New York, U.S., (Photo : REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

A national Democratic redistricting group has brought a trio of lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Louisiana, asking courts to prepare to step in if the divided government in each of those states fails to agree on new legislative maps.



The litigation, filed after the U.S. Census Bureau released data on Monday showing how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes will be allocated to each state for the next decade, is the first salvo in what will likely be a sprawling national court battle over redistricting.



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The nonprofit National Redistricting Action Fund, which is affiliated with former Attorney General Eric Holder's National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), brought the lawsuits on behalf of several individual voters in each state.



"While these are the first lawsuits of this new election cycle, let me make this point: these are not going to be the last," said attorney Marc Elias, who represents the group and last year led the legal campaign to defend Joe Biden's presidential win.



Both Pennsylvania and Louisiana have Democratic governors who can veto maps produced by their Republican-controlled legislatures. In Minnesota, Democrats hold the governorship and the state House, while Republicans control the Senate.



The lawsuits ask state courts to set a schedule to take over the process and draw new maps in the likely event that state officials reach impasse.



Elias noted that the redistricting process is compressed this year due to months of delays at the Census Bureau, and said the intent of the suits was to ensure courts have enough time to produce fair maps.



Adam Kincaid, the executive director of the Republican counterpart to the NDRC, the National Republican Redistricting Trust, dismissed the litigation.



"The lawsuits are expensive press releases that likely aren't going anywhere," he said in an email.



Both parties are readying for a fierce contest over redistricting, the once-a-decade process by which states redraw their electoral maps for congressional and state legislative districts based on the census count.



Texas, Florida and North Carolina - all states where Republicans have pursued gerrymandering, in which one party deliberately manipulates the map to create political advantages - gained a total of four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday, when the Census Bureau released its initial 2020 data.



During a briefing for reporters, Holder explicitly tied the coming fight over redistricting to the ongoing conflict over Republican efforts to install voting limits in dozens of states.



"I have no doubt that the same Republican legislators who have pushed these bills will now try to use the redistricting process to illegitimately lock in power for that party for the next decade," he said.


English Lithuanian

The retail turnover (including VAT) of Apranga Group reached EUR 25.5 million in 1st quarter 2021 or by 44.3% less than in 2020.



Due to epidemic coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, from 16 December 2020, all the Groups stores in Lithuania were temporarily closed. Stores in Lithuania with a separate entrance from the outside and a sales area not exceeding 300 square meters have been open since 15 February 2021. All stores with a separate entrance from the outside have been open since 15 March 2021 (in comparison to last year, all Groups stores were temporarily closed from 16 March 2020). In Latvia, stores are temporarily closed from 19 December 2020 (in comparison to last year, stores operating in shopping malls could not work on weekends from 28 March 2020 in Latvia). In Estonia, all Groups stores are temporarily closed from 11 March 2021, and from 6 March 2021 to 11 March 2021 stores were not allowed to work on weekends (in comparison to last year, stores operating in shopping malls were closed from 27th March 2020 in Estonia). These temporary store closures had a significant impact on the Group's generated turnover, earned profit and, accordingly, financial ratios for the first quarter of 2021. Management estimates that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary closure of stores, the Group lost about EUR 30 million of turnover (including VAT), did not receive about EUR 9 million of gross profit and did not earn about 2.5 million of profit before income tax in 3 months 2021.

The unaudited consolidated loss before income tax of Apranga Group amounted to EUR 3.0 million in 3 months 2021, while Apranga Group has made the loss of EUR 2.2 million in the same period of 2020.

EBITDA of Apranga Group reached EUR 2.1 million in 3 months 2021, and it was EUR 2.8 million in corresponding the year 2020 period.

The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements of Apranga Group for three months of 2021, as well as managers confirmation letter are ready for acquaintance in the attachments. The interim information is also available at: http://aprangagroup.lt/en/investors.

Rimantas Perveneckas

Apranga Group General Manager

+370 5 2390801





Attachments
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28)  The arrival of the initial batch of Sputnik V vaccines from Russia has been moved to May 1.

This is according to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. who announced the new date during a briefing Wednesday night.

Iyong supposed to be po na darating po na Gamaleya, na-move po ng May 1 dahil po sa mga tinatawag nating logistical challenges kasi because of the restrictions, nagkakaroon po ng problema sa mga flights, he explained.

[Translation: The supposed arrival of Gamaleya was moved to May 1 due to logistical challenges. Because of the restrictions, there are difficulties in booking flights.]

Earlier, authorities confirmed that delivery of the vaccine shots wiould be postponed again due to said logistical issues.

"Challenges resulting from there being no direct flights from Russia and that vaccine requires -20 temp," Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

The first batch with 15,000 doses was supposed to arrive on March 24. It was pushed back to Wednesday. But on the day of delivery, the government announced it will be postponed anew with no definite date of arrival.

"Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez has taken steps to address these challenges and aims to receive the initial order of the Russian (vaccines) in the month of May instead," Roque said.

The Department of Health said the initial doses from the vaccine's maker Gamaleya will be distributed to four unidentified cities in Metro Manila as part of the "simulation activity."

Sputnik V vaccines come in liquid and powdered form. The liquid doses must be stored in ultra-cold temperatures. The powdered version, which has to be diluted before vaccination, can be kept in normal fridge temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, making it easier to transport and store.

The COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the country, Sinovac and AstraZeneca, only need normal fridge temperature.

The Philippines is also set to receive another batch of 480,000 doses of Sputnik V, but the delivery date has yet to be revealed.
The U.K.'s Electoral Commission on Wednesday announced an investigation into allegations that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had Conservative Party donors "secretly pay" for a renovation of his apartment at No. 11 Downing Street.

Why it matters: It's unprecedented for a sitting prime minister to face this kind of investigation, which could result in a fine of up to 20,000 and a referral to police if the violations are serious, according to The Times of London.

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What they're saying: We have been in contact with the Conservative Party since late March and have conducted an assessment of the information they have provided to us," the Electoral Commission said in a statement.

"We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred. We will therefore continue this work as a formal investigation to establish whether this is the case."

Background: Prime ministers receive an annual public grant of 30,000 to renovate their homes, but there was speculation that Johnson and his fiancee spent as much as 200,000 on a luxury refurbishment  which Downing Street insists was paid for out of their own pocket.

It is not illegal for prime ministers to accept loans or donations, but they must be publicly declared within 28 days.

In response to questions about the funding of the apartment, Johnson said: "If there's anything to be said about that, any declaration to be made, that will of course be made in due course."

The big picture: The allegations became much more serious when Dominic Cummings, Johnson's controversial former top aide, claimed he told the PM that his "plans to have donors secretly pay for the renovation were unethical, foolish, possibly illegal and almost certainly broke the rules on proper disclosure of political donations if conducted in the way he intended."

Cummings, considered one of the chief architects of the Brexit campaign, ended his tumultuous tenure at Downing Street after falling out with Johnson over staffing issues last year.

His allegations about the apartment are part of a broader leak scandal that includes reports that Johnson said he'd rather let "bodies pile high in their thousands" than impose another coronavirus lockdown in England.

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A judge has refused to release body cam footage of Andrew Brown Jr. being shot dead by police to the media after a prosecutor said he hit deputies with his car before they fired the shots that killed him.

Brown, 42, was shot and killed by police in Elizabeth City, North Carolina at 8.30am on April 21 while at the wheel of his car in his driveway. Police are yet to release bodycam footage of the incident; his family have called it an execution.

Judge Jeffrey Foster denied a media petition to release the footage publicly for at least 30 days, saying it might impede the ongoing investigation.

Brown's family will allowed to watch redacted footage from five body cameras and and one dashboard cam within the next ten days.Their attorney said up to eight officers were at the scene. The family can watch the footage but not take copies.

District Attorney Andrew Womble had earlier told the judge that he viewed body camera video and disagreed with a characterization by attorneys for the family of Brown Jr. that his car was stationary when the shooting started.

Attorneys for the Brown family called the judge's decision 'deeply disappointing', adding: 'Video evidence is the key to discerning the truth and getting well-deserved justice.'

An attorney for the officers said they are 'very distraught' and opposed the footage being released, but added: 'We believe the shooting was justified.'

The FBI launched a civil rights probe Tuesday into the death of Brown Jr., as his family released an independent autopsy showing he was shot five times, including in the back of the head.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called for a special prosecutor while pressure built on authorities to release body camera footage of last week's shooting.

Police said they were carrying out an arrest warrant for drugs offenses and claim Brown was a drug dealer with a rap sheet dating back to 1988. Brown had a 180 page criminal record and had been filmed selling narcotics in the weeks leading up to his death, Fox News reported Monday.

Andrew Brown, pictured, a 42-year-old father of 10, was shot in his car on April 21 by sheriffs. Judge Jeffrey Foster denied a media petition to release the footage of his shooting publicly for at least 30 days, saying it might impede the ongoing investigation

District Attorney Andrew Womble told a judge at a hearing Wednesday that he viewed body camera video and disagreed with a characterization by attorneys for the family of Andrew Brown Jr. that his car was stationary when the shooting started. Womble said the video shows that Browns car made contact with law enforcement twice before shots could be heard

Lydia Brown,92, (front) the grandmother of Andrew Brown Jr., and other family members arrive at the Pasquotank County Courthouse on Wednesday

DA Womble, who opposed the footage's immediate release, said Wednesday the video shows that Browns car made contact with law enforcement twice before shots could be heard on the video.

'As it backs up, it does make contact with law enforcement officers,' he said, adding that the car stops again.

'The next movement of the car is forward. It is in the direction of law enforcement and makes contact with law enforcement. It is then and only then that you hear shots.'

In response to Womble's remarks in court, lawyer Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who watched the footage with Brown's son, defended her description of the footage.

'At no time have I given any misrepresentations. I still stand by what I saw in that clip,' she said, adding that she watched the clip 'over and over,' taking notes.

Womble argued that body camera video from the shooting, a portion of which was shown to the family on Monday, should be kept from the public for another month so that state investigators can make progress on their probe of the shooting.

Demonstrators, led by clergy, march Wednesday from Mt. Lebanon AME Zion Church in Elizabeth City, N.C., to the site where Andrew Brown Jr. was shot and killed by Pasquotank County Sheriff deputies

A Pasquotank County judge denied the petition by the media to release the body camera footage in the shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. Demonstrators, led by clergy, march Wednesday

Foster ruled: 'The release at this time would create a serious threat to the fair, impartial and orderly administration of justice. Confidentiality is necessary to protect either an active internal or criminal investigation or a potential internal or criminal investigation.'

Judge Foster said he would revisit the issue of making the footage publicly available in 30 to 45 days, adding: 'The court will, in its discretion, consider at that time further release of the video based on the factors as they exist at that time.'

A North Carolina law that took effect in 2016 allows law enforcement agencies to show body camera video privately to a victim's family, but it generally requires a court to approve any public release.

Media attorney Michael J. Tadych said there is 'absolute public interest' in releasing the tapes. The sheriff's office supported the release of videos, according to Pasquotank County Attorney R. Michael Cox.

Family members of Brown Jr., arrive at the entrance to the Pasquotank County Courthouse

Journalists line up near to hear Superior Court Judge Jeff Foster decide if the body camera footage will be released of the shooting and killing of Andrew Brown Jr.

A judge is considering formal requests to make the video public Wednesday

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and co-counsels Bakari Sellers, Harry Daniels, and Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who are representing the family, said in response to the ruling of a judge: 'We are deeply disappointed by the judge's decision to not make body camera footage from the involved officers available to be viewed by the public.

'In this modern civil rights crisis where we see Black people killed by the police everywhere we look, video evidence is the key to discerning the truth and getting well-deserved justice for victims of senseless murders.

'Just look at the murder of George Floyd  if the world had not seen that clear and disturbing footage, there might not have even been an ounce of accountability for those officers.

'We refuse to be discouraged and vow to keep the pressure on these agencies until we get to the truth. We will not stop saying his name. Andrew Brown Jr.'

The FBIs Charlotte field office, which opened the civil rights investigation into Browns death, said in a statement that its agents planned to work closely with the Department of Justice 'to determine whether federal laws were violated.'

Following the news, lawyers for the Brown family said they have 'great faith' in the investigation.

Brown's family will be allowed to watch redacted footage from four body cams. The family can watch the footage within ten days but not take copies

They also called separate footage taken by a neighbor of the moment a large group of cops surrounded Brown Jr.'s car 'an inflamed modern-day lynch mob'.

The independent autopsy was performed Sunday by a pathologist hired by Brown's family. The exam noted four wounds to the right arm and one to the head. The states autopsy has not been released yet.

The family's lawyers also released a copy of the death certificate, which lists the cause of death as a 'penetrating gunshot wound of the head.' The certificate, signed by a paramedic services instructor who serves as a local medical examiner, describes the death as a homicide.

The autopsy results come a day after Brown's relatives were shown a 20-second clip of footage from one deputy's body camera.

One of the Brown family lawyers, Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, who viewed the video, said Monday that officers opened fire on Brown while he had his hands on the steering wheel of a car. She said the video showed Brown trying to drive away but posing no threat to officers.

On Tuesday footage emerged of the moment a large group of cops surrounded Brown Jr.'s car. The clip - taken by a neighbor in the moments after officers opened fire - shows in the seconds after Brown's car had crashed into a tree.

Brown's son Khalil Ferebee questioned why deputies opened fire.

'Yesterday I said he was executed. This autopsy report shows me that was correct,' he said Tuesday at a news conference. 'Its obvious he was trying to get away. Its obvious. And theyre going to shoot him in the back of the head?'

The pathologist, North Carolina-based Dr. Brent Hall, noted a wound to the back of Browns head from an undetermined distance that penetrated his skull and brain. He said there was no exit wound. Two shots to Browns right arm penetrated the skin. Two others shots to the arm grazed him.

Witnesses said Brown got into his car (pictured) and was driving away when the deputy opened fire.

The moment a 'militarized' sheriff's vehicle carrying armed deputies rushed to Brown's home

The results of an independent autopsy released by attorneys for Brown's family Tuesday shows he was shot five times; four times in his right arm and once in the head

The shooting prompted days of protests and calls for justice and transparency. Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II has said multiple deputies fired shots but released few other details. Seven Pasquotank County deputies have been placed on leave.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said: 'If they thought Andrew Brown Jr did something inappropriately and criminal you all would have seen that video by now. There was no need for them to be the judge, the jury and the executioner that morning.'

Local clergy members who called a news conference outside of an Elizabeth City church welcomed the FBI's announcement.

'Amen. Because the people here are inept, incapable and incompetent,' said the Rev. William Barber II, who leads the Poor Peoples Campaign, referring to local authorities.

Brown's lawyers also welcomed the federal agency's involvement: 'We have great faith that this caliber of an investigation will prevent any obscuring of the facts released to the Brown family and public and will overcome any local bias that may prevent justice from being served.'

Attorney's for the family of Andrew Brown, Harry Daniel, left, and Chantel Cherry-Lassiter, right make comments after a judges decision on the release body cam video

A judge denied the request to immediately release body cam video of the incident

Brown, 42, father of 10 children, was shot and killed in his car at around 8.30am in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, while police were executing search-and-arrest warrants for drug offenses, officials said

The State Bureau of Investigation began a probe of the shooting shortly after it happened. It initially said that it would turn its findings over to the local district attorney, as is standard under state laws and procedures.

But the governor, a Democrat, urged the appointment of a special prosecutor to handle the state's case.

'This would help assure the community and Mr. Browns family that a decision on pursuing criminal charges is conducted without bias,' Cooper said in a statement.

State Attorney General Josh Stein said state law puts control of criminal prosecutions in the hands of the local district attorney, so his office cannot intervene unless asked. He said he has offered assistance to the local prosecutor, but has only received an acknowledgment.

'For my office to play a role in the prosecution, the District Attorney must request our assistance,' Stein said.

District Attorney Andrew Womble, who oversees Pasquotank County, issued a statement noting that state law gives him the power to decide on prosecuting crimes in his district and he stands 'ready willing and able to fulfill my statutory obligations.'

Wednesday's court hearing on the video will consider petitions to release the footage, including filings by a media coalition and by the county attorney on behalf of the sheriff.

Patrice Revelle stands in front of police in riot gear as they force people off a street as they protest the killing of Andrew Brown Jr. on April 27

The police were enforcing an 8 pm curfew announced after the shooting death of Brown by Pasquotank County Sheriff deputies

Protesters march through the street after the death of Andrew Brown Jr.

The slow movement has prompted an outcry from protesters, the family's lawyers and racial justice advocates, who noted that law enforcement agencies in other states have moved faster.

In Columbus, Ohio, the day before Brown was shot, body camera footage was released within hours of an officer fatally shooting a 16-year-old Black girl who was swinging a knife at another girl.

Democrats in the North Carolina General Assembly filed a measure this month proposing that body camera video be released within 48 hours unless a law enforcement agency asks a court to delay its distribution.

But the legislation faces long odds with the GOP controlling both chambers of the Legislature.

A key Republican lawmaker, state Sen. Danny Britt, issued a statement saying GOP lawmakers are open to considering improvements to the current law. But with a hearing set for Wednesday, he said, the process has had little time to unfold.
Two-wheeler manufacturer is geared up to report its March quarter results for financial year 2020-21 (Q4FY21) on Thursday, April 29, amid expectations of a solid growth in revenue and sales volume. However, the companys Ebitda margin could come under pressure due to higher commodity prices and lower product mix on a quarterly basis.

The commodity prices, over the past six months, have risen sharply - aluminum (over 26 per cent), copper (32 per cent), crude (55 per cent), and steel (55 per cent). In Q4FY21, global brokerage Nomuras commodity cost index rose nearly 350bps.

The current price hikes of 2-3 per cent by automobile manufacturers will only partly offset this cost increase, and hence margins are likely to drop QoQ, the brokerage said in a results preview report, adding, More price increases would be required in Q1FY22, which, if not taken, can impact margins further.

At the bourses, the stock of has outperformed both, Nifty50 and Nifty Auto indices, on the National Stock Exchange on a year-to-date (YTD) basis, ACE Equity data show. While the stock of the company rallied 6.6 per cent, the Nifty50 and Auto indices gained 2.5 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively.

Against this backdrop, heres what leading brokerages expect from BAUs Q4 numbers:

Nomura

It expects revenue to grow 25 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 8,528.2 crore led by volume growth of 23 per cent YoY and price hikes of nearly 1.5 per cent QoQ. Thos compares with revenue of Rs 6,815.9 crore in Q4FY20 and Rs 8,909.9 crore in Q3FY21.

Operationally, Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) is pegged at Rs 1,532.6 crore, up 22 per cent YoY but down 11 per cent sequentially from Rs 1,252.8 crore in Q4FY20 and Rs 1,729.6 crore in Q3FY21, respectively.

Consequently, Ebitda margins may decline by 144 bps QoQ to 18 per cent from 19.4 per cent. At the bottom-line level, net profit is seen largely flat at Rs 1,337.6 crore, up 2 per cent YoY from Rs 1,310.3 crore. Sequentially, it would be a 14 per cent contraction from Rs 1,556.3 crore.

IIFL Securities

The brokerage expects sales volumes to grow 18 per cent YoY to 1.16 million in Q4FY21 but tumble 10.5 per cent QoQ due to leaner exports and fresh Covid-19-induced restrictions.

Given this, the sequential revenue may slip over 7 per cent to Rs 8,257.4 crore and PAT may fall 18 per cent to Rs 1,280.3 crore.



The brokerage too expects margin to contract QoQ due to higher input costs, negative operating leverage, partly offset by better revenue mix. While Ebitda growth is seen 19 per cent YoY to Rs 1,489.6 crore, margins may decline 34 bps YoY and 144 bps QoQ to 18 per cent.

Emkay Global

Revenues, the brokerage says, are likely to decline 7 per cent QoQ (to Rs 8,280 crore) due to a 10 per cent drop in volumes.

Realization should improve due to price increases and higher share of 3Ws/premium motorcycles. Despite better mix, Ebitda margin is likely to contract to 17.2 per cent on higher input costs, adverse currency movement (USD depreciation) and lower scale, it said. The brokerage expects PAT to grow 0.2 per cent YoY to Rs 1,313.2 crore.

Kotak Institutional Equities

Volumes during the quarter under study increased by 18 per cent YoY led by 24 per cent YoY increase in export motorcycle volumes, 21 per cent yearly increase in domestic motorcycle volumes offset by 12 per cent YoY decline in three-wheeler segment volumes in 4QFY21. Therefore, it expects revenues to increase by 19 per cent YoY and Ebitda by 15 per cent YoY.

HDFC Securities

Analysts at the brokerage would eye outlook on exports, particularly to the African continent, three-wheeler outlook in the Indian market, and updates on PLI scheme and its benefits for
Chennai, April 28 : DMK president and party's Chief minister candidate M.K. Stalin has called upon the people of Tamil Nadu to strictly adhere to the Covid protocol announced by the state government. He appealed to the people to wear masks even at home and to strictly stand by the state government protocol on Covid.

Stalin in a lengthy video appeal on Wednesday said that the Covid cases are mounting in Tamil Nadu, calling upon Prime minister Narendra Modi to provide free vaccination to everyone in the state. He also appealed to the Prime minister to release sufficient funds to the states to fight the pandemic.

He called upon the people to maintain social distancing and not to come out of their homes unnecessarily. The DMK leader also said that people must vaccinate themselves immediately and appealed to wear masks and to sanitise their hands regularly.

The DMK leader also called upon the people of Tamil Nadu to eat traditional food including vegetables, fruits and to avoid processed food. He asked the state government to provide adequate beds, ventilators, medicines and vaccines to meet the growing demand.

He said that temporary hospitals must be set up and all primary health centres must be equipped to treat Covid patients. He lashed out at the caretaker AIADMK government and said that once the DMK government comes to power, the situation would be handled in a much better way.

The DMK supremo also said that the central government exported essential items including Remdesivir drugs, Oxygen and vaccines even when Covid cases were mounting in the country and said that this was a major mistake of the Union government.

Stalin said, "The BJP government at the Centre is promoting the concept of one nation, one ration card and one election, why there is different pricing for vaccines. The PM should immediately intervene and release ample vaccines to the state as well as release funds to the state governments to handle the crisis." He also said that with the GST, there is no revenue for the state governments and hence the Central government must support the state governments by releasing necessary funds.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
ENR Rankings Show Black & Veatch as Leader of Infrastructure Convergence

Black & Veatch (News - Alert) announces it once again has ranked as a leader in the power, telecommunications, water and sewer and waste space. The engineering, construction and procurement (EPC) company placed highly in four categories of the Engineering News-Record's (ENR) just-released "Top 500 Design Firms" Sourcebook, reflecting the company's strong position with clients pursuing decarbonization, sustainability and resilience programs.

ENR's rankings are based on revenue from the company's global operations. The Top 500 Design Firms Sourcebook ranked Black & Veatch's power business No. 2 for the sixth consecutive year. Black & Veatch also secured a No. 2 ranking for telecommunications, No. 7 for water and No. 8 for sewer and waste, cementing the company's standing as a global infrastructure solutions expert.

This recognition comes as Black & Veatch undertakes an aggressive transformation in how it provides services to an increasingly diverse client base, which ranges from Fortune 100 companies to local, state and national governments. Last November, the company announced it was strengthening its sustainability vision through sweeping pledges addressing environmental and business practices, including its own carbon neutrality by 2025. It separately declared an end to its participation in coal-based power design and construction, focusing instead on clean energy technologies and helping clients accelerate their path to net zero.

"Sustainability, reliability and resilience initiatives are driving the engineering and construction sectors to rapidly evolve and focus on the integrated solutions that will achieve these goals," said Steve Edwards (News - Alert) , CEO of Black & Veatch. "The ENR rankings reflect our deep experience across diverse sectors and ongoing efforts to add value along every step of the infrastructure lifecycle for our clients."

Black & Veatch continues to drive innovation across critical infrastructure markets:

With alternative fuels offering new solutions for a carbon-free future, the Intermountain Power Agency chose Black & Veatch as owner's engineer on its Intermountain Power Project Renewal Project, ne of the earliest installations of combustion turbine technology designed to use a high percentage of green hydrogen.

The Black & Veatch designed, award-winning Blacksnake Creek Stormwater Separation Project, a key piece of the combined sewer overflow (CSO) long-term control plan for the city of St. Joseph, Missouri, was completed in June 2020. The project improves Missouri River water quality by reducing the amount of CSOs annually. The project featured seven separate bid packages.

As a market-leading designer and builder of high-speed fiber networks, Black & Veatch last year was chosen by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) to provide engineering, permitting, procurement and construction of a new fiber optic network along 220 miles of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The network will boost connectivity between PTC's administrative buildings while supporting all-electronic tolling and intelligent transportation systems for enhanced safety and mobility, and it will prepare the turnpike to support emerging technologies for smart roadways and connected and autonomous vehicles.

With Black & Veatch as program manager, Ohio's Long Ridge Energy Generation is retrofitting its 485-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power plant to run on a blend of natural gas and carbon-free hydrogen, making it the nation's first large gas turbine plant to transition operations to hydrogen fuel.

Black & Veatch and Schneider Electric recently completed a microgrid system they jointly designed and built for the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, in San Diego, California. The microgrid has been proven to provide 100 percent capability - even in the event of power outages - across the facility's more than 100 mission-critical buildings, including its entire flight line.

Outstanding performance during one of the most challenging years in recent history made Black & Veatch's Management Consulting business Inframation and SparkSpread's top technical advisor by deal count for 2020.







In January 2021, as further evidence of the company's commitment to decarbonization and the development of a more balanced energy portfolio, Black & Veatch joined the Hydrogen Council - a global initiative of leading energy, transport and industry organizations with a vision for hydrogen's ability to foster the energy transition.

About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is an employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2020 exceeded US$3.0 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005253/en/
Amid surging COVID-19 cases in the State, Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka claimed on Wednesday most infected people have switched off their phones and about 3,000 of them who have gone 'missing' from Bengaluru are spreading the disease. Police have been asked to trace them, the minister told reporters.

"We are giving free medicines to the people, which can control 90 per cent of cases, but they have (COVID infected people) switched off their mobile phones. They reach the hospital in a critical stage to desperately look for the ICU beds.This is what is happening now," Ashoka said.

He said most of those infected with COVID have switched off their phones and are not letting people know about their whereabouts, which is making things difficult.

"I feel that at least 2,000 to 3,000 people in Bengaluru have switched off their phones and left their houses.We don't know where they have gone," the minister added.

Appealing to the infected people to keep their phones switched on, Ashoka said police have been asked to track them.

"I pray to them with folded hands that COVID cases will only increase due to this (behaviour).It is wrong when you reach for ICU beds at the last moment," the minister said.

The government has imposed a lockdown for 14 days restricting unnecessary movement of people starting from Tuesday night to contain COVID cases, which is rising at an alarming proportion.

More than 30,000 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported on Tuesday including over 17,000 in Bengaluru while the active cases have exceeded three lakh in the state of which two lakh are in the state capital.

Also Read: Maharashtra, Delhi, 8 other states account for 78% of COVID-19 deaths in India

Also read: DRDO to set up 500 oxygen plants under PM CARES Fund
Its time to stretch your legs.

After a long winter and more than a year of quarantine, many of us are aching for some fresh air and exercise  and lots of local organizations have just the ticket. Theyve packed these next weeks of spring with 5Ks and other runs to raise money for their various causes. So lace up your sneakers and hit the road, all for a good cause.

Here are just a few ways you can help.

16th Annual Moonlight Walk/Run

Presented by the Childrens Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania, this years event will take place virtually. Participants can walk 1.5 miles or run a 5K or 10K. Instead of awards, the CAC will raffle off gift cards. A COVID-friendly swag bag and raffle pickup will take place Saturday, May 1, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the CAC, 1710 Mulberry St., Scranton.

When: Email times to rosemary@cacnepa.org by Thursday, April 29.

Where: Virtual; participants complete walk/run at place of their choosing

Registration: $25; visit runsignup.com/moonlightrun

Details: 570-969-7313 or cacnepa.org

University of Scranton Kinesiology Club Neon 5K

Participants can complete the run/walk between at any time over the designated weekend. Organizers will award prizes for the most creative costume, the funniest costume and the top three fastest times as well as to a random participant.

When: Friday, April 30, through Sunday, May 2

Registration: Free

Details: runsignup.com/Race/PA/Scranton/UniversityofScrantonKinesiologyClubNeon5K

The Superhero Trilogy Virtual Race Series

MWS Race Team is a hosting three superhero-themed virtual races, starting with the Flash Mile, a 1-mile run to be completed in May. The series will continue with the Iron Man 5K in June and the Captain Marvel 10K in July. Participants receive a medal and raffle ticket for finishing. Those who sign up for all three races get the medal, three raffle tickets and a T-shirt.

Racers can participate in individual races or all three, with discounted bundles available. They also can bundle the virtual trilogy or the Iron Man 5K with MWSs in-person Super Hero 5K Event happening Saturday, June 26, at 8 a.m. in Montrose.

When: May through July

Where: Virtual

Registration: $15 Flash Mile/$25 Iron Man 5K/$35 Captain Marvel 10K/$50 virtual trilogy/$25 Superhero 5K Event and virtual Iron Man 5K/$50 virtual trilogy and Superhero 5K Event

Details: mwsraceteam.org

27th annual Fred Ciotti Memorial Color Run/Walk for Autism Awareness

The top three male and female finishers in the 5K run/walk received trophies (the race will not be timed). A basket raffle will be held during the trophy ceremony. In the color fun run/walk, participants can choose to complete 1, 2 or 3 miles; the first 300 participants receive a shirt, color packet and sunglasses. Proceeds benefit the Greater Carbondale YMCAs autism support groups.

When: Saturday, May 1, 9 a.m. ($20 a person)

Where: Greater Carbondale YMCA, 82 N. Main St., Carbondale

Registration: $20; family discounts available if more than three members participate

Details: 570-282-2210 or greatercarbondaleymca.org

Tough as Trails

Pocono Environmental Education Center in Dingmans Ferry, the National Park Services education partner in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, will host a virtual race. Participants can choose how far they want to run through the registration website. Once registered, they should download the free JustMove app and then search for and join the event, located in the charities section. The app is available through Google Play and the Apple App Store.

When: Saturday, May 1, and Sunday, May 2

Where: Virtual; use the JustMove app

Registration: $10 minimum donation; benefits the non-profit PEEC

Details: peec.jmvirtualraces.com/signup or 570-828-2319

University of Scranton Virtual 5.06K

Participants can complete the race anywhere during the designated dates, and they will be counted as donors for Scrantons seventh Annual Day of Giving. Those who designate the universitys Pilarz Scholarship as the beneficiary of their contribution will receive a Dont Waste Love T-shirt in memory of the late Rev. Scott Pilarz, past U of S president.

When: Saturday, May 1, and Thursday, May 6

Where: Virtual

Registration: $30

Details: app.mobilecause.com/form/7CTy2w?vid=ictn5 or 570-941-7723

Waverly Waddle 5K Walk/Run

Waverly Community House will hold the run/walk in person and virtually so people can participate where they feel comfortable. The event is open to all ages and abilities. The Comm will not hold the traditional Junior Waddle this year, however. The Comm recommends registering by Tuesday, May 6, to reduce queues the day of the event. The race will be professionally chip-timed through Second Wind Race Timing. The first overall male and female runners and walkers as well as the first- and second-place male and female in each age group will receive awards.

When: Saturday, May 8; check-in, 8 to 8:45; event, 9 (start times will be staggered)

Where: Waverly Community House, 1115 North Abington Road, Waverly Twp.

Registration: Individual $20 advance/$25 day of event; ages 12 and younger $12 advance/$15 day of event; families (three or more people) $35 advance/$40 day of event; proceeds benefit recreational programs and reopening efforts at the Comm.

Details: waverlycomm.org, NEPARUNNER.com, 570-586-8191 or Kathy@waverlycomm.org

Cinco de Mayo Run/Walk

The run/walk will benefit Food for the Poor to help Central American residents suffering famine because of the coronavirus pandemic, flooding and political unrest. It begins on the Dunmore High School track and winds through borough streets. Baskets will be raffled off, and the first-place finisher and the first- and second-place finishers in each category will receive prizes.

Registration will take place online only, and coronavirus-related precautions will be in place on race day, including social distancing and having hand-sanitizing stations. Masks must be worn except when running.

When: Saturday, May 8, 9 a.m.

Where: Dunmore High School, 300 W. Warren St.

Registration: $20

Details: runsignup.com

Helping Hometown Heroes NEPA 5K Run/1-Mile Walk

Proceeds from the race benefit two veteran-focused organizations, Warrior Strong, which offers free fitness classes for veterans and their families, and Equines for Freedom, a nonprofit that treats veterans and active military members with horse-based therapy.

The top overall male and female finishers and the top overall male and female master runners will receive special awards. The top three male and female finishers in each age group will get medals, too. Pre-registered participants can pick up their race packets Friday, May 14, from noon to 7 p.m. at Scranton Running Co., 3 W. Olive St.

When: Saturday, May 15; registration, 7:30 to 8:45 a.m.; race, 9

Where: Blakely Borough Recreational Complex, River and Keystone avenues, Peckville

Registration: $10 for children 14 and younger/$20 ages 15 and older in advance/$25 ages 15 and older on race day

Details: runsignup.com

Run Around for the Playground

This inaugural 5K race/1-mile walk will raise money for the installation of a special-needs playground at Nay Aug Park that will include climbing equipment, swings, slides and more.

The first 125 registered participants will receive T-shirts. Packet pickup for those registered in advance will take place Thursday, May 20, and Friday, May 21 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Nay Aug Park Community Room. Registration the day of the event will take place at the parks Schimelfenig Pavilion.

The top male and female racers will win prizes.

When: Saturday, May 22; registration, 7:30 a.m.; race, 9

Where: Nay Aug Park, 500 Arthur Ave., Scranton

Registration: $25 advance/$30 day of event

Details: runsignup.com

Jog for Jude Virtual 5K

The seventh annual race is held in memory of Jude Zayac, who died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in 2014, and it raises awareness for the condition and money for SIDS research. This year, it will take place virtually because of the pandemic, and participants are encouraged to run or walk over Memorial Day weekend at a place of their choosing and them submit their times.

Participants who register before Monday, May 3, will receive a tri-blend race T-shirt. The overall male and female champions get trophies and prizes, the top male and female finishers in each age group receive medals, and additional prizes will go to the top three male/female finishers in broader age groups.

When: Friday, May 28, through Monday, May 31

Where: Virtual

Registration: $25

Details: runsignup.com/jogforjude or james.mccormick.jr@gmail.com

Black Diamond Series: Mainline 5K

A 5K kicks off the Black Diamond Running Series, which takes runners across Montage Mountain Resorts ski slopes (the second race in the series, an 8K, follows on Sunday, July 25). Participants can sign up for either race, or both. Registration includes admission to Montages waterpark, and participants also receive an option to buy up to four more waterpark tickets for $15 each.

The top three male and female finishers and the top male and female masters man (40 and older) will receive prizes. Free beer also will be served on the deck while supplies last.

When: Sunday, June 6; registration, 7 to 8:15 a.m.; race, 8:30

Where: Montage Mountain, 1000 Montage Mountain Road, Scranton

Registration: $35 advance/$45 day of event (includes water park admission)

Details: runsignup.com

Hawley Spring Run: A Race Against Suicide 5K Run/Walk

In addition to raising awareness about suicide prevention, the event benefits the Tyler Paul Whitman Memorial Scholarship give to a graduating senior at Wallenpaupack Area High School and the Northeast Suicide Prevention Initiative.

This years run/walk will take place in person and virtually, and participants receive a free race T-shirt. Virtual participants can run at any time through June 6, and, if they want, can email cwhitman@echoes.net with their their name, gender, age and a photo of their Garmin, Strava or other app showing proof of their run and 5K time.

When: Sunday, June 6; registration, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; race, 1

Where: Bingham Park, 133-179 Main Ave., Hawley

Registration: In-person race, $15 advance/$18 day of event; virtual race, $20

Details: runsignup.com, 570-689-3345 or cwhitman@echoes.net

Poconos Triathlon Festival

This event presented by Kinetic Multisports takes place over three days at Lake Wallenpaupack and is sanctioned by USA Triathlon. Fridays swim-run prologue is billed as spectator-friendly since it happens with a half-mile of the beach.

All participants receive a tri-blend shirt, custom race socks and a finishers medal. There are several race categories: age group, Aquabike, Relay Teams, Clydesdale, Athena, Military and Novice (no awards). A virtual option also is available.

When: Friday, June 11, through Sunday, June 13

Schedule: Poconos Swim-Run Prologue, Friday, 5 p.m.; Poconos Swim-Run Splash and Dash, Friday, 5 p.m.; Poconos Long Course, Saturday, 7 a.m.; Poconos Olympic, Saturday, 7:30 a.m.; Poconos Sprint, Sunday, 8 a.m.

Where: Lake Wallenpaupack, Hawley

Registration: $60 to $345

Details: kineticmultisports.com/races/poconos
Having Seema serve as our keynote speaker, along with other key leaders including Mark Parkinson from AHCA, will ensure that skilled nursing and long-term care operators receive the insight needed to move forward in confidence. We couldnt be more thrilled.

Synergy Summit has announced former CMS Administrator Seema Verma as the keynote speaker, and Mark Parkinson, President and CEO of the American Health Care Association (AHCA), as a featured speaker at this exclusive, long-term care (LTC) event slated June 7-9 in Park City, Utah.

The Synergy Summits mission is to deliver the most relevant educational content in an intimate setting for LTC executives. In light of the many challenges facing the industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the combination of Verma and Parkinson promises to provide attendees with the most actionable insights from arguably two of the most influential leaders behind the legislative support, including over $15 billion in industry relief, provided for COVID relief.

Synergy Summit was created by the leadership of SRXa technology provider that helps LTC lower pharmacy costs, and Synergy Healthcare Alliancea group purchasing organization (GPO). SRX CEO, Scott Taylor expressed his excitement over hosting the Synergy Summit with Vermas participation. With all that COVID has taken from us collectively, the Summits mission of delivering relevant, actionable content to LTC has never been more important. Having Seema serve as our keynote speaker, along with other key leaders including Mark Parkinson from AHCA, will ensure that skilled nursing and long-term care operators receive the insight needed to move forward in confidence. We couldnt be more thrilled.

A national health policy expert, Verma was the longest-serving Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator in modern history. Confirmed by the Senate in 2017, she oversaw health insurance programs for over 140 million Americans, a budget of $1.3 trillionalmost a third of the federal budgetand over 6,000 employees. Verma was the architect of CMSs strategic vision, implementing over 16 tactical initiatives aimed at transforming the American healthcare system to lower costs, improve quality, and increase access.

Verma is arguably one of the most influential leaders directing policy related to skilled nursing and LTC throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Modern Healthcare ranked her as the Most Influential Person in Healthcare in 2019 and one of the nations Top 25 Women Leaders.

Mark ParkinsonPresident and CEO of the American Health Care Association (AHCA)will be a featured speaker for the Synergy Summit. Under Parkinsons leadership, AHCA focuses on delivering policy solutions to Washington and CMS, with a special emphasis on quality care. AHCA is now the largest association in long term care and is at record membership, representing over 14,000 skilled nursing facilities and assisted living centers. Parkinson has been named a Top Association CEO by CEO Update and a top lobbyist for seven consecutive years (2013-2019) by The Hill, a leading Capitol Hill newspaper. Parkinson also has the distinction of being selected as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare in 2015.

Synergy Summit looks forward to hearing the insights brought forth by these influential leaders along with others from hospital systems, payers, and innovators in the industry to address the theme of Operating in the New, Post-COVID World.

Join us for Synergy SummitJune7-9in Park City, Utah.

http://www.synergysummit.com

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The Synergy Summit is an annual event that provides owners and operators of long-term care and skilled nursing facilities with a content-rich program delivered by top industry thought leaders. This is an intimate event, hosted in a retreat-like fashion with luxurious surroundings.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 17:32:34|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 28, 2021 shows the blast site at custodial corps headquarters in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia. At least three people were killed and seven others injured when a suicide car bomb hit custodial corps headquarters in ex-control Afgoye in the Somalia's capital Mogadishu, an ambulance service said on Wednesday. (Photo by Hassan Bashi/Xinhua)

MOGADISHU, April 28 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and seven others injured when a suicide car bomb hit custodial corps headquarters in ex-control Afgoye in the Somalia's capital Mogadishu, an ambulance service said on Wednesday.

"So far, we know that three were killed and seven others were injured in the blast," Abdikadir Abdirrahman Haji Aden, director of Amin Ambulance told Xinhua on the phone.

Witnesses said that heavily armed government forces arrived at the scene after the blast.

"The blast was massive and sent huge smoke into the sky," Ali Haji, a witness said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack. Enditem
West Virginia is offering young people $100 to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The state is hoping the savings bond will entice people aged between 16 and 35, who are responsible for more than a quarter of cases despite making up just 21 per cent of the population, to get their shot.

The demographic has been eligible to get the vaccine since March but has been comparatively slow in getting inoculated with just 31 per cent of 16 to 35-year-olds receiving the shot. So far, half of West Virginia's 1.8 million residents have received at least one shot.

In a press briefing on Monday, Gov. Jim Justice said he is aiming to get more than 70 percent of the state's eligible population vaccinated, which he could exceed if about 80 percent of the state's 380,000 16 to 35-year-olds get vaccinated.

'If we really want to move the needle, we've got to get our young people vaccinated,' he said, noting they are 'not taking vaccines as fast as we'd like them to take them.'

'Our kids today probably don't really realize just how important they are in shutting this thing down,' Justice said. 'I'm trying to come up with a way that's going to motivate them - and us - to get over the hump.'

Scroll down for video.

Anyone between the ages of 16 and 35 who rolls up their sleeves and gets a COVID vaccine in the state of West Virginia will receive $100. A young woman receives her first dose

The vaccination rate among young people in West Virginia has slowed, data from its Department of Health and Human Resources shows

Justice said that the state would use funds from the federal CARES Act to provide every resident between the ages of 16 and 35 who 'steps up and take their vaccinates' with a $100 savings bond.

Those who have already gotten their COVID vaccines, Justice said, will also get a $100 savings bond retroactively.

West Virginia has one of the strongest starts during the vaccine rollouts and managed to vaccinate such a large percentage of its population by February, that if it was a country, it was have ranked the third best in the world, according to NPR.

The state now ranks 29th in the country in its vaccine rollout, with just 29 percent of the population fully vaccinated and 35.3 percent have had at least one dose.

More than 30 school outbreaks had been reported by Monday, according to NPR, many of which have been tied to extracurricular activities and social events.

The percentage of Americans vaccinated as of Wednesday

The rate has been higher among residents in the older generations, Justice said, with more than 78 percent of people in the older age groups receiving at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and 68.5 percent being fully vaccinated.

The number of cases and deaths nationwide as of Wednesday

But of the total population eligible for the vaccine, Justice said, just 52 percent had received at least one dose as of Monday.

'If we can get to 70 percent, we'll shut this down,' Justice said. 'If we do that, the masks go away, the hospitalizations go away and the deaths become minimal.'

Justice has been briefing residents with updated lists of COVID victims since the pandemic began last year.

As of Wednesday, the state has had 152,301 total cases, and 2,673 deaths, according its Department of Health and Human Resources.
(Natural News) USA Today published an article the other day citing three professors, two of whom are doctors, from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio who believe that getting injected for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) should be mandatory for everyone with no allowance for any religious exemptions.

According to Drs. Michael Lederman and Stuart Youngner, along with Maxwell J. Mehlman, the only way to defeat the Chinese virus is to require vaccination for all  even though the jabs, according to the official narrative, do not prevent infection or spread.

Disincentives, these three say, should be imposed to coerce compliance among all, including Christians and Catholics who object to getting injected because the jabs cause permanent DNA damage and also contain aborted human fetal tissue-derived ingredients.

Certain government benefits could be revoked, the trio suggests. The unvaccinated could also be denied entry into private businesses or told they are not allowed to ride public transportation. What causes the most pain and suffering should be considered, they say.

[W]hile the measures that will be necessary to defeat the coronavirus will seem draconian, even anti-American to some, we believe that there is no alternative, they wrote in a paper entitled, Defeat COVID-19 by requiring vaccination for all. Its not un-American, its patriotic.

Simply put, getting vaccinated is going to be our patriotic duty.

Lederman is an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at Case, while Mehlman teaches law and directs Cases Law-Medicine Center. Younger is a professor of bioethics and psychiatry who focuses on issues related to death, organ transplant ethics and end-of-life decision-making.

The pinko-fascists are coming for the non-injected

According to the three, Wuhan flu shots only work if everyone gets them. This is the only way to achieve herd immunity, they claim. This is despite government admissions that, at best, Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injections might result in reduced severity of symptoms for the person injected, and nothing else.

Even so, these three experts are claiming that the injections are some kind of cure for the Fauci and Gates plandemic since they supposedly trigger the production of antibodies to the still-unverified-to-even-exist virus.

Refusing to get injected, the three insist, somehow puts other peoples lives at risk. There is no valid science to back this, of course, but this is the claim they are making as they suggest that everyone be forced to vaccinate or else suffer greatly at the hands of the state.

Do not honor religious exemptions, the three further insist. The major religions do not officially oppose vaccinations. Do not allow objections for personal preference [either], which violate the social contract.

People who refuse injection should be punished by losing tax credits, they add, along with other nonessential government benefits. Health insurers should also be allowed to gouge premium holders who refuse vaccination, as is the case for smokers, the trio writes.

Private businesses could refuse to employ or serve unvaccinated individuals, they further suggest.

Schools could refuse to allow unimmunized children to attend classes. Public and commercial transit companies  airlines, trains and buses  could exclude refusers. Public and private auditoriums could require evidence of immunization for entry.

Further, a vaccine registry similar to the yellow stars that were placed on Jews during World War II must be implemented, the three further insist, in order to ensure that lives are saved.

These measures might seem draconian and would be costly, but ensuring universal vaccination is a negligible sacrifice compared with the costs, deaths and social upheaval that a sustained pandemic is having on our country, they say.

More related news about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine tyranny can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

ChristianNews.net

NaturalNews.com
US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wanted to make sure teachers supported a new 'woke' curriculum in his previous role in Connecticut, an email has revealed.

In his previous role as Connecticut schools commissioner, Cardona wrote how he wanted to make sure his team was 'involved' and that the state's teachers supported the new 'woke' curriculum, according to a Fox News report .

In an email sent Nov. 1, 2019, obtained by Fox News through a Freedom of Information Act request, Cardona writes that he agrees with his then-chief-of-staff, Laura Stefon, that 'We need to be involved' in the group creating a critical race theory curriculum.

He adds 'I want the new Teacher of the Year [2020] Meghan Hatch Geary on it also, for several reasons,' the then-commissioner wrote.

In his November 1 email, Cardona also noted that Hatch-Geary would be a good candidate for the group because of her previous experience in subjects the curriculum tackles.

He noted that she 'studied Black and Latino studies for her Master's Program... Has created programming incorporating social justice, for race and gender inequalities... Her application included more references to the importance of Black leaders in History than anything I have read before... She volunteered teaching in Ghana and Ecuador... Understands curriculum reduces invisibility for students of color and creates global preparedness for all students.'

'We need teachers behind this wave of our curriculum becoming more 'woke,'' he continued.

'Sends the right message that we are asking the ToY to help us do better,' Cardona said, using an abbreviation for Teacher of the Year.

When serving as Connecticut's education commissioner, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote a 2019 email saying he wanted to ensure teachers were supportive of the state's new 'woke' curriculum [File photo]

'I want the new Teacher of the Year (2020) Meghan Hatch-Geary on it also, for several reasons,' Cardona wrote, elaborating: 'We need teachers behind this wave of our curriculum becoming more "woke".'

The comments came as Connecticut's education department was tasked with putting together a new high school course called African-America, Black, Puerto Rican, and Latino Studies.

The course will be optional for the upcoming school year but required from the fall of 2022, Fox News reported.

The curriculum was fully approved by the state in December 2020.

Connecticut's curriculum asks students to understand 'the construct of race and why and how it was developed' and spends three days assessing systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter Movement.

The course also includes readings and discussions on other topics including slavery and 'What African American, Black, Latino(a), and Puerto Rican histories reveal about the United States, its foundation and how power is structured today?'

Some teachers have complained that changing the curriculum to deal with controversial topics is disruptive and has led to backlash from some parents.

Cardona said he wanted 2020 Teacher of the Year Meghan Hatch-Geary involved in the curriculum's advisory group partly because of her expertise teaching

Cardona said in a press release at the time: 'Identities matter, especially when 27 percent of our students identify as Hispanic or Latino and 13 percent identify as Black or African-American'.

'This curriculum acknowledges that by connecting the story of people of color in the U.S. to the larger story of American history. The fact is that more inclusive, culturally relevant content in classrooms leads to greater student engagement and better outcomes for all.'

A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson told Fox News: 'Under the leadership of Secretary Cardona, the Department of Education remains committed to advancing educational quality and ensuring that we prioritize, replicate, and invest in what works for all students, not just some.'

The new Connecticut curriculum comes as schools across the country grapple with how to tackle race and history in lessons.

Two Republican lawmakers have hit out at plans by Cardona to provide grants to teach critical race theory, claiming it would usher in a 'dangerous' curriculum [File photo]

The Education Department last week proposed two new funding priorities covering US history and civics education programs and activities.

Federal grant money will be offered to incentivize the 'woke' lessons for teachers and students.

The move hopes to 'incorporate racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse perspectives' into the curriculum and improve 'information literacy',

The move hopes to 'incorporate racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse perspectives' into the curriculum and improve 'information literacy', The Washington Examiner reported.

Republican strategist John Feehery slammed the plans and accused the Biden administration of ignoring the more pressing issue of opening up schools.

He believes that parents would prefer for their children to receive an education that prepares them for college or a good job.

He said: 'They don't want this political balderdash. I think it is politically tone-deaf on their part, and I think it will hurt them in swing-state districts.'

Republican strategist John Feehery slammed the plans

Former Kansas Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp agreed, seeing it as 'nothing more than an attempt to misuse hard-earned taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America's children with even more anti-American nonsense.'

He believes the so-called 'woke' lessons will help Republicans as people are turned off by Biden's plans.

The proposals could be enforced by this fiscal year and hope to convey how history and civics education can convey the importance of diversity in US democracy.

The syllabus will focus on slavery and the major contributions of black people to society.

The proposed rule states: 'It is critical that the teaching of American history and civics creates learning experiences that validate and reflect the diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students.'

Some see the second proposal as a direct rebuke to Donald Trump as it seeks to teach students how to critically evaluate information to distinguish truth from fact.

The push for the new syllabus was previewed early in Biden's administration after he signed an executive order to address racial inequity.

The proposals come amid a huge backlash over 'woke' lessons in private schools, which have led to one teacher losing his job after he complained.

In one incident, math teacher Paul Rossi (above) was 'relieved of his teaching duties' at the $57,000-a-year Grace Church School in Manhattan after he penned an essay accusing the school of indoctrinating students last week

Last week, parents and teachers from New York City private schools that charge more than $50,000 annual tuition accused educators there of indoctrinating students with anti-racism material.

Manhattan-based Grace Church School teacher Paul Rossi was ousted from the classroom on Monday after he accused the school of 'indoctrinating' students with antiracist lessons 'at the cost of students' psychological and intellectual development'.

In an essay shared on former New York Times editor Bari Weiss's Substack, Rossi said he could no longer stay silent while 'witnessing the harmful impact' that the curriculum has on children.

Days later, another elite New York City prep school was accused by a parent of brainwashing his child with anti-racism ideology.

Andrew Gutmann, 45, had announced in an April 13 letter shared by journalist Bari Weiss this week that he has chosen not to reenroll his daughter in the all-girls Brearley school where annual tuition is $54,000.

He pulled his daughter from the school over its woke antiracism 'obsession.' He accused the school of 'teaching what to think not how to think.'

The school responded by slamming him for being 'offensive.'
Ofcom has rejected a complaint from the Alba Party about the BBCs coverage of the Scottish parliamentary election.

The broadcasting regulator said the BBCs approach to the leaders debate on March 30 and its general coverage of the election period did not raise concerns under sections five and six of its code.

These relate to due impartiality and accuracy, and elections and referendums respectively.

Ofcom said its election committee considered several factors in reaching its decision, saying the BBCs coverage to date has given due weight to the significant views and perspectives held by the Alba Party.

It also noted that Alba was a very new party having only launched four days before the leaders debate, and that it was mentioned in BBC programmes broadcast right before and after the leaders debate.

Ofcom added: The Alba Party received extensive coverage by the BBC on the date of its manifesto launch, including about its ambition to secure a supermajority for Scottish independence through regional list seats.

Given the level of current support for political parties is, by its nature, dynamic, the BBC would need to assess the issues afresh to determine what level of coverage, if any, should be provided to the Alba Party in its planned second debate, or in any programmes linked to it.

Under the Ofcom code, election programmes must include and give due weight to an appropriately wide range of significant views and perspectives.

Broadcasters must also give due weight to the coverage of parties during the election period, taking into account evidence of past electoral support and/or current support, Ofcom added.
CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Machine Condition Monitoring Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis, by Monitoring Technique (Vibration Monitoring, Oil Analysis, Corrosion Monitoring), Monitoring Process, Deployment Type, Offering, Industry, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Machine Condition Monitoring Market size is projected to grow from USD 2.6 billion in 2021 to USD 3.6 billion by 2026; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.1% from 2021 to 2026. The growth of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market is majorly driven by significance of remote operations owing to spread of COVID-19, advent of secure cloud computing platforms used for machine condition monitoring, adoption of wireless communication technology in machine condition monitoring, inclination toward predictive maintenance of industrial machinery, and deployment of automated condition monitoring technologies in smart factories.

Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=29627363

Online Condition monitoring accounted for the larger size of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market in 2020.

Online condition monitoring accounted for the largest market in 2020. Online condition monitoring is an advanced monitoring process and it provides real-time plant data to operators, resulting in its higher adoption than portable condition monitoring process. Online vibration monitoring systems have applications in industries where a 24-hour production is required. In production-intensive industries, such as oil and gas, power generation, and mining and metals, failure of some devices leads to complete system overhauls, high repair costs, and an unsafe work environment. Thus, such industries require continuous monitoring of assets and machinery.

Oil and gas segment is expected to hold the largest size of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market in 2020.

Oil and gas segment is expected to hold the largest share in the Machine Condition Monitoring Market during the forecast period. The industry has been emphasizing increasing its profitability owing to the rising pressure of high operating costs of oil and gas plants. Fluctuations in oil prices in the global market are another factor contributing to the increasing pressure on the oil and gas industry to reduce its operating costs. Thus, this industry is expected to adopt condition monitoring systems and solutions to maintain the efficient working of its critical assets and reduce downtime. Moreover, the increasing demand for online condition monitoring solutions is expected to further drive the growth of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market for oil and gas industry. Though the oil and gas industry accounted for the largest share of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market in 2020, there was a sharp decline in oil prices owing to the COVID-19 in the same year. This may adversely affect the deployment of new machine condition monitoring systems and solutions in the oil and gas industry in 2021.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Machine Condition Monitoring Market"

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North America is projected to be the largest market for machine condition monitoring from 2021 to 2026.

North America accounted for the largest share of the Machine Condition Monitoring Market in 2020. Factors such as increased focus on optimum asset utilization; tight government regulations for workplace and personnel safety; and stringent quality control in the oil and gas, chemicals, and food and beverages industries drive the demand for machine condition monitoring systems and solutions in North America. The post-COVID-19 scenario is expected to be characterized by supply chain disruptions and suspension of commercial and industrial activities. Consequently, the demand for semiconductor devices in these segments is anticipated to reduce remarkably. The US, which is home to the majority of manufacturers of machine condition monitoring systems, has witnessed the impact of the COVID-19 on the production of sensors and other components owing to disruptions in the manufacturing activities caused by lockdowns and shutdowns of production facilities.

Emerson Electric Co. (US), General Electric Co. (US), Honeywell International Inc. (US), National Instruments Corp. (US), SKF AB (Sweden), ALS Ltd. (Australia), Wilcoxon Sensing Technologies Inc. (US), Parker Hannifin Corp. (US), Rockwell Automation Inc. (US), Schaeffler AG (Germany), Bruel & Kjaer (Denmark), Symphony Industrial AI Inc. (US), are some of the major players in Machine Condition Monitoring Market.

Related Reports:

Machine Safety Market with COVID-19 Impact, by Component (Presence Sensing Safety Sensors, Safety PLCs, Safety Modules/Controllers/Relays), Implementation, Application (Assembly, Packaging, Robotics), Industry, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

Vibration Monitoring Market by Component (Hardware and Software), System Type (Embedded Systems, Vibration Analyzers, and Vibration Meters), Monitoring Process (Online and Portable), Industry, and Region  Global Forecast to 2025

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(CNN)  Brazil's Senate launched an inquiry Tuesday into the federal government's response to Covid-19, which could hobble President Jair Bolsonaro's re-election bid if it leads to an impeachment proceeding or criminal charges.

Bolsonaro has long downplayed the ferocity of the pandemic, while resisting lockdown measures and mask-wearing. While Covid-19 cases have started to plateau or decline in other countries, Brazil's cases have continued to surge. Angry citizens, political adversaries and overwhelmed local officials across the country have pressed Bolsonaro for more federal action, even as he has publicly shrugged off these concerns.

Although the Senate commission is not a judging body, it has the power to gather evidence to make the case for impeachment. Moreover, the commission will also look into the federal funds transfers to states and municipalities to fight Covid-19.

"I am not worried because we owe nothing," Bolsonaro told reporters Monday about the awaited commission results.

But Bolsonaro's political fate hangs in the balance, with the Senate split in favor of ousting him to usher in former government ally Omar Aziz as president, along with opponents Randolfe Rodrigues and Renan Calheiros as vice president and rapporteur, respectively.

Senator Renan Calheiros, the commission's rapporteur, emphasized the seriousness of the inquiry in a speech on Monday, vowing that the culprits "who are to blame for the action, omission, disdain or incompetence and they will be held accountable."

Bolsonaro's weakening base

The recently Supreme Court-approved inquiry circulated among government ministries for information about the accusations against Bolsonaro is a blow to his base, which attempted to bar the commission from investigating the issue of pandemic management. Accusations include claims that Bolsonaro and his government sabotaged isolation measures, threatened governors and mayors who applied restrictive measures, and refused to wear masks or encourage their use.

Another point of contention is how the pandemic has been managed in Manaus, the state capital of Amazonas, where hospitals are stretched beyond capacity. The commission, backed by a study done by several local non-profits and academic groups, resolved to evaluate delays in purchasing vaccines from Pfizer, possible negligence and incompetence in purchasing and administering vaccines, excessive spending on drugs with proven inefficacy, and failure to stock needed supplies such as syringes to the public health system.

The study, based on more than 3,000 government speeches, interviews and actions, found that the federal government bet on a herd immunity strategy to manage the virus in favor of bolstering the Brazilian economy. "Since April last year, there has been an institutional strategy for the propagation of Covid-19 in Brazil, led by the President but implemented by the entire federal government to achieve herd immunity through contagion. This is what our study concludes," research coordinator Deisy Venturato told CNN.

The threat of impeachment

If the inquiry were to prompt an impeachment vote, it would require at least two-thirds of the 513 deputies and a simple majority of 81 senators to remove Bolsonaro from office. Vice President and army general Hamilton Mourao would then assume control of the federal government. If the commission concludes that the president committed common crimes, the attorney general's office could initiate an investigation or file a complaint to the Supreme Court.

Research coordinator Ventura told CNN that a looming question is whether there is sufficient political will to properly investigate Bolsonaro. "The president does not stop spreading fake news, does not stop inciting the population to disobey health authorities, does not stop inciting the population to expose themselves to the virus. Even in the face of the collapse of public health ," said Ventura. In the researchers' view, she continued, the federal government's actions "may constitute a crime against humanity."
The problems in workplace culture in the Federal Parliament have dominated the news cycle this year but unfortunately it seems likely NSW Parliament is no better.

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins allegation of sexual assault by a male colleague exposed a variety of issues with the system surrounding complaints and the treatment of victims. Higgins has been highly critical of the response to her calls for change and has found strong support with women  both in politics and beyond.

As the federal government awaits a review from Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday released a report from former Coalition minister Pru Goward on bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct in state ministerial offices.

Her report found the risk of bullying and sexual harassment of ministerial and parliamentary staffers is similar on Macquarie Street to Canberra.

While Ms Goward was not asked to make findings on how big the problem is in NSW, she instead made recommendations to change the culture.
Health officials have launched an urgent investigation into the deaths of two New South Wales men days after receiving the coronavirus vaccine.

A 'fit and healthy' man died of a blood clot days after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.

The 55-year-old died in Tamworth Hospital on April 21 after suffering what hospital staff had described as a 'massive' blood clot in his lungs.

It's unclear which vaccine he received on April 13.

His devastated family told the Northern Daily Leader he was otherwise a 'fit and healthy' man.

A Sydney man, 71, has also died after getting the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

It's understood the man had several underlying health conditions, and his death is considered unlikely to be caused by the jab.

Any link between the vaccine and either death are also yet to be established, with both cases under investigation.

An investigation is underway into the deaths of two NSW men days after getting the Covid jab (pictured, a Sydney nurse gets her vaccine)

The Therapeutic Goods Administration confirmed that it was aware of the 55-year-old's death case but could not comment publicly on individual circumstances to protect patient privacy.

'All reports to the TGA of death following vaccination are reviewed to assess the likelihood that the vaccine contributed to the event or medical condition that lead to a fatal outcome,' the TGA said in a statement on Wednesday night.

'The reporting of an adverse event to TGA post-vaccination does not mean the event was caused by the vaccination.'

NSW Health said it is notified when a serious or unexpected adverse event occurs.

'NSW Health investigates these events and refers its expert panel findings to the TGA, which is responsible for assessing causality,' the department said.

If both deaths are linked to the vaccine, the two men will be among Australians to die after receiving a Covid-19 jab.

A 'fit and healthy' 55-year-old man died in Tamworth Base Hospital (pictured) on April 21

Genene Norris, 48, from the New South Wales Central Coast died on April 14 after receiving the AstraZeneca jab on April 8.

Ms Norris, a diabetic, developed blood clots the next day and was later placed on dialysis in an intensive care unit until her death.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration's vaccine safety investigation found Ms Norris' case of thrombosis was likely linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Earlier this month, the federal government announced the Pfizer vaccine was the recommended shot for people under 50 after AstraZeneca COVID-19 was linked to rare blood-clotting condition thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).

There have been 1.1million doses of AstraZeneca administered in Australia as of April 22, and just six reported cases of TTS.

On April 23, the TGA reported it had reviewed three suspected cases of rare blood clots caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine.

They included a 35-year-old NSW woman, a 49-year-old Queensland man and an 80-year-old Victorian man.

It concluded 'all three of the cases were likely linked to vaccination'.

Any link between the vaccine and either death are also yet to be established, with both cases under investigation (pictured, a Sydney nurse getting the jab)

In a safety report issued on Wednesday, the TGA noted a total of six cases of the rare blood clotting disorder had been identified in Australia so far this year.

A 35-year-old woman in New South Wales, a 49-year-old Queensland man and an 80-year-old Victorian man were hospitalised with the condition between nine and 26 days after receiving the jab.

On April 21, a Queensland Police officer, 40, who worked patrolling the state's quarantine hotels was hospitalised with blood clots after receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

Health authorities are yet to determine whether it was linked to the jab and the case is currently being investigated by the Queensland Health and the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Meanwhile, Australians will continue to be stranded in risky situations overseas until the federal government boosts the quarantine system, Labor says.

The government has paused flights from India, including on indirect routes, until May 15.

The suspension followed medical advice that the high ratio of positive cases in people returning from India was presenting a risk to the quarantine system and the broader Australian community.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned a number of other countries seeing rising case numbers could also be named as 'high-risk' and face travel restrictions in weeks to come.

At the same time, Australia will provide millions of pieces of medical and personal protective equipment to India, as well as oxygen concentrators.

India says more than 200,000 people have died of the infection so far and is racking up about 300,000 new cases a day.

Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said it was important Australia work with other countries to contain the wave of cases in India.

But the federal government should wear some of the blame for the stranded Australians, having faced calls for many months to boost the number of quarantine beds and improve the system.

'This really has been an abdication of responsibility from Mr Morrison,' she told the ABC.

'He told people they would be home by Christmas and clearly that has not been the case.

'We still do not have a system of safe national quarantine led by the Commonwealth.

'We are now in a situation ... that the longer we waited, the more perilous the situation would become and regrettably that has come to pass and Australians in India are less safe as a consequence of the prime minister's failure to act.'

There have been 1.1million doses of AstraZeneca adminstered in Australia as of April 22

Mr Morrison visited Darwin on Wednesday to discuss the expansion of the Howard Springs facility from 800 to 2000 beds, which has not had a COVID-19 case breach during its operation.

He said half a million Australians had been enabled to return during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Western Australia will close three 'high-risk' quarantine hotels and indefinitely reduce its returned traveller intake after a COVID-19 breach prompted a snap lockdown.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it would be 'dangerous' to start changing the hotel quarantine system, which to date had worked very well.

She disagreed with the idea of 'setting up new systems in the back of nowhere'.

Victoria is expected to announce on Thursday or Friday details of a business case for a stand-alone quarantine facility.

A consortium in the southern Queensland city of Toowoomba is also advocating a facility there.
04/28/2021

Photo (c) rypson - Getty Images Buy Now, Pay Later -- one of the darlings of the personal credit world -- got a boost on Wednesday when Uplift announced a new deal with Southwest Airlines to offer travelers an added financing option at checkout.

Starting immediately, customers can book a flight on Southwest to more than 100 domestic and international destinations and take advantage of the new flexible payment options. Travelers will be able to see them for purchases as low as $100.

Both parties cited an example where a $300 flight could be spread over 11 months at $29 a month with $0 down, which would make the total cost of the flight $319. Mind you, thats only an example. The actual terms are based on the customer's credit score and other factors. The companies also noted that not everyone is eligible, and some states are not served, including Iowa and West Virginia.

"Southwest Airlines is one of America's most beloved airlines, with a strong brand reputation based on a spirit of freedom and empowering customers with affordable travel," said Brian Barth, CEO of Uplift. "For travelers who already appreciate the low fares and world-renowned hospitality that Southwest is known for, the payment flexibility of Uplift's Buy Now, Pay Later solutions will be another addition to Southwest's customer-friendly offerings."

Driven by pent-up demand

With COVID-19 restrictions starting to ease in the U.S. and vaccinations continuing to rise, there is a pent-up demand for finally being able to jump on an airplane and go somewhere after more than a year of laying low.

Thats not only good for airlines but for finance companies like Uplift that can make an escape more affordable. Business is good for Uplift. Its signed partnership deals with several domestic airlines, including Alaska Airlines, United, Allegiant, Spirit, and Frontier.

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services like Uplift are definitely having a moment, travel expert Sara Rathner told ConsumerAffairs. Yes, any time you take on debt, its a bit scary, and depending on the payment service and options you can choose from, you may be subject to fees or interest on your purchases. However, theres transparency. You know exactly how much a purchase will cost you before you agree to the payment plan.

Rathner said the sweet spot for consumers is unexpected, last-minute travel where fares are higher. She said that services like Uplift make those situations a little less troublesome and a little more affordable.

Of course, take care to avoid getting in over your head. Keep your other monthly obligations in mind when you add on paying over time for a purchase. If you already struggle to afford your bills, it may not be the right time to add more to your plate unless youre experiencing an emergency, Rathner stated.

Beware of overusing BNPL

While higher conversion rates and an improved customer experience are good for retailers who offer BNPL, consumers should be cautious about using that option to satisfy their whims.

While they are marketed as consumer-friendly finance products, [one] drawback of BNPL is that it often encourages customers to purchase more products than they can afford, said Martha Pearson, a Content Marketing Manager at Finturf. This can put consumers in a difficult financial situation, and even hurt their credit scores if they are unable to pay on time.
CHICAGO, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- At the culmination of a first-ever virtual summit for nearly 700 Illinois influencers across Illinois, prominent elected officials vowed to do their part to bring about systematic changes to end disparities for older adults of color.

Here are the pledges given Tuesday during The Advancing Racial Equity in Aging Summit with AARP of Illinois, the Illinois Department on Aging, RRF Foundation for Aging, and community partners:

Illinois Deputy Governor Sol Flores : "I pledge to prioritize closing racial equity disparities among those 50 and older. Very specific actions that we will take in my current role and in this administration are to continue the work of diversity equity and inclusion throughout all state agencies, many of them touching individuals 50-plus. We also will continue to implement those policies that we know make a difference, like Illinois being the first state in the country to provide Medicaid assistance to those individuals over the age of 65 that are undocumented.



We are proud of that and continue to search for opportunities and partnerships to ensure that equity and health care equity is there for all individuals 50 plus regardless of their citizenship or economic status,"





: "I pledge to prioritize closing racial equity disparities among those 50 and older. Very specific actions that we will take in my current role and in this administration are to continue the work of diversity equity and inclusion throughout all state agencies, many of them touching individuals 50-plus. We also will continue to implement those policies that we know make a difference, like being the first state in the country to provide Medicaid assistance to those individuals over the age of 65 that are undocumented. We are proud of that and continue to search for opportunities and partnerships to ensure that equity and health care equity is there for all individuals 50 plus regardless of their citizenship or economic status," Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch : " Racial disparities exist across every single policy issue. And they only compound with factors such as age. Absolutely yes, we need an extra layer of intentionality when it comes to older adults and senior citizens of color. As Speaker, I am going to work with the diverse leadership team we put into place, including committee chairs, to make sure we consider the implications on people over 50 years as we work on legislation each and every day."





Racial disparities exist across every single policy issue. And they only compound with factors such as age. Absolutely yes, we need an extra layer of intentionality when it comes to older adults and senior citizens of color. As Speaker, I am going to work with the diverse leadership team we put into place, including committee chairs, to make sure we consider the implications on people over 50 years as we work on legislation each and every day." Sen. Karina Villa , Co-Chair, Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus: "Along with my colleagues in the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus, I am committed to continue to work hard for all of the citizens of the great state of Illinois in addressing racial disparities in aging.



I am committed to finding solutions together. You have my personal commitment that I will continue to work diligently with my colleagues and non-profit organizations to address racial disparities for adults 50 and older of color -- because we cannot thrive as a state if anyone is left out. Not only was this something that I was elected to do, but it is my way of honoring my abuelitos. "





, "Along with my colleagues in the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus, I am committed to continue to work hard for all of the citizens of the great state of in addressing racial disparities in aging. I am committed to finding solutions together. You have my personal commitment that I will continue to work diligently with my colleagues and non-profit organizations to address racial disparities for adults 50 and older of color -- because we cannot thrive as a state if anyone is left out. Not only was this something that I was elected to do, but it is my way of honoring my " Rep. Theresa Mah , Co-Chair, Illinois Asian American Legislative Caucus: "I am committed today more than ever in continuing to work with my colleagues in the Illinois General Assembly to address these important issues and pledge to prioritize the closing of racial disparities among adults 50 and older -- to challenge others to join me, to join us."

The commitments pledged by elected officials came after each were briefed on the findings of the Disrupt Disparities Initiative, a multi-year effort to create systemic policy changes on behalf of, and with, older adults of color in Illinois. The Disrupt Disparities Initiative is led by AARP of Illinois, Asian Americans Advancing Justice  Chicago, the Chicago Urban League, and The Resurrection Project.

This week's summit was part of that initiative, with sessions that explored creating the systemic change needed to help Illinois' residents of color to live longer, healthier and more productive lives, the same as their white counterparts.

"It's never been more evident that systematic changes are needed to help Illinois' residents of color from falling behind, said Rosanna Marquez, AARP Illinois Volunteer State President. "AARP is proud to work in partnership with these passionate and impactful leaders to bring attention to the important issues for older adults and fight for these proven solutions."

To view a recording of the summit, visit: www.disruptdisparitiesIL.com

SOURCE AARP Illinois

Related Links

http://www.aarp.org


When New Jerseys unemployment rate dropped below 8%, the state was disqualified from High Extended Benefits. Claimants relying on the program were told they didnt need to do anything, and would be automatically, seamlessly transitioned to another federal program.

But hundreds of unemployed residents have reported receiving error messages when trying to certify their claims, even if they are still eligible for unemployment.

@NJLaborDept #njunemployment anyone understand this my claim was working perfectly fine last week!!?? pic.twitter.com/8DhY3oQzad  HG (@Cheezz_iT) April 27, 2021

The state Department of Labor told NJ Advance Media a finite number of claimants who had been collecting extended benefits for more than 13 weeks and who certified for benefits during certain windows last week are affected.

Claimants who were receiving 14 weeks or more of extended benefits are being switched over to the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program, but the IT division said the switch did not capture everyone, according to spokeswoman Angela Delli-Santi.

People who received an error message should certify for benefits during open periods on Friday and keep certifying on their regular days after, she said. An email from the Labor Department will be going out to explain what occurred, and there shouldnt be any issues going forward, she said.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

And those who were affected by the error will be receiving payment after certifying this week, she added. The PEUC and other federal unemployment programs, including the supplemental $300 weekly checks, are funded through Sept. 4 through the American Rescue Plan.

Claimants should not call the call centers, since the issue doesnt apply to individual claims and is being addressed, Delli-Santi clarified.

However, some people who got through to an unemployment agent were told theyd be put on the escalation list which could take up to eight weeks. The department says since the issue has been resolved en masse with reconfigured programming, claims should be rectified quickly.

It will not take 8 weeks to resolve, Delli-Sant said, adding that people should continue to certify even if their balance shows $0.

This isnt the first headache New Jerseys unemployed residents have dealt with. Earlier this year, 75,000 unemployed workers went weeks without benefits due to a lapse in benefits and lag in creating new programs. And since the coronavirus pandemic began, the Labor Department has been flooded with unprecedented amount of claims which led to a backlog that still exists. Some people reported waiting more than a year for benefits.

Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo has maintained that the 54 independently functioning unemployment systems are to blame, and that the federal government should centralize a benefit system. New Jersey had to change its program guidelines more than 20 times during the pandemic due to changing federal mandates, he said during budget hearings.

This is more evidence that the constant shifting of federal programs adversely affects claimants across the country and needs to be reformed, said Delli-Santi.

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BRUSSELS  It was February and things were going from bad to worse for the European Unions vaccination campaign, and for its top executive, Ursula von der Leyen.

Much of Europe was in lockdown, people were dying and the bloc was running low on doses of vaccines after its biggest supplier, AstraZeneca, announced production problems. Critics inside and outside the European Union questioned Ms. von der Leyens leadership and accused her of mishandling the crisis.

It was at that low point that she caught a break.

For a month, Ms. von der Leyen had been exchanging texts and calls with Albert Bourla, the chief executive of Pfizer, another vaccine supplier to the bloc. And as they spoke, two things became clear: Pfizer might have more doses it could offer the bloc  many more. And the European Union would be thrilled to have them.

That personal diplomacy played a big role in a deal, to be finalized this week, in which the European Union will lock in 1.8 billion doses from Pfizer, which, with its smaller German partner, BioNTech, made the first Covid-19 vaccine to get regulatory approval in the European Union.
The British Educational Technology in Teaching (BETT) Awards are to encourage new teaching methods, innovative teaching concepts, and innovation that combines technology with education, considered the world's largest and most authoritative awards in educational products. Opened to the whole world, the BETT awards are evaluated by globally famous educators in reference to the feedback of schools and users. Representative of the evaluation breadth, height and recognition of the global education circles, the BETT awards are reputed as the Oscars in the global educational technology community.

The Leadership Award is granted to individuals who continually raise educational technology standards in educational institutions and use innovative thinking to explore best practice models that bring greater benefits to students and staff. Derek Li is worthy of such award.

A Pioneer in Global AI+ Education Practice

Derek Li is a serial entrepreneur working in the education industry for almost twenty years, and is in a leading position in the world of applying AI technologies to education. Squirrel Ai Learning is an AI education brand founded by Derek Li in 2014. as China's first education AI SaaS company developing and owning proprietary AI adaptive learning systems for primary and secondary schools, Squirrel Ai Learning is committed to providing 1 million K12 education and training institutions and 360,000 primary and secondary schools with SaaS services ranging from teaching services of AI virtual teachers to evaluation, homework and data-based management.

Squirrel Ai Learning is an AI unicorn in primary and secondary education, and its AI self-adaptive learning engine is the world's first L5 level automatic teaching AI virtual teacher. It can realize intelligent and personalized education centered on students, achieve or even surpass the teaching effect of real famous teachers, and teach students in accordance with their aptitude and effectively improve learning efficiency.

As introduced in the award speech by the host, LI has attracted a large number of international professionals with his personal charm. He has provided them with opportunities to give full play to their advantages to cooperate in innovative and rich technical practices, actively explore the use of adaptive learning technology to change the status quo of global education, and solving the problems of unbalanced educational development and unfair distribution of educational resources.

LI expressed his honor to receive this BETT Leadership Award. Winners of and nominees to BETT Awards in previous years include Microsoft, Adobe, BBC, LEGO education and other world-renowned enterprises/institutions. The attention of BETT Awards to the education SaaS software service of Squirrel Ai Learning this year is not only a recognition of the sponsors for personal entrepreneurship, but also an affirmation of the technical strength of the Chinese educational software brand.

Those who start a business must aspire for its end; those who succeed must focus on the beginning. "AI has exerted an enormous impact on human beings and will certainly affect every aspect of our work and life," LI was confident in AI technologies changing the world. At the global AI+ adaptive education summit AIAED 2019, therefore, Squirrel Ai Learning and the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) announced the AAAI Squirrel Ai Award for Artificial Intelligence for the Benefit of Humanity. Meanwhile, Squirrel Ai Learning announced its decision to give USD 1 million of funds every year to encourage outstanding scientists to make AI truly useful and beneficial to mankind.

When asked about the purpose of the award, LI revealed that the rapid development of AI requires the involvement of more researchers, professors and experts, so as to inspire more and more experts and young scientists to work harder and make greater contributions to human development and change. It's hoped that the AAAI-Squirrel Ai Award for Artificial Intelligence for the Benefit of Humanity can become the Nobel Prize in AI.

Building a World-leading Education Brand

Recently, LIU Fuxing, dean of the School of Education of Remin University of China, elaborated his personal views on the development of online education industry. He believed that online education has a unique and important value in the Chinese education system and even the world education system. Building a high-quality education system with old methods will not be possible without digital technology. In face of increasingly fierce and complex international competition, however, online education is one of the fields that cannot be slowed down in the big picture of Chinese education reform and innovation.

LIU said, "The countries whose education adapts to digital technology will dominate the global landscape; if they do not adapt, they will fall behind in education and talent," This viewpoint coincides with LI's global view of education as LI raised the issue of the "digital divide" in the education industry before.

He pointed out that on the one hand, there is no denying that the level of basic education in China is among the best in the world from a global perspective; in recent years, Chinese students have been among the top in a number of PISA tests and have grown into technology backbones, contributing to the current "engineer bonus", and enabling many domestic Internet companies to stand in the global forest; on the other hand, China has not produced so many Nobel Prizes in basic science, and has not developed the world's best technologies. Is this education a success or a failure? What is the gap between the two?

In response to this, LI believes that China's solid basic education and the hard work of students, schools and society give us more opportunities for development than overseas countries. However, we should not ignore the fact that "children are too tired and have an extremely low level of happiness" in exam-oriented education, which may curb the children's qualities on which innovations and inventions depend, including curiosity, exploration and creativity.

The future education should not be merely cramming of knowledge points. Developing the ability to solve problems and learning how to learn is the essence of education. The cultivation, training and promotion of these core competencies will equip Chinese children with a solid foundation to explore the leading technologies, and the application of AI technology will undoubtedly be a strong support.

Through the use of evolutionary algorithms, logistic regression and neural network, Squirrel AI Learning can push learning contents according to the massive data generated by students during learning, build user portraits based on the data feedback, and continue to automatically optimize the push logic. The learning paths of individual students can be planned and matched, so as to realize the individualized requirements of "intellectual adaptation". Thus far, Squirrel AI Learning has more than 10 million users nationwide, which is the best proof.

"The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation should lie in not only the construction of hardware infrastructure, but also the rise of soft power and whether we have created a world-class cultural and educational brand," LI revealed. As can be seen from the past, the Chinese education has certain competitive defects in the world, but the improved application of AI technology in the AI era will present the opportunity of corner overtaking for the development of China's education.

SOURCE Squirrel Ai Learning
Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication (IT&T) Syed Amin Ul Haque Wednesday sought Korean assistance in manufacturing and assembling of smart phones in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2021 ) :Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication (IT&T) Syed Amin Ul Haque Wednesday sought Korean assistance in manufacturing and assembling of smart phones in Pakistan.

He expressed these views during a meeting with Korean ambassador to Pakistan Suh Sangpyo, who called on him here, a news release said.

"Pakistan wants to get benefits from the experience of Korea in the field of IT," the minister said and urged Korea to support Pakistan in smart phones manufacturing and assembling.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed matters related to mutual interests and agreed "to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of IT and Telecom." The minister said Pakistan greatly valued its relations with Korea.

He said the Ministry of IT & Telecom was taking all possible measures to promote digitalization in the country, adding Pakistan's IT & Telecom sector was progressing at a fast pace.

Amin Ul Haque said Pakistan's Information and Communications Technology (ICT) export remittances had surged to $1.512 billion at a growth rate of 43.59 percent during July-March of FY 2020-21, in comparison to US $1.053 billion during same period of the last financial year.

He said the ministry was committed to providing telecom service across the country including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan (GB).

He said IT & Telecom companies of Korea could invest in Pakistan as atmosphere for foreign investment in Pakistan was conducive.

He said exchange of IT professionals and startups between the two countries was also vital.

The envoy said Korea wanted to establish information excess center in Pakistan and the Ministry's efforts for promotion of IT and Telecommunication sector in the country.
DUBLIN (dpa-AFX) - Ireland's retail sales declined in March after rising in the previous month, figures from the Central Statistics Office showed on Wednesday. The volume of retail sales decreased a seasonally adjusted 1.9 percent month-on-month in March, after a 18.3 percent rise in February. In January, sales declined 20.7 percent. Retail sales grew 8.5 percent year-on-year in March, following a 0.1 percent rise in the previous month. Excluding automobile trade, the volume of retail sales grew by 1.4 percent monthly and rose 0.3 percent yearly in March. The retail sales value gained 7.3 percent yearly in March and fell 2.8 percent from the previous month. 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.
Credit: Daniel Burgarth

Symmetry principles of classical physics that help keep our solar system stable have an intriguing counterpart in the quantum world, according to new research by a team of physicists from Australia, Italy and Japan.

In everyday life, symmetry is often associated with the idea of beauty. This is equally true in physics, where it relates to the concept of conserved quantities (such as the conservation of energy, meaning energy cannot be created or destroyed). These laws tell us that nature will behave tomorrow much as it behaved yesterday: the earth will continue to rotate around the sun in a stable predictable motion.

But in the real world, symmetries are frequently imperfect and outside influences have an impact on them. In the solar system, the earth's motion is perturbed by the weak gravity of thousands of other bodies. Motivated by questions like these, Kolmogorov, Arnold and Moser showed in the 1960s that certain types of motion enjoy eternal stability against these outside forces, meaning that the earth's orbit will remain stable into the far future. This stability proof is a milestone in classical mechanics and permeates a number of concepts in physics.

Now, collaborators from Macquarie University, Sydney and the University of Bari and Waseda University, Tokyo have identified similar behavior in the dynamics of quantum systems such as atoms and molecules with imperfect symmetry.

In a paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the team has established rules for when the same kind of stability first defined in the 1960s can be relied on in the quantum world.

According to lead author Macquarie University's Associate Professor Daniel Burgarth, "There is a formal distinction between fundamental, robust symmetries and accidental, fragile ones. The robust symmetries are cornerstones in quantum physics which we can depend on in designing quantum devices. Other symmetries are easily perturbed, and give a quantum system more freedom to undergo unpredictable, and usually undesirable, behavior."

Professor Kazuya Yuasa (Tokyo) explains, "Every quantum system is weakly coupled to numerous others. The whole program of quantum engineering today is about finding ways to constrain the evolution of quantum systems, and prevent the dissipation of information from highly sensitive quantum states. By clarifying exactly which types of symmetries are most insensitive to this decay we hope to identify design strategies for more robust quantum computing, both in hardware and software."

Explore further Ultracold quantum particles break classical symmetry

More information: Daniel Burgarth et al. Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser Stability for Conserved Quantities in Finite-Dimensional Quantum Systems, Physical Review Letters (2021). Journal information: Physical Review Letters Daniel Burgarth et al. Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser Stability for Conserved Quantities in Finite-Dimensional Quantum Systems,(2021). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.150401
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By ZEKE MILLER

Associated Press

Humana is spending $5.7 billion to jump deeper into delivering care at home, a trend that took off during the pandemic and one the health insurer expects will continue to grow.

The insurer said Tuesday that it will buy the rest of Kindred at Home after initially acquiring a 40% stake in the care provider a few years ago.





. . .
You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa at this link, or on any of your favorite apps 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 28, 2021

A former bookkeeper for the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation has been accused of embezzling over $2.6 million to fund her gambling habits and vacations. SEPTA has announced that it intends to move forward with modernizing its trolley system. PETA is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who helps Carlisle police catch whoever was responsible for leaving a pit bull tied to a bridge in LeTort Park. Plus, one Quakertown woman helped to raise money for servers struggling during the coronavirus pandemic by starting her own tip challenge.

Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa, a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa.

Todays episode refers to the following articles:

If you enjoy Today in Pa, consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too.
The board overseeing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the independent nonprofit entity that operates and manages the electricity grid that covers much of Texas, named former executive Brad Jones on Tuesday to be interim president and CEO.

Jones, who worked for Texas energy companies and in senior roles at ERCOT before leading New York states power grid operator as president, takes ERCOTs top job from Bill Magness, who was fired as president and CEO in early March after a winter storm in February left millions of people in the dark for days amid freezing temperature and claimed more than 100 lives.

ICYMI: Texas power grid CEO fired after deadly February blackouts

Jones hiring as interim president and CEO, after stints as a vice president and chief operations officer at ERCOT between 2013 and 2015, provides more time for the organization to find a permanent leader. Magness will soon depart ERCOT following a 60-day termination notice handed to him by ERCOTs board of directors in March.

In the weeks since the winter storm, both ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the regulatory body that oversees it, have been lambasted for failures in preparing for and responding to the storm.

ERCOT underestimated the maximum amount of power that would be demanded by homes, businesses and industry during a severe winter storm in its fall projections, and it overestimated the amount of power generation that would be available to the grid during such a storm.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had called for Magness and DeAnn Walker, then the head of the PUC, to resign. While Magness was fired, Walker resigned after also coming under harsh criticism from lawmakers. Gov. Greg Abbott called for reforming the governance of ERCOT, and legislation to do so is advancing through the Legislature.

READ ALSO: Texas House targets power grid flaw that worsened February blackouts

But after recent leadership shakeups at ERCOT and the PUC, it is state lawmakers who are now increasingly coming under pressure to pass substantial legislation that would protect the state from another power failure the next time inclement weather hits Texas.

An immediate concern Jones must confront at ERCOT is the prospect of an atypical summer that pushes demand for electricity beyond normal summer peaks. Texas is likely to see a hotter and drier summer than normal this year, according to an April climate outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and 2021 is likely to rank among the 10 warmest years on record globally.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
A High Court Judge hearing the case of alleged killers of J.B. Danquah Adu, former Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North, says she would haul journalists for contempt if inaccurate reporting of the trial continues.



Justice Mrs Lydia Osei Marfo, the trial judge, said she would be compelled to hear the MPs murder case in camera if inaccurate reporting by some journalists was repeated.



The trial judge gave the warning after Mr Yaw Dankwah defence counsel of accused persons namely: Daniel Asiedu aka Sexy Dondon and Vincent Bossu, aka Junior Agogo, had alerted the court of misreporting of the court proceedings by some media houses.



According to Mr Yaw Dankwah, the misreporting bordered on alleged confession of the accused persons, information which never took place yesterday.



The trial judge noted that the court was opened to the public and she could not prevent anyone from attending the courts sitting.



If you want to report, be fair and candid. Dont go about throwing false information outside. Do not compel me so that this case would be heard in camera.



Do accurate reporting because I will haul you for contempt over any misreporting. What happens if that misinformation gets out to the public, your guess would be good as mine, the trial judge said.



Continuing with further cross-examination, Mr Samuel Berko Sarkodie, driver of the late MP denied that he was in the house of the former legislature when his death occurred.



Mr Sarkodie a resident of Kasoa, contended that after his last interaction with the former legislature, he had a call from one Jennifer informing him that his master had been attacked at his residence in Shaishie.



Mr Sarkodie, the first prosecution witness, disagreed that there were inconsistencies in his timelines in relation to his statement to the Police and that of his witness statement before the court.



According to the witness, the timeliness he had was what he gave to the court and nothing less.



Witness maintained that on November 2, last year he gave his witness statement to the state.



When the witness was shown his witness statement, he admitted signing the witness statement.



The first prosecution also maintained that he still stood by all answers he gave to the court and the same constituted a true reflection of what took place following the death of J.B Danquah Adu.



Witness disagreed with defence counsel that the workplace of the former legislature was not known as Airport Residential Area but Dworwulu.



The witness informed the court that he never offered any driving services to the former MPs wife and children.



According to the witness, late J.B Danquah Adus wife and children had a special driver known as Seidu.



He denied that Seidu was the one who called him on the day of the incident.



Witness told the court that he had good relationship with Seidu because they were both employees of the former MP.



He agreed with defence counsel that everybody in the house of J. B. Danquah Adu including himself were branded as suspects when the incident occurred.



Witness disagreed with defence counsel on basis that because he was the last person to interact with the deceased, the Police lenses were on him.



Asiedu and Bossu are jointly being held following the death of the former legislature, which occurred in the early hours of February 9, 2016, at Shaishie, near East Legon in Accra.



Asiedu is being held for murder while Bossu is being held over conspiracy to commit robbery.



They have both denied the charges before a seven-member jury.



The court has remanded them into prison custody to reappear on April 28.





Source: GNA









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[April 28, 2021] Savvas Introduces Reimagined D'Nealian Handwriting Program for Back-to-School 2021

PARAMUS, N.J., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Savvas Learning Company , a K-12 next-generation learning solutions leader, is excited to announce that its highly popular D'Nealian Handwriting curriculum  the original continuous stroke, manuscript (print) and cursive handwriting program  has been reimagined with a brand-new edition that now includes robust print and digital support for all learners. A beloved program in K-5 classrooms everywhere, our D'Nealian Handwriting is now more powerful and impactful than ever. Available for back-to-school 2021, the updated D'Nealian Handwriting  2022 program provides a streamlined routine through an easy-to-implement, four-step lesson design. D'Nealian gives teachers the tools and resources they need for handwriting instruction and practice, including embedded teaching support in English and Spanish. The K-5 curriculum offers a wealth of practice options to support anytime, anywhere learning through Savvas Realize, one of the edtech industry's most versatile learning management systems.



"A beloved program in K-5 classrooms everywhere, our D'Nealian Handwriting curriculum is now more powerful and impactful than ever," said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. "The reimagined curriculum still offers the engaging, hands-on skills development that it's known for, with the addition of new digital tools and interactive experiences to support teaching and learning, anytime, anywhere." The D'Nealian continuous stroke method offers unique advantages to help students learn manuscript and cursive handwriting. The method cuts down on common errors, such as "b" and "d" reversals, and eases the transition to cursive since most lowercase letters are the same as their cursive version. The continuous stroke method helps students memorize and retain common spelling patterns, making it especially helpful for students with dyslexia and other unique learning needs.

With both print materials and digital resources available through Savvas Realize, D'Nealian Handwriting offers an integrated teaching and learning approach with engaging, easy-to-use features that include: Stroke modeling animations and interactive student practice.

Print-on-demand Student Edition PDF pages and worksheets that provide students with extra practice, including real-world writing tasks.

K-2 Handwriting Kit to support hands-on early learning. ABOUT SAVVAS LEARNING COMPANY

At Savvas, we believe learning should inspire. By combining new ideas, new ways of thinking, and new ways of interacting, we design next-generation learning solutions that help prepare students to become global citizens in a more interconnected, digital world. To learn more, visit www.Savvas.com . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/savvas-introduces-reimagined-dnealian-handwriting-program-for-back-to-school-2021-301279208.html SOURCE Savvas Learning Company

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Saudi Arabia's crown prince said in televised remarks on Tuesday that the kingdom was in discussions to sell 1% of state oil firm <2222.SE> to a leading global energy company.

Crown Prince said Aramco, the world's biggest oil company which listed on the Saudi bourse in late 2019, could sell further shares including to investors within the next year or two.

"There are talks now for the acquisition of a 1% stake by a leading global energy company in an important deal that would boost Aramco's sales in ... a major country," he said, without elaborating.

"There are talks with other for different stakes, and part of Aramco's shares could be transferred to the (Saudi) Public Investment Fund and a part listed ... on the Saudi bourse," he said in an interview aired by Saudi TV marking the fifth anniversary of Vision 2030.

The Aramco initial public offering in 2019 was seen as a pillar of the economic diversification programme aimed at attracting foreign investment.

Aramco raised $25.6 billion in the IPO and later sold more shares under a "greenshoe option" to raise the total to $29.4 billion.

The crown prince in 2016 announced a plan to raise as much as $100 billion via an and domestic listing of a 5% stake in Aramco. In 2017 sources said Chinese state-owned PetroChina and Sinopec had written to Aramco to express an interest in a direct deal.

Listing plans were halted in 2018 and when they were revived the following year the deal found little interest beyond the Gulf. Riyadh scaled back its ambitions and canceled roadshows in New York and London, selling a 1.7% stake and relying on mainly domestic and regional buyers.

The proceeds of that offer were transferred to the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Prince Mohammed's vehicle of choice to transform the Saudi economy and diversify away from oil revenue.

(Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; editing by Matthew Lewis and Jason Neely)
CHICAGO, April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Relativity, a global legal and compliance technology company, today kicks off its second annual virtual event, Spotlight: APAC, which aims to bring legal and compliance professionals together to explore regional trends and key insights. Relativity continues expanding its cloud capabilities and making key investments in APAC with its secure, end-to-end cloud platform RelativityOne now hosted in Singapore and South Korea, making it the most globally available SaaS platform in e-discovery.

"Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing and most diverse regions for e-discovery and compliance, and we are investing across the business to ensure we not only meet but exceed the unique needs of our customers in the region," said Georgia Foster, Managing Director, APAC at Relativity. "Relativity's investment in security, expanded RelativityOne offering, and continuous product development reinforces our commitment to our partners and customers in the Asia Pacific region."

Today's virtual event is the largest gathering of the Relativity user community in APAC yet. Spotlight: APAC underscores Relativity's significant investments in the region and brings industry experts together to discuss key insights on regional security threat landscapes, AI-powered communications surveillance and e-discovery. It's not too late to register for today's sessions. Session recordings will be available to registrants one week following the event. Attendees can expect to learn more about:

The APAC Region is the Fastest Growing and Most Engaged in the Relativity Community

The Relativity community in APAC has, and continues to show tremendous growth. This includes 46% growth in active community members over the last year, as well as a 93% increase in attendance at events. With RelativityOne adoption on the rise globally, its growth is the fastest in the APAC region. RelativityOne is now available in 11 geographies and by the end of 2021, it will be available in 13 geographies.

Digital Transformation in APAC Drives Increased Focus on Security

The percentage of workers permanently working from home is expected to double in 2021, and by 2025, an estimated 70% of the workforce will work remotely at least five days per month. The shift to a more remote workforce and increase in collaborative work platforms comes on the heels of Southeast Asia's rapid pace of digital transformation.

The changing security threat landscape for APAC, risk mitigation strategies and amplified need for data security has never been more crucial with more than 80% of APAC organisations suffering a cyber attack in 2020. Research on the threat landscape in APAC conducted by Relativity's security team in February found that the APAC region is in a unique situation to be the new "hot" target for cybercrime. Law firms specifically tend to be a common mark for bad actors as a result of their collection of high profile, highly confidential information.

"Relativity's approach to security is to work hand in hand with our customers to create a united front against threat actors," said Amanda Fennell, Chief Security Officer at Relativity. "Our proactive security posture aims to keep our clients aware of evolving threats to minimise risk, avoid major incidents and ensure a superior client experience."

For more security-specific insights, Relativity will host the following sessions during Spotlight: APAC:

Standing on the Shoulders of a Giant: Security Best Practices with Microsoft and RelativityOne: This session will walk through the foundation of Microsoft cybersecurity and explore how RelativityOne hinges on the tech giant's shoulders.

This session will walk through the foundation of Microsoft cybersecurity and explore how RelativityOne hinges on the tech giant's shoulders. Cyber Risk and Data Breach Considerations for Lawyers : A panel of experts will discuss the local threat landscape and how to minimise the risk to organisations' data and client information.

: A panel of experts will discuss the local threat landscape and how to minimise the risk to organisations' data and client information. Emerging Trends and Developments of eDiscovery in Asia : This session will discuss emerging trends and developments of e-discovery in Asia , the evolving challenges in China and Hong Kong , as well as steps in securing the legal supply chain with RelativityOne.

Breaking Down Technology Barriers in Australia with Relativity's Justice for Change Program

Relativity's Justice for Change program is now available in Australia, the first region outside of the U.S. This global program leverages the unique capabilities of RelativityOne and its customers to positively impact racial justice progress in our communities. The goal of the program is to remove barriers to access technology for organising, collecting and analysing data in matters related to racial injustice. During Spotlight: APAC, Relativity will host the following session focused on Justice for Change:

Acting on the Commitment to Change: Social Justice in Australia : Hear from leaders dedicated to social justice and pro bono work as well as our first Justice for Change partners in Australia .

Managing Business on a Global Scale and Evolving Compliance Needs with End-to-End Efficiency

Compliance teams in APAC are faced with new regulations, anti-corruption efforts, and personal data protection rules. Recent and forthcoming updates utilising artificial intelligence (AI), to conduct communication surveillance with Relativity Trace, are designed to help meet these growing and changing needs. Relativity will host the following session on compliance:

Using Advanced Technology to Combat Misconduct: Attendees will learn how to accomplish more with fewer resources and in less time by implementing an AI-powered surveillance strategy.

About Relativity

Relativity makes software to help users organise data, discover the truth and act on it. Its SaaS platform RelativityOne manages large volumes of data and quickly identifies key issues during litigation and internal investigations. The AI-powered communication surveillance platform, Relativity Trace proactively detects regulatory misconduct like insider trading, collusion and other non-compliant behaviour. Relativity has more than 300,000 annual users in 49+ countries serving thousands of organisations globally primarily in legal, financial services and government sectors. Please contact Relativity at [email protected] or visit http://www.relativity.com for more information.

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Mila Taylor

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We cannot say that a closed border is a good thing; of course, it is not a good thing. And it is not normal to preach that keeping a closed border is a good phenomenon. The second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, stated this during a talk with his supporters.

"But one thing is clear that opening the border [of Armenia] with Turkey today will deal a big blow to our agriculture because our [two] agricultures are rivals, and it is obvious that Turkeys agriculture is in a better condition, in larger volumes, and Turkeys government provides much bigger subsidies. It is virtually not done in Armenia, and the abolition of the Ministry of Agriculture left the sector completely ownerless.

This means that if the border opens now, the situation of our villagers in the Ararat Valley will be just awful. Their product will not be competitive in terms of price.

Before opening the border, at least a few years are needed to raise the level of your agriculture, bring the level of subsidies to the same level, protect your market with various taxes, after which you can only think about opening the border," Kocharyan stressed.

He recalled that in 1998 and 1999when he was the President of Armeniaworks were carried out to replace the countrys imports, as a result of which agriculture gained a rather serious momentum. "The main problem was Turkish goods. Even though the border was closed, they were being brought via Georgia. We were taking very tough measures to protect our market, both legislatively and through subsidies. We have helped the farmer to stand up on his feet. But now there is not a single farm that is not under loans. Part of our population is under loans, the other partfines, and another partcriminal cases. People are working very hard, [but] they just don't make it. Without resolving these issues, we have no right to talk about trade, opening the border with Turkey. The one who speaks about opening the border should be asked: Who benefits from the balance of mediated trade with Turkey today? What do we export to Turkey? Will the volume of our exports increase or not increase after the opening of the border? Or will the volume of goods imported from Turkey increase exponentially? I am convinced that it will be so," Kocharyan stressed.
A DUP minister viewed as a potential successor to Arlene Foster has pulled out of a scheduled north-south meeting with an Irish Government counterpart.

The move by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots, who is seen as more hardline than Mrs Foster, comes amid calls from some sections of unionism for the DUP to end participation in cross-border political structures while Brexits Irish Sea border remains in place.

Internal critics of Mrs Foster, many of whom have signed a letter of no confidence in her leadership, are pressing for the party to adopt a more robust approach in opposing the Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs the new post-Brexit trading arrangements.

In that context, some are interpreting Mr Poots no-show as a signal of intent amid the escalating leadership crisis in the DUP.

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Mrs Fosters future as DUP leader and Stormont First Minister hangs in the balance after party colleagues mounted a heave against her.

It is understood a significant number of DUP politicians have signed a letter of no confidence in Mrs Foster that was circulated among party MLAs, MPs and peers.

If those numbers are confirmed and subsequently replicated in any future leadership contest  a vote confined to MPs and MLAs  her five-and-a-half year tenure as leader would be set to end.

It remains unclear whether Mrs Foster would contest a leadership vote if one is triggered.

There is some speculation that if Mrs Foster does depart, the twin roles she currently occupies could be spilt going forward, with one politician taking on the role of party leader and another being appointed First Minister.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mrs Foster attempted to downplay the scale of the internal revolt, which comes amid mounting discontent among party faithful over her leadership.

Stories on leadership come up from time to time, and its one of those times, she said.

However, in an indication of the rapidly developing situation, Mrs Foster cancelled a scheduled meeting with Secretary of State Brandon Lewis and deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill on Tuesday evening.

Later on Tuesday evening, Mrs Foster posted a Biblical quotation on her Facebook page: It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

Stormont Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots (Niall Carson/PA)

In a statement, the DUP insisted questions over Mrs Fosters future were an internal matter.

The party said its democratic electoral processes were for its members, and declined to offer further comment.

There has been growing unease among DUP members about Mrs Foster and the wider party leadership in recent months.

The primary source of concern is the handling of the Brexit process. The DUP is facing anger from the wider loyalist and unionist community for the introduction of an Irish Sea border.

Critics have accused Mrs Foster of failing to use the partys influence at Westminster  particularly during its confidence and supply deal with the Conservatives  to secure a Brexit deal that saw Northern Ireland leave the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK.

She has also been accused of not being vociferous enough in opposition to the contentious Protocol, which governs the new Brexit trading barriers between NI and GB, ahead of its introduction at the start of 2021.

Poor recent polling numbers have exacerbated the discontent within the party faithful, who are mindful of next Mays looming Assembly election.

Mr Poots non-attendance at the north-south meeting with Irish Agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue comes amid recent uncertainty about the DUPs strategy in respect of north-south engagement.

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The DUP has failed to turn up for two previous meetings in recent weeks, but last week DUP Economy Minister Diane Dodds did participate in a planned economic development meeting with Tanaiste Leo Varadkar.

While Mrs Foster has insisted north-south cooperation will be impacted as part of her strategy to undermine the Protocol, she has made clear her ministers will fulfil their obligations to attend north-south ministerial council meetings that are unrelated to the Brexit dispute.

Mr McConalogue tweeted: I am disappointed the scheduled North/South Ministerial Council meeting did not take place, he said.

This engagement is crucial to strengthening North South ties.

I urge all sides to work together for the betterment of our farmers & wider communities. We work stronger when we work together.

Sinn Fein deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill criticised Mr Poots.

Todays scheduled meeting of ministers North/South on rural development and agriculture was cancelled as no DUP Minister would attend, she tweeted.

The North/South dimension is central to the Good Friday Agreement & there is no alternative. Put simply these hare-brained antics are juvenile.

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said he hoped to see a full return of the north-south meeting.

It is important to say that as part of the Good Friday Agreement, the north-south element of the Good Friday Agreement is an absolutely essential pillar, Mr Coveney added.

Many people agreed to change the constitution in Ireland, and many people north of the border  a huge majority  voted for the Good Friday Agreement on the basis that there would be structures and dialogue and partnership on this island.

The north-south meetings isnt a minor issue, it is central to the institutions that allows that Good Friday Agreement to function.

Aside from the Irish Sea border, Mrs Fosters decision to abstain in a vote on gay conversion therapy last week appears to have further agitated sections of the partys fundamentalist grassroots.

On Tuesday morning, the Belfast News Letter reported that several DUP constituency associations had written letters expressing concern at Mrs Fosters abstention on a motion that called for a ban on gay conversion therapy but did not incorporate a specific mention of protections for religious practices.

The majority of her party Assembly colleagues voted against the motion, having failed to amend it to include reference to religious protections.

Arlene Foster downplayed suggestions her leadership was under threat as she faced media questions on Tuesday (Liam McBurney/PA)

Mrs Foster was among only five party members, including fellow Stormont Executive ministers Peter Weir and Mrs Dodds, who abstained.

That episode points to tensions between Mrs Foster, a member of the Church of Ireland and former Ulster Unionist, and the more traditional Free Presbyterian wing of the DUP, who perceive her as potentially too moderate on some social issues.

Mrs Foster was asked whether her leadership was in question on a visit to a youth centre in Belfast on Tuesday afternoon.

Well just deal with it and move on because Ive bigger things to do, including getting us through this Covid pandemic, including listening to the concerns of working-class communities, she said.

These stories come up from time to time. This is no different.
A woman wears a face mask reading 'Free Uyghurs' as she attends a protest during the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas meets his Chinese counterpart at the foreign ministry guest house Villa Borsig for bilateral talks. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Australian Senate Uyghur Inquiry Crosses Chinas Red Line

An Australian government inquiry into the use of Uyghur forced labour in China has been told the governments investigation into the slave labour is crossing a red line for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In a submission to the Senate inquiry, analyst Vicky Xu, who was lead author on the Australian Strategic Policy Institutes 2020 report Uyghurs for Sale, said the CCP could not countenance any investigations into human rights or Uyghur rights.

The Chinese Communist Party considers any form of investigation of the treatment of Uyghurs as crossing a red line,  Xu said.

Xus 2020 report found more than 80,000 people were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2018 and 2019 and named 83 global brands in the technology, clothing, and vehicle sectors that were linked to forced labour of Uyghurs and other minorities.

Those companies include Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony, and Volkswagen.

Xu said that despite companies attempting to change their production methods or auditor factories in China she said they were met with significant roadblocks from the CCP, and Uyghurs were still forced into slavery.

Auditors are routinely denied access and greeted by hostile government officials or police officers when they visit Chinese factories, Xu said. One key problem remains: Uyghurs are still for sale. Labour agents in China are still advertising tens of thousands of absolutely obedient Uyghur workers at a time; factories in coastal cities are still looking specifically for Xinjiang workers.

The senate inquiry into Uyghur forced labour was spurred by Australian independent senator Rex Patricks draft bill that would see Australia ban the import of Xinjiang province goods, as well as goods from any other parts of China produced using forced labour.

It is that last part of the bill that is significant, academic Darren Byler noted, as it will stop not just goods made in Xinjiang province by Uyghurs interred in the labour system but also products from other areas where Uyghurs are often transported during their detention.

Byler, a researcher at the University of Colorado, said in the presentation of his submission that the use of forced labour in China is very widespread around the country.

The use of forced labour is very widespread, Byler said. They go as a batch to work in a factory, and if they refuse, they know they can be sent to a detention camp.

The Falun Dafa Association in Australia, in their submission, also noted the widespread nature of forced labour issues in China, saying forced labour abuses are not limited by regional boundaries.

There is a substantive case for such a Bill to refer to Uyghurs, Tibetans and Falun Gong practitioners in China. All suffer shocking abuse, endure forced labour and systematic attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to destroy their spiritual and cultural beliefs.

Under communism, human beings have no inherent value. Individuals are expendable, like a commodity to be used for the party-state goals, President of the Falun Dafa Association of Australia, Lucy Zhao, wrote.

Zhao also recommended the Australian government pass the bill to prevent Australias complicity in the use of forced labour products.

This may not necessarily stop the abuse, but it will send a strong signal to the oppressors and other countries that may be wavering to act, and it will certainly affirm the values we uphold, which will be good for the future of our country and people, Zhao said.

However, the inquiry also heard from the Australian National Universitys Prof. Jane Golley, who, in her submission, downplayed reports about Xinjiang and noted in her testimony she had anonymously received information that suggested Uyghur female sterilisation should be regarded as family planning.

Golley, who heads the ANUs taxpayer-funded Australian Centre on China in the World, faced criticism for her remarks from both Byler and the Committee head, Liberal Senator Eric Abetz.

Byler said that Golleys advocacy was a perfect example of Chinas seeding of doubt or disinformation via western academics.

Meanwhile, Abetz said the ANU academic displayed naivety in the face of overwhelming evidence.

It now sheds a light onto other criticisms of other people who have sought to highlight human rights abuses in China, Abetz said.

AAP contributed to this article.
League City will get a head start on summer fun when Sundays in the Park kicks off May 2.

Throughout May, League Park, 512 Second St., will be the site of something of a three-ring circus, where bands, food trucks and city officials and council members will all converge from noon to 4 p.m. each Sunday.

All the events are free, but different charitable organizations will be highlighted each week and donations are strongly encouraged.

The events will likely draw several hundred people each day, League City spokesperson Sarah Greer Osborne said.

The lineups are pretty diverse, and that was by design, she said.

We tried to get local bands that have a draw in the area, plus feature a different genre every week from country and rock to even zydeco, she said.

Opening up on May 2 will be the Southern Shanks Band, who will bring its combination of Southern country swamp rock to the historic park.

Food trucks that day are scheduled to be Dickinsons Beach Sno Cones; Foreign Policy, which takes elements of Korean, Greek, Mexican and American cuisine to create unique burgers, fries and pitas; and Curbside Sliderz, which will serve up a variety of offerings.

The charity that will be highlighted that day is the League City Rotary Club, which will be looking for donations of good-condition childrens books.

Representatives from the League City Parks and Recreation Department, along with some from the public library will be on hand to talk to attendees.

Velvet Punch will bring its high-energy multidecade music book going back to the 70s to the stage May 9.

Food options that day include League Citys Gulf Coast Sno, the Mexican and Venezuelan offerings of Mi Patio Cafe & Grill and the baked goods of another homegrown favorite, Craved Creations.

Anchor Point is the charity of the day and it will be conducting a diaper drive. The group is specifically looking for larger-size diapers and pull-ups.

Members of the League City police, volunteer fire and emergency medical services departments will also be on hand that day.

The May 16 outing will see Bon Ton Mickey & the Zydeco Hotsteppers offering up their traditional sounds. On the food front, Gulf Coast Sno and Curbside Sliderz will return to League Park, joined by Rolling Republic BBQ and Sauce Time.

Interfaith Caring Ministries will welcome donations of toiletry and hygiene items such as toothpaste and feminine products.

Members of the Public Works Department will be out in force that day, too.

Classic rock will be front and center May 23 when Andy & the Dreamsicles bring their vast songbook of covers to town.

Food trucks that day will be Mi Patio Cafe & Grill and Craved Creations.

Donations of nonperishables will be accepted by the Galveston County Food Bank, and members of League Citys Utility Billing and water and wastewater crews will be on hand to answer questions.

Sundays in the Park closes out on a high note on May 30 with the hard-charging sounds of Texas TNT.

Food trucks that day will be Gulf Coast Sno, Foreign Policy, Mi Patio Cafe & Grill and Craved Creations.

On the charitable front, the focus that day will be all things pets as the folks from League Citys Animal Care will be looking for donations of pet food and other supplies and will field queries.

For more information about the event, performers and food trucks, visit leaguecitycvb.com/sundays.

John DeLapp is a freelance writer. He can be contacted at texdelapp@gmail.com.
Channel Nine has delayed the premiere date for quiz show reboot The Weakest Link, hosted by controversial comedian Magda Szubanski.

The network had originally scheduled the program to launch on Tuesday, May 4, at 8:50pm, but it's now expected to air later in the month, reports TV Blackbox.

Nine will fill the vacant time slot with two movies: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle on May 4, and Central Intelligence the following week.

Channel Nine has delayed the premiere date for quiz show reboot The Weakest Link, hosted by controversial comedian Magda Szubanski (pictured in Auckland in 2019)

A Nine spokesperson blamed the programming change on The Weakest Link's 'tight production schedule' - with TV Tonight reporting that filming only started last week.

'Due to the tight production schedule Weakest Link will now launch at the end of May on Channel 9,' the representative said.

The Weakest Link previously aired on Channel Seven from 2001 to 2002, and was hosted by the late Cornelia Frances.

The delay could be a blessing in disguise for Nine, as Szubanski made headlines for all the wrong reasons earlier this month when she fired off a series of bizarre and widely condemned tweets about Prime Minister Scott Morrison's wife, Jenny.

She later defended her tweets - which compared a conservatively dressed Mrs Morrison to a character from dystopian TV series The Handmaid's Tale - by arguing the PM's wife was fair game for criticism because she had 'opted in' to public life by offering her husband policy advice.

Szubanski also suggested the outrage was distracting from ousted Australia Post boss Christine Holgate's scorching testimony against the PM at a Senate Inquiry - even though this had been covered extensively by news outlets at the time.

The network had originally scheduled the program to launch on Tuesday, May 4, at 8:50pm, but it's now expected to air later in the month, reports TV Blackbox. Szubanski is pictured in Melbourne in November 2019

The Weakest Link previously aired on Channel Seven from 2001 to 2002, and was hosted by the late Cornelia Frances

The delay could be a blessing in disguise for Nine, as Szubanski made headlines for all the wrong reasons earlier this month when she fired off a series of bizarre and widely condemned tweets about Prime Minister Scott Morrison 's wife, Jenny

She faced criticism from female politicians for comparing Jenny Morrison to a character from The Handmaid's Tale in this Twitter post from April 11

Responding to criticism from Liberal MP Nicolle Flint - one of several conservative female politicians who took issue with her Handmaid's Tale tweet - Szubanski wrote: '1) seriously, my comment is "appalling" says Flint. "Appalling"?!

'2) I never said a single word about Jenny. 3) why is this headline news when... Christine Holgate is testifying?! Blatant attempt to use "sisterhood" to distract. Now THAT'S appalling.'

She then denied any suggestion she was 'walking back' her initial comments about Mrs Morrison.

Szubanski tweeted: 'Oh no you don't! I'm not "walking back" from anything! Simply stating facts. Nor will I be forced into an apology for... nothing.

'I see what the "Christian Soldiers" are doing here. They have drawn a "pink line" and I'm the Big Game. Let the fat shaming begin!

'THIS is what this is really all about. Well, I'm not backing down. The infiltration of the religious far right into Australian politics is... disturbing.'

She defended her Twitter post - which compared a conservatively dressed Mrs Morrison to a character from dystopian TV series The Handmaid's Tale - by arguing the PM's wife had 'opted in' to public life by offering her husband policy advice. Szubanski is pictured in October 2019

Szubanski tried to justify her criticism of Mrs Morrison by saying the PM had 'weaponised' his wife by admitting he speaks to her about policy matters

During a subsequent interview on A Current Affair - which was viewed by many as Nine's attempt at 'damage control' ahead of the launch of The Weakest Link - Szubanski reiterated her position that her tweets were not about Jenny personally but about the influence of the Christian right in politics.

'That was a mild way of drawing attention to the fact I do have concerns about, and trust me this is not about the majority of Christians, but the element of the far-right,' she said.

'And - they are really going to come for me now - I think that is a concern. I think that is quite legitimate to say in this country. I don't like extremes of any kind is my stance.'

Mr and Mrs Morrison are evangelical Christians and have made no apologies for their strong beliefs, with the Liberal leader having met his future wife at a Christian youth camp.

Responding to criticism from Liberal MP Nicolle Flint - one of several conservative female politicians who took issue with her Handmaid's Tale tweet - Szubanski wrote: '1) seriously, my comment is "appalling" says Flint. "Appalling"?!'

During a subsequent interview on A Current Affair - which was viewed by many as Nine's attempt at 'damage control' ahead of the launch of The Weakest Link - Szubanski reiterated her position that her tweets were not about Jenny personally but about the influence of the Christian right in politics

A glum-looking Szubanski had celebrated her 60th birthday on April 12 by taking a solo stroll in Melbourne, after being criticised by female politicians for comparing Mrs Morrison to a character from The Handmaid's Tale.

The funnywoman, who won fame for her roles on comedy shows Fast Forward, Full Frontal and Kath & Kim before becoming a prominent activist, had retweeted a photo of Mrs Morrison in a high-neck black dress as she watched her husband sign a condolence book for the late Prince Philip.

Szubanski captioned the image: 'I genuinely thought this was a photoshopped Handmaids Tale meme. But no. Its 21st century Aussie life.'

Based on the novel by Margaret Atwood, HBO series The Handmaid's Tale is set in a totalitarian society in which women are treated as property of the state.

Szubanski had retweeted the photo with a message from a left-wing Twitter account, which read: 'Good morning to everyone else to whom this feels creepy, chilling, terrifying, ominous, enraging, despairing and utterly, completely f**king depressing.'

She faced widespread backlash for her commentary, which suggested Ms Morrison was part of the machinery of a misogynist society.

The actress - who played loveable misfit Sharon Strzelecki in ABC sitcom Kath & Kim - faced backlash from a number of conservative female politicians over her tweet.

Dystopian: Based on the novel by Margaret Atwood, HBO series The Handmaid's Tale is set in a totalitarian society in which women are treated as property of the state. Pictured: actors Yvonne Strahovski and Elisabeth Moss in The Handmaid's Tale

NSW Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes told The Daily Telegraph: 'Ms Szubanski has herself been the target of obscene trolls, yet the hypocritical nature of the Left is here on display.'

Liberal MP Nicolle Flint also launched a scathing attack on Magda, saying her tweet represents a 'double standard' in the way female politicians are perceived.

'I cannot believe the appalling personal attacks on Mrs Morrison, especially by Ms Szubanski, a woman who has received one of our nations highest honours,' she said.

'Ms Szubanski's completely disrespectful comments are yet another example of the double standards demonstrated towards women on the centre-right of politics.

'The sisterhood need to stop picking and choosing which sisters to protect; all women deserve to be treated with respect.'

Szubanski had also re-tweeted an image of the Morrison family posing with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, zooming in on Mrs Morrison's hand which showed her forefinger and thumb joined.

While it is mostly used as a benign sign for 'OK', a similar signal had been used by the far right, using the digits to create a W and P for White Power.

'What's this little hand signal thingy??' Szubanski tweeted.

While her question may have been innocent, it prompted a string of replies suggesting the hand gesture was somehow sinister.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Jenny Morrison's hand gesture was in any way signifying 'white supremacy'.

More backlash: Szubanski had also re-tweeted this image of the Morrison family posing with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, zooming in on Mrs Morrison's hand which showed her forefinger and thumb joined. While many understand the symbol to be a benign sign for 'OK', darker corners of the Internet allege it's been appropriated to signify 'white supremacy'

On April 13, Szubanski took to her social media platform again to address the backlash against her controversial Handmaid's Tale tweet.

'Let me be clear...' she wrote, 'I'm not actually making a disparaging comment about Jenny. I just genuinely thought it was a meme!'

After one follower called her 'bitter and twisted', she replied: 'I know, right?! I'm terrible Muriel. A bitter twisted wreck of a once talented (debatable) funny gal.

'Sigh. So do yourself a favour and spare yourself the awful spectacle and don't follow me or read my tweets. Actually, I'll save you the effort and just block you.'
Mumbai: The Maharashtra cabinet under the leadership of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday (April 28) decided to provide free COVID-19 vaccination to all the citizens of the state aged between 18-44 years, said a statement from the CMO Maharashtra. Notably, the vaccination for people above 45 years is already free.

The cabinet also decided to extend lockdown-like restrictions in the state by 15 days

After the cabinet meeting, Maharashtra's Health Minister Rajesh Tope told the media that the citizens in the age group of 18 to 44 years of age in Maharashtra will be given the free vaccine. He, however, said that the vaccination will not start from May 1.

"Registration on CoWIN app will be compulsory for people aged 18-45 years, and the free vaccination will be available at the vaccination centers of Municipal Corporation and the Government Vaccination Center only," Tope said, requesting people to remain patient and do not rush at the vaccination centers.

Notably, there are about 5.71 crore people in the age group of 18 to 45 years in Maharashtra, and they will require about 120 million doses. The state government will have to bear a burden of around Rs 6500 crores to provide free vaccination to the people.

With over 3.88 lakh more people receiving the COVID-19 jabs in Maharashtra, the overall immunisation count in the state has crossed 1.53 crore, a health official told PTI on Wednesday. At least 3,88,247 eligible people were inoculated on Tuesday, the official said.

Of them, 4,017 healthcare workers received the first dose of the vaccine, while 9,899 were given the second dose, he said. As many as 20,276 and 13,753 frontline workers were administered the first and second jabs, respectively, on Tuesday, the official said.

In the above 45-year category, 2,12,699 people received the first dose and 1,27,603 the second dose, the official said, adding 65,140 people were inoculated in Mumbai alone.

According to the Maharashtra health department, the state has inoculated a total of 1,53,37,832 people so far, including 25,15,076 in Mumbai alone. As many as 10,99,415 healthcare workers had received the first dose, while 6,09,790 had received their second dose, it was stated.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Rajesh Tope reportedly said the state may receive its supply of Covishield vaccine only after May 20. The availability of anti-COVID-19 vaccines is still a challenge and the state needs a week's quota delivered at one time to vaccinate the maximum number of people, he added.

With Agency Inputs)

Live TV
Queensland Police said they have found $186,000 worth of cash stuffed inside a mattress during a dramatic raid on a central Queensland home.

Six people were charged after the search at a house in Mackay, four hours north of Rockhampton in Queensland on Saturday.

Cops claimed to have also seized 24 grams of meth, six grams of cannabis, prescription medication and drug utensils.

Queensland Police have shown bodycam footage of the moment they seized $186K worth of cash (pictured) from a mattress in a home in Mackay

A white 2003 Subaru Liberty which had been reported stolen from Cairns earlier this month and multiple mobile phones was also seized.

A 38-year-old man and 25-year-old man were remanded in custody and appeared n the Mackay Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old man from West Mackay was charged with drug trafficking, possession of tainted property, possession of anything used in the commission of a crime and contravention of a domestic violence order.

A 25-year-old North Mackay man was charged with the possession of dangerous drugs and breaching an arrest warrant.

Two 38-year-old men were charged with various drug related offences, a 30-year-old woman and a 49-year-old man were each charged with one count of possession of utensils.

The two 38-year-old men, 49-year-old man and 30-year-old woman are expected to face the Mackay Magistrates Court next month.
Social media platform, Twitter will establish its headquarters in Ghana, founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey disclosed in a tweet on Monday, April 12.



Jack Dorsey wrote; Twitter is now present on the continent. Thank you Ghana and @NAkufoAddo.



Reacting to the news following a virtual meeting held between Ghanas President Nana Akufo-Addo and Jack Dorsey on April 7, the president said the decision to set up a headquarters is critical for Ghana's development in the technology sector.



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.



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 development of Ghanas hugely important tech sector. These are exciting times to be in, and to do business in Ghana, President Akufo-Addo said.



In a discussion on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Minister for Communications and Digitization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful revealed that Jack Dorsey will be residing in Ghana for six (6) months.



According to her, the Twitter headquarters setup will commence in May and ''Jack Dorsey will live in Africa for six (6) months but he will be based in Ghana''.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Goa government has announced a lockdown from 7 pm on April 29 till the morning of May 3 to curb COVID-19 surge. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that essential services and industrial activities shall be allowed. Borders shall also remain open for effective transportation of essential services. A detailed lowdown on lockdown guidelines is likely to come by Wednesday evening.

Sawant added that weekly markets, public transport, casinos, hotels, and pubs will remain closed during this lockdown. He further mentioned that the state government has sought support from the police to ensure strict adherence to COVID-appropriate behaviour. The Goa police will not hesitate in removing wedding guests from venues if the guest count crosses the allowed limit of 50.





Lockdown announced in state from 29th April 7 pm to the morning of 3rd May. Essential services & industrial activities allowed, public transport to remain shut. Casinos, hotels, pubs remain closed. Borders to remain open for essential service transportation: Goa CM Pramod Sawant pic.twitter.com/PXaUfT5tkG a ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2021

Sawant appealed to Goans to take proper precautions against COVID-19 and to take medicines in case of any symptoms instead of waiting for the results. He added, "Vaccination centres will function normally during the lockdown and people will be inoculated after booking an appointment."

Coronavirus cases have risen drastically in Goa much like other parts of the country. The coastal state recorded 2,110 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours.

Total 1,331 people tested positive for the virus in Goa, taking the active caseload in the state to 16,591. 748 Goans have been discharged from hospitals so far, taking the number of recovered patients to 64,231. Total 31 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours in Goa, thus, taking the COVID-19 death toll in the state to 1,086.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal; with agency inputs

Also read: India records highest 3.6 lakh new Covid-19 cases, 3,293 deaths in 24 hours

Also read: Beware of QR code frauds! SBI warns customers amid rise in online payments
Bengaluru:

The Karnataka BJP on Thursday demanded the immediate resignation of state minister K J George after he was named by the CBI in an FIR in the case of mysterious death of Deputy Superintendent of Police M K Ganapathy.

Besides George, former IGP (Lokayukta) Pranov Mohanty and ex-ADG of police (state intelligence) A M Prasad have been named in the FIR.

Ganapathy was found dead at Madikeri on July 7 last year.

The Supreme Court had handed over the probe to the CBI in September.

Since the CBI has named George as the first accused (in the case), I demand his resignation immediately, state unit BJP president B S Yeddyurappa told reporters here.

Yeddyurappa also said the state BJP unit would stage a state-wide protest against George if he did not resign.

We are meeting tomorrow to fix up the date and draw a plan for protests, he added.

The BJP leader brushed aside Congresss allegations that it was an act of vendetta against its leaders, saying the CBI had named George as first accused after the Supreme Court ordered the investigating agency to probe the case.

It was Ganapthys father who had moved the Supreme Court, which ordered CBI inquiry, and hence, there is no question of vendetta politics played by BJP here, he said.

Yeddyurappa also sought security for Ganapathys family. The family should be given security because they are very worried, he said.

The agency has re-registered the FIR of the Karnataka Police, alleging that prior to his death, Ganapathy had alleged that George, Mohanty and Prasad would be responsible if anything happened to him.

A Supreme Court bench, comprising justices A K Goel and U U Lalit, allowed the appeal of M K Kushalappa, the father of the deceased police officer, filed against the order of the Karnataka High Court rejecting his plea for a CBI probe into the case.

It had asked the CBI to file a status report on the probe before it within three months.

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The boss of office provider IWG has insisted the worst is behind us after the number of inquiries about its shared work spaces shot back to pre-pandemic levels.

IWG offers serviced, open-plan offices and meeting rooms that can be booked by the hour.

Chief executive Mark Dixon said that after a year of remote working, March and April had marked an inflection point for many companies that are now plotting to bring people back to the office.

In demand: Regus owner IWG offers serviced, open-plan offices and meeting rooms that can be booked by the hour such as this space in London Bridge

This is still expected to take some time as many firms will be loath to rush the process and over-commit to renting space in case stricter social distancing requirements come back.

But the Regus owner said it was benefiting from demand for satellite offices outside major cities and away from company HQs

Interest in the London suburbs has been stronger than for the centre, while in the US, inquiries for Florida and Texas have surpassed those for New York.

Stock Watch - Scotgold Resources Scotgold Resources shares sank after the company warned production at its gold mine, which is built into the side of a Scottish mountain, will be slower than planned. The AIM-listed group said it could not currently access high-quality gold at its site in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Because of the delays, it will need to seek fresh financing, which could come in the form of a loan from its directors. Scotgolds stock fell 22 per cent, or 15.5p, to 55p.

During the first quarter it signed deals with big-name clients such as Japanese telecoms group NTT and banking giant Standard Chartered.

But investors remain sceptical. IWG fell 0.9 per cent, or 3.2p, to 359.8p, as it also revealed that revenues slumped by 24 per cent to 528million in the first quarter.

Sanctuary Spa and Original Source-owner PZ Cussons also failed to rouse shareholders despite turnover in the third quarter rising 5 per cent to 145million and business in all regions outdoing the previous year.

It has been boosted by strong demand for hygiene products such as soap during the pandemic, but fell 0.7 per cent, or 2p, to 266.5p.

Holiday group Jet2 was a hit  rising 3 per cent, or 42.5p, to 1458p  as it said customers were leaving it until the last minute to book trips in case travel rules changed. It has pencilled in a loss of up to 385million in the year to March 31.

A lukewarm update from engineering and industrial software maker Aveva was eclipsed by the shock announcement that boss Craig Hayman will be leaving to be replaced by a representative from the biggest shareholder, Schneider Electric.

Hayman is quitting after three years, returning home to the US.

Schneider owns 60pc of Avevas shares, and the highly unusual move to replace a boss with an investor rep who is being seconded to the role has prompted speculation that it is plotting a full takeover.

Aveva slumped 5.4 per cent, or 212p, to 3695p, weighing down on the wider FTSE 100, which closed 0.3 per cent lower, down 18.15 points, at 6944.57. The FTSE 250 fell 0.6 per cent, or 144.26 points, to 22,433.08.

A slip in gold prices below $1.78 an ounce dragged on the share prices of major miners Polymetal (down 2.8 per cent, or 44.5p, to 1559.5p) and Fresnillo (down 2.2 per cent, or 20.2p, to 886.6p).

But copper prices climbed to their highest level in a decade, surpassing $9,795 a tonne, nearing all-time highs as worries about supply sent traders into a frenzy.

Elsewhere, smoke detector and automatic door sensor-maker Halma dipped 1.1 per cent, or 29p, to 2601p after it bought a firm that monitors mothers and babies during childbirth.

Perigens software technology can alert doctors, nurses and midwives to potential problems.

Test and Trace outsourcer Serco has clinched contracts worth 350million from the Department for Work and Pensions to run back-to-work services for jobseekers.

It came a day after a Serious Fraud Office trial of former Serco executives over a prisoner tagging scandal was dropped because the crime watchdog failed to disclose evidence to the defence. Serco rose 1.7 per cent, or 2.4p, to 143.8p.
A six-year-old boy whose heart stopped beating for 30 minutes after a horrific accident is to have his life support switched off, with doctors advising he will not be able to recover from his injuries.

Deklan Babington-MacDonald from Nerang on Queensland's Gold Coast was rushed to hospital on Sunday after suffering a 'severe' injury while playing with a toy from a local theme park in his bedroom.

He was discovered by his mother Lauren Babington, who told the Gold Coast Bulletin she wanted details of the 'traumatic' accident kept private.

Ms Babington alerted Deklan's grandparents, who rushed from their home just across the road, to perform life-saving CPR on their grandson.

Deklan was transferred to Gold Coast University Hospital and later airlifted to the intensive care unit at Queensland Children's Hospital.

'Lauren has asked me to share that the doctors have advised that Deklan is beyond recovery. Deklan's life support will be withdrawn in the next 48 hours,' a post on Supporting Deklan Facebook page late on Wednesday said.

Deklan Babington-MacDonald's (pictured) life support is expected to be switched off in the next 48 hours after doctors advised he will not be able to recover from injuries suffered in an accident on Sunday

Money raised from an online fundraiser that was initially set-up to aid Deklan's recovery will now go towards his memorial

'As you can understand this is a devastating time for the family so please respect their privacy and understand they won't be able to talk on the phone.

'They are reading the messages of support and appreciate all the love and kindness shown by the community.'

A fundraiser initially set-up to raise funds to aid Deklan's recovery will now be dedicated towards his funeral.

'The money donated will go towards Deklan's memorial and allow Lauren to make an important keepsake with Deklan's ashes when the time is right,' the Facebook post said.

Cousin Lea Williams earlier in the day heartbreakingly revealed Deklan was not expected to recover.

'The doctors aren't hopeful of his survival at this point  the family is hoping for a miracle,' Ms Williams told the Courier Mail.

'It is a shocking accident that should never have happened.'

She said the family were still struggling to come to terms with how the incident unfolded.

Deklan, was just about to start his second term of grade one, has been described as a 'gorgeous boy' who could light up a room

Deklan's grandparents performed life-saving CPR on the Queensland schoolboy, who was transferred to Gold Coast University Hospital before being airlifted to the Queensland Children's Hospital

'It was a toy that was bought four days earlier it ended up being really dangerous and we are really angry but haven't got our heads around it and can't focus on it,' she said.

Ms Williams described Deklan as the much-loved 'baby of the family' and said they want police to launch an investigation.

Deklan's Aunty Caity Macdonald broke the sad news to her friends and family on Tuesday afternoon.

'It is with a heavy heart that we share this news, but on Sunday my nephew Deklan was involved in a horrific accident that has left my sister (his mum) and my family absolutely devastated', she wrote on Facebook.

'He is in ICU in a critical condition.'

The organiser of the fundraiser, Lea Williams, posted a link to the campaign on Facebook, telling friends and family her 'sweet cousin Deklan' had been in a horrific accident.

She described her cousin as a 'gorgeous boy' who could light up a room.

'He's definitely mischievous but he's so so sweet. He's so loved, just doted on', she told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

Deklan's family said appreciated all the love and kindness shown by the community following news of his accident

Deklan was playing with a toy in his bedroom on Sunday, when he suffered a life-threatening injury

Ms Macdonald said her family was 'absolutely distraught' by the terrifying accident, and described Deklan as the 'light of our life and Lauren's best friend'.

He was just about to start his second term of grade one at William Duncan State School and was said to have loved riding his scooter and going to the beach.

'Deklan isn't just a grandson or nephew you would see every now and then', Ms Macdonald said.

'He is embedded in our lives, with sleepovers at Nanna's every weekend and hangouts with the aunties all the time.'

She said Ms Babington has had to overcome the challenges of being a single mother ever since Deklan was born.

'What has happened is a horrible tragedy that no one could ever see coming. We are all broken and praying for our little man,' Ms Macdonald said.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund will deliver the Sputnik V vaccine to India as it battles the second wave of coronavirus, RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said on Monday.

Dmitriev, in an interview with CNN on Monday, said that the first doses will arrive in India on May 1. He also stated that India would be one of the key producers of Sputnik V.

Meanwhile, Indian doctors are looking forward to getting access to Russia's Sputnik V vaccine soon, Senior Director of the center for Chest and Respiratory Diseases at New Delhi's Super Specialty Hospital Dr Sandeep Nayar told TASS Newsagency on Tuesday.

"The Sputnik vaccine has a very good study and very good backup, so I'm hoping that we have that vaccine too as early as possible," Tass reported, quoting Senior Director of the Center for Chest and Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi's Super Specialty Hospital Dr. SandeepNayar.

At present, India is using two vaccines, Covishield, developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, and Covaxinmade by India's Bharat Biotech for vaccinating its citizens.

Sputnik V, the world's first registered vaccine, has been approved for emergency use in 60 countries across the globe. According to an interim analysis from the trial published in The Lancet, the vaccine has 91.6 per cent efficacy.

(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 Jarrett Renshaw

(Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Wednesday will propose raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans to pay for pre-kindergarten and community college education and paid leave for healthcare. The $1.8 trillion plan involves $1 trillion in new spending and $800 billion in tax credits.

WHAT AMERICANS WOULD GET

Universal pre-kindergarten: Biden will ask Congress to provide $200 billion for free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds.

Childcare: The package would assure that low- and middle-income families pay no more than 7 percent of their income on childcare for children under 5 years old.

Paid family leave: It would guarantee 12 weeks of paid parental and family leave by year 10 of the program and also assure that workers receive three days of bereavement leave a year starting in the first year.

Free community college: It would seek $109 billion for two years of free community college regardless of income.

Boost Pell Grants: It would provide up to about $1,400 in additional assistance to low-income students by increasing the Pell Grant award, a popular college subsidy program.

Retain students: It would provide $62 billion via a grant program to invest in completion and retention activities at colleges and universities that serve high numbers of low-income students, particularly community colleges.

Historically Black colleges: It would seek $39 billion to help pay for two years of subsidized tuition for students from families earning less than $125,000 enrolled in a four-year college that serve primarily minority students, such as Historically Black colleges and universities.

Teachers: It would double scholarships for future teachers to $8,000 from $4,000 and provide money to help teachers, particularly those in low-income school districts, earn additional certifications.

Extended child tax credits: Biden is seeking to extend the expanded child tax credit, which is essentially a monthly payment from the government for most families, through 2025. The credit was created on a temporary basis by a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package passed in March.

Story continues

Child and Dependant Care Tax Credit: The plan would make permanent the temporary Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) expansion enacted in the COVID-19 relief bill. Families would receive a tax credit for as much as half of their spending on qualified childcare for children under age 13, up to a total of $4,000 for one child or $8,000 for two or more children.

HOW THE RICHEST AMERICANS WOULD PAY FOR IT

Top marginal tax: Biden will propose raising the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6% from 37%. For tax year 2021, the top tax rate is 37% for the richest Americans - individual taxpayers with incomes greater than $523,600 and married couples filing jointly with over $628,300.

Capital gains: Biden would nearly double taxes on capital gains, or income earned from the sale of an asset like a stock, to 39.6% for people earning more than $1 million. Households making over $1 million - the top 0.3% of all households - would pay the same 39.6% rate on all their income, equalizing the rate paid on investment returns and wages.

Inheritance: The plan would eliminate the loophole that allows the wealthiest Americans to escape tax on their wealth by passing it down to heirs. Tax laws allow those accumulated gains to be passed down across generations untaxed.

Carried interest: It would close the carried interest provision in the tax code and force hedge fund partners to pay ordinary income tax rates on their earnings.

Real estate: It would end the special real estate tax break that allows real estate investors to defer taxation when they exchange property for gains greater than $500,000.

Enforcement: It would raise revenue by increasing enforcement at the Internal Revenue Service to bring in more money from wealthy Americans and corporations that evade taxes. The Biden administration believes the move will generate $700 billion over 10 years.

(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Heather Timmons and Peter Cooney)
The four new @SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts joined the Exp 65 crew today bringing the station population to 11. More... https://t.co/HxB7Zd5Ht5 pic.twitter.com/HltwdtP7Mv  International Space Station (@Space_Station) April 24, 2021

The astronauts were initially scheduled to undock Wednesday, April 28, but the start of their journey home had to be pushed to Friday, due to unfavorable weather conditions. The splashdown of the SpaceX Crew-1 members is targeted to take place in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida. However, their spacecraft (Resilience) could also end up in six other possible locations in the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico.The quartet is expected to land Saturday, May 1, at 11:36 am, Eastern Time.NASA will cover LIVE all the activities related to their return home, from the change of command to undocking and splashdown. Japanese astronaut Akiko Hoshide, who is a member of the SpaceX Crew-2 , will replace Commander Shannon Walker of NASA.You can watch all the events in three ways: on NASA Television, using the NASA app , or online, on NASAs website SpaceX Crew-1 consists of four astronauts: Shannon Walker, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover of NASA, and Soichi Noguchi, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The team has been on the International Space Station (ISS) since November 2020. They are replaced by the Crew-2 team. SpaceX launched the Crew-2 spacecraft nicknamed Endeavour last week, on Friday 23. So it will be kind of crowded on the ISS for a few more days, as there are 11 astronauts on the space station until the Crew-1 team departs.NASA published the entire schedule of the return coverage of the Crew-1. You can check it in the press release section below the tweet.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - USANA Health Sciences Inc. (USNA) said it increased its outlook for 2021, which now reflects top-line growth between 9.3% and 12.8%. Notably, it expects sales to accelerate during the second quarter, due largely to a short-term sales program it is offering around the world during the quarter. The company offered a similar short-term sales program during the third quarter of 2020, which was successful and received a positive response from Associates around the world. Following the conclusion of the program, the company expects to see year-over-year sales growth, albeit at a decreased growth rate from the second quarter of this year. The company raised its annual earnings per share to a range of $6.15 - $6.50 from the prior estimation of $6.00 - $6.45. The company increased its annual net sales to a range of $1.24 billion - $1.28 billion from the previous outlook of $1.21 billion - $1.27 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $6.28 per share and revenues of $1.24 billion for fiscal year 2021. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
New York, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Transparent OLED Display Market Research Report by Product, by Pannel Type, by Application - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05911767/?utm_source=GNW



Market Statistics:

The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. This helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available.



1. The Global Transparent OLED Display Market is expected to grow from USD 689.89 Million in 2020 to USD 2,683.56 Million by the end of 2025.

2. The Global Transparent OLED Display Market is expected to grow from EUR 604.91 Million in 2020 to EUR 2,353.00 Million by the end of 2025.

3. The Global Transparent OLED Display Market is expected to grow from GBP 537.77 Million in 2020 to GBP 2,091.82 Million by the end of 2025.

4. The Global Transparent OLED Display Market is expected to grow from JPY 73,629.67 Million in 2020 to JPY 286,404.36 Million by the end of 2025.

5. The Global Transparent OLED Display Market is expected to grow from AUD 1,001.82 Million in 2020 to AUD 3,896.89 Million by the end of 2025.



Market Segmentation & Coverage:

This research report categorizes the Transparent OLED Display to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:



Based on Product, the Transparent OLED Display Market studied across AMOLED Display and PMOLED Display.



Based on Pannel Type, the Transparent OLED Display Market studied across Flexible and Rigid.



Based on Application, the Transparent OLED Display Market studied across Automotive, Lighting, Portable Systems, and TVs.



Based on Geography, the Transparent OLED Display Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.



Company Usability Profiles:

The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Transparent OLED Display Market including Benq Display, BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd., ClearLED Inc, Crystal Display Systems Ltd, Globus Infocom Limited, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd., Hisense International Co., Ltd., Japan Display Inc., Kent Optronics, Inc., Kolon Industries, Inc., LG Electronics Inc., NEC Display Solutions, Optinvent, Panasonic Corporation, pilot Screentime, Planar Systems, Inc., Pro Display, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Shenzhen AuroLED Technology Co.,ltd, Shenzhen HOXLED Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen NEXNOVO Technology co.,ltd, Sony Corporation, Universal Display Corporation, and Visionox Co., Ltd..



Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:

COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.



FPNV Positioning Matrix:

The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Transparent OLED Display Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Competitive Strategic Window:

The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets

3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments

4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players

5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Transparent OLED Display Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Transparent OLED Display Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Transparent OLED Display Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Transparent OLED Display Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Transparent OLED Display Market?

6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Transparent OLED Display Market?

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05911767/?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.



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New Covid marshals are being recruited in some areas across England for the coming year despite Government plans to lift remaining coronavirus restrictions on June 21.

Hertfordshire County Council is among those advertising for Covid marshals, with the local authority offering a contract worth an estimated 3 million to a provider that can supply 60 marshals from July 1 until January 31 next year.

The contract also comes with a possible one-year extension to 2023.

In its description of the marshals duties, the contract notice reads: Provide practical support to aid and encourage compliance, such as dedicated staff in public areas, business support, or support for individuals.

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It continues: Introduce measures to aid public and business awareness and understanding of regulations and guidance.

Hertfordshire County Council defended its decision to recruit marshals, saying it is not indicative of any increases in restrictions from July 2021 onwards.

In a statement, Jim McManus, director of Public Health for Hertfordshire County Council, said: We know that the virus is still circulating and will be for some time.

We know from last year that numbers of infections can change rapidly, and Government are very clear that we should plan in case a third wave arises.

It would be a dereliction of duty not to prepare for a third wave, at the same time as doing all we can to prevent it happening by keeping infections as low as possible so we can enjoy summer with no restrictions.

Covid marshals are a very effective asset in the fight against Covid-19 and one of the key ways we manage local outbreaks as they continue to occur in our communities.

(PA Graphics)

Meanwhile, Sunderland City Council placed a job advert this month for Covid marshals to begin straight away on a 12-month fixed term contract.

According to the Telegraph, Northumberland Council is also hiring Covid marshals, while Darlington, Portsmouth, Cornwall and Carlisle councils have reportedly extended existing contracts beyond July.

It comes as figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that deaths involving Covid-19 among people in all age groups 50 and over have fallen by at least 95% since the second-wave peak.

Meanwhile, separate figures show a quarter of UK adults are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, which has been hailed as a huge achievement by the Prime Minister.

Step four of the Governments road map for England currently states that all legal limits on social contact will be removed by June 21 at the earliest, when restrictions on large events such as festivals are also expected to ease.
Zebra finch make a hormone called mesotocin, which differs little from human oxytocin. Credit: Rockefeller University

Constantina Theofanopoulou wanted to study oxytocin. Her graduate work had focused on how the hormone influences human speech development, and now she was preparing to use those findings to investigate how songbirds learn to sing. The problem was that birds do not have oxytocin. Or so she was told.

"Everywhere that I looked in the genome," she says, "I was unable to find a gene called oxytocin in birds."

Theofanopoulou eventually came across mesotocin, the analogue for oxytocin in birds, reptiles, and amphibians. But as she plumped the literature in Erich Jarvis's lab at Rockefeller, the waters grew muddier. If she and Jarvis wanted to find studies on oxytocin in fish, they had to remember to search for the unique term isotocin. Unless, of course, they were looking for studies of oxytocin in certain species of shark, in which case they were obliged to scour abstracts for valitocinthe oxytocin of spiny dogfish. Similar issues arose when they tried studying the hormone vasotocin in birds, which is called vasopressin in humans. And the oxytocin receptor, typically abbreviated OXTR in mammalian studies, could be named VT3, MTR, MesoR, or ITR in studies of other species.

"I started getting lost," Jarvis admits. "I said, before we dig deeper, we need to make sure we've made the right assumptions about which human and bird genes are evolutionarily related."

Now, in a new study in Nature, Theofanopoulou and Jarvis demonstrate that the human hormone known as oxytocin is in fact the one and the same gene across all major vertebrate lineages. The similarities are in fact so striking that the scientists advocate for cleaning up the jargon once and for all by applying new standard nomenclature for the hormones known as oxytocin and vasopressin in humans, as well as their respective receptors.

This updated naming convention would, at the very least, make life easier for scientists studying oxytocin. But it could also serve as a model for how to translate a vast range of biological findings across speciesultimately leading to a better understanding of how the same genes function in different organisms.

The study describes the evolutionary history of this gene-family, which is responsible for a wide range of biological functions. Credit: University of Barcelona

A Whole-Genome Approach

Before whole genome sequencing gave scientists a big picture view of just how similar many genetic sequences are, biochemists would often assign unique names to near-identical genes in recognition of slight, often inconsequential, differences. This gave rise to the odd naming conventions across species that so baffled Theofanopoulou and Jarvis. "Oxytocin in mammals has one different amino acid than mesotocin in turtles," Theofanopoulou says. "Before we had a whole-genome perspective, we might have thought that it was an entirely different gene."

But sequence similarity isn't the only sign that two genes from different species are related. Another is each gene's surrounding gene territory on its respective chromosome, which scientists refer to as synteny. In other words, the identity of a gene is not made up only by the sequence 'inside' the gene, but also by the genes that surround it, those genes found 'outside' that gene. And while mammalian oxytocin differs slightly, in sequence, from its turtle analogue, this new study demonstrates that there is synteny in oxytocin, vasotocin, and each hormone's receptor, across the genomes of 35 species that span all major vertebrate lineages and four invertebrate lineages.

"With synteny, we can show that oxytocin in mammals is the same gene as mesotocin in turtles, because it is located in the same syntenic position in all these genomes, namely surrounded by the same genes across species. Gene sequence within a gene tends to change fast, but the gene order, how genes are located the one after the other, tends to be much more conserved in evolutionary time." Theofanopoulou says.

This broader perspective would not have been possible without recent updates that made whole genomes more complete and accurate, a project spearheaded by the international Vertebrate Genomes Project, which Jarvis chairs. These use long-sequence reads and long-range data to generate nearly complete chromosomal level genome assemblies. Cleaner genomes with fewer errors allow scientists to search for syntenic subtleties in new ways. "Many of the genomes that we have been looking at don't have mixed up chromosomes or errors," Jarvis says. "Nobody had this before."

What's in a name?

Many more genes may require just this sort of re-evaluation, to facilitate translational research and bring scientific vocabulary into the post-genomic era. For instance, similar nomenclature issues exist within two genes pertinent to Jarvis's work on vocal learning, SRGAP and FOXP2, and Theofanopoulou suspects that naming conventions for dopamine and estrogen receptors may need revisions as well. "This paper serves as a model for how to revamp genome nomenclature in biology, based on gene evolution," Jarvis says.

But whether such new names will stick remains an open question. Jarvis and Theofanopoulou are already experiencing pushback from researchers who are reluctant to see the long legacy of mesotocin research renamed and bundled up with oxytocin, or vasopressin with vasotocin. "We've spoken with several people who knew that these genes were analogues but insisted that they cannot be called by the same name," Jarvis says. "Some argued that 'this is the way it has been for decades.'"

Others worry that, however syntenic these genes may be across species, it would be inaccurate and perhaps even misleading to use the same name for the gene that promotes lactation in mammals and clearly plays a different role in birds and turtles. Jarvis disagrees. "A name shouldn't be based solely on function, but also on genetic and evolutionary similarities," he says.

"We can now show that these are the same genes because they are located in the same conserved blocks of gene order in the genome across species," Theofanopoulou adds. "Had the genes for these hormones been discovered in today's genomics era, they would have been named with the same and not different names."

More information: Theofanopoulou, C., Gedman, G., Cahill, J.A. et al. Universal nomenclature for oxytocinvasotocin ligand and receptor families. Nature 592, 747755 (2021). Journal information: Nature Theofanopoulou, C., Gedman, G., Cahill, J.A. et al. Universal nomenclature for oxytocinvasotocin ligand and receptor families.592, 747755 (2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03040-7
Appointment

28 April 2021

McKibbon Hospitality, an award-winning leader in hotel management is pleased to announce the recent appointment of Kiel Lombardo as Director of Food & Beverage for Lifestyle Hotels.

Over the past 20-plus years, Kiel Lombardo has honed his craft within the realm of kitchen and restaurant operations, design, and food & beverage brand integrations. Lombardo joins McKibbon Hospitality from Luminary Hotel & Co. in Fort Myers, where he served as Executive Chef, overseeing multiple food & beverage outlets, including Dean Street Coffee Roastery, Ella Mae's Diner, and Beacon Rooftop Drinkery, crafting menus, managing pricing, ordering, and operations of 38,000 sq. ft. of banquet space, and more. Prior to his time in Fort Myers, Lombardo was based in Tampa, Florida, where he launched RL Hospitality Consulting, assisting with restaurant design and concept branding, served as Co-Owner and Creator of Platt Street Borough, and Director of Chefs at Roy's Restaurant, training with James Beard award-winning chef Roy Yamaguchi. He graduated from the Culinary & Hospitality School (formerly New Hampshire College) in Manchester, New Hampshire.
ROME, APR 28 - Twelve people including three local priests have been arrested in South Sudan after the shooting of the world's youngest bishop-elect, Italian missionary Christian Carlassare, earlier this week, the Combonian missionaries' magazine Nigrizia said. Among the three priests working in 43-year-old Father Carlassare's diocese of Rumbek is diocesan coordinator John Mathiang, it said. Aside from the priests, the others arrested are lay members of the local church community. Nigrizia said they were all members of the Dinka ethnic group, the same as that of President Slava Kirr, who want to control the local church and saw Carlassare as a threat. The attack has been seen as an attempt to dissuade him from accepting his upcoming formal ordination as bishop. Carlassare, from Vicenza in northern Italy, is in a stable condition after being shot four times in the legs. (ANSA).
The site of a pet quarantine complex in Melbournes north has emerged as a contender for Victorias alternative quarantine facility for returning travellers, with the state government set to make an announcement as soon as Thursday.

Following almost three months of assessing various locations across the state, the Mickleham Post-Entry quarantine site could soon also host cabin accommodation, similar to the Northern Territorys Howard Springs site, as an alternative to hotel quarantine.

The federally owned pet quarantine facility at Mickleham spans 144 hectares.

Currently used by the federal Agriculture Department to quarantine animals, including cats, dogs, horses, birds and bees, the site is about 30 kilometres north of Melbourne Airport and 45 kilometres north of the CBD.

The announcement will dash Avalon Airports hopes of hosting an alternative to hotel quarantine. Avalon was one of the favourites touted by Premier Daniel Andrews when he revealed plans to build cabin-style quarantine accommodation in February.
One man says Mr. Gonzalez has been loitering for about a half-hour and appears to be breaking store security tags off alcohol bottles. Another man says Mr. Gonzalez is talking to himself at a fence near the callers backyard. He seems like hes tweaking, but hes not doing anything wrong, he says. Hes just scaring my wife.

In the body camera footage, the first officer at the scene asks on his radio whether a nearby store has reported any recent thefts, describing Mr. Gonzalez, who has two Walgreens shopping baskets.

The officer, who identifies himself as Officer McKinley, then continues to speak with Mr. Gonzalez, asking whether he knows Alameda and whether he is thinking of hurting himself or others. Mr. Gonzalez struggles to maintain the conversation or provide his name.

Another officer arrives about seven minutes after the first officer.

Heres the plan, the first officer says. Ive got to identify you, so I know who Im talking to  make sure you dont have any warrants or anything like that. You come up with a plan, let me know youre not going to be drinking in our parks over here. And then we can be on our merry way.

Merry-go-round? Mr. Gonzalez replies.

The two officers then ask Mr. Gonzalez for identification and tell him to keep his hands out of his pockets before they begin trying to detain him.

Can you please put your hand behind your back and stop resisting us? the second officer says after several minutes.
As recently as last summer, few people outside academia had heard of critical race theory, whose central claim is that racism, not liberty, is the founding value and guiding vision of American society. Then, President Trump issued an executive order last September banning the teaching of this malign ideology to federal employees and federal contractors.

Trumps ban was blocked by a federal judge in December and immediately revoked by Joe Biden upon occupying the White House in January. Since then, federal agencies and federal contractors have resumed staff training on unconscious bias, microaggressions, systemic racism and white privilege  some of the most common but also most disputed concepts associated with the four-decade-old academic theory.

Now critical race theory is about to face a major real-world test: a spate of lawsuits alleging that it encourages discrimination and other illegal policies targeting whites, males and Christians. But unlike Trumps executive order, which ran into First Amendment problems by prohibiting controversial speech, the lawsuits name specific policies and practices that allegedly discriminate, harass, blame and humiliate people based on their race.

The common thread of these legal challenges is the inescapable logic that making accommodations for critical race theory will erode the nations anti-discrimination law as it has developed since the 1960s. This would mean replacing the colorblind ideal of treating all people equally, which has been widely viewed as the crowning achievement of the civil rights movement, with a contrary strategy: implementing race-based policies, which can range from affirmative action to reparations for compensating African Americans for the injustices of the past and for producing equitable outcomes in the future.

"Critical race theory is a Trojan horse of sorts," said David Pivtorak, a Los Angeles lawyer representing two white men who are suing two California state environment agencies. "It disguises itself as the gold standard of fairness and justice but, in fact, relies on vilification and the idea of permanent oppressor and oppressed races. Its goal is not ensuring that all people play by the same rules, regardless of race, but equity, which is a euphemism for race-based outcomes."

About a dozen lawsuits and administrative complaints have been filed since 2018, with another wave planned this summer by conservative public interest law firms and private attorneys. Their goal is to draw attention to some of the more pronounced practices and win court judgments to slow down the spread of CRT in K-12 schools, government agencies other organizations.

A pair of lawsuits filed in 2019 by four white women against the New York City public school system allege that a diversity trainer told employees, "White colleagues must take a step back and yield to colleagues of color," and that they should "recognize that values of White culture are supremacist." The California suit filed last year by the two white men alleges that the state hosted a discussion series in 2020 in which speakers stated that any disparate outcomes in society must be the result of white supremacy."

A 2019 complaint filed by an Illinois public school teacher led to a finding that as part of a year-long course on equity and diversity, seventh- and eighth-graders participated in a white privilege awareness exercise that required them to remain in silence and with eyes lowered as they responded to a facilitators prompts. A 2020 lawsuit filed by a 12th-grade biracial student and his African American mother says that a civics class in a Nevada charter school taught that reverse racism doesnt exist and that people of color CANNOT be racist.

Critical race theory scholars assured RealClearInvestigations that white people should never be fired, penalized or gratuitously humiliated for the historical accident of being born white. But organizations should be granted wide leeway in adopting diversity training and equity policies, they say, even if asking white people to acknowledge their unearned privilege and think about their complicity in white supremacy makes them feel singled out and induces anxiety.

Part of being an employee or a public official or a school teacher requires you to appreciate your own standing  your identity and your positionality, said Margaret Burnham, a law professor at Northeastern University and a former Massachusetts state judge, using CRT terms that describe racial and gender power hierarchies.

Anything that is about the education of the person so that they can do a better job is fair game, Burnham said. Just like you have to learn new technologies, new languages, I consider this part of being an employee, part of being in a public space where youre going to interact with other people.

Proponents of critical race theory say the lawsuits are a form of white denialism that confirms the pervasiveness of the problem that CRT exposes. Many critical race theorists believe that the United States has functioned as an elaborate affirmative action scheme to empower and enrich white males, a strategy that depends on a certain degree of coverup.

I see these lawsuits as a last gasp attempt of those who benefit from the racial hierarchy to cling to the power and the privileges that have been associated with whiteness from the beginning of the country, said andre douglas pond cummings (who writes his name in lowercase letters), a business law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock who has taught courses on corporate justice and Hip Hop & the American Constitution.

"Critical race theory challenges the very legitimacy of the legal system in which these lawsuits are situated, cummings said. Treating people with dissimilar histories equally, where some have been historically oppressed, can lead to unjust results and outcomes, thereby requiring a focus on results and outcomes, not on blind process, with the goal being equal economic opportunity and equity.

The central unifying insight of critical race theory is that racism is embedded in the U.S. legal system and social structures, so that you dont have to think about it anymore and you can have racism without racists at this point, said Robert Westley, a Tulane University law professor who specializes in critical race theory and reparations.

You dont have to be an avowed racist in order for there to be race-based outcomes in this society, Westley said, noting that confronting these matters is going to entail talking about things that make a lot of people very uncomfortable.

CRT rejects the foundational premises of classical liberalism  such as legal neutrality and individual rights  and from that perspective, colorblindness is not understood as a strategy to overcome racism but as a method to perpetuate it.

Its a white ideology, Burnham said. Colorblindness really comes into fashion as a means of denying the persistence of racial stratification in the United States.

The lawsuits face a number of challenges, a point borne out by early setbacks some of the claims have experienced so far, including the defeat of Trumps executive order on free-speech grounds. In another case, lawyers dropped the discrimination allegations in one of the first such lawsuits, filed in 2018 against the Santa Barbara Unified School District in California, because, they said, students and staff who supported the lawsuit were deathly afraid of repercussions if they spoke out and came forward publicly as plaintiffs.

Claimants generally have to prove the alleged discrimination is severe and pervasive. They also have to overcome the freedom-of-speech rights of those who are professing to be dismantling systemic racism. Whats more, lawyers on both sides say that courts traditionally defer to employers and educators to set policy on workplace training and classroom curricula, a built-in restraint on activist judges.

Perhaps the biggest wild card in these lawsuits is the staggering cultural shift of the past five years, during which many of the precepts of CRT have become widely accepted, especially among many in the nations intelligentsia and the professional managerial class.

President Biden has adopted the language and made equity part of his platform, including a proposal to establish an Equity Commission to support the rights of Black, Brown and Native farmers. Immediately upon taking office, he issued an Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity to address systemic racism and affirmatively promote equity and racial justice in the federal government.

Our Nation deserves an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the opportunities and challenges that we face, the executive order states.

And last week, Biden's Education Department proposed new priorities for its American History and Civics Education programs in recognition that the Covid-19 pandemic and "the ongoing national reckoning with systemic racism have highlighted the urgency of improving racial equity throughout our society." The priorities include incorporating diverse perspectives and anti-racist practices into the teaching of history, with The New York Times 1619 Project cited as an example.

This paradigm shift has catapulted anti-racist experts like diversity trainer and best-selling White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo into the stratosphere of fame. Another beneficiary of the zeitgeist is Ibram X. Kendi, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University who runs the schools Center for Antiracist Research. Kendi is the author of the 2019 bestseller How to Be an Antiracist, which contains a succinct antiracist formula that rests on the distinction between bad discrimination (racism) and good discrimination (antiracism): The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.

The nations current anti-discrimination law does not make such a distinction, and would read Kendis proposal as absurd as claiming that theres a meaningful difference between good theft and bad theft; instead, all discrimination is wrong in the existing legal framework, with the exception of limited, narrowly tailored exemptions that are subject to strict scrutiny by the courts.

A sampling of recent lawsuits and complaints shows how critical race theory practices have played out in a variety of circumstances.

The suit against the New York City Department of Education alleges that employees were told at a diversity retreat that there is White toxicity in the air and we all breathe it in. Examples given included the Protestant work ethic and being socialized to be defensive. Such messages about interrogating Whiteness were repeated over the course of a year, during which time four white employees who later filed suit were accused of privilege, shamed, demoted and replaced by African Americans. The pair of lawsuits, filed in 2019, are in the discovery phase as the Department of Education and the lawyers for the four white women suing exchange documents and evidence.

A fall 2020 civics curriculum at a Nevada charter school encouraged students to unlearn the oppressive structures within their families, their religion and their intersectional identities. The teacher, who identified herself in class materials as a bisexual agnostic with a mental health disability, asked 12th-graders to reflect on the parts of their identity that have privilege attached to it. according to a discrimination suit filed by the biracial male student and his black mother who allege he was coerced to affirm a political ideology against his conscience and his Christian faith. The case, filed last December, is headed for trial after a judge, saying the allegations raise some serious constitutional issues, refused to toss it out.

In the California lawsuit brought by the two white men, a discussion hosted by the state Department of Fish & Wildlife featured speakers who said that black people dont use the outdoors in proportion to their population because of white racism, generational trauma and a historical fear of lynching. White employees were instructed on the countrys deeply racist legal system and advised that silence is complicity when it comes to racial injustice. According to the lawsuit, employees were subjected to implicit bias training that amounted to compelling staff to take loyalty oaths to CRT ideology. The lawsuit, filed last October, is in the early procedural stage; the states lawyers are seeking to have the case dismissed.

In one of the more unusual cases, the Department of Educations Office of Civil Rights agreed in early January with an Illinois public school teacher that her school district violated anti-discrimination law when it implemented a discipline policy that explicitly directed staff to consider a students race when evaluating behavioral and disciplinary issues.

The case offers indications that different judges will likely reach opposite conclusions in such disputes: Just two weeks after ruling for the schoolteacher under the Trump administration, the Department of Education put the case on hold when President Biden took office and issued the advancing racial equity executive order.

The Department of Education initially found that the K-8 school district engaged in illegal stereotyping when administrators and staff were invited to write down some defining aspects of white culture in a white privilege awareness exercise. The materials provided several examples of common white reasoning, including: we [whites] havent had to develop the skills, perspectives or humility that would help us engage constructively in cross-racial conflicts. The agency also flagged a segregated affinity group for white students that served as a safe space for students to learn about white privilege, internalized dominance, microaggressions and how to act as an ally for students of color.

Hovering in the background of these lawsuits is the unresolved question: To what extent does truth provide a defense against charges of discrimination? It will come as no surprise that to conservatives and other critics of CRT its fatal flaw is its factual wrongness.

The ideology is so patently stupid and racist to the common person that the only way you can implement it or teach it is with an element of coercion, otherwise it would just be laughed at, said Jonathan OBrien, the lawyer representing the student and mother who filed the Nevada lawsuit. Thats why the training sessions are like pressure cookers.

But if critical race theory is true, as its adherents believe, then labeling the truth as discriminatory smacks of censorship.

The lawyers who successfully challenged Trumps executive order last year, for example, claimed truth as a defense when they argued that their clients offer instruction about systemic racism and white privilege as an essential part of their social justice mission to provide equitable health care services. Systemic racism is understood as the totality of social institutions operating in such a way as to generate disparate outcomes for people of color in criminal justice, health care, education and other areas.

Were talking about a structure, a system, that was set up to benefit white people. Whether people realize it or not, theyre often continuing that system in a way that hurts people of color, said Camilla Taylor, director of constitutional litigation for Lambda Legal, which calls itself the nations oldest and largest LGBTQ rights group. And to undo that structure you need to be able to name who it benefits and who it disadvantages.

Lambda Legal represented the NO/AIDS Task Force, Los Angeles LGBT Center and Dr. Ward Carpenter, the Los Angeles centers co-director of health services who specializes in transgender medicine and personally treats 200 patients. Their successful legal challenge argued that the restrictions in Trumps executive order not only run afoul of First Amendment protections, but they ignore verifiable and truthful information, and therefore restrict highly protected professional speech.

In a phone interview, Taylor cited medical research published in 2019 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that contended when African American newborns are cared for by African American physicians, their mortality rate is cut by half. There is no explanation for the disparity in death rates but the race of the provider, she said.

Implicit bias is a problem that is greater in white people than it is in people of color, Taylor said. To prevent people from talking about these facts, because they make you feel some sense of personal responsibility or guilt that you dont want to feel, is not only wrong but it hurts people in real time.

The stakes of this dispute couldnt be higher, at least judging by the rhetoric expressed by both sides.

One of the conservative groups planning to file lawsuits, the Upper Midwest Law Center in Golden Valley, Minn., is in talks with prospective clients who include non-whites, said the centers president, Douglas Seaton.

Seaton described the abandonment of the colorblind idea as giving up on the nation itself.

You cant have a country as diverse as ours without equality before the law, Seaton said. Its a recipe for communal violence, tribalism. You cant simply proceed that way. Youd be doomed to internecine battles between groups.

email: johnmurawski@realclearinvestigations.com

Correction, May 24, 2021, 9:40 AM Eastern.

An earlier verison of this article misstated the home state of the Upper Midwest Law Center. It is Minnesota, not Michigan.
After having second thoughts about the constitutionality of his bill to undermine three ordinances approved by Key West voters, the House sponsor of the measure said Tuesday he has concluded the bills dead for the session.

I dont see a path forward, said Rep. Spencer Roach, the North Fort Myers Republican who, along with Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, attempted to pass a bill that would have used a state law to preempt three new ordinances adopted by more than 60% of voters in Key West in November. But, he added, anything can happen between now and when the hankie drops.

Florida legislators are scheduled to complete the 60-day session  with the traditional dropping of a handkerchief  on Friday and the bill to undermine the will of Key West voters was one of the most ambitious preemption attempts of the session.

The bill began as a broad attempt to prohibit local governments from restricting maritime commerce at Floridas 15 deep-water ports. But with local governments fighting it and 92 lobbyists registered to work on it, Roach said he and Boyd narrowed the bill and narrowed the bill and narrowed the bill.

The final product, SB 426, was narrowed in scope to the extent that we were not accomplishing what I wanted to accomplish, Roach said Tuesday.

SB 426 passed the Senate last week, but Roach said the turning point came Monday when staff raised some questions about the constitutionality of using a general law to achieve a local purpose, something state law prohibits.

Nearly $1 million in campaign cash to DeSantis

Also on Monday, the Herald/Times reported that Mark Walsh, the business developer who operates the Key West pier which gets most of the citys cruise ship traffic, donated nearly $1 million to the political committee of Gov. Ron DeSantis through 11 of his companies days before the legislative session began.

The revelation of the campaign contributions drew criticism from referendum supporters.

We always knew the special interests of a few wealthy people were leading our opposition, but a $1 million bid for the governors signature on legislation is beyond even our own imagination, said Arlo Haskell, a Key West resident who, along with local fishermen, helped organize the three referendums.

Story continues

Roach said he has not spoken to DeSantis or his staff about the bill and the political contribution certainly had no impact on my decision to run the bill and he had no knowledge of that at the time that I filed the bill.

Haskell was relieved Tuesday when he learned that Roach appeared to have abandoned the effort this year and suggested that DeSantis may have played a role.

Sometimes the good guys win, he said. We never forgot the hardworking people in our community who put their faith in us and we never lost hope that Gov. DeSantis would stick up for the environment in the Florida Keys just like hes always fought for the Everglades. We hope the bill will not come up again.

Wait til next year?

Roach said he will return next year with a new version and, in the meantime, he expects Walsh and others to continue their legal challenge, making the argument that the limit on cruise ship traffic violates the federal Commerce Clause.

He said he erred in making the bill too narrow, potentially violating the law that prevents a general bill from targeting a local community.

But Monday was not the first time he had been asked about it. At the April 19 meeting of the House Commerce Committee, Roach explained that he had limited the bill to the areas of critical state concern which excluded all deep-water seaports except Key West.

Rep. Emily Slosberg, a Boca Raton Democrat, asked why Roach didnt file the proposal as a local bill, which would need the support of the Monroe County legislators, who opposed the bill.

Roach responded that the bill did have statewide impact because it would limit future ballot initiatives at all 15 seaports. However, the language that passed the Senate only applied to Key West. On Tuesday, Roach filed an amendment restoring the bills application to all seaports but, he said later, he realized he could not get the votes to pass it.

Everyone wants to protect their own ports, he said.

Roach has repeatedly argued that the proponents of the Key West referenda were attempting to remake Key West in the mold of a Marthas Vineyard because wealthy homeowners dont want to see cruise ship traffic walking down their pier.

Thats a point of view rejected by the Key West mayor and several business owners who testified before legislative committees. They said the goal of the referenda was not to eliminate cruise traffic but to protect the ecosystem, on which their livelihoods depend, from the largest cruise ships they believe are damaging the reef.

And local businesses were not the only ones challenging Roachs claim that Key West was engaged in economic elitism.

Rep. Bob Rommel, R-Naples, said during the Commerce Committee meeting that there was a recent motorcycle event in Key West and he wondered if the city attempted to restrict that activity. Roach said he didnt know, but cited the 1982 faux attempt by Key West to declare its independence from the U.S. as the Conch Republic.

It has a history of doing some crazy things, he said.

Mary Ellen Klas can be reached at meklas@miamiherald.com and @MaryEllenKlas
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), recently elected its 2021-2022 officers during its annual spring world conference, TransACT 360, which was held virtually this year due to the global pandemic. The elected officers will be installed in Nashville, Tenn. prior to CREate 360, SIOR's annual fall world conference that is currently scheduled to be held in-person October 14-16, 2021.

This fall, SIOR's current president-elect, Patrick Sentner, SIOR, an office specialist in Pittsburgh, will assume office as SIOR Global President. The current vice president, Patricia J. Loveall, SIOR, an industrial specialist in Seattle, will become SIOR President-Elect.

David Lockwood, SIOR, an office specialist in Columbia, S.C., has been elected as SIOR's Vice-President. After serving a one-year term as vice president, Lockwood will serve as president-elect for a year and then step into the presidency of SIOR in the fall of 2023.

John Adams, SIOR, will assume the role of Chapter Leadership Council Speaker in the fall, and J.R. Steinbauer, SIOR, was elected as Speaker-Elect.

The following members were elected to serve two-year terms on SIOR's Board of Directors as members-at-large:

Bruce Hecht , SIOR, an office specialist, Dallas

, SIOR, an office specialist, Vanessa Herzog , SIOR, industrial specialist, Tacoma, Wash.

In addition, the following SIOR members were also elected to serve as Regional Directors for a two-year term:

Central Regional Director: Ryan Zabrowski , SIOR, industrial specialist, Omaha, Neb.

, SIOR, industrial specialist, Mid-Atlantic Regional Director: Dawn Marie Griggs , SIOR, office specialist, Newport News, Va.

, SIOR, office specialist, Northwest Regional Director: Devin Pierce , SIOR, industrial specialist, Boise, Idaho

, SIOR, industrial specialist, Southeast Regional Director: William Burgess , SIOR, office specialist, Greenville, S.C.

, SIOR, office specialist, Southwest Regional Director: Keith Edwards , SIOR, industrial specialist, Houston

To schedule interviews with SIOR elected officers or a regional member, please contact Roger Mecca at [email protected].

About SIOR (www.sior.com)

The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors  (SIOR) is the leading society for industrial and office real estate professionals. Individuals who earn their SIOR designation adhere to the highest levels of accountability and ethical standards. Only the industry's top professionals qualify for the SIOR designation. Today, there are more than 3,400 SIOR members in 42 countries. www.sior.com

SOURCE Society of Industrial and Office Realtors
Chennai, April 28 : Tamil Nadu government has decided to procure 1.5 crore Covid-19 vaccines through Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation Ltd (TNMSC).

In a statement issued here the government said TNMSC has been ordered to procure 1.5 crore Covid-19 vaccines so that free vaccine doses can be given to those who are over 18.

The government said a total of about 55.51 lakh persons have been vaccinated free of cost till April 27, 2021 in the state.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Ministry of Environment of Armenia is still anticipating practical proposals and specific actions from the Secretaries General of Environmental Conventions international organizations and partners to hold Azerbaijan liable for the damage caused to the environment as a result of the use of banned weapons during the recent war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). This is what the Ministry of Environment reported in response to an inquiry from Armenian News-NEWS.am.

On November 3, 2020, Minister of Environment Romanos Petrosyan addressed letters to the executive secretaries of environmental conventions, international organizations and partners in regard to white phosphorus munitions used against the environment and population of Artsakh. Armenian News-NEWS.am asked the minister what steps international environmental organizations took during and after the war to hold Azerbaijan liable for using banned weapons (including phosophorus weapons) and means in the territories of Armenia and Artsakh and whether he views the response of those organizations to the use of phosphorus munitions as adequate.

To date, the responses contain calls for solidarity and peaceful coexistence, which is not enough for advancing the Artsakh peace process, as well as for the agreements reached within the scope of that process, the response of the Ministry of Environment states.

Touching upon the amount of damage caused to the environment after the war and the actions being taken to restore the environmental damages, the Ministry of Environment stressed the following: The internationally banned cluster munitions, white phosphorus munitions have caused indirect damage to the environment in Armenia and Artsakh, starting from large-scale forest fires and ending with sustainable contamination of the air, land and water. The Ministry of Environment added that the full amount of environmental damage is subject to monitoring and evaluation.

In this situation, Armenia must implement a broader fact-finding mission and present the damages caused to the environment in Armenia and Artsakh as a result of the Azerbaijani-Turkish war and speak out about the inaction and indifference of international environmental organizations.
Boulder, CO, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Few characteristics in the spaces where we work and live are as important as the air we breathe. Maintaining good air quality is essential to our health and our comfort, which is why having the right air filtration is so crucial.

But how do you know if the air youre breathing is being filtered properly? An important measure of air filtration is whats called the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value or MERV level of the air filter through which air is moving.

Air Filtration and MERV Ratings

Understanding MERV values and what level of filtration is appropriate for a particular space is vital, as it determines the size of particles that are removed from the air. As the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains:

Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values, or MERVs, report a filter's ability to capture larger particles between 0.3 and 10 microns (m).

This value is helpful in comparing the performance of different filters.

The rating is derived from a test method developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

The higher the MERV rating the better the filter is at trapping specific types of particles.

MERV values range from 1 (minimal filtering) to 20 (maximum filtering). Levels 17 and above are used only in the most stringent of hospital or cleanroom environments, so often the scale is shown as 1-16.

Source: https://www.lakeair.com/merv-rating-explanation/

While it might seem that you should strive to have air filters with a MERV value of 20 protecting every space, that isnt always advisable for a few reasons. First and foremost, MERV rating affects air flow, which can impact heating and cooling equipment. Specifically, the higher a filters MERV value is, the more tightly woven its fibers are.

As a crude visual, picture the difference between a fishing net and a coffee filter. A net wouldnt even slow down coffee grounds attempting to pass through, let alone stop them. But the openings in a filter are so small that only fluid can pass through. The grounds are too big, and get trapped.

However, because it has large openings, a net doesnt impede the flow of water or coffee grounds. With a filter, on the other hand, you can see how it would take longer for material to align with the openings and make its way through, with a traffic jam forming behind it as it does.

In a furnace or air handler, the queuing up of air to pass through a high-MERV filter creates resistance. Referred to in HVAC language as a pressure drop, this condition decreases airflow on the downstream side of the air filter.

That change alone is undesirable. But the more serious problem is that the decreased airflow over the part of the system that heats (in winter) or cools (in summer) the air can lead to overheating and an automated system shutdown or icing-over of the coil, respectively. And owners are left wondering why their system isnt functioning properly.

The second reason that an especially high MERV level isnt typically advisable is that it is, as you would expect, much more costly to implement and maintain that type of system.

What You Need To Know About HEPA Filtration

Most people have heard the term HEPA filtration, but far fewer understand what it means. As officially defined by the U.S. Department of Energy, HEPA stands for high efficiency particulate air. HEPA filterswhich are MERV-16 or aboveare a type of pleated mechanical air filter designed to remove at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria and other particles. This is sometimes referred to as hospital-grade air filtration.

Its not uncommon for people to ask for air filtration in their home or business that reaches the HEPA level. And its understandable that they want to protect themselves and their family or customers from airborne particulate matter.

However, as noted above, using a HEPA filter on a system not designed for it can compromise performance and damage the equipment. Additional engineering and equipment are needed to make a standard HVAC system HEPA-compatible.

And, while some people may have a medical need for HEPA air filtration, the vast majority of families and businesses dont require it.

Why Replacing Filters Regularly Is Critical

As an air filter does its job, it traps particulate matter. This material adheres to the filter and, over time, will clog it. Ultimately a dirty filter will have the same impact on an HVAC system as using a filter with a MERV level that is too high for the equipment. Pressure drop occurs, airflow is reduced and system overheating or freezing can result.

Consequently, it is critical to replace filters regularly. A good rule of thumb is that you should change the air filter in your home or lower-traffic office space every four months. In high-traffic commercial spaces, you should change the filter every three months.

And, of course, you may have to change your air filter more often in certain environments like restaurants and processing facilities. In any setting where there is likely to be excessive airborne particulate matter, it is a good idea to examine the filter in your HVAC system frequently so you can develop a sense for how quickly the filter loads up with debris.

If the manufacturer of the filter you use recommends changing it every three months but you find that it is noticeably dirty after two, you should use that as your guide and change it at least every two months. The cost of a few additional filters each year is far less than the cost of a major system repair.

What HVAC System and MERV Level Is Right for Your Space?

There is no simple answer to the question, What type of system and filter do I need? Many factors come into play, so a conversation is really required. Do you have pets in your home? Do any family members have breathing problems? Does your business perform operations that produce airborne pollutantsthings like cooking or sanding or spraying of aerosols?

Our team knows just what to ask to zero in on the right system for you. If you would like to discuss your needs or get a project quote, please contact Timberline Mechanical at your convenience.

About Timberline Mechanical

Timberline Mechanical is a Boulder HVAC Contractor located in Boulder, CO, and serving the Colorado Front Range, including Broomfield, Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette, Superior and Erie. We are dedicated to providing the intelligent solutions necessary to keep your Boulder Commercial HVAC equipment running efficiently and at its peak performance. Whether we are completing a service call request, providing Commercial HVAC Preventive Maintenance or conducting Special Projects work, we offer intelligent commercial HVAC solutions to ensure that your business needs are met. You can focus on your business while we make sure your commercial HVAC equipment is running smoothly. https://www.timberlinemechanical.com/

Timberline Mechanical Media Contact

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Owner

+1 303-258-3589
Bottom line: Following a three-month beta, Apple has finally released a stable build of macOS 11.3 to the public, with several new features and a fix for a software bug that is known to have been exploited by malicious actors in the wild. Unless you're sticking with macOS Catalina for compatibility reasons, now would be a good idea to go to System Preferences > Software Update and update your Mac.

The latest macOS Big Sur update includes a number of optimizations for those of you running iPhone or iPad apps on new M1-based Macs, including support for displaying the highest resolution version of those apps in full screen. Additionally, you can now resize the app window and map touch inputs to keyboard and mouse commands via a Touch Alternatives pane in the app preferences, as well as enable controller emulation via a Game Control pane.

With macOS 11.3, Apple has also added support for Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 controllers for macOS games. But more importantly, there's now support for the recently launched AirTags, so that you can use it inside the Find My app to track important items and be alerted if you're being stalked. To that end, Apple will employ its vast network of Apple devices around the world, a system which will ultimately determine its usefulness and market success.

Safari's Start Page can now be customized by rearranging its sections, and developers will be able to develop extensions to replace the New Tab page. A new Web Speech API allows websites to incorporate speech recognition for better accessibility, and the long wait is over for people who wanted support for the WebM video container and the Vorbis audio codec, which are used on sites like YouTube and Wikipedia.

Other notable features include more voice options for Siri, Autoplay and City Charts for Apple Music, a redesigned Apple News+ feed and search experience, the ability to sort Reminders by Creation Date, Priority, Title, and Due Date, and more information in About This Mac's Service tab, such as AppleCare+ coverage along with the ability to enroll for Macs that are supported through the program.

There are several fixes in macOS 11.3 for known annoyances, such as issues with AirPods audio routing to the incorrect device, or external 4K monitors refusing to work at native resolution when connected via USB-C.

However, the most important fix is for a serious security issue discovered by Cedric Owens and detailed by Patrick Wardle, which has been exploited in the wild through a malware installer dubbed "Shlayer." Essentially, a software bug can allow a malicious actor to easily bypass security protections like Notarization and Quarantine on macOS, while also preventing Gatekeeper from displaying a warning overlay. This, in turn, allows the attacker to run other malicious apps such as ransomware even though they should fail security checks and be prevented from running.

Wardle explains that while the Shlayer malware may look rather unsophisticated, it was a surprise to see all the macOS security mechanisms fail due to Apple (incorrectly) assuming that hackers wouldn't be able to obtain Apple Developer IDs. This security flaw is fixed in macOS 11.3, and the company has also updated XProtect to be able to monitor for and warn you if any downloaded software attempts to exploit the flaw on older versions of macOS.
COLUMBIA  NextEra Energy has withdrawn its offer to purchase Santee Cooper, a move that effectively ends the years-long debate over whether to sell South Carolinas embattled electric and water utility, The Post and Courier has learned.

NextEra, the Florida-based power giant that has lobbied lawmakers for three years for a chance to take over Santee Cooper, sent a letter to the state this week pulling its multi-billion-dollar offer and asking for its $25 million deposit back.

The companys representatives also informed top lawmakers they have given up, a decision that came shortly after the S.C. Senate last week voted 36-8 to not continue exploring the sale of Santee Cooper. The withdrawal also came less than two weeks after NextEra CEO Jim Robo sent a letter to S.C. Senate President Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, offering to put in a revised bid for Santee Cooper.

"Theyre no longer interested," House budget committee chairman Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, told The Post and Courier. "Basically, they said they understand the politics and that (Senate) vote was overwhelming and insurmountable, and they were no longer going to be pursuing a sale of Santee Cooper.

A NextEra spokesman did not respond to a request for comment April 28. The state Department of Administration granted NextEra's request and returned its $25 million, according to a letter obtained by The Post and Courier.

S.C. lawmakers previously considered a sale of Santee Cooper as a way to protect its ratepayers, including customers of the 20 electric cooperatives that buy power from Santee Cooper, after the agency lost $4 billion on the failed expansion of the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant in Fairfield County.

Lawmakers in 2019 sought formal, binding offers for the utility and paid consultants nearly $15 million to review them. A handful of companies submitted bids, and NextEra's proved the best. But a NextEra takeover would mean hundreds of layoffs of state employees and higher electric rates for the 2 million South Carolinians who rely on Santee Cooper's power, a state analysis found.

Over the past year, it became clear that lawmakers lacked the votes for a sale and would instead seek to reform Santee Cooper to make it more accountable to the General Assembly, utility watchdogs and ratepayers. Both the S.C. Senate and House have passed reform proposals this year.

Santee Cooper's supporters  including employees, retirees and friends in the Legislature  will revel in NextEra's withdrawal, having campaigned against a sale over the past few years.

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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Luke Rankin, a Myrtle Beach Republican who fought to prevent a sale to NextEra, said the Florida company has only itself to blame for submitting a bid with clear flaws.

"Raising rates, exempting themselves from the same oversight everyone else in South Carolina is subject to, and refusing to answer basic questions from the General Assembly was not a winning strategy," Rankin said.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said he wasn't surprised NextEra pulled out after the Senate's vote last week.

The Senate last week didnt vote to reject a sale. The Senate voted to reject even talking about a sale," the Edgefield Republican said. "It doesnt surprise me that they withdrew because they looked at that vote and thought theres not even a pathway.

NextEra, which previously had no operations in South Carolina, had spent more than $205,000 lobbying the S.C. Legislature over the past three years, state ethics filings show. It employed as many as nine lobbyists at a time to patrol the Statehouse grounds and poured tens of thousands of dollars more into an advertising campaign to build goodwill in the Palmetto State.

The company was said to have let go of its South Carolina-based contract lobbyists as part of this decision.

Previously, NextEra had been bullish about its prospects of sealing the Santee Cooper deal, even as powerful state senators vowed to block any effort to privatize the utility. One of the country's largest power companies, NextEra has aggressively sought to expand by acquiring other utilities across the United States.

On an April 21 earnings call, a day before the Senate vote against further exploring a sale, Robo, NextEra's CEO, told analysts the Juno Beach, Fla.-based company remained interested in Santee Cooper.

"Fundamentally, our bid stands, and we're ready to get going and negotiating with the state on the sale," Robo said. "Ultimately, the most important thing is, it remains very clear to me that the best route for the state and its customers and the economy of the state is to demunicipalize Santee Cooper and get it in the hands of an entity like ourselves that will run it in the best-in-class way."

NextEra would pull its offer less than a week later.
(Natural News) Thursday marked the 151st birthday of the most successful revolutionary of all time, Vladimir Lenin. With only a tiny cabal of diehard followers, Lenin seized control of the worlds largest country and inaugurated a reign of darkness and terror that lasted seventy years.

(Article republished from Revolver.news)

There are many lessons to draw from the blood-soaked life of Lenin. But one of the most important is this takeaway for the terrifying woke moment America is living through right now. Things are not going to naturally get better. Things will not organically calm down. Until there is a fundamental reset of Americas treasonous leadership class, todays unthinkable witch hunt is merely a prelude of an even darker globalist terror to come.

The Bolsheviks were indisputably more murderous than todays left (if only because they lived in a more violent age), but even they had to ramp up how much terror they engaged in.

At the beginning of their rule, in fact, the Bolsheviks were even willing to run a fair election. Just days after the October Revolution, they held the preplanned elections for Russias Constituent Assembly, anticipating an easy win. To their surprise, they were easily defeated by the Socialist Revolutionaries. And so, like any good leftists, they simply nullified the election and dissolved the Constituent Assembly. Since it was 100 years ago and the Bolsheviks were well-armed, it was enough to simply announce that the Constituent Assembly was closed. Today, they might concoct a more elaborate narrative, perhaps that the Socialist Revolutionaries engaged in collusion with a foreign power.

Once they had taken power, the Bolsheviks didnt immediately launch Stalin-style mass purges. Instead, the Bolsheviks started off in a way modern Americans would find disturbingly familiar: By legitimizing criminal anarchy and co-opting the justice system.

In their earliest days, the Bolsheviks framed their political abuses as a war on privilege. In a tactic eerily reminiscent of 2020s riots, the Bolsheviks of 1918 encouraged a decentralized campaign by the masses to plunder and crush class enemies.

In January 1918, at a meeting of party agitators on their way to the provinces, Lenin explained that the plunder of bourgeois property was to be encouraged as a form of social justice by revenge. It was a question of looting the looters. Under this slogan, which the Bolsheviks soon made their own, there was an orgy of robbery and violence in the next few months. Gorky described it as a mass pogrom. Armed gangs robbed the propertied  and then robbed each other. Swindlers, thieves and bandits grew rich, as law and order finally vanished. [Figes, A Peoples Tragedy, p. 525-526]

This class-based economic warfare was coupled with a revolution in criminal justice. First, the mob replaced the old system of law and order, and then the Bolsheviks came in to lend it a gloss of structure. Crime became a class issue, where mundane criminals went free while class enemies were targeted for the most brutal repression on the flimsiest grounds:

Since the police and the old criminal courts had virtually disappeared, there was a common feeling that the only way to deal with the problem of crime was by mob trials in the street.  As the socioeconomic crisis deepened, and the popular belief developed that the burzhoois were responsible for it, so these mob trials began to assume an overtly class nature. They became a weapon in the war against privilege, focusing less on petty thieves from the urban poor and much more on merchants and shopkeepers, factory owners and employers, army officers, former tsarist officials and other figures of superordinate authority. The Bolsheviks gave institutional form to the mob trials through the new Peoples Courts, where revolutionary justice was summarily administered in all criminal cases. The old criminal justice system, with its formal rules of law, was abolished as a relic of the bourgeois order.  The sessions of the Peoples Courts were little more than formalized mob trials.  [R]obbers  and sometimes even murderers  of the rich were often given only a very light sentence, or even acquitted altogether, if they pleaded poverty as the cause of their crime. The looting of the looters had been legalized and, in the process, law as such abolished: there was only lawlessness. Lenin had always been insistent that the legal system should be used as a weapon of mass terror against the bourgeoisie. The system of mob law which evolved through the Peoples Courts gave him that weapon of terror. [Figes, A Peoples Tragedy, p. 533-4]

Reading about the Bolshevik system, it becomes much easier to understand events in our own time. In South Carolina, Army sergeant Jonathan Pentland has been charged with assault for shoving a black man on the sidewalk. The facts of the case overwhelmingly favor Pentland. The man he shoved had a history of harassing the women of the neighborhood, and Pentland was stepping in to stop just such a case of harassment.

But the facts of the case are nothing compared to the facts of the participants. Pentland is white, and he therefore represents a figure of authority in the minds of the underclass. This makes him a second-class citizen in 2021. His every action is presumptively racist and to be punished with maximum viciousness. Not only is he facing criminal charges, but hes under investigation by the Army and DoJ, he was condemned by his superiors, and police let a mob surround and vandalize his home. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, a far worse assault on an elderly Asian man ended in no charges at all, because the attacker was from one of the lefts more privileged races.

Its a strategy Cheka officer Martin Latsis would understand well:

[Do not] look for evidence as proof that the accused has acted or spoken against the Soviets. First you must ask him to what class he belongs, what his social origin is, his education and profession. These are the questions that must determine the fate of the accused. That is the meaning of the Red Terror. [Alpha History]

Crucially, from their oppressive beginnings, the Bolsheviks only grew more fanatical and more violent over time. The decentralized wave of mob justice and plunder gave way to a more centralized and ruthless campaign to exterminate enemies of the regime.

We must put an end once and for all to the papist-Quaker babble about the sanctity of human life, said Trotsky, one of the chief apostles of the so-called Red Terror.

The chief catalyst of the Terror was Fanny Kaplans attempted assassination of Lenin in August 1918. The Bolsheviks, always prone to paranoia, reacted to that attack with the rage of a berserker. They immediately announced the revival of the death penalty, which had been abolished after the overthrow of the tsar. Hundreds of political opponents were shot immediately, and orders went out across the country for the Cheka to round up hostages and shoot them in response to the slightest opposition.

As the Terror spread, the torments grew more creative:

Each local Cheka had its own speciality. In Kharkov they went in for the glove trick  burning the victims hands in boiling water until the blistered skin could be peeled off: this left the victims with raw and bleeding hands and their torturers with human gloves. The Tsaritsyn Cheka sawed its victims bones in half. In Voronezh they rolled their naked victims in nail-studded barrels. In Armavir they crushed their skulls by tightening a leather strap with an iron bolt around their head. In Kiev they affixed a cage with rats to the victims torso and heated it so that the enraged rats ate their way through the victims guts in an effort to escape. In Odessa they chained their victims to planks and pushed them slowly into a furnace or a tank of boiling water. A favourite winter torture was to pour water on the naked victims until they became living ice statues. Many Chekas preferred psychological forms of torture. One had the victims led off to what they thought was their execution, only to find that a blank was fired at them. Another had the victims buried alive, or kept in a coffin with a corpse. [Figes, A Peoples Tragedy, p. 646]

The press played in integral role in radicalizing the masses and justifying the Terror. Only rivers of blood can atone for the blood of Lenin, cried one paper. Pravda announced that the time has come for us to crush the bourgeoisie or be crushed by it. It sounds ghoulish to us, but then again, our own papers run headlines like this:

The Reds were initially radicalized by the sense of being under threat. But once their full depravity was unleashed, it crucially did not start to moderate simply because they were winning. At the end of the Russian Civil War, thousands of soldiers and officers in the White Army surrendered after receiving a promise of amnesty. Once they were rounded up, all of them were shot. The next three decades of the Soviet regime brought one round after another of purges, famines, de-kulakization, and terror.

Lenins Red Terror carries important lessons for America in 2021.

Every time the terror in America seems to have peaked, it gets worse.

In 2017, people lost their jobs for attending the Charlottesville march. It didnt matter if they engaged in any violence or broke any laws. Merely being there was enough.

Many normal Americans shrugged.

It was some racist march anyway, thought most conservatives. They should have known better than to go.

But of course, it didnt stop there. Throughout the Trump administration, it became acceptable to target people for pettier and pettier offenses: Anonymous posts online, leaked emails, decade-old articles (or decade-old tweets), attending conferences with the wrong people.

April 2021 has brought us to a new low. In Minnesota, Derek Chauvin is going to prison, likely for decades, for using a routine policing method to subdue a man twice his size who was resisting arrest. In Virginia, a police officers twenty-year career has ended in termination after he sent a $25 anonymous donation to the defense fund of Kyle Rittenhouse.

Lt. William Kelly was placed on administrative duty Friday, April 16, after reports were made that he donated and expressed support for the actions of Rittenhouse, who is accused of killing two people and injuring another during a Wisconsin protest in August 2020. Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone said Lt. Kelly violated city and department policies by donating money to Rittenhouses defense fund. I have reviewed the results of the internal investigation involving Lt. William Kelly. Chief Larry Boone and I have concluded Lt. Kellys actions are in violation of city and departmental policies. His egregious comments erode the trust between the Norfolk Police Department and those they are sworn to serve. The City of Norfolk has a standard of behavior for all employees, and we will hold staff accountable, City Manager Chip Filer said. [NBC12]

Before Joe Biden took office, one of the lies told to get Middle America to accept him was that Biden would allow America to calm down. One piece in Slate was typical:

Joe Biden will make a difference. Things will be better. And sooner than you may think. I am sure of this. I am sure of this the way that I am sure that kindness matters, that violence causes pain, that American democracy will prevail, regardless of the hurdles that it must repeatedly surmount. I am sure of this the way that I am sure an object in motion remains in motion, until something interferes to still it. Biden will be that stilling force.  The violence and unrest, the hatred and division that have bloodied this country since Donald Trump took office in January 2017, are an inevitable consequence of this man and the infectiousness of his beliefs, which he spread in roars across stadiums and in capital letters on social media. It spread person to person, mouth to mouth, hovering in the air, invisible and deadly. [Slate]

After Derek Chauvin conviction, Foxs Greg Gutfeld sarcastically invoked the cowardly stance of many who welcomed Chauvin going to prison even if he was innocent because this would magically calm down the left and spare the country further riots.

Greg Gutfeld: "I'm glad [Chauvin] was found guilty on all charges, even if he might not be guilty of all charges. I am glad that he is guilty of all charges because I want a verdict that keeps this country from going up in flames." (Note the groans from his Fox News colleagues.) pic.twitter.com/DulsFEMwcO  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 20, 2021

Such thinking is not just morally repugnant, it is stupid. Mere hours after the Derek Chauvin verdict came down, the left began fomenting a new outrage. This time, the target was the Columbus police officer who shot and killed MaKhia Bryant to stop her from stabbing another girl.

Read more at: Revolver.news
New Delhi, April 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin over phone for the prompt support to India amid the Covid crisis, symbolising "enduring partnership" between the two countries.

The Modi government has approved emergency use of Russian vaccine Sputnik-V in India. The Russian vaccine will be manufactured in India for use in India, Russia and other countries.

An official statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs said that Prime Minister Modi spoke over phone with President Putin on Wednesday. The two leaders discussed the evolving Covid-19 situation.

Putin expressed solidarity with the people and the government of India and conveyed that Russia would extend all possible support in this regard. Modi thanked Putin and noted that the prompt Russian support to India was a symbol of the countries' enduring partnership.

The two leaders noted the ongoing cooperation between the two countries to fight the global pandemic. Putin also appreciated Modi government's approval for emergency use of Sputnik-V vaccine in India.

Both the leaders attached importance to further deepening bilateral cooperation in various sectors in the spirit of their special and privileged partnership.

Modi conveyed appreciation for the support received from Russia for India's Gaganyaan programme and the completion of the Russian phase of training of the four Gaganyaan astronauts.

The leaders noted the scope for increasing cooperation in the area of renewable energy, including the Hydrogen economy. They also decided to establish a new 2+2 dialogue at the ministerial level comprising foreign and defence ministers from both the countries.

he last meeting between the two leaders was held in Vladivostok in September 2019.

Modi conveyed to Putin that he looks forward to the latter's visit to India later this year for the bilateral summit which would provide an occasion to continue their personal and trusted conversation.

Putin assured Modi of Russia's full support for the success of India's Presidency of BRICS during 2021. The two also leaders agreed to remain in close touch on bilateral and international issues.
New Delhi: The wait for the 8th installment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana is all set to end soon. Eligible farming families will get Rs 2000 in their bank account.

So far, 11.74 crore farmers have been added to the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, under which they get installment of Rs 2,000 at regular intervals.

If you are also waiting for the 8th installment of Rs 2,000 rupees for April-July, then it is most likely that the money might come into your account anytime by the end of this month or after May 2. But how do you find your name in the beneficiary list? Heres the process.

To check your name in the list of beneficiaries of the PM Kisan, first of all you have to visit the official website of PM Kisan Yojana https://pmkisan.gov.in. Here you will see the option of Farmers Corner. Within the Farmers Corner section, click on the option of Beneficiaries List. Then you have to select your state, district, sub district, block and village information in the list. Have to click on Get Report. After this, the full list of beneficiaries will be revealed.

If you too are waiting for your amount of Rs 2000 and you have not got your name in the list, do not worry. You can call PM Kisan Samman's helpline on 011-24300606 and file your complaint.

In a financial year, PM Kisan installment is credited thrice through --Period 1 from April-July; Period 2 from August to November; and Period 3 from December to March.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme was launched by PM Modi in 2019. The Scheme aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land, subject to certain exclusions. Under the Scheme, an amount of Rs 6000 per year is released in three 4-monthly instalments of Rs 2000 each directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

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Former St Kevins maths teacher Simon Parris has lost his legal battle to reclaim his job at the Catholic boys school after being sacked last year over his behaviour towards a male student.

The 52-year-old veteran teacher and amateur arts critic lost his job after a student complained of inappropriate conduct including hugging, and accused the teacher of rubbing his hand along the boys upper thigh and making remarks about his strong divers body.

Former St Kevins College teacher Simon Parris.

The dismissal, in February last year, occurred while St Kevins College was in crisis over a series of damaging media reports about its mishandling of child grooming by a former volunteer coach.

Fair Work Commissioner Tim Lee dismissed Mr Parris unfair dismissal claim in a decision released on Wednesday, finding that Mr Parris misconduct was grave and his behaviour had caused significant harm to a student in his care.
Megan Gaddini has been out of work for more than a year, since she lost her marketing job in the weeks before the pandemic hit Oregon.

Swept up in the flood of jobless claims that inundated the state a year ago, Gaddini and her husband  who also lost his job  spent five months trying to fix their unemployment claims and secure their benefits. Oregon was among the slowest in the nation to pay jobless benefits during the early days of the pandemic.

While Gaddini eventually got some money, the payments vanished again in December amid confusion over which benefits program she should be on. Letters instructed her to call the department to clear up the issues, but the Southeast Portland resident  like tens of thousands of other Oregonians  has been unable to reach the department on its jammed phone lines despite months of fruitless phone calls, emails and outreach to lawmakers.

So Gaddini and her husband, who have a three-year-old at home and are expecting another baby in June, are on food stamps and dipping into their savings while they wait for their payments and struggle to get the attention of the employment department.

Its just frustrating that after a year it still doesnt seem like its changed, said Gaddini, 38. We still cant get ahold of them.

A year into the pandemic, resolving a problem with your jobless benefits in Oregon remains an arduous task. The state remains well below the national average in timely benefits payments, according to federal data, though the employment department says the figures dont fully capture its progress and performance.

Thousands of Oregonians had their jobless benefits lapse after 12 months on the unemployment rolls. In many cases they can still receive aid, but they need to switch to new programs  which means they need to sort through the departments byzantine website, which in turn puts more pressure on the agency.

Its still nearly impossible to reach the agency by phone, Oregon is still among the slowest states at paying new benefits claims, and the department expects it will continue to be hobbled by its obsolete computer system until new technology arrives in 2025.

I know this is extremely frustrating and its not acceptable. We are doing everything we can to move benefits out the door as quickly as possible, Gov. Kate Brown told The Oregonian/OregonLive in her first interview on the crisis at the employment department since the pandemic began.

The agency has indisputably made progress since the pandemics chaotic early days, when laid-off workers commonly waited months to have their claims processed. And, the departments lapses notwithstanding, the benefits have been an essential safety net during the steepest, deepest recession on record.

Oregon has paid $8.7 billion to 480,000 Oregonians over the past 13 months and, for most of them, the money arrived dependably once the flow began. On Wednesday, it plans to launch a new online form in hopes of making it easier for claimants to communicate with the department.

When claims run into trouble, though, it can take weeks or months to untangle the issues  leaving vulnerable, laid-off workers without any income at all and scrambling to make ends meet.

While Brown commended the employment departments work under acting director David Gerstenfeld, whom the governor appointed on an interim basis 11 months ago, she acknowledged the state still has a long way to go to fix its chronic issues.

It may be months before she decides who will lead the department in the long run, adding that she will likely wait for a forthcoming state audit before she announces other major changes that could change the trajectory of the department.

Were throwing resources at the problem and I know this team, Brown said. They work day and night, honestly. I know its really frustrating.

Persistently slow

Every state struggled to pay jobless benefits last year, when the pandemic brought an unprecedented surge in layoffs. Oregon shed 271,000 jobs in the first month of the pandemic as the states jobless rate abruptly jumped from a historic low of 3.6% to a record high, 13.2%.

While Oregons job losses were similar to elsewhere in the country, few states had as much trouble dealing with the sudden layoffs. Oregon remains among the slowest in the nation at paying benefits.

Thousands of workers couldnt get basic claims processed; the state took months to start paying benefits to self-employed workers through a new federal program; and Oregon was the very last in the nation to pay benefits for the first week workers were out of a job, delivering the money in November, eight months late.

There are no perfect benchmarks to measure the departments performance. The agency says its balky computers have made it impossible to get a firm grasp on the number of backlogged claims, and it says comparisons among states using federal data are problematic because of differences in how states report their numbers and prioritize claims.

In broad terms, though, the federal numbers show a consistent picture: During the pandemic, Oregon was consistently among the slowest at issuing benefits within the three-week window for timely payments.

Nationally, two-third of payments are made within that time frame. In Oregon, fewer than half are, though the state is no longer at the very bottom of the rankings.

Oregons issues were well understood, long before the pandemic began.

A history of failure

A decade of failed leadership at the employment department, documented by two state audits and successive investigations by The Oregonian/OregonLive, prevented the agency from adopting more responsive practices or replacing an obsolete computer system from the 1990s.

That set up Oregon for failure when the pandemic recession hit last year, and set Oregon back again this spring when claims spiked again.

Oregons phone lines were flooded once more, the busiest they had been since the earliest days of the pandemic, and scores of unemployed workers found themselves again struggling to understand the complex web of jobless benefits and parse confusing messages from the state.

Particularly exasperating, Oregons rigid computers continue generating letters that instruct people to call about their claims  even though the states phone lines are jammed and theres no way to get through.

Incredibly, the department says its nearly impossible to reprogram the computers to issue more useful instructions and so it has taken to social media and slipping notes inside automated mailings to direct people to more current information, notably the departments online Contact Us form.

The department says it will take until July to begin shoring up its phones, and that the issue wont be solved before the end of the year.

David Rutiezer, 52, was working part time providing tutoring services at Portland Community College before the pandemic. That work went away early in the pandemic but Rutiezer said it didnt get his first jobless benefits until December, when checks suddenly arrived in the mail without advance notice.

The payments stopped again in January and Rutiezer said hes at a loss as he considers a GoFundMe campaign, busking online or other unconventional means to pay his bills.

What can I say? Im just scraping by and it would really help to have these unemployment payments on time. I cant even express how stressful its been, Rutiezer said. Ive done everything theyve told me to do. Ive filled out all their online forms.

Leadership in crisis

While nearly 600,000 Oregonians have been unemployed and collecting jobless benefits at various times in the pandemic, the recession has meant nearly a year of nonstop work for Gerstenfeld, the agencys acting director.

A lawyer with a decade of experience in the department, including nearly nine years administering its unemployment insurance program, Gerstenfeld took over as acting director in May. He speaks with a technocrats precision and authority about even the most arcane elements of the benefits programs.

The 11 months he has spent running the department have been a dramatic reversal from the period just before he took over. Gerstenfelds predecessor, Kay Erickson, was plainly overwhelmed by the severity of the crisis and refused for weeks to speak to the media.

Lawmakers and Brown herself say they could not get clear answers from the departments prior leaders about how it planned to deal with the mountain of unpaid claims as the agency spiraled downward.

By contrast, Gerstenfeld is steady and lucid.

In legislative hearings and on his weekly media calls, he patiently explains to lawmakers and journalists how the benefits programs work and scrupulously argues the merits of various ideas for improving them. He makes a point of expressing sympathy for those awaiting their benefits and steadfastly defends his staffs efforts.

I understand the skepticism but I think if you look at the data you can see ongoing improvements, he said in a recent interview. Were miles ahead of where we were at the start of the pandemic.

From the moment he was thrust into the job last May, Gerstenfeld has set a methodical pace for correcting the departments lapses. Hes managed the department as it has ballooned from about 350 employees before the pandemic to about 1,500 now.

From paying self-employed workers to adjudicating complicated claims to paying workers for their first week after their layoff, Gerstenfeld has set about identifying lapses and establishing a timetable for overcoming them.

And in that piecemeal fashion, the department has slowly worked through many of its thorniest issues and gradually improved the timeline for processing and paying claims. Gerstenfeld has won bipartisan praise from lawmakers for his responsiveness and accessibility as the department has accelerated billions of dollars in payments to jobless Oregonians.

After months of delays, Oregon made steady progress through the winter at addressing backlogged claims. Last month, the department said it was processing 99% of new claims within three weeks (though actual payments sometimes took longer.)

Challenges return

However, things turned south again in the spring, as people who had been unemployed for a year began saw their benefits expire and began seeking to enroll in other programs that would extend their aid. That produced a flood of new questions and calls, and a fresh set of delays.

Instinctively conservative, Gerstenfeld has resisted taking bold steps like a callback system for workers seeking to have their questions answered. He held off committing to pay a weekly jobless bonus former President Donald Trump authorized last summer.

When businesses that laid off employees during the pandemic were hit with sharp payroll tax increases, Gerstenfeld balked at reforms to the system that collects taxes to pay jobless benefits. He warned that could put the states trust fund at risk, but eventually came around and worked with lawmakers to craft a plan that will save employers $2.4 billion over a decade.

Fraud has been a constant threat during the pandemic in Oregon and in other states. Identity theft is up tenfold but Gerstenfeld has refused to disclose how much Oregon has lost to fraud during the pandemic, or address what the state is doing to stop thieves who steal the identities of state employees to make false jobless claims.

Gerstenfeld says that providing any information about fraud could make the state a target but lawmakers are exasperated by the secrecy, noting that Washington, California and many other states have disclosed their fraud losses and the steps they are taking to stop the thieves.

Theyre not being clear. Theyre not being transparent. Theyre saying, Just trust us. And I dont think that serves people, said House Republican leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby.

Fresh problems this spring with the departments computers, phones and responsiveness have made it clear that Gerstenfelds reforms havent overcome the agencys fundamental shortcomings.

Communication lapses have been the departments defining failure, Drazan said. She said the erroneous instructions and confusing information automatically mailed out by the states unyielding, obsolete computers have added to Oregonians stress, anxiety and confusion.

My constituents were being directed to do things that the agency knew would fail, Drazan said. And that is inexcusable, from my perspective.

And yet Drazan credits Gerstenfeld with making enormous strides to coral the departments bureaucracy and being candid about its shortcomings  a marked contrast to the leadership in that preceded him.

He was so much more clear and responsive, she said. That, all by itself, is progress.

While Gerstenfeld has played an essential role in managing the employment department through the crisis, Drazan said she considers him a transitional leader. As Oregon plans for a post-pandemic future, she said the employment department needs a more dynamic leader who has a vision for how to change the department and make it more responsive to the people it is supposed to serve.

I think they will need to look beyond Mr. Gerstenfeld, though he has done a yeomans job, in the next few months, Drazan said.

The governor said she wont make a decision on permanent leadership until sometime after the pandemic has receded. In the meantime, Brown directed the department to set a timeline for improving its phone systems and adding clear, concise instructions in outgoing mail to counter the automated and outdated information the computers generate.

The department is finalizing a contract with a vendor to replace those antiquated computers and Brown said she hopes it will be signed by the end of May. And the governor said she will look to a pending departmental audit by the secretary of state for guidance on the future of Oregons jobless benefits program.

It is my hope that this will help provide a roadmap for how we can be better prepared for the future and lessons learned from the pandemic, Brown said.

This wont be Oregons last recession, and whether its economic turbulence, wildfires or earthquakes, the governor said she wants to begin the process of preparing the state to better cope with catastrophe so it can be an engine of recovery rather than an impediment to it.

Our agencies have to be more resilient, Brown said. They have to be more nimble and flexible. And they have to be able to adapt quickly.

Correction: Nearly 600,000 people have collected jobless benefits during the pandemic recession, not 500,000 as this article originally indicated. The larger number includes self-employed people who are receiving benefits under a new program Congress created last year.

Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify that David Rutiezer provided tutoring services at Portland Community College but was not, as the article originally indicated, a contractor.

-- David Cansler

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway |
CARLINVILLE  Four west-central Illinois students are among those who have been inducted into the Academic Honors Society at Blackburn College.

Kenneth Schaad of Bluffs was inducted into Alpha Chi, a national honor society. It recognizes students in the top 10% of their junior or senior class who are elected by Blackburn faculty on the basis of academic achievements and character.
MAHANOY CITY  As the U.S. Supreme Court readies to hear arguments Wednesday in Brandi Levys student free speech case against the Mahanoy Area School District, her father said people have been supportive as they learn more about the unique case through the extensive recent media coverage.

I have not received any negative feedback on our side, said Larry Levy, who has contact in the community as an employee of Mahanoy City Borough.

He said hes found that people were unaware of two key facts.

It seems a majority of the people who read the article are outraged at the school board and the district for taking this case as far as they did over the use of a profane word at the taxpayers expense, he said.

Also, he said, a lot people thought that we were going to get financial gain from this, that we were going to get this huge monetary award, which isnt the case. Were not getting anything out of this. This is about principle, not financial gain.

At 10 a.m., the court will hear oral arguments from attorneys, via telephone because of the pandemic, in whats on the docket as Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., with Brandi Levys initials used when the case was filed because she was just 14. A ruling from the court is expected by June 30.

In May 2017, when Levy was a freshman, the district punished her for posting on Snapchat a photo of her and a friend at a convenience store holding up their middle fingers with the text f... school f... softball f... cheer f... everything superimposed on the photo, with the f-word spelled out.

She was subsequently dismissed her from the junior varsity cheerleading squad.

After the school refused the Levys request to reverse the decision, the family sued.

After a second lower court victory for the Levys in June, the district appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Brandi Levy told the Republican Herald for a story in Sundays edition that she is fighting for her rights and has no regrets that her seemingly harmless social media post has lead to a case before the Supreme Court nearly four years later.

While the school districts legal team hasnt commented about the merits of the case recently, it did argue previously that, ... if B.L. were hired by a private company after graduation from college and she were to post on social media online the exact message she posted about the school and cheer squad with respect to her private employer, she would be rightfully disciplined if not fired.

The case has drawn national attention because it could affect how public school officials can discipline a student for comments posted on social media and off-school property and not during school hours.

The districts side will be argued the Levin Legal Group P.C. through attorney Lisa S. Blatt, a partner with the law firm of Williams & Connolly, LLP, Washington, D.C. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has provided legal representation to the Levys.

Brandi and Larry Levy plan to listen to the arguments via computer at home. Due to work, Brandis mother, Betty Lou, wont be home.

The hearing should last about one hour, but it could be longer if the justices ask for more information.

The link to the audio broadcast on C-SPAN Radio is https://www.c-span.org/video/?510036-1/mahanoy-area-schools-district-v-bl-oral-argument
ASHGABAT -- Turkmen regional authorities have banned lines outside state stores that sell food at subsidized prices after Deputy Prime Minister Serdar Berdymukhammedov, the president's son, publicly said that "crowds near stores discredit" his father.

RFE/RL correspondents said that in the eastern city of Turkmenabat, an order was issued saying that lines at state stores could be no longer than four people long. Those who break the order will be removed from the line immediately and face possible arrest.

Government critics and human rights groups say President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has suppressed dissent and made few changes in the secretive country since he came to power after the death of autocrat Saparmurat Niyazov.

Like his late predecessor, Berdymukhammedov has relied on subsidized prices for basic goods and utilities to help maintain his grip on power.

The new ban was introduced amid an economic and food crisis and a dramatic increase in the number of people in need of subsidized food.

State grocery stores sell subsidized food from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. only. Each customer can buy a liter of cotton and sunflower oil, a kilogram of sugar, and a kilogram of rice per month in such shops. Sometimes the stores also sell eggs and chicken legs.

On April 13, in the southern city of Mary, about 1,000 people waited for hours to buy 2 kilograms of frozen meat each. One kilogram of the meat cost 36 manats, which is equal to $10 at the state-controlled rate and $1 on the black market.

Food shortages have been reported in the former Soviet republic for months. Customers are also forced to buy additional items at state stores, such as portraits of the president.

Turkmenistan has been caught up in an economic crisis over the past several years despite being home to the world's fourth-largest proven natural-gas resources.

The coronavirus pandemic has worsened the situation, though the government has denied both the economic crisis and the presence of COVID-19 in the country.

According to Human Rights Watch, Berdymukhammedov, "his relatives, and their associates control all aspects of public life, and the authorities encroach on private life."
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Equity Residential (EQR) said it expects earnings per share for the second-quarter to be in the range of $0.66 to $0.70, and normalized funds from operations per share of $0.67 to $0.71. The company now expects earnings per share to be between $2.57 and $2.67, FFO per share of $2.67 - $2.77, Normalized FFO per share of $2.70 to $2.80. Previously, the company projected earnings per share to be in the range of $2.55 to $2.75, FFO per share of $2.58 to $2.78, and Normalized FFO per share of $2.60 to $2.80. The company said it is producing occupancy and pricing trends better than its original expectations and therefore it raised its full year same store revenue guidance range by 100 basis points to -6.0% to -8.0%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
New Delhi: Hyundai Motor has announced a Rs 20 Cr Covid-19 package, becoming the latest automaker to have stepped up in the fight against the pandemic. The automaker will make the donation vias its philanthropic arm, Hyundai Motor India Foundation (HMIF).

The funds will be used to improve the healthcare facilities in some of the most affected states such as Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. The Korean company is also setting up oxygen generating plants in hospitals by deploying its resources, aiming to provide life support to critical patients and hospitals.

Hyundai aims to make hospitals become self-sufficient in oxygen. The company will also support the installation of medicare facilities at hospitals, along with offering support staff to hospitals and paying for their operational cost for the next three months and further if needed.

SS Kim, Managing Director and CEO at Hyundai Motor India Foundation, said that the second wave of this COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented crisis for the nation. To offer meaningful assistance to the most affected cities and states, Hyundai has redeployed its resources and channelled efforts that will provide relief during these difficult circumstances. We are organising resources on a war footing and hope to help in abating this crisis," he added.

Hyundai said that its relief measures are specially developed to take on the ongoing crisis. "To ensure timely assistance is delivered to highly affected cities and states the company is evaluating all options to expedite the deployment of these resources on a war footing," Hyundais statement read.

Besides Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki and MG Hector have also announced their plans to help the country fight Covid-19. Maruti is shutting down two of its manufacturing plants to ensure an adequate supply of oxygen while MG Hector is setting up oxygen manufacturing capabilities with the help of Indian companies.
(L) An undated picture shows Vladimir Ilyich Ulianov (18701924), better known as Lenin (L) posing in Gorki, Soviet Union, with Iossif Vissarionovitch Dzhugashvili (18791953) better known as Joseph Stalin, who became secretary-general of the Soviet communist party in 1922. (-AFP via Getty Images). (R) Portrait of British actor John Gielgud (19042000) posing in costume for his lead role in "Hamlet." (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

How Stalin Canceled Hamlet in the Soviet Unionand What It Can Teach Us about Cancel Culture

Mass fear can result in censorship that is just as stifling and oppressive as government bans, history shows

William Shakespeares play Hamlet is considered by some to be the single greatest story ever written.

Hamlet has it all: ghosts, sword fights, suicide, revenge, lust, murder, philosophy, faith, manipulation, and a climactic bloodbath worthy of a Tarantino film. Its a masterpiece of both high art and sensationalism, the only play Ive seen performed live three times.

Not everyone likes Hamlet, of course. One of its detractors was Soviet premier Joseph Stalin.

Stalins hatred for the play has almost become a thing of legend, in part because its unclear precisely why Stalin hated the play. Entire academic papers are dedicated to answering the question.

In his autobiography Testimony, the famous Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich suggests that Stalin saw the play as excessively dark and potentially subversive.

[Stalin] simply didnt want people watching plays with plots that displeased him, Shostakovich wrote. You never know what might pop into the mind of some demented person.

Stalin didnt ban the play, however. He merely let it be known he disapproved of Hamlet during a rehearsal at the Moscow Art Theater, Stalins favorite theater.

Why is this necessaryplaying Hamlet in the Art Theater? the Soviet leader asked.

That was all it took, Shostakovich said.

Everyone knew about Stalins question directed at the Art Theater and no one wanted to risk it. Everyone was afraid, Shostakovich observed. And for many long years Hamlet was not seen on the Soviet stage.

Cancel Culture and Fear

Hamlet is safe in the United States today, fortunately. Yet todays cancel culture has purged many works of artfrom Dr. Seuss books and Gone With the Wind to Disney movies such as Peter Pan and Dumbo.

These works of art arent being banned by state censors; they are being pulled or restricted by content providers, online stores, and publishers on the grounds that they are culturally or racially insensitive.

These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong, Dr. Seuss Enterprises told The Associated Press upon announcing it would no longer publish six Dr. Seuss books, including And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and If I Ran the Zoo.

Whether these works of art are culturally insensitive is a subjective matter, as is the question of whether Hamlet is a morally subversive play. Now, there are those who deny that Dr. Seuss is actually being canceled at all.

We can debate whether doing this was the right thing, but its important to point out a few things, the film critic Stephen Silver wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The decision was made by the company that owns and controls the books, not by the government, or by a mob that pressured it.

Silver is correct to note theres a difference between government censorship and self-censorship. But his claim there was no pressure behind the decision warrants scrutiny. (More on that in a moment.)

In any event, while there are differences in government censorship and self-censorship, both are dangerous, George Orwell observed.

Obviously it is not desirable that a government department should have any power of censorship  but the chief danger to freedom of thought and speech at this moment is not the direct interference of the [government] or any official body. If publishers and editors exert themselves to keep certain topics out of print, it is not because they are frightened of prosecution but because they are frightened of public opinion. In this country intellectual cowardice is the worst enemy a writer or journalist has to face, and that fact does not seem to me to have had the discussion it deserves.

What Orwell was saying is that fear of public opinion can also result in censorship.

Now, to be clear, we dont know for certain the motivations of publishers who decide to stop publishing certain Dr. Seuss books. Just like we cant know for sure why Spotify suddenly dropped 42 Joe Rogan episodes down the Memory Hole. But its not unreasonable to suspect the impetus driving the canceling of todays works is not unlike that which drove Hamlet out of the Soviet Union: fear.

Fear: A More Effective Censor Than Bans?

Stalins canceling of Hamlet showed government bans arent the only ways to suppress free expression, or even the most effective. As Shostakovich observed, Stalins ability to cancel Hamlet with a mere word was a far better demonstration of power than an official state ban. It required no law or formal announcement. All it took was a quiet word and fear, an emotion that Americans today are familiar with.

A recent Cato study shows self-censorship is surging in the United States, with two-thirds of Americans saying they are afraid to share ideas in public because of the political climate, which is increasingly dominated by wokeism.

These fears arent irrational. The examples of Americans fired, shamed, and canceled for being on the wrong side of woke culture are legion. The phenomenon last year prompted a letter in Harpers Magazine signed by dozens of leading academics that condemned the intolerant climate of ideas.

Editors are fired for running controversial pieces; books are withdrawn for alleged inauthenticity; journalists are barred from writing on certain topics; professors are investigated for quoting works of literature in class; a researcher is fired for circulating a peer-reviewed academic study; and the heads of organizations are ousted for what are sometimes just clumsy mistakes, the letter read.

We are already paying the price in greater risk aversion among writers, artists, and journalists who fear for their livelihoods if they depart from the consensus, or even lack sufficient zeal in agreement.

This climate doesnt end with writers and academics afraid to offer certain opinions, however. It extends to corporate boardrooms and executive committees, where individuals are being pressured to decide which art is acceptable and which opinions are fit to be shared on platforms.

To be on the wrong side of the debate invites personal destruction. Its simply easier to agree to remove harmful art or fire that employee who raised the ire of the Twitter mob.

People are afraid to challenge them, Robby Soave of Reason told John Stossel last year in an interview on cancel culture.

Like in Orwells 1984, in todays culture you dont even have to utter Wrongthink to be condemned for it.

Just ask Dr. Howard Bauchner, who in March was removed as editor-in-chief of the prominent medical journal JAMA. Bauchners crime was that, during a podcast the previous month, his deputy editor questioned the existence of structural racism.

Structural racism is an unfortunate term, said Dr. Edward H. Livingston, who is white. Personally, I think taking racism out of the conversation will help.

Everyone Was Afraid

To be sure, in America today, one doesnt risk liquidation for refusing to bow to pressure to self-censor works of art. That cannot be said of the Soviet Union under Stalin.

Yet there is a common thread that runs through both cases of censorship: fear.

Everyone was afraid, Shostakovich said.

These same words can be applied to those bowing to cancel culture today.

This isnt to say that Dr. Seusss works are or are not culturally insensitive, or that Hamlet does or does not contain themes harmful or subversive.

Its simply to say that fear lurks behind the disappearance of art and the suppression of free expression. For that reason alone, such efforts should be resisted.

Jonathan Miltimore is the managing editor of FEE.org. His writing/reporting has been the subject of articles in TIME magazine, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, and the Star Tribune. Bylines: Newsweek, The Washington Times, MSN.com, The Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, the Epoch Times.

This article was originally published on FEE.org.
Russias Black Sea Fleet monitors the actions of USCGC Hamilton, a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter that entered the Black Sea recently, Russian National Defense Control Center announced Tuesday.

"The Black Sea forces and means have begun monitoring the actions of USCGC Hamilton, which entered the Black Sea on April 27," TASS cited the Center as saying.

Earlier, the U.S. Sixth Fleet announced that the Hamilton entered the Black Sea "to support NATO allies and partners."

A boat of this class has last entered the Black Sea in 2008.

Russian Foreign Ministry repeatedly noted that military presence of non-regional powers in the Black Sea does not facilitate the regional stability.
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Labour union Solidarity has announced it has started a legal process against Minister of Human Settlements, Water, and Sanitation Lindiwe Sisulu over the importation of Cuban engineers for water infrastructure projects in South Africa.

In a legal letter to the minister, Solidarity asked the recently announced Cuban engineering programme be suspended immediately and that assurance be provided regarding the legality of the Cubans licensing and registration.

It appears that the Ministers decision to import Cuban engineers is not only foolish and immoral, but also illegal, Solidarity stated.

This followed a response from the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) which said that the engineers did not meet the requirements that would enable them to practice fully in the country.

This means the group is paid a large amount of money, but they will be limited with regard to the work they may do, and in certain cases they will only be permitted to work under supervision, Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann said.

We now give the government the opportunity to explain. South Africa deserves an answer, he stated.

Solidarity has requested the government to confirm whether all legal requirements were in place for the engineers to work in South Africa.

In addition, it has asked whether the advice and recommendations of ECSA were obtained and whether the requirements of the framework for the engineering profession have been met.

It has further requested that all information regarding the legal basis of the decision be disclosed.

Solidarity gave the minister until Friday 30 April to respond, and said the content of the answer would determine whether it would bring an application for an interdict against the minister.

Solidarity also said it planned to communicate with ECSA over the issue.

The government has taken flak from political parties and unions over the decision to use the engineers to help fix the countrys water crisis, rather than to source local talent.

In a recent statement, Sisulu labelled the response to the announcement as deliberate and engineered mischief.

She claimed that the Cuban engineers were not in the country for employment but rather to mentor municipal workers to create jobs.

The jobs we will be creating as we roll out infrastructure programmes will be for South Africans, Sisulu added.

Today we have qualified black women engineers whom they mentored during their last stint in our country.

The department has claimed it only received a response from five companies when it called for engineers to come forward to help with fixing the water infrastructure, and that these were now crying foul.

Responding to my call is their prerogative, however whipping up negativity is not a way to a good working relationship, Sisulu said.

She emphasised the Cuban engineers would help to repair infrastructure because they have been dealing with ageing infrastructure themselves.

Sisulu did not address the issue of proper registration for the engineers as required by ECSA, however.

Spokesperson for the department, Sputnik Ratau has told SABC News that they were aware of the registration issue.

But we must also remember that in the context of the blockade against the government of Cuba, Cuban engineers and any other professionals have it difficult to be able to register with world organisations or even professional bodies within certain countries, Ratau said.

Ratau confirmed that there would be a meeting with ECSA over the legal requirements.

Hermann said the question of legal requirements was aggravating but not the only factor which determined whether it was right that foreign engineers were being used.

Solidarity has made available to the minister a list of 132 local engineers and other specialist skills that can do the job at a much lower cost than the Cubans, Hermann said.

In addition, Cubas own water infrastructure is in chaos. There is therefore no reason why the Cubans should be in South Africa, Hermann added.

Now read: Cuban engineers not registered to work in South Africa
Volunteer monitoring programs, such as eBird, typically rely on observations made by nonscientist members of the public. Credit: Kayla Farmer

Over recent decades, community-based environmental monitoring (often called "citizen science") has exploded in popularity, aided both by smartphones and rapid gains in computing power that make the analysis of large data sets far easier.

Publishing in BioScience, handling editors Rick Bonney, of Cornell University, Finn Danielsen, of the Nordic Foundation for Development and Ecology, and colleagues share a special section that highlights numerous community-based monitoring programs currently underway. They also describe the potential for such efforts to advance the scientific enterprise well into the future and make recommendations for best practices and future directions.

In an article on locally based monitoring, Danielsen and colleagues describe the potential for monitoring by local community memberswho may have little scientific trainingto deliver "credible data at local scale independent of external experts and can be used to inform local and national decision making within a short timeframe." The authors argue that this important source of data can prove particularly valuable in areas in which scientist-led monitoring is sparse or too costly to administer.

Community-based monitoring efforts also have the potential to empower Indigenous rightsholders and stakeholders through their broader inclusion in the scientific process, writes Bonney in an introductory Viewpoint. Likewise, he explains, "Indigenous and local peoples' in situ knowledge practices have the potential to make significant contributions to meeting contemporary sustainability challenges both locally and around the globe." This topic is explored in depth in an Overview article by Maria Tengo and colleagues.

A contribution from Noor Johnson and colleagues discusses the role of digital platforms in enabling community-based monitoring, including among Indigenous communities. While digital platforms, such as those that use smartphones, have the potential to improve data management in community-based monitoring, the authors caution that care must be taken with sensitive data and that such platforms may "increase inequities across communities because being able to use digital tools requires technical capacity that may or may not exist at the community level."

Key to realizing the potential of community-based monitoring will be linking large-scale, top-down monitoring programs with bottom-up approaches managed or initiated at the community level, write Hajo Eicken and colleagues a short video about the article can be found here. This effort will rely on a number of factors, including an ability to match program aims and scales while also fostering compatibility in methodology and data managementand ensuring that Indigenous intellectual property rights are respected. Only by linking monitoring programs, argue the authors, will it be possible to fully realize the value of community-based monitoring and effectively respond to the rapidly changing global environment.

Explore further Building a culture of high-quality data
Gandhinagar, April 28 : A Remdesivir injection black market ring was busted in Gujarat's Vadodara by the Crime Branch with the arrest of five persons and the seizure of 90 vials of the anti-Covid drug valued at Rs 5 lakh, police said.

Based on the inputs, DCP Jaydeepsinh Jadeja kept a watch at a place near Subhanpura Nutan Vidyalaya where the delivery of Remdesivir injections was to be made and arrested Rushi Pradeepbhai Jeth with 17 vials.

Based on information from his interrogation, police arrested Vikas Laxmanbhai Patel, Pratik Narendrabhai Panchal, Manan Rajeshbhai Shah, and Jatin Patel, the owner of Jaynam Pharma agency. Police also seized a total of Rs. 7.6 lakh worth goods from the arrested.

"In this racket, a pharmacist, medical store and medical supply agencies are involved. The arrested used to sell these injections at a price ranging from Rs 16,000-20,000 in the black market. Vikas Patel has a job in the medical store of Shroff Hospital in Vadodara. He used to procure injections from Jatin Patel. We raided Jatin Patel's house, where we found 45 Remdesivir injections," Commissioner of Police Shamsher Singh told the media.

"On integrating Jatin Patel, we found out that he used to procure injections from Vivek Shah of DK Enterprises in Vadodara. We have found out that this gang had sold around 300 to 400 Remdesivir injections in black market and they were yet to supply another 300 to 400 injections. The search is on for Vivek Shah of the DK Enterprises," he added.

According to sources, the Vadodara police will be handing over the seized Remdesivir injections to the city's SSG Hospital.
COVID-19 pandemic-hit India is going through an acute shortage of oxygen. Efforts are on to import oxygen concentrators to meet demand and save lives. But a stark reality is that the country lacks enough manufacturers of this critical medical equipment and is now dependent on imports, sources told BusinessToday.In.

Low import duty of 10% made local manufacturing unviable for domestic manufacturers, resulting in a free flow of imports of concentrators, particularly from China. As an emergency measure, Centre removed this duty also 2 days ago to allow un-interrupted imports until the situation improves.

Additionally, on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sanctioned the procurement of 1 lakh portable oxygen concentrators from the PM Cares Fund. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by PM Modi to discuss the measures needed to improve Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) Supply for COVID management. These concentrators will be procured at the earliest and provided in states with high case burden.

"It is like thermometers and pulse oximeters, as such products attract a customs duty of nil to 7.5 per cent. It is more viable to import and assemble in India or import finished products from countries like China," says Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AIMED).

At present there are only three Indian manufacturers registered with AIMED - BPL Medical, SS Technomed and Oshocorp Global. Sources say there are 50 plus small and medium traders dealing in import of oxygen concentrators, mainly from countries like China.

India's annual demand for oxygen concentrators was only 30,000 to 40,000 units a year and imports were catering to all of that. The market is dominated by multinational Philips. Popular home use concentrator brands are Philips Respironics Everflo, Oxymed Mini, Airsep Visionaire, Nidek Nuvo Lite and DeVilbiss. Such oxygen concentrators can supply 5-10 liters of oxygen per minute and are suited for moderately ill patients and home use. While these are available in e-commerce platforms and other medical outlets, it is hard to source from these channels due to the demand. Prices have also shot up from Rs 40,000 to 3-4 times and the government is yet to regulate prices, say sources.

"We have absolutely zero stock and are not able to import. People are calling desperately. We have some 450 units lying in our factory, but we are short of raw material due to lockdown (in Delhi)," said Naveen Sharma, owner of SS Technomed, one of the Indian manufacturers. He said SS Medtech started manufacturing oxygen concentrators recently because of the rising demand, though it was in this field for more than two decades and were manufacturing air compressors. "Obviously we have most of the components. There are a few things we need to put into a concentrator, but we are not able to source it. The problem is with supplies. China has stopped container movement from the mainland for the last two days. Now we are moving things from Hong Kong, where charges are high," he said.

Meanwhile, India is getting emergency imports from various countries. Air India has already begun airlifting 10,636 oxygen concentrators from the US medical devices manufacturer Philips. Ireland has agreed to send over 700 oxygen concentrators, and the UK 495 oxygen concentrators. Five containers of liquid medical oxygen sufficient for 10,000 people a day will be sent from France. India's Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) is importing 23 medical oxygen plants from Germany besides a mobile oxygen production unit, the WHO is providing 4,000 oxygen concentrators, Saudi Arabia is sending 80 MT of liquid oxygen, 800 oxygen concentrators from Hong Kong and about ten cryogenic tanks and containers are coming from Thailand and UAE.

A community of Gurgaon based startup entrepreneurs has launched 'Mission Oxygen' to support Delhi and National Capital Region hospitals with oxygen. While the program initially started with a target of raising Rs 2.5 crore to procure 500 units, an overwhelming response from more than 10,000 global donors has allowed it to raise more than Rs 10 crore so far. The target funding is now set at Rs 20 crore to procure at least 3,000 OCs and has brought on board logistics partners such as Spicejet, DHL, Flexiport and Delhivery, to deliver the first shipment of 500 OCs by this week and remaining 800 by next week, said Varun Aggarwal, Founder, Designhill. The initiative has been started by Democracy People Foundation and is being driven by Snehil Khanor of TrulyMadly, Mansha Kaur of Heart On My Sleeve, Hubhopper founder Gautam Raj Anand, Rahul Agarwal and Varun Agarwal of Designhill, Rahul Hari of Satvacart, Uday Anand of Mycrushfit, Gautam Ghai of Sourcefuse, Cuttlfish founder Shikher Gupta are among others.

They say a team of 250 entrepreneurs out of Gurgaon are working across procurement, shipment and distribution, besides 40-50 people on ground in China across Hong Kong, Shenzen, Shanghai, Guanghzao, Beijing to directly procure from all CE, ISO and/or FDA approved vendors. All machines are 10L and above with 93%+ air purity with 220V power. As many as 1,365 concentrators have been sourced from seven factories.

Also read: COVID-19: Parliamentary panel had warned about oxygen, hospital bed shortage in November

Also read: Centre to set up 551 PSA oxygen generation plants through PM CARES
"Burns & Levinson is a New England institution with a national reputation as one of the best law firms in the country. We are innovative in how we deliver and price our services, and our attorneys provide outstanding service and obtain amazing results for clients," said Mastrocola. "I look forward to working with David and the partnership to explore creative new ways for the firm to continue to evolve, grow and be successful."

"Paul is a strong leader with tremendous judgment and vision, and I am thrilled that he will be taking on this important co-managing partner role," said Rosenblatt. "As a business litigator and a trained mediator, he is excellent at solving problems and bringing people to consensus  important skills for a managing partner. He is part of the next generation of leaders at our firm and I am excited to collaborate with him on our firm's leadership."

Since its founding in 1960, Burns & Levinson has turned its client-centered approach, prestigious national recognition in its core practice areas, smaller and more personalized service orientation, and deep roots in New England into a competitive advantage. The firm has developed market-leading practice groups in corporate/M&A, intellectual property, cannabis, business litigation, family law, and trusts and estates.

Over the next year, Mastrocola plans to focus on the firm's ongoing strategic initiatives, increasing the firm's market position in its core practice areas, expanding other practice groups with high growth potential, fostering the firm's young talent, and ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. He will relinquish his practice group co-chair role but will continue to practice law  as Rosenblatt has done throughout his tenure as managing partner  in addition to his responsibilities as co-managing partner.

Mastrocola joined Burns & Levinson as an associate in 1997 after serving as a Middlesex County Assistant District Attorney. He was named a partner in 2004 and became co-chair of the firm's Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group in 2015. He was elected to the firm's Executive Committee in 2016. He has also served on various leadership committees at the firm including strategic planning, collections and associates.

About Burns & Levinson LLP

At Burns & Levinson, we provide high-level, client-centric and results-oriented legal services to our regional, national and international clients. We are a full-service law firm with over 125 lawyers in Boston, Denver, Providence, and London. Our areas of expertise include: business/finance, business litigation, divorce/family law, venture capital/emerging companies, employment, estate planning, government investigations, intellectual property, M&A/private equity, probate/trust litigation, and real estate. We partner with our clients to solve their business and personal legal issues in a collaborative, creative and cost-effective way. For more information, visit Burns & Levinson at www.burnslev.com .

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Watch: Starmer brands Johnson Major Sleaze during PMQs row

Boris Johnson has repeatedly dodged questions from Sir Keir Starmer over who paid the initial costs of his Downing Street flat refurbishment, following the dramatic announcement that the potentially law-breaking matter will be investigated by the Electoral Commission.

"He never answers the question," Labour leader Starmer said in a bitter exchange with Johnson at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday.

Johnson claimed the matter was "irrelevant" to "most people".

The remarkable exchanges continued when Ian Blackford, the SNP's Westminster leader, asked later in the session: "Are you a liar, PM?"

Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street on Wednesday as the Electoral Commission announced a probe into possible 'offences' relating to funding of his flat refurbishment. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

Announcing the probe one hour before PMQs, the Electoral Commission said it was satisfied there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred.

The government is on the record as saying Johnson has covered the cost of the renovation, which some reports have suggested totalled 200,000.

However, the key question remains over whether someone else initially paid for it, something that would have to be declared. The government has refused to say whether Johnson received an initial loan from the Conservative Party to cover renovations to the flat, which is in 11 Downing Street.

Starmer asked Johnson in the House of Commons: Who initially  and prime minister, 'initially' is the key word here  who initially paid for the redecoration of his Downing Street flat?

Johnson, refusing to answer the question, replied: As for the latest stuff that he is bringing up, he should know that I have paid for Downing Street refurbishment personally."

Starmer then asked again, offering the PM a "multiple choice. Either the taxpayer paid the initial invoice, or it was the Conservative Party, or it was a private donor, or it was the PM.

Johnson again refused to answer, instead talking about former Labour governments taxpayer spending on "tarting up" the flat.

Story continues

However, when asked by Starmer if he thinks any rules or laws have been broken relating to the refurbishment, Johnson stated: "No, I dont."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer questions Boris Johnson at PMQs on Wednesday. (House of Commons/PA Images via Getty Images)

Questions have been mounting for Johnson since his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings accused him of wanting donors to secretly pay for the renovations to his Number 11 residence in a possibly illegal move.

Announcing its investigation, the Electoral Commission said it had conducted an assessment of information provided by the Conservative Party since contact began late last month.

We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred, a statement from the watchdog said.

We will therefore continue this work as a formal investigation to establish whether this is the case.

Read more:

Boris Johnson must resign if he lied over bodies pile high comment, Starmer says

John Lewis nightmare? Why its a mistake for PM to alienate the department store's shoppers

On Tuesday, Labour had accused the PM of lying about the scandal and demanded a probe into a potential "cover-up".

And responding to the Electoral Commission announcement on Wednesday, shadow minister Lucy Powell said: "This isnt going to end well for Boris."

Shadow democracy minister Cat Smith said: "No stone should be left unturned to get to the bottom of whos funding the PM's luxury lifestyle and what they could be expecting in return."

Backbench MP Neil Coyle said: "Johnson may not give a monkeys about the rule of law, but he is not above it. Truth will out."

Watch: What is the row between Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings all about?
While MasterChef Australia showcases the contestants incredible cooking skills, the secret to their success also lies in the show's envy-inducing pantry.

From plenty of fresh produce, including vegetables and fruit to freshly-baked bread and cupboard staples, there is no shortage when it comes to cooking inspiration.

Over the years, contestants have been given access to fresh herbs, carrots, cabbage, onions, capsicum, leek, bananas and tomatoes, thanks to the show's partnership with supermarket giants.

Inside the incredible MasterChef pantry: While MasterChef Australia showcases the contestants incredible cooking skills, the secret to their success also lies in the show's envy-inducing pantry

They also have a variety of kitchen staples on hand to help create their dishes, including flour, sugar, milk and bread and several different oils.

One fan recently revealed on Reddit the items contained in the staple pantry boxes given to contestants.

The boxes include flour, baking powder, oil, chicken stock, garlic, honey, vinegar, butter, salt and pepper.

Impressive: Over the years, contestants have been given access to fresh herbs, carrots, cabbage, onions, capsicum, leek, bananas and tomatoes, thanks to the show's partnership with supermarket giants

What's in a contestant's pantry box? According to a Reddit user, the items are: Flour, baking powder, sugar, butter, salt, pepper, oil, chicken stock, milk, eggs, garlic, fresh herbs, sugar, honey, vinegar Advertisement

Meanwhile, according to 10Play, 'nothing in the MasterChef kitchen goes to waste.'

Second Bite CEO Jim Mullan told 10Daily that the organisation collects leftover food from the show and hands it out to people in need in Melbourne.

'Everything you see in the pantry that's applied through the program, everything that we can possibly salvage, we collect and divert it to people in need, generally in the Melbourne area,' Jim said.

He added: 'We go to everyone you might anticipate like the Salvation Army and Vinnies right through to small soup kitchens and mission services.'

According to the publication, former MasterChef judge Matt Preston was a director at Second Bite, and introduced the scheme to avoid food waste.

The show is now fronted by new judges Melissa Leong, Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo.

A good cause: Meanwhile, according to 10Play, 'nothing in the MasterChef kitchen goes to waste.' Second Bite CEO Jim Mullan told 10Daily that the organisation collects leftover food from the show and hands it out to people in need in Melbourne

New lineup: The show is now fronted by new judges Melissa Leong, Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo

This week former Channel 10 executive Rob McKnight has said the network's top brass should be worried amid plunging ratings for its flagship cooking show MasterChef Australia.

Mr McKnight, who is the editor of television industry bible TV Blackbox, said the show had been 'out-niced' by the Nine Network's family-friendly Lego Masters.

'I really have sympathy for those in control at 10, because the show is up against stiff competition in Lego Masters and Big Brother,' he said.

Mr McKnight's commentary comes after the culinary program pulled in a paltry 527,000 metro viewers on Sunday, according to Mediaweek.

Cause for concern? This week, former Channel 10 executive Rob McKnight has said the network's top brass should be worried amid plunging ratings for its flagship cooking show MasterChef Australia

This was no doubt a sour serving for the reality show which broke the 'magic million' mark in its first week last year - including nearly 1.1 million for its second episode.

The series had managed to reach more than a million viewers four nights in a row during its debut week in 2020.

But this year MasterChef is already being beaten by Nine's Lego Masters, which appears to have stolen its momentum - and viewers.

MasterChef season 13 launched to just 670,000 metro viewers on April 19.

This was a considerable drop from the 1.23 million who watched the premiere of MasterChef: Back to Win on April 13, 2020.
What to watch during Bidens 1st big speech to Congress View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden is putting the finishing touches on his first address to a joint session of Congress, a prime-time speech on Wednesday night on the eve of his 100th day in office. Biden will use the speech before lawmakers and a broader viewing audience to talk about what hes accomplished in the opening months of his presidency and to lay out his other domestic and foreign policy priorities.

WHEN AND WHERE CAN I WATCH OR LISTEN TO BIDEN?

The speech is set for 9 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast by the major networks and cable news TV channels. The White House plans to stream it at WH.gov/live, as well as on its YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages. Live coverage will also be provided by C-SPAN, C-SPAN Radio and C-SPAN.org. NPR is streaming the speech on its website, npr.org, and on its app, in addition to offering live coverage to its member radio stations.

HOW WILL THE SETTING BE DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC?

Attendance is limited to allow for social distancing, meaning there wont be any visuals of lawmakers and others sitting shoulder to shoulder during the address. Just about 200 of the 535 members of Congress received tickets to attend and they arent allowed to bring guests.

With the House out of session, many Republicans from that chamber are expected to skip the event, making it more likely that Biden will end up addressing a mostly friendly Democratic audience. Senators are in town, but some Republicans from that chamber are expected to skip the speech, too. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the GOP leadership from Texas, said he plans to watch from his couch. Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, a member of House GOP leadership, said he was giving his ticket to a freshman lawmaker.

The majority of Bidens Cabinet members will listen from home. Just Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be on hand to represent the executive branch of government. Chief Justice John Roberts will represent the judicial branch, with other Supreme Court justices similarly staying away.

With guests banned this year, some lawmakers  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi among them  have invited virtual guests.

Everyone will wear a mask, a current requirement for the House chamber. Biden will wear one for the presidents traditional walk down the center aisle to the rostrum, but hell take it off to deliver the speech, the White House said.

WHAT WILL WE LEARN ABOUT BIDENS PRIORITIES?

Biden is expected to outline details of his American Families Plan, another big piece of legislation he wants Congress to pass.

The plan is expected to focus on so-called human infrastructure  child care, health care, education and other ways to support households. Biden wants to pay for it by hiking taxes on very high-income households.

The president is also expected to discuss his ideas for getting the pandemic under control and putting people back to work. Hell also talk about changes to policing in America, immigration and gun safety, among other topics, in addition to his foreign policy vision. Legislators are waiting to hear how Biden prioritizes his goals.

WHAT ABOUT THE FIRST LADY?

First lady Jill Biden will attend, but dont expect the president to look toward her box in the gallery and give shout-outs to special guests seated with her to help humanize particular policies. That tradition has been set aside due to limits on the number of people who can be in the House chamber.

Instead, Jill Bidens guests  all with personal ties to her husbands policies or plans  will be watching remotely after being honored in the afternoon with a virtual reception. The White House will livestream that event at 4 p.m. EDT.

Doug Emhoff, the spouse of Vice President Kamala Harris, will also attend Bidens speech.

WILL THERE BE ANY ANTICS?

Partisan tensions have deepened at the Capitol since the Jan. 6 insurrection, but its impossible to know who might throw decorum to the wind and misbehave.

Who expected Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina to shout you lie! at Democratic President Barack Obama during a 2009 speech to a joint session of Congress? Or Pelosi to tear up her copy of President Donald Trumps State of the Union speech after he finished last year and she stood behind him on the rostrum?

SPEAKING OF THE ROSTRUM 

History will be made there when, for the first time, two women will form the backdrop for a presidential address to Congress.

Pelosi will return to her seat on the rostrum. Joining her will be another California Democrat  Harris in her role as president of the Senate. Harris is the first woman, Black person and Indian American to be vice president.

WHICH REPUBLICAN DELIVERS A REBUTTAL TO BIDEN?

The task was assigned to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the Senates only Black Republican. Scott, 55, who joined the Senate in 2013, has become a leading GOP voice on race and criminal justice reform issues, two issues Biden is expected to discuss.

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE

Associated Press
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 23:44:14|Editor: huaxia

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Representatives from China and Ethiopia attend the inauguration ceremony of Ethiopian Luban Workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on April 28, 2021. China on Wednesday launched the Ethiopian Luban Workshop aiming to provide high-end technical skills training to help college students meet the requirements of the emerging global market. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

ADDIS ABABA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday launched the Ethiopian Luban Workshop aiming to provide high-end technical skills training to help college students meet the requirements of the emerging global market.

The workshop facility, hosted by the Ethiopian Technical University (ETU) in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, was established by the Chinese Tianjin University of Technology and Education (TUTE), under the guidance of the Ministry of Education of China.

The workshop is envisaged to serve as a center of excellence across four major areas that are industrial sensor technology, mechatronics technology, industrial control technology and industrial robotics technology.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Ethiopian Luban Workshop, Teshale Berecha, President of ETU, said the establishment of the workshop by the famed Chinese TUTE inside the premises of the ETU will improve the teaching-learning process in the areas of mechatronics, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).

"It will make our graduates familiar with the 21st century skills and knowledge. It will also be used as a training and research hub for industry practitioners to cope up with the very changing industrial requirements," the ETU President said.

The facility, equipped with world-class technologies in the AI sector, is expected to boost Ethiopia's industrial development aspiration that would see it becoming the manufacturing hub of Africa by 2025.

Getachew Negash, Director-General of the Ethiopian Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) at the Ethiopian Ministry of Higher Education, also echoed Berecha's remarks as he emphasized the workshop would not only serve as a training facility for students, but it will also serve as a capacity building center for researchers as well as industry practitioners across the East African country.

"It will remain as a center of research and development to nurture new skills and enhance indigenous knowledge and practices," the director general stressed.

He stressed that the successful launching of the Ethiopian Luban Workshop signifies the two countries' strategic cooperation that continued in all development sectors in assuring vast options by scaling up technical skills of young Ethiopians.

The workshop brings together three undergraduate majors of manufacturing technology, electronics and communication technology, electrical and control technology that are available at the ETU.

Zhao Zhiyuan, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia, said the Ethiopian Luban Workshop "is the latest fruit of deepening cultural and education cooperation between China and Ethiopia."

"I firmly believe that with support from the two governments, the Tianjin municipality and other relevant parties at different levels, the exchanges and cooperation between institutes of higher education in the field of vocational training will be further strengthened and enjoy greater development," Zhao said.

"I wish the Ethiopian Luban Workshop even greater success ahead, and I hope it will soon become a new highlight of Ethiopia-China cooperation," the ambassador added.

The Ethiopian Luban Workshop launching ceremony involved two separate events that were held both in Ethiopia and China via a video link, bringing together senior Ethiopian and Chinese government officials and diplomats.

The event witnessed the handing over of Luban workshop training books, teaching materials and standards of Luban Workshop to the Ethiopian side.

Ethiopia's Ambassador to China, Teshome Toga Chanaka, addressing the event via a video link from China, said the world-class workshop will enable Ethiopian youth's capabilities in line with the emerging global technological advancements.

Noting that Ethiopian and China attach great importance to their partnership in human capacity development, the Ethiopian ambassador stressed that the newly launched Ethiopia Luban Workshop injects much-needed momentum in further deepening the two countries' ties across education and training.

In September 2018, China announced that 10 Luban workshops would be established in Africa to provide vocational skills training for African youths, under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Since Africa's first Luban Workshop was launched in Djibouti back in March 2019, a number of African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda have launched world-class Luban Workshops with the aim of providing quality vocational training to local people, the country's youth in particular. Enditem
The COVID-19 pandemic has gripped India with a steep rise in new cases over the past few weeks. This has led to many people scrabble for basic needs to combat the Coronavirus pandemic that has affected the whole country at large. Several individuals and volunteer groups online have been amplifying SOS requests for the necessary requirements for patients affected with COVID-19. In the past week alone, there has been an influx of posts across different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram looking for resources such as the availability of beds in hospitals, oxygen supply, plasma from recovered patients, important medicines and more. Here's an exhaustive list of both official and crowd-sourced COVID-19 resources that could be helpful.

Also Read: How to register for COVID-19 Vaccination - Step by Step Instructions

Checking Hospital beds availability online and government COVID-19 websites

There are several websites set up by the governments across different states and cities in India that provide real-time data on the availability of hospital beds. This can be helpful if you are looking for a bed, ICU, oxygen or ventilator support in a hospital for someone.

1. Andhra Pradesh: Check real-time availability of beds here: http://dashboard.covid19.ap.gov.in/ims/hospbed_reports/

Helpline number: 0866-2410978

2. Arunachal Pradesh: While the Arunachal Pradesh government does not have an active website for monitoring the availability of beds, it has started providing updates through Twitter. Additionally, a COVID-19 control room has been set up which can be contacted on 0360-2214216/2214238 and +91 9485 236 624/9436 055 743

3. Assam: The government in Assam has set up a dedicated COVID-19 resources website that monitors the number of cases in the state. Apart from this, the website also lists dedicated COVID hospitals and their contact details. Visit the website here: https://covid19.assam.gov.in/

Helpline: 6913347770

4. Bihar: Check the status of vacant beds in hospitals here: https://covid19health.bihar.gov.in/DailyDashboard/BedsOccupied

There is a dedicated COVID-19 website where helpline numbers for different districts are listed: https://covid19.bihar.gov.in/

5. Chandigarh: While Chandigarh does not have an active COVID-19 bed monitoring system online, here is the link to the COVID-19 website created by the government which has contacts of hospitals, guidelines and helpline numbers: http://chdcovid19.in/

Helpline: 9779558282

6. Chhattisgarh: Check out the bed availability details in Chhattisgarh hospitals here: https://cg.nic.in/health/covid19/RTPBedAvailable.aspx

Additionally, the government has released a district helpline for COVID-19 which can be reached at 104 and 0788-2210772/73.

7. Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman And Diu: Check out the availability of beds here: https://covidfacility.dddgov.in/

8. Delhi: The Delhi government has set up a dedicated COVID-19 dashboard for providing details about the availability of beds. The website can be visited at: https://coronabeds.jantasamvad.org/

Helpline: 011-22307145

9. Jammu and Kashmir: The helpline numbers for J&K are: 01912520982, 0194-2440283

10. Ladakh: There is a dedicated COVID-19 website that offers details on the new cases, guidelines and helpline contacts: https://covid.ladakh.gov.in/

Helpline: 01982256462

11. Goa: The state of Goa is providing details about the availability of beds in hospital through its COVID-19 dashboard and releases a media bulletin every day that you can check here: https://www.goa.gov.in/covid-19/

12. Gujarat: Check out the bed availability details in hospitals of Gujarat here: https://gujcovid19.gujarat.gov.in/

For Ahmedabad, you can check out the availability of COVID beds here: https://ahna.org.in/covid19.html

For Vadodara City: https://vmc.gov.in/Covid19VadodaraApp/Default.aspx

For Surat: http://office.suratsmartcity.com/SuratCOVID19/

13. Haryana: Check out the dedicated website for availability of beds in hospitals in Haryana: https://coronaharyana.in/

For Gurugram: https://covidggn.com/public/pages/gurugram-hospitals

Helpline: 8558893911

14. Himachal Pradesh: Visit here for up to date information on details about the availability of beds in Himachal Pradesh: http://www.nrhmhp.gov.in/content/covid-health-facilities

15. Jharkhand: There is an official COVID-19 website by the government however it does not list the real-time availability of beds. The website has helpline numbers for people to call and know more details: https://www.jharkhand.gov.in/Home/Covid19Dashboard

16. Karnataka: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has a website dedicated to the status of hospital beds that you can visit here: https://bbmpgov.com/chbms/

17. Kerala: Check the availability of hospital beds across Kerala here: https://covid19jagratha.kerala.nic.in/home/addHospitalDashBoard

Helpline: 0471-2552056

18. Madhya Pradesh: The government of Madhya Pradesh has a dedicated website for checking the availability of beds: http://sarthak.nhmmp.gov.in/covid/facility-bed-occupancy-dashboard/

19. Maharashtra: In Mumbai, COVID-19 war rooms have been set up which are taking care of providing information about the availability of beds. The central helpline number is 1916 and there here are the contact details on a Ward basis. Also, check out the official Twitter handle of BMC Mumbai which is providing regular updates on COVID-19.

Apart from this, there are some cities in Maharashtra that are maintaining a dedicated website for the availability of beds which are as follows:

Navi Mumbai: https://nmmchealthfacilities.com/HospitalInfo/showhospitalist

Pune: https://www.divcommpunecovid.com/ccsbeddashboard/hsr

Thane: https://covidthane.org/availabiltyOfHospitalBeds.html

Nagpur: http://nsscdcl.org/covidbeds/AvailableHospitals.jsp

Nashik: http://covidcbrs.nmc.gov.in/home/hospitalSummary

Helpline: 020-26127394

20. Manipur: There isnt an official website that is monitoring the availability of beds in hospitals of Manipur but the government has a COVID-19 website that offers details on the COVID designated hospitals in the state. The COVID-19 helpline for Manipur is 1800-3453-818 and 3852411668.

21. Meghalaya: The government of Meghalaya has an active COVID-19 website that displays the availability of beds in the state. Check it out here: https://meghealth.in/MeghCare.html

22. Mizoram: The state of Mizoram has an active COVID-19 website but that does not offer real-time status on the availability of beds. However, the government has issued a bunch of helplines for people. The toll-free number is 102. COVID-19 helpline is 0389-2323336/2322336/2318336. The COVID-19 Control room contact is 1070/0389-2342520/7629072785. Alternatively, people can reach out to the control room via WhatsApp on 9366331931.

23. Nagaland: There is an active COVID-19 website providing details about the new cases in Nagaland and contact details but it does not offer details on the availability of beds in hospitals. That said, the government has set up a COVID-19 war room which can be reached at 0370-227003

Helpline: 7005539653

24. Odisha: The state of Odisha has an active COVID-19 website that provides information about the spread of the disease in the state. It lists the details about the COVID hospitals but does not offer real-time data on the availability of beds. The COVID-19 helpline for people to reach out on are 1075 / 104 / 011-23978046 / 9439994859

25. Puducherry: Here is the link to the COVID-19 website made by the government which keeps a track of new cases, bed availability in hospitals and provides necessary contact details: https://covid19dashboard.py.gov.in/

26. Punjab: The state of Punjab has an active COVID-19 website that provides information on the designated COVID-19 hospitals. However, there is no real-time data for the availability of beds. Alternatively, people can contact the COVID-19 helpline at 8872090029.

27. Rajasthan: The state of Rajasthan provides details of hospital bed status and also maintains a COVID-19 website. You can check the availability of beds in hospitals of Rajasthan here: https://covidinfo.rajasthan.gov.in/COVID19HOSPITALBEDSSTATUSSTATE.aspx

Helpline: 9439994859

28. Sikkim: The government of Sikkim maintains a dedicated COVID-19 website where it provides up to date information regarding the new cases. However, it does not offer real-time data on the availability of beds in hospitals. The COVID-19 helpline for Sikkim is 104 and people can also reach out to the control room at 204996 (East)/ 234538 (North)/ 250999/250633 (West)/ 264442/263722 (South).

29. Tamil Nadu: The government of Tamil Nadu maintains a COVID-19 website that provides details regarding the availability of beds in hospitals as well. You can check it out here: https://stopcorona.tn.gov.in/

Helpline: 044-29510500

30. Telangana: The Telangana government has a dedicated COVID-19 website that offers details and resources on the cases in the state. The COVID-19 helpline number is 104 and the control room numbers are also listed on this website. As for the availability of beds in hospitals, you can check out this separate website made by the Health Department of Telangana: http://164.100.112.24/SpringMVC/getHospital_Beds_Status_Citizen.htm

31. Tripura: There is a dedicated COVID-19 website by the government but it does not list the availability of beds in hospitals. Alternatively, people can reach out to the COVID-19 control room by the helpline numbers: 0381-2315879/2412424/2413434/2410111/2411622 and 8414-969-592.

32. Uttar Pradesh: The Uttar Pradesh government has recently launched its real-time bed availability tracker in hospitals. It is expected to be up and running with more data on all the hospitals by the end of this week. Meanwhile, the official COVID-19 helpline for UP is 1076/1070 and 1800-180-5145. You can check out the availability of beds in hospitals here: http://dgmhup.gov.in/EN/covid19bedtrack

For GautamBuddha Nagar : https://gbncovidtracker.in/

33. Uttarakhand: The state of Uttarakhand has a dedicated COVID-19 website that keeps a track of new cases and also offers details about the availability of beds in hospitals. You can check it out here: https://covid19.uk.gov.in/bedssummary.aspx

34. West Bengal: The government of the West Bengal Health and Family Welfare departments website keeps a track of the new cases in the state and provides information on the availability of beds in government and private hospitals every day. Alternatively, the Check it out here: https://www.wbhealth.gov.in/

Helpline: 1800313444222, 03323412600

List of crowd-sourced websites and social media handles to follow

Many crowd-sourced social media handles are amplifying SOS calls in India providing COVID-19 related assistance. Do note however that these are individuals and volunteer groups who have taken to the task of collating requirements of people suffering from COVID-19 and connecting them to resources offline. Although these groups/pages/profiles/handles are sharing verified leads, given the scale of calamity, the veracity of the information shared should be cross-verified by people looking for assistance related to COVID-19.

Websites:

All India COVID Resources

https://life.coronasafe.network/

https://www.covidresourceindia.com/

https://www.findabed.in/

https://covidfightclub.org/

https://www.covid19india.org/resources

https://www.theuncutteam.com/resources

https://covid19helpindia.in/

https://covidfacts.in/

https://covidwin.in/

https://covidkhoj.in/

https://covidcaregoa.in/

https://covid19-resources.in/

https://bhopalcovidbeds.in/

https://hydcovidresources.com/

https://covidrelief.glideapp.io/

https://covidresources.netlify.app/

https://fastaid.in/

https://www.covidindiaresources.com/

https://covidmealsforindia.com/

https://dhoondh.com/

Social Media handles:

Covidairresources

Cov.id911

Covidresourceindia

Covidhelpindia

Covidbangalore.support

Punefightscovid19

Stvorg

Knocksenselucknow

Kolkatafightscovid19

Sukoon

Jharkhandcovidhelp

Ahmedabad_fights_covid19

United for humanity

Things2eatinmumbaii

Hemkunt_foundation

HumanKind Global

World Maratha Organization

Pune Covid Support Group

Gurgaon Helpline

Telegram: @ICLUcovidresponse
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.

Search on for new

Chesapeake CEO

Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy announced the departure of CEO Doug Lawler effective Friday, and named Mike Wichterich, the chairman of the companys board of directors, as interim CEO.

A search for a new CEO is now on, according to a statement from the company.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Chesapeakes employees and its shareholders, I would like to thank Doug for the vision and leadership he provided for the past eight years, Wichterich said in a statement. He guided Chesapeake through a difficult period, repositioned Chesapeakes portfolio of assets, and built a corporate culture which will serve as a platform for future success.

Wichterich intends to continue in his role as chairman of the board of directors.

Locally, the company recently agreed to pay a $1.9 million civil penalty and restore or mitigate damage caused when it discharged dredge material into waterways and wetlands at 76 sites in five Northeast Pennsylvania counties, including in Wyoming and Susquehanna counties. It also reached a settlement over a years-long battle regarding leaseholder rights in Wyoming County and other areas.

 STAFF REPORT
TEL AVIV, Israel, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lutris Pharma, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on improving anti-cancer therapies by reducing dose limiting side effects, announced today that results of a Phase1 study for its lead product, LUT014, assessing the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of topically administered LUT014 for the treatment of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor-induced acneiform lesions in metastatic colorectal cancer patients, were published in Cancer Discovery a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

EGFR inhibitors, such as the anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies cetuximab or panitumumab, are valuable therapeutic options in metastatic colorectal cancer. However, their use is often associated with skin toxicities, leading to potentially severe acne-like rashes on the face, chest and back, resulting in a reduced quality of life as well as treatment discontinuation. In fact, 70-80% of patients treated with EGFR inhibitors who developed a rash do not receive optimal anti-cancer treatment.[i]

LUT014 is a topical drug designed to ameliorate the skin toxicity of EGFR inhibitors. The Phase 1 clinical trial for assessing the safety, tolerability and initial efficacy of LUT014 was conducted in four leading centers in the US and two in Israel[ii], on 10 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who had developed a grade 1 or 2 acneiform rash while being treated with cetuximab or panitumumab. Patients were divided into three dose cohorts, of 0.3, 1 or 2.5 mg/g and were treated for 28 days. In all dosage levels, LUT014 was well tolerated with no dose limiting toxicities. The acneiform rash improved in all the patients who started with grade 2 rash in the low and intermediate dose cohorts (6 patients), and the improvement was maintained a month after treatment cessation.

In light of the positive results, Lutris initiated a Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy and safety study of topically administered LUT014 in metastatic colorectal cancer patients with EGFR inhibitor-induced acneiform lesions. The study is designed to include 117 patients in 20 centers in the US and Israel, who will be treated for 28 days with either LUT014 gel or a placebo. The primary outcome is the proportion of subjects in each treatment group who reached treatment success, defined as an improvement (decrease) of at least one grade in the severity of the acneiform lesions from baseline to day 28. Interim results are expected by the end of 2021.

Antoni Ribas, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Surgery, and Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the University of California Los Angeles, contributing author, and founder and director at Lutris Pharma, said, "We are excited with the positive results and high response rate seen in this preliminary trial for LUT014 in treating skin toxicities of EGFR inhibitors. These promising results offer initial hope that the potential of EGFR inhibitors, a significant tool for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, could be maximized with fewer adverse effects."

Lead author Mario E. Lacouture, MD, Director of the Oncodermatology Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, noted, "EGFR is highly expressed in skin cells, and therefore inhibition of this pathway in patients with cancer often results in debilitating skin rash that is frequently pruritic or painful, and may decrease quality of life and cancer therapy dosing. The preliminary results of the Phase 1 trial are encouraging, and future trials have the potential to translate this therapy into a clinically available treatment option for patients experiencing these untoward events from cancer treatment."

Noa Shelach, PhD, MBS, CEO of Lutris Pharma, said, "Currently there is no approved therapy for acneiform rash that accompany EGFR inhibition in up to 90% of patients. Most of the patients are not optimally treated for their cancer and their quality of life is negatively affected. LUT014 is emerging as an extremely useful topical treatment for EGFR-related acneiform rash, with no systemic adverse effects. In fact, our analysis shows there is negligible absorption and minimal systemic exposure to the drug. While this clinical trial assessed the effect of LUT014 on inhibition of EGFR by therapeutic antibodies, it is also applicable to acneiform rash induced by EGFR inhibitors that are small molecules. We look forward to the interim results of our ongoing Phase 2 trial with LUT014 for treating skin toxicities of EGFR inhibition, expected by the end of the year."

About LUT014

LUT014 is a novel B-Raf inhibitor which is applied topically on the skin. The B-Raf protein is part of the EGFR pathway, and was shown to be mutated in some human cancers such as melanoma cancer. Blocking the B-Raf pathway in B-Raf mutated cancer cells leads to tumor shrinkage, but when the same pathway is blocked in normal, non-mutated cells, the opposite happens: the MAPK pathway is activated and cells start growing. This phenomenon is recognized as the paradoxical effect of B-Raf Inhibitors. LUT014 harnesses the paradoxical effect of B-Raf Inhibitors in order to reverse the effect of EGFR inhibitors on downstream proteins in the skin cells, thereby reducing dose-limiting acneiform lesions associated with EGFR inhibitor treatment. Lutris Pharma is currently assessing the effectiveness of LUT014 in two clinical studies: a Phase 2 study for reduction of dose-limiting acneiform lesions associated with EGFRI treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, and a Phase 1/2 study for the treatment of radiation induced dermatitis in breast cancer patients.

About EGFR inhibitor-induced rash

EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor) is a receptor on the surface of cells which is expressed in many normal epithelial tissues, including skin. The EGFR signaling pathway is one of the most important pathways that regulate growth, survival, proliferation, and differentiation of cells. B-Raf is protein encoded by the BRAF gene and is a downstream effector component of EGFR signaling pathway. EGFR is shown to be over-activated in various human cancers, including colorectal, lung, head & neck, urinary bladder, pancreatic and breast cancers. While over-activated, it elicits downstream phosphorylation and activation of the MAP Kinase pathway.

Drugs called EGFR inhibitors can block the EGFR signal responsible for cell growth. Among the various types of pharmacological therapies for cancer, EGFR inhibitors are increasingly being used both as primary therapy as well as in patients who have failed prior chemotherapy. Although effective as anti-cancer therapy leading to tumor shrinkage, EGFR inhibitors have a number of adverse reactions associated with their use. The majority of patients treated with EGFR inhibitors will experience dermatological side effects typically manifested as a papulopustular skin rash, also known as acneiform lesions, which can impact quality of life and affect adherence to therapy.

About Lutris Pharma

Lutris-Pharma was established with a vision of improving anti-cancer therapy effectiveness as well as the quality of life for patients that are treated with EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor) inhibitors or with radiation. Dermal toxicity is the most prominent adverse reaction of EGFR Inhibitor therapy and radiation therapy, thus limiting anti-cancer therapy compliance. By mitigating this side effect, Lutris Pharma enables continuous and effective EGFR Inhibitors and radiation treatment. Investors in the Company include Pontifax Venture Capital, Arkin Holdings and Catalyst Investments.

Dr. Lacouture has provided consulting and advisory services to Lutris Pharma.

Media Contacts:

Tsipi Haitovsky, Global Media Liaison, Lutris Pharma

+972-52-598-9892, [email protected]

[i] Support Care Cancer (Lacouture et al. 2011)

[ii] University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

University of California, Los Angeles, Hematology and Oncology, Santa Monica, CA

Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO

Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, Israel

Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel

SOURCE Lutris Pharma

Related Links

https://www.lutris-pharma.com/


Anti-government militia men discussed exploding a bridge to slow police after they kidnapped Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from her Elk Rapids vacation home, the FBI says.

The U.S. Attorneys Office on Wednesday, April 28, filed new charges of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction against three men suspected in the abduction plot that was exposed following the arrests of 14 people in October. The new indictments are against: Adam Fox, 40, of Wyoming, Michigan; Barry Croft Jr., 45, of Bear, Delaware; and Daniel Joseph Harris, 23, of Lake Orion.

Harris and Croft are also facing new charges of knowingly possessing a destructive device in the form of unregistered firearms, and Harris with possession of an illegal short-barreled shotgun that was unregistered and under 16 inches long, according to the new indictment.

Harris, Croft and Fox, along with codefendants Kaleb Franks and Brandon Caserta, each face up to life in prison if convicted of the kidnapping conspiracy. A sixth defendant in the federal prosecution, Ty Garbin, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping in January. Eight more men are charged with crimes in Michigan state courts.

All defendants were members of or affiliates of the Wolverine Watchmen, an anti-government faction of men who met to conduct armed training exercises and made plans to kidnap Whitmer with the hopes of sparking a civil war.

A member of the Wolverine Watchmen worked as an informant for the FBI, relaying encrypted cell phone text discussions, audio recording photos and video that was used as the basis for the initial prosecution after most of the suspects were arrested during statewide sweeps on Oct. 8.

The plans evolved after an initial training exercise held in Dublin, Ohio on June 6, 2020. According to investigators, the men discussed taking violent action prior to the November 2020 presidential election.

Related: Ghost guns, explosives seized by FBI

32 Militia members charged in kidnapping plot against Michigan governor

The first meeting that involved bombs occurred on July 11 during a training exercise and planning session in Wisconsin, during which Croft, Harris and Garbin attempted to detonate two improvised explosive devices, according to the latest indictment. It said Harris in a text message told conspirators he was previously enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and could make things go boom with the proper supplies.

Garbin in an encrypted text message to fellow conspirators on Aug. 30 suggested taking down a highway bridge near the governors vacation home and said he would paint his boat black for a future nighttime surveillance trip, the U.S. Attorneys Office filing said.

The indictment said Croft and Harris again detonated a shrapnel-filled bomb near silhouettes depicting people during a training exercise in Luther on Sept. 12 and later that night conducted surveillance of Whitmers vacation home along with Fox and Franks.

On the way to conduct surveillance, Fox and Croft stopped to inspect the underside of a highway bridge near the vacation home for a place to mount an explosive charge, The indictment said.

Following the surveillance mission, Fox ordered $4,000 worth of explosives from an undercover FBI informant who was posing as a conspirator with access to bomb-making materials, and on Oct. 7, Fox, Franks and Harris drove to Ypsilanti to make a good-faith down payment for explosives and other weapons using group cash, according to the indictment.

Related: The ties that bind alleged kidnap plotters

The additional charges in the case resulted from an ongoing investigation conducted by the FBI, with assistance from National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the Michigan state police.

The federal trial is currently scheduled for jury trial on Oct. 12.

More on MLive:

Twins charged in kidnap plot to remain tethered

West Michigan brothers accused in Whitmer kidnapping plot now out of jail

Michigan man says he surveilled Gov. Whitmers home in kidnap plot

He cant believe he got involved in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot, attorney says

Accused Whitmer kidnapping plotters attended BLM rally to protect protesters from police, attorney says

Judge denies bond for alleged leader in Whitmer kidnapping plot, described as violent extremist
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 03:11:32|Editor: huaxia

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Police officers investigate at the scene where the gunman was killed in Fullerton shootout in Los Angeles, California, the United States, April 27, 2021. A gunman, suspected of killing two and wounding another in a series of drive-by shooting incidents in Los Angeles, was killed by police Tuesday morning after about five hours' chase and exchange of fire. According to Raul Jovel, an officer from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)'s Media Relations Division, the shooter's rampage occurred from 0:55 a.m. to 1:25 a.m. local time, when he drove a white Jeep Cherokee and shot at three vehicles along a main street in Los Angeles downtown, killing two and injuring another. (Xinhua)

LOS ANGELES, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A gunman, suspected of killing two and wounding another in a series of drive-by shooting incidents in Los Angeles, was killed by police Tuesday morning after about five hours' chase and exchange of fire.

According to Raul Jovel, an officer from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)'s Media Relations Division, the shooter's rampage occurred from 0:55 a.m. to 1:25 a.m. local time, when he drove a white Jeep Cherokee and shot at three vehicles along a main street in Los Angeles downtown, killing two and injuring another.

LAPD then spot the car and the pursuit lasted for two hours until the jeep was stopped by spike strips deployed on 91 Freeway in the city of Fullerton, about 40 km southeast of Los Angeles downtown, Jovel said at a press briefing, adding the suspect shot outside the car window erratically when he was chased.

The suspect refused to cooperate with police even though his jeep was boxed in by armored vehicles on the freeway. He was killed by the Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team from LAPD after an hours-long standoff.

Authorities did not make clear so far if the victims were targeted or if these were random attacks. Police were trying to determine if there were other crimes tied to the suspect.

"We are still trying to figure out why he shot people who were just driving their cars," said Jovel. "We don't have a motive yet." Enditem
Rodriguez is a former federal prosecutor and currently works for the global law firm WilmerHale, where she specializes in corporate regulatory compliance. Rodriguez was the sole recommended candidate to the White House from U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), tasked to run a newly-created COVID care centre in south Delhi, on Tuesday said that the capacity to admit patients at the facility is "limited" due to supply of

Only 26 patients were admitted here on Tuesday, taking the total admissions to 149 in the 500 oxygen-bed facility.

A total of 123 patients were admitted on Monday, the first day of its operation.

Some patients, out of the 26, were admitted through referrals on Tuesday, officials said.

"The ITBP has admitted 149 patients at the SPCCC in Radha Soami Beas camp at Chhattarpur in south till evening on Tuesday.

"Almost all patients are in need of uninterrupted The government has been requested to increase supply so that admissions are increased," a spokesperson for the force said in a statement issued late evening.

He added that "there is a huge influx of patients demanding admission but our capacity is limited by supply of oxygen".

"Efforts are on to gradually increase the capacity of the centre," he said.

Officials said though the government has not issued any official order doing away with the mandatory process of getting an approval of the district surveillance officer (DSO) for admitting patients at this Centre, some were allowed in "on the basis of referrals, considering the condition of the patient and following due processes".

The facility, named Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre (SPCCC), has been opened in view of Delhi registering a sharp rise in cases, a shortage of oxygen beds and its healthcare system not being able to handle the pressure.

The ITBP, a border-guarding force, has been designated by the Union home ministry as the nodal agency to run it.

The SPCCC, at present, only has oxygen beds and no ICU and ventilator facilities.

According to the laid out procedure, the SPCCC will have no walk-in admissions and these will be made after approval by DSOs of various Delhi districts.

The ITBP has said that treatment, medicines and food for the patients at this centre will be free of cost. The cost is borne by the Delhi government.

As the Centre opened on Monday, a number of patients whose oxygen levels were fluctuating had voluntarily queued up outside the facility with a hope of getting admitted there.

However, they could not get admission and were asked to follow the set protocol.

A number of patients were unsuccessful in getting admission on Tuesday too.

ITBP Deputy Inspector General (DIG) D K Goyal had told reporters at the facility on Monday that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) state that patients whose oxygen saturation level is 85 or above will be admitted to the facility as it is a COVID care centre and not a hospital.

The SOPs state that the patients who require intensive or better medical care will be referred to GTB and Safdarjung hospitals from here.

The helpline numbers of the SPCCC are 011-26655547/48/49 and 011-26655949/69.

According to officials, patient's details like age, address, contact number, oxygen level, pulse and comorbid conditions will be obtained and after an assessment by a team of doctors, those eligible to get admitted will be communicated through their contact number.

The DSOs are also to be empowered to recommend patients to the SPCCC, according to the SOP.

A team of 50 ITBP and other organisations' doctors, about 80 paramedics and nursing staff, security personnel of the border-guarding force and other administrative staff have been tasked to run the centre that is expected to add more beds in the coming days.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had declared on April 22 that the SPCCC, which was made operational in July last year and shut in February this year as the number of infections declined in the national capital, was being restarted on the Delhi government's request as the cases were rising rapidly once again.

A total of 11,657 COVID-19 patients were treated at this centre between July-February.

Delhi is currently facing an acute shortage of oxygen beds for serious COVID-19 patients and has almost run out of ICU facilities amid soaring infections.

The city on Tuesday registered a record 381 COVID-19 deaths and over 24,000 fresh cases with 32.72 per cent positivity rate.

(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 father has explained why he is teaching his three young daughters - including a four-year-old - how to hunt and kill animals in the Australian bush.

Justin Wann, 40, regularly takes his children Emily, 12, Samantha, 10, and Sophie, four, on hunting trips in rural Queensland where they shoot animals including deer, wild dogs and feral pigs.

Mr Wann, a part-time hunting guide who documents the family's expeditions on social media, said the girls have been joining his search for animals since before they could walk.

Justin Wann, pictured with his daughter Emily, 12, has explained why he takes he has taught his three young children how to hunt

Mr Wann's daughter Samantha is pictured posing with a deer that was shot and killed during a family hunting trip

Samantha is pictured here with the first deer she shot and killed herself while on a hunting trip

'Hunting for the girls is not about the kill, it's about being out in nature and learning about the animals they hunt and the environment,' he said.

'They learn that it's not just about killing, if we go out hunting just to kill then eventually there will be nothing left to hunt.

'Animal populations need to be managed to keep herds and their environment healthy.'

The family almost entirely live off wild game, regularly eating what they shoot and kill to teach the children where their food comes from.

A recent picture uploaded online shows Samantha posing next to a deer which she shot from 45m away, before carrying the animal home.

Emily, 'not to be outdone by her sister', shot her first deer just weeks later, while Sophie has also been pictured practicing to shoot with a pink single shot .22 rifle.

Samantha and Emily are pictured with a wild dog that was killed during a family hunting trip

Pictured is Mr Wann's wife Sara with their daughter Emily, who was 18-months-old at the time, posing behind a feral pigs

Emily is pictured behind a deer she shot while with her father on one of the family's regular hunting trips

Samantha and Emily, who both first learnt to shoot with the same gun, now hunt with bolt action .243 hunting rifles.

Mr Wann learnt to hunt and shoot when he was taken on hunting trips as a child by his grandfather in western New South Wales.

'I strongly believe in firearm education for kids, especially kids in rural areas where there is a high chance they will be exposed to guns at some stage,' Mr Wann said.

'If they are shown the right way to handle firearms and handle them often then this becomes second nature to them.

'You need to take the mystery away from firearms. If they know what they are and that they are going to be allowed to handle them they are far less likely to try to do it behind your back.'

Mr Wann is pictured with his eldest daughter Emily, when she was younger, and a wild pig. He said he has been taking his children on hunting trips before they could walk

Mr Wann said going on hunting trips was not just about 'the kill, it's about being out in nature and learning about the animals they hunt and the environment'

Samantha is pictured when she was younger holding a dead rabbit in her hands

Mr Wann said while the family had received negative comments on their social media accounts, their posts have proved to be popular.

'Obviously, there are those on social media that react, I think this is more from a lack of education on their behalf,' he said.

'I try to not let the girls see some of the comments, threats of violence towards children aren't tolerated.'
Brazil's health regulator rejected the vaccine brand from Russia amid the surge of COVID cases and deaths in the country. Because of this decision, the developers of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine criticized the country when they refused to import the said brand, Al Jazeera reported.

The country's refusal of the vaccine doses from Russia comes as Brazil Senate pushes through with a probe against their president regarding his handling of the issue. President Jair Bolsonaro was reported to have downplayed the pandemic's threat as he refused lockdowns, arguing that the economic impact would harm the country more than the virus.

READ NEXT: Bolsonaro Says COVID-19 Lockdown Measures Kill the Economy

Brazil Refuses Russian Vaccines

Anvisa, the health regulator of the country, noted that the technical staff has highlighted "inherent risks" and "serious" defects on the Sputnik V vaccine.

However, the developers of the Sputnik V vaccine have retaliated against the decision of Brazil. The vaccine developers noted that the decision of Brazil was "politically motivated," WION reported.

O Departamento de Saude dos Estados Unidos, em seu relatorio anual de 2020 ha varios meses declarou publicamente que o adido de saude dos Estados Unidos persuadiu o Brasil a rejeitar a vacina russa COVID-19.  Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) April 27, 2021

Furthermore, the Russian vaccine developers also tweeted that the 2020 annual report of the United States Department of Health publicly stated that the U.S health attache had persuaded Brazil to reject the Russian vaccine.

According to Anvisa, another reason they rejected the vaccine is that experts have flagged Sputnik V's uncertainties. At present, the European Medicines Agency (E.M.A.) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have not yet approved Sputnik V.

Meanwhile, Brazil's general for health monitoring, Ana Carolina Moreira Marino Araujo, noted that the inherent risks of the Russian vaccine were too great, considering all the documentation presented, data acquired from inspections, and information from other regulators.

Meiruze Freitas, one of Anvisa's directors, hopes that Sputnik V quickly resolves any compliance problems. Freitas also noted that "millions of people need access to safe and effective vaccines."

Sputnik V Developers Retaliated on Brazil's Decisions

A Sputnik V compartilhou com a Anvisa todas as informacoes e documentacoes necessarias, muito mais do que o utilizado para homologar a Sputnik V em 61 paises. Esperamos que a ciencia, e nao a pressao de outro pais, seja usada para a tomada de decisao.

https://t.co/V8XgTrXcWw  Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) April 26, 2021

Meanwhile, the official Twitter account of Sputnik V said that necessary information and documentation were given to Anvisa. The Russian vaccine developer furthered that they hope that science will be used by the country in making the decision and not political pressure.

Os controles de qualidade durante todo o processo de producao da Sputnik V garantem que RCA nao pode existir na vacina. Para ter uma discussao aberta sobre essas questoes e salvar vidas no Brasil, convidamos Anvisa a um debate publico no comite apropriado do Congresso do Brasil.  Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) April 27, 2021

Furthermore, Sputnik V also invited Anvisa to a public debate in front of the appropriate committee from Brazil's Congress.

In the last 24 hours, the World Health Organization has reported 32,572 new COVID positive cases in Brazil. Meanwhile, 1,305 COVID-19 related deaths were recorded by the organization. Al Jazeera noted that about 38 million COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered by the country.

Moreover, WION noted that Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine had been approved for use in at least 60 countries, including more than ten countries from Latin and Central America. Meanwhile, Argentina has signed a deal with Russia to reproduce Sputnik V shots, making them the first Latin American country to produce the remedy.

The said vaccine imports from Russia that were rejected were requested by Brazil's state governors, who are battling the second wave of the virus.

READ MORE: Brazil Hits 300,000 COVID-19 Deaths, Bolsonaro Under Scrutiny

WATCH: Brazil health regulator rejects Russia's Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine - from Global News
There's certainly a market for that pitch. A recent UCLA survey found that three-quarters of Los Angeles County parents with public school children believed their kids have been "substantially hurt" by stay-at-home Zoom classes.

"The challenge for Republicans is to come across as the party of governance and not insurrection," says Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College.

Pitney is a former Republican National Committee official who reregistered as an independent the night Donald Trump was elected president in 2016.

"Voters are looking for competent governance," says GOP advisor Mike Madrid, who in recent years has been an outspoken critic of the California party and Trump. "They're not looking for gladiators in the social war."

The GOP should roll out positive high-road messages about how it would make life better for Californians. But that doesn't mean the candidates shouldn't take some low-road negative shots at Newsom. There's plenty for him to be held accountable for.

"They should tell voters directly what they would do differently," Pitney says. "Talk about costs and benefits of the governor's policies. How they can provide services at lower costs. How voters are paying too much money for too little.
A bigamist mother-of-three who married her love before having his child behind the back of her 'sad and distraught' husband is facing jail.

Brinda Kantamanen, 42, lived a double life - hiding her relationship and pregnancy with Matthew Hall from her husband Ravi.

Kantamanen, who pleaded guilty to one count of bigamy at a previous hearing, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court today, accompanied by Mr Hall.

Her husband's homes were just three minutes apart and she even entered an incorrect name on her child's birth certificate.

Brinda Kantamanen (pictured), 42, lived a double life - hiding her relationship and pregnancy with Matthew Hall from her husband Ravi

She was told her case would be sent to the Crown Court where a judge could sentence her to imprisonment. The maximum sentence for bigamy is seven years in jail.

Kantamanen, of Guildford, Surrey, stood in the dock wearing a dark blue coat and face mask and spoke only to confirm her identity.

She was released on unconditional bail. The court adjourned the case to be heard at Isleworth Crown Court on a date to be set.

Magistrate Nigel Shock warned her: 'Our sentencing powers wouldn't be sufficient so it would need to be sent to the crown court.

Kantamanen, who pleaded guilty to one count of bigamy at a previous hearing, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court today, accompanied by Mr Hall (pictured)

'This is going to go to the crown court for sentencing on a date to be fixed. Wer'e going to release you on unconditional bail.'

She tied the knot with her first husband, Ravi, in May 1999 in North Carolina in the United States, and enjoyed a traditional Indian ceremony later that year.

The couple later went on to have two children before moving to live in London where Ravi works as a director for an international consultancy firm.

An earlier hearing was told that by 2017 cracks began to show in their marriage and Ravi started suspecting his wife was being unfaithful as she was often away.

She married Ravi Kantamanen (pictured) in North Carolina 18 years earlier in May 1999. The couple held a traditional Indian ceremony later that year

Kantamanen (pictured), a computer consultant, has been warned she faces imprisonment as magistrates revealed all sentencing options were open

He said whenever he tried to confront her she would either 'become affectionate or threaten suicide'.

In December 2017 he made the devastating discovery that she had married Mr Hall two months earlier at Ealing Town Hall - just a short walk from the family home. Their marriage was officially dissolved in 2019.

Ravi said he now 'finds it difficult to trust anyone', adding that his parents were 'distraught' by the revelations.

Kantamanen's marriage to Ravi was formally dissolved in 2019 and she now runs her own computing consultancy firm from her home in Guildford, Surrey.

She will be sentenced next month.
BOGOTA, Colombia, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL;NYSE: EC) ("Ecopetrol" or the "Company) announces that on May 4, 2021 after market close, it will release its financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2021.

On Wednesday, May 5, 2021 Ecopetrol's senior management will host two conference calls to review the results, one in Spanish and one in English. Please find below the timing, dial-in and links to access the conferences:

Spanish Conference Call English Conference Call 08:00 a.m. Col Time 10:00 a.m. Col Time 09:00 a.m. NY Time 11:00 a.m. NY Time US Dial-in #: 1 (847) 585-4405 US Dial-in #: 1 (847) 585-4405 US Dial-in # (Toll Free): 1 (888) 771-4371 US Dial-in # (Toll Free): 1 (888) 771-4371 Local Colombia Dial-in #: 57 1 380 8041 Local Colombia Dial-in #: : 57 1 380 8041 Local Colombia Dial-in # (Free Toll): 01 800 9 156 924 Local Colombia Dial-in # (Free Toll): 01 800 9 156 924 Passcode: 50150588 Passcode: 50150590

To access the webcast, the following links will be available:

Spanish:

https://onlinexperiences.com/Launch/QReg/ShowUUID=5D9E40E9-246F-48AA-ABBB-B3E25936794C&LangLocaleID=1034

English:

https://onlinexperiences.com/Launch/QReg/ShowUUID=A4741152-CD45-40C1-A673-832DFB1FFB25

To ask a question, you will need to access the conference through the telephone lines specified at the top of this release.

Participants from different countries may look for different international numbers to the ones mentioned above by consulting the following link:

http://web.meetme.net/r.aspx?p=12&a=UAruEfLpOQMmBM

The earnings release, slide presentation, live webcast and recording of the conference call will be available on Ecopetrol's website: www.ecopetrol.com.co.

Please verify in advance the proper operation of the webcast in your browser. We recommend the use of the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

Ecopetrol is Colombia's largest firm and is an integrated oil company that is among the 50 largest in the world and the four largest in Latin America. In addition to Colombia, where it generates over 60% of the country's production, it is active in exploration and production in Brazil, Peru and the United States (Gulf of Mexico). Ecopetrol operates the largest refinery in Colombia, most of the country's oil-pipeline and polyduct network and is significantly increasing its share of bio-fuels. This press release contains statements relating to business prospects, estimates of operating and financial results, and Ecopetrol's growth prospects. All are projections, and therefore are based solely on management's expectations of the company's future and its continuous access to capital to finance its sales plan. Achieving these estimates in the future depends on its performance under given market conditions, regulations, competition, the performance of the Colombian economy and industry, and other factors; therefore, they are subject to change without prior notice.

For further details, please contact:

Head of Capital Markets

Tatiana Uribe Benninghoff

Phone: +571-234-5190

Email: [email protected]

Media Engagement (Colombia)

Jorge Mauricio Tellez

Phone: + 571-234-4329

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.

Related Links

http://www.ecopetrol.com.co


Webinar

The cruise industry and destinations that rely on cruise ship visitors have been deeply impacted by the pandemic. Since a No Sail Order was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March 2020, cruises from U.S. ports have not resumed. However, with the guidance of top medical and public health experts, the cruise industry has spent the last year reimagining the entire cruise experience based on newly designed health and safety protocols.



Join us for a webinar with the two top cruise industry leaders  who have, in essence, created this industry  and one of the country's foremost public health experts, discussing both the unique challenges and opportunities as the cruise industry plans to restart its business. We will also be joined by Professor Rob Kwortnik, one of our SHA academic experts for this industry. The panel will be moderated by Dean Kate Walsh.



This online event is brought to you by Cornell's School of Hotel Administration and the Center for Hospitality Research.

What you'll learn

How the industry has redesigned the entire cruise experience, based on guidance from leading U.S. public health experts, to ensure it is a healthy and safe leisure experience

Technological innovations that will reshape the cruise experience post-pandemic

The results of the initial return to service in parts of Europe and Asia, in partnership with local governments and ports

An outlook for the cruise industry for 2021 and beyond

Speakers

Dr. Helene D. Gayle, M.D., MPH PRESIDENT AND CEO The Chicago Community Trust

MPH PRESIDENT AND CEO The Chicago Community Trust Frank J. Del Rio, PRESIDENT AND CEO Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

PRESIDENT AND CEO Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Kate Walsh DEAN, Cornell School of Hotel Administration

Cornell School of Hotel Administration Richard D. Fain, CHAIRMAN AND CEO Royal Caribbean Group

CHAIRMAN AND CEO Royal Caribbean Group Rob Kwortnik, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Cornell School of Hotel Administration

Cornell Webinar: Restarting The Cruise Industry : Challenges And Opportunities is organized by
Former Central Minister, Kwamena Duncan has called on the government to name and shame people engaged in illegal mining, as part of measures to curb the menace.



Illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, is one of the country's miseries as the communities where this kind of mining is undertaken is majorly ruined and the country's waterbodies as well as environment all also polluted.



Successive governments have tried to tackle the issue but have failed to end it.



However, the Akufo-Addo government has pledged to confront this national canker head-on.



The Lands and Natural Resources Ministry led by Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor has set out to deal with the galamsey situation.



On a three-day working visit to the Western Region, Hon. Abu Jinapor, who is also the Member of Parliament for Damongo, calling on the Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area, Nana Kobina Nketsia V, iterated his determination to address the galamsey menace.



With your assistance, we can halt galamsey activities . . . I will stop the illegalities without fear or favour. No matter which political party is involved, he pledged.



Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, Kwamena Duncan supported the Lands and Natural Resources Minister's fight against galamsey but asked him to first expose the players involved in galamsey activities.



He disclosed that there are paramount Chiefs, government officials and some security agents among others who have allowed greed to take over their hearts, hence compromising themselves by assisting illegal miners.



"Galamsey is a hydra-headed problem . . . today, galamsey is a national crisis . . . if we don't name and shame, look, we will beat around it and in the next 5/10 years, the country might find itself in a dangerous position.



"Chiefs, I mean paramount Chiefs, are involved. Those we look up to which are the security agencies - the Police, soldiers, forest guards - who we look up to arrest the situation, when they go and are offered bribe, they also compromise," he told Kwami Sefa Kayi on 'Kokrokoo'.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan and Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolay Patrushev today met on the sidelines of the session of the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) being held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, as reported the Office of the Security Council of Armenia.

The parties highlighted the special relations and intensive contacts between the leaders of Armenia and Russia and attached importance to the development of cooperation between Armenia and Russia with regard to the defense ministries and special services.

In the context of ensuring of the security environment, Grigoryan touched upon the large-scale reforms underway within the Armed Forces of Armenia and attached importance to the mutually beneficial cooperation between the armies of both countries, taking into consideration the strategic and allied nature of the relations.

In his turn, Patrushev attached importance to the operations of the Russian peacekeeping forces inn Nagorno-Karabakh which are helping make it possible to restore normal life in Nagorno-Karabakh and underscored the need for development of regional infrastructures.

During the meeting, the parties confirmed the 2021-22 Plan for Cooperation between the Offices of the Security Councils of Armenia and Russia.
A busload of hopefuls are running for seats on the Scranton School Board this spring, but a blind spot in the rearview mirror is already revving up a bumpy ride for at least one candidate.

Ty Holmes is a decorated Navy and Army veteran who served six tours of duty, including assignments in Iraq and rescue operations after Hurricane Katrina. Since retiring from a 25-year military career, he has served on the board of NEPA Youth Shelter and the Lackawanna County Chapter of the NAACP and volunteered for charities including Meals on Wheels and the Boys and Girls Club.

If elected, Holmes would make history as the first Black director to join the board. Holmes candidacy is a welcome development in a district starved for fresh ideas and new blood. The boards historically sparse minority representation is an appalling anachronism that fails students of color and their families. Robust minority representation is essential and long overdue in a district where nearly 60% of the student body is non-white.

Sarah Cruz, who is Hispanic, is the first director of color ever elected to the nine-member board. Almost 33% of the districts 10,000 students are Hispanic. The 13.5% who are Black deserve representation. The board should reflect all the communities it is elected to serve.

Holmes resume speaks for itself, but whispers about his Uncle Louie are growing louder as election season heats up. As the May primary nears, Holmes ears are burning.

I expected it, but its sad because you dont get to serve 25 years if you have questionable morals, Holmes told me in a telephone interview on Tuesday. If people dont take that into consideration because of who Im married to or what their perception of someone is that automatically Im a corrupt person, thats ridiculous.

Holmes wife Margie  a teacher at Bancroft Elementary  is Louis DeNaples niece, which makes Uncle Louie Holmes actual uncle  by marriage. To some, this connection is disqualifying. These critics affix the Scarlet D to Holmes and dismiss him outright as the latest in a decadeslong line of corrupt flunkies DeNaples has installed in positions of power to do his bidding at public expense.

DeNaples Transportations fabled no-bid busing contract expires next year and the board is expected to open discussions on a new pact this summer. Is Holmes a ringer meant to steer the next busing contract to DeNaples?

Ive gotten that from a lot of people, Holmes said. And it saddens me because people should look at my body of work before they question my integrity.

Holmes said attempts to hurt him by tying his candidacy to DeNaples are a waste of time.

I have nothing negative to say about Mr. DeNaples, he said. Since Ive known him, he has been nothing but kind to me. Hes been my family ... I didnt show up in Scranton until 2008, and hes been pretty successful long before that. I didnt marry his niece until 2012. As far as business, I dont think he needs me.

What the district does need, Holmes said, is someone with his experience in managing resources. He negotiated and vetted multimillion-dollar contracts in the military, a position granted only after intense ethics training, he said. Holmes said he knows he could vote impartially, but he will recuse himself even from discussion of the next busing contract in the interest of transparency and restoring public trust.

But at the same time, when people say, I want to talk to you about the current bus contract, the first thing I will say is, Your elected officials agreed to it, so that might be a better question for them,  Holmes said.

All the directors who unanimously approved the alleged contract are gone, and so is any reliable documentation, if any ever existed. As regular readers know, I have searched high and low for a credible copy of the contract  particularly a signed 2006 addendum that renewed the pact and approved a fuel surcharge that cost taxpayers millions  and found none. Former Superintendent Alexis Kirijan, Ed.D, fed me a 12-page dogs breakfast that was easily proven a clumsy fraud.

DeNaples Transportation gave me a similarly skimpy facsimile. The company contends the contract is valid, binding and a bargain for taxpayers. DeNaples disputes the surcharges cost to taxpayers, which former auditor general Eugene DePasquale pegged at $4 million in a 2017 audit of the district.

DePasquales auditors also tried and failed to dig up valid documentation of the addendum. In November 2018, state investigators raided the offices of the transportation director and school board secretary and seized documents and computers. More than two years later, no credible copy of the contract has surfaced.

This continuing blind spot in the rearview mirror and Ty Holmes on-the-record promise to recuse himself from any business related to DeNaples inspired me to propose a preventive remedy that could tamp down suspicion and build trust in the board.

My challenge to all candidates and sitting board members is simple  all should pledge to make the public production of valid, clean, legally binding documentation of the current no-bid contract  particularly a properly signed copy of the 2006 addendum  a condition for consideration of any bid by DeNaples Transportation.

Unless the company can provide such documentation, it should be barred from bidding on the next contract. If such documentation exists, it should be readily available for review. If not, why not?

I ran the idea by board President Katie Gilmartin, who like every member of the current board is stuck cleaning up the muck left by a decades-long line of corrupt flunkies. Gilmartin said she would support such a pledge after making sure it wouldnt put the district in legal jeopardy.

I think its a decent point, she said. Certainly, you would want to make sure that you were entering into an agreement with someone who was able to provide clear and consistent records.

Its a low bar, but someone has to set it.
The head of the CNRP told RFA that the public wont abide by a lockdown extension in Phnom Penh.

In a screen grab of a video, Sam Rainsy speaks to supporters from his home in Paris, France, Nov. 4, 2019.

In a screen grab of a video, Sam Rainsy speaks to supporters from his home in Paris, France, Nov. 4, 2019.

In a screen grab of a video, Sam Rainsy speaks to supporters from his home in Paris, France, Nov. 4, 2019. RFA listener

A court in Cambodia on Wednesday ordered the arrest of opposition chief Sam Rainsy on charges of incitement after he called on members of the public to disobey an ongoing coronavirus lockdown in the countrys capital region, citing corruption and a lack of aid from the government.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court Investigative Judge Pech Vicheathor issued a warrant for the acting president of the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), who is living in self-imposed exile to avoid a string of charges and convictions he says are politically motivated, saying comments he made could provoke a serious national security issue amidst the lockdown. He ordered Sam Rainsy detained for investigation into the allegations.

While the coronavirus made few inroads into Cambodia in 2020, the countrys economywhich leans heavily on the production of textileshas been battered by a drop in export demand and a series of lockdowns meant to stem the spread of the virus. Migrant workers in next-door Thailand also lost their jobs in lockdowns.

An outbreak that began in March led to the countrys first death from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and has since spiraled out of control. Cambodias Ministry of Health said Wednesday that 698 people tested positive for COVID-19, while the countrys death toll from the pandemic rose to 88 with a caseload of more than 11,760 people.

The drastic rise in infections led Prime Minister Hun Sen to issue a 14-day closure of all non-essential businesses in the capital Phnom Penh and neighboring Takhmao in Kandal province from April 15-28 and require the two cities combined 2.3 million residents to adhere to a strict curfew or, in certain red zones, stay in their homes except in the case of an emergency.

On Monday, the order was extended for a third week until May 5 and authorities said more time could be added if residents fail to adhere to the measures. Workers from nearly 230 factories in the region have been infected.

Residents of the affected red zone districts within Phnom Penh and Takhmao have said they have yet to receive any promised food or supplies from the government, despite the threat of being arrested if they leave their homes, and claim they are running out of supplies.

Authorities have also threatened to fine anyone found in breach of the lockdown between 1-20 million riels (U.S. $250-4,950) and punish them with between six months to five years in prison. More than 120 people have been arrested, with several being detained and charged for disobeying the curfew and lockdown since April 15.

Police in the capital region have been using batons and sticks to chase and beat people wandering outside of their homes in recent daysvideos of which were distributed by local authorities via posts to their Facebook accounts.

Volunteers set up food donations for workers inside a red zone, which has stricter lockdown measures imposed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, April 28, 2021. Reuters

Incitement interview

The warrant for Sam Rainsys arrest followed an interview he gave to RFAs Khmer Service on Tuesday, in which he said that in order to resolve the countrys coronavirus crisis, the government must eliminate systemic corruption.

People should stop stealing and return the money to the central bank so that the state has money to help people, he said.

Secondly  we must seek international aid, he added, noting that he had recently written to both the World Food Programme and the International Red Cross requesting assistance for people in the capital region facing a famine because of the lockdown.

Sam Rainsy noted that many of the residents in locked down parts of Phnom Penh and the outlying region had come to the area from other parts of Cambodia in search of work and no longer have an income while their expenses have mounted.

We must allow anyone who wants to return to their hometownsthey must be allowed to return because it is easier for them to live therethey have trees, vegetables, fish to eat and they wont starve, he said.

But if they live in the cities, they have only brick walls. How can they find anything [to eat]?

Sam Rainsy called for the government to administer rapid tests for COVID-19 and said those people from the provinces who are found to be negative should be allowed to leave the city so that they dont starve.

We dont need to detain people [for breaking lockdown rules to find food and supplies], he said.

I think the authorities are afraid and Hun Sen is afraid because if they let the situation continue, people will stop listening [to the government], they will [disobey the lockdown], they wont die at home and let [authorities] detain them. They will all leave to do their businesses as usual.

Sam Rainsy said it wasnt impossible to think that the government would extend the lockdown for weeks and even months, and he called on people in the red zones to disregard the orders if they are given.

If only a few leave, they use batons to attack, but if everyone leaves, they wont know who to attack. If people leave [the lockdown] at the same time, the authorities wont be able to stop it and they are afraid.

Sam Rainsy said that Cambodian are more afraid of dying of starvation than COVID-19, and suggested that a wide-ranging lockdown was inappropriate for a region like Phnom Penh.

Even if I didnt say anything, I dont think the people have the patience to stay home until they starve, so before they die, they will disobey, and Hun Sens government wont be able to do anything, he said.

I think Hun Sens government will end if it continues to lock down major cities beyond another week.

Ministry of Justice spokesman Kim Santepheap told a press conference Wednesday that Sam Rainsys appeal is against the law.

I appeal to all people to participate with the governments measures and not listen to the criminal who is addicted to making criminal comments, he said.

Please remain calm and adhere to authorities measures for your own wellbeing to end the lockdown in a short period of time, after which you can return to your normal lives.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
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Guest opinion by Daniel Harding, Director  Australia Operations at MaxContact; "Every business running a modern, cloud based contact centre has access to a wealth of data and it makes sense to exploit it to the full,"

Heard the saying that data is the new oil of the twenty-first century? Coined by British mathematician Clive Humby back in 2006, the phrase refers to the fact that, refined and analysed, data is an enormously valuable commodity. The business insights it yields can be used to contain costs, improve productivity, enhance customer experience and inform the decision making process.

Big businesses are already alive to its potential: just under a third of ICT chiefs in Australia and New Zealand nominated data analytics as the top game changing technology for their organisations, in the Gartner 2020 CIO Agenda survey.

But the benefits that can accrue from a deep dive into the data arent confined to the top end of town. Many small and medium sized enterprises have a rich, and frequently under-exploited, data well, ripe for the tapping.

Its the contact centre. Invest in a premium, cloud-based platform with intelligent reporting and analytics features and youre in the position to optimise your contact centre operations and provide valuable insights to other business units too.

Working out what matters most to your business

So, what sort of insights should you be seeking? Thats the high tech equivalent of asking how long is a piece of string?.

The skys the limit when it comes to the number of ways you can slice and dice the data at your disposal but more isnt necessarily better when it comes to generating reports. Choosing five or six key things to focus on prevents information overload and allows you to home in on the things that will make a real difference to your operation  and your bottom line.

The metrics that matter to you will likely be determined by the nature of your business and the chief operational function of your contact centre. In some enterprises, its there to generate sales and provide customer service. In others, it exists primarily as a revenue collection hub.

Here are a few ways you can draw on the power of data to benefit your contact centre and your enterprise at large.

Honing your marketing campaigns

Wondering how effective your digital marketing campaigns are in generating enquiries and sales? Using data analytics to map your contact centre activity patterns against social media, SMS and email promotions can provide valuable insight into what works best for your business and what doesnt. That intelligence can be used to inform the timing, frequency and content of future offers.

Optimising your rostering

Looking to contain the costs associated with running your contact centre, without compromising on service levels? Providing fast, responsive service without blowing the budget has historically been challenging for business owners but digging in to the data can make it less so. Examining your interaction volumes  the number of calls, emails and messages you receive each hour, day and week  will allow you to optimise your roster and get maximum value from your investment in human resources.

Gauging the vibe

Not sure how well your contact centre team performs under pressure, what prompts a customer to escalate a complaint, or how scrupulously your agents are sticking to prescribed scripts when they make or answer calls? Accurate data can help to improve agents performance and you dont need to make a full-time job out of monitoring their calls to secure it. By deploying speech analytics technology, you can highlight positive and negative words and phrases that enable you to measure the sentiment in a call and obtain an overall view of the quality of your interactions.

Using data to drive your business forward

Todays cloud contact centre platforms are a world away from the clunky, complex, inhouse solutions of yore. Drawing on the data analytics capabilities of your system to drive efficiency and improvements, in the contact centre and throughout the enterprise, will help your business optimise its performance and respond to market conditions.
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DreamHouse, a shared living space company launched in 2017 from the apartment of John Whatley and James Williams, is returning to Atlanta from the East! After the duo that calls themselves the What Will Bros launched DreamHouse in Atlanta, offering sleeping cots then apartments to coders and travellers, they were offered a chance to pitch to well known Hong Kong investors Japreet Sethi and Thomas Cheng. During this pitch John meet Frank Fan who would become the companies CFO and partner in the Hong Kong market. Now after 3 years of developing a talented team of tech and sales reps, a strong pipeline of service rental locations, receiving two grants for $500,000 from Incubators and subsidies, and serving scores of happy flexible stay members they calls "Dreamers", DreamHouse is turning their sites to the USA starting with Atlanta, Georgia! Coming with them is a system that has seen DreamHouse grow NOI from 19 to 30% for partner developers and landlords.

"We are very focused on developing processes and the technical platform as a function of what we learn from operating communities around the world and what we learn from our customers. We decided early on to start with a more human approach to the business and not think so much of technology." said John, CEO of DreamHouse. The question still remains how will a shared living space company fair in a Covid-19 market, when asked John said "I think it's very interesting. It's clearly been a big change, not only in Hong Kong nor Atlanta, but all over the world, people are spending more time in their home thinking much more about the interior and the size, and where their home is, and in Hong Kong specifically, we've seen people upgrading their housing, which is, of course, a big market. And whilst doing that, we see they're also much more interested in the availability for in-unit services which they weren't before. We believe this trend is universal as people spend more and more time at home DreamHouse offers the services and experiences to make that desire a reality."

DreamHouse was launched as a new solution to urban living, offering modern professionals a smarter, more connected and exciting way of living. Combining traditional hospitality with the smartest digital solution, it has created an elevated balance of home, co-living space and short stay hotel.

DreamHouse is actively expanding across all the gateway cities of the world, there is a lot to cover. "We're using all the latest IoT and smart tech, DreamHouse has its own app; you download it and there you can interact with other renters, find new units, pay rent, and make service request for a technician to visit you. This is part of our model and something we find our renters love regardless of the market." said John. In Atlanta DreamHouse is aggressively partnering with developers and property owners to list and fill their empty space with their network of internationally minded young professional members.

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Digital payments and financial services company Paytm has placed order for 21,000 oxygen concentrators which will be made available from the first week of May in the country, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The company has raised Rs 5 crore contribution from the public and matched the same amount taking the total kitty to Rs 10 crore for procurement of oxygen concentrators (OCs) which filter out oxygen from air and help patients with mild breathing issues.

"Paytm Foundation has already placed an order for importing 21,000 OCs to provide immediate relief. Our founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is leading a dedicated team with medical expertise to push forward and streamline company-wide Covid relief measures," the company spokesperson told PTI.

These devices would be immediately sent to government hospitals, COVID care facilities, private hospitals, nursing homes as well as Resident Welfare Associations, the spokesperson said.

"As part of Oxygen for Life Campaign, on the Paytm foundation's website, private hospitals, RWAs, NGOs may request for guidance for purchase of the Oxygen Concentrators," he said.

India is struggling with the second wave of the coronavirus infection and hospitals in several states are reeling under shortage of medical oxygen and beds in view of rising number of COVID-19 cases.

India saw a record single-day rise of 3,60,960 coronavirus cases, which pushed the total tally to 1,79,97,267, while the death toll crossed two lakh following 3,293 fresh fatalities. Patients have been running for oxygen and have been reporting about shortage of breathing equipment in Delhi NCR area.

Hospitals in the region have reported loss of life because of several factors including oxygen shortage.

Several oxygen vendors in the Delhi NCR area have said that they have run out of oxygen cylinder stocks.

Following overwhelming support and contribution from people across the country, Paytm is now aiming to raise over Rs 14 crore to source over 3,000 OCs over the next few days.

"Paytm aims to become the destination for other organizations & enterprises to procure OCs," the spokesperson said.

Also read: DRDO to set up 500 oxygen plants under PM CARES Fund
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Despite claims to the contrary from the Biden Administration, our country is currently embroiled in an unprecedented and escalating crisis at our southern border thats been primarily brought about by recently enacted policies incentivizing child abandonment.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), more than 29,000 unaccompanied alien children (UACs) have been encountered at the U.S. Southern Border so far for FY2021, an astonishing 92% increase from the same time period in 2020.

But these numbers dont even take into account the nearly 19,000 unaccompanied children who entered the United States in March 2021 alone. This number far eclipses the previous monthly high of 12,000 in May 2019.

These children have made the trek north without their parents in the hopes of reaching America for a better life. But the journey is perilous, and on many levels. News of sexual assaults and taxpayer funded shelters only adds to the travesty of the situation.

One recently released video showed an abandoned ten-year-old migrant approaching a U.S. border patrol agent, and through his sobs and tears, pleading for help. According to CBP, the Nicaraguan boy was distraught after waking up and realizing he had been left behind.

Can you help me? the boy first asked the agent. I was walking with a group, and they left me behind, and I dont know where theyre at.

The agent inquired whether the boy was travelling with his mom or dad. Nobody, he replied. I came looking because I didnt know where to go, and they can also rob or kidnap me or something.

The video is both enraging and heartbreaking. No ten-year-old child should be left in the middle of the desert by themselves to either find help or die.

Scenes like these are all too common, as smugglers continue to abandon children in desolate areas, with zero regard for their well-being, a CBP spokesperson said regarding the incident.

This video only added to my consternation after I saw pictures of immigrant children sleeping on mats, wrapped in aluminum foil in a border patrol facility. I also saw video of two human traffickers dropping two sisters, ages three and five, over a 14-foot-high border wall before abandoning them and running away.

This is a humanitarian crisis, and President Biden should recognize it as such.

In my capacity as president of a family help organization, I visited the southern border in 2019. I was critical then of policies separating children from parents but was favorably impressed with conditions and the management of the facilities. But a challenging situation has since grown much worse.

In remarks to the press in 2014, then-Vice President Joe Biden pointed out the extraordinary dangers faced by unaccompanied children traveling to the United States.

[UACs are] among the most vulnerable. And the majority of these individuals rely  we estimate between 75 and 80 percent  rely on very dangerous, not-nice, human-smuggling networks, Mr. Biden said at the time.

These smugglers  routinely engage in physical and sexual abuse, and extortion of these innocent, young women and men by and large. And they profit from the misery of these children and teenagers, he added.

So why hasnt now-President Biden visited the border to see the terrible human cost of this crisis for himself?

And for those minors who do reach the United States unscathed, its not all smooth sailing from there.

Due to the separation of these immigrant children from their parents, they will likely face negative lifelong consequences.

Indeed, children in fatherless homes are four times as likely to be poor. They are at much greater risk for alcohol and drug abuse and are twice as likely to commit suicide compared to children with both parents.

Its understandable that parents living in poverty in Central or South America may think it best to send their children to the United States, a land of prosperity and plenty. But while America is, indeed, a shining city  all that glitters isnt always gold.

I know what its like for a child to be separated from their parents. I may not have come across the southern border, but I was left alone at age nine when my mother died and my stepfather abandoned me and my siblings.

So, when I think about the 48,000 unaccompanied children who have been encountered by border patrol so far this year, that number isnt just a statistic for me. Its personal.

The Biden administrations policies, which have driven much of the recent migrant surge, have been reckless, irresponsible, and put the lives of immigrants at risk. If the administration wants to truly care for these immigrants, this crisis must be dealt with. Now.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 23:27:15|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday ordered several European countries' diplomats to leave in a week in retaliation for their recent expulsions of Russian diplomats.

The diplomats involved are three from Slovakia, two from Lithuania, one from Estonia and one more from Latvia. (Russia-Diplomats-Expulsion)

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JERUSALEM -- Israel has launched a program to rehabilitate and grow the country's tourism industry, which was severely damaged by the coronavirus crisis, the country's Ministry of Tourism said on Wednesday.

The plan includes an international advertising campaign to encourage tourists to visit Israel, focusing on New York and London, as well as the United Arab Emirates, with which Israel signed an historic normalization agreement in September 2020. (Israel-Tourism-COVID-19)

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NEW DELHI -- At least five people were killed and many others hospitalised after they fell ill allegedly due to consumption of toxic liquor in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday.

The deaths took place at Kotwali Gate area in Hathras district, about 375 km northwest of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. (India-Toxic Liquor)

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VIENTIANE -- The third batch of China-donated COVID-19 vaccines has arrived in and been handed over to Laos.

The Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines were handed over by Chinese Ambassador to Laos Jiang Zaidong in the Lao Health Ministry on Tuesday. (Laos-China-Vaccine) Enditem
A circuit judge should have dismissed civil claims against West Virginia State Police by a teenager who alleged excessive force when he was beaten during a traffic stop while handcuffed, the state Supreme Court ruled last month.

The high court ruled 3-2 in sending the lawsuit back to Berkeley County Circuit Court. The justices acted on a State Police appeal of a judges 2019 denial to dismiss the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleged State Police should be held responsible for its officers actions because the agency was negligent in its training and supervision.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Evan Jenkins, writing for the majority last week, said the teen failed to prove that state police should not be granted immunity from prosecution. Jenkins also wrote the lower court erred in considering dashcam footage that had not been properly introduced into the record.

The lawsuit stemmed from a November 2018 incident when the teen was involved in a crash with a sheriffs cruiser. A pursuit ensued and the teen crashed again. Dashcam video captured what happened next: Two officers yanked the teen through the open drivers side window to the ground, where he landed face-first. He was handcuffed before they kicked, stomped and punched him repeatedly.

The teens name has not been released.

In a dissent, Justice William R. Wooton accused the majority of favoring form over substance in ordering the claims dismissed based on technical issues.

West Virginia State Police Troopers Michael Kennedy and Derek Walker were terminated in January 2019 after an internal investigation. Walker was reinstated in September 2020. Two sheriffs deputies were fired but later reinstated.

In December 2019, Kennedy was acquitted of federal charges in the beating after U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh ruled that prosecutors did not prove the trooper had acted willfully.

Topics Lawsuits Law Enforcement Virginia
City Attorney Dennis Herrera has fought for gun control, same-sex marriage rights, universal health care and climate change protections. Hes taken on everyone from President Trump to bad landlords.

But after 20 busy years, Herrera is leaving his job  if Mayor London Breeds nomination of him to lead the citys troubled Public Utilities Commission wins approval. The FBI in November charged the agencys previous general manager, Harlan Kelly, with accepting bribes from a city contractor and permit consultant.

In a wide-ranging interview, Herrera said he was ready to leave his current gig because he doesnt want to be defined simply by having a title. He and Breed meet a few times a month, and both agreed there was a void at the top of the PUC, an agency that often flies under-the-radar but is essential in the lives of San Franciscans who value fresh drinking water, sewage treatment and clean power.

Breed offered Herrera the job, and the city attorney took time last week to travel up the California coast alone to consider it.

What better way to show San Franciscos commitment to ethical, clean government than to put the citys top watchdog in charge of this agency, he said. I made a decision. OK, lets go. Lets do this.

Herrera discussed the highlights and lowlights of his tenure as city attorney and whats next in the corruption probe. To listen to the whole conversation, check out Wednesdays episode of the Fifth and Mission podcast at www.sfchronicle.com/fifth.

On whether the city attorneys investigation into City Hall will continue: Some supervisors are skeptical about Breed selecting Herreras replacement, at least until the office is on the ballot again, perhaps as early as this fall when Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a recall. Thats because she will choose who will continue to lead the investigation into a corruption scandal that has already snared some of her allies.

Herrera said he thinks that his role leading the PUC will be complementary to the investigation  and that just because theres somebody new leading the City Attorneys Office doesnt mean the digging comes to a halt.

Big investigations have deep roots, and they dont just stop because theres a change in leadership at the top, he said. Theyre going to continue with their work, and now theyll have an ally. Theyll get my full cooperation.

On his biggest win: Most San Franciscans would probably guess Herrera would say leading the fight for marriage equality, but he said his proudest achievement was something few San Franciscans even know about.

In 2004, Herrera secured a settlement from AIMCO, a Denver real estate investment trust that ran federally subsidized apartment complexes in Bayview-Hunters Point. Tenants complained of extensive mold that led to major health problems, and Herrera accused the company of code violations.

The settlement directed $2 million to help renovate the apartments and $1 million to create the Willie Mays Boys and Girls Club in Hunters Point. The Giants helped pay for programs and equipment at the youth center, and other businesses pitched in, too.

It has served hundreds, maybe thousands, of kids in the Bayview, Herrera said. I have hanging in my office a plaque I got from the Boys and Girls Club thanking me for that and, you know, of all the big cases, thats still the thing Im most proud of.

On his biggest loss: Herrera admitted that coming in third in his run for mayor in 2011 still sticks in my craw. But he said his biggest disappointment in the courtroom came just last month.

Thats when Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman denied Herreras request for an emergency court order requiring the San Francisco Unified School District to bring all students back to classrooms by the end of April. Schulman said the request was pointless since the district was bringing back young students and some vulnerable older students.

Herreras lawsuit will continue, but now he doesnt have a hammer to compel the school district to move more quickly. Theres still no set plan for middle school and high school students to return to their classrooms after more than 13 months of distance learning.

I vehemently disagreed with the courts ruling, and I feel like our motion for a preliminary injunction should have been granted so every grade from pre-K through high school had an iron-clad guarantee they were going to open up as soon as possible, he said. When you look at whats going on in other big-city school districts, I think whats going on here in San Francisco is an abomination.

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On his suit against Tenderloin drug dealers: In September, Herrera announced he would sue 28 alleged drug dealers in a bid to impose civil fines and arrest them if they dared to enter the Tenderloin.

Dealers notoriously fill street corners in the neighborhood, particularly at Golden Gate Avenue and Hyde Street, brazenly hawking heroin, fentanyl and other drugs. Theyre often arrested, released with a stay-away order from a particular corner or put on probation and return to keep selling.

Herrera worked with police to name 28 alleged dealers, none of whom live in the Tenderloin and only one of whom lives in San Francisco. But Herrera acknowledged the effort hasnt gotten very far. His office hasnt even located all of the defendants to serve them with legal papers.

We have court hearings for a number of them, but Ill be honest, it hasnt moved as quickly as I would have hoped, he said. My folks are under strict instructions to do whatever they can to expedite it.

Meanwhile, two people a day on average continue to die of drug overdoses in San Francisco. According to the medical examiners office, 203 people died of overdoses in the city in the first three months of this year, putting 2021 on pace to be even deadlier than 2020, when 700 people died of overdoses.

On whether the PUC will be his last job: Im really looking forward to this job, and I cant wait to get in there, Herrera said. But I dont know what the future holds. ... Im a lot less predictable than people might have thought.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf Instagram: @heatherknightsf
The wife of late Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek has opened up about his passing in a new interview, reflecting on how 'beautiful' it was that he got to see how beloved he was before his death.

Trebek died at age 80 on November 8, 2020, having updated his fans throughout his battle with pancreatic cancer and received enthusiastic well wishes from loyal fans of the trivia game show.

'I think one of the beautiful things, the blessings that came, if you can call it a blessing, was that he got to really see the outpouring of love and admiration that he gave to the world,' Jean Trebek, 56, told Savannah Guthrie in a new special called 'Inspiring America: The 2021 Inspiration List,' which will air on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Telemundo.

'And some people just, you know, you don't see that while you're still embodied, you don't get to really witness all the love that people feel for you. And I know that was in and of itself a huge inspiration for Alex,' she said.

Jean Trebek, the wife of late Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek has opened up about his passing in a new interview

'One of the beautiful things, the blessings that came, if you can call it a blessing, was that he got to really see the outpouring of love and admiration that he gave to the world,' she said

Trebek died at age 80 on November 8, 2020, over a year and a half after announcing that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2019

Jean, who was married to Trebek for 30 years, recalled one particularly emotional moment from 2019, filmed months after her husband had revealed his diagnosis to the world.

During the Tournament of Champions, contestant Dhruv Gaur gave up his chance to guess at the correct Final Jeopardy answer, and instead wrote 'We love you, Alex!'

At the time, the host appeared to get choked up, responding: 'Oh, thats very kind.'

Jean remembers the moment fondly, telling Savannah: 'When that contestant wrote that, you know, you could see him, like, "Oh, don't make me cry here but I love it." And I think that meant the world to him.'

Both Trebek and his wife are to be honored in NBCUniversal News Groups first annual The 2021 Inspiration List, which will recognize 'extraordinary people who have made a positive impact during an unusually challenging and dividing year.'

The pair are set to be honored in The 2021 Inspiration List, which will recognize people who have made a positive impact during the past year

Jean said 'he wanted to empower people to move through whatever challenge they had in life with a sense of inner strength, inner dignity and love, and love'

In addition to bringing joy to so many fans, the Trebeks also have a decades-long legacy of charitable work.

In fact, even after his death, the beloved host was still giving to others, donating 14 suits, 58 dress shirts, 300 neckties, 25 polo shirts, and 14 sweaters to The Doe Fund, which helps people reentering the job market following a period of homelessness, addiction, or incarceration.

Speaking to Savannah, Jean touched on her late husband's many gifts, including how he was able to touch so many people with his own health battle.

'I think that is one of Alex's gifts was that he could be very resolute and know that the truth will not hurt you and he wanted to empower people to move through whatever challenge they had in life with a sense of inner strength, inner dignity and love, and love,' she said.

She also spoke about how she is doing since his passing.

'I think right now, talking with you, I'm good. You know? I'm good,' she said. 'I absolutely have moments of waves of grief that just come over me. I miss him a lot.'

She and Trebek share two children, Matthew, 31, and Emily, 28, while he also shares a daughter, Nicky, 54, with his ex-wife Elaine Trebek Kares.

'I think right now, talking with you, I'm good. You know? I'm good,' she said. 'I absolutely have moments of waves of grief that just come over me. I miss him a lot.'

She and Trebek share two children, Matthew, 31, and Emily, 28, while he also shares a daughter, Nicky, with his ex-wife Elaine Trebek Kares

Trebek had continued filming Jeopardy! throughout his battle with pancreatic cancer, even recording his final shows just days before his death.

Shortly after Trebek's passing, Jean shared a photo from the couple's wedding and a message to fans.

Last year, Jean posted a message of thanks to fans of her late husband

'My family and I sincerely thank you all for your compassionate messages and generosity. Your expressions have truly touched our hearts. Thank you so very, very much,' Jean wrote in the post.

Previously, executive producer Mike Richards told Today that Trebek was in 'enormous pain' for those last episodes but made the 'herculean' effort to be there.

'He was an absolute warrior,' Richards said.

'And what he was able to do by giving himself back to the set, to tape those final episodes ... we didn't know it was going to be his final episodes and neither did he. But it was herculean.

Richards admitted that a 'normal person' would likely have stopped filming a year and a half before Trebek was, considering he was getting chemotherapy once a week while filming.

The couple tied the knot in 1990 and had been married for 30 years at the time of his passing

'I think there was a level of professionalism,' he said. 'I think he really understood the importance of the show and what it meant to people, and to make what I have always said, he made being smart cool. So I think it was all of those things for him.

'And I think it comes back to, you know, he wrote an autobiography that described his childhood, and that kind of hard hardworking, blue collar, I'm going to go in and go to work [attitude]. And that's what he did.'

Richards recalled how the week before the final episodes, Trebek was in the hospital and called him to say he planned to keep filming.

'He calls me and says, "Mike, I'm going to be fine. I'll be in to tape. I was able to eat Jello today." And I went, "Alex, that's great, but that doesn't mean you're going to be ready to host five episodes of a game show," which is an enormous amount of effort, and he said do not cancel. I will be there,' he said.

The final episode was taped on October 29 and aired on January 9. He had hosted more than 8,200 episodes of Jeopardy! over 37 seasons.
Chandigarh, April 28 : To strengthen the telecommunication infrastructure in the state as part of its focus on e-governance and e-commerce, the Punjab government has decided to regularise all telecom towers installed unauthorisedly between December 5, 2013, and December 7, 2020.

The decision was taken at Wednesday's virtual cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

The cabinet decided to extend the scope of provisions in Section 2.0 (I) (a) of the Telecom Guidelines issued on December 7, 2020, for this purpose.

According to a spokesperson for the Chief Minister's Office, the regularisation would be subject to the fulfilment of conditions along with one-time payment of Rs 20,000. The scheme is open for six months.

The state telecom guidelines are aligned to the Right of Way Rules of 2016 issued by the Centre under the Indian Telegraph Act of 1985 on November 15, 2016.

The Centre had asked all the states and Union Territories to align their respective telecom policies and guidelines with these rules.
DONATIONS to the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba have declined over the last three years.

DONATIONS to the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba have declined over the last three years.

In 2020, the provincial Tories raised $1,487,151 in contributions, slightly less than $1,494,215 raised in 2019, an election year, and down from 2018 when it received $1,768,383 from donors, Elections Manitoba returns show. The PCs reported a $1,161,608 surplus for 2020.

Last year, most of its donations came from contributors who gave more than $250. The amount of smaller donations below $250 dropped by nearly half in 2020  $281,268 compared to 2019 when donations less than $250 totalled $438,281. Three donors in 2020 gave the maximum allowable donation  $5,000: Anne Reimer, Jordan Vanderveen and Natalija Zmavc. Premier Brian Pallister donated $2,832 to the party.

While the Manitoba NDP hasnt raised as much as the Tories, the New Democrats have seen contributions increase in the last three years, and five of its donors in 2020 contributed the maximum $5,000, including party leader Wab Kinew. In its annual filings, the NDP raised $808,203 in contributions in 2020  more than it received during the 2019 election year ($802,520) and nearly double what it collected in 2018 ($457,064), financial statements reported to Elections Manitoba show.

Registered parties and constituency associations must file annual financial statements with Elections Manitoba by March 31.

The PCs and the Manitoba Liberals both received extensions for reporting their 2020 finances. The Liberals have until Friday.
Americans who have been fully vaccinated will be able to travel to Europe this summer and  at least for now  there are deals to be had.

Europe is still on sale, The Points Guy founder and CEO Brian Kelly told Yahoo Finance Live. People are not booking yet.

As of Tuesday morning, Expedia (EXPE) shows round-trip flights from New York City to Paris and Milan during peak season in July slashed by at least half  starting at just $500, while flights to Athens are starting at about $700.

If youre even thinking about traveling to Europe this summer, Kelly recommends locking in that cheap airfare now since most major airlines are letting passengers cancel free of charge, except on basic economy seats.

If you're going to book a speculative ticket to Europe this summer, you might want to pay a little bit extra to book a normal fare, or even better, use your frequent flyer miles, he said. Almost all frequent flyer programs now allow you to book and cancel free of charge. So, its like buying a refundable ticket [without paying the premium] especially if you've been swimming in points, use them, because they give you maximum flexibility.

He adds the same goes for lodging. Since so many hotels are waiving cancellation fees, Kelly said book now to guarantee the best price and change it later if you need to.

Canaves Oia Boutique Hotel in Santorini is one of the most popular luxury hotspots in Greece.

Besides Europe, Kelly said now is the time to snag a great deal on certain destinations.

I went on Safari in Kenya and Rwanda, great airfare deals. Hotels and safaris are half off," he said. "Even renting a boat my friends and I split last summer in Croatia, we got an amazing deal on a boat because no one was booking. So now is the time to lock in some amazing deals. Just try to book refundable or easily changeable where possible.

Safari tour in Rwanda gets you up close and person with wildlife.

Kelley said whats not on sale right now are Hawaii, Mexico and Florida where many hotels are at capacity and making more money compared to pre-pandemic. You go to Hawaii now and youre going to spend $500 a day if you can even find a rental car, he said.

Story continues

Vaccination passports

The European Union had halted all non-essential travel to its 27-member countries for about a year because of the pandemic. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen didnt offer a timeline for exactly when the member countries of the EU will allow American tourists back, or how they will verify that theyve been vaccinated.

Iceland is open right now and when weve had our writers go and when they cross the border, the border agents looked at their vaccination cards and that sufficed, so Im assuming thats going to be the case for the rest of the EU, said Kelly.

Unlike many European countries, the U.S. doesnt have a national database of people who are vaccinated and Kelly believes it will take some collaboration with third parties to verify inoculation.

"I know IATA (International Air Transport Association) has a travel passport app, he said. But will we ever be able to 100% confirm someone has the vaccine from the U.S.?

Kelly said the answer is probably no.

Millions of Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have little to prove that they have been inoculated beyond their word and a paper card they received at a vaccination site.

A medical worker holds Pfizer coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination cards at a mobile vaccination drive for essential food processing workers at Rose & Shore, Inc., in Vernon, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 17, 2021. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

There are some exceptions, and it's on a state-by-state basis. Carbon Health, a San Francisco-based health provider that operates clinics, has been distributing COVID-19 digital vaccination cards in California that can be stored in an Apple wallet and linked to a patients information in the states vaccination database.

And it hasnt taken long for the counterfeit vaccine cards to pop up. The Tel-Aviv-based cybersecurity company Check Point Software Technologies says fake U.S. vaccination certificates are already selling for $200.

"There will just need to be a level of trust" between countries and travelers, said Kelly.

Alexis Christoforous is an anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @AlexisTVNews.
Early in 2021, the team at Colbeck Capital Management covered the Working Conditions Survey published by Goldman Sachs on their Medium blog. The story was compiled by first-year analysts as they dissected today's working environment and the conditions surrounding current career paths. Upon publishing the survey, the analysts maintained that modern working conditions are more stressful and abusive in the investment banking field than that in the beleaguered foster care system.

Put plainly, continued deterioration in the workforce has become the norm, and nobody seems to be doing anything about it. In fact, according to some CEOs and human resource professionals, things are very much getting worse.

Working Harder, Longer, and for Less Money

While few people want to be lectured by Goldman Sachs on the conditions of today's working environment, their survey painted something entirely clear - today's workers, not solely in investment banking, are facing harder, longer and lower-paying experiences in the workforce. Not only that, but the expectation is that this is the new norm!

As covered by Colbeck Capital Management, CEOs like David Solomon are pushing for even more effort in the workplace. Solomon stated in an interview, "If we all go an extra mile for our client [...] it can really make a difference in our performance."

Ostensibly correct, Solomon's advice will fall on deaf ears for people who are already working 80+ hours per week. The idea of working harder and "going the extra mile" becomes not just unrealistic but downright dangerous to an already overworked labor movement.

In 1926, Henry Ford helped introduce the 8-hour workday. Since then, scientists and researchers across the globe have come to a relatively mutual understanding that this is the most productive and profitable schedule. Some studies show that 6-hour workdays are even more effective!

Abandoning Leisure - A Corporate Workforce Practice

Picture the rich and wealthy in America just 100 years ago. Your mind likely doesn't bring about pictures of suited individuals with their heads craning over phones, fingers tapping emails out at 2 in the morning. Somewhere along the way, even the wealthiest among us decided that leisure was right to be abandoned in the workplace.

As corporate leaders have moved away from leisure in their private lives, many businesses have chosen to follow suit. A multi-year study of investment bankers revealed that workers would undergo extremely intensive hours, even facing mental breakdowns, to accomplish their tasks. The results of this lifestyle are obvious and apparent: pain and suffering without the appropriate compensation.

We can even look at the physical layout of the modern office to understand the impact of corporations invoking overworking among their staff. The open floor plan so popularized in the comedy Office Space is a striking example of how the best intended office plans can go awry. Once heralded as a revolutionary design, the open floor plan is now shown to strip away privacy, prevent deep thought, and increase distraction levels for everyone on the floor. We can even look at fatal workplace shootings where employees were incapable of calling for help because their phones were not accessible, kept locked away during work.

Finally, as hours rise among average workers, companies are looking to better accommodate them - thus fulfilling an infinite playback loop. As workers spend more time at the office, workplaces are integrating more living services such as gyms, dry cleaning, kitchens, and even medical service areas. While these services directly benefit employees, they also further the efforts to keep workers at work. An anonymous workplace director said of these perks, "You just habituate them to being at work, getting all their needs met there."

The Rise of Hustle Culture

While corporations have their fair share of the blame for today's high-stress workforce, it isn't entirely of their own doing. Social media would help to develop something known as "Hustle Culture."

Even at the highest heights of capitalist success, the wealthiest among us are foregoing conventional leisure practices from yesteryear. Not only is it fashionable to overwork ourselves in today's society, but it is also almost expected! The rise of Hustle Culture would mean that millionaires relaxing by the pool on a holiday aren't even relaxing; they are typically on their phones networking, emailing, or scheduling meetings.

Originally popularized on the WeWork platform, hustle culture revolves around the idea that suffering now can pay for wealth later. Akin to "Rise and Grind," hustlers overwork themselves in favor of business sacrifice, exhibiting tendencies that we would otherwise categorize under the workaholic label. Incredibly unhealthy and altogether detrimental to our mental health, these issues are only exemplified by the constant connectedness of our digitally driven world. From smartphones to social media, availability is the top ability for young and old entrepreneurs alike.

One of the biggest offenders of Hustle Culture outside of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is Elon Musk, billionaire tech playboy and SpaceX founder. Elon Musk argues, "Nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week." With a powerful cult of personality and success identified by his efforts, it can be hard for people to shrug free from the potentially damaging advice that Hustle Culture inspires.

The largest problem with Elon Musk's mindset as well as that of today's hustle culture is how incorrect it is. Thomas Jefferson and Charles Darwin, two historically important names, both worked, on average, roughly 5 hours per day. Jefferson and Darwin treated their time like it was an infinitely valuable resource that should not be wasted.

Where Do We Go From Here?

As Colbeck Capital Management explored in their Medium Blog, a transition away from hustle culture needs to happen from the top down, starting with our white- and blue-collar jobs and the stress that they currently create. In the same way that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reduced physical danger by instituting safety standards, workplaces need to start prioritizing limiting hours worked while focusing on employee health.

An institution with overworked employees can quickly begin to struggle from toxicity. Toxic workplaces can cost employers and employees alike, both in time and mental health and wellness. If employers took time to truly understand the cost-benefit analysis of a toxic and overworked workplace, they might consider implementing more limitations on hours worked.

Ultimately, power is in the hands of the working class and the corporations that they operate beneath. While it may seem like a long way off from the institution of more labor-focused support policies, growth is exponential and can happen at any time. Less than 100 years ago, the 40-hour workweek wasn't even a concept that we operated under. Who knows what can change? For now, take breaks, drink water, and consider taking a vacation to reset your internal battery!
A war in Donbas against Ukraine can and should be avoided, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Sputnik.

"If it depends on us and on the [Donbas] militias, as far as we can understand their principled approaches, then war can and should be avoided," Lavrov said, commenting on the likelihood of war in light of the fact that more than half a million Donbas residents received Russian citizenship.

If we speak for the Ukrainian side, for the side of [President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, I will not try to guess, because according to external signs, the main thing for him is to stay in power, and he is ready to pay any price, including indulging neo-Nazis and ultra-radicals who continue to declare Donbas militias to be terrorists," Sputnik cited the Russian diplomat as saying.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Communications Minister, has urged the youth to work hard and stop seeking quick money.



Speaking on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', the Minister advised that the youth shouldn't think every successful and rich person acquired his or her riches and success by foul means.



She expounded that they had to go through the hustle and bustle of daily life, toiling hard to make it in life.



"Rome wasn't built in a day. It's a gradual process."



She bemoaned the attitude of the youth to get rich by hook or crook.



"Our youth must learn to work hard . . . note that if you see someone in a posh car, it doesn't mean the person acquired it using foul means. The person worked hard . . . you struggle, you work hard and you build on the little that you have . . . so they have to put in the hard work," she sermonized.



She asked the youth to acquire computer science skills to take advantage of the digital world.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Police pallbearers carry the coffin of one of their officers in Mimika, Indonesia, a day after he was killed in a gunbattle between government security forces and separatist rebels in the Papua region, April 28, 2021.

Nine separatist rebels and a policeman were killed in fighting in Indonesias Papua province, officials said Wednesday, after Jakarta vowed to come down hard on the insurgents who killed the governments regional intelligence chief  an army brigadier general  on Sunday.

Fighting broke out between government security forces and the insurgent group in Puncak regency on Tuesday, said Iqbal Alquddusy, spokesman for Operation Nemangkawi, a joint military-police task force to hunt down the Papuan rebels.

Based on our findings on the ground during a firefight at the hideout of the Lekagak Telenggen criminal group, it is clear that nine of them were shot dead, Iqbal told BenarNews. He was referring to Lekagak Telenggen, the general operations commander for the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement separatist organization.

Two policemen were also injured in the fighting, police said.

Papua police spokesman Ahmad Musthofa Kamal said security forces managed to overrun the rebel hideout at Maki village in Gome district.

After the joint forces entered the hideout of the armed criminal group  a gunfight erupted, forcing them to retreat and leave the Maki village, he said in a statement about Tuesdays fighting.

The rebels denied that nine of their comrades were killed Tuesday.

We have verified the information with personnel on the ground in Gome and Mayuweri districts and it turns out that none of our personnel were shot, TPNPB spokesman Sebby Sambom said in a statement.

Its public deception, he said. They are losing. They are being defeated by our forces.

Some residents in Puncak regency have fled their homes amid the fighting, said Jones Douw, a Papuan human rights activist and head of the justice and peace department at the Kingme church. The congregation is spread throughout Papua and West Papua, deeply impoverished neighboring provinces whose populace is largely Christian.

People are fearful. Some of them have fled to the forest, Douw told BenarNews by phone on Wednesday from Timika, a town in Mimika regency that is home to the Grasberg Mine, the worlds largest gold and copper mine.

In Puncaks main town, people cant go to their farms. Church activities have been disrupted by the fighting, he added.

Jubi.co.id, Papuas main news website, also reported that residents in several districts of Puncak had left their homes and sought refuge at churches.

People are having difficulties getting foodstuffs and need medical personnel to treat people who are sick. Some of them have been sick since before they left, the news portal quote a source as saying.

Presidents office: We cant ignore human rights

The fighting broke out a day after President Joko Jokowi Widodo ordered a crackdown on the separatist group after insurgents killed Brig. Gen. I Gusti Putu Danny Nugraha Karya, who headed the Papua regional operation of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), over the weekend.

I have ordered the military and police chiefs to pursue and arrest members of the armed criminal group, the president said in a televised statement on Monday.

The brigadier general was the highest-ranking Indonesian military officer to die in the conflict, which has simmered for decades in the far-eastern Papua region.

Putu Danny was visiting Beoga  a district in Puncak  to assess the security situation after recent violence there, when insurgents ambushed his convoy, the intelligence agency said.

TPNPB claimed responsibility for shooting dead the general.

The group had also said it was behind the killings of four civilians, including two teachers and a 16-year-old schoolboy, claiming they were spies for the government.

In Jakarta, national police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo ordered his personnel to press ahead in their hunt for the rebels.

I have instructed all task-force members on duty to continue to pursue the armed criminal group in Papua. The state cannot be defeated, he said.

Meanwhile, Moeldoko, the presidential chief of staff, defended the governments counter-insurgency campaign in Papua, saying it accorded with human rights principles.

We have to be firm, but we cant ignore human rights, Moeldoko said in Jakarta.

He said the government was prioritizing dialogue involving religious, cultural and indigenous communities.

His remarks came after human rights watchdog Amnesty International warned Monday that the governments response to the violence in Papua must not lead to more rights abuses, amid calls by nationalist politicians for Jakarta to crush the rebels.

Human rights are constitutional obligations so they must be a priority in every state policy. Putting aside human rights is not only against international law but also unconstitutional, Usman Hamid, director of Amnesty in Indonesia, said in a statement.

Moeldoko said the government was still considering a proposal to designate the armed separatists as a terrorist group.

The group has resorted to acts of terrorism, creating an atmosphere of insecurity, fear, and even murdering Papuan people. There have been suggestions to use the term terrorist, Moeldoko said.

In March, the head of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), Boy Rafli Amar, told a parliamentary hearing that crimes committed by the separatist group should be categorized as acts of terrorism because the rebels were using violence, threats, and firearms, as well as causing widespread fear in society.

In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded the Papua region  which makes up the western half of New Guinea Island  and annexed it.

Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a U.N.-administered ballot known as the Act of Free Choice. Many Papuans and rights groups said the vote was a sham because it involved only about 1,000 people.
The incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission from mothers to newborns appears low and may be linked to biological as well as social factors. However, studies focusing on the factors associated with neonatal viral testing outcomes.

Test positivity rate and health outcomes of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection among perinatally exposed newborns

Recently, researchers from the US conducted a study in a cohort of 255 neonates born to women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 within 14 days before and 72 hours after delivery. The multicenter cohort study was conducted across 11 community or academic hospitals in Massachusetts in mother-newborn pairs whose delivery and discharge happened between March 1 and July 31, 2020. Eligible mother-newborn pairs were identified at participating hospitals using local COVID-19 surveillance and infection control systems.

Objectives, risk factors, and outcomes of the study

Their main objectives were to determine 1) the percentage of newborns born to mothers who were SARS-CoV-2 positive during birth, 2) the sociodemographic and clinical factors linked to neonatal virus positivity, and 3) the virological as well as clinical outcomes for newborns during their time in the hospital and 30 days after discharge.

Maternal risk factors in newborn virus positivity included maternal COVID-19 symptoms, rooming-in practice, vaginal delivery, zipcodebased social vulnerability index, and Black race or Hispanic ethnicity. The burden of viral exposure on newborn health was strongly associated with preterm delivery, driven by worsening COVID-19 disease in the mother.

The primary outcomes for newborns were (1) SARS-CoV-2 positivity, (2) adverse health indicators, and (3) clinical symptoms and testing. Test result positivity was defined as a minimum of 1 positive result on a nasopharyngeal swab specimen using the RT-PCR method. Clinical and testing data were obtained from electronic health records within 30 days of discharge from the hospital.

Out of the 255 newborns in the study cohort, 62 [24.3%] had low birth weight or preterm delivery. Out of the 250 mothers in the cohort, 121 [48.4%] were Hispanic.

Results show an association between high maternal social vulnerability and higher neonatal viral positivity

The results of this study show that newborns who were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 perinatally can experience adverse health outcomes. This can be direct outcomes as shown by higher SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates in neonates born to socially vulnerable mothers or indirect outcomes as evidenced by preterm birth in SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers.

"Maternal social vulnerability was associated with an increased risk for neonatal test result positivity, whereas individual-level maternal race/ethnicity and language status was not."

A total of 225 (88.2%) neonates born to SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers were tested for SARS-CoV-2 and 5 (2.2%) tested positive during hospitalization. High maternal social vulnerability was linked to higher neonatal viral positivity adjusted for maternal delivery mode, COVID-19 symptoms, and rooming-in practice.

"Newborns with positive SARS-CoV-2 test results appeared to have minimal burden of illness that was directly associated with a viral infection."

Findings highlight the importance of biological and social factors influencing perinatal SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes

The study's findings highlight the significance of both the biological and social factors influencing perinatal SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes.

Interestingly, adverse outcomes in mothers at the time of hospitalization were linked to preterm delivery, which was indicated by worsening COVID-19 symptoms of the mother. A total of 151 newborns were followed up, and based on the data obtained, 28 had nonroutine clinical visits, 7 were tested for SARS-CoV-2 testing, and 1 had a positive result.

The study shows that neonates who were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 were at risk for both direct and indirect adverse health outcomes. This supports ongoing viral surveillance and long-term follow-up.

"Newborns who had exposure to SARS-CoV-2 were at risk for both direct and indirect adverse health outcomes, whereas preterm delivery owing to worsening maternal COVID-19 illness was associated with substantial neonatal morbidity."
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Veteran left-hander Oliver Perez has been designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians.

In a corresponding move Wednesday, the club reinstated reliever Nick Wittgren from the paternity list.

Manager Terry Francona said he was having a tough time figuring out how to use the 39-year-old reliever in a bullpen mix that features several hard-throwing righties.

For the most part, he was kind of pitching when we were in games that were spread out, Francona said. That doesnt necessarily fit the role you want for kind of a lefty specialist.

Francona informed Perez of the move following Clevelands 7-4 victory over Minnesota on Tuesday.

I said, Man, I havent figured it out, Francona said. When you look at teams coming up, Chicago, Kansas City, were not seeing opportunities where we can leverage him like we hoped.

Perez was a surprise invitee to major league spring training camp in February, and made the club for his 19th big league season. He appeared in five games and was 0-1 while tossing 3 2/3 innings, striking out four and not allowing an earned run.

Perez joined the Indians in June 2018 after being granted his release from the Yankees minor-league system. Over four seasons, Perez posted a 4-7 record with a 2.57 ERA in 144 appearances with 109 strikeouts and 26 walks in 94 2/3 innings. He pitched in a variety of roles for Francona out of the bullpen, even earning a pair of saves.

Praised for his clubhouse presence and leadership, Perez managed to find a way to keep pitching even after the advent of the three batter-minimum rule imposed last season by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. But ultimately Francona could not find a place for him in a bullpen that includes flamethrowers Emmanuel Clase and James Karinchak, as well as rejuvenated right-hander Bryan Shaw.

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New Indians face masks for sale: Heres where you can buy Cleveland Indians-themed face coverings for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($14.99) and a 3-pack ($24.99). All MLB proceeds donated to charity.

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(CNN) -- The first 100 days of an American presidency is as much about setting a tone as it is about getting things done. In President Joe Biden's case, his message to the world has been loud and clear: Donald Trump's "America First" isolationism is over. "America is back. Diplomacy is back," Biden proclaimed in his first foreign policy speech in February.

But the specter of Trump is already haunting Biden's mission to reengage with the world and lead it once again. Traditional US allies who spent the past four years unable to establish stable relations with the White House are now wondering if they can take Biden at his word. They're well aware that Trumpism is still alive, and they wonder if, four years from now, a divided America may reelect him, or another America First president.

Where Trump used dozens of executive actions to steer his country in an entirely new direction, Biden has used even more -- on track for a record number -- in his first 100 days to bring it back. With the stroke of a pen, he halted the process of the US pulling out of the World Health Organization, rejoined the Paris climate change agreement, scrapped the so-called Muslim travel ban and defunded the construction of a border wall with Mexico.

On Thursday last week, Biden sought to reassure the world the US was ready to resume its global leadership by hosting a climate change summit and committing his country to an ambitious 52% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, from 2005 levels. The US successfully rallied the leaders of 40 countries to participate, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Brazil's climate skeptic leader Jair Bolsonaro.

But behind this grand show of global unity, government officials worry a different US president in the near future could pull out of the Paris Agreement again.

"We're really on a critical path. In other words, any new derailment of the Paris agreement and of the implementation of the commitments puts us against a wall, especially with today's climate consequences that will keep increasing in the coming years," an official source from France's Elysee Palace told CNN.

"And so unfortunately, there is no Plan B if one of the major emitters decides to disengage and not to play its part in the fight against climate change, whether it be the United States, whether it be China or any of the top emitters."

But other countries and organizations affected by the US' constant and sudden changes in foreign policy are now looking to rethink legislation and agreements to ensure progress in collaborative areas -- like development, counterterrorism and trade -- is not vulnerable to the whims of America's convulsive politics.

A senior EU official working on foreign affairs and another European diplomat, who both spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, said they were specifically concerned about Trump or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo running and winning the presidency in 2024, fearing such an outcome could see a US return to isolationism.

Rather than rebuilding the relationship that existed pre-Trump, they said, the EU's priority was to now build something more resistant to executive orders. The focus is on convincing US institutions that it's in their interest to be engaged with the wider world and promote Western democratic ideas.

An example the European diplomat raised with an American counterpart was greater engagement in tackling poverty in parts of Northern Africa where terror groups are active. The argument they made was that enriching the lives of citizens makes joining terror groups there less attractive. That not only makes the world -- including the US -- safer, but it also gives the US some moral high ground, the diplomat said.

"We need to make it received wisdom in American diplomacy that walking away and going it alone in numerous areas will have practical and moral implications," the diplomat said.

But in general, the feeling in Brussels is positive. Officials there are delighted that Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are answering their calls.

"We felt the change in atmosphere from day one. Trying to get Pompeo to attend EU foreign minister meetings or Trump's inner circle to coordinate on policy areas was very painful. But since the Biden administration has been in place, there have been discussions between diplomats on an almost daily basis," the EU official said.

In Biden's first 100 days, Europe and the US have already coordinated on sanctions on Russia and Belarus, dialogue on climate issues, coordination at the UN and containing Russian aggression in the Balkans, the officials said. Even on one of the toughest issues -- reviving the Iran nuclear deal that Trump abandoned -- the EU is confident an agreement will eventually be reached.

The window for rebuilding a transatlantic alliance that cannot be so easily broken could be small.

Steven Blockmans, director of research at the Center for European Policy Studies, said the EU and US would want to have agreed future principles in areas like regulating modern technology and climate change before the G7 summit in June, where they would ideally like to show a united front. The US midterm elections in 2022 will also be a key deadline.

"Biden will presumably want some major foreign policy wins going into those elections, so we should know by then how far the US is willing to go in terms of cooperation. And if he takes a beating in those elections, you can expect he will take a greater interest in domestic policy over international affairs," Blockmans said.

It's not just officials who are feeling anxious about the US' "flip-flop" foreign policy. The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) -- whose 118 member associations provide sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls around the world -- is calling on Congress to pass a bill that will repeal the Mexico City Policy permanently.

The policy, known by critics as the Global Gag Rule (GGR), was introduced in 1984 by Republican President Ronald Reagan and denies organizations of US funding to provide abortion services, including counseling. Every Democratic president since has rescinded the rule with an executive order, and every Republican president has reinstated it.

In Trump's case, he expanded the policy to ban funding going to any health activity linked to an organization offering abortion advice or services. For IPPF, that meant that it lost its funding for programs in HIV, reproductive cancers and maternal health, among others.

"We try to be prepared so we're not as affected by the constant yo-yoing of these policies changing in the US. Nonetheless, when the GGR came back in under Trump, we were not expecting it would be expanded to all our global health programming, so that really caught us off guard," said Riva Eskinazi, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Development at IPPF.

"We find these sudden shocks very dangerous to women's health and it shouldn't be for these people, with a stroke of a pen, to make decisions that have such devastating implications," she said.

"Every time, it's the trust of the woman or the girl who comes to the clinic that you lose because they all of a sudden can no longer find the kind of services they were expecting to find."

Asia could define Biden's legacy

Biden has to walk a fine line of appearing to shirk the America First ideology to the rest of the world, while, at home, making Americans feel like he is indeed prioritizing them.

After vowing, in his powerful foreign policy speech, to lift the cap on refugee admissions from Trump's low 15,000 to 125,000 in the next fiscal year, for example, the President walked back his promise, saying he would stick to the 15,000 limit after all. Sources told CNN he resisted raising it because of political optics, as the administration faces questions for its handling of an influx of migrants at the US-Mexico border.

He later agreed to raise it after furor from refugee activists, but the final number is still unlikely to land anywhere near the number he boasted in his February speech.

And it was only as India reached a devastating stage of the pandemic -- now recording more than 300,000 new Covid-19 cases a day -- did the Biden administration finally agree to share up to 60 million AstraZeneca vaccines with the rest of the world.

Until that announcement on Monday, the Biden administration had almost entirely ignored calls to share vaccines, sending only a limited number of AstraZeneca shots to Mexico and Canada, as the US presses ahead with one of the world's biggest and fastest inoculation programs.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has not yet been approved in the US and has been limited in use in many developed countries -- even scrapped entirely by some -- after medicines regulators found a possible link between the shot and a rare blood clotting condition.

As millions of vaccinated Americans regain freedoms, more than 90 of the world's poorest countries will be waiting until 2023 to have 60% of their populations vaccinated, according to a Duke University study. The study also projected that the United States may have 300 million excess doses by the end of July.

But the biggest challenge Biden will face in striking this balance between America First and returning to the world stage will be reinventing the country's China strategy. Under four years of Trump, the US had an on-again-off-again relationship with China. It ended mostly "off," and in confrontational competitiveness, with little collaboration.

Biden's posturing against China may not be as bombastic as Trump's, but it doesn't appear to be very different either. In an interview with the New York Times last year, he couldn't help but accidentally utter "America First" in his own remarks on China. It's a difficult phrase to avoid. "I want to make sure we're going to fight like hell by investing in America first," he said.

Biden has a real China problem. He is intent on reinvigorating the cause of democracy around the world -- like his climate summit, he will hold another on democracy in May to galvanize the same kind of global momentum. He is rallying US allies to show a united front against China, on issues such as Beijing's abuse of Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, and its draconian use of its National Security Law to clamp down on civil liberties in Hong Kong. Yet he will be forced to work with China, as seen last week at the climate summit.

"The hope was China would become a big Germany in Asia. But what we've seen, under President Xi especially, is that hasn't happened," said the Atlantic Council's Matt Kroenig, who held defense and intelligence positions with the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations. "Instead China has gone in the wrong direction on almost every measure -- backtracking on economic reforms, cracking down on human rights and becoming assertive, asserting its military, in its territorial claims in Asia."

In a recent paper, Kroenig outlined a framework for a three-pronged global China strategy arguing that engaging with China is essential, but could be done while defending other nations' interests and improving their strengths and competitiveness at home.

Biden will have to carefully consider when and how much to cooperate with China, as two-thirds of Americans have a negative view of the country, polling by the Pew Center for Research shows -- the worst level since the agency began taking the temperature on China in 2005.

As the US faces distrust from allies, the Trump years have emboldened its rivals, including China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian mocked the US for choosing "to come and go as it likes" on the Paris Agreement, and challenged the country on whether it would make up for the lost US funds that were supposed to go to a climate fund for developing nations during the Trump years.

"Its return is by no means a glorious comeback but rather the student playing truant getting back to class," Zhou told reporters ahead of the climate summit.

The unstable Trump years have also given fuel to Beijing to argue its system of governance is superior. Beyond economic competitiveness, there's a soft power battle going on too.

"Biden now faces a China that not only has real economic and political clout on the world stage, but also one that is competing with the US to win the hearts and minds of global citizens," said Diana Fu, a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institute's John L. Thornton China Center.

"Biden now faces a Beijing that is bent on being a rules-setter rather than a rules-follower and sees the US as the number one obstacle to realizing this goal."

But what could be an even bigger worry for Biden is whether his defense decisions now will prove right years down the track.

Robert Gates -- who served as defense secretary under George W. Bush and for two years for the Obama administration -- claimed in a book he authored that Biden had been "wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades." It might have been a harsh assessment, but it's true that Biden has backed many a failed defense policy, and rejected others that proved more successful.

He voted in favor of the Iraq war in 2003, for example, but against the Gulf War in 1991, in which the US and its allies liberated Kuwait in just five weeks. He advised President Barack Obama against the raid by US SEALS that killed Osama bin Laden. Defense could be Biden's Achilles heel.

Biden has pledged to end US involvement in Afghanistan -- a centerpiece policy in Trump's America First agenda -- setting the symbolic date of September 11 as a deadline to leave. Equipment is already being shipped out of the country.

It's a questionable decision, given the US only had around 2,500 military personnel (excluding those serving through NATO) when Biden took office in January, and the money the US spends on its mission there is no longer a major drain on the country's budget. No American troops have been killed in combat in the country now for more than a year, Defense Department data shows. Hundreds were dying each year a decade ago, at the height of the war.

"With Afghanistan, let's be honest, it's as much about making the right decision as taking the least-worst option -- and all options are bad," said Nick Reynolds, a land warfare analyst at the London-based Royal United Services Institute.

"But staying is a better option than withdrawing because there's a strong risk that following withdrawal, the Taliban will win. That is a strong possibility."

Memories of Taliban rule in the 1990s -- and even current rule in parts of the country today -- offer a grim glimpse of what could become of the whole nation should its government fall. There are serious concerns about women and girls, who had won back some rights since the US invasion but are likely to lose them in any Taliban-controlled state.

"In the 1990s, the Taliban were disinterested in human rights and development, it was an extremely conservative theocracy, and if the US hadn't invaded, Afghanistan would have been in a famine by 2002, because of economic and agricultural mismanagement. They had a long track record of massacring their opponents. We could easily see a repeat of that kind of behavior," Reynolds said.

A hundred days into a presidency is usually a time for optimism, as it's typically too early to fail. But as the Iraqi invasion eventually defined George W. Bush's legacy, the state of Afghanistan four years from now could define Biden's. He'll want to make sure his decisions now strike the right balance between America First and America Is Back.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Biden says 'America Is Back,' but 'America First' has haunted his first 100 days"
The Plainview Chamber of Commerce will host a Job Fair on May 13.

The event will be at the Plainview Civic Center  which is located at 2902 W. 4th St. It is scheduled for 3-7 p.m.

The Chamber encourages businesses to participate in the fair. There is no cost to participate and businesses can register by calling 806-296-7431 or by sending an email to info@plainviewtexaschamber.com.

Some businesses that will be participating include those in the field of retail, trade professionals and government agencies, among others.

With the growth of business in Plainview, many new and local established businesses are seeking employees, said Tonya Keesee, executive director of the Plainview Chamber of Commerce.
Getting the right retail mix at Perths string of high-profile CBD shopping precincts should be determined by consumers and vendors.

Thats the view of former long-time city resident and current Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas after ongoing retail struggles at Raine Square and Yagan Square either side of coronavirus lockdowns in Western Australia this past year.

Chanel could move its luxury Perth store from King Street to Raine Square after overtures from precinct owners. Credit:aluxum

New shopping areas always take time to evolve but ultimately its for the customers and the vendors to determine the right mix, Mr Zempilas said.

Raine Square owners Charter Hall and its preferred leasing agents are currently creating their own mix for the central precinct, often approaching or luring businesses from other city-based areas in the process.
By Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Chris Thomas and Sachin Ravikumar

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Global and Indian firms are flexing their industrial muscle to help the world's second biggest population battle coronavirus, coming to the rescue of a public health system buckling under the weight of surging infections and deaths.

Amazon.com, Intel and Google, as well as Indian firms Tata Sons, Reliance Industries and JSW Steel have pitched in with everything from airlifts of medical equipment and funding pledges to making medical oxygen.

"What we need is better planning with the recognition that government's capacity is limited and therefore requires private participation," said economist Madhura Swaminathan of the Indian Statistical Institute in Bengaluru.

Hospitals struggling with a massive second wave of infections are turning away patients as beds and oxygen supplies run out, and social media brim with desperate calls for help in finding supplies of oxygen and drugs such as remdesivir.

A record increase in deaths over the prior 24 hours carried India's toll past 200,000 on Wednesday, a situation that experts blame on lack of oxygen supplies and infrastructure challenges.

COVID-19 cases in election bound states https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/INDIA/qzjpqzjxlvx/chart.png

On Tuesday Amazon said it would ship 100 ICU ventilator units to India from the United States.

It had earlier worked with partners to airlift more than 8,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 ventilators from Singapore, relying on its massive global logistics network to hasten procurement, a spokeswoman said.

Google promised $18 million in new funding for India, including advertising support for public health campaigns.

India's largest steel maker by market value, JSW, has stopped making some of the construction raw material as it diverts resources to turning out liquid oxygen instead.

From April 21 to 23, JSW supplied 898 tonnes of oxygen each day from its plants, equivalent to about 13% of the combined daily demand for 6,785 tonnes of the life-saving gas in India's 20 worst-hit states.

Story continues

Covid-19 hospital beds in New Delhi Covid-19 hospital beds in New Delhi https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/INDIA/xegpbxewzpq/chart.png

JSW said it was building large COVID patient centres around its plants, so that they can be serviced via a pipeline.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries tweaked manufacturing at its oil refineries to produce hundreds of tonnes of oxygen for hard-hit areas such as Maharashtra, India's richest and worst-hit state.

Tata Group, one of India's oldest conglomerates, imported 24 cryogenic containers to transport liquid oxygen, while its Tata Steel unit ramped up oxygen supply.

"The government single-handedly cannot deal with this crisis any more, it is very important that the corporate sector gets into motion," said Kunal Kundu, India economist at Societe Generale in Bengaluru.

"We need all the help we can get."

Economist Swaminathan called for the scope of private sector contribution to be widened beyond the merely voluntary.

"Anybody who has surplus funds and equipment should step in to help," she added. "In terms of logistics, beds, oxygen, hospitals, the private sector has to be asked to do its task as part of policy."

(Reporting by Chris Thomas, Sachin Ravikumar, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Sethuraman N.R. in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Neha Arora in New Delhi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Samsung is hosting another Unpacked event today and the talk will be centered around the most powerful Galaxy ever. Were in for at least two new Galaxy Book laptops according to recent leaks and past rumors. The event starts at 10AM EST/2PM UTC time and you can tune in to the official YouTube stream below.

The new Galaxy Book Pros should offer AMOLED touch screens with support for Samsungs S-pen stylus as well as 11th gen Intel processors and LTE connectivity. Theres even talk of 5G connectivity making its way to one of the models but well just have to wait and see if that holds up. As usual, well have all the details after the event so tune in to our homepage.
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Bern, 28.04.2021 - Switzerland is supporting India, which is facing a dramatic situation in the health sector due to the COVID-19 crisis. Switzerland's Humanitarian Aid will deliver several hundred oxygen concentrators and respirators. The Confederation has earmarked an amount of one million Swiss francs to provide this assistance within the next few days.

The health situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic has been deteriorating in India for several days. More than 17 million people in India are infected with COVID-19, with more than 300,000 new cases every day. Switzerland responded quickly with an offer of support to the Indian government. The Indian government officially accepted the offer on Wednesday.



Switzerland's Humanitarian Aid, which is part of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), has allocated an amount of one million Swiss francs to help the Indian people. The money will be used to transport oxygen concentrators and ventilators to the Indian capital, New Delhi. New Delhi has been particularly hard hit by the current crisis. This equipment will be distributed with the support of the Indian Red Cross, which is responsible for coordinating international aid.

Address for enquiries

FDFA Communication

Federal Palace West Wing

CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland

Tel. Communication service: +41 58 462 31 53

Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55

E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch

Twitter: @SwissMFA

Publisher

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html




WEST SPRINGFIELD  The Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts will host a virtual interfaith program Thursday, April 29, at 6 p.m. as part of the month-long observance of Ramadan.

The COVID-19 pandemic prevents the program from being held on site where it would incorporate the breaking of the daily fast known as Iftar and a meal.

However, Dr. M. Saleem Bajwa, a Holyoke physician and society member, said the public is invited to attend the event on Zoom where Mohammad Dastigir, society president, and the Rev. Jason Seymour, president of the Interfaith Council of Greater Springfield and minister of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Greater Springfield, will give welcoming remarks.

In lieu of the meal the Islamic Society will donate 30 meal boxes for the homeless on this weekend, Bajwa said.

Other participants to give reflections include Rabbi Jeremy Master of Sinai Temple in Springfield; the Rev. Marisa Brown Ludwig, associate pastor of First Church of Christ in Longmeadow; Shaykh Mirza Yawar Baig, the societys resident scholar; Michael McGravey, director of the Institute for Theology and Pastoral Studies at the College of Our Lady of the Elms in Chicopee; and Nina Dini, a retired associate professor from Springfield College where she served as Bahai advisor for spiritual life.

The meeting ID for the Zoom meeting is 885 2789 1053. Passcode is iftar.

For more information email msbajwa@gmail.com.

Ramadan, which is observed by Muslims around the world as a time of reflection, prayer and charitable acts, marks the time the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, was revealed to the prophet Mohammad. It ends with the festival of Eid al-Fitr that breaks the month-long fast that began April 12.

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Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has expressed optimism that Nigeria will overcome its insecurity challenges. The former preside...

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has expressed optimism that Nigeria will overcome its insecurity challenges.

The former president said there would be light at the end of the tunnel.

Obasanjo was joined by Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, as he declared that Nigeria would surmount its numerous challenges.

They spoke separately on Wednesday at the 108th Nigeria Baptist Convention held at the Baptist International Conference Centre, Lufuwape Town, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The event which was equally used to conduct valedictory and commendation service for the retiring President of Baptist Convention, Nigeria, and the President, Christians Association of Nigeria, Dr. (Reverend) Samson Ayokunle, was attended by other dignitaries including Senator Ishaku Abbo (Adamawa North) among other dignitaries.

In his address, Obasanjo said he remains an incurable optimist about a better Nigeria despite the escalating security challenges.

He said When I was coming here, I didnt intend to make a speech. And you will see that unlike my two brothers (referring to Governors Abiodun and Makinde) I dont have anything to read.

If you have brothers like this, do you have anything to fear? So, I told them to make a speech and I have come to concur. So, I concur.

But having concurred, if I dont say more than that, you will leave here and say Obasanjo is I concur.

Is that good enough? My two brothers talked about the situation we are in (insecurity). You know, Im an incurable optimist about a number of things, but particularly about Nigeria.

Epon Agbo wa n fi ni, koni ja (the situation may be threatening, we wont be consumed.) There will be light at the end of the tunnel.

Obasanjo, who is a member of the Baptist Church, commended Ayokunle for serving meritoriously in his capacity as a leader in the Baptist Church.
Progressives across the state marched on Jeff City a few moments ago in order to advocate for healthcare.



It's doubtful they'll garner much movement on the topic from the GOP dominated statehouse.

HOWEVER, voters did approve this effort and the election rights aspect of this conversation shouldn't be overlooked.

Read more . . .
The third wave of the pandemic has pushed some restaurants into taking an intentional break ahead of patio season while provinces remain under tight COVID-19 restrictions to keep the virus spread under control.

A man stops to look at the menu of the one takeaway restaurant open at an empty shopping complex as seats are closed off due to indoor dining being banned due to COVID-19 in Vancouver, on Sunday, April 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The third wave of the pandemic has pushed some restaurants into taking an intentional break ahead of patio season while provinces remain under tight COVID-19 restrictions to keep the virus spread under control.

Some restaurant owners said keeping staff safe at a time when the number of cases of more transmissible variants of COVID-19 continues to grow was one of the reasons behind the decision to close.

"We want to be proactive to protect all our staff, and our family, who are in the age group that is now more at risk," said a note on the website for Toronto restaurant Olde Yorke Fish and Chips.

The midtown area restaurant said the weeks-long hiatus, which includes its takeout service, is due to the record number of COVID-19 cases and the surge of variants in the city.

"We hope that vaccines will be given to essential workers, as we have been in the front lines of exposure all this time," wrote the Toronto restaurant on its social media page, adding that the restaurant will open again when the owners "feel comfortable with the situation in Toronto."

Ottawa restaurant Town said it was closing for at least a week or longer for what it called a mental health break.

"The current numbers are alarming, the hours recently have been long and we are all feeling the effects," the restaurant said in a post on its Instagram account.

"We think a little time to stay home, connect with our families and partners and taking time to decide how we are all feeling without the pressures of service is just what we all need."

Rasa Restaurant, located in Toronto's Harbord Village neighbourhood, said Ontario's latest stay-at-home order made management decide to provide its staff "a well-deserved and much needed 28 days of rest."

"We are not prepared to put our staff under any further mental or physical strain due to the sporadic nature in which the government makes their decisions and more importantly, relays those decisions," said the restaurant.

Toronto, along with neighbouring Peel Region, have been under lockdown measures since November. Outdoor dining was briefly allowed in late March but was reversed just after a few days when the government placed the whole province under emergency brake shutdown restrictions.

The most recent closure of patios and any kind of dining was the last straw for a large number of restaurants, said James Rilett, vice-president of Central Canada for Restaurants Canada.

"They just didn't feel that they could do it anymore, to continue this open and close, open and close. (They said) that they were going to stay closed until it was clear that they would be open for good," said Rilett in an interview.

For some restaurants, like Rasa, the decision was for their mental health but for others, it was for financial reasons, he said.

"Every time you're forced to close, you lose a lot of money that you have to then spend again when you reopen," Rilett added.

Meanwhile, some restaurants have used their temporary closure as a time to perform renovations and make improvements to their business.

On Saturday, Clansey's Bar and Restaurant in Rossland, B.C., closed following British Columbia's temporary ban on indoor dining on March 29, which has been extended into May.

Clansey's has taken this time to renovate its kitchen and create a new rooftop patio, as well as improve its menu to include new summer food and drinks.

The restaurant has intended to close anyway as a "strategic move," said its executive chef, Jason Mekdeci.

"We decided that we were always going to have a closure in order to give us some time after the (ski) season to work on the restaurant," he said.

Mekdeci said he and the restaurant owner planned to keep Clansey's closed until May 13, but settled on remaining closed until at least early June after the ban on indoor dining was extended.

Restaurant Canada's Rilett said patio or outdoor dining should be allowed again as soon as possible, adding that this is a "fairly safe activity."

It is common for some restaurants to close when in-person dining is prohibited because they can't pick up enough customers to make takeout operations worthwhile, he said.

Rilett added that opening up patios had made a difference in restaurant revenues last summer, helping restaurants at least break even.

"If they're going to extend the emergency order, we'd like to know that as soon as possible so restaurants can plan. And going forward, I think we want to be part of the solution."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2021.
Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan shared a steamy kiss as they filmed a late night scene for ITV's upcoming drama The Thief on Wednesday.

The actor, 52, stars as canoe conman John Darwin, the fraudster who faked his own death, while Monica, 52, portrays his wife Anne.

In the scene, Monica could be seen sat behind the wheel as Eddie leaned in for a kiss from the passenger seat.

Filming: Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan shared a steamy kiss as they filmed a late night scene for ITV's upcoming drama The Thief on Wednesday

Eddie sported a dark green coat for the scene while Monica donned a large pair of glasses and a blue jacket.

The actress also wore a dark pleated dress with matching tights and flat shoes.

Members of the crew could be seen capturing the car scene while Monica and John were also spotted chatting with colleagues between takes.

The ITV drama will focus on how Anne became complicit in her husband's deception to convince the world he'd gone missing in an attempt to claim life insurance and avoid bankruptcy.

Roles: The actor, 52, stars as canoe conman John Darwin, the fraudster who faked his own death, while Monica, 52, portrays his wife Anne

Smooch: In the scene, Monica could be seen sat behind the wheel as Eddie leaned in for a kiss from the passenger seat

Casual: Eddie sported a dark green coat for the scene while Monica donned a large pair of glasses and a blue jacket

However, the deception was to take its toll on Anne who lied to their sons, Mark and Anthony, for five years whilst her husband, in the early days of the fraud, secretly lived in a bedsit next door to the home he shared with Anne.

Devastated by the loss of their father, neither son had an inkling their parents were capable of such treachery and being involved in a 679,000 insurance scam.

Anne and John, now 70, eventually decided to leave Seaton Carew and move to Panama City to start a new life together before their secret was exposed by the discovery of a photo of them posing in a Panama real estate office in July 2006.

John had been travelling back and forth between Panama and the UK and turned up at a London police station in 2007 claiming he'd been suffering from amnesia.

On location: Members of the crew could be seen capturing the car scene while Monica and John were also spotted chatting with colleagues between takes

Plot: The ITV drama will focus on how Anne became complicit in her husband's deception to convince the world he'd gone missing in an attempt to claim life insurance and avoid bankruptcy

Lies: The deception was to take its toll on Anne who lied to their sons, Mark and Anthony, for five years whilst her husband, in the early days of the fraud, secretly lived in a bedsit next door to the home he shared with Anne

Drive: The actor's looked deep in thought as they filmed the scene

Real life: John and Anne Darwin tried to convince the world that John had gone missing in 2002 whilst canoeing off the coast of Seaton Carew. However their secret was exposed by the discovery of a photo of them posing in a Panama real estate office in July 2006 (pictured)

At her trial Anne pleaded not guilty, arguing that she had been coerced into the plot by her husband, but the jury didn't believe her.

John was ordered to serve six years and three months in prison while his wife, who police described as a compulsive liar, got six years and six months. She was released from prison in 2011.

Since the astonishing case, the couple have divorced, with John remarrying, and Anne opting for a quiet life away from the headlines.

And in January 2021 it was reported that the former teacher has settled into a new life in the Philippines with new wife Mercy May, who at 47 is 23 years his junior.

The couple married in 2015 after striking up a romance online.

In character: Monica also wore a dark pleated dress with matching tights and flat shoes

New life: Anne and John, now 70, eventually decided to leave Seaton Carew and move to Panama City to start a new life together

Exposed: Their secret was exposed by the discovery of a photo of them posing in a Panama real estate office in July 2006

Deception: John had been travelling back and forth between Panama and the UK and turned up at a London police station in 2007 claiming he'd been suffering from amnesia

John receives a state pension of around 134 a week, while his wife, a mother-of-three, sub-lets a clothing stall and owns another shop.

She told The Mirror: 'I have a new business. I've had it for three years now. Boom. Making money.'

While in 2016 his ex-wife Anne wrote a book about the scandal, revealing she been disowned by their two sons.

Writing in Out of my Depth, the so-called 'Canoe Wife,' wrote: 'Why did I do it? That is the question I still ask myself today. Why, when I got home, did I make that phone call to the police?

Trial: At her trial Anne pleaded not guilty, arguing that she had been coerced into the plot by her husband, but the jury didn't believe her

'I was never motivated by money. That wasnt the reason. Incredible though it may sound, the only reason I had was my loyalty to John.'

She has since reconciled with her sons, and was last known to be working for the RSPCA in York after gaining qualifications in IT and business while in prison.

ITV's drama The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe is based upon the unpublished manuscript written by journalist David Leigh who was the first journalist to track down Anne as she was on the verge of setting up a new life in Panama.

Stars Monica and Eddie will be joined in the cast by Mark Stanley (White House Farm) and Karl Pilkington (Sick of It, Derek), whose roles have not yet been revealed.

Family: Devastated by the loss of their father, both of John's sons Mark and Anthony didn't had an inkling their parents were capable of lying about his death (pictured at the trial in 2008)

Hidden: John used a secret passageway (pictured) in the bedsit in which he lived for five years after he faked his own death, which connected to Anne's house next door

Speaking about his new role, Eddie said: 'I'm so thrilled to be working with Chris Lang, one of our greatest writers and to get the chance to work with Monica Dolan.

'The story of how and why John Darwin faked his own death to defraud insurance companies is fascinating, and if it weren't fact, you'd think it unbelievable.

'I can't pretend to understand what was going on in his head when he made those choices, but I'm going to do my absolute best to portray him, and I can't wait to get started.'

And Monica added: 'The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe tells the story of surely the most outrageous fraud of modern times - and my favourite kind of drama is when the outrageous comes from the prosaic.

Shocking: Anne lied to their sons, Mark and Anthony, for five years whilst her husband, in the early days of the fraud, secretly lived in a bedsit next door to the home he shared with Anne

'As breath-taking as their managing to pull this deception off in the first place, is how spectacularly the couple wrecked it for themselves as soon as they had got away with it.'

The real life story is written by acclaimed screenwriter Chris Lang, who said: 'I am beyond delighted to be working with two of the finest actors of their generation.

'I have admired them both from afar for many years (not in a creepy way though) and cannot wait to see them bring Anne and John Darwin to life.'

The four-part drama is produced by Story Films, the company founded by three times BAFTA-winner David Nath and fellow award-winning director Peter Beard.

Famous face: Eddie famously starred as Inspector Lestrade in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes alongside Robert Downey Jr

Susie Liggat (Giri/Haji) also executive produces, with Alison Sterling (The Windermere Children) producing.

They will be joined by the celebrated screenwriter of Unforgotten and Innocent Chris Lang who also executive produces the four part series. BAFTA winning director, Richard Laxton, (Honour, Mrs Wilson, Mum) directs each of the four episodes.

The drama has been commissioned for ITV by Head of Drama Polly Hill and will be produced in association with All3Media International.
Boris Johnson today hailed the European Parliament's approval of the post-Brexit trade deal as the 'final step' towards a new relationship.

The PM said it is 'time to look to the future' after the result of the vote was announced in Brussels this morning, with 660 MEPs in favour and just five opposed.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also welcomed the green light - but delivered a warning shot that it must be 'faithfully implemented'.

The ballot took place yesterday, but coronavirus working restrictions meant the result was not immediately declared.

The trade agreement has been provisionally in force since being agreed by Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen before Christmas.

Both sides will hope it can draw a line under four years of acrimonious negotiations and debate.

Mr Johnson said: 'This week is the final step in a long journey, providing stability to our new relationship with the EU as vital trading partners, close allies and sovereign equals.

'Now is the time to look forward to the future and to building a more Global Britain.'

The result of the vote was announced in Brussels this morning, with 660 MEPs in favour and just five opposed

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the vote and said the Trade and Co-operation Agreement 'marks the foundation of a strong and close partnership with the UK'

There had been fears that the European Parliament was withholding approval as a pressure tactic in the row over the Northern Ireland protocol.

Ms von der Leyen welcomed the vote and said the Trade and Co-operation Agreement 'marks the foundation of a strong and close partnership with the UK'.

But in an acknowledgement of EU concerns about the Prime Minister's approach to deals with Brussels, she warned that 'faithful implementation is essential'.

Leading MEP Guy Verhofstadt tweeted: 'The @Europarl_EN approves the EU - UK trade & cooperation agreement! The first trade deal in history to put up barriers & remove freedoms? A failure for both sides, but better than nothing.'

In a speech during the debate yesterday, Ms von der Leyen warned Mr Johnson the European Union 'will not hesitate' to take action against the UK if it breaches the terms of the trade deal.

She warned that the pact has 'real teeth' and 'unilateral remedial measures' will be deployed 'where necessary'.

Ursula von der Leyen, pictured today addressing the European Parliament in Brussels, warned Boris Johnson the EU 'will not hesitate' to take action against the UK if it breaches the terms of the Brexit trade deal

MEPS will today finally vote for the Trade and Cooperation Agreement which the EU agreed with Mr Johnson on Christmas Eve last year. The PM is pictured in Llandudno yesterday

Her warning shot came amid a rumbling row between the UK and the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol which was agreed as part of the original Brexit divorce deal.

Addressing the European Parliament, Mrs von der Leyen said: 'This agreement comes with real teeth. With a binding dispute settlement mechanism and the possibility for unilateral remedial measures where necessary.

'Let me be very clear: We do not want to have to use these tools. But we will not hesitate to use them if necessary.

'They are essential to ensure full compliance with the TCA and with the Withdrawal Agreement.'

Mrs von der Leyen noted concerns in the EU that the UK had not yet fully complied with the terms of the Brexit divorce deal and stressed that 'vigilance' would be required in future when it comes to sticking to the terms of the trade deal.

Relations between the UK and EU have been strained over the application of the Northern Ireland Protocol which governs the post-Brexit arrangements aimed at preventing a hard border with Ireland.

Much of the disruption and controversy created by the protocol relates to the fact that Great Britain has left the Single Market for goods, while Northern Ireland remains in the EU regulatory zone.

That necessitates a significant number of documentary checks and physical inspections on agri-food goods arriving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

The UK has unilaterally extended grace periods covering areas of the economy including supermarket supplies and parcel deliveries to Northern Ireland from Great Britain, meaning post-Brexit checks are not yet fully applied  which has triggered a legal dispute with Brussels.

Mrs von der Leyen said there was a need for 'joint solutions' as 'unilateral decisions will get us nowhere'.

She said there had been 'some progress' in talks on improving the protocol between commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic and the UK's Brexit Minister Lord Frost.
The union that represents 1,800 Manitoba corrections officers has filed a formal complaint with a provincial tribunal over the Pallister government's failure to bargain a new contract.

The union that represents 1,800 Manitoba corrections officers has filed a formal complaint with a provincial tribunal over the Pallister government's failure to bargain a new contract.

In an unfair labour practice complaint to the Manitoba Labour Board, the union accused the government of refusing to provide specific monetary proposals after two years of bargaining.

"During this time, we have tabled specific proposals and explained them in detail," the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union said in a message to its members Tuesday.

"The employer has provided its non-monetary proposals, but has consistently refused our requests to provide its monetary proposals (or) mandate."

The Pallister government has attempted to impose two years of wage freezes on public-sector workers. Tens of thousands of publicly paid workers have been working without a contract for several years, including civil servants, nurses and striking Manitoba Hydro workers.

Earlier this month, the Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled the Progressive Conservative government was "unreasonable" when it refused to let the provincial civil service contract to go to binding arbitration.

The 1,800 corrections staff, employed at Headingley jail, the Winnipeg Remand Centre and several other institutions, have been without a contract for more than two years.

Union president Michelle Gawronsky said it is regrettable that the government keeps forcing public-sector workers to resort to the courts and tribunals to have their rights respected.

"It is disrespectful to dedicated correctional officers keeping our jails running through the pandemic, and it is a complete waste of taxpayer money," she said in a statement to the Free Press. "We just want the government to bargain with correctional officers in good faith."

The union is asking the labour board to order the government to produce its monetary proposals.

In 2017, the PC-dominated Manitoba legislature passed Bill 28, the Public Services Sustainability Act, which calls for wage freezes in the first two years of any new public-sector union contract, followed by increases of no more than 0.75 per cent and one per cent in years 3 and 4.

Although the legislation was never proclaimed, it has been struck down in Court of Queen's Bench. The government is appealing the ruling.

In a statement Tuesday, a government spokeswoman said the province remains committed to "good faith collective bargaining" and dismissed the unfair labour practice complaint as an attempt to "lever ongoing negotiations through the media."

"Despite this distraction, there was (a) bargaining session just today and another session is scheduled in May, in a few weeks time," she said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
COMPANIES

General Dynamics eyes greater share of the cloud pie

GD already lead on one significant effort, targets others

General Dynamics sounds like it wants to be at the nexus of federal agencies migrations to cloud computing environments even as the company already is for one significant effort.

During General Dynamics first quarter earnings call with investors Wednesday, CEO Phebe Novakovic said that shift to cloud infrastructures represents an expansion of the market and presents a significant opportunity for the company in the years ahead.

Via its IT services business, General Dynamics is the lead integrator for the Defense Departments migration of its email and other back-office collaboration tools to Microsoft Office 365.

The Defense Enterprise Office Solutions contract is ramping up this year and covers use in both classified and unclassified environments.

Not surprisingly, the U.S. DOD is moving as all major institutions are, moving increasingly to the cloud, Novakovic told analysts. So our cloud offerings are an incrementally important of our offerings that we believe will drive increased adoption across our existing contracts, and adoption of the technology suite that we offer.

DEOS and other program ramp-ups during the first quarter spurred GDIT to 5-percent revenue growth over the prior year period. The GDIT business financial results are now reported alongside the mission systems hardware units numbers under the Technologies segment starting this year.

For Technologies as a whole, GD reported organic revenue growth of 5.3 percent in the quarter to $3.2 billion with operating profit up 2.6 percent to $306 million.

More foundation for growth could become apparent for the GDIT business if the $30 billion in bids it is awaiting decisions on for awards get worked through by agencies, which have gone through uneven disruptions in procurement activity during the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID obviously had some impact on those decision-making processes, but we expect as the government gets back to full operating cadence that we will begin to work through some of that backlog on order decisions, Novakovic told analysts.

COVID also obviously had an impact on the cadence of work given how remote, at home has been the norm for so many since March of last year.

Novakovic sounded like she expects some changes to be permanent, but it remains somewhat of a murky picture for future years.

We hear a lot of anecdotal evidence that there may be systemic changes emanating from COVID that have to do with work at home and what that might mean for the commercial real estate footprint, Novakovic said. We still believe it is too soon to declare any change structurally -- we do expect to see some -- the extent to which remains to be seen, but some (work) from home either in hybrid capacities or in some cases more completely. But I dont see that move as something that is dis-positive and determinative of real performance and execution."

Per tradition, General Dynamics never updates its financial forecast after the first quarter in any year. They held to it on Wednesday.

A second tradition for GD is to shy away from comments on the landscape for potential acquisitions. But the question on that was asked to understand the companys broader thinking on how it invests capital and where.

We have been through a significant investment period across many of our large lines of business, and our focus here is on execution, Novakovic started her response.

Just look at the acquisition of CSRA three years ago as one major example, along with GDs investments in its shipyards.

We always look for potential niche bolt-ons here and there, but we dont see anything on the horizon here of any significant opportunities that would entice us, she said.

GDs mission systems business -- - essentially the companys IT hardware organization -- is where much of those types of deals have happened recently.

See as examples under that category the purchases of unmanned sea vehicle maker Bluefin Robotics in 2016 and computing hardware firm Deep Learning Analytics in 2019.
Chris Attig was arrested and jailed while peacefully testifying against an anti-trans bill in Arkansas (YouTube/ Veterans Law Blog)

A concerned father testifying at a hearing in the Arkansas statehouse against an anti-trans bill has spoken out about being arrested arrested after speaking for more than his allotted time.

Chris Attig was passionately defending the rights of teenagers and minors in the state to have access to gender-affirming medical care, as his now 22-year-old son had.

It was just shocked sitting there in jail thinking that this is what happens when you speak to people about how their proposed laws are affecting your children, Mr Attig told LGBT+ publication them on Tuesday. They dont want to hear it. They put you in jail.

Adding to the outrageous sight of Mr Attig being handcuffed and removed from the hearing last month was that those speaking in favour of the bill were allowed to speak for up 40 minutes.

Only those against the bill were held to a two-minute time limit, LGBTQNation reports, while the Alliance Defending Freedom and Family Research Council, classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center, spoke for much longer.

No matter what happens here today, you are loved, Mr Attig said in his testimony in the 9 March hearing, addressing trans youth in the state.

Republican state representative Jack Ladyman interjected that Mr Attigs time was up near the two-minute mark, but he persisted, intending to finish his speech.

After repeating that his time was up, lawmakers cut his mic, but he continued to talk, at which point security was instructed to remove him.

Mr Attig says he was taken to jail and held for several hours. He now faces a charge of disorderly conduct.

House Bill 1570, the Arkansas Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act, banned medical professionals from providing gender-affirming healthcare of any kind to transgender minors. The ban includes hormone therapy, reversible puberty blockers, and surgery  though that is not performed on minors.

While the bill was passed by the legislature, it was vetoed by Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson.

Story continues

Mr Hutchinson said he believes the government should not be involved in medical decisions and restraint is better than overbroad actions that interfere with important relationships in our society.

The state legislature nevertheless overrode the veto.

Mr Attig worries that bills such as this send a message that it is permissible to attack transgender people.

Medical practitioners in Arkansas say they have been asked by parents which state they should now move to for treatment for their children.

They are also concerned that others may turn to the black market for hormone treatments that cannot be adequately monitored by professionals.

In recent comments to the Associated Press, the Arkansas Childrens Hospital reported that four trans youth attempted to end their lives after HB 1570 was signed into law.

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Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size It is a rare suggestion that Australias wealthiest woman Gina Rinehart could lose most of her $35.6 billion iron ore fortune over the price of a few printed court documents, but it is one floated before the West Australian Supreme Court in a bid to suppress a discovery action brought against her. Mrs Rineharts lawyers argue that, should her daughter Bianca Rinehart succeed in gaining information she then uses to further her claims to owning dynasty founder Lang Hancocks iron ore tenements, it will effectively dismantle the $20 billion equity-rich mining company Hancock Prospecting (HPPL). It is a claim the daughter denies. Present in court last week were Supreme Court Justice Rene Le Miere, TV screens beaming three barristers representing both generations of Rineharts, as well as Hancock Prospecting, from their offices in Sydney and a handful of observers  including this reporter. It was a small affair, where only one week earlier, seated in the same courtroom placed high atop Perths skyline, commanding million-dollar views of the Swan River, sat a roomful of sharply suited lawyers oblivious to their surrounds as more valuable real estate 1200 kilometres away looked to go under the gavel. Testing the waters: Hearings over Western Australias clash of the dynasties have sat in the David Malcolm Justice Centre courtrooms, which command stunning Swan River views. Legal arguments over the framing of next years trial into the rights and royalties of Pilbara mine Hope Downs  Langs most-prized multibillion-dollar iron ore tenement  were wrestled by four interested parties, with a fifth, Rio Tinto, also paying heed to what may become of its Hancock joint venture. Wright Prospecting, once belonging to Langs former business partner Peter Wright and passed on to his dynasty, wants equal share with Hancock in Hope Downs, while DFD Rhodes, belonging to late engineer Don Rhodes estate, is seeking a comparatively minor royalty that will pay millions.

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But those claims pale into insignificance when compared to the outright ownership of Hope Downs sought by the younger Rinehart, together with her brother John Hancock, in what they say is their rightful inheritance under the Hope Margaret Hancock family trust, established in 1988  four years before Langs death. Bianca Rineharts counsel Christopher Withers SC accused Australias richest mining magnate in open court of defrauding the trust of Hope Downs and other assets for her own benefit through a series of complex agreements and deeds to her company Hancock Prospecting. Hancock Prospectings senior counsel Noel Hutley vehemently denied the claim and in turn accused the siblings of greedily seeking the companys most valuable iron ore asset, Roy Hill, as part of the trial. It was an assertion quickly rejected by Mr Withers since any blurring of the lines could see them dismissed from the Hope Downs Supreme Court action. But the allegation was again put to Justice Le Miere when barrister Christian Bova SC fought the daughters bid last week to uncover court-tendered testimony that she claimed may help investigate any misstep by Mrs Rinehart during her time as trustee to the family trust. Bianca Rinehart has applied to the court for any affidavits relating to a lawsuit in which Langs solicitor Carnegie Fieldhouse was accused by Gina Rinehart, via the family foundation, of helping her late father commit a corporate fraud to write-off millions of dollars in personal debts just before his death in 1992. The lawsuit failed more than 20 years later. Mr Fieldhouse also testified in separate federal court proceedings that declared Mr Hancocks estate bankrupt and essentially cut off his younger widow and former cleaner Rose Porteous. Mrs Porteous spent years fighting in the court after similarly accusing Mrs Rinehart of defrauding the estate for her own benefit, but was not successful.

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Mr Bova argued that Bianca Rinehart was seeking the documents for improper purpose and they should be withheld until there was a known result in the confidential Federal Court arbitration, where the familys internal squabble continues to play out. He said it was the responsibility of the court to supervise the administration of the trust, which fell to the younger Rinehart as trustee but who had a clear conflict of interest since she would personally benefit from stripping Hancock Prospecting of its most valuable assets. If those claims succeed, the value of HPPL and its shares will reduce dramatically, he told the court. And given the principal asset of HMH Trust is a significant shareholding in HPPL, so the success of Biancas personal claims cannot be in the interests of HMH Trust. It was a clever circular argument that rang some alarm bells with NSW Chief Judge in Equity, Julie Ward, when she handed down her judgment to delay the release of corporate files relating to the trust held by Mrs Rinehart and the company after a similar attempt by Bianca late last year. It was revealed most recently in court that Hancock Prospecting uncovered some 27,000 documents in its possession, according to the search terms provided by Mrs Rineharts daughter, but sifting through those documents as to actual their relevance to the trust would cost around $300,000 in estimates by Mrs Rineharts solicitors. Even then, Mrs Rinehart has to approve their release.

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It proved another dead end in a long standoff over corporate information sharing that is understood to also be occurring before specially appointed federal court arbitrator Wayne Martin QC. And it is behind those closed arbitration doors, where Hancock Prospecting would prefer all matters to be argued. Loading In fact, further arbitration involving DFD Rhodes has been floated as a way of being rid of Bianca and John from the Supreme Court action, effectively whittling the Hope Downs trial to a good old fashioned gun-sling between Hancock and Wright. Justice Le Miere, who has reserved his decisions, will be up against it as he has been reminded of the High Court of Australias decision to endorse confidential arbitration as a preferred method of settlement. He will also not wish to step too far outside the NSW judges decree, despite it being in a separate jurisdiction and the handful of files most recently sought relating to his own court hearings rather than being a matter of piercing a corporate veil. Justice Le Miere is also aware his decision may spawn a web of further court hearings that may delay trial, since he has sat through most of the Hope Downs hearings over the decades, but he will wish to see justice done for all parties.

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The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra State on Tuesday intercepted a suspected human trafficker and rescued five suspected victims.

The corps Head of Operations in the state, Anthony Ogbodo, told reporters in Awka on Wednesday that the suspect, a 36-year-old driver, was arrested on Onitsha-Awka Expressway.

According to him, the suspect was arrested by an FRSC patrol team led by Ugochukwu Ogbonna.

Mr Ogbodo said the team made the arrest when it stopped a black Nissan Primera, with registration number BEN 468 HP, for seat belt violation.

Our patrol team earlier set out to book the driver for seat belt violation. But on close inspection, it noticed five girls inside the vehicle, this raised suspicion.

The vehicle was impounded and taken to the commissions office.

We interviewed the driver who claimed he was taking the girls to work as house helps and farmers in their family farmland in Benin.

The victims, who said they were from Vande Ikya in Benue, told us they were going to Benin to sell pepper soup and beer in a beer parlour, he said.

Mr Ogbodo said the case was reported to FRSC headquarters which directed the state sector command to alert the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in Anambra for further investigations.

While receiving the impounded vehicle, the suspect and the victims, Judith-Chukwu Ibadin, the commander of NAPTIP in Anambra, said the agency would begin investigations into the case without delay.

The suspect and victims are going to be in our custody pending when we conclude investigations.

I am sure there may be other suspects because this is a syndicate.

We are going to interview both the victims and the suspect.

If there are more, we will make further arrests. They will be prosecuted and if found guilty, the court will pronounce judgment, she said.

(NAN)
Chandigarh, April 28 : Hyundai Motor India Foundation (HMIF), the philanthropic arm of Hyundai Motor India, on Wednesday announced to offer infrastructural assistance of Rs 20 crore to the states most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, including Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.

Under its third phase of initiatives for Covid-19, HMIF will rollout a multi-faceted relief package of Rs 20 crore that is deeply focused on the crisis at hand, a statement by the company said.

To impact meaningful respite across the most impacted states and cities, Hyundai will deploy its resources for setting up oxygen generating plants in hospitals, to aid critical patients and help hospitals become self-sufficient in oxygen supply.

The company will also install medicare facilities and provide support staff to various hospitals and cater to their operational cost for the next three months and further if needed.

S.S. Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India, said, "To offer meaningful assistance to the most affected cities and states, Hyundai has redeployed its resources and channelled efforts that will provide relief during these difficult circumstances. We are organizing resources on a war footing and hope to help in abating this crisis."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Over 5,000,000 doses of COVID vaccine have been administered so far in Romania, the RO Vaccinare platform informed in a post on its Facebook page on Tuesday evening, report agerpres.

"This evening we have exceeded the threshold of 5,000,000 doses administered during the national vaccination campaign against COVID-19. Over 3,158,000 people have been vaccinated in Romania against COVID-19 until tonight," the quoted source states.

The national vaccination campaign against COVID-19 started in Romania on December 27, 2020.
CLEVELAND (AP)  As Byron Buxton walked to the plate for his final at-bat, he didn't consider hitting for the cycle until a fan pointed out the obvious.

I heard this little kid and hes like, All you need is a triple, said Buxton, who settled for his second double.

It's the only time he came up short Wednesday.

Buxton homered on Logan Allen's second pitch and went 5 for 5, Mitch Garver hit two homers and the struggling Twins connected six times to end a four-game losing streak with a 10-2 thumping of the Cleveland Indians.

Buxton's AL-leading eighth homer triggered a three-homer barrage in the first off Allen (1-4), who allowed six home runs in a 12-batter span over two starts and soon will be on his way to Triple-A Columbus.

Buxton added two doubles, two singles and stole a base while pushing his average to .438.

Leave it up to Buck to get the team going, Garver said. Hes been playing out of his mind right now. We follow his lead when he sets the pace for a game. Hes got to be like the most electric baseball player in the game right now.

Hes certainly the hottest. Everything is going his way. 

Not long after Buxton returned to the dugout in the first, Josh Donaldson hit a 425-foot homer. Allen walked Nelson Cruz and surrendered Jorge Polanco's 426-foot homer into the left-field bleachers as the Twins took extended batting practice to open a 4-0 lead after 14 pitches.

The home runs energized the two-time defending AL Central champion Twins, who have fallen into last place.

It was awesome, Garver said of the early onslaught as Minnesota became the first visiting team to hit six home runs in one game at Progressive Field, which opened in 1994.

J.A. Happ (2-0) took advantage of all the run support. The left-hander, who carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning against Pittsburgh in his previous start, didn't have to be nearly as good and allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings.

Garver, among several Twins struggling at the plate in the season's first month, connected for a solo homer in the fifth and added a two-run rocket in the seventh off rookie Sam Hentges.

Story continues

Williams Astudiollo also homered as Minnesota salvaged the finale of the three-game series and won for just the second time in 10 games.

Amed Rosario homered for the Indians, who went 3-5 in their homestand against the White Sox, Yankees and Twins.

Buxton came in batting .390, so Twins manager Rocco Baldelli moved him into the leadoff spot for the second time this season.

The hunch paid off immediately as Buxton's third career leadoff homer set the tone for the Twins, who connected for 1,201 feet of homers in the first off Allen.

Buxton leads the league in several offensive categories, but never considered one of them might be home runs. He laughed when asked if he would consider an invite to the All-Star Game's Home Run Derby later this season in Denver.

You ever see how big them dudes is in that?" he said.

Allen, who was rocked last week in a start against New York, got a sarcastic Bronx cheer from Indians fans when he finally threw a strike and again when recording an out. He was mercifully pulled in the second and will now go to the minors to work on his game.

Im not worried, Allen said. "Im upset I let my teammates down and Im upset that the last three outings have come to this, but its part of it. I just have to go down there and attack and when I come back, hopefully we dont have these tough conversations.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Fast starts are nothing new to the Twins, who are batting .380 (35 for 92) in the first inning. That's tops in baseball and 63 points ahead of the next-closest team (Milwaukee, .317).

ROSTER MOVE

Unable to find good spots for Oliver Perez to pitch, the Indians designated the 39-year-old left-hander for assignment.

It was having a tough time figuring out how to use him, manager Terry Francona said. He was kind of pitching in games that were spread out, which doesn't kind of fit the role for a lefty specialist. I told him last night, Man, I havent figured it out.

Perez was re-signed this winter after spending the past three seasons with Cleveland.

Nick Wittgren returned to the club after being placed on paternity leave.

UP NEXT

Twins: Minnesota will have Thursday off before beginning a three-game home series on Friday against Kansas City with Michael Pineda starting. The Royals haven't announced their starter.

Indians: Following an off day, the Indians open a three-game series in Chicago with Cy Young winner Shane Bieber (2-2) facing left-hander Dallas Keuchel (1-0).

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Colombo: Sri Lanka's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a controversial proposal to ban all forms of face coverings in public places, citing a threat to national security.

The move came weeks after Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara signed a note in March, seeking the approval of the Cabinet to ban burqas -- outer garments that cover the body and face worn by some Muslim women.

The Cabinet has decided to ban all forms of face coverings in public places, Cabinet spokesperson and information minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters here, without specifying burqas.

He said the decision was taken two years after a wave of coordinated terror attacks on hotels and churches on Easter Sunday. All forms of face covers are a threat to national security, he said.

However, wearing face masks to combat COVID-19 is allowed. The covering of the full face will automatically include burqa and niqab. The proposal now must be approved by Parliament to become a law.

Last month, Pakistan's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Ambassador Saad Khattak had criticised the proposal to ban the wearing of burqas in the country, saying such "divisive steps" in the name of security will not only hurt the sentiments of Muslims but also strengthen wider apprehensions about the fundamental human rights of minorities in the island nation.

Meanwhile, Weerasekera in a Facebook post wrote that the Cabinet has approved the proposal to ban all face coverings, including the burqa.

"I requested approval to draft a law for the covering of full-face adhering to the quarantine law which means there will be no prohibition to wear face masks to prevent the COVID-19 virus," he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror news website.

The Buddhist-majority nation in 2019 had temporarily banned the wearing of burqas under emergency regulations following the Easter Sunday attacks in which nine suicide bombers belonging to the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) carried out a series of blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels, killing 270 people, including 11 Indians, and injuring over 500.

Muslims make up about 9 per cent of the 22 million people in Sri Lanka, where Buddhists account for more than 70 per cent of the population. Ethnic minority Tamils, who are mainly Hindus, comprise about 12 per cent, while Christians account for over 7 per cent of the population.

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Mastercard has signed a partnership agreement with the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) to digitise the countrys payment ecosystem.

This is intended to boost financial inclusion, encourage socio-economic development, mitigate the risks of a shadow economy and accelerate the advancement toward a cashless society.

The partnership first aims to build an efficient, reliable, and secure payment ecosystem, starting with the education sector, and expanding into other sectors. This will not only reduce the use of cash, promote the use of digital payments, and increase government revenues, but will also minimise sizeable operational and administrative inefficiencies in the education industry by reducing the overly manual processes.

Iraqs population of 40 million people is largely cash-driven, with 99.8% of its $122 billion personal consumption expenditure made in cash in 20191. Despite that however, there is a large potential for digitisation, as the country has a 70% smartphone penetration rate and 222% of the population fall within the young and tech savvy 15-24 years old age bracket.

Furthermore, there is often very little choice in payment methods offered to parents and guardians with most students managing all their payments in cash. With neither parents nor students having bank accounts or using online payment services, it is critical to encourage a change in the way consumers pay school fees, since it can cause a ripple effect by impacting the entire payment ecosystem and economy.

Duha Abdul Kareem Mohammed, Director General for Payments Department at the Central Bank of Iraq, said: "The work that Mastercard has done in Iraq over the last few years has made a notable impact on the countrys financial services sector and driven greater levels of financial inclusion. At the Central Bank of Iraq, we clearly recognise that the digital economy has a vital role to play in that journey, especially in enabling formal economic growth through a new payment ecosystem that is transparent, simple, and effective. We are very much looking forward to working with Mastercard to advance Iraqs digital transformation, beginning with the education sector.

Khalid Elgibali, Division President Mena, Mastercard, said: Creating a digital payment ecosystem is critical, not only because it encourages economic development, but because there is also a demonstrable, negative relationship between cash use and the shadow economy. Our work with the Central Bank of Iraq will focus on improving overall efficiencies the economy, starting with the educational institutions by giving parents, students, and merchants a much safer, simpler, and more convenient way to pay. This is only the start however, and we look forward to expanding into other sectors at a later stage, as we work to advance the full payment ecosystem and achieve financial inclusion in Iraq.

The Mastercard partnership with CBI is a starting point that will allow for the development of a full digital ecosystem in Iraq, which will cover key pillars including the use of Public Policy and Regulation to curb the shadow economy, a wholesale modernisation of the payment ecosystem, and the digitisation of key value chains. Those include government collections and disbursement and peer-to-peer and consumer spending, as well as business purchases and salary payments.-- Tradearabia News Service
Mumbai, April 28 : Bollywood veteran Randhir Kapoor on Wednesday informed he is trying to trace the divorce decree of his late brother Rajiv Kapoor, to produce in court. Earlier, Bombay High Court had asked Randhir Kapoor and his sister Rima Jain to submit the decree in a property-related case.

Speaking to IANS, Randhir said the divorce papers are needed in order to get a probate made.

"My brother is divorced. I have got to get the probate made. For that, I need his divorce papers. He used to stay in Pune and here. I can't find it and I am tracing it. I have put a tracer on it and people are working on it. I don't know where he has kept it. He is not here," Randhir informed.

Rajiv Kapoor passed away on February 9. A petition was subsequently filed by Randhir and Rima to obtain letters of administration to the property and credits. According to the petition, Rajiv married Aarti Sabharwal in 2001 and they got divorced two years later.

We approached advocate Yogesh Adhia, who is handling the case but he refused to comment, saying he had no further information at this point in time.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
MARLBOROUGH, Mass., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) generated net sales of $2.752 billion during the first quarter of 2021. This represents growth of 8.2 percent on a reported basis, 5.6 percent on an operational1 basis and 5.9 percent on an organic2 basis, all compared to the prior year period. The company reported GAAP net income available to common stockholders of $327 million or $0.23 per share (EPS), compared to GAAP net income of $11 million or $0.01 per share a year ago, and achieved adjusted EPS of $0.37 for the period, compared to $0.28 a year ago.

"We are pleased by the trajectory of our recovery," said Mike Mahoney, chairman and chief executive officer, Boston Scientific. "Our global team remains committed to helping patients and our customers by delivering a robust portfolio of innovative solutions, and that commitment will continue to fuel our future growth."

First quarter financial results and recent developments:

Reported net sales of $2.752 billion , representing an increase of 8.2 percent on a reported basis, compared to the company's guidance range of 0 to 6 percent; 5.6 percent on an operational basis; and 5.9 percent on an organic basis, compared to the company's guidance range of (3) to 3 percent, all compared to the prior year period.



, representing an increase of 8.2 percent on a reported basis, compared to the company's guidance range of 0 to 6 percent; 5.6 percent on an operational basis; and 5.9 percent on an organic basis, compared to the company's guidance range of (3) to 3 percent, all compared to the prior year period. Reported GAAP net income available to common stockholders of $0.23 per share compared to the company's guidance range of $0.05 to $0.11 per share. Achieved adjusted EPS of $0.37 compared to the guidance range of $0.28 to $0.34 per share.



per share compared to the company's guidance range of to per share. Achieved adjusted EPS of compared to the guidance range of to per share. Achieved net sales growth in each reportable segment 4 , compared to the prior year period:

, compared to the prior year period: MedSurg: 11.1 percent reported, 8.6 percent operational and 9.5 percent organic



Rhythm and Neuro: 6.8 percent reported, 4.0 percent operational and 1.6 percent organic



Cardiovascular: 10.0 percent reported, 7.4 percent operational and organic



Achieved the following regional 5 net sales growth, compared to the prior year period:

net sales growth, compared to the prior year period: U.S.: 8.6 percent reported and operational



EMEA ( Europe , Middle East and Africa ): 9.4 percent reported and 1.9 percent operational

, and ): 9.4 percent reported and 1.9 percent operational

APAC ( Asia-Pacific ): 15.6 percent reported and 9.1 percent operational

): 15.6 percent reported and 9.1 percent operational

Emerging Markets 3 : 16.0 percent reported and 13.2 percent operational



: 16.0 percent reported and 13.2 percent operational Received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the TheraSphere Y-90 Glass Microspheres for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of primary liver cancer, and secured FDA Breakthrough Device designation for TheraSphere treatment for patients with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. 6



for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of primary liver cancer, and secured FDA Breakthrough Device designation for TheraSphere treatment for patients with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Received approval for the Ranger Drug-Coated Balloon from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) and initiated a full launch in the region.



from Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) and initiated a full launch in the region. Launched Vercise Genus Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) System in the U.S. Additionally, the system is being used with the world's first 16-channel directional leadsCartesia X and HX leadsin the eXTend 3D Study in Europe .



in the U.S. Additionally, the system is being used with the world's first 16-channel directional leadsCartesia X and HX leadsin the eXTend 3D Study in . Commenced U.S. launch of the WaveWriter Alpha portfolio of spinal cord stimulator (SCS) systems, consisting of four full-body MR conditional, Bluetooth-enabled devices, new FAST paresthesia-free therapy and all supported by Cognita Solutions a suite of digital tools that helps physicians and patients navigate the pain management journey.



portfolio of spinal cord stimulator (SCS) systems, consisting of four full-body MR conditional, Bluetooth-enabled devices, new paresthesia-free therapy and all supported by a suite of digital tools that helps physicians and patients navigate the pain management journey. Surpassed 50,000 patients worldwide treated with the SENTINEL Cerebral Protection System , the first and only FDA-cleared device to protect patients from stroke risk during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures.



, the first and only FDA-cleared device to protect patients from stroke risk during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures. Published positive 12-month results from the PINNACLE FLX clinical trial in Circulation, demonstrating the next-generation WATCHMAN FLX Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) Device is a safe and effective alternative to oral anticoagulation therapy for stroke risk reduction in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and increased risk of bleeding. The trial met its primary safety endpoint with a low adverse event rate of 0.5%, as well as its primary effectiveness endpoint with a 100% rate of LAA closure at 12 months.



is a safe and effective alternative to oral anticoagulation therapy for stroke risk reduction in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and increased risk of bleeding. The trial met its primary safety endpoint with a low adverse event rate of 0.5%, as well as its primary effectiveness endpoint with a 100% rate of LAA closure at 12 months. Presented five-year outcomes from the EFFORTLESS study, the largest post-market registry of the Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator (S-ICD) System , further validating the long-term efficacy of the device. Results demonstrated 98% overall efficacy over five years, consistent with results of previous S-ICD studies and comparable to or higher than many large transvenous ICD studies.



, further validating the long-term efficacy of the device. Results demonstrated 98% overall efficacy over five years, consistent with results of previous S-ICD studies and comparable to or higher than many large transvenous ICD studies. Received FDA approval to modify the design of the ACURATE IDE trialevaluating the ACURATE neo2 Aortic Valve System to an "all-risk" protocol to study patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis who are at low risk of open-heart surgery, in addition to those at intermediate, high and extreme risk.



to an "all-risk" protocol to study patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis who are at low risk of open-heart surgery, in addition to those at intermediate, high and extreme risk. Initiated the NEwTON AF IDE clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the INTELLANAV STABLEPOINT Ablation Catheter enabled with DIRECTSENSE Technology in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.



enabled with in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Named eighth on the Forbes list of America's Best Employers for Diversity 2021, based on a survey of 50,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees.



list of America's Best Employers for Diversity 2021, based on a survey of 50,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees. Completed the acquisition of Preventice Solutions, Inc., a privately-held company which offers a full portfolio of mobile cardiac health solutions and services, for an upfront cash payment of ~$720 million , with up to an additional ~$230 million in a potential commercial milestone payment, given a preexisting 22 percent equity stake.



, with up to an additional in a potential commercial milestone payment, given a preexisting 22 percent equity stake. Completed the sale of the BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals business to Stark International Lux S.A.R.L. and SERB SAS, affiliates of SERB, for ~$800 million in cash.



in cash. Announced a definitive agreement with an affiliate of Baring Private Equity Asia to acquire the global surgical business of Lumenis LTD., a privately-held company that develops and commercializes energy-based medical solutions, for an upfront cash payment of ~$1.07 billion , subject to customary closing conditions and adjustments.



, subject to customary closing conditions and adjustments. Announced plans to host a virtual Investor Day business review meeting for the investment community on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 .

1. Operational net sales growth excludes the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. 2. Organic net sales growth excludes the impact of foreign currency fluctuations and net sales from the recent acquisition of Preventice Solutions, Inc. (Preventice). Organic net sales growth rates also exclude the intrauterine health franchise, which we divested in Q2 2020 and the Specialty Pharmaceuticals business, which we divested in Q1 2021. 3. We define Emerging Markets as the 20 countries that we believe have strong growth potential based on their economic conditions, healthcare sectors and our global capabilities. Periodically, we assess our list of Emerging Markets countries, and effective January 1, 2021, modified our list to include the following countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. We have revised prior year amounts to conform to the current year's presentation. The revision had an immaterial impact on previously reported Emerging Markets net sales. 4. We have three historical reportable segments comprised of Medical Surgical (MedSurg), Rhythm and Neuro, and Cardiovascular, which represent an aggregation of our operating segments that generate revenues from the sale of medical devices (Medical Devices). 5. On March 1, 2021, we completed the sale of the Specialty Pharmaceuticals business. Our consolidated net sales include Specialty Pharmaceuticals up to the date of the closing of the transaction. Specialty Pharmaceuticals net sales were substantially U.S. based and presented as a stand-alone operating segment alongside our Medical Device Reportable segments. 6. Consistent with Section 515B of the FD&C Act, devices designated as Breakthrough Devices will receive prioritized review (Section II.F).

Net sales for the first quarter by business and region:











Change



Three Months Ended March 31,

Reported

Basis

Less:

Impact of

Foreign

Currency

Fluctuations

Operational Basis

Less: Impact of

Recent

Acquisitions /

Divestitures

Organic

Basis (in millions) 2021 2020







































Endoscopy $ 499

$ 442



12.9%

3.0%

9.9%

%

9.9%

Urology and Pelvic Health 361

332



8.7%

1.9%

6.8%

(2.0)%

8.8%

MedSurg 860

774



11.1%

2.5%

8.6%

(0.9)%

9.5%

Cardiac Rhythm Management 469

437



7.4%

2.9%

4.4%

3.9%

0.5%

Electrophysiology 83

74



11.9%

4.2%

7.7%

%

7.7%

Neuromodulation 198

191



3.5%

1.8%

1.7%

%

1.7%

Rhythm and Neuro 750

703



6.8%

2.8%

4.0%

2.4%

1.6%

Interventional Cardiology 696

633



9.9%

2.7%

7.1%

%

7.1%

Peripheral Interventions 433

392



10.3%

2.6%

7.7%

%

7.7%

Cardiovascular 1,129

1,026



10.0%

2.7%

7.4%

%

7.4%

Medical Devices4 2,739

2,502



9.5%

2.7%

6.8%

0.4%

6.4%

Specialty Pharmaceuticals5 13

41



(67.5)%

0.5%

(68.0)%

(23.6)%

(44.4)% Net Sales $ 2,752

$ 2,543



8.2%

2.6%

5.6%

(0.3)%

5.9%







































Change



Three Months Ended

March 31,

Reported

Basis

Less: Impact

of Foreign

Currency

Fluctuations

Operational Basis (in millions) 2021 2020



























U.S. $ 1,577

$ 1,452



8.6%

%

8.6%

EMEA 604

552



9.4%

7.5%

1.9%

APAC 473

409



15.6%

6.5%

9.1%

Latin America and Canada 85

89



(3.8)%

(1.6)%

(2.2)%

Medical Devices4 2,739

2,502



9.5%

2.7%

6.8%

Specialty Pharmaceuticals5 13

41



(67.5)%

0.5%

(68.0)%

Net Sales $ 2,752

$ 2,543



8.2%

2.6%

5.6%





















Emerging Markets3 $ 317

$ 273



16.0%

2.8%

13.2%





















Amounts may not add due to rounding. Growth rates are based on actual, non-rounded amounts and may not recalculate precisely.





Growth rates that exclude the impact of foreign currency fluctuations and/or the impact of recent aforementioned acquisitions / divestitures are not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Guidance for Full Year and Second Quarter 2021

The company now estimates net sales growth for the full year 2021, versus the prior year period, to be in a range of approximately 16 to 19 percent on a reported basis, and approximately 15 to 18 percent on an organic basis. Full year organic net sales guidance excludes the impact of foreign currency fluctuations and the acquisition of Preventice Solutions, Inc., with no prior period related net sales, as well as the intrauterine health franchise, which we divested in Q2 2020 and the Specialty Pharmaceuticals business, which we divested in Q1 2021. The company now estimates earnings on a GAAP basis in a range of $0.81 to $0.88 per share and estimates adjusted earnings, excluding certain charges (credits), of $1.53 to $1.60 per share.

The company estimates net sales growth for the second quarter of 2021, versus the prior year period, to be in a range of approximately 46 to 50 percent on a reported basis and approximately 44 to 48 percent on an organic basis. Second quarter organic net sales guidance excludes the impact of foreign currency fluctuations and the acquisition of Preventice, with no prior period related net sales, as well as the intrauterine health franchise, which we divested in Q2 2020 and the Specialty Pharmaceuticals business, which we divested in Q1 2021. The company estimates earnings on a GAAP basis in a range of $0.16 to $0.18 per share and adjusted earnings, excluding certain charges (credits), of $0.36 to $0.38 per share.

Conference Call Information

Boston Scientific management will be discussing these results with analysts on a conference call today at 8:00 a.m. ET. The company will webcast the call to interested parties through its website: www.bostonscientific.com . Please see the website for details on how to access the webcast. The webcast will be available for approximately one year on the Boston Scientific website.

About Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific transforms lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a global medical technology leader for more than 40 years, we advance science for life by providing a broad range of high performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare. For more information, visit www.bostonscientific.com and connect on Twitter and Facebook .

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "anticipate," "expect," "project," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "intend" and similar words. These forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and estimates using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding our expected net sales; GAAP, operational and organic revenue growth rates; GAAP earnings and adjusted earnings for the second quarter and full year 2021; our financial performance; our business plans and product performance; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company's results of operations. If our underlying assumptions turn out to be incorrect, or if certain risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. These factors, in some cases, have affected and in the future (together with other factors) could affect our ability to implement our business strategy and may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements expressed in this press release. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements.

Factors that may cause such differences include, among other things: future economic, political, competitive, reimbursement and regulatory conditions; new product introductions; demographic trends; intellectual property; litigation; financial market conditions; and future business decisions made by us and our competitors. All of these factors are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of them are beyond our control. For a further list and description of these and other important risks and uncertainties that may affect our future operations, see Part I, Item 1A - Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we may update in Part II, Item 1A - Risk Factors in Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q we have filed or will file hereafter. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which those expectations may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Note: Amounts reported in millions within this press release are computed based on the amounts in thousands. As a result, the sum of the components reported in millions may not equal the total amount reported in millions due to rounding. Certain columns and rows within tables may not add due to the use of rounded numbers. Percentages presented are calculated from the underlying numbers in dollars.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

A reconciliation of the company's non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP measures, and an explanation of the company's use of these non-GAAP financial measures, is included in the exhibits attached to this press release.

CONTACT:









Media: Kate Haranis

Investors: Susie Lisa, CFA



508-683-6585 (office)



508-683-5565 (office)



Media Relations



Investor Relations



Boston Scientific Corporation



Boston Scientific Corporation



[email protected]



[email protected]

BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)





Three Months Ended March 31, in millions, except per share data 2021 2020





Net sales $ 2,752

$ 2,543

Cost of products sold 894

806

Gross profit 1,858

1,737







Operating expenses:



Selling, general and administrative expenses 1,019

978

Research and development expenses 276

300

Royalty expense 12

12

Amortization expense 185

201

Intangible asset impairment charges 

198

Contingent consideration net expense (benefit) (6)

(108)

Restructuring net charges (credits) 5

10

Litigation-related net charges (credits) 4



Gain on disposal of business (6)





1,488

1,591

Operating income (loss) 370

146







Other income (expense):



Interest expense (82)

(88)

Other, net 37

(36)

Income (loss) before income taxes 325

22

Income tax (benefit) expense (16)

12

Net income (loss) $ 341

$ 11

Preferred stock dividends (14)



Net income (loss) available to common stockholders $ 327

$ 11







Net income (loss) per common share - basic $ 0.23

$ 0.01

Net income (loss) per common share - assuming dilution $ 0.23

$ 0.01







Weighted-average shares outstanding



Basic 1,418.7

1,397.4

Assuming dilution 1,430.8

1,413.5



BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION NON-GAAP NET INCOME AND NET INCOME PER SHARE RECONCILIATIONS (Unaudited)





Three Months Ended March 31, 2021

(in millions, except per share data) Gross

Profit Operating

Expenses Operating

Income

(Loss) Other

Income

(Expense) Income

(Loss) Before

Income Taxes Net Income

(Loss) Preferred

Stock

Dividends Net Income

(Loss)

Available to

Common

Stockholders Impact

per

Share (1)

Reported $ 1,858

$ 1,488

$ 370

$ (45)

$ 325

$ 341

$ (14)

$ 327

$ 0.23



Non-GAAP adjustments:



















Amortization expense 

(185)

185



185

167



167

0.12



Acquisition / divestitures-related net charges (credits) 14

(37)

50

(198)

(148)

(153)



(153)

(0.11)



Restructuring and restructuring-related net charges (credits) 18

(31)

49



49

44



44

0.03



Litigation-related net charges (credits) 

(4)

4



4

4



4

0.00



Investment portfolio net losses (gains) 





146

146

112



112

0.08



EU MDR implementation costs 7

(3)

11



11

10



10

0.01



Deferred tax expenses (benefits) 









17



17

0.01



Discrete tax items 









(3)



(3)

(0.00)



Adjusted $ 1,897

$ 1,228

$ 669

$ (97)

$ 572

$ 538

$ (14)

$ 524

$ 0.37

























(1) For the three months ended March 31, 2021, the effect of assuming the conversion of Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock (MCPS) into shares of common stock was anti-dilutive, and therefore excluded from the calculation of EPS. Accordingly, GAAP net income and adjusted net income were reduced by cumulative Preferred stock dividends, as presented in our unaudited consolidated statements of operations, for purposes of calculating net income available to common stockholders.



























Three Months Ended March 31, 2020

(in millions, except per share data) Gross

Profit Operating

Expenses Operating

Income

(Loss) Other

Income

(Expense) Income

(Loss) Before

Income Taxes Net Income

(Loss) Preferred

Stock

Dividends Net Income

(Loss)

Available to

Common

Stockholders Impact

per

Share

Reported $ 1,737

$ 1,591

$ 146

$ (124)

$ 22

$ 11

$ 

$ 11

$ 0.01



Non-GAAP adjustments:



















Amortization expense 

(201)

201



201

180



180

0.13



Intangible asset impairment charges 

(198)

198



198

168



168

0.12



Acquisition / divestitures-related net charges (credits) 37

69

(32)

9

(23)

(36)



(36)

(0.03)



Restructuring and restructuring-related net charges (credits) 15

(15)

30



30

25



25

0.02



EU MDR implementation costs 4

(1)

5



5

5



5

0.00



Deferred tax expenses (benefits) 









26



26

0.02



Discrete tax items 









13



13

0.01



Adjusted $ 1,794

$ 1,245

$ 549

$ (115)

$ 434

$ 391

$ 

$ 391

$ 0.28















































An explanation of the company's use of these non-GAAP financial measures is provided at the end of this document.



BOSTON SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION Q2 and FY 2021 GUIDANCE RECONCILIATIONS (Unaudited)

Net Sales



Q2 2021 Estimate

Full Year 2021 Estimate

(Low) (High)

(Low) (High) Estimated GAAP sales growth 46% 50%

16% 19% Less: Estimated impact of foreign currency fluctuations 4% 4%

2% 2% Estimated sales growth, operational 42% 46%

14% 17% Less: Estimated impact of recent acquisitions / divestitures (2)% (2)%

(1)% (1)% Estimated sales growth, organic 44% 48%

15% 18%

Earnings per Share



Q2 2021 Estimate

Full Year 2021 Estimate

(Low) (High)

(Low) (High) GAAP results $ 0.16

$ 0.18



$ 0.81

$ 0.88













Estimated amortization expense 0.11

0.11



0.45

0.45

Estimated acquisition / divestitures-related net charges (credits) 0.03

0.03



(0.04)

(0.04)

Estimated restructuring and restructuring-related net charges (credits) 0.04

0.04



0.13

0.13

Estimated other adjustments 0.03

0.03



0.19

0.19

Adjusted results $ 0.36

$ 0.38



$ 1.53

$ 1.60



Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our unaudited consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, we disclose certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted net income (loss), adjusted net income (loss) available to common stockholders and adjusted net income (loss) per share (EPS) that exclude certain amounts, operational net sales, which exclude the impact of foreign currency fluctuations and organic net sales, which exclude the impact of foreign currency fluctuations and the impact of recent aforementioned acquisitions and divestitures. These non-GAAP financial measures are not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States and should not be considered in isolation from or as a replacement for the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Further, other companies may calculate these non-GAAP financial measures differently than we do, which may limit the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes.

To calculate adjusted net income (loss), adjusted net income (loss) available to common stockholders and adjusted net income (loss) per share we exclude certain charges (credits) from GAAP net income and GAAP net income available to common stockholders. Amounts are presented after-tax at the company's effective tax rate, unless the amount is a significant unusual or infrequently occurring item in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Codification section 740-270-30, "General Methodology and Use of Estimated Annual Effective Tax Rate." Please refer to Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our most recent Annual Report filed on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or any Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that we file thereafter for an explanation of each of these adjustments and the reasons for excluding each item.

The GAAP financial measures most directly comparable to adjusted net income (loss), adjusted net income (loss) available to common stockholders and adjusted net income (loss) per share are GAAP net income (loss), GAAP net income (loss) available to common stockholders and GAAP net income (loss) per common share - assuming dilution, respectively.

To calculate operational net sales growth rates, which exclude the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, we convert actual net sales from local currency to U.S. dollars using constant foreign currency exchange rates in the current and prior periods. To calculate organic net sales growth rates, we also remove the impact of recent aforementioned acquisitions and divestitures with less than a full period of comparable net sales. The GAAP financial measure most directly comparable to operational net sales and organic net sales is net sales on a GAAP basis.

Reconciliations of each of these non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP financial measure are included in the accompanying schedules.

Management uses these supplemental non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate performance period over period, to analyze the underlying trends in our business, to assess our performance relative to our competitors and to establish operational goals and forecasts that are used in allocating resources. In addition, management uses these non-GAAP financial measures to further its understanding of the performance of our operating segments. The adjustments excluded from our non-GAAP financial measures are consistent with those excluded from our operating segments' measures of net sales and profit or loss. These adjustments are excluded from the segment measures reported to our chief operating decision maker that are used to make operating decisions and assess performance.

We believe that presenting adjusted net income (loss), adjusted net income (loss) available to common stockholders, adjusted net income (loss) per share, operational net sales and organic net sales, in addition to the corresponding GAAP financial measures, provides investors greater transparency to the information used by management for its operational decision-making and allows investors to see our results "through the eyes" of management. We further believe that providing this information assists our investors in understanding our operating performance and the methodology used by management to evaluate and measure such performance.

SOURCE Boston Scientific Corporation

Related Links

http://www.bostonscientific.com


Judge Seamus Hughes has hit out at a prison governors decision to release a man on a two month sentence after he served just one day.

When theres no deterrent, whats the point in anyone doing their job? he fumed at last weeks sitting of Longford District Court.

Imrich Filo, of 15 Ardrum Court, Longford, was given a four month suspended sentence for driving without insurance.

He later received another suspended sentence for driving without insurance. That sentence was activated during an appeal at Roscommon Circuit Court on March 9, 2021.

He was released from prison after just 24 hours and an application to revoke the suspended sentence was brought before the court.

Gardai are out there trying to protect people with insurance and hes here on his fourth appearance asking me to revoke a suspended sentence, said Judge Hughes.

And I will revoke it with the message to the governess that she is paying total disregard to every single motorist paying their premiums.

Judge Hughes revoked the sentence but ordered Mr Filo to return with 1,000, which he did later that day.
New Delhi:

Three months after a most wanted Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Abu Dujana, a Pakistani, was gunned down by security forces, an audio is making rounds the social media where one can hear him saying that his Pakistani handlers asked him for specific locations of terrorists, who were later gunned down by security forces.

In the eight-minute long audio which is making rounds the social media Dujana can be heard talking with Ansar Ghazwat-u-Hind chief Zakir Musa.

Dujana is heard telling Musa that his masterminds had asked about pinpoint locations of terrorist. The militants were found killed after inputs were provided.

He further tells that his former commanders across the border were insisting him to publicly criticize Musa.

Also read: Kashmir family claims dead terrorist Abu Dujana as their lost 'son' Muzafar

In the audio he is heard saying, They are asking me to release an audio against you (Zakir Musa) to say that you are creating Fitna (discord) in Kashmir and I'm not associated with Zakir Musa."

Also read: Pakistan foreign minister says Hafiz Saed not in list of 75 terrorists handed over by US

Dujana is also heard saying, They (handlers) have asked me to say that you gave pinpoint information of militants killed by security forces."

Musa is also in the most wanted list of Indian security forces. Dujana and another militant was killed in Pulwama on August 1.

According to an intelligence officer, different militant groups are in a fratricidal war to gain area dominance in Kashmir area.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Molecule Holdings Inc. (CSE: MLCL) ("Molecule" or the "Company"), a Canadian craft-focused cannabis beverage production company, is pleased to present the line of new brands and products that will be available to consumers in Canada in May 2021.

Molecule launches Craft Shelf and introduces Molecule Crafted cannabis beverage portfolio for launch in May 2021.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7979/82059_craftshelfenhanced.jpg

Molecule Introduces "Molecule Crafted"

Molecule is pleased to introduce the Molecule Crafted label designation, found on all products produced by Molecule. Molecule's goal is for Molecule Crafted to be synonymous with reliability, consistency, Canadian and craft for consumers. Molecule's goal is that Molecule Crafted becomes known to represent phenomenal customer service, and retail support at the wholesale level.

A worker at the Molecule cannabis beverage facility in Lansdowne Ontario proudly displays a can of KLON Terpene Smash bound for shipment to Canadian consumers in May 2021.



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7979/82059_8fa9b3b734e1f989_001full.jpg

KLON Terpene Smash

KLON (pronounced "clone") marries the art of beverages and the science of cannabis. Each KLON creation is architected to highlight unique properties of the cannabis plant. KLON's first product, Terpene Smash, is an ode to terpenes, which are the fragrance molecules found in cannabis and shared with many other plants, like juniper and citrus fruits. KLON-branded products will be directed towards cannabis enthusiasts, cannabis geeks and cannabis activists, meant to be shared with friends while encouraging conversation about the exciting new world of cannabis beverages.

Proper Lemon Lime Sparkling Cannabis Beverage

Proper Cannabis Company is a client/partner of Molecule. Proper beverages are directed towards cannabis consumers who are seeking maximum THC, the convenience of a ready to drink canned beverage, and low calorie / no sugar with familiar flavours. Proper Lemon Lime Sparkling Water is a 1 calorie beverage, with 10 MG of THC, with flavours of fresh lemon and lime zest.

SOFA Hopped Maple Fusion

Sofa is Molecule's second house brand of the coming release. Sofa products aim to deliver "100% certified guilt-free relaxation." Sofa is for curious and adventurous consumers seeking relaxation through refreshment and who are open to innovative new flavour combinations. Sofa Hopped Maple Fusion is a distinctly Canadian, low-calorie sparkling water: blending the distinct warm aromas of maple and the sophistication and aromatics of hops. The beverage contains 5 mg of THC and 10 mg of CBD, making it the first 1:2 drink in the canned beverage product category, available to consumers in Canada.

UbU Juniper Blackberry Sparkling CBD Beverage

CBD is a non-intoxicating compound found in the cannabis plant. CBD is used by some people to aid with stress, pain or insomnia. UbU is a brand that delivers CBD-only beverages with premium ingredients and no psychoactive effects. UbU products are for those who wish to experience some positive benefits of cannabis, but with no psychoactive effects or cannabis aftertaste. UbU Juniper and Blackberry Sparkling CBD Beverage contains 20 mg. of CBD and has a single calorie.

(V)ia Regal Pink Grape Sparkler

(V)ia Regal Pink Grape Sparkler is Canada's first true cannabis bubbly, designed jointly with the Hill Avenue Cannabis Company and Molecule's formulation tram. This premium sparkling beverage is for consumers who wish to pour a glass as a celebratory toast or even to pair with a meal. Regal Pink has notes of grapefruit, pomegranate and cranberry, with a pink hue and light bubbles. It pairs beautifully with roasted turkey, white meats and fish. (V)ia Regal Pink Grape Sparkler contains 10 mg of THC.

"We are extremely proud to be bringing these 5 new brands to Canadian consumers. It is a significant milestone for our small team to be hitting shelves in Canada before the critical summer beverage season in 2021," said Phil Waddington, President and CEO of Molecule.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

MOLECULE HOLDINGS INC.

Per: "Philip Waddington"

President, CEO and Director

For further information, please contact:

Andre Audet, Chairman and Co-Founder

Phone: 1 (888) 665-2853 x101

Email: andre@molecule.ca

www.molecule.ca

About Molecule Holdings Inc.

Molecule works with client-partners to engage in the production of cannabis-infused beverages and edibles. We provide the infrastructure, know-how, technology, and licensing for craft producers to create consumable cannabis products. Molecule's goal is to be the on-ramp for companies wishing to enter into the cannabis beverage and edibles market, but who choose not to go through the significant process of obtaining the required cannabis licences.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. In this news release, the Company is making forward-looking statements with respect to launching cannabis beverages in Canada in May 2021. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82059
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  A committee in the South Carolina House on Tuesday rejected for a second time a proposal that would have prevented transgender students from playing on girls sports teams in middle and high school.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 13-11 against the bill. The same committee tabled a similar proposal on March 16, leading supporters to change some introductory language but leave the essence of the bill untouched for a second try.

South Carolina was one of more than 20 states considering restrictions on athletics or gender-confirming health care for transgender minors this year. Mississippi and Alabama have made the bills law and West Virginia's governor said he will sign a bill on his desk.

The Kansas Legislature passed it, but the governor vetoed the bill, saying the measure was a jobs killer that harms children.

That was part of the argument against the latest South Carolina proposal. Opponents said the state might lose businesses that are considering moving in or expanding. They said South Carolina also risked losing NCAA tournaments and championships like they did for the 15 years starting in 2000 when the Confederate flag was moved from the Capitol dome to the Statehouse lawn.

Rep. John McCravy said his support of the bill was about equity, fairness and safety" because girls might lose playing time, college scholarship possibilities or even face greater risk of injury if transgender athletes were allowed on their teams.

We dont allow 12th graders to compete with sixth graders," the Republican from Greenwood said.

Six Republicans voted against the bill in committee, including Rep. Micah Caskey of West Columbia, who said the South Carolina High School League policy about the issue has only been tested four times and seems to work. That policy also had the backing of independently elected state Education Superintendent Molly Spearman, who also spoke out against the bill this year.

Story continues

I can find no urgency in respect to this issue, Caskey said We are not standing on the precipice of the decline of civilization."

Caskey also said the bill likely violates the federal law barring sex discrimination in education.

Conservatives across the county also have struggled to give examples of problems. The Associated Press spoke to two dozen state lawmakers sponsoring such measures around the country as well as the conservative groups supporting them and found only a few times its been an issue among the hundreds of thousands of American teenagers who play high school sports.

The twice-failed bill is a rare loss for conservative Republicans in this year's session. They gained five seats in the House and Senate in the 2020 elections and have pressed their greater advantage into a new law banning all abortions that is tied up in court.

Democrats did not unite against the bill. Rep. Cezar McKnight from Kingstree voted for it. But nearly every other Democrat spoke against the bill during the two-hour meeting.

Rep. Beth Bernstein of Columbia asked exactly how coaches or officials would check a 13-year-old who identifies as a female for their biological sex as required by the law.

If she really is a biological male, she should admit to that," McCravy said.

Rep. Justin Bamberg said the Judiciary Committee ignored hearings about bills concerning teacher overtime or allowing domestic violence victims to terminate leases without penalty just to take this idea up a second time. He called it a waste of precious time with eight days left in the General Assembly's session.

The Democrat from the city of Bamberg called the bill an invasion of privacy of some of society's most vulnerable teens.

Y'all dont know what my sex organs are," Bamberg said. No one in this room does.

___

Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP.
In order to control it, different libraries, protocols and command sets need to be followed. If you ever have to combine several devices from different manufacturers, you virtually have to take an additional course in computer science. This is because, in each case, a separate software is required for the special interaction.

Axel Fischer and Felix Kaschura were facing exactly the same problem when they did their doctoral studies at the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP) of TU Dresden. So they spontaneously developed a user-friendly solution for the hitherto complicated handling of measuring devices. They developed a software application that allows various devices to be assembled for a measurement with just some mouse clicks - initially for experiments in the field of organic electronics. Following the foundation of the "SweepMe!" company in 2018, they expanded their program to include other areas of research.

Fischer and Kaschura have now signed a cooperation agreement with TU Dresden. "All TUD members can download our 'SweepMe!' software and the additional modules free of charge during the term of the contract, and use it for an unlimited period of time," Fischer is pleased to say. "Moreover, the handover of device drivers which TUD employees create for our software will be significantly simplified. Transferring them to us is voluntary and can be realized via a simple form."

"We hope that the cooperation agreement will encourage a continuous exchange with the researchers at TUD, so that we will hear about current problems and develop appropriate solutions, which can then be tested and used at TUD," says Kaschura, looking to the future.

Thanks to the software developed by the two physicists, once the devices required for the measurements have been implemented, even users without much programming knowledge can create their own program sequences. "In contrast to the previous method, 'SweepMe!' addresses all measuring devices through modularly organized device driver files. Users can thus quickly click together new measurement sequences and use the same device drivers over and over again," Axel Fischer explains the principle.

The device drivers are provided to all users worldwide via the sweep-me.net open-source platform. In addition, users can also create their own device drivers. The cooperation agreement simplifies the transfer of device drivers to "SweepMe!", whilst avoiding them being developed twice at TU Dresden. Own content can thus be easily shared with other institutes.
Devising models to predict sea level rise is notoriously difficult, say researchers. Credit: Dan Meyers / Unsplash

Studies of ancient beaches and fossilised coral reefs suggest sea levels have the potential to rise far more quickly than models currently predict, according to geologists who have been studying past periods of warming.

At one point in a comparable period they were rising at three metres per century, or 30mm a year, according to Dr. Fiona Hibbert, a geologist at York University in the UK. The current rate of rise is 3.2mm per year.

Dr. Hibbert is working on a project called ExTaSea, which predicts worst-case scenarios for sea level rise around the globe. The goal is to help policymakers take long-term decisions, for example about the siting of enduring infrastructure such as nuclear power stations.

Devising models that can make such predictions is notoriously difficult, she says.

"We're not entirely sure of all the processes involved. When you melt an ice sheet sometimes it's really long-time scales that they operate over, which is quite difficult to put into a model."

And melting itself alters the systemfor example, by lightening the load on the Earth's crust which then undergoes a slow-motion rebound over thousands of years.

A further issue is that data on recent sea levels dates back only 150 yearsfor tide gaugesand just 20-25 years for satellite measurements.

Because of this, geologists such as Dr. Hibbert, and Professor Alessio Rovere, a geoscientist at the University of Bremen in Germany, are looking back to see what happened during the last interglacial period.

"The geological record is great because it includes all the processes," said Dr. Hibbert.

Interglacial

We live in an interglacial period known as the Holocene. "For the last 6,000 years, humans have enjoyed rather stable climate and sea level conditions, and prospered thanks to this," said Prof. Rovere.

The closest analogue to the Holocene in the geological past is the last interglacial, which occurred between 125,000 and 118,000 years ago. During this time, the global temperature was about one to two degrees higher than the baseline pre-industrial temperatures used to measure climate change today, due to slight differences in the Earth's tilt and orbit.

Geologists can find clues to the sea level at this time from fossilised coral reefs that were stranded as cliff layers when seas subsided, as well as the chemical composition of tiny, marine organisms known as foraminifera, which give an idea of the reach of the sea in the past, says Dr. Hibbert.

And Prof. Rovere, who runs a project called WARMCOASTS, also considers what ancient beacheswhich also became layers in the cliffscan tell us.

"A beach today has sands forming along the shoreline  imagine that all of this  can be frozen in time because it becomes rock. So we can go back, and look at rocks that were former beaches," he said. From their characteristics and the shells preserved inside them, 'we can make connections to the changing sea level," he said.

Teasing out the right message from stranded reefs and beaches is tricky, however. A receding sea might leave remnants of its presence in one place, only for them to be upliftedor droppedby subsequent geological activity.

Prof. Rovere experienced these problems when trying to solve the enduring puzzle of mysterious, huge boulders which lie atop 15-metre cliffs on the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas. While some in the field believe they were flung there by super-storms, others, including him, think a combination of higher sea levels plus lesser storms were responsible.

Ten times higher

Despite these challenges, Dr. Hibbert amalgamated ancient coral reef analyses done by scientists around the globe and concluded that sea levels rose at 'really high' ratesof up to three metres per century, 'which is about ten times higher than current rates."

Prof. Rovere is gathering data on geological features such as ancient corals and beaches to create a database that will help give a nuanced story of how sea levels changed in different places and the strength of the waves during the last interglacial.

It's hard interpreting geological data, so Prof. Rovere is also drawing on models more commonly used by engineers to understand the impact of waves and currents on harboursthey can help him understand how sand was deposited along interglacial shores.

"By combining these two different disciplines  we can say much more about the past than we can do with just the geological interpretation of the rocks," he said.

His work is producing slightly different figures.

"In some rock recordsthere are some characteristics that make us think that at some point during this warm period the sea level jumped, from three metres to six metres," he said. This equates to about 10 mm a year. The jump occurred in a relatively short time, he says.

"This is really interesting because today we are in a warm periodnaturally as well as because of climate changeand in the last interglacial, even without us giving warmth to the system, some data suggest that there was this jump.

"Now this is a very debated idea but what if it is true? It means there is this possibility of rapid melting of ice, on top of what we do as humans."

Prof. Rovere says that a 10mm a year sea level rise would be 'almost impossible' to adapt to with sufficient speed. "It means we just have to abandon our cities," he added.

Acceleration

The prospect of a sudden acceleration in ice melting is further supported by work done by Dr. Yucheng Lin, a student of Dr. Hibbert's as part of the ExTaSea project.

This time the reference period is 24,000 to 11,000 years ago, Earth's most recent deglaciation, which preceded the Holocene.

This period was substantially different from today which makes it 'not so great for looking at the future," said Dr. Hibbert. For example, there were huge ice sheets over North America and Europe.

But they found that, at the peak of the ice-melt, seas rose at 3.6 metres per century.

"Again, these are really high numbers, so ice sheets can lose mass really quite quickly," said Dr. Hibbert.

She is now considering how such a rapid melting would play out this century on different coasts.

Just how are our seas changing and rising with climate change and the melting of Earth's ice caps? In this three-part series, we look at the past, present and future of extreme sea level rise. Coming next, in part two we will look at rise of atmospheric 'meteotsunamis."

Explore further Antarctica likely to drive rapid sea-level rise under climate change
Australia is to upgrade military bases in its far north and expand joint drills with US forces after warnings about the 'drums of war' beating in the Pacific region.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a plan on Wednesday worth more than half a billion US dollars to revamp four military training facilities in the remote north over the next five years.

It comes as one top government official this week warned that free nations 'again hear' the 'drums of war' in the region, while newly-installed Defence Minister Peter Dutton openly mused about the prospect of a war between China and Taiwan.

Australia is to upgrade military bases in its far north and expand joint drills with US forces after warnings about the 'drums of war' beating in the Pacific region. Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) announced a plan on Wednesday worth more than half a billion US dollars to revamp four military training facilities in the remote north over the next five years

Australia has announced a plan to upgrade its military bases in the far north and expand joint drills with US forces

The Chinese government has made increasingly belligerent speeches recently on its intentions to 'reunify' Taiwan and China.

The package of upgrades is more extensive and more costly than first conceived two years ago and would allow more joint drills with American forces, including US marines rotating through the northern port of Darwin.

'We will always do what is necessary to ensure Australia has the capability it needs to protect and defend its interests,' Morrison said Wednesday.

His conservative government has sounded more hawkish on defence in recent months as relations with China have soured.

Last year the Morrison government unveiled plans to dramatically tool up its military with high-tech weaponry in the face of greater threats from Beijing.

Mike Pezzullo said free countries could hear 'the drums of war' which are beating 'ever closer' in his Anzac Day speech

Australia is increasingly concerned about the military threat from China as relations have soured. (File image, Chinese troops hold marching drills to celebrate the founding of the People's Republic of China)

The announcement follows a warning from Department of Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo about the threat of war during a speech on Australia's veterans' day on Sunday, known as Anzac Day, which was published in The Australian newspaper on Tuesday.

'In a world of perpetual tension and dread, the drums of war beat - sometimes faintly and distantly, and at other times more loudly and ever closer,' Pezzullo said.

'Today, as free nations again hear the beating drums and watch worryingly the militarisation of issues that we had, until recent years, thought unlikely to be catalysts for war, let us continue to search unceasingly for the chance for peace while bracing again, yet again, for the curse of war,' he added.

Defense Minister Peter Dutton raised the prospect of conflict between China and Taiwan in his own comments on Anzac Day.

Dutton said war between China and Taiwan should not be ruled out as a possibility

'Nobody wants to see conflict between China and Taiwan or anywhere else in the world,' Dutton told Australian Broadcasting Corp. 'I don't think it should be discounted,' he said.

Australia last week received an angry response from Beijing after cancelling two Chinese Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure deals with the Victoria state government on national interest grounds.

Defence experts have even suggested the country should consider developing nuclear weapons capability since Australia's relatively small conventional forces are unlikely to be able to defend the vast continent-country from an attack.

Critics have accused the government of manufacturing a crisis to divert attention from a stalled coronavirus vaccine rollout and sliding poll numbers.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd said Morrison, Dutton and allied media mogul Rupert Murdoch were 'trying desperately to shift the domestic political agenda away from the vaccine debacle, the climate change fiasco and abuse scandals in Canberra'.
The Indian Army's base hospital in will augment its capacity and will have 900 oxygenated beds for COVID-19 patients by mid-June, said an official statement on Wednesday.

Currently, the base hospital has a total of 340 COVID-19 beds, out of which 250 are oxygenated, it noted.

"This resource was being severely stretched for additional capacities due to exponential rise in COVID cases," the Army's statement noted.

Despite the beds being filled to their capacity, patients over and above this capacity are being treated in the trauma centre after obtaining their willingness to wait for beds, it stated.

It said a plan was quickly put in place to expand the capacity to 650 COVID-19 beds -- of which 450 beds will be oxygenated -- by April 30.

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is also being enhanced from 12 beds 35 beds by April 29, it said.

"Next phase of expansion will see the present capacity being augmented to 900 oxygenated beds by the second week of June 2021," it noted.

India saw a record single-day rise of 3,60,960 cases, which pushed the total tally to 1,79,97,267, while the death toll crossed two lakh following 3,293 fresh fatalities, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The Army'sstatement said on Wednesday that for efficient patient management, a new COVID OPD (out patient department) under a specialist medical team is functioning round-the-clock for screening COVID-positive patients for home isolation, investigation, treatment advice and admission under a single roof.

"This team clinically examines approximately 500 patients on a daily basis and appropriate medical advice is rendered. The endeavour is to ensure that all critical cases are provided appropriate treatment," it noted.

(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.)
Five Artworks for Talking about Feminism

This selection of works from the collection of the National Gallery of Art explores feminism and how it has and continues to serve as a driver of artistic inquiry. Use these images and discussion questions with your students to help start conversations about gender equality today or to guide your own reflection on issues that impact your students lives. This topics in this blog post are best suited for students in grades 9 through 12. For more information and additional works on this topic, explore the Uncovering America module Women in Art. Guerrilla Girls, When Racism & Sexism Are No Longer Fashionable, What Will Your Art Collection Be Worth?, 1989

Guerrilla Girls, When Racism & Sexism are No Longer Fashionable, What Will Your Art Collection Be Worth?, 1989, offset lithograph in black on wove paper, Gift of the Gallery Girls in support of the Guerrilla Girls, 2007.101.6

The Guerrilla Girls is an anonymous and ever-changing group of women artists, curators, and writers who use performances, public demonstrations, and visual art to advocate for greater diversity in the arts. The Guerrilla Girls dress in full-body gorilla suits to perform guerrilla actions, such as protests, on behalf of women and other underrepresented groups in the art world. The costumes disguise their real identities and allow them to assume the pseudo-identities of famous women artists. This satirical gesture familiarizes women artists names while also preventing the individuals from being blackballed by the institutions against which they protest. This lithograph is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, but it has also been reproduced in many different formats to function as a protest poster. The Guerrilla Girls collect data upon which they base their clever and boldly headlined messages about art world inequities. To date, approximately 11 percent of the artists represented in the National Gallery of Art collection are women. Do you find this artwork an effective form of activism to address sexism? Why or why not? What other methods have activists used today and in the recent past to address sexism? Graciela Iturbide, Nuestra Senora de Las Iguanas (Our Lady of the Iguanas), 1979

Graciela Iturbide, Nuestra Senora de Las Iguanas (Our Lady of the Iguanas), 1979, printed 1990, gelatin silver print, Corcoran Collection (Gift of Kyle Roberts), 2015.19.4668.6

This striking image was captured by Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide in the town of Juchitan, Mexico, where she made a series of works depicting the Indigenous Zapotec women of the Oaxaca region. In Juchitan women typically hold the primary positions of social and economic power. Nuestra Senora de Las Iguanas depicts a woman named Zobeida confidently wearing a crown of iguanas in the marketplace, where she sold them. This photograph, one of Iturbides best-known works, is frequently reproduced in Juchitan, serving as a visual signifier of the dominant role of women in that society. Where can you find women in positions of power in your community? How are they perceived by the public? Miriam Schapiro, Anonymous Was a Woman VII, 1977

Miriam Schapiro, Anonymous was a Woman VII, 1977, softground etching in red on Arches paper, Gift of the Artist, 1979.9.8

Miriam Schapiro was a pioneer of feminist art beginning in the 1970s. Feminist art gave visibility and voice to the particular conditions of womens personal and socioeconomic lives. Schapiros etchings of crochet and embroidery recall drawings of similar objects from the Index of American Design (IAD). Traditional, embroidered samplers and examples of fine crochet made by generations of young womenand visually documented in the IADembody conventional expressions of domesticity. Schapiros works slyly subvert those ideals while also paying homage to household labor and activities performed largely by women. This etching commands the viewer to Take a Seat, with an image of a chair replacing the final word. It was part of a series that recognized the unseen and uncredited work of women in the home, whether sewing, mending, cooking, or cleaning. Are there any activities in your own life that are viewed as belonging to a specific gender? How do you feel about this perception? Rozeal, afro.died, T., 2011

Rozeal (formerly known as iona rozeal brown), afro.died, T., 2011, acrylic, pen, ink, marker, and graphite on birch plywood panel, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase with funds provided by the Women's Committee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art), 2015.19.243

Rozeal uses the title of this work, a play on the name of Aphrodite, ancient Greek goddess of love and beauty, to present a cross-cultural rebellion against beauty ideals. Rozeal spent time in Japan through a fellowship program and became interested in the ganguro style, in which young Japanese women counter traditional beauty norms by wearing skin-darkening makeup, dying their long hair blonde, and applying long nail tips. Rozeal underscores ganguros references to Black hip-hop culture with the words back and forth repeated in the background (a quotation from the song Whip My Hair by Willow Smith) and the discs, suggesting vinyl records or speakers, that frame the figure. The stylized appearance and pose of the figure recall 19th-century Japanese ukiyo-e prints, which often depicted women using idealized standards of feminine beautya historical precedent for the societal standards Rozeal addresses in this painting. What does beauty mean to you? What does this work of art make you think about women in your own community and culture? Judy Chicago, Through the Flower 1, 1972

Judy Chicago, Through the Flower 1, 1972, color lithograph on wove paper, Gift of June Wayne, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.205.93
Dharamsala, April 28 : The All Party Japanese Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet, comprising former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has felicitated Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) President Lobsang Sangay as he is completing his two-term tenure and assured continuous support for the Tibetan cause.

In his virtual address from here, Sangay thanked the people and government of Japan for their unwavering support for the truth and justice of the Tibetan cause.

Recalling his first meeting with Shimomura Hakubun and Sakurai Yoshiko, president of an influential think tank in Japan, during their visit to Dharamsala under the leadership of former PM Abe, Sangay said since then he regularly visited Japan.

"Today's meeting sends a right and strong message to the world that Japan stands for human rights and democracy. You are also sending a strong message to six million Tibetans suffering China's repression in Tibet that Japan stands for justice," he said, adding support for Tibet does not mean one is anti-China.

Praising Japan for playing a major role in supporting Tibet, Uyghur, Mongolia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, he said "doing so in Japan is sending a message that human rights are fundamental and democracy is universal. These values are in contrast with what China says is socialism with Chinese characteristics".

Sangay expressed fear that the choice before the whole world is that "either you transform China or China will transform you".

"Either you transform China to make it more democratic where they respect human rights of the Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, people of Hong Kong and Taiwan or China will dictate and impose their socialism with Chinese characteristics all over the world, including Japan." Sangay said according to Freedom House report the situation in Tibet is as bad as in Syria and all sorts of human rights violations are taking place in Tibet.

"Monasteries are being demolished, Tibetan language is discouraged and more than half a million Tibetans are uprooted from the nomadic areas and put them in labour camp-like situations to assimilate Tibet into China. This assimilation drive is threatening the very identity and civilization of Tibetan," a post on the CTA site quoting Sangay said.

In his address, Shimomura Hakubun, former education minister of Japan and the chairman of the Japanese Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet, expressed his happiness of having the opportunity to hold online event to felicitate Sangay and thank him for his leadership of the Tibetan government in exile based in Dharamsala.

Shimomura recalled that the inspiration for the creation of the Japanese Parliamentary Support Group started 10 years ago when he got the opportunity to accompany former Prime Minister Abe, Japanese lawmakers and Sakurai Yoshiko visited India for a meeting organised by Japan Institute for National Fundamentals (JINF), to strengthen ties with India.

He said following the meeting Sakurai told him that she was able to get an appointment to meet Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, following which they travelled to Dharamsala by flight and road, which were in bad condition.

"After we reached Dharamsala, we met Sikyong Lobsang Sangay at his modest office and spoke at great length about the Tibet issue and learned about his interest in building human resources by educating Tibetans. We readily expressed our desire to His Holiness and the Sikyong about creating a parliamentary support group in Japan to support the Tibetan cause," he said.

He said since then the Japanese parliamentary support group has grown into the world's largest parliamentary support group and "we have been making efforts to the Tibetan community through Japan's ODA (Official Development Assistance) fund".

He also reaffirmed that they will continue to strengthen their support and make concerted efforts to help the Tibetan people, while adding that they had specially invited former Prime Minister Abe to the online felicitation ceremony and were hopeful for his participation in the parliamentary support group for Tibet.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959.

The Tibetan exile administration is based in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh.
THANE: At least four persons, including a senior citizen, were killed when a massive fire engulfed the Prime Criticare Hospital at Kausa in Mumbra town in Maharashtras Thane district on Wednesday morning.

The deceased have been identified as - Yasmeen Z. Sayyed, 46, Nawab M Shaikh, 47, Halima B. Salmani, 70, and one Sonawane.

More than 20 patients in different wards were evacuated safely, according to Thane Police and Fire Brigade officials.

Today at around 03:40 am fire broke out at Prime Criticare Hospital in Mumbra, Thane. Two fire engines & one rescue vehicle are at the spot. Fire extinguishing underway. Four dead during shifting of patients to another hospital: Thane Municipal Corporation#Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/QR4NNYZd8Y  ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2021

Housing Minister Dr Jitendra Awhad who rushed to the spot said, "The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained... The police and the local municipal corporation will give the details soon."

He, however, said that ''so far there are reports of three persons dying in the fire.''

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was informed of the tragedy, he said. The family of each deceased will be given a compensation of Rs. Five lakh and those injured will get Rs one lakh each, he added.

A high-level inquiry committee has been constituted to go into the cause of the fire, he said. The committee will comprise officials from the Thane Municipal Corporation and also the police and medical officials, he said.

At least 8 fire tenders were engaged in battling the blaze which was noticed around 3 am and finally brought under control by dawn.

The Thane Municipal Corporation had earlier informed that ''around 03:40 AM, a fire broke out at Prime Criticare Hospital in Mumbra, Thane.''

Two fire engines and one rescue vehicle were rushed to the spot. Fire extinguishing underway. Four dead during shifting of patients to another hospital, the Thane Municipal Corporation said.

Fifteen COVID-19 patients died recently after a fire broke out at the intensive care unit of a private hospital at Virar in the adjoining Palghar district on April 23.

Live TV
Somalia's government on Wednesday urged people who had fled violence in the capital to return home, as tensions eased after the president called for elections and renewed dialogue with his political rivals.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed announced he would seek parliament's approval for fresh elections, appearing to abandon a two-year extension to his mandate that ignited the country's worst political violence in years.

The president, widely known by his nickname Farmajo, also called for "urgent discussions" with his political opponents, who had refused to recognise his authority since his four-year term lapsed in February.

The announcement offered a brief reprieve to Mogadishu, which has been on a knife's edge since the political crisis erupted into gunfire on Sunday between rival factions of the security forces.

"I call on those people who have fled their homes because of the recent violent conflict in town to return," said Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble.

"I also call on members of the armed forces to help people return safely to their homes and businesses."

Roble is one of several allies of the president who on Tuesday rejected his mandate extension, heaping pressure on the embattled leader.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said Wednesday that up to 100,000 people had fled the violence, including evacuees from other parts of the war-torn country who had sought refuge in the capital.

"Apart from displacing innocent civilians, the initial violence has created uncertainty and fear of disruptions of humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people," said Cesar Arroyo, acting humanitarian coordinator for Somalia.

One of Farmajo's opponents, Abdirahman Abdishakur, rejected the president's overture and accused him of plotting to cling to power.

"President Farmaajo lost an opportunity last night to say goodbye to the Somali people," the influential opposition leader said in a statement.

Story continues

But the president's address, broadcast late at night after hours of anticipation, did ease fears of an imminent return to fighting in Mogadishu, where heavily-armed government and opposition forces control different parts of the capital.

- Terror attack -

Some people cautiously made their way back to their neighbourhoods but left loved-ones behind in order to be sure it was safe for them to return.

"I want to bring them back, but first I will observe the situation," said Hayat Ali, a mother of three.

But some opposition fighters vowed to stand their ground, remaining wary of Farmajo and his promises.

"We don't want a two-year extension to escalate to 20 years. We don't want anyone to carry out a power grab," said Osman Mohamed Mohamud, an opposition commander.

Somalia's foreign backers had been appealing for restraint.

They warned that the internal power struggle threatened stability and sapped military efforts to repel the Al-Shabaab insurgency.

The jihadists claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing Wednesday outside a government building for prison wardens in southern Mogadishu that killed three people.

"The blast was huge. I was sleeping when it occurred, and the roof of my house shook. I went outside to check what happened, and saw ambulances rushing into scene," said witness Abdukadir Moalim.

- Clan divisions -

The clashes Sunday were triggered by an influx into the capital of soldiers from the Somali National Army loyal to Farmajo's political opponents, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said.

At least three people -- two police officers and an opposition fighter -- were killed in the skirmishes.

The UN, among others, expressed alarm that Somalia's poorly-paid security forces appeared to be fragmenting along the political and clan lines.

"A lot of these security forces were trained to fight against Al-Shabaab... and are not even deployed against Al-Shabaab. Rather, they're focusing on each other," ICG senior analyst for Somalia, Omar Mahmood, told AFP.

Farmajo and Somalia's five semi-autonomous states struck a deal in September that paved the way for indirect elections, under a model whereby special delegates chosen by clan elders pick lawmakers, who in turn choose the president.

That agreement collapsed as Farmajo and the leaders of two states, Puntland and Jubaland, squabbled over the terms. Multiple rounds of UN-backed talks failed to bridge the impasse.

In his late-night address, Farmajo called for the resumption of talks to negotiate a way toward holding elections as laid out in the September agreement.

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The terms nationalism and patriotism are often used interchangeably. This is understandable, as they have somewhat overlapping meanings, both of which suffer from a certain amount of vagueness. However, there are a number of key differences between the two that are worth shedding light on. In the final analysis, we believe that the term nationalism, while not denoting anything totalitarian by its nature, is not an accurate term for the sentiment that exists in the United States. Nationalism, it would seem, is more suited to Europe or Asia, places with historic nations, united by common language and ethnicity that are necessarily tied with a certain area of land.

Theres a lot to unpack here and the differences are extremely subtle. And to give a bit of a spoiler, were not going to be taking the position, as is often the case, that patriotism is fine but nationalism is simply a metastatic and malignant form of patriotism.

First Things First: How Do Both Differ From Libertarianism and Conservatism

Before going any further, its worth taking a few minutes to distinguish both patriotism and nationalism from libertarianism and conservatism. We can do this without parsing out the difference between patriotism and nationalism  and for that matter, libertarianism and conservatism.

Libertarianism and conservatism operate from a similar set of principles. These principles are abstract and platonic in as much as they are about divining the truest form of an ideal ideology from a stated goal. Libertarianism has a clear philosophical principle: more liberty is always good. American conservatism is a diffuse and often contradictory philosophy, but for the purposes of extrapolating the difference between conservatism and other ideologies, we will say that the defining characteristic of American conservatism (as opposed to European conservatism, which has a much greater overlap with nationalism), is that of limited government.

We can conflate both of these ideals into the somewhat more vague notion that freedom is always good. The point here isnt to oversimplify and make a strawman. Its simply to come up with a uniting ethos to illustrate how nationalism and patriotism as ideologies differ from currents that have been more mainstream on the American right for a longer period of time.

Nationalism and patriotism, on the other hand, might find value in freedom and might even make a secondary goal out of it. However, the uniting principle of each is that it is the country itself, the success of the body politic, that is paramount, not more abstract notions of freedom.

Thus, the key difference is that conservatism and libertarianism are philosophically driven ideologies where results take a backseat to principles. On the other hand, nationalism and patriotism are pragmatic ideologies, where the proof is in the pudding. Another way of phrasing this is that libertarianism and conservatism are non-consequentialist, whereas nationalism and patriotism are consequentialist. Conservatism and libertarianism are guided by doing the right thing, whereas nationalism and patriotism are more the ends justify the means type of philosophies.

It is worth noting, briefly, that Sam Francis, an advisor to the 1996 presidential campaign of Pat Buchanan, urged him to not even compete for the mantle of conservative, instead telling him to identify as a nationalist, patriot or America Firster. His ideas are considered enormously influential on President Trumps 2016 campaign.

Definition by Contrast: What is Globalism?

Nationalism and patriotism also stand in contrast to globalism. While this term is thrown around a lot, it is worth discussing what it is and what it means and how it is different from its alternatives.

Globalism is, simply put, a view of politics that values trans-national bureaucracies over the nation state. Sometimes these are big, shadowy institutions like the Trilateral Commission or the Bilderberg Group, but more commonly they are far more innocuous-looking non-governmental organizations (NGOs or sometimes QUANGOs for quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations).

NGOs generally present themselves as some kind of politically neutral entity that is just about good people doing good things. Amnesty International, for example, was, for many years, an organization dedicated to defending people who were held in jail for their political or religious views. They now lobby for legalized abortion and liberalization of gay marriage laws across the world. Regardless of how one feels about either of these issues, it seems difficult to square either of these with the mission of Amnesty.

NGOs are largely how George Soros exercises power over the political process of countries, which has led to them being expelled from Hungary and Myanmar. They tend to have generic names like United We Dream or International Rescues Committee. Thus, they are difficult to attack on their face  are you opposed to dreams and rescues?

Globalism is marked by both its global orientation and hostility toward the nation state, but also its view that democracy is a means to an end. When the democratic process fails to provide the correct result, this is taken as prima facie something has gone wrong and needs to be corrected. This can be seen in the liberal-globalist response to the election of President Trump in 2016, but also the whole attitude of globalists toward nations like Poland and Hungary, whose democracies consistently oppose liberalism in toto at the ballot box.

What is Revanchism?

One of the defining characteristics of nationalism  and a great place to start talking about how nationalism is more appropriate for Europe than the United States  is revanchism. This is a word that youve probably never heard before, but the concept will immediately become clear.

Revanchism comes from the French word meaning revenge. The term, if not the philosophy itself, originated in the period between the Franco-Prussian War and the First World War. It specifically referred to French ambitions to retake the lost provinces of Alsace-Lorraine, which had been extracted by the Prussians during the Franco-Prussian War, the war which led to the formation of the German Empire.

Irredentism is an almost entirely identical concept.

Broadly, both terms refer to the notion that in a given country  say, Serbia  there is a Greater version of it. Thus, Serbian nationalists do not believe that Serbia represents the whole of the Serbian nation. There is territory outside of Serbia in Croatia, Montenegro, and elsewhere that is part of the natural borders of Serbia and needs to, in the eyes of the nationalists, be reincorporated into the legal borders of Serbia for the nation to be made whole.

This isnt to pick on the Serbians. Virtually every nation in Europe has a revanchist faction somewhere, even if its very small and marginal. To give a few examples, Spain would very much like to reclaim Gibraltar, but there are also movements for a Greater Greece (the Megali Idea), Greater Hungary, Greater Russia, and many others. So why do these movements exist in Europe, but theres no movement for the United States to annex Canada or retake the Philippines?

To answer this question begins to get at the essence of how nationalism differs from patriotism. The United States is not a nation state in the way virtually every country in Europe is  Switzerland is the primary exception. There are Italians in Austria who speak Italian, express Italian culture and, in years past, would have likely been in favor of reuniting their Italian-speaking areas of Austria with Italy.

But in America (and Switzerland for that matter), this is a bit of a nonsense question. There is certainly what could be called a Historic American Nation, comprised largely of Scotch-Irish stock who have been in America since the 17th century. But even these people do not have an exclusive claim to the American nation, as others were here from the beginning, most notably African slaves and Native Americans. America is not a nation-state, but rather a multi-racial, multi-ethnic and multi-confessional nation with more in common with Switzerland than France in this regard.

So Whats the Deal With Switzerland?

Switzerland is anomalous among European nations. It was formed originally as a defensive alliance between several small territories, now known as cantons, that banded together without the intention of becoming a nation. And, indeed, they did not. Each canton enjoys broad autonomy to this day and federalism reigns throughout the country. One Swiss canton, Appenzell Innerrhoden, somewhat famously did not extend the franchise to women until 1991.

When you cross the border from Poland to Germany, youll find a lot of people who speak Polish and identify as Polish  and vice versa. But when you cross the border from Switzerland to Italy, youre not going to find anyone who identifies as Swiss unless youre speaking to a tourist. Why is this?

Because, much like being an American, Swiss identity largely revolves around identity and values rather than blood and soil. While the latter is often, somewhat unfairly, associated with the Nazis who adopted it for its own purpose, it is worth using as a form of contrast from the nationalism (really patriotism) that exists in a place like the United States or Switzerland. While the lines are obviously gray, its not immediately obvious that one can easily become French or Russian or Swedish because these are ethnic descriptions as much as, and perhaps more than, a reference to what passport one carries.

Israel is an example of a country that is close to being explicitly ethnic in nature. Not anyone can become an Israeli citizen. Indeed, not even every Jew can become an Israeli citizen. Messianic Jews, for example, are not covered by the famous Law of Return. The Law of Return covers those with a Jewish mother or maternal grandmother, Jewish ancestry (a father or grandfather) and converts to Judaism of the Orthodox, Conservative or Reform denominations (the latter two types of conversions must happen outside of Israel)  but explicitly excludes Jews who have converted to another religion. Ethiopian Jews were not recognized until 1973.

In short, despite the fact that it is a nation founded in modern times and is comprised largely of immigrants, not anyone may become an Israeli citizen.

On the other hand, the United States and Switzerland are not nation-states in the sense of being the nation of one group of people (like France, Russia or Germany). And so, in Switzerland, national identity is not so much about being from a specific lineage, religion or even speaking the same language (there are four official languages of Switzerland) than it is about a set of shared civic values, pride in Swiss history, and Alpine imagery.

Similarly, the United States has a number of ethnic groups with a diverse history in the U.S. What they have had in common, at least until the left started denigrating American history and attacking the very notion of assimilation, is that they shared what can be broadly defined as American values. These values have some degree of flexibility and there is disagreement as to how they ought to be expressed or implemented, but until very recently, all Americans agreed that there was such a thing as American values, that these values were a good thing, and that the question was about what specifically they were and how specifically they should express themselves in the public sphere.

One of the most obvious examples of American values is free speech, but now many people dont even agree that thats a good thing. The notion that foreigners should assimilate to American culture is derided as racist. The attack on statues, not just of Confederate generals, but of Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, demonstrate a lack of reverence for American culture and history. Indeed, the Founding Fathers are derided as white supremacists.

Nationalism vs. Patriotism in the U.S. and the U.K.

Unsurprisingly, the difference between nationalism and patriotism in both the U.K. and the U.S. is extremely similar. This is because both are multinational or multi-ethnic or both, depending on your perspective. Even prior to the Civil War and mass migration of the postbellum period, the United States was home to descendents of European founding stock, African slaves, Native Americans, Chinese immigrants, and others. By contrast, the United Kingdom is comprised of four (formerly independent from one another) nations  England, (Northern) Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

So what does this mean? Well, in practice it means that in both the U.S. and the U.K., that nationalism means you want to reduce the size of the country rather than expand it. For example, an English nationalist wants independence for England from the United Kingdom because, among other things, the Scots and Irish and Welsh are allowed to vote on policies in England, but not vice versa, a situation known as the West Lothian Question. Theres not really such a thing as a British nationalist, though there are British patriots.

Similarly, despite the attempt by some on the right to brand as American nationalists, this makes little sense. What does make a certain kind of sense is the formulations of white nationalism (the desire for an independent nation just for whites, usually in the Northwest), black nationalism (the desire for an independent state for blacks, usually in the Black Belt of the American South) or Chicano nationalism (the desire for an independent state for Mexican-Americans in the American Southwest). This isnt an endorsement of any of these ideologies, which we oppose. But it is meant to illustrate our point that, as opposed to Continental European nationalism, which is expansive in its geopolitics, British and American nationalisms are reductive, seeking to separate one group of people from the rest of the country.

Each of these represents a sort of reverse irredentism. Black nationalists, for example, arent looking to reclaim lost territory. Theyre trying to carve off a part of the United States for themselves.

American nationalism is really just a form of political patriotism. The symbols of America are civic symbols, not ethnic ones. We are thinking of things like the American flag, Columbia and the State of Liberty, eagles, fireworks, colonial garb, the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and the like. There is also a great deal of pride in the military, scientific, cultural and commercial achievements of the United States  ask yourself if you consider the statue of Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima, a photograph of Neil Armstrong landing on the moon, the works of Mark Twain, or a 1968 Camaro to be symbolic of America in some meaningful way.

American patriotism is also about celebrating and venerating what we might call the American Way of Life. This means, very roughly speaking, the ability to start a business, own a home, leave a job, own a gun, consume media of ones own choosing  in a word, what most Americans would identify as freedom. This returns us to the notion that patriotism, as opposed to nationalism, necessarily includes a commitment to a certain set of ideals defined as being synonymous with the country itself, rather than simply to a bloodline or collective history.

The Missing Key to the Puzzle: Ethnogenesis

Still, one could make the case that Britain is now a nation and that the so-called constituent nations of the U.K. are simply relics of a bygone era. This might be true and, indeed, many Britons (mostly from Southern England) fill in British as their nationality on census forms. Similarly, American on a census form is generally the preferred nomenclature of the Scotch-Irish. Why then, can we not speak of an American nationalism?

Well, because America is lacking what is called ethnogenesis. This is basically a fancy word meaning creation of the nation. There is no single clear event that makes a British nation separate from the constituent nations that formed it. Indeed, there is disagreement as to whether or not theres even been one. But in the United States, it is clear  there is no event or series of events that fused the peoples off the United States into a single, mostly unified ethnicity. Even today, Americans remain largely separated by race and ethnicity, with whites marrying whites, blacks marrying blacks, Chinese marrying Chinese (or at least other Asians) and so on.

Theres nothing bad about the largely voluntary ethnic separatism in the United States, nor anything inherently good about ethnogenesis. But its simply a statement of fact that while, with the exception of what were formerly called ethnic whites (mostly a euphemism for recent Catholic immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe) merging into the white ethnic group more generally, there has been no ethnogenesis in the United States. Without an ethne, there can be no nation.

Can Nationalism or Patriotism Exist Without a State?

All of this raises an important question: Can there be either nationalism or patriotism without a political entity?

When discussing nationalism, the question is a resounding yes. The list of national identities that existed before there was a state to unite them is too long to discuss here, but for a couple quick and easy examples, how about Serbia, Czechia or Ireland? Serbian, Czech and Irish nationalists helped to create the modern-day states of Serbia, Czechia and Ireland. They were Serbian, Czech and Irish before these states existed.

On the other hand, whether or not a patriot can be a patriot of a non-existent state is somewhat more dubious. When we speak of the Patriots during the American Revolution, its true that the war was underway and that they were still, at least as far as the rest of the world was concerned, an integral part of the British Empire. On the other hand, they also were patriots for an incipient state  what would eventually become the United States of America.

If the Patriots of the American Revolution had failed, its an open question whether or not there would be anything resembling American Patriotism. If such a thing did exist, it would much more resemble neo-Confederate Lost Cause ideology than it would any kind of nationalism as it exists in Continental Europe. On the other hand, if the Principality of Serbia had not separated from the Ottoman Empire, the Serbian nation would not cease to exist.

Why Nationalism Is Not Simply Patriotism Gone Wrong

It is worth addressing the claim, often floated about, that nationalism is little more than a bad version of patriotism. But this seems like a flawed position for a variety of reasons.

First, there is the issue addressed in the previous section: the nationalism of occupied nations. It would be difficult to make the claim that Serbian nationalism under the Ottoman Empire was simply a form of negative patriotism. Is Irish nationalism under British rule simply patriotism gone too far? This argument is nonsensically absurd when considering the plight of occupied nations, historical and contemporary, in Europe and elsewhere.

Now let us consider the nationalism of an existing or dominant nation state. Here, it becomes somewhat less nonsensical, but again, doesnt seem to be a useful distinction between the words. If French patriotism differs fundamentally from French nationalism only because the former is good and the latter is bad, then these two words effectively mean the same thing and are used only to denote the subjective appraisal of the speaker.

The distinction then becomes a meaningless one and each word simply becomes either an atta boy or a condemnation.

Is Nationalism Simply the Worship of the State?

A further criticism leveled at the very notion of nationalism is that it involves a specific veneration of the state that is absent in patriotism. Nationalism then becomes seen as being in favor of the government  any government  that rules over a nation, whereas patriotism is more flexible in its ability to criticize the ruling elite. This notion has been put forward by, among others, George Orwell.

This position also cannot hold water when one considers that, particularly in Western Continental Europe, the nationalists are effectively dissidents. Consider the case of France: The main nationalist party, the National Rally (formerly known as the National Front) stands in opposition to the mainstream conservative parties and is, to a certain degree, marginalized in their politics. While they might seek to exercise the power of the state, this doesnt make them any different from any other political party contending for power. Their entire raison d'etre is to be critical of most of the postwar political tradition of globalist liberalism with some elements of a social democratic welfare state. This is basically true of every major nationalist party in Europe  Austrias Freedom Party, the Swedish Democrats, the Alternative for Germany, etc. The EU is the apotheosis of the postwar order in Europe, effectively an attempt to route around democracy and put technocrats in charge of maintaining this order where the plebs cant touch it.

Much of the notion that nationalism is patriotism plus worship of the state comes from the interwar period and the relationship between nationalism and fascism  an attempt to conflate nationalism with fascism. And while, at a certain point in history, this might have been a fair conflation, what with most of the nationalists being fascists and the fascists being the most ardent nationalists, it is an outdated analysis that does precious little to shed light on the nature of either nationalism or contemporary totalitarian currents.

In the final analysis, there are differences between patriotism and nationalism, but there is also a common thread that connects them. The differences primarily flow from whether or not nationalism or patriotism is appropriate for any given country. One doesnt need to be either a nationalist or a patriot (and a good many morally healthy people are not), but neither is necessarily bad, good or other.

Why Does It Matter?

So thats the difference between nationalism and patriotism, but why does it matter? It matters because of the situational context, as well as insulating yourself against being easily manipulated by the press, the corporate sector and their toadies within NGOs  all of whom are hostile toward both.

Nationalism, in certain countries, is reductive, regressive and effectively seeks to divide the country against itself by splitting off different demographics into their own  easily dominated, we might add (just look at the former Yugoslavia and post-Soviet states that arent Russia)  little fiefdoms or statelets. In others, it is simply the ancestral people of a country asserting themselves against domination by foreign powers or, more increasingly, unaccountable multinational institutions such as the EU.

Patriotism, on the other hand, is a similar, but not identical, phenomenon which arises in countries not united by a single ethnos, but instead by an ethos and a culture. The United States is such a country, as is the Peoples Republic of China for that matter, with Switzerland acting as a prime example of how patriotism has worked to successfully forge a united identity that does not deny or extinguish differences between the countrys constituent parts.

Both are bogeymen of globalists who seek to reduce the entire world to interchangeable parts  rootless consumers of increasingly borrowed or rented goods (XaaS) and the cheapest labor that can be had. This is precisely because each celebrates what is special about a group of people, whether they be united by a common ancestry or a common set of values and cultural experience. In a world where the powers that be want to reduce us all to the same gray sludge, nationalism and patriotism are both powerful ideologies standing in opposition to a world where the only metric of value is the GDP and a return on investment, a world which creates enormous riches for those able to game the system, while acting as a race to the bottom for everyone else.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- About a dozen people expressed their anger and concern to Grand Rapids elected leaders Tuesday evening over body camera footage showing a city police officer punching a man seven times in the head during a struggle.

Im calling to demand that the city holds the officer that punched a Black community member in the face during a traffic stop, hold them accountable, as well as to defund the Grand Rapids Police Department, one person said to commissioners during their virtual meeting Tuesday, April 27.

As a tax-paying citizen living in downtown Grand Rapids, it is very concerning to see video of local police officers punching a Black man in the face over littering, which is normally just a civil infraction.

One resident also asked that the chief fire the police officer.

Others also called into the virtual city commission meeting to voice their support for GRPD.

The concerns raised by some stem from a March 26 traffic stop over littering that escalated into a city police officer punching a man seven times in the head. Body cam footage of the incident surfaced last week and made national headlines.

The officer, Michael Reed, who punched the man wrote in his report that he did so because he felt the man grabbing his service pistol holster and needed to stop him for fear Hood would use the gun to shoot officers.

Related: Grand Rapids police officer who punched motorist in the head claims man was trying to grab gun, police report says

The man, identified as 25-year-old Diabate Hood, was on the ground, with three officers attempting to handcuff him after allegedly trying to flee, when he was punched.

Two angles of the body camera footage reviewed by MLive/The Grand Rapids Press offered no clear picture of whether Hood was reaching for the gun.

Tyrone Bynum, Hoods attorney, told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press he watched 20 different body camera perspectives of the incident and said Hood is vindicated by the footage.

One person who called into the city commission said the incident is another instance of Grand Rapids police targeting Black people in the city.

Diabate Hood was brutalized by the GRPD, the caller said. Im calling for the city commission to hold the GRPD accountable and hold Chief Payne accountable and have him fire this officer and any other officers involved. Grand Rapids Police Departments history of racist brutality and racist intimidation in our community is long.

In addition to those who called in to the commissions virtual meeting to condemn the actions of the officer about half a dozen people also voiced their support for the Grand Rapids Police Department.

However, none of those who voiced their support for GRPD touched on the March 26 incident.

Earlier in the day, Police Chief Eric Payne announced he had opened an internal affairs investigation into the incident, which will determine if any wrongdoing or policy violation occurred.

Related: Grand Rapids police chief opens Internal Affairs investigation into officer punching motorist 7 times

Grand Rapids Commissioner Kurt Reppart, the only elected leader Tuesday to directly address the incident, said he was thankful for the chief initiating the review as well as for officers confiscating four guns during the traffic stop.

I just want to say, too, one of the comments made during that stop by our officers was very insensitive, and I do hope that that will be a part of that review as well, he said. Those kinds of things have a ripple effect in the community that is hard to quantify and I was disheartened to hear those words come out of any city employees mouth.

Reppart didnt specify the comments in question.

Previously, a community leader told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press one of the officers comments recorded in the body camera footage was very, very disturbing. That was when an officer told Hood, Youre lucky youre not dead.

Related: Its very, very disturbing: Community leaders call for discipline after police officer punches man 7 times

City Manager Mark Washington said he didnt have all of the facts of the case and asked for peoples patience as the internal affairs investigation is conducted.

I am awaiting both the facts from both the criminal case, as well as the internal affairs investigation, and I would ask the community to do the same, Washington said. Were trying to expedite what we can control but there are some things that are beyond the control of the city of Grand Rapids.

But do know that we do ensure both accountability for people who violate the law, as well as people who violate policy. And I just would ask, as we would with those who have due process with the law, that we allow that process to take place with policy as well.

Hood is scheduled for a preliminary examination May 27 in Grand Rapids 61st District Court. He is charged with attempting to disarm a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest.

Read more:

In wake of controversial traffic stop, police oversight office criticizes GRPD for not turning over misconduct records

Grand Rapids extends application window for youth summer jobs program

Grand Rapids proposes slight increase to police budget, dollars for affordable housing in spending plan

Citizens want change as investigation of Kalamazoos 2020 police responses moves to next phase
Saanson ka toot jaana to roz ka khel hai; Jab yaar chhod jaaye, to use maut kehte hain

(Rupturing of breath is an everyday sport; Only when a friend departs do you call it death)

Many a men devote their life to occupying centerstage, playing savior and trying to become a legend others would follow. Jagdish Khattar (JK) was a rare breed-- a silent achiever, a warm human and an ever-helping hand.

He loved rabri, kachnar ka raita, his children, swanjana ki phali, his grandchildren, old Hindi film songs and tinke wali kulfi--not necessarily in that order. He disliked ostentatiousness, European food, branded goods, cluttered minds, armchair bureaucrats, lethargy, hypocrites and structured thinking-- also, not necessarily in that order.

His love for his children was seldom explicit, but it was always unconditional. Whenever his grand kids would make an entry, it would visibly light up his soul.

He was also a great son to have. Even during his firefighting days at Maruti, JK would religiously step out once a week to have lunch with his parents -- over an hour of travel time for 15 minutes with his Babaji and Ammi. His father, who had an expansive vocabulary of experiential anecdotes and Urdu verse, would often beam when his Gullu's achievements were mentioned.

Stretching the boundaries was his dream and the sole passion that drove him. He worked towards achieving satisfaction of a good job collectively done, under all kinds of circumstances.

Coming from the illustrious family of Rai Bahadurs in North Western Frontier Province, where they generated and distributed electricity, the family had to establish new roots in Delhi, post partition. In lieu of their holdings, the family was compensated with a house in Delhi and meagre 400 acres in Gurgaon. Fate, however intervened, to ensure that he shed even those reduced familial trappings.

While studying in Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, classrooms would often lose their roofs to fierce storms, and they would study in tents. These and such learnings shaped him to take on the unexpected and remain calm even under stressed circumstances.

When he was 10, JK was chosen to play a lead role in a big movie called Son of India, later renamed as Gandhi Path. The movie was about how learnings from Gandhi improved the lives of many. Thereafter, he was also offered roles in Jagriti and Boot Polish. However, his father's refusal probably aborted a promising film career.

As an impressionable child JK rehearsed dialogues about Mahatma's principles for nine months in Siriska Palace, Alwar. It left a sense of simplicity and no-nonsense approach to his daily living. This transformed a Jagirdar's young grandson into a practitioner of leading from behind, austerity, simplicity and gentle humaneness. He never allowed either his position or magnitude of the task to overwhelm his equanimity.

He was selected as an Indian Foreign Service Officer, but the overwhelming temptation of making a difference to a famine, drought and poverty ravaged new nation was too powerful a calling to ignore. So, he opted out and landed himself in the IAS. It is pertinent to recall that in 1965, India was a PL-480 dependent nation and two wars had ravaged its economy and one its self-pride, too.

As a child, when served with karela and paneer on the same dinner plate, his mother would insist that he negotiate the karela before eating the paneer. This cultivated a lifelong habit in him, of fearlessly diving in at the deep end of any problem, first.

As an SDM in Basti (UP) he learnt the revenue ropes by sharing the lunchroom with his junior staff and playing badminton with them in the evening. They were glad to steer him through the nuances of many a complicated case. This taught him that merit was always a better teacher than seniority. As a District Planning Officer, he cultivated an important habit of leading from the behind, providing others encouragement to succeed. He would dissect any problem into micro modules and then regularly monitor each for their individual progress.

Learnings from these two postings came to his aid when he had to steer the sinking ship of Maruti and get it ocean bound again. Not only did he focus on regions, or markets but monitored and identified problems of each individual dealer and then incentivised them to perform at their peak potential. Small wonder that Maruti, whose market share was once down to 35 per cent slowly clawed up its way in an expanding marketplace, despite a paucity of new models, back to over 50 per cent.

Maruti remains the only car company in the world that enjoys an over 54 per cent market share -- the foundation of which, came to JK, from inspiration and learnings from managing Indian villages. For his flood relief work in Chamoli, his name was recommended for Padma Shri, an honour that escaped him as he was considered too young to receive it. So, at 29 years of age he had to make do with the much-needed Rs 1,000 award on the Republic Day instead.

JK began the first development work for setting up of NOIDA, helped HCL get its first government loan, turned around two sick UP corporations dealing with cement and transport into cash positive within the first year, despite carrying a history and baggage of losses for many. In each of these assignments, clarity of vision and a positive approach to solving the problems came in handy. These learnings were to pay him vast satisfaction dividends in Maruti.

JK was always a quiet and contrarian rebel, but with a vision. He asked to be appointed Joint Secretary in plantation, but got steel instead. He floated the idea of raising loans from development financial institutions for PSUs like Vizag steel plant but would not stay in the five-star guest house there, opting to stay in the barracks, since they were closer to the beach. He was also at the forefront of liberalising pig iron manufacturing in India long before 1991. His efforts to privatise IISCO were nearly completed when they got thwarted by the left parties in the parliament.

In each job, he took, in each assignment he was given, he left a mark of simple, quiet and industrious achiever. It was for this track record that he was chosen to be groomed to succeed Bhargava in Maruti. And he left a promising career for a turbulent future, as next few years would unveil.

When JK lost out to parochial politics in the race for Maruti MD, he was even more determined that it should succeed. Sometimes he would drop in on his way to the factory. Once when I asked him, "What now?", he asserted that Maruti needed him even more now as it slips faster, without new models and a competition biting away its market share. I saw no remorse, no anger, just a simple clear headed resolve. That was JK -uncluttered and focused. There was no room for personalities to cloud issues.

As Director Marketing, JK was committed to serving the Maruti customer better. He, against all opposition, opened up the market and invited more non-VIP dealers. Later, when he was made in-charge of materials, he for the first time rationalised the purchase price from all vendors. Cutting cost and better customer service became his mantra. This built the company's competitive spine.

His appointment as the MD of Maruti was welcomed with a lightning strike, increasing competition and rising losses. With limited means, he tried to optimise whatever was available. His far-reaching measures and the accompanying success made him known as 'Maruti turnaround man'. Many CEOs from the automobile industry across the world would meet him to hear the reasons for this indigenous success. He would always complement his erstwhile colleagues Senga san and Kobiyashi san, for being so patient while teaching him.

I recall Manohar Joshi having called him and asked him to oppose Maruti's divestment. He replied dignified, fearless and respectfully that as the MD of Maruti, his commitment was only to protecting the company's interests and he was not mandated to playing sides with any of the shareholders. The minister hated him.

Few people know the role JK played to boost Indian stock markets.

The year 2001 was perhaps the worst time in India, in a long, long time. Bad news rained like monsoon through the year, Ketan Parekh scam, suspension of UTI's US-64 scheme, Indian markets losing over one lakh crore of small investors, Twin Tower attack followed by terrorist attack on Indian parliament. The world was in recession and Maruti had to raise funds for divestment.

Under such dark clouds, JK led the Maruti global roadshow. He went and met all major funds in US, Europe and Asia. He was invited to present to a family managed and very prominent US Fund. They were considered as opinion leaders in the overseas investment markets. After the presentation, the father- an old man, asked JK how much stock he owned in the company. When JK replied none, the old man was shocked. He asked how come he had so much passion for a company that he didn't own. And then told his son that their fund must begin to look at India as a market, if they have such a breed of CEOs managing companies. The Indian stock market was hovering in low 3000s then. The unprecedented Maruti IPO success proved all financial analysts and business journalists wrong. The Indian market has never looked back, since.

Once he hung his boots at Maruti, he was a new man. Turned an entrepreneur at 65. As we discussed his plans, I asked him, "What more do you seek to further achieve?". He replied innocently that he had been racing on a treadmill to someone else's command. Now was the time to discover how to set up the system that serves the consumer better, which the big companies are constrained from doing. He now could do something for the country-create jobs while scaling up the quality of expectations of an auto customer. The fun, he said, was in starting afresh. Little did he know.....

He learned that ease of doing business in India was optics and that failing here was not an option. In a way that left him humiliated, shocked and friendless. Of course, there were men like Amitabh Kant, an officer fifteen years' junior, who reached out to help. There was Jug Suraiya, a journalist who defended him without much acquaintance. Rahul Khullar, a ten years junior colleague, anguished in support. There were others including in the Industry, like Anand Mahindra. But fingers were too many to keep count of such support.

Having lost out, he remained undefeated. His concern moved back to rural India and commuting there. He began to champion the cause of bicycles as a clean, cheap and efficient way to dispel gender biases in rural India. The new crusade began to drive him. He was very happy that a young IAS officer in his home cadre, Vikram Malik, had converted migrant's discarded bikes to a creative and just rural transportation solution. India has immense potential, he said, as though scoring a point. The passion, I realised, had returned to his eyes and the eagerness was back in his voice. He had rediscovered and redefined himself.

It is then that it was decided that his work here was over. He received a call on the morning of 26th April, his wedding anniversary, with an offer even he couldn't refuse. That it came with an incentive of being with his parents and the added hope of tweaking a few rules where he was headed, may have added to the allurement.

I am reminded of Gulzar's lines for R D Burman:

Train aayee, na uska waqt hua

Aur tum yun hi do kadam chal kar

Dhundh par paanv rakh ke chal bhi diye

(Neither did the train arrive nor was it due to arrive; And you took two steps on to the fog, and just went away!)

Farewell, my friend.... We can now afford to reduce the size of measuring tapes. They won't be making men as tall as you, anytime soon.

(Satya Sheel, former managing director and JV partner of Suzuki Motorcycles, is a close friend of Jagdish Khattar)

Also read: Jagdish Khattar: The man who resuscitated and re-built Maruti Suzuki

Also read: Former MD of Maruti Suzuki Jagdish Khattar dies due to cardiac arrest
Law enforcers at New Yorks JFK Airport busted a man smuggling flinches from Georgetown, Guyana to the US. The man later identified as Kevin Andre McKenzie reportedly packed the songbirds inside hair rollers but was caught during second baggage checking after he landed from JetBlue Flight and proceeded to the exit. The birds are used as high stakes in singing contests in New York suburbs including Brooklyn and Queens.

"It was like deja-vu all over again as CBP agriculture specialists discovered 40 finches concealed in hair rollers inside a Guyana mans baggage at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday," said the officials.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York, the birds were put inside hair curlers, which were then covered in mesh clothes. These curlers were, in turn, concealed in the McKenzies jackets and pants. McKenzie was immediately arrested by the US Customs and Border Protection officials and has been charged with the illegal importation of wildlife. Although at present, he has been released on a bond worth $25,0000, he could face a prison term of up to 20 years if convicted.

High demand

Flinches are a highly sorted after species in Now York and the rest of America. Although they are already highly popular for their melodious voices, the Guyanese variety is more desired for local singing contests. These competitions, often conducted in public spheres, involve two flinches singing and a judge deciding a winner amongst them. The winning bid is then sold and can fetch a price as high as $10,000.

In the aftermath, CBP agriculture specialists quarantined the finches and turned them over to the United States Department of Agriculture Veterinary Services. "CBP Agriculture Specialists are the first line of defence to prevent the introduction of animal diseases that have the potential to cause significant damage to the Nations agricultural economy, said Marty C. Raybon, Acting Director of Field Operations for CBPs New York Field Office. Later, in a statement, the US CBP urged American residents to Report Wildlife Crime tips to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to FWS_TIPS@fws.gov or at 1-844-FWS-TIPS (397-8477).

Image Credits: cbp.gov/PTI
I was brimming with excitement when I finalized my bookings for my big trip to Europe in 2016. Having forked out a significant amount of money for both my air tickets and a new camera, I was certain my first trip to UK and France would be a complete blast.

I could barely wait to share in my friends experiences, having heard stories and seen Instagram pictures of those doing their overseas experience on the antipodes. I dreamed of the endless bookshops I could visit in London, admiring my literary heroes, both past and present. In particular, I couldnt wait to see Shakespeare and Companythe small, crumbling bookshop on Pariss Left Bank that UK newspaper The Independent described as possibly the most famous bookstore in the world. I also looked forward to Parisian chic, croissants, beautiful apartments, breath-taking architecture and mustached-men playing their accordions around the cafes and sidewalk.

I fantasized of a warm summer holiday swanning around in cute summer dresses (bye-bye, boring black winter stockings), and looking forward to showing off my arms, which I had been working on at the gym. My thoughts were filled with taking pretty photos on my new camera, filling my Instagram account with envy-worthy photos, and walking Paris Champs-Elysees under a starlit night.



But things didnt go as planned...

What hadnt been part of the itinerary was falling sick during my three-week vacation.

It could have been the hectic schedule or the change in weather (it was winter in New Zealand but summer in the northern hemisphere), but my body wasnt playing ball. What started as a bit of a sneeze and an itchy throat soon morphed into something else entirely in Europe.

There was a point when I completely lost my voice, managing only a croak. To make matters worse, my body decided to reject every kind of food. I was throwing up after every meal and my nose would start bleeding without rhyme or reason.

On one traumatic morning in Brixton, London, my friend and I were running as fast as we could, with our backpacks, to catch an Uber ride to the train station for our flight to France. Thats when I felt a sickly drip down my nose, and my suspicion was confirmed the minute I wiped my nose with a tissue. With blood dripping down my face, I must have looked like I was running away from a fight (or for my life).

In France, I visited the pharmacy so many times youd be forgiven for thinking I had it down as a must-see tourist destination. Then my nose started acting up again, just before we made our way to the Shakespeare and Company. I was so terrified I would start bleeding all over the nice, new books that I made sure to have a wad of tissues near me. My backpack soon morphed into a first-aid kit: I had a bottle of cough syrup, cough drops, paracetamol, and packs of tissues.

I woke up each morning with dread. Would my nose behave today? Would I be able to hold my meal in or would today see me bent over the bathroom sink while my guts tried to make their escape?



Had me thinking about my Christian walk

Funnily enough, my holiday-gone-wrong had me thinking about my Christian walk: how expectation didnt always match reality.

It was at a church play that I answered the altar call at the age of 12. While I cannot recall the play in full detail, I do remember the title was Heavens Gates and Hells Flames, and it had scenes featuring a non-believer and a believer. In each scene, there was a tragedy, and the non-believer was sent away to somewhere rather hot and fiery. I certainly didnt want to go there, so giving my life to God seemed like a get-out-of-jail-free card to escape the fiery furnace. I figured all I had to do was accept Jesus as my Savior and He would swoop me out of hell.

As I grew up, I began to hear altar calls that went along the lines of how accepting Jesus into your life was the best thing you can ever do. And from now on, your new life begins . . . was another often repeated phrase.

For me, it conjured up a life without pain, where Jesus would sweep down from Heaven to catch us before we scrape our knees. Jesus would also save me from making silly mistakes in my exams and prepare a cool crowd of friends for me.

However, none of that happened, and at one point, I was angry at Jesus my forever friend, who I felt had ditched me during my most crucial moments. For example, I remember scoring a C on a Math test and fuming at Him. Not just that, how could He allow boys to dump me? And why did I receive email after email of rejection when I was desperately seeking employment?

You see, I had fallen into a trap after being sold the idea that being with Jesus is the best thing of my life. But Jesus didnt guarantee that a life with Him will be free of tribulations. The Bible tells of a blameless and upright man named Job, who feared God and abstained from and shunned evil (Job chapter 1, verse 1). Job was also a rich landowner who was blessed with a big family and a large stock of animals. But Job went through some real tough situations. He lost his family and all of his animals in one day, suffered from sicknesses, and at one point, wished he was never born.

Reading Jobs story made me realize that following God doesnt necessarily spell a smooth ride.

Reading Jobs story made me realize that following God doesnt necessarily spell a smooth ride.

There will be times where I will be tested or left clinging onto my faith. But Jobs story has also showed how faithful God is, and I took comfort knowing Jobs life had a happy ending, where in the end, God restored everything he had lost.

Even though my own Christian walk has been filled with ups and downsnothing like Jobs thankfullyI can sincerely say I dont regret answering the altar call as a 12-year-old. With God, I know He is just one call away. I have lost count of the times God has answered my prayers and I love resting in the deep, unconditional love He has for me.

I also take heart in knowing when my life ends on Earth, Ill begin a perfect one with Him in Heaven. The Bible says Heaven will be a place where God will wipe every tear from our eyes, a perfect place where there will be no more death, or crying, or mourning or pain, for the old order of things have passed away (Revelation chapter 21, verse 4).

This perfect place may sound like a fantasy, but unlike the fantasy I had of my holiday (where nothing went as planned), I know this promise will not disappoint. That makes all the present suffering worthwhile!

Originally published on YMI at https://ymi.today/2017/08/the-christian-walk-a-warm-summer-holiday/.Republished with permission.
"It is important that our firm offers knowledge and understanding to distressed Spanish speaking victims regardless of whether or not they reach out to us directly. Brandon Stein, Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner of SteinLaw

SteinLaw Injury Lawyers has launched a fully translated Spanish version of its website in an effort to better reach every personal injury accident victim in the South Florida area. Language barriers do not prevent someone from having rights worth upholding, and that is why SteinLaw continues striving to offer council and consultation in Spanish for any Florida client in need. With their main office located in the heart of Miami-Dade County, Hispanic and Latin culture is a part of their work culture as well.

We want every personal injury victim to feel they have an advocate that speaks to and for them, said Brandon Stein, Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner of SteinLaw. We did not feel only offering to speak with clients in Spanish was enough. It is important that our firm offers knowledge and understanding to distressed Spanish speaking victims regardless of whether or not they reach out to us directly.

The Spanish version of SteinLaws site offers many of the same functionalities as the English version, such as the signature case evaluator that can help victims immediately determine if they have a potential claim. By offering simple information such as where an injury occurred, what caused the injury, and the severity of the incident; visitors can determine the eligibility of their case before requesting a custom evaluation from a SteinLaw Spanish lawyer.

Each of SteinLaws major practice area pages now have a corresponding Spanish version as well that outlines all the same critical information victims should know regarding their incident and case. Site visitors will find facts and legal knowledge surrounding personal injury cases including:



Car Crash (Accidente Automovilistico)

Death (Muerte)

Commercial Premises Liability (Responsabilidad De Locales Comerciales)

Slips, Trips, and Falls (Resbalones, Tropiezos Y Caidas)

Negligent Security (Seguridad Negligente)

Work Accidents (Accidentes De Trabajo)

Additionally, visitors can also access an array of satisfactory reviews from other Spanish speaking clients across social media. SteinLaw Abogados de Lesiones can be easily accessed by visiting https://www.steinlaw.com/es/, or via the top right corner of the existing SteinLaw homepage.

About SteinLaw

In addition to being the best choice for Florida personal injury Spanish lawyers, SteinLaw has reliably represented clients across the South Florida community from Miami to Tampa for years.

At SteinLaw, personal injury victims are a name, and not a number. Clients are afforded the ability to contact their attorney directly via telephone in order to achieve a level of comfort and reliability in the handling of any case. SteinLaw also views maximum recovery for a case in the very literal sense, meaning significant compensation for a loss. Brandon Steinalong with the entire SteinLaw teamis dedicated to obtaining that maximum level of recovery for any case.

Contact SteinLaw today to schedule a personalized case evaluation for yourself or a loved one.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Yes, Theyre Open is a web series highlighting local bars and restaurants that are open for takeout, delivery, pickup or dining during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Live streams from the featured restaurants are broadcast on the Advance Facebook page every weekday around 3 p.m.

On Wednesday, the Advance/SILive.com visited Natures Eatery at 1267 Forest Ave., which is open for indoor dining, pickup and delivery from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Natures Eatery also offers curbside pickup, so patrons can order over the phone and have their orders sent out to their cars in the parking lot.

To contact the restaurant, call 917-397-8808 or visit NaturesEatery.com.

Staten Island restaurant owners: If you would like your establishment featured for free as part of Yes, Theyre Open, email reporter Victoria Priola at vpriola@siadvance.com.

WANT MORE YES, THEYRE OPEN?

Check out the listings below or check out all of our previous coverage here.

Alfonsos Pastry Shoppe, 1899 Victory Blvd.

The Original Goodfellas, 1718 Hylan Blvd.

Detox Juice Bar & Kebab Grill, 1612 Forest Ave.

Ritas Italian Ice, 2655 Richmond Ave.

Baya Bar, 2381 Hylan Blvd.

Family Man Empanada Cart, Richmond and Nome avenues

Filled Cafe and Silogan, 701 Bay St.

Taste of India II, 287 New Dorp Lane

Il Sogno, 26 Jefferson Blvd.

Genki Sushi, 150 Greaves Lane

Beso, 11 Schuyler St.
A 29-year-old man laid still in a hospital bed at UMass Medical Center as prosecutors described how he allegedly decapitated his mother and answered the door covered in blood when police arrived at the residence on Halmstad Street last week.

Dal Khan Mung, who is accused of fatally stabbing his 71-year-old mother, Nan Thang, in a Worcester apartment last week, was arraigned on Wednesday through a Burmese interpreter via Zoom in Worcester District Court.

Mung, who had his left hand wrapped, was arraigned on charges of domestic abuse and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury.

At about 11 a.m. on Friday, police responded to 27 Halmstad Street #1H for a report of a stabbing, prosecutors said. Records have Mung listed as living at the Worcester address.

Mung, prosecutors said, answered the door covered in blood and was suffering from a stab wound in the stomach and deep lacerations on his wrists.

Prosecutors said they believed the wounds were self-inflicted.

When police entered the building, they found Mungs mother on the floor in the kitchen with her head severed from her body.

Prosecutors said Mung called a family member earlier in the morning and told that person he killed his mother and was going to kill himself.

Judge Andrew M. DAngelo ordered Mung to be held without bail. Mungs attorney requested the 29-year-old to be transferred to Bridgewater State Hospital for psychological evaluation.

DAngelo ordered a screening to occur before he granted an evaluation so Mung would be seen in Bridgewater. DAngelo said after reading the statement of facts in the case, he believes competency is in question.

A doctor joined the Zoom for a screening of Mung with his attorney in a breakout room.

Following the screening, the doctor found reason for more evaluation. DAngelo allowed an evaluation for competency and competency only at Bridgewater State Hospital. A dangerousness hearing wont occur until after the evaluation.

A dangerousness hearing is scheduled for May 18, but with a possible delay of the evaluation, the hearing may occur later.
[April 28, 2021] BCSC settles with blockchain platform promoter

VANCOUVER, BC, April 28, 2021 /CNW/ - A man who raised money for the development of a blockchain platform has agreed to pay $70,000 to the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) for using funds he raised from investors for personal purposes. Francesco Servedio, of Kelowna, received $3.2 million from investors between March 2015 and July 2017 to develop a blockchain platform that would use a new cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency, which could be exchanged for bitcoin, was used as a form of payment by a limited group of merchants. Servedio used $480,000 of the invested funds for personal purposes. When the funds were invested, he did not indicate that he would use the money for personal purposes, which violates the Securities Act's provision on misrepresentation. When the platform stopped operating in 2017, Servedio was able to return nearly the full amunt of the original funds raised to investors because the price of bitcoin had risen during this period.



In addition to the immediate payment, Servedio is prohibited for 10 years from: Relying on an exemption in the Act, regulations or a decision

Becoming or acting as a director or officer of an issuer or registrant

Becoming or acting as a registrant or promoter

Advising or acting in a management or consultative capacity in the securities or derivatives market and

Engaging in promotional activities by, or on behalf of, an issuer, security holder or party to a derivative, or someone who could reasonably benefit from the promotional activity. About the British Columbia Securities Commission (www.bcsc.bc.ca)

The British Columbia Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in British Columbia through the administration of the Securities Act. Our mission is to protect and promote the public interest by fostering: A securities market that is fair and warrants public confidence

A dynamic and competitive securities industry that provides investment opportunities and access to capital Learn how to protect yourself and become a more informed investor at www.investright.org SOURCE British Columbia Securities Commission

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CHICAGO  City officials in Chicago released body camera footage on Wednesday showing a police officer fatally shooting Anthony Alvarez, 22, after an early-morning foot chase on the citys Northwest Side in March.

The killing of Mr. Alvarez was the second police shooting in a month to prompt an outcry from the public and renew calls for an overhaul to the Chicago Police Department.

In the videos, two officers can be seen driving into the parking lot of a gas station, lights flashing. Mr. Alvarez, in the parking lot, begins running away, and the officers eventually chase him on foot down an alley and around a corner into a front yard in a residential neighborhood. Mr. Alvarez had a gun in his right hand, the videos show.

One officer, Evan Solano, shouts, Hey! Drop the gun, drop the gun! before firing five times. At the time he was shot, the slowed-down video shows, Mr. Alvarez had his back to the officers and was attempting to run.
Bengaluru, April 28 : After BJP leader and noted animal activist, Maneka Gandhi joined the chorus of wildlife activists seeking elephant 'Kusha' be freed, Karnataka Forest Minister Arvanid Limbavali on Wednesday directed the forest officials to set the jumbo free from captivity.

This decision was taken after a high-level meeting of forest officials, chaired by the minister here. Limbavali had called this meeting exclusively to discuss this matter, following the complaints.

The minister also instructed forest officials to fix a radio collar on the elephant and let it into the jungle once a suitable place is identified.

He also directed the officers to take necessary safety steps to release this animal.

The 29-year-old Kusha was captured in Chettalli limits of Kodagu nearly three years ago after causing damage to crops and properties, but escaped from captivity in March 2020. The bull elephant was finally recaptured in March this year after several attempts by the forest staff.

After recapturing the jumbo, the Forest Department had chained it and kept under watchful eyes of mahouts and other trained elephants in Dubare elephant camp in Kodagu district.

Limbavali reiterated that the forest officers had never ill-treated Kusha.

He also directed the forest officials to take over seven elephants including five calves which are under the care of Prajna Chowta, who runs Aane Mane foundation which takes care of semi-trained elephants.

The minister claimed that he had received multiple complaints from local residents against Chowta for running an elephant camp in Kodagu.

Chowta has carved a niche for herself being first woman mahout in the country. She is the daughter of Darbe Krishnananda Chowta, a Tulu writer, businessman and artist, and sister of famous Bollywood music director Sandeep Chowta. Prajna became passionate about elephants during college days and is running base camp in Dubare in Kodagu since 2002.
Watch: Sir Anthony Hopkins dance and laugh with Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek helped Sir Anthony Hopkins celebrate his second Oscar win with a dance.

Sir Anthony became the oldest actor to win an Academy Award, at the age of 83, when he unexpectedly scooped Best Actor at the 2021 Oscars for The Father, despite not being at the ceremony and unable to collect his award in person.

Hayek, 54, has now revealed she is a guest of Sir Anthony at his home in Wales as she shared a comedy video of the pair dancing around the sitting room to Leonard Cohen's Dance Me To The End Of Love.

Salma Hayek and Sir Anthony Hopkins have a little dance to celebrate his Oscar win. (Instagram/salmahayek)

The Like A Boss star captioned the video: "Celebrating with the king @anthonyhopkins  his 2nd Oscar for his extraordinary performance in The Father #leonardcohen."

Read more: Salma Hayek says she lies about her weight, but not her age

Sir Anthony is shown with his arms flung out either side of him, dancing across the room, before Hayek enters the shot and dances with him until they laugh and share an embrace.

He commented on the post: "Thank you queen for the love and laughter. A memorable, beautiful day."

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It is not known why Hayek is in the UK but she and the Welsh actor have a long friendship, with her joining him when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003.

The Mexican-born actor and producer  who has a 13-year-old daughter Valentina with her fashion mogul husband Francois-Henri Pinault  is currently filming Ridley Scott's biographical crime film House Of Gucci.

The Welsh actor had previously shared a video on his own Instagram account, thanking the Academy for his award and paying tribute to the late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who had been posthumously nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, and was widely expected to win.

Josh Lucas, Salma Hayek and Jodie Foster attend Sir Anthony Hopkins's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2003. (Getty Images)

He said: "Here I am in my homeland in Wales, and at 83 years of age I did not expect to get this award. I really didn't. I'm very grateful to the Academy, and thank you."

Story continues

He continued with a gesture to Boseman, who died in 2020 after a private battle with cancer.

"I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early.

"And again, thank you all very much, I really did not expect this, so I feel very privileged and honoured. Thank you."

Read more: Anthony Hopkins says actors are 'pretty stupid'

Sir Anthony won for his performance as an ageing father experiencing memory loss in the film, which co-stars Olivia Colman as his daughter.

Boseman  who died aged 43 in August 2020 after a private battle with colon cancer  was nominated for his performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Sir Anthony won his first Oscar in 1992 for his performance in The Silence Of The Lambs.

Watch: Anthony Hopkins shares acceptance speech online
Bayerische Medien Technik GmbH (bmt) has extended its partnership with SES, the global leader in content connectivity solutions, in a multi-year agreement to continue using SESs satellites at its prime TV neighbourhood at ASTRA 19.2 degrees East to broadcast Bavarian local TV channels in HD. bmt is a subsidiary of the Bayerische Landeszentrale fur neue Medien (BLM), the regulatory authority for new media in Bavaria, and of the Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), the Bavarian broadcasting association.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210426005948/en/

bmt Extends HD Capacity Agreement With SES on ASTRA 19.2 Degrees East (Photo: Business Wire)

bmt will continue to receive funding from the Free State of Bavaria, enabling the broadcasting of 14 free-to-air channels, including local TV stations from Munich and Nuremberg, to audiences across Bavaria.

The increasing viewership and high popularity ratings of the current programming in the past two years show how much viewers appreciate reliable information from their region, especially in the news-heavy times of the pandemic. With the transmission of local TV programmes via SESs ASTRA satellites, we are able to successfully reach the widest audiences and bring their favorite content in HD quality, said Siegfried Schneider, President of BLM.

SESs partnership with bmt underscores the growing significance of regional TV offerings and the value local content brings to audiences that look for a tailored viewing experience. With our prime satellites at 19.2 degrees East, we ensure consistent delivery of local programming to the millions of viewers in Bavaria with the best image and sound quality, said Christoph Muhleib, Managing Director of ASTRA Deutschland GmbH.

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About SES

SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the worlds only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system. By leveraging a vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES is able to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the worlds leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SESs video network carries over 8,200 channels and has an unparalleled reach of 361 million households, delivering managed media services for both linear and non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210426005948/en/
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 09:58:52|Editor: huaxia

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FREETOWN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Sierra Leone on Tuesday celebrated the country's 60th independence anniversary to mark its historic occasion of gaining independence from Britain.

"Our freedom fighters went through countless suffering to give us our freedom. 27th April is a day of remembrance and honor to our heroes," said Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio at a ceremony, adding that over the past 60 years, the Sierra Leonean people have learned to live together as a nation.

"We have felt the pain, learned the lessons, used the lessons as opportunities to learn, and drawn strength from those opportunities to become a better nation," he said.

The president said the country is investing heavily to increase the quality of education and healthcare, develop agriculture and promote food security as "the people of Sierra Leone are the most valuable resource."

Some West African leaders also joined the celebration at the State House. Enditem
Sanofi to manufacture up to 200 million doses of Modernas vaccine in the US starting in September 2021

Sanofi has entered into an agreement with Moderna, under which Sanofi will help manufacture Modernas COVID-19 vaccine, supporting the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine supply needs.

Sanofi will leverage its established infrastructure and manufacturing expertise at its site in Ridgefield, NJ, to perform fill and finish of up to 200 million doses of Modernas COVID-19 vaccine, starting in September 2021.

This marks Sanofis third commitment to provide manufacturing support. Earlier this year, Sanofi announced the company will provide support to BioNTech for 125 million doses for the European Union.

In February, Sanofi announced one of its manufacturing site in France would support Johnson & Johnson for the production of its COVID-19 vaccine at a rate of approximately 12 million doses per month. Sanofi is the only large manufacturer to support all three vaccine efforts.

Sanofi is also collaborating with GSK on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate using the same recombinant protein-based manufacturing technology as one of Sanofis seasonal influenza vaccines, combined with GSKs established pandemic adjuvant platform.
In February this year, the Communist Party of China (CPC) started a new campaign called Party History Learning and Education

Students waving flags of the Communist Party as they prepare to watch a movie "The Founding of a Party" in Yangzhou, in China's eastern Jiangsu province, to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. (Photo: AFP)

In February this year, the Communist Party of China (CPC) started a new campaign called Party History Learning and Education; it will continue in full swing through the year as the CPC celebrates its centenary in July. Neican, a weekly brief on China published from Australia, observed: The CPCs official historiography is a product of politics and serves a political agenda. There is no doubt about this, and India should closely watch the new campaign.

Neicans analysts said: In the case of the current campaign, it aims to strengthen ideological cohesion, confidence, and a sense of historical destiny. In doing so, it will likely reinforce the legitimacy of Xi Jinping as the partys helmsman and his political project of national rejuvenation.

Like everything in China these days, the crusade originated in an important speech by President Xi Jinping, the new Great Helmsman. On February 20, at a gathering in Beijing, Mr Xi spoke of the importance of learning the history of the CPC, so as to let the party better serve the people and lead the country to fully build a modern socialist country.

Xinhua commented that the CPC has achieved its first centenary goal to complete building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and now embarks on the second: The learning [of history] will help ensure the whole party to remain true to its original aspiration.

Being purely an ideological move, archaeology plays a crucial role in the new scheme of national rejuvenation. If Beijing is able to prove that China dominated large parts of Asia, let us say 3,000 or 4,000 years ago, the ideological foundation of the rejuvenation will be established.

Already in September last year, Mr Xi presided over a meeting of the partys politburo and discussed the latest archaeological discoveries in China and their significance. The CPC general secretary showed a great interest in excavating the past; he spoke of developing archaeology to better understand the long-standing and profound Chinese civilization.

He said that he attached great importance to archaeological research to deepen peoples understanding of Chinese civilisation that features a long history and profoundness, thus providing strong support for promoting fine traditional culture and strengthening peoples confidence in Chinese culture. You could ask: how does this concern India?

Unfortunately, it does, especially after Chinas new territorial claims in Ladakh as well as the older ones in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

On April 14, The China Daily mentioned with fanfare an event highlighting Chinas Top 10 New Archaeological Discoveries of Year 2020; the annual awards function was dubbed the Oscars of Chinese archaeology. The idea was to promote new archaeological findings among the masses, with a 21-expert judging panel selecting the 10 sites.

One of them is the Sangsdar Lungmgo graveyard site in Tsanda county of Ngari prefecture of Western Tibet. Tsanda, or Zanda, is located near the historical vestiges of Tholing, close to the Indian border, north of Uttarakhand. The findings date from the 4th century BC to 7th century AD and though it is not officially said, it belongs to the Kingdom of Zhangzhung, which spread across Western Tibet and Northern India. The site was presented as a key finding of early-stage history of Tibet, showing frequent communication among the region with the area to the south of Himalayas as well as todays central China and Xinjiang.

India should be concerned because political archeology has always helped China to substantiate its territorial claims at a later date. Zhangzhung was an ancient kingdom which spread in Western Tibet and Northern India; it predates the culture of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet and is usually associated with the Bon faith. The inhabitants are often mentioned in ancient Tibetan texts as the original rulers of central and western Tibet. Only in the last two decades or so, have archaeologists started to excavate areas once ruled by the Zhangzhung kings.

Though very little is known about the extent of the kingdom, it is said to have had extensive contacts with its neighbours, particularly Northern India (and not China). While Beijing has now taken up a large number of excavation sites to demonstrate Zhangzhungs relations with the mainland, very little is done in India, where archaeology is still under the slumberous Archaeological Survey of India and the babus of the ministry of culture.

At the same time, China is moving ahead with the blessings of the Peoples Leader; for example in November 2017, China Tibet Online mentioned a group of 2,000-year-old sarcophagi tombs recently discovered in Jomdo County, Chamdo, southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region, in which the cultural features not only possess strong local characteristics, but also have very clear similarities with sarcophagus remains found in the Min Jiang River and Yarlung River basin in the west part of southwest Chinas Sichuan Province.

Quoting a Chinese archaeologist, the article further argues: This discovery confirms that around 2,000 years ago, there had been frequent communication and exchanges between the people living in the east part of Tibet and those in the plateau areas of western Sichuan.

Another article in China News mentions the Western Tibet tombs; quoting Dr Feng Yang from the School of Archaeology, Culture and Science of Sichuan University, it speculated that the tombs dated back to the seventh century BC. During a seminar on 2020 Tibet Cultural Relics and Archaeological Achievements recently held in Lhasa, Dr Feng gave a report on the latest stages of excavations: Seven archaeological surveys and trial excavations were carried out from 1994 to 2001. In order to explore the early society and civilisation of western Tibet and clarify its status in Tibetan civilisation, archaeological excavations in this area continued from 2018 to 2020; 10 new cemeteries were discovered (eight of them were date-tested), 68 tombs were cleared, 10 new sites were excavated and one stone tool site found. Systematic carbon fourteen dating was done, and a basic chronological framework could be established.

According to Feng Yang, the 68 tombs are divided into four phases: Tombs are rich in burial goods, including pottery, iron, bronze, seashells, mussel decorations, beads, woodware, etc. The phenomenon of burial of animals is common, including sheep, horses, and cows.

The article added: The cultural connotation of this area is obviously diverse, and cultural connections with different surrounding areas can be seen, including cultural connections with the mainland.

Unless India decides to heavily invest in the archaeology of the Himalayas, which will prove the Indic origin of the Zhangzhung kingdom, China will rewrite the history of Indias borders. But how many politicians understand this in New Delhi? Probably no one.
Participants from Korea listen to U.S. Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) Senior Fellow Jeffrey Schott, who joined online from Washington, D.C., during the 2nd CPTPP Trade Forum at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) headquarters in central Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of the KCCI



By Yi Whan-woo



The United States may join the mega-sized, multinational free trade agreement (FTA) snubbed by former President Donald Trump sooner than expected, as part of efforts to enhance its economic alliance in the Asia-Pacific against China, according to an American expert.



"The Biden administration is concentrating its energy on domestic challenges, and so the conventional wisdom is that it will not move on the CPTPP during President Biden's term," U.S. Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) Senior Fellow Jeffrey Schott said, Wednesday. "But should the conflict between the U.S. and China continue, it could quickly move toward strengthening economic ties with its allies."



Schott added that CPTPP participation would be "a good solution" to establishing a new economic pact with countries in the Asia-Pacific region.



"CPTPP" stands for the "Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership," and is an FTA among Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.



Schott made the comments during the 2nd CPTPP Trade Forum, hosted jointly by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and the Kim & Chang law firm at the KCCI headquarters in central Seoul. Schott joined online from Washington, D.C., where the PIIE is located.



The CPTPP, which went into effect in December 2018, is a modified version of the TPP, which was central to former President Barack Obama's strategic "Pivot to Asia" policy in that it linked 12 countries, including the United States, across the Pacific.



But Trump withdrew the U.S. from the pact in 2017 before it was signed, a move he said was aimed at protecting American jobs.



The remaining 11 countries renegotiated parts of the TPP, removed some of Washington's demands and signed the CPTPP in March 2018.



The deal is comparable to the Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership (RCEP), a China-backed FTA between Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It was signed in November 2020.



Korea is also seeking to become a member of the CPTPP.



The 2nd CPTPP Trade Forum was held to discuss the outlook of U.S. trade policies, to set up Korea's strategies, and to find out whether the country is ready to adapt to the strengthened obligations and new trade rules of the agreement upon accession.



Schott said that he finds it preferable for Korea to join the CPTPP "swiftly," noting that it will help the country "to secure first-mover benefits" when it signs a three-way FTA with China and Japan in the future.



He stated that the obligations of the CPTPP are similar to those of the Korea-U.S. FTA, and because Korea has bilateral FTAs with most of the CPTPP members, "there is no need for Korea to hesitate on its participation."



The forum was joined by KCCI Executive Vice Chairman Woo Tae-hee, Kim & Chang Adviser Lee Jae-hoon and others.



The participants agreed that joining the CPTPP may be beneficial for Korea. However, they also concluded that a careful review and discussions should be held before making a final decision, considering the fact that environmental standards as well as criteria regarding liberalization and state-owned enterprises are more thorough than past FTAs signed by Korea.


James Chadwell II, 42, (in mug) is accused of luring a 9-year-old girl into his home on April 19 before attacking, strangling and sexually assaulting her

Police investigating the unsolved 2017 murders of two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, have confirmed they are 'looking into' a man who was arrested last week on suspicion of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl in the basement of his home.

Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby told ABC News Wednesday there are 'several factors' leading investigators working on the cold case killings to see if there may be a connection to this month's alleged kidnapping in nearby Lafayette.

James Chadwell II, 42, is accused of luring the 9-year-old girl into his home on April 19 to pet his dogs. He then allegedly took her down to his basement where he attacked, strangled and sexually assaulted her before police rescued the girl from his home around an hour after her disappearance.

The incident took place around 20 miles from Delphi where 13-year-old Abigail 'Abby' Williams and 14-year-old Liberty 'Libby' German were murdered back in 2017.

The two friends went missing on February 13 while hiking along the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi.

Their bodies were discovered the following day in woods about half a mile from the trail.

Now, more than four years on, very little is known about their murders. No suspects have been named, no arrests made and the teenagers' causes of death and details about the crime scene continue to be kept under wraps.

Sheriff Leazenby told WRTV that investigators are 'looking into' Chadwell to determine if he has any connection to the unsolved murders.

'The information has obviously been shared with us and our investigators are looking into him,' Leazenby said.

The sheriff did not provide any further details about the possible connection.

He has urged the public not to jump to conclusions about any link, in particular through the comparison of Chadwell's mug and the artist sketch of the Delphi killer.

Police investigating the unsolved 2017 murders of Libby German (left) and Abby Williams (right) in Delphi, Indiana, have confirmed they are 'looking into' Chadwell

Police released the composite sketch on the left early in the investigation. The sketch on the right was released in 2019 when police said the investigation had moved in a new direction

'Someone looks like somebody, that obviously does not mean that is the person,' he said.

At this point, no formal connection has yet been made between the two cases.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Carroll County Sheriff's Office and Indiana State Police for comment.

Chadwell was charged with multiple counts Monday over the alleged kidnapping including attempted murder, two counts of child molesting, kidnapping, criminal confinement, battery and strangulation.

According to court documents, the 42-year-old lured the girl into his home to pet his dogs on the evening of April 19.

Once inside, the suspect allegedly hit her in the head multiple times and strangled her.

'Chadwell was also choking her with his hands on her neck and also using his arm in a headlock, to the point where she passed out,' prosecutors say.

The case has long focused on a man captured on camera on Libby's phone walking along the abandoned railroad bridge on the day they went missing (pictured above)

Libby posted this photo of Abby on Snapchat as they walked along an abandoned railroad bridge hours before they vanished

When the girl came round, she said most of her clothes were off and Chadwell took her down to the basement where he forced her to perform sexual acts, the documents state.

The girl told police Chadwell had warned her that if she screamed or told anyone what happened he would kill her.

The girl was reported missing by her mom at around 7pm - around 30 minutes after she said she had last seen her at their home near Sagamore Parkway.

When officers were searching the neighborhood for the missing girl, Chadwell allegedly told them the girl had entered his home earlier but had left, the documents state.

Police said they asked Chadwell if they could search his home and he said yes.

Officers found the girl within an hour of her disappearance 'visibly distraught and crying, with her clothing on the floor beside her' in Chadwell's basement which was locked with a chain lock, the documents state.

The girl had suffered multiple injuries and was covered in bruises, strangulation marks and had a dog bite mark on her leg.

The Monon High Bridge where Abby and Libby were last seen was blocked off by police tape in February 2017 after their bodies were found

The girls were murdered while hiking along the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi

Libby (left) and Abby (right) were kidnapped and killed in Delphi, Indiana. More than four years later, very little is known about their murder and no one has been arrested

Police said she told investigators she thought she was going to die.

The case has fueled questions around whether the suspect may be tied to the murders of Libby and Abby.

The two friends were dropped off at the Delphi Historic Trails to go on a hike on February 13 2017.

They were reported missing when they failed to show up when a parent came to pick them up.

A search was launched to find the teens and, the next day, their bodies were found in a secluded wooded area off the main trail.

Their cause of death has never been released by authorities.

Investigators believe the girls were approached by an unknown man while they were hanging out on a bridge along the route.

The case has long focused on a man captured on camera on Libby's phone walking along the abandoned railroad bridge on the day they went missing.

Days after the killings, authorities released two grainy photos of the suspect found on her phone.

The man was dressed in blue jeans and a blue jacket.

Investigators also released an audio clip from her phone which they believe she recorded 'during possible criminal activity'.

In it, the suspect is heard telling the girls: 'Go down the hill.'

The man has never been identified.

Libby had also posted photos of herself on Snapchat walking on the bridge on the day she and Abby vanished.

Sheriff Toby Leazenby and Sgt Kim Riley confirming the bodies were those of the missing girls in 2017

Police hailed Libby as a hero for recording the evidence of their suspected killer before she died.

They released a sketch of the suspect later that year after witnesses reported seeing him in Delphi.

Two years later in 2019, investigators released a new sketch that differed to the first, citing a witness' recollection.

Investigators said the suspect could be anywhere from age 18 to 40 with a deceptively 'youthful appearance'. They believe the killer lives or works in the Delphi area.

Several other leads and tips have been pursued in the last four years but no other people of interest have ever turned into suspects.

Earlier, this year an anonymous donor gave $100,000 to help capture the person responsible for the teenagers' slayings.

This raised the reward fund for information leading to a conviction in the cold case to $325,000.

Anyone with information on the Delphi case is asked to contact abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com
Mumbai: As many 256 oxygen concentrators have arrived at the City's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) from Singapore amid an acute shortage of medical oxygen in the wake of huge spike in Covid-19 cases in the country, the private airport operator said on Wednesday.

The oxygen concentrators weighing approximately 5.5 tonnes, landed in two tranches with each consisting of 128 concentrators in the last two days, it said.

The medical device concentrates oxygen from ambient air and is particularly helpful for patients who are isolating at home as well as for meeting the demands of hospitals running low on oxygen.

As India receives global support to combat the second wave of Covid-19, the first shipment of oxygen concentrators landed in Mumbai at 9.52 PM on Tuesday followed by another one, which arrived at 10.10 AM on Wednesday, CSMIA said.

The offloading of these shipments was given topmost priority and the entire process was completed in a span of 15 minutes, the airport operator said.

The recent spike in cases has led to an increase in demand for oxygen across the country.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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The South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker are known for their offensive humor. Their Comedy Central series has no problem poking fun at any given topic, whether its a group of celebrities or a religious organization. Yet over the years, Parker and Stone have seemed to change their tune. They now think its wrong to offend and go out of their way not to.

South Park 15th Anniversary Celebration | Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

How did Matt Stone and Trey Parker meet?

Stone and Parker met back in 1992 while attending Boulder University in Colorado. The two got to know each other in film class and instantly became best friends. According to Parker, he and Stone were always those annoying kids who sat in the back of the class and didnt take anything too seriously.

I think in college, we were always the guys in the back of the class who would just try to crack each other up, said Parker. Matt and I were really the two people who didnt take anything that seriously, and we were always just trying to make each other laugh. And we were always kind of doing voices for each other. We were those guys who were sort of annoying to some people because no one else was in on the joke.

The South Park creators now think its wrong to offend

The citizens of #SouthParQ are clamoring for the COVID-19 vaccine. An all-new "South ParQ Vaccination Special" premieres on Wednesday at 8/7c on Comedy Central. pic.twitter.com/sG0JJbuqHe  South Park (@SouthPark) March 8, 2021

RELATED: South Park Was Supposed to End After the Movie Bigger, Longer, & Uncut

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Parker and Stone proved that theyre not the same people they were when the series first aired in 1997. It has been over 20 years since South Park first premiered, and since then, their priorities have changed.

We care about different things today, Parker admits. First, we were friends fing around, trying to get laid, breaking into Hollywood, sleeping on couches. Now Matt is married, and Ive got a little family.

And as Parker notes, he never aims to offend, but instead to make people laugh.

When someone goes, Oh, this group is pissed off at what you said, theres not a piece of my body that goes, Sweet!' Parker says. That just means I did it wrong. Im just trying to make people laugh.

Do Matt Stone and Trey Parker still write for South Park?

Often, creators will hand off their series to new writers so they can move on to other projects. But as for Parker and Stone, they never stopped being the head writers behind everyones favorite mountain town series. And when Parker was asked how he manages to continue writing for the show after all these years, he sweetly said its because of Stone, who keeps him grounded.

We definitely try to stay true to ourselves with South Park, and I think thats because Matt and I have each other, said Parker. We have each other to check each other.

The #SouthParQ Vaccination Special starts in just 1 hour on @ComedyCentral! pic.twitter.com/Rik3pW5FmY  South Park (@SouthPark) March 11, 2021

But thats not to say that things are always easy for the two. In fact, according to Parker, there are times when he hates writing for South Park because of how stressful it can be. Dedicated fans of the series know that each episode is made in six days or less. And because of this, theres a lot of pressure to get something done in such a short amount of time.

South Park is way bigger than either of us, he says. And its this curse, and when we are doing it, I hate it. Im pissed off, and Im tired, and every single Tuesday, I say, This is the worst show weve ever done! Its brutal. But its something I am a part of thats bigger than I am. Thats whats most important.
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The two men on the train are sharing a single set of earphones. Good song, isnt it? says the more gregarious of the two. The quieter man smiles faintly and agrees, It goes with the landscape. They could be childhood friends reconnecting, or colleagues who get along despite their differences. But they are filmmaker Atsushi Sakahara, victim of the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attacks, and Hiroshi Araki, long-standing member of Aleph (formerly Aum Shinriko) the doomsday cult that carried them out. And their flickering but unmistakable connection forms the core of the desperately moving Me and the Cult Leader, a film made all the more heartbreaking because you can never be quite sure who your heart is breaking for.

In the decades since the attack  panicky amateur footage of which opens the film, as the soundtrack crackles with frantic police chatter  Sakahara has suffered from PTSD and various physical impairments. Often his eyes get so tired he can scarcely keep them open. And yet, ever ready with a wisecrack, he walks through the world far more at ease with himself than Araki, who lives in a joyless Aleph facility, eating carefully unseasoned food (we try not to pleasure our sense of flavor) and sleeping on bare boards.

Araki is a renunciate: He has turned away from the world, his family and perhaps his selfhood, the better to serve the ideals of his guru, Shoko Asahara. That Asahara is the madman behind the terrorist acts that killed 13 and injured over 6,000 (he and 12 acolytes were executed for their crimes in 2018) is clearly troubling to Araki  who himself played no part in the attacks  but not dealbreakingly so. We cannot understand his truth, he says blandly.

Such evasions occur often, especially in the beginning. Were told it took Sakahara a year to convince Araki to participate, but even so, initially hes guarded and wary. Lengthy pauses stretch between even the most softball of questions and his desperately earnest replies. But Sakahara is taking Araki on a journey that will, as much as the filmmakers own genial presence, start to soften that stiff, fearful demeanor. It turns out they grew up in the same region and attended Kyoto University only a year apart, and in bringing Araki back to these places, Sakahara for all his hearty friendliness, is enacting a canny strategy of subtle deprogramming.

It seems, for a time, to be working. Araki cries when the train idles at the station near his grandmothers house. He recalls stories from his childhood  painful little fables he relates haltingly. He even has an uncharacteristic burst of childlike excitement when they stop off to skim stones across a lake. He is good at it, and takes very un-renunciate pleasure in it.

Editor Junko Watanabe deserves special mention for establishing the discursive, meditative rhythm. Far more than the otherwise utilitarian craft  handheld shots of men in parkas looking at gray buildings in the light drizzle under an unvarnished, caught-on-the-fly dialogue track  it is this rhythm that mesmerizes, as the dynamic between the men begins to seesaw in fascinating ways.

This ebb and flow is gripping, but hardly akin to the punchy dramatics of the thriving subgenre of true-crime/cult documentary to which Me and the Cult Leader loosely belongs. Fans of Netflixs Wild Wild Country or HBOs The Vow may be disappointed by the lack of cliffhanger storytelling and salacious detail. If anything, Sakahara is overly reticent about both the attack and the more extremist excesses of the Aleph belief system: The context, if you look it up, is far more damning toward Araki than the film ever suggests.

The only hint of bombast is the subtitle A Modern Report on the Banality of Evil. Its a strange choice of phrase, given that this provocative and profound film suggests not Arakis evil but his emptiness, which renders him pitiable, especially compared to Sakahara, who for all his suffering is by far the stronger, smarter and more stable of the two. But then the true divide between Me and the Cult Leader runs deeper even than victim/perpetrator; its between those who belong in this big, messy world, and those can find no place in it, condemned to skip across its surface like a stone.

Reviewed at CPH:DOX Festival (online), Apr. 27, 2021. (Also in Sheffield Doc/Fest.) Running time: 114 MIN. (Original title: Aganai)

Running Time: Running time: 114 MIN.

Production

(Documentary  Japan) A Good People Inc. production. (World sales: Good Move Media, Hong Kong.) Producers: Atsushi Sakahara, Etsuko Matsuo. Co-producer: Pearl Chan.

Crew

Director, writer: Atsushi Sakahara. Camera: Tatsuya Yamada, Masako Takashima. Editor: Junko Watanabe. Music: Soulcolor.

With

Atsushi Sakahara, Hiroshi Araki, Takeshi Sakahara, Takoko Sakahara. (Japanese dialogue)

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Central New York Community Foundation announced two staff changes:

Danielle Johnson has been promoted to senior director of grants and programs. She joined the Community Foundation in 2007 as a program associate. After serving the organization for more than 14 years, she oversees and manages the organizations $1.7 million community grant program as well as its nonprofit leadership development and capacity building programs. She also sits on the advisory board of the Housing and Homeless Coalition of Central New York and is a resident of Baldwinsville.

>> Send us your companys news about People in Motion

Jenny Green has been promoted to philanthropic services officer. She started as a development associate at the Community Foundation in 2016. In her new role, she serves constituent data-related needs across the organization, analyzes data and provides consult for technology issues related to the organizations software systems. Green received a bachelors degree in technology management from Alfred State College and is set to soon receive a masters degree in information systems from Marist College.

The Central New York Community Foundation is a public charity established in 1927 that collects contributions from donors, manages them to grow over time and then distributes funding to local charities to help them thrive. It is the largest charitable foundation in Central New York with assets of nearly $260 million and has invested more than $200 million in community improvement projects since its inception. As a grantmaker, civic leader, convener and sponsor of strategic initiatives, the Community Foundation strives to strengthen local nonprofits, encourage better understanding of the region and address the most critical issues of our time.

If youd like to submit an item about People in Motion at your organization, send a press release including photo, to business@syracuse.com with Company News in the subject field. See all recent Company News items.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Neptune Flood, the first AI-driven flood insurance company to provide fast, easy and better flood insurance, announced the launch of its latest capacity program sponsored by Transverse Insurance Group and backed by a panel of global reinsurers, which was placed through Acrisure Re (formerly Beach & Associates). Neptune policies placed with the program will carry the Transverse AM Best A- (Excellent) rating.

The $30 million premium capacity program will enable Neptune to meet the surging demand for Neptune's flood insurance alternative to the government backed NFIP program. The program will look to protect approximately $10 billion in home and business value from the catastrophic risk of flooding. Hurricane season begins on May 15 and on the back of last year's record number of storms, is expected to be another above average season.

"Neptune is proud to partner with Transverse and its experienced team of underwriters and program administrators. Transverse will help Neptune to serve tens of thousands of additional homeowners and businesses," said Neptune CEO Trevor Burgess. "Neptune is the fast and easy alternative to the NFIP and most of the time we can save the home or business owner money while providing superior coverage."

"Our relationship with Neptune is an exciting one for us. Neptune has approached a significant peril with great ingenuity and innovativeness. We are excited to be supporting an excellent portrayal of the intersection of technology and insurance requirements. We strive to combine the talent and experience of our team with the flexibility of our hybrid fronting structure to underwrite great MGA's and their programs" said Erik Matson, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Transverse.

In the 2021 renewal season Neptune has also increased its capacity at Lloyds by over 50% and secured a material increase in its program with AXA XL.

ABOUT NEPTUNE FLOOD:

Neptune Flood is the largest entirely digital flood insurance company in the United States. We were founded to change the way the consumers and businesses think about and buy flood insurance. Neptune is the NFIP alternative and uses AI driven technology to make it fast and easy to buy flood insurance most often at a price that saves money. www.neptuneflood.com

ABOUT TRANSVERSE:

Transverse Insurance Group is a hybrid fronting carrier serving the program, MGA and reinsurance markets with offices in New York, New Jersey and Texas. Transverse is backed by Virgo Investment Group and partner investors. Founded in 2018 by Erik Matson, CEO, and Dave Paulsson, President and CIO, Transverse is a global facilitator connecting and enabling partners through access to risk capacity and alternative capital on admitted and surplus lines paper. Solutions-oriented carrier providing multiple lines of business with risk management, underwriting, claims, reinsurance and compliance to fit the objectives of their partners. For more information, please visit www.transverseinsurance.com

ABOUT ACRISURE RE:

Acrisure Re is a reinsurance broking and corporate risk advisory firm that provides risk management solutions for complex and technical books of business. Formerly known as Beach & Associates, the company rebranded to Acrisure Re in 2020 following its 2018 acquisition by the industry's fastest-growing broker, Acrisure. Headquartered in London, Acrisure Re has operations in Amsterdam, Bermuda, Toronto, Zurich, Atlanta, Burlington NC, Minneapolis, New York, and Seattle.

Acrisure Re and Acrisure London Wholesale have a combined global team of more than 260 experienced and talented employees dedicated to providing advisory, portfolio, and reinsurance solutions. Learn more at http://www.Acrisure.com/Reinsurance

SOURCE Neptune Flood

Related Links

http://www.neptuneflood.com


Children who grow up in cities with dirty air and high levels of air pollution are more likely to suffer mental health issues as adults, a study has found.

Researchers say the detrimental impact of a toxic atmosphere is similar to that of lead exposure.

Pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and small carbon particles, called PM2.5, are spewed out by engines, industry, wood-burning stoves and farming.

These chemicals are increasingly being linked to health concerns such as asthma, an inhibited immune system and decreased lung damage, with around 36,000 deaths in England every year linked to air pollution.

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Children who grow up in areas with high levels of air pollution are more likely to suffer mental health issues as adults, a study has found (stock)

Air pollution from fossil fuels is TWICE as deadly as thought Air pollution created by the burning of fossil fuels like diesel and coal is responsible for one in five deaths globally every year, roughly 8.7million, new research reveals. Around 17 per cent of deaths in the UK, 99,000 people a year, are due to air pollution exposure, data from UCL and Harvard University shows. People living in industrialised areas and urban metropolises  such as South-East Asia, Eastern America and Europe  were exposed to the highest levels of pollution. Research also shows half of all annual deaths linked to air pollution from fossil fuels occur in China and India. Advertisement

Researchers from Duke University in North Carolina studied several decades of data from a study on more than 2,000 Britons and looked at how the levels of pollution affected mental health.

They found a link between childhood exposure and mental illness at age 18.

Study author Aaron Reuben, a graduate student in clinical psychology, says the data reveals a modest, but clear, association.

'[But] because harmful exposures are so widespread around the world, outdoor air pollutants could be a significant contributor to the global burden of psychiatric disease,' he said.

The effect of air pollution was found to be as strong as childhood exposure to lead, but weaker than a family history of the condition.

A person's exposure to nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 was determined by using their home address and looking at pollution levels on a nationwide database.

Mental health was assessed via interviews with experts using a measure known as psychopathology factor (p-factor).

Almost one in four (22 per cent) people were found to live in areas with levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) above the WHO guideline of 10 micrograms per cubic metre of air (g/m3).

Professor Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics at the Open University, was not involved with the study and says the findings do show a clear link. However, he adds the research does not prove air pollution is the cause of the mental illness.

'But, if the association does turn out to be one of cause and effect, air pollution could still be important in psychiatric public health, simply because so many people are exposed to air pollution levels above current guidelines,' he said.

'So, while this single study can't give clear evidence on exactly what kind of association there is between poor air quality and mental health, it's yet another potential reason for being concerned about air pollution levels.'

Air pollution increases the risk of several conditions, including heart attack, stroke and diabetes

Millions of youngsters living in areas with illegal air pollution, says Labour Millions of children and young people live in areas of England where air pollution law has been breached, figures from the Labour Party suggest. More than 19,000 schools, colleges and nurseries are in local authority areas with illegal levels of air pollution, and more than 7.8 million people aged 18 or under live in those parts of the country, according to estimates, Labour said. It is calling for a new Clean Air Act to establish the legal right to clean air, bring World Health Organisation (WHO) targets into UK law with duties on ministers to enforce them, and grant new powers to councils to take urgent action on air quality. Advertisement

However, four out of five participants (84 per cent) were found to be exposed to levels of PM2.5 which exceeds the WHO limit of 40 g/m3.

Study members who suffered from greater levels of pollution during childhood had a higher p-factor score by the time they had reached 18 even when accounting for other factors, such as smoking, alcohol or drug dependence.

Dr Helen Fisher, the study's co-author and principal investigator from King's College London, said: 'This study has demonstrated that children growing up in our biggest cities face a greater risk of mental illness due to higher levels of traffic.

'While we might like to think of our towns and cities as green and open spaces, it's clear that there is a hidden danger that many will not have even considered.'

Dr Adrian James, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: 'The mental health of our children and young people is suffering as result of air pollution, the climate crisis and the damage being done to the environment.

'Some may be so concerned by the crisis that they feel anxious or distressed. While not a mental illness, signs of eco-distress include sleeplessness, helplessness and guilt.

'We need to engage them in open conversations, listen to their concerns, and empower them to take constructive and positive action.'
Matthew Page, an associate fellow of London-based Chatham House, an international affairs think tank, has advised investigators to focus on real estate and education sectors, when tracking illicit financial flows and money laundering.

He gave the advice in a paper he presented entitled, IFFs through the real estate and education sectors: Implications for Investigators at a virtual capacity building forum for investigators on investigating Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), on Tuesday.

The event which drew participants from various law enforcement agencies was organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Education, real estates as conduits for money laundering

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Page stressed that focusing on the two sectors  education and real estate  had become necessary as they provide opportunities for Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) in Nigeria to launder money and indulge in IFF.

Most of the property held by Nigerian politicians in London and Dubai are held by proxies, family and shell companies.

Over 800 property worth over $400 million have been linked to Nigerian PEPs, Mr Page said.

PREMIUM TIMES had published a story of a report issued by an American foundation, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, exposing how Nigerian elites use the British educational system as a money-laundering shield in the guise of seeking better schooling opportunities for their wards.

How to track, recover proceeds of IFF

Speaking earlier, Bolaji Owasanoye, the ICPC Chairman, said the capacity building programme would help investigators to track illicit financial flows, money laundering and other areas the government was losing revenue and recover such funds.

The loss of revenue is a major challenge to developing countries, particularly Nigeria.

The meeting is therefore designed to build the capacity of our investigators to enable them trace the areas in which the government is losing money.

One of the takeaways from here is the kind of question an investigator needs to ask in tracking IFFs and money laundering, Mr Owasanoye explained.

He added that investigators would also need to look for the likely places people hide money, stop the illicit financial flows, and recover the funds.

We are already working with the FIRS and getting a lot of tax evaders and defaulters into the nations tax net, Mr Owasanoye, a professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, also said.

He stressed the need to widen the revenue base, improve tax collection, combat tax evasion and illicit financial flows, as well as asset recovery to improve the countrys finances.

2,000 tax evading corporate entities caught

Fielding questions from journalists at the end of the forum, Mr Owasanoye said the commission had dragged about 2,000 corporate entities into the countrys tax net, following investigations it conducted and that the names of the entities had since been forwarded to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for profiling.

Some of these entities are not registered and do not pay tax, while others are registered but still do not pay tax.

The ICPC has been able to recover significant amounts in taxes for the government, he said.

Committee established by FG to curb IFF

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Inter-Agency Committee on stopping IFFs from Nigeria, Adeyemi Dipeolu, assured that the committee was working assiduously to curb the menace in the country.

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We know the challenge and negative impact of IFFs in Nigeria and Africa. The Federal Government established the committee towards promoting financial transparency and accountability.

It was in line with the recommendations of the findings of a high level Africa Union Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) led by former South African President, Thabo Mbeki.

The findings also include coordinating and tracking progress in stemming illicit financial flows from Nigeria.

The committee is establishing cooperation amongst relevant agencies in order to substantially reduce and eventually eliminate illicit financial flows from Nigeria.

And to make recommendations to the Federal Government on required improvements in legislation, rules and processes for the purposes of tackling illicit financial flows from Nigeria amongst others.

He advised African countries to build the capacity of their investigators in tracking illicit financial flows in order to curb annual revenue losses.

NAN reports that besides Mr Page, two other resource persons, Melvin Ayogu, a professor at Emory University, and Matthew Gbonjubola of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), presented papers at the forum.

(NAN)
Motorists in rural Kentucky have been baffled by the installation of their first-ever traffic roundabout.

The road feature is very common in other states and in Europe but is rarely seen in rural America - hence the chaos after it opened on Monday night with drivers utterly confused on how to navigate it.

Aerial footage shows pickup trucks - some of them towing large trailers - approaching the roundabout in the wrong lane and driving around it in the wrong direction.

Officials installed the roundabout at the intersection of routes 60 and 801, outside Morehead in Rowan County, to reduce the number of serious accidents at the spot.

Motorists in rural Kentucky have been baffled by the installation of a roundabout in Rowan County, which is used by 4,000 people a day

This truck driver approaching the roundabout is driving on the wrong side of the road and is about to use the junction in the wrong direction

Several cars in this image are using the roundabout in the wrong direction, increasing the chance of a collision

Before the roundabout, the road was a simple four-way junction which suffered a significant number of high-speed crashes when cars and trucks failed to stop.

An estimated 4,000 motorists use the intersection every day, but their confusion at the new installation is understandable.

There are only around 7,100 roundabouts across the entire United States - meaning many motorists never encounter one during their entire driving career.

Local Jason Whisman said: 'Its going to throw them for a loop. A complete 360. No doubt about it.'

Allen Blair of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 9 told local television station WKYT: 'Were looking at a way to reduce the severity of crashes that this intersection has a history of.

'One of the key things that we looked at with this intersection was making sure that trailers, if you have a boat trailer or long RV, would be able to navigate the intersection very easily just like they do now.

'So with this drivable central island in a mini roundabout, we will be able to accommodate that traffic.'

Motorist Marilyn Freidhof said: 'Its a four-way stop, so you have to keep an eye out for everybody else thats coming across that intersection.

'I havent seen any of the T-bones but Im sure they would be terrifying,'

Local business owner Adam Ferguson welcomed the improved junction, saying: 'A lot of the locals are pretty apprehensive about the roundabout.

'I guess its because its something new. But I think itll be better.'

The roundabout was completed by Walker Construction, who shared the video as a 'how not to' guide to negotiating the junction.
The University of Nebraska (NU) Foundation's Mike Bird is stepping down as Vice President of UNO Advancement, effective May 1.

During his nearly seven years with the foundation, Bird has led the UNO Advancement Team in partnership with UNO leaders and donors to secure more than $186 million in private support for UNO projects and priorities. He also helped cultivate strategic business partnerships and collaborations with the UNO Alumni Association, leading to the integration of the alumni association team and the foundation development team.

Information about the search for a replacement will be shared at a future date. In the interim, questions can be directed to the foundations executive vice president Lori Byrne, 402.502.4920.
In recent years, it has become impossible to tell the biggest stories shaping Eurasia without considering Chinas resurgent influence in local business, politics, security, and culture.

Subscribe to this dispatch in which correspondent Reid Standish builds on the local reporting from RFE/RLs journalists across Eurasia to give you unique insights into Beijings ambitions and challenges.

The newsletter is sent on the first and third Wednesdays of each month.

To subscribe, click here.
The house of representatives has recommended 11 things Nigeria must do to address its growing security challenges. At an executive sessi...

The house of representatives has recommended 11 things Nigeria must do to address its growing security challenges.

At an executive session on Tuesday, the green chamber urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency to fast track all measures to ensure the restoration of peace in the country.

Nigeria recorded more than 10 security incidents on Monday as killings and attacks continued across the country.

In the north, residents remain at the mercy of Boko Haram insurgents and bandits while security agencies and government facilities are increasingly becoming targets of attacks by gunmen in the south.

Speaking after the meeting, Femi Gbajabiamila, the speaker restated the lawmakers commitment to helping the Buhari administration to resolve the security challenge.

In addition to calling for more personnel to be recruited into the security agencies, the green chamber also demanded adequate protection of the Shiroro and Kainji dams in Niger following reports that Boko Haram insurgents are present in the state.

Here are the 11 recommendations the lawmakers made at the meeting:
The Petroleum Authority of Uganda will launch in December the first key tenders for the long-awaited oil resources development project in the East African country, which cleared a major hurdle earlier this month after Frances supermajor signed the agreements to develop the project.

The first phase of the key tenders will include tendering work for the construction of a refinery and an oil pipeline to carry the crude from landlocked Uganda to a port in Tanzania for export. The tenders will also include such for the completion of the oil road network in the region of Lake Albert, where the crude resources have been discovered, Peninah Aheebwa, director technical support services at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, said, as carried by Daily Monitor.

Earlier this month, Total, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and the presidents of Uganda and Tanzania signed the final agreements required to launch the Lake Albert development project. The development includes the Tilenga and Kingfisher upstream oil projects in Uganda and the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda and Tanzania. The Tilenga project, operated by Total, and the Kingfisher project, operated by CNOOC, are expected to deliver a combined production of 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) at plateau, Total said. The production will be transported from the oilfields in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania via the EACOP cross-border pipeline, in which Total and CNOOC will also be shareholders.



Related: Oil Creeps Higher After EIA Data Report

Although the final agreement was a major step forward, the companies need to clear additional hurdles in terms of project financing.

The pipeline project has also drawn criticism from environmental groups. The #StopEACOP Alliance and other environmental organizations call on financial institutions to refuse to fund the project.

The oil companies are trying to dress up the investment decision signing ceremony, but fortunately this climate-destroying project is far from a done deal, said David Pred, Executive Director of Inclusive Development International.

Total and CNOOC still need to secure insurance and raise $2.5 billion in debt financing for the EACOP to move forward and they are going to struggle mightily to find enough banks and insurance providers willing to associate themselves with such a reckless project and assume its manifold risks on their books.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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Streaming music and stations designed by way of artificial intelligence have replaced the outdated terrestrial radio disk jockey.

Still, this local media personality was one of the best locals who volunteered a great deal of his time and wasn't as egotistical as the rest.

His perspective is worth a listen . . .
A heat lamp used in a small chicken coop started a fire that destroyed a home and camper in Jefferson Twp. early Tuesday, state police at Dunmore said.

The fire that consumed 855 Cortez Road shortly after 2 a.m. was accidental, according to the state police fire marshals. Township Fire Chief Don Wallace said the fire destroyed the home and camper. A family of four made it out without injury.

Wallace, who was the first to arrive at the fire, said flames were just starting to come through the home's windows when he arrived.

Firefighters worked for about three hours to put the fire out and used an estimated 70,000 gallons of water, according to the fire department.

Crews often cut through the roof to get more water onto flames, but the metal roof on the home made that difficult, according to the fire chief.
Creates first publicly traded pure-play smart energy storage company



Results in over $600 million of gross cash proceeds to Stem

Stems common stock to begin trading on the NYSE under symbol STEM on April 29, 2021

MILLBRAE, Calif., April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stem, Inc., a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven clean energy storage services, announced today that it has completed its previously announced business combination with Star Peak Energy Transition Corp. (Star Peak).

The transaction was unanimously approved by Star Peaks Board of Directors and was approved at a special meeting of Star Peak stockholders on April 27, 2021. In connection with the closing, Star Peak changed its name to Stem, Inc. (Stem or the Company). The ticker symbols for the common stock and warrants of Stem will change from STPK and STPK.WS to STEM and STEM.WS and will begin trading as such on the New York Stock Exchange on April 29, 2021.

John Carrington, Chief Executive Officer of Stem, commented, We are excited to complete this business combination, which will accelerate the next phase of Stems growth and further extend our leadership position in AI-driven clean energy storage systems. We continue to benefit from strong, sustainable macro tailwinds as the world deepens its commitment to de-carbonization. Our experience, robust service offerings and industry-leading software, AthenaTM, continue to differentiate Stem in this rapidly growing market, providing our customers enhanced savings, reliability, and sustainability. We appreciate the invaluable collaboration from Star Peak to make this transaction a success, and look forward to their ongoing support as we deliver value to Stem stakeholders.

Michael Morgan, Chairman of Star Peak and Director of Stem, commented, We are proud to complete the combination of Star Peak and Stem, establishing Stem as the first pure-play smart energy storage company to go public in the U.S. We are more confident than ever in Stems significant value, offering investors a unique ESG opportunity to invest in a pure play clean energy company thats helping to revolutionize the electric grid. I look forward to continued partnership with John and the world-class Stem team as we drive further growth and success over the long-term.

Bill Bush, Chief Financial Officer of Stem, commented, With over $500 million of cash on the balance sheet, zero debt and a new public platform, we are now armed with the capital that will help propel Stems product, capabilities and market reach to the next level. We remain well positioned for significant visible growth, including a more than four-fold expected annual increase in our 2021 revenue, 100% of which is covered by our contracted backlog.

Transaction Overview

The transaction is primarily comprised of $383 million of cash from Star Peaks former trust account and $225 million of cash from a private investment in public equity (PIPE), not including transaction fees. The PIPE is anchored by investors including funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Van Eck Associates Corporation, Adage Capital Management, L.P., Electron Capital Partners, and Senator Investment Group. Stem will use the proceeds to fund the companys planned growth, advance its Athena software platform, and repay all outstanding debts. All Stem shareholders have rolled 100% of their equity holdings into the new public company.

Stems legacy senior management team will continue to lead the now combined company, including John Carrington (Chief Executive Officer), Bill Bush (Chief Financial Officer), Larsh Johnson (Chief Technology Officer), Prakesh Patel (Chief Strategy Officer), Mark Triplett (Chief Operating Officer), Alan Russo (Chief Revenue Officer) and Sylvia Lan (Vice President, Human Resources).

Stems Board of Directors will be comprised of eight (8) members, seven (7) of whom are independent directors as defined in the NYSE listing standards and applicable U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules. The Board of Directors will be led by Chairman, Mr. David Buzby and will also include John Carrington, CEO of Stem.

A more detailed description of the transaction can be found in the definitive proxy statement filed by Star Peak with the SEC on March 30, 2021.

Advisors

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Star Peak. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC served as joint capital markets advisors to Star Peak and as co-placement agents on the PIPE offering. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Star Peak. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as lead financial advisor to Stem. Nomura Greentech served as a financial advisor to Stem, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP as well as Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati served as legal advisors to Stem.

About Stem, Inc.

Stem (NYSE: STEM) provides solutions that address the challenges of todays dynamic energy market. By combining advanced energy storage solutions with Athena, a world-class AI-powered analytics platform, Stem enables customers and partners to optimize energy use by automatically switching between battery power, onsite generation and grid power. Stems solutions help enterprise customers benefit from a clean, adaptive energy infrastructure and achieve a wide variety of goals, including expense reduction, resilience, sustainability, environmental and corporate responsibility and innovation. Stem also offers full support for solar partners interested in adding storage to standalone, community or commercial solar projects  both behind and in front of the meter. For more information, visit www.stem.com.

About Star Peak Energy Transition Corp.

Star Peak is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Star Peak is led by a management team with extensive experience investing in the energy, energy infrastructure and renewables sectors, including Chairman, Michael Morgan and Chief Executive Officer, Eric Scheyer. Michael Morgan is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Triangle Peak Partners LP and currently serves as a director of Sunnova Energy International (NYSE: NOVA) and lead director of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI), one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America, a company he joined at its founding in 1997. Eric Scheyer is a Partner at Magnetar and has served as the Head of the Magnetar Energy and Infrastructure Group since its inception in 2005.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this communication may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For example, projections of future revenue and other metrics are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as may, should, expect, intend, will, estimate, anticipate, believe, predict, or or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Stem and its management, depend upon inherently uncertain factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations, including, but not limited to: Stems ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of Stem to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees; risks relating to the development and performance of Stems energy storage systems and software-enabled services; the possibility that Stem may be adversely affected by other economic, business and/or competitive factors; the ability to maintain the listing of Stems securities on the New York Stock Exchange following the consummation of the business combination; the risk that the business combination disrupts current plans and operations of Stem; changes in applicable laws or regulations; Stems estimates of its financial performance; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Stem or others following the consummation of the business combination; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on Stems business, financial condition and results of operations; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled Risk Factors in the definitive proxy statement relating to the business combination filed by Star Peak on March 30, 2021 and other documents Stem files with the SEC in the future. Nothing in this communication should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward looking statements will be achieved. We caution you that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive, and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Stem does not undertake any duty to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Stem Investor Contacts

Ted Durbin, Stem

Marc Silverberg, ICR

IR@stem.com

Stem Media Contacts

Cory Ziskind, ICR

stemPR@icrinc.com

Star Peak Contacts

Tricia Quinn, Courtney Kozel

info@starpeakcorp.com

(847) 905-4400

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/876b2467-61f5-41f5-8af4-fb0fba53bf53
With millions of lives at stake amid a rapid spread of COVID-19, Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said he hoped President Joe Biden would call the Pfizer CEO to let India produce its vaccine at least for six months or a year.

Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley in the US House of Representatives, has been an ardent supporter of the move by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver of COVID-19 vaccines.

"Allow India to develop that vaccine, and this is good in your own long-term interests. It's good for the United States and our interests with the role with India and the rest of the world," Khanna told the media.

Major pharma companies like Pfizer and Moderna and organisations like the US Chambers of Commerce are opposing such a move. A day earlier, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai spoke with the CEOs of Pfizer and AstraZeneca regarding the TRIPS waiver, which is slated to come up before the WTO on May 5.

"I do know there are very senior people in the administration who are supportive of it. We are making the case to the White House. And my hope is that the President would at least call the Pfizer CEO and say, look, your long-term strategy in India, a huge market, just in your economic interest, at least waive it for six months or a year," Khanna said.

Microsoft founder and eminent philanthropist Bill Gates in a media interview on Monday opposed the move.

Asked about it, Khanna said, "I rarely think Bill Gates is wrong, but this is a case I hope he will engage. The point that Bill Gates made about manufacturing capacity being restricted is absolutely correct. But what I said is why not have a global fund, $25 billion, to help with manufacturing capacity and then allow the vaccine recipes to be shared."

"You're not going to have a lack of quality control. I think it is patronising to say that 100 other nations can't have a regulatory process to make sure that manufacturing is safe. They can and the World Health Organization can," he added. "No one is asking Pfizer to manufacture these vaccines, no one is saying they need to do it for free. It's important to understand, they will get paid. They will be able to sell it. The reason they're not doing it would be pure greed," Khanna said.

The United States government gave a $2 billion guarantee to Pfizer to purchase vaccines. "If it weren't for that, Pfizer would have never been able to do what they did. Our NIH gave the IP that allowed Moderna to develop the vaccine," he argued.

"What we're now saying is that they should share the vaccine recipe with over 100 countries who want to do the manufacturing. They're willing to do the manufacturing themselves, they need to have contract manufacturing. Pfizer would still get paid. Moderna would still get paid. But it is just wrong, morally wrong, strategically wrong for them not to share the vaccine recipe, which was developed with US taxpayer support," Khanna further said.

He applauded Biden for committing to help India in its fight against the virus. "But we also ultimately need to get vaccines to India. The president has said that he will release the AstraZeneca vaccine, which Americans are not going to use after it's deemed safe. But more important is Pfizer and Moderna need to license the vaccine recipe to allow India and other countries to manufacture it," he added.

Also read: India's organic food products exports jump 51% to $1 bn in 2020-21
Click here to read the full article.

Progressive Democrats in Congress will on Thursday introduce the Transform, Heal and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy (THRIVE) Act. The bill, which has been promoted for months, outlines a bold and holistic plan to address racial injustice, the climate crisis, and the economic anxiety and mass unemployment exacerbated by the pandemic. I think that for us the pandemic has sadly just showcased our belief that we need to figure out how to help people thrive and not just survive, says Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), one of the bills sponsors.

Bold may be an understatement. While President Bidens proposed infrastructure plan calls for spending $2 trillion over the next 10 years, the THRIVE Act green-lights the investment of $1 trillion annually. The money would go toward creating an estimated 15 million family-sustaining union jobs, rebuilding the nations physical and social infrastructure, and cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030. The bill gives particular attention to lifting up communities of color that have borne the brunt of racial and environmental injustice. Its putting forth this unified vision for a recovery that is deeply intersectional, that is extremely bold, and that meets the scale of these multiple crises that we face, adds Jayapal.

The THRIVE Act is being led by Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in the Senate and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) in the House of Representatives. The THRIVE Agenda will guide us as we mobilize on a transformative mission to bring justice and healing to our communities, Rep. Dingell said earlier this year. With a broad coalition of colleagues, advocates, and activists, we will save our environment and achieve the racial and economic equity that our nation demands.

The massive scale of the THRIVE Act means that it exists for now as more of a marker than something with a chance of passing through a Congress that cant even stomach far more moderate reform measures. But the same could be said of Green New Deal legislation, the principles of which are now largely supported by the American people. Lawmakers introducing the THRIVE Act are seeking to capitalize on this momentum, as well as the unique opportunity offered by a devastating year that has emphasized the imperative for equitable change.

I always used to say that if politics is the art of the possible, then its our job as activists to figure out how to move the boundaries of what people see as possible, Jayapal says. Thats what I feel like has happened with how the pandemic has combined with the racial justice movement, the economic justice movement, the climate justice movement, and the labor justice movement. All of those things have kind of come together and really created a different vision.

The allocation of the $1 trillion annual investment called for in the THRIVE Act would be guided by a 20-member board composed with representation from impacted communities, indigenous communities, and labor organizations.

The infrastructure upgrades will be geared around cutting emissions in half by 2030, and involve upgrading and expanding water systems, the electrical grid, wind power, solar power, electric vehicle infrastructure, and public transit. The bill holds that by the end of 2030 the majority of Americans will live within walking distance of clean, affordable, high-frequency public transit.

But the THRIVE Act isnt just a green infrastructure initiative that just tacks on a few racial justice measures. Instead, the bill is very much built around lifting up marginalized communities and righting the wrongs of years of environmental racism. There will be equitable hiring. There will be educational initiatives. There will be equity assessments and guardrails put up to prevent discrimination. Communities of color will be given the tools to sustain themselves on their own terms. The THRIVE Act holds that at least half of the $10 trillion in federal investment over the next 10 years will directly benefit those who have been most affected by systemic racism.

Indigenous communities have been given particular attention. The THRIVE Act was originally introduced as a resolution last September by then-Rep. Deb Haaland, who has since been confirmed as the first Native American secretary of the Interior. The bill is filled with language that centers indigenous people, ensuring they have autonomy over their lands. It also ensures free, prior, and informed consent, which means theyd need to sign off before something like, say, a massive pipeline is built through their lands.

Theres been a total abandonment of this nations duty to engage with each nation on an issue about these projects, Ashley Nicole Engle, the Green New Deal organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), says of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Tribes are not organizations. Were not special interest groups. Were individual sovereign nations within this larger nation.

The IEN is one of 15 environmental, labor, and justice groups that make up the Green New Deal Network, the progressive coalition that last year put together what it dubbed the THRIVE Agenda. Since Haaland introduced the THRIVE resolution last fall, it amassed over 100 sponsors before the THRIVE Act was announced in March.

The bills introduction on Thursday comes a day after Bidens first address to Congress, but Jayapal doesnt see the THRIVE Act as at odds with the administrations plans, placing them both on the continuum of progress and casting the bill as a blueprint for what is possible. I feel like the progressive movement and the president himself and the people around the president have really moved miles in terms of how they see these crises and what hes put forward between the jobs and the families plan is incredibly progressive and quite far along on the spectrum, she says. However, obviously, we feel like we need even more than we need it faster.

Part of what makes the THRIVE Act unique is its attention to organized labor, and the creation of not just jobs, but family-sustaining jobs. Democrats have long been criticized for glossing over the impact green-economy initiatives like the THRIVE Act will have on those losing their jobs. Remember in 2016 when Hillary told West Virginias that, Were going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business? The comment was taken out of context (Clinton went on to detail her plan for a just transition), but the gaffe fed into the idea that Democrats were treating fossil-fuel workers like disposable pawns, and that reimagining the economy to take on the climate crisis is at odds with sustaining their livelihoods. Its hard enough to believe in promises from a political candidate. Its even harder when it could mean losing your job.

The deindustrialization of the country has created a lot of cynicism about both the role corporations and government played in really creating a transition for those manufacturing workers, says Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which is also part of the Green New Deal Network. Thats why we are so fierce in saying they cant just be any old job. They have to be living wage jobs where workers have the opportunity to form a union.

But there have been some recent signs that the fossil-fuel workers could be coming around to the idea of transitioning to a green economy. Last week, United Mine Workers of America President Cecil E. Roberts told The New York Times that he would be open to a transition so long as there are available jobs in renewable energy and the government provides aid to newly out-of-work miners. Were on the side of job creation, of a future for our people, Roberts said. If that isnt part of the conversation at the end of the day, well be hard pressed to be supportive.

Biden has anchored his climate action in the creation of good jobs that people can actually feed their families on as opposed to creating a green energy sector that is poverty wage, Henry explains. I think thats created a huge shift in the labor movement thinking. Yes, were not going to have the same mining jobs in West Virginia, but what jobs can exist as we rebuild physical infrastructure and open up solar and wind.

The THRIVE Act isnt likely to make it through Congress as a single piece of legislation and cure what ails America, but, as Jayapal puts it, its providing a vision for what the nation can see as possible. A decade ago few in the Democratic establishment would have dreamed of even considering the idea of transitioning to an economy predicated on clean energy. Nevertheless, the ideals put forth in Green New Deal legislation have seeped into the policies of the Biden administration, to the policy preferences of average Americans and, increasingly, into what fossil-fuel workers see as sustainable  not just for the country, but for their own livelihoods.

I always remind people that sometimes in organizing and progressive movements it feels like youre not making progress, or its too slow and too slow and too slow, Jayapal says. Then suddenly theres a tipping point. Theres something that happens in the outside environment that wakes people up, which I think the pandemic has done. The movement has been building and building and building, and so its ready for that moment when that tipping point occurs, and it can quickly jump into action. I feel like thats where we are and were always going to want more, but weve moved so dramatically. Its really exciting.

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By Patricia Zengerle and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers grilled President Joe Biden's Afghanistan peace envoy on Tuesday about how women will be protected if the hard-line Islamist Taliban take control after U.S. troops withdraw, and threatened to withhold funding if rights gains are reversed.

"I dont believe under any circumstances that the United States Senate will support assistance for Afghanistan, especially under the World Banks program which provides budget support, if the Taliban has taken a governing role that ends civil society advances and rolls back womens rights," said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez.

Zalmay Khalilzad, special envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation, testified at the committee's first public hearing on Afghanistan policy since Biden announced plans to withdraw troops by Sept. 11 after two decades of war.

When Biden made his announcement on April 14, he said Washington would continue providing assistance to Afghan security forces and civilian programs, including those for women and girls.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration was working with Congress to provide nearly $300 million in civilian aid to the country.

Members of Congress, many of whom are skeptical about the plans to bring home the 2,500 remaining troops, worry the departure would cede control to the Taliban, whose 1996-2001 rule severely curtailed activities for Afghan women.

Lawmakers of both parties expressed concerns about rights, the potential for civil war and whether Afghanistan would again become a refuge for extremists.

"I'm concerned that the administration's decision may result in a Taliban offensive that topples the government," said Senator Jim Risch, the committee's top Republican.

The State Department on Tuesday ordered government employees out of its embassy in Kabul if their work could be done elsewhere, citing increasing violence in the Afghan capital.

Story continues

'ACCOUNTABILITY'

The international community has poured billions into Afghanistan since the Taliban was driven from power. Gains for women and girls in access to education and public life are repeatedly touted as a major success.

Women have been underrepresented during peace talks despite promises that they would have a place at the table.

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the only woman on the committee, said Khalilzad, who also served under former Republican President Donald Trump, had not made including women enough of a priority.

She said there was too much uncertainty about the plans for Afghanistan after Sept. 11 to know whether women's rights would be protected. She said women in Afghanistan remain targets of violence, something that must be stopped.

Shaheen referred to seven women who had been killed by the Taliban for advocating for human rights.

"I will not support any efforts that will allow them to continue to commit these horrific acts without any accountability," Shaheen said.

Khalilzad insisted Washington was pressing for women and minorities to be included in future peace talks. He said Washington and partner countries would punish backtracking in Afghanistan with isolation and sanctions.

Blinken echoed that sentiment. "I can say very clearly and categorically that an Afghanistan that does not respect their rights, that does not sustain the gains we've made, will be a pariah," he told CNN.

Under the Taliban, women were barred from education or work, required to fully cover their bodies, and could not leave home without a male relative. "Moral offenses" were punished by flogging and stoning.

The Sept. 11 deadline - 20 years after the attacks that sent Washington to war - extended the U.S. presence there beyond a May 1 deadline negotiated under Trump.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Jonathan Landay; additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Kieran Murray, Sonya Hepinstall and Jonathan Oatis)
Photo: The Canadian Press

Samsungs founding family will donate tens of thousands of rare artworks, including Picassos and Dalis, to help them pay a massive inheritance tax bill following last years death of company chairman Lee Kun-Hee.

They will also give hundreds of millions of dollars to medical projects and research in an apparent attempt to improve their public image as they proceed with a multiyear plan to inherit both the wealth and corporate power of South Koreas richest-ever businessman.

The Lee family, including his widow and three children, expects to pay more than 12 trillion won ($10.8 billion) in inheritance taxes, which is more than half the wealth Lee held in stocks and real estate, Samsung said Wednesday. This would be the largest amount in South Korea and more than three times the countrys total estate tax revenue for last year.

Giving away the late chairmans vast collection of art masterpieces would reduce the taxable portions of his estate.

The family plans to divide the payment in six installments over five years, while making the first payment this month.

It is our civic duty and responsibility to pay all taxes, the Lee family said in a statement. They had until Friday to report the extent of the inheritance and payment plans to tax authorities.

Raising cash for the tax payment is crucial for the Lee family to extend its control over Samsungs business empire, which extends from semiconductors, smartphones and TVs to construction, shipbuilding and insurance. Some analysts say the process could result in a shakeup across the group.

The late Lee owned 4.18% of Samsung Electronics, which is one of the worlds biggest makers of computer memory chips and smartphones, but also held stakes in Samsung affiliates that collectively owned a larger share than his in the crown jewel electronics company. The complex shareholding structure has allowed Lee and his family to exert broad control over the group.

In Wednesdays statement, Samsung did not mention how Lees widow and children would split his assets, and theres speculation they havent reached a final agreement.

Most market analysts believe Lees shares will be distributed in a way that would strengthen the leadership of his only son and corporate heir, Lee Jae-yong, the de facto chief of Samsung Electronics who is currently imprisoned for bribery and other crimes. Lees other children are Lee Boo-jin, CEO of Samsungs Shilla luxury hotel chain, and Lee Seo-hyun, who heads the Samsung Welfare Foundation.

The family plans to donate 23,000 art pieces from Lees personal collection to two state-run museums. They include old Korean paintings, books and other cultural assets designated as national treasures, and modern Korean painters such as Park Soo-keun and Lee Jung-seop. There are also the works of Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, Joan Miro and Salvador Dali, Samsung said.

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art said the 1,488 pieces it received from the Lee family was its biggest private donation. The works included Lee Jung-seops Bull, Dalis Family of Marsupial Centaurs, Monets Water Lily Pond (Le Bassin Aux Nympheas), and Chagalls Red Bouquet With Lovers (Les Amoureux Aux Bouquets Rouges).

The National Museum of Korea will receive around 21,000 pieces from Lees collection of Korean traditional art, including paintings, ceramics and sculptures.

Lee family will also donate 1 trillion won ($900 million) to help fund infectious disease research and treatment for children with cancer and rare illnesses.
Bradley Woods, the chief executive of The Australian Hotels Association of WA, estimated the April lockdown cost WAs accommodation, hospitality, and tourism sector as much as $100 million in lost revenue. Other industries havent been as heavily impacted, with WAs powerhouse resources sector continuing to operate. Mining companies minimised the movement of workers during the lockdown but were now moving toward more normal patterns over the next week or so, according to a Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA spokesman. AHA WA and the states peak business lobby group, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, are calling on the McGowan government to consider compensation for businesses that have been forced to shut due to COVID-19 restrictions. Many people have been responsible for WAs success in preventing the spread of COVID-19 but a few industries continue to be disproportionately wearing the financial cost of lockdowns and trading restrictions, Mr Woods said. With WAs healthy budgetary position, we would like to see the McGowan government design a substantial relief package for affected industries to help recoup the losses they have incurred and recover in the months ahead.

Claire Chidgzey (left) with co-founder Jaye Cuypers. Their LA Fit fitness studios in Highgate and Subiaco have been forced to stop their indoor classes. Credit:Thom Davidson CCI chief executive Chris Rodwell on Tuesday told 6PR when the services sector and other industries that have been impacted were factored in, the lost revenue figure for the long weekend was likely more than $200 million. Claire Chidgzey, co-owner of fitness studio LA Fit, said her business lost 28 per cent of its normal weekly revenue due to the three-day lockdown and now faced losing a full week more, with indoor fitness classes ordered to remain closed. The business is adapting, instead offering outdoor classes in Subiaco and Highgate, but Ms Chidgzey said those classes would make only a minimal contribution to her turnover and to shifts for her workforce. It has been devastating for all of us and remains a real juggling act, she said.

I truly believe everyone is doing the best they can in a really tough set of circumstances, in politics and in business, and the best thing we can do as a community is to get back out and support local businesses. The state government offered a $500 electricity bill credit for small businesses impacted by the five-day lockdown in February but many regarded this as insufficient. CCI wrote to the state government in February, suggesting they collaborate on the design of a more fulsome support package, but Mr Rodwell said CCI had not yet been taken up on that offer. On Tuesday, Premier Mark McGowan said his government would look at what it could do to assist but said the solution wasnt that simple. Mr McGowan said the economic impact of the lockdown would be in the tens of millions, with an initial estimate from Treasury pegging it at $70 million, but added the hospitality and retail industries in the state were experiencing the strongest growth in trade in the history of Australia.

Im very sympathetic to retail, hospitality and other businesses that suffered losses over the course of the last three days and well look at what can be done, but a scheme in which applications from people put in claims for tens of thousands of dollars, that would be very difficult to administer and very expensive and then wed have to tax the same businesses to pay for it, Mr McGowan said. So, theres no easy answers with this. The best answer is to get ourselves back on our feet, get back to work and get everywhere open as quickly and as normally as possible, as soon as possible. DJ Lee owns Le Vietnam in the CBD, which specialises in banh mi sandwiches. Mr Lee said he was grateful for the strong support the cafe received from regular customers when it reopened on Tuesday, but sales were still only about half of what they would normally be. The business was not eligible for the earlier electricity rebate and Mr Lee said he would welcome government support. Any funding would help a lot, especially for a small business like us, he said. Even when we arent busy, we try and give our staff as many hours as possible, try to hang on to produce but the lockdown was unexpected so we purchased a lot of things beforehand and now we have stock piling up. Any funding would help with those challenges.
The most prolific transit activist in local history references the culture war in his crusade to champion light rail over streetcars . . . Check-it:



Update on Clay Chastain's legal battle with a far leftist government that embodies America's on-going discord.

Despite its flaws, Abraham Lincoln loved America and used the force of his personality to improve America and hold it together. Today's radical left despise America, want to control it and seek to reconceive it in their own misbegotten image.



KC's far left government has its own dark history of trying to control the people by controling their petitions. In its latest dark act, Mayor Lucas and the City Council (abetted by Senior City Attorney Galen Beaufort and the legal deprtment), have refused to place on the ballot (for 734 days!!!) a legitimate transit-improving petition from the people. City Hall has offered no justification whatsoever (to the petitioners or the court) for denying the people's their right to vote on this petition vision. Just use the legal department to stonewall, control and intimidate because they can.



Petitioners have asked Honrable US District Judge Roseann E. Ketchmark for oral arguments so the petitioners can face those who seek to undermine an ideal Kansas City voters long ago enacted for themselves...the right to petition.



People should watch the outcome of this landmark case (No. 4:20-cv-694 RK) and up coming oral arguments. If Chastain wins, it will not only change the course of our City, it will also spell the political end of Mayor Lucas, City Council members and the far left doctrine they are forcing on the citizens of Kansas City.



Conservative activist, Clay Chastain.

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Developing . . .
A married pastor for Hillsong Church has resigned after being caught sharing photos of his bulging manhood on Instagram - just months after the head of the church's New York City chapter was fired over his own sex scandal, DailyMail.com has learned.

Darnell Barrett, a 32-year-old pastor for Hillsong in Montclair, New Jersey, stepped down from his role on Tuesday over an Instagram story he posted of himself last month wearing nothing but white Nike Pro tights.

The clergyman shared two photos of himself standing in front of a mirror after a workout, with what appeared to be his engorged member extending half-way down his thigh beneath his tights, in clear view.

The eye-popping pictures were posted on Barrett's 'close friends' story, which is only visible to followers he specifically selects, as seemingly motivational snaps of his apparent battle with 'depression and anxiety.'

Pastor Darnell Barnett, 32, resigned as creative director of Hillsong's Montclair, New Jersey chapter on Tuesday after admitting to sharing explicit photos of himself on Instagram last month

The Christian church leader stepped down after he was accused of posting photos of himself wearing nothing but white Nike Pro workout tights which outlined his large manhood

Barrett, however, then shared his Instagram story in a direct message to at least one follower, a 30-year-old woman who used to volunteer under him at the New Jersey church.

The sex scandal comes just six months after Hillsong was rocked by the dismissal of NYC pastor Carl Lentz who was caught cheating on his wife.

In messages obtained by DailyMail.com, Barrett initially tried to play it off as a mistake before apparently trying to lure the woman into a conversation.

'Hey! I think I might've added you to my close friends list by accident,' Barrett wrote. 'I'm so sorry. Trying to figure out how the hell to edit it.'

He later claimed that the explicit photos were 'some real raw s**t I send to my friends man. Lol.'

'Seriously, sorry about that. I guess,' he continued.

DailyMail.com approached the pastor for comment outside of the West Orange, New Jersey home he shares with wife on Tuesday.

Barrett admitted he posted the lewd photos and revealed he had just resigned as Hillsong New Jersey's creative director.

In February, Barrett posted two photos on his 'close friends' Instagram story, which is only visible to followers he specifically selects. At first glance the posts seemed to be innocuous, motivational snaps of him tackling his 'depression and anxiety'

DailyMail.com has learned Barrett, however, later sent the lewd posts to a woman, a former volunteer at the church, and then tried to play it off as an accident

The woman, who is not being identified, said she didn't notice the bulge at first until her friend pointed it out. She initially blocked Barrett's account after realizing, but then briefly unblocked him to vent her anger

He explained he stepped down Tuesday morning citing 'infidelity' in his marriage that he and his wife are now 'working through.'

'We thought it was best for me to move on. I don't want to get into the details,' he told DailyMail.com.

Barrett acknowledged that the photos indeed showed off his private parts, but insisted they were shared accidentally.

'Yeah, it shows me with my leggings on,' he said.

He described them merely as 'gym photos' and said they were meant to encourage his followers to participate in a 'gym challenge.'

'This was something that was just an honest mistake and I informed my wife as soon as it happened,' he added.

Barrett, who has two children, said he had no intention of meeting up with the woman

'I was not at all trying to lure her,' he said. 'I get that she, within the context of what's happening with Hillsong, that she would draw those conclusions.

'But I barely know her. That was not my intention.'

The woman who received the photos, however, told DailyMail.com it was no accident.

The woman, who is not being named, said she barely knew Barrett when she volunteered for Hillsong from 2014 to 2016, but claimed the pastor had reached out to her earlier this year saying he was heading to the state where she had moved.

The married church leader was photographed Tuesday outside his West Orange, New Jersey home where he lives with his wife

When approached by DailyMail.com, Barrett confirmed he had sent the photos and said he had resigned earlier Tuesday

The pastor insisted the incident was an 'honest mistake', but admitted he stepped down because 'there was infidelity in my marriage'

'Hey! I'm looking to come to [city] to the most isolated (and scenic) place I can find,' he wrote her on January 13. 'Do you have any suggestions?'

'Oooo yes!' she replied. 'Ok like are you looking for places to stay? Areas to stay in? Places to visit?'

'All of thee above, honestly,' Barrett responded. 'Haha. I'm looking to be odd the grid. Wouldn't be upset if I didn't have cell phone signal  but need a local liquor store,' he added with a heart emoji.

Then in February, Barrett messaged her the 'gym' photos he posted on Instagram Stories.

He wrote a caption beneath one of the photos stating that he was suffering from depression, while standing shirtless and humble-bragging that 'I'm just proud of myself for getting to the gym today even if it was a cheap 30 minute workout.'

The woman told DailyMail.com that she didn't look closely enough to see his tights at first, but forwarded the photos to a friend who replied with astonishment: 'Is that his penis?'

The woman said she initially blocked his account after receiving the photo, but then briefly unblocked him to vent her anger.

Sources told DailyMail.com that Hillsong had made Barrett, a black man, a public face for the church, in part to counter criticism they've received for having a nearly all white leadership

Darnell was spotted coming out and taking luggage out of the car and bringing it into his home

'Darnell, I'm not going to lie, I blocked your for a second but I've decided I need to say something to you,' she wrote in messages obtained by DailyMail.com.

'First off, I'm insulted that you wouldn't understand what you're doing but I'm not f**king stupid,' she wrote.

'For you to go out of your way to make it seem like you 'accidentally' added me to your close friends and then, went out of your way to message me about it KNOWING that would make me go look is bulls**t.

'Obviously, what you wanted me to see were the shirtless photos and the outline of your d**k, let's not play and act like that wasn't the point. Your messages to bait me into seeing your 'raw s**t' are obvious.'

'To be honest, this whole 'fishing' scheme of yours to see if I will bite isn't what even pissed me off,' she continued.

'What pisses me off is knowing that I'm not the only person you've probably done this to. I'm actually horrified by the thought of how many other innocent girls you've manipulated with this ploy of yours.'

Barrett replied to the messages saying: 'I'm sorry?' before the woman cut him off by blocking him again.

On Tuesday, Barrett told DailyMail.com he had immediately informed his wife of the incident. Soon after, he said, Hillsong officials got wind of it.

'I don't know who shared it, but it was brought immediately to the supervisor's attention,' he said.

The sex scandal comes just six months after Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz was fired for cheating on his wife Laura (pictured together left) with a New York City designer identified as Ranin Karim, 34 (right)

Lentz was the head of the megachurch's New York City chapter and had become somewhat of a celebrity after baptizing Justin Bieber in 2014

The woman told DailyMail.com she didn't notify Hillsong but said she learned of another Hillsong member who did.

Barrett described himself as creative director of Hillsong, but has been a high-profile member for years.

Sources told DailyMail.com that Hillsong made Barrett, a black man, a public face for the church, in part to counter criticism they've received for having a nearly all white leadership.

He's been featured on national media outlets as a Hillsong pastor talking about his experience with the church and, a few years ago, surprised his congregation by embracing his biological father, who abandoned him as a child.

'You know, Dad, I, uh, I prayed for this moment to be able to look you in the eye and say that you're not a failure,' Barrett told his dad in front of a packed house, Fox News reported in 2018.

Influential celebrity Instagram account DeuxMoi shared a tip last week about a senior Hillsong leader who had been sending inappropriate messages

Rumors of the scandal began circulating on social media last week when influential celebrity Instagram account DeuxMoi shared a tip about a senior Hillsong leader who had been sending inappropriate messages.

DailyMail.com has confirmed that the leader is Darnell Barrett.

The account shared an anonymous post from a former Hillsong member who referenced Barrett's explicit Instagram stories.

It marks the latest sex scandal for Hillsong, a Christian megachurch founded in 1983 in Sydney, Australia that has since expanded to 23 countries.

Church officials were forced to fire one of Hillsong's most prominent pastors, Carl Lentz, the head of the church's New York City chapter, over his own infidelity.

Lentz, who had become somewhat of a celebrity due to his close ties to Justin Bieber and other Hollywood stars, confessed last November to cheating on his wife of more than a decade.

In an Instagram post addressing his firing, Lentz wrote: 'I was unfaithful in my marriage, the most important relationship in my life and held accountable for that.'

'This failure is on me, and me alone and I take full responsibility for my actions,' he added alongside a picture of him posing with his wife and their three children - daughters Ava, 16, and Charlie, 14, and a son, Roman.

It was later revealed Lentz had an affair with 34-year-old New York City designer Ranin Karim who claimed she dated the megachurch pastor for more than five months.

In the wake of his resignation Tuesday, Barrett told DailyMail.com he's not sure what he'll do next but said he is eager to move past the incident.

'At this point I want to move forward,' he said. 'I want to work on healing and repairing my marriage. This story is probably going to set us back a few months, if not years.'
Alongside the Galaxy Book Pro, Pro 360 and Odyssey, Samsung announced a fourth computer at its recent Unpacked event. The Galaxy Book doesn't come with features like an RTX GPU or AMOLED display, but makes up for it with a more affordable price tag. For around $800, you'll get a laptop with a 15.4-inch LCD display and 15.4mm thick casing that Samsung will offer in two colors: Mystic Silver and Mystic Blue.

Depending on the market, the Galaxy Book will have dramatically different internals. In developing countries, you'll see it with an Intel Celeron or Pentium Gold processor. By contrast, in more mature markets like the US and Canada, the standard will be Intel's latest 11th-generation CPUs with Iris X graphics. The same is true of memory, with the base model in some countries coming with 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM. The max, no matter where you buy it, is 16GB. Storage, meanwhile, starts at 256GB with an NVMe SSD allowing you to add up to 1TB of storage to the laptop. Powering everything is a 54Wh battery, and rounding out the feature list is a 720p web camera and a fingerprint sensor built into the power button.

For connectivity, the Galaxy Book comes with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 standard. A separate LTE model will allow you to stay connected on the go. I/O is on the generous side, with Samsung outfitting the Galaxy Book with two USB-C and two USB-A ports, as well as an HDMI connection, microSD slot and 3.5mm headphone jack. You'll also find a security slot on the right side of the computer.

Samsung

As for software, Samsung's latest laptop includes the company's Second Screen feature, which allows you to use a Galaxy Tab tablet as a secondary display (think: Sidecar for macOS). With Link to Windows, you can also access notifications, files and apps from your phone on the computer. Those with Samsung earbuds, such as the Galaxy Buds Pro, can also look forward to fast and easy Bluetooth pairing.

Samsung told Engadget the Galaxy Book will be available in the US in the second half of 2021, with the base model expected to cost around $800  though that could change. Either way, it will more affordable than the $999 Galaxy Book Pro and $1,199 Pro 360.
Phuket officials re-release COVID measures order in English

PHUKET: Following a meeting with consuls representing at least 14 countries yesterday, the Phuket Provincial Government today (Apr 28) re-posted online the English-language version of the original order implementing the COVID prevention measures that are to remain in effect until at least Friday (Apr 30).

Wednesday 28 April 2021, 05:42PM

The order re-posted in English today was the original order issued by Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew on Apr 20 and is the first  and only  order issued in Phuket in English during the current outbreak.

The order in English language was originally posted online by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department on Apr 22.

The Phuket News posted its report online on Apr 21.

The order is dated as in effect from Apr 22 through Apr 30.

The dating of such COVID-prevention-measure orders has become standard practice as they can be quickly and easily extended with another fresh blanket order extending the previous order issued.

However, The Phuket News notes that several key policies have been implemented since the original order was issued on Apr 20.

Most important among them for Phuket residents is that Phuket people who leave the province and return now face having to undergo a rapid antigen test to return home if they are unable to prove they are fully vaccinated or present a COVID-free certificate issued within 72 hours of arriving.

The order re-published in English today recognises only 17 red zone provinces that this requirement was originally applied to.

However, Phuket was originally designated a red zone province along with the 17 other red zone provinces by the Centre of COVID Situation Administration (CCSA) in Bangkok.

Further, Phuket officials have since added Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Surat Thani and Narathiwat to the list of red zone provinces that the rapid test requirement applies to.

Also yet to come into effect is an order mandating the closure of all bridges onto and off Phuket  there are three of them  from 11pm to 5am each night.
Adam Bettcher/WireImage/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

The Daily Mail reported in January that Mike Lindell had a "secret nine month romance" with Jane Krakowski.

Both Lindell and Krakowski denied the alleged relationship in the report. Lindell later sued the British tabloid for defamation.

He revised the lawsuit Tuesday to add that his nonprofit's relationships with churches has been impacted as a result of the report.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell revised his lawsuit against the Daily Mail Tuesday, adding a claim that churches are disassociating with him because of the British tabloid's claims about an alleged romance with actress Jane Krakowski.

The Daily Mail published a report in late January 2021 claiming that the MyPillow founder had a "secret nine-month romance" with the "30 Rock" star. Both Lindell and Krakowski denied the report.

"Jane has never met Mr. Lindell. She is not and has never been in any relationship with him, romantic or otherwise," a publicist for Krakowski said in a statement at the time. Lindell said he had "never even heard" of the actress before.

In the week after the report was published, Lindell filed a lawsuit against the Daily Mail for defamation, claiming the article had caused him "tremendous harm to his personal and professional reputation and prospective economic opportunities, as well as causing him significant humiliation and emotional distress."

The Daily Mail did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Watch: My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell says election fraud claims cost him $65M in revenue

According to court documents, Lindell specifically cites the report's claim that he gifted alcohol to Krakowski during their alleged relationship.

"As a recovering addict and alcoholic who frequently writes and speaks publicly about his spiritual triumphs over substance abuse, Mr. Lindell is horrified by the Defendants' fabricated and very public accusations," the lawsuit read.

Story continues

On Tuesday, Lindell revised the lawsuit against the British tabloid, adding an amendment about how the report impacted the associations with the Lindell Recovery Network, a "faith-based" nonprofit founded in 2019 that "provides services for various forms of addiction, mostly substance, and behavioral addiction, along with co-morbidities such as anxiety and addiction," according to the lawsuit.

"Mr. Lindell's name is attached to the network and his personal story as a Christian who came back from his addiction to become a success is emphasized," the lawsuit read.

Lindell claimed that the organization has only been able to partner with "a handful of churches," and the lawsuit said churches "may be pulling out because of Defendants' allegations about Mr. Lindell."

It was not immediately clear as to why the report may have impacted the LRN's affiliations with Christian networks and churches, and Insider reached out to MyPillow and to Lindell for more information.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Patna, April 28 : Four children were allegedly burnt to death on Wednesday after a thatched roof hut caught fire in Patna near the Punpun police station area. All the victims are reported to be siblings.

A police official said Chhotu Paswan, who was a daily wage earner lived in a hut along the railway track near Allauddin chak village, and had gone out of his house for work along with his wife. Meanwhile, a fire broke out in the house leading to the death of their four children present there.

Punpun police station in-charge, Kundan Kumar, said that the deceased have been identified as Dolly Kumari (12), Rakhi (6), Aarti (5) and Ankit (4). He said the fire had been doused with the help of local people.

Kumar said the cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained, but it is believed that the fire may have been caused by a spark from the mud stove.
At least four civilians were killed while 23 others were critically injured as clashes broke out between protesters against the military rule and law enforcement officers in N'Djamena's capital, sources told Sputnik. "Four people were killed, 23 were injured during the protests in Chad", the agency quoted the military source, on condition of anonymity. Since Tuesday morning, the Chadian capital witnessed multiple demonstrations rebuking the armed forces' rule, as pro-democratic crowds demanded that the Transitional Military Council must hand over the power to Chads civilians and dissolve immediately.

According to the on-ground reports, tensions had remained heightened in the Central African nations Capital NDjamena since Friday, after the funeral of President Idriss Deby, who was assassinated on April 19 fighting on the front line against the rebels in the north of the country. Egypts President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi described the deceased leader as the patriotic and wise leader who gave a lot to his people and his country, and made efforts to serve African causes in the face of various challenges.

The next day, the Chadian army announced a transitional council for the rule, which includes a group of high-ranking army officers, and Debys four-star general and 37-year-old son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, who was chosen as the countrys interim president. Concerns about Chad's internal security and political challenges had mounted as the neighbouring African Sahel region and Cairo feared internal turmoil situation.

The absence of a strong president like Idriss Deby is cause for concern, and if international parties had anything to do with the assassination, this doubles the concerns, a former adviser to the Egyptian president, Ahmed al-Moslemani, tweeted. He added, Chad suffers from dangerous terrorist organizations whose activities extend across a large area in the Sahel and Saharan countries, from western Sudan to the Atlantic Ocean.

[Deceased Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno seen here addressing the Climate Action Summit at UN. Credit: AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File]

On Tuesday, news outlet Al-Wihda reported that the rebellious demonstrators took to the streets demanding the ouster of the army regime, following incitement from Chads opposition and civil society. Angry demonstrators burned tires, chanted slogans, and carried placards saying "No to the monarchy in Chad", "Yes to a serious and comprehensive national dialogue", and "No to France as it exercises influence in the African region. Violent confrontations broke out as police forces used stun grenades, tear gas to disperse the mob that blocked the roads to the capitals districts.

Solidarity with the people of chad and the revolutionary blood that runs through their veins! May they finally gain liberation from french-backed military and french imperialism.    pic.twitter.com/Vj2z7lfsWx  K.Diallo  (@nyeusi_waasi) April 27, 2021

Chad demands 'democratic civilian rule'

Clashes broke out over Frances meddling in African nation's internal affairs and Chad's transitional militarys self-declared acquisition of political power. As violence continued, Human Rights Watch in a statement said that Chads transitional military council should scrupulously respect human rights and the rule of law. It stressed that the duty of military forces would be to ensure that civilians are protected and avoid any escalation of abuses against civilians. The military council should also ensure a swift transition to democratic civilian rule, upholding the right of Chadians to elect their leaders in free and fair elections, the agency said.

[Credit: Twitter/@Dadiyata_]
COLUMBIA  NextEra Energy has withdrawn its offer to purchase Santee Cooper, a move that effectively ends the years-long debate over whether to sell South Carolinas embattled electric and water utility, The Post and Courier has learned.

NextEra, the Florida-based power giant that has lobbied lawmakers for three years for a chance to take over Santee Cooper, sent a letter to the state this week pulling its multi-billion-dollar offer and asking for its $25 million deposit back.

The companys representatives also informed top lawmakers they have given up, a decision that came shortly after the S.C. Senate last week voted 36-8 to not continue exploring the sale of Santee Cooper. The withdrawal also came less than two weeks after NextEra CEO Jim Robo sent a letter to S.C. Senate President Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, offering to put in a revised bid for Santee Cooper.

"Theyre no longer interested," House budget committee chairman Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, told The Post and Courier. "Basically, they said they understand the politics and that (Senate) vote was overwhelming and insurmountable, and they were no longer going to be pursuing a sale of Santee Cooper.

A NextEra spokesman did not respond to a request for comment April 28. The state Department of Administration granted NextEra's request and returned its $25 million, according to a letter obtained by The Post and Courier.

S.C. lawmakers previously considered a sale of Santee Cooper as a way to protect its ratepayers, including customers of the 20 electric cooperatives that buy power from Santee Cooper, after the agency lost $4 billion on the failed expansion of the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant in Fairfield County.

Lawmakers in 2019 sought formal, binding offers for the utility and paid consultants nearly $15 million to review them. A handful of companies submitted bids, and NextEra's proved the best. But a NextEra takeover would mean hundreds of layoffs of state employees and higher electric rates for the 2 million South Carolinians who rely on Santee Cooper's power, a state analysis found.

Over the past year, it became clear that lawmakers lacked the votes for a sale and would instead seek to reform Santee Cooper to make it more accountable to the General Assembly, utility watchdogs and ratepayers. Both the S.C. Senate and House have passed reform proposals this year.

Santee Cooper's supporters  including employees, retirees and friends in the Legislature  will revel in NextEra's withdrawal, having campaigned against a sale over the past few years.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Luke Rankin, a Myrtle Beach Republican who fought to prevent a sale to NextEra, said the Florida company has only itself to blame for submitting a bid with clear flaws.

"Raising rates, exempting themselves from the same oversight everyone else in South Carolina is subject to, and refusing to answer basic questions from the General Assembly was not a winning strategy," Rankin said.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said he wasn't surprised NextEra pulled out after the Senate's vote last week.

The Senate last week didnt vote to reject a sale. The Senate voted to reject even talking about a sale," the Edgefield Republican said. "It doesnt surprise me that they withdrew because they looked at that vote and thought theres not even a pathway.

NextEra, which previously had no operations in South Carolina, had spent more than $205,000 lobbying the S.C. Legislature over the past three years, state ethics filings show. It employed as many as nine lobbyists at a time to patrol the Statehouse grounds and poured tens of thousands of dollars more into an advertising campaign to build goodwill in the Palmetto State.

The company was said to have let go of its South Carolina-based contract lobbyists as part of this decision.

Previously, NextEra had been bullish about its prospects of sealing the Santee Cooper deal, even as powerful state senators vowed to block any effort to privatize the utility. One of the country's largest power companies, NextEra has aggressively sought to expand by acquiring other utilities across the United States.

On an April 21 earnings call, a day before the Senate vote against further exploring a sale, Robo, NextEra's CEO, told analysts the Juno Beach, Fla.-based company remained interested in Santee Cooper.

"Fundamentally, our bid stands, and we're ready to get going and negotiating with the state on the sale," Robo said. "Ultimately, the most important thing is, it remains very clear to me that the best route for the state and its customers and the economy of the state is to demunicipalize Santee Cooper and get it in the hands of an entity like ourselves that will run it in the best-in-class way."

NextEra would pull its offer less than a week later.
OMAHA, Neb., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In a year when professional caregivers have never been more essential or heroic, Bill Glover of Charleston, South Carolina, stands out. He has been awarded one of the profession's highest honors, named the 2021 North American CAREGiverSM of the Year by Home Instead, the world's leading provider of in-home care for older adults. Designed to honor those demonstrating compassion and exceptional care to the seniors and families they serve, the award is the highest accolade for the organization's more than 65,000 professional CAREGiversSM in North America.

"This past year has shown us all the importance of being compassionate and extending a helping hand to make life better for those around us," said Lori Hogan, co-founder of Home Instead. "Mr. Glover is a shining example of what we all should strive to be, and we are incredibly proud to honor him as our 2021 CAREGiver of the Year."

Mr. Glover has always been driven by a passion to help people. Throughout his life this has taken many forms, from considering priesthood as a young man to establishing a fulfilling career as a counselor for young adults and families.

Later in life, he was drawn to professional caregiving as a way to prepare for his post-retirement dream, creating a ministry with his wife to serve aging adults in the Charleston area. In a heartbreaking turn of events, Mr. Glover lost his wife to cancer before they were able to fulfill this mission. Despite this unexpected loss, he remained dedicated to his role providing the highest quality care and companionship to his clients as a CAREGiver with Home Instead.

"God gives us all this love," said Mr. Glover. "And after losing her, I needed some place to put it. Thankfully, I was able to put it into my clients."

It's this steadfast love and devotion that has created such powerful bonds between him and his clients. Not only does Mr. Glover ensure they are well cared for, he also makes it a priority that they are given the chance to partake in their favorite activities  regardless of the challenges they face  from riding bikes around their neighborhood to attending the opera in New York City.

For instance, Mr. Glover's very first client was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease and turned to running as a way to cope. When his condition worsened and he was no longer able to continue running on his own, Mr. Glover would go on long walks with him  nine miles a day, three days a week.

"It was wonderful, because he was so happy and we would just talk  about his illness, and his fears, and whatever he was going through. He became a very dear friend," Mr. Glover explained.

Mr. Glover has gone above and beyond for his clients, fueled by his unwavering admiration and commitment to their health and happiness. In some cases, his regular presence even moved them to tears out of the sheer delight he brought them.

"Over the course of his nearly seven-year career with Home Instead, Bill has served more than a dozen clients, many of whom lived with dementia. His gentle, caring approach has earned him a reputation as a 'dementia whisperer,' and we regularly receive requests for him by name," shared Melody Carithers, owner of the Home Instead office serving Charleston. "We are honored to get to work with him every day, and believe he is so worthy of this award."

For all these reasons and more, Mr. Glover has been selected for this recognition, representing the vast network of Home Instead CAREGivers throughout North America who go the extra mile for their clients each and every day.

"I get so much joy out of being with these folks at a time that  in a lot of cases  is horrific for them. I get to walk with them on this road and make their lives better," Mr. Glover said. "I've decided to keep doing this until the good Lord tells me I can't do it anymore. It's a blessing. It really is."

Home Instead CAREGivers help seniors remain independent in the comfort of their own homes or in care communities as they age, providing services and companionship, from meal preparation and medication reminders, to personal care and Alzheimer's care. Mr. Glover was selected for the network's top honor among eight regional finalists, all nominated for their incredible dedication to providing the highest quality care to their clients.

To learn about becoming a CAREGiver like Bill Glover and joining the Home Instead family, visit www.homeinstead.com/jobs.

To learn more about Home Instead or to find an office near you, visit www.homeinstead.com/state.

ABOUT HOME INSTEAD

Founded in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska, the Home Instead franchise network provides personalized care, support and education to enhance the lives of aging adults and their families. Today, the network is the world's leading provider of in-home care services for older adults, with more than 1,200 independently owned and operated franchises that provide more than 90 million hours of care annually throughout the United States and 14 other countries. Local Home Instead offices employ approximately 90,000 CAREGiversSM worldwide who provide basic support services that enable older adults to live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. Home Instead franchise owners partner with clients and their family members to help meet varied individual needs. Services span the care continuum  from providing personal care to specialized Alzheimer's care and hospice support. Also available are family caregiver education and support resources. Visit HomeInstead.com. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Home Instead

Related Links

https://www.homeinstead.com


In this March 2021 image provided by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, researchers aboard the research vessel Sally Ride recover an autonomous underwater vehicle after a search for discarded barrels near Santa Catalina Island, Calif. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego via AP)

25,000 Barrels Suspected to Contain DDT Chemicals Found Off California Coast

SAN DIEGOMarine scientists say they have found what they believe to be more than 25,000 barrels that possibly contain DDT dumped off the Southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to World War II has long been suspected.

The 27,345 barrel-like objects were captured in high-resolution images as part of a study by researchers at the University of California San Diegos Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

They mapped more than 56 square miles (145 square kilometers) of seafloor between Santa Catalina Island and the Los Angeles coast in a region previously found to contain high levels of the toxic chemical in sediments and in the ecosystem.

The survey area, which is ~12 miles offshore Los Angeles and ~8 miles from Catalina, became the focus of attention after news last year that @ucsantabarbaras David Valentine found accumulations of DDT in the sediments, and identified 60 barrels on the seafloor. pic.twitter.com/KVetaYSLw6  Scripps Institution of Oceanography (@Scripps_Ocean) April 26, 2021

Historical shipping logs show that industrial companies in Southern California used the basin as a dumping ground until 1972, when the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, also known as the Ocean Dumping Act, was enacted.

Disposing of industrial, military, nuclear and other hazardous waste was a pervasive global practice in the 20th century, according to researchers. Resting deep in the ocean, the exact location and extent of the dumping was not known until now.

The territory covered was staggering, said Eric Terrill, chief scientist of the expedition and director of the Marine Physical Laboratory at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It really was a surprise to everybody whos worked with the data and who sailed at sea, he told reporters Monday.

Unfortunately, the basin offshore LA had been a dumping ground for industrial waste for several decades, said Eric Terrill. We are hopeful the data [from this expedition] will inform the development of strategies to address potential impacts from the dumping. pic.twitter.com/zr2TEaFLyB  Scripps Institution of Oceanography (@Scripps_Ocean) April 26, 2021

Underwater drones using sonar technology captured the images of barrels resting 3,000 feet (900 meters) below the surface all along the steep seafloor that was surveyed.

The survey provides a wide-area map of where the barrels are resting, though it will be up to others to confirm through sediment sampling that the containers hold DDT, Terrill said.

Its estimated between 350 and 700 tons of DDT were dumped in the area, 12 miles (20 kilometers) from Los Angeles, and 8 miles (12 kilometers) from Catalina Island.

In this March 2021 image provided by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, the research Vessel Sally Ride is seen off the coast of Santa Catalina Island, Calif. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego via AP)

The long-term impact on marine life and humans is still unknown, said Scripps chemical oceanographer and professor of geosciences Lihini Aluwihare, who in 2015 co-authored a study that found high amounts of DDT and other man-made chemicals in the blubber of bottlenose dolphins that died of natural causes.

These results also raise questions about the continued exposure and potential impacts on marine mammal health, especially in light of how DDT has been shown to have multi-generational impacts in humans, said Aluwihare, who was not part of the survey expedition.

Diana Aga, a chemistry professor at University at Buffalo who is not affiliated with the study, said the findings were shocking if the barrels are proven to contain the toxic chemical. Thats a lot of DDT at the bottom of the ocean, she said. If the barrels havent leaked, they could be moved to a place where disposal is safer, Aga said. If they leaked, scientists could take samples from the water, sediment and other marine life to gauge the damage.

In this March 2021 image provided by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, researchers aboard the research vessel Sally Ride deploy an autonomous underwater vehicle near Santa Catalina Island, Calif. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego via AP)

Terrill briefed lawmakers on the findings. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is pushing for companies to be held accountable and said the findings could represent only a fraction of the number of barrels underwater.

Simply put, this is one of the biggest environmental threats on the West Coast, she said. Its also one of the most challenging because these barrels are 3,000 feet below the oceans surface and there arent many records of who did the dumping, where exactly it occurred or how many barrels were dumped.

Scientists conducted the survey from March 10-24 following a Los Angeles Times report last year about evidence that DDT was dumped into the ocean.

Unfortunately, the basin offshore Los Angeles had been a dumping ground for industrial waste for several decades, beginning in the 1930s. We found an extensive debris field in the wide area survey, Terrill said.

Scientists started the search where University of California Santa Barbara professor David Valentine had discovered concentrated accumulations of DDT in the sediments and spotted 60 barrels about a decade ago.

In this 2011 image provided by the University of California Santa Barbara, a barrel sits on the seafloor near the coast of Catalina Island, Calif. (David Valentine/UC Santa Barbara/RV Jason via AP)

High levels of DDT have been detected in the areas marine mammals, and the chemical has been linked to cancer in sea lions.

The Los Angeles Times reviewed shipping logs from a disposal company supporting Montrose Chemical Corp. of California, a DDT-producing company. The logs showed 2,000 barrels of DDT-laced sludge were dumped in the deep ocean each month from 1947 to 1961 off Catalina, and other companies also dumped there until 1972.

Scripps researchers say they hope their survey will support clean-up efforts.

The expedition on the Sally Ride research vessel included a team of 31 scientists, engineers, and crew conducting 24-hour operations and two autonomous underwater vehicles.

By Julie Watson
DUSSELDORF, Germany, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- More than two-thirds of workers are willing to retrain for new jobs as they look toward the aftermath of the pandemic, according to a new study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Network. The interest in developing new skills is highest among those in the early- and midcareer phases.

A new report based on the study, Decoding Global Reskilling and Career Paths, is being released today. It's the third in a series of publications that BCG and The Network have issued about the pandemic's impact on people's work preferences and careers.

Retraining willingness68% globallyis highest among workers who have fared worst during the pandemic or have the most concern about automation.

A copy of the report can be downloaded here: https://www.bcg.com/publications/2021/decoding-global-trends-reskilling-career-paths

The economic uncertainty touched off by the pandemic comes at a time when workers in just about every field already have some level of concern about being replaced by technology. Forty-one percent of workers globally have become more concerned about automation during the pandemic, according to the survey. Increased concern is especially common among people who work at financial institutions or at insurance or telecommunications companies.

"The pandemic and the increasing speed of technological disruption have prompted people to question their chosen career paths," said Rainer Strack, one of the authors of the study and a senior partner at BCG. "Almost seven in ten people say they are open to retraining that would allow them to switch to completely different job roles. This level of flexibility could help employers and governments that are worried about preparing their workforces for the future."

Retraining willingness68% globallyis highest among workers who have fared worst during the pandemic or have the most concern about automation. This includes workers in service-sector, customer service, and sales roles. Almost three-quarters of the people in these jobs say they would retrain for something new. Those in job roles seen as less vulnerablehealth and medicine, social work, and science and researchgenerally aren't as ready to switch careers.

There are some geographic differences in the willingness to retrain as well. People in developing economies, including many in Africa, are the most enthusiastic, with as many as three-quarters saying they would retrain to prepare themselves for a new job. Europeans and Americans have the lowest level of willingness, the study shows, but even in those geographies the proportion of people who say they would retrain is generally above 50%.

More than a third of people worldwide have been laid off or forced to work fewer hours during the COVID-19 crisis, according to the survey. The economic fallout has been worst for the young and least educated. Almost half of those under 20, and an equal proportion of people with only a high school degree, have lost income during the pandemic.

"The pandemic is another reminder after the 2008 financial crisisthat there are always going to be events that threaten economies and require workers to adjust," said Kate Kavanagh, a comanaging director of The Network and a coauthor of the report. "Workers have come to accept that their only real job security lies in their adaptability, which sometimes means shifting roles or even careers."

A Move Toward More Stable Fields

The study shows a high level of realism in people's attitudes about retraining. Most of the areas of retraining willingness involve moves into fields that, at least for the moment, seem less risky than the fields people are in today. Generally, the new fields that people say they would consider have similarities to their current jobs.

Digital and information technology top the list of potential next careers, probably because of the expanding opportunities in those areas and the generally high remuneration. For example, more than 20% of people currently working in artistic or creative jobs say they would retrain for a digital job, as do more than 20% of people currently working in consulting or media. Office and management jobs (such as marketing and human resources) are also seen as attractive next career steps, possibly because of the perceived ease of transitioning into those jobs for a variety of workers.

Workers have already been taking steps to upgrade their skills. The proportion of workers spending a few weeks or more on skill building each year has held steady, at about two-thirds, since BCG and The Network last asked this question, in 2018.

The approach to learning has evolved, however. Forty-eight percent of people now use an online educational institution (such as a MOOC, or massive open online course) for learning, and 36% now use a mobile app. Both approaches still trail on-the-job training and independent study, today's most popular approaches to workplace learning, but in the era of the pandemic digital approaches have made inroads.

The data gathered for Decoding Global Reskilling and Career Paths provides insights into workers' career expectations by gender, age, education level, and position in the job hierarchy.

A copy of the report can be downloaded at bcg.com.

To arrange an interview with one of the authors, please contact Eric Gregoire at +1 617850-3783 or [email protected].

About Boston Consulting Group

Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholdersempowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.

Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.

About The Network

The Network is a global alliance of more than 60 leading recruitment websites, committed to finding the best talent in over 130 countries. Founded in 2002, The Network has become the global leader in online recruitment, serving more than 2,000 global corporations. We offer these corporations a single point of contact in their home countries, and allow them to work in a single currency and with a single contractwhile giving them access to a global workforce. The recruitment websites in The Network attract almost 200 million unique visitors each month. For more information, please visit www.the-network.com.

SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

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A new social media platform based on voice messaging launched Monday.

Called Swell, free apps for the platform can be found in Apple's App Store and in Google Play.

According to the developers of Swell, it's the first social platform to focus exclusively on asynchronous audio conversations, where audio clips up to five minutes in length can be posted to the site.

Any Swell member can host a conversation and has control over who may participate in it, as well as make posts.

Pictures and links can also be posted to conversations, but they must be accompanied with a voice message.

Swell also provides its members a free swellcast.com Web page for sharing on social platforms and an HTML widget for embedding conversations on websites.

TikTok for Adults

"You might call Swell 'TikTok for adults,' since the imagery on the company's website focuses largely on professional situations and older individuals," observed Charles King, the principal analyst at Pund-IT, a technology advisory firm in Hayward, Calif.

"The subtext seems to be about sharing ideas and news -- a far cry from the chatter that drives many social network exchanges," he told the E-Commerce Times.

"In fact," he continued, "the company's statement that 'memes and mindless forwards have no place on Swell' suggests that the company's concept of itself diverges from conventional social sites."

"Swell is betting that a substantial audience is thirsting for such exchanges," he added.

Ross Rubin, the principal analyst at Reticle Research, a consumer technology advisory firm in New York City, noted that a number of products are being launched and features being added to existing social networks to capitalize on the popularity of Clubhouse, an audio chat app that received $12 million from investors after being in business for about a month.

Swell, though, has a number of advantages off the starting line. At present, Clubhouse is iOS only, while Swell supports both Apple and Android devices. Clubhouse is also "invite only," so its growth is choked at the moment.

"Swell is getting the kind of momentum that spurs adoption and generating a network effect," Rubin told the E-Commerce Times.

"It's going to grow," he continued. "The question is whether it's a distinct class of social network or is it something that existing social networks can capitalize on."

Uncool Becomes Cool

Karen Kovacs North, director of the Annenberg Program on Online Communities at the University of Southern California explained that people are discovering that there's a huge audience looking for conversations on specific topics with experts or like-minded friends.

"Things are cyclical," she told the E-Commerce Times. "Voice was uncool. Now voice is cool again. But what makes voice cool now is that it's a group experience. Social is being used to make voice back in vogue."

"I think Swell has potential," added Catherine Zhu, a commercial and privacy attorney at the Foley & Lardner law firm in Palo Alto, Calif.

"What we're seeing with a lot of social media platforms is disillusionment by users because what's being transmitted is a lot of disinformation and divisiveness, and in many cases, not a lot of real engagement," she told the E-Commerce Times.

"If an audio platform like Swell can tap into that disillusionment and cultivate real engagement among its users, that's going to be pretty powerful," she said.

Displacing Time

Swell has another benefit that Clubhouse doesn't have.

"The advantage of Swell is you don't have to be there at the time the chat is taking place. That means people can pursue things on their own schedule," Rubin explained.

Requiring conversations take place in real time encourages inauthentic behavior, maintained Swell CEO and Co-founder Sudha Varadarajan.

"Real time requires you to be a stage performer," she told the E-Commerce Times. "There's a lot of pressure to say things without any of thought to them. Asynchronous time gives you the time to listen, think and respond, so the quality of the conversation and the engagement is exceedingly high."

"Friends, relatives and co-workers all know how to pick up a phone and contact you in real time," she said. "The issue is coordinating timing and scheduling."

"At work, getting everyone together at a particular time can be challenging," she continued. "For family, it can be difficult to find the right time to call somebody because you might be in a different time zones and on different work schedules."

String of Monologues

King, however, challenged calling Swell's asynchronous postings conversations.

"In essence, the company is encouraging individuals to record audio monologues and enabling others to post recorded audio monologues in reply," he maintained.

"That's similar to the static dialogs enabled by most every other platform," he continued. "I'm not sure whether enabling audio exchanges is enough to differentiate Swell from larger, more popular social sites."

What audio-based social media can do, however is reduce the screen time that's demanded by sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

"A Clubhouse chat can happen at any time and provide some rest for eyes weary from video meetings and can allow a degree of multitasking," Rubin explained.

"You're not looking at the phone," Varadarajan added. "Most of our users, when they're listening to Swell, will be engaged in something else. You don't need to be glued to your screen to listen to a good conversation."

Abuse Potential

Humans want to be connected by voice, Varadarajan maintained. "As a species, we have an exponentially better sense of speech than any other species," she said. "We naturally connect to one another by what we say and how we say it."

"That was an Aha moment for us," she continued. "We realized that if you truly want to build a network to connect people, then authentic connections can't be found through pretty pictures and one-liners. It has to be found through voice."

A big question for these voice social media platforms will be can they avoid the pitfalls of their traditional brethren?

"Like all digital media, there's always an opportunity for hecklers, trolls and disrupters to cause trouble," North observed.

"When you look at digital media, the anonymity of it always invites bad behavior," she said. "There's always the opportunity for people to cause trouble because they're not physically present and the consequences are so low."

"Every platform can be abused in one way or another," King added. "More important is what the company does when abusive content or misinformation appears."

"The terms of service define 16 instances, behaviors or classes of information that are prohibited," he continued. "How and how well Swell will police itself remains to be seen."

John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John.


Four patients died after a fire broke out at a private hospital near in in the wee hours of Wednesday, a civic official said.

The patients died while being shifted to other hospitals after the blaze and not due to burns, the official said. They may have inhaled smoke after the fire, he added.

The incident comes five days after 15 coronavirus patients died in a blaze in the intensive care unit of a private hospital at Virar in the adjoining Palghar district.

Wednesday's fire broke out at the Prime Criticare Hospital at Kausa-Mumbra locality at 3.40 am, the official said. There were no coronavirus patients in the hospital, he added.

Three fire engines and five ambulances were rushed to the spot. The blaze has been extinguished, the official said.

Twenty patients including six in the intensive care unit of the hospital were evacuated, he said.

minister and local MLA Jitendra Awhad told reporters at the scene that the fire destroyed the first floor of the hospital.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has been informed of the tragedy, he said. The family of each deceased will be given a compensation of Rs. five lakh and those injured will get Rs one lakh each, he added.

A high-level enquiry committee has been constituted to go into the cause of the fire, the minister said. It will comprise officials from the Municipal Corporation and also police and medical personnel, he added.

Twenty two COVID-19 patients on ventilator or oxygen support suffocated to death when their oxygen supply stopped suddenly due to a malfunction in the main storage at a civic hospital in Nashik last week.

A fire broke out in Mumbai's Dreams Mall, which housed a Covid-designated hospital, in the intervening night of March 25-26. The fire, which raged for over 40 hours, claimed nine lives, including those of patients on ventilator support.

Ten infants died in a fire at a special newborn care unit of the Bhandara district hospital in the state on January 9. Seventeen infants, aged one to three months, were in the ward at the time of the tragedy.

In October last year, two patients died while being shifted after a fire broke out at a private hospital in Mumbai's Mulund suburb.
Berlin, April 28 : Neymar reiterated that 'everything is almost settled' with regard to his contract renewal at Paris Saint-Germain.

The Brazil superstar moved to the Parc des Princes for a huge 222 million Euros fee from Barcelona in 2017, a sum that comfortably smashed the world transfer record, reports DPA.

However, for long periods Neymar was linked with a move back to La Liga either with Barca or Clasico rivals Real Madrid, amid suggestions he was struggling to settle in the French capital.

Injury woes at key times often coincided with question marks over his level of commitment to the cause, but his influential performances in helping PSG to last season's Champions League final where they lost to Bayern Munich, and in helping to knock out the same opponents in this term's quarter-finals, have largely dispelled those suggestions.

In recent months it has been heavily suggested Neymar is going to sign a new contract with his present deal due to expire next season.

Neymar confirmed such an extension is almost complete to prolong a stay at a club where he feels at home.

"We are in discussion with PSG. There is no rush. Everything is almost settled," Neymar said.

"I feel at home, comfortable, I feel really very happy at Paris Saint-Germain.

"Regarding the supporters, what I expect the most is that they are back at the stadium so that we can feel them close to us, to support us, and that they are there to cheer us on all the players in every game." Neymar has six goals and three assists to his name from 14 Ligue 1 appearances this term, slightly lower than an expected goals rate of 10.18 and expected assists of 3.55.

He has also created 38 chances, nine of which are Opta-defined big chances, and Neymar thinks he is in the best form of his PSG tenure.

"I think so. I make sure that always the best Neymar is on the pitch," he added.

"And to be sure that with Neymar on the pitch, PSG will have a great chance of coming out on top of the match."
Last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread from country to country, working people responded to each new outbreak of the disease, first in China, then Italy, then America, with sympathy and expressions of solidarity.

Workers around the world cheered the doctors of Wuhan and the nurses of Bergamo. Doctors corresponded with their international colleagues, sharing the latest knowledge and tips to save the lives of patients entrusted to them. And scientists closely collaborated across national borders to ascertain the origins of the disease, sequence its genome, and aid the development of vaccines.

U.S. Air Force F-35 stealth fighter jets drop bombs over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP)

But the worlds governments had other ideas. Last year, as more than 3 million people lost their lives amid a raging pandemic, governments around the world spent a record sum, nearly $2 trillion, on weapons and preparations for war.

Even though global economic output declined by 4.4 percentthe greatest economic collapse since World War IImilitary spending around the world surged by 2.6 percent.

The United States, the global leader in deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic, with 587,000 and counting, is also by far the worlds greatest military spender. The US increased its arms spending by 4.4 percent last year, to $870 billion, more than the next 10 countries combined.

The US military is throwing around money with reckless abandon. Every branch of Washingtons bloated nuclear weapons program, from intercontinental ballistic missiles, to supersonic stealth bombers and nuclear missile submarines, is being rebuilt and expanded from the ground up. Perhaps most dangerously of all, the United States intends to double military spending in the Asia-Pacific region, using the money to ring the Chinese coastline with land-based ballistic missiles stationed in Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines.

The US governments spending on the military massively dwarfed all emergency federal spending on health care and vaccinations since the start of the pandemic. The CARES Act, passed in March of 2020, included only a few tens of billions of dollars in emergency health care spending, while the American Rescue Plan passed under current President Joe Biden was just one-eighth the annual US military budget for spending on emergency health care measures.

All the worlds imperialist countries are massively expanding their military spending. Leading the pack is Germany, whose aggressive quest for world domination helped trigger two world wars. Germanys military spending increased by 5 percent last year and is up by nearly a third over the past decade.

France and Britain each increased their spending by 2.9 percent, significantly more than the global average.

The governments of the United States, France, Germany and the UK have all rejected the closure of non-essential businesses to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that society cannot afford these critical life-saving measures.

French President Emmanuel Macron declared that the population would have to learn to live with the virus. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in rejecting lockdowns, insisted that the alternative was better: to let the bodies pile up in their thousands. In the United States, claiming that mass infection would lead to a faster economic recovery, Trump administration officials declared, We want them infected.

But while claiming that containing the pandemic is too expensive, capitalist governments all over the world found $2 trillion for their armed forces and arms manufacturers.

The fight against the pandemic is by its very nature a global struggle. In its statement for the International Online May Day Rally, the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) explained:

The emergence of new variants where the pandemic is spreading, potentially resistant to vaccines, demonstrates that the pandemic cannot be eradicated in any single country unless it is eradicated globally. National competition between the capitalist powers has blocked a globally coordinated response to the pandemic. Now the life-saving vaccine is being hoarded by the dominant capitalist countries and used as an instrument in their geopolitical intrigues.

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a ferocious eruption of nationalism, xenophobia, and militarism by capitalist governments and ruling elites around the world.

Former US President Donald Trump called the COVID-19 pandemic the Chinese virus and Kung flu. The Biden administration is continuing Trumps efforts to demonize China, falsely claiming that Beijing is responsible for a cover-up and implying that the disease was a biological weapon created in a laboratory. As a result of these efforts to demonize China, racially motivated violent attacks against Asian Americans have surged over the past year.

The massive and record financing of the means of destruction and death, when what is necessary is a globally coordinated emergency program to save lives, exemplifies the historically outmoded and bankrupt character of the entire capitalist order.

In its criminal indifference to human life, in its efforts to desensitize the population to mass death from the pandemic, the ruling elites are at the same time seeking to prepare the population for the horrific consequences of world war.

All over the world, however, a different axis for politics and social organization is emerging. Workers are engaged in a wave of strikes and struggles in opposition to the subordination of all social and economic life to the enrichment of the capitalist oligarchy.

To unify these struggles and develop a counteroffensive against the homicidal policies of governments controlled by the capitalist ruling elites, the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) statement called for the formation of an International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees. The IWA-RFC will fight to unify workers throughout the world against all efforts to pit worker against worker, nation against nation.

The development of a powerful counteroffensive must be connected to the building of a socialist leadership in the working class. The fight against militarist violence, as with the fight against the pandemic, is at the same time a fight against the capitalist system and the oligarchy it serves. We urge all of our readers to join this effort and register to attend the International May Day Rally today.
Our all-time favorite photog is using new tech to capture some amazing images. Here's a recent update that's worth a look . . .



Nelson Atkins Video Flyover - Eric Bowers Photoblog Nelson Atkins Video Flyover - Picking up from Nelson Atkins drone aerial stills in 2017 - I had to duplicate a still photo on the grounds of the Nelson that I shot twelve years ago in 2009.
The Cambridges have faced personal challenges over the past year, dealing with the fallout from Megxit and the Sussexes bombshell Oprah interview.

Kate was publicly singled out by the Duchess of Sussex in the primetime television show as having made Meghan cry in the run-up to her wedding.

It was a disagreement over flower girl dresses, and Meghan said the Palace failed to correct reports which said she left Kate in tears.

The Duchess of Cambridge with flower girl Princess Charlotte at Harry and Meghans wedding (Jane Barlow/PA)

Kate, who has remained silent about the allegations, has often been hailed for her level-headedness, her calm outlook and her bubbly, kind nature.

She has been suggested as a potential peacemaker who might be able to heal the ongoing rift between William and his brother the Duke of Sussex.

Harry appeared to smile briefly at his sister-in-law as the three talked together after the Duke of Edinburghs funeral, with Kate then stepping back which allowed the brothers to continue walking with one another.

The Sussexes plunged the monarchy into crisis just weeks ago when they accused the royal family of racism and the institution of failing to support Meghan when she was suicidal.

Royal author Penny Junor suggested that Meghans remarks about Kate in the Oprah interview could make it even more difficult for the brothers relationship to be fixed.

I would have thought one of the things William was most cross about was the fact that Meghan threw Kate under the bus, Ms Junor said.

The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex during the funeral procession (Gareth Fuller/PA)

It wasnt Harry, but it was his wife, and he must have known that she was going to do that and he clearly hasnt corrected it in any way.

It depends how Kate is feeling. I must say I would be pretty damn cross.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex interview with Oprah Winfrey (Yui Mok/PA)

Former Suits star Meghan said she was not sharing the information to be disparaging  and described Kate as a good person  but added it was really important for people to understand the truth.

Meghan said: She was upset about something, but she owned it and she apologised and she brought me flowers and a note apologising, and she did what I would do if I knew that Id hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it.

Ahead of William and Kates wedding in 2011, Harry said he was looking forward to having a big sister and described Kate as fantastic.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry on a Heads Together visit in 2017 (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

William and Harry used to be incredibly close, having supported one another through the sudden loss of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales when they were children.

Their falling out is said to have begun ahead of the Sussexes wedding in 2018, with Harry angered at what he perceived to be his brothers snobbish attitude towards his bride.

The Sussexes quit as senior working royals in 2020 for a new life of financial freedom, living in California.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Turkey announced on Wednesday it has signed a deal for the delivery of 50 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the first deliveries will arrive in May as Turkey tries to speed up the innoculation effort.

The nation of 84 million has delivered one shot to more than 13.5 million people and the full two doses to nearly nine million since launching its vaccination drive with China's CoronaVac jab in mid-January.

Koca said Turkey was also extending the time between the first and second shots of BionTech/Pfizer from the current four weeks to six-eight.

Turkey has so far secured only 4.5 million BionTech/Pfizer doses and is experiencing delays in the delivery of a promised 100 million shots from China.

"The vaccine supply is getting more difficult over the coming two months, but we expect it to become more abundant thereafter," Koca said.

Turkey goes into a 17-day lockdown starting on Thursday to combat a sharp spike of COVID-19 infections and deaths.

The restrictions are harsher than during two previous waves last year.

People will be barred from going outdoors without a valid reason and alcohol sales are being limited to discourage public gatherings.

The third wave has also been deadlier than the previous two.

Turkey has been reporting around 350 deaths daily for the past week. Official infection numbers approached 60,000 a day earlier this month before slipping down to 40,000still the highest in Europe.

A total of more than 39,000 deaths and 4.7 million infections have been recorded since the pandemic began.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
With hospital beds, oxygen, plasma, medicines, and vaccines hard to come by amidst the deadly Covid-19 second wave in the country, Indian author Chetan Bhagat has seemingly shown his disapproval of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's failure to import foreign vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna.



 Reuters

In a series of tweets, the 47-year-old Five Point Someone writer questioned the PM Modi-led centre's decision not to avail the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines amid the shortage of vaccines within the country itself.



"The Pfizer vaccine, one of the best ones, used in most developed countries, applied for permission in India in Dec-2020. India instead asked them to do more studies here. Pfizer withdrew its application on Feb-21. Imagine lives saved if we allowed the vaccine from December itself." said Bhagat.

The Pfizer vaccine, one of the best ones, used in most developed countries, applied for permission in India in Dec-2020. India instead asked them to do more studies here. Pfizer withdrew its application in Feb-21. Imagine lives saved if we allowed the vaccine from December itself  Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) April 28, 2021

While PM Modi has launched the audacious plan of extending the offering of the Covaxin and Covishield vaccines to people falling under the age of bracket of 18-45, as per reports, experts have warned that the current shortage of vaccines within the nation may end up disrupting all plans of immunization.

 Reuters

And, according to Bhagat, the government instead of relying just on homemade vaccines, should have imported Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which have been out since December of last year.



"Pfizer and Moderna are the best vaccines. They have been out since Dec-2020. Why don't we have them in India yet? Do we not deserve the best? Don't we buy defense equipment from abroad? Is this not a war-like situation? Why does the vaccine have to be made here and only here?" Tweeted Bhagat.

Pfizer and Moderna are the best vaccines. They have been out since Dec-2020. Why don't we have them in India yet? Do we not deserve the best? Don't we buy defense equipment from abroad? Is this not a war like situation? Why does the vaccine have to be made here and only here?  Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) April 28, 2021

However, soon after his tweets viral on the internet, some social media users used brought down some facts of the matter in order to school him back to earth.

One correction - Pfizer wanted India to sign an indemnity which means if something serious side effect happened , they won't be liable. So India suggested a bridging trial which is at the right thing to PLUS Pfizer vaccine would have been expensive , too difficult to store  Shouvik S Mazumdar (@shouvikme) April 28, 2021

Dates are right Chetan. But some facts are missing.



Pfizer did not have or submit any plan to Generate safety & Immunogenicity data in Indian Population. That was the reason they were not recommended and subsequently application was withdrawn. pic.twitter.com/HBMpyubphp  T VENKATESH (@TTvenkatesh1968) April 28, 2021

https://t.co/7GJ7oH7SDH wanted India to sign a clause exempting it from any side effect related issue .

2.They were not ready for a mandatory bridge study. https://t.co/GagScnD6v9 temp is unmanageable.

4.Cost was 3 times higher.



Big man ; Small talks  T VENKATESH (@TTvenkatesh1968) April 28, 2021

If a vaccine is safe on US people it does not mean it'll be safe on Indians as well. That's why bridge trials are required which Pfizer refused despite various serious side effects noted in post marketing.  INDIAN (@vistw) April 28, 2021

How do you know the result of pfizer without performing any study in Asians or Indians? All Vaccines have undergone due regulatory process. Why do want exception for Pfizer?

You guys had so much problem when covaxin was released in final trial stage but no problem with this ? pic.twitter.com/rcDc1UTutV  Lilly (Bengali Didi) (@Miss_exliberal) April 28, 2021

Pfizer vaccine may be one of the best, but what is wrong in India asking them to do more studies here b4 processing with giving permission? Making vaccines may not be like "one size fits all". However, we have our own manufacturers who are doing a good job&let's encourage them.  Raju (@nbrengaraju) April 28, 2021

If you had an atom of common sense you would have comprehended our Govt's concerns: Pfizer vaccine needs to undergo trials on Asians,Indians

But then you perhaps consider yourself an American  Vibhaavari (@satyaavati) April 28, 2021

If you had an atom of common sense you would have comprehended our Govt's concerns: Pfizer vaccine needs to undergo trials on Asians,Indians

But then you perhaps consider yourself an American  Vibhaavari (@satyaavati) April 28, 2021

Sir, you are IITan. But never worked in manufacturing industry. You worked in bank. You could never guide designing even a pulse oximeter. Above all you write pulp fiction in English not in shakespeare English, but suited for Indian youth. So don't comment on medical decision.  meenakshi (@meenavyas50) April 28, 2021
With Chief Mountain in the background, a line of cars wait at the Carway Border crossing in southern Alberta last week as First Nations members and others from the public took advantage of free vaccinations courtesy of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana.
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Together, PLG and DSI will be able to support clients in all stages of the product lifecycle, from pre-clinical work to post-approval compliance though the review and approval processes and market-entry strategy. This is a very exciting step for us all

ProductLife Group (PLG) has taken the next step in its evolution as a global leader in end-to-end regulatory compliance services. Just 6 months after the acquisition of the Vigilance and Medical Information group AxPharma, ProductLife Group has today announced the strategic acquisition of leading US regulatory drug development consultancy DSI. This allows PLG to expand in North America and reinforce its expertise to support clients in the regulatory development of their innovative therapies.

PLG is thus rolling out its strategic plan, defined one year ago with the arrival of Xavier Duburcq as CEO, with the ambition of becoming by 2023 the leading global provider of regulatory and compliance services for the life sciences industry.

DSI offers one-stop, full-service Regulatory and CMC consulting to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, leveraging multidisciplinary teams composed of close to 50 manufacturing, quality, and regulatory affairs experts. DSI consultants bring decades of experience to every stage of the regulatory and product development process, from initial selection of development and manufacturing sources, design and evaluation of the investigational manufacturing process through the scale-up for commercialization to and through approval.

Over the last ten years, the company has contributed to more than 60 original INDs, 25 NDAs/BLAs and produced materials for more than 50 interactions with the European and US agencies.

This new alliance will pave the way for further acceleration of the two companies growth ambitions by allowing clients to benefit from additional expertise, as well as from PLGs extensive geographical reach.

Ive been very impressed by DSI. Their experts all have decades of practical industry and agencies interaction experience, providing an unparalleled perspective on how to navigate new product development in a complex and evolving regulatory environment and ultimately arrive at market in the most efficient way. We will leverage this experience to support our clients in their global efforts to accelerate the path to approval and to implement compliant drug development strategies, commented Xavier Duburcq, PLG CEO.

Together, PLG and DSI will be able to support clients in all stages of the product lifecycle, from pre-clinical work to post-approval compliance though the review and approval processes and market-entry strategy. This is a very exciting step for us all, Xavier said.

Commenting on the merger with PLG, Edward Narke and Anthony Durning, co-founders at DSI, and Brian Lihou, newly appointed General Manager of DSI, said, We could not be more pleased to become part of a global leader in the life sciences regulatory and compliance industry. Joining PLG is exciting both, for DSI as a business, as well as for our clients which will now have access to additional specialist expertise and international coverage spanning more than 100 countries.

About ProductLife Group (PLG)

ProductLife Groups mission is to improve human health by delivering regulatory compliance services for the safe and effective use of medical solutions. Since almost 30 years, PLG supports clients through the entire product life cycle, combining local expertise with global reach spanning more than 110 countries. It provides consulting and outsourcing services in the areas of regulatory affairs, quality and compliance, vigilance and medical information, covering both established products and innovative therapeutics & diagnostics. With a goal of continuously improving the value delivered to people and customers, PLG is committed to long-term partnership, innovation, flexibility, and cost efficiency.

For more information, visit productlifegroup.com

Contact

Fabrice Galzin

ProductLife Group Head of Marketing

+33 675 349 606

fgalzin@productlife-group.com
New Delhi: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has stirred controversy after he said that arguing over the number of COVID-19-related deaths 'won't bring back the dead'.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that the focus should be on helping those suffering now. Khattar was replying to questions on the alleged under-reporting of coronavirus deaths.

"The kind of difficult situation we are going through, we don't have to play with data. Our entire focus should be on how people will recover and how we can provide them relief," PTI quoted him as saying on Monday (April 26, 2021).

"And those who have died will not come back by creating a furore over it," he said and added that there was no point in getting into a debate on whether the official number of deaths was correct.

Khattar had visited Rohtak, Panipat, Hisar and Faridabad to review the supply of oxygen and other facilities for COVID patients.

"We will do everything possible so that lives are saved. Whether the deaths are less or more, there is no point getting into this debate," he said.

"Whether we are able to set the systems right is the question. From our side, we are setting the systems in place," he added.

Khattar said nobody had expected this kind of situation.

"Who knew this pandemic will come, neither you knew nor we. To fight this, we need everyone's cooperation including yours, mine, the patients'.

Therefore, these issues should not be the topic of any controversy," he added.

Following Khattar's remarks, Congress slammed Haryana CM and said that 'these can only be the words of a merciless ruler'.

Congress' general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "There is a need to make a noise over every death which is the result of the government's inefficiency, so that the deaf BJP government can hear the echo."

Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi also condemned the CM's comment and said that the 'remarks are shameful'.

Meanwhile, Haryana recorded its biggest single-day jump in coronavirus-related fatalities and cases on Tuesday. While 84 fatalities took the cumulative toll in the state to 3,926, close to 12,000 fresh infections pushed the total caseload to 4,47,754.

(With agency inputs)
Mexico- El-Salvador-Sowing-Life

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his Salvadoran counterpart Nayib Bukele at a launch event for the Sowing Life program in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico on June 20, 2019. Credit - Alfredo Estrella AFP/Getty Images

Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador made a tangible proposal at last weeks U.S.-led climate summit, a rarity in the world of climate geopolitics. He called on President Joe Biden to finance an expansion of Mexicos mass tree-planting program, called Sowing Life, across Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador (which make up the Northern Triangle region just south of Mexico). The program would pay farmers in those countries to plant trees, which, he said, could help alleviate rural poverty and convince potential undocumented migrants to stay home. The U.S., he added, could offer six-month work visas for those who participated in Sowing Life for at least three years, giving order to the flow of migration.

It was a bold idea, coming from a controversial populist leader with a dubious track record on environmental policy. It hit on an enticing number of U.S. priorities, though: in January Biden signed an executive order mandating the infusion of climate action across foreign policy. He has also pledged to spend $4 billion to tackle the causes of migration from the Northern Triangle and, as my colleague Brian Bennett reports , one of his long-term goals is to open more pathways to legal immigration to the U.S. Plus, politicians in general really like to plant trees.

But it turned out that the U.S. had dismissed Lopez Obradors idea before he formally proposed it. At a pre-summit press briefing on April 20 one U.S. official said that while the Biden government supports nature-based climate solutions, it is not focused on the intersection between the two issues. This is not a conversation for us about immigration. Its a conversation about climate change.

The U.S. is right to be wary of financing Sowing Life. In 2019, its first year of operation, only 80 million of the 575 million planned trees were planted. Investigative reporting by Bloomberg found that in some regions, the program incentivized farmers to cut down forests in order to re-plant the cleared land. Local journalists warn the funding structure leaves the program open to corruptionan endemic problem in the region where Lopez Obrador proposes expanding. According to Nestor Genis, an investigator at Ethos, a Mexican public policy think tank, the program could end up a long-term success if its leaders learn from their mistakes, and U.S. technical support could help. But, he says, there are no indicators so far that this program is a success in Mexico and should be exported to other countries.

Story continues

Women try to recover belongings after the passage of Hurricane Eta through Omonita in El Progreso, Honduras, on November 15 2020, Orlando SIERRA  AFP/Getty Images

Whatever you think about the Sowing Life program specifically, though, the U.S. assertion that climate and immigration need to be dealt with separately is confounding. Many of those now arriving at the southern border are fleeing the impact of Hurricanes Eta and Iota, two devastating storms that hit Central America last November. For years, others have emigrated because climate change is intensifying droughts and destroying agricultural livelihoods in the so-called Dry Corridor, a tropical dry forest region that runs from Guatemala to Costa Rica.

Indeed, the Biden Administrations own state department doesnt seem to agree with what its representative said at that April 20 press briefing. Asked to clarify, a state department spokesperson told me on April 26 that the U.S. is closely cooperating with Mexico on migration strategies, including looking at the link between the effects of climate change and increased migration, as well as effective models for alternative labor pathways. On April 27, Vice President Kamala Harris announced a $310 million package of humanitarian aid for the Northern Triangle, specifically targeting food insecurity and the impacts of drought.

Immediately after the November storms, Guatemalas president said the region urgently needed aid to stop crowds of Central Americans going to other countries in search of a better life. International financing to help vulnerable regions adapt to climate change is sorely lacking, and as extreme weather events and agricultural disruption become increasingly common, climate-vulnerable developing countries will likely increase their demands on wealthy countries to take responsibility for their massive contribution to climate change.

When it comes to the U.S., taking responsibility may mean both rethinking immigration policyBiden has already commissioned a report on options for protection and resettlement of climate refugeesand making climate adaptation a constant focus for U.S. spending abroad. Analysts say the Biden Administration has a chance to respond to both climate change and migration in Central America in one fell swoop, by investing in renewable energy and reforestation programs in the region.

Mexico hasnt given up on Sowing Life, promising to make the program a focus of a May 7 meeting between Lopez Obrador and Vice President Harris. Whether or not that succeeds, Mexicos flawed proposal at last weeks summit demonstrates the need for the U.S. and other donor countries to engage with communities and environmentalistsnot just governmentsin places where they want to drive climate action. The success of that engagement will be decisive for the millions of people who may, over the next few years, have to choose between a rapidly changing home, and an uncertain path away.

A version of this story first appeared in the Climate is Everything newsletter. If youd like sign up to receive this free once-a-week email, click here.
SPRINGFIELD  Thirteen months ago, the ill-understood threat known as COVID-19 loomed over the Springfield Regional Chamber annual Outlook luncheon.

The event at the MassMutual Center ballroom included hastily set-up hand sanitizing stations  the first time those had been seen locally. Visitors were not yet instructed to put on face masks.

Like so many events since then, the chambers 2021 Outlook event was held online to avoid spreading the virus. But with vaccines available and COVID-19 cases in decline, speakers Wednesday highlighted the steps businesses and governments are taking to recover.

I hope for another roaring 20s, but without the 1929 stock market crash, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said, adding that his administration has already started planning for a post-pandemic future.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, spoke about the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, about half of which was passed through the House Ways and Means Committee that Neal chairs. President Joe Biden signed it into law last month.

We had to go big. We did go big, Neal said.

Neal said the CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill passed a year earlier, truly saved the American economy from what truly would have been a deeper recession.

He also outlined upcoming legislative proposals like Bidens $2 trillion infrastructure plan, as well as child care, health care and education proposals Biden is expected to make in his address to Congress Wednesday night.

Neal has proposed his own plan to guarantee access to child care and family and medical leave.

This is a moment to reimagine and rebuild a new economy, he said.

The key to building back is to get people back to work, Neal said. That includes women sidelined from the workforce during the pandemic because they cant get child care.

And for far too long, weve asked our workers to fend for themselves, he said. Work and the nature of the workforce have changed.

For the chamber and its members, the cost of unemployment insurance is a primary concern. Some employees saw their quarterly bills expand sixteenfold, and while the changes are on hold, the state has not come up with a permanent solution.

Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald Mariano promised to work towards a solution, possibly involving federal funds but he is awaiting federal rules that would govern how federal relief funds are spent,.

Mariano also spoke at Wednesdays event of proposals to use $10 million to start training workers for the offshore wind industry, and of a new attempt to establish the Rural Growth Fund with $60 million in tax credits.

He mentioned the recently passed bond bill for the Soldiers Home in Holyoke while acknowledging calls for regional equity that nearly stopped the approval. Marinao promised more oversight for the home and for veterans services.

We simply cannot forget the tragedy experienced in the Holyoke Soldiers Home last year, where at least 77 resident deaths were linked to COVID-19, he said.

Mariano, D-Quincy, is new to the job, taking over from longtime Speaker Robert DeLeo in December.

The past year has been defined by tragedy, Mariano said. But we seem to be turning a corner. And we continue to be more hopeful for the future.

He was introduced by state Rep. Joseph Wagner, D-Chicopee, the House assistant majority leader.

The online event came just hours before Bidens first address to a joint session of Congress. Keynote speaker Ann Compton, longtime White House correspondent for ABC News, said the talk is not technically a State of the Union.

She shared her thoughts on presidential leadership, the history of presidential addresses to Congress and what Biden is expected to do.

Its about picking your fights, said Compton, the first woman assigned to cover the White House by a television network. Dont expect Biden to pick a fight with big pharma, and there wont be baby steps toward Medicare for all. But Biden will talk about infrastructure, defined broadly to include health care, child care and broadband internet access.

She cautioned not to pay too much attention to polls that gauge the presidents approval rating. Look instead at the question of whether the country is on the right track or the wrong track.

Most voters have not changed their mind about how the political divide in the county exists, she said.

Related content:
CANBERRA, Australia  An Australian driver who filmed four dead and dying police officers who had been hit by a truck on a freeway was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 months in prison for what a judge described as a heartless, cruel and disgraceful act.

The driver, Richard Pusey, 42, a mortgage broker, had pleaded guilty in a court in the state of Victoria to a rarely prosecuted charge of outraging public decency over his commentary in crash-scene videos he shot with his phone. It was the first time the charge had been prosecuted in the state since 1963.

The most serious charge against him was reckless conduct endangering persons, which could carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. But the judge, Trevor Wraight, sentenced Mr. Pusey to 10 months in prison, backdated to when he was arrested 296 days ago. While Mr. Puseys sentence is almost completed, he is likely to remain in custody for unrelated matters.

The police pulled Mr. Pusey over in April 2020 for driving a Porsche at 93 miles per hour on Melbournes Eastern Freeway. (The speed limit was 62 m.p.h.) They were considering impounding his car when a truck crashed into the officers, the Porsche and two police cars in an emergency stopping lane.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 02:54:03|Editor: huaxia

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RAMALLAH, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Palestine said on Tuesday that it is seeking more international pressure on Israel to allow its upcoming elections held in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian leadership will "hold a meeting on Thursday to determine the fate of the elections and reach a unified position," Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said.

Rudeineh reiterated the determination of the Palestinian leadership, particularly President Mahmoud Abbas, that the elections will not take place without East Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh said Israel officially informed them that its position on elections in East Jerusalem "remains negative."

In January, Abbas announced that the 2021 general elections will include the legislative elections on May 22, the presidential elections on July 31, and the elections of the Palestinian National Council, the highest decision-making body of the Palestine Liberation Organization, on Aug. 31.

The Palestinian leadership insists on holding the general elections in occupied East Jerusalem, as in the two previous legislative elections held in 1996 and 2006, and the 2005 presidential elections.

But so far, Israel has not given approval to Palestine's request to hold them in East Jerusalem. Enditem
2021 Lexus IS Review by Larry Nutson +VIDEO

Sporty and Suave

By Larry Nutson

Executive Editor and Bureau Chief

Chicago Bureau

The Auto Channel

Not to be hampered by the pandemic that has gripped the world in 2020, Lexus continues to roll out new and updated models. For 2021 the compact IS sport sedan gets a freshened exterior styling, a reimagined interior, retuned driving dynamics, more advanced driver-assistance safety features and an updated infotainment system.

The 2021 Lexus IS made its debut in a mid-2020 virtual reveal. Prior to my IS drive experience Lexus partnered with the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA), of which I am a member, and hosted a web-based MAMA eMeet to review key highlights of the new IS.

Lexus College Senior Analyst Chad Deschenes provided a product overview and fielded live questions. This was an all-important update for MAMA journalists since the 2021 Lexus IS is a candidate for MAMAs Luxury Family Vehicle of the Year award.

The IS has been a part of the Lexus model program for more than 20 years. Its the first step for many customers into the Lexus brand, priced slightly lower than the ES. For 2021 the IS lineup is a bit revised now with two trims: an IS 300 and an IS 350 F SPORT. Both trims are available in rear-wheel or all-wheel drive (AWD).

IS 300 is powered by a 241hp 2.0-L turbo four-cylinder engine. The IS 300 AWD gets a power boost with a 260hp 3.5-L V6. The IS 350 F SPORT is powered by a 311hp 3.5-L V6 in both rear-wheel and all-wheel drive setups. Rear-wheel drive models use an eight-speed Sport Direct Shift automatic transmission while AWD models send power through a six-speed automatic.

Performance is plenty adequate with a 0-60mph time for IS 350 F SPORT RWD of 5.6 seconds and IS 350 F Sport AWD of 5.7 seconds.

In developing the new(ish) IS Lexus engineers set an objective to offer both high-quality ride comfort as well as high-level vehicle control. The underlying architecture and body structure is where it all starts with enhanced body rigidity. Lexus says through hours of testing they achieved their goal to help reduce unwanted noise and vibration, improve riding comfort, driving performance and steering response.

Coined as the new Lexus Driving Signature, Lexus says it will be the new development standard that every model will reflect moving forward. Development is done at Toyotas Technical Center Shimoyama near Lexus global headquarters. The center includes a country-road test course based on the Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany, well known around the world for its grueling driving conditions.

On the outside the IS is lower and wider with a more muscular look all around. A new spindle grille, slimmer LED headlamps and DRLs, full width L-shape blade-style taillights and restyled rear fascia provide balance to the overall coupe-like design.

New are standard 18-inch wheels with optional 19-inch wheels. IS 350 F SPORT has 19-inch graphite alloy wheels as standard.

IS 350 F SPORT features a unique front bumper with functional aero enhancements, rear bumper, grille surround, rear lip spoiler, rocker molding, exhaust diffuser and badging. Unique F SPORT 19-inch wheels and larger 265/35R19 rear tires are fitted for added performance.

The interior cabin features standard NuLuxe-trimmed seating, 10-way power driver and 8-way power adjustable front passenger seats, a dual-zone automatic climate control system with touch-sensitive controls, and an available power moonroof. IS 350 F SPORT gets unique graphic patterns and interior trim.

The standard 8-inch or a larger optional 10.3-inch touchscreen are now more than 5 inches closer to the driver. Touchscreen functionality is a big improvement, while the touchpad is still also equipped. The new infotainment system also features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility plus Amazon Alexa integration.

The standard Lexus Safety System+ (LSS+) receives additions for 2021 in the form of the new LSS+ 2.5. A number of key features that are part of the LSS+ have been enhanced, along with the addition of a few new features. The Pre-Collision System, which include Frontal Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, Pedestrian Detection and Bicyclist Detection, features an enhancement to expand the response range. It is now possible for the system to help also detect a preceding bicyclist in daytime and even a preceding pedestrian in daytime and low-light conditions. At intersections, the system has improved recognition of an oncoming vehicle or pedestrian when performing a left-hand turn and is designed to activate typical pre-collision functions if needed.

More information and specs on the 2021 Lexus IS can be found at www.lexus.com. Pricing for the IS 300 begins at $39,000. IS 300 with AWD is $2,000 more at $41,000. The IS 350 F SPORT is $42,900 and $44,900 with AWD. The new IS is in dealers now.

For my drive experience I was behind the wheel of a IS 300 AWD finished in an attractive Grecian Water exterior with a Glazed Caramel interior trim. Overall I found the IS attractive to my taste with a well-grounded sporty and yet also premium look and feel both in and out. I prefer lighter tone interiors, so the Caramel was right to my liking. The V6 delivers decent performanceitll get to 60mph in 6.1 seconds. I didnt stretch things out, but Lexus says top end is 143mph. The front seats are quite comfortable and roomy. The rear seats 3-across, and that can be a bit tight.

I liked the overall compact exterior especially for negotiating city traffic. The trunk at 10.8 cu.ft. is good for two on a weekend getaway, but might be a challenge with more.

Lexus hit the mark with ride and handling. Theres plenty of fun to drive in the IS coming in part from new suspension components and reduced unsprung weight. I was pleased with the 235/45R18 tires fitted to this IS as they provide a good balance in ride comfort and handling. Lower profile 40- or 35-series tires get to be risky to puncture on worn city streets.

Optional navigation and Mark Levinson 1800-watt 17-speaker premium audio was fitted for $2,750. Comfort Package for $1,950 added heated leather-trimmed steering wheel, power tilt-and-slide moonroof, heated and ventilated front seats and black geometric interior trim.

The premium compact segment has some new entries such as the Cadillac CT4 and Genesis G70 as well as others from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. The refreshed 2021 Lexus IS is a viable consideration if you are shopping in this segment.

 2020 Larry Nutson, the Chicago Car Guy
Stung by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, small businesses have urged Finance Minister to review classification norms for and rationalise import duty on key raw materials such as iron and steel.

The Federation of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME) in its suggestions to the finance ministry has said that more than the requirement of additional funds, the greatest need that has emerged is the flexibility in assigning non-performing assets (NPAs).

The industry body has said the framework to classify accounts under Special Mention Account (SMA) framework has been devised for normal times, and should be revised for pandemic-hit years. Accounts are classified as SMA-0 if principal and interest is overdue between 1 to 30 days; SMA-1 and SMA-2 if repayment is overdue between 31 to 60 days, and 61 to 90 days, respectively.

A revision is needed because payment cycles are longer now and markets have been disrupted because of lockdowns, the industry body said. Banking cannot be just excel-sheet based; the system ought to provide much needed flexibility to the banker so that these facts could be factored in, FISME said in the letter to Sitharaman on Tuesday.

Small businesses have also sought a legislation providing protection from prosecution due to non-compliance during the pandemic up to March 31, 2022. The ratings of such businesses should also not be affected during the period, it said. Government needs to convey down its rank and file that no should be shut due to compliance-related rigidity," it said.

The umbrella body of small businesses has also suggested that import duty on key raw materials such as iron, steel, copper, aluminium and polymers should be rationalised as domestic producers have been unethically raising prices for the past six months. Close monitoring of prices of top 10 raw material should also be done by secretaries of key economic ministries. Sitharaman has been meeting industry associations over the last one week to discuss the disruptions caused by the second wave, and had sought their inputs.

The finance ministry has at the moment ruled out any fiscal stimulus for the industry.

Last years nationwide lockdown severely impacted small businesses, as they struggled with job loss and liquidity crunch. Thereafter, the government announced a slew of measures for MSMEs, including a ~3 trillion government-backed loan scheme. The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme was recently extended up to June 30 or until disbursement of ~3 trillion is complete.

While the economic situation is not as severe at the moment, there has been some disruption because of localised curbs across states such as Maharashtra.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies with a few showers after midnight. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies with a few showers after midnight. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Chennai, April 28 : Drone-as-a-Service company Garuda Aerospace starting from Wednesday will fly its drones spraying anti-coronavirus disinfectant to sanitise government hospitals and other public buildings in Bengaluru Central area as a social cause, said the top company official.

The company will also look at the possibility of flying Covid-19 vaccine vials using drones in Karnataka, he added.

Affected severely by coronavirus infection, Karnataka has gone under 14-day Covid-19 lockdown starting April 27.

"At the initiative of P.C.Mohan, Lok Sabha Member from Bengaluru Central constituency, we will be starting the Covid-19 sanitisation programme for three days- April 27-30- in Bengaluru as our social commitment without charging any service fee," Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Managing Director of city-based Garuda Aerospace, told IANS on Monday.

Jayaprakash said the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagra Palike (BBMP) has given the company necessary permission for drone based sanitization of public buildings and various hospitals.

He said the Bengaluru police too have given permission to spray anti-coronavirus disinfectants in some other areas in the city.

The Bengaluru Central Member of Parliament AMohan also wants to look at the feasibility of drone based delivery of Covid-19 vaccine and emergency medical supplies in government hospitals in Bengaluru.

Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted a conditional exemption to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for testing the feasibility of drones delivering vaccines, Jayaprakash said.

Last year when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in the country, the city based Garuda Aerospace bagged drone based sanitization orders from several municipal corporations and smart cities like Varanasi, Rourkela, Raipur, Chennai and Hyderabad.

The company also had bagged contracts from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana governments for spraying anti-locust pesticide in the state when there was locust swarm attack last year.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)
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Israeli authorities are committing crimes of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians, global advocacy group, Human Rights Watch, has said in its latest report.

The 213-page report released Tuesday said the term apartheid has generally been used in a descriptive or comparative sense in relation to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories and as a warning of what might happen if current trajectories with regard to Palestinians continue.

The organisation argued that based on existing international law, the overarching Israeli policy toward Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem constituted an agenda to both maintain Jewish Israeli domination and systematically oppress Palestinians.

The report said the threshold into a crime against humanity has already been crossed.

The Israeli government has demonstrated an intent to maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians across Israel and the occupied Palestinians territory, the report read.

That intent has been coupled with systematic oppression of Palestinians and inhumane acts committed against them. When these three elements occur together, they amount to the crime of apartheid.

The United States-based advocacy group also pointed to Israeli restrictions on Palestinian movement and seizure of Palestinian-owned land for Jewish settlement in territory occupied in the 1967 Middle East war as examples of policies it said were crimes of apartheid and persecution.

Across Israel and the (Palestinian territories), Israeli authorities have pursued an intent to maintain domination over Palestinians by exercising control over land and demographics for the benefit of Jewish Israelis, the report says.

On this basis, the report concludes that Israeli officials have committed the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution, as defined under the 1973 Apartheid Convention and the 1998 Rome Statute.

Israel has since dismissed the organisations report, calling it propaganda.

Human Rights Watch is known to have a long-standing anti-Israel agenda, actively seeking for years to promote boycotts against Israel, Israel foreign ministry said in a statement.

Their decision not to share this report for review or comment with any Israeli authority is clear indication that it is a propaganda pamphlet, which lacks all credibility.
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker minister of health of Armenia Anahit Avanesyan had a meeting with the representatives of the Office of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) in Armenia, the ministry told Armenpress.

A number of strategic directions, the programs to be implemented in 2021 were discussed during the meeting.

Starting from reproductive health to demographic issues, maternity-child mortality and other issues were touched upon. In addition, the sides also talked about the strategies which are under development stage.

In particular, Armenia will soon have a new strategy for reproductive health. Given the changes made in the sector, the caretaker minister said citizens, who want to use the medical aid provided by reproductive technologies, are a lot, and the government does everything for expanding the program.

She reminded that following the 44-day war in Artsakh, the families of fallen servicemen can also apply for the program.

As for the demographic figures, the caretaker minister said it was affected not only by the war, but also by the pandemic.

She highlighted the role of the vaccines against COVID-19 in order to be able to stop the spread of the virus and reduce the death cases.

The sides agreed to continue the cooperation in a number of strategic directions.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
OXFORD, England, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GEN inCode UK Limited, the cardiovascular disease company focused on predictive genetics for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, announces today a collaboration with Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals ("RB&H"), recently merged with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust ("GSTT"), to provide globally leading cardiovascular disease clinical genetic testing and reporting.

GEN inCode specializes in polygenic risk assessment for the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and hence the ability to help predict and prevent future cardiovascular events. CVD is a broad disease classification which encompasses conditions such as coronary artery disease (causing angina, heart attacks, heart failure), cerebrovascular disease (causing stroke, and some dementia), peripheral vascular disease (causing limb ischaemia, and some chronic kidney disease) and venous thromboembolism. CVD is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide accounting for 1 in every 4 deaths in the United States. By 2030 the global cost of CVD is set to rise from approximately US$863 billion in 2010 to US$1,044 billion and is both a major health issue and global economic burden.

GEN inCode will deliver a portfolio of polygenic CVD products and reporting systems via the collaboration. GEN inCode and RB&H will also jointly collaborate to develop new genetic CVD tests, based at the RB&H Genetics & Genomics Laboratory in London.

GEN inCode and RB&H have a vision to assist clinicians and inform patients in interpreting cardiovascular risk and to improve public health by using the predictive capability of genomics to assist in making lifestyle choices and targeting treatment to improve patient outcomes. Over the past 15 years GEN inCode has amassed significant investment in its research, bioinformatic data, technology and product development to assess disease risk to prevent the onset of CVD.

Matthew Walls, CEO, GEN inCode said: "We are delighted to announce our UK collaboration and honoured to work with such an expert team. We look forward to delivering an ever improving standard of patient care through the use of our genetic tests, and to supporting the RB&H and GSTT vision to tackle CVD."

Piers McCleery, director of strategy, RB&H hospitals: "We look forward to working with GEN InCode to develop new genetic tests that better assess clinical risk in patients across a wider range of cardiovascular diseases and conditions."

For more information visit www.genincode.com

Enquiries:

GEN inCode UK Limited

Tamsin Jeffs

Tel +44 (0)7800 903435

Royal Brompton and Harefield Clinical Group

Clare Elliott

Tel +44 (0207) 352 8121

About GEN inCode:

GEN inCode is a UK based company specializing in cardiovascular disease risk. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide.

GEN inCode UK Limited operates business units in Europe and Latin America through GEN inCode S.L.U, and in the United States through GEN inCode U.S. Inc.

GEN inCode's predictive technology provides patients and physicians with globally leading preventative care and treatment strategies. Our CE marked invitro-diagnostic molecular tests combine clinical algorithms and bioinformatics to provide advanced patient risk assessment to predict disease onset.

About Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust:

Royal Brompton and Harefield Clinical Group, part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust since February 1st, 2021, is the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the UK and among the largest in Europe. Clinical teams at the RB&H care for patients with a wide range of complex cardiac conditions including congenital (present at birth), inherited and acquired.

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) is one of the largest hospital Trusts in the UK. RB&H's Genetics & Genomics Laboratory provides specialist cardiovascular and respiratory clinical genetic testing as part of the South London Genomics Laboratory Hub consortium, which is led by GSTT. As a clinical group within GSTT, RB&H is also a member of the South East Genomic Medicine System Alliance.

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SOURCE GEN inCode UK Limited
SPRINGFIELD  Police are investigating the vandalism of a sign at a predominantly Black church in citys Liberty Heights neighborhood.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno issued a statement Wednesday afternoon calling the vandalism at Canaan Baptist Church of Christ despicable, and offering the citys assistance.

Absolutely, just plain terrible. What is wrong with our society to deface a House of Worship? Sarno said in a prepared statement. I denounce these actions and a message must be sent that the individual(s) who committed this most hateful crime, that this will not be tolerated and justice must be served.

According to police spokesman Ryan Walsh, the vandalism at the 1430 Carew St. church happened between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The suspects smeared black paint across both sides of a sign on the lawn of the church. One side is completely obscured; on the other side, paint covers the name of the church and partially obscures the name of the pastor, Rev. W. C. Watson.

The crucifix on each side of the sign is untouched, and no racial slurs, tags or other words were written. No damage to the church building was observed.

When The Republican visited the scene Wednesday afternoon, a Springfield police detective there looking at the sign. Two officers in a patrol car were parked in the lot.

Watson could not be reached for comment. No one answered at the church office.

The sign at the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ on Hobart Street in Springfield, April 28, 2021. (Don Treeger / The Republican)

Sarno said he has directed the police to review video feeds from the immediate vicinity in the hope of finding footage of those responsible. The church has multiple signs warning that the perimeter is under video surveillance, but it is not known if footage is available.

Although Sarno appeared to be calling the incident a hate crime, Walsh said for now, police are looking at it as an act of vandalism.

In late December, the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church on Concord Terrace was heavily damaged by fire. The church had seen a number of smaller fires in the previous weeks.

Earlier this month, Dushko Vulchev, 44, of Houlton, Maine, was charged with federal hate crimes in connection with multiple blazes that church. He is being held in custody while he awaits trial.
Photo: The Canadian Press Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was a lawyer for President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington.

Federal investigators executed search warrants Wednesday morning at the Manhattan home and office of Rudy Giuliani, former President Donald Trumps attorney, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The former New York City mayor has been under investigation for several years over his business dealings in Ukraine. Details of the searches were not immediately available, but it comes as the Justice Department continues its investigation into the former New York City mayor and staunch Trump ally.

Investigators executed warrants at Giulianis home on Madison Avenue and his office on Park Avenue and seized electronic devices, a person familiar with the investigation told the AP.

The officials could not discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. News of the search was first reported by The New York Times.

The federal probe into Giuliani's overseas and business dealings stalled last year because of a dispute over investigative tactics as Trump unsuccessfully sought reelection, and amid Giulianis prominent role in subsequently disputing the results of the contest on Trumps behalf.

The full scope of the investigation is unclear, but it at least partly involves the Ukraine dealings, law enforcement officials have told the AP.

Giuliani was central to the then-presidents efforts to dig up dirt against Democratic rival Joe Biden and to press Ukraine for an investigation into Biden and his son, Hunter  who himself now faces a criminal tax probe by the Justice Department. Giuliani also sought to undermine former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was pushed out on Trumps orders, and met several times with a Ukrainian lawmaker who released edited recordings of Biden in an effort to smear him before the election.

A message left for Giulianis lawyer wasnt immediately returned. Giuliani had previously called the investigation is pure political persecution.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan had pushed last year for a search warrant for records, including some of Giulianis communications, but officials in the Trump-era Justice Department would not sign off on the request, according to multiple people familiar with the investigation who insisted on anonymity to speak about an ongoing investigation.

Officials in the deputy attorney generals office raised concerns about both the scope of the request, which they thought would contain communications that could be covered by legal privilege between Giuliani and Trump, and the method of obtaining the records, three of the people said. The people could not discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

The issue was widely expected to be revisited by the Justice Department once Attorney General Merrick Garland assumed office. Garland was confirmed last month and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco was confirmed to her position and sworn in last week. The Justice Department requires that applications for search warrants served on lawyers be approved by senior department officials.

Although the warrants do not mean that charges are near or even expected, it nonetheless represents a significant escalation in the investigation and means that law enforcement officials have persuaded a judge that theres probable cause to believe a search of Giulianis property will turn up evidence of a crime.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Attorneys office in Manhattan and the FBI's New York office declined to comment Wednesday.
Burning funeral pyres are seen during a mass cremation for those who died from the COVID-19 at a crematorium in Delhi, India, on April 26, 2021. (Photo by Partha Sarkar/Xinhua)



Under great pressure from international public opinion, US President Joe Biden said on Monday the US is determined to "help" India. It's reported that more than 300 oxygen concentrators have been dispatched from New York on Sunday morning and are supposed to arrive in New Delhi on Monday. This was in sharp contrast with the US' negative attitude toward assisting India until last week.

US allies including the UK, France, and Germany also announced to offer assistance to India on Sunday, which left people with an impression that Washington has coordinated with them.

Many Indians are complaining that the US aid comes way too late and is more of symbolic significance. Several hundred oxygen concentrators are inadequate for India. What the country needs now are tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. The US will immediately deploy supplies and other assistance, including raw materials for COVID-19 vaccine, to India, the White House said, following a Sunday call between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval. But the US will still have reservations over the quantity of material exports, and the implementation process will face challenges.

Biden's approval rating stands at only 52 percent after almost 100 days in office, the third-lowest since tracking began in 1945, following Donald Trump and Gerald Ford. Biden is facing enormous pressure from the Republicans and some Democrats. "America First" has been deeply embedded into the values of the US and has become a red line that Biden dares not touch.

There are two reasons for the US' strategic selfishness. First, this is the inherent nature of the US system, which is prone to amplify individual selfishness rather than restrain and counterbalance such selfishness. Second, the US has become relatively weak, and it cannot meet its "leadership role." India is a country with an enormous population. In the long run, it will cost US much more to "lead" India than any of its other allies.

One unhealthy aspect of the global anti-pandemic fight is that science and humanitarian logic have failed to truly dominate the fight on the international stage. Geopolitical thinking has never been away from the fight. It has disrupted the pandemic fight from time to time, and even managed to play a dominating role at some moments. India has been struggling in a critical situation, but geopolitical clues are still evident in its epidemic-related information. This is regrettable. COVID-19 patients are dying in batches, but some people are still debating which country's assistance India should take and what it would mean for international relations in future.

Whatever happens, we hope India could curb its epidemic as soon as possible. Mankind is a community with a shared future when it comes to the fight against the pandemic. As India is a large country the raging epidemic in India inevitably means increasing risks for other countries and regions. How India can realize a soft landing with a lower death toll will offer useful experience for other developing countries.

The new coronavirus variant detected in India seems to be able to ferociously spread with the approach of summer, which requires higher international vigilance. India's tsunami-like COVID-19 wave warns us that fighting the coronavirus pandemic is a long-term "world war" and many unexpected new battlefields and new battles may await us. We can never let our guard down.

Countries with a strong capability to resist COVID-19 have to assume greater responsibility. It is vital that the US joins them. The US has made little positive contribution to the global fight against the pandemic. Lending a helping hand to India can be seen as the first US attempt to play such a role. We hope it will be Washington's turning point. The US has gravely dragged the global fight against the pandemic, and it is supposed to proactively make up for it.

Since last year, the novel coronavirus pandemic has hit many countries and regions in the world, resulting in unbelievable deaths and economic losses. But some countries are still building their national security in traditional ways. This is a strategic mistake, at least to some extent. Washington has played a misleading role in this regard. In other words, if the US is drunk, many other countries may not be able to remain sober. (Source: Global Times)


Former Minister for Central Region, Kwamena Duncan says President Nana Akufo-Addo must not spare any government official or member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) involved in galamsey to prove his commitment to the fight against galamsey.



Kwamena Duncan believed the President must check his backyard too to expose any person caught in galamsey business.



The President opened a national dialogue on small-scale mining, calling for a national consensus to stop the menace.



In line with the President's objective, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has embarked on a mission to address the problem.



He has pledged his full commitment to ending the menace.



On a visit to the Western Region, the Minister vowed to "stop the illegalities without fear or favour. No matter which political party is involved".



Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, Kwamena Duncan directed a message to the President.



"The President shouldn't spare any person. If his investigations expose that a leader of his party or government official is involved, he must kill him and save the thousand . . . if the President doesn't take such steps to protect our water and lands, I shudder to think about how the landscape will look like in the next 5/10 years. The possibility looms that, if we don't take the necessary measures quickly and save these things, it won't take long before we start importing water into this country," he told the President.



Kwamena Duncan was however confident that President Nana Addo won't shield any NPP folk, government officials, traditional leaders among others involved in illegal mining.



"I have huge trust in the President".





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Gloomy skies will stick around as the San Antonio area prepares for a cold front, bringing with it a potential for severe weather.

Rain chances ramp up today with a pretty good chance for some precipitation this afternoon and evening, National Weather Service meteorologist Monte Oaks told MySA.



San Antonio is at a marginal risk for severe weather on Tuesday. The greatest risk for severe storms is west of Bexar County.



But San Antonio isn't out of the woods for severe weather just yet.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Center Subaru, a full-service Subaru dealer located in Torrington, CT, has been acquired by GMST, LLC (Gengras Motors), a third-generation auto dealership owner group in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Heritage Capital Group, an investment banking and financial advisory firm with offices in Jacksonville, FL and Savannah, GA, acted as exclusive financial advisor to Center Subaru. Mac Holley, Principal and advisor to Center Subaru, commented, "Center Subaru had a strong market share and a long history in its area, with a solid reputation for customer service. The owner was able to achieve his goals in exiting the business he had built for many years, and I was honored to represent him in the transaction."

Center Subaru has been acquired by GMST, LLC.

Further details of the Center Subaru transaction are available here. Transaction multiples in this industry are largely brand driven, with average EBITDA multiples ranging from 8X - 10X for luxury brands such as Porsche, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW to 5.5X - 7X for Audi, Toyota, Honda, and Subaru to 3X - 4.5X for brands such as Chevrolet, Ford, Buick GMC, and Hyundai. Additionally, location, performance, and other factors can drive valuations above or below these averages.

Center Subaru was founded in 1989 and purchased by Phil Porter in 1994. Center Subaru offers a variety of new and used cars, trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles, as well as a service center that provides repairs, maintenance, inspections, and parts. The Company also offers financing and leasing services.

Gengras Motors is headed by brothers E. Clayton "Chip" Gengras Jr. and Jonathan Gengras. The Company began in East Hartford in the 1930s when E. Clayton Gengras opened his first Ford dealership. His son, E. Clayton Gengras Jr., opened a Mercedes dealership in 1970. Gengras Motors continues to be a family-owned and operated business with 13 franchises in eight locations.

Heritage Capital Group is a merger & acquisition advisory firm with offices in Florida and Georgia. It provides objective advice to private companies in the areas of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, exit planning, business valuations, debt and equity capital raises, corporate restructurings, and financial and strategic advisory services.

Media Contact

Katie Quackenbush

904-354-9600

[email protected]

SOURCE Heritage Capital Group
[April 28, 2021] Dtonic wins Korean region with spatio-temporal big data technologies, advances to SelectUSA Tech

SEOUL, South Korea, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dtonic, a member company of Born2Global Centre, specializing in work with spatio-temporal big data, will participate in the finals of the SelectUSA Tech pitch competition in the United States. On April 16, Dtonic won the Korea-region online round of SelectUSA Tech pitch competition, organized by the U.S. Embassy in Korea. Dtonic qualified for the next round of SelectTech pitch competition, part of the 2021 SelectUSA Investment Summit, to be held online June 7-11. Dtonic plans to showcase its technology to a diverse audience of more than 3,000 participants by means of an online exhibition booth through a virtual platform provided by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Marking its eighth anniversary, the SelectUSA Investment Summit focuses on connecting technology companies with key players in various ecosystems to support the entry of early-stage and emerging technology startups into the United States. Eight promising Korean technology companies, including Dtonic, were selected for the heated final round of the Korea-region online pitch competition, which took place before a panel of judges consisting of Korean-American venture captalists, incubators, and accelerators. Berkeley Skydeck Fund, Samsung Next, KID Venture Capital, Sumihiro Investments, and Korea Development Bank evaluated participants in terms of technology, suitability for the US market, and team composition. Participating companies also included SSenStone, Shin Starr Presents, Hylium Industries, DeepET, Grinergy, Microsystems, and Brilliant & Company.



Dtonic was recently selected for KIC Silicon Valley's Express Soaring 1 program, and is actively expanding into the US market by conducting market verification-based localization. In addition, its inclusion in GO AUSTRIA Spring 2021, an incubation program operated by Global Incubator Network Austria (GIN) has increased the visibility of its presence in European markets. Dtonic is also preparing to enter Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America through various joint projects, accelerator programs and venture capital investment, and arrange technology transfer with local companies. Dtonic is a big data company that deals with spatio-temporal big data. The company started as an in-house venture by Hyundai Motor Company and was spun off in 2014. It has successfully developed technology necessary to process spatio-temporal big data and is currently expanding into the field of smart cities.

Dtonic's technology Geo-Hiker resembles a boosting engine that helps speed up processing and analysis of spatio-temporal big data. It utilizes a top-notch indexing algorithm based on the spatio-temporal characteristics of big data. In addition, advanced data distribution technology is applied for optimal channel load between nodes to maximize data processing performance. This technology was introduced to Hyundai Motor Company and the Korean Road Traffic Authority and will be used in the Busan Eco-Delta Smart City and Bucheon Smart City Challenge projects as well as projects for autonomous vehicles and future mobility, smart factories, and smart farms. Spatio-temporal big data technology developed by Dtonic is regarded as the core of Korea's COVID-19 Epidemiological Investigation Support System (EISS), which played a pivotal role in the success of Korean quarantine. Today, EISS is being exported worldwide. This contribution by Dtonic proved excellence of Korea's quarantine system to the world. Yong-Joo Jun, CEO of Dtonic, said, "After Dtonic's win in the Korea region competition of SelectUSA Tech pitch competition, we will actively promote the application of our superior technology in a wide variety of fields around the world. Since participation in the competition serves as a promising opportunity for the global commercialization and localization of the work we are currently pursuing, Dtonic will continue our efforts to grow into more diverse areas." For more detailed information on Dtonic, visit www.dtonic.io. Media contact Dtonic: noora90@dtonic.io

Born2Global Centre: jlee@born2global.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dtonic-wins-korean-region-with-spatio-temporal-big-data-technologies-advances-to-selectusa-tech-301278631.html SOURCE Born2Global Centre

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Prayers are being requested for a Delaware cop as he fights for his life after being attacked by a man with bad record, a report said.

"Corporal Keith Heacook is a 22-year veteran and has been employed with our department since 1998. He is a husband, son, brother, and father. Keith is fighting for his life right now and he needs your prayers along with the elderly couple who were also injured," PIO Master Cpl. Gary Fournier said in a statement, as per The Blaze.

The Blaze reported that Heacook arrived at the Delmar's Yorkshire Estates community in response to an initial call over a fight involving Randon Wilkerson and other residents in a house. Wilkerson was said to be destroying the property when the initial call was made. A second call to the police was made when Wilkerson attacked the elderly couple living across the street.

A source told The Blaze that Wilkerson overpowered Heacook in a physical confrontation upon arriving and repeatedly hit him using the latter's baton which was missing from its holster. The bludgeoning caused a dent in Heacook's head, causing blood to be "everywhere," and leaving the officer unconscious.

The source also said one of the six witnesses present in the home saw Wilkerson "throat stomping" Heacook during the attack. However, the witnesses refused to report the matter and locked themselves in the upstairs room of the said house.

The Blaze added that according to their source, Wilkerson fled to the neighbor's home presumably in search of a gun to "finish off Heacook or perhaps confront responding officers" but didn't find one and instead went out the window of the second floor. The responding officers then located Wilkerson and took him "into custody without incident."

The second set of dispatchers, responding after Heacook missed the 10-minute welfare check, arrived and found him surrounded by a pool of blood. They assisted Heacook whom they found had "neither pulse nor was breathing" before the emergency medical services took over and brought him to the hospital. The elderly and his wife were also brought to the hospital after officers discovered them.

The Delaware Police said in a statement that Heacook was transported to TidalHealth, Salisbury beore he was transferred with police escort to Shock Trauma in Baltimore because of his "significant head injuries."

According to the police investigation, Wilkerson knocked on the back door of the elderly couple's residence and "was met by the 73-year-old male victim." Wilkerson assaulted the old man as he entered the residence using a "glass object."

He then went on to assault the 76-year-old woman "using the same object" before he left the house. The elderly couple "sustained significant injury" such that the elderly woman was later transported to Shock Trauma as well.

Wilkerson, the Delaware Police added, has been arrested and transported to Troop 5 in Bridgeville with the following charges: attempted 1st degree murder, 2 counts of 1st assault, 2 counts of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, 1st degree burglary, 3rd degree assault, and terroristic threatening. Wilkerson has already been arraigned at the Peace Court 3 and "committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on $451K cash bond."

The Blaze noted that, according to the source, Wilkerson had been arrested more than 30 times since 2010. A quick search in the Maryland Judiciary Case portal reveals that he'd been arrested at least 38 times in Maryland alone. These arrests were for "assault, burglary, theft, trespassing, and more."

"Members from the Delmar Police appreciate the outpouring of community support as we continue to move forward. We appreciate the support from the Delaware State Police, Wicomico County Sheriff's Office, Maryland State Police, and all other agencies who responded and are assisting with this investigation," Fournier added.

The unfortunate event comes at a time when police are suffering from a lack of funding. Prayers are requested for Officer Heacook.
Its been a turbulent few weeks for Larry Chen, a former school teacher from a poor Chinese village whos now one of the worlds richest people.

His online tutoring firm, GSX Techedu, has been battered in the stock market, tumbling more than 80 per cent since late January. Last month, the investor with the largest exposure to the shares - Bill Hwangs Archegos Capital Management - imploded when it was unable to answer margin calls.

Larry Chen is maintaining a cheerful outlook despite seeing his fortune plummet. Credit:AP

Short sellers including Carson Blocks Muddy Waters and others have been circling since last year, and GSXs latest financial results showed wider-than-expected losses. It faced a new barrage this month, with Grizzly Research issuing a report questioning the number and qualifications of teachers working for the company, and arguing that auditor Deloitte shouldnt give an opinion on the firms annual report.

Listening to Chen, who founded GSX in 2014, youd never guess his company is one of this years worst performers, or that his net worth on Bloombergs ranking of the worlds richest people has tumbled almost $US13 billion ($16.7 billion) to $US3 billion since its January peak.
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A grieving husband has been filmed carrying his dead wife's body two miles through the streets so she could be buried after she died of Covid.

The man, named locally as Swamy, was captured on CCTV with the body of wife Nagalaxmi slung over his shoulder making his way through the streets of Kamareddy, a town in southern Telangana state, on April 25.

Police at the local railway station, where she collapsed and died, gave the man money to pay for her burial but refused to touch her for fear of catching the virus - as did passersby along his two-mile route.

The man, who was also unwell according to local media, eventually reached the burial ground where his wife was laid to rest - though had to stop several times along the way to catch his breath.

The tragic scene unfolded as India's Covid cases and deaths soar, with 3,293 new fatalities reported today pushing the overall total above 200,000 - though analysts warn the true total is likely to be at least double that or more because up to 80 per cent of deaths in India are not officially registered.

The country also reported another 360,960 cases today, a new one-day record, as patients overwhelm hospitals and India's health system collapses with no end to the crisis in sight.

More video taken at a hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, underlined the severity of the crisis as it showed bodies lined up in the morgue awaiting identification by relatives so they can be taken for cremation or burial.

As India's woes mount, it was reported today that...

Delhi is converting dog crematorium sites to deal with human bodies in addition to public parks, car parks, and abandoned pieces of land as wood also begins to run short amid the wave of deaths

25,000 people bathed in the Ganges River Tuesday during the final day of the Kumbh Mela religious festival which was allowed to go ahead despite India's mounting case toll

India invited everyone over the age of 18 to book a vaccine, but the website immediately crashed as it got 270,000 hits per minute with 800,000 appointments booked in three hours

It was revealed that Adar Poonawalla, boss of the Serum Institute of India, has been given a government security detail amid fears he could be attacked over vaccine shortages as factories struggle to meet demand

Pakistan reported a record one-day Covid death toll amid fears the Indian variant has already spread to the country and medics warning 'we are the next India'

Nepal, also a geographical neighbour of India, reported more than 4,000 cases as infections rise rapidly and a number of cities prepare to go into lockdown this week

Pressure grew on India to halt Premier League cricket as it was revealed sportsmen are being offered jabs despite playing in 'Covid-secure' bubbles

A grieving husband was forced to carry the body of his wife for two miles through the streets of Kamareddy, a town in southern India, on April 25 after she collapsed and died of Covid and passersby were too afraid to touch her

The man, named locally as Swamy, was given money to cover the cost of wife Nagalaxmi's burial, but had to carry her to the local graveyard himself - despite being unwell

Video has revealed bodies piling up in a morgue in India as the country is battered by a second wave of Covid, amid warnings the country's death toll is a gross under-estimate

Footage shot at a hospital in Ahmadabad four days ago showed the morgue filled with bodies awaiting identification by relatives so they could be buried

India's official Covid death toll has topped 200,000 as the country is devastated by a second wave of virus, but experts have warned the true toll could easily be double that and perhaps up to five times higher (pictured a victim is buried in Delhi)

India reported 3,293 deaths from the virus on Wednesday and another 360,960 cases, both one-day records, as the current crisis shows no sign of slowing (pictured, a Covid victim is buried in Delhi)

The body of a Muslim victim of Covid is prepared for burial in New Delhi as opposed to Hindu victims, who are typically cremated in line with religious traditions

Bodies are lined up for cremation at a site in New Delhi on Wednesday morning as India's Covid crisis continues unabated

Hindu tradition stipulates that bodies should be burned within 24 hours of death, meaning crematoriums are now working overtime to deal with the wave of fatalities caused by Covid

Shashikantbhai Parekh, an elderly patient suffering from breathing difficulties, arrives at a hospital in Ahmedabad and is carried inside by medical staff

Nanduba Chavda sits in an ambulance as her husband adjusts her oxygen mask while waiting to enter a COVID-19 hospital in the city of Ahmedabad

India reported 3,293 new cases of Covid on Wednesday, a new one-day record, but amid warnings the true toll is likely far higher because the country only counts those who die in hospitals

India also recorded another 360,960 cases of Covid, also a one-day record, as Delhi's chief minister warned the wave is being driven by a 'supremely infectious' variant that causes more severe cases that last longer

India's Covid response: 1st wave vs 2nd wave India is suffering the world's worst second wave of Covid, driven by what the WHO says is a mixture of more infectious variants and government complacency. While India reacted to the first wave with a complete national shutdown and strict social distancing measures, mass gatherings and political rallies were allowed to go ahead even as the second wave of cases mounted. Here, MailOnline examines two very different responses that produced two very different results: 1st wave Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the country's first 'lockdown' - a request for everyone to stay at home for 14 hours - on March 22 as cases reached 100 with one death, but followed up with a mandatory nationwide shutdown just three days later as cases hit 600. All industrial activity was closed down with only essential businesses allowed to open and everyone told to stay in their homes, with measures initially due to last until April 14. The move caused chaos in a country that relies heavily on migrant labour, as millions of people fled cities for their villages in the countryside - some travelling for days on foot to get there. Modi subsequently extended the lockdown until May 3 with liquor stores allowed to reopen on May 4 - but they were closed just hours later after drawing huge crowds with police using baton-charges to disperse people. The nationwide lockdown was then extended, first until May 18 and then until June 4. A gradual unlocking process began June 5 and lasted through to the end of the year, with states slowly reopening their economies while trying to enforce social distancing and mask rules - though in reality many measures were abandoned sooner than scheduled. 2nd wave As many western countries experienced a second wave of Covid during the winter, the Indian government congratulated itself on what it called 'victory' over the virus, as cases and deaths continued to decline even with most lockdown measures lifted. Normal life was largely allowed to resume with mass political rallies taking place for elections due in March and April - some of which were attended by Modi himself. The Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela was also given the go-ahead, with millions of devotees gathering on the banks of the Ganges during four months of celebrations that began in January and lasted until this week. Crowds were also allowed back into sporting events, with England playing India in front of stands of maskless fans in January. In February, with infections at their lowest point, the ruling BJP party passed a resolution that declared 'victory' against Covid 'under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Modi'. But just days later, cases began rising again and have now hit record levels, accounting for more than 40 per cent of global daily totals. Despite the situation deteriorating throughout March and then rapidly worsening in April, it was not until April 15 that Mumbai declared a city-wide lockdown to try and slow the spread, with Delhi following suit on April 19. Several states - including Karnataka and Assam - have now applied Covid curbs to try and contain cases, election victory parades have been largely banned, and Modi has passed emergency orders to try and get medical supplies to overrun hospitals. However, there has been no talk of another nationwide shutdown even as the country's healthcare system all-but collapses due to the weight of cases. India appears instead to be relying on vaccines to get itself out of trouble, with appointments offered to anyone over the age of 18 starting today. But it will take months at least to inoculate enough people to reach herd immunity even if India - which produces most of the world's vaccines - can manufacture enough jabs for its 1.4billion population. In the meantime, doctors warn that packing people into vaccination centres is helping to spread Covid and that more measures are needed to stop the virus spreading. Advertisement

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejrilwal warned today that the wave is being driven by a 'supremely contagious' variant of the disease which is causing more severe cases of Covid that take longer to recover from, pushing hospitals past their limits.

It came as investigations by Indian newspapers at cremation grounds suggested the true death toll could be double the official figures due to under-counting by officials, a lack of tests meaning Covid deaths cannot be confirmed, and patients being left to die on the streets or at home without the deaths being medically certified.

One cremation ground in Bangalore recorded 3,104 cremations of Covid victims during March and April, the Times of India reports, but official government figures for the city only logged 1,422 Covid deaths in that period.

Another investigation by NDTV found that crematoriums in Delhi recorded 3,096 Covid cremations last week, while the official Covid death tally stood at just 1,938.

Bhramar Mukherjee, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, told the New York Times that his modelling suggests India's death toll is at least double the official tally, but could be up to five times higher.

Testing shortages, common in countries overwhelmed by the virus, are further suppressing the official count while The Telegraph reports that some states are not logging deaths as Covid-related if there is a comorbidity that contributed to the death.

'I can easily say that around 1,000 Covid-19 cases are getting funerals every day. This figure is seven to eight times higher than the official figures,' the manager of one crematorium in Delhi told the newspaper

In a frank admission to BBC Radio 4, Narendra Taneja - a leader in the ruling BJP party - said today that 'nobody knows' the true death toll in India, but denied the government is deliberately covering up deaths.

'In a country like India, a huge country, you can't hide a death in this country, if there is any mismatch that will come out,' he said.

In India, mortality data was poor even before the pandemic, with most people dying at home and their deaths often going unregistered. The practice is particularly prevalent in rural areas, where the virus is now spreading fast. This is partly why the nation of nearly 1.4 billion has recorded fewer deaths than Brazil and Mexico, which have smaller populations and fewer confirmed COVID-19 cases.

While determining exact numbers in a pandemic is difficult, experts say an overreliance on official data that didn't reflect the true extent of infections contributed to authorities being blindsided by a massive surge in recent weeks.

'People who could have been saved are dying now,' said Gautam Menon, a professor of physics and biology at Ashoka University, who said there has been 'serious undercounting' of deaths in many states.

India had thought the worst was over when cases ebbed in September. But infections began increasing in February, and on Wednesday, 362,757 new cases, a new global record, raised its total confirmed cases past 17.9 million, second only to the U.S.

Local media have reported discrepancies between official state tallies of the dead and actual numbers of bodies in crematoriums and burial grounds. Many crematoriums have spilled over into parking lots and other empty spaces as blazing funeral pyres light up night skies.

India's daily deaths, which have nearly tripled in the last three weeks, also reflect a shattered and underfunded health care system. Hospitals are scrambling for more oxygen, beds, ventilators and ambulances while families marshal their own resources in the absence of a functioning system.

Jitender Singh Shunty runs an ambulance service in New Delhi transporting COVID-19 victims' bodies to a temporary crematorium in a parking lot. He said those who die at home are generally unaccounted for in state tallies, while the number of bodies have increased from 10 to nearly 50 daily.

'When I go home, my clothes smell of burnt flesh. I have never seen so many dead bodies in my life,' Shunty said.

Burial grounds are also filling up fast. The capital's largest Muslim graveyard is running out of space, said Mohammad Shameem, the head gravedigger, noting he was now burying nearly 40 bodies a day.

In southern Telangana state too, doctors and activists are contesting the official death counts.

On April 23, the state said 33 people had died of COVID-19. But between 80 to 100 people died in just two hospitals in the state's capital, Hyderabad, the day before. It's unclear whether all were due to the virus, but experts say COVID-19 deaths across India aren't being listed as such.

Instead, many are attributed to underlying conditions despite national guidelines asking states to record all suspected virus deaths, including 'presumptive deaths' - those who likely died of COVID-19 but weren't tested for it.

For instance, New Delhi officially recorded 4,000 COVID-19 deaths by Aug. 31, but this didn't include suspected deaths, according to data accessed by The Associated Press under a right-to-information request.

Fatalities have since more than tripled to over 14,500. Officials didn't respond to queries on whether suspected deaths were now being included.

In Lucknow, officials said 39 people died of the virus in the city on Tuesday. But Suresh Chandra, who operates its Bhaisakhund electric crematorium, said his team had cremated 58 COVID-19 bodies by Tuesday evening, and another 28 bodies were cremated at a nearby crematorium the same day.

Ajay Dwivedi, a government official in Lucknow, acknowledged more bodies were being cremated but said they included bodies from other districts.

Last year, the Indian government used low death and case counts to declare victory against the coronavirus. In October, a month after cases started to ebb, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India was saving more lives than richer countries. In January he boasted at the World Economic Forum that India's success was incomparable.

At the crux of these statements was dubious data which shaped policy decisions and blindsided authorities.

Covid-ravaged India suffers an earthquake A powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Covid-ravaged India today, sending terrified residents fleeing as the aftershocks were felt for hundreds of miles. The US Geological Survey said the epicentre was in a hilly region in Assam state near India's border with Bhutan. There have been no reports of casualties so far, with residents saying the main human toll was stress, minor cuts and bruises. It comes as India is in the throes of a savage second wave of coronavirus, with more than 360,000 cases recorded on Wednesday as the death toll soared over 200,000. Fortunately northeastern India, where this morning's quake struck, has not yet experienced a widespread outbreak of coronavirus, being more sparsely populated than the central and western states. The quake was felt for hundreds of miles, as far away as the state of Bengal, as well as neighbouring Bhutan and Bangladesh. It rocked Tezpur, a city of 100,000 people, located just 28 miles from the epicentre. 'It lasted more than 20 seconds and we were really scared,' Tezpur resident Swati Deb Dey said. 'The walls shook as we ran downstairs and even outside the road was moving. Everyone is shocked,' she added. Advertisement

Information about where people were getting infected and dying could have helped India better prepare for the current surge, said Dr. Prabhat Jha, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto who has studied deaths in India.

This would have allowed experts to map the virus more clearly, identifying hotspots, driving vaccinations and strengthening public health resources.

'You can't walk out of a pandemic without data,' he said.

But even when reliable data is available, it hasn't always been heeded. With infections already rising in March, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan declared India was nearing the 'endgame.'

When daily cases were in the hundreds of thousands, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and other political parties were holding massive election rallies, drawing thousands of maskless supporters.

The government also allowed a Hindu festival drawing hundreds of thousands to the banks of the Ganges River to go ahead despite warnings from experts that a devastating surge was starting.

Many were already convinced COVID-19 wasn't very lethal since the death toll seemed low. These decisions, experts say, added to nonchalance as the nation let its guard down.

India's federal health ministry hasn't responded to queries from AP, and ministers from Modi's party deflected questions about death counts.

Manohar Lal Khattar, chief minister of Haryana state, told reporters Monday that the dead will never come back and that 'there was no point in a debate over the number of deaths.'

But Dr. Harjit Singh Bhatti, president of the Progressive Medicos and Scientists Forum, said undercounting deaths is a 'harsh reality.'

The Indian Medical Association in February said 734 doctors had died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Days later, India's health ministry put the number at 313.

'This is criminal,' said Bhatti. 'The government lied about the deaths of health workers first and now they are lying about deaths of ordinary citizens.'

An elderly Covid patient is given oxygen at a Sikh Gurdwara, or place of worship, in the city of Ghaziabad after hospitals overflowed and were unable to treat her

A woman suffering from breathing difficulties due to Covid waits to get oxygen at a Sikh Gurudwara in Ghaziabad

An elderly patient suffering with Covid lies in the back of a car as they are given oxygen by a Sikh worker at a Gurdwara in the city of Ghaziabad, India

Studies at cremation grounds in Delhi (pictured) and Bangalore found that thousands of Covid victims were being brought for cremation that are not being logged in official statistics

Cremation workers in Delhi prepare a body to be burned, with staff now working night and day in order to keep up with the demand. Hindu tradition stipulates that a body should be burned within 24 hours of the person's death

Crematorium workers in Delhi build makeshift fire pits on spare land next to a motorway in order to keep up with demand which has rocketed as the country is battered by a second wave of virus

Makeshift cremation pits are constructed next to a highway in Delhi, with public parks, car parks, and gardens all repurposed to deal with a mountain of bodies caused by the Covid pandemic

A mass funeral takes place for COVID-19 victims at a cremation ground in New Delhi

Relatives of Covid victims and crematorium workers stand by the smouldering remains of funeral pyres in New Delhi

Fears of Indian Covid variant outbreak in Leicester Three cases of the Indian Covid variant have been spotted in Leicester, sparking a testing blitz at a school to snuff out any potential cases. The strain, linked to an explosion in cases in India, has officially been detected 132 times in the UK but experts say there are likely hundreds more. Leicester's public health director Professor Ivan Browne said the Indian variant cases were all being investigated, isolated and contact-traced. Health chiefs have not yet ordered surge testing in the city because there is no evidence it is spreading in the community. Professor Browne said 'targeted testing' was being carried out at a local school 'as a precautionary measure'. The school has not been named and it is not known whether the cases of the B.1.617 variant are among pupils or staff members. Positive tests in a school may rattle health chiefs because it's likely the infected staff or pupils came into contact with other people. City council bosses said the people had travelled before India was added to Britain's red list on Friday, but they didn't specify whether they went to India itself. Number 10 has been heavily criticised for being too slow to adopt tougher rules. Leicester  which has repeatedly been a Covid hotspot  has the second biggest Indian community in England, with around 38,000 people making up 28 per cent of the city's population. Advertisement

In the capital, New Delhi, ambulances now line up for hours to take COVID-19 victims to makeshift crematorium facilities in parks and parking lots, where bodies burned on rows of funeral pyres.

Coronavirus sufferers, many struggling for breath, flocked to a Sikh temple on the city's outskirts, hoping to secure some of its limited supplies of oxygen.

Hospitals in and around the Indian capital said oxygen remains scarce, despite commitments to step up supplies.

'We spend the day lowering oxygen levels on our ventilators and other devices as our tanks show alarmingly dipping levels,' Dr Devlina Chakravarty, the managing director of the Artemis hospital in the suburb of Gurgaon, wrote in the Times of India newspaper.

'We make hundreds of calls and send messages every day to get our daily quota of oxygen.'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejrilwal said people were falling sick more severely and for longer periods, stacking up the pressure. 'The current wave is particularly dangerous,' he said.

'It is supremely contagious and those who are contracting it are not able to recover as swiftly. In these conditions, intensive care wards are in great demand.'

Police said a fire early on Wednesday at a hospital on the outskirts of the financial capital of Mumbai killed four people and injured several more.

Accidents at hospitals have become a special concern as India runs short of beds and oxygen supplies. Last week a fire at a hospital treating COVID-19 patients and a leaking oxygen tank at another killed 22 people.

Meanwhile in neighbouring Pakistan, authorities reported 201 deaths from coronavirus, the country's highest single-day toll of the pandemic so far.

According to National Command and Control Center, 5,292 new cases were also reported in the past 24 hours.

Officially, Pakistan has no cases of the Indian variant but testing in the country is limited, meaning it could have crossed the border undetected.

Nervous ministers have therefore put in place tough new measures such as a 6pm curfew and mandatory mask wearing in an attempt to prevent the scenes in India being repeated.

Pakistan is also planning a lockdown in the worst-hit cities in the first week of May.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has resisted demands for a nationwide lockdown, citing its economic impact, but he has also warned that he will be forced to impose a lockdown if people do not stop violating social distancing rules.

Back in Delhi, supplies of foreign aid have begun arriving including ventilators and oxygen concentrators from Britain, with more sent from Australia, Germany and Ireland.

'First shipment of oxygen generators from #Taiwan to #India is leaving this week,' Kolas Yotaka, a spokeswoman for Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, said on Twitter. 'We are all in this together.'

Prime Minister Modi said he had spoken to Russia's President Putin over the phone on Wednesday, and the Russian leader had promised to deliver aid.

Prince Charles calls on world leaders to 'help India' Prince Charles has called on world leaders to 'help India' as he said he was 'deeply saddened' by photographs revealing the toll of coronavirus on the country. Heir to the throne Charles said the British Asian Trust, which he founded in 2007, has launched an Oxygen For India emergency appeal. It will raise funds for oxygen concentrators to be sent to the hospitals and patients most in need. Photographs showing the devastating impact of the disease in India in recent days revealed how crematoriums are so overrun officials have taken to burning bodies using funeral pyres. The prince said: 'Like many others, I have a great love for India and have enjoyed many wonderful visits to the country. Indian aid and ingenuity has been a support to other countries through this immensely difficult time. 'As India has helped others, so now must we help India.' He said those suffering from the disease in India were in his 'thoughts and prayers', adding: 'Together, we will win this battle.' Advertisement

'Vladimir Putin expressed words of support to Narendra Modi in this difficult period in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus infection and informed him about the decision to provide India with emergency humanitarian aid,' the Kremlin said in a statement.

It added that the Russian deliveries will include '20 units of equipment for the production of oxygen, 75 artificial lung ventilation devices, 150 medical monitors and 200,000 packages of medicines'.

The Kremlin said Modi 'warmly thanked the President of Russia for the assistance provided, which is largely of a high-tech nature and is in great demand in the country'.

The Russian news agency RIA Novosti cited the trade and industry ministry as saying that the 200,000 medicine packages would be favipiravir, an antiviral medication.

The news agency also cited the emergencies ministry as saying that two transport planes would carry the 'more than 22 tonnes (48,500 pounds) of medical equipment' from Russia to India.

Several countries have suspended flights from India, among measures to keep out more virulent variants of the virus.

Credit rating agency S&P Global said India's second wave of infections could impede its economic recovery and expose other nations to further waves of outbreaks.

The Asia-Pacific region, in particular, was susceptible to contagion from the highly infectious variants in India, given the region's low ratios of vaccination, it added.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he had spoken at length with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on issues such as when the United States would be able to ship vaccines to the South Asian nation, and added that it was his clear intention to do so.

'I think we'll be in a position to be able to share, share vaccines, as well as know-how, with other countries who are in real need. That's the hope and expectation,' he told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

Relatives carry a woman who fainted after seeing the body of her husband at a government COVID-19 hospital in Ahmedabad

Health workers attend to a colleague who fainted due to exhaustion and long working hours at a COVID-19 testing center in New Delhi, India

A health worker gives cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a COVID-19 patient waiting to be attended to inside an ambulance outside a government COVID-19 hospital in Ahmedabad

Shruti Saha, who had been waiting since Tuesday night for her turn to get oxygen at a refilling centre in Delhi, is informed that she has died before she could reach the front of the line

A woman and her son arrive at a Delhi oxygen refilling centre to get a tank topped up for their sick relative

A municipal official, right in blue, reprimands a restaurant owner, in white for not adhering to guidelines during a lockdown imposed due to rising number of COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru

The U.S. State Department's coordinator for global COVID-19 response, Gayle Smith, warned that India's challenge called for a sustained effort: 'We all need to understand that we are still at the front end of this. This hasn't peaked yet.'

Anthony Facui, the top US infectious disease expert, also warned today that wealthy countries need to do more to protect countries such as India - and that leaders had failed to mount a global response to the pandemic.

'The only way that you're going to adequately respond to a global pandemic is by having a global response, and a global response means equity throughout the world,' he said.

Facui spoke as America works to divvy up a stockpile of some 60million AstraZeneca vaccines that it likely will not use between developing nations, with India thought to be the priority.

Asked today whether the UK will be giving any vaccines to India, transport secretary Grant Shapps refused to say, but added that the situation in the country is 'horrific' and Britain is looking at ways to help.

Meanwhile the Prince of Wales sent a message to the people of India, saying he is 'deeply saddened by the tragic images we have all seen as Covid-19 takes its horrific toll'.

Heir to the throne Charles said the British Asian Trust, which he founded in 2007, has launched an Oxygen For India appeal to raise funds for oxygen concentrators to be sent to the hospitals and patients most in need.

The prince said: 'Like many others, I have a great love for India and have enjoyed many wonderful visits to the country. Indian aid and ingenuity has been a support to other countries through this immensely difficult time.

'As India has helped others, so now must we help India.'

He added: 'I would also want those suffering the effects of this pandemic in India to know that they are in my thoughts and prayers. Together, we will win this battle.'
Prince Charles has called on world leaders to 'help India' as he said he was 'deeply saddened' by photographs revealing the toll of coronavirus on the country.

Heir to the throne Charles said the British Asian Trust, which he founded in 2007, has launched an Oxygen For India emergency appeal.

It will raise funds for oxygen concentrators to be sent to the hospitals and patients most in need.

Photographs showing the devastating impact of the disease in India in recent days revealed how crematoriums are so overrun officials have taken to burning bodies using funeral pyres.

The prince said: 'Like many others, I have a great love for India and have enjoyed many wonderful visits to the country. Indian aid and ingenuity has been a support to other countries through this immensely difficult time.

Heir to the throne Charles (pictured) said the British Asian Trust, which he founded in 2007, has launched an Oxygen For India emergency appeal

Health workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE ) attends to Covid-19 patients inside a banquet hall temporarily converted into a covid care centre in New Delhi today

'As India has helped others, so now must we help India.'

He said those suffering from the disease in India were in his 'thoughts and prayers', adding: 'Together, we will win this battle.'

The country reported 3,293 deaths from the virus on Wednesday, pushing its overall toll from 197,894 to 201,187 - the world's fourth highest after the US, Brazil and Mexico - and logged 360,960 new cases, both record figures.

But investigations by Indian newspapers at cremation grounds around the country suggest the true death toll could be double that, because the official figure only includes those who die in hospitals - which are currently overwhelmed, leaving patients to die at home or in the streets.

Bodies of Covid-19 victims lined up before cremation in New Delhi today

India also recorded another 360,960 cases of Covid, also a one-day record, as Delhi's chief minister warned the wave is being driven by a 'supremely infectious' variant that causes more severe cases that last longer

India reported 3,293 new cases of Covid on Wednesday, a new one-day record, but amid warnings the true toll is likely far higher because the country only counts those who die in hospitals

One cremation ground in Bangalore recorded 3,104 cremations of Covid victims during March and April, the Times of India reports, but official government figures for the city only logged 1,422 Covid deaths.

Another investigation by NDTV found crematoriums in Delhi recorded 3,096 Covid cremations last week, while the official Covid death tally stood at just 1,938.

Bhramar Mukherjee, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, told the New York Times his modelling suggests India's death toll is at least double the official tally, but could be up to five times higher.

Meanwhile, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejrilwal warned today the wave is being driven by a 'supremely contagious' variant of the disease which is causing more severe cases of Covid that take longer to recover from, pushing hospitals past their limits.

Nanduba Chavda sits in an ambulance as her husband adjusts her oxygen mask while waiting to enter a COVID-19 hospital in the city of Ahmedabad

Cremation workers in Delhi prepare a body to be burned, with staff now working night and day in order to keep up with the demand. Hindu tradition stipulates that a body should be burned within 24 hours of the person's death

Studies at cremation grounds in Delhi (pictured) and Bangalore found that thousands of Covid victims were being brought for cremation that are not being logged in official statistics

Testing shortages, common in countries overwhelmed by the virus, are further suppressing the official count while The Telegraph reports that some states are not logging deaths as Covid-related if there is a comorbidity that contributed to the death.

'I can easily say that around 1,000 Covid-19 cases are getting funerals every day. This figure is seven to eight times higher than the official figures,' the manager of one crematorium in Delhi told the newspaper

In a frank admission to BBC Radio 4, Narendra Taneja - a leader in the ruling BJP party - said today that 'nobody knows' the true death toll in India, but denied the government is deliberately covering up deaths.

'In a country like India, a huge country, you can't hide a death in this country, if there is any mismatch that will come out,' he said.

In the capital, New Delhi, ambulances lined up for hours to take COVID-19 victims to makeshift crematorium facilities in parks and parking lots, where bodies burned on rows of funeral pyres.

Coronavirus sufferers, many struggling for breath, flocked to a Sikh temple on the city's outskirts, hoping to secure some of its limited supplies of oxygen.

Hospitals in and around the Indian capital said oxygen remains scarce, despite commitments to step up supplies.
STANTON  President Biden recently stopped the Wuhan probe into what caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Why would he do that unless he was trying to cover up the cause? It is widely known that the Bidens profited heavily from their financial dealings in China and elsewhere during Joes vice presi
Kerala: Association seeks ministers help to locate boat

April 28,2021 | Source: The Times of India

All-India deep-sea fishermens association has sought the external affairs ministers help to locate a fishing vessel from Tamil Nadu named Mercedes, which reportedly capsized after colliding with a large ship on midnight of April 23. Mercedes had ventured for deep sea operations from Kanyakumari and is said to have collided 600 nautical miles off Goas coast. It is feared that 11 crew members, along with owner Joseph Frangline, have drowned. The vessel had sent an SOS to another boat Peirya Nayahi which found the wreck close to Oman. Since the incident happened 600 nautical miles away from Indian coast, the search and rescue operation is difficult from the Indian side. Though a coast guard vessel Samudra Prahari is already engaged in rescue operation, that vessel has not yet reached the spot. We request Indian government to seek air support from the Navy for rescue. The ship which hit the fishing vessel should be identified, said Charles George, president of the association. Though the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was approved by India as a signatory, and Indian Maritime Zone Act was enacted in 1981, law and rules for fishing in Indian EEZ and areas beyond natural jurisdiction and adjacent areas have not been implemented. It should be done at the earliest and it should protect the fishing right of fish workers, the association said.

 2021 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
(SII) -- the maker of the most used COVID-19 vaccine in the country -- on Wednesday announced a cut in price of the jab it plans to sell to states to Rs 300 per dose from the earlier Rs 400.

This follows widespread criticism of its pricing policy as it has sold the initial doses of Covishield to the central government at Rs 150 per dose.

SII's CEO Adar Poonawalla took to Twitter to announce the "philanthropic" gesture.

"As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of @SerumInstIndia, I hereby reduce the price to the states from Rs 400 to Rs 300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives," he said.

According to official sources, the central government on Monday had asked SII and Bharat Biotech to lower the prices of their COVID-19 vaccines amid criticism from various states who accused the companies of profiteering during such a major crisis.

The issue of vaccine pricing was discussed at a meeting chaired by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba.

Many states have objected to the different prices for the vaccines.

Last week, SII had defended the pricing of the Covishield vaccine, saying the earlier price was based on advance funding and now it has to invest in scaling up and expanding capacity to produce more shots.

The company, which manufactures the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine at Pune, had on April 21 announced a price of Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals and at Rs 400 for state governments and for any new contract by the central government.

"The current situation is extremely dire, the virus is constantly mutating while the public remains at risk. Identifying the uncertainty, we have to ensure sustainability as we must be able to invest in scaling up and expanding our capacity to fight the pandemic and save lives," the company had earlier said.

The government last week waived basic customs duty on import of COVID vaccines, medical grade oxygen and related equipment for three months.

India has announced expansion of its COVID-19 vaccination drive by allowing its large 18-plus population to get inoculated from May 1.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at the government over the "high" COVID vaccine prices, saying the system has once again failed Indian citizens.

"People's money was given to vaccine companies to develop COVID vaccines. Now, GOI will make the same people pay the highest price in the world for these vaccines," he alleged on Twitter.

"Once again, the failed 'system' fails our citizens for Modi-mitrs' profit," he said.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also lamented that only 2.36 crore people have been fully vaccinated in the country.

"In January 2021, the Modi government set a target of vaccinating 30 crore Indians by August 2021. While 12.12 crore have received 1 dose of vaccine, ONLY 2.36 crore are FULLY vaccinated. That's around 8 percent.

"Increasing vaccine supply and rate of vaccination must be of HIGHEST priority, and is a huge collective enterprise," Ramesh said on Twitter.

(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's Coronavirus Deaths has been devastating as it claimed more than 200,000 lives on Wednesday, a day of death. Problems with respirators, medical supplies, and fewer medical professionals as infection increased.

India's coronavirus deaths have been terrible

For the past week, at least 300,000 people tested positive for the second wave of outbreaks, disrupting health services and cremations and sparking an increasingly urgent international reaction, reported Reuters.

The world's largest single-day total of 360,960 infections were reported was documented during the last 24 hours, taking India's total number of infections to nearly 18 million. It was also the worst day so far, with 3,293 fatalities increasing the total number of people killed to 201,187.

However, observers suggest the official count significantly downplays the actual toll in a population of nearly 1.35 billion people.

According to Udaya Regmi, the South Asia head of the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and Red Crescent Societies, a crucial phase of the pandemic is underway. It needs vaccines made available for all adults as soon as possible, said the Red Cross.

He mentioned the ethical and public health imperative that is important. Saying the variants are increasing and spreading, this pandemic is not done, and the world is not safe yet.

Ambulances queued for hours in New Delhi's capital to move COVID-19 victims' bodies to temporary cremations in parks and parking lots, where they would be burned on rows of funeral pyres.

"Each day, we make lots of calls and make calls to get our daily supply of oxygen for India's coronavirus deaths, "wrote Dr. Devlina Chakravarty of the Artemis hospital in Gurgaon's suburbs in the Times of India.

Pfizer Reports Counterfeit COVID Vaccines Discovered in Mexico and Poland

Coronavirus patients, many of whom were struggling to breathe, rushed to a Sikh temple on the outskirts of the city in the hopes of getting some of the temple's scant oxygen supply.

She said that hospitals in and around the Indian capital have less than the oxygen supply needed for patients. There is an effort to get more supplies instead of the shortage.

According to Manish Prakash, the chief executive of Mayom hospital said that no more are admitted as patients if they cannot bring oxygen cylinders or concentrators with them.

People have become unhealthier and for extended periods, said the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, contributing to the pressure to cure them.

He called the current out the deadliest yet to strike India and taking many lives in its wake.

Arvind Kejriwal remarked that it is very infectious, and patients cannot recover quickly, with the lack of proper health wards worsens everyone.

Supplies arriving to support New Delhi in their deadly outbreak are ventilators and oxygen concentrators from the United Kingdom, assistance from Australia, Germany, and Ireland, and oxygen cylinders and medical supplies from Singapore and Russia.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-spokeswoman, wen's Kolas Yotaka, remarked on Twitter, said that the firsts shipment of Taiwanese oxygen generators for India is leaving this week. She added that Taiwan stands with India in its deadliest hour.

"We remain willing to donate extra medical supplies, too," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Twitter after promising $10 million.

In their darkest hour, India's coronavirus deaths are getting international help as COVID-19 ravages another country.

Taiwan Fights China Using Vaccine Diplomacy to Isolate the Island

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Foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Tuesday agreed to deepen cooperation as South Asian countries are facing a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.



Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted a video conference with his five counterparts, discussing efforts to consolidate anti-coronavirus cooperation including vaccine supply, to boost post-epidemic economic recovery, and to maintain sound international environment for the development of all countries.

China expresses deep sympathy for the raging pandemic in India and extends its sincere condolences to the Indian people, Wang said.

"China is ready to provide support and assistance to the Indian people at any time according to the needs of India," Wang said.

He expressed the hope that Tuesday's meeting, to which India was also invited, will act as the assistance to India's fight against the pandemic.

"China will uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity, stand firmly with the people of South Asian countries, and join hands and unite until all countries in the region eventually prevail over the pandemic," Wang said.

Calling on the six countries to consolidate consensus on cooperating in the fight against COVID-19, Wang said the countries should continue to oppose attempts of labeling the virus and politicizing the epidemic, in order to prevent interference in international anti-epidemic cooperation.

China is willing to promote vaccine cooperation with other countries through flexible methods such as free aid, commercial procurement, and filling and production of vaccines, under the framework of the six-nation cooperation mechanism, so that people in South Asia can obtain more diversified and stable vaccine supplies, according to Wang.

He said China is also willing to establish a China-South Asia emergency supplies reserve following friendly consultations with all parties.

On boosting the post-epidemic recovery, Wang said China proposes to establish a China-South Asia poverty reduction and development cooperation center to exchange experiences in poverty reduction with other countries.

In the third quarter of this year, a forum on rural e-commerce and poverty reduction in South Asian countries and China will be held to build a new platform for poverty reduction, he said.

Calling on all parties to maintain an international and regional environment that is conducive to the development of all countries, Wang said China will work with countries in the region to defend the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international laws, and to resist illegal acts of interfering in other countries' internal affairs and coercing other countries to choose sides.

Wang's proposals were supported by the other foreign ministers, who said that vaccines should be distributed under the principle of fairness and equality, instead of being monopolized by a few countries.

They spoke highly of China's efforts in achieving availability and affordability of vaccines in developing countries.

The foreign ministers said their countries are willing to work with China to continue to deepen the joint construction of the Belt and Road, maintain the stability and security of the industrial and supply chains, strengthen cooperation in non-traditional security areas such as poverty reduction and food, and discuss measures to facilitate personnel exchange and commodity circulation based on the regular epidemic prevention and control.

The six foreign ministers issued a joint statement on cooperation in fighting the epidemic after the meeting.
JUDGE ORDERS DISTRICT ATTORNEY REMOVED FROM OFFICE

District Attorney Greg Newman testifies during a hearing on whether he is removed from office. [AMY McCRAW/Hendersonville Lightning]

A Superior Court judge on Tuesday ordered District Attorney Greg Newman removed from office, finding grounds for his ouster in separate cases of misconduct presented in a three-day hearing two weeks ago.

In a 30-page order filed with the Henderson County Clerk of Superior Court, Judge Robert C. Ervin of Burke County spelled out 378 points from the inquiry and concluded that Newmans action warranted his removal under a state law governing a complaint filed with the Clerk of Superior Court to oust an elected prosecutor for misconduct.

Based on the foregoing finding of fact and conclusions of law, it is hereby ordered, adjudged and decreed that Gregory A. Newman is hereby permanently removed from office as district attorney and his salary shall be terminated as of the date of the filing of this order, Ervin wrote.

The inquiry covered three separate matters in which an independent counsel presented facts before Ervin April 12-14 in Henderson County Superior Court:

A plea deal Newman made that allowed James Sapp, a defendant charged with five child sexual abuse felonies, to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor in a brief proceeding that the victim was not made aware of. A complaint to the North Carolina Bar by the victim and her family resulted in a stayed order suspending Newmans law license for three years.

A 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.

Newmans dismissal of drug charges, while district attorney, in an unusual motion involving a former client when Newman was a defense attorney in private practice. A complaint arising from that case resulted in a Bar grievance and reprimand.

Citing state law and the removal of a district in the Wilmington area in 1995 that set state Supreme Court precedent, Ervin wrote that if the superior court judge (presiding over the inquiry) finds that one of the enumerated grounds for removal of a district attorney exists, he shall enter an order permanently removing the district attorney from office and terminating his salary. State law compels removal upon a finding of one of the enumerated grounds and leaves no discretion in this regard with the superior court, Ervin added, citing the ruling by the state Supreme Court that upheld the ouster of District Attorney Jerry Spivey. Removal is the only sanction available and is mandatory.

Ervin appointed James P. Cooney III and Emily Doll of Charlotte and Isaac N. Northup Jr. of Asheville as independent counsel. Newman was represented by David B. Freedman and Stuart L. Brooks.

Mr. Newman is honored to have served the people of Henderson, Polk and Transylvania since 2013, Freedman said. His office has done great things to ensure the safety of the people of the community and he looks forward to being able to help them in the future. As for an appeal, We have not discussed that.

Under state law, the judges order removed Newman from office immediately. Even if he appeals, hes removed this minute, Freedman said. If you appeal, you can try to get reinstated.

Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to appoint a new district attorney for Judicial District 29B.

In his order, Ervin presented findings of fact and conclusions of law in the three cases he had ruled in March found warranted investigation by the independent counsel and subject of a hearing.

In a March 17 order, Ervin limited the scope of the hearing to determine whether Newman had engaged in willful misconduct in office and whether he had engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the office into disrepute. Citing a court precedent that defined willful misconduct by a jurist, the judge said, Willful misconduct in office denotes improper and wrong conduct of a judge acting in his official capacity done intentionally, knowingly and generally, in bad faith. It is more than a mere error of judgment or an act of negligence.

In May 2015, a Henderson County grand jury returned indictments charging Sapp with rape of a child by an adult, sex offense with a child by an adult, and three counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. Citing what he described later as unusable evidence, Newman reduced the charge to one misdemeanor count of assault on a female, allowing Sapp to go free with no jail time and without registering as a sex offender. Evidence at the removal inquiry and last November at the state Bars Disciplinary Hearing Commission showed that Newman failed to notify the victim, Valerie Owenby, or her parents of the Sapp plea, depriving them of the opportunity to be heard.

Judge (Athena) Brooks would not have accepted that plea on that date if she had been advised that the victim wanted to be heard, Ervin wrote, citing the judges testimony at the inquiry. The court would not have accepted Sapps plea if the judge had been aware that the victim had not been notified of the hearing and wished to be heard by the court. Judge Brooks indicated that honesty and candor are very important and that judges assume that the information provided by court officials is truthful. Brooks noted that judges rely on attorneys appearing before the court to be truthful.

In addition to falsely telling Judge Brooks that his office had notified the Owenby family of the Sapp hearing and telling her that that they did not wish to be heard, Newman made false statements to the Disciplinary Hearing Commission in his response to the complaint filed by Oppie Owenby, Valeries father.

In connection with the Sapp case, Ervin said, Newman committed three separate acts each of which constitutes an independent ground for removal from the office of district attorney.

In the conflict of interest case, which resulted in a state Bar reprimand of Newman, Judge Ervin did not conclude by clear, cogent and convincing evidence that Newmans action in handling the motion for appropriate relief constituted willful misconduct. But he concluded that the district attorneys misrepresentations ... to the State Bar in connection with the investigation into the grievance did constitute willful misconduct and a fourth ground for removal under state law.

In the Schalow case, which involves a defense lawyers years long appeals based on double jeopardy and vindictive prosecution, Ervin cited legal errors Newman made in the filing of charges, alleged secret indictments Newman obtained in January 2017 and did not serve on Schalow for 14 months, a new round of indictments against Schalow that Newman obtained despite an appeals court order barring all further trial court proceedings while the case remained on appeal and extrajudicial statements made Newman made to the Hendersonville Times-News. Those facts notwithstanding, Ervin ruled that Newmans actions in the Schalow case did not constitute grounds for his removal.

Newmans attorneys argued during the inquiry that the complaint should be dismissed because voters had re-elected the D.A. in 2018, after some of the acts of misconduct had occurred. Ervin said that didnt matter because voters had no way of knowing about the state Bar outcomes.

No public records would have been available to the voters or Newmans opponent prior to the May 2018 primary to advise them that a false representation had been made to Judge Brooks, that Newman had failed to correct the false statement or that Newman had made false representations to the State Bar, he wrote. The voters of Newmans district should not be deemed to have condoned conduct of which they were unaware at the time of the May 2018 primary.

A district attorney, Ervin noted, serves as a servant of the law, who exemplifies fairness and equal justice under the law.

Newman, as district attorney, has on four separate occasions made false representations to the trial court or the State Bar, Ervin wrote at the tail end of his order. Testifiying on Newmans behalf, Sheriff (Lowell) Griffin admitted that if a law enforcement officer lied to the Court, his career would be over. It is difficult to see why Newman, pursuant to (state law) and the facts of this case, should be held to a lower standard.
A 20-year-old Tamaqua man has been charged with homicide in a stabbing case in Missouri.

The Phelps County Sheriffs Department said that Josue Martinez, along with Kimberly D. Riston, 29, of Banning, California, are charged with first-degree murder and other counts in the death of Donald Coy Wethy Jr., 36, of St. James, Missouri.

Both defendants are in prison without bail.

About 8:05 a.m. April 21, law enforcement officers responded to the Economy Inn Motel in St. James and found Wethy dead in the parking lot from apparent knife wounds.

An autopsy was planned, police said.

A short time later, an off-duty Phelps County corrections officer and her husband, a Sullivan police officer, got notification that police were searching for Martinez and Riston in connection with the homicide.

While driving on Highway 63 in Maries County, the couple saw the suspects walking nearby.

They reported the sighting and maintained visual contact until Missouri State Highway Patrol officers arrived.

Martinez and Riston were taken into custody without incident, the sheriffs department said.

Sheriff Michael Kirn thanked various police and emergency response agencies and the public for their assistance.

Without the dedicated law enforcement officers and citizens, these dangerous people would not have been apprehended so quickly, he was quoted in a news release.

The investigation is ongoing but information indicates that no one else was involved, according to the department.

A detective was not available Tuesday to discuss further details about the case.
Gurugram, April 28 : In order to meet the demand for liquid medical oxygen in private hospitals, the Gurugram district administration has asked all hospitals and nursing homes to fill up a Google form which appears on clicking the website covidharyana.in.

The district administration has clarified that efforts will be made to provide oxygen only to those hospitals and nursing homes registered with it.

An order in this regard was issued by Additional Chief Secretary T.C. Gupta.

The District Magistrate has appointed nodal officials at each hospital to monitor the Covid situation and from wherever there is a demand for oxygen it will be supplied as soon as possible.

At present, nearly 40 metric ton of liquid oxygen has been made available in the district while earlier it was only 20 to 22 metric ton. Small nursing homes and clinics have been advised not to admit serious Covid-19 patients. Only patients with isolation or care can be placed in such health facilities.

Gupta has formed a team of five officials which will assess demand for medical oxygen, its transportation and distribution. For this the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram Commissioner, Vinay Pratap Singh, has been appointed as the team leader accompanied by Additional Deputy Commissioner Prashant Pawar, Deputy Civil Surgeon Anuj Garg and Regional Traffic Authority Secretary, Dhaarna Yadav. Drug Control Officer Amandeep Chauhan will be the co-ordinator.

A buffer stock of 10 metric ton of oxygen will be kept in the district. A Magistrate has been posted at three centres for oxygen distribution -- Max Air, Star Gas and GK Papreja Oxygen.

"The hospital and nursing homes will update the number of beds for Covid-19 patients and fill up their data on covidharyana.in by 5 p.m. daily and if we find any negligence by the hospitals, its medical oxygen supply can be stopped or a limit can be fixed. This order will remain in force till May 31," said Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Yash Garg.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 13:12:39|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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SANTIAGO -- A total of 6,328,743 Chilean people have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine as part of the country's mass vaccination campaign, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.

The figure represents 41.6 percent of the target population of about 15 million that has been fully vaccinated, Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris said in a statement.

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SEOUL -- South Korea reported 775 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Tuesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 120,673.

The daily caseload was up from 512 in the previous day, rising above 700 in four days.

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LISBON -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced on Tuesday evening the end of the "state of emergency" on April 30, due to the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

"After hearing the experts and the parties in the Assembly of the Republic, all seen and considered, I decided not to renew the state of emergency," the head of state said in a speech to the nation.

- - - -

BRUSSELS -- Belgian Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden said Tuesday that a ministerial decree will be issued Wednesday banning travelers from India, South Africa and Brazil.

The decision on travel ban was made after the Consultative Committee met virtually to discuss the new coronavirus mutations emerging from the three countries, which are spreading at an alarming rate.

- - - -

QUITO -- Ecuador's Ministry of Public Health reported 554 COVID-19 infections and 83 more deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 375,329 cases and 13,281 deaths.

Another 5,108 deaths are considered to be COVID-19 related, but not verified, according to the ministry.

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UNITED NATIONS -- The president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, on Tuesday called for international aid to India in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, said his spokesman.

Bozkir was worried about the COVID-19 situation in India, a country that has done so much to ensure the distribution of vaccines to vulnerable countries, said Brenden Varma, the spokesman.

- - - -

LOS ANGELES -- Some medical supplies would be flown out from California Governor's Office of Emergency Services to India as soon as Tuesday in order to help the country to combat a devastating and fast-spreading surge of COVID-19.

According to a press release from the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday night, the supplies include 275 oxygen concentrators, 440 oxygen cylinders, 240 oxygen regulators, 210 pulse oximeters and one deployable oxygen concentrator system, which were all being tested, packed and prepared for shipment at state warehouse facilities.

- - - -

ANKARA -- Turkey on Tuesday reported 43,301 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,703 symptomatic patients, as the total number of positive cases in the country reached 4,710,582, according to its health ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 346 to 39,057, while the total recoveries climbed to 4,167,263 after 45,592 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours.

- - - -

KATHMANDU -- Nepal on Tuesday reported 4,524 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the third highest single day spike so far.

Of the total cases, 4,364 were confirmed through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests while 160 were confirmed through antigen test, according to the data released by Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population.

- - - -

ADDIS ABABA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,546,235 as of Tuesday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the 55-member African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic stands at 120,420, while 4,057,022 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease. Enditem
Sir Anthony Hopkins appeared over the moon as he celebrated his Oscars win for his role in The Father with friend Salma Hayek in Wales.

The acclaimed screen star, 83, couldn't contain his delight as he boogied in an extravagant home, before the Mexican-American actress, 54, joined him in a funny video shared to her Instagram account on Tuesday.

The director landed his second Best Actor In A Leading Role gong for his performance as a man with dementia in his latest drama film - although he was a no-show at Sunday's LA-based event and reportedly visited Greggs before his victory.

High spirits: Sir Anthony Hopkins appeared over the moon as he celebrated his Oscars win for his role in The Father with friend Salma Hayek in Wales

The film stars swayed to a track by the late Leonard Cohen before sharing a sweet hug.

Salma, who has been keeping busy filming scenes as jailed clairvoyant Pina Auriemma for House Of Gucci in Rome, wrote in an accompanying caption: 'Celebrating with the king @anthonyhopkins.

'His 2nd Oscar for his extraordinary performance in The Father Celebrando con el Rey #anthonyhopkins su segundo #oscar por su extraordinaria actuacion en El Padre #leonardcohen.' (sic)

It is unclear why she has travelled to the UK, but she and the Welsh thespian appear to have a close friendship - with the brunette supporting him as he received a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2003.

In his element: The acclaimed screen star, 83, boogied in an extravagant home, before the actress, 54, joined him in a funny video shared to her Instagram account on Tuesday

Beaming: The film stars swayed to a track by the late Leonard Cohen before sharing a sweet hug

They go way back! It is unclear why she has travelled to the UK, but she and the Welshman appear to be close pals (pictured at his Walk of Fame ceremony in 2003 with Jodie Foster)

The mother-of-one shares daughter Valentina, 13, with her fashion mogul husband Francois-Henri Pinault, 58. MailOnline has contacted Salma's representatives for further comment.

Sir Anthony plays aging Anthony, whose daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) attempts to help him with his progressing memory loss.

The producer, who scooped the same award for his performance in The Silence of the Lambs at the 1992 ceremony, skipped this year's show, held in Union Station, and didn't give his acceptance speech until waking up on Monday near Port Talbot.

A source told The Sun he ordered a 1.60 steak bake from Greggs during a tour of Wales last Friday.

A shop assistant from the Llantwit Major branch told the publication: 'He was outside the shop putting his face mask on before coming in, he looked straight at me and smiled. It's not every day you get to serve an Oscar winner.'

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Sir Anthony for further comment. In his speech, he paid tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, who many expected to win the gong for his performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Strong portrayal: The director landed his second Best Actor In A Leading Role gong for his performance as a man with dementia in his latest drama film with Olivia Colman (pictured)

No-show! The producer skipped this year's show, held in Union Station, and didn't give his acceptance speech until waking up on Monday near Port Talbot (pictured)

Speaking in a short clip surrounded by sprawling Welsh countryside, Sir Anthony - who became the oldest winner in history - said: 'Good morning, here I am in my homeland of Wales and at 83-years-of-age I did not expect to get this award.

'I really didn't. I am grateful to the Academy and thank you. I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman who was taken from us far too early, and again, thank you all very much.

'I really did not expect this, so I feel very privileged and honoured. Thank you.'

The TV and film star missed the Hollywood ceremony weeks after also dodging the BAFTA Awards, deciding to paint in his hotel room instead.

Sir Anthony only learned he had won Best Actor at Britain's top film awards because of yelling and banging through the walls.

Unforgettable: The thespian's win marks his second gong after clinching the same award in 1992, for his timeless role as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence Of The Lambs (pictured)

The performer said recently that his late father Richard, who had died in 1992, had inspired parts of his Oscar-winning performance.

Sir Anthony said of one scene where he rows with his daughter Anne: 'What struck me was my own father was in me. I'm always on to her, nagging at her (Anne).

'My father was like that as he was dying, because he was frightened. He was afraid. Not mean, just irascible, scared.

'And it's painful to see that. And you think of the hopelessness, the emptiness, the sadness of it all, and knowing none of us get out of this alive.'
COLUMBIA  The owner of a huge redevelopment site in Columbia's Vista is seeking to take on partners or sell some  perhaps even all  of the real estate.

The original $92 million redevelopment plan for the former Kline Iron and Steel site no longer fits the market, Greenville developer Bo Aughtry told The Post and Courier on April 27.

The plan for the seven-acre site at Huger and Gervais streets was unveiled in February 2020, just as the first U.S. cases of COVID-19 were being reported.

That plan was focused heavily on creating new office, hotel and retail space. With travel down and so many companies looking to have employees work from home even as the pandemic starts to ebb, that math has changed.

"Our master plan no longer feels viable to me," Aughtry said.

The Windsor Aughtry company is advertising for business partners that might want to work with them on the site or to buy portions of it for their own projects. That could mean a business partnership bringing other uses such as apartments to the site.

Essentially, Aughtry said, his company is trying to gauge what might make more sense for the site. His company generally does not create apartment buildings, he said, but that's a possible use that could make sense now.

The plan for the site in 2020 included at least one hotel in the first phase. Plans also included about 75,000 square feet of office space, 35,000 feet for commercial/retail development and a 307-space parking garage that was to be open to the public.

The location seems inviting for a new project at one at one of Columbia's key intersections yet it has sat empty for the past 15 years, with other efforts at projects there failing to come to fruition.

For decades, the site was home to Kline, one of the nation's top constructors of radio, TV and other towers, including the antenna atop the World Trade Center and the big sombrero at South of the Border in Dillon.

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The company also supplied steel for structural projects, including the BMW plant in Greer and Colonial Life Arena in Columbia.

After decades in family ownership, Kline was bought out by American Tower in the year 2000, and the plant closed in 2004.

Aughtry said his company still might oversee some or all of the project with a revamped plan, or it would sell the entire parcel for the right offer.

The company spent more than $5 million on the site and then saw the project grind to a halt for a year.

"We need to put it to use," Aughtry said.

While the changes in the real estate market are the main reason that Aughtry is seeking additional investors, he also said that Columbia's high property taxes present a challenge. When a Columbia project is debated, the tax rate often is the first question, he said.

"Property taxes in the city of Columbia discourage a lot of folks," Aughtry said.

The Kline site was competing against a number of new hotels planned in and around the Vista.

Other planned hotels announced for the Vista include: a 144-room Choice Cambria hotel under construction at the corner of Park and Lady streets; a 34-room boutique hotel announced for the former armory building on Assembly Street; two hotels planned near the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center by developer Ben Arnold  which includes a four-star, 11-story, 150-room property called Hotel Anthem; and a 130-room hotel proposed by Solara Hospitality at the corner of Huger and Senate streets.

A Holiday Inn Express also just opened March 10 near the Columbia Police Department's downtown headquarters.

Jessica Holdman contributed from Columbia.
A travelling New Zealand citizen who defied Perth's three-day lockdown and illegally flew home could be jailed for six months.

The man, whose identity is likely to remain private, could alternatively be fined $4,000 after boarding a flight from Perth during their Covid-19 community outbreak.

After flying to Sydney, he then flew to Auckland, eventually touching down on Monday, despite flights from the then-hotspot being banned in New Zealand.

The deliberate breach was discovered during routine passenger checks after the man arrived across the Tasman.

A man flew from Perth to Sydney before boarding a flight to Auckland, authorities have confirmed (pictured, other travellers in Sydney after the travel bubble opened)

The deliberate breach was discovered during routine passenger checks after the man arrived across the Tasman on Monday (pictured, a flight from Australia in Wellington on April 19)

The gentleman in question is now self-isolating, according to the New Zealand Herald.

'We have a role to play in screening passengers who are travelling to New Zealand,' Immigration NZ manager Peter Elms said.

'The first time we became aware we had an individual who had potentially breached the eligibility requirements was when he arrived in Auckland.

'As soon as we became aware of that, we took steps to notify the Ministry of Health and put the response into effect.'

Elms conceded there is an 'over-reliance' on people being honest when declaring where they have recently travelled - both to the airline and border agencies.

He then added that the man who flew into Auckland from Sydney after originally departing Perth had made 'deliberate changes' to his itinerary and is 'now subject to (pending) imposed penalties' from the Ministry of Health and NZ Police.

Speaking on Monday, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, NZ's Director-general of Health, confirmed the risk of infection from the person who travelled across the Tasman was 'relatively low.'

He also did not attend any of the identified hotspot locations in Perth.

The rogue traveller tested negative before boarding his flight to Sydney, and is now in a managed isolation facility in Northland, New Zealand for 14 days.

Perth and the Peel region went into mandatory lockdown last Friday for three-days at midnight after another man had contracted Covid in hotel quarantine at the Mercure.

He then moved around the community rapidly, unaware he was infectious.
Bangladesh, China agree to increase military cooperation

Xinhua) 10:04, April 28, 2021

Bangladesh's President Abdul Hamid (L) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe (R, Front) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 27, 2021. (Photo by Li Xiaowei/Xinhua)

DHAKA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's President Abdul Hamid on Tuesday met with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe here and the two sides agreed to advance the bilateral military cooperation.

During the meeting, Hamid said Bangladesh and China are time tested friends and reliable strategic cooperation partners, adding that his country attaches great importance to its relations with China and firmly supports the core interests of China.

The Bangladesh president called on both countries to strengthen coordination in international affairs and be committed to safeguarding regional peace, stability, prosperity and development.

Hamid said he hopes the two militaries will continue to strengthen their practical cooperation in various fields, pushing for greater progress in their relations.

He also expressed gratitude for China's strong support for his country in its development of economy and national defense.

Wei said during the meeting that China and Bangladesh have been friendly neighbors since ancient time and have a long history of bilateral ties, adding that presently, both countries are at a crucial time in national rejuvenation and development, enjoying a synergy between their development strategies and a broad prospect for cooperation.

Wei said that China is willing to work with Bangladesh to well implement the important consensus reached between their leaders to further develop the bilateral strategic partnership of cooperation.

With their cooperation being extensive, the two militaries should further increase the high-level visits, deepen cooperation in equipment technology, broaden exchanges in specialized fields, and forge closer military relations, Wei said.

To jointly maintain regional peace and stability, the two sides should make joint efforts against powers outside the region setting up military alliance in South Asia and practicing hegemonism, Wei said.

Also on Tuesday, Wei held in-depth talks with Bangladesh's Chief of Army Staff Aziz Ahmed, discussing international and regional situation as well as relations between the two countries and two militaries.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
We had planned to visit the strange river on Monday, April 26, 2021.

But Thomas Thomas, the Mungo Park of the Green River and my tour guide, was hard to track down on D-day.

A struggling but brilliant journalist, he had choked up his itinerary to the brim on Monday, in his quest to make ends meet. But today, I was too determined to let him off the hook, until he escorted me to the unusual river that he first reported a week ago.

As we meandered through the serene, sandy slope that leads to the river at Ikot Akpa, Ibesikpo, the weather was gloomy and somber. It was clear that sooner or later the windows of heaven would open and showers from above would descend. I was equipped like a pilgrim with tools of an explorer. Temperature was 28 degrees centigrade. Humidity was 89 per cent. Wind gust was approximately 15 kilometers per hour.

But I was not quite prepared for what my eyes would soon encounter. As I savoured the serenity and utter quietude of the village focusing on the right side of the bush path, Thomas tapped suddenly on my shoulder. Sir, see the green river there.

What I saw transfixed me. My jaw dropped. I was motionless with horror, wonder and astonishment. Awe-struck, I covered my face with both palms so that the enigmatic river would not stare at me and I would not see it either.

Park, park, park, I told Abednego, my driver.

There was a mild confusion as the driver himself was visibly scared of what he saw. Like me, he had never seen a green river before. It took some moments for me to recover from the overwhelming amazement. My driver took a longer time to regain his composure. He refused to come down the slope with the Mungo Park and I.

It took a bit of persuasion for him to drive the car down to the riverside. I doubt whether I would have dared to approach that river, if I were alone. It was simply too mystifying for my driver to comprehend. Sir, I have never seen something like this before, he said.

The green wonder was flowing peacefully from left to right, or was it from east to west, as far as my eyes could see.

Slowly and reverentially, we approached the river. In no time I had mustered sufficient confidence to pose by the river for photographs. Three villagers were at hand by the river, but some 100 meters away. Initially we ignored them and chose to trek in the opposite direction, I guess for two kilometers.

Here we are! The sand is white. The river is green. And the wind feels like dew drops, I said aloud with a poetic flair. At least, thats what I thought.

We couldnt get to the end of the river as the thicket of green shrubs and bamboo plants had formed a blockade. I wished aloud there were canoe boys to paddle us down the end of the river and back. Thomas concurred and said money is waiting to be made by the boys when visitors begin to frequent the river.

The only canoe seen had no paddler nor paddles. Maybe the three natives we sighted earlier would canoe us up and down the river, we reasoned. No, they said, when we caught up with them 15 minutes or so later. But they told us some stories about the green river of Ikot Akpa. I was born to see the green river this way, Edidiong Archibong, a native, said.

We wanted him to take us upstream, towards the source of the river. He turned down the request.

According to him the green river originates and oozes out from a rocky little hill, overgrown now by thickets of clumping and perennially evergreen bamboo plants. These days nobody bothers to go there anymore, another native added.

Archibong said the river is usually greener in dry sunny seasons than what we saw. Rainy season like now, he added, has tampered with the crystal green and adorable colour of the river, because rain water usually washed the soil down the hills into the river, as in the last three days.

I was curious to know what the colour of the water would be in a cup or bottle. Green or white? The natives said white. But Thomas, true to his name, was doubtful. He volunteered to go down the slope to fetch and see the water in a bottle himself. He was warned by natives to beware of the depth of the river. Its very deep. If you put this tall palm tree inside, the river will swallow it completely another native said.

Gingerly, Thomas went down to the etch to fetch the water with a plastic bottle. It is white, he shouted, before he climbed back up to where we stood. For a while, we sat at the bamboo bench constructed by natives under a bamboo tree, to snack and take pictures.

So why is the river green in the eye and white in the bottle?

Another native said the river is green because it is mirroring the environment of green palm fronds. That is doubtful because nearly all the other rivers in Akwa Ibom are overshadowed and sandwiched by green trees and shrubs. The issue of algae was ruled out completely by these three natives.

What is not ruled out is the hand of God. For sure this site would now attract not just tourists and writers, but hydrologists from nearby universities and government officials from relevant agencies.

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That means we have not heard the last yet about the Green River of Akwa Ibom.

Anietie Usen, author of Village Boy, posted this article on Facebook. Premium Times has Mr Usens permission to republish it.
Kentucky Retail Federation Recognizes Rep. Rudy

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - The Kentucky Retail Federation has recognized Kentucky Rep. Steven Rudy (R-Paducah) as a Retail Champion for his support of retailers.Rudy serves as the House Majority Floor Leader and the KRF says has been instrumental in helping on several important pieces of legislation this year and in prior years as chair of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee.Shannon Stiglitz, senior vice president of Government Affairs for the Federation, cited Rudys support and work in the past on COVID-related legislation to assist restaurants and retailers, along with other legislation like caps on food permit fees.Representative Rudy is always accessible to meet and discuss our concerns and is well-known for his vocal support of the retail community, Stiglitz said.Retail Federation President Tod Griffin said he appreciated Rudys support of the retailing sector.The support of legislative leaders like Representative Rudy is so important to maintaining a vibrant retail sector in Kentucky, especially as we have navigated this stressful year, Griffin said.
Dubai Islamic Bank, the largest Islamic bank in the UAE and the second largest Islamic bank in the world, has posted a net profit of AED853 million ($232.2 million) for the first quarter (Q1) of the year, rebounding strongly from last quarter.



Q1 highlights:



 Total income reached AED2.8 billion as the bank continued to display resilience in the given economic scenario.

 Profit before impairments rose to AED1,614 million compared to AED1,592 million in the same period last year.

 Operating expenses of AED612 million were lower by 27% year on year vs AED839 million, driven by stringent cost discipline and materializing of substantial integration cost synergies.

 Cost to income ratio improves by 190bps to 27.5% from 29.4%at YE2020, positioning the bank as the most efficient player in the sector.

 Impairment charges reduced by a significant margin signifying the success of the risk management strategy as well as improving market trend.

Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Director-General of The Rulers Court of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Islamic Bank, said: IMF has revised positively the economic outlook on the UAE on account of the countrys robust and quick response to the challenges faced in times of the pandemic. Being a global leader in the vaccination race, the economic recovery is expected to accelerate consumer spending and business activities in the coming periods.



The UAE banking sector continues to remain robust with healthy and well capitalized balance sheets. The further extension of the UAE CBs TESS program will benefit and support the sector and DIB remains aligned to providing support to the domestic economy throughout this recovery period.



Amidst the on-going market volatilities, DIB continues to deliver strong operating performance with total income of AED2.8 billion during the first quarter of 2021. With robust fundamentals in place, DIB is well positioned to connect with the countrys large-scale economic programs such as the World EXPO, Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030 and the Dubai Urban Master Plan that will support future growth of the bank and the emirate of Dubai, he added.



Abdulla Ali Obaid Al Hamli, Board Member and Managing Director, said: DIBs focus on digitization and optimization has further strengthened the banks position in the sector. With strong increase year on year on key digital metrics, the banks customers are now benefitting from enhanced customer journeys and experiences in a fast evolving operating environment.



The introduction of agile ways of working have led to enhanced efficiencies and productivity. Digital trainings and virtual collaborations, constant safety and health measures across our branches, simplification of business processes and enhanced business continuity will ensure the bank to be less vulnerable to business disruptions and maintain a robust growth trajectory.



Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Dubai Islamic Bank Group Chief Executive Officer, said: The signature strength of the balance sheet with 6% year on year expansion demonstrates the banks resilience in challenging conditions as well as the effective execution of its strategy to capture organic growth opportunities during economic uncertainties.



Liquidity remains a strong suit with robust growth in customer deposits of7% YoY and 4% YTD to reach to AED214 billion. With LCR ratio of 127% well above the minimum regulatory requirements, the bank is ideally positioned to capture growth opportunities as market improves.



Efficiency build up is critical to stability and profitability in a challenging environment. A focused and disciplined approach to managing OPEX has led to a cost income ratio of 27.5%, the lowest in the market.



As significant headwinds remain in the current environment, we continue to approach the year with extreme prudence, with focus on low risk sectors and those showing consistent signs of recovery as the market improves. The bank has continued to build provisions during the quarter amounting to nearly twice the value for the same period last year on a normalized basis.



Business momentum remains positive with profit before impairments increasing by 1%. As a result, we have achieved a substantial QoQ net profit increase when compared to Q4 2020, and a modest QoQ net profit decrease when compared to same period last year despite the one-off gain in Q1 2020, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
A wildly eclectic, cutting edge and globe-spanning lineup has always epitomized New Directors/New Films, the annual showcase of emerging filmmakers presented by Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art. This years 50th anniversary edition is part of a citywide return to theaters, with in-person screenings taking place from Wednesday through to May 13. The program will also screen virtually (through May 8), along with an online retrospective of selections from decades past including early works by directors like Lee Chang-dong, Christopher Nolan and Charles Burnett.

Color me shocked if any of this years participants wind up directing a Batman movie in a decade. Though if I had to guess based purely on the kineticism of the filmmaking, my vote would go to the Indian director P.S. Vinothraj for his gripping debut, Pebbles. Its essentially a road movie, about a young boy and his fiendish, alcoholic father forced to trek home by foot in the drought-ridden hinterlands of Tamil country. Vinothraj palpably summons the violence and oppressive nature of their relationship  and their bleakly impoverished milieu  with intensity and tremendous visual flair.

Significantly lighter in tone, but no less tragic in its own way, is the deceptively brisk festival opener, El Planeta, by the conceptual artist Amalia Ulman. Building on a lineage of delicate black-and-white comedies from Hong Sang-soo, Noah Baumbach and other directors, the film is anchored in the realities of Spains recent economic crisis. It unfolds as a series of vignettes, each one a droll, seemingly banal snapshot of the lives of a mother and daughter  fashion divas both  in the northern Spanish city of Gijon. With their fur coats and fancy dinners, the two women are obsessed with glamour and success to the point that they willfully ignore the looming threat of eviction, spending borrowed money on frivolous things rather than paying the bills. Ulman, the writer-director who also stars (opposite her actual mother), gradually reveals the extent of the womens troubles with deft and sly humor, a refreshing and revealing reprieve from the overly dignified, forcefully stark poverty portraits we usually get.
Delhi: People stand in a que at a shop in Jangpura Bhogal to refill their Oxygen Cylinder in New Delhi on Tuesday 27 April, 2021.(Photo: Wasim Sarvar/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Amethi : , April 28 (IANS) A man from Amethi has been booked for allegedly circulating a 'rumour' with the intent to cause 'fear' over oxygen supply.

The man, Shashank Yadav, had appealed for an oxygen cylinder for his grandfather on Twitter.

In his tweet, Yadav had not mentioned whether his grandfather had Covid-19. His grandfather later died of a heart attack.

Yadav had sent an SOS on Monday evening tagging actor Sonu Sood, asking for his help.

Yadav's friend, Ankit shared the message and sought help from journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani. She posted a tweet a few hours later, asking for help for Yadav's grandfather.

Sherwani also tagged Union minister and Amethi MP Smriti Irani in the post.

None of these messages, however, mentioned that Yadav sought an oxygen cylinder for a Covid-19 patient. Shortly after the tweet, Smriti Irani responded, saying she had called Yadav multiple times but was not able to reach him. Irani said she had asked the district magistrate and the Amethi police to follow up.

After a while, Yadav's grandfather passed away. Smriti Irani expressed her condolences, saying, "Kept calling his number, we all did including CMO, Amethi police...I just wish he had picked up his phone." On Tuesday afternoon, Amethi district magistrate Arun Kumar responded to Sherwani's original tweet and shared the Chief Medical Officer's report that said Yadav's grandfather did not have Covid-19 but was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Durgapur.

Later that evening, police responded to Yadav's tweet and said that the 88-year-old man did not have Covid-19 but died of a heart attack.

"At this time, it is not only condemnable, but also a legal offence to post such type of fear-generating posts on social media," the Amethi Police said.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Dinesh Kumar, said the person has been booked for spreading rumour on social media about oxygen scarcity. He further added that the arrest is an important message for those who are spreading wrong information amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

"When his grandfather fell ill, Yadav wrote on Twitter that an oxygen cylinder is required, tagging actor Sonu Sood. He neither enquired for an oxygen cylinder, nor was his grandfather a Covid positive patient," the SP said.

Shashank Yadav could not be contacted for his version.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Eighty-four private universities have problems recruiting new students, which means they could end up broke before their current students have graduated. Many more provincial universities are unable to meet their annual student quotas due to the declining population and student preference for Seoul.

According to a report by the Korean Educational Development Institute, the 84 universities' finances are so bad that they can no longer operate normally and conduct proper academic research.

Sixty-two of them are outside the capital. South Chungcheong Province had the most failing universities with nine, followed by North Chungcheong Province (eight), North Gyeongsang Province (eight) and South Gyeongsang Province (six). Ninety-four of them are private universities that need to make a profit.


This is a story about the earliest days of Amazon, and a simple, important "loophole," as Jeff Bezos put it, that the earliest employees leveraged. If you like this, you'll also enjoy my free e-books Jeff Bezos Regrets Nothing and 12 Simple Tricks That Will Probably Make Your Life a Little Better.

Amazon is now a $1.7 trillion company, but it faced difficult challenges at the very start--back when its website sold only books, and the company was hustling to get its first customers.

I like the solution we'll discuss below, and that Bezos and the other early Amazonians devised, for three reasons: first, because it's a good story; second, because it's unexpected; and finally, most important, because it might inspire you to do whatever it takes to make your business a success.

Let's set the scene. Actually, here's a nearly contemporaneous source, from 1996, that explains how Amazon's bookstore-only store worked in those days:

Orders in hand, Amazon requests books from a distributor or publisher, which delivers them to the company's Seattle warehouse. The order is then packed and shipped. On average, customers get books five days after ordering. Pay extra, and they speed the process by a day or two.

The key point is that for many books, Amazon was taking orders (and payment) before the company had even ordered them from the wholesalers. It's a great financial model, but in the very early days, it presented a seemingly insurmountable problem.

This was because Amazon wanted to promise customers two things:

More listed titles than any other bookstore on the planet

Discounts of 10 to 30 percent off list prices

Having a shot at those early goals meant that the brand-new, baby version of Amazon.com had to get the best possible terms from its wholesale distributors. The problem was that the wholesalers had a 10-book order minimum, and although it might seem hard to believe now, back then Amazon wasn't consistently getting 10 orders a day.

So, instead of waiting until the company had enough order volume, which would have delayed shipping even more, Amazon came up with a solution, which Bezos explained in a 1999 interview with Wired magazine:

[W]e found a loophole. Their systems were programmed in such a way that you didn't have to receive 10 books, you only had to order 10 books. So we found an obscure book about lichens that they had in their system but was out of stock. We began ordering the one book we wanted and nine copies of the lichen book. They would ship out the book we needed and a note that said, "Sorry, but we're out of the lichen book." One of these days we're going to get all those lichen books dumped onto our front lawn.

Bezos seems to have been speaking colloquially in the interview, so I can't say how long this little hack went on. It's interesting to reflect that by 1999, when he sat down with Wired, Amazon had already gone public, and Bezos was already a multibillionaire.

Regardless of whether this "loophole" was exploited for a few weeks or longer, however, I find it devilishly inspiring. As Bezos told the tale two full decades ago, Amazon wasn't doing anything illegal or outside wholesalers' terms of service, but it was exploiting a flaw in order to build its business.

("I've since talked and joked at length with the people at these companies about this," Bezos said in a speech around the same time. "They actually think it's very funny.")

Why does this matter today? Well, it's probably one of many tiny things that could have meant the difference between Amazon's early success and failure.

But it also stands out as the kind of simple, unorthodox thing that I think every successful business, and frankly every creative person, has to be willing to do--especially in the very early days.

It's like the co-founders of Airbnb realizing that their early listings weren't getting tenants because the photos in the ads were low-quality, and offering free professional photos to fix the problem.

Or the early days of PayPal, when the company emailed people and told them that they were giving them free cash, if they'd open an account.

I'm a bit of a history geek, so I'll also point to President Lyndon Johnson, who, when he first came to Washington as a member of Congress and stayed in a dormitory with other representatives, would shave several times each morning in the communal bathrooms, so that he could "just happen" to run into colleagues and network with them.

These are the unglamorous, analog, not scalable things that businesses have to do in the beginning to survive, and thrive. I know you can probably think of other examples quickly.

The question is, within the bounds of ethics, and knowing both that you have to live with yourself and that future stakeholders will judge your choices, how hard are you willing to find the loophole, or the trick, or the unorthodox hack that makes success possible?
Highlights of the "Integration of ESG and Climate Risks in Investment Management Conference" with Imperial College Business School and Ping An Technology:

With increasing numbers of investment managers seeking to integrate ESG factors into their portfolio management decisions, the challenge of measuring companies' ESG performance is growing in importance.

Advances in technology are making more sophisticated analysis tools available, speakers said, but there are different views on what data is relevant and how disclosure frameworks should be standardized.

A Singapore Exchange survey on ESG disclosures by Singapore -listed companies showed that issuers are concerned about differing ESG risk criteria and frameworks. They are calling for more guidance on environmental standards, particularly regarding greenhouse gas emissions.

-listed companies showed that issuers are concerned about differing ESG risk criteria and frameworks. They are calling for more guidance on environmental standards, particularly regarding greenhouse gas emissions. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has worked to standardize disclosure of ESG risks: "As a regulator and exchange operator, we must supervise fair and orderly ESG markets  listed companies must comply and commit to conduct their business well."

HONG KONG and SHANGHAI, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The rapid growth of investment based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria requires innovation and co-operation to create reliable risk disclosure systems, speakers said at the "Integration of ESG and Climate Risks in Investment Management" virtual conference hosted by Imperial College Business School, Brevan Howard Centre for Financial Analysis and Ping An Technology, a member of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter "Ping An" or the "Group", HKEX: 2318; SSE: 601318).

With increasing numbers of investment managers seeking to integrate ESG factors into their portfolio management decisions, the challenge of measuring and comparing companies' ESG performance is growing in importance. Advances in technology are making more sophisticated analysis tools available, speakers said, but there are different views on what data is relevant and how disclosure frameworks should be standardized.

Ping An: Understand ourselves first

Ping An's fintech arm, OneConnect Financial Technology, is developing intelligent tools for companies to gather their own ESG data for publication. "We need to understand ourselves first," said Tan Bin Ru, OneConnect Southeast Asia CEO. "Our platform monitors 400 indicators across the 40 units of Ping An Group, then places us in a wider context by adding intelligence which benchmarks us against our industry peers."

While such insight is invaluable to the company, regulations set out how companies report this data to the market. "The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has worked to standardize disclosure of ESG risks," said Grace Hui, Head of Green and Sustainable Finance at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). "As a regulator and exchange operator, we must supervise fair and orderly ESG markets  listed companies must comply and commit to conduct their business well."

Balanced targets

A Singapore Exchange (SGX) survey on ESG disclosures by Singapore-listed companies showed issues are concerned about differing ESG risk criteria and frameworks. They called for more guidance on environmental standards, particularly regarding greenhouse gas emissions. "Companies tend to disclose their successes, so those reporting less favorable numbers are the minority," said Herry Cho, Head of Sustainability and Sustainable Finance at SGX. "But providing detail on progress over time is essential, so we are encouraging more balanced target-setting."

While regulators set the rules for companies to follow, the responsibility for implementing policies and setting objectives falls on company management. "ESG is more than a label  people need to look at what's underneath," said Christine Chow, Global Head of Strategic Governance, IHS Markit. "Companies shouldn't see ESG as a compliance issue: it is a strategy option which over time should be embedded in all aspects of the business."

Ping An's OneConnect has partnered with the Singapore, Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges to establish systems that enable listed companies to gather and analyze comprehensive ESG data in ways that are comparable and actionable. Companies can generate detailed reports with valuable insights at the peer group, sector and country levels.

Disclosure linked with performance

Companies that work to quantify and disclose their ESG risks can generate even greater value. Ping An's research partnership with Imperial College Business School has used artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze how well listed companies are covering key ESG themes in their reports. "This work has also established a statistically significant relationship between disclosures and companies' financial performance," said Enrico Biffis, Associate Professor of Finance, Imperial College Business School. "NLP (natural language processing) analysis of climate indicators can flag which companies are objectively greener than others  essentially exposing greenwashing."

For investors, a lack of a comprehensive ESG taxonomy, a classification system of environmentally sustainable economic activities, is the major stumbling block for assessing companies' ESG credentials. Lise Renelleau, Head of Sustainability, Rosenberg Equities at AXA Investment Management, said investors are being proactive. "We need a new ecosystem to deliver a new ESG and climate taxonomy. Investors need to understand these elements even if it means spending time and resources," she explains. "We recommend starting from broad principles  for example, how your portfolios support the Paris [Agreement] goals."

Ian Simm, founder and CEO of Impax Asset Management, stressed that the three elements of ESG  environment, social and governance, "are less three separate terms but more a prompt for companies to do better  not a box-ticking exercise but a radar sweep to take in the whole picture of a company with a focus on materiality. And this will lead to better information and assessment of risks and opportunities, as well as cost of capital for the companies."

Ocean of data

The question of how to apply ESG data to address real-world climate impacts through investment decisions concerned several speakers. "Actionable data can be the basis for creating a range of investment aids and products," said Chex Yu, Deputy Director of Strategy at Ping An Technology. "These extend the usefulness of information to create long-term insights."

The risk of being swamped by too much unfocused data can be managed with smart technology, said Vanessa Barnett, Global Head of ESG at FactSet. "Data integration makes the datasets work together to produce actionable insights," she said. "Regulation can define what is disclosed and in what formats, but vendors enable companies and investors to share data and compare like with like."

Helena Fung, Head of Sustainable Investment, Asia Pacific, at FTSE Russell, said that well-designed benchmarks can help embed sustainable practices at listed companies by directing investor funds to companies that are well-managed. "Newer benchmarks can help with transition pathways by setting standards for management quality and carbon performance," she said. "We're seeing more and more passive investing which dovetails well with sustainable benchmarks."

The conference speakers representing corporations, investors, vendors and regulators were unanimous in acknowledging the importance of technology and data partnerships to ESG integration in investment management. "It takes an ecosystem approach to unite the many players engaged in ESG investing," said Sohee Park, Chief Product Officer, Ping An Technology. "Data and technology are powerful tools, but working together to share our insights is what makes complex systems work."

[Watch replay of the conference]

About Ping An Group

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. ("Ping An") is a world-leading technology-powered retail financial services group. With over 220 million retail customers and 611 million internet users, Ping An is one of the largest financial services companies in the world. Ping An focuses on two over-arching domains of activity, "pan financial assets" and "pan health care", covering the provision of financial and health care services through our integrated financial services platform and our ecosystems; in financial services, health care, auto services and smart city services. Our "finance + technology" and "finance + ecosystem" transformation strategies aim to provide customers and internet users with innovative and simple products and services using technology. As China's first joint stock insurance company, Ping An is committed to upholding the highest standards of corporate reporting and corporate governance. The Group is listed on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai. In 2020, Ping An ranked 7th in the Forbes Global 2000 list and ranked 21st in the Fortune Global 500 list. Ping An also ranked 38th in the 2020 WPP Kantar Millward Brown BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list.

For more information, please visit www.group.pingan.com and follow us on LinkedIn - PING AN.

SOURCE Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

Related Links

www.pingan.cn


A 47-year-old New Jersey murder mystery was solved after a serial killer pled guilty to killing the two victims who were teenage friends. The serial killer confessed to kidnapping and killing the two teens. In 1974, Mary Ann Pryor, 17, and Lorraine Marie Kelly, 16, went missing on a scheduled trip to a Paramus mall.

New Jersey man pled guilty in 1974 murder case

According to witnesses, the girls were hitchhiking and had taken a ride in a man's vehicle. Richard Cottingham, 74, also identified as the "Torso Killer," pleaded guilty to kidnapping and raping the girls before drowning them in a motel room bathtub at a court appearance Tuesday.

On August 9, 1974, Pryor and Kelly were last seen walking together on Broad Avenue in Ridgefield, New Jersey. Witnesses said they saw the two girls hitchhiking and getting into a car with an unnamed white man, CBS News New York reported.

Since failing to return home that night, the teens have been missing. Their remains were discovered five days later, according to the prosecutor's office.

Lorraine was allegedly discovered wearing a beaded bracelet and a necklace with the words "Lorraine and Ricky," a reference to her boyfriend. Mary Ann was found wearing a gold cross that had been given to her by her godfather.

Key Events From George Floyd's Arrest to Derek Chauvin's Guilty Verdicts

In a statement, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said, "Today is a somber day as we remember the heinous actions of terror this man brought upon Bergen County nearly 50 years ago." Cottingham, 73, is charged with two more counts of murder for his confession on Tuesday, which he gave to Chief of Detectives Robert Anzilotti, who has been questioning Cottingham for the past 15 years to see if he was involved in any other killings.

Cottingham's defense counsel, John Bruno, reportedly said that he wanted to bring justice to the girls' families. Bruno said, "He's glad this shadow hanging over his head for many, many years is now gone," as per The Associated Press.

US Capitol Officer Brian Sicknick's Death Due to Natural Causes, According to DC Medical Examiner

His defense attorney, John Bruno, reportedly said that Cottingham hoped to bring the girls' families closure. Bruno did not respond to a PEOPLE's request for comment. Cottingham has now been sentenced to life at the state prison. Authorities have so far identified him to 11 homicides, including three that he admitted to last year, though they believed the death rate is likely to rise.

He's been dubbed the "Torso Killer" because he dismembers his victims by removing their limbs and heads, leaving behind their torsos. The Associated Press said he had taken responsibility for up to 100 killings. Cottingham only spoke with one- and two-word answers during Tuesday's hearing while responding to questions from state Superior Court Judge Keith Bachmann and prosecutors, as per the NBC News.

Asian Hate Crime in New York: Man in Critical Condition at Hospital Following Attack

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New Advisory Board members to provide guidance on product innovation

PALM BAY, FL / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Sollensys Corp. (OTC PINK:SOLS) Sollensys Corp (the "Company") is pleased to announce several new members to its Advisory Board. These esteemed gentlemen expand the Company's relationships within the global technology industry, and will advise on entrepreneurial opportunities as they provide guidance on product innovation in the field of CyberSecurity.

"We are excited to add these accomplished leaders to our Advisory Board," said Don Beavers, CEO of Sollensys Corp. "As we continue bringing innovative products to market, it is critical that Sollensys Corp is equipped with experts that will touch key market segments. From healthcare to finance, retail, technology, government and more. Sollensys Corp has created this dynamic group of seasoned business innovation leaders to assist in moving our company forward."

Sollensys Corp's new advisors include the following:

Tony Scott

Tony Scott is CEO of the TonyScottGroup, and is a Senior Advisor for CyberSecurity and Privacy at Squire Patton Boggs, a prominent international law firm. Until January 2017, he served in the Obama administration as the 3rd Federal Chief Information Officer (Federal CIO) for the U.S. Government, and was appointed to that role by President Obama in February 2015. Immediately prior to joining the Obama administration, Tony was the Chief Information Officer at Vmware. Prior roles include the Chief Information Officer at Microsoft Corporation, Chief Information Officer at the Walt Disney Company, and Chief Technology Officer at General Motors Information Systems & Services.

Robert Brown

General (Retired) Robert B. Brown is an experienced leader, with over 38 years of service as Commanding General, U.S. Army Pacific, the Army's largest Service Component Command, responsible for 106,000 Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians across the Indo-Pacific Region. He is a 1981 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he was commissioned as an Infantry Second Lieutenant. His assignments took him across the globe, including deployments in support of Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and two combat deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Known as an innovator, team builder, and leader developer, General Brown was involved in significant change within the Army. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy, a Master of Education from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Science in National Security and Strategic Studies (Distinguished Graduate) from National Defense University.

Ross Mandel

Ross Mandel, a data privacy and CyberSecurity advisor, is also the co-founder of The TonyScottGroup, a technology strategy group and fund. Ross is currently CEO of Overnest, which also advises several technology companies and funds. He is a seasoned professional and venture capitalist, having assisted in the return of more than $1.5 billion to financial partners. His expertise includes mergers, acquisitions and service as chairman and CEO in various ventures, as well as service on private and public boards. Ross has partnered with former President of the EU Pat Cox and assisted on Steve Forbes' U.S. Presidential Campaigns.

John Kindervag

John Kindervag is considered one of the world's foremost CyberSecurity experts. He is best known for creating the revolutionary Zero Trust Model of CyberSecurity. He currently advises both public and private sector organizations with the design and building of Zero Trust Networks and other CyberSecurity topics. John has a practitioner background, having served as a security consultant, penetration tester, and security architect. He has particular expertise in the areas of secure network design, wireless security, and voice-over-IP hacking. He has been interviewed and published in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The New York Times.

Jeff Starke

Jeff Starke is the Chief Technology Officer at Bank OZK. In this role, Jeff leads a diverse team encompassing technology resources, solutions, communications, data center operations, banking systems, project management, IT risk and technology support. Jeff has been an innovative leader at Bank OZK since he joined the company in 2005, and has been instrumental in bringing new software platforms to life across the organization. He served as the technology lead for Bank OZK in 14 acquisitions, managing and coordinating the technology conversion activities. Prior to Bank OZK, Jeff worked at Unity National Bank in Georgia (acquired by Bank OZK in 2010) as Vice President for Information Technology. Earlier in his career, he served as Chief Technology Officer at Southern Community Bank in Georgia.

About Sollensys Corp.

Headquartered in Palm Bay, Florida, the Company's primary product is the Blockchain Archive Server-a turn-key, off-the-shelf, blockchain solution that works with virtually any hardware and software combinations currently used in commerce, without the need to replace or eliminate any part of the client's data security that is being utilized.

The Blockchain Archive Server encrypts, fragments and distributes data across thousands of secure nodes every day, which makes it virtually impossible for hackers to compromise. Using blockchain technology, the Blockchain Archive Server maintains a redundant, secure and immutable backup of data. Redundant backups and the blockchain work together to assure not only the physical security of the database but also the integrity of the information held within.

Blockchain Archive Server protects client data from "ransomware"-malicious software that infects your computer and displays messages demanding a fee to be paid in order for your system to work again. Blockchain technology is a leading-edge tool for data security, providing an added layer of security against data loss due to all types of software specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system (i.e., malware).

Uniquely, the Blockchain Archive Server is a turn-key solution that can stand alone or seamlessly integrate into an existing data infrastructure to quickly recover from a cyber-attack. The Blockchain Archive Server is a server that comes pre-loaded with the blockchain-powered cybersecurity software, which can be delivered, installed and integrated into a client's computer systems with ease

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are identified by the use of the words "could," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate, "expect," "may," "continue," "predict," "potential," "project" and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our plans, objectives, expectations, and intentions reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these plans, objectives, expectations, or intentions will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience and present expectations or projections. Actual results could differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and the trading price for our common stock may fluctuate significantly. Forward-looking statements also are affected by the risk factors described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

For more information, please visit http://www.sollensys.com.

Investor Relations Contact:

Donald Beavers

Phone: (866) GET SOLS

866.438.7657

Email: info@sollensys.com

SOURCE: Sollensys Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/642998/Sollensys-Corp-Announces-Additions-to-Advisory-Board
Geochemical sampling and geophysical gravity surveying is ongoing in the area

Barrick Gold has committed US$4 million in exploration for the second year of the initial evaluation phase regional program

Corp ( ) (OTCQB:JGLDF) has updated investors on work being done by its alliance with Barrick Gold in the Hokusatsu region of the southern Kyushu epithermal gold province.

The junior company said that geochemical sampling and geophysical gravity surveying is ongoing in the area, which is Japans largest gold-producing region.

Vancouver-based Japan Gold said the alliance currently has applications and prospecting rights covering 96,733 hectares or nearly 81% of prospective ground. Regional geochemical sampling is complete on more than 97% of the area, covering 13 of the 14 projects in the southern Kyushu project alliance.

Project-scale gravity surveying is now complete over 83% of the southern Kyushu projects, with the remainder expected to be completed by the end of April, it added. Gravity surveying has also been completed at the Togi Project in west Honshu and is planned to be completed on the 11 Hokkaido projects by late 2021.

Follow-up investigations are now underway on anomalies defined from 2020 work programs in southern Kyushu and currently focussed on the Mizobe project, where a series of coincident gravity, gold in bulk leach extractable gold and rock samples anomalies were defined.

Japan Gold told investors that geochemical sampling is complete over the Togi project in west Honshu and 80% complete over 11 Hokkaido projects. In total, 87% of the 188,265 hectares 29 project portfolio has now been covered by regional geochemical sampling, the company added.

Barrick Gold has committed US$4 million in exploration for the second year of the initial evaluation phase regional program. It's alliance with Japan Gold includes 29 projects in total covering 1,882 square kilometres.

Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas
Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Canada, on Nov. 3, 2020. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Bill That Would Allow CRTC to Regulate Social Media Faces Criticism

An amendment to a bill that would give Canadas broadcasting regulatory agency new powers to regulate user-generated content on the internet and social media has been criticized as the governments latest attempt to restrict freedom of expression.

Bill C-10, which amends the Broadcasting Act, is currently under clause-by-clause debate in the Liberal-dominant Heritage committee. But critics have considered the latest amendment passed Monday to be a move to censor the internet.

Conservative MP Alain Rayes said in statement that the bill gives too much power to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) by allowing it to oversee contents posted online.

 The Conservative Party of Canada will vote against Bill C-10 as it targets the freedoms of individual internet users. #cdnpoli

 Le Parti conservateur du Canada va voter contre le projet de loi C-10 puisqu'il s'attaque aux libertes des utilisateurs d'internet. #polcan pic.twitter.com/H6d7PcAeXO  Alain Rayes (@AlainRayes) April 26, 2021

Rayes said Conservatives want to support the creation of a level playing field between large foreign streaming services and Canadian broadcasters.

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, in response to Rayess statement, said he was disconnected.

Very disappointed to see Alain Rayes and the CPC being so disconnected. Yet again, they let down the cultural sector and refuse to stand up to web giants, Guilbeault, who introduced Bill C-10, wrote on Twitter.

Rayes said while the Conservatives still intend to vote against Bill C-10 as a whole, their members in the committee have put forth a compromising amendment aimed at protecting individuals and smaller streaming services by exempting those with less than $50 million annual advertising and/or subscription revenue in Canada from the CRTC regulation.

The Heritage committee voted down that amendment.

Liberal MP Julie Dabrusin said that its not the intention for the government to regulate all of the internet.

When Bill C-10 was introduced by Guilbeault in November 2020, user-generated content was originally exempted from regulation. But the exemption was removed on April 23.

Last Friday the Liberals went further than ever before by voting against the section of their own Bill that would have at least partially exempted individual users who upload videos to social media sites like YouTube and Facebook. They even promised to introduce a new amendment to regulate apps, Rayes said.

This is another unacceptable attempt to target the freedoms of individual internet users by what University of Ottawa Law Professor Michael Geist has described as the most anti-internet government in Canadian History.

Geist had made the remark in an article published earlier this month, in which he also criticized Guilbeault, who has been pushing legislation to combat hate speech, which many see as a underlying threat to free speech itself.

Guilbeaults vision is to require Internet providers to install blocking capabilities, create new regulators and content adjudicators to issue blocking orders, dispense with net neutrality, and build a Canadian Internet firewall, Geist stated.

Guilbeault is also seeking to propose a new bill to regulate hate speech soon.
In 2020 the Bayer Group weathered the COVID-19 pandemic well from an operational point of view. That shows very clearly that we are active in the right industries. After all, few things are more important to people than health and nutrition, said Werner Baumann, Chairman of the Board of Management, at the companys Annual Stockholders Meeting on Tuesday. And thats where we can make a decisive contribution. Were optimistic for the future.

According to Baumann, the companys responsibility in the pandemic is first and foremost toward its customers and toward ensuring the safety and health of its employees throughout the world. He said Bayer has shown once again that what it does with respect to health and nutrition puts it at the center of society. And that it is able to provide practical help to hospitals, aid organizations, local and government authorities, thanks partly to the protective measures adopted at all sites. They have relied on our support  and we were able to justify their trust, said Bayers CEO. In that way weve succeeded in keeping our promise to customers even under historically difficult circumstances. Weve been able to avoid supply disruptions caused by the pandemic. And weve continued to provide what are in some cases life-saving products to patients, farmers and consumers. Thats something were very proud of. He expressed his gratitude on behalf of the entire Board of Management for the tremendous dedication our global teams have shown in responding to the pandemic. Theyve been working under exceptional circumstances in both their professional and their private lives for more than a year. Along with Supervisory Board Chairman Prof. Dr. Norbert Winkeljohann and Vice Chairman Oliver Zuhlke, all the members of Bayers Board of Management personally attended the otherwise virtual Annual Stockholders Meeting in Leverkusen  including, for the first time, Sarena Lin, who was appointed to the Board of Management in February 2021 as Chief Transformation and Talent Officer.

Baumann admitted that trust had been lost during 2020 because the original targets were not met and the performance of the stock was disappointing. Let me say quite clearly: we cant be satisfied with that. We didnt meet your expectations last year, and we didnt meet ours either, the CEO said in his address to the stockholders. Irrespective of which factors were under our control and which were not: we bear the responsibility  with no ifs or buts.

Group sales in 2020 totaled 41.4 billion euros and thus grew by 0.6 percent after adjusting for currency and portfolio effects. EBITDA before special items, at 11.5 billion euros, and core earnings per share from continuing operations, at 6.39 euros, also remained stable despite sharply negative currency effects. However, Bayer had massive extraordinary charges to contend with, leading to a net loss for the Group of 10.5 billion euros despite the stable operational development.

The special charges mainly related to the litigations in the United States and impairment losses recognized at Crop Science. Last year Bayer announced settlements totaling about 12 billion U.S. dollars for the principal product liability claims pending in the United States. The greater part of this amount  up to 9.6 billion dollars  relates to the existing glyphosate lawsuits. The company has since settled by far the majority of these claims. A new proposal for the management of future cases agreed upon with and supported by plaintiffs counsel has been submitted to the responsible judge in California for a decision. For the revised proposal, both parties worked diligently to address the points mentioned by the court.

Despite the extraordinary charges, Bayer is maintaining its dividend policy of distributing between 30 and 40 percent of core earnings per share. The Board of Management and Supervisory Board have proposed to the Annual Stockholders Meeting that a dividend of 2.00 euros per share entitled to the dividend be paid for fiscal 2020.

Referring to the outlook presented at the end of February, Baumann said 2021 would still be a transition year. But early indications were that we had a successful start to the year. In the agriculture business, in particular, we see a market environment that gives us an increasingly positive perspective. The CEO assured the stockholders: We want to regain your trust. Were working hard to do that. And we will deliver.

Course set for growth

Baumann emphasized that all three of Bayers divisions are set to grow and increase their earning power, reconfirming the mid-term targets presented by the Board of Management at the Capital Markets Day in March. He said that in the area of agriculture, no company worldwide puts more money into research and development than Bayer. Last year alone, the company commercialized ten new crop protection formulations and developed three important biotechnology products to market-readiness. The leading digital farming platform Climate FieldView is now being used on over 60 million hectares of land worldwide. In the seeds area, farmers across the world were offered more than 430 new varieties of corn, soybeans, cotton and vegetables.

In Pharmaceuticals, too, the course is set for future growth. Here Bayer is counting especially on several products with blockbuster potential  which means possible peak annual sales of at least one billion euros each. The cancer drug Nubeqa and the heart failure medicine Verquvo have already seen their first market launches. This year it is also planned to launch finerenone to treat diabetic kidney disease and embark on the Phase III clinical trial with elinzanetant to treat symptoms of the menopause. In addition, Bayer last year acquired the U.S. biotech company AskBio, greatly strengthening its position in the highly promising area of cell and gene therapy. The company is also pursuing completely new therapeutic approaches to diseases such as Parkinsons, a neurodegenerative disorder that has so far proven incurable.

At Consumer Health, too, Bayer invested in new technologies. For example, the company strengthened its position in the promising market for nutritional supplements with the acquisition of the U.S. company Care/of.

On top of this comes the involvement of the Leaps unit, through which Bayer deliberately invests in groundbreaking future technologies.

Baumann added that there is every reason for optimism about combating the pandemic. He said people now understand better than ever before that scientific progress and innovations are the key to a better life. Not far from here  at our site in Wuppertal  our colleagues are now working with great commitment to set up a production for CureVacs mRNA vaccine, he continued. Bayer intends to supply the first quantities of the CureVac vaccine from its own production at the end of this year. Next year, the company aims to manufacture 160 million doses of this vaccine. In addition, it is actively supporting CureVac in developing and supplying the vaccine, which will hopefully be approved for use in the European Union within a few weeks. Baumann said that only systematic vaccination will end the pandemic and protect people from what can be serious and lasting health damage caused by the disease. We are all very proud that Bayer employees are able to make a decisive contribution to this effort.

Untiring focus on innovation

The CEO cited the COVID-19 vaccine as a perfect example of the advances that can be made toward solving the major problems of our time through new technologies and global cooperation. But of course there are also other pressing issues that need to be resolved through science: How can we ensure the food supply for more and more people in times of climate change? How can we ensure health care for more and more elderly people? Baumann said that finding answers to these questions is what underpins Bayer's attractive long-term growth prospects. Were working on it the way our company has always done  with an untiring focus on innovation.

He said humanity is at the beginning of an era of technological change like at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. And today, radical technological change is taking place once more. Its happening in the world of genes and proteins. Baumann said this is a world in which the boundaries between biology on the one hand, and data analysis and artificial intelligence on the other, are steadily merging  with experts calling this the bio-revolution. The work being done in this field in research laboratories worldwide has the potential to give us a fundamentally new understanding of health and nutrition: to show that many diseases can not only be treated, but also cured; that plants can be engineered to fertilize themselves; that sustainable agriculture is possible while saving resources at the same time. Bayer is better positioned than almost any other company to realize this long-term innovation potential, he explained, with the special opportunity lying in the fact that foundational technologies such as gene editing and microbiome research will give rise to innovations in all of our businesses. We will drive Bayers development forward at full power, with our goals firmly in view.

Supervisory Board: key areas of work

Prof. Dr. Norbert Winkeljohann is chairing the Annual Stockholders' Meeting for the first time. He has been a member of Bayers Supervisory Board for three years and its Chairman for one year. In his address to the stockholders, Winkeljohann said he is convinced of the companys potential. Bayers vision  Health for all, hunger for none  very much appeals to me personally. It is a vision worth pursuing. Winkeljohann said that over the next twelve months the Supervisory Board will focus mainly on increasing value through the accelerated implementation of Bayers strategy, supporting change processes, strengthening growth and resolving the glyphosate litigations. The Supervisory Board will also pay attention to discipline in capital allocation and debt reduction, to targeted innovation and digitalization, and to the companys sustainability goals. Bayer holds strong positions in attractive markets with significant potential for growth and value creation. In my role as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, I will do my part to ensure that Bayer consistently takes advantage of these opportunities, Winkeljohann said.

The Annual Stockholders' Meeting will also elect two new stockholder representatives to the Supervisory Board. Two independent candidates are proposed for election, each to serve for a term of four years: Prof. Dr. Fei-Fei Li (44), a leading expert in artificial intelligence and Professor in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University in California, and Alberto Weisser (65), a renowned agricultural expert with decades of capital market experience in the United States. Li and Weisser are intended to succeed Johanna W. (Hanneke) Faber (52) and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Plischke (69). Both these members terms of office expire at the end of this years Annual Stockholders' Meeting, and neither of them is standing for re-election. Bayers stockholders will also vote on an adjustment to Supervisory Board compensation.
First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on April 30, 1996

A day after Australias worst mass murder, the Prime Minister led a nationwide demand for tighter gun laws as Tasmanian police prepared to charge the man believed responsible for killing 35 people.

Prime Minister John Howard delivers a special statement to Parliament on guns laws in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre. May 6, 1996 Credit:Andrew Meares

Mr John Howard pledged he would do everything humanly possible, and the Federal Government will do everything humanly possible, to get an effective tightening of the gun control situation in this country. He also flagged a buy-back scheme for semi-automatic weapons and a national firearms register.

He said the problem was that tens of thousands of semi-automatic weapons were still in circulation even though they were already banned or restricted, and their importation was stopped in 1991.
The Vertebrate Genomes Project (VGP) today announces their flagship study and associated publications focused on genome assembly quality and standardization for the field of genomics. This study includes 16 diploid high-quality, near error-free, and near complete vertebrate reference genome assemblies for species across all taxa with backbones (i.e., mammals, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and fishes) from five years of piloting the first phase of the VGP project.

In a special issue of Nature, with companion papers simultaneously published in other scientific journals, the VGP details numerous technological improvements based on these 16 genome assemblies. In the flagship study, the VGP demonstrates the feasibility of setting and achieving high-quality reference genome quality metrics using their state-of-the-art automated approach of combining long-read and long-range chromosome scaffolding approaches with novel algorithms that put the pieces of the genome assembly puzzle together.

Growing out of the decade-old mission of Genome 10K Community of Scientists (G10K) to sequence the genomes of 10,000 vertebrate species and other comparative genomics efforts, the VGP is taking advantage of dramatic improvements in sequencing technologies in the last few years to begin production of high-quality reference genome assemblies for all ~70,000 living vertebrates. To date, the current VGP pipelines have led to the submission of 129 diploid assemblies representing the most complete and accurate versions of those species to date and is on the path to generating thousands of genome assemblies, demonstrating feasibility in not only quality standardization but also scale.

"When I was asked to take on leadership of the G10K in 2015, I emphasized the need to work with technology partners and genome assembly experts on approaches that produce the highest quality data possible, as it was taking months per gene for my students and postdocs to correct gene structure and sequences for their experiments, which was causing errors in our biological studies", said Erich Jarvis, lead of the VGP sequencing hub at The Rockefeller University, Chair of the G10K and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. "For me this was not only a practical mission, but a moral imperative."

Arang Rhie, first author of the flagship paper from the National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, adds, "It truly was a challenge to design a pipeline applicable to highly diverged genomes. Our largest genome, 5 Gb in size, broke almost every tool commonly used in assembly processes. The extreme level of heterozygosity or repeat contents posed a big challenge. This is just the beginning; we are continuously improving our pipeline in response to new technology improvements."

The VGP's approach combines assembly pipelines with manual curation to fix misassemblies, major gaps, and other errors, which informs the iterative development of better algorithms. For example, the VGP helped reveal high levels of false gene duplications, losses or gains, due mostly to algorithms not properly separating maternal and paternal chromosomes. One solution includes a trio binning approach of using DNA from the parents to separate out the paternal and maternal sequences in the offspring. For cases where parental data is unavailable, another solution developed by the VGP and collaborators is an algorithm called FALCON-Phase that reduces the computational complexity of phasing maternal and paternal DNA sequences at chromosome scale.

Kerstin Howe, lead of the curation team at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK, says, "Our new approach to produce structurally validated, chromosome-level genome assemblies at scale will be the foundation of ground-breaking insights in comparative and evolutionary genomics."

Adam Phillippy, chair of the VGP genome assembly and informatics working group of over 100 members and head of the Genome Informatics Section of the National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, adds, "Completing the first vertebrate reference genome, human, took over 10 years and $3 billion dollars. Thanks to continued research and investment in DNA sequencing technology over the past 20 years, we can now repeat this amazing feat multiple times per day for just a few thousand dollars per genome."

The excellent quality of these genome assemblies enables unprecedented novel discoveries which have implications for characterizing biodiversity for all life, conservation, and human health and disease. The first high-quality reference genomes of six bat species, generated with the Bat 1K consortium, revealed selection and loss of immunity-related genes that may underlie bats' unique tolerance to viral infection. This finding provides novel avenues of research to increase survivability, particularly relevant for emerging infectious diseases, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Specific to conservation and in collaboration with the Maori in New Zealand and officials in Mexico, genomic analyses of the kakap?, a flightless parrot, and the vaquita, a small porpoise and the most endangered marine mammal, respectively, suggest evolutionary and demographic histories of purging harmful mutations in the wild. The implication of these long-term small population sizes at genetic equilibrium gives hope for these species' survival.

Richard Durbin, a Professor at the University of Cambridge and lead of the VGP sequencing hub at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK, says, "These studies mark the start of a new era of genome sequencing that will accelerate over the next decade to enable genomic applications across the whole tree of life, changing our scientific interactions with the living world."

Gene Myers, lead of the VGP sequencing hub at the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, Germany, elaborates, "The VGP project is at the vanguard of the creation of a genomic catalog in analogy with Linnaeus' classification of life. I and my colleagues in Dresden are excited to be contributing superb genome reconstructions with the funding of the Max-Planck Society of Germany."

The VGP involves hundreds of international scientists working together from more than 50 institutions in 12 different countries since the VGP was initiated in 2016 and is exemplary in its scientific cooperation, extensive infrastructure, and collaborative leadership. Additionally, as the first large-scale eukaryotic genomes project to produce reference genome assemblies meeting a specific minimum quality standard, the VGP has thus become a working model for other large consortia, including the Bat 1K, Pan Human Genome Project, Earth BioGenome Project, Darwin Tree of Life, and European Reference Genome Atlas, among others.

As a next step, the VGP will continue to work collaboratively across the globe and with other consortia to complete Phase 1 of the project, approximately one representative species per 260 vertebrate orders separated by a minimum of 50 million years from a common ancestor with other species in Phase 1. The VGP intends to create comparative genomic resources with these 260 species, including reference-free whole genome alignments, that will provide a means to understand the detailed evolutionary history of these species and create consistent gene annotations. Genome data are primarily generated at three sequencing hubs that have invested in the mission of the VGP including The Rockefeller University's Vertebrate Genome Lab, New York, USA; Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK; and Max Planck Institute, Germany.

Phase 2 will focus on representative species from each vertebrate family and is currently in the progress of sample identification and fundraising. The VGP has an open-door policy and welcomes others to join its efforts, ranging from fundraising and sample collection to generating genome assemblies or including their own genome assemblies that meet the VGP metrics as part of our overall mission.

The VGP collaborated with and tested many protocols from genome sequencing companies, some of whose scientists are also co-authors of the flagship study, including from Pacific Biosciences, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Illumina, Arima Genomics, Phase Genomics, and Dovetail Genomics. The VGP also collaborated with DNAnexus and Amazon to generate a publicly available VGP assembly pipeline and host the genomic data in the Genome Ark database. The genomes, annotations and alignments are also available in international public genome browsing and analyses databases, including the National Center for Biotechnology Information Genome Data Viewer, EMBL-EBI Ensembl genome browser, and UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute Genome Browser. All data are open source and publicly available under the G10K data use policies.

Other novel biological discoveries from the 16 genomes in the flagship paper, and 25 genomes total from over 20 papers in this first wave of publications include:

Corrections of false gene or chromosome losses, where previous assemblies missed between 30% to 50% of GC-rich protein-coding gene regulatory regions, which were considered to belong to the 'dark matter' of the genome;

Newly identified chromosomes in the zebra finch and platypus;

Complete and error free mitochondrial genomes for most species, some generated in single molecule sequences without the need for assembly;

Unusual sex chromosome evolution in monotreme mammals and birds;

Genetic variations between humans and marmosets that have implications for marmosets as an emerging non-human primate model system for biomedical research;

Lineage-specific changes shaping the evolution of bird and mammal genomes: duck, emu and platypus and echidna; and

Proposal for a universal evolution-based revised nomenclature for the oxytocin and vasotocin ligand and receptor families.

Links to all of the reports related to this package can be found here on Nature's website.

###

The Rockefeller University is one of the world's leading biomedical research university and is dedicated to conducting innovative, high-quality research to improve the understanding of life for the benefit of humanity. The university's 70 laboratories conduct research in neuroscience, immunology, biochemistry, genomics, and many other areas. A community of 2,000 faculty, students, postdocs, technicians, clinicians, and administrative personnel work on our 16-acre Manhattan campus. Our unique approach to science has led to some of the world's most revolutionary and transformative contributions to biology and medicine. During Rockefeller's 120-year history, our scientists have won 26 Nobel Prizes, 24 Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards, and 20 National Medals of Science.

The Vertebrate Genome Laboratory at The Rockefeller University

The Vertebrate Genome Laboratory (VGL) at the Rockefeller University specializes in long-read genomic technologies. The VGL is one of the three VGP sequencing hubs. It is equipped with cutting-edge genomic technologies including several Pacific Biosciences and Oxford Nanopore sequencers, a Bionano Genomics Saphyr optical mapper, and a 10x Genomics Chromium microfluidics instrument. Composed of a team of experts in long reads and ultra-High-Molecular Weight DNA, the VGL strives to find a way to decipher life's blueprint from any samples, even the most challenging ones. Using state of the art technologies and extensive international collaborations, we are devoted to fill the gap between field scientists and geneticists. We are particularly proud to play our small part in the effort of reversing species extinction by sequencing genomes of endangered species before it is too late. Learn more about us at http://vertebrategenomelab. org and follow us on twitter at @genomewarriors

The Wellcome Sanger Institute

The Wellcome Sanger Institute is a world leading genomics research centre. We undertake large-scale research that forms the foundations of knowledge in biology and medicine. We are open and collaborative; our data, results, tools and technologies are shared across the globe to advance science. Our ambition is vast - we take on projects that are not possible anywhere else. We use the power of genome sequencing to understand and harness the information in DNA. Funded by Wellcome, we have the freedom and support to push the boundaries of genomics. Our findings are used to improve health and to understand life on Earth. Find out more at http://www.sanger.ac.uk or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on our Blog.

The MPI-CBG

The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) in Dresden, Germany is one of more than 80 institutes of the Max Planck Society, an independent, non-profit organization in Germany. 500 curiosity-driven scientists from over 50 countries ask: How do cells form tissues? The basic research programs of the MPI-CBG span multiple scales of magnitude, from molecular assemblies to organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and organisms.

National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health

NHGRI is one of the 27 institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health. At NHGRI, we are focused on advances in genomics research. Building on our leadership role in the initial sequencing of the human genome, we collaborate with the world's scientific and medical communities to enhance genomic technologies that accelerate breakthroughs and improve lives. By empowering and expanding the field of genomics, we can benefit all of humankind. Additional information about NHGRI can be found at https:/ / www. genome. gov .

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute plays an important role in advancing scientific research and education in the United States. Its scientists, located across the country and around the world, have made important discoveries that advance both human health and our fundamental understanding of biology. The Institute also aims to transform science education into a creative, interdisciplinary endeavor that reflects the excitement of real research. HHMI's headquarters are located in Chevy Chase, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC.

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is a nonprofit international conservation leader, committed to inspiring a passion for nature and creating a world where all life thrives. The Alliance empowers people from around the globe to support their mission to conserve wildlife through innovation and partnerships. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance supports cutting-edge conservation and brings the stories of their work back to the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park--giving millions of guests, in person and virtually, the opportunity to experience conservation in action. The work of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance extends from San Diego to strategic and regional conservation "hubs" across the globe, where their strengths--via their "Conservation Toolbox," including the renowned Wildlife Biodiversity Bank--are able to effectively align with hundreds of regional partners to improve outcomes for wildlife in more coordinated efforts. By leveraging these tools in wildlife care and conservation science, and through collaboration with hundreds of partners, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has reintroduced more than 44 endangered species to native habitats. Each year, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance's work reaches over 1 billion people in 150 countries via news media, social media, their websites, educational resources and the San Diego Zoo Kids channel, which is in children's hospitals in 13 countries. Success is made possible by the support of members, donors and guests to the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, who are Wildlife Allies committed to ensuring All Life Thrives.

UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute

Comprising diverse researchers from a variety of disciplines across academic divisions, the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute leads UC Santa Cruz's efforts to unlock the world's genomic data and accelerate breakthroughs in health and evolutionary biology. Our platforms, technologies, and scientists unite global communities to create and deploy data-driven, life-saving treatments and innovative environmental and conservation efforts. We are revealing life's code. Learn more at genomics.ucsc.edu.
Arizona Governor Signs Law to Protect Unborn Children With Genetic Abnormalities

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a measure into law on April 27 that seeks to protect unborn children from abortions performed strictly on the basis of genetic disorders, such as Down syndrome.

The law, which was approved by the state legislature last week, makes it a crime for medical providers to terminate a pregnancy knowing that the procedure was sought solely because of a genetic abnormality of a child, except in a medical emergency. The measure also prohibits public colleges and universities from performing an abortion, forbids mail delivery of abortion-inducing medication, and allows the father or maternal grandparents of an unborn child who was aborted due to a genetic disorder to sue on behalf of an unborn child.

Every life holds immeasurable valueregardless of genetic makeup. Today, I signed legislation to prioritize life in our preborn children and protect those with genetic abnormalities, Ducey said in a statement. Arizona remains among the top pro-life states in the nation, and my sincere thanks goes to Senator Nancy Barto for her leadership and work on this life-saving issue and to those who supported this bill.

The measure, dubbed SB 1457, also requires a doctor or abortionist to complete an affidavit stating that he or she isnt performing an abortion because of the childs genetic abnormality. It also requires the abortionist to inform the mother that its unlawful to perform an abortion due to the childs race, sex, or genetic abnormality, and report any violations of the statute.

An ultrasound is performed in an illustration photograph. (Illustration  Shutterstock)

The move to enact the law was celebrated by various pro-life and conservative groups including the Center for Arizona Policy, which had argued that the measure prevents discrimination against children diagnosed with a disability prior to birth.

Arizona women will be ensured commonsense safeguards if they choose the abortion pill. Arizona taxpayers will not be forced to support abortions at public colleges and universities, and the laws of Arizona will be interpreted to value all human life, the groups president, Cathi Herrod, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the bill was opposed by state Democrats who argued that the bill is overly broad and intrusive and could potentially undermine a womans ability to access an abortion as allowed under Supreme Court precedents.

The Democrat lawmakers also took issue that the language of the bill confers personhood to an unborn child, meaning that he or she would be granted all rights, privileges, and immunities of any other citizen.

This means any harm to the fetus may carry criminal or civil sanctions never before contemplated, the lawmakers argued.

Although the bill states the personhood status must be consistent with Supreme Court precedent, it is not hard to see how this provision could be easily interpreted to erase the universe of protections afforded to women under law of the land since Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

State Rep. Diego Espinoza of Tolleson was among Democrats who lamented the governors action.

Gov. Duceys decision to sign SB1457 is not pro-life. It is anti-families, anti-woman, and anti-doctor. Im disappointed to see Arizona moving in this direction, ignoring the needs and desires of doctors, women, and families for an extreme political agenda, he wrote in a statement on Twitter.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month ruled in a 97 en banc decision (pdf) to reverse a lower court ruling that blocked a similar law that seeks to prohibit Down syndrome abortions, known as the Down Syndrome Non-Discrimination Act, from being enforced.

The 2017 law prohibits a doctor from performing an abortion if he or she has knowledge that the mothers reason for aborting the pregnancy is due to a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis. Doctors who violate the law could be punished criminally and result in the revocation of their medical license.
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).
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A court in northwestern Russia is set to deliver its verdict on April 28 in the case against an activist accused of distributing pornography for sharing a video by the German rock band Rammstein in 2014.

Amnesty International called the case against Andrei Borovikov, who faces three years in prison if convicted, as utterly absurd, saying he was being punished solely for his activism, not his musical taste.

Borovikov was formerly the coordinator of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalnys Arkhangelsk regional headquarters.

Describing Borovikovs prosecution as a mockery of justice, the London-based human rights groups Moscow office director, Natalia Zviagina, called for all charges against him to be dropped.

The Russian authorities should be focusing on turning around the spiraling human rights crisis they have created, not devising ludicrous new ways of prosecuting and silencing their critics, Zviagina said in a statement ahead of the verdict.

In 2014, Borovikov shared a music video for Rammsteins song titled Pussy on the Russian social network VKontakte.

More than six years later, in September 2020, the activist was charged with production and distribution of pornography.

Prosecutors have requested a three-year sentence in a high security penal colony if Borovikov is found guilty by the Lomonosovsky District Court in Arkhangelsk.

This is not the first time the Russian authorities have used an overbroad definition of pornography as a pretext for locking up their critics, Zviagina said, citing the case of Yulia Tsvetkova, an LGBT activist from Russia's Far East who stood trial earlier this month on pornography charges over her drawings of womens bodies.

It is astonishing that cases like this even make it to court, Zviagina said.

The music video posted by Borovikov came to the authorities attention six months ago when a former volunteer at his office informed the police. Amnesty International said it suspected the volunteer was employed as an agent provocateur to help fabricate the case.

The prosecution said the video had been seen by not fewer than two people and ordered a sexological and cultural examination of the clip, before experts found it to be of pornographic nature and not containing artistic value.

Rammstein are no strangers to controversy.

In Belarus, the Council for Public Morals in 2010 protested against Rammstein's concerts in the country that year, saying the band's shows were "open propaganda of homosexuality, masochism, and other forms of perversions, violence, cruelty, and vulgarism."

In 2019, a man in Belarus was charged with producing and distributing pornographic materials for posting a clip in 2014 of the band's video Pussy, which showed graphic sex scenes.

That same year, a video for the group's song Deutschland showed band members dressed as concentration camp prisoners, sparking outrage, especially among Jewish groups.
The latest issue of Vietnam Briefing Magazine, titled Relocating Your Production to Vietnam, is out now and currently available to subscribers as a complimentary download in the Asia Briefing Publication Store.

In this issue:

Planning Your Relocation

Setting Up Your Production

Labor Market and Workforce Optimization

Vietnams successful pandemic response and export-led growth model have accelerated its levels of productivity and kept supply chains moving with limited disruption. Vietnams mobility trends show that several sectors have returned to pre-pandemic levels of economic activity. This has made businesses notice with Vietnam emerging as a highly effective for relocation in Southeast Asia since last year.

Vietnams stable politics, cheap inputs, competitive labor costs, facilitative trade environment, and investment policies make it an ideal location for investors seeking to reduce their operation costs and diversify their production capabilities.

Yet, choosing to relocate operations to Vietnam will not be without its share of challenges. Manufacturers must plan how to realign their supply chains, which production elements to relocate, and the ideal market entry strategy. While Vietnam cannot replace all of Chinas production, it has attracted a significant number of firms looking at alternatives due to Chinas rising costs.

In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we look at ways to plan your relocation as well as market entry options in Vietnam. We then look at procedures and processes for setting up operations and geographic considerations for specific industries. We conclude with the status of Vietnams labor market and workforce optimization strategies.

This magazine is based on Dezan Shira & Associates years of experience in supporting foreign enterprises in Vietnam. For more information and advice on how to plan a relocation to Vietnam please contact us at vietnam@dezshira.com.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Bucephalus Capital Corp. (CSE: BCA) ("Bucephalus" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its Annual General and Special Meeting ("AGSM") will be held on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, commencing at 4:00 p.m. Toronto time.

This year, in response to the unprecedented public health impact of COVID-19, and to mitigate risks to the health and safety of its shareholders, employees and local communities, the Company will be holding the AGSM strictly in a virtual format. Shareholders are urged to review the Company's notice and management information circular ("MIC") that will be posted on SEDAR at the appropriate time for further instructions on how to access the AGSM. Shareholders should vote on the matters before the AGSM by proxy or voting instruction form prior to the proxy cut-off as disclosed in the MIC.

Further, the Company has granted 2,150,000 incentive stock options to directors, officers and consultants. The options are exercisable at a price of $0.42 per share for a term of three years. The options are granted pursuant to the Company's incentive stock option plan.

About Bucephalus Capital Corp.

Bucephalus Capital Corp. (CSE: BCA) is an investment company that is seeking investment opportunities in private and publicly listed entities.

Additional information about the Company can be found on the Company's website at www.bucephaluscapital.ca.

For further information, please contact:

John McMahon, CEO

Tel: (416) 786-9031

Email: jmcmahon@bucephaluscapital.ca

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking information that involves substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. This forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information. The parties undertake no obligation to update forward-looking information except as otherwise may be required by applicable securities law.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82180
On Wednesday morning (April 28), Hippodrome 3R hosted its opening session of qualifying races ahead of the 2021 racing season.

Erge Magic Bab began the morning with a wire-to-wire 2:04.3 trotting mile. The five-year-old gelding, owned and trained by Eric Poisson, had Stephane Brosseau in the bike.

Mickeymaksomespeed lived to his name, going the fastest pacing mile of the session. Driver Richard Simard sent the four-year-old Mickey Hanover stallion to the point from post 3 and cruised through fractions of :28.2, :59.2 and 1:30. Off the final turn, Mickeymaksomespeed spurted clear to hit the finish three-and-a-quarter lengths better than Flashjack Soleil in 1:59.4. Michel Allard owns and trains Mickeymaksomespeed.

Frido PV capitalized off a pocket ride to go the fastest trotting mile of the session, stopping the clock in 2:01.3. Trainer-driver Yves St. Jacques settled into second from the pylon post as Captain Krupnik set a clip of :29.3, :59.4 and 1:30.2. Into a slowing final quarter, Frido PV popped from the pocket and hit the beam three-quarter lengths in front of Captain Krupnik, with Orlys Dream another six lengths behind in third. Marcel Brouillard owns the four-year-old Muscle Mass stallion.

The Wednesday qualifying session was the first of two scheduled. Qualifiers continue at 3R on Saturday (May 1) while the official first date of live racing is still to be announced.

To view Wednesday's qualifying results, click on the following link: Wednesday Results - Hippodrome 3R (Qualifier).
Retired Army First Sgt. Kenneth Paschal won Tuesdays Republican special election runoff for an Alabama House seat against Helena City Councilor Leigh Hulsey by 64 votes, according to preliminary tallies from the Alabama secretary of states office.

Paschal received 51.1 percent, or 1,476 votes, to Hulseys 48.9 percent, or 1,412 votes.

The 64-vote margin is outside the .5 percent needed to force a recount, and the Alabama Republican Party called Paschal the apparent winner in the race while congratulating him.

The Republican Party was incredibly blessed to have two outstanding, conservative candidates vying for this position. Only one can be our nominee, but we want to thank both candidates for their willingness to serve. We look forward to working with Kenneth Paschal as we move toward the general election. He will be a great addition to our Republican Caucus in the legislature, fighting for the issues that matter most to the people of Alabama, said ALGOP Chairman John Wahl. I hope that Leigh Hulsey will remain active in our party and continue to use her talents to further the conservative movement as we stand for American values.

The House District 73 seat representing part of Shelby County became vacant when former Rep. Matt Friday, R-Montevallo, was elected to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals in November.

Paschal will face Democrat Sheridan Black in the July 13 special general election.
GABORONE (Reuters) - A Southern African leaders meeting that was scheduled for Thursday to address the Islamic State-linked insurgency in Mozambique has been postponed, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi's office said on Wednesday.

The meeting was to receive a report from a team sent to Mozambique to assess the security situation and identify ways to support the country after IS-linked insurgents attacked the coastal town of Palma, displacing tens of thousands of people and stalling a $60 billion natural gas project.

The gas project by French oil major Total is meant to transform the economy of one of Africa's poorest countries.

The meeting was put off due to the unavailability of the Botswana and South African presidents, Masisi's office said.

Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique form a division of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that wants to decide how to help Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province against Islamist militant attacks there.

Botswana is the current chair of the SADC division, which is tasked with promoting peace and security in the region.

Masisi went into self-quarantine on Tuesday after the detection of a case of COVID-19 among his staff, while South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa is giving testimony to an inquiry into corruption under his predecessor Jacob Zuma.

The insurgency broke out in Mozambique's northeast in 2017 and the rebels have stepped up attacks in the past year.

A report by ratings agency S&P Global said militant attacks in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province pose a "significant threat" to production facilities associated with one the biggest natural gas discoveries in the world.

(Reporting by Brian Benza; Editing by Promit Mukherjee and Mark Heinrich)
The American Civil Liberties Union and a number of other civil rights group warned that President Joe Biden's move to ban menthol cigarettes could actually harm communities of color.

'A menthol cigarette ban would disproportionately impact communities of color, result in criminalization of the market, and exacerbate mass incarceration,' a letter sent this week to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra warned.

It was signed by the ACLU, the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy and 24 other related groups.

President Joe Biden's administration is expected to announce a proposal to ban menthol cigarettes, according to The Washington Post

The Biden administation can unilaterally ban the mint-flavored smokes, but has to go through a process with the Food and Drug Administration

On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that the Biden administration was expected to announce the proposal to ban menthol cigarettes soon, which would set off a process with the Food and Drug Administration that could take years, but would be applauded by antismoking and other civil rights groups.

Antismoking groups, along with some civl rights allies, have pressured the federal government to make the move because they say the tobacco industry has aggressively targeted black communities when pushing the mint flavored smokes.

But the ACLU, drug legalization and other groups have countered that the move had the potential to create 'large underground, illegal markets.'

'In addition, underground cigarette sales would be a massive law enforcement problem for states, counties, and cities, since all states treat unlicensed sale of tobacco products as a crime  usually as a felony punishable by imprisonment,' the letter said. 'In the end, tobacco policy will no longer be the responsibility of regulators regulating, but police policing.'

'Our experience with alcohol, opioid, and cannabis prohibition teaches us that that is a policy disaster waiting to happen, with Black and other communities of color bearing the brunt,' the letter continued.

The letter asked HHS to better fund youth education, smoking cessation programs and healthcare programs for communities of color instead.

'We agree with those who want to see even more progress in addressing the health needs of communities of color and support policies that would achieve those goals without threatening the progress we have begun in making criminal justice reform a reality,' the letter said.

Menthol is a compound found in mint plants and has been added to cigarettes since the 1920s.

The Post reported that the Biden administration is also looking to include menthol and other flavored, mass-produced cigars as well, including the smaller cigars that are popular with young people.

Menthol cigarettes have long been considered the gateway cigarette for young people when they start smoking.

The Biden administration can unilaterally ban flavored cigarettes and cigars without the help of Congress.

The FDA must put out proposed rules and receive public comments.

There will likely be court challenges brought by the tobacco industry against the move as well.

The FDA must respond to a lawsuit by Thursday after the agency was sued in June by the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council and Action on Smoking & Health for not responding to a citizen petition asking that menthol cigarettes be banned.

Biden has made racial equity part of his agenda, including on health outcomes.

Health groups point to studies that show menthol cigarettes are harder to quit than the non-flavored versions and point to numbers showing that black Americans smoke them at three times the rate of white Americans.

Data from the FDA counts 19.5 million people as menthol cigarette smokers.

Among African-American smokers, 85.8 per cent smoke menthols.

The Food and Drug Administration says that 19.5 million people smoke brands of menthol cigarettes like Marbloro Menthols

That's in comparison to 46 per cent of Latino smokers who smoke menthol, 39 per cent of Asian smokers who smoke menthol and finally, 28.7 per cent of white smokers who smoke menthol.

'The predatory marketing of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products must be stopped and we should all recognize this as a social justice issue, and one that disproportionately impacts youth and communities of color,' said a letter written to Biden's Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra signed by representatives from 10 civil rights and black health organizatios, the Post said.

The letter spoke of moves made by the tobacco industry including menthol giveaways at gatherings in black neighborhoods.

Biden, like his predecessor President Donald Trump, doesn't smoke or drink alcohol.

Massachusetts is the only state to have banned the sale of menthol cigarettes in the US.

California could be the next when it goes to a referendum later this year.

Other states including New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island have cracked down on tobacco products by banning the sale of flavored e-ciagarettes.

The administration is also reportedly planning to push tobacco manufacturers to decrease the amount of nicotine in cigarettes, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Nicotine doesn't cause cancer, according to health experts, but makes cigarettes more addictive.

It can be reduced in cigarettes by either genetically modifying tobacco plants or removing nicotine from tobacco leaves during the manufacturing process.

The tobacco moves come at the same time the country is moving toward legalization of marijuana, which can also be smoked.

President Joe Biden has resisted calls from leaders of his party, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, to fully legalize the drug and instead wishes to make moves on the federal level to decriminalize it and leave legalization efforts to the states.
[April 28, 2021] Carvana Brings The New Way to Buy a Car to Daphne

Leading online auto retailer Carvana (NYSE: CVNA) is now offering as-soon-as-next-day touchless home delivery to Daphne area residents. Customers can shop more than 20,000 used cars for sale, secure auto financing, purchase, trade in, and schedule as-soon-as-next-day vehicle delivery in as little as five minutes. Customers can also sell their current vehicle to Carvana and receive a real offer just as quickly, without even purchasing a vehicle. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005836/en/



Carvana continues expanding in Alabama, offering as-soon-as-next day vehicle delivery to Daphne area residents. (Photo: Business Wire)

Carvana can save customers valuable time and money, allowing them to skip the dealership and shop from the comfort of home or on the go via their mobile device. Carvana vehicles come with a seven-day return policy; an upgrade to the traditional test drive, giving customers the time to ensure their vehicle fits their life. Whether testing out a new body style for the first time or taking it for a spin down the coast, customers get the peace of mind they deserve. Customers looking to trade in their vehicle, or sell a vehicle, can also skip the dealership by simply entering their VIN or license plate number on Carvana.com, answer a few questions and Carvana can pick up the vehicle and bring them a check, as soon as the next day. Carvana pioneered online car buying, including its patented 360-degree virtual vehicle tour, where customers can view vehicles in high-definition, inside and out. Carvana vehicles are Carvana Certified, having passed a rigorous 150-point inspection, have never been in a reported accident and have no frame damage. Features, imperfections and updated information about open safety recalls are listed on every car's vehicle description page. "We're pleased to offer our easy, transparent car buying experience to even more customers in Alabama," said Ernie Garcia, founder and CEO of Carvana. "With The New Way to Buy a Car, Daphne residents now have access to our national inventory of thousands of cars, giving them a great selection, at a great price, with great customer service." Carvana now offers as-soon-as-next-day vehicle delivery to customers in 274 cities across the U.S. About Carvana (NYSE: CVNA) Founded in 2012 and based in Phoenix, Carvana's (NYSE: CVNA) mission is to change the way people buy cars. By removing the traditional dealership infrastructure and replacing it with technology and exceptional customer service, Carvana offers consumers an intuitive and convenient online car buying and financing platform. Carvana.com enables consumers to quickly and easily shop more than 20,000 vehicles, finance, trade-in or sell their current vehicle to Carvana, sign contracts, and schedule as-soon-as-next-day delivery or pickup at one of Carvana's patented, automated Car Vending Machines. For further information on Carvana, please visit www.carvana.com, or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005836/en/

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On the information distributed via media sources regarding the incentive with stock ownership plan of key executives and employees of companies of AB Ignitis grupe

On 27 April 2021 the media has published publications regarding the legitimacy of incentive of key executives and employees with stock ownership plan (hereinafter  the Plan) (hereinafter  the Publications).

AB Ignitis grupe (hereinafter  the Company) releases an explanation to inform the investors, the public and other market participants, so they are not mislead by the Publications.

The Company informs that Vilnius District Prosecutors Office, after it received a statement from a private person, contacted the Company and the authorities concerned with a request to submit information related to the Plan.

The Company explains that after completing the initial public offering, the Company is an issuer since 7 October 2020 whose shares are being traded in publicly regulated market, i.e. it is a listed company. The state owns 73.08% of the Companys shares, the remaining part  26.92% of shares  is being traded in the regulated markets. The Companys shares can be acquired by retail investors from Lithuania and abroad in the regulated markets. This part of the shares, which is being traded in the regulated markets, is not a state-controlled asset. The Companys shares would be allocated to employees and key executives as part of the incentive and remuneration by transferring owned shares of the Company, i.e. the Company would acquire own shares from the regulated markets. Therefore, the shares owned by the right of ownership by the state would not be allocated and it would not affect the size of the controlling stake (73.08%) of the controlling shareholder  the state  in any capacity.

According to the assessment of the Company, employee and executive incentive with a stock ownership plan as a variable remuneration part is a modern process complying with the best international practices and Law of the Republic of Lithuania.

The Company is one of the first state-owned enterprises that initiated such practice in Lithuania, therefore, it is natural that the authorities request a more detailed explanation and delve into the principles of a stock ownership plan as well as legal regulation of such systems. According to the assessment of the Company, neither the public interest, nor legal acts were violated.

The Company is providing and will continue to provide all necessary information and will cooperate in any other capacity in order to explain that neither the public interest, nor legal acts were violated.

All information regarding the stock ownership plan was announced via the securities markets, both stakeholders and shareholders as well as the public were informed about these processes. Information about the updated Companys Remuneration Policy and Share Allocation Rules approved during the General Meeting of Shareholders was announced on 25 M arch , the approved executive long-term incentive plan was announced on 22 March.

The Company will inform about the material events related to the Plan according to the procedure set out in legal acts.

For more information please contact:

Arturas Ketlerius

Head of Public Relations at Ignitis Group

arturas.ketlerius@ignitis.lt

+370 620 76076
28. April 2021

Am 27. April trat EPA-Prasident Antonio Campinos als Gastredner in einer virtuellen Sitzung des Forschungs- und Innovationsausschusses der spanischen Handelskammer auf.

Herr Campinos sprach zu den Ausschussmitgliedern uber die wichtige Rolle, die Innovation und geistiges Eigentum fur eine nachhaltige Erholung der Weltwirtschaft spielen konnen. "Der Innovationssektor ist ausschlaggebend dafur, dass wir wieder auf die Beine kommen", sagte er.

Der Prasident des EPA hob auch einige der Initiativen zur Unterstutzung von Erfinderinnen und Erfindern im Rahmen des EPA-Strategieplans hervor. Dazu gehoren die offentlich zugangliche Patentdatenbank mit 127 Millionen Eintragen und die Modernisierung der Dienstleistungen der Patentinformationszentren (PATLIBs) mit dem Ziel der Forderung des Technologietransfers. Herr Campinos unterstrich auch die Bedeutung des Trainee-Programms "Pan-European Seal", mit dem ein Pool von jungen Fachleuten mit IP-Kenntnissen geschaffen werden soll und an dem acht spanische Hochschulen und 21 Trainees aus Spanien teilnehmen.

Daruber hinaus lobte er das spanische Innovationsokosystem und wies darauf hin, dass spanische Anmeldungen beim EPA in den letzten zehn Jahren um 28 % zugenommen haben. Er wurdigte bahnbrechende spanische Erfinderinnen und Erfinder wie die verstorbene Margarita Salas, die 2019 in Anerkennung ihrer Pionierleistungen auf dem Gebiet der DNA-Analyse den Europaischen Erfinderpreis in der Kategorie Lebenswerk verliehen bekam.

Abschlieend unterstrich der Prasident, wie wichtig es ist, ein faires, effizientes und nachhaltiges Patentsystem aufzubauen, das den Bedurfnissen der Nutzer umfassend gerecht wird  gerade in einer Zeit, in der Fragen des Zugangs zu Arzneimitteln und die weiterreichenden Auswirkungen der kunstlichen Intelligenz die offentliche Debatte bestimmen. Im Zusammenhang mit den Entwicklungen beim Einheitspatent betonte der Prasident, welche Bedeutung dieses Projekt hat, wenn es darum geht, das volle Potenzial des europaischen Binnenmarkts auszuschopfen, und warnte vor den Schwierigkeiten, die sich fur spanische Erfinder ohne die Teilnahme Spaniens ergaben.

Das Treffen in der Handelskammer bot auch die Gelegenheit, Feedback zu den Bedurfnissen der spanischen Nutzer des Patentsystems einzuholen.

Weiterfuhrende Informationen
[April 28, 2021] Enghouse Signs $29 Million Agreement With Norwegian Government To Provide National Emergency Fire Services Technology System

Enghouse solution to consolidate Norway's fire service technology infrastructure MARKHAM, ON, April 28, 2021 /CNW/ - Enghouse Systems Limited (TSX: ENGH) today announced it has signed a contract with the Norwegian government to deliver state-of-the-art technology solutions for all of the country's regional Emergency Fire Control Rooms. The $29 million, eight-year agreement was signed between Locus Solutions AS, the Norwegian subsidiary of Enghouse, and the authority representing the 13 regional fire agencies. The solution being implemented is for an integrated National Fire Control Room. This includes emergency call handling, dispatch and coordination of fire vehicles and other first-response resources, in cooperation with other emergency services such as police and ambulance. The Enghouse solution provides emergency services with clear communications and accurate real-time information. Enghouse Locus has extensive experience with the development, delivery and maintenance of robust and future-oriented platform solutions for emergency services. The contract announced today builds on the $55 million, 12-year agreement with Norwegian Health Care announced in October 2020. The system will optimize the handling of inquiries, manage resources and provide operators with time-sensitive guidance and recommendations for corrective action. This guidance will be based on real-time critical information about building type, hazards, location and estimated time of arrival. The procurement includes software, services, development, testing and implemenation over the term of the agreement. Following the rollout, Enghouse Locus will continue to provide maintenance support and ongoing product enhancements.



"The need for a comprehensive Fire Room solution has been growing as Norway's fire services have advanced, and we are very pleased that we now have this agreement in place," said Trond Brenden, Project Manager. "After an extensive review process, we selected the Locus Emergency Platform solution with the functionality, reliability and flexibility to fulfil the demanding requirements for this project," added Trond Brenden. "The new system will give the Norwegian regional emergency fire service authorities a robust and future-oriented platform that can expand and adapt in response to changing first-response technologies."

"Enghouse Locus is honoured to be selected as the trusted partner for this project," said Per Edvard Heyerdahl, Managing Director, Enghouse Transportation and Public Safety (Nordic region). "We have been working with the Norwegian Fire Regions for decades and have a very clear understanding of their vision and requirements. We have extensive experience dealing with all emergency services and made significant investments into our Locus Emergency Platform to deliver a next generation system." About Enghouse Systems Limited ("Enghouse") Enghouse is a Canadian publicly traded company (TSX:ENGH) that provides enterprise software solutions focusing on remote work, visual computing, communications for next generation software defined networks and public safety. The Company's two-pronged growth strategy focuses on internal growth and acquisitions, which, to date, have been funded through operating cash flows. The Company is well capitalized, has nominal long-term debt and is organized around two business segments: the Interactive Management Group and the Asset Management Group. Further information about Enghouse may be obtained from the Company's website at www.enghouse.com. About Enghouse Locus Enghouse Locus, a subsidiary of Enghouse Systems Limited, has developed and delivered high-quality business-critical IT solutions to emergency services, security companies and the transport industry since 1991. Enghouse Locus is located in Sandefjord, Norway and focuses on Public Safety and Transportation. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enghouse-signs-29-million-agreement-with-norwegian-government-to-provide-national-emergency-fire-services-technology-system-301279503.html SOURCE Enghouse Systems Limited

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Forty years ago, the U.S. was a goat cheese wasteland. Outside of Europe, goat cheese  not to mention goat milk, goat kefir, and goat yogurt  simply didnt exist. But in 1978, a small farm in Sebastopol and its owner, Jennifer Bice, changed everything.

Theres no way youd know that Redwood Hill Farm-Capracopia is one of the most productive goat dairies in the country without talking to its humble proprietor. Tucked within the mosaic of farmland flanking Green Valley Road, the land is serene and lush, with an olive grove, hop yard, fruit orchard, flower field and vegetable garden. Several months of the year, baby goats bleat and bounce in the kid nursery while milk-producing nanny goats lounge in beds of fresh hay in the barn and paddocks below.

When Bices parents purchased the small abandoned apple orchard that would become Redwood Hill Farm, goats were never a part of the plan. In 1964, Jennifers dad, Kenneth, a post office worker, transferred from Los Angeles to Sebastopol in search of the quiet life of self-sufficiency promised by the eras back-to-the-land movement. He was joined by his wife, Cynthia, and a brood of children.

In their new home, the kids, whod gone from city sidewalks to rural farmland overnight, joined a local 4-H chapter and began raising animals. Goats quickly became the favorite, especially for 10-year-old Jennifer, the oldest of Cynthia and Kenneths 10 children. In those early years, their growing goat herd produced so much milk that the family dumped what they couldnt use. There was nothing else to do with it  that is, until the health food stores came sniffing around.

In the late 1960s in progressive communities from California to New York, health food stores  markets selling local, organic, unprocessed foods  emerged as an alternative for Americans who rejected the Velveeta-and-Jello food culture that then dominated the U.S. Prized for its low levels of lactose and casein, the sugars and amino acids found in high concentrations in milk that sometimes result in dairy intolerance, goats milk had long been exchanged in a sort of underground wellness network. But with the rise of the health food store, those in search of goats milk no longer had to know a guy who knew a guy who had some goats. In 1968, the Bices built their first Grade A goat dairy and began bottling their excess raw milk in glass bottles for sale on the shelves of the new hippie stores.

The work was intensive and paid little and, as the Bice children grew, they lost interest in their goats. They didnt see the novelty of farm life, Bice laughs. The family closed their dairy and by the late '70, they moved on to a new adventure in Hawaii. Jennifer, by then in her 20s and newlywed, stayed on the mainland and purchased the property with her goat-loving husband, Steven Schack.

Unlike her parents, when Bice and Schack first took over Redwood Hill Farm, the goats were the only thing on their mind. We loved our goats and showing them and breeding, says Bice, and its clear they still do. Its the goats, not the product they produce, that drive the whole operation.

I trail Bice's youngest brother, farm manager Scott Bice, as he points out the Saanens, an easygoing Swiss breed that are the Holsteins of the goat world, and the LaManchas, a short-legged, tiny-eared heritage breed first brought to California by Spanish missionaries. The Nubians are the beauty queens, he says, pointing at the long-eared ladies, one of Jennifer Bices favorites. Theyre not very smart, he confides. (Later, Scott Bice would let me attempt to snuggle one of the baby Nubians at the nursery. The kid summarily refused my advances.)

Next to the barn is the gleaming, state-of-the-art milking dairy where 10 females at a time exchange their milk twice daily for a bucket of grain. Around 80 nannies are milked every season while the others rest and take the time off. Each one delivers about two gallons a day.

While Bice and Schack didnt initially intend to re-establish the dairy side of the operation when they took over Redwood Hill in 1978, they realized that selling the milk meant they could purchase more goats for breeding and showing. These days, Redwood Hill Farms goats are some of the most prized breeding stock in the country, with many national champions among their offspring. The couple returned to bottling, and later yogurt-making, and distributing their products directly to health-conscious markets.

By then, change was afoot in California, and the farm-to-table movement, spearheaded by Alice Waters, was underway. Goat cheese had come to America, not via the shelves of specialty grocery stores, but in the dishes of a new crop of high-end restaurants like Chez Panisse. With the help of a French book on making goat cheese that she translated word for word, Bice eventually mastered making her own chevre in the kitchen on the farm. By 1994, the Bices' shoestring operation had blossomed financially and they built their first creamery.

Redwood Hill soon became known for its more complex, French-style rind-ripened goat cheeses  buttery bucheret, earthy crottin and fluffy terra.

Well after the turn of the 21st century, if you wanted American goat cheese west of the Mississippi, these, along with the cheeses produced by Sonomas Laura Chenel and Cypress Groves Mary Keehn in Arcata, were your only options. In 2011, all three were inducted into the American Cheese Societys Academy of Cheese as the countrys first goat cheese pioneers.

With the Bices having laid a foundation for American goat dairies, artisan goat cheese is now ubiquitous. Its nearly impossible to find a high-end California restaurant without some style of local goat cheese on their menu.

Bice remains one of the godmothers of American chevre, shepherding young cheesemakers into the big time through her role in the California Artisan Cheese Guild. But at Redwood Hill Farm, shes returned to her first love, the animals themselves. In 2015, Bice sold the commercial dairy and creamery operations to Emmi, a Swiss company which also now owns Cypress Grove, Cowgirl Creamery and Meyenberg.

Selling the creamery allowed us to keep the farm, Bice explains. It was hard for me because Im a very local person, but when I sold to them they kept everybody on and didnt change things. She now lives in the original creamery space  her couch is where the pasteurizer once operated, the dining table where the feta cheese vat once sat. (Schack died of pancreatic cancer in 1999.) And twice a week, milk from her beloved goats is trucked to the original Redwood Hill Farm Creamery, where it is made into Redwood Hill Farm kefir, milk, butter and yogurt and sold across the nation through Whole Foods and other grocers.

Meanwhile, with the help of Scott and others among her nine siblings, along with two nieces and a nephew, Redwood Hill Farms artisan food and flower production continues. And the goats, as they have been since 1968, are still the stars of the show.

Redwood Hill Farm-Capracopia offers private and public farm tours throughout the spring guided by a member of the Bice family. 5480 Thomas Road, Sebastopol, redwoodhillfarm.org.

Shoshi Parks is an anthropologist and freelance writer specializing in history, travel and food.
Developments in trade will continue to be watched closely, but the impact is likely to be limited, especially from the perspective of global investment flows.

Trade tensions will certainly create ripples, but there will be a much larger short-term impact on the Pound Sterling from the expected coronavirus pandemic recovery.

The City of London is looking to use the EU divorce as a springboard for reform to enhance global competitiveness and boost market share.

UK Trade Deal Formally Ratified

The European Parliament has approved the UK-EU trade deal with a huge majority. The Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) was passed by MEPs with a 660 in favour and 5 against while 32 abstained.

There was tough rhetoric during the debate with the Commission looking to reassure parliament that it would have influence while also warning the UK to comply with the treaty.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen commented; "We will ensure that the Parliament is involved as appropriate and necessary whenever important decisions are taken under the agreement,"

She added; "This agreement comes with real teeth with a binding dispute settlement mechanism and the possibility for unilateral, remedial measures where necessary. And let me be very clear: We do not want to have to use these tools. But we will not hesitate to use them if necessary."

U.K. Minister David Frost commented that the vote marks a new chapter together as Europeans, characterized by friendly cooperation between sovereign equals. European Council President Charles Michel added that the EU will continue to work constructively with the U.K. as an important friend and partner.

Tough EU Rhetoric, Deal Still Seen as a Lose-Lose Situation

The Parliament's trade committee chair, Bernd Lange expressed satisfaction with the outcome and the role of lawmakers; "The Parliament now has a strong lever to move the Commission in a certain direction" on the EU-U.K. deal.

According to EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier; "This is a divorce. It is a warning, Brexit. It's a failure of the European Union and we have to learn lessons from it."

As well as the treaty vote, parliament also voted on a resolution criticising Brexit; The UKs withdrawal from the EU is a historic mistake and recalls that the EU has always respected the UKs decision while insisting that the UK must also accept the consequences of leaving the EU.

According to the text, parliament also regrets the limited scope of the deal, which lacks cooperation on foreign policy or student exchanges, and notes that opportunities for Britain's largely service-based economy are "vastly reduced."

Parliament's Brexit Co-ordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, described the deal as "a failure for both sides, but better than nothing".

City of London Optimistic as Focus Shifts to Reform

Given that the agreement only covers trade negotiations on access for services will also be important with the UK and EU still in discussion over equivalence after signing a reaching a memorandum of understanding in March.

Last week Mairead McGuinness, the European Commissioner for financial services, said Brussels will not be recreating access to the single market for the UK as they have chosen to move out.

She added; I know there probably is an appetite on the UK side for us to sit down and get going, she said. We are certainly very keen to do that, but were not under pressure to do it.

PwC head of financial services John Garvey expects that there will be a deal eventually; Theres going to be a strange relationship developing over time where the Europeans realise they need London. So, I think there will be some kind of deal because the continent will need access to the London market.

KPMGs head of financial services Karim Haji also took a generally optimistic stance; the UK has been one of the leaders in financial services regulation and infrastructure, its one of the key innovators in the space as well, and one of the leaders in the world, and thats why the UK has been successful in exporting financial services  that isnt changing as a result of Brexit.

Miles Celic, head of lobbying group TheCityUK, notes the importance of setting global standards rather than focussing on EU regulation; Competitiveness is about much more than regulation  its got to look at issues such as access to talent and a stable, predictable, simplified tax regime.
Korea's five major business lobbies have submitted a petition to Cheong Wa Dae to pardon Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong, who is serving the remainder of a two-and-a-half-year sentence for bribery and embezzlement.

The Korea Enterprises Federation submitted the letter to the presidential office in the name of the chiefs of the five organizations on Monday, a spokesman said.

"Korea could lose its No. 1 status in the semiconductor industry overnight if there is a delay in vital investment and strategic decisions because of the absence of a business leader who should oversee his company's management amid fierce competition in the industry," the letter said. "We urge you to make a decision guided by reconciliation and tolerance."

But a Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters a pardon "is not being considered."

A ruling-party official said, "The pardon will be possible only after the Supreme Court sentences him in another case" for his alleged involvement in accounting fraud during the merger of two Samsung affiliates that allowed Lee to take the helm of the conglomerate.

Meanwhile, the Samsung heirs unveiled the details of their vast inheritance from patriarch Lee Kun-hee on Wednesday. They pledged to donate some 23,000 works by domestic and foreign artists and W1 trillion for the treatment of infectious diseases and rare cancers to offset their inheritance tax bill (US$1=W1,113).

Their fortune was valued at around W26 trillion including W19 trillion in shares in Samsung subsidiaries, which entails an inheritance tax of over W12 trillion.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Comedian Dave Chappelle has been making people laugh for decades, whether its his sitcoms or standup routines. In June, he will be performing at The Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, June 24-26.

Tickets are still available on Vividseats.com and range between $226 for the mezzanine to $1,000, which gets you in the orchestra section.

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Tickets are limited because of pandemic restrictions. The Foxwoods Resort and Casino may also add their own restrictions. Please check before you go.

Dave Chappelle has signed $20 Million deal with Netflix. He also won Emmy award in 2017 for his guest appearance on Saturday Night live. Dave won a grammy award in 2018 for his Netflix Series The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas.

Chappelle is better known for his iconic and acclaimed satirical comedy sketch series Chappelles Show (2003). Chappelle was called the comic genius of America by Esquire in 2006 and the best by a Billboard writer in 2013.
The president and CEO of Spains national airport operator Aena, Maurici Lucena, pointed out during the company's virtual shareholders' meeting held this Tuesday in Madrid, that there are reasons for "moderate optimism" in the sector.

"The progress of vaccination will allow us to achieve the desired community immunity in the coming months, which will contribute to the resurgence of air traffic and our main financial figures," said the president of Spains national airport operator, saying he expected the recovery to begin in the late summer with the most popular destinations being those offering sun and beaches while he anticipated long haul will start recovering in winter.

"When the restrictions are lifted, latent demand will reappear with great force," explained the Aena boss.

"Although in the short term there are numerous questions that force us to continue being very cautious in our forecasts for the coming months, there are well-founded signs that we are approaching the beginning of the end of the serious situation generated by the virus in the airline sector," said Lucena.

However, in the long term, he said the forecasts suggest reaching the 2019 passenger volume around 2025 and 2026.

He explained, the European segment will be the first to recover the levels prior to the health crisis, followed by the international long-haul segment, and finally the domestic one.

Lucena highlighted the company's ability to adapt to the new challenging environment and assured that although 2020 has been a lousy year for the entire sector, our operational and economic solvency allows us to continue to be a benchmark in the world airport operator sector".

The Aena chief said he trusts that the implementation of measures such as the European vaccination passport will contribute to generating a climate of greater confidence in the recovery of a certain normality in the airline sector.

Lucena argued that the cases of coronavirus imported by air travel "are minimal" and do not have a significant impact on the evolution of the epidemiological situation in a country.

Speaking to shareholders he highlighted the maintenance of "very competitive" airport rates, new incentives to promote the recovery of traffic and payment deferrals, discounts on rents, as well as renegotiation of contracts.

After reviewing the 2020 results obtained in "a very complicated year for the company", Lucena presented one of the most important points of the shareholders' meeting - the companys Climate Action Plan - 2030.
Philippine activists carry signs outside the Chinese Consulate in Metropolitan Manila as they protest against Beijings maritime activities in disputed waters of the South China Sea, April 23, 2021.

Philippine opposition senators, in a resolution Tuesday, accused Beijing of creeping hegemony in the South China Sea through what they described as the illegal presence of Chinese ships in Manilas exclusive economic zone.

The 11 senators, mostly critics of President Rodrigo Duterte, released Resolution 708 that hit out at the lingering presence of Chinese vessels in disputed waters in the Spratly Islands, despite multiple diplomatic protests lodged by the Department of Foreign Affairs this month.

While Chinas increasing dominance as regional and world power cannot be denied, its open and serious contempt of the UNCLOS, as well as its expansion of influence in the area at the expense of legitimate interests and legally recognized maritime entitlements of smaller nations like the Philippines, must be firmly resisted and denounced and the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration Award vigorously asserted, said the resolution filed on Monday.

UNCLOS refers to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The 2016 ruling supported the Philippines territorial claims to the South China Sea.

Close diplomatic ties and Manilas acceptance of economic help from Beijing should not be mistaken as acceptance of Chinas creeping hegemony over our region and country, the senators emphasized.

On Monday, Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon urged the president to rally the countrys neighbors and allies to form a united front against Beijing and its actions in the South China Sea.

Apart from the protests, which I support, we should, as an objective, get the other nations to confront China, including our allies  United States, Japan, and Australia. We must unite against the unlawful Chinese incursion in the West Philippine Sea, Drilon told reporters, referring to the weeks-long presence of Chinese ships in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Duterte administration was aware of Tuesdays resolution, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

The Palace respects that as the views of 11 policymakers of the country, he told reporters.

Last week, President Duterte said he would send military ships into the disputed areas only if China began drilling for oil and minerals.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

Beijing had said in the past that it was not bound by the international arbitration courts ruling in 2016.

Chinese ships in EEZ

Two weeks ago, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported that government patrols had spotted an estimated 240 Chinese ships in Philippine waters  more than the 220 spotted in March. The West Philippine Sea is Manilas designation for claimed territory in the South China Sea.

In mid-April, the task force said nine ships were still present at Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef), a shoal in the Spratly chain that became the epicenter of a bilateral flare-up when scores of Chinese ships were first spotted moored together there in early March. China also claims the reef as part of its territory.

Chinese ships and boats were also spotted in other areas in the South China Sea, including in Manila-claimed Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, the task force reported.

Philippine patrols, it said, had also seen Chinese navy ships, including two Houbei-class missile warships at Panganiban Reef, one Corvette-class warship at Fiery Cross Reef, and one Navy tugboat at Zamora Reef.

Diplomatic protests

Last Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced it had lodged two new diplomatic notes of protest with Beijing because, as of April 20, Philippine maritime law enforcement patrols had observed the continuing unauthorized presence and activities of 160 Chinese fishing vessels and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels in Philippine waters, it said.

The diplomatic notes were in addition to the daily protests being filed by the DFA against the continuing presence of Chinese vessels in Julian Felipe Reef, the foreign office said in a statement.

On Saturday in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard began training exercises with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

We are supporting the whole-of-nation approach in securing our maritime jurisdiction, especially the efforts of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea to undertake maritime security, maritime safety, maritime law enforcement, maritime search and rescue, and marine environmental protection roles in our countrys waters, Commodore Armando Balilo, said in a statement on the coast guards website.

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 EEZ.

On Saturday, the European Unions External Action Service expressed concern about the Chinese ships and called for peaceful, diplomatic solutions.

Tensions in the South China Sea, including the recent presence of large Chinese vessels at Whitsun Reef, endanger peace and stability in the region, the EU said in a statement. The EU reiterates its strong opposition to any unilateral actions that could undermine regional stability and the international rules-based order.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
As the COVID-19 outbreak in Cambodia worsens by the day, Vietnamese doctors and staffers at Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital are spreading themselves thin to provide medical care and vaccines against the pathogen for the local community.

The number of coronavirus cases in Cambodia has so far surged past 11,000, with daily spikes recorded in the hundreds, while its fatalities have risen to 82, according to statistics.

The situation is still intense, as daily caseloads are not going down, while the [Cambodian] government has done everything they could, said Ton Thanh Tra, director of Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital, the Phnom Penh branch of Ho Chi Minh Citys largest general hospital Cho Ray, in a recent phone discussion with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Crippled workforce

As the outbreak in Cambodia is at its height and shows barely any sign of drawing back, Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital is also in the throes, with all medical staffers having to take extra shifts to cover the workload.

Tra himself is no exception, as he now has to play a dual role as a manager and a practitioner for critical cases.

The COVID-19 outbreak first 'visited' his hospital in mid-April, when a patient in grave condition, with their heartbeat and breathing stopping, was admitted to the facility, he recalled.

He died shortly after, but his test read positive for the coronavirus, forcing eight emergency practitioners to go into quarantine.

A few days later, the hospital had to send 11 of their nurses to the quarantine ward after two other patients they had tended to tested positive for the pathogen.

The emergency department has enough manpower for four teams working rotating shifts, yet as many as two teams of practitioners were quarantined, which forced the others to work twice as hard, Tra pointed out.

On April 23, the workforce of the hospital got cut even more, as 16 staffers under the general internal medicine department had to be isolated for their direct contact with a patients caretaker, who had just tested positive for COVID-19.

Considering the situation, the hospital had to shut down the whole general internal medicine department as well.

Counting from the Phnom Penh Community Incident on February 20, when two women infected with COVID-19 fled quarantine and enkindled Cambodias worst outbreak to date, Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital has seen 35 of their staffers going into quarantine, the majority of whom are from emergency and general internal medicine departments, two of the most crucial wards of the medical facility.

Doctor Ton Thanh Tra examines a patient at Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photo: N.H. / Tuoi Tre

The most pressing challenges

Since its launch in 2014, Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital has always received assistance from some Vietnamese doctors and practitioners from Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City to facilitate technology transfer and guide specialized operations.

However, that support is now disrupted as the pandemic has crippled all cross-border travels.

For now, the hospital only reports some 20 Vietnamese staffers working as resident doctors and practitioners.

Under such circumstances, the pressure piles up on Ton Thanh Tra and Le Xuan Hang, two key executives in charge of running the hospital.

Considering the severity of the outbreak in Phnom Penh, the hospital's leaders are making pivotal decisions to keep the facility safe.

They added two checkpoints to perform meticulous COVID-19 screening, as guided by the Cambodian Ministry of Health, for all people coming through the gate of the key wards, namely the emergency and general internal medicine departments.

The most challenging issue that remains, according to Tra, is the monitoring of patients caretakers.

We have instructed that each patient only have one caretaker, but the Cambodians still stick with their habit of visiting their sick members in droves, which significantly increases transmission risks, Tra said.

Despite the tough battle that waits ahead, practitioners at Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital still manage to fulfill their tasks, which includes the roll-out of over 2,000 doses of Chinese-made COVID-19 jab Sinopharm to the Cambodian people.

Going through one year with his job in a foreign country, Tra has yet to set a specific date when he can be reunited with his two daughters in Vietnam due to the border restrictions and immense workload.

Commending the work of the Vietnamese staff alongside the Phnom Penh crew, Nguyen Tri Thuc, director of Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, called the effort of the Vietnamese at Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital not only professional work, but also a remarkable international endeavor.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 20:59:46|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Wednesday stressed the stringent implementation of epidemic control measures at tourist sites nationwide ahead of the Labor Day holiday starting on May 1.

At a teleconference, the ministry called on tourist sites to limit the number of visitors in key areas such as ticket counters, entrances, core attractions and dining spaces.

Tour routes should be optimized to prevent overcrowding at popular spots, said the ministry.

Supervision was advised to ensure tourists' compliance with COVID-19 containment measures covering transportation, accommodation, catering, shopping and other sectors.

Also on Wednesday, the Ministry of Education issued a notice requiring schools to keep anti-epidemic measures in place during the holiday, strengthen health guidance for outgoing students and staff, and keep track of their health conditions.

China expects to see around 250 million domestic travelers during the upcoming holiday, a majority of whom will be tourists. Enditem
Trying to keep track of all the City Council races? Check out our dedicated Council Countdown section. We've partnered with City Limits, Gotham Gazette, and the Queens Daily Eagle for top notch local election coverage, organized by borough. Don't waste any more time, get informed now.

Southern Brooklyn has been home to many controversial elected officials, like the famously confrontational former Republican state Sen. Marty Golden. Now, several such candidates are running for a City Council seat in the area.

Council Member Mark Treyger, who is known for bringing attention to the local waterfronts need for greater storm resilience and rehabilitation since Superstorm Sandy, is term-limited, creating an open seat.

The 47th Council District, which includes Gravesend, Coney Island, Sea Gate and Bensonhurst, is known for having a diverse population: Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Urdu, Hebrew and Yiddish are among the top languages spoken there.

While the area is currently represented by Democrats such as Treyger, it tends to lean more conservative than most of Brooklyn. Several Assembly districts that overlap with the council district voted for President Donald Trump in 2020 and 2016. During last years race for the Assembly District 46 race, Republican Mark Szuszkiewicz, a known who has promoted the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, nearly won the race in one such district against the incumbent Democratic Assembly Member Mathylde Frontus. Now Szuszkiewicz is running on the Republican line to replace Treyger.

Candidates vying for the Democratic nomination include Alec Brook-Krasny, a former Assembly member who was prosecuted for his alleged involvement in a $6.3 million opioid scheme although he was eventually acquitted on charges of conspiracy and fraud; Steven Patzer, an activist who has been caught lying about his resume as well as his endorsements; Ari Kagan, a Democratic district leader for Assembly District 45 and Treygers director of district operations; Joseph Packer, a Coney Island native who has worked as a housing assistant manager at Mitchell Lama after a stint on Wall Street, and Winton Tran, who is running on a platform aimed at fighting injustices toward Asian Americans.

Szuszkiewicz, a Bay Ridge native who was unknown until his first foray into local politics last year, has the Republican nomination locked up, since there arent any other members of the GOP currently in the running.

Treygers protege, Kagan, has raised the most funds thus far, with Patzer and Brook-Krasny in second and third place, respectively, according to campaign finance reports. Kagan is well-connected in the local Democratic Party, having been a district leader for the past nine years. (He was one of the party regulars who initially cast more than double the proxy votes than were allocated to him during the Brooklyn Democratic Partys inaugural full member Zoom call in December, but Jonathan Harkavy, who counted the votes for the party at the remote meeting, said the mistake was his fault rather than Kagans.)

In addition to Treyger, Kagan also has received endorsements from a slew of Assembly members, state senators and council members, as well as powerful unions, including the United Federation of Teachers, 32BJ SEIU, which represents janitors, the Hotel Trades Council and the New York State Nurses Association. Aris neighbors know he is a real problem-solver and mensch, who has always stepped up for Southern Brooklyn in crisis, wrote City Council Member Alan Maisel, in an op-ed for Bklyner, endorsing Kagan.

I think the vast majority of the members of the Brooklyn Democratic Party are backing Ari Kagan, Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the current chair of the Kings County Democratic Committee told City & State. He's been a long standing district leader, he worked in government. He's been around for a long time and is really interested in the community.

While Patzer and Brook-Krasny are also considered top contenders for the position, their campaigns have been plagued by scandals.

Patzer pretended to have the support of the states Democratic Party, by sharing what appeared to be an endorsement from New York Democrats.

The New York Democrats facebook group proudly endorses Steven D. Patzer for candidate for city council District 47, read a post from Dec. 27 that has since been deleted from the Facebook page  which actually had no connection to any official New York Democrats group. The confusion over the post then led the New York state Democratic Committee to issue a press release announcing that it has not endorsed Patzer. Social media posts from Steven Patzer and any others indicating that they have our endorsement are inaccurate, read the committees statement. No endorsements have been requested by any candidate and none have been granted by the NYS Democratic Committee.

The Facebook group that has identified themselves as New York Democrats is illegitimate, the statement continued. It is not an authorized committee of the Party nor has it received permission to use our likeness and/or branding. We have contacted Facebook to have this group removed.

Patzer later said he did not intend to mislead anyone and that the New York Democrats group reached out to him about an endorsement. Ive always played it clean, Patzer told Bklyner. Ive always been upfront and honest. I have a track record of honesty, and Im sticking to it.

However, Patzer was caught lying about his past jobs on his resume, saying on his campaigns LinkedIn page that he was Chief of Staff to the East Coast director at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a well-known Jewish human rights organization, although he only worked there as a development associate for a few months in 2019. I was oftentimes referred to as the east coast directors [sic] chief of staff, a spokesperson for Patzer told the Daily News.

Nonetheless, he has managed to gain some traction in the race  and some attention from Sopranos star Steve Schirripa  although its unclear how hes been able to hoist himself into the position of top contender.

We don't know who's actually supporting him behind closed doors, Bichotte Hermelyn said, regarding Patzers campaign success thus far. We don't know what his motives are. We don't know. In many cases, people come in (to different City Council districts) and they just want to run, so they'll do whatever it takes  like misstating things on their resume.

Brook-Krasny represented Brighton Beach and Coney Island in the state Assembly between 2006 and 2015, before stepping down from his post for a lucrative position as chief operating officer of Quality Laboratory Services in Sheepshead Bay. It was while he was working in the lab that he met Dr. Lazar Feygin who prosecutors alleged pulled Brook-Krasny into his scheme of overprescribing opioids to patients. Feygin ended up pleading guilty to 16 felonies last year and is expected to serve five years in prison, while Brook-Krasnys trial resulted in acquittal on some charges and a hung jury on others.

Now Brook-Krasny is hoping to return to the public sector because it gives him personal satisfaction he told City & State. Working for the community and dealing with the people, that was always something that I wanted to do and I was able to do good. And humbly speaking, I think I was representing people well all those nine years (in the Assembly) and many people were telling me that they would love to see me in another position again.

Brook-Krasny also said that few people in his community have asked him about the past charges levied against him which have since been dismissed and that those who know him really well thought that his involvement in the case was nonsense.

Im not running because I need to set the record straight about being wrongfully accused  Im running to fight to make sure that no one else gets wrongfully accused, Brook-Krasny told the New York Post last year.

So far Brook-Krasny has received endorsements from the Police Benevolent Association and the New York State Court Officers union.

With the exception of Szuszkiewicz, nearly all of the candidates in the running are focused on employment, housing, transportation and education. The area has suffered significant blows due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down Coney Island amusements for a full season last year, which makes jobs particularly important in this race.

While all the other candidates in the race are white, Packer, a Coney Island native and self-described devout Christian, who is a member of Brooklyn Community Board 13 is African American. He has said that he helped elect former Mayor David Dinkins. However, he has yet to receive any notable endorsements in the race.

According to census data from 2010, the council district is 56% white, 19% Asian American, 14% Hispanic and 8.6% Black, although those numbers have most likely shifted within the past 10 years.

Although Kagan is the party favorite, he has run for office unsuccessfully before. In 2013, he lost the race against Chaim Deutsch for the neighboring Council District 48and he also lost an Assembly race for Assembly District 46 against Brook-Krasny in 2006. However, this time around he appears to have more politicos in his corner and more cash in his campaign fund to help him secure a victory  and the last time he ran against Brook-Krasny, his opponent hadnt been indicted yet.

See more City Council coverage here.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on April 27 stressed the need to continue with measures for COVID-19 prevention, detection, quarantine, sealing off, stamping out and effective treatment.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam chairs the meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on April 27

At a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Dam, who is also head of the committee, pointed out the high risk of pandemic spreading from neighbouring countries and transmissions through foreign experts and Vietnamese citizens returning home from abroad.

He cited a report by the health ministry as saying that a hotel staff member in Yen Bai province who had close contact with Indian experts was confirmed positive for the coronavirus.

Apart from increasing inspections in border areas, relevant forces and all-level Party Committees and administrations need to encourage people, especially border residents, to report returnees from foreign countries to competent agencies.

Any illegal entrants must be strictly handled, Dam requested, asking the Ministry of Information and Communications to step up IT application in order to serve inspections in border areas.

Overseas Vietnamese should limit travelling and observe preventive measures set by host countries. They can register for returning home in case of necessity, the Deputy PM said.

At the meeting, the committee proposed the Government not charge those who enter Vietnam via land borders for COVID-19 testing and quarantine as most of them are in difficult circumstances.

Vietnam will continue to conduct flights to bring overseas Vietnamese home, in accordance with the pandemic situation in the region, host countries and Vietnam, the meeting heard.

Regarding Vietnamese nationals in India, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the Vietnamese Embassy has been working to repatriate those who want to go home in the time ahead.

The committee asked vulnerable localities, especially southwestern provinces, to enhance their testing capacity, and assigned relevant ministries and agencies to review quarantine capacity.

It also suggested the Ministry of Health press ahead with COVID-19 vaccinations, promptly negotiate to access foreign vaccine supplies, and step up domestic vaccine research and production.

As of April 27, Vietnam had reported 2,857 COVID-19 cases, including 1,570 domestically-transmitted infections.

As many as 2,516 patients have been given the all-clear so far. The number of fatalities remains at 35.

The country has gone through 33 consecutive days without domestically-transmitted cases.

Party senior official instructs stepping up COVID-19 prevention measures

The permanent member of the Party Central Committees Secretariat on April 27 asked the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, and Party Committees of provinces, centrally-run cities, central agencies and mass organisations to further intensify COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

In a document issued on the day, the official stressed that the pandemic is developing complicatedly across the world, with resurgence happening in many countries, especially those which are near or share the border with Vietnam such as India, Thailand, and Cambodia and Laos. Therefore, Vietnam faces a high risk of the pandemic spreading into the country.

The official, therefore, required Party Committees and administrations at all levels as well as the Vietnam Fatherland Front and organisations to focus on leading and guiding the implementation of anti-pandemic instructions of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat, the Prime Minister and the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, as well as guidelines of the Ministry of Health.

Vigilance must be maintained at all time, particularly during the National Reunification (April 30) and May Day holidays, and the elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and all-level Peoples Councils for 2021-2026.

The Party delegation to the Government, the Central Military Commission, the Central Public Security Party Committee, the Party delegation to the Ministry of Health, and standing boards of municipal and provincial Party Committees in border localities need to step up border patrols to prevent illegal entry and strictly handle violations.

Apart from tightening the management of entry and exit activities at border gates, communication activities should be promoted to curb illegal entry, the document said, highlighting the need to facilitate the legal entry of Vietnamese citizens as well as their quarantine in line with COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.

The official also ordered drawing up prevention plans and limiting unnecessary big gatherings, while accelerating the COVID-19 vaccination drive in line with the Governments Resolution No. 21/NQ-CP dated February 26 on the purchase and use of COVID-19 vaccines, and vaccination coverage.

The Party Central Committees Information and Education Commission was asked to instruct the mass media to provide timely and accurate information about COVID-19 for the public.

Meanwhile, the Mass Mobilisation Commission, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and mass organisations at all levels, especially those at the grassroots level, continue to work to raise public awareness of the pandemic, according to the document./.VNA
KYIV. April 28 (Interfax-Ukraine)  Prometey Group cannot understand the reason for the imposition by the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of sanctions against its member Prometey Swiss SA (Switzerland), and will defend its rights within the public framework, Chief Legal Officer of Prometey Group Roman Antonian has said during a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.

He said that on April 3, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree endorsed by the NSDC on the imposition of sanctions against individuals and legal entities associated with smuggling. According to him, this decision does not contain specific facts that became the basis for the imposition of sanctions against the subsidiary of the agricultural holding  Prometey Swiss SA.

Antonian said that Prometey Group does not understand and does not know what exactly the company, that is part of it, is accused of, and the same questions are asked by the company's partners, which ask it to clarify the situation.

Referring to Article 201 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, he said that smuggling is the movement of goods across the customs border of Ukraine outside customs control or with hiding from it a number of items of goods, including weapons, poisonous substances, etc.

"It is hard to imagine that a grain trader which loads thousands of tonnes of grain and agricultural products can somehow bypass customs control or export goods outside customs control, this is basically unrealistic and absurd," Antonian said.

The representative of Prometey said that Prometey Swiss did not import goods into the territory of Ukraine. At the same time, the company did not receive a single request from the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine during its existence, neither it nor its officials were involved in criminal proceedings, there were no violations of foreign economic activity on its part either in Ukraine or abroad.

The Chief Legal Officer said that during the analysis of the sanctions list, a link was found that the director of Prometey Swiss is citizen of the Russian Federation Vasily Soldatov. Antonian said that when he was hired as a director of the company, Soldatov was considered a hired specialist and a permanent resident of Switzerland, since in accordance with the legislation of this country, one of the directors of the company must be its resident permanently residing in the country.

He said that Soldatov's powers were limited by the charter of Prometey Swiss, he is not a member of the supervisory board, does not have the right to vote in the constituent bodies of Prometey and is not the company's shareholder. The lawyer said that at the moment Soldatov has been removed from his duties at Prometey Swiss, and a new director will be appointed in his place.

"We were ready to provide these explanations to law enforcement agencies, which we wrote about in our appeals to them. Since we were not heard, we are forced to voice our position and defend our rights within the public framework, including holding briefings and press conferences," Antonian said.

Antonian said that the company appealed to the NSDC, the President and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) with requests to be provided with explanations about the reason for the sanctions, while the NSDC forwarded the appeals to the SBU, and the latter, in turn, replied that the decision on the sanctions was made by the NSDC on the basis of the SBU intelligence data. The agency told the company, referring to the law of Ukraine on intelligence, that it could not disclose this information.

The lawyer also said that the company cannot understand why the SBU, which powers include the fight against smuggling, did not expand the investigation to the entire group of companies and did not bring any charges or suspicions of smuggling, limiting itself to the targeted decisions on sanctions made by the NSDC.

He said that the sanctions imposed by the department apply only to the territory of Ukraine, while the Swiss Ministry of Economy confirmed the right of Prometey Swiss to continue working in a legal manner in other countries.

Antonian said that the company is already experiencing damage to its image from the imposition of sanctions, since partners are afraid to cooperate with it, so as not to fall under the sanctions.

"All this makes us try to reach out to the NSDC, the SBU and the President of Ukraine, we are open and ready for dialogue, we are ready to provide documents and explain our position," Antonian said.

Prometey provides services for the storage, processing and logistics of grain and leguminous crops on the basis of 29 elevators in Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Khmelnytsky, Zaporizhia, Sumy, Odesa, Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The total volume of granaries after the purchase at the beginning of 2021 of Yavkinsky elevator (Dobre village, Mykolaiv region) amounted to 1.66 million tonnes.
Auto giant Maruti Suzuki has decided to shut down factories in Haryana and Gujarat to make oxygen available for medical needs. In light of this, Maruti has decided to advance its bi-annual maintenance shutdown from May 1-9, the company said.

"In the current situation, we believe that all available oxygen should be used to save lives. Accordingly, Maruti Suzuki has decided to advance its maintenance shutdown, originally scheduled for June, to 1st to 9th May. Production in all factories will close for maintenance during this period. The company has been informed that Suzuki Motor Gujarat has taken the same decision for its factory," the company said in a statement.

Also read: 600% jump in oxygen demand from hospitals

As part of the car manufacturing process, Maruti Suzuki uses a small amount of oxygen in its factories while relatively much larger quantities are used by the manufacturers of components. The company is "committed to support the government in diverting oxygen for saving lives," the auto major said.

Several other Indian companies have come forward to mitigate the oxygen crisis in India. They have ramped up the production of liquid oxygen that hospitals are finding hard to procure, especially in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Also read: Oxygen crunch: Centre assures stock available as Covid-19 cases rise

Reliance Industries Limited, Tata, JSW Steel and Jindal Steel and Power are a few companies helping the Indian government provide liquid oxygen to hospitals. They have increased oxygen production at their plants to help meet the daily oxygen requirement at hospitals.

India is battling a major oxygen crunch as Covid-19 cases rise at an unprecedented pace. Despite the central government's efforts, many patients are dying due to lack of oxygen in many hospitals. India is getting emergency oxygen imports from various countries. Air India has already begun airlifting 10,636 oxygen concentrators from the US medical devices manufacturer Philips. Countries like Ireland, the UK, France, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Thailand and UAE are supporting India in its time of need.

Also read: PM Modi takes stock of India's medical oxygen production capacity
A day after federal officials announced new guidance for wearing face coverings outside during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that New Jersey wont update its protocols to make separate outdoor mask rules for vaccinated people.

In other words, the states mandate will remain: Wear a mask outdoors if you cant practice social distancing, regardless of who youre around. (Masks at indoor public places will still be required, too.)

The feds have basically mimicked what weve been doing all along, although theyve added the dimension of being fully vaccinated, Murphy said during his latest COVID-19 briefing in Trenton.

When youre outside and you can socially distance, weve not required you to wear a mask, the governor added. But if you cant  if youre on a crowded boardwalk, if youre in a park, if youre some place where youre on top of each other outside, youve got to wear a mask. And inside, where we know the virus is a lot more lethal, youve still got to wear a mask. Its the right thing to do. Itll save you and itll help you, and itll save others around you.

Reconciling the states outdoor mask mandate and the new guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control can be confusing. Murphy said the only difference is that under the CDC update, people who are vaccinated have to wear masks outside in public only if they are in a crowd of strangers.

The only wrinkle between what weve been saying from Day One and as I understood the feds saying yesterday is theyve added that you need to be vaccinated to (go maskless outdoors), the governor said. Weve not had that as a requirement, and I dont expect that we will. ... Were gonna leave it where it is.

RELATED: Heres why the CDCs new mask mandate is causing so much confusion and frustration

Murphy issued an order last July calling for people in New Jersey to wear face masks not just indoors but also outdoors in public if they cant practice social distancing.

The CDCs new guidance, released Tuesday, says fully vaccinated people in America can safely go maskless outdoors when they walk, bike, or run alone or while with members of their household. They also can be without masks in small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated people.

Plus, the guidance says that even people who are unvaccinated can be maskless in some cases outdoors.

The agency updated the guidance after more than half of U.S. adults have gotten at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, and more than a third have been fully vaccinated.

More than 2.9 million people have been fully vaccinated in New Jersey as of Wednesday  about 42% of the states 6.9 million adult residents. The states goal is to fully vaccinate 70% of its eligible adult population  about 4.7 million people  by the end of June.

The Centers for Disease Control issued updated mask guidance for vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Under the CDC guidelines, unvaccinated people  defined by the agency as those who have yet to receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine  should wear masks at outdoor gatherings that include other unvaccinated people. They also should keep using masks at outdoor restaurants.

Fully vaccinated people do not need to cover up in those situations, the CDC says.

Still, everyone should keep wearing masks at crowded outdoor events such as concerts or sporting events, the CDC says.

The agency continues to recommend masks at indoor public places, such as hair salons, restaurants, shopping centers, museums, and movie theaters.

New Jerseys COVID-19 numbers have been improving in recent days. The state on Wednesday reported another 1,838 confirmed cases and an additional 35 confirmed deaths.

The states seven-day average for new confirmed positive tests is now 2,053, down 31% from a week ago and 42% from a month ago. There were 1,768 coronavirus patients across the states hospitals as of Tuesday night, the lowest since Nov. 9.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - ArcPacific Resources Corp. (TSXV: ACP) ("ACP" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that eight holes have now been completed at its Rickard Gold Project (the "Property"). Holes 5 through 8 (ACP-R-21005 - ACP-R-21008) have continued to cut wide intervals (overall 20 to 50 meters) containing three main zones of intense albite-sericite-silica alteration hosting meter-plus wide quartz-carbonate veins and breccias and locally abundant visible sulphide mineralization.

Highlights:

Drilling continues to intersect consistent zones of albite-sericite-silica alteration surrounding mineralized quartz-carbonate veining.

Increasing amounts of visible sulphides present in drilling as holes progress eastward.

Possible telluride mineral observed (unconfirmed) in hole 8 (ACP-R-21008).

Ongoing drilling at the Property continues to test an underexplored shear-zone hosted quartz-carbonate vein system within Ontario's prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt.

Adrian Smith, CEO of ACP comments: "We are extremely encouraged to see increasing amounts of sulphide and related mineralization within this well-developed vein system. Our team is working diligently to get the core processed and sampled in a timely manner and we are eager to receive the initial results from the assay lab. It is becoming apparent that we are only looking at one part of a much larger system present on the Property which has only seen minor historic work and remains open for more discoveries."

The ongoing drilling at the Property continues to step-out and test areas with little to no historic information. The drilling is oriented along north-south sections stepping-out roughly east-west along the interpreted strike of the main vein system at 15 to 30 metre spacings. So far, the grid-based drilling is showing good continuity of albite-sericite-silica alteration surrounding the main veins and breccias previously announced (see news release dated April 19, 2021) and is showing increasing visual amounts of sulphide minerals as drilling progresses eastward.

A possible telluride mineral has been observed (unconfirmed) in hole 8 (see figure 2 below) which is related to sooty black sulphide mineralization and a general increase in chalcopyrite. Multiple pulses of sulphide bearing veins have also been observed which form banded textures and cross-cutting relationships which increase the potential for gold bearing fluids to be present as is indicated by the historic records.





Figure 1: ACP-R-21008 at 72.10 metres showing mixed pyrite and chalcopyrite, and unidentified sooty black minerals in quartz-carbonate vein.



To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6963/82034_25cf2a130431ca46_001full.jpg





Figure 2: ACP-R-21008 at 70.28 metres showing pyrite, chalcopyrite, (telluride?) and unidentified sooty black minerals along smoky quartz-carbonate vein margin.



To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6963/82034_25cf2a130431ca46_002full.jpg

The main quartz-carbonate veins and breccias intersected to date appear to be extensional in nature occurring within a higher order northwest-southeast trending shear-zone that may be repeated across the Property. Locally the large 1-meter-plus-wide veins appear to be spatially associated with a dioritic intrusive phase which is oriented roughly parallel to the larger vein sets and displays foliation indicating it has undergone extension and compression and that its emplacement was likely controlled by the overriding complex shear-zone.









Figure 3: Hole 8 (ACP-R-21008) at Rickard Project, 85.26 meters to 101.64 meters (core boxes are 5 feet wide) showing one of four alteration zones with quartz-carbonate veins intersected in hole 8.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6963/82034_arc2.jpg

Completion of the remaining holes in the phase one program will enable a better determination of the distribution of mineralization within the vein system and allow for planning a phase two program. More information regarding the ongoing drilling program will be released as it becomes available, including more detailed maps, cross-sections and assays. Additional pictures of the core have also been uploaded to the Company's website on the Rickard Gold Project page.

The Property covers a prospective 5,656 hectares of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt located approximately 70 kilometres from the town of Timmins in the Timmins Gold Camp which has produced over 80 million ounces of gold over the last 100 years. The Property is road accessible and sits within 25 to 60 kilometers of six currently producing gold mines and eight previous producers. Large areas of the Property remain untested and under cover.

Disclosure

Apparent widths of veins intersected are estimated to be 90% of true widths in holes ACP-R-21008, 80% in hole ACP-R-21005 and ACP-R-21006, and 70% in hole ACP-R-21007.

Adrian Smith, P.Geo., is a QP as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the above-mentioned project. The QP is a member in good standing of the Professional Geoscientists Ontario (PGO) and is a registered Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.). Mr. Smith has reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed above.

About ArcPacific Resources Corp.

ArcPacific Resources Corp. (TSXV: ACP) is a Canadian based exploration company expanding the exploration initiative at multiple historic past producing gold and silver mines in the Timmins Gold Camp, Ontario, and in the Nicola Mining Division in Southern British Columbia. The Company is focused on creating shareholder value through new discoveries and strategic development of its mineral properties. For further information, please visit http://www.arcpacific.ca.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

/S "Adrian Smith"

CEO and Director

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and ArcPacific Resources Corp. undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

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.

For further information, please contact us at info@arcpacific.ca or 1.778.331.3816.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82034
[April 28, 2021] OneStream Software and PwC Belgium Announce Partnership to Help Organizations Conquer Complexity and Drive Finance Transformation in Belgium and EMEA

OneStream Software, a leader in corporate performance management (CPM) solutions for mid-sized to very large enterprises, and PwC Belgium announced today they have entered into a strategic alliance for the Belgian market. The partnership will leverage PwC's expertise as a leading business and technology consulting services provider and OneStream's unified and cloud-based CPM software to support activities ranging from project delivery to marketing and strategic business collaboration. "Belgium is an important market for OneStream Software, and we are excited to welcome PwC Belgium to our partner ecosystem," said Stephanie Cramp, Vice President of Global Alliances at OneStream Software. "We look forward to working with PwC to help organizations in Belgium and across the EMEA region conquer complexity and transform their finance processes by leveraging our intelligent finance platform to replace multiple legacy applications, as well as point solutions and spreadsheets." As part of the partnership, PwC Belgium will further develop its OneStream implementation practice to serve joint customers in Belgium, but also across the EMEA region. PwC Belgium will also leverage its industry and domain expertise to create compelling industry-specific solutions with OneStream for clients across the market. "We believe that a combination of PwC's industry, functional and implementation expertise and OneStream's unified corporate performance management solution is a true enabler for making a significant change towards improved performance management, decision making, process efficiency and cost-effective growth for our clients," states Francois Jaucot, Partner, Enterprise Performance Management Lead, PwC Belgium. We are thrilled about our alliance with PwC Belgium, specifically due to the domain expertise and best practices this will bring to OneStream customers in this important market," says Matt Rodgers, Senior Vice President and EMEA Managing Director at OneStream Software. "This partnership will enable OneStream to extend its delivery capabilities in EMEA, and supports our mission of delivering 100% customer success worldwide."



For more information on the PwC Belgium-OneStream alliance, visit: www.onestreamsoftware.com/about/onestream-partners and the PwC Belgium press room. About OneStream Software

OneStream Software provides a market-leading intelligent finance platform that reduces the complexity of financial operations. OneStream unleashes the power of finance by unifying corporate performance management (CPM) processes such as planning, financial close & consolidation, reporting and analytics through a single, extensible solution. We empower the enterprise with financial and operational insights to support faster and more informed decision-making. All in a cloud platform designed to continually evolve and scale with your organization. OneStream is an independent software company backed by private equity investors KKR, D1 Capital Partners, Tiger Global and IGSB. With over 700 customers, 200 implementation partners and over 750 employees our primary mission is to deliver 100% customer success, which we've done successfully since our inception. To learn more visit www.onestreamsoftware.com About PwC At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We're a network of firms in 155 countries with more than 284,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.  2021 PwC. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005181/en/

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ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 28th Apr, 2021) Leading blockchain technology provider Ripples University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) has joined forces with its first-ever partner in the UAE and region, NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD).

The new partnership will see the establishment of a Ripple Blockchain Collaboratory at NYUAD, which will advance the role of new technologies, helping prepare the regions next generation of finance and economic leaders, entrepreneurs, corporations, and other professionals to develop and apply technologies including blockchain, cryptocurrency, and cybersecurity, to their business practices.

The Ripple Blockchain Collaboratory will serve two main purposes. Research and project-based courses will advance faculty and student engagement in blockchain, cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, fintech, and related subjects.

It will also form part of the Corporate Sprint Accelerator Programme developed by startAD, the startup accelerator powered by Tamkeen and anchored at NYUAD, steering fintech and blockchain startups from around the world to launch and grow into the UAE market through pilot projects with innovative corporations.

Commenting on the announcement, Ramesh Jagannathan, Managing Director of startAD and Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship at NYUAD, said, "We are delighted to partner with Ripples UBRI on this ground-breaking initiative.

Blockchain is the cornerstone of the digital transformation that will drive economic development in the decades to come.

"The global blockchain distributed ledger market size was valued at US$2.89 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach US$137.29 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 62.7 percent from 2020 to 2027. NYUAD and startAD intend to be at the forefront of research and implementation of new technologies into real-world applications, spurred by visionary government initiatives such as the Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021."

Rasa Karapandza, Visiting Professor of Economics at NYUAD, stated that the support from UBRI "will enable us to equip our faculty, students, and new businesses with the mindset required for creating the jobs of tomorrow by enriching our curriculum, supporting our students interested in blockchain, as well as advancing research initiatives on the topics of blockchain and cryptocurrencies."

University Partnerships Director at Ripple, Lauren Weymouth, said, "Since launching UBRI, Ripple has seen tremendous growth from our global university partners to produce more than 280 blockchain-related research projects. Were eager to partner with New York University Abu Dhabi to bring the initiative to the UAE and pilot innovation projects in a region ripe for fintech advancements."
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" " Mitya Aleshkovsky /Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0) On April 26, 2021, Moscow's prosecutor's office ordered Navalny's network of regional offices, including those of the FBK, to cease operations. Amnesty International said: "The objective is clear: to raze Alexei Navalny's movement to the ground while he languishes in prison."

Prominent anti-corruption activist, opposition leader and founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), Alexei Navalny, is a hero to millions of Russians and supporters around the world. But he is a constant irritant to Russian president Vladimir Putin and his United Russia party which Navalny describes as the "party of crooks and thieves."

Navalny came to prominence around 13 years ago when he started blogging about corruption at state-owned companies. By 2011, his readership had ballooned, turning him into one of the leaders of anti-Putin demonstrations in Moscow, some of the largest seen in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. The purpose was to gain followers, influence and to finally run for national office himself, which Putin and his party had no intention of allowing to happen.

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Nyet-So-Nice, Navalny

In 2013, Navalny launched an unsuccessful bid to become mayor of Moscow, a bold move and one that would have positioned him as part of the power structure of the international city. But despite his courageous voice against corruption, Navalny has a complicated political side.

He ran on a nationalist platform, calling for highly restrictive (some say racist) immigration policies against Muslims in the Caucasus and Central Asia. He also supported Russia's 2008 war against Georgia. And though that's not why he lost the election, these views came back to haunt him as he saw his support erode with human rights organizations such as Amnesty International. Duke University's Irina Soboleva told VOX.com that Navalny's "hardline anti-immigration stances alienated members of his young, urban base."

In 2013 and 2014, Russian officials charged Navalny with embezzlement, accusing him of misappropriating about 16 million rubles ($500,000) worth of lumber from a state-owned company. The move was designed to harass him and drive support away from his anti-corruption campaign. After the second charge, he was placed under house arrest and was officially only allowed to speak to his family. Navalny began a campaign to further expose corruption and weaken Putin and his government. He posted embarrassing videos of Russian officials on his YouTube channel (it currently has 6.5 million subscribers.)

A brilliant political strategist, Navalny focused on building his "brand" as a corruption-fighter, establishing a robust national network of regional politicians committed to anti-corruption and the defeat of the United Russia party. He also announced his intention to run for president in the coming years (which the government has since refused to allow.) But these actions put a target squarely on Navalny's back.

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Putin's Personal Grudge

In 2017, the antiseptic, zelyonka, was thrown in Navalny's face and (according to him) cost 80 percent of his vision in his right eye. Two years later, he was detained by the police and put in jail. While there he suffered a severe skin reaction requiring medical attention at a hospital. He claimed he'd been poisoned and it seemed obvious that harassment from Putin's regime was escalating.

" " Alexei Navalny, face covered in the green antiseptic zelyonka, after the attack against him in Moscow on April 27, 2017. Evgeny Feldman/Wikimedia Commons (CC By SA 4.0)

In August 2020 Navalny fell ill while on a flight from Siberia to Moscow. The plane diverted, making an emergency landing in Omsk, near Kazakhstan. Navalny fell into a coma before arriving at the hospital. Because of previous attacks and because his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and other members of his team were barred from the hospital, speculation immediately arose that Navalny had been poisoned. After weeks in the hospital at Omsk, Navalny was stable enough to be transferred to a hospital in Berlin, Germany, to be examined, treated and hopefully to recover.

He was released on Sept. 23 and in October, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found that Navalny had been poisoned with Novichok, a lethal, military-grade nerve agent. Operatives learned that Novichok had liberally been spread on the crotch of Navalny's underwear. Naturally Putin and his cronies denied involvement, but evidence suggested otherwise.

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Where Is Navalny Now and How Is He Doing?

Navalny flew back to Russia in January 2021 knowing that the Kremlin had placed him on the federal government's wanted list for "evading supervision" (a requirement of his probation in the 2014 embezzlement case) while he was recuperating in Germany from the poisoning. He was immediately arrested at Moscows Sheremetyevo airport, telling reporters at the scene, "I am not afraid. I know that I am in the right and that all the criminal cases against me are fabricated."

In early February 2021, Navalny was convicted of violating the terms of his 2014 conviction, and later sentenced to serve his sentence of at least 2.5 years at Penal Colony No. 2, also known as IK2 in the city of Pokrov in the Vladimir Region of Russia, east of Moscow. The prison is known for strict enforcement of rules, "a colony maximally isolated from the outside world ... in which convicts are 'broken,'" according to Mediazone.

On March 31, Navalny started a hunger strike protesting the lack of appropriate and independent medical care related to ongoing symptoms from the Novichok poisoning. The hunger strike continued for three weeks before his condition worsened to the point that prison officials hospitalized him for treatment, raising speculation that he might be force-fed. This led to outcry from leaders around the world including U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders of the G7.

" " Navalny on Feb. 29, 2020 during a march in memory of politician Boris Nemtsov, a physicist, liberal politician and reformer, who was assassinated on Feb. 27, 2015 in Russia. Micha Siergiejevicz /Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Navalny's spokesperson posted on Facebook that "Alexei is dying ... it's a question of days." Physicians close to the dissident stepped in, persuading him to end his hunger strike, which he did on April 23, 2021, releasing a statement on social media:

"Doctors, whom I fully trust, published a statement yesterday stating that you and I had achieved enough for me to end the hunger strike. And I will say frankly  their words that the tests show that 'in a minimum time there will be no one to treat ...' seem to me worthy of attention."

Despite mounting international pressure to release Navalny, few expect that to happen. Instead, in a move designed to further silence Navalny and his organization, a Moscow court ruled to shut down the activities of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, pending a decision on whether the organization should be outlawed as an extremist group, even as thousands of demonstrators continue to march in the streets in support of Navalny and opposition to Putin.

Now That's Interesting Alexei Navalny studied law at Moscow's Friendship of the Peoples University, graduating in 1998. He spent a year as a student in the U.S. as a Yale World Fellow in 2010. His colleagues in the Fellowship put out a statement of support on his behalf in August 2020.
A man accused of killing an innocent motorist while he was fleeing Vestavia Hills police has now been charged in her death.

The search continues for 28-year-old Jordan Marktice Ricks. The suspect, who has previous addresses in west Birmingham and a current address in Pelham, is charged with murder and leaving the scene of an accident, said Homewood police Sgt. John Carr. Killed was 42-year-old Robyn Naftel Herring, a Homewood mother of two young daughters and a nurse practitioner at UAB Hospital.

Herrings Celebration of Life will be held Friday from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. at Church of the Highlands Grandview campus. We are grieving, but we know she is wrapped in the loving arms of our Lord and Savior,' her twin sister, Brandy Stewart, posted on Facebook. A GoFundMe has been launched to help for the future care of her daughters, Katelyn and Abby. Donations can be made here.

Ricks, who remains at large, has a history of previous run-ins with police, court records show. He twice has pleaded to guilty to speeding  driving at speeds of 96 mph and 92 mph  on north Alabama roadways, and also has previous arrests for resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, domestic violence/strangulation, and possession of a forged instrument. Some of the previous charges against him have been dismissed, while others are still pending.

The deadly crash happened shortly after 6:30 p.m. Monday. Herring was pronounced dead on the scene at 6:55 p.m.

Robyn Naftel Herring, a 42-year-old mother of two and a nurse practitioner, was killed April 26, 2021 when she was struck by a man fleeing Vestavia Hills police. (Contributed)

Mondays ordeal began when a Vestavia Hills police officer stopped Ricks in a Nissan Juke on I-65 near Alford Avenue. VHPD Capt. Shane Ware said the suspect was stopped for speeding about a quarter of a mile before the Lakeshore Parkway exit.

When the officer returned to his patrol car to conduct a wanted person check, the suspect sped away. The officer attempted to catch up to the suspect and, once exiting I-65 at Lakeshore, came across the fatal crash that investigators say was caused by Ricks.

The Juke has slammed into a Jeep Wrangler in which Herring was a front-seat passenger. Her two children and the male driver were unharmed.

The officer stopped to render aid to the victims. The suspect bailed from his wrecked car and fled on foot. Despite a massive manhunt that included officers from multiple agencies and a helicopter, Ricks managed to escape the large perimeter set up by police.

A 42-year-old woman was killed April 26, 2021 when a man fleeing Vestavia Hills police crashed into a Jeep Wrangler in which she was a passenger. (Special to AL.com)

Herrings death has raised concerns about police pursuits and the danger they pose to innocent motorists. Vestavia Hills police on Tuesday released to AL.com its seven-page vehicle pursuit policy, which states that the decision to initiate a pursuit must be based on the initiating officers belief that the immediate danger to the public created by the pursuit is no greater than the immediate or potential danger to the public created by the suspect remain at large.

Ricks is currently awaiting trial on the domestic violence/strangulation charge for which he was arrested by Birmingham police in 2018 and later indicted in 2019.

Also in 2019, he was arrested by Vestavia Hills Police for resisting arrest, but that charge was dismissed several months later. He was charged by Vestavia Hills police with obstruction of justice for giving police a false name to avoid arrest or impede an investigation, records show. That case has not yet been adjudicated. A 2016 forged instrument charge against him obtained by the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office was dismissed the same year.

Carr said police are utilizing all assets to apprehend Ricks. Once captured, his bond will be set at $265,000.

Anyone with information on Ricks whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777 or Sgt. Cameron Beedle at 205-332-6200.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Xtrava Health, a health technology company, today announced it has been awarded a $6.2 million contract by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADxSM) initiative to expedite the launch of its SPERA COVID-19 antigen test. Xtrava Health is one of the companies selected from a pool of more than 700 RADx applicants for the scale-up phase of the initiative.

This contract follows months of meeting milestones and vetting Xtrava Health's technology and scale-up plans by clinical, diagnostics industry, and academic experts including independent evaluation and validation of the SPERA COVID-19 Ag Test's analytical and clinical performance by Emory University. RADx is supporting the company's analytical and clinical trials costs as well as program management and commercialization efforts.

"We are honored to be selected as part of the RADx initiative to help significantly increase the number, type, and availability of COVID-19 tests, which is essential to a full reopening of the economy," said Sameh Sarhan, CEO of Xtrava Health. "For the point-of-care market, our ability to quickly deliver millions of easy-to-use rapid antigen tests should contribute to the overall effort, with a subsequent over-the-counter test that will further maximize the impact."

The SPERA COVID-19 Ag Test is top-ranked for its ease-of-use -- only requiring shallow nasal swabs and providing results in 15 minutes or less. The test is currently in clinical trials for use in point-of-care settings. Over-the-counter clinical trials will soon follow current efforts where the test will be combined with a portable digital reader and smartphone app for increased sensitivity.

In addition, Xtrava Health is proud to announce its partnership with Denka Corporation, a Japan-based top tier infectious disease diagnostics developer and large-scale manufacturer.

Denka has successfully developed and commercialized numerous tests and has held the leading manufacturer position in Japan of diagnostic tests, including a multiplex QuickNavi-flu A/B rapid test and most recently adding a rapid antigen SARS-CoV-2 test to their portfolio.

"The strength of this partnership will allow Xtrava Health to meet the current market demand, while continuing to develop innovative diagnostics solutions," said Mr. Sarhan. "This includes our next-generation, consumer-facing digitally connected COVID-19 test and digital reader targeted for launch later this year."

Xtrava Health is committed to increasing the availability, ease, and accuracy of point-of-care testing, as well as expanding its over-the-counter testing platform to reach those who need it the most. "We believe our large-scale connected diagnostic platform will play a key role in responding to COVID-19 as well as providing the tools that are needed to mitigate the impact of future pandemics," said Iman Sadreddin, Xtrava Health's COO.

This project has been funded in part by the NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADxSM) initiative with federal funds from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. 75N92021C00002.

About Xtrava Health

Xtrava Health is a Silicon Valley company, founded in 2014, on a mission to bridge the gap between diagnostics and everyday users. Leveraging unique technology and strategic global partnerships, Xtrava Health develops, manufactures, and commercializes easy-to-use, accurate, and affordable diagnostic products for health professionals and at-home use. Xtrava Health is currently on the forefront in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

SOURCE Xtrava Health
Vietnams steel industry is now ranked in the top 15 biggest worldwide, photo Le Toan

In particular, locally-invested steelmaker Hoa Phat Group surpassed Taiwans Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh to become Vietnams largest steel producer after it produced two million tonnes of crude steel in the first quarter of this year, a 60 per cent increase on-year.

This success has shown the growth of domestic steel enterprises, breaking the monopoly created in 2018 when Formosa Ha Tinh became the leading crude steel producer with estimated output of over five million tonnes of crude steel, double Hoa Phats crude steel production, and reaching 3.44 million tonnes of hot rolled steel. Formosa was the only company in the domestic market that could produce hot rolled coil (HRC) at the time.

Steel businesses in recent years have invested hundreds of millions of US dollars to create high-quality products favoured by major markets around the world, and in 2018 CEO of Hoa Phat, Tran Tuan Duong, vowed that his group would not be inferior to Formosa and would not lose out in the competition.

At the Hoa Phat Dung Quat iron and steel production complex in the central province of Quang Ngai, the group has been pumping capital into installing a state-of-the-art closed blast furnace production line. It is capable of turning out high-quality steel using square billets, as well as hot- and cold-rolled steel, pipes, galvanised steel, and steel wire ropes using flat billets.

Valued at $2.26 billion in total investment value, the complex encompasses a deepwater port system that is accessible by 200,000 dead-weight-tonnage vessels.

Dinh Van Chung, deputy director of the Hoa Phat Dung Quat iron and steel production -complex, said that at present, the groups hot rolled steel products are out of stock due to supply issues.

Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh and Hoa Phat are the two largest billet producers in Vietnam today and are also the only two companies in the country supplying HRC steel. In terms of monthly output, Hoa Phat has surpassed Formosa since September 2020 by putting blast furnaces 3 and 4 at its Hoa Phat Dung Quat complex into operation. While Formosa Ha Tinh aims to produce 6.5 million tonnes of steel per year, Hoa Phat is confident to produce eight million tonnes of steel this year.

With the total registered capital of $10.5 billion, Formosa Ha Tinh reported a revenue in 2019 of VND72 trillion ($3.1 billion), a loss of over VND11.5 trillion ($500 million) which was more than four times higher than in 2018. As of 2019, its accumulative loss was about VND25.38 trillion ($1.1 billion).

Meanwhile, Posco Yamoto Vina JSC, the first big size structural steel maker in Vietnam producing special steel including high-grade section steel with the variety of dimensions and standards, reported losses of VND2.7 billion ($117,400) for 2019 and VND1.09 billion ($47,400) for 2018.

Meanwhile, in the first quarter of this year, a range of local steelmakers reported outstanding results thanks to a recovery in the global steel demand with eased restrictions that has elevated steel prices.

Hoa Sen said that its consolidated business results for March are estimated at $180 million of net revenue, up nearly 18 per cent on-year, leading to $20 million of profit after tax. It exported high-value batches of galvanised steel sheets during the initial months of the year to the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Southeast Asia with the local groups export volume exceeding 120,000 tonnes per month.

In the first quarter, Tien Len Steel Group JSC achieved consolidated net revenue of over $39 million and profit after tax of more than $4.8 million. Its revenue only increased by nearly 4 per cent while profit after tax reached over 30 times compared to the same period in 2020. With this result, Tien Len Steel has completed nearly half of its annual profit target.

Similarly, at the end of the first three months of the year, Me Lin Steel JSC recorded an after-tax profit increase of 41 times compared to the first quarter of 2020, reaching $674,000 thanks to high steel prices and reduction in financial expenses and sales.

The most outstanding is Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel JSC (TISCO). The increase in steel price and good consumption helped TISCOs revenue reach over $120 million, up nearly 40 per cent on-year. After a period of loss, the first quarter of this year recorded a growth of 50 per cent with a gross profit of over $10.2 million.

Also, listed-firm VNSTEEL-Ho Chi Minh City Metal Corporation posted revenues of over $47.8 million, up over 40 per cent over the same period of 2020, while its profit after tax gained over 10 times compared to last year to $2.5 million, marking the highest quarterly profit since it was founded.

Commenting on the development of the domestic steel industry, industry expert Nguyen Van Sua said, In the past 10 years Vietnams steel industry has developed strongly, and by 2020 it ranked 14th in the world, a good step forward on the world steel industry map. In 2020, Vietnams crude steel production hit a very high level of 19.5 million tonnes per year.

Market observers said steel prices have not shown signs of cooling down, with the main reasons being the high demand and decline in production in the likes of China and India. With the pandemic situation in Vietnam continuing to be controlled, the demand for real estate construction remains healthy.
As some members of the state Senate try to revive a bill to allow Texans to carry guns without permits, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez on Tuesday slammed the idea as a return to the wild west.

Permitless carry does not make our community safer, he said. Instead it increases the odds of deadly confrontation and puts the lives of first responders at even greater risk.

His comments come two days before a committee in the Texas Senate is set to hold its first hearing on House Bill 1927, which allows people 21 and older to carry a gun without getting a permit or being required to pass a training class. The bill does not apply to anyone with a criminal record.

That bill passed the Texas House on an 87 to 58 vote with two members not voting. Although it passed the Texas House, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, said there are not enough votes in the Senate to pass the bill.

If we have the votes to pass a permitless carry bill off the Senate floor, I will move it, Patrick said last week. At this point, we dont have the votes on the floor to pass it.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Gov. Greg Abbott told a Dallas-Fort Worth radio show on Tuesday that hed sign a permitless carry bill if it makes it to his desk. An identical bill must pass both the House and the Senate in order to make it to Abbott.

This is something that 20 other states have adopted and its time for Texas to adopt it, too, Abbott told WBAPs Rick Roberts.

A week earlier in Austin, Abbott sidestepped a direct question about whether he supports the constitutional carry bill. Abbott would only say hes monitoring all bills making their way through the Legislature.

Law enforcement across the state has come out in opposition to the legislation. Gonzalez earlier this month attended a press conference in Austin blasting the legislation and on Tuesday joined with the League of Women Voters of Texas at a virtual press conference opposing it.

Is it that difficult to require a permit, a basic permit, to carry a deadly weapon? Gonzalez asked.

Gonzalez, a Democrat elected sheriff in 2016, said instead of debating permitless carry bills, he wishes the Legislature would work on red flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.

Supporters of the legislation say it promotes self-defense.

This bill should be called common sense carry because this law is about common, law-abiding citizens being able to carry commonly owned handguns in common public places for the common reason of personal and family protection, State Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, said during the floor debate in the House two weeks ago about a bill hes called constitutional carry.

Gonzalezs comments on Tuesday came just hours before President Joe Biden nominated him to be the new director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com
A new wave of epidemics in Sri Lanka has been raging, and I also deeply feel the tremendous pressure this Pearl of the Indian Ocean facing.

by Qi Zhenhong, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka

Following article written After the Foreign Ministers Video Conference on COVID-19 Response Among China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

On April 27th, the foreign ministers of China, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh held a video conference on Covid-19 response and issued a joint statement. With a new wave of Covid-19 pandemic spreading in the whole world and rapid deterioration of pandemic in South Asia, it is very necessary and timely for the foreign ministers of China and five South Asian countries to hold this conference. A series of important outcomes of this conference show the international community the firm determination of the six countries to join hands in fighting against the pandemic, and a grand blueprint jointly drawn by the six countries to boost the economy and improve people's livelihood, which is very encouraging. I would like to take this opportunity to share some views:

Firstly, Covid-19 is a common enemy of humankind, and solidarity and cooperation are the top priority and the only correct choice to overcome the pandemic. As President Xi Jinping pointed out, "The Covid-19 pandemic warned the world in a special form that human beings are a community of shared future, honor and disgrace. No country can be immune to major crises, and unity and cooperation are the correct way for the world." China and South Asian countries have a long-term traditional friendship and are good neighbors and partners linked by mountains and rivers. At the early stage of pandemic in China last year, countries in South Asia extended a helping hand to China in various ways. Sri Lanka expressed firm support to China throughout the country, and the Chinese people remember it in their hearts. At present, a new wave of pandemic is spreading around the world including South Asia. The reason for China to host this Foreign Ministers conference is to provide assistance to regional countries as much as possible while its own pandemic prevention and control is still under tremendous pressure. China, with its efforts, is sincerely willing to provide the people of South Asia with more confidence, hope and tangible help in their fighting again COVID-19, which demonstrated Chinas sincere desire and concrete measures to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Secondly, vaccine cooperation is a key weapon to defeat COVID-19. The statement reiterated the important role vaccines play in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa also stressed that only vaccines could stop the pandemic. And that vaccines be distributed in accordance with the principle of equity and justice, opposition to vaccine nationalism and the need to avoid the immunity gap should become an international consensus. To better act on President Xi Jinpings important statement on making the vaccines a global public good, China has already joined the COVAX(COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access), and decided to provide 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to meet the urgent needs of developing countries. So far, China has provided vaccine aid to over 80 countries and 4 international organizations, exported vaccines to more than 40 countries, and been cooperating with more than 10 nations in vaccine research, development and production. 600,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines donated by China arrived Colombo last month, and I believe it will play an essential part in Sri Lankas fight against the pandemic soon. And China will continue to carry out vaccine cooperation including vaccine production with the other five countries in a flexible way.

Thirdly, Economic revival and improvement of peoples livelihood will be priorities of our cooperation. Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena noted in his speech pursuing joint responses to COVID-19 pandemic and advancing economic recovery and poverty alleviation amongst our countries are an important priority, and would remain our continued focus in the future, which is highly appreciated by the other five countries. To achieve such goal in the post-pandemic era, in the statement, the Foreign Ministers agreed to deepen Belt and Road cooperation, keep the industrial and supply chains stable and secure, and strengthen cooperation in poverty reduction, food security and other fields. And China also announced its decision to establish a China-South Asia Emergency Supplies Reserve, set up a China-South Asia Poverty Alleviation and Cooperative Development Center and hold a China-South Asia E-commerce Cooperation Forum on Poverty Alleviation in Rural Areas, and gained full support from all other five countries. Moving forward, China will continue to promote elevating of the cooperation for more tangible results and benefits of all people in six countries. And we are happy to see that the Foreign Ministers agreed to institutionalize the cooperation among the six countries, hold regular consultations and expand cooperation areas.

Fourthly, The mechanism of the foreign ministers conference among six countries is of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and always open for regional countries and other countries to participate. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that, an invitation has also been extended to India. China expresses the deep sympathies for the raging pandemic in India and extends its sincere condolences to the Indian people. China is willing to provide support and assistance to the Indian people at any time in accordance with the needs of India. China will uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, stand firmly with the people of South Asian countries, and join hands to fight COVID-19 until all countries in the region finally overcome the pandemic. The foreign ministers closely follow the development of COVID-19 situation in India, and expressed their willingness to provide needed support to India through respective channels.

Recently, a new wave of epidemics in Sri Lanka has been raging, and I also deeply feel the tremendous pressure this Pearl of the Indian Ocean facing. I believe that under the strong leadership of President Gotabaya, with the joint efforts of the industrious, brave, united, and wise Sri Lankan people, with the help of China and other friendly neighbors in South Asia, we will overcome the pandemics successfully at an early date. Let us work tirelessly for this goal together.
LONDON  The ethical allegations swirling around Prime Minister Boris Johnson got more serious on Wednesday after Britains Electoral Commission announced it would open a formal investigation into whether Mr. Johnson secretly used political donations to refurbish his apartment in Downing Street.

The commission said it found reasonable grounds to suspect that an offense or offenses may have occurred. Mr. Johnson is accused of using funds from a Conservative Party donor to supplement the budget for upgrading his official quarters, which are above the offices at 11 Downing Street.

Mr. Johnson insisted he paid for the refurbishment out of his own pocket, but he has not disclosed whether he repaid a donation made to the Conservative Party once the accusations surfaced. He is entitled to 30,000 ($41,600) a year in public funds to decorate his apartment, but apparently concluded that budget was inadequate.

The news of a formal investigation raised the political stakes for Mr. Johnson, who has been engaged in an ugly exchange of charges and countercharges with his disaffected former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings. In Parliament on Wednesday, Mr. Johnson seemed uncharacteristically rattled and angry.
WALLINGFORD  The Center Street Cemetery has been a resting place for town residents since for more than 300 years.

It is now is the site of a debate over whether ground-penetrating radar should be used to determine whether there is an accurate count of how many people are buried there.

A small group of residents, led by Bill Comerford, wants to have the Connecticut state archaeologist use the ground-penetrating radar as the first step in developing an accounting of how many people are buried there, who they are and how much space remains in the historic cemetery. Aili McKeen, another resident who supports the use of the radar, said a fire at Town Hall during the 1800s destroyed all burial records prior to that date.

I love tangible history and that what this cemetery is, McKeen said. Theres all that history there and yet we really dont know how many graves there are. I think its really important for us to get a good look at what is underground.

Further complicating matters, according to Comerford, is that slaves were buried in the cemetery, as were people unable to afford a headstone.

Im concerned about where the paupers are buried, he said. What we have here is an opportunity to become more educated and informed about the history. Theres no reason not to do it; theres no real negative to it.

Comerford said previous attempts to convince the Center Street Cemetery Association to allow use of ground-penetrating radar have been rejected.

Bob Gross, who has been president of the association for about two to three years, said he is open to discussing the idea. But he said nobody has approached him with it.

Its not a decision I can make on my own; Id have to ask our full board about it, Gross said.  And Im not sure there is a pressing need for it. But Im willing to a have a conversation about it.

Comerford said he raised the question at a recent virtual Town Council meeting but didnt get an adequate response. Gross said Comerford may have raised the issue, but did so in such a way that it wasnt clear what he was asking for.

State Archaeologist Sarah Sportman said her office does between five and 10 ground-penetrating radar searches at Connecticut cemeteries each year. The radar picks up breaks in the soil, which indicates where digging and replacement of dirt has taken place, Sportman said.

It leaves a pretty distinct signature, she said.

Sportman said an example of the value of the technology was demonstrated last year at a cemetery in Middletown.

The cemetery association wanted to plant some trees ... along the fence there and they wanted to make sure the area was clear (of any bodies), she said. It wasnt.

Gross said between 10 and 20 people are buried each year in the 10-acre cemetery, located at the intersection of Route 5 and Center Street. Most individuals now interred in the burial ground have been cremated, he said.

Theres still a lot of space remaining, Gross said. Were not in danger of running out of space anytime soon.

McKeen said she cant imagine why the cemetery association would object to doing the investigation.

I see it as a step in a process and its a pretty easy first step, she said. And it would make the current caretakers job a whole lot easier going forward.

Robert Devaney, the superintendent of the graveyard, declined comment on the dispute.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
The recovery of oil demand will accelerate in the second half of the year but the number of COVID-19 cases is still growing worldwide. This is the reason why the OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee keeps the decision taken a month ago, OPEC says in the communique after the meeting.

"COVID-19 cases are rising in a number of countries, despite the ongoing vaccination campaigns, and that the resurgence could hamper the economic and oil demand recovery," TASS cited OPEC as saying.

The Meeting observed the destocking trend of commercial OECD inventories, but noted that they increased by 14.4 mln barrels in March 2021 and were 77.4 mln barrels above the 2015-2019 average," according to the report.

In view of these circumstances, the Committee decided to proceed with implementation of the decision taken at the meeting on April 1, the document says.

The next JMMC meeting and the ministerial meeting of OPEC+ states will be held on June 1.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27)  The excavation work that will pave the way for the construction of the country's first subway line will begin later this year, a transportation official said on Tuesday.

Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said two of the 25 tunnel boring machines needed for the Metro Manila Subway Project have arrived in the country. He added that the first phase of the venture, which includes stations in East Valenzuela, Quirino Highway, Tandang Sora Avenue and North Avenue, may be completed by 2023 or 2024.

"We are expecting to start excavation by the 4th quarter of this year and that is going to start from our depot in Valenzuela heading southwards into Tandang Sora and eventually into North Avenue," Batan told CNN Philippines' Traffic Center.

After the groundbreaking ceremony in February 2019, site clearing operations, detailed engineering designs and other preparations were conducted. Batan said the Philippine Railway Institute that will train railway personnel can start operating in 2022. The entire 34-kilometer line with 17 stations is expected to be completed by 2025 or 2026.

Batan reiterated that the underground construction work in the mega-project will have minimal impact on road traffic.

"During construction, there will be some disruption," he said. "There will be some traffic control measures that will be installed, but that's it."

The undersecretary added that the subway will also connect to the North-South Commuter Railway, which could bring passengers to as far as Laguna province.

"They will be physically interconnected," explained Batan. "Meaning, trains coming from underground in the subway will start emerging between FTI and Bicutan stations and can bring passengers all the way to the Calamba station of the North-South Commuter Rail."

The subway project has a 356.97-billion price tag and is supported by the Official Development Assistance (ODA) from Japan.
Actor Sam Worthington kept things decidedly casual on Tuesday as he stepped out in Bondi Beach, Sydney.

The Avatar star, 44, cut a relaxed figure in an oversized black hoodie and matching pants while on a morning stroll.

He completed his look with white sneakers, dark sunglasses and a black cap, and styled his hair in a ponytail.

Man bun summer! Actor Sam Worthington kept things decidedly casual on Tuesday as he stepped out in Bondi Beach, Sydney

Sam appears to be taking some time off after finishing his run in the Sydney Theatre Company production of the black comedy Appropriate.

The Wesley Enoch-directed play, written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, ran at the Roslyn Packer Theatre from March 15 to April 10.

He is also involved in the ABC series Fires, about last year's devastating bushfire season, which started filming this month in Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Chilled out: The Avatar star, 44, cut a relaxed figure in an oversized black hoodie and matching pants while on a morning stroll

Sam reportedly wrapped filming the Avatar sequels in New Zealand late last year.

After living in LA and New York for years, Sam and his wife, model Lara Worthington (nee Bingle), returned to Sydney several months ago.

They are joined by their three sons, Rocket, five, Racer, four, and River, ten months.

Low-key: He completed his look with sunglasses and a cap, and styled his hair in a ponytail

While Sam focuses on TV and theatre projects, 33-year-old Lara is doing various modelling jobs in Australia, including a recent campaign for Seafolly.

Earlier this month, Lara said her sole focus was on her family and children since settling Down Under in January.

'At this stage of my life, with my sons as the total priority, I'm focused on wellbeing, motherhood and taking care of my family,' she told Body + Soul.
In Russia, and to a lesser extent also in China, conflicting priorities between vaccinating the domestic population and exporting shots will remain acute throughout 2021

With vaccine diplomacy, Russia and China are gaining leverage on the cheap while fulfilling commercial goals. In most cases, they are not donating vaccines, but selling them; in Chinas case, state-owned firms are competing with private ones for the supply of shots.

China and Russia are focusing their efforts on regions where they are courting favours from emerging countries (for instance Asia for China), or directly competing with western powers for influence (such as eastern Europe, and in particular the western Balkans, for both China and Russia), or in regions where they have only a limited presence so far (as is the case for Latin America, which is traditionally within Americas sphere of influence).

Vaccine diplomacy comes with risks. In Russia, and to a lesser extent also in China, conflicting priorities between vaccinating the domestic population and exporting shots will remain acute throughout 2021. To tackle this issue, both countries are opening additional factories (at home and abroad). However, it is unlikely that extra production lines will help to ease supply issues before the second half of 2021; setting up vaccine factories is technically challenging and it takes a minimum of six months before they are operational.

In the coming years, this will reinforce the global standing and leverage of Russia and China in emerging countries, helping both countries to gain influence and pursue their interests around the world. The longer term consequence of todays vaccine diplomacy will be a further fragmentation of the global order.

Agathe Demarais, Director, Global Forecasting, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and author of the report, says, With vaccine diplomacy, Russia and China seek to leverage resentment against western countries, which have pre-booked more than half of the global supply of vaccines this year and are prioritising immunising their own populations.

Demarais adds, Vaccine diplomacy is not about sending shots as a one-off operation. Both Russia and China are establishing vaccine facilities across the world and training local workers from emerging countries, betting that such a strategy will boost their presence on the ground for decades to come.
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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a significant update to its guidance on mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying Tuesday that its now safe for fully vaccinated people to go without a face covering for certain outdoor activities and gatherings.

The latest CDC recommendation immediately went into effect in Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont said, several days ahead of when the state was set to lift the outdoor mask mandate as part of its plan to eliminate most of the remaining COVID restrictions.

Connecticuts plan is more relaxed than the CDC guidance with the state making no distinction between whether someone is fully vaccinated or not.

During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Lamont said people who have been vaccinated do not need to wear a mask outside.

If youre in a crowded area where youre not quite sure who youre standing next to, wear the mask a little bit longer, he added.

The remark came during an event at The Place 2 Be, a West Hartford restaurant where the governor announced some eateries will begin offering a free drink with the purchase of food to customers who show a COVID-19 vaccination card.

The CDC guidance, announced as federal officials conveyed confidence in the progress of the nations vaccine program, stressed that masks will still be recommended indoors and at large outdoor gatherings like a live performance, sporting event or parade.

Similar to the CDC guidance, Connecticut will continue to require people to wear masks indoors for now, but Lamont is also considering lifting that mandate. Lamont said recently he was planning to have discussions with the legislature about when to lift that mandate. He expects to release guidance on it before the state lifts its all indoor COVID-19 restrictions on May 19.

The new CDC guidance indicates its safe for unvaccinated people to go without masks while out for a walk, run or bike ride with family members and attending small gatherings with friends and family who are fully vaccinated.

The new guidance comes as about 54 percent of all adults in the United States have received at least one dose of the vaccine. In Connecticut, state officials said Monday that 66 percent of all residents age 16 and older had received a first dose.

On Tuesday, Connecticuts one day positivity rate reached 3.24 percent as 407 new cases of COVID-19 were found out of 12,551 new tests. Hospitalizations rose by a net eight patients, bringing the states total to 444, and one more death attributed to the illness increased the death toll to 8,067.

Connecticut health experts said the move makes sense, considering the virus tends not to spread as easily outdoors. Outdoors itself is a safer space, said Keith Grant, senior system director of infection prevention at Hartford HealthCare.

He said the particles that transmit the virus can get diluted more quickly in the outdoor atmosphere than in an enclosed space.

Lisa Cuchara, a professor of biomedical science in Quinnipiac Universitys school of health sciences, said lifting outdoor mask requirements makes particular sense in Connecticut where the infection rates are down and the vaccination rates are up.

Cuchara and Grant said there are circumstances where people should continue to wear a mask outside, even when the guidance changes.

Those individuals considered at high-risk (for severe COVID)  these are individuals I believe should still be wearing a mask, whether inside or outside, Grant said.

Cuchara said she teaches a photography workshop, where she often has to get up close to students. I will still personally put on my mask, because I feel Im in spitting distance of someone, she said.

Cuchara and Grant said they feel the CDCs evolution on outdoor masking is a positive step.

The fact that were even able to have a conversation (about whether people need a mask outdoors) shows were in a better place than we were six months ago, Grant said.

Cuchara said she understands some people get frustrated that the CDC often alters its guidance, but she said thats the nature of science.

I think that, in science, youre always getting more data, she said. I dont think (the CDC is) necessarily changing their mind. I think theyre re-evaluating based on the new data they have.

Connecticut, like much of the country, is still reporting thousands of new COVID-19 cases a week, but the percentage of positive cases among new tests administered remains low and hospitalizations have stabilized. In Connecticut, reports of new deaths associated with COVID-19 have slowed, which officials credit to the high number of older adults vaccinated.

Staff writer Peter Yankowski contributed to this story.
Two adopted girls from an orphanage in China met in America through an encounter orchestrated by God.

On April 14, Ally Cole and Ruby Wierzbicki discovered their connection on their way to class inside a campus bus. Cole and Wierzbicki happened to be seated together and started a conversation, leading them to learn about their adoption stories. Both came from Jinan Social Welfare Institute in China and were adopted just a week apart 15 years ago, an article from Liberty University reported.

They continued chatting and sharing photos when they got off the bus. They said that they were shocked when they showed their photos from the orphanage and the images matched. They even have a picture where they were together and found out that they also have a mutual friend.

"We started scrolling through our photos on our phones, and I realized that Ruby had a lot of photos of me that I'd never seen before and photos where we were together. We even had a mutual friend from the orphanage, Emma, that we each had photos with," Cole said.

"One of the photos was one that we both had, with us standing next to each other, and I hadn't known who the girl next to me was, but now I know," she further said.

Wierzbicki saw the hand of God when she learned that both of them attended the "College for the Weekend" event, resulting them to study in Liberty University.

"It was definitely different than any of the other schools I looked into, and now we've realized these little details that God has orchestrated in all of this. God really does have our lives according to His plan and in His control," Wierzbicki shared.

She also explained that the circumstances of their meeting were woven by God.

"There are people I've talked to about this and they've said, 'What a coincidence.' But we think that this is 100% God. There's no way that two people who were in the same orphanage in a different country can somehow end up at the same school at the same time and have it not be God," Wierzbicki said.

Cole said that she does not know much about her past and is grateful to the Lord that through her encounter with Wierzbicki, she would be able to learn more about it by sharing their photos.

Wierzbicki posted about their heartwarming story on Instagram, in awe of God's amazing work.

According to NBC News, China's international adoption program began in 1991. Through this program, an estimated 110,000 Chinese children were adopted worldwide, majority of these kids are in the United States.

The State Department revealed that from 1991 to 2018, American families have adopted about 81,600 children from China.

China is the most populous nation in the world. To slow this growth, Deng Xiaoping implemented the One-Child Policy in 1979 that prevented 400 million births until it ended in 2015, citing "demographical reasons."

Two-Child Policy was introduced in October 2015. But Ren Zeping, a prominent Chinese economist, proposed for the rollout of Three-Child Policy to address the country's ageing population.
Six people out of 5,000 who attended an indoor trial concert last month in Barcelona reported testing positive for COVID-19 afterwards, organisers said on Tuesday, giving hope for the revival of the live music industry.

Ahead of the show, everyone underwent mass screening and antigen tests. There were no mass tests afterwards, but 15 days later only six people reported testing positive for COVID-19 according to public medical records of the participants.

"There is no sign that suggests transmission took place during the event," Josep Maria Llibre, an infectious diseases specialist from the Germans Trias i Pujol hospital told a news conference exactly a month after the March 27 concert.

"We can say that it was not a super-spreading event," he added.

Organised by the hospital and a group of Spanish music promoters, the concert in the Palau de Sant Jordi was billed as Europe's biggest indoor rock concert since the start of the pandemic.

It featured one of Spain's most popular bands, indie rockers Love of Lesbian.

None of the participants had been vaccinated for Covid-19. They wore FPP2 surgical masks at the concert and capacity at bathrooms was limited to avoid crowding but there was no assigned seating or mandatory social distancing.

Out of the six people who later tested positive, "we are certain that in four of these six cases, transmission did not take place during the concert," Llibre said.

Boris Revollo, the virologist involved in the design of the health protocols at the concert, said he could not "categorically" rule out that the other two people were infected during the concert but there was a "very high probability" that they had not.

"The measures which we implemented were very safe," he added.

The Palau can welcome 17,000 people, but only 5,000 ticket holders were allowed in for last month's event.

"With optimised ventilation, antigen tests and the wearing of face masks," we could guarantee a safe space, Libre said.

'Gives us hope'

The deputy mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, said the results of the study show "it is possible to relax" virus health restrictions and "restart cultural activities".

The same team carried out another test at a smaller concert in December in another Barcelona, the Sala Apolo with an audience of 500 people.

That time around the concertgoers were tested before the show, as well as another 500 people who acted as a control group, and everybody got tested again eight days later.

All of the Apolo concertgoers tested negative while two people in the control group tested positive.

Trial concert or festival events have been held in several European countries, including in Germany and the Netherlands, as part of efforts to allow crowds to form again to see live music.

According to a study published by Spain's Music Federation, the European music industry lost 76 percent of its earnings in 2020 as concerts and major music festivals such as Britain's Glastonbury fell victim to pandemic restrictions.

"The results of the test concert in Barcelona gives us hope, it is a very good thing," Aurelie Hannedouche of France's Union of Contemporary Music (SMA), which represents festivals, concert venues and producers, told AFP.
PARIS  French publishing and retail group Lagardere said on Wednesday it has reached an agreement with shareholders to give up the governance system that has long granted chief executive officer Arnaud Lagardere full control of the company, defusing a battle between French billionaires Bernard Arnault and Vincent Bollore over control of its media assets.

Arnaud Lagardere has agreed to dissolve the structure, known as a societe en commandite par actions (SCA), and replace it with a joint-stock company. In exchange, he will receive 10 million new shares, equivalent to 7 percent of the companys capital after their issuance, and will be named chairman and chief executive officer for a six-year term.

More from WWD

The proposed governance structure is intended to ensure management continuity for the Lagardere group around Arnaud Lagarderes leadership, and representation of the main shareholders on the board of directors, Lagardere said in a statement.

The deal staves off the prospect of a dismantling of the group, the parent of publishing companies grouped under the Hachette Livre division; a travel retail division, and media interests including Europe 1 radio, Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD) newspaper and Paris Match magazine.

Lagardere has been battling efforts by activist investor Amber Capital and Vivendi, a media group controlled by Bollore, to gain board representation. In a bid to reinforce his position, he enlisted Arnault, chairman and ceo of luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, to buy shares in Lagardere last year.

That strategy appeared to backfire, as Arnault and Bollore squared off, with Bollore reportedly interested in acquiring control of Hachette Livre and Europe 1, and Arnault seen circling JDD and Paris Match. LVMH already owns newspapers Les Echos and Le Parisien.

Lagardere in 2019 sold most of its press portfolio to Czech Media Invest, including French Elle, Version Femina, Art & Decoration, Tele 7 Jours, France Dimanche, Ici Paris and Public.

Story continues

Any disposal of publishing, travel retail or media assets representing revenue exceeding a threshold set for each of these activity groups, would require the authorization of the board of directors, based on a three-fifths majority of its members, Lagardere said.

Under the terms of the deal, all the main shareholders will be represented on the board. Arnaud Lagardere and Vivendi will each propose three directors. Qatar Holding LLC and Amber Capital will each have the right to name one director, and Financiere Agache, the holding company controlled by Groupe Arnault, will submit one independent director.

Pierre Leroy will be named deputy ceo with added focus on operational excellence and cash generation, Lagardere said. The proposal has been approved by the supervisory board of Lagardere, and will be submitted to shareholders at the annual general meeting on June 30.

See also:

Arnault Again Raises Lagardere Stake Ahead of Court Decision

Groupe Arnault Takes Stake in Lagardere

Lagardere Completes Sale of French Elle to Czech Media Invest
Bacteria-eating organisms give hope on Xylella fastidiosa Spanish scientists find candidates for treatment of pathogen

(ANSA) - BRUXELLES, 28 APR - Spanish scientists have isolated microorganisms that feed on bacteria and are able to eliminate Xylella fastidiosa, a plant pathogen for which no cure exists at the moment.



The group, coordinated by Maria Domingo-Calap, presented the results of the research at the final conference of the EU-funded research project XF-ACTORS, which was entirely dedicated to Xylella fastidiosa.



The scientists isolated 22 bacteriophage microorganisms from wastewater samples in mainland Spain.



Many of them can eliminate the population of Xylella fastidiosa in infected plants and could be used in products for biological control of the bacterium.



The next steps are the genome sequencing of microorganisms and the study of their response to different subspecies and strains of Xylella fastidiosa. (ANSA).




Concerts are back. Whether it is at the large Sames Auto Arena or at smaller venues in and around the area, many businesses are already hosting and planning concerts.

Some people have voiced their optimism for going to a local concert, while others remain wary. Local bands can be counted among those optimistic about a return to the stage.

The Webb County Fairgrounds will host the Laredo International Fair on May 22 with three country bands playing headlined by the Randy Rogers Band. Webb County Judge Tano E. Tijerina said the concert is put on by a private entity and is being allowed because businesses in the state have already opened 100%.

This event is not sponsored by Webb County; it is hosted by a private entity, Tijerina said. As per governors executive order (GA-34), Texas is open 100%.

Tijerina said Webb County will continue to abide by the governors order unless the local hospitalization rate goes above 15%, which at that time the county judge has the full discretion to use COVID-19 mitigation strategies.

Despite the reopening of businesses at 100%, many people are still opting to wait at home even though they are eager to go back to concerts.

I'm dying to go see a live concert, Justin Reyes said. I'm going through withdrawals.

Other people said they are ready to go out as they are fully vaccinated.

Ill be going, indoor and outdoor. Im vaccinated, Kacie Nicole Kocinski said.

Sara Vela believes it is time to embrace a return to normal while remaining cautious.

I think it is time to finally enjoy a bit about life, Vela said. For too long we have been indoors without any chance of doing much, and we must finally go out and have fun. If we can get infected by just going to the grocery store, then at least lets enjoy the fact that we are healthy and go out. However, I hope anybody feeling sick, whether it is COVID related or not, they do not go out to expose other people as there are various viruses going around town.

Some people are embracing the idea of attending concerts but only if they are outdoors.

Ill attend only outdoor concerts and events for the moment, Patty Martinez said. I will wait on indoor concerts.

Others will continue to stay home until the pandemic is completely under control.

I think I will wait, Wayne T. Wilson said.

I miss it and am excited for it but straight up waiting for way better circumstances, Stephanie Garcia said.

Some of those staying home will continue to enjoy their favorite artists through streamed performances, social media and other digital venues as they wait out the pandemic.

I prefer to see my old videos and see them in YouTube for the time being as we wait and see if the vaccines are really good or not as we must not just think about ourselves and other people attending those concerts but also the bands as well, Jesus Martinez said. We want them to stay healthy to keep producing music.

As people wait to go to live concerts, Tijerina said those who do go out should continue following safety guidelines.

Although we have seen a downward trajectory in COVID-19 cases, we must remain vigilant and continue to use safe practices, he said. I encourage everyone attending to follow CDC guidelines set for large gatherings.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
The Harp Student Screenplay Competition is a Broadcasting Authority of Ireland Sponsored Initiative aimed at promoting creative writing and filmmaking amongst secondary school students in the midlands.

It will welcome submissions from secondary school students in Longford, Westmeath and Cavan.

The competition, which is now in its third year, normally has a short film category but unfortunately due to restrictions this has been put on hold until later in the year.

There is a prize of 250 as well as filmmaking equipment for the winning script.

The objective of the competition is to facilitate and nurture a new range of voices in the midlands by encouraging students to create their audiovisual work.

Training sessions will be hosted later in 2021 that will look at screenwriting, film production and the Irish film landscape.

If you would like to attend a session, please register your interest by emailing info@harpmedia.ie.

Terms and conditions for the Harp Media Screenplay competition in partnership with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland are:

Entrants must be a student in one of the participating midland counties  Longford, Westmeath or Cavan

Scripts should be between two and 12 pages long

Entries must be submitted by May 15 via email to Info@harpmedia.ie

For further detail, head over to our website www.harpmedia.ie or follow us on Instagram @harpmediafilms, facebook @harpmediafilm and Twitter @harp_media.
Realme isn't slowing down the pace of its new phone launches, and today we have news about the next model that will hit India. We're talking about the Realme X7 Max 5G, which is going to be launched on May 4 in the subcontinent, alongside a new TV. The date isn't randomly chosen - the company will celebrate its three-year anniversary on May 4.

It's been an exciting three years for Realme for sure, packed to the brim with phone launches and weird rebrandings. And in case you were wondering about that X7 Max 5G, yes, it's one of those too.

Realme CEO Madhav Sheth has been teasing the event through the latest in the "Ask Madhav" video series on YouTube, and he mentions that we should expect India's first smartphone with a Dimensity 1200 chipset powering it.

Realme GT Neo

Realme's first device to use that SoC in China is the Realme GT Neo that got official earlier this month. And rumor had it that the same phone would be launching in India as the Realme X7 Max 5G.

Thus, the expected specs should be identical. The Realme X7 Max 5G will get a 6.43-inch 1080x2400 120 Hz AMOLED screen, 6/8/12 GB of RAM, 128/256 GB of storage, a triple rear camera system (64 MP main, 8 MP ultrawide, 2 MP macro), a 16 MP selfie snapper, and a 4,500 mAh battery with 50W fast charging.

Source | Via
Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno, says it is his responsibility to let President Muhammadu Buhari know the truth about the security situa...

Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno, says it is his responsibility to let President Muhammadu Buhari know the truth about the security situation in the north-east.

For over a decade, the region had continued to suffer attacks from Boko Haram insurgents.

The insurgents recently launched a series of attacks, especially across Borno towns, killing many residents.

They have also been attacking military formations in the region.

An officer and six soldiers were killed in Mainok when the insurgents struck on Sunday.

Speaking with journalists after a meeting with the president on Monday night, Zulum said there is a need to seek support to address insurgency in the region.

The governor expressed regret over how hundreds of people have fled their homes, rendering many towns deserted.

In Borno, particularly, brigade headquarters was attacked. Many soldiers, men and officers of the Nigerian army were killed, he said.

Let me use this opportunity to extend my condolences to the families of the deceased. God, in His infinite wisdom, forgive them.

I think it is my own responsibility to come and say the truth to Mr. President; let him know what is going on in the entire north-east sub-region.

I think there is the need for us to get support for us to succeed in this war against insurgents. Its very pathetic.

A few days ago, Damasak was attacked; hundreds of people started fleeing Damasak, and now Geidam is almost deserted. Many people have left Geidam.

The governor also blamed the security situation in the north-east on lack of military equipment saying, I think the military are yet to receive some of the equipment that they have ordered for.

Earlier, the president had asked the United States to consider relocating the headquarters of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) from Germany.

This, the president had said, would help in fighting insecurity.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that it will remit nothing into the federation account in the month of May due to costs incurred from subsidy payments on petrol.

The NNPC made this known in a letter written to the Accountant-General of the Federation, where it explained that it recorded a value shortfall of N111bn in February 2021.

The shortfall, the NNPC said, will affect its contributions to federal allocations to states for April and May.

The announcement will have telling consequences for the nations economy. Nigeria relies on oil receipts for most of its monthly expenses including workers salaries.

The national oil company said the decision becomes necessary in order to bridge the gap between the landing cost and ex-costal price of petrol, ensure the continuous supply of petroleum products to the nation, and guarantee energy security.

The letter, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, was dated April 26 and signed by NNPC Chief Financial Officer, Umar Isa. Those copied in the letter include the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning; the Director General, Nigeria Governors Forum; the Director Home Finance; and the Chairman, Commissioners of Finance Forum.

The Accountant General of the Federation is kindly invited to note that the average landing cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) for the month of March 2021 was N184 per litre as against the subsisting ex-coastal price of N128 per litre, which has remained constant notwithstanding the changes in the macroeconomics variables affecting petroleum products pricing, the NNPC said.

As the discussions between Government and the Labour are yet to be concluded, NNPC recorded a value short fall of N111,966,456,903.74 in February 2021 as a result of the difference highlighted above. Accordingly, a projection of remittance to the Federation for the next three months is presented in the attached schedule.

Accordingly, the AGF is invited to note that the sum of N111,966,456,903.74 will be deducted from April 2021 Oil and Gas Proceeds due to the Federation in May 2021, which will translate to zero remittance to the Federation Account from NNPC in the month of May 2021.

NNPC remittances form a major part of revenues shared at the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meetings in Abuja.

Controversial FAAC

In recent years, allocations to states have always dwindled amid slump in oil revenue and disruption in the global oil market, with FAAC meetings always ending in a stalemate.

Since the coronavirus disrupted global economy and reduced oil revenues, the sharing of revenues among state and federal governments at FAAC has always been steeped in controversies.

Earlier in the month, Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, alleged that the government had to print an extra N60bn in March due to shortfall in FAAC allocation to states.

The CBN and the Finance Ministry, however, dismissed the claim.

The new development would likely shape proceedings and deliberations at the next FAAC meeting, as state governments scramble to settle overheads and fix infrastructure.

Subsidy

The payment of subsidy has been a controversial subject in the management of Nigerias oil resources in the last decade.

While many Nigerians have called for its removal in order to enable the government invest the fund into other developmental projects, others have condemned such calls, citing it as perhaps one of the few benefits the masses enjoy from the government.

Some pressure groups, such as the organised labour, have advised the government to fix the refineries before removing fuel subsidy.

ADVERTISEMENT

In March, a PREMIUM TIMES analysis showed that the nation may be expending a whopping N102.5 billion monthly to reduce the retail cost of petrol monthly. The NNPC in a subsequent press statement confirmed the projection.

A study supported by the British government estimated that Nigeria spent N10 trillion on subsidies from 2006 to 2018, more than the budgets for health, education or defence.

Millions of Nigerians use petrol to power their vehicles, tricycles, and motorcycles. In the midst of poor electricity supply, others power their generators with petrol.
Amid the crisis that has hit the country including Delhi following the second wave of coronavirus, a camp has been set up in the national capital near the Jangpura-Bhogal area where Covid-infected patients are being provided What's more heartening is 10 empty cylinders were brought from Patiala in to deal with the issue of shortage of cylinders.

On behalf of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, a group named "Hum Chakar Gobind Ke" has set up this camp. Previously, the group members were were transporting the cylinder to the houses but the increasing number of patients made the task a bit difficult for them.

Jasmeer Singh Khalsa, a member of this camp, told IANS: "Some of our colleagues have started this camp, we have a body named 'Hum Chakar Gobind Ke'. At least 10 to 15 boys are currently serving in the camp. We have installed an oxygen cylinder in every vehicle, and have kept the patient in the vehicle itself."

"Initially, we tried to take the cylinders home but that was a bit difficult task. One of our companions, Bobby Bhatia, supported us and we have set up this camp right in front of his house," he said.

On behalf of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management, the camp is also providing food to homes .

Khalsa and his colleagues were also a part of the team that was involved in sanitizing houses last year.

This year, they began providing food, along with arranging oxgyen for the Covid patients.

This service is running smoothly since Monday.

Currently, all the patients reaching there in the vehicle are receiving oxygen. Also, cylinders are being filled from Manesar in Haryana.

Recently, the 'Oxygen Langar' service was also started in the Gurdwara in Ghaziabad, where serious patients can go and receive oxygen in the car.

--IANS

msk/pgh

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Natural News) At the forefront of the covid-19 scandal is Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. When the coronavirus gain-of-function research (that he funded and monitored for years) went LIVE on the worlds population, Fauci wasnt questioned, scrutinized or held to account. Instead, he was promoted to a highly-advertised position of power in the federal government. He immediately used this position of power to advise governments on how best to lock people down, isolate and control their lives. His approach contributed to widespread crimes against humanity and did nothing to address the underlying health issues that caused suffering in nursing homes and select hospital systems across the country.

Ever since he first reached up at the microphone at the Federal Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Fauci has been the center of attention and the ultimate authority over the science surrounding covid-19. No other perspective was allowed. Americans were forced into isolation and terrorized to believe lies about their immune system. Fauci and the CDC continue to take a totalitarian approach that suppresses the minds, livelihoods and freedoms of the people. This is being done to force mass compliance to the experimental vaccines that the coronavirus gain-of-function research was conducted for in the first place. Reopening policy has been tied to vaccination status in many states, as the segregation and the crimes against humanity continue.

The mask flip-flop advice from Fauci continues

But like a fish out of water, Dr. Fauci has flip-flopped on countless issues over the past year. On the issue of recommending personal face masks, Dr. Fauci started with a cavalier approach before flip-flopping to support authoritarian mandates. When the mandates failed to accomplish public health goals, he doubled down, literally, and recommended multiple masks. Even after a supposed efficacious vaccine was rushed to market, Dr. Fauci continued to recommend that vaccinated people keep a mask over their faces, inside buildings and outdoors. If the vaccine worked, why were people being told to wear masks for a virus they supposedly have immunity to?

Finally, after months of coercing people to vaccinate and continue masking, Dr. flip-flop Fauci is allowing vaccinated people to take off their masks but only when they are outside. Last August he said, When you are indoors, make sure you have a mask. When youre outdoors, keep the mask on. When the vaccines were rolled out, he instructed the obedient ones to keep their masks on. Now, he says its common sense that the risk is really low outdoors, especially if youre vaccinated. Suddenly its okay to take the masks off, but only if youre outside. Its all insanity, but theres a method to Faucis madness.

Theres a method to Faucis madness

Fauci has mocked Florida Governor Ron Desantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott for being dangerous for fully opening their states and dropping mask mandates. After the mandates were lifted, there was no surge in infection or mortality  putting Fauci and the CDC to shame again.

Even though Fauci repeatedly flip flops with his public health recommendations and is repeatedly humiliated, the deception that underpins his motivation has stayed the same since the beginning of the covid-19 scandal. Asymptomatic spread of covid-19 is a farce, a lie perpetuated by the high cycle PCR tests that are calibrated to create false positives. Healthy people cannot spread infections they do not have, nor can they sicken others by simply being around other people and breathing freely. People with immunity are part of the solution, so a healthy immune system should be prioritized, not suppressed. There are many ways to strengthen the innate immune response, and there are viable, antiviral treatment options. Fauci does NOT speak these truths because his power and position depend on perpetual deception and the ensuing control.

Its abundantly clear that Fauci is part of a global conspiracy to force mass compliance to medical experimentation. His approach is about control, not health, because the pandemic messaging is intended to make populations dependent upon the medical experimentation and compliant to the authorities that conduct it.

Sources include:

PJMedia.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

PJMedia.com

NaturalNews.com
The Company advises that Group sales for the six months to 1 February 2021 were $181.98 million, an increase of 13.6% over the corresponding period last year ($160.27 million).

Net profit after tax was $19.84 million, an increase of 28.6% over the corresponding period last year ($15.44 million). The result is in line with the guidance announced to the NZX on 17 February 2021.

Gross margin on sales was 56.5% compared with 58.3% in the prior corresponding period, this was mainly due to increased freight costs resulting from shipping delays over the key trading period where stock was required to be airfreighted to manage availability. General expenses across the business were well controlled.

DIVIDEND

The Directors have declared an interim dividend of 23 cents per share (fully imputed) (last year 15 cents per share) to be paid on 16 April 2021. The balance sheet continues to be strong, inventories well controlled and the current trading patterns have allowed the Company to increase the dividend payment.

FUTURE OUTLOOK

Although the trading environment in both New Zealand and Australia remains challenging, and with the uncertainty of COVID-19 ever present, it is encouraging that Group sales for the first 7 weeks of the Winter season are +17.8% ahead of the same period last year. However, it must be considered that it was this time last year that the COVID-19 impact was beginning to be felt in both New Zealand and Australia.

During the period Auckland moved to Level 3 on the 15th February to 17th February 2021 and 28th February to 6th March 2021 where thirteen Hallenstein Brothers stores and twelve Glassons stores were closed. Following the appointment of Stuart Duncan as the new Group CEO from 1 April 2021, the business will continue to focus on building digital engagement with our customers, cost control and improving our market share in the New Zealand and Australian fashion apparel sector in which we operate.

Please see the link below for details:

HLG Interim Report for the 6 months ended 1 February 2021

Source: Hallenstein Glasson Holdings Limited

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GREENFIELD  Tourists visiting Franklin County during the coronavirus pandemic have had to find a new place to get information, advice or even just use the restroom.

Now the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce is looking for a new place to provide them with all three after COVID-19 prompted the closing of its visitor center last year.

Chamber executive director Diana M. Szynal said visitor centers offer curious travelers the kind of one-on-one welcome and advice they cant get via a smartphone app.

The current visitor center is in the same building as the citys Registry of Motor Vehicles office, just off Interstate 91 Exit 43. During the pandemic the RMV is open by appointment only, making it impossible to continue to have visitor information there, Szynal said. So the chamber has put out a request for proposals for a new space.

Its time for us to look for a new spot, she said. Wed like to have proposals by the end of May.

According to the RFP, the chamber is looking to pay $9 to $12 per square foot and willing to pay for utilities with a three- to five-year lease. The chamber wants the center to once again be close to the I-91/Route 2 interchange.

In Springfield, the citys visitor center at 1319 Main St. near the MassMutual Center plans to reopen around June 1, said Chris Russell, executive director of the Business Improvement District. The office closed in March 2020 with the pandemic.

Russell also pushed back against the idea that smartphones and online research can be substitute.

We operate it much like a concierge at a hotel, Russell said. We make recommendations by talking with people.

And Russell expects crowds to return this year people get vaccinated and the pandemic fades. He said the MassMutual Center nearby has already started hosting events. That means people are on the street looking for their next adventure.

Like the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, the Springfield BID self-funds its visitor center through member fees and charging some advertisers.

Across the state, visitor centers are either open or plan to reopen around Memorial Day, according to a list from the state tourism office and checks with operators.

Open now are:

Planning to open next month is the visitor center in Yarmouth, on Route 6.

The Adams Visitor Center in the Berkshires is closed, with tentative plans to reopen for summer.

To the north, Vermont reopened its Guilford Visitor Center on I-91 near Brattleboro in July 2020, but with limited hours. The site does provide restroom access with portable toilets when the indoor space is closed. Details are here.

Related content:
David Charvet was spotted with Swedish blogger Elena Belle on Monday at LAX after returning from vacation in Tulum, Mexico.

The 48-year-old actor showed off a fresh tan in a grey T-shirt and completed his outfit with black sweatpants and white sneakers.

David accessorized with a black-and-white cap and covered his mouth and nose with a black face mask amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Airport sighting: David Charvet was spotted with Swedish blogger Elena Belle on Monday at LAX after returning from vacation in Tulum, Mexico

He also had a pair of sunglasses dangling from his shirt collar.

Elena, real name Natacha Peyre Requena, kept it simple in a white sweatshirt over black leggings along with white sneakers with black laces.

The Paradise Hotel reality series star had her long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and also donned a black face mask.

Elena's husband Michael Theanne died in February 2020 at age 45 after collapsing near their Los Angeles home following a hike with their dogs.

Fresh tan: The 48-year-old actor showed off a fresh tan in a grey T-shirt and completed his outfit with black sweatpants and white sneakers

Simple style: Elena kept it simple in a white sweatshirt over black leggings along with white sneakers with black laces

He is survived by Elena and their three-year-old daughter Luna.

Michael was the longtime manager of Steve Aoki and other global EDM artists.

David and ex-wife Brooke Burke, 49, finalized their divorce in March 2020.

Former couple: David and ex-wife Brooke Burke, shown in November 2016in New York City, finalized their divorce in March 2020

Swedish blogger: Elena, shown in September 2019 in New York City, starred in Paradise Hotel

The couple announced in April 2018 that they were divorcing after seven years of marriage.

David and Brooke have 14-year-old daughter Heaven and 13-year-old son Shaya together.

Brooke also has two daughters from her first marriage to plastic surgeon Garth Fisher.

David rose to fame portraying Matt Brody on Baywatch from 1992 to 1995.

He was seen last summer with his fitness model girlfriend Oksana Rykova in Beverly Hills, California after first being linked with her in 2019.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Trenchant Capital Corp. (CSE: TCC) ("Trenchant" or the "Company") is providing an update on the status of its private equity investments following an assessment of the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic (the "Pandemic").

Waiward Industrial

Pursuant to a loan agreement dated March 2, 2017, the Company made loans of CAD$$7,744,000.00 to Waiward Industrial Limited Partnership ("Waiward"), one of Canada's largest steel fabricators and erectors. These loans which were financed through the offering of convertible debentures by the Company which debentures are listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") under the symbol TCC.DB. The Pandemic and a slump in global oil prices initially had an impact on Waiward's projects, resulting in below budget revenues for Waiward in the first two quarters of 2020. Waiward remained open during the province wide shut down in Alberta, being declared an essential service. Fortunately, Waiward had a large backlog of work and a strong balance sheet heading into the Pandemic and the business has returned to relative normal levels as projects and sites developed effective plans to proceed during the Pandemic. Waiward had a profitable 2020 and has entered 2021 with forecasts and a backlog of sales that indicate an improvement in sales and profitability for the year. Waiward expects business to remain stable for the balance of the year while it continues to secure work with its major customers.

To date, Trenchant has paid an aggregate of $2,672,357.06 in interest payments to the holders of the TCC.DB debentures. At a trading price of $70.00 the TCC.DB debentures, yield to maturity is approximately 51%.(1) The loan matures on March 22, 2022. Please visit www.waiward.com to learn more about Waiward.

Omni

Pursuant to a loan agreement made in December 2017, the Company has made loan of CAD $12,183,000.00 to the parent company of Omni Health Investments Inc. ("Omni"), one of Canada's largest long-term care home operators. These loans which were financed through the offering of convertible debentures by the Company which debentures are listed on the CSE under the symbol TCC.DB.A. Omni, along with the rest of the long-term care sector in Ontario, was impacted by the Pandemic in terms of operations; however, support from the government muted any material volatility in terms of cash flows and earnings. Omni currently has no long-term care homes with a Pandemic outbreak. During the Pandemic, long term care homes were declared in outbreak by public health agencies whenever one or more staff or residents were confirmed with COVID-19. At various times Omni had up to 4 homes experiencing wider-scale outbreaks, but in every case the outbreaks were able to be staffed and managed internally by Omni management, working with public health partner organizations. Omni was early to adopt procedures and policies to minimize and slow down the spread of COVID including cohorting residents and staff, limiting visitors, screening, and shifting eating in dining halls to rooms. Omni maintained a stock of personal protective equipment ("PPE") in advance of the Pandemic and continued to ensure sufficient available PPE throughout. Although the majority of staff and residents have now been vaccinated, Omni homes remain diligent in ensuring infection prevention and control procedures ("IPAC") and directives are followed, including universal masking, screening and providing regular rapid tests to essential visitors and staff. The Ontario Ministry of Health has limited occupancy in homes where there are more than 2 beds per room during the Pandemic but committed to funding all homes as if they were 100% occupied. The province of Ontario still has a healthy waitlist, so Omni's occupancy rate has remained stable, after giving effect to the limitation. The Ministry has also increased funding in the nursing envelope to cover emergency pay, increased PPE costs and to offset increased costs due to operational changes. Omni's management is confident that stable financial performance will continue beyond the Pandemic, and it does not expect any material changes.

To date, Trenchant has paid an aggregate of $2,510,700.28 in interest payments to the holders of the TCC.DB.A debentures. At a trading price of $60.00 the TCC.DB.A debentures, yield to maturity is approximately 40%.(1) The loan matures on January 27, 2023. Please visit www.omniway.ca to learn more about Omni.

About Trenchant

The Company aims to become a diversified investment and venture capital firm with a focus on providing special situation debt and equity financing to companies with a proven track record. The Company expects to benefit from its strategic alliance with Hillcore, a leading independent Canadian investment and advisory firm, that grants the Company rights of first negotiation to provide financing and management services to Hillcore's pipeline of current and future private equity investments.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

TRENCHANT CAPITAL CORP.

Per: "Eric Boehnke"

Eric Boehnke, CEO

For further information, please contact:

Trenchant Capital Corp.

Eric Boehnke, CEO

Email info@trenchantcapital.net

(1) Yield to Maturity Calculations

The yield to maturity is calculated using the following formula;

Yield to maturity (YTM) = [(Face value/Market value)1/Time period]-1.

For the TCC.DB (Waiward) debentures, the yield to maturity of 51% used the following values: Face Value = 100, Market Value = 70, Term to Maturity = 0.94 Years (March 22, 2022), Coupon = 9% ($2.25 paid quarterly cash).

For the TCC.DB.A (Omni) debentures, the yield to maturity of 40% used the following values: Face Value = 100, Market Value = 60, Term to Maturity = 1.79 Years (Jan 27, 2023). Coupon = 8% ($2 paid quarterly cash).

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains 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, such as statements about the financial and operational projections of Waiward and Omni. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, including the unknown magnitude and duration of the effects of the Pandemic and other risks that are customary to businesses of similar to the Company's business. 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 are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82159
Radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson risked the wrath of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Thursday by telling listeners of her KIIS FM breakfast show she was hesitant about getting the Covid-19 vaccine.

Henderson, 46, said she will 'hold off' getting the shot once it's widely available in Australia because of her concerns about the extremely rare side effects.

Her admission comes after a 'fit and healthy' 55-year-old man died in Tamworth Hospital of a blood clot on April 21 just days after receiving the vaccine.

A Sydney man, 71, has also died after getting the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, but it's understood this man had several underlying health conditions, and his death is unlikely to be linked to the jab.

Radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson risked the wrath of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Thursday by telling listeners of her KIIS FM breakfast show she was hesitant about getting the Covid-19 vaccine

Henderson said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show it wasn't fair to compare Australia's situation to other countries like India, where coronavirus has spiralled out of control.

She argued Aussies have the freedom to 'wait and see' what happens with the vaccine because the number of Covid cases is so low, while this simply isn't an option in other parts of the world.

The mother of one added that she personally wouldn't be rushing to get the vaccine once it's available to her.

But her co-host Kyle Sandilands scolded her for her attitude, and said Ms Berejiklian - a regular guest on their show - would be furious.

'Wait 'til Gladys, the premier, finds out Jackie's been pushing the "wait and see" [attitude]. She'll be like, "Now listen, Jackie!"' he said.

Henderson, 46, said she will 'hold off' getting the shot once it's widely available in Australia because of her concerns about the extremely rare side effects. Pictured with her daughter

Henderson's co-host Kyle Sandilands scolded her for her attitude, and said Gladys Berejiklian - a regular guest on their show - would be furious

There have been 1.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered in Australia as of April 22, and six reported cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a very rare blood-clotting condition.

On April 23, the Therapeutic Goods Administration reported it had reviewed three suspected cases of rare blood clots caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine.

They included a 35-year-old New South Wales woman, a 49-year-old Queensland man and an 80-year-old Victorian man.

It concluded 'all three of the cases were likely linked to vaccination'.

There have been 1.1 million doses of AstraZeneca administered in Australia as of April 22

Meanwhile, health officials have launched an investigation into the deaths of two New South Wales men days after receiving the coronavirus vaccine.

A 'fit and healthy' man died of a blood clot days after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.

The 55-year-old died in Tamworth Hospital on April 21 after suffering what hospital staff had described as a 'massive' blood clot in his lungs.

It's unclear which vaccine he received on April 13 as his devastated family told the Northern Daily Leader he was otherwise a 'fit and healthy' man.

A Sydney man, 71, has also died after getting the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

It's understood the man had several underlying health conditions, and his death is unlikely to be linked to the jab.

An investigation is underway into the deaths of two New South Wales men days after getting the Covid jab (pictured, a Sydney nurse gets her vaccine)

Any link between the vaccine and either death is also yet to be established, with both cases under investigation.

It comes after Sandilands said on air in February he was considering a 'no jab, no job' policy at his workplace once the Covid-19 vaccine is rolled out across Australia.

During a discussion about the coronavirus vaccine, he said all staffers at The Kyle and Jackie O Show must get the shot once it's available or face the sack.

He issued the office-wide edict after Henderson again expressed concerns about the vaccine.

It comes after Kyle Sandilands said on air in February he was considering a 'no jab, no job' policy at his workplace once the Covid-19 vaccine is rolled out across Australia

Henderson said she thought the vaccine seemed 'a bit rushed', but stressed she 'is not an anti-vaxxer at all'.

Sandilands, 49, gently corrected Henderson, pointing out that the bureaucracy of vaccine development had been fast-tracked, not the science and safety testing.

'All the tests and clinical trials, they haven't been rushed. It's the bulls**t of waiting around through all the processes and paperwork. That's been rushed,' he said.

He issued the office-wide edict - which may have been a joke - after his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson (pictured) expressed concerns about the vaccine

KIIS FM newsreader Brooklyn Ross also noted the Covid-19 vaccine was the result of scientists from many countries working together with enormous financial support.

'Jackie, what the difference is this time around is, like, the whole world just said, "We need a vaccine," and so much money has gone into it... and that gave them the ability to do more trials quickly,' Ross said.

'Without money, you can't do that, so that's what's helped it go through.'

Henderson, who still wasn't convinced, then asked her colleagues if any of them were 'a little bit unsure'.

During a discussion about the coronavirus vaccine on February 15, Sandilands said all staffers at The Kyle and Jackie O Show must get the shot once it's available. Pictured with KIIS FM newsreader Brooklyn Ross (centre)

She asked 'Will you all get it?' and several staff members said without hesitation they would get the jab once it's available.

Sandilands said: 'The second I can get it. I've even got an elastic band around my arm now. I'm bloody ready to go. Shoot me up, baby!'

The only employee who said they wouldn't be getting the vaccine straight away was senior producer Pedro Vitola, who by his own admission is 'into conspiracies'.

'If you don't get it, you're out,' Sandilands snapped in response. 'No jab, no job.'

Henderson laughed off her co-host's remark, but it's unclear if Sandilands was serious or just joking about a 'no jab, no job' policy at KIIS FM.

His view: The only employee who said they wouldn't be getting the vaccine straight away was senior producer Pedro Vitola (pictured), who by his own admission is 'into conspiracies'

Henderson said that many Australians have a 'wait and see' attitude to the vaccine - that is to say, they plan to wait until others have had it first to make sure it's safe.

However, Covid-19 vaccines have already been found to be safe and effective - and side effects extremely rare - and millions of people in countries like Britain and the U.S. have already received the jab.

When Ross reminded Henderson of the vaccine rollout in other countries, she seemed to be reassured - but her remarks on Thursday suggest she still has reservations.
Panaji: Goa`s most popular coastal strip, the Calangute-Candolim beach stretch, which is extremely popular with beachgoers and tourists, may go for a partial lockdown, in the wake of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the area.

According to Ports Minister and local MLA Michael Lobo, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant late on Tuesday (April 27), gave the go-ahead for the district administration, local elected representatives, health and police officials to meet on Wednesday (April 28) afternoon to finalise the plan for a partial lockdown of the beach villages of Candolim, Calangute, and parts of Arpora, in a bid to stem the COVID-19 tide.

"We have informed the CM that the situation is going out of hand. Calangute, Candolim, and some parts of Arpora-Nagoa are witnessing a steep increase in cases. Precious lives are being lost, "Lobo said on Wednesday (April 28).

The partial lockdown, which will be discussed at a meeting with the local Deputy Collector, would involve closure of all non-essential businesses and services from 1 p.m. to 6 a.m., during which no one would be allowed to leave or enter the three villages, unless for medical reasons.

"Tourists should stay in the hotels. Things are going out of hand. We should try it for eight to ten days to see if we can bring down the number of cases," Lobo said, adding the Chief Minister had directed the district administration to work out the modalities of the partial lockdown.

If it comes into force, it will be the first such lockdown during the second wave in the state, where COVID-19 cases have spiralled.

The beach villages are frequented by thousands of tourists everyday, but the Candolim public health centre, which caters to the residents of the area ranks the second highest in terms of active COVID-19 cases in the state, with 1,392 persons currently reported as positive.

The beach villages also have the highest concentration of hotels and resorts in the coastal state.

"We don`t want outside people to come to these areas (during partial lockdown) or people from these areas to go outside. People should not move around in other houses for functions for a few days. Let us break that chain of the virus spread," Lobo said.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane are currently at loggerheads over the issue of imposing a lockdown.

While Rane has insisted on several occasions that the state should go in for a lockdown to arrest the spread of the Covid-19 footprint, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said that a lockdown is not feasible and would impact the state`s already dwindling economy.

Goa currently has 16,591 active COVID-19 patients. The state over the last few days has crossed the count of 2,000 new infections every day, while more than 30 persons on average have died after being infected, in the country`s smallest state.

Live TV
A new batch of vaccines delivered by the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson consisting of 48,000 doses arrived in Romania on Wednesday by road, the National COVID-19 Vaccination Coordination Committee (CNCAV) reports.

According to CNCAV, the doses will be stored with the National Storage Centre and distributed to the existing regional centres nationwide, report agerpres.

CNCAV says that on April 14, Romania received a first batch of 60,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.For the continuation of the vaccination process by mobile vaccination centres/teams and the initiation of vaccination by family physicians on May 4, a number of 57,500 doses from the manufacturer Johnson & Johnson are distributed from the Cantacuzino National Institute for Military Medicine Research and Development to the regional storage centres, as follows:- Brasov Regional Distribution Centre: 10,000 doses;- Cluj Regional Distribution Centre: 10,000 doses;- Constanta Regional Distribution Centre: 10,000 doses;- Craiova Regional Distribution Centre: 10,000 doses;- Iasi Regional Distribution Centre: 10,000 doses;- Timisoara Regional Distribution Centre: 7,500 doses.
Britain's Transport Secretary Grant Shapps arrives at Downing Street, in London, Britain, December 8, 2020. REUTERS-Yonhap



Britain plans to use a National Health Service phone app as its COVID-19 'vaccine passport' certificate that will allow its population to travel internationally this summer, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Wednesday.



Countries around the world are looking at a host of options that will serve as proof of COVID-19 vaccinations to allow travel, though airports, border agencies and airlines are worried there will be no clear global standard that will be accepted at all borders.



So-called vaccine passports could range from a digital certificate with a scannable QR code in the European Union, to a National Health Service (NHS) phone app in the United Kingdom, or a humble piece of paper in some other countries.



Besides concerns over issuance, forgery and the repeated failure of government-backed technology projects, it was still unclear how such documents would be received by notoriously zealous border guards across the world.



"In terms of vaccine certification, I can confirm... it will be an NHS app that is used for people when they book appointments with the NHS and so on to be able to show that you've had a vaccine or that you've had testing," Transport Secretary Shapps told Sky News.



"And I'm working internationally with partners across the world, to make sure that that system can be internationally recognised," he said.



Airlines, which were brought to the edge of insolvency by the COVID-19 pandemic, are desperate for flights to resume as lockdown restrictions ease, so that they can earn some money from the northern hemisphere's summer holiday season.



British tourists are among the highest-spending European tourists, so their ability to travel is key for the economies of southern Europe.



Britain has earmarked May 17 as being the earliest date when international travel would be allowed for non-essential reasons following a winter lockdown.



"The data does continue to look good from a UK perspective, notwithstanding those concerns about where people might be travelling to and making sure that we're protected from the disease being reimported," Shapps said.



Airlines and airports have said any vaccine passport will need to be digital, to avoid delays during customs clearance or the boarding of flights caused by checks of paperwork.



However, it is not clear how countries will recognise different systems: the global airline industry body IATA is launching a digital travel pass for COVID-19 test results and vaccine certificates, while the European Union is launching a bloc-wide system.



Shapps said he would reveal which travel categories countries would be placed in early next month. (Reuters)




The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has described claims by the MP for Ningo Prampram, Sam George, that the government acquired AirtelTigo for US$25 million as a blatant untruth.



Owusu-Ekuful questions why her fellow MP should struggle to believe that the government could negotiate such a good deal for just a dollar. She has since asked the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmaker to tell Ghanaians the source for his claim that the acquisition cost $25 million.



Some people find it very difficult to believe we can negotiate good deals for government. I signed the AirtelTigo contract. We acquired it for just a dollar. Someone, an MP, says he heard me say we paid $25 million. A barefaced lie . blatant untruth, the minister posted on Facebook on Monday 26 April.



She added: Please ask Sam George where he heard that. Then sit back and listen to long English grammar and drama . just keep your eyes on the ball. How much did we pay to acquire the company? 1 dollar, simple!!



Meanwhile, the Ningo-Prampram MP has asked the minister to prepare to account for the deal when she faces Parliaments communications committee.



Someone tell our Minister for Communications that grand posturing and arrogant clap backs would not stop us on the Parliamentary Committee of Communications and the good people of Ghana from demanding accountability from her, he responded, also on Facebook.



What does she take us for? George wrote. That she bought AirtelTigo for $1? How much is the eyebrow pencil she uses to draw her eyebrows and she thinks she can insult our intelligence?



Madam, after basking in the fake fans of your social media followers, prepare to appear before the Committee and give us details of the transactions.



We would not allow the already burdened taxpayers of our country to be saddled with poorly thought-out decisions that impose more debt or hardship on us. Our eyes are fixed on the ball and I urge you to do same. No long talk.







Source: twitter/asaase radio









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks edged higher on Wednesday as investors cheered a batch of positive earnings updates. The benchmark FTSE 100 edged up 16 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,960 after losing 0.3 percent the previous day. Lloyds Banking Group surged 4.1 percent after reporting a better-than-expected profit and raising full-year profitability guidance. Persimmon advanced 1.5 percent. The housebuilder said it was experiencing good demand for newly built homes across the U.K. Grafton soared 8.3 percent. The builders merchant and DIY retailer said it expects adjusted operating profit for the current financial year to be between 15 and 20 percent ahead of consensus forecasts. Advertising group WPP rallied 3.5 percent after it reported a surprise return to comparable net sales growth for the first quarter of 2021. Lysol maker Reckitt Benckiser Group dropped 1.3 percent despite the company reporting a higher than expected jump in quarterly sales and backing its full-year outlook. In economic releases, U.K. shop prices continued to decline in April, data from the British Retail Consortium showed. The shop price index dropped 1.3 percent year-on-year in April, following a 2.4 percent decrease in March. Both food and non-food prices declined in April. 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 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Data Center Market in Middle East - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Middle East data center market by investment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7% during the period 2020-2026.



The data center market has observed a steady growth due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in heightened access to internet-related services aided by nationwide lockdowns and restrictions. IoT-enabled devices witnessed high acceptance for monitoring and surveillance purposes, especially in the healthcare sector, during the pandemic.

Government agencies have also contributed to the growth of cloud-based services in the Middle East. In Kuwait, the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT), collaborated with Zain to launch an application - Shlonik to monitor citizens that have returned to the country.

The growing adoption of cloud, IoT, big data in the wake of the COVID-19 has increased colocation investments in the region. Cloud, social media, and video conferencing service providers have contributed majorly to data generation. Many enterprises operating in the cloud are migrating to colocation data centers to operate hybrid infrastructure services.



Middle East Data Center Market Segmentation



The Middle East data center market research report includes a detailed segmentation by IT infrastructure, electrical infrastructure, mechanical infrastructure, cooling technique, cooling systems, general construction, tier standards, geography. The Middle East IT infrastructure market expects to grow at a CAGR of over 6% during 2020-2026.

The server market is shifting slowly from rack-based to blade servers to support a high-density operating environment. This is because of the increased usage of IoT, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning by enterprises across the Middle Eastern market. Enterprises prefer servers that can reduce space in the data center environment without affecting performance.



The UPS market in the Middle East anticipates to cross USD 89 million during the forecast period. There has a steady rise in the deployment of edge computing; also, colocation operators are investing in the region, which increases the demand for high-capacities UPS in the region. The use of 750-1,500 kVA systems has witnessed high adoption along with less than 500 kVA UPS systems. The adoption of lithium-ion batteries is also likely to increase during the forecast period as the price of these batteries is expected to decline during the forecast period.



Cooling systems, including water-cooled chillers, CRAH, and cooling towers, are installed with N+20 redundancy in the Middle East region. Most facilities in the region design to cool servers via water-based cooling techniques. The growing construction of data centers in the UAE is a key factor in developing multiple chillers, cooling towers, and CRAH units. In Saudi Arabia, data centers' construction will increase the adoption of multiple chillers, cooling towers, and CRAH units.

Newly constructed data center facilities will use advanced air-based cooling techniques because of the high temperature. Data centers in Turkey adopt CRAC & CRAH units and chiller units. In terms of redundancy, most operators use N+1 and N+2 cooling redundancy. Besides, operators are likely to deploy dual water feed for efficient and uninterruptable operations.



Brownfield development is more cost-effective than greenfield development in the Middle East. In the Middle Eastern region, data center commissioning service providers follow standard operating procedures, depending on the depth of commissioning required in the facility. The Middle East data center market is mostly dominated by small data centers with less than 15 MW power centers. The building & engineering design market is expected to reach over USD 32 million in 2026, growing at a CAGR of approx-7%.

The increasing demand for reliable, efficient, and flexible building infrastructure among service operators is expected to influence its growth. The adoption of physical security apparatus is increasing to protect the data and information. BFSI, telecommunication, and healthcare are the most vulnerable sectors for intrusions and breaches. Sensors and video cameras are installed for surveillance in data centers in the region.

The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the data center is driving the DCIM solutions market. DCIM solutions improve efficiency, monitor power consumption, and predict system failures. They are becoming a major part of data center operations as they monitor critical elements such as power, cooling, and IT infrastructure.



Most data centers in the UAE are Tier III certified or built according to Tier III standards. Several data centers in Saudi Arabia are built according to Tier III or Tier IV standards and have a minimum redundancy of N+1 in power and cooling infrastructure. Tier III data centers are equipped with UPS systems redundancy of N+1.

The majority of modern data centers in Turkey are developed according to Tier III standards, with a minimum of N+1 redundancy in power infrastructure. A few data centers operate 2N power infrastructure or have additional capacity to commission 2N infrastructure solutions based on the customer's demand. Most developments in Turkey are greenfield projects, whereas modular data centers are confined to enterprise on-premises deployments.

INSIGHTS BY VENDORS



Arista Network, AWS, Atos, Broadcom, Cisco Systems, and Dell Technologies are among the major IT vendors expanding their presence in the Middle East region.

They have a strong physical presence in the region and are the major adopters of high-density, mission-critical servers, storage infrastructure, and network infrastructure. Vendors are focusing on sustainable data centers. They procure renewable energy sources in partnership with local service providers. Construction and design are critical for data center operators because they need to adhere to the Uptime standards.



Key Data Center Critical (IT) Infrastructure Providers

Arista Networks

Atos

Broadcom

Cisco Systems

Dell Technologies

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

Huawei Technologies

IBM

Lenovo

NetApp

Key Data Center Contractors

Atkins

Deerns

ENMAR ENGINEERING

Edarat Group

ISG

RED Engineering

Harinsa Qatar (HQ)

Turner & Townsend

McLaren Construction Group

LAING O'ROURKE

ICS Nett

Linesight

Qatar Site and Power (QSP)

Key Data Center Investors

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Akbank

Batelco

Etisalat Group

Equinix

Gulf Data Hub

Turkcell

Telecom Italia Sparkle

Khazna

Zain

Key Topics Covered:



1 Research Methodology



2 Research Objectives



3 Research Process



4 Scope & Coverage

4.1 Market Definition

4.2 Base Year

4.3 Scope of The Study

4.4 Market Segments



5 Report Assumptions & Caveats

5.1 Key Caveats

5.2 Currency Conversion

5.3 Market Derivation



6 Market at a Glance



7 Introduction

7.1 Internet & Data Growth

7.2 Data Center Site Selection Criteria



8 Market Opportunities & Trends

8.1 5G To Grow Edge Data Center Investments

8.2 Growing Procurement Of Renewable Energy

8.3 Submarine Cable Deployment & Impact On Data Center Investment

8.4 Smart City Initiatives Fuel Data Center Deployments



9 Market Growth Enablers

9.1 Impact Of COVID-19 On Data Center Market

9.2 Rise In Data Center Investments

9.3 Big Data, IoT & Cloud Drive Data Center Investment

9.4 Migration From On-Premises Infrastructure To Colocation & Managed Services

9.5 Modular Data Center Development



10 Market Restraints

10.1 Location Constraints For Data Center Construction

10.2 Lack Of Skilled Workforce

10.3 Security Breaches Hinder Data Center Investments



11 Market Landscape

11.1 Market Overview

11.2 Market Size & Forecast

11.3 Area

11.4 Power Capacity

11.5 Five Forces Analysis



12 Infrastructure

12.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

12.2 IT Infrastructure

12.3 Electrical Infrastructure

12.4 Mechanical Infrastructure

12.5 General Construction



13 IT Infrastructure

13.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

13.2 Server Infrastructure

13.3 Storage Infrastructure

13.4 Network Infrastructure



14 Electrical Infrastructure

14.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

14.2 UPS Systems

14.3 Generators

14.4 Transfer Switches & Switchgear

14.5 Power Distribution Units

14.6 Other Electrical Infrastructure



15 Mechanical Infrastructure

15.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

15.2 Cooling Systems

15.3 Racks

15.4 Other Mechanical Infrastructure



16 Cooling Systems

16.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

16.2 CRAC & CRAH Units

16.3 Chiller Units

16.4 Cooling Towers, Condensers & Dry Coolers

16.5 Other Cooling Units



17 Cooling Technique

17.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

17.2 Air-Based Cooling Techniques

17.3 Liquid-Based Cooling Techniques



18 General Construction

18.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

18.2 Core & Shell Development

18.3 Installation & Commissioning Services

18.4 Building & Engineering Design

18.5 Physical Security

18.6 DCIM/BMS Solutions



19 Tier Standards

19.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

19.2 TIER I & II

19.3 TIER III

19.4 TIER IV



20 Geography

20.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

20.2 Area Snapshot & Growth Engine

20.3 Power Capacity Snapshot & Growth Engine

20.4 United Arab Emirates

20.5 Saudi Arabia

20.6 Turkey

20.7 Jordan

20.8 Other Middle Eastern Countries



21 Competitive Landscape

21.1 IT Infrastructure

21.2 Construction Contractors

21.3 Data Center Investors

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6pglwg
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-29 04:51:06|Editor: huaxia

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People wearing their face masks walk along the coast in Beirut, Lebanon, April 29, 2021. A lockdown will be imposed in Lebanon from May 1 to May 4 to restrict socializing activities during the Orthodox Easter, Lebanon's Disaster Risk Management Unit announced. (Xinhua/Liu Zongya)

CAIRO, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon announced on Wednesday it will impose a nationwide lockdown in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Israel recorded the lowest number of patients in serious condition since July 2020.

A lockdown from will be imposed in Lebanon from May 1 to May 4 to restrict socializing activities during the Orthodox Easter, Lebanon's Disaster Risk Management Unit announced.

A 24-hour curfew will be imposed in the country from 5 a.m. on May 1 until 5 a.m. on May 4. Only those who have a permit will be allowed to go to places like supermarkets, pharmacies, bakeries and hospitals, it said.

Places of worship in Lebanon will be open at 30-percent capacity and restaurants and cafes will be closed, while the delivery services will continue, it added.

Lebanon registered 1,478 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections to 524,241, while the death toll from the virus went up by 27 to 7,224, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported.

Lebanon's COVID-19 ministerial committee recommended on Wednesday against allowing travelers from India and Brazil to enter the country, unless they first spend 14 days in a third country.

In Israel, 106 new COVID-19 cases were reported, raising the total number of infections in the country to 838,317.

The COVID-19 death toll in Israel increased by two to 6,361, while the number of patients in serious condition decreased from 138 to 120, the lowest number in Israel since July 8, 2020, when it stood at 113.

The number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel reached nearly 5.4 million, or 57.9 percent of its total population, thanks to the vaccination campaign that began on Dec. 20, 2020.

Turkey reported 40,444 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of infections in the country to 4,751,026.

The death toll from the virus rose by 341 to 39,398 in Turkey, while the total recoveries climbed to 4,212,461, up by 45,198.

Iran reported 21,713 new COVID-19 cases, taking the country's total infections to 2,459,906.

The pandemic has so far claimed 70,966 lives in Iran, up by 434 in the past 24 hours. A total of 1,923,081 people have recovered from the disease in Iran, while 5,338 remained in intensive care units.

Iraq reported 6,858 new coronavirus cases, pushing the tally of confirmed cases in Iraq to 1,051,868.

It also reported 44 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 15,392, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 7,052 to 927,575.

The Iraqi health ministry said 11,194 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 during the past 24 hours across Iraq, bringing the total number of vaccines administered to 333,050.

The Qatari health ministry announced 690 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 204,289.

It confirmed 1,606 new recoveries, bringing the overall recovered cases in Qatar to 186,318, while the total fatalities increased by four to 445.

Oman announced 928 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Sultanate to 192,326.

The total recoveries in Oman surged by 919 to 171,848, while the COVID-19 death toll increased by nine to 2,001.

Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 510,465 on Wednesday, as 493 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours.

The death toll rose to 9,015 with 10 new fatalities confirmed during the last 24 hours, while 360 people were in intensive care units, said a statement by the Moroccan Ministry of Health.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 496,583 after 552 new ones were added, the statement added. Enditem
State regulators have denied Dominion Energy's plan to charge a suite of new fees to future solar-power customers in a ruling that's being held up as a victory for the rooftop solar industry.

The S.C. Public Service Commission issued its decision April 28 after months of hearings, testimony and debate, according to the Southern Environment Law Center.

"The PSC rejected requests from Dominion Energy and the Office of Regulatory Staff to hike solar fees and impose new charges on customers to a level that would put rooftop solar out of reach for most households," the group said in a statement.

Instead, the commissioners adopted an alternative price plan proposed by several advocacy groups, including the Charleston-based Coastal Conservation League and the Solar Energy Industries Association.

The new fee will be based on Dominion's existing "time-of-use" rate, which will rise to $13.50 a month from $9. The higher rate will apply to panels that connect to the grid after May 31 in the utility's South Carolina service territory, which covers areas around Charleston, Columbia, Beaufort, Orangeburg and Aiken.

Thankfully, todays decision will support the growing rooftop solar market for Dominion Energy customers, without the high fees Dominion tried to impose," said Eddy Moore, energy and climate director for the Coastal Conservation League.

The ruling won't immediately affect the company's 11,000 or so current solar customers in the state. They'll keep their existing billing arrangements until 2025 or 2029, depending on when their panels started producing power.

Dominion, which expanded into the state when it bought South Carolina Electric & Gas more than two years ago, was proposing to increase rates to ensure solar customers pay for their share of maintenance and operating expenses.

Installers, environmental groups and other industry interests feared the higher prices would drive away customers and reduce competition.

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Dominion wanted to more than double prices for new residential solar customers to $19 a month under its original plan. The fee for commercial was to jump to $32.50. Opponents said the proposed charges could total $70 in some cases.

The pricing issue is tied to the Energy Freedom Act, which in 2019 lifted the cap on how many South Carolina homes and businesses can install solar panels. Lawmakers instructed regulators to ensure other ratepayers do not subsidize the costs associated with the growth.

Dominion said it will review the commission's final order once it is completed.

"We believe that our proposal ... complied with the Legislatures expectations and plain language of the law to eliminate the cost shift and/or subsidy to the greatest extent practicable," the Richmond, Va.-based utility said in a statement.

"Todays decision means that customers who choose not to have solar panels on their homes will continue to pay more to subsidize the costs for those who do," the company added. "With over 1,000 megawatts of solar on our electric generation system, Dominion Energy will continue to be a leader in a clean energy future for South Carolina, and solar energy plays a big part in our plans."

Moore of the Coastal Conservation League gave a nod to the members of the PSC, which had been widely viewed as a rubber-stamp panel before the failed expansion of the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in mid-2017 led to major reforms. The regulators reviewed all sides of the complicated issue before reaching a "pro-solar decision," he said.

"They put it all together and thought about it and issued this ruling, which provides a good path forward for people to continue putting solar on their rooftops in Dominion's territory," said Moore, who was a witness in the rate case.

Frank Knapp, CEO of the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce, called the 5-0 decision "clear evidence that the commission is no longer in the back pocket of the utility industry."

Sunrun Inc., a large residential panel installer that fought the original rate plan, said it was pleased with the ruling.

"This unanimous decision will accomplish what the Energy Freedom Act set out to do: support the growth and economic viability of rooftop solar," said Tyson Grinstead, public policy director for the San Francisco-based company.
The Kingdoms of My Heart: an anthology of inspiring poems that tackle numerous topics about praising the Lords name in ones daily life. The Kingdoms of My Heart is the creation of published author John Sadler, a former millwright before getting promoted as maintenance supervisor at the Fernald Nuclear Processing Facility near Cincinnati. He also enjoys farming crops that mostly go to the members of his church, as well as food pantries. This is his second published collection of poems.

Sadler shares, After writing Come Let Us Adore Him, my first published book of poems of and about Jesus, I was at a stage of whether this endeavor was a one and done event. I was soon to find out it wasnt. The Holy Spirit kept giving me topics to run with and so I did. (Sometimes in the middle of the night.) After a short lull, I was back writing about more topics and insights about Jesus.

Im prayerful that some of what is in The Kingdoms of my Heart will have an intended effect for many someones to give their whole hearts to the one who gave us victory at the cross of Calvary. For those who have already entered sainthood, this book is to reinforce and bolster your boldness for Jesus.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, John Sadlers new book is an enlivening work that refreshes the mind of the readers about Gods holiness.

View a synopsis of The Kingdoms of My Heart on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase The Kingdoms of My Heart at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about The Kingdoms of My Heart, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
A baby mountain gorilla, a subspecies of the Eastern gorilla, in the Sabyinyo Mountains of Rwanda

Civil unrest and military exercises pose heightened risks to more than 200 threatened species, including elephant populations and the critically-endangered Eastern gorilla, conservationists warned Wednesday.

A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature examined the close interplay between the environment and armed conflict, warning that human violence and unrest were taking a devastating toll on nature.

The report stressed that sustainable management of natural resources should be seen as a tool to help preserve peace.

"Degradation of nature increases the likelihood of conflict, while wars devastate not only lives, but also the natural environment," IUCN director general Bruno Oberle said in a statement.

The report found that armed conflicts were particularly prevalent in some of the world's more bio-diverse regions.

IUCN said 219 endangered species were facing threats from "war, civil unrest and military exercises", including the direct killing of wildlife, degradation of ecosystems and the disruption of conservation efforts.

While this is only a fraction of the more than 30,000 animal and plant species listed as threatened on IUCN's Red List, the report stressed it included "iconic species".

Chart showing species by IUCN Red List Category and average expected number of threats from armed conflicts, based on IUCN data.

Among them is the critically-endangered Eastern gorilla, found in conflict-prone Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.

One of the threats to the world's largest living primate, according to IUCN chief scientist Thomas Brooks, is "direct killing, sometimes for target practice, sometimes for food."

But the bigger threat conflicts posed to the species, he told AFP, was the "undermining of conservation efforts".

Greater conflict risk

The report pointed to the dramatic impact on a range of species from conflicts.

During the 1994 war in Rwanda for instance, 90 percent of the large mammals in the Akagara National Park were killed for food or trade, it said, with the genocide sending thousands of people fleeing through protected areas, killing animals for food and clearing trees along the way.

It also highlighted a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime indicating that militia from Sudan were responsible for the deaths of some 2,000 elephants in the Central African Republic in 2007 alone.

An Indian-born tusker (or bull elephant with large tusks) being escorted by security personnel as he walks on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka in September 2019. Elephants in Sri Lanka are listed as endangered

The report also said the Vietnam War "almost certainly accelerated the slide into extinction" of the Javan rhinoceros, as the Viet Cong shot them to supplement a meagre diet.

"There is no question that conflict does have increased species extinction risk," Brooks said.

At the same time, the report found that degradation of nature was associated with increased risk of conflict.

Looking at more than 85,000 armed conflict events over the past 30 years, which have been responsible for the deaths of more than two million people, the report determined they were more likely to erupt where there is less productive agricultural land available and when droughts are frequent.

"These findings suggest that conservation, restoration and sustainable management of natural resources can help reduce the pressures that drive conflict by improving the condition and productivity of the landscape," IUCN chief economist Juha Siikamaki said in the statement.

The report pointed to research showing that armed conflict events, defined as organised actors using armed force resulting in death, have increased significantly in recent decades.

A female and a baby Grauer's gorilla, a subspecies of the Eastern gorilla, climb down a tree in Kahuzi-Biega National Park in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo

'Environmental war crimes'

Today, there are more than 7,000 such events each year, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and in West and South Asia.

"As environmental degradation and climate change intensify, it is becoming increasingly important to factor in the links between conflict and nature when formulating security, development and environmental policy," Siikamaki said.

The report meanwhile found that conflicts were less frequent within the boundaries of natural reserves and other protected areas.

Such areas cover an estimated 15 percent of land, but overlap with only three percent of the armed conflict events analysed by the report.

"Conservation, sustainable and equitable management of nature plays an important role in preventing conflict and in rebuilding peace," said Kristen Walker, who chairs the IUCN commission on environmental, economic and social policy.

"It supports livelihoods and well-being of indigenous and local communities in times of peace and helps reduce the risk of conflicts breaking out," she added.

The report listed policy recommendations to mitigate and prevent armed conflict, including establishing safeguards for staff in protected areas, environmental defenders and other conservationists.

It also called for "sanctions against those who commit environmental war crimes".

Explore further Conflict and environment: Building sustainable democracies

 2021 AFP
In an outpour of support during India's moment of crisis, American lawmakers applauded President Joe Biden for all help he was extending to save lives of people suffering from COVID-19, and urged him to do more.

"The US maintains a moral obligation to assist our ally India as they face severe challenges posed by COVID-19. We must take every necessary step to ensure the Indian people receive the aid and assistance they need in order to emerge from this crisis," Congressman Brad Sherman, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Tuesday.

"My heart goes out to the people of India and neighbouring nations as they fight an uphill battle with COVID. I'm glad that the White House is providing these life-saving vaccines, but we will need a strong, coordinated global response in the days ahead," Congresswoman Carolyn Boudreaux said.

Congressman Michael Waltz Press said India is an essential ally in America's global competition with China. "Its strength is important to stability in Asia and the United States. We must do what we can to help them curb their new wave of COVID cases," he added. Congressman Bill Foster said while America continues to make progress in battling this pandemic, the critical situation in India can't be ignored.

Several other American lawmakers have also come out in support of India as its people battle one of the gravest challenges to its public health system. "I am glad to see President Biden taking action to aid the people of India as they experience a devastating surge of COVID19. This will save lives and bring relief to millions of Indian-Americans who are worried about the health and safety of their loved ones in India," Congressman Steven Horsford said.

The United States and India have both suffered tremendously from COVID-19, and the countries will crush this virus together, he added. Congressman Joe Morell said the US has a moral obligation to help its global partners fight back against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I stand alongside President Biden, the Congressional India Caucus, and our local Indian American community to support increased aid to India during their time of need," he said. Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, too came out in support of India.

"Pursuing vaccine equity doesn't just advance our economic & health security - it's a moral imperative. As a bastion of innovation & champion for marginalized people everywhere, the U.S. must lead efforts to guarantee immunization access to EVERYONE at home & abroad," Mr Menendez tweeted.

Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said he was pleased the US will be sending its AstraZeneca supply to India and other countries in need of it as he had urged earlier. "This is the compassionate choice and the smart one because it only takes one of India's many variants of COVID-19 to derail the US progress," he said.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Chair of the House Appropriations subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, praised Biden's plan to distribute 60 million AstraZeneca doses to countries in need in the coming months.

The White House on Tuesday welcomed the decision of Gilead to expand the availability of remdesivir, a key therapeutic medicine used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, in India.

"We welcome generosity from the private sector to support the people of India. Ending the pandemic will require the partnerships with governments, industry, private citizens, non-governmental organizations and multilateral institutions," tweeted National Security Council of the White House.

Also read: Sending 'whole series of help' to India to tide over COVID-19 crisis: Joe Biden
Agrellus Inserts the Plug and Play Advantage "We are excited to have Plug and Play recognize the timing of the market and the need for corporate involvement with solutions that sustain the future of agricultural input value and local distribution. - Chris Johnson, CEO at Agrellus

Agrellus, a dynamic marketplace where Retailers and growers control the best value in agricultural inputs, is pleased to be working closely with Plug and Play to accelerate technology investment across the agricultural inputs sector. It's the perfect time. Agtech is a global dynamic with a local flare, and Agrellus has designed its offering to complement the local B2B marketplace, focused on practical data, finance, and sustainability. The time for agtech has finally arrived, remarks Chris Johnson, CEO at Agrellus digital transformation is really just now delivering needed value to growers, and Agrellus has positioned its products and services to assist the farming operation and Retailer to succeed by making the very best decisions every hour of every day. We are excited to have Plug and Play recognize the timing of the market and the need for corporate involvement with solutions that sustain the future of agricultural input value and local distribution.

The agricultural inputs marketplace, alone, is well above $110B in annual recurring revenue and the time for high-value investments has arrived. Digitalization of agtech is happening quickly. We at Plug and Play are excited to be part of Agrellus' journey to move this industry forward. Through Agrellus' platform, they have been able to help industry stakeholders connect the dots and we hope with our agtech network https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/north-dakota/ and connections we have can move the needle forward a little bit faster," said Alireza Masrour, General Partner at Plug and Play.

Agrellus has built a specific solution that sustains value inside the agricultural inputs distribution channel while accelerating product visibility for Retailers within the United States. The Agrellus B2B Commercial Markets team invests directly with Retailers across America and has planned additional web portal features, releasing in the Summer of 2021 to increase grower communication and logistical management for Retailers. The University and Collegiate e-Commerce teams at Agrellus will also assist growers in the community where Ag Retailers deliver the most value, driving its mission to keep retail healthy in the local marketplace; because its neighbors who help neighbors, near home, that drive success in the agriculture business.

About Agrellus, Inc. (a Delaware corporation)

Agrellus delivers unfettered access to products across the entire agricultural inputs marketplace by accelerating B2B value, lending technology, precision logistics, and data services in parallel with retail distribution and manufacturing. And since Agrellus is never a competitive Retailer, farmers always experience dynamic value from their trusted and local Retailer as they access the most comprehensive inventory of agricultural input products, every hour of every day. For more information, visit https://www.agrellus.farm

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 30 locations globally, giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 30,000 startups and 500 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries. Companies in our community have raised over $9 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club and PayPal. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/
CMU-Q Prepares for Graduation

Class of 2021 has the largest percentage of Qataris in more than a decade

April 28, 2021

On May 6, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) will celebrate the 95 graduates in the Class of 2021, nearly half of whom are Qatari nationals. This is the largest proportion of Qatari graduates since 2009. CMU-Q is a Qatar Foundation partner university.

Graduates in the Class of 2021 include a total of 23 nationalities, and nearly all speak multiple languages.



CMU-Q's Class of 2021 during first-year orientation in August 2017.

Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q, notes that the class diversity contributes to a stimulating, supportive learning environment: "I was appointed dean of CMU-Q as these students began their university education. I have seen them come together as learners, celebrate and share their cultures, and grow as global citizens. They are an extraordinary group of young men and women."

While at CMU-Q, more than a third of the class has participated in community outreach, and nearly half have started or led a student club or organization.

"At CMU-Q, we encourage students to pursue their interests and develop skills in organization and leadership," Trick said. "During the pandemic, the graduating seniors have proven they can adapt and find opportunity in adversity, which are tools they can carry forward into their careers."

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar celebrated its first graduating class in 2008. When the Class of 2021 complete their studies in May, the CMU-Q alumni network will include more than 1,000 graduates, most of whom live and work in Qatar.
It is easy to take housing for granted. Most of us have a home. It is our place of safety, comfort, respite and pride.

Every day, every person in America faces the need for such a place  a place to keep our possessions, prepare our food, gather with loved ones, care for our bodily needs, and every night at dark to rest and recover from the days expenditure of energy.

It is easy to take for granted that our home is there when the time comes each day to take care of ourselves and set aside the worries of the outside world.

It is understandable that other peoples worries about housing generally dont make it to the top of our list of urgent concerns, as individuals or a society. Unfortunately, this is despite the fact that about 600,000 people in our country have no place to call home. When the time comes to sleep, they are in shelters or on the streets.

In the Senate Committee Room as I finished my presentation at my confirmation hearing to become secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1993, a housing advocate came up to me with heartfelt advice: Just remember that the secretary of the department whose name begins with the word housing should be attentive first and foremost to those Americans who have no housing. I thought it was wise counsel and have tried to act upon it in the years since.

Then there are those millions of Americans who live in dangerous, unsafe, overcrowded and unhealthy conditions. I learned in my years at HUD that it is virtually impossible to make progress on larger national goals that involve education, health, employment, incomes and family stability when people dont have a decent place to live. A stable residence is the platform for the self-reliance and initiative we hope enables people to take charge of their own lives.

Unfortunately, the cost of a decent place to live is getting higher and higher, whether it is the rent for an apartment or the price of a starter home. There is no metropolitan area in the nation, including San Antonio, where a family whose earner makes the minimum wage can afford the average rent on a two-bedroom apartment. And for many young adults, the price of an entry-level home means they will be renters for many years.

In San Antonio, too many households pay more than the national standard of what households should allocate from their budgets for shelter: 30 percent. If a household spends more than 30 percent to keep a roof overhead, then it will be financially stressed stretching to pay for food, medicine, clothing, gas, school supplies and insurance.

Forty-seven percent of San Antonio renters  and 21 percent of homeowners  spend more than the recommended amount from their household budget for housing and are therefore pushed to financial stress. Experts tell us that such stress can cause health and mental health morbidities and contributes to a cycle of vulnerability that makes it impossible to develop savings, set money aside for higher education or attain financial stability.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio seeks to float bonds for affordable housing

Proposition A on the May 1 ballot can help San Antonio respond to our well-documented housing shortfalls. Without a yes from the voters, the citys bond funds cannot be used directly for housing programs. The city charter basically says that bond funds can be used for general public works that benefit broad numbers of people, but not for housing that will benefit individual households.

That means that the largest, most predictable sum of funds we can make available to meet the citys needs are off-limits to one of those most essential needs. Our city leaders need the publics permission to use future bond funds to undertake practical actions  for example, to offset the fact that our city has a 150,000-unit shortfall of affordable housing of all kinds.

Your vote in favor of Proposition A does not spend one dollar now. It does not even guarantee that bond funds will be spent on housing. The decision to deploy money for housing will only occur when you vote on a future bond issue. Proposition A does allow our city leaders to consider carefully the most effective ways to solve our local housing gaps and bring to the voters a future bond proposal. We are removing a blockage created by the way the city charter was written in 1955 to begin solving a serious problem in 2021.

People often will reflect on a problem like San Antonios housing needs and ask: What can I do? In this instance, the answer is clear: Vote to remove an impediment so we can use a proven and effective tool to build our way out of a problem that will grow even more serious in the years to come. Lets not take for granted any longer a need as basic as a place to call home.

Henry Cisneros is a former mayor of San Antonio and former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Rupert Murdochs News Corp has decided against creating a UK version of Fox News, its television network that dominates US cable news while drawing criticism for its polarising content.

The companys British boss, Rebekah Brooks, told employees in a memo on Tuesday that it wouldnt make economic sense to launch a traditional cable network in the market. News Corp is opting to focus on online video rather than so-called linear TV, she said.

In an email to staff, News UK chief Rebekah Brooks said it wouldnt make economic sense to launch a traditional cable network in the UK. Credit:AP

We determined early on in that review that it was not commercially viable to launch a traditional news channel on linear TV, Brooks wrote to staff.

Whilst there is consumer demand for alternative news provision, the costs of running a rolling news channel are considerable, and it is our assessment that the payback for our shareholders wouldnt be sufficient. We need to launch the right products for the digital age.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Solon again ranks as the highest Northeast Ohio high school in this years U.S. News & World Report 2021 Best U.S. High Schools, which also includes Chagrin Falls and Hudson in the Top 10 statewide.

U.S. News, an online magazine known for its rankings and analysis of educational institutions, included data from over 24,000 public high schools throughout the country.

The highest-ranking schools included students who demonstrated above average in math and reading state assessments, earning qualifying scores in an array of college-level exams, and graduating in high proportions.

The highest ranking Northeast Ohio schools often appear on similar lists. For example, John Hay Early College moved up a spot from 9th to 8th this year, though John Hay School of Science and Medicine dropped from 10th.

See last years rankings.

There are six factors used in ranking the schools:

College readiness (30%): percentage of seniors that took at least one Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam and the percentage who passed.

College curriculum breadth (10%): percentage of seniors who took a wide variety of AP and IB courses across multiple disciplines and those who passed.

College reading and math proficiency (20%): how well students did on state reading and math assessments.

Reading and math performance (20%): how well students did on state reading and math assessments compared to what the publication predicted based on modeling.

Underserved student performance (10%): how well students receiving subsidized school lunch and black and Hispanic populations perform on state assessments relative to statewide performance among students not in those subgroups.

Graduation rate (10%): rates are for the 2018 graduation cohort.

Here are the rankings of the top 15 high schools in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina and Summit counties

1. Solon High School

State ranking: 5

District: Solon City Schools

Enrollment: 1,600

2. Chagrin Falls High School

State ranking: 8

District: Chagrin Falls Exempted Village

Enrollment: 757

3. Hudson High School

State ranking: 10

District: Hudson City Schools

Enrollment: 1,542

4. Rocky River High School

State ranking: 11

District: Rocky River City Schools

Enrollment: 872

5. Bay Village

State ranking: 17

District: Bay Village City Schools

Enrollment: 813

6. Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School

State ranking: 18

District: Brecksville-Broadview Heights City Schools

Enrollment: 1,357

7. Orange High School

State ranking: 20

District: Orange City Schools

Enrollment: 704

8. John Hay Early College High School

State ranking: 25

District: Cleveland Municipal City Schools

Enrollment: 315

9. Avon Lake High School

State ranking: 30

District: Avon Lake City

Enrollment: 1,253

10. Kenston High School

State ranking: 31

District: Kenston Local

Enrollment: 947

11. Highland High School

State ranking: 34

District: Highland Local

Enrollment: 1,046

12. Revere High School

State ranking: 35

District: Revere Local

Enrollment: 868

13. Beachwood High School

State ranking: 37

District: Beachwood City Schools

Enrollment: 649

14. Strongsville High School

State ranking: 41

District: Strongsville City Schools

Enrollment: 1,966

15. Twinsburg High School

State ranking: 44

District: Twinsburg City

Enrollment: 1,309

The complete list of schools can be found on the U.S. News & World Report website.
Jennifer Howlett of the League of Women Voters, top left, moderates a forum with Williamstown Planning Board Candidates Kenneth Kuttner (top right), Roger Lawrence and Susan Puddester.

Williamstown Planning Board Candidates Make Cases at Forum

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The three candidates for a single seat on the Planning Board agreed this month that housing is the top issue confronting the body in the year ahead.

Incumbent Susan Puddester and challengers Kenneth N. Kuttner and Roger TW Lawrence participated in a virtual candidates forum hosted by the local chapter of League of Women Voters.

The candidates fielded seven questions generated by local residents. Two of the queries were directly on the topic of housing, and the issue figured prominently into the trio's responses to another question: What are your top three priorities for the board?

"Planning for housing, I think, is the top priority," said Lawrence, who caught the question first.

Puddester, who is seeking her second five-year term on the board, concurred.

"I'd like to continue focusing on housing as the Planning Board has done while I've been on the board," she said.

After adding that directing the process for a new town Master Plan is also among the board's tasks for 2021-22, Puddester noted that housing regulations are part of how the town can achieve the objectives in that plan.

"Reflecting on the recommendations of the 2002 Master Plan, we are seeing some of the same issues now," Puddester said. "Some of the recommendations made then are appropriate, such as mixed-use housing developments. There should be more options for different kinds of housing available to meet a diverse set of needs. We should expand the availability of homes for first-time homebuyers, retirees, single people.

"Then and now, housing options are limited. Employers are unable to recruit workers because of the lack of appropriate housing. And many workers have long since moved from Williamstown to live in more affordable communities."

Kuttner talked about the need for "relatively high density" housing in the town's center during his opening remarks and was happy to return to the issue when his turn came to answer the first question posed by moderator Jennifer Howlett.

"It's a complex problem," Kuttner said. "What I'd like to do on the Planning Board is bring to bear my perspective as an economist and think about this in a systematic way. Particularly, I think it's worth thinking about this in terms of what you might think of as the demand side of the market. I think we need to identify who the prospective buyers are, what they're needs are, what they're looking for. Are they looking for town homes? Are they looking for single family? I think understanding what that side of the market is like is essential to formulating our plan going forward.

"The supply side of the market is also key. The problem is we don't have a lot of undeveloped land in this town, and I don't think we should be converting farmland to subdivisions. I think that would be a terrible outcome. We need to figure out ways to use land close to the town center more intensively and figure out if there are town-imposed restrictions with zoning or whatever that are making it harder for the private sector to provide the housing that we need."

Lawrence said the town needs housing solutions that focus on home ownership.

"We have several existing programs for affordable housing," Lawrence said. "All are big project, developer driven, perpetually subsidized apartments for rental occupation. The exception to that is Habitat for Humanity. We've completely ignored the element of housing that many, if not most occupants, prefer, that is owner-occupied housing that has pride of place."

Lawrence said he has three potential solutions to the town's housing issue which he detailed on his website, rogerlawrenceforplanningboard.com. The first two would involve town subsidies for homeowners -- a tax abatement for those who add accessory dwelling units for their properties and a home "buy down" program similar to ones used on Cape Cod to provide subsidies to income-qualified buyers whose homes are then deed-restricted to remain affordable. Lawrence' third initiative would have Williamstown create an owner-occupied affordable housing subdivision like ones he points to in Aspen, Colo.

"The first two of my new ideas involve utilizing or adding to existing town neighborhoods in ways that introduce very little change to existing neighborhood character," Lawrence said. "The third involves potentially hundreds of homes for working families in discrete areas while maintaining the overall rural character of our town as a whole."

Later, Lawrence took a swipe at the current Planning Board by targeting its 2018 housing initiative that would have allowed for greater housing density in certain parts of town. He said it would have gutted the zoning laws that "are responsible for the handsome appearance of the housing project now under construction at the end of Cole Avenue" and was tailored to the needs of Williams College.

The 330 Cole Ave. development of the former Photech property was not, in fact, constrained by local zoning bylaws because the commonwealth's Chapter 40B statute allows development of affordable housing without respect to local zoning in communities, like Williamstown, where at least 10 percent of housing units are not designated as affordable.

"That project was permitted under 40B," Community Development Director Andrew Groff confirmed on Monday afternoon. "Local zoning was essentially waived."

Puddester, meanwhile, refuted the notion that the 2018 proposal was driven by the college.

"I'm not sure where you got the idea, Roger, that what we proposed in 2018 was specifically directed to accommodate the college," Puddester said. "The Planning Board worked with an organization in the state called the Mass Housing Partnership. We had advice from them. They came to town. We had several workshops. We got feedback from people. There were signs up in town asking people to communicate with the Planning Board to let us know what they wanted.

"The idea for the changes we proposed was inclusion and to increase the [housing] density in town.  You opposed it then, and you're opposing it now. If we don't have a supply of housing, how are we going to increase the diversity in our town?"

Lawrence replied by criticizing the process that led to the 2018 bylaw proposal, which ultimately was pulled by the board at its April 2018 public hearing on the board's warrant articles.

As for the college's influence, that came up as early as Lawrence' opening statement that claimed the school is "overrepresented" on the Planning Board.

"I say this because it is what countless residents have told me," he said. "Decisions of the board sometimes represent college interests at the expense of other residents of our community."

For the record, the Planning Board does not enact zoning bylaw changes. It proposes bylaw changes to town meeting, which must approve changes by either a two-thirds or simple majority vote, depending on the nature of the bylaw (in 2020, Gov. Baker signed legislation allowing zoning changes that seek to increase housing options to be approved by simple majorities at town meeting).

The Planning Board as currently constituted has one member out of five, Chris Winters, who is an employee of Williams College. Lawrence' charge of overrepresentation may have been directed at both his opponents. Kuttner is an economics professor at the school; Puddester's husband, Fred Puddester, is the college's vice president for finance and administration, who announced in February that he is retiring this summer.

Susan Puddester objected to the idea that one out of five members of the Planning Board signified "overrepresentation."

"The college is the largest employer in Williamstown, and I don't think it's fair to eliminate people who have a connection to the college in any way from being allowed to serve," she said.

Later, Puddester made light of the idea.

"I don't have any more influence over the college administration than anybody else," she said. "I might have a little more influence over my husband than anybody else, but maybe not even that much."

All three agreed that the new Master Plan needs to be a priority for the Planning Board after the May 11 election.

Puddester said that the current board has been waiting for the results of the 2020 Census to help inform the Master Plan process.

"It's critical," she said. "We know it needs to be done. It's going to be a really big project, and we're going to be asking for a lot of community input. Right now, it's the most important thing, other than housing diversity, that the Planning Board will be working on."

Kuttner noted that he had experience working on a strategic plan for his former employer, Oberlin College, and that he already has been reviewing the 2002 plan.

"There were some good things that came out of it  a lot of things were left undone," Kuttner said. "Interestingly, the housing issues we're discussing here were salient [then]. The same problems we have today were problems then."

Lawrence talked about the need to draw in stakeholders from throughout the town and the region into the process.

"Conditions in Williamstown are very different than they were 20 years ago, and it's long overdue for an update in that process," he said.

Another issue where the three candidates found common ground was a topic that planners hope will not be an issue for the board in 2020-21: cannabis cultivation.

All three candidates said they support the bylaw amendment the Planning Board has proposed to June's annual town meeting. If two-thirds of the meeting attendees share that sentiment, the board likely will have more time in the year ahead to focus on other topics, like housing regulations.

"What the Planning Board has been doing the last year plus is figure out a way to impose some restrictions, some parameters on cultivation and other activities associated with it to address the concerns of those who think it might get out of hand or impose some side effects or externalities on the community," Kuttner said.

"I think, in general, the Planning Board has done a terrific job of trying to grapple with those issues. I know it's super hard, and I give a lot of credit to Susan and her colleagues. And I know nobody is happy with it. I know there are those who would like to see zero cultivation, maybe even turn back the 2017, revisit the 2017 town meeting vote. And there are those who would like to see unconstrained marijuana cultivation. Nothing is ever going to make everybody happy. Having said that, I think they constructed a pretty good compromise."
China has called certain Australian politicians troublemakers and urged them to 'shake off the Cold War mentality' amid fierce tensions between the two nations.

It comes after Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo declared the world's 'drums of war' were beating and that Australia must prepare for conflict in the region.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian was asked about Mr Pezzullo's remarks in a press conference on Wednesday and gave a pointed response.

'Some individual politicians in Australia, out of their selfish interests, are keen to make statements that incite confrontation and hype up threat of war, which is extremely irresponsible,' he said.

'These people are the real troublemakers.'

China has called certain Australian politicians troublemakers and urged them to 'shake off the Cold War mentality' amid fierce tensions between the two nations. Pictured: Chinese troops march during a military parade in Tiananmen Square

China has warned Australia it must fall in line with its policy to 'reunify' the disputed island of Taiwan if it wants to trade to return to normal. Pictured: Chinese Navy personal stand guard

Mr Zhao said Australia has benefited from cooperation with China for a long time, and that China is a promoter of peace and global development.

'As a country that has long benefited from cooperation with China, Australia is being untruthful and immoral with its false allegation of a 'China threat theory'. This will only end up hurting its own interests,' he said.

'We urge certain individuals in Australia to shake off the Cold War mentality, stop making irresponsible remarks, and act in ways that are conducive to regional peace and stability rather than the opposite.'

On Anzac Day Mr Pezzullo delivered a hawkish speech in which he said Australia must strive for peace, but not at the cost of liberty. He did not specifically mention China.

'In a world of perpetual tension and dread, the drums of war beat - sometimes faintly and distantly, and at other times more loudly and ever closer,' he said.

'Today, as free nations again hear the beating drums and watch worryingly the militarisation of issues that we had, until recent years, thought unlikely to be catalysts for war.

'Let us continue to search unceasingly for the chance for peace while bracing again, yet again, for the curse of war.'

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews confirmed she read the 'very strong' speech in advance.

'The overarching message from government is that we need to be alert but not alarmed,' she said.

'We're obviously very conscious as a government of what is happening in the Pacific region, in particular, and we will always put Australia first, second and third.'

Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo declared the world's 'drums of war' were beating and that Australia must prepare for conflict in the region. Pictured: the Australian Defence Force

Shocking disparities between Australia and China's military power shows we would struggle in a war, amid fears that tensions both nations are nearing tipping point

The relationship between the two nations has crumbled in recent times, in part sparked by Australia's early call for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19

But Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten said Mr Pezzullo's language was inflammatory.

'By all means, we need to stand up for our trade, stand up for human rights, but language like 'drums of war', I think that is pretty hyper-excited language,' he said.

The relationship between the two nations has crumbled in recent times, in part sparked by Australia's early call for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

China bristled and later slapped damaging tariffs on Australian barley and wine, while trade disruptions to other produce followed. Tensions have heightened since.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton has this week expressed concerns about Beijing's stance on Taiwan.

And a parliamentary inquiry on Tuesday was told Australia must call out China's widespread use of forced Uighur labour.
An animal lover has hailed her rescue cat a hero after he saved her life by detecting her breast cancer.

Kate King-Scribbins, 35, from St Paul, Minnesota, was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer after her rescue cat, Oggy, became 'obsessed' with lying on the left side of her chest.

Woken up by a shooting pain, Kate, who works as a health care fraud investigator, checked her breasts where she found a lump, and was later diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

An animal lover has hailed her rescue cat a hero after he saved her life by detecting her breast cancer

Kate King-Scribbins was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer after finding a lump - thanks to her cat, Oggy, became 'obsessed' with lying on the left side of her chest. This subconsciously prompted the 35-year-old from St Paul, Minnesota, to check her breasts and after discovering a lump, she was later diagnosed

After gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, and radiation, Kate - who also had her entire stomach removed in 2019, after a rare genetic mutation diagnosis, is now considered to have no evidence of the disease.

Kate said: 'I look back on the changes in his behaviour towards me before my breast cancer diagnosis and I truly believe he was trying to alert me to the dangers growing in my body.

'Oggy has always loved to snuggle up in my arms but he began to snuggle more aggressively than usual, which was odd.

'He was focusing on my chest area and specifically on my left side for months before I knew myself what was going on.

After gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, Kate - who also had part of her stomach removed in 2019 in a bid to stop her cancer returning - she is now in remission.

Kate said: 'I look back on the changes in his behaviour towards me before my breast cancer diagnosis and I truly believe he was trying to alert me to the dangers growing in my body'. Oggy is pictured lying on Kate

'I would try and direct him someplace else, but he just wouldn't have it. He seemed more determined than ever to make sure he was lying near my left breast.

'It wasn't until I felt the lump and got the dreaded diagnosis that I realised what he had been trying to tell me all along.'

Kate, who rescued Oggy when she was 20, accepts that some people will be sceptical but thinks people with a close bond to their pets will understand.

She said: 'I don't blame people who don't believe me but I'm not above looking like a crazy cat lady if it means someone else is alerted to a health problem sooner than I was.

The day after Kate was diagnosed with cancer. She was sore and bruised from painful biopsies, but Oggy would not settle until he was lay here, pictured

Kate made sure to watch Oggy's behaviour closely during her treatment.

'I noted that he continued to act like this throughout chemotherapy, and it wasn't until I had surgery, and the cancer was finally removed, that he stopped focusing on my chest.

'I know that if he ever starts focusing on a different part of my body, I will run to the doctor immediately.'

She added: 'If only I would have realised what he was trying to tell me. I feel if he could talk he would call me stupid and say 'I've been trying to tell you about this cancer growing in your breast for months now, please go get checked out'.

Kate, who rescued Oggy when she was 20, accepts that some people will be sceptical but thinks people with a close bond to their pets will understand

'If only pets could talk. I can't help but wonder if I could have caught my cancer sooner had I noticed his behaviour and listened to him.

Kate who has recently returned back to work as a health care fraud investigator, lives with her husband Andy, 37, and their four pets.

The married couple have two cats and two dogs and Kate thanks her pets for their therapeutic help since the start of her cancer battle.

She said: 'The dogs have been an amazing source of motivation to get me out of the house and keep me moving.

Kate who has recently returned back to work as a health care fraud investigator, lives with her husband Andy, 37, and their four pets. The married couple have two cats and two dogs and Kate thanks her pets for their therapeutic help since the start of her cancer battle

Kate (pictured) said: 'It's been a crazy three years, when I heard the words "you have cancer" my life changed forever, but my husband has been great and I have befriended a lot of cancer survivors. They are like family.

'They also provide peace of mind when I am sleeping or feeling extra vulnerable. They are both very protective of me and the cats make sure I feel loved. They help release happy chemicals in my body when they purr, show me affection, and snuggle.'

Kate has since had a double mastectomy, reconstruction - and also had her stomach removed in 2019, after doctors found out she had a very rare genetic mutation (CDH1) which causes both lobular breast cancer and hereditary diffuse gastric cancer.

She said: 'It's been a crazy three years, when I heard the words "you have cancer" my life changed forever, but my husband has been great and I have befriended a lot of cancer survivors. They are like family.

Kate has since had a double mastectomy, reconstruction - and also had her stomach removed in 2019, after doctors found out she had a very rare genetic mutation (CDH1) which causes both lobular breast cancer and hereditary diffuse gastric cancer.

Kate, pictured with Oggy, added: ''Cancer is forever a part of my life, and I am ok with that. It has made me who I am today and I am forever grateful to my amazing family, friends and of course my animals for their emotional support.''

'Today I feel pretty good, the stomach removal surgery was pretty huge but I'm starting to feel more like myself again.

'I can't say I'm on the 'other side' of cancer, because as all cancer patients know, the effects of ongoing treatments and check-ups, are never ending. I will continue breast cancer treatments and involvement in a clinical study for many years to come.

'Cancer is forever a part of my life, and I am ok with that. It has made me who I am today and I am forever grateful to my amazing family, friends and of course my animals for their emotional support.'
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2021) - Quebec Silica Resources Corp. (CSE: QTZ) ("Quebec Silica" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 100% interest in additional mineral claims located near its Charlevoix Silica Property in the Lac-Pikauba Municipality of the Province of Quebec, Canada, approximately 40 km north of Baie-Saint Paul. The newly acquired Roche Blanche Property consists of seven contiguous mining claims covering a total area of 404.81 hectares.

The Roche Blanche Property is approximately 1.3 km along a geological strike from the Company's flagship Charlevoix property. The high-grade silica formation, known as the Quartzite du Petit lac Malbaie, is actively mined by neighbouring operators and is mapped to extend though the Charlevoix property and through the new Roche Blanche Property.

"The Quebec Silica team is pleased to continue expanding our land position, and look forward to an aggressive exploration season on our assets this year. This acquisition is another step towards achieving our goal of supplying high grade silica for use in advanced battery technology." - Raymond Wladichuk, CEO.

Cautionary Statement: Investors are cautioned that the above information is taken from publicly available sources, specifically from the Quebec Ministry of Energy and Mines (MERN) database. The Company has not been able to independently verify the information contained. The information is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the property, which is the subject of this news release. The Company will need to conduct exploration to confirm historical mineralization reported on the property. There is no guarantee that significant discoveries will be made as a result of its exploration efforts.

Transaction Details

Quebec Silica acquired the mineral claims comprising the Roche Blanche Property from a group of arm's length parties pursuant to a property purchase agreement dated April 26, 2021 (the "Effective Date"). Under the agreement, Quebec Silica will acquire its 100% interest in the Roche Blanche Property by issuing an aggregate of 4,000,000 common shares, at a deemed issued price of $0.10, on the Effective Date. Certain sellers will retain a 2.0 % NSR from any future production. Quebec Silica has the right to reduce the 2.0% NSR to a 1.0% NSR by paying $1,000,000.

The issuance of the common shares is subject to obtaining all required regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. The common shares will be subject to a "hold" period of four months and one day for their date of issuance.

Raymond Wladichuk, P.Geo., CEO of Quebec Silica, and a "Qualified Person" for National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

About Quebec Silica Resources Corp.

Quebec Silica is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and exploration of mineral resource properties with an emphasis on the Charlevoix Silica Property located near Clermont, Quebec, Canada.

Additional information on Quebec Silica. is available at www.quebecsilica.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

QUEBEC SILICA RESOURCES CORP.

"Raymond Wladichuk, P.Geo."

Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Elyssia Patterson - CFO

Tel: +1 (778) 683 4324

Email: info@quebecsilica.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor it's Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the CSE policies) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Quebec Silica's actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur.

Although Quebec Silica believes the forward-looking information contained in this news release is reasonable based on information available on the date hereof, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Examples of such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, assumptions, risks and uncertainties associated with general economic conditions; the Covid-19 pandemic; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments in the mining sector; the Company's ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favorable terms; mining industry and markets in Canada and generally; the ability of Quebec Silica to implement its business strategies; competition; and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/82016
(Eds: With fresh inputs) Guwahati/New Delhi, Apr 28 (PTI) A series of earthquakes jolted Assam and most of the Northeastern states on Wednesday, causing extensive damage to buildings and forcing people to scamper out of their homes.

There were no immediate reports of deaths directly due to the tremors, but two persons - one each in Kamrup Metropolitan and Nagaon districts - died due to shock and heart attack around the time of the earthquake, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said.

According to initial reports, 10 people suffered injuries in four districts as the first quake of 6.4 magnitude struck Tezpur, the headquarters of Sonitpur district, at 7.51 am, the ASDMA said in a statement.

The impact was felt in several Northeastern states, parts of West Bengal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The first quake was followed in quick succession by lesser intensity tremors of 4.7, 4, and two 3.6 magnitudes at 8.03 am, 8.13 am, 8.25 am and 8.44 am, Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) Deputy Director Sanjay O'neil Shaw said.

Another earthquake of 3.2 magnitude hit Assam's Nagaon district at 10.05 am. A while later, another jolt of 3.4 magnitude hit Tezpur at 10.39 am, he added.

At 12.32 pm, the eighth quake of 2.9 magnitude hit Morigaon. It was followed by three more earthquakes, hitting Sonitpur district again, Shaw said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal twice to inquire about the destruction caused by the earthquake and assured him all help from the Centre.

Sonowal later visited Dhekiajuli near the epicentre and its adjacent areas in Sonitpur district.

There were reports of extensive damage to buildings and other structures from across Assam, mostly in the central and western towns of Tezpur, Nagaon, Guwahati, Mangaldoi, Dhekiajuli and Morigaon.

"Cracks have been developed in many private and public buildings. However, reports of any severe damage like collapse of buildings or disruption of any major infrastructure have not been received so far," ASDMA said.

A detailed assessment of the damage is going on in coordination with District Disaster management Authorities, Fire and Emergency Services, national and state disaster response forces and experts from Assam Engineering College, the statement said.

Several roads in the region developed wide cracks, affecting traffic movement. Besides, in many areas, fissures were seen in fields with water oozing out, officials said.

Many religious structures, including the Maha Mrityunjaya Temple in Nagaon and several mosques, developed cracks. An earth portion of a hillock in tourist spot Bhairabkunda in Udalguri district came down due to the impact of the tremors.

In Guwahati, the chief minister's block at the 'Janata Bhawan' complex, the state secretariat, witnessed some damage, sources said.

The luxury Taj Vivanta hotel in Guwahati also "sustained minimal and superficial damage", but there was no injury to any employee or guest, a hotel spokesperson said in a statement.

Healthcare facilities such as Dispur Hospital, Apollo Clinic, Down Town Hospital and Excelcare Hospital also saw damage, hampering services amid the surge in COVID-19 cases.

A multi-storied building in Nagaon tilted on the adjacent structure, triggering panic.

Dozens of houses, apartment buildings and shopping malls across the state also developed cracks. Many vehicles were damaged after concrete blocks fell on them.

The state disaster management authority launched helplines -- 1070, 1077, 1079 -- to help people report incidents regarding the quake, and seek relief.

The prime minister called up Sonowal immediately after several tremors jolted the state in the morning and again in the afternoon and discussed the situation in the state post in detail, an official release said.

"Spoke to Assam CM Shri @sarbanandsonwal Ji regarding the earthquake in parts of the state. Assured all possible help from the Centre. I pray for the well-being of the people of Assam," Modi tweeted.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister Jitendra Singh were among a host of Central leaders who spoke to Sonowal on the situation.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that he stood in solidarity with the people of Assam, and asked party workers to be at the forefront of rescue and relief efforts.

Sonowal visited Dhekiajuli and its adjacent areas in Sonitpur. He also went to Sirajuli Model Hospital and Tarajan Bengali village and took stock of damage caused by the quake.

The chief minister urged everyone to stay alert and said that he is taking updates from all the districts.

"The district administrations were directed to carry out a field survey of damages and submit a report for a detailed review and to extend help and support to the affected people," a release from Chief Minister's Office said.

The National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said that damage to buildings and structures was reported from areas within 100 km radius of the epicentre.

The area is seismically very active and falls in the highest Seismic Hazard Zone V, associated with collisional tectonics where the Indian plate subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate, it said.

The historical and instrumentally recorded earthquake data reveals that the region is affected by moderate to large earthquakes, with the most prominent event among those being recorded is on July 29, 1960 when a magnitude 6 quake was reported, it added.

"The timing of the earthquake saved a lot of lives.

People were already awake when the earthquake hit, so they could run out in time. There would have been several casualties if this quake struck two-three hours early," a disaster management official in Guwahati said.

"However, there are concerns as a number of COVID-19 patients also ran out of some safe homes because of the quake.

Also, people forgot to wear masks while coming out of homes and there were small gatherings on roads," he said.

In the Meghalaya capital Shillong, the quake woke up people and many ran outside their homes in panic. However, there was no immediate report of any damage from the state, an official said.

Strong tremors were also felt across Arunachal Pradesh. A few buildings developed cracks in state capital Itanagar and East Kameng district, officials said.

In West Bengal, tremors were felt in Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Coochbehar and parts of Darjeeling district in the northern part of the state but no major damage was reported.

Tremors were also felt in Manipur, including state capital Imphal.

The tremors were also felt in neighbouring Bangladesh and Bhutan, according to local media reports. PTI TR DG PR JOP KR ACB UPL CORR SOM SK SOM NN NN

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Meet Chris Robinson, A World-famous Sneaker Collector

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(Photo : Chris Robinson)

Chris Robinson is a man that may not be well known to the general public at large. However, when he is mentioned to the sneaker community, you will no doubt discover that he is a world-famous sneaker's collector.

Ever since he was in his teens living in his beloved hometown of Long Beach, New Jersey, Chris had a passion for shoes, particularly sneakers. This passion didn't come from just collecting them. It was quite the opposite. He envied what those who were more privileged than him had, such as fashionable clothing and stylish accessories.

As a result, he determined then and there to make it his own way in life in order to provide for himself a way to afford such luxuries. In the end, through persistence and patience, Chris has become a leading figure of sneakers collection in the world.

Chris Robinson's World-famous Sneaker Collection Story

Chris Robinson's collection of sneakers began when he took his first job during his teenage years. He started working at the age of just 14. He started young because he had a strong desire to afford what his parents couldn't due to their unfortunate living circumstances.

Upon receiving his first paycheck, and without hesitation, Chris bought his first-ever sneakers, which was a Nike. It was from then on that he eventually built his collection to what it is today. Now his sneakers collection has become the world's most sought after.

Lessons Chris learned as a kid

In an interview, Chris stated that if he could go back in time, he would tell his young self to start working on his collections earlier and precisely what to start collecting. That way he would be able to achieve success earlier and prevent himself from making the mistakes he did along the way.

Despite these mistakes, it is clear that Chris Robinson still made his way to the top of the sneakers collectors games. If there's one thing that Chris learned in life that he attributes to his success, it would be determination. Thanks to his firm will to be successful financially, he was able to overcome obstacles. He was also able to gain the patience needed to wait in line for a new pair of unique shoes or travel to places to obtain the special shoes he'd been searching for.

Chris' future plans

Although he is already successful and can finally financially provide for both himself and his family, Chris still has ambitious goals for the future. His hopes are to reach a net worth of $5 million and buy a Rolls Royce truck with a customized ceiling of the constellations from his birthday.

When it comes to sneakers collection, especially skateboarding sneakers, you can certainly turn to Chris Robinson as an inspiration. Not only does he have a vast collection of shoes, but he also has a deep appreciation for them. Having been into shoes since at a young age, Chris has become a go-to guy for anything sneakers-related in the sneakers community and now perhaps even in the world.

See Now: Facebook will use AI to detect users with suicidal thoughts and prevent suicide

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Lucknow, April 28 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is now working towards making rivers in the state 'clean and serene'.

The chief minister has ordered the officials to make sure the water quality of the Gomti river is improved. In order to implement this work, an order has been passed to release water from May 1 to June 15.

He has also instructed that all 31 rivers including Ganga, Yamuna, and Saryu of the state should be made clean and serene.

The construction of the 120 MLD Gaizuddin Haider (GH) canal STP, worth Rs 336 crore, is also being done at a rapid pace by the Jal Nigam Lucknow and this will be operational by September 2022.

The construction of the canal will stop the dirt from falling into the Gomti River, making it easier for aquatic animals to survive.

GH Canal, popularly known as the Haider Canal drain, is passing through the capital along the lines of the Sisamau drain in Kanpur.

In June 2018, Yogi Adityanath had given instructions to make the river clean and serene after laying the foundation of the Gomti Cleanliness Campaign.

With this initiative, sewage treatment plants have been constructed at various sites in the state.

According to the government spokesman, special care has been taken to prevent felling of trees for these projects. "During the construction of STPs, as many as 150 big trees have been saved on the GH canal being built on six acres of land," the spokesman said.

The chief minister has also given a gift to Pilibhit which is on its way to becoming a tourist hub.

A budgetary provision of Rs 44.77 lakh had been sanctioned to develop the Brahmachari Ghat. Pilibhit is the origin of the Gomti River, considered to be the heritage of Lucknow.

Official sources said that Jal Nigam has also been instructed to prepare a DPR (Detail Project Report) for the construction of an STP on Sultanpur Road and for arranging drainage on Barabirwa Kanpur Road.

The UP Government has also asked Jal Nigam to run a plantation campaign along the rivers.
The US India Chamber of Commerce (USICOC) Foundation and its partner organisations are shipping 50 ventilators to India, besides other medical supplies, to help the country fight the deadly second wave of COVID-19.

The foundation made arrangements to ship 20 ventilators on Tuesday. It will send 30 more in the next few days.

These ventilators will be released to the Indian Red Cross Society in New Delhi for distribution to hospitals and field teams in hard-hit areas, the USICOC said.

It added that the ventilators are battle-tested and are in use in several countries throughout the world.

The Chambers of Commerce, which normally facilitates trade between the two countries, joined forces with the Texas Indian-American population to help the humanitarian crisis back home.

Neel Gonuguntla, president of the USICOC DFW, Jagdip Ahluwalia, founding secretary and executive director of Indo-American Chamber of Greater Houston (IACCGH), and Padma Sri Ashok Mago, founding chairman of the USICOC, teamed up to lead the efforts through the USICOC Foundation.

They raised funds from the Indian-American community to provide critical medical equipment like cylinders, concentrators, generators and ventilators to India.

"We are happy to help India in every way that we can during this time of extreme need," said Mago, who helped to coordinate many of the necessary funds for the effort.

Aluwalia said they were coordinating with hospitals, NGOs, medical schools and government bodies in India to make sure the equipment was reaching trained professionals, who can put it to immediate use.

Consul General of India in Houston, Aseem Mahajan, has been guiding and facilitating with the logistics part, Ahluwalia said.

Spearheading the project on behalf of the USICOC Foundation and the broader community, Gonuguntla said, "This collective community effort on behalf of dozens of individual donors, community organisations, businesses like DFW International Airport, PGL Logistics, American Airlines, and others, came together like a beautiful symphony of genuine compassion to rise up and meet the need of the hour which is to help save lives and get the pandemic under control in India."



The USICOC Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded by members of the US India Chamber of Commerce in 2008 to support community initiatives throughout North Texas and to support projects in India that are aligned with the foundation's initiatives.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
More than three-quarters of rural dog owners have taken new actions to protect their pets from theft over the last 12 months, according to a major new survey.

The survey was conducted by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), whose members own an estimated 166,000 dogs.

It comes amid growing evidence that working dog theft is on the rise in the countryside.

Key findings from the survey, which was completed by 3,409 dog owners, show that 75% have taken additional action to stop thefts over the past year.

An overwhelming majority (96%) of dog owners are extremely or very aware of the risk of theft since the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown.

In addition, nearly 80 percent of owners are aware of a local dog theft in the last 12 months.

Of those who have taken additional action, 5% are carrying varying personal protection devices, such as alarms and body cameras.

And, according to the survey, there is an overriding sense (81%) that the police do not have enough or the correct resources to tackle dog theft.

Of all 111 responses stating they had been victim of dog theft, there has to date only been one successful conviction.

There was anecdotal support for the police to introduce dedicated dog theft officers, such as Nottinghamshire Police have recently done, and changing the law to reflect the emotional attachment and sentiment felt towards dogs.

Kate Dymock, BASCs gundog officer said the responses showed that people were increasingly aware and concerned about the threat of dog theft.

The governments announcement of a taskforce is welcome news. It needs to review the whole issue of dog theft and set about producing proposals that will address dog owner's concerns," she said.

While the risk of dog theft remains low, its impact on individuals who fall victim to it can be devastating.

"The government need to reassure the public that the necessary resources are made available to reduce the risk further and deter potential criminals.
Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Windy and partly cloudy this evening. Mostly cloudy with diminishing winds after midnight. Low near 60F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Windy and partly cloudy this evening. Mostly cloudy with diminishing winds after midnight. Low near 60F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
LODI TOWNSHIP, MI  A property line dispute between neighbors in Southeast Michigan led to the construction of a 250-foot-long wall of poop  or a compost fence, FOX 2 Detroit reports.

The cow manure is normally spread out on the farmers field next door, said Wayne Lambarth, who owns the adjacent property in Lodi Township, Washentaw County. Now, the turds are piled as a smelly reminder of a property line dispute from last year.

The stench permeates Lambarths rental house near the property line, the report said. Complaints have been lodged but local officials say theres nothing they can do since the feces is on the farmers property.

Its not a poop wall, the farmer told FOX 2. Its a compost fence.

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4 charged with sex crimes against victims under 13

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DUBLIN, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Email Security Market, Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This research service analyzes the global email security market.

Email remains the number one threat vector. It is the primary mode of corporate communication and the de facto standard for B2B and B2C communications. During the COVID-19 pandemic, email continues to be the chief channel for business communication, and this trend is driven by the surging trend of working from home.

Over the past few years, the complexity and the volume of threats have increased significantly. Email-based threats have become big business; specific verticals and individuals within organizations are targeted. Threat vectors continue to evolve, and the need for secure email has never been stronger. Attackers are more focused on people and less on systems. Business email compromise (BEC) fraud continues to affect organizations, both large and small. Consequently, traditional security solutions that are designed to protect systems and infrastructure are now inadequate.

Sophisticated and highly targeted email-borne attacks are on the rise, and many of these attacks use social engineering techniques. For businesses of all sizes, this is a serious problem as the legitimate communication channel they rely on extensively, email, is also the channel of choice to deliver malware and malwareless attacks. Advanced attacks combine email and cloud accounts. Cybercriminals are also leveraging pandemic-driven fears and uncertainties to launch their attacks.

The most significant trend in the market is the acceleration of the migration to the cloud. Customers are adopting cloud-based mailbox services and moving their email security to the cloud from on-premise appliances. The substantial adoption of Microsoft Office 365 has caused the biggest loss of email security posture for organizations.

As a result, organizations are looking for integrated solutions to increase operational efficiencies while gaining stronger and more comprehensive security. In such a competitive environment, email security vendors must be able to differentiate themselves.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

Executive Summary - Market Engineering Measurements

Executive Summary - CEO's Perspective

Introduction to the Research Service

2. Market Overview

Market Definitions

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Email Security

Impact of the Cloud

Impact of Social Media

Email Security Functions and Features

Why is Email Security Important?

Mergers and Acquisitions

Key Questions This Study Will Answer

Distribution Channels

3. External Challenges - Drivers and Restraints: Total Email Security Market

Market Drivers

Drivers Explained

Market Restraints

Restraints Explained

4. Trends and Predictions for the Email Security Market

Macro Trend Impact on Email Security

Macro Trend Discussion - Migration to the Cloud

Macro Trend Discussion - Integrated Solutions that Lead to Vendor Consolidation

5. Forecasts and Trends - Total Email Security Market

Forecast Assumptions

Total Email Security Market - Revenue Forecast

Revenue Forecast Discussion

Revenue Forecast Comparison with a Previous Study - Revenue

Revenue Forecast Comparison with a Previous Study - Growth Rate

Revenue Forecast Comparison with a Previous Study

Total Email Security Market - Percent Revenue Forecast by Region

Total Email Security Market - Percent Revenue Forecast Discussion by Region

Total Email Security Market - Percent Revenue Forecast by Vertical Market

Total Email Security Market - Percent Revenue Forecast Discussion by Vertical Market

Total Email Security Market - Percent Revenue Forecast by Business Segment

Total Email Security Market - Percent Revenue Forecast Discussion by Business Segment

6. Market Share and Competitive Analysis - Total Email Security Market

Competitive Analysis, Total Email Security Market - Market Share

Total Email Security Market - Market Share (2019 versus 2020)

Competitive Analysis - Market Share (2019 versus 2020)

Total Email Security Market - Market Share Gains, 2020

Competitive Analysis - Market Share Gains, 2020

Competitive Environment

Competitive Factors and Assessment

Regional Distribution of Revenue of the Major Market Participants, 2020

Regional Revenue Discussion - Major Market Participants

Business Segment Distribution of Revenue of the Major Market Participants, 2020

Business Segment Revenue Discussion - Major Market Participants

Vertical Market Distribution of Revenue of the Major Market Participants, 2020

Vertical Market Revenue Forecast Discussion - Major Market Participants

7. Growth Opportunities and Companies to Action

Growth Opportunity 1 - Cloud Migration

Growth Opportunity 2 - Social Engineering Threats

Growth Opportunity 3 - Cyber Attackers Aggressively Target the Financial, Government, and Healthcare Segments

Growth Opportunity 4 - Integrated Cloud Security

Strategic Imperatives for Success and Growth in the Email Security Market

8. Strategic Insights for CISOs

CISOs' Concerns

Strategic Insights for CISOs

9. Consumer/SOHO and SMB Segments Breakdown

Consumer/SOHO and SMB Segments - Market Engineering Measurements

Consumer/SOHO and SMB Segments - Revenue Forecast

Consumer/SOHO and SMB Segments - Revenue Forecast Discussion

Consumer/SOHO and SMB Segments - Market Share

Consumer/SOHO and SMB Segments - Competitive Environment

10. Midsize Segment Breakdown

11. Large Business Segment Breakdown

12. Enterprise Segment Breakdown

13. Large Enterprise Segment Breakdown

14. North America Breakdown

North America Market - Revenue Forecast

- Revenue Forecast North America Market - Revenue Forecast Discussion

- Revenue Forecast Discussion North America - Market Share

- Market Share North America - Market Shares, 2019 versus 2020

15. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Breakdown

16. APAC Breakdown

17. LATAM Breakdown

18. Mega Trends and Industry Convergence Implications

Mega Trends' Impact on Email Security

Mega Trend Discussion - Industry Consolidation

Mega Trend Discussion - New and Improved Features and Functionality

Mega Trend Discussion - Cyberattacks that Aggressively Target the Financial, Government, and Healthcare Segments

Mega Trend Discussion - Email Security Integration into Broader Cloud Security Portfolios

19. The Last Word

The Last Word - Predictions

The Last Word - Recommendations

20. Appendix

Companies Mentioned

Microsoft

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/3q6phn

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



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Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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ISHLT Honors Kirklin, Hess and Taylor with Lifetime Achievement Awards, creates new Distinguished Service Award Tweet this

Michael L. Hess, MD (1942-2019), a founder and first President of ISHLT, was awarded a 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Hess's work led to the first informal meeting of the ISHLT at the 1980 AHA meeting in Miami; and the first formal meeting on 14 March, 1981. His vision for the ISHLT included a venue for the discussion of cardiac transplantation, which became the Annual Meeting, a scientific registry, a truly international Society, and an independent Journal. All of these ideas have become realities in the modern incarnation of ISHLT.

Dr. Hess graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with his MD, completing his residency and fellowship there. He received cardiology training at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London before joining the faculty at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), now Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), in 1971. During his distinguished career, he published more than 200 research papers and edited or authored three full-length books.

Dr. Hess was married to Andrea Hastillo, MD, also a cardiologist, and their partnership made up the initial core of ISHLT. They had one child, Samantha Hastillo Hudson, MD, an endocrinologist.

Jack Copeland, MD, ISHLT Past President, presented a moving tribute to Dr. Hess at the 2021 ISHLT Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions.

2020 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: James K. Kirklin, MD

James K. Kirklin, MD, a cardiac surgeon who has made significant scientific and surgical contributions in the fields of heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support devices, was named an ISHLT 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Dr. Kirklin has had a long and distinguished career focused on cardiac transplantation and mechanical circulatory support in the treatment of advanced heart failure in pediatric and adult patients, as well as surgical repair of congenital cardiac defects. He is first author of the field's premier textbook, Heart Transplantation, and co-author of the fourth edition of the Cardiac Surgery textbook. He has been a lifelong supporter of ISHLT, including serving as its president in 2009-2010, as well as JHLT Editor, Monograph Editor, and in other Board and committee leadership roles. He was instrumental in creating the global mechanical circulatory support registry IMACS.

The son of the late heart surgery pioneer John Kirklin, MD, Dr. Kirklin graduated from The Ohio State University in 1969, received his MD from Harvard Medical School in 1973, and completed general and cardiothoracic surgery residencies at Massachusetts General Hospital. He received additional training at Boston Children's Hospital and the UAB School of Medicine. Dr. Kirklin is a professor in the division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he holds the James K. Kirklin Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery.

Dr. Kirklin presented a recipient lecture to close the opening plenary session at ISHLT2021, entitled "The History of ISHLT: Through the lens of pioneers, Presidents, and prescient luminaries." His talk explored a historical perspective of ISHLT, focusing in part on the many visionaries who have led the Society at various points in its history. The talk also highlighted some of the most important breakthroughs and milestones in the Society's history, such as the creation of the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, the genesis of the Caves Award, and much more.

2021 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: David O. Taylor, MD

David O. Taylor, MD (1959-2020) was recognized as an inspiring leader in the field of advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology. Dr. Taylor was a professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, where he served as director of the Heart Failure and Transplantation Fellowship. He provided exceptional service, education and leadership to the advanced heart failure and heart transplant cardiology communities in a multitude of capacities during his lifetime.

Dr. Taylor devoted much of his professional time to the transplant community, including serving in many roles with ISHLT. He served as program chair for the 21st ISHLT meeting in Vancouver in 2001 and as ISHLT President in 2012-2013. He continued to contribute to ISHLT in important ways after concluding his presidential term: by serving as chair of the Standards & Guidelines Committee and serving as chair of task forces on Education and the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.

Dr. Taylor was described by fellow past ISHLT presidents as having "a keen sense of heart transplantation[] a true leader in the field," one of the "very few of us who have dedicated our entire careers to what we enjoyed most," "the consummate clinician and a tenacious patient advocate," and "a calm and sensible voice who earned the huge respect and affection of us all."

Dr. Taylor completed his internal medicine residency, cardiology fellowship, and heart failure and transplant fellowship at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), now known as Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). At MCV, Dr. Taylor was under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Hess. He served as Medical Director of Cardiac Transplant, as well as Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology, at the University of Utah. In 2001, he joined the Cleveland Clinic in the Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine. He published over 200 peer-reviewed papers, review articles, and book chapters. In addition, he lectured at prominent universities throughout the world, including lectures in Japan, Brazil, South Korea, India, France, Eastern Europe, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore, to name a few.

At the second plenary session at ISHLT2021, Randall Starling, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA, FESC, FHFSA, of the Cleveland Clinic, delivered a poignant laudation honoring him as the Lifetime Achievement Awardee. "David Taylor was the epitome of a professional," Starling said. He was a master clinician and educator. For Dr. Taylor, patients were always first his priorities were always 'we' and never 'me.'"

AMANDA W. ROWE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD: Amanda Rowe

At the closing plenary session of ISHLT2021, the Society announced the creation of the ISHLT Amanda W. Rowe Distinguished Service Award, an award designed to recognize individuals and organizations that have made non-scientific contributions to ISHLT as an organization. The inaugural award was given to its namesake, Amanda W. Rowe, who retired in 2020 after having served as ISHLT Executive Director for 27 years.

Rowe presided over the Society as it grew from a few hundred members to a global voice for the field, with nearly 4,000 members in 45 countries.

At the closing plenary, Rowe was honored by Stuart Sweet, MD, ISHLT Immediate Past President. "Under Amanda's leadership," Dr. Sweet said, "ISHLT grew to become the world's premier scientific professional and educational organization for heart and lung transplantation and mechanical circulatory support."

"It's been an amazing job for 28 years, an amazing career, with unforgettable memories, a lot of hard work, and alsoso much fun, and so many wonderful people," Rowe said as she received the award. "I'll never forget ISHLT."

Dr. Sweet also shared that with the creation of the ISHLT Amanda W. Rowe Distinguished Service Award, the ISHLT Board of Directors hoped to create an award that embodies Amanda's extraordinary service. Going forward, the Award will be given to individuals or organizations for sustained, significant, and outstanding service to ISHLT.

About ISHLT

The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation is a not-for-profit, multidisciplinary professional organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with advanced heart or lung disease through transplantation, mechanical support and innovative therapies. ISHLT members represent more than 15 different professional disciplines, together comprising the world's largest organization dedicated to the research, education and advocacy of advanced heart and lung disease. For more information, visit www.ishlt.org.

SOURCE The International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation

Related Links

www.ishlt.org


A thumbprint is displayed on a mobile phone as the logo for the Twitter social media network is projected onto a screen in London, England on Aug. 9, 2017. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

California Officials, Biden-Linked Firm Coordinated With Big Tech to Censor Election Posts: Judicial Watch

California officials colluded with Big Tech to censor social media posts in the United States during the 2020 presidential election, government watchdog group Judicial Watch announced Tuesday.

The findings come after Judicial Watch received 540 pages and a further four pages of documents from the office of the Secretary of State of California in response to an open records request, the group said.

It had filed the request after a December 2020 report surfaced revealing that Californias Office of Election Cybersecurity had surveilled and asked the social media giants to remove or flag as misleading at least two dozen messages.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said that SKDKnickerbocker, a communications company linked to President Joe Bidens election campaign, was involved in the censoring of speech during last years election period.

The company did this by sharing its Misinformation Daily Briefings with California officials, who then passed them on to social media giants Facebook, Twitter, and Google for dissemination, according to Judicial Watch.

These new documents suggest a conspiracy against the First Amendment rights of Americans by the California Secretary of State, the Biden campaign operation, and Big Tech, Fitton said.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, in Washington on Nov. 1, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

He added, These documents blow up the big lie that Big Tech censorship is privateas the documents show collusion between a whole group of government officials in multiple states to suppress speech about election controversies.

Jenna Dresner, senior public information officer for the Office of Election Cybersecurity, responded to the December report at the time saying that we dont take down posts, that is not our role to play.

We alert potential sources of misinformation to the social media companies and we let them make that call based on community standards they created, Dresner said.

According to Judicial Watch, the documents it obtained show how officials pushed big tech companies to censor social media posts.

The Google and YouTube logos are seen at the entrance to the Google offices in Los Angeles, Calif., on Nov. 21, 2019. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Googles YouTube was contacted directly by a state official to remove a Judicial Watch video on the platform on Sept. 24, last year, according to the group.

YouTube seemed to respond by deleting the video on September 27, 2020, Judicial Watch said.

In another instance, a Facebook user who implied having voted twice with multiple ballots had their post removed on Oct. 31, 2020. Other posts removed by social media giants included claims of voter fraud, receiving multiple ballots in the mail, and finding thousands of alleged unopened ballots in a dumpster.

Meanwhile, a Twitter post from Fitton that said Mailing 51 million ballots to those who havent asked for increases risk of voter fraud of voter intimidation, was flagged by SKDKnickerBocker as part of its Misinformation Tracker.

Washington-based SKDKnickerBocker said in a statement last November that it developed the Biden campaigns vote-by-mail program in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona.

The communications firm and Californias Office of Election Cybersecurity didnt immediately respond to requests for comment by The Epoch Times.

Big Tech companies have drawn intense scrutiny for perceived political bias and alleged unbalanced moderation of users content. Critics say much of the companies moderation in the past year has unfairly targeted conservative speech and speech from individuals deemed to be supporters of former President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, groups on the other side of the aisle have been taking issue with how social media companies are operating, claiming that the Silicon Valley companies have failed to adequately address misinformation that is being proliferated online.

Janita Kan contributed to this report.
COVINGTON, GA / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Ben F. Windham P.C., Covington Personal Injury Attorney, was chosen by Super Lawyers as one of their top lawyers of 2021.

Ben F. Windham, P.C. is proud to announce that Founding Partner, Ben Windham, has been selected to the 2021 Georgia Super Lawyers list. This year marks the third consecutive year that Mr. Windham has been named to the prestigious list. Super Lawyers, a Thompson Reuters company, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

"I consider it quite an honor to be named to the esteemed Super Lawyers list for the third time," says Windham. "Our firm is dedicated to provide high-quality legal representation, and this recognition is a true reflection of our passion for our clients and for our work in the personal injury field. We are committed to achieving the best possible outcome for our clients and consider it a privilege to advocate for victims who have suffered as a result of another party's negligent actions."

Super Lawyers selects only 5% of practicing attorneys on an annual basis using a patented multiphase selection process that includes research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations. To choose their winning attorneys, Super Lawyers evaluates candidates' verdicts and settlements, experience, bar involvement, honors and awards, pro bono and community service, and other qualifications on an annual, state-by-state basis. Their mission is to create a credible and comprehensive list of exceptional attorneys that can be used as a resource for lawyers and consumers searching for legal counsel. The yearly list results in featuring profiles of attorneys across the nation who exhibit excellence in their practice areas. To be selected to the Super Lawyers list speaks volumes about the reputation attorneys have cultivated among their peers, as well as their professional achievements and exemplary ethical conduct.

Super Lawyers does not permit attorneys to pay to be on the list, and no purchase of any product is required for inclusion on Super Lawyers. The process is entirely objective and results in a list that the public can use with confidence to find truly exceptional lawyers in their area. For more information about Super Lawyers, visit https://www.superlawyers.com.

About Windham Law:

Lawyers at Ben F. Windham, P.C., were born and raised in Covington, Georgia and serve personal injury clients throughout Newton County and all counties in Georgia. They specialize in seeking justice for individuals who have been injured by the negligence of others and litigate against all insurance companies providing tenacious and honest representation. Their approach is hands-on and much different from the high-volume TV and billboard lawyers. Clients of Ben F. Windham, P.C. work directly with an attorney during all phases of their case. At Ben F. Windham, P.C. expect a collaborative team with an entrepreneurial mindset determined to meet and exceed their client's expectations each step of the way towards obtaining justice.

To learn more about Ben F. Windham P.C. Trial Attorneys, or for a free case evaluation please visit https://windhamlaw.com or call 833-236-9467.

CONTACT:

Ben F. Windham P.C.

Address: 2115 Usher St NW Covington, GA 30014

Website: https://windhamlaw.com

Email: Ben@windhamlaw.com

Phone: 833.236.9467

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1833BENWINS

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bewindham/

SOURCE: Ben F. Windham P.C.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/643158/Covington-Personal-Injury-Lawyer-Ben-Windham-Named-to-Super-LawyersR-2021-List
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms this evening. Clouds lingering later. Low 73F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms this evening. Clouds lingering later. Low 73F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
This statement was discussed and adopted at the most recent meeting of the Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee held April 25. To learn more about the work of CERSC or to get involved, contact us at cersb.csppb@gmail.com.

Educators and school support staff organized in the Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee demand that all in-person learning be immediately halted across the country.

Under conditions of a rapid acceleration of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemicone moreover, that threatens to be the deadliest yetthis drastic step is necessary to prevent the needless death of thousands of workers, students and their relatives. It must be combined with the shutdown of all nonessential production and the payment of full wages to all affected workers and families, so they can shelter at home until the virus is suppressed and the population inoculated.

Ontario provides the starkest example of how dire the current situation is, and how unwilling and incapable the capitalist ruling elite is to combat the pandemic and protect lives. Ontario hospitals are already implementing triage; that is, denying care to certain COVID-19 patients based on their likelihood of survival. Discussions are taking place about holding lotteries to determine who will be given life-saving drugs. One scenario projects that the province will have more than five times the number of ICU patients by the end of May than the governments self-declared upper limit for maintaining adequate medical care. Last weeks tragic death of Emily Viegas, a 13-year-old Brampton girl, from the virus underscores that the health disaster is impacting all age groups.

Teacher protesting unsafe school reopenings in Phoenix, Arizona in 2020. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The third wave of the pandemic is the direct product of the ruling class open economy/open schools policy. In Ontario, the Doug Ford-led Progressive Conservative governments reopening of all schools between mid-January and mid-February, after a brief decline in cases and as new strains of the virus were circulating, led to an explosion of infections as had been predicted by numerous medical expertsincluding those on the governments own COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.

The principal vectors of the third wave, as health authorities in Toronto and the adjacent Peel Region concede, have been schools, warehouses, factories and other industrial workplaces. Yet the Ford government has adamantly refused to shut down all nonessential workplaces.

And if Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce ultimately announced that Ontarios schools would be returning to online learning when spring break ended on April 19, it was only because it was facing the double-threat of a collapse of the health care system and a mounting public outcry from rank-and-file educators, parents, local public health officers and other scientific experts.

Ontarios five education unions, however, had no part in this. Like their counterparts across the country, they have systematically suppressed all opposition among educators and parents to the open schools policy.

Ontarios inadequate and belated shift to online learning only goes to show that the political establishment has no interest in seriously combatting the pandemic. Nothing has been done to support families whose children must now learn remotely, whether by supplying them with up-to-date technology, or providing financial support so parents dont face the almost impossible task of juggling work commitments and childcare responsibilities. Nor has any additional support been provided to students, many of whom must struggle with social problems and mental health issues exacerbated by the ruling elites policy of mass infections and death. Meanwhile, special education teachers and assistants are forced to continue in-person learning with totally inadequate personal protective equipment, and daycare centres continue to operate normally with no additional financial or personnel resources.

The sabotaging of remote learning is deliberate and is a continuation of the assault on education and public services Ford launched on coming to power in June 2018. The Ford government intends to use the social and personal pressures it produces to press, as soon as it calculates it is politically feasible, for a return to in-class instruction behind a smokescreen of bogus concerns about the wellbeing and mental health of our kids. Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation President Harvey Bischof has all but begged the Ford government to do just that, stating in a recent press release, We believe that students learn and receive supports and services best when they are in-person in school, something that the Minister of Education has echoed many times. Its time that this government comes up with a clear plan based on evidence-informed medical advice to allow front-line education staff immediate access to vaccinations and keep schools open safely.

Ford is no outlier. Spearheaded by the Trudeau Liberal government, which focused on funnelling hundreds of billions of dollars into the financial markets and banks to safeguard the wealth of the rich and super-rich before ordering the reopening of the economy and schools, every provincial government is complicit in prioritizing corporate profits over human lives.

Outside Ontario, almost all schools remain open despite a dramatic surge in infections and the spread of the new more contagious and lethal variants. The British Columbia New Democratic Party government has made clear it has no intention of stopping in-person learning, which is acting as one of the main vectors for the spread of the deadly P1 variant. ICUs across the province are filling up with younger, otherwise healthy patients. Amid this mounting calamity, BC NDP Premier John Horgan recently cynically sought to shift blame onto young workers forced by the government to continue labouring in unsafe conditions for spreading the disease, remarking callously, Dont blow this for the rest of us.

If the open schools policy continues, the horrific reports now coming out of Ontario hospitals about the rationing of life-saving care will be replicated in a matter of weeks from coast to coast. That is the approach advocated by the Trudeau federal Liberal government and all its provincial counterparts. They have overseen a policy of open schools to free parents from childcare responsibilities so they can get back to work generating profits for the corporate elite. The corporatist trade unions have at every point supported and enforced this policy. They supported the reckless reopening of schools last September and again in January. They have ordered teachers to put their faith in totally inadequate government health and safety protocols that have turned classrooms into virus hotspots, driven up community infection rates, and helped overwhelm ICUs.

The CERSC fights for a worker-led alternative to the ruling class policy of mass infection and death. We call for all in-person learning to be halted until the pandemic is brought under control, the closure of all nonessential production and businesses with full compensation paid to every worker, and the best possible protection to be provided to all workers who must continue on the job to maintain societys basic needs. In collaboration with parents, teachers and education workers must create the best conditions for online learning, including by providing every student with a laptop computer, free internet access, and a comfortable learning environment in their home. Parents must be freed from all working obligations and paid full wages until the pandemic is over so they can stay at home with their kids. Billions must be invested in public education, which has been starved of funding by all political parties for decades.

The resources for all of these measures exist, but they are being hoarded by Canadas super-rich and wealthy. The more than $50 billion accumulated by Canadas billionaires since the beginning of the pandemic, not to mention the hundreds of billions more in public funds given to the banks and rich investors, must be seized and used to fund social needs, not squandered on personal enrichment.

To fight for this program, the CERSC calls on educators and support staff in every school, college and university to form rank-and-file safety committees and contact us. We appeal to workers in every sector, families with young children, and students, to form workplace and neighbourhood committees to unify our struggles. Our goal must be the preparation of a political general strike to impose a strategy to combat the pandemic that places the health and very lives of the vast majority ahead of the obscene profiteering and self-enrichment of the wealthy few.

Our struggle in Canada must develop as part of an international counteroffensive by the working class to put a stop to the ruling class profits before lives policy and establish a science-based, globally coordinated response aimed at suppressing COVID-19 and saving lives. We therefore declare our support for the International Committee of the Fourth Internationals call to establish the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees and urge all educators in Canada to attend the international online May Day rally this Saturday, which will discuss the program and perspective of the IWA-RFC.
MINNEAPOLIS, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of St. Thomas Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge has awarded more than $1 million in prize money since 2017. This year, judges selected Rutgers University students Alyssa Krisinski, Clairisse Whang, Harrison Zhang and Juliet Petillo as the winners of the competition. They secured $50,000 in funding from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation to support their business, Nutrivide.

The winning company, Nutrivide, aims to redefine nutrient and drug delivery for infants with the Nutrifier, a pacifier that can passively distribute liquid micronutrients or medication during use.

Whang expressed her gratitude for the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship competition and what it means to her team and to the other teams competing. "I'm so excited for all the things we are going to do together. Every drop of your support is really helping us get products out faster and to do the things that we want to do to really shift the world," she said.

The Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge drew more than 100 entries representing 55 colleges and universities across the country. The top 25 finalists competed in the finals virtually April 2224 during e-Fest, where $216,000 was awarded. Students also made connections during the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship event with fellow entrepreneurs and received counsel from judges applicable to building their company.

In addition to taking first place, Nutrivide won the $10,000 Global Impact Award. Other winners included:

Second place, $30,000  MassApply, Virginia Tech

 MassApply, Virginia Tech Third place, $20,000  Hydrova, Georgetown and MIT

 Hydrova, Georgetown and MIT Fourth place, $15,000  Telo, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

 Telo, University of Minnesota Twin Cities Fifth place, $10,000  Renter Chat, Northeastern University

 Renter Chat, Northeastern University Social Impact Award, $10,000  Cress Health, Hofstra University and Brown University

 Cress Health, Hofstra University and Brown University $70,000 was also awarded in various increments for second- and third-place finalist teams as well as pitch slam and innovation challenges.

Click here for a full list of finalists and to watch videos about their businesses. Watch a video of the awards ceremony here .

"Entrepreneurs will be more important than ever as we build back our economy," said Laura Dunham, associate dean of Schulze School of Entrepreneurship. "It will be the work of entrepreneurs and innovators to reimagine a society and economy that works for all its citizens, that creates opportunity for all, that fosters equity, fairness and justice. It will be the work of entrepreneurs to create the businesses and generate the jobs that will restore and revitalize our economy."

Stefanie Lenway, dean of the Opus College of Business, thanked Dick Schulze for making this celebration of entrepreneurship for undergraduates possible.

"The Schulze School of Entrepreneurship and e-Fest are making a distinct difference," Lenway said. "With 11 of the top 25 finalist teams submitted by female entrepreneurs, barriers are breaking down. Events like e-Fest are important because they are providing nontraditional entrepreneurs the opportunity to get a tremendous amount of advice, to network and to secure the funds that they need to take their ventures to the next level."

Media Contact: Vineeta Sawkar, University of St. Thomas, [email protected]

SOURCE Schulze School of Entrepreneurship
 Close Government open minded about extension of furlough scheme, says Michael Gove

Boris Johnson faces a major rebellion over his plans to slash foreign aid as a growing number of Tory rebels back an amendement to force the government to make up the shortfall left from the multi-billion pound cut to the UKs official development assistance.

Former prime minister Theresa May and six other former cabinet ministers added their names to the 30-strong list of Conservative MPs opposing the governments plan to abandon its commitment to spending 0.7 per cent of national income on aid for some of the poorest and most unstable areas of the globe.

Meanwhile, Michael Gove said the government was open minded about continuing the furlough scheme beyond September, ahead of a meeting later where Nicola Sturgeon plans to push for an extension.
Twenty-three of Alabamas 42 district attorneys have sent a letter to lawmakers opposing the medical marijuana bill that the House of Representatives is expected to vote on soon.

The district attorneys say marijuana is a gateway drug and that there is a dishonest effort to convince the public otherwise.

Marijuana is a wolf in sheeps clothing too many in the general public have been convinced that it is harmless, the district attorneys wrote. That is, perhaps, the biggest lie that is being perpetrated on the Alabama public today. Please dont further the lie by voting for any form of legalization beyond the pharmaceutical remedies already available under state law.

The Alabama Senate has approved the medical marijuana legislation, which is by Sen. Tim Melson, a Republican from Florence who is an anesthesiologist and medical researcher. The Judiciary and Health Committees in the House gave the bill favorable reports.

Melson said he opposes recreational use and his bill would prohibit any product that could be smoked or vaped or use of the raw plant material.

But the senator said he believes people in Alabama should have a chance to try medical marijuana products for conditions and symptoms including chronic pain, seizures, nausea and weight loss from cancer, PTSD, autism, and others without going to other states. Alabama would be the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

House Speaker Mac McCutcheon said he expects the House will vote on the bill before the session ends May 17. McCutcheon said he believes the vote will be close.

The district attorneys who signed the bill: Walt Merrell, Covington County; Spence Walker, Choctaw, Clarke and Washington Counties; Ben Reeves, Barbour and Bullock Counties; Brian McVeigh, Calhoun and Cleburne Counties; Tom Anderson, Coffee and Pike Counties; Ashley Rich, Mobile County; Bill Adair, Walker County; Jody Willoughby, Etowah County; Jill Lee, Shelby County; Pat Jones, Henry and Houston Counties; Steve Billy, Escambia County; Rob Broussard, Madison County; Andy Hamlin, Fayette, Lamar and Pickens Counties; Scott Slatton, Marion and Winston Counties; Ken Davis, Russell County; Everette Johnson, Marshall County; Bob Wilters, Baldwin County; Lyle Harmon, St. Clair County; Bryce Graham, Colbert County; Wilson Blaylock, Cullman County; Errek Jett, Lawrence County; Scott Anderson, Morgan County; Pamela Casey, Blount County,
Sky Vacations, a member of the Sky Bird Group, announced today a new tour Reel Life to Real Life: Bridgerton focused around the hit Netflix series Bridgerton with an optional Downtown Abbey extension.



(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED STATES - April 27th, 2021 - For Immediate Release

New York, April 26, 2021: Sky Vacations, a member of the Sky Bird Group, announced today a new tour Reel Life to Real Life: Bridgerton focused around the hit Netflix series Bridgerton with an optional Downtown Abbey extension.

Starting last year, we noticed a steady trend of inquires about touring and visiting the film locations featured in Bridgerton so it made perfect sense for us to design a self drive trip built around the sites said Richard Krieger, Director of Sky Vacations. American travelers have always flocked to the UK to experience its history, culture along with the many sites familiar to us from film and television. A few years back we couldnt keep up with demand for our Downtown Abbey tour and we expect the same demand for our new Bridgerton product. And with the winter release of the Downton Abbey sequel, these locations will be more popular than ever.

Reel Life to Real Life: Bridgerton features 7 nights hotel accommodation, car rental, visits to Bath, Holbourne Museum, Rangers House, the home of the Bridgerton family, and other film locations featured in the series Bridgerton a visit to Lacock, famous for its appearances in Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice and Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince, plus a cruise on the Thames from Westminster Abbey. An optional visit to the home of Downtown Abbey, Highclere Castle is also available.

To view these and all of the Sky Vacations portfolio, visit: www.skyvacations.net. For reservations: 1.877.666.3113

About Sky Vacations

One of the leading tour operators in North America for more than a decade, Sky Vacations custom crafts travel experiences around the globe for individual and group travelers. Sky Vacations is a member of the Sky Bird Travel & Tours family.

PRESS CONTACT:

Priya Chhabra

E: priya@skyvacations.net

D: +1 248 653 1618

###
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to shift Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, arrested last year on way to Hathras where a young Dalit woman had died after being gang raped, to a hospital in Delhi for better medical treatment.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana also made it clear that Kappan be sent back to Mathura jail after recovery.

The apex court granted him liberty to approach appropriate forum challenging his arrest or any other relief and disposed of the plea filed by Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ).

"Taking into consideration facts of the case, we dispose of the writ petition. Even though Solicitor General Tushar Mehta very seriously opposes, we are directing the state to shift the accused to RML or AIIMS or wherever treatment can be done," said the bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and A S Bopanna.

Mehta strongly opposed the top court's suggestion saying 42-year old Kappan is COVID-19 negative and can be treated at a jail hospital in Mathura.

He also asked the bench to mention in its order that a hospital bed be vacated in Delhi for Kappan as the health care facilities are already full of patients.

The apex court however declined to say anything on the issue.

Mehta, appearing for the UP government, vehemently opposed the top court's suggestion earlier in the day and said that several similarly placed accused were getting treatment in hospitals in the state and Kappan should not be given special treatment just because a journalistic body is a petitioner here.

People with multiple organ failure are also being looked at by jail hospital in Mathura, he said.

The bench said it was confined to the limited prayer of granting better health facilities to Kappan and asked whether he could be allowed medical treatment in Delhi.

"We are confined to health issue. It is in the interest of the state also that the accused gets better treatment," the bench observed.

On November 16 last year, the top court had sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government on the plea challenging the arrest of the journalist.

The FIR has been filed under various provisions of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against four people having alleged links with the Popular Front of India, or PFI.

Kappan was arrested on way to Hathras following the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was allegedly gang-raped on September 14, 2020 in a village in the district.

Her cremation at night by the authorities, allegedly without the parents' consent, had triggered widespread outrage.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a brutal impact on the health of all workers around the world, especially those frontline workers most exposed to the virus, including journalists. On International Workers Memorial Day, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) pays tribute to all media workers who have died from the virus and praises the enormous work of its affiliates, who have fought day in, day out to protect the health and safety of journalists all over the world.

Training and safety

When the global pandemic broke out, many media workers were forced to continue reporting from the front line with little or no information about the virus, proper training or equipment. Overnight, hundreds of thousands of journalists were risking their lives to continue informing people about the virus in a moment when, paradoxically, access to accurate and quality information was saving lives.

While many employers and governments ignored journalists status as essential workers, unions played a key role in putting journalists physical and psychological safety first.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in Indonesia, published a Safety Protocol and helped to provide all its members with safety material such as masks and hand sanitizers . Similar actions were taken by IFJ affiliates all over the world: from the ANP (Peru) and APES (El Salvador) in Latin America, to the PJS in Palestine and JUADN in Greece, taking action to provide key safety equipment and health insurances for media workers.

Training media workers to protect themselves from the virus has also been fundamental to saving lives. For example, Somalia with one of the weakest health systems in the world, has experienced high numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. The NUSOJ and IOM COVID-19 reporting handbook for Somali journalists provided key information about how journalists can minimise chances of contracting Covid.

Many unions launched their own safety protocols while calling on the national authorities to make sure that media employers were guaranteeing Covid-safe newsrooms. Unfortunately, this has not been always the case. For example, in some newsrooms in Pakistan, employers forced workers to continue working and going to the newsroom after testing positive, putting themselves and the rest of the staff at serious risk of infection.

Humanitarian aid

While fighting the health crisis was the first priority of the pandemic, trade unions also had to rapidly deal with the social and in many cases humanitarian crisis suffered by their members.

Once again, union solidarity made a difference to help the most vulnerable journalists, especially those who work as freelancers and had no social benefits, to move forward.

There have been many gestures of solidarity from trade unions, even in those countries where the pandemic situation was critical and out of control. The KUJ in Kenya, mobilized resources to help those most in need. APES in El Salvador, delivered basic food baskets to journalists working for small local newspapers suffering the hardest part of the crisis.

APES help came at the right time.They brought us food, they gave us biosafety equipment that was extremely difficult to find by that timeand that's how we were able to move forward said Salvadorian journalist Yaneth Estrada, journalist for Diario Co Latino, in a video recorded for the IFJ.

Journalists are essential workers and we must be treated as such

While it remains difficult to determine the exact number of media workers who have died from the virus worldwide and whether they have been infected while working or somewhere else, its easy to acknowledge that hundreds of thousands of journalists have risked their lives informing the public during the pandemic. That is to say: they are essential workers and should be treated as such within the ongoing vaccination campaigns.

This has been widely understood by the IFJ affiliates, who have made significant gains to push the authorities to recognize media workers role and their exposure to the virus while reporting. The IJS in Iraq managed to get journalists put on the list of priority groups who are being vaccinated now. The same success was recorded in Uganda, Kenya, Somalia and in some regions in Brazil.

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: Today our thoughts go out to all the journalists killed by Covid-19, their families, friends and colleagues. Also with all our affiliates, who have fought to protect the health and lives of their members even in the most difficult situations. It is imperative that governments act and include journalists in the priority vaccination groups to prevent further deaths in our profession."
Director of Public Health Dr Anne Sheahan has asked the people of Cork to protect their progress in reducing the incidence of Covid-19 over the May bank holiday weekend.

Speaking ahead of the upcoming bank holiday, Dr Sheahan said that they are often a time when people meet up with friends or families indoors but asked people to remember that when it comes to stopping the spread of Covid-19, its always safer to be outdoors than indoors.

Large indoor gatherings just arent possible yet, even though I am aware how difficult it is to stay apart, she said.

Dr Sheahan said that public health experts understand that its tempting to meet up indoors but asked people to Hold Firm for another few weeks.

If we continue to work together, I am hopeful that we will be able to enjoy more time with friends and family this summer, something that we havent been able to do for many months and which we all miss.

I know that people of every age group are looking forward to socialising but its not yet safe or possible to meet up indoors as visits between households greatly speed up the spread of Covid-19.

While the numbers of people vaccinated are increasing, we need to remember that many vulnerable people still dont have a full level of protection.

We are fortunate in this region to have so many wonderful outdoor amenities. Just remember that if you are meeting another household outdoors this weekend, please continue to keep a two-metre distance, she said.

Covid-19 rates across Cork have remained stable and Dr Sheahan appealed to the public to keep up that hard work that has got Cork to where it is now since Christmas.

This region is doing very well. There will be some bumps in the road, and it is inevitable that we will see occasional clusters. Its really important that we focus on containing any such clusters, rather than blaming any community or individual.

People gathered over the weekend on Kennedy Quay, Cork to enjoy the evening sunshine and takeaway refreshments. Picture Dan Linehan

If everyone makes sure they are tested at the first sign of symptoms, and if everyone avoids risky indoor interactions, then we will continue to contain these inevitable outbreaks. Dr Sheahan said she was pleased this week to see some sporting activities return, including some outdoor training for children in non-contact pods of 15 children or fewer.

I was very encouraged to see children returning to training outdoors, and I want to reassure parents and communities that as long as sensible precautions are in place, this is a relatively low-risk activity.

This gradual return to normal life is important for us all, particularly young people. Its important that we all continue to work together to protect the progress we have made, she said.

Dr Sheahan appealed to the public to contact their GP immediately if they suspect they have any Covid-19 symptoms.

If you have symptoms, then its really important that you get tested as quickly as possible. A test is free and can be arranged very quickly through your GP. We are aware that sometimes we decide to wait and see.

"As were so close to bringing Covid-19 under control in this region, its important that you ask for a test as soon as you have symptoms, and that you stay at home in your own room while waiting for the test and the test result," she said.
[April 28, 2021] Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Expands Telehealth Options in Connecticut with Virtual Choice(SM)

HARTFORD, Conn., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Doctor On Demand today announced the launch of Virtual ChoiceSM, a unique plan that allows adult family members over the age of 19 to have a choice of how they receive primary care  virtually or in-person. The new plan will be available to large employers (51+ subscribers) in Connecticut, starting in September. Virtual ChoiceSM is the newest virtual primary care plan offered by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in Connecticut, next to SimplyVirtualSM which debuted in January 2021. "After launching SimplyVirtualSM, we reaffirmed our conviction that expanding the options available to our members just made sense," said Paul Bartosic, vice president of the Connecticut market for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. "Now with the launch of Virtual ChoiceSM, Harvard Pilgrim offers our members the power of flexibility through two virtual health plans, allowing employers to offer plans that best fit the needs and lifestyles of their employees." Virtual ChoiceSM plan members will have 24/7 access to primary care physicians (PCP) through virtual visits with Doctor On Demand. Members will have the flexibility to receive virtual visits from anywhere in the world, finding providers through the Doctor On Demand website or app, with a lower PCP visit cost-sharing than in-person offerings. Once a member chooses a Doctor On Demand virtual PCP, all visits with their PCP take place virtually trough video and voice communication via their smartphone, tablet or computer  allowing real-time interaction between the patient and provider.



Members can also choose traditional office-based care and have in-person visits with their PCP. These members will choose a PCP from Harvard Pilgrim's expansive New England HMO provider network and receive office-based care. "At Doctor On Demand, we're committed to making sure that everyone has access to the health care they need," said Robin Glass, president of Doctor On Demand. "Harvard Pilgrim has always been an innovative partner, and our new, expanded offering for virtual primary care ensures that no matter what a member's unique needs look like, they have a solution that fits their lives."

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care members who are not enrolled in SimplyVirtualSM or Virtual ChoiceSM will continue to have access to Doctor On Demand's urgent care telehealth services via their existing plans. About the New Combined Organization The combination of Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care represents the coming together of two of New England's most iconic nonprofit health care companies. Representing nearly 90 years of service to our members and the community, together we are building upon our diverse legacies and innovative collaboration by making it our purpose to guide and empower healthier lives for our members  no matter their age, health, race, identity, or income. We strive to be a different kind of nonprofit health and wellbeing company, with a broad range of health plans, and innovative tools that make navigating health and wellbeing easier, guiding our members at every step of their health care journey to better health outcomes. We are committed to providing high-quality and affordable health care, improving the health and wellness of our members, and creating healthier communities throughout New England. About Doctor On Demand Doctor On Demand delivers Total Virtual Care for the way people live today. Our nationwide practice of dedicated clinicians and our innovative technology platform deliver better care experiences, better integration, and better outcomes for our patients and partners. Our full suite of personalized Total Virtual Care services include primary care, integrated behavioral health, everyday & urgent care, chronic condition management, and prevention. 24/7 triage, navigation, and ongoing care coordination ensure patients get the right care, at the right time. Doctor On Demand partners with leading health insurers and employers to deliver these services to more than 98 million Americans across commercial, Medicare and Medicaid. For more information, visit www.doctorondemand.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/harvard-pilgrim-health-care-expands-telehealth-options-in-connecticut-with-virtual-choicesm-301279228.html SOURCE Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

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She was the image of showbiz glamour on Oscar Sunday.

But Amanda Seyfried was seen in a much more relaxed aspect while out in Los Angeles by lunchtime on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old actress slipped into a pair of fashionably fitted jeans and a cozy-looking sweater while stepping out for a meal.

She was the image of showbiz glamour on Oscar Sunday: But Amanda Seyfried was seen in a much more relaxed aspect while out in Los Angeles by lunchtime on Tuesday

Amanda and a female pal were glimpsed heading over to lunch at the West Hollywood location of Gracias Madre.

The Mean Girls actress dripped with chic in a cleavage-baring scarlet frock as she hit the red carpet at Union Station for the Oscars red carpet.

She was bedecked in a ball gown by Giorgio Armani Prive and balanced on a pair of Stuart Weitzman heels, according to People.

Off she goes: The 35-year-old actress slipped into a pair of fashionably fitted jeans and a cozy-looking sweater while stepping out for a meal

That evening she was nominated for best supporting actress for her performance as Old Hollywood actress Marion Davies in Mank.

Marion was widely and falsely assumed to be the basis for the gold-digging talentless performer Susan Alexander in Citizen Kane.

Mank which was directed by David Fincher is a biopic of Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz who was played by Gary Oldman.

Chitchat: Amanda and a female pal were glimpsed heading over to lunch at the West Hollywood location of Gracias Madre

Amanda wound up losing out on the award to South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung, 73, for her heartwarming turn as a grandmother in Minari.

Their competitors included Maria Bakalova for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Olivia Colman for The Father and Glenn Close for Hillbilly Elegy.

Amanda is married to smoldering The Newsroom actor Thomas Sadoski and they share two children - Nina, four, and Thomas, seven months.
Marking his first 100 days in office, President Joe Biden will use his first joint address to Congress to pitch a $1.8 trillion investment in children, families and education that would fundamentally transform the role government plays in American life.

Biden will make his case Wednesday night before a pared-down gathering of mask-wearing legislators due to coronavirus restrictions and in a U.S. Capitol still surrounded by black fencing after insurrectionists protesting his election occupied the very dais where he will stand. You can watch it here.

In the nationally televised ritual of a president standing before Congress, Biden will lay out a sweeping proposal for universal preschool, two years of free community college, $225 billion for child care and monthly payments of at least $250 to parents. His ideas reflect the frailties that were uncovered last year by the pandemic, and he will make the case that economic growth would best come from taxing the rich to help the middle class and the poor.

His speech will also provide an update on progress in combating the COVID-19 crisis he was elected to tame, showcasing hundreds of millions of vaccinations and relief checks delivered to help offset the devastation wrought by a virus that has killed more than 573,000 people in the United States. He will also champion his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, a staggering figure to be financed solely by higher taxes on corporations.

Seizing an opportunity born of generational calamity, Biden has embraced momentous action over incremental progress, with the goal of making the economy fairer and stronger. But he will be forced to thread the needle between Republicans who cry government overreach and some Democrats who fear he wont go big enough.

The Democratic presidents strategy is to sidestep the polarization and make his appeal directly to voters. His prime-time speech will underscore a trio of central campaign promises: to manage the deadly pandemic, to turn down the tension in Washington and to restore faith in government as an effective force for good.

He is a big-government Democrat, and he has not been at all reluctant to propose big initiatives in a response to a national crisis, said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University presidential historian.

No American politician has more familiarity with the presidential address to Congress than Biden. He spent three decades in the audience as a senator and another eight years seated behind President Barack Obama during the annual address when he was vice president.

For the first time on Wednesday, a female vice president, Kamala Harris, will be seated behind the chief executive for the speech.

Biden also knows that most of those seated before him have, like he did, looked at the president and envisioned themselves one day in his place. He has heard the memorable phrases and the long list of promises  often unmet  and seen the partisan reactions intensify as the years have hurried by.

He chose to delay this speech, typically given in the afterglow of a presidential inaugural. In doing so, he gave himself the chance to not simply speak of the pain of the COVID-19 crisis but also to talk about tangible progress in beating it back.

The setting will be unlike for any of his predecessors, with members of Congress spread out and socially distanced and many Republicans citing scheduling conflicts to explain their absence. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that Bidens presidency can best be described as the Biden bait and switch.

President Biden ran as a moderate, but Im hard pressed to think of anything at all that hes done so far that would indicate some degree of moderation, McConnell said.

Yet the desire for swift action is born from political necessity. Biden understands that the time for passing his agenda could be perilously short given that presidents parties historically lose congressional seats in the midterm elections, less than two years away. The Democrats margins are already razor-thin.

Biden will talk to Congress amid the start of a potentially booming recovery, one that could determine whether the U.S. economy can once again fire on all cylinders after a morale-crushing pandemic and a humbling financial crisis with shock waves that linger a dozen years later.

In his first three months in office, Biden signed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill  passed without a single GOP vote  and has shepherded direct payments of $1,400 per person to more than 160 million households. Hundreds of billions of dollars in aid will soon arrive for state and local governments, enough money that overall U.S. growth this year could eclipse 6%  a level not seen since 1984. Administration officials are betting that it will be enough to bring back all 8.4 million jobs lost to the pandemic by next year.

Bidens speech Wednesday is about how to sustain those gains once the debt-financed boost fades. Federal Reserve estimates suggest that the economy will slip to more modest 1.8% growth after at least two years of robust gains, potentially leaving the Biden era with some happy memories but few enduring legacies.

New in his Wednesday speech is a families plan that could cement his legacy with $1.8 trillion worth of spending over 10 years.

A significant amount of the proposal would ensure that eligible families receive at least $250 monthly per child through 2025, extending the enhanced tax credit that was part of Bidens COVID-19 aid. There would be $200 billion for free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds. Another $225 billion would pay for subsidized child care and invest in child care workers.

A national paid family and medical leave program would be started at a cost of $225 billion. Another $200 billion would go to permanently reduce health insurance premiums for people who receive coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

For $109 billion, people could attend community college tuition-free for two years. There would be $85 billion for Pell Grants to help more people afford higher education. Historically Black and tribal institutions would be eligible to receive $46 billion.

Funding all of this would be a series of tax increases on the wealthy that would raise about $1.5 trillion over a decade.

Biden wants to boost IRS enforcement and require disclosures by financial institutions, specifically targeting the rich. The White House estimates that would bring in $700 billion over 10 years. He would raise the top tax rate on the most affluent families from 37% to 39.6%. People earning in excess of $1 million a year would see their rate on capital gains  the profits from a sale of a stock or home  nearly double from 20% to 39.6%, which would mean the wealthiest Americans could no longer pay at a lower rate than many families who identify as middle class.

The president has drawn a firm red line that no household earning less than $400,000 a year will pay more in taxes, a move that both broadened the definition of the middle class and clearly delineated just how extreme inequality has become.

Economist Owen Zidar, whose research suggested that capital gains tax hikes could raise meaningful revenues, said the programs funded by the proceeds might allow poorer children to become inventors and entrepreneurs, positions that are increasingly reserved for the offspring of wealthy parents.

There are many missing Einsteins and Elon Musks, Zidar said.
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Connecting the truth of purchase behaviour with what people think and how they choose products through bespoke shopper surveys



A unique and complete view of consumers in South Africa, including all nine provinces and all socio-economic groups

Kantars Worldpanel division has launched a new consumer panel in South Africa  the largest in the region, and the second to be built upon digital data capture capabilities, after Kantars panel in the UAE. The panel will provide global and local brands and retailers with an in-depth understanding of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) purchasing habits of the dynamic South African population, enabling them to measure their competitive performance and find new growth opportunities. The first dataset will be published in July 2021.The new panel will measure the FMCG purchasing behaviour of more than 6,500 South African households at launch  the largest sample in the region. Covering all nine provinces, the panellists are representative of all socio-economic groups.says: We are thrilled that Worldpanel is launching in South Africa. This is another arrow in our quiver that adds actionable insights to help our clients in the FMCG space gain a more holistic view of shopper behaviour and along with our consumer insights, builds a complete understanding of people to help brands pursue growth and increase market share.The digital capture methodology enables each panellist to provide continuous information about all their grocery purchases via barcode collection and in-the-moment trip records, using their smartphone. This reduces data lag and increases the robustness of the data collected.Other benefits include:says: South Africa offers plenty of opportunities for global and local FMCG brands to find new sources of growth, but only if you are able to understand shoppers and their rapid behaviour changes. With its size and diversity, South Africa really needed the right consumer panel to capture shopping behaviours from all types of households, income levels and ethnic groups. We are very excited to have successfully launched this new consumer panel in one of the most important African economies.The new panel is part of Kantars ongoing investment to support client expansion in Africa, where it has been present for a decade. With the largest consumer panel presence of any market research company, it provides brands and marketers access to a wider set of markets, benchmarks, trends and insights. In addition to two panels in the Middle East, Kantar is now present within 13 African countries, representing 78% of Africas total GDP. These include its recent panel investments in South Africa, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia, consumer panels in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria, as well as the commitment to expand its footprint to meet our clients demands in Algeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.Kantar will build on the insights delivered through its new panel with its portfolio of expert solutions  bespoke advanced analytical services that support clients decision-making in key areas such as retail strategy, media investment and innovation. To meet the need for fast delivery, the data will be made available via Worldpanels data delivery and analysis platform, which can be accessed 24/7.says: This strategic approach will allow us to reinforce our understanding of shopper and consumer behaviour in the African continent, as well as our robust network of consumer panels across the world to provide a global context for brands wanting to grow at home or abroad.The South Africa panel connects Kantars wider African consumer panels with a consolidated global network of harmonised panel services in 50+ countries in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Middle East.The first dataset for the South Africa consumer panel will be available in July with data for Q2 2021.Country manager South AfricaWorldpanel division, Kantar
LONDON: A proposed multi-billion pound British class action against Google, which alleges the Internet giant secretly tracked millions of iPhone users, is not viable and should not be allowed to proceed, the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday.

Antony White, a lawyer for Google, told the first day of a two-day hearing that the maiden, U.S.-style data protection lawsuit could only seek redress under English laws if any data breach had led to claimants suffering damage.

"It is not my case that loss of personal data may not have serious consequences, but it may not always do so in a way that attracts compensation," he said, adding that any uniform award would also fail to take into account differing phone usage.

Richard Lloyd, a former director at consumer rights group Which?, is leading the claim that seeks to extend Britain's fledgling class action regime - and multi-billion pound data protection claims against tech giants, such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, rest on the judgment.

Lloyd has previously estimated that damages could run to 750 pounds per iPhone user, potentially bringing damages to more than 3 billion pounds ($4.2 billion) if any future trial succeeds.

The case, brought on behalf of more than four million Apple iPhone users, hinges on whether Google breached its duties as a data controller by clandestinely collecting browser-generated data and then offering it to advertisers in 2011 and 2012 - and whether such a class action can proceed in Britain.

Experts say the case is "hugely significant" and warn businesses that harvest and use troves of personal data for commercial gain to consider whether they are acting fairly and transparently.

"If the judgment goes in favour of the claimants, we will see the floodgates open to a tsunami of representative data class actions in the UK," said Julian Copeman, a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills.

Critics of "opt out" class actions, which automatically bind a defined group into a lawsuit unless individuals opt out, say they can lead to claims without merit and lush profits for litigators and their funders.

Proponents say they allow easier access to justice, especially when individual claims are too small to pursue individually, and that alternative "opt in" lawsuits, where every claimant signs up, are costly and time-consuming.

The Confederation of British Industry, a trade body, says such cases could be "highly detrimental", noting the risk of ruinous damages awards could prompt settlements regardless of the merits of a case.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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[April 28, 2021] Capping More Than 18 Months of Growth, Southern Management Corporation Relaunches as Heights Finance

GREENVILLE, S.C., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its strong recent growth, Southern Management Corporation (SMC), one of the country's largest providers of installment loans and related products, has announced that it will change its name to Heights Finance effective immediately. The rebrand comes as a result of a significant increase in the company's geographic footprint, which now includes much of the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. The rebrand will also afford the company an opportunity to relaunch its services and target a broader range of consumers, offering a more comprehensive suite of financial products and solutions. Heights Finance will continue to invest heavily in upgrading its online presence, while enhancing the exceptional personalized service for which each of its legacy brands is known. These legacy brands include Covington Credit, Southern Finance, Quick Credit and Heights Finance. SMC acquired the original Heights Finance, previously based in Peoria, Ill. in December of 2019. Since that time, SMC and Heights have been working together to operate as a single, best-in-class consumer lender. Under the unified Heights Finance brand, the company and its more than 1300 team members will serve customers across 11 states through more than 400 local neighbohood branches, creating greater opportunities for both customers and employees.



"While we continue to invest heavily in the technology needed to ensure quick loan processing and online convenience, we are first and foremost connected to each of the neighborhoods we serve through our brick-and-mortar locations," said Heights Finance CEO Doug Clark. "We believe in meeting our customers where they are, treating them fairly and making it easy to do business with us. Most importantly, however, we've grown because we build relationships, becoming trusted advisors who help our hardworking customers along their financial journey." The company has earned a remarkable 4.9 Trustpilot customer rating, indicating a level of customer satisfaction higher than most financial services organizations.

New product and loan offerings will be piloted and rolled out to all locations over the next several months. The company will also continue to aggressively recruit and hire new associates to fill positions in IT, data management and customer service in areas across the country, with the greatest concentration of growth in Upstate S.C. For more information on Heights Finance, please check out this video or visit HeightsFinance.com. About Heights Finance

Based in Greenville, S.C., with offices and branch locations in the states of Ala., Ga., Texas, Okla., S.C., Wis., Ill., Mo., Ind., Ky. and Tenn., Heights Finance offers short- and long-term personal loans designed to help hardworking Americans get the money they need quickly. The company is a proud member of the American Financial Services Association (AFSA) and currently has a 4.9 Trustpilot customer rating. Media Contact:

JoAnne Abed

773-308-5519

laffeynd@gmail.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/capping-more-than-18-months-of-growth-southern-management-corporation-relaunches-as-heights-finance-301278818.html SOURCE Heights Finance

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KALAMAZOO, MI -- Kalamazoo Public Schools students at least 16 years old are invited to get their COVID-19 vaccine this week.

The district is hosting a vaccination clinic alongside the Family Health Center and Bronson Methodist Hospital from 3-6 p.m. Thursday, April 29, at King-Westwood Elementary, 1100 Nichols Road, the district said in a social media post. Call 269-488-0804 to schedule an appointment.

The clinic is open to students 16 and older and staff at KPS, the district said. Students who are 16-17 are required to complete a parental release form, which can be found on the districts website.

The first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be given Thursday, and students are required to come back for a second dose three weeks later on Thursday, May 20, the district said. Attendees are required to wear a mask at the clinic, and should wear clothing that allows easy access to their upper arm.

The Pfizer vaccine is the only one approved for people as young as 16. According to vaccination data from MDHHS, 24.3% of Michigan residents age 16-19 have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Of the same age group, only 7.7% have received both doses of the vaccine.

The states top seven counties in new daily cases of COVID-19 are now all in West Michigan: Muskegon, Oceana, Barry, Ionia, Newaygo, Mason and Montcalm, according to data released Wednesday.

A total of 189 students and staff at 41 K-12 school districts have been infected by coronavirus in new school-related outbreaks, according to data released Monday, April 26, by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Also on MLive:

Michigan coronavirus data for Wednesday, April 28: Newest COVID hotspot is West Michigan

COVID-19 vaccination clinics for students, parents coming to Washtenaw County schools

Kalamazoo school board votes in support of in-person learning this fall
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving former Houston Community College trustee Dave Wilson who alleges in a lawsuit that the school violated his constitutional rights.

Wilson, who served on HCCs board as a District II trustee for several years, filed a lawsuit in 2018 claiming the college violated his 1st and 14th Amendment rights after his fellow board members voted to censure him.

Board members said Wilson publicly criticized his colleagues votes and showed a lack of respect in the boards decision-making process.

During his time as trustee, Wilson lashed out at his colleagues and HCC administrators on issues ranging from the systems presence at an LGBT pride parade to the nursing school allegedly withholding diplomas from students. Trustees said he created a tumultuous environment that HCCs accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, noticed.

The case background: HCC trustee Dave Wilson censured

A U.S District Court judge dismissed the case in March 2019. Wilson later appealed in the 5th Circuit Court, which reversed the courts original judgment in July 2020.

The Houston Community College System then filed a petition in December 2020 seeking the Supreme Courts review of the district courts decision, arguing that a censure is a traditional form of government speech, an important tool of self-governance, and that the First Amendment does not protect an elected official from criticism, HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado said in a written statement. The high court granted the petition Monday .

It is our hope the Supreme Court will preserve the long-standing tool of censure because of its national importance to government institutions, Maldonado said.

Wilson said he was glad HCC petitioned the Supreme Court and was pleasantly surprised that the justices took on the case.

This is big time, Wilson said. Its quite an honor to have a case tried before the U.S. Supreme Court and Im pretty excited about it. It gives us a chance to get the granddaddy of (the courts) to weigh in on it and put the issue to bed.

Wilson predicts that this case could change how community colleges and higher education boards function and tackle free speech.

Wilson residency questions: Judge extends order keeping Wilson from HCC office

You always have to talk as one voice. They preach that, so thats basically saying that an individual trustee cant speak, Wilson said. I dont believe that. I believe I can express my different opinion and not be punished, retaliated against or attacked because my opinion is different than the majority opinion. I think thats what the case is going to hinge on.

Keith Gross, Wilsons attorney, said the case is expected to be heard during the courts fall session, likely in November.

Shaundra Kellam Lewis, a law professor at Texas Southern University, said the Supreme Court decision to review the circuit courts ruling when it only takes on about 100 cases a year is interesting but not surprising considering the conflict among circuit courts regarding the claim.

While the 5th Circuit ruled Wilson has a viable 1st Amendment claim, arguing that the boards censorship went beyond disapproval of his conduct, a 10th Circuit ruling would state that the boards censuring of Wilson was not a violation, Lewis said.

Were coming out of the Trump administration, when there was rancor and vitriol in political speech and what the conservatives called cancel culture, where people are penalized for unfavorable speech, Lewis said.

Josh Blackman, constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, said the free speech case is unique in that it involves people who were elected by the community. While government employees, like public service officials, are somewhat restricted by the government on what they can say, elected employees, like HCC board members, have more free speech rights, which are not subject to review by colleagues, but by the electorate  the people, Blackman added.

Both Lewis and Blackman predicted, however, that HCC will likely win the case.

Blackman said history shows that the Supreme Court typically reverses the decision of the lower court in the case of a petition. And Lewis said the Supreme Court will side with a majority of the other circuit court decisions that have addressed similar free speech cases.

HCC board members censured Wilson in early 2018, saying among other things, that he displayed conduct that was detrimental to Houston Community College Systems and its mission. The board members also said Wilson violated the colleges bylaws and that he did not interact with trustees in a mutually respectful manner.

That same year, trustees decided that Wilson was not eligible for travel-related expense reimbursements and would need board approval when requesting funding for community affairs programs for the 2017-2018 college year. They also determined he could not be elected for a board officer position in 2018, all of which Wilson said violated his rights, according to court documents.

The Supreme Court ruling is the most recent controversy in an ongoing saga between Wilson and HCC.

In 2013, Wilson, a white man, became the perennial candidate who gained nationwide attention when he won a predominately black district after leading voters to believe he was black.

I was exposing the wrongdoings on purchasing property, my disapproval of spending and being in Qatar, Wilson said. The board did not like the light shining on some of their questionable actions.

HCC campus in Qatar: Faulty planning may be to blame for HCC Qatar campuss problems

In 2017, he paid an outside investigator to probe the college, accused a colleague of violating board rules by casting a vote remotely, and accused another colleague of not living in her district. He was reprimanded by his colleagues in 2016, when then-board chair Adriana Tamez said he incurred nearly $273,000 in legal fees to the college over two years, a figure Wilson disputed.

Wilson said he also filed a lawsuit against HCC earlier in 2019 for building a campus in Katy, which is outside the colleges nine taxing districts.

brittany.britto@chron.com
Empress Royalty Corp (TSXV: EMPR- OTCQB: EMPYF) CEO and President Alexandra Woodyer Sherron joined Steve Darling from Proactive to discuss the recently closed and funded US$2M 2.25% royalty on the Manica gold project in Mozambique.

Woodyer Sherron discusses this milestone for Empress and the recently signed silver streaming agreement on s Tahuehueto Project in Mexico. She also shared with Proactive some recent appointments that she feels significantly strengthens the Empress Team.
NTU Novaturas Group financials for Q1 2021: restart of business

In the first quarter Novaturas group main focus was dedicated to the resumption of operations in all the core markets to which the Company have been intensively preparing. In fact, 2021 holiday season this year has started not in January as usual, but since February, when the first planes took off to Tenerife resorts. In February, after a year's break, the Company was the first in the market to resume flights to the most popular winter holiday destination - Egypt. Holiday destinations portfolio was supplemented by United Arab Emirates and Maldives.

The last month of the first quarter had the most significant impact on the first quarter results. In March, the group have served 6.4 thousand customers  18% more than in the corresponding period last year. Group revenue in March amounted to 4.1 million euros and was lower only by 6% than the same time last year. The overall results for January-March this year are still lower than in the same period last year due to the existing restrictions. Because of the pandemic, the holiday season started a month later, the ski season was canceled, the supply of exotic holiday destinations shrank to two countries. Despite all the restrictions applied to the tourism sector, the Company started 2021 holiday season with scheduled flight programs rather than separate flights, and in March even managed to increase activity volumes. Accelerating vaccination processes around the world, quick tourism sector adaptation to the new safe travelling reality, re-opening holiday destinations, the possibility of having so-called digital green certificate in the nearest future that will be valid in all the ES countries give optimism for the whole 2021 holiday season. Positive first quarter profitability ratios Throughout the past year, we have consistently adhered to crisis program and took strict costs control measures. The first quarter of this year was no exception and it benefited in reduced operating expenses by 63% (1.05 million euros) if compared to the same period in 2020. After eliminating the impact of commissions and one-time expenses, we have reduced operating expenses by 52% compared to the same period in 2020. Costs control, continuous and active collaboration with our partners abroad in ensuring competitive service prices, timely made decisions on resuming operations, taken leadership in being the first in the market to open safe holidays, and, of course, people's strong desire to travel - all these factors had a positive effect on first-quarter profitability ratios. Net profit reached 0.2 million this quarter, while in the same period in 2020 and 2019 we suffered a loss of 0.4 and 0.1 million euros, respectively. EBITDA ratio this quarter was also positive and amounted to 615 thousand euros, compared to a loss of 190 thousand euros in the same period last year. Even in 2019 reached EBITDA result was more modest and amounted to 83 thousand euros, says Audrone Keinyte, Head of Novaturas Group. The first quarter of this year was also marked by two significant events. In February, the Company has agreed with the State Investment Management Agency on a 10 million euros investment in Companys bonds. Funding is provided for a period of 6 years, after which Novaturas is committed to redeem the bonds. 10 million euros worth investment will reach the group using mixed financial instruments. Another important event  Novaturas group being one the firsts to have started refunding process for the trips that have been cancelled due to the pandemic - have successfully completed it in the first days of March. Group-wide the Company have refunded over 9.3 million euros to our travelers. 2021 holiday season is in full swing In April, after a gap year, the Company have resumed flights from all the Baltic countries to the most popular summer holiday destination - Turkey. From the middle of May flights to Greek islands of Crete, Rhodes and Corfu will be opened. Travelers are really looking forward for this popular summer holiday destination to be opened. Last year, when the restrictions have been lifted, Greece was the first country re-opened to our travelers, so they already had the chance to experience and test all the safety measures Greece government has taken upon to ensure their safe holidays. We are also planning flight programs to Bulgaria, Montenegro and Tunisia for the upcoming summer holiday season. Long-haul destinations of Seychelles, Bali or Maldives will also be available for our travelers this summer, A. Keinyte shares planned upcoming operations. Financial results of 3M 2021: 3M 2021 3M 2020 3M 2019 Revenue 5 571 23 363 28 806 Gross profit 1 617 2 535 3 559 EBITDA 615 -190 83 Net profit 191 -353 -148 About Novaturas Group AB Novaturas Group is the largest tour operator in the Baltic States, offering summer and winter package holidays in more than 30 destinations worldwide and more than 100 sightseeing routes. In 2019, the group served more than 293 thousand customers. CFO Tomas Staskunas tomas.staskunas@novaturas.lt, +370 687 10426
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipments and alcohol ecommerce sales hit an inflection point in 2020. With bars, restaurants, tasting rooms, and on-premises establishments severely limited, large numbers of consumers discovered the convenience of online ordering. Breweries and distilleries jumped into DTC for the first time, and alcohol marketplace sales soared.

In 2021, investors are looking to capitalize on these trends. For example, Uber announced plans to acquire Drizly for $1.1 billion and Vivino raised $155 million to accelerate their DTC mission. In March, Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits announced it was making an equity investment in ReserveBar, an ecommerce platform for premium and luxury spirits in the U.S. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the year brings.

The last year was busy in terms of legislation, regulation, and enforcement. Kentucky allowed DTC shipping by wineries, breweries, and distilleries for the first time. To ease the pain licensees experienced from the loss of business, many states introduced temporary measures to allow the sale and delivery of cocktails to go as well as other allowances for delivery of alcohol from licensed establishments. At the same time, states like Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Michigan, and California stepped up their auditing and enforcement of DTC shipments and local delivery of alcohol. We expect these enforcement trends to continue as ecommerce and DTC are subject to more scrutiny.



Over the coming years, we expect more and more states in the U.S. to modify their laws and regulations to allow and regulate the online sale of alcohol by suppliers, retailers, marketplaces, and delivery apps. On the international front, countries are increasingly adopting policies to collect tax revenues faster, with more transparency and less fraud via e-invoicing and live reporting requirements. Its likely only a matter of time before these trends start to emerge in the U.S. Fortunately, alcohol sellers could be better positioned for these potential changes than other industries because of their existing need to monitor real-time compliance prior to fulfillment.



For example, in Texas, each consumer can receive no more than 9 gallons of beverage alcohol in a given month, but only 36 gallons in any 12-month period; wineries can ship a maximum of 35,000 gallons into Texas on an annual basis. In Kentucky, where counties can be wet, dry, or moist (and some dry counties containing wet or moist precincts), alcohol cannot be shipped into dry areas.



Theres a lot to keep track of, and failure to comply with regulations can have dire consequences, like license revocation. Avalara Shipping Verification for Beverage Alcohol can help businesses successfully navigate the many pitfalls of alcohol tax compliance. It provides a simple yet scalable API, allowing alcohol sellers to determine whether transactions will be compliant prior to fulfillment.



Avalara Shipping Verification integrates seamlessly with any type of order management system, including ecommerce, wine club, subscription, point-of-sale, and reservation management systems. To see it in action today, check out the full-featured integrations with partners like Commerce7 and Bloom. Avalara Shipping Verification is also an easy add-on to existing AvaTax for Beverage Alcohol integrations with partners such as VineSpring, 360Winery, OrderPort, Spirits360, and Boxcheck. We also look forward to future integrations with committed partners like WineDirect, Vonnda, and CellarPass.



If youd like to learn more about Avalara Shipping Verification or AvaTax for Beverage Alcohol, please contact us for a live demo, come to Avalara CRUSH Virtual to see it in action, or reach out to your account manager if youre an existing Avalara customer.
ROME, APR 28 - The Milan-Bologna high-speed rail link has made an important contribution to halting the brain drain and helping the creative industry develop in the corridor between the two cities, especially in the provinces of Moderna and Reggio Emilia, according to initial results of a new study. The 'Imagine' study was conducted as part of the ESPON programme that specializes in the analysis of EU regional policies. The urban area along the Milan-Bologna corridor is at the centre of what is considered a new industrial triangle (with Padua at the top) that makes it unique in Europe for various reasons, Valeria Fedeli, an urban planning and policies lecturer at Milan Polytechnic (Politecnico di Milano) and the study's coordinator, told ANSA. "This area includes large and medium-sized cities of great economic power, industrial zones that are very close to each other and served by a corridor that is connected in part to Europe," added Fedeli, The opening of the Milan-Bologna high-speed rail line had several effects that were analysed by the researchers, going from the transformation of transport to the strengthening of the logistics sector. There has also been growth of creative industries, innovative SMEs and start-ups. "The high-speed rail link reduced distances and enabled cities such as Bologna and Reggio Emilia to hold on to talent and company headquarters," said Ilaria Mariotti, a lecturer in regional economics at Milan Polytechnic. This phenomenon was observed in particular in the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia. "Knowledge workers need face-to-face contact for the creation of innovation," added Mariotti . "The high-speed line enables them to go in a day to Milan, where many national and multinational companies have offices, to meet clients and suppliers, while they continue to live in cities such as Bologna and Reggio Emilia, where the quality of life is higher and the cost of living is lower". These dynamics are even more important in a time of pandemic. "Companies are investing in local branches to come closer to the worker's residence," said the lecturer. "This makes areas such as train stations sought-after areas for co-working and, more generally, for hybrid spaces that can host work meetings". (ANSA).
Nigeria is drifting towards another civil war because recent efforts to reform the government and deal with the corruption that crippled the military and local police showed some progress, but not enough to be effective. Calls for national unity in the face of all this are increasingly ignored as more criminal gangs emerge and threaten the oil industry in the south (Niger River Delta) as well as shipping off the coast. Piracy is growing because, as in Somalia, corruption and chaos on shore meant pirates could operate more freely. While the Nigerian pirates cannot take large ships and entire crews hostage, they can kidnap foreign officers commanding these ships and get large ransoms. Too many Nigerian political, police and military leaders are willing to cooperate for a large enough bribe.

In central and northern Nigeria, growing land and water disputes between Moslem Fulani herders and existing Christian and Moslem farmers continues to cause more deaths than Islamic terrorism.

Outside of Nigeria, the activities of Islamic terrorists in the north get most of the media attention. Up there Boko Haram Islamic terrorists survive for the same lack of effective police, soldiers and government administrators the entire nation suffers from. Now Boko Haram is moving south, heading for the national capital. That has the attention of corrupt legislators and state governors, but they have no quick fix for the approaching chaos.

Nationwide there is the threat of another civil war with irregular private armies forming religion and tribe-based coalitions and fighting for local control as well as the oil resources concentrated in a few southern states. This threat has existed for decades but the distant threat is now getting visibly closers.

Yet most of the violence is still concentrated in the three northeastern state where most of the mayhem has been taking place for a decade now. These three states have a population of 13 million (Borno; 5.5, Yobe; 3.1 and Adamawa; 4.3). Thats about seven percent of the national population that has endured well over half of religion-based violence of the last decade. There is some Boko Haram activity in other northern areas making Boko Haram a problem for nearly 20 million Nigerians. There are nearly as many people in neighboring countries who are still terrorized (although to a lesser extent) by Boko Haram and other Islamic terror groups like ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and al Qaeda. The security forces in these neighboring countries have proved more effective at dealing with Boko Haram, which remains mainly a Nigerian organization. Boko Haram has reorganized since it lost control of much territory in 2016-17. There are now two Boko Haram factions which do not fight each other, but do compete to carry out more attacks than each other. Both factions survive by looting and various criminal enterprises (mainly extortion and kidnapping).

What has the attention of most Nigerians is the oil, which has been the major export for decades and is concentrated in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers States. These three states are all in the Niger River Delta, an area that comprises about seven percent of Nigeria and 11 percent of the national population. Oil is responsible for 40 percent of economic activity and 80 percent of the central government budget. The rest of Nigeria is not going to support the three oil states becoming independent and will fight to prevent it.

April 27, 2021: President Buhari, in a teleconference with the American Secretary of State, asked for some immediate help in dealing with the growing chaos throughout Nigeria. The Americans responded favorably but vaguely, making no promises of specific assistance or when it might arrive.

Buhari is dealing with problems he inherited when he took office in 2015. Back then Boko Haram had taken control of many towns in the northeast (Borno State) during an offensive they began in 2014. Nigerian political leaders called for foreign military assistance, especially from NATO countries who had demonstrated their ability to handle similar situations in the Middle East. At that point the main obstacle to receiving such aid was the leadership of the Nigerian military, who would not even tolerate foreign military advisors. Some embassies had their military attaches (officers serving under diplomatic immunity) to informally advise and Nigerian senior officers, especially those who were openly hostile to foreign interference. The military attaches reported that the Nigerian military has a lot of bad habits and some very poor senior leaders. The elected leaders are a different story and accepted American and NATO offers of military advisors. The Nigerian military continued to block the use of foreign advisors. It was not just pride, but the Nigerian officers had a lot of hide like corruption, incompetence and poor leadership skills. All this was no secret as Western military personnel had encountered these problems when dealing with Nigerian troops on peacekeeping missions. In effect the politicians were calling for some competence in the fight against Boko Haram but faced resistance from their own military leaders as well as the Islamic terrorists.

All that changed in early 2015 Muhammadu Buhari won the presidential election by defeating an incumbent running for reelection. This was the first time this had ever happened in Nigerian history. Presidents running for reelection had never lost before, largely because of fraud and intimidation. Buhari, a former dictator (1983-5 when he was in his 40s), who was in turn overthrown by a 1985 coup by generals who did not agree with Buharis anti-corruption efforts. Buhari was put under house arrest for three years and retired from the military. All this made Buhari an enemy of corrupt military and civilian leaders but to most voters he was respected advocate for clean government and the suppression of corruption. Buhari is a Moslem, a retired army general, a Fulani and has come out strongly for suppressing Boko Haram and reforming the military. As a former general, Buhari had quietly monitored the situation in the military via first hand reports from former soldiers and officers as well as the few local journalists who reported on the sad state of military leadership. It was support like that enabled Buhari to enter politics in 2003 and build a political coalition that won more and more votes as Buhari stood for election to president several times before winning in 2015, and defeating considerable efforts by veteran politicians to rig the vote.

The election of Buhari was not well understood outside Africa but by 2016 the United States and France quietly became more active dealing with Islamic terrorism in countries north of Nigeria and with Nigeria itself. The Boko Haram violence and the threat of Iran-backed Shia terrorism caused Nigeria to ask the Americans and French for help in tracking the activity of Islamic terrorists throughout the region. The Americans and French have been sharing such intel with Nigeria while building a new airbase in Agadez, Niger that was 550 kilometers north of the Nigerian border. The U.S. was already operating UAVs from a Niger military base near the capital, Niamey. The new American airbase was closer to Chad, southern Libya and Nigeria, where American aerial surveillance was more in demand by the local governments. Agadez was to support armed UAVs as well. The U.S. continued to supply intelligence obtained by the Niger-based UAVs with Niger and other nations in the area that have intelligence sharing agreements. Agadez was the second American airbase in Africa and, like the first one, will be shared with France and other allies. In 2014 the U.S. signed another ten year lease for an airbase in Djibouti (the northwest neighbor of Somalia). U.S. forces in Africa were increased after Islamic terrorist resistance collapsed in Iraq in 2008 and the base became the command post for a network of American operations throughout Africa. Most of the effort was directed at monitoring what is going on in Somalia and Yemen as well as Eritrea, Nigeria, Mali, Libya, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The Americans were carrying out major military operations against local terrorists in some countries. The Djibouti base also supported operations throughout the Sahel, the semi-desert strip between the North African desert and the Central African jungles, which stretches from the Atlantic to Somalia.

In 2008 Africa Command (AFRICOM) was established to handle American military operations in Africa. AFRICOM was similar in organization to other commands (Central, or CENTCOM, for the Middle East, and South, or SOUTHCOM, for Latin America, etc). AFRICOM coordinates all American military operations in Africa. Before 2007 those operations were coordinated between two commands, the one covering Europe and the one covering Latin America. The establishment of AFRICOM meant more money for counter-terror operations in Africa, and more long-range projects. One thing most African nations wanted from AFRICOM was military and counter-terrorism trainers. The problem with this is that the people so trained are often then employed as enforcers for the local dictator. Even providing training for peacekeepers can backfire, for those peacekeeping skills can also be used to pacify your own people. This was seen as a problem in Nigeria as well, as long as there is so much corruption in the government and military. But at the same time the U.S. could not ignore the growing cooperation between Boko Haram and al Qaeda type organizations, especially those in northern Mali, which had become a new sanctuary for al Qaeda. Boko Haram was becoming part of the terrorist threat to the U.S. and the West.

In 2012 Nigeria asked for American help in dealing with Boko Haram and the commander of AFRICOM made it clear that Boko Haram was not going to be defeated by military action alone. If the U.S. provided major assistance to Nigeria, it will be via AFRICOM. Nigeria was OK with that but the continued corruption in the Nigerian military and government created domestic opposition to military aid in the United States. That was not overcome until 2016.

Buhari was already trying to reform the Nigerian military had knew that it was going to take time. Officers, and many lower-ranking soldiers had grown accustomed to doing what they pleased, and that generally led to more stealing than fighting Boko Haram. Buhari used the military effort against Boko Haram in the northeast, mainly Borno state. Since 2016 he has been relieving lots of senior officers who failed in Borno state and soon officers feared a transfer to Borno. More officers and enlisted troops were being prosecuted for corruption and enough progress was made to get him reelected to a second term. The 1999 Nigerian constitution limits a president to two terms because of the tendency of presidents to want to be "president-for-life." That part of the constitution has been respected. Buhari is 78 years old and not in the best of health. There are plenty of corrupt politicians waiting to replace him in 2023.

In early 2021 Buhari, responding to growing calls for better performance from the military, replaced the four most senior military commanders, including the heads of the army, navy and air force. Buhari has for several years kept replacing senior commanders in the north until he found officers who could be innovative and competent enough to reorganize the troops and reverse the string of defeats the soldiers were suffering. That was not enough because most of the military leadership remained riddled with corruption and incompetence. Fixing that was considered a long-term project and it was not assured that future presidents will keep it up. That led to the call for replacing the most senior commanders until ones could be found who would do what needed to be done. The new top commanders have been ordered to find and replace senior subordinates and Buhari hoped that would produce some quick results. It didnt.

Recently Buhari asked the United States to move the headquarters of AFRICOM from Germany to somewhere in Africa. Early on the U.S. sought an African nation willing to host the AFRICOM headquarters but found no takers. An AFRICOM headquarters would be a magnet for anti-American demonstrations and Islamic terrorist attacks. He did not offer Nigeria as a candidate in part because Boko Haram is on the offensive again and moving toward the national capital Abuja in central Nigeria. The Nigerian military is on its own defending Abuja because foreign African allies in the fight against Boko Haram are willing to operate on both sides of their borders with Nigeria but not any further. Since 2015 the MNJTF (Multi-National Joint Task Force) has proved very effective against Boko Haram and ISIL. The 8,700-man MNJTF force maintains bases and camps near Lake Chad in northern Borno state and concentrates on hunting down and killing Islamic terrorists. MNJTF has taken the lead in containing local ISIL groups and blocking the Islamic terrorist efforts to once more control territory in the region.

The increasing violence across the border in Borno state led to the creation of the MNJTF, which consists of troops from Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Benin and Nigeria. At first the MNJTF was used mainly inside Nigeria but by early 2017 MNJTF was spending most of its time clearing Boko Haram out of border areas, especially the Lake Chad coast. Each member country assigns some of their best troops to the MNJTF and the Boko Haram have suffered heavy losses trying to deal with the MNJTF. This played a role in the 2016 Boko Haram split that turned Boko Haram operating near Lake Chad into ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province). MNJTF concentrated more and more on the areas around Lake Chad and has been successful at curbing ISWAP operations there.

Neighboring Chad and Niger have also recently increased operations against Boko Haram, especially near Lake Chad, which all three nations border. The reason why there is so much Islamic terrorist activity near Lake Chad is because Boko Haram has quietly cut itself in for a large share of the income from the smoked fish and agricultural products from Lake Chad and coastal farms. Boko Haram charges fishermen and farmers taxes (extortion payments) to avoid being attacked by Boko Haram. This provides several million dollars a year, plus payments in kind (fish and crops) that keep Boko Haram operational. Since 2014 many fishing and farming families near Lake Chad have fled, leaving those who remain and pay tribute to Boko Haram, actually better off economically.

The 2021 Boko Haram offensive is not as bloody as the 2014 one and is aimed at Christian majority southern Nigeria. Christian political and religious leaders have warned that if the religious violence moved south and the government was incapable of handing it, there would be another civil war. Boko Haram has been homicidally anti-Christian and most of the Christians in Borno state have fled south since 2014.

Buhari is asking NATO for more than military advisors and weapons imports and NATO is not inclined to send troops. The problem in Nigeria is more than just an incompetent military. The national police force is in worse shape than the army. For over a year there have been nationwide protests against police corruption and misconduct. The immediate cause of this round of protests was the revelations about illegal, and often fatal for victims, SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) behavior. The government promised to deal with this problem but many protestors are unconvinced. Police misbehavior has been around for decades and survived multiple efforts to reform it. The government has to come up with something new to calm things down, especially since many of the protests have also pushed for a reduction in corruption and an increase in government competence. These issues are what got Boko Haram going in the north. At first Boko Haram was non-violent, but that changed when the security forces began killing large numbers of Boko Haram leaders and members.

By late 2020 37 SARS policemen were expelled from the national police and 24 of them were prosecuted. Many doubt that SARS will stay disbanded. SARS was created in 1992 to go after those responsible for the more outrageous forms of robbery, kidnapping and abuse of power in general. SARS was given wide powers to investigate and arrest suspects. Like the rest of the national police, SARS soon went bad and became notorious for extortion, false arrest, kidnapping and so on. SARS has already been purged and reformed many times but the current uproar was generated by a current scandal that triggered renewed interest in the many past SARS transgressions that were captured by cellphone photos and videos. While the nationwide demonstrations focused on SARS it was also about the similar depravity and corruption found throughout the security forces (police and military). Decades of popular protests have called for needed reforms. Politicians promise reforms but those reforms never happen. The popular attitude is that the government will allow the police to quietly reconstitute SARS, probably under a different name.

SARS is but one small part of the 360,000 strong national police, which is itself larger than the 310,000 strong armed forces. SARS, and similar specialist units, were formed since the 1990s to create less corrupt specialist police who would be more reliable in dealing with specific problems. These specialist units were supposed to be monitored more closely to keep the corruption in check. Since there were SARS detachments in each of the states, there were differences and in some states the SARS unit was less corrupt than other SARS units as well as the police as a whole. Its the violently corrupt SARS units that get the most attention. Such bad behavior is common throughout the national police and several major reform efforts over the last three decades have failed to solve the problem. In part this is because corruption is so pervasive and entrenched throughout Nigeria, especially among politicians and government employees.

April 26, 2021: In the north a coalition of 52 political and religious groups called on all Nigerians to support independence for the Igbo people in the south. This group was doing what has long been forbidden, openly partitioning Nigeria. In the southeast (Imo, Enugu and Anambra states) Igbo separatists are organizing armed militias and threatening to expel Moslems recently arrived from the north, by force if necessary. This is another escalation in Igbo efforts to gain autonomy, if not a separate state. This movement has been around for over half a century and is commemorated every May 30th by a growing number of Igbos who have not forgotten the 1967 war for Igbo independence. This is all about reminding the Nigerian government that the Igbo are still a force to reckon with. Biafra Day is increasingly visible, especially in in urban areas and major cities in the region like Port Harcourt. IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) is the main organizer of public, and sometimes violent, demonstrations in support of Biafra.

The Biafra separatist rebellion in the south is not only returned but is also resisting suppression. During 2017 there were several hundred arrests related to the Biafra demonstrations and other pro-independence activity. That simply made Igbos angrier. For 2018 police were ordered to deal with the protests and unrest carefully and avoid bloodshed. Someone in government apparently remembers that the original 1967 rebellion began because in 1966 over 40,000 Igbo in the north were murdered by Fulani groups after a much smaller number of Moslems were killed. The subsequent Biafra rebellion did not end until 1970 and left more than a million Igbo dead. Yet the Igbo remain a major force in Nigeria, comprising nearly a fifth of the population and dominating even more of the economy. This is particularly resented in the Moslem north, where the Igbo returned in greater numbers since 1970 and are now a key part of the northern economy and, as Christians, a favorite target of Boko Haram.

Partly in response to the Boko Haram violence the Igbo separatist movement was revived in 2015 and at first the government ordered police to crack down. By 2016 nearly 200 Igbo had been killed by police attacks on demonstrators and anyone suspected of separatist activity. The violent response was obviously making it worse and after 2018 a gentler approach was tried.

The pro-Biafra separatists have been around and increasingly active since the 1990s. Back in the 1960s the Igbo (or Ibo) people of southeastern Nigeria considered establishing a separate Igbo state called Biafra. A brutal war followed before the separatist movement was crushed and the Igbo were warned not to try it again. Separatist attitudes were silenced but not extinguished. Pro-Biafra groups began to appear again in the late 1990s, trying to revive the separatist movement. Since then, over a thousand separatists have been killed, and many more imprisoned, while the government continues to insist that Biafra is gone forever. But as details of the extent of government corruption during the last few decades came out, Biafra again seemed like something worth fighting for. Senior government officials, including president Buhari, are paying attention and seeking to work out a compromise with the Igbos. The Fulani are less amenable to any compromise, especially since the Fulani are Moslem and consider themselves defenders of Islam against non-believers like the Christian Igbo.

In response IPOB has formed an armed security component, the ESN (Eastern Security Network), to defend Igbos in Imo State from Fulani and government violence. The government has responded by sending a battalion of infantry to an area thought to be a base for ESN members. This was unpopular with the locals as Nigerian soldiers are notorious for their violent behavior. These troops had been ordered to behave but that proved difficult for them to so in the face of Igbo contempt and hostility.

April 25, 2021: In the south (Rivers state in the Niger River Delta) unidentified gunmen carried out two attacks on checkpoints, leaving eight soldiers and policemen dead. Over the last few years Rivers state has become the base area for criminal gangs the raid ships offshore, carrying away portable valuables and kidnapping foreigners, usually officers, for ransom. On land the gangs seek to kidnap foreign oil workers. This sort of thing has become common throughout the Niger River Delta oil producing region. Toe days later the state governor the governor declared a night time curfew at state border crossings to the adjacent states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Imo. This is in response to attacks on security personnel two days ago by gunmen believed to be from adjacent states.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 10:00:24|Editor: huaxia

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Arial photo taken on Aug. 5, 2019 shows the view of Sukkur-Multan Motorway in central Pakistan's Multan. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

Business-to-business joint ventures are intrinsic to the success of CPEC and the special economic zones, and the Pakistan's Board of Investment will extend full support to Chinese investors for successful materialization of their projects in Pakistan, said a Pakistani official.

ISLAMABAD, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Pakistani officials and businessmen on Tuesday discussed ways to advance business-to-business (B2B) matchmaking in textile industry under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Khashih ur Rehman, executive director general of Pakistan's Board of Investment (BOI), said during a webinar that the event will help in advancing B2B ties under CPEC industrial cooperation.

The CPEC industrial cooperation textile B2B webinar was co-organized by BOI, China Council for International Investment Promotion (CCIIP) and China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC). It was attended by senior officials and textile entrepreneurs from Pakistan and China.

"To facilitate B2B matchmaking, the BOI is working on the development of an online B2B portal which will assist potential domestic and foreign investors and serve as a one-stop database of available public and private sector investment projects," Rehman said.

While appreciating the overwhelming support from the CNTAC and China's Ministry of Commerce, Secretary of BOI Fareena Mazhar called for enhanced B2B matchmaking between the Pakistani and Chinese textile enterprises.

Laborers work in a garment factory in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Nov. 27, 2019. (Str/Xinhua)

"Owing to the sector's financial gains, many international companies including Chinese enterprises are already operational in the country," she said.

Project Director of the Project Management Unit of the BOI Asim Ayub said that B2B joint ventures are intrinsic to the success of CPEC and the special economic zones, and the BOI will extend full support to Chinese investors for successful materialization of their projects in Pakistan.

On the occasion, CNTAC deputy director Xu Yingxin called for enhancing industrial cooperation between China and Pakistan under CPEC, especially in the textile sector.

In addition to analyzing the textile sector of both countries and discussing the investment opportunities, notable textile companies from both sides also presented their projects requiring cooperation and held discussions for potential matchmaking. 
New Delhi: A number of cases are being reported from the country day in and day out. The news spread like fire in the area that a woman named Shaina had been shot dead by a man, as well as her servant Shahadat. The police who reached the spot noticed that Shayna had died on the spot while her injured servant was admitted to the hospital.

As soon as the people in the area could not believe that Shayna's panic had been killed by her fourth husband Wasim. While the martyrdom present with him is undergoing treatment at the hospital. Police got to see through CCTV from the spot that Wasim had two pistols and was constantly firing at Shayna. Meanwhile, When Shayna's servant came to rescue in the middle, Wasim shot her too.

The same question is, who is Shayna after all? Why did Shayna's fourth husband shoot her? Shaina dominated the drug world. In fact, 29-year-old Shayna had 4 marriages so far. Her first and second husband had left her and gone to Bangladesh. After which Shayna married Sharafat Sheikh, considered the king of the drug business in Delhi, for the third time. Also known as 'Drug Lord' in Delhi-NCR. Sharafat Sheikh has more than 30 cases registered in his criminal history like NSA, NDPS. Sharafat Sheikh, who has great influence in the drug world, was so afraid of the region that even the police refrained from putting in a bribe. With age, Sharafat needed a partner, a flamboyant partner, so she married Shayna. Shortly after the wedding, Delhi Police arrested Sharafat under the NDPS Act and sent him to jail.

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Construction on Bethlehems high-profile Polk Street parking deck was slated to start in late 2020, but then the coronavirus pandemic struck in March.

First the pandemic upended the Bethlehem Parking Authoritys finances, and then the 777-space Walnut Street parking garage needed costly emergency repairs, compounding the financial strain.

The proposed garages extended limbo finally ended Wednesday afternoon when the Bethlehem Parking Authority board voted to revive plans for a 593-space deck that was estimated in 2020 to cost $19.4 million.

Bethlehem Mayor Bob Donchez sees the garage as a crucial component of the ongoing resurgence of East Third Street and notes demand is only growing. Developer Lou Pektor is pitching a mixed-use apartment building across the street. Peron Developments ready to start the environmental cleanup of the Bethlehem Steel General Office building east annex.

That area needs a garage for the development that is happening, said Lynn Collins Cunningham, a parking authority board member. It is vital that we have this garage.

Authority attorney Jim Broughal noted the agency risks losing $2.5 million in state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) funding if it delays the project. Back in August, the board authorized the issuances of up to a $25 million private bank loan to fund the project.

The authority already selected Peron Development and J.G. Petrucci Co. to construct a five-story building to front the parking garage. It was to include 32 luxury apartments on the top floors and a Factory LLC retail store on the first floor.

The Bethlehem Parking Authority selected Peron Development's $6.4 million pitch for 32 luxury apartments with The Factory Retail on the first floor.Courtesy Peron Development

Bethlehem Parking Authority Executive Director Steven Fernstrom emphasized the importance of securing lease agreements with Northampton Community College, Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts and other interested users. Parking demand is even higher than it was pre-pandemic, Donchez said.

The viability of Polk Street hinged on the future of the 45-year-old Walnut Street parking deck. The garage is rapidly deteriorating and consultant Desman Design Management advised it needed $800,000 in emergency repairs to remain open. The authority in March opted to get a second opinion and hired THA Consultants to study the condition of Walnut Street and issue an emergency repair plan, something Desman was already undertaking.

The authority board voted unanimously to go with THAs recommended $1.5 million life support plan for Walnut Street, which extends the life of the garage roughly five years by investing just enough to keep it safely open. This is significantly cheaper than the $12.6 million in repairs Desman recommended over the next five years. Keeping Walnut Street open another 20 years would cost $18.1 million, THA estimates.

Given the garages condition and the sites redevelopment opportunities, the five-year repair plan is the right choice, said Kevin Carrigan, of THA. He likened it to Eastons approach  THA also works with that Lehigh Valley city  to the Pine Street garage, which will come down when a new North Fourth Street garage is finished.

Bethlehems Polk Street plan buys time to study how best to deal with Walnut Street. City and authority officials are leaning towards replacing the aging garage because it prevents a rare opportunity to fully redesign a core block in the historic Center City. It is estimated that a new garage could be built on 60% of the current footprint, which spans a city block.

Donchez calls the opportunity a game changer that, in concert with the planned redevelopment of the Boyd Theatre into a 14-story luxury apartment, could really help extend the Historic Downtown.

The authority has been weighing repairing or razing the aging garage for some time, but Walnuts rapidly deteriorating condition brought it to the forefront ahead of Polk Street.

When the authority terminated its contract, Desman was in the midst of a study analyzing the cost, impact and financial feasibility of tearing down Walnut and replacing it. In September 2020, Desman told the authority that it could cost $12 million to $14 million over the next 15 years to maintain the garage that was built in 1976.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.
British youngsters are shunning Facebook for video-based social media sites such as TikTok and Snapchat, with some teenagers spending 15 hours a day accessing social media on their phones, a new report has revealed.

Facebook is by far the world's largest social media site, with over 2.7billion users world-wide.

But less than a third of British youngsters aged 17 and under, surveyed in a new report by Ofcom, said they used the platform.

And those who did said they used it for other reasons than keeping in touch with their friends - such as talking to extended family members or selling items on Facebook Marketplace.

Meanwhile, almost all of the youngsters surveyed said they used Snapchat - a short video messaging service.

Instagram, a picture and video based social media site that is also owned by Facebook, was the next most popular, followed by Chinese video platform TikTok.

But Facebook itself ranked fourth, in line with Twitch - a live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming - and Discord - a chat service primarily used by young gamers.

The survey was carried out as part of a wider Ofcom report into consumption of media by children in England.

The report, published today, chronicles the online lives of 18 children ranging from ages 9 to 17 during the third national lockdown in England.

Less than a third of British teenagers aged 17 and under surveyed in a new report by Ofcom said they used Facebook. Snapchat was the most popular, followed by Instagram and TikTok

Almost all of the youngsters surveyed said they used Snapchat - a short video messaging service

It found all but one had a smartphone, most had access to a laptop and more than half had access to a television or games console.

In one of the most shocking aspects of the report, it found one 17-year-old was clocking an average of 15 hours a day on his mobile.

Of that, the majority of his time was spent on 'Yubo' - a less well known French social networking app which promotes itself as a place to 'meet new people and 'create a sense of community'.

'I get up at 2pm... and play Xbox until 2am': Life of typical British teenagers during lockdown is revealed in Ofcom report A teenager has revealed his shocking daily routine in a new report by Ofcom. The 16-year-old, named only as Jack, told the watchdog he regularly wakes up at 2pm on a weekday. The 16-year-old, named only as Jack, told the watchdog he regularly wakes up at 2pm on a weekday He then revealed he plays Xbox and scrolls through social media with very little break right through until 2am in the morning. He told Ofcom he was training to be a mechanic at college before the Covid pandemic. But he said he became disengaged when the classes moved online again in the third national lockdown in England. Despite enjoying his gaming activities and using it as an opportunity to speak to his friends, he told Ofcom he saw these activities as a way to simply 'fill time' and repeatedly used the word 'addictive' to describe his behaviours on these platforms. Advertisement

Another 16-year-old clocked a weekly average screen time of 10 hours, mostly on Snapchat and TikTok, while one 16-year-old girl was spending around 8 hours a day on social media.

One 14-year-old was found to be spending an average of eight hours a day - with an average of two hours a day being spent on TikTok.

Videos on TikTok are no longer than 60 seconds, and are often shorter - with an average clip lasting 15 seconds.

That means the teenager could have consumed almost 500 videos in those two hours.

And in another worrying trend, the report highlighted 'multi-screening', where children use multiple devices at once - such as watching TV while on a phone or laptop.

Screen time data collecting from one schoolboy showed he was using his phone while on his laptop for home learning - with schools closed due to the national lockdown in England's third national lockdown earlier this year.

The data shows that, even within school hours (9am-4pm), the teenager was using his phone to talk to his friends on Snapchat or to scroll through videos on TikTok.

Other issues flagged included the amount of time spent on video games. The report highlighted one boy, aged 17, whose college life had been heavily disrupted due to Covid.

He had been studying to become a mechanic at college, but stopped engaging with online classes during the third national lockdown.

The report found his typical day would involve waking up at 1pm, playing games on his Xbox and scrolling through social media throughout the day, and then going to bed at 2am.

Meanwhile, the report found children remained disengaged from TV and radio news, and were mostly consuming it 'passively' via social media - in that they were not actively searching out news reports.

Many of the children said they picked up knowledge about the world through their Snapchat 'Explore' feed and viral videos on TikTok.

One youngster said he relied on his mother for news, saying: 'I don't really watch the news much, I just hear it from my mum and she will know if the news is real or fake so I just listen to what she says.'

However others feared the information they were getting from social media was causing things such as vaccine hesitancy.

In one of the most shocking aspects of the report, it found one 17-year-old was clocking an average of 15 hours a day on his mobile. Pictured: Ofcom asked youngsters to send in screenshots of their screen time

The report chronicles the online lives of 18 children ranging from ages 9 to 17 during the third national lockdown in England. It found all but one had a smart phone and most had access to a laptop

One girl, aged 17, said: 'Don't get me wrong I have seen some stuff about the vaccine and me personally I don't want it.

'I don't trust it in the slightest and I do think a lot of that is because of my social media but me obviously I make my own decisions and when I've thought about what social media is saying to me about it, then it does come across as correct.'

Ofcom also found that, despite being connected with friends online, that youngsters felt increasingly lonely in lockdown.

The youngsters said that although they could keep in touch with friends or family through gaming and social media, they did not consider this to be an adequate replacement for seeing people they were close to in person.

One said: 'It has been quite difficult  it's been very lonely It is really, really, really, lonely.

'Even when you do Facetime people and stuff it's not the same, you don't feel like you've got somebody there.

'When you're feeling down, you don't feel like you've got somebody there.'

The report also highlighted that several children had seen harmful content online, including self-harm videos or acts of violence.

Ofcom, the UK's broadcasting regulator, is set to become Britain's first online watchdog later this year.

The new role will see Ofcom place a legal 'duty of care' on online services to protect users from illegal material on sites such as YouTube.

The regulator will be tasked with deciding whether firms have breached the agreement and whether to issues fines or legal action as punishment.

According to reports in the Financial Times in February, the role is set to be temporary until a full organisation is set up.

Commenting on the report, Andy Burrows, Head of Child Safety Online Policy at the NSPCC, told MailOnline: 'Ofcom's report shows the scale of harm children face online and how this is sharply increased for those who could be considered vulnerable.

'Tech firms should be preparing for upcoming legislation by making changes to the design of their sites so they are safe for all children while also recognising that not all young users are the same and some are at greater risk of avoidable harm.

'The Online Safety Bill can hardwire children's safety into platforms' design choices if Government gives Ofcom the agility to investigate firms and the power to hold named directors responsible for failures in their Duty of Care that put children at risk.'

Children switch-off the box for prank videos online: Four to 15-year-olds watch 11 hours of steamed shows on YouTube and Netflix every week compared with less than seven on TV

By James Robinson for MailOnline

Children stuck at home during the Covid pandemic watched more programmes on Youtube and Netflix than they did on television, a new report has revealed.

For the first time ever, streaming services toppled traditional broadcast television in the children's show market.

On average, children age four to 15 watched around seven hours a week of programmes on television - down roughly an hour from the year before.

Meanwhile, the use of streaming services exploded during lockdown, going from an average of just under eight hours a week to 11 hours a week in 2020.

However children did still tune in for big TV events, including BBC's Christmas Day special Zog and the Flying Doctors - which was the most watched television broadcast in 2020, according to the new report by Ofcom.

Spirit Riding Free - an acclaimed computer-animated series about a young girl and her horse Spirit - Carmen Sandiego - a cartoon about a young female master thief - and Pokemon - a Japanese anime set in a magical world of battling monsters - all proved popular on Netflix.

And on Youtube, children most enjoyed watching funny videos, jokes, pranks, and challenges.

Children stuck at home during the Covid pandemic watched more programmes on Youtube and Netflix than they did on television, a new report has revealed. Pictured: Library image of a family watching television

For the first time ever, streaming services such as Netflix (pictured: Library image) toppled traditional broadcast television in the children's show market

However children did still tune in for big TV events, including BBC's Christmas Day special Zog and the Flying Doctors (pictured) - which was the most watched television broadcast in 2020, according to the new report by Ofcom

Music videos and gaming tutorials were also among the most watched videos on Youtube by children aged four to 15.

The data comes from a new set of reports - released annually by Ofcom - into the media habits of children and adults.

The report, which surveyed 8,000 children under 16, found a huge spike in children viewing videos online during the Covid pandemic.

Children were twice as likely to watch TV programmes on video-on-demand (VoD) than live TV.

Almost all children (96 per cent) watched any type of VoD compared to just over half (56 per cent) watching live TV.

Average viewing time for online streaming also spiked by 44 per cent, from seven hours and 49 minutes in 2019 to 11 hours and 19 minutes in 2020.

Average viewing time for traditional TV dropped from 12 hours a week in 2015 to seven hours last in 2020.

According to some of those surveyed by Ofcom, the on-demand nature of streaming services was behind the big switch.

Average viewing time for online streaming also spiked by 44 per cent, from seven hours and 49 minutes in 2019 to 11 hours and 19 minutes in 2020. Average viewing time for traditional TV dropped from 12 hours a week in 2015 to seven hours last in 2020

One child surveyed, Ben, aged 13, said: 'I don't even know the last time I watched live TV. Probably not since the first lockdown.'

Another, Jack, aged 16, said he enjoyed streaming services because they allowed him to watch shows in 'binges' - where someone watches consecutive episodes back-to-back.

He said: 'I'm not sure what I like about it, it is just one of those things that is addictive. You just watch episode after episode.'

The survey work, which was largely carried out during winter lockdown in England, also looked into children's use of YouTube.

Ofcom's media literacy research found that YouTube was the most-used video-sharing platform among children aged five to 15 for watching content in 2020 (87 per cent).

And research by CHILDWISE highlights YouTube's sizeable presence in children's daily lives.

In total, 58 per cent of children said that they used YouTube every day, spending on average almost two and a half hours a day doing so.

But while use of YouTube was consistent across ages, TikTok (65 per cent), Instagram (65 per cent), Facebook (50 per cent) and Snapchat (53 per cent) were more likely to be used by 12-15s.

Speaking about Chinese video platform, TikTok, which has seen a huge popularity boom in lockdown, one child who was surveyed said: 'You go on it for five minutes, and then you end [up] scrolling for two hours.

On Youtube, children most enjoyed watching funny videos, jokes, pranks, and challenges. Music videos and gaming tutorials were also among the most watched videos on Youtube by children aged four to 15

The report, which surveyed 8,000 children under 16, found a huge spike in children viewing videos online during the Covid pandemic

'It's just addictive  once you get scrolling you just keep on doing it  I don't know what it is about it.'

Meanwhile, according to the findings, almost half of children said they watched vloggers or YouTube influencers.

This was more likely among 8-11s (47 per cent) and 12-15s (49 per cent) than among younger children aged 5-7 (34 per cent).

According to The Insights Family, the choice of vlogger varied by gender; KSI and PewDiePie were the favoured among the older boys (aged 12-15), while Zoella was the clear favourite among girls this age.

The report comes as Ofcom, the UK's broadcasting regulator, is set to become Britain's first online watchdog.

The new role will see Ofcom place a legal 'duty of care' on online services to protect users from illegal material on sites such as YouTube.

The regulator will be tasked with deciding whether firms have breached the agreement and whether to issues fines or legal action as punishment.

According to reports in the Financial Times in February, the role is set to be temporary until a full organisation is set up.
[April 28, 2021] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, a Leading Securities Fraud Law Firm, Announces Investigation of Pinterest, Inc. (PINS) on Behalf of Investors

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM"), a leading national shareholder rights law firm, today announced that it has commenced an investigation on behalf of Pinterest, Inc. ("Pinterest" or the "Company") (NYSE: PINS) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of the federal securities laws. If you suffered a loss on your Pinterest investments or would like to inquire about potentially pursuing claims to recover your loss under the federal securities laws, you can submit your contact information at https://www.glancylaw.com/cases/pinterest-inc/. You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at shareholders@glancylaw.com to learn more about your rights. On April 27, 2021, after the market closed, Pinterest announced its first quarter 2021 financial results and reported that global monthly active users grew only 30% year-over-year to 478 million, a decline from the prior quarter's 37% year-over-year growth. During the conference call held the sae day, Pinterest's Chief Executive Officer stated that "[a]s pandemic lockdowns were eased in some parts of the world during mid-March, we began to see signs of less engagement and user growth on Pinterest."



On this news, the Company's stock price fell as much as 14% during intraday trading on April 28, 2021, thereby injuring investors. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

Whistleblower Notice: Persons with non-public information regarding Pinterest should consider their options to aid the investigation or take advantage of the SEC (News - Alert) Whistleblower Program. Under the program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Charles H. Linehan at 310-201-9150 or 888-773-9224 or email shareholders@glancylaw.com. About GPM Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP is a premier law firm representing investors and consumers in securities litigation and other complex class action litigation. ISS Securities Class Action Services has consistently ranked GPM in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report. In 2018, GPM was ranked a top five law firm in number of securities class action settlements, and a top six law firm for total dollar size of settlements. With four offices across the country, GPM's nearly 40 attorneys have won groundbreaking rulings and recovered billions of dollars for investors and consumers in securities, antitrust, consumer, and employment class actions. GPM's lawyers have handled cases covering a wide spectrum of corporate misconduct including cases involving financial restatements, internal control weaknesses, earnings management, fraudulent earnings guidance and forward looking statements, auditor misconduct, insider trading, violations of FDA regulations, actions resulting in FDA and DOJ investigations, and many other forms of corporate misconduct. GPM's attorneys have worked on securities cases relating to nearly all industries and sectors in the financial markets, including, energy, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, real estate and REITs, financial, insurance, information technology, health care, biotech, cryptocurrency, medical devices, and many more. GPM's past successes have been widely covered by leading news and industry publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Reuters (News - Alert), the Associated Press, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes, and Money. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005981/en/

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28)  The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will prohibit the distribution of certain items in community pantries under new guidelines.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Ano said while the agency will not require pantry organizers to secure permits, it will set some limits as to what they can and cannot do in handing out donations to the public.

"'Yung ipinagbabawal natin ang mga bagay-bagay na ilegal katulad ng mga alcoholic beverages at cigarettes," Ano told a virtual briefing Wednesday. "Hindi 'yan maganda sa kalusugan so hindi natin papayagang maisama yan dito sa community pantry."

[Translation: We will ban illegal items like alcoholic beverages and cigarettes. Those are not good for one's health, so we won't allow them to be included in these community pantries.]

There were reports of a community pantry in Antipolo offering soju, an alcoholic drink from South Korea.

Interior officials also said the rules regarding the involvement of local government units (LGUs) and pantry organizers will be detailed in a memorandum to be issued this week.

The DILG will instruct LGUs to identify where community pantries should be set up to ensure these will be closer to residents in dire need of help. The pantries have sprouted nationwide within a number of days as people hoped to provide food and basic necessities to those struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Ano warned community pantries unable to enforce social distancing and other minimum health protocols while handing out goods will be shut down.

"We will require the close coordination between the organizer and the LGU because I don't think the organizer will be able to implement the health standards if people started to consolidate and converge," he said.

RELATED: What to do when cops approach your community pantry

"Ayaw na nating mauulit 'yung nangyari na na-violate ang physical distancing tapos meron pang nasawi sapagkat mayroong senior na nagpunta doon [We don't want a repeat of the incident where physical distancing was violated and a senior citizen died while lining up]," Ano added, referring to last week's incident involving the community pantry hosted by actress Angel Locsin.

Ahead of the DILG's rules, Maginhawa community pantry founder Ana Patricia Non implemented major changes in their day-to-day operations and converted the space into a drop-off point for all donations, which they will then distribute to about 20 community pantries in nearby barangays.

Their goal is to broaden their reach while limiting crowds waiting to get free food.

The DILG on Wednesday also signed a joint memorandum circular with the Anti Red-Tape Authority banning LGUs from collecting additional illegal fees and taxes for the transport of goods. The policy is expected to facilitate the smoother delivery of donations to and from community pantries.

READ: What the community pantry movement means for Filipinos
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo lifted several restrictions pertaining to restaurants, catered events, gyms and offices on Wednesday, the same day the state legislatures scheduled a vote to suspend other restrictions.

Restaurant patrons will be able to eat and drink outdoors past 12 a.m. beginning on May 17 and beginning indoors on May 31.

As for catered affairs, the 1 a.m. curfew will be lifted on May 17 for events where all attendees have either been vaccinated or provided proof of a negative coronavirus (COVID-19) test. The curfew will be lifted for all other catered events on May 31.

Dancing at catered events will be permitted on May 3, Cuomo said, following guidance from neighboring states and replacing fixed dance zones for each table with social distancing and masks.

People wishing to throw in-residence parties with more than 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors will be allowed so long as the events are staffed by a professional, licensed caterer.

Also pertaining to food and beverage, Senate Democrats are scheduled to vote to suspend a measure that requires patrons to purchase food while theyre drinking alcohol.

However, patrons will be able to sit at a bar again beginning on May 3.

Cuomo said the decision to lift the restriction is the result of lowered positivity rates that are the direct result of disciplined behavior and vaccination efforts.

Everything weve been doing is working - all the arrows are pointing in the right direction and now were able to increase economic activity even more. Lifting these restrictions for restaurants, bars and catering companies will allow these businesses that have been devastated by the pandemic to begin to recover as we return to a new normal in a post-pandemic world, Cuomo said.

To be clear: we will only be able to maintain this progress if everyone gets the COVID vaccine. It is the weapon that will win the war and we need everyone to take it, otherwise we risk going backward, he continued.

Additionally, offices will be permitted to increase capacity from 50% to 75% on May 15.

The governor said gyms and fitness centers could increase from 33% to 50% capacity across the state with the exception of New York City where capacities must remain at 33%.

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After a decade of work by Florida wildlife advocates and conservationists, both houses of the legislature unanimously passed the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act to protect the state's interior greenways that are vital to animal migration.

Why it matters: The act, which has broad support from communities, ranchers, farmers and environmentalists, secures access to habitats for a range of wildlife, including the endangered Florida panther, and stops the division and fragmentation of critical migration lands.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

It'll put $300 million specifically toward protecting the Florida Wildlife Corridor, plus another $100 million for the Florida Forever land conservation program.

The cash will also protect the headwaters of major watersheds, like the Everglades and St. Johns Rive, and help sustain working farms, lands and forests.

What they're saying: "The overwhelming bipartisan support speaks to the shared commitment for conserving Floridas land and water, and the Act itself provides a clear framework for achieving a lasting conservation legacy," said Carlton Ward, Jr., a National Geographic Explorer, photographer and founder of the Path of the Panther initiative.

What's next: It'll take effect on July 1 if signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

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[April 28, 2021] Kidney Cancer Association Uses Secure AI Labs to Fast-track Cancer Research with Federated Learning

Secure AI Labs (SAIL), the healthcare data security company offering a secure, easy-to-manage, and auditable solution to track and trace the use of patient data in collaborative research, is pleased to announce its partnership with the Kidney Cancer Association (KCA) to provide federated learning and data security technologies for the KCA's Data Federation. The KCA will leverage SAIL's platform to make use of critical medical data from hospitals around the country while maintaining patient privacy. The resulting research has the potential for unprecedented breakthroughs in kidney cancer treatment and care that will make a meaningful difference to patients and their families. "When it comes to accessing patient registries and other health information, privacy and security is key," said SAIL CEO Anne Kim. "By using our secure federated learning platform, KCA is able to query medical data across the country without direct data access. That keeps patient information protected while also giving more statistical power to researchers in their efforts to find a cure for kidney cancer." Currently, much of this medical data is housed in many hospitals and the process of collecting and analyzing information is time- and labor-intensive. Unlike traditional data registries, SAIL offers hospitals the digital rights management platform to maintain full ownership and control of their data while conducting research, federated machine learning, and other analyses. The KCA Data Federation will give more researchers a chance to access a larger, more diverse set of data from these disparate institutions quickly and compliantly with SAIL's platform, which will speed up the research process. "SAIL's novel approach to medical data access combined with a mutual passion for advancing science in ways that benefits people with cancer made them a perfect partner for our journey into a new era of kidney cancer research," said the KCA's Medical Director Sallie McAdoo, MS, CGC. This model could bring to light never-before-seen trends and patterns in kidney cancer that identify people who are more susceptible to developing kidney cancer, for example, or who might respond well to a specific treatment. This is particularly important among people with uncommon kidney cancer subtypes, where existing research is sparse and fo whom treatment options are limited. The KCA is currently reaching out to hospitals to collaborate as part of the Data Federation, which is anticipated to launch in 2022.



Advances like immunotherapy and targeted therapies have resulted in major survival benefits for some kidney cancer patients but most are still being left behind. Only about 25-40% of patients respond to these treatment options and toxic side effects mean they may not tolerate treatment for long. Additionally, there is still room for improvement in the areas of screening and earlier detection. The incidences of kidney cancer are still on the rise despite years of traditional research. "Despite tremendous advances in the past few decades, many kidney cancer patients don't respond to treatment and are counting on research breakthroughs to ensure longer, better lives," said Sallie. "The KCA's Data Federation aims to solve key issues of data quantity and quality facing kidney cancer researchers. We're excited to have SAIL's technology expertise aid our efforts to lead the way in finding a cure for kidney cancer."

About Secure AI Labs: Secure AI Labs (SAIL) offers a secure, easy-to-manage & auditable solution for hospitals to track and trace the usage of their patient data. Using the Secure AI Labs platform, data never leaves hospital firewalls but still enables scalable collaboration. Hospitals are ensured that the data is safe, and researchers can innovate faster than ever. For more information, please visit https://secureailabs.com/, and follow @secureailabs on Twitter and LinkedIn About the Kidney Cancer Association The Kidney Cancer Association is a global community dedicated to serving and empowering patients and caregivers, and leading change through advocacy, research, and education in order to be the universal leader in finding the cure for kidney cancer. Founded in 1990 by Eugene P. Schonfeld and a small group of patients and doctors in Chicago, Illinois, the KCA has grown into an international non-profit organization based in Houston, Texas. The KCA promotes scientific advances through two annual research symposiums and a robust grant program, participates in legislative advocacy, and seeks to be a source of education and resources for patients, caregivers, and anyone impacted by kidney cancer. For more information, visit www.kidneycancer.org and follow the KCA on Twitter and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005675/en/

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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/28/2021



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

stars Erik Lake and Virginia Coombs aren't getting to the root of their problems, according to their co-stars Clara Berghaus and Jacob Harder During the April 21 episode of : Unfiltered, Clara and Jacob watched back a Season 12 clip of Erik explaining his "standards" in a marriage to Virginia."I expect in a marriage that you're not spending the night at some guy's house and you're with me every night," says Erik, who was married and divorced once before signing up for this experiment."What if you're out of town and I'm drinking late at night over [my friend] Cole's [place] and it's storming really bad?" Virginia asks her pilot husband."Well you're throwing these crazy scenarios in there," Erik points out."Okay, but you're acting like I absolutely can't because 'that's what you do in a marriage.' Do you want me to come home by myself to an empty house while you're out traveling?" Virginia asks."What does it matter if I come home if you're out traveling? It's still not fair for you to say, 'This is what I believe the standard is and this is what we're doing.'"Erik simply concludes, "It's what I believe."Unfiltered host Jamie Otis -- who starred on Season 1 of -- asked Clara for her take on that argument."It sounds like there's stubbornness on both sides and maybe not a willingness to compromise," Clara shared. "I think that they both need to bend a little."Jacob was then asked whether he'd be okay with his wife Haley Harris sleeping over a guy friend's house when he's out of town."I mean, it would definitely have to be a conversation," Jacob admitted. "I would have to know that guy and I would also have to trust that guy, right?""But she also has to understand that this is a very normal thing for a husband to feel," Jacob noted."I understand Erik's side, but I think sometimes they're having a more serious conversation on this issue maybe because there's other things lingering.""Yeah," Clara agreed, "they're not getting to the root of the true problem, so they're fighting over this one issue repeatedly, sort of in circles."expert Pastor Calvin Roberson also made an appearance on Unfiltered and discussed how Virginia and Erik might be able to reach a compromise in this department."Someone is going to have to give in, and in this kind of situation, you have to look at what's valuable to their marriage," Pastor Cal said."How important is this issue to their marriage?"Clara suggested the couple needs to ask themselves, "Are you going to die on this hill?"Pastor Cal agreed and added, "Staying over? There are so many things I don't do. Even though I may want to do them, I just don't do them because marriage is more important than that."From the beginning of their marriage, Virginia found Erik's strong opinions or beliefs on certain subjects a little off-putting.Virginia has complained about Erik being too controlling at times, and Dr. Viviana Coles said during a March episode of Unfiltered that Erik explains things in a commanding way that comes across demanding Not only has Virginia expressed annoyance over Erik's standards and expectations for a marriage, but Virginia also felt her husband had given her an ultimatum about having children.Erik once told Virginia that he'd be "done" with their relationship if she didn't want to have a child with him, but he later backtracked when confronted and altered his stance on that a bit.In the latest twelfth-season episode , Virginia gave Erik her own ultimatum -- that he must find them a new place to live in four months, when her own lease is up, because she didn't want to move into the apartment he already owned that's not pet-friendly.Virginia also said she wanted her cats to sleep in bed with them despite Erik's allergy to cats and saying he'd "suffer" with that type of living arrangement.Virginia determined that while she and Erik love each other, they may not like each other all the time.Interested in more news? Join our Married at First Sight Facebook Group or click here to view our newspage!And click here for more updates on former cast members and info on where they are now!
YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Newly appointed Ambassador of Bulgaria to Armenia Kalin Anastasov presented his credentials to President Armen Sarkissian, the Armenian Presidents Office told Armenpress.

President Sarkissian congratulated the Ambassador on appointment and wished him success. He said the relations between Armenia and Bulgaria have always been built on firm historical-cultural ties. It was stated that next year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Bulgaria.

The Ambassador said he will invest maximum efforts to promote the bilateral ties and the cooperation in different spheres of mutual interest.

In turn President Sarkissian noted that the Armenian-Bulgarian relations have a great potential for development and stated that he is expecting the Ambassador will contribute to its utilization with his active works.

The Ambassador handed over the letter of the Bulgarian President to his Armenian counterpart where he reaffirms the invitation sent to Sarkissian to pay an official visit to Bulgaria.

The Armenian President and the Bulgarian Ambassador also discussed the agenda of the bilateral relations, stating that there are great opportunities for implementing joint programs.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Silicon Valley investor Khosla Ventures joins esteemed group of global investors backing Turn

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Turn Biotechnologies, a company developing novel RNA medicines for untreatable age-related conditions, today announced that it has closed its latest round of funding. The company has the support of investors focused on identifying and backing enterprises that have the potential to change the world with their disruptive technologies.

Khosla Ventures, with a history of investing in "Black Swan" ideas that offer significant upside, became the newest investor in Turn, joining the Shanda Group and Formic Ventures. These firms have stakes in cutting-edge Asian, European and North American companies and are credited with investing in tipping point companies worldwide.

"Turn sits at the convergence of several areas of recent dramatic innovation, namely in delivery of RNA as a therapeutic, understanding of cellular senescence, and cellular reprogramming," said Alex Morgan, MD, PhD, Partner at Khosla Ventures. "This technology out of Stanford University is on track to creating novel therapeutics to help heal and rejuvenate age-damaged tissues."

Khosla, Shanda Group and Formic Ventures join Turn's early investors, Methuselah Fund and Methuselah Foundation, which specialize in companies committed to extending healthy lifespans and improving quality of life as we age.

"These investments by funds with a reputation for picking winners around the world recognize Turn's innovation, vision and potential to disrupt the market," said CEO Anja Krammer. "As the population ages, millions of elderly persons are forced to cope with age-related conditions for which only symptomatic treatment exists. Our new investors enable Turn to bring to the market the promise of a technology that has the potential to improve quality of life and change healthcare economics globally."

Turn focuses on the repair of tissue at the cellular level, utilizing its patent-pending mRNA platform technology, ERA, to combat the effects of aging in the epigenome, thus restoring optimal gene expression and enabling cells to function as vigorously as younger cells. This restores the cells' ability to prevent or treat disease and heal or regenerate tissue.

Use of mRNA, which led to the quick development of two COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the United States, promises to revolutionize the development of therapeutics by making that development safer, faster, more efficient and extremely tunable to patient need.

Turn's epigenetic reprogramming technology has the potential to significantly impact a wide variety of age-related diseases, and the company is currently exploring treatments for dermatologic, osteoarthritic, ophthalmic and muscular conditions. Its work in these areas has also attracted several potential partners, which are currently in discussions with Turn.

ABOUT TURN BIOTECHNOLOGIES

Turn is a pre-clinical-stage company focused on repairing tissue at the cellular level. The company's proprietary mRNA technology combats the effects of aging in the epigenome, thus restoring optimal gene expression and enabling cells to function as vigorously as when they were younger. Turn's technology provides a platform from which to attack a variety of diseases related to age. The company is currently completing pre-clinical research on tailored therapies targeting indications in dermatology, ophthalmology, osteo-arthritis and cartilage damage and musculature. For more information, see www.turn.bio.

ABOUT KHOSLA VENTURES

Khosla Ventures provides venture assistance and strategic advice to entrepreneurs working on breakthrough technologies. The firm was founded by Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, and focuses on transformative technology in consumer, enterprise, education, financial services, health, big data, agriculture/food, sustainable energy and robotics. For more information, see www.khoslaventures.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Jim Martinez, rightstorygroup

[email protected] or (312) 543-9026

or

Wendy Dolwig, Turn Biotechnologies

[email protected]

SOURCE Turn Biotechnologies, Inc.

Related Links

www.turn.bio


Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed with U.S. ride-hailing firm Lyft Inc. to acquire its self-driving division for $550 million with an aim to accelerate the development of the carmaker's autonomous driving technologies.

The purchase via Woven Planet Holdings Inc., a Toyota unit engaging in software developments, will enable the Japanese automaker to have development bases in California and London in addition to Tokyo and increase the total number of researchers and engineers to 1,200.

Woven Planet and Lyft also have agreed to utilize Lyft's system and fleet data to speed up commercialization of Woven Planet's automated-driving technology and improve its safety features.

This will be the first buyout by Woven Planet since it started operation in January this year. It plans to complete the acquisition of Lyft's division, Level 5, in five years.
Uphill prospects in M&A activity through to 2022

According to partner from Mazars Jack Nguyen, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) will be active for the remainder of 2021 as the Vietnamese market prepares itself to open up to both travellers and investors once stringent procedures are approved.

And with a new government also in place, there is anticipation among investors already here that more construction and development projects will soon get approval.

M&A deals between local buyers and sellers, as a result, will also pick up and be even more active for the rest of the year, Nguyen said.

Vietnams real estate M&A transactions have indeed been tantalising for a number of reasons, with the pandemic creating some opportunities for investors with deep pockets, according to Nguyen.

They are now seeing investment possibilities for projects at more reasonable valuations. Current project owners/investors who are struggling during the pandemic are more inclined to exit projects at lower valuations, hence enabling more transactions, he said.

As well as that, M&As between Vietnamese are occurring more often because they truly understand the market and they are inclined to require fewer conditions to complete a transaction; foreign investors will ensure a more careful due diligence process and set more stringent conditions before they carry out an acquisition, he added.

Meanwhile Kim Ngoc, head of valuation and advisory at Colliers International Vietnam, said that the revised laws on investment, securities, and enterprises are expected to help M&A activities in the real estate market over the next 12 months or so.

With the success in 2020 of controlling the pandemic and stabilising the economy, Vietnam has a good foundation to launch M&A activities, helping the M&A market quickly recover, said Ngoc.

Real estate, together with retail and consumer goods, will continue to be on the radar of business leaders. Especially, M&A deals this year may see increased interest in manufacturing and logistics with the intentions of foreign investors to enter the sectors already increasing.

A range of free trade agreements are also attracting many new investors into the country.

As for the housing real estate market, in 2021 there is a trend of developers seeking land fund via M&A deals in the suburban districts of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. For example, Novaland Group has closed a deal for 286 hectares in the southern province of Dong Nai and projects in other provinces with a total value of $1 billion.

Nam Long Group meanwhile has reserved around $86.9 million for M&A land plots with the Mekong Delta province of Long An which is not being the preferred destination.

Neighbouring provinces with good connections with Ho Chi Minh City still have plenty of land to develop urban areas, and even megacities can become the focus of the M&A market and attract investors from such places as Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

Satellite provinces becoming hotspots in land acquisition include Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An in the south, as well as Bac Ninh, Haiphong, Bac Giang, and Vinh Phuc in the neighbouring areas of Hanoi.

According to BIDV Securities, except for Khang Dien and Vingroup which are maintaining more than 50 per cent of their large land fund in the two cities, the rest of the market owns at least 80 per cent of the land fund located in sub-regional areas, demonstrating the investment strategy towards outskirt and neighbouring areas for real estate developers.

VNDirect also believes that the trend of migration to neighbouring provinces of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi will continue to increase until the end of 2021 and even beyond, mainly because the selling prices in these areas are still lower, equivalent to the selling prices in the cities central business districts 4-5 years ago.
- By GF Value





The stock of Alliance Data Systems (NYSE:ADS, 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. 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 $105.46 per share and the market cap of $5.2 billion, Alliance Data Systems stock is estimated to be modestly undervalued. GF Value for Alliance Data Systems is shown in the chart below.





Alliance Data Systems Stock Is Believed To Be Modestly Undervalued

Because Alliance Data Systems is relatively undervalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be higher than its business growth.

Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk.

Companies with poor financial strength offer investors a high risk of permanent capital loss. To avoid permanent capital loss, an investor must do their research and review a company's financial strength before deciding to purchase shares. Both the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage of a company are a great way to to understand its financial strength. Alliance Data Systems has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.20, which which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Credit Services industry. The overall financial strength of Alliance Data Systems is 3 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of Alliance Data Systems is poor. This is the debt and cash of Alliance Data Systems over the past years:

Story continues

Alliance Data Systems Stock Is Believed To Be Modestly Undervalued

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. Alliance Data Systems has been profitable 10 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $4.5 billion and earnings of $4.48 a share. Its operating margin is 8.72%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Credit Services industry. Overall, the profitability of Alliance Data Systems is ranked 6 out of 10, which indicates fair profitability. This is the revenue and net income of Alliance Data Systems over the past years:

Alliance Data Systems Stock Is Believed To Be Modestly Undervalued

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. Alliance Data Systems's 3-year average revenue growth rate is in the middle range of the companies in Credit Services industry. Alliance Data Systems's 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is -24.4%, which ranks worse than 76% of the companies in Credit Services industry.

Another way to look at the profitability of a company is to compare its return on invested capital and the weighted 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. We want to have the return on invested capital higher than the weighted cost of capital. For the past 12 months, Alliance Data Systems's return on invested capital is 1.58, and its cost of capital is 3.96. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Alliance Data Systems is shown below:

Alliance Data Systems Stock Is Believed To Be Modestly Undervalued

Overall, The stock of Alliance Data Systems (NYSE:ADS, 30-year Financials) is estimated to be modestly undervalued. The company's financial condition is poor and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks worse than 76% of the companies in Credit Services industry. To learn more about Alliance Data Systems 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.


As scammers flood the internet with investment cons, it can be hard to know who and what to trust online.

Money Mail has exposed how fraudsters are targeting savers using the net to find a home for their money - including how scam adverts can be bought for less than 100.

But the internet can still be a useful tool for DIY investors, if you know how to tread carefully.

Web of deceits: But the internet can still be a useful tool for DIY investors, if you know how to tread carefully

Typing 'investment tips' into Google returns a staggering 700 million results in an instant. At the push of a button, you can surf stock picks for 2021, read about the top funds or learn how to start investing.

But in an age where any would-be Warren Buffett tycoon can set up a website or publish a blog, can you really trust investment tips you find on the internet?

Jason Hollands, managing director of investment platform Bestinvest, warns that savers need to be very careful.

He says: 'There's lots of valuable information available to investors 24/7, but it's easy to get overloaded and difficult to spot misleading sites, out-of-date recommendations and poorly researched articles.'

Here, Money Mail outlines the pitfalls of going online for investment answers...

Check the source

'When you're using the internet for investment ideas, the quality of your sources is absolutely everything,' says Mr Hollands.

If the article has been published by a traditional news website or a specialist investment publication, you know you are in safe hands. Likewise, if the source is a regulated stockbroker, fund manager or bank.

Reputable companies will be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority

But if you have not heard of the company or person sharing tips, you should dig deeper before following their advice.

Reputable companies will be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), so check a firm's website to find out if it is authorised to recommend investments.

This check will also help you identify scam or copycat websites.

Typing the company name into Google, followed by 'review', will give you a sense of whether other investors and experts think the firm is credible.

If the post is from an individual, it can be harder to verify.

Anyone can produce and publish a blog or vlog (video blog) by signing up to an online platform such as Word Press or YouTube. Investigate the blogger's track record. Are they a columnist for a well-known newspaper or an expert from an FCA-registered company?

If the answer is no, you should ask yourself why this self-styled investment guru seems to be sharing their so-called foolproof share tips for free.

Are they being paid to promote a deal, or it is a scam?

Beware fake ads

Adverts that appear prominently in your search results should not be mistaken for credible articles or the best investment deal.

If you typed 'what are the best Exchange Traded Funds' (ETFs) into a search engine, the results would return ETF adverts from companies who have paid the most money for the highest advertising spot.

Furthermore, adverts can easily be placed online by scammers who promise high returns designed to trick you into parting with your cash due to the lack of online regulations.

Don't rush: If you've seen investment tips online or read about them in a chat room, do not invest until you have done your own research

Just last week Money Mail revealed how easy it is for anyone to place an advert on Google for less than 100.

Opinion pieces or blogs may also be sponsored by a company, which means that the views are not the blogger's own, but are there simply to promote certain products.

Sponsored articles tend to appear on social media sites such as Facebook, and it may not be clear they are a promotion.

Videos made by social media influencers could also show up in your Google search results. They are paid by companies to push products and could have little or no financial knowledge.

'Clone fraud' has boomed during the pandemic Criminal gangs are using legit-looking clone sites to steal 'big money' from investors, according to a financial crime expert who explains how to protect yourself here. Details of a firm, such as its real telephone number and website address, can be verified on the FCA register. You should use these details to make contact with a firm to be sure you are dealing with the real one. Crime expert and consultant Phil Rolfe is calling on tech firms, the finance industry and official authorities to work together to combat clone fraud

News grows old

Investment tips can become obsolete fast so always check the date of the article or post.

Michelle Pearce-Burke, co-founder and chief operating officer at Wealthify, says: 'How long the article stays relevant depends on what you're researching.

'If you're searching for the right fund for your portfolio then, as a rule of thumb, if the article was written in the past three months, it should still be relevant.

'When researching stocks, the information has to be more current. The share price could rise or fall 10 per cent the day after it's written, making that stock a completely different prospect than the one described in the article.'

Guides to investing entitled 'Getting started' or 'Five basic principles of investing' stay in date for longer. But it's worth sticking to guides written in the past two years.

Chat room talk

Online chat rooms like Reddit, or social media platforms such as Facebook and more recently Clubhouse, where investors listen to people talk about investing, can be fun for discussing ideas. But take tips with a pinch of salt.

Chatroom users often use an alias or post their comments anonymously, so you don't know who you're talking to.

'There are many forums that host genuinely interesting conversations about finances and investments, but it is important to remember that investing is a one-man or woman's race,' says Myron Jobson, personal finance campaigner at broker Interactive Investor.

'It is easy to get caught up in the hype around investments discussed in forums, but the suitability of the proposition is wholly dependent on your attitude to risk and the length of time you plan to invest.'

Take stock

If you've seen investment tips online or read about them in a chat room, do not invest until you have done your own research.

There is a lot of information available on big fund supermarket websites. Just type the name of the fund or share you are interested in into the search box.

Always check the total cost of the fund  known as OCF or ongoing charges figure  how it has performed against its benchmark index and exactly where your money is invested.

It's also a good idea to read analysis on the wider fund sector.

For shares, check the company's financial statements for key financial information, such as dividend payments.

Analysts will also regularly provide views on who is buying, selling or holding stocks.

moneymail@dailymail.co.uk
Rose Byrne takes advantage of burgeoning videotape technology to transform her whole way of life in the new trailer for Apple TV Plus' new series Physical.

The 41-year-old actress portrays Sheila Rubin, a quiet housewife in 1980s San Diego who is supporting her husband's run for state assembly.

While she's not taking care of her husband and kids, she devotes herself to the magical world of aerobics where she transforms herself into a 'fitness lifestyle guru.'

New trailer: Rose Byrne takes advantage of burgeoning videotape technology to transform her whole way of life in the new trailer for Apple TV Plus' new series Physical

Aerobics: While she's not taking care of her husband and kids, she devotes herself to the magical world of aerobics where she transforms herself into a 'fitness lifestyle guru'

The trailer is set to the apropos classic 80s song Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles, with an assistant telling Sheila, 'We'll be ready for you in five.'

She walks onto the set and tosses her Walkman at the lowly assistant as a director says, 'OK places everyone, from the top.'

Sheila, clad in a pink leotard with big 80s brunette curls, is heard saying, 'OK let's do this thing,' before she is snapped back into reality by her husband (Rory Scovell).

Husband: Sheila, clad in a pink leotard with big 80s brunette curls, is heard saying, 'OK let's do this thing,' before she is snapped back into reality by her husband (Rory Scovell)

'Babe, seriously? The coffee?' he demands, while tapping tapping on his empty cup as she just smiles at him, though a different narrative plays out in her head.

'God forbid you have anything valuable to do,' she says in her head, while rocking some massive gold hoop earrings.

As Video Killed the Radio Star keeps playing, we see a number of shots with Rose trying to manage her busy family, while she also discovers an aerobics studio.

Seriously: 'Babe, seriously? The coffee?' he demands, while tapping tapping on his empty cup as she just smiles at him, though a different narrative plays out in her head

Valuable: 'God forbid you have anything valuable to do,' she says in her head, while rocking some massive gold hoop earrings

She confides in a friend that she's teaching an aerobics class, with the friend adding, 'I didn't think you liked people enough to do that.'

Sheila cheerfully responds, 'I'm a big fan of people,' before her inner monologue says, 'You skanky bottle blonde.'

The trailer winds down with Sheila in full guru mode stating, 'Only you have the power to change you. Are you ready to change?'

Friend: She confides in a friend that she's teaching an aerobics class, with the friend adding, 'I didn't think you liked people enough to do that.

Big fan: Sheila cheerfully responds, 'I'm a big fan of people,' before her inner monologue says, 'You skanky bottle blonde'

Ready: The trailer winds down with Sheila in full guru mode stating, 'Only you have the power to change you. Are you ready to change?'

The final shot shows Sheila waking up from a nap as a blonde friend asks if she's, 'feeling better,' as Sheila says she feels, 'more awake than I have in... I can't remember.'

She takes a drink from a glass with a pink liquid, asking what's in it, as the blonde friend says, 'sugar free pink lemonade' as the trailer comes to a close.

Physical, created by Annie Weisman and also starring Dierdre Friel, Della Saba, Lou Taylor Pucci, Paul Sparks and Ashley Liao, debuts on Apple TV Plus Friday June 18 with the first three episodes, with subsequent episodes in the 10-episode season debuting each Friday thereafter.

Awake: The final shot shows Sheila waking up from a nap as a blonde friend asks if she's, 'feeling better,' as Sheila says she feels, 'more awake than I have in... I can't remember'

Lemonade: She takes a drink from a glass with a pink liquid, asking what's in it, as the blonde friend says, 'sugar free pink lemonade' as the trailer comes to a close
The Bardoc project will be long-life and high-margin at 136,000 ounces per annum of gold, underpinned by a +1 million ounce ore reserve.

A final investment decision is targeted for Q3 of 2021 and first gold for Q4 2022.

( ) (FRA:4SF) passed an important milestone during the March quarter by delivering a robust definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the flagship Bardoc Gold Project in Western Australia.

Key highlights from the DFS include:

Average annual gold sales of 135,760 ounces over 8.2 years of mill production;

Life-of-mine (LOM) pre-tax cash-flow of A$740 million at a A$2,250/ounce gold price;

Pre-tax NPV (6%) of A$479 million and 41% IRR;

Pre-production capital of A$177 million with 32-month payback from production commencement; and

LOM all-in-sustaining-costs (AISC) of A$1,188/ounce.

Compelling financial returns

Bardoc chief executive officer Robert Ryan said this was the culmination of more than a year of hard work.

He said: Achieving this standout result for shareholders is a real credit to our team and further reinforces our track record of doing what we say were going to do and delivering on time and on budget.

We are absolutely delighted with the outcomes of the DFS, which have confirmed the opportunity for strong long-term production and compelling financial returns from the Bardoc Gold Project, which is ideally positioned to become one of the few new gold projects of scale to come on stream in Australia over the next 12-18 months.

Updated ore reserve

As part of the DFS, the company released an updated mineral resource estimate, with the Bardoc Project now hosting a total resource of 54.6 million tonnes at 1.8 g/t gold for 3.07 million ounces of contained gold.

Ryan said: The DFS results are underpinned by an updated ore reserve of more than one million ounces of contained gold  a 28 per cent increase over our previous reserve estimate  delivering average gold production of 136,000 ounces per annum at a highly competitive all-in cost of A$1,188/ounce over an initial 8-year mine life.

At an assumed base case gold price of A$2,250/ounce, this will generate average free cashflow of $113 million per year post-construction, with forecast life-of-mine free cashflow of $740 million, a pre-tax NPV6% of A$479 million and Internal Rate of Return of 41 per cent  compelling metrics by any measure.

The project also has relatively low capital intensity, with a forecast pre-production capital cost of A$177 million and a 32-month payback period from production commencement.

Exploration upside

DFS optimisation will continue over the coming months incorporating highly encouraging results generated by recent exploration activities.

Ryan said: Importantly, we also see substantial upside to the DFS, with highly encouraging exploration results continuing to be delivered across the project.

For example, during the quarter we upgraded the exploration potential at the North Kanowna Star Project, located 29 kilometres southeast of the proposed processing plant, which offers strong opportunities for resource growth.

We expect DFS optimisation to continue over the coming months incorporating some of the exciting new results being generated by our ongoing exploration activities.

The proposed process plant site layout.

Excelsior and Zoroastrian deposits

New drilling results from the Excelsior (354,000 ounces) and Zoroastrian (530,000 ounces) deposits have increased confidence in the existing mineral resource models and demonstrated continued growth potential:

12 metres at 2.17 g/t gold from 194 metres (Zoroastrian);

12 metres at 1.25 g/t gold from 171 metres (Excelsior); and

14 metres at 1.65 g/t gold from 253 metres (Excelsior).

Extensional drilling at the northern end of the Zoroastrian deposit has highlighted strong potential for continued growth in this multi-lode ore system, with further drilling planned.

North Kanowna Star

Aircore drilling at North Kanowna Star (32,000 ounces) has confirmed an extensive new gold trend with multiple target zones defined over a +3 kilometre strike length, with assay results including:

15 metres at 1.11 g/t gold from 52 metres; and

7 metres at 1.95 g/t gold from 44 metres.

The results confirm that there are multiple higher-grade mineralised areas additional to the current mineral resource that require ongoing exploration to confirm their mineralised extents, with the deposit emerging as a significant long-term growth opportunity for Bardoc.

Project financing progressing

Debt finance discussions are well-advanced with the completion of project funding and final investment decision (FID) targeted for Q3 2021, and first gold targeted for Q4 2022.

Ryan said: Based on the strength of these financial results, the board has given the go-ahead to progress project financing, and we are now engaging actively with banks and other financiers with the aim of making a Final Investment Decision in Q3 2021  which would position the company to commence full commercial construction in Q4 2021 and pour first gold in Q4 2022.

At the end of the March quarter, the company held cash reserves of A$17.96 million.

Expanding management team

Ryan said: The company has also continued to expand its team in readiness for the transition from to developer and ultimately producer.

In this regard, I was delighted to welcome Oliver Mortensen to the team as chief financial officer during the quarter.

Oliver has held previous senior roles with Newmont and Barrick and has vast experience in the Australian gold industry.

He will be invaluable to Bardoc as we move towards financing, development and production.
On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that federal investigators had executed a search warrant on the home and office of Rudy Giuliani, as part of an investigation into the former New York mayor and Trump presidential attorneys dealings with Ukraine and potential foreign influence peddling.

Giulianis attorney confirmed the news of the search to the Wall Street Journal and said the search warrant describes the investigation as a probe into a possible violation of foreign lobbying rules. Investigators seized electronic devices from Giulianis home and office, the Associated Press reported.

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The search continues Giulianis long-term transformation from the onetime mob-busting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York to the scandal-plagued defender of a president entangled in unprecedented combinations of civil, criminal, and impeachment investigations. The New York Times reported that prosecutors had been seeking to acquire a warrant to conduct a search on Giuliani as early as last year, but senior officials in Donald J. Trumps Department of Justice had blocked those efforts.

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The search is notable because it needed approval by senior officials in the DOJ due to the nature of searches of attorneys that might yield potential privileged materials.

DOJ does not authorize searches of lawyer offices for materials that might include attorney-client stuff without special justification, former prosecutor and Slate contributor Frank Bowman told me. It has to go through main Justice unlike the usual process where any [assistant U.S. attorney] with a pen and a form can effectively issue a grand jury subpoena.

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Bowman said that the search was also notable for its implication that Attorney General Merrick Garland is not going to shy away from politically sensitive investigations into possible criminal actions by associates of the former president, or even potentially Trump himself.

It tells us something significant about the new broom at DOJ, in that Garland is apparently prepared to have DOJ pursue the facts where they lead, including into the potentially annoying swamp that involves Rudy and all that comes with him, Bowman said. I do think thats pretty significant because theres a lot to be said on the side of leaving those sleeping dogs lie and moving on, and I think its interesting that hes prepared to say that if the facts support the warrant, were going to issue the darn warrant.

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Giulianis attorney Robert Costello called the search legal thuggery.

Why would you do this to anyone, let alone someone who was the associate attorney general, United States attorney, the mayor of New York City and the personal lawyer to the 45th president of the United States, Costello said in a statement reported by the Times.

On Wednesday afternoon, Giuliani tweeted that he would be appearing on his regularly scheduled radio program for a live statement at 3 p.m. on WABC radio. The radio network apparently preempted that program and aired another host and Giuliani subsequently deleted the tweet.

Giuliani is reportedly under investigation for efforts to lobby on behalf of foreign officials as part of a campaign to compel Ukraine to manufacture dirt on then-candidate Joe Biden; at the time Biden was emerging as the top political rival to the former president. Trump was impeached by the House for his efforts to coerce Ukraine into smearing Biden, then acquitted by the Senate. The search warrant in the investigation into Giuliani marks the closest a criminal probe into the matter has come to touching Trump.

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To me, the more interesting question is not whether Giuliani is corrupt but whether his corruption infected the integrity of our elections, University of California, Irvine School of Law professor and Slate contributor Richard Hasen told me. Based on his role bolstering the big lie that the 2020 election was rigged against Trump, I would not be surprised to see proof of his earlier involvement in an attempt to circumvent laws against foreign interference in American elections.

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Giuliani helped block the 2019 impeachment probe into Trump by refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena of his communications related to the Ukraine matter. Now federal investigators apparently have taken possession of whatever of those communications may have remained on his electronic devices.

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Around the time of that 2019 investigation, two of Giulianis colleaguesLev Parnas and Igor Frumanwere indicted for crimes related to influence peddling and violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires agents representing foreign interests to register with the government. According to their attorney at the time of their arrest, Parnas and Fruman had assisted Giuliani in connection with his representation of President Trump. The pair are set to go to trial in October. As Hasen wrote at the time of their arrest, the indictments showed that foreign interference in American elections is a feature and not a bug of the Trump campaign and presidency.

The impeachment investigation and the indictment of Parnas and Fruman centered in part on Giuliani and Trumps efforts to remove the former Ukrainian ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, who was allegedly seen as an obstacle to the Trump camps plans to get Ukraine to act against Biden. Yovanovitch testified before Congress in 2019 that she was the victim of a smear campaign by Giuliani before Trump removed her from her ambassadorship in an apparent effort to induce a Ukrainian investigation into then-candidate Biden and his son Hunter. Giuliani reportedly may have also been working on behalf of Ukrainian interests who sought the ouster of Yovanovitch without registering that he was working for them, which is at the center of the current investigation.

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As an eleventh hour effort to unsettle the 2020 presidential campaign, Giuliani pushed out a story about the supposedly scandalous contents of a laptop that had belonged to Hunter Biden. At the time, he acknowledged that there was perhaps a 50/50 chance that the Ukrainian official who helped Giuliani dig up Hunter Biden dirt was a Russian spy.

Trumps personal attorney prior to Giuliani, Michael Cohen, had his home and office searched by federal criminal investigators in April 2018. Four months later, he pleaded guilty to campaign finance crimes, saying in court that he had committed them at Trumps behest, and he started cooperating with the government as part of various investigations into his former client.
Orchard owner Kalim Saliba, 86, died after he and his wife were assaulted during a home invasion

Murder detectives are appealing for information on the one year anniversary of a brutal home invasion bashing that saw an 86-year-old grandfather lose his life.

Two burglars broke into a home in Cherrybrook in Sydney's north west just before 12.30am on April 29, 2020, before demanding money from the couple and brutally attacking them.

Police arrived at the Tallowwood Avenue property to find the occupants, Kalim Saliba, 86, and his wife, 84, with serious head injuries.

Mr Saliba had bravely tried to fight off the attackers to defend his wife of 60 years, police said, but later died in hospital.

Police believe the armed men, who wore masks, threatened the couple before assaulting them.

It is not believed anything was taken from the home during the burglary.

The couple own the family-run Saliba Fruits apple orchard in the Blue Mountains town of Bilpin.

A police forensic worker is pictured at the scene of the home invasion in April 2020 (pictured)

Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, said police are continuing to investigate several lines of inquiry to identify those involved.

'Today marks one year since the death of Mr Saliba and police would like to thank the community for their help as investigators continue to work toward providing the Saliba family with answers,' Det Supt Doherty said.

'Two masked men viciously attacked an elderly couple in their home, a place where they have the right to feel safe, resulting in a family losing a loving husband, father and grandfather.

'Someone out there knows something and we are encouraging them to look into their conscience and come forward.'

Mr Saliba was taken to Westmead Hospital (pictured) but later died after his life support machine was turned off

As police continue their search for answers, the Saliba family appealed for those with information to come forward.

'Our family is devastated and continues to grieve, and we are urging anyone with information to contact police to share what they know, whatever that might be,' Kalim's son, Joseph Saliba said.

'Dad will be forever cherished by our family as a loving father, grandfather and friend taken from us too soon,' he said.

'We would like to thank the NSW Police for their support and know they will not stop until they find justice for our family.'

Investigations under Strike Force McCleery are continuing.
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Farmers Edge Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results Release Date

Farmers Edge Inc. ("Farmers Edge" or the "Company") (TSX: FDGE) announced today that the Company's first quarter 2021 financial results will be released after market close on Thursday, May 13, 2021. At that time, the financial results and related materials will be posted on the Farmers Edge Investor Relations website at https://www.farmersedge.ca/investor-relations/.

Farmers Edge will hold a live audio webcast at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 14, 2021 to discuss the Company's financial results and business highlights. All interested parties are invited to lsten to the live audio webcast at https://www.gowebcasting.com/11260. Following the event, a replay of the webcast will be available on the Farmers Edge Investor Relations website.







About Farmers Edge

Farmers Edge is leading the next agricultural revolution with the industry's broadest portfolio of proprietary technological innovations, spanning hardware, software, and services. Powered by a unique combination of connected field sensors, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and agronomic expertise, the Company's digital platform turns data into actions and intelligent insights, delivering value to all stakeholders of the agricultural ecosystem. Farmers Edge disruptive technologies accelerate digital transformation on the farm and beyond, protecting our global resources and ensuring sustainable food production for a rapidly growing population.

For more information on Farmers Edge, please visit www.farmersedge.ca. Additional information relating to the company, including all public filings, is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210427006197/en/
Almost all of the largest cities in the United States are governed by hard-left Democrats. In fact, there is only one Republican mayor among the top 15 cities in the country and only three among the 30 largest cities.

All of the problems in our urban areas today are almost exclusively the result of the failed Democratic Party leadership. While previous generations of Democrats might have tried to find bipartisan solutions to longstanding problems, the party's leaders in 2021 are woke leftists interested only in pushing their radical agenda.

The result has been outmigration, soaring crime rates, a drug epidemic, broken families, failing public schools, an increasing number of blighted properties, high poverty and unemployment rates, an obsession with a race-based agenda, and rising antipathy toward law enforcement officers. No wonder people are fleeing our cities in hopes of finding safety and a better quality of life.

Recent headlines show the absolute, ongoing destruction. In New Orleans, there was another shooting early Saturday morning on Bourbon Street, in the French Quarter, the city's premier tourist destination. In this case, five people were shot. Sadly, this type of carnage is becoming a regular occurrence in the Crescent City. New Orleans is suffering from a shortage of police officers and an abundance of criminals.

In Philadelphia, police department leaders are lamenting a shortage of officers as few new recruits are coming forward to replace the large number of retirements. Currently, the department is already understaffed, and the problem will only grow worse.

In Los Angeles, crime is skyrocketing while George Gascon, the new woke district attorney, is pledging to dismantle his office's Hardcore Gang Division. This decision is baffling to many citizens, as statistics show that gang violence has contributed to approximately 60% of the murders in the first 110 days of the year.

Portland, Oregon has been a cesspool of rioting and looting ever since the death of George Floyd made national headlines last Memorial Day. Incredibly, it has never stopped. Last weekend, stores were set ablaze and burglarized. On Friday, a large mob of anarchists spray-painted storefronts with graffiti, broke windows, and terrorized diners in a restaurant.

After the latest incidents, the far-left mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, asked citizens to "call the police" if they see protesters "dressed in all black." It is much too little, much too late for Wheeler, who has been punched and ridiculed by Antifa-affiliated thugs. He has not been able to enjoy a meal in a restaurant or even live peacefully at his home. Protesters, dressed in black, staged a sit-in at Wheeler's condo building and even hurled "bags of rubbish" and other objects at him as he was walking down the street.

The chaos is also continuing in Seattle, the epicenter of Antifa-related violence. In this city, the far left created an autonomous zone, attacked a police precinct headquarters, and basically declared war on law abiding citizens. The craziness never stopped due to incompetent and fearful leadership.

This week, Motion Church, based just south of Seattle, was forced to cancel a speech by Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA. After the speech was announced, a Seattle Antifa organization threatened to destroy the church.

This threat forced the church's Pastor, Roger Archer, to make his decision. According to Archer, "cops don't have the manpower to protect the several properties used by the church." He claimed, "The soft targets of churches, the elderly, women, children, and law-abiding citizens are vulnerable to anarchists who live free of the fear of reprisal."

Archer also correctly noted, "What recent history has taught us is there's an apparent lack of interest at the state level of leadership to protect decent, taxpaying citizens. Those terrorist mobs know that there is no consequence for their lawlessness. They have nothing to lose and nothing to fear."

Archer is right: while the FBI and Department of Justice are busy arresting and prosecuting all the individuals who entered the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, there have been few, if any, repercussions for those involved in approximately 275 riots that have occurred in Seattle and other cities across the country since last summer.

Americans can thank the woke mayors and the woke Department of Justice for contributing to the anarchy and destruction on the streets of America's cities.

This is especially true in New York City, led by hopelessly left-wing Mayor Bill de Blasio. During his tenure, New York is being decimated by not only the pandemic, but also rising crime. In 2020, shootings increased by almost 100%, while murders increased by 44%.

One factor in this increase is that New York police officers do not feel any support from the mayor. There have been multiple incidents, many captured on video, of police officers being viciously attacked by criminals, who face almost no penalties for their actions.

It is no surprise that in 2020, an astounding 5,300 police officers retired or quit. This is a 75% increase from 2019. As more police officers leave, the crime rate will continue to rise, and taxpayers and business will continue to flee. In response, Mayor de Blasio has continued to pander to the far left and failed to address the concerns of police and terrified citizens.

In Minneapolis, weak, woke leftist Mayor Jacob Frey has turned over his city to protesters demanding "justice for George Floyd." However, the no-go zone created near the intersection where Floyd died has seen an enormous reduction in customers, mostly hurting local black American business-owners.

One area restaurant proprietor, Alexander W., told the New York Post that city leaders "left me in danger." He said, "They locked us up ... left us behind ... left me with no food, no water, nothing to eat."

Hopefully, the citizens in these woke hellholes will eventually realize that the best way to improve their plight will be to stop voting for Democratic Party politicians, who deliver only poverty; misery; violence; and, ultimately, failure.

Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian, and his award-winning program, Ringside Politics, airs nationally on Real America's Voice Network, AmericasVoice.News weekdays at 7 A.M. C.T. and from 7 to 11 A.M. weekdays on WGSO 990-AM and Wgso.com. He is a political columnist and the author of America's Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.

Image: Goodfreephotos_com via Pixabay, Pixabay License.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Washington, April 28 : The US State Department has ordered the withdrawal of diplomats from its embassy in Kabul in light of the deteriorating security situation there.

According to updated travel advice on Afghanistan, all embassy employees who are able to carry out their tasks from another location are affected by Tuesday's order, DPA news agency reported.

The ministry did not provide any information on how many diplomats are to leave and how many are to remain in the Afghan capital.

International troops will officially begin withdrawing from Afghanistan on May 1. US President Joe Biden has set a September 11 deadline for the withdrawal's completion.
The decision came days after Dhaka suspended the first dosing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on a supply crunch.

Major General Mahbubur Rahman, Director General of the country's Drug Administration, made the announcement on Tuesday, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Dhaka, April 28 (IANS) The Bangladeshi government has approved the import and use of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19.

"We've given permission for the emergency use of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine," Rahman told journalists.

Amid uncertainty over timely arrival of the next Covid-19 vaccine shipment from India, the Bangladeshi government halted administering first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine across the country from Monday.

Nearly 6 million people have so far received the first dose of the vaccine in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on January 28 virtually inaugurated the country's Covid-19 vaccination drive.

The Bangladeshi government on Monday announced that it decided to extend the ongoing lockdown which began on April 14 for another week.

Bangladesh recorded 112 deaths from Covid-19 on April 19, its highest daily toll from the pandemic, the government said.

On Tuesday, the country's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 3,031 new cases of Covid-19 and 78 new deaths, bringing the number of total cases to 751,659 and the total death toll to 11,228.

--IANS

int/rs
A juvenile has been arrested in the 2020 shooting death of a Mississippi man found inside an abandoned Bessemer home.

Police Chief Mike Roper said the young suspect was arrested Tuesday in Bessemer. His name is not being released because of his age, but the chief said he is charged with felony murder in the slaying of 45-year-old Michael Jones.

Jones vanished May 20, 2020 after leaving work at Steel Dynamics/Severstal on Airport Road in Columbus, Mississippi. His body was discovered two days later inside a vacant home in the 1800 block of Fairfax Avenue.

Family said he was supposed to return to work at 6 p.m. Wednesday but did not show up or call. His large, close-knit family immediately began to search for him. They were able to track his phone to Tuscaloosa, and then Bessemer. They learned he had arranged via the Letgo trading app to meet someone to buy an iPhone 11 and believe he was lured to his death.

Two days after his disappearance, Bessemer police found Jones Ford Ranger 4x4 pick-up truck in the 1700 block of Clarendon Avenue. A continued search led to the discovery of his body several hours later. Police said Jones had been shot to death.

Jones left behind his wife, a 21-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son.

Roper said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Bessemer police at 205-425-2411, the Tip Line at 205-428-3541 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause

By Ls Cohen Published: April 28 2021

Residents from 860 homes disposed of 39 tons of waste during the weekend event.

On Saturday, April 24, Smithtown hosted a hazardous waste collection event that turned into a record-breaking day. With 39 tons of waste collected from 860 homes in the township, theTown of Smithtown Department of Environment and Waterways set a new record. This was a record number of residents for a single collection event since the hazardous waste event program began in 2009, according to a press release about the event.

The toxic items collected are prohibited in regular curbside waste pickups.

Town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim thanked everyone who devoted their Saturday to serve the community and protect the environment.

Setting a record such as this one is proof positive that the residents of Smithtown are increasingly more committed to preserving our home and our ecosystem for future generations to come, said. Wehrheim.

He added despite adding additional collection events to the calendar year, the Town is still seeing growing community participation.

Smithtown Municipal Services Facility employees worked in conjunction with the Department of Environment and Waterways Environmental Director David Barnes and Solid Waste Coordinator Mike Engelmann to safely secure over forty three 55-gallon drums, twenty seven 1-cubic yard boxes and two full 30-cubic yard roll-off containers. Materials were collected and manifested for disposal by Radiac Research Corporation.

A portion of the waste collected for manifested disposal included: waste oil based paints/flammable paints, gasoline, paint thinners, waste gases, petroleum distillates, flammable solids, oxidizers liquids and solids, sodium/potassium nitrates, acids, corrosives, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, misc. toxic liquids (i.e. Chlordane, etc.) and solids, lacquers, lithium batteries, battery acids and various other toxic compounds.

The New York State DEC is expected to reimburse the Town for 50% of the contractor expense for this event.

The next Household Hazardous Waste events in Smithtown are scheduled for Saturday, July 10 and Saturday, October 2. These events are for Smithtown Township residents only. Proof of residency will be strictly enforced.
NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Spot On Networks, LLC , a leading managed Wi-Fi, distributed antenna system (DAS) and Public Safety radio provider, has completed the installation and launch of a community-wide, managed Wi-Fi and IoT network at 130 William, a new luxury high-rise tower located in lower Manhattan, developed by Lightstone, one of the largest and most diversified privately held real estate companies in the United States. The Spot On Wi-Fi network allows residents to establish individual, secure personal networks that are optimized for fast internet usage and heavy smart home connectivity.

"The need for advanced technology has never been as important as it is in today's multifamily environment, so with Spot On Networks as our WiFi technology partner, we have been able to provide residents of 130 William with best-in-class Internet service," said Scott J. Avram, Senior Vice President of Development, Lightstone. "Every aspect of 130 William is carefully considered, so we offer buyers an exceptional residential experience and through this partnership we are also enhancing an integral part of 130 William's smart building operations."

130 William is designed by visionary architect Sir David Adjaye. He is responsible for the building's holistic vision, including its iconic exterior architecture, as well as all of the building's luxurious interiors. 130 William will rise approx. 800 feet tall - 66 stories - to make a bold architectural statement and a unique addition to Manhattan's iconic skyline. It will consist of 242 residences, ranging in size from studio residences to up to four bedrooms. 130 William offers an expansive collection of lifestyle and wellness amenities that are spread over more than 20,000 square feet. Move-ins started a few months ago and the entire development will be completed by this fall.

The WiFi network at 130 William offers superior capacity and provides access for numerous wireless devices per residence with optimization for in-unit smart-home IoT including wireless thermostats, appliances, smart plugs, streaming devices and 4K/8K televisions. In addition to residential Wi-Fi access, Spot On's network acts as the backbone to a host of operations for 130 William including resident intercom units, elevator connectivity, connectivity to the Building Management System and access and control for various A/V like SONOS, amenity area video and fitness center video. The network also provides residents with seamless voice connectivity throughout 130 William eliminating cell service issues that are often experienced in other buildings.

Key elements of the Wi-Fi network are Spot On's UserSafe  technology which offers five layers of Wi-Fi security to protect against spoofing, hacking, identity theft and DoS attacks and Spot On's Tessellated Grid WiFi network architecture which allows for seamless voice and text connectivity throughout the property.

About Spot On Networks, LLC

Spot On Networks provides in-building wireless solutions to the multifamily and commercial building industries including high speed Wi-Fi internet access, seamless Wi-Fi Calling networks, Hybrid Cellular Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) and Public Safety DAS. Spot On holds two patents on its wireless network architecture and Wi-Fi security technology. Spot On operates over 1,000 multifamily and commercial building networks across the country and is the wireless provider for many of the NMHC Top 50 building owners and managers. SON has been in operation since 2005 and is headquartered in New Haven, CT. For more information visit: www.spotonnetworks.com

About Lightstone Group

Lightstone, founded by David Lichtenstein, is one of the largest and most diversified privately held real estate companies in the United States. Lightstone is active in 24 states across the country, developing, managing and investing in all sectors of the real estate market, including residential, hospitality, commercial, and retail. With over 127 existing properties, Lightstone's over $6.5 billion portfolio currently includes over 3.5 million square feet of office, retail and industrial commercial properties, over 15,000 residential units, and over 4,100 hotel keys. Lightstone also owns over 10,000 land lots across the country. Headquartered in New York City, Lightstone continues to grow its development portfolio with over $3.5 billion currently under development in the residential and hospitality sectors spread across New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. https://www.lightstonegroup.com/

Contact:

Spot On Networks Marketing Department

[email protected]

(203) 523-5210

SOURCE Spot On Networks

Related Links

http://www.spotonnetworks.com


Two police officers have been charged with misconduct in public office after allegedly taking selfies next to the bodies of two murdered sisters.

PCs Deniz Jaffer, 47, and Jamie Lewis, 32, will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday, 27 May 2021 for their first hearing.

It comes after they were investigated over inappropriate pictures of Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, who were stabbed to death in Wembley, north-west London, in the early hours of June 6 last year.

The images were then allegedly shared on WhatsApp before ending up in the public domain.

Experts from the Independent Office for Police Conduct had investigated the claims then passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The CPS London Complex Casework unit authorised the charges following a review of their findings.

PC Deniz Jaffer, 47, has been charged with misconduct in a public office over the pictures

Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, who were stabbed to death in Wembley last year

Reports of the pictures had devastated the mother of Ms Smallman and Henry.

Mina Smallman told the BBC at the time that the pictures 'dehumanised' her children.

'This has taken our grief to another place,' she said.

Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said she was stunned at news of the allegations last yeear.

The sisters' mother Mina Smallman (pictured) told the BBC that the pictures 'dehumanised' her children

She said: 'My heart goes out to the family.

'In relation to the allegations about a photograph, I am dumbfounded. I am appalled.'

Police previously released pictures of senior social worker Ms Henry, from Brent in north-west London, and photographer Ms Smallman dancing with fairy lights before they were murdered.

The pair had met with friends during the evening to celebrate Ms Henry's birthday.

Danyal Hussein, 18, from Blackheath, has been charged with two counts of murder and possession of an offensive weapon, and faces trial later this year.
A decade-old Ford Ranger has been named as Australia's best four-wheel drive ute even though it is being replaced next year.

The outgoing Ford, which shares its underpinnings with the old Mazda BT-50, has been awarded Carsales's Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute.

The judges road tested the utes bought by mum and dads looking for a $55,000 family car and not just the tradie version with a tray.

The outgoing Ranger beat the newer HiLux and the new Mazda BT-50 - now based on the new Isuzu D-MAX.

The Toyota HiLux has been Australia's bestselling vehicle overall since 2016, as result of strong fleet sales for the 4x2 models, but the Ford Ranger occasionally outsells it in the luxury 4x4 category.

A decade-old Ford Ranger has been named as Australia's best four-wheel drive ute even though it is being replaced next year. The outgoing Ford, which shares its underpinnings with the old Mazda BT-50, has been awarded Carsales's Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute

Carsales managing editor Marton Pettendy said the Ranger did a better job as a dual-cab family ute than the HiLux.

This is despite the Ford originally going on sale in 2011 with a facelift in 2015.

The existing HiLux first went on sale in 2015 but was facelifted in 2019.

'It's a testament to the investment that Ford made back in, prior to 2011 and the updates it's made since then,' Mr Pettendy told Daily Mail Australia.

'It's still top of the heap in a class that is more competitive and has more models in it than ever.'

While the Ranger didn't top all the seven road test categories, Mr Pettendy said the XLT and Wildtrak models did a better job than the equivalent HiLux SR5 models and the Mazda BT-50 XT and GT variants.

'It's got a better ride and handling than any of its competitors have managed to come up with even after ten years of development,' he said.

'It has a vastly better ride, handling package than the HiLux - HiLux is pretty good off road but the Ranger is right up there and way ahead for on road.

Carsales managing editor Marton Pettendy said the Ranger (pictured) did a better job as a dual-cab family ute than the HiLux

The Toyota HiLux (SR5 model pictured) has been Australia's bestselling vehicle overall since 2016, as result of strong fleet sales for the 4x2 models, but the Ford Ranger often outsells it in the luxury 4x4 category

'That is a direct factor of its local design, engineering and development - no other ute has been developed in Australia like Ranger.'

Ford is revealing its next Ranger later this year, which will also form the basis of the upcoming Volkswagen Amarok.

Mr Pettendy said buyers should consider getting the existing Ranger in runout mode, with this model likely to share many features with the next fancier model.

'Runout mode is the time that you'll get the best prices, particularly in the times of Covid - I'm not saying you'll get a bargain but the end of any model cycle is the best time to buy,' he said.

While the Ranger didn't top all the seven road test categories, Mr Pettendy said the XLT and Wildtrak models did a better job than the equivalent HiLux SR5 models and the Mazda BT-50 (pictured) with its XT and GT variants

'When it's a good ute like the Ranger, I'd have no hesitation in recommending that.'

Next year, for the first time since the 1970s, Ford in Australia won't be selling a ute based on a Mazda.

Mazda last year replaced the BT-50 with a new ute sharing a platform with the Isuzu D-MAX.

Ford will next year release a new Ranger, which will also form the basis of the next Volkswagen Amarok.

Carsales road tested the Ford Ranger Wildtrak 3.2; the Chinese-built GWM Ute Cannon-X; the Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain; Jeep Gladiator Overland; the Chinese LDV T60 LUXE; the Mazda BT-50 GT; Mitsubishi Triton GSR; Nissan Navara ST-X; SsangYong Musso Ultimate; Toyota HiLux SR5; and, Volkswagen Amarok Highline V6 TDI580.
Modern Australian car tastes are now a mix of European and Japanese. They're now into efficient four-cylinder motors, small crossovers, and even hybrids. But back in the day, local sheep farmers didn't have a lot of money and needed something that was both a work truck and a family car.Holden, the Australian division of General Motors, offered these iconic vehicles that could do pretty much everything. In one area, the modern ute is better than the American truck, and that's performance/handling. Underneath the skin, you'll find the VF Commodore Ute has things in common with the Pontiac G8 or the Chevrolet SS It's got some nice sedan-like independent rear suspension and could have been ordered with powerful V8 engines as well; you could also get them with superchargers. These little mullets were like Corvettes designed to transport sheep.Designer Hugo Silva decided to do this little Commodore Ute tribute by slamming one to the ground on some Rotiform wheels. It is just a rendering, of course, but it's also a nice reminder that you can have a Ute in America and build it like what you see in the picture. Sounds impossible, right?The 25-year law that stops you from having that sweet R34 is also in the way here, but there's a workaround. You get the Pontiac G8 we mentioned, and that's basically a rebadged Holden Commodore sedan. Then you import a Ute body from Australia; they're made on the same platform, so you can marry the chassis body that you can legally own to the imported body and have something that's legal to drive in the United States. For more details, check out what an expert on the matter has to say about this (in the video).
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A raft of leaders from some of the UK's biggest companies today called on the Government to back their 'national prosperity' plan to boost growth and living standards as Britain recovers from the pandemic.

Ten top business figures from the likes of Tesco, AstraZeneca, Vodafone and Royal Dutch Shell have set out a ten-year blueprint for action to help UK industry prosper, and address social and economic inequalities.

Their main policies are the creation of at least one new industry hub in every part of the UK by 2030, and a new scehem offering those aged 25 and over up to 10,000 to upskill and retrain throughout their working lives.

In a report by the Covid Recovery Commission, called Ambition 2030: A Partnership for Growth, they have also looked at how to deliver on the Government's net zero commitments.

The business leaders warned that the pandemic has widened inequalities, with deprived areas suffering the most from unemployment, death rates and mental health issues.

The commission - which formed last July - wants to work with the Government and local civic leaders to tackle so-called levelling up, and a key plank of its plans is the launch of a National Prosperity Scorecard.

The report by the Covid Recovery Commission said Britain is lagging behind other nations in its infrastructure performance

The annual business costs of poor mental health among staff are estimated at up to 45billion and spread across the country

Areas with the highest levels of worklessness before Covid-19 hit have seen the highest rises in unemployment benefit claims

This will track the Government's progress on levelling-up aims, measuring them against social as well as economic indicators, such as employment and benefit dependency rates, health and educational outcomes.

The commission's chair John Allan, who is also chairman of Tesco and housebuilder Barratt, said: 'A National Prosperity Scorecard will be key to evaluating the success or failure of local plans to level up communities.

Santander searches for new boss as profits surge Santander has kicked off the hunt for a new UK boss after chief executive Nathan Bostock was appointed to a new role amid a wider group overhaul as it posted a 61 per cent surge in profits. The lender said Mr Bostock has been appointed as head of investment platforms at Spanish owner Banco Santander and will step down from the UK business towards the end of 2021, once a successor has been appointed. It comes as Santander UK reported pre-tax profits jumping to 184 million in the first quarter, up from 114 million a year earlier. The group saw a sharp drop in provisions for loans expected to turn sour due to the fallout of pandemic, at just 5 million against 165 million a year ago. Advertisement

'By looking beyond purely economic measures, it could also act as a vital warning light for local communities.'

The commission is also recommending a Help to Train scheme to halve the projected skills deficit by 2030.

This would include a radical overhaul of the Apprenticeship Levy and a new Lifelong Learning Account offering those aged 25 and over up to 10,000 to upskill and retrain throughout their working lives.

And as part of net zero goals, it wants the Government to decarbonise the housing stock and commit to retrofitting every council house to make them as energy efficient as possible.

Mr Allan said: 'To deliver the economic recovery, successful local and national prosperity plans will need to integrate everything which is great about Britain: our leading universities, world-class innovation, our business community, our democracy, our institutions and governance.

'This will ensure that these engines of growth and prosperity are turbocharged in the next decade and that business, government and civic society work together to create jobs and drive investment.'

Other proposals put forward in the report include ensuring all UK workers have free access to mental health support by 2025, as well as the launch of a government-owned social purpose company to develop a Great British Supply Chain.

Tom Keith-Roach, UK president of drugs giant and Covid-19 vaccine developer AstraZeneca, said: 'It's clear we now need to align and unleash all our strength behind a new national imperative to build a stronger, fairer and more resilient economy whilst accelerating our move to net zero.'

John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow Airport, said: 'A stable policy environment and long-term National Prosperity Plan will help to deliver investment certainty across the UK, attract investment from outside of the UK and provide a foundation for determining the priority markets for trade deals.'

The commission's chair John Allan (pictured), who is also chairman of Tesco and housebuilder Barratt, said the 'National Prosperity Scorecard' would be 'key to evaluating the success or failure of local plans to level up communities'

The report looks at how to decarbonise consumer energy demand (left), but that it puts jobs across the UK at risk (right)

The Covid Recovery Commission have put together a three-point vision for a 'stronger', 'fairer' and 'more resilient' economy

Mr Allan told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning: 'The pandemic has ensured that those who are worst off to start with have suffered more than those who were relatively well off.

Sainsbury's sales soar but its Covid bill hits 485m Supermarket Sainsbury's enjoyed a strong boost in sales thanks to its position as an essential retailer during the year of Covid. Sales in the year to March 6 jumped 7.8 per cent, including an 8.3 per cent rise in non-food business as shoppers were unable to head to non-essential retailers for large parts of the year. But 485million in Covid-related costs and a major restructuring that saw around 1,150 jobs affected, sent the business to a 261million loss for the year. Sainsbury's grocery sales were up 7.8 per cent, helped along by a soaring 120 per cent rise in online orders. At the company's Argos business, sales jumped 10.9 per cent, including a 68 per cent rise in digital sales. But less travelling meant Sainsbury's fuel sales slumped 45 per cent contributing to overall revenues hitting 29billion in the year to March 5, up 0.2 per cent on a year earlier. Like much of the high street, and despite remaining open throughout the year, clothing sales dropped 8.5 per cent including a 26.7 per cent plunge in the three months between March and May 2020. Bosses said clothes sales are starting to recover, however, with a 4.2 per cent rise in sales in the past three months. Chief executive Simon Roberts also revealed that despite the high Covid-19 costs, the supermarket will still pay out a dividend to shareholders of 7.4p a share, up from 7.3p a share a year ago. Advertisement

'So that gap between the comfortably off and the less comfortably off has grown. And deprived communities are right across the UK. They're not just in the North and Midlands, there an awful lot of socially deprived communities in London, for example, as well.

'And the view of the businesspeople who have got together for the infrastructure commission was we needed to solve not only for growth but also to try and ensure that at least some of that growth was used to remedying this wider social inequality we're experiencing.'

Asked about creating industry hubs in every part of the UK, Mr Allan said: 'I think it isn't primarily about the Government. I think the Government has to license it to happen, if you like.

'But our view is that local communities - local universities, local business, local politicians - are perfectly capable of working out what is the best area to specialise in for their particular city or region.

'So part of our thesis really is that we think we need to devolve these decisions to those closest to them, not trying to make them all central to the Government.

'The Government doesn't need to pick winners. I think it needs to create an environment in which local people can decide where they think they can win.'

Asked about which businesses cannot succeed, Mr Allan said: 'I think first of all, we've probably got to refocus on manufacturing in total. I think we've probably gone too far in the direction of a service-based economy.

'And I think if we're going to get prosperity back into the regions, we actually need to reinvest in manufacturing - that would give us more national resilience as well.

'And I think it's easier to see the areas we should invest in than the areas that the areas we will invest out of, but it's pretty obvious that some old, very carbon-intensive industries are going to fade away.

'We have this extraordinary national consensus about the need to get to Net Zero, but on the other hand there's a huge opportunity in digitisation, in life sciences, which is something that the UK is already very good at, and could be even better.

'And actually creating a whole series of businesses and industries out of the move to Net Zero. I think we can lead the world in that and not only do it for ourselves, but actually use those skills as exports as well.'
ATLANTA, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marine Products Corporation (NYSE: MPX) announced its unaudited results for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. Marine Products is a leading manufacturer of fiberglass boats under three brand names: Chaparral, Robalo and Vortex. Chaparral's sterndrive models include SSi and SSX, along with the Chaparral Surf Series. Chaparral's outboard offerings include OSX Luxury Sportboats, the 267 SSX OB, SSi outboard models and SunCoast Sportdecks. Robalo builds an array of outboard sport fishing boats, which include center consoles, dual consoles and Cayman Bay Boat models. Chaparral also offers jet powered boats under the Vortex brand name.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2021, Marine Products generated net sales of $78,375,000, a 32.6 percent increase compared to $59,119,000 in the same period of the prior year. The increase in net sales was due to a 17.9 percent increase in the number of units sold during the quarter as compared to the prior year as well as a 15.5 percent increase in average selling price per boat. Unit sales increased in all of our major product categories. Average selling prices also increased compared to the first quarter of the prior year due to a model mix that included more of our larger boats.

Gross profit for the first quarter of 2021 was $18,462,000, a 52.5 percent increase compared to gross profit of $12,107,000 in the same period of the prior year. Gross margin as a percentage of net sales increased to 23.6 percent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 20.5 percent in the first quarter of 2020. Gross margin as a percentage of net sales increased due to manufacturing efficiencies resulting from higher production and a favorable model mix during the first quarter of 2021 as compared to the prior year.

Operating profit for the first quarter of 2021 was $10,025,000, an increase of 106.5 percent compared with operating profit of $4,854,000 in the first quarter of last year. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $8,437,000 in the first quarter of 2021 compared to $7,253,000 in the first quarter of 2020. These expenses increased due to costs that vary with sales and profitability, such as incentive compensation and warranty expense, partially offset by marketing cost savings during the quarter. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales were 10.8 percent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 12.3 percent of net sales during the first quarter of 2020.

Net income for the first quarter of 2021 was $8,097,000, an increase of $3,889,000, or 92.4 percent, compared with net income of $4,208,000 in the first quarter of 2020. Diluted earnings per share were $0.24 in the first quarter of 2021 compared to $0.12 in the first quarter of 2020. The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2021 was 19.3 percent, an increase compared to an effective tax rate of 14.4 percent for the first quarter of the prior year.

Richard A. Hubbell, Marine Products' President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "Our first quarter results reflect continued strong interest in recreational boating and the appeal of our products, as dealers continue to report strong retail demand in all of the markets. We generated strong sales across all our product lines. Although most of the winter boat shows were cancelled this year, our virtual and limited in-person marketing and sales efforts have been successful and we are looking forward to a very strong retail selling season, as our order backlog remains at historically high levels. We continue to be pleased by our growing market share. Updated statistics for the 12 months ended December 31, 2020 indicate that market share in our Robalo product line increased slightly, as did the combination of our Robalo and Chaparral outboard units. Market share within our Chaparral sterndrive models increased as well, and that product line continues to hold the second highest market share in its category.

"We are optimistic about the continued strength in the recreational boat market and our near-term financial results. However, like so many manufacturing businesses, we have started to experience supply chain disruptions which will impact our second quarter production and sales growth. We are working closely with our suppliers to understand these disruptions and manage our manufacturing processes, and we are communicating with our dealers and retail customers to manage their expectations and seek the best possible outcomes during this extraordinary time," concluded Hubbell.

Marine Products Corporation will hold a conference call today, April 28, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results for the quarter. Interested parties may listen in by accessing a live webcast in the investor relations section of Marine Products' website at marineproductscorp.com. Additionally, the live conference call can be accessed by calling (833) 968-2235 or (825) 312-2057 for international callers, and using conference ID number 6784804. A replay will be available in the investor relations section of Marine Products' website beginning approximately two hours after the call.

Marine Products Corporation (NYSE: MPX) designs, manufactures and distributes premium-branded Chaparral sterndrive and outboard pleasure boats, Vortex jet drive boats, and Robalo outboard sport fishing boats. The Company continues to diversify its product lines through product innovation. With premium brands, a solid capital structure, and a strong independent dealer network, Marine Products Corporation is prepared to capitalize on opportunities to increase its market share and to generate superior financial performance to build long-term shareholder value. For more information on Marine Products Corporation visit our website at MarineProductsCorp.com.

Certain statements and information included in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include statements that look forward in time or express management's beliefs, expectations or hopes. In particular, such statements include, without limitation, the statement that we are looking forward to a very strong retail selling season; our optimism about the continued strength in the recreational boat market and our near-term financial results; and our belief that supply chain disruptions will impact our second quarter production and sales growth. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Marine Products Corporation to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. These risks include risks related to the supply chain disruptions that may impact our production and sales in 2021. Additional discussion of factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from management's projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations is contained in Marine Products' Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") for the year ended December 31, 2020.

For information contact:

BEN M. PALMER JIM LANDERS Chief Financial Officer Vice President Corporate Services (404) 321-7910 (404) 321-2162 [email protected] [email protected]

MARINE PRODUCTS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES





























CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (In thousands except per share data)

Period ended March 31, (Unaudited)

First Quarter









2021



2020

% BETTER

(WORSE) Net Sales $ 78,375

$ 59,119

32.6 % Cost of Goods Sold

59,913



47,012

(27.4)

Gross Profit

18,462



12,107

52.5

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

8,437



7,253

(16.3)

Operating Profit

10,025



4,854

106.5

Interest Income

8



61

(86.9)

Income Before Income Taxes

10,033



4,915

104.1

Income Tax Provision

1,936



707

(173.8)

Net Income $ 8,097

$ 4,208

92.4 %



































EARNINGS PER SHARE















Basic $ 0.24

$ 0.12

100.0 % Diluted $ 0.24

$ 0.12

100.0 %

















AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING















Basic

33,958



33,940





Diluted

33,958



33,940







MARINE PRODUCTS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES



















CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS









At March 31, (Unaudited)

(in thousands)



2021



2020 ASSETS









Cash and cash equivalents $ 35,016

$ 20,064 Accounts receivable, net

7,727



9,170 Inventories

45,929



45,946 Income taxes receivable

551



733 Prepaid expenses and other current assets

2,161



1,442 Total current assets

91,384



77,355 Property, plant and equipment, net

14,727



14,925 Goodwill

3,308



3,308 Other intangibles, net

465



465 Pension assets

12,662



6,662 Deferred income taxes

3,917



3,429 Other assets

3,702



3,681 Total assets $ 130,165

$ 109,825











LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY









Accounts payable $ 10,847

$ 9,803 Accrued expenses and other liabilities

16,583



13,708 Total current liabilities

27,430



23,511 Long-term pension liabilities

13,209



8,805 Other long-term liabilities

791



523 Total liabilities

41,430



32,839 Common stock

3,399



3,397 Capital in excess of par value

-



- Retained earnings

87,269



76,218 Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(1,933)



(2,629) Total stockholders' equity

88,735



76,986 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 130,165

$ 109,825

SOURCE Marine Products Corporation

Related Links

http://www.marineproductscorp.com


BRUSSELS - Italy is among countries reporting the highest number of physical attacks against journalists in 2020, ranking second after Russia. It is followed by Serbia and the United Kingdom, according to data published in the annual report prepared by 14 international organizations of journalists tasked by the Council of Europe with managing a platform on which reports of attacks against the press are published. The attacks are reported in the 47 member states including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Hungary and Poland.



Ricardo Gutierrez, the secretary general of the European Federation of Journalists, said it is "necessary to be cautious when comparing data from different countries". He explained that reports also depend on how national associations work. "Italy is a specific case, because in this country there is a correlation between the number of cases of violence and those of intimidations against journalists", said Gutierrez, explaining that many of the reports published for the country come from the National press federation.



"On the other hand, we don't report all cases because it is impossible and the message to national associations is to focus on the most important cases", he added.



Organizations managing the platform for the defense of the freedom of the press of the Council of Europe state moreover that episodes of violence against journalists are underestimated in southeastern countries that are members of the organization.



For Italy, out of 11 reports published in 2020, six concerned physical attacks against journalists. Cases included an attack against a troupe of Sky Tg 24 in Naples during an anti-lockdown demonstration, one against journalist Mimmo Rubio, who was also a victim of anti-lockdown protesters, and attacks against various journalists who were following far-right protests in Rome in June 2020.



"The number of reports of physical attacks against journalists of member countries has doubled between 2016 and 2020, from 24 cases to 52", concluded Gutierrez.
The judge panel of the Pivnichny (Northern) Economic Court of Appeals referred the PrivatBank's appeals against the decision of the Economic Court of the city of Kyiv to recognize as terminated all obligations of Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant JSC (NFP, Dnipropetrovsk region) to the bank to another judge panel, the bank's press service told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

"The NFP declared the challenge to the panel, justifying it by the fact that the case was distributed according to the wrong specialization. The challenge was recognized as unfounded, and the case was transferred for distribution to another panel to make the final decision on the challenge," the bank said.

There is one more, already the third, pending challenge of NFP in the case.

The press service added that the date of the next hearing will be determined by a separate decision.

As reported, on January 22, 2021, the economic court recognized all obligations of the NFP as terminated.

According to the court's ruling, promulgated in the unified public Register of court rulings, this is a revolving credit line in the amount of $14 million, which the bank issued to NFP on February 2, 2009 with a loan repayment period until February 1, 2010 and which is mentioned in the bank's claim in the United States against its ex-owners.

PrivatBank filed a lawsuit with the Delaware Court of Chancery, in which it points to the violation of the NFP of its contractual obligations under the loan agreement, including the use of credit funds for purposes that contradict the conditions of issuance, that is, not to finance the current activities of the enterprise.

In addition, in the claim in the United States, according to the text of the court ruling, it is argued that NFP was involved in money laundering and illegal redirection of loans, which, in particular, provided for the repayment of debt under a loan agreement at the expense of funds under other loan agreements.

NFP, in turn, said that since any obligations between it and PrivatBank, stipulated by the loan agreement, were terminated by execution, the bank has no grounds for not recognizing the plaintiff's right to terminate the obligation.

PrivatBank said that its appeal with the U.S. court did not lead to non-recognition, violation or challenge of the rights of NFP and, accordingly, the latter had no prerequisites and grounds for filing a statement of claim for recognizing obligations under the loan agreement terminated. However, the economic court of Kyiv took the side the plaintiff.
Fourth Consecutive Quarter of Improved Growth and Earnings

PHOENIX, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Republic Bank of Arizona (OTCBB:RBAZ) (RBAZ) (Bank) announced a net income of $557,000, or $0.31 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 as compared to a net income of $12,000, or $0.01 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Current quarter earnings of $0.31 per share were comprised of $0.17 per share attributable to core operations and $0.14 per share due to impacts from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).



President and CEO Brian Ruisinger stated, Looking back to Q1 2020 seems like another world. RBAZ was in a leadership transition, the global pandemic shut down the country and the Federal Reserve Bank reduced interest rates quicker than in 2008. Our team viewed the events as an opportunity to lead. We went headfirst into the Paycheck Protection Program and saw tremendous benefit in responding to and supporting small business owners, many of which experienced a lack of response from larger banks. Our entire staff is extremely proud of the turnaround RBAZ has made in just 12 months. We have doubled the asset size of the bank, increased earnings and improved efficiency all while facing historic headwinds. We have proven to be a resilient team.

I am pleased to deliver our Q1 2021 results to our stakeholders as we achieved our goals, improving growth and earnings for the fourth consecutive quarter. RBAZ is well-positioned with ample liquidity and access to capital resources to accommodate additional growth in 2021. Our teams work continues to be reflected in our Bauer Five-Star bank rating.

Mr. Ruisinger continued, We recently mailed out proxy statements for our 2020 Annual Shareholder Meeting to be held on May 6, 2021 that seeks approval for the formation of a holding company, RBAZ Bancorp, Inc., which will allow for raising capital, borrowing funds, repurchasing stock and possible acquisitions. This action is a natural evolution of our growth and maturity as an organization.

Story continues

March 31, 2021 Highlights Include:

Total loans of $118,717,000 increased $8,796,000, or 8.0%, from December 31, 2020. Of this increase, $4,869,000 was attributable to PPP loans and the remaining $3,927,000, or 3.6%, were portfolio loans.

Total deposits of $193,395,000 were up $26,808,000, or 16.1%, from December 31, 2020 as the Bank continued to achieve results from initiatives introduced in 2020 and deepened existing relationships. Further, the Bank continued to improve its deposit mix, increasing non-interest bearing deposits to 31.4% of total deposits at March 31, 2021 from 26.2% of total deposits at December 31, 2020.

Total interest income increased $500,000 to $1,773,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 outpacing total interest income of $1,273,000 for the same period of the prior year equating to an increase of 39.3%.

Cost of deposits was reduced 60.8% to 0.47% for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 from 1.20% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Total non-interest income is up $74,000 to $96,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 compared to $22,000 for the same period of the prior year as the Bank improved fee income from service charges and other cash management services.

Total non-interest expense is down $28,000 to $960,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 compared to $988,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

The Bank remains Well Capitalized under the Community Bank Leverage Ratio (CBLR) framework adopted January 1, 2020 as follows:

March 31, 2021

(%) Ratio to be Well

Capitalized (%) CBLR ratio 8.66 8.50

About the Company

Republic Bank of Arizona is a locally owned, community bank in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona. RBAZ is a full service, community bank providing deposit and loan products and convenient, on-line and mobile banking to individuals, businesses and professionals. The Bank was established in April 2007 and is headquartered at 645 E. Missouri Avenue, Suite 108, Phoenix, AZ. Our second location is at 6909 E. Greenway Parkway, Suite 150, Scottsdale, AZ. The Bank is traded over-the-counter as RBAZ. For further information, please visit our web site: www.republicbankaz.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release may include forward-looking statements about RBAZ, for which the Bank claims the protection of safe harbor provisions contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on managements knowledge and belief as of today and include information concerning the Banks possible or assumed future financial condition, and its results of operations and business. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include fluctuations in interest rates, government policies and regulations (including monetary and fiscal policies), legislation, economic conditions, borrower capacity to repay, operational factors and competition in the geographic and business areas in which the Bank conducts its operations. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available at the time of the release, and the Bank assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Unaudited Summary Financial Information For the three months For the twelve months ended March 31, ended December 31, 2021 2020 2020 2019 (dollars in thousands, except per share data) Summary Income Data: Interest income $1,773 $1,273 $6,137 $5,153 Interest expense 210 296 1,187 1,024 Net interest income 1,563 977 4,950 4,129 Provision for loan losses - - 100 - Non-interest income 96 22 153 116 Non-interest expense 960 988 3,846 3,717 Realized gain (loss) on sales of securities 1 - (2) - Income before income taxes 700 11 1,155 528 Provision for (benefit from) income tax 143 (1) 301 79 Net income $557 $12 $854 $449 Per Share Data: Shares outstanding end-of-period 1,807 1,805 1,807 1,806 Earnings per common share $0.31 $0.01 $0.47 $0.25 Cash dividend declared $- $- $- $512 Total shareholders equity $17,549 $15,706 $16,982 $15,746 Book value per share $9.71 $8.70 $9.40 $8.72 Selected Balance Sheet Data: Total assets $217,837 $115,198 $190,348 $107,891 Securities available-for-sale, at fair value 33,301 20,150 32,935 20,046 Securities held-to-maturity 8,218 5,529 6,429 5,796 Loans 118,717 73,601 109,921 70,192 Allowance for loan losses 1,238 1,128 1,224 1,117 Deposits 193,395 97,674 166,587 90,406 Other borrowings 5,000 - 5,000 - Shareholders equity 17,549 15,706 16,982 15,746 Performance Ratios: Return on average shareholders equity (annualized) (%) 13.03 0.31 5.27 2.85 Net interest margin (%) 3.31 3.60 3.23 3.98 Average assets $199,068 $113,796 $158,639 $107,624 Return on average assets (annualized) (%) 1.12 0.04 0.54 0.42 Shareholders equity to assets (%) 8.06 13.63 8.92 14.59 Efficiency ratio (%) 57.27 97.41 74.56 86.36 Asset Quality Data: Nonaccrual loans $- $297 $- $303 Troubled debt restructurings $256 $525 $266 $535 Other real estate $76 $- $76 $- Nonperforming loans $- $484 $- $494 Nonperforming loans to total assets (%) - 0.42 - 0.46 Nonperforming loans to total loans (%) - 0.66 - 0.70 Reserve for loan losses to total loans (%) 1.04 1.53 1.11 1.59 Reserve for loan losses to nonperforming loans (%) n/a 233.06 n/a 226.11 Net (recoveries) charge-offs for period ($14) ($11) ($7) $67 Average loans $108,245 $69,950 $100,471 $64,846 Ratio of (recoveries) charge-offs to average loans (%) (0.01) (0.02) (0.01) 0.10 Regulatory Capital Ratios: CBLR/Leverage ratio (%) 8.66 13.86 9.12 15.04 Common Equity Tier 1 (%) n/a n/a n/a 21.50 Tier 1 capital to risk weighted assets (%) n/a n/a n/a 21.50 Total capital to risk weighted assets (%) n/a n/a n/a 22.75



Contact: Brian Ruisinger

President and Chief Executive Officer

Phone: 602.277.2500

Email: bruisinger@republicaz.com




The US is rushing a whole series of help, including life-saving drugs and machinery, that India needs to combat the massive surge in COVID-19 cases, President has said, as he again recalled New Delhi's assistance to America when it was in a "bind" due to the pandemic.

Biden spoke at length with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and conveyed solidarity with India in its fight against the viral disease.

"We are sending immediately a whole series of help that he needs, including providing for those Remdesivir and other drugs that are able to deal with this," Biden told reporters at a White House news conference on Tuesday.

"We are sending the actual mechanical parts that are needed for the machinery they have to build a vaccine, and that is being done as well," he said.

The president said he had discussed with Prime Minister Modi when the US would be able to send actual vaccines to India.

The Biden administration has come under criticism from several quarters, including from members and supporters of the Democratic Party, for not releasing surplus COVID-19 vaccines to India when the country is experiencing its worst-ever public health crisis.

"The problem is right now, we have to make sure we have other vaccines like Novavax and others coming on probably, and I think we will be in a position to be able to share vaccines as well as know-how with other countries who are in real need," Biden said.

"I might add when we were in a bind in the very beginning, India helped us," Biden said, referring to India, the largest producer of hydroxychloroquine, lifting the ban on the export of the medicine to the US after then President Donald Trump spoke to Modi on phone last year.

On Sunday Biden had tweeted that "Just as India sent assistance to the as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need."



On Monday, Biden assured Modi that the and India will work closely together in the fight against COVID-19.

India is currently struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

Biden pledged America's steadfast support for the people of India who have been impacted by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

In response, the is providing a range of emergency assistance, including oxygen-related supplies, vaccine materials, and therapeutics.

Biden and Modi resolved that the United States and India will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the effort to protect our citizens and the health of our communities, the White House said in a readout of the telephonic conversation between Biden and Modi.

Meanwhile, American lawmakers applauded Biden for all the help he was extending to save the lives of people suffering from COVID-19 and urged him to do more.

"The US maintains a moral obligation to assist our ally India as they face severe challenges posed by COVID-19. We must take every necessary step to ensure the Indian people receive the aid and assistance they need to emerge from this crisis," Congressman Brad Sherman, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Tuesday.

"My heart goes out to the people of India and neighbouring nations as they fight an uphill battle with COVID. I'm glad that the White House is providing these life-saving vaccines, but we will need a strong, coordinated global response in the days ahead," Congresswoman Carolyn Boudreaux said.

Congressman Michael Waltz Press said India was an essential ally in America's global competition with China.

"Its strength is important to stability in Asia and the United States. We must do what we can to help them curb their new wave of COVID cases," he added.

Congressman Bill Foster said while America continues to make progress in battling this pandemic, the critical situation in India can't be ignored. Several other American lawmakers have also come out in support of India as its people battle one of the gravest challenges to its public health system. Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, too came out in support of India.

"Pursuing vaccine equity doesn't just advance our economic and health security it's a moral imperative. As a bastion of innovation & champion for marginalized people everywhere, the US must lead efforts to guarantee immunization access to EVERYONE at home & abroad, Menendez tweeted.

Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said he was pleased the US will be sending its AstraZeneca supply to India and other countries in need of it as he had urged earlier.

Senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn, co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus, in a letter to Biden, said they were watching with growing alarm the unprecedented surge of COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations, and deaths, which have overwhelmed hospitals and the overall health system in India.

The pandemic has devastated populations and nations across the globe, making it very clear that the virus knows no borders. To control its spread globally, saving lives abroad and here at home, the US must do its part to attack the virus where it is most devastating and active, they wrote in the letter dated April 27.

"We write to urge you to accelerate US efforts to support other countries as they work to combat the COVID-19 virus," it said.

Over the weekend, the two jointly made a call to the White House, urging it to consider sending urgent help to India.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed its order directing demolition of a multi-level car parking being constructed near the iconic Taj Mahal at Agra.

The apex court asked the authorities to maintain status quo at the site, which is around one kilometre from the eastern gate of the 17th-century monument and said no further construction will be carried out there.

A bench comprising Justices M B Lokur and Dipak Gupta asked additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Uttar Pradesh government to file a comprehensive policy on preservation and pollution in the Taj Trapezium Zone and nearby areas.

The Taj Trapezium Zone is an area of 10,400 sq km around the historic Taj Mahal and is aimed at protecting the ancient monument.

Mehta told the bench that the government was committed to protecting the Taj Mahal and he will file a comprehensive policy regarding this before the court.

The court fixed the matter for further hearing on November 15.

The apex court had on October 24 ordered the demolition of the multi-level car parking which is under construction.

The apex court, which is dealing with a petition filed by environmentalist MC Mehta, has been monitoring development in the area to protect the Taj Mahal, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1631.

The historic white marble mausoleum is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mehta, in his PIL, has sought protection of the Taj from the ill-effects of polluting gases and deforestation in and around the area.

The apex court had earlier passed a slew of directions to protect the monument.

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Kinshasa, DRC (PANA)  The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Tuesday launched a preventive yellow fever vaccination campaign targeting more than 16
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Market Research Future published a Half Cooked Research Report on Global Silane Modified Polymers Market Research Report - Forecast to 2023 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.

Silane Modified Polymers Market  Overview

Silane Modified Polymers are predominantly used in isocyanate free and solvent free adhesive and sealant products. Silane Modified Polymers market is expected to witness strong growth due to its significant usage in automotive as well as construction industry. Building & Construction accounted for the largest market share in 2016 and is predicted to retain its dominance over the forecast period due to the wide utilization of adhesives and sealants in construction activities. Product find application in door & window construction, sealing joints, and other interior elements of building & construction and thus raise the prominence of silane modified polymer in construction sector. Furthermore, increasing vehicle manufacturing combined with demand for safety features is attributed to the growth of automotive market, which in turn is predicted to drive the demand for silane modified polymers.

Geographically, Asia Pacific emerged as the largest market for silane modified polymers followed by Europe and North America in 2016. The Asia Pacific region accounted for largest market share in 2016 and is expected to register highest CAGR owing to continuous growth of automotive and building & construction industries specifically in China, India, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and South Korea. Additionally, the growth of silane modified polymer is largely driven by their utilization in onsite and civil application. Increasing commercial, institutional, and residential construction activities along with rising prominence of silane modified polymer in construction industry is expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period. Furthermore, growing investment by major operating companies and shifting of silane modified polymers manufacturing units as well as end use industries growth in this region is estimated to propel the silane modified polymers regional market growth. North American market is expected to witness moderate growth due to increasing concern regarding the usage of isocyanate based product. Consumer has shifted their focus for isocyanate free adhesive which in turn has increased the consumption of silane modified polymer in this region. Europe is estimated to witness steady growth on account of rising demand from automotive sector. Middle East & African market is expected to register strong growth on account of increasing construction activities specifically in Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

Access Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/silane-modified-polymers-market-4107

Key Players:

The Dow Chemical Company, Evonik Industries, Kaneka Americas Holding, Inc., Henkel Ltd., Wacker Chemie AG, Bostik, TONSAN Adhesive,Inc among others are some of the prominent players at the forefront of competition in the Global Silane Modified Polymers Market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis.

Industry/ Innovation/ Related News:

April 2017- Evonik Industries AG has launched its product under the brand name Polymer ST and TEGOPAC. Company extended its product portfolio of silane modified polymers for construction and adhesive industries. With this product launch company aim is to develop its strong presence among the manufacturers of silane modified polymer globally.

January 2017- Wacker Company announced to launch two new silane terminated polymers named as GENIOSILXM 20 and GENIOSILXM25. They are predominantly used as a binder in the formulation of adhesive & sealants. With this product launch, the company extend its product portfolio for silane terminated polyethers under the brand name GENIOSIL. The company will be able to meet the growing need of silane modified polymers across the globe.

November 2015- Evonik Industries AG launched two new TEGOPAC reactive diluents. This product is used to decrease the viscosity of adhesive & sealant formulations to produce non-staining adhesives & sealants products. With this product launch, company strengthen its nutrition & care business segment and extend the silane modified polymer portfolio.

February 2015- Wacker Company announced to launch silane terminated polymers at the European Coatings Show. Product (GENIOSILXT) is widely used in the production of industrial adhesives and for sealing flat surfaces. This product will be utilized in automotive and mechanical engineering applications. With this product launch company will extend its product portfolio for silane modified polymers and will be able to meet the growing demand for silane modified polymer across the globe.

Competitive Landscape

The Silane Modified Polymers report analyses the degree of competition among the major players as well as industry growth and market scenario. The global Silane Modified Polymers market comprises of numerous players operating in the market which include large scale and medium size manufacturers. The prominent market players operating in the global Silane Modified Polymers industry is focusing towards growth association specifically by Asia Pacific as medium scale and small scale producers are from this region specifically from China, South Korea, India, Malaysia, and Japan. Furthermore, the company is focusing on extending their product portfolio by strategic acquisition and mergers, joint ventures, product launches, and exclusive agreements. Some of the companies are expanding their production capacity of silane modified polymers to meet the growing demand for silane modified polymers.
Tampere, Finland, April 28th 2021  multiplatform game developer and publisher 10tons releases the long-awaited Skeletal Avenger on Steam Early Access. Skeletal Avenger is skill-based roguelite hack'n'slash dungeon crawler where the player controls a skeleton with the ultimate goal of avenging his own death. The Early Access version will have two of four planned biomes. The content will be expanded during the early-access period with two more biomes and an endless NG+ mode.



Decapitate yourself to do special attacks: Your hat determines the effect

Nearly a dozen enemies to fight in two biomes: Dungeon and Sewers.

Procedural roguelite levels in reverse: Ascend from the depths to avenge!

Equip your skeleton with increasingly powerful gear

Buy upgrades increasing your might

Single player and simple 2-4 player local co-op

The full version launch date is still open but the plan is to have a relatively short early access period. The final version will also be released for current and next-gen consoles. 10tons has plans to support several next-gen console features like high resolution rendering, high refresh rates, and more.



Skeletal Avenger is built using 10tons Ltd. proprietary game engine technology and is primarily targeted at PCs and current & next-generation consoles. Details about other platforms will be announced at a later date.



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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 19:12:42|Editor: huaxia

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-- Xinjiang has been a pioneer in China's new energy drive by turning its natural endowments into power for a greener future.

-- Xinjiang generated some 84.45 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy power last year, a record high. About 32 percent of the electricity was transmitted to 20 other Chinese provinces, regions and municipalities, helping cut over 23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

by Xinhua writers Zhang Zhongkai, Du Gang, Fang Ning

URUMQI, April 28 (Xinhua) -- In the vast Gobi desert in the east of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, over 10,000 pentagon-shaped mirror-like devices form layers of circles, resembling a radiating sun. At the very center of the "sun" stands a 220-meter-high tower.

It is not a mysterious ritual from the old days, nor artwork. The project is a modern attempt by the region to capitalize on its abundant solar energy and turn it into heat and power.

Photo taken on Dec. 19, 2019 shows a photothermal power station built in Gobi desert in Hami, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Feng Yang/Xinhua)

The photothermal power station is the first of its kind in Xinjiang. It can generate power equivalent to that of burning some 60,000 tonnes of standard coal each year, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 150,000 tonnes, lending steam to the country's goal to strive for carbon emission peak in 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060.

With the largest land area among provincial level regions in China, Xinjiang is home to vast expanses of Gobi deserts with limited rainfall but strong wind and sunshine.

The far west Chinese region has been a pioneer in the country's new energy drive by turning its natural endowments into power for a greener future. A mountainous district in its capital city Urumqi is known as the cradle of China's wind power industry.

Photo taken on Oct. 23, 2019 shows the Nanfeng wind power field in Hami, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge)

Xinjiang generated some 84.45 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy power last year, a record high. About 32 percent of the electricity was transmitted to 20 other Chinese provinces, regions and municipalities, helping cut over 23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Xinjiang's new energy push is part of the country's accelerating shift from fossil fuels to clean energy.

Official data showed that China's installed capacity of renewable energy power generation totaled 930 million kilowatts by the end of 2020, accounting for 42.4 percent of the country's total.

Power generated by wind, sun and the like hit 2.2 trillion kilowatt-hours last year, accounting for 29.5 percent of the country's total electricity consumption, up 9.5 percentage points from 2012.

Developing and facilitating clean energy is one important path for China and the rest of the world to go carbon-neutral, said Liu Zhenya, chairman of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization.

Staff work at the Shichengzi photovoltaic power station in Hami, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge)

China has promised to strictly control coal-fired power generation projects and limit the increase in coal consumption over the 2021-2025 period and phase down coal consumption from 2026 to 2030.

The country's carbon peak and neutrality goals mean a stronger resolution and push for the shift to clean energy, offering new growth opportunities for energy market players, said Wu Gang, chairman of Xinjiang Goldwind Sci & Tech Co., Ltd., a leading wind power equipment producer.

The Xinjiang-based company has built a pioneering carbon-neutral industrial park in southeastern Beijing. With a smart network of wind and solar energy devices, about half of the park's electricity is powered by clean energy.

On Jan. 28 this year, China Beijing Environmental Exchange issued the country's first renewable energy carbon neutrality certificate to the Goldwind's industrial park in Beijing.

Employees work at a wind turbine plant of Goldwind Science and Technology Co.,Ltd. in Hami, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge)

China's leading tech firms have become keen on empowering the green energy campaign in China. IT giant Lenovo said it has supported several energy firms' operation upgrading to boost the wind turbine's utilization rate and power generation efficiency.

Going carbon-neutral is a shared goal and will bring new industrial opportunities, said Lenovo's chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing, adding that technology and innovation hold the key to achieving the green target. 

(Video editor: Wu Yao; video reporter: Guo Yan.)


Beijing, April 28 : The Chinese mainland on Tuesday reported 12 new Covid-19 cases, all of which were imported, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Wednesday.

Of them, three each were reported in Guangdong and Sichuan, two in Shanghai, and one each in Tianjin, Chongqing, Yunnan and Shaanxi, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Four new suspected cases arriving from outside the mainland were reported in Shanghai, the commission said.

No new deaths related to Covid-19 were reported on Tuesday, it added.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Two Huntsville men are facing 24 charges after federal prosecutors indicted them in connection with a string of armed robberies across North Alabama.

U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr., said in a statement that Terrence Warren Jackson, 43, and Deonte Marquish Eddins, 25, have also been charged with brandishing a firearm and being felons in possession of a firearm.

Prosecutors say the two committed 11 armed robberies at businesses across North Alabama. According to the indictment, the robberies occurred over six days in October 2019, at Verizon Wireless, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Marcos Pizza, MetroPCS and two GameStop stores.

If convicted, the two face a maximum of 20 years in prison. The brandishing firearms charge carries a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison per count, to be served consecutively. If convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, the two face a maximum of ten years in prison.

The FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, assisted by local law enforcement, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Stuart Burrell is prosecuting the case.
OTTAWA, ON, April 27, 2021 /CNW/ - The Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments under the judicial application process established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit, and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

Julianne K. Lamb, Q.C., a partner at Guild Yule LLP in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Madam Justice Lamb replaces Mr. Justice T.C. Armstrong (New Westminster), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective January 16, 2021.

Lauren Blake, Principal Lawyer at Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Madam Justice Blake replaces Mr. Justice H. Slade (Vancouver), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective March 31, 2021.

Jan Brongers, Senior General Counsel at Justice Canada in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Mr. Justice Brongers replaces Mr. Justice M. McEwan (Nelson), who resigned on August 31, 2020. The Chief Justice will be transferring Madam Justice L. Lyster (Vancouver) into this vacancy. The vacancy is therefore located in Vancouver.

Quote

"I wish Justices Lamb, Blake, and Brongers every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve the people of British Columbia well as members of the Supreme Court of B.C."

The Hon. David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Biographies

Justice Julianne K. Lamb, Q.C., grew up in Mountain, Ontario. She earned a Bachelor of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo in 1990 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto in 1993. She was called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1994 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2018.

At the time of her appointment, Madam Justice Lamb was one of the managing partners at Guild Yule LLP, a firm that became family to her over the last dozen years. She was a civil litigator who focused on professional negligence matters, complex personal injury claims, and insurance coverage disputes. She also defended professionals in regulatory proceedings.

Over the course of her career, Justice Lamb volunteered regularly for continuing legal education, including as co-author of the insurance chapter of the British Columbia Annual Practice for the last ten years. From 2014 to 2019, she was an adjunct professor at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, teaching the insurance law course. She was elected bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia in 2020 after serving as a non-bencher member on two Law Society committees. Having learned from the best of mentors, she has tried to pay it forward to the younger generations.

Justice Lamb is the devoted mother of Matthew, Megan and Liam. They officially welcomed her husband, Dan Abel, and his son, Hunter, to their family in July 2019.

Justice Lauren Blake was born and raised in Waterloo, Ontario. She received a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History from the University of Toronto in 1991 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia in 1994. She was called to the bar of British Columbia in 1996.

Before commencing practice, Madam Justice Blake had the privilege of serving as a law clerk for the Supreme Court of British Columbia. After her call to the bar, she practised in the litigation department of Davis & Co. (now DLA Piper (Canada) LLP) in the areas of trust and estate litigation, commercial litigation, and family law. Since 2017, Justice Blake has practised at Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers, with a focus on trust and estate litigation. She is named in Best Lawyers in Canada for Trusts and Estates and for Corporate and Commercial Litigation. She is a past chair of the Wills and Trusts Section of the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and a former director of the Central City Foundation. She has written and spoken extensively on matters related to trusts and estates.

Justice Blake has three children who are her pride and joy, and two wonderful step-children with her husband, David, who is also a lawyer.

Justice Jan Brongers was born in Vancouver. He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia in 1990, after which he attended the National Program at McGill University's Faculty of Law. He received his Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Civil Law from McGill in 1994. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1995, and subsequently to the bars of Ontario and British Columbia.

Mr. Justice Brongers is fluently bilingual. He articled with Robinson Sheppard Shapiro in Montreal and clerked at the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa for the Honourable James K. Hugessen. He has been a civil litigator throughout his legal career, which began in Ottawa with Justice Canada. He then returned home to Vancouver in 2006, where he was the Senior General Counsel at the Regional Director General's Office of Justice Canada in British Columbia. Justice Brongers has had conduct of a wide variety of Crown litigation files, notably in the fields of administrative, Indigenous and constitutional law. As a result, he has appeared before courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as administrative tribunals and commissions of inquiry.

Justice Brongers enjoys mentoring junior colleagues and presenting at continuing legal education events. He is also the co-author of The Annotated Crown Liability and Proceedings Act.

Justice Brongers has been happily married to Ellen for 27 years. They consider themselves very fortunate to be the parents of Justine, their teenage daughter.

Quick Facts

At the Superior Court level, more than 450 judges have been appointed since November 2015 . These exceptional jurists represent the diversity that strengthens Canada . Of these judges, more than half are women, and appointments reflect an increased representation of visible minorities, Indigenous, LGBTQ2+, and those who self-identify as having a disability.





. These exceptional jurists represent the diversity that strengthens . Of these judges, more than half are women, and appointments reflect an increased representation of visible minorities, Indigenous, LGBTQ2+, and those who self-identify as having a disability. The Government of Canada is committed to promoting access to justice for all Canadians. To improve outcomes for Canadian families, Budget 2018 provides funding of $77.2 million over four years to support the expansion of unified family courts, beginning in 2019-2020. This investment in the family justice system will create 39 new judicial positions in Alberta , Ontario , Nova Scotia , and Newfoundland and Labrador .





is committed to promoting access to justice for all Canadians. To improve outcomes for Canadian families, Budget 2018 provides funding of over four years to support the expansion of unified family courts, beginning in 2019-2020. This investment in the family justice system will create 39 new judicial positions in , , , and and . Federal judicial appointments are made by the Governor General, acting on the advice of the federal Cabinet and recommendations from the Minister of Justice.





The Judicial Advisory Committees across Canada play a key role in evaluating judicial applications. There are 17 Judicial Advisory Committees, with each province and territory represented.





play a key role in evaluating judicial applications. There are 17 Judicial Advisory Committees, with each province and territory represented. Significant reforms to the role and structure of the Judicial Advisory Committees, aimed at enhancing the independence and transparency of the process, were announced on October 20, 2016 .

SOURCE Department of Justice Canada

For further information: media may contact: Rachel Rappaport, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Justice, 613-992-6568, [email protected]; Media Relations, Department of Justice Canada, 613-957-4207, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.justice.gc.ca


A female stalker who spent years harassing comedian Al Murray by bombarding him with gifts and trying to get backstage has been banned by a court from attending his shows.

Lucy Bird, 46, caused such distress to the Pub Landlord performer that a picture of her had to be circulated at any venue he played so staff could send her away.

JPs heard she sent the funnyman bizarre parcels, letters and unsettling Facebook messages as well as trying to get backstage at a number of his gigs.

Lucy Bird, 46, (pictured above) caused such distress to the Pub Landlord performer that a picture of her had to be circulated at any venue he played so staff could send her away

Comedian Al Murray, pictured above, told how Bird's actions left him 'distressed' and had 'wrecked' his experience with social media which he used to connect with his fans

Murray told how Bird's actions left him 'distressed' and had 'wrecked' his experience with social media which he used to connect with his fans.

Northampton Magistrates Court also heard how she sent the 52-year-old messages telling him 'I know where you live' and obtained pictures of his children.

In a statement read out by prosecutor Stella Moses, Murray said: 'This was very concerning for me as she had previously stated she knew where I lived.

'I always felt pestering my family was one thing but targeting my family was completely wrong.

'The wife of a business partner of mine received a Christmas card with the words 'I know who you are.'

Northampton Magistrates Court also heard how she sent the 52-year-old messages telling him 'I know where you live' and obtained pictures of his children. Bird is pictured above

In a statement read out by prosecutor Stella Moses, Murray said: 'This was very concerning for me as she had previously stated she knew where I lived'

'This contact is causing me distress*the actions Bird has taken have wrecked my experience with social media.

'I am active on both Facebook and Twitter and this is a vital outlet for me that enables me to connect with fans.

'But I feel a lot less comfortable using it for feeling like she is going to be there.'

The court heard how Murray was subjected to years of strange letters and parcels containing hair grips, baked goods, condoms and religious passages.

Bird, of Flore, Northants., also posted an image of one of Murray's children when they were a toddler.

She also targeted a string of innocent people including a businessman, a police officer and a hospital worker online where she falsely branded them sex offenders.

One man was subject to months of abuse and accusations merely because he replied to an online advert to offer her a free wallpaper stripper.

The businessman told the court Bird, pictured above, had caused him to lose tens of thousands of pounds of business because of the accusations

Subsequent livestreamed videos by Bird featured images of the man's children and maliciously called him a rapist.

She also filmed the man when he was at a supermarket and said in front of other members of the public 'oh look, here's the paedophile'.

The businessman told the court Bird had caused him to lose tens of thousands of pounds of business because of the accusations.

He told the court: 'This woman has ruined my life. She has called me a rapist, a paedophile and a murderer.

'She has continued to post videos of me and my family. I just want her to leave me alone and stop posting untrue statements about me.'

Another victim was a Northamptonshire Police officer, who Bird alluded in a social media post had told her another individual was a rapist.

The officer denied this and was greatly distressed by the accusation, fearing it would lead to an internal investigation against her.

Another was a member of staff at Berrywood Hospital, who she repeatedly accused of being a rapist.

Bird pleaded guilty to three counts of harassment and one count of stalking.. In a police interview, she only admitted to sending three parcels to Murray.

But she avoided jail after being handed a 16 week jail term, suspended for two years on Friday.

Bird was also handed restraining orders against her four victims, banning her from attending any of Al Murray's shows or to contact him for four years.

Stalker Lucy Bird today apologised to Pub Landlord Al Murray for the distress she caused and revealed how she became obsessed with the comedian when her marriage broke down.

The 46-year-old unemployed veterinary nurse said her fixation started nine years ago when she went to one of his stand-up shows.

She said: 'It started when my marriage broke down and I was looking for an escape from the reality that my life was going pear shaped and I fixated on Al Murray.

'I went to one of gigs and thought he was really funny.

'Then I started watching his gigs on the DVDs and stuff but then I formed this romantic fantasy attachment to him.

'Al Murray became a replacement for my husband.

'I do regret it and would apologise if I was allowed to contact Al Murray.

'The contact before was done on social media on Twitter and I sent him food and clothing, which I'm not allowed to anymore.

Stalker Lucy Bird today apologised to Pub Landlord Al Murray for the distress she caused and revealed how she became obsessed with the comedian when her marriage broke down

'It is not a crime to fancy someone but it turned into an obsession where my mental health and his mental health were affected, which is why he got the lawyers involved.

'I can't stop fancying him but I can stop my behaviours.

'When I was in court I heard he has a young baby now and that I was what I need to hear to have the closure I needed to move on.

'I know my behaviour did cause distress and fear in all four of the people, so I accept the sentencing.

'I think the sentencing was fair, I had time to think about it and it was obviously put in place to protect the victims.

'But in a way I feel like it protects me as well because the course of conduct I pursued was detrimental to my mental health.

'I heard something today about revenge but it was never about revenge with Al Murray - that was a separate obsession which has now gone.

'The important thing as far as my mental health goes is I am able to move on and draw a line under it all.'
"ForceForm wheels are an exciting addition to the American Force brand, providing professional builders, enthusiasts and broader individuals alike with a wider range of options at a more accessible price point and added bonus of being manufactured right here in the USA," said Brian Henderson, Wheel Pros Chief Marketing Officer. "Our goal is to always bring the superior level of quality that American Force customers expect in every wheel we make, and we believe our ForceForm products do just that."

The new ForceForm wheels are built using modern casting technology, maximizing the efficiency of available tooling and production processes, and are designed to exceed Department of Transportation structural requirements. The wheels are manufactured utilizing high-end aluminum, have robotically machined centers, and are finished with a powder-coat, providing ForceForm products with ultimate consistency, precision and strength in addition to their desirable designer-styled appearance.

"We've been investing and working towards offering our Made-in-America products for a long time, and we couldn't be more thrilled to release ForceForm to the market today," said Eric Greiving, Wheel Pros Product Development Manager. "Beginning with the initial stages of engineering and design, to the remodeling and scaling of production in our South Carolina factory, we are proud to have created a high quality, accessible product for all enthusiasts and consumers that is differentiated in the market."

The first four styles available are the Rush, Weapon, Vulcan and Trail. See below for the images of these products. These wheels are available at your local dealer today and soon will be available directly online from American Force at americanforcewheels.com. Find your local dealer using the Wheel Pros dealer locator at Wheelpros.com/dealers.

About American Force

Since 2003, American Force has been using the latest technology and finest materials to manufacture custom aftermarket wheels for truck enthusiasts. With a reputation for creating radical wheel designs while also delivering superior performance, American Force is sold in more than 20 countries on four continents online direct-to-consumer and through a network of more than 25,000 authorized dealers. American Force, a Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) and Wheel & Tire Council (WTC) member company, offers a lifetime warranty on its wheels against manufacturing defects. American Force is a Wheel Pros Brand.

For more information, visit http://www.americanforcewheels.com . Other contact methods include:

Phone: 803.591.9971 or 800.620.6259

Email: [email protected]

Mail: 7780 Park Place Rd., York, SC 29745

About Wheel Pros

Founded in 1995, Wheel Pros serves the automotive enthusiast industry with a wide selection of vehicle enhancements from its portfolio of lifestyle brands, including Fuel-Off-Road, American Racing, KMC, Rotiform and Black Rhino. Utilizing its expanding global network of distribution centers spanning North America, Australia and Europe, Wheel Pros serves over 13,500 retailers and has a growing ecommerce presence to provide enthusiast consumers with access to the products they desire. More information is available at www.wheelpros.com.

Press Contacts

Billy Anderson

Wheel Pros

[email protected]

657.577.9081

Max Krapff

Backbone Media

[email protected]

970.658.5252 ext. 1174

SOURCE Wheel Pros

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 21:08:40|Editor: huaxia

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NUR-SULTAN, April 28 (Xinhua) -- First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on Wednesday announced his resignation as chairman of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan and handed over power to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Addressing the 29th session of the assembly on Wednesday, Nazarbayev said all affairs need to be in the hands of a single person, noting that he will always be with the assembly but that it's time for a new leadership.

Tokayev proposed that Nazarbayev become the assembly's honorary chairperson.

"Nursultan Nazarbayev, at the dawn of Kazakhstan's independence, created such a successful social and political institution. This unique body subsequently received constitutional status and wide international recognition. The People's Assembly became the foundation of interethnic harmony in our country," Tokayev said.

Established in 1995 by Nazarbayev, the assembly is an advisory body whose task is to assist in the development and implementation of national policies as well as ensure social and political stability by coordinating inter-ethnic relations. Enditem
Works aiming to protect homes from flooding in Caia Park complete

Work on a 2.3 million-pound major project aiming to tackle flooding in Caia Park, has been completed.

Welsh Water say the works undertaken will protect homes in the Wynnstay Avenue area and the local environment by reducing flooding from the wastewater network during heavy rain.

The work, which started in July last year, includes the installation of a large underground storage tank in the grassed area between Wynnstay Avenue and Deva Way.

New pipes were installed connecting the tank to the network, so that when the wastewater system is at full capacity during heavy rain the storage tank will store the stormwater until the rain has eased and then slowly release it back into the wastewater network which will reduce the risk of flooding.





To allow the works to take place community goalposts had to be removed. Welsh Water say to thank local residents for bearing with them during the work, the organisation has replaced the old goalposts for the community to enjoy.

Welsh Waters Project Manager Sean ORourke said: Our 2.3 million major investment in Wynnstay Avenue, Wrexham, reflects our commitment to providing all customers with a sewerage system that they can trust in as well as protecting the environment.

This was a big scheme for us, which included the construction of a new underground water storage tank and the installation of new pipework.

We understand that our work here caused some disruption, so we would like to thank residents in the area for their understanding and bearing with us while we carried out this essential work

When working in communities on major projects like in Caia Park, Welsh Water try to give back to communities through initiatives or by supporting community groups.

The organisation has been able to donate 250 to two community initiatives at Caia park by way of thanks: The Venture which provides free play activities and Deva House Day Centre, providing adults with opportunities to socialise.

Linda Bronson Platt, The Venture Playground manager said Were pleased to hear the investment work to help protect the area from flooding is now complete.

The team have been polite and courteous throughout.

We also want to thank you for the very kind donation and the pallets that we have received as it has given the children the opportunity to observe the work to upcycle the pallets, which we do hope this has inspired lots of our children to want to work in construction in the future.

The scheme follows a 700,000 investment in the wastewater network in Gwersyllt to tackle similar issues.

Welsh Water also have a community fund, for more information on this and how to apply visit www.dwrcymru.com/CommunityFund
Turkish film and TV star joins forces with prominent international investment consultancy firm to promote investment opportunities in Turkey among global audiences especially in Istanbul, New York, Toronto, London and Dubai

Investment consultancy firm Trem Global has signed a deal with Burak Ozcivit, a Turkish actor with an international fan-base who will serve as the company's "brand ambassador" and promote Turkey's economic stimulus packages in foreign investment markets.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005059/en/

Trem Global to Introduce Turkey to International Investors With High-Profile Actor Burak Ozcivit (Photo: Business Wire)

Turkey: A Dynamic Venue for Investment

Thanks to its strategic position between Europe and Asia and its relatively young and qualified labor force, Turkey represents an attractive and highly dynamic destination for foreign investment.

According to global management consulting firm Kearney, the rate of foreign investment in Turkey rose by 35 percent to some $4.6 billion in 2020. This is despite the fact that, within the same period, foreign investment worldwide fell by 33 percent, due mainly to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many observers attribute Turkey's success in this regard to the generous raft of incentives the country offers to would-be investors. These include the granting of residency and/or citizenship rights to foreign nationals who make capital investments of $500,000 or more, purchase real estate worth at least $250,000, or create local opportunities for employment.

Global Appeal, Global Reach

The international appeal of Turkish television serials, many of which have drawn global audiences in the hundreds of millions, has provided the country with unique opportunities to market itself to potential investors.

Ozcivit has played starring roles in numerous Turkish television series and films, many of which have drawn global audiences. The actor has said he is both "happy and proud" to have this unique chance to promote his country.

A short promotional film about the campaign, to be shot with the next few weeks, has prompted considerable excitement among fans of the actor, who recently mentioned the upcoming project on his social-media accounts.

"Our budding partnership with Burak Ozcivit, will help us tap into lucrative investment markets, especially those in New York, Toronto, London and Dubai. Burak and our company share the same objective: we both want to raise Turkey's profile on the world stage, especially among international investors." says Muhammet Torun. "It is part of our long-term policy goal of achieving and maintaining a global reach."

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005059/en/

Contacts:

Arda Lale

arda@tremglobal.com

+90 212 271 75 75
DUBLIN, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Investigation Report on China's Ambroxol Market, 2021-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

In 2021-2025, the Chinese ambroxol market will gradually recover. It is estimated that the sales of ambroxol in China will reach CNY924 million in 2025, and the CAGR will reach 10% in 2021-2025.

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, the ability of Chinese hospitals to receive patients has declined. The decrease in the number of people seeking medical care makes China's sales and sales of ambroxol show a downward trend in 2020. The sales of amboxol in China dropped by 34% in 2020, compared to 2019.

According to the analyst, the incidence and case fatality rate of respiratory diseases in China are high in recent years. Following cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and cancers, respiratory diseases rank third among the chronic diseases that cause deaths in China.

Therefore, developing drugs for the treatment of respiratory diseases has become an important part of drug research. In the case of respiratory infections (respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis), a large amount of sputum is produced, which requires the application of expectorants. Respiratory mucus regulators are the main expectorants.



After years of development, third-generation expectorant ambroxol has become the most common drug in the clinical treatment of respiratory diseases. The chemical constituent of ambroxol is ambroxol hydrochloride, an active metabolite of Bromhexine. In 1981, ambroxol (trade name: Mucosolvan) developed by German company Boehringer Ingelheim was launched. Compared with the first and second generations of expectorants, ambroxol excels in dissolving mucus. In 1994, Boehringer Ingelheim's ambroxol entered China. Afterwards, the generic drugs by Chinese companies also came onto the market.



Ambroxol has been growing rapidly since it entered China. From 2005 to 2014, its annual sales value increased from less than CNY 200 million to CNY 1.26 billion, representing a CAGR of 20.9%. From 2015 to2020, the sales revenue of ambroxol declined in China. By sales value, Boehringer Ingelheim takes up a market share of about 47.75% in the year of2020.

The rest market share is captured by Chinese companies, among which the top market players are Changzhou Siyao Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Shenyang Xinma Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., TIPR Pharmaceutical Responsible Co., Ltd. and. Cisen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Ambroxol is sold in China in the dosage forms of injections, solutions, syrups, granules, tablets and capsules mainly. Injections dominate the market.



Topics Covered:

The impact of COVID-19 on China's ambroxol market

ambroxol market Situation of respiratory diseases in China

Sales value and volume of China's ambroxol 2016-2020

ambroxol 2016-2020 Competitive landscape of China's ambroxol market

ambroxol market Prices of ambroxol in China

Prices of ambroxol in China by regions and manufacturers

by regions and manufacturers Analysis of factors affecting the development of China's ambroxol market

ambroxol market Prospect of China's ambroxol market from 2021 to 2025

Key Topics Covered:



1 Relevant Concepts of Ambroxol

1.1 Indications for Ambroxol

1.2 Development of Ambroxol in China

1.3 Governmental Approval of Ambroxol in China

1.4 The impact of COVID-19 on China's ambroxol market



2 Sales of Ambroxol in China, 2016-2020

2.1 Sales Value of Ambroxol

2.1.1 Overall Sales Value

2.1.2 Sales Value by Region

2.2 Sales Volume of Ambroxol

2.2.1 Overall Sales Volume

2.2.2 Sales Volume by Region

2.3 Sales of Ambroxol by Dosage Form in China, 2016-2020

2.3.1 Tablets

2.3.2 Capsules

2.3.3 Injections

2.3.4 Solutions

2.3.5 Syrups

2.3.6 Granules



3 Analysis on Major Ambroxol Manufacturers in China, 2016-2020

3.1 Analysis on Market Share of Major Ambroxol Manufacturers

3.1.1 Market Share by Sales Value

3.1.2 Investigation on Market Share by sale volume

3.2 Boehringer Ingelheim

3.2.1 Enterprise Profile

3.2.2 Sales of Boehringer Ingelheim's Ambroxol in China

3.3 Changzhou Siyao Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.

3.3.1 Enterprise Profile

3.3.2 Sales of Changzhou Siyao Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.'s Ambroxol in China

3.4 Shenyang Xinma Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

3.4.1 Enterprise Profile

3.4.2 Sales of Shenyang Xinma Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.'s Ambroxol in China

3.5 TIPR Pharmaceutical Responsible Co., Ltd.

3.5.1 Enterprise Profile

3.5.2 Sales of TIPR Pharmaceutical Responsible Co., Ltd.'s Ambroxol in China

3.6 Cisen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

3.6.1 Enterprise Profile

3.6.2 Sales of Cisen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.'s Ambroxol in China



4 Prices of Ambroxol in China, 2020-2021

4.1 Average Price

4.1.1 Average Price in China

4.1.2 Sales Price of Ambroxol by Region

4.2 Boehringer Ingelheim (Mucosolvan)

4.3 Changzhou Siyao Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Lansu)

4.4 Shenyang Xinma Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Kaishun)

4.5 TIPR Pharmaceutical Responsible Co., Ltd. (Yinuoshu)

4.6 Cisen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.(Senan)



5 Prospect of China's Ambroxol Market, 2021-2025

5.1 The impact of COVID-19

5.2 Forecast on Market Size

5.3 Forecast on Market Trend

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/oq9hgz

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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A motion calling on Derry City and Strabane District Council to set up a working group on Irish unity will be discussed at a meeting tomorrow.

The motion will be put forward at the council's monthly meeting by Sinn Fein councillor Conor Heaney.

He said: Just about every major political party on this island, including the DUP, acknowledges that a referendum on Irish unity is coming.

Therefore, we have a duty to prepare for that and to prepare for the reunification of our island in the event that such a vote was passed, as I believe it would be."

Cllr Heaney said the local council has done 'sterling work' along with their neighbouring council in Donegal on building the north west region but added 'we must go much further in preparing for an end to partition'.

As a corporate body we must not repeat the mistakes of failing to prepare that the Brexit debacle has exposed in England.

I will be proposing a motion that would see the council establish a working group on Irish unity to explore the structural and practical changes that might be needed in the event of Irish unity.

"It could also provide a forum for citizens to engage with the process while ensuring we maximise the opportunities that the ending of partition would bring for this region of Ireland.
Local

Early voting wraps; Election is Saturday

Early voting closed Tuesday evening, and voters have one last chance Saturday to cast ballots in local elections deciding city council and school board races and a $13 million bond election in Garrison ISD.

Polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and the total number of early ballots cast was not available at press time, though going into the final day of early voting, close to 600 people had voted in person at the courthouse annex in city council and school board races.

Voting will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday in all races.

The hotly contested Northeast Ward race against incumbent Nacogdoches Councilman Garth Hinze and challenger Kathleen Belanger had drawn the most voters, 458, going into the final day of early voting.

The race largely centers around an ongoing zoning dispute between the council and residents of Logansport Street, including Belanger.

In August, Hinze and other members of the council approved a zoning change that would allow a high-density multifamily development on the north end of Logansport near the entrance to Pecan Park.

Residents of the street say they werent given proper notice and have asked the council to reconsider. The council has held firm but has changed the way they notify residents of proposed zoning adjustments.

The Northwest Ward race, which includes a disqualified candidate on the ballot, had drawn far fewer votes going into Tuesday. Only 138 votes have been cast in the race where incumbent Amelia Fisher appears on the ballot against the disqualified Albert Thomas Lasater.

Lasater was ruled ineligible to serve on the council after city officials discovered his residence is in the county. He did not appeal the ruling, but a campaign page on Facebook has encouraged people to vote for him as recently as April 18.

The confusion was caused by a new driveway that connects his home to a county road, he has said.

Voters may still cast a ballot for Lasater, but he will not be able to serve on the council.

The council will meet May 4 to canvass votes and certify winners.

The Nacogdoches ISD board race between challenger Tammy Spake and incumbent Mindy Winslow had 451 voters going into the final day of early voting.

NISD District 5 covers much of the same territory as the citys Northeast Ward as well as a portion of the Northwest Ward and a few voters outside the city limits.

Garrison ISDs school board election and $13 million bond proposal drew 148 voters as of Tuesday morning. Money from the bond issue would be use to build a new high school and multi-purpose facility.

GISD board candidates are Jennifer Honea, Matt Harris, Jackson Sheffield and Bart Reneau. Voters may select up to two candidates on the ballot. Reneau and Sheffield are incumbents, and Reneau currently serves as board president.

Chireno ISDs board election had the lightest turnout with 81 ballots. In that race, voters will decide on two seats on the school board and may select up to two candidates on the ballot. Candidates are Gerrie Dee Lockett, Michael Sanford, Jake Higginbotham and David Smith. Smith and Sanford are incumbents, and Smith currently serves as board president.
(@FahadShabbir)

UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Apr, 2021 ) :The United Nations General Assembly Wednesday adopted a resolution aimed at preventing drowning, which claims over 235,000 lives a year worldwide.

In adopting the resolution, sponsored by Ireland and Bangladesh, the 193-member Assembly acknowledged the issue for the first time in its 75-year history.

The vast majority of drowning deaths -- over 2.5 million in the last decade -- could have been prevented, it was pointed out.

The new resolution said that drowning affects every nation of the world  though its impact is disproportionate -- 90 percent of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, with Asia carrying the highest burden.

A new UN Day for drowning prevention has been established, to be recognized annually on 25 July.

Recognizing that drowning is preventable and that scalable, low-cost interventions exist, the resolution encourages member states, on a voluntary basis, to undertake a range of coordinated recognized interventions, relevant to national circumstances.

"Children and young people represent the majority of lives lost to the water globally" Rory Nefdt, Senior Advisor Health, UNICEF Headquarters, said.

"This resolution makes a clear case for UNICEF action; to support Member States in implementing child survival solutions that although proven, have long been overlooked. We must end this needless loss of life and give children and young people the tools to reclaim water as a safe space".

The Resolution recognizes the association between drowning and development. Action on drowning prevention presents an important opportunity to make progress towards targets within several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. There are clear links between drowning and other global agreements relevant to sustainable development, community resilience to climate change, and disaster risk reduction.

"Through this new UN General Assembly Resolution, Member States are giving drowning its due recognition, commensurate with the impact it has on families and communities around the world," noted Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the Department of Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization (WHO).

"Given that children and adolescents in rural areas are disproportionately affected by drowning, preventing this public health scourge is one step towards building a fairer, healthier world."
HONG KONG, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's exports have witnessed year-on-year growth for five consecutive months on the back of a sharp rebound in the global demand, showed official data.

The value of goods exports was up 26.4 percent from a year ago to 409.1 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 53 billion U.S. dollars) in March, the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government reported Tuesday.

The growth rate is compared to an increase of 30.4 percent in February and 44 percent in January.

A government spokesperson said exports to many major markets including the Chinese mainland registered visible increases.

The data released on Tuesday also showed Hong Kong's goods imports increased by 21.7 percent from a year earlier to 436.1 billion Hong Kong dollars in March, resulting in a trade deficit of 27 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Total goods trade in March exceeded the mark of 800 billion Hong Kong dollars for the third time in the past four months and the value for the first quarter as a whole surpassed the previous first-quarter high in 2018 by 13.2 percent, the spokesperson said.

Looking ahead, he said the global economic recovery led by the mainland and the United States should continue to support Hong Kong's export performance. The HKSAR government will continue to monitor the relevant uncertainties including the pandemic development and geopolitical tensions. (1 U.S. dollar equals 7.76 Hong Kong dollars.) Enditem

[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]


Cultural spat between Korea, China amplifies via internet



By Nam Hyun-woo



Korea is witnessing another rising wave of anti-China sentiment amid a series of recent events, triggering clashes between the people of the two countries over cultural issues.



Experts say that this sentiment has been lingering among Koreans for a long time, but has been amplified quickly and more broadly recently, as the internet provides platforms for anyone to easily disseminate their ideas





Search results for "Chinatown" in Korean on Instagram / Screenshot from Instagram



'Revoke the Chinatown Project'



The rise in such feelings here has stemmed from a controversy over building a large-scale China-themed tourism complex in Gangwon Province.



An online petition was filed on the Cheong Wa Dae website, March 29, calling for an end to the project, and more than 660,000 people have signed it as of April 26. Since the petition has garnered more than 200,000 people's signatures in 30 days, the presidential office or a related government agency is officially required to provide an answer.



The project, pursued by local builder Kolon Global, with the approval of the Gangwon Provincial Government, is aimed at building a 1.2 square kilometer "Korea-China Culture Town" in Chuncheon City and Hongcheon County.



The builder plans to set up a range of facilities and tourist attractions in the town by 2022. For the project, Kolon Global signed an MOU with China's the People's Daily in 2018 and formed a special purpose company last year.



The author of the petition wrote that Koreans do not understand why the country should provide Chinese cultural experiences to tourists, or why there should be "a little China" in Korea.



Though the project has been pursued since the early 2010s, it has become a hot-button issue lately, as Instagram postings urging the people to pay attention to this issue, and agreements with the petition, have gone viral. A search for "#Chinatown" in Korean on Instagram shows a handful of trending postings related to the project.









The Chinatown issue comes on the back of Koreans' protesting claims made by some Chinese influencers and media that kimchi is their traditional food. After Beijing received an international certification for its pickled vegetable dish, "paocai," in November, China's state-run Global Times reported that this certification amounted to "an international standard for the kimchi industry led by China." Since then, the nationalist newspaper has been running articles containing the implication that Beijing is leading the kimchi industry and that the dish originated in China.



These articles led to an online spat between the internet users of both countries, with Koreans arguing that China was now attempting to steal Korea's cultural legacy.





Kimchi, Korea's staple side-dish / Korea Times file
A wealthy property developer found shot dead inside the burning wreck of a luxury barn conversion on a Welsh farm has been pictured for the first time.

Armed police raced to the home of Roger Selway yesterday morning and discovered his body at the home in the former mining village of Ynysybwl, near Pontypridd.

Dozens of officers stormed the isolated beauty spot after neighbours heard a shot fired - and then saw smoke coming from the country home.

Detectives are investigating the shooting tragedy but confirmed today that they are not treating the tragic death as suspicious and are not looking for anybody else.

The body of a 53-year-old man, named locally as Roger Selway, was discovered by officers at the home in the former mining village of Ynysybwl, near Pontypridd yesterday morning

Mr Selway was a property developer who lived at the remote home in the quiet Welsh village

A man was found shot dead in the burning wreckage of a luxury barn conversion in south Wales

Forensic officers are still at the scene of the tragedy today in Ynysybwl, Pontypridd, South Wales

Mr Selway shared photos of his luxury barn conversion with friends on social media

The tragedy took place in the former mining village of Ynysybwl, near Pontypridd, south Wales

Neighbours told of their shock after hearing of the man's death in the quiet village.

Glynis Harries, 73, said: 'It is so shocking. It's usually very quiet here but there were all these police around.

'I heard there had been a shooting up the road and I couldn't believe it. There were all sorts of rumours going around.

'I didn't hear a shot or anything.'

Rebecca Davies, 21, said: 'I know there were armed officers up there. 18 of them and the fire service.'

'The fire was huge. The bedroom was completely gone.'

A neighbour said: 'I can't believe it. Roger was a nice guy. He would always say hello and that when I was walking the dogs

Ben Cummings, landlord of The Old Ynysybwl Inn, said he knew Mr Selway as a neighbour but that he didn't visit the pub.

Mr Cummings said he saw a fleet of police cars heading towards Mr Selway's barn on Tuesday morning.

He said: 'Roger was a lovely fellow - I don't why this has happened.

'He had his own company and that beautiful home, it was all going for him. I walk my dog past his pace and he would always stop to have a chat.

'He turned the old barn into something special - it was real top of the range.'

Officers are investigating the shooting tragedy but say they are not treating the tragic death as suspicious

Mr Selway, originally from Cardiff, bought the barn for 100,000 in 2017 and did all the conversion work himself, taking less than a year to transform the building.

But villagers fear he set fire to his dream home before taking his own life early on Tuesday morning.

Mr Cummings, landlord of the Ynysybwl Inn said: 'Someone heard a gun going off so there were armed police everywhere.

'There were fire engines going past trying to get to the place but it was well alight.'

After completing the barn in just a year Mr Selway posted photographs of himself and his blonde wife celebrating after moving in.

The pictures show the original stone work and exposed beams, a split-level dining room and extensive grounds.

He also built a one-bedroomed wooden cottage called The Coach House next door for his elderly mother to visit, according to locals.

The roof of one end of the property was destroyed by the intense flames after fire broke out at 7.30am on Tuesday.

A police van and officers in forensic suits were again seen at the remote property this afternoon

Forensic teams were at the scene today while police spoke to neighbours for clues about the businessman's tragic death.

Two hanging baskets in full bloom were on display at the front door and Mr Selway's grey five-year-old 4X4 pick up van was parked in the driveway.

The van has his company name, RS Construction, on the back along with his speciality - loft conversions and extensions.

Neighbours at the nearest property, a farm, said they didn't hear the gun go off and the first they knew was police and firearms arriving on the scene.

Local gamekeeper Alan Fox said: 'I was working nearby when someone said the place was on fire and that someone had been shot.

'It's bloody tragic - it's a terrible thing to happen.

'He had a beautiful place and had done a marvellous job, it was a derelict barn just a few years ago.'

Specially trained police officers are supporting Mr Selway's family.

A South Wales Police spokesman said: 'We can confirm that the death of a 53-year-old local man following an incident where a firearm had been discharged at the address in Mill Road, Ynysybwl, is not being treated as suspicious.

An investigation is continuing into the circumstances surrounding the death on behalf of the Coroner.

The property sits remotely in the small Welsh village of Ynysybwl, which has been rocked by the tragedy

Mr Selway shared photos of his luxury barn conversion with friends on social media

The barn was bought for 100,000 in 2017 before being converted into a luxury home

Planning permission was granted in 2019 for a garage to be converted into an annexe

A spokesman for South Wales Police said: 'South Wales Police can confirm that the death of a 53 year old local man following an incident where a firearm had been discharged at the address in Mill Road, Ynysybwl, on Tuesday morning (27 April, 2021), is not being treated as suspicious.

'An investigation is continuing into the circumstances surrounding the death on behalf of the Coroner.

'Specially trained officers are continuing to support the man's family.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Ambulance said they were called on Tuesday morning: 'To support colleagues in the police at an address in the Ynysybwl area of Pontypridd where there were reports of a person with traumatic injuries.

'We attended scene with two rapid response vehicles, one emergency ambulance, our Hazardous Area Response Team and an urgent care doctor.'
2nd man charged in death of 7-year-old at Chicago McDonalds View Photo

CHICAGO (AP)  A second man has been charged in the shooting death earlier this month of a 7-year-old girl who was sitting in car with her father outside a Chicago McDonalds, authorities announced Tuesday.

Demond Goudy, 21, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the April 18 death of Jaslyn Adams and attempted murder in the wounding of 29-year-old Jontae Adams. Police did not detail the role Goudy played in the girls death.

Goudy was arrested Monday on Chicagos West Side after a SWAT team surrounded the residence where he was tracked. Goudy surrendered, police said.

A hearing for Goudy is scheduled for Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court. It wasnt immediately known if Goudy has legal representation.

Also charged in the girls death is Marion Lewis, 18, who is being held without bond on charges of murder, attempted murder, and aggravated assault of a police officer.

Police tracked Lewis down at an apartment in the Chicago suburb of Lombard using information on his Facebook page, according to Cook County prosecutors. He was arrested Thursday after crashing a vehicle while fleeing from police and trying to carjack a vehicle. Police say he was shot several times by an officer trying to arrest him but is expected to survive.

Jaslyn and her father were in a McDonalds drive-thru when men pulled up in a silver Audi, according to Cook County prosecutors. They say surveillance video shows two men get out of the car, fire weapons at the victims car and get back into the Audi. When the victims car started to move forward, the two men got out of the Audi again and fired more shots into the vehicle before speeding away. Twenty-eight shell casings were found at the scene.
A Guyana man tried to smuggle 35 live finches into New York inside his jacket and trousers so they could compete in singing contests, investigators say.

Kevin Andre McKenzie, 36, is said to have been caught with the birds stuffed inside hair curlers at JFK Airport on Monday, according to a criminal complaint.

He was released on a $25,000 bond Tuesday and was seen leaving federal court in Brooklyn wearing the same clothes he was seen in at the airport. Photos from the complaint show the birds inside of hair curlers strapped to his legs and inside his jacket.

The finches are believed to have been smuggled into the country to compete in singing contests held in parks in New York City, according to the complaint.

Kevin Andre McKenzie, 36, was caught after an investigation by special agents with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service

He was released on a $25,000 bond Tuesday and was seen leaving federal court in Brooklyn wearing the same clothes he was seen in at the airport

McKenzie is pictured showing the inside lining of his suit jacket which had finches inside hair rollers strapped to it

A finch is pictured looking up from the inside of a hair curler. The smuggled birds compete in singing contests

McKenzie shows off finches hidden inside hair curlers strapped around his ankles

'In such contests, often conducted in public areas like parks, two finches sing and a judge selects the bird determined to have the best voice, the complaint reads.

'Many who attend the singing contests wager on the birds. A finch who wins these competitions becomes valuable and can sell for more than $10,000.'

McKenzie allegedly entered the country on Monday on JetBlue flight JB1966 from Georgetown, Guyana and was selected for examination by customs officials.

He waived his Miranda rights and told agents he was paid $2,500 to smuggle in the birds, which he was to receive after leaving the airport.

The complaint notes that some finch species are already available in the United States but species that live in Guyana 'are believed to sing better and are therefore more valuable.'

Finch smugglers can earn big bucks by selling these birds in the New York area.

People looking to import wildlife are required to file a signed and completed Declaration for Importation or Exportation of Fish or Wildlife form and obtain a permit.

Regulations mandate that imported birds must be quarantined for 30 days so as not to spread diseases carried by foreign birds, 'including Newcastle disease  a contagious avian virus than can infect humans and domestic poultry  and bird flu.'

Kevin Andre McKenzie, 36, from Guyana is released from Brooklyn Federal court on Tuesday

McKenzie tried to shield his face from reporters with paper as well as his hands outside of federal court

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Fish and Wildlife Service for more information and additional comment. It was not immediately clear what happened with the finches after McKenzie's arrest.

Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 29 finches concealed in hair rollers inside a the luggage of another man from Guyana,

That man, a 26-year-old was unnamed, also flew into the country from Georgetown, CBP officials said in a press release at the time.

However, he was not criminally charged and was slapped with a $300 fine by the agency allowing him to return to Guyana.

Ryan Noel, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, said that case showed 'the horror of wildlife trafficking.'

Noel added: 'I would like to thank U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for their assistance with this case.

'By working together, we can help protect humans, and wildlife, for future generations.'
A day after the city announced plans for Essex Crossing, the billion dollar project on the Seward Park site, theres plenty of new information to pass along.

First of all, some clarification regarding the future of a community task force that helped the city select the development team for the large residential and commercial complex. The task force, appointed by Community Board 3, will meet quarterly with the development team. Its composition might change somewhat but many of the members previously involved will continue their roles. As construction gets underway  in the spring of 2015  the developers will step up their outreach to the immediate community. There will be a website set up to keep residents informed regarding construction issues and a liaison will be appointed to communicate with the community board and the neighborhood as a whole.

The design team and city officials are likely to appear before Community Board 3s land use committee next month to fill in details of their plan. There are lots of unanswered questions; the development firms only found out Monday theyd been chosen to build the Seward Park project. Were told no firm decisions have been made about many commercial tenants. While the mayors press release indicated yesterday that Essex Crossing would include a large grocery store, city planning officials say discussions are ongoing with several full service grocery operators.

Also, we have some additional information about the new Essex Street Market and the Market Line, a concourse running along Delancey from Essex Street to Clinton Street. The Essex Market will be 30,000 square feet (double the size of the current facility) on the ground level of a building on the southeast corner of Essex and Delancey streets. It will also include a 7,000 square foot mezzanine, which will be used for seating, bathrooms and an event space/demonstration kitchen.

The Market Line, which will sit partially below ground level and feature skylights, is a 90,000 square foot space. It will include 40 micro-stalls designed for start-ups; the developers are creating a special fund to support these businesses. There will also be a culinary incubator and a training center where people can learn craft skills; its a Brooklyn import called 3rd Ward. Among the many retail ventures will be a group of vendors curated by the creators of the Brooklyn Flea.

Yesterday, some readers were asking about the construction timetable. The mayors press release noted:

The anticipated groundbreaking for the project is spring 2015. The first five buildings (all of the sites south of Delancey except the two adjacent sites between Norfolk and Clinton Streets) consisting of 580 units of housing, including 316 permanently affordable units, are anticipated to be completed by Summer 2018. The next two buildings (the remaining parcels south of Delancey, and the parcel located just north of Rivington Street on Essex Street), including the majority of the remaining housing, are anticipated to be completed by summer 2021, and the final two buildings (the remaining parcels north of Delancey Street) are anticipated to be completed by 2022 and 2024.

We asked the citys Economic Development Corp. for clarification. The plan, a spokesperson explained, is to begin with sites 1,2,5 and 6. Sites 3 and 4, were told, are the remaining parcels referenced in the press release. The idea is to build a significant amount of housing, including affordable housing, early in the project. In practical terms, theres no way to build simultaneously on all nine sites. The first wave of building will include over half of the affordable housing, the new Essex Street Market and the public open space.

Finally, the LES Business Improvement District is out with a statement today concerning Essex Crossing. Heres an excerpt:
Now on stage ??Panel: The State View.

With states & cities taking an increasingly important role on the global stage, what is the role of states in enabling their destinations grow sustainably & inclusively & ensuring the sector can reach its social impact potential? #GSCancun pic.twitter.com/hDn995VqtW
[April 27, 2021] Kia India undertakes brand relaunch with new company logo and slogan 'Movement that inspires'

- Company embarks on a journey of total transformation for the future with its corporate name changed from 'Kia Motors India' to 'Kia India' - New brand slogan "Movement that inspires" signals future direction of product and services development all aimed at building a deeper connection with customers - India is the first country after South Korea where the brand relaunch takes place - First products with new logo, refreshed Seltos & Sonet, to be launched in the first week of May'21 NEW DELHI, India, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kia India today announces the relaunch of its brand in India with a focus on illuminating its transition from an automaker to a provider of advanced and eco-friendly mobility solutions. India is the first country outside South Korea  the home of Kia  where the brand relaunch is celebrated. Kia India, which is wholly owned by Kia Corporation, introduces the company's refashioned logo and brand slogan, "Movement that inspires". The versatile compact SUV Seltos and the subcompact crossover SUV Sonet, both of which are updated for the Indian market under the newly stylized logo, will be unveiled to the market in the first week of May, 2021. During the brand showcase, Mr. Kookhyun Shim, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Kia India unveiled the refreshed Seltos with the new Kia logo. Signalling the bold transition, the company name has changed from Kia Motors India to Kia India, dropping "Motors," which symbolizes Kia becoming an enterprise that invests in and produces more than just vehicles to offer a long range of sustainable mobility solutions. In the Indian context, the brand slogan "Movement that inspires" represents Kia's ambitious plans for leading the future mobility revolution in the country with premium products equipped with unique design and segment-first features, advanced digitized services complemented by one of the largest networks by any new entrant brand in the country. In line with the change, Kia India also intends to attain full capacity utilization of its state-of-art manufacturing facility in Anantapur in a move to facilitate faster production and delivery of its vehicles. New Brand Slogan  'Movement that inspires' "Movement that inspires" is at the heat of Kia's new brand purpose of inspiring consumers through products, services, and their experiences with the brand. Kia's new brand slogan emphasizes that movement is at the genesis of human development. It enables people to see new places, to meet new people, and to have new experiences. This connection is the essence of Kia's new brand slogan, to enable human progress by providing innovative in-car spaces, exciting new products, and meaningful, convenient services that inspire customers and free up time for the activities that they enjoy the most.



The new logo of Kia is a symbol of the new brand slogan and values it promises to offer customers through future products, services, and the experiences these enable. Kia seals its brand promise by developing the new logo to resemble a handwritten signature. The rhythmical, unbroken line of the logo conveys Kia's commitment to bringing moments of inspiration, while its symmetry demonstrates confidence. The rising gestures of the logo embody Kia's rising ambitions for the brand, and, more importantly, what it offers to the customers. On this occasion, Mr. Kookhyun Shim, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kia India said, "This is a proud and historic moment for us as India becomes the first country to transition to the new brand identity after our headquarters in South Korea. Our decision to increase the production capacity stems from our deep customer understanding where a faster delivery of our products can enhance their buying experience tremendously. We are confident that this transformation will accelerate our growth by not only strengthening our premium positioning in the market but also making us one of the most aspirational brands for consumers."

As part of India's growth strategy with the new identity, Kia will be constantly innovating to match the ever-changing needs of the new-age consumers. The upcoming refreshed versions of its flagship and best-selling products, the versatile compact SUV Seltos and the subcompact crossover SUV Sonet, will be a testament to this commitment. Kia is also looking at sustaining its connected cars leadership by adding new features. To strengthen its reach, Kia is expanding its strong network to 360 touch points covering 218 cities including tier-3 and select tier-4 towns by the end of this year. Mr. Tae-Jin Park, Executive Director and Chief Sales and Business Strategy Officer, Kia India, said, "Under the new brand slogan, Kia will focus on offering meaningful experiences to the customers, especially focused on the millennials and Gen-Z  the future of the country. With Kia's new brand identity and our refreshed portfolio, we are extremely elated to have a purpose-driven business that will elevate the customer experience not just in terms of the features and connectivity inside the cars, but the overall engagement experience with our brand." Mr. Hardeep Singh Brar, Vice President & Head of Sales and Marketing, Kia India, said, "Kia is a futuristic brand and always on the move to be as close as possible to our consumers. We feel that regular product interventions and increasing brand accessibility are some of the key areas, which will help us in meeting this objective. Hence, we are taking a conscious decision to regularly refresh our existing product portfolio, launch new products at regular intervals and foray into newer markets to provide an aspirational experience to consumers who are keen on becoming proud Kia owners." Being India's young automobile disruptor, Kia India has set an example of many firsts in the automobile industry and has achieved several milestones in a very short period of time. The brand has created new product segments and leveraged technology to create segment first innovations across its entire product portfolio to address the evolving customer needs. Kia led the adoption of connected car technology in India, and today the brand is the connected SUV leader in the country. In over one and a half years of sales operation in India, Kia has emerged as the 4th most sold car brand and the fastest carmaker to achieve 2,50,000 sales figures in the country. Kia also aims at offering cutting-edge features with multiple trim choices for its customers. 60% of Kia's sales come from top variants of Seltos, Carnival, and Sonet, which highlights Kia's commitment to offer the best features to Indian customers at attractive prices. Kia has emerged as a household name in India with advanced technology and bold design offerings. About us For more information www.kianewscenter.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1498081/KIA_India.jpg

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The Navy SEALs are to undergo a major transition to refocus on their sea mission, and to rid the force of toxic leaders after a string of scandals.

The SEALs will move away from counterterrorism operations and expand their commando capabilities to better battle threats from global powers like China and Russia.

The new plan cuts the number of SEAL platoons by as much as 30%, while increasing their size and adding high-tech capabilities to make them more lethal and able to counter sophisticated maritime and undersea adversaries.

And there will be a new, intensive screening process for the Navy's elite warriors, to get higher-quality leaders. Decreasing the number of units will also allow top brass to rid the force of toxic leaders and be more selective in choosing commanders.

That decision is a direct result of the erosion in character that Navy officials have seen within the force.

In recent years, the SEALs have been rocked by a string of scandals involving murder, sexual assault and drug use.

One of the most infamous was the arrest of Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher on war crimes charges.

Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher was arrested on war crimes charges that included murder of an Islamic State militant captive. Gallagher was acquitted of all charges except one, posing in photos with the dead captive.

Rear Adm. H. Wyman Howard III, top commander for the SEALs, laid out his plans in an interview with The Associated Press.

He said the Navys special operations forces have been focused on counterterrorism operations but now must begin to evolve beyond those missions.

For the past two decades, many have been fighting in the deserts of Iraq and mountains of Afghanistan. Now they are focused on going back to sea.

That decision reflects the broader Pentagon strategy to prioritize China and Russia, which are rapidly growing their militaries and trying to expand their influence around the globe.

Top SEALs commander Rear Adm. H. Wyman Howard III has laid out his plans

U.S. defense leaders believe that two decades of war against militants and extremists have drained resources, causing America to lose ground against Moscow and Beijing.

The counterterrorism fight had its benefits, allowing the SEALs to sharpen their skills in developing intelligence networks and finding and hitting targets, said Howard, who heads Naval Special Warfare Command, which includes the SEALs and the special warfare combatant-craft crewmen.

'Many of these things are transferable, but now we need to put pressure on ourselves to operate against peer threats.'

As a result, Howard is adding personnel to the SEAL platoons to beef up capabilities in cyber and electronic warfare and unmanned systems, honing their skills to collect intelligence and deceive and defeat the enemy.

'We are putting pressure on ourselves to evolve and understand our gaps in capability and what our true survivability is against these threats' posed by global competitors, he said.

Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations, said the goal is to better integrate the SEALs into the Navy's missions at sea.

'As the Navy Special Warfare community returns more and more to its maritime roots, their increased integration across the Fleet - above, under, and on the sea - will unequivocally enhance our unique maritime capabilities to help us compete and win against any adversary,' Gilday said in a statement to the AP.

Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations, said the goal is to better integrate the SEALs into the Navy's missions at sea, rather than counterterrorism operations

In recent years, SEALs have been involved in a number of high-profile scandals. One of the most well-known was the arrest of Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher on war crimes charges that included murder of an Islamic State militant captive and attempted murder in the shootings of civilians during a 2017 deployment to Iraq.

Gallagher was acquitted of all charges except one, posing in photos with the dead captive. A jury recommended his rank be reduced, cutting his pension and benefits as he was about to retire.

But then-President Donald Trump intervened and ordered that Gallagher be allowed to retire without losing his SEAL status.

More recently, a SEAL team platoon was pulled out of Iraq in 2019 amid allegations of sexual assault.

Members of SEAL Team 10 were involved in cocaine use and tampering with drug tests.

And Navy SEAL Adam Matthews was sentenced to a year in military prison for his role in the 2017 hazing-related death of an Army Green Beret in Africa.

Navy leaders also chafed as Navy SEALs broke away from their 'quiet professional' ethos, publicizing their participation in the raid into Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader responsible for plotting the 9/11 attacks. Two SEALs wrote books about the mission, prompting a rebuke form the Naval Special Warfare commander at the time, Rear Adm. Brian Losey.

'A critical tenant of our ethos is "I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions",' he said.

Since taking over last September, Howard reached out to the Army and the Marine Corps for ideas on how to better screen his commando forces and assess them as they move through the ranks.

Almost immediately, he instituted a 'double blind' process for candidate interviews that was being used by the Army, so that neither side is influenced by actually seeing the other.

Navy SEAL candidates participating in 'surf immersion' during training at the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Center in Coronado, California

In addition, he is intensifying the screening process with more psychological assessments to evaluate personality traits.

And he is expanding other assessments done by the subordinates and peers of candidates up for review.

The increased scrutiny, said Howard, will extend through all the ranks and will help leaders get a better understanding of each service member's character. The process, he said, will provide more feedback for individuals so they can improve and will also help top leaders pair commanders with the right teams.

In some cases, Howard said, sailors who already had gone through the initial SEAL screening had to do it again under the new process. Not all did as well the second time.

'We learned that some of the officers that scored in the midrange are officers that I thought would have scored much higher,' he said.
Members of the physician assistant (PA) profession have been debating a change in title for years.1 Dissatisfaction with the name physician assistant dates back at least 3 decades and remains a polarizing issue.2 The most recent examination of a PA title change began in 2018, when the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) Board of Directors selected a national branding firm, WPP, to conduct an independent investigation of a PA name change and possible alternative titles.3 AAPA and its legal counsel contributed to the investigation, and in November 2020, a final report (authored by WPP and AAPA), was presented to a meeting of the AAPA House of Delegates (HOD). In the report, WPP recommended a change to the title medical care practitioner (MCP).4 Members of the HOD will decide this month whether to proceed with adopting a new title. In this commentary, we offer our reaction to the MCP title proposal and discuss some of the potential consequences of a title change. We encourage PAs to read the final report on the Title Change Investigation (TCI, available to AAPA members at www.aapa.org/title-change-investigation) and to voice their opinions to their representatives in the AAPA HOD. Delegate listings can be found at www.aapa.org/about/aapa-governance-leadership/house-of-delegates. A title change would affect all PAs; therefore, all views must be considered.

WPP's research, conducted in order to inform its title recommendation, consisted of surveying and interviewing PAs, PA students, and other stakeholders. The initial phase of the research included responses from about 8,000 PAs (including students), 637 patients, 125 physicians, and 120 employers. For the final phase, which was specifically aimed at assessing views of the potential new titles, responses were obtained from about 21,000 PAs, 6,000 PA students, 400 patients, 100 physicians, and 200 employers.4 Twenty-one thousand constitutes just 15% of all US PAs, and unfortunately the TCI report does not contain sufficient detail to understand the subject selection methodology. Survey respondents do not appear to represent random samples of PAs and other stakeholders, and nonresponse biaswhich occurs when people who respond to a survey differ from those who do notmay have affected the findings. For example, people with strong feelings about the topic may have been more likely to participate in an interview or survey, particularly considering that one of the surveys was 45 minutes long.4 Therefore, WPP's research results (which do not appear to have been evaluated through any sort of peer review process) may not accurately represent the views of many stakeholders. Additionally, although one WPP survey solicited opinions about potential new titles, it does not appear that respondents were asked for views about retaining the current one. Because of these significant methodologic limitations, it is unclear how many PAs actually wish to change the profession's title.

Nonetheless, based on its overall evaluation, WPP determined that there is an urgent need to evolve the physician assistant brand to reflect its current and future positioning in the healthcare marketplace (emphasis added).4 Regarding the PA title, the term assistant appears to be the most troublesome component because it fails to accurately describe the PA role. Notably, WPP found thatin addition to a large majority of patients, physicians, and employersnearly a quarter of PAs surveyed were unable to identify the correct standard AAPA definition of a PA: Physician Assistants are medical providers who diagnose illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and often serve as a patient's principal healthcare provider.4 That the standard AAPA definition includes no reference to PAs working with physicians or in teams may be beside the point, considering thatwhen given the AAPA definition upfrontthe vast majority of patients, physicians, and employers reported that it strongly aligned with their perception of PAs. Consequently, WPP concluded that these groups are quite amenable to education and do see the explicit value of the profession when correctly pointed to its truer definition.4

WPP provides a sophisticated rationale for its recommendation that if the AAPA HOD votes to recommend a new title, MCP is the best choice. However, the firm itself suggests that MCP may seem generic and states that, Any connotations to Medical Care Practitioner being a support role can be mitigated by messaging and through experience.4 Thus, in addition to being generic and awkward, MCP is unlikely to provide a quick fix for the PA profession's perception problem. Regardless of title, a change alone (which AAPA deems a heavy lift), will almost certainly create additional confusion.4 More importantly, the risks to pursuing a title change at all are potentially serious.

WPP and AAPA acknowledge there will likely be positive, negative, and unintended consequences to a name change attempt. For instance, in the TCI report, AAPA notes that although unlikely, the title change process has the potential to disrupt PA reimbursement through commercial insurers, who could possibly use a title change as an excuse to cut PAs from their networks.4 In addition, based on the one interview conducted with a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid official, who considered dealing with a title change within Medicare uncharted territory, AAPA does not think the revision process should cause PAs to lose the ability to provide services to Medicare beneficiaries [emphasis added].4 Small healthcare systems may decide to let PAs go rather than undergo the effort to change the title in their regulations, bylaws, and forms. Legislators, regulators, and employers may wonder about the importance of changing the name of the profession in the middle of a global health crisis and question how changing the profession's title will benefit patients. In addition, spending political capital on a name change may impede progress toward optimal team practice (OTP) legislation.4

AAPA cautions that a title change process, if pursued, should be narrowly focused so as not to spark renewed debate about the PA role, and the $20 million price tag AAPA estimates to implement a title change does not include costs that other PA organizations, such as the National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) and state chapters, would incur.4 Consequently, before AAPA's HOD vote on the issue, it would be helpful for representatives from the other three major PA organizations (NCCPA, the Physician Assistant Education Association, and the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant) as well as from state organizations and regulatory bodies to weigh in on the effects they anticipate from a title change.

WPP found that 91% of patients are satisfied with PAs, and 91% of PAs are satisfied with their jobs.4 Not discussed in the report is the profession's longstanding high ranking by US News and World Report's Best Jobs, and its ability to attract three times as many applicants as there are seats in PA programs.5,6 And for those who think the profession cannot progress without a title change, consider the 115 PA-positive legislative and regulatory wins achieved across 45 states in 2019 alone.7 Not bad for a young profession with a perception problem.

Overall, changing the PA title would require an enormous investment with serious risks and uncertain rewards. A change may threaten nascent PA professions in other countries who rely on the accepted title, identity, and literature that the PA profession in the United States has worked hard to establish over the past nearly 6 decades. Dutch PAs, for example, chose physician assistant (in English!) as their name in order to align themselves with the profession in other countries.

In our view, the TCI was instructive. We learned that there is no perfect title for our profession; that despite flaws in the current one, patients, physicians, and employers value what we do; and that messaging and experience are effective means of changing views. In our professional training we are taught to first, do no harm. Rather than jumping into the unknown and risk damage to our current status, it may make better sense to not choose a new title. The PA profession faces significant professional challenges and may benefit from new strategies to rectify misperceptions. However, we believe building our current identity is a far better way forward and investment of resources than sacrificing it in pursuit of an untested brand.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28)  All 17 mayors of the National Capital Region have agreed on new curfew hours for their respective cities and municipality effective May 1.

The Metro Manila Development Authority made the announcement on its Facebook page on Wednesday,

"Metro Manila mayors, through Resolution 21-09 Series of 2021, have unanimously agreed to adjust curfew hours starting May 1. New unified curfew hours will be from 10 pm to 4 am," the announcement said.

The resolution was approved on April 27.

Meanwhile, MMDA chairman Benhur Abalos said the Metro Manila Council would defer to the decision of the President when it comes to the new quarantine status for next month.

"The MMC just recommends to the IATF," he said. "Hence, it is within the purview of President Rodrigo Duterte to decide on the next NCR status."

On Tuesday, mayors recommended a "flexible modified enhanced community quarantine" over their cities, a middle ground where border control will remain, health protocols are strict, and some businesses will be allowed to operate, like those in construction and personal hygiene services.

In the statement, Abalos revealed this option was proposed by Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

"Hybrid MECQ is intended to allay the fear of health workers for a possible surge again," Abalos said. "That's why we want to do it gradually. By opening some businesses, we are also addressing the dilemma and hunger of those who lost their jobs."

Abalos also said mayors did not want to waste the gains of the previous ECQ and MECQ and hope to sustain these by "continued unified efforts."

The mayors' suggestions were forwarded to the Inter-Agency Task Force for pandemic response, which will make an official recommendation to President Rodrigo Duterte.

The President is expected to announce a decision on the next quarantine status during his public address on Wednesday.
YEREVAN.  The Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan on Wednesday granted the petition of the investigative body to arrest Hayk Hekimyan, the nephew of Artsvik Minasyan, a member of the Supreme Body of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation-ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party. Hekimyan's lawyer Benik Galstyan told reporters about this at the court yard.

Galstyan added that this decision of the court will be appealed to the Criminal Court of Appeal.

"The court found that there is a reasonable doubt about the commission of a crime. As grounds for the arrest, it had noted one of the three grounds presented by the investigator: the risk of obstruction [of justice]. I am convinced that the said act is illegal," the lawyer added.

Hayk Hekimyan has been charged under the Criminal Code article on using violence against a representative of the authorities, and along the lines of the criminal case into the protest on April 22 staged outside the Prosecutor General's Office in defense of the detained residents of Syunik Province.

The court, however, had considered Hekimyan's detention as illegal.
This is part of The Post and Couriers Daily Digest series, in which one of our food reporters asks a local to describe a day of eating in detail.

Cameron Rhyne, who lives off Clements Ferry Road, is in coil sales at Nucor Steel Berkeley.

Today, I turned to my list of restaurants to try.

My list is actually a compulsively maintained spreadsheet. On that spreadsheet I have the restaurant's name, type, location, closest available parking, reservation platform and any notes Ive jotted down from friends who have been before.

I have a tab for restaurants I have not yet been to and a tab for those I have. There are currently 100 restaurants on my list that I have not been to and 70 that I have. Although I dont always make it, my goal is to try at least one new restaurant every week.

If this were a normal Saturday, you might find me popping out to Awendaw to get a country ham biscuit (or three) at Sewee Outpost. But this morning I headed to meet my sister, who is in town from New York, to do some shopping around Mount Pleasant.

We started the morning with brunch at the newly reopened Post House Inn. We dined in the neatly-appointed bar room at the front of the inn and split both the warm crab toast and the French toast. Each were excellent, as was the brunch buster cocktail I enjoyed with my meal.

After brunch and shopping around a bit, my sister and I went to Mill Street Tavern on Shem Creek to meet up with my brother-in-law and his friends who were having lunch out on the roof. It was a gloriously beautiful day and we enjoyed catching up for a spell while taking in the creekside views in the sunshine.

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As I was leaving Mill Street Tavern, I happened to run into a couple of friends from work who were just finishing up brunch at The Shelter Kitchen + Bar. They said they were on their way to Saltwater Cowboys, so I joined them. There, we enjoyed live music, cold drinks, sunshine and a breeze coming off of the water. It couldnt have been more perfect.

At around 4 p.m., I took a brief trip home to freshen up before heading right back out the door to join another group of friends for dinner at a new restaurant downtown in Charleston. We had an early reservation at Bistronomy, a French restaurant with a twist, by Nico in Mount Pleasant.

I was the first to arrive. As I was being seated, I overheard another patron raving about the baguette. I ordered it right away to start things off while I waited for the rest of the party to join me.

This was no ordinary baguette. If you have ever used bread to soak up the remaining garlic butter after eating escargot, you will understand this. Bistronomy took the escargot out of the equation and soaked the bread right in that wonderful, melted garlic butter mixture for you. My only regret in ordering the baguette is that I didnt order two.

Our group came ready to eat, and we dont mess around. I think between the four of us we ordered half or more of the items on the menu. It was a really good-looking spread.

In addition to the baguette, I ordered the escargot rice dumplings as an appetizer and the bouillabaisse as my main course. It doesnt get much more French than escargot and bouillabaisse, but Bistronomy put an Asian spin to the dishes that was exciting, delicious and very satisfying. I was a very happy camper at the end of the meal.

After dinner, we took a brief stroll down King Street before deciding to continue the evening at Graft Wine Shop. After enjoying the company and conversation, I departed from the group and retired for the evening feeling very full and very happy.
We have been disappointed: Liberal congregations leaving United Methodist Church over homosexuality debate

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Multiple theologically progressive congregations in the United Methodist Church are in the process of leaving the mainline Protestant denomination due to its stance on LGBT issues.

For decades, the UMC has debated whether to change its biblically-based position on homosexuality, labeling it as sinful, its ban on the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals, and defining marriage as only being between one man and one woman.

Although many expect a large number of conservative congregations to eventually leave the UMC because of the debate and form their own denomination, in recent months, some liberal congregations have already decided to exit.

HopeGateWay, a congregation in Portland, Maine, voted to leave the denomination on March 28, with the New England Annual Conference to vote on their disaffiliation in June.

Sara Ewing-Merrill, lead pastor at HopeGateWay, told The Christian Post that the March vote was 68 in favor and one against, with no plans at present to join another denomination.

We are exploring partnerships. We believe in connectionalism and ecumenical and interfaith work. We are in covenant with our fellow disaffiliating churches here in Maine, explained Ewing-Merrill.

Because of legislation passed at the special session of General Conference in 2019, HopeGateWay reported being able to keep its property and assets upon leaving the UMC.

For many, many years as we approached the next General Conferences, we have told our congregation that things would get better and the UMC would become more open and affirming. Every time we have been disappointed, Ewing-Merrill added.

Now that an option was created for us to make our own decision and not be dependent on others, we felt compelled to create a church where all are truly welcomed and affirmed.

Chebeague Island United Methodist Church, located on Chebeague Island, Maine, voted in February to leave the denomination following a discernment process that began in 2019.

As with HopeGateWay, Chebeague Island UMCs vote to disaffiliate still needs to be confirmed when the New England Annual Conference meets in June.

Chebeague Island Pastor Melissa Yosua-Davis told CP that her congregation will be released from their trust clause with the UMC when they fulfill certain payments to various entities.

Through agreement with the Board of Trustees of the New England Annual Conference, we will be paying our pro-rata share of the unfunded pension liability, as well as an additional year of mission shares, to honor the commitment of the conference to care for clergy in retirement and to leave in a way that respects the ongoing work of the Conference and its budgetary financial commitments, Yosua-Davis explained.

Yosua-Davis also told CP that while it's expected that many conservative churches will soon leave the UMC, it is no guarantee that the denomination that will remain will become entirely inclusive and affirming of LGBT individuals and their families.

That scenario could be years down the road. Even if the UMC changes its policies, which I hope happens, it will still be a long road for full and true inclusion, she added.

By leaving now, it enables the church to be more responsive to God's hopes and dreams for us and our community.

Bering Church of Houston, Texas, voted to leave the UMC on April 18, deciding to join the more theologically liberal mainline denomination, the United Church of Christ.

The Rev. Diane McGehee of Bering forwarded to CP the responses she gave to questions posed by the UMC Texas Annual Conference regarding her congregations plan to leave.

Berings sole reason for departing the UMC is the soul-level harm being done to persons who are LGBTQ+ and their families because of the official stance of the United Methodist Church that living out ones sexual orientation and gender identity as LGBTQ+ is incompatible with Christian teaching, said McGehee in the responses.

The weight of all of those years and the refusal of the denomination to act to end the discrimination deeply informs this decision.

According to Bering, the church will receive a general warranty deed to their property from the UMC after they pay for two years of apportionments and a future pension obligation.

Berings future is bright, continued McGehee. It is a vibrant, missionally active community, committed to bringing the Good News of the Gospel to all people, but especially those who have been pushed to the margins.

News of the departing progressive congregations comes as many conservatives within the UMC are planning to form their own denomination, known as the Global Methodist Church.

Keith Boyette, spokesman for the Global Methodist Church, told CP in an earlier interview that UMC leadership has shown an unwillingness to uphold its teachings on LGBT issues.

In the United States, particularly, some bishops, clergy, and churches are operating in open defiance to the teachings of the United Methodist Church, said Boyette. The Church has become ungovernable as a consequence, such unchecked defiance has destroyed the integrity of the Church.

In light of this, theologically conservative leaders have decided to launch a new denomination that will be true to its doctrine and teachings and end this endless conflict within the United Methodist Church.
Composition of teeth. Credit: ZZM/UZH

Researchers at the University Zurich have mapped the first complete atlas of single cells that make up the human teeth. Their research shows that the composition of human dental pulp and periodontium vary greatly. Their findings open up new avenues for cell-based dental therapeutic approaches.

During the last 30 years, medical and dental research has attracted a large number of scientists and practitioners working on aspects of high medical relevance that involve a combination of genetic and tissue regeneration approaches. These developments in stem cell and tissue engineering have provided medical and dental researchers with new insights and given rise to new ideas as to how everyday clinical practice can be improved. Many research groups are dealing with questions like: How can we help injured tissues and organs heal? Can lost tissue be regenerated? How can we create solid protocols that apply across all stem cell therapies?

Advanced single-cell sequencing technology used

A team of researchers led by Thimios Mitsiadis, professor at the Institute of Oral Biology at the University of Zurich, and Dr. Andreas Moor, professor at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich, has now created the first-ever single cells atlas of the human teeth. By using advanced single-cell sequencing technology, they were able to distinguish every single cell that is part of the dental pulp and the periodontium. "Our study provides an unprecedented understanding of the composition of these two tissues, which are subject to tooth-specific and bacterially-linked pathologies such as caries and periodontitis. Both the dental pulp and the periodontium contain stem cells that possess a great regenerative potential," states first co-author Pierfrancesco Pagella, senior researcher in Mitsiadis' team.

The study identified great cellular heterogeneity in the dental pulp and the periodontium. Unexpectedly, the team found that the molecular signatures of the stem cell populations were very similar. "We think their different behavior is possibly brought about by their distinctive microenvironment," says Pagella. The findings suggest that the microenvironmental specificity is the potential source of the major functional differences of the stem cells located in the various tooth compartments.

New cell-based dental therapies possible

The study demonstrates the complexity of dental tissues and represents a major contribution to a better understanding of the cellular and molecular identity of human dental tissues. "Single-cell approaches can help us understand the interactions of dental pulp and periodontal cells involved in immune responses upon bacterial insults. Therefore, single-cell analysis could be useful for diagnostic purposes to support the early detection of dental diseases," last author Thimios Mitsiadis explains. The findings thus open up new avenues for cell-based dental therapeutic approaches.

According to Mitsiadis, these advances in dental research can lead to more appropriate therapies, successful regeneration of damaged parts of the teeth, and even more precise diagnostic tools in case of dental pathologies. "These innovations are the consequence of the fusion between bioinformatics and modern dentistry," he concludes.

Explore further Dental stem cells can generate milk-producing cells

More information: Pierfrancesco Pagella et al. A single-cell atlas of human teeth, iScience (2021). Journal information: iScience Pierfrancesco Pagella et al. A single-cell atlas of human teeth,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102405
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) speaks to reporters near the Senate Subway on Capitol Hill on Jan. 24, 2019. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

Romney: Bidens Massive Spending Proposals Should Be Rejected

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) suggested President Joe Bidens various legislative proposalsworth trillions of dollarsneed to be curbed, coming as the president is slated to address Congress on Wednesday evening.

In his first 100 days, hes asked for $100 trillion in spending, Romney told reporters on Wednesday. To put that in context, our total federal budget that we vote on every year is $1.4 or $1.5 trillion.

Its not clear where Romney came up with the $100 trillion figure. The Epoch Times contacted his office for comment. Overall, Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill that was passed in Congress earlier this year, Biden is expected to propose to Congress $1.8 trillion in spending on his so-called American Families Plan on Wednesday, and he proposed another more than $2 trillion infrastructure bill earlier this month.

Romney told reporters: So its a massive amount of spending. So I think maybe if he were younger Id say his dad needs to take away the credit card.

Republican lawmakers have already rejected the $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan as being too large. The Democrat president is gambling that his spending plans can sway Republicans in Congress to cooperate with the White House.

To pay for the plans, Biden has proposed an overhaul of the U.S. tax system. The American Families Plan will be funded by raising the top marginal tax rate for the wealthiest Americans to 39.6 percent from its current 37 percent. It nearly doubles the tax on investment incomeknown as capital gainsfor Americans who earn more than $1 million. The proposed infrastructure plan is funded by corporate tax.

Other than Romney, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voiced his concern about the spending proposed by the White House.

The infrastructure plan, McConnell said in a statement Wednesday, is another multitrillion-dollar smorgasbord of liberal social engineering and accused Biden of misleading Americans about where its funding would go.

Its being sold as a serious effort to rebuild our nations infrastructure. Its a pretty brazen misdirection. At both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, Democrats have chosen to live in an alternate universe where both the campaign promises they made and the mandate the American people delivered were completely different than what happened here on planet Earth, he said.

White House economic adviser Brian Deese has said Bidens proposals are part of the presidents vision to invest in the country. He is welcoming and encouraging others to come forward with their ideas as well, he told reporters on Monday.

And according to a release from the White House on Wednesday, the American Families Plan is about allowing American families to break into the middle class, and easier to stay in the middle class.

After Bidens address to Congress, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) will deliver the GOPs rebuttal speech on Wednesday night.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Approval in the United States and European Union paves the way for a drugs acceptance in many, but not all, other parts of the world  so which additional countries should you consider incorporating in your clinical trial strategy?

Preparing your market application and planning the lifecycle management of your development program is critical to moving your product through early-phase trials and achieving commercial success. Approval in the United States and European Union paves the way for a drugs acceptance in many, but not all, other parts of the world  so which additional countries should you consider incorporating in your clinical trial strategy?

Register for this webinar to explore these and other product development subjects. Well also explore case studies from recent product approvals. Topics will include:



The importance of developing a risk evaluation mitigation strategy, especially if risk factors require limited product distribution

Making post-approval product changes, such as switching manufacturers

The expanding role of pharmacovigilance in identifying potential safety issues

Join expert speakers from Premier Research, Kristi Miller, Ph.D., Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Regulatory Professionals; Christopher Hendry, Senior Director, Technical Services, Regulatory Professionals; and Lee McGuinness, Executive Director & Global Head of Pharmacovigilance and Medical Device Vigilance, in a live webinar on Wednesday, May 19, 2021 at 11am EDT (4pm BST/UK).

For more information, or to register for this event, visit Market Application and Life-Cycle Management: The Road to Commercial Success.

ABOUT XTALKS

Xtalks, powered by Honeycomb Worldwide Inc., is a leading provider of educational webinars to the global life science, food and medical device community. Every year, thousands of industry practitioners (from life science, food and medical device companies, private & academic research institutions, healthcare centers, etc.) turn to Xtalks for access to quality content. Xtalks helps Life Science professionals stay current with industry developments, trends and regulations. Xtalks webinars also provide perspectives on key issues from top industry thought leaders and service providers.

To learn more about Xtalks visit http://xtalks.com

For information about hosting a webinar visit http://xtalks.com/why-host-a-webinar/
Larose, LA (70373)

Today

Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Low near 75F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Low near 75F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Neurons result from a highly complex and unique series of cell divisions. For example, in fruit flies, the process starts with stem cells that divide into mother cells (progenitor cells), that then divide into precursor cells that eventually become neurons.

A team of the University of Michigan (U-M), spearheaded by Nigel Michki, a graduate student, and Assistant Professor Dawen Cai in the departments of Biophysics (LS&A) and Cell and Developmental Biology at the Medical School, identified many genes that are important in fruit flies' neuron development, and that had never been described before in that context.

Since many genes are conserved across species such as between fruit flies (Drosophila), mice, and humans, what is learnt in flies can also serve as a model to better understand other species, including humans.

Now that we know which genes are involved in this form of neurogenesis in flies, we can look for them in other species and test for them. We work on a multitude of organisms at U-M and we've the potential to interrogate across organisms. In my opinion, the work we did is one of the many pieces that will inform other work that will inform disease. This is why we do foundational research like this one." Nigel Michki, Graduate Student, University of Michigan

Flies are also commonly used in many different types of research that might benefit from having a more comprehensive list of the fly genes with their associated roles in neuron cell development.

The discovery

Neurons are made from stem cells that massively multiply before becoming neurons. In the human brain, the process is extremely complex, involving billions of cells. In the fly brain, the process is much simpler, with around 200 stem cells for the entire brain. The smaller scale allows for a fine analysis of the neuronal cell division process from start to finish.

In flies, when the stem cell divides, it yields another stem cell and a progenitor cell. When this last one divides, it makes a so-called precursor cell that divides only once and gives rise to two neurons. Genes control this production process by telling the cells either to divide --and which particular type of cell to produce-- or to stop dividing.

To this day, only a few of the genes that control this neuron development process have been identified and in this publication in Cell Reports, the scientists have characterized many more genes involved. Along the timeline of the neuron development process, the U-M team could precisely record which genes were involved and for how long.

In particular, at the progenitors' stage, the scientists identified three genes that are important at this stage for defining what 'kind' of neuron each progenitor will make; these particular genes had never been described before in this context. They also validated previously known marker genes that are known to regulate the cell reproduction process.

When they applied their analysis technique to the other phases of the neuron development process, they also recorded the expression of additional genes. However, it is still unknown why these genes go up in expression at different steps of the neuron development process and what role they actually play in these different steps. "Now that many candidate genes are identified, we are investigating the roles they play in the neuron maturation and fate determination process," says Cai. "We are also excited to explore other developmental timepoints to illustrate the dynamic changes of the molecular landscape in the fly brain."

"This work provides rich information on how to program stem cell progeny into distinct neuron types as well as how to trans-differentiate non-neuronal cell types into neurons. These findings will have significant impact on the understanding of the normal brain development as well as on neuron regeneration medicine," adds Cheng-Yu Lee, a Professor from the U-M Life Sciences Institute who collaborated with the Cai Lab.

The techniques

This study is mostly based on high-throughput single-cell RNA-sequencing techniques. The scientists took single cells from fruit flies' brains and sequenced the RNA, generating hundreds of gigabytes of data in only one day. From the RNA sequences, they could determine the developmental stage of each neuron. "We now have a very good understanding of how this process goes at the RNA level," says Michki.

The team also used traditional microscope observations to localize where these different RNAs are being expressed in the brain. "Combining in silico analysis and in situ exploration not only validates the quality of our sequencing results, but also restores the spatial and temporal relationship of the candidate genes, which is lost in the single cell dissociation process," says Cai.

At the beginning of their study, the scientists analyzed the large data set with open-source software. Later, they developed a portal (MiCV) that eases the use of existing computer services and allows to test for repeatability. This portal can be utilized for cell and gene data analysis from a variety of organs and does not require computer programming experience. "Tools like MiCV can be very powerful for researchers who are doing this type of research for the first time and who want to quickly generate new hypotheses from their data," says Michki. "It saves a lot of time for data analysis, as well as expenses on consultant fees. The ultimate goal is to allow scientists to focus more on their research rather than on sometimes daunting data analysis tools." The MiCV tool is currently being commercialized.
United Nations, April 28 : India has turned down the UN's offer of assistance from its integrated supply chain saying that it has its own "robust" system to manage the logistics of getting material for the dealing with the COVID-19 surge, according to a UN spokesperson.

"We offered the assistance of our integrated supply chain if it was required. We've been told at this point that it's not needed because India has a reasonably robust system to deal with this. But our offer stands, and we're willing to help in whatever way we can," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Tuesday.

The Secretary General's Chef de Cabinet Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti has been in touch with India's Permanent Representative T.S. Tirumurti, and other UN staffers have also been in touch with Indian officials in New York and in India, he said.

"Our people who deal with operational and logistical issues are willing to help, if we're needed, and we're in touch with our counterparts in India to see whether that will be useful," Haq added.

He said that there has been only a "low level" of cases among the international and local UN staff in India and the UN was taking care of them so that they don't add to the Indian health system's pressures.

UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir has called for support to India, "a country which did so much to ensure the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to vulnerable countries", according to his Spokesperson Brenden Varma.

Bozkir said "that his thoughts are with the Indian Government and people" and "it is now time for the world to extend aid and support to India." While the UN is not involved with the immediate issues of the pandemic's surge, Haq said that it has been helping India deal with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic on a long-term basis.

A UN team partnered with employers' and workers' organisations to promote jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities, while 140,000 employees benefitted from 11 help desks and "on-site counselling activities" on COVID-19 prevention and business continuity organised by three organisations, UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), he said.

In addition, UNIDO also developed an online platform tailored to smaller businesses to help companies bounce back from the crisis and the ILO helped over 100,000 self-employed workers to access social security measures and training on safety and health, he added.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
[April 28, 2021] The Bytecode Alliance Calls for New Members In Mission to Build Safer Software Foundations for the Internet

The Bytecode Alliance, a community dedicated to creating new software foundations, building on standards such as WebAssembly and WebAssembly System Interface (WASI), today announced incorporation as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. Incorporated by Fastly, Intel, Mozilla and Microsoft, the Bytecode Alliance now invites organizations to join its cross-industry collaborative mission alongside new members Arm, DFINITY Foundation, Embark Studios, Google, Shopify, and University of California at San Diego. <> These organizations share a vision of a WebAssembly ecosystem that fixes cracks in today's software foundations that are holding the industry and its software supply chains back from a secure, performant, cross-platform and cross-device future. Bytecode Alliance members believe effective multi-stakeholder collaboration is vital to achieving this vision of software foundations that enable security, efficiency, and modularity to coexist across the widest possible range of devices and architectures.



The Bytecode Alliance, founded in 2019, has helped bring attention to the inherent weaknesses in predominant models for building software, which rely heavily on composing up to thousands of third-party modules without security boundaries between them. These weaknesses in the software supply chain have historically been instrumental in breaching government systems, critical infrastructure services, and a large number of companies, as well as in stealing personal information of hundreds of millions, perhaps even billions of people. Solving these challenges will require efforts across many industries. With an open governance model and a growing list of member organizations, the Bytecode Alliance will scale its efforts to contribute solutions to this space in support of its mission. Organizations passionate about contributing to this mission and building new, more secure foundations for the cloud, the edge, the Internet of Things, and many other environments and platforms, are invited to apply to become members. Membership applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, but those submitted in the near future will have an opportunity to participate in full board elections in the second half of 2021.

"Collaboration across the industry to build stronger software foundations is crucial to securing the future of a safer and more efficient web. The WebAssembly ecosystem is an exciting, powerful world that will make possible a lot of 'what ifs' in building secure applications and software across clients, origins, and the edge. Every bit of progress the Bytecode Alliance makes to standardize these software development practices is another chapter in computing history. Fastly is thrilled to be an incorporating member and to welcome new and future Alliance members who share this vision." -- Tyler McMullen, CTO at Fastly "As an incorporating member of the Bytecode Alliance, Intel (News - Alert) welcomes the new members and recognizes the importance of a secure and open WebAssembly ecosystem driven by industry collaboration. Intel continues to extend WebAssembly's performance and security benefits outside of the browser, most recently driving the WebAssembly System Interface for Neural Network specification and implementation in Wasmtime to enable higher machine learning inferencing performance in WebAssembly." -- Mark Skarpness, VP, Intel Architecture, Graphics, and Software; General Manager, System Software Engineering at Intel "We have a real opportunity to change how software is built, and in doing so, enable small teams to build big things that are both secure and fast. Mozilla (News - Alert) believes that WebAssembly has the right technical ingredients to build a better, more secure Internet, and that the Bytecode Alliance has the vision and momentum to make it happen." -- Bobby Holley, Distinguished Engineer at Mozilla and Bytecode Alliance Board Member " Microsoft (News - Alert) is excited to join the Bytecode Alliance as an incorporating member to support the effort to build a more open, scalable, secure web. WebAssembly and the emerging WebAssembly System Interface (WASI) specification enable cloud-native solutions to become more secure by default and help solve computing challenges across a variety of environments, including the 'tiny edge' of systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) and microcontroller units (MCUs). Microsoft looks forward to collaborating with the Bytecode Alliance members and community as this ecosystem continues to rapidly innovate and grow." -- Ralph Squillace, Principal Program Manager, Azure Core Upstream at Microsoft and Bytecode Alliance Board Member About The Bytecode Alliance The Bytecode Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating secure new software foundations, building on standards such as WebAssembly and WebAssembly System Interface (WASI). The Bytecode Alliance is committed to establishing a capable, secure platform that allows application developers and service providers to confidently run untrusted code, on any infrastructure, for any operating system or device, leveraging decades of experience doing so inside web browsers. Visit the Bytecode Alliance website for more information about current members and projects, as well as how to become a member, and follow the Alliance on Twitter (News - Alert) at @bytecodeallies. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005235/en/

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LOS ANGELES, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on its success in the $22M Southern California Edison (SCE) Charge Ready pilot program, EV Connect, a software-as-a-service company leading electric vehicle charging ecosystem deployments and management, announced that the Company is once again an Approved Network Provider in the $436M Charge Ready program from SCE. As an approved network provider for Charge Ready, EV Connect will participate in one of the country's most advanced utility-driven EV charging infrastructure initiatives and one of the few companies participating in the Demand Response (DR) initiatives established by the program.

As the nation's largest light-duty electric vehicle charging program, Charge Ready is designed to deploy 38,000 EV chargers over the next four years to help California achieve its EV and climate goals. The program will focus on bringing charging infrastructure to public parking lots, schools, hospitals, and destination centers. Half of the chargers will target state-designated disadvantaged communities or economically impacted communities that suffer most from the effects of air pollution. Among the vendors selected to provide chargers in the program are EV Connect's Premier Hardware Partners: ABB, BTCPower, EVBox, EVoCharge, and Certified Partners: Blink, Delta, EFACEC, Enel X, EVSE LLC, Freewire, Siemens, Tellus Power, and Tritium.

"We look forward to building on the customer success stories from the original Charge Ready pilot program. EV Connect is proud to support like-minded local businesses that are building a sustainable future within the SCE territory," says Jordan Ramer, CEO, and Founder of EV Connect. "It's time to electrify transportation, and we are thrilled to be able to do that right in our backyard."

In addition to the SCE Charge Ready program, EV Connect is an approved network provider for the $356 million SCE Charge Ready Transport program, as well as the SCE Schools & Parks Program, for which EV Connect will provide a bundled charging solution that includes station hardware, software, and operations and maintenance services for EV charging at school sites across the SCE service territory.

Started in 2016, the Charge Ready pilot program added more than 1,000 EV chargers at more than 100 sites in the SoCal Edison service area. Of those chargers, EV Connect secured more than 300 connectors--across 226 charging stations--and included customers such as the Marriott Palm Desert Spring Villas and Panda Restaurant Group. Thanks to its hardware-neutral approach, the EV Connect platform works seamlessly with all charger types and manufacturers leveraging open standards. EV Connect continues to make it simple to roll out unique, tiered pricing structures for employees, visitors, and corporate fleet drivers, as well as enabling grid management tools for utilities and grid operators. While the EV Connect mobile app empowers drivers to charge up at work and beyond the corporate campus. EV Connect is ready for tens of thousands more connectors, site owners, sites, and drivers.

To see if the Southern California Edison Charge Ready program is right for your organization, please visit the EV Connect website.

About EV Connect EV Connect is on a mission to build a better planet by enabling electricity as a transportation fuel. Through its innovative and open charging platform, EV Connect simplifies the set-up, management, and optimization of charging stations with premium customer service, from installation to driver support. EV Connect guides companies of all sizes in managing networks of chargers and delivers a seamless EV charging experience that empowers drivers.

Established in 2010, EV Connect serves customers across 41 states in the U.S. including Avista Utilities, Love's Travel Stops, Verizon, Marriott, Hilton, Western Digital, ADP, New York Power Authority, and numerous municipalities. Globally, EV Connect's reach extends across Europe, Australia, and Asia, removing carbon emissions from vehicles through the electrification of transportation. For more information, please visit www.evconnect.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ev-connect-to-help-expand-california-charging-infrastructure-under-436m-ev-program-301278776.html

SOURCE EV Connect
Reality star Joseline Hernandez came out with guns blazing during a very heated interview with Wendy Williams on Tuesday.

Joseline aka the Puerto Rican Princess did not hold back her feelings for Wendy after the talk show host opened up the interview with a comment on her seemingly ever-changing appearance.

This did not sit well with Joseline, who immediately demanded respect from Wendy, brought up her cheating ex-husband Kevin Hunter, and led to the talk show host throwing a flower at her.

'I should get those flowers': Reality star Joseline Hernandez came out with guns blazing during a heated interview with Wendy Williams on Tuesday

The drama started immediately after the interview began when Wendy told Joseline, 'For some reason, I wouldn't recognize you if I saw you - you look different every time I see you - in a good way.'

This set Joseline off, prompting the reality star to start criticizing Wendy over her alleged treatment of guests.

'Miss Wendy I just must say this to you first - I hope you're going to give me my flowers today,' Joseline said. 'I hope you're going to honor how much work I put out there. I hope you're going to, you know, not kind of throw this off outside of everything that I've done. I'm an accomplished woman. And I just feel like every time I come to your show, you don't give me those flowers. And Wendy - you're 35 years, my senior, I should get those flowers.'

'Shade!' Wendy chimed in.

Uh-oh! The drama all started after Wendy opened up the interview with a remark on Joseline's appearance

'You don't give me those flowers': Hernandez demanded respect from the legendary talk show host

'Shade!' Wendy chimed in in the midst of the rant

Touchy subject: Hernandez brought up Williams' ex-husband Kevin Hunter, whom the talk show host filed for divorce from after his affair with massage therapist Sharina Hudson resulted in a baby

'Every time I come on your show, you always want to compare me to another broad. I don't need to be compared. I've made my own brand. I've been out here for the past decade. I got my own show. I have the number one show in the country.'

This prompted Wendy to clarify that her show Joseline's Cabaret was in fact number one on the streaming service Zeus.

'You have the number one show on Zeus and you got renewed for third season. which is to be commended.'

'The one number one show in the country, Wendy,' Joseline insisted.

'You have the number one show on Zeus': Wendy clarified after Joseline mentioned her show was the number one show in the country

'I just gave you flowers': Eventually, Wendy refused to apologize 'for anything' and threw a flower at the screen

There's your flower! Williams grabbed one of the flowers from her nearby table

To Joseline: The talk show host tossed the floral towards the screen

At one point, Joseline brought up the talk show host's ex-husband Kevin, who Wendy filed for divorce from after his affair with massage therapist Sharina Hudson resulted in a baby.

'You have to do better. You're not enough. You're not in an abusive relationship anymore. You don't deal with that man anymore. You should be in a better place. And when people come in your show, especially Black culture, you should be nicer to us. The ladies you should respect us. You should give us our flowers while we're here. And you should tell us how proud you are, of what we've done in the streets.'

Eventually, Wendy refused to apologize 'for anything' and threw a flower at the screen.

'I just gave you flowers,' she told Joseline.

'I'm not gonna let you play me anymore, Miss Wendy,' Joseline replied.
An attorney for six Scranton School District administrators filed a court action Tuesday seeking to bar the school board from voting next week on a new salary and benefit package.

Attorney Frank Tunis said he filed the complaint and a motion for an injunction after efforts failed to resolve a dispute over steps that must be taken before the board can approve the agreement.

The administrators, Michael Montoro, John Coyle, Albert ODonnell, Robert DeLuca, Dan Gilroy and Ann Genett, contend the district is violating Act 93, a state law that governs the process by which school administrators compensation packages are negotiated.

Tunis says the law clearly states administrators have the right to meet with school board members directly. School district solicitor John Audi maintains the board can appoint representatives to meet with them, which it has done.

Tunis said his clients have some concerns about the agreement, which would alter the manner in which claims for health care expenses are submitted. The new deal requires the employees to be billed, then submit the claim to a company the district hired for reimbursement.

Tunis said they also are concerned because the district has not provided them information on how it calculated savings that will be used to fund salary increases.

The districts financial recovery plan mandates salary increases come from savings in contracts or agreements. The district has not provided information regarding the amount of savings the health care change will generate, he said.

How do we know if its a good deal if we dont know how you estimated it? Tunis said.

Tunis said the administrators want to meet directly with the board to ensure the members were advised of a counterproposal they submitted.

We dont know if the school board ever saw our proposal, he said.

Attempts to reach Audi for comment late Tuesday afternoon were unsuccessful.

The court filing asks a judge to stay the boards vote on the agreement, which is set for May 3, until a hearing can be held to determine whether the administrators have a right to meet with the board. Tunis said a hearing on the stay request is scheduled for 10 a.m. today before Lackawanna County Judge Michael Barrasse.
Three out of 10 eligible Pennsylvanians are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and nearly two out of 10 have had their first dose.

Over 5.9 million Pennsylvanians are fully or partially vaccinated against COVID-19, or 46.5% of the 12.8 million-person population, according to the latest figures Wednesday from the state Department of Health and Philadelphia, which is handling its own vaccine rollout. About 3.8 million residents, just under three-tenths of the states population, are fully inoculated against against COVID-19, while roughly 2.1 million residents -- 16.9% of the population -- are partially vaccinated.

(Cant see the map? Click here.)

The increasing prevalence of vaccine availability is already paying dividends, as the Pennsylvania Department of Health followed guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and revised its mask-wearing mandate.

Plus, the surge in COVID-19 cases that started earlier this spring is beginning to settle down. The health department reported 3,868 new cases Wednesday, along with 57 new deaths. Pennsylvanias total case count is now up to 1,143,076 total cases of COVID-19. The states death toll is at 26,129.

The downtrend in new case rates hopefully continues as vaccine supply increases. Pennsylvania received its third-highest intake of vaccine doses this past Monday, amid a pause of Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution after six women developed rare blood clots after getting the shot. The vaccine was given the all-clear to resume distribution on Friday, after an emergency hearing by the CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where it was disclosed 15 people had developed clots.

There were no new federal shipments this week due to the pause, but Pennsylvania and New Jersey are again distributing doses.

(Cant see the map? Click here.)

Incoming vaccines with Johnson & Johnson back in the mix

The Pennsylvania Department of Health updated their incoming vaccine totals, showing over 700,000 new doses making their way to the states providers.

Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines will be the same amount as the past two weeks: 195,390 new doses of both first and second Pfizer shots, and 144,300 doses of both first and second Moderna shots.

However, there will also be 29,600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine sent to Pennsylvania next week after a couple of cycles with no Johnson & Johnson distribution. In total, 708,980 new doses are scheduled to arrive in Pennsylvania next week.

COVID in Pa.

As case rates started increasing in March, hospitalizations across the state followed suit. Pennsylvania saw an increase of 1,400 hospitalizations in just over a month. Fortunately, now that cases are trending downward again, hospitalizations have decreased by about 400 in the last week. There were 2,448 Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday.

Of those patients, 516 were in intensive care, holding about steady from 517 on Tuesday, according to the health departments news releases.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

The states seven-day rolling average with Wednesdays new cases is at 3,515 cases per day. Its been just over a month since the average was at roughly the same level, going back to March 26 when the state was seeing an average of 3,552 new cases per day. Fortunately, this time the average is steadily decreasing from day to day instead of the rapid uptick it was in the midst of then.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Because of the general delay between case and hospitalization rate movement followed by death rate movement, the states death toll is currently still mirroring the slight surge from the past month. The 57 new deaths Wednesday bring the states seven-day average to 43 per day, which is slightly lower than its been over the last week. Still, it likely wont begin to really plunge back down for another week or two, assuming the states case and hospitalization rates continue their trajectory.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

COVID in the Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valley reported 187 new cases on Wednesday  98 in Lehigh County and 89 in Northampton County. The combined increase brings the region to 72,092 total cases between the two counties. Lehigh County has an individual total of 37,844 cases, while Northampton County has 34,248 total cases.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Lehigh County also reported one new death while Northampton County reported two more. The Lehigh Valleys total death toll is currently at 1,524.

Northampton County has over half of its residents at least partially vaccinated. It has 87,801 residents fully vaccinated and 66,694 residents partially vaccinated. Lehigh County has just under half with at least one shot, currently sitting around 48%. The county has 108,434 fully covered and 71,788 partially vaccinated.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com.
Epicurious, a digital cooking publication, will no longer publish beef-based recipes to encourage home chefs to be more environmentally conscious. The company calls it a "Pro-Planet Move."

Company Decision

In an article published Monday, the Conde Nast-owned publication confirmed the move but also admitted that it "literally pulled the plug on beef well over a year ago." Because of the carbon footprint of meat, senior editor Maggie Hoffman and former digital director David Tamarkin clarified that leaving out - or even cutting down on - beef makes space for more climate-conscious dishes.

Today we announced that Epicurious is cutting out beef. It wont appear in new Epi recipes, articles, newsletters, or on social. This isnt a vendetta against cows or people who eat them. Its a shift about sustainability; not anti-beef but pro-planet. https://t.co/yQ8PrtChtE  epicurious (@epicurious) April 26, 2021

"We understand that certain people will see this judgment as a vendetta against cows - or the people who eat them. But we didn't make this choice because we despise hamburgers (we don't!), "they penned. "Instead, we've made the decision to focus purely on sustainability, not providing airtime to one of the world's biggest carbon criminals. We consider this decision to be pro-planet rather than anti-beef."

Related Article: 'You'll Get Used to the Taste' Bill Gates Advises Eating Synthetic Meat to Protect Earth



Dropping Beef

Beef will no longer be included in new recipes, blogs, emails, or social media posts in the future, though previously released beef material will continue online and in recipe galleries.

According to a FAQ, it adopted this program in the fall of 2019 and has only released beef recipes a "handful of times" since then. It has delivered creative twists on meatless meat and grilled vegetables instead, focusing on vegetarian options for summer cookouts. Readers "rallied around the recipes we reported in beef's spot," according to Hoffman and Tamarkin.

"These stories' traffic and interaction figures don't lie," they said. "When offered a beef substitute, American chefs become hungry."

So, what's the deal with beef, and why now? The editors listed a range of factors to remember, all of which point to combating climate change.

They clarified that eliminating beef is a significant step toward being more environmentally conscious. According to an analyst from the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit environmental lobbying organization, Cattle contribute to climate change in a variety of ways.

Environmental Impact

This includes the large amounts of corn and soybeans cultivated with pesticides and fertilizer to feed livestock. The amount of climate-warming methane released into the environment by cows, high deforestation rates to make room for cows, and the amount of water used to raise cattle and polluted by pollution from their manure.

Scaling back on beef isn't a "magic bullet," according to the editors, and most cattle - and even dairy goods - have their own environmental costs. However, they say that the price of beef is exceptionally high.

According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock accounts for almost 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with beef accounting for the vast majority of those. Cows are 20 times less effective than beans to breed and three times less efficient than poultry and pork.

Hopes of Influencing Others

Since beef consumption has increased in recent years, Hoffman and Tamarkin claim the "conversation about sustainable cooking obviously needs to be stronger," they agreed to make their decision now. They have expressed their expectation that the majority of the American food media will join in.

Also Read: Plant Based Meat Alternatives Can Dent Conventional Meat Market by 2025

For more news update about alternative lifestyle and the environment, don't forget to follow Nature World News
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

New research from the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration and the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals provides insight on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the staffcalled direct support professionals (DSPs)who support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). These staff assist with daily activities, employment supports and community engagement.

In the largest study of its kind in the United States, approximately 9,000 DSPs were surveyed from November 2020 to January 2021. Among the report's key findings:

Nearly half (47%) said they had been exposed to COVID-19 at work, with individuals in congregate facilities reporting more exposure than those working in individual or family homes.

97% of workers self-identified as essential workers, but only 30% received salary augmentations.

Black/African American DSPs were paid less per hour than white DSPs, and a higher percentage of Black/African American DSPs worked 40 hours or more per week.

Researchers state that while the direct support workforce has been in crisis for years, the pandemic has exacerbated existing issues: high turnover and vacancy rates, low wages, and a lack of access to affordable benefits. More than half (54%) of respondents indicated their work life is getting worse. DSPs also reported that a significant number of the people with disabilities they supported experienced depression, behavior issues and loneliness during the pandemic.

"These findings underscore a number of systemic problems regarding the direct support workforce that provides services and supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities," said Amy Hewitt, director of the Institute on Community Integration's Research and Training Center on Community Living and a lead investigator on the study. "Turnover, vacancies and low wagesa national average that is just more than $12 an hourhas devastating effects on these professionals and, subsequently, on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities."

Explore further People with intellectual and developmental disabilities disproportionately affected by COVID-19

More information: Direct Support Workforce and COVID-19 Survey: Providing Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Direct Support Workforce and COVID-19 Survey: Providing Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic. ici.umn.edu/covid19-survey
California said goodbye Monday to a U.S. House of Representatives seat for the first time ever due to newly released Census Bureau population data showing the Golden State is growing more slowly than other states.

California's House delegation drop from 53 to 52 made news headlines, but Michael McDonald, a University of Florida professor who specializes in American elections, pointed out that many reports missed an important point.

"Folks, California lost a seat, but it gained 2.2 million people since 2010, the third largest population gain after Texas (4.0 million) and Florida (2.7 million)," McDonald wrote on Twitter. "So your hot take California lost population is wrong. It's a large state that didn't grow as fast as the others."

Census Bureau population data released Monday is used to determine how the nations 435 House seats are allocated. California remains the most populous by far, with nearly 39.58 million people, but while its population grew by about 2.3 million people since the 2010 Census, growth has been nearly flat since 2017.

"California gained 2.2 million people, which is about equal to the number of three congressional districts," McDonald said in a call with SFGATE. "But its going to lose a seat because it didnt grow as much as the country."

California joined Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia in losing one seat in the House.

"New York gained as much population as the average size congressional district, but it lost a district not because it lost population, but because it did not grow as fast as the rest of the country," McDonald wrote on Twitter.

Six states saw enough population growth to add members to their congressional delegations. Texas gained two seats, while Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Oregon and Montana one.

Folks, California lost a seat, but it gained 2.2 million people since 2010, the third largest population gain after Texas (4.0 million) and Florida (2.7 million)



So your hot take California lost population is wrong. It's a large state that didn't grow as fast as the others  Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) April 26, 2021

Illinois, Mississippi and West Virginia were the only states that saw population loss from 2010 to 2020.

The census reported that Illinois' population in 2020 was 12,822,739, a drop of 0.32% from a decade earlier. Illinois has long had a stagnating population, forfeiting 10 U.S. House seats in the past nine censuses, leaving it with 17 seats.

West Virginia saw a 3.2% population decline in the past 10 years  the highest in the country  and lost a seat. Mississippi is holding onto its four seats.

"There's a buffer zone in the way the appropriation formula works," McDonald said of Mississippi holding onto its seats. "We can't give a state a half a representative."

U.S. population growth overall has slowed to the lowest rate since the Great Depression, the Census Bureau said Monday.

The U.S. Census was mandated by the U.S. Constitution and occurs every 10 years. The first one was implemented in 1790. The 2020 census faced a steady stream of hurdles, including the coronavirus pandemic, wildfires, hurricanes, allegations of political interference with the Trump administrations failed effort to add a citizenship question, fluctuating deadlines and lawsuits.

Census data is used to determine how many seats each state gets in U.S. House of Representatives, and it's also used to allocate some $1.5 trillion a year in federal spending.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Island students can receive second jab in UK

Students who have started university or returned to their studies in the UK when their second COVID-19 vaccination is due will still receive it, thanks to the reciprocal health agreement between the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom.



So far more than 70,000 vaccine doses have been given in the Island, which has been confirmed as a world leader in vaccination rollout in terms of the number of jabs given per head of population.



Residents aged 18 and over have recently been invited to register for their first dose, and are due to be offered appointments over the next two weeks.



Students planning to travel to the UK are reassured they can have their second jab there, and vice versa for those who receive their first vaccination in the UK before returning home.



The reciprocal health agreement means GP records can be shared, enabling students to receive doses in either jurisdiction. However in order to do so, students who are registered with a GP in the UK must register as a temporary resident with their local surgery in the Island, and those heading to university for the first time should register with a GP on arrival in the UK. This will ensure they receive the correct second dose if it is not given in the same place as the first.



Dr Alex Allinson MHK, Minister for Education, Sport and Culture, said: The reciprocal health agreement means that wherever students find themselves at the time of the second dose, they will be looked after. Whats really important is that students register with a GP practice wherever they are. Not only do we need this to see the medical record, but the vaccination programmes here and across draw from GP lists, and in the UK the GP might be giving the jab.



David Ashford MHK, Minister for Health and Social Care, said: I urge all students to register for a vaccination without delay, as we have slots for them at our vaccination hubs in the next week or two. We will give second doses to those who are still here in 12 weeks time, but no need to worry if theyre back in the UK by then - they should get their vaccine through their GP surgery.



He added: There is a great deal of misinformation on social media and I urge anyone with concerns to check out the facts using verified sources of information, such as the official site of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation which publishes data, hard evidence and scientific research in a straightforward and factual way.



The vaccines in use are proven to be safe and effective. I urge everyone to register for vaccination to protect themselves, their family and our community. Every jab in an arm helps prevent transmission of the virus and a return to a more normal way of life for us all.



As the Islands vaccination programme is set to switch to delivering second doses within the required timescales next month, anyone who registers after 10 May is likely to face a delay in their appointments. People who wish to register can do so online at covid19.gov.im/vaccinereg or by calling 111.



Vaccination details are uploaded to personal medical records so receiving both doses could be invaluable should vaccine passports be developed in the UK and Europe.
The National Nuclear Security Administrations recent decision to move forward with plutonium pit production at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico does not derail or disqualify a proposal to also produce the warhead components at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

The two installations, one near Santa Fe and the other near Aiken, were in 2018 recommended as the sites where plutonium pits should be made in the years to come. At least 30 pits per year would be produced at Los Alamos National Lab, the NNSA and the Department of Defense suggested at the time, and at least 50 pits per year would be made at the Savannah River Site.

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Wednesday announced it had approved a major project milestone  known as Critical Decision-1  for the Los Alamos end of the equation. Approval of Critical Decision-1 marks the end of the conceptual design phase, among other things, and can be thought of as an early go-ahead. A project is effectively complete at Critical Decision-4.

The nuclear weapons agencys afternoon announcement specifically mentioned the production of 30 pits per year at Los Alamos, leaving room for the Savannah River Site.

There is no indication that the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility is dead, Los Alamos Study Group's Greg Mello said. Relying on Los Alamos to meet pit production demands, he added, would be absurd. LANL's facilities are simply too old and inherently unsafe, its location too impractical. Even with a much smaller stockpile LANL could not undertake this mission successfully.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions earlier this year submitted to the NNSA preliminary plans to make pits at the Savannah River Site, utilizing the footprint of a failed nuclear fuel facility. The NNSA received the packet  reams of documents, pages and data to parse.

The local submission was bound for a multi-month review and approval process that says we either accept it or we dont, or if we accept it, heres how wed like you to proceed, according to Dave Olson, the executive vice president for NNSA capital projects at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions is the top contractor at SRS.

A significant decision on Savannah River Site pit production  the forging of nuclear weapon cores  is expected soon. The exact timeline, though, is unclear. A Biden administration review of the nuclear arsenal could gunk up the gears, as could a lawsuit environmental groups are threatening.

The NNSAs disclosure Wednesday comes days before Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm will testify before a House appropriations subcommittee about her departments fiscal year 2022 budget request.

The timing raised the eyebrows of Tom Clements, the director of Savannah River Site Watch, a watchdog organization.

Given that no supporting documentation has been released reflects the political nature of this decision, in my opinion, timed to come out before DOE budget discussions begin, he said.

President Joe Bidens fiscal year 2022 budget blueprint included $46.1 billion for the Department of Energy.
INDIANAPOLIS, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- US HealthVest announced the opening of Hendricks Behavioral Hospital, a newly constructed hospital offering a full continuum of specialized inpatient and day hospital addiction and psychiatric services. Hendricks Behavioral Hospital has formed a strategic partnership with Hendricks Regional Health, a premier Indianapolis health system, to meet the growing need for behavioral health services in Indiana.

"We are excited to be partnering with Hendricks Regional Health to bring these vital services to Indiana," said Richard Kresch, MD, President and CEO of US HealthVest. "Hendricks Behavioral Hospital will provide high quality and advanced behavioral healthcare at a critical time when suicides and substance abuse are increasing at alarming rates due to the pandemic."

Centrally located on the Hendricks Regional Health campus in Plainfield, Indiana, the hospital will provide evidence-based addiction and behavioral health treatment services to all patients, regardless of ability to pay. The new hospital will offer addiction services, including detoxification and co-occurring disorders programs. In addition, Hendricks Behavioral Hospital will offer a full range of psychiatric services including youth, adult, women's and geriatric programs. The hospital will be open 24/7 with a crisis center offering free assessments.

Built from the ground up, the 70,000 square foot modern hospital has open spaces with daylight and direct views of nature, enabling for a safe and therapeutic environment. Shared amenities include activity rooms, therapy spaces and a dining area, along with indoor and outdoor recreational activity spaces. Hendricks Behavioral Hospital has created over 200 high quality jobs with full benefits.

"The demand for behavioral health and addiction treatment services is at an unprecedented level across Indiana and the nation," said Kevin Speer, Hendricks Regional Health President & CEO. "Since I began my role eight years ago, helping to bring a solution to west central Indiana that would bridge this gap has been a priority. I want to express my deepest appreciation for everyone who has worked tirelessly to bring this project to life. This new hospital will make an immediate and positive impact within our community."

About US HealthVest

US HealthVest is an innovative developer of psychiatric hospitals with locations in the Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle and Indianapolis markets. US HealthVest's portfolio of hospitals are accredited by The Joint Commission and provide specialized psychiatric care to patients with a full continuum of inpatient and outpatient services. For more information, please visit www.ushealthvest.com.

SOURCE US HealthVest

Related Links

http://ushealthvest.com


It was a long wait. But they did the right thing by following the law, the same way I did as the federal grand jury saw it, Evans said when reached after the meeting. He had previously said he would submit the claim again but didnt know when that would be.
Australian of the Year Grace Tame has revealed that suicidal thoughts forced her to call a suicide prevention hotline weeks ago - after receiving the award threw her into the spotlight.

When Ms Tame received the honour on January 25 she detailed her remarkable fight for justice in an emotional speech, explaining how she was abused by her maths teacher at just 15-years-old.

On Wednesday the sexual assault survivor and activist admitted constant interviews and speeches since she was crowned had 're-traumatised' her to such an extent that she could not shake thoughts of self-harm.

'A few weeks ago, I experienced a rock bottom crash, the constant re-traumatisation from re-reading my past and speaking about it in the media came to a head,' Ms Tame said at the Business Chicks event on Wednesday, 9Honey reported.

Australian of the Year Grace Tame has admitted the pressure of telling her story and reliving dark moments from her past led to suicidal thinking - forcing her to call a suicide prevention hotline

'I experienced a rock bottom crash, the constant re-traumatisation from re-reading my past and speaking about it in the media came to a head,' Ms Tame has said

Alone at home, Ms Tame admitted she began to obsess about suicide and 'couldn't see past it'.

'But I could see my phone right beside me on the bench. So I called Lifeline.'

Ms Tame says there is 'no handbook' for navigating the strain of what comes with being Australian of the Year - especially when it means reliving her past trauma to help create change.

'On more than one occasion, I've stepped off the stage I was just speaking on, and not been able to see properly because of the emotional strain of plummeting into past darkness.'

Ms Tame has been thrust into the spotlight ever since January 25 - at times entering politically-charged debates.

Grace Tame (left) with Shelly Horton, who interviewed her for Business Chicks and 9Honey on Wednesday

Ms Tame criticised the appointment of Amanda Stoker to the role of Assistant Minister for Women, pointing to Ms Stoker's past campaign against changes to consent laws.

The Australian of the Year also hit out at prime minister Scott Morrison accusing him of 'dismissing her' when she spoke to him at an event in January about the need for a permanent taskforce to tackle sexual abuse.

'He dismissively insisted that such infrastructure already existed and functioned well,' Ms Tame said.

Ms Tame said although it is difficult to continue talking about trauma and abuse, she is determined to keep having 'raw conversations' to encourage change to 'education frameworks' and 'legal frameworks'.

She is determined to help create a future where sexual abuse survivors are 'believed by default the first time'.

Grace Tame has been a passionate and articulate speaker on sexual abuse reforms. She is pictured addressing the National Press Club in March, 2021

She credits friends, family and 'the whole survivor community' for supporting her and the cause of ending childhood sexual abuse.

Ms Tame was just 15 when she was suffering from anorexia and became the sexual target of her maths teacher, more than 40 years her senior.

She had first confided in 58-year-old maths teacher Nicolaas Bester about when she was molested at the tender age of six by an older child, hoping for help and guidance.

Telling him about when an older child had forced her into a cupboard and told her to undress before she was molested, the predator then saw an opportunity to pounce.

'He then introduced the actual sexual abuse by recreating that scene that I had described to him of my childhood trauma,' she recalled.

Bester locked Ms Tame in a cupboard at Hobart's elite St Michael's Collegiate Girls' School where he then sexually molested her for the first time.

From there, Bester then groomed the young Ms Tame and exposed her to films which glorified relationships between young women and older men.

Ms Tame and the Prime Minister in January, when she was named Australian of the Year

He would also isolate her from her family and friends saying she would overcome anorexia alone.

'He would tell me the things that he perceived I wanted to hear, like, ''you are beautiful, you don't need your mother, you don't need your father. You can beat your illness on your own. You are so intelligent''.

'He would be showering me with praise, putting me up on a pedestal. But if ever I got too much confidence or I was building enough strength to potentially see the abuse for what it was, he would take me down, he would just tear shreds off me.

'I remember I was really upset and I asked him, ''do you think I look fat?'' And he looked me up and down. He said, ''you could do with some more exercise.''

A brave Ms Tame then reported the rapes to the school and to the police which eventually saw Bester locked up for two-and-a-half years' jail.

Upon his arrest, Bester was found in possession of 28 pieces of child pornography.

For confidential support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 lifeline.org.au, Butterfly Foundation: 1800 33 4673 butterfly.org.au or 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 1800respect.org.au
From culture war, to policy and budget issues . . . The Kansas GOP are pushing back against this moderate leader who still remains more popular than the MAGA crowd. Or at least Kris Kobach.

Read more . . .
WASHINGTON  President Bidens $1.8 trillion spending and tax plan is aimed at bolstering the United States social safety net by expanding access to education, reducing the cost of child care and supporting women in the work force.

Like the $2 trillion infrastructure plan that preceded it, Mr. Bidens latest proposal is funded by raising taxes on wealthier Americans, and it is likely to encounter Republican resistance for that reason.

Heres a look at parts of the presidents spending proposal:

Free Pre-K and Community College

Mr. Bidens plan promises universal free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds, as well as two years of free community college for young adults.

The plan outlines a $200 billion investment in free universal preschool and another $109 billion over 10 years to make two years of community college free. On top of that, the president is proposing an $85 billion investment in Pell grants, vouchers that low- and moderate-income students use to pay for tuition, fees, books, room and board.
Madrid:

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday said that he had dissolved the Catalan parliament and called regional elections on December 21 under sweeping powers approved by the Senate to stop a secessionist movement in Catalonia.

Rajoy said he had also formally removed Catalonias separatist leader Carles Puigdemont and his executive from office as part of measures to restore normality after the Catalan parliament voted to declare independence earlier in the day.

Earlier, Catalan lawmakers had voted to declare independence from Spain but Madrid immediately moved to quash the breakaway bid in a sharp escalation of a crisis that has caused jitters in secession-wary Europe.

As tens of thousands of pro-independence activists gathered outside, the regional parliament in Barcelona passed a resolution to declare Catalonia an independent state in the form of a republic.

ALSO READ: Catalan parliament declares independence from Spain

Demonstrators broke out in ecstatic cheers and shouts of: Independence! as the vote count was announced, while MPs inside cheered, clapped and embraced before breaking out in the Catalan anthem.

Urging Spaniards to remain calm as the country headed into the unknown, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had insisted that the rule of law will restore legality in Catalonia.

ALSO READ: Spain govt gives Catalans until Thursday to clarify independence stance

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Netflix's large library of anime content  which gets the MAPPA-animated Yasuke series this week  is adding another heavy hitter in June with a Sailor Moon movie. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie Part 1 & 2 will be available everywhere outside Japan on Netflix as of June 3rd, confirming earlier rumors that Netflix was in the process of dubbing the flick.

Netflix exec Ema Hirayama said in a statement that "Its a dream come true for all of us at Netflix to have Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie join our expansive anime slate and to share this incredible story with fans around the world."

Netflix:

The upcoming adventures are set in April, when the cherry blossoms are in bloom and Tokyo is in a festive mood as it celebrates the largest Total Solar Eclipse of the century. As the new moon obscures the sun and gradually dims its light, Usagi and Chibi-Usa encounter Pegasus, who is in search of the chosen Maiden who can break the seal of the Golden Crystal. Meanwhile, a mysterious troupe called the Dead Moon Circus appears in town whos nefarious plan is to scatter the nightmare incarnations known as Lemures, seize the Legendary Silver Crystal, rule over the moon and the earth, and eventually dominate the entire universe

Both parts of this entry into the iconic series premiered in theaters in Japan earlier this year after a year-long delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. It follows up the Sailor Moon Crystal anime series, which US viewers can watch right now on Hulu.
AidDatas work on Chinese lending study draws attention from governments and media outlets worldwide

Chinese debt contracts: Over the course of three years, the team at AidData uncovered 100 unredacted Chinese loan contracts issued to 24 borrower countries across Africa, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe. Submitted image Photo - of - Hide Caption

A new study by William & Marys AidData research lab reveals previously unknown details about Chinas lending practices to developing countries.

The study, called How China Lends, was undertaken by a group of researchers from AidData, the Center for Global Development, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. It provides evidence that Chinese loan contracts contain unusual secrecy provisions, collateral requirements and debt renegotiation restrictions.

The report is based on the largest source of unredacted loan contracts between Chinese government lenders and developing country borrowers ever assembled, said AidData Executive Director Brad Parks 03. It has received substantial media coverage around the world and captured the attention of policymakers in Washington, London, Berlin, Tokyo and Beijing.

We received a request to brief senior U.S. government officials within 72 hours of the report being made public, Parks said. Soon after the report was made public, it was circulating within the World Bank, the IMF and G7 finance ministries. We were asked to do White House and Capitol Hill briefings. There's just a huge level of demand for this information because of the scarcity of hard evidence.

Work for the project was divided up among research teams at AidData, Georgetown Law School and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany.

The team at AidData, a research lab at W&M's Global Research Institute, was responsible for retrieving the contracts, which involved scouring the debt information management systems, official registers and parliamentary websites of 200 borrower countries.

Over the course of three years, the team at AidData uncovered 100 unredacted Chinese loan contracts issued to 24 borrower countries across Africa, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe. All of those contracts are now published in a searchable online repository.

This is a big deal because a lot of people want to know more about the terms and conditions of Chinese lending, but most of these loan agreements are protected by strict confidentiality requirements, Parks said. None of the contracts would have been obtained if not for the AidData team at William & Mary. Nearly 100 students, staff and faculty at William & Mary were involved in the retrieval of the contracts.

I felt like a detective at times'
New Delhi, Apr 9 (UNI) India and Kazakhstan on Friday agreed to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, including through training, defence exercises and capacity building.

During the bilateral talks here, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh while interacting with the Kazakhstani delegation led by the Lieutenant General Nurlan Yermekbayev, underscored the need to look at the possibility of defence industrial collaboration of mutual interest.

The Defence Minister of Kazakhstan thanked Mr Singh for the opportunity given to the Kazakh troops for deployment as part of the Indian battalion in United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Both Ministers also positively assessed the annual KAZIND Exercise.

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, Secretary, Defence Production, Raj Kumar and other senior civil and military officials of Ministry of Defence were also present on the occasion.

Lieutenant General Nurlan Yermekbayev has been on an official visit to India from April 7-10, 2021 on the invitation of Mr Singh.

On Thursday, the Kazakh delegation visited HQs 12 Corps at Jodhpur and the Longewala sector in Jaisalmer.

UNI AKS SV 1626
Emily Paulin

But for some families, masks are obstructing more than smiles.

When Connie Reimer heard she was now allowed to sit next to her 99-year-old mother, Doris Dode Voss, during their visits at the Manor, she asked the staff to dust off Voss family photo album, planning to help her mother flip through the pages. Reimer thought it might trigger memories for her mother, who has dementia. But Voss, confused and panicked by her mask, wouldn't keep it on.

"I couldn't hold her hand or give her a hug because she wouldn't wear the mask, said Reimer. She doesn't understand why that goes together."

Many families face the same struggle, given that more than a third of nursing home residents have severe cognitive impairment and around another quarter have moderate cognitive impairment, according to a 2015 CMS report.

To keep seeing each other, Reimer and Voss had to move to one of the facility's visitation booths, which use clear plexiglass dividers to keep residents and visitors separated. Voss didn't have to wear her mask, but hearing her daughter through the wall was difficult. Reimer eventually gave up on conversation and instead played her mother soothing music through her phone for the time they had left.

"That was very frustrating, Reimer said. And we both are vaccinated now, so it'd be nice if we could just have a nice visit without all of this."

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released new guidelines for the general population, giving fully vaccinated people the go-ahead to unmask indoors around other fully vaccinated people, the CMS has not issued the same recommendation to nursing homes. Instead, it continues to list face coverings and masks as a core principle of COVID-19 infection prevention that should be adhered to at all times."

"Individuals in health care facilities, particularly nursing homes, are generally more susceptible to severe infection from COVID-19, a CMS spokesperson told AARP, and therefore more caution is often warranted.

Reimer hopes those rules loosen up soon. She's in decline, she said of her mother, noting that Voss has lost weight and mobility during the lockdowns. Her dementia has also worsened. The sooner I'm able to be with her, the better.

Sapped and skeptical

Staff members at Weston County Manor work hard to keep residents spirits up, decorating walls and doors with colorful collages and playing nostalgic 60s music over the dining room speakers. And they know how to smile with their eyes above their masks.

"We had to stay strong for our residents, said Tolley, the activities director. For a year, we were all they had.

But staff members, like the residents, are eager for relief. COVID-19 sparked heightened infection control measures for the nation's 1.6 million nursing home workers: extra screening, testing, disinfecting, training, reporting, scheduling, caring and more. When outbreaks occurred at homes and infected or exposed staff members were barred from working, it exacerbated staffing shortages. Other staff had to work overtime, in an environment that threatened their own health. Many did so on minimum wage and without benefits like sick leave.

"There were so many times where burnout was so real, said Tolley, recalling a day in October when all three members of her activity team were out due to a COVID-19 infection or exposure. It was just me left  and I cried and cried.
WOOD RIVER  Dont ditch that mask just yet.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is preparing an update for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to allow them to shed masks when taking part in outdoor activities. However, masks would still be required for large groups outside.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that, because of the increased number of COVID-19 vaccines, the CDC made an important announcement: Starting today, if youre fully vaccinated, and youre outdoors, you need  and not in a big crowd  you no longer need to wear a mask.

Pritzker has had a mask mandate in place since May 1, 2020. Hes filed two rounds of emergency rules requiring businesses to post mask mandates and enforce the use of face coverings inside.

Were updating all of our guidance here in Illinois to be in line with the CDCs new mask guidance, Pritzker said in a Facebook post Tuesday.

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said the state will continue to follow guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the wearing of masks. She also said Illinois is considering ways for people to prove their vaccination status, including a digital app or other alternatives less prone to damage, loss or forgery than the CDC-issued paper cards.

While Ezike said IDPH would not require people to show vaccination status to attend events, she said individual businesses and establishments may have their own rules.

More Information Vaccinations First: 83,409 (31.54%) Fully: 79,451 (30.01%) Source: MCHD COVID-19 cases by county Madison - 29,582 (494 deaths) Jersey - 2,662 (49 deaths) Calhoun - 524 (5 deaths) Greene - 1,428 (48 deaths) Macoupin - 4,793 (110 deaths) Montgomery - 3,673 (73 deaths) St. Clair - 27,458 (505 deaths) Clinton - 5,732 (90 deaths) Bond - 2,009 (24 deaths) Monroe - 4,331 (91 deaths) Randolph - 4,107 (84 deaths) Washington - 1,634 (25 deaths) Source: IDPH & MCHD See More Collapse

Technology companies are working on whatever protocols they want to put in place, she said. Its not IDPH mandated, but people, I hear, are interested in trying to make sure that their venues and their events are as safe as possible.

As of Tuesday, 30% of county residents are fully vaccinated, according to the Madison County Health Department. The MCHD reported 162,370 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered. That includes 83,409 first doses and 79,451  or 30.01% of the countys population  now fully vaccinated.

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported 31.83% of the residents in Jersey County are now fully vaccinated. Other fully vaccinated rates were 28.59% in Calhoun County, 23.54% in Greene County and 30.48% in Macoupin County.

The MCHD is now accepting walk-ins to its vaccination clinics and has COVID-19 vaccination appointments available for anyone 16 or older. To schedule an appointment, click the green appointment link at www.madisonchd.org. People needing help scheduling appointments can call 618-692-8954, Ext. 2, Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Minors who are 16-17 years old are only eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, must show a photo ID (e.g. drivers license, school ID, etc.), proof of age, and must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to their appointment. Additional details are listed on the scheduling link.

On Wednesday the IDPH reported 9,048,300 vaccines had been administered statewide and 11,322,205 vaccine doses had been delivered to providers in Illinois.

The MCHD late Tuesday reported no new COVID-19 related deaths, leaving the total at 494. On Wednesday the IDPH also reported no new COVID-19 related death in Madison County.

There are sometimes discrepancies in the number of cases and deaths reported at the state and local levels, in part because of the volume of cases, and also as each local department forwards the information and it is verified. Local health officials have said the cases eventually reconcile as the reporting catches up.

Late Tuesday the MCHD reported 28 new confirmed and probable cases and 604 tests. To date, the county has recorded 29,582 cases and 306,723 tests. There were 16 COVID-19 patients in Madison County hospitals Tuesday, two on ventilators.

The IDPH on Wednesday reported 2,728 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 33 additional COVID-19 related deaths statewide. To date, the IDPH has reported 1,328,454 cases, including 21,891 deaths.

Statewide there were 2,154 COVID-19 patients in hospitals on Tuesday night, including 502 in intensive care units and 238 on ventilators.

On Tuesday the county posted a three-day positivity rate of 3.42%, a seven-day rate of 3.07% and a 10-day rate of 3.36%.

On Wednesday the IDPH reported a preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from April 21-27 at 3.4%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity for the same period was 4.1%.

For more COVID-19 information, visit https://coronavirus-response-madcoil.hub.arcgis.com/, www.madisonchd.org or Facebook @madisonchd. Also visit www.co.madison.il.us or Facebook @madisoncountyil for more vaccination news and daily updates.

For The Telegraphs online vaccine tracker, visit https://www.thetelegraph.com/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-alton-illinois/. For additional vaccine locations visit https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/vaccination-location.

Local and statewide information also is available at www.dph.illinois.gov. Click the coronavirus banner.

For health-related questions about COVID-19, people also can call the IDPH hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov.

Capitol News Illinois and The Center Square contributed to this story.
Director/Producer Chloe Zhao, winner of the award for best picture for "Nomadland," poses in the press room at the Oscars, in Los Angeles, (Photo : Chris Pizzello/Pool via REUTERS)

Chloe Zhao made history as the first Asian woman and second woman ever to win best director at the Academy Awards, but her big moment was blacked out from live television in her native China.



Zhao, 39, cemented her reputation as one of the most acclaimed directors in film with "Nomadland," the story of financially stretched van dwellers that also won best picture and captured a best actress Oscar for Frances McDormand.



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It was the first Oscar for Zhao, who cast real-life nomads alongside McDormand to show the lives of older Americans who travel from job to job trying to scrape together a living. Zhao was also nominated for best film editing and best adapted screenplay but did not win.



"I am extremely lucky to be able to do what I love for a living, and if this means more people get to live their dreams, I'm extremely grateful," she said backstage afterwards.



Zhao was born in China and lived in Beijing until age 14, when she went to boarding school in England and later finished high school in Los Angeles.



But China did not get to see her triumph live on television, as it was not offered. Chinese media regulators also decided in March not to air the Oscars live on its streaming platforms, the Washington Post reported. Zhao has become controversial in her native land, where commentators on social media said she has insulted China in some of her past comments.



Hong Kong TV audiences were also unable to watch in real time because free-to-air broadcaster TVB declined to air the Academy Awards for the first time in more than 50 years. TVB, which has broadcast the Oscars every year since 1969, said it would not carry the ceremony for "commercial reasons."



The decision not to air the Oscars has raised concerns about dwindling freedoms in Hong Kong, which has taken an authoritarian path since China imposed a sweeping national security law last year in response to the financial hub's pro-democracy protests of 2019.



In Shanghai, a livestream of the awards show hosted by alumni of Zhao's alma mater New York University ran into China's Great Firewall, as the organizer's access to his virtual private network (VPN) service was blocked for nearly two hours. [nL1N2MJ05I]



"They cut the VPN," event organizer Kevin Ke said, adding his WeChat account was shut down after he wrote a post praising Zhao.



But Zhao's comments upon winning were apolitical and evoked fond memories of her childhood in China, recalling a game she played with her father trying to memorize classic Chinese poems.



She recalled one entitled, "Three Character Classic," in which a character says "people at birth are inherently good," Zhao said, an apparent reference to her casting non-actors in her films.



"I still truly believe them today," Zhao said of the letters in the poem. "Even though sometimes they might seem like the opposite is true, but I have always found goodness in the people I met everywhere I went in the world."



Casting everyday people adds a realism to her films, which tell real and somewhat simple stories with an understated feel.



That is why there is great anticipation in Hollywood about her upcoming films including the Marvel Studios big-budget action flick "Eternals," scheduled for release in November, and a sci-fi Western version of "Dracula."



After attending film school in New York, Zhao won acclaim for independent movies "Songs My Brothers Taught Me," about the bond between a Native American brother and sister, and "The Rider," the story of a young cowboy recovering from a serious head injury.



Zhao went into the Oscars ceremony as the front-runner after picking up trophies from the Directors Guild of America, the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and multiple film critic groups.


Australians can cash in on the China-driven iron ore boom without even having to buy the commodity used to make steel.

Iron ore prices on Tuesday surged to a record high of $US193 a metric tonne, data from S&P Global Platts showed.

The record was reached before the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday revealed a record $14billion worth of iron ore was exported in March - up $2.5billion or 21.7 per cent from February thanks to strong demand from China, Australia's biggest trading partner.

Investors can cash in on the iron ore boom by buying exchange traded funds linked to the iron ore price, which has more than tripled since April last year with Brazil still yet to recover from the Vale tailings dam collapse two years ago.

Australians can cash in on the China-driven iron ore boom without even having to buy the commodity used to make steel. Iron ore prices on Tuesday surged to a record high of $US193 a metric tonne, data from S&P Global Platts showed. Pictured is Fortescue Metals chairman Andrew Forrest with Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Karratha in Western Australia

CommSec market analyst James Tao said the prospect of iron ore prices possibly rising above the $US200 a tonne mark made exchange traded funds linked to commodity prices something worth considering.

'It will certainly track the price of commodities, those mining exposed assets certainly will benefit from commodity prices increasing,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Tao said there was a good chance iron ore prices could rise higher, having this week surpassed previous record highs of a decade ago after the Global Financial Crisis, as China bought more iron ore from Western Australia's Pilbara region.

'China is a big buyer of our iron ore, they continue to develop post-Covid, a lot of that is going into steel and construction,' he said.

'Steel margins in China remain very strong which continues to give signs you'll see the price of iron ore remain elevated for some time.

'We've seen the price of iron ore certainly moving in that direction - if it continues, you can certainly imagine it over that $200 mark.'

The record was reached before the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed a record $14billion worth of iron ore was exported in March - up $2.5billion or 22 per cent from February thanks to strong demand from China, Australia's biggest trading partner. Pictured is Chinese President Xi Jinping

Sean Crick, the ABS's head of international statistics, said iron ore exports underpinned Australia's trade surplus in March.

'Iron ore is the foundation of Australias export strength, accounting for 39 per cent of all March exports,' he said.

Since the start of 2021 mining stocks, known as the materials sector, have climbed by 8.5 per cent compared with 7 per cent for the broader Australian Securities Exchange.

This has seen mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto, and pure iron ore player Fortescue pay out record dividends to shareholders.

CommSec market analyst James Tao said the prospect of iron ore prices possibly rising above the $US200 a tonne mark made exchange traded funds linked to commodity prices something worth considering. Pictured is the Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney

'Those particular stocks have seen quite an incredible improvement in the last 12 months,' Mr Tao said.

Despite the good news on iron ore, the Fortescue Metals share price fell 1.2 per cent to $22.69 as of 2.40pm AEST on Tuesday.

Mr Tao said investors had already priced in the good news on iron ore prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 0.4 per cent to 7,064.10 points.
Help India!



There are over 1.27 lakh people with visual disability in Tamil Nadu. Many of them have acquired higher education but to no avail, as jobs have been far and fewer. This has forced scores of people with disabilities to do menial jobs. A thirteen-day protest earlier this year by the College Students and Graduates Association of the Blind (CSGAB) urged the Tamil Nadu government to fill up the vacancies reserved for visually challenged (VC) people in its educational sectors. A TCN Ground Report.

Shalini S, TwoCircles.net

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Chennai: Dr Aranga Raja, President of College Students and Graduates Association of the Blind (CSGAB), a disability rights group, admonishes the visually challenged residents of Karunai (Mercy) Hostel in Choolaimedu, downtown Chennai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as I wait to interview him. His animated nature splashes colour to the dull-looking walls. The residents begin to disperse from the common room after receiving instructions.

The stench of discrimination his community face hovers in the thick muggy air as Dr Raja talks about the protest held by the CSGAB in February this year against Tamil Nadu (TN) government to fill up the vacancies reserved for visually challenged (VC) people in its educational sectors.

There are 1,27,405 people with visual disability in Tamil Nadu.

Established in 1980, CSGAB is one of the pioneer organizations in the Indian Disability movement. The organizations primary role is to uplift the differently-abled people in leading a self-sufficient life. CSGAB has also highlighted the role of the state government in assisting them to enter the job market. The Human Development Unit of the South Asian Regions report on People with disabilities in India: From Commitments to Outcomes also points out the dip in the employment rate of the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) from 42.7% in 1991 to 37.6% in 2002, a period where the employment rate of the general population rose.

A history of protests

Dr Raja said that scuffles with the police, blocking roads, going on hunger strikes or occupying buildings to seek justice is not new to them.

He recalls the protest conducted by CSGAB in 2013 with similar demands, the then Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha assured of conducting a Special Teachers Eligibility Test (TET), qualifying test to teach till secondary level in government schools, exclusive for persons with disabilities (PwDs) and recruit candidates through backlog vacancies.

Dr Raja calls this an act of tokenism as the examination and recruitment process was conducted without transparency.

CSGAB protested again in 2015 and 2018 as they were still in a state of despair and unemployment.

The continuing state of unemployment and the impact of Covid-19 on the informal economy in which many visually challenged people were working, provoked the protesters to resurface again this February near Lady Willingdon College in Kamarajar Salai, near Marina beach in Chennai. The protest was held from February 17 to March 1, 2021.

Nearly 100 visually impaired graduates, out of which 40 were women, gathered from different districts of Tamil Nadu. The graduates have either qualified Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) to be eligible as teachers till secondary level in school education, or the National Eligibility Test (NET) or State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) to be eligible as Assistant Professor. The protesters are degree holders in the subjects of Tamil, English, History and Political Science.

Stressing on the stigmatization and exclusion they face in private sectors, the protesters urged the TN government to recruit all the VC candidates who cleared TET since 2013 and have undergone the certificate verification process as teachers in government schools. They also demanded, to appoint at least 100 VC candidates who qualified NET/SLET as guest lecturers in the government and aided colleges, and state universities.

Aravind, 31, a native of Trichy, Tamil Nadu, is totally blind and has qualified NET. He appeals for the government to mercy-kill him. I have all the credentials to be a lecturer and a teacher, yet, I sell candies in train for one days meal. Did I get a degree to teach or rove from train to train? Aravind told TwoCircles.net.

Aravind is currently pursuing M.Ed in correspondence from Chennai. He qualified NET in 2018. He has a B.Ed. and M.Phil. degrees and started selling candies in trains in 2013 after facing rejections in job interviews for teaching positions.

Exclusion and limited opportunities

Dr Raja pulls out his smartphone and taps on WhatsApp to show a bunch of advertisements posted by colleges in Tamil Nadu without mentioning the vacancies reserved for PwDs.

He quoted a recent incident, where the famous Ethiraj College for Women in Egmore, Chennai, advertised vacancy only for the general population and after a rebuttal notice from CSGAB, the college released a corrigendum inviting applications from PwDs.

I was asked to be ushered out by a non-teaching staff even before I could give an interview in a well-reputed private university in Chennai when I was looking for jobs back then. We are tired of the government overlooking our demands as a scheme based and not rights-based, he added.

Raghuraman (VC) coordinator of Karuna Vidyalaya, NGO for the career guidance of visually challenged graduates told TwoCircles.net that job opportunities are inadvertently limited for the visually impaired students because most of them have to settle for humanities degree and vastly explore teaching jobs.

Because of the exclusion they face in private colleges, they either look for jobs in informal sectors or prepare for government exams, he said.

The colleges wont give us a seat in social science or any other field that involves complex theories, numbers or diagrams because it needs sight to learn. I know a girl who does economics but she became adventitiously blind so I dont think it counts, a graduate who is currently preparing for TET told TwoCircles.net.

Fate of special recruitment drive?

Prof. Sivaraman (VC), Presidency College in Chennai while discussing the protest, pointed out the disconcerting nature of backlog vacancies in the Tamil Nadu Teachers Recruitment Board (TN TRB) notification for 2021.

The TRB notification shows 67% of backlog vacancies reserved for Persons with Disabilities out of which 31% are reserved for Persons with vision impairment. Among the reserved backlog vacancies for persons with vision impairment, 20% vacancies are from the subjects English, Tamil and History, and 80% vacancies are from Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Botany, Zoology, Physical Education, Commerce and Economics, subjects that are not accessible for the VC.

There are many backlog vacancies in the subjects that arent accessible for the visually challenged to even graduate in the first place, said Prof. Sivaraman. There is a special recruitment drive in every state for filling up such backlog vacancies. If no one is appointed for a long time, isnt it the job of the government to contemplate the illiteracy rate of the disabled people and their accessibility to all curriculums? he adds.

A pending order for equity

Dr Raja says that the negotiation with Selvi Apoorva, IAS, Secretary to the Government, Higher Education Department was not promising.

John Varghese, IAS, Director for the Welfare of the Differently Abled, was not available to talk even after much demand, he said.

CSGAB suspended the protest as the state legislative assembly election was approaching and provided an ultimatum till July 2021, to the State Commissionerate for the Welfare of the Differently Abled to fulfil their demands.

Dr Thirumavalavan, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, had visited the protesters and expressed solidarity.

TN government has no regard for its para-sports personalities too, many of whom are struggling for a livelihood without acknowledgement, he said.

Vijayashanthi, Asiad and Commonwealth Judo champion, also participated in the protest voicing her concerns.

Vijayashanthi is one of the residents of Karunai Hostel. Showing her certificates, she said, I almost went to burn them all but my mother stopped me.

There is no use of these (certificates), she added.

The concerned officials were not available to comment upon the issue. The story will be updated as and when TwoCirlces.net gets a response.
Villagers wait to get their second doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine at an injection center outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, April 28, 2021.

Cambodian NGOs and trade unions called on Phnom Penh Wednesday to improve health and safety for workers in the country to combat its recent coronavirus outbreak, while the governments of neighboring Vietnam and Laos took precautions Wednesday to keep the virus from spreading within its borders.

Though Cambodia has relatively few cases compared to the rest of the world, an outbreak that started in February resulted in cases increasing exponentially from tens to hundreds each day. Many patients have been factory and construction workers who live, commute and work in close quarters that cause transmission.

The country last week shattered its daily record of COVID-19 infections with nearly 700 cases of the disease caused by the coronavirus. On Wednesday, another 698 tested positive, bringing the total number of cases to 11,761 with 88 deaths.

The 36 NGOs and unions said that the central government had a responsibility to guarantee workers health and safety during the pandemic.

Occupational health and safety is of paramount importance in the contribution of employers, unions, the government, development partners and civil society organizations for joint action to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia, the statement said.

So far, approximately two thousand employees have been found to be COVID-19 positive in more than 90 factories in Phnom Penh and a number of other factories. The biggest concern for workers health and safety and risks are in other factories which have not yet found COVID-19 cases and workers will face a risk of returning to their workplace in a situation where there is no guarantee of occupational health and safety, it said.

Cambodia has instituted a 14-day lockdown in the capital and surrounding areas amid the recent outbreak.

The unions and NGOs recommended that the government create a monitoring mechanism to keep tabs on COVID-19 particularly among construction workers, conduct health and safety inspections, provide masks and hand sanitizer as well as other safety materials, and improve COVID-19 prevention measures on transportation where workers ride in close proximity.

Other measures it recommended included clearer communication on health and safety protocols in at-risk facilities, creation of social assistance programs during periods of lockdown, and efforts to keep street vendors safe.

Laos closes down

In neighboring Laos, COVID-19 cases rose to 604 Wednesday, an increase of 93 over a day earlier as three more provinces went on lockdown, joining the rest of the country.

We tested 3,055 people today and found 93 to be infected with COVID-19, Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh, director general of the Communicable Disease Control Department, told a press conference Wednesday.

A member of the Taskforce Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control in the northwestern province of Bokeo told RFAs Lao Service Wednesday that an entire family in the province became infected.

They got infected today, all of them, including the father, the mother, and their two children were admitted to hospitals, the Bokeo taskforce member said.

The increase in cases prompted the government to limit movement around the the capital, Vientiane.

All villages and districts have been locked down and people have been advised to stay home at all times and wear masks when they go out. Those caught without a mask will be fined, a member of the citys COVID-19 taskforce committee told RFA.

A member of the task force in the southern Champassak province told RFA that people there are concerned, because, with 78 total cases, the province has the second highest in the country behind Vientiane.

Our medical personnel are working hard nonstop. As the number of cases continues to rise, we are worried that our hospitals will not have enough beds, doctors, nurses, and medical equipment like ventilators and oxygen tanks soon, the Champassak taskforce member said.

We are now building two field hospitals at the provincial correctional center and a college dormitory that can house between 1,000 and 2,000 patients, he said.

In nearby Savannakhet province, restaurants have been ordered to operate only between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m., and to only serve takeout.

All of Laos 17 provinces are now officially under lockdown, several sources confirmed that their province had received the orders and local law enforcement had set up roadblocks to prevent unnecessary travel, including in Houaphanh, Xaysomboun and Attapeu, which have yet to report any confirmed cases.

Authorities have set up a checkpoint on a street in Vientiane Laos, April 28, 2021. The city has been locked down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Credit: RFA

The lockdown will negatively affect livelihoods, as places of work temporarily shut down, sources told RFA.

All textile and garment factories are closed from today until May 5, except for those factories equipped with workers dormitories. All other factories can operate with a reduced workforce. We expect thousands will be laid off, an official of the Ministry of Industry and Trade told RFA Tuesday.

A Vientiane worker confirmed the layoffs to RFA, saying, My factory is closed until the 5th of next month. Im just staying at home right now doing nothing.

A Vientiane resident said she and her family would struggle financially during the lockdown.

We dont have any money. We will have to sell our valuables, dip into our savings to pay our debt, utilities and food, she said.

A pawn shop owner in Vientiane said business was on the rise.

Most people sell or pawn gold necklaces, bracelets, computers and smart phones, the pawnbroker said.

For the most part people are complying with the lockdown orders.

More and more people are getting infected. We are staying home, and all the stores are closed anyway, because everybody is scared. If you want to travel from one village to another, you will be stopped and your temperature will be checked, a resident of Savannakhet told RFA.

Residents in Champassak said they needed to ask authorities for permission to go to grocery stores, and they had to wear masks.

Several sources told RFA that the fallout from the lockdown will highlight the need for more robust government assistance.

The association of restaurants and hotels is discussing a proposal to ask the government to lower taxes between five and 10 percent, said a Vientiane restaurant owner.

A resident of Borikhamxay province told RFA that the government should consider lowing utility prices because most people are not working and have no income but are using more power in the home.

An official of Laos finance ministry told RFA that if the lockdown lasts more than three months, businesses will be taxed at a lower rate.

On Monday, China transferred 300,000 doses of its SinoPharm vaccine to Laos, bringing the total number of doses donated by Beijing to 1.4 million. So far, more than 60,000 people have been fully vaccinated, while about 150,000 more have received their first dose.

Vietnam detects new cases

In Vietnam, a mother and daughter caused a Ho Chi Minh City hospital to place 38 staff in quarantine when they went for medical treatment but did not initially reveal that they live in neighboring Cambodia.

Nguyen Tan Binh, director of the citys health department, told local media that the two women had come to the Tu Du Hospital to seek treatment for an issue with the daughters pregnancy.

Hospital staff were unaware that the two had crossed a land border from Cambodia until Tuesday, six days after the daughter was admitted. From then 38 of the hospitals staff were also placed in quarantine. Test results revealed that none of the 40 suspected cases were positive.

Director Binh said it has become common for Vietnamese people living in Cambodia to travel to Vietnam for medical treatment as the pandemic has overwhelmed Cambodian hospitals. He said Vietnam must be cautious around Vietnamese who could be COVID-19 positive when they enter Vietnam.

Vietnams health ministry in a letter Wednesday asked authorities in the central northern province of Yen Bai to investigate and properly manage a positive COVID-19 case that was traced to a receptionist at a hotel where a group of professionals from India were undergoing quarantine procedures after they had previously tested positive.

State media reported that the 63-year-old receptionist had become the countrys 2,857th confirmed COVID case, and the latest to be transmitted locally. The four professionals had entered Vietnam on April 18 and had come in contact with the receptionist while he was working at the Nhu Nguyet hotel.

The four Indian nationals and the receptionist were admitted to Hanois National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

The ministrys letter asked the province to investigate the patient to trace all people that had had close contact with him so that they too could be quarantined. It also ordered the Yen Bai Peoples Committees health department to provide the ministry with daily updates on their investigation.

Nguyen Van Kinh, the chairman of the Vietnam Society of Infectious Diseases, told local media that the authorities were analyzing the virus in the four Indian nationals to check on whether they were infected with the B.1617 variant of the virus, which is spreading rampantly in India.

A woman is tested for coronavirus in Hanoi, Vietnam, January 25, 2021. Credit: Reuters

A day earlier, during a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, health officials expressed their concerns that new infections could arise as Vietnam continues to allow foreign professionals and Vietnamese citizens to enter the country from abroad.

The committee asked relevant agencies to closely monitor the countrys border areas, especially along the Cambodian border, as local transmission within Cambodia has risen sharply over the past few weeks.

Additionally, the defense ministry has beefed up checkpoints along Vietnams land borders and increased navy surveillance of its shorelines to prevent illegal entry into the country.

The health ministry warned that an outbreak could occur during the holiday period between Reunification Day on April 30 and International Labor Day on May 1.

It called on people to avoid large public gatherings and to report for testing in a timely manner if they experience symptoms, as well as following the countrys 5K campaign of wearing facemasks, sanitizing hands and items, keeping a distance, not gathering, and declaring health status, five precautions that all begin with the letter K in Vietnamese.

Reported by RFAs Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese Services. Translated by Samean Yun, Max Avary and Anna Vu. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Ottawa: Canada will provide USD 10 million to India to support the country in its fight against the unprecedented second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced.

Addressing a press conference, Trudeau said that Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau had direct conversations with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar about how Canada can best help, including the donation of extra medical supplies.

We are also ready to provide 10 million dollars through the Canadian Red Cross to the Indian Red Cross, the Prime Minister said. This will support everything from ambulance services to buying more Personal Protective Equipment locally, he said.

If you want to donate to the emergency efforts on the ground, go to redcross.Ca. As a world, we are in this fight together, Trudeau said.

About the talks between the Foreign Affairs Ministers of both the countries, he said: We are there to support in any ways we can, and those conversations are very much ongoing.

It's something that Canadians are extremely concerned about as we see the terrible and tragic images coming out of India. We know that we need to be there for our friends. And indeed, we need to be there for everyone around the world because we don't get through this pandemic anywhere until we get through it everywhere, PM Trudeau said.

Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister Garneau said on Twitter that he spoke to his Indian counterpart Jaishankar about the COVID-19 situation in the country and conveyed Canada's solidarity with the people of India.

This morning, I spoke with @DrSJaishankar to convey Canada's solidarity with the people of India as they face this deadly wave of #Covid19. Canada is exploring all options to support India's urgent needs. We are ready to assist, he said in a tweet.

India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

India saw a record single-day rise of 3,60,960 coronavirus cases, which pushed the total tally to 1,79,97,267, while the death toll crossed two lakh following 3,293 fresh fatalities, the health ministry said on Wednesday. The death toll stands at 2,01,187, it said.

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The Tennessee Department of Education announced Tennessee-based Niswonger Foundation has been selected to develop and support the new Advanced Placement Access for All program designed to help more students earn college credit while in high school.The AP Access for All program will provide students across the state access to AP courses virtually, ultimately eliminating financial barriers and supporting student enrollment in AP coursework not currently offered at their home high school.Putting all students on a path to success means thinking creatively, breaking down barriers, and putting the best interest of the student at the center of all we do.Students who want to earn college credit through AP coursework shouldnt be limited by the availability of coursework at the school he or she attends, said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. AP Access for All creates more opportunities for our kids to be ready and successful in their lives after high school and invests in our teachers by giving them content knowledge to prepare their students for postsecondary success.Niswonger will recruit teachers and students into the program, provide professional development and training for teachers, support the development of the course curriculum, offer platforms and resources for virtual students, and manage the AP test administration process so students can get college credit.The Niswonger Foundation has an extensive history of providing access to Advanced Placement courses to ensure rigorous academic opportunities, and preparedness for post-secondary success and career attainment, said Scott M. Niswonger, chair and founder, Niswonger Foundation. We have already witnessed the power of what can happen when this opportunity is provided. We are honored to join the Tennessee Department of Education as partners in this visionary effort to prepare the next generation of leaders for Tennessee.The Niswonger Foundations interest in the program was sparked by the desire of the state to ensure access across all students in the state.We were first attracted to this project by one word  ALL, said Dr. Nancy Dishner, president and CEO, Niswonger Foundation. We embrace the challenge that we can create a pathway so that all high school students in Tennessee will have an opportunity for this exceptional preparation for their future. The goals of this program are strategically aligned with the mission of the Niswonger Foundation  to create opportunities for individual and community growth through education. We welcome the opportunity to lead AP Access for All.The Niswonger Foundation was started in 2001 to create opportunities for individual and community growth through education and other sustainable projects.Funded through the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund, the Niswonger Foundation was selected through the competitive request for application process.
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According to a new study published by Polaris Market Research the global fog computing market is anticipated to reach USD 934 million by 2026. Fog computing helps in enhancing the efficiency as well as data computing competencies for cloud computing. The major use of fog computing is to enhance efficiency however, the use of fog computing can also be done for security and compliance reasons. Fog computing is used in several applications including, smart city, smart buildings, smart grid, vehicle networks and software- defined networks.

Browse for full research summary: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/fog-computing-market

On the basis of components, the market is segmented into hardware and software. The software market is growing at a highest CAGR and has accounted for the largest share attributed to low cost, increasing functionality, as well as advancements in features & designs. Furthermore, the constantly decreasing costs of sensors, storage devices, and semiconductor devices is one of the factor which is fueling the market growth of hardware in fog computing. Another factor responsible for the market growth of fog computing is the developments in network technology resulting in reduction of OPEX across business organizations.

Currently, the market for fog computing is dominated by North America with countries including, US and Canada taking initiatives to promote the adoption of IoT in the region. Also, Europe is the second largest market after North America, which is also experiencing growth in the adopting of fog computing and IoT. However, APAC is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period attributed to the increasing awareness of fog computing in these regions.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/fog-computing-market/request-for-sample

Major companies profiled in the report include Cradlepoint, Inc., PrismTech, FogHorn Systems, Cisco Systems, Inc., Crosser Technologies, Nebbiolo Technologies, Microsoft Corporation, Intel Corporation, Fujitsu, Arm Holding Plc., and ADLINK Technology Inc.

Key Findings from the study suggest North America is expected to command the market over the forecast years. APAC is presumed to be the fastest growing market, with highest CAGRover the forecast period. The fog computing market is presumed to develop at a CAGR of over 62.6% from 2018 to 2026. The fog computing technology is used in applications such as building & automation, smart energy, transportation & logistics, smart manufacturing, connected health, and others. Among the application segment, smart manufacturing is expected to hold the largest share. This is due to the several number of sensors required for varied functions in manufacturing facilities, that generates enormous amount data. Fog computing helps manufacturing companies to reduce operating cost by making use of real-time data to take efficient decisions.

Check for discount: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/fog-computing-market/request-for-discount-pricing

Fog Computing Market Size And Forecast By Hardware Routers/Gateways Switches Controllers Sensors Others

Fog Computing Market Size And Forecast By Software Fog Computing Platforms Custom Application Software

Fog Computing Market Size And Forecast By Service Professional Service Training Service

Fog Computing Market Size And Forecast By Application Smart Homes/Smart Cities Smart Energy Smart Manufacturing Connected Healthcare Smart Transport Others

Fog Computing Market Size And Forecast By Regions North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany UK Asia Pacific China Japan Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East & Africa



Make Inquiry about this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/fog-computing-market/inquire-before-buying

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Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world.

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A woman from London who lost her job after saying men cannot be women reportedly fights back in court for her right to free speech.

The Christian Post (CP) said Maya Forstater was fired as a senior researcher of the Centre For Global Development after expressing in her social media account that transgender women can never be women. Forstater has made an appeal in court for her employment's termination stressing her right to free speech. She prepared a 50-page outline of her appeal for the Employment Appeal Tribunal that will be given this week.

"The chilling effect on people's careers of expressing unpopular thoughts is most often not felt through the formal mechanisms of disciplinary processes and P45s [UK reference code for tax form regarding details of employees leaving work], but through social shunning, economic and social doors closed, careers damaged in ways too subtle to bring to court," Forstater explained in an essay published in Medium on Monday.

"Without it, such people face discipline or dismissal simply because their employers disagree with, or do not wish to be associated with, beliefs which dissent from prevailing orthodoxy--or at least from that which prevails in the section of society which shouts loudest on Twitter or otherwise carries most influence with the employer," she stressed.

Previously, Forstater said that she actually supported the human rights of transgenders and do believe they are vulnerable. However, she stressed that "no one group should overrule others". She said she only defended "women's rights, in a careful way and in a tone of ordinary discussion and disagreement."

CP explained that the case she filed in court was denied because the presiding judge said her statement was "absolutist" and "violates their dignity."

"(She was) absolutist in her view of sex and it is a core component of her belief that she will refer to a person by the sex she considered appropriate even if it violates their dignity and/or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. The approach is not worthy of respect in a democratic society," Judge James Tayler said in her ruling last December 2019 against Forstater.

However, the Equality and Human Rights Commission of England and Wales has taken the side of Forstater. The EHRC contested the Employment Tribunal judge's ruling of 2019 saying they have "taken the wrong approach to the law" and stressed that there "can be no justifiable basis in law for distinguishing between religious or philosophical belief" in so far as the context of biological sex is concerned.

CP added that her lawyers, on the other hand, pointed out that people like Forstater who have such beliefs should not simply withhold expressing themselves out of fear of hurting others or of being discriminated at work because there is no law to remedy it.

Freedom of expression advocate Index On Censorship, as reported by CP, said Forstater did nothing wrong in expressing what "many feminists share," which should be an opportunity for public discourse on sex and gender distinctions.

According to CP, Forstater received an email from one of her work's managers after her tweeting, "that men cannot change into women." The manager told her that what she did was "offensive and exclusionary" and that she needed to obey to the company's policies on conduct. Forstater, who has long been campaigning against gender stereotypes, was hurt when she was terminated from work, being the breadwinner of her family.

Forstater then resorted to crowdfunding to finance her court battle and landed her with about $172298.69 as of writing, along with worldwide support -including from "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling.
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There are complexities in funnelling through funding in a timely manner so that the railway sector can modernise itself

Leaders of Petrolimex Hanoi  a unit of Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex)  are currently concerned about possible losses as the railway industry might face a halt due to unsolved problems related to the allocation of state funding for this years railway maintenance activities.

Petrolimex Hanoi is a partner of Vietnam Railways (VNR), the operator of the countrys railway network, supplying diesel oil for train operation and using rails to transport to petroleum storages across cities and provinces.

Tran Ba Hoa, deputy general director of Petrolimex Hanoi, told VIR, The railway industry has many more advantages than transportation by air and sea because of the railways huge transportation capacity and lower cost. Also importantly, it contributes to ensuring energy security.

Hoa cited some examples to prove why railways are important to businesses and how a possible stop could impact other economic areas. Currently, each rail car can accommodate about 30-50 cubic metres of petrol, or 600-700cu.m in a train, while each gas tanker can carry just 10-30cu.m by road.

Moreover, the cost of transportation by rail, for example, from Hanoi to the northern province of Lao Cai, is half of that by road.

Alarm bells

According to Hoa, his company and many other partners of VNR are in the same situation. The railway giant now has a large number of partners and customers in the manufacturing and trading fields. For instance, NR Greenlines Logistics, a joint venture between Railway Transport and Trade JSC and Japans Nissin Group, is not an exception.

Pham Thi Minh Giang, deputy general director of Greenlines Logistics, admitted that her company is concerned about the situation of the railway industry. Four months have passed, but the state funding for maintenance activities could not be allocated because of different ideas among ministries, agencies, and VNR.

We mainly operate by rail. Therefore, we may face bankruptcy if the railway industry collapses, she told VIR.

Greenlines Logistics is transporting finished cars for many leading automobile manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi. It transports about 1,000 units per month by rail for these producers. Greenlines Logistics also conveys containers by this means of transport with about 500-600 containers monthly.

Issues related to the maintenance of VNR operations could cause a domino effect for its partners like Greenlines Logistics and Petrolimex Hanoi, as well as the mentioned car producers. Similar to the given example of petrol, railways are an optimal choice for car transportation. Earlier in 2018, Toyota representatives held a meeting with VNR to discuss the possibilities of building a railway route connecting its factory in the northern province of Vinh Phuc to the main north-south network, using the central city of Danangs railway station as a transhipment hub to other provinces in the central region and for transnational transport.

Industry insiders warned that the list of suffering companies could be lengthened unless a solution is announced timely, as not only companies outside the industry worry, but also those inside are struggling to survive.

As one of the 20 member companies of VNR active in maintenance, Ha Hai Railway JSC each quarter receives about VND40 billion ($1.73 million) on average to perform maintenance. Nguyen Van Hai, chairman of the Board of Directors at Ha Hai Railway said, As we yet to receive state funding for maintenance this year, we are facing pressure on salary payment and the purchase of spare parts. Meanwhile, seeking a bank loan is impossible because we do not have many valuable assets, and our loan limit is just VND20 billion ($43,500).

Pros and cons

According to a VNR leader, the state funding of VND2.8 trillion ($121.800 million) for railway maintenance in 2021 has not yet been allocated to VNR, thus hindering the 20 member companies of VNR to pay salary for workers and buy spare parts for the work. The corporation even said that it might have to stop the trains and cannot maintain its operation by the end of April.

In the past, when VNR remained in direct management of the Ministry of Transport (MoT), the funding could be directly allocated to VNR. However, the current problems arose since 2018 as the giant was transferred to the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSCE).

As a result, the MoT is now unable to allocate funding as in the past and instead allocates the money to its directly-managed Vietnam Railway Authority (VRA).

Le Hoang Minh, head of the MoTs Department of Transport Infrastructure, confirmed that what the MoT does is in line with the Law on State Budget. As ruled, the VRA has to sign contracts with the 20 companies of VNR to perform maintenance. VNR, however, disagreed with this, citing the 2017 Law on Railway as the grounds saying that it has the rights to manage the maintenance of the national railway network of 3,143km. The corporation explained that the maintenance should be united with train operations schedule and operation.

When any incidents occurred, we immediately made a decision and worked with units on dealing with them. However, if the state funding is allocated to the VRA, we have to seek for approval from the authority, thus causing delays and increasing safety risks, a VNR leader said.

Echoing this view, in the latest document recently sent to the prime minister, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said that the MoTs allocation of state funding for railway maintenance to the VRA is not reasonable with the Law on Railway and the Law on Public Procurement, as well as some others. This also causes an unnecessary intermediate step for VNR.

Despite the Government Offices documents issued in February and March, asking the MoT to take into account the MoJs ideas to soon complete the allocation, the MoT still sticks to its opinion so far.

In an effort to seek a solution, VNR on April 12 sent a document to the prime minister about the difficulties. The MoT also made a similar move with a document to the government leader, proposing to direct the CMSCE and VNR to soon sign contracts with the VRA and ensure the safety of the railway network, as well as payments for labourers.

As noted this is not the first time that the railway sector has got stuck. In 2020, the prime minister had to issue a resolution to solve the problem.

Hoa from Petrolimex Hanoi elaborated that despite the advantages, the companys transportation by rail just makes up 15 per cent of total logistics. The road remains the major means of transportation, and Hoa blamed the situation for the companys outdated rail infrastructure as well as the limited capacity of the older trains.

If we were to receive appropriate funding, our railway could bring into play its efficiency, thus enabling cost efficiency even more than transport by air and sea, he noted.

While waiting for the solution, trains are operating on a daily basis on outdated infrastructure, causing possible threats to safety. Meanwhile, thousands of labourers are languishing for salaries to live on, and companies like Petrolimex Hanoi and Greenlines Logistics are still on tenterhooks.
Some residents in Tema have expressed disappointment as there were no ministerial and deputy ministerial appointments from any of the constituencies.



Mr Danso Indoom, a resident of Sakumono Estate in Tema West Constituency, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, observed that there were prominent personalities who served as Ministers from Krowor, Ledzokuku, Tema East and West in the previous government, but that was not the case currently.



He noted that the performance of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2020 election along the coast from Osu all the way to Prampram was remarkable and citizens therefore deserved to be rewarded with either a Ministerial or Deputy Ministerial post.



He said "so if you are looking at rewarding areas where majority of the NPP votes came from then it stands to reason that the President will also appoint ministers and deputies from those areas that did better with regards to votes".



Mr Indoom said "once regions like Ashanti, Northern and Savannah did far better, it is more reasonable to reward them for their faith with the Party, but those who did appreciable well too must be rewarded to serve as incentives for the hard-working members of the ruling political party."



Madam Christine Amartey, a resident of Nungua in the Krowor Constituency, said although NPP lost some Parliamentary seats in the 2020 Election, the Presidential vote was significant therefore the people should have been rewarded for their contribution to the 4more4nana to do more campaign.



She noted that as a political strategy, this was even the time for the NPP to appoint more from the constituencies it performed badly in the parliamentary elections to serve as a way of capturing the seats back in the next election.



Mr Felix Quarshie, a resident of Tema in the Tema East Constituency, said the neglect should serve as a wake-up call to the youth within NPP and other political parties to lace their boots for 2024.



He said once they worked harder to deliver more votes the Party will reward them.



In the previous government, Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, former Tema East MP and Mr Carlos Kingsley Ahenkrah, current Tema West MP, served as Deputy Ministers for Transport and Trade respectively.





Source: GNA









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Glow LifeTech has exclusive rights to market, sell and distribute ArtemiC in Canada, USA, Mexico and all Caribbean countries as a food supplement (nutraceutical, dietary supplement, natural health product).

s ( ) ( ) ( ) Canadian-based development and North American distribution partner Glow LifeTech (CNSX:GLOW) (FRA:9DO) has submitted an application to Health Canada to obtain product licences for ArtemiC as a Natural Health Product (NHP).

ArtemiC was submitted to Health Canadas Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate (NNHPD) on March 11, 2021.

The application, which is under review by Health Canada, included ArtemiC supporting COVID-19 Phase II clinical trial results.

Under Canadian regulations, all NHPs must obtain pre-market approval from Health Canada to assure they are safe, effective and of high quality before being allowed to be sold in Canada.

Once Health Canada makes this assessment, they are issued a National Product Number (NPN).

Exciting step in classification of ArtemiC

The company released the results of a successful Phase II double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial last year which showed ArtemiC statistically improved the clinical recovery of COVID-19 patients in comparison with the Placebo Group.

MGC Pharma chief executive officer Roby Zomer said: The submission of this application to Health Canada by Glow is an important and exciting step in the classification of ArtemiC as a Natural Health Product.

Broadening the accessibility for the treatment for symptoms of COVID-19 and will help more people suffering with the symptoms of the disease.

Approval of Glows application if granted will further highlight the robustness and effectiveness of our clinical trial processes in relation to treatments that we are able to develop and bring to market.

Safe, effective products

Glow LifeTech chief commercial officer Rob Carducci said: The global demand for natural, science-backed health products has been driven to new highs during this pandemic and Health Canada approved products are globally recognized as safe, effective and of high quality.

ArtemiC is supported with COVID-19 clinical results and represents a significant opportunity for Glow as a natural, safe and effective product that can be made widely accessible during these challenging times.

Phase II trial results

A total of 100% of the patients in the treatment group met the trials primary endpoint and fully recovered within 15 days.

None of the patients supported by ArtemiC required additional oxygen, mechanical ventilation or intensive care, compared to 23.4% in the placebo group requiring further assistance.

The results deliver a full safety and efficacy profile, which is further supported by additional testing for toxicity and mechanism of action.

Delivery system increases variability

ArtemiC is a clinically tested oral spray containing four natural active ingredients: Artemisinin, Curcumin, Boswellia serrata, and Vitamin C.

The formulation uses the MyCell delivery system technology to increase bioavailability and effectiveness of natural active ingredients.

Glow LifeTech chief operating officer Tom Glawdel (PhD) said: Glow is on a mission to unlock the healing power of plants and ArtemiC demonstrates the impact our unique technology can deliver.

Our MyCelldelivery technology provides us a platform to develop a broad portfolio of scientifically validated natural ingredients to power the next generation of natural health products.
In an interview on Saudi national TV, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hinted at a possible sale of a 1% stake in Saudi Aramco. MBS claimed that there are talks now for the acquisition of a 1% stake by a leading global energy company in an important deal that would boost Aramcos sales in a major country. Based on the current value of Aramco, the potential sale would bring in roughly $19 billion for the Kingdom. MBS did not go into further detail on the deal but he did indicate that more of Aramco may be sold in the future. The Crown Prince has been pushing this sale for a while now as he attempts to diversify the countrys economy and wean it off oil and gas.

Confronted by population growth and unemployment, Saudi Arabia needs to develop new economic sectors to both provide job opportunities and supplement hydrocarbon revenues. MBS stated that if we were to proceed with the same manner and in the light of the increased population number this will have quite an impact in 20 years on the standard of living weve become accustomed to for about 50 years. The Crown Prince also addressed Saudi Arabias addiction to hydrocarbon revenues, saying that this is in addition to the risk that the economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would be depending mainly on oil, and what will oil be facing as challenges in the forty or fifty years ahead. Limited utilization, or maybe the prices might be less, or there might be a dysfunction in the economic situation which might entail financial and economic repercussions. However, he also emphasized that there is a wrongful perception that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would like to dispose of the oil. Not at all. We want to exploit everything whether the oil sector or other sectors. He also warned not to base strategies only on future demand projections but also take into account the fact that supply could become the major threat in future. In the words of MBS, if were talking about the others in terms of the supply, you find that supply is lost more quickly, or it declines more quickly than demand for oil is reduced. MBS believes the U.S., Russia, and China are going to face a steep decline in oil production in the coming years. Saudi Arabia plans to be ready to take advantage of that.

Related Video: Oil on Guard over Yemen as Saudi, Iran Meet in Secret

When considering the potential sale of a 1% stake in Saudi Aramco, there are only a few parties that would have the ability and desire to be involved. MBS hinted that a global energy company was interested in the stake, and with most IOCs facing financial constraints and energy transition regulations, that list is rather limited. It seems likely that the company would be linked to China, Russia, or India. When looking at the current Asian focus of the Kingdom, Aramco is more likely to sell some shares to Chinese parties than to Indian operators. At the same time, Russian operators or investment funds such as Gazprom, Rosneft, or RDIF could be very interested in the sale. Considering current China-Saudi relations, it seems most likely that a mainstream Chinese oil giant, backed by Chinese banks and the Beijing government, is behind the deal. Such a sale would fit within the broader context of the major multi-billion agreements that have been agreed between China and Saudi Arabia.

The improving relations between Beijing and Rhiyad are clearly based on existing and growing hydrocarbon links between the two. At present, China is the largest oil importer of Saudi oil and petrochemicals.

As one of the only growth regions in the world, China provides stable revenues to Saudi Arabia. Another potential contender, India, is still lagging behind but could become a force to reckon with in the next 5-9 years. Part of the upcoming Aramco production capacity expansion to 12 million bpd is expected to go to other Asian customers rather than China.

Related: Goldman: Oil To Hit $80 On Largest Ever Demand Jump



China also has become a major Third Way Global Power that has the power to mitigate negative repercussions from any U.S.-Russia confrontation or a U.S.-Saudi Arabia fallout. MBS when asked about the recent recalibration of U.S.-Saudi relations under Biden stated that there will never be 100% agreement between two countries. Between different White House administrations, the margin of differences could increase or decrease but we agree with the Biden administration about 90% of the time, he added. A potential multibillion investment from Chinese energy companies or investment funds will only accelerate Saudi Arabias pivot to the East.

The revenues from the sale of a 1% stake of Aramco would go towards the growth strategy of the company and its parent the Saudi SWF Public Investment Fund. It is seen as a good way of entering financial markets without issuing debt. As shares are a risk for investors rather than the issuer, there will not be a risk increase for Aramco, only another option to monetize assets. Keep in mind, Aramco doesnt own the Saudi oil and gas reserves, the ownership is still in the hand of the Kingdoms rulers.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

Hartford HealthCare is opening all of its COVID-19 vaccination clinics to walk-in appointments starting Friday, including those in Bridgeport and Fairfield.

HHC announced the change on Wednesday, stating in a release that the health system  which includes St. Vincents Medical Center in Bridgeport  had been offering a pilot program at a few sites this week. Due to the success of the pilot program, Hartford HealthCare will now offer walk-in availability across the state, as well.
Photo: Glacier Media

The Vancouver Police Department is concerned about the level of violent rhetoric online following the death of a 15-year-old boy who was allegedly stabbed by a 14-year-old.

"We are alarmed by some of the social media chatter that has misidentified some teens as being involved in this incident, and inappropriately singled out others for retribution, says Sgt. Steve Addison in a press release Tuesday. Today is the first school day following a district-wide professional development day, and were asking everyone to be respectful of each other and mindful about what they post online.

The stabbing happened Saturday in Almond Park. The 15-year-old died Sunday afternoon. The 14-year-old suspect was arrested for possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Extra police are being sent to the area temporarily; more may be sent, according to the release.

Tensions and emotions are running high, and were very worried this could lead to more conflict amongst youth, adds Addison in the release. Were pleading with teens to take a deep breath and to stay calm, and we ask parents to speak to their kids about what theyre posting on social media so we can avoid any other serious incidents.

Neither are being officially named by police due to their ages. However, a GoFundMe campaign has been started for the family of the victim.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc raised its annual revenue forecast on Tuesday, betting on strong demand for its chips used in data centers and personal computers as its chief executive said she was confident the company could source the chips despite a global supply shortage.

The chip designer's shares rose about 4% in extended trading after it also reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter.

CEO Lisa Su said AMD has "good visibility" into being able to secure additional chips from its manufacturing partners.

Also read: Increasing global chip demand pushes Taiwans export orders to record high

"The entire semiconductor supply chain is very, very tight," she told analysts on a conference call. "That being said, we've been working very closely with our supply chain partners. We have seen improvements that have led to the improved full-year guide."

AMD has been prying away central processor chip market share from Intel Corp, whose manufacturing operations have fallen behind contract factories used by AMD, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

It has also benefited from a surge in demand for its graphics chips from gamers who have spent more time playing and upgrading their equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said it now expected 2021 revenue to rise 50% from a year earlier, implying a figure of $14.64 billion, compared with its previous forecast of a 39% jump.

Revenue in the first quarter soared 93% to $3.45 billion, beating a Refinitiv IBES estimate of $3.21 billion, thanks in part to higher average selling prices for its chips.

Read more: TSMC sees chip shortage lasting into 2022, books solid profit

"We feel very good about our progress, particularly in notebooks," Su said. "We're seeing traction in the premium ultrathin, gaming and commercial" notebook markets.

Sales in AMD's computing and graphics business, which includes graphics and central processor chips for personal computers, rose 46% to $2.10 billion.

Its enterprise, embedded and semi-custom segment, the unit that houses data center chips, posted an almost four-fold jump in sales to $1.35 billion.

Excluding items, the company earned 52 cents per share, exceeding expectations of 44 cents per share.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 13:24:45|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The novel coronavirus could be associated with a leak from a U.S. biological laboratory, said Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's lower parliament house the State Duma, on Tuesday.

"There was a leak from one of those laboratories that they have opened around the world. It would be right if the government of the Russian Federation raises the issue (of responsibility for the COVID-19 outbreak)," Volodin told a session of the Council of Legislators.

"The U.S. laboratories where scientists study, explore and maybe even create new biological weapons are now located in Georgia, in some counties of Eastern Europe. That must be taken under control," he said, according to an official press release.

According to media reports, the United States has set up many bio-labs in 25 countries and regions across the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and former Soviet Union, with 16 in Ukraine alone.

Some of the places are believed to have been involved in biological militarization activities. Enditem
Known more so for his catchy and fun songs, Alex Roe is about to reveal a much softer side with the forthcoming release of his new single, I Loved Her First.

The Clara man has emerged as one of Irish country's brightest new talents over the last few years, a trajectory that seemed certain to reach new heights in the summer of last year. However, as we all know by now, the summer of 2020 was cancelled, and Alex's career - to at least some extent - has slowed down to a speed he wasn't expecting.

And yet, that unexpected and unavoidable change in gear and circumstances may well have led the twenty-something year old to explore songs that are more about the whisper of a heartbeat than the whirling of feet around a dancefloor.



"I was playing a lot of gigs before everything came to an end last year, and I'd been working to that same kind of a full diary for a good few years at that point. So you naturally tend to gravitate more towards the faster, more uptempo numbers that will keep people out on the floor. And the same applies when you think about what you'll record.

"You want to entice people to come along to your shows because they like what they hear of you on the radio. Now, I've always had some slower songs in my set, the same as every artist would. But what's happened during this break is that I've found myself turning more to songs like that when I'm just listening to music myself. And I suppose what I realised is that these songs - slower, more sentimental ones - they can connect with people just as easily. And that's why I decided to record 'I Loved Her First.'"

When it comes to tearjerkers, I Loved Her First is a song that shows no mercy when pulling on the heartstrings. Released by the American country band Heartland in the summer of 2006, it was both the title-track and the lead-off single from their debut album. Penned by songwriters Walt Aldridge and Elliott Park, I Loved Her First hit the top of the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart late in that same year.

Roe first recorded a video of I Loved You First, which he debuted on his official Facebook music page back at the beginning of April. That video, recorded with Wayne Thorose at Ballyrose Studios, generated a reaction from fans that took the young country star by surprise.

"Back when it had been safe to spend some time in a studio, we took the chance to put together a few things that we'd be able to use as the year went on. We didn't know then how the rest of the year was going to turn out, so the plan was to have some content created for social media and that would help to keep things ticking over and make sure that I still had a way to reach out and connect with fans.

"But to be honest, the way this song has connected with people has been amazing. That very evening that I first posted it, I started getting messages from some radio presenters asking me to send them on the single, I couldn't believe it. The first couple of times I explained that I'd just done a video for it and it wasn't actually a single at all. But by the next morning, with more messages coming in all the time, I had changed my mind. I gave Wayne a shout and said look, I think we actually have a single here!"

Alex continued, "I'm just delighted that people are enjoying it so much. I actually had another single planned for around about now anyway, but given the response to 'I Loved Her First', we'll just hold onto that one for another little while."

I Loved Her First, the brand NEW single from Alex Roe, will be available on all platforms from Friday, April 30.




Shoe scanner technology on the horizon

Richland, Wash.--Take your shoes off and place them in the bin! That's been part of the flying experience since 2006. It's the outcome of a number of threats to the aviation sector that emerged after the fateful events of September 11, 2001, including a failed attempt by an air-borne terrorist to light a fuse hidden in his shoe.

It's one of the most inconvenient parts of flying and one that can slow the security screening process. But one day soon, even those without a "pre-check" status may be able to keep their shoes on, step on shoe scanner, walk through a next-generation body scanner and speed safely on to their boarding gates.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed the original holographic millimeter wave scanning technology--now used at airports worldwide--which can detect a wide variety of potential weapons or threats concealed under clothing.

Next-generation security scanning

Working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, researchers at PNNL have expanded and advanced the capabilities of the original scanners, with an eye to improving the passenger experience. The result is a next-generation, high-definition scanner that can identify even smaller threats with fewer false positives. In the process, they designed a similar technology that can screen a passenger's footwear while on their feet.

PNNL recently licensed the two technologies to Liberty Defense Holdings, Ltd., a concealed weapons detection company. Licensing government-developed technologies to the private sector is one of the missions of national laboratories like PNNL.

"Liberty Defense is committed to protecting the public through its next-generation body and shoe scanning solutions," said Kannan Krishnaswami, a commercialization manager at PNNL. "With their leadership and experience, they are well positioned to bring PNNL-developed scanners to market, along with threat detection algorithms to enhance security for travelers and people attending events at large venues."

Two seconds per shoe scan

A shoe scan involves the traveler pausing on a low-profile imaging platform for about two seconds. Electromagnetic waves are used to generate an image of the shoe, which is evaluated to determine if an object may constitute a threat.

The PNNL shoe scanner received an R&D 100 award in 2020 as one of the top 100 innovations of the year.

"Adding the shoe scanner in an airport setting could replace the inconvenient pre-boarding ritual of removing shoes at the checkpoint and potentially speed up the screening process by 15-20 percent," said Liberty CEO Bill Frain. "Streamlining security processes, while still detecting threats and keeping people safe, is a win-win proposition."

Keeping safe with your shoes and jackets on

Based on the national need researchers saw for a shoe scanner, PNNL began development using internal R&D funds. DHS funded additional development of the technology through the Science and Technology Directorate's Screening at Speed program, while also supporting development of a new generation of millimeter wave body scanners that can provide higher resolution images at much lower cost. The original scanner design, previously developed by PNNL, has been widely used for about 15 years as a valuable screening tool at Transportation Security Agency airport checkpoints in the U.S. and abroad.

"The updated HD-Advanced Imaging Technology scanner offers much higher resolution," said Dave Sheen, who manages the millimeter-wave technology program at PNNL. "Testing shows that the increased resolution improves potential threat detection, while dramatically reducing false alarms compared to the first-generation technology. Reducing false alarms and the secondary screenings they trigger means less direct contact between travelers and security personnel."

The new system design includes improved antennas and significantly reduces imaging irregularities. With this advancement, airline passengers or people attending large public events may be scanned while wearing light sweaters or jackets, instead of having to take them off before walking through the scanner portal.

Advanced scanning for enhanced security operations

HD body scanners were designed to meet changing performance requirements and identify potential evolving threats, such as weapons, explosives and illicit drugs.

The HD Advanced Imaging Technology system will be able to incorporate the latest threat detection algorithms that may be developed by third parties. Its open architecture will provide operators the flexibility to select and use best-in-class threat detection algorithms instead of being limited to one specific type.

"Liberty Defense envisions building upon and enhancing the capabilities already achieved on the HD-AIT, with the intent to commercialize and manufacture the platform," said Frain. "The goal is to seamlessly upgrade current systems at airports while preserving the existing footprint." Frain added that the shoe scanner may be integrated into the base of the next generation HD-AIT. "We see options in various venues for separate scanners or a combined version," he said.

Dave Atkinson, who manages PNNL's research on aviation and explosives for DHS, sums up the teamwork that led to the licensing of the new shoe scanner technology and the next-generation HD scanner. "This is a prime example of how federal funding, combined with scientific and technical expertise at a national laboratory, and private industry investment can mature technical inventions and make them available to solve national challenges, create new jobs and increase U.S. competitiveness."

###

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory draws on its distinguishing strengths in chemistry, Earth sciences, biology and data science to advance scientific knowledge and address challenges in sustainable energy and national security. Founded in 1965, PNNL is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, which is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE's Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit PNNL's News Center. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.


SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test Kit Received Export Permit

Sydney, April 27, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Beroni Group ( OTCMKTS:BNIGF ) ( NSX:BTG ), an Australia-based diversified biopharmaceutical enterprise today announced that it has received the notification that its SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test Kit (Colloidal Gold Method) is granted authorization for export.As announced in December 2020, Beroni Group's SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test Kit (Colloidal Gold Method) has received the CE certification for distribution to the EU markets. This test kit requires no blood, and only a nasopharyngeal swab is needed to collect samples. It can also deliver the test results within 10 minutes. Based on clinical tests, the sensitivity, specificity and total coincidence rate of anterior nasal sampling are 95.90%, 99.19% and 97.55% respectively, while the sensitivity, specificity and total coincidence rate of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal sampling are 98.36%, 99.19% and 98.78% respectively. Our test results showed that the test kit could provide users with a safe, reliable and rapid way of detecting the COVID-19 virus."COVID-19 is a global health crisis faced by each of us. Getting the export authorization is an important achievement in our effort to overcome the coronavirus. This new test kit can let testers know whether they have the antigen before the vaccination. We know there have been cases where the person, who was still in isolation, returned several negative PCR tests, however serology testing conducted brought back a positive result." commented Jacky Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Beroni Group. "At present, our other COVID-19 test kit - Beroni SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM Antibody Detection Kit - has been exported to Britain, Japan and other countries. With CE certification and export authorization, we are ready to integrate our multi-centered resources to distribute the antigen test kit to the needed markets."About Beroni Group Limited

Beroni Group (NSX:BTG) (OTCMKTS:BNIGF) is an international biopharmaceutical enterprise dedicated to the innovation and commercialization of drugs and therapies to combat various global diseases such as cancer and infectious diseases. Its diversified portfolio is comprised of a US FDA approved virus diagnostic kit, an e-commerce platform for the sale of pharmaceutical products and a development pipeline targeting oncology and cell therapies. Beroni has operations in Australia, United States, China and Japan. To learn more about Beroni, please visit www.beronigroup.com.
Political ambition, loyalty to ministers and the tenuous nature of their employment is leaving ministerial staff reluctant to report bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who commissioned a review of the policies and procedures in NSW ministerial offices following Brittany Higgins alleged sexual assault in Canberra, said the report was brutal.

Pru Gowards review into NSW ministerial office operations was described as brutal by the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Credit:Dean Sewell

In her strongly-worded report released on Wednesday, former sex discrimination commissioner and former NSW minister Pru Goward said the protections and processes available to ministerial staff are unclear, ineffective and inadequate.

Her review said ministerial offices are unique workplaces, where staff are under intense public scrutiny and employment protections for ministers are vastly greater than those of their staff.


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More localities suspend festivals for Covid-19 prevention

Many localities in Vietnam have halted festivals for Covid-19 prevention, including those planned for the coming Reunification Day and May Day holidays.













A large crowd at the Hung Kings Temple Festival on April 21 in Phu Tho Province



The northern central province of Thanh Hoa has decided to suspend a ceremony to announce the establishment of Nghi Son Town and open Hai Hoa Beach Tourism Festival scheduled to take place on April 30. The Hai Tien Beach Tourism Festival will also be suspended on the same weekend.

Provincial authorities will use the funds for a fireworks display for medical equipment instead for Covid-19 prevention.



All visitors to Thanh Hoa are required to make a health declaration. Tourism facilities that fail to conform to Covid-19 prevention regulations must be closed.



Ninh Binh Province will also suspend the Trang An Festival 2021 slated to be held on April 29.



Meanwhile, in Ha Tinh Province, the districts of Nghi Xuan, Loc Ha, Cam Xuyen, Ky Anh and Thach Ha will halt their beach festivals.



Many events in Quang Tri Province will be suspended from April 30 to May 8, including a boat race on Ben Hai River, a beach volleyball tournament, a light show and a street music show. The province will continue organising a flag raising ceremony by Ben Hai River, but the number of participants will be cut by 1,000.
Mila Varela, a seventh-grader at Weehawken High School, is the first to admit that she is pretty nervous around bees.

She has never been stung by one, she said, and Im trying to keep it that way.

But earlier this year, after learning that her great-grandfather once owned a honey company in Korea, Varela joined roughly a dozen other Weehawken High School students as the inaugural members of a unique extracurricular group: the Weehawken Bee Club.

Under the supervision of Elizabeth McParland, a WHS art teacher, and Antonio Quinlan, the executive director of North Bergen nonprofit Hudson River Apiary Society, the clubs members are learning the basics of beekeeping: the biology of bee colonies, caring for the insects, and the process of making and harvesting honey.

The kids, theyre going to do everything, McParland said. So we have to teach them how to do everything.

On Monday afternoon, as Varela and the other club members watched hundreds of bees crawling inside a plexiglass-walled hive outside the school, Quinlan explained the process of creating a new bee colony. Safety, of course, was the first priority, and in its first meetings, the students have learned how to inspect and wear beekeeping suits, how to handle smokers, and the proper methods of treating bee stings.

If you get stung, what do you do? Quinlan asked the students. We want to take the stinger out. Do you remember we discussed a little bit, how do we take the stinger out?

Pliers? a student volunteered.

You just take a credit card or something and go like that, Quinlan said, miming scraping a card against his forearm. You do not squeeze it. What do you think happens when you squeeze it?

The poison all comes out at once? a student said.

Into your body, yeah, and then you get more of a reaction, Quinlan said. EpiPens are also on hand, McParland noted.

Nahlaa Calabrese, a junior who is the bee clubs president, views beekeeping as a way to give back to the community.

It was my attempt at contributing to nature and for the sake of the bees and trying to help out in the neighborhood, she said. They supply us with so much, and I think by helping raise them, save them, breed them, its adding so much into the community, such a beneficial positive influence.

The bees, she said, are a blast.

A meeting of the Weehawken Bee Club, March, 2021.Elizabeth McParland

Hudson County, home to some of the countrys most densely packed municipalities, may seem like an unlikely location for keeping bees, which can fly for miles in search of pollen and nectar.

But Quinlan said the practice is more widespread than one might think. He manages three apiaries in the county, he said, and also manages a beekeeping program at High Tech High School too. A handful of other hobbyist beekeepers live in the county too, he said.

The Bee Club, which has met four times so far, is in its early stages and does not yet have a beehive of its own. McParland hopes to acquire a beehive in the next few weeks and set it up on the roof of the school, so the students can begin the process of caring for the animals and harvesting honey and wax.

The club has attracted students at a variety of grade levels at the school, which hosts grades seven through 12, McParland said.

Its really good, because they can grow with the program and theyll know everything and they can teach the younger kids as they come up, she said.

Despite her nervousness, Varela hopes to someday be able to make and sell honey and candles from beeswax. Plus, she said, its not every day you hear about a bee club.

You might as well join it.
Cities and towns in Connecticut are breaking previous sale price records. A spike in homes listed in the state are hitting the $5 million mark. And, single family home sales in the state and around the country show no sign of slowing down.

All of this makes for hectic post-COVID-19 market for home buyers  but what about those seeking to rent?

According to previous Hearst Connecticut reporting, renters are facing equally stiff competition; depending on the location of the apartment, renters are encountering rents that have gone up in price by as much as 60 percent depending on the town or city, according to figures provided by Smart MLS, a multiple listing service for real estate agents.

With high demand, low inventory and a quickly evolving market, there are some state and nationwide protections in place during the pandemic for renters. Learn about them here along with some general advice to protect yourself and your money while renting.

COVID-19 protections

There are several COVID-specific protections currently in place at the state and federal level to assist renters if they can no longer afford their rent.

Connecticut rent relief

In March 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont announced the creation of UnitedCT, a $235 million fund established to help people pay rent and utilities. The fund is the product of a Congressional stimulus package passed in December 2020, as well as additional funds appropriated under the American Rescue Plan, according to previous Hearst Connecticut reporting.

Renters affected by the pandemic once again have to qualify for the aid and cannot have an income more than 80 percent of median income as designated by HUD. Those who qualify can receive up to $10,000 in rental assistance, and up to $1,500 to pay overdue electric bills.

COVID-19 moratoriums (eviction protection)

There are currently two moratoriums that have been in place throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that temporarily halt evictions: one imposed by the federal government that has been extended through at least June 30, and one imposed by the state that is currently slated to last until at least May 20.

At the federal level, renters who cannot afford to pay have to deliver a signed CDC declaration to their landlord, according to the CDC. Tenants not only have to seek out this protection, the CDC states that they also have to be sure to qualify for certain conditions listed on the declaration prior to handing it over to their landlord, which include income requirements or proof of income loss.

According to the states COVID-19 Response website, an eviction case can be brought to court for rent not paid prior to February 20, 2020, if there has been serious nuisance, if a tenant owes at least six months of rent due by March 1, 2020 or if the landlord plans on using the property as their main residence.

Navigating rent increases

Renters do have some recourse when it comes to identifying and rectifying living condition issues once they are already in a lease. But with prices already high in this post-pandemic market, what happens when a renter already in a lease can no longer afford their unit?

Market-wide price caps cannot be instituted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in a specific geographic location, according to Rhonda Siciliano, a public affairs officer for the New England region of HUD. And, Connecticuts guidelines detailing the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants states that rent increases cannot be imposed by landlord during the period of a written lease unless both parties agree to the change.

General tips

Inspecting the unit prior to signing

With a busy real estate market, prospective renters may jump at the first apartment that meets their needs and their wallets. But for Vincent Averaimo, partner at Milford Law, LLC., renters should bring a critical eye to a tour of an available unit.

As much as it may seem to be unnecessary, they should really inspect the unit almost like they would inspect the purchasing of a home, he said.

However, the inspection should include more than just appliances or other household utility items, Averaimo suggested.

What Im talking about is kind of inspecting the unit under your own volition that can relate to things like water leaks in the basement, roof leaks, any mold on the walls, mice, vermin, [or] insects, he said. A lot of these things can be identified early on. If you walk into a unit and take a look at everything, and you have questions as to the things that youve seen with your own eyes, and theyre not answered to your satisfaction, move on.

Reviewing the rental agreement

If the apartment passes this impromptu inspection and renters are ready to sign a lease, Averaimo said it doesnt hurt to have lease agreement reviewed by an attorney prior to signing.

Its important because what youre doing is youre not only signing to take occupancy of the property, but youre also basically perpetuating a liability unto yourself, he said. You want to know what youre signing.

This includes knowing if your security deposit is being held in a separate account in accordance to state laws and how the landlord will handle the interest that accrued with your deposit. But more importantly, Averaimo said its about having the terms of your lease in writing.

Everyone has to realize especially when it relates to real estate, like a lease or purchase and sale agreement: if its not in writing, it doesnt exist, he said. It doesnt matter what kind of conversations you had with the landlord beforehandYou need to protect yourself and you need to know your liability, and you also need to know what the landlords responsibilities are.

When to withhold rent

Of course, issues can arise once renters are occupying the space on a daily basis. Whether its a noise issue or a safety concern  such as pest or rodent problems  Averaimo said the first step is to always communicate with the landlord on the issue at hand. But the last thing a renter should do, according to Averaimo, is withhold rent if ever the issue goes unresolved. What renters should do if such a concern is left unattended is first review the facts of the issue at hand with an attorney before deciding to

In all instances if a decision is made to withhold rent, that doesnt mean just not paying, Averaimo said. What it means is taking that money and putting it into an escrow account so when the time comes when the judge asks What you done with the money that you were supposed to be paying in rent?, you can show your good faith intent to by virtue of the fact that youve paid the rent. Youve had the capability to pay the rent  you just paid it into an escrow account until this agreement can be rectified.

While COVID-related protections will expire eventually, existing protections and procedures for tenants and landlords as outlined by the state provide a legal course of action should either party need it. But Averaimo noted that because a legal course of action can get expensive, the best policy for any renter is do their research ahead of touring a property and signing a lease.

The upfront, sweat equity of the tenant in evaluating things, knowing what your rights are and knowing what your responsibilities are, but also knowing what your landlords responsibilities are by virtue of the terms of the lease are so very important.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 2021 / Tinybeans Group Limited (ASX:TNY) (OTCQX:TNYYF) ("Tinybeans" or "the Company"), the technology platform that connects parents with the most trusted tools and resources for their children, is pleased to announce the launch of "Pets." This complementary addition enables the Company's entry into the high growth Pet Care industry and raises the total addressable market to US$200 billion.

Highlights:

Entry to the high-growth Pet Care industry in response to overwhelming demand from Tinybeans' families and brand partners.

Pet adoptions have surged by 11M U.S. households since the pandemic4, driven by tech-inclined millennials who spare no expense on their pets and view them as family members.

Parents can use Tinybeans to capture their pets' memories, creating deeper engagement with the platform for both existing families and new pet-only families - also extends user engagement and lifetime value of the customer.

After successful beta testing earlier this year, the new pet family features will be launched in early May, enabling parents to engage with their entire family of children and pets.

New US$500k+ agreement over an initial six-month period with its inaugural pets launch partner, Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. (a subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive).

The Company expects to recognize most of this revenue in fiscal Q4 2021 - fiscal Q1 2022. The partnership includes sponsorship of the add-a-pet feature set, along with other media elements including a microsite and advertising.

Tinybeans' CEO, Eddie Geller, said:

"We're excited to broaden our platform to include the pets of our existing families and to welcome new pet-only families. This new feature not only services our existing users with a richer experience that caters to their entire family, but also broadens the user acquisition funnel to millions of pet parents who treat their pets like children.

Parents are hungry for the best information out there for their entire family. Expanding our memory and content offerings to pets creates additional reasons to engage while driving total lifetime value.

This platform release enhances and strengthens our position as the preeminent experience for parents and families everywhere, now inclusive of pets."

In addition to adding value to Tinybeans families, the Company expects these new features to increase user engagement and extend its value proposition for brand partnerships in the pets category. The announcement was approved for release by the CEO. For more information, please contact: Australian Investors Michael Brown - Pegasus Advisory +61 400 248 080 mbrown@pegasusadvisory.com.au U.S. Investors Jackie Keshner - Gateway IR +1 949 574 3860 TNY@gatewayir.com Tinybeans Group Limited (ASX:TNY, OTCQX:TNYYF) is a leading app and web platform enabling parents to capture their children's everyday memories and share them privately with families everywhere. The platform provides rich recommendations that spark everyday family inspiration for what to do, what to buy, and which services to use for their children's needs. Being Apple's App of the Day in the U.S. in October 2019, and again in March 2020, puts Tinybeans in the elite company of best apps in the world! Tinybeans' Red Tricycle website is also Apple's exclusive parenting partner for Apple's newest Maps feature-Guides. With 80 Guides (and counting!), all guides are available here. Tinybeans serves a deeply engaged user base in over 100 countries/territories and enjoys over 120,000 5-star reviews in the Apple App Store and the Google Play stores. www.tinybeans.com SOURCE: Tinybeans Group Ltd

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/642806/Tinybeans-Enters-Pet-Parenting-Market
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., April 28, 2021--Analysis of data from a lightning mapper and a small, hand-held radiation detector has unexpectedly shed light on what a gamma-ray burst from lightning might look like - by observing neutrons generated from soil by very large cosmic-ray showers. The work took place at the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Cosmic Ray Observatory in Mexico.

"This was an accidental discovery," said Greg Bowers, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and lead author of the study published in Geophysical Research Letters. "We set up this system to study terrestrial gamma-ray flashes - or gamma-ray bursts from lightning - that are typically so bright you can see them from space. The idea was that HAWC would be sensitive to the gamma-ray bursts, so we installed a lightning mapper to capture the anatomy of the lightning development and pinpoint the lightning processes producing them."

The team, including Xuan-Min Shao and Brenda Dingus also from Los Alamos, used a small, handheld particle detector, expecting that a terrestrial gamma-ray flash would generate a clear gamma-ray signal in the small particle detector.

"Our system ran for almost two years, and we saw a lot of lightning," said Bowers. But during those storms, they did not observe anything that looked like terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. "We did, however, see large count-rate bursts during clear, fair-weather days, which made us scratch our heads."

HAWC data gathered during these times showed that, in every case, the large array that comprises HAWC had been overwhelmed by extremely large cosmic-ray showers--so large that the Los Alamos researchers couldn't estimate their size.

UC Santa Cruz collaborator David Smith found that these fair-weather bursts had previously been observed by scientists in Russia, who called them "neutron bursts," and determined that they were the result of neutron production in the soil around the impact point of cosmic ray shower cores.

Previous work that simulated these events had only considered hadrons - a type of subatomic particle - in the core of the showers. In addition to hadrons and other particles, cosmic-ray shower cores also contain a lot of gamma rays.

For this work, William Blaine, also of Los Alamos, simulated large cosmic ray-showers, and included both hadrons and gamma rays. "We were able to match our observations with the simulations," said Bowers. "We found that the gamma rays produce the same type of neutron burst as the hadrons."

This study suggests that any natural phenomena that produces a beam of gamma-rays pointed towards the ground (such as downward terrestrial gamma-ray flashes), could produce a similar "neutron burst" signature. This is significant for future terrestrial gamma-ray flash observation modeling efforts.

"It tell us that you can't just model the gamma rays hitting your detector, you'll also have to consider the neutron burst that's happening nearby," said Bowers.

The HAWC Observatory comprises an array of water-filled tanks high on the flanks of the Sierra Negra volcano in Puebla, Mexico, where the thin atmosphere offers better conditions for observing gamma rays. When gamma rays strike molecules in the atmosphere they produce showers of energetic particles. When some of those particles strike the water inside the HAWC detector tanks, they produce flashes of light called Cherenkov radiation. By studying these Cherenkov flashes, researchers reconstruct the sources of the showers to learn about the particles that caused them.

###

Paper: Bowers, G. S., Shao, X.?M., Blaine, W., Dingus, B., Smith, D. M., Chaffin, J., et al. (2021). Fair weather neutron bursts from photonuclear reactions by extensive air shower core interactions in the ground and implications for Terrestrial gamma?ray flash signatures. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2020GL090033. https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1029/ 2020GL090033

Funding: Los Alamos Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program, U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy Office of High-Energy Physics

About Los Alamos National Laboratory (http://www. lanl. gov )

Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is managed by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.

LA-UR-21-23994
Seoul, April 28 : Samsung Electronics has expanded its presence in the Indian smartphone market in the first quarter of the year on the back of multiple new handsets, a report showed Tuesday, as the South Korean tech giant aims to fend off challenges from Chinese players.

Samsung represented 20 per cent of the smartphone shipments in India in the first quarter, up from 16 per cent a year earlier, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research.

Among the top five brands, Samsung posted the highest on-year growth in smartphone shipments in the first quarter.

"Samsung remains the second-largest brand for India's smartphone shipments with 52 percent on-year growth driven by its focus on the budget segment with the new M02 series and multiple other launches," the market researcher said.

"It refreshed its A-series with the A32, A52 and A72, and the M-series with the M12. It also launched its latest flagship Galaxy S21 series earlier than its normal launch period." The company remained in the runner-up spot in the Indian smartphone market but managed to narrow the gap with top player Xiaomi, whose market share declined to 26 per cent from 31 percent a year earlier.

Samsung was the only non-Chinese brand in the top five. Vivo came in third with 16 per cent, followed by realme and OPPO with 11 per cent each.
Kangana Ranaut Reveals Javed Akhtar Gave The Best Compliment For Gangster Says, 'Only Later I Realized People Also Change'

Kangana Ranaut has fought a lot of odds to make it big in Bollywood. From going against her father to become an actress to fighting nepotism in the film industry, she has finally completed 15 years in the industry.

With a perfect debut as a teen in Anurag Basus Gangster, Kangana stunned critics and audiences alike with her acting chops soon after her arrival in the movies. Only getting finer with time, Kangana reveals that the best compliment she got for her debut came from lyricist Javed Akhtar and actress Shabana Azmi.

15 years ago Gangster released today, Shahrukh Khan ji and mine are the biggest success stories ever but SRK was from Delhi, convent educated and his parents were involved in films, I did not know a single word of English, no education, came from a remote village of HP and 1/2 pic.twitter.com/CEw72pvtds  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) April 28, 2021

The actress is today at loggerheads with the renowned lyricist who filed a defamation suit against the actress last year. Talking to Times Of India as Gangster completed 15 years, Kangana recalls the compliments the celebrated couple heaped on her after watching her performance. She says, They were absolutely stunned and they kept repeating 'who are you? ', ' where are you from? ', you did so well', 'who taught you acting?', 'Are you from here or some other universe? '. That is how they reacted and it felt nice.

The four-time National Award-winning star did not fail at noting the irony that today they have a tiff with her and added, They were very kind and welcoming of me and my art. It was only later that I realized that when things change, people also change.

Javed Akhtar slapped Kangana with a defamation suit in November last year alleging that she dragged his name in an interview where she spoke about actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death and defamed him while referring to a Bollywood nexus.
Four cryogenic oxygen containers have arrived in India at Panagarh Air Base from Singapore. The containers were air lifted in an IAF C-17 aircraft from at Changi airport, Singapore. (PTI)

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifted nine cryogenic oxygen containers from Dubai and Singapore and has brought them to the Panagarh air base in West Bengal, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday.

These containers were brought on Tuesday, it said.

In addition, the IAF's C-17 aircraft on Tuesday also airlifted two cryogenic oxygen containers from Indore to Jamnagar, two from Jodhpur and Udaipur to Jamnagar and two from Hindon to Ranchi, it said.

"IAF's C-17s have airlifted six cryogenic oxygen containers from Dubai to Panagarh Air Base. Another C-17s brought three oxygen containers from Singapore to Panagarh Air Base," the statement said.

The IAF also airlifted eight cryogenic oxygen containers from Hyderabad to Bhubaneswar, two from Bhopal to Ranchi and two from Chandigarh to Ranchi, it said.

India is struggling with the second wave of the coronavirus infection and hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds in view of a rising number of COVID-19 cases.

The IAF has been airlifting empty oxygen tankers and containers to various filling stations across the country to speed up the distribution of the much-needed medical oxygen in treating COVID-19 patients.
After the third round of stimulus payments, the discussion now shifts to the fourth stimulus check and if it is possible.

In this Fourth Stimulus Check online tracker, we take a look at the latest news, online tools and other updates about the new rounds of payment.

Fourth Stimulus Check Rumors and Updates

Some U.S. lawmakers are said to be pushing for the fourth stimulus check to support American families amidst this pandemic further.

The Biden administration moves to provided financial relief to American families suffering from the effects of the ongoing pandemic. Money is sent to eligible families by direct bank deposit or paper checks. The money is also sent in different waves, with each wave providing different monetary values and implementing new policies.

As Yahoo! Finance noted,the first stimulus check for eligible individuals amounted to $1,200. The second stimulus check provided is $600. The third stimulus check, which the IRS is still processing and distributing, is worth $1,400. However, there are also extra factors to credit in, such as Plus Up payments and Recovery Rebate Credit money.

Proposed Fourth Stimulus with $2000

According to Tom's Guide, several U.S. Senators sent a proposal for another wave of stimulus checks in the next bout of relief legislation. However, this would be in the form of recurring payments, where people will receive monthly checks from the government.

It is quoted from the report that the Senators wrote, "We urge you to include recurring direct payments and automatic unemployment insurance extensions tied to economic conditions in your Build Back Better long-term economic plan." A tweet from Representative Ilhan Omar proposed $2,000 monthly payments until the pandemic is over.

$2,000 recurring checks until the pandemic is over  Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) January 2, 2021

Read Also: How to Check Unclaimed Property and Money from Your State: Online Tools to Use

Fourth Stimulus Check Online Tools

While it is still unknown if there will be a fourth stimulus check, it is only appropriate to know that there are online tools and trackers you can visit to check everything about stimulus payments.

The following are the online tools used for the third stimulus check, as well as online trackers used to determine when the checks will come. Should the fourth stimulus check be approved these online tools can remain useful.

Tax Refund Trackers

With the 2021 tax season coming in, new policies and eligibility rules have been implemented. The government might have a few ongoing credits directed to you that you might be unaware of. Luckily, there are available Tax Refund Trackers that can help you check and monitor the status of these refunds.

Child Tax Credit Calculator

The third stimulus check wave has brought in a lot of new guidelines regarding dependent eligibility requirements. Fortunately, the IRS has removed age restrictions from these dependents. Use these available online Child Tax Credit Calculators to compute the correct amount for each of your dependents.

How to File Recovery Rebate Credit

If you lack money, primarily due to drastic changes like suddenly losing your job during this pandemic, you are due for financial support from the government. You can file for the missing money online by submitting a Recovery Rebate Credit form.

First and Second Stimulus Payments

Some money might be missing from the first and second stimulus checks. To verify this, you need to open an IRS account online. IRS released a new system that can help you monitor missing deposit checks, plus-up additions, and 2020 tax returns. Opening your account would also show you your current balance details by the year, ongoing or pending payments, digital notices from the IRS and more.

Plus Up Payment

With the first, second, and third stimulus checks using different policies, the government might owe you more money than you are being paid. However, thanks to the Plus-Up payment system, you can receive this money after correctly computing how much you are owed.

Delivery Tracker

If your money has not come in by direct deposit through the bank, then you should keep an eye out for parcel mails with your paper check. You sign-up for online Delivery Trackers that can notify you of any arriving parcels with your name on them, including delivery date.

Get My Payment

Always check your Get My Payment portal for the latest update on IRS. The portal would require your Individual Tax ID (ITIN) or Social Security number (SSN), date of birth, ZIP code, and street address to proceed. The IRS updates the portal daily, usually at night, to keep you posted with real-time updates.



Related Article: Stimulus Check Plus-Up Payment Calculator: Compute How Much You'll Receive
The Indian economy is projected to grow at 11 per cent in the current financial year amid the "strong" vaccine drive, said ADB on Wednesday, while cautioning that the recent surge in COVID cases may put the country's economic recovery at "risk".

"India's economy is expected to grow 11 per cent in fiscal year (FY) 2021, which ends on March 31, 2022, amid a strong vaccine drive," ADB said in its flagship Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2021 released on Wednesday.

However, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) cautioned that the surge in COVID-19 cases may put the country's economic recovery at risk.

For FY2022, India's GDP is expected to expand at 7 per cent, it added.

Further, it said the gross domestic product (GDP) of South Asia is expected to rebound to 9.5 per cent this year, following a contraction of 6 per cent in 2020, before moderating to 6.6 per cent next year (2022), it said.

ADB said the economic growth in developing Asia is set to rebound to 7.3 per cent this year, supported by a healthy global recovery and an early progress on COVID-19 vaccines. The projected resurgence follows a 0.2 per cent contraction last year.

"The region's growth is forecast to moderate to 5.3 per cent in 2022. Excluding the newly industrialized economies of Hong Kong, China; the Republic of Korea; Singapore; and Taipei, China, developing Asia's economic activity is expected to grow 7.7 per cent this year and 5.6 per cent in 2022," said the report.

The report projects that most economies in developing Asia will see healthy growth this year and in 2022.

Developing Asia comprises 46 members of ADB list on the basis of geographic group. These include new industrialized economies, countries in Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

The report said in China, strong exports and a gradual recovery in household consumption will boost economic activity this year.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to expand 8.1 per cent in 2021 and 5.5 per cent in 2022. East Asia's GDP is expected to grow 7.4 per cent in 2021 and 5.1 per cent in 2022, it said.

The report said rising exports are boosting some economies in Developing Asia amid strengthening global economic activity, including a rebound in manufacturing.

Progress on the production and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines has contributed to this momentum, but the pandemic remains the biggest risk for the region as potential delays in vaccine rollouts or significant new outbreaks could undermine growth.

Increasing geopolitical tensions, production bottlenecks, financial turmoil from tightening financial conditions, and long-term scarring like learning losses due to school closures are among other risk factors, said the report.

Growth is gaining momentum across developing Asia, but renewed COVID-19 outbreaks pose a threat to recovery, said ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada.

"Economies in the region are on diverging paths. Their trajectories are shaped by the extent of domestic outbreaks, the pace of their vaccine rollouts, and how much they are benefiting from the global recovery," Sawada said.

Also read: India to get Sputnik V doses in May; 1st batch to be imported from Russia, says Dr Reddy's CEO
What Blank Forms has generated  a gallery show dedicated mostly to Mokis artwork, a 500-page book and two archival albums featuring Dons performances from that era  shows how richly the musician had come alive during this period, which is often misunderstood as a footnote to his more well-documented time on the New York scene but was arguably when he made his most thoroughly developed work. And it elevates the long-overlooked art of Moki Cherry, who has never been fully seen for the distinctive creator that she was. (Her work will be the subject of a separate show in Chicago later this year, at the Corbett vs. Dempsey gallery.)

The centerpiece of Blank Forms project is the book, Organic Music Societies, available on Friday, which collects oral and visual history as well as critical writing and lustrous photographs of the couples milieu in Tagarp. A series of photos shows the interior of their home, with Mokis plush, wavy tapestries filling nearly every corner, many of them emblazoned with religious mantras.

A few of those tapestries are on display, now through June, along with paintings and drawings by both Moki and Don, at Blank Forms small gallery in central Brooklyn. One of her tapestries hangs nearly from floor to ceiling, the words Organic Music stitched in an arc over two outstretched hands, a heart and a pair of wings.

By the time she made this piece, Don had started to turn his musical practice into pedagogy, with a series of master classes for adults that he began leading in 1968 at ABF House, an education center run by the Swedish labor movement, where he brought together folk musicians from around the world and asked them to teach their traditions. Experts of Turkish drumming, Scottish bagpipes and Indian vocal technique all gave lectures, and engaged in group performances.
The country's largest oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation today defended its business prospects as also government strategy, stating that the ongoing discussions with all stakeholders was helping it raise issues important for the company and any "potential" restructuring of the company would not significantly affect the company.

Press Trust of India had, on April 25, reported the petroleum ministry has told to sell stake in producing oil fields such as to Ratna R-Series to private firms, get foreign partners in the Krishna Godavari basin gas fields, monetise existing infrastructure, and hive off drilling and other services into a separate firm to raise production. Amar Nath, additional secretary (exploration) in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, on April 1 had written to chairman and managing director Subhash Kumar giving a seven-point action plan, Way Forward, that would help the company raise oil and gas production by one-third by 2023-24.

The company did not deny receipt of the letter but said it was also looking into strategic relationships and close alliances with key international players through ONGC Videsh. Intention is to invite foreign participants to explore Category-II and Category-III basins which match the size and scale of expectations and portfolio of these large players. "So, it can be stated that the ongoing discussions are neither new nor intended to limit the role or growth of ONGC. Requirement and opportunity for ONGC is to play an even more pronounced role in improving energy security of the country. ONGC feels confident and comfortable that the ongoing discussions within ONGC and with its stakeholders will help deliver greater value to all stakeholders," said the statement.

"In fact during the ongoing discussions there has been an opportunity to raise issues which are critical for ONGC to achieve the objectives of delivering value to all stakeholders," a company statement said.

It cited the example of goods and service tax and natural gas prices. Despite the uneconomical gas prices, the company has been aggressively pursuing its deepwater projects in the East Coast and a couple of shallow water projects in the West Coast, it said.

ONGC plans to acquire much larger acreage through open acreage licensing policy. "There are certain issues around structure where decisive steps can be evaluated only once the industry is completely under GST regime," said the statement.

The company said there have been regular interactions of ONGC with various stakeholders including the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), in order to further augment the role of ONGC in the domestic upstream sector. "The expectation and the strategy for ONGC is to act as the fulcrum around which an ecosystem for thriving oil and gas industry in the country can be created," it said. The ONGC Board had approved Energy Strategy 2040 in April 2019 that outlines strategic growth initiatives across the energy value-chain.

In this context, ONGC has continuously been reviewing its engagements to move up higher in the value chain to concentrate on areas where the expected risk-reward payoff offers better business opportunities for growth.
The measure is part of a package of legal amendments which the pro-government majority in the National Assembly says will help to prevent serious irregularities in the run-up to and during snap parliamentary elections expected in June.

The amendments call for heavier fines and lengthier prison sentences for vote buying, election-related violence and disruption of the electoral process. They also introduce criminal liability for attempts to impede pre-election activities of political parties or their individual candidates.

This includes forcing people not to attend campaign rallies or agitate for a particular election contender. Individuals convicted of such offenses would face up to three years in prison.

If anyone tries to impede an election campaign they will be subjected to criminal prosecution, said Vahagn Hovakimian, a senior deputy from Pashinians My Step bloc and the main author of the bill which pro-government lawmakers urgently passed in the first and second readings.

The bill calls for a longer jail term (up to five years) for anyone who would pay voters to attend or boycott a pre-election rally.

Ani Samsonian, a deputy representing the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK), criticized the bill, saying that it could be used to penalize the opposition.

The opposition has no levers to coerce people to make donations to its campaign fund, argued Samsonian. By contrast, she said, My Step is in a position to pressure businesspeople to finance its election campaign.

The ruling political force pushed the bill through the parliament one week after Pashinian visited Syunik and faced protests by local residents blaming him for Armenias defeat in last years Nagorno-Karabakh which has directly affected their communities.

Dozens of angry men swore at the prime minister and branded him a capitulator as he walked through the provincial towns of Agarak and Meghri on April 21. Pashinians motorcade was pelted with eggs as it drove through another Syunik community, Goris, later that day.

Pashinian condemned the incidents as a violation of the law before law-enforcement authorities rounded up more than two dozen people and charged them with hooliganism and/or violent resistance to police. Armenias Investigative Committee said the hooligan acts were organized by opposition-linked local government officials the purpose of hampering Pashinians movements and meetings with the population.

Some critics of the Armenian government claim that Pashinian himself broke the law by trying to hold pre-election rallies before the official start of campaigning for the snap polls. They similarly accused Pashinian of illegal campaigning after he visited villages in two other regions and held rallies there late last month. The premiers political allies deny any connection between those visits and the upcoming vote.

It remains to be seen whether President Armen Sarkissian will sign the latest bill into law. In recent weeks Sarkissian has challenged the legality of government-backed legislation that would tighten government control of state universities, give more powers to a state body overseeing the Armenian judiciary and triple maximum fines for defamation.
Logan, WV (25601)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-28 05:20:20|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 20, 2021 shows a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria. (EU Delegation Vienna/Handout via Xinhua)

"China believes that the issue of the sequence in which the United States and Iran resume the implementation of the JCPOA is first and foremost a matter of sense of justice," said the Chinese envoy. "The cart shouldn't be put before the horse."



VIENNA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The sequence in which the United States and Iran return to compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is first and foremost a matter of "sense of justice," said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Tuesday.

Wang made the remarks after attending the latest meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission. The meeting was chaired by Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general and political director of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran.

The Joint Commission's negotiations on getting the United States and Iran to resume compliance with the JCPOA have entered the fourth week, said Wang, stressing that "it will be a very important week."

The negotiations have made some important progress, whereas some significant differences are yet to be ironed out, Wang noted.

"China believes that the issue of the sequence in which the United States and Iran resume the implementation of the JCPOA is first and foremost a matter of sense of justice," Wang said. "The cart shouldn't be put before the horse."

Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, receives interview after a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria, April 6, 2021. (Photo by Georges Schneider/Xinhua)

"The current Iranian nuclear crisis was caused by the former U.S. government, which unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and exerted extreme pressure on Iran," Wang said. "Therefore, the United States should first remove all illegal unilateral sanctions on Iran and third parties. This is the key to the success of the negotiations."

"All parties must continue to focus on and resolve this core issue first. At the same time, the Joint Commission should also consider how to verify the U.S. lifting of sanctions," Wang added.

"China hopes that all parties concerned will maintain the current momentum of negotiations, stick to the right direction and the existing consensus, and work tirelessly to achieve the overall goal of the negotiations," Wang said.

Before the talks, Wang, together with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (Vienna) Mikhail Ivanovich Ulyanov, held a trilateral meeting, fully exchanging views on key issues concerning the United States and Iran returning to compliance with the JCPOA.

Also on Tuesday, the Chinese envoy met with Mora from EEAS and exchanged views on pushing forward the current negotiations. Wang stressed that China supports the European Union in playing an active role as the coordinator in the negotiations. 
The Biden administration is planning to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes, a long-sought public health goal of civil rights and anti-tobacco groups that has been beaten back by the tobacco industry for years, according to a federal health official.

For decades, menthol cigarettes have been marketed aggressively to Black people in the United States. About 85 percent of Black smokers use menthol brands, including Newport and Kool, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Research shows menthol cigarettes are easier to become addicted to and harder to quit than plain tobacco products.

The F.D.A. is being forced to act by a court deadline  a federal district judge in Northern California had ordered the agency to respond by April 29 to a citizens petition to ban menthol. But the odds are unlikely that a ban would take effect anytime soon, because any proposal is likely to wind up in a protracted court battle. The proposal would also include a ban on all mass-produced flavored cigars, including cigarillos, which have become popular with teenagers.

The ban would not, however, apply to e-cigarettes, which are being considered as a means to help smokers of regular menthol cigarettes quit. Most e-cigarette brands, including Juul, are undergoing an F.D.A. review that will determine whether they are sufficiently beneficial to public health to be allowed to stay on the market.
[April 28, 2021]

Peraton Receives $360M Air Force Contract to Support Minuteman III ICBM System

HERNDON, Va., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Peraton has received an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract from the U.S. Air Force to continue its work performing software analysis and testing for the Minuteman III ICBM System. The contract is worth up to $360 million over an 18-year period.

Under the follow-on contract, Peraton will continue to provide independent verification of safety criteria for the Minuteman III operational software.

"For more than 45 years, Peraton has proudly partnered with the U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense to support the Minuteman III systems," said Tom Afferton, President, Cyber Mission sector. "Our team's strong system knowledge and deep experience in static and dynamic code analysis and software testing allows us to dliver best-in-class capabilities to the Air Force."







Peraton will continue to leverage digital simulators and emulators it has developed to allow for testing of Minuteman III software as it is delivered without disrupting the readiness of the system that is vital to national security.

Contract work will primarily be performed in Layton, Utah and El Segundo, California.

About Peraton

Peraton drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator, we are a trusted provider of highly differentiated national security solutions and technologies that keep people safe and secure. Peraton serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies, including the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, and NASA. Every day, our 10,000 employees do the can't be done, solving the most daunting challenges facing our customers. Visit Peraton.com/News and follow @PeratonCorp on Twitter for news and updates.

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SOURCE Peraton
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines Life, April 27)  This week, explore the storied legacy of a university campus, learn more about plant and human relations, peep (and maybe buy) collagraphs inspired by another breed of engkantos, and sign up for some creative community modules.

Mga Lamang Poste

The works in Anton Villaruels Mga Lamang Poste were borne from the artists observations of the posts he would come across along Teachers Village in Quezon City. During these walks, Villaruel thought that perhaps another breed of engkanto lives in plain sight of us, in the metal.

Visit Cartellino to browse Villaruels collagraphs in Mga Lamang Poste. The exhibit is up untl May 29.

Legacies of the University of Santo Tomas

In Legacies of the University of Santo Tomas, Maria Eloisa G. Parco de Castro takes a look at the storied legacy of the university from its origins in its Intramuros campus.

This lecture is part of the Intramuros Learning Sessions. The event is scheduled on April 28, at 3 p.m. through Zoom. Visit the event page for more details.

Creative Communities Learning Lab

Starting April 28, the British Council is launching its series of learning modules for creative and cultural professionals, designed with input from those who run creative spaces in Southeast Asia and the U.K. To wit: managing digital communities and new ways to monetize creative work.

The courses are free and self-led. Visit the British Council website for more details.

Contribution of archaeology in our understanding of People-Plant relationships in the Philippines

Museo ng Kaalamang Katutubo presents a lecture about how humans have used plants for subsistence, etc. At the center is the exploration of how our rice-based agriculture may be more recent as previously expected.

The lecture is on Thursday, April 29, 3 p.m. and will be live streamed through the Museo ng Kaalamang Katutubo Facebook page. Visit the event page for more details.
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A retired teacher revealed his horror today at receiving a police record for committing a 'hate incident' by writing a letter defending the rights of a mother to abort a baby with Down's syndrome.

Douglas Kedge, 85, of Sonning Common, Oxfordshire, penned a letter to a woman protesting about an episode of Emmerdale in which a couple decided to terminate a pregnancy after the baby was diagnosed with the condition.

He wrote that although he understood some may regard having a child with Down's as a 'great privilege and joy', there are other 'perfectly decent people' who may wish to avoid what could be an 'appalling change in their lives'.

Mr Kedge sent the note to Rachel Mewes, a mother from New Harley in Northumberland who has a three-year-old child with Down's syndrome, in response to a letter she sent to The Times last November.

Ms Mewes, 38, who is a disability campaigner, then complained to police - and Thames Valley Police later called Mr Kedge to inform him that a record had been made of his involvement in a 'non-crime hate incident'.

But former parish council chairman Mr Kedge told MailOnline today that he fears he will now be remembered as a 'victimiser' despite living a 'virtuous' life and dedicating himself to public service since 1957.

Douglas Kedge (left), 85, sent a note to Rachel Mewes (right), a mother from New Harley in Northumberland who has a three-year-old child with Down's syndrome, in response to a letter she sent to The Times last November

Mr Kedge wrote a letter to the women who had written her own letter protesting about an episode of Emmerdale in which Laurel Thomas (played by Charlotte Bellamy) and her partner decided to terminate a pregnancy after the baby was diagnosed

He said: 'I am absolutely appalled that I now have a police record. I'm 85 and I have lived a fairly virtuous life up until now. I worked as an English teacher since 1957.

'I was chairman of the parish council and been the governor for two schools. But now at the age of 85 I find I have a police record. I am annoyed, very annoyed.

Douglas Kedge's letter to Rachel Mewes in full 20th November 2020. Dear Ms Mewes, I read with interest and concern your comments regarding the Emmerdale script in relation to the decision of a couple to abort their Down's syndrome baby (The Times 19th Nov). You disgracefully suggest that the reason for the inclusion of this situation in the script is a deliberate attempt to perpetuate prejudice against Down's syndrome children. I am sure you would have been honest enough to declare any religious basis to your views on abortion and so I assume your opinion is socially based. I totally understand and respect the views and feelings of those who have given birth to a Down's syndrome child and regard it as a great privilege and joy. However, there are other perfectly decent people who, when an early diagnosis of Down's syndrome is given, take the view that they do not wish to cope with what could well be for them an appalling change in their lives. Indeed they might well believe they could end up being very inadequate parents in this situation. Your suggested reason for the script as it stands totally ignores this counter-view and lacks basic human understanding. You ignore the fact that the script, in a very balanced way, includes a happily married couple who rejoice in their Down's syndrome son. You have joined the people who take the position that the only view that should be thought about is their own - a dangerous line in what I hope will remain a society that values free speech and opinion. Yours sincerely, Douglas Kedge. Advertisement

'The police have branded me a 'suspect' of a hate incident for writing a letter defending a woman's right to abort a baby with Down's syndrome. They have described Mrs Mewes as the victim, which makes me the victimizer.'

Ms Mewes took to Twitter today to write: 'Just been accused of being a bully. That's what happens when you report hate incidents apparently. It makes you a bully, if you stand up for yourself.'

She also said she had reported the press to the police for covering the case.

Mr Kedge was contacted at 8.30pm one night in November last year after he wrote a letter to Ms Mewes, who criticized a storyline in Emmerdale in which a young couple decided to terminate a pregnancy after the baby was diagnosed as having Down's syndrome.

He told MailOnline that the police said his letter was polite and respectful but branded it a 'hate-incident', although it was not a crime. Mr Kedge said he 'strongly disagreed' with Ms Mewes's criticism of the show.

He said: 'I feel strongly about a lot of things. I have no particular interest in politics or abortion rights but I felt this woman was wrong and I felt entitled to say so. It was an argument. We are expressing different point of view.

'This can hardly be hateful. Nobody apart from Mrs Mewes thinks it is hateful. Now I have a police record. I had hoped to volunteer to help children at a local school catch up on their English after Covid.

'But now I have a police record for a hate incident. This suggests I have been very nasty indeed but not quite criminal. So what will the head teacher think of me now?'

Mr Kedge has written to Thames Valley Police, which pursued the case, to complain that the allegation against him was nonsense.

But the force's Chief Constable replied to him saying that his officers were compelled to act under the current Home Office guidelines.

However Ms Mewes was standing firm today, and told her 7,000 Twitter followers: 'I thought five months later that we could move on with our lives. We've managed to get a new house to move to so he doesn't know where we live. Thames Valley Police had dealt with it. And now he's found a new way of getting to us. In the papers.'

She also confirmed she had spoken to police again today, and had received hateful comments on her blog.

According to the Times, Mr Kedge wrote in the initial letter: 'You disgracefully suggest that the reason for the inclusion of this situation in the script is a deliberate attempt to perpetuate prejudice against Down's syndrome children.'

Mr Kedge later received a call from Thames Valley Police to inform him that a record had been made of his involvement in a 'non-crime hate incident'.

Despite this, officers accepted that the letter was 'very politely written'. It followed a complaint by Ms Mewes, according to the Henley Standard .

Non-crime hate incidents involve reports of 'hostility towards religion, race or transgender identity' that are not classed as a crime .

Even if police find no evidence that a crime has been committed, if anyone believes the incident was motivated by hate then officers are obliged to make a record.

Ms Mewes took to Twitter today to write: 'Just been accused of being a bully. That's what happens when you report hate incidents apparently. It makes you a bully, if you stand up for yourself'

Mr Kedge wrote the letter (above) to Rachel Mewes, a mother from New Harley in Northumberland who has a three-year-old child with Down's syndrome called Betsy, in response to a letter she sent to the Times last November

A Thames Valley Police report said that Mr Kedge had sent the woman a 'very politely written and respectful letter'

These records, which stay on the system for six years, can show up on enhanced DBS checks.

Thames Valley Police report referring to 'very politely written' letter Investigator action 30/11/2020 18:16 This is ready for filing, The suspect, KEDGE, has disagreed with her view, which was expressed a public domain, and has done a simple web search using the abridged address listed in The Times to identity her home address. He has then forwarded a very politely written and respectful letter expressing his disagreement with the agg'd point of view. Mr KEDGE has provided both his postal and email address in the original letter, presumably in anticipation of a response. He has sent a polite reply where he has acknowledged that his use of language was not acceptable (he referred to a 'Downs Syndrome child' rather than a 'child with Downs Syndrome') and that he will make an effort to change this in future. He then goes on to say that the sending of response letters to letters published in a Newspaper is an established and accepted practice, before saying that he will not contact the aggrieved further, There is no Malicious Communication - it is clear from the tone of the letter that it was not sent with intent to cause distress or anxiety, but merely to express the writer's view. There is no harassment as KEDGE has said he will contact no further and has not done so. Regarding his use of language, KEDGE has used an inappropriate term but acknowledges this and demonstrates a willingness to change in the follow-up email - I do not feel that his use of an inappropriate term was at all malicious. Mr KEDGE has not breached any GDPR data security regulations Log entry I have spoken with Mr. KEDGE to inform him of this record and he understands the necessity to record the agg'd point of view. Advertisement

And they could ultimately jeopardise a person's career, even though the individual was not found guilty of, or even charged with, a hate crime.

Earlier this year it was revealed how police have recorded non-crime hate incidents against more than 120,000 people - 2,000 of which were against children.

Priti Patel said in April that allegations of hate incidents should be wiped from an individual's record if no crime is found to have been committed.

The Home Secretary has written to the College of Policing asking it to look into procedures regarding 'non-crime hate incidents', The Sunday Telegraph reported.

Mr Kedge has warned current rules on non-crime hate incidents could have a 'chilling effect' on freedom of speech, adding the entire situation seemed to be a 'sheer waste of police time'.

He said: 'I've lived a fairly righteous life so to end up with a police record is appalling.'

The retired teacher, who plans to volunteer at a school in Sonning Common, near Reading, is also concerned that the incident may appear on Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.

He previously explained how he wrote to Ms Mewes following controversy over an episode of Emmerdale.

It had followed characters Laurel Thomas and Jai Sharma, who were planning to abort their unborn baby after being told by doctors that the child had Down's syndrome.

Some 265 complaints were made to Ofcom following the episode.

Ms Mewes had claimed in a letter to the Times that the plot was an attempt to perpetuate prejudice against Down's syndrome children. However, Mr Kedge responded that this was 'nonsense' after finding her address.

The retired teacher later called for an 'urgent and radical overhaul' of the non-crime hate incident policy.

Critics of the policy, which was introduced in College of Policing guidance last year, have highlighted the impact on people's freedom of speech, as well as the use of police resources in pursuing such allegations.

A Home Office source previously said: 'These so-called 'non-crime hate incidents' have a chilling effect on free speech and potentially stop people expressing views legally and legitimately.

'If people are found to have done nothing wrong the police shouldn't punish them.'

Tom Hunt, Member of Parliament for Ipswich, previously told MailOnline: 'I think the whole thing is scandalous and I think that it makes a mockery of the system.

'If you are going to start registering incidents next to people's names then you need to be sure that you have reasonable evidence that shows they are guilty.

'I also think it could have a chilling impact on free speech if a young person or an adult feels afraid to speak out.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said in April that allegations of hate incidents should be wiped from an individual's record if no crime is found to have been committed

'Because if a left-wing activist decides to take them to the police accusing them of hate - even though they haven't done that  that alone means it could go down on their record.'

What is a non-crime hate incident? The College of Policing - the police's professional body - say that not every reported hate crime incident is a crime. But they say reported incidents should be to establish if an incident is a hate crime or a non-crime hate incident. If police cannot find evidence of a crime, but if a person or any other person perceives that a person's actions were motivated wholly or partly by hostility, then the College of Policing say the incident should be recorded as a non-crime hate incident. The college accepts there may be an 'overlap' between a perceived non-crime hate incident and the legitimate right to free speech. The scheme, introduced in 2014 following recommendations by the independent Macpherson Inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, includes a system of police reporting. Police say the system is primarily to help preventive activity to take place, and to monitor potential community tensions. But the reporting system has proved controversial - because these reports can be found on the system for up to six years through an enhanced DBS check. This can potentially put a person's career in jeopardy, even though they have not been charged or found guilty of a crime. According to the College of Policing, the incidents will only show up on an enhanced DBS check if it is relevant to the job and is approved by a chief officer. Assistant Chief Constable Iain Raphael, from the College of Policing, told the Telegraph: 'Under separate Home Office rules, chief officers must also consider allowing someone the opportunity to reply before information is disclosed, and it should not be disclosed if it is trivial, simply demonstrates poor behaviour or relates merely to an individual's lifestyle.' Advertisement

He added: 'I think it needs to change.'

Meanwhile The Free Speech Union also criticised the the policy. General secretary Toby Young said: 'Non-Crime Hate Incidents are an invention of the College of Policing, an unelected body.

'They have never been approved by Parliament, there is no legal threshold or independent evidentiary test applied to them and members of the public have no right of appeal against them.

'Indeed, a member of the public can have a Non-Crime Hate Incident recorded against their name without ever being informed of the fact.

'In some cases, NCHIs are recorded against a person's name without their knowledge and are only picked up years later when an employer carries out a background check on them.

'This means that a young person training to be an NHS nurse or teacher could be turned down for a job because of a joke they made in the playground as a 12 year-old.'

Last month, Lady Justice Simler raised the point of 'legitimate public debate' in cases where feminist academics questioned whether trans women were women.

Her comments came during the case of former police officer Harry Miller, who had a hate incident placed on his record after he posted a number of tweets about transgender issues.

His posts were reported to the police as being allegedly transphobic.

Mr Miller, a former police officer and founder of Fair Cop argued that the guidance was unlawful and stopped freedom of expression.

However senior officers have insisted it helps them 'measure tensions effectively and to prevent serious hostility and violence'.

Paul Gianassi, the hate crime adviser for the National Police Chiefs' Council, also argued that non-crime hate incidents may be the starting point in an escalating process of 'dehumanisation and ultimately murder'.

Non-crime hate incident reports were introduced in 2014 following recommendations by the independent Macpherson Inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

Assistant Chief Constable Iain Raphael, of the College of Policing, said the guidance would be reviewed, but this would need to be balanced against those it is intended to help protect.

He added: 'Hate crime can have serious consequences and it is vital the police have the right tools to help them protect the public.'

Thames Valley Police has been contacted for comment.

It comes five days after police pulled an elderly Christian preacher off his podium and arrested him for making 'homophobic statements' - after he 'refused to stop reading from the Bible about how God wanted families to be led by a father and a mother'.

The man was repeatedly asked to come down before officers stepped in and escorted him down from his stepladder. Police said he was arrested on suspicion of making homophobic comments.

Shocking footage shows the moment he is cuffed and taken away by officers outside Uxbridge Station in west London. Two officers were seen urging the man to step down from the footstool telling him: 'You're under arrest.'
ATLANTA, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EBONY, the iconic brand serving as the leading voice of the Black American experience for 75 years, today announced that Marielle Bobo has been tapped as Editor-in-Chief & Senior Vice President, Programming, effective immediately. Following its recent relaunch under new ownership, Bobo's appointment signals the next milestone in the rebirth of EBONY and is a crucial part of its strategic expansion as a digital-first brand focused on building a platform for and by African Americans.

In her new role, Bobo will report to EBONY CEO Michele Ghee and oversee the development of editorial tone, video content, and the brand's social media cadence across all platforms. Bobo brings with her a 20-plus-year career in media as well as a unique understanding of the power of content and creating key strategic partnerships.

"We are thrilled to have a visionary like Marielle in this role and leading EBONY through this pivotal time in its history. As both a seasoned editor and an experienced leader, she stood out to us as a multifaceted dynamo who not only possesses a wealth of proven editorial experience but who also understands the brand and has a definitive vision for its future," said Ghee. "We are confident that she will utilize EBONY's most valued assets  our archives and our legacy- to forge a new path forward with strong, vibrant editorial voices, world-class creatives and fresh content for a new generation!"

Bobo's most immediate priorities include the continued evolution of EBONY's website, growing EBONY's editorial team with the best and brightest talent in journalism and implementing a comprehensive digital strategy that honors the core elements of our brand's legacy - innovative storytelling, compelling imagery, and long-and-short form content creation.

"I am honored to now lead the charge in reimagining this beloved brand. For 75 years, EBONY has chronicled the Black American experience, amplifying our culture, our joys and our struggles with grace, tenacity and beauty," said Bobo. "As the assault on Black bodies continues and a global pandemic ravages our communities, making sure the breadth of our stories is told is as important now as it was then. I pick up this mantle with a reinforced commitment to continuing that legacy of excellence - providing a safe space for talented Black creators and ushering in a new generation of readers through bold storytelling and impactful experiences that educate, engage and inspire."

This appointment also marks a homecoming for Bobo who previously worked at EBONY for over five years as the Fashion & Beauty Director and as a key member of the creative team that produced its iconic covers. Additionally, Bobo has served in leadership roles with major media brands such as Essence and Urban One. Most recently, she led editorial direction and strategy for Ayesha Curry's AC Brands including Curry's magazine, Sweet July. Bobo has also worked in various editorial roles with CosmoGirl, Women's Wear Daily, OK Magazine, and Allure.

Bobo will launch her first digital cover for EBONY in May.

For more information, visit EBONY.com

ABOUT EBONY

Now in its 75th year, EBONY continues to be the leading authority for all facets of Black life - staying rooted as an anchor of Black culture. Under new ownership and leadership, the rebirth of EBONY signals the evolution of the beloved publication as a 21st century digital media brand with a focus on creating exceptional content and experiences illuminating the Black perspective.

EBONY is a property of 1145 Holdings LLC and Media

SOURCE EBONY
STOCKHOLM, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Polygon has signed an agreement to acquire Kaph Entreprenr AS ("Kaph") in Norway. Kaph is a property damage restoration company specialized in Project management, Water Damage Restoration, and Reconstruction with a high digital focus. The acquisition will add 220 highly professional employees and a turnover of around 46 MEUR.

Polygon is taking yet another step in its buy-and-build strategy with the acquisition of the ambitious and innovative company Kaph in Norway. Kaph is a fast growing property damage restoration company based in Stavanger, with a strong market position particularly in the west, south and east part of Norway and with the potential to expand its service deliveries to a full Norwegian footprint.

"The acquisition of Kaph is a perfect fit since it is both in the sweet spot of our core business, while at the same time supports our digital strategic focus. I am very impressed with what the owners have built up over the years in terms of market position, strong growth and a loyal customer base and I really look forward to welcoming them as part of the family", says Axel Granitz President and CEO of Polygon Group.

"We are looking forward to joining forces with Polygon Group. Together and with the access to many of Polygons very strong corporate platforms we will have the potential to continue to develop and strengthen the business even further," says Kjell Ole Friland, CEO at Kaph.

The acquisition is subject to approval from the Norwegian competition authorities and expected to close during the second quarter of 2021.

For more information, please visit www.polygongroup.com or contact Martin Hamner, Chief Financial Officer, martin.hamner@polygongroup.com, +46 70 607 85 79

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/polygon/r/polygon-acquires-kaph-in-norway,c3335716

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Two heroic schoolgirls have spoken of the moment they rescued a 74-year-old pensioner from the River Mersey after two youths kicked him into the water.

Friends Khloe Woods and Ellie Hughes, both 14, heard the man's cries for help just seconds after spotting two boys fleeing from the river bank in Warrington on Sunday afternoon.

The girls immediately formed a human chain to pull the pensioner out of the freezing water.

One boy, 15, has been arrested on suspicion of assault.

An image taken from a video of the incident shows a boy charging into the back of the man as he is fishing, catapulting the pensioner into the river just after 2.30pm.

As the 74-year-old floundered in the waters the cowardly trio ran away, laughing at the assault.

Friends Khloe Woods (right) and Ellie Hughes (left), both 14, heard the man's cries for help just seconds after spotting the two boys fleeing from the river bank in Warrington on Sunday

This is when Khloe and Ellie ran to his rescue, working together to form a human chain and pull the man out.

Khloe said: 'We just saw the man in the river holding on to a branch. Ellie had hold of me and I reached out and grabbed the man.

'I was worried that when he let go of the branch, I might lose my grip and he would have gone down the river.

'We got him out and to safety and asked him if he was OK. He was soaking wet. It all just happened so fast.'

Khloe, a pupil at Haydock High School, added: 'We were both really scared and were shaking.

'A woman then came to help us. We offered to call an ambulance but the man said he didn't want us to.

This is the moment a gang of feral schoolboys pushed a 74-year-old pensioner into the freezing River Mersey

The youths targeted the elderly gentleman as he was fishing on the banks of the famous waterway in Warrington on Sunday afternoon

'His nose was bleeding but he said he was going to walk home.'

Ellie said: 'It was very scary. All the time I had hold of Khloe I was saying 'please don't fall'.

The girls said the man told them this was the first time he had ventured out for the since lockdown to do some magnet fishing on the famous waterway as it was a sunny day.

The daughter of the victim, Jacinta, told MailOnline that she plans to take the two brave girls 'for coffee and cakes this weekend' to say thank you.

Jacinta said: 'They literally saved him, held his head out of the water and struggled to pull him out whilst his down jacket filled with water.'

She added: 'It has been really hard for the family to be honest, my father goes fishing almost daily along various rivers in Warrington and I fear it will stop him living his normal daily life now from fear.

As well as being shaken up by the incident the pensioner, who does not wish to be named, lost a 'silver dollar keyring' in the river, which was his only connection to his father he never knew

'He has been in real shock since and according to my brother been crying since.

'He recounted the story to us and was in floods of tears saying how he thought he was going to die.

'At first he didn't know what had happened, he thought he had had a heart attack and didn't know what was going on he'd gone in head first.'

As well as being shaken up by the incident the pensioner, who does not wish to be named, lost a 'silver dollar keyring' in the river, which was his only connection to his father who he never knew.

The daughter said: 'It's a really little thing but sad, my dad never knew his father but had a silver dollar from him that he had made into a keyring.

'He has kept the all his life and it's the only thing he has that is a connection to him and he has lost it in the river.'

Jacinta saw the video on social media before it was deleted by the poster.

Describing the clip she said: 'It's pretty awful and features a very deliberate set up shot with the teen running up and jump-kicking him in head first.

'Then the poster lined it with cry face laughing emojis, clearly been group sent before it was obviously deleted.'

Despite the incident Jacinta, who is a secondary school teacher, said 'the boys really do not represent any of the youth that I teach.'

Ellie, a pupil at UTC Warrington, said: 'We are just glad that he is safe.

'I didn't tell anyone what had happened until we saw all the stories online.

Sergeant Mark Spaven, of Warrington Local Policing Unit, vowed to catch the culprits

'We are just glad that we were walking past at that time.'

Speaking about her daughter's actions Khloe's mum Annmarie, 41, a care assistant at Warrington Hospital, said: 'I am amazed at what Khloe did and am really proud of her.

'Her actions shows what kind of girl she is and what type of person she's developing in to.'

Ellie's dad Steve Hughes, 52, a para-athlete said: 'I am bursting with pride.

'Ellie usually tells me every detail of what she's been up to but on this occasion she only told us last night when she saw it online.

'I don't think she realised what they had actually done.

'They formed a human chain to pull him out. They might well have saved his life.'

Sergeant Mark Spaven, of Warrington Local Policing Unit, said: 'This was a shocking and upsetting incident which has understandably left the gentleman shaken.

'He returned home freezing cold and had sustained a cut to his face due to banging his head as he fell into the water.

'We are determined to find those responsible and I am urging anyone who has any information or believes they know who did this to come forward.

'I also want to appeal to the two women who thankfully came to his rescue to please get in touch with us as you could have information which could help our investigation.'

The incident took place between 2.30pm and 3pm on Sunday, April 25 while the man was sat on a bank of the River Mersey on Wharf Street near Riverside Retail Park.

After the attack he walked home and informed his family, who reported the assault to the police.

If you can assist police with their enquiries please contact 101 quoting IML 973152 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
DUBLIN, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Powder Coatings Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global powder coatings market by revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of approx. 6% during 2020-2026.



The global powder coating market size was valued at USD 9.7 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 14 billion by 2026, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% during 2021-2026. The market is expected to grow 1.4 times during the forecast period.

APAC is the largest contributor to the market. China holds the largest share in the market as there are over 500 producers with small-scale operations supplying powder coatings to the local market. The APAC market will witness the highest growth due to the increasing construction and infrastructure activities during the forecast period.

China's demand is likely to be driven by architectural developments, increasing consumer goods application, and rising automotive demand. Increased investments in construction, marine, and oil and gas industries are also influencing market growth. The demand for powder coatings is also driven by the development of high-quality infrastructure and heavy investments in the automotive industry.

Moreover, the demand for coatings with low VOC content has increased with the introduction of strict regulations in North America, Europe, and China. The need for low emission coatings has driven the demand for environment-friendly material over the last few years.



INSIGHTS BY VENDORS



Due to the highly competitive and volatile environment in the powder coatings market, future market growth mainly depends on the vendor's ability to anticipate, gauge, and adapt to the constantly changing market trends. Manufacturers must develop environment-friendly coatings with low or no VOC content and successfully introduce new or improved products on time.

AkzoNobel, PPG Industries Inc., Sherwin Williams, RPM International Inc., Axalta Coatings Systems, and DSM are the major vendors capturing the major powder coatings market share.

The introduction of innovative and proprietary products that cater to customer demands requires companies to devote significant effort and resources. The research and development team needs to continuously analyze market trends to design, develop, and manufacture new product categories and new products with distinctive features and added advantages.

GLOBAL POWDER COATINGS MARKET SEGMENTATION



Epoxy, polyester, and acrylic are the three generic types of resins derived from thermoset powder coating. The demand for epoxy-based powder coatings is likely to increase during the forecast period. Strict governmental regulations, increased pressure to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOC), and the introduction of zero VOC powder coating systems that provide adequate protection against corrosion at low temperatures have increased the demand for epoxy resins. The demand for eco-friendly materials from the construction industry has accelerated the growth of the coatings market in North America.



The appliances industry is the largest contributor to the global powder coatings market. Powder coatings are widely applied on appliances as they provide two-fold benefits - aesthetics and resistance to corrosion. They are used in kitchen appliances as they are economical and easy to coat, and they deliver excellent durability and resistance to chemicals and detergents. The automotive industry is another vital end-user of powder coatings.

They are applied on wheels, which offer UV durability and scratch resistant. Polyesters, acrylics, super durables, and urethanes are widely powder chemistries applied in the automotive industry. They increase scratch and abrasion resistance, durability, and aesthetics. The general industrial segment is another important end-user. The coating is applied on metal frames, electrical transformers, shelving, propane tanks, water towers, renewable energy, machinery, and leisure equipment to increase abrasion resistance, durability, and aesthetics.

INSIGHTS BY GEOGRAPHY



The increasing demand for coating powders from China is the major driver for the APAC powder coatings market's growth. Stringent environmental regulations are driving the demand in the region. China has enforced strict environmental regulations for paint and coating manufacturing. Beijing and Shanghai have strict environmental standards. Another factor driving the demand for powder coatings is the Chinese government is aggressively promoting electric vehicles (EV).

The government is targeted to increase the sale of EVs to 50% by 2035, which currently stands at 5%. As the EV industry grows in China, the demand for powder coatings for finishing is expected to grow. This is likely to increase the demand for plastic substrate coatings in the automotive market. China is expected to be the largest contributor to the global market during the forecast period. The growth of powder coatings is tied to the rise in infrastructure investments in the country. China is expected to contribute 40% to global infrastructure investments by 2040.

Prominent Vendors

AkzoNobel

PPG Industries Inc.

Sherwin Williams

RPM International Inc.

Axalta Coatings Systems

DSM

Other Prominent Vendors

Allnex Italy SRL

Arkema SA

Asian Paints Limited

BASF

Berger Paints

Diamond Vogel

Dulux Group

Jotun

Eastman Chemical Company

Evonik

Nippon Paint Holdings Limited

Tiger Coatings

Teknos

Kansai Paint

KCC Corporation

Sika AG

Wacker Chemie AG

Arsonsisi s.p.a

iBA Kimya

CWS Powder Coatings

Erie Powder Coatings Inc.

Europolveri SpA

Hentez Coatings Inc.

IFS Coatings

Karl Worwag Lack -und Farbenfabrik GmbH & Co.KG

-und Farbenfabrik GmbH & Co.KG Keyland Polymer

Modern Sak Factory

Key Topics Covered:



1 Research Methodology



2 Research Objectives



3 Research Process



4 Scope & Coverage

4.1 Market Definition

4.2 Base Year

4.3 Scope Of The Study

4.4 Market Segments



5 Report Assumptions & Caveats

5.1 Key Caveats

5.2 Currency Conversion

5.3 Market Derivation



6 Market at a Glance



7 Introduction

7.1 Global Powder Coatings Market

7.2 APAC - The Largest Contributing Region

7.3 Key Insights for The Powder Coatings Market



8 Powder Coating Application Methods

8.1 Preparation Stage

8.2 Application Stage

8.3 Impact Of COVID-19

8.4 Voice Of Industry Experts On Powder Coatings



9 Market Opportunities & Trends

9.1 Increase in Demand From The Automotive And Transportation Industry

9.2 Expanding Use of Fluoropolymers In Architectural Applications

9.3 Increasing Use of Low-Temperature Powder Cure Technology

9.4 Sustainable Powder Coatings With Recycled Plastics

9.5 Introduction of Innovative Powder Coatings



10 Market Growth Enablers

10.1 Powder Coatings Generating Low Or No VOC

10.2 Evolving Use In The Aerospace Market

10.3 Increasing Environmental Regulations



11 Market Restraints

11.1 High Cost of Raw Materials

11.2 Difficulty in Obtaining Thin Films In Powder Coatings



12 Supply Chain Analysis

13 Growth Opportunity Analysis

13.1 By Resin



14 Market Landscape

14.1 Market Size & Forecast

14.2 Five Forces Analysis



15 Resin Type

15.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine (Revenue)

15.2 Market Overview



16 Thermoset Resin

16.1 Market Overview

16.2 Epoxy

16.3 Epoxy Polyester Hybrids

16.4 Polyester

16.5 Polyurethane

16.6 Other



17 Thermoplastic Resins

17.1 Market Overview



18 End-User Industries

18.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine

18.2 Market Overview

18.3 Appliances Or Consumer Goods

18.4 Automotive

18.5 General Industrial

18.6 Furniture

18.7 Architectural

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cdb1ng

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